by Jin Yong
“Secondly, the fight with the Quanzhen monks started very soon after Papa had finally made sense of the text,” Lotus continued, pretending that she had not noticed the exchange between Yang Kang and the girl. “He hasn’t even had a chance to explain the details to me and he feels it would be such a shame if this amazing martial formula were to die with him.
“Now, of all the great masters in the world, he considers you a kindred spirit, not just his equal in martial learning, but alike in temperment also. He still remembers the honor you bestowed upon us, coming to Peach Blossom Island personally to ask for my hand for your nephew. It was a great misfortune that he was set upon by a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, but my papa hopes that you will remember the bond you shared with your nephew and teach me this mystical method, once you have mastered it.”
Viper’s heart softened at the mention of Gallant Ouyang. She’s not lying, he decided. Without the guidance of a master, a little girl like her can’t possibly make sense of the method, even if she can quote it back to front. Still, he couldn’t let her off the hook just yet …
“How do I know your version is genuine?”
“You’ve got the text with you, right? Once I explain the cipher, you’ll be able to check, and you’ll see for yourself.”
“We’ll rest here for the night. I’ll help your father tomorrow.”
“There’s no time to lose. Tomorrow might be too late.”
“Then I’ll avenge him—it’s all the same to me.” Viper smirked. The translation of the Manual’s final section was now firmly in his grasp, for it would merely be a matter of time before the girl was compelled to share its key, and, after that, he was confident that he could interpret its content fully. If Apothecary Huang and those Quanzhen Taoists were to hurt each other in the meantime, it would only be to his benefit.
“Will we leave first thing in the morning?”
“Of course. You should get some rest too.”
6
Ke Zhen’e had been paying close attention to every word exchanged and yet he could not make sense of how this talk of the Nine Yin Manual related to the grave message Lotus had written in his hand.
TELL PA WHO KILLS ME
What did she mean? The conversation with Viper Ouyang had reached its natural conclusion and what she had foretold had not come to pass. He could hear her dragging a prayer mat to another spot.
“Hey, Grandpa took you to Peach Blossom Island. How come you’re here now?” he heard Lotus ask softly.
“I don’t like being around Grandpa. I want to go home.”
She’s moved over to speak to the girl from Peach Blossom Island, Ke said to himself, still unable to fathom why Lotus thought she would be killed.
“So, Brother Yang sailed to the island and took you away on his boat. Is that how you got here? Am I right?”
Ke’s ears pricked up. When did Yang Kang visit Peach Blossom Island?
“Yes, he’s very nice.”
“Where’s Grandpa?”
“Don’t tell him I ran away. He’ll beat me.”
“I won’t tell—if you’re a good girl and answer my questions nicely.”
“You mustn’t tell Grandpa. He’ll drag me back. He’ll force me to read.”
“I won’t, I swear. Grandpa teaches you to read?”
“Yes, he makes me read in the study. He makes me learn Papa’s family name. He said it’s qu-chirp-chirp, like a cricket, and that’s my name too, qu-chirp-chirp. He drew it on the paper and said I must memorize it. He also said Papa’s called … some kind of wind. I can never remember what it is. Grandpa got so cross. He shouted at me for being silly. But I am called Silly.”
“Grandpa is very bad for shouting at you.”
The Qu girl agreed vehemently.
“What happened next?”
“I said, ‘I want to go home.’ Grandpa shouted some more. Then, a funny man came in. He couldn’t speak. He just waved his hands and made this yeeee-yaaa noise. Grandpa said, ‘I’m not receiving visitors. Tell them to leave.’ He came back with a piece of paper, not long after. Grandpa looked at it, then told me to follow the funny man and welcome our guests.” She laughed at the memory. “The tiny fat man was so ugly. I glared at him and he did the same to me.”
Her words brought Ke Zhen’e back to that fateful trip. They had heard that the Quanzhen Taoists were on their way to Peach Blossom Island to seek revenge, and took it upon themselves to warn Apothecary Huang. Their plan was to persuade the Heretic to avoid direct confrontation and let them mediate on his behalf. They were pinning their hopes on the friendship between the Six Freaks of the South and the Seven Immortals of the Quanzhen Sect, which went back almost two decades. He recalled that, when they presented themselves on the island, Apothecary Huang refused to grant them an interview, but, once he had read Zhu Cong’s letter, explaining the reason for their visit, he sent the girl to receive them. Her trivial little exchange with Third Brother was etched on his mind.
And now he’s gone forever … His heart contracted at the thought.
“Did Grandpa meet with them?”
“Grandpa told me to eat with them, then he went off somewhere. I didn’t like looking at the tiny fat man, so I went to play on the beach. Grandpa was sitting behind a rock and looking at the sea, so I looked at the sea too. A boat! Coming to us. Grandpa called the people in the boat cow muzzles.” She bent over in laughter. “Cow muzzles!”
How come she saw their boat? Fresh questions whirled in Ke Zhen’e’s mind. We never saw the Quanzhen monks on the island.
“What did Grandpa do?”
“Grandpa waved at me and told me to come over to him. I was so scared. He caught me playing. He caught me not doing what he told me to. I stayed where I was. I didn’t want to be caned. But he swore he wouldn’t hit me, and said I should come over so he could talk to me. So I did. He told me he was going on a boat to go fishing in the sea. He had an important task for me. I was to tell the cow muzzles: Grandpa is not at home. He is out at sea. They should turn back. They won’t know the way around the island. So, when the cow muzzles arrived, I went up to them: ‘Grandpa is not home. Grandpa doesn’t like looking at cow muzzles. Ha ha! Cow muzzles. Is that a cow muzzle on your face? I think it looks more like a pig’s snout!’ They glared at me. So I glared back at their pig snouts. Then they went back to the boat.”
“And then what happened?”
“Grandpa went behind the big rock and got on his boat. I know Grandpa didn’t want to see them, because the cow muzzles were ugly!”
“Yes! You’re right! When did Grandpa come back?”
“Huh? He didn’t.”
Ke Zhen’e felt his body spasm at that answer.
“Are you sure?” There was a quiver in Lotus’s voice too. “What happened next?”
“Grandpa was just about to set sail when two big birds flew in from the sky. Your white birds. Grandpa whistled at them and they came to him. They had something tied to their feet. I liked the look of it, so I shouted, ‘Grandpa! Give me! Give me!’” The Qu girl was yelling as loudly as she had on the island.
“Shush! We’re trying to sleep!” Yang Kang hissed.
“I want to know what happened next,” Lotus whispered.
“I will speak softly,” the girl replied under breath. “Grandpa ignored me. He tore off a piece of his robe and tied it to one of the big birds’ feet. Then he let them fly away.”
“Who fired arrows at the birds?” Lotus whispered back.
Now she understood why her father sent her that cryptic piece of cloth instead of the golden salamanders.
“Arrows? No one.” The girl’s expression was more blank than usual and she seemed to be far, far away from the present.
“Alright … and then?”
“Grandpa took the robe off and told me to get him a new one. By the time I came back, Grandpa was gone. The cow muzzles’ boat was gone too. The only thing left was the torn robe on the ground.
This time, Lotus did not urge t
he Qu girl to continue. Ke speculated that her mind—like his—was racing through these revelations.
“Where did they go?”
“I could see them in the sea. I shouted for Grandpa, but he didn’t answer me. So I climbed up a tree to get a better look. Grandpa’s little boat was on this side. The cow muzzles’ big boat was on that side.” She demonstrated with her hands. “They moved slowly, slowly, slowly, and then I couldn’t see them anymore. I didn’t want to look at the tiny fat man, so I stayed on the beach, picking pebbles and playing in the sand until evening, when I took Grandpa, here, and nice brother back to the house.”
“This Grandpa is not the one who makes you read?”
The Qu girl giggled. “No, this Grandpa doesn’t make me read. He gives me cake.”
* * *
“UNCLE OUYANG, have you got more cake? Give her another piece,” Lotus said.
Viper cackled. “Gladly.”
Ke Zhen’e was certain that his heart was about to leap out of his mouth. Viper Ouyang was also on the island that day? The Qu girl’s screech cut through his shock, and his mind was forced back to the present. He heard a scuffle, more squealing from the Qu girl, and then Lotus asking, in a voice of calm authority, “Are you trying to silence her?”
The Venom’s raspy laugh rang out again. “What’s the point? She’s a silly girl, and I do realize that I can’t very well hide what happened from your father, even if I can fool everyone else. If you want to question her, go ahead, get to the bottom of it.”
But the girl was groaning and whimpering, making a string of unintelligible sounds. She must have been struck at a point that impeded her speech.
“I don’t need to; I’ve worked it out already. I just wanted it to hear it from her mouth.”
“You are indeed your father’s daughter,” Viper said with a sneer. “Do enlighten me…”
“To begin with, I also thought Papa had killed five of the Freaks, but, once I had a moment to think about it, I knew it couldn’t possibly be him. Do you think he’d leave three dead men behind in my mother’s tomb? Do you think he’d leave the tomb entrance ajar?”
“Ahhhh.” Viper slapped his thigh. “We’ve been careless indeed, haven’t we, Kang?”
Ke Zhen’e thought his heart was about to explode. He had finally unraveled the full meaning behind the words she had written in his hand.
TELL PA WHO KILLS ME
She had known it was Viper Ouyang and Yang Kang who murdered his siblings all along. She went out to confront them—laying down her life to reveal the truth, to prove that her father was innocent. That was why she wrote that message.
Oh, miss, you could have just told me who the murderers were! There was no need to throw your life away like this! But would I have listened to her? No! I’ve always been rash, always jumping to conclusions. Now I know the Flying Bat isn’t just blind in the eyes but in the heart too … I’ve wronged Apothecary Huang and I’ve wronged his daughter. I’d have never believed her if she’d told me the truth to my face … Ke Zhen’e, oh, Ke Zhen’e, you’re no Suppressor of Evil, you’re a Suppressor of Good that deserves to be hacked into a thousand pieces! You’re a blind fool and you’ve condemned a good woman to death!
Wallowing in self-loathing, Ke raised his hand, about to slap some sense into himself, only remembering at the last moment that he was in hiding. Viper Ouyang’s grating voice assailed his eardrums once more.
“What made you think of me?” he asked Lotus.
“Not many people in this world have the skill to dispatch a horse with just one palm strike, or to snap a steel pole as thick as a child’s arm with their bare hands. But, as I said, I didn’t think of you at first. It was when we found Woodcutter Nan that I grew suspicious. Guo Jing asked the poor man who had hurt him, but he couldn’t speak. He tried scoring the name of his murderer into the ground, but he expired after scratching three strokes.”
“Woodcutter Nan was a tough man to have lasted so long.” Viper laughed in cruel appreciation. “He was hiding from us. When we left the tomb, we found we had one body fewer than anticipated. We couldn’t leave anyone behind, could we? We looked for him for several days. Luckily, Kang, here, has a map of Peach Blossom Island, with every strange twisting path and every trap and snare clearly marked. We searched the island section by section and eventually we found him.”
It was Lotus’s turn to be baffled. How did the map fall into Yang Kang’s hands? Papa gave it to Gallant Ouyang for one month as a consolation prize when his suit for my hand came to nothing … Yang Kang must have seized it after he stabbed Gallant in Ox Village. That’s how they were able to open Mama’s tomb. I see how it all happened, now.
“When I saw how Woodcutter Nan died,” she said aloud, “I thought he must have been poisoned. The toxin had such strange effects … It was probably the handiwork of Qiu Qianren. That old man’s known for his poisonous palms.” Lotus said this to rile Viper Ouyang, and to gull him into confessing his crimes. She knew exactly what Qiu’s kung fu could do, having suffered at his hands herself.
“Qiu Qianren’s martial learning is superb, but the power of his palms comes not from poison. In fact, there’s no deadly substance in his touch, though he makes use of toxins in his training. It’s a way to cultivate strength—pushing venom out through the palms. Tell me, when Woodcutter Nan died, was he howling, trying to speak, but no words would come? And, rather than groaning in misery, he was smiling, was he not?” The vain man had fallen for her ruse, for Viper Ouyang would never concede that someone else possessed knowledge superior to his, nor let another person take credit for his handiwork.
“Yes, that’s right! What poison could have done that?”
“He was twisting and rolling on the ground, and he struck with great strength—greater than he had ever known. Am I right?”
“Indeed! I thought such an unusual poison must surely be the work of Qiu Qianren. Who else under the heavens could have achieved such a thing?”
Lotus was openly baiting Viper Ouyang now, and the martial Master knew it.
“Why do you think I am called the Venom of the West?” he roared, thumping the butt of his Serpent Staff against the floor. “He was bitten on the tongue by one of the snakes in this very staff! That’s why you couldn’t find a mark on his body. That’s why he could not speak.”
Hot blood rushed to Ke Zhen’e head. He swayed and almost collapsed. Lotus thought she could hear a faint sound coming from behind the statue and she coughed loudly to drown it out.
“So, that’s what happened!” She made a show of finally figuring out the last piece of a fiendish puzzle. “You slaughtered five of the Freaks, but somehow Ke Zhen’e managed to escape. And, since he can’t see, he had no way of knowing who had done the foul deed.”
At first, Ke Zhen’e wondered why she was stating the obvious, and then it came to him. She’s reminding me to stay put, not to do anything rash. There’s no point in us both dying, and for no reason, at that!
“You think that blind bat could slip from my clutches?” Viper crowed. “I let him go. Woodcutter Nan saw me in the act. He hid from us, but for how long? We could never let him live, and, if it took a few days to find him, so be it. As for the sightless old fool? We could afford to show some mercy.”
“Ah, I understand. You let Master Ke believe that my father murdered his brethren. You wanted him to spread word throughout the jianghu, turning all good men and heroes under the heavens against Papa.”
“It wasn’t my idea. Kang came up with the plan. Didn’t you?”
Yang Kang grunted his assent with reluctance, since it would be a great offense to the bond of shifu and disciple to ignore a direct address.
“What a clever strategy. I am full of admiration,” Lotus jeered.
“You haven’t explained what made you think it was I?” Viper was itching to find out what clues he had left for her to find, since he thought he had been very careful in planning the perfect crime.
“We fought Qiu Qianren
in North Jinghu. He could have made straight for Peach Blossom Island, but could he outstrip our Fergana horse? Not very likely, is it? And then there were the three strokes Woodcutter Nan managed to write on the ground—a horizontal, a short vertical and an enclosing hook. He could have been writing the character dong—east—for Eastern Heretic, but then it could also have been the character xi—west—for Western Venom, couldn’t it? I realized that when I was on Peach Blossom Island, but I had yet to comb through all the details.”
“I thought we’d been meticulous, but still, so many traces were left … Woodcutter Nan must have sensed something. He tarried and dragged his feet when we entered the tomb. When he saw me set upon Gilden Quan, he ran.”
“Master Nan was a man of few words, but he noticed everything.” Although Lotus and the Freaks had not got along at first, she had always had genuine respect for those upright heroes, since they were Guo Jing’s teachers, and, as such, her seniors too. “I spent a lot of time wondering about the little cross Jade Han wrote on my mother’s sarcophagus, trying to work out what the character could be.
“I know the young Prince is still a novice in all things martial, and he doesn’t have the skill to have finished off the five Freaks by himself, so I never suspected him.” She spoke as if Yang Kang was not there and took no notice of his indignant grunt.
“I was left all alone on Peach Blossom Island and I was in a stupor. I kept dozing and waking, my mind wouldn’t stop, but I couldn’t think clearly. I dreamed of a great many people. One of them was Sister Mu. I dreamed of her in the Duel for a Maiden. Suddenly, I was wide awake and everything became clear—I knew who the second killer was.” For the first time, she acknowledged Yang Kang’s presence and looked him in the eye.
Her words and her tone had long since conjured a cold sweat on Yang Kang’s back. “Are you saying Mercy Mu spoke to you in a dream?” he said with a sneer, attempting to belittle her.
“Yes, she did,” Lotus replied with a straight face. “If it weren’t for the dream, I would never have thought of you. Now, tell me, where’s your little jade shoe?”
