Ode to gallantry, p.13
Ode to Gallantry, page 13
"What is so difficult about that?" asked Bei Haishi in retort. "We may be leaving during the Wu period (between 11am and 1pm)(2) but we will be back by the Shen period (3pm-5pm)."
Xie Yanke's face darkened at once. "Physician Bei," he said, "what exactly are you looking for, following me around like a departed spirit that refuses to go away?"
"What am I looking for?" asked Bei Haishi in return. "Brothers, what are we looking for?"
The other seven visitors, who had not opened their mouths to speak, replied in unison: "We want to seek an audience with our Clan-Leader, and escort him respectfully back to our headquarters."
Xie Yanke became angry: "So despite the repeated statements on the matter, you still suspect that I have hidden your Clan-Leader away, do you not?"
"None of us dares to make any absurd inferences about the undivulged circumstances of the matter before we see our Clan-Leader," said Bei Haishi. Then, he turned to a big and tall middle-aged man and added: "Incense-Master Yun, go and look around with the other brothers. Inform me as soon as you see the grand presence of our Clan-Leader."
Incense-Master Yun, who had a pair of short worn-out silver halberds in his right hand, nodded and said, "Yes!" Then, he made an announcement in a loud voice: "Gentlemen, Mr Bei has a command. Let us go and call upon our Clan-Leader."
"Yes!" answered the remaining six visitors in unison, before all seven of them took a few steps backwards, turned around and left the forest.
Although Xie Yanke had a member of the enemy in his hands, he could see that the people from the Clan of Eternal Happiness were not bothered about Incense-Master Mi's safety at all. These people actually went ahead and did as they wished, without even half a fen (about 5%) of hesitation about pelting a rat in the midst of the dishes. They did not hold back from taking action despite the possibility of Incense-Master Mi getting harmed. The only person who remained was Bei Haishi, who was clearly keeping an eye on Xie Yanke instead of finding a way to rescue Mi. Hence, Xie Yanke thought: The news of that young man handing me the Black Steel Symbol has taken the realm of the rivers and lakes by storm. So these fellows from the Clan of Eternal Happiness are just using their search for their clan-leader as a pretext for their real intention: to kidnap the young man. Now that I have lost my first chance, the young man will certainly fall into their grasp. Then, the Clan of Eternal Happiness will have a strong advantage over me. Hmmph, who is Xie Yanke, that he would be bullied right on his doorstep?
With seven of the visitors gone, he now had a good opportunity to do some killing. So he placed his left palm on the back of Incense-Master Mi's waist and sent forth a rapid burst of internal strength. This move, known as the 'Civilian Assistant and the Military Officer' (Wen2 Cheng2 Wu3 Wei4), utilised Incense-Master Mi's body as a weapon with which to attack Bei Haishi.
Xie Yanke knew that Bei Haishi had reached a consummate level in internal strength cultivation, but because of an internal injury in middle-age that left three-tenths of his body racked with illness, Bei's pugilistic abilities were greatly reduced. The prolonged illness made a physician of Bei Haishi and earned him the title 'Physician Bei', but he was actually not a genuine doctor. As for his martial arts skills, these were still unusually formidable.
Nine years earlier, the 'Three Evils of Central Hebei' (Ji4 Zhong1 San1 Sha4)(3) were killed by Bei Haishi in a single night, despite being located in three different places that were more than two hundred li (100km) apart from one another. This feat became a major incident in the martial arts circle, shocking people everywhere whenever it was mentioned. Thus, despite Bei's repeated coughs and apparent lack of vital energy, Xie Yanke did not dare to be negligent at all in his actions, using the most sinister, damaging and ruthless moves right from the start.
When Bei Haishi saw Xie's unexpected attack, he coughed and said, "Mr Xie ... but *cough cough* but why must the amiable relationship between us be harmed?" Reaching out with both palms, he pushed off towards Incense-Master Mi's chest. Suddenly, his left knee went forward and struck Incense-Master Mi on the abdomen, causing the latter to fly up and over Bei's own head. As a result, Bei's palms were now headed for Xie Yanke's chest.
This move was so amazing and strange in its variations that Xie Yanke was unable to put a name to it despite his extensive knowledge in martial arts. Thus startled, he followed through by putting his own palms out in an attempt to meet the opponent's attack head on. Suddenly, the tips of the fingers on both his palms felt as if they were being pricked by thousands upon ten thousands of sharp needles. Xie Yanke quickly exercised his internal strength with the intention of deflectng the enemy's energy ... only to find emptiness in his chest and abdomen. All the strength in his entire body had disappeared without a trace!
A thought flashed through his mind: Oh no! I had exercised my strength so much just now that eight- to nine-tenths of it had been spent without my realising it. How can I go all out against him now with my strength?
Thus, he lowered his palms at once and struck out against Bei Haishi's abdomen. Bei Haishi responded by pressing down with his right palm and blocking his opponent's move. In turn, Xie Yanke's sleeves swept out, dusting across Bei's face and torso with the 'Iron-Sleeve Skill' (Tie3 Xiu4 Gong1).
Bei Haishi thought: Although the oncoming force of the sleeve is vicious, it also reveals a measure of exhaustion. He is trying to lead me on. Hence, he dodged to the side and moved out of the way.
The name of the 'Skyscraping Resident' was not a trivial matter in the martial arts circle. When Bei Haishi saw Xie Yanke practising the 'Green Needles Clean-Palm Technique' earlier, he could tell from the exquisite movements of the palms and the richness of the internal strength that his own abilities were simply too far behind. However, due to the necessity of finding the missing Clan-Leader, he was nevertheless forced to engage Xie in a fight. Although he had subsequently discovered the ordinariness of his opponent's internal strength, he thought that it was just a ploy for deceiving him. Thus, he did not dare to show the slightest bit of neglect in his responses.
Xie Yanke withdrew both his sleeves. Uttering a *hu* in exhalation, he used the momentum created by the moving sleeves to propel himself backwards by more than a zhang (10/3 metres). At the same time, he turned his body around and raised his fists in a clasp. "If you will excuse me, we will meet again some day," he said. Although he continued to retreat urgently as he spoke, his movements remained more than natural and unrestrained in appearance. There was not the slightest hint of anxiety-driven speed at all.
Having attacked thrice without success, Xie Yanke knew that luck was not on his side that day. A formidable opponent had appeared just when he had exhausted his internal strength. So he had to pull himself away in a hasty retreat. However, this could not be considered him having lost to Bei Haishi. Although he had been forced to leave the Skyscraping Cliff, he had been able to restrain the highly-skilled Incense-Master Mi from his unfavourable position within the nine-man seige. This act alone had greatly deflated the arrogance of the Clan of Eternal Happiness. Thus, as he leapt from cliff to cliff in his descent, he had more to be happy than upset about.
Suddenly, Xie Yanke thought about the young man falling into the hands of the enemy. Since this would invariably lead to an endless array of consequences, he became very worried at once. Then, he thought: When my internal strength returns, I will go and pick on the Clan of Eternal Happiness. So long as I do not see that Gouzazhong's face, there is nothing that they can do. But if that Gouzazhong has been threatened or persuaded, he may see me and say: 'I beg you to chop off one of your own arms.' That would be terrible! When a man of noble character seeks revenge, a ten-year wait is not too late. The good thing is, that boy is about to complete his training in the eight 'yin' and the eight 'yang' channels. Since he is not going to live much longer, I will just wait until he is dead before presenting the Clan of Eternal Happiness with some bad luck. This matter cannot be rushed, for it must be planned soundly.
Meanwhile, Bei Haishi was greatly bewildered by Xie Yanke's sudden retreat: Since he has a good relationship with Clan-Leader Shi, why did he use a life-threatening move against Incense-Master Mi? These odd factors really make things difficult to explain. Could he have ... could he have uncovered our scheme? Has he told Clan-Leader Shi about it? In the twinkle of an eye, Bei Haishi had become laden with anxiety.
After a moment's thought, he shook his head and turned towards Incense-Master Mi. Holding Mi upright, he placed his palms on the Hun Men and Po Hu acupoints in the middle of the man's back, and sent forth a stream of internal strength. Within moments, Incense-Master Mi opened his eyes a little and said in a soft voice: "Thank you very much, Mr Bei, for the favour of saving my life."
"Please lie down and rest, Brother Mi," said Bei Haishi. "You must not exercise your internal strength at will."
The move 'Civilian Assistant and Military Officer' that was used by Xie Yanke earlier was meant to condemn Incense-Master Mi to death, as well as to launch a fatal attack against Bei Haishi. If Bei had deflected the move by pushing off against Mi's body with his palms, Mi would have died between the two opposing bursts of internal strength. However, Bei had actually used his left knee to strike Mi in the abdomen and send him behind his own body. At the same time, the move had enabled him to disperse more than half of the force that came from Xie. Fortunately, Xie had been down to only a tenth of his internal strength, or Mi would not have survived despite Bei's utilisation of the exquisite move.
Bei Haishi laid Incense-Master Mi gently on the ground as he continued to massage the latter's chest and abdomen with his internal strength. Suddenly, loud and happy shouts were heard: "The Clan-Leader is over here, the Clan-Leader is over here!"
Delighted, Bei Haishi said, "Brother Mi, since you are already out of danger, I will go and see our Clan-Leader." Running quickly towards the happy shouts, he thought: Thank the Heaven and the Earth. If we are unable to find our Clan-Leader, I am afraid the clan will disband like clouds that are blown by the wind. Who then will stand before us in the face of the great misfortune that has reached our brows?
Less than a li (500 metres) later, he came upon a figure seated on a large boulder. Looking at the figure's profile, he became awed, for the latter was the leader of the clan, Shi Potian.
Incense-Master Yun and his six companions stood respectfully in front of the boulder, their hands by their sides.
Bei Haishi rushed forward. At the time, the sun was shining down directly on the top of his head, so he could clearly see the facial features of the figure on the boulder. With thick eyebrows, bigs eyes and an angular face, who could it be other than Clan-Leader Shi? Hence, Bei called out in delight: "Clan-Leader, are you well?"
As soon as the greeting came out of his mouth, he saw Clan-Leader Shi's face contorting in extraordinary pain. The left side of Shi's face glowed green, while the right side was totally red, as if he had drunk alcohol. As a man of rich internal strength who had developed a physician's skills due to prolonged illness, Bei Haishi could see that something was not right. Shocked, he thought: What ... what mischief is he up to? Could he be practising an advanced technique in cultivating internal strength? This is strange indeed! Hmm, Xie Yanke must have been teaching him. Oh no! We disturbed him when we gate-crashed our way up the cliff earlier. This is not good.
Suddenly, the doubts and suspicions in his heart dissipated: Our Clan-Leader has been missing for half a year, and we could not find him anywhere. As it turned out, he has been hiding quietly here and practising advanced martial arts. The higher his skills become, the more benefits he will bring to the clan, so this is a very good development indeed. Xie Yanke knew that our Clan-Leader has reached a crucial juncture in his training, of course, and any disturbances from outsiders would only serve to distract him. Thus, Xie refused to present us to him regardless of what we said or did. He had good intentions, yet we offended him. Now, I feel really apologetic for doing it. But he could have simply given us an explanation, for would we not have understood the situation? Xie Yanke has always been known as a proud and vicious man, so our sudden presence on the cliff must have made him very unhappy. That was why he fell out with us and started to kill. Looking at the condition of our Clan-Leader, the twin energies of 'yin' and 'yang' are battling each other in his body. If the dragon and the tiger cannot come together, the slightest misstep will result in overpractising and an infatuation with power. That will be very dangerous indeed.
Without further ado, Bei Haishi gestured to his companions, indicating that they all should back away. After retreating for several tens of zhang (1 zhang = 10/3 metres), he explained the situation in a low voice. Once they understood, the men were both shocked and delighted. "Our Clan-Leader will not overpractise and develop an infatuation with power, will he?" they asked. Some of them were began to feel bad as well: "We rushed blindly up the cliff and disturbed our Clan-Leader while he was hard at work. The mess that we have created is not small indeed."
Bei Haishi said, "Incense-Master Mi has been wounded by Xie Yanke. Would one of the brothers go and look after him? I will keep watch by our Clan-Leader's side. Perhaps I may be able to lend him a hand at the critical moments. The others will stand guard here as well, but remember not shout or make any noise. If an enemy appears, get rid of him quietly. Our Clan-Leader must not be alarmed at all."
All experts in the study of martial arts, the men knew that being mentally harassed by the appearance of enemies was one of the most dangerous things that could happen during the cultivation of internal strength. Hence, they voiced their agreement and went off quickly to position themselves at key locations on the Skyscraping Cliff. There, they stood guard.
Meanwhile, Bei Haishi went quietly back to Clan-Leader Shi. Standing in front of the man, he saw the flesh on the man's face twisting. His body twitched and his mouth was opened wide, as if in a shout, but not a single sound came out. It was obvious that the energy in his body had taken a wrong turn and his life was now in danger. Greatly shocked, Bei Haishi wanted to go to the man's rescue, but he did not know the type of internal strength that the latter was cultivating. There was not even the slightest room for error in such matters of the yin and the yang, lest the struggling practitioner be sent to a faster death.
By then, Clan-Leader Shi had already torn the clothes on his body to shreds and left numerous bloody scratches on his skin. Whitish wisps of steam rose from the top of his head and hung in a cloud-like clump just above it. Bei Haishi thought: His martial arts skills are quite ordinary, and his internal strength is weak. But by the clump of steam above his head, his internal strength seems to have been cultivated to an extremely high level. How could he have made such progress within half a year?
Suddenly, a burnt smell entered Bei Haishi's nostrils. White smoke was coming out of the clothes on Clan-Leader Shi's right shoulder. This was a sign of overpractising and an indicator that death would follow in a mere twinkling of the eye.
Startled, Bei Haishi reached out and pressed the Qing Leng Yuan acupoint on Clan-Leader Shi's right elbow in an attempt to bring a temporary moment of calmness to the energy in latter's body. To his surprise, the elbow felt so icy-cold that Bei could not help but shiver involuntarily. He did not dare to exercise his own internal strength in resistance, so he withdrew his hand at once, thinking: What sort of strange internal strength technique is that? Why is half of his body chilled down to the bone, while the other is as hot as burning coal?
Thus distracted for a moment, he suddenly noticed the clan-leader curling up and rolling off the boulder. Then, the man convulsed several times before ceasing to move.
"Clan-Leader, Clan-Leader!" shouted Bei Haishi in alarm as he reached out to check if the man was still breathing. To his relief, he was, but the breathing was so shallow that it could stop at any time. With a furrowed brow and a loud whistle, Bei Haishi lifted Clan-Leader Shi and placed him upright against the boulder. Since the situation had become extremely critical, Bei sat cross-legged beside his leader and placed his left and right palms on the latter's chest and back respectively. Then, he exercised his internal strength and sent forth a stream of protective energy towards the man's Heart Channel.
Shortly after that, the other seven members of the clan appeared. When they saw their clan-leader's body shaking, as well as his complexion alternating between the reddish glow of alcoholic intoxication and the greenish pall of being frozen stiff, colour drained from their faces. Their eyes were filled with misgivings as they turned to Bei Haishi for answers. Yet, all they saw in return were Bei's trembling body and beads of perspiration the size of soyabeans on his forehead, an obvious indication that he was putting all he had into assisting their clan-leader.
A long time passed before Bei Haishi put his hands down slowly and got to his feet. "Apparently, our Clan-Leader has been cultivating an exquisite form of internal strength," he said. "As to whether he has overpractised, I am unable to make such a diagnosis at the moment. Although I have been fortunate enough to help him overcome a difficult juncture in the training process, I cannot tell how things will be in the future. This is no small matter, so brothers, please think it over and come up with a collective plan."
The men looked at one another and thought: If you, the Physician Bei, have run out of ideas, what can we come up with? Thus, no one had anything to say.
By and by, Incense-Master Mi appeared, with someone supporting him as he walked. Leaning against a cypress tree, he said in a soft voice: "Mr ... Mr Bei, we will do as you say. Your ... your ideas are always more brilliant than ours."
Bei Haishi glanced at Clan-Leader Shi and replied: "The Four Great Clans of the Northeast (Guan1 Dong1 Si4 Da4 Men2 Pai4) have made an appointment to visit the headquarters of our clan during the Chongyang Festival(4), so we do not have much time left. Brothers, you are all well aware that the visit is crucial to the existence and honour, as well as the extinction and disgrace, of our clan. We have already obtained a clear picture of the background of the Four Great Clans of the Northeast -- a flexible whip, an iron halberd, a demon-hilted sabre and a few dozen flying daggers are insufficient to put the Clan of Eternal Happiness into a tight spot. The case of Clan-Leader Situ is an internal issue, so why would we need their involvement in it? However, it is very inappropriate for the matter to be widely known in the realm of the rivers and lakes. *cough cough* ... The real and major concern, as you all know, relates to the 'Commands of Rewards and Punishments' from the Isle of Heroes. Our Clan-Leader must accept the commands in person, or ... or we will not escape the great calamity that is upon us."
