Ode to gallantry, p.24
Ode to Gallantry, page 24
At that moment, Ding Dang pushed the door-curtain aside and entered the hall. "All right, let us go," she said with a smile.
Shi Potian was taken aback, for an exquisitely dressed and polished young man had suddenly appeared before his eyes. Taking a second look, he realised that it was only Ding Dang, who was dressed in a black robe with a scholar's cloth on her head and a folding fan in her hand. Although he did not know what 'scholarly and refined' meant, he thought that she looked better in the outfit than the bridal clothes that she was wearing earlier.
As for Ding Busan, he was dressed in a tunic made of coarse cloth, with a pair of hemp sandals on his feet. His face was darkened with a light coat of ink, and his right shoulder hung lower than his left. He walked with a limp and regarded his surroundings with a beastly expression on his face.
Shi Potian could hardly recognise the old man at first. Then, he burst into laughter and said, "Grandfather, your appearance has changed entirely."
By and by, Chen Chongzhi whispered to Shi Potian: "Clan-Leader, do you want to take some weapons with you?"
"What weapons?" asked Shi Potian with his eyes opened wide. "Why should I take weapons with me?"
"Yes! Yes!" answered Chen Chongzhi at once, thinking that the young man was making an ironic remark. Then, he led the group to the Hall of the Ferocious Tiger.
When Chen Chongzhi pushed the door of the hall open and stepped inside, the people who had gathered rose to their feet and said, "Our respects to the Clan-Leader!"
Shi Potian was so shocked that he jumped with fright, for he had never expected to see a hall that was so grand and filled with so many people. He also did not know how to respond to the men who bowed in greeting; neither did he know what to say. Thus, he could not help standing shell-shocked and flustered at the entrance.
As he -- a rural young man who had hardly been exposed to society -- took in the brightly-lit candles on the tables, the tall and short men on both sides of the aisle, as well as the empty tigerskin-draped armchair that stood in the centre of gathering, he became so intimidated that he did not even dare to breathe. His eyes looked towards Bei Haishi in an appeal for help, in the hope that the latter would tell him how to handle the situation right.
Bei Haishi rushed over to the door at once, took Shi Potian by the arm and said in a quiet voice: "Clan-Leader, we will take our seats first. Then, we will invite our friends from the Snow Mountain School into the hall."
Shi Potian listened to everything Bei Haishi suggested, of course, and allowed himself to be led to the tigerskin-draped armchair.
"Please take a seat!" whispered Bei Haishi.
"Here?" asked Shi Potian as an indescribable fear filled his heart. He looked towards Ding Dang, hoping that she would take him by the hand and help him escape from the hall. It would be best if they went off to some remote mountains far away, for he did not want to return to this place again.
But Ding Dang responded with only a smile.
Yet, Shi Potian felt a burst of affection from deep within her eyes, as if she was saying: "Tian- ge, do not be afraid. I am here by your side. If anything difficlt happens, I will help you." Almost immediately, his spirits were lifted. As gratitude and assurance filled his heart, he took his seat on the tigerskin-draped armchair in the middle of the hall.
After he was seated, Ding Busan and Ding Dang went up and stood behind his chair. Then, the men in the hall sat down one after the other in accordance to their respective seniorities.
Bei Haishi spoke: "Brothers, our Clan-Leader has been seriously ill in recent days. Fortunately, the Heavens stood by the good man. He was recovered to a great extent; but he was not regained his energy in full. Our Clan-Leader should actually be spending many days in quiet recuperation before he can personally attend to the affairs of the clan again, but our friends from the Snow Mountain School have insisted on meeting with him at all costs, as if our Clan-Leader will never recover from his illness. Heh-heh, our Clan-Leader has a deep and profound level of internal strength, so how can a small illness bother him at all? Clan-Leader, what do you think if we invite our friends from the Snow Mountain School into the hall right now?"
"Mm," grunted Shi Potian in reply, not knowing whether he should be saying "Yes" or "No".
"We will now re-arrange the seating!" declared Bei Haishi to the hall. "All the brothers on the west of the aisle should sit on the other side."
The men began moving and were soon seated on the east of the aisle. Then, several clan-members who were standing by came up and placed a row of nine armchairs on the vacated western side.
Finally, Bei Haishi said, "Incense-Master Mi, please usher the guests into the meeting."
"Yes," answered Mi Hengye, turning around and taking his leave.
Shortly after that, footsteps sounded outside the hall. As four clan-members threw the huge doors open, Mi Hengye stepped to the side and made an announcement in a loud voice: "Clan-Leader, our friends from the Snow Mountain School have arrived!"
"We will go and meet them!" whispered Bei Haishi to Shi Potian, giving the latter's sleeve a slight tug.
"We will?" asked Shi Potian. He rose hesitantly to his feet and followed Bei Haishi to the entrance of the hall.
The nine visitors from the Snow Mountain School were all dressed in long robes of white. The man at the head of the group was a very tall and heroic-looking fellow about forty-two or forty-three years old. When he was about a zhang (3.33 metres) away from Shi Potian, he came to a sudden stop and stared so intently at the latter, as if he was trying to look right into the depths of his heart.
Meanwhile, Shi Potian smiled foolishly at the guest in what he (Shi) considered to be a greeting.
Bei Haishi spoke: "Clan-Leader, this is he who shakes the western frontiers with strength, impressiveness and a set of peerless swordplay skills, the well-known 'Frost of the North-west' Bai Wanjian, the Big Brother Bai."
Shi Potian nodded his head and gave another foolish-looking smile. The only person whom he knew was the last member of group, Hua Wanzi, so he smiled again and said, "Hua- guniang, you have come again."
As soon as these words were uttered, the expressions of the faces of the nine Snow Mountain disciples changed at once.
Hua Wanzi felt so awkward that she snorted in disgust and turned her head away.
Bai Wanjian was the eldest son of the 'Gentleman of Impressive Strength and Virtue' Bai Zizai, who was also the leader of the Snow Mountain School. Bai Wanjian and his siblings-at-arms had the character 'Wan' in their names as the marker of their places in the generational hierarchy. Since 'Wanjian' meant 'Ten Thousand Swords', the name seemed to indicate a level of accomplishment in swordplay that exceeded those of his peers. On his part, Bai Zizai was indeed proud of his son's pugilistic abilities, so he had given him the name.
Known collectively with the 'Dragon of Wind and Fire' Feng Wanli as the 'Twin Heroes of the Snow Mountain' (Xue3 Shan1 Shuang1 Jie2), Bai Wanjian had really renowned in the martial arts circle. If he had not visited the Clan of Eternal Happiness in person, Bei Haishi would not have rushed over to Ding Busan's home in the dead of the night and had Shi Potian brought back to the headquarters.
By then, Bai Wanjian was furious, for he had waited for Shi Potian in the adjacent hall for two whole shichen (four hours). During this time, his cup of tea had been brewed so often that it was no longer any different from plain water, for the leaves had lost their flavour much earlier. Now that he had finally stepped into the Hall of the Ferocious Tiger, he found a clan-leader who sat ostentiously on his armchair in the middle of the hall. This clan-leader did not even say anything polite -- such as "I have long heard about you" -- when Bei Haishi made the introductions, preferring instead to greet his younger sister-at-arms. How then could Bai Wanjian not hit the roof in anger? He thought: From the looks of things, there is an eight to ten chance that he is indeed the fellow whom we seek. Our enquiries in the jianghu during the past few days have all found Clan-Leader Shi of the Clan of Eternal Happiness to be a lecherous man. Thus, he must naturally be the one. While he cannot be bothered with me, he has eyed Sister Hua with lust and tried to please her with his words. If he can act this way in front of everyone, Sister Hua's experience while being held captive would have been a lot worse.
Yet, as a man of esteemed position, Bai Wanjian was unwilling to create a scene then and there. Instead, he gazed coldly at Shi Potian from the corner of his eye. He had not uttered a single word, but scorn was already written all over his face.
"Hua- guniang, is the wound on your thigh better?" asked Shi Potian again. "Does it still hurt?"
Hua Wanzi's face turned totally red, while the remaining eight disciples of the Snow Mountain School gripped the hilts of their swords.
"Friends, you have come from afar," said Bei Haishi quickly. "Please take a seat, please take a seat. Our Clan-Leader has not been feeling well recently, so he should actually not be receiving any visitors. However, because of your stature, he has come out to meet you despite his illness. We are very sorry that you have had to wait for a long time."
Bai Wanjian responded with a snort of disgust before striding up to the first armchair on the west of the aisle and sitting down. Geng Wanzhong took the second seat, followed by Ke Wanjun, Wang Wanren and the others. Hua Wanzi sat on the last chair.
Several members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness grinned gleefully at the sight, thinking: Our Clan-Leader gained an upper hand over all you as soon as he opened his mouth, for he showed concerned over your younger sister's thigh. Heh-heh, you may be the 'Frost of the North-west', but there was still nothing you could do, could you?
Bei Haishi accompanied Shi Potian back to his seat, while their servants served tea.
By and by, Bei Haishi raised his clasped fists and said, "Members from every level of our clan have long heard about the glorious name of the Gentleman of Impressive Strength and Virtue from the Snow Mountain School, as well as those of the Twin Heroes of the Snow Mountain and the friends who are present here. However, due to our location in the south of the Great River, we have been unable to develop a closer relationship. We are honoured to have Master Bai and the others here today, for it is indeed our great fortune to meet with the heroes from the Snow Mountain of the North-west."
Bai Wanjian returned the greeting by raising his clasped fists. He said, "The Physician Bei possesses the touch that brings back life, and the peerless Palm Technique of the Five Elements and the Six Directions. Thus, I have also admired you for a long time. Furthermore, your clan has numerous members of outstanding ability. While I do not know many of them in person, I have heard of their names a long time ago." While he spoke a few words of praise for Bei Haishi and the members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness, he did not mention Shi Potian at all.
"You flatter us, you flatter us!" answered Bei Haishi humbly. Then, pretending that he was not aware of the purpose of the visit, he said, "I wonder how many days have all of you been in Zhenjiang. Have you toured the Golden Hill (Jin1 Shan1) and the Burnt Hill (Jiao1 Shan1)? Let our Clan-Leader play host one day and treat all of you to some drinks at a wineshop in town. Then, we can go and take in the scenery of modest Zhenjiang." He spoke casually, without broaching the subject of the Snow Mountain School's visit at all.
Eventually, it was Bai Wanjian who reached the end of his tether first. Raising his voice, he said, "Many people in the jianghu know that your Clan-Leader Shi excels in martial arts. I wonder which clan or school his skills come from."
The question caught the interest of the members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness: Our Clan-Leader has never spoken about the affiliation of his martial arts skills. Whenever anyone brings the subject up during a compliment, he would only smile silently in response. Mr Bei told us that he is the nephew-at-arms of the previous Clan-Leader Situ*, but his skills are entirely different from that of the latter. Would he be willing to divulge the information now?
Shi Potian began his reply in a hesitant manner: "This ... er ... are you asking about my martial arts skills? I ... do not know any at all."
Almost at once, the remaining doubts in Bai Wanjian's mind vanished. Laughing sarcastically, he said, "The Clan of Eternal Happiness has innumerable heroic and capable members. If Clan-Leader Shi does not know any martial arts, how can you lord over such a large group of outstanding men? Your statement can only be used to deceive little children. Perhaps you are ashamed to tell others about your teacher and origin, and I wonder why that is so."
"You say that I am deceiving little children?" asked Shi Potian. "Who is a child here? Ding Ding Dang Dang, she ... she is not a child. I did not deceive her. I have told her long before that I am not her Tian- ge." Although he was talking with Bai Wanjian, his nose was distracted by the fragrance that came from Ding Dang's clothes. Therefore, his heart was turned entirely towards the girl behind his armchair.
Bai Wanjian did not know what the Ding Ding Dang Dang that he spoke about was, so he simply attributed Shi Potian's reply to a guilty conscience as well as a consequent and deliberate attempt to drag irrelevant matters into the conversation. Therefore, Bai's face became even sterner as he made his response: "Clan-Leader Shi, we will just open the windows and speak in the light. Putting things bluntly, you have not forgotten entirely about the martial arts skills that you learnt in Lingxiao City, have you?"
Almost at once, the expressions on the faces of the members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness changed. The men knew that Lingxiao City in the western region was the home of the Snow Mountain School. If Bai Wanjian was right, could their clan-leader have practised martial arts under the tutelage of the Snow Mountain School before? These people had come with such power and prestige, so could their visit be related to an internal matter of their school?
"Lingxiao City?" asked Shi Potian dumbly. "What place is that? I have never practised any martial arts before. If I have, how can I forget all about them?"
By then, even the members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness found Shi Potian's statements incredulous. There was no one in the martial arts circle who did not know the name of 'Lingxiao City'. He, Shi Potian, was the leader of the Clan of Eternal Happiness, yet he actually pretended that he had never heard of the place before. In addition, he said that he had never learnt any martial arts. Such a blatant lie harmed his reputation, of course, yet there were individuals who felt that there was a greater purpose behind these words.
To Bai Wanjian and his group, the words were a great insult, for they clearly indicated that Shi Potian had little care or respect for the Snow Mountain School. He even brushed 'Lingxiao City' off with a single casual remark.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Wang Wanren spoke in a loud voice: "If you put it this way, Clan-Leader Shi, you are looking too much down your nose at us. In your eyes, all the disciples of the Snow Mountain School are not worth even a single qian (5 grammes of silver)."
Shi Potian saw the anger on his face and guessed that he had said the wrong thing. Thus, he replied quickly: "No, no. How can I say that the disciples of the Snow Mountain School are not worth even a single qian? Like ... like ... like ..." During his stay on the Skyscraping Cliff, he would follow Xie Yanke to town several times a year to buy rice and salt, so he knew that the greater the worth of an object, the better the object would be. He wanted to say a few nice words to make up for his mistake and calm Wang Wanren down, yet after uttering "like..." three times, he could not come up with a suitable illustration.
He had seen Geng Wanzhong, Ke Wanjun, Wang Wanren and the few others before at Hou Jian Ji, but he did not know their names. However, he was more familiar with Hua Wanzi. Therefore, in a moment of desperation, he said, "Like Hua Wanzi Hua- guniang. She is worth a lot of qian ... a whole lot of silver..."
A *hu* sounded. The nine visitors from the Snow Mountain School got to their feet at the same time. A brilliant flash of light followed as eight swords came out of their sheaths. Except for Bai Wanjian, the visitors held their swords before their chests and stood in a semicircle around Shi Potian.
Raising his finger in accusation, Wang Wanren said, "You who are surnamed Shi, you have gone too far in uttering those obscenities. Although we are in the pool of the dragon and the den of lion right now, we will not take the insult lightly!"
Shi Potian could see that the visitors' anger had shot up into the sky, yet he could not grasp what was happening at all: I said something that was obviously nice, but why are all of you upset? So he turned to Ding Dang and asked: "Ding Ding Dang Dang, did I say something wrong?"
Having heard her husband humiliating Hua Wanzi in front of everyone earlier, Ding Dang knew that he did not care about her (Hua) at all. Thus, she was both delighted and comforted. Now, hearing his question, she smiled and replied: "I do not know. Perhaps Hua- guniang is not worth a whole lot of silver, but there is no way of knowing it at the moment."
Nodding, Shi Potian said, "So let us say that Hua- guniang is not worth much silver. She is very cheap and lowly, but that is not a reason to get angry!"
The members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness burst into laughter. To them, their clan-leader's statement was an indication of his decision to enter into battle with the Snow Mountain School. Amidst the noise, someone piped up: "I cannot afford anything expensive, but if it is cheap, heh-heh, we can consider getting together..."
A greenish light flashed, followed by a *ding*. As it turned out, Wang Wanren had become so furious that he had sent his sword towards Shi Potian's chest. Bai Wanjian had responded at once, unsheathing his sword casually and pushing his brother's weapon away lightly. However, Wang Wanren's wrist felt so numb that his sword almost slipped out of his hand. Therefore, he was unable to resume his attack.
"Our conflict with this man is as deep as the ocean," said Bai Wanjian in a loud voice. "How can he be despatched with a single stroke of the sword?" Returning his sword to its sheath, he added: "Clan-Leader Shi, do you recognise me?"
"I do," answered Shi Potian with a nod of his head. "You are the 'Frost of the North-west' Bai Wanjian, Master Bai of the Snow Mountain School."
