Ode to gallantry, p.26
Ode to Gallantry, page 26
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* In some editions, the "previous Clan-Leader" was surnamed Dongfang.
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Definitions, explanations and/or words left (mostly) in their original form:
Those covered in earlier chapters are not repeated.
1. Untie [one's] shirt = In those days, shirts had front openings that were closed with short fabric ties. Buttons were not used widely by the Han-Chinese until the Qing Dynasty came into power and brought their style of dressing to the masses.
2. Dog-bear coward (gou3 xiong2) = This is a play on words with similar sounds. Since a brave/hero is known as 'ying xiong' (ying1 xiong2), a rhyming albeit slightly derogative term for its opposite, the coward, is taken from the Chinese word for "black bear" (gou3 xiong2). The character "gou3" alone also means "dog", which is another oft-used derogative for people in Chinese culture. I have chosen to translate "gou3 xiong2" as the somewhat redundant "dog-bear coward" instead of the simpler "coward" to preserve the uniqueness of this play on words.
3. Moon-gate (yue4 dong4 men2) = This is large circular opening in a wall that is characteristic of Chinese architecture.
4. Wing-room (xiang1 fang2) = In those days, houses were built with wings, usually one each to the east and the west of the main building. Rooms in these wings were known as "wing-rooms".
5. Jiao-ke (jiao1 ke4) = Son-in-law. It can also mean 'pampered guest'.
6. Pan Gu created the Heaven and the Earth = This is in accordance to the Chinese legend of creation and life.
7. Gu-ye, Xiao-jie (gu1 ye3, xiao3 jie3) = These are terms of address used by the servants of a young woman for the woman and her husband. The woman is known as 'xiao-jie' or 'young mistress', while her husband is known as 'gu-ye' or roughly, 'husband of the young mistress'.
8. The third watch = between 11.00 p.m. and 1.00 a.m.
Chapter 7 - The Swordplay Technique of the Snow Mountain School
Shi Potian smiled and said, "You are short of one person, so you cannot compete with your swords. Let me join hands with Master Bai just for the fun of it. But I do not know what to do, so please give me some pointers."
Chen Chongzhi took a sword in both his hands and presented it horizontally to Shi Potian, whispering: "Clan-Leader, there is no need to engage them in further talk. Just settle the matter once and for all with force, for the victor will then be correct, and the vanquished wrong." Despite finding Bai Wanjian's swordplay skills superb, he suspected that the man's internal strength would definitely be beneath his clan-leader's. Since Bai's evidence was rather conclusive, the best way to end the matter would be through the use of martial arts. Even if in the unlikely event that the clan-leader succumbed to the enemy, the numerous members of the Clan of Eternal Happiness would certainly ensure that all of the offensive visitors were wiped out.
Shi Potian took the sword from Chen Chongzhi without much thought, for his mind was completely perplexed.
"Shi Zhongyu, listen up!" said Bai Wanjian in a stern voice. "I, Bai Wanjian, have come on the command of our leader, the Gentlemen of Impressive Strength and Virtue, to restore order to our institution. This is an internal matter of the Snow Mountain School, so it has nothing to do with anyone else. If it is inappropriate to settle the matter in the headquarters of the Clan of Eternal Happiness, what say you if we do it outside?"
"Set ... settle what?" asked Shi Potian, his mind still in a daze.
Ding Dang gave him a light push on the back and whispered: "Go and fight with him. Your martial arts skills are way much better than his, so you can just have him killed."
"I ... I do not want to kill him," said Shi Potian. "Why would I? Master Bai is not a bad man." As he spoke, he took two steps forward.
Bai Wanjian did not dare to have the slightest bit of negligence in his response, for he had seen how badly the young man wounded Wang Wanren with a simple wave of his sleeves. After all, he thought, the rascal had probably had an amazing encounter with the opportunity to develop such a profound level of internal strength after he left Lingxiao City. If that was the case, the young man would probably possess extraordinary skills in other areas of pugilistic practice as well. Therefore, Bai Wanjian gave his sword a shake and attacked Shi Potian from four sides and eight directions with a stroke that was known as 'The Plum and the Snow Fight for Spring' (Mei2 Xue3 Zheng1 Chun1). This stroke, which had concrete movements within those that mocked the opponent, as well as mocking ones within the concrete, made simultaneous use of the tip and the blade of the sword as flecks of snow and branches of the plum-tree respectively.
To Shi Potian, there was a sudden flash of white light before eyes, a light so bright that he could hardly tell the tip of the sword from the blade. In a moment of great fear and confusion, he waved his sleeves wildly once more. Yet, his possession of such a profound level of internal strength was a waste, for he did not know how to use it at all. The act of throwing Wang Wanren away earlier was nothing more than a stroke of sheer coincidence. Now, his wild waving was comparatively weaker. Coupled with Bai Wanjian's abilities being far better than Wang Wanren's, all that happened were two ripping sounds as his sleeves were cut away by Bai's sword, followed by the touch of cold metal on his neck. The tip of the sword was pointed at his throat.
Bai Wanjian knew that his opponents included highly-skilled pugilists that were as numerous as the clouds in the sky. Bei Haishi's skills were definitely not beneath his own, while the old man standing behind Shi Potian had such crystal-clear eyes that he too was probably a formidable pugilist. He (Bai) was in a dangerous place indeed, so how could he give his opponents space and time to act?
Having achieved his goal in a single stroke, Bai Wanjian took two quick steps forward and held Shi Potian under the ribs with his left arm. Then, he exerted his strength and pressed his arm against two different acupoints on Shi Potian's waist. "Friends," he declared in a loud voice, "I have offended you today, but I will return to offer my apologies!"
The sight of Bai's success spurred Ke Wanjun into action at once. Lifting Wang Wanren up without waiting for instructions from his elder brother-at-arms, he began moving quickly towards the main door.
"Release our Clan-Leader!" shouted Chen Chongzhi and Mi Hengye in unison as they drew their sabre and sword. Then, with the sabre aiming for the shoulder and the sword for the legs, the duo attacked Bai Wanjian.
Bai's sword responded with a tremble, and deflected the sabre and sword one after the other. Although the two weapons were fended off in sequence, the difference between the two actions was but only an instant. Yet, Bai could feel that the internal strength exerted through the sabre was not weak. He thought: These two men are already such formidable pugilists, so if all the highly-skilled men of the Clan of Eternal Happiness launched a simultaneous attack, the nine of us will certainly die here. Hence, he moved quickly and stood against a wall. "If anyone comes up," he shouted, "I would have to kill Shi Zhongyu first before dealing with all of you."
The men of the Clan of Eternal Happiness did not expect their clan-leader to be captured within a single stroke, at least not with the kind of skills he possessed. Therefore, they could not help but be at a loss on what to do next. Ding Dang, who had panic written all over her face, kept gesturing towards Ding Busan in an effort to get him to act. But the old man simply laughed things off: That young fellow is highly skilled in martial arts. He deflected my palm effortlessly on the little boat, so how could he be captured with such ease? There must be an agenda behind this move, so why should I push ahead and spoil his plans? Let me just enjoy the excitement first.
When Ding Dang saw the grin on her grandfather's face and his lack of concern over the Shi Potian's capture, relief began to enter her heart. However, she remained rather worried because her man was in the hands of the enemy.
By then, Ke Wanjun had already placed his hands on the main door, exerting his internal strength through them in order to push the door open. The wooden poles that propped the door up from the other side creaked loudly, indicating that the door was about to open soon.
"My friend Ke, you do not need to be so impatient," said Bei Haishi, moving sideways towards him. "Let me get someone to open the door and see you out."
"Move away!" shouted Hua Wanzi, brandishing her sword as she guarded Ke Wanjun's back.
Bei Haishi reached out and made a grab for the blade with his fingers.
Hua Wanzi was shocked: Is his palm not afraid of the sharp edge?
Yet, it was this very moment of distraction that cost the woman her weapon, for just as Bei Haishi's fingers came within several cun (1 cun = 3.33 centimetres) of the blade, he suddenly flicked them. A *weng* was heard. Hua Wanzi lost her grip on the sword, causing it to fall out of her hand and drop on to the ground below. Then, almost at once, Bei's right hand reached out and struck Hua on the shoulder. These two movements, akin to the falcon swooping down on the hare, were so swift that they were not beneath the speed with which Bai Wanjian had left the six marks on the pillar earlier.
Ding Busan nodded silently: The Physician Bei does indeed have some true abilities for his 'Palm Technique of the Five Elements and the Six Directions' to be so renowned in the martial arts circle.
By then, Bei Haishi was moving lightly from one side of the hall to the other, flicking a finger here and striking with a palm there, as he fell the disciples of the Snow Mountain School one by one. Each of them managed to exchange a mere three to four strokes at the most with the physician before they were struck down.
"Good skills!" said Bai Wanjian loudly. "Good Palm Technique of the Five Elements and the Six Directions! I will certainly return to seek your advice some day!" Then, quite unexpectedly, Bai flew upwards and crashed through the roof, taking Shi Potian with him as he made his escape.
"Why do you not get your advice today?" shouted Bei Haishi after him as he leapt upwards and through the hole in the roof in pursuit. A blinding light flashed, as if ten thousand snowflakes had suddenly started to fall from the ceiling. With his body in mid-air and no weapons in his hands, Bei Haishi could hardly fend off any blows that came his way. Therefore, he executed a 'Fall of a Thousand Jin' (Qian1 Jin1 Zhui4) (1,000 jin = 500 kilogrammes) at once and forced himself to drop straight back down to the ground. The move looked rather ordinary and unamazing, but it was actually quite a feat to turn such a strong upward momentum into a downward force in the twinkling of an eye. If he had made any mistake, he would have been struck by the enemy's sword. Thus, all the highly-skilled pugilists in the hall who had witnessed the display found themselves applauding it deep in their hearts.
For Bai Wanjian, the move was all he needed to escape with Shi Potian.
Bei Haishi bounced on his toes and went through the roof again in pursuit.
Ding Dang became so worried that she too wanted to go off through the hole in the roof, but Ding Busan grabbed her by the arm and whispered: "There is no hurry!" Just then, they heard a series of *peng-peng pai-pai* coming from above their heads, followed by pieces of tile and mud falling down into the hall through the hole.
Suddenly, a thin and small-sized man leapt up from among the eight Snow Mountain disciples who were lying on the ground. Moving as fast as the leopard cat and as agile as the monkey, he headed for the hole in the roof. Chen Chongzhi executed a back-hand stroke with his sabre and sliced the sole off one of escaping man's shoes, missing his foot by only a cun (3.33 centimetres).
The men of the Clan of Eternal Happiness were momentarily stunned, for they did not expect the Snow Mountain School to have another highly-skilled pugilist besides Bai Wanjian. After all, the thin and small-sized man had managed to get away even after being struck down by Bei Haishi.
Deeply concerned that the remaining seven might escape, Mi Hengye went up to each of them and struck them several times on various acupoints. By then, more than ten clan-members had already set off through the hole in pursuit of the escapees with a variety of weapons among them. They thought: These people bullied us right on our doorsteps and seized our Clan-Leader. If we do not capture them, where will the Clan of Eternal Happiness stand in the realm of the rivers and lakes? We already have seven of them, but even seventy and seven hundred of them are insufficient to compensate for the humiliation of having our Clan-Leader seized.
In addition, they thought: So long as we can detain the one surnamed Bai and exchange two or three strokes with him, all the brothers can go forth together and rescue our Clan-Leader. That would be a great act of merit indeed.
Hence, the men gathered up their courage and began to head out in different directions. The area around the headquarters of the Clan of Eternal Happiness was soon filled with noisy shouts and whistles are more and more clan-members came out in pursuit.
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Bai Wanjian could hardly believe that he had actually seized Shi Potian in a single move. Thus, after breaking through the roof and escaping from the Clan of Eternal Happiness, he thought: I am ashamed of myself! Then, as the din of pursuit grew behind him, he quickly realised that he would never be able to go very far with a captive in tow. Looking around, he saw an arched bridge over the river on his west. Since he did not have the time to give the matter further thought, he simply ducked under the arch of the bridge with Shi Potian, stood on the base of one of its pillars and pressed himself flat against the body of bridge itself.
A short while later, the men of the Clan of Eternal Happiness arrived on the southern bank of the river, and began walking up and down amidst shouts and whistles. Seven or eight of them ran over the arched bridge, crossing from its southern end to the northern one.
By then, Bai Wanjian had already made a decision: If the enemy finds my trail, I would probably have to kill the young fellow first. A moment later, he heard the arrival of yet another group of pursuers from the Clan of Eternal Happiness, this time searching the river along its bank.
Suddenly, a loud *la* sounded from a clump of grass by the bank. Then, someone was heard running off into the east. Bai Wanjian was delighted, for he could tell from the footfalls that the person was his younger brother-at-arms, Wang Wanyi. Wang Wanyi's qinggong was considered the best in the Snow Mountain School, for he could run so fast that he almost seem to fly. Bai Wanjian knew that Wang Wanyi had come to lead the pursuers away, so that he (Bai) could seize the opportunity to escape from danger.
Sure enough, the men of the Clan of Eternal Happiness made a bee-line for Wang.
Bai Wanjian thought: There are quite a number of brilliant and knowledgeable individuals in the Clan of Eternal Happiness, so how can we think that they would give me the opportunity to escape with ease? As he hesitated about his next move, he heard the sounds of sculls (oars used to propel boats from their sterns) breaking through the water. Three open boats came sailing by from the east. Two of them carried melons and vegetables, while the third was fully loaded with rice-straw. The villagers in the vicinity were taking their produce to Zhenjiang City for sale.
Sailing nose-to-tail, the three boats passed under the arch of the bridge. Bai Wanjian was delighted. When the last boat passed in front of him, he jumped forward and landed on the straw with Shi Potian in tow. The pile of straw was so high that it nearly touched the top of the arch, so the villagers on the boat did not realise that two people had landed lightly on it. As Bai sank into the pile of straw, he pulled Shi Potian with him and tunnelled out of sight.
The boat sailed until it reached the firewood market before pulling up to the bank and dropping anchor. The villagers on the boat hopped ashore and headed to the teahouse for some tea.
Bai Wanjian popped his head out of the straw and looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he leapt ashore with Shi Potian at once. When he noticed a boat with a dark-coloured shelter on the western side of the wharf, he went over to it immediately and put a foot on its bow. Then, he took out a piece of silver that weighed three liang (150 grammes) and tossed it on to the deck. "Boatman," he said, "my friend here is very ill. Take us to Yangzhou quickly. This ingot of silver is the fare. You need not find us change for it."
The sight of such a large piece of silver brought the boatman so much joy that he uttered his agreement to take Bai Wanjian to his destination several times. Then, he took up a pole and pushed the boat away from the wharf. The boat took several turns and soon entered a canal for its journey to the north.
Bai Wanjian sat hidden in the cabin of the boat. He knew that the Clan of Eternal Happiness was so powerful in the area that the men of the clan would come running as soon as the slightest bit of information was leaked. Bai Wanjian weighed the situation he had on hand: I am fortunate to capture the rascal Shi Zhongyu, but seven of my siblings-at-arms are now in danger at the Clan of Eternal Happiness. How am I going to rescue them?
Besides the mixed emotions of gladness and anxiety in his heart, he also felt rather afraid, for he was concerned that Shi Potian would use pretence in an attempt to escape. Therefore, he struck the young man on several acupoints at intervals that were less than the time it took to brew a pot of tea (about once every 15 minutes). By the time the boat entered the Long River (Chang2 Jiang1)(1), Shi Potian had already had forty to fifty different acupoints on his body sealed by Ban Wanjian.
By and by, Bai said, "Boatman, just keep on sailing downstream. Here is another five liang (250 grammes) of silver."
The boatman was overjoyed. "Thank you for your great generosity, sir," he said. "My boat is too small for the winds and waves in the middle of the river. But if we sail close to the shore, we would still be able to carry on."
"It is best if we sail downstream along the southern bank," said Bai Wanjian.
After travelling for more than twenty li (10 km), Bai saw a small yellow-walled temple on the shore. He stood on the bow at once and gave a loud whistle. A whistle from the temple answered him soon after that. "Pull in to the shore," Bai said. However, by the time the boatman steered the little vessel to the bank of the river, put away the steering pole and began taking out the gangplank, Bai Wanjian had already leapt ashore with Shi Potian.
