Ode to gallantry, p.33
Ode to Gallantry, page 33
Then, her ears heard the sound of Shi Potian sleeping on the stern. His long and steady breaths indicated such blissful sleep that anger soon rose in her heart. Reaching for her willow-blade sabre (liu3 ye4 dao1) and drawing it gently out of its scabbard, Ding Dang gritted her teeth and said to herself: "What purpose is there in keeping such a dense wood-block of a husband in this world?" Then, walking quietly to the stern, she thought: Darling Shi, Darling Shi, this has come upon you because you have changed. You must not blame me for being ruthless.
Lifting the sabre, Ding Dang prepared to bring it down on Shi Potian's head ... only to feel her heart soften. Hence, she turned him over by the shoulders, so that she could take one last look at him before his death. As Shi Potian turned over in his sleep, the pale moonlight picked out the sweet smile on his face. He looked as if he was having an unknown but rather pleasant dream.
Ding Dang thought: You will die in the blink of an eye, so I can wait for you to finish your pleasant dream before having you killed. After all, there is not much of a difference between doing it now or half a moment later. Thus, she sat down beside him, hugged her knees and gazed at his face. As soon as his smile faded, she would swing her sabre and bring it down on its target.
After a while, she suddenly heard Shi Potian mumbling unconsciously in his sleep: "Ding Ding Dang Dang, why ... why are you angry? But ... but you look very good when you are angry, you are truly ... truly very good-looking ... I can look at you for a hundred days, a thousand days, without getting enough of you, ten thousand days ... a hundred thousand days, no, five thousand days ... would not even be enough..."
Ding Dang could not help but feel ripples of emotion going through her heart as she listened in silence. "Darling Shi, Darling Shi," she said, "so I am constantly on your mind, even when you are asleep. If you speak such pleasant words to me during the day, would it not be wonderful? Sigh, a day will eventually come when your the roots of your confusion and muddle-headedness are healed. Then, you will speak such words to me again."
By and by, Ding Dang noticed that the planks on the side of the boat were moist with dew. Then, when she saw how thin Shi Potian's clothes were, she began to take pity on him. Hence, she pulled a thin blanket out from the cabin and draped it gently over his body. She continued to gaze longingly at him for a long time before going into the cabin once more.
Ding Busan began to scold his grand-daughter: "It is the third watch (11.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m.) in the middle of the night, and a small cowardly rat is scurrying here and there. What good is there in thinking about doing something without actually daring to get it done? I wonder: Are you a descendant of my Ding Family?"
Ding Dang knew that her grandfather had seen everything, but she was too happy at that moment to take notice of the old man's sarcastic remarks. All she thought about were these words: But you look very good when you are angry ... I can look at you for a hundred days, a thousand days, without getting enough of you, ten thousand days ... a hundred thousand days, no, five thousand days ... would not even be enough...
Suddenly, she burst into a giggle: Silly Tian-ge, you sound silly even when you speak in your dreams. Even if we live to a hundred years of age, there would only be thirty-six thousand days. Where would the 'one hundred thousand' days of looking come from?
After crying and laughing for half a day, Ding Dang finally fell asleep during the fourth watch (1.00 a.m to 3.00 a.m.). Before long, however, she was jolted awake by Shi Potian's voice.
"Eh, this is strange!" the young man shouted from the stern. "Ding Ding Dang Dang, how did your blanket end up on my body in the middle of the night? Could the blanket have sprouted some legs?"
Greatly embarrassed, Ding Dang leapt out of the cabin and hurried to the stern.
"Ding Ding Dang Dang," said Shi Potian again as he held the thin blanket in his hand, "what do you say? Is this matter not strange? This blanket..."
Ding Dang turned totally red in the face and snatched the blanket away. "Stop it!" she growled in a low voice. "What is there so strange about a blanket that sprouts legs?"
"A blanket that sprouts legs is not strange?" asked Shi Potian. "Where would you say the legs of the blanket are?"
Ding Dang turned her head and caught sight of the old helmsman casting a sidelong glance at her with a smile on his face. Yet, he did not seem to be really smiling at all. At that time, the helmsman was just beginning to steer the boat into deeper water. Ding Dang became so embarrassed that her face looked like a piece of red cloth.
"And you are still going on about it?" she snapped at Shi Potian, before reaching out with her left hand to twist his ear.
Shi Potian raised his right hand and carried out a spontaneous execution of the 'Hand of the Circling Crane' (He4 Xiang2 Shou3) from the eighteen moves of the Seizing Techniques of the Ding Family. Ding Dang responded by turning her right hand over and grabbing him under the ribs with a backhanded grip. In turn, the young man brought his left elbow horizontally across his torso and locked the young woman's grip. Then, he made a grab for her shoulder with his right hand.
Casting the blanket on to the deck, Ding Dang responded with another move. She knew that Shi Potian had a swift-moving and formidable level of internal strength, so she did not allow her hands, palms and arms to come into contact with his fingers and palms.
Within moments, the duo had exchanged more than ten moves. The more Ding Dang fought, the faster her movements became. Shi Potian took everything in with full attentiveness, so much so that nothing escaped him. After many more moves, Ding Dang executed 'The Claw of the Soaring Dragon' (Long2 Teng2 Zhao3) and made a direct grab for the top of Shi Potian's head. The young man turned his wrist over and deflected the move with such amazing speed that the young woman could not withdraw her hand before his five fingers touched an acupoint on her wrist.
Ding Dang felt a strong stream of heated energy running straight from her wrist up her arm and down her torso to her waist. Then, the stream of energy went from her waist straight down to her leg. By then, she could no longer stand steadily. Her body tilted and fell, right on to the thin blanket on the deck.
A spark of childish glee struck Shi Potian. Bending down, he bound Ding Dang in the blanket and picked the entire bundle up. "Why do you want to twist my ear?" he asked with a laugh. "I am going to throw you into the river to feed the big fish there!"
Despite being separated from Shi Potian by the blanket, Ding Dang could not help but become soft and limp in his embrace. Blushing in embarrassment and delight, she laughed and replied: "You would not dare!"
"Why not?" asked Shi Potian with another laugh, before giving the bundle a light toss and sending it into the cabin of the boat.
Ding Dang crawled out of the blanket and went out to the stern once more. Concerned that she might want to fight again, Shi Potian reacted by taking a step backwards and holding his hands up in a defensive pose.
"I am not playing any more!" said Ding Dang with a smile. "Look at you! Even in putting up a defensive pose, you look just like a farmhand. You do not have the bearing of a highly skilled member of the martial arts circle at all!"
Shi Potian laughed. "I am not a highly skilled member of the martial arts circle in the first place," he said.
"Congratulations, congratulations!" said Ding Dang. "You have learnt this set of seizing techniques to the point of the indigo being better than the blue. As your teacher, I am already not your match."
Just then, Ding Busan's voice was heard from the cabin. "If you want to fight with Bai Wanjian, the highly skilled pugilist of the Snow Mountain School," he said coldly, "you are still a long way off."
"Grandfather, he learns martial arts at such a fast pace," said Ding Dang. "If he studies for a year or so under your tutelage, he would not embarrass you any longer as your grandson-in-law, even if he does not become peerless under the sun."
Ding Busan sneered. "How can the words that Old Ding the Third has spoken be withdrawn?" he asked coldly. "One, I have said before that since he wants to marry you as his wife, he will never have any opportunity to learn my martial arts skills. Two, I have given him ten days to defeat Bai Wanjian. His life will be gone in five days, so what 'year or so' is there to speak about?"
A chill entered Ding Dang's heart. She had wanted to kill Shi Potian with her own hands the night before, but now, she could no longer bear the thought of her Darling Shi dying in her grandfather's hands. Yet, her grandfather's words had always counted after they were spoken, so what should she do now?
After thinking about the matter from a variety of angles, she decided to continue with the original plan of deriving a way out through the set of seizing techniques and its eighteen moves. Hence, the few days that ensued saw Ding Dang practising the variations of the seizing techniques with Shi Potian. She stopped only to eat and sleep.
On the morning of the eighth day, Ding Busan coughed and said, "There are only three days left."
"Grandfather," said Ding Dang, "so you want him to go and defeat Bai Wanjian. As far as I can tell, it is not a difficult task. Although Bai's Swordplay Technique of the Snow Mountain School is formidable, it still cannot be matched against the martial arts techniques of our Ding Family. Darling Shi has practised the set of seizing techniques almost to the point of using it well. Now, he can take Bai's sword away with his pair of bare hands. If he takes someone's sword away with his bare hands, does that count as victory?"
Ding Busan replied with a sneer. "The little girl speaks with such triviality!" he said coldly. "He can take a sword away from the hand of the 'Frost of the North-west' with that mere ability? I tell you, you had better stop having the inflated dreams of a clear autumn as soon as possible. Even your grandfather may not be able to relieve Bai of his sword with a pair of bare hands."
"So you are not able to take his sword away," said Ding Dang. "In that case, I think your martial arts skills ... hmmph, hmmph, is probably just ... hmmph, hmmph!"
"What 'hmmph, hmmph'?" growled Ding Busan.
"'Hmmph, hmmph' is 'hmmph, hmmph'," answered Ding Dang, lifting her head and looking up into the sky. "It means that your martial arts skills are formidable."
"What ghastly words are you speaking?" snapped Ding Busan. "'Hmmph, hmmph' means that my martial arts skills are sloppy, trivial, common and ordinary."
"It did not come from me," said Ding Dang. "You called your own martial arts skills 'sloppy, trivial, common and ordinary'."
"You can go 'hmmph, hmpph' or 'ha-ha'," said Ding Busan, "but at the end of it, I will have that moron killed if he is unable to defeat Bai Wanjian in ten days."
Ding Dang pouted with her small mouth. "You want him to defeat Bai Wanjian in ten days," she said, "but if Bai is not found within ten days, Darling Shi cannot be held wrong."
"I have said 'ten days'," replied Ding Busan, "and ten days it will be. If he is found, so be it. If he is not found, so be it. I will have the little moron killed if he is unable to defeat the man in ten days."
"There are only three days left," said Ding Dang anxiously, "but where should we go and look for Bai Wanjian? You ... you ... you are absolutely unreasonable!"
Ding Busan laughed. "If I can be reasoned with," he said, "I would not be called 'Ding Busan'! Go and ask around the realm of the rivers and lakes: When has Ding Busan ever spoken with reason?"
By the ninth day, Ding Busan wore a sliver of a smile on the corner of his mouth. Sometimes, he would cast sidelong glances at Shi Potian with a very strange glint in his eyes. Three-tenths of the glint was scorn, but the remainder was pure murderous intent.
Ding Dang knew that her grandfather would certainly have her Darling Shi killed on the tenth day. To make matters worse, Shi Potian's martial arts abilities were still poles apart from Bai Wanjian's. Even if Shi could defeat Bai, how could the 'Frost of the North-west' be found within two short days, especially when Shi was still floating along on the boundless expanse of the Great River?
+ + +
It was already past the Wu hour (11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.) when Ding Dang and Shi Potian spent some time practising their seizing techniques with each other. As her cheeks became rosy with the exertion, Ding Dang began to yawn. "The weather is still so hot despite being the eighth month," she said as she sat down beside Shi Potian.
By and by, she pointed to two waterfowl that were swimming side-by-side in the Long River. "Tian- ge," she said, "look at that pair of waterfowl swimming like husband-and-wife in the middle of the river. See how carefree and happy they are! If an arrow kills the cock and leaves its mate all alone, would the hen not be pitiful?"
"I have never thought about animals and fowl being male and female when I hunted them in the mountains," answered Shi Potian. "But since you have mentioned it, I will shoot only the hens when I go fowl-hunting."
Ding Dang sighed: My Darling Shi is dim-witted after all. She yawned once more and leaned against Shi Potian, before placing her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Ding Ding Dang Dang, are you tired?" asked Shi. "Is it all right if I take you into the cabin so that you can get some sleep?"
"No," mumbled Ding Dang sleepily. "I love sleeping like this."
Finding it inappropriate to brush her off, Shi Potian allowed Ding Dang to use his left shoulder as a pillow. Soon, her breathing began to sound long and relaxed, an indication that she was falling increasingly deeper into slumber. Shi Potian felt a little ticklish when Ding Dang's hair brushed against his left cheek, yet there was also an indescribable comfort in the sensation.
Suddenly, an extremely faint sound floated into his left ear, one that was as light as the buzzing of a bee. "I am talking to you," said the almost-imperceptible voice. "You must only listen. You must not nod your head or say anything in return. In addition, your face must not show any expression of shock or astonishment. It is best if you close your eyes and pretend to be asleep. Then, make some snoring sounds to hide my voice."
Greatly surprised, Shi Potian initially thought that Ding Dang was talking in her sleep. When he cast a sidelong glance at her, he found her long-lashed eye-lids closed. Then, quite unexpectedly, her left eye opened, winked twice at him and closed again.
Shi Potian understood at once: So she wants to tell me some secrets without allowing Grandfather in on them. Consequently, he yawned and said, "I am very tired!" Then, he closed his eyes.
Ding Dang was secretly delighted: Tian-ge is not a moron after all. He understood what I wanted as soon as I gave him a hint. He can even pretend to fall asleep with such skill. Then, she whispered: "Grandfather says that your martial arts skills are minimal and poor. He finds you a moron, and thus, unworthy to be his grandson-in-law. The ten-day period comes to an end tomorrow, and he is certain to have you killed. Yet, we cannot find Bai Wanjian. Even if we could, you would still be unable to defeat him. The only way out is by making an escape. Both of us must flee and hide away in the remote mountains, so that Grandfather is unable to find you.
Shi Potian thought: Everything is going on fine, so why does Grandfather want to kill me? Ding Ding Dang Dang is a child after all, for she has taken Grandfather's joke as the truth. But her suggestion of hiding away in the remote mountains so that Grandfather is unable to find us, seems like a lot of fun.
All his life, Shi Potian had lived with only one other person in the most remote of mountains. Thus, he felt that nothing was more natural than such an existence. In addition, his recent experiences had left him feeling so frustrated and lost that he longed to return to the wilderness. Now, he could not help but feel very excited at the thought of having the beautiful and adorable Ding Ding Dang Dang for company for the rest of his life.
Ding Dang spoke again: "If both of us go ashore and run away, Grandfather will certainly be able to track us down. Therefore, we will not escape his clutches regardless of what we do. Now remember: During the third watch (11.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m.) tonight, I will grab Grandfather suddenly and cry, 'Grandfather, spare Darling Shi! Do not kill him, do not kill him!' You must dash into the cabin at once. Execute 'The Hand of the Tiger's Claw' (Hu3 Zhao3 Shou3) with your right hand and grab the exact centre of Grandfather's back. At the same time, execute 'The Jade Maiden Picks a Needle Up' (Yu4 Nü3 Nian1 Zhen1) with your left hand and get a grip on the small of his back. Remember, you must act quickly when you hear me shout 'Do not kill him!'. Use 'The Hand of the Tiger's Claw' and 'The Jade Maiden Picks a Needle Up'. Grandfather will not be able to fend you off because I will be holding his arms down. Once you grab him, your rich internal strength will keep him from moving."
Shi Potian thought: Ding Ding Dang Dang is really mischievous, asking me to help her play such a big prank on Grandfather. I wonder: Will he be angry? Well, it does not matter. Since she wants to play, I will go along with her and do as she says. Come to think of it, the prank will be very interesting indeed.
Ding Dang whispered once more: "These acts of grabbing and gripping are linked to our lives and deaths. Now, use your left hand to touch the Ling Tai (Ling2 Tai2) acupoint in the centre of my back. That is the spot on which 'The Hand of the Tiger's Claw' must be used."
Keeping his eyes closed, Shi Potian lifted his left hand slowly and gave Ding Dang's Ling Tai acupoint a gentle rub.
"Yes, that is the one," said Ding Dang. "You have to move quickly in the dark and identify the acupoint accurately. I will be holding Grandfather with all that I have, but it will be effective only for a twinkling. Once he has been alerted, he will push me aside. By then, you will find it extremely difficult to get a grip on him. Now, touch the Xuan Shu (Xuan2 Shu1) acupoint in the small of my back, so that I can see if you have gotten it correct."
Shi Potian moved his left hand slowly down Ding Dang's back and gave her Xuan Shu acupoint a gentle scratch with two of his fingers. He did not use any internal strength, of course, but the scratch was too much for Ding Dang who was both a virgin and rather afraid of tickling. Bursting into a giggle, she said, "You are mischievous!"
