Ode to gallantry, p.4
Ode to Gallantry, page 4
Suddenly, there was the sound of horses, and a black horse, followed by a white horse, arrived from the west - Shi Qing and Min Rou had turned back from their journey to the city.
As Shi Qing and Min Rou were on the way to the city, they noticed traces of the Snowy Mountain Sect disciples, and after discussing, decided to turn back. As he saw the eight people before him ready to clash, he yelled out "Friends of the Snowy Mountain Sect, Camp Leader An, we are all friends. Let's discuss things cordially, please don't hurt the peace."
The seven white warriors stopped their blades in unison, but kept the swords pointing at An Fengri.
Shi Qing and Min Rou drew closer, and saw the boy holding the steel symbol in his hand. Both sighed in unison, but weren't sure if the item was the item they were looking for, and both of their hearts were beating excitedly. Shi Qing leapt down and approached the boy. "Young lad, what is that item in your hand? May I have a look?" Shi Qing was very calm and collected, and these two sentences were spoken gently. He had already decided that once they boy sticks his hands out he would snatch the item from him. He was sure An Fengri would not interfere, and given his position the Snowy Mountain Sect warriors would not be able to stop him in time.
The white-robed warrior said "Master Shi, we saw him first."
Min Rou dismounted and approached. She said "Brother Geng, please ask the lad as to whether I gave him that piece of silver at his feet?" This sentence was clear, in that as she had given the lad the piece of silver, she had seen the boy well before the Snowy Mountain Sect had.
The warrior's surname was Geng, his name Wanzhong, and was one of the better fighters in the current second generation of the Snow Mountain Sect. He said "Mrs Shi, even if you had seen the lad first, we were the first to see this "Black Steel Symbol"."
The moment they heard the words "Black Steel Symbol", Shi Qing, Min Rou, An Fengri all thought the same thing - "So it is the Black Steel Symbol." The other six members of the Snowy Mountain Sect also showed the similar reaction on their faces. In truth none of the seven actually had a good careful look at the item in the beggar boy's hands, but judging from the reaction of the Shi couple and the Golden Sabre Camp Leader, and how interested they were in the item, it was assumed that this must be the item. On the other hand, the three people Shi, Min and An were thinking the same thing - Geng Wanzhong of the Snowy Mountain Sect was a very respectable character, and as he had shown interest in the item it couldn't be wrong.
Ten people all had the same intention, and all together they stuck out their palms "Little chap, give it to me."
All ten of them were thinking the same thing. None of them dared to use force, as they knew that the first person to use force would be attacked from the sides by the others, and they could all only hope for the boy to give it to them.
This poor little boy had no idea that the thing they all wanted was that metal piece which had hurt his teeth, and by this time had already stopped crying. Utterly confused, however, his eyes started to fill with tears, and look about ready to start crying again.
Suddenly, a low voice echoed around saying "Give it to me instead!"
A shadow slipped through the circle, reached out its hand, and grabbed the steel symbol from the hands of the beggar boy.
Shouts of "Drop it!", "What?!", "How dare you!" and "Damn!" resounded. Nine swords and one golden sabre moved simultaneously towards that one single figure. An Fengri was the closest to the little boy and raised his sabre, utilising the "White worm facing the sun" stroke and slicing towards the figure's head. At the same time the seven Snow Mountain disciples moved in unison, and seven swords thrust at seven different points, closing in from all angles, intending to prevent the figure from defending any single point. Shi Qing and Min Rou, for their part, could not tell clearly as to who the figure was, and as such did not wish to use any stroke which might kill. Both of them moved their swords in a half-circle, cutting off the figure's retreat.
After a few clashing sounds, the figure suddenly out of nowhere managed to grab An Fengri's sabre and the seven Snow Mountain sword within his hands. Shi Qing and Min Rou suddenly felt a numbness in their wrists, and their swords went flying out of their hands towards the back. Shi Qing's face was a white as a sheet, while Min Rou's face flushed red. When the Xuan Su twin swords combine forces, few people could resist them and not face defeat, but to have their swords thrown from their hands with a simple tap on their blades was something that neither of them had ever experienced before.
As they stared at the man, he stood upright with one golden sabre and seven swords held by his side. He wore a green robe, had short hair, and looked about fifty years of age. He had clean features with a slightly greenish complexion about his face and his eyes radiated an inexplicable joy. Shi Qing thought of somebody and said "Would elder be the master of this Black Steel Symbol?"
The man laughed. "The Black and White Swords of the Xuan Su Mansion have been touted among the martial arts world for their swordsmanship... that fame is not hollow indeed. I focused one tenths of my attention on handling these eight friends over here, and had to expend nine tenths of my attention on you before I could force you two to unhand your weapons. Ai... my "divine flicking finger" kungfu.... I certainly have a "flicking finger", but how can I claim to be "divine"? Looks like I'll need to practice hard for another decade or so.."
As Shi Qing heard this, he no longer had any doubt. He clasped his hands together and said "We husband and wife have travelled to Henan, and had orginally intended to visit elder in the Skyscraping Cliffs. Although now our plan has come to nothing, at least we managed to meet elder, and hence our trip has not been totally in vain. Our little inadequate swordsmanship would probably not even be worth a laugh in elder's eyes. Today elder has recovered the Black Steel Symbol by yourself - congratulations!"
The Snow Mountain disciples listened to Shi Qing's words, and started to think to themselves "This green-robed man is the Master of the Black Steel Symbol Xie Yanke? He managed to take our weapons with just one stroke - if it wasn't him who else could it be?". The seven of them stood there looking at each other, not daring to say a word.
Although An Fengri's martial arts were not exceptionally good, his experience was way above that of the seven Snow Mountain disciples. He said "Apologies for the offence. I hope Master Xie will forgive us for our ignorance."
The green-robed man was indeed Xie Yanke of the Skyscraping Cliffs. He laughed "According to my normal rules, you people attacked me with weapons, and hence I would most definitely return the favour. You used a Golden Sabre to chop at my left shoulder - of course it would only be fair if I used this same sabre to chop at your left shoulder." As he said this he twirled the Black Steel Symbol within his left hand, and smiled. "However, I'm in a particularly good mood today, so let's just treat this chop as done. You thrust at my throat, you went for my "Ring Leaping" nerve point on my thigh, you aimed at my left waist, you sliced at my calves, ..." As he spoke, his right hand pointed at each individual Snow Mountain disciple.
The seven of them listened to his narrative, and it was completely accurate. In that flash of a second, he had seen each individual stroke, and memorised all of it in detail. They then heard him say "All of these will go into an account, and some day when I'm in a bad mood I'll come back and collect!"
A short member of the Snow Mountain sect then shouted out "We're not good enough, and we have lost. What's the point of all this airy talk? What is there to collect? Just kill us now and get it over with - we wouldn't bother remembering such debts in our hearts." This man was Wang Wanren, and he was unarmed. By issuing such words, he was already prepared to surrender his life to his opponent. His martial brothers shouted together to try and stop him, but he had already said all of it in one breath.
Xie Yanke nodded his head and said "Okay..", raised Wang Wanren's longsword and thrust forward. Wang Wanren immediately retreated, trying to dodge, but the sword came too fast and Wang Wanren's body was caught in mid-air, the sword heading straight for his throat. Xie Yanke flicked his wrist, and immediately withdrew the sword.
Wang Wanren's legs touched the ground, and felt a cool breeze around his throat. Looking down, he gasped - there was a hole in his clothes, the size of a teacup, at his throat - Using just a flick of his wrist, Xie Yanke had cut a round circle in his clothes. All three layers of clothing were neatly sliced, exposing the flesh beneath. A slight push from Xie Yanke, and Wang would have been dead.
Wang Wanren's face turned as dark as earth, and was in complete shock. An Fengri watched with utter admiration, and could not stop himself from saying "Great swordplay!"
With regard to the actual placement of the sword strokes, as well as the delicate nature of the act, Shi Qing and Min Rou could also have performed the stroke Xie had just done, but to achieve such speed, such that the opponent knew exactly where you were aiming for but yet not be able to do anything about it.... Shi Qing and Min Rou were nowhere near that class. Both of them exchanged a glance, thinking "This man's martial arts are exquisite, completely beyond our imagination."
Xie Yanke laughed, and turned to walk away.
A young lady from the Snow Mountain Sect then called out "Mr Xie, please wait!". Xie Yanke turned around and asked "What is it?" The girl replied "Mr Xie showed mercy, and did not hurt our elder brother Wang. We are grateful for the favour. May I ask, this steel piece you're taking away - is it the Black Steel Symbol?" Xie Yanke was irritated, and replied "What if it is, and what if it isn't?" She replied "If it isn't the Black Steel Symbol, then we will all have to continue our search. However, if it is, then you're not exactly doing the right thing."
Xie Yanke's face flushed green for an instant, and then receded again. Geng Wanzhong shouted "Martial sister Hua, don't say too much!" Everybody knew that Xie Yanke was a cruel man, and that he was neither good or bad, but did everything at his own fancy. Countless members of the forces of light and darkness had fallen before him, and today, it was an out-of-this-world mercy that he had faced ten people in battle and not hurt any of them. However, Hua Wanzi was a very straight person, and not knowing the gravity of the situation, chose to challenge him. The Snow Mountain disciples and the Shi couple both felt a cold sweat as they feared for her safety.
Xie Yanke raised the steel piece in the air and announced "The Black Steel Symbol, any favour will be answered!" He then lowered it, and mumbled "Xie Yanke of the Skyscraping Cliffs..." then said "Black steel is very rare in the world, and neither sword nor sabre can penetrate it." He then raised a longsword, and brought the piece of steel against it. With a clang the sword had snapped into two, the tip flying away while the steel piece remained unscathed. He then raised it again and shouted "Who dares say it isn't mine?"
Hua Wanzi then said "This humble girl heard that some friends in the martial arts world say that Mr Xie had three Black Steel Symbols, each one handed to an old friend who Mr Xie owed a favour to. It was said that as long as anyone had the symbol, and handed it personally to Mr Xie's hands, that person would be able to make a request and no matter how hard it is, Mr Xie will undertake to accomplish it. Is that true?" Xie Yanke replied "Of course. Everybody in the martial arts world knows about this!" and a measure of pride was detected in his tone. Hua Wanzi then added "I also heard that two of the Black Steel Symbols have already been returned to Mr Xie's hands, and since then the martial arts world had experienced two great earth-shaking events - is this also true?"
As Xie Yanke heard her say ".. martial arts world had experienced two great earth-shaking events.." he felt even more proud, and replied "Yes. The friend I gave this symbol to was very good at martial arts, and there wasn't anything which he couldn't accomplish, and as such he never needed it. He also didn't have any children, so when he died the symbol was lost. Over the years many people have been searching for this symbol, hoping to get this chap surnamed Xie to help them acocmplish something big. Heh - unfortunately, today it was so easily recovered by myself. This has probably disappointed quite a few friends in the martial arts world, but at least it also removed a potential danger." He then kicked Wu Daotong's corpse a few yards away. "Take this chap for example, he may have gotten the symbol, but he couldn't find me. Before he could hand me the symbol he had already lost his life. Who doesn't want to kill others for the privilege? Who doesn't want to gain the symbol? Even the cultured Xuan Su Mansion's Shi couple couldn't resist the lure, what more other people? Heh.. heh.." This last phrase contained an unmistakeable mocking tone to it.
As Shi Qing heard the comment, his face flushed red. He had always been very courteous, but his martial arts were good and his name was famous. When he spoke very few people would dare to offend him. As Xie Yanke mocked him, he realised that he had no way of retorting, as he had neither ability nor good reason to do so. He was always a proud man, and now he felt totally humiliated, like he had no place to stand. Min Rou looked at her husband, and if he showed any hint of charging Xie Yanke she would throw everything she had at him. Even if she knew they had no chance of winning, there was no way she would let this insult just pass.
Xie Yanke continued "Mr and Mrs Shi are true heroes, and if you got hold of this symbol, you'd simply request for me to do something difficult - that's fine with me. However, if the symbol fell into the hands of some petty evil miscreants, and they asked this old man to cripple myself, forcing me to not live nor die, or forced me to commit suicide, and if I didn't want to die, then I'd go against the oath "Any favour will be answered". At least my luck was good this time, and got the symbol back so easily.. Ha ha ha ha.." He let out a hearty laugh which shook the roofs.
Hua Wanzi said "I heard that Mr Xie swore an oath that regardless of who it was who gave you the symbol, you would answer his request. In addition, even if it was a rival from seven generations, you undertake that you would not hurt him. You obtained this symbol from this little friend's hands, how do you know that he has no request for you?" Xie Yanke spat on the ground, and said "What is this little beggar? I, Xie Yanke, have to listen to a little beggar? What a joke!" Hua Wanzi then said "Friends, let's listen, Mr Xie says that a little beggar boy is not a person, so he doesn't count." If she was talking about some other person, everybody would have burst out laughing, or at the very least the Snow Mountain party would have given her support, but at the moment the four directions were silent, and even the sound of a needle dropping could probably be heard.
Xie Yanke's face flushed green again, and thought "This brat is challenging me with words, and asking her friends to speak behind my back that I am not a man of my word." then thought further "Aiya... this is bad, perhaps this beggar boy was a delibrate trap set by these people, and since I've taken the symbol from his hands, I cannot go back now." He then smiled coldly and said "There's nothing in this world which can be too difficult for the surnamed Xie. Little beggar, follow me. What you wish of me doesn't concern these other people." He then grabbed the hand of the little boy. He didn't really care about the other people here, but he was afraid that they would issue orders behind the boy's back, and come up with a very difficult request, asking him to cripple his hands, and then he wouldn't know what to do. It was better to bring the boy somewhere safe, and then ask him.
Hua Wanzi stepped forward and said softly "Little friend, you are a good boy. This uncle here loves to kill people. Quickly beg him that from today onwards he will never kill..." but before she could finish, she felt a strong wind before her face, and the last words "another person" were stuck in her stomach, and she could not speak.
Hua Wanzi had known that Xie Yanke was a man of his word, and she had thrust her sword at his face before. He said he would collect some other day, and someday, sometime, she was going to have Xie Yanke thrust his sword at her face. As for her six martial brothers, with the exception of Wang Wanren, each of them still owed Xie Yanke a sword thrust. If this debt was collected, it would mean their deaths. This is why she risked her life, unafraid to incite Xie Yanke's wrath, asking the little beggar to beg that he not kill another person. If the request was made, Xie Yanke would be forced to submit, and she and her other five martial brothers would be saved. Xie Yanke saw through her plan, however, and with a flick of his robes forced her to swallow her sentence. He then shouted "Who needs a brat like you to speak so much?" and waved his robes again. Hua Wanzi couldn't find her balance, and fell to the ground.
Once Hua Wanzi's back fell to the ground, she stood back up immediately, ready to continue, but she saw that Xie Yanke was already very far away, his hands holding on to the little beggar boy's hand. Obviously he didn't want the boy to hear any more from the people over here.
The other people saw Xie Yanke knock Hua Wanzi down just by waving his robes a yard away. Given such power, nobody dared to chase after him.
Chapter 2 - A Young Man In Deep Trouble
Suddenly, a horse-whip came flying out of the sedan chair and curled itself around Wang Wanren's left leg, before casting the man aside and seizing the Inky Sword in his hand. Hua Wanzi drew the White Sword out of its sheath and pushed it towards the horse-whip in an upward movement. Just then, a small object struck her on the wrist.
Shi Qing took two steps forward, and raised his clasped fists towards Geng Wanzhong and Wang Wanren. "Younger Brother Geng, Younger Brother Wang, this younger sister here has courage and insight so remarkable that they exceed those shown by men. She must be none other than the jianghu's(1) well-known Woman Warrior of the Winter Plum, Sister Hua. As for the other four brothers, would Brother Geng please introduce us."
Geng Wanzhong's face became stern. Instead of responding to Shi Qing's request, he said, "There is nothing better than meeting you, Manor-Master Shi, and your wife here, for it saves us a trip to Jiangnan."
