Ode to gallantry, p.53
Ode to Gallantry, page 53
Shi Qing hesitated and said: "In your heart, you have no doubt?"
Min Rou said: "I do have my suspicions, but how I don’t know. I believe......he is our child. What’s the truth, I actually cannot tell."
Shi Qing thinks of some incident suddenly, said: "Younger sister ..that …that lowly person came to harm you the same day that day ......"
This was Shi couple's lifetime matter of regret. Both people do not forget it frequently but actually were never willing to mention it.
Shi Qing said to her but he kept looking downwards, no longer looking at her.
Min Rou came to her senses immediately, said: "good, I will say to him."
She came to Shi Potian, sat at a stone nearby and said to Shi Potian: "child come hear, I have to speak with you."
Shi Potian came near her and sat beside her on the stone.
She said: "child, that year you had just turned a year old, a female thief came to harm your mother. Your father was not at the home; your mother had given birth to your younger brother and didn’t have the strength to fight her.
That female thief was very wicked, not only she wanted to kill your mother, but also you and your younger brother."
Shi Potian said: "to kill me?"
He laughed in spite of trying not to and immediately said: "I am really confused, then how am I alive."
Min Rou didn’t smile, and continued saying: "I was holding you in my left hand and holding sword in right, desperately trying to fight her, her martial-arts were extremely good. At that critical moment, your father came back. That female thief threw out three darts, two pounded to your mother but the third actually hit on yours small buttocks.
I was really weary and fainted there only but that female thief saw your father and ran away, unexpectedly her heart was really ruthless, she ran away conveniently holding your younger brother in her hand. Your father was busy rescuing me, also feared that she might have some secret helper waiting to seize the opportunity to harm me so he didn’t dare to pursue far.
He thought that female thief......That female thief will not harm his son, but has only taken their son to scare them, but unexpectedly within three days that female thief has delivered your younger brother's corpse, in the pit of the stomach were inserted two swords. One a black sword and other white sword, on the sword were engraved your father and your mother's name ......"
As she said these words, she started crying.
Shi Potian heard her words and filled with righteous indignation, got angry and said: "this female thief is seriously hateful, what does a young child understands? If I had these poisonous hands then actually could have killed her with one strike, otherwise I would have a younger brother. Madame Shi, this matter my mother never told me."
Min Rou was still crying, she said: "child, have you really forgotten your own mother? I ......I am your mother."
Shi Potian stared at her face, shook his head slowly, and said: "No... You are mistaking me for someone else."
Min Rou said: "that day this female thief has hit a dart on your left buttock, although you have grown up, but that dart mark would be still there, so can you loosen a your trousers so I can have look."
Shi Potian said: "I ......I ......"
He remembered that he got his nipped shoulder by Ding dang and had a scar.
He also remembered he got a scar on his leg when he was wounded by Snow mountain sect disciple Liao (although he didn't remember it himself) when he executed the move "six snowflake", but these happened long ago, he even forgot those. He didn’t knew any scar on his back, when Madam Shi said that she wanted to check his buttocks for scar marks, he didn’t know if there ever was mark in there or not.
He puts out a hand to separate the clothes to trace his left buttock and check if there is trace of any scar. He was really confused about this entire situation and was hesitant to drop his trouser in front of Madam Shi
Min Rou said with a smile: "I am your own mother, don’t you know how many times I have cleaned your excrement and soiled cloths when you were a child. What are you afraid of? Good, Let your father go and have a look at you."
As she was saying she moved away several steps from him.
Shi Qing said: "Child, now loosens your pants and let me have a look."
Shi Potian had already feeling for scars and didn’t felt any of it. He untied the belt, slipped off the pants, turned his head to look, he only saw above the left buttock pointed scars. It was on the light side and not so obvious. At once, in his heart he was panic-stricken, he felt as though his entire world is revolving, as if suddenly he had turned in to another person, but actually did not know when. He cried out loudly.
Min Rou turns around hurriedly. Shi Qing nodded to her and said: "he is really our son."
Min Rou was really happy at the same time tears flowing from her eyes, she snatched him to her side, hugs him and burst into tears, said: "son, my son, don’t fear, I know it’s a huge matter but your mother and father are here to take responsibility to you."
Shi Potian cried loudly and said: "what past matter, I hadn’t done anything. I did not know that you are my mother, did not know that he is my father, did not know that I have scars on my buttocks. I did not know anything ......"
Shi Qing said: "you have this profound internal energy, where have you learnt it?"
Shi Potian shook his head and said: "I do not know."
Shi Qing again asked: "this poisonous palm of yours, how did you get it, who had taught you this?"
Shi Potian stammered and said: "nobody taught me ......how? Am I really Shi Potian? Shi Bangzhu? Shi...shi…am I surnamed Shi, am I your son?"
He was frightened and confused, he had held his trousers by his hand, and for a moment he forgot that he hasn’t yet tied the belt and left it. His trouser fell down to his knees.
Both the Shi couple saw his frightened appearance. Min Rou was filled with sympathy and caressed the top of his head lightly and said gently: "son, do not fear, do not fear about it!"
All these years Shi Qing was really angry with his son but when he saw him in this state he threw aside all his hate and anger and thought: "I once saw some person got hit on his head, received a serious injury, afterwards when he recovered he got this big sickness, he forgot completely about his past, heard that it is called `the soul sickness '. It is extremely difficult to restore the memory......Has our son contracted this illness?"
In his heart he had these thoughts but didn’t dare to mention it to his wife for a while, unexpectedly Min Rou actually was also thinking about same.
The couple looked at each other and blurted out as though by prior agreement: ‘the soul sickness’!"
Shi Qing knew a bit about the person who suffered from this kind of illness, if people keep on urging him to remember things than instead the person goes in to deep mental trauma. Only if things are told one by one, gradually the person starts to remember the forgotten things over a period of time.
He immediately said in a very gentle voice: "Today all of us are having a reunion after such a long time. It’s a matter of happiness, child, you must be hungry, why don’t we get some food and eat."
Shi Potian was still scared witless, asks: "I ......Who am I?"
Min Rou puts out a hand to his waist, tied the belt, and said kindly: "child, you shouldn’t try to think too much about past, do you will feel any pain in your head? Had you sustained any injury on your head earlier?"
Shi Potian shook his head and said: "no...Don’t have any head injury."
Min Rou asked: "then in these years, had you suffered any serious illness? Has gotten a high fever?"
Shi Potian said: "Yes! Several months ago, my whole body had very high fever, earlier it seemed ad though I was roasting in a big stove, afterward the whole body felt cold, that day ......That day, I fainted in the barren hill, and henceforth I don’t remember anything."
Shi Qing got the answer to his question and he though that illness might be the reason of this memory loss. In his heart he happy at least he knew what’s going on.
Min Rou said to him slowly: "child, you do not fear, you had a severe illness and high fever that’s why you have forgotten all about the past."
Shi Potian was half believing and half doubting, he asked: "then you are really my mother, Shi ......Manor master Shi is my father?"
Min Rou said: "Yes child, he is your father. He and I were looking for you everywhere, today the heaven pities me, and let our entire family meet.
You ......you haven’t called him yet father?"
Shi Potian deeply believed that Min Rou will not deceive him in any way. He also originally hadn’t met his father, he hesitated slightly but then called out to Shi Qing: "father!"
Shi Qing smiled and said: "child, now call her mother."
He wanted to call Min Rou her mother but it was much more difficult. He remembered clearly, his own mother’s facial expression and Min Rou were completely different. Now several years has passed on, by now her hair might be already grayish white, unlike Min Rou’s silky hair. His mother was crueler, often will yawn and then scold him, puts out a hand to hit him, on the other hand Min Rou was such polite and gentle but when he saw the face of Min Rou, a look of hope on her face that he will call her mother, she had waited for this meeting with her son for such a log time, her eyes were already red. He cannot help to look at her and called out in a low voice: "mother!"
Min Rou was extremely happy. She puts out her hand to hug him and called out: "good child, clever son!" beads of tear flowing from her eyes.
Shi Qing also had his eyes moist, he thought: "Depending on this child deeds in Snow mountain sect and clan of eternal happiness, I will be damned, how can one say "good child, clever son"?"
He has suffered a lot from this sickness and we meeting after such a long time suddenly a phrase came to his mind "return of the prodigal son". We will teach him well in the future, perhaps then he will repent for his misdeeds. He was far away from his parents since childhood; I never had opportunity to give him some pointers. He had ruined the name of Xuan Su manor, I hope now he can resurrect it again in the realm of rivers and lakes.
He felt as though he was happy and sad at the same time.
Min Rou saw her husband’s complexion and understood his concern. She feared that he might ask her son regarding those misdeeds and said: "senior brother, son, I am very hungry, come lets look for some food."
Shi Qing whistled and the white-black pair of horses rushed towards them.
Min Rou said with a smile: "child, let’s ride this white horse together with your mother."
Shi Qing saw his wife looking really happy after all those years. He too smiled faintly and leapt to sit on the black horse. Shi Potian and Min Rou rode on white horse and took the main road.
Shi Potian was full of suspicions and thought: "is she is really my mother? Then who raised me since childhood, isn't she my mother?"
All three people rode the two horses for several miles. They saw a small temple nearby.
Min Rou said: "we should go to this temple to pay our respects to Bodhisattva."
She came down from her horse and entered the temple. Shi Qing and Shi Potian also followed her in the temple. Shi Qing knew for some time that her wife didn’t believed Buddha. He actually saw her entering Buddhist temple hall and kowtowing in front of Tathagata image of Lord Buddha, he turned his head to look towards Shi Potian.
In his heart he felt a sense of gratitude towards him and thought: "this child, although he is unfillial, had committed evil acts, but still I like him a lot even more than my own life. If some people try to injure him, I will give up my life to save him.
Today we father and son are reunited, Bodhisattva has blessed us, and I am really grateful and pay my respect."
He too kowtowed in front of the Bodhisattva.
Shi Potian stood in one side, he heard Min Rou praying in a very low voice: "Tathagata Buddha blesses us, I hope my son recovers from his illness soon, he is ignorant, for whatever sins he had done, give its punishment to her mother, I am ready to withstand it. Even if I am cut to pieces I will endure it willingly but just ask my son to turn over a new leaf from now on, his life does not have to be a disaster now on and should be safe and pleasant."
Min Rou prayed in extremely low voice, her lips barely moved but Shi Potian has extremely good internal energy so he was able to hear it clearly. He was able to hear her clearly, each character said in a very refined language and with utmost sincerity. As he heard his heart filled with warmness, he immediately thought: "she, if not for my own mother, who else will pray something like that in front of god and I was not willing to call her mother. This is really such a mess."
Excitedly he went forward and threw his arms towards Min Rou to hug her and called out: "mother! Mother! You are really my mother."
Earlier when he called her mother it looked as he was reluctant but this time when he called her as though he was crying out with his innermost feelings.
Min Rou reached behind his back to grasp him, called out: "my cruel fated child!"
Shi Potian remembered how he lived his childhood in that barren hill with her mother for more than ten years. Although it wasn’t that good still both the mother and child have been bound by a common destiny for that many years.
He could not restrain himself from asking: "what about my previous mother? Was....was she deceiving me?"
Min Rou caressed his hair, said: "what previous mother are you talking about...do you remember something from your past."
Shi Potian said: "she ......Her hair has been somewhat white, has been shorter than yours. He didn’t now much martial-art, but she was often angry, often used to hit me and called me names."
Min Rou asked: "she said that she is your mother, and also called you ‘son’?"
Shi Potian said: "No, she used to call me bastard!"
As they heard it Shi Qing and Min Rou got anxious.
Min Rou said: "this woman used to call our son bastard. This means that she hated us husband and wife, is it possible that ......Is it possible she is that woman?"
Min Rou said: "Is that woman had a oval face, her skin is white, the facial expression is very beautiful, when she smiles there is dimple on her face?"
Shi Potian shook his head and said: "No … my mother’s cheek are fat, somewhat yellow, somewhat black, she keeps a long face entire day and rarely smiles. What is a dimple?"
Min Rou said in a soft voice: "No, she not that woman. Child, that day in the temple of village god your mother was not careful and stabbed you by mistake. What kind of injury you had?"
Shi Potian said: "That injury was very light, it went away in a few days."
Min Rou asked: "how do you escaped from the hands of Bai Wanjian? Our child is seriously amazing; he got better of that ‘frost of the north-west’ Bai Wanjian."
As Shi Qing heard these words he felt extremely proud. Shi Qing and bai Wanjian has fought about thousand moves in that temple of village god so he knew he was extremely capable swordsman.
He approved her words still he only said: "too do not praise the child, you have spoiled him enough."
Shi Potian said: "It is not that I ran away but Grandpa Ding Busan and Ding dang saved me that day."
The Shi couple knew about the bad reputation of Ding Busan. He coldly asked about the details.
Shi Potian immediately told them the entire story from beginning to end, how Ding Busan and Ding dang saved him and then how Ding Busan threatened to kill him and Ding dang taught him the Ding family’s seizing techniques, Then how he was thrown in to another boat.
Min Rou asked in reply about the antecedent. Shi Potian then recounted how he bowed to heaven and earth with Ding Dang, he was captured by Bai Wanjian in the clan of eternal happiness. He also told how he met A’Xiu and Grandma Shi on that boat in Yangtze River, how he contested with Ding Busi and then later landed on Azure Mist island.
He told them he became the disciple of Golden phoenix sect and his fight with Bai Wanjian. Afterwards he told them about that ship full of corpses of flying fish sect, how he swore brotherhood with those two people and what happened in the main hall of Iron Fork sect and finally how he entered Shan Qing temple to steal food and listened them. He ran into numerous people in the martial-arts world in these last few days. He told them about everyone obviously in a disorderly manner, but Shi Qing and Min Rou interrogated him item by item and understood finally. The couple were more and more astonished.
They asked him how he arrived at the clan of eternal happiness.
Shi Potian then recounted how he practiced martial-arts on the skyscraping cliff. He then recounted past events of how she presented him as a gift some silvers in the past in cake shop in Outer Mongolia. How they came on their black and white horses.
The couple could not believe that in the past in Hou Jianji the child they saw that dirty young beggar unexpectedly was their son. Min Rou recalled this young beggar and also one felt really sad.
Shi Qing thought: "on time date calculation, when we met in Hou Jianji, it was precisely the time when this child ran away from Snow mountain sect. How is it that Geng Wanzhong didn’t recognize him?"
He looked carefully at the appearance of Shi Potian and tried to remember how he looked when he saw him in Hou Jianji. He did remember he saw that young beggar but after that his memory was really fuzzy. He only remembered that he was wearing some rags, his dirty face and thought: "After he ran away from Snow mountain sect he might have been intentionally begging for food and changed his appearance to a dirty beggar, so that Geng Wanzhong and others can’t recognize him. We husband and wife had not seen him for some years but those people had just seen his recently, still they didn’t managed to recognize. This boy is really good."
He asked: "that day outside the cake shop, you saw your teacher’s younger brother Geng Wanzhong and others, didn’t you felt afraid in your heart that they will seize you?"
Min Rou was not willing that her husband should raise the matter of snow mountain sect but he had already mentioned it so she couldn’t do anything now. Her delicate eyebrows pressed slightly, she feared that Shi Qing might be stern with him and will start interrogating him about that matter.
