Ode to gallantry, p.9
Ode to Gallantry, page 9
Delighted, the waiter quickly instructed the kitchen to prepare dishes with chicken, meat, fish and duck. Shortly after that, the food was served. Xie Yanke then ordered two jin (1 kg; approximately 1 litre) of baijiu(2).
The little beggar took a mouthful of the drink and spat it out. "How pungent!" he said. "It is not tasty at all."
As the boy turned his attention to the meat and rice, Xie Yanke thought: Although he is quite naïve, he seems to be innately bold and uninhibited. He does not appear to be stupid, so if he is taught carefully, he can become a skilled member of the martial arts circle. Then, he had another thought: Sigh, there are many people who are neither grateful nor faithful in this world. That beast of a disciple of mine is a rare example of natural talent, but has he not harmed me enough? Why am I thinking of taking another disciple?
The thought of his evil disciple made him so angry that he gulped the two jin of baijiu dry, ate some of the food and said, "Let us go!"
"Elderly Uncle, are you feeling better already?" asked the little beggar.
"Yes!" answered Xie Yanke. Then, he thought: Now, all your silver has been spent. If you want to eat again, you will have to beg me. We must find a bigger town and have the gold-leaf changed.
The duo left the small town and headed towards the east.
By and by, Xie Yanke asked, "Little Boy, what is your mother's surname? Did she ever mention it before?"
"My mother is simply 'Mother'," answered the little beggar. "Do mothers have surnames too?"
"Of course," said Xie Yanke. "Everyone has a surname."
"What is my surname then?" asked the little beggar.
"I do not know," answered Xie Yanke. "'Gouzazhong' sounds very unpleasant, so do you want me to give you a surname and name?" If the little beggar said 'Please give me a surname and name', he would have considered to have begged the old man. Thus, Xie Yanke would simply find him a surname and name, and fulfil his oath.
To his surprise, the little beggar said, "It is good if you want to give me a name. But I am afraid my mother will not like it. She is used to calling me 'Gouzazhong'. If I change my name, she will be unhappy. Why is 'Gouzazhong' unpleasant?"
Xie Yanke frowned: It is really not easy to explain the meaning of 'Gouzazhong' and the reason for its unpleasantness in a way that this boy can understand.
Just then, the sounds of weapons clashing were heard coming from the forest towards their left. A chill entered Xie Yanke's heart: Is there a fight over there? The people involved are moving very quickly, so their pugilistic skills are not poor. He turned to the little beggar and said in a low voice: "We will go over there for a look. You must not make any sound." Putting a hand against the boy's arm, Xie Yanke exercised his qinggong abilities and headed towards the clashing sounds.
A few leaps and bounds later, the duo found themselves behind a large tree.
Feeling as if he had just ridden the clouds and mounted the mist, the little beggar nearly laughed out loud in delight. Then, he remembered the Xie Yanke's instructions and quickly clamped a hand over his own mouth.
When the duo looked out from their hiding place, they saw four men leaping up and down in a furious fight. Three of them were attacking the fourth, an unarmed ruddy-faced old man with white hair that came down to his chest. A sabre lay on the ground some distance away. Its blade was bent, indicating that it had been knocked out of the way by one of the attackers. Xie Yanke recognised the old man as the Benevolent Elder (Dabei Laoren) from the Isle of the White Whale. The latter had lost to him by one stroke years ago, so his martial arts skills were really very good.
Of the three who were attacking him, the first was a tall and skinny man. The second was a sallow-faced Taoist, while the third was a strange-looking fellow with a large cross-shaped scar on his face. The skinny man used a long sword, while the Taoist and the ugly man used a chained hammer (lian4 zi3 chui2) and a sabre with a demon's head on the hilt (gui3 tou2 dao1). Although Xie Yanke did not know any of these men, he could see that they were generally not poor in terms of martial arts abilities. The skinny man was particularly skilled, his sword moving continuously with swift and nimble strokes as well as heavy and powerful ones.
Xie Yanke saw that the Benevolent Elder was already injured. Yet, despite the drops of blood spurting continuously from the wounds on his body, his palms continued to move up and down as if they were in flight. Still bold and powerful, he circled a large tree and dodged towards the east and the west, as he used the tree to fend off the weapons of the three attackers. Then, with seizing techniques in his left hand and either a fist or a palm technique in his right, he led his opponents along until the three weapons collided among themselves.
Xie Yanke could not help but gloat: Old Benevolent has flaunted his superiority in vain. Today, the tiger has fallen upon the open plains and found itself bullied by the dogs. The strong has fallen prey to the weak, so I think it will be difficult for you to escape this time.
The Taoist sent his chained hammer around the tree again and again so as to hit the Benevolent Elder on his side, while the ugly man had such muscular strength that his sabre could cut audibly through the air. Xie Yanke was shocked: I have not set foot in the jianghu for a long time. When did these people appear in the martial arts circle of the Central Region? Why can I not identify their techniques and clan-origins at all? If not for them, the Benevolent Elder would not have been reduced to such a battered state.
Just then, the Taoist spoke in a hoarse voice: "Master of the Isle of the White Whale, our Clan of Eternal Happiness does not have any conflicts and grudges with you. Our Clan-Master Situ finds you admirable; hence, he has contacted you with good intentions and invited you to join our clan. Why must you speak words of abuse and curse our Clan-Master? All you have to do is accept our invitation, and we will immediately become good brothers and friends. All issues prior to this will no longer be pursued. So why must you put up such a strong resistance and lose your life in vain, when we can join hands and stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the 'Commands of Rewards and Punishments' from the Isle of Heroes. Would it not be good to face this difficult problem together?"
The last two sentences struck Xie Yanke with a great shock: Have the 'Commands of Rewards and Punishments' from the Isle of Heroes reappeared in the jianghu?
Then, he heard the Benevolent Elder reply: "I am a dignified man, so how can I be willing to associate with shameless people like you? I would rather receive the 'Commands of Rewards and Punishments' and die on the Isle of Heroes. I will never join a group of evil men in an unorthodox clan that commits all sorts of crimes." Suddenly, his left hand shot out and grabbed the ugly man on the shoulder.
What a good 'Tiger's Claw' (Hu3 Zhao3 Shou3)! said Xie Yanke to himself.
The stroke was executed with such speed that the ugly man could not avoid it, although he had tried to do so by letting his shoulder drop. The slight difference in speed was all the Benevolent Elder needed to sink five fingers into his opponent's shoulder.
A moment later, a *rip* was heard. A huge piece of clothing on the ugly man's right shoulder had been torn off. In its place was a bloody wound, for a piece of his flesh had been clawed off as well.
Furious, the three men stepped up their attacks.
Meanwhile, Xie Yanke was stumped: What sort of organisation is the Clan of Eternal Happiness? Why have I not heard about it since it boasts of such highly skilled pugilists? It is probably new, having just been founded recently. What sort of person is Clan-Master Situ? Could he be the 'Eastern Tyrant of the Skies' Situ Heng? Besides Situ Heng, there is no other highly skilled pugilist by the surname of Situ.
The fight intensified.
Roaring like a madman, the ugly fellow sent a horizontal sweep towards the Benevolent Elder, who turned sideways to avoid it. At the same time, the latter struck out at the Taoist with his fist. The sabre of the ugly man missed its target and ended up being embedded deeply in the trunk of the tree. It could not be removed despite the strength of its user. The Benevolent Elder quickly sank his right elbow into the ugly man's waist.
By then, the Benevolent Elder knew that there was no hope left for him in spite of the resistance that he had put up against his three attackers. Yet, he had been watching the surroundings and had noticed that someone was hiding behind one of the trees -- probably another opponent. He already had no means to get rid of the attackers before him, so what else could he do when the latter's reinforcements arrive? The weakest among the three attackers was the ugly man. He had to be removed before there was any opportunity for escape, so the Benevolent Elder used nine-tenths of his strength when he sank his elbow into him.
*Peng* The elbow hit its target. Delighted, the Benevolent Elder hurried around the tree. Just then, the Taoist's chained hammer flew out towards him. As the Benevolent Elder struck the chain with his left palm, a white light flashed before him. He moved quickly to the right, only to find that his stamina during drawn-out fights was no longer comparable to that of his prime. Before, he could move three chi (1 metre) by simply sliding his foot, but now, he had moved only two chi and seven or eight cun (0.91-0.92 metres). A soft *zip* sounded. The sword of the skinny man pierced his left shoulder and nailed him firmly to the trunk of the tree.
This development was so unexpected that the little beggar could not help but gasp in shock. He had already considered the three men's attack on the old man very unjust, so he became even more angry when the old man was finally cornered.
The skinny man spoke in a cold voice: "Master of the Isle of the White Whale, the toast that you refuse to drink has become a forfeit. Would you not throw in your lot with our Clan of Eternal Happiness now?"
The Benevolent Elder responded by opening his eyes wide. "You know full well that I am the master of the Isle of the White Whale," he bellowed in anger. "Do you think that there are weaklings on the Isle of the White Whale who will bend their knees in surrender?" He threw himself forward in an attempt to break free, for he would rather lose his left shoulder than miss the opportunity to fight the skinny man to death.
With a sweep of his right hand, the Taoist sent the chained hammer out. The steel chain wrapped itself around the Benevolent Elder's body several times before the hammer struck him heavily on the chest. The Benevolent Elder howled before turning his head to the side and throwing up mouthfuls of blood.
That was all the little beggar could take. Dashing out of his hiding place, he shouted: "Hey, you three bad men, why are you beating up a good man?"
At this, Xie Yanke frowned: The little boy has gone to stir up trouble. A moment later, delight filled his heart: Well, that is good too. Let the three men kill him. I will not be breaking my oath if I do not rescue him. On the other hand, if he begs me for help, I will deal with the three men on his behalf.
By then, the little beggar had run to the tree and positioned himself like a shield in front of the Benevolent Elder. "You cannot continue to trouble this elderly uncle," he shouted.
The skinny man, who had realised that there was someone hiding behind him, was certain that the child had acted on an instigation. After all, he could see from the boy's gait that he was not trained in martial arts, yet he was terribly bold. Hence, he thought: Let me frighten the little imp and the man behind him will come out. Pulling his sabre out of tree trunk, he roared: "Little Imp, who asked you to get involved in your old man's matters? I am going to kill the old fellow, so are you getting out of the way or not?" He raised the sabre and slashed horizontally through the air.
"This elderly uncle is a good man," said the little beggar. "You are all bad men, so I will certainly help the good one. Chop all you want, but I will not get out of the way." When his mother was in a good mood, she would sometimes tell him stories of good and bad men. Thus, in his heart, helping a good man to beat up a bad one was the right and proper thing to do.
"Do you know him?" asked the skinny man in anger. "How do you know that he is good?"
"He said that you are evil men from an unorthodox clan," answered the little beggar. "Since he would rather die than join you, you are naturally the bad men." Then, he turned around and reached for the chained hammer with the intention of undoing it.
At that moment, the Taoist lifted his palm and slapped the boy so hard that his head became dizzy and his vision blurred. His left cheek swelled up immediately with a red five-fingered imprint that looked like a bloody palm.
As it turned out, the little beggar simply did not know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth. Neither did he understand the complexity of the things that were happening around him. In Hou Jian Ji the day before, he had seen the men of the Golden Sabre Stockade attack Wu Daotong, but he did not know whether Wu Daotong was good or bad. The men had been fighting on the roof, and when Wu Daotong fell off, he was stabbed immediately in the abdomen by the tall fellow with the pair of silver hooks. If that had not happened, the little beggar might have intervened without understanding the danger it posed to his life.
Since the little beggar appeared very confident and totally unafraid, the skinny man became suspicious: Just who is the little imp relying on that he would dare utter nonsense before an incense-master(3) of the Clan of Eternal Happiness? Turning sideways, he caught a glimpse of a thin figure among the trees. Someone came to mind at once: That man fits the description of the Master of the Black Steel Symbol, the Skyscraping Resident Xie Yanke. Could it be him? Hence, he lifted his sabre and roared: "I do not know what your origins are, or the organisation from which your teacher comes. Since you have come to stir up trouble, I will have to assume that you are merely an ignorant little beggar. So there is nothing wrong if I have you killed with a stroke of the sabre, is there?"
Almost immediately, the sabre came rushing through the air, right at the little beggar's neck.
The little beggar did not move at all! Not only was he unaware of the danger that he was in, he was also resolute and unyielding.
The skinny man allowed the sabre to come within several cun (1 cun = 1/30 metres) of the boy's neck before taking it away. "Good! Your courage is not insignificant!" he said in praise.
His companion, the Taoist, was not as patient. Raising his right palm, he slapped the little beggar harder than he had done earlier. The boy yelled in pain and started to wail.
"Go away quickly if you are afraid of being hit," said the skinny man.
"You go away first," sobbed the little beggar in retort. "I will stop crying if you stop troubling this elderly uncle."
The skinny man broke into laughter, while the Taoist kicked the boy to the ground.
His nose bruised and eye swollen, the little beggar got to his feet and positioned himself once more before the Benevolent Elder. The latter was an unsociable and eccentric old man, so he had very few friends who knew him well. When he saw how the little beggar endangered his young life for his sake without even knowing who he was, he was filled with gratitude. "Little Brother, you will lose your life for no reason if you fight with them," he said. "That I, Cheng, can befriend you in my twilight years shows that my life was not lived in vain. You had better leave quickly."
The little beggar did not understand what 'twilight years' and 'my life was not lived in vain' were. All he knew was that the old man urged him to leave. Hence, he responded in a loud voice: "You are a good man. You cannot let the bad men kill you."
At this, the skinny man thought: The child's appearance is very strange. I also do not know whether the man behind the tree is Xie Yanke. It is not worth our while to make more enemies, but if we leave just because of a few words from the child, does it not show that our Clan of Eternal Happiness is afraid of others? Thus, he raised his sabre and said, "All right, Little Boy. I want to give you a test. I will slash you with thirty-six consecutive strokes. If you do not move at all, I will rest my case. So are you afraid?"
"Of course I am, if you want to slash me with thirty-six consecutive strokes," answered the little beggar.
"It is good that you are afraid," said the skinny man, "for you can hurry up and go away."
"I am frightened," said the little beggar, "but I am not going away."
The skinny man raised his thumb and said, "Good, you have backbone. Watch out!" The sabre cut across the top of the boy's head with a loud whoosh.
Xie Yanke could see the goings-on clearly from behind the tree. The horizontal stroke that the skinny man executed a moment ago was light and nimble, and done entirely with the power of the wrist according to a swordplay technique. Although he did not know the name of the stroke, he saw the skinny man moving the heavy sabre as if it was weightless. The blade slid across the little beggar's scalp and cut off a shock of hair.
The boy remained absolutely unyielding, straightening his body and standing totally still.
The sabre continued to flash this way and that, as if it was a slithering snake. The strokes, regardless of whether they came from the left or from the right, stayed close to the top of the little beggar's head, sending shock after shock of hair to the ground. After the thirty-second stroke, the skinny man roared and brought the sabre down vertically on the little beggar, slicing off the latter's right sleeve. He repeated it on the left sleeve before slashing off part of the left and right trouser-legs.
As the skinny man put the sabre away, he took the opportunity to strike the Benevolent Elder heavily on the Shan Zhong acupoint with the hilt of the sabre. Then, he laughed loudly and said, "Little Boy, you are really something, really great!"
Xie Yanke could not help but admire the skinny man's skills quietly in his heart, for the latter had used his sabre according to a swordplay technique that resulted in thirty-six full and continuous strokes without even half a flaw. When he saw the man hitting the Death Acupoint(4) of the Benevolent Elder, he thought: This fellow is very ruthless!
As for the little beggar, the thick and tousled mop of hair on his head went from bad to worse after the thirty-two indiscriminate slashes. When the sabre slid thirty-two times across the top of his head earlier, half of him had stood firm and unyielding in aid of the Benevolent Elder. The other half had actually been frightened out of its wits, so the boy had not really been unwilling to move. Instead, he had been scared totally stiff. When the skinny man was done, the boy reached out and touched his head. Finding it intact, he heaved a long sigh of relief.
