Chapter 1

A disciple carries on an affair and breaks the great commandment.
The old valiant regrets the killing and exercises his merciful heart.

In Zhenba county of Southern Shaanxi, there was a small city surrounded by a multitude of mountains. Its scenery and traditions closely resembled that of Northern Sichuan, but the customs were even fiercer here, and the temperament of the people was quite like that of barbarians. It was the middle of the Qing dynasty, when chaos had just begun to subside, and many thieves would hide in the underbrush and constantly rob merchants. Thus, travel was extremely difficult. The people who traveled didn’t know any martial arts themselves, so they had to hire security escorts to protect them. Otherwise, moving even an inch would be difficult. Since there was great demand for security firms, the number of those who studied the martial arts grew daily.

Outside Zhenba city there was an old martial arts master, Bao Zhenfei, whom people called “Bao Kunlun,” because he was accustomed to using the Kunlun saber. It was not much different from an ordinary saber, except that it was especially heavy, and the style of his use was unlike most. When he was young, he served in the army and went on military exploits; in his middle years, he went into the bodyguard business, opening over ten branches of his security firm all over Southern Shaanxi and Northern Sichuan. Most of the famous escorts at his security offices were of a generation younger than he. When he was sixty, he had earned enough for his family and handed his firm over to his sons and disciples to manage. He returned home to enjoy his fortunes.

At this time, Bao Zhenfei was already sixty-four years old. His beard was already white, and his body had already grown chubbier. Each day he was heavier than the one before. He was afraid of becoming too fat and getting a stroke, and he didn’t want to give up his martial skill. Every day in the early morning, he performed a few saber exercises and a few fist exercises; in the evening, he rode his horse around the village a few times. This village was in fact called the Bao Village and faced an emerald-green mountain range. To the east there was a small stream, to the west was mountain wilderness, and to the north was Zhenba city. The views were elegant, similar to those in Jiangnan, but they held a very healthy air about them.

Though Bao Zhenfei was the most famous person in the village, he didn’t live in a particularly large house, nor did he keep any servants or workers. His disciples worked for him. Bao Zhenfei’s disciples numbered over thirty, and a majority of them lived elsewhere. Six of them attended to him. These six, plus his second son, helped him take care of the housework, like cultivating, harvesting, herding the pigs, feeding the horses and so on. He had no need to hire any additional people.

Those who learned martial arts under him hadn’t needed to offer him any introductory gifts, and they came daily to train. After five years, it was guaranteed that they could learn all his martial arts. However, the rules that Bao Zhenfei imposed on his disciples were of the utmost severity. There were six rules in all: first, killing or hurting the innocent was not permitted; second, taking part in debauchery was not permitted; third, stealing was not permitted; fourth, taking advantage of the helpless was not permitted; fifth, disrespecting the master was not permitted; and sixth, violating one’s honor was not permitted. Of these, the most important one was the second, concerning lecherous behavior, because old master Bao believed that “of the myriad vices, lust is the worst.”

He had traveled upon Jianghu for more than forty years and had killed twenty or thirty people, all of whom were licentious, none innocent. Because he discovered that his first disciple Chang Zhigao had loved the wife of a Jianghu performer, he immediately forced his disciple to cut off one of his own arms. Because he saw his fourth disciple Jiang Zhiyao flirting with a married woman during a festival play, his left eye was immediately plucked out. Because he had found out that his twenty-third disciple Hu Zhikai was having an affair with the wife of his own sworn brother, he had someone send a letter to Hu. The letter contained not even a word, only the mark of his old master. Hu Zhikai then understood that his master was to punish him, and so he hanged himself to death.

Because the old master treated his students so harshly, all of them were respectful and cautious, bowing their heads as they exited and bowing their heads as they entered. When they encountered a married woman on the street, they didn’t even dare look at her, just as if they were all Confucian students.

On this spring day in the second month, the willow trees near the village huts were all green, the grass had developed young sprouts, all the wheat had already grown to a little more than half a foot, and the chirping birds were especially loud and clear. The horses seemed to have gone crazy, neighing day and night, as if they wanted to find their mates. Old master Bao woke up at the crack of dawn. The eastern sky was already purple, but the door of his second son Bao Zhilin’s house wasn’t open yet. This didn’t make old master Bao happy. His second son hadn’t been married two months, and his wife had already corrupted a virile man. If he hadn’t woken up by this time, could it be that he was actually going to throw away three or four years of martial arts training? Old master Bao thought about this angrily and coughed loudly so that his second son might hear him from inside.

He walked to the flat area in front of the gate and saw six of his disciples practicing their fists and kicks, and training with their blades and staffs. Old master Bao strolled over with his hands behind his back, first to the front of his twenty-seventh disciple, Chen Zhijun. At the moment, Chen Zhijun was using the “Full-arm Fist” to its last move, called the “Two-wing Flap.” Old master Bao held out his hand and said, “Incorrect!” He then proceeded to form a stance, swaying his two hands and standing firmly with his two feet. He performed the horse-riding steps with his two fists flat against his chest. First, he extended his right hand until it was straight like a wing, and then he retracted it to his chest, and did the same with his left hand. After performing it twice in a row, the old master was already a little out of breath, so he went to one side and told Chen Zhijun to try it again.

Chen Zhijun practiced according to his master’s demonstration another four or five times, and old master Bao nodded his head. He turned to go look at his fourteenth disciple, Lu Zhizhong and his twenty-fifth disciple, Qin Zhibao sparring with sabers. Old master Bao was satisfied with Lu Zhizhong’s skill, since his bladework was fairly good, but Qin Zhibao’s was not. Master Bao had not been watching five minutes from the sidelines when Qin Zhibao exposed six or seven weak points. Moreover, the more his master watched, the more flustered his movements became. Old master Bao got angry and moved in with his foot. A clang rang out as master Bao kicked the metal saber from Qin Zhibao’s hand onto the floor. Qin Zhibao’s face turned completely red. His right hand was hurt too much to hold anything, so he reached out with his left hand to pick the metal saber off of the floor and handed it to the old master.

Without first looking his way, old master Bao began sparring with Lu Zhizhong. Only the glimmer of the saber was visible. Even though the old master’s body wasn’t as quick and strong as it used to be, his bladework was flawless. After an exchange of over twenty moves, Lu Zhizhong was afraid that his master’s strength would not be able to keep up, so he retracted his saber and jumped to one side. Old master Bao tossed the saber toward Qin Zhibao and said, “If you ran into someone like the leper Sun while traveling upon Jianghu with that bladework you just displayed, you’d definitely lose!” Qin Zhibao lowered his head and was so ashamed, he didn’t dare say anything.

Old master Bao left and went to watch his twenty-first disciple, Ma Zhixian train with double hooks. At this time, Bao’s second son Bao Zhilin, who called himself “Little Kunlun,” came out from the gate. Once old master Bao saw his son’s long and skinny yellow face with no energy in it, he got even angrier. He didn’t bother acknowledging his son and went to instruct Ma Zhixian on how to use the double hooks. Bao Zhilin gave a perfunctory sequence of fists and went to rest on one side. Old master Bao didn’t pay him any attention, and turned to watch Jiang Zhisheng use the sword.

Jiang Zhisheng was the old master’s thirtieth disciple. Though he had only been learning the martial arts for less than three years, his technique had already surpassed those of his brother-disciples. After a round with the sword, he went back to the weapon rack and picked up a saber, and did two rounds with it. His body was swift and his knife quick; he didn’t make any mistakes. Also, his posture was exceptional. Old master Bao saw him and couldn’t help but nod his head subtly, and in his heart, he felt a little envious. He thought to himself, How honorable would it be to have a son like this? At least I’ll have someone to whom I can teach my 14-part secret Kunlun saber technique. Bao noticed furthermore that Jiang Zhisheng was wearing green and his sleeves were lined with white satin trim. His jet-black queue was resting on his head in three loops, and above his shirt was a long, clean, white face with thin eyebrows and bright eyes. He almost looked like a young wife with a pretty face.

Old master Bao looked at Jiang’s appearance and didn’t like it. With his hands behind his back, he walked over to his son. Bao Zhilin performed a couple fist moves and then jumped about a foot high, as if he was training to jump onto the roof. Old master Bao was so angry he wanted to grab Jiang Zhisheng’s saber and give his son a few slashes. But just then, an old matter from 30 years ago surged into his heart, and he couldn’t help but sigh. He hurriedly turned around and went to watch his twentieth disciple Liu Zhiyuan use the spear, and then returned to the house.

Once the old master was inside, all of his disciples outside relaxed. Liu Zhiyuan dropped his spear, untied the horse from a scholar tree, and sped off into the east to enjoy himself. Jiang Zhisheng put his saber back onto the weapon rack and went to chat with Chen Zhijun, who had just finished practicing his fists. Bao Zhilin smiled and asked Ma Zhixian, who had been training with the hooks, “Hey! I saw your waistband. Did your wife embroider it for you?”

Ma Zhixian laughed and said, “Since when was my wife so skilled at needlework? Her cousin embroidered this for me.” Bao Zhilin praised him, “Hey! Not bad. She must have very skillful hands!” Ma Zhixian pointed to Jiang Zhisheng with his lips and whispered to Bao Zhilin, “Her cousin is Jiang Zhisheng’s wife.”

Bao Zhilin said, “Heh! So you two are brothers-in-law!” Standing beside them still red in the face, Qin Zhibao, said, “Master is coming out again.” At this comment, they immediately stopped their bantering. Some sat on the ground to rest, while others practiced with their blades and fists.

Bao Zhilin saw his father coming out once again, carrying in one hand a smoking bag, and holding the hand of his ten year old granddaughter in the other. The old master was pacing in front of the door with a look of content on his face. The little girl hummed a mountain tune, as she walked and ran around joyfully, every now and then looking up at her grandfather with her bright little eyes.

Suddenly, the old master stopped and called out, “Zhizhong!” Lu Zhizhong hurriedly put down his saber and walked to his master, politely asking, “Master, what would you like me to do?” Old master Bao said, “I need you to go to Hanzhong tomorrow to go see your big brother. The last time your sixth brother came, he said his leg was hurting again. I don’t know if it’s healed yet.”

Lu Zhizhong nodded his head in compliance and said, “I’ll go tomorrow! I don’t think big brother’s leg wound is that serious.” Old master Bao nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll give you travel money later. You can go tomorrow!” After he said this he went back to strolling about the grounds. He pulled the little granddaughter along with him. She bent her head to smile at Jiang Zhisheng, because he usually liked to play with her.

After a little bit, the old master took the little girl back into the house. At this, the group put away their weapons and brought the weapon rack inside. Chen Zhijun and Ma Zhixian swept up the training grounds, and Liu Zhiyuan went to feed the horses. Jiang Zhisheng finished a couple light chores and went back home. Bao Zhilin squatted on the ground for a little bit and then also went back inside. Lu Zhizhong went to go get travel money from his master.

Old master Bao lived in the northern house, which had three spacious rooms. At this time, the old master was eating breakfast at the same table as his granddaughter, as served by his eldest daughter-in-law. The old master’s eldest son, Bao Zhiyun, was already 40-some years old. His wife, Fang-shi, was also about 40 years old now. She had only given birth to a daughter, whose childhood name was Aluan. She was this little granddaughter that the old master adored most.

Bao Zhiyun was currently setting up a Kunlun Security Firm in Hanzhong, where trade was flourishing. However, while traveling as an escort on the roads through the Qin Mountains three years ago, he encountered the mountain bandit Hu Li the Silver Dart, who wanted to rob his caravan. At the time, Bao Zhiyun had brought with him two bodyguards. The three of them fought with Hu Li, but in the end, all three were wounded by Hu Li’s silver darts, and the caravan was ransacked. Bao Zhiyun had to repay over a thousand taels of silver. Though the wound on his thigh had healed, whenever the weather was dark and rainy, the pain would return. A few days previous, someone from Hanzhong had delivered a letter from him to the old master. He had said that his dart injury was flaring up again, and that he was already unable to get out of bed. That was the reason the old bodyguard Bao had sent Lu Zhizhong to check up on him.

Old bodyguard Bao gave Lu Zhizhong a few taels to cover the travel expenses, and Fang-shi asked Lu Zhizhong to take a bundle to her husband of medicinal powder from Yunnan used especially on cuts. Moreover, the little girl Aluan pulled on Lu Zhizhong’s hand and said, “Uncle Lu, give these dolls to my dad to play with!” Lu Zhizhong looked at what she had given him and saw that they were little cloth dolls that she had made herself. She had even used ink to draw eyes and a nose. Lu Zhizhong laughed. At her side, old master Bao told his granddaughter, “Right now your dad’s hurt. It probably hurts so much he doesn’t care about anything. How do you expect him play with your dolls!” Aluan asked Lu Zhizhong if he could take them for her anyway.

Old master Bao’s color deepened, and he revealed a killing spirit. He instructed Lu Zhizhong, “Go tell them to ask around and find out where Hu Li the Silver Dart is right now. At some point, I want to find him and take my revenge! Also, the other day I heard people saying that Yuan Zhiyi’s behavior hasn’t been quite proper. Tell him to be careful, because I’ll be going to Hanzhong before long!” Lu Zhizhong agreed to this and set off, taking the cloth dolls and silver taels with him.

Lu Zhizhong lived rather poorly in the city with his wife and two girls. He could have done a bit of work at the security firm based on his martial skill, but unfortunately, old master Bao thought him reliable when it came to errands, so he was always left at home. It was therefore a waste of his potential. However, he frequently thought about finding some work at the security firm, because he felt that he shouldn’t rely on his brothers forever and that he had to look elsewhere to progress. He was figuring this out in his head just as he entered the city. He went to the carriage station and reserved a wagon to Hanzhong. Then, when he went home, he told his wife about going to see his brother in Hanzhong and asked her for a pawn slip so that he could redeem it.

Just as he was leaving, he saw someone coming in. It was none other than his brother, Jiang Zhisheng. He hurriedly said, “Brother, have you come to see me off? I’m not going ‘til tomorrow!” Jiang Zhisheng’s white face was bearing a smile, as he said, “I know you’re not going until tomorrow. I’m here to ask you if you can get some things for me.” Lu Zhizhong let Zhisheng into his house, and Jiang Zhisheng bowed deeply to his sister-in-law.

Lu Zhizhong said, “Sit down, brother. What do you want me to get for you?” Jiang Zhisheng laughed and said, “Oh, it’s not that pressing.” He then took out a few silver taels and a sheet of paper, on which was written: “Please buy ten feet of red satin, four cases of facial powder, twenty squares of rouge, and some wool of various colors.” He gave everything to Lu Zhizhong and said, “Brother, I’ll leave it up to you. If there’s money left over, then buy more, and if there isn’t enough, then buy less. Except, don’t buy less of the rouge. The stuff that’s made here isn’t very good, but in Hanzhong, the Jade Scent is famous for it.”

After Lu Zhizhong took the list and looked it over, he knitted his brow and said, “Brother, you should know better. The master’s old, and he hates this sort of thing the most!” Jiang Zhisheng waved his hand, saying, “Brother, you don’t need to worry. There’s nothing silly going on here. These are all things that your sister-in-law wants to buy.” Lu Zhizhong scoffed, “I know my sister-in-law too. She already has two kids. Why would she still need to be so done up with rouge?”

Jiang Zhisheng replied with a straight face, “Brother, if you don’t believe me, you can come to my place and ask her yourself!” Lu Zhizhong put the taels and list away and waved his hand, saying, “Never mind, I’ll get it for you! But I’m warning you, you need to be more responsible, because for someone young and handsome like you, it’s easy to play around with women. A lot of our brothers are spiteful. Any little thing and they’ll go tell master about it. And if our master hears about just one of his disciples doing something improper, then that disciple is as good as an enemy to him. He’s not a very compassionate person!”

Jiang Zhisheng nodded and said, “I know. Don’t worry, brother. I live in the same village as our master. Don’t you think I would know about his old-fashioned temper? Not to mention I have a wife and children, and I’m almost 30 years old. Why would I still be out there doing stupid things?” He laughed as he left and said goodbye.

Afterwards, he felt uneasy and thought, The rouge really is for my wife, but Lu Zhizhong was suspicious that I was having an affair with some other woman! Even if I was having an affair, what could anyone do about it? Even if the master was my father, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it! I’m just learning martial arts from him, not how to be a monk or a eunuch. He proceeded angrily and arrived at an intersection. Suddenly, he heard someone called to him loudly, “Sir Jiang! Sir Jiang!” Jiang Zhisheng looked over and saw that it was Third Chu, the donkey driver.

Third Chu also lived in the village and kept a powdery-lipped and powdery-eyed little donkey with a white belly. He made a living by driving this donkey around, so people called him “Donkey Chu.” As he pulled the donkey along, he asked, “Sir Jiang, what brings you to the city? Did you not go to old man Bao’s place to learn some moves?”

Jiang Zhisheng said, “I already went. How could I not? Who told me to find such an unfortunate master!” Donkey Chu grinned and said, “You sought out hardship by acknowledging such a master. You might as well have gone to work for some rich family! You’re an educated man. How could you fit in with those people!” Hearing this, Jiang Zhisheng became even more annoyed and asked, “So what are you doing here? Are you waiting for customers?”

Third Chu laughed, “Oh, no. I’m going to the east side to pick someone up. The second widow Lu found her son a wife last year, the daughter of cripple Gong from the Gong farmstead. Hey, she’s only 18 years old this year, and she’s exceptionally pretty. But not even ten days had passed before her husband went to Xing’an to learn business, leaving his young wife at home as if she were a widow. Plus, she and her mother-in-law don’t get along. How imposing that second widow Lu can be! But the young wife isn’t all without fault, since she goes back to her mother’s house very often. On the 17th, I picked her up from there. Now, it’s not even the 20th, and she wants me to take her back again. She’ll probably spend half the month at her mother’s house.”

Jiang Zhisheng laughed, “Asking you to take her back and forth like this, you might just kidnap her.” Third Chu grinned, “With this head of mine? Even if I wanted to kidnap someone, they wouldn’t want to come with me! I’d have to switch your face with mine to get it to work!” Jiang Zhisheng laughed and said, “You’d better get going! Don’t make the young wife wait.” After he said this, he turned to leave. Third Chu led his donkey towards Jiang and shouted, “Sir Jiang!” Jiang Zhisheng stopped and turned to ask, “What is it?”

Third Chu the Donkey entreated him, “After a couple days, could you lend me some money!?” Jiang Zhisheng stared at him and said, “With your business doing this well, why do you need to borrow from me?” Third Chu laughed apologetically and said, “Heh! Don’t you know about what’s going on in my house? My dad’s over 80 years old and my old mom’s over 70. They’re both relying on my donkey here to live. I only earn about ten coppers a day, which is enough to eat with. It’s getting warm now, and I still can’t take off this ratty old coat. Sir Jiang, lend me some cash in a couple days, so I can get new clothes!” Jiang Zhisheng replied, “Well, we’ll talk about it again in a couple days!” After he finished talking, he turned around and walked off.

After passing by a few small lanes, he reached an old classmate’s house. This friend and classmate’s name was Fan Dianqing, and some time ago, they had once studied together diligently. Jiang Zhisheng wasn’t even able to earn the xiucai degree, though last autumn, his friend had earned the juren degree. He had originally come here to pay a visit to Lady Fan, Dianqing’s mother, but he unexpectedly saw only an old servant, who said that his young master had been assigned to be a prefect in Henan and had sent for her to enjoy the fortunes.

Jiang Zhisheng felt even more dissatisfied, secretly thinking that perhaps he had taken the wrong path. In these two years or so, had I not learned martial arts from old Bao, I might have already earned the Juren degree by now and become an official. Now that’s over for me. At most, I’ll be able to find work at a security firm in which to muddle about, squandering my whole life in Jianghu. Thus, he started thinking about severing the master-disciple relationship with Bao Zhenfei, throwing down his sword, and studying hard. After three to five years, wouldn’t it be honorable if he could obtain an official title? After departing from the gate of the Fan home, he thought about this as he walked and didn’t even notice when he exited through the gates of the city. He planned to go home as he followed the road heading south.

Having walked not even half a mile, he suddenly heard Third Chu’s voice calling him from behind, “Sir Jiang!” Jiang Zhisheng looked back hurriedly and saw Third Chu rushing his donkey along, with the young wife of Lu on its back. Lu’s wife was indeed very pretty, wearing a red satin coat, green satin trousers and red satin shoes embroidered with silk flowers. On her head was wrapped a thin blue handkerchief. Though he couldn’t see her hair bun, he knew that her hair was very nice. Her face was very round and plump and was made up with a lovely rouge. It was especially pretty on her lips, which were the color of freshly ripe cherries. If speaking of the extraordinary, she wasn’t that sort of exceptional beauty, but Jiang Zhisheng was immediately entranced with her.

Ordinarily, whenever he encountered a married woman on the street, he would purposefully avert his eyes, but today was otherwise. He turned his head back, and it was as if he wasn’t able to turn it away. He looked straight at her with his two eyes. She was not bashful at all and looked Jiang Zhisheng up and down a few times with her soulful eyes. At this time, Third Chu swung his whip and drove the donkey towards him. He laughingly said, “Sir Jiang, you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you?”

Jiang Zhisheng replied, “I ate before I went into the city.” Third Chu said, “Mrs. Jiang must have quick hands to be able to look after the kids and take such good care of her husband all by herself. The food must be cooked right when it touches her hands.” Jiang Zhisheng laughed a little but didn’t say anything, and glanced over at the young wife again.

Third Chu spoke more, “However, a good wife goes with a good husband. Sir Jiang, you’re well-versed in both words and weapons, good-looking, of a good temperament, and able to support your family. A guy like you, you’re one-in-a-hundred. No wonder Mrs. Jiang is so happy all day.” Jiang Zhisheng heard this and felt very satisfied with himself. He looked toward Lu’s wife and said, “She may be happy, but I’m not entirely happy!” After he said this, he turned to walk alongside with Third Chu and continued to chat.

After not even a few steps, the young wife riding on the donkey turned to Jiang Zhisheng with a charming smile and said, “Is this Sir Jiang from East Village?” Jiang Zhisheng was taken aback, and at the same time felt even more attracted to her. Before he could reply, Third Chu did it for him, “This isn’t Sir Jiang from East Village. He’s Sir Jiang from Bao Village.” The young wife laughed and nodded her head.

Jiang Zhisheng got closer and said, “Mrs. Lu, I don’t know your husband’s family, but I do know about yours. There’s someone with a problem with his leg...” The young wife didn’t wait for him to finish. She smiled charmingly and said, “That’s my father.” Jiang Zhisheng said, “Way back when he opened a smoke shop in the city, I often went to sit at his counter.”

The young wife held her red handkerchief over her mouth and said, “That’s not right! That’s our village’s cripple Li. My dad’s not as lame as him!” She lowered her head and couldn’t hold in her laughter, while constantly sneaking glances at Jiang Zhisheng. Jiang Zhisheng blushed because of his incorrect guess.

Third Chu said, “Anyways, the surrounding area of Zhenba is 30 miles or so. Not everyone knows everyone else.” Lu’s wife laughed and said, “That’s not true! If I go back to my mother’s house and mention Sir Jiang, I guarantee you that my dad will know him. Sir Jiang, when you have the time, you should come and visit. My house is right at the base of the Southern Mountains. We have peach trees, and when they blossom, it’s completely red.”

Jiang Zhisheng hurriedly laughed, and said, “All right, all right. In the next couple days, I’ll definitely go see your old father.” He talked as he walked, and Bao Village came into view. Jiang Zhisheng stopped, and after the young wife gave him another suggestive smile, she rode the donkey away on the other branch of the path. From behind the donkey, Third Chu turned and made a face.

Jiang Zhisheng stood there in a daze as he watched the young wife in her red coat as she rode away on the donkey, disappearing into the boundless fragrant grasses. Jiang Zhisheng suddenly recalled a line from a poem that could describe this scene in front of him. It was, “A bit of red in a vast thicket of green.” He stood there in awe for a while, before he slowly made his way to the village. It was like he had lost something when he went to the city this time. He was so absent-minded, it was almost as if he didn’t recognize his own door.

Afterwards, he didn’t even realize when he had entered his own home. After only a couple steps, he saw a flash of white light. He turned to look and saw that it was his son, Jiang Xiaohe, who was only twelve years old this year. However, he was brandishing his father’s metal saber as he flew around the yard. Jiang Zhisheng stopped him and said, “Hey, hey, don’t do that, don’t do that! You can hurt yourself with this saber if you’re not careful. If you like playing with swords, I’ll fashion one for you out of bamboo.” Still holding the saber with his two little hands, Jiang Xiaohe said, “I don’t want a bamboo one! I want to use a real one! I want great skill! I want to beat your master! No one will be able to defeat me!” Jiang Zhisheng laughed.

Just then, his wife Huang-shi ran outside, carrying the month-old Xiaolu, and anxiously said, “When you’re not here to watch him, he’ll take advantage of the time when I’m nursing Xiaolu, and climb on top of a bench to get at your saber. If he fell on his head, he could die!” Jiang Zhisheng hurried over to his son to take away the saber. After a lot of noise and effort, in the end he used a stick from inside the house to exchange for the saber in his son’s hand.