Chapter 9

With bitter will and a resolute heart, he acquires top skills in ten years.

In gentle wind and light rain, two valiants meet in a desolate village.

It was just now early summer, and the great plain outside the Hangu Pass was dense with fields of grain growing boundless far off into the distance. The Yellow River was like a blue dragon, feverishly spraying clouds of mist high into the air. Mount Song the Central Peak, however, was a cool world. On the mountain, there were dense forests and babbling brooks, holding back the hot winds blowing from the great earth. There was a dwelling below the mountain where someone was staying currently. This person was none other than he who had caused a great disturbance in Chang’an by battling one against the Kunlun School, losing the fight only after encountering Ji Guangjie, and then had gone out of the Hangu Pass having suffered an injury, Li Fengjie. He was originally the child of a peasant family in Nangong county, but because his natural character was uninhibited, he both enjoyed literature and liked the martial arts. However, the only literature he enjoyed was poetry. He despised writing eight-part essays, and because of that, he was unable to obtain an official position in the civil service examination rooms. The martial arts he’d learned were Short Sword and Long Fist, Eave-flying and Wall-walking. If you asked him to go to a martial arena to lift rocks and swing great sabers, he couldn’t be bothered. Thus, while he was well-versed in literature and martial arts, he could complete neither the path of literature, nor that of the martial arts, and as a result, he had over twenty years, yet had accomplished nothing. He could not measure up to his brother, younger by a year, Li Fengqing, who could at least till the family’s acres of fields and act the expected role of farmer.

When Li Fengjie learned his martial arts, he sought a Daoist priest as his master. The priest was of seventy or eighty years by that time, and he called himself the Longshan Daoist. This Daoist roamed far and wide and stayed at the Lüxian Inn in Handan county for two years. It was during that time that he passed his martial arts on to Li Fengjie. Later on, he headed to Beijing and bid Li Fengjie to go with him, so the master and disciple lived together for another half year, and Li Fengjie learned the general idea of dianxue from his master. Thereafter his master commanded him to temper himself in Jianghu. Just before his departure, the Longshan Daoist explained to his disciple his background. He turned out to be the one whose name shook Jianghu, one of the “Two Pinnacles and Two Dragons,” the Dragon of Shu.

Prior to sending his disciple off, the old xia the Dragon of Shu introduced him to two men. One was Zhang Xiong the Iron Crossbow, a renowned security escort from Changzhou prefecture in Jiangnan, and the other was the Chan master Taiwu the Golden-faced Bodhisattva of Mount Song in Henan. These two were both previously subordinates of the Dragon of Shu, and they were the Dragon of Shu’s arms in the years when the Dragon of Shu traveled everywhere and roved about Jianghu, acting as xia in pursuit of righteousness and defeating miscreants and tyrants in the four corners of the world. When Li Fengjie took leave of his master in Beijing, he headed to Mount Song to see the Chan master Taiwu. Then he went to Jiangnan and stayed for a time at the security office of Zhang Xiong the Iron Crossbow. Afterwards, he roamed the landscape, making inscriptions and composing poetry, and aiding the helpless in the name of righteousness, and for that, he made a name for himself in Jiangnan.

From Jiangnan, he headed north to Chang’an and the Wei River to visit historical sites at the ancient capital of the Han and Tang. Little did he know his encounter with Bao Aluan at the Dayan Pagoda would later lead to all kinds of trouble. He had been wounded in his right flank, not too seriously at first, but because he hadn’t the face to remain in Guanzhong any longer after his defeat, he endured the pain of his injury and rode his bloodstained white horse through the Tong Pass. He rode through the night day after day, never having time to rest, and by the time he reached Mount Song, he was not able to get up again after he dismounted his horse. Fortunately, he had stopped at the Chan master Taiwu’s Baisong Temple, and the Chan master Taiwu had a wonder medicine with a secret formulation called “Vajrapani’s Restoration Powder,” for treating injuries from swords and sabers. Applied to his wound, it healed completely before half a month was up.

Li Fengjie wanted to reenter the pass immediately and fight Ji Guangjie, but the Chan master Taiwu had hidden his sword and all the silvers he had carried with him and appealed to him, “You mustn’t go again. Ji Guangjie is the Xia of Longmen’s grandson, and it is a matter of course that he will have secret sword techniques. You’ve only trained in the martial arts with the Dragon of Shu a little over two years, so your swordwork will naturally be a little weaker than his. Not to mention that there are many people there. If you go, you will not win. It would not be a waste of time to stay here with me for now, and wait until you’ve studied more sword techniques and made some loyal friends before looking for Ji Guangjie to determine who is stronger than the other.” Thus, Li Fengjie listened to the Chan master Taiwu’s exhortations and sequestered himself at the Baisong Temple.

There were a great many temples on Mount Song, with the Shaolin Temple being the largest and having the greatest population of monks, and its Central Peak Tianqi Shrine burning most densely of incense. The smallest was Baisong Temple and its incense burned most sparsely. The reason was that Baisong Temple had been built at the highest summit, and no one would go easily to so high a place to offer incense. Even mountain litters couldn’t make it up there. The Chan master Taiwu did not descend the mountain lightly either, nor did the monks at his temple leave the mountain to collect alms, yet whatever things they had at the temple were all very lavish. Only Li Fengjie had puzzled out the reason for this. To hear Taiwu himself tell it, all of his coin was earned from selling medicine, but Li Fengjie did not believe him. This was because he regarded “Vajrapani’s Restoration Powder” as most precious, and not only was he unwilling to sell it, but he was unable to give it away casually to even those who had developed a very close friendship with him. He had likely become a monk halfway through his life after having amassed great fortune. If it wasn’t that he encountered a formidable opponent and suffered a crushing defeat, then it was that he had involved himself in too great a feud, or committed too serious a crime, and thus he concealed himself in the life of a monk and went into hiding atop a mountain. Other than a few old friends who would occasionally come once to visit him, he did not generally receive guests. Li Fengjie did not ask him about these things in great detail. He spent his days atop the mountain, taking in flower scents and birdsongs amid the shadows of the mountain mist and the wave-like rustling of pine trees, reading a few books, and running through a few sword sequences. His mind and body were quite relaxed and free from worry.

On this day, Li Fengjie felt lonely on the mountain all of a sudden, so he descended the mountain and went to a village called Zither Stream. The village was on the eastern side of a mountain stream, and the stream flowed down with spring water year-round. When it hit between the mess of rocks, a tinkling sound rang out like that of a zither playing. Li Fengjie’s white horse was currently being kept in this village at the home of a woodsman named Hu Erzheng of the Iron Shoulders.

Li Fengjie led his horse from the Hu house and galloped about on a large road below the mountain. He went back and forth for a while until he grew tired and the sun had risen above the top of the mountain. The time of day had almost reached the seventh or eighth hour and the number of travelers and horse-driven wagons gradually increased. It was the first day of the fifth month and the many local people all went to Tianqi Shrine to offer incense. Today was only the first day, but by Duanyang on the fifth day, it was said the Tianqi Shrine would be even livelier than a market. Li Fengjie was afraid of crashing into people, so he pulled his horse over to the side of the road and stood watching people walk by, men and women, old and young, especially the made-up young wives and young women.

Li Fengjie did not have the mind that the licentious Master Dengtu had, but he couldn’t help but think of the many verses on love that people of ancient times composed, so he sat atop his horse and quickly completed a poem. He shook his silk whip and recited, “A purple hairpin, red sleeves and jade green skirt, one gaze and Mount Song gives rise to beautiful clouds. A roaming valiant atop a horse in rapture, the sword point cuts with difficulty the myriad regrets.”

Just as he looked longingly into the distance, extremely pleased with himself, the sound of a bell jingling suddenly arrived at his ear. From the east came a black horse, upon which a golden bell had been fastened, and depending on the speed at which the horse traveled, it rang out either quickly or slowly. Mounted on the horse was a youth of over twenty years, handsome with long eyebrows and big eyes. His body was big, as well as sturdy and tall. On his head there rested a big straw hat with two black silk streamers fluttering in the wind. He wore blue coat and pants, and straw sandals on bare feet as if he had come from Jiangnan. The things that most caught Li Fengjie’s attention were a simple travel bundle attached to this man’s horse, a sword hanging below the saddle, and the sword’s iron case brushing up against the horse’s copper bridle, its clanking sound answering the sounds of the bell.

Seeing these circumstances, Li Fengjie spoke, “This man surely isn’t here to climb the mountain and offer incense. He’s probably one who travels upon Jianghu. But who is he going up the mountain to find?” He made these sorts of guesses in his head, but didn’t go following after the man. He spurred his horse along the road, and when he entered a crude wooden door, he saw Hu Erzheng eating. Hu Erzheng’s age was about twenty-seven or eight years. The flesh on his entire body was almost dark as coal, and his head was like an iron ball. He had bared his upper body and exposed a robust physique, craggy like mountain rocks. He was sweaty all over, and it was both dark and slick, as if he had been given a layer of black lacquer. In his two large hands he held a piece of dark flatbread of which he was in the midst of taking large bites. As he chewed on the bread, he said, “Brother Li! Come eat! My mom’s baked some good bread!”

Li Fengjie shook his head and said, “I’m all right. I’ll eat when I get back to the temple.” Hu Erzheng said, “The food at the temple isn’t as good as at my home. Come eat! There’s bread inside the house!” He then pointed at a bundle of firewood placed in the yard. This firewood bundle had just been put together and brought down from the high mountain. It was no less than a hundred and fifty or sixty catties. If it wasn’t for his Iron Shoulders, no one could bear it down the mountain. Hu Erzheng said, “I can sell this bundle for two strings of coin and cut down a few catties of meat. I’ll treat my old mom, and I’ll treat you.” Li Fengjie smiled, “You needn’t buy meat to treat me. I’ll eat one of your flatbreads right now.” After he finished hitching his horse, he entered the grass hut puffing with smoke.

Hu Erzheng’s mother was paralyzed and neither of her legs could move off their kang. She could only sit on the kang and in front of it was placed a small mud stove where she was baking flatbread for her son. The filling was very dry, and the flour for the flatbread was extremely coarse, so Li Fengjie had frowned a bit, but because he was simply too hungry and also too lazy to go out and buy something to eat, he tore off half a piece of bread and picked up a pickle, and then went outside to chat with Hu Erzheng while he ate. Hu Erzheng spoke of the pointlessness of being a woodsman, now that the trees on the mountain all had owners. If they didn’t belong to the monks at the temples, then they were claimed by the affluent households below the mountain. If he was seen by others, he would be beaten and scolded. He wanted to go to the city to find work, but he didn’t want to leave his old mom.

Li Fengjie added, “Since your old mom can’t move, she needs your constant care, so how could go to the city to find work? It’d be better to accept making a living gathering firewood. When you don’t have enough money, I can lend some to you.” Hu Erzheng waved his hand and said, “Brother Li, don’t lend me any money. If you did, I wouldn’t be able to pay it back. I would keep thinking about it and not be able to sleep well.” Li Fengjie laughed, quite appreciating Hu Erzheng’s honesty. When he finished his half piece of bread and sated his hunger, he sat for a while until the sweat on his body was gone. Hu Erzheng had already finished eating and had gone to feed Li Fengjie’s horse.

It was now past noon, so Li Fengjie said to Hu Erzheng, “Erzheng, I’m going. I’ll see you again tomorrow!” Hu Erzheng grunted a response and Li Fengjie departed through the wooden door. He left the village and walked alongside the lake. He heard the running water tinkling just as if a zither was playing. Strange rock formations jutted out before the stream, piled one on top of another boundless to the eye, forming a high mountain ridge. The trees on the mountain ridge grew dense and shady, and when the wind blew, they would swish and rustle. He didn’t know which leaves were making the sound, but when it combined with the tinkling of the mountain stream, it couldn’t help but rouse Li Fengjie’s desire to write poetry again. He stopped and stood next to the stream. He looked up at the clouds floating atop the mountain ridge and then down at the flowing waters of the stream. He suddenly spotted a stone bridge to his right, extending over the stream, which could be crossed to enter a mountain path. The path was precipitous yet wound deep into the mountains, as if some spectacular landscapes were hidden inside.

At this, Li Fengjie didn’t want to compose verse anymore, thinking, What a great place. I wonder if it goes all the way up the mountain or not. I’ve been on the mountain for so many days, and yet I didn’t know about this path! Thus, he walked across the stone bridge, and headed into the small trail, seeing on the ground two broken straw sandal straps made of hemp twine. He walked a little more and noticed a few piles of human excrement on the ground, knowing then that people must use this trail often. And so Li Fengjie continued up step by step. Above his head there were pines and cypresses offering him shade from the sunlight, and a mountain wind blew at his face. Various mountain birds flew in front of his eyes and called into his ears.

Li Fengjie suddenly thought, Why must I strive for fame and fortune in this messy human world? Why must I seek revenge from Ji Guangjie or fight bitterly with the Kunlun School without end? Should I just secure myself a portion of property on or below the mountain and become a hermit, enjoying the quiet fortunes of the mountain woods? What could be better than that? He pondered this as he walked and turned past a mountain ridge. The trail became steeper and narrower, and more and more mountain birds appeared.

He abruptly noticed a bout of weeping amid the disorderly twittering and chirping of the birds. It was the sound of a woman crying. Li Fengjie couldn’t help but be taken aback, and carefully discerned where the crying was coming from. The crying drew nearer and nearer and became more and more anxious, and was now mixed with the sound of cursing. Li Fengjie immediately found his way toward it and saw running down from the mountain, a woman dressed in rags, her hair disheveled. She cried out, “Help! There’s a bad man after me!” Sure enough, chasing behind the woman came a yellow-faced man of forty-odd years, broad of body, wearing silk coat and pants.

The man saw Li Fengjie, but continued chasing the woman as if he had not, yelling, “You little whore! The good sir here’s doing you a favor, and you think you’re too good for me? Fuck, you’ll go with all of them, the pig herders and shit collectors ... When I’m happy, I intend to do you favors. There are good things in it for you. I’ll get you new clothes and give you some money to spend!” He chased after her, intending to carry her off. The woman ran down as fast as she could and stumbled onto the ground, screaming.

Li Fengjie found it hard to hold his fury as he leapt forward with a whoosh and grabbed hold of the yellow-faced man with one hand, angrily asking, “What do you think you’re doing? Mistreating a defenseless woman!” The man said, “This bitch is mine! Who do you thi—” Before he could finish, Li Fengjie punched him in the head, sending the man unconscious onto the ground with a crash. Li Fengjie turned away from the man and went to assist the woman. He lifted the woman up with both hands and saw that she had only about seventeen or eighteen years and was very pretty. Li Fengjie felt himself a bit impetuous, so he let go of her and said, “Don’t be afraid! You should get out of here!”

The woman was bleeding from her forehead and her tears were seeping into the blood as she choked with grief. She said not a word and started back up the mountain. Li Fengjie stopped her and asked, “What do you still need up the mountain? Do you live there?” The woman shook her head and sobbed, saying, “I dropped a basket!” Li Fengjie said, “I’ll come with you to get it!” When he said this, he saw that the yellow-faced man had regained consciousness. He rolled over and stood up, and then pulled a knife from his side. At a flip of his hand, he threw it at Li Fengjie with a swoosh, just as if it was a dart. The woman shouted in fright, but Li Fengjie caught it in his hand and sneered, “Do you have any more throwing knives?” The man glowered with his vicious eyes and pulled throwing knives from the belt at his waist. Swoosh, swoosh, he flung two more of them in quick succession. Li Fengjie caught both of them with one hand, and the man couldn’t help but become unnerved.

Li Fengjie’s face darkened and he cursed, “You bastard!” He flicked his hand and sent the throwing knife back. It pierced the man’s left cheek so that the man couldn’t even yell out. Blood ran from his cheek down along the knife. He pulled it out without hesitation, and then turned to run. Before he took two or three steps upward, a rock flew down from above and struck his face with a crack. He yelped and toppled onto the ground once more unconscious.

Li Fengjie couldn’t help his astonishment as he heard the sound of laughter from above and the clop, clop of hooves. A youth walked down the mountain leading a horse, and it turned out to be the same one Li Fengjie had seen in the morning from the side of the road. He saw him clasp his fist as he asked Li Fengjie with a smile, “Friend, does this path go all the way down the mountain? Can I get down there with my horse?” Li Fengjie sized him up and then clasped his fist, saying, “The trail’s too narrow, so you won’t be able to get through it with your horse. Friend, I saw you go up the mountain on the eastern side. Whey aren’t you going down from that same path? It’s much wider and more level.” The youth in front of him said, “Someone told me that this mountain trail would lead me to Peakfront Village where the Baisong Temple’s lower courtyard is. I want to go there to find someone.”

Hearing this, Li Fengjie couldn’t help being puzzled, thinking, Baisong Temple doesn’t have a lower courtyard, and Peakfront village is on the north side, quite far from here. This person has obviously been tricked. Then he said, “Who are you looking for, friend?” The youth said, “I’m looking for the Chan master Taiwu the Golden-faced Bodhisattva of the Baisong Temple.” Li Fengjie said, “That’s no problem. The Chan master Taiwu is a friend of mine. I can go with you to see him. Sit tight for now. I’m going to finish taking care of this first.” The youth smiled and said, “All right, all right.”

Li Fengjie took the woman up and found her broken bamboo basket. The basket was filled with dug up wild vegetables and foraged pine nuts. Li Fengjie understood that this woman’s family must be very poor, so he said to her sympathetically, “Try not to go up into the mountains anymore, but if you do, you should walk on the main road. Not many people travel on this one, so if you ran into another bad man, it would be very hard for you to deal with!” The woman assented with tears dropping from her eyes. Nearby, the youth said, “Ask her where she lives, and then take her back there!” Li Fengjie asked the woman where she lived, and the woman pointed down the mountain, replying, “I live at Zither Stream.” Li Fengjie said, “I just came from there. I’ll take you back there!” Then he said to the youth, “Friend, please wait a moment for me here. I’ll be back shortly.” The youth nodded and said, “All right, all right. I’ll wait for you here.” Li Fengjie carried the basket for the woman and walked down the mountain while protecting her.

The woman’s feet were very small, and then she’d injured her leg when she fell, so she had much difficulty in walking on the uneven mountain road. At this time, Li Fengjie thought, We can’t think about the separation of men and women now! Thus, he supported her arm and they walked down the mountain path much more easily. It wasn’t until they crossed the stone bridge and entered the village at Zither Stream that Li Fengjie handed the basket over to the woman, instructing her, “You must not go up into the mountains again!” The woman limped away holding the basket.

Li Fengjie quickly made his way back up the mountain. When he went back to the place he had been, he saw that the injured yellow-faced man had come to again, but the youth had him locked in his arms and was questioning him. Li Fengjie walked over and hit him another couple times with his fist and yelled, “You don’t look like you’re young anymore, and yet you’re mistreating a helpless woman. You’re below even a mere beast. Get out of here! Go back up the mountain and find another trail. You’re not to use this one to get down!” The man didn’t utter a word. He hung his head like an injured dog and headed up the mountain.

Li Fengjie clasped his fist at the youth again and asked, “Would you do me the honor of giving me your great name?” The youth cupped his fist as well and said, “I am named Jiang Xiaohe.” Upon hearing Jiang Xiaohe’s name, Li Fengjie couldn’t help being struck for a moment, as if he’d heard mention of the name before. He said, “Well met! Well met! Brother Jiang, from where are you coming?” Jiang Xiaohe said, “I’ve come from Xuzhou especially to see the Chan master Taiwu. When I went to Baisong Temple a moment ago to call upon him, a monk at the temple told me he’s gone to the lower courtyard in Peakfront Village. He gave me directions and told me to descend the mountain to find him. When I was walking here, I ran into you, brother, punishing that maniac. Your skill is quick and clean. I truly admire it. Dare I ask how I might address you, brother?”

Li Fengjie imparted his name, and Jiang Xiaohe came to like him even more, saying, “Oh my! It is Li Fengjie, the brilliant disciple of the Dragon of Shu, who stands before me. In Jiangnan, I heard tell of your many gallant exploits.” Li Fengjie smiled and said, “You praise me too much!” Jiang Xiaohe said, “Brother Li, since you are acquainted with the Chan master Taiwu, I ask you please to quickly take me to see him. The reason is I have a friend who was wounded in Xuzhou, and though the wound wasn’t serious, it’s become swollen and festered. I heard that the Chan master Taiwu has some kind of divine medicine here called “Vajrapani’s Restoration Powder.” I plan to ask him for some and hurry back so I can save my friend.” Li Fengjie said kindly, “That can surely be done. Vajrapani’s Restoration Powder is indeed a wonder medicine. I suffered a bit of a wound myself last month, and was healed by the medicine. It’s only that the Chan master Taiwu considers this kind of medicine very precious and will not easily consent to giving it away. If you offered money for him, he’d be even less likely to sell it to you. I’ll speak for you, however, and he will certainly feel ashamed if he didn’t give you some.” Jiang Xiaohe said, “The friend of mine who is wounded is a man of Jianghu, and the Chan master Taiwu used to travel upon Jianghu himself. Now that he’s become a monk, he ought to hold mercy even more in his thoughts, so what could a bit of medicine be for him?” Having said this, with Li Fengjie in front and Jiang Xiaohe following behind, leading his horse, the two headed up the mountain.

They spoke as they walked, and Li Fengjie asked Jiang Xiaohe about his background. Jiang Xiaohe wasn’t willing even to say where he had been born, and simply smiled and said, “I am a man alone, wandering about out here, and I don’t know much of the martial arts, though it’s not been so bad that I’ve been harassed by others while traveling upon Jianghu. I’ve just now come from Jiangnan, and I encountered an old friend when I arrived in Xuzhou. He was injured, so I came to ask the Chan master Taiwu for some medicine. When I get the medicine, I’ll take it myself to Xuzhou, and then I want to go to Guanzhong to meet with some friends.” Hearing this, Li Fengjie was taken aback and said, “Guanzhong...? I wonder what business Brother Jiang’s friends in Guanzhong are in.” Jiang Xiaohe said, “They are but a few in the security escort field.” Li Fengjie asked, “The security firms in Guanzhong are mostly men of the Kunlun School. Could it be Brother Jiang is friends with them?” Jiang Xiaohe nodded and said, “I know them some, but the friendship is not deep.”

Upon hearing this, Li Fengjie’s attitude changed immediately as he considered Jiang Xiaohe a henchman of the Kunlun School. He became extremely unhappy and sneered, “Those of the Kunlun School are all inconsequential, not to mention contemptible and treacherous, relying only on their numbers. Recently there was one Ji Guangjie, the Xia of Longmen’s grandson, and his swordwork could be called powerful. He arrived in Guanzhong and aided those of the Kunlun School. Ge Zhiqiang, Lu Zhizhong and the others revered him as a god.” Jiang Xiaohe seemed surprised, saying, “The Xia of Longmen’s grandson?” Li Fengjie said, “It’s said he is the grandson of the Xia of Longmen, and I believe it not to be false. His swordwork indeed has several moments of excellence, and he seems to be of an age with us. Although it is a bit too much of a shame for a young xia to increase the might of that Kunlun School and grow their influence!” Jiang Xiaohe then asked, “Brother Li, have you previously crossed swords with these people?” Li Fengjie hesitated a moment before saying, “There have been a few exchanges, but I would not shy away from another struggle with them!”

They spoke all the way and arrived at the highest peak of Mount Song. At this point, Jiang Xiaohe’s horse could continue no further. Li Fengjie said, “Hitch your horse here. No one is likely to steal it.” Jiang Xiaohe thus hitched his horse to a pine tree, and carried his travel bundle and his accompanying sword on his back. Then, he followed Li Fengjie in climbing through the trees and scaling the crags, just as if they were two simians, and ascended to the highest pinnacle of the mountain. It was the second time Jiang Xiaohe had come into the misty Baisong Temple. Li Fengjie invited him to rest in his room, and then went to the abbot’s chambers of the Chan master Taiwu. Chan master Taiwu was browsing through sutras when Li Fengjie asked, “Are you aware that someone named Jiang Xiaohe came looking for you to ask for medicine? He’s come now once again.”

The expression on Chan master Taiwu’s yellow face dropped and he revealed a look of displeasure, saying, “Why has he come again? He’d just come by earlier. That Vajrapani’s Restoration Powder of mine is used for guarding people of my temple from the injuries they get falling down when going up and down the mountain. How could I just give it to a man of Jianghu? If I gave it to them, after being healed, they’ll continue looking for fights and committing evil acts!” Li Fengjie said, “I think you should just give him a little bit and send him on his way. He seems to be a man of the Kunlun School, but he’s come here from very far away, not an easy matter all said.”