Gu Long began his writing career writing literary fiction, but he didn’t get anywhere with it. At the time he knew Feng Nuoni 馮娜妮, who was his classmate in middle school. In 1958 she married manhua artist and author Li Feimeng 李費蒙, and by hanging out with this couple, Gu Long was introduced to the literary circles of Taipei. There he met Zhuge Qingyun 諸葛青雲, one of the top wuxia authors of at the time. Wolong Sheng 臥龍生, Sima Ling 司馬翎, and Zhuge Qingyun were friends, and they all hung out together.
Zhuge Qingyun, Wolong Sheng, and Sima Ling were busy writing multiple novels at the same time and spending a lot of time hanging out and drinking and clubbing and playing mahjong, so there was limited time for writing! Gu Long would occasionally write some installments here and there for them when they were under pressure to meet deadlines (or too drunk to write).1
In 1960, Gu Long published his first novel,《蒼穹神劍》Divine Sword of the Cerulean Vault, though he dropped it before it was finished. He released seven novels in 1960 alone;2 some he ended up finishing, some he abandoned.3
Gu Long’s early writing style followed the style that everyone else used at the time, mostly taking after Wolong Sheng, Zhuge Qingyun, and Sima Ling. So his early work is rather conventional, yet you can still see the “Gu Long” in it. The introspection of his characters and certain narratorial fluorishes, such as asking rhetorical questions to the reader, or having the character question himself, and the “But… Because…” style of narration so ubiquitous in his later work, is already present in his early work.
So I translated four chapters of one of Gu Long’s early novels,《飄香劍雨》Wafting Fragrance in a Storm of Swords, so you can get a taste of his early writing style. There are two other works translated from Gu Long’s early period,《劍客行》Swordsman’s Journey (July 1961) and《護花鈴》Flower Guarding Bell (Oct. 1962).4 Storm of Swords was a bit earlier, beginning January 1961. Below are the first four chapters:
Chapter 1
Iron Daggerspear5 Marquis of Wen
The sound of a cock crowing at a thatched shop—
In the piercing cold wind of early morning in the dead of winter, a tall, slim young handsome man with an heroic bearing quietly pushed open the white poplar wood door of the little inn of this deserted village and led out his famed flaming-red horse that he regarded as his life. He looked to the sky and breathed in, the cold wind quickly rushing into his burning hot chest.
From the corners of his mouth hung a haughty, mocking smile as he suddenly mounted the horse, its hooves leaving a string of tracks in the snow. From the saddle hung two heavy items. Though they were wrapped tightly in oilcloth, they still clinked whenever they struck the saddle of the stirrups, and this sound clearly was the sound of two metal objects clinking together.
He, he didn’t attract anyone’s notice because right now there was no one willing to brave the cold and come out and stand in the morning breeze. But if anyone knew who he was, the situation would be much different.
He, he was Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen Lü Nanren, famous throughout the jianghu in recent years. And for him to become so famous in such a short amount of time, there must be some reason.
An exceptional, precious horse, the peak of hard-soft martial arts, plus two unique weapons—Dual Cold Iron Daggerspears, had allowed him in just a few years time to defeat every martial world figure who wanted to mess with him, and naturally among them there was no lack of famous masterhands..
In addition, his spirited, handsome appearance had won him the most beautiful lady in the martial world at the time, Xue Ruobi, as his wife, and so Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen and Lady Delirious became the most admired husband and wife couple in the martial world. Of course, with “admiration” ever comes with it “jealousy”.
Now, same as usual—
Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen Lü Nanren rode his horse in a carefree, relaxed manner, horse hooves flying, his right hand firmly grasping the reins, the horse’s beautiful mane fluttering in the cold wind.
When the horse passed it kicked up a mix of ice and snow and silt. Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen’s handsome face and twinkling eyes brought to mind at once the all-powerful Marquis of Wen of former times, Lü Bu. No wonder he was never willing to travel alone, because he feared getting entangled with the unmarried women of the jianghu. Perhaps he had encountered too many such entanglements.
But then—
Why was he traveling alone now? And where was Lady Delirious, Xue Ruobi, who was never not by his side? Why was there a dim haze concealed behind his habitual smile?
Though the horse was galloping swiftly, he yet seemed aimless, not headed in any particular direction.
He reached Baoding prefecture, but didn’t enter the city, just circled around before the city gates as if deliberately trying to draw someone’s attention. He even took the dual Cold Iron Daggerspears out from their oilcloth and mechanically brandished them in his hands.
Sure enough, word soon spread that the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen was pacing back and forth outside the city. Some of the eminent martial world people in the city thought this very strange. What was he doing?”
Of course he had a reason, because on his handsome face there was now a look of anticipation. Whatever was worth his anticipation must also be rather odd as well?
“Ahead are the city gates in front of the Confucius temple,” he thought, but he still didn’t spur his horse into the city. He just strolled aimlessly outside the city moat, his bright eyes frequently looking toward the wide open gates of Baoding.
As expected, a group of spirited horses galloped out like the wind from the city gates, took a look around, then galloped straight for him. He looked over the riders and saw among them one dressed in gold with a haughty, barely perceptible smile on his face.
The group of horses stopped half the length of an arrow-shot away from him and the riders dismounted. A burly man in black led his horse some distance away, and three others in blue followed the man in gold with big strides over to Lü Nanren, their steps steady, all of them possessing a decent martial arts foundation.
Especially the man in gold, a short old man—perhaps it’s too soon to call him old, but the slack flesh of his face really did make people think he was ten years older—every step he took was like a huge elephant, surprising everyone with his heavy leg strength.
“Who’s this?” Lü Nanren thought, turning it over in his mind rapidly. “Cinnabar Palm You Dajun? Yep, that’s just who that is. He’s precisely who I need.”
He was actually quite happy when he saw him, but why?
He sat his horse unmoving as the four men walked up to him, then parted to make way for the fatty in gold—Cinnabar Palm, to stand as stately and steadily as a mountain before him.
“Didn’t expect it, hut?” Lü Nanren said with a mocking smile. “Didn’t expect me to run all the way here from Jiangnan, did you?”
You Dajun sure enough did have a surprised look on his face, but his slack face flesh covered it up well. He said in a low voice, “It certainly is strange.”
He deliberately put a frosty edge to his voice, “But what I find strange is not that you ran all the way here but that you actually dared to show your face here.”
Lü Nanren looked to the sky and laughed. “Why wouldn’t I dare show my face. You think I’m scared of you all?” His face was gradually covered with a layer of frost. “You all made it so I, Lü Nanren, have no home to go back to, and I made it so you all can have no peace. just because I couldn’t beat you in my lair in Jiangnan doesn’t that mean I’m scared of you rats!”
You Dajun immediately went into a rage, his face reddening, his temples bulging. “Okay, okay!” He said sternly, “I’ll let you see the power of our Heaven Resisting Sect among the Two Rivers!”
He paused, feeling that what he was saying couldn’t express his dignity, so he added, “Good buddy, if you don’t run for your life but instead want to test your strength against the Heaven Resisting Sect, then you must really be tired of living! Lü, get down from there and let us teach you a good lesson!”
Lü Nanren belted out another loud laugh, then he deftly and quickly dismounted and held his dual daggerspears one in each hand. Such heavy weapons in his hands were like nothing.
“Buddy, enough bullshitting, hurry up and shine your prune and strike!” he yelled.6
“When I strike, it won’t be with a weapon.” Suddenly, You Dajun let out a harsh shout, then without first assuming a stance he raised his hand and in a flash he had scurried over to Lü Nanren.
The palm of his hand was bloodred. Lü Nanren was startled. He thought, “This guy’s Cinnabar Palm is already about nine-tenths perfected.” With a sneer he stepped to the side and threw the daggerspears in his hand on the ground.
“Your old man doesn’t need to use a weapon either to fight a rat like you,” Lü Nanren said sternly. This sure enough made Cinnabar Palm even more furious, and he twisted his body and advanced, his palm striking down at the top of his head.
The force of the wind from his palm was strong, his palm strength astonishing. Lü Nanren wasn’t about to meet it head on. In a flash he darted away, and Cinnabar Palm yelled violently over and over, crossed his feet and turned around and came at him again.
Cinnabar Palm had held sway over the Two Rivers for years, and when it came to palm power, he was a first-rate figure within the martial world and so held an extremely important position within the Heaven Resisting Sect that terrorized the martial world.
It was just that, even though his palms were powerful, he was not very nimble. Even though his palms were strong enough to cleave mountains and split stone, good enough to make up for his lack of agility, but if he really faced a top masterhand he would be at a disadvantage. He knew this point himself very well, so now every palm strike was lethal, and he was using nine-tenths of his power, intending to see this young yet famous man of the jianghu, Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen die by his palm.
The wind force of his palm was like a mountain, the blur of his palm like a cloud; among the wind and clouds, the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen seemed to be unable to counterattack! The three men in blue watching off to the side like a tiger watching its prey had joyful looks on their faces right now, coincidentally all thinking, “This Lü fella is useless without his weapons.”
But within their joy there was yet some regret.
“If we had known that earlier we could have dealt with Lü ourselves, and how glorious would that have been! If the Sectmaster knew, wouldn’t we be promoted a few levels?” They greedily gazed at You Dajun’s golden robe and thought, “Then we could wear golden robes.”
They were formulating some shenanigans, but You Dajun didn’t look so happy now for some reason. His palm strikes were even more vicious and relentless, anxious to fell Lü Nanren with one palm strike. Aside from the enmity between the Heaven Resisting Sect and Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen, he also wanted to use this defeat of the world-renowned Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen to increase his own prestige within the martial world.
Although he was clearing winning, for the moment he was not able to seal the victory. A dozen or so moves exchanged later, and Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen was getting less and less nimble than before.
Cinnabar Palm’s drive suddenly increased and he shot both palms out suddenly in a dangerous move, “The Furiously Galloping Horse’s Parts Its Mane”, both palms parting, exposing his chest. The corners of Lü Nanren’s mouth flashed a barely perceptible smile and he stole in and with two fingers together struck his “Cyclic Gate” acupoint on the left side of his ribs.
“This little boy fell for it.” This was the thought that flashed through Cinnabar Palm’s mind. he shouted and sucked in his chest and belly, and Lü Nanren’s fingers were just short of the mark. As Lü Nanren was retracting his move and stepping back, You Dajun flipped his palm over and slammed it into his chest.
Cinnabar Palm’s palm power ruled the martial world, the force of it so strong that Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen howled madly and planted his feet before running by like an arrow. He nimbly swept over to his vigorous horse that had been waiting there all this time and jumped into the saddle, kicked his heels, and the horse scurried away like an arrow.
“That little boy’s lightness skill is not weak.” Cinnabar Palm was wild with joy at connecting with his palm strike. Although that thought passed through his mind, he never thought his lightness skill would be so superb.
The three men in blue were shouting angrily as they gave chase. But in the blink of an eye, Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen and his horse had galloped far away.
You Dajun laughed, proud of himself. “That guy got hit by my palm, he doesn’t have long left to live.”
He laughed wildly. “We can take our time going after him and just wait and go collect his corpse.”
Given Cinnabar Palm You Dajun’s palm power, he was really not exaggerating. The three men in blue naturally believed him, they just didn’t know that things were contrary to their expectations!
Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen galloped like the wind for a time, and when he thought he had left them far behind, he suddenly reined in his horse in a remote place and quickly dismounted.
He looked around, making sure there were no other tracks around besides his own. He looked again at the city moat. Although its surface was frozen over, it had not yet formed a solid layer but was just ice floating on the surface, and so he seemed rather content.
“Everything went perfectly,” he thought. Suddenly, tore his robe open and turned out the inner fur lining, and the cold wind quickly blew in.
But he didn’t care. He moved his hand down to his bootleg and drew a dagger shiny as snow and quickly cut his left arm, blood spilling out.
He very carefully made sure the blood didn’t get on his clothes as he pressed down with his fingers and blood spilled and formed a big puddle on the snow, and no one would be able to tell if it was blood from an external wound or if it had been spit up due to an internal injury.
He finished very quickly, then he went to where he had hitched his horse over by the riverbank and made some messy footprints in order to make them believe that after Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen had been struck by Cinnabar Palm You Dajun’s palm, he had gone outside Baoding, spit up blood and died, and because he had not wanted his body to fall into Heaven Resisting Sect hands, he had used his last bit of strength to fling himself into the river.
Like a lover, he really hated to leave behind his precious horse that had been the admiration and envy of everyone and had gone through countless battles with him. He heaved a heavy sigh, but in order to make everyone believe he was dead, he had to abandon the horse. This was the hardest part of his plan for him to do.
But he had to do it. If he didn’t leave the horse behind, then even though a piece of his prepared golden threaded vest had bloodstains on it where he had been struck by Cinnabar Palm You Dajun’ mountain-cleaving, stone-splitting palm, then everyone would still doubt that the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen could die so easily!
He heaved another heavy sigh, still reluctant to leave for a while. Then the neighing of horses was heard on the wind and he knew now that the time for he—Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen, to depart from the world had arrived. Although he still a chance to return to the world someday, that hope right now seemed as distant and indistinct as a lone star in the dead of night!
His horse whinnied and he brushed a hand against the corner of his eye. Was it tears or windblown sand?
He suddenly crouched down and dug the tips of his toes into the riverbank and leapt up and skimmed his slender figure over the four-stave wide city moat, only lightly touching the ground before stretching and launching himself up again, both arms out, and leaping on top of the Baoding city wall.
Just as he used his superb lightness skill to disappear over the Baoding city wall, Cinnabar Palm You Dajun and the other horses arrived after following his horse’s tracks in the snow. The first thing they saw was the precious flaming-red horse, unparalleled in the jianghu, standing alone and forlorn in the cold wind of the harsh winter twilight.
In addition there was everything else Lü Nanren had set up, and so news of the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen’s death the next day quickly spread throughout the martial world, causing the eminent figures of the martial world to quickly see the name “Cinnabar Palm You Dajun” in a new light.
The only one who was doubtful about this incident was Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen’s “faithful” wife—Lady Delirious Xue Ruobi, because she knew full well her husband’s martial arts.
But she didn’t dare voice her doubts in front of her new lover—the sectmaster of the jianghu-dominating Heaven Resisting Sect, Xiao Wu.
Although the Heaven Resisting Sect sectmaster wanted very much for Lü Nanren to be dead, when he heard the news he just smiled.
Because he believed it was too boring to fight over a “person”. They wanted to fight against what no one throughout the ages had dared to fight against—so they were the “Heaven Resisting Sect”.
Consequently, the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen, after losing his home and his wife, disappeared from the martial world.
Chapter 2
Hidden Traces, Covered Tracks
Lü Nanren laid low for a long time in a dark area behind the battlements, then doffed his short warrior robe and took off a bundle that had been tightly bound to him. Inside was a set of very ordinary looking clothes and a leather winter windcap often seen in the north.
So when he strolled out into the city, he had changed into an extremely ordinary person, identical to the tradesmen who bustled back and forth on along the streets of Baoding every day. Only what he was thinking of was much different from anything that those people had been through.
His heart was pained as if it had been bitten by a venomous snake, so that his face was even paler, and his eyes, concealed under the windcap, had turned bloodred due to his indignant resentment and hatred.
At his farmhouse on the outskirts of Suzhou it had been warm. He and his wife had been happy. He held a fervent love of mankind and so didn’t do like so many other famous figures of the martial world and set up his home in the remote mountains. Instead, in Suzhou with his famous, beautiful wife, he enjoyed a peaceful life that the vast majority of young, affluent married couples enjoyed, a warm, happy life.
Of course, many eminent figures of the martial world who admired him paid him a visit.
They would also go out together during the beautiful days of late spring and early autumn and gallop around the jianghu, enjoying everyone’s admiring gazes.
Even though there were some enemies, they were subdued by his dual short Cold Iron Daggerspears.
But misfortune did not let him off. Within five years, the sectmaster of the Heaven Resisting Sect that terrorized the martial world, the rare talent not seen in the martial world in a hundred years—Xu Wu, chanced to meet Xue Ruobi, and the wife who Lü Nanren had always thought was extremely faithful was faithful no longer and actually ran off into the Heaven Resisting Sect sectmaster’s arms!
Furthermore, Heaven Resisting Sect Sectmaster Xu Wu, used his superb martial arts and power within the martial world, fostered by his supreme intelligence and enormous willpower, to try to eradicate the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen.
Lü Nanren was arrogant and immediately fought back with all his might.
But he lost. Like everyone else in the martial world, he was unable to contend with the immense power of the Heaven Resisting Sect.
So many times he nearly died by the swarming attack of the highest-ranking golden-robed incensemasters of Heaven Resisting Sect.
But he was not about to just die, so he did all he could to escape Jiangnan. He faked his own death to trick the Heaven Resisting Sect and trick all of the eminent figures of the martial world, and hid his traces and covered his tracks.
No one would suspect that he had hid himself on the most bustling street of Baoding. Nor would anyone suspect that a licentiate from Jiangnan who lived in a four-wing courtyard house with a bunch of other failed licentiates—Yi Feng, was actually the formerly much-celebrated figure of the martial world, the Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen.
All day long this four-wing courtyard house was filled with the sounds of people reading aloud. Failed licentiates found their dreams in books. Just one day and they could become champions of the world and leap over ten thousand people in status.
Like those scholars, Yi Feng was also reading—various kinds of books.
He had studied martial arts since he was a kid and had had no time for study. Gradually, he found solace and satisfaction in books, allowing him to calm his mind and give him hope, hope that he could one day get the opportunity to take revenge.
These were very hard times. For a person to go from fame back to a life of austerity was a state of mind most people could not handle, but he weathered it.
Two years later—
Once people’s memories began to fade, till they had completely forgotten the name Iron Daggerspear Marquis of Wen, he shouldered a basket of books, put on a blue robe, and used yellow makeup to mask his pale face, and with head down, like a frustrated roaming scholar, set out on his journey. Only he was no longer an all-inspiring figure.
Chapter 3
Enemy Hidden, Self Exposed
Sometimes, when a horse gallops past and it splashes mud onto him, he will find that the rider was someone who once bowed to him and asked him for advice.
Sometimes, when he’s sitting in a noisy teahouse and hears a man talking crudely, spittle flying, about affairs of the martial world, the ardor he has harbored in his breast for so long will seethe, but in the blink of any eye it will be held in.
Very quickly he will realize that the Heaven Resisting Sect’s status within the martial world is gradually growing, and the renowned sects of old in the martial world in recent years are in decline, and in the jianghu it is already rare to hear of rising new masterhands, and the ones that there are will be enlisted by the Heaven Resisting Sect.
And so, he at only twenty-six, in his mind was already dejected and lonesome as if he were sixty-two.
But his deep, profound animosity made him still bide his time and hope.
Many people are able to keep on living only because of their ability to bide their time and hope.
Once he started getting tired of the city, he want out into the remote highlands. When he got to a spot where he was sure there was no one around, he used his martial arts which he had never neglected for even one day to climb to a treacherous peak on a remote mountain that ordinary people could not climb to.
Of course, he was hoping for a miracle.
But would a miracle appear for a person who had reached the end of a dead-end road?
Mount Hua was one of the Five Marchmounts, a chain of tall and graceful mountains, excellent scenery. On nice spring and autumn days it was a place for literati to take outings to and declaim poems.
But in the severe cold of early spring, even those who wanted to come out and admire the snow only went halfway up the mountain to get a taste of it and went no further. Rarely would anyone brave the danger of sliding down the mountain to climb up it in the snow.
On this day on the north side of a Mount Hua peak, a man climbed up nimble as an ape or monkey. Looking closely, this highly skilled figure from head to toe did not give off any indication he was a person of the martial world. He of course was Lü Nanren—Yi Feng.
The forest had long since withered. He leapt up onto the snow-covered mountain rock. On all sides as far as the eye could see there were pure white clouds in the gleaming vaulted cerulean, wind soughing through the trees, penetrating frigid cold.
At this moment he truly felt how insignificant he was! The pent up resentment in his chest in a flash it all became distant and indistinct, and he only felt bighearted and exceedingly relaxed.
He was itching to scream at the top of his lungs.
If it were several years ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated to do it.
But now, he only had the courage to heave a long sigh. It was as if should he belt out a yell he might alarm someone, but who would there be in a place like this?
He stood there in a daze for a time on the outcropping, the mountain breeze blowing. He felt his whole body would rise up with wind as he was completely engrossed in the natural scenery.
Suddenly, an extremely soft voice sounded behind him.
“Mom, will he fall off?” A sharp, clear voice of a girl said, “I think he knows martial arts!”
The voice was extremely pleasant, but it made him jump. He spun around. In the distance was a cliff overgrown with forest swaying in the wind, and before it was a plain of rugged, bumpy wilderness. The woods there in the summer were lush and thriving, but now he could see all the way to the end, and there was no one around!
Anyone in this situation would be shaking with fright, much less one hiding from an enemy who had been willing to fake his own death.
He just felt a burst of cold sweat run as he scanned the area. Suddenly he stopped, because he spotted a pair of eyes moving from inside a cave on the cliff.
He took a step forward, his whole body ready for anything that could happen, because this might be his enemy.
After a long period of living a tranquil life, this kind of encounter unavoidably out him on edge.
He slowly edged forward. He made up his mind that if there was anything at all suspicious about that person he would use any means necessary to eliminate them, because he couldn’t permit anyone to discover his tracks or else it was his doom!
He got closer and closer to those eyes, and he realized the eyes were fixed on him. But because there wasn’t enough light, he couldn’t make out clearly who the eyes belonged to.
Suddenly, the pair of eyes scurried out. Alarmed, he spread his legs and brandished his palm and an extremely intense burst of wind from his palm shot out, banged, and the pair of eyes and the body they belonged to were hit by the force of the palm and slammed into the mountain rock and died with a savage howl.
When he calmed down he looked over and saw that the pair of eyes belonged to a leopard cat, and he couldn’t help but laugh at his own nervousness.
“But, where did that voice come from?” he thought.
After laughing at himself, he couldn’t help but begin to get scared, because the person in hiding very well could be his enemy. And looked like if it was his enemy, it was a formidable character not easy at all to deal with!
he turned in every direction, perfected qi concentrated. He was confident that when it was necessary to unleash his full power, the force was truly astonishing.
But where the mountain breeze blew the scenery was the same, not the trace of a person.
He couldn’t help but say in a low, even voice, “I’m Yi Feng, just chancing to roam around on Mount Hua. What outstanding senior spoke, please come out and tell me!”
His voice had lost its customary composure, because anything that was unknown made people afraid.
His voice faded, but there was still no response. His eyes keenly searched the area, but he didn’t move a muscle.
Because he feared that when he left, the person hiding in the dark would slip away. He also feared that when he moved, he would fall into their trap.
He was not at all being overanxious. You must understand that during the time he was being hounded to death by the Heaven Resisting Sect, if he wasn’t careful and quick-witted, he might have died ten times already!
Now, in a remote mountain gorge like this, he didn’t dare get careless. Because one moment of carelessness could bring about a fatal blow. Therefore, though what he had heard was a girl’s voice, he was afraid, and that did not diminish his fear one bit.
Because in a place like this, how could there be the voice of a girl, and why did it only sound once and then no more afterward? And she hadn’t shown herself!
“This obviously means there’s some scheme afoot,” he thought, and he was increasingly unable to relax in the slightest.
A double-hour passed and a second one began. On the north side of the mountain it was so still it was like all living things in the world had gone extinct. There was not even a cry of a bird or a the call of a wild animal.
His tensely staring eyes were starting to ache from so long without a rest. His ears could now detect the faint snapping of a twig carried on the wind.
But he saw nothing, heard nothing, and so the double-hour passed.
He began to doubt himself. “Could the person have already left and I’ve just been standing here like an idiot all this time? Otherwise, surely he couldn’t stay hidden this long?”
But he firmly believed that the owner of the voice he had heard would never have been able to escape his vision given how quickly he had turned around.
“Unless he could fly,” he thought. “But if he hasn’t left and is just hiding out in some unknown place, then why?”
And so he found his own answer, “Must be because he’s after me and doesn’t want me to see him.”
Suspicions raised, he wasn’t about to relax his over-taut nerves.
Twilight was coming on. He still stood there, unavoidably getting more anxious, because with nightfall his position would be even more disadvantageous. Right now he was in an “enemy hidden, self exposed” situation, and with the cover of night wouldn’t it be much easier for the person to escape or ambush him?
You must know this was not at all him being overanxious but was the unavoidable result of going through numerous dangerous situations where life and death hanged by a thread.
Because in the predicament he was in, the line between life and death was certainly blurred.
Chapter 4
The North of Mount Hua
Suddenly—his waiting was not in vain—he heard a very faint sound, but he knew at once that it had came from a person. His many years of experience in the jianghu taught him that, and he was sure that experience would not lead him astray.
And so he quietly reached into his robe and pulled out a handful of coins, and using the “Sky Raining Down Flowers” “coin dart” technique, he sent them flying.
The coins of course were not as sharp as a “coin dart”, but thrown by an internal arts masterhand such as himself, it still packed astonishing force. The coins tore through the mountain breeze with a shrill sound toward the area where he thought the person was.
It was a cave, but very small and deep, impossible to see what anything going on inside.
But the coins sailed in like a stone sinking into the sea, without a trace.
Yi Feng was even more surprised, because now he was sure that the hidden person was hiding in the cave.
But he wasn’t about to go toward the cave, because he knew that it was much easier for a person to hurt him hiding in the dark than if they were out in the open.
“Friend! You can’t hide anymore! IF you’re a real man, then come out!” he shouted sternly.
Before his voice faded away, another sound came from inside the cave, a shrill voice. “I’ll come out, there’s nothing special about it!”
Then a black figure shot out, and without waiting for Yi Feng to strike, a dozen or so sharp threads of wind assailed Yi Feng.
These were the very same coins that Yi Feng had thrown in, not sent back out by this person and with magnificently skilled technique, because in the dark they were still able to make out where his acupoints were.
What surprised him even more was: it was clear that the projectiles he’d just thrown had been deftly caught by that person. Even though he had held sway over the jianghu, he couldn’t help but be astounded at the skill. No time to think it over, with a flourish of his hand he knocked the handful of coins away.
But that person was quick as lightning, and almost at the same time the projectiles reached Yi Feng, a penetrating palm force in the blink of an eye was attacking Yi Feng from a different location.
These three moves were as swift as a whirlwind, so even though it was three moves, Yi Feng felt it was like three palms assailing him at once, leaving him no time to get a good look at the person. He twist-stepped and spun around, spinning over and over until he swiftly shot his left palm out.
You should know that the distinctive martial arts that made him famous in the martial world in a short amount of time was his ability to launch an attack when he was suddenly assailed.
The person’s was quick, shockingly so, left wrist turning over, a finger striking Yi Feng’s “wrist pulse” acupoint, their right hand making a semicircle and striking with the palm.
That this move was a guarded attack was even more amazing! Yi Feng suddenly found himself before a powerful adversary. He slightly bent and extended his elbow and wrist and turned, blew out a breath of air in a kiai and thrust both palms out using all of his palm force.
Though that person’s move was marvelous, Yi Feng’s palm was completely hard kung fu without a bit of finesse, and that person was not about to meet it head on, so they turned and dodged.
Yi Feng had faced who knows how many tough battles in his roaming through the jianghu, so he was not about to let his opponent have any breathing room. He stepped in abruptly with his left foot, shouted, and swiftly launched a stone-splitting, heaven-shocking palm strike.
Because he could tell that though his opponent was quick and his palm moves were wonderful, his internal force was lacking, so he decided to attack hard and block hard with powerful, uninhibited moves. His experience facing enemies had led him to this decision.
Sure enough, as expected, the person didn’t dare meet it head on but took a step back as if intimidated by that palm strike.
Yi Feng’s vigor was roused, but at this moment he discovered something strange—
This incredibly skilled person, in the light of dusk, looked like a girl, a small and weak one at that, no more than fourteen or fifteen.
“No wonder her internal force is lacking,” Yi Feng thought.
But this girl was skilled enough to startle him.
There were countless famous heroes in the jianghu—including remarkable men of the dark path and swordsmen of the light path, and he had crossed hands with too many of them to count, but he had never come across a girl like this that got the upper hand on him and put him in such an awkward position.
In other words, this girl’s martial arts was better than that of a lot of other famous figures!
So it was worth finding out this girl’s identity and background.
He couldn’t help but doubt whether he ought to be fighting with her? In any case, it was not right for someone of his status to fight with such a girl. Let alone since he still didn’t know what her intentions toward him were.
Before, he had thought that his opponent was an enemy, nor a friend, but now because his opponent was a girl, he vacillated.
As he was thinking, the two of them exchanged a few moves, the girl getting the better of it.
Yi Feng knew it was because he was distracted. But it showed that this fourteen or fifteen year old girl, aside from her inferior internal force, was about even in ability with him.
“So then who is this girl’s teacher?””
He was becoming more and more uncertain.
The girl just kept on fighting, not making a sound, as if she had some enmity with Yi Feng,
There must be some misunderstanding that led to the two of them fighting without first establishing who each other was.
Yi Feng was fighting, but he was thinking of how to handle this.
Unexpectedly his hand was slow and his wrist and elbow felt a bit numb, his “Winding Pool” acupoint on the side of his right elbow struck by the girl’s finger brushing across it, reducing his dexterity as they crossed hands.
And so he at once got his mind under control and disregarded everything for the moment so he could focus on dealing with this adversary.
They were both quick, and in a flash they had exchanged dozens of moves. Yi Feng had some misgivings, so he didn’t use his full strength, restricting himself somewhat as they fought.
But the girl kept throwing out move after move in tight succession, and they were rather curious moves; even with Yi Feng’s extensive experience he couldn’t tell which school or sect the girl’s moves came from.
They were fighting in a small open area between some withered trees. When masters crossed hands they didn’t need a lot of space, but Yi Feng’s fierce and relentless palm force was enough to destroy several of the withered trees all around them. And it was unavoidable that they were being noisy while fighting.
Yi Feng couldn’t help being a bit anxious. Although this was the remote mountains, but eminent figures of the martial world came and went among remote mountains. He didn’t want to be recognized by anyone.
But he also certainly couldn’t just slink off after this muddled fight.
And so he really wanted to tell his opponent to halt and get to the bottom of things. If it turned out that she actually had nothing to do with him and didn’t recognize him, then there was really no need for him to fight.
“This person might also be a person of the martial world who is hiding out here and therefore doesn’t want to be investigated. She probably mistakenly thought I meant her harm and that’s why she just starting fighting without even making a sound.”
He turned this over in his mind rapidly and concluded that this was the most likely possibility.
This was where he exceeded most people, because even in this kind of situation he could think from the other person’s perspective.
And so as he fought, he was more defensive than offensive, thinking about what he should say to figure out whether this girl was a friend or foe.
But his thinking was cut short by another sudden occurrence—
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted someone darting out from where the girl had come out from. Yi Feng cried inwardly, “Shit!” If that person is like this girl and they start fighting indiscriminately, wouldn’t that be even worse for him?
He never would have imagined that this happened mainly because he was worrying too much, and though you couldn’t blame him, he definitely couldn’t blame anyone else!
The girl saw the other person and in a lovely voice at once shouted, “Mom! This person is up to no good, I think he’s come to investigate us. We mustn’t let him get away!”
Yi Feng heard that and frowned!
This new person suddenly stopped. “Lin’er! Stop for a minute and let me talk to him!”
The girl grudgingly grunted “Mm” and retreated four spans.
Yi Feng naturally didn’t take this chance to attack. He put his hands together stood tall, waiting, about to say something, when the person said, “Friend, where did you come from, and what are you doing here?” Her tone was icy, indicating that if he didn’t explain clearly then he could forget about leaving.
Yi Feng quickly sized her up and saw it was a young woman, but he couldn’t see her clearly in the twilight, but in the dim light he could tell she was quite good-looking, her lissome figure especially arousing.
He stared blankly and the woman said coldly, “Friend, if you came to Mount Hua to try your luck against us, mother and daughter, then friend, today don’t even think about leaving.”
Everything she said was with a jianghu tone. Clearly she had roamed the jianghu herself.
Yi Feng was annoyed. He thought, “What, so Mount Hua is yours, so I can’t come here?”
“Mom, this guy is sneaky. He waited here three or four double-hours and still didn’t leave and was snooping around our place. He’s for sure that one of that guy’s henchmen!”
The girl firmly believed he was a bad guy.
Yi Feng knew this was a big misunderstanding, but how was he going to explain things? He couldn’t think of the right thing to say.
“I am Yi Feng. I just happened to be wandering around Mount Hua, I don’t have any evil intentions at all toward you two,” he stammered.
Now he was sure this mother and daughter were not his enemies. He just hoped they would understand that he was not their enemy either.
The girl “hmphed” and said, “You just happened to be wandering around Mount Hua, but then what were you doing hanging around here for so long? Don’t tell me there’s some treasure here?”
“Given your skill, you must be a famous figure in the jianghu.” The woman hmphed coldly. “But I’ve never heard the name ‘Yi Feng’ before.”
This mother and daughter had sharp tongues.
Yi Feng said angrily, “I really have no evil intentions against you two, nor do I know who you are. If you two don’t want to believe me, then there’s no point explaining.”
He paused, then said, “To tell the truth, I’ve got my own problems. If you two can be a little more understanding, I will never every speak about what happened here today.”
He was haughty by nature, having become famous soon after finishing his apprenticeship. He had never been cross-examined like this, so now there was must displeasure in his voice, implying that they could “believe whatever they liked.”
Unexpectedly, the woman’s expression softened. “But how can we trust you?”
Though she as still questioning him, her tone was no longer icy.
Yi Feng was taken aback. He thought, “This mother and daughter must be hiding out in the north of Mount Hua in order to get revenge as well. Their martial arts is so strong, who could their enemy be?”
Thinking about this, he understood why they were so nervous, because he was in the same position as them.
He knew that if he didn’t give them a satisfactory answer now, it would be hard to satisfy them, but how was he supposed to answer that?
Notes
- See《評傳古龍》, 賈賢茂, 2018, pp. 100-109.
- See《本色古龍》, 程維鈞, 2017, pp.67-102.
- Some say the reason he dropped novels was because he asked the publisher for more money and was refused, so he just dropped it and started another novel with a different publisher. See ibid., pg.79 for one example of this.
- See my translation list.
- 戟 (ji). A polearm that is basically a spear with a dagger or some other kind of blade sticking out on one (or sometimes both) sides. You might see it translated elsewhere as halberd or guisarme, but of course those are two distinct weapons, and the ji is a third distinct weapon. So I’m going to allow ji to stand on its own as other weapons get to do. For some reason translators of Chinese terms always make them wear European clothing. Leaving words in pinyin is not ideal because Mandarin simply doesn’t have another sounds and syllable combinations to make enough distinct words without leading to confusion, but sometimes with abstract or very specific words, it might be necessary. But I’d rather translte it, so I’m calling it a daggerspear, following the common translation of a similar polearm, the ge 戈 as “dagger-axe”, which has taken on common usage already. A daggerspear, then, is just a dagger-axe with a spearhead at the end of the shaft, whereas a dagger-axe just has the dagger sticking out to the side. If anyone has a better translation, please let me know.
- “Shine your prune” 亮青子 is jianghu slang for draw or show your weapon. It’s real life jianghu slang, not fictional. 青 is a blue-green color, but 青子 can also mean Chinese olive (橄欖) or plum fruit (梅實). The 青 in this jianghu slang term is also used as a verb meaning to cut (青子青著), so I went with “prune” for the translation because a prune is a dried plum (though not the kind of plum we’re talking about here, technically. The 梅 plum that 青子 refers to is Prunus mume, which is actually more closely related to the apricot, though its blossoms in English are commonly called “plum blossoms”) and “prune” is also a verb meaning to cut, trim, lop off. So it works on both levels and I’m kinda satisfied with it. It’s certainly better than “shine your blue” which was my first take on it. Isn’t language cool?