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Chapter 7
Karma
This great handler of the Three Powers Gang was a sallow-faced, beardless, reserved-looking middle-aged man. After running there he was slightly panting but still maintained his calm, unhurried demeanor as he walked over to Quan Shoutang.
Quan Shoutang saw him and couldn’t help but be happy. Down and out, he cried, “Ziyang, Ziyang, you got here just in time, the Three Powers Gang’s hall was leveled and its basin kicked,1 made a real mess of things. We were utterly defeated, even I suffered this humiliation. If this can be tolerated, what cannot? Hurry up and lead our boys to kill this person and help me vent this grievance…”
Within the Three Powers Gang, the great handler was a revered position, second in command only to the gourd ladle, especially the current one, Wei Ziyang, who was a resounding goodfellow,2 at the height of renown within the jianghu. Usually called “Sallow-faced Judge”, he was not only revered by all within the gang, everyone else they mingled with gave him high praise as well. Quan Shoutang had always looked at this great handler as his right-hand man and relied on him a lot. In recent years, every matter within the gang, large or small, could be handled by Wei Ziyang on behalf of Quan Shoutang. No wonder when he appeared, the Three Powers Gang was like adding kindle to a roaring fire…
Wei Ziyang was very calm. His gaze swept across the dead bodies on the ground and slowly looked around at all the men, then he turned to Quan Shoutang and bowed slightly and heaved a long sigh and said only two words, “Why bother?”
Quan Shoutang didn’t expect his chief general would have this reaction—this reaction after seeing all the attacks and heavy casualties inflicted here! It was like pouring a ladle of cold water full on Quan Shoutang’s face, so that he fumed with rage, “What do you mean why bother? Ziyang, what, what’s the meaning of this?”
Wei Ziyang looked steadily at Fan Kuzhu, but he said to Quan Shoutang, “Venerable Father, I’ve long expected today’s outcome. What merits rejoicing is that it’s not as bad as I worried it would be. At least Venerable Father has not been wounded and the gang’s vitality has not been destroyed…”
Quan Shoutang raged, “What the hell good is it to say all this now? Several of our men have been felled by that lout, Fan, and our face has been blackened. How can the Three Powers Gang allow Fan to abuse us like this?”
Shaking his head, Wei Ziyang said in a low voice, “Venerable Father, I advised you time and time again not to take up this matter. On principle we don’t have a leg to stand on, and if it gets out it will only harm Father’s reputation, not to mention that Fan Kuzhu is no one to be trifled with. Forget about how highly skilled he is, his will is especially strong, his self confidence firm, not something any ordinary person could match. I understand him very well and knew for sure that once this all started he would never let it go and would certainly see justice served. Venerable Father, there’s a saying that one man guarding a pass can hold off ten thousand enemies. We’re not afraid of battling it out till the end, the question is, is it worth it?”
Quan Shoutang was panting for breath, extremely displeased. “Of course it’s worth it, I’m over seventy and have no offspring. That Tong Li on his own agreed to become my adopted son, we’re really father and son. My foster son was in trouble, so I stood up and came out to help, what’s wrong with that? Is it wrong to keep the ancestral incense burning?”3
Wei Ziyang said gravely, “Venerable Father, please let me say something—Tong Li betrayed his sect, plotted to harm his brothers, stole wealth and took life and seduced Junior Sister-in-law. He’s committed heinous crimes that cannot be forgiven. Venerable Father, how can you take a person like that as your adopted son and shame your ancestors and sully your descendents? Besides, he threw himself under Venerable Father’s knee not in order to keep Venerable Father’s family line going but because one, he had a powerful foe and had no strategy to oppose him, and two, he coveted Venerable Father’s enterprise which you have worked so hard to establish. He comes under your shelter to invade your property; one move, two gains. Why wouldn’t he be glad to do it? He’s using Venerable Father’s old and ailing body as his heinous shield4. His venomous heart is truly hard for us to bear!”
Beady eyes about to bulge out, fleshy cheeks and jowls quivering rapidly, Quan Shoutang’s breathing was like a bellows. “You you you… Ziyang ah, Ziyang, don’t believe that hearsay and listen to rumors. That’s all meant to maliciously malign Tong Li. I’m old with no sons, I can’t let my family die out, and all that I’ve worked for my life needs to be carried on by someone. Tong Li is distinguished and ingenious, the ideal candidate… Ziyang, you need not worry about him encroaching on your profits. I will portion it all out to everyone in advance. I would never short you one bit of your share…”
Wei Ziyang had a pained, bitter look on his face, and what he spoke was even more pained, “Venerable Father, I knew you would think this way, but you are wrong. I, Wei Ziyang, have been a part of this gang for six years. For six years I have put my all into this gang, doing everything I can to help relieve Venerable Father’s worries, and every month I have received my share, every year I have accepted your red bonus with thanks. Venerable Father doesn’t owe me anything, and I would never think of harboring any presumptuous desires. I joined the Three Powers Gang to follow Venerable Father. When the day comes when Three Powers Gang leadership changes, I won’t give the new boss any new burdens. I only implore Venerable Father to recognize my absolute sincerity toward Venerable Father and accept my well-intentioned admonition. Even if my body is smashed and my bones crushed, I would have no regrets!”
Quan Shoutang began to calm down. He heaved a long sigh and appeared to weaken. “But, regarding that gossip about Tong Li, you mustn’t believe every word of it…”
Wei Ziyang said solemnly, “I never put stock in rumors. Venerable Father, before all this I already personally looked into this and met with Magic Wing Sect’s Zhan Yuxiu in secret and learned a lot about everything Tong Li did. I did all this only to get to the bottom of things for Venerable Father, and left a little leeway; by no means did I listen to one side’s cunning excuses and be taken in and thereby ruin Venerable Father’s lifelong reputation and forfeit the gang’s great prospects!”
Quan Shoutang’s whole body went limp, looking withered and weak, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. His eyes were dim, voice almost gone, “You’re sure you’re not mistaken about any of this?”
Wei Ziyang said resolutely, “About something as major as this? If I wasn’t absolutely certain about every single item and testimony, how would I dare be so hasty as to declare it? Venerable Father, if you have any doubts, I can have people come forward and confront you. Venerable Father, if you’re interested in learning the truth, Fan Kuzhu before you is the first witness!”
Stifling a choke, Quan Shoutang stammered, “Then… how do we deal with our damaged child?”
Wei Ziyang, sick at heart, said, “Venerable Father, forgive me for being bold in saying this, but Venerable Father, as for the resolution to this blunder, the gang has already suffered much loss, but if we are fortunate to be able to settle things, for the most part we will not be harmed too deeply. But if we foolishly continue on, it will be worse and worse for us. Venerable Father, there is a price to pay for spilling blood fighting for one’s life, and it’s truly not worth the price. All for this filthy matter, for one filthy person, several brothers have paid with their lives…”
Quan Shoutang groaned painfully. “Ziyang, what are you saying?”
Wei Ziyang expression was decisive. “Simple, the dispute ends here. Because it was our fault to begin with that led to this bloody conflict, the responsibility for this conflict is ours to bear. The bitter defeat we must swallow. Venerable Father, this is very grievous, but this grief was brought on by ourselves!”
Quan Shoutang’s voice trembled, “You mean to say… we just accept it?”
Wei Ziyang nodded strenuously. “Yes, we just accept it. Unless Venerable Father wants to spill more blood and pay with even more lives!”
Hanging his head in dejection, Quan Shoutang had a dismal look on his face. “Fifty years of a life of blood and steel,5 half a lifetime in the jianghu, to suffer such a great fall from grace in my old age. Ziyang, it’s really unfair…”
Fighting hard to hold back his misery, Wei Ziyang looked straight at Fan Kuzhu across from him and said gravely, “Fellow6 Fan, we hope things won’t go any further and that we can settle this dispute. What do you say?”
Fan Kuzhu said slowly, “I had sorely hoped all along not for it to come to bloodshed, not to come to blows. Great Handler, if your esteemed gang had not kept forcing me, if Venerable Father had not been bent on being partial, then this misfortune would not have occurred.”
Wei Ziyang said, “I respectfully trouble you, Fellow Fan, to take back your gold arrow so as to avoid a misunderstanding.”
This was where Wei Ziyang was was quite seasoned. He had been tardy to pull the arrow out from between Quan Shoutang’s legs not because he lacked the strength, and certainly not to make their old leader suffer embarrassment for longer, but mainly because he was very wary of Fan Kuzhu’s quick, cunning use of that arrow and feared that if he were rash and snatched the arrow, then Fan Kuzhu might think to act before he could, and he was not at all confident he could stop him. If that should happen, the situation would get even more out of control…”
Fan Kuzhu’s left arm slightly lifted up on the cord and a black form like a snake wrapped around the arrow in a flash and pulled up, and it came back safely into his hand.
Several handlers rushed over and helped Quan Shoutang up and clustered around him and hurried him into the main hall of the stone mansion.
Sighing, Wei Ziyang cupped a heavy hand over his fist at Fan Kuzhu. “Many thanks, Fellow Fan, for being lenient. Your arrow is humane, the blame for this misunderstanding rests with me. I sincerely ask you to accept the gang’s deepest, sincerest apology.”
Fan Kuzhu said, “No problem, Great Handler is sensible and understanding and is the reason disaster was averted. Having a talent like you is a blessing for your esteemed gang.”
Wei Ziyang muttered something to himself, then gave a wry smile. “Fellow Fan, it seems you still have some unfinished business?”
Fan Kuzhu said calmly, “I want Tong Li and Bai Feng. Great Handler, that’s why I came here.”
Wei Ziyang was silent for a time, then finally made a decision. “They are not here at present. Yesterday afternoon they moved to Pinewood Terrace on Transcendent Maiden Peak ten miles away. Golden Crown Majesty Yan Shouhe has a wooden pavilion on Pinewood Terrace. If you hurry, you might be able to intercept them.”
Cupping hand over fist, Fan Kuzhu was about to move when Wei Ziyang called to him again. The great handler of the Three Powers Gang showed sincere concern as he said in a very faint voice, “Watch out for that Yan Shouhe, Fellow Fan, this person is not easy to deal with—you take good care of yourself…”
Saluting again, Fan Kuzhu held back the words he could not say in his chest and turned around quickly and made off, lest Wei Ziyang notice the tears welling in his eyes—such touching warmth, but this trace of warmth came from an unrelated enemy!
* * *
Transcendent Maiden Peak was not very high, its terrain precipitous, its steep, vertical main peak emerging a densely forested inky green, with relatively flatter ridges on either side. Fan Kuzhu knew that Pinewood Terrace was parallel to the main peak on the right side.
Pale, thick fog spread out between the peak and the ridges. The vapors curling upward added to the dreary feeling. The mountain path was narrow and slippery, wet tree branches and weeds brushing against Fan Kuzhu’s face and sleeves, increasing the dim, damp, and cold feeling…
He came to a level stretch extending to a cliff, Pinewood Terrace, and he saw the small wooden building constructed there—there were two storeys, exquisitely wrought, and because the entire construction was made from wood, it gave it a simple, primitive taste, and an unaffected, simple rustic charm.
Countless green pines enclosed the little building on all sides, snarling up like an angry spirax7 or standing straight up like a canopy, or grouped in standalone bunches or woven together in a mass, each with its shape, each with its demeanor. This must have originally been such a quiet and secluded, otherworldly place, not soiled by the smoke and fire of the human world…
Coming up to the doors, Fan Kuzhu didn’t knock nor make any sound, he just stood there pale-faced, emaciated cheeks slightly twitching, his full moustache and beard adding to him a lonely mood. At this time at this place, his feelings were numb, heart and blood ice-cold.
Those inside didn’t make him wait long. The taupe door leaf opened soundlessly and a tall, stalwart one-armed strongman and a strange dwarf not more than three spans high came out. They didn’t greet Fan Kuzhu but just stood there on either side.
Fan Kuzhu regarded the peculiar contrast between the two bizzare-looking “extraordinary people”. He didn’t say anything, he knew what was what. The walk-ons had come out, so the protagonist would soon take the stage.
A golden light flashed in the doorway and a handsome, distinguished, fair-skinned person in richly figured attire strolled out. He wore an eight-lobed melon crown, the top of which was cast into an indented flower pattern. The golden crown was shiny and radiant; with every move he made it would glimmer, giving him an impressive air of nobility.
Fan Kuzhu had never seen “Golden Crown Majesty” Yan Shouhe, but he was sure the man before him was him. The crown he wore was like a signboard; he’d never heard of anyone else in the jianghu who dressed up like that.
The man serenely sized Fan Kuzhu up and serenely said, “I am Yan Shouhe. You must be Fan Kuzhu of the Magic Wing Sect?”
Fan Kuzhu’s face was expressionless. “That’s right.”
Yan Shouhe smiled faintly. “I just received word that Brother Fan had launched his incredible might and trampled the Three Powers Gang’s hall, that even old man Quan had been deflated by you. Brother Fan’s superior skill is certainly no empty rumor.”
Fan Kuzhu said, “Brother Yan is well informed.”
Yan Shouhe said calmly, “I knew that Brother Fan would come to this small retreat here after the Three Powers Gang. I have been waiting respectfully.”
Fan Kuzhu said in a low voice, “Brother Yan must know why I came. I would like to know where Brother Yan stands on this.”
With an odd smile, Yan Shouhe said, “I don’t know if Brother Fan understands my relationship with your junior brother, Tong Li?”
Fan Kuzhu looked down. “I heard you two have sworn brotherhood.”8
Nodding, Yan Shouhe said, “Just so. Since we have become sworn brothers, we are duty-bound to cross a river in the same boat, through thick and thin. When my sworn junior brother is in trouble I cannot abandon and ignore him. Brother Fan ought to understand my predicament.”
Fan Kuzhu said wearily, “That person is a beast in human clothing, not worthy of Brother Yan’s protection.”
Yan Shouhe’s expression didn’t change. He remained smiling. “Brother Fan, I’m not concerned with the personal rancor between you two, I only know that Tong Li is my sworn junior brother, and that’s enough. Anyone foolish enough to try to harm him is transgressing against me. It’s truly difficult to just sit by and watch.”
Fan Kuzhu took a step back and said stiffly, “Brother Yan has made it clear where he stands. I think if I want to get to Tong Li I must first get through Brother Yan, right?”
Yan Shouhe stood there grave and noble as a lofty peak, excessively composed. “Before Brother Fan decides to go through me, can we discuss it?”
Fan Kuzhu said, “Please go ahead.”
Yan Shouhe said gravely, “Brother Fan’s wife, Bai Feng, is currently inside this building. If Brother Fan can let Tong Li off, I will take it upon myself to see that your wife is returned to you intact.9 Brother Fan, what do you think?”
Fan Kuzhu suddenly convulsed into a laugh. “Returned to me intact?”
Yan Shouhe’s expression frosted over, and he said sternly, “Agree or not, it’s up to you, Brother Fan. This is no laughing matter!”
Taking a deep breath, Fan Kuzhu said, “If you were me, Brother Yan, would you agree?”
Yan Shouhe was tight-lipped for a good while. “In that case, you don’t agree?”
With a forlorn tone in his voice, Fan Kuzhu said, “A person’s reputation, prospects, dignity, a person’s family, estate, sect, wrecked and broken and scattered like this, ruined to the point of disintegration, destroys that person’s whole life as well. Brother Yan, the one responsible for creating the sin should never be able to shirk his responsibility with a word or condition, right?”
Yan Shouhe said cautiously, “There’s no more room for leeway?”
Fan Kuzhu shook his head. “No.”
Yan Shouhe sighed quietly and put his hands behind his back.
Just then, the huge one-armed man standing on the left suddenly stole in, right hand shooting out then back in, and a puff of black sand sprayed out. The black sand granules spread through the air, enveloping, emitting an ear-piercing scraping sound, aimed right at Fan Kuzhu’s midsection, covering an area of roughly a stave!
Among concealed projectile weapons, the majority of sand and needle type weapons were soaked in poison, so Fan Kuzhu of course was not going to block it head on. Before the swarming black sand could fall, he had swept two staves away, turned in the air, then rose nine spans—
The short dwarf bounded up and the huge man propped the dwarf’s feet up in hand and held him aloft, increasing the dwarf’s speed considerably, shooting like a boulder into the air, high enough to intercept the rising Fan Kuzhu.
The dwarf’s weapon was a pair of short-handled hook-sickle spears, their cold, shiny points already at Fan Kuzhu’s neck, coming at him swift and ruthless and precise as can be!
The gold arrow’s arrow tip exploded out and there was a clash of metal. At the same time he thwarted the hook-sickle spear attack, Fan Kuzhu took the opportunity to swing the arrow shaft around, and suspended in the air, he struck down with one foot, kicking the dwarf down.
The huge man on the ground called out and suddenly moved, moving his head and contracting his shoulder to catch the dwarf’s arm and shot him back up, indescribably fast, to collide with Fan Kuzhu, still in the air.
They came in contact fast and hard, swiftly scraping by each other, and the dwarf’s hook-sickle spears left his hands in a spray of blood, the dwarf himself tumbling headfirst into the ground—where he let out a squeal like a flayed pig!
The huge man pounced like a madman, swinging his huge deerskin gloved hand down like Mount Tai bearing down, likely thinking to smash Fan Kuzhu’s skull with one blow. Bleeding from the ribs, Fan Kuzhu ducked five steps to the side, gold arrow thrown to rebound it and shoot it back like lightning, and the huge man’s palm struck air as half his face disappearedin a streak of dazzling gold!
The cord flew out and pulled back a bloodstained gold arrow. In that instant, a rapidly spinning golden arc was coming right at him!
Fan Kuzhu stuck to the ground and shot forward, the cord backhanded back in a direct counter, the golden arc buzzing as it deflected away, but it angled back like a spark from struck flint. When it angled back, Fan Kuzhu’s right arm was left with a three-digit long gash!
The swiftly flying bloody golden arc was Yan Shouhe’s eight-lobed golden crown—a killing golden crown!
Now, the golden crown was back in Yan Shouhe’s hand. He glared at Fan Kuzhu with a gruesome, frigid look, his fair face notably darkened, his tone dark and cold like an echo in a pit, “I, Golden Crown Majesty Yan, have been at this for over twenty years. Today is the first time I have truly met a worthy opponent. Fan Kuzhu, it’s no wonder old man Quan fell on his face, no wonder you have the gall to come find me. Now I can see the huge price that will have to be paid for the sake of Tong Li!”
Fan Kuzhu looked at the bits of flesh and blood stuck to the tip of his gold arrow and said indifferently, “If you back off right now there’s still time. Like I said, Tong Li is not worth throwing your life away like this. I know Tong Li didn’t know you three months ago. At most you’ve been acquainted with each other for three months, ninety days or so of contact. Shouldn’t be enough to reach the level of warranting slitting your own throat.”
Yan Shouhe had an odd expression on his face. “You’re right, but that’s only under normal circumstances with normal people. Me and Tong Li are different, much different!”
Fan Kuzhu said, “What’s different?”
A strange laugh erupted from Yan Shouhe’s throat, and he said with finality, “I love him, understand? I love him. Not brotherly love, not friendly love, but more like the feelings between husband and wife. Fan Kuzhu, you will never experience such a sincere, inseparable bonding of heart and soul…”
Fan Kuzhu gasped, suddenly realizing why Yan Shouhe was willing to die for Tong Li. Yan had a compulsion for the cut sleeve!10 And in order to fulfill his personal desires and satisfy his greedy lust, Tong Li did not hesitate to trample his character, abandon his self-respect, and devote himself to currying favor under the guise of sworn brotherhood. There was nothing in the world more dirty than that, nothing more shameless!
Yan Shouhe stared at Fan Kuzhu, and with a stern voice said, “I know exactly what you’re thinking, Fan Kuzhu. You think this is an insane, impure transgression against society? But you are wrong. This is love, a sublime, holy love, a love that can never come about for those who stipulate that only men and women should be together, and no one can restrain this kind of thriving love between two people of the same sex. You don’t understand, I know you don’t understand it one bit, you only understand that because of this love I will not hesitate to sacrifice my life!”
Fan Kuzhu got goosebumps all over. He held back the urge to vomit and muttered to himself, “It really is true that birds of a feather flock together. Heavens…”
Yan Shouhe raged, “I won’t allow you to insult Tong Li. You don’t know how good he is, how docile, how gentle, how considerate…”
Fan Kuzhu suddenly held his head high and shouted, “You’re both beasts, a pair of beasts!”
The golden crown in hand suddenly shot out, and as it flashed indeterminately, spinning through the air, a pair of dazzlingly shiny short swords appeared in Yan Shouhe’s hands, and as they appeared he and the swords were already coming down in a streaming arch at Fan Kuzhu.
Fan Kuzhu’s right foot stepped on one end of the cord, his left hand grasping a hank of cord, the gold arrow nocked—
Yan Shouhe, shooted toward him from long range. His whole body suddenly flipped up, and the short swords whirled into the pine forest. The gold arrow passed through the crown of his head and came out his spine, the massive force carrying him off a stave or so away before he was nailed to the ground!
The golden crown in a blink struck down toward Fan Kuzhu.
This time, Fan Kuzhu didn’t use the cord to block it. He just took half a step back—the falling golden crown, as if possessed by Yan Shouhe’s spirit, suddenly shot up a span, careening toward Fan Kuzhu’s chest like a spinning blade.
The tip of the black cord whistled out at an angle, and when the tip touched the golden crown, Fan Kuzhu felt the intense spinning force, as if a moment before it had absorbed Yan Shouhe’s essence and was getting revenge for the life of its owner. The cord vibrated and was knocked askew, the golden crown skipping off the cord over and over before abruptly cutting back, as if taking aim at Fan Kuzhu’s newly dodged position and was coming back for round three!
Fan Kuzhu had planned to leap six spans to the left, when suddenly a wonderful light flashed by his head, and forced him to stop four spans away, and the golden crown buzzed powerfully to the original spot he had been planning to land in six spans away. It kept going two staves until it sliced through the middle of a pine trunk as big around as the mouth of a bowl and angled into the ground!
Fan Kuzhu stood their dumbly, eyes fixed on the still gleaming golden crown lying in a thicket of grass two staves away. In all his life he had never experienced something like that—battling with a weapon after its owner had already died!
Of course, Fan Kuzhu didn’t believe in soul possession. He knew it was just an ingenious calculation of angles and positioning, taking advantage of the golden crown’s special construction to put just the right spin on it to make it soar up and down like that. That was in principle, but to actually see it in practice made Fan Kuzhu break out into a cold sweat.
He pulled the gold arrow from Yan Shouhe’s corpse and used his own sleeve to wipe the blood off the arrow and looked at the building. He was waiting, waiting for the moment that was finally about to arrive—and the final trial!
The sound of heavy steps falling, the walker seemingly very hesitant, very afraid, the steps cutting off before continuing again, appearing to limp with difficulty.
Fan Kuzhu’s right foot stepped on one end of the cord, his left hand full of cord, arrow nocked.
The person who came out wasn’t Tong Li, wasn’t Bai Feng, but was the scar-faced, blinded Ren Denglong!
A mountain breeze blew through and Ren Denglong shivered, hands groping out in front of him, mouth wailing in terror, “Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother, is that you? Where are you? Say something back to me…”
Fan Kuzhu watched his second brother, watched that head of gray hair whirling about in the wind, that red and black needle-punctured face, those turbid pus-leaking eyes, the stooped, frail body… He sighed. “I’m over here, Second Brother.”
Body trembling, Ren Denglong thumped to the ground on his knees and cried loudly toward the source of that voice. “Fourth Brother, have pity on me, have pity, I’m already a crippled wretch with no one to depend on, an old man at death’s door, I beg you don’t kill me, let me breathe my last—Fourth Brother, I was wrong, I wronged you. I shouldn’t have been so muddleheaded, so selfish, so envious… Fourth Brother, this is my retribution, I’ve already suffered retribution. Let, let me off…”
Fan Kuzhu heaved a long sigh and suppressed the surging bitter grief in his heart. He said miserably, “Second Brother, Fifth died so unjustly…”
Ren Denglong knocked his head on the ground, thumping it over and over as tears and snot streamed out, “I’m not human, I’m a beast, a beast possessed me… Fourth Brother, I beg you, take pity on me, forgive me, after all we’re fellow disciples. I’m kowtowing to you…”
Fan Kuzhu said sadly, “Enough, Second Brother, enough…”
Ignoring the blood dripping from his head, Ren Denglong looked up and folded his hands in front of him, “Thank you Fourth Brother, thank you for your benevolence, thank you for your forgiving kindness. Good people will be rewarded, Heaven won’t treat you bad… Oh right, Fourth Brother, you have to hurry, Little Tong just forced Bai Feng to flee with him out a small door in the back, and he forced me to come out here and stall for time…”
Fan Kuzhu said nothing but leapt up and spun briefly on the eaves of the wooden building and swept over the roof like a huge hawk and dropped down by the cliff.
* * *
Tong Li hadn’t escaped far. In truth it was difficult to escape with a cliff in front of him a hundred staves deep. Now he stood at the edge of the cliff, left hand gripping Bai Feng’s collar tightly, right hand holding a sharp broad-bladed knife against Bai Feng’s back.
Fan Kuzhu stood bolt upright seven steps away, face rigid with absolutely no expression, burning flames of fury about to burst from his eye sockets.
That was his little junior bro, his most beloved little junior bro. Handsome, ingenious, obedient little junior bro. Such an amusing, loveable child on the outside, how could there be such a wicked, demonic black heart hidden within? How could he hatch such a despicable, sinister ruse?
That was his beloved wife, once kindred spirits, the beloved wife he had shared a bed with, all destroyed by an oath of alliance in ninety days, innermost feelings completely erased, the longing before they were married, the tenderness afterward, all like flowers reflected in a mirror, like the moon reflected on the surface of a river—husband and wife, fused of soul and flesh, a hundred-year destiny, was it nothing more than an illusory dream?
The mountain winds blew fiercely, blowing Tong Li and Bai Feng’s hair and clothes. Tong Li’s handsome baby face was at this moment deathly pale, his eyes wide, staring at Fan Kuzhu across from him, cheeks twitching uncontrollably.
Bai Feng also gazed at Fan Kuzhu, face stained with tears, eyes brimming with bitter sadness. Her lips quivered, but she could not get any words out. Such plaintive sorrow contrasted increasingly with her pretty poise and charm, so much so that in this moment she was still so beautiful it made one’s heart ache.
Tong Li gnashed his teeth and shouted roughly, “Fan Kuzhu, won’t you let me explain?”
Fan Kuzhu replied coldly, “There’s nothing left to be said.”
Tong Li looked ferocious as he yelled, “The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. I acknowledge that Heaven’s Way is higher than man’s, but I would never ask you to submit. If you take one step forward, your old woman will die in front of you!”
Fan Kuzhu belted out a sorrowful laugh. “An adulterous couple, what’s so bad if they die? Tong Li, using Bai Feng to threaten me will only make you both die sooner!”
Suddenly, Bai Feng wailed in grief, as if she were weeping blood, “Kuzhu, Kuzhu, you can let me die, you can kill me yourself, but there’s something I need to say; if I don’t make it clear, I won’t be able die with my eyes closed… Kuzhu, I never betrayed you, I never did anything that would let you down, me and Tong Li never did anything improper. My body is still unsullied…”
Fan Kuzhu was stiff and stifled for a good while, then a shout tore out of him, “Why didn’t you wait for me at home? Why did you leave with Tong Li? Why did Second Brother and Fifth say that something was going on between you and Tong Li?”
Bai Feng, sobbing, said, “Tong Li deceived me, saying the authorities had sent down the death penalty on you and were going to confiscate your property and estate. He said he had arranged everything in prison, that he could for sure get you out. He told me to hurry and pack up our valuables and lay low with him at Three Mushroom Crag and wait for you… Kuzhu, how could I know it was all his cunning deception?”
Fan Kuzhu said nothing, teeth biting down firmly on his lower lip.
Bai Feng, sobbing intermittently, said, “As far back as a year ago, Tong Li’s attitude toward me turned frivolous and shady… He flirted with me behind your back, gave me hints, but I never responded… I didn’t dare mention it to you because I was so afraid you two would have a falling out and it would lead to an even bigger problem. I thought my flat rejections would dispel his wicked thoughts, but I never in my dreams thought it would set off an even more evil intention…”
Fan Kuzhu still hadn’t opened his mouth, but the cord was already underfoot.
Bai Feng sobbed, “Second Brother, Fifth Brother, and Tong Li were in cahoots and colluded with each other, and of course they’d listen to Tong Li’s one-sided statement and believe his nonsense. Actually, who among them saw me being friendly with Tong Li, who saw me with their own eyes do anything improper? These past few days, Tong Li has kept watch on me day and night, trying again and again to coerce me and cajole me, trying to violate me, but I would rather die then let him tarnish my purity…”
Fan Kuzhu suddenly blurted, “And the Zhu signature stamp?”
Bai Feng raised her tearstained face and said sadly, “I stored the stamp well, no one took it…”
Just then, Tong Li started to laugh grotesquely. “Fan Kuzhu, your old woman is presenting herself to you as a model of chastity, do you believe her?”
The mass of doubts Fan Kuzhu had harbored for so long were untangled. Slowly and deliberately, he said, “I believe her—Tong Li, you wanted to strike at the wealth I had saved up, instigated Fifth to act, thinking you could force me to hand over the money and the stamp. Actually, the stamp wasn’t with me. I had given it to Bai Feng for safe keeping. Only the two of us knew the location of the stamp. If she wanted to get involved with you, why need she beat around the bush and go through all these shenanigans? Wouldn’t it have saved a lot of trouble to just hand the stamp straight over to you? Tong Li, you betrayed Master and shamed our forefathers, savagely harmed our brothers, forcibly detained your senior sister-in-law, besmirched her reputation, and harbored venomous intentions, already more than heaven and earth can condone, impossible to forgive—“
Tong Li, crazed, shouted, “Fan Kuzhu, we’ll perish in mutual destruction, I’ll make you feel bitter regret till the end of your days…”
Bai Feng, weeping with grief, said, “Kuzhu ah…”
Tong Li was about to push the broad-bladed knife into Bei Feng’s back when the gold arrow scraped past Bai Feng’s ribs and went past. The arrowhead penetrated Tong Li’s chest, the violent force of the collision tossing him half a stave into the air, carrying with it a long, savage howl as he fell the long distance down to the bottom of the cliff.
Bai Feng, fallen into a swooning dizzy swirl of emotions, had not come back to her senses when an arm grabbed her and pulled her in close. She looked up, and through a curtain of sparkling tears looked into Fan Kuzhu’s face, and in an instant she forgot about the bleeding wound from the arrow under her arm. She knew she had regained all that she had nearly lost…
Fan Kuzhu said nothing, just embraced Bai Feng tightly and headed back. So much humiliation, so much pain, in that moment was made up for. Heaven was always impartial. It took things away, but on the other hand it often gave you something back.
Beside the wooden building, three figures ran over in a panic, shouting as they ran. Mm, it was Fan Kuzhu’s First Brother Chang Jiapeng, Third Brother Zhan Yuxiu, and Sixth Brother Qu Yunfan.
Fan Kuzhu couldn’t help but laugh, the first time he’d laughed from the heart in a long time. His fellow brothers in the end were his fellow brothers. Sure, they had their shortcomings but it didn’t detract from them as a whole. Didn’t they all rush over here? Even though they came a bit late, it’s better than not coming at all…
THE END
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Notes
- More slang. Basin means face. Basically their gang was turned upside down and they lost face.
- 好漢, literally means “good Han [person]”. It refers to a brave, promising, ambitious person.
- Keep the family line going so there is always someone to offer incense and other sacrifices to the family ancestors. Since he has no children, Quan Shoutang needs a son to carry on the sacrifices after he dies, so he adpoted Tong Li. Not an uncommon scenario.
- 擋箭牌, literally arrow-blocking plaque.
- Weapons and blood, aka warfare, battling, fighting. This “blood and steel” moniker was given to Liu Canyang’s unique wuxia writing style.
- In wuxia novels, people often call people “friend” even if they aren’t friends. A polite term like saying “hey buddy” or “hey pal”. But it’s used after a person’s name as a term of address. I wanted to include it, so I went with “Fellow”.
- 虯, translated originally by Paul W. Kroll as “spirax” a coin he termed. It’s a kind of dragon that is associated with being coiled, and the word is used for coiling, winding things, such as a curly beard 虯髯.
- 金蘭之誼. The friendship of “metal” and “bonesets”. The latter is some variety of Eupatorium, commonly called bonesets or thoroughwort. Might be Eupatorium fortunei or Eupatorium japonicum. Nowadays 蘭 refers to “orchid”, but that meaning began in the Song dynasty. Before that it referred to Eupatorium. This phrase meaning sworn brotherhood comes from a line in a commentary to the Book of Changes: “When two people are of the same heart/mind, they are sharp enough to cut metal; The words exchanged between those of the same heart/mind are as fragrant as bonesets.”
- The phrase used here is 完璧歸趙, which means return the jade annulus to the State of Zhao. See here for an explanation of the story behind it.
- 斷袖之癖. Male homosexuality. See more here.