Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (20 page)

"Suddenly, Phoenix raised himself to his full height and whipped out his sword, commanding, 'Gully, prepare for battle!'

"But Gully continued to gorge himself with meat, oblivious of his command. His wife then addressed Phoenix, 'My husband is martially accomplished, and yet he may not be able to overcome you.' The Gilt-faced Buddha said, as an afterthought, 'Oh! I had almost forgotten. Gully, what are the cares that weigh most on your mind?' Gully wiped his mouth, stood up and said, 'If you dispatch me, my child will certainly kill you to avenge my death. Will you simply look after him and take good care of him?'

"Thereupon, I thought, 'A common saying goes: to remove the weed one must attack the root. If the Gilt-faced Buddha were to dispatch Gully, would he also spare his wife and his child? To everyone's surprise, the Gilt-faced Buddha answered, 'Have no fear. I shall take care of everything. Should you have the misfortune to make a fatal mistake, I shall look after your child for you as if he were my own natural son.'

"Fan and Tian stood on the side, frowning and growing impatient. I considered, 'The way the couple and Phoenix conduct themselves gives one the impression that they trust and respect each other. They are such great friends. Can it be true that they will grapple with each other?'

"Suddenly, Gully drew out the single-edged knife from his girdle. Flashing it in the air, he cried out, 'My good friend, the first move is yours.' The Gilt-faced Buddha responded by whipping out his long sword, also brandishing and flourishing it in the air. 'I am prepared,' Phoenix shouted, mounting two sham moves immediately on his opponent.

"'Phoenix!' Tian was heard shouting to his comrade. 'Begin quickly and launch your moves!'

"All of a sudden, the Gilt-faced Buddha retracted his flashing blade, swung around and commanded, 'Please, all leave the room!' Tian felt snubbed, but taking note of the sober look on Phoenix's face, he dared not go against him. Thereupon, Tian, Fan and their retainers retreated from the hall.

"After the group had moved beyond the doorway to witness the duel, Gully then cried, 'I am ready. I shall produce my move.' He immediately moved one step closer, flourishing his blade, and dealt Phoenix a hacking blow at the skull.

"Phoenix speedily glided to the side, feverishly whirling his sword, causing its tip to vibrate before plunging it straight at Gully's right ribs. Gully responded by remarking calmly, 'Take care: this knife of mine is a priceless weapon.' He at once parried with a hewing stroke. Phoenix reacted swiftly, twirling his wrist, thwarting the impending counterblow with his sword just in time.

"'Excellent move!' cried Phoenix.

"I had witnessed many a fight in Cangzhou with duellists brandishing blades, but I must admit that I had never seen two enemies who were so very agile and alert. My palms were covered with sweat when the match was barely seven or eight tricks old.

"After a few more moves had been unravelled in the combat, the two contestants switched to spinning, manoeuvring their blades to and fro, cutting crosswise and counter-crosswise. On a sudden, Phoenix's sword was hewn in two with a clash and a clang. But he was not in the least affected, and betrayed no sign of awe. He speedily thrust the ruined weapon to the ground, ready to challenge his opponent bare-fisted.

"'Take another sword!' shouted Gully, leaping immediately away from the perimeter of the circle.

"'It is no matter,' replied his enemy unaffectedly.

"Tian had already come to Phoenix's rescue, stretching out to him his own long sword. Phoenix thought for a moment, and then said, 'I should take the sword as my fists can never get the better of you with your knife.' Thereupon, he grasped the long sword offered by Tian. The battle immediately resumed.

"At this point, I thought, 'The youngsters from Cangzhou would never concede failure even though they were beaten outright by their opponents. They would invariably say something to boost their spirits. But this Gilt-faced Buddha is quite a character. He considers himself the Invincible Under the Sky, and yet he verbally acknowledges his losing momentum, when, in fact, he had not lost even a trick to his opponent.' It took me some time to realize that both duellists, each being an ultimate fighter in his own right, were able after unravelling a few moves to command the respect of the other. They, in fact, would not dream of disparaging each other.

"Presently, Phoenix and Gully wheeled round to the opposite side, planting themselves well beyond the perimeter. All of a sudden, they bounced forward, baffling each other with some surprise moves, before speedily leaping back to the side. In this manner and with this spirit, Phoenix and Gully fought on for another ten some bouts. Suddenly, Phoenix smote a thrusting stroke at Gully, aiming fast and furiously above his neck. The protagonist dodged the blow in the nick of time rolling on the ground. Flourishing and twirling his knife, Gully cleft his enemy's sword once again with a clang. He immediately bounded to his feet, crying, 'I am sorry, not that I have harboured any arrogance about my keen blade, but your last move was devastatingly threatening, and I had to unravel it by resorting to such means.' 'I do not resent it,' replied Phoenix, nodding his head.

"Phoenix then took over another sword proffered by Tian. Gully matched Phoenix's move by addressing his group of enemies, 'Hey, allow me one of your knives. Mine is too true and keen to allow us fair play in demonstrating our real ability to each other in an authentically chivalric fashion.' Tian was only too happy to learn Gully's true intention. He therefore lost no time in taking a knife from one of his comrades and passing it to Gully. Gully felt the weight of the new weapon in his hand. Phoenix watched him and remarked, 'Not heavy enough?' Thereupon, he stretched out his right hand, holding his blade lengthwise. Nipping the tip of the sword using his thumb and first finger, Phoenix snapped the point off the blade briskly with a clang, demonstrating the strength in his fingers. My heart swelled with awe. 'Phoenix, you do not take advantage of others,' said Gully with a laugh. 'You believe in fair play. You are indeed the embodiment of high principles and chivalric spirits, and you have the honour of a true knight-errant running in your blood.'

"Phoenix quickly remarked, 'My conduct hardly merits such compliments. There is one more thing I wish to make clear.' 'I am attentive,' commented Gully encouragingly. Phoenix then told him, 'I have known all along that you are an adept in martial ability. I, Phoenix, may not be your equal. As to my tramping the length and breadth of the country, boasting that I am the Invincible Under the Sky, I hope you will not take me to be one who is ignorant of his true ability, arrogant and lacking a sense of shame.'

"Gully commented, 'I have known your real intention for a long time. You wished to challenge me to a duel, and yet could not discover my whereabouts. You then resorted to boasting about this sobriquet of yours so as to induce me to travel here from beyond the Pass to challenge you to a duel.' Gully smiled bitterly and continued, 'Now that I have presented myself, if I am defeated, then you certainly will deserve that sobriquet of yours and can keep your title. Go ahead and bring off your next move!'"

Only then did the Company present come to realize the true reason behind Phoenix's adopting such a sobriquet.

A few minutes elapsed before Tree picked up his story: "On finishing their conversation, the two combatants launched themselves once more into feverish battle, flashing and lashing their weapons, goring each other, with neither being able to strike a decisive blow. Phoenix and Gully both paraded their most threatening killer tricks, with neither gaining the advantage after the first two hundred or so tricks. However, Gully gradually began to show signs of suffering defeat at the hand of his enemy, resorting eventually to fighting only on the defensive. Fan the Ringleader and Tian the Young Master grew excited, unable to hide their delight. Gully shielded himself, parading stroke for stroke and parry for parry, while Phoenix attacked him ferociously from all angles, smiting blow after blow without being able to inflict a decisive stroke. Suddenly, Gully reverted to a different strategic approach, not wielding his knife, but merely countering with hacking blows and hewing strokes. And Phoenix responded, in like fashion, twirling himself around the room, lunging and smiting feverishly.

"My Master had also trained me vigorously for seven to eight years in the art of wielding a knife. I, therefore, came to know that a knife is divided into five parts, namely Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parent and Mentor. The back of the knife is Heaven; the edge, Earth; the grip, Ruler; the guard, Parent and the pommel, Mentor. Of these five parts, Heaven and Earth play the two most significant roles in fencing with a knife. Gully was utterly magnificient in following through both the Heaven and Earth movements and was no less proficient following through the Ruler, Parent and Mentor movements when attacking and shielding. Phoenix occasionally invented new moves, flourishing his sword. He plunged at Gully, aiming unexpectedly at parts of his body that were most vulnerable, making it absolutely impossible for him to parry the blow with either the edge or the back of his blade. But Gully reversed his blade in a moment and struck a powerful blow with its hilt, forcing his enemy to abandon his intended moves. The six movements of Whirling, Swiping, Hooking, Scraping, Hewing and Hacking, being the cardinal rules of wielding a knife, allow martial artists an endless display of moves and movements that are mysteriously unfathomable.

"At that time, I knew very little about the techniques of wielding a sword. As Phoenix managed all the while to remain the equal of Gully, who was so proficient in wielding his knife, Phoenix proved himself an equally furious fighter. The knife, the sword and the spear are the three major weapons wielded by martial artists. A common saying goes, 'The knife is a ferocious tiger; the sword is a gambolling phoenix; and the spear is a prancing dragon.' Gully brandished his lashing knife like a ferocious tiger, prowling down the mountain for food, whereas Phoenix flourished his flashing sword like a phoenix gambolling. As one fighter paraded might and power in his actions, the other simply followed through all his moves effortlessly and deftly. Since each contestant was already a celebrated Master in his own school of martial ability, neither was able to gain much advantage in the ensuing battle. In the beginning, I managed to follow several moves and their movements, but as the duel wore on, my head began to reel. I was growing dizzy and I decided not to witness the battle any more. I turned my head away lest I should faint to the ground.

"Suddenly, blades were heard whirring through the air, crossing occasionally with a clash and a clang. I darted a look at Gully's wife, who was calm and composed. She seemed not at all worried about her husband's fate in the contest.

"When I turned my head around, I found Gully also keeping calm. He became increasingly detached as the battle raged on, his mouth set in a smile, confident that he would be able to turn the tide against his enemy. Meanwhile, the Gilt-faced Buddha also retained his calm and his sense of proportion. He looked utterly unperturbed, tenacious to the very end, and his swarthy face concealed beneath it all signs of his innermost feelings. Gully next charged threateningly close to his enemy, forcing Phoenix to retreat and causing Fan the Ringleader and Tian the Young Master growing anxiety. I asked myself, 'Can it be possible that the Gilt-faced Buddha will be defeated by Gully?'

"Suddenly Tian produced his catapult, firing bullet after hurtling bullet at Gully, aiming true and fast at his head, torso, and legs. Gully let out a loud laugh and immediately thrust his single-edged blade to the ground. Phoenix, his face looking sunken, speedily diverted the trajectory of the bullets by intercepting them with his whirling blade. Then he leapt with a bound to Tian's side, wrenched the catapult from him with his pinched fingers, and snapped it with a crash, hurling the fragments far from the doorway. Phoenix then commanded, in a controlled low tone, 'Get out!' I was puzzled: 'Tian had good intentions and did not want you to lose. But here you are, being ungrateful.' Tian turned purple. He cast Phoenix a wrathful look and stamped out of the room.

"Phoenix retrieved Gully's blade from the ground, hurled it to him, and then said, 'Let us continue.' Gully immediately grasped the blade, reaching out his hand and following it through with a hurl and a thrust. In a trice, the two weapons crossed with a clang and a clash. The battle then raged on feverishly until well past noon. Thereupon, Gully cried out, 'I am starving. Do you wish to take your lunch now?' 'Yes, I shall take a quick repast,' replied Phoenix. Immediately, the two fighters seated themselves at a table, and began to eat. Gully bolted down the food like a ravening tiger and ferociously gobbled in an instant some ten buns, two chickens, and a leg of mutton. As for Phoenix, he merely helped himself to two chicken thighs.

"'You are eating very little,' said Gully. 'Is my wife's cooking at fault?'

"'Oh no, it is wonderful,' replied Phoenix. He then picked up a good piece of mutton with his chopsticks and finished it all.

"The meal being over, Phoenix and Gully wiped their mouths, and then resumed their fight. In no time, they moved into practising levitational arts, whirling and whistling their ways across the hall. Even though Gully was husky and brawny, he was deft and nimble at advancing, retreating, ducking and dodging. Phoenix proved himself equally agile, even though he was long in the hand and leg. My eyes were almost blinded by the dazzingly swift moves executed by the two duellists. Suddenly, Gully slipped on his left leg, falling to his knees and crying out aloud. Gully's error presented an exceptionally opportune moment for Phoenix to initiate vile tricks against him. One simple, hacking blow would suffice. Gully was rendered powerless either to counter the impending attack with a parry or to duck away from it. However, Phoenix withdrew by bouncing backward unexpectedly, shouting out, 'Take care! You have a bullet under your foot.' Gully was already well on his feet before his knees ever touched the ground. He cried, 'Your are right!' Then he picked up the bullet with his left hand and flicked it with his middle finger, whirling the lead bead straight through the centre of the door.