Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (27 page)

Quad answered, smiling coldly, "Not Poison which would soon dispatch you. I am not prepared to let you escape so easily. I wish to see you wither away with dragging slowness, from starvation."

"Starvation?" echoed Curio, Century, Third and the others.

Quad remained motionless for a considerable time before continuing, "Yes! This mountain had ten days' provisions to begin with, but now not a single day's are left. I have thrown it all down the mountain."

Amid shrieks, Tree grasped Quad's left arm like the devil practising the Grapple. Quad, whose right arm had already been amputated, made no attempt to throw off his assailant. He continued sneering. At once, Curio and Radiant, who were standing before him, lashed out their arms and rubbed their fists, ready to shower blows on him the minute he made any feinting or aggressive move.

At this moment, the steward of the eyrie rushed in. He had returned to the central hall in a flash, to inform the Company in a trembling voice, "All the victuals on the eyrie are gone; the pork, beef, chickens, ducks, vegetables have ... really ... really, everything has been thrown down the mountain by this fellow."

To the ears suddenly came a thudding sound as Curio struck Quad in the chest, driving with full force. The victim let out a low cry. Bright blood came gushing from his mouth in an unstaunchable stream. Quad stood still, smiling sneeringly and fearlessly.

Impatiently Tree demanded of the steward, "Not a soul was in the kitchen and in the pantry?"

The steward slowly explained, "Three handymen were at the job, but they were all trussed up by him. While the two young fiends were creating havoc in the hall, all of us moved to the room to watch. This must have been a trick of Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain to lure us away from the site. Miss Miao, we took him to be one of the domestic helpers whom you brought along."

Orchid shook her head and said, "No. I thought he was the steward of the eyrie."

"Are there any foodstuffs left?" interrupted Tree, showing his impatience. The steward shook his head, deeply distressed.

Curio was about to raise his hand, ready to deal Quad another blow, when Orchid interceded, "Easy, Master. You forget what I said."

Puzzled by her words, Curio stood there, suspending his fist in mid air. Orchid then reminded him, "He is holding the wooden tablet with my father's name inscribed on it. I made it clear that no one is to do him any harm."

Curio quickly remonstrated, "But he is weighing all our lives in the balance. You ... how can you ..."

Orchid continued to shake her head. "Whether we are to live or die is a separate issue. I have to stand by what I said. Now this man has thrown all the victuals down the mountain, there is no escape for any of us. We shall all starve to death, and he will be no exception. One must have a good reason when embarking on a venture that puts one's own life at stake."

Turning next to Tree and Curio, Orchid continued, "Heaven has decreed when each of us will have to go; there is no point in going against the Divine will. Let us listen to what he has to say to find out whether we really deserve to make our departure now." She delivered her speech with a calm sense of purpose, causing Tree to loosen his grip on Quad's arm. Finally, Curio returned his seat, crushed.

Orchid then addressed Quad, "Master Quad, you are thinking of starving us all to death. Will you tell us the reason behind this? Are you doing this to avenge the death of Uncle Gully?"

At once, Quad answered, "To address me as Master Quad is to do me too great an honour. In all my days, I have been pre-destined to address others as lord or Master, and I myself have not acquired merits enough to deserve this honour. Miss Miao, I was most grateful when, at the time in question, Master Gully gave me some silver ingots and saved three lives in my family. I was also equally grateful for another matter. People used to call me Quad the Scabby-headed. People looked down on me and trampled on me. But Master Gully alone hailed me as 'Little Brother', insisting also that I address him as Big Brother. I, Quad, have been at people's beck and call my entire life. Master Gully, however, told me that all men are equal before the Old One above, and there is no distinction between upper and lower class. I was awakened by him, as if I were a blind man suddenly recovering his sight after losing it for ten or so years. I knew Master Gully for less than a day, and yet I took to him as though he were my kinsman. I love and adore him like my natural parent.

"After Master Gully and the Gilt-faced Buddha had battled each other for several days with neither being able to gain the advantage, I automatically began to feel worried for Master Gully. On the last day of the combat, Master Gully was taken by the poison on the blade, followed by his wife who committed suicide, sacrificing her life for her husband. The events were precisely the same as they were recounted by Miss Miao. I was there and witnessed the entire scene and will never allow a single detail to escape my memory."

Turning to Tree, Quad posed the question, "Doctor Yama, on that particular day, did you not carry a kit-box in your left hand and a bundle containing ten or more silver ingots on your back? Did you have on that day a black cotton robe lined on the inside with lambswool, and on your head a tobacco yellow felt cap with holes?"

Tree gave a start, turning pale with terror. His right hand holding the rosary trembled. He looked off into the distance, saying not a word.

After posing these important questions, Quad continued, "The evening before the skirmish on the last day, Master Gully and the Gilt-faced Buddha were closeted together deep into the night. Yama the osteopath was straining his ears by the side of the window until he was finally dealt a blow by the Gilt-faced Buddha across the casement, giving him black eyes and a swollen nose. He told us that after the incident he went immediately to bed. However, I caught him doing one more thing before retiring to his bed. Master Gully and the Gilt-faced Buddha were then sharing the same room. Being both forthright and upright characters, they had left their weapons in the hall. Yama produced a tin of ointment from his kit-box and quietly smeared some of the ointment on their weapons. At that time, I was still a teenager, and I knew very little. It never occurred to me that Yama was laying a vile scheme. Only after Master Gully was injured by poison did it strike me that the edges of the blades had been smeared with poison. Yama wanted to see both Master Gully and the Gilt-faced Buddha's lives taken at the same time. Yama, you were really cruel-hearted!

"It is quite understandable why Yama wanted to dispatch the Gilt-faced Buddha, simply to exact satisfaction from him. But why did Yama also smear poison on the Gilt-faced Buddha's blade? Master Gully, in fact, had never borne him any grudge. At that time, I could not understand why he had done that. Later, as I grew older, I began to see his real intention. This fellow, after all, had set his mind and heart on Master Gully's iron casket.

"Yama the osteopath was lying when he said he did not know what was inside the casket. He surely knew what was inside. Master Gully emptied all its contents onto the table when handing the casket over to his wife. There were jewels and precious stones, glistening and sparkling. Master Gully told his wife, 'My love, you are martially accomplished, and should the need arise you can always help yourself to the gold and silver hoarded by corrupt officials and local ruffians. You may eventually be caught if you attempt this too often. I ... I ...' His wife cut him short, saying, 'My lord, do not worry. Should anything unforeseen happen to you, I shall bring up the child to be full of heart and soul. The money procured from selling the jewellery piece by piece will be more than enough to support both mother and child the rest of our lives. I shall never take up my weapon to challenge people to a fight, and never will I commit theft or larceny. Is this not a fine idea?'

"Master Gully lauded the idea and laughed heartily. Then he took out a booklet and told her, 'This Canon here on Pugilism and Knife Techniques was copied out by my forefathers.' His wife took the pamphlet and remarked with a smile, 'Well, the martial ability of Lynx of the Sky is, after all, recorded in the text here. You have certainly kept this to yourself. Not even I was aware of its existence.' Her husband explained to her, 'The esoteric feats of my forefathers are handed down only to the male heirs, and never to the female line; only to the nephews, and never to their wives. This is how it acquired the name Hu's Knife Techniques.' Thereupon, his wife answered, wearing a smile on her face, 'I shall let our child study the Canon himself when he knows how to read. I promise I shall not steal anything from him.' Master Gully heaved a sigh. Then he put everything back into the casket before tucking it away under his wife's pillow.

"Upon the death of his wife, I rushed immediately into her room, only to find Yama the osteopath was already there. I was taken aback. I quickly hid behind the door with my heart still thumping. I saw Yama pick up the baby with his left hand and take the iron casket out from beneath the pillow with his right hand. He then followed exactly the same steps with which Master Gully had opened the box. The lid immediately sprang open. He took the jewellery out and fiddled with it for a while, salivating. Then he put the child on the floor and took out the Canon on Pugilism and Knife Techniques. While he was leafing through the booklet, the baby suddenly started crying violently. Yama quickly snatched a quilt lying at hand and pulled it over the head and the body of the little one lying on the floor, lest his crying should draw the attention of the others

"I was shocked by what Yama did. I thought that the baby would surely be suffocated. I resolved to rescue the child at all costs as Master Gully had been so very kind to me. Being young and not well-versed in martial arts, I was no match for Yama. As luck had it, I found a door-bar beside the doorway. I quietly grasped it in my hands, tiptoed to his back and hit him full on the crown.

"I struck with all the might I could muster, catching Yama off his guard. He toppled at once to the ground, without letting out a cry, spilling the jewellery across the room. I quickly tore the quilt open, picked up the child and fled. I told myself at the time that every single soul present, without exception, was Master Gully's enemy. I must, therefore, take the baby home and ask my mother to bring him up. I knew well that the Canon on Pugilism and Knife Techniques was an esoteric heirloom of no small consequence and it should not be allowed to reach the hands of outsiders. Thus prompted, I tried to recover it from Yama, who, on losing consciousness, was still holding the Canon tightly in his hand. Being too flustered, I wrenched it hard from his grip, and succeeded only in recovering an incomplete booklet: the first two pages tore off, and remained in Yama's hand. Presently, there was a commotion outside. Phoenix the Knight-errant was also looking for the baby. I at once recollected myself, picked up the baby, slipped away through the back door, and set off for home at a run.

"Not until today have I ever met Yama again. I could not believe that he had taken the Buddhist vow. Was it deep guilt that caused him to renounce the world to expiate his sins? It is hard to believe that, with only the stolen front leaf of the section on Pugilism, he succeeded in training himself to become a celebrated Master of the Martial Brotherhood. He assumed that no one would ever know anything about his past. He was only too surprised to learn that the fellow who dealt him a hard blow some years ago is still safe and sound, and very much alive. Yama, turn yourself around, so that we can take a look at the scar on the back of your head. It was caused by a blow from a door-bar, a long time ago, wielded by someone who was then a janitor chopping firewood at an inn."

At Quad's command, Tree raised himself slowly from his seat while the remaining party was waiting with bated breath, thinking to themselves that he would certainly launch an aggressive move to dispatch Quad instantaneously. To everyone's surprise, Tree only responded by chanting, "Amitabha! Amitabha!" After reaching his hand out to stroke the back of his head, Tree reseated himself, remarking, "For the past twenty-seven years, I have been wondering who it was that launched a blow on my head from behind. Today, I finally have the answer." The Company was taken aback by the frank and open manner in which he admitted himself to be in the wrong.

Presently, Orchid followed up with the question, "What happened to the poor child afterwards? What became of him later?"

Quad provided her with an answer, "I stole away quietly from the door at the back, holding the baby closely to me. Hardly had I gone a few paces than a voice shouted suddenly from behind, 'Hey, little scabby-head! Bring back the child!' I did not heed the command, which merely induced me to run even faster. The man, continuing the harangue, overtook me in no time. Seizing me by the arm, he attempted to wrench the little one from me. I panicked, and bit him hard on the back of his hand, drawing on all my strength. Blood soon came oozing out."

"That was my Master!" burst out Curio on a sudden. Sign stared him straight in the eye. Alas, it was too late. The words were already out of his mouth. Curio, regretting his blunder, soon sensed all eyes falling on him and began to feel acutely uneasy.

Quad resumed his narration after Curio's awkward interruption: "Yes, it was Pastoral, Tian the Young Master. The bite left a permanent mark on the back of his hand. I presume he never told you who bit him on the occasion, nor anything about how he came by that mark."

Sign, Valour, Curio and Radiant each looked at one another, thinking to themselves that there had been indeed on the back of Pastoral's hand a very deep mark left by a bite, and it was also true that he had never mentioned to them how the mark had been inflicted.

After pausing for a considerable while, Quad proceeded, "On that occasion, I bit Tian the Young Master hard, focusing all the strength in me. He was an adept fighter, and yet he could not fight the excruciating pain. Thereupon, he whipped out his sword and smote two blows, the first slashing across my face and the second hacking off my arm. Fuming with rage, he flung out his leg with a kick, thrusting me right into the river. Maimed though I was in one arm, I still held the child closely to me with my other."