Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (36 page)

"Presently, Brother Pastoral fumbled inside the bosom of his garment. He drew out a pearl-studded hairpin, embellished with a gambolling phoenix. He put the pin on the table, saying, 'She wanted me to return this pearl-studded pin to you or pass it to Miss Miao. I was told that this article belongs to the Miao Family.'"

At this the Company turned their eyes in the direction of Orchid. The pearl-studded hairpin at the side of her temple trembled slightly. The phoenix motif at the head of the hair ornament was exquisitely fine and the pearls were fully spherical with an impeccably smooth surface. The hairpin, the pearls of which were covered with an ivory patina, was an antique dating from ancient times.

Hawk continued his account, "Phoenix the Knight-errant picked up the pearl hairpin and pulled a hair from his head. He pulled it slowly through the hole on the head of the phoenix. The hair came through the other end of the hairpin. The ornament was, after all, hollow inside. He then jerked both ends of his hair slightly, causing the phoenix motif to snap open on one side. Phoenix the Knight-errant then twisted the pearl-studded pin to one side and immediately a paper crumb fell from the head of the bird motif. He laid the crumb of paper out flat, remarking coldly, 'Do you see what is here?' Brother Pastoral turned swarthy in the face. After a considerable while he heaved a deep sigh.

"Phoenix the knight-errant said, 'You have tried many ways to lay your hands on this map. In the end, she saw through you and therefore refused to confide the secret in you by returning the pearl hairpin to my family. The map of the treasure is right inside this very hairpin. You could never have dreamed of this!' Having finished his words, he put the paper crumb back into the head of the phoenix, locking the gadget by giving the hair a smart pull. Then he placed the hairpin on the table, commanding, 'I have already taught you how to open the head of the pin. You have only to take this and follow the map to recover the treasure!' Brother Pastoral did not dare to stir a finger, holding his lips tight and uttering not a word. I took in all the details under the bed in great exasperation. The map and the poniard were only a few feet from me, and yet I could not lay my hands on them. Phoenix the Knight-errant presently gazed blankly at the porcelain jar. He slowly stretched out his hands to pick up the jar and put it inside the bosom of his garment, looking terrifying as he did so."

To the ears suddenly came a soft moaning. Orchid was resting her head on the table, sobbing and wailing. The pearl-studded hairpin adorned with a phoenix worn behind her temple was bobbing incessantly. The Company looked at each other, not knowing the cause of her grief.

Hawk picked up his story: "Brother Pastoral pounded the table with his hand, crying, 'Phoenix the Knight-errant, if you charge at me now, I shall die regretting nothing!' Phoenix the Knight-errant let out a sneer, saying, 'Why should I take your life? One who lives may not necessarily be any happier than the one dead. I can still recall the scenes of the duel between Gully and me. He and his wife finally died when the skirmish ended after a few days. Though I have remained alive, my heart was gripped by distress. Later, it occurred to me that Gully and his wife who had loved each other until their dying day, sharing their life and death with each other, were most certainly happier than I who had continued to lead a lonely life in this world. You had this map near you for many many years, and yet you failed to detect its presence, ending up returning it intact to me in person. Why do I need to kill you? Would it not serve you better if I allowed you to live on to regret it for the remainder of your life?' At this, he picked up the pearl-studded hairpin and marched out of the room. Though Brother Pastoral was equipped with both arrow and sword, would he dare to take up his arms?

"After sighing for a few moments, Brother Pastoral placed both the dead baby and the poniard on his bed. Then he turned around to bolt the door, muttering to himself, 'One who lives may not necessarily be any happier than the one dead.' Then he sat on the bed, crying, 'Orchis, Orchis, you have committed a folly on my account, and I one on yours. Why this torment?' Then came a swishing sound, as if an object had pierced the flesh. After tossing a few moments with pain in his bed, Pastoral lay still.

"I was taken aback and immediately wriggled from under the bed. He had thrust the arrow into his heart and was dead. Now you should all listen: Brother Pastoral took his own life, and he was not killed by anybody. Peace did not kill him, neither did Fox. It was he who killed himself. As I am a friend to neither Peace nor Fox, there is no incentive for me to plead their innocence.

"With Pastoral lying dead on his bed, I immediately blew out the candle. Just as I was about to reach for the poniard before departing, Brother Peace knocked at the door. I was forced to go back into hiding under the bed. As to what happened afterwards, you have already heard it from Brother Peace. He took the poniard and ran away with it to the place beyond the Pass. I was filled with a great sense of anger for having hidden such a long time under the bed. Would this gain me nothing? Added to that, Brother Prime and I still had some old debts to settle with the Horse Spring Banditry, and thus the two of us decided to follow the group here."

Having finished his account, Hawk dusted his clothes with his hands and ran his fingers through his hair as if he were again on the point of wriggling from under the bed. He then took two sips of tea, looking relieved and complacent.

Chapter Eight: Treasure

The story having been gradually revealed by the individual parties, the Company was finally possessed of some clues to the questions confusing their minds. They then became aware of a burning desire to satisfy their hunger. As is often the case, the more tea that is consumed, the more powerful the pangs of hunger created.

Presently, Century took this opportunity to speak out, boldly, "Now that everything has been straightened out, there is no denying the fact that Pastoral himself handed over this poniard to my boy. And there can be no point in fighting for it now that things have been so clearly explained, eh?"

To this, Hawk replied, wreathed in smiles, "What Big Brother Pastoral handed over to Brother Peace was simply an empty casket. I would not, therefore, openly object to you reclaiming your right to the empty container. As to the poniard, you should not dare lay a finger on it."

Fortune interjected at this point, to claim, "The old weapon should now be returned to us, the Southern Branch of the Dragon Lodge, as the facts have already made completely clear."

Thereupon, Valour remonstrated with him, "This very poniard still remains in the possession of the Northern Branch, as no Sword-conferring Ceremony has yet been initiated by Brother Pastoral." The hall soon echoed with the brash and unmannerly sounds of spiteful quarrelling.

Tree the old monk suddenly stopped everyone short, posing a question loudly, "Why are you all fighting over this poniard?" His question took everybody by surprise, leaving the Company staring at each other eye to eye, gaping in silence.

Tree then broke out with a jeering sneer, "Apart from knowing that this poniard is threateningly keen, shearing metal like mud, you have all missed the clue that links this dagger to a vast hidden treasure. Now that the secret has been revealed and your cupidity aroused, you are eager to award yourselves the prize. May this old monk now take the liberty of putting it to the Company assembled: what is the point in seizing the poniard if the treasure map is not to be had?" His words threw the Company deep into thought, and all instantaneously directed their gaze at the pearl-studded hairpin puffing out by the side of Orchid's temple.

Orchid was a frail lady of unusual refinement. Snatching the pin from her hair would seem a mere trifle to them. Nevertheless, the group was intimidated already, overawed by the impending might her father would wield should any daring move be attempted against her. None considered himself bold enough to defy her father and remain unscathed. Thereupon, the Company stayed still and gazed fixedly at the pearly pin quivering at her temple. Yet none dared to utter a sound.

Presently, Hawk swept his gaze around the room. He stepped forward to Orchid. Reaching with his right hand, Hawk suddenly snatched the pin from Orchid's temple. The helpless victim immediately fell back two paces and turned ashen pale, fired by a mixture of shame and anger. The rest, however, were all taken aback by Hawk's bold and sudden move.

To everyone's surprise, Hawk began at once to brag, "I have been ordered by the Imperial Decree to take action against our enemy, be he Phoenix the Knight-errant or Simurgh the Great Bird. Well, who knows whether the Gilt-faced Buddha is still alive or not? That is one of the imponderables."

The remaining outlaws immediately asked, "Why is this?"

To this, Hawk answered with a sneer, "As I see it, even if the Gilt-faced Buddha has managed to stay alive, the chances are that he should by now already have been imprisoned in the Imperial Jail, strapped and bound hands and feet."

Orchid was taken aback by his words. Though still vexed by the mortifying incident of her pin a short while before, she turned her attention now to the safety of her father. Thereupon, she hastened to ask, "You... You mean to say some misfortune has befallen my father?" Tree also put in at once, "Please give us more details."

Hawk still remembered how, on the way up the mountain, his whole body had been dragged across the snowy ground, by the old monk and and he was mindful too of the wretched discomfiture Tree had experienced on learning that Hawk had been empowered to act by Imperial Decree. Hawk began to feel important and became more so when Tree begged him for more details. Hawk could not contain himself and was eager to reveal his secret merely to inflate himself. Thereupon, he fired a question at the monk, "Tree the Great Master, do allow me to ask you a question before anything else: who is the lord of this eyrie?"

The Company had been up on the mountain for almost half a day, and yet they had failed to discover who the lord was. Hawk's propitious question seemed appropriate. They all turned to Tree who replied smilingly, "As we fellows here have been very open with each other, this old monk sees no point in withholding this piece of information any longer. The lord of this eyrie goes by the surname Du and Wish is his given name. He is a fighter of great renown among the Martial Brotherhood." Tree's words caused the assembly to eye one another, wondering to themselves, "Wish Du? Wish Du?" None seemed to be able to recall the name. Tree continued, wearing a soft smile, "This veteran fighter thinks very highly of himself and has always distanced himself from others. This explains why he is hardly known to ordinary people, even though he is so endowed with martial talents. Nonetheless, all celebrities of the outlawry acknowledge his prowess with due respect." Tree intended to worry the Company by making it clear by implication that none of them amounted to much.

Fortune, Valour and the other members of the party all grew furious. But recalling how he was addressed on the calligrahic scrolls as "Wish the Senior Brother" by Phoenix, and knowing that they were not even considered fighters on a par with Phoenix, they had to accept all of Tree's unpleasantness, without remonstration.

Hawk then continued his story: "After we had ascended this mountain, we were told by the steward of the eyrie, 'The Master has made a trip to Ningguta, Six-Manchu-Ancestors Borough, to enlist the support of the Gilt-faced Buddha. Meanwhile, he has also despatched his men to request the assistance of Fan the Ringleader of the Cathay Outlawry.' There may not be complete truth in his words. I think that I must admit that I have also made myself useful by holding Fan the Ringleader a captive in Kaifeng Prefecture, the capital of Henan Province."

Thereupon, the Company all cried, "Fan the Ringleader is captured?"

Hawk answered with a laugh, "His Excellency, Sai the commissioner of the Imperial Guardsmen, has taken overall charge of this operation himself. A paragon fighter though Fan the Ringleader may be, the undertaking itself need not have involved Commissioner Sai's personal attention when one comes to think of it now. We first had Fan the Ringleader captured, and then threw him as bait to catch a bigger fish. Of course, it goes without saying that Phoenix was the intended catch. Now, do you still believe that Wish, lord of this eyrie, who has gone on a trip to persuade Phoenix to join hands against Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, will be able to come back with his mission accomplished? I would guess that Phoenix is now in Peking, trying to create a plan to rescue Fan the Ringleader. Ha! Ha! Commissioner Sai already has schemes specifically hatched in Peking, aimed at surrounding Phoenix, and is now patiently awaiting his arrival in the capital. If Phoenix succeeded in avoiding our trap, there would be nothing we could do. But he has taken it upon himself to travel to Peking to rescue a friend and he is in grave danger, like a tree being attacked by a woodpecker."

Orchid still remembered the day when she had taken leave of her father. He had made it clear to her that he would be called away to the capital on some mission and that she was to ascend the mountain, to stay with the Du Family and to await his arrival. Hearing Hawk, Orchid began to fear the worst for her father. All colour fled from her face instantaneously.