Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (5 page)

Sign followed behind Valour and whispered to him, "Uncle Valour."

He halted and asked, "What now?"

"We are to capture Tao Senior and Junior alive," answered Sign.

Valour rolled his eyes. "You still want to side with that knave Peace?" he hissed.

"I still believe that it is not he," replied Sign.

Valour turned livid with rage. He pulled out the arrow tucked in his girdle, passed it to her and said, "Look at this and then say that. It is the same arrow that the knave shot the goose with a while ago."

Sign took the arrow; one glance at it was enough to set her hands shaking. Curio was paying more attention to her than to their enemies. Seeing her now in such a troubled state, mixed emotions of vexation and elation assailed him. His spirits rose at the thought that Peace's life would be in danger; yet he was vexed by her being so totally inclined towards the rogue. Curio had a hot temper and just the thought of it drove him crazy. Just as he was about to vent his rage on her, Valour tapped him on the shoulder and directed his attention to the back of the sentinel in the east.

Sign and Radiant had bent down and stopped moving. Valour, Fortune, and Curio were stealing close, each aiming at an enemy and gripping three poisoned darts in their hands. The use of poisoned darts had, for generations, been one of the esoteric killer skills on which the Dragon Lodge prided itself. They flew true and fast and the poison was extremely potent. It could kill its victim within three watches. The outlawry called it the Lethal Dart.

"Uncle Valour wants me to attack the fellow in the east," Curio pondered. "I shall first take the life of that knave Peace with the poisoned darts. That way I shall not only revenge a serious wrong for my Branch, but will also rid myself of a rival. If he is captured alive, many things may happen during his captivity. I do not know what strange ideas she may eventually come up with." Having set his mind on this, Curio moved closer until he was no more than fifty paces from his enemy. Presently he bent down and fixed his gaze on the back of Peace who was now creeping stealthily with a wave-like motion. Curio would speed forth his three poisoned darts the minute Valour signalled with his hand.

Suddenly there came the clatter of metal upon metal. Peace knocked his steel hoe into an iron object buried underground. Valour was just about to signal by lowering his left hand but stopped himself on hearing whizzing sounds in quick succession. Seven or eight secret weapons sprang from the snowy ground to the side, aimed straight at Peace and his other comrades.

These secret weapons, flying forth so unexpectedly from under the ground, caught everybody by surprise. The whole incident was most mysterious and left everybody in a state of perplexity. The secret weapons had been dispatched from close range, and they came at an incredible speed. Both Tao Senior and Junior were well advanced in martial arts and reacted quickly to the attack. However, they still had to resort to whirling their hoe and spade to ward off the weapons. One of the three sentinels turned on his back and rolled down a gulley. He narrowly missed the two sprung barbs, one glancing off his skull and the other grazing his neck. The other two sentinels dropped dead before they could utter a word. They had both been attacked from behind; one had a steel dart through his heart and the other a dirk through his chest. They lay flat and motionless in the snow.

The unexpected attack on the sentinels caught everybody by surprise. Valour and his company were no less surprised than the others.

"You dastardly coward! How dare you lie in ambush?" snarled Century Tao, Peace's father, known as Commander of the Eastern Border. His words came like a thunderbolt out of the blue; mighty and awe-inspiring. Presently, flashing blades were visible against the snowy ground to the side, and out leapt four enemies from below the ground.

The four had dug a pit in the snow in anticipation of Century's and Peace's arrival, and had been lying there in waiting for several days. The mouth of the pit was covered with branches and twigs, which in turn were hidden under a blanket of snow, with only a few perforations for ventilation. It was a foolproof scheme.

Tao Senior and Junior dropped their hoe and spade and snatched up the weapons from their sides. Century was wielding a twenty-pound notched steel rod, while Peace flashed his single blade. The one who had rolled down the gulley was Chieftain Ma of Horse Spring. He made a few more turns down the gulley before springing up fearing that the enemies might be after him next. He had in his hands a pair of chained maces.

One of the enemies was thin and of swarthy complexion. He could be distinguished as Prime Xiong, Chief Escort of the Peking Overland Convoy. He was proficient in the Ground Blade, the art of fencing with a broadsword. Bandits from Horse Spring had once robbed his establishment of merchandise of great worth. He had tried every possible means to recover the lost merchandise, but had never once succeeded. The incident sowed the seeds of animosity between the two parties. Another assailant was a female, in her early thirties. She was known to Chieftain Ma as Third Zheng, alias Brandisher of the Twin Knives. Her husband had been an escort with the Peking Overland Convoy, but had died in a robbery staged by the Chieftains of the Horse Spring Banditry. Of the remaining two, one was a monk, of heavy build, wielding a Buddhist monk's knife. The last was a man whose face was covered with dark hair, plying a pair of iron staves. They were in league with the Peking Overland Convoy, also adepts in martial ability. They had been invited by the Overland to lay an ambush here to wreak vengeance upon their adversaries.

"So," cried out Century, "It is you, the worthless rogue who once got beaten by an old fellow like me. Prime is the only coward in the Martial Brotherhood capable of undertaking a low trick like this." Though the words were directed at Prime, when they touched the ears of Fortune, they caused him to flush. Fortune stole a glance at Valour, who, at that particular moment, was found gazing intently at their enemies in the valley. He was not in the least disturbed by the words.

"Chieftain Tao," said Prime in a soft voice, "Please allow me to introduce to you Wisdom the Great Master, of the Confluence Monastery of Shandong Province."

"This is Hawk Liu," continued Prime, "Guardsman of the first rank at the Imperial Court in the capital. He is my Brother, we acknowledge the same Master. Please befriend each other and get well acquainted."

Century Tao was a man of strong build and imposing bearing; his voice rang like thunder. Prime was his diametrical opposite. One was tough and harsh; the other gentle and courteous; the two seemed born to fight each other.

"Let us set to, you vermin," growled Century. "We can surely get acquainted through swordplay."

Immediately he displayed the extraordinary strength in his back by turning the steel rod in the air causing it to hum loudly.

Prime stayed calm and said humbly, "I must admit that I was beaten by Chieftain Century. I dare not raise a finger against you. I beg only to offer you this gift."

"What?" Century thundered.

Prime pointed his finger at the pit hollowed by them and answered, "The object is in there."

Century stroked the grey thick beard on his cheeks. Without uttering so much as a word, he lashed the rod in Prime's face. He dodged and missed it narrowly.

"Please halt!" cried Prime.

"What have you got now?" demanded Century.

"I have, for the past three full days, been here to await the arrival of Chieftain Century," answered Prime. "Were it not for the reverence I bear for you and your son, I would already have taken possession of this article. The object lying here has never belonged to Horse Spring; it has always been in the safe keeping of the Dragon Lodge. I see nothing wrong in its changing hands now."

To this Peace replied, "Nicely put indeed. These snowy mountains are frozen over for miles and miles. Would you not have already made away with it if only you had known where it was hidden?"

Third had set her mind on avenging the death of her husband. "Stop all this nonsense and let us set to," she shouted. No sooner had her voice faded than she flung three dirks, all aimed in quick succession at Chieftain Ma. Swinging his two chained maces, he was able to knock two of the weapons off course; but the third one, charged with more power, flew speedily at his chest. The iron chain linking the two maces came down barring the front of his chest, and warding off the third dirk in the nick of time. Chieftain Ma pulled the left mace with a sudden neat jerk and flung the right mace in the face of Third. Being agile and nimble-footed, she ducked the blow. Practising the Whirlwind while flourishing the twin knives in both hands, she charged straight at him. He swung the left mace out to shield himself against the blows.

While these two were thus engaged, Wisdom whirled his Buddhist monk's knife and rushed at Century. The Commander of the Eastern Border met him head on. Rod and blade clashed; the sparks flew. The monk felt a sudden ache in the arms, and saw that a chip had already been struck out of his blade. Nearby, Peace rushed at Prime, flourishing his sword. The six were now engaged in feverish battle, each fighting one other and grappling with his opponent on the snowy ground. Hawk looked on, clutching both staves in his hands, ready to help his party. When he saw that the monk was no match for Century, he cried out, "Move back and let me meet the Commander of the Eastern Border!" But the monk still fought on. Hawk strode forward and thrust his upper right arm onto the monk's shoulder. The monk rocked unsteadily on his feet, and staggered three paces before regaining his balance. Suddenly a keen blade came humming down wind, aimed right at his crown: the monk speedily ducked away from the blow but it set him shivering and sweating. It was Peace who had dealt him the stroke. Now, spurred on by rage, the monk flashed his knife and joined Prime in battling against Peace.

Hawk was better trained in martial arts than his Brothers; he was able to stave off all the lashing and smiting of Century's rod, stroke for stroke. As he planted his staves upright, there was a clash of iron rod upon iron staff, but Hawk stayed calm. He plunged his right staff forward, in order to hold back the rod of his opponent. He then smote Century's head with his left staff. After several tricks, Century was convinced that he had at long last met his match. Thereupon, he braced himself for battle and wielded his rod relentlessly in every direction, practising the rod techniques known as the Six Harmonies.

The battle did not rage long before Century began to show signs of defeat. He was beginning to grow weary defending himself against Hawk's attacks. Peace was fighting against two opponents and was gradually being cornered. His only hope lay in Chieftain Ma's speedily disposing of Third and taking over Prime. He would then slay the monk when the time presented itself. Third also could see how the battle would fare. So long as she could withstand her assailant, both Century and Peace would end up dead. Realizing this, she stood only on the defense, shielding herself with her twin knives. Chieftain Ma was now whirling his two maces, raining mighty blows on her, but none of them could touch her. At the end of less than a hundred tricks she began to show signs of weariness and kept staggering backward. Third, being a woman, could not withstand the battle any longer. Chieftain Ma seized this good opportunity to advance, and charged at her. She swung her left knife all of a sudden, rendering a sizeable part of herself vulnerable to attack. Encouraged by this, he moved forward one step and showered blows on her. Suddenly, the ground beneath his right foot gave way and he found himself right on top of the hollow which Prime and the others had been using as a hiding place not long before. Over half of the pit was still covered by snow, so he had not noticed it while the battle raged. Third had laid a trap for him. Unable to plant his foot on solid ground, he flung himself forward flat on the ground. It was not his day, admitted Chieftain Ma to himself. Just as he sprang up again, Third struck him a cruel stroke that bit deep and dislocated his left shoulder.

Chieftain Ma yelled in agony, then lay insensible on the ground. Third smote him again with her right knife and hurled him into the pit. Hearing his cries, Peace sensed that something had gone wrong, but he was so engaged in his battle with Prime and Wisdom that he could not free himself to assist the others. Third panted heavily several times, trying to regain her breath. She tidied her hair, then drew out a white handkerchief and wrapped it round her head. Flourishing her twin knives, she advanced and joined forces with her comrade against Century.

Had Century been twenty years younger, Hawk would never have been his match. He had always excelled in strength; but now that he was advanced in age, he had lost much of his former vigour and vitality. Fighting man to man against Hawk had already proved that he was not Hawk's match. He could not hope to prevail when Third also attacked him.

The fight raged fast and furious. Prime whirled both his staves, raining blows by practising the Dragon Prancing and Phoenix Gambolling. Century guarded against the blows by lashing his rod. Third also moved up, her twin knives describing circles. She charged at him with two blades. Unable to parry blows from four weapons with his single rod, Century let out a loud cry and lashed his left leg out at Third, causing her to make a turn in the air. Her flashing blade slashed across him, cutting a deep gash in the upper left part of his trunk. Blood ran down from the wound, dyeing the snowy ground a dark, rusty red. Yet the old fellow was exceptionally brave and ferocious, and he raged on fearlessly, smiting blows relentlessly with his rod.

The situation was becoming dangerous; Peace felt certain of defeat. He dealt his opponent three cruel strokes. While Wisdom was moving back two paces, Peace also leapt backward and cried out, "Halt! Father and I admit defeat. Now, make your choice: do you want the treasure or do you want our lives?"

Brandishing her knives, Third charged at Century. "Both the treasure and your lives!"

Prime was scheming. The merchandise lost the year before was of considerable worth. He would rather exact a ransom from Horse Spring than kill both father and son. Musing thus, Prime cried out, "Let us cease. I have something to say."