Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (8 page)

When the Company looked up in the direction of the summit, they all gasped in surprise. They shivered at the sight before them. Though it was not exceedingly high, the summit stood erect, like a tower amidst the neighbouring peaks, impassably steep and precipitous. Even monkeys would find it a task to climb to the top, not to mention human beings. They marvelled at the sight, wondering if it could be real: even if the most capable among them could make it to the top, could they really survive up there, on that sheer summit of summits?

The old monk gave a faint smile and led the way. After skirting two mountains, the Company entered an enormous pine forest. The pine trees were several hundred years old, with heavy, thickly overgrown branches and crisscrossing boughs, and every tree-top was laden with dazzling white snow several feet thick. This meant that there was not much snow inside the forest, which made walking much easier. The pine forest extended over a considerable area. It took an hour for the Company to thread their way through its heart. The minute they emerged they found themselves standing at the foot of the summit.

They all tilted their heads up and looked at the summit. It was more breath-taking and awe-inspiring at close proximity. They wondered if it would be possible to climb the summit even in summer. Now, at this time of the year when snow lay thick on the hilltop, anyone venturing to the peak would certainly run the risk of falling over the edge and being shattered to pieces.

A wind could be heard sweeping across the top of the cliff and the foliage murmured like an autumnal flood at dusk. All the members of the group were experienced hands who had roamed the world and experienced the vicissitudes of life. But with this impressively high rock structure towering over them, they all trembled with fear. The old monk drew a cylindrical-shaped missile from the front of his coat. He ignited it. Up it soared into the sky, discharging blue smoke which hung in the sky for some time afterwards.

They knew it was the signal used by the outlawry for sending messages. Yet seldom had they seen a missile soar so high and its blue plume of smoke stay as long. They lifted their heads and fixed their gaze upon the top of the summit, watching for any signs of action.

Presently, a black dot materialized high up on the cliff. This was the only sign they could see. The black dot began to roll down instantaneously, growing bigger as it moved closer, and after it had travelled halfway down the steep decline, it could be recognized as an enormous bamboo basket, fastened to a hawser also made of bamboo. This was the vehicle dispatched from the summit to transport the guests up the cliff.

The basket came to a standstill in front of the Company. "This basket will carry three," said the old monk. "Perhaps we should let the two ladies go first? It can seat another male. Who wants to accompany them? This monk does not have dealings with women, so I shall not go this trip. Ha! Ha!"

"This monk may be skilled in martial arts," thought each to himself, "but he talks rubbish!"

Sign helped Third into the basket. "If I go now," pondered Sign, "Curio will take this opportunity to attack Peace. But if I ask Peace to go along with me, I'll feel embarrassed in front of Uncle."

Sign then waved to Curio. "Senior Brother, you come with me."

Curio was overwhelmed by her favour and cast a glance at Peace, complacency written on his face. He immediately stepped inside the basket and seated himself next to Sign. He held the bamboo hawser and gave it a few neat jerks.

The basket swayed at first, and then ascended rapidly towards the summit. The moment they rose from the ground, Curio, Sign and Third felt as if they were travelling in a void, borne along on a cloud by the wind. The suspended state in which they now found themselves was unpleasant. When they were halfway up the cliff, Sign looked down. At the foot of the cliff, the human figures had shrunk to tiny dots. The angry cliffs rose up sheer as a wall, towering into the sky. What a wonderful sight! Her head reeled and she felt dizzy. She closed her eyes, not daring to look a second time.

Soon, the basket reached the top of the summit. Curio stepped out of the bamboo vehicle and helped Sign and Third out. On the side of the summit were three big capstans, intricately connected to one another by a bamboo hawser. The three capstans, manned by ten or so men of robust build, functioned by a neatly interlocking mechanism, synchronizing both the upward and downward movement of the basket. The now empty basket was again dispatched on a downward journey to collect more of the guests. The bamboo vehicle made a few more upward and downward trips before finally bringing the old monk and the others to the summit. Two men clad in grey stood by the side of the capstans. They took no heed of either Curio or his party. When the old monk finally joined the Company at the summit, these two men stepped forward and saluted him, bowing from the waist, with great respect.

"Without notifying the Master," said the old monk with a smile in his voice, "I have brought friends along to take advantage of his hospitality. Ha! Ha!"

"As they are friends of Tree the Great Master," replied a man in his prime, with a long neck and broad shoulders, bowing at the same time, "they will surely be welcome guests of my Master."

"So this old monk goes by the name of Tree," mused everybody.

The man with the long neck then turned around in every direction and bowed to all the assembled company. "My Master has been called away on business," said he, "and is not able to be here to greet our distinguished guests. Please accept his apologies."

At this, they quickly returned their bows. "This man lives up here, high on the top of the snow-covered mountain," they all began to ponder, "and dresses very lightly. Yet he shows no signs of feeling the cold. He must be skilled in endomarts, the martial art of developing strength through breathing and other exercises of his internal organs. The manner and tone in which he talks show that he is no more than a servant or one who runs errands. What kind of man must his Master be?"

Tree showed slight surprise at the Master's absence. "Your Master is not home?" he enquired. "How is it that he is away at this time?"

To this the man replied, "My Master left for Ningguta, Six-Manchu-Ancestors Borough, seven days ago."

"Ningguta? On what business?" asked Tree.

The man cast a glance at Valour and the others, made ill-at-ease by the question.

"Say what you want; don't worry about them," said Tree.

"Master said that the enemy fights fierce and furious," answered the man. "He is afraid that he may not be able to defeat him. So the Master travelled all the way to Ningguta, Six-Manchu-Ancestors Borough, to invite the Gilt-faced Buddha to ascend the mountain to give him support."

They started at the mention of the Gilt-faced Buddha. He had been a veteran fighter in the Martial Brotherhood, known as the Invincible Under the Sky among the outlawry for the last twenty years. Because of this name, he had made many enemies and fought many battles. But then he was so very skilled in the martial arts that no other adept, be he of any School or Branch, was ever his equal. He lived like a hermit and had been little heard of among the outlawry for the last ten years. It was rumoured that he had died of an illness in Turkestan. There were no witnesses, however; it was hearsay. When the assembled company learned that he was still alive and that the Master of this eyrie was on his way to invite him to the mountain, they immediately began to feel uneasy.

Not only was this Gilt-faced Buddha an adept in martial arts; he was also a righteous man who abhorred evil and detested evil-doers. If news of any dishonourable behavior reached the ears of the Gilt-faced Buddha, he would seek out the evil-doer and remonstrate with him. This would cost the evil-doer either an arm or a leg, or his life, depending on the seriousness of his crime. The group now assembled on the mountain top had all of them, at one time or another, dabbled in misdeeds of varying degrees. When the name Gilt-faced Buddha fell suddenly on their ears, they were all seized with panic.

Tree smiled faintly and said, "I see your Master is taking no chances. Even if Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain does fight well, why making such a fuss over him?"

To this the man replied, "With you, the Great Master, having come all this way to assist us, we are already assured of victory. Fox Volant is said to be exceedingly fierce and cunning; my Master is taking great care to solicit extra help so that he won't be able to escape."

They now all began to ponder, "How fierce a fighter can this Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain really be?"

Tree and the man, thus engaged in conversation, were leading the way. After winding their way round several snow-covered pine trees, the group found themselves standing in front of a large, five-chambered, stone building, with shining white snow covering both the front and the back of the house.

The Company passed through the doorway, and walked along a long corridor before coming to the front hall. The hall was enormous. In each corner was planted a huge brazier, with flames blazing above the burning coal. In the centre of the hall hung calligraphic scrolls, each line of verse was inscribed on a separate wooden tablet:

Before Crossing The Manchurian Border,

I Considered Myself Invincible Under the Sky.

After Sojourning in the Northeast,

I Became Aware of Other Heroes in the Universe.

A sentence in small, light print was written in the upper right hand corner reading, "Presented to Senior Brother Wish with due respect, hoping to receive his comments and criticism." And in the lower left hand corner was a sentence in small, light print reading, "Scribbled in extreme intoxication by Phoenix Miao, the Abandoned and Incorrigible, now deeply regretting the wild talk of bygone years."

All present were outlaws and rustics. They failed to comprehend the meaning of the inscription on the tablets. They somehow had the impression that Phoenix Miao was ashamed of his own name. Every character was cut deep into the wood; without question the work of sharp knives.

Tree's face paled slightly, and he cried, "So your Master and the Gilt-faced Buddha must be on very intimate terms then?"

"Yes," returned the long-necked fellow boldly. "The Master of this eyrie has known Phoenix the Knight-errant for several decades."

"I see," commented Tree simply.

Hawk's heart was throbbing violently. He thought to himself, "So I have finished up by coming to the dwelling place of the friend of Phoenix. It is likely that I, now old, will lose my life." Soon he felt his palms begin to sweat profusely.

Now that they had all taken their seats, the long-necked fellow ordered tea to be served, and he himself stood humbly to one side.

"This Gilt-faced Buddha who was bold enough to call himself the Invincible Under the Sky years ago," commented Tree, "was once rather vain and arrogant. From what was written on the scrolls, he lived to regret it."

"No," interrupted the man with the long neck. "The lord of this eyrie said that Phoenix the Knight-errant was being modest. If it had not been such a mouthful, the epithet, 'Since Time Immemorial and Throughout Eternity' would also have been included in the sobriquet of Phoenix the Knight-errant."

"Hm," sneered Tree. "In the Sutras, it is said that the minute the Gautama Buddha was born, these words came to his mind, 'I, As a Human Being, Am the Supreme, from Heaven to Hell.' Do you not think this is a superb match for the 'Invincible Under the Sky, Since Time Immemorial and Throughout Eternity'? They form a nice couplet."

Curio knew he was trying to be sarcastic and laughed aloud. The long-necked fellow stared him in the face and asked, "Will our honourable guest please show others due respect?" Curio was taken aback by his remark.

"And if I won't?" he demanded.

To this the man replied, "If the Gilt-faced Buddha learns that you are mocking him, I am afraid the honourable guest will be in some danger."

"There is no ultimate in martial ability," returned Curio, defending himself. "One must admit that there is a sky beyond the sky, a Master above another Master. The Gilt-faced Buddha is only a human being. No matter how excellent he is, he still cannot be called the Invincible Under the Sky."

"I have not seen much of the world; I am not well-read; my views may be shallow. If my Master considers the name befitting, I think he must deserve it." The man who spoke sounded deferential but his manner was full of insolence.

Anger filled Curio's breast and he was flushed with rage.

"I am Grand Master of an established school," he pondered. "I shall take no nonsense from a low-bred servant like him, used only to be at the beck and call of others."

And he immediately retorted with a sneer, "Are we to assume then that, with the exception of the Gilt-faced Buddha, your respectful Master is the champion under the sun. Ha, ha, ha, how funny!"

To this the man replied, "Not at all."

Reaching out his hand, the man then tapped the backrest of the chair in which Curio was sitting. It vibrated, throwing Curio off his balance. He started up from his chair. Still holding a tea bowl in his hand, Curio was caught off his guard. The bowl immediately slipped from his grasp, and just as it was on the point of shattering to pieces on the ground, the man bent and caught it with a clenched hand.