Author: Xia Shuo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The world of martial arts is suddenly turned upside down on a full moon night as the Qin family, a martial arts noble family, is brutally slaughtered. Orphan Qin Yiwei, alone and adrift, swears to find the real culprit and avenge her family. Meanwhile, the leader of the beggar gang, Li Xingsan, is also entangled in a devastating conspiracy. With a heroic spirit and tender heart, the American-Chinese writer Xia Shuo once again attempts to pioneer a new era in martial arts fiction!
Excerpt:
Forty years of hiding and seeking refuge
"Over the following years, I was busy escorting goods, and Wei'er initially accompanied me everywhere. The journey was both arduous and dangerous, and her body couldn’t take it. She miscarried several times during her pregnancies. After having Qu'er, she stayed in Kaifeng to rest and no longer traveled with me."
Twelve years ago, I accepted a mission to escort goods to Hangzhou. On the return journey, I stopped by Qin Village to pay a visit. The second mistress came out to greet me. She truly knew how to take care of herself—though in her forties, she was still as graceful as ever. I noticed she had wrapped her hands in cloth and asked her what had happened. She said she had accidentally fallen. When I asked about Sister Ting, she said she had gone to visit relatives in the Xiang River.
That night, Qin Zhongye returned, and the two drank and chatted all night, discussing everything. When they talked about Sister Ting, he couldn’t help but sigh. He said that as she grew older, her temper grew worse, and she often lost control, crying hysterically. He mentioned that many times he had noticed her sneaking onto the roof to eavesdrop on their conversations while staying in the second mistress’s room.
A few days ago, the second mistress was picking flowers in the garden when she suddenly came over and whipped Xiu Yan’s hands with a whip. The bones in her hands were broken, and the second mistress could no longer play the piano. Xiu Yan endured everything and often tried to persuade her, but it was useless. If it weren’t for a maid revealing it, the second mistress would have kept it a secret.
I asked him why he didn’t treat Sister Ting better. Perhaps she knew she was at fault and would change. Qin Zhongye smiled bitterly and said, "Xiu Yan is the same. But ice doesn’t form overnight. I’ve long been cold toward her and can’t pretend to care. The son she gave birth to is stubborn, and I’m utterly disappointed. But Xiu Yan is a good teacher, which brings me some comfort. He worried that if Sister Ting continues like this, one day, in her rage, she might kill Xiu Yan."
Ten years ago, I was escorting goods to Hengyang when I unexpectedly met Yang Deyuan. I laughed at him for following the geese here. He said he had come to help a friend investigate the bloodbath at the Hengshan Sect. Several months earlier, hundreds of people from the Hengshan Sect had been killed overnight. They lived in seclusion, and the incident wasn’t discovered for ten days. Rumors spread in the martial arts world, but no one knew who was responsible.
Li Xingsan asked in astonishment, "Who did my father take the mission from? Why did he never mention this to me?" Wu Yaoting thought for a moment and sighed, "Since your father has passed away, it’s okay to tell you."
Your father was like a stove in winter—always restless. He couldn’t stay in one place for long and often joked that he’d make a great escort. He loved traveling the world and was generous and righteous, making friends everywhere. There was another side to him, something you sons know well: he was often unrestrained and flirtatious, and many women liked him. He had difficulty refusing those who came to him, and he owed many "romantic debts." I don’t know about others, but your father told me himself that his relationship with Ouyang Di was his own doing."
Li Xingsan was confused, "Ouyang Di—what kind of person is she? I’ve never heard of her."
Ouyang Di’s father, Ouyang Yunlong, was the head of the Hengshan Sect. His wife was originally a musician from the Yan Royal Family and lived in Jinling. After marrying into the Ouyang family, she gave birth to five children—two sons and three daughters, named Ouyang Xiao, Ouyang Qin, Ouyang Zheng, Ouyang Sheng, and Ouyang Di.
Ouyang Di was the youngest. When she was ten years old, Ouyang Yunlong married a young female disciple of the Hengshan Sect as his second wife. This second mistress was skilled in seductive arts, and soon, the Ouyang family was in turmoil. First, the first mistress was sent away and returned to her family in Jinling. A year later, the eldest daughter, Ouyang Qin, and her husband returned home and argued with her father over her mother’s fate. The next day, the couple died under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant. Ouyang Di stayed to care for the child.
A year later, the second daughter, Ouyang Zheng, was unhappy with the marriage her mother had chosen and left home after a big argument, never to be heard from again. A year later, the same thing happened to Ouyang Di. The second mistress had a cousin who was unscrupulous and unattractive. The second mistress actually helped her arrange this marriage, but Ouyang Di refused to marry him. After a year, Ouyang Di was twenty, still unmarried. One day, they came to press for the marriage, and Ouyang Di argued with the second mistress. Her father scolded her, and in anger, she took her sister’s orphaned grandson and went to Jinling to join her mother.
The boat docked in Yueyang, and Yang Deyuan boarded. He saw Ouyang Di with the child and was silent, his expression sorrowful. He idly played with the child and asked where his father was. The child said his father had died and called Ouyang Di "Mother Di." Your father had always thought Ouyang Di was a young widow.
Your father, though flirtatious, never took a concubine. But this time, he had made a mistake, and it wasn’t entirely his fault. Ouyang Di deliberately didn’t point it out. By the time your father realized she was a young woman, it was too late. According to your father, Ouyang Di had actually known him long ago. At the Yan Royal Family’s martial arts competition, Yang Deyuan defeated Ouyang Di’s older brother, Ouyang Xiao. Even as a child, she had watched from the sidelines and remembered your father’s name well, so when he introduced himself, she already knew who he was.
On the boat, your father didn’t hide anything from her and told her he already had a wife and children. Perhaps that’s why Ouyang Di deliberately didn’t reveal she wasn’t a widow. What happened between them, I don’t know. I only know that later, she wanted to follow your father to the north and marry him as a concubine, but your father refused. At the time, your father had just become the leader of the beggar gang, and according to the rules, the leader was not allowed to take concubines. Also, you were both still young, and your father deeply respected your mother and didn’t want this to damage your family’s harmony.
Although your father refused, he felt deeply guilty. Years later, when he couldn’t bear his conscience, he came to Jinling to find her and searched everywhere until he finally learned her whereabouts. He discovered she had given birth to his son.
Li Xingsan was shocked, "So, I have another brother?" Wu Yaoting replied, "Yes, but he had bad luck. He died at the age of three. Ouyang Di, in her grief, became a nun and disappeared. Your father was even more troubled by this and searched everywhere. By coincidence, five years later, he met her at an Emei Taoist temple. After that, he visited Emei every two years, no matter how far, to see her."
Li Xingsan understood, "I see why my father asked me to deliver a letter to the Qingyin Taoist nun before he died. It turns out Qingyin was Ouyang Di." Wu Yaoting sighed, "It seems your father never forgot her until the very end."
A moment of silence passed in the small room, and Wu Yaoting continued, "Three months after the Hengshan Sect incident, Ouyang Di only heard about it. She immediately returned to bury her brother and fellow disciples. By then, the corpses had long decayed and were difficult to identify. However, from some clues, she suspected there might be survivors. After returning to Emei, she wrote to the small ferry crossing, asking your father to investigate."
Your father followed the Xiang River to Hengyang but found no clues. He asked me to accompany him to gather more information. We traveled north, bypassing Hengshan and heard some rumors. It was said that late in his life, Ouyang Yunlong discovered his second mistress was unfaithful and had an affair with another disciple of the Hengshan Sect. In anger, he planned to kill them both, but that night, they somehow escaped. Filled with resentment, Ouyang Yunlong regretted his actions. Because of this woman, his family was ruined—three daughters, one dead, two missing. Heartbroken, he passed the sect’s leadership to his senior disciple, Lian Chengji, who died of depression a few months later."
Lian Chengji was a man of integrity. After taking over as head of the sect, everything was peaceful. The Hengshan Sect was mainly managed by Lian Chengji, Ouyang Xiao, and Yi Hanxi, who were close friends and brothers, known as the "Three Sages of Zhurol." They lived in seclusion in the mountains, indifferent to the world, and should have had no enemies.
We found nothing on our journey, but unexpectedly met Gu Yun and her sister, Lady Bai. Gu Yunlin’s husband had passed away, making her a widow. The Bai family was extremely wealthy in the Xiang River region, owning vast farmland and mansions from Hengyang to Xiangyin to Dongting Lake. Their wealth was staggering.
These two women—a widow and a resentful one—were naturally welcoming and hospitable. Sister Ting was fifty, her age and bitterness making her seem almost ancient. Wei’er was in her thirties, charming and completely different from Sister Ting. I secretly rejoiced that I had never married Sister Ting. That year, Lady Bai was in her early forties, still beautiful and alluring. She was in her prime, and your father, though a flirt, knew what she was thinking. Still, he was like a snake charmer who knew which snakes were venomous and avoided them. So, despite her affections, he left the mansion after staying for a few days without saying goodbye. Five years later, I received an invitation to a funeral from the Gu family. Sister Ting had died and was buried in her hometown, Wulingyuan. On the day of the funeral, they invited me.
Hearing Wulingyuan made me think of the legendary place where Liu and Ruan encountered immortals. Following the invitation, I first arrived at a small village in the Xiang River mountains called Yunshan Town and checked into the Qingya Inn. Sure enough, someone came to greet me. The next day, they insisted on covering my eyes with black cloth, saying it was the local custom. Whether by land or water, we traveled for a day, and at night, we arrived at a mountain gully. Only then did they remove the cloth from my eyes. From their conversation, it seemed to be called "Meteor Gully."
When the cloth was removed, I was stunned. In the darkness, a large lake lay before me, surrounded by cliffs hundreds of feet high on three sides. Bubbles constantly rose from the lake, burning with fire. Alas, words are not as convincing as seeing it with one’s own eyes. Without witnessing it firsthand, I wouldn’t have believed such a thing existed. The others, however, were used to it and said they couldn’t cross the lake that night and would stay in a small cabin by the shore.
The next day, the fire died down, and the lake was calm. They took me out in a small boat and rowed to the center, where we discovered a small island. The island was always shrouded in mist, which explained why it wasn’t visible from the shore. After stepping off the boat, I saw lush green grass, clusters of rare ancient trees, and low bushes filled with colorful flowers, as if I had stepped into a paradise on earth. The people who led me took me to a refined estate, where I met Lady Bai and her brother, Gu Yunxuan. Gu Yunxuan was thin, with pale, ashen skin, and his eyes were cold and terrifying. He spoke little and only said that once Qin Zhongye arrived, they would formally lower the coffin.
That night, I stayed on the island and woke up in the middle of the night to the shrieks of strange birds. Unable to sleep, I went outside for a walk. By the lake, it was quiet except for the sound of the water lapping against the shore. A full moon hung high, and the scenery was breathtaking. Thinking of Sister Ting’s life, I couldn’t help but sigh. Just then, I heard groaning in the distance, the sound faint. I went to investigate and climbed a slope. The lakeshore was rocky, covered in cliffs. The sound gradually became clearer, and I found a cave on the cliffside, overgrown with moss. With my iron cane for support, I struggled to climb down and cautiously entered the cave. Under the moonlight, I saw an old man lying on a stone bed, groaning in pain.
I lit a torch and saw it was an elderly man near death. He opened his weak eyes in surprise and asked who I was and who had sent me. I briefly explained that I was the chief escort from Weiyuan Town. He asked about the previous chief escort. I said Master Qiao had passed away from illness a year ago. He asked me to demonstrate a few of Master Qiao’s special moves. Though surprised by his distrust, he still performed seven or eight moves. After seeing them, he sat up excitedly.
This excitement made him gasp for breath. I wanted to heal him with my skills, but he shook his hand and spoke in broken sentences, warning me to be careful. He said that outsiders who came to the island rarely left alive. His breathing grew worse, and I could only catch a few words here and there—something about a senior master, Shaolin, catastrophe, yin and yang, and the universe. His voice grew weaker, and he pointed to the bed. I saw it was just a stone bed and didn’t understand. He pointed to the foot of the bed, so I bent down and felt around for a while before discovering a mechanism. The bed moved forward several feet. The stone was hollow, with a hollow space inside, but nothing seemed special. When I stood up, the old man had already stopped breathing.
I thought this island was beautiful but mysterious and strange. The old man’s words made me half believe and half doubt. Then I thought, as a man near death, his words might be true. It was better to be cautious. Back in the mansion, suddenly, a shadow rushed toward me with incredible speed. I swung my iron cane, but he dodged and struck me with a palm on the chest. The speed was beyond me. The palm was vicious, and I felt my blood surge as I couldn’t breathe. When I attacked again, he leaped up and struck three palms in succession, each faster than the last. I was terrified. Over the years I’d traveled the world, I’d fought thousands of battles, but I’d never been so easily defeated.