Soaring Swallows Startle Dragons

Jianghu Tempest

Part 8 (19)

Yang Menghuan was jolted by her cry, and in his haste, no time to think, he leapt up, left palm protecting his face while his right hand used the Celestial Dipper move Seize the Dragon Barehanded, fast as a loosed arrow at the white crane.

The enormous crane had just lifted its head to rise when it saw someone attacking it. It cut hard around, left wing striking down like lightning, a strong wind blasting, and before Yang Menghuan’s hand arrived the crane wing fanned out a strong wind to cover itself and Menghuan just felt his whole body slammed by the strong wind, jolting his mind, and his strength suddenly left him and he fell from a stave high in the air. After swatting Menghuan down, the big white crane raised its head and shot straight up.

Master Wise Perfected whisked her Daoist robe sleeve and stole after him and managed to catch Yang Menghuan’s falling body. Xialin was so upset tears were shedding as she watched Big Brother Huan, speechless.

Master Wise Perfected slightly pushed Menghuan’s “Man’s Middle” acupoint with her left hand and Yang Menghuan slowly took a breath, opened his eyes and straightened up. He saw Xialin watching him dumbly, tears falling like pearls from a broken string, and he shook his head and said, “What are you crying for? I’m not hurt.”

Xialin raised her right sleeve and wiped her face. “That big white crane is awful, I don’t want it anymore.”

As soon as Miss Shen said that a shout came from within the shadows of the pines, “Lin’er? What are you doing on Mount Kuocang?”

This voice was one she had been used to for over a decade. She didn’t need to look to see who it was but immediately called loudly, “Shifu, Shifu.”

A monk and a Daoist emerged from the shadows of the pines. It was Master One Yang and Greatmaster Clear Karma. Xialin spread her arms out and pounced into Greatmaster Clear Karma’s arms. The old monk held his zen staff in his left hand and stroked her pretty hair with his right, and with boundless affection said, “You’re a Kunlun disciple now, how can you still call me that?”

Master Wise Perfected suddenly saw First Brother appear before her and decades of past love overflowed in her mind and she stood there dumb for a moment before putting her palms together and asking, “First Brother, How are you?”

Master One Yang returned the salute with a smile. “How did you all find this place? Is Sectmaster Junior Brother well?”

Master Wise Perfected, tears in her eyes, said, “Second Brother is well. He and I have missed First Brother. I trekked a thousand miles to northern Zhejiang to see you. Along the way I ran into them and after reading your secret letter learned that First Brother was going to Mount Kuocang. I took them to find you, but I didn’t expect to run into you.”

Master One Yang sighed faintly as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t speak but turned and introduced Master Wise Perfected to Greatmaster Clear Karma.

The old monk declaimed the name of Buddha and raised his right palm and bowed. “I’ve often heard you senior sectbrother mention Venerable Master but regretfully have not been destined to meet you earlier. Lin’er’s had a tragic life and is all alone in the world. This old patches did not bring her up well, causing her to be wild and unruly. I hope you can discipline and correct her. Allow this old monk to first thank you on her behalf.” With that, he saluted again.

Flustered, Master Wise Perfected put her palms together and bowed in return. “Lin’er has already learned First Brother’s martial arts, Master Wise Perfected has no virtue or ability and only dared accept this good disciple because of First Brother’s exhortation, so I could only brazenly agree. In the future, whatever repercussions transpire, I will absolutely not stand idly by…”

Master One Yang said, “Third Sister, don’t be so modest. First Brother also must abide by Sectmaster Junior Brother’s orders. I’ll entrust you to inform the sectmaster. The repercussions of the future are no small matter, and it concerns the wellbeing of the school, it’s not my place to decide.”

Master Wise Perfected said, “Second Brother may be the sectmaster, but for decades he has cherished First Brother’s charitable kindness. On this matter you can rest assured, he would never oppose it.” Saying that, her smile disappeared.

Greatmaster Clear Karma didn’t know about the love triangle and the secret anguish between the Three Masters of Kunlun, so he didn’t catch the overtones of their conversation. But hearing Master Wise Perfected so decisively and certainly agree to take on Shen Xialin’s personal feud roused the old monk’s heroic spirit. He stamped the iron zen staff in his left hand and said, “This old patches, though not a Kunlun disciple, wishes very much to lend all my meager strength. As long as you can use me, I will go through fire or water.” Saying that, he threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Master One Yang had something else on his mind. He knew the treasure map was a rare treasure that everyone in the martial world dreamed of getting hold of. If they really did obtain it, it would certainly lead to a violent struggle. Master Wise Perfected in taking Menghuan and the others to Mount Kuocang could not only be of no help, it would be a distraction having to look out for them. He was not happy but couldn’t bare to speak a word of reproach. He only worried to himself.

Master Wise Perfected had not seen First Brother for over a decade, and now that she had she was so happy. They all sat under the moonlight and she related all she had seen and heard for Master One Yang to hear in detail.

That masterhands from every school had got wind of it and gathered in northern Zhejiang to vie for the treasure map was well within Master One Yang’s expectations, but he didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly, and from the way Master Wise Perfected told it, Eight Armed Divine Codger and the Three Geese of Diancang were already on Mount Kuocang. And Chief Li Canglan, that eccentric hero of the age of the Heavenly Dragon Gang, was likely making secret deployments. But what astounded Master One Yang the most was the jade flute that Master Wise Perfected said they had heard in the secluded valley, and the mysterious and peculiar blue-clad person. The Jade Flute Transcendent appeared intermittently in the jianghu, coming and going unpredictably, just like a drifting demonic specter. The odd blue-clad person was unidentified, but the most difficult to understand or explain was that the two of them had appeared in this secluded valley not a hundred miles from here. It looked as if a violent clash was to unfold on Mount Kuocang.

Master One Yang was sick with worry, but he remained composed on the outside. He looked at Master Wise Perfected and said, “Greatmaster Clear Karma and I have been speeding along according to the map, painstakingly searching the Kuocang Mountains for six or seven days to find this secluded valley. Once you all entered the mountains you felt your way here and managed to get here a step before us.”

Master Wise Perfected, “It was just chance that we blindly stumbled upon it.”

Master One Yang knew that time was precious and didn’t speak further but spread the treasure map out in the moonlight, looking at the landscape painting on the white tabby silk, three peaks in a 品-shape, a waterfall draped down the central peak, identical to this secluded valley. Looking again at the scenery they confirmed that it was exactly like this secluded valley, which meant that the Return to the Origin manual was in the vicinity without a shadow of a doubt. It was just that the map didn’t indicate where, so they would have to spend time searching.

They all studied and discussed it for a while, unable to make any headway. Master One Yang looked up to the sky at the moonlight streaming through the pines, their silhouettes rustling in the wind, the ground scattered with twinkling silver stars. He muttered in a low voice the words on the map:

Verdant pines sift the bright moon, Over stone flows the clear spring.

He suddenly leapt up and went over to the large stone under the enormous pine tree and examined it closely. The clear babbling waters went halfway round the large stone and flowed into the more than a hundred-stave-deep gully. Master One Yang inspected the stone. It was naturally formed, and there were no suspicious marks or traces anywhere all around it. Even so, he wasn’t about to slacken. He drew the sword from his back and carefully rapped on the stone for a full double-hour but could still not find a single clue.

Shen Xialin suddenly remembered that she had not bathed in two or three days and couldn’t help but be roused by the clear water of the stream. She slowly went over to it, removed her boots, and dipped her jade-white unbound feet into the water. This mountain stream was formed from melted snowpack, so its waters were bone-piercingly ice cold. Xialin was a bit hot from all the running around, and when her feet entered the water it was cool and refreshing and she was as comfortable and as happy as could be, and she picked up her boots and walked down the stream. This clear stream was no more than a few hundred staves long. By the time she reached the end it was only seven or eight spans wide where it fell like a curtain of water into the deep gully. She thought, It would be better if this gully were a bit shallower, then the accumulated water would form a large pool and I could take a bath in it. Thinking, distracted, she sighed and sat in the grass by the stream, feet soaking in the water, and looked at the gully, lost in thought.

Menghuan stepped lightly over to her and asked in a low voice, “What are you thinking about? Still thinking about riding that big white crane?”

Xialin turned to him and shook her head. “I was thinking that this mountain ravine is too deep. If it were shallower, wouldn’t it form a large pool?”

Menghuan went “Ah” as a thought flashed through his mind. He thought, This mountain stream has been flowing here who knows how many hundreds or thousands of years. No matter how deep this cavernous gully is, if it didn’t let out somewhere it would eventually fill up with water, so there must be an outlet channel at the bottom of the gully where it flows out. With that thought, he got closer to the gully and felt around. It was smooth and slippery, and upon closer inspection the gully, which was ten staves long and three staves wide was made of naturally formed stone walls, just like an intact stone mountain sculpted and chiseled by hand. He thought of the meaning of the line about a clear stream flowing over stone and he was elated and blurted out, “That’s right, there’s another world at the bottom of this deep gully!”

Master One Yang and the others were racking their brains about the meanings of the treasure maps words, unable to understand them, when they heard Menghuan call out. They all ran over. Yang Menghuan told Master One Yang about his random thought about the gully.

Master One Yang knelt down and looked into the gully. It was pitch-black and the walls were sleek and smooth with no footholds. If he wanted to look deeper he would have to be willing to take a risk. He thought for a moment, then looked up and told Menghuan, “Go gather some old vines and bring them here.” Then he sat quietly on the grass and closed his eyes and circulated his internal power.

Master Wise Perfection knew First Brother, that he was thinking of risking exploring the gully. She didn’t say anything, but inwardly she had a bad feeling.

A short while later, Menghuan came back toting a bundle of old vines. Master One Yang suddenly stood up and said, “The walls of this deep gully are incredibly sleek and slippery, and I don’t know how far down it goes. Wall climbing skills might not be enough to reach the bottom, so I’m going to use these vines to explore what’s down there. You all wait up here for me.” He ordered Menghuan to tie the vines together.

Once Menghuan had done that he said, “Disciple would rather go in Shifu’s stead…”

Master One Yang smiled and shook his head. “There’s no telling what’s down there, we can’t guarantee there’s no poisonous plants or strange beasts down there. This is not something you’re qualified to handle.”

Master Wise Perfected said, “Can I go in Senior Brother’s place?”

Master One Yang laughed. “Sectmaster Junior Brother needs your help in so many ways, how could could you risk it for me. If something happens to me, I want you to look after those kids, Menghuan and Xialin. And apologized for me to Sectmaster Junior Brother, I privately taught the school’s disciple the Soul Seeker Twelve Swordplay.”

Master One Yang grasped one end of the vine and went over to the gully and leapt down. Greatmaster Clear Karma slowly fed him the vine and soon Master One Yang disappeared into the dark black gully.

Master Wise Perfected gazed quietly into the bottom of the cavern, everyone occupied with their own thoughts and feelings. Greatmaster Clear Karma fed ten staves, a hundred staves of vine down, about 200 staves or more when he heard a whistle come from the dark blackness. The vine slackened and he knew that Master One Yang had reached the bottom and he breathed a sigh of relief.

They all waited anxiously on the cliff above the gully, but a double-hour passed, then two, the moonlight setting, the sun climbing up the mountain peaks, but there was still no word from Master One Yang.

Yang Menghuan was worried for his sectfather and couldn’t take it anymore. He bowed to Master Wise Perfected and said, “Junior Sectuncle, Disciple wants to go see about Shifu!”

Master Wise Perfected saw how worried he was, it was clear in his words and manner, and she couldn’t very well hold him back. She nodded. “You have to be careful. If you don’t find Shifu, don’t stay in the gully for too long.”