Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong (18 page)

"Fan the Ringleader proved himself exceptionally alert and agile. He bent down to retrieve his iron shaft and whipped around in a trice, planting himself upright beside those lying on the ground, intending to revivify their piqued points. When I received my training in osteopathic arts, my Master gave me a few lessons on the thirty-six major paralytic points of the body. When Fan the Ringleader set to revivifying the piqued points of his people, I knew a little about what he was doing. Though he applied himself with vigour to massaging and applying pressure onto the vital parts of the bodies of those attacked, he failed to get the expected response. Those piqued remained lying on the ground, completely paralysed.

"Presently the man inside the carriage broke out into loud laughter, 'Very well. One lot of cash is not good enough for the job? Here comes more.' All at once, ten or more coppers sprang out in quick succession, flying in every direction, each aiming at a paralytic point. There and then the victims previously inflicted by the coins thrown at them now recovered their senses in their limbs, all raising themselves to their full height.

"Guarding his front with his sword, Tian cried aloud, 'Hu! We admit defeat. Stay where you are, if you have the courage.' No answer came from inside the carriage. Suddenly a copper came whirring from the vehicle, striking the tip of Tian's knife with a clang, deflecting the blade, causing it to fly from him before plunging into the ground. Tian then raised his right hand, the one he wielded his weapon with. Blood was dripping from the web between his thumb and the index finger.

"Taken aback by the might and vigour of his enemy, Tian flung out his hand, beckoning Fan the Ringleader to take the party back to the inn with him. Once there, they immediately carried the seven wounded on their backs, mounted their horses and fled southward. Tian left me another twenty taels of silver before taking his flight. He struck me as a very generous person. He was indeed a true gentleman and a gallant knight-errant. I said to myself, 'The person inside the carriage must be a recklessly wicked villain. Master Tian, being kind-hearted as he is, would never have incurred animosity on his part.' I was just on the point of setting off on my way home when suddenly the big carriage swung round and stopped right outside the door of the staging post. Gripped by curiosity, I hid under the counter and glued my eyes to the carriage door, trying to find out what the villain looked like.

"The curtain of the carriage was raised and out leapt a brawny and husky fellow. He was pugnacious-looking, with a swarthy complexion and thick grizzled whiskers covering his cheeks. His hair was unbraided, tousled and unkempt on the top of his head, making him look dishevelled. I started at his appearance and remarked to myself, 'What hellish creature could have begotten this aggressive-looking ruffian?' I was very anxious to return home. Yet strange as it might seem, I could not take my gaze from the man, and I cursed myself in silence, 'Running into a ghost in broad daylight! This fellow must possess the power of witchery or sorcery.'

"The man then asked the innkeeper, 'Excuse me, innkeeper, where can I find a doctor?' The innkeeper pointed at me and told the man, 'This is the doctor.' I immediately waved my hands in utter confusion and stammered out, 'No ... no ...' The man responded with a laugh, 'You will be perfectly safe: I do not intend to cook you in a cauldron.' Thereupon, I tried to answer deprecatingly, 'I ... I ...' But the man went pale and blurted out, 'If I were to eat you, I would eat you raw.' I was frightened all the more by his sentence. All of a sudden he burst out laughing: he was, after all, just teasing me. I thought to myself, 'Joke or no joke, you could have picked someone other than me.' This went through my mind, yet I dared not utter a word of it out loud.

"The man then continued, 'Innkeeper, give me two clean rooms facing south, the best you have. My wife is in labour. Go and find me a midwife—quickly!' Then he frowned and said, 'The travel has upset the foetus: she might not have an easy delivery. Doctor, please stay behind.' The owner was most reluctant to see a patron brought to bed of a child, soiling his inn with childbirth. But the man's formidable appearance made the innkeeper wise: he dared not remonstrate any further, except to tell the man directly that Mama Liu, the village midwife, had passed away a few days before. At this, the man looked even more terrifying. He produced a silver ingot and hurled it at the table, saying, 'Innkeeper, you must go and find a midwife from another village. The sooner the better.' I could not believe my eyes and told myself, 'Silver ingots are nothing to these people. They throw away a twenty-tael block without blinking an eye.'

"After the innkeeper had set up the rooms, the man with the formidable looks helped a woman out of the carriage. She was entirely wrapped in a fur coat, revealing only her oval face. On my life, I could not believe my eyes. The man was a ferocious warrior and his wife, a kingdom-quelling beauty. I was taken aback by the stunning beauty of the lady and tried hard to understand this strange union: 'She must be a genteel daughter of a ranking official. Somehow, through some misfortune, she was forced into marriage with this wicked devil. That must be the story behind it all. The bandit seized her and made her mistress of his stockade.' Suddenly I was possessed by a strange idea: 'This lady and Master Tian would surely have made a perfect match. The fierce-looking fellow might have snatched her from Master Tian, thereby arousing animosity between them.'

"Before midday, the woman was groaning and moaning in her labour pains. Beads of perspiration appeared on her forehead. The aggressive fellow grew also more anxious and wanted to fetch the midwife himself, but was restrained by his wife. She held him by the hand, entreating him not to leave. The time moved to a little after noon; the baby was due at any moment and could not wait any longer. The bandit wanted me to deliver the baby. I was certainly not in favour of this. Could you imagine me as midwife to a pregnant woman? It would be a shame and a disgrace, as well as endless ill luck. Once one gets involved in matters like this, one is sure to be down on one's luck for the rest of one's life.

"Presently, the vicious devil addressed me in a commanding tone, 'If you do the job, here is your reward: two hundred taels of silver. If you do not, I will not be offended.' Thereupon he brought his fist down on the square table, breaking off a corner. I told myself, 'Rule number one is to stay alive. After all, many, many years of practising osteopathic arts would never gain me as much as two hundred taels of silver, like the job I'm being asked to do. Who would mind just dabbling in an inauspicious matter like this?' So, I started to help his wife bring a fair-skinned, chubby infant boy into the world.

"The baby cried violently. His face was hairy all over and he stared at us with round eyes. He looked fierce, very much like his father. He would certainly grow up to be an evil-doer.

"The wicked devil of a father was completely overjoyed with his baby boy. He immediately handed me ten shoes of silver, each worth twenty taels. The new mother also gave me a gold ingot, worth at least eighty to ninety taels of silver. The bandit then took out a case of silver and gave ten taels to everyone present, from the innkeeper down to the handyman who handled firewood for the stove. This munificient gesture pleased everyone. The war-like fellow then plied everybody with wine, including servants-of-all-work and the janitors who did the sweeping. All his guests set to filling themselves with wine and started to address him as Lord Hu with loud belches of delight. But the host told the company, 'My family name is Hu. However, as I always dispatch evil doers with a single blow of my blade, right through their bodies, I came to acquire the title Gully. Stop all this "Lord Hu" and "Master Hu". I have also known poverty. How can I be a lord with the scant amount I made from those bullies? Just call me Big Brother Gully.'

"I knew from the outset that he was not a decent fellow; this fact was soon borne out by his words. The company present could not initially bring themselves to address him as 'Big Brother', but he insisted that they do so. Some time later, the group, after drinking many a bowl of wine, grew bold enough to enter into animated talks with their host, and were soon addressing him as Big Brother Gully. That same evening, Gully would not hear of my leaving, pressing me to stay on, to drink to his company. We gulped down bowlful after bowlful of wine. By the second watch of the same evening, after drinking copiously, those failing to keep their heads had all fallen to the floor. I was the only one with a steady head for drinking so I continued to pour down bowlful after bowlful with Gully. The more liquor he consumed, the more cheerful he grew. Presently he went into the room and returned to the hall with the baby in his arms. He dipped his finger into the wine and let the infant lick it from his finger. His babe was no more than a day old, and yet he did not cry when imbibing strong liquor. He seemed to enjoy it. He was a born drinker!

"Suddenly the sound of horses' hooves came to the ears of the company galloping from the south. In no time, a caravan of twenty to thirty horses was drawing closer, galloping and halting right in front of the inn. Soon a loud banging on the door was heard. The innkeeper, having drunk himself into a cheerful state of inebriation, groped and waddled his way to the doorway. The moment the door was flung open, some twenty fierce fighters rushed into the room, all armed with edged weapons. They stood abreast, barring the entrance to the inn, maintaining silence. At length, one man stepped forward. He seated himself on a stool beside a table. He divested himself of the yellow cotton knapsack slung across his back and laid it down on the table. There was sufficient light from the candles, and I was able to make out the inscription 'Invincible Under the Sky' embroidered in black silk on the bundle."

At this, the Company present lifted their eyes and fixed them on the inscription in the main hall. Some of the characters read 'Invincible Under the Sky' and 'Phoenix Miao'.

Tree continued his story: "I still hold that Phoenix the Knight-errant was too vain and arrogant to have deserved that sobriquet of his. But on that particular evening, I was frightened by his appearance. He was long of bone but short of muscle, like a bamboo oar. His waxen complexion made him look rather unhealthy. When he spread his hands out on the bench, they were large, but wasted: they looked like a bundle of old twigs or a torn rush-leaf fan. At that time I did not know who he was. I found out that he was the Gilt-faced Buddha, Phoenix Miao, the Knight-errant only much later on.

"Gully was, at that time, fully absorbed in playing with his new-born and seemed not to have noticed those who had entered the room. Phoenix the Knight-errant likewise did not utter a word. He was enjoying the wine served by his own attendants. The ten or so fellows stared at Gully, but he remained fully preoccupied, dipping his fingers into the wine and letting his baby lick them. Every time he dipped his fingers into the wine, he tossed his head back and drained one bowlful himself. The father and the son seemed to be plying each other with liquor.

"Gripped by fear, I felt my heart throb in my chest. I wanted to extricate myself from the arena of action at the earliest possible moment. But how could I dare to attempt any move? If I moved an inch, all the ten or so keen blades would instantly shower blows and strokes on me. Even if they avoided dealing me direct strokes, the mere glancing of a blade would surely bite deep into my skin, wounding me fatally.

"Both Gully and Phoenix kept to themselves. Each gulped down some ten bowlfuls of wine. No words were exchanged. Neither cared even to look once at the other. Suddenly, the woman inside the room woke up and called from within, 'Big Brother!' The infant started to cry loudly on hearing his mother's voice, causing Gully's hand to tremble suddenly; his wine-bowl dropped to the ground with a crash, shattering in pieces. The colour drained from his face. Gully immediately picked up his new-born and rose to his feet. Phoenix snorted loudly three times before spinning around to take his leave. His retinue of followers went after him to the door. Instantly, the sound of horses' hooves was heard fading into the distance. I had believed that a furious battle would inevitably ensue, and was surprised that Phoenix the Knight-errant had taken his leave so suddenly when the baby had begun to cry. The innkeeper, the attendants, and I all stared at each other, bewildered.

"Presently Gully picked up the child and stepped inside his room. Its wooden partition was extremely thin and I could hear the question posed by Gully's wife, 'Big Brother, who was here?'

"'Just a few scoundrels,' answered Gully. 'Get some rest and don't worry. I will see to everything.'

"The woman let out a sigh and continued in a whisper, 'You do not have to lie to me; it was the Gilt-faced Buddha.'

"To this Gully gave an answer, 'No, you are entirely wrong. Now, do not be silly and forget such ideas.'

"But the woman responded sternly, 'Why is it then that your voice trembled? You have never behaved like that before.'

"Gully was unable to answer. After pausing a while, he continued, 'So be it, as you have come so close to the truth. But I shall not be overawed by him.'

"Thereupon, his wife pleaded, 'Big Brother, you should never allow yourself to feel worried, neither on my account nor on the child's. You know you cannot hope to defeat him when you feel intimidated.'

"Gully heaved a sigh, responding, 'I have always been unafraid; nothing can unnerve or worry me. But it was strange how this very evening, with the baby in my arms, I suddenly broke into a cold sweat. It happened the minute the Gilt-faced Buddha barged into the inn. He laid his bundle on the table before casting the child a look from the corners of his eyes. You are right: I have a great fear only of the Gilt-faced Buddha.'

"'You are not scared of the man himself,' answered his wife, 'but fearful of his doing harm to me and to our child.'

"Gully hesitated before replying, 'I have heard that the Gilt-faced Buddha is a true acolyte of chivalry. He never hesitates to offer help to those in distress, in the cause both of honour and of justice. His code of conduct and sense of chivalry must be remarkably high for him to merit the title Phoenix the Knight-errant among outlaws of the Martial Brotherhood. I don't think he would harm women and children.' Gully's voice trembled even more in these last few sentences. Evidently, he was still fearful at heart. All of a sudden, I was filled with pity for the man. I told myself, 'This man may be ferocious looking, but he harbours a tremendous fear inside.'