SWORDS FIGHTS ON MOUNT HUA (Book 3 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Reverend Yideng Part 1

Two people walked forward following the mountain pathway and before long the pathway had come to an end. Ahead was a stone bridge about one foot wide, perched in between two mountain peaks, covered with cloud that the other end was invisible. If this stone bridge were laid on the ground, it would act just like a narrow alley, nothing to be afraid of; but under the stone bridge was a deep canyon. Just looking at it would cause the heart to tremble with fear, let alone walk across it.

Huang Rong sighed, "This Emperor Duan hid himself really well. If an enemy came full of enmities arrived to this place, half of his hatred would disappear first," she said.

"Why did that fisherman say Emperor Duan has left this mortal world?" Guo Jing asked, "He really caused my heart unrest."

"I really cannot guess what he meant by that," Huang Rong replied, "Looking at his face he didn't seem to be lying. He also said that our Shifu saw it with his own eyes when Emperor Duan passed away."

"Things have come this far, we can only move forward and not go back," Guo Jing said. He squatted to carry Huang Rong on his back, and then with his lightness kungfu walked toward that stone bridge.

The stone bridge's surface was bumpy, plus it was enveloped in thick cloud all year long, which made it exceptionally slippery. The slower they walked the higher was the chance for them to fall down. Hence Guo Jing dashed forward quickly. After about seven, eight 'zhang's later suddenly Huang Rong called out, "Careful, the bridge's broken ahead."

Guo Jing also saw that the stone bridge was suddenly broken with about seven, eight feet gap in between. Instead of slowing down he ran faster and borrowing the momentum he leaped across the gap.

Huang Rong had already gone through terrible danger; early on she had already disregarded life and death. She laughed and said, "Jing Gege, your flying is not as steady as the white eagles."

Dashing through a section, jumping over a gap, very soon they had crossed seven such gaps. Across the mountain ahead they saw a stretch of flat land. Suddenly they heard someone was reading aloud. Looked like they had arrived at the end of the stone bridge, but at the end of the bridge there was actually a very long gap, almost a 'zhang' wide [about 10 feet or 3 meters]. On the other side of the gap a scholar was sitting cross-legged, a book in his hand, from which he was reading aloud. Behind the scholar there was another short gap.

Guo Jing halted, he stood firm on the bridge, he was at a loss of what to do next, "Jumping over this gap is not too difficult," he thought, "But that scholar is sitting right in the middle of the bridge; other than the place he occupies, there is no place I can set my feet on." Thereupon with a loud voice he called out, "Juniors are seeking audience with your Honorable Master, we are asking Uncle to show us the way."

The scholar's head was swaying while he read with rapt attention, as if he did not hear Guo Jing. Guo Jing raised his voice and called out one more time, the scholar still turned a deaf ear to him. "Rong'er, what do we do?" Guo Jing said in a low voice.

Huang Rong frowned without saying anything, she looked at the place where that scholar was sitting and realized this matter could be complicated. The stone bridge was so narrow that fighting on it meant a life and death situation. Even if Guo Jing won, they were coming to seek help, how could they harm anybody? She looked at the scholar again, who still did not pay any attention, and could not help but secretly feel worried. She tried to listen to what the scholar was reading, and found out that it was the widely common book of 'lun yu' [Analects of Confucius]. He was reading: "An evening in the spring time, the spring garments were ready. Five, six people wearing hat, six, seven people were young. Taking a bath by the river bank, the breeze made the fountain dance, and the song carried back by the wind."

He was reading with flourish and ardent interest, sighing three times, resembling the spring breeze carrying the song faraway, like he was enjoying the book immensely. Huang Rong thought, "If I want him to open his mouth, I must provoke him." Thereupon she sneered and said, "It's useless even if you read the Confucian Analects a thousand times but do not understand the Master's sublime words with deep meaning."

The scholar was startled and stopped reading immediately. He raised his head and said, "What sublime words with deep meaning? Please enlighten me."

Huang Rong took a good look on that scholar; he looked to be around forty years of age, 'xiao yao jin' [scholar hat] on his head, a folding fan in his hand, a long black beard under his chin, truly he had a scholar's appearance. She coldly laughed and asked, "Sire, do you know how many disciples Confucius had?"

The scholar smiled, "What's so difficult about that?" he said, "Confucius had 3000 disciples altogether, among those, 72 were his best students."

"From the 72 disciples, some were old and some were young," Huang Rong continued, "Do you know how many disciples wore hat [meaning 'older'] and how many were young?"

The scholar was startled and said, "It was not recorded in the Confucian Analects; other classics and commentaries also do not have that information recorded."

"I said it's useless if you do not understand the Master's sublime words with deep meaning, did I say anything wrong?" Huang Rong asked. "I clearly heard you read just a moment ago, 'Five, six people wearing hat; six, seven people were young.' Five times six is thirty, there were 30 older disciples; six times seven is forty-two, there were 42 younger disciples. You add two numbers together and you will get exactly 72 people. I see you are reading without understanding. Hey! Dangerous! Really dangerous!"

The scholar heard how she made a strong argument on an obscure matter in the classic book, he could not stifle his laugh, but in his heart he also admitted her intelligence and quick-wit. He smiled and said, "Young Miss really has a mind filled with poetry books. My utmost admiration. You want to see my Shifu, may I know for what business?"

Huang thought, "If I say we are here to seek treatment, he will certainly do his utmost to make things difficult for us. But his question cannot be left unanswered. Fine. He was reading the 'Confucian Analects', I will also quote from Confucius to dodge his question." Thereupon she said, "A Sage I don't have to see! A Gentleman, I may see. A friend came from afar, isn't that a delight to the heart?"

The scholar looked up to the sky and laughed hard for half a day. "All right, all right," he said, "I have three subject tests for you. If you pass, I will take you to see my Shifu. But if you fail even one, I will have to ask you two to go back to where you came from."

"Aiyo!" Huang Rong said, "I haven't read too many books, if it is too difficult I might not be able to answer."

"Not difficult, not difficult," the scholar said, "I have a poem here, inside it hidden my origin in four characters. Let's see if you can guess it."

"Good, a riddle!" Huang Rong said, "It should be interesting. Please say it."

The scholar twisted his beard and started to recite, "Six scriptures have been in the chest for a long time, one sword for ten years has been sharpened in the hand ..."

Huang Rong stuck out her tongue and said, "Skilled in both pen and sword [wen wu quan cai – lit. literature and martial art complete skills], that's terrific!"

The scholar smiled and continued, "On top of an apricot flower a branch hung horizontally; if you are afraid to divulge the heaven's secret, don't open the mouth. One dot escalated as big fight, nevertheless cannot even cover half a bed. The name completed, the hat hung, time to turn back home. My true identity, does Sir know?"

Huang Rong thought, "'The name completed, the hat hung, time to turn back home. My true identity, does Sir know?' Looking at your appearance, you must be Emperor Duan's minister of the days past; hanging your hat following your master, returning to this hidden wooded mountain. What's so difficult to guess?" Thereupon she said, "When you add a character 'one' ( 一 ) and 'ten' ( 十 ) underneath the character 'six' ( 六 ), it becomes the character 'xin' ( 辛 ). Add a horizontal line to the character 'apricot' ( 杏 ), and take away the character 'mouth' ( 口 ), it becomes the character 'wei' ( 未 ). Add a character 'big' ( 大 ) to half of a bed ( 床 ) and put a dot on it, it becomes the character 'zhuang' ( 状 ). Take the hat off the character 'complete' ( 完 ), it becomes the character 'yuan' ( 元 ). Xin Wei Zhuang Yuan; please accept my respect. Turned out Sir was the Zhuang Yuan [number one scholar, the title conferred to a person who came out first in the highest imperial examination] of the Xin Wei year."

The scholar was taken aback; he thought his riddle was very difficult. Even if one could finally come out with an answer, it should have taken at least half a day. These two youngsters' martial art skill might be high, but they would not be able to stand on this narrow stone bridge for too long. He thought he would advice them to give up and nicely went back down the mountain. Who would have thought that almost without thinking Huang Rong was able to give him the correct answer. He could not help but feel utterly surprised. He now knew this girl was exceptionally smart; he had to find a more difficult question for her.

He swept his gaze around and saw a row of palm trees by the hillside, the leaves swaying gently in the light breeze, resembling the movement of a fan. He was a zhongyuan, naturally he was more gifted than an average scholar. He waved the fan in his hand and said, "I have the top part of a couplet, asking Miss to please complete it."

"Completing a couplet is not as interesting as a riddle," Huang Rong said, "All right, looks like if I can't complete it, you won't let us pass. Bring it on!"

The scholar waved his fan, pointing to the row of palm trees and said, "The wind sways the palm trees, like a thousand hands waving the folding fan." This top part not only depicted the scenery, but clearly lifted up his position as well.

Huang Rong thought, "If I only mention any object without meaningful correlation, my victory won't be complete." She also swept her gaze around and saw a tiny temple with a lotus pond in front of it. It was the seventh month, the middle of summer, but on this high mountain the mornings were cold; most part of the lotus leaf had already withered by frost. Her heart was moved, she smiled and said, "I have the second part of that couplet, but it will offend Uncle; it's inconvenient for me to say it."

"You might as well say it," the scholar replied.

"You must promise you are not going to get angry," Huang Rong said.

"I won't," the scholar promised.

Huang Rong pointed to the 'xiao yao jin' on his head and said, "Very well. My second line is: The frost withers the lotus leaf, like a one-legged demon wearing a 'xiao yao jin'."

At this second line the scholar burst out in laughter. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" he said, "Not only the line is very appropriate, it came very quick too!"

Guo Jing saw the lotus stem did indeed prop up a withered leaf, looking like a single-legged ghost wearing a 'xiao yao jin'; he could not help laughing too. Huang Rong smiled, "Don't laugh, don't laugh!" she said, "Once we fall down we will become a pair of ghosts without the 'xiao yao jin'!"

The scholar thought, "Ordinary couplet won't baffle her; I will have to resort to the ultimate." Suddenly he remembered when he was a young student his teacher mentioned a couplet that for dozens of years nobody could ever complete; he decided to make things difficult for her; thereupon he said, "I have another couplet, asking Miss to complete it: 'qin se pi pa ( 琴 瑟 琵 琶 ) [qin, se and pi pa are all stringed-instruments], all heads adorned by eight big kings'."

Listening to this Huang Rong was delighted, "Qin se pi pa four characters altogether have eight 'king' ( 王 ) characters on them; originally it was a very difficult couplet. It's a pity this couplet is not your own creation. Father had solved this couplet many years ago on the Peach Blossom Island when he had nothing else to do. I will pretend to have difficulty completing it to tease him."

She wrinkled her brow and made her face looked distressed. The scholar was delighted she was finally baffled; he felt very smug. But then he was afraid Huang Rong would ask him back, so he said up front, "This is a very difficult couplet, I don't have the answer either. But we have agreed that if Miss cannot answer it then you must return."

Huang Rong smiled, "What's so difficult to complete the couplet? Only I have just offended Uncle, now with my answer I will offend all four of you, the fisherman, the woodcutter, the farmer and the scholar; that's why I was so hesitant to say it."

The scholar did not believe her, he thought, "Just completing the couplet is an extremely difficult task to do; how can you offend us four martial brothers at the same time?" Hence he said, "If you really can complete the couplet, what harm will a little joke bring?"

Huang Rong smiled, "If that's the case, let me ask for your forgiveness first. The second line is, 'chi mei wang liang ( 魑 魅 魍 魉 ) [mountain elf, demon, elf, fairy – all are fairy tales supernatural characters; all characters have 'demon' ( 鬼 ) on their sides], four little demons with their belly and intestines'."

The scholar was astonished, he sprang up to stand; with his long sleeve fluttered he dashed toward Huang Rong, "I give up with full admiration," he said.

Huang Rong returned his obeisance and said with a smile, "If four honorable Uncles did not do your utmost to hinder us going up the mountain, your couplets were really difficult to complete."

Turned out when Huang Yaoshi solved this riddle, Chen Xuanfeng, Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng and Feng Mofeng, four disciples were by his side; Huang Yaoshi meant this second line as a joke to his four disciples. That time Huang Rong was not even born yet. Later she heard her father recalling this story and today she managed to use the same line to make fun of the fisherman, the woodcutter, the farmer and the scholar.

"Humph," the scholar snorted. He turned around to make a small gap and said, "Please."

Guo Jing was standing quietly listening to these two exchanging literary attacks to each other; he was afraid Huang Rong would not be able reply and thus waste all previous efforts. Seeing that the scholar moved aside to make a way for them, he was very delighted. He exerted his strength and jumped over the gap; landed on the spot where the scholar had previously sat. Finally he jumped over the last gap.

The scholar noticed how Guo Jing leaped over the gaps with ease even while carrying Huang Rong on his back; he sighed and said in his heart, "I pride myself as highly skilled in both literary and martial art; actually in literature I am inferior to this young girl, and in martial art I am not this youngster's match. Ashamed, I am really ashamed." He glanced sideways to see Huang Rong's delighted expression; he thought this girl had just beat an honorable and highly educated 'zhuang yuan', no wonder she could not hide her upbeat feeling. He thought, "Let me tease her, teaching her not to be too self-complacent!" Thereupon he said, "Miss' literary talent is extraordinary, but your behavior is lacking."

"I beg your explanation," Huang Rong said.

The scholar replied, "Mengzi [Mencius] wrote in his book: 'Men and women do not get intimate, that is only proper.' I see Miss is an unmarried woman, this 'Xiao Ge' [little elder brother] is not your husband; how can he carried you on his back? Mengzi said a brother can help a drowning sister-in-law, or an uncle helps his niece. Miss has not fallen into the water, this 'Xiao Ge' is also not your brother-in-law. This kind of carrying and hugging is truly violating religious teaching."

"Humph," Huang Rong thought, "Brother Jing is good to me, yet other people always make a big deal of the fact that he is not my husband. Shige [martial (older) brother] Lu Chengfeng also said the same thing as this scholar." Thereupon she said point-blankly, "Mengzi loved to talk nonsense; how can you believe what he said?"

The scholar was offended, "Mengzi was a great and worthy sage; why can't we believe what he said?"

Huang Rong smiled and recited, "How can a beggar have two wives? Where did the neighbor have so many chickens from? The Zhou (dynasty) still had an emperor, why discuss many matters with the Wei and Qi (dynasties)?"

The more the scholar thought, the more he realized the truth in what she said. He stood there staring blankly, unable to say a single word.

Actually it was Huang Yaoshi who wrote that saying. He loathed the traditions and despised empty alms; he loved to scrutinize, refute, ridicule and satirize the empty meanings of old sayings handed down from great and worthy sages. Once he made many poems and songs to satirize Confucius and Mencius.

Mencius told a story about a man from the Qi dynasty who had a wife and a concubine and yet he begged for cold rice and spoiled soup; also about another man who everyday stole a chicken from his neighbor. Huang Yaoshi said that these two stories were used to swindle others. About the later sayings the story went like this: During the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC) the Zhou Emperor was still on his throne, yet why did Mencius not support the royal family; but went to Prince Liang Hui and Prince Qi Xuan to whom he asked for a governmental position? Huang Yaoshi thought this action greatly disobeyed the way of the saints and sages.

The scholar thought, "The man of Qi stealing chicken was a metaphor, unworthy of deeper study; but the last sentence, I am afraid even Mengzi himself under the ground would have difficulty refuting." He looked at Huang Rong's eyes and thought, "She is so young, how can she possess such weird intelligence?" Without saying anything else he led two people walked forward.

When passing the lotus pond his gaze was caught by a lotus leaf on the pond; he could not help stealing a glance toward Huang Rong. Huang Rong stifled her laugh and turned her head another direction.

The scholar led the two people entering the temple, asked them to sit in the east wing and had a young monk serve tea. "Please wait for a moment here," the scholar said, "I am going to report to the Master."

"Wait!" Guo Jing said, "That Farmer Uncle is still holding up a big rock on the hillside; he can't get away by himself. Uncle please help him first." The scholar was startled and dashed out.

"Now we can open the yellow pouch," Huang Rong said.