THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

School Merger Part 3

He then saw three old men pointing to the south. One of them said, "That is the Big Bear Peak, that is the Small Bear Peak, those two peaks standing close together are the Dual Jade Peak, and the three peaks piercing through the cloud is called Three Outstanding Peaks."

Another old man said, "That mountain peak is the Shaoshi Mountain where the Shaolin Temple is. That day when I was at the Shaolin temple, I felt as if I was so high above, but looking from here, Shaolin temple is actually below Mount Songshan." The three old men laughed at this. Linghu Chong saw from the way these three old men dressed up that they weren't from Songshan School. But judging from their allegory of the mountains, they seem to be embellishing Songshan and belittling Shaolin. Looking at the brightness of these three people's eyes, he deduced that they have powerful internal energies. It seemed that Zuo Lengchan had arranged many helpers for himself today, so if something were to change, they would have to contend with more than just the people from Songshan School.

He then saw Zuo Lengchan inviting Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu to go up to the place of worship. Fangzheng laughingly said, "The two of us are only two useless outsiders. We've come today just to offer our congratulations and to attend the ceremony, so there's no need for us to go up the stage and disgrace ourselves."

Zuo Lengchan replied, "Great Master Fangzheng is talking like you're an outsider to us."

Chongxu said, "All the visitors have already arrived. Headmaster Zuo, please go ahead with the big event, there's no need keep us two old chaps company."

Zuo Lengchan said, "I'll comply with your request then." He then cupped his fist to the two of them and went up to the place of worship. He'd walked up tens of steps and there was still around ten feet to the top when he stopped and announced in a loud voice, "Friends, please!"

The top of Mount Songshan was really windy and the crowd was scattered all over the place enjoying the scenery. But Zuo Lengchan's words were heard clearly by everyone up there. Everyone turned their heads around and started to gather closer, surrounding the worship place. Zuo Lengchan cupped his fist and said, "I appreciate all the friends here who have come to grace Mount Songshan with your presence. All the friends here must have heard already that today is the good day that my five mountains sword schools will join our efforts together and will become one school."

Hundreds of people on the base of the worship place shouted, "Yes, yes, congratulations, congratulations!"

"Everyone, please take a seat!" Zuo Lengchan said.

Everyone immediately sat on the ground, and the disciples from each school and sect sat together with their headmaster. Zuo Lengchan said, "Our five mountains sword schools have the same root, different branches. We've been allied for more than a hundred years and we're just like a family already. I have been the chief of the five schools for many years already. But in these last few years, many big events have occurred in Wulin. So the seniors from the five mountains sword schools and I consulted each other and we all felt that if we don't merge into one school, then there would be a day when we encounter a big problem that we couldn't handle."

Suddenly, they heard someone who coldly interjected from the base of the worship place, "Which school's seniors did Chief Zuo consulted with? How come I don't know about this matter?" The one who said this was Hengshan School's headmaster Mr. Mo Da. As soon as he said this, it was apparent that Hengshan School disapproved of this merger.

Zuo Lengchan replied, "I just said before, many big events have occurred in Wulin which led to the conclusion that the five schools must merge into one. Amongst these big events is the inter-school killings of each other in spite of our alliance. Mr. Mo Da, my Songshan School's disciple, the Great Songyang Palm, Martial Brother Fei lost his life outside the city of Hengshan. There were people who observed this and said that you were the one who did this, is this true?"

Mr. Mo Da was startled and he thought, "When I killed that Fei, there was only Martial Brother Liu, Qu Yang, Linghu Chong, a little nun from Heng-Shan School, and Qu Yang's granddaughter there. Three of these people have already died. Could it be that Linghu Chong accidentally mentioned about it after drinking some wine? Or maybe that little nun isn't too experienced and divulged this secret?" At this time, the thousands of eyes underneath the worship place were all looking at Mr. Mo Da's face. Mr. Mo Da remained calm and composed; he shook his head and said, "This matter did not happen! How could I have killed the Great Songyang Palm with my limited skills?"

Zuo Lengchan coldly laughed. "If the fight was fair and one on one, Mr. Mo Da might not necessarily have been able to kill my martial brother Fei. But if it was an ambush, and you're using your Hengshan School's ever changing phantasmal sword moves, even masters would find it hard to fight against. We looked at the injuries on the corpse of Martial Brother Fei, but someone already ruined it. But the placements of the sword stab couldn't change. Instead of covering up the evidence, isn't this revealing it instead?"

Mr. Mo Da was startled and he shook his head while thinking, "You're guessing foolishly. How can I admit that?" He was thinking that Zuo Lengchan was relying on the sword injuries placements on Fei Bin's corpse to say this and no one had actually divulged this secret. So he decided never to admit this to Zuo Lengchan. But after this, there would always be enmity between Songshan School and Hengshan School. Also, it was hard to say whether they would be able to go down Mount Songshan alive today. Zuo Lengchan continued, "This merger is the biggest matter that has happened to our five mountains sword schools since each of the school's inception. Mr. Mo Da, we're both the headmasters of a school and we both know which matter is important, and our grudge towards each other is very light. If my five schools benefit from it, then everyone's grudges would be forced to be put aside. Brother Mo, you don't have to worry too much about this matter. Martial Brother Fei is my martial brother, but after the five schools are merged, Brother Mo and I will also become martial brothers. The dead is already dead, and why would the living be killing each other?"

His speech was gentle, but the actual meaning behind his words was very threatening. The meaning behind his words was, if Mr. Mo Da agreed to the merging of the schools, then the matter of killing Fei Bin would just be washed away. Otherwise, the matter would have to be settled. Both of his eyes were staring at Mr. Mo Da. He asked, "South Mountain Hengshan School has no objection to the merging of the schools. Priest Tianmen of the Taishan School on the east mountain, what does your noble school think of this?"

Priest Tianmen stood up and said with a booming voice, "It's been three hundred years since Priest Dongling founded the Taishan School. Poor priest doesn't have the virtue and ability to advance the prestige of the Taishan School. But the school's history of three hundred years, it cannot end at my hand no matter what. This matter of merging the schools, I would never agree to it."

From amongst the Taishan School, a priest with a white beard stood up and said loudly, "Martial Nephew Tianmen, you're wrong. The Taishan School's four generations consist of more than four hundred people. This great benefit to everyone in the school couldn't be thwarted just by your own personal selfishness."

This white-bearded priest with a desiccated face had a loud and strong voice. There were people who recognised him and whispered, "He's Yujizi, he's the martial uncle of Priest Tianmen."

Priest Tianmen's face was originally looking ruddy, but after hearing what Yujizi said, his face turned really red and he said loudly, "Martial Uncle, what do you mean by that? Ever since Martial Nephew became the headmaster of Taishan, which matter have I done which is not in the best interest of the school? I'm opposed to the merger of the five schools in order to preserve the Taishan School. How can it be because I'm selfish?"

Yujizi laughed condescendingly and said, "The merger of the five schools will greatly flourish the five mountains schools. Which disciples in the five mountains schools wouldn't benefit from this merger? Martial Nephew, you can't be the headmaster of our school anymore."

Priest Tianmen got even more indignant when he heard this. He shouted, "What's this got to do with me being the headmaster? No matter what anyone said, Taishan School will not be annexed while I'm in charge."

Yujizi said, "What you said is really beautiful, but inside your heart, you actually don't want to relinquish your position of headmaster."

Priest Tianmen indignantly said, "You really think that I'm that selfish?" He extended his hand and took out a black dagger out of his bosom. He then shouted, "From now on, I'm no longer the headmaster. If you want to be the headmaster, then come and do it!"

Everyone saw that this black dagger looked ordinary but all the seniors of the five mountains sword schools knew that it was a relic from the time when Priest Dongling started the Taishan School. This dagger had become the symbol of Taishan School's headmaster and had been passed down from headmaster to headmaster for the last three hundred years.

Yujizi retreated a step and coldly laughed. "You're willing to part with it?"

Priest Tianmen angrily replied, "Why wouldn't I be willing to part with it?"

"Alright, then give it to me!" As he said this, he extended his right hand and grabbed the dagger in Priest Tianmen's hand. Priest Tianmen didn't expect that Yujizi would actually grab the dagger from his hand. So as he was startled, the dagger was already snatched by Yujizi. Without thinking too much, he pulled out the long sword hanging on his waist.

Yujizi flew back and two green blurs were seen as two old priests blocked Priest Tianmen's way with their swords. They shouted, "Tianmen, you're defying your senior. Have you forgotten our school's commandment?"

Priest Tianmen saw that these two people were his martial uncles, Yuqingzi and Yuyinzi. His whole body shivered as he called out, "Martial uncles, you saw it with your own eyes, Yuji... ... What Martial Uncle Yuji did just a moment ago!"

Yuyinzi said, "We've seen it with our own eyes. You gave the school's headmaster position to Martial Brother Yuji. Abdicating your position to someone more worthy is a very good thing to do."

Yuqingzi said, "Since Martial Brother Yuji is your martial uncle, who is now also your headmaster, you've committed a very big sin by pulling out your sword to kill him."

Priest Tianmen saw that his two martial uncles were being unreasonably favourable towards Yujizi and were also unexpectedly finding faults with what he did. In an uncontrollable rage, he shouted, "I only said that in anger. How could the headmaster position be passed down so... so quickly, damn... damn it, I would never have passed it down to Yuji." In his fit of anger, he unexpectedly said some foul language.

Yuyinzi shouted, "Are you fit to be the headmaster after saying such kind of language?"

From amongst the Taishan School's group, a middle-aged priest stood up and said loudly, "Our school's headmaster has always been my master. What kind of tricks are martial uncles playing here?" This middle-aged priest had a Taoist name of Jianchu, and he was Priest Tianmen's second disciple.

This was followed by another person who stood up and shouted, "Martial Brother Tianmen already gave the headmaster position to my master. The thousands of people on top of Mount Songshan here saw and heard what happened. How could it be false? Martial Brother Tianmen said just a moment ago: 'From now on, I'm no longer the headmaster. If you want to be the headmaster, then come and do it!' You didn't hear it?" The one who said this was Yujizi's disciple.

More than a hundred people from the Taishan School's group started chanting, "Old headmaster abdicated, new headmaster takes over! Old headmaster abdicated, new headmaster takes over!"

Priest Tianmen was the most senior disciple and he also had the most reputation in the school, but five or six of his martial uncles secretly plotted against him and suddenly went against him together. So from the two hundred Taishan School's people who had come up to Mount Songshan today, more than one hundred and sixty of them were his enemy. Yujizi lifted the iron dagger high above his head and said, "This is Grand-Master Dongling's divine weapon. Grand-Master's last words were: 'Seeing this dagger is like seeing Dongling'. Should we listen to Grand-Master's last word?"

More than one hundred priests loudly shouted, "Headmaster is right!" There was also people calling out, "Disciple Tianmen is rebelling, and is not adhering to our school's rules. He deserves to be punished."

When Linghu Chong saw what was happening, he was guessing that all these people were secretly put here by Zuo Lengchan. Priest Tianmen had an irritable nature and could easily be stirred up. With just a few words, he could become extremely angry. At this moment, hearing the loud voice of his enemy, Tianmen felt he couldn't restrain himself anymore. But even though he was extremely enraged at the moment, there was nothing that he could do. Linghu Chong gazed at where Huashan School was crowded together and saw his master standing with his hands behind his back. His master's face had no expression whatsoever. Linghu Chong thought, "Yujizi and his people set this up, and Master greatly objected to this. But he doesn't want to meddle in this and seems to be just calmly observing what's going on for now. I'll just follow his lead then."