THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Sword Fight Part 2

Peachtree Leaf Fairy, with his whole body drenched with Yujizi's blood, dragged the leg which was still connected to the body and dropped Yujizi in front of Zuo Lengchan while continuously shaking his head. He said, "Zuo Lengchan, you're too violent. How could you harm Yujizi like this? He doesn't have his two arms and one leg anymore, what should we call him from now on?"

Zuo Lengchan sucked a breath in anger and thought, "If I were just a bit slower, the four of you would've torn Yujizi into four pieces. How can he still live? How dare you to speak such words now! But I have no evidence to make this clear to everyone here."

Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Zuo Lengchan can kill Yujizi with a stab of his sword and give him a clean death. But instead he cut off his two arms and one leg to make him not alive, not dead. So merciless, so heartless."

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "Everyone is from the Five Mountains School. If we have any problem, let's talk about it. Why do you need to be so violent? You have no loyalty at all."

'Tower Holding Palm' Ding Mian said loudly, "You six weirdos, whether we move or not, you were going to tear him into four pieces. Headmaster Zuo went in to save Priest Yujizi precisely because he's from the same school. What you said was absurd."

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "We were clearly just playing around with Yujizi but Zuo Lengchan thought it was real. It's hard to distinguish between real and fake. Zuo Lengchan was just being unwise."

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "A gentleman takes responsibility for what he does. You have already harmed Yujizi but you're trying to deny it now. There's no valour in what you're doing. There are so many heroes on this mountaintop who saw you chopped off Yujizi's two arms and leg. Do you think you can still deny it now?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "Heartless, unrighteous, unwise, cowardly. How can this kind of person become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School? Zuo Lengchan, you must be dreaming." When he finished speaking, the six brothers shook their heads together.

Actually, the Taishan School's headmaster would've been torn into four pieces if Zuo Lengchan hadn't use his wonderful sword art to cut off Yujizi's two arms and one leg. The first class masters besides the worshipping place naturally could see this, and they were praising Zuo Lengchan's wonderful sword art in their hearts. But the Peach Valley Six Fairies declined this vehemently so it was hard for other people to dispute them. The people who knew that Zuo Lengchan had suffered an injustice found this really funny while the ones who didn't see the real reason felt that Zuo Lengchan behaved very crudely and violently; their faces showed their resentment.

Linghu Chong had already known the Peach Valley Six Fairies for a long time so he had a very good understanding of their characters. He thought, "The Peach Valley Six Fairies attacked Zuo Lengchan with every word they said today. How come their brains are so clear today? Most likely there's someone directing them from the side." He slowly walked closer to the Peach Valley Six Fairies to see which master was helping them, but he saw there was no one else standing beside the Peach Valley Six Fairies. The five brothers were busy trying to stem the bleeding on Peachtree Flower Fairy's shoulder. Linghu Chong turned his head around and gazed to the west. Suddenly he heard a very faint sound in his ear: "Brother Chong, are you looking for me?"

Linghu Chong was surprised and happy. Even though the voice was faint, he heard it clearly and it was Yingying's voice. He turned his head slightly to look at where that voice was coming from. But what he saw was an extremely fat and bearded big man leaning on a big rock, lazily stretching his hand to scratch his head. On this Songshan mountaintop, there was at least around one to two hundred bearded big man so no one would pay any attention to them. Linghu Chong squinted his eyes, and suddenly he saw a cunning and charming smile in that person's eyes. He was exulted and walked towards her. Yingying transmitted her voice to him, "Don't come here, you'll ruin the secret." This voice was very faint, like it was coming from somewhere far.

Linghu Chong promptly halted his step and thought, "I don't know what kind of voice transmitting martial art you have, but it must be one of your father's secret." He immediately understood, "Those words the Peach Valley Six Fairies said were all taught by you. No wonder these six slow-witted people can say something like heartless, unrighteous, unwise, and cowardly." He felt really happy and wanted to show this. He loudly declared, "Peach Valley Seven Fairies' words are reasonable. I know the Peach Valley Six Fairies only have six fairies, but who could've thought they have one more clever and beautiful seventh fairy, the female fairy, Peachtree Calyx Fairy!"

(Translator's note: here's the definition of calyx: the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green.)

When the crowd heard Linghu Chong suddenly saying some inanity unexpectedly, they were all startled. Yingying transmitted her voice, "This is a very critical time. You're the headmaster of the Heng-Shan School, so don't say any nonsense. Zuo Lengchan is backed into a corner now, so this is your good opportunity to become the Five Mountains School's headmaster."

Linghu Chong was alarmed and he thought, "Yingying disguised herself so that she could be here at Songshan and help me become the Five Mountains School's headmaster. She's the daughter of the Sun Moon Sect's Chief, and currently a mortal enemy of the orthodox sects. If she's discovered, it's going to be very dangerous. She's braving danger just to help me gain a name in Wulin. She has such deep feelings towards me. I... I... I really don't know how to repay her."

He then heard Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Great Master Fangzheng is such a senior master but you're not willing for him to become the headmaster. Yujizi has no arm and no leg. Zuo Lengchan is heartless and unrighteous. So naturally, neither of them can become the headmaster anymore. Let's choose a young hero who has the world's
number one sword art to become the Five Mountains School's headmaster. If there's anyone who doesn't accept this, then there's no harm in trying out his sword art." As he said this, he opened his left palm and extended his arm towards Linghu Chong.

Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "This young hero Linghu is Heng-Shan School's headmaster. He has a deep relationship with Huashan School's Mr. Yue, and he's also a good friend of Hengshan School's Mr. Mo Da. Within the five mountains sword schools, three schools have supported him."

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Taishan School's priests are all insects (sounds similar to Linghu Chong's name), so most of them naturally support him and not many would go against him."

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "Everyone in the Five Mountains School uses a sword. So whoever has the highest sword art will, of course, without a doubt, become the headmaster."

Peachtree Flower Fairy pressed on the injury on his shoulder and said, "Zuo Lengchan, if you don't accept, there's no harm in competing swords with young hero Linghu. Whoever wins will become the Five Mountains School's headmaster. This is called the leadership challenge sword fight!"

Among the people who had come to Songshan, besides the people from the five mountains sword schools and people like Great Master Fangzheng, Priest Chongxu, and others with an interest in the events, most of the people who came here were looking for some entertainment. Everyone knew that if the merger of the five schools were successful then there would be fighting to decide for the headmaster position. These Jianghu people really didn't care for lengthy debates. They didn't mind when the Peach Valley Six Fairies were entangling Zuo Lengchan with words and saying interesting things. But if everyone were to talk the way Yue Buqun did, and talk until the sun goes down, it would definitely bore the hell out of everyone there. So hearing Peachtree Flower Fairy say "leadership challenge sword fight', they cheered and applauded loudly.

The crowd had seen Priest Tianmen die miserably and they had also seen Zuo Lengchan chopping off limbs. These two events could be said to be scary and too close to reality. But the contest to decide on the headmaster position of the Five Mountains School would involve masters and they would be able to see a few good fights. This would more than satisfy their cravings. That was why the crowd was applauding and cheering excitedly.

Linghu Chong thought, "I promised Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu that I will block Zuo Lengchan from becoming the Five Mountains School's headmaster so that he can't cause a disaster in Wulin. But if Master becomes the headmaster, him being a just and fair person, naturally people will be pleased and willing to accept him. Besides him, who else in the five mountains sword schools can do this job?" With a loud voice, he said, "How could everyone forget a most suitable person for this position? If we don't elect the Gentleman Sword Mr. Yue to become our headmaster, whom else can we choose? Mr. Yue's martial art is very high and his knowledge is outstanding. He's also righteous and compassionate towards people. This is well known, otherwise, how could he have gained the name 'Gentleman Sword'? My Heng-Shan School elects Mr. Yue to be the Five Mountains School's headmaster." After he said this, the disciples of Huashan School applauded and cheered.

From among the Songshan School, someone said, "Even though Mr. Yue is not the wrong choice, he's still below Headmaster Zuo by a notch." Another person said, "Headmaster Zuo has been the chief of the Five Mountains Sword Schools for so many years already. It's very reasonable that he becomes the Five Mountains School's headmaster. Why do we need to elect someone else?" Another person said, "In my opinion, the headmaster of the Five Mountains School must be Headmaster Zuo and none other. Then we'll establish four vice positions for Mr. Yue, Mr. Mo Da, young hero Linghu, and Priest Yu... Yu... Yu... either Priest Yuqingzi or Priest Yuyinzi. That'll be appropriate."

Peachtree Branch Fairy called out, "Yujizi is not dead yet. He only has two shorter arms and a shorter leg. You don't want him anymore?"

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "Sword fight, sword fight! Whoever has the best martial art should become the headmaster!"

The thousands of Jianghu people echoed this sentiment by shouting, "Right! Right! Sword fight, sword fight!"

Linghu Chong thought, "In the situation today, Zuo Lengchan must be overthrown first. Then Songshan School will lose their leadership. Otherwise, my Master would never become the Five Mountains School's headmaster." He immediately drew his sword and called out, "Mr. Zuo, all the realm's heroes are here. They all want us to have a sword fight to take the leadership. What do you say if we start first?" He inwardly pondered, "Zuo Lengchan's cold palm is very formidable, and my bare hand martial art is nothing compared to his, but I wouldn't lose to him when it comes to sword art. After I've won against Zuo Lengchan, I'll lose to Master and no one would be able to say anything. If Mr. Mo Da were to fight, he won't necessarily be able to beat Master. Two masters from the Taishan School are injured and dead, so they wouldn't have anyone who could compete well enough anymore. If my sword art isn't Zuo Lengchan's match and I lose to him, I would've still exhausted a lot of his internal energy. My Master can fight him afterwards and have a very good chance of winning." He hacked twice with his long sword and said, "Mr. Zuo, everyone in the five mountains sword schools uses sword, so we'll decide this with a sword." He said this first to prevent Zuo Lengchan from suggesting they fight barehanded.

The crowd called out one by one, "Young hero Linghu is quick with his word, fight with the sword." "The winner becomes the headmaster, the loser gets ready to receive his order. That's a fair deal, that's the best way." "Mr. Zuo, get down and accept this challenge. What are you scrupling about, afraid to lose?" "You already talked for half a day, what else is there to say? Go and fight!"

In a moment, that Songshan mountaintop was all a clamour with shouts. Everyone was shouting; even the most experienced seniors were shouting. These people were invited by Zuo Lengchan, but this matter of who would become the Five Mountains School's headmaster had nothing to do with them. They originally didn't want to butt in, but a martial art competition to take the leadership would be very exciting to watch, so they were all hoping to watch a few good fights. With this added urgings from the guests, it became imperative that if they didn't have a competition then this headmaster position would not be decided.

Linghu Chong was very happy to see this and he called out, "Mr. Zuo, if you're not willing to cross swords with me, how can you be the Five Mountains School's headmaster in the presence of all these people?"

The crowd called out one by one, "Sword fight, sword fight! Not fighting isn't for a hero, but for a dog!"

Many people from the Songshan School knew Linghu Chong's sword art was wonderful, and Zuo Lengchan could not be guaranteed a win against him. But there was no good reason to say why Zuo Lengchan couldn't compete swords with him. So all they could do was scowl and stay silent. In all the clamour, a clear voice was heard, "All the heroes here want a sword fight to decide the Five Mountains School's headmaster. We can't just brush away their wonderful idea." The person who said this was Yue Buqun.

The crowd called out, "Mr. Yue is right, sword fight to take the leadership, sword fight to take the leadership!"