DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 1 of 5 (Adventures of The Youth) by Jin Yong

Sword Qi And Lines Of Jade Smoke Part 2

Duan Yu, listening, suddenly thought of the 'Blessed Reading Ground' within the cave near Mt. Wuliang, and its empty shelves. One of the shelves had been marked "the Duan family of Dali", with two additional markings on it: "Solitary Solar Finger, missing" and "Divine Sword of the Six Meridians, missing." He thought to himself, "My Dear Goddess scoured the land for the martial arts manuscripts of every family and school in the world, but was never able to acquire my family's "Solitary Solar Finger" and "Divine Sword of the Six Meridians." He felt delight in his heart, but also some melancholy as he imagined how much the Dear Goddess must have regretted their absence.

He heard Benguan angrily say, "The Shining King of the Great Wheel can be considered a world-famous monk of high standing. He must have lost his wits! How can he demand this manuscript from our monastery? Zhengming, as our brother abbot knows, 'If he comes, he comes not with good intentions, but with ill will.' This matter is of the utmost importance, and we ourselves dare not handle it by ourselves. Thus, we invited martial-uncle Kurong to lead us in handling the situation."

Benyin said, "Although our monastery does indeed have this manuscript, I am ashamed to admit that none of us are capable of learning the divine skill written upon it. We can't even be said to have a rudimentary knowledge of it. Martial-uncle Kurong has been practicing that which is known as 'withered ['Ku', like his name] meditation'. This is a totally different type of divine skill which our monastery possesses. He, too, is lacking in understanding in the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'. But although we are incapable of learning this skill, no one in the world knows about it. Can it be that the Shining King of the Great Wheel is totally confident in himself and is not afraid of the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' at all?

Kurong icily said, "I doubt that he dares to look down upon the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'. The respect which he holds for Murong Bo, and the respect which Murong Bo held for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', hmph...I am sure the Shining King of the Great Wheel himself knows which one he holds in greater import. But most likely, he has guessed that, as our monastery has not produced any exceptionally astonishing martial artists, though the manuscript may be priceless, no one can master its skills, and thus he is not worried."

Benguan loudly shouted, "If he himself admires the skill and asked for a chance to borrow it and read it, on account of us respecting him as an eminent Buddhist monk, at most we would gently and tactfully refuse. There's no big deal. What really pisses me off is that he's going to go burn it in front of some dead guy. He's really thinking too little of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery!"

Benxiang let out a sigh. "Martial brother, there is no need for you to work yourself into such a rage. I do not think that the Shining King of the Great Wheel is such an ignorant and presumptuous man. It seems he wishes to imitate the story of 'Wu Jizha hanging a sword on the tomb'. It appears he held Mr. Murong in the utmost of esteem. Alas, an excellent friend passes away, and can never be seen again..." And he slowly began to shake his head. Emperor Baoding said, "Master Benxiang, what was the character of Mr. Murong Bo?" Benxiang said, "I do not know. But for such an extraordinary character as the Shining King of the Great Wheel to hold him in such esteem, he must have been an incredible person indeed." And as he spoke, he seemed to be carried away and carefree.

[Here is a quick summary of the story of Wu Jizha: Wu Jizha was a man of the Zhou dynasty who had a good friend named Xu Jun. Jizha had a precious sword created for him that he needed for a special mission; his friend Xu Jun saw the sword and wanted it very much for himself, but said nothing, as it would be inappropriate. Wu Jizha saw that his friend wanted it and intended to gift him the sword, but could not do so immediately, as he needed it for the mission. He vowed to himself that he would give Xu Jun the sword when he returned, but by the time he completed the mission, Xu Jun was dead. Besides himself with grief, Wu Jizha went to Xu Jun's tomb and hung his sword over a tree overlooking the tomb. When people asked him what was the point of him doing so, he replied, 'Although Xu Jun has departed, the promise I made him in my heart still binds me. I promised myself that when I returned, I would make a gift of the sword to him; how could I allow such a paltry thing as death stand in the way of me keeping my oath?']

Abbot Benyiin continued, "Martial-uncle Kurong believes that, based upon his judgement of our enemy's capabilities, unless we are able to quickly master the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', the precious manuscript will be forcibly taken from us, and the Heavenly Dragon Monastery will suffer a crushing blow. Unfortunately, the divine technique written on the scroll is heavily dependent upon one's internal energy reserve, and so there's no way to simply hasten one's learning of it. Zhengming, it's not that we don't care about Duan Yu or his condition. Only, we fear that if we exhaust too much internal energy and our powerful enemy suddenly arrives, we won't be able to fend him off. It seems that although Duan Yu's problem is very severe, he won't be at risk of losing his life for many days yet. Let's have him quietly rest here for the next few days. If his condition suddenly takes a dangerous turn for the worse, we will immediately come up with a solution to cure him. After we have driven off our enemy, we will exert all of our energies into curing him and driving out the poison in his body. What do you think?"

Although Emperor Baoding was worried about Duan Yu, he also was capable of understanding the big picture. He knew that the Heavenly Dragon Monastery was a fundamental root and supporting structure of Dali's Duan family. Whenever the imperial family was in trouble, the Heavenly Dragon Monastery would lend its support, and each time they would pull through. In the past, when the treacherous official Yang Yizhen murdered Emperor Shangde and stole the throne, it was the Heavenly Dragon Monastery who, along with loyal official Gao Zhisheng, put down rebellion and restored peace. Dali was established in the second year of Heavenly Fortune, of the Later Jin dynasty of the Five Dynasties period; it had existed for a hundred and fifty eight years now. It had undergone many trials and tribulations. One of the major reasons why the state had been able to survive them all was the calming and steadying influence of the Heavenly Dragon Monastery. Today, the Heavenly Dragon Monastery was in trouble; this was identical to the state itself being in danger. He immediately said, "Abbot, your benevolence is greatly appreciated, and my gratitude towards you is boundless. But if I might ask, how do you intend to defend against the Shining King of the Great Wheel, and how can I, Zhengming, offer my humble assistance?"

Benyin mumbled to himself, "You are a master amongst the secular members of the Duan family. If you can work together with us to defeat this powerful opponent, it will add to our prestige. But for you, a secular person, to get involved in a dispute between Buddhist disciples...no doubt, the Shining King of the Great Wheel will laugh at us, mocking the Heavenly Dragon Monastery for not being able to take care of ourselves."

Kurong suddenly said, "If each of us were to try to individually learn the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', it would be impossible. Simply put, our internal energy is not strong enough. I had once thought of a workaround, where six of us each master a single one of the six meridians, and all six of us strike in unison. Although there is no glory in us fighting him six against one, in the end, we aren't challenging him to a duel, but trying to protect our monastery and our scriptures. Even if a hundred of us were to fight him at the same time, it would be acceptable. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of a sixth person in the Heavenly Dragon Monastery who was skilled enough to join us. I have worried about this conundrum for a long time. Zhengming, why don't you take the sixth position? Only, you'll have to shave your head and switch into monastery robes." He spoke more and more quickly, as though he were getting very excited; however, his tone of voice was as icy and cold as ever.

Emperor Baoding said, "I have always desired to fully devote myself to the Buddha and his teachings. Only, with regards to the secret manuscript, well, I've never seen it before. For me to try and learn it so hastily, I'm afraid that..."

Bencan said, "You long ago learned the fundamentals to this skill. You only need to learn the sword techniques." Emperor Baoding did not understand. He said, "Abbot, please explain." Abbot Benyin said, "Be seated." Emperor Baoding knelt down on one of the cattail hassocks.

Benyin said, "The 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' is not an actual, physical sword. It is the transformation of the energy of the Solitary Solar Finger into sword qi. It has substance, but is invisible; it can be described as 'invisible sword qi'. The 'Six Meridians' refer to the six meridians near the hand from which the energy is executed; the "Taiyinfei" channels [Lunar Lung], the "Jueyinxinbao" channels [Yin Pericardium], the "Shaoyinxin" channels [Lesser Yin Heart], the "Taiyangxiaochang" channels [Solar Intestine], the "Yangmingwei" channels [Brilliant Yang Stomach], and the "Shaoyangsanjiao" channels [Three Lesser Yang Cavities]. And as he spoke, he withdrew a rolled up scroll from behind Benguan's hassock.

Bencan took the scroll over, unfurling it and hanging it up on the wall. The passage of many years had turned the paper a sickly yellowish-brown color. A picture of a naked male was on the paper, with all of his acupoints clearly marked out. Red and black lines were used to indicate how the internal energy was supposed to flow amongst the six meridians. Emperor Baoding was a superb expert of the Solitary Solar Finger; at a single glance, he could tell that the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' was indeed based upon the Solitary Solar Finger as its foundation.

Duan Yu was lying on the floor, resting. Upon seeing the naked male picture on the scroll, his thoughts instantly turned to the scroll which he accidentally tore up. He thought to himself, "The acupoints of men and women are identical. Dear Goddess was so strange. Why did she draw a scroll of a naked woman instead of a man, much less use give that naked woman her own features?" He faintly felt that it was inappropriate, as though his Dear Goddess had intended to use her beauty and features to lure men into staring at the scroll and seduce them into learning its martial arts. In his delirium, he had accidentally torn up the scroll; perhaps this was actually to his benefit and had aided him in avoiding some sort of catastrophe. But thinking in such a way would profane the Dear Goddess' purity, and so the thought only flashed by his mind, and he dared not ponder on it longer.

Benyin said, "Zhengming, you are the absolute ruler of the country of Dali. For you to change into a monk's attire is a critical stopgap measure, but if our enemy realizes who you actually are, a huge blow will be dealt to the prestige of Dali. I leave it to you to decide whether or not the advantages outweigh the disadvantages." Emperor Baoding folded his hands together. "Guard the dharma, protect the monastery. Honor and duty leave no other options." Benyin replied, "Excellent. However, the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' may not be passed down to secular disciples. You must enter the monastery gates and become an actual monk; after our opponent has been driven off, I will permit you to return to the secular world and unfrock you." Emperor Baoding rose to his feet, then knelt down on both knees. "Great master, please be benevolent [and accept me as a disciple]."

Elder Kurong said, "Come over here. I will shave you."

Emperor Baoding moved forwards until he was kneeling before elder Kurong. Seeing his uncle prepare to be shaven and join the ranks of the monks, Duan Yu was secretly shocked. He watched as elder Kurong stretched his hand out and pressed his palm against the top of Emperor Baoding's head. There was not so much as a single shred of muscle on his hand; the only thing which lay underneath his skin was bone. Elder Kurong still did not turn around, as he recited, "Within this dust-speck of a world, there are three concealed truths. All accomplishments are predetermined by karma. These accomplishments are meaningless and do not even add to the dust. And yet, it is difficult to stop thinking of the present. [This translation is probably totally off; can someone who understands Buddhism help retranslate this?]." He lifted his hand up. All of Emperor Baoding's black hair fell off, leaving his head totally bald, without so much as a single strand of hair on top. Even if a razor had been used, such a clean shave would not have been possible. Duan Yu was totally shocked, and Emperor Baoding, Benguan, Benyin, and the others were also extremely impressed. "Elder Kurong has long practiced the art of 'Withered Meditation'. He has reached such an incredibly high level of strength!"

Elder Kurong said, "Upon entering Buddha's doorway, you shall now be known as Benchen [Chen means dust, like what he was talking about earlier]." Emperor Baoding joined his palms together. "Master, thank you for granting me a name." Buddhists do not adhere to secular rules regarding generational gaps. Originally, Abbot Benyin was Emperor Baoding's uncle, but now that Emperor Baoding had been shaved by elder Kurong himself and brought into the monastery, he became Benyin's younger apprentice-brother, on the same generational level. Emperor Baoding immediately changed into monastic shoes and clothes, his appearance completely changing into that of a learned and eminent monk.

Elder Kurong said, "That 'Shining King of the Great Wheel' might arrive this very night. Benyin, transmit the secrets of the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' to Benchen." Benyin replied, "Yes!" Pointing to the manuscript, he said, "Brother Benchen, you shall focus on the 'Shoushaoyangsanjiao' meridians. After your qi is collected at the dantian, circulate it upwards, through your shoulders and arms. Once it reaches the 'Qinglengyuan' point [Chilly Pool], curve the qi to pass through the 'Tianjing' point [Heavenly Well], then the 'Sidu' [Four Recitations] point, the 'Sanyang' path [Three Yang], then the Huizong [Ancestral Assembly], Waiguan [Outer Gate], Yangchi [Yang Moat], Zhongzhu [Central Islet], and Yemen [Liquid Door] points. Condense the internal energy, then fire it out from the 'Guanchong' acupoint [Vigorous Gate] of your ring finger."