Chapter - 16 (16) (1/2)
Old gratitudes, past grievances - friends in morning, becomes foes at midday
Everyone turned their heads and looked behind the apricot trees. A square faced, big eared monk, dignified in appearance wearing an ash colored robe, stepped out. Elder Xu cried, ”Reverend Zhiguang from Mt. Tiantai has arrived! 30 years since we last met, reverend still look as healthy as ever.”
Reverend Zhiguang's reputation was not well known in recent years so many of the latter generations of the Beggar Clan do not know his name. But Qiao Feng and the six clan elders all stood up and paid him respect, having known of his reputation from before. In the past, the Reverend had sailed the seas to deserted lands and islands looking for medicinal herbs to treat malaria and other illnesses for the common people in the Zhejiang, Fujian Guangdong and Guangxi area. Because of this, the Reverend had caught an illness himself and lost his martial arts, thus the gratitudes of the common people for his deeds are not small. Many people came up to salute him.
Reverend Zhiguang turned to Zhao Qiansun, smiled and said, ”Wugong that is inferior to the opponent when attacked, wanting to retaliate is already hard. Wugong that is superior to the opponent when attacked, and choose not retaliate is even harder.” Zhao Qiansun lowered his head as if pondering what was said.
Elder Xu said, ”Reverend Zhiguang's brilliant wisdom and benevolent grace are so widespread that no one dares to disrespect. In the past ten years Reverend had not involved yourself with any business in Jianghu, but today you grace us with your presence and bringing the Beggar Clan great honor. I am deeply grateful.”
Reverend Zhiguang replied, ”Elder Xu of the Beggar Clan and Iron Faced Judge Shan of Mt. Taishan both asked me to come, so how can I refuse? The distance between Mt. Tiantai and Wuxi is not great, moreover this matter deals with the peace and prosperity of the common people thus I came when summoned.”
Qiao Feng thought to himself, ”So it turns out he was asked here by Elder Xu and Shan Zheng. Reverend Zhiguang has a reputation of high prestige and a noble character. There's no way he would be involved with the plot to harm me. Maybe with him here is a good thing.”
Zhao Qiansun suddenly spoke up, ”The battle at Quarry Stone Valley outside of Yanmen Guan Pass, Reverend Zhiguang also participated in it. You can speak about it first.”
Reverend Zhiguang hearing the mentioned of Quarry Stone Valley caused his facial complexion to became distorted, showing an uncomfortable restlessness and a hint of fear, like a person who saw a horrible sight and can't bear to look. His face then switched to a melancholic look full of pity, let out a long sigh, and said, ”The sin is really heavy, to speak of this matter brings up feelings of great shame. Everyone, the battle at Quarry Stone Valley took place 30 years ago, so why today bring up this matter?”
Elder Xu replied, ”Only because our clan is facing a impending crisis involving the matter in this letter.” After speaking he brought out the letter and handed it over.
Reverend Zhiguang read the letter from beginning to end, shook his head and said, ”Grievances of the past should not be reopened, why bring up this old matter? According to my opinion, this letter should be destroyed so it will bring this matter to an end. That is the best solution.”
Elder Xu retorted, ”Vice Chief Ma of our clan died a tragic death. If this matter is not investigated carefully then this injustice suffered by Vice Chief Ma will never be washed away and it will lead to a disintegration of our clan.”
Reverend Zhiguang could only nod his in in agreement, ”What you said is true.” The reverend looked up at late afternoon sky showing the new moon shining a thin ray of light onto the apricot trees for a long time, then turned to Zhao Qiansun and said, ”Okay, the mistake that I committed many years back, I won't conceal it anymore. I will be straightforward about what happened back then.”
Zhao Qiansun shook his head, ”A mistake is a mistake. Why continue to deceive ourselves and others.”
The Reverend turned to the people gathered and spoke, ”30 years ago, heroes of realm of rivers and lakes received news that a group of Khitan warriors planned to launch a sneak attack on the Shaolin Temple to steal martial art manuals developed over the past hundreds of years...”
Everyone gasped softly thinking to themselves, ”The ambitions of these Khitan warriors are not small.” The unique martial art secrets of Shaolin Temple are the treasures of Great Song. Liao and Great Song had been at war with each other for many years, if these Khitan succeeded in stealing the martial art secrets of Shaolin and train their military in them, the armies of Great Song will not be able to repel their invasions.
Reverend Zhiguang continued, ”This matter was a matter of great crisis. If the Khitans succeeded then Great Song would be facing a calamity with the threat of losing the country, the entire family of the Emperor will be put to the sword. The matter was urgent so our group of heroes did not have time to investigate this matter carefully. We heard that the group of Khitans will travel through Yanmen Guan Pass so beside from sending message to Shaolin to be on full alert, the group all immediately headed out to Yanmen Guan Pass to meet the enemy. If we couldn't annihilate that group then at least we can foil their plans.”
Hearing of the impending battle with the Khitans, everyone's blood started to boiled. Great Song over the years have been humiliated by the armies of Liao, having lost many battles, land was invaded, and the common people suffered greatly.
Reverend Zhiguang slowly turned his head, stared at Qiao Feng and asked, ”Qiao Bangzhu, if Bangzhu had known of this news then what would you have done?”
Qiao Feng dignifiedly replied, ”Reverend Zhiguang! My wisdom is limited, my abilities too lacking for people to praise, even brothers in the clan suspect of them that to even speak of it brings shame. But even though I am incompetent, I still am a man, and regarding these matters of principal one know what is right, what is wrong. Our Great Song has constantly been terrorized by armies of Liao, this dishonor upon our country, who here has never thought of cleansing? If I had heard of news such as those, I will immediately lead brothers in our clan to travel day and night to help stop them.”
Those words of his were very heroic and proud, everyone who heard was touched inside and thought to themselves, ”Now that is how a true man should act.”
Reverend Zhiguang nodded and said, ”Since Qiao Bangzhu said that, when I headed out to Yanmen Guan Pass to ambush the Khitans, there is nothing wrong with that right?”
Qiao Feng angrily thought to himself, ”Who does this old man think he is? Saying that, isn't it just like looking down on me?” However he betrayed no emotions and just calmly said, ”The heroic spirit of all seniors here are fierce, I greatly admire them. I regret that I was not born 30 years earlier so that I could follow the heroes to fight the Khitans.”
Reverend Zhiguang looked at him carefully once more, his facial expressions were strange, and slowly said, ”At that time we split up into small groups heading to Yanmen Guan Pass. I and this brother here...” he pointed to Zhao Qiansun and continued, ”were in the first group. Our group consisted of 21 people. Brother Leader was younger than I by a few years, however his martial arts were outstanding, and many people revered his status in the martial arts world, thus we all nominated him to be our Leader. Everyone listened to him and carried out his orders. In our group there were Wang Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan, Ten Thousand Wins Saber the hero Wang Laoying, the Great Sword God Priest Yun of Mt. Huashan, they were all first class martial art masters. At that time I have yet to become a monk, and to be grouped together with such heroes I felt very unworthy. Only that my desire to serve my country to kill enemies did not allow for me to be polite and stand in the rear of that group. When it comes to killing enemies and protecting the country, every little strength that can be contributed should be contributed. The martial arts of these brothers were much greater than my own, as for nowadays, as you may know there is no need to compare anymore.”
Zhao Qiansun added, ”That's correct! At that time my martial arts were much greater than yours. As much as this..” As he said that he spread both his arms out wide to show the difference. But seeing that the distance was still not enough, he tried spreading out his finger tips to add a few inches.
Reverend Zhiguang just continued with his story, ”Our group reached Yanmen Guan Pass and waited until near dusk, then went out beyond the Great Wall 10 more miles. We were on guard and very careful the whole time. Suddenly in the northwest direction we heard sounds of horses running, listening to the sound there were at least 10 riders. Brother Leader raised his right hand up and all of us halted. Everyone in the group were both excited and worried, no one dared to say a word. Excited because the news were not false, and the group arrived in time to stop the enemies. However also worried because everyone knows that these Khitans must be very fierce and capable to even dare attack Shaolin, who is the Mount Tai of martial art studies. If they were friendly then they wouldn't have came, but since they came they couldn't be friendly at all. These warriors must have been chosen very carefully, 1 chosen out of 10,000 so they must not be ordinary. Great Song had fought many battles with the Khitans, defeats were many but victories few, the outcome of the battle would be hard to imagine.”
”Brother Leader waved his hands and all 21 of us spread out around the mountain road and hid among the boulders. The left side of the mountain was a deep valley where the bottom could not even be seen.”
”The sound of hoofbeats start getting nearer and nearer, there was a sound of 7-8 people together singing a song native to the the people of Liao. The singing was gracefully long, both grand and herioc, but none of us could understand its meaning. I tightened the grip on my saber, my palms were so drenched in cold sweat that I had to dry them on my pants but it soon became wet again. Brother Leader was bending down to the side of me. Knowing that I was nervous, he patted my shoulder, looked at me, and gave a smile. He made a chopping motion with his hand as if to say we will kill all of the Khitan soldiers today. I smiled back at him. Inside I felt much calmer than before.”
”When the person in the lead of the Khitan group were about 50 meters away from us, I peeked out from behind of a boulder. The Khitan warriors were all wearing fur, some holding spears, some with short sabers, others with bows and arrows, and a few have large hawks perched on their shoulders. The whole group was singing as they walked, unbeknown of the ambush up ahead. In a brief second I had took in the appearances of the Khitans in front, they had short hair and thick beards, all looked fierce. As they got closer, my heart was beating so furiously that it felt like it was closed to jumping out of my mouth and out my body...”
The people hearing Reverend Zhiguang telling the story, though all knew this story took place 30 years ago, they couldn't help but felt suspenseful. Reverend Zhiguang turned again to Qiao Feng and said, ”Qiao Bangzhu, the success or failure of this mission will influence the safety of Great Song along with the lives of millions of people. And we still do not have a grasp on whether we will be successful. The only advantage we had was that the enemies were in the light, while we in the dark. According to Bangzhu, what should we have done?”
Qiao Feng replied, ”There is an old saying 'All's fair in war.” This matter is involving two countries at war, there's no way we can follow the heroic moral ethics code of Jianghu. The distant dogs had always slaughtered the people of Great Song, have they ever held back? In my opinion we must use concealed projectiles coated with deadly poison.”
Reverend Zhiguang clapped his hand against his thigh and said, ”Good! The suggestion of Qiao Bangzhu is exactly like the thinking of our group. Brother Leader seeing the Khitans had came close enough, cried out a sound, and everyone let loose their concealed weapons and projectiles. Flying out there was an abundance of steel darts, steel arrows, flying daggers, iron awls... each and everyone were all coated with deadly poison. The Liao dogs screamed out in confusion, then fell over and screamed no more...”
In the group of beggars listening, some clapped their hands and cheered.
Reverend Zhiguang continued, ”At that point I had counted clearly. The group of Khitans warriors had 19 people. Our concealed weapons had slain 12, leaving 7 still standing. Our group all to a man jumped out, raising our sabers and swords cut down all remaining in a flash. None was able to escape.”
Some listening in the Beggar Clan group cheered once more. However both Qiao Feng and Duan Yu pondered in their head, ”The reverend had said that these Khitans were all chosen carefully among the best of the best warriors, so how can their skills be so mediocre to die in such a short time?”
Their was a sound of Reverend Zhiguang heaving a long sigh, ”Our group just barely raised our arms and had easily killed 19 Khitan warriors, all were ecstatic but also felt uneasy. This group was too ordinary, not a single person lasted more than one move, definitely are not skilled warriors. Was the news that we heard inaccurate? Or did the Khitans planned this so that they could trap us? We exchanged only a few words with each other before we heard the sound of a horse. In the northwest direction there were 2 riders coming this way.”
”This time our group did not bother to ambush anymore, all headed straight to meet the enemy without consulting with anybody. Immediately we saw that the enemy included a man and a woman. The man's body was powerfully built, his facial expression was solemn. His clothing was more expensive and better looking than all those other 19 Khitans. The woman was young looking, and in her hands was a little baby. The two people were shoulder to shoulder, smiling and talking very intimately, obviously they are husband and wife. The two upon seeing us were greatly surprised and looked around saw the corpse of those 19 warriors all lying on the ground. The man immediately changed his countenance to a fierce and aggressive look, loudly shouting questions at us in a Khitan language that none of us understood what he was trying to say.”
”Shanxi Datong government office's Iron Tower third brother Fang Daxiong raised his iron rod up and shouted loudly: 'You Khitan dog there, surrender and accept your fate!' He shouted and at the same time wielded his iron rod to strike down the Khitan man. Brother Leader in his stomach felt uneasy and was about to yelled out, 'Brother Fang, don't be reckless! Do not kill him. We must capture him alive to question him.'
”Brother Leader had not finish his sentence before the Khitan's right hand had moved forward, snatching the iron rod away from Fang Daxiong. A sound of bones breaking emitted from Fang Daxiong's hands. Seeing that person was about to strike with the rod from midair down, our group started yelling out, knowing that we won't be fast enough to charge forward to save Fang Daxiong's life, thus we started shooting our hidden projectiles at the enemy. The Khitan man only needed to wave his left arm once, and a powerful wind forced all the projectiles to harmlessly land on the side. Looks like Fang Daxiong's life can no longer be saved, however unexpectedly, he threw the iron rod forward, sending both it and third Brother Fang crashing out to the side of the road. His mouth mumbling did not know what to say.
”In just 1 move, it caused our whole group to stand in shock, witnessing that the level of this person's martial arts are so high, that it is rare to see one of such caliber in the world. So the news that we received are not false, and fearing that following him there will be more first class masters approaching, thus we must use our large numbers to immediately overwhelm him. 6-7 people charged forward to attack him and 4-5 others moved to take on the female.”
”Unexpected the young married female did not know martial arts. She was slashed just once and lost her arm causing the baby in her hand to fall to the ground. Another person then hacked with a saber cutting off half of her head. The Khitan man's martial arts although high, but he was also surrounded by six-seven other skilled fighters, so it was impossible for him to rush over to protect his wife and child. The first few moves he just snatched away our weapons and swords, carefully trying not to injure anybody, however when seeing his wife being killed, his eye turned blood red, his face looked fearsome. When I saw his sight then, my hands and feet felt like lead and dared not go forward.”
Zhao Qiansun added, ”Can't blame you for feeling such! Can't blame you for feeling such!” Ever since he talked to Granny Tan earlier, whoever talked to him were met with either crankiness or rudeness, however the sentences that he just let out seemed like its meaning was partly painful and partly regretful.
Reverend Zhiguang continued, ”The fierce battle then already took place 30 years ago. Over the past 30 years I don't know how many nightmares I had regarding that sight I saw, every image imprinted deeply in my head. The Khitan man brought both his palms forward, I don't know what palm techniques he used, but he snatched the weapons right out of the hands of two of our brothers, same time using it to both slash and stab killing those two. He at times fought on the ground, then leaped back to continue on the saddle of his horse, bold and fast like a bird pecking a worm. He moved like a ghost or demon. That's right, he was no different than a demon, finished killing a person to his west, he turned in a blink and killed a person to his east. In just a moment, out of 21 people in our group, 9 people had already been killed.”
”Now everyone was furious, all eyes were red. Brother Leader with Wang Bangzhu and the rest of us all jumped into the fray, willing to trade our lives for his. Shockingly his martial arts was so strange that one could not even imagine, nor could one even predict from which direction his attacks would be coming from. The setting sun in the sky was shining red like blood. There outside of Yanmen Guan Pass the northern wind blowing furiously mixed with the crying sounds of past heroes right before their death. Limbs -arms and feet, heads, weapons, blood were flying and falling all over the place. Whoever was skilled was only able to protect themselves, no one was able to help anyone other.
”Seeing the circumstances, I was truly frightened. But seeing that my brothers were falling one by one, that sight can not help but caused one's blood to boiled. I gathered all my courage, got on a horse and charge directly at him. Both my hands holding a saber aimed for his head and slashed down, knowing that if this move does not connect, then my life will be handed over to him. When the edge of the saber was barely a meter away from him, the Khitan man suddenly grabbed hold of another person and held him up to block. I shockingly looked and saw that the person being held up was the second senior from the Band of 3 Heroes of Jiangxi Du. I hurriedly pulled back my saber but the edge of the saber went right into the head of the horse I was riding, hitting it with a clang. The animal was in such pain that it neigh a loud sound and it jumped up. At that moment the Khitan man sent out a palm strike right at the moment the horse jumped up so that the horse took the full brunt of that strike for me. If not for that my bones would have all been smashed and how could I have survived to this day?”
”The force of his palm strike was truly terrifying. It sent both horse and rider flying out to the back. My body flying in midair smashed right on top of some tree branches. I was stunned and fazed, not knowing where am I nor did I knew whether I was alive. It was a long time before I was able to look down and saw my brothers still surrounding and fighting the Khitan man. Only 5-6 people were still standing. At that time I also saw this brother here...” Reverend Zhiguang pointed to Zhao Qiansun and continued, ”... his body shook once, then fell into a pool of his own blood. I thought he must be dead.”
Zhao Qiansun shook his head and said, ”To speak of this story I am very ashamed, but why bother hiding it anymore. It wasn't because I was injured but because I was so scared that my heart stopped beating. I saw that person holding brother Du's two legs and tearing his whole body in half. I was so dizzy that I fell unconscious only because of that reason. That's right I am a coward. Seeing that person killed so many people that I became unconscious.”
Reverend Zhiguang spoke again, ”The Khitan man was deadly like a devil while killing numerous brothers. Whoever says that they did not feel fear are being deceitful.” He then looked up and stared at the moon hanging the the sky for a time then continued, ”At that point our side only still had 4 people still fighting the Khitan man. Brother Leader knowing that the end was near, knowing that all will die, opened his mouth asking: Who are you? Who are you? The other person did not reply. In just a few moment he killed two more people. He then drew out his right foot and it hit Wang Bangzhu right on the vital pressure points on his back, while his left foot went out to finish the move move Twin Ducks Linking Together (not sure if this is the correct name for it. Helppp??) hitting Brother Leader's vital pressure point on his ribs. He used his legs to hit the pressure points precisely and powerfully knocking them out. His footwork was so impressive it was unthinkable. If I was not almost on death's door then, seeing the two people I respect most being seriously wounded, a scream would have escaped my mouth.”
”The Khitan man finished taking care of all his enemies then rushed over to the side of his dead wife's body, holding it while crying, and let out a loud mournful cry for a long time. Hearing his weeping sounds I could barely withstand the sadness. Surprised to see the Khitan dog who was as cruel as a devil could also show a sorrowful sentiment resembling a human, no different from the sound of those of our Han people.”
Zhao Qiansun coldly said, ”If that is so then what is so strange about it? Even wild animals have parent-child, husband-wife sentimental relationships, how is that any different than a human's? The Khitans are still humans, how are they any different than Hans?”
In the group of beggar clan, someone screamed out, ”Liao dogs are evil and cruel, even worse than poisonous snakes and wild beasts. Our Han people are entirely different!” Zhao Qiansun could only smile bitterly and did not answer those words.
Reverend Zhiguang went on with his story, ”The Khitan man sat there and cried, both holding tight and looking at his son for a long time. Then he placed his son into the bosom of his dead wife and walked over to where Brother Leader's body lied. He let loose his anger by screaming and scolding at Brother Leader. Brother Leader did not submit but just glowered at him. His pressure points were hit, his movements and speech were sealed. He could not even muttered a word. The Khitan man suddenly raised his head and let loose a long scream. He picked up a saber from the ground and started carving words on the face of the mountain. At that time it was dark and I was lying far away so I could not see what was written.”
Zhao Qiansun said, ”He was carving words in Khitan. Even if you could see it you still wouldn't be able to read it.”
Reverend Zhiguang replied, ”That is right. Even if I saw it I could not read it. On the cliff it was silent on all sides, the only sounds heard were that of the saber carving into the stone. Listening to the sound of stone chips falling down, I dared not to even breath hard. I did not know how long it was before he finally threw down the saber. He bent down to pick up his wife's corpse and son, then walked to the edge of the cliff and jumped to the bottom of the canyon.”
Everyone hearing that couldn't help but let out a sound ”Ah.” It was unexpected that the story would turn out so.
Reverend Zhiguang continued, ”Everyone hearing this retelling must be surprised. At that time with my own eyes witnessing that, I was even more shocked. A person with a high level of martial arts as him living in the Kingdom of Liao must have a high rank. This time when the group of Khitan warriors coming south of the Yellow River to attack Shaolin Temple, if he is not their Leader then at least he must be one of their important characters. He had captured our group's Leader along with Wang Bangzhu, and the rest were all killed. It seems like he had won. Who would have thought that he would jump down the cliff to commit suicide instead of taking advantage of his victory and moving forward with his mission.”
”I looked downward and all I could see was clouds and fog. The bottom could not be seen. He is still made of flesh and blood. No matter how powerful his martial arts are, to jump from such height there's no way one could survive. I startled myself and could not bear but called out a cry. Turns out in this weird event there's another even weirder. I had just finished yelling when there was a sound of a baby crying. From the bottom of the cliff a black bundle flew up and landed right on top of the body of Wang Bangzhu. The sound of a baby crying did not stop but continued. It seems the bundle that landed on Wang Bangzhu was the little baby from earlier. At that point I had stopped being scared, and jumped down from the tree. I ran up to Wang Bangzhu and saw that the Khitan baby was lying on top of him still crying.
”I thought to myself for a bit before I understood fully what happened. When the Khitan woman was killed, the baby she was holding fell to the ground causing the baby to fall unconscious and stopped breathing, but not entirely dead yet. The Khitan man when he was crying sorrowfully, touched his son's nose and saw that he was not breathing so thought that the son had died. Thus he carried the two corpse and jumped down the cliff to die together. The sudden shocked jolted the baby back to life and started crying. The Khitan's man skills were shockingly scary. He doesn't want his son to be buried with him at the bottom of the valley, so he immediately used his strength and threw the baby up. He remembered the exact distance and location to throw the baby to land exactly on top of Wang Bangzhu without harming the it. That Khitan man when falling in midair, found out his baby was alive. He was quick witted enough to react and throw the baby up. His skills to be able to throw something that far and that accurate and calculate the exact distance, is formidably fearsome.
”I looked around at the brothers that died a tragic death, inside was sorrowful and angry, grabbed the baby and planned to throw it against the mountain wall for it to die. Just as I raised my hands to throw, the baby started crying, the face was pulsing red, the bright black eyes were wide staring back at me. If I hadn't looked into the baby's eyes I would have threw him already, and that would be the end of the story. However I had saw the eyes of that small child. The child seemed so lovable and innocent that I could no longer follow through. I thought to myself: if I had bullied and kill the baby not yet a year old then that would be a disgraceful deed, not the act of an upright and respectable gentleman.”
In the group of the Beggar Clan, a beggar shouted out, ”Reverend Zhiguang! The Liao dogs killed and murder our Han people countless of times. With my own eyes I saw Han babies being speared, and carried around upon a lance on top of a horse to parade around town showing off. If they can kill babies, so why can't we?”
Reverend Zhiguang let out a long sigh and replied, ”That is right. But as the saying goes the darkness in the hearts of man, who here does not have it. That day I saw that the dead were already too many. I couldn't bring myself to add more to it by killing a little baby. Everyone can say what I did was wrong, everyone can say what I did was cowardly. But in the end I still let the baby live.
”After that I went to release the blocked pressure points of Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu, but my skills were mediocre and plus the pressure point hitting techniques of the Khitan man were top notch, no matter how much strength I exerted, how much I pressed, how much I rubbed or squeezed, I only succeeded in drowning myself in my own sweat. No matter what I did Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu still could not move nor speak. I did not know what else to do and fearing the Khitans will soon come to help so I threw both Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu onto two horses. I myself rode a horse holding the Khitan baby in one arm while the reins of the other two horses in the other and ran all night away from Yanmen Guan Pass to look for a doctor specializing in releasing blocked pressure points, but that was useless. The next night after 12 hours have passed, the pressure points released voluntarily.
”Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu were still worried about the Khitan warriors coming to attack Shaolin, so they immediately returned to Yanmen Guan Pass to scout out the situation. However they only saw flesh and blood left all over from the fight before. The sight was no different from how I left it. I looked down the cliff at the Quarry Stone Valley and still could not find any clues. We all planned to prepare the corpse of our brothers for burial, but when we counted, there were only 17 dead bodies. The number of people that should have died should be 18 so why is it that we are now missing one?” He stopped talking then looked directly at Zhao Qiansun questioningly.
Zhao Qiansun remembering smiled and said, ”In that bunch there was one corpse that had the ability to come back from dead and able able to walk around to this day. That living corpse is I, Zhao Qian Sun Li Zhou Wu Zheng Wang. (a joke... see Ren Wo Xing's explanation below)
Reverend Zhiguang said, ”At that time the three of us thought nothing of it, thinking to ourselves that during that fight, this brother here might have died and fallen down the cliff. So not seeing his corpse we did not linger too much on this. After we had properly buried all the brothers, we were all furious inside, so we threw all the Khitan corpse over the side of the cliff down into the Stone Quarry Valley. Brother Leader said to Wang Bangzhu: 'Brother Jiantong, that Khitan man if he wanted to kill the two of us it would be as easy as turning his hand, so why did he just kicked us in our pressure points and allow us to live to now?' Wang Banzhu replied: 'I have been thinking of that but still can not figure it out. The two of us were part of the people responsible for killing his wife and son, it is only right that he should have ruthlessly killed both of us.'”
”The three of us discussed back and forth but could not think of a logical reason for what happened. Brother Leader then spoke up: 'He must have carved those letters into the stone with some hidden intent. What a shame that none of us three knows the Khitan language.' Brother Leader went down to the river and gathered some water to mix with the blood on the ground making ink. Then he colored it all over the stone. After that he imprinted the cliff writing onto a piece of white cloth torn from a gown. The Khitan used only a small saber but were able to carve letters two inches deep into the stone. With this kind of internal power his skills must have been unparalleled in the world, unmatched by anyone. Looking at the writing the three of us were secretly amazed. The memory of the day before still left a lingering fear in all of us. Returning back inside the Great Wall, Wang Bangzhu went to find a peddler who travels between there and Liao. Since that person knew the Khitan language we gave him the white cloth to read. He translated it out for us on paper.”
Zhiguang stopped speaking, looked up at the sky. He sighed and then continued, ”After the three of us read the paper, all we could do was look wide-eyed back and forth at each other. We couldn't believe it. The Khitan man had at that time made up his mind to kill himself, so why would he intentionally lie? We then went to find another person who reads Khitan and had him translate it by mouth one line at a time. What he said was exactly like the previous translation. God! If that was the truth then seventeen of our brothers had died a meaningless death. Those Khitan warriors had committed no crimes and were wrongfully implicated. As for that pair of husband and wife, towards them we had committed a great sin that could never be undone.”
Everyone was eagerly waiting to hear the words that were written on the mountain face, but Zhiguang was silent and had stopped talking. People's impatience caused their tempers to flare and they irritably asked: ”What did those words say?” ”What sins had you committed towards them?” ”Why do you feel regret towards the husband and wife?”
Zhiguang replied, ”My good friends, it is not because I want to keep the meaning of those Khitan words a secret, but it is because if those words that were written were true, then all the actions of Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and even mine were greatly in the wrong. We are too ashamed to face anybody. I am only a lowly common person in Jianghu, even if I did wrong it will not impact anything in the grand scheme of things. However regarding Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu, they are different from me, what kind of rank and status do they hold? Moreover Wang Bangzhu had passed away. I do not dare to say anything that might ruin the reputation and prestige of these two people. I beg you all for forgiveness. I cannot say it.”
The previous bangzhu of the Beggar Clan was Wang Jiantong whose reputation and prestige were widespread. From Qiao Feng to clan elders to various disciples, all held deep gratitudes toward him . The members of the Beggar Clan were extremely curious about the story but upon hearing that this matter has implications toward the reputation and prestige of Wang Bangzhu not a single person dared to inquire further.
Zhiguang continued talking, ”The three of us thought for a time, at first not wanting to believe it, but were forced to accept it so we decided to temporarily spare the life of the Khitan baby. We decided that we first off should head to Shaolin to see if there were any new developments. If the Khitan warriors actually did attack Shaolin then we could still kill the baby then. We rushed day and night toward Shaolin without stopping. Arriving there we saw that the number of heroes that had gathered at Shaolin to lend a hand was not small. The news involved the life and death of millions of common citizens, so all it needed was for the news to spread and numerous people came to help.”
Reverend Zhiguang turned his face from left to right looking at each person listening and then continued, ”There were many heroes and revered seniors that came to the gathering at Shaolin that year. I need not to go into detail about that. Everyone was on full alert and ready, guarding the temple very tightly. More and more heroes from all corners of the land gathered as time passed. From September at the time of Mid Autumn Moon Festival all the way to December, three months passed without a single enemy movement. To further investigate the matter, we planned to look for the person who originally spread these news, however we could no longer find any traces of this person. Only then did we conclude that the news were actually false and that we all had been tricked. Both sides had suffered tragic and unnecessary deaths in the battle outside of Yanmen Guan Pass.”
”However not long after, Khitan calvary started invading Hebei so the matter about the Khitan warriors coming to attack Shaolin was soon forgotten. It did not matter whether they did or didn't come, after all no matter what, the Khitans were still the mortal enemies of our Great Song.”
”Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and I all felt ashamed and regretful about the situation outside Yanmen Guan Pass. The only people we told about it to was the Abbot of Shaolin and the families of the people who had died. We did not tell another soul except for those people. As for the Khitan baby, he was given into the care of a family of farmers living at the base of Mount Song. The matter had already passed and deciding what deal with the baby was quite difficult. We felt a lot of guilt for how we treated his parents, so we could not bear to take the baby's life. However if we foster the Khitan baby till he grows up, and he seeks us out for revenge, then isn't that like raising a tiger and sowing the seeds for disaster. In the end Brother Leader handed to that peasant family 100 Liang of silver and asked them raised the Khitan baby as their own, and not divulge to the baby any information about his heritage. That husband and wife did not have any children so they were overjoyed and accepted immediately. The couple also did not have any idea that this baby was of Khitan descent, because on the way to Mount Song we had changed the baby's clothes to fit that of a Han baby. The people of Great Song held great enmity towards people of Liao that ran deep all the way to their bone marrow. So if they saw a baby wearing Khitan clothes then they would cause him harm...”
Qiao Feng hearing this had grasped about nine tenths of the intent, shakily asked ”Reverend Zhiguang, that family... that family at the base of Mount Song... what... what... are their names?”
Zhiguang replied, ”Bangzhu must have already figured it out. I don't have any more reason to hide it. That person's surname is Qiao, named Sanhuai.”
A stunned Qiao Feng yelled out, ”No! No! Reverend please stop talking nonsense. Stop fabricating these stories to cause me harm. I am a definitely a Han so how can I be a Khitan savage? Sanhuai is... is... the person that is my biological father. Reverend stop talking nonsense...” Suddenly he jumped in front of Zhiguang, the left hand snatched the monk's chest.
Shan Zheng and the 4 Elders called out, ”Don't!” and immediately rushed forward to rescue the monk. But Qiao Feng's lightness skills were great. He jumped and dodged to one side while still maintaining hold of the Reverend with his left hand.
The sons of Shan Zheng - Shan Zhongshan, Shan Shushan, Shan Jishan - all three at the same time charged at the back of Qiao Feng. Qiao Feng, using only his right hand, caught both Shan Shushan and Shan Zhongshan then threw them far away. He next grabbed Shan Jishan, threw him to the ground, and placed his foot keeping pressure on Jishan's throat.
Shan Family's Five Tigers' reputation and prestige were renown throughout the whole Shandong region. The five brothers had already been famous for a long time based on their own deeds, definitely not ones who rely on the fortune and fame of their parents. Even then, Qiao Feng easily dispatched the brothers like it was nothing. With his left hand holding Zhiguang, his right hand lashed out to grab, he threw the three Shan brothers around like pieces of straw, not one was able to put up any resistance. People saw this were shocked. Their jaws dropped in disbelief.
Shan Zheng, Shan Boshan, and Shan Xiaoshan felt anxious seeing their own flesh and blood in danger, wanted to jump in to help. But Qiao Feng had a foot on Shan Jishan's throat. Knowing that his strength was something worth fearing, and all it needed was a press of the foot and Jishan will lose his life. Because of that, the three father and sons dared not to come any closer. Shan Zhen yelled out, ”Qiao Bangzhu, if there is any misunderstanding then let us discuss it, don't be heavy handed. Our Shan family does not have any enmity with you. Please spare my son.” Even the famous Iron Faced Judge were powerless and had to beg Qiao Feng.
Elder Xu called out, ”Qiao Bangzhu, Reverend Zhiguang is a person who everyone in Jianghu respects. You must not harm his life!”
Qiao Feng's hot blood had boiled, and he said in a loud voice, ”Correct! The Shan family and I have no enmities with each other. I also had always respected Reverend Zhiguang. You people... if you people want to take away my Bangzhu position, then I will surrender it to you with both hands, but why do you have to create lies to slander me? I... what sins have I committed that would cause you people to accuse me as such?” The last few sentences his voice was choked by tears. People who heard were unable to restrain their feelings and started to sympathize with him.
The bones on Zhiguang's skeleton let out a creaking sound. Everyone knew that his life was tethering on a needle. Whether he lived or died all were in the hands of Qiao Feng. It was so quiet that one could hear the sounds of the wind beating against the trees, the sound of the insects in the grass, and even the sounds of people breathing. No one dared to make a noise.
A short time passed before Zhao Qiansun suddenly started laughing, ”So laughable! So laughable! Han people are not necessarily a cut above other peoples and aren't Khitan people also are not pigs or dogs? Obviously you are a Khitan so why pretend to be a Han? What is there to be ashamed of? You even denied your birth parents and heritage, and here you call yourself a real man.”
Qiao Feng opened his eyes wide in anger, angrily asked, ”Is senior actually calling me a Khitan?”
Zhao Qiansun replied, ”How can I be sure? But in that battle outside Yanmen Guan Pass, that Khitan man we fought, his appearance and face is exactly like yours. That time I was so frightened. I fell unconscious immediately from terror. That man's face I will never forget even in a hundred years. Also with my own eyes I saw Reverend Zhiguang carrying that Khitan baby back. I am a good for nothing corpse that came back to life, in this world outside of Xiaojuan (Granny Tan), I don't involved myself in the business of anybody, nor do I have any involvement in other matters. If you are or if you are not the Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan, what does that trifling thing have to do with me? Why would I bring false charges against you? What advantage is there for me to make up a story about helping to kill your parents years ago? Qiao Bangzhu, my martial arts when compare to yours is very lacking. If I don't want to live anymore, wouldn't just killing myself be a better option?”
Qiao Feng slowly put Reverend Zhiguang down. He then flicked his foot and the large body of Shan Jishan flew out and fell to the ground with a thud. Shan Jishan stood up immediately. He was not in the slightest injured.
Qiao Feng looked at Zhiguang, seeing his face had a confident aura without the slightest hint of falseness, then asked, ”So what happened afterwards?”
Reverend Zhiguang replied, ”What happens afterwards, you should already know. At age seven you went to pick chestnuts in the forest, got chased by a wolf, and was rescued by a monk from Shaolin. The monk killed the wolf and treated your injuries. Then day after day the monk returned to teach you martial arts. Is this correct?”
Qiao Feng replied, ”Correct. It seems the Reverend also knew of this matter.” Years ago when Reverend Xuanku passed his martial arts to Qiao Feng, he had ordered him not to tell anyone about it. So in Jianghu everyone had always thought that Qiao Feng was the direct disciple of Wang Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan. Who knew that he and Shaolin Temple had such an old and deep relationship.
Zhiguang said, ”That monk from Shaolin was asked by Brother Leader to teach you martial arts and guide you since childhood to keep you from walking down the wrong path. Regarding this matter, Brother Leader, Wang Bangzhu, and I had many disputes. I wanted you to live the life of a common person, as farmer, and did not want you to learn martial arts to keep you away from being involved with the grudges and enmities of Jianghu. Brother Leader said that if we do that then we will be doing another wrong to your parents. So to make amends we must take care of you and develop you into a great hero.”
Qiao Feng said, ”All you... all you seniors, why do you feel you will be doing wrong to my parents? People of Han and people of Khitan have been fighting and harming each other for a long time. It is a common thing. There is nothing to be regretful about.”
Zhiguang sighed and said, ”The stone writing outside of Yanmen Guan Pass to this day still has not faded. Why don't you go and see it. Brother Leader had already made up his mind and Wang Bangzhu went along with it. There was no way I by myself can win the argument. Only when you were sixteen years old did Wang Bangzhu received you as his disciple. After that there were many chances to get along together. Your natural talent is outstanding and progressed furiously. There was no way an average person can keep up with you. Of course if Brother Leader and Wang Bangzhu were not behind the scenes helping out, you would not be where you are today.”
Qiao Feng lowered his head to ponder. Thinking back on his life, he had faced numerous difficulties but each and every time his bad luck had turned into good. He had not faced much pain or hardships. He had met with many lucky opportunities in life. It came even without asking for it. For a long time he had thought that it was all due to his luck. But after listening to Reverend Zhiguang he realized he had a secret benefactor helping him all those years and he was ignorant of it. In his head he was stunned and asked himself, ”If what the Reverend said was true then I am a Khitan and not a Han? Wang Bangzhu is not my kind teacher but the culprit who killed my father, killed my mother. The senior who helped me out in secret, he did not do it with pure intentions but probably only wanted to make reprimands to relief him of his guilty conscience. No! No! That can't be right! Khitan people are evil and ruthless dogs. They are the mortal enemies of our Han people. How can I be one of those savages?”
Zhiguang continued: 'Chief Wang was very wary of you at first, but later, seeing you make fast progress in learning martial arts, behave generously and chivalrously, treat people with clemency, treat him with great respect and prudence, and act to his liking in every aspect, he gradually became really fond of you. Afterward, as you made more contributions and gained more prestige, from the people at the top to the people at the bottom of the Beggar Society, each and every one honored and submitted to you, even outsiders also knew that the upcoming Chief of the Beggar Society would be no one but you. However Chief Wang had still been undecided about you all along because you're a Khitan. He tested you with three difficult problems, you got them done one by one, but only after you'd achieved seven feats did he entrust the Dog Beating Stick to you. In the Taishan convention that year, after you defeated nine strong enemies of the Beggar Society in succession, he then all the more resolutely installed you as the Chief of the Beggar Society. As far as laona (老衲 – old kasaya, a term a Buddhist monk calls himself with) know, for the past several hundred years, there has never been another Chief of the Beggar Society who had to go through so many hardships like you did.'
Qiao Feng lowered his head and said: 'I only thought that enshi (恩师 – kind master) Chief Wang intended to train me, making me undergo many hardships so that I'd be able to take on important missions, but it turns out... but it turns out...' Saying to here, in his heart he already almost believed that it was true.
Zhiguang said: 'I only know as far as here. After you had started to serve as the Chief of the Beggar Society, seeing rumors in jianghu all having it that you acted heroically and valued justice, benefited the common people, behaved without partiality, reorganized the Beggar Society and made it thrive, inwardly I felt happy for you. Also, hearing that you'd several times ruined vicious schemes of Khitan people and killed some of their notable figures, I thought that, in that way, our previous fear of nourishing a viper in our own bosoms had become almost as groundless as the fear of the Qi people (杞人之忧 – the fear [of the sky collapsing] of the Qi people – referring to groundless fears). This incident should never have been mentioned, but somehow someone uncovered it? This is unlikely to be any good to the Beggar Society or Chief Qiao yourself.' Saying to here, he let out a deep sigh. There was a sorrowful expression on his face.
Elder Xu said: 'Zhiguang dashi (大师 – great monk), thank you very much for relating past events making everyone feel as if they were personally on the scene. This letter...' He raised that letter with his hand and continued: 'was written by that leading hero to Chief Wang. In the letter he made every effort to dissuade Chief Wang from handing over the Chief of the Beggar Society position to Chief Qiao. Chief Qiao, you may as well have a look at it.' When he finished saying, he held out the letter.
Zhiguang said: 'Let me take a look first, to see if it's truly the original letter.' When he finished saying, he received and held the letter in his hands, read it one time and said: 'Correct, this is really the leading big brother's original handwriting.' Once finishing saying, he slightly transferred power into his left-hand fingers to torn off the foot of the letter where there was the sender's name then put it in his mouth. With a bending of his tongue it was already swallowed into his stomach.
When Zhiguang torn the letter he had taken several steps towards the bonfire, thus he was a bit further apart from Qiao Feng. Moreover, he was putting the letter paper close to his eyes as if there was insufficient light and he could not see clearly, therefore when he torn off and put the bottom part of the letter in his mouth, the letter paper were just several cun (寸 – Chinese inch ~ 3.33 cm) away from his lips. Qiao Feng could never have expected this old monk of noble character and high prestige to use this cunning trick. With a roar of anger, he struck out with his left palm hitting the monk's acupuncture points from a distance. His right hand immediately grabbed the letter, but it was still a bit too late, as the signature at the foot of the letter had already been swallowed by the monk down his throat. Qiao Feng struck out another palm to unblock his acupuncture points and angrily asked: 'You... What are you doing?'
Zhiguang smiled and said: 'Chief Qiao, once you have become aware of who you are, perhaps you will want to seek revenge for the murders of your parents. Chief Wang already passed away so there's no need to mention him. But laona don't want to let you know the name of this leading big brother. Laona also participated in the ambush against your father and mother that year, laona shall expiate all the crimes by myself, if you want to kill me or cut me to pieces, please do not hesitate to do so.'
Seeing Zhiguang lower his eyes and droop his eyebrows, looking merciful and stately, even though Qiao Feng was very sad and angry, he could not help having a feeling of respect for the monk. He then said: 'Whether this matter is true or fake, at the moment I still don't know. Even if I wanna kill you, there's no hurry to do so now.' When he finished saying, he gave Zhao Qiansun a sidelong look.
Zhao Qiansun shrugged his shoulders as if he was totally unconcerned about it and said: 'That's right, me included as well, you must give me my share of this debt. Just kill me whenever you like.'
Grandpa Tan loudly said: 'Chief Qiao, everything should be considered carefully. Don't act recklessly. If you incited the Hu Han conflict (Hu - 胡 – referring to minority people in northern and western China in feudal times), every person of exceptional ability in the Central Plains would become your enemy.' Even though Zhao Qiansun was Grandpa Tan's love rival, at that time he still raised his voice in support of him.
Qiao Feng let out a cold laugh, feeling utterly confused and not knowing how to reply. He then had a look at the letter in the firelight, only seeing it read: 'My elder brother Jianran (剑髯 – sword beard/whiskers – Wang Jiantong's nickname), after several nights of discussion, your idea of handing over your position has always been unchanged. However, after thinking about it carefully for several days, I still believe that it is inadvisable. Brother Qiao is a man of extraordinary talents. He has made many great contributions and behaved himself courageously and righteously. Not only is he the outstanding figure in the Begger Society, but in the whole of wulin in the Divine Land (神州 – China's old name) there are only a very few people who can come close to him. If this talent inherits your position, it is only natural to expect that the prestige of the Beggar Society will expand at some time in the future.'
Reading up to here, Qiao Feng felt that this senior held himself in extremely high esteem, so in his heart he was very grateful to him for that. He continued reading:
'But there's not a day that I don't think about the bloody battle at Yanmen pass and the shocking situations at that time. This child doesn't belong to our ethnic group, his father and mother died because of both of us. In the future if he doesn't know about his origin then there'd be no problem. Otherwise, not only will the Beggar Society be destroyed in his hands, wulin in the Central Plains will also have to face a massive catastrophe. At the present time, the people whose wits and martial arts can rival those of that child are extremely rare. It's not an outsider's job to interfere in the Beggar Society's important internal affairs, but our friendship is far beyond what is usual, moreover, the involvement of this matter is too huge, please give it careful consideration.' The signature at the foot of it had already been torn off by Zhiguang.
After reading the letter, Qiao Feng stood in stunned silence. Seeing that, Elder Xu held out another letter paper and said: 'This is Chief Wang's personal letter, you should recognize his handwriting.'
Qiao Feng received it. He only saw the letter paper read:
'Instructions to Vice-Chief Ma of the Beggar Society, the Elder of Merit Propagation, the Elder of Rule Enforcement, and the other Elders: If Qiao Feng has any deed that is pro-Liao (辽 – a rival empire of Song) and anti-Han, and helps Khitan fight against Great Song (宋 – a Chinese dynasty), the whole Society must join forces to kill him, and make no mistake. Poisoning and assassination can both be applied. The killer will get credit for and not be guilty of doing so. Wang Jiantong personally penned.'
The date written at the end of the letter was: 'Great Song, the 6th Yuanfeng year, the seventh day of the fifth month.' Qiao Feng remembered clearly that it had been the day he had taken over the Chief of the Beggar Society position.
Qiao Feng knew without doubt that these several rows of words were really enshi Wang Jiantong's handwriting, thus, he was no longer uncertain about his origin. However, recalling that enshi had always acted like a kind father, being strict in teaching but also very affectionate, Qiao Feng found it hard to believe that he had secretly written and left behind this order on the day he (Qiao Feng) had taken over the Chief of the Begger Society position. He felt heartbroken. Tears streamed down his face, drop by drop falling on the instructions of Chief Wang.
Elder Xu slowly said: 'Chief Qiao, please don't blame us for being disrespectful. Originally only Vice-Chief Ma knew about these instructions of Chief Wang. He kept them very carefully and never told anyone about them. In the past several years you behaved straightforwardly, and didn't have any action that was pro-Liao and anti-Song and helped Khitan to oppress Han people, so Chief Wang's instructions were naturally of no use. It wasn't until the tragic death of Vice-Chief Ma that Madam Ma found out about this order. At first, everyone suspected that Vice-Chief Ma was killed by Murong gongzi (公子 – young nobleman) of Gusu, if you settled this score for brother Dayuan then there'd be no need to expose your origin. Laoxiu (老朽 – old senile – a term that old men call themselves modestly) thought about this again and again, because of the big picture I wanted to destroy the letter and Chief Wang's order, but... but...' Saying to here, he looked at Madam Ma, and said: 'Firstly, because Madam Ma earnestly wants to avenge her husband's death, it's impossible to just let the wrongs that brother Dayuan suffered remain unsolved or let him die with an eternal grievance. Secondly, Chief Qiao supported Hu people, a conduct that has really endangered our Society...'
Qiao Feng asked: 'I supported Hu people? Where did you get this from?'
Elder Xu said: 'The two words 'Murong' are a Hu surname. The Murong clan is the descendant of Xianbei people. Just like Khitan, they are an uncivilized ethnic group.' Qiao Feng said: 'Huh, so it was because of that, but I didn't know anything about it.' Elder Xu continued: 'Thirdly, a lot of people in the Society already know that you're a Khitan, it's no good concealing it.'
Qiao Feng looked into the sky and and let out a sigh. It was not until now that the depressing doubts and suspicions that had been in his mind for quite a while were cleared up. He asked Quan Guanqing: 'Quan Guanqing, you knew that I'm a Khitan descendant so you opposed me, didn't you?' Quan Guanqing said: 'Yes.' Qiao Feng asked again: 'The Four Elders Song, Xi, Chen, Wu listened to you and tried to kill me also because of this reason?' Quan Guanqing said: 'Correct, but they only half believed me and couldn't make a decision. When the situation became critical they also chickened out.' Qiao Feng said: 'The clue about my origin, where did you get it from?' Quan Guanqing said: 'This matter involves outsiders, so excuse me for not being able to tell you. You should know that paper cannot wrap fire. No matter how you conceal your origin, someone would eventually find out about it. The Elder of Rule Enforcement has also already known about it for a long time.'
In a twinkling, thoughts in Qiao Feng's mind surged up like tidal waves, for a moment he thought: 'They've gotten jealous, making up all kinds of lies to frame me. Even if I, Qiao Feng, am all by myself, I won't surrender and will fight bravely to the death.' But immediately he also thought: 'Enshi's order is absolutely genuine. Zhiguang dashi is a person of high virtue and good reputation, and doesn't bear any resentment towards me, why should he set up this dirty plan? Elder Xu is an important senior figure of our Society, how can it be that he has the intention of overthrowing the Society? Impartial Judge Shan Zheng, Grandpa Tan, Granny Tan all are renowned seniors in wulin. This Zhao Qiansun guy is screwy but he's also not a zilch. How can this matter be false when they all tell the same thing?'
After listening to the words of the people like Zhiguang and Elder Xu, the mood of the beggar crowd was totally confused. Some people had already heard that he was a Khitan descendant, but they only half believed it, the other were only made aware of it at that moment. They found the evidences authentic, as it seemed even Qiao Feng himself believed so already. Qiao Feng had always been kind and fair to his subordinates, his abilities, virtue and martial arts were admired by everyone, hence no one could have thought he was a Khitan descendant. But the enmity between Liao and Great Song was extremely deep and countless Beggar Society disciples had died at the hands of Liao people over the years, therefore letting a Khitan serve as the Chief of the Beggar Society was really out of the question. However, no one dared to speak out to demand his expulsion from the Society. For a short time, the apricot forest became quiet, only the sounds of everyone's heavy breaths could be heard.