Chapter 2 – Stealing the Heaven Exchanging the Sun[1]
Before making his move, Ba Fenghan already thought about all kinds of method to meet Bi Xuan’s move, including the opponent leaping into the air, yet he still missed one, which was the Yan Yang Qi suddenly vanished without leaving a thread of trace.
When martial art masters fight, even blindfolded, they could still grasp the opponent’s advancing or retreating movements from the subtle changes of the other side’s qi power. The clarity of their senses even surpasses a bright lamp in the midst of angry wave at night, so that both sides knew the changes in offense and defense, so that it was unlikely that they might make mistake.
But Bi Xuan unexpectedly could completely curb his true qi. This kind of feeling was even more difficult to deal with than being suppressed by his Yan Yang so that he was unable to move a single step. Although he could see clearly that the opponent was making a slight move, it was still like from being in the sunshine-drenched heaven and earth suddenly falling into a dark prison where one could not even see the fingers stretched in front of his face. It felt like suddenly everything was beyond one’s ability to fathom; the feeling of shock and awed could really make one go crazy.
Overhead, Bi Xuan’s right foot expanded rapidly, as it was kicking toward him, seemingly heavy, but appearing to be light – in complete perfection. If one did not see it for himself, one would never believe that such an insignificant kick unexpectedly could reach such realm.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not help moving slowly toward the battle arena; supposing Ba Fenghan really suffered a big loss, they would abandon everything and do everything they could to attack. They had no idea about the changes in battle situation of Ba Fenghan’s feeling before blocking the attack; they only knew that when Ba Fenghan started to attack, Bi Xuan already leaped into the air. Evidently he had seen through the movement with which Ba Fenghan was going to attack.
The relative superiority between the two was clear without any need of explanation.
Ba Fenghan suddenly felt that he was unable to change his move, because once the sword’s momentum was released, changing it would only throw his own troop disposition into disorder; he had no choice but to continue. With a cold snort he shifted to the left, the Beheading Mystery Sword thrust at an angle upward, it exploded into sword rain filling the whole sky, like a tray meeting Bi Xuan from underneath.
Bi Xuan laughed aloud. Without changing the original style his right foot stepped into the sword rain.
An average-looking, nothing-special kick displayed the power of thousand hammerings [on an anvil] and hundred refinements, it penetrated the sword rain first, and then while the heel was not moving, the tip of his toes swept across, without missing a fraction of a hairsbreadth, the leather boot hit the sword’s blade.
Immediately Ba Fenghan felt that the meridians in his entire body were burning, swollen, and hurting; unexpectedly it created a terrifying feeling that he was unable to apply his qi or spit out his power. His tiger-body shook severely, the momentum of his sideways movement turned into his body refusing to follow his mind, he stumbled sideways and staggered back, losing his center of gravity, and was unable to continue his killer move.
Like a piece of Chinese mahogany wood [Toona sinensis], Bi Xuan’s body seemed to be inserted straight into the grassy land. One after another his two sleeves brushed out, like a pair of butterflies chasing each other in a game of tag; but actually the momentum was frightening, he did not give Ba Fenghan the slightest bit of opportunity to take a breather.
In this critical moment between life and death, Ba Fenghan displayed the result of his many years of painstaking cultivation. He converted the stumbling momentum into a big spin of his body, the tip of his sword pierced the two sleeves in rapid succession.
‘Bang! Bang!’
Ba Fenghan spun outside.
Like a shadow attached to the form, Bi Xuan pursued forward. Ba Fenghan suddenly spun around, the Beheading Mystery Sword was unleashed at full force, rolling Bi Xuan inside the raging-waves-splitting-the-shore sword momentum.
Laughing heartily, Bi Xuan said, “Good sword!” Freely and easily he used his two sleeves to parry.
Seeing Ba Fenghan was finally able to turn the disadvantageous position into a position where he could both attack and defend, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Ba Fenghan, who was in the middle of it all – knew that he would not live much longer. Simply because this situation was Bi Xuan showing mercy; on one hand, Bi Xuan wanted to see his skills, but more importantly, Bi Xuan did not want Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to sense the danger Ba Fenghan was facing and thus intervened to stop him.
Ba Fenghan discharged the tempting idea of summoning the two boys’ assistance completely out of the sea of his mind. Being at peace with himself, he put his expertise in full display, using life to win life, hoping to create a miracle.
Suddenly Ba Fenghan’s Beheading Mystery Sword broke through Bi Xuan’s sleeves shadow. It looked like it was going to hit the vital part of the pit of this cannot-be-compared grandmaster’s stomach, but the pit of the opponent’s stomach suddenly turned into his shoulder. The tip of the sword penetrated the flesh for about a cun, but was immediately jolted back.
All these high-speed movements dissipated like a flying smoke.
By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling roared and pounced forward, Bi Xuan’s horizontal kick already hit the vital part on Ba Fenghan’s dan tian. Like a kite with cut string the latter left the ground and flew away, ‘Bang!’ he fell straight onto the soft meadow.
A wisp of red color flitted across Bi Xuan’s bronze face; he quickly moved away, and then said with a big laugh, “After performing funeral ceremony for him, two gentlemen should immediately take a hike back to the Central Plains for me. Otherwise don’t blame Bi Xuan for not understanding pity.”
In the blink of an eye Bi Xuan became a small dot on the edge of the prairie.
Inconsolably grieved, the two pounced toward Ba Fenghan, only to see his eyes, ears, mouth and nose were seeping blood, his breathing had stopped. Probing his chest, Kou Zhong called out loudly, “His heart meridian has not been broken, we must immediately try to save him.”
Xu Ziling picked him up. The Long Life Qi was continuously transmitted via his back.
Kou Zhong then grabbed his pair of hands and converged his Long Life Qi with Xu Ziling’s. After circulating the qi for three cycles, with hot tears gushing out of his eyes, he said, “Ay! Shall we save him, or shall we let him die? His true qi has been kicked and shattered by Bi Xuan, his main meridians were broken seven, eight parts. Even if we saved him, I am afraid he will only be a handicapped person, paralyzed for the rest of his life.”
Xu Ziling’s tears wet the front piece of his clothes as well, but his expression resolute; he spoke heavily, “Broken, and then stand; defeated, and then succeed. Whether Old Ba can challenge Bi Xuan again, it will depend on whether Huan Ri Da Fa is really as divine as the legend says.”
The sun rose above the plains, illuminating the grasslands.
Ba Fenghan was lying on the felt inside the tent. Kou Zhong’s seven silver needles were stuck on all major acupoints on his face. Kou and Xu, two boys’ strength exhausted, their body weary already, they could only gasp for breath, while waiting quietly for the outcome of their magic.
After experimenting, testing, thinking over, and striving all night long, they finally succeeded in bringing Ba Fenghan back to life, in recovering his breathing, as well as stimulating the potential of his three meridians and seven chakras, and releasing the remnant of his true qi.
As for whether they could repair his several broken main meridians, it would have to depend on Ba Fenghan’s own power and the divine efficacy of the Great Method of Exchanging the Sun.
For Xu Ziling, before the battle of Helian Fort, where he used this method to let the three men rapidly recovering their power, Huan Ri Da Fa was still only auxiliary in nature. Rapid cultivation to reach the shedding-one’s-mortal-body-and-exchanging-one’s-bones was not really its purpose. But now that he had no choice but to use it, he had to hope that Huan Ri Da Fa would really have the efficacy of rebirth.
Ba Fenghan’s breathing turned rapid. The two were shocked. Xu Ziling pressed on the qi ocean on his dan tian, Kou Zhong quickly applied his silver needle, hoping to wake him up.
Ba Fenghan’s entire body shivered, his eyelashes were fluttering continuously, with great difficulty he opened his eyes, but his gaze was empty like his mind was scattered, as he stared blankly at the top of the tent, as if he did not really see anything.
Mad with extreme happiness, the two called out, “Old Ba!”
Ba Fenghan’s gaze gradually became coherent, his consciousness returned. Struggling to take a breath, he looked at the two, his gaze showed disbelief as well as confusion, and then as if he suddenly remembered what happened, he spoke with a hoarse, weak voice, “I am not dead yet?”
Kou Zhong found out that totally out of control, his hot tears rolled down his face, flowing through his cheeks, and dripping on Ba Fenghan’s chest. Shaking his head, he said, “Of course you are not dead; you will recover, and become one good man again.”
This moment Ba Fenghan discovered the silver needles being stuck on his face. He wanted to move his body, but was unable to move a single step. Sighing, he said, “Don’t cry! I am most afraid to see a man crying. What is this place? Has Bi Xuan gone?”
Xu Ziling was more cool-headed; although tears also filled his eye sockets, he was still able to resist, albeit with great difficulty, so that the teardrop did not fall down. He spoke heavily, “This is still that tent. Although Bi Xuan took up a bit of small advantage, he also paid the price, hence he slipped away with the tail clipped between his legs.”
Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, “Why did you save me? Living this way is not better than death; where is the delight in conducting myself? You don’t need to lie to me.”
Squeezing out a smile, Xu Ziling said, “We are brothers, why would we want to deceive [the word means ‘coax’ or ‘amuse a child’] you? The reason you are able to breathe and talk is entirely due to miraculous efficacy of Huan Ri Da Fa. This method can also help you fully recover your power, so much so that it will be even stronger than before. As long as you train according to the method, you can repair the broken meridians.”
Helping him speaking, Kou Zhong said, “There has never been anybody able to master Huan Ri Da Fa, because only after being broken one can stand, only after defeat one would succeed. You, LaoGe are currently broken and defeated, precisely the good opportunity to train Huan Ri Da Fa. You must never give up; otherwise, even if you want to kill yourself, you will need to ask us for help.”
Ba Fenghan’s pair of eyes emitted a glimmer of hope, he asked, “How do you train it?”
Xu Ziling said, “From now on, we will take turns in injecting the true qi into your body, but it is up to you to guide it, relying on your willpower to rouse the life force hidden deep beneath the surface. I will recite the theory for you, LaoGe to listen to.”
“Very well!” Ba Fenghan said, “Let’s try it.”
Picking up the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong said, “I am going outside to keep watch.”
By dusk that day, Ba Fenghan was fast asleep. The silver needles on his face have been removed.
Kou Zhong took the horses to a small brook nearby to drink, and when he returned, he entered the tent and sat by Xu Ziling’s side. “How’s his condition?” he asked.
Xu Ziling replied, “We will see the progress tonight. Up to this point, Old Ba has been keeping up with the theory of the Huan Ri Da Fa; he has stimulated self-equipped, self-sufficient hidden potential and life force inside the treasure-house within the body like Niang mentioned. The clotted blood within his five viscera and six bowels has already dissipated eighty, ninety-percent. The question is whether his broken meridians can be connected again. Right now he is not asleep, but is entering the absolute relaxed state of rest, no man, no self; this is the genuine Zen meditation.”
“Can he hear us talking?” Kou Zhong asked.
“He shouldn’t be able to,” Xu Ziling replied, “Because he must use his own supreme determination to strive with all his strength to hasten the stimulation of the life force within his body. The theory says: from a thought or an extinguished thought, life extinguished to the greatest extend, from the death comes the life force. This is called the power of thought. In this critical moment between life and death, you and I can only bear the responsibility of becoming the protector. Everything will have to depend on his own good luck. Supposing … ay …”
Kou Zhong was very scared and on edge, “Supposing what?” he asked, “Don’t just talk and stop, all right?”
Xu Ziling dejectedly said, “Only Laotianye knows whether in this kind of life extinguished to the greatest extend Huan Ri Da Fa would take effect in Old Ba. Supposing by tomorrow morning he cannot repair his broken meridians, we will be forced to put our hands to make him whole, and then we’ll look for Bi Xuan to stake everything against him.”
Kou Zhong said, “The theory says, life extinguished to the greatest extend, from the death comes the life force and so on, I am sure Heaven will help the worthy. Ay! My Niang, you are right; perhaps these mnemonics were created to be recited smoothly. I just hope that this time will be the exception.”
Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, “Too much thinking won’t help. Bi Xuan is formidable way beyond our imagination. Now I begin to understand that the saying there’s heaven above the heaven, there’s a man beyond a man [idiom: in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself] is not just random talk.”
Kou Zhong said, “Bi Xuan originally decided to take our three little lives, to kill us all that not even a half remains; who would have thought that we are more formidable than he thought? In the face of his life extinguished to the greatest extend, Old Ba struck back and wounded him, only then was he unable to continue his murderous hands toward the two of us. Would you say that after his injury is healed he would come to chase and kill us again?”
“That possibility is very high,” Xu Ziling replied, “What do we do? Old Ba must not move now; if we wake him up his previous achievement will be wasted, there is no hope of recovery.”
Kou Zhong reached out to feel the felt on which Ba Fenghan was lying, which was taken from their traveling bag. He said, “Although a bit difficult, as long as we are a bit more careful, each of us grab two corners of the felt, won’t we be able to carry him out without disturbing him?”
Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “Where will we take him? If it is too far, we might not be able to endure.”
Kou Zhong said, “Just now when I took the horses to drink, there is a big forest by the brook. Over there will always be safer than this inauspicious tent. Afterwards I will burn this mourning tent, and take the horse riding all over the place to trample the grass, to create a false appearance to confuse the enemy. I will go far before coming back along the river. Even if Bi Xuan’s intelligence surpasses others, he will need a big headed Buddha.”
Xu Ziling said, “If it is only Bi Xuan, one person, we can still stake everything against him and die together. What scares me the most is that if the ones coming are Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, and hundreds or thousands of Golden Wolf Army. Let’s do it!”
With the rumbling sound of hoof beats, more than thirty riders were galloping over. Reaching the burned-to-ashes mourning tent, they dismounted their horses to examine it.
A falcon was released from among the crowd. It soared into the sky, spiraled in the air, and flew away.
Hiding on top of a tree, Kou Zhong leaned over to whisper in Xu Ziling’s ear, “Do you see Bi Xuan?”
Under current circumstances, Bi Xuan has become the nemesis who was hounding them to the death. If they were discovered by him, Ba Fenghan would surely be done for.
Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, “Too far, I can’t see clearly. He is after all, a grandmaster; the words he said must count. In my opinion, it must be Zhao Deyan and that little thief Xiang. It is only they who won’t let us go.”
Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, “Let me go, I’ll lead them away from here.”
By the time the enemy could not find Ba Fenghan’s remains or his ashes, they would guess that although Ba Fenghan was seriously hurt, he had not died yet. As long as they could follow the hoof marks to the riverbank, they could split up and search along the river in both directions, and then eventually they would be able to find them; hence Kou Zhong’s proposal.
Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, “If we have to die, we’ll die together. The worst that can happen is that you don’t know the way, sooner or later they will catch up with you. Don’t forget that there’s a pair of falcon’s eyes overhead watching you.”
Kou Zhong looked back at Ba Fenghan, lying in a clearance among the trees, and the horses resting by his side. He sighed and said, “All right! Even to death I still want to get that Xiang kid to be buried with me! I never detest and despise someone this much.”
The falcon suddenly flew back. After making two, three circles in the air, it flew to the west.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly delighted; obviously the falcon discovered someone in that direction. How could there be such a coincidence?
Sure enough, one after another the enemies got on the horse and ran after the falcon at full speed; they quickly crossed the river and went far.
The sky was gradually getting brighter, finally the long night was over.
Ba Fenghan opened his eyes. But it was quite half a day later that he finally recovered his consciousness. “Help me up,” he said.
Complying with his request, the two helped him up. Their hearts were pounding waiting for him to say something.
Ba Fenghan took a deep breath; he laughed aloud and said, “I lost!”
Seeing the two boys’ dumb-bird look as they were staring blankly at him, he cheerfully said, “Don’t misunderstand. I was saying that I lost to Bi Xuan, but I haven’t lost to Huan Ri Da Fa.”
The two shouted loudly in great delight, they were mad with joy.
Ba Fenghan tried to shake his arms; he said, “I only mastered the first level of Huan Ri Da Fa’s fundamentals, and the broken meridians are reconnected. But in such a short period of time, I definitely must not rush indiscriminately to move the true qi; everything must flow naturally. The way I see it, I still need probably seven, eight days before I can fully recover my strength, perhaps it will be even stronger than before. You guys must not use Long Life Qi to help me anymore, otherwise my power might be greatly diminished.”
The two boys could only nod.
Ba Fenghan reached out to put his hands on the two boys’ shoulders; he said, “You are indeed my good brothers. Let me stand up.”
The two helped him up.
Ba Fenghan’s gaze fell onto the glistening, dazzling tender green prairie outside the forest; he could not help sighing as he said, “Only after dying and coming back to life one can see how blessed and precious the beautiful scenery of the prairie is. Humph! A day will come where I will have Bi Xuan tasting the feeling of defeat. Let me go, I, Ba Fenghan, want to stand on my own strength.”
The two waited upon him to drink several mouthfuls of fresh water, and then they let him go. Ba Fenghan swayed a couple of times before he was finally able to stand firm. His face pale, he said with a wry smile, “I am afraid I cannot ride the horse.”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “Let us take turns to help you up!”
The two did not dare to tell him that they were still in danger, and that Zhao Deyan and the others might catch up with them any moment.
Without any better option, Xu Ziling said, “We’d better take another day of rest. We will hasten on with our journey after sunset.”
Ba Fenghan was stunned for a moment, and then he spoke heavily, “Do we have pursuing troops behind us?”
Kou Zhong could not conceal it from him; otherwise there was no need to move him from the tent to this place. Thereupon he told him what happened the previous night.
Ba Fenghan spoke decisively, “Even more reason for us to set out immediately. Hastening on with our journey, relying on the man-and-horse-as-one method at full speed, this is the only way to throw off the pursuing troops.”
“Stop!” Xu Ziling suddenly shouted loudly.
Leading Ba Fenghan’s beloved colt Taklamakan, Kou Zhong turned around and rushed back. Seeing Ba Fenghan’s deathly pale face, he could not help but was shocked. “What happened?” he asked.
Closing his eyes, Ba Fenghan leaned against Xu Ziling’s back, saying, “My head is very dizzy.”
Xu Ziling said, “It’s nothing. You only need to rest a moment and you’ll be all right.”
Kou Zhong got down from his horse to help Xu Ziling getting Ba Fenghan off the horseback and let him lie down on the grass to rest.
The sun has already passed the middle of the sky. Although there was no trace of the enemy in sight, but the enemy might appear any moment.
Several wild eagles were circling over a small lake and a sparse forest in the distance, making them feel that every tree or bush was an enemy soldier, and that the ghosts and deities were suspicious.
Ba Fenghan closed his eyes; unexpectedly he was gone as if he was falling asleep.
Anxious, Kou Zhong asked, “Don’t you think there’s something wrong with him?”
Xu Ziling held up his wrist to examine his pulse; delight appearing on his face, he said, “Not only there’s nothing to worry about, we ought to cheer in joy. Huan Ri Da Fa has entered the second stage of seizing the essence of heaven and earth in order to strengthen his body. Old Ba did not suffer from the hardship of continuous jolting on horseback; rather, he is subjected to the effect of the sunshine and earth’s qi, involuntarily he needs to lie down for the Zen meditation. Originally I did not have the confidence that his power would recover fully, but now I do!”
His misgivings had not been explained, Kou Zhong said, “Wouldn’t it be like absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon? Would it be that formidable?”
Xu Ziling said, “Not absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, rather, absorbing the innate qi that comes from the heaven and earth, much like our Long Life Qi.”
Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, “I hope he won’t sleep for seven days and seven nights. By then, our only share is to wait for others to come and slaughter us.”
Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, “Bad!”
Following his gaze, Kou Zhong saw that from the direction the enemy galloped away the previous night, the dust was rising high into the sky, he could faintly see a group of men and horses rushing over.
[1] Chapter title: idiom, to engage in fraudulent activities.