Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Chapter 21 (Part 7)

Wu Du approaches the pavilion and says to the envoy, “Khatanbaatar, interested in trading a few moves with me?”

Duan Ling’s mouth is hanging slightly open; he’s still unaware of what’s going on. As Mu Qing and Duan Ling share a look with each other, they hear the envoy in the pavilion say, “You’ve got sharp eyes! And it’s been ages since I had a fight too!”

That envoy had once been the last disciple taken in by the top swordsman of Xiyu, Nayantuo. Back when Li Jinahong stabbed Nayantuo through the throat and killed him on the spot, every sword sect of Yulin thought it the greatest humiliation they’d ever faced. But somehow his last disciple had ended up moving to the Yuan empire, and now he’s travelled to Southern Chen as their envoy.

All four assassins could see that the envoy knows martial arts, but Chang Liujun has been working for Mu Kuangda and doesn’t worry about the ongoings among the martial arts sects, while Zheng Yan spends most of his life in the south and has little contact with the Xiyu parts of the world, so the only one who isn’t surprised is Lang Junxia, who was born among the Xianbei. But Wu Du is from the White Tiger Hall, the ancestral clan, and he’s somehow managed to figure out the envoy’s identity through the plain-looking Kunlun jade pendant hanging from his belt.

“If I may be so bold to ask,” Khatanbaatar says, “What is your name, sire?”

“I’m nothing more than a nameless foot soldier who used to work for the late emperor,” Wu Du replies.

“How did you figure out who I am?”

“No more words. Didn’t you want to fight? Let’s have that fight so we can all go home and eat. Why do you talk so much?”

Everyone is laughing again, while Cai Yan quietly thinks to himself how fortunate that Wu Du is around to uncover the envoy’s identity, otherwise they were seriously going to be kept in the dark today — wool over their eyes, entirely unaware of the Mongolians’ intentions.

Khatanbaatar’s sword had already been taken away when he entered the palace, so now he’s unarmed. “Well since today is your crown prince’s birthday, we can’t exactly draw blood. So why don’t we get ourselves some wooden swords? We’ll have plenty of chances to fight in the future.”

Thus Cai Yan sends for wooden swords for the two of them, and a tense atmosphere runs through the spectators once more. The wrestling match they were watching before was seriously boring, and now they’ll get to watch a couple of master martial artists duel instead; the four great assassins have never had a ranking, and none of them admit to being less than the next. It’s rare to see Wu Du initiate a confrontation.

Wu Du and Khatanbaatar each take a wooden sword. Khatanbaatar stares at Wu Du with rapt attention. “Your late emperor’s skills in the martial arts have always been revered, but I wonder how much of it you managed to learn.”

“It’s quite shameful to admit,” Wu Du says casually, his expression plain and calm, and he doesn’t look at all ashamed, “I only followed him for a few days so I didn’t manage to learn anything. Speaking of which — what were Grandmaster Nayantuo’s last words anyway?”

It’s not until these words that Duan Ling realises who Khatanbaatar is. As he’s about to get closer for a better look at his face, a hand comes down on his shoulder and holds him in place — it’s Xie You, who’s been standing behind the two of them all this time listening to the conversation in the garden. Xie You put out a hand to signal him not to go out there.

The wooden sword in Wu Du’s hand is pointing airily at the ground.

Khatanbaatar, on the other hand, is holding his sword in front of him horizontally across his chest like a shield. Everyone in the vicinity is holding their breath.

Suddenly, taking the sword in both hands, Wu Du turns to his side and takes one step forward. The action is slow, but seems to carry an unstoppable force behind it. Khatanbaatar takes one step back, and before their weapons touch, Khatanbaatar is already dragging the sword back towards himself. Wu Du makes another move that takes him outside Duan Ling’s field of vision.

“Wonderful!” Those in the crowd cheer.

Duan Ling is really anxious, but he can’t see; he cranes his neck, trying to get a glimpse. Xie You turns to the side, leaving some room for Duan Ling to get by so he can stand in front of him. As it happens, standing in the spot Xie You has left him, he can just see the duelling pair.

Those are not any moves that Duan Ling has ever seen! Their swords haven’t yet crossed, almost and not quite touching; Khatanbaatar takes a sudden step forward, and with a sideways turn he begins to spin. Wu Du turns in place, and makes a backhanded thrust.

The points of their two swords cross without touching. Whirling around, the ends of their robes ripple in the air while the wooden swords turn into shadows of themselves as they move faster and faster. Wu Du and Khatanbaatar are somehow using the same style of martial arts. Vaguely, Duan Ling gets the feeling that he’s seen it somewhere before. It’s not a fighting skill, however, but another kind of … Sogdian Whirl?

On careful examination, the steps and the paths of their swords seem to bear some resemblance to the Sogdian Whirl that Batu, Helian Bo, and their friends used to dance!2

He sees Wu Du standing tall and lean with a black silk robe fitting well around his chest and waist, each thrust of his sword brimming over with strength, while Khatanbaatar is steady in his manner, and both of them are stepping through the Sogdian Whirl as they attack, withdraw, imbuing each move with rhythm.

When girls are dancing the Sogdian Whirl they seem wild and untrammelled, but when men are the ones dancing it feels ever more masculine, expressing a different kind of beauty.

In another split second they stop at the same time; their wooden swords inevitably and finally collide, each giving off a loud shout, and the swords snap into four segments, falling onto the ground.

It is quiet enough to hear a pin drop. A brief second later, Cai Yan applauds in astonishment, while everyone around them exclaims how wonderful the fight has been.

Wu Du, however, is staring right at Khatanbaatar’s eyes; Khatanbaatar’s gaze is full of shock — he never expected Wu Du to confront him using the exclusive, secret martial arts of his own sect.

Wu Du waits for the cheering to wane before saying, “I could not best you.”

“And neither could I best you,” Khatanbaatar replies, his face ashen.

Wu Du nods and gives Cai Yan another salute. Then he nods at everyone before stepping back into the line of assassins. Khatanbaatar stares at Wu Du for a long time before he returns to his seat.

Looking rather collected, Cai Yan smiles. “If that’s the case, then this is yet another year we’re evenly tied. I’m looking forward to meeting with Batu someday.”

The party trades some more casual pleasantries, and Xie You indicates that Duan Ling and Mu Qing go wait beneath the gallery, so the two can only leave.

Soon enough, the party in the pavilion disperses, and the Mongolian envoy is seen out of the palace. Meanwhile, Cai Yan leaves for the Eastern Palace with Mu Kuangda and the four assassins through the winding gallery.

“I never expected for the envoy to turn out to be Khatanbaatar.” Cai Yan says to the group. “I wonder for what purpose did Borjigin send his best fighter. Wu Du, you know him?”

“My master brought up the Nayantuo clan once. The precursor of the Zhenshanhe used to be held by the Xiongnu, and after the White Tiger Hall’s founder retrieved the four swords and smelted them down into one, he formed this feud with Xiyu that could not be undone. In the White Tiger Hall, there is one ancestral instruction — we must be on guard against the old enemy lest they return with a vengeance. That’s why we were taught the Sogdian Sword Style. Know thy self, know thy enemy; a thousand battles, a thousand victories.”3

Mu Kuangda says cheerfully, “This way, Khatanbaatar must believe we know his swordsmanship through and through, and wouldn’t dare pull any more tricks in Jiangzhou.”

“Certainly.” Wu Du explains to Cai Yan simply, “I had my suspicions before, and I’m afraid it’s because they’re looking for Kublai Khan’s sword of the realm that Khatanbaatar took on this diplomatic mission personally.”

“Father seized it out of Ögedei’s hands,” Cai Yan says, “I lost it after the fall of Shangjing, and now nobody knows where it is. If we do manage to recover it, we’ll have to trade it for the Zhenshanhe with them. But we must not return it to Batu.”

Mu Kuangda meditates on this for a brief moment before he says, “After Kublai Khan’s death, the sword fell into his third son Ögedei’s hands. And now with the clans vying for the right of succession, Borjigin Batu’s father Jochi must have also been pulled into this fight for the throne. At a time like this, whomever recovers Kublai Khan’s sword will gain great prestige from its possession. That is probably the purpose of Khatanbaatar’s trip. We’ll have to discuss this further, so why don’t we …”

Cai Yan says gladly, “This way please, Chancellor Mu. This way please, everyone.”

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

Cai Yan beckons, entering the Eastern Palace with the rest of the literati officials, then he turns back to look at the four assassins. He says to Wu Du, “Wu Du, why don’t you stay in the Eastern Palace tonight? I’d like to have a good chat with you later.”

Once he finishes speaking, he beckons Lang Junxia over. Lang Junxia gives him his ear, Cai Yan whispers several instructions, and Lang Junxia turns to go.

Wu Du doesn’t give Cai Yan an answer, but puts a fist in one hand and salutes. Mu Kuangda, Cai Yan, and the rest of the officials enter the palace hall, while the rest for now disperse.

Wu Du feels extremely uneasy. It’s close to evening already and fragments of snowflakes are fluttering in the wind. Soon, an order comes out of the meeting rooms, telling Wu Du to go to an auxiliary hall to get a cup of hot tea and to rest for now, and that once the meeting is over, someone will be sent to get him.

Outside the imperial gardens, Duan Ling is still deep in thought; Batu must have some secret agenda behind sending out a master martial artist like Khatanbaatar, otherwise an ordinary envoy will do. Also, Batu is aware that Cai Yan is impersonating Duan Ling. Is he holding onto that piece of information and planning to threaten Cai Yan with it, or is he hoping to make some sort of deal with him?

And if Batu exposes him, there will surely be chaos in the imperial court. How risky would it be to use the voice of a foreigner to expose the identity of Great Chen’s crown prince? And will his uncle even believe it?

“Where are you from?” Xie You’s voice brings Duan Ling back to the present. Momentarily lost in the past, Duan Ling feels a bit off balance.

“He’s my study partner.” Mu Qing explains, “He’s Wu Du’s … he’s … at any rate he’s with my household.”

Xie You watches Duan Ling closely, and seconds later, he nods.

“General Xie,” Duan Ling replies, “I’m from Xunbei.”

“I recall that when the Grand Chancellor sent Wu Du to Tongguan, he also brought a young man with him …” Xie You says pensively.

“Yes.” Duan Ling smiles. “That would be me.”

“Well …” Xie You scrutinises Duan Ling, and it seems like he still has more to say, but Mu Qing’s leg is starting to get sore and he shifts his weight to his other leg.

“Your dad’s gone to a meeting. Since you’re already in the palace, you two come with me,” Xie You says to Mu Qing.

Duan Ling’s eyes sweep over the area and incidentally spies Wu Du walking towards them through the gallery, wearing a deep frown, looking for Duan Ling. As soon as they see each other, Wu Du says, displeased, “Didn’t I tell you to stay home and study? Why were you so rash as to come all the way here?”

Duan Ling reflexively tries to hide, but Wu Du gets him by the arm and pulls him to his side. He lectures, “Do you think this is somewhere you’re allowed to be?!”

Mu Qing goes completely dumb on the spot. When he brought Duan Ling to the palace, he was only doing so because he thought it’d be fun. And now he’s run into a whole pile of people, so maybe when he gets back he’s going to get a lecture too.

Duan Ling knows exactly what Wu Du’s doing; this is a good chance for him to lose Xie You, so he stands there obediently without saying a word.

“Yours?” Xie You considers Wu Du.

“Mine,” Wu Du replies coldly.

“You go ahead and collect him then. I’ll take Mu Qing to the empress.”

Wu Du says to Duan Ling with a furrow between his brows. “Get going already!”

Duan Ling immediately does as he says and bows to Xie You, and Wu Du takes him away from there. Only then does Duan Ling let out a breath of relief.

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The Sogdian Whirl. ↩︎

Know thy self, know thy enemy is a Sun Tzu quote. ↩︎