The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 51 Chapter Twenty-Nine: Headmaster Part 1

Linghu Chong walked into the hall where they were praying for the two s.h.i.+ Tai. He knelt in front of the altar with the ashes and the funeral tablet*, and respectfully kowtowed a few times. He inwardly prayed, "As long as Linghu Chong lives, I will carry Heng-Shan School forward with all my heart and might. I won't lose s.h.i.+ Tai's trust in me." Later, he didn't ask to see Great Master Abbot but immediately went out of the temple after parting ways with the welcoming monk.

(*Translator's note: On this tablet is usually written the name of the deceased and his/her t.i.tle.)

When he reached the bottom of the mountain, it was still snowing heavily so he quickly found a farmer's house to stay for the night. At dawn, he continued his journey to the north. When he arrived at a city, he bought a horse to ride on. Everyday, he travelled for around seventy to eighty li and as soon as he stopped by at an inn, he immediately moved his qi according to the method taught by Ren Woxing and slowly unblocked his meridian. After seven days, his left arm was able to move again normally.

One day while he was traveling, he was at a wine shop drinking wine when he noticed people busily walking here and there on the street. Many families were preparing for the New Year and there was an air of happiness around them. Linghu Chong poured himself another drink and thought, "On Huashan, Master-Wife has always led all the martial brothers and sisters in cleaning up, grinding the flour for New Year's cake, managing the New Year's red pockets*, and st.i.tching new gowns. Little martial sister would be cutting many paper-cut window decorations. How lively those New Years were. This year, I'm here all by myself drinking this stuffy wine."

(*Translator's note: Red pocket is a red coloured paper bag that contains money. Usually the elders give this to youngsters. But as soon as you're married, then you're counted as one of the elders and are expected to give out red pockets during the New Year. http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_e…ntent_43896.htm has a paper cut example.)

As he was feeling melancholy, he suddenly heard the sound of people coming up the stairs. One person said, "I'm very thirsty. It wouldn't be bad drinking a few cups here."

Another person said, "If you're not thirsty, could it be that it's bad to drink?"

Another person replied, "Drinking wine is drinking wine, thirsty is thirsty. How can you mix these two matters together?"

Another person added, "The more you drink wine, the thirstier you'll get. Not only you can't mix these two matters together, they're completely different."

When Linghu Chong heard this, he knew that it was the Peach Valley Six Fairies who had just arrived. He felt really happy and shouted, "Six Peach Valley brothers, quickly come up and drink wine together with me."

Suddenly, a 'hu hu' sound reverberated around the room as the Peach Valley Six Fairies flew up the stairs. They rushed at Linghu Chong and grabbed his shoulders and arms. Then one by one called out, "I saw him first." "I grabbed him first." "I spoke first, Master Linghu heard me first." "If I didn't say that I wanted to come here, how could we have met him?"

Linghu Chong felt odd. He laughingly asked, "What tricks are you six playing at?"

Peachtree Flower Fairy went to the wine shop's window and called out loudly, "Young nuns, big nuns, old nuns, not old not young nuns! I, Peachtree Flower Fairy, have found Master Linghu, quickly hand me over the one thousand silver taels."

Peachtree Branch Fairy also went towards the window and called out, "I, Peachtree Branch Fairy, found him first. Big young nuns, quickly give me all the silver."

Peachtree Root Fairy and Peachtree Fruit Fairy each grabbed one of Linghu Chong's arms and shouted, "I found him first!" "It was me! It was me!"

Then, from the end of the street, some female voices called out, "You've found hero Linghu?"

"I found Linghu Chong, quickly hand over the money," Peachtree Fruit Fairy called out.

"One hand gets the money, one hand delivers the goods!" Peachtree Trunk Fairy shouted.

"Right, right! If those small nuns don't want to pay their debts, then we'll hide Linghu Chong away and not give him to them," Peachtree Root Fairy agreed.

Peachtree Branch Fairy asked, "How do we hide him away? Do we shut him off somewhere and don't let those small nuns to meet him?"

There were sounds of people going up the stairs as a few females rushed up. The first person to reach the landing was really a disciple of the Heng-Shan School, Yihe. Behind her were four more nuns and two young ladies, who were Zheng E and Qin Juan. When the seven of them saw Linghu Chong, their faces filled with happiness. Some were calling him 'hero Linghu', some were calling 'big brother Linghu', and there were also some who called him 'Master Linghu'. Peachtree Trunk Fairy and his brothers extended their arms to block the path to Linghu Chong. "If you don't give us the thousand silver taels, then we won't deliver the goods."

Linghu Chong laughingly said, "Peach Valley Six brothers, how did these one thousand silver taels come about?"

Peachtree Branch Fairy answered, "We met them just before and they asked me whether I've seen you or not. I said that temporarily I haven't met you yet, but we met you not long after that."

Qin Juan said, "This uncle is lying. He said: 'I haven't. Linghu Chong's feet are alive so it's most likely that he's at the end of the earth now. How could we have met him?'"

"Wrong, wrong. We had the foresight already that we were going to meet Linghu Chong here," Peachtree Flower Fairy disagreed.

Peachtree Trunk Fairy added, "That's right! Otherwise, why would we come here and not somewhere else?"

Linghu Chong laughed. "I've guessed it. These martial sisters are looking for me so they entrusted the six of you to help them look for me. Then you said that you wanted one thousand silver taels, isn't that right?"

"We asked for one thousand silver taels. We know it's an exorbitant price. But if they could do business, then it must be worth it. Who knew that they're very generous, this middle-aged nun said: 'Alright, once you've succeeded in finding hero Linghu, we'll give you one thousand silver taels.' Are these words true?" Peachtree Trunk Fairy explained.

Yihe answered, "Correct. Once they found hero Linghu, then Heng-Shan School will give them one thousand silver taels." Six palms immediately shot out and the Peach Valley Six Fairies said at the same time, "Hand it over."

"We're Buddhists. Why would we carry so much silver on us? I'd like to bother the six of you to go to Heng-Shan to fetch it," Yihe said.

She reasoned that the Peach Valley Six Fairies wouldn't want to be troubled. Who would've thought that they would think it over and answered at the same time, "Very well, we'll go up Heng-Shan with you to avoid you not paying your debt."

Linghu Chong laughingly said, "Congratulations on becoming rich and selling me at such a great price."

The Peach Valley Six Fairies' orange-like faces were full of happiness. They cupped their hands and said, "Thank you, thank you! It's our luck, our luck!"

But Yihe and the other six women became grieved and they knelt towards Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong was surprised. "Why is everyone giving me such a big propriety?" and he hastily returned their propriety.

"We pay our respect to Headmaster," Yihe said.

"So you already knew? Please quickly get up."

"Yeah, it's not convenient talking while kneeling on the ground," Peachtree Root Fairy said.

Linghu Chong stood up and said, "Six Peach brothers, Heng-Shan School and I have a few important matters we have to discuss. Please drink wine on the side and don't bother us, otherwise you might not be getting your one thousand silver taels." Originally, the Peach Valley Six Fairies wanted to annoy them. But hearing that last sentence, they quickly shut up and walked to the table besides the window. They then ordered some wine and dishes.

Yihe and the other disciples stood up. As they thought of Dingxian and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai dying miserably, they couldn't help crying sorrowfully.

Peachtree Flower Fairy interrupted, "Yi, strange, strange, how come you're crying suddenly? If you are crying after seeing Linghu Chong, then it's better not to have seen him then."

Linghu Chong glared angrily towards him. Frightened, Peachtree Flower Fairy quickly put his hand on his mouth.

Yihe was still crying as she said, "That day big brother Linghu… no, Headmaster, you went ash.o.r.e to drink wine but didn't come back to the boat. Later on, Hengshan School's martial uncle Mo Da came and told us that you've gone to Shaolin temple to meet martial uncle Abbess and Master. We consulted with each other and decided that it's better for us to go to Shaolin temple to meet with all of you. But we didn't expect to meet many Jianghu heroes on the way, and we heard them talking pa.s.sionately about how you led a group of heroes to attack Shaolin temple, and how the thousands of monks from Shaolin temple ran away. There was a person with a big head with short and plump body. He said his surname was Old. He said… he said that martial uncle Abbess and Master were killed in the Shaolin temple. Before martial uncle Abbess pa.s.sed away, she wanted you… wanted you to take over the Headmaster position of Heng-Shan and that you've agreed to it. These words were already heard by a lot of people… " She said till here and started to sob uncontrollably. The remaining six disciples also started to weep.

Linghu Chong sighed. "It's true that Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai really put this heavy responsibility on my shoulder. But I'm just a young man and my reputation is really poor, and everyone already knows that I'm a loafer of poor character. How can I be the Headmaster of the Heng-Shan School? But it was just that the situation at that time forced me to agree. If I didn't agree, then Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai would've died with an unfulfilled wish. Ai, this is a very difficult matter."

"We… we all hope that you… hope that you come and take up the leaders.h.i.+p of the Heng-Shan family," Yihe pleaded.

Zheng E reasoned, "Martial uncle Headmaster, you've led us going in and out of dangers, and you've also rescued many of the disciples' lives more than once. All the disciples of the Heng-Shan School already know that you're an upright gentleman. Even though you're a man, our school has no regulation that doesn't allow a man to be the Headmaster."

A middle-aged nun called Yiwen added, "When we heard the news of Master and Martial Uncle's deaths, we all felt very sad. But when we found out that Martial Uncle Headmaster is coming to take over the leaders.h.i.+p of the school, we all felt really comforted as Heng-Shan School wouldn't be destroyed."

Yihe said, "My master and my two martial uncles were killed by someone. Heng-Shan School's three elders of the 'Ding' generation have successively died within these several months yet we don't know who the murderers are. Martial Uncle Headmaster, you becoming the Headmaster is the best thing possible. If you weren't our headmaster, then we would never be able to avenge our three elders."

Linghu Chong nodded his head and said, "I take full responsibility for avenging the death of the three s.h.i.+ Tai."

Qin Juan said, "You're already been driven out from Huashan School; so now you can be Heng-Shan School's Headmaster. West mountain or north mountain, we're on par with one another in Wulin. When you meet Mr. Yue in the future, you won't need to call him master anymore. At most, you call him Brother Yue."

Linghu Chong only smiled bitterly. He thought, "I don't have anymore face to meet this Brother Yue."

Zheng E said, "After we heard of this sad news, we doubled our effort to get to the Shaolin temple. On the way we met with Martial Uncle Mo Da again. He told us that you're not in the temple anymore but he wanted us to quickly look for you, Martial Uncle Headmaster."

Qin Juan continued the story, "Martial Uncle Mo Da said that the sooner we find you the better it would be. If we were late for a step then you may have been persuaded to enter the Devil Sect. The orthodox and the demonical cannot mix like that of water and fire. Heng-Shan School would then have no more Headmaster."

Zheng E glared at her and said, "Martial sister Qin talks without thinking. How can Martial Uncle Headmaster join the Devil Sect?"

"Yes, but Martial Uncle Mo Da really did say this," Qin Juan replied.

Linghu Chong thought, "Martial Uncle Mo Da is very concerned about this matter. Even though I didn't join the Sun Moon Sect, I very nearly did. That day, if Chief Ren didn't tempt me with the secret of the internal art, and if he had actually asked me sincerely and earnestly to join the sect, it would've been a very difficult decision for me. Also, considering Yingying's and big brother Xiang's parts in asking me, I might have immediately pledged my oath after attending to Heng-Shan School's big matter." He then said, "That's why you offered one thousand silver taels for the capture of Linghu Chong?"

Qin Juan broke from her tears and smiled. "Capture Linghu Chong? How could we dare?"

Zheng E said, "After everyone heard Martial Uncle Mo Da's instruction, we divided into groups of seven to look for Martial Uncle Headmaster, and to ask you to come up to Heng-Shan to handle the school's responsibilities. Today, when we met the Peach Valley Six Fairies, they asked for one thousand silver taels. To look for Martial Uncle Headmaster, don't mention one thousand silver taels, even if it were ten thousand silver taels, we would think of a way to give it to them."

Linghu Chong smiled. "There's no benefit for you when I become your Headmaster. But your skill in getting alms from corrupt officials, village bosses, and greedy rich people will surely advance by a lot." The seven disciples thought of that day in Fujian when they asked for alms from White Peeling Leather. Their sadness was slightly relieved and they all broke into smiles. "Alright, don't worry everyone. Linghu Chong already promised Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai so I can't just disregard what I said. I'll definitely become your Headmaster. We'll eat till we're full then we'll go up Heng-Shan." The seven disciples all rejoiced when they heard this.

Linghu Chong then drank some wine together with the Peach Valley Six Fairies. He asked the six of them what they wanted to use one thousand silver taels for. Peachtree Root Fairy answered, "Night Cat Ji Wus.h.i.+ is extremely poor. If he didn't have one thousand silver taels, he wouldn't be able to live from day to day, so we promised to give him our help as best as we can."

Peachtree Trunk Fairy added, "That day inside the Shaolin temple, we brothers made a bet with Ji Wus.h.i.+…"

Peachtree Flower Fairy interrupted, "Of course Ji Wus.h.i.+ lost. How could this little kid win from us brothers?"

But Linghu Chong thought, "You made a bet with Ji Wus.h.i.+, of course the one who lost is you guys." He asked, "What did you bet on?"

Peachtree Fruit Fairy answered, "The matter we bet on concerns you. We guessed that you surely won't become Heng-Shan School's Headmaster, no… no… we guessed that you'll surely become Heng-Shan School's Headmaster."

Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "Night Cat guessed that you surely won't become Heng-Shan School's Headmaster. We then said, gentleman's words must be believed. You already promised that old nun to become Heng-Shan School's Headmaster. The world's heroes have already heard what you said, how could you deny it?"

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Night Cat said, Linghu Chong is loitering around Jianghu and soon he will take Devil Sect's Sacred Lady as his wife. Why does he want to chit chat with some old and young nuns?"

Linghu Chong thought, "Night Cat reveres Yingying completely. How can it be possible that he said 'Devil Sect'? It must be the Peach Valley Six Fairies who inverted their story telling." He then said, "So then you gambled one thousand silver taels on this?"

Peachtree Root Fairy replied, "Right, at that time, we were certain that we're going to win. Ji Wus.h.i.+ then said that this one thousand silver taels must be earned honestly and we can't steal it off people. We told him of course, would Peach Valley Six Fairies rob people?"

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "Today, we met several of these nuns while they're looking for you. They said that they want to invite you to become Heng-Shan School's Headmaster. We agreed to help look for you for the cost of one thousand silver taels."

Linghu Chong smiled and said, "You felt pitiful when you thought that Night Cat would lose one thousand silver taels to you. That's why you wanted to earn one thousand silver taels to give to him, so that he could give this to you when he loses?"

Peach Valley Six Fairies answered at the same time, "That's right, that's right. Your prediction is really accurate."

Peachtree Leaf Fairy added, "Compared to our prediction skill, your prediction skill doesn't lack by too much."

Afterwards, Linghu Chong and his party set out to Heng-Shan. On the day they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain, the disciples from the school were respectfully waiting at the foot of the mountain as they had received a message about the arrival. They quickly paid their respects to Linghu Chong when they saw him. Linghu Chong hastily returned their propriety. He told them how Dingxian and Dingyi s.h.i.+ Tai pa.s.sed away, and all of them felt grieved. Linghu Chong saw Yilin amongst the rest of the disciples. She seemed to be looking feeble and much thinner since the last time he saw her. He asked, "Martial sister Yilin, you've been unwell recently?"

Both of Yilin's eyes were red as she answered, "It's nothing." After a moment, she continued, "You're our headmaster now, so you can't call me martial sister anymore."

On their way to the mountain, Yihe and the rest of the disciples all called Linghu Chong as 'Martial Uncle Headmaster'. He kept telling everyone not to call him that but none of them agreed. After hearing Yilin telling him not to call her 'Martial Sister', he said in a clear voice, "Martial sisters, Linghu Chong is taking the leaders.h.i.+p of the Heng-Shan School's family because of the former Abbess's order. Actually, I don't have the virtue or ability to do this job; I really don't deserve it."

All the disciples replied, "It's actually the fortune of this school that Martial Uncle Headmaster is willing to take on this heavy responsibility."

"Then everyone must promise me one thing," Linghu Chong answered.

Yihe and the rest of the disciples said, "We would never disobey Headmaster's order."

"I'm only becoming your Martial Brother Headmaster, not your Martial Uncle Headmaster," Linghu Chong told them.

Yihe, Yiqing, Yizhen, Yiwen, and the rest of the older disciples consulted with each other and then reported back, "Headmaster is very modest, we'll obey your order."

Linghu Chong happily said, "That's very good."

Then they all went up the Heng-Shan mountain together. The summit of Heng-Shan was very tall. Even though everyone was walking really quickly, it still took them half a day to reach the Xianxing Peak after seeing it from afar. The main convent of the Heng-Shan School was the Wuse convent, which was a really small convent, while the other convent had more than thirty stone houses where the disciples resided in. Linghu Chong saw that the Wuse Convent only consisted of two rooms; one at the front and the other in the back. Compared to the grand temple of Shaolin, it was like comparing an ant to an elephant.

When he arrived inside the convent, he saw a statue of the G.o.ddess of Mercy Guanyin. The inside of the convent was spotlessly clean and everything was arranged simply. He never thought that Heng-Shan School with such an earth-shattering name in Jianghu, would have such a plain convent. After paying his respect to the Guanyin deity, Yu Sao led him to Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai's meditation place, but he saw the four walls were dull and there was only an old putuan on the floor. Besides that, there was nothing else. Linghu Chong loved liveliness, drinking, and eating. How could he possibly stay in that quiet and calm room to meditate? If he took wine, dog meat or any meat in general into the room to eat and drink, then that would be too impolite towards everyone there. He then asked Yu Sao, "Even though I'm the headmaster of Heng-Shan School, I'm not a Buddhist and I'm also not a nun. The disciples of the school are all women while I'm a man; so living inside the convent isn't appropriate. Please give me and the Peach Valley Six Fairies an empty and far away house to live in. Then that'll be appropriate."

Yu Sao said, "Yes. The west peak has three big houses. They're originally guest houses, which we offered to the parents of the school's disciples whenever they come for a visit. If they're acceptable to Headmaster then Headmaster can stay there temporarily while we build a new residence for Headmaster."

Linghu Chong happily replied, "It's already good that there's a house; why do you need to build a new house?", while he thought in his heart, "Could it be that I'll be Heng-Shan School's headmaster for the rest of my life? Once I've found a suitable person from the school to whom all the disciples will submit to, then I'll pa.s.s on this headmaster position to her. Then I'll pat my b.u.t.tocks and travel around Jianghu leisurely and happily."

When he arrived at the house on the west peak, he saw the bed, mattress, chair, and the rest of the things resembled that of a rich farmer's house. Even though they were still simple and humble, they didn't appear as dull as in the convent. Yu Sao said, "Headmaster, please sit. I'll go and get you some wine."

Linghu Chong was happily surprised, "There's wine on this mountain?"

Yu Sao smiled and said, "Not only do we have wine, we have good wine here. When little martial sister Yilin heard that Headmaster is coming up Heng-Shan, she told me that if we don't have good wine, then she's afraid that you won't be headmaster for long. On that same night, we sent people to go down the mountain to buy many jars of good wine."

Linghu Chong felt embarra.s.sed. He smiled and said, "Everyone worked so hard and spent so much money because of me. I don't think that's justified."

Yiqing smiled. "That day we got a lot of silver from White Peeling Leather. Even though we give half of it to the poor, we still have plenty remaining. Also, we already sold those government horses for some money. So Martial Brother Headmaster can drink for ten years or twenty years, we'll have enough money to buy wine." That night, Linghu Chong and Peach Valley Six Fairies drank to their hearts' content.

The next morning, he consulted with Yu Sao, Yiqing, Yihe and the other disciples on how to welcome the ashes of the two s.h.i.+ Tai and how to avenge the three s.h.i.+ Tai.

Yiqing said, "Martial Brother Headmaster has now taken the post of headmaster. So we must announce this to all the orthodox people of Wulin, and we must also dispatch people to tell the Five Mountains Sword Schools' Chief, Martial Uncle Zuo."

Yihe indignantly said, "Pei, my master was killed by these traitors from Songshan School. The two martial uncles were most likely killed by them as well. What do we tell them for?"

Yiqing replied, "We mustn't lack any propriety. Wait until we have investigated this clearly. If the three honourables were really killed by Songshan School, then at that time, Martial Brother Headmaster will lead us to confront them about their sin."

Linghu Chong nodded his head. "What martial sister Yiqing said is true. But regarding the position of Headmaster, let me just do the job; there's no need for any celebration." He remembered the time when Master became the leader of Huashan. He was still very young at that time, and he recalled that there were so many formal celebrations. There were also numerous people from Wulin of the orthodox path who came up the mountain to congratulate his master and attend the ceremonies. He also remembered how the city of Hengshan was completely filled by many heroes for Hengshan School's Liu Zhengfeng's 'Gold Basin Hand Was.h.i.+ng' ceremony.

Heng-Shan, Huashan, and Hengshan schools all had the same reputation. If there weren't many people turning up at the ceremony to congratulate him for taking up the Headmaster position, then it would be very humiliating. Even if there were many people attending, it is most likely for them to laugh at him for taking up the leaders.h.i.+p of a group of nuns. Yiqing understood his heart so she said, "Since Martial Brother Headmaster doesn't want to alarm the friends in Wulin, we wouldn't invite guests to come up the mountain to attend the ceremony. But we must decide on a day for Headmaster to officially take up the position so that we can officially inform everyone."

Linghu Chong felt that if he took up the headmaster position of the Heng-Shan School too carelessly, it would damage Heng-Shan School's prestige and reputation since Heng-Shan is one of the five mountains sword schools. So he nodded his head agreeing to Yiqing.

Yiqing took up a calendar and perused it for some time. She then said, "Sixteenth of the second month, eight of the third month, twenty seventh of the third month, these three days are lucky days. Martial Brother Headmaster, have a look, which day is suitable?" Linghu Chong had never believed in any lucky or unlucky days. All he thought about in his heart was that the earlier the ceremony was, then the less people there would be to take part in the ceremony, and he would be able to avoid much embarra.s.sment. So he said, "Is there any good days for this month?"

Yiqing answered, "There are actually many good days during this month. But they're all for going on a journey, breaking the ground*, wedding, opening a business, and others like that. It's not until the second month that there are good days for 'receiving seal and taking up office'."

(*Translator's note: Breaking the ground means to start a building project)

Linghu Chong smiled. "I'm not taking up a government position so it's not really receiving a seal."

Yihe laughed. "Weren't you a general before? Becoming a headmaster is also receiving a seal."

Linghu Chong didn't want to brush away their ideas so he said, "Since it's like that, then make it the sixteenth of the second month."

Afterwards, they immediately sent disciples separately: to Shaolin temple to take back the two s.h.i.+ Tai's ashes, and to other schools to give notifications. He told all the disciples who were going down the mountain not to publicly announce this matter. He also said, "You must report to the headmaster of each school that we haven't avenged Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai's death yet and that the disciples of Heng-Shan School are still in mourning, so there won't be any grand ceremony for the taking up of the headmaster's office. Please ask them not to send anyone to attend the ceremony."

After he talked to the departing disciples, Linghu Chong thought, "Since I'm now the headmaster of Heng-Shan, I must carefully research the sword art of the Heng-Shan School." He gathered the remaining disciples and tested each of their sword art from the basic introductory level martial art to the highest Heng-Shan sword art styles, which was displayed by Yihe and Yiqing, two of the oldest disciples. Linghu Chong saw that the Heng-Shan School's sword art was defensively very tight, and the killing moves were frequently aimed at spots where other people least expected. However, it did not have enough swiftness or ferociousness. These martial arts were really suitable for women. All the previous master generations of Heng-Shan School had all been women, so their martial arts weren't as powerful or fierce like the ones that men used. But Heng-Shan School's sword art could be said to be one of the sword arts with the least amount of flaws in them. If speaking about their defence, they were just slightly below Wudang School's 'Taiji Sword Art'. But talking about how they could suddenly attack, these sword arts were above 'Taiji Sword Art'. Heng-Shan School was one of the most outstanding schools in Wulin, so it had its own unique skills.

In his mind, he carefully went over the drawings engraved on the cave wall on Huashan. There were some Heng-Shan School's sword arts drawn there, which had wonderful variations, and were far above the sword art that Yihe and Yiqing were using. Even though this set of sword art had been defeated by other people, if in the future Heng-Shan School wanted to be glorious in Wulin, then its basic skills needed to be improved. He also thought of the time he saw Dingjing s.h.i.+ Tai fighting with other people. Her internal energy was abundant and her moves were fierce. She was really very far above Yihe and the other disciples. He had also heard that Dingxian s.h.i.+ Tai's martial art was even higher. It seemed that the three senior s.h.i.+ Tai had not imparted a great deal of their martial art to their disciples yet. When the three s.h.i.+ Tai had successively pa.s.sed away in the last several months, many of Heng-Shan School's wonderful martial art had possibly been lost forever.

Yihe saw him without any expressions on his face and noticed that he didn't comment on any of the disciples' sword arts. So she said, "Martial brother Headmaster, you must be looking down on our sword art, please give us some advice."

Taking the sword from Yihe's hand, Linghu Chong replied, "There's this set of Heng-Shan School's sword art; I don't know if the three s.h.i.+ Tai had imparted it to you or not?" and started to show the Heng-Shan School's sword art engraved on the cave wall. He was doing the moves really slowly to let the disciples see it clearly. After a few moves, all the disciples started cheering. They saw that each move of his still contained the basic essence of Heng-Shan's sword art, but the variations were wonderful. They didn't know just how much higher in level this set was when compared to each of the sets they had learnt in the past. Everyone was looking at each move enthusiastically and they felt pleased seeing it. The engraving of this set of sword moves on the cave wall was dead, so when Linghu Chong was using it, he linked them up one by one. In between each move, it was unavoidable that he had to add some of his idea into it. When he finally finished showing them this set of sword art, all the disciples cheered and they all bowed saluting him.

Yihe said, "Martial brother Headmaster, this is clearly our Heng-Shan School's sword art, but we've never seen it before. I'm afraid even my master and the two martial uncles didn't know about this sword art. Where did you learn it?"

Linghu Chong answered, "I saw it on a mountain cave wall. If you were willing to learn it, then how about if I imparted this sword art to you?" All the disciples were happy to hear this and they thanked him. That day Linghu Chong imparted three moves to them. He explained the intricacies of those three moves clearly and personally conducted the drills.

Even though it was only three moves from the sword art, these three moves were extremely profound and deep. Even the brightest and the most skilled disciples such as Yihe and Yiqing took seven to eight days to learn it. When it came to Zheng E, Yilin, Qin Juan, and the others, it was even more difficult for them to comprehend it. After nine days, Linghu Chong imparted two more moves to them. There were not many moves in this set of sword arts engraved on the cave wall. But they had actually spent more than one month before they completed rudimentary training. As to the mastery of this sword art, it depended on each person's ability and comprehension.

After more than a month, the disciples who were sent as emissaries started to return from their trip one by one, and for the most part, they didn't look pleased at all. They were afraid to talk when they reported to Linghu Chong. He knew for sure without asking that they had been ridiculed as a group of nuns wanting a man to be their headmaster. All he could do was console them with words. Then he asked them to separately learn from their martial sisters the sword art he had imparted to them. If there were anything they weren't clear about, then he would personally advise them.

Two experienced disciples, Yu Sao and Yiwen were sent to Huashan to deliver the epistle. The distance between Heng-Shan and Huashan wasn't that far, so they should have returned much earlier. Even when all the disciples who went to the south had returned, Yu Sao and Yiwen still hadn't come back yet. As they neared the sixteenth of the second month, the day for taking office, and still hadn't seen any sign of Yu Sao and Yiwen, they sent two more disciples, Yiguang and Yis.h.i.+, to go to their aid.

The disciples did not antic.i.p.ate any sect or school sending anyone to attend the ceremony, so they didn't prepare any lodging or food for guests. However, everyone had earlier weeded the ground, swept all the rooms clean, and sewn new gowns and shoes to wear. Zheng E and some disciples had sewn a black gown for Linghu Chong to wear for this day. Heng-Shan was the north mountain among the five mountains and the colour of their uniform was black.

On the morning of the sixteenth of the second month, when Linghu Chong got out after getting out of bed, he saw lamps and festoons hanging from the top of each house, showing the day's happy occasion. Seeing the care and dedication that went into making each of the decoration and securely arranging them, Linghu Chong again felt ashamed, but he also felt appreciation towards them. He thought, "The two s.h.i.+ Tai died tragically because of me, but they didn't blame me for it. Instead, they gave much regards to me. If Linghu Chong couldn't avenge the three s.h.i.+ Tai then I'll be a useless person."

Suddenly, he heard someone shouting from behind the corner of the mountain, "A'lin, A'lin, your dad has come to look at you. Are you well? A'lin, your dad's here." His voice was booming, shaking the valley, and before the echo had finished, he again shouted, "A'lin… A'lin… your dad…" Yilin had already heard his voice so she quickly got out of the convent and called out, "Dad, dad!" Then from around the corner of the mountain, a tall and strong monk emerged. It was really Yilin's father, Monk No Commandment, and there was also another monk behind him. The two of them were walking really fast and in a short time had reached the convent. Monk No Commandment loudly exclaimed, "Master Linghu, you didn't die from your heavy injuries, and now you're going to become my daughter's headmaster. That's very good!"

Linghu Chong smiled. "This is thanks to Great Master."

Yilin walked up to her father and lovingly pulled on his arm. She smiled, "Dad, you know today is the day that big brother Linghu officially takes up office as the headmaster of Heng-Shan School. Did you come here to congratulate him?"

No Commandment laughed. "There's no need for congratulation. I'm here to join the Heng-Shan School. Everyone is from the same school, what's there to congratulate?"

Linghu Chong was startled and he quickly asked, "Great Master wants to join Heng-Shan School?"

No Commandment answered, "Yeah. My daughter is in Heng-Shan School. I'm her old man, so naturally I'm also in the Heng-Shan School. His granny, I heard everyone ridiculing you. They're saying that you're a man but you want to become the headmaster of a bunch of nuns and young ladies. His granny, they didn't know that you're full of pa.s.sion and righteousness. The mind…" His eyebrows turned into a smile and it appeared that he was really happy. He looked at his daughter and said, "Old man punched that guy's mouth and broke all his teeth. I shouted to him, "You little kid knows fart! How can everyone in Heng-Shan School be all nuns and young ladies? Old man is from Heng-Shan School, even though old man has a s.h.i.+ny head, do you think I'm a nun? I'm going to pull my pants down to give you a look!" So I pulled my pants down but this kid fell down and then ran away. Haha, haha!" Linghu Chong and Yilin both laughed freely when they heard this.

Yilin smiled. "Dad, you're so crude in doing things. You're also not afraid of people laughing at you!"

No Commandment replied, "If I didn't let him look clearly, then this kid still wouldn't know whether I'm a nun or a monk. Brother Linghu, I've joined the Heng-Shan School. I've also brought this grand disciple along. Cannot Have No Commandment, quickly greet Headmaster Linghu."

While Monk No Commandment was speaking, the monk following him had his back turned towards them for the whole time, not willing to look at Linghu Chong or Yilin. As he turned around, his face was full of embarra.s.sment. He looked at Linghu Chong and smiled slightly. Linghu Chong felt that this monk looked familiar but he couldn't figure out who he was. Then, he was startled as he unexpectedly recognised the Ten Thousand Miles Loner Tian Boguang. He was totally amazed and blurted out, "It's… it's Brother Tian?"

That monk was really Tian Boguang. He smiled bitterly then bowed towards Yilin. "Greet… greeting Master."

Yilin was also very surprised. "How… how did you become a Buddhist? Is it a disguise?"

Great Master No Commandment was feeling proud of himself and he laughingly answered, "This is the real thing and he's not deceiving anyone here. He had really become a monk. Cannot Have No Commandment, tell your master what your Buddhist name is."

Tian Boguang smiled bitterly and said, "Master, grand Martial Master gave me a Buddhist name called 'Cannot Have No Commandment'."

Yilin asked strangely, "What 'Cannot Have No Commandment'? How can there be such a long name?"

Her father replied, "What do you know? In Buddhist scripture, what does it matter how long the Buddha's name is! 'Buddha of Compa.s.sion and Sorrow Helps the Distressed and Watches the World's Voice', isn't that name long? 'Cannot Have No Commandment' only has four words in his name, how can that be long?"

Yilin nodded. "So that's how it is. How did he become a Buddhist? Dad, was it you who took him as your disciple?"

No Commandment answered, "No. He's your disciple; I'm his grand martial grandpa. But you're only a little nun and since he had already paid his respect to take you as his master, if he didn't become a monk, then he would've ruined the good name of Heng-Shan School. That's why I advised him to become a monk."

Yilin laughingly said, "What do you mean advised him? Dad, you must've forced him to become a Buddhist, didn't you?"
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"He voluntarily did it; you can't force someone to become a Buddhist. Whatever goodness this person has, there's an equal amount of badness in him. That's why I gave him the Buddhist name of 'Cannot Have No Commandment'."

Yilin's face became slightly red as she understood the meaning behind her father's words. This Tian Boguang was a very lecherous person and he was somehow captured by her father in the past. At that time, his life was spared but a lot of strange punishments were heaped on him. This time, it seemed that he had been forced to become a monk.

Then No Commandment continued, "My Buddhist name is No Commandment, so I don't adhere to any rules or commandments. But this Tian Boguang has committed a lot of bad things in Jianghu. If he didn't abstain from committing more of these piles of misdemeanours, how can he be under your school and become your disciple? Master Linghu wouldn't have liked this also. In the future, he's going to receive my alms bowl; that's why his name also has the words 'No Commandment'."

They suddenly heard a person said, "Monk No Commandment and Monk Cannot Have No Commandment are both joining the Heng-Shan School. The Peach Valley Six Fairies are also going to join Heng-Shan School."

The Peach Valley Six Fairies had come and the one who spoke just then was Peachtree Trunk Fairy.

Peachtree Root Fairy said, "We were the first people to see Linghu Chong, so the six of us are big martial brothers, while Monk No Commandment is little martial brother."

Linghu Chong thought, "Since there are Great Master No Commandment and Tian Boguang in Heng-Shan School already, there's no harm in accepting the Peach Valley Six Fairies as well. This way, it'll remove those talks in Jianghu about Linghu Chong becoming the headmaster of a group of nuns and young ladies." He then said, "Peachtree Six brothers are willing to enter the Heng-Shan School, then that's really good then. But it's very troublesome to arrange the seniority order one by one so it's better if we just leave it alone!"

Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "No Commandment's disciple is called Cannot Have No Commandment. When in the future, Cannot Have No Commandment accepts a disciple, what will his Buddhist name be?"

Peachtree Fruit Fairy answered, "Cannot Have No Commandment's disciple's Buddhist name must also have the words 'Cannot Have No Commandment'. He can be called, 'Without Doubt Cannot Have No Commandment'."

Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Then the disciple of 'Without Doubt Cannot Have No Commandment'; what would his Buddhist name be?"

Linghu Chong saw Tian Boguang's plight so he took his arm and led him away. "I have a few words to ask you."

"Alright," Tian Boguang answered.

The two of them quickened their steps and moved tens of feet away. But behind them, they still heard Peachtree Trunk Fairy saying, "His Buddhist name can be 'With Reason and Without Doubt Cannot Have No Commandment'."

Peachtree Flower Fairy added, "Then how about disciple of 'With Reason and Without Doubt Cannot Have No Commandment'? What would his Buddhist name be?"

Tian Boguang smiled bitterly and said, "Headmaster Linghu, that day I was forced by Grand Martial Master to go to Huashan to invite you to come and see the little s.h.i.+ Tai. But there's a long story behind that."

Linghu Chong said, "I know that he forced you to take a poison, and he also tricked you by saying that he'd already sealed your death acupoint."

"I've already told you about that before. That day in the courtyard of the Jade House, I fought with that shorty Yu. After that, I thought about it and decided that there were too many heroes from the orthodox path for me to stay there for long. So I went north towards Hunan. I'm ashamed to talk about those days. My shortcoming became visible not long after. In Kaifeng prefecture, I sneaked into the room of a rich family's young lady in the middle of the night. I lifted the mosquito net and extended my hands to cop a feel, but I unexpectedly felt a bald head instead."

Linghu Chong laughed and said, "So to your surprise, she's a nun."

Tian Boguang smiled bitterly. "No, it was a monk."