Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Dog Butcher couldn’t go to the Four Noble Truths Temple, but he didn’t want to return to the army camp of the Dragon King either. He sat on his horse and watched the snowy wilderness as well as the distant mountains for quite a while. It suddenly struck him that this trip of his had not been in vain.
It was destined that only a very small number of people would become legends in Jianghu. Ignoring the exaggerated ones, true legends were even fewer.
‘The Dragon King counts as one of them,’ Dog Butcher thought. But the Dragon King was under huge pressure because of it, and he had to pay an unimaginable high price. After thinking of this, Dog Butcher felt that everything was very fair.
The clatter of horse’s hooves was heard. Dog Butcher thought that it would be a soldier of a certain army on patrol, but when he turned his head around, he saw a riderless horse back. He looked more carefully and then realized that Old Man Mu was the rider.
Old Man Mu could also count as a legend. Back then, he had been notorious in the Norland and the Western Regions for killing innocent people indiscriminately, which made him someone Dog Butcher was even less willing to imitate.
“Hey, Old Dog, what are you standing around here for?”
“No–Nothing,” Dog Butcher answered perfunctory. If he told Old Man Mu the truth, then he would surely laugh at him for the next few days.
Old Man Mu reined the horse back and then moved his right leg to the left side of the horse to sit on it laterally. “Good. Actually, I’ve come back specially for you.”
“Does the Dragon King need my help?” Dog Butcher was somewhat excited.
“Ha-ha, of course not. The Dragon King was born to be a loner. Even if he wants your help, he will make it seem like it’s your own business. But the reason why I’ve come back does have something to do with the Dragon King. I heard that a camel came here from the Central Plains. I’m a little curious about it.”
“It’s not a camel, but the Hedong Luo Village, which is very famous in both Jianghu and the Imperial Court. Do you still remember that swordsman in white clothes whose name was Luo Qibai? Luo Qikang is his elder brother. People call him the First Sword of the Luo Family. There are also some others who call him ‘The Sword of the Emperor.’”
“The kung fu skills of you Central-Plains guys are just average, but your nicknames are so fancy. Let me ask you something. Why is he called ‘The Sword of the Emperor?’ Don’t think that I’ve never read the book, Zhuang Zi . ‘The Sword of the Emperor,’ with… what’s-its-name as its blade and… something as its edge. Well, he swings it at a cloud in the sky and then slashes it at a rock on the ground… Er, the author Zhuangzi was from the Central Plains, and he was really good at bragging.”
Old Man Mu was deviating further and further from the point. Dog Butcher smiled and shook his head. “It has nothing to do with that. There are too many kung fu celebrities in the martial arts world of the Central Plains – hundreds of thousands of them actually. And Luo Qikang is the only one who once displayed his swordsmanship in front of the Emperor and acquired his compliments. That’s why he is called ‘The Sword of the Emperor.’”
“Isn’t the Emperor of the Central Plains only a teenager? What does he know about swordsmanship?”
“Not the incumbent Emperor. The former one. The former Emperor liked sabers and swords a lot and he was a master himself, which was why he had great discernment.”
Old Man Mu curled his lip, “So Central Plainsmen not only like to brag, but they also like to fawn. This is the Western Regions, and it’s hundreds of thousands of miles away from your former Emperor. No matter how loudly you fawn on him, he can’t hear it in the underworld.”
Dog Butcher had gotten used to Old Man Mu’s sarcastic ridicule. Speaking of bragging and fawning, among all the people he had met, none of them were better at these two things than Old Man Mu was. So, he smiled. “It’s just a Jianghu nickname. There’s no need to take it seriously.”
“I won’t take it seriously. I just want to ask you something else. Both of us once saw the Dragon King and Lotus cooperate with each other and beat the shit out of that ‘white camel.’ Do you think this ‘Kang camel’ stands a chance?”
This was the very question that Dog Butcher had been pondering. The Dragon King’s sabersmanship was incredible and he had defeated opponents more powerful than him many times. But his strength had its own limit, and he couldn’t radically change his combat style. “I don’t know,” Dog Butcher answered honestly. “but if he fights him today without Lotus by his side… then I’m afraid he’s no match for Luo Qikang.”
“Nonsense. The Dragon King will never have a fair kung fu competition with him. He will surely walk up to him and say with a big smile, ‘so you’re the renowned ‘The Sword of the Emperor.’ I’m honored to meet you. Alas, look at your sword. I can tell that it’s no common sword just from its sight. And look at your face. Wow, you’re a genius among genius. I heard that your mother gave birth to a second son who looked very much like me.’ And then with a ‘Puh,’ the Dragon King will kill him with a single saber strike.”
This was a despicable method that only Old Man Mu would stoop to, but Dog Butcher understood the connotation of his words, and it was also what he had been wondering about – were those profound martial arts moves of prestigious sects really better than the pragmatic Jianghu techniques?
“Luo Qikang is not that easy to deal with. He once displayed swordsmanship in front of the Emperor, and he has also been traveled through Jianghu for many years. He once broke into a bandit fortress alone and defeated a dozen people consecutively when he was only fifteen.”
“So he once defeated a bunch of bandits. What’s the big deal?”
“He used to be very staunch with great moral integrity when he was young, and he offended a lot of people. Rumor says that he survived dozens of assassinations without getting a single scar.”
Old Man Mu made a slightly more favorable comment, “Having no scar doesn’t necessarily mean that his kung fu skills are good. It could also mean that he doesn’t dare fight to the death.”
Dog Butcher could still name a lot of other legendary deeds of Luo Qikang, but all of them had the same flaw – those who had been defeated by the Sword of the Emperor were all famous in the Central Plains, but hardly anybody from the Western Regions would know about them, which meant that using them as examples was pointless to Old Man Mu. After pondering it over for a while more, he suddenly jumped off of his horse and displayed an extremely complicated kung fu move. And then he said, “How would you handle this move?”
“It’s hard to say. If my internal energy is still more potent than yours, then I will surely make the first move, which means that you would be the one who needs to handle my move.”
“Let’s just assume that our internal energy is evenly matched and that I’m the one who makes the first move.”
Old Man Mu also thought for a decent while, “This move of yours is tricky. It’s a three-pronged attack at the upper, middle and lower part of the opponent. They’re all feints, but they can also turn into real attacks at any time. If we were evenly matched, then I would have two options. The first is to take evasive actions. Your move is too complicated, which makes it difficult for you to pursue me. I’ll fight back the moment your move loses its momentum. The second one is to launch sham attacks that can turn into real attacks just like you do. Chances are that you will expose your vulnerability if you’re not decisive enough.”
Dog Butcher put away his saber and nodded in admiration, “You do know your kung fu, Old Man Mu. This move is called the ‘Three Nods of the Phoenix.’ My Master Shifu once warned me again and again that this move was very powerful, but I shouldn’t use it if my will was not strong enough. He was afraid that I would misjudge the situation during a fight, which might result in me leaving an opening before I could hit the target.”
Upon hearing the compliments, Old Man Mu curved his lips into a smile. He also gave Dog Butcher a compliment in return, which he didn’t do very often. “Some of the Kongtong Sect’s kung fu skills are pretty good as well. Your Majesty Shifu’s warning is very reasonable, but there’s no need for you to worry too much about it. Your will is not strong enough, but neither is your enemy’s. Experienced people like me who have been through hundreds of fights are rare.”
“Back then my Master Shifu was defeated by Luo Qikang when he was performing this very move.”
“Which option did Luo Qikang take? Um. If he is really as good as you have described, then he surely would have taken the second option, which is launching sham attacks that can turn into real ones. It turns out that your Master Shifu’s will was not strong enough either.”
“That’s not true. My Master Shifu was a decisive man. Luo Qikang defeated him by taking a third option.”
Old Man Mu widened his eyes. He had only thought of two options, but this ‘Sword of the Emperor’ had actually come up with a third one. “He either attacked or defended. What else could he have done?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. Luo Qikang is much younger than me. Back then, he was about the age of my Master Shifu’s great-grandson, but his swordsmanship was sophisticated and consummate. When my Master Shifu performed the ‘Three Nods of the Phoenix,’ I was fascinated, thinking that his victory was certain. But it turned out that the winner was the young man. He neither evaded my Master Shifu’s move when it had the greatest momentum nor launched any fancy sham attacks. Instead, he made only one move, which was to thrust his sword squarely at my Master Shifu’s chest. But he showed mercy to my Master Shifu. Shifu wasn’t hurt, but he had no choice but to admit defeat. From then on, Master Shifu became depressed, constantly saying that Kongtong Sect couldn’t compare with the Luo Village. After a couple years, he passed away.”
Old Man Mu didn’t care how Dog Butcher’s Master Shifu died. He was confused about a lot of details. Frowning tightly, he said, “Wait. You said that Luo Qikang only gave out one sword blow.”
“Um. Only one sword blow. He thrust it straight forward and then drew it straight backwards without a single superfluous motion. Back then, the other disciples and I were transfixed with shock.”
“Was his sword blow even faster than that of the Dragon King?”
Dog Butcher shook his head. “It wasn’t very fast. At least, I saw it distinctly at that time, and I don’t think that that sword blow was faster than my Master Shifu’s saber blow.”
“Did your Master Shifu misjudge it and offer him a opportunity?”
“Master Shifu didn’t misjudge it at all, which is the very reason why he became depressed afterwards.”
“Then I’m confused. If Luo Qikang’s sword blow was not fast enough, and he didn’t perform any amazing moves, then how exactly did he manage to defeat your Master Shifu?”
“Exactly. Back then, the other disciples and I had the same thought as you. We thought that it was impossible. It didn’t seem like Luo Qikang had defeated my Master Shifu, but rather that Master Shifu had willingly stepped towards the opponent’s sword to be humiliated. After subduing our urge to ask him about the reason for days, we finally went to Master Shifu, but his mind had already become… unclear. He only kept saying the word ‘impossible.’ After a couple of days, he summoned us and said that it was not the Luo family’s swordsmanship but Luo Qikang that was invincible.”
Old Man Mu became anxious. “Alas, you’re too verbose. Just directly tell me the reason. I don’t care whether your Master Shifu is dead or not.”
“The thing is, Master Shifu said that it was neither moves nor speed, but rather discernment.”
“Discernment? He can defeat his opponent with mere discernment?”
“There are three movements in ‘Three Nods of the Phoenix.’ No matter how skilled you are in performing this move, there will always be a transition interval between these movements.”
Old Man Mu raised his head and looked into the sky. “Show me the move once again.”
Dog Butcher whipped out his saber and performed the move in the blink of an eye. Although the move was very complex, every one of his movements was quick and clean. His reputation as an Elder of the Kongtong Sect was well-earned.
Old Man Mu actually admired his motions, but he was unwilling to admit it. “Indeed, there are intervals, but… I don’t believe that anyone could actually take advantage of these fleeting intervals unless both their reflexes and moves are very fast. However, you said that Luo Qikang’s sword blows were not very fast.”
“I don’t believe that this is possible either, still less my Master Shifu. But Luo Qikang did manage to do it. He established his reputation many years ago and has never been hurt. It’s definitely not because he doesn’t dare fight to the death. No matter if it’s a kung fu competition or a duel, he always prefers risky moves. On most occasions, the spectators were unaware of the real situation. Master Shifu counted as one of those who knew the truth, since he said that Luo Qikang has excellent discernment.”
If it weren’t for the fact that Old Man Mu knew that Dog Butcher was an honest man, he would never have believed this incredible story. “If this Luo Qikang’s kung fu is half as good as you’re describing it to be, then the Dragon King probably won’t be his match.”
“So I advised the Dragon King not to give Luo Qikang any chances to make his move.”
Face full of expectations, Old Man Mu had an opinion different than that of Dog Butcher’s. “The Death Scripture versus ‘The Sword of the Emperor.’ It will surely be a fantastic fight. Old Dog, are you coming with me? We might be late if we don’t move right now.”
In the Four Noble Truths Temple, Gu Shenwei recognized his biggest enemy the moment he walked into the room.
Seemingly in his thirties or forties, Luo Qikang had a well-proportioned build and was not as strong and tough as a warrior. His features slightly resembled his younger brother’s, but his skin color was a little darker. And he wasn’t wearing his signature neat, white clothes but rather a common Central-Plains soldier’s robe. The robe seemed fairly worn and somewhat dirty. There was a sword fastened to his belt.
He looked like a temporary guard that Wei Song had selected from the troops, but when he raised his head and glanced at the Dragon King, Gu Shenwei immediately felt a ripple of coldness pass through him, as if his entrails had been exposed under this man’s gaze. Gu Shenwei immediately realized that this man was the kung fu expert of the Luo family that Dog Butcher had mentioned.
