Quicksand Valley by Shangguan Ding — Teaser
Quicksand Valley《沉沙谷》is a wuxia novel by Shangguan Ding 上官鼎. Shangguan Ding[efn_note]Shangguan is a compound surname, no special meaning there, except that wuxia authors tend to favor using two-character surnames, which are not that common in real life. But "Ding" is a three-legged cauldron, symbolizing the three brothers.[/efn_note] is actually the pen name of three brothers: Liu Zhaoli, Liu Zhaoxuan, and Liu Zhaokai. Liu Zhaoli wrote the romance parts, Liu Zhaokai wrote the fight scenes, and Liu Zhaoxuan wrote everything else, being the principal writer of the three. When Quicksand Valley was published in 1961, Liu Zhaoxuan was only eighteen years old, Liu Zhaokai only sixteen. And this was their fourth novel.
They wrote their first novel in 1960, thinking to try their hand at writing the kind of novel they were so fond of reading. Their first novel was well-received and they were asked to complete a novel that Gu Long had stopped writing, Poisonous Sword, Fragrant Plum Blossom《劍毒梅香》. This was Gu Long's second novel, but he only wrote four volumes before quitting.[efn_note]In those days, wuxia novels were serialized weekly in thin booklets of around 75 pages. Often three booklets would be released at once, sometimes bound together. Gu Long wrote the first four booklets before quitting. These thin books are smaller than standard paperbacks and use cheaper paper, similar to mass market paperbacks in the US. These slim volumes are saddle stitched. Gu Long was at this time just starting his career as well, and he had a habit in his early years or starting a novel, negotiating payment, then dropping the novel and starting another one with a different publisher. That seems to be what happened in this case.[/efn_note] The story goes that he had asked his publisher for more money and was rebuffed, so he just quit writing it. The novel sat for several months before the Liu brothers (Shangguan Ding) were commissioned to finish it. They wrote volumes five through fifteen and finished the novel. It was a big hit and the brothers wrote seven more novels together between 1960 and 1966 before they all went overseas to study.
Jin Yong once said that Shangguan Ding was his second-favorite wuxia author behind Gu Long.
Liu Zhaoxuan went on to be president of National Tsing Hua University and Soochow University. He was also Premier of the Republic of China from 2008-2009.
Liu Zhaoxuan returned to the jianghu in 2014 and released another wuxia novel, writing alone this time but still under the name Shangguan Ding. He has since continued to write other novels, including political thrillers.
Quicksand Valley is Shangguan Ding's most lauded novel, and is also the one Liu Zhaoxuan is most proud of, according to a preface to the edition I own. A tale of three sworn brothers and a mystery of what happened to the top martial artists in the jianghu long ago at Quicksand Valley. That incident is the subject of the first chapter translated below. Shangguan Ding's novels were different in that they were actually written by young men in their teens, which is the same age as most wuxia protagonists, so they were able to give their characters the realistic vigor and temperament of hot-blooded young men. Most wuxia novels were older and already past those formative years; Shangguan Ding was able to tap into that young energy and it shows in the writing.
The illustrations in the novel were drawn by Shangguan Ding themselves (I'm guessing it was Liuy Zhaoxuan since he also drew the illustrations for his 2014 novel). The illustration above is one such drawing, accompanying the first chapter.
That first chapter is translated in full below. This is another one of those cases where I got a wild hair and decided to translate a novel but then lost steam after translating a chapter. I have a few more unreleased chapters of other novels like that. But since I have this chapter, might as well release it. I'll try to review the novel in the future. The footnotes I added on my own.
Chapter 1: Speckled
The moon was clear and bright, a cold wind gusted.
A group of people were gathered on the cliff by the open grassland. From the way they were gesticulating it seemed they were arguing.
This late at night, in this wilderness, you couldn’t even hear a dog barking. What were these people doing here?
A handsome middle-aged Daoist priest said, “We’re missing the one from Kunlun Sect.”
No one answered. The wilderness was deathly quiet.
Again the Daoist priest, “Why isn’t Kunlun here yet?”
A fat monk answered, “I guess, heheh, I guess Kunlun isn’t participating——”
A soft rustling and snapping of dried leaves and branches as a figure leapt up. This person tread the air, abruptly traversing seventy or eighty feet like a soaring dragon before landing again.
Someone in the crowd said in a low voice, “Eight Step Cicada! Kunlun is here!”
The one who landed was a young, handsome man, especially his eyes, which sparkled brightly, revealing his heroic spirit. Once he landed he cupped a hand over his fist in greeting to an old eighty-something-year-old monk. “This junior is Nan Xuan. Greetings, Grandmaster Unity.”
He completely ignored the others. He was acting quite arrogantly.
The fat monk who had just spoken said, “Alright, we’re all here. I, representing Emei Sect, propose that we begin.”[efn_note]Interesting note: When the monk says “I”, in Chinese he is using a special word 洒家 (sajia), which is not a word used specially by monks but is a colloquial word from the Guangxi region of China during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Now, this isn’t an historical novel so I can’t say for sure that this places the novel in the Song or Yuan dynasty; it’s possible the authors were just using a word they had read before (the monk Lu Da/Lu Zhishen uses it in Water Margin 水滸傳).[/efn_note]
An eagle-eyed old man across from him snorted. “Why is this grandmaster so impatient? Grandmaster Unity has already proclaimed himself the number-one master under Heaven, what else is there for us to say?”
The Emei monk, True Wisdom, though, was a frank person. He bellowed, “Who do you think you are?”
The eagle-eyed old man threw back his head and laughed. “No one, I’m just Mount Hua Divine Eagle.”[efn_note]Ok so Chinese can be confusing when it comes to bird classifications. The use here is 神鷲 which if you google it you will see a condor. But it can’t be a condor cause, well, China doesn’t have condors. And anyway as this is a dude’s jianghu nickname, I take the 神 part to be separate from 鷲 and thus translate it as “Divine”. But why eagle? Well the word could be condor or vulture or eagle depending on what bird you’re talking about. The guy is also described as “eagle-eyed” 鷹目, which uses a different character altogether, one that can mean eagle or hawk or falcon, etc. Hawk-eyed and eagle-eyed mean the same thing in English anyway, so using eagle seems find to me. And 鷲 is listed in Chinese dictionaries also as another word for 雕/鵰, which can be eagle or vulture but usually means eagle. For example, Jin Yong’s Legend of the Condor Heroes used that character, and it is unambiguously referring to an eagle (NOT A CONDOR!!) since the main character, Guo Jing, shoots down an eagle on the Mongolian steppe with an arrow. No condors in Mongolia, btw. And the Chinese title of Legend of the Condor Heroes, 射鵰英雄傳, is more accurately translated as Legend of the Eagle-Shooting Hero. So. This is all to say that I’m going with “eagle” for my translation of this guy’s nickname. In case you were wondering.[/efn_note]
The monk raged, “What’s Mount Hua?”
The old man said, “Of course we can’t compare to the likes of illustrious schools such as Shaolin.”
Shaolin Grandmaster Unity’s face clouded and he was about to say something, but he forced himself to hold his tongue and instead whispered the Buddha’s name.
This “Mount Hua Divine Eagle” was sarcastically needling Shaolin Sect, but no one else in the group spoke up to stop him. Rather, some of them grinned smugly, gloating.
The middle-aged Daoist priest who had first spoke said, “Fifty years ago, out masters set up this nonnegotiable appointment, and today is the day. I’m sure none of us is planning to make it out alive, so this poor cleric feels everyone ought to dispense with the verbal sparring...”
A voice from his left cut him off, “Weird, how come your senior brother didn’t come? If he had, haha, even though we’re not worth a copper, seeing two number-one masters duking it out would be a feast for the eyes.”
That was a great insult to the middle-aged priest, tantamount to saying “why did your sect send a worthless fellow like you to our meeting?”
The middle-aged priest’s expression remained the same as he turned to see the representative from Kongtong Sect. He laughed. “My senior brother was going to come, but when he heard you would be coming to represent the great Kongtong Sect, he sent my worthless butt instead.”
The Kongtong man’s face sank. He never imagined this handsome, debonair Daoist priest would have such a sharp tongue.
The Emei monk said, “Reverend Green Zither, you just said we shouldn’t exchange barbs, yet here you are joining in.”
Reverend Green Zither cupped his hands and bowed. “Grandmaster is right to rebuke me.”
Indeed, the handsome priest was called Reverend Green Zither.
Mount Hua Divine Eagle said, “Kongtong Divine Sword Brother Bai makes a good point. Reverend Green Zither’s senior brother didn’t come, so we’re lacking one of the world’s top masters. We’ll just have to let Grandmaster Unity hog all the praise.”
He gave a cold humph, and sure enough, the latter took it in stride.
Grandmaster Unity called the Buddha’s name in a loud voice, then said, “The designation of number-one master under Heaven is a trifle used by do-gooders of the martial world. Reverend Green Zither’s senior brother, Perfected Green Wood is naturally worthy of the title, and this poor monk who only knows how to chant sutras and toll a bell is absolutely not worthy——”
Mount Hua Divine Eagle sneered, “Grandmaster, why so modest?”
Grandmaster Unity ignored him and continued, “A friend once told this poor monk that friends of the martial world ranked myself and Perfected Green Wood as the number-one master under Heaven and I said that was not right. It’s alright for me who just sits and chants sutras, I don’t mind, but if some small-minded pupils heard it, then it could lead to all sorts of trouble. Haha, Mount Hua Divine Eagle Patron Fang, if you find it offensive, this poor monk will hand the title over to you today in front of all these masters of the martial world. Patron Fang, you need only nod your head!”
Mount Hua Divine Eagle never imagined Grandmaster Unity would say that. He snapped his head around and saw many conniving eyes focused on him. There was no way he would nod his head, but he couldn’t appear weak either. He could only say awkwardly, “Grandmaster Unity and Perfected Green Wood share the title of number-one master under Heaven, everyone knows that. How could I be so presumptuous, heheh, how could I——”
Grandmaster Unity smiled but said nothing. But Nan Xuan, the young man from Kunlun, had a hearty laugh, his clear laughter ringing across the wilderness and echoing for some time.
Mount Hua Divine Eagle’s face turned red and he glared at Nan Xuan, who stopped laughing but returned the stare without shrinking back.
The Kongtong guy said, “I see everyone’s embraced the willingness to die in coming here, we’ve gotta think up a novel, dangerous thing for our competition, otherwise won’t the number-one master under Heaven laugh his head off?”
At the mention of himself, Grandmaster Unity became visibly angry, but Nan Xuan was already saying, “Those are surprising words, Kongtong Divine Sword Hero Bai, you must have something good in mind. Let’s hear it.”
He was young, but everyone here today was the head of his respective sect, so no one dared look down on him because of his youth. His words could wound, so everyone was better off not getting worked up.
Kongtong Divine Sword gave a sinister grin. “I’d rather hear what Grandmaster Unity has to say, otherwise it will be embarrassing if one of us comes up with something that’s too commonplace.”
Grandmaster Unity said, “You’re wrong, Patron Bai. Last time, each sect’s elite fought over some worldly possession and there were many casualties. We won’t argue whether they were right or wrong, but since our elders set this inalterable meeting, today we must see a resolution. Even if one incurs ridicule, today a fight is unavoidable. Reverend Green Zither was right about what he said just now, everyone can put forward a proposal for how we should compete, and we can discuss it.”
When he said this, pretty much everyone began thinking of a method that would be most advantageous to himself, but no one spoke out, especially not Kongtong Divine Sword; if he mentioned what he had said earlier about finding a novel, dangerous method, and they though it too ordinary, he would be embarrassed.
In an instant, the wilderness fell silent.
The moon quietly hid behind dark clouds.
“I’ll go along with whatever you all decide,” the Emei monk said.
“Exactly, the same for this poor cleric.”
“Yeah, me too...”
“Yeah...”
“That’s just what I was thinking...”
They were all talking at once, “smartly” trying to shift responsibility.
Given the circumstances, everyone would end up following whatever method someone finally managed to put forth.
A heavy cough quieted everyone down at once and all eyes concentrated on the cougher.
It was a man in his fifties who all this time had not opened his mouth. They knew him, it was Jin Yinda for Northern Liao’s Yin Mountain Sect.[efn_note]Yin 陰 as in Yin-Yang, a mountain region in Inner Mongolia. Northern Liao was a short-lived regime distinct from the Liao dynasty (the Khitans. So by this it seems pretty clear the story takes place during the Song dynasty).[/efn_note]
Mount Hua Divine Eagle rolled his eagle eyes. “Brother Jin, what brilliant idea do you have?”
Jin Yinda crooked his mouth slightly but said nothing, staring straight ahead. He pointed ahead twice with his forefinger.
Everyone couldn’t help but ask altogether, “What?”
Jin Yinda still said nothing but stuck his thumb up and jerked it backward twice.
Kongtong Divine Sword cried out, “What? You mean Quicksand Valley?”
A bolt of lightning arced down from the bank of dark clouds, illuminating everyone’s face. They all wore looks of terror.
Jin Yinda said coldly, “Precisely!”
Mount Hua Divine Eagle forced the alarm off his face and said evenly, “Tell us the details.”
Jin Yinda said, “Use lightness skill, cross sandy valley. You make it, you pass. You don’t, you sink.”
Jin Yinda was from Northern Liao so his Chinese broken and not fluent.
Mount Hua Divine Eagle said, “And then?”
Jin Yinda said, “You pass, leave mark of your sect on rock, then come back.”
The Emei monk still didn’t understand. “Come back and then what?”
Jin Yinda didn’t even look at him. “Probably less than half come back.”
They all felt a chill run up their spines. Even though they had all planned to die in keeping this appointment, but to have them step across Quicksand Valley, where not even a goose feather wouldn’t sink, was terrifying.
Jin Yinda paused. “You all don’t like, I do as you say, heh!”
With that their blood froze, and they all just happened to quietly clench their fists.
The dark clouds were getting thicker, as if it were fixing to rain. Everyone was silent, dilly-dallying.
Silent night, north wind like a knife, dark all around, symbolizing the heavy, concealed danger.
With a woosh the sound of rippling fabric suddenly broke the silence as brilliant light pierced the sky.
The light thrust upward and paused, then suddenly lunged forward and level seven or eight feet without the slightest trend downwards.
When they got a good look they saw it was a snow-bright monk’s knife[efn_note]戒刀 (jiedao), a knife carried by Buddhist monks. They used it for various tasks like shaving one’s head, cutting branches, fabric, or for any other daily tasks. Like you would use a pocketknife nowadays, only it was bigger. They were not used for killing, thus the name, which literally translates to “prohibition knife”.[/efn_note], adding another spectacular sight to this night already brimming with disaster.
“Look, thats’ the world famous ‘Split Second Glimpse’ footwork technique!”
Emei’s Venerable True Wisdom is going for it!”
Yes, the first to throw his life away was the representative from Emei.
In the pitch-black night, dozens of eyeballs were fixed on True Wisdom as the ball of light zipped through the air at incredible speed!
A gentle breeze blew, parting a seem in the dense dark clouds and the waning moon was peeked out through quietly, casting its pallid light onto the ground.
Under the moonlight they could clearly see True Wisdom step onto the vast expanse of yellow sand. With every step he was perhaps getting closer and closer to death.
He rose and fell three times, and each time he touched the ground he didn’t dare use even the slightest bit of force, he just touched off lightly and used the momentum to flit across the sandy valley.
Two more wooshes as two more people leapt off the cliff.
The one on the right was dressed as a Daoist priest and he kept pace with the other, never breaking stride, his movement light and quick as he swept forward.
“Hey! Wudang’s Smooth Steps to the Blue Sky!”
“Ah, those two priests are going for it at the same time. Isn’t the one on the left Reverend Green Zither?”
Yes, the pair of Daoists followed closely behind Emei Sect in dashing into Quicksand Valley.
Under the moonlight, Venerable True Wisdom had made it to the center of the sandy valley, but his feet were feeling heavier and heavier and his “Split Second Glimpse” lightness skill was slowing down.
Wudang’s Reverend White Rock[efn_note]Fun fact: white rocks 白石 (baishi) are an ingredient in some Daoist ascetic potions believed to make it so one no longer needs to eat food and that can reverse the aging process. Apparently the “white rocks” were actually white quartz. It was boiled in a pot along with other actual food ingredients during a ritual and then ingested. See Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion by Stephen Eskildsen, pgs.65-66.[/efn_note] and Reverend Green Zither billowed like two wisps of black smoke.
Though they were quite agile, they had each come to this doomed meeting with no thought of making it out alive.
Venerable True Wisdom’s steps were getting heavier. He only had fifty to sixty feet left to go, but it seemed to him to be a journey he could see the end of but could not reach.
Venerable True Wisdom’s face was red all over as he steeled himself in desperation. His foot suddenly tramped down.
He only put 30% of his weight into the step, but Quicksand Valley was queer; he began to sink at once.
Venerable True Wisdom howled and chopped his monk’s knife through the empty air and he shook free and leapt five or six feet into the air, kicking up a spray of yellow sand.
In the air he was not flustered in the face of danger. He bent down so that he was upside down and thrust his monk’s knife into the ground and used it like boat sailing steady across a lake, his snow-bright blade leaving a deep, straight trough in the sand as he went.
It was still silent on the cliff.
Maybe——Maybe the three top masters would never return, maybe they would come back safe and sound. No one else was in a hurry to try it themselves, they were all waiting for to see what would happen.
Reverend Green Zither’s robe rippled airily. Though he was using the most simple “Dragonfly Skirts Three Points of Water” lightness skill, he was still just as fast as Reverend White Rock.
With a swoosh the two Quanzhen Daoists had stepped into the perilous Quicksand Valley.
Reverend Green Zither’s left foot touched down and he was about to push off when he felt a soft, effortless feeling and he staggered. He thought, “Hey! This quicksand is incredible...”
It takes time to describe, but it happened quickly. Reverend Green Zither kicked off with his right foot and then his left as it came off the ground, kicking seven or eight times in succession, lifting him straight up and he shot forward.
The delay put Reverend White Rock several feet ahead. He thought, “This is no joke, I must make sure I’m not the slightest bit careless——”
He quickened his steps, skimming over the sand.
Ahead, Venerable True Wisdom roared suddenly and somersaulted, both hands outstretched and grabbed the east end of Quicksand Valley and flipped over and onto the edge of the foot of the mountain.
True Wisdom sucked in a deep breath and thought, “I made it!”
He waved his right hand and his monk’s knife slashed straight up and down in a chop.
With a sharp clang the tip of the blade left an inch-deep mark behind!
Even from all the way across the long stretch of Quicksand Valley, those on the cliff could clearly see Venerable True Wisdom use Emei’s secret move——”Aim at the Sky to Cut the Earth”. Despite only being a simple, straight cut, it contained the ruthless attack of all the other sects in the world’s moves within it.
When True Wisdom made his strike, the body of his blade didn’t wobble at all as fragments of stone flew out, his thin-bladed monk’s knife steady as a thousand-catty iron pestle pounding heavily back into the ground.
“Such masterful inner force!” Mount Hua Divine Eagle said in a low voice.
Venerable True Wisdom turned around and jumped, touched down and jumped back up, doing this time and again, doing his best to keep from touching the surface of the quicksand. He pressed on in a spurt of energy and had soon swept 150 feet across.
He met Wudang’s White Rock and Green Zither as they sped along. Reverend White Rock was extraordinary, using his “Smooth Steps to the Blue Sky” lightness skill this whole time without slowing down.
On the left, Reverend Green Zither wasn’t labored at all as he called out, “Congratulations, Reverend True Wisdom, you pulled through.”
When he said this, his perfected energy faltered and he staggered ever so slightly, but he didn’t slow down a bit.
True Wisdom was in the air and when he heard this he laughed. “You’re too kind, you’re too kind, I wish you a smooth trip...”
Suddenly, True Wisdom howled as his body twitched and he dropped from the air, and in a split second he sank into the bottomless sandy valley.
Everyone on the cliff cried out in alarm, but White Rock and Green Zither were so focused they were not the slightest bit startled by this sudden turn of events. They yelled in unison and leapt with all their might.
Reverend Green Zither drew in a breath of perfected qi, his sleeves flapping in the air as he stook seven or eight steps in the open air and managed to traverse the remaining 150 feet.
Reverend White Rock also landed with a whoosh on the rock that was like a boat on the sand.
It was pandemonium up on the cliff. Venerable True Wisdom suddenly sinking tugged even harder on their nerves which were already taut to the point of breaking. At this critical moment, only Shaolin’s Grandmaster Unity stood quietly off the side, murmuring the Buddha’s name. He thought, “Reverend Green Zither was hiding his true ability. The ‘Step Into the Void’ lightness skill he just used at that perilous moment was so masterful, something rarely seen. Seems his senior brother, Reverend Green Wood, must possess unparalleled skill!”
Green Zither and White Rock, standing at the foot of the mountain, were apprehensive. They didn’t understand why Venerable True Wisdom suddenly dropped from the air and sank like that. Was there something inexplicably, mysteriously perilous about Quicksand Valley?
The Daoist priests were top masters, yet they were not confident they could make it back across this sand, even though they had crossed it once already.
Reverend Green Zither was a Daoist alright, his refined heroism was none diminished. He laughed, “Senior Brother White Rock, it seems——it seems we might not make it back alive?”
Reverend White Rock gave a wry smile. “We came to this meeting today prepared not to return alive. If we die, we die...”
Reverend Green Zither mettle was suddenly roused. “You’re right, Senior Brother White Rock...”
Wudang’s Reverend White Rock smiled again, then suddenly turned his hand over and a thread of green light shot out toward the sky, and it danced about several times with a schwing; his sword was now in hand. The way he drew his sword revealed his skill.
Reverend White Rock sighed faintly. “Senior Brother Green Zither, allow me to embarrass myself!”
Describing it takes time, but it happened quickly. White Rock’s sword became a rainbow of light as the force of the sword ripped through the air and the blade vibrated as internal force was conentrated adn with a swish it blossomed into a perfect flower. At the same time, he drew up his qi with a roar and the flickering light filling the sky suddenly disappeared and Reverend White Rock’s iron hand shook and his sword jabbed out light lightning before he turned his wrist and the sword returned to its scabbard.
Reverend Green Zither saw chips of rock flying off the bare stone wall and what was left behind was a perfect circle carved about an inch deep into the cliff wall. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Incredible ‘Spectre Arrow’, Senior Brother, your inner force is so masterful!”
Reverend White Rock said modestly, “Senior Brother Green Zither, I welcome your pointers!”
Not to mention the two men on the stone platform, even among the representatives of each of the sects on the cliff, who didn’t feel heartfelt admiration for that consummate Wudang move?
Reverend Green Zither stepped forward and felt the cliff wall. He suddenly turned in amazement and said, “Congratulations, Senior Brother, your inner force has reached the stage where sword and mind work as one...”
Reverend White Rock blushed and said simply, “This poor cleric’s skill is insignificant, I used the sword like one who just entered the sect!”
He was being modest, yet there was a little truth in what he said.
When Reverend Green Zither realized White Rock was using Spectre Arrow and saw the final stab, he he could tell by the ear-piercing sound of the sword ripping through the air that White Rock had used a lot of inner force. But when he felt the mark, the sword had only entered the rock a tenth of an inch, so it was clear that Reverend White Rock’s inner force had reached the point where his hand and mind acted as one and he could do what he willed.
But Reverend White Rock wasn’t speaking carelessly. That move, the first of Wudang’s Three Swords, was created by Wudang Sword Sect’s founder, Zhang Sanfeng. It was powerful and unequaled throughout the world.
When the founder, Zhang Sanfeng, created this move, the final stroke, though it merely touched the surface of a thin seet of cowhide paper, it produced a loud bang, but the inner force was completely retracted and no mark was left on the paper. To reach such a stage meant one had achieved perfection.
Therefore, White Rock leaving a shallow mark in the stone could still be considered rudimentary compared to Founder Zhang Sanfeng.
Reverend Green Zither understood and said no more but suddenly raised his hand slowly and flicked his wrist and a tinge of red swept across his face, his Daoist cap lifted, and with nary a sound of wind, he stepped back on step and released a breath of turbulent perfected qi and shook his head slightly. “This poor cleric is showing off before a master, I’m sure you’ll laugh at me!”
Reverend White Rock looked at the cliff wall, and aside from seeing Emei’s “Aim at the Sky to Cut the Earth” and his own “Spectre Arrow”, the wall was bare. His mind jolted and he said in surprise, “Brother Green Zither is too modest. Although it was just a gentle move, this poor cleric finds it extremely admirable!”
Likewise, none of those waiting on the cliff, who were all firs-rate masters, could name what move Reverend Green Zither had used.
Everyone’s eyes were adjusted to the dark and could see clearly that Reverend Green Zither’s flick had not left a single mark on the cliff wall. They were all stunned.
The Kongtong swordsman, Great Xia Bai, frowned and said in a sharp voice, “Grandmaster Unity, perhaps you could tell us all what masterful kung fu Reverend Green Zither just used?”
Shaolin’s Grandmaster Unity intoned the Buddha in a low voice, then said, “Uh——”
Suddenly a cold voice beside him said, “Jade Mystery Returns to Its Origin!”
“Ah!” everyone exclaimed. They couldn’t believe this handsome Daoist priest had pefected Daoism’s highest level jade Mystery Returns to Its Origin technique!
Grandmaster Unity was surprised as well. He looked over and saw the one who had spoken was Northern Liao’s Jin Yinda! It seemed this man had not revealed his true ability and actually possessed consummate skill, otherwise he never would have known what masterful technique Reverend Green Zither had used.
A strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind and Grandmaster Unity, in his heart of hearts, exclaimed “Goodness! Goodness!” And he was suddenly on his guard!
Perhaphs this was Heaven’s plan. In any cases, this one tiny thing would determine the course of events within the martial world for nearly a hundred years to come!
A gentle breeze began to blow...
A guest of wind blew across teh straight stone face of the cliff wall, blowing a thin layer of dust and rock fragments into the air and revealing on the wall four finger marks brushed across the surface.
Needless to say, this was Reverend Green Zither’s Jade Mystery Returns to Its Origin masterpiece!
Reverend Green Zither smiled and said to White Rock, “We ough to be heading back. They’re all waiting to see if we will survive or not!”
White Rock nodded slowly. “We must be careful.”
Reverend Green Zither’s heroic spirit was roused and he laughed heartily, then soared into the air like a divine dragon and swept off like he was flying.
Reverend White Rock followed close behind, taking off into the air.
Those on the cliff watched anxiously as the two grandmasters arced like giant birds, crossing a long distance before gradually descending to the sand. No one believed these two masters, who each possessed incredible lightness skill, would fall from the sky.
It happened faster than can be described. Reverend White Rock on the right suddenly grunted and staggered in mid-air, just like Venerable True Wisdom had, and just like him fell to the sand.
On the left, Reverend Green Zither recoiled in shock, and suddenly stopped and concentrated his perfected qi. Then he turned hurriedly like a heavenly steed soaring across the sky and reached out to grab the sinking Reverend White Rock.
How could he know that concentrating his perfected qi would make his pulse feel like it had been cut with a knife and he was too late in expelling impure qi. He couldn’t hold out any longer and he fell straight down and before long, those two handsome, brave Daoists were forever parted from the world of the living.
A cold wind flitted across... Dense clouds once again obscured the moon...
Pitch-black, as if paying silent homage to the tragic deaths of the three grandmasters, like it was spreading another layer of terror over the desolate yellow sands!
Sparse mist rose in the distance, embracing the towering jagged peak on all sides, the moon peeking in and out through the banks of clouds, casting faint shadows of the mountain on the yellow sand.
Night, as dark and deep as before.
On the cliff, of the dense mass of spectators, now only two remained, a monk and a layman: Grandmaster Unity and the one who had put forth this life and death gamble of traversing Quicksand Valley, Jin Yinda.
One by one the world-renowned people disappeared into the yellow sand. Some perished in the sand while trying to get to the other side, others made it over and left a mark of their sect, yet not one managed to make it back safely afterward.
Grandmaster Unity, an eminent monk of his time, saw with his own eyes so many of his martial world fellows lose their life in this desolate valley. Compassion and pity rose in his heart, but it could not be helped. His master had long ago arranged this doomed meeting, even he had no hope of returning from this alive. So even though he had watched the lot of them plunge to their death, he could only intone the name of Buddha but did not extend a hand to save them.
The final moment had arrived. Jin Yinda said coldly, “Grandmaster is known as leader of world...”
How could Grandmaster Unity not understand his meaning. He coldly responded, “Patron Jin need not be suspicious. If you think I would wait till the last moment and escape on my own, then just let this old monk go first. Ai, what happened today...”
Jin Yinda gave a sinister grin. “Grandmaster after all is Buddhist man, has broad mind. You don’t doubt my humble self quietly leave after Grandmaster goes to danger?”
Grandmaster Unity’s mind was suddenly jolted and he looked hard at Jin Yinda but saw the latter’s eyes were unsettled. Jin Yinda no doubt felt ill at ease himself!
Grandmaster looked away and said in a low voice, “Shall this old monk go first?”
Jin Yinda said, “Grandmaster, after you...”
The old Shaolin monk intoned Buddha’s name and leapt up and out toward Quicksand Valley.
Jin Yinda muttered to himself in hesitation, then suddenly said, “Grandmaster, wait, let me go with Grandmaster...”
And he leapt off.
Grandmaster Unity didn’t know what Jin Yinda was thinking, but he had the heart of a Buddha. He smiled faintly and thought nothing of it.
The two of them shot out like pellets, soughing through the air, two black lines in the dark and smoothly entered the vast sands of Quicksand Valley.
Grnadmaster Unity’s skill was known as number-one in the Divine Land.[efn_note]That is, China. 神州 (Shenzhou) is another name for China.[/efn_note] Though he moved calmly, he was amazingly fast, yet Jin Yinda kept pace with him, side by side. Grandmaster Unity thought to himself in surprise, “This spurt proves that Jin Yinda’s skill is not inferior to Wudang’s Reverend White Rock. For a Northern Liao man like him to have attained such miraculous kung fu is really rare.”
Stepping into Quicksand Valley, though, showed at once the difference in the depth of their skill.
Grandmaster Unity’s feet didn’t touch the ground as he briskly walked over the sand with lithe movements, as if the quicksand was to him quality stone for him to walk upon; his steps were not hurried in the slightest!
But Jin Yinda was different. He crossed through the air, breathing in and out in such a way as to show that he was really going all out, forcing himself to keep up, certainly a notch inferior to Grandmaster Unity’s calm movement.
Gradually, the other side of Quicksand Valley neared. The rock cliff wall was already speckled with marks and scratches, making it all the more glaring to the eyes.
Grandmaster Unity intoned the Buddha and stepped onto the stone platform and turned to Jin Yinda who had followed close behind. “If neither of us are able to make it back alive, then——then won’t our elders’ hope to setting the ranking of us come to nought?”
Jin Yinda was taken aback. Then he smiled. “No, Grandmaster, even we die, still——still these——”
He pointed to the stippled marks on the wall!
Grandmaster Unity thought about this. Relieved, he said, “I guess it will really have to be this way!”
He put his palms together in salutation and said, “Patron, you display your wonderful skill first. This old monk respectfully welcomes your enlightenment!”
Jin Yinda was straightforward, laughing. “Okay, I make fool of myself first!”
With that he raised his hands and whipped them one after another at an angle and with a smack imprinted his two palms into the stone wall!
As soon as his palms touched the rock he withdrew them at once, then suddenly interlocked his hands and spun and a large slice of stone was scraped off the mountain rock.
Grandmaster Unity praised him in a low voice, “A fine looking ‘Whirlwind Dancing Willow!’”
Jn Yinda gave a hollow laugh and stepped back.
Grandmaster Unity said no more but stepped up and suddenly concentrated a mouthful of perfected qi and cycled it through two times perfectly and breathed in and out. Then he suddenly jumped up and stamped his feet on the stone wall, his body parallel to the ground like a gecko, facing down, firmly planted on the wall. It was a sight to behold!
A moment later, Grandmaster finally floated down.
Turning back to look, there were two footprints embedded in the rock, toes downward, over three inches deep!
Jin Yinda couldn’t help but exclaim, “Grandmaster really leader of martial world! Buddhist Diamond No Move skill reached perfection...”
Grandmaster Unity smiled but did not comment. They were silent for a moment, then Grandmaster Unity said, “Patron Jin, we can try to make it back now...”
Suddenly, his mind jolted and his face sank!
Jin Yinda looked up and saw Grandmaster Unity’s face was cold as ice, adn the hair of his white beard was stiff. He couldn’t help but be flustered and he blurted out, “Grandmaster, what’s wrong?”
Grandmaster Unity ignored him and abruptly drew in a breath of perfected qi, then slowly exhaled. Jin Yinda’s face clouded in response, and he gave a sinister grin. “Okay! Okay! Today...”
Before he finished, he steeled himself and shot a palm out.
Grandmaster Unity’s face changed and he let out a loud roar.
That roar, in desperation, used all of Grandmaster Unity’s inner force he had stored up in his mouth, it was like a thunderclap booming out violently enough to split stone.
Jin Yinda was suddenly terrified and he slackened the force of his palm, using only four-tenths of his inner force, but he landed a shot squarely into Grandmaster Unity’s chest and Grandmaster Unity was knocked back two steps!
Jin Yinda never imagined he’d land such a clean shot so easily. He was stupefied for a moment, but then it hit him. He shouted and launched another palm at Grandmaster Unity.
Grandmaster suddenly heaved a deep sigh and looked up at the sky and cried out, “Fine! Fine! Since our doom is at hand, let this old monk take this punk out with me! Ai...”
He sank and dispersed all the energy stored up in his Origin Pass and Jade Pillow acupoints and instead raised it to his dantian and then dispersed it throughout his body. He bellowed, “This old monk has no choice but to violate the prohibition against killing today...”
He was implying that he was mocking his lack of integrity. Even at this desperate moment, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of ridiculousness and pity in the bottom of his heart.
Jin Yinda knew his own life hung in the balance. He put his full concentration on striking the crown of Grandmaster Unity’s head with a chop of his hand.
Grandmaster turned his wrists to receive the strike and suddenly felt a blockage in his chest and he staggered back a few steps and felt the bottom of his feet give way as he backed off the stone platform and onto the quicksand.
Jin Yinda looked to the sky and laughed and crossed his palms and struck again.
Grandmaster Unity remained unflutered in the face of this peril. He tried hard to control his perfected qi. He raised his qi and his feet did not sink the slightest bit. At the same time, his left hand shot out to the chest, brandishing his right hand, finally putting to use Shaolin’s “Infinite Arcane Skill”!
There was a woosh and Jin Yinda felt his hand had been hit by a huge thousand-catty hammer. Thoogh he felt his opponent left himself open in several places, he hated himself for not being able to take advantage of them, unable to find an opening to strike.
It al happened quickly. Grandmaster Unity was sinking. This incredible quicksand, in a flash it was already up to his ankles.
Jin Yinda ignored the numbness in his right hand and circled his left hand around and struck with “Bear the Weight of Mount Tai”, pressing straight down, trying to pound Grandmaster Unity into the quicksand like a nail.
Grandmaster Unity shouted, his left hand still held out from his chest, his right coming up at an angle, unleashing Infinite Arcane Skill once again, exploding in a burst of wind. Jin Yinda felt his body shake suddenly and he was rocked back by the force. He let out a groan and hurried to leap backward. A look of pain flashed across his face after being knocked back by the chop.
Jin Yinda didn’t wait to touch down, he concentrated his perfected qi and pressed his palm down again.
Grandmaster Unity’s face sank again and he cried out as he blocked Jin Yinda’s attack, but he had already sank in the quicksand up to his calves.
Grandmaster Unity was seeing red, his perfected qi suddenly dispersing and concentrating. This out and in cycle moved his Buddhist Prajñā Skill to his left palm. This Buddhist Prajñā Skill was no joke. Ever since he had completed his training, Grandmaster Unity had not once used this technique. Now this was a matter of life and death, so he raised his qi, and the creases all over his robe suddenly bulged!
Jin Yinda grunted and feinted left then went right, his palm strike seeming to be a real blow but was actually a feint, using his famed Northern Liao “Confusion Steps”, but time after time it was blocked by Grandmaster Unity’s powerful right hand.
Once Grandmaster Unity knew the whole story, he flew into a rage and he was overcome with the intent to kill. Even in this perilous situation, he concentrated his qi to hold out.
Jin Yinda didn’t dawdle any longer, he arced his body back a step like lightning, then used the “Wandering Ghost Blur” move within his “Confusion Steps” to steal five feet closer.
Grandmaster Unity roared and swept his right iron palm out. Jin Yinda hurried to block with both hands. It all happened quickly, Grandmaster Unity unleashed his pent-up “Prajñā Skill”, causing the air to reverberate as a strange cyclonic force shot out!
Jin Yinda never imagined Grandmaster Unity had such awesome power. He got careless for a moment and was suddenly pulled in several feet by the winding force.
Grandmaster Unity struck like lightning, right hand whizzing out to grab Jin Yinda’s pulse point on his left wrist.
Jin Yinda lost his center of gravity and his pulse point was held. In his desperation, his chopped down with his right hand at Unity’s face.
Grandmaster Unity sneered and blocked with his left hand, meeting palms in a rush of wind with Jin Yinda. But Jin Yinda was a renowned fighter, he wasn’t flustered in the face of danger. He turned his left hand over and three fingers shot out like lightning and snatched Grandmaster Unity’s pulse point on his wrist.
Grandmaster Unity inwardly praised the move and struck with his left, but Jin Yinda’s right hand was packing quite the punch and blocked it without moving an inch.
Grandmaster Unity suddenly let go with his right hand and knocked Jin Yinda’s counterattack away, then suddenly dropped his right arm at the elbow and grabbed Jin Yinda’s left wrist.
Jin Yinda in desperation shot his left hand out like a snake, turned his hand over to counter the attack, but Grandmaster Unity couldn’t let that happen. He turned his right arm and his fingers trembled and added his Busddhist acupoint inner force technique to his grappling technique to strike at Jin Yinda’s acupoint on his arm.
Jin Yinda was startled and drooped his right shoulder and rotated his right wrist and pushed his hand inward, then used the back of his hand to suddenly strike outward with a powerful burst of inner force.
Grandmaster Unity’s right hand kept its original position, but dropped it lower and shot it out and grabbed Jin Yinda’s pulse point.
Those several moves were done with only one hand because each move was curbed by the opponent’s internal force but it happened swiftly, every move using the highest level of grappling techniques, but when it came to only being able to movie both arms at the elbow, Grandmaster Untiy in thed end got the upper hand.
Desperate, Jin Yinda suddenly had an idea. He bent his right foot and sent the top of his knee into Grandmaster Unity’s vital acupoint on his dantian region. He knew Grandmaster Unity’s feet were trapped in the quicksand, so he wouldn’t be able to counter. It was a vicious move. Grandmaster Unity let go with his right hand and Jin Yinda took this golden opportunity; unwilling to let go, he turned his left hand over and latched onto Grandmaster Unity’s right wrist.
In a flash, Jin Yinda was able to turn the tables and even the playing field. He was truly worthy of being called a grandmaster.
Grandmaster Unity was very worried. he waved both hands forcefully at the same time, but Jin Yinda resisted with all his might, He tried several times to shake him off, but he didn’t budge at all.
This fight was using a lot of inner strength. Grandmaster Unity’s feet felt like they were floating, the quicksand now up to his knees. Seeing red, he used all of his strength and drooped his left shoulder and at lightning speed, his left hand still forcefully grappling with Jin Yinda, he bent his left arm and used “Elbow Hammer” to thrust his elbow into Jin Yinda’s “Camphorwood Gate” acupoint located on his right ribs.
Jin Yinda never dreamed that, in these close quarters, in the midst of this inner force struggle, that Grandmaster Unity would be able to seperate his strength and use a hard, external force move to deal with him. He was startled and took a breath of perfected qi. He kept his lower body stationary while but suddenly moved his upper body sideways half a foot.
It was very fast, stared wide-eyed in alarm and shouted, retracting his left elbow hammer and swung his entire arm from the hollow of his shoulder and launched his inner art Stele Slapping Hand. His right hand didn’t delay at all but shook and flung off Jin Yinda’s five-finger grip. At the same time, before Jin Yinda had time to block it, he shot out both hands like snakes and slapped and grabbed Jin Yinda’s pulse points.
Jin Yinda tilted backward, losing his center of gravity, and in that moment Grandmaster Unity and used his arm strength to lift Jin Yinda into the air. He swung him and threw him forward toward the cliff wall.
At the same time, Grandmaster Unity shook both hands and struck Jin Yinda’s “Origin Pass”, “Jade Pillow”, “Florid Canopy”, and “Yellow Emperor” vital points.
Flesh collided with the stone wall with a smack.
Jin Yinda wailed and fell to the ground where he was knocked unconscious, unmoving.
Grandmaster Unity looked to the sky and cried out, then mumbled to himself, “This is fate, today...”
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Jin Yinda squirming slightly on the ground. He hurriedly roared and shot his left palm in the air and beat his right fist, one feint one true, the two combining into a shockingly powerful strike sending a blast of air and his fist into Jin Yinda’s body.
Grandmaster Unity struck, then placed his palms together silently prayed, “It’s not that this old monk was ruthless, it’s just that today’s meeting was a matter of life and death. Rest in peace, Patron Jin!”
He finished his prayer and looked to the heavens and said in a loud voice, “Since ancient times, no one has been able to cross Quicksand Valley. Today... Today, this old monk is going to go all out trying to... trying to get out of this valley. Even though...”
Grandmaster Unity drew in a deep breath of perfected qi and sealed off his Conception and Governing Vessel meridians and quickly cycled his qi, and he slowly began to raise up out of the quicksand!
If someone had been there to see it, guaranteed they would not believe the Shaolin technique “Single Reed to Cross the River”, which had been lost for nearly a hundred years, would once again appear in Grandmaster Unity’s usage. He raised off the surface of the sand and turned around quick as lightning.
He couldn’t, and didn’t dare to linger a second longer, but turned and raised his feet out of the sand and crossed.
The sound of his sleeves flapping in the wind.
The sound of the cold wind brushing his face like a knife!
The moon once again slowly tunneled its way out of the clouds.
Grandmaster Unity was becoming more and more unsteady.
He thought: “Ah! My Buddha is merciful, please help me, Unity, cross this valley!”
He thought: “Ah! Unity, your calling is great, you absolutely mustn’t allow Shaolin’s miraculous arts be lost along with you...”
In his more than eighty years, he had never been in such emotional turmoil, but at the end of one’s life, at the juncture between life and death, the recesses of his mind were still in utter turmoil!
This is how people are, it’s unavoidable!
Gradually, he got closer. Only about 230 more feet and he would reach the other side.
Two more gusts, this time not the flapping of his sleeves or the cold wind, but this old monk’s own dying gasps!
One’s life——this mortal world——was never something to yearn for or feel sentimental about. But ever since he realized the secret of Quicksand Valley, the matter of cross this valley was something that he could not feel at ease about, even unto death!
Suddenly, he felt a burst of blockage in his qi, and his blood and qi rose excessively——
Grandmaster Unity could hold out no longer and began to sink!
This old Shaolin monk, known as the number-one master of the Divine Land, bitterfly strove to speedily cross Quicksand Valley after a bitter struggle, but just like White Rock, Green Zither, True Wisdom, and the others, he was unable to complete his task and slowly sank under the sand!
Yellow sand was thrown up into the sky.
A gust of cold wind blew and there was no longer any figure along the horizon. That gust of wind blew away from the sand every trace or footprints. But, the odd thing was, the wind was not needed at the spot where Grandmaster Unity sank, at that spot it was completely blank and bare, not a trace of anything. Could it be...”
Upon closer inspection, there was a faint shadow on the sand, cast by the moon shining on the peak of the cliff with the stone ledge. The spot where Grandmaster Unity sank was in between the peak of the cliff’s shadow and the shadow from the cliff on the other side.
In the distance, two random crows of a cock...
Quicksand Valley, most dangerous in the world.
Birds can’t cross, a goose feather won’t float.
Yes, on this night, were the entire martial world elite really unable to return from Quicksand Valley alive?
The cold night wind blew——
It was the 59th year of the sexagenary cycle, the 16th day of the 7th month, at night on the fourth watch, a waning crescent moon in the sky, casting its clear, faint light.