Jin Yong: Sword Of The Yueh Maiden

Louis Cha, GBM, OBE (traditional Chinese: 查良鏞; simplified Chinese: 查良镛; pinyin: Zhā Liángyōng; known with his pen name Jin Yong(Chinese: 金庸; pinyin: Jīn Yōng; Cantonese Yale: Gām Yùhng)

This story is based on real historical events that occurred during the 5th century B.C. It 's a period between what's known as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring Kingdoms period. China was yet to be united under the First Emperor. The so-called Han race didn't exist yet. China was divided into big and small kingdoms, dukedoms and counties which warred with each other constantly.

It all started when the king of Chuh slept with his son's fiancee. Bad move, for any era. The king now feared that his son will turn against him. The fear was fanned into action by the allegations of an ambitious minister who wanted to destroy the crown prince's faction. The resulting purge destroyed many clans and families. One of the family, almost peripheral to the whole thing, was the House of Wu. The youngest son, Wu Tzu-Shi, escaped and vowed bloody vengeance.

After a long and dangerous journey through several kingdoms unwilling to help, he arrived at the newly founded kingdom of Wu (No, the Chinese characters for the Wu in Wu Tzu-Shi is actually different from the character Wu in the Wu kingdom). He helped Prince Ho Lu to assassinate his cousin the king in a convoluted power struggle. Then he built up the kingdom of Wu from a barely civilized kingdom to a modern kingdom with the best trained army in the known world. Sun Tzu, who wrote the immortal Art of War, served in Wu at this time.

When Wu Tzu-Shi was ready, he managed to convince King Ho Lu to invade Chuh. At the time Chuh was a superpower and Wu was an upstart kingdom, but the upstart kingdom managed to destroy Chuh's army utterly. Unfortunately, Wu Tzu-shi's vengeance was hollow. The object of his vengeance had already died several years ago. In his rage, Wu Tzu-Shi exhumed the body of the dead king and flogged it until it fell to pieces.

The kingdom of Wu proved itself incapable of absorbing the far larger kingdom of Chuh, so Wu Tzu-Shi had to take his army back to Wu. Then, Ho Lu began a series of wars to establish hegemony over the rest of China. It's in one of those wars when he ran into the kingdom of Yueh. The Yueh people was then even more primitive then Wu was a few decades ago, but they were great fighters. They were ruled by King Kou Chiang. In a pitch battle, King Ho Lu was struck by a poison arrow and died.

Ho Lu's son Fu Chai became king. He was intent on avenging his father. A personal guard was ordered to remind him of this fact periodically by saying "Fu Chai, did you forget to avenge the death of your father?" Fu Chai then rallied his army and destroyed the army of Yueh. King Kou Chiang became a prisoner of Fu Chai for several years. However, Fu Chai was not a brutal man. Instead of annexing the kingdom of Yueh and turning Kou Chiang into a slave, he released Kou Chiang after extracting an oath of fealty from the king of Yueh. Unfortunately, that gesture of mercy was completely lost on King Kou Chiang. Kou Chiang, like Wu Tzu-Shi and Fu Chai before him, was possessed by the burning desire to avenge the wrongs done him.

Kou Chiang hired two wise men from the kingdom of Chuh. One of them was Feng Li, the other was Wen Chung. The two began to build up the barbaric kingdom of Yueh so one day their king could challenge the power of Wu. Many legends are associated with this period of history. One of the legends was the legend of the Yueh Maiden.

"After you."

"After you."

The two swordmen turned the point of their blades downward. Their right palm holding the sword hilt, their left palm covered their right palm, then they bowed deeply to each other in a warrior's salute.

Even before the two straightened, a sudden flash of white, then the sound of clanging. The two swordmen each retreated one step. The audience gave out a soft cry

. The swordman in blue cut three times. The liveried swordman blocked each cut. The swordman in blue shouted and slashed his sword from the upper left corner straight downward. The slash was powerful and fast. The liveried swordman was too agile to be caught. A simple jump got him out of the way. His body bounced barely after his left feet touched the ground. He returned two slashes. The swordman in blue stood still with a grim smile. He moved his sword lightly and blocked the attack.

The liveried swordman suddenly began running around the swordman in blue. He ran faster and faster. The swordman in blue merely stared at the point of his enemy's sword. He was ready to strike anytime that point moved to attack. The liveried swordman at first ran one way, then the other. The swordman in blue started to feel a bit dizzy and said "Are you fighting, or running for your life?" The liveried swordman continued running. The swordman in blue attempted to cut him down a few times, but his sword always fell short.

The swordman in blue pulled his sword back to the side of his body and bowed his right leg slightly. The liveried swordman thought he saw an opening and lounged at his left shoulder, the swordman in blue was merely luring his enemy. His sword circled into a direct thrust at the liveried swordman's throat. The thrust was too fast to be avoided. The liveried swordman was surprised. He threw his sword toward the heart of his enemy. The liveried swordman hoped to force the swordman to abort the thrust in order to save his own life.

Unexpectedly, the swordman in blue didn't attempt to defend himself. With a move of his arm, the point of his sword entered the liveried swordman's throat. Then the liveried swordman's thrown sword hit his chest with a loud clang and fell to the ground. The swordman in blue laughed coldly and pulled his sword back. He was wearing a round plate of iron in front of his chest, just under the garment. That's why the sword did him no harm. The liveried swordman's throat spurted blood and his body convulsed. The servants stepped in to remove the body and began to wipe up the blood on the ground.

The swordman in blue sheathed his sword. He stepped forward and bowed toward the north of the hall where the king sat. The king wore a purple robe. He is of strange appearance. His neck was excessive long and his mouth was sharp as a bird's beak. He smiled and said in a croaking voice "The strong one has wonderful sword skill. Award him ten pounds of gold." The swordman in blue knelt down on his right knee and bowed "Thank you for the award." The king waved his left hand. An official on his right shouted "Swordmen of Wu and swordmen of Yueh,second contest!"

From the east end of the hall, another liveried swordman walked out from his group. This man was tall of stature and held a great sword. The sword was nearly four feet in length. The blade was extremely thick and was obviously quite heavy. From the west of hall, another swordman in blue walked out. He was of medium height. His face was crisscrossed by at least twelve or thirteen sword scars. The face seemed no longer human. He must have fought hundreds of battles with countless swordmen. The two knelt to the king, then they saluted each other.

The swordman in blue straightened his body and smiled. His face made the smile seemed ugly and cruel. The tall swordman shivered. Then he sighed deeply and held his sword with both hands.

Suddenly the swordman in blue howled madly like a wolf and thrusted his sword. The tall swordman cried, lifted his great sword and cut down toward his opponent's head. The swordman in blue dodged while his sword made a slash from left to right. The tall swordman lifted the great sword and whirled, making the sounds of a great wind. The great weight of the sword didn't slow him down in the slightest.