CLX Book 5 Chapter 4 – Part 1

Chapter 4 – The Number One Sword in the World

Xue Jia Zhuang was also built on the mountain. The blue-green mountain range wound around and stretched into the back of the mountain. Sometimes the fog in the garden would nearly condense together with the cloud from the mountain top.

They walked along a gravel path through the back garden. The garden did not have any bright-colored flowers and trees at all, every pavilion and every stone carried an elegant, yet rustic and simple feeling. _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang and Xue Yiren walked side by side, neither of them spoke. When someone reaches a certain position, he will naturally become a person who doesn’t talk much.

The autumn morning breeze was not cold at all, but the sky appeared to be very high. They walked into a verdant bamboo forest, the dew condensed on the bamboo leaves, like pearls inlaid on jadeite.

The end of the bamboo forest was connected to the foot of the mountain. On the wall that has been stained green by moss, there was an ancient and simple iron gate, it appeared to be very solid and heavy.

Xue Yiren opened the gate and said, “Xiang Shuai, please, Laofu will lead the way.”

Behind the gate was a long and dark stone path, the air was chilly, piercing the skin. Xue Yiren waited for Chu Liuxiang to walk in, and immediately closed the gate tightly again, leaving the light and the warmth outside the gate, the surroundings suddenly fell silent, not even a sound could be heard.

To kill someone, this was indeed a good place. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

But Chu Liuxiang did not feel uneasy at all. He seemed to have complete trust on Xue Yiren. He and Xue Yiren had just met for the first time, already he brought him to this secret place, he did not seem to feel surprise at all.

After rounding a few bends along the stony path, they came to a deep cave.

The stone wall had copper lantern embedded on it, under the illumination of the dim, eerie light, he saw stone tables lining up all sides of the cave, each stone table had a darkish-colored metal case on it.

The metal case on the stone table straight ahead was long and narrow, inside it must be the sword that Xue Yiren regarded as a treasure [lit. a flat round jade ornament with a hole at the center], but what were inside the other iron boxes?

Holding the sword case, Xue Yiren seemed to have forgotten that Chu Liuxiang was standing by his side. His heart and soul have already dissolved into the sword, he had entered the forgetting-others, forgetting-self realm.

Chu Liuxiang suddenly discovered that this old man unexpectedly seemed to have changed completely.

The first time Chu Liuxiang saw him, he only felt that his elegant demeanor was graceful and calm, like a sage who did not seek fame, or like a personage who was weary of the red dust [the world of mortals (Buddhism)], withdrawing from the fray and living in seclusion in the forest. Although unavoidably his expression felt somewhat cold and stern, there was absolutely no sharpness that would make other people feel uneasy. _{Translated by foxs}

Just now Chu Liuxiang walked side by side with him along a path that was less than three chi in width, he did not feel the slightest bit sense of foreboding, as if he was walking with an ordinary old man.

But now, the sword had not left its sheath, Chu Liuxiang already felt some kind of threatening sword aura piercing his bones and chilling his body, obviously this sword qi did not come from the ‘sword’.

This sword aura was coming from Xue Yiren himself!

In here, he was no longer an old man who chatted with his sons and daughters and in-laws about the daily life of a family. Once he stepped into this gate, he turned into the famous hero [xia – knight] who once ruled [orig. rebuke angrily] the Jianghu in the past, pleased to differentiate gratitude and grudges!

This place not only stored the sword, it also stored his past memories, hence the reason he never allowed anybody to violate this place.

But why did he invite Chu Liuxiang to come here?

Xue Yiren slowly opened the iron case and took out the sword.

The shape of this sword was simple and unadorned, the black blade carried a hint of dark green color; there was no rays of light dazzling the eyes, but standing eight chi away, Chu Liuxiang already felt the chill piercing his skin. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

‘Qiang!’, Xue Yiren flicked the sword with his finger, the sword emitted a dragon moan.

Chu Liuxiang blurted out, “Good sword!”

Xue Yiren’s eyes flashing, he said, “Does Xiang Shuai recognize what sword this is?”

Chu Liuxiang spoke slowly, “In the past, Tai Kang, Shao Kang, father and son [tai and shao mean ‘great’ and ‘lesser/younger’, respectively], the famous lords of the House of Zhou, gathered famous craftsmen from all over the world to forge the eight-direction [or octagonal] copper. After ten years, they obtained a sword, precisely this Ba Fang Tong Jian [eight points of the compass (all direction) copper sword]!”

Xue Yiren said, “Good, good eyesight.”

Although he was praising loudly, his face was totally devoid of any emotion. He took out another sword.

The scabbard of this sword was gorgeous. The hilt was inlaid with turquoise stones and gilded with gold threads. Although the joint between the hilt and the sword blade appeared to be forged of gold, it had the color of aged copper.

Xue Yiren asked, “How about this sword?” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang said, ‘Since ancient times all mighty rulers had famous swords. Shao Kang forged the eight-direction copper sword, Zhuan Xu [one of the Five Legendary Emperors, grandson of the Yellow Emperor, traditionally believed to reign 2513-2435 BC] had ‘Hua Ying’ [lit. drawing/painting shadow/trace], and ‘Teng Kong’ [soaring into the air], Tai Jia had a sword named ‘Wen Guang’ [lit. literary/cultural light], and Wu Ding [c. 14th century BC, legendary founder and wise ruler of Shang dynasty] had a sword named ‘Zhao Dan’ [illuminating/reflecting the guts] …”

He chuckled and said, “This sword is ‘Zhao Dan’, only the sword case has been embellished with ornaments by later generations.”

Xue Yiren said, “Good, good eyesight!”

His cold and detached face was still without any emotion, but his eyes started to show some appreciation. Half a day later, he slowly took out another sword.

This sword had a black sharkskin scabbard with a copper mouth. The sword only went out about half a cun out of the sheath, already there was some kind of hazy, dense bluish-green cold light shining onto the eyebrows and eyelashes [fig. close at hand; urgent, pressing].

Xue Yiren held the sword in his hand, the light in his eyes seemed to be brighter.

He fixed his gaze on the sword blade, and was silent for a long time before saying word by word, “Xiang Shuai, please take a look what kind of sword this is.”

Chu Liuxiang also fixed his gaze on the sword blade and remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, “This is the sword with no name.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Suddenly raising his long eyebrows Xue Yiren repeated, “The sword with no name?”

“That’s right,” Chu Liuxiang said, “The sword with no name. But although the sword does not have a name [wu ming], the person is famous [lit. with name, you ming].”

Xue Yiren asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Gan Jiang Mo Xie, Qianbei knows about them, right?” [See End Notes for these, as well as subsequent swords mentioned here.]

Xue Yiren said, “Gan Jiang Mo Xie, divine arms of the antiquity, although Laoxiu has not seen it, but I have heard about it.”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled, he said, “Actually, ‘Gan Jiang Mo Xie’ were just the name of a pair of husband and wife. But a hundred years later, when the word ‘Gan Jiang Mo Xie’ four characters are mentioned, people only know the sword, but forget about the persons.”

Without waiting for Xue Yiren to speak, he went on, “The King of Yue hired Ou Yezi to forge five swords, which were ‘Chun Gou’ [sterling (pure/simple) hook], ‘Zhan Lu’ [deep/clear-water river (vessel)], ‘Hao Cao’ [hairsbreadth grade], ‘Yu Chang’ [fish intestine], and ‘Ju Que’ [giant (imperial city) watchtower]. The King of Chu ordered Feng Huzi to seek three swords, which were ‘Long Yuan’ [dragon spring (deep pool)], ‘Tai A’ [too much flattery], and ‘Gong Shi’ [worker market]. For thousands of years, when these eight swords are mentioned, it could be said that no one does not know. But how many people actually know the two grandmasters, Ou Yezi and Feng Huzi?”

Xue Yiren said, “Xiang Shuai is saying …” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang said, “It is only because of the name of the sword that the radiance of the person has been covered by the radiance of the sword; therefore, later generations only know that there is Zhan Lu, Ju Que, but they don’t know that there was Ou Yezi.”

“That’s right,” Xue Yiren said, “In Wulin, the number of people still remembering Ou Yezi is not many.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “The sword in Qianbei’s hand, although the sword does not have a name, the one who can wield it must be an extraordinary person.”

Xue Yiren said, “Oh? How so?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “It’s just because the sword blade’s sharpness is fully revealed [fig. showing off one’s ability], the murderous aura is pressing. If one is not a peerless martial art master, if one does not have an astonishing technique, not enough power to control this sword, I’m afraid one will be injured by the sword instead.”

He chuckled, and then said, “If Zaixia’s two eyes are not blind, this sword must be the one worn by Qianbei when he roamed Jianghu in the past.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Only when listening to this point that Xue Yiren was agitated and emotionally moved. He blurted out, “Xiang Shuai indeed has divine eyes like lightning, Laoxiu thoroughly respect greatly!”

These words were the exact words that Chu Liuxiang used to praise Xue Yiren. The two men looked at each other and smiled, each man could not stop the feeling of respect for each other from growing in their heart.

End Notes:

The following notes were written by Faerie Queene during the “Legend of the White-Haired Demoness” translation (check out her work in another part of this site); I thought I’d reproduce it here for the newer readers’ benefit.

Long Yuan: Translated from “LongQuan,” the name of a city belonging to the Province of ZheJiang.

It was said that during the Spring and Autumn warring period, a famous sword craftsman named Ou YeZi received orders from the Lord of Chu to craft a sword. Arriving by the springs of the LongQuan County, Ou YeZi found the environment and atmosphere incredibly suitable for the crafting of a sword. Not only was the quiet area peaceful and undisturbed, but there were seven separate creeks that were coincidently arranged in approximation to the positioning of the seven stars in the big dipper.

The water from the creek was cold and pure, thus in the end, Ou YeZi was able to construct three priceless swords (or according to some accounts, Ou YeZi had constructed more than five swords including the swords: Long Yuan/Long Quan, Tai-A, Chun Gou, Zhan Lu, Yu Chang, Jue Que). [Foxs’ note: FYI, the text has 龙渊 (long yuan), instead of 龙泉 (long quan)]

Amongst the three swords of which he handed over to the Lord of Chu, it was the “Long Yuan” (Dragon Abyss) Sword which became the most famous. The Long Yuan Sword was also known as the “7 Xing (Star) Long Yuan (Dragon Abyss)” Sword (to reference the springs arranged in accordance to the seven-star formation of which the sword was created from) or just Seven Star Sword. But this sword was later renamed as “Long Quan” (Dragon Spring) Sword during the Tang Dynasty.

Because of these swords, the waters of the LongQuan Springs have longed been graced with the famous reputation of producing steel blades of superb quality and the LongQuan area was further known as the Homeland of Swords. The Dragon Springs sword was known for possessing four main characteristics: “Sturdy and resilient, slicing through steel with the ease of slicing through mud,” “Simultaneously hard and gentle in nature, retractable and extendable,” “Luminous in colour, imposing with cold light,” “Exquisite in its composition, elegant in its classical beauty.”

Another defining trait of the Dragon Springs Sword was its “Extraordinary glow and eye-dazzling markings.” This trait is sometimes known in wuxia novels as the “Jian Qi” (sword’s aura/Qi) which is really a result of the specific circumstances imposed upon the elements/components of the sword during the process of sword-making. But in this case, this extraordinary aura of the sword is referring to how the tone of the sword resembles the lapping waves of flowing waters and the gliding clouds of the skies to comprise a sparkling effect of fluctuating motion.

Mention of the Dragon Springs sword in ancient texts often uses the following description, “shining with the streaking glow of a turtle shell and the spectral rays of the rainbow, its extraordinary glow and eye-dazzling markings could be easily discerned by the naked eye.” According to legend, it was said that even if you bury the Dragon Springs sword forty feet below ground, its “extraordinary glow and eye-dazzling markings” will still break through the earth and shine afar. Only when the sword is extracted from its shield will this strange Sword Qi disappear. It seems that not only humans will be opposed to being left alone in solitude and obscurity, even swords have the same ambition to shine.

Gan Jiang Mo Xie: This pair of swords was said to be created by a pair of husband-and-wife sword smiths who lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn era (722BC-481BC) and were said to be apprentices coming out from the same school as the master sword-maker Ou YeZi who crafted the Dragon Springs Sword. Having crafted two of the finest swords of their career, they named these two swords after themselves Gan Jiang (literal translation: Competent General), Mo Xie (literal translation: Do not be/commit evil).

There appears to be various stories and legends surrounding these two sword-makers. It was said that though they worked for the Lord of the state of Wu (He Lu), yet Gan Jiang was also unjustly executed by the Lord of Wu because he did not want Gan Jiang crafting equally superb swords for the other states. Another story posits that it was Gan Jiang who crafted the pair of swords and named them after his wife and himself. He worked for the Lord of Chu and having anticipated that his lord would kill him immediately upon receiving this sword, he voiced these fears to his pregnant wife and left behind one sword buried under a large tree so that his unborn child may one day take revenge for him. Indeed, upon presenting the Gan Jiang sword to the Lord of Chu, Gan Jiang was executed. When their son Chi Bi (literal translation: Scarlet Nose) grew up, he dug up the sword and swore revenge for his father. But unable to approach the Lord of Chu, he narrated his story to a noble warrior from the Chu state, who having been touched by his story promised to seek revenge for him. According to legend, it was this warrior who by presenting the Lord of Chu with the Mo Xie sword as a decoy, beheaded the Lord of Chu with this very sword and knowing that being surrounded by numerous soldiers he would be unable to escape, this warrior beheaded himself with the very same sword.

There was yet another legend which posits that Gan Jiang collected together the essence of the highest grades of gold and metals belonging to the five mountains (probably: SongShan, TaiShan, HuaShan, Northern HengShan, Southern HengShan) and combined them together within a forge. But the heat of the forge was not enough to melt the metals and since the metals were unable to merge together, his sword was unable to be completed.

Gan Jiang knew that his failure to finish the sword according to his deadline would lead to his execution by the Lord of Wu and as a result was filled with despair. Suddenly, during one night, his wife smiled at him, causing Gan Jiang to be greatly worried as he pleaded for her to not commit what he feared she would do. But she only smiled and by the time Gan Jiang woke up, he found that she had already disappeared. He ran to the place where they crafted the swords and saw his wife standing by the forge smiling at him. But before he could reach her, she had already thrown herself into the fire. Her last words to him were that of reassuring her husband that she has not died yet and that they would eventually reunite.

The metals finally melted and combined together to finally complete the pair of Gan Jiang, Mo Xie swords. Gan Jiang only presented the Gan Jiang sword to the Lord of Wu and secretly kept the Mo Xie sword by his side. But the Lord of Wu eventually discovered this news and had his men surround Gan Jiang. At that time, Gan Jiang opened up the box which contained the Mo Xie sword and asked the Mo Xie sword how he could ever be reunited with his wife. But the sword instantaneously transformed into a great white dragon which suddenly disappeared along with Gan Jiang himself. Similarly, the Gan Jiang sword which was by the Lord of Wu’s side all this time mysteriously disappeared as well.

Meanwhile, in a district called the Pin (destitute/impoverish) Cheng (City) located a thousand miles away appeared a young white dragon that suddenly emerged in their YanPingJin lake. This majestic dragon was not only beautiful, but also kind-hearted and by calling upon the power of rainfall and the force of wind, it enabled the destitute city to benefit from the weather and prosper in its agriculture. As a result, the city was also renamed as Feng (Prosperity) Cheng. But the inhabitants found that the white dragon seemed always to be very unhappy as it looked towards the shores as if forever waiting for or pining away for someone with eyes filled with tears.

After six hundred years, a young man named Lei Huan suddenly discovered a box buried within the ground. Upon opening the box, he discovered that it concealed the legendary Gan Jiang sword. Pleased with his finding, he hung the sword by his side and one day, when he passed by the YanPingJin lake, the sword that hung by his waist suddenly leaped up into the air and dived into the lake. There was a great commotion in the waters when suddenly two dragons leaped out, one white dragon and one black dragon. These two dragons danced together in joyful happiness before returning to the bottom of the lake, only to disappear forever. The next day, a husband and wife moved into the town. They were merely an ordinary couple and although the husband was a very skilled blacksmith, yet he only crafted the ordinary tools used in everyday agricultural life while his wife stood by his side, fanning him with a little fan and wiping away his sweat.

Yu Chang: Literally translates as “Fish Intestine” and is one of the five major swords crafted by the Master sword smith Ou YeZi at the Dragon Springs during the Spring and Autumn era.

Ji Guang was the son of the Zhu Fan, the Lord of Wu. Zhu Fan’s last wishes were to pass his reign down to his three brothers (Ji Guang’s uncles). The reign was thus passed on to Zhu Fan’s first brother and after his first brother’s death, it was succeeded by his second brother. But after the second brother’s death, Zhu Fan’s third brother refused to take over the throne and thus the reign of power was (according to the people’s wishes) passed onto the SON of Zhu Fan’s SECOND brother, Ji Liao. Being the son of the eldest brother and eldest lord, Ji Guang felt that he was cheated of his throne and thus secretly conspired to recapture his title. Thus during the ninth year of Ji Liao’s reign, Ji Guang invited his Lord over to his place for a feast.

Ji Liao brought a big crowd of his trusted troops along with him to this feast that filled out the banquet hall, guarding over their lord. Ji Liao himself was also wearing three layers of steel armour as a safety precaution. But Ji Guang had already planned out the whole conspiracy ahead of time, so that after many rounds of alcohol, he asked to be excused. He then went to the underground kitchen where he had his own trusted troops waiting and then by concealing the Yu Chang sword within the belly of a fish, he then commanded his man Zhuan Zhu to disguise as a servant and present forth the plate of fish to the Lord of Wu. The plan proceeded smoothly, so that as the assassin Zhuan Zhu brought forth the dish, he also brought out the Yu Chang sword and with one stab, the Yu Chang sword sliced through the three layers of steel armour to end Ji Liao’s life right on the spot. Zhuan Zhu himself was killed right away by Ji Liao’s men, but Ji Liao’s men were also murdered shortly after by Ji Guang’s troops who were already standing by.

From then on, Ji Guang overtook the throne to become the Lord of Wu. The unbelievably sharp Yu Chang sword thus became famous due to this incident. Some say that the Fish Intestine Sword was so named because the corrugated shape and markings on the sword resembled that of a fish’s intestine, while some also say that it derived its name due to its lightweight fineness which enabled it to be concealed within the stomach of a fish. As a result, the two characters Fish (Yu) Intestine (Chang2) Sword also became known as the Fish (Yu) Conceals (Cang2) Sword.

It was also said that when the sword was first completed, the master sword expert Xue Zhu was invited over to divulge his opinion. Xue Zhu had the uncanny instinctual ability to determine the nature and “spirit” of a sword. At that time, he said that this sword “went against the natural order and cannot be pacified or tamed. The servant will use it to kill his lord and the son will use it to murder his father.” The sword was therefore later presented by the Yue State to the Wu State as a gift.

Ju Que: Literal translation: Giant Gap or Hard Iron Gap. This was one of the five most famous swords that was crafted by Ou YeZi and presented to the Lord of Yue.

It was said that when the Lord of Yue, Gou Jian brought forth this sword to the world’s number one “sword critic” Xue Zhu (refer to previous note), he criticized this sword for having coarse components and for being rough in its composition (more specifically, Xue Zhu pointed out that the three main components of the sword: gold, silver and tin had already shown signs of separating from each other, whereas in a sword of truly superb quality, these three components would merge into one entity and one would never be able to separate them), thus the Jue Que sword could not be considered as a sword of superb quality.

After having his treasured sword so criticized by Xue Zhu, the Lord of Yue later brought forth the Chun Gou sword of which Xue Zhu highly praised (refer to subsequent note). According to legend, this sword derived its name from the fact that when using it to slash or pierce towards an iron pot/cauldron, it would split open a huge gash or crack on the hard iron. As a result, it was named Jue Que for the word “Jue” could be interpreted as both “giant/great” or “hard iron” (depending on which variation of the Chinese character is used) and the word “Que” can be translated as “gap.”

Chun Gou: As continued from the above notes, the Lord of Yue brought forth his two prized swords (one being the Jue Que sword) to the sword expert Xue Zhu who criticized them as not worthy of being deemed as swords of true supremacy. Thus the Lord of Yue gave orders to bring forth another sword. This time, this sword was presented under the accompaniment of a hundred troops clad in iron armour.

When Xue Zhu asked what sword this was that could possibly merit such attention, the Lord of Yue, Gou Jian only uttered two words, “Chun Gou” (literal translation: sterling hook). But upon hearing these two words, the sword expert Xue Zhu literally fell off his chair in alarm and remained frozen with paralyzed shock. It was only after a little while could he hasten towards the sword and after tidying up his appearance and then performing the rites of respectful reverence, he finally opened the box to study the sword, all the while remarking on the excellence of the treasured sword.

The Lord of Yue then told Xue Zhu that someone had offered him a thousand majestic steeds, three wealthy towns and two great cities in exchanged for this sword, and then asked him whether he should accept the offer. Xue Zhu adamantly insisted that such commodities could not measure up to the Chun Gou sword.

When the Lord of Yue asked Xue Zhu to explain himself, Xue Zhu said that such a sword was a creation that was borne from the work of both mortals and the heavens. For in order to provide the tin for this sword, the thousand-year-old ChiJin Mountain split open and offer tin and the RouYe River of a million years dried up in order to bring forth bronze.

When Ou YeZi was in the process of crafting the sword, the Lord of Thunder hammered out the sword personally while the Mother of Rain cooled it down with her showers. A Scaly Dragon cradled the fiery forge while the Lord of Heavens himself fed the blazing ambers with coal. The sword master Ou YeZi acted under the orders of the heavens and under the help of the various gods, he slaved over this sword for ten years before it was finally completed. Once the sword was completed, all gods returned to the heavens, the ChiJin Mountain merged back together and the RouYe River filled up once again with swelling waves. Ou YeZi himself died of physical depletion and emotional exhaustion, never again to create such heavenly swords.

Zhan Lu: This sword derived its name from the ZhanLu Mountains in SongXi, where Ou YeZi was said to have created this sword. The characters Zhan Lu could be roughly translated as Deep-clear (Zhan) Rivers (Lu). Said to be completely black in colour, the Zhan Lu sword was also said to resemble the dark pupil of an eye that watches over you. Not known for its cutting sharpness, it is instead known for its compassion and trustworthiness. Like a pair of foreseeing eyes that judges with impartial fairness, it watches over the behaviour of its lord and the lord’s servants.

There is a phrase associated with this sword that says: If the Lord is righteous and moral, the sword accompanies by his side and the country will prosper. If the Lord is immoral and corrupt, the sword abandons him and the country will fall into ruins. Comprised from the best of the five Golds, capturing the essence of the sun’s brilliance, it appears with majestic spirit and dominates with solemn authority.

When Ou YeZi finished this sword, he wept with joyful tears for he had finally completed his lifelong wish of crafting a sword of indestructible sturdiness yet of which does not bear along with it a single bit of menacing deathly aura. It was said that when Ou YeZi presented this sword to the Lord of Yue, the Lord of Yue prized it highly as a priceless treasure. But after the State of Yue was defeated by the State of Wu, it landed into the hands of the Lord of Wu, He-Lu who hung it by his side and never for a moment let it out of his sight until the sword suddenly disappeared on him one day.

It turns out that the sword delivered itself to the pillow-side of the Lord of Chu. When the Lord of Chu woke up to discover this sword, he called forth his high official Feng HuZi to ask him about the sword’s origins. Feng HuZi informed his Lord that this was the Zhan Lu Sword (some say that Feng HuZi was the disciple of Ou YeZi), causing the Lord of Chu to be greatly pleased. For it is known that this sword will only accompany the side of a righteous and moral ruler, thus allowing the ruler’s country to prosper. Since the Lord of Wu was immoral, the sword thus left his side.

Some accounts also said that the State of Yue went to war with the state of Chu in order to repossess this sword. It was also rumoured that this sword was passed on throughout the various dynasty to eventually come into the possession of one of the most famous patriots of the Song dynasty, Yue Fei.

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