“The two of them were friends who’d risk their necks for each other; it’s only predictable for His Majesty to avenge Shen Wuzheng at all costs. Not long subsequent to Shen Wuzheng’s passing, Demon Sect was wiped out as a result. Question is, has Shen Wuzheng’s case been solved? Do you know who killed your father? Has the culprit been brought to justice? The network of gains and people involved goes far too deep for anyone to trace back to the root. With that said, there is no doubt about one thing. Given Shen Wuzheng’s martial prowess, the only way he could’ve been assassinated in the capital without alerting anyone is if there was a spy in the capital.”
For years, Shen Yiren suspected unorthodox sects; never did it occur to her that the possibility of an insider conspirator. Luo Ming was right: how could someone take out Liu Shan Men’s vice-captain without leaving a trace?
“Thank you for enlightening me. I have learnt a lot from this conversation.”
“You can’t trust anyone… except Ming Feizhen.”
“Pardon?”
“He won’t deceive you. When you’re fed lies from everywhere, you need someone to bounce ideas off in order to separate fact from fiction.”
Shen Yiren solemnly nodded. “The story and advice you shared has lit up a lot of lights for me. I would argue I have profited more from this exchange.”
An upward curve formed on Luo Ming’s lips. “I only shared a story. We are not done yet. Now we have arrived at the main topic. I owe the years of bliss I had with Yujing to your father.”
Luo Ming gradually increased the force exerted through Yujing as he raised it parallel to the ground, manifesting his qi on it once it arrived at its destination. “After Yujing left me, I spent ten days in the smithing workshop. By the time I came out, my mind was still muddled; I only remember I was holding a sword and reminiscing my memories with her. When I regained self-awareness, I noticed all our advanced disciples gathered behind me, swords raised in praise. Only then did it occur to me that the sword qi around me was more potent than any sword qi I’d seen in decades.
“I spent the night swinging the sword around by the lake, but I didn’t know what I was doing, to be honest. When I looked at the scars on the ground the next day, I noticed the absence of a pattern, meaning my mind and thoughts aligned. Try as I may later, I was only able to recreate twelve techniques from memories and the marks. I named the set Black-White Hair.
“I never utilised the swordplay in the last fifteen years. I’ve only reflected on the profoundness within since I have had a breakthrough.”
That explained to Shen Yiren why there was a still, deep and melancholic vibe to the techniques.
“Watch the twelve techniques closely.” Luo Ming commenced the sword taolu. “’Dawn Breeze on the Other Side of the Curtain’, ‘Erasing Dreams’, ‘Who Does the One Atop the Tower Resemble’?”
The leaves sung as though they were static, while Yujing and Luo Ming became the only dangers. From “Dawn Breeze on the Other Side of the Curtain” to the final technique – You Broke My Heart – Luo Ming executed six hundred and nine consecutive strikes worthy of being called poetry in motion. Whether that was twelve techniques or not would be only something those who understood Black-White Hair could answer.
“Understand now?”
Given Luo Ming didn’t understand it years ago, expecting Shen Yiren to grasp it within one recital was beyond a daunting task. Eyes on the sword, she requested, “Please perform it one more time, Patriarch Luo.”
“All right.” Luo Ming assumed a different starting posture and focused his spirit into his movements again. “’Forever Separated from the Oil-painted Sedan’, ‘Gone Like the Clouds Above the Valley…” The names of the techniques suddenly had a different ring to them compared to the first time Luo Ming went through the taolu. “… ‘Once a Swan Goose that Cast a Shadow’.” Forget the different naming vibe; even the 1114 techniques weren’t remotely similar to the first time he went through them, yet he was pleased with her ruminating reaction.
Shen Yiren’s focus wasn’t on the technique names or the techniques but Luo Ming’s intent – the absence of rigid form in his movement within stillness. The swordplay included stabs, chops, plucks and every other fundamental technique one would expect. As always, the difficulty lied in applying the right technique to the right scenario. A stab was only effective when it was used in the right situation. Otherwise, it could open one up to a lethal counter.
The essence of Black-White Hair was “just enough”. Imagine slipping a thrust by a hair’s breadth: should you be able to do it, you would’ve conserved a lot of energy compared to slipping off farther, stayed within range to counter the instant you’ve moved off the line, granting you ample time to get ahead and expanded your options. Howbeit, moving just enough to move off the line meant a higher risk than a bigger movement to stay far out of the attack range at the expense of aforementioned benefits. Thus, it was a skill that every swordsman dreamt of achieving.
Shen Yiren concentrated to the point that she didn’t notice the sky was turning dark.
“For the next three days, I will train here with the purpose of polishing this swordplay. If anybody happens to see me, the happen to see me.”
Shen Yiren knelt down to offer Luo Ming three kowtows. “Shen Yiren hereby expresses her sincere gratitude for your mentorship, Patriarch Luo.”
“I haven’t and won’t teach you any swordplay.” Luo Ming wagged his hand. “Luo Clan’s swordplay will never be bequeathed to outsiders. You neither carry the Luo surname nor are you my disciple. How can I teach you? I’m just training, and you just happened to see. I can’t lash out at an old friend’s daughter. That’s all there is to it.”
Shen Yiren got up, resisting a laugh. “Understood.”
After her training session under Luo Ming’s guidance that went late into the night, she met Luo Siming and Ao Xue halfway down the mountain. Upon seeing the two awkward individuals lower their heads to go around her, she recalled Luo Ming’s story. “Brother Siming, how about this?”
As soon as he came to a stop, Luo Siming espied Shen Yiren coming out at full speed with a sharp blade. While he was befuddled for her motivation, she was surprised with her improvement. In the heat of the moment, Luo Siming forewent thinking about her motive and executed Three Silver Reflections to guard, only for her to rotate, sending her sword toward Ao Xue’s heart.
Ao Xue lacked the speed they had, so there was no chance of her evading. Startled, Luo Siming threw himself in front of her, showing no hesitation to trade his life for hers.
“Hahaha.”
Luo Siming looked up to see Shen Yiren sheathing her sword.
“Remember to send me an invite, hahaha.” Shen Yiren strolled off, leaving the two figuratively scratching their heads.
Glossary
What does it mean by ‘grasping the swordplay’? – In essence, techniques are concealed in the taolu/form/poomsae/kata, so the learner needs to extract the components to “transform” – for lack of better word – into something practical. This is one reason people look at those choreographed movements and assert, “This doesn’t work in real fights.” Well, yeah, fighting isn’t a routine. I’m never selling the routines as a fighting strategy in any universe.
Imagine this: you know squat about muay thai. You go to a muay thai gym and see a guy lift a knee, extend his front hand, roll his shoulder as he puts weight on his front leg, shift weight onto the back leg, flick his lead foot, extend his front hand, then step back. If you didn’t know a single thing, if you didn’t know what any of those terms were, you’d also say, “This doesn’t work in real fights.” Was the knee raise a block, a feint, a shield, a system check or a disrespect? Guess what? This is the same thing as those taolus and forms because it’s also a choreographed routine to develop attributes. You learn choreographed/pre-set combos before you free flow on pads, don’t you? Shen Yiren is basically the person who has never seen muay thai before and is trying to understand what all those movements mean.
“Forever Separated from the Oil-painted Sedan” – An oil-painted sedan means a maiden. The valley in “Gone Like the Clouds Above the Valley” refers to Mount Wu; the valley’s cloud and rain are a man and woman in love. Put together, they mean, “It has been a long time since we’ve had the chance to be together. Where are you now? Oh, how I yearn for you.” This is a very condensed version. I have to go through more literature to further break down how you reach those conclusions, which doesn’t really matter to you, so I shall leave it there. If you really want to go there, leave a comment below.
I didn’t translate the meanings of the lines because Shen Yiren is supposed to decipher his lesson. If Luo Ming already gave it away, there’s nothing for her to decipher.
