To Jump or Not to Jump?

“Li Daniu, where have you been?”

Just after resolving the doubts in his heart, Li Daniu was blocked as soon as he returned to the servant quarters.

“Uh, Senior Brother Cao, I went to seek guidance on martial arts.” Li Daniu, still brimming with excitement, found himself facing the steward of the servant quarters.

“Seeking guidance on martial arts? Heh…” Senior Brother Cao sneered, “That excuse for shirking work is rather poorly constructed.”

Excuse? Having just brushed up against the threshold of inner strength, Li Daniu was too exhilarated to notice the undercurrent in Senior Brother Cao’s words.

“It’s true, senior brother! I’m telling you, I’ve already grasped the knack for sensing qi. In a few days, I’ll probably be able to find the feeling completely!”

“So what?” Though Senior Brother Cao was the steward of the servant quarters, he wasn’t a servant disciple himself but a full-fledged third-generation disciple of Wudang, the disciple of Song Yuanqiao, the current chief senior of Wudang.

“Well…” Doused with cold water, Li Daniu suddenly realized he wasn’t in the modern world, nor a student studying in a school, but a servant disciple with daily chores to fulfill.

“Well? Why so silent?” Senior Brother Cao fixed Li Daniu with a cold glare. “I don’t care if you’ve found your qi sense or even mastered the Nine Yang Skill of Wudang. As long as you’re a servant disciple here, you’ll complete your assigned tasks, on time and in full.”

“But…” Coming from the modern world, Li Daniu simply didn’t have any concept of sect rules or hierarchy. In his view, a sect was like a company: he did chores, that was his work; learning martial arts was an employee benefit. If he needed time off, why should there be a problem?

“No buts.” Senior Brother Cao cut off Li Daniu’s protest. “If everyone, after a bit of insight, went off seeking guidance all over, who’d be left to do the chores? If the chores go undone, what are the masters going to eat or use?”

“It was just a little while, senior brother. It’s no big deal, right? I’ll get to work right away—there won’t be a next time, promise!”

Under a low roof, one has no choice but to bow their head. Li Daniu knew that running off without informing anyone wasn’t proper, but he’d been too excited to think straight.

“You don’t need to do chores anymore. Starting today, you’re relieved from all duties.” Senior Brother Cao spoke coolly, “A jade pendant belonging to Junior Song was lost in the rear mountain. Go and find it. If you succeed, you may continue learning martial arts; if not, you needn’t come to future instruction sessions.”

At first, hearing he wouldn’t have to work anymore, Li Daniu thought Senior Brother Cao was being petty and was about to expel him from the sect. But the real situation was worse than expulsion.

How big could a jade pendant be? And how vast was the rear mountain? Wasn’t this like searching for a needle in a haystack?

“Senior brother, I’ll do my best to find the jade pendant, but can’t I keep learning martial arts?” Compared to searching, Li Daniu cared more about his training. He’d just made progress—was he to wander the world with only a fledgling qi sense and basic Wudang Long Fist?

“You wish! If I let you keep training, not working, how would I know you’re actually searching for the pendant?” Senior Brother Cao shattered Li Daniu’s hopes. “Since you love practicing so much, you’d better put your heart into finding it. If you do, I’ll not only let you train, I’ll personally instruct you.”

Who the hell cares for your personal instruction? You’re nothing but a background character who doesn’t even get mentioned in the novels or films—what’s there to learn from you? What could I possibly achieve by following your guidance?

Watching Li Daniu struggle to contain his anger, Senior Brother Cao felt a trace of satisfaction. In truth, they had no enmity; beyond assigning chores, they’d hardly interacted. The chores weren’t that important—being a little late was no reason for such a punishment.

But he’d been forced. Outwardly, he was the disciple of Song Yuanqiao, Wudang’s future leader, and thus assured of a bright future—if not extraordinary, at least on par with the Wudang Seven Heroes. So within Wudang and among other sects, he commanded respect.

Yet, within Wudang, there was someone who could control him utterly—not his master Song Yuanqiao, but his master’s son, Song Qingshu.

Before Zhang Wuji’s arrival, who was most favored in Wudang? None but Song Qingshu. Among the Seven Heroes, the second brother was obsessed with martial arts and remained unmarried; the third was paralyzed; the fourth’s internal style prevented marriage; the sixth, Yin Liting, avoided marriage due to Ji Xiaofu; the seventh, Mo Shenggu, was still young. Thus, Song Qingshu, the first of their children and always in their midst, was naturally treasured.

This bred in Song Qingshu a sense that, after Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng, he was second in importance. For the third-generation disciples, there was nothing they wouldn’t do for him. With such a background and a promising future, it was almost certain Song Qingshu would become the third-generation leader of Wudang.

Now, a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Song Qingshu, while supposedly training in the rear mountain, had lost a jade pendant given to him by Zhang Sanfeng. That wouldn’t do! He’d wanted to mobilize all Wudang’s disciples to search, but his cronies advised secrecy—otherwise, he’d be announcing to Zhang Sanfeng himself: “Grandmaster, I’ve lost your pendant!”

Understanding this, Song Qingshu handed the task to Senior Brother Cao, steward of the servant quarters, figuring his subordinates wouldn’t cause a stir. And Li Daniu just happened to walk into the trap.

To be honest, servant disciples were always in short supply in Wudang. There was endless land to cultivate, and as long as you worked, you could grow food. Besides, there was sweeping, laundry, carrying water—all sorts of chores.

And these were just kids of thirteen or fourteen, some as young as eight or nine. If you sent them to the rear mountain, they’d just play around and never look for the pendant.

As Senior Brother Cao was fretting, he spotted Li Daniu—a boy who liked martial arts, just what he needed! He was the right age, knew what was expected, and his love of training provided leverage. Would Li Daniu abandon Wudang? Senior Brother Cao doubted it—there was no better sect for martial arts. Shaolin perhaps, but who wanted to be a monk?

“Come, I’ll take you to the rear mountain and show you the general area to save you some trouble.” His purpose was to find the pendant and fulfill his duty, not to torment Li Daniu, so Senior Brother Cao dutifully led him up the mountain.

“This area, that area, and over there—your Senior Brother Song was in these three spots. Search them carefully.” He waved left, then right, marking out such a vast area that Li Daniu nearly spat blood.

What exactly was Senior Brother Song doing? Wandering all over, covering so much ground—just running around would exhaust him to death.

Seeing Li Daniu’s stunned expression, Senior Brother Cao said, “Senior Brother Song is my master’s only son, the future leader of Wudang. You’d better take this seriously. If you find the pendant, your future is bright; if not… well, offend the future master of Wudang, and do you think you’ll have any standing here?”

Your master’s only son? Isn’t that Song Qingshu? Damn, it’s that guy. Li Daniu hadn’t expected to be caught up by the biggest scoundrel in the story. No wonder he caused so much trouble when he grew up—he was a handful even as a child.

After giving directions, Senior Brother Cao added, “See that cliff over there? Don’t get too close—falling from there is certain death.”

Li Daniu glanced at the eagle-beak-shaped outcrop, and suddenly recalled a scene from a film.

Eight years later, Zhang Wuji and Xiao Zhao would be forced over this very cliff by Song Qingshu and Zhou Zhiruo’s group, where Zhang Wuji would encounter his miraculous fortune.

“Senior brother, isn’t this the place where our grandmaster once dueled the Fireworker Monk?” Li Daniu asked excitedly.

“You know about that?” Senior Brother Cao was surprised, but didn’t dwell on it. Lately, Zhang Sanfeng had tried everything to cure Zhang Wuji’s illness, lamenting that if he hadn’t defeated the Fireworker Monk so thoroughly back then, the monk might not have jumped from this cliff. With his skills in the Nine Yang Divine Art, he could have cured Zhang Wuji’s cold poison. So, it wasn’t a secret.

“Yes, this is where our grandmaster fought the Fireworker Monk. The monk thought himself invincible after mastering the Nine Yang Divine Art. Even after killing over twenty Shaolin experts, he still lost to our grandmaster. See that cliff? That’s where he jumped—and after that, he vanished from the martial world. No one knows if he died or is hiding somewhere.”

He’s right below that cliff, Li Daniu thought excitedly. Perhaps he alone in the world knew the Fireworker Monk’s whereabouts, and perhaps he alone knew what kind of fortune awaited if he met him.

In “The Heavens Sword and the Dragon Sabre: Lord of the Demonic Cult,” this segment was greatly altered.

First, the Fireworker Monk was simply a madman who had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Art and betrayed Shaolin, no longer Zhang Sanfeng’s master. Then, the monk challenged the world’s greatest, Zhang Sanfeng, and after defeat inexplicably leapt from this very cliff. Finally, he remained there, waiting until Zhang Wuji fell as well, and then granted him his extraordinary fortune.

Recalling that this fortuitous event was even greater than in the original story, Li Daniu couldn’t help drooling.

“To jump or not to jump—that is the question.”