is clothes. Zhang Wuji simply hardened his heart and ignored her completely.

He heard Chen Youliang said, “How did you know? Did such a strange thing really happen?”

With hatred in his voice Song Qingshu replied, “This fellow Zhang Wuji’s appearance is only so-so, he is not the least bit handsome nor possesses an outstanding ability, but he practices the Devil Cult’s sorcery. He is good at captivating women’s attractions that many young women are infatuated by him.”

“That’s right,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao nodded, “The Devil Cult’s lecherous and demonic disciples really did practice this kind of ‘flower-picking’ [cai3 hua1] method [Translator’s note: again, I know I translated this phrase rather literally, but I am sure the readers can appreciate the Jin Yong’s imagery], where males and females gather together. Emei Pai’s disciple, Ji Xiaofu, also fell under the Devil Cult Yang Xiao’s sorcery, in the end she lost her reputation and fell from grace. Zhang Wuji’s father, Zhang Cuisan, also fell under the demonic charm of White-browed Eagle King’s daughter. That Tartar Junzhu must have fallen under the little devil head’s ‘flower-picking’ incantation and thus lost her chastity to him. The wood has become the boat, the (grain) rice has become (cooked) rice [Translator’s note: for those of you who are not familiar with rice, in Chinese, the uncooked, grain rice is called ‘mi3’, while the cooked rice we eat is called ‘fan4’]; she is depraved and cannot extricate herself from disgrace.” The crowd of beggars nodded their heads in agreement.

Chuan Gong Zhanglao was filled with righteous indignation, he said, “This kind of Jianghu’s scum, everybody has the right to punish him; otherwise, countless innocent and respectable young women will be harmed by this pervert little thief.”

Shi Huolong stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. “Damn it!” he said with a laugh, “This pervert little thief Zhang Wuji’s luck is not bad!”

Zhang Wuji was so angry that his body, from head to toe, shook. So far he was still a virgin, yet from Emei Pai’s Miejue Shitai down to these people, for countless times he was cursed as a ‘pervert little thief’. He truly suffered injustice and had nowhere to appeal. As for ‘Zhao Min lost her chastity to him, the wood has become the boat’ and so on, he wondered where did those things come from? Thinking to this point he was suddenly startled, “Miss Zhao and I are in each other arms here, they absolutely must not find out; otherwise they will have a confirmation of their slandering.”

He heard Chuan Gong Zhanglao continue, “Emei Pai’s Miss Zhou Zhiruo has fallen into this pervert thief’s hand, whether or not she can protect her chastity, is difficult to say. Song Xiongdi, please don’t worry, we will certainly help you recapture your beloved wife; we cannot let the matter of Ji Xiaofu be repeated today.”

“What Dage [big brother] said was very true,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao said, “Wudang Pai failed to take Yin Liting under their wings in the past, they are not able to shelter Song Qingshu today. Song Xiongdi invests his life in our Clan; if we fail to protect his interest by helping him accomplish his cherished desire, as the Wudang Pai’s future Sect Leader, won’t his agreement to become a six-pouch disciple of our Clan be in vain?” The crowd of beggars loudly responded, they all said an oath to kill the pervert thief Zhang Wuji and take Song Qingshu’s wife back.

Zhao Min put his mouth next to Zhang Wuji’s ears and whispered, “You are a pervert little thief who deserves to die!” She sounded as if she was angered by them, but also mad at him; as if she was complaining and admiring him at the same time, yet her voice also carried a flirtatious tone. Listening to her, Zhang Wuji’s heart was swayed; all of a sudden he was having mixed feelings. He thought in agony, “If only she wasn’t this cruel and treacherous, and did not kill my cousin, I would be happy to be with her for the rest of my life; I wouldn’t have anything to worry.”

He heard Song Qingshu vaguely express his gratitude to the crowd of beggars. Zhi Fa Zhanglao asked again, “How did that pervert little thief charm the Tartar Junzhu? Do you know?”

“As an outsider I don’t know the details,” Song Qingshu replied, “I know that that little witch led the imperial warriors to the Wudang Mountain to capture my Tai Shifu [grand master], but when she saw that pervert thief’s face, she quickly withdrew without a fuss, and the great calamity facing Wudang Pai was thwarted. About twenty years ago my San Shishu [third martial (younger) uncle] Yu Daiyan’s limbs were broken by some people, and that little witch presented some medicine to that pervert thief, thus the broken bones were healed.”

“That is so,” Zhi Fa Zhanglo said, “The Wudang Pai was actually a thorn in the imperial government’s eyes, if that Tartar Junzhu was not captivated by the deceitful lust and has forgotten her natural disposition, she would not have presented the medicine as a gift to help the enemy. That being said, although this pervert little thief’s conduct was despicable, he still have some good feelings toward Tai Shifu and your various martial uncles.”

“Mmm,” Song Qingshu said, “I prefer to think that he has not forgotten his roots.”

Chen Youliang said, “Reporting to Bangzhu: After listening to Song Xiongdi’s explanation, I have an idea which will make that pervert little thief, along with the Devil Cult, from top to bottom, to meekly obey our Clan’s order.”

Shi Huolong happily said, “Chen Xiongdi unexpectedly thought an ingenious plan, please explain it quickly.”

“There are too many eyes and ears in here,” Chen Youliang said, “Even though we are all brothers, I am still afraid someone might leak the secret.”

The murmurs in the main hall immediately stopped; some footsteps were heard, about a dozen or so people went out the hall, leaving only several highest-level leaders of the Beggar Clan.

“This matter is to be treated with the highest confidence,” Chen Youliang said, “Song Xiongdi, both Longtou Dage, let us search around this place to make sure nobody is eavesdropping.”

A couple of rustling noise was heard as Zhang Bang Longtou and Zhang Bo Longtou were jumping onto the roof, while Chen Youliang and Song Qingshu went inspecting around the hall. They looked behind the idol, behind the curtain, behind the inscribed overhead board, everywhere. Zhang Wuji secretly praised Zhao Min’s resourcefulness, as other than this big drum, there was no other hiding place in the main hall. Four people finished their inspection and returned to the hall.

In a low voice Chen Youliang said, “This matter is highly dependent on Song Xiongdi.”

“Me?” Song Qingshu asked in amazement.

“That’s right,” Chen Youliang said, “Zhang Bo Longtou Dage, please give some ‘wu du shi xin san’ [five-poison losing conscience powder] and have Song Xiongdi take it to Mount Wudang, let him secretly put it into Zhang Zhenren [a respectful term to address a Taoist priest] and various Wudang heroes’ food and drink. We are going to wait at the foot of the mountain. If everything goes well, we are going to capture Zhang Zhenren and various Wudang heroes. Won’t we then be able to coerce and disturb that pervert little thief Zhang Wuji so that he obeys our Clan?”

Shi Huolong was first to applaud and called out, “Marvelous, marvelous!”

Zhi Fa Zhanglao also said, “This plan is not bad. Our Clan’s ‘wu du shi xin san’ is very fierce, but if we want to put the poison on Zhang Wuji’s food and drink, I am afraid the Devil Cult guard on him is too tight, so it is very unlikely for us to succeed. Song Xiongdi is a Wudang disciple, so if we want to capture Wudang people, it will be like guarding against the thief who is already in the house, truly inconspicuous, a very cunning strategy, it will be very easy.”

“This … this …” Song Qingshu haltingly said, “It means I will have to poison my own father, absolutely impossible.”

Chen Youliang said, “Our Clan’s ‘wu du shi xin san’ is very effective to lose someone’s consciousness, but it is totally harmless to the body. Your honorable father, Song Daxia [great hero Song] is a righteous hero, we respect him very much, we certainly will not harm a single strand of his hair.”

Song Qingshu was still unwilling to comply, he said, “I join our Clan without asking Tai Shifu and my father’s permission first. When they find out in the future, they will certainly hold me accountable; I don’t know what the best way to explain this to them would be. However, our Clan has always taken the path of chivalry, no different than Wudang Pai’s objective, thus this is not considered a capital crime. But if I am asked to do this unfilial thing, defying my elders, I do not dare to accept.”

“Xiongdi,” Chen Youliang said, “You have not given this a careful thought. In order to accomplish a great undertaking, we should not be bothered by trivial matters. The people of old sacrificed their loved ones for the sake of great justice, it happened many times in history; let alone our objective is to deal with the Devil Cult. Capturing the various Wudang heroes is nothing more than a way to gain control over that pervert little thief Zhang Wuji. When the Six Major Sects besieged the Devil Cult, didn’t Wudang Pai also come in full force?”

“If I do this,” Song Qingshu said, “First, my conscience is uneasy. Second, tens of thousands Jianghu people will spit in contempt over me; how can I still have a face to stand on the earth?”

“Do you know why I asked the eight-pouch elders to withdraw from the hall just now?” Chen Youliang asked, “Why did we carefully search from top to bottom, from front to rear? It is exactly because I am afraid somebody might leak the secret. Song Xiongdi, after administering the drug, you also fake losing your consciousness. We will also tie you up along with your Tai Shifu, your honorable father, and your various martial uncles, nobody will suspect you. Other than the seven of us here, who else in this world knows? We will admire you as a hero and a real man who is capable of undertaking an important matter, who would laugh at you?”

Song Qingshu was silent for half a day before haltingly said, “Bangzhu and Chen Dage’s [big brother Chen] order, Xiaodi [little brother] really does not dare to disobey. Furthermore, Xiaodi is a new member of our Clan, supposedly must seize every opportunity to obtain a merit; even go through fire or water, I should do it with all my might. Only, a man’s life in this world must be based on being filial and righteous; so asking Xiaodi to scheme against my own father, I can’t follow this order no matter what.”

[Note: previously, Song Qingshu referred to himself as ‘Xiongdi’ – brother in general term, in this last sentence, he used the term ‘Xiaodi’ – little/younger brother; denoting a definite change of attitude.]

For the Beggar Clan people the word ‘filial’ was extremely revered; as the group of beggars heard his last words, they felt it was inappropriate to force him further. But suddenly Chen Youliang laughed coldly and said, “A junior to defy his senior is the big taboo of the Wulin world, I know it, Song Xiongdi does not need to remind me. But I wonder how does Song Xiongdi address Mo Qixia [Seventh Hero Mo]? Is he your senior, or are you his senior?”

Song Qingshu did not answer, after a long while he finally said, “Very well, since Bangzhu and gentlemen give me the order, Xiaodi will comply. But all of you must promise not to endanger my father not even half a part of him, also not to disgrace him in any way. Otherwise, Xiaodi would rather lose my reputation and fall into disgrace than committing this non filial shady business.”

Shi Huolong, Chen Youliang and the others were exulted. Chen Youliang said, “That’s a great answer. Song Xiongdi can work with us brothers very well. Song Daxia is everybody’s respected senior. Even if Song Xiongdi did not mention it, as his nephews we are going to show him our utmost respect.”

Zhang Wuji felt strange, “Song Shige was always unwilling to comply, but as soon as Chen Youliang mentioned Mo Qishu [seventh (younger) uncle Mo], Song Shige suddenly did not dare to refuse? There must be something fishy here. It seems like, to find out the details, I will have to ask Mo Qishu personally.”

He heard Zhi Fa Zhanglao and Chen Youliang discuss in a whisper about how the Beggar Clan group of warriors was going to go up the mountain after Zhang Sanfeng, Song Yuanqiao and the others were drugged. Each time Chen Youliang proposed something, Shi Huolong would always say, “Very good, wonderful!”

Zhang Bo Longtou said, “Today is still the middle of the winter, the five-poison bugs are still dormant under the surface of the earth, Xiaodi [little brother, referring to himself] must go to the foot of Changbai Mountain [a volcanic mountain in Jilin province] to do some digging. At most in a month, at least twenty days, I will be able to concoct the ‘wu du shi xin san’. The toxicity of the five-poison bugs dug from underneath the ice and snow is not too conspicuous; when it is mixed in the food, it won’t be easily detected. It is the best drug to be used against first-class martial art masters.”

Zhi Fa Zhanglao said, “In that case, Chen Xiongdi and Song Xiongdi better accompany Zhang Bo Longtou to Mount Changbai to get the drug, while the rest of us proceed southward. Within one month, we are going to reconvene in Laohekou [city in Hubei]. Today is the eighth of the twelveth month, let’s set our meeting date to be the eighth of the first month next year.” He also said, “Having Han Lin’er in our hands is really useful. I am asking Zhang Bang Longtou to guard him well, don’t let the Devil Cult take him back. We’d better leave separately to avoid the enemy’s detection.”

Thereupon, one after another, everybody bid their farewell to the Clan Leader. Zhang Bo Longtou, was the first to leave, heading north along with Chen Youliang and Song Qingshu. A moment later the rest of the beggars left the Mi Le Temple, going their separate ways.