CH 81: The Visitor

When Han Ruzi woke up, the sky was still dark. He turned his head and slowly made out the silhouette of his wife’s head. She was sleeping soundly, a few fingers showing outside the blanket, as if peeking from behind a curtain.

Han Ruzi got out of bed, quietly got dressed, and heard a soft voice from the bed, “It’s still dark…”

“I’ll get up and sit for a while,” Han Ruzi replied softly. He stood in place for a while. After hearing no more sounds from the bed, he slowly walked to the window and sat down, quietly waiting for dawn.

The back garden of the Manor of the Weary Marquis had been abandoned for a long time and had not yet been cleaned up. Master Du and his grandson had swept away the accumulated snow yesterday, and had cleared out a rectangular area to teach martial arts.

Han Ruzi and Zhang Youcai changed into tight-fit clothes and arrived as soon as the day dawned. The old man, Du Motian, hadn’t come yet. Only Du Chuanyun was waiting there by himself, hands behind his back, sizing up his two “disciples”.

Zhang Youcai did not like his attitude, “Hey, this is not your ‘pugilist world’, you need to bow when you see the Marquis.”

“One bows to the Heavens, the Earth, the Emperor, one’s Parents, and one’s Teachers. Here, I am the teacher, and you are the student. How can a teacher bow to a student?” Du Chuanyun’s spine straightened even more.

Zhang Youcai wanted to argue further, but Han Ruzi raised his hand to signal him to comply.

Du Chuanyun nodded, and continued, “The Du family martial arts are famous all over the world. Many people would kneel and beg to have us as teachers, but we have never agreed. You two are extremely fortunate…”

Zhang Youcai sulked.

“Unconvinced, huh? Come, let’s have a duel.” Du Chuanyun rolled up his sleeves. Despite it being midwinter, he was not heavily dressed, just a layer of cotton clothes, with the collar deliberately open.

Zhang Youcai knew himself well enough. “No, I will not duel with you. I’m just an ordinary little eunuch—there are thousands upon thousands of people who can defeat me; it doesn’t prove anything. If you really are capable, challenge a stronger opponent.”

There was no stronger opponent in the manor. But Du Chuanyun insisted on showing off his skills. He looked around and pointed to the nearby unswept snow, “You want to see true skill? Fine, I’ll show you the move ‘Traceless in the Snow’.”

Du Chuanyun tightened his belt, took a deep breath, and then sprinted, fast as a galloping horse. In a moment, he reached a tree, ran around it, and then returned, stopping and exhaling lightly. He said triumphantly, “Have you seen such a move?”

Han Ruzi and Zhang Youcai looked to the ground. Indeed, there were no footprints on the pure white snow. Zhang Youcai still felt unconvinced, so he walked over to examine the snow carefully. He stepped on the snow himself. His footprint was clear, but where Du Chuanyun had run, there were only very shallow traces. “This can’t be considered ‘traceless’,” he muttered.

Nevertheless, Zhang Youcai felt a deep respect within his heart. He slowly walked forward, examining each trace.

“My grandfather is named Du Motian, and I am Du Chuanyun. Now you know how powerful our Du family’s light-foot technique is. My grandfather also has a nickname—people call him ‘Sword Immortal’. That means his swordsmanship is also very powerful. As for me, my nickname is the Dragon that Chases Lightning’…”

“You’re bragging again.” Du Motian came over and pushed his grandson aside, “Nicknames are given by one’s peers in the pugilist world, not self-proclaimed. If You change yours every day, you will never have your own by the time you die.”

Zhang Youcai came around from behind the tree, laughing loudly, “There are footprints behind the tree, you took a break halfway!”

“No one said that I couldn’t take a break.” Du Chuanyun muttered.

Du Motian laughed, “Lord Marquis, don’t mind him, my grandson is a blabbermouth, he just loves to talk nonsense.”

“How can it be nonsense? Your grandson’s light-foot skill is outstanding.” Han Ruzi was quite impressed with Du Chuanyun.

Du Motian shook his head, “Lord Marquis, you’ve been tricked.”

Zhang Youcai had run back, and asked in surprise, “Does he have something under his shoe? Even then, he wouldn’t be able to leave such shallow footprints in the snow.”

“Grandfather, why are you telling them this?” Du Chuanyun muttered, tugging on his grandfather’s sleeve, but was pushed aside.

“Lord Marquis, have you ever seen street performers?” Du Motian asked.

Han Ruzi shook his head, but Zhang Youcai said, “I’ve seen them, monkey trainers, acrobats, sword dancers, fire eaters… It’s really interesting.”

Du Motian nodded with a smile, “That’s right. Some people can make a blade of dozens, even hundreds of pounds, whirl like a wind. But why don’t they go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and perform meritorious service?”

“Indeed, why is that?” Zhang Youcai was very interested.

“Because sword dancing is sword dancing, fighting is fighting, and street brawling is street brawling. As the saying goes, ‘being of different professions is like being separated by a mountain’. A person who can twirl a heavy blade might not even have time to raise it on the battlefield. A brave warrior on the battlefield might not even realize it when an enemy pops out from an alley.”

“So, it’s like that. I thought it was enough to be strong.” Zhang Youcai didn’t quite understand.

Han Ruzi remembered that Meng Che once said something similar. Although his martial arts skills were excellent, he claimed that he couldn’t beat five soldiers. Now thinking about it, he might not have been being modest. Instead, he was implying that he was from the pugilist world— while he couldn’t beat five soldiers on the battlefield, but he might be able to defeat five martial artists in a street fight.

“Skills like ‘Traceless in the Snow’ are similar to street performances. They can be used to show off and make money. They were the skills my grandson and I used to make a living when we were broke. If you really want to fight, you would not want such unsturdy feet.”

“It could be used for running away.” Zhang Youcai came up with a use for “Traceless in the Snow,” but was met with an angry glare from Du Chuanyun.

“If you run this way, you would only be able to run a dozen steps or so. With that energy, it’s better to land your feet firmly on the ground. You would run faster and for longer,” Du Motian corrected.

Du Chuanyun was increasingly surprised, “Grandfather, you are revealing all our secrets! Are you really going to teach them martial arts?”

“Of course. The Marquis is not a man of the pugilist world, don’t use those tricks to deceive him.”

As soon as these words were spoken, both Han Ruzi and Zhang Youcai had a great impression of the elder Du. Both bowed respectfully, truly acknowledging him as their teacher.

The first day of training in martial arts was very simple: some leg exercises as well as standing in place and squatting in a horse stance.[1] One could stand up and rest for a while when tired, and then continue squatting in the horse stance.

Du Chuanyun, having been exposed by his grandfather, also squatted in horse stance despite being unwilling to do so. His posture was precise, and he remained motionless from start to finish. This caused great pressure on the two new disciples, who dared not get up from the stance.

They squatted for just over fifteen minutes, when Han Ruzi felt sore in both legs. Zhang Youcai held a bitter expression, and could not walk properly. “Master, I made a mistake in having this as my wish. Can I not learn martial arts?”

“No way, if I learn, you must learn.” Han Ruzi could not let Zhang Youcai go, otherwise he would appear even weaker in comparison to Du Chuanyun.

At breakfast, Cui Xiaojun kept giggling. After being pressed many times by Han Ruzi, she finally said, “I was reminded of my several brothers at home. There was a time when they also loved to practice martial arts. They hired more than a dozen martial arts experts, waking early and training late into the night.”

“What happened later? Did they succeed?” Han Ruzi asked.

Cui Xiaojun laughed heartily, “Not at all. They trained for a few months and managed to defeat many servants in the manor. So they started thinking that they were very powerful. They disguise themselves as commoners to go looking for a fight. But they ended up getting beaten up and carried back home by the servants. It is said that when they were getting beaten, they had loudly proclaimed they were young masters of the Cui clan, but their opponents didn’t believe them and beat them even harder.”

Han Ruzi also laughed, “I shan’t go looking for a fight. Learning martial arts is just for fitness.”

“That’s good. From what I see, Master Du is not the kind of charlatan masters that the Cui clan invited. They flattered my foolish brothers every day, making them feel important, which is why they dared to cause trouble. Later, all these people were driven away by my mother.”

Han Ruzi thought that there really were many scammers in this world. The fate seer Chunyu Xiao was also a scammer, only his scams were on a larger scale and he was able to incite lords and princes into rebellion. Even the great scholar Luo Huan-zhang regarded him as a sage.

After breakfast, they trained for another hour, still squatting in horse stance. Han Ruzi rested twice and managed to hang on, while Zhang Youcai kept trying to cheat, sitting on the ground time and again. Du Chuanyun came up with a solution, placing a dry twig vertically under Zhang Youcai’s buttocks. The young eunuch didn’t dare to sit down anymore, and when he was too tired, he would stand up and walk around.

“How many days do we have to practice the horse stance?” The practice finally ended, and Zhang Youcai walked with a limp.

“A few days? There’s no end to this training. My grandfather at his age still practices it every day.” Du Chuanyun was lively and bouncing around, the hour of horse stance didn’t affect him at all.

Zhang Youcai grimaced, filled with regret.

Han Ruzi changed his clothes, preparing to welcome the visitor who was scheduled to arrive.

Han Shi was the orphan of Crown Prince Ju. Although he was blessed with luck by the ancestors when drawing lots in the Ancestral Temple and therefore missed out on the throne, he was appointed the Champion Marquis[2] and given charge of the Northern Army. Within a few days, he was facing off with the elite Southern Army, becoming the center of attention.

Why would such a person come to visit a dethroned emperor? Even Yang Feng did not know why, nor did he teach the Weary Marquis how to deal with the visitor, only suggesting that he treat the visitor normally.

At seventeen years old, Han Shi was Han Ruzi’s cousin. Under usual rules of decorum, the Weary Marquis ought to go out of the manor to receive him. But Han Ruzi was a former emperor, with a status equivalent to a prince, and somewhat nobler than the Champion Marquis.

The Manor Clerk didn’t dare to make the decision alone, and specially ran to the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs to ask for help from his superior. The instruction he received was: rank was paramount, so the Weary Marquis only needed to welcome the Champion Marquis at the inner gate, not outside the manor. The Weary Marquis only needed to clasp fists and did not need to bow. The two marquises should call each other by their titles, not “brother” and certainly not “imperial brother”. After entering the hall, the Weary Marquis should take the main seat, and the Champion Marquis should sit as a guest.

The arrangement by the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs was quite meticulous, just short of specifying what the two should talk about.

In the morning, between nine and eleven, the Champion Marquis Han Shi arrived punctually for his visit. He had clearly received guidance as well, and his manners were perfectly coordinated with the Weary Marquis, as if they had practiced many times.

The two had seen each other once in the Ancestral Temple, but it wasn’t until now that they had the opportunity to observe each other closely.

Han Shi looked much more mature than his seventeen years, with a smile on his face, and a hint of vibrance. There was some resemblance in his eyes and brows to the portrait of the Founding Emperor that Han Ruzi had seen.

The two men gave way to each other three times and walked shoulder to shoulder into the main hall. The Manor Clerk had to be present under these circumstances, and similarly, Han Shi was also followed by officials. Behind the officials were their personal attendants.

The initial conversation was formal and respectful. Han Shi thanked the imperial clan for their help in a non-committal way, praised the simple elegance of the Weary Marquis’s residence, and expressed suitable envy of the leisurely life of the Weary Marquis. Han Ruzi responded with a smile, wondering if the other party had come specifically to try to read him to see if he had further ambitions. Although Han Shi was mature, he had not yet reached the point of being able to read people at a glance.

Han Ruzi was rather distracted—the soreness in his legs made him restless, so he missed a few words. Suddenly reacting, he asked, “What did you just say? The part related to Yang Feng.”

Han Shi smiled and said, “I said that I had long heard of the great name of Lord Yang, but unfortunately I had no chance to meet him before. The Northern Army currently lacks a strategist, so I wonder if you would be willing to part with him?”