Blade-dance of the Two Lovers

Blade-dance of the Two Lovers (zh-tsp|t=鴛鴦刀|s=鸳鸯刀|p=yuān yāng dāo) is a wuxia novella written by Jinyong. It was first published in 1961 in "Ming Pao".

ummary

The story was set during the Qing Dynasty. A pair of famous blades were being transported by an escort agency commissioned by provincial officials to be delivered to the Imperial Palace. The blades were reputed to contain the secret to invincibility, and thus became a fiercely sought artefact amongst the pugilists. To ensure the chief of the armed escorts did not try to claim the blades himself, the provincial officials even detained his family members at the local barracks on the pretext of protecting them and taking care of them.

Amidst attempts by various parties to seize the weapons, through serendipidity, the blades ended up in the hands of a youthful scholar Yuan Guan-Nan, and a young girl Xiao Zhong-Hui who was out on her first adventure.

The pair who met each other for the first time fell in love, and the young scholar promised to visit her at her residence during her father's forthcoming birthday celebration. He turned up and was well received by the father, Xiao Ban-He, and his two wives, Madam Yuan and Madam Yang (the girl's biological mother).

At the party, they were taught by a husband-wife guest couple a special form of blademanship for mutually enamoured partners to become an unbeatable team, covering each other's weakness while multiplying their combined combat lethality.

The husband, Lin Yü-Long, and his wife, Ren Fei-Yan, had been taught this skill years ago by a monk who hoped it would make them more loving, as the couple were always bickering. As they were unable to cease their squabbling, they never managed to achieve mastery over the skill. Both were adamant that it was only normal for couples to fight, and scoffed when Xiao Zhong-Hui told them her father and two mothers never had arguments.

Arrival of Imperial Guards interrupted the revelry, having tracked one of the blades to the girl, and to her residence. Another body of government troops also appeared, though for a different purpose. They denounced Xiao Ban-He as being one of the most wanted renegades by the Imperial Court.

Fighting their way out, the young couple's combined prowess were seriously compromised when it was revealed that the Yuan Guan-Nan was the long-lost-son of Madam Yuan, making him half-brother to Xiao Zhong-Hui.

"It turned out that many years before, Xiao Ban-He was a resistance fighter against the Qing regime. He infiltrated the Imperial Palace by offering himself castration and served as a eunuch. While waiting for an opportunity to inflict the greatest damage to the Qing, he learned of two other resistance fighters, named Yuan and Yang respectively, imprisoned in the Palace jail along with their wives, Yuan's son, and Yang's daughter. Shortly after, the two men were executed.

"Xiao Ban-He decided to rescue the widows and the children instead, despite knowing that it would blow his cover and original mission. While fleeing, they were separated from the young boy.

"After they escaped successfully, Xiao Ban-He disguised himself with a new identity, passing off the widows as his wives, and raising the infant girl as his own. He cultivated himself as a chivalrous and philanthropic gentry, hoping it would help him locate the missing boy.

Thus, Yuan Guan-Nan and Xiao Zhong-Hui turned out not to be blood relations after all. Lin Yü-Long and Ren Fei-Yan had the last laugh when they triumphantly recalled their disbelief in married people who never bicker with each other.

External links

*en icon [http://wuxiapedia.com/novels/jin_yong/the_lovers_sabres The Lovers' Sabres] - translation of the novel at Wuxiapedia.com