Martial Art Fantasy Short Story
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
SWAN BEAUTY
CHAPTER 8
On the way to Swan Mountain, I dress like a man to
avoid attracting undue attention. The pretty girl I am
now become would not be very safe travelling on her
own. I do not know for how long I travel and how
many days go by. But I do know that I will be passing
my homeland soon. Suddenly, a chill pierces my
heart. Despite the fear of being recognized, curiosity
impels me to visit my village. I want to find out all
that has happened at home in my absence after I ran
away. I carry on for several more days until my
village comes into view. I walk bravely in its
direction, making sure at the same time that I do look
like a man. Dawn is breaking and in the half-light, no
one seems to recognize me. Suddenly, I hear a
commotion. I turn round and see a group of young
girls being chained together. Abiding by their old
custom, the villagers are busy shackling together
girls who suffer the misfortune of being plain before
throwing them into the sea as a sacrifice to the
Eternal God. It dawns on me then that I have been
away for exactly a year.
Despite my secret outrage at what I am witnessing, I
follow the crowd. I observe some girls in the front
being led to a small hut. They are pushed into the
dwelling and the door is secured from outside with a
large padlock. I overhear one of the villagers telling
the others that as it is getting dark, they will perform
the sacrifice ceremony the following day.
My heart goes out to those girls. After all, they are
not responsible for the way they look. An idea races
through my mind: I will rescue all those girls and
take them with me to Swan Mountain where they can
master the martial arts. And one day, we can make
this village pay for the injustice they have done to
young girls like them. I stay away from the crowd,
hiding in a bush about 200 yards from the huts.
I wait until late into the night. After I have made sure
that nobody is around, I come out to look for a tool so
that I can break the padlock. I decide to go to the
wood, hoping to find an axe. Luckily, I find one which
I think must be left behind by a villager. Then I go in
and tell the girls I have come to release them. They
are so happy to hear this that they break down in
tears. With the eight of them following me, I tiptoe
out of the hut. We make for the woods and walk on
until my village is out of sight. We spend the night in
the woods and just before dawn, we set out for Swan
Mountain.
Travelling for several days at a stretch, we finally
reach the foot of the mountain. We cannot see the
peak as it is obscured by a thick veil of clouds. It
takes us two days to reach the village perched on the
summit. After we have recovered from our exertions,
we notice a walled complex. We walk up to the
entrance and I knock on the door. An elderly lady
dressed like a servant opens it. I explain to her that
we have come to see the Prince’s aunt and mention
the recommendation letter addressed to her. We are
invited to enter the complex. We pass a square
courtyard flanked by a chamber on either side. The
courtyard is cold and lonely. We are ushered into a
chamber on the eastern side.
Not long afterwards, a mature-looking woman with a
solemn expression steps lightly into the room. Her
most noticeable feature is her missing left arm. She
approaches me without uttering a word. I hand her
the letter of recommendation. She is silent throughout
the proceedings. I then inform her that there are
eight of us and we all wish to be her pupils. I tell her
of all I saw on the way to Swan Mountain and
describe the cruel customs of my village, explaining
why I had to leave my home. As I am doing so, the
girls and I kneel before her and beg her to accept us
as her pupils.
“We have no future and no home to go to,” I tell her,
speaking on behalf of the girls. “We have been
discriminated against and deserted by our people.
Although I am now pretty, thanks to the waters of the
Magic Lake, I have no intentions of going back to a
place where girls who are plain are sacrificed to the
Eternal God and dumped in the sea. After all, the
girls have done no wrong.”
The Prince’s aunt speaks at last. “I do not like the
company of others,” she declares. “I have been living
here on my own for over ten years now. I only have
Ah Ming to serve me. Now that I have you girls here,
maybe it is time to start a martial-arts clan and build
a new empire of my own. I will therefore form a clan
and call it the Swan Clan. I will recruit more female
pupils and train them.”
“You are our godmother,” we tell her. “We will wait
on you and serve you and learn the martial arts from
you diligently.”
Then I summon up the courage to ask her, “What
shall we call you?” “I am your master,” she declares
arrogantly. “Address me as Master Swan.”
CHAPTER 8
On the way to Swan Mountain, I dress like a man to
avoid attracting undue attention. The pretty girl I am
now become would not be very safe travelling on her
own. I do not know for how long I travel and how
many days go by. But I do know that I will be passing
my homeland soon. Suddenly, a chill pierces my
heart. Despite the fear of being recognized, curiosity
impels me to visit my village. I want to find out all
that has happened at home in my absence after I ran
away. I carry on for several more days until my
village comes into view. I walk bravely in its
direction, making sure at the same time that I do look
like a man. Dawn is breaking and in the half-light, no
one seems to recognize me. Suddenly, I hear a
commotion. I turn round and see a group of young
girls being chained together. Abiding by their old
custom, the villagers are busy shackling together
girls who suffer the misfortune of being plain before
throwing them into the sea as a sacrifice to the
Eternal God. It dawns on me then that I have been
away for exactly a year.
Despite my secret outrage at what I am witnessing, I
follow the crowd. I observe some girls in the front
being led to a small hut. They are pushed into the
dwelling and the door is secured from outside with a
large padlock. I overhear one of the villagers telling
the others that as it is getting dark, they will perform
the sacrifice ceremony the following day.
My heart goes out to those girls. After all, they are
not responsible for the way they look. An idea races
through my mind: I will rescue all those girls and
take them with me to Swan Mountain where they can
master the martial arts. And one day, we can make
this village pay for the injustice they have done to
young girls like them. I stay away from the crowd,
hiding in a bush about 200 yards from the huts.
I wait until late into the night. After I have made sure
that nobody is around, I come out to look for a tool so
that I can break the padlock. I decide to go to the
wood, hoping to find an axe. Luckily, I find one which
I think must be left behind by a villager. Then I go in
and tell the girls I have come to release them. They
are so happy to hear this that they break down in
tears. With the eight of them following me, I tiptoe
out of the hut. We make for the woods and walk on
until my village is out of sight. We spend the night in
the woods and just before dawn, we set out for Swan
Mountain.
Travelling for several days at a stretch, we finally
reach the foot of the mountain. We cannot see the
peak as it is obscured by a thick veil of clouds. It
takes us two days to reach the village perched on the
summit. After we have recovered from our exertions,
we notice a walled complex. We walk up to the
entrance and I knock on the door. An elderly lady
dressed like a servant opens it. I explain to her that
we have come to see the Prince’s aunt and mention
the recommendation letter addressed to her. We are
invited to enter the complex. We pass a square
courtyard flanked by a chamber on either side. The
courtyard is cold and lonely. We are ushered into a
chamber on the eastern side.
Not long afterwards, a mature-looking woman with a
solemn expression steps lightly into the room. Her
most noticeable feature is her missing left arm. She
approaches me without uttering a word. I hand her
the letter of recommendation. She is silent throughout
the proceedings. I then inform her that there are
eight of us and we all wish to be her pupils. I tell her
of all I saw on the way to Swan Mountain and
describe the cruel customs of my village, explaining
why I had to leave my home. As I am doing so, the
girls and I kneel before her and beg her to accept us
as her pupils.
“We have no future and no home to go to,” I tell her,
speaking on behalf of the girls. “We have been
discriminated against and deserted by our people.
Although I am now pretty, thanks to the waters of the
Magic Lake, I have no intentions of going back to a
place where girls who are plain are sacrificed to the
Eternal God and dumped in the sea. After all, the
girls have done no wrong.”
The Prince’s aunt speaks at last. “I do not like the
company of others,” she declares. “I have been living
here on my own for over ten years now. I only have
Ah Ming to serve me. Now that I have you girls here,
maybe it is time to start a martial-arts clan and build
a new empire of my own. I will therefore form a clan
and call it the Swan Clan. I will recruit more female
pupils and train them.”
“You are our godmother,” we tell her. “We will wait
on you and serve you and learn the martial arts from
you diligently.”
Then I summon up the courage to ask her, “What
shall we call you?” “I am your master,” she declares
arrogantly. “Address me as Master Swan.”
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