Martial Art Fantasy Short Story
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
Author: Hani Law Copyright © 2006
SWAN BEAUTY
CHAPTER 6
Following several days of travel, we reach a
village. It is almost noon and we stop over to have
a meal. As we are walking past the main street, we
notice that most of the people here look depressed
and worried. As we are in a hurry, we do not try to
find out why. We enter a restaurant and order
some food. The waiter informs us that no meat is
available. All they have is vegetables. I cannot
contain my curiosity and ask him what has
happened to make everyone in the village so
miserable.
“Recently,” he explains, “all the newborn calves
and sheep have gone missing. Day before
yesterday, one of our villagers, Dundy, decided to
keep watch after a calf had been born in his farm.
He kept the calf in the barn, making sure that the
doors were properly bolted so that the animal
could not be stolen. In the early hours, he saw from
the window a woman with long, thick white hair
approaching the barn. Using her bare hands, she
twisted the chain at one of the doors and snapped
it. Then she approached the calf. Dundy
immediately crouched down and tried to protect it
by wrapping his body and arms around it. The
white-haired woman raised her right palm and
struck his back twice. He immediately felt a sharp
pain travel all over his body and could not move or
speak. He saw the white-haired woman then lifted
the calf from the ground with unbelievable ease
and disappeared at once, as if into thin air.
“When Dundy regained his ability to move, he
called out for help. His fellow villagers left the
warmth of their beds to find out what had
happened. After listening to his description of the
white-haired woman, they were all certain she had
been trained in the martial arts. They vowed to
unite and defend their animals. Collecting
whatever weapons they could lay their hands on,
like spades, hoes and machetes, they began looking
for the white-haired woman. But though they
searched the entire village and the neighbouring
areas, they could not find her. There was neither
sight nor sound of the white-haired woman. As for
Dundy’s calf, it seemed to have vanished.
“The next day, Dundy was very ill and kept
complaining about the pain in his back and chest.
The village chief came to examine him and found
two black palm prints on his back. The chief had
been living here all his life and he knew at once
who the culprit was and why she had chosen to do
what she had done.”
The food we had ordered arrives. While we are
eating it, the waiter continues with his story.
“A long time ago, there was a woman whose
knowledge of the martial arts had reached a level
of supremacy that was difficult to match. However,
she longed to be invincible. Still not content with
the level of her skills, she wanted to improve on
them further. After many years of hard work and
practice, she managed to develop a combat
technique that she styled as Iron Palms. Whenever
she struck a person with her palms, she succeeded
in instantly fracturing every bone of his body.
Anxious, however, to become the unbeaten
champion in the world of martial arts, she rushed
through her practice and on to the next level of
attainable skills even before she could master the
existing one. Again, while developing her
technique, she was overcome by the anxiety to
excel and failed to retain her composure. As a
result, the inner energy coursing through her veins
and nervous system refused to be contained and
went haywire. The more she practised, the more
serious was the damage she did to her inner
energy. As a result, her nerves were shot to pieces
and, ultimately, she was driven insane.
“Dundy is now in critical condition and will die
soon, as no one in the village knows how to save
him. And more young animals will be taken away
by this insane woman.”
Having heard out the waiter, the Prince asks him
for directions to Dundy’s place, as he believes he
might be able to cure the ailing man. I am quite
impressed by the Prince’s kindheartedness and
forthright attitude. The waiter leads the way and I
follow them both. When we reach Dundy’s place,
the village chief is still there. The Prince explains
to him the purpose of the visit. The chief is
prepared to allow him to treat the sick man, since
there is no hope of saving him anyway. Having
examined Dundy, the Prince asks the people
gathered there to help the patient to sit up and
remove his shirt. He asks for silence, then sits down
calmly behind Dundy, facing his back. He draws
nine deep, long breaths before placing his palms
firmly against Dundy’s back. Although the Prince
appears motionless, I know that he is putting in
tremendous effort to mobilize his inner energy to
cure Dundy. After a few minutes, the Prince starts
sweating. His hands, I notice, are vibrating. As
steam comes out from his palms, Dundy opens his
eyes. “He should feel better now,” says his saviour.
“He just needs a few days of rest before he can get
up.”
When we are preparing to leave Dundy’s place, the
village chief reminds everybody of the problem
that is still facing the whole village. If she is not
apprehended, the hideous white-haired monster
will continue to remove small animals from the
village and the villagers will continue to suffer
from her depredations. He goes on to inform us
that the creature lives in a cave on Ghost
Mountain, about twenty miles north of the village.
The villagers beg the Prince to have pity on them
and catch the monster on their behalf. Being a just
man with a heart of gold, he agrees to tame her.
The village chief offers to lead us to the creature’s
lair. Several village marshals also offer to assist
the Prince in trapping her. We set out on our new
mission and walk for about two hours before
arriving at a huge cave. As we enter it, everybody
shivers involuntarily. For strolling along the
pathway to the inner cave are the spirits of
animals! The cave is dimly lit with fire torches.
Before we have even reached the other end, a loud,
hysterical laugh greets us. “Are you all marching
willingly to your deaths?” asks a chilling voice.
“Ha, ha, ha!”
There is no doubt in our minds that the voice
belongs to the white-haired woman we are pursuing.
Suddenly, she flashes right in front of us, staring at
each of us in turn. Her teeth are clenched and her
bulging eyes glitter with an evil light. Her thick
white hair flies around her head like a spider’s web
and her hands wiggle constantly. When my eyes
meet hers, I experience the frightening sensation of
a chill going down my spine and I have to avert my
eyes to avoid the intensity of her terrifyingly
piercing gaze.
The Prince looks nervous and asks us all to step
aside.
He leaps towards me and whispers that the moment
he yells, “Heeeeee!”, I must apply my index and
middle fingers with full force to the pressure point
in the back of the white-haired monster’s neck. He
explains that if I use my strength in the appropriate
manner, the force flowing down my fingers and on
to the pressure point on the monster’s neck will
temporarily paralyze her. Confused and frightened
by the turn of events, I am about to refuse. But the
Prince has already launched himself in the
monster’s direction and initiated a fight.
The white-haired monster is enraged and roars at
the Prince. The latter immediately strikes out with
his palms and attacks his opponent. She retaliates
by stretching out her palms as well. When both
pairs of palms come into contact, the impact is
intense enough to fling both the Prince and his
opponent thirty feet backwards.
Suddenly, it seems as though the combat were
taking place in slow motion. Their hands look glued
to each other’s, almost as if they were magnets,
and the rumbling noise from the friction is deep
and low. For nearly half an hour, the two are
locked in combat and the white-haired woman
seems to be gaining the upper hand. The Prince is
apparently not as strong as she is, because much of
his energy has been dissipated the day before in
curing Dundy. I notice that he is retreating
steadily, step by step. At that moment, he calls out:
“Heeeeee!”
At the signal, I leap towards the monster while she
has her back to me. With all my might, I apply my
right index and middle fingers on the pressure
point at the back of her neck. Before the monster
can realize what I have done, she is already
paralyzed. The Prince wastes no time and attacks
another pressure point in the monster’s chest to
make sure she has no resistance left in her. Then he
lowers himself to the ground, utterly exhausted.
After the Prince has sufficiently recovered from
the ordeal, he reaches out and applies force on
several vital pressure points on the monster’s body.
Within a matter of minutes, her hair turns black
and her expression is no longer fierce. In fact, she
is now smiling and looks like a kind-hearted
woman. The Prince explains that he has drained all
the powerful inner energy that had played havoc
with her nervous system, causing her to run amok.
CHAPTER 6
Following several days of travel, we reach a
village. It is almost noon and we stop over to have
a meal. As we are walking past the main street, we
notice that most of the people here look depressed
and worried. As we are in a hurry, we do not try to
find out why. We enter a restaurant and order
some food. The waiter informs us that no meat is
available. All they have is vegetables. I cannot
contain my curiosity and ask him what has
happened to make everyone in the village so
miserable.
“Recently,” he explains, “all the newborn calves
and sheep have gone missing. Day before
yesterday, one of our villagers, Dundy, decided to
keep watch after a calf had been born in his farm.
He kept the calf in the barn, making sure that the
doors were properly bolted so that the animal
could not be stolen. In the early hours, he saw from
the window a woman with long, thick white hair
approaching the barn. Using her bare hands, she
twisted the chain at one of the doors and snapped
it. Then she approached the calf. Dundy
immediately crouched down and tried to protect it
by wrapping his body and arms around it. The
white-haired woman raised her right palm and
struck his back twice. He immediately felt a sharp
pain travel all over his body and could not move or
speak. He saw the white-haired woman then lifted
the calf from the ground with unbelievable ease
and disappeared at once, as if into thin air.
“When Dundy regained his ability to move, he
called out for help. His fellow villagers left the
warmth of their beds to find out what had
happened. After listening to his description of the
white-haired woman, they were all certain she had
been trained in the martial arts. They vowed to
unite and defend their animals. Collecting
whatever weapons they could lay their hands on,
like spades, hoes and machetes, they began looking
for the white-haired woman. But though they
searched the entire village and the neighbouring
areas, they could not find her. There was neither
sight nor sound of the white-haired woman. As for
Dundy’s calf, it seemed to have vanished.
“The next day, Dundy was very ill and kept
complaining about the pain in his back and chest.
The village chief came to examine him and found
two black palm prints on his back. The chief had
been living here all his life and he knew at once
who the culprit was and why she had chosen to do
what she had done.”
The food we had ordered arrives. While we are
eating it, the waiter continues with his story.
“A long time ago, there was a woman whose
knowledge of the martial arts had reached a level
of supremacy that was difficult to match. However,
she longed to be invincible. Still not content with
the level of her skills, she wanted to improve on
them further. After many years of hard work and
practice, she managed to develop a combat
technique that she styled as Iron Palms. Whenever
she struck a person with her palms, she succeeded
in instantly fracturing every bone of his body.
Anxious, however, to become the unbeaten
champion in the world of martial arts, she rushed
through her practice and on to the next level of
attainable skills even before she could master the
existing one. Again, while developing her
technique, she was overcome by the anxiety to
excel and failed to retain her composure. As a
result, the inner energy coursing through her veins
and nervous system refused to be contained and
went haywire. The more she practised, the more
serious was the damage she did to her inner
energy. As a result, her nerves were shot to pieces
and, ultimately, she was driven insane.
“Dundy is now in critical condition and will die
soon, as no one in the village knows how to save
him. And more young animals will be taken away
by this insane woman.”
Having heard out the waiter, the Prince asks him
for directions to Dundy’s place, as he believes he
might be able to cure the ailing man. I am quite
impressed by the Prince’s kindheartedness and
forthright attitude. The waiter leads the way and I
follow them both. When we reach Dundy’s place,
the village chief is still there. The Prince explains
to him the purpose of the visit. The chief is
prepared to allow him to treat the sick man, since
there is no hope of saving him anyway. Having
examined Dundy, the Prince asks the people
gathered there to help the patient to sit up and
remove his shirt. He asks for silence, then sits down
calmly behind Dundy, facing his back. He draws
nine deep, long breaths before placing his palms
firmly against Dundy’s back. Although the Prince
appears motionless, I know that he is putting in
tremendous effort to mobilize his inner energy to
cure Dundy. After a few minutes, the Prince starts
sweating. His hands, I notice, are vibrating. As
steam comes out from his palms, Dundy opens his
eyes. “He should feel better now,” says his saviour.
“He just needs a few days of rest before he can get
up.”
When we are preparing to leave Dundy’s place, the
village chief reminds everybody of the problem
that is still facing the whole village. If she is not
apprehended, the hideous white-haired monster
will continue to remove small animals from the
village and the villagers will continue to suffer
from her depredations. He goes on to inform us
that the creature lives in a cave on Ghost
Mountain, about twenty miles north of the village.
The villagers beg the Prince to have pity on them
and catch the monster on their behalf. Being a just
man with a heart of gold, he agrees to tame her.
The village chief offers to lead us to the creature’s
lair. Several village marshals also offer to assist
the Prince in trapping her. We set out on our new
mission and walk for about two hours before
arriving at a huge cave. As we enter it, everybody
shivers involuntarily. For strolling along the
pathway to the inner cave are the spirits of
animals! The cave is dimly lit with fire torches.
Before we have even reached the other end, a loud,
hysterical laugh greets us. “Are you all marching
willingly to your deaths?” asks a chilling voice.
“Ha, ha, ha!”
There is no doubt in our minds that the voice
belongs to the white-haired woman we are pursuing.
Suddenly, she flashes right in front of us, staring at
each of us in turn. Her teeth are clenched and her
bulging eyes glitter with an evil light. Her thick
white hair flies around her head like a spider’s web
and her hands wiggle constantly. When my eyes
meet hers, I experience the frightening sensation of
a chill going down my spine and I have to avert my
eyes to avoid the intensity of her terrifyingly
piercing gaze.
The Prince looks nervous and asks us all to step
aside.
He leaps towards me and whispers that the moment
he yells, “Heeeeee!”, I must apply my index and
middle fingers with full force to the pressure point
in the back of the white-haired monster’s neck. He
explains that if I use my strength in the appropriate
manner, the force flowing down my fingers and on
to the pressure point on the monster’s neck will
temporarily paralyze her. Confused and frightened
by the turn of events, I am about to refuse. But the
Prince has already launched himself in the
monster’s direction and initiated a fight.
The white-haired monster is enraged and roars at
the Prince. The latter immediately strikes out with
his palms and attacks his opponent. She retaliates
by stretching out her palms as well. When both
pairs of palms come into contact, the impact is
intense enough to fling both the Prince and his
opponent thirty feet backwards.
Suddenly, it seems as though the combat were
taking place in slow motion. Their hands look glued
to each other’s, almost as if they were magnets,
and the rumbling noise from the friction is deep
and low. For nearly half an hour, the two are
locked in combat and the white-haired woman
seems to be gaining the upper hand. The Prince is
apparently not as strong as she is, because much of
his energy has been dissipated the day before in
curing Dundy. I notice that he is retreating
steadily, step by step. At that moment, he calls out:
“Heeeeee!”
At the signal, I leap towards the monster while she
has her back to me. With all my might, I apply my
right index and middle fingers on the pressure
point at the back of her neck. Before the monster
can realize what I have done, she is already
paralyzed. The Prince wastes no time and attacks
another pressure point in the monster’s chest to
make sure she has no resistance left in her. Then he
lowers himself to the ground, utterly exhausted.
After the Prince has sufficiently recovered from
the ordeal, he reaches out and applies force on
several vital pressure points on the monster’s body.
Within a matter of minutes, her hair turns black
and her expression is no longer fierce. In fact, she
is now smiling and looks like a kind-hearted
woman. The Prince explains that he has drained all
the powerful inner energy that had played havoc
with her nervous system, causing her to run amok.
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