The Untold Story of Li Mu Bai and Cheng - Essay Example

?Full The Untold Story of Li Mu Bai and Cheng Police inspector Tsai, the policeman who traced Jane Fox, was summoned by the latter to Yellow Hill where she met him and the father and daughter tandem who were seeking to avenge their loved one who was killed by Fox. The woman wanted to get rid of them because they were endangering her secret to being revealed. While they were fighting, Li Mu Bai came to their rescue. It was later revealed that Jane Fox disguised as a nun who went to the Wudan training center, aiming to steal the secret training manual of master Li dan Pen. Recognizing Bai, Fox was exhilarated to be face to face again with the renowned warrior of China. They continued to fight until Bai caught Fox in a position where she cannot move and he said, “I thought a little kindness would have brought you back to your senses.” Fox understood the man pretty well because she now remembers (the following scene is a flashback) how Cheng Pei Pei, also known as Jane Fox, disguised as a nun, was caught by master Pen, stealing the master’s secret training manual. The woman struck master Pen with a poisoned arrow but she was hit back with the master’s specially poisoned arrow as well. Since he knew that the manual could put the country and the people in danger if it remains in the robber’s hands, master Pen wanted to live so he could bring the manual back safely. He then used meditation to prolong his life, trusting that his students will somehow find a way to get the antidote from the poisoned woman. Cheng tried to escape but with the poison mixed in her blood, she struggled to make it to a safe place. Meanwhile, her lookout saw her and run to help but, the woman instructed her to run with the book instead. “Keep it safe until I will be able to come for it”, she said. The lookout, who was her childhood friend, run with the book as she saw Li Mu Bai and other students running toward them. Thinking about the master’s welfare first and foremost, the students carried the woman to their school and gave her the antidote for the poison. Li Mu Bai personally looked after her and when she regained consciousness in a few hours, Li asked her about the antidote of the poison that was used on master Pen. However, the woman was resolved not to tell them her secret so that she pretended to fall into an unconscious state again until she was sure that the master died. When she finally opened her eyes, Li was standing on Cheng’s bedside, with his back toward her. “With the master gone, I have everything in my power to end your life even as you sleep in the master’s house. I have all the good reasons from stopping you to further your goals in stealing the secret manual. Still, I have in my heart and soul the ‘Way’ that has been taught to us by our master. In honor of him, I decided to let you live”, Bai said as he felt the woman move in her bed. “Now, tell me where the secret training manual is and we will part like nothing like this horrible thing ever happened”, he said as he turned to face Cheng. “I handed it to a friend but just like me, she has no definite place to go. Even if I tell you all the possible places she could be staying, I do not think you could ever find her because she will be hiding in new places now that she has an important manual”, Cheng answered. “Nevertheless, I request you to tell me these possible places and to tell me the name of your friend”, Bai demanded. Cheng gave him a list of her friend’s hiding places where she was sure the other woman would not be going to. Moreover, she gave him the name of her friend but with a warning, “You will never be able to track my friend down. With the secret training manual, we could both master the art of fighting and earn the power and honor that women deserve.” “Perhaps. But what would you profit from this if in the end, you will die a horrible death? You can never find the ultimately important thing in this world until you are able to control your want for power and turn it into a desire that will extinguish pride and egocentrism in other people (Hundoble). Why don’t you use your faculties instead, to help the people around you and live in peace and harmony with them?”, Bai exclaimed, pitying the woman for having such a strong desire that will definitely bring her to a tragic end. However, the woman only looked at him with sheer hatred and disgust reflected in her eyes. Later that day, sir Te visited Bai and the latter revealed to the respected officer what transpired between him and Fox. Then, he confessed to the wise man, “Sometimes, I am caught in doing what seems right to doing what is right. I want to put an end to the cruelty of the woman and to the foreseen dangers she can bring to the nation with her love for blood and power, but I cannot do so because I know that I also have the responsibility of respecting her life.” Sir Te answered, “You must calm yourself and bring your emotions to rest. I understand that you want revenge; that is natural. You hate to see people with twisted motives, we all do. Nevertheless, one can never attain the perfection, that extreme bliss, if we choose to be overpowered by our desire to take revenge.” “I understand,” replied Bai, “however, sometimes I get confused and I simply do not know what to do.” “Li, it is only in a placid pool that a man is reflected in all its perfection (Slabbert).” That was why Bai always wanted to speak with the old man. He knew that he can always rely on him for a word of wisdom that can guide him in making critical decisions. It was already late in the night when sir Te finally left. His conversation with Bai was like a cold bath on a warm day to the young man that made him decide to give all the care that Cheng needed and he also decided to offer training to the woman so he could have time to teach him the way of life. He argued that if he can slowly teach the woman the Wudang skills while quickly teaching her the wise principles of his master, then she might just probably end up as a changed warrior and will perhaps return the manual (Carey). Nevertheless, unknown to Bai, Cheng thought she was already strong enough to get away from the Wudang training center and decided to escape that night, which she did. It was already too late when Bai found out in the morning that their future trainee ran away. “Even all the kindness on earth can never make me change my mind. I am determined to become the most powerful person on earth and that dream is coming to pass now that I finally have the chance to kill the fabled Wudang swordsman”, Bai was startled when the woman spoke. He realized that the woman eventually regained her position and attacked Bai. Their fight continues and Fox was nearly killed by Bai when Jiao Long, Cheng’s student, came to her rescue. The fight continues until the two women were forced to escape the undefeated Wudang hero. References Carey, Stefan. Lao Tsu and the Taoist Way of Virtue. World Spriritual Traditions. Sunrise Magazine. 1990. Web. January 31, 2013. . Hundoble, Julia. Taoism: Basic Fundamentals of ‘The Way’. Csuchico.edu. n.d. Web. January 31, 2013. < http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/fall99/hundoble/>. Slabbert, Jos. Wisdom and Compassion: Two Sides of the Same Coin. True Tao. Taoism.net. 2001. Web. January 31, 2013. . Read More