Precious Sword, Jade Hairpin

[Southern Crane]

This fanscript, which can be found at monkeypeaches, and written by a "JP," is based on the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon prequel, Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin. Enjoy!


Prologue
Li Mu Bai is taken to Wudan by Jiang Nan He (Southern Crane), and asks Ji Guang Jie to teach him because he is too overcome by grief and guilt over the deaths of his brother in arms, Li Feng Jie (Li Mu Bai*s father) and his love (Bao A Luan). He has just delivered the body of his beloved to her home town, and now since he does not feel worthy enough to be a guardian or a Master to Li Mu Bai, he hands him over to Ji. Ji is angry with Jiang, but takes Mu Bai anyway. Li Mu Bai is reluctant to leave Jiang, but follows his orders, and Jiang disappears into seclusion.


Chapter 1
Yui Hsui Lien, about 20, is practicing her martial arts. Her strength and power and unusual energy are apparent. In working out some obvious frustration she breaks a sword she had been sent to buy for her father. Angry with herself for being so out of control, she has to sell her jade hairpin (as seen in CTHD) to buy another sword. She promises to pay twice the value to buy it back in two days if the vendor will hold it for her.

When she returns to Sun Security headquarters, her father berates her for her tardines, but it is because he knows where she has been and what she has been doing, practicing her martial arts, which he has forbidden. He tells her to help Mrs. Wu, her father*s aunt and mother to Hsui Lien since her own mother*s early death, who has been planning her wedding with no input from Hsui Lien. Hsui Lien feels guilty for Mrs. Wu*s efforts because she has no intention of going through with the arranged marriage, and tells her father she will help Mrs. Wu because she knows that her father only wants her to marry so she will stay out of harms way, the Giang Hu world.

Chapter 2
Li Mu Bai, about 20, is in a blind folded match. He wins easily, and the loser is obviously a long time rival, Mi Jie Lu. After the match the errant disciples are ordered to meditate by Ji, and Mu Bai goes to the rooftops. Meng Si Zhao finds him and tells him that Mi is already making threats on Mu Bai*s life. Mu Bai is not surprised or terribly worried. Meng asks Mu Bai to leave Wudan with him, because he is going to get married. Mu Bai makes fun of the arranged marriage and says he does not want to watch is brother go through with it. Meng warns him that someday he will think better of women and marriage. They say their farewells.

Chapter 3
Hsui Lien steals away in the night. At an inn, where it is obvious she has been before because the owner recognizes her and tries to convince her to go home, she loudly protests her father*s wish to see her married, and she challenges anyone who will fight her for her hand. For a small fee. She makes enough money to buy back her hairpin, and room and board for a little while.
She does not know that there is a highly amused spectator to the matches. Li Mu Bai did not volunteer but is very intrigued by her fighting style, and spirit, not to mention beauty. Before the third challenger enters the ring, he notices that the challenger has a hidden dagger, he intends not only to fight, but to kill Hsui Lien. Mu Bai considers intervening, but decides to wait until she really needs his help. She is soon in trouble, and Mu Bai stops the fight. Hsui Lien is angered by his presumption, and fights Mu Bai instead.

The battle is epic, but words exchanged between blows soon turns the battle into a battle of words and philosophy as well. In the end Mu Bai wins only because Hsui Lien is laughing. They part after the match, but Hsui Lien is very diverted by the cocky warrior. The crowd demands to know his name, and he tells them. A mistake.

Chapter 4
Meng arrives at Sun Security only to be informed his bride has disappeared. Hsui Lien*s father begs Meng to go and find her. This is what her father feared the most, losing her completely to the Giang Hu world. Meng agrees to find her. Mrs. Wu stops him at the door and tells him she noticed Hsui Lien was missing her jade hairpin, and if she sold it, there may be a merchant who knows where she was headed. It does not take Meng long to find the merchant, and after parting with some money finds out that Hsui Lien will return to retrieve the hairpin in a few days. He waits.

Meanwhile, because Mu Bai announced his name the previous day, Mi has found him, and challenges him. Hsui Lien, on her way out the door to retrieve the hairpin, sees the exchange, and feels she must intervene because Mu Bai saved her life the previous day, and also she does not want to see him killed. She tells Mi that she represents a previous challenge to Mu Bai by her master, and uses her feminine wiles to convince Mi to wait one more day to kill Mu Bai. Amused, Mi relents.

Mu Bai, completely amused, because the intervention was not necessary, uses the excuse to follow Hsui Lien. He does not want to let her out of his sight. She resists a tag-a-long at first, but then realizes that she cannot go after the hairpin herself, because she will be recognized and caught by her father's men. She enlists Mu Bai to the task and they head back to her home together.

Chapter 5
As they near the outskirts, Mu Bai is just leaving to get the hairpin, when they hear trouble ahead. Hsui Lien is two gallops ahead of Mu Bai. Some thugs are chasing a woman. Hsui Lien subdues the leader, and Mu Bai his two companions, and Mu Bai gets to see her fighting style again. They enjoy fighting side by side. They learn that the thugs are trying to kill the woman, they have already killed her husband and father, so their master can take her land. They render the leader and one of the thugs unconscious and send the other off to tell the tyrant, Huang Ji Bei, to stop persecuting innocents. Mu Bai drops the two thugs at a police station and gives a statement about the incident to corroborate the woman*s story, then finds the hairpin. He lingers for a moment around some swords, but does not think much more about it.

When he is leaving with the hairpin, he is intercepted by a Wudan warrior who asks what Mu Bai wants with the hairpin. Mu Bai is surprised that Hsui Lien*s father has such ready access to a Wudan warrior, and tells the warrior that he is retrieving it for a friend. He does not recognize Meng until he reveals himself. Mu Bai asks why Meng is not preparing for the wedding, but he puts the pieces together as Meng tells him that his bride is missing. It is not until that moment that Mu Bai realizes how much he has fallen in love with Hsui Lien. Meng sees Mu Bai*s emotions clearly, but asks Mu Bai to bring Hsui Lien to him anyway. Mu Bai agrees and hands over the hairpin.

Chapter 6
Mu Bai tells Hsui Lien what has happened, and leaves before her shock wears off enough for her to respond. She watches him go, and then returns to Meng. Meng talks with her. Meng agrees that she should be allowed to practice her martial arts, but within the privacy of their home. They have a friendly match, and she grows to admire him, if not love him. Their battles of words are not nearly as stimulating. Still, Hsui Lien agrees that it is best that they go through with the marriage. She feels guilty because she has made her father ill with worry that she might be killed in the Giang Hu world.

Meanwhile, Mu Bai is nursing a broken heart. He wanders aimlessly, then decides he must face Mi, and then return to Wudan, hoping to pursue swordplay, remembering his earlier attraction to swords. Then one night, while at an inn musing on his future, he runs into more of Huang*s men. He stops their attack on the inn keeper, and finds the man he let go in the previous encounter among them. He sends him back again as another warning, but finds out soon after that there is a price on his head. Huang Ji Bei wants him dead.

Chapter 7
Hsui Lien cannot keep her promise to Meng, and steals away periodically, her protection is for women. If she hears about anyone*s husband being murdered, she is on the case the next night to interview the women and offer protection. She is masked, however, and no one, not even the women she protects, know who she is. She also, soon has a price on her head.

Sir Te, a former officer in the Emperor*s army, and now head of the police department in the district, is hearing all of these strange tales. But since Li Mu Bai is the only name he can find attached to them, he has his officers approach Mu Bai. Mu Bai comes in for a discussion.
Sir Te offers to hire him outside of the department to help him bring in the lieutenants of Huang*s gang, so that they can eventually bring in Huang himself, and stop the violence. Li Mu Bai is intrigued. He accepts, anxious to finally have active employment to help him forget Hsui Lien. Then, Sir Te asks if Mu Bai is also the night warrior who has been protecting the women who are victims of Huang*s tyranny. Mu Bai flinches, because he realizes who that warrior is, but he denies any knowledge to Sir Te. Sir Te knows that Mu Bai is lying, but protecting someone, so he drops it. Sir Te keeps Mu Bai to dinner an the two men make a steadfast friendship.

Chapter 8
The next morning as Mu Bai goes to Sir Te to take his leave, he finds Sir Te just ending a meeting, with Hsui Lien and her father. Hsui Lien*s father takes no special notice of Mu Bai, but Hsui Lien locks a gaze with Mu Bai, just long enough to take the wind out of Mu Bai, and for Sir Te to notice. Sir Te advises Mu Bai to forget her, but he sympathizes with Mu Bai*s position. Mu Bai leaves immediately in order to get started on forgetting Hsui Lien. However, Hsui Lien has waited for him outside. She is less in control of her emotions than Mu Bai is, but when she sees his resolve, she fortifies herself, and says her farewell. Then ashamed for his coldness, he calls after her, and tells her he will always be her protector. She tells him that is not necessary, but she knows that he is professing his love.
Then, after Hsui Lien leaves, Meng appears. He has witnessed the familiarity of Mu Bai and Hsui Lien and assumes that Mu Bai has seduced Hsui Lien, thus accounting for her disappearances at night. He challenges Mu Bai in his rage, and Mu Bai tries to stop him but cannot. He resigns to let Meng kill him rather than fight his brother.

Chapter 9
Mu Bai arrives at the duel, and drops to his knees. He will not fight. Hsui Lien arrives to see Meng trying to force Mu Bai to fight, he cannot bring himself to simply kill Mu Bai. Then someone arrives who will. Mi attacks Mu Bai who is still on his knees. Mu Bai barely ducks the killing blow, but is slashed across his back. The sword cuts him so cleanly that he does not feel the pain at first, only the wetness of blood down his back.

The feud between Mi and Mu Bai is older than Meng*s quarrel with Mu Bai, so he cannot stand by as his brother is unfairly attacked, and weaponless. Meng grabs a bystander*s sword and comes to Mu Bai*s aid. Mi*s sword is too powerful. Mu Bai tries to defend himself with any object he can find, but the sword annihilates everything, including Meng*s sword, and he is killed.
Finally, with the broken sword, Mu Bai manages to maim Mi, who then runs off because Sir Te*s men are approaching the fight to break it up. Mu Bai tries to run after Mi, but he is in too much pain from his wound. Hsui Lien retrieves Meng*s body, and Mu Bai insists he must accompany her to deliver Meng to his family. Hsui Lien agrees.

Chapter 10
Mu Bai and Hsui Lien deliver Meng*s body, and then Mu Bai collapses from grief and loss of blood. Hsui Lien takes him back to Sun Security, and Mrs. Wu attends to him. When he has recovered Hsui Lien*s father visits him. The man is uncomfortable, Mu Bai knows he probably has guessed that Hsui Lien is in love with Mu Bai. Hsui Lien*s father is not hiding his disapproval of the Giang Hu warrior very well. What is unspoken but completely understood is that in order to continue to protect Hsui Lien*s honor, Mu Bai can never pursue any relationship, even just a friendship, with her, or else it would be to admit that they had a relationship before being accused of infidelity. He also knows that he is being asked to leave as soon as he is able. Which he does, even though he has not seen Hsui Lien since the duel. But before he leaves, he steals Hsui Lien*s hairpin. Hsui Lien discovers that her hairpin and Mu Bai are gone, and what her father has done, and leaves Sun Security after they argue, to pursue her Giang Hu life for good. Mu Bai frustrated and losing control, decides it is time to bring Huang in for justice.

Chapter 11
Mu Bai finds Huang. What he does not know is that Hsui Lien is there to retrieve a woman who she has defended before, but who was taken by the gang. She sees Mu Bai*s rage in action and is worried. She sees that Mu Bai is going to kill Huang instead of arresting him, but is torn between escaping with the woman she came to rescue, and stopping Mu Bai. She chooses to escape. Mu Bai kills Huang due to his anger over Huang*s treatment of innocents, and due to his loss of control from frustration over his denied love for Yui. He is immediately remorseful for what he has done. He is arrested, and put in jail.

Chapter 12
Hsui Lien easily convinces Sir Te to defend Mu Bai at his trial, but Mu Bai is sentenced to death. Mu Bai resigns himself to his fate, almost glad to escape the pain of his denied love. Hsui Lien is consumed with guilt for not stopping Mu Bai. She keeps a vigil outside the prison, working on a plan to break Mu Bai out, but then Jiang Nan He suddenly appears. He breaks Mu Bai out of prison, with Sir Te*s blessing, and spirits him away to Wudan. Hsui Lien is happy that Mu Bai is out of danger and goes on with her life.

Chapter 13
He, now Southern Crane, begins the process of rebuilding Mu Bai. Mu Bai is distraught and angry, Crane shows him the love he once could not show, and advises him to forget Hsui Lien, and to honor the memory of Meng. Mu Bai is angry because Crane will not teach him swordplay, because he knows that Mu Bai does not have the peace within his soul required to learn an art like swordplay. Mu Bai must first find peace.

Mu Bai, now looking for reasons to be angry, also fixes on his anger at Crane for deserting him as a child, and uses that as an excuse to doubt Crane*s teachings and rebel. He calls Crane his Master, but begins to pursue his own course. He hears about a legendary sword called the Green Destiny, and becomes obsessed. He leaves Wudan again find it. One day, while minding her own business, Hsui Lien stumbles upon Mi. He is still talking about killing Mu Bai. Hsui Lien has not worried about Mu Bai since Crane took him to Wudan, but now finds her protective instincts on fire again. Then she sees Mi in action with his sword. It is going to take all her skill to get rid of this final threat to Mu Bai. She begins to plan his downfall.

Chapter 14
Mu Bai searches for months, and disintegrates into a man obsessed. When he finds the sword, he finds that the man in possession of it is Mi. The Green Destiny was the sword which sliced his back. Mu Bai watches Mi use the sword, and sees just how powerful it is. He is worried, but he cannot give up the sword. While Mu Bai is observing Mi, Hsui Lien first sees him. She does not recognize him, he is so altered, but she notices him and that he is also intent on killing Mi. She decides to find out who he is before possibly enlisting his help. While going through his things, she finds her hairpin.

She is overcome with emotion, but then Mu Bai is returning, and she runs off, leaving the hairpin behind. Mu Bai challenges Mi under an assumed name so Mi will not take the fight seriously, then fights him. The sword is too powerful for Mu Bai, and Mi slowly nicks Mu Bai again and again, eventually to bleed him to death. Hsui Lien intervenes before the death blow, and stabs him in the back. Mu Bai is horribly wounded but does not surrender to unconsciousness before he takes the Green Destiny from Mi.

Chapter 15
Hsui Lien heals Mu Bai. In his fever Mu Bai still does not recognize her. His anger is so overwhelming, she considers leaving him to die. But her guilt over his present situation keeps her by his side. When he recovers from his fever, he finds that Hsui Lien has hidden the Green Destiny, and in his rage to find it he finds among his things the hairpin, and a light goes on in his darkness. He turns to her and puts the hairpin back in her hair as he remembers she used to wear it, and dissolves into sobs. Mu Bai thanks her, but she dismisses his thanks stating she is doing it only because she is ashamed of how her father treated him. He leaves while she is sleeping, and disappears with the Green Destiny. Hsui Lien decides to return home.

Chapter 16
Hsui Lien returns home to find her father is dead. She decides to stay and rebuild her father*s security business, and Sir Te aids her in finding a new staff. Over the years she hears about a strange Wuxia warrior who has appeared with the Green Destiny in distant provinces. He always behaves justly, defending the weak, and poor, and especially women. A legend begins to grow around the name Li Mu Bai.

Chapter 17
After years of wandering in the Wuxia life, Mu Bai returns to Wudan to face Crane. Through the years, with the knowledge that love saved him instead of cursing him, he has worked out a lot of his frustration, and returns to Crane when he reaches a place of enough peace to realize how he has wronged his Master. Instead of disciplining Mu Bai, Crane offers to continue his training, now including Mu Bai*s interest in swordplay. They begin a new relationship, and Mu Bai recovers his love for Crane. Crane becomes his true Master. Mu Bai also meets a new woman, Jade Fox, who has recently intrigued Crane because she is beautiful, and interested in Wudan*s martial arts. Mu Bai is troubled by her, but does not interfere in his Master*s life.

Chapter 18
While in training, Mu Bai receives word from Sir Te that Hsui Lien is in trouble. Her business is being targeted by bandits, and on the last trip, Hsui Lien was taken. Mu Bai leaves Wudan again to find Hsui Lien.
Mu Bai searches for weeks for Hsui Lien. He begins to worry he may be too late. Then Sir Te informs him that he has discovered that the bandits are the remains of Huang*s gang. Mu Bai now knows where to look and finds that she has been mistreated because of repeated escape attempts, and in a rage kills all of the bandits with the Green Destiny. Hsui Lien is ill from exposure, and Mu Bai takes her back to her headquarters, and helps Mrs. Wu to nurse her. Hsui Lien is near death so Mu Bai prays to Meng. He promises Meng that if Hsui Lien is spared he will never dishonor Meng*s memory. Hsui Lien lives, and Mu Bai leaves before she can stop him.

Chapter 19
Mu Bai returns to Wudan to find that Crane has been murdered by Jade Fox. He is broken. He has promised never to pursue his love for Hsui Lien, and his master is now dead. Jade Fox becomes his new obsession.
Hsui Lien arrives before Mu Bai can leave to find Fox. She tells him that she knows the promise he made, because Mrs.Wu overheard him praying. She tells him that she will always do whatever she can to help him bring Jade Fox to justice. Mu Bai thanks her, promising also to continue to watch over her, as he had vowed years before, finally says a proper farewell to her, and then disappears into the mist.

[Suet Seung]

The Chapters are very short yet very good...I haven't had the time to actually read it throughly but I will later. You're probably waiting for people to coment.

Anyways, umm..you know it's very weird...this past weekend I was driving down this road to go to my friend's house for her B-day and well I notice that the name of the Road was South and there was this road that you turn right to and it's name is Crane Dr. Isn't that weird? I saw that and I was thinking of your nick and of course those roads has nothing to do with your nick but I just found it sorta strange...that there are roads like that.

[Southern Crane]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/laugh.gif') That's interesting, sister Krane. lol!... It's a very small world after all.

[Goofy]

Hi SouthCrane,

<IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0">

If you update this topic twice a month, then it wouldn't get deleted. If you want to read some good fanfics, goto winglin.net. May I recommend

<A HREF="http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/TuVi" TARGET=_blank>
Destiny</A>

by my sifu, Tu Vi.

and <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> not a recommendation, but a humble offer - asking for your opinion (and you can suggest all corrections in grammars and spellings) <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> - my fanfic

Lastly, WhiteKrane's fanfic can also be found in winglin - here

Enjoy <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing....

[Southern Crane]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/laugh.gif') Hi Goofy! <IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0"> ...lol!

Okay... thanks for bringing Precious Sword, Jade hairpin back to life. But since I didn't write it, and since it's a fanfic that differs considerably in it's details from the original book Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin, I probably wouldn't add anything more to it. It's just a good short story as is. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">


<IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> OMG!!! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> Destiny looks very impressive! I see now where you and Sister Krane get a lot of your great ideas. Yours looks good too! When I find the time, I'll be sure to read that and The Legend of the Sword and Saber. It'll take a little time before I can start, but I will soon. I promise. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

hehe... and I will enjoy <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing....

[Goofy]

<IMG SRC="smilies/cool.gif" border="0"> Thank you. It is rare to find such an enthusiasm reader like you. I like your suggesting about cast list. I think I'll use it for my whole character list. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Nope, have to take back my words. <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> I'll definitely use your cast idea for my next story though. <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0">

[Southern Crane]

Actually, what you have is just fine. I believe that simpler is always better. But since Krane wishes to post her characters' names in four languages, then that's the way I'd suggest it to make it look a little neater and easier to read. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Give me a little time before I can start reading Sword and Saber. But I will read it. Looks good so far! <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

<IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0"> What is brother Crane talking about? I'm just using names in Cantonese but the cast list is in two chinese dialects(Cantonese/Mandarin) and Vietnamese since most of the readers would probably be Chinese or Vietnamese.

What suggestion about the cast list mean? Huh? Can someone clue me in here? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[Southern Crane]

hehe... Sister Krane, you have to read my post in A Legacy of Secrets. <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> ...lol! The way I think you want to do it is just fine. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

Did you suggest that the Prologue be before or after the foreword and cast? Can you give me the layout...

1)Foreword
2)Cast of Characters
3)Prologue

[Southern Crane]

Hmm... something like:

Contents
Cast of Characters
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
.
.
.

Place Forward either before or after on same page as Cast of Characters or first on Prologue page. I really like your Forward. It may look and sound better, building suspense for your story, before introducing the cast.

Krane, you can expect plenty of feedback from me soon. You too, Goofy. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Just keep <IMG SRC="smilies/typin.gif" border="0">ing and we'll keep <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing... lol!

[Suet Seung]

Great!Southern Crane...however...I can't change the title of the foreword..because everyone has it like that on their contents page. No change about it..unfortunately, however, if you go back to my fanfic at winglin, I've already did the changes yesterday nite. Now that I think of it, my third chapter maybe too long, I should have split it into two chapters instead and possibly cause more suspense as to if Wai Sam died or not. I guess I just wanna include their death and stuff...aiya...so complicated...I guess..I will change split it in half...and post a author's note informing the readers about the changes...and the on coming chapters...heheh...such a headache...for a writer... <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0">