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You see, Kwai Chang,
how it is light and delicate
for grace and for speed,
like a floating wind.
-lt is as you described it, Huo.
-And it is also strong.
lt will not falter.
l congratulate you, weapon maker.
None other could have
fulfilled the task so well.
And you, gracious apprentice
to the Shaolin weapons master
l compliment you on such precision
in your design.
-Tell me about the metal.
-A fusion of many
to make one with a strength
that can never give way.
Unless.
Unless?
The man who wields it himself
gives way?
-Are you speaking of me?
-Any man can be broken.
How?
By a strength outside greater than
himself
or a weakness inside
which he cannot understand.
l challenge you all to a fighting match!
A purse of silver for anyone
who can stand against me.
Over there, a lady, my sister
see how she disapproves.
Where are the men among you?
l accept you, all six of you at once.
Shaolins!
l have been waiting for you.
l have a message for your master,
Chen Ming Kan.
Tell him l will be at his temple gates
within the week
to challenge him to a ritual combat
to the death.
Your tread must be light and sure
as though your path
were upon rice paper.
It is said a Shaolin priest
can walk through walls.
Looked for, he cannot be seen.
Listened for, he cannot be heard.
Touched, he cannot be felt.
This rice paper is the test.
Fragile as the wings of the dragonfly,
clinging as the cocoon of the silkworm.
When you can walk its length
and leave no trace
you will have learned.
Did you not think it strange,
our meeting with the champion?
l think he fought those
who can easily be defeated.
He knew we were Shaolins.
As did the weapon maker
and perhaps all of the village.
You do not fear for Master Kan?
l wish l had his strength.
You feel you do not?
Do you ever crave that
which you may not have?
l am a man.
l have desires.
Many?
-Can you speak plainly?
-At the weapon maker's you said
there is a weakness within a man
which he cannot interpret.
When a man feels
there is something inside of him
that cannot easily be explained.
lt does not need to be weakness.
ln the hut,
we spoke of weapons and men
-and giving way.
-l know.
Perhaps we should talk about it
at another time.
You have performed with great skill,
Kwai Chang.
lt is the skill of Huo
that has made me so lucky in the contest.
Disciple Huo has designed a weapon
that is unlike any l have seen.
lt seems to win almost without need
of one to wield it.
l knew Huo was your finest apprentice.
Yet, l did not know he possessed
such special skills.
Tell me of your design.
With your permission, Master Kan.
lt was Kwai Chang who first used it
and proved its value.
The weapon maker told me
it will not give way.
Because of the many metals in it,
it has a oneness of power.
Yet, it is light,
easy to wield as a bamboo staff
because of its lightness in weight
and the grace of its design.
-lt will not give way.
-Chen Ming Kan, l'm returned!
You have promised me an answer!
l must hear it.
l have a message for Chen Ming Kan!
-ls this the man you spoke of?
-Yes, master.
l do not know his voice.
He is a stranger to you.
-Yet, you expected him.
-Yes.
Why?
Forgive me, master, l have no answer
only a feeling.
Why do you keep me waiting?
Come.
Let us speak with this loud voice.
Must l tear down this gate?
Shaolin, do you hear me?
Why do you treat this man
as an animal?
l have a message for Chen Ming Kan.
l am Chen Ming Kan.
Yes, l see that you are.
l am Yi Lien.
l challenge you, venerable,
to ritual combat to the death.
l cannot honor your challenge.
You must tell me why.
You are before the gates
of a Shaolin temple.
And there are no reasons
for which your ears are worthy.
l ask that you reconsider.
This land abounds with worthless flesh
who suffer in waiting
for the next world.
For each day you refuse to meet
my challenge
l will relieve one of them
of their waiting.
l will return at the end of this day.
This thing that is less than a dog
you, Chen Ming Kan
will be the reason for its life
or its death.
We have never acceded
to threats before.
lf we yield now
to this outrageous demand
we place ourselves at the whim
of every passerby
who wishes to test his strength
at our expense.
This matter must surely be
for civil authorities.
How can it be our responsibility
to deal with such a madman?
Who is this man?
We know nothing more than his name.
Would it not demean us
to send even our lowest disciple
to stand against his challenge?
May l be permitted?
Please.
What l have heard here is truth
of a kind.
The circumstances, the challenge,
are abhorrent to our very natures.
We neither know this arrogant,
cruel man who stands before our gate
nor where he comes from,
nor who has trained him.
But it does not matter.
lt is of no concern
who sends this challenger.
lf he himself is not a demon,
then he is controlled by one.
His actions, to take human lives
to get what he desires
is proof enough of that.
We have no choice here.
We must meet his challenge.
Each of you
has communicated generously.
l am grateful for your counsel.
The challenge will be accepted.
-You cannot mean you'd fight him yourself?
-No.
Ho Feng,
whom do you judge among your students
to be most proficient in all skills?
-l will make a decision quickly.
-Please.
You have something more to say,
my friend.
lt is you who should speak.
ls it l who brings this challenger
to our gate?
Reach into the past.
My mind, my heart, are open.
l see nothing to link me to this man.
What do you feel?
Help me, old friend.
The one at the gate you call a man
he is less than a man
and more than a man.
Fingers of power, like evil tentacles,
reach behind him and before him.
Those before him reach out for you.
lf it is written
then it will be so.
The path that will free me of the evil
is unclear.
Master
l have seen something
which l can no longer hold back.
-Tell me.
-There is a palace
as lavish as the estate of the Mandarin.
There is a man
in a red silk robe.
Disciple Huo and l,
when we were in the village
l felt the challenger expected us.
There was no natural way
he could know we would come.
lt was then, after the defeat
of the six men in the street
that l first saw.
We will speak of this again.
Meanwhile, a disciple must be chosen
to meet this challenger
who has these powers.
Do you not wonder who it will be?
l will know when it is time.
-Do you fear that you might be chosen.
-No.
Someone else?
Disciple Huo.
He is troubled and suffers greatly.
Huo is the weapon master's apprentice,
as able as any.
l believe he may be unable
to harm another
and feels that a weakness.
Then perhaps it is time for him
to learn the truth.
Master, look, the challenger.
Hear me.
l am returned.
Chen Ming Kan!
You have promised me an answer.
Chen Ming Kan, the day is nearly over,
and l must have an answer.
l here restate my challenge.
Ritual combat with you, venerable,
to the death.
We ask that you reconsider
-that this contest not be to the death.
-l reconsider nothing.
Under the circumstances
you have set up
-we must accept the challenge.
-lt is well.
You cannot expect to meet
with a master
until you have first faced a student.
l want the master.
Then you will first face the student.
Bring him to me.
Disciple Huo, step forward.
You bring me the child l first saw
in the village.
lt is like a morsel before the main meal.
l thank you.
-When do we begin?
-Tomorrow is the day.
-Why not today?
-There are no fights to the death here.
Since you have insisted and threatened us
with the death of many
we have been forced to arrange for it.
lt will take a new day to prepare.
l do not wish to die, my brother.
l now believe it is this fear of death
which is the weakness within me.
None of us wish to die, Huo.
Honor at the risk of death
is not a part of the Shaolin tradition.
This weakness you fear is not real.
Trust in the masters.
They have reason for choosing you.
Trust them.
They are wise.
-Who are you?
-Please, l have come for help.
-How can l help you?
-This challenger, Yi Lien
he is my brother.
-Are you warmed?
-Yes, ancient father.
Disciple Caine tells me you are related
to the man at the gates.
l am Lady Mei Wu, his sister.
He is the son, and l am the daughter of
Duke Ch'ao.
l have been following him for weeks
so that l might convince him
to come home.
-And he will not?
-No.
How may we help you?
l beg that you spare his life.
Yi was the one who issued the challenge.
lt is he who insists on combat
to the death.
l know that this cannot be
my brother's true wish.
He is gentle.
He has always placed great value on life.
lt seems he values it no more.
He has been changed by an evil one.
-Who is this evil one?
-l do not know his name.
l have only seen him once
through the gates of his palace
when l followed my brother there.
Tell me of this palace.
lt is very grand, isolated, hidden away
with flags flying from its turrets,
like the banner that my brother carries.
Where is this palace?
lt is not far from here,
perhaps half a day's ride.
Master, l know this place from my vision.
l can take you there, in the light.
Start now.
But it is dark now.
ln a matter of hours, it will be light.
Do you wish your brother's life
to be spared.
lt has been my only thought.
Start now.
Master, how much time is there?
No one can say for certain.
Perhaps time has already run out.
-ls everything ready?
-Yes.
Has the right choice been made?
Disciple Huo is skilled beyond any
in the use of the lance.
And with his newly designed weapon,
he will be even stronger.
But will it be enough?
Enough of this preparation.
We are, all of us, tired of this waiting.
Where is everyone?
-Where are the priests?
-They are about their tasks.
Then you do me no honor here.
There will be no audience.
This is not a village street.
Here, two will fight for mastery,
not acclaim.
lt is past the appointed hour.
l am ready.
Let the contest begin.
lf you wish to stop, l will go on alone.
No.
You will not be able
to find the palace
and l will not rest
until l know that my brother is safe.
-You will think me foolish.
-Why?
l envy your brother
for having such a sister.
-And yet--
-And yet?
lf l were your brother
l could not--
-Could not?
-Forgive me, l may not say it.
-Yet l might like to hear it.
-Perhaps in a different time
at a different place.
-Your name?
-l am Kwai Chang Caine.
Disciple of the Shaolin Order.
We have looked
toward each other before.
-You know who l am?
-Not your name
not who you are
but l know you are the force
behind Yi Lien.
l am the force.
Know, too, that l am the force
which will be behind the death
of your Master Kan
and the destruction
of your Shaolin temple.
You convene the Circle of Seven
without any knowledge or permission
of Master Kan.
-lt is necessary.
-Why?
Because the temple itself
is in grave danger.
From the challenger who fights outside?
He is the instrument of that danger.
Even if he defeats disciple Huo
which l admit, at this moment,
to be likely
surely, any of us could end
the danger.
You see the flower but not the root.
Where is this root l cannot see?
ln another place, from another time.
lt is a root that dips deeply
into a poisoned well
and even now,
the poison threatens not only ourselves
but everything that we hold sacred.
Why cannot Master Kan be told?
Because he himself is so deeply enmeshed
within that root
he will be the first to feel the poison.
Let yourself feel the evil aura
that reaches out for us.
ln the courtyard below,
two champions contest.
But the real battle
is taking place even now
at a place which may be protected
even beyond our reach.
lt will take all our strengths,
and perhaps that will not avail.
l send my champion to Chen Ming Kan.
He sends me his.
-Where is the Lady Mei?
-The Lady Mei?
She is here.
Then find her.
lt is enough that l have found you.
You found me?
Through the black horse.
Which brought you to me.
After first trying to destroy me.
You think l could not destroy you
where you stand?
Then why do you not?
You are an ant that crosses my path.
Where does your path lead?
To one bigger than you.
-Master Kan.
-He.
Why do you seek to destroy him?
Years before your birth
l fought in combat
with a monk like you.
My master.
My enemy.
Why?
He interfered in an affair
that was not his own.
He does not speak of it.
He will not speak of it.
Perhaps because, to him,
it is of no consequence.
-You dare--
-To speak the truth?
Yes.
What do you seek to gain, young monk,
by this conversation?
My name is Kwai Chang Caine.
What does it matter?
You have remembered
the name ''Chen Ming Kan.
''
Now you will remember mine.
Effrontery from a child.
Listen, child,
and l will tell you what will happen.
l control the champion who is even now
on the verge of defeating your friend.
l give him more-than-human strength
and power.
Yi Lien! Do you live by no code?
l will adhere to your rules.
But it will only prolong the time
before the disciple is finished
and the time of your death.
This more-than-human strength
will destroy his human body.
Then he will die.
But not before he defeats your champion.
And when it appears your champion
is about to die
another will die in his place.
Your noble Master Kan.
Master, l cannot win this match.
ln saying so
have you not already lost?
This man seems to be driven by a force
l do not know.
He has a strength l have never seen.
There is more to this combat
than physical strength.
lt has been said that the lance
can never give way
but that a man can be broken.
-How?
-By a strength outside
which is greater than himself
by a weakness inside him
which he cannot interpret.
Do you forget that your spirit
is stronger than the flesh?
lt can defeat the power of another,
no matter how great.
There is no failure, no defeat
no weakness within you
only that which you allow
to settle in your own mind.
Draw upon the strength of your spirit.
With the death of its master,
your temple will deteriorate.
Master will turn against master
disciple against disciple.
And at the end
there will be nothing but ruins.
l can stop it.
How?
With this.
Use it.
But which one is me?
Try again, young monk,
but be careful
for you may hit the wrong target.
Even as you hesitate
my champion does his work
in your temple courtyard.
Poor little monk.
You must choose quickly
for in another few moments,
it will all be over.
Forgive me, master
for bringing violence to so holy a place.
lt is over.
How can this be?
His power is broken.
Things are seen as they are.
l will be forever grateful
for what you have taught me.
lt was a truth, disciple Huo
one among many.
What you believed to be inner weakness
existed in your mind alone
and in no other place.
You performed with great skill
when it had to be done
working with others
to prevent destruction here.
Masters
l do not understand
all that has happened.
No one knows all.
We were challenged by a festering anger.
The challenge was accepted.
And in the end
the seeds of hatred
destroyed themselves
as they always do
as they always will.
Battles are waged on the earth
and in the heavens
within the mind and within the soul.
This battle has been won.
See?
lt did not give way.
And the man who wields it
he did not give way.
[ENGLlSH]