The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 1 – Part 4

The Daoist smiled. “The technique you wield is indeed the Yang Family Spear. My apologies. May I ask your honourable surname?”

Yang Tiexin was still shaken from the fight. He answered without thinking, “My surname is Yang, and my humble courtesy name is Tiexin.”

“Is General Yang Zaixing¹ your forebear?” the Daoist asked.

“He was my late great-grandfather.”

The Daoist’s expression turned solemn with respect. He clasped his fist² and said, “I mistook you two for villains just now and gave offence. You are the descendant of a loyal house after all, and I am truly ashamed of my disrespect. And may I ask your friend’s surname?”

Guo Xiaotian had reached their side by now. He leaned on his halberd and said, “My surname is Guo, and my humble courtesy name is Xiaotian.”

Yang Tiexin said, “He is my sworn brother, a descendant of Headman Guo Sheng,³ the Rival of Rengui, one of the brave men of Liangshan Marsh.⁴”

The Daoist said, “I have been truly reckless. Please accept my apologies.” He bowed once more.

Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin returned the bow and said, “You are too kind, too kind. Daoist Elder, please come inside for three more cups.”

Yang Tiexin picked up his iron spear as he spoke.

The Daoist laughed. “Gladly! I was hoping for a proper drink with you both!”

Bao Xiruo and Li Ping, anxious over Yang Tiexin’s fight, had been watching from the doorway. Seeing the three men set aside their weapons and make friends, they were greatly relieved and hurried inside to ready the cups and dishes.

Once they were seated, Guo and Yang asked the Daoist his Daoist name.

The Daoist said, “This humble Daoist is surnamed Qiu, and my given name is Chuji⁵…”

Yang Tiexin cried, “Ah!” and leapt to his feet.

Guo Xiaotian was startled as well. “Can it be that you are Changchunzi?”

Qiu Chuji smiled. “That is a humble sobriquet my fellow Daoists gave me. I hardly deserve it.”

Guo Xiaotian said, “So you are Changchunzi, the daxia of the Quanzhen Order.⁶ What fortune to meet you.” The two men threw themselves to the ground and kowtowed.

Qiu Chuji hurried to raise them. “Today I killed a traitor, and the authorities are pursuing me closely. Then you two suddenly invited me in for wine. This is the emperor’s capital,⁷ and you did not look like ordinary villagers, so I grew suspicious.”

Guo Xiaotian said, “My brother here has a quick temper. He tried his hand against Daoist Elder as you came in, which must have made Daoist Elder all the more suspicious.”

Qiu Chuji said, “What ordinary man possesses such strength in his grip? I took you both for government hounds in disguise, lying in wait here to seize me. My words just now were uncalled for. I was shockingly rude.”

Yang Tiexin laughed. “Where there’s no knowing, there’s no blame.”

The three of them laughed together.

They drank a few cups of wine. Qiu Chuji pointed at the mangled head on the ground and said, “This man was called Wang Daoqian.⁸ An arch-traitor. Last year the Emperor sent him to congratulate the Jin ruler on his birthday, and he colluded with the Jin to plot an invasion of Jiangnan.⁹ I tracked him for more than ten days before I finished him.”

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian had long heard of Qiu Chuji’s unmatched skill and his devotion to the code of xia. Seeing his passion for ridding the country of a traitor, their respect deepened. They seized the chance to ask him for pointers in martial arts, and Qiu Chuji taught them freely, holding nothing back.

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The Yang Family Spear is a military art, forged for the battlefield, for charging enemy lines and breaking formations, where nothing stands before it. But against seasoned fighters of the jianghu,¹⁰ it has its limitations. Qiu Chuji had cultivated both the internal and the external to a high level. He had not yet reached the summit, but he stood well above the ordinary. How could Yang Tiexin match him for dozens of exchanges? The truth was that Qiu Chuji had been quietly impressed by Yang Tiexin’s form and had deliberately drawn the bout out, letting him run through all seventy-two moves of the spear so that he could confirm whether this was the true Yang lineage. In a real fight he could have sent the iron spear flying within a handful of strokes. He now explained that this spear method had been designed for use on horseback, and that fighting on foot demanded more variation. One must not cling rigidly to the set forms. Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian listened and nodded. The Yang Family Spear was a hereditary art, passed from father to son and never to a daughter. For all Qiu Chuji’s breadth of knowledge, he did not know the deepest secrets of the method, and so he in turn asked Yang Tiexin to teach him a few of the finer moves.

The three of them drank till their ears burned, and their talk ran in perfect accord. Yang Tiexin said, “For us two brothers to meet Daoist Elder is the good fortune of a lifetime. Could Daoist Elder stay at our humble home a few days longer?”

Qiu Chuji was about to answer when his expression changed. “Someone is coming for me. Whatever happens, do not come outside. Understand?”

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian nodded.

Qiu Chuji bent and picked up the head, opened the door, went out, and sprang up into a tree, hiding among the branches.

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian watched his strange behaviour in bewilderment. The north wind howled outside. After a while, the faint sound of hoofbeats reached them from the west.

Yang Tiexin said, “Daoist Elder has sharp ears.” Then he thought, This Daoist Elder’s martial arts are truly formidable. But against the lame Qu San,¹¹ who knows which of them is the stronger?

The hoofbeats drew closer. Through the wind and snow a dozen-odd riders came at a gallop, all in black robes and black caps, and charged right up to the door.

The lead rider reined in suddenly and shouted, “The tracks end here. Someone fought here just now.”

Several men behind him dismounted to examine the marks in the snow.

The leader barked, “Search the house!”

Two men dismounted and came to pound on the Yang family door. Suddenly something came hurling down from the tree with a crash, striking the man squarely on the head. The force was so great that his brains burst out and he died on the spot.

A great commotion rose. Several men crowded around the tree. One of them picked up the thing that had fallen and cried out in horror, “Lord Wang’s head!”

The leader drew his dao and bellowed an order. A dozen-plus men surrounded the tree. He gave a signal, and five men nocked arrows to their bows. Five feathered shafts flew together towards Qiu Chuji.

Yang Tiexin raised his iron spear to rush out and help. Guo Xiaotian caught his arm and whispered, “Daoist Elder told us not to go out. If he’s outnumbered, we can still step in.”

He had barely finished speaking when an arrow came flying down from the tree. Qiu Chuji had dodged four of the five and caught the last, hurling it back with the flung-arrow technique. There was a cry, and one of the black-clad riders took the arrow and tumbled from his horse, rolling into the grass.

Qiu Chuji drew his jian and leapt down. The blade flashed, and two black-clad men fell.

The leader shouted, “Villainous Daoist, so it’s you!” Three short crossbow bolts flew from his hand in quick succession. He swung his dao and charged forward on horseback.

The gleam of Qiu Chuji’s jian flashed again and again. Two more men took the blade and fell from their saddles.

Yang Tiexin watched with his mouth hanging open. He had practised martial arts for ten years and more, yet this Daoist master’s jian moved so fast that, never mind blocking it, he could not even see it clearly. If the Daoist had not held his hand just now, he would be dead already.

Qiu Chuji moved to and fro like the wind, locked in combat with the mounted man wielding the dao. The man was no weakling. His dao was fierce as he parried and hacked, and his men rushed forward one after another to help. As the fighting wore on, Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin saw that Qiu Chuji was deliberately keeping the officer pinned, picking his moments to strike, a palm here, a thrust of the jian there, cutting down the men one by one. His purpose, it seemed, was to kill every last one of them, fearing that if the leader fell first the rest would scatter and escape pursuit.

In less than the time it takes to eat half a meal, the attackers were down to six or seven. The officer knew he could not win. He whistled through his lips, wheeled his horse, and fled.

Qiu Chuji’s left palm shot forward and seized the horse’s tail. He pulled hard, and his body shot up into the air. Before he had even landed on the horse’s back, his jian had driven through the officer from behind and out through his chest. Qiu Chuji tossed aside the corpse, took the reins, and rode the beast in a wide circuit, cutting down every man he overtook. Iron hooves churned, jian-steel flashed, and one by one the riders screamed and fell, their blood turning the snow to red.

Qiu Chuji stood with his jian and looked around. Nothing remained but riderless horses bolting in every direction. He laughed aloud and waved to Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin. “Wasn’t that some fine killing?”

The two men opened the door and came out, still badly shaken.

Guo Xiaotian said, “Daoist Elder, who were these men?”

“Search their bodies,” Qiu Chuji said.

Guo Xiaotian rummaged through the dead officer’s robe and drew out an official document. It was a secret order from Prefect Zhao of Lin’an,⁷ the very man who had played the dog. It said that the envoy of the Great Jin, sitting in Lin’an Prefecture, demanded the killer of Wang Daoqian, and it ordered the constables to work with the men of the Great Jin and bring the culprit in within the set time.

Guo Xiaotian was still seething with anger when Yang Tiexin cried out from the other side, holding several waist tallies he had taken from the corpses. They bore the script of the Jin state: among the black-clad dead, several were Jin soldiers after all.

Guo Xiaotian said, “Enemy troops ride into our territory, arresting and killing at will, and the officials of our Great Song must obey their envoy’s orders. What sort of world is this?”

Yang Tiexin sighed. “The Song Emperor has already declared himself a vassal of the Jin. Our civil and military officials are nothing but the Jin’s slaves now.”

Qiu Chuji said bitterly, “One who has renounced the world ought not to kill wantonly. But when I see a traitor who harms his own people, or an enemy of the state, I cannot bring myself to show mercy.”

The two men spoke as one: “Well killed, well killed!”

The village was thinly populated at the best of times, and in this bitter cold and heavy snow no one went out at all. Even those who had glimpsed the fighting had long since bolted their doors. No one came to look or ask questions. Yang Tiexin fetched a hoe and a spade, and the three of them buried the dozen-plus corpses in the earth by the river.

Li Ping and Bao Xiruo took brooms and swept the bloodstains from the snow. They had not been at it long when the smell of blood rose suddenly into Bao Xiruo’s chest. Stars swam before her eyes. She gave a soft cry and sank into the snow.

Yang Tiexin was alarmed. He rushed to her side and raised her up, calling, “What is it? What is it?”

Bao Xiruo did not answer. Her eyes were closed, her face white as paper, her hands and feet cold to the touch. Yang Tiexin’s fear grew.

Qiu Chuji came over, took Bao Xiruo’s wrist, and felt her pulse. Then he laughed broadly. “Congratulations, congratulations!”

Yang Tiexin stared. “What do you mean?”

Just then Bao Xiruo stirred with a soft sound and opened her eyes. Seeing three men standing over her, she flushed with embarrassment. Li Ping helped her inside and poured her a cup of tea.

Qiu Chuji smiled. “Madam Yang is with child!”

Yang Tiexin’s face lit up. “Truly?”

Qiu Chuji said, “Of all that I have studied in my life, there are only three things that give me any satisfaction. First is the art of medicine. My alchemy came to nothing, but I learned a good deal about herbs and minerals along the way. Second is writing a few mediocre verses. Only third come these crude martial arts.”

Guo Xiaotian said, “If Daoist Elder’s astonishing skill counts as crude, then my brother and I are no better than children waving bamboo sticks!”

The three of them laughed as they finished clearing the snow, then went inside to set out fresh cups and dishes. Qiu Chuji was in high spirits that day: he had killed a good many Jin, and his spirits soared.

Yang Tiexin could not stop smiling at the thought of his wife’s pregnancy. He thought, This Daoist Elder writes poetry too, so he is master of both letters and arms. Aloud he said, “Big Sister-in-law Guo is also with child. Would Daoist Elder be so kind as to name the two children?”

Qiu Chuji considered the matter for a moment. “Big Brother Guo’s child shall be called Guo Jing,¹² and Second Brother Yang’s child Yang Kang.¹³ Either name will serve, boy or girl.”

Guo Xiaotian said, “Daoist Elder means them never to forget the Jingkang Shame,¹⁴ and the humiliation of the Two Emperors taken captive.”

“Precisely!” Qiu Chuji reached into his robe and drew out a pair of short jians, laying them on the table. The two jians were identical in length and shape: green-leather scabbards, gold throat-collars, and ebony hilts. He picked up Yang Tiexin’s dagger and carved the characters “Guo Jing” into one hilt and “Yang Kang” into the other.

Guo and Yang watched the blade fly, faster than most men could write, and were still taking in his meaning when Qiu Chuji had already finished. He smiled. “I carry no gifts on the road. Let these short jians be a present for the two children yet to be born.”

The two men thanked him and took the jians. Drawing them from their scabbards, they felt a chill of cold steel: the edges were sharp beyond measure.

Qiu Chuji said, “I came upon these short jians by chance. They are keen enough, but too short for my hand. The children may use them to kill enemies and guard themselves. In ten years, if I still draw breath in the world of men, I shall return and teach them a few moves. How does that sound?”

Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian were delighted and thanked him again and again.

Qiu Chuji said, “The Jin hold the north by force. Their tyranny over the common people is so cruel that the people’s hearts will never be with them, and a power built on such a foundation cannot last. Take care of yourselves, you two.”

He drained his cup, opened the door, and walked out. Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin would have detained him, but he was already striding away through the snow, swift as the wind, and within moments he was gone.

Footnotes

1. 杨再兴 — Yáng Zàixīng (?—1140). A Song general under Yue Fei, famed for his courage against the Jin. ↩

2. 抱拳 — bào quán. Literally embracing the fist. A salute in which the left palm covers the right fist. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 郭盛 — Guō Shèng. One of the outlaw heroes of Mount Liang in the Water Margin, famed for his skill with the ji. ↩

4. 梁山泊 — Liángshān Bó. Liangshan Marsh, the marshland stronghold of the 108 outlaws of the late Northern Song celebrated in the classic novel Water Margin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 丘处机 — Qiū Chǔjī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 全真教 — Quánzhēn Jiào. Literally complete truth order. Daoist martial-monastic order founded by Wang Chongyang, one of the most influential orthodox factions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 临安 — Lín’ān. Capital of Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1276) known for its cultural refinement and West Lake scenery. Modern day Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

8. 王道乾 — Wáng Dàoqián. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 江南 — Jiāngnán. Literally south of the river. Prosperous region south of the Yangtze River, encompassing modern-day southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and Shanghai. ↩

10. 江湖 — jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The world of martial artists, outside mainstream society. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 曲三 — Qū Sān. His name meaning “Qu Three” or “Qu Third”. See Wuxia Wiki (spoiler). ↩

12. 郭靖 — Guō Jìng. His name meaning “to pacify”; paired with Yang Kang’s 康 it recalls the Jingkang Shame of 1127. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 杨康 — Yáng Kāng. His name meaning “well-being”; paired with Guo Jing’s 靖 it recalls the Jingkang Shame of 1127. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 靖康之耻 — Jìngkāng zhī Chǐ. Literally the shame of Jingkang. In 1127 Jin forces took the Northern Song capital Kaifeng and carried off the emperors Huizong and Qinzong, ending the Northern Song. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩