The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 11 – Part 7

Han Xiaoying said gently, “A man may have three or four wives. It is common enough. In future you can tell the Great Khan the whole story. One man, two wives, and both sides are satisfied. What is wrong with that? From what I saw, Genghis Khan himself has more than a hundred wives.”

Guo Jing wiped his tears and said, “I will not marry Princess Huazheng.”

Han Xiaoying asked in surprise, “Why not?”

Guo Jing said, “I do not want her for a wife.”

Han Xiaoying said, “Haven’t you always got on very well with her?”

Guo Jing said, “I think of her as a younger sister, a good friend. I do not want her for a wife.”

Qiu Chuji said with delight, “Good boy, you have spirit, real spirit. Never mind any Great Khan or any princess. You should do as your father and Uncle Yang wished, and marry Miss Mu.”

To everyone’s surprise, Guo Jing shook his head again and said, “I will not marry Miss Mu either.”

They all found this strange, and wondered what was turning in his mind. Han Xiaoying, being a woman, had the finer mind. She asked softly, “Have you someone else in your heart?”

Guo Jing’s face went red. After a pause he nodded at last.

Han Baoju and Qiu Chuji demanded in the same breath, “Who is she?”

Guo Jing mumbled and gave no answer.

The previous night, in the Prince’s residence, whilst fighting Mei Chaofeng,¹ Ouyang Ke and the rest, Han Xiaoying had taken notice of Huang Rong.² She had seen how the girl’s brow and eyes were painted as if in a picture, her figure graceful and elegant, and had marvelled inwardly at the time. Now a thought struck her, and she recalled how close Huang Rong had seemed to Guo Jing and how protective of him. She asked, “Is it the little girl in white? Is it?”

Guo Jing nodded, his face crimson.

Qiu Chuji asked, “What’s all this about white clothes and black clothes, little girls and big girls?”

Han Xiaoying said slowly, “I heard Mei Chaofeng call her little shimei,³ and call her father Shifu⁴…”

Qiu Chuji and Ke Zhen’e⁵ both rose to their feet at the same instant, and cried in alarm, “Could it be Huang Yaoshi’s daughter?”⁶

Han Xiaoying took Guo Jing’s hand and asked, “Jing-er, is her surname Huang?”

Guo Jing said, “Yes.”

Han Xiaoying was at a loss for words. Ke Zhen’e muttered to himself, “You want to marry Mei Chaofeng’s shimei?”

Zhu Cong⁷ asked, “Did her father betroth her to you?”

Guo Jing said, “I have never met her father. I do not even know who he is.”

Zhu Cong asked again, “Then you have pledged yourselves to each other in secret?”

Guo Jing did not understand what “pledged in secret” meant. He stared with wide eyes and gave no answer.

Zhu Cong said, “You told her you would marry her without fail, and she said she would marry you. Is that it?”

Guo Jing said, “We never said any such thing.” He paused, then added, “There is no need to say it. I cannot be without her, and Rong-er cannot be without me. We both know it in our hearts.”

Han Baoju had never tasted love in all his life. Hearing these words, he scowled with displeasure and cried, “What sort of nonsense is that?”

But Han Xiaoying was thinking of Zhang Asheng.⁸ She thought, Among the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan, Fifth Brother’s temper was most like Jing-er’s. Yet he was always fond of me in secret, and always thought himself unworthy of me, never daring to show the slightest feeling. How different from Jing-er and that girl of the Huang family, saying ‘We both know it in our hearts. I cannot be without her, she cannot be without me.’ If only I had let him know, a few months before he died, that I too could not be without him, he might have had a few months of real happiness in his life.

Zhu Cong said gently, “Her father is a great fiend who kills men without blinking an eye. Do you know that? If he learns you have been carrying on with his daughter in secret, will you have a life left? Mei Chaofeng could not learn even a tenth of her shifu’s skills, yet she is this formidable already. When the Master of Peach Blossom Island⁹ comes to kill you, who will be able to save you?”

Guo Jing said in a low voice, “Rong-er is so good, I think… I think her father can’t be a bad man either.”

Han Baoju cursed, “Rubbish! Huang Yaoshi is evil to the bone. How could he not be evil? You must swear at once that you will never set eyes on that little she-demon again.”

The Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan held the Twin Evils of Dark Wind¹⁰ in hatred deep as the sea for killing the Laughing Buddha Zhang Asheng. And they carried the same hatred for their shifu. They all reasoned that the skills the Twin Evils had used to kill Zhang Asheng had been taught by Huang Yaoshi, and that had there been no Huang Yaoshi, that great fiend, in the world, Zhang Asheng would never have met his end.

Han Baoju stepped forward and said sharply, “Speak! Say that from now on you will never see that little she-demon again.”

Guo Jing was in bitter distress. On one side was the deep debt he owed his shifus, on the other a deep and steadfast love. If he could never see Rong-er again, he thought, how could he go on living? He saw all his shifus staring at him with stern eyes, and his heart ached. He dropped to his knees, two lines of tears ran down his cheeks, and he said, “Shifu, if I can’t see Rong-er, I won’t live three days. I’ll die!”

Suddenly a clear young woman’s voice rang out from outside the window, “Why are you pressing him so? Shame on you!”

Everyone started. The voice called again, “Jing gege, come out, quick.”

Guo Jing recognised Huang Rong at once. He was both startled and overjoyed. He dashed outside, and saw her standing in the courtyard, radiant, leading the sweat-blood horse¹¹ by the rein in her left hand. The little red horse¹² caught sight of Guo Jing and neighed long and happily, rearing up on its forelegs.

Han Baoju, Quan Jinfa, Zhu Cong and Qiu Chuji followed him out. Guo Jing said to Han Baoju, “Third Shifu, this is her. She is Rong-er. Rong-er is a good girl. She is no she-demon!”

Huang Rong scolded, “You ugly, squat little fat man, why did you call me a little she-demon?” She pointed at Zhu Cong. “And you, you filthy, slovenly little ghost of a scholar, why did you call my father a great fiend who kills men without blinking?”

Zhu Cong did not stoop to quarrel with a little girl. He smiled faintly, thinking, This girl is indeed beyond compare in beauty. I have never seen her like in all my life. No wonder Jing-er is so utterly captivated.

Han Baoju, however, flew into a great rage. The little moustache at the corners of his lips bristled upright. He roared, “Get out, get out!”

Huang Rong clapped her hands and sang, “Squat little winter melon, roll him like a ball, give a kick and off he rolls, three rolls in all, give two kicks…”

Guo Jing cried, “Rong-er, no mischief! These are my shifus.”

Huang Rong put out her tongue and pulled a face. Han Baoju stepped forward and reached out to shove her. Huang Rong sidestepped and sang again, “Squat little winter melon, roll him like a ball…”

Then suddenly she seized Guo Jing by the clothes at his waist and pulled hard. In an instant both of them were astride the red horse. Huang Rong gathered the reins, and the horse shot forward like an arrow from a bowstring.

However fast Han Baoju moved, how could he catch a sweat-blood horse that ran like wind and lightning?

When Guo Jing had steadied himself and looked back, the faces of Han Baoju and the rest were already blurring. In moments they had shrunk to little black dots. The wind roared in his ears, and the rush of air beat against his face. The red horse was running with astonishing speed.

Huang Rong held the reins in her right hand and reached back with her left to take Guo Jing’s hand. Though they had not been apart for half a day, one indoors and one outside the window, both had been trembling with dread and anxiety, afraid of losing the other. Now they were together again, it was like meeting after a calamity. Guo Jing’s mind was in a whirl. He felt that running away from his shifus was very wrong. But to give up Rong-er, here in his arms and dearer to him than his own life, and never see her again, that he would never submit to, though his head were cut off and his blood drained.

The little red horse galloped hard, and by the time Huang Rong slackened the reins, Zhongdu was already scores of li¹³ behind them. She dismounted, and Guo Jing followed her down. The red horse kept nuzzling his waist with its neck, showing great affection.

The two stood hand in hand, silent, with a thousand words and no knowing where to begin. But even without a word, their two hearts were in accord, and each knew the other’s meaning.

After a long, long while, Huang Rong gently released Guo Jing’s hand. She took a handkerchief from the leather pouch at the horse’s side, wetted it in a little stream, and handed it to Guo Jing to wipe his face. Guo Jing was staring into space in a daze and did not take it. He said suddenly, “Rong-er, there is nothing else for it!”

Huang Rong was startled. “What is it?”

Guo Jing said, “We must go back. We must see my shifus.”

Huang Rong cried, “Go back? Both of us?”

Guo Jing said, “Yes. I want to take you by the hand and say to my six shifus and Daoist Elder Ma¹⁴ and the others, Rong-er is a good girl, not a she-demon… I… I can’t be without her…” As he spoke he held Huang Rong’s small hand, raised his head and spoke with iron resolve, as though Ke Zhen’e, Ma Yu and the rest stood before him. “My shifus’ kindness to me is as deep as a mountain, and this disciple could never repay it though his body were ground to dust. But, but, Rong-er… Rong-er is no little she-demon. She is a very, very good girl… very, very good…” He had a thousand words in his heart to speak in Huang Rong’s defence, but when they came to his lips, he could say nothing but “very, very good.”

At first Huang Rong found it funny. But as she listened she was deeply moved, and said softly, “Jing gege, your shifus hate me to death. It’s no use saying more. Don’t go back! I’ll go with you deep into the mountains, out to some island in the sea, somewhere they can never find us, and we’ll live out our lives there.”

Guo Jing’s heart stirred, then he said gravely, “Rong-er, we must go back.”

Huang Rong cried, “They will tear us apart for certain. We will never be able to see each other again.”

Guo Jing said, “I would rather die than be parted from you. Shifus, I will obey everything you say. But I will never be parted from Rong-er. You can beat me to death if you like. I will not run, I will not complain. But I will never be parted from Rong-er.”

Huang Rong had been heavy-hearted, but hearing these words, which were worth more than a thousand oaths and ten thousand vows, she was suddenly filled with confidence. It seemed to her that their two hearts were knotted so tightly together that nothing in the world, no force on earth, could pull them apart. She thought, That is right. At most we die. Can there be anything worse than death?

She said, “Jing gege, I will always do as you say. We will never be parted, even in death. Not even Father can part the two of us.”

Guo Jing said happily, “Well, of course. I said you were very, very good.”

Huang Rong smiled radiantly. She took a large piece of raw beef from the leather pouch, wrapped it in wet clay, gathered some dry brushwood, lit a fire and said, “Let the little red horse rest a while. We will eat and then go back.”

When they had eaten the beef, and the little red horse had grazed its fill, they mounted and rode back the way they had come. A little past the wei hour,¹⁵ they reached the little inn. Guo Jing held Huang Rong’s hand and walked inside.

The serving boy had had silver from Guo Jing before, and seeing him return, he came forward beaming. “Good day to you, sir. Your friends have all left the capital. Shall I get you something to eat?”

Guo Jing was alarmed. “Gone? Did they leave any message?”

The serving boy said, “No, they did not. They went south. They left not two shichen ago.”

Guo Jing said to Huang Rong, “Let us follow them.”

They left the inn, mounted, and searched southwards, but they could find no trace of the Three Zis¹⁶ or the Six Eccentrics. Guo Jing said, “I’m afraid my shifus took a different road.” So they turned the horses and went back. The little red horse was truly a wondrous beast. Even bearing two riders it raced back and forth without showing fatigue. They asked along the way, but every traveller said they had not seen the likes of the Three Zis of Quanzhen and the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan.

Guo Jing was deeply disappointed. Huang Rong said, “On the Mid-Autumn Festival of the eighth month, everyone is to meet at the Misty Rain Pavilion in Jiaxing.¹⁷ We will certainly see your shifus then. You can tell them I am ‘very, very good’ then. It will not be too late.”

Guo Jing said, “Mid-Autumn is a good half year away.”

Huang Rong laughed. “In this half year we can travel and play everywhere. Would that not be wonderful?”

Guo Jing was by nature open and carefree, and young as he was, he loved to play. With his beloved at his side besides, his heart was full. He clapped his hands in delight.

They reached a small market town and stayed the night. The next day they bought a tall white horse. Guo Jing insisted on riding the white horse, leaving the red horse for Huang Rong. They rode at an easy pace, enjoying the mountains and rivers along the way, content and at ease. Sometimes they lay side by side in the open fields, sometimes they shared a room at a village inn. Deep as their love was, they were as innocent as two children and were never too intimate. Huang Rong thought nothing of it, and Guo Jing felt it was as it should be. They had gold and silver enough, and want was no concern.

Footnotes

1. 梅超风 — Méi Chāofēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 黄蓉 — Huáng Róng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 师妹 — shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. ↩

4. 师父 — shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 柯镇恶 — Kē Zhèn’è. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 黄药师 — Huáng Yàoshī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 朱聪 — Zhū Cōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 张阿生 — Zhāng Āshēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 桃花岛 — Táohuā Dǎo. Huang Yaoshi’s island in the East China Sea. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 黑风双煞 — Hēifēng Shuāngshà. Literally twin evils of the dark wind. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 汗血宝马 — hànxuè bǎomǎ. A legendary breed of the Western Regions, said to sweat blood at the gallop. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 小红马 — xiǎo hóng mǎ. The red horse Guo Jing tames on the steppe, a sweat-blood steed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 里 — lǐ. A traditional unit of distance, about 500 metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

14. 马钰 — Mǎ Yù. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 时辰 — shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 全真三子 — Quánzhēn Sān Zǐ. Literally the three masters of Quanzhen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 烟雨楼 — Yānyǔ Lóu. Misty Rain Pavilion, on South Lake in Jiaxing. ↩