The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 13 – Part 9

The moment those words left his lips, Manor Master Lu, Huang Rong and Guo Jing were all struck dumb with astonishment. Lu Guanying, who did not know the fame of these five, was comparatively unmoved. Huang Rong had been greatly impressed by the four extraordinary feats she had witnessed, the iron vat upon his head, his treading the water and crossing the river, the smoke he blew from his mouth, the bricks he crushed with his bare hands, but hearing him speak of her father with something close to contempt, she could not help but bristle. She asked with a sweet smile, “Then, Esteemed Senior, why not knock those five down one by one and make your name across the world? Wouldn’t that be splendid?”

Qiu Qianren said, “Wang Chongyang is dead. In the year of the Huashan Sword Summit,¹ I happened to be detained by affairs of my Keep and could not attend, and so the title of the foremost martial artist in the world went to that old Daoist. At the time, five men contended for a single copy of the Nine Yin Manual.² The agreement was that whoever proved supreme in martial arts would take the manual. They fought for seven days and seven nights, and in the end the Eastern Heretic,³ the Western Venom,⁴ the Southern Emperor⁵ and the Northern Beggar⁶ all acknowledged defeat. After Wang Chongyang died, complications arose. I heard that when the Daoist was on his deathbed, he entrusted the manual to his shidi⁷ Zhou Botong. The Eastern Heretic, Huang Yaoshi, went to his door after it. Zhou Botong was no match for him, and Huang Yaoshi seized the manual. What happened after that, I cannot say.”

Huang Rong and Guo Jing both thought, So there were that many twists and turns. And yet the manual was stolen by the Twin Evils of Dark Wind in the end.⁸

Huang Rong said, “Since your martial arts are the finest under heaven, the manual ought to have been yours.”

Qiu Qianren said, “I couldn’t be bothered to fight over it. Those four, the Eastern Heretic, the Western Venom, the Southern Emperor and the Northern Beggar, were evenly matched. Each of them has been training hard all these years, vying for the title of foremost under heaven. When the Second Huashan Sword Summit comes around, there will be plenty to watch.”

Huang Rong said, “There is to be a Second Huashan Sword Summit?”

“Once every twenty-five years,” Qiu Qianren said. “The old ones die off, and young heroes step forward. By my reckoning, it won’t be long before another Huashan Sword Summit is held. But in all these years, what rising talent has the wulin produced? Those who contend will still be the same old faces. Ah, no successors worthy of the name. It seems the martial arts are in decline, each generation worse than the last.” He shook his head again and again, deeply melancholy.

Huang Rong said, “When will you go up Mount Hua again? If you’re going, take us along to watch the fun, won’t you? I simply adore watching people fight.”

Qiu Qianren said, “Hah, child’s talk! How could that be a brawl? I had no intention of going myself. One foot is already in the grave, so what use is an empty title? But there is a matter of great import at hand, one that concerns the fate of every soul under heaven. If I were to cling to my ease and fail to raise my voice, countless people would suffer catastrophe and the land would be drowned in blood. It would be a disaster beyond measure.”

The four of them, alarmed by the gravity of his words, pressed him for details.

Qiu Qianren said, “This is a matter of the utmost secrecy. These two young friends, Guo and Huang, are not men of the jianghu,⁹ and it would be better for them not to be involved.”

Huang Rong laughed. “Manor Master Lu is a dear friend of mine. If you tell him, he won’t keep it from me.”

Manor Master Lu silently cursed her for a mischievous girl, but he could hardly disown her to his face.

Qiu Qianren said, “Very well. I shall tell all of you, but until the deed is done, not a word must leak out.”

Guo Jing thought, We have no ties to this man. If the matter is secret, we had best not listen. He rose to his feet and said, “We two shall take our leave.” He took Huang Rong’s hand and was about to withdraw from the table. But Qiu Qianren said, “You are both Manor Master Lu’s good friends, and naturally you are no outsiders. Sit, sit.” As he spoke, he reached out and pressed a hand against Guo Jing’s shoulder. Guo Jing felt the force was not especially great, but an elder had issued a command and he did not dare summon his strength to resist. He had no choice but to ride the momentum and settle back into his chair.

Qiu Qianren stood and offered each of the four a cup of wine, then said, “In less than half a year, the Great Song will face a catastrophe of the first order. Do any of you know this?”

His words were so startling that every face in the room changed.

Lu Guanying waved a hand and ordered the manor hands to stand outside the doors. The servants who attended the wine and food were told not to come near.

Qiu Qianren said, “I have received reliable intelligence. Within six months the Jin army will march south in force. Their strength this time will be overwhelming, and the Great Song’s rivers and mountains will surely not hold. Alas, it is the will of Heaven, and there is nothing to be done.”

Guo Jing said in alarm, “Then you must hurry and tell the Song court, Esteemed Senior Qiu, so that they can prepare early and plan how to meet the enemy.”

Qiu Qianren shot him a cold look. “What does a young man like you understand? If the Song court prepares, the military disaster will only be the more terrible.”

Manor Master Lu and the rest did not grasp his meaning. They stared at him, bewildered.

Qiu Qianren continued, “I have given this long and hard. There is but one path by which the people of the world may live in peace and the splendid rivers and mountains not be reduced to scorched earth. It is for this very matter that I have travelled all the way to Jiangnan at no small trouble to myself. I hear that your honourable manor has captured the young prince of the Great Jin and the military commander, Lord Duan. Would you have them brought up to the table so that we might discuss this together?”

Manor Master Lu, not knowing how the man had learned this, at once ordered the manor hands to bring the two prisoners up. Their leg-irons and handcuffs were removed, and they were seated at the lower end of the table, though no cup or chopsticks were set before them. Guo Jing and Huang Rong saw that Wanyan Kang,¹⁰ after several days of captivity, looked considerably haggard. Lord Duan was a man past fifty, his face covered in beard, his bearing deeply fearful.

Qiu Qianren said to Wanyan Kang, “You have had a fright, Young Prince.”

Wanyan Kang nodded. He thought, What is Guo Jing doing here? And who is that handsome young friend with him? The day he had fought in Manor Master Lu’s study, in the chaos of the moment he had not noticed the two of them concealed beside the bookshelf. Now the three of them exchanged glances, but none of them greeted the others.

Qiu Qianren turned to Manor Master Lu. “Your honourable manor sits upon a fortune as great as the sky, yet you see it and do not take it. Why is that?”

Manor Master Lu asked in surprise, “I dwell in the wilds. What fortune could I possibly have?”

Qiu Qianren said, “When the Jin army marches south and a great war begins, countless lives will be lost. If you were to rally the men of valour of Jiangnan and rise as one to find a way to avert this disaster, would that not be well?”

Manor Master Lu thought, This is indeed a matter of the gravest kind. He said hastily, “To lend the country our strength and rescue the people from flood and fire, that is the duty of men like us. My heart is loyal and righteous, but the court is benighted, traitors hold power, and however earnest our purpose, it will come to nothing. I beg you, Esteemed Senior, to show us a clear path, so that we may serve our country faithfully. As for wealth and honour, I do not covet such things.”

Qiu Qianren stroked his beard again and again and laughed heartily. He was about to speak when a manor hand came running in and reported, “Chief Zhang has encountered six extraordinary persons on the lake. They are at the manor gates.”

Colour drained from Manor Master Lu’s face. “Invite them in at once,” he cried. He thought, Why six? Can the Twin Evils of Dark Wind have reinforcements after all?

Footnotes

1. 华山论剑 — Huàshān Lùnjiàn. Literally sword discussion at Huashan. Use of discussion is key as the participants were engaged in a martial arts exchange and a philosophical debate on mastery, rather than just a physical contest. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 九阴真经 — Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng. Literally true scripture of the nine yin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 东邪 — Dōng Xié. Literally eastern heretic. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 西毒 — Xī Dú. Literally western venom. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 南帝 — Nán Dì. Literally southern emperor. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 北丐 — Běi Gài. Literally northern beggar. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 师弟 — shīdì. Male junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

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

10. 完颜康 — Wányán Kāng. See Wuxia Wiki (spoiler). ↩