The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 16 – Part 2

Guo Jing was overjoyed. He called out, “Rong-er, Brother Kang, Wanyan Honglie is here. Quick, let’s go and find him.”

Huang Rong responded and came over, but Yang Kang was nowhere in sight. Impatient, Guo Jing shouted, “Rong-er, you go east, I’ll go west.” The two unleashed their qinggong¹ and flew off like the wind.

Guo Jing chased several li² and caught up with a handful of fleeing Jin soldiers. He grabbed one and questioned him. Sure enough, the Sixth Prince Wanyan Honglie³ had led the pursuit in person, but no one knew where he was now. One of the Jin soldiers said, “We abandoned the prince and ran. If we go back we’ll lose our heads anyway, so all we can do is scatter into the countryside, hide, and pass ourselves off as Han common folk.”

Guo Jing turned back to search. The sky was brightening, but there was no sign of Wanyan Honglie anywhere. He knew the man who had killed his father was close at hand, yet he could not find him. In a fever of impatience he ran on and on, until suddenly a white figure flashed among the trees ahead. It was Huang Rong. When the two met and saw the look on each other’s faces, they knew it had been in vain. They could only return together to the Liu Family Ancestral Hall.⁴

Tolui⁵ said, “Wanyan Honglie brought no small force. He pushed ahead on fast horses to chase us and got separated from the main body. He must have gone back by now to bring up more men. Anda,⁶ I am under orders from my royal father and cannot delay. We must part here. My younger sister told me to pass on a message to you: she wants you to return to Mongolia as soon as you can.”

Guo Jing thought that after this parting they might never meet again, and his heart was heavy. He embraced Tolui, Jebe⁷ and Boroqul⁸ each in turn, then watched them mount and ride away. The hoofbeats faded, and the riders’ figures vanished at last into the yellow dust.

Huang Rong said, “Let’s hide and wait for Wanyan Honglie to come back with his men. If he has a lot of them, the two of us can shadow him quietly and finish him off tonight. Wouldn’t that be good?”

Guo Jing was delighted and praised the scheme repeatedly. Huang Rong was very pleased with herself. She laughed and said, “It’s called ‘moving the shore to meet the boat.’ Quite an ordinary stratagem, really.”

Guo Jing said, “I’ll lead the horses into the woods and hide them.” He went into the rear courtyard of the ancestral hall, and suddenly saw something golden in the green grass, glittering in the morning sun. He bent down to look. It was a golden helmet, set with three gemstones as big as longans. Guo Jing reached down, picked it up and hurried back. In a low voice he said to Huang Rong, “Look, what’s this?”

Huang Rong exclaimed happily, “Wanyan Honglie’s golden helmet?”

Guo Jing said, “Exactly! Most likely he’s still hiding somewhere in this ancestral hall. Let’s search it, quick.”

Huang Rong turned, reached back and pressed down on the top of a low wall, and using the push she floated lightly up into the air. She called, “I’ll keep watch from up here. You search down below.” Guo Jing answered and went inside. From the roof Huang Rong called, “Was that qinggong of mine just now any good?”

Guo Jing was taken aback. He stopped and said, “Very good! What about it?”

Huang Rong laughed. “Then why don’t you praise it?”

Guo Jing stamped his foot. “Ai, there isn’t a single shichen⁹ that goes by when I’m not praising you in my heart.”

Huang Rong giggled, waved her hand and ran off towards the rear courtyard.

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While Guo Jing was fighting the Jin soldiers, Yang Kang had already spotted Wanyan Honglie in the darkness. Now, though he knew he was not the prince’s own son, he had been raised by him for over ten years and had always thought of him as his father. Moreover, all his future wealth and honour depended on this man. Guo Jing was scattering the Jin troops, and if he caught sight of Wanyan Honglie, the man’s life would be forfeit. The situation was desperate, and there was no time to think. Yang Kang leapt out to find some way to save him. Just then, Guo Jing seized a Jin soldier and hurled him over. Wanyan Honglie hastily reined his horse aside but could not dodge in time. The soldier crashed into him and knocked him from the saddle. Yang Kang sprang forward, scooped him up and whispered in his ear, “Royal Father, it’s Kang-er. Don’t make a sound.”

Guo Jing was deep in the heat of battle, and Huang Rong was busy playing with the white eagles. In the darkness, no one noticed Yang Kang carrying Wanyan Honglie into the rear courtyard of the ancestral hall.

Yang Kang pushed open the door of the west wing and the two hid inside. They heard the sounds of fighting die away as the Jin soldiers scattered in all directions, and then the three Mongols jabbering away with Guo Jing.

Wanyan Honglie felt as if he were dreaming. He whispered, “Kang-er, how do you come to be here?”

Yang Kang said, “It was pure chance. Ai, it’s that fellow Guo who has ruined everything.”

After a while, Wanyan Honglie heard Guo Jing and Huang Rong go out separately to search for him. He had just watched Guo Jing fight the Three Ghosts of the Yellow River¹⁰ and the Jin soldiers bare-handed, his blows savage and swift. If Guo Jing found him, it would be the end of him. The thought made him shiver.

Yang Kang said, “Royal Father, if we go out now, I’m afraid we’ll run straight into them. If we hide in here, they’ll never think of it. Once they’ve gone a long way off, we can slip out at our leisure.”

Wanyan Honglie said, “Quite right… Kang-er, why do you call me ‘Royal Father’ now, and not ‘Father’?”

Yang Kang said nothing. He was thinking of his dead mother, and his mind was in turmoil.

Wanyan Honglie said slowly, “You’re thinking of your mother, aren’t you?” He reached out and took Yang Kang’s hand, and found the palm icy and wet with cold sweat.

Yang Kang gently pulled free and said, “Guo Jing’s martial arts are formidable. He wants vengeance for his father’s murder and is determined to kill you. He knows a great many masters, and you could never guard against them all. For the next six months, don’t go back to Zhongdu.”¹¹

Wanyan Honglie remembered the events of nineteen years ago in Niu Family Village¹² near Lin’an. A wave of sorrow rose in him, and a wave of guilt. For a moment he could not speak. After a long while he said, “Mm, lying low for a while wouldn’t be amiss. Have you been to Lin’an yet? What did Chancellor Shi¹³ say?”

Yang Kang said coldly, “I haven’t been yet.”

Wanyan Honglie heard the tone of his voice and guessed that he must have learned the truth of his birth. Yet this time too it was Yang Kang who had saved him. What was he planning? For eighteen years they had been a kind father and a dutiful son, as close as any two could be. Now, shut in this little room together, they were suddenly struck by the thought that between them lay a deep hatred, a feud of blood.

Yang Kang was even more torn. He thought, A few blows right now and my parents would be avenged on the spot. But how could I bring myself to do it? Yang Tiexin¹⁴ may be my real father, but what good has he ever done me? Mother always treated Royal Father well enough too. If I killed him now, she wouldn’t be glad of it, down in the Nine Springs.¹⁵ And besides, am I really to stop being a prince, and drift about in the wilds like Guo Jing?

His thoughts were still racing when he heard Wanyan Honglie say, “Kang-er, we have been father and son, and whatever happens you will always be my beloved son. Within ten years the Great Jin¹⁶ is certain to destroy the Southern Court. Then, with power in my hands, there will be no limit to our wealth and rank. This splendid realm, this glittering world, will all be yours in the end.”

Yang Kang understood from his words that Wanyan Honglie meant to seize the throne itself. At those words, “no limit to our wealth and rank,” his heart began to pound. He thought, With the Great Jin’s military might, destroying Song will be no hardship. The Mongols are a passing trouble. Those barbarians who can only ride and shoot will never amount to anything in the end. Royal Father is shrewd and capable. The present Jin ruler cannot match him. If the great enterprise succeeds, won’t I become lord of all under heaven?

At the thought his blood boiled. He reached out and grasped Wanyan Honglie’s hand. “Father, your child will surely help you to accomplish the great enterprise.”

Wanyan Honglie felt the heat of his palm and was greatly pleased. “I’ll be Li Yuan,¹⁷ and you’ll be Li Shimin.¹⁸”

Yang Kang was about to reply when there was a sharp click behind them. The two of them jumped and spun round. By now it was full daylight, and light was coming in through the window lattice. The room held seven or eight coffins. This was where the ancestral hall stored the unburied coffins of the clan and the empty longevity caskets prepared in advance. The sound had seemed to come from one of the coffins.

Wanyan Honglie said in alarm, “What was that?”

Yang Kang said, “Rats, most likely.”

They heard Guo Jing and Huang Rong approaching, laughing and talking as they searched. Yang Kang thought in dismay, This is bad! So Father’s golden helmet was left lying outside! Now we’re in trouble. He whispered, “I’ll go and draw them away.” He pushed the door open softly and leapt onto the roof.

Huang Rong had been searching room by room when she saw a figure flicker past the corner of a building. “Aha, there you are!” She swooped down. The figure was swift. It slipped around the corner and vanished.

Guo Jing ran over at the sound. Huang Rong said, “He can’t have got away. He must be hiding in the bushes.” They were about to rush into the shrubbery when, with a sudden rustle, the small trees parted and a figure sprang out. It was Yang Kang.

Guo Jing was startled and delighted. “Worthy brother, where have you been? Have you seen Wanyan Honglie?”

Yang Kang said in surprise, “What would Wanyan Honglie be doing here?”

Guo Jing said, “He led the soldiers here. This golden helmet is his.”

Yang Kang said, “Ah, I see.”

Huang Rong noticed something odd in his manner, and remembered the way he had been whispering furtively with Ouyang Ke earlier, and grew suspicious at once. “We were looking everywhere for you just now. Where did you go?”

Yang Kang said, “I ate something bad yesterday, and my stomach suddenly started aching and I had to go.” He pointed at the bushes.

Huang Rong’s suspicions did not entirely clear, but she had no excuse to press further, and no desire to search the spot where he had just relieved himself.

Guo Jing said, “Worthy brother, quick, let’s search.”

Yang Kang was anxious inside, not knowing whether Wanyan Honglie had escaped, but his face betrayed nothing. He said, “If he’s come here to die of his own accord, nothing could be better. You and Miss Huang search the east side, and I’ll search the west.”

Guo Jing said, “Good!”

He went straight to push open the door of the Hall of Chastity and Filial Piety¹⁹ on the east side.

Huang Rong said, “Big Brother Yang, I think that man must be hiding on the west side. I’ll come with you to search.”

Yang Kang groaned inwardly, but there was nothing for it but to look pleased. He said, “Come on, then, quick. Don’t let him get away.” The two of them searched the rooms one by one.

The Liu family of Baoying²⁰ had been a great clan under the Song, and their ancestral hall had once been a grand one. But the Jin armies had crossed the Yangtze again and again, the fires of war had swept the land and iron hooves had trampled it, the Lius had dwindled, and the hall had fallen into ruin.

Huang Rong watched him coolly. She saw that Yang Kang went only into rooms whose doorways were thick with dust and cobwebs, and searched them slowly, and she understood a little more. When they came to the west wing, she saw a confusion of footprints in the dust on the ground, and on the door, which had been thickly coated with dust, the fresh marks of a hand that had pushed it open and shut. At once she cried, “He’s in here!”

The moment she cried out, Guo Jing and Yang Kang both heard her, one overjoyed, the other horrified, and they came running together. Huang Rong kicked the door open, and stopped short. The room was full of coffins, but of Wanyan Honglie there was no sign.

Yang Kang saw that Wanyan Honglie had already escaped. Greatly relieved, he pushed to the front and bellowed, “Wanyan Honglie, you treacherous wretch, where are you hiding? Get out here.”

Huang Rong laughed. “Big Brother Yang, he heard us long ago. There’s no need to warn him.”

She had hit the mark, and Yang Kang flushed. He snapped, “What kind of joke is that, Miss Huang?”

Guo Jing laughed. “Worthy brother, don’t take it to heart. Rong-er loves her little jokes.” He pointed at the ground. “Look, someone has been sitting here. He really was here.”

Huang Rong said, “After him, quickly!” She had just turned when there was a click behind them. All three of them jumped and looked round. One of the coffins was trembling slightly.

Huang Rong had always been terrified of coffins. In this room she had already been uneasy. Now, seeing one shake, she gave a little cry and clutched Guo Jing’s arm tightly. Frightened as she was, her mind worked fast. She said in a trembling voice, “That wretch… the wretch is hiding in the coffin.”

Yang Kang suddenly pointed outside. “Ah, there he is, over there!” He dashed for the door.

Huang Rong reached back and caught him by the pulse-gate²¹ and said with a cold smile, “None of your tricks.” Yang Kang felt half his body go numb. He could not move. He cried, “You… what are you doing?”

Guo Jing said happily, “That’s right, the wretch must be hiding in the coffin.” He strode forward to throw open the lid and drag Wanyan Honglie out.

Yang Kang called, “Big Brother, careful. What if it’s a jiangshi²² playing tricks?”

Huang Rong flung his wrist away from her and said angrily, “Now you’re trying to scare me!” She was certain Wanyan Honglie was in the coffin, but she had always been timid. What if it really was a jiangshi? She said, trembling, “Jing gege, wait.”

Guo Jing stopped and looked back. “What is it?”

Huang Rong said, “Quick, hold the lid down. Don’t let what’s inside… what’s inside get out.”

Guo Jing laughed. “What jiangshi could there be?” Seeing Huang Rong so frightened that her lovely face had lost its colour, he leapt onto the coffin to reassure her. “He can’t climb out!”

Huang Rong was still uneasy. After a moment’s thought she said, “Jing gege, let me show you the Sky-Splitting Palm.²³ Whether it’s a jiangshi or Wanyan Honglie, I’ll strike through the coffin a few times. Then we’ll hear whether it screams like a man or wails like a ghost!” She summoned her strength, took two steps forward, and was about to bring her palm down on the coffin.

She had not mastered the Sky-Splitting Palm. In skill she was nowhere near Lu Chengfeng,²⁴ so this blow was aimed straight at the wood of the coffin, not struck through empty air. Yang Kang was seized with panic. “You can’t! If you smash the coffin, the jiangshi will poke its head out and bite your hand. Then you’d really be in trouble!”

His words made Huang Rong shiver, and she held her palm back. Then a faint moan came from inside the coffin. It was a woman’s voice.

Huang Rong’s flesh crept even more. “It’s a female ghost!” she shrieked, and leapt out of the room as fast as she could, calling, “Come out, quick!”

Guo Jing was bold. He called, “Worthy Brother Yang, let’s lift the lid and have a look.”

Yang Kang’s palms had been clammy with sweat. He wanted to step in and save Wanyan Honglie, but knew he was no match for Guo Jing and Huang Rong together. He was at his wit’s end when he heard a woman’s voice from inside the coffin. Startled yet glad, he rushed forward and reached for the lid. There were two creaks, and though neither of them had put any strength into it, the lid came up at once. It had not been properly nailed shut.

Guo Jing had already summoned strength into his arm, ready to meet the jiangshi with a punch to the head the moment she sprang up, and shatter her skull. He looked down and was stunned. It was not a jiangshi in the coffin but a beautiful girl, staring up at him with a pair of eyes as black as lacquer. He looked again. It was Mu Nianci.²⁵

Yang Kang, shock and joy mingled, hurried forward and helped her up.

Footnotes

1. 轻功 — qīnggōng. The martial art of body lightness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

3. 完颜洪烈 — Wányán Hóngliè. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 刘氏宗祠 — Liúshì Zōngcí. Literally Liu family ancestral hall. The ancestral hall of the Liu clan in Baoying. ↩

5. 拖雷 — Tuōléi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 安答 — āndá. The Mongol word for a sworn brother, bound by oath before Heaven. ↩

7. 哲别 — Zhébié. Literally spear and divine archer, in Mongolian. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 博尔忽 — Bó’ěrhū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

10. 黄河三鬼 — Huánghé Sān Guǐ. Literally three ghosts of the Yellow River. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 中都 — Zhōngdū. Literally central capital. The Jin dynasty capital, in present-day Beijing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 牛家村 — Niújiā Cūn. Literally Niu Family Village. A village outside Lin’an. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 史丞相 — Shǐ Chéngxiàng. Literally Chancellor Shi: Shi Miyuan (史弥远), long the chief councillor of the Southern Song court. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 杨铁心 — Yáng Tiěxīn. His name meaning “iron heart”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 九泉 — Jiǔquán. Literally nine springs. The underworld, the realm of the dead. ↩

16. 大金 — Dà Jīn. The Great Jin, the Jin Empire’s name for itself. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 李渊 — Lǐ Yuān. Founder of the Tang dynasty (566—635), who rose from an official of the Sui to emperor. See Wikipedia. ↩

18. 李世民 — Lǐ Shìmín (598—649). Emperor Taizong, second emperor of the Tang, who led the campaigns that secured the dynasty. ↩

19. 节孝堂 — Jiéxiào Táng. Literally Hall of Chastity and Filial Piety. A hall honouring chaste widows and filial children. ↩

20. 宝应 — Bǎoyìng. A county in Jiangsu, on the Grand Canal. See Wikipedia. ↩

21. 脉门 — màimén. Literally pulse gate. The point on the inner wrist where the pulse is felt; a hard grip there robs an opponent of strength. ↩

22. 僵尸 — jiāngshī. Literally stiff corpse. A reanimated corpse of Chinese folklore, said to hop rather than walk. ↩

23. 劈空掌 — Pīkōng Zhǎng. Literally air-splitting palm. A palm strike that reaches its target without contact. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

24. 陆乘风 — Lù Chéngfēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 穆念慈 — Mù Niàncí. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩