The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 22 – Part 5

One plan had failed, but Huang Rong already had a second. She drew a breath, dived under the raft and reached out with her short jian to cut the ropes that bound it. They were not far from land now, and once she had dealt with uncle and nephew, she could easily cling to a log and float ashore. There were several sharp cracks, and the raft came apart in two halves, Ouyang Ke on the left half, Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong on the right. Ouyang Feng was secretly alarmed. He leaned over and lifted his nephew across, then bent low and stared into the water, waiting only for Huang Rong to swim close and reach out with her jian to cut again, when he would grab her and haul her up onto the raft.

From under the water Huang Rong could see clearly how he was poised, and knew that when he grabbed it would be swift, sure and savage, so she did not dare come up to cut again. For a long time neither moved. Huang Rong swam ten feet or so away, surfaced for a breath and dived again to wait for her chance. Each side watched intently for an opening, and in an instant the most violent motion had turned to the most perfect stillness. The sun shone down over the sea in perfect calm, yet between the man above that half-raft and the girl below it lay a deadly intent.

Huang Rong thought, If this half-raft is split once more, it’s bound to roll over in the waves. Ouyang Feng thought, The moment her head shows, I’ll strike at her through the water, and the force of it will kill her. Once the little wench is out of the way, the Guo brat on his own will be no trouble at all.

Both stared without blinking, each ready to spring.

Ouyang Ke suddenly pointed to the left and cried, “A ship, a ship!”

Hong Qigong and Guo Jing looked where he pointed, and there, sure enough, was a great dragon-prowed ship under full sail, cleaving the waves before the wind. Before long Ouyang Ke could make out a man standing at the bow, tall and big, wrapped in a scarlet kasaya, who looked like Venerable Lingzhi.¹ As the ship came closer he looked hard, and it was indeed he. He told his uncle at once.

Ouyang Feng drew his breath up from the dantian² and shouted at the top of his voice, “Good friends over here, come quickly.”

Huang Rong, under the water, knew nothing of it yet, but Guo Jing saw at once that it meant trouble. He dived quickly and tugged Huang Rong’s arm to show her that more enemies had come. Under the water Huang Rong could not make out what he meant, but guessing that something had gone wrong, she signed to him to take Ouyang Feng’s palm force while she cut the raft. Guo Jing knew that his neili³ fell far short of his enemy’s at the best of times, and now, with himself in the water and the enemy on the raft, the gap was wider still. To take that blow might well cost him his life. But things were desperate and there was no other way. He put all his force into his arms and suddenly shot upwards.

With a great croak of “Ge”, Ouyang Feng brought both palms slamming down on the surface, and Guo Jing’s palms struck upwards from beneath. Not a splash rose on the sea, but under the water two great forces met. All at once the half-raft was flung violently upwards several feet into the air, and with two cracks Huang Rong had cut through the ropes that held it. At that same moment the great ship came within a hundred-odd feet of the raft.

Huang Rong dived deep the instant she had cut, and was about to go for Ouyang Feng with her jian, when she saw that Guo Jing’s arms and legs were not moving and he was slowly sinking. In shock and remorse, she swam to him, caught hold of his arm and towed him several dozen feet before she broke the surface. Guo Jing’s eyes were tightly shut, his face livid and his lips white. He had lost consciousness.

The great ship lowered a sampan. Several sailors rowed it across to the raft and took Ouyang Ke, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong aboard.

Huang Rong called, “Jing gege!” three times. Guo Jing gave no sign of waking. The ship might be an enemy vessel, but she had no choice now. She supported the back of Guo Jing’s head and swam towards the sampan. The sailors in the boat pulled Guo Jing up and reached out to pull her up too, but suddenly Huang Rong pressed her left hand on the side of the boat and sprang out of the water like a flying fish, landing in the middle of it. The sailors were astounded.

In the palm-exchange beneath the water, Guo Jing had been shaken to his core by Ouyang Feng’s force and stunned unconscious. Fortunately his body had yielded to the water as it sank, so the recoil had not struck him full, and the injury was lighter than it should have been. When he came to, he found himself cradled in Huang Rong’s arms, aboard a small boat. He breathed a few times and confirmed he had suffered no internal harm. His brows relaxed, and he offered Huang Rong a smile.

She smiled back, all her fear melting away, and only then turned her eyes to the great ship to see what kind of people were aboard.

One glance, and she groaned inwardly again and again. Standing at the bow were seven or eight men, tall and short, the very wulin⁴ masters she had met a few months before in Prince Zhao’s Estate in Yanjing.⁵ The short one with stubby legs and eyes like lightning was Peng Lianhu,⁶ the Butcher of a Thousand Hands. The one whose bald pate shone like oil was Sha Tongtian,⁷ the Dragon King of Devil’s Gate. The one with three lumps on his forehead was Hou Tonghai,⁸ the Three-Headed Dragon. The one with white hair and a child’s complexion was Liang Ziweng,⁹ the Ginseng Old Eccentric. And the one in the scarlet kasaya was Venerable Lingzhi of the Mudra School of Qinghai.

She thought, Jing gege and I have both come on a great deal in our martial arts lately. If we fought Peng Lianhu and the others one at a time, I might still lose, but Jing gege would surely win. But with Old Venom¹⁰ there as well, and so many of them gathered together, getting out of danger today will be harder than ever.

The company on the great ship had already been startled by Ouyang Feng’s shout from the raft. When they recognised Guo Jing’s party, their surprise only deepened.

Ouyang Feng carried his nephew, and Guo Jing and Huang Rong carried Hong Qigong, and in two groups the five of them leapt from the small boat onto the great ship.

A man in an embroidered brocade robe came out of the main cabin to meet them, and as he and Guo Jing came face to face, both started. The man had a wisp of beard on his chin and fine, refined features. It was Wanyan Honglie,¹¹ Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Prince Zhao.

After his escape from the Liu family ancestral hall in Baoying, Wanyan Honglie had been afraid that Guo Jing would come after him for revenge, and had not dared to go back north. He had gone straight to join Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and the rest, and headed south to steal the book Yue Wumu had left behind.¹²

The Mongols were then making war on the Jin in force. The Central Capital, Yanjing, in Daxing Prefecture, had been under siege for nearly a month, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun had all fallen to the Mongols. Day by day the Jin’s power was shrinking. Wanyan Honglie was desperately worried. The Mongol troops were exceptionally fierce, and though the Jin outnumbered them ten to one, every battle ended in a rout. He had racked his brains without finding any answer, and now, in spite of himself, he had pinned all his plans for restoring the state on Wumu’s Art of War.¹³ Once he had that book of war, he thought, he would command troops like a god and win every battle, just as Yue Fei had done long ago, and however crack the Mongol troops, they would scatter at the first sight of him. He had brought his men south in great secrecy this time, for fear that the Southern Court would get wind of it and be on its guard, and so he had gone by sea instead, intending to land on the Zhejiang coast at midnight, slip quietly into Lin’an and steal the book.

He had searched everywhere for Ouyang Ke at the time, knowing him for an exceptionally capable fighter, but after so long without word of him he could not wait for one man alone, and had set off without him. Now, meeting him at sea in Guo Jing’s company, he was secretly alarmed, afraid that Ouyang Ke had already let the great secret slip.

At the sight of the man who had killed his father, rage naturally flared in Guo Jing, and though he was surrounded by powerful enemies, he glared at him furiously.

At that moment someone hurried up from the cabin below, showed half a face, and withdrew just as quickly. Huang Rong’s sharp eyes had already caught the glimpse. It was Yang Kang.

Ouyang Ke said, “Uncle, this is the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, who thirsts for men of talent.” Ouyang Feng cupped his hands. Wanyan Honglie did not know how great Ouyang Feng’s name was in the wulin, and he saw the man’s arrogant manner, but for Ouyang Ke’s sake he returned the salute.

At these words Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and the others all bowed and called out together, “We have long revered Mister Ouyang as the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper of the wulin. It is our good fortune to meet you today.” Ouyang Feng bowed slightly, returning half the courtesy. Venerable Lingzhi had always lived on the Tibetan borders of Qinghai and did not know the Western Venom’s name, so he only pressed his palms together and said nothing. Wanyan Honglie knew that Sha Tongtian and the others were every one of them supremely conceited and had never deferred to anyone, yet before Ouyang Feng they were all respect, reverence and fear in one, with more than a touch of fawning, a look he had never seen on their faces before. He knew at once that this water-bloated, wild-haired, barefoot old man was someone of consequence, and he made him genuinely welcome and said a good many admiring things.

Of all of them, Liang Ziweng had the strangest feelings. Guo Jing had drunk his priceless medicinal python blood, so how could the sight of him not enrage him? But Hong Qigong, the man he feared most in all his life, was right beside him, so he could only hide his fury behind a smile. He stepped forward, bowed and dropped to his knees. “Liang Ziweng pays his respects to Guild Chief Hong. I trust you are well, venerable sir.”

At this everyone was startled again. They had all long known the great names of the Western Venom and the Northern Beggar, but none of them had ever seen either man, and they had never imagined that the two greatest masters of the age would appear together. They were about to step forward and pay their respects when Hong Qigong laughed. “The old beggar’s out of luck. A vicious dog has bitten him half to death, so what’s the use of bowing to him? The sensible thing is to bring me something to eat, and quick.”

Everyone was taken aback. They all thought, So Hong Qigong lies there unable to move because he’s badly hurt. Then there’s nothing to fear from him. They looked at Ouyang Feng, waiting to take their cue from him.

Ouyang Feng had already worked out a vicious plan for the three of them. Hong Qigong had to be got rid of first, so that he could not spread the story of how Ouyang Feng had repaid kindness with ingratitude. Guo Jing must first be made to explain the meaning of the strange passage in the manual, and then be put to death. As for Huang Rong, though his nephew loved her, leaving her alive would plant the seed of great disaster, and yet if he harmed her himself, Huang Yaoshi would never let it rest when he found out. He would have to think of some way to borrow a knife to kill her and let another hand do the deed. For now, with the three of them aboard the great ship, there was no fear of their flying away. He said to Wanyan Honglie, “These three are very cunning, and their martial arts are not bad either. I beg Your Highness to have them closely guarded.”

Liang Ziweng was delighted to hear it. At once he darted sideways to the left, round past Sha Tongtian, and reached back to grab Guo Jing’s wrist. Guo Jing turned his hand over at the wrist, and with a smack his palm caught Liang Ziweng on the shoulder. This Dragon Appears in the Field¹⁴ was so fast and heavy that, for all his high martial arts, Liang Ziweng went staggering back two steps.

Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziweng had always vied with each other in front of Wanyan Honglie, each eager to outdo the other, friends on the surface and rivals at heart. Peng Lianhu was secretly pleased to see him take a knock. They all spread out at once, surrounding Hong Qigong and the other two, meaning to wait until Liang Ziweng had been beaten before they joined in.

Liang Ziweng had gone round Sha Tongtian and come at Guo Jing from the side precisely to avoid that unique move of his, Proud Dragon Repents, and not take it full in the face. He had not expected that after a month apart Guo Jing would not use Proud Dragon Repents at all, but only an offhand palm, and that he would be unable to dodge even that. How could he save face after this? Seeing that Guo Jing did not follow up, he sprang into the air, punching with both fists, and brought out the finest art of his whole life, the Liaodong Wild Fox Fist,¹⁵ determined to take Guo Jing’s life, both to win back the face he had just lost and to avenge the killing of his snake.

Years before, Liang Ziweng had been gathering ginseng in the Changbai Mountains when he saw a hunting dog fighting a wild fox in the snow. The fox was full of tricks, darting east and leaping west with extraordinary agility, and sharp as the dog’s claws and fangs were, after a long struggle it still could not win. Watching the fox leap and spring, he had suddenly seen something. He gave up gathering ginseng, and in a thatched hut in the snows deep in the mountains he pondered for months, until he had created this Wild Fox Fist. The art was built on a four-word formula, nimble, flit, pounce, fall, and was best suited to fighting a stronger opponent. First the enemy was kept from ever knowing where one would advance or retreat, slip left or dodge right, and then one waited for the chance to strike.

Now he did not dare underestimate his enemy. He opened up with this fist art, flitting aside before he attacked, hiding a pounce inside a fall, and bore down on Guo Jing.

The fist art came at him in such a strange way, and Guo Jing had never seen anything like it. He thought, Rong-er’s Peach Blossom Falling Petals Palm¹⁶ has plenty of feints, but there’s always one real strike in five, or one in eight. This old man’s fists seem to be nothing but feints. What trick is he playing? Following the plan Hong Qigong had given him earlier, he paid no heed to how many changes the enemy’s moves went through, and simply sent out the force of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing.¹⁷

After a few exchanges the watching masters were shaking their heads to themselves. They thought, Old Eccentric Liang is the zhangmen of a school, after all. How can he fight a young lad like this and do nothing but dodge, without daring to make a single real attack?

A few more exchanges, and Guo Jing’s palm force had pressed him further and further back, until he was on the point of being driven into the sea. Seeing that the Wild Fox Fist could not win, Liang Ziweng wanted to change to another art, but Guo Jing’s palm force had him so completely covered that he could not spare a hand to do it.

Amid the whistling rush of palms, Hong Qigong’s voice rang out, “Down you go!”

Guo Jing struck with Dragon Fights in the Wild,¹⁸ his left arm sweeping across. Liang Ziweng gave a loud cry of alarm and went helplessly over the ship’s side.

Everyone started and rushed over to where Liang Ziweng had fallen. From the sea came a long peal of laughter, and suddenly Liang Ziweng came flying back up and landed on the deck with a thud, rigid as a plank, and could not get up again.

This astonished them more than ever. Could the sea really have bounced him back up? They jostled at the side of the ship, peering down into the water. An old man with white hair and a white beard was racing this way and that across the surface at extraordinary speed. They looked harder, and saw that he was riding on the back of a great shark, steering it wherever he pleased as easily as a man riding a horse on land.

Guo Jing was amazed and overjoyed. “Big Brother Zhou,” he shouted, “I’m over here!”

The old man riding the shark was none other than the Old Wild Child, Zhou Botong.¹⁹

Hearing Guo Jing call, Zhou Botong gave a great whoop of delight and punched the shark beside its right eye, and it turned to the left and swam up to the side of the ship. Zhou Botong shouted, “Is that you, Brother Guo? How are you? There’s a big whale up ahead. I’ve been chasing it for a day and a night, and I have to keep after it now. Goodbye!”

Guo Jing called urgently, “Big Brother, come up here, quick. There are lots of bad people here who want to bully your sworn brother.”

Footnotes

1. 灵智上人 — Língzhì Shàngrén. Literally the venerable of spiritual wisdom. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 丹田 — dāntián. Literally cinnabar field. The primary energy centre below the navel in internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 内力 — nèilì. Literally internal force. The kinetic manifestation of cultivated qi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 武林 — wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Those who actually practise, teach or study martial arts. The wulin sits inside the jianghu and is narrower than it: every member of the wulin belongs to the jianghu, but a pedlar or physician of the jianghu who never trained is no part of the wulin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 燕京 — Yānjīng. Literally capital of Yan. An old name for the Jin Central Capital, on the site of modern Beijing. ↩

6. 彭连虎 — Péng Liánhǔ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 沙通天 — Shā Tōngtiān. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 侯通海 — Hóu Tōnghǎi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 梁子翁 — Liáng Zǐwēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 老毒物 — lǎo dúwù. Literally old venomous thing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

12. 岳飞 — Yuè Fēi (1103—1142). The most celebrated Song general of the wars against the Jin, executed on false charges. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 武穆遗书 — Wǔmù Yíshū. The military treatise left by Yue Fei (1103—1142), the Song general posthumously titled Wumu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 见龙在田 — Xiàn Lóng Zài Tián. Literally the dragon appears in the field. A move of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, named from a line of the Book of Changes. ↩

15. 辽东野狐拳法 — Liáodōng Yěhú Quánfǎ. Literally Liaodong wild fox fist method. ↩

16. 桃华落英掌 — Táohuā Luòyīng Zhǎng. Palm technique with palm shadows like scattering peach blossoms. Originally called 落英神剑掌 (Falling Petals Divine Sword Palm) in earlier editions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 降龙十八掌 — Xiánglóng Shíbā Zhǎng. Literally eighteen dragon-subduing palms. Hong Qigong’s palm technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 龙战于野 — Lóng Zhàn Yú Yě. Literally dragons battle in the wild. A move of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, named from a line of the Book of Changes. ↩

19. 周伯通 — Zhōu Bótōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩