The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 22 – Part 7

Ouyang Feng¹ went on, “So you look down on me. Very well, and for His Highness’s sake I won’t bother to take issue with you. But you thought you could keep Old Zhou, the Old Wild Child, and Old Hong, the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, here against their will? Heh heh. With your paltry attainments, you’re hardly fit to try. You know little of the world and less of yourself, so you’re bound to come to some grief. Old Wild Child, catch!”

No one saw him draw back his arm or swing it forward. He only let the force spit out from his palm, and Venerable Lingzhi² went flying like a red cloud from the left end of the deck to the right. The moment he left Ouyang Feng’s palm force he was free again. He flipped himself over like a leaping carp, meaning to land upright, when he felt a sudden pain in the fat at the back of his neck.

He thought, This is bad. His left hand formed the Secret Blade Hand Seal³ and he was about to strike out with it when his arm went numb and dropped helplessly, and he found himself held upside down in the air once more. Zhou Botong⁴ had seized him in exactly the same way.

Wanyan Honglie⁵ saw what a sorry plight he was in, and knew that even if Ouyang Feng had not spoken first, none of his men could have kept Zhou Botong there on his own. He said hastily, “Old Mister Zhou, enough of your games, please. I will send a boat to take the four of you ashore, and that will be that.”

Zhou Botong said, “Fine, you try it too. Catch!”

He mimicked Ouyang Feng, projecting force from his palm and hurling the massive monk’s bulk towards the Prince.

Though Wanyan Honglie knew something of martial arts, he was limited to dao, spear, archery and horsemanship. He could not possibly catch a fat monk hurled at him with such fierce force. The impact would kill or cripple him. He dodged aside in haste.

Sha Tongtian⁶ saw that things were going badly. He used Shifting Forms Changing Positions⁷ and darted in front of Wanyan Honglie. Venerable Lingzhi was hurtling towards them with tremendous weight behind him, and Sha Tongtian feared that pushing him off with a palm might injure him. The only thing to do, it seemed, was to copy Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong, seize him by the back of the neck first, then turn him the right way up and set him down gently.

But in the way of martial arts, the difference between success and failure lies in a hair’s breadth. Sha Tongtian had watched Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong grab and toss the man with effortless ease, and assumed Venerable Lingzhi’s palm-force alone was formidable while his leaping and variation skills were mediocre. He fully expected to seize him, break his momentum, and then set him upright.

But no sooner had he grabbed, his hand barely touching the back of Venerable Lingzhi’s neck, than a scorching force came surging up from beneath his wrist. Had he not resisted it, his right wrist would have snapped then and there. In this dire moment he hastily withdrew his right hand and struck down with his left fist, the move called Armour-Piercing Awl.⁸

What had happened was that Venerable Lingzhi, held upside down twice in a row by Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong, had the blood running backwards into his head. His head was swimming and his heart was blazing with rage, and hearing Zhou Botong call for someone to catch him, he assumed that whoever laid hands on him would be another enemy. While he was still in the air he had already circulated his neili,⁹ and the instant he felt Sha Tongtian’s hand touch the back of his neck, he struck at once with a hand seal.

The two of them were evenly matched in neili. Sha Tongtian had the advantage of standing upright, but Venerable Lingzhi had struck ready and caught him off guard, so it came out even. There was a loud smack. Sha Tongtian staggered back three steps and sat down hard, and Venerable Lingzhi, knocked away by his palm force, was laid out flat on the deck.

Venerable Lingzhi rolled and sprang to his feet. Only then did he see that the man who had just struck him was Sha Tongtian.

He thought, Even you, you stinking villain, come to take advantage of me! With a tiger’s roar he made to spring at him again.

Peng Lianhu¹⁰ knew he had misunderstood and threw himself between them, crying, “Great Master, do not be angry. Big Brother Sha meant well!”

By now the great ship had lowered a sampan. Zhou Botong lifted the shark by the stick in its mouth and swung it out over the side of the ship, at the same time putting force into his palm and snapping the stick in two. The shark flew into the sea, and finding the stick in its mouth suddenly broken, it was overjoyed and dived down into the deep to eat fish.

Huang Rong¹¹ laughed. “Jing gege,¹² next time the three of us, you and me and Big Brother Zhou, each ride a shark and race to see who swims fastest.”

Before Guo Jing¹³ could answer, Zhou Botong was already clapping his hands in approval. “And we’ll have the old beggar be the judge again.”

Wanyan Honglie watched Zhou Botong and the other three row away in the sampan. He thought that with Ouyang Feng’s skill, if he were willing to lend a hand, the theft of the book would have a far better chance of success. He took Venerable Lingzhi by the hand and went up to Ouyang Feng.

“We’re all good friends here,” he said. “Mister Ouyang, please don’t take offence, and you, Venerable, don’t take it to heart. For my sake, both of you, let’s count it as no more than a game.”

Ouyang Feng smiled and extended his hand.

Venerable Lingzhi was still not won over. He thought, All you’ve got is some clever seizing and grappling, and you caught me off guard with a sudden attack. Is the palm force of the Secret Blade Hand Seal I’ve trained at for decades really no match for you? He held out his hand, sent force down his arm and squeezed Ouyang Feng’s hand hard. But the moment he applied the pressure, he jumped helplessly into the air, as though he had squeezed a lump of red-hot steel. His palm burned with a searing pain, and he let go as fast as he could.

Ouyang Feng did not press his advantage and merely gave a faint smile.

When Venerable Lingzhi looked at his palm, there was nothing to be seen on it at all.

He thought, Damn his grandmother, the old villain must know some sorcery.

Ouyang Feng saw Liang Ziweng¹⁴ lying on the deck, still unable to move. He went over and saw that when Guo Jing had knocked him into the sea, Zhou Botong had caught him, sealed his acupoints and thrown him back aboard. He released the blocked acupoints. With this, Ouyang Feng naturally became the leader of this band of martial artists.

Wanyan Honglie ordered a banquet prepared to welcome Ouyang Feng and his nephew.

Over wine, Wanyan Honglie told Ouyang Feng of their plan to travel to Lin’an¹⁵ and steal Wumu’s Art of War,¹⁶ and begged his full assistance.

Ouyang Feng had already heard his nephew speak of it. Now his mind stirred with a new idea.

He thought, What sort of man am I, Ouyang Feng, to be at your beck and call? But I have always heard that Yue Fei was not only a god at commanding troops but a superb martial artist too, and the Yue Family Scattered Hand¹⁷ he left behind is one of the marvels of the martial arts. Besides strategy and the art of war, this book of his may well set down martial arts too. I’ll agree to help him get it, and if it turns out to be good, why shouldn’t Old Venom keep it for himself?

It was a case of each man deceiving the other, each with his own scheme in mind. Wanyan Honglie was set on stealing the book left by a great general of the Song, never dreaming that, as the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind, and Ouyang Feng had plans of his own. So one of them flattered for all he was worth and the other agreed to everything, while Liang Ziweng did all he could to liven things up, and the cups were drained as fast as they were filled, and host and guests alike enjoyed themselves to the full. Only Ouyang Ke,¹⁸ badly hurt, could not drink. He ate a little and was helped off to the rear cabin to rest.

They were in the midst of feasting when Ouyang Feng’s face changed colour. He set down his cup and did not drink. Everyone was startled, wondering what offence they had given.

Wanyan Honglie was about to ask when Ouyang Feng said, “Listen!”

They tilted their ears. Beyond the wind and waves at sea, they heard nothing.

After a moment Ouyang Feng said, “Do you hear it now? Flute music.”

They stilled themselves and listened. Beyond the sound of the waves, faint and distant, came the broken, fitful notes of a dongxiao.¹⁹ Had Ouyang Feng not pointed it out, not one of them would have detected it.

Ouyang Feng walked to the bow of the ship and released a long, soaring whistle that carried far across the water. The others followed him to the bow.

Night had fallen. The moon had just risen. In the hazy light they could make out three dark sails in the far distance. A swift ship was cutting through the waves towards them.

They thought in secret wonder, Can the flute be playing on that ship? So far away, how could the sound carry all the way here?

Ouyang Feng ordered the sailors to put the helm about and steer to meet the fast ship, and the two vessels slowly drew closer.

At the bow of the other ship stood a man in a long gown of blue cloth, and in his hand, sure enough, he held a dongxiao. “Brother Feng,” he called loudly, “have you seen my daughter?”

Ouyang Feng said, “Your dear daughter has quite the airs. Would I dare provoke her?”

The two ships were still a few dozen feet apart. No one saw the man leap or bound, yet the crowd felt a blur before their eyes, and he was already standing on the great ship’s deck.

Wanyan Honglie, seeing such extraordinary skill, felt his recruiting instincts stir again. He stepped forward. “May I ask your honoured name, sir? It is a privilege to make your acquaintance.” For a prince of the Great Jin to be so deferential was rare indeed.

But the man saw him wearing the official robes of the Jin kingdom, gave him a cold look, and ignored him entirely.

Seeing the prince so thoroughly snubbed, Ouyang Feng said, “Brother Yao, allow me to introduce you. This is Prince Zhao, Sixth Prince of the Great Jin.” He turned to Wanyan Honglie. “This is Island Master Huang of Peach Blossom Island.²⁰ His martial arts are the first under heaven, and his accomplishments are without equal in this age.”

Peng Lianhu and the rest were startled. They stepped back several paces involuntarily.

They had since found out that the young girl they had met at Prince Zhao’s Estate in Zhongdu was called Huang Rong, and was the daughter of Huang Yaoshi of Peach Blossom Island. Island Master Huang was formidable beyond measure. The Twin Evils of Dark Wind²¹ had been no more than disciples he had cast out, and yet they had struck terror across the jianghu.²² Now that he had come aboard, his presence was indeed overwhelming, and every one of them, remembering how they had offended his daughter, was afraid and uneasy and did not dare make a sound.

After his daughter left, Huang Yaoshi²⁰ knew she must have gone to sea to look for Guo Jing. At first he was angry and paid it no heed, but after a few days, the more he thought about it the more uneasy he grew. He was afraid that she might have met Guo Jing before his boat sank and gone aboard the strange boat he had built himself, and then her life would be in danger, so he had put to sea at once to look for her.

Reckoning that the boat could not have gone far across the open ocean, he had searched all the way westward. But to find one boat on the vast sea is no easy matter. For all his extraordinary arts, Huang Yaoshi had searched back and forth without finding a trace.

That day he had been standing at the bow playing his dongxiao with his neili behind it, hoping his daughter would hear and call back, and instead he had come upon Ouyang Feng.

Huang Yaoshi knew none of Peng Lianhu and the others, and hearing Ouyang Feng say that this man in Jin dress was a prince, he would not so much as look at him. He only cupped his hands to Ouyang Feng.

“I am hastening to find my daughter. Pray excuse me.”

He turned to leave.

Venerable Lingzhi had been pushed around by Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong just now and was full of rage, and here was another exceedingly arrogant and ill-mannered man coming aboard, and he had heard Ouyang Feng’s words of introduction.

He thought, Can there really be so many great masters in the world? Most of these people probably know a little sorcery and play at ghosts and spirits to frighten others. I’ll play a trick on this one.

Seeing Huang Yaoshi about to leave, he said in a ringing voice, “Is it a little girl of fifteen or sixteen you’re looking for?”

Huang Yaoshi stopped and turned. Joy showed on his face. “Indeed it is. Has the Great Master seen her?”

Venerable Lingzhi said coldly, “I have seen her, yes. But she was dead, not alive.”

A chill ran through Huang Yaoshi. “What?” The two words came out trembling.

Venerable Lingzhi said, “Three days ago I saw the floating corpse of a little girl on the sea. She wore white garments, and her hair was bound with a golden ring. Her features were quite pretty, in fact. Alas, what a pity, what a pity! Her whole body had swollen from the seawater.”

What he described was precisely Huang Rong’s clothing and appearance, down to the smallest detail.

Footnotes

1. 欧阳锋 — Ōuyáng Fēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

3. 秘刀手印 — Mìdāo Shǒuyìn. Literally secret blade hand seal. A palm technique. ↩

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

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

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

7. 移形换位 — Yíxíng Huànwèi. An art of shifting position without bending the knees or taking a step, as Sha Tongtian does. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 破甲锥 — Pòjiǎ Zhuī. Literally armour-piercing awl. A fist technique. ↩

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

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

11. 黄蓉 — Huáng Róng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 靖哥哥 — Jìng gēge. Literally elder brother Jing. ↩

13. 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. ↩

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

15. 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. ↩

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

17. 岳家散手 — Yuèjiā Sǎnshǒu. Literally Yue family scattered hands. A bare-handed fighting art attributed to the general Yue Fei. ↩

18. 欧阳克 — Ōuyáng Kè. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 洞箫 — dòngxiāo. An end-blown vertical bamboo flute with a deep, mellow tone. ↩

20. 黄药师 — Huáng Yàoshī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

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

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