The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 23 – Part 6

Guo Jing thought, Whatever happens, I must hold the mouth of the cave and keep them out. If I can only last a little while, the palace guards will be here in force, and however good these villains are, they’ll have to run in the end. He was a little surprised to see that Ouyang Feng was not going for the kill but trying to seize him. His left hand rose to deflect. His right answered in the Void Clarity Fist.¹ The force behind it fell far short of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing,² but the palm-shadows drifted and wavered, the handwork exquisite and strange. Ouyang Feng cried, “Good!” He dropped his shoulder and brought his hand round to seize Guo Jing’s right arm, but there was none of the storm-wind, lightning-swift force in his hand.

The fact was that on the desert island Ouyang Feng had begun to practise from the text Guo Jing had written out for him, and the more he practised, the more wrong it felt. How was he to know that the text had been turned upside down and inside out into gibberish? He simply took it that the meaning was too deep to grasp all at once. Later, hearing Hong Qigong on the raft loudly mumbling his way through the strange passages, he was all the more sure that these were the key to the Manual. Every time he fought Guo Jing, he found the boy’s skill had grown by another degree, and that alarmed and delighted him both. It alarmed him because such progress could only have come from the power of the Manual, and that was truly to be feared. It delighted him because the Manual was already in his hands, and with a foundation as deep as his, there was no telling how far he might go. Their last fight, on the raft, had been one against two, a struggle for their lives. This time he had the upper hand beyond doubt and could work at it at his leisure, as an aid to practising the Manual, so he went through the moves with Guo Jing one by one. Whether he laid hands on Wumu’s Art of War³ or not was nothing much to him. The one thing that mattered to him was the martial learning of the Nine Yin Manual.⁴

By now the lanterns and torches all round Cuihan Hall⁵ had made it as bright as day, and eunuchs and guards were pouring in, wave after wave. Wanyan Honglie⁶ saw that Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang⁷ had been behind the curtain of water a long time without coming out, while the palace guards were gathering in swarms, and things looked about to go very wrong. Luckily the guards all had their heads tipped back, watching Huang Rong chasing and fighting with Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziweng on the roofs, and had no idea that something far bigger was going on behind the waterfall. But it could only be a matter of moments before they found out, and he was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands and stamping his feet, crying over and over, “Quick, quick.”

Venerable Lingzhi⁸ said, “Don’t be alarmed, Your Highness. This humble monk will go in again.” He held his left palm up before him, swaying it, and ducked through the curtain of water again. By now the firelight was shining through the waterfall, and he could see Ouyang Feng and Guo Jing trading moves at the mouth of the cave, while Yang Kang tried again and again to get past them into it. But how could he get through the force of those two men’s fists and palms? Venerable Lingzhi had watched only a few moves before he was beside himself with impatience. He thought, Things are desperate, and here’s this Ouyang Feng dawdling about practising martial arts with someone. The man’s an utter idiot. He roared, “Mister Ouyang, I’ve come to help you!”

Ouyang Feng barked, “Get well away from me.”

Venerable Lingzhi thought, At a time like this, what are you playing the brave man for, and putting on the airs of a grandmaster? He ducked low and darted at Guo Jing’s left side, striking at his temple with a Secret Blade Mudra. Ouyang Feng was furious. His right hand shot out, grabbed the fat at the back of Venerable Lingzhi’s neck once again, and flung him straight out.

Caught yet again, Venerable Lingzhi was in a towering rage, and out came the vilest curses he knew. But he had only got half of “Ba-ni-mi-hong…” out when a rush of water poured straight into his mouth, and he had to swallow his curses along with it. This time he had been thrown out face up, and the waterfall had come pouring down and filled his mouth.

Wanyan Honglie saw Venerable Lingzhi come flying out as though riding the clouds. With a clatter and a crash he smashed through a great stretch of flower pots in front of Cuihan Hall. Wanyan Honglie’s heart sank. More guards were rushing over. He gathered the hem of his robe and charged through the waterfall himself. He knew some martial arts, but his skill was hardly deep, and the cascade struck him full. His feet slid out from under him and he pitched forward into the cave. Yang Kang lunged to catch him. Wanyan Honglie steadied himself and took in the lay of the ground. “Mister Ouyang,” he called, “can you drive this boy off?”

He knew that whether he pleaded with Ouyang Feng or ordered him, the man might well take no notice, but a light, offhand question like that would leave him no choice but to put out all his strength and drive Guo Jing away. As the saying goes, sending a general is not as good as goading one. Sure enough, Ouyang Feng replied, “Why ever not?” He crouched down, gave a great croak of “gek”, summoned the force of his Toad Skill⁹ and drove both palms forward together.

A toad spends the long months after its birth buried deep in the earth, hoarding nourishment, thickening its strength. After it emerges it eats little. Ouyang Feng’s Toad Skill worked on the same principle: a long, slow accumulation of power, unleashed all at once with a force nothing could withstand. It was not a burst of momentary effort, which was why even men whose neili far exceeded his could not meet it with brute strength head-on. Into this one push went the neili of a lifetime. Even had Hong Qigong or Huang Yaoshi stood there, neither could have blocked it face-to-face. Guo Jing had no hope of withstanding it.

Earlier, Ouyang Feng had been trading moves with Guo Jing to force him to use the Void Clarity Fist technique by technique. He had found the method subtle and the changes marvellous, and silently admired them, taking them to be martial arts drawn from the Nine Yin Manual. His whole intent was to lure Guo Jing through the complete set so that he might study and cross-reference them. But Wanyan Honglie had blundered in with a single sentence that compelled Ouyang Feng to commit his full power at once. He still had uses for Guo Jing and had no wish to kill the boy outright. He meant only to show him what he was up against, so that he would back away of his own accord.

Little did he know that Guo Jing had grimly made up his mind to save Wumu’s Art of War. Guo Jing knew that if he dodged aside, the cave mouth would lie wide open and the book would fall into enemy hands. However many guards were posted outside, how could they stop a man like Ouyang Feng? The push was bearing down on him, terrible and unstoppable. To block was impossible, to dodge unthinkable. With a push of his feet he sprang four feet into the air, clear of the blow, and came down still barring the mouth of the cave. Behind him there was a tremendous boom, and earth and grit came pattering down as the whole force of Ouyang Feng’s push struck the rock wall of the cave. Ouyang Feng cried, “Good!” and his second push was already on him with extraordinary speed, the new force coming in before the first was spent.

Guo Jing felt a blast of force come down over him and knew he was in trouble. He met it with Shocking a Hundred Li,¹⁰ both palms pushing straight out, one of the most powerful moves of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing. Strength met strength head on, and in an instant the two of them were locked motionless. Guo Jing knew his strength was no match for the other man’s and that he was bound to lose, but he had been driven to it and there was no other way.

Wanyan Honglie saw the two of them, who a moment before had been leaping and darting about, rising and plunging, suddenly turned into what looked like a pair of corpses, without so much as a finger stirring, apparently not even breathing, and he was utterly bewildered.

A little while later Guo Jing was streaming with sweat all over. Ouyang Feng knew that if they went on, the boy was sure to be badly hurt, and he meant to give him half a move’s grace, so he drew his strength back a little. But Guo Jing had kept something in reserve in his palms, and the reserve came in on top of the force already there. Ouyang Feng’s chest suddenly tightened as the boy’s force drove straight at him, and had his neili not been so deep, he would have come off badly. It gave him a start. He had never dreamed that one so young could have such power in his palms. At once he drew a breath, summoned his strength and struck back, and drove the force back where it came from. Had he put out more strength now, he could have knocked Guo Jing down, but the force in both men’s palms was so great that the contest could not be decided without one of them being gravely wounded. Killing him might not be so very hard, but the boy was the key to all the Manual’s martial learning. How could he destroy him with his own hands? He thought, I’ll just have to wear him down a while longer, and when his strength fades, take him as easily as plucking fruit.

Before long their opposing forces had begun to wax and wane, one rising as the other faded. But Wanyan Honglie and Yang Kang, standing by and watching, had no idea how long it would be before anything changed, and they grew frantic. In truth the standoff had lasted only moments, but outside the waterfall curtain the firelight blazed and the clamour redoubled, and to the two watchers it felt as if an age had passed.

There was a sudden splash, and two guards came charging in through the waterfall. Yang Kang sprang at them. There were two thuds as his hands drove into the crowns of their heads, and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw¹¹ did its work at a single stroke. The reek of blood rose to his nostrils, and the lust to kill flared up in him. He drew a dagger from his boot, darted in and stabbed at Guo Jing’s waist.

Guo Jing was pouring every shred of strength into holding back Ouyang Feng’s palm-force. How could he spare an instant to dodge? He knew that if he shifted his body even slightly, if his force slackened for a breath, he would die beneath the Western Venom’s Toad Skill. He felt the dagger’s point pierce him but gave it no heed. Then a searing pain tore through his waist. His breath locked. Against his will his fist drove down and caught Yang Kang square on the wrist.

By now there was a world of difference between their martial arts, and the blow hurt Yang Kang so badly that he thought his bones would split. He snatched his hand back, but half the blade of the dagger was already buried in Guo Jing’s side. At that very moment the force of the Toad Skill struck Guo Jing in the chest. He could not manage so much as a groan. He fell forward, face-down.

Ouyang Feng saw that he had hurt him after all. He waved his hand and shook his head, crying, “A pity! A pity!” He was thoroughly put out. But the boy was past saving now, he thought, so there was no point bothering with him, and nothing for it but to go and grab Wumu’s Art of War. He glared at Yang Kang and thought, You little wretch, you’ve wrecked my great plan. He turned and strode into the cave. Wanyan Honglie and Yang Kang followed.

Palace guards came swarming in. Ouyang Feng did not even turn around. He reached back with his hands and flung them out one by one as they came. With his back to them, he caught and threw, caught and threw, and not one guard got into the cave.

Yang Kang shook a tinder tube¹² alight and looked about the cave. The dust lay thick on the floor, and plainly no one had been there for a very long time. In the middle stood a lone stone table, and on it was a stone box two feet square, with a paper seal pasted across its lid. There was nothing else.

Yang Kang held the tinder close to look, but after so many years the writing on the seal could no longer be made out. Wanyan Honglie cried, “The book is in this box.” Overjoyed, Yang Kang reached out to lift it. Ouyang Feng gave him a light push on the shoulder with his left arm, and Yang Kang lost his footing and staggered several steps away. While he stood there dumbfounded, Ouyang Feng already had the stone box under his arm. Wanyan Honglie cried, “The great work is done, everyone fall back!” With Ouyang Feng clearing the way ahead, the three of them withdrew.

Yang Kang saw Guo Jing lying motionless at the mouth of the cave among several of the guards, covered in blood, and he felt a twinge of guilt. He said quietly, “You never knew what was good for you. Always meddling in other people’s affairs. Don’t blame me for disregarding our sworn brotherhood.” Remembering that his dagger was still in Guo Jing’s body, he bent to pull it out, but just then a figure darted in through the curtain of water, crying, “Jing gege, where are you?”

Yang Kang knew Huang Rong’s voice, and in his alarm he left the dagger where it was, leapt over Guo Jing’s body, and dived out through the curtain of water after Ouyang Feng and the others.

Huang Rong had been darting east and west, playing a grand game of hide-and-seek on the roofs with Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziweng. Before long more and more palace guards gathered and the shouting shook the sky, and Peng and Liang, finding themselves inside the forbidden palace, grew uneasy after all and dared not keep up the chase. They fell back with Sha Tongtian and the rest to the side of the waterfall to wait for Wanyan Honglie to come out. They killed several guards at the mouth of the cave, and by then Ouyang Feng had come out with his prize.

Footnotes

1. 空明拳 — Kōngmíng Quán. The softest fist art in the world, which Zhou Botong drew from the Daodejing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

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

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

5. 翠寒堂 — Cuìhán Táng. Literally Emerald Cold Hall. A hall in the Southern Song imperial palace at Lin’an. ↩

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

7. 杨康 — Yáng Kāng. His name meaning “well-being”; paired with Guo Jing’s 靖 it recalls the Jingkang Shame of 1127. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

9. 蛤蟆功 — Háma Gōng. Ouyang Feng’s hereditary art, practised crouching like a toad. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 震惊百里 — Zhèn jīng bǎi lǐ. Literally a shock that startles for a hundred li. A move of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, named from a line of the Book of Changes. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 九阴白骨爪 — Jiǔyīn Báigǔ Zhǎo. Literally nine yin white bone claw. A claw technique. ↩

12. 火折子 — huǒzhézi. A tinder tube: rolled paper or fibre treated with saltpetre, kept smouldering in a tube and revived with a puff of breath. ↩