The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 25 – Part 5

An idea stirred in Yang Kang. He thought, The soldiers are seizing their chance to loot. Why shouldn’t I seize mine to make friends with this Mongol prince? If I travel north with him, it will be no hard matter to find some way of stabbing him to death on the road. The Mongol Great Khan is sure to think the Song did it, and then the alliance between the Mongols and the Song is bound to collapse, to the great benefit of the Jin.

His mind made up, he said to Mu Nianci, “Wait for me a moment,” and strode into the inn. The officer shouted at him to stop and put out a hand to bar his way, but Yang Kang’s left arm swept out, the man went flying flat on his back, and it was a long while before he could pick himself up.

Before Tolui¹ and Huazheng² had recovered from their surprise, Yang Kang was in the middle of the room. He took the iron spear-head³ from his robe, raised it high above his head and set it reverently on the table. Then he dropped to his knees and burst into loud sobs, crying, “Oh, Guo Jing, Brother Guo, what a cruel death you died. I will avenge you, I will. Oh, Guo Jing, Brother Guo.”

Tolui and his sister knew no Han, but hearing him cry Guo Jing’s name over and over, they were astonished and uneasy. Seeing that the officer had at last struggled to his feet, they quickly told him to go and ask what this meant.

Weeping as he spoke, his tears streaming, Yang Kang said brokenly, “I am Guo Jing’s sworn brother. Someone killed Big Brother Guo with this spear-head. The villain was a Song officer, and I expect he was acting on the orders of the Prime Minister, Shi Miyuan.⁴”

When the officer who spoke Mongolian had put this into their tongue, Tolui and his sister stood as though a thunderbolt had burst over their heads, unable to utter a word. Jebe⁵ and Boroqul⁶ had both been deeply attached to Guo Jing, and at once all four of them were beating their breasts and weeping aloud.

Yang Kang went on to tell how Guo Jing had driven off the Jin soldiers at Baoying⁷ and rescued Tolui and the others, and after that Tolui and his companions had no doubts left at all. They asked him closely how Guo Jing had died and who his enemy was. Yang Kang said that the man who had killed Guo Jing was Duan Tiande,⁸ a commander of the Great Song. He knew where the man was and meant to go after him at once for revenge, only one hand cannot clap alone, and he feared it would not be easily done. It was all invention, yet he told it with uncanny conviction.

In the next room Guo Jing heard every word, and his mind was a blank of bewilderment.

When Huazheng had heard it to the end, she drew her waist dao and laid it across her throat. But Tolui, quick of eye and hand, snatched it from her and said, “Little sister, you must not kill yourself. We have to avenge Guo Jing, our anda.⁹”

Seeing his trick half done, Yang Kang was secretly pleased. He kept his head bowed and went on with his false weeping. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the bamboo staff that Ouyang Ke had wrested from Huang Rong, lying on the floor. It was glistening jade-green and plainly no common thing. Sensing something out of the way about it, he went over and picked it up.

Huang Rong groaned inwardly again and again, but there was nothing she could do.

The soldiers brought in wine and food, but Tolui and the others could not touch a mouthful. They wanted Yang Kang to lead them at once to Guo Jing’s killer. Yang Kang nodded his agreement, took the bamboo staff and went to the door, then turned to call Mu Nianci to come with him. Mu Nianci gave a slight shake of her head.

Yang Kang thought, This chance must not be missed. Love can wait a while. So he left the inn on his own, and the others followed him out.

Guo Jing whispered, “Wasn’t Duan Tiande killed by him long ago, at Returning Clouds Manor?”

Huang Rong shook her head. “I can’t make sense of it either. Wasn’t it Yang Kang himself who stabbed you with the jian? The man is full of tricks, and there’s no reading his mind.”

Suddenly a voice beyond the door chanted aloud,

“Free to roam the world at ease, by nothing bound, my heart craves no glory, my body suffers no shame!…”

Then, “Eh? Miss Mu, what are you doing here?”

The speaker was Qiu Chuji¹⁰ the Changchunzi.

Before Mu Nianci could answer, Yang Kang came out of the inn. At the sight of his shifu his heart began to pound. They had met in a narrow lane with no way round, and there was nothing for it but to kneel and kowtow.

Beside Qiu Chuji stood several others: Ma Yu¹¹ the Danyangzi, Wang Chuyi¹² the Yuyangzi, Sun Buer¹³ the Unbound Adept Qingjing, and Qiu Chuji’s own disciple Yin Zhiping.¹⁴

The day before, when Huang Yaoshi had knocked out half Yin Zhiping’s teeth, he had hurried to Lin’an to tell his shifu. Qiu Chuji was shocked and furious, and wanted to go and meet Huang Yaoshi there and then. But Ma Yu argued hard for caution.

Qiu Chuji said, “In his day Old Heretic Huang¹⁵ was as famous as our late shifu, and of us seven brothers only Wang shidi has ever seen him, once, on the summit of Mount Hua. I have admired him for a long time and have long wanted to meet him. It’s not as if I’m going to fight him. Why must you stop me, Eldest Shige?”¹⁶

Ma Yu said, “I have always heard that Huang Yaoshi has a strange temper, and yours goes off like a thunderclap. If you meet, it will most likely come to no good. He spared Zhiping’s life, so at least he held his hand.”

But Qiu Chuji insisted on going, and Ma Yu could not talk him out of it. As it happened, the Seven Zis of Quanzhen were all near Lin’an just then, so word was sent round, they all agreed to meet, and the next day they set out together for Niu Family Village.¹⁷

With all seven of them there, the Seven Zis of Quanzhen made a formidable force. But they knew too well how formidable Huang Yaoshi was, and since it was not clear whether he was friend or foe, they dared not be in the least careless. Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, Sun Buer and Yin Zhiping went into the village first, while Tan Chuduan,¹⁸ Liu Chuxuan¹⁹ and Hao Datong²⁰ waited outside it in support.

But instead of Huang Yaoshi, they found Mu Nianci and Yang Kang.

When Yang Kang kowtowed, Qiu Chuji only gave a grunt and took no notice of him. Yin Zhiping said, “Shifu, the Master of Peach Blossom Island bullied me in this very inn.” He had been calling Huang Yaoshi “Old Heretic Huang”, but after a few words of reproof from Ma Yu he had had to change it.

Qiu Chuji called into the inn in a ringing voice, “Ma Yu and the other disciples of the Quanzhen Order pay their respects to Island Master Huang of Peach Blossom Island.”

Yang Kang said, “There is no one inside.”

Qiu Chuji stamped his foot. “A pity, a pity that I’ve missed him!” He turned to Yang Kang and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Faced with his shifu and his shishu, Yang Kang was so frightened and flustered that for a moment he could not speak.

Huazheng had been staring at Ma Yu for some time. Now she ran up to him, crying, “Oh, you’re the uncle who caught the white eaglets for me, the one with his hair done up in three knots. Look, those little eagles have grown this big.” She gave a long whistle, and the two white eagles swooped down and settled one on each of her shoulders.

Ma Yu smiled faintly and nodded. “You have come south to play as well?”

Huazheng wept. “Daoist Elder,²¹ Guo Jing gege has been murdered. You must avenge him.”

Ma Yu gave a start and repeated her words in the Han tongue. Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi turned pale with shock and asked at once what had happened.

Huazheng pointed at Yang Kang. “He saw it with his own eyes. Just ask him.”

Seeing that Huazheng knew his eldest shibo, Yang Kang was afraid that if they talked too much, suspicion would be roused. It cost no effort at all to fool a few Mongol barbarians, but before his shifu, his shibo and his shishu he could not invent so freely. He said to Tolui and Huazheng, “Go on ahead and wait for me a little. I have a few words to say to these Daoist Elders, and then I’ll come straight after you.”

When the officer had translated this, Tolui nodded and set off north out of the village with the others.

Qiu Chuji said harshly, “Who killed Guo Jing? Speak, quickly!”

Yang Kang thought, It was plainly I who stabbed Guo Jing to death. Whom should I put the blame on? He had not yet decided when an idea came to him, and he thought, I’ll name someone formidable and let Shifu go after him. If he gets himself killed, there’ll be no more trouble from him ever.

He said bitterly, “It was Island Master Huang of Peach Blossom Island.”

The Seven Zis of Quanzhen already knew that Huang Yaoshi was hunting the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan²² to kill them, and that Guo Jing should die at his hands seemed only to be expected. They had not the slightest suspicion.

At once Qiu Chuji broke into furious curses against Old Heretic Huang for his brutality and viciousness, and swore he would never let the matter rest. Ma Yu and Wang Chuyi were grieved at heart and sat in gloomy silence.

Suddenly, faintly, from far away came a burst of loud laughter, followed by several harsh clangs like broken cymbals clashing, and then someone else calling softly. The voice was low, yet it could still be heard quite clearly. The three sounds circled round the outside of the village and then, in a moment, each died away into the distance.

Ma Yu was startled and overjoyed. “That laughter sounded like Zhou shishu. He’s still alive!”

Then, east of the village, three voices whistled together, and the whistles grew fainter and fainter.

Sun Buer said, “Our three shiges have gone after them.”

Wang Chuyi said, “From the sound of those cymbal-like cries and that low call, it seems those two are pursuing Zhou shishu.”

A vague unease came over Ma Yu. “Those two are no less skilled than Zhou shishu. I wonder who they can be. Zhou shishu is one against two. I fear…” He shook his head slowly.

The four Zis of Quanzhen listened intently for a long while, but there was no further sound. They knew that the runners were already several li away and could never be caught.

Sun Buer said, “With Tan shige and the other two gone to help, Zhou shishu won’t be left to fight alone.”

Qiu Chuji said, “I only fear they won’t catch up. If Zhou shishu knew we were here and came running into the village, that would be fine.”

Hearing them guess so wildly, Huang Rong laughed to herself and thought, My father and Old Venom are only racing Old Wild Child, not fighting him. And if it really were a fight, how could you stinking ox-nosed Daoists be a match for my father and Old Venom, even if you all rushed in to help?

She had not liked it at all, just now, to hear Qiu Chuji curse her father. As for Yang Kang’s lie that her father had killed Guo Jing, Guo Jing was safe and sound beside her, his palm against hers and the warmth passing between them, so she did not care in the least.

Ma Yu waved his hand, and they all went into the inn and sat down.

Qiu Chuji said, “Well? Are you called Wanyan Kang now, or Yang Kang?”

Yang Kang saw his shifu’s eyes blazing as they fixed on him, his face stern, and knew that one wrong answer would cost him his life. He said quickly, “Had Shifu, Ma shibo and Wang shishu not shown me the way, I would still be in the dark today, taking a thief for my father. Of course my surname is Yang now. Last night House Sister²³ Mu and I buried my late father and mother.”

Qiu Chuji was very pleased to hear this. He nodded, and his face softened a great deal. Wang Chuyi had been angry with Yang Kang for refusing to accept the marriage after his contest with Mu Nianci. Now, seeing the two of them together, he supposed that all would end happily, and his earlier anger melted away. Yang Kang took out the half spear-head he had stabbed Ouyang Ke with and said, “This was my late father’s. I have kept it with me all this while.”

Qiu Chuji took it and turned it over and over, stroking it, deeply moved. He sighed several times and said, “Nineteen years ago I became friends with your father and your Uncle Guo in this very place. More than ten years have flown by, and both my old friends have gone to the yellow earth. In truth, they died because of me. That I had not the power to save your father and mother is the deepest regret of my life.”

In the next room Guo Jing listened to him remembering his father, and his heart ached. He thought, Daoist Elder Qiu at least got to know my father as a friend, but I never even saw my father’s face. Brother Yang got to meet his father. He is luckier than I am.

Qiu Chuji then asked how Huang Yaoshi had killed Guo Jing, and Yang Kang made up a tale as he went. Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi had all known Guo Jing, and they grieved for him. They talked for a while, and Yang Kang, eager to rejoin Tolui and Huazheng, grew more and more restless.

Wang Chuyi looked at him, then at Mu Nianci. “Have you two been married yet?”

Yang Kang said, “Not yet.”

Wang Chuyi said, “Then you had better marry soon. Qiu shige, why not take charge for them today and see it done?”

Huang Rong and Guo Jing looked at each other, and both thought, Are we to watch another wedding night today?

Huang Rong thought further, Sister Mu has a fiery temper, quite unlike that Young Mistress Cheng. Before her wedding night she may well make that Yang boy fight a contest for her hand first. A good fight would be lively and fun to watch.

Then they heard Yang Kang say happily, “I leave it all to you, Shifu.”

But Mu Nianci said in a clear voice, “First he must agree to one thing for me. Otherwise I will never consent.”

Qiu Chuji smiled slightly. “Very well. What is it? Tell us, Miss.”

Mu Nianci said, “My foster father was his own father, and it was that villain Wanyan Honglie who killed him. He must avenge his father’s murder before I can marry him.”

Qiu Chuji clapped his hands and cried, “Just so. Miss Mu’s words go straight to this old Daoist’s heart. Kang-er, don’t you agree?”

Yang Kang was in a quandary. He was still working out how to answer when from beyond the door a hoarse voice began roughly singing a tune of “Lotus Falling”, the beggars’ song, and a thin, shrill voice broke in, crying, “Kind masters and mistresses, have pity, spare a coin for a poor beggar.”

The voices sounded somewhat familiar to Mu Nianci. She turned her head and saw two beggars standing in the doorway, one fat, one short and thin, the big fat one easily three times the size of the little one. Their shapes were so unusual that even after so many years Mu Nianci still remembered them as the two beggars whose wounds she had bound up when she was thirteen. Hong Qigong,²⁴ pleased with her kind heart, had taught her martial arts for three days because of it.

She was about to go up and greet them, but once inside the door the two beggars never took their eyes off the bamboo staff in Yang Kang’s hand. They glanced at each other, nodded together, walked up to Yang Kang, crossed their hands over their chests and bowed low.

From the way the two beggars walked and moved, Ma Yu and the others knew at once that their martial arts were no mean thing. And seeing that each carried eight hemp sacks on his back, they knew them for Eight Sack disciples of the Beggars’ Guild, very senior in rank. But why they should show Yang Kang such deference was beyond them.

The thin beggar said, “We heard from the brothers that someone had seen the Guild Chief’s staff in Lin’an. We have been searching all around, and by good fortune we find it here. But where is the Guild Chief begging now?”

Yang Kang had the staff in his hand, but he knew nothing at all of where it came from. Hearing the thin beggar’s words, he had no idea how to answer, and only said “Mm” a few times, vaguely.

Footnotes

1. 拖雷 — Tuōléi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 华筝 — Huázhēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 铁枪头 — tiě qiāngtóu. The iron head of Yang Tiexin’s spear, kept after the shaft was lost. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 史弥远 — Shǐ Míyuǎn. Chief councillor of the Southern Song court (historical). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

6. 博尔忽 — Bó’ěrhū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

8. 段天德 — Duàn Tiāndé. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

10. 丘处机 — Qiū Chǔjī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 马钰 — Mǎ Yù. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 王处一 — Wáng Chǔyī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 孙不二 — Sūn Bù’èr. Her name meaning “not two”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 尹志平 — Yǐn Zhìpíng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 黄老邪 — Huáng Lǎoxié. Literally old heretic Huang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 师哥 — shīgē. Male senior, the colloquial form of shixiong. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Gē means older brother. ↩

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

18. 谭处端 — Tán Chǔduān. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 刘处玄 — Liú Chǔxuán. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 郝大通 — Hǎo Dàtōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 道长 — dàozhǎng. Literally Daoist elder. A respectful form of address for a Daoist priest. ↩

22. 江南六怪 — Jiāngnán Liù Guài. Literally six eccentrics of Jiangnan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 世妹 — shìmèi. Literally generational younger sister. A courteous address to a younger daughter of a family long on friendly terms with one’s own. ↩

24. 洪七公 — Hóng Qīgōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩