The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 32 – Part 5

Qiu Qianren¹ saw Yinggu² kick the tiller in two and knew that she had made up her mind to die and take him with her. The bank was not far off. Live or die, he thought, he had to risk a dash for it, and drawing a breath, he suddenly leapt for the shore. He put all his strength into the leap, but he still fell short by ten feet or so and could not reach the bank. With a splash he plunged into the water and sank at once to the riverbed. The moment he bobbed up again the current swept him away. Luckily, with the boats wrecked, plenty of broken masts and timbers were floating on the river. Qiu Qianren caught hold of a broken spar, locked his arms around it and let the stream carry him down. He could not swim, but his neigong³ was profound, and in the racing current he held his breath and paddled desperately for the bank. He swallowed more than a dozen mouthfuls of water, but at last he dragged himself ashore.

Exhausted, he sat on a rock to catch his breath. He was more than ten li⁴ downstream now, and the boat in the distance had shrunk to a black speck. When he remembered Yinggu’s face, her teeth gnashing with hatred, his heart still quailed.

Yinggu saw Qiu Qianren leave the boat and get away, and cried, “Villain, where do you think you’re running to?” She ran towards the gunwale, meaning to leap in after him. But by now the current had swept the boat back into the middle of the river. In those vicious waves a jump meant death. Guo Jing could not bear to watch her throw her life away, so he dashed forward and seized her by the back. Yinggu was furious. She whirled and lashed out at him, and Guo Jing ducked just in time.

Huang Rong⁵ saw that the two eagles had settled on the deck and called, “Jing gege,⁶ why bother with a madwoman? Let’s get away, quick.”

The river surged, and in moments it would be over their feet. Guo Jing let go of her. Yinggu had covered her face with both hands and was weeping aloud, crying out piteously again and again, “My child! My child!” Huang Rong urged him to hurry, again and again. Guo Jing remembered Great Master Yideng’s⁷ charge to look after Yinggu, and called, “Ride an eagle ashore first, then send it back for us.” Huang Rong cried in distress, “There won’t be time.” Guo Jing said, “Go, quick! We cannot fail Great Master Yideng’s trust.”

Huang Rong remembered that Yideng had saved her life, and hesitated. She was still at a loss what to do when, with a tremendous crash, the boat struck another great reef in the middle of the river. They were badly shaken, water poured into the cabin, and in moments the boat had sunk several feet. Huang Rong shouted, “Jump onto the reef!” Guo Jing nodded and sprang over to support Yinggu.

Yinggu was in a daze, as though drunk or witless. She did not resist when Guo Jing reached out to support her, but stared fixedly at the middle of the river. Guo Jing held her up under one arm with his right hand and cried, “Jump!” All three sprang onto the reef together. The rock stood a foot or so below the surface, and the torrent raced around them, soaking their clothes through. By the time they found their footing the bamboo-canopied boat had sunk beside the reef. Though Huang Rong had kept company with the waves since she was small, the muddy torrent pouring past her made her head swim. She tilted her head up at the sky, not daring to look at the water.

Guo Jing whistled for the eagles, calling them down to carry them across. But the eagles were afraid of the water. They circled round and round and never dared to settle on the reef beneath the surface. Huang Rong scanned the banks in every direction and spotted a great willow standing on the left shore, no more than a hundred feet from the reef. An idea came to her. “Jing gege, take my hand.” Guo Jing did as she asked and gripped her left hand. With a splash, Huang Rong slipped into the river. Guo Jing was horrified. She was diving down towards the sunken boat. He flattened himself at once, his own upper body plunging into the water, and stretched his arm as far as it would reach, his feet hooked tight around a jutting spur of the reef. His right hand clamped her left wrist, afraid that the current’s force might tear his grip away, and then she would be lost for ever.

Huang Rong dived to the mast of the sunken boat, pulled down the sail rope and came back up onto the reef. Hand over hand she hauled the rope up from the boat. After two hundred-odd feet had been gathered she said, “Jing gege, give me your short jian!” Guo Jing passed the short jian from his waist. Huang Rong drew it from its sheath and cut through the rope, then stretched out her arm and beckoned the female eagle to perch on her shoulder. Both eagles had grown heavy by now, and Guo Jing, afraid she could not bear the weight, reached across and took the bird onto his own arm.

Huang Rong tied one end of the rope to the female eagle’s foot and pointed at the great willow, gesturing for it to fly there. The eagle soared up with the rope trailing, circled above the willow, and flew back again. Huang Rong cried in frustration, “Oh, I meant go round the tree once and then come back.” But the bird did not understand words, and it made her sigh again and again in exasperation. On the eighth try Huang Rong sent the eagle off lower down, and only then did it happen to circle the willow once and come back. The two of them were overjoyed. They pulled both ends of the rope taut and lashed them fast to the jutting spur of rock.

Guo Jing said, “Rong-er,⁸ you go ashore first.” Huang Rong said, “No, I’ll stay with you. Let her go first.” Yinggu shot them both a glare but said nothing. She seized the rope with both hands and, alternating her grip, hauled herself across to the bank.

Huang Rong laughed. “A little trick from when I was small. Elder Master Guo,⁹ do be generous with your reward!” She sprang onto the rope and, using her qinggong¹⁰ like a girl performer walking a high rope, steadied herself with her bamboo staff and crossed above the surging river to the branches of the willow.

Guo Jing had never trained in such a skill. Afraid of falling, he dared not imitate her. Instead he clung to the rope with both hands as Yinggu had done, his body dangling beneath it, and swung himself towards the bank. He was still several dozen feet from the shore when he heard Huang Rong cry, “Eh? Where are you going?” Her tone held a note of surprise. Guo Jing, afraid that Yinggu’s wits had still not cleared and that something had gone wrong, went hand over hand faster, and leapt down to the ground before he had even reached the willow. Huang Rong pointed south and cried, “She’s gone.” Guo Jing strained his eyes and saw Yinggu running for all she was worth among the jumbled rocks of the hillside. He said, “Her mind is in turmoil. If she wanders off alone, it’s not safe. We should follow.” Huang Rong said, “All right!” She gathered herself to run, but her legs gave way at once and she slumped to the ground, shaking her head.

Guo Jing knew that exhaustion from her injuries left her unable to run. “Sit and rest. I’ll go after her.” He set off at speed in the direction Yinggu had taken. He rounded a shoulder of rock and found three paths branching ahead. Yinggu was nowhere to be seen, and there was no telling which way she had gone. The jumbled boulders stretched in every direction, tall grass reaching to the chest, and no sign of any living soul. The sun was sinking and the light failing. Afraid for Huang Rong, he had no choice but to turn back.

The two spent the night hungry among the boulders. Next morning they woke and followed a path along the riverbank, hoping to find the little red horse¹¹ and then take the main road again. After half a day on the road they found a small eating-house and stopped for a meal. They bought three chickens, one for themselves and two for the eagles.

The two eagles perched in a tall tree and plucked the two roosters clean, feathers flying as they ate their fill. Suddenly the female eagle raised her head and let out a long, piercing cry. She dropped the half-eaten rooster, spread her wings and flew swiftly north. The male eagle followed at once, his cries sharp and urgent as he chased after her. Guo Jing said, “The eagles sound furious. I wonder what they’ve found.” Huang Rong said, “Let’s go and see.”

They ran out onto the main road. The two eagles circled twice in the distance, then stooped together in a sudden dive, rose again at once, wheeled in a few spirals and dived once more. Guo Jing said, “They’ve met an enemy.” The two quickened their pace. After two or three li they reached a market town, its houses packed close together in neat rows. The eagles were criss-crossing overhead, as if they had lost track of their quarry.

The two reached the edge of the town and whistled for the eagles to come down, but the birds paid no heed, only continued circling and searching. Guo Jing said, “I wonder who the eagles have such a grudge against.” After a good while the eagles descended one after the other. The male’s left foot was streaming with blood, a deep gash from a dao ran across it, and but for the hardness of its sinews the foot would have been severed clean. The female, they saw, was clutching something dark in her right claw. When they took it out, it proved to be a piece of human scalp with a great tuft of hair still on it, torn away by force, it seemed, and one edge was spotted with blood.

Huang Rong applied wound-salve to the male eagle’s wounded foot. Guo Jing turned the scalp over and over, examining it. “These two have been very gentle ever since they were small. They’d never harm anyone unless provoked. How did they come to fight?” Huang Rong said, “There must be something odd behind it. If we find the person missing this patch of scalp, we’ll understand.” They took a room at the town’s inn and split up to make enquiries. But the town was large and densely populated. They searched until nightfall without the slightest clue. Guo Jing said, “I’ve looked everywhere for someone missing a piece of scalp, and found no one.” Huang Rong smiled. “If the person has lost their scalp, they’ll have put a hat on to cover it, won’t they?” Guo Jing gave a loud “Oh!” as he suddenly understood. He remembered how many hat-wearers they had passed in the town, and realised there was no way to go pulling every hat off every head to check.

Next morning the eagles flew out and led the little red horse back to them. The two were anxious about Hong Qigong’s¹² injuries and mindful that the Mid-Autumn Festival was near, and the contest appointed for Misty Rain Pavilion.¹³ The eagles’ quarrel was no great matter, so they set off eastwards.

They rode together on the swift little red horse, the two eagles following through the sky. Along the way Huang Rong was all laughter and light talk, gayer even than usual. Though midnight came she would not sleep. Guo Jing, seeing her exhaustion, often urged her to rest, but she paid no heed. Sometimes deep into the night she would sit on the couch hugging her knees, finding trivial topics to talk about, chatting aimlessly with him.

That day they crossed from Jiangnan West Circuit into Liangzhe East Circuit,¹⁴ and after a full day’s hard riding they were close to the shores of the Eastern Sea. They took rooms at an inn. Huang Rong borrowed a basket from the innkeeper and meant to go into the town to buy food and cook.

Guo Jing tried to dissuade her. “You’ve been riding all day. Just eat what the inn serves.” Huang Rong said, “I’m cooking for you. Don’t you like my food?” Guo Jing said, “Of course I do. But I want you to rest. When you’ve recovered you can cook for me as much as you like.” Huang Rong said, “When I’ve recovered, cook for you as much as I like…” Her arm looped through the basket, her left foot over the threshold, and she stood frozen.

Guo Jing, not yet understanding what was in her mind, gently lifted the basket from her arm. “Yes, when we’ve found Shifu, we’ll all eat your cooking together.”

Huang Rong stood still a long while. Then she came back, lay down on the bed still fully dressed, and soon seemed to have fallen asleep. But there were tears on her face.

The innkeeper brought out their meal and Guo Jing called her to eat. Huang Rong sprang up, laughing. “Jing gege, we’re not eating that. Come with me.” Guo Jing followed her out of the inn and into the town.

Huang Rong chose a great house with white walls and a black gate. The front door stood wide open and guests were filing in. Drums and pipes were playing inside to welcome them. She circled round to the back wall and vaulted over into the courtyard. Guo Jing, not understanding, followed. Huang Rong made straight for the front hall, where candles and lamps blazed and the host was giving a banquet.

Huang Rong was delighted. “Wonderful! We’ve picked the right house.” She strode forward, all smiles, and shouted, “Get out of my way, the lot of you.” The three tables held over thirty guests and hosts. Every one of them turned in astonishment. Seeing a beautiful young girl, they exchanged bewildered glances. Huang Rong reached out, grabbed a portly guest, hooked her foot under his and sent him sprawling. “Still not moving?” she laughed. The guests rose in a confused rush. The host bellowed, “Someone, someone, come here!”

Footnotes

1. 裘千仞 — Qiú Qiānrèn. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 瑛姑 — Yīnggū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 内功 — nèigōng. Literally internal cultivation. The practice of developing neili through breathing and meditation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

5. 黄蓉 — Huáng Róng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

7. 一灯大师 — Yīdēng Dàshī. Literally Great Master One Lamp. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 蓉儿 — Róng’ér. Literally little Rong, 儿 being an affectionate diminutive. ↩

9. 郭大爷 — Guō Dàyé. Literally Elder Master Guo. A respectful address to a man of standing. ↩

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

11. 小红马 — xiǎo hóng mǎ. The red horse Guo Jing tames on the steppe, a sweat-blood steed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

13. 烟雨楼 — Yānyǔ Lóu. Misty Rain Pavilion, on South Lake in Jiaxing. ↩

14. 路 — lù. Circuit, an administrative division of the Song dynasty roughly equal to a province. ↩