The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 35 – Part 5

Huang Rong said, “There’s a long passage after that I’ve forgotten. I only remember that further on it says something like, ‘All the pores of the body are open and loose, and with the eye of the mind one sees the thirty-six things within the body, as though opening a granary and seeing the hemp and beans therein. The heart is filled with joy and wonder, still and at ease.’” Of the passages she recited, the first described the strange states and the second the wonders that come after practice, but she had left out, of all things, the method of practice in between.

Ouyang Feng said nothing. He thought, Clever as you are, how could you have forgotten? You must be keeping it back on purpose. But what do you mean by coming here to tell me all this?

Huang Rong went on, “My father sent me to ask Uncle Ouyang, would you rather have five thousand characters, or three thousand?”

Ouyang Feng said, “Explain, if you please.”

Huang Rong said, “If you go and help my father, and the two of you together wipe out the Quanzhen Order at one stroke, I’ll recite the whole five thousand characters of the Nine Yin divine skill for you.”

Ouyang Feng smiled. “And if I don’t?”

Huang Rong said, “Then my father asks you to avenge him, and once you have killed Zhou Botong and the Six Zis of Quanzhen, I’ll tell you three thousand characters.”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “My ties with your father have always been lukewarm at best. Why does he think so highly of the Old Venom all of a sudden?”

Huang Rong said, “My father says, first, the one who killed your nephew was a disciple of the Quanzhen Order’s own line, so he supposes you’ll want revenge…”

Yang Kang heard these words and could not help but shiver. He was Qiu Chuji’s disciple, and Huang Rong was plainly speaking of him. Silly Girl¹ was sitting beside him. She asked, “Good brother, are you cold?”

Yang Kang gave a mumbled reply.

Huang Rong continued, “Second, after he translated the scripture he had to fight the Quanzhen Daoists and had no time to explain it to me in detail. A marvellous book like this is not met with once in an age, and how could he let it be lost along with him? Nowadays you are the only one whose nature matches his, and whose powers and martial arts can stand level with his. You did him the honour, Uncle Ouyang, of coming to Peach Blossom Island in person to ask for my hand. Your nephew was unhappily killed by a disciple of the Quanzhen Order, but my father says he expects you still hold your nephew’s memory dear. So he wants you to master the divine skill first, and then pass it on to me.”

Ouyang Feng felt a pang of sorrow in his breast. He thought, That much may well be true. Without a master to guide her, the little girl could know the scripture by heart and it would do her no good. Then another thought struck him, and he said, “How do I know what you recite is true and not false?”

Huang Rong said, “That muddle-headed boy Guo Jing has already written the scripture out for you. If I tell you the key principles of the translation, you need only cross-check them and you will know at once whether it is true or false.”

Ouyang Feng said, “That sounds reasonable. Let me rest a little, and tomorrow I’ll hurry off to rescue your father.”

Huang Rong said urgently, “Sending help is like putting out a fire. How can it wait till tomorrow?”

Ouyang Feng smiled. “Then I will avenge your father instead. It amounts to the same thing.” His plan was settled. The scripture was already within his grasp. In time he could force Huang Rong to reveal the key principles and work out the meaning of the entire text for himself. And in the meantime, what could be better than to let Huang Yaoshi and the Quanzhen Order fight until both were maimed?

Ke Zhen’e, hidden behind the statue, listened as the two spoke back and forth, their conversation never straying from the Nine Yin Manual. He wondered about the seven characters Huang Rong had written on his palm, Tell my father who killed me, and could not guess what she meant by them.

He heard Huang Rong say again, “Then you’ll set off first thing tomorrow, will you?”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “Of course. You get some rest too!”

Ke Zhen’e heard Huang Rong drag a rush cushion across and sit down beside Silly Girl. She said, “Silly Girl, Grandpa brought you to Peach Blossom Island, didn’t he? Why are you here?”

Silly Girl said, “I don’t like being with Grandpa. I want to go back to my own home.”

Huang Rong said, “It was this good brother surnamed Yang who came to the island and took you away with him by boat, wasn’t it?”

Silly Girl said, “Yes. He was very good to me.”

A thought stirred in Ke Zhen’e’s mind, When did Yang Kang ever go to Peach Blossom Island?

He heard Huang Rong ask, “Where is Grandpa?”

Silly Girl said in alarm, “Don’t tell on me for running away. Grandpa will beat me.”

Huang Rong laughed. “I won’t tell. But you must answer all my questions properly.”

Silly Girl said, “You can’t tell Grandpa. He wants to catch me and take me back to learn characters.”

Huang Rong laughed. “I certainly won’t tell. You say Grandpa wanted you to learn characters?”

Silly Girl said, “Yes. That day Grandpa was in the study teaching me characters. He said my daddy’s surname was Qu-qu-er, and I was surnamed Qu-qu-er too. He wrote down the character for Qu-qu-er and told me to remember it. Then he said my daddy’s name was Qu-qu-er something-feng. I kept forgetting, so Grandpa got angry and called me very stupid. But my name’s Silly Girl anyway!”

Huang Rong laughed. “Of course Silly Girl is silly. If Grandpa scolded you, Grandpa was wrong. Silly Girl is good!” Silly Girl was greatly pleased.

Huang Rong said, “What happened next?”

Silly Girl said, “I said I wanted to go home, and Grandpa got even angrier. Suddenly a mute servant came in, pointing this way and that and going “Ee, ah”. Grandpa said, ‘I’m not receiving visitors. Tell them to go back!’ After a while, the mute brought a piece of paper. Grandpa looked at it and put it on the table. Then he told me to go out with the mute and receive the guests. Ha ha, that short fat man was so ugly. I goggled my eyes at him, and he goggled his at me.”

Ke Zhen’e recalled the day they had gone to Peach Blossom Island to seek an audience. The scene was exactly as Silly Girl described. At first Huang Yaoshi had refused to see the six of them. It was only after Zhu Cong delivered the letter they had prepared in advance that Silly Girl had come out to receive them. But Third Brother was no longer among the living, and his heart ached.

He heard Huang Rong ask again, “Did Grandpa see them?”

Silly Girl said, “Grandpa told me to take the mute servant and invite the guests to eat. Then he went away himself. I didn’t want to look at that short fat man, so I sneaked out. I saw Grandpa sitting behind a rock, peering out to sea. So I peered out to sea too. I saw a boat coming from far away. Grandpa said the people in it were all ox-nosed Daoists. Ha ha, ox-noses!”²

Ke Zhen’e thought, That day we learned the Quanzhen Order was marching on Peach Blossom Island in force to seek revenge. We raced ahead to warn Huang Yaoshi and asked him to lie low while the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan explained matters to the Quanzhen Order. But we never saw any of the Quanzhen zis arrive on the island. So how can Silly Girl say Daoists came by boat?

He heard Huang Rong ask, “And then what did Grandpa do?”

Silly Girl said, “Grandpa waved at me and called me over. It gave me a fright. He’d seen me sneaking out to play all along. I didn’t dare go near, afraid he’d hit me. He said he wouldn’t hit me, just come over. So I went. He said he was going to take a boat out to sea fishing. He told me to go tell those ox-nosed Daoists that Grandpa wasn’t home, that he’d gone out to sea, and they should go back because they didn’t know the way around the island. Those ox-nosed Daoists came ashore, and I went and told them, ‘Grandpa isn’t home. Grandpa doesn’t like seeing ox-nosed Daoists. Ha ha, ox-noses, have you really got ox noses? I think they look more like pig noses!’ They glared at me and ignored me, so I glared at their pig noses. Then they went back into their boat.”

Huang Rong said, “And then?”

Silly Girl said, “Then Grandpa went behind the big rock to take his boat out. I know why. Those ox-nosed Daoists are ugly, and Grandpa doesn’t like seeing them.”

Huang Rong praised her, “Yes, you’re absolutely right. When will Grandpa be back?”

Silly Girl said, “Back? He didn’t come back.”

Ke Zhen’e gave a start. He heard Huang Rong ask, “Do you remember it clearly? What happened then?” Even her voice was trembling slightly. Plainly her questions had come to the heart of the matter.

Silly Girl said, “Grandpa was just about to take the boat out when suddenly a pair of great birds came flying, those birds of yours. Grandpa waved at the birds and whistled, and they flew down. There was something tied to the birds’ legs, and that was such fun. I shouted, ‘Grandpa, give it to me, give it to me!’…” As she spoke, she actually began to shout.

Yang Kang snapped, “Stop that racket. Everyone wants to sleep.”

Huang Rong said, “Silly Girl, just keep going.”

Silly Girl said, “I’ll speak softly.” And she lowered her voice. “Grandpa ignored me. He tore a strip of cloth from his robe and tied it on the big bird’s leg, then let the bird fly away again.”

Huang Rong hummed. She murmured to herself, “Papa wanted to keep out of the way of the Quanzhen zis. No wonder he had no time to go and fetch the golden salamanders. But who shot the short arrow into the female eagle?” She asked aloud, “Who shot an arrow at the bird?”

Silly Girl said, “Shot an arrow? No.” She sat staring blankly.

Huang Rong said, “Very well. Go on.”

Silly Girl said, “Grandpa saw his robe was torn, so he took it off and told me to go back and fetch him another. By the time I brought it, Grandpa was gone, and the ox-nosed Daoists’ boat was gone too. Only that torn robe was lying on the ground.”

At this point Huang Rong asked no more questions. She seemed to be thinking deeply. After a long pause she said, “Where did they go?”

Silly Girl said, “I saw. I called for Grandpa but didn’t hear him answer. So I climbed to the top of a big tree and looked. I saw Grandpa’s little boat on one side, and the ox-nosed Daoists’ big boat on the other. Slowly they both sailed away out of sight. I didn’t want to go see that short fat man, so I stayed on the beach kicking stones until it got dark. Then I led this Grandpa and good brother back.”

Huang Rong asked, “This grandpa isn’t the grandpa who taught you characters, is he?”

Silly Girl giggled. “This Grandpa is better. He doesn’t make me learn characters, and he gives me cakes.”

Huang Rong said, “Uncle Ouyang, do you still have cakes? Give her a few more.”

Ouyang Feng gave a dry laugh. “Certainly!”

Ke Zhen’e’s heart all but leapt out of his chest. He thought, So Ouyang Feng was on Peach Blossom Island that day too.

Suddenly Silly Girl cried out “Ow”, and then came two smacks as blows were traded, and the sounds of leaping and landing. Huang Rong cried, “Are you trying to kill her to silence her?”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “This might be kept from others, but it can’t be kept from your father. Why would I kill this silly girl? If you have questions, ask them to your heart’s content.” Silly Girl whimpered and moaned but could speak no more. Ouyang Feng must have struck her somewhere.

Huang Rong said, “Even without asking, I’d guessed it long ago. I just wanted Silly Girl to say it aloud.”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “You really are a devilishly sharp little thing. But how could you guess? Tell me.”

Huang Rong said, “When I first saw the state of things on the island, I thought Papa had killed the Five Eccentrics of Jiangnan too. Then I thought of one thing, and I knew it could not possibly be. Think about it. How could my father let the bodies of three stinking men stay in my mother’s tomb to keep her company? And how could he come out of the tomb without closing its door?”

Ouyang Feng slapped his thigh and cried, “Ah, we really did slip up there. Kang-er, wasn’t that so?”

As he listened, Ke Zhen’e felt as if his heart and gall would burst. Only now did he realise that Huang Rong had long since seen that the murderers were Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang. She had come out so suddenly to lay down her own life to expose the truth and clear her father’s name. She knew full well that going out meant almost certain death, and that was why she wanted Ke Zhen’e to tell her father who had killed her.

He was filled with grief and remorse, and thought, Good girl. You need only have told me who the killers were. Why throw away your life for nothing?

Then he thought again, What a violent temper I have, I, the Flying Bat. Like a blind fool, I forced the guilt onto her and her father. Even if she had told me plainly, would I have believed her? Ke Zhen’e, oh, Ke Zhen’e, you thieving scoundrel who deserves a thousand cuts, you stinking blind man, it was you who drove this good girl to her death!

He was deep in self-recrimination, about to strike himself hard across the face, when he heard Ouyang Feng say, “And how did you come to think of me?”

Huang Rong said, “Thinking of you wasn’t hard. Few men alive have the power to kill the yellow horse with a palm and snap the steelyard beam by hand. But at first I thought it might be someone else. When Jing gege asked Nan Xiren who had harmed him, Nan Xiren could no longer speak. At the moment of death he used his finger to trace characters on the ground, trying to write out the name of his killer. But he died before he could finish.”

Ouyang Feng chuckled. “Nan Xiren was a stout fellow. He held on long enough to see you. Nan Xiren had hidden himself first. When we counted heads there was one short, and left alive he would always be a danger. We searched for days without finding him. Luckily Kang-er had a master map of Peach Blossom Island, with every strange little path and hidden device marked on it. We followed the map and searched for several days before we found him.”

Huang Rong thought to herself, How could Yang Kang have the master map of my island? Ah, of course. When Ouyang Ke came to ask for my hand, Papa lent him the master map, and Yang Kang killed Ouyang Ke at Niu Family Village, so naturally he found the map on his body. Then it’s no wonder at all that they could open my mother’s tomb.

She said aloud, “From the state Nan Xiren was in when he died, I could tell he had been struck by some strange poison. I even suspected Qiu Qianren. The old man trains a poison palm, so at the time my suspicions fell on him.”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “Qiu Qianren’s martial arts are formidable, but his power lies in the palm’s force, not in poison. His palms carry no poison. Tempering the hands in poisons is merely a way of training palm force. Force the poison back out, and the palm grows stronger of itself. When Nan Xiren died, he cried out but could not speak, and yet his face wore a smile. Is that right?”

Huang Rong said, “Yes. What poison was it?”

Ouyang Feng did not answer. Instead he asked, “His body writhed and he rolled about on the ground, and his strength was out of all proportion. Is that right?”

Huang Rong said, “Yes. A poison as deadly as that, I thought, no one in the world could have but Iron Palm Qiu.”

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Footnotes

1. 傻姑 — Shǎgū. Literally silly girl. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 牛鼻子 — niúbízi. Literally ox nose. A derogatory name for Daoist priests, after the topknot they wear. ↩