The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 37 – Part 1

Descending from the sky

One day Guo Jing’s army was encamped on the banks of the Nami River.¹ Evening had fallen and he was studying military texts in his tent when a soft click sounded outside. The tent flap lifted and a figure slipped in. The sentries stationed at the entrance rushed forward with a shout, but the intruder waved an arm and sent them sprawling to the ground, one after another. The man raised his head and grinned. In the candlelight Guo Jing saw clearly that it was Ouyang Feng the Western Venom.²

Guo Jing was ten thousand li³ from the Central Plains. He had never expected to meet the man here, in this remote foreign wilderness, and astonishment and joy rushed in on him together. He leapt to his feet and cried, “Where is Miss Huang?”⁴

Ouyang Feng said, “I am the one who should be asking you that. Where is that little wench? Hand her over at once!”

Hearing those words, Guo Jing was so overjoyed he could not help breaking into a broad smile. He thought, Then Rong-er is still alive, and she has escaped his clutches.⁵

Ouyang Feng repeated in a harsh voice, “Where is the girl?”

Guo Jing said, “She went off with you in Jiangnan. What happened after that? Is she… is she well? You didn’t kill her, and for that I truly must thank you! I… I really must thank you.” He bowed low in gratitude as he spoke, and could not hold back tears of joy.

Ouyang Feng knew the young man was incapable of lying. Yet every sign said Huang Rong must be in Guo Jing’s camp. How could he know nothing of her? Ouyang Feng could make no sense of it. He sat down cross-legged on the felt spread across the floor. Guo Jing wiped his eyes, released the sentries’ acupoints,⁶ and ordered mare’s milk wine and curd tea brought in.

Ouyang Feng drank a bowl of the horse-milk wine⁷ and said, “Foolish boy, I may as well speak plainly. That girl was indeed caught by me at the Iron Spear Temple in Jiaxing,⁸ but within a few days she had slipped away.”

Guo Jing cried out in delight, “How did she escape?”

Ouyang Feng said through gritted teeth, “At Returning Clouds Manor by Lake Tai… pah, why speak of it? She escaped, that is all.”⁹

Guo Jing knew the man’s pride. A defeat like this was not one he would ever willingly recount, so he did not press the matter. Knowing that Huang Rong was safe filled him with such joy that he kept crying, “Wonderful! Wonderful! I truly owe you my thanks!” Between him and Ouyang Feng lay the blood debt of his murdered shifus,¹⁰ which could never be forgiven, yet the man had not harmed Huang Rong, and for that Guo Jing could not help feeling grateful.

Ouyang Feng said, “What is there to thank me for? After she escaped, I pursued her without rest. More than once I nearly had her, but each time the slippery little creature wriggled free. My pursuit was so fierce, though, that she never managed to flee back to Peach Blossom Island.¹¹ The two of us, one chasing and one fleeing, came all the way to the borders of Mongolia, and there her trail suddenly vanished. I reasoned she must have come to your army, so I doubled back and waited by the stump for the rabbit.”¹²

Guo Jing, hearing that Huang Rong had reached Mongolia, was both startled and elated. “Have you seen her?” he asked at once.

Ouyang Feng snapped, “If I had seen her, would I not have carried her off already? Day and night I have been lurking in your army, and never once has the wench shown her face. Foolish boy, what game are you playing?”

Guo Jing stared at him. After a long moment he said, “You have been lurking in my army day and night? I never suspected it in the slightest.”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “I am one of the Western Regions soldiers in your own guard. You are the commander-in-chief. How would you ever recognise me?” The Mongol army contained many captured enemy soldiers, and Ouyang Feng was a man of the Western Regions who spoke the Semu tongue,¹³ so slipping into the ranks had not been difficult.

Guo Jing was appalled. He thought, If he had wished to harm me, my life would have been forfeit long ago. He murmured, “What makes you say Rong-er is in my army?”

Ouyang Feng said, “You captured the Great Khan’s two sons,¹⁴ stormed cities and shattered armies. Without that girl guiding you from behind the scenes, could a foolish boy like you have managed any of it? Yet she never once showed herself, which is truly peculiar. Now the burden falls on you to hand her over.”

Guo Jing smiled. “If Rong-er would only show herself, I could ask for nothing more. But think about it. Could I ever hand her over to you?”

Ouyang Feng said, “You refuse to hand her over? I have my own way of dealing with that. You may hold the military tally and command a great army, but in my eyes, heh heh, inside this tent and out is as good as empty ground. I come when I wish, I go when I wish. Who can stop me?”

Guo Jing nodded and said nothing.

Ouyang Feng went on, “Foolish boy, suppose we make a bargain. What do you say?”

“What sort of bargain?”

“Tell me where she is hiding, and I give you my word I will not harm a single hair on her head. If you refuse, I shall find her sooner or later, and then, hmph, things will not go so sweetly.”

Guo Jing knew all too well what the man could do. So long as Huang Rong was not concealed on Peach Blossom Island, Ouyang Feng would find her sooner or later. The threat was no idle boast. He considered for a moment, then said, “Very well. I will make a bargain with you, but not the one you propose.”

“What terms, then?”

Guo Jing said, “Mister Ouyang, your martial arts are far beyond mine at present, but I am younger than you. One day you will grow old and your strength will fail, and then you will not be able to beat me.” In the past Guo Jing had called him “House Uncle Ouyang”,¹⁵ but the man had killed five of his beloved shifus, and the hatred between them ran deep as the sea. The words “House Uncle” would never pass his lips again.

Ouyang Feng had never once given a thought to growing old and weak. Now that the boy had raised it, a chill went through him, and he thought, There is nothing foolish about what this foolish boy just said. Aloud he said, “And then what?”

“You murdered my shifus, and that debt must be repaid. Even if you go to the ends of the earth, one day I will find you.”

Ouyang Feng threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Then before I grow old and weak, I will kill you today!” The words were barely out of his mouth when his legs sprang apart and he launched himself into a crouch, both palms cleaving towards Guo Jing with the force of an overturning mountain.

By now Guo Jing had completed the Tendon-Transmuting Bone-Tempering Chapter¹⁶ of the Nine Yin Manual,¹⁷ and since Great Master Yideng had translated the manual’s general outline and taught it to him, and he knew the text by heart, he had practised a good many of its other techniques besides. His neili¹⁸ was now purer and deeper than ever. He shifted his body slightly to evade the palm-stroke, and countered with the move Seeing the Dragon in the Fields.¹⁹

Ouyang Feng met the counter with a returning palm. He knew the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing well,²⁰ and knew Guo Jing had received Hong Qigong’s true transmission. The palm-power was formidable, but surely a full grade below his own. To his astonishment, when the two forces collided hard, his own body trembled. He had been careless and had very nearly lost the exchange. A shock ran through him, and he thought, This boy may catch up with me before I ever grow old and weak. At once he struck out with his left palm.

Guo Jing again sidestepped and returned a palm of his own. This time Ouyang Feng did not meet it head-on. He hooked his wrist back, deflecting the incoming force. Guo Jing did not understand the secret of how that palm-force was used, and took it for no more than a parry. But Ouyang Feng had woven attack into defence, and the hooking motion stored a returning force within it. Guo Jing felt a great surge of power rushing at him. There was no time to dodge, and he was forced to raise his right palm to resist.

In neili Guo Jing was still a shade inferior. The situation had become like their palm-contest in the Water Curtain Cave at Lin’an’s imperial palace, and though Guo Jing could now hold out longer, over time the outcome would be the same: death or injury. Ouyang Feng had copied the old trick and lured him into the same trap. He was inwardly delighted when suddenly he felt Guo Jing’s right palm draw back a little, as though it were about to give way. He pressed harder at once, only to find the palm sliding away, evading his force entirely. With a fierce roar Ouyang Feng drove his palm-power forward in a rush, thinking, This is your day of death.

The tips of his fingers were about to rake across Guo Jing’s chest. Guo Jing swung his left palm across to block at his breast, and at the same time thrust out his right forefinger, stabbing hard at Ouyang Feng’s temple. This was the One Yang Finger²¹ he had seen Great Master Yideng use, though the master had never taught it to him. Guo Jing had only seen its form that day, and knew nothing of its inner workings. Now, driven by desperation, he employed the art of Ambidextrous Self-Combat²² to reproduce it.

The One Yang Finger was the natural nemesis of the Toad Skill.²³ When Ouyang Feng saw it coming, how could he not be alarmed? He leapt backwards at once, bellowing, “So that old fool Duan Zhixing has joined in against me too?”

In truth the finger-technique Guo Jing was using was not the genuine One Yang Finger, still less did it carry the Innate Skill.²⁴ How could it possibly break the Toad Skill? But Ouyang Feng, startled, did not stop to examine it. Only after leaping clear did he reflect that the One Yang Finger had endless follow-up moves. How could the boy thrust once and simply pull back? He could not have learned it all. His palms rose and fell, one releasing, one gathering, and he struck without warning.

The attack came so fast that Guo Jing had not even finished a single thought before he was hurling himself into the air. With a tremendous crash, a low table in the tent burst into pieces under the Western Venom’s twin palms.

Ouyang Feng had regained the upper hand and was following with a second strike when he heard a rush of wind behind him. Someone was attacking from the rear. Without turning, he kicked backwards with his left leg. The person behind him kicked in turn. Their feet met, and the man went tumbling away. Yet his leg bones had not snapped, which Ouyang Feng had never expected. He turned to look, and saw three bearded beggars standing at the tent entrance. They were the Beggars’ Guild’s three Elders, Lu Youjiao,²⁵ Jian and Liang.²⁶

Lu Youjiao sprang up and linked arms with Jian and Liang. This was a Beggars’ Guild technique for massed defence, using the combined strength of the weak against the strong. At the Junshan Assembly, when the Guild had been choosing a new Guild Chief,²⁷ this same formation of interlocked arms had made a human wall that left Guo Jing and Huang Rong powerless to break through.

Ouyang Feng had never fought these three before, but the single kick he had exchanged with Lu Youjiao told him the man’s neili was far from weak, and the other two beggars were likely of similar calibre. One-on-one against Guo Jing he was certain of victory, but with a pack of stinking beggars thrown in, he would come off the worse. He laughed aloud and said, “Foolish boy, your martial arts have improved considerably!” He drew his legs up and sat cross-legged on the felt, paying Lu Youjiao and the others no attention whatsoever, and said, “You wanted to make a bargain with me. Let us hear it.”

Guo Jing said, “You want Miss Huang to expound the Nine Yin Manual for you. Whether she is willing or not is for her to decide, but you may not harm a single hair on her head.”

Ouyang Feng laughed. “If she is willing, I would not have the heart to harm her. Is Old Heretic Huang a man to be trifled with? A sharp-tongued little girl for company, someone to chat with. What could be better? But if she stubbornly refuses, surely I may apply a little pressure?”

Guo Jing shook his head. “You may not.”

“In exchange for my agreement, what do you offer?”

Guo Jing said, “From this day forward, whenever you fall into my hands, I will spare your life three times.”

Ouyang Feng rose to his feet and laughed long and loud. The laughter was shrill and strange, and it carried far into the distance. The horses on the grassland heard it and began to neigh, and kept it up for a long while.

Guo Jing stared at him and said in a low voice, “There is nothing to laugh about. You know as well as I do that one day you will fall into my hands.”

Ouyang Feng was laughing, but in truth he was genuinely wary. The boy had learned the secrets of the Nine Yin Manual, and his martial arts were advancing at a startling pace. He was not to be taken lightly. Still laughing, he had already made his decision. “I, Ouyang Feng, need a stinking brat like you to spare my life? Very well. We shall see.”

Guo Jing held out his palm and said, “A true man’s word, once given,”

Ouyang Feng laughed, “is a whip to a swift horse.” He tapped Guo Jing’s palm lightly. Then he turned his own palm over, and Guo Jing struck it with a light tap in turn. Ouyang Feng reversed his palm and tapped again. This triple striking of palms was how the people of Song sealed an oath. Whoever broke such a vow would be despised by all for the rest of his life.²⁸

Footnotes

1. 那密河 — Nàmì Hé. A river in the Western Regions. ↩

2. 西毒 — Xī Dú. Literally western venom. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

4. 黄姑娘 — Huáng Gūniang. Literally Miss Huang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

6. 穴道 — xuédào. Acupoints, the nodes along the body’s meridians through which qi flows. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 马乳酒 — mǎrǔjiǔ. Literally mare’s-milk wine. Fermented mare’s milk, the kumis or airag of the steppe peoples. ↩

8. 铁枪庙 — Tiěqiāng Miào. A temple to Wang Yanzhang, the Iron Spear general of the Five Dynasties, its tower home to crows. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 归云庄 — Guīyún Zhuāng. Literally returning clouds manor. The Lu family manor on Lake Tai. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 师父 — shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 桃花岛 — Táohuā Dǎo. Huang Yaoshi’s island in the East China Sea. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 守株待兔 — shǒuzhūdàitù. Literally to guard the stump and wait for the rabbit. From a tale in the Han Feizi of a farmer who, after a hare broke its neck against a tree stump, left his plough to wait for another. ↩

13. 色目人 — Sèmù Rén. Literally people of assorted kinds. The Mongol-era term for the peoples of Central and Western Asia, among them Uyghurs, Tanguts and Persians. ↩

14. 大汗 — dàhán. Literally great khan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 世伯 — shìbó. Literally generation uncle. A courtesy address for a man of one’s father’s generation from a family on close terms with one’s own. ↩

16. 易筋锻骨章 — Yìjīn Duàngǔ Zhāng. Internal cultivation method from the Nine Yin Manual. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

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

19. 见龙在田 — Xiàn Lóng Zài Tián. Literally the dragon appears in the field. A move of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, named from a line of the Book of Changes. ↩

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

21. 一阳指 — Yīyáng Zhǐ. The finger art of the Duan family of Dali. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 双手互搏 — Shuāngshǒu Hùbó. Fighting technique where both hands operate independently, allowing each hand to perform different techniques simultaneously. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

24. 先天功 — Xiāntiān Gōng. Literally skill of the primordial. A neigong method. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 鲁有脚 — Lǔ Yǒujiǎo. His name meaning “has feet”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

26. 三长老 — sān zhǎnglǎo. Literally three elders. Elder is a senior rank of the Beggars’ Guild, below the Guild Chief. ↩

27. 帮主 — bāngzhǔ. Literally guild master. The head of a guild. ↩

28. 宋人立誓 — Sòng rén lìshì. Literally the oath of the people of Song. In Song custom, an oath sealed by three exchanged palm strikes was among the most binding. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩