The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 39 – Part 3

Liang Ziweng¹ grew bolder. He came out from behind the tree, edged a few steps closer and called softly, “Guo Jing, what are you doing here?”

Guo Jing replied, “I’m wondering, is it right for me to use martial arts to harm people?”

Liang Ziweng was taken aback, then overjoyed, thinking, The boy really is an utter fool. He came a few steps nearer and said, “Harming people is a great wickedness. Of course it isn’t right.”

Guo Jing said, “You think so too? I truly wish I could forget all the martial arts I have learned.”

Seeing him staring at the horizon, lost in thought, Liang Ziweng strolled round behind him and said gently, “I’m doing my best to forget my own martial arts too. Shall I lend you a hand?”

Guo Jing said, “Gladly. What should I do?”

Liang Ziweng said, “Mm, I know just the trick.” His hands shot out, and with the Great Seizing Hand² he clamped down on two major acupoints,³ Heavenly Pillar at the nape of Guo Jing’s neck and Spirit Hall in the middle of his back.⁴

Before Guo Jing could gather his wits, a numb weakness spread through his whole body and he could not move. Liang Ziweng gave an evil grin. “Once I’ve sucked you dry of blood, you won’t know any martial arts at all.” He opened his mouth and fastened his teeth in Guo Jing’s throat, sucking hard. The python he had reared with such pains, he thought, had had its treasured blood drunk by this boy, and that was why the boy’s martial arts grew stronger by the day while his own made no headway at all. Nothing short of drinking the boy’s blood would make up for it. It was long ago now, and the treasured blood might well have lost its virtue, but that was no matter.

This sudden turn caught Guo Jing off guard. He felt searing pain in his neck, stars dancing before his eyes. He summoned his strength to struggle free, but with those two major acupoints held fast in his enemy’s grip, he could not muster even a shred of it. He saw Liang Ziweng’s eyes laced with red veins, his face savage beyond measure, his teeth biting deeper and deeper into his neck. Once his windpipe was bitten through, what hope of life would he have?

In this extremity he had no time left to wonder whether fighting was right or wrong. At once he brought into play the skills of the Tendon-Transmuting Bone-Tempering Chapter,⁵ and a surge of zhenqi⁶ shot up from his dantian⁷ and slammed into the Heavenly Pillar and Spirit Hall acupoints.

Liang Ziweng’s grip was fierce, but he never expected a force to blaze outward from inside those very acupoints. The tiger’s mouths⁸ of both his hands were jarred violently, and his grip slipped in spite of himself. Guo Jing dropped his head and hunched his shoulders, putting force into his waist and flanks. A man’s waist strength exceeds even that of his arms and legs. Liang Ziweng could not keep his feet and was flung clean over Guo Jing’s back. With a terrible scream he plunged into the valley a hundred thousand feet below. The scream rang through the gorge, the echoes multiplying and tangling as they spread, until Guo Jing’s hair stood on end to hear it.

It was a long while before his terror subsided. Only then, as he felt the wound in his neck, did it come to him that once again, without meaning to, he had killed a man with his martial arts. But he thought, If I had not killed him, he would certainly have killed me. If it is wrong for me to kill him, then is it right for him to kill me? He leaned out and peered down. The valley was too deep for him to see the bottom, and where the Ginseng Old Eccentric⁹ lay buried there was no telling.

Guo Jing sat on a rock and tore a strip from his robe to bandage the wound on his neck. All at once he heard a clack, clack, clack, coming in fits and starts, and a strange creature came round from behind the hill. It gave him a fright, but when he looked closer he saw that it was a man. Only this man was walking upside down, head below and feet in the air, a round stone in each hand, his hands doing the work of feet. The clacking was the sound of the stones striking the mountain path. Utterly astonished, Guo Jing squatted down to look at the man’s face, and his amazement grew greater still. The strange man was none other than the Western Venom,¹⁰ Ouyang Feng.

Guo Jing had only just been attacked, and seeing Ouyang Feng play such uncanny tricks, he was sure there was some ruse afoot. He backed away two steps and stood on his guard. Ouyang Feng bent his arms, then straightened them, leaping onto a rock. With his head on the ground and his arms pressed tight against his sides, he stood perfectly upside down, rigid as a corpse.

Guo Jing’s curiosity was aroused. He called out, “Mister Ouyang, what are you doing?” Ouyang Feng did not answer, as if he had not heard the question at all. Guo Jing stepped back several paces, keeping his distance. He raised his left palm to guard himself in case the man suddenly tried some strange move, and only then did he look closely to see what was happening.

After about as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea,¹¹ Ouyang Feng was still standing on his head without moving. Guo Jing wished to know the reason, but since the man’s body was completely inverted, it was not easy to read his expression. Guo Jing spread his feet apart, bent forward, and looked upside down through his own legs. He saw that Ouyang Feng was drenched in sweat, his face twisted in extreme agony, as if he were practising some bizarre form of neigong.¹² Suddenly he flung his arms out level, and his body began to spin like a great top, turning faster and faster until his sleeves raised a wind that whooshed about him.

Guo Jing thought, So he is training after all. A martial art practised upside down, that’s strange indeed. But he knew that one who trained in neigong of so high an order was most open to harm from outside. At such times all one’s energy is drawn inward, leaving no defence whatever against an attack. Unless a shifu or friend of great skill stood by to keep watch, one had to hide away somewhere quiet so that nothing untoward could happen. Yet here was Ouyang Feng training alone, apparently with no one to guard him, which went against all reason.

This was the time of the second Huashan Sword Summit.¹³ Masters had gathered from every quarter, and every one of them was deeply wary of him. Even well guarded, he might still fall to some treacherous attack, so how did he dare to train alone in a place like this? At such a moment, never mind a master’s attack, a single punch or kick from any ordinary sturdy fellow would do him serious harm. Ouyang Feng was like meat on the chopping block, waiting to be carved, and he was the great enemy who had killed Guo Jing’s shifu¹⁴ and Rong-er.¹⁵ If he did not take his revenge now, when would he?

But Guo Jing had only just killed Liang Ziweng and was full of remorse. He took two steps forward and stopped, and could not, after all, bring himself to kill.

Ouyang Feng spun for a while, gradually slowing, until at last he was still. He remained rigid and inverted for a moment, then rolled halfway over and straightened up. His eyes stared straight ahead as he walked back the way he had come. Guo Jing’s curiosity was roused and he followed quietly.

Ouyang Feng climbed on up the peaks, higher and higher. Guo Jing followed him all the way until they came to a peak lush and green and lovely. He saw Ouyang Feng stop before a cave and stand motionless.

Guo Jing hid behind a great rock. Suddenly he heard Ouyang Feng shout fiercely, “Ha hu wen bo ying, xing er ji jin, si gu er. You’ve explained it wrongly, so I can’t get the practice right.”

Guo Jing was greatly puzzled. He recognised those words as the Sanskrit¹⁶ from the General Principles of the Nine Yin Manual.¹⁷ That day on the ship, when he had been forced to write out the manual from memory, Hong shifu had told him not to alter the strange words and outlandish phrases, so these had been left as they were, and now Ouyang Feng had recited them word-perfect. But who was he speaking to?

From within the cave came a woman’s voice, clear and crisp. “Your skill isn’t far enough along yet, so of course it won’t work. I didn’t explain it wrongly!”

At the sound of that voice Guo Jing all but cried out. Whose could it be, if not Huang Rong’s, the girl he had mourned and longed for day and night? Could it be that she had not perished in the great desert after all? Was this a dream, a vision? Or was his mind so disordered that he had misheard?

Ouyang Feng said, “I have practised exactly as you said, without the slightest error. Why can my Ren Mai and Yang Wei Mai not be reversed?”¹⁸

The woman replied, “If your practice hasn’t come to the right heat yet, forcing it does no good.”

The voice was Huang Rong’s, plain as day, beyond any shadow of doubt. Overcome with shock and joy, Guo Jing swayed on his feet and nearly fainted. In his excitement the wound in his neck burst open. Blood seeped endlessly through the bandage, but he felt nothing.

Ouyang Feng said angrily, “Tomorrow at noon is the Sword Summit. How can I wait to practise slowly? Translate the whole text for me, quickly, and no more of your excuses.”

Only then did Guo Jing understand why he had run so terrible a risk to train his neigong. The Sword Summit was upon him and could not be put off.

Huang Rong laughed. “You made a pact with my Jing gege.¹⁹ He spared your life three times, so you can’t force me. You’ll have to wait until I feel like teaching you.”

When Guo Jing heard her say “my Jing gege”, his heart swelled with a sweetness beyond description. He longed to leap up and shout with all his might, to release the wild joy in his breast.

Ouyang Feng said coldly, “Time is pressing. Pact or no pact, today I shall have to bend the rules.” He cast aside the round stones in his hands and strode into the cave.

Huang Rong cried, “You’ve no shame. I won’t teach you, so there!”

Ouyang Feng gave a string of eerie laughs and said softly, “We’ll see whether you teach me or not.”

Then came a startled “Aiyo” from Huang Rong, and a ripping sound like cloth tearing. Guo Jing gave no further thought to whether he ought to fight. “Rong-er, I’m here!” he shouted, and with his left palm raised to guard himself he charged into the cave.

Ouyang Feng’s left hand had seized Huang Rong’s bamboo staff. His right hand was about to reach out and grasp her left arm. Huang Rong employed the technique Staff Teases the Mangy Dog,²⁰ thrusting forward at an angle, and suddenly wrenched the bamboo staff from his palm.

Ouyang Feng gave a shout of approval and was about to follow with an attack when he heard Guo Jing calling from outside the cave. He was a grandmaster of the martial arts, one who never went back on his word. Only this once, pressed by circumstances, had he been forced to use violence against Huang Rong. Now, hearing Guo Jing arrive, he flushed to the ears, sure that Guo Jing would demand to know why he had broken faith and gone back on their pact. He swept up a sleeve to hide his face and flashed past Guo Jing without so much as looking at him, darted out of the cave and was gone in an instant.

Guo Jing ran over and seized Huang Rong’s hands, crying, “Rong-er, I’ve missed you so much!” His heart was so stirred that his whole body trembled.

Huang Rong shook off his hands and said coldly, “Who are you? What do you mean by grabbing me?”

Guo Jing started. “I… it’s me, Guo Jing. You… you’re not dead, I… I…”

Huang Rong said, “I don’t know you!” She walked straight out of the cave.

Guo Jing hurried after her, bowing over and over with his hands clasped,²¹ and pleaded, “Rong-er, Rong-er, listen to me!”

Huang Rong snorted. “Is Rong-er a name for you to use? What are you to me?”

Guo Jing’s mouth fell open. For a moment he could find no words.

Huang Rong flicked a glance at him and saw how gaunt and haggard he was, not at all as he used to be, and for a moment her heart softened. Then she remembered how he had abandoned her time and again. She spat bitterly and walked on.

Guo Jing was desperate. He caught hold of her sleeve and said in a trembling voice, “Just let me say one thing to you.”

Huang Rong said, “Say it, then!”

Guo Jing said, “In the quicksand I saw your golden ring and sable coat. I thought you…”

Huang Rong said, “You wanted me to listen to one thing. I’ve listened!” She wrenched back her sleeve and turned to leave.

Guo Jing was mortified and frantic. She had cut him off so utterly that he feared he would never see her again. But he truly did not know what words could show his heart. Watching her sleeves flutter as she walked up the mountain, he could only follow silently behind.

For her part, Huang Rong was in turmoil at meeting Guo Jing so suddenly. She thought back to how she had cast off her golden ring and sable coat to draw Ouyang Feng off her trail in the quicksand, in mortal peril at every turn, and to her journey east from the Western Regions, alone and forlorn, wishing only to return to Peach Blossom Island²² and reunite with her father. Yet in Shandong she had fallen gravely ill. With no one to tend her in her sickness, her suffering had been redoubled. Lying ill, she had thought of Guo Jing’s faithlessness and felt her parents should never have brought her into this world to endure such pain. When she was well again, Ouyang Feng had caught up with her in southern Shandong and forced her to come with him to Mount Hua to translate and explain the manual. Looking back, she found nothing but bitterness, and all the while she could hear Guo Jing’s footsteps, step after step, close behind her.

When she walked fast, Guo Jing walked fast. When she walked slowly, Guo Jing walked slowly. After a while, she turned suddenly and shouted, “Why are you following me?”

Guo Jing said, “I will always follow you. I will never leave you, not for my whole life.”

Huang Rong gave a cold laugh. “You’re the Great Khan’s prince consort.²³ What do you want with a poor wretch of a girl like me?”

Guo Jing said, “The Great Khan caused my mother’s death. How could I go on being his prince consort?”

Huang Rong flew into a rage. Her pretty face flushed crimson. “Oh, very well. And I thought you really did still remember me a little. It turns out the Great Khan threw you out, and since you can’t be his prince consort any more, you’ve come back looking for this poor girl. Am I such a lowly creature that you can take me when you want me and toss me aside when you don’t?” At this she was so angry that she burst into tears.

Seeing her tears, Guo Jing was even more at a loss. He wanted to say something in his own defence, or some word of comfort, but did not know how to begin. He stood there dumbly for a long while before he said, “Rong-er, here I am. Beat me or kill me, just as you please.”

Huang Rong said sadly, “Why should I beat you or kill you? Let’s just say we met for nothing. Please, I’m begging you, stop following me.”

Guo Jing saw that she would not forgive him. The blood drained from his face. “What must I do,” he cried, “to make you believe how I feel about you?”

Huang Rong said, “Today you’re sweet to me, and tomorrow, the moment some Huazheng meizi²⁴ or Huazheng jiejie²⁵ turns up, you’ll forget me all over again. Only if you die here and now will I believe you.”

Footnotes

1. 梁子翁 — Liáng Zǐwēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 大擒拿手 — dà qín ná shǒu. Literally great seizing hand. A method of seizing and locking the joints and acupoints. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

4. 天柱、神堂 — Tiānzhù, Shéntáng. Literally heavenly pillar and spirit hall. Two acupoints, at the nape of the neck and on the upper back. ↩

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

6. 真气 — zhēnqì. Literally true qi. Qi refined through internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 丹田 — dāntián. Literally cinnabar field. The primary energy centre below the navel in internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 虎口 — hǔkǒu. Literally tiger’s mouth. The web of skin between thumb and forefinger. ↩

9. 参仙老怪 — shēnxiān lǎoguài. Literally ginseng immortal old eccentric. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 欧阳锋 — Ōuyáng Fēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 一盏茶时分 — yī zhǎn chá shífēn. Literally the time of a cup of tea. A rough measure of time, about ten to fifteen minutes. ↩

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

13. 华山论剑 — Huàshān Lùnjiàn. Literally sword discussion at Huashan. Use of discussion is key as the participants were engaged in a martial arts exchange and a philosophical debate on mastery, rather than just a physical contest. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

15. 黄蓉 — Huáng Róng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 梵语 — Fànyǔ. Sanskrit, the classical language of ancient India in which many Buddhist texts were first written. ↩

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

18. 任脉、阳维脉 — Rèn Mài, Yángwéi Mài. The Conception Vessel and the Yang Linking Vessel, two of the eight extraordinary meridians. ↩

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

20. 棒挑癞犬 — bàng tiǎo lài quǎn. Literally staff flicks the mangy dog. A move of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 作揖 — zuò yī. A traditional greeting, bowing forward with the hands folded before the chest. ↩

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

23. 驸马 — fùmǎ. Prince consort, the husband of a princess or of a khan’s daughter. ↩

24. 妹子 — mèizi. The colloquial form of 妹妹, little sister; after a name it marks affection, not kinship. ↩

25. 华筝 — Huázhēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩