The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 4 – Part 2

The white rabbit ran for a while before it finally stumbled and fell. The two boys cheered in unison and were about to rush forward to claim their prize when seven or eight children suddenly darted out from a nearby copse. One lad of eleven or twelve, quick-eyed and nimble-fingered, snatched up the rabbit, plucked out the little arrow, flung it to the ground, glared at Tolui and Guo Jing, then lifted the rabbit and walked off.

Tolui shouted, “Hey, I shot that rabbit. What are you taking it for?”

The boy turned and laughed. “Who says you shot it?”

“Isn’t that my arrow?”

The boy’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes bulged. “I raised that rabbit. I ought to make you pay me for it!”

“You’re lying,” said Tolui. “That was clearly a wild rabbit.”

The boy grew fiercer still. He shoved Tolui on the shoulder. “Who are you calling a liar? My grandfather is Wang Khan and my father is Senggum. Do you know that? Even if you did shoot the rabbit, what if I take it?”

Tolui said proudly, “My father is Temüjin.”

The boy said, “Pah, so what if your father is Temüjin? Your father is a coward. He’s afraid of my grandfather and afraid of my father too.”

This boy was Tusakha,¹ the only son of Senggum.² Senggum had had a daughter, and many years passed before this boy was born. There were no other children. Tusakha was doted upon accordingly and had been spoilt into the most arrogant of tempers. Temüjin had long been separated from Wang Khan and Senggum, and though their sons had met as small children, they did not recognise each other now.

Tolui, enraged at the insult to his father, straightened himself and said, “Who says that? My father isn’t afraid of anyone!”

Tusakha replied, “Your mother was carried off by other men, and it was my father and grandfather who went and got her back for your father. Do you think I don’t know that? What’s so important about me taking this little rabbit of yours?”

Wang Khan had once helped his sworn son with this business, and Senggum, jealous of Temüjin’s martial fame, had often spread the story about, so that even his young son had heard the story many times.

Tolui was young, for one thing. For another, Temüjin regarded the affair as a bitter disgrace and would never have spoken of it to his son. Now, hearing it, Tolui went white with rage. “You’re lying! I’m going to tell Father.” He turned and started to walk away.

Tusakha laughed loudly. “Your father’s afraid of my father. What good will telling do? Last night my father set loose two spotted leopards, and your father’s Four Heroes were so frightened they didn’t dare move.”

Boroqul³ of the Four Heroes was Tolui’s shifu. Tolui grew angrier still and stammered, “My shifu isn’t even afraid of tigers. What’s there to fear from some leopards? He’s a great general. He won’t stoop to fighting wild beasts.”

Tusakha took two quick steps forward and slapped Tolui hard across the face. “Still being stubborn? Are you afraid of me or not?”

Tolui froze, his little face flushing crimson, wanting to cry but refusing to.

Guo Jing had been seething beside him for some time. Now he could contain himself no longer. Without a sound, he charged forward and butted Tusakha hard in the belly. Tusakha, taken by surprise, went sprawling on his back.

Tolui clapped and laughed. “Well done!” He grabbed Guo Jing’s hand and they turned to flee.

Tusakha shouted furiously, “Beat those two little brutes to death!”

Tusakha’s companions gave chase, and soon both sides were trading punches and kicks. Tusakha scrambled to his feet and threw himself angrily into the scrum. Tusakha’s gang were older and more numerous. In moments they had Tolui and Guo Jing pinned to the ground. Tusakha kept pounding Guo Jing’s back with his fists. “Surrender and I’ll let you off!” Guo Jing struggled to rise, but he was small and weak, pinned helpless beneath the weight. Tolui too was held down by two children beating him together.

Just as the struggle reached a stalemate, the sound of horse-bells came from beyond the sand dunes. A small party of riders approached. At their head, a stocky man on a yellow horse saw the children fighting and laughed. “Well now. A brawl, is it?” He rode closer and saw seven or eight big children bullying two small ones, the two smaller ones pinned to the ground, their faces already bruised and swollen. “Aren’t you ashamed? Let them go at once.”

Tusakha cursed, “Clear off! Don’t meddle. Do you know who I am? If I want to beat someone, no one can stop me.” His father was a ruler who held sway over the north. Tusakha had been spoilt all his life, and everyone had always given way to him.

The rider on the yellow horse swore back, “This little brute is so wild. Let them go!” By now the rest of his party had caught up. A woman said, “Third Brother, don’t meddle in other people’s business. Let’s go.”

The man on the yellow horse said, “Look at it yourself. What kind of fighting is this?”

These were the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan.⁴ They had tracked Duan Tiande⁵ from the south all the way to the great desert, after which all trace of him had vanished. For over six years they had searched everywhere across the desert and the grasslands, asking after any word of Duan Tiande and Li Ping. All seven had learned to speak Mongolian, yet the pair remained utterly untraceable. The Seven Eccentrics were each stubborn by nature and fiercely competitive. Having made this wager with Qiu Chuji, they would never have given up over the mere finding of a woman. Even a task ten times harder and more perilous still would not have made them turn back. All seven shared the same thinking: even if they never found Li Ping, they would search for the full eighteen years, and only then go to the Drunken Immortal Wineshop⁶ in Jiaxing to admit defeat to Qiu Chuji. Besides, Qiu Chuji might not find Yang Tiexin’s wife, née Bao, either. If both sides failed, the wager would be a draw, and they could set a new challenge and compete again.

Han Xiaoying⁷ dismounted, pulled the two children off Tolui’s back, and said, “Two big ones on one little one. That’s not allowed!” With the weight off his back, Tolui struggled to his feet. Tusakha froze for an instant, and Guo Jing twisted sharply and wriggled out from between the boy’s legs. Freed at last, both boys ran.

Tusakha shouted, “Chase them! Chase them!” He led the pack after them.

The Seven Eccentrics watched the Mongol children scuffle, remembering their own childhood mischief, and could not help smiling.

Ke Zhen’e⁸ said, “Let’s be on our way. If the market ahead breaks up before we get there, there’ll be no one left to ask!”

By now Tusakha and his gang had caught up with Tolui and Guo Jing again, surrounding them on all sides. Tusakha demanded, “Will you surrender or not?”

Tolui’s face was full of fury. He shook his head without answering.

“Then fight again!”

All the children rushed forward together.

Suddenly cold light flashed, and Guo Jing had a short jian in his hand. “Who dares come near?” he cried.

Li Ping loved her son dearly and had given him the short jian his father had left behind, for him to keep at his side. She believed a treasure could ward off evil, and she meant it to keep her son safe from demons and evil spirits. Now, hard-pressed and bullied, Guo Jing had drawn it.

Tusakha and the others saw him armed and hesitated to approach.

Zhu Cong,⁹ the Swift-Handed Scholar, had already spurred his horse onwards when he caught sight of the short jian gleaming in the sunlight. Its radiance was most unusual, and he felt a start. He had spent his life stealing from government offices and wealthy houses, and had seen many treasures. He thought, That glow is far from ordinary. Let me see what kind of treasure it is. He reined in and turned back, to see a child holding a short jian. The blade gave off a faint blue light that shifted and wandered, clearly a weapon of great rarity. How it came to be in a child’s hands was a mystery. He looked at the children more closely. All but Guo Jing wore costly sable coats, and Guo Jing himself had a fine golden collar about his neck. Plainly these were all sons of Mongol chieftains.

Zhu Cong thought, This child must have stolen his father’s jian to play with. There is no dishonour in taking from princes and chieftains. His mind made up to keep it, he dismounted with a smile. “Stop fighting, everyone. Play nicely.” Before the words had left his lips, he had slipped into the children’s circle and plucked the short jian from Guo Jing’s hand. He had used Barehanded Weapon Seizing,¹⁰ a martial skill of the highest order. Never mind that Guo Jing was a small child. Even a grown man skilled in the martial arts, unless he were a master of the wulin, would not keep hold of his weapon against the Swift-Handed Scholar.

Zhu Cong, jian in hand, leapt clear, sprang onto his horse, laughed loudly, seized the reins and galloped off at full speed, catching up with the others. “My luck’s in today. I came by a treasure without even trying.”

Zhang Asheng,¹¹ the Laughing Buddha, laughed. “Second Brother never loses his thieving ways.”

Quan Jinfa,¹² the Hidden Xia of the Busy City,¹³ said, “What treasure? Let me see.”

Zhu Cong flicked his wrist and tossed it over.

A streak of blue light arced through the air, catching the sunlight, shimmering, and for a moment seemed to become a tiny rainbow. All of them cried out in admiration.

The jian flew towards him. Quan Jinfa felt a chill as it approached. He caught the hilt and cried, “Fine!” He examined it with ceaseless clicks of appreciation. On the hilt were carved the two characters Yang Kang.¹⁴ He was taken aback. “That’s a Han name. How did this jian come to the Mongols? Yang Kang? Yang Kang? I’ve never heard of any hero called Yang Kang. But unless he’s a hero and a man of valour, how would he deserve so fine a weapon?” He called out, “Big Brother, do you know anyone called Yang Kang?”

Ke Zhen’e said, “Yang Kang?” He pondered for a long while, then shook his head. “Never heard of him.”

“Yang Kang” was the name Qiu Chuji had given Bao Xiruo’s unborn child. Yang Tiexin and Guo Xiaotian had exchanged short jians, so the jian bearing “Yang Kang” was in Li Ping’s possession. The Seven Eccentrics knew nothing of this. Ke Zhen’e was the eldest of the seven and the most experienced. If he did not know, the other six knew still less.

Quan Jinfa was a careful man. “Qiu Chuji is searching for Yang Tiexin’s wife. I wonder if this Yang Kang has any connection to that Yang Tiexin.”

Zhu Cong laughed. “If we find Yang Tiexin’s wife and bring her to the Drunken Immortal Wineshop, we’ll be one ahead of the Daoist ox-nose at least.” For six years they had searched the desert without a single lead, and now the faintest thread had appeared. Faint as it was, they would not let it slip.

Han Xiaoying said, “Let’s go back and ask that child.”

Han Baoju’s¹⁵ horse was the fastest. He galloped back first, only to find the children had started fighting again, and Tolui and Guo Jing were pinned to the ground once more. Han Baoju shouted at them to stop, but they would not listen. Growing impatient, he seized several children and hurled them aside.

Tusakha dared not fight on. He pointed at Tolui and cursed, “You two little puppies. If you’ve got the guts, come back tomorrow and fight here again.”

Footnotes

1. 都史 — Dūshǐ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 桑昆 — Sāngkūn. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 博尔忽 — Bó’ěrhū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 江南七怪 — Jiāngnán Qī Guài. Literally seven eccentrics of Jiangnan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

6. 醉仙楼 — Zuìxiān Lóu. The Drunken Immortal Wineshop, on the shore of South Lake in Jiaxing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 韩小莹 — Hán Xiǎoyíng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 柯镇恶 — Kē Zhèn’è. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 朱聪 — Zhū Cōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 空手入白刃 — Kōngshǒu Rù Báirèn. Literally empty hands entering the white blade. A method of disarming an armed opponent with bare hands. ↩

11. 张阿生 — Zhāng Āshēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 全金发 — Quán Jīnfā. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 闹市侠隐 — Nàoshì Xiáyǐn. Literally the xia hidden in the busy market. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 杨康 — Yáng Kāng. His name meaning “well-being”; paired with Guo Jing’s 靖 it recalls the Jingkang Shame of 1127. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 韩宝驹 — Hán Bǎojū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩