The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 1 – Part 5

Wu Xiuwen stood stunned for a moment, then called, “I’m not a wild child!” He ran after her.

He figured the girl was about two or three years younger than himself, with shorter legs and a smaller frame, and that he could catch up to her in a single burst. But as soon as he began to use his qinggong, he found the girl’s steps were astonishingly fast. In moments, she had covered several zhang and left him far behind. She ran a few more steps, then stopped and looked back. “Hmph, can you catch me?”

Wu Xiuwen said, “Of course I can.” He immediately gathered his breath to give chase.

The girl turned and ran again, then suddenly darted forward and hid behind a pine tree. Wu Xiuwen followed. When the girl saw him draw near, she abruptly stuck out her left foot and hooked it around his shin. Wu Xiuwen had not expected this at all and pitched forward. He tried to use the “Iron Tree Stump” stance to steady himself, but the girl’s right foot shot out and kicked him hard in the backside. Wu Xiuwen went sprawling, his nose smashing right into a small, sharp rock. Blood streamed from his nose, dotting his clothes with crimson.

Seeing the blood, the girl panicked. For a moment, she had no idea what to do and thought only of running away. Suddenly, a voice behind her barked, “Fu’er,¹ bullying people again, are you?”

The girl did not turn around. “Who says?” she protested. “He fell down on his own. What’s it got to do with me? Don’t you go telling my father nonsense.”

Wu Xiuwen pressed his hand to his nose. It did not actually hurt very much, but seeing his hand covered in blood, he was alarmed. Hearing the girl talking to someone, he turned around and saw a lame old man leaning on an iron crutch. The man’s temples were frosted white, his face gaunt and haggard, and his eyes were rolled back. He was blind.

The old man gave a cold laugh. “Don’t think you can fool me just because I can’t see. I hear everything perfectly clearly. You little minx. You’re already this bad now. What will you be like when you grow up?”

The girl went over and took his arm, pleading, “Granduncle, please don’t tell my father, all right? His nose is bleeding. Help him stop it!”

The old man stepped forward, seized Wu Xiuwen’s arm with his left hand, and pressed the fingers of his right hand against the “Welcome Fragrance” acupoint² beside Wu Xiuwen’s nose, massaging it a few times. Wu Xiuwen’s nosebleed had already been tapering off, and with this treatment, it stopped entirely. But he felt the old man’s five fingers gripping his arm like iron pincers, long, hard, and unyielding. A surge of fear rose in his heart. He gave a slight tug, but his arm did not budge. He then pulled his arm in and circled it outward, using the Small Seizing-Hand technique³ his mother had taught him. His hand traced a half-circle and twisted outward in reverse. The old man had not expected such a clever move from a small child. With a soft exclamation of surprise, his grip was broken. But he immediately seized Wu Xiuwen’s wrist again. Wu Xiuwen tried to struggle free once more, but this time, no matter how he strained, he could not break loose.

The old man said, “Don’t be afraid, Young Brother. What’s your surname?”

Wu Xiuwen said, “My surname is Wu.”

The old man said, “Your accent isn’t local. Where are you from? Where are your parents?” As he spoke, he released Wu Xiuwen’s wrist.

Wu Xiuwen thought of how he had not seen his parents all night and had no idea what had become of them. At the old man’s question, he nearly burst into tears.

The girl scraped her finger across her cheek to shame him and sang, “Shame, shame, little spotted dog, red-rimmed eyes, about to leak oil!”

Wu Xiuwen drew himself up proudly. “Hmph, I’m not going to cry!” He then told them how his mother was waiting for an enemy at Lu Manor, how his father had carried off his brother to who-knew-where, and how he had waited in the dark for his father and brother without seeing them, eventually falling asleep under a tree. His emotions were stirred up, and his account was quite jumbled, but the old man understood about seventy or eighty percent. He also learned that they had come from the Kingdom of Dali, that the boy’s father was called Wu Santong, and that his most accomplished martial art was the “Solitary Yang Finger.”⁴

The old man said, “Your father is a disciple of the Venerable Yideng, isn’t he?”

Wu Xiuwen said happily, “Yes! Do you know our Imperial Lord? Have you met him? I haven’t.”

Back when Wu Santong had served as the commander of the Imperial Guard under Emperor Duan Zhixing⁵ of Dali, who later renounced the throne to become a monk under the Dharma name Yideng, Wu Santong, when recounting the old days to his sons, would still say “our Imperial Lord did this” and “our Imperial Lord did that.” So Wu Xiuwen, too, called him “our Imperial Lord.”

The old man said, “I have never had the good fortune to pay my respects to the venerable Yideng, but I have long admired the great name of the ‘Southern Emperor’⁶ and hold him in the highest esteem. This girl’s parents once received an enormous kindness from him. In that case, we are not strangers. Do you know who the enemy your mother is waiting for might be?”

Wu Xiuwen said, “I heard my mother talking with Lord Lu. The enemy seemed to be something like ‘Scarlet Serpent Something-or-other Sorrow’.”

The old man raised his head and murmured, “Scarlet Serpent Something-or-other?” Suddenly he slammed his iron crutch against the ground and cried out, “The Scarlet Serpent Immortal, Li Mochou?”

Wu Xiuwen said joyfully, “Yes, yes! That’s it, the Scarlet Serpent Immortal!”

The old man’s expression immediately grew extremely grave. “You two stay here and play. Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to take a look.”

The girl said, “Granduncle, I want to go too.”

Wu Xiuwen also said, “I want to go too.”

The old man said urgently, “No, no! You absolutely must not go. That demon woman is vicious beyond measure. I cannot defeat her. But knowing that a friend is in danger, I cannot simply do nothing. You must be obedient.” With that, he leaned on his iron crutch and limped away at great speed.

Wu Xiuwen was deeply impressed. “That old gentleman is blind and lame, yet he moves so fast.”

The girl pursed her lips. “What’s so special about that? If you saw my father and mother’s qinggong, you’d be scared out of your wits.”

Wu Xiuwen said, “Are your father and mother blind and lame too?”

The girl flew into a rage. “Pei! Your father and mother are the ones who are blind and lame!”

By now, it was broad daylight. Farmers were already at work in the fields, men and women singing mountain songs. The old man was a native of the area. Though blind, he knew the roads well, asking directions as he went. Before long, he arrived at Lu Manor. From a distance, he could already hear the clash of weapons, ping-ping-pang-pang. The fighting was ferociously intense.

The Lu Zhanyuan family were local gentry and officials, while the old man was a commoner of the marketplace. Though both were well-known martial arts figures in Jiaxing, they had never associated with one another. The old man also knew his martial arts were no match for the Scarlet Serpent Immortal’s, and that this trip would only add one more old life to the tally. But he also knew that this matter involved a disciple of the Venerable Yideng, and all of them owed the Venerable Yideng too many debts of gratitude to stand idly by. He quickened his pace and rushed to the front of Lu Manor.

He could hear four people locked in fierce combat on the rooftop. Tilting his head, he listened carefully. From the shouts and the clash of weapons, he could tell that on one side there were three, and on the other side only one, yet the many could not overcome the few. The three were already completely on the defensive.

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The previous night, when Wu Santong had carried off his two sons, Lu Liding and his wife had been greatly perplexed, unsure of his intentions. Madam Wu, however, had looked pleased. “My husband is usually deranged and erratic,” she said with a smile, “but this time, for once, he has shown some sense.”

When Lady Lu asked the reason, Madam Wu only smiled without answering. “I don’t know if my guess is correct,” she said. “We shall see soon enough.”

By now, the night had grown deep. Lu Wushuang had fallen asleep in her father’s arms, and Cheng Ying was also drowsy, barely able to keep her eyes open. Lady Lu picked up the two children, intending to carry them to their room to sleep.

Madam Wu said, “Wait just a moment.”

Suddenly, a voice called from the rooftop: “Toss them up!” It was Wu Santong’s voice. His qinggong was exceptional. He had reached the rooftop without the Lu couple detecting a thing.

Madam Wu took Cheng Ying, walked to the entrance of the hall, and threw her upward. Wu Santong stretched out his arms and caught her. As the Lu couple watched in astonishment, Madam Wu picked up Lu Wushuang and tossed her up as well.

Lu Liding was horrified. “What are you doing?” he cried, leaping onto the roof. But all around was pitch black. Wu Santong and the two girls had vanished without a trace. He was about to give chase when Madam Wu called, “Lord Lu, there is no need to pursue him. His intentions are good.”

Lu Liding was half-doubtful, half-trusting. He jumped back down into the courtyard and asked in a trembling voice, “What good intentions?”

By now, Lady Lu had understood. “Master Wu was afraid the demon would harm the children,” she said. “He must have hidden them somewhere safe.”

Lu Liding, too close to the situation to see clearly, was enlightened by his wife’s words. “Yes, yes,” he said repeatedly. But the thought of Wu Santong having stolen his brother and sister-in-law’s bodies still left him deeply uneasy.

Madam Wu sighed. “Ever since Ayuan married your brother-in-law, my husband has grown angry at the sight of any young girl. I cannot fathom why he would show such concern for the two young ladies of your household. It is truly beyond anything I expected. The first time he came to take Ru’er and Wen’er away, I noticed him glancing several times at the two young ladies, his expression one of tender affection and protective concern. He used to look at Ayuan in exactly the same way. And sure enough, he came back to take the two young ladies as well. Ah, I only hope that from this day forward, his nature will change and he will no longer be so confused!” She sighed deeply twice.

At first, Lu Liding and his wife had been consumed with worry for the safety of their daughter and niece, their minds in turmoil and their actions flustered. Now that their greatest concern had been lifted, their fear gradually subsided and their will to resist the enemy swelled. The two of them armed themselves with hidden weapons and blades, then sat in the main hall, closing their eyes to conserve their strength.

They had been husband and wife for over a decade. In ordinary times, they would occasionally bicker over household matters. But now, thinking that a powerful enemy would arrive at any moment, and recalling what Lu Zhanyuan and Madam Wu had said about that demon woman’s fearsome martial arts and vicious methods, that they would most likely not escape this calamity, and that their time together as husband and wife was running short, they could not help but lean against each other, their four hands clasped tightly together.

A long while passed. In the profound silence, a soft, lilting woman’s voice drifted from the distance. Though it came from far away, every word was clear and distinct:

I ask the world: what is love, That it binds two hearts unto life and death?⁷

With each word she sang, she drew noticeably closer. The woman’s speed was astonishing. Before the third line of the song had ended, she was already outside the gate.

The three inside exchanged stunned glances. Suddenly, a series of crashes rang out, bang, bang, crack, crack, as the door bar and wooden braces all shattered at once. The great doors flew open to either side, and a beautiful Daoist priestess walked slowly in, a faint smile on her lips. She wore an apricot-yellow Daoist robe. Without a doubt, the Scarlet Serpent Immortal Li Mochou had arrived.

Agen was sweeping the courtyard. He stepped forward and demanded, “Who goes there?”

Lu Liding shouted urgently, “Agen, get back!” But it was already too late. Li Mochou flicked her horsetail whisk, and Agen’s skull shattered instantly. He died without a sound.

Lu Liding charged forward, saber raised. Li Mochou shifted her body slightly, gliding past him. With another sweep of her whisk, she struck down both serving maids at once. Smiling, she asked, “Where are the two little girls?”

The Lu couple watched her kill three people in the blink of an eye. Knowing there was no hope, they gritted their teeth and attacked from left and right with saber and sword. Li Mochou raised her whisk, about to strike, but then she noticed Madam Wu standing to the side with her sword. She gave a faint smile. “Since there are outsiders interfering,” she said, “it would be inconvenient to kill inside the house.”

Her voice was soft and melodious, her manner charming and alluring. With her bright eyes, white teeth, and fair, creamy complexion, she was truly a remarkable beauty. Without any visible movement of her feet or legs, she floated lightly up onto the rooftop. The Lu couple and Madam Wu leapt up after her.

Li Mochou had first sent her disciple, the young priestess Hong Lingbo,⁸ to investigate the circumstances of Lu Zhanyuan’s household. Only then had she learned that Lu Zhanyuan and his wife had died three years earlier, and that the household now consisted of seven people, masters and servants. When Hong Lingbo reported back to her shifu, Li Mochou’s fury could not be assuaged, so she transferred the debt to Lu Zhanyuan’s younger brother, Lu Liding. Following her usual practice, she had imprinted nine bloody palm prints on the Lu family’s wall as a warning. The top pair of prints signified that she would kill Lu Zhanyuan and his wife to vent the resentment of years past. Even in death, she would reduce their bones to ashes and scatter them to the winds. The seven prints below naturally indicated that she would kill the seven remaining members of the Lu household.

Footnotes

1. 郭芙 – Guō Fú. Her name meaning “lotus”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 迎香穴 – Yíngxiāng Xué. Acupoint beside the nostrils, commonly used to treat nasal congestion and nosebleeds. ↩

3. 小擒拿手 – Xiǎo Qínná Shǒu. Grappling and joint-locking technique. Qinna (擒拿) is the art of seizing and controlling an opponent through joint locks and pressure-point manipulation; the Small variant uses the hands and fingers rather than the whole body. ↩

4. 一阳指 – Yīyáng Zhǐ. Literally One Yang Finger. Dali Duan family’s signature finger technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 段智兴 – Duàn Zhìxīng. His name meaning “wisdom flourishing”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 南帝 – Nán Dì. Literally southern emperor. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 问世间，情是何物，直教生死相许 – wèn shìjiān, qíng shì hé wù, zhí jiào shēngsǐ xiāngxǔ. Opening lines of a famous ci poem by Yuan Haowen (1190–1257), inspired by a wild goose that dashed itself to death after its mate was killed. Li Mochou sings this song throughout the novel, and it becomes her tragic theme. ↩

8. 洪凌波 – Hóng Língbō. Her name meaning “treading the waves”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩