The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 10 – Part 5

Lu Wushuang, hearing her master summon Beggars’ Guild members, knew she must be about to interrogate them about the whereabouts of the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms. Her face went ashen. Yelü Qi, aware that the Beggars’ Guild held enormous power in the north, was curious: This beautiful Daoist nun has a message for their guild master, what is her background and status? He set down his cup and watched from the corner of his eye.

In moments, the stair boards creaked and the two beggars came up. They saluted Li Mochou and said, “Whatever instructions the Immortal Maiden has, we shall obey.”

Li Mochou straightened her robes and returned the salute. “Please, do not stand on ceremony, you two.” One of the beggars caught sight of Lu Wushuang at her side and his face suddenly changed colour, he had intercepted her on the road before. He tugged at his companion, and the two sprang back to the head of the stairs.

Li Mochou gave a faint smile. “Gentlemen, please look at the backs of your hands.” Both beggars’ eyes shot simultaneously to their own hands, on the back of each hand were three vermilion finger marks. They had absolutely no idea how she had applied the Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm¹ with such lightning speed, so imperceptibly. Her strike had been invisible not only to the two beggars but even to Yang Guo and Yelü Qi. The two beggars cried out in unison, “You… you are the Scarlet Serpent Immortal?”²

Li Mochou said softly, “Please inform your guild master that between your Beggars’ Guild and myself, the river water has never interfered with the well water. I have long admired the heroes of your noble guild, but have never had the good fortune to meet them and receive their instruction, a deep regret.” The two beggars exchanged glances, thinking, You speak so pleasantly, yet without cause or reason you have suddenly struck us with your poison. Li Mochou paused, then continued, “The two of you have been struck by the Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm, but do not worry, as long as you return the book you seized, this humble Daoist will naturally cure you.” One beggar said, “What book?” Li Mochou laughed. “That worthless book, to tell the truth, it is not worth much. If your noble guild is determined not to return it, it hardly matters. This humble Daoist will simply take a thousand beggar lives as compensation.”

The two beggars had not yet felt any unusual sensations in their hands, but with every word she spoke, they could not help glancing at the backs of their hands. They had long heard that the Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm was sinister and venomous beyond measure, that those struck by it died in agony and unbearable itching. Now their minds conjured phantoms: the three vermilion finger marks on their hands seemed to be slowly expanding. Hearing her vicious words, they decided they had no choice but to report to their regional elder and make further plans. They exchanged a look and bolted down the stairs.

Li Mochou thought, If your guild master wants the two of you to live, he will have no choice but to bring the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms and beg me… Ah, no, what if he copies a duplicate and returns only the original? She reconsidered: The antidotes for all the poisons in my divine palm and hidden weapons are recorded in that book. Once they have the book, why would they need to beg me for anything? At this thought, her face changed dramatically. She flew forward, cut off the two beggars’ escape midway down the stairs, and struck out with two palms, peng peng, driving them back up to the landing. She descended and ascended in a blur of motion, a flash of blue shadow, and was back on the upper floor. She seized one beggar’s arm and twisted, kala, the bone snapped, and the arm dangled limp. The other beggar was horrified, but he was a man of loyalty and did not flee. He rushed forward to shield his injured companion. Seeing Li Mochou closing in, he threw a straight punch. Li Mochou casually caught his wrist and gave a flick, snapping his arm bone as well.

Both beggars had been crippled in a single exchange. Knowing they could not survive, they pressed their backs together and each raised one uninjured arm, determined to fight to the last. Li Mochou said with perfect refinement, “You two may as well stay. Wait until your guild master comes with the book to ransom you.” The two beggars saw her return to her table, sit, and drink, her back to them. Step by step, they edged toward the stairs, hoping to seize an opportunity to flee. Li Mochou turned and smiled. “It seems I will have to break your leg bones as well before you will condescend to remain as my guests.” She rose. Hong Lingbo, unable to bear the sight, said, “Shifu³, I can guard them and ensure they do not escape.” Li Mochou gave a cold laugh. “Heng. Your conscience is so tender.” She advanced slowly toward the two beggars, who burned with both fury and terror.

Yelü Qi and his sister had been watching all along. Now they could restrain themselves no longer and rose as one. Yelü Qi said in a low voice, “Third Sister, leave quickly. This woman is extremely formidable.” Yelü Yan said, “And you?” Yelü Qi said, “Once I rescue the two beggars, I will flee immediately.” Yelü Yan had thought her second brother had few equals in the world. Hearing him say he too would have to flee, she could scarcely believe it.

At that moment, Yang Guo slammed his hand on the table, strode over to Yelü Qi, and said, “Brother Yelü, shall we join hands and save them?” He knew that to rescue Lu Wushuang, sooner or later he would have to fight Li Mochou. With a fine fighter like Yelü Qi stepping forward in righteous indignation, if he did not pull him into the water now, when would he?

Yelü Qi saw that Yang Guo wore Mongol military uniform and was exceedingly ugly, he was certain he had never met this man in his life. He thought, Since he is with Wanyan Ping, he must know who I am. But against Li Mochou’s skill, even I can scarcely hope to win. An ordinary person intervening would only throw his life away. He hesitated and did not answer.

Li Mochou heard Yang Guo speak and studied him from head to toe. His voice was familiar, but this was a face that, once seen, could never be forgotten, and she was certain she had never seen it before.

Yang Guo said, “I have no weapon. Let me borrow one.” His form flickered, he brushed past Hong Lingbo, and in passing, plucked the sword and scabbard from her sash. He planted a kiss on her cheek. “How fragrant!” he cried. Hong Lingbo’s backhand slap shot out, but he ducked his head and slipped beneath her palm. This movement was extraordinarily fast, the highest level of lightness skill, trained by catching sparrows in the cramped chambers of the ancient tomb. Except toward Xiaolongnü, for whom his feelings ran so deep that he always maintained self-restraint and respect, toward any other young woman Yang Guo could not resist indulging his frivolous nature. The moment Li Mochou saw his superb lightness skill, she was secretly alarmed. Yelü Qi, on the other hand, was overjoyed. “May I ask this brother’s honoured name?” he called.

Yang Guo waved his left hand. “This humble one is surnamed Yang.” He raised the scabbard and said, “I suspect the sword inside is broken.” He drew the blade, indeed, it was broken. Hong Lingbo suddenly understood. “So it is you, you little wretch!” she cried. “Shifu, it is him!” Yang Guo peeled the mask from his face and said, “Shi Bo,⁴ Shi Jie,⁵ Yang Guo pays his respects.”

The moment he called out “Shi Bo, Shi Jie,” Yelü Qi felt as though he had fallen into a fog, while Lu Wushuang was caught between shock and delight. How does this fool call them Shi Bo and Shi Jie? Li Mochou gave a faint smile. “Oh? And how is your master?”

Yang Guo’s heart clenched, and his eyes reddened instantly.

Li Mochou said coldly, “Your master has certainly trained a fine disciple.” A few days earlier, Yang Guo had used bizarre moves to neutralise her life’s work, the Triple Threat Hand,⁶ and had even seized her whisk with his teeth. The strangeness of his martial arts was simply beyond belief. Though she had ultimately recovered her whisk, and knew his skill was still far below hers, reflecting on it afterward still sent a chill through her heart. This vile whelp is progressing terrifyingly fast. Shimei⁷ must be even more formidable. So the martial arts of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra are truly this powerful. It is fortunate Shimei did not join hands with him that day, otherwise… otherwise… Now, seeing him appear again, she felt a surge of wariness. Involuntarily, she glanced around, was Xiaolongnü here too?

Yang Guo guessed her thoughts. With a grin, he said, “My master sends her regards to Shi Bo.”

Li Mochou said, “Where is she? We sisters have not seen each other for so long.”

Yang Guo said, “Master is nearby. She will arrive shortly to see you.” He knew he was far from Li Mochou’s match, and even with Yelü Qi, victory was uncertain. So he staged an “empty-city stratagem,”⁸ invoking his master’s name to frighten her. Li Mochou said, “I am disciplining my own disciple. What does it have to do with your master?”

Yang Guo laughed. “My shifu begs shibo to show mercy and release Lu shimei.”

Li Mochou smiled faintly. “You have violated every moral bond, committing beastly indecencies with your own master, and yet you go about calling her ‘Master’ this and ‘Master’ that. Have you no shame?”

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Hearing her slander his master, the blood surged hot in Yang Guo’s chest. He raised the scabbard like a sword and stabbed at her with ferocious speed. Li Mochou laughed. “You dare do such filthy things, yet you fear others speaking of them?” Yang Guo launched a relentless barrage with the scabbard, fierce and extraordinary, these were the techniques Wang Chongyang⁹ had carved into the stone, designed specifically to counter Lin Chaoying’s¹⁰ Jade Maiden Swordplay.¹¹ Li Mochou dared not be careless. Her whisk danced as she neutralised each move, her full concentration on the fight.

Li Mochou’s whisk techniques were all derived from the Jade Maiden Swordplay. After several exchanges, she realised that her opponent’s sword techniques were wondrously ingenious, every move she made, every stance she took, he seemed to anticipate, seizing the initiative at every turn. Had her own power not far surpassed his, she would have been forced onto the defensive. She thought bitterly, Master was so biased, teaching this sword art only to Shimei. Heng, it was surely meant for Shimei to use against me. This sword art may be strange, but do you think I fear it? Her moves shifted. Suddenly she sprang up and landed on a table, her right foot kicking sideways while her left foot steadied her on the table’s edge. Her body swayed forward and back with effortless grace, like a lotus leaf stirring in the wind. “Did your paramour ever teach you this move?” she said with a coquettish smile. “I doubt she can perform it herself.”

Yang Guo froze. “What paramour?” he demanded angrily.

Li Mochou laughed. “My Shimei swore a solemn oath: unless a man was willing to die for her, she would remain in the ancient tomb her entire life and never descend the mountain. Since she came down the mountain with you, and the two of you are not husband and wife, what else could you be but her paramour?” Yang Guo was beside himself with rage. He said not another word but swung the scabbard and leapt onto the table as well. But his lightness skill was inferior to hers, and he dared not stand on the table’s edge. Both feet shattered several rice bowls and vegetable dishes, but he stood firm and swept the scabbard across in a ferocious slash. Li Mochou raised her whisk to parry the scabbard. “Your lightness skill is not bad!” she laughed. “Your paramour certainly treats you well, one might even say with true feeling and devotion.”

Footnotes

1. 赤练神掌 – Chìliàn Shénzhǎng. Li Mochou’s palm technique, infused with poison. Name links her palm strikes to her serpentine nickname, suggesting that her very touch is as deadly as a venomous snake’s bite. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 赤练仙子 – Chìliàn Xiānzǐ. Literally scarlet chain immortal. Li Mochou’s martial nickname. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

4. 师伯 – shībó. Senior lineage uncle. Shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Bó means father’s elder brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 师姐 – shījiě. Female senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Jiě means older sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 三无三不手 – Sānwú Sānbù Shǒu. Literally three no’s and three doesn’ts. It refers to the three absolutes of this technique: No crevices it doesn’t penetrate, no place it doesn’t reach, and nothing it doesn’t do. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 师妹 – shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. Empty-City Stratagem (空城计). Famous episode from Romance of the Three Kingdoms where Zhuge Liang, with no troops to defend his city, opened the gates wide and sat calmly playing his zither on the wall, bluffing the enemy into thinking an ambush awaited. Term has become proverbial for bluffing when one has nothing to back it up. ↩

9. 王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. His name meaning “double yang”, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 林朝英 – Lín Cháoyīng. Her name meaning “facing the hero” or “morning hero”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 玉女剑法 – Yùnǚ Jiànfǎ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩