The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 11

Hardship on the road.

By the second day, Yang Guo¹ still held his post at the mouth of the gorge. The Second Ugly brought food, and the five men chewed loudly, smacking their lips. Hunger blazed in Yang Guo’s stomach. He turned to look at Hong Qigong². The old man had not shifted his posture by a hair since the day before. If he truly were asleep, Yang Guo thought, surely he would have turned over in his sleep at least once. Staying so perfectly still, I fear he really is dead. If I hold out another day, hunger will weaken me, and I will be even less able to resist them. Better to charge out now while I can still escape. He rose slowly. But then he thought again: He said he would sleep for three days and told me to stand guard. I gave my word. A true man’s promise is weightier than a mountain. How can I abandon him now? So he fought down his hunger, closed his eyes, and rested his spirit.

By the third day, Hong Qigong still lay as rigid as he had two days before. The more Yang Guo looked, the more he doubted. He is clearly dead. Am I not a fool to keep standing guard here? If I go another half-day without food, I will not need these five ugly wretches to finish me. I will starve to death on my own. He scooped up some snow from the mountain rocks and swallowed several mouthfuls. The hollow ache in his belly eased slightly. I could not fulfil my duty as a son to my parents, and my Gugu³ is angry with me. I have no brothers or sisters, not even a single close friend. As for ‘righteous brotherhood’, do not even speak of it. But this one word, ‘trust’, I must, at the very least, honour it. Then he remembered: Years ago, when Auntie Guo⁴ was teaching me the classics, she told me the story of Wei Sheng⁵ in ancient times, who arranged to meet a woman beneath a bridge. The woman never came, and a great flood rose. Wei Sheng would not break his word, so he clung to a pillar of the bridge and drowned. Ever since, his name has been renowned through the ages. I, Yang Guo, have been despised and scorned by all the world. If I cannot even keep this promise, people will hold me in even greater contempt. Even if it costs me my life, I will stand guard for the full three days.

One night and one day passed in the blink of an eye. Early on the morning of the fourth day, Yang Guo approached Hong Qigong and checked his breathing. There was still no sign of life. A heaviness settled in his chest. He sighed, bowed deeply before him, and said, “Elder Hong, I have kept the three-day watch. It is a tragedy that you have passed away. This disciple lacks the strength to protect your body. I can only cast you into the deep valley, to spare you from the defilement of these villains.” He lifted the old man’s body and began walking toward the narrow path.

The Five Ugly Men assumed that hunger had driven him to flee. They shouted in unison and came charging forward. With a great roar, Yang Guo set Hong Qigong down behind him and bellowed, “I will fight you to the death!” He hurled himself straight at the First Ugly.

He had taken no more than two steps when a fierce gust of wind passed over his head. A figure vaulted past him and landed between him and the Five Uglies, laughing. “What a satisfying sleep!” It was none other than the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, Hong Qigong.

Yang Guo was overjoyed. The Five Uglies turned pale with terror. What had happened was this: Hong Qigong had indeed been truly asleep in the snow at first, but when one of the Five Uglies stepped on him, he naturally woke. Wanting to test whether this youth could keep a three-day promise, he had held his breath and feigned death every time Yang Guo checked on him. Seeing the boy endure hunger and hold his post for three full days without leaving, he recognised a chivalrous spirit in him and was deeply impressed. Only now did he reveal himself, standing with awe-inspiring might at the narrow pass.

Hong Qigong’s left hand traced a half-circle, and his right palm thrust forward: the Kang Long You Hui⁶, the pride of his life’s work, from the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing. The First Ugly had no time to evade. Knowing he could not meet this strike head-on, he could only bring both palms together and resist with all his strength.

Hong Qigong’s palm force was perfectly controlled. Using only ten percent of his power, he already made the First Ugly’s arms go numb and his chest ache. Seeing his comrade in danger and fearing he would be blasted into the deep valley by Hong Qigong’s palm, the Second Ugly hurriedly pressed both hands against his back. Hong Qigong increased his palm force. The Second Ugly lurched backward and nearly fell. The Fourth Ugly, standing behind him, reached out to steady him. Hong Qigong’s force transmitted through, passing from the Fourth Ugly to the Third, and from the Third to the Fifth Ugly at the very end. The five men had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. In another instant, Hong Qigong would kill all five with a single palm strike.

Hong Qigong laughed. “You five wretches have done more than your share of evil. To be struck dead by this old beggar’s single palm. I imagine you will die with your eyes closed in satisfaction.” The five men planted their stances, glaring with bulging eyes, combining their strength to resist his single palm. The pressure grew heavier and heavier. Their chests tightened with nausea, and gradually, every breath became a struggle.

Suddenly, Hong Qigong let out an “Eh!” of apparent surprise. He pulled back eighty percent of his palm force. “Your neili has some real substance to it,” he said. “Who is your master?”

The First Ugly, both palms still pressing against Hong Qigong’s, panted, “We… are… disciples… of Master Darba⁷… of his… his school.” Hong Qigong shook his head. “Darba? Never heard of him. Hmm. The way your neili transmits from one to another, and that is a formidable skill indeed.” Yang Guo thought to himself, To earn a ‘formidable indeed’ from Elder Hong, and that is truly formidable. Yet these five fellows seem completely ordinary to me. Not one of them could beat me.

Hong Qigong asked again, “What school do you belong to?” The First Ugly said, “Our master… is the second… second disciple… of the Esoteric Sect’s Divine Monk… Divine Monk… the Golden Wheel National Preceptor⁸…” Hong Qigong shook his head again. “Esoteric Divine Monk? Golden Wheel National Preceptor? Never heard of them. There is a monk in Qinghai, a so-called Enlightened Master⁹, whom I have met. His martial arts are stronger than yours, but what he learned is not high-level. The skill you have learned is very good. Mm, it has real substance. Go tell your grandmaster to come and test himself against me.”

The First Ugly said, “Our grandmaster is the Divine Monk… the Living Bodhisattva, the foremost National Preceptor of the Mongol Empire. His divine powers are boundless, his might unmatched under heaven. How… how could…” But the Second Ugly, hearing in Hong Qigong’s tone a willingness to spare their lives, realised that the First Ugly was talking them straight into the grave. He hurriedly said, “Yes, yes. We will go and request our grandmaster to come and exchange pointers… ex… exchange… Only our grandmaster is worthy to cross hands with Elder Hong. We juniors… are not fit to carry… carry… your wine gourd…”

Just then, the sound of knocking: duk, duk, duk came from around the mountain bend. A figure emerged, walking upside down on his hands, each hand gripping a stone to propel himself forward. It was none other than the Western Venom, Ouyang Feng.¹⁰ Yang Guo, overcome with joy, cried out three times: “Papa!” But Ouyang Feng acted as though he had not heard. He bounded behind the Five Uglies and pressed his right foot against the Fifth Ugly’s back. An immense force shot through the five men in a chain.

Hong Qigong was startled by Ouyang Feng’s sudden appearance. Hearing Yang Guo call him “Papa”, he thought, So this boy is his son. No wonder his skills are so impressive. Still, the boy keeps his word and honours righteousness, and his character far surpasses the Western Venom’s. The son has outgrown the father. He felt the force bearing down on his hand and responded with a surge of his own power.

Since the second Huashan Sword Summit¹¹, more than ten years had passed without Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng meeting. Though Ouyang Feng’s mind was deranged, he had been practising the Nine Yin Manual¹² in reverse, and the more he practised, the stranger his martial arts became, and the stranger they became, the stronger they grew. At Zhongnan Mountain, Yang Guo had reminded him that his name was “Ouyang Feng”, but whether he truly was Ouyang Feng or not, he still could not be sure. The name “Ouyang Feng” felt familiar to him, and he muttered it to himself constantly, yet he could never connect it to himself. This day he had arrived at Huayin. Mount Hua was the site of his two great contests, and the mountain paths and ridges stirred faint memories. He had wandered his way back up.

Hong Qigong had once heard Guo Jing¹³ and Huang Rong¹⁴ recite a small portion of the Manual, and by cross-referencing it with his own martial arts, he too had made considerable progress. After all, the orthodox path surpasses the reverse path, and though he knew only fragments, he was not outmatched by the Western Venom. Decades ago, the two men had been evenly matched. Since then, each had followed his own path. Now, meeting for the third time on Mount Hua and testing their internal strength against each other, they were still perfectly matched.

As for the pitiful Five Uglies of Sichuan, trapped between two supreme masters of the age, they became nothing more than punching bags for testing techniques, sandbags for practising fists. Their bodies ran hot, then cold. Their breathing tightened, then slowed. Every bone in their bodies creaked and cracked. It was a hundred times worse than the most brutal torture.

Ouyang Feng suddenly asked, “The neili these five have learned is very good. What school are they from?” Yang Guo thought, Even my sworn father says their neili is very good. These five uglies are no ordinary men after all. Hong Qigong said, “They claim to be the grand-disciples of some Esoteric Sect Divine Monk called the Golden Wheel National Preceptor.” Ouyang Feng said, “This Golden Wheel National Preceptor, compared to you, who is stronger?” Hong Qigong said, “I do not know. Perhaps we are about even.” Ouyang Feng said, “Compared to me?” Hong Qigong said, “A little stronger than you.” Ouyang Feng froze, then shouted, “I do not believe it!”

Even as they spoke, their hands and feet continued the contest. Hong Qigong launched several different palm forces in succession, but Ouyang Feng neutralised each one from the other end with his foot. Then Ouyang Feng increased the force from his foot, but still could not make Hong Qigong retreat even half an inch. After this exchange, each felt a genuine admiration for the other. They laughed together and leapt back.

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Footnotes

1. 杨过 – Yáng Guò. His name meaning “fault or transgression”; his courtesy name Gaizhi means “to correct it”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 洪七公 – Hóng Qīgōng. Literally Hong the Seventh Lord; the numeral seven marks seniority among sworn brothers. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. Gugu (姑姑) — Literally “paternal aunt,” but used here as a term of respectful address for a young woman of the older generation. Yang Guo uses this to address Xiaolongnü, his shifu. ↩

4. 郭伯母 – Guō Bómǔ. Yang Guo’s term of respect for Huang Rong, wife of Guo Jing. ↩

5. 尾生 – Wěi Shēng. Figure from ancient lore who drowned rather than break a rendezvous beneath a bridge when floodwaters rose. ↩

6. 亢龙有悔 – Kànglóng Yǒuhuǐ. Literally the soaring dragon has regrets. First stance of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 达尔巴 – Dá’ěrbā. Tibetan personal name. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 金轮国师 – Jīnlún Guóshī. Mongol Empire’s national teacher and martial arts adept. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. Enlightened Master Lingzhi (灵智上人). Qinghai monk who appeared in The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Subordinate of Wanyan Honglie with some martial prowess, but his skills were considered crude by the standards of true masters. ↩

10. 欧阳锋 – Ōuyáng Fēng. His name meaning “blade” or “cutting edge”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 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. ↩

12. 九阴真经 – Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng. Legendary martial arts compendium compiled by Huang Shang during the Northern Song dynasty. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 郭靖 – Guō Jìng. His name meaning “tranquillity” or “pacification”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 黄蓉 – Huáng Róng. Her name meaning “lotus” or “hibiscus”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩