The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 12 – Part 3

Years ago, when Hong Qigong competed with Ouyang Feng on the summit of Mount Hua, he had exhausted his neili. He taught Yang Guo every move and every variation of the staff technique for him to demonstrate to Ouyang Feng, but he did not pass on a single word of the combat formulae. He reasoned that Yang Guo, knowing the moves without understanding the principles, would gain no practical benefit, and thus the clan’s rules would not be violated. And since he had not truly been fighting Ouyang Feng at the time, there was no need to teach the combat formulae.

But now Yang Guo was hearing every word of those formulae, complete and in order. His natural gifts surpassed Lu Youjiao’s a hundredfold. After only three recitations, he had memorised every word without missing a syllable, while Lu Youjiao was still stumbling and tangling himself in knots trying to recite it.

After Huang Rong became pregnant the second time, she had carelessly injured her foetal energy¹ during an internal cultivation session, leaving her physically weakened. After teaching for half the day, she felt quite fatigued. She leaned against the rock to rest, closed her eyes to gather her spirits, then called out, “Fu’er, Ru’er,² Wen’er,³ Guoer, all of you, come rolling down here!”

Guo Fu and the other three were badly startled. She knew all along, without showing a single sign!

Guo Fu laughed. “Mother, you are really something. Nothing escapes you.” She executed the move “Young Swallow Returns to the Forest”⁴ and landed lightly before her. The Wu brothers jumped down after her. Yang Guo slowly climbed down the tree.

Huang Rong snorted. “With your level of skill, you think you can spy on me? If I could not even detect a few little thieves like you, I would not last half a day in the jianghu⁵ without falling into some villain’s trap.”

Guo Fu looked a little sheepish, but she knew her mother had always been indulgent and would not scold her. “Mother,” she laughed, “I dragged the three of them here to see the famous Dog-Beating Staff Technique that shakes the jianghu. But Elder Lu’s performance was not impressive at all. Mother, you show us.”

Huang Rong smiled. She took the bamboo staff from Lu Youjiao’s hands. “All right. Watch carefully. I am going to trip a little puppy.”

Guo Fu focused every ounce of attention on her lower body, ready to leap up the moment the staff came at her legs. Huang Rong flicked the bamboo staff. Guo Fu hurriedly jumped, her feet leaving the ground by half a foot, and at that exact moment the staff swept across, tripping her effortlessly. Guo Fu scrambled up, crying, “No fair, no fair. That was my own fault.”

Huang Rong laughed. “Fine. Do whatever you like.”

Guo Fu planted herself in a Horse Stance,⁶ steady and firm. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Big Brother Wu, Little Brother Wu, stand beside me in Horse Stance too.” The Wu brothers complied. Guo Fu hooked her arms through theirs, combining the strength of three people. They were as immovable as a mountain. “Now, Mother,” she declared, “I am not afraid of you any more. Only Father’s Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing⁷ could push us over now.”

Huang Rong smiled faintly. She swung the staff horizontally toward their faces with fierce, urgent force. The three of them had to lean back to evade. The moment they did, the Horse Stances anchoring their lower bodies naturally loosened. Huang Rong swept the staff back in a “Turn” formula⁸ that cut across their feet. All three lost their footing and toppled to the ground simultaneously. Fortunately, their martial foundation was already quite solid. The instant their upper bodies touched the ground, they sprang back up.

Guo Fu cried, “Mother, that was another trick. I do not accept it.”

Huang Rong laughed. “The eight formulae I was just teaching Elder Lu. Trip, Chop, Entwine, Jab, Hook, Draw, Block, Turn⁹, which one relies on brute force? You say it is a trick, and you are right. In martial arts, nine parts out of ten are tricks. If you can trick a master into falling, you have won. Only martial arts like your father’s Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing rely on true power in direct confrontation, with no need for clever feints. But how many people under heaven can reach that level?”

These words made Yang Guo nod inwardly. He contemplated the Dog-Beating Staff principles that Huang Rong had described, cross-referencing them with the moves Hong Qigong had taught him, and the profound mysteries seemed inexhaustible. Guo Fu and the other two understood Huang Rong’s words, but they had not grasped the deeper truth within them.

Huang Rong continued, “The Dog-Beating Staff Technique is the most idiosyncratic martial art in the wulin.¹⁰ It stands entirely on its own, unrelated to the techniques of any other school. If you learn only the moves without knowing the formulae, it is completely useless. Even the most brilliant mind could hardly invent a single formula from scratch to match the moves. But if you know the formulae without me personally teaching you the moves, all you have is the eight words: Trip, Chop, Entwine, Jab, Hook, Draw, Block, Turn. That is why I am not afraid of you four little imps eavesdropping. If I were teaching some other martial art, you must never spy or steal a lesson without my permission. Do you understand?”

Guo Fu hastily agreed. She laughed, “Mother, why would I need to steal your techniques? As if there were anything you would refuse to teach me.”

Huang Rong tapped her lightly on the bottom with the bamboo staff and smiled. “Go play with the Wu brothers. Guoer, I have a few words to say to you. Elder Lu, go and think it over slowly. If you cannot remember it all at once, I will teach you more another day.”

Lu Youjiao, Guo Fu, and the others took their leave and returned to Lu Manor. Only Yang Guo remained.

Yang Guo’s heart was pounding. He feared that Huang Rong knew he had stolen the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and meant to use lethal means to take his life.

Seeing the doubt and alarm on his face, Huang Rong took his hand and sat him down beside her. Gently, she said, “Guoer, there are many things about you that I do not understand, and if I asked, I doubt you would tell me. But I do not blame you for this. When I was young, my temperament was also extremely strange. It was only thanks to your Uncle Guo’s endless tolerance that I got through it.” She gave a soft sigh, and a faint smile touched the corners of her mouth as she remembered the mischief of her own youth. She went on, “I did not teach you martial arts because I meant well for you. I never imagined it would cause you to suffer so much instead. Your Uncle Guo loves me and cherishes me. This kindness, I naturally must repay with all my strength. He has a great wish for you: that you will grow into an upright man who stands between heaven and earth. I will do everything in my power to help you learn what is good, to fulfil his wish. Guoer, you must never let him lose heart. All right?”

Yang Guo had never heard Huang Rong speak to him with such tenderness and sincerity. He saw her eyes filled with love and compassion, and he was deeply moved. A hot rush of emotion surged through his chest, and he could not help bursting into tears.

Huang Rong stroked his hair and said gently, “Guoer, I will hide nothing from you. I did not like your father, so I have never liked you either. But from now on, I will treat you well. Once my health recovers, I will teach you all my martial arts. Your Uncle Guo has said the same.”

Yang Guo grew even more distressed. His sobs grew louder. Choking, he said, “Auntie Guo, I have hidden many things from you. I… I… I will tell you everything.”

Huang Rong stroked his hair. “I am very tired today. We can talk about it in a few days. As long as you are a good child, I will be happy. In a little while, the Beggars’ Guild will hold its assembly. You should come and watch.”

Yang Guo thought to himself that the news of Hong Qigong’s death certainly had to be announced at the assembly. He wiped his tears and nodded repeatedly.

Beneath that great tree, their words were spoken from the heart, and the old mutual resentment melted away. By the end, Yang Guo had gone from weeping to smiling. Thinking of the hope and goodwill in Guo Jing’s words, he felt, for the first time since parting with Xiaolongnü,¹¹ a warmth of this kind.

After talking a while longer, Huang Rong felt a faint pain in her abdomen. She slowly rose. “Let us go back.” She took his hand and walked at a leisurely pace.

Yang Guo thought he should tell her the news of Hong Qigong’s death first. “Auntie Guo,” he said, “I have something very important to tell you.”

But Huang Rong felt the flow of qi¹² in her dantian¹³ growing increasingly uneven. She furrowed her brow. “Tomorrow. I… I do not feel well.”

Yang Guo saw how ashen her face had become and grew worried. He felt that her hand was somewhat cold. Summoning his courage, he secretly circulated his neili and transmitted a stream of warmth through his palm into hers. During the time when he and Xiaolongnü had practised the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra¹⁴ together on Mount Zhongnan,¹⁵ they had trained this palm-to-palm transmission technique until it was extremely proficient. But he feared that Huang Rong’s neili might clash with his own. At first, he sent only a tiny thread through. Finding that it flowed without obstruction, he increased the force.

Huang Rong felt the neili he transmitted, dense, continuous, and wholly different from Quanzhen neili. Yet it was gentle and rich, no less than that of a Quanzhen master. It did her body great good. In moments, her disrupted blood and qi had returned to smooth flow, and colour bloomed in her cheeks. She was astonished. Where did this child learn such advanced neili? She smiled at him, full of approval.

She was about to question him when Guo Fu came running from a distance, shouting, “Mother! Mother! Guess who has arrived!”

Huang Rong laughed. “Today all the heroes under heaven are gathering. How could I guess who has come?” Then a thought struck her, and she said with delight, “Ah, it must be the Wu brothers’ shibo¹⁶ and shishu¹⁷. We have not seen them for many years.”

Guo Fu said, “Mother, you are so clever. How did you guess at once?”

Huang Rong laughed. “What is so difficult about that? The Wu brothers never leave your side for an instant. If they are suddenly not with you, it must be because their own kin have arrived.”

Yang Guo had always prided himself on his cleverness, but seeing Huang Rong deduce matters with such accuracy, far surpassing his own abilities, he could not help feeling awed.

Huang Rong added, “Fu’er, congratulations. You will have the chance to learn yet another advanced martial art. I only fear you will not be able to master it.”

Guo Fu asked, “What martial art?”

Yang Guo blurted out, “The Yiyang Finger!”¹⁸

Guo Fu ignored him and said offhandedly, “What do you know? Mother, what martial art is it?”

Huang Rong laughed. “Did Brother Yang not already tell you?”

Guo Fu said, “Oh, so Mother told you already.”

Both Huang Rong and Yang Guo smiled and said nothing. Huang Rong thought to herself, Guoer’s intelligence surpasses the Wu brothers’ tenfold. Fu’er is a fool, that goes without saying. He knows that the Yiyang Finger is Great Master Yideng’s¹⁹ signature art. The Wu brothers’ shishu and shibo have arrived, and out of pity for the orphaned brothers, they will certainly teach them. And the brothers, eager to please Fu’er, will naturally pass on to her whatever they learn.

Guo Fu, meanwhile, was thoroughly perplexed. Why had her mother told Yang Guo about this first? Could it really be that she intended to betroth her to this little beggar? At the thought, she could not help rolling her eyes at Yang Guo and making a face.

---

Among Great Master Yideng of the Dali Kingdom’s²⁰ four great disciples. Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer, Scholar²¹, the Wu brothers’ father, Wu Santong,²² was the third, the Farmer. Ever since he had been wounded in battle with Li Mochou,²³ his whereabouts had been unknown, and no one knew whether he lived or died. The two who had come to attend the Hero Assembly this time were the Fisherman, Master of the Hidden Waters,²⁴ and the Scholar, Zhu Ziliu.²⁵

Zhu Ziliu and Huang Rong began trading verbal jabs the moment they met. Separated now for more than ten years, they renewed their battle of wits with relish. After the pleasantries, Master of the Hidden Waters and Zhu Ziliu indeed found a quiet room and taught the Wu brothers the fundamentals of the Yiyang Finger.

---

That morning, still more heroes and gallants arrived at Lu Manor. The Lu Manor was large, but it was now packed to bursting.

Footnotes

1. Foetal Energy (胎气). In traditional Chinese medicine, the vital energy that nourishes the foetus during pregnancy. Disturbance of foetal energy can cause illness in the mother. ↩

2. Ru’er (儒儿). Affectionate diminutive for Wu Dunru. ↩

3. 文儿 (Wen’er). Affectionate diminutive for Wu Xiuwen. ↩

4. “Young Swallow Returns to the Forest.” 乳燕投林 – Rǔyàn Tóu Lín. Qinggong move named after poetic imagery. ↩

5. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. Itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them, including pedlars, physicians, fortune-tellers, entertainers, boatmen, beggars, outlaws and the like. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. Horse Stance (马步). Fundamental martial arts stance where the practitioner squats with feet wide apart as though riding a horse, building leg strength and stability. ↩

7. 降龙十八掌 – Xiánglóng Shíbā Zhǎng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 转字诀 – Zhuǎn Zì Jué. One of the eight formulae of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, using rotational force. ↩

9. 八诀 – Bā Jué. Trip, chop, entwine, jab, hook, draw, block, and turn; the eight core principles of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique. ↩

10. 武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Those who actually practise, teach or study martial arts. Wulin sits inside the jianghu and is narrower than it: every member of the wulin belongs to the jianghu, but a pedlar or physician of the jianghu who never trained is no part of the wulin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 气 – qì. Literally breath or vital energy. Fundamental life force flowing through all living things, central to Chinese medicine and martial arts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 丹田 – dāntián. Literally cinnabar field. Primary energy centre below the navel, where qi is stored and cultivated. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 玉女心经 – Yùnǚ Xīnjīng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 终南山 – Zhōngnán Shān. Sacred Daoist mountain housing both Quanzhen Order and Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 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. ↩

17. 师叔 – shīshū. Junior lineage uncle. Shidi or shimei of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Shū means father’s younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

19. 一灯大师 – Yīdēng Dàshī. Literally one-lamp master; a Buddhist honorific title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 大理 – Dàlǐ. Historical kingdom in present-day Yunnan Province (937–1253), contemporaneous with the Song dynasty. In the Condor Trilogy it is associated with the Duan imperial family and Great Master Yideng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 渔樵耕读 – Yú Qiáo Gēng Dú. Four great disciples who followed Emperor Duan Zhixing into monkhood, representing the four idealised occupations of traditional Chinese culture: fisherman, woodcutter, farmer, and scholar. Wu Santong is the Farmer. ↩

22. 武三通 – Wǔ Sāntōng. His name meaning “three penetrations” or “three communications”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 李莫愁 – Lǐ Mòchóu. Her name meaning “do not sorrow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

24. Master of the Hidden Waters (泗水渔隐). Fisherman among Great Master Yideng’s four great disciples. ↩

25. 朱子柳 – Zhū Zǐliǔ. His name meaning “master willow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩