The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 12 – Part 5

The heroes cheered as one, and someone was already calling out, “Let the old gentleman lead us himself!” “No need to choose anyone else!”

The old man roared with laughter. “And what sort of article is a smelly old fellow like me? Among the masters of the wulin, the first have always been the Eastern Heretic, the Western Venom, the Southern Emperor, the Northern Beggar and the Central Divinity.¹ The Central Divinity, Chongyang the Perfected One,² passed on many years ago. The Eastern Heretic, Island Master Huang,³ comes and goes alone. The Western Venom is no Han man of our Central Plains, and the Southern Emperor is far away in Dali. Not one of them is a subject of our Great Song. The Alliance Leader of this Resist the Mongols and Defend the Nation Alliance⁴ can be none other than the Northern Beggar, Senior Hong.”

Hong Qigong was the Mount Tai and the Northern Dipper⁵ of the wulin, the man on whom every hope rested. The heroes all applauded, and no one raised another objection.

A voice in the crowd said, “Old Guild Chief Hong is naturally the man to be Alliance Leader of the heroes. Apart from the old gentleman, who else has the skill to win every man’s respect and the virtue to rise above us all, and could shoulder so great a charge?” The voice rang out loud and clear, and everyone looked towards it, yet they could see no one. The speaker was very short, and the people around him hid him from view. Someone asked, “Who said that?”

The short man sprang up and stood on a table. He was not even three feet tall, past forty, and his whole face was taut with fierce energy. Some recognised him as Lei Meng,⁶ the “Short Lion”, a brave man of Jiangxi.⁷ The crowd had been about to laugh, but when they saw the fierce glare he threw left and right, they swallowed their laughter.

Lei Meng said, “But Old Guild Chief Hong comes and goes like a ghost, and hardly shows his face once in ten years. If some great matter of fighting the enemy comes up just when there’s no way to ask the old gentleman what to do, what then?”

The heroes thought, That’s true enough.

Lei Meng went on, “Everything we do today is out of loyalty to our country, without a shred of self-interest. Let’s choose a Deputy Alliance Leader as well, and while Old Alliance Leader Hong is off wandering the four quarters, we’ll all do whatever the deputy says.”

Amid the cheers and applause someone called out, “Guo daxia, Guo Jing!” Someone else called, “Guild Chief Lu would be best.” Another said, “Guild Chief Huang, the Beggars’ Guild’s former Guild Chief, is wise and full of stratagems, and she’s Old Guild Chief Hong’s disciple. I put forward Guild Chief Huang.” Another said, “Why not our host here, Manor Master Lu?” And still others shouted, “Order Leader Ma⁸ of the Quanzhen Order.”⁹ “Changchunzi, Qiu the Perfected One.”¹⁰ For a while opinions were all over the place.

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In the midst of the commotion four Daoists came striding into the hall: Hao Datong,¹¹ Sun Buer,¹² Zhao Zhijing¹³ and Zhen Zhibing.¹⁴ Seeing that they had gone and come back again, Yang Guo thought, Hmph. Come back for another fight with me, have you?

Guo Jing and Lu Guanying¹⁵ were delighted and hurried from their seats to greet them. The Quanzhen Order was held to be the true orthodox line of martial arts under heaven, and a Hero Assembly without any Quanzhen experts would have been the poorer for it.

Hao Datong whispered in Guo Jing’s ear, “Enemies are coming to make trouble. You must be on your guard. We hurried back specially to warn you.”

Guo Jing thought that Hao Datong, Guangningzi,¹⁶ was one of the Quanzhen Order’s few true experts, and that those in the jianghu whose martial arts surpassed his could be counted on one hand. His voice had shaken a little as he said this, so the foe must be formidable indeed. “Ouyang Feng?” Guo Jing asked quietly.

“No,” said Hao Datong. “That Mongol I once lost to.”

Guo Jing’s mind eased, and he nodded. “Prince Huo Du?”¹⁷

Before Hao Datong could answer, horns began to wail beyond the main gate, followed by the broken, fitful striking of stone chimes.¹⁸ “Welcome the honoured guests!” cried Lu Guanying. The words had barely died away when several dozen people, tall and short, were standing before the hall.

The heroes in the hall had been cheering and drinking freely. Seeing so many people suddenly burst in, they were a little surprised, but they all supposed these must be guests come for the Hero Assembly, and since there was no one among them they knew, they thought no more of it.

Guo Jing quietly passed Hao Datong’s warning on to Huang Rong and rose at once, and husband and wife went out with Lu Guanying and his wife to meet the newcomers.

Guo Jing recognised the one with the fine, refined features and the air of a young nobleman as the Mongol Prince Huo Du. The monk with the gaunt face and thin frame was Huo Du’s shixiong,¹⁹ Darba.²⁰ He had met them both before, at the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan. They were first-rate experts, but their martial arts fell short of his own, and he had no fear of them. But the two of them stood to either side, and between them stood a monk in a red robe, enormously tall and enormously thin, built like a bamboo pole, the crown of his head slightly sunken, like a saucer.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong exchanged a glance. They had heard Huang Yaoshi³ speak of the strange martial arts of the Vajra School²¹ of Esoteric Buddhism.²² Trained to the highest level, it left the crown of the head slightly sunken. This man’s crown was deeply sunken. Could his martial arts truly be so very profound? Both of them were on their guard as they bowed together in greeting.

“You have come a long way,” said Guo Jing. “Please be seated and drink a few cups.” Knowing them for enemies, he did not trouble with hollow pleasantries such as “honoured guests” and “welcome”.

Lu Guanying had the manor servants lay fresh tables and set out new cups and dishes.

The Wu brothers had been helping their shifu²³ and shimu²⁴ with the arrangements all along, and Wu Xiuwen, quick of hand and foot, was a first-class hand at such work. The two brothers had the manor servants lay places at the seats of greatest honour, apologising all the while and asking the guests to move. Guo Fu saw Yang Guo sitting there at his ease, not stirring an inch, and the sight of him galled her. She thought, What kind of hero are you supposed to be? If every hero under heaven dropped dead, it still wouldn’t be your turn. She gave Wu Xiuwen a look and jerked her chin at Yang Guo.

Wu Xiuwen understood. He went over to Yang Guo and said, “Big Brother Yang, your seat needs moving.” Without waiting to hear whether he minded, he had the servants carry Yang Guo’s cup and chopsticks to the most out-of-the-way table, in the farthest corner of the room. Yang Guo’s anger was rising, but he said nothing, only laughing coldly to himself.

On the other side, Prince Huo Du was saying to the tall, thin monk, “Shifu, allow me to present two of the most famous heroes of the Central Plains…”

Guo Jing started, and thought, So he’s this Mongol prince’s shifu.

The monk nodded, his eyes half open and half shut.

Prince Huo Du said, “This is Guo daxia, Guo Jing, who was once Marshal of the Right Army in our Mongol campaign to the west. And this is Madam Guo, who is also Guild Chief Huang of the Beggars’ Guild.”

At the words “Marshal of the Right Army in our Mongol campaign to the west”, the monk’s eyes opened wide and a sudden glittering light shot from them. They travelled once over Guo Jing’s face, then drooped half shut again. The Guild Chief of the Beggars’ Guild he seemed not to heed at all.

Prince Huo Du said in a ringing voice, “This is my shizun,²⁵ the Holy Monk of Mongolia, whom all men honour as State Preceptor Jinlun.²⁶ The present Empress of the Great Mongol Nation has named him the Foremost Great Master Protector of the Realm.”²⁷

He said it very loudly. The heroes stared at one another in astonishment, and all of them thought, Here we are, talking about how to hold off the Mongols’ push south, and in walks some Mongol Great Master Protector of the Realm?

Yang Guo felt a sharper chill still. He remembered how, that day on the summit of Mount Hua, his sworn father and Hong Qigong had both praised the skills of the Five Uglies of the Sichuan Border as “remarkable”, and had told them to carry word to their Grand Shifu,²⁸ State Preceptor Jinlun, to come and try his hand. Now State Preceptor Jinlun had come, together with Darba, the Five Uglies’ shifu, but his sworn father and Hong Qigong were no longer in this world. It grieved him, and he knew too that this tall, thin monk must be formidable indeed.

Guo Jing did not know how best to deal with these people, and said only, coolly, “You have come a long way. Please drink a few more cups.”

When the wine had gone round three times, Prince Huo Du rose to his feet and flicked open his folding fan, showing a peony painted on it, so lush and fresh it seemed about to drip. “My shifu and I received no hero’s invitation,” he said in a ringing voice, “yet here we are at the Hero Assembly, brazen enough to come as uninvited guests. But when we thought of the chance to meet so many worthy men, we could not stand on ceremony. Such a gathering is rare, and the hour will not come again. All the heroes under heaven are gathered here, and in my humble view we must choose an Alliance Leader of the heroes, to lead the wulin and stand at the head of all the men of valour under heaven. What say you all?”

“Short Lion” Lei Meng said loudly, “Well said. We have already chosen Old Guild Chief Hong of the Beggars’ Guild as Alliance Leader of the heroes, and we are now choosing a Deputy Alliance Leader. Have you any suggestion to make, sir?”

Huo Du laughed coldly. “Hong Qigong went back to where he came from long ago. Choose a ghost for your Alliance Leader? Do you take us all for dead men?”

At this the heroes broke into uproar, and the members of the Beggars’ Guild were angriest of all, shouting and yelling.

“Very well,” said Huo Du. “If Hong Qigong isn’t dead, let him come out and show himself.”

Lu Youjiao raised the Dog-Beating Staff twice. “Old Guild Chief Hong wanders the world, and no one ever knows where he is. You think you can see him just for the asking?”

Huo Du laughed coldly. “Never mind that nobody can say whether Hong Qigong is alive or dead. Even if he were sitting here safe and sound, how could his skill and his standing ever match my shifu, State Preceptor Jinlun? Hear me, heroes all. There is no second man fit to be Alliance Leader of the wulin under heaven today but State Preceptor Jinlun.”

When the heroes heard this, they all understood why these men had come. Plainly they had learnt that the Hero Assembly would bode ill for the Mongols, and had come to fight for the leadership of the alliance. If State Preceptor Jinlun won it by force of arms, the men of valour of the Central Plains would never obey his orders, but it would still sap the strength of the Han people’s resistance to the Mongols.

Footnotes

1. Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar (东邪西毒南帝北丐). Four surviving members of the Five Greats of the jianghu, determined at the first Huashan Sword Summit. Fifth, Central Divinity Wang Chongyang, has passed away. ↩

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

3. 黄药师 – Huáng Yàoshī. His name meaning “medicine master”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

4. Resist the Mongols and Defend the Nation Alliance (抗蒙保国盟). Patriotic alliance proposed at the Hero Assembly to unite the jianghu against the Mongol invasion. ↩

5. 泰山北斗 – Tàishān Běidǒu. Literally Mount Tai and the Northern Dipper; a classical metaphor for the foremost authority in a field, the one all others look up to. ↩

6. 雷猛 – Léi Měng. Known as the “Short Lion”, a brave man of Jiangxi famed for his fierce spirit despite his small stature. ↩

7. Jiangxi (江西). Province in southeastern China. ↩

8. 马钰 – Mǎ Yù. His name meaning “precious jade”. Danyangzi, the eldest of the seven senior disciples of Quanzhen and the Order’s leader. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. Quanzhen Order (全真教). Major Daoist school founded by Wang Chongyang. In Jin Yong’s wuxia universe, it is one of the most powerful martial arts sects, based at the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan. Its seven senior disciples are known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. ↩

10. 丘处机 – Qiū Chǔjī. His name meaning “dwelling in opportunity”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 郝大通 – Hǎo Dàtōng. His name meaning “great penetration”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 孙不二 – Sūn Bù’èr. Her name meaning “not two”, signifying non-duality. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 赵志敬 – Zhào Zhìjìng. His name meaning “aspiring to reverence”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 甄志丙 – Zhēn Zhìbǐng. His name meaning “aspiring to the third stem”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. Lu Guanying (陆冠英). Master of Lu Family Manor at Dasheng Pass, son of Lu Chengfeng of Peach Blossom Island. ↩

16. 广宁子 – Guǎngníngzǐ. Hao Datong’s Daoist name. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 霍都王子 – Huòdū Wángzǐ. Literally Prince Huo Du; a Mongol princely title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. Stone Chime (磬). Traditional Chinese percussion instrument made of stone, often used in religious ceremonies. ↩

19. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

21. 金刚宗 – Jīngāng Zōng. Vajra (Diamond/Thunderbolt) school of Esoteric Buddhism, known for distinctive martial arts including the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. ↩

22. 密教 – Mìjiào. Esoteric school, referring to Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism (Vajrayana), associated in wuxia fiction with distinctive martial arts. ↩

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

24. 师母 – shīmǔ. The wife of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Mǔ means mother. ↩

25. 师尊 – shīzūn. A reverent form of shifu. Shī means teacher. Zūn means honoured. ↩

26. 金轮国师 – Jīnlún Guóshī. Literally Golden Wheel State Preceptor. The Mongol Empire’s State Preceptor and a martial arts adept. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

27. 第一护国大师 – Dìyī Hùguó Dàshī. Literally the first great master protecting the nation; the title the Mongol court conferred on State Preceptor Jinlun. ↩

28. 师祖 – shīzǔ. Literally master’s ancestor. The shifu of one’s own shifu, two rungs up the lineage. ↩