The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 13 – Part 6

Yang Guo also called out in Mongolian, “I have won!” He hurled the broken half of his iron sword at Da’erba’s face. Da’erba twisted aside, confused. How could eldest shixiong have won? Was that move a feint? He saw Yang Guo charging in barehanded and dared not be careless. He hurriedly raised his pestle to guard himself. In the Ancient Tomb, Yang Guo had trained under Xiaolongnü in palm techniques, practising until his two palms could block the flight of eighty-one sparrows, not letting a single bird escape. This “Heavenly Net, Earthly Snare Technique”¹ was Lin Chaoying’s² unique secret, its moves and forms never having descended a single step from Mount Zhongnan.³ Now that he used it, it proved indeed incomparably dense and seamless. Though barehanded, its power was no less than when he held a sword. Da’erba made the vajra pestle whistle and roar through the air, but Yang Guo, with the highest lightness skill, darted and threaded through the gaps in the pestle’s path. Though the peril was extreme at times, the spaces between life and death impossibly narrow, the pestle never once touched his body. Instead, he clawed, tore, split, and hacked, seized and hooked and struck, blending small seizing-hand techniques⁴ with the Heavenly Net, Earthly Snare palm method, seizing the offensive at every turn, as though eighty-one sparrows were attacking from all eight directions at once.

They fought on. Da’erba’s divine strength only increased, but Yang Guo grew ever lighter and more agile. The years of training on the Ancient Tomb’s cold jade bed,⁵ dashing and spinning at full speed within that tiny chamber, the fruits of that labour were now fully displayed. Occasionally he used “Soaring Through the Azure Sky,”⁶ leaping high and swooping low, his lightness skill even more extraordinary.

Xiaolongnü sat on the stone plinth by the pillar, a faint smile on her face as she watched the battle. Seeing that Yang Guo could not overcome his opponent after a long struggle, she drew a pair of white gloves from her bosom and called, “Guoer, catch!” With a flick of her right hand, she tossed the gloves over.

These gloves were woven from extremely fine, extremely tough white gold thread.⁷ Though soft and thin, no treasured blade or sharp edge could cut them. Hao Datong, seeing the gloves flying through the air, felt his expression change slightly. Years ago during that battle at the Chongyang Palace,⁸ Xiaolongnü had worn these very gloves and twisted his longsword until it broke, driving him to the brink of suicide. The sight now stirred those old memories.

Yang Guo caught the gloves, stepped back, and swiftly pulled them on. Swaying his waist, he began to perform the most wondrous and elaborate of the Ancient Tomb School’s martial arts: the Beauty Fist Technique.⁹ Every move of this fist technique imitated a celebrated beauty of antiquity. When performed by a man, it was originally rather unseemly, but Yang Guo had modified the postures during his training. The move names and fist methods remained the same, but the body movements had changed from alluring and seductive to graceful and dashing. The result left the watching heroes completely bewildered. One moment he danced like a floating sylph, the next he stood solemn and still, his expressions shifting through endless strange transformations.

The postures and moods of women are, by nature, both varied and quick to change. The celebrated beauties of every age, each with a distinctive character, the arch of a brow, the curve of a smile, the divide between melancholy and joy, are harder still to know and measure. To distil the shifting, unfathomable moods and expressions of a thousand years of legendary beauties into martial arts, and to add to that the dignified grace of goddesses and the ethereal forms of immortal maidens, how could ordinary mortals possibly comprehend it? Yang Guo used the move “Hongyu Beats the Drum,”¹⁰ his arms crossing in rapid strikes. Da’erba raised his pestle horizontally to block. Yang Guo shifted to “Hongfu Flees by Night,”¹¹ driving straight through the gate with startling suddenness. Da’erba raised his pestle vertically to parry. Yang Guo suddenly used “Lüzhu Falls from the Tower,”¹² hurling himself at the enemy’s lower body. Da’erba was alarmed. Why is eldest shixiong’s technique so unpredictable? He leapt up sharply to evade the chopping left palm. Yang Guo clapped his palms together several times, then struck out in a continuous, unbroken rhythm, this was “Wenji Returns to Han,”¹³ with its eighteen stanzas of the nomad flute.

Every move had its origin in a classical story, but Da’erba was a Mongol monk, how could he understand these Central Plains allusions? In an instant, Yang Guo had him flailing in confusion, attacking high and low, east and west. With the golden-thread gloves on his hands, Yang Guo seized every chance to use moves like “Hongxian Steals the Box,”¹⁴ “Mulan Draws the Bow,”¹⁵ “Ban Ji Composes History,”¹⁶ and “Chang’e Steals the Elixir”¹⁷ to try to wrest away the golden pestle, driving Da’erba to roar in frustration, thoroughly flustered. The heroes were overjoyed and cheered in unison to boost his spirit.

The Golden Wheel National Preceptor saw that his disciple’s martial arts were clearly superior to the boy’s, but fear had made him timid, allowing the opponent to seize the offensive repeatedly and putting him in an awkward position. “Use the Unsurpassed Great Force Pestle Technique!”¹⁸ he barked.

Da’erba answered, “Yes!” He gripped the pestle with both hands and began to swing. Even single-handed, his pestle-work had been divinely powerful. Now, using both hands and putting the strength of his waist into it, the roar of the vajra pestle’s passage through the air redoubled. This Unsurpassed Great Force Pestle Technique had little variation, eight horizontal sweeps, eight straight thrusts, sixteen moves in all. But those sixteen moves, repeated over and over, sweeping horizontally and thrusting straight, forced Yang Guo to retreat far away. He dared not even face the weapon head-on, let alone let the wind of its passage touch him.

The Diancang Fisherman, ever since his iron oar snapped, had nursed a deep grievance. Now, seeing the fearsome majesty of this Unsurpassed Great Force Pestle Technique, he thought to himself that among his own oar techniques there was truly no move so supremely hard and ferocious. He could not help feeling a secret admiration.

They fought on. Seven or eight of the red candles in the hall had already been extinguished by the wind of the pestle. Yang Guo could only rely on his lightness skill, leaping east and springing west, dodging with all his might, seeking only to avoid being struck by the pestle or grazed by its wind. How could he possibly counterattack? The heroes of the Central Plains were all stricken with fear and fell silent, but the Mongol warriors roared their approval like a thunderclap.

Pressed relentlessly by the golden pestle, Yang Guo could do nothing but retreat. Before long, he had been driven into a corner of the hall. He wanted to change tactics, but could not free up the slightest movement. This Unsurpassed Great Force Pestle Technique carried with it three parts of mad abandon, and Da’erba, caught up in its frenzy, had forgotten that the person before him was his eldest shixiong reborn. Seeing him trapped in the corner with nowhere left to retreat, he roared, “You die!” He swept the pestle horizontally. A thunderous crash followed, and smoke and dust filled the air as bricks and earth flew everywhere, the pestle had smashed a great hole through the hall’s wall.

In that hair’s-breadth moment, Yang Guo used the Heavenly Net, Earthly Snare Technique to vault over Da’erba’s head. Even in such desperate straits, he did not forget to answer in Mongolian: “You die!”

Everyone had assumed Da’erba’s move would succeed. Guo Jing, not waiting for the pestle to complete its swing, had already rushed forward to strike at Da’erba’s back. Suddenly he saw a flash of crimson robe, the Golden Wheel National Preceptor was launching a palm strike at him. Guo Jing saw that the opponent’s palm was coming with extraordinary speed and hastily used “The Dragon Appears in the Field”¹⁹ to deflect it. Their two palms met without the slightest sound, and both men swayed. Guo Jing retreated three steps, but the Golden Wheel National Preceptor stood firmly in place. The National Preceptor’s raw strength far exceeded Guo Jing’s, and his cultivation was deeper too, though his palm techniques and martial skills were somewhat inferior. Guo Jing, by yielding ground, had dissipated the enemy’s fierce force to avoid injury. The Golden Wheel National Preceptor, however, was intensely proud. He had forced himself to take the blow solidly, enduring a dull pain in his chest, and stood motionless. Even masters of Guo Jing’s and the National Preceptor’s calibre had believed Yang Guo was surely in mortal danger, hence one rushed to save him, and the other moved to block the rescue. Who could have imagined that Yang Guo possessed such an extraordinary technique, slipping away through the gap as the golden pestle grazed past his body? Seeing him escape danger, both men were astonished, one delighted, the other disappointed, and each withdrew.

Da’erba’s single strike had missed. Without even turning, he swung the golden pestle backward with ferocious force. Yang Guo, seeing the enemy’s move coming with terrifying speed, instinctively darted along the ground. Like a swallow threading through a curtain,²⁰ he skimmed just above the floor, passing mere inches beneath the golden pestle. This was another technique from the Heavenly Net, Earthly Snare, but in his desperation, he had unconsciously blended in some of the Nine Yin Manual’s²¹ arts, techniques he had learned from the carvings left by Wang Chongyang²² on the stone chamber ceiling in the Ancient Tomb.

Huang Rong was astonished. “Jing gege, how does Guoer know the Nine Yin Manual? Did you teach him?” She assumed Guo Jing, out of consideration for his old bond with Yang Guo’s father, had taught him the manual on the journey to Mount Zhongnan. Guo Jing said, “No. If I had taught him, would I hide it from you?” Huang Rong made a sound of acknowledgment. She had always known that her husband spoke one word and meant one word, even to strangers, and to her he would certainly never lie. But she watched as Yang Guo twisted and dodged, each time in mortal danger relying on the manual’s techniques to protect himself. Yet he had clearly not fully mastered it and could not use the manual’s arts to counterattack and win. Though he kept himself alive, this contest, it seemed, was destined to end in defeat. Huang Rong sighed inwardly. Guoer is truly a prodigy. If he could study with me for a year or half, and fully master the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and the arts of the manual, how could this Mongol monk possibly be his match?

In her vexation, her gaze wandered, and she suddenly noticed the Beggars’ Guild’s traitor Elder Peng²³ among the Mongol warriors, his face full of glee. An idea sparked in her mind. “Guoer!” she called. “The Soul-Shifting Technique!²⁴ The Soul-Shifting Technique!” The Nine Yin Manual contained an art called the “Soul-Shifting Technique,” which used the power of the mind to overcome enemies. Years ago at the Beggars’ Guild assembly on Mount Jun²⁵ by Lake Dongting,²⁶ Huang Rong had used this very technique to overcome Elder Peng’s hypnotic “Heart-Seizing Art,”²⁷ and the sight of him now brought it back to her.

Footnotes

1. 天罗地网势 – Tiānluó Dìwǎng Shì. Ancient Tomb School qinggong for intercepting and capturing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

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

4. 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. ↩

5. 寒玉床 – Hán Yù Chuáng. Bed carved from rare deep-cold jade found by Lin Chaoying. Training on it greatly accelerates neili cultivation by forcing the practitioner to circulate qi constantly to resist the cold. ↩

6. 夭矫空碧 – Yāojiǎo Kōngbì. Qinggong technique from the Ancient Tomb School involving dramatic high leaps and swooping descents. ↩

7. White gold thread (白金丝). Báijīn Sī. Extremely fine, extremely durable metal thread woven into gloves. Resistant to all blades, it allows the wearer to grab and twist sharp weapons barehanded. ↩

8. 重阳宫 – Chóngyáng Gōng. Main temple of Quanzhen Order on Zhongnan Mountain. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 美女拳法 – Měinǚ Quánfǎ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. Hongyu Beats the Drum (红玉击鼓). Hóngyù Jīgǔ. Beauty Fist move based on the story of Liang Hongyu, a Song-dynasty woman who beat war drums to rally troops against invading forces. ↩

11. Hongfu Flees by Night (红拂夜奔). Hóngfú Yèbēn. Beauty Fist move based on the Tang-dynasty tale of Hongfu, a courtesan who eloped with the man she loved under cover of night. ↩

12. Lüzhu Falls from the Tower (绿珠堕楼). Lǜzhū Duòlóu. Beauty Fist move based on the story of Lüzhu, a Jin-dynasty beauty who leapt to her death from a tower rather than be taken by an enemy warlord. ↩

13. Wenji Returns to Han (文姬归汉). Wénjī Guī Hàn. Beauty Fist move based on Cai Wenji, a Han-dynasty poet captured by nomads who was later ransomed and returned. Her story inspired the “Eighteen Stanzas of the Nomad Flute” (胡笳十八拍). ↩

14. Hongxian Steals the Box (红线盗盒). Hóngxiàn Dào Hé. Beauty Fist move based on the Tang-dynasty tale of Hongxian, a female spy who infiltrated an enemy camp and stole a crucial box. ↩

15. Mulan Draws the Bow (木兰弯弓). Mùlán Wān Gōng. Beauty Fist move based on Hua Mulan, the legendary woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the army in her father’s place. ↩

16. Ban Ji Composes History (班姬作史). Bān Jī Zuò Shǐ. Beauty Fist move based on Ban Zhao, the Han-dynasty female historian who completed her brother Ban Gu’s Book of Han. ↩

17. Chang’e Steals the Elixir (嫦娥窃药). Cháng’é Qiè Yào. Beauty Fist move based on the myth of Chang’e, who stole the elixir of immortality and flew to the moon. ↩

18. Unsurpassed Great Force Pestle Technique (无上大力杵法). Wúshàng Dàlì Chǔfǎ. Vajra Sect technique of sixteen simple moves (eight horizontal, eight vertical) performed with overwhelming physical power. Its simplicity is its strength. ↩

19. “The Dragon Appears in the Field” (见龙在田). Jiàn Lóng Zài Tián. Second move of the Eighteen Palms of Dragon Subduing, a defensive technique. Name comes from the Book of Changes (I Ching). ↩

20. Swallow threading through a curtain (燕子穿帘). Yànzi Chuān Lián. Lightness skill technique involving a flat, skimming trajectory just above the ground, like a swallow darting through a door curtain. ↩

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

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

23. Elder Peng (彭长老). One of the Beggars’ Guild’s four great elders who betrayed the clan and joined the Mongols. ↩

24. 移魂大法 – Yíhún Dàfǎ. Technique from the Nine Yin Manual. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 君山 – Jūn Shān. Island in Lake Dongting, site of the Beggars’ Guild assembly where Huang Rong became chief. ↩

26. 洞庭湖 – Dòngtíng Hú. Great lake in Hunan province. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

27. Heart-Seizing Art (慑心术). Shèxīn Shù. Hypnotic technique used by Elder Peng to control others’ minds. Huang Rong once defeated it using the Soul-Shifting Technique. ↩