The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 13 – Part 7

The Ancient Tomb School’s Jade Maiden Heart Sutra¹ required two practitioners working in unison and demanded that their hearts and minds be connected. When Wang Chongyang carved the essentials of the Nine Yin Manual in the Ancient Tomb’s stone chamber, he had included the outline of the Soul-Shifting Technique precisely to disrupt the heart-connection that the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra required. Once heart-connection was obstructed, the Heart Sutra’s many wondrous applications could not be used. Yang Guo remembered the core principles of the Soul-Shifting Technique. He had always trusted Huang Rong’s abilities and thought, Since Auntie Guo says this, there must be a reason. I am certain to lose anyway. I might as well try. He continued to dodge and parry with his fists and feet, but in his mind he banished all thought and desire, following the meditation methods recorded in the manual. From “Stopping the Constructed Mind”² he progressed to “Realising True Cessation,”³ calming his spirit into oneness without a single stray thought. Now he fought purely by instinct, dodging at every sound, evading at every shift of wind, his eyes fixed blankly on his enemy.

After a few more moves, Da’erba sensed something strange in Yang Guo’s behaviour. He glanced at him and brought the golden pestle smashing down. Yang Guo used a move from the Beauty Fist called “Willowy Waist, So Slender,”⁴ swaying his waist to evade. Since he was now employing the Soul-Shifting Technique, his mind and body were one, whatever move his fists and feet performed, that expression appeared on his face. Da’erba saw a sudden scholarly air appear on his face, how could he know that Yang Guo was imitating the dance of Xiaoman,⁵ beloved concubine of the Tang poet Bai Letian?⁶ He stared blankly as the golden pestle came straight down at Yang Guo’s head. Yang Guo tilted his head aside, spread his five fingers, and combed them through his own hair. His hand followed through with a soft, flowing wave, a faint smile on his lips, this was the move “Lihua Dresses Her Hair.”⁷ Zhang Lihua⁸ was the favourite consort of the Last Ruler of Southern Tang,⁹ her hair seven feet long and so lustrous it could reflect a person’s image. The Last Ruler neglected affairs of state for her and lost his kingdom, such was her seductive power. When Yang Guo smiled like this, Da’erba was affected and smiled in return. Yang Guo had delicate, handsome features. With a smile added, his charm increased. Da’erba, with his high, jutting cheekbones and sunken cheeks, mimicking Yang Guo’s smile, made every onlooker’s hair stand on end.

Seeing Da’erba freeze, Yang Guo thrust out his finger, this was the move “Pingji the Needle Goddess.”¹⁰ Da’erba twisted aside, his face unconsciously mirroring the expression of a woman carefully sewing. Huang Rong, seeing that Yang Guo had grasped her meaning and could actually use the Soul-Shifting Technique to affect his enemy, was overjoyed. She said quietly to Guo Jing, “Guoer’s destiny is extraordinary. When you were his age, your martial arts were not yet at this level.” Guo Jing’s face lit up with pleasure. He nodded, his eyes fixed on the two figures in the centre of the hall without blinking.

The Soul-Shifting Technique relied purely on the resonance of spiritual force. If the opponent’s mind was calm and focused, the technique often had no effect. If the opponent’s neili was greater, the force could rebound, and the caster would fall under its control instead. In a duel, if the caster’s martial arts were stronger, fists, feet, and weapons would already suffice for victory, making the technique unnecessary. If the caster’s cultivation was inferior, he dared not use it rashly. Thus, though the technique was profound and subtle, it was of little practical use in combat. But Da’erba, having heard Yang Guo speak Mongolian, was already eight or nine parts convinced that he was his eldest shixiong reborn. Because of the awe in his heart, he was extremely susceptible. That was why Yang Guo had succeeded on his first attempt. Had the technique been used against Huo Dou, since Yang Guo had never practised it beforehand and his neili was inferior to his opponent’s, disaster would surely have followed.

Now Yang Guo performed the Beauty Fist Technique, now steps like lotus blooms, now form like a swaying willow. Da’erba imitated every move. The spectators watched, half horrified, half convulsed with laughter.

Guo Fu had long since doubled over laughing. “Mother,” she said, “Brother Yang’s technique is marvellous. Why do you not teach me?”

Huang Rong said, “If you learned the Soul-Shifting Technique, you would turn heaven and earth upside down, and in the end you would only harm yourself.” She took her daughter’s hand and said gravely, “Do not think this is just for fun. Brother Yang is locked in a life-and-death struggle with that monk. This is far more dangerous than fighting with blades!” Guo Fu stuck out her tongue and fixed her eyes on Yang Guo. In her heart, it still seemed like play. Seeing that when Yang Guo smiled, Da’erba smiled, and when Yang Guo frowned, Da’erba frowned, she began to imitate them too.

But the Soul-Shifting Technique was fearsome in the extreme. She had only mimicked a couple of gestures before her mind grew hazy, and she began walking step by step toward the centre of the hall. Huang Rong was badly startled and hurriedly pulled her back. By now, Guo Fu’s mind was already under the technique’s sway, and she struggled to throw off her mother’s grip. Huang Rong reversed her hold, seized her daughter’s wrist, and dragged her back, turning her face away so she could not see Yang Guo. Guo Fu struggled a few more times, but with her pulse point held, she could not move. Her head swam, and she fell asleep in her mother’s arms.

By now, Da’erba was entirely under Yang Guo’s control. When Yang Guo used “Xizi Clutches Her Heart,”¹¹ Da’erba immediately followed with “Dongshi Copies the Frown.”¹² When Yang Guo used “The Goddess of the Luo River’s Subtle Steps,”¹³ Da’erba followed in lockstep. “light as a startled crow, sinuous as a wandering serpent.” The Golden Wheel National Preceptor had long since seen that something was wrong. He called out repeatedly, but Da’erba acted as though he could not hear. Yang Guo saw that the moment had come. He suddenly used “Cao Ling Cuts Off Her Nose,”¹⁴ slashing his palm diagonally across his own face. The left palm swept past, then the right, in an unbroken rhythm. In ancient times, the wife of Cao Wenshu,¹⁵ named Ling, had cut off her own nose after her husband’s death to show she would never remarry. In the fist technique, this move was originally a palm sweeping before one’s face to deflect an enemy’s strike to the head. But Yang Guo brought his palm several inches closer, so it appeared to slash his own cheek. Though it looked forceful, in truth his palm merely brushed his face lightly. Da’erba had no way of knowing this. He struck himself across the face with both palms as hard as he could. With his divine strength, each palm carried over a hundred jin of force. After more than ten blows, he could no longer endure it and knocked himself senseless to the ground.

Yang Guo quietly retreated several steps and sat down beside Xiaolongnü. He rested his right hand on his chin, slowly extended his left hand, let out a long sigh, and assumed an expression of profound loneliness. This was the closing form of the Beauty Fist Technique, called “Secluded Dwelling in the Ancient Tomb”¹⁶, but it was Yang Guo’s own creation. Lin Chaoying had not known it, and Xiaolongnü did not know it either. After Yang Guo had learned the entire Beauty Fist Technique, he had thought, Our founding matriarch’¹⁷s bearing and virtue were no less than any ancient beauty’s, and her martial arts, needless to say, surpassed them all. If she is not present in this fist technique, it cannot be said to encompass all that is beautiful. So he had devised this move himself. Though it was composed in tribute to Lin Chaoying, its gestures and expressions were modelled on his master, Xiaolongnü. When Xiaolongnü had seen it back then, she had merely smiled faintly and, naturally, never joined him in such antics.

The heroes roared as one: “We have won the second bout too!” “The Alliance Chief belongs to a master of the Great Song!” “Mongol barbarians, get out! Do not come to the Central Plains and make fools of yourselves!” Amid the chaos, two Mongol warriors rushed forward and carried Da’erba away.

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The Golden Wheel National Preceptor had now seen both his disciples defeated at the hands of this boy, and neither through inferior martial arts. Their losses had been utterly absurd. Fury seethed within him, but his face showed nothing. He sat in his chair and demanded, “Boy, who is your master?” His martial arts were matchless, and he was also widely learned and accomplished, he could even speak Chinese.

Yang Guo stretched out his right hand toward Xiaolongnü and laughed. “My master is this very person. Come quickly and pay your respects to the Alliance Chief of the jianghu!”

The Golden Wheel National Preceptor saw that Xiaolongnü was delicate, charming, and looked even younger than Yang Guo. He absolutely refused to believe she was his master. These Han Chinese are full of tricks, he thought. They will not deceive me. He rose abruptly with a great clattering sound and drew a golden wheel¹⁸ from his robes. This golden wheel was a foot and a half in diameter, forged from gold mixed with platinum and other metals. Engraved upon it were Sanskrit¹⁹ Esoteric Buddhist mantras,²⁰ and nine small balls were concealed within. At the slightest shake, it rang out in a long, unbroken resonance. The National Preceptor pointed the wheel at Xiaolongnü and said, “Hmph. A little girl like you, fit to be Alliance Chief? If you can withstand ten moves of my golden wheel, I will acknowledge you as Alliance Chief.”

Yang Guo laughed. “I have already won two bouts. Best of three, you made that rule yourself at the start. Now you are trying to welsh?”

The National Preceptor said, “I want to test her skill, to see whether she is worthy.”

Xiaolongnü had no idea that the Golden Wheel National Preceptor’s martial arts were heaven-shaking, nor did she know what the “Alliance Chief of the jianghu” was, much less care whether she should assume the position or not. Hearing him say he wanted to test whether she could withstand ten moves of his golden wheel, she immediately rose and said, “Then I will give it a try.”

The National Preceptor asked, “And if you cannot withstand ten of my moves, what then?”

Xiaolongnü said, “If I cannot, then I cannot. What of it?” Though her love for Yang Guo was now deep, she remained indifferent to everything else. The heroes of the Central Plains and the Mongol warriors alike did not realise this was simply her nature. Seeing her treat the National Preceptor with such complete disregard, they assumed her martial arts must indeed be unfathomable. Some, having seen Yang Guo use the Soul-Shifting Technique to defeat Da’erba, even thought she could work sorcery and was a young witch. Speculation buzzed through the crowd.

Footnotes

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

2. “Stopping the Constructed Mind” (制心止). Zhì Xīn Zhǐ. Buddhist meditation technique of halting the mind’s habitual mental constructions, a prerequisite for deeper states. ↩

3. “Realising True Cessation” (体真止). Tǐ Zhēn Zhǐ. Deeper stage of meditation where one directly experiences the true nature of cessation. ↩

4. “Willowy Waist, So Slender” (蛮腰纤纤). Mán Yāo Xiānxiān. Beauty Fist move based on Xiaoman, the beloved concubine of the Tang poet Bai Juyi, famous for her slender waist. ↩

5. Xiaoman (小蛮). Xiǎo Mán. Concubine of the Tang poet Bai Juyi, renowned for her slender waist. Phrase “willowy waist of Xiaoman” became a classical allusion for feminine grace. ↩

6. Bai Letian (白乐天). Bái Lètiān. Courtesy name of Bai Juyi (白居易, 772-846), one of the greatest poets of the Tang dynasty. ↩

7. Lihua Dresses Her Hair (丽华梳装). Lìhuá Shūzhuāng. Beauty Fist move based on Zhang Lihua, the legendary beauty whose hair was seven feet long. ↩

8. Zhang Lihua (张丽华). Zhāng Lìhuá. Favourite consort of Chen Shubao, the Last Ruler of the Chen dynasty (Southern Dynasties period). Her legendary beauty was said to have distracted the emperor from governance. ↩

9. Last Ruler of Southern Tang (李后主). Lǐ Hòuzhǔ. Li Yu (李煜, 937-978), the last ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty, renowned as a poet. His kingdom fell to the Song while he was absorbed in poetry and love. Jin Yong uses him to symbolise beauty that brings ruin. (Note: Jin Yong conflates Zhang Lihua of the Chen dynasty with Li Yu’s consorts for literary effect.) ↩

10. Pingji the Needle Goddess (萍姬针神). Píngjī Zhēnshén. Beauty Fist move based on a legendary woman skilled in needlework. ↩

11. Xizi Clutches Her Heart (西子捧心). Xīzǐ Pěng Xīn. Beauty Fist move based on Xi Shi, one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China, who was said to be so beautiful that even her gesture of clutching her heart in pain was enchanting. ↩

12. Dongshi Copies the Frown (东施效颦). Dōngshī Xiào Pín. Classical idiom about an ugly woman named Dongshi who tried to imitate Xi Shi’s charming frown and only made herself uglier. Idiom means to imitate badly. ↩

13. “Goddess of the Luo River’s Subtle Steps” (洛神微步). Luòshén Wēibù. Beauty Fist move based on the Goddess of the Luo River, celebrated in poetry by Cao Zhi. Description “light as a startled crow, sinuous as a wandering serpent” comes from Cao Zhi’s fu poem. ↩

14. Cao Ling Cuts Off Her Nose (曹令割鼻). Cáo Lìng Gē Bí. Beauty Fist move based on the story of Cao Wenshu’s wife, who disfigured herself to prove she would never remarry after her husband’s death. ↩

15. Cao Wenshu (曹文叔). Cáo Wénshū. Man of the Three Kingdoms period whose wife, Ling, cut off her own nose after his death to demonstrate her resolve never to remarry, becoming a symbol of wifely chastity in Confucian lore. ↩

16. “Secluded Dwelling in the Ancient Tomb” (古墓幽居). Gǔmù Yōujū. Closing form of the Beauty Fist Technique, created by Yang Guo himself to honour Lin Chaoying. Its posture imitates Xiaolongnü’s lonely grace. ↩

17. 祖师婆婆 – zǔshī pópo. Rendered founding matriarch. Foundress of a school, the female counterpart of 祖师 — here Lin Chaoying, who founded the Ancient Tomb School. ↩

18. Golden wheel (金轮). Jīnlún. National Preceptor’s signature weapon, a wheel of gold alloy engraved with Sanskrit mantras and containing nine hidden balls. It is designed to seize and disarm opponents’ weapons. ↩

19. Sanskrit (梵文). Fànwén. Classical liturgical language of Buddhism, used for mantras and scriptures in Esoteric Buddhist traditions. ↩

20. Mantras (真言). Zhēnyán. Sacred syllables or phrases in Esoteric Buddhism, believed to have spiritual power when chanted. National Preceptor’s wheel is engraved with such mantras. ↩