The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 14 – Part 6

After talking for a while, Huang Rong sensed her utter innocence, she understood nothing of the ways of the world. In the candlelight, her face was delicately beautiful, pure and transcendent. If not for the barrier of teacher and disciple, she and Yang Guo would indeed make a perfect pair. Huang Rong asked, “Little Sister, in your heart, you are very fond of Guoer, are you not?” Xiaolongnü gave a gentle smile. “Yes. Why do all of you forbid him from being with me?”

Huang Rong was taken aback. She remembered her own youth, when her father had refused to consent to her marriage to Guo Jing, and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan¹ had called her a “little witch.” Only after countless twists and turns had she and Guo Jing finally become husband and wife. Now, before her very eyes, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü truly loved each other, so why was she the one standing in their way? But the bond of teacher and disciple was established and could not be undone. If they engaged in romantic relations between man and woman, it would violate the most fundamental principles of human relationships. What face would they have before the heroes of the world? She sighed and said, “Little Sister, there are many things in this world that you do not understand. If you and Guoer become husband and wife, others will look down on you for the rest of your lives.” Xiaolongnü smiled faintly. “If others look down on me, what does it matter?”

Huang Rong was startled again. She felt that this statement was entirely in harmony with her own father’s temperament, the attitude of one who follows her own path, treating the entire world as though it did not exist. At this thought, she could not help but nod. She reflected that a person of such transcendent quality as Xiaolongnü should indeed not be bound by worldly conventions. But then her thoughts turned to her husband’s deep love and concern for Yang Guo. Regardless of whether Yang Guo became their son-in-law, Guo Jing always wished for him to be of flawless character. So she said, “And what about Guoer? Others will look down on him too.” Xiaolongnü said, “He and I will spend our lives together in a place where no one can see us, happy and content. Why should we care about others?” Huang Rong asked, “What place is this, where no one can see you?” Xiaolongnü said, “It is a great, great Ancient Tomb. I have always lived inside it.” Huang Rong was stunned. “You mean the two of you will live inside an Ancient Tomb for the rest of your lives, never coming out?”

Xiaolongnü was very happy. She stood up and walked back and forth in the room. “Yes,” she said. “Why would we come out? People outside are all bad.” Huang Rong said, “Guoer has wandered all over the outside world since he was little. If he is shut up inside a tomb forever, will he not grow bored and restless?” Xiaolongnü laughed. “With me to keep him company, how could he be bored?” Huang Rong sighed. “At first, of course he will not be bored. But after many years, he will start thinking about the bright and colourful world outside. If he can never come out, he will grow troubled.”

Xiaolongnü had been brimming with joy, but hearing these words, her heart immediately sank. “I am going to ask Guoer,” she said. “I will not talk to you anymore.” And she walked out of the room.

Huang Rong saw a shadow suddenly pass across her beautiful face. Her own words had wounded the heart of an innocent young woman, and she immediately felt regret. But then she reflected that she had seen much more of life than these two young people with their wishful thinking. Though her honest counsel might be unpleasant to hear, it was spoken with the deepest concern. She thought, I wonder what Guoer will say? Quietly, she crept to the window of Yang Guo’s room to listen to their conversation.

She heard Xiaolongnü ask: “Guoer, if you spend your whole life with me, will you grow troubled? Will you grow weary?” Yang Guo said, “Why do you ask me this again? You know I could never feel anything but endless joy. The two of us, until we are old, until our hair turns white and our teeth fall out, we will still stay together in happiness, never parting.” These words were spoken with sincere emotion, deeply earnest. Hearing them, Xiaolongnü was moved beyond words. For a long while she was lost in a daze. Then she said, “Yes. I feel the same way.” She took a rope from her pouch and stretched it across the room. “Time to sleep,” she said. Yang Guo said, “Auntie Guo said that tonight you should share a room with her and Sister Fu, and I should share a room with the Wu brothers.” Xiaolongnü said, “No! Why should those two men keep you company? I want to sleep together with you.” She raised her hand and extinguished the oil lamp.

Huang Rong, listening outside the window, was horrified. So the two of them, as teacher and disciple, have indeed done that shameful thing. That Daoist Zhao Zhijing was not lying.

She thought that since the two young people were sharing a bed, it would not be proper for her to eavesdrop outside. She was about to leave when she suddenly saw a flash of white inside the room, someone was suspended horizontally in mid-air, swaying slightly before becoming still. Greatly puzzled, Huang Rong peered through the moonlight streaming into the room. She saw Xiaolongnü lying horizontally upon a rope, while Yang Guo slept on the brick bed. Though the two shared a room, they maintained perfect propriety. Huang Rong stood quietly in the courtyard, feeling that the conduct of these two was utterly beyond ordinary people, whether it was right or wrong, she truly could not say.

She stood there in silence for a long while, and was just about to return to her room to sleep when she heard footsteps. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers were returning from outside. Huang Rong said, “Dun’er, Xiu’er, you two brothers get another room. Do not share a room with Brother Yang.” The Wu brothers agreed. Guo Fu asked, “Mother, why?” Huang Rong said, “It is none of your concern.” Wu Xiuwen laughed. “I know why. Those two, neither teacher nor disciple, neither proper man nor woman, a pair of dogs sharing a room.” Huang Rong’s face hardened. “Xiu’er, what filthy words are you speaking?” Wu Dunru said, “Master’s wife, you are too kind. Why bother with someone like him? I will never speak to him again.” Guo Fu said, “Today the two of them saved us. That was a great kindness.” Wu Xiuwen said, “Hmph. I would rather have been killed by the Golden Wheel National Preceptor than receive kindness from such beasts.” Huang Rong was displeased. “Enough talk,” she said. “Go to sleep.”

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü heard every word through the window. Yang Guo, who had never gotten along with the Wu brothers since childhood, merely smiled and paid no heed. But Xiaolongnü brooded over it in her heart. Why, she wondered, because Guoer and I are together, does he become a beast, a dog? She thought and thought but could not understand. In the middle of the night, she woke Yang Guo and asked, “Guoer, there is something you must answer me truthfully. If you and I live together in the Ancient Tomb, after many years have passed, will you start thinking about the bright and colourful world outside?” Yang Guo was startled and did not answer for a long while. Xiaolongnü asked further: “If you cannot come out, will you grow troubled? Even if your love for me never changes, if we stay in the Ancient Tomb for a very long time, will you grow weary?”

Yang Guo found these questions extremely difficult to answer. At this moment, he thought that to spend his life with Xiaolongnü would be happiness surpassing even the immortals. But in that cold, pitch-black Ancient Tomb, even if he did not grow tired of it in ten years, in twenty years, what about in thirty years? Forty years? It would be easy enough to casually say “I will never grow weary,” but he had always been utterly sincere with Xiaolongnü and had never spoken a single false word. After a long silence, he said, “Gugu, if we grow weary, if we grow tired of it, then we will simply come out together.”

Xiaolongnü murmured an acknowledgement and said no more. She thought to herself, What Madam Guo said was not a lie. In the end, he will grow weary and want to leave the Tomb. Then everyone will look down on him. What joy will there be in his life? He and I are together, but I do not understand why others would despise him for it. It must be that I am a bad woman. I like him, I love him. I would give my life for him. But if being with me only makes him unhappy, then he would be better off not marrying me. That night on the peak of Mount Zhongnan, when he refused to agree to make me his wife, it must have been for this reason. She turned these thoughts over and over in her mind for a long time. Yang Guo’s breathing was steady and even. He was deep in sleep. Quietly, she slipped off the rope and walked to the edge of the brick bed. She gazed at his handsome face, her heart in turmoil, her emotions tangled beyond unravelling. Unable to help herself, tears began to fall.

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The next morning, when Yang Guo awoke, he felt that his shoulder was wet. Slightly puzzled, he saw that Xiaolongnü was not in the room. He sat up and noticed twelve tiny characters scratched into the tabletop with a golden needle:

“Take good care of yourself. When you remember me, do not be sad.”

Yang Guo’s mind plunged into chaos. He sat frozen in place, utterly lost. On the tabletop, teardrops still glistened, not yet dry, the dampness on his shoulder must also have been from her tears. His wits scattered, he pushed open the window and leaped out. “Gugu! Gugu!” he cried.

The inn attendant came up to attend to him. Yang Guo asked when the white-robed young woman had departed and in which direction she had gone. The attendant gaped, unable to answer. Yang Guo knew that this moment, once lost, might never be recovered. If he could not find her today, he might never see her again. He rushed to the stables, led out the lean horse, and vaulted into the saddle. Guo Fu was just emerging from her room. “Where are you going?” she called. Yang Guo heard but did not listen. He urged the horse northward along the main road at a furious gallop, and before long he had covered several dozen li. All along the way he shouted, “Gugu! Gugu!” But where was any trace of Xiaolongnü?

After racing on for some time, he spotted Jinlun Guoshi and his party riding westward. Seeing him alone on his horse, they were all taken aback. The National Preceptor pulled his reins and rode toward him. Yang Guo was unarmed, to encounter a powerful enemy at such a moment was exceedingly dangerous. But his mind was filled with only one thought, Where has Gugu gone? He gave not the slightest consideration to his own safety. Seeing the National Preceptor ride toward him, he actually turned his horse around and rode to meet him. “Have you seen my teacher?” he asked. The National Preceptor, surprised that he did not flee, was further baffled by this question. He answered without thinking: “No, I have not. Is she not with you?”

Both question and answer had been delivered in haste, without reflection. But in an instant, both men realised the same thing: Yang Guo was alone and no match for the National Preceptor. Their eyes met, and each understood the other’s thoughts. Yang Guo clamped his legs against the horse’s flanks, but the National Preceptor had already reached out to seize him. The lean horse, however, was exceptionally swift, it shot past like a gust of wind. The National Preceptor spurred his mount in pursuit, but Yang Guo and his horse were already far ahead, nearly a li away, beyond the reach of any chase. The National Preceptor reined in his horse, a new thought forming in his mind. With the teacher and disciple separated, what have I to fear? If Chief Huang has not yet gone far, heh heh… He immediately led his followers back the way they had come.

Yang Guo raced madly onward, but within several dozen li, he found not the slightest trace of Xiaolongnü. He felt hot blood surging in his chest. Dizzy and dazed, he nearly fainted on horseback. In his heart he mourned bitterly: Why has Gugu left me again? How have I offended her this time? When she left, she shed many tears, so she cannot be angry with me. Suddenly it came to him: Ah, of course. It must be because I said that staying in the Ancient Tomb for too long would grow wearisome. She thought I did not wish to spend my life with her. At this thought, light broke before his eyes. She has returned to the Ancient Tomb! I will follow her there and stay with her. Unable to help himself, he broke through his tears into laughter and turned several somersaults on horseback.

In his frantic ride, he had lost all sense of direction. Now, steadying himself, he got his bearings, turned the horse around, and headed for Mount Zhongnan. The further he rode, the more convinced he became that his guess was correct. Nine-tenths of his grief and worry fell away. He opened his throat and began singing mountain songs.

After noon, he stopped at a small roadside eatery for a meal. Having finished his noodles, he realised in his haste to leave he had brought no silver. While the owner was not looking, he leaped onto his horse and galloped away, hearing the owner’s distant curses fading behind him, utterly powerless to stop him. He could not help but chuckle to himself. By late afternoon,² he saw ahead a great, dark expanse of forest. From within came the faint sounds of shouting and combat. His heart gave a small jolt. He cocked his ear to listen, it was the voices of Jinlun Guoshi and Guo Fu.

Knowing something was wrong, he dismounted, looped the reins over the bridle, and crept forward through the trees, following the sounds. After advancing over ten zhang, he saw, deep within the forest among a jumble of rocks, Huang Rong and her daughter along with the Wu brothers locked in combat against Jinlun Guoshi and his men. The Wu brothers’ faces and clothes were smeared with blood. Huang Rong and Guo Fu’s hair was dishevelled, their expressions desperate. Had the National Preceptor wanted them dead, all four would long since have perished beneath his iron wheel.

Yang Guo watched for a moment and thought, Gugu is not here. If I go to help, I will only throw my life away for nothing. What can I do? Is there any way to save Auntie Guo? Suddenly he saw the National Preceptor swing his wheel down in a crushing blow. Huang Rong lacked the strength to block it and ducked behind a pile of rocks. The National Preceptor circled outside the rocks but could not reach her. Yang Guo was astonished. Looking again, he saw that Guo Fu and the Wu brothers were also using the rocks for shelter. In moments of danger, they needed only to duck behind a rock, and Da’erba and the others would have to make a wide circle to pursue, by which time Guo Fu and the others had already darted behind another pile. Yang Guo was utterly amazed. These ordinary, unremarkable piles of rocks could serve such a purpose, it seemed unbelievable. From the look of things, Huang Rong and her companions were in danger but not yet doomed. They simply could not escape the rock formation.

Footnotes

1. 江南七怪 – Jiāngnán Qī Guài. Group of seven martial artists from Jiaxing who followed their own code of honour. They took a bet to find and train Guo Jing and spent years in the Mongolian steppes fulfilling the vow; their integrity and loyalty were legendary. ↩

2. 申牌时分 (Shēn Pái Shífēn). “The hour of the Shen marker.” In traditional Chinese timekeeping, the shen hour spans from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Reference to “late afternoon” captures the period around 4:00 to 5:00 PM. ↩