The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 15 – Part 7

As they talked, the five of them had rounded the mountain. There, beside a large tree, stood a small, dilapidated thatched cottage. The wicker gate was tightly shut, and pinned to it was a sheet of white paper bearing four columns of characters, sixteen in all:

“Peach Blossom Island Master, disciples in great number. Five against one, the laughingstock of the jianghu!”

Huang Yaoshi gave a hearty laugh. He casually picked up two pebbles from the ground and flicked them from between thumb and middle finger. Chi, chi! The two pebbles shot forward. With a crack, the two wooden doors, more than ten paces away, were thrown open by the impact of two tiny stones. Yang Guo had heard Guo Fu speak of her grandfather’s “Flicking Divine Finger”¹ skill back on Peach Blossom Island. Seeing it with his own eyes today, it was even more impressive than its reputation. He was utterly filled with admiration.

The doors swung open to reveal Li Mochou seated on a prayer mat, her horsetail whisk in hand, her eyes downcast, meditating. Her spirit was withdrawn inward, her expression serenely composed, she looked exactly like a woman of profound Dao. There was no one else in the cottage. Hong Lingbo² was not with her. In a flash, Yang Guo understood. She mocked Island Master Huang for having too many disciples and overwhelming a lone opponent with numbers, so she has even sent Hong Lingbo far away. What she relies on is not the ability to defeat Island Master Huang, but the fact that, being alone, Island Master Huang’s status will not permit him to make a move against her.

Lu Wushuang thought of her parents’ murder, of all the years of swallowed grievances and endured humiliation. She suddenly drew her longsword and cried, “Cousin! Fool! We don’t need Island Master Huang to act. The three of us will fight her to the death!” Shagu rubbed her fists and palms together, saying, “And me too!” Li Mochou opened her eyes, swept her gaze across the five faces, her expression contemptuous, then closed her eyes again, as though she did not consider the powerful enemies before her worthy of the slightest concern. Cheng Ying looked to her shifu, awaiting his command.

Huang Yaoshi sighed. “Huang the Old Heretic truly does have many disciples. If even one of my four great disciples. Qu, Chen, Mei, Lu, were here, how could she dare speak such words?” He waved his hand. “Let us go back.” None of the four understood his meaning. They followed him back to the cottage, where they saw that he was deeply troubled. He did not eat dinner and went straight to sleep.

Yang Guo lay on the cot beside him, replaying his conversation with Shagu from that afternoon and pondering Li Mochou’s demeanor. He thought, She mocked us for fighting five against one. My wounds are healed now. Even alone, I might not necessarily lose to her. Why not slip out quietly and fight her to the death? First, I can avenge the insult she dealt my Gugu. Second, I can help Island Master Huang vent his anger. His mind made up, he quietly dressed. Reckless though he was, he was also fairly cautious in his actions. He knew Li Mochou was a formidable opponent, the slightest carelessness and his life would be in her hands. So he sat cross-legged on the cot, circulating his qi and regulating his breath, wanting to build up his spirit before going out for a death match.

After about half a geng³ of sitting, he suddenly felt as though a brilliant light had opened before his eyes. Every limb and bone, every part of his body, was filled with qi. Unconsciously, a sound burst from his mouth, like a dragon roaring across a great marsh, like a tiger howling in a deep valley. The sound travelled far into the distance. Huang Yaoshi had been aware from the moment Yang Guo rose and dressed. Hearing this extraordinary sound, he realised that Yang Guo’s neili had reached such a level, and he was both astonished and overjoyed.

When a person’s neili cultivation reaches a certain level, they will often unconsciously emit strange sounds. In later times, during the Ming dynasty, the great Confucian scholar Wang Yangming was practising qi in a military camp in the middle of the night when he could not resist letting out a long, resonant whistle, the entire army was startled. This is a matter of historical record. At this moment, Yang Guo’s central qi was so abundant that he suddenly could not contain it, and his whistle was audible for several li. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were naturally amazed. Even Li Mochou, behind the mountain, was secretly alarmed when she heard it. But she assumed it must be Huang Yaoshi expelling his neili, and since he would not attack her anyway, she felt no fear. She never imagined that Yang Guo, having benefited from the Cold Jade Bed and studied the secrets of both the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra and the Nine Yin Manual, had accumulated profound neili. When Huang Yaoshi had treated his wounds days earlier, the Peach Blossom Island Master’s neili followed a path entirely different from his own. Stimulated by this incomparably deep neili, Yang Guo had involuntarily let out this long, resonant whistle.

The whistling continued for about the time it takes to eat a meal before gradually subsiding. Huang Yaoshi thought, I pride myself on being a once-in-a-generation genius, yet even I did not reach this stage until after the age of thirty. This youth has achieved it more than ten years earlier than I did. I wonder what extraordinary encounters he must have had. When Yang Guo exhaled and stood up, Huang Yaoshi asked, “What would you say is Li Mochou’s most formidable martial art?”

Yang Guo understood from this question that Huang Yaoshi had seen through his plan. He answered, “The Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm and her horsetail whisk techniques.” Huang Yaoshi said, “Correct. Since your neili has reached such a foundation, breaking her signature skills will not be difficult.” Yang Guo was overjoyed. Without thinking, he knelt and kowtowed. He had always been quite proud. Though he acknowledged Huang Yaoshi as a senior and knew his martial arts were profound and his esoteric learning divine, he had been unwilling to bow his head to him. Now, hearing that the skills with which Li Mochou had dominated the jianghu could be broken as easily as spitting, how could he not submit?

The next morning, Huang Yaoshi called for Cheng Ying and had Yang Guo join her in receiving instruction in the “Flicking Divine Finger” technique. Cheng Ying had studied this skill under her shifu before, but had never delved deeply into it. This time, Huang Yaoshi focused on teaching how to use it to counter the Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm. He then taught the two of them a sword technique derived from his jade flute, to be used against her whisk.

Yang Guo listened to the essential secrets Huang Yaoshi explained, asked about every difficulty and doubt, and committed everything to memory with deep concentration. But he felt that both of these martial arts were profoundly subtle and intricate. By his reckoning, even achieving basic competence would take at least a year. To secure certain victory would require no less than three. He said, “Island Master Huang, to defeat her immediately, there is simply no way.”

Huang Yaoshi said, “Three years pass in the blink of an eye. By then, at twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, you will have mastered such martial arts, can you still call that insufficient?” Yang Guo said, “I… I wasn’t thinking of myself…” Huang Yaoshi patted his shoulder and said gently, “If you kill her for me three years from now, I will already be deeply grateful. I destroyed my own worthy disciples with my own hands all those years ago, should I not receive some measure of retribution today?” He let out a long, sorrowful sigh. Memories of his disciples rose in his heart, and he could not help feeling grief, remorse, and self-reproach.

Cheng Ying went to him and took his hand, calling softly and tenderly, “Shifu!” Huang Yaoshi’s eyes glistened with tears. Forcing a smile, he said, “Good, good! Huang the Old Heretic’s luck has not entirely run out. I still have one little disciple!”

Yang Guo knelt and kowtowed eight times, calling, “Shifu!” He knew that in teaching him martial arts, Huang Yaoshi wanted him to avenge the insult of the sixteen characters on Li Mochou’s poster, and for that, the bond of shifu and disciple was necessary.

But Huang Yaoshi understood that Yang Guo’s bond with the Ancient Tomb School was too deep, he would never willingly take another master. Reaching down, he helped Yang Guo up and said, “When you face that witch in combat, you are my disciple. Apart from that, you are my friend. Brother Yang, do you understand?” Yang Guo laughed. “To be able to call a great martial arts master like you my friend, what tremendous good fortune.” Huang Yaoshi laughed. “Meeting you has also been a rare blessing in my life.” The two clapped hands and laughed, the sound shaking the four walls.

Huang Yaoshi then explained in meticulous detail the profound secrets and essential subtleties of the “Flicking Divine Finger” and the “Jade Flute Swordplay.” Hearing him explain things so thoroughly, Yang Guo knew he was about to leave. Sadly, he said, “We have known each other for so short a time, and now we must part. When we meet again, who knows what day that will be?” Huang Yaoshi laughed. “You and I are of one heart and mind. Though we may be at opposite ends of the earth, it will be as though we are neighbors. In the future, if I learn of anyone obstructing your marriage, even from ten thousand li away, I will surely come to help you.” Hearing this firm promise, Yang Guo’s heart was greatly comforted. He laughed and said, “I fear the first person to interfere may be your own beloved daughter.”

Huang Yaoshi said, “She herself married the husband of her dreams, can she not understand the pain of another’s longing? This precious daughter of mine only has eyes for her husband. Heh, ‘marry and obey the husband’, the Three Obediences and Four Virtues,⁴ how very admirable!” Laughing loudly, he shook out his robes and strode through the door. In a flash, his laughter was already dozens of zhang⁵ away. Truly, he departed like a divine dragon, coiling and twisting, vanishing beyond all trace.

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Yang Guo sat in a daze for a long while, then sat quietly, reviewing the essential secrets of the techniques he had just learned. After lunch, he practiced the “Jade Flute Swordplay” with Cheng Ying, and before he knew it, they had unconsciously incorporated some of the mutual protection techniques from the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. Yang Guo said, “Cheng Shijie, once we have mastered this sword technique, we can join forces to kill Li Mochou and make our shifu happy.” Cheng Ying smiled enchantingly. “You call me Shijie?” Yang Guo laughed. “Seniority in the school goes by who entered first. You are naturally my Shijie.” Cheng Ying smiled. “Madam Guo is my true Shijie.” Seeing the tender beauty of her face, Yang Guo could not resist saying, “Then I should call you ‘Gugu.’” Cheng Ying said seriously, “You already have your own Gugu.” Seeing her earnest expression, Yang Guo dared not continue.

The next morning, just as Yang Guo had risen, the plank door suddenly swung open. Cheng Ying walked in, holding a long blue cloth gown in her hands. She smiled faintly and said, “Try this on. See if it fits.” Yang Guo was deeply grateful. His hands trembled slightly as he took it.

His eyes met Cheng Ying’s. In her gaze, he saw deep, wordless affection, a tenderness without limit. He went to the bedside and changed into the new gown. The body, the waist, the sleeves, everything fit perfectly. He said, “I… I… truly thank you.” Cheng Ying gave him another enchanting smile, but then a look of sorrow crossed her face. She sighed. “Master, the keep, the master before it should be Shifu? Check., has gone. Who knows when we shall meet again.” She was about to sit and talk when she glimpsed a flash of yellow outside the door, which instantly vanished. She knew it was her cousin. This girl has too many thoughts in her head, she thought. I shouldn’t stay too long in his room. She rose and walked slowly out.

Yang Guo examined the new gown closely. The stitches were fine and dense. His heart could not help stirring. She treats me like this, and my wife also treats me so well. But my heart long ago found its home. There is no room to turn elsewhere. If I don’t leave soon, I will only cause everyone more anguish. He sat there, lost in thought, for a long time. Then he worried that after he left, Li Mochou might suddenly attack. He went alone to the back of the mountain to spy on the cottage where she had stayed. All he saw was a patch of scorched earth, the cottage had been reduced to ashes. Li Mochou had set fire to it and already left.

With the great enemy gone, that night he sat by the lamplight and wrote a farewell letter. But thinking of the affection both Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang held for him, he could not help feeling desolate. Worse, he found his writing lacked any literary grace and his calligraphy was clumsy and crude. Cheng Ying would surely laugh at him. He wrote half a letter, then tore it up. That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

In his drowsiness, he suddenly heard Lu Wushuang pounding on the door outside. “Fool! Fool! Come out and look, quickly!” Her voice was urgent with alarm. Yang Guo rose, threw on his clothes, and opened the door. The dawn breeze was cool and carried a slight chill. The sky was not yet fully light. Lu Wushuang’s face was filled with terror. She pointed at the wicker gate. Following her finger, Yang Guo looked, and was startled. Four vivid blood-red handprints were stamped on the door panel. Clearly, Li Mochou had come to investigate during the night. Learning that Huang Yaoshi had departed, she had announced her intention to kill all four of them.

Footnotes

1. 弹指神通 – Tánzhǐ Shéntōng. Huang Yaoshi’s signature finger technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 洪凌波 – Hóng Língbō. Her name meaning “treading the waves”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 一更 – yī gēng. First of the five night watches, approximately seven to nine in the evening. ↩

4. 三从四德 – Three Obediences and Four Virtues. Set of Confucian ethical codes for women. Three Obediences dictate that a woman should obey her father before marriage, her husband after marriage, and her son after her husband’s death. Four Virtues are morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work. Huang Yaoshi’s sarcastic invocation of these reflects his lifelong contempt for Confucian orthodoxy. ↩

5. 丈 – zhàng. Traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.33 metres or 10.9 feet. ↩