The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 17 – Part 5

Zhou Botong flew into a rage. “So you’re determined to frame me for stealing your things! Bah, what treasures could this miserable valley possibly hold?” He began stripping off his clothes, piece by piece, with astonishing speed. In moments, he stood stark naked, completely bare. Gongsun, the Valley Master, repeatedly called for him to stop, but Zhou Botong paid no heed. He turned his clothes inside out. Indeed, there was nothing. The female disciples in the hall were all flustered and turned their heads away, not daring to look. This turn of events had also caught the Valley Master completely off guard. The items missing from his study, his alchemy chamber, his herb chamber, and his sword chamber were all of vital importance and had to be recovered. Could it be that Old Imp truly had not stolen them?

As the Valley Master pondered, Zhou Botong clapped his hands and cried, “Look at you, already advanced in years, yet so lacking in the dignity befitting your age! Speaking without thinking, acting without sense, utterly shameless in a public gathering, aren’t you making people laugh their teeth out?” These words should, in truth, have been directed at himself. But he had seized the initiative and spoken them first. Gongsun, the Valley Master, could neither laugh nor cry and found himself with no retort. Seeing Fan Yiweng and Ma Guangzuo still tangled on the floor in their endless brawl, he shouted, “Yiweng, get up! Stop this nonsense with our guest.”

Zhou Botong laughed. “Long Beard, I quite like this stubborn, brawling temperament of yours. The two of us old fellows should become friends.” In truth, Fan Yiweng had always been dignified and steady. His tussle with Ma Guangzuo today had been forced upon him. He had tried several times already to rise but could not free himself, his beard tangled around his opponent’s arm.

Gongsun, the Valley Master, frowned slightly and pointed at the stark-naked Zhou Botong. “When it comes to conduct in a public gathering that invites ridicule, I fear you yourself take first place.” Zhou Botong said, “I came out of my mother’s womb stark naked. Now I stand bare and exposed, pure and innocent. What is wrong with that? But you, so old, yet wanting to marry a beautiful young girl as your wife, a wretched old man with no self-awareness whatsoever. Heh heh, laughable! Truly laughable!” These words struck the Valley Master’s chest like great iron hammers. A flush of red passed over his sallow face, and for a long moment, he could not speak.

Zhou Botong shouted, “Oh no! No clothes. I might catch cold.” He suddenly rushed toward the entrance.

The four green-clad disciples in the hall saw only a blur of motion. Hastily shifting position, they closed in from all sides and wrapped him in the net. The four tied the corners of the net and brought it before the Valley Master. The fishing net was woven from golden thread, both supremely tough and supremely soft. Even precious swords and sabres could not easily cut through it. The four’s net-casting technique was exceptionally strange and swift, crossing positions, spreading the net to cover heaven and earth. Even a master would find it hard to deal with. The weakness was that it required four people working together. A single person could not use it. Having succeeded in one cast, the four were enormously pleased with themselves. But then they saw the Valley Master staring at the net with a dark expression. Looking down in alarm, cold sweat instantly drenched their bodies. In a flurry of hands, they untied the golden-thread net and released two people: Fan Yiweng and Ma Guangzuo.

Zhou Botong had stripped off his clothes. No one had anticipated he would charge out without them. With his astonishing speed, he had scooped up Fan and Ma, still locked in combat on the floor, and tossed them into the net. While the four disciples hurriedly pulled the net tight, he had already slipped away. Feint and real, sound east and strike west, he had vanished like a spirit, elusive as a ghost.

Old Imp’s antics had not only humiliated Gongsun, the Valley Master. Even Jinlun Guoshi and the others felt a pang of shame. All thought, “We call ourselves first-rate masters of the jianghu, yet with so many of us combined, we still could not capture one crazy old man. We are truly incompetent beyond measure.” Only Yang Guo felt great satisfaction. He had come to admire Zhou Botong greatly and had long abandoned any thought of harming him. In his heart, he already considered him a friend. Had Zhou Botong been captured, Yang Guo would have found a way to rescue him. Now that he had escaped on his own, nothing could be better.

Guoshi had come under Kublai’s orders to win over Zhou Botong. But with all the chaos Zhou Botong had caused, there had been no opportunity to build any rapport. He felt there was no point in staying longer. After whispering briefly with Xiaoxiangzi and Yin Kexi, he rose and cupped his hands. “We have been deeply honoured by the Valley Master’s generous hospitality. We should have liked to learn more from you, but each of us has pressing affairs. We must take our leave.”

Gongsun, the Valley Master, had originally suspected these six were companions of Old Imp. But after seeing Xiaoxiangzi fight him to the death, and Guoshi, Yin Kexi, Yang Guo, Nimoxing, and Ma Guangzuo each display their unique skills in attacking him, actions that seemed rather to aid his own cause, and noting that each man’s martial skill was not weak, he cupped his hands and said, “This humble one has an unworthy request. I wonder if the six of you would deign to grant it?” Guoshi said, “Whatever lies within our power, we shall be honoured to assist.” The Valley Master said, “This afternoon, this humble one shall take a new wife in marriage.¹ I would like to invite you all to grace the ceremony with your presence. This valley lies secluded in a remote and impoverished region. For hundreds of years, few outsiders have set foot here. That six honoured guests should arrive together today is truly this humble one’s fortune across three lifetimes.” Ma Guangzuo said, “Will there be wine? Will there be meat?”

Before Gongsun, the Valley Master, could answer, everyone noticed Yang Guo staring fixedly outside the hall, his face bearing an expression of the utmost strangeness, as though caught between great joy and great anguish. All were puzzled. Following his gaze, they saw a young woman in white passing slowly along the corridor outside the hall. The pale sunlight fell upon her pallid face, cold and clear, the sunlight itself seemed to turn to moonlight. Beneath her lashes, tears glimmered. After a few steps, teardrops rolled down her cheeks. Her steps were light. Her body seemed to float across the surface of water as she passed along the corridor. Never once did she glance at the crowd within the great hall.

Yang Guo seemed to have been struck at his acupoints, his entire body frozen and immobile. Suddenly he cried out, “Gugu!”

The young woman in white had reached the end of the corridor. At the sound of the call, her body shook violently. She said softly, “Guoer, Guoer, where are you? Is that you calling me?” She turned her head as though searching for something, but her gaze was vacant, as though she were still in a dream.

Yang Guo burst from the hall and seized her hand. “Gugu! You are here too! I have searched for you so bitterly!” Then came a cry of “Ow”, the place where the passion flower thorn had pricked his finger suddenly erupted in unbearable agony. He collapsed to the ground.

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The young woman in white gave a cry of “Ah!” Her body trembled, and she sank to the ground, closing her eyes as though she had fainted. Yang Guo called, “Gugu, what… what is wrong with you?” He gathered her into his arms. After a long moment, the young woman slowly opened her eyes, rose to her feet, and said coldly, “Who are you, sir? What did you call me?”

Yang Guo was thunderstruck. He stared intently at her. Was this not Xiaolongnü? Hurriedly he said, “Gugu, I am Guoer. How… how is it you do not recognise me? Are you well? Where are you unwell?”

The young woman looked at him once more and said coldly, “I have never met you before, sir.” She walked into the great hall and sat down beside Gongsun, the Valley Master. Bewildered beyond measure, Yang Guo stumbled back into the hall, his left hand bracing against the back of a chair.

Gongsun, the Valley Master, had maintained an impassive expression throughout. Now he could not help but beam with delight. Raising his hand toward Guoshi and the others, he said, “This is my new bride. We have chosen this very afternoon to perform the wedding rites.” As he spoke, he cast a faint sidelong glance at Yang Guo, as though reproaching him for his earlier rash behaviour in mistaking someone’s identity and startling his new wife.

Yang Guo’s shock now redoubled. He said loudly, “Gugu, can it be… can it be that you are not Xiaolongnü? Are you not my shifu?” The young woman slowly shook her head. “No. What Xiaolongnü?”

Yang Guo’s hands clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. His mind churned in chaos. “Is Gugu angry with me and refusing to acknowledge me? Is it because we are in a dangerous place that she is putting on an act? Or has she, like my sworn father, forgotten everything? But my sworn father still recognised me. Can there truly be someone in this world who looks exactly like her?” He could only say, “Gugu, you… you… I… I am Guoer!”

Seeing his loss of composure, Gongsun, the Valley Master, frowned slightly and said in a low voice to the young woman, “Sister Liu, there are many strange and peculiar people today.” The young woman paid him no attention. She slowly poured a cup of clear water and slowly drank it. Her gaze swept from Jinlun Guoshi through each person in turn, but she avoided Yang Guo and did not look at him again. Everyone saw her sleeve tremble faintly. Water from the cup spilled onto her clothing, yet she seemed not to notice at all.

Yang Guo’s heart was in turmoil. Lost and helpless, he turned to Guoshi and asked, “You fought my shifu once. You must remember. Tell me, have I… have I mistaken someone else?”

The moment this young woman had entered the hall, Guoshi had already identified her as Xiaolongnü. Yet she paid Yang Guo not the slightest attention. He thought, “This young couple must be having a quarrel.” Smiling faintly, he said, “I do not quite remember either.” Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo had joined forces in the Pure-hearted Jade Maiden Swordplay and dealt him the greatest defeat of his entire life. He thought, “If this young pair fall out and cannot fight together, I can eliminate them one by one. That would be greatly to my advantage. Why should I help them reconcile?”

Yang Guo was stunned again, then understood. Fury surged in his heart. “You monk, how utterly vicious. When you were recovering from your wounds on the mountaintop, I exerted myself to help you. Now you turn around and harm me.” He wished he could kill him on the spot.

Jinlun Guoshi saw him dazed and despairing, yet hatred flickered in his eyes, and he thought, “He already bears a grudge against me. Keeping this boy alive will always be a threat. Today his mind is in chaos, this is the perfect chance to eliminate him.” Cupping his hands toward Gongsun, the Valley Master, he said with a smile, “Today we rejoice in the Valley Master’s great happiness. Of course we shall stay to offer our congratulations. It is only that this old monk and these friends have brought no wedding gifts, we are truly ashamed.”

Footnotes

1. 续弦 – Xùxián. Literally “restring the instrument.” A classical Chinese euphemism for a widower remarrying. Valley Master’s first wife has died. ↩