The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 18 – Part 7

The onlookers were all astonished. None had imagined that the seemingly ordinary, unremarkable blunt sword in her hand could be so impossibly sharp. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü were equally taken by surprise. They had originally chosen this pair of blunt swords only because they resembled the edgeless swords of the ancient tomb and were identical in form. They had never expected that, by a happy accident, they had selected a pair of treasured swords. This boosted their spirits tremendously, and the twin swords pressed the attack with move after move.

The Valley Master was secretly perplexed. Sister Liu and this whelp are both inferior to me in martial skill. Even if they join forces, I should have nothing to fear. How is it that their twin swords in combination are so formidable? It seems that thieving monk’s words were not false. If I lose to these two today… if I lose to these two today… At this thought, he suddenly launched his left sabre in a rightward attack and his right sword in a leftward thrust, unleashing the ultimate technique of his life, the “Yin-Yang Reversed Blades Art.”¹ The black sword, originally yin and soft, now suddenly hacked and slashed with fierce power, becoming a yang-hard sabre technique. Meanwhile, the heavy, cumbersome serrated golden sabre now thrust, picked, sliced, and washed, following entirely the light, agile path of the sword. The sabre became sword, the sword became sabre, bewildering, unfathomable.

Jinlun Guoshi, Xiaoxiangzi, and Yin Kexi were all men of vast experience. Yet this Yin-Yang Reversed sabre-and-sword technique was something none of them had ever seen or heard of. Ma Guangzuo shouted, “Hey, you rotten old man, what kind of bizarre nonsense are you stirring up with this chaos? You… you… the older you get, the worse you get! More and more disgraceful!”

The Valley Master was barely past forty, not particularly old. Today, having set his heart on marrying Xiaolongnü, to be called “rotten old man” this and “rotten old man” that by this oaf, how could he not be enraged? But at this moment, he had no leisure to settle scores. He poured his full strength into this martial art he had trained in bitterly for over twenty years, determined to defeat Yang and Long first, then deal viciously with Ma Guangzuo.

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, with their twin swords combined, had already been gradually gaining the upper hand. But now their opponent’s sabre and sword suddenly fell into chaos, his moves bizarre and strange. The two were thrown into frantic disarray. In an instant, they faced several perilous strikes in succession. Yang Guo perceived that the black sword’s power exceeded that of the golden sabre. He immediately took upon himself all the sabre techniques coming from the sword, letting Xiaolongnü block the serrated golden sabre. He reasoned that she held an advantage in weaponry, the golden sabre dared not clash with her Lady Sword, so she should face no great danger. But in doing this, the two were fighting independently. The Pure-Hearted Jade Maiden Swordplay was split in two, and its power diminished at once.

The Valley Master was delighted. He swung his sword. dang dang dang, three hacking blows, while his left-hand sabre simultaneously executed the four stances “Fixing the Yang Needle,” “Dividing Gold in Empty Form,” “Jing Ke Stabs the Qin King,” and “Nine-Ranked Lotus Throne.”² These four sword techniques were fluid and graceful, the four sword moves woven among the three sabre strikes. Yang Guo could barely hold his ground, but Xiaolongnü’s mind was flustered and her heart panicked. She tried to swing her sword and shear off the sabre’s edge, but the golden sabre darted like a phoenix in flight, impossible to catch. Yang Guo knew the situation was dire. Risking injury to himself, he used a Quanzhen Swordplay stance called “Horse Hooves Trample Fallen Flowers,”³ levelling his shoulder and extending his sword, the blade tip rising to take both the opponent’s sabre and sword together. Xiaolongnü immediately withdrew her sword to protect the crown of Yang Guo’s head. The two came together and merged again, returning to the Pure-Hearted Jade Maiden Swordplay. The true essence of this sword art lay in the two sword-wielders’ hearts being in perfect communion, as though they were a single person. This move, in which Yang Guo abandoned his own defence to save her, was precisely the supreme heart method of this sword art. Xiaolongnü, seeing him leave his guard open to rescue her, feared he would be harmed and hastily extended her sword to guard him in his stead. Thus, neither guarded themselves, yet both were guarded. The power of the twin swords surged abruptly.

After several moves, beads of sweat appeared on the Valley Master’s brow. His sabre and sword strained left and right, the signs of defeat already visible. Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo, by contrast, grew smoother and more fluid with every move. Yang Guo formed a sword seal with his left hand⁴ while his right-hand sword slanted to stab the enemy’s left waist. Xiaolongnü gripped her sword hilt with both hands and raised the blade in an upward tilt, the stance “Lifting the Tray to the Brow,”⁵ its sword intent warm and graceful, rich with romantic charm.

At this moment, the Pure-Hearted Jade Maiden Swordplay the two were executing was seamless and without flaw. The sword intent that Lin Chaoying had created all those years ago was now fully manifest in their every move, reaching the ultimate pinnacle, without the slightest crack or crevice. Gongsun Valley Master watched as their twin swords moved as though wielded by a single person. The black sword in his right hand was blocked by Yang Guo’s Gentleman Sword. The golden sabre in his left hand was lifted aside by the Lady Sword that Xiaolongnü raised.

Gongsun Valley Master retreated a step and channelled every ounce of his strength into his right arm, hacking down with ferocious force. Just as his blade was about to meet Xiaolongnü’s long sword, he suddenly turned the sabre on its side, slamming the spine of the blade against the flat of the Lady Sword. This move was light, ingenious, and subtle, a technique of superior swordplay, something no sabre technique could possibly produce. It was the ultimate skill of the Valley Master’s “Yin-Yang Reversed Blades Art.” The golden sabre acting as a sword, its spine smashed against the Lady Sword, yet the force it carried was as fierce and unyielding as any sabre strike. Xiaolongnü’s entire body shook violently. Her long sword nearly flew from her grasp. She clenched the hilt with all her strength, refusing to let the sword escape, but a torrent of force surged into her chest, rattling her ribs and sending pain through her heart and lungs. She could not keep her footing and toppled to the right. Afraid that if she exerted force to steady herself, the shock to her heart would make her vomit blood, she simply let herself fall to the right side, yielding to dissipate the ferocious impact of the golden sabre’s strike.

Yang Guo saw Xiaolongnü fall and, terrified that the enemy would pursue, threw himself over her body to shield her in his terror. This lunge happened to form the first half of the move “Canopy Like a Pavilion” from the seventh chapter of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.⁶ In the days when Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü had trained in the seventh chapter of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, they had once practised this move, “Canopy Like a Pavilion.” Because the posture was suggestive, Yang Guo had been unable to resist trying to kiss his shifu. Xiaolongnü had pulled back at the cliff’s edge and commanded that they must never practise it again. Now, under the ferocious strike of a powerful foe, Xiaolongnü had fallen, and Yang Guo threw away his own life to save her, using his own body to shield his shifu from the enemy’s keen blade. He had not even thought of this move, wholly unpractised, utterly unfamiliar. “Canopy Like a Pavilion.” Yet now, without thinking, he had executed it.

The moment he lunged over Xiaolongnü’s body, the instinctive reverence for his shifu arose naturally within him. The nature of their bond had long since completely transformed from what it once was, yet he still dared not touch his shifu’s body. He propped himself up on his hands, his feet also braced and arched, his chest and abdomen hovering about half a chi above Xiaolongnü’s side. Gongsun Valley Master was overjoyed. He rushed forward two steps and swung his sabre down toward the crown of Yang Guo’s head. Xiaolongnü was horrified. She urgently thrust the Lady Sword upward, stabbing through the gap between Yang Guo’s braced legs. Gongsun Valley Master’s vision was blocked by Yang Guo’s body, he saw nothing. Bending at the waist to deliver the sabre stroke, before the blade could reach Yang Guo’s head, a sudden, savage pain erupted in his lower abdomen. With a great cry of “Ah!”, he toppled backward. A stream of blood jetted upward from his belly. Xiaolongnü had only sought to save Yang Guo and had no desire to wound the Valley Master. The moment she felt her sword tip touch the enemy’s body, she immediately withdrew her hand. Though the Jade Maiden Sword had pierced his lower abdomen, because Xiaolongnü had pulled back at once, the sword tip had not penetrated deeply. The wound was neither fatal nor even severe.

Yang Guo immediately sprang up, pulled Xiaolongnü to her feet by her left hand, and the two rushed to Gongsun Valley Master’s side. Both swords thrust out together, one pointing at the Valley Master’s left eye, one at his right eye. If either sword advanced a mere half chi, Gongsun Valley Master would not only be blinded in both eyes, but would die on the spot. The Valley Master lay on his back on the ground, having cast aside his weapons. He pressed his hands against the wound on his lower abdomen and gasped hoarsely.

The exchanges of the last several moves had been swift as a rabbit starting, sudden as a falcon descending, utterly unpredictable. The Valley Master had first used the bizarre moves of the Reversed Blades to shake Xiaolongnü to the ground. Yang Guo had then thrown himself forward, risking his life to shield her. The Valley Master had rushed in to deliver the finishing blow. Xiaolongnü had suddenly thrust her sword from between Yang Guo’s legs to wound the enemy. This move, “Canopy Like a Pavilion,” had already reached the absolute peak of the unimaginable. The hearts of nearly every onlooker had stopped beating. Not a single gasp of “Yi?” or cry of “Ah!” had escaped anyone’s lips. Only when the Valley Master fell and the twin swords pointed at his eyes did everyone release a great breath. Many had palms soaked with cold sweat. All thought that the contest was over, that no one had died, and that this matter could be resolved peacefully.

Seeing his expression, Xiaolongnü recalled the kindness he had shown in rescuing her. Her heart softened at once. She turned to Yang Guo and said, “Shall we spare him? Let us go home.” When she said “go home,” she meant returning together to the ancient tomb. Yang Guo was overjoyed. Laughing, he said, “Good! Let us go home!” The two withdrew their long swords and handed the twin blades to Gongsun Lü’e, who stood nearby.

Yang Guo extended his right arm and wrapped it around Xiaolongnü’s slender waist. Xiaolongnü turned her head and smiled at him, her charm boundless. Yang Guo could not resist leaning forward and giving her a light kiss on the cheek. Xiaolongnü’s heart was brimming with joy, filled with tender affection and sweet intimacy. Suddenly, it was as though a great iron hammer had struck her chest. A fierce pain shot through the finger of her right hand, as though the finger were being severed. Yang Guo knew the passion flower poison was acting up. She had been pricked by the passion flower’s tiny thorns back in the sword chamber. Now, stirred by emotion, the pain in her finger had erupted with unbearable intensity. Having suffered this agony himself, Yang Guo felt deep pity for her. Gently, he asked, “Does it hurt terribly?” He lifted Xiaolongnü’s hand in both of his and placed her aching finger in his mouth, sucking it to try to ease her pain. Who could have known that this act of tenderness would trigger his own pain as well, his own hand immediately erupted in agony.

Footnotes

1. 阴阳倒乱刃法 – Yīnyáng Dàoluàn Rènfǎ. Gongsun Zhi’s signature technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. Four sword stances. “Fixing the Yang Needle” (定阳针, Dìng Yáng Zhēn), “Dividing Gold in Empty Form” (虚式分金, Xū Shì Fēn Jīn), “Jing Ke Stabs the Qin King” (荆轲刺秦, Jīng Kē Cì Qín, referencing the famous failed assassination attempt on the Qin king by the assassin Jing Ke), and “Nine-Ranked Lotus Throne” (九品莲台, Jiǔ Pǐn Lián Tái, a Buddhist reference to the nine grades of the Lotus Throne in the Pure Land). ↩

3. “Horse Hooves Trample Fallen Flowers.” 马蹴落花 – Mǎ Cù Luò Huā. Quanzhen Swordplay stance evoking the image of a horse’s hooves trampling fallen blossoms — graceful destruction. ↩

4. 剑诀 – Jiàn Jué. Hand gesture formed with the left hand while the right wields the sword, used to focus qi and direct energy in Chinese swordsmanship. ↩

5. “Lifting the Tray to the Brow.” 举案齐眉 – Jǔ Àn Qí Méi. Combined stance of the Pure-Hearted Jade Maiden Swordplay, named after the classical idiom describing the ideal married couple: the wife lifts the food tray to the level of her eyebrows when serving her husband, signifying mutual respect and devotion. ↩

6. “Canopy Like a Pavilion.” 亭亭如盖 – Tíngtíng Rú Gài. Technique from the seventh chapter of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, named after the image of a pavilion’s canopy. Its suggestive posture led Xiaolongnü to forbid further practice. ↩