The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 18

Gongsun Valley Master.

Fan Yiweng¹ watched Yang Guo² snap off a willow branch to use as a weapon, as casually as a child at play, clearly showing he did not take him seriously at all. His anger flared higher. What did he know of it? That willow branch, supple yet resilient, when used to execute the Dog-Beating Staff Technique³, though it could not match the bamboo staff passed down through generations of the Beggar’s Sect, was no less formidable in deadly effect than any treasured sword or precious blade.

Ma Guangzuo⁴ called out, “Brother Yang, use my sabre!” With a sharp ring, he drew the blade from its sheath. Cold light flashed in all directions, it was indeed a fine, keen-edged weapon. Yang Guo cupped his hands and smiled. “Many thanks! This short old fellow here is not a bad man at heart. His only mistake was taking the wrong master, and his martial skill is poor. A single willow twig will be more than enough for him.” With a flick of the willow branch, he sent it darting toward the steel staff.

Hearing Yang Guo once again insult his shifu in his words, Fan Yiweng resolved that this bout would truly decide life or death. He would hold nothing back. With a rushing roar of wind, he unleashed the eighty-one stances of the Water-Splashing Staff Technique.⁵ The technique was named “Water-Splashing” to signify that not even splashed water could penetrate it, so tight and seamless were its moves.

As the staff technique unfolded, the first few strokes rang out fierce and sharp. But after several moves, Fan Yiweng gradually sensed that his thrusts were being deflected slightly off course, the head of the staff tilting just a fraction, the wind stirred by its passage growing perceptibly weaker. Yang Guo had deployed the “Entwine” formula of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique.⁶ The willow branch clung to the head of the staff, wherever the steel staff went east, the willow branch followed east. When the staff thrust upward, the willow branch rose with it. But always, from the lateral edge of his opponent’s force, it applied a subtle push or pull, causing the staff head to shift direction against its wielder’s will. This “Entwine” formula of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique was derived from the advanced martial principle of “four ounces deflecting a thousand jin,”⁷ exquisitely subtle and profound, far surpassing ordinary methods of “borrowing force to strike force” or “pushing the boat along with the current.”

The onlookers grew more astonished by the moment. None had imagined that one so young as Yang Guo could possess martial skill of such miraculous calibre. They watched as the steel staff’s force steadily diminished, while the willow branch’s power grew without cease. One waned as the other waxed. After thirty stances, Fan Yiweng was entirely under the willow twig’s control. The more force he exerted through his arms, the less command he held over his own staff moves, until it was as if he had been sucked into the heart of a violent whirlwind, spun until his head swam and he could no longer tell which way he faced.

Gongsun Valley Master⁸ struck the stone table with his palm and called out, “Yiweng, withdraw!”

That cry split stone and startled heaven. Even Yang Guo felt his heart clench. He thought, “Think I’ll let you withdraw now?” With a shake of his arm, he switched to the “Turn” formula.⁹ His body stood rooted and still, but his wrist traced tight, rapid circles, spinning Fan Yiweng like a top at furious speed. The faster Yang Guo’s wrist flicked, the faster Fan Yiweng spun, the steel staff in his hands like the stem of the spinning top, whirling round and round. Yang Guo snapped the willow branch sharply upward and leaped back a full zhang.¹⁰

Fan Yiweng’s mind and body were now in complete chaos. His head lolled wildly. A few more spins and he would surely topple. Gongsun Valley Master suddenly vaulted high, brought his palm down on the head of the steel staff with a light pat, and drifted gently back. That pat appeared feather-light and effortless, yet the force it carried was tremendous, driving the steel staff more than a chi deep into the ground and stopping its rotation instantly.¹¹ Fan Yiweng clung to the staff with both hands, which was all that kept him from collapsing, but his body swayed east and west as though drunk, and for some time he could not steady himself.

Xiaoxiangzi¹² and Yin Kexi¹³, and the others, looked from Yang Guo to the Gongsun Valley Master and back, thinking that neither man would be easy to deal with. They were content to watch this clash of dragon and tiger and see who would prevail, harbouring the attitude of those who watch a fire from across the river. Only Ma Guangzuo threw his full support behind Yang Guo, bellowing at the top of his voice: “Brother Yang, fine skill! The short beard lost!”

Fan Yiweng drew a deep breath, steadied his mind, turned, and suddenly knelt before his shifu. He bowed several times and knocked his head to the ground four times. Then, without a word, he hurled himself headfirst at a stone pillar. Everyone gasped in shock. None had imagined he would be so fierce of spirit that a setback in a martial contest would drive him to take his own life. Gongsun Valley Master cried, “Ai-yo!” He rushed from his seat, stretching out a hand to seize Fan Yiweng by the back, but the distance was too great, and Fan Yiweng’s suicidal charge was desperately swift. The grasping hand closed on empty air.

Fan Yiweng threw his full, rigid strength into that headlong collision with the pillar. Yet the instant his forehead made contact, what he felt was strangely soft. He raised his head and found Yang Guo standing before the pillar, both palms extended. “Brother Fan,” Yang Guo said, “what is the most grievous sorrow in this world?”

Yang Guo had seen Fan Yiweng kneel and bow to his shifu and knew at once that something extraordinary was about to happen. He had been on full alert. Being close to Fan Yiweng and having mastered the superlative qinggong of the Ancient Tomb School, which allowed one to advance or retreat within halls and chambers like a spirit, he had dashed ahead and blocked the collision with his palms, saving Fan Yiweng’s life at a moment when rescue seemed utterly impossible.

Fan Yiweng stared blankly. “What is it?” he asked.

Yang Guo answered with desolate sorrow, “I do not know either. But the grief in my heart is ten times greater than yours, and I have not yet taken my own life. Why must you?” Fan Yiweng said, “You won the contest. What grief could you have?” Yang Guo shook his head. “Winning or losing a bout, what does that count for? In my life, I have been beaten by others more times than I can remember. When you tried to end your life, your shifu was frantic with worry. If I were to end mine, my own master would not care in the slightest. That, that is the most grievous sorrow of all.”

Fan Yiweng still did not understand. Gongsun Valley Master said sharply, “Yiweng, if you entertain such foolish thoughts again, you defy your shifu’s command. Stand to the side and watch me deal with this whelp.” Not daring to disobey, Fan Yiweng withdrew to the side of the hall and stood glaring at Yang Guo, not knowing himself whether what he felt toward the young man was resentment, rage, or gratitude and admiration.

Xiaolongnü¹⁴ heard Yang Guo say, “If I were to end mine, my own master would not care in the slightest.” Her eyes reddened, and more tears slipped down. She thought, If you died, do you think I would go on living?

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Gongsun Valley Master glanced at Xiaolongnü every few moments, constantly studying the expression on her face. Now he saw fresh tears fall. Jealousy and fury surged through him. He clapped his hands together three times and shouted, “Seize this whelp!” Conscious of his status, he disdained to engage Yang Guo personally. The green-robed disciples flanking the hall answered in unison. Sixteen of them took up positions in four directions. Then, with a sudden rushing roar, groups of four each unfurled a fishing net and surrounded Yang Guo.

The Valley Master glanced aside and saw his daughter Lü’e urgently signalling Yang Guo with her eyes, tilting her head slightly to indicate he should flee the hall at once. He thought, A daughter’s heart turns outward. In this fishing net formation, every person must exert full effort. If anyone holds back, a gap will appear. He called out, “Lü’er, withdraw and rest. Fourteener, take Gongsun Lü’e shijie¹⁵¹⁶’s place.” A youth of fourteen or fifteen answered and stepped forward, replacing Gongsun Lü’e.

Yang Guo had come together with the Imperial Preceptor and the others, and the Imperial Preceptor was implicitly the leader of their party. Now that matters had escalated to this point, whether to make peace or fight, the Imperial Preceptor should by rights have stepped forward to take charge. Yet he merely smiled coldly and said nothing.

Gongsun Valley Master did not understand the Imperial Preceptor’s intentions, supposing the monk was mocking his inability to deal with Yang Guo. Sooner or later I will let you see the methods of the Passionless Valley¹⁷, he thought. He clapped his hands three more times. The sixteen green-robed disciples crossed and shifted positions, tightening the encircling ring by several steps. The four fishing nets, now horizontal, now vertical, now level, now slanting, constantly transformed.

Yang Guo had twice witnessed the green-robed disciples use the fishing net formation to capture Zhou Botong¹⁸. Its transformations were inexhaustibly varied and exceedingly difficult to resist. In refinement, it matched the Quanzhen Order’s “Big Dipper Formation,”¹⁹ each having its own merits. He thought, Even with Old Urchin’s martial skill, he was caught by the fishing nets. How can I deal with them? And besides, he only wanted to escape, by hurling Fan Yiweng and Ma Guangzuo into the nets, he seized the chance to slip away. But I am determined to remain in this valley.

Each net, when spread, covered an area roughly one zhang square. The wielders hid behind the nets. To break the formation, one had to first strike down the green-robed disciples holding the nets, but the moment one drew near, one would inevitably be caught in the nets first. There was simply no way to begin. The sixteen disciples pressed closer and closer. For a time, Yang Guo could not think how to respond. He could only deploy his qinggong, racing back and forth across the great hall, darting at angles, dashing in sudden bursts, weaving in all directions, making it impossible for his opponents to determine where to strike.

As he roamed, his eyes searched for a flaw in the formation. He saw that although the nets shifted with great speed, the four edges where they met always overlapped, leaving not the slightest gap. He thought, There is no way except to injure them with concealed projectiles. Whirling around, he had already palmed a handful of Jade Bee Needles.²⁰ Seeing the four disciples to the west closing in, he flung seven or eight needles at the four to the north with his left hand.

He had expected all four to be struck. Instead, ding ding ding ding, a series of light clinks rang out, and every one of the seven or eight golden needles was caught and held by the fishing nets. At the crossing points of the nets’ golden threads, small magnetic stones had been attached. Thus no matter how formidable the enemy’s concealed projectiles, the great net would catch them all. The Jade Bee Needles were sixty percent gold and forty percent steel. It was precisely because of that forty percent steel that the magnetic stones in the nets drew them in.

Footnotes

1. 樊一翁 – Fán Yīwēng. His name meaning “Fan, the one old man”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 杨过 – Yáng Guò. His name meaning “fault or transgression”; his courtesy name Gaizhi means “to correct it”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 打狗棒法 – Dǎgǒu Bàngfǎ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 马光佐 – Mǎ Guāngzuò. His name meaning “bright assistance”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 泼水杖法 – Pōshuǐ Zhàngfǎ. Staff technique of the Passionless Valley. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 缠字诀 – Chán Zì Jué. One of the eight formulae of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, using coiling motions. ↩

7. 斤 – jīn. Traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately 500 grams or 1.1 pounds. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 公孙止 – Gōngsūn Zhǐ. His name meaning “to cease” or “to stop”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 转字诀 – Zhuǎn Zì Jué. One of the eight formulae of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique, using rotational force. ↩

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

11. 尺 – chǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of length, about a third of a metre. Ten chi make one zhang. ↩

12. 潇湘子 – Xiāoxiāng Zǐ. Literally Master of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 尹克西 – Yǐn Kèxī. His name meaning “overcome the west”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 公孙绿萼 – Gōngsūn Lǜ’è. Her name meaning “green calyx”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 师姊 – shījiě. Female senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Jiě means older sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 绝情谷 – Juéqíng Gǔ. Hidden valley ruled by Gongsun Zhi, known for its deadly Passion Flowers and the Passionless Divine Palm technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 周伯通 – Zhōu Bótōng. His name meaning “elder who understands all”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 天罡北斗阵 – Tiāngāng Běidǒu Zhèn. Quanzhen battle formation based on the Northern Dipper. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 玉蜂针 – Yùfēng Zhēn. Fine needles coated with Jade Bee poison, a signature concealed weapon of the Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩