The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 19 – Part 3

Yang Guo was about to offer some words of comfort when yet another crocodile slowly crawled onto the rock, its forelegs nearly touching the sheepskin that had fallen from the bundle. A thought struck Yang Guo. Let me take a look at this sheepskin and see what mystery it holds. He raised the dagger and drove it between the crocodile’s eyes. Thunk, the blade sank in effortlessly. This dagger was a peerless sharp edge that could slice through metal and jade as if they were mud. The crocodile thrashed a few times, tumbled into the pool belly-up, and died. Yang Guo said happily, “Now that we have this dagger, the fortunes of our crocodile friends in this pool are about to take a turn for the worse.” He picked up the sheepskin in his left hand and brought the dagger hilt close with his right, studying the skin intently by the faint glow of the luminous pearl. One side of the sheepskin was rough and showed nothing unusual. Turning it over, he saw many drawings of buildings, mountains, and rocks.

Yang Guo looked at it for a while but found nothing remarkable. “This sheepskin is nothing important,” he said. Lü’e had been watching beside his shoulder all along. Suddenly, she said, “This is a diagram of our Passionless Valley’s Narcissus Manor. Look, this is the stream you entered by, this is the great hall, this is the Sword Chamber, this is the Fungus Chamber, this is the Alchemy Chamber…” As she spoke, she pointed at the diagram. Yang Guo suddenly let out a surprised “Yi!” and said, “Look, look.” He pointed at some wavy lines drawn beneath the Alchemy Chamber. Lü’e said, “That is the crocodile pool. Ah… and there is a passage here.”

When the two saw that a passage was drawn beside the crocodile pool, their spirits immediately soared. Yang Guo compared the diagram to the actual layout of the pool and said, “If this diagram is accurate, then following this passage should lead to another way out. Only…” Lü’e finished his thought. “The strange thing is, this passage slopes downward the entire way. The crocodile pool is already deep beneath the earth, if it slopes further down, where does it lead?” The passage on the diagram ended at the edge of the sheepskin, cutting off before showing where it led.

Yang Guo said, “Has your father or eldest shixiong ever spoken of this crocodile pool?” Lü’e shook her head. “Until today, I never knew that so many terrifying creatures lurked beneath the Alchemy Chamber. I fear even eldest shixiong is unaware. But… but to keep so many crocodiles, someone must feed them regularly. I don’t know why Father would…” Thinking of her father’s viciousness, she could not stop trembling.

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Yang Guo surveyed the surroundings. Behind the rock, there was a patch of deep, dark shadow that seemed like the entrance to a passage, but it was too far away to see clearly. He thought, Even if this truly is a passage, who knows what savage monsters might be kept inside? Meeting them could be even more dangerous. But we cannot simply sit here waiting for death. Since we are doomed either way, we might as well risk our lives seeking a way out. If I can bring Miss Gongsun to safety and deliver the Passion Severing Pill into Gugu’s mouth, that will be enough. He handed the dagger to Lü’e and said, “I’ll go take a look. Watch out for crocodiles.” With a push of his left foot against the rock, he had already flown out over the pool. Lü’e cried out in alarm. Yang Guo landed his right foot on the belly of a dead crocodile, used the rebound to leap up again, then touched his left foot down on the back of another crocodile. The beast sank straight to the bottom of the pool, but Yang Guo had already reached the opposite bank. Pressing himself against the rock face, he reached back with his hand and called out, “There really is a large cave here!”

Gongsun Lü’e’s qinggong was far inferior to his. She dared not leap across in the same manner. Yang Guo thought that if he went back to carry her, their combined weight would not only make the leap difficult but would also be too much for the crocodiles to support. At this point, he had no choice but to risk it all. He called out, “Miss Gongsun, soak the long gown in the water and throw it over!” Lü’e did not understand his intention, but she did as he said. She removed the gown, soaked it in the pool water, quickly pulled it up, tied two knots in it to form a ball, and called, “Here it comes!” She threw it across with all her strength.

Yang Guo caught it, untied the knots, and found a foothold on the rock wall. Gripping a protruding edge of rock firmly with his left hand, he swung the soaked gown with his right and said, “Listen carefully for the sound.” He sent the gown lashing forward, then snapped it back with a flick of his wrist. Pak, the gown struck the cave opening. He struck three times and asked, “Do you know where the cave mouth is now?” Lü’e, tracing the shape by the sound, had grasped the distance and direction. “I know,” she said. Yang Guo said, “Jump up and grab the gown. I’ll pull you across.”

Lü’e strained to open her eyes as wide as she could, but everything before her remained an impenetrable blackness. She was deeply afraid. “I don’t… I…” she stammered. Yang Guo said, “Don’t be afraid. If you miss the gown and fall into the pool, I will jump in and save you at once. We weren’t afraid of the crocodiles before, now that we have this dagger that cuts through iron like mud, what is there to fear?” With a whoosh, he swung the gown across.

Gongsun Lü’e gritted her teeth. Bracing both feet against the rock, she propelled herself into the air. Listening for the sound of the gown cutting through the air, she shot out both hands. Her right hand caught the hem of the gown, but her left hand grasped empty air. Yang Guo felt the weight settle on his arm. With a sharp snap of his wrist, he swung Lü’e toward the cave mouth. Afraid she would lose her footing, he leaped after her the instant he released the gown and placed a gentle hand beneath her waist, lifting her to sit securely at the cave’s edge.

Gongsun Lü’e was overjoyed. “It worked!” she cried. “That was a brilliant idea.” Yang Guo laughed. “Who knows what strange poisonous creatures or savage beasts might be lurking in this cave. We can only resign ourselves to the will of Heaven.” He bent down and crawled into the cave. Lü’e handed him the dagger. “You take it,” she said. She took the gown Yang Guo passed back to her and put it on.

The cave mouth was extremely narrow. The two could only advance on hands and knees. Moisture from the crocodile pool had seeped through the cave, making it damp and slippery, and the reek of decay was nauseating. As Yang Guo crawled, he laughed and said, “This morning, you and I were admiring the passion flowers together beneath the morning sun, the mountainside a riot of colour, birds singing, flowers fragrant. Barely a few shichen¹ later, we have ended up in a place like this. I have truly dragged you into terrible trouble.” Lü’e said, “How could any of this be blamed on you?”

After crawling for some time, the tunnel gradually widened until they could stand and walk upright. They walked for a long while, yet the end never came, though the ground grew flatter and flatter. Yang Guo laughed. “Aha, it seems our suffering is over and we are entering more pleasant territory.” Lü’e sighed. “Brother Yang, if your heart is heavy, you needn’t force yourself to amuse me…” Before she could finish, a great burst of laughter suddenly rang out from the left: “Haha, haha, haha!”

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These were unmistakably the sounds of laughter, yet they sounded exactly like wailing. The noise went “haha, haha,” but the tone was unspeakably bleak and sorrowful. In all their lives, neither Yang Guo nor Lü’e had ever heard such a sound, a cry that was not crying, a laugh that was not laughing. And to hear it suddenly, without any warning, in this pitch-black tunnel, was more terrifying than encountering the most vicious poisonous snake or savage beast. Yang Guo, for all his boldness, could not help but leap up in fright, smashing his head painfully against the tunnel ceiling. Gongsun Lü’e was so terrified that cold sweat drenched her entire body and every hair stood on end. She threw herself into his arms and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

The two truly did not know what to do. They dared not advance, yet they could not bear to retreat. Lü’e whispered, “Is it a ghost?” Her voice was barely audible, but the voice on the left responded at once with another burst of wailing laughter: “That’s right, I’m a ghost, I’m a ghost, haha, haha!” Lü’e’s arms tightened around Yang Guo’s neck even more fiercely. She dared not let go. Yang Guo also put his arm around her waist to comfort her.

He thought, Since she calls herself a ghost, she is no ghost. He declared in a clear voice, “My name is Yang Guo. Miss Gongsun and I have met with disaster and seek only to escape with our lives. We bear no ill will toward anyone…” The person suddenly interrupted, “Miss Gongsun? What Miss Gongsun?” Yang Guo said, “The daughter of Gongsun Valley Master. Gongsun Lü’e.” At this, utter silence fell on the other side, as though the person had suddenly vanished without a trace.

When that voice, half crying, half laughing, had rung out, the two had already been terrified beyond measure. Now, with the sudden descent into dead silence, the darkness felt more horrifying than ever. They clung to each other, not daring to speak or move. Lü’e, pressed against Yang Guo, trembled without ceasing.

After a long while, the person suddenly barked, “What Gongsun Valley Master? Is it Gongsun Zhi?” The voice was filled with fury, but it was clearly a woman’s voice now. Lü’e summoned her courage and answered, “My father’s given name is indeed the single character Zhi.² Might the elder know my father?” The woman gave a cold, mirthless laugh. “Do I know him? Heh heh, do I know him?” Lü’e dared not reply and could only remain silent. After another long pause, the voice barked again, “What is your name?” Lü’e said, “This junior’s humble name is Lü’e. lü as in green, e as in the calyx of a flower.” The woman gave a contemptuous snort and asked, “What year, what month, what day, and at what hour were you born?”

Lü’e thought, Why would this strange person ask for the eight characters of my birth? She probably means to use them for some sorcery to harm me. She whispered in Yang Guo’s ear, “Should I tell her?” Before Yang Guo could answer, the woman sneered, “You were born in the jiashen year, on the third day of the second month, at the xu hour. Am I right?”³ Lü’e was stunned. She cried out, “You… you… how do you know?”

Suddenly, an indescribable strange feeling surged through her heart. She knew with absolute certainty that this strange person in the cave would never harm her. Breaking free from Yang Guo’s side, she rushed forward. She rounded two bends, and suddenly a dazzling light blazed before her eyes. There, sitting cross-legged on the ground, was a half-naked, bald-headed old woman. Her face was stern and solemn, radiating an awe-inspiring authority.

Lü’e gasped “Ah!” He stood frozen in place. Yang Guo, fearing for her safety, hurried in after her.

The spot where the old woman sat was a natural cavern, its depths vanishing into endless darkness. Overhead, a great circular opening about a zhang in diameter admitted sunlight from above, though the opening was more than a hundred zhang from the cavern floor. The old woman had most likely fallen through this hole by accident and had never been able to get out. This cavern lay deep beneath the earth, even if one shouted at the top of one’s lungs, anyone passing overhead might not hear. But how she had survived a fall from such a height was truly a mystery. Yang Guo saw that within the reach of the sunlight, many large jujube trees had grown. Had she happened to land in a tree and thus survived? He noticed that she covered her body with nothing but bark and leaves. She must have been in this cavern for many years, her clothes had long since rotted away entirely.

The old woman looked at Yang Guo as if he did not exist. Her gaze swept up and down, taking in only Lü’e. Suddenly, she gave a mournful smile. “Girl, you are so beautiful,” she said. Lü’e returned the smile, stepped forward, and curtsied deeply in greeting. “Elder, how do you do?”

The old woman threw her head back and laughed, that sound, still more like weeping than laughter. “Elder? Haha, I am well, I am well, haha, haha!” Toward the end, her face was filled with rage. Lü’e had no idea how a simple greeting could have offended her. Her heart fluttered with unease, and she turned to Yang Guo for help. Yang Guo thought that anyone trapped in this cavern for so long was bound to have lost their sanity, which was hardly surprising. He shook his head at Lü’e with a faint smile, signalling her not to take it to heart, while he himself studied the terrain, trying to figure out how to climb out. Though the opening overhead was high, with his qinggong, it might not be impossible to risk the ascent.

Footnotes

1. 时辰 – shíchen. Traditional Chinese double hour; one twelfth of a day, equal to two modern hours. ↩

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

3. 生辰八字 – Eight Characters of Birth. In Chinese tradition, a person’s birth time is recorded using the sexagenary cycle, producing eight characters (two each for year, month, day, and hour). These are used in fortune-telling and matchmaking. Qiu Qianchi knowing Lü’e’s exact birth hour proves she is her mother beyond any doubt. Jiashen year, second month, third day, xu hour — the xu hour is 7:00—9:00 PM in the traditional Chinese time system. ↩