The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 20 – Part 4

Those three date pits had flown impossibly fast, as swift and sudden as a thunderclap. Yang Guo, knowing Qiu Qianchi would strike when Ma Guangzuo laughed, had drawn his sword to intervene, but he was too late. He hurried over, helped Ma Guangzuo up, and unsealed his acupoints. Ma Guangzuo, to his credit, accepted defeat readily. Seeing this bald old woman, without moving hand or foot, knock him down with just her mouth, he was filled with genuine admiration. He spat out his three front teeth, his mouth full of blood, and said, “Old hag, you’re better than me. Old Ma won’t dare offend you again.”

Qiu Qianchi ignored him entirely. She fixed her glare on Yang Guo. “You absolutely refuse to marry my daughter. Is that right?”

Gongsun Lü’e, publicly humiliated, could bear it no longer. She drew the dagger from her waist and pressed its tip to her own chest. “Mother!” she cried. “Ask one more question, and your daughter will die before your eyes!” Qiu Qianchi’s mouth opened. po, a date pit shot forth, striking the dagger at an angle. The force was tremendous. The blade flew sideways and embedded itself deep in a wooden pillar, its hilt still quivering in the candlelight. A collective gasp, everyone drew a sharp breath.

Yang Guo decided that staying would only mean wasted words. He flicked his finger against his sword blade, and riding the ringing weng-weng of the vibrating steel, he chanted clearly:

“Lonely, lonely the white hare, East it runs, then west it stares. Clothes are better when they’re new, But people, old friends see you through.”¹

He traced a sword-flower in the air and, holding Xiaolongnü’s hand, turned and walked away.

Hearing the lines “Clothes are better when they’re new, but people, old friends see you through,” Lü’e felt her heart shatter. She picked up the tattered gown Yang Guo had changed out of and carried it in both hands to him. Softly, she said, “Brother Yang, even with clothes, old is still better.” Yang Guo said, “Thank you.” He took it. Both he and Xiaolongnü knew she was deliberately standing in front of them so her mother could not shoot date pits. Xiaolongnü smiled and nodded her thanks. Lü’e pursed her lips toward the door, urging them to leave quickly.

Qiu Qianchi murmured the words twice: “People, old friends see you through. People, old friends see you through.” Suddenly, she raised her voice. “Yang Guo! You refuse to marry my daughter, do you not even want your life?”

Yang Guo smiled sorrowfully and took another step back, crossing the threshold of the great hall. Xiaolongnü’s heart tightened. “Wait,” she said. Then, clearly, she asked, “Venerable Elder Qiu, do you have medicine that can cure the Passion Flower poison?”

This question had been on Lü’e’s mind all along. Her father had only one Passion Severing Pill left, and Yang Guo had given it to Xiaolongnü. The deadly Passion Flower poison still raged in Yang Guo’s body. Her only hope was that her mother might have a cure. But Mother would surely use it as leverage, forcing Yang Guo to marry her. That was why she had not dared to ask. Now, at this critical moment, she could no longer care about a maiden’s modesty or dignity. She turned and said, “Mother, if not for Brother Yang’s help, you would still be trapped in that stone chamber, your ordeal unended. Brother Yang has never wronged you in the slightest. We should repay kindness with kindness. Please, find a way to cure the poison in his body.”

Qiu Qianchi gave a cold, mirthless laugh. “Repay kindness with kindness? Repay vengeance with vengeance? Is the line between grace and grudge ever so clear in this world? Did Gongsun Zhi repay my kindness?”

Lü’e raised her voice. “What your daughter hates most is a faithless, fickle man who abandons the old for the new. If this Yang were to cast aside his former love and seek to marry me. I would sooner die than accept him.”

These words fell pleasantly on Qiu Qianchi’s ears. But a moment’s reflection revealed her daughter’s true intent: she loved Yang Guo desperately. If he were truly willing to marry her, she would not care whether he abandoned the old for the new, she would accept him with all her heart. She was only speaking this way because of the situation, hoping her mother would save his life first.

The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor, Yin Kexi, and the others watched this second act of forced marriage with amusement, exchanging smiles and glances. Only now did the Imperial Preceptor learn that Yang Guo was afflicted with a lethal poison. He secretly rejoiced and hoped Yang Guo would hold firm to the end, refusing to marry Gongsun Lü’e to save his life. But he worried: this boy is full of tricks. He might pretend to agree, get the antidote, then go back on his word. Still, with himself present, if Yang Guo tried any deceit, he could expose it and prevent Qiu Qianchi from being fooled.

Qiu Qianchi’s gaze swept slowly across every face, east to west. “Yang Guo,” she said, “among the people here, some want you dead and some want you alive. Whether you yourself wish to live or die, think carefully.”

Yang Guo put his arm around Xiaolongnü’s waist and declared, “If she cannot belong to me, and I cannot belong to her, then we would rather die together.” Xiaolongnü smiled sweetly. “Exactly.” Their hearts were one. Their love had grown so deep that even life and death seemed light things.

Qiu Qianchi could not fathom her thinking. She barked, “If I don’t help, this boy will breathe his last. Do you understand? He only has thirty-six days left to live. Do you know that?”

Xiaolongnü said, “If you are willing to help, the two of us can spend a few more years together, we would be deeply grateful. If you won’t help, then we’ll have thirty-six days together. That’s fine too. If he dies, I won’t go on living.” As she spoke these words, her beautiful face showed nothing but serene indifference.

Qiu Qianchi looked at her, then at Yang Guo. She saw them gazing at each other, the depth of their devotion, the sincerity of their love. This was something she had never experienced, never even conceived of, in her entire life. So this was what love between a man and a woman could be. She could not help thinking of her own marriage to Gongsun Zhi, and how it had ended. A long sigh escaped her, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Lü’e rushed to her mother’s side and threw herself into her arms. Sobbing, she cried, “Mother, cure his poison. Then we’ll go find Uncle. Uncle misses you so much, doesn’t he?” The tears stirred a tender feeling in Qiu Qianchi’s heart. But then she remembered the line from her second brother Qiu Qianren’s letter: “Since our eldest brother met his end at the hands of Guo Jing² and Huang Rong³ on Iron Palm Peak…”⁴ Her own limbs were crippled. Her second brother had become a monk, speaking of “laying down the butcher’s knife and taking refuge in the Three Treasures.”⁵ Then how could their eldest brother’s death ever be avenged? This boy’s martial arts were not weak. Since he adamantly refused to marry her daughter, she could order him to exact revenge instead, that would settle one great matter.

Having reached this conclusion, she said, “There were originally many Passion Severing Pills to cure the Passion Flower poison. But except for three, I soaked them all in arsenic and destroyed them utterly. Of those three, the villain Gongsun Zhi took one himself. Another he stole from me while I was drunk, and it eventually fell into your hands, you gave it to this girl. Only one remains in all the world. I have kept this Passion Severing Pill close to my body for over twenty years. Living in Passionless Valley without a Passion Severing Pill, one’s life is not one’s own. But now, in any case, I have not long to live. And my daughter may not stay in the valley hereafter…” She slowly reached into her robes, took out the last Passion Severing Pill in existence, split it in half with her fingernail, and held out the half piece on her palm. “The medicine is yours,” she said. “If you will not be my son-in-law, so be it. But you must agree to do one thing for me.”

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü exchanged a glance. Neither had imagined she would suddenly show mercy. Though they had set life and death aside, now that a path to survival lay before them, their joy was beyond words. Together they said, “Whatever Venerable Elder wishes done, we will do our utmost.”

Slowly, Qiu Qianchi said, “I want you to take two heads and deliver them into my hands.”

The moment they heard this, both knew that one of the intended victims must be Gongsun Zhi. Yang Guo certainly bore him no goodwill. The man had already lost an eye and his Acupoint-Sealing Skill, though his other martial arts remained intact, hunting him down should not be too difficult. But he was Gongsun Lü’e’s father, and this girl had shown him such devotion. Killing her father would wound her grievously. Yang Guo hesitated, unable to answer. Xiaolongnü also felt that, wicked as Gongsun Zhi was, he had nonetheless saved her life. But from Qiu Qianchi’s expression, it was clear: without fulfilling this task, she would never give Yang Guo the antidote.

Seeing the reluctance on their faces, Qiu Qianchi said icily, “I don’t know what connections these two people have to you. But I must kill them.” She tossed the half pill lightly in her palm. Hearing her tone, Yang Guo realised she was not speaking of Gongsun Zhi. He asked, “Who does Venerable Elder Qiu bear a grudge against? Whose heads does she want this junior to take?” Qiu Qianchi said, “Did you not hear that villain read the letter? The ones who killed my eldest brother are called Guo Jing and Huang Rong.”

Yang Guo’s face lit up with fierce joy. “Excellent!” he cried. “Those two are exactly the ones who killed my own father. Even without Venerable Elder’s command, this junior was going to seek them out for revenge.” Qiu Qianchi’s heart jolted. “Is this true?” Yang Guo pointed at the Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor. “This great master also has a score to settle with those two. This junior’s affairs. I have spoken of them with him before.”

Qiu Qianchi looked at the Imperial Preceptor, who nodded and said, “But this Brother Yang, at that time, he was clearly helping Guo Jing and Huang Rong against this old monk.” Xiaolongnü and Lü’e, who detested this monk for his constant scheming and instigation, both glared at him with fury. The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor pretended not to notice and smiled. “Brother Yang, this matter, it did happen, did it not?” Yang Guo said, “Indeed. After I have avenged my parents, I will still have to exchange a few pointers with the great master.” The Imperial Preceptor pressed his palms together. “Excellent, excellent!”

Qiu Qianchi waved her left hand at Yang Guo. “I don’t care whether your words are true or false. Take this pill and swallow it.” Yang Guo stepped forward and took the medicine in his hand. Seeing it was only half, he understood at once and smiled. “I must bring those two heads to exchange for the other half?” Qiu Qianchi nodded. “You are clever. One look and you know, no need for further explanation.” Yang Guo thought, I’ll take this half first, better than nothing. He placed the half pill in his mouth, swallowed some saliva, and let it slide down his throat.

Footnotes

1. “Lonely, lonely the white hare…”. This poem comes from an anonymous Han dynasty folk song. White hare, separated from its mate, runs east then west, never settling. Final couplet conveys the poem’s core message: new clothes may be finer, but old friends (and old loves) are irreplaceable. Yang Guo uses it to firmly and poetically reject Gongsun Lü’e while affirming his devotion to Xiaolongnü. ↩

2. 郭靖 – Guō Jìng. His name meaning “tranquillity” or “pacification”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 黄蓉 – Huáng Róng. Her name meaning “lotus” or “hibiscus”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 铁掌峰 – Tiězhǎng Fēng. Headquarters of the Iron Palm Sect, led by Qiu Qianren (Qiu Qianchi’s eldest brother). Guo Jing and Huang Rong were responsible for Qiu Qianren’s death there, as recounted in The Legend of the Condor Heroes. ↩

5. 放下屠刀，皈依三宝 – Laying down the butcher’s knife and taking refuge in the Three Treasures. Buddhist saying: even the most violent person can find redemption by renouncing violence and taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Qiu Qianren, once a ruthless martial artist, became a monk under Great Master Yideng’s guidance. ↩