The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 20 – Part 5

Qiu Qianchi said, “Only one Passion Severing Pill remains in this world. You have taken half. The other half is hidden in an extremely secret place. In eighteen days, if you bring me those two heads, I will naturally retrieve it for you. Otherwise, even if you capture me, subject me to the torture of a thousand cuts, and throw me back into that stone chamber, I will never give it to you. I, Qiu Qianchi, speak with absolute finality. I never waver. Honoured guests, you may take your leave. Young Hero Yang, Miss Long, we shall meet again in eighteen days.” She closed her eyes and paid no further attention to anyone.

Xiaolongnü asked, “Why eighteen days?” Qiu Qianchi, eyes still shut, said, “The Passion Flower poison in his body was originally set to erupt after thirty-six days. Now that he has taken half the pill, the poison concentrates in one place, and the eruption comes twice as fast. After eighteen days, if he takes the other half, the poison will be neutralised at once. Otherwise… otherwise… heh heh!” She merely waved them away.

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü knew this woman was beyond reason. They took their leave of Gongsun Lü’e and hurried out of Narcissus Manor. Yang Guo had no patience to retrace their route and leave by boat. He and Xiaolongnü deployed their qinggong and scaled the mountains, crossing out of the valley.

Yang Guo had been in the valley only three days, but in those three days he had faced peril after peril, death hovering within a hair’s breadth time and again. Now, escaping this deadly place with his beloved, it felt as if he had passed into another life. Dawn was breaking. Side by side, they stood on a high ridge and gazed down at the secluded valley below. Dense forests stretched beneath them, bathed in the morning light, a sea of emerald green. Their hearts swelled with boundless joy, light and drifting as if they were floating among the clouds.

Yang Guo led Xiaolongnü by the hand beneath a great locust tree. “Gugu…” he began. Xiaolongnü nestled close to him and gave a radiant smile. “I think you should stop calling me Gugu now.”

In his heart, Yang Guo had long ceased to regard her as his teacher. He called her “Gugu” only from habit. Hearing her words, sweetness flooded his heart. He turned and gazed into her dark eyes. “Then what should I call you?” Xiaolongnü said, “Call me whatever you like. Everything is up to you.” Yang Guo thought for a moment. “The happiest time in my life was when we were together in the ancient tomb. Back then, I called you Gugu. I’ll call you Gugu until the day I die. But in my heart…” He paused. “In my heart, I call you ‘wife.’”

Xiaolongnü laughed. “When I spanked your bottom back then, were you happy then too?” Yang Guo wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her warm fragrance, mingled with the scent of flowers and trees from the mountain valley. It made his soul drunk with bliss, beyond all restraint. Softly, he said, “If we could stay like this for eighteen days, I think we’d die of happiness. Let’s not go kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Rather than rushing about, labouring and fighting to the death, let’s just spend these eighteen days in peace and joy.”

Xiaolongnü smiled. “Whatever you say is fine. Before, I always made you listen to me. From now on, I’ll only listen to you.” She had always been cold in manner, but now, her heart filled with love, every part of her, from her brows and the corners of her eyes to her very limbs, was suffused with gentleness and devotion. Listening to Yang Guo with her whole heart, this was the greatest happiness she could imagine.

Yang Guo stared at her, transfixed. Slowly, he said, “Why are there tears in your eyes?” Xiaolongnü took his hand and pressed her cheek gently against the back of it. Softly, she said, “I… I don’t know.” After a moment, she added, “It must be because I love you too much.”

Yang Guo said, “I know what you’re sad about.” Xiaolongnü raised her head. Suddenly, tears streamed down like a spring. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed, “Guoer, you… you… we only have eighteen days. How can that be enough?” Yang Guo gently patted her shoulder. Softly, he said, “Yes. I also say it’s not enough.” Xiaolongnü said, “I want you to treat me like this forever, for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years…”

Yang Guo lifted her face and kissed her gently on her cherry-red lips. With fierce resolve, he said, “Fine. No matter what, we must kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong.” The salt taste of her tears lingered on his tongue. The passion in his chest was so intense he felt his whole body might burst.

Suddenly, from a height to their left, a voice laughed loudly: “If you want to be lovey-dovey, there’s no need to be in such a hurry.” Yang Guo turned his head. On a ridge a dozen zhang¹ away stood five figures, shoulder to shoulder: the Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor, Yin Kexi, Xiaoxiangzi, Nimoxing, and Ma Guangzuo. It was the Imperial Preceptor who had spoken. Yang Guo guessed that when he and Xiaolongnü had hurriedly left the valley, paying no attention to the others, the Imperial Preceptor and his party had followed. After their great ordeal, reunited at last, the two lovers had seen nothing and heard nothing beyond each other. Their tender moment beneath the locust tree had been observed from afar by the Imperial Preceptor and the others.

Yang Guo remembered how the Imperial Preceptor had repeatedly opposed him in Passionless Valley, nearly costing him his life with a few well-placed words. If he had known, back when the monk was recovering from his injuries in that mountain hut, he should have ended his life with a single palm strike. He had helped heal the man’s wounds, yet this so-called grandmaster of a sect had repaid kindness with venom. Xiaolongnü saw the fury kindling in his eyes and whispered, “Ignore him. People like that, even if they lived a whole lifetime, they wouldn’t know one moment of the joy we have.”

Ma Guangzuo called out, “Brother Yang! Miss Long! Let’s travel together. This wilderness, no wine, no meat, what fun is there in that?” Yang Guo only wanted to spend every possible moment with Xiaolongnü in peace and freedom, yet these tactless people had to come and disturb them. Only now did he truly appreciate the secluded stillness of the ancient tomb, far from the world’s annoyances. But knowing Ma Guangzuo meant well, he called back, “Brother Ma, go on ahead. We’ll follow shortly.” Ma Guangzuo said, “Fine, but hurry up, then.”

The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor burst into loud laughter. “Why trouble yourself over them? They want to linger in this wilderness for eighteen days.” Qiu Qianchi’s words about the poison erupting after eighteen days had been heard by everyone in the hall. Hearing the monk speak thus, Ma Guangzuo flew into a rage. He seized the Imperial Preceptor by the collar and roared, “You thieving baldy, your heart is too vicious! We came to the valley together with Brother Yang. Not helping him is bad enough, but your constant cold sneering, what is the meaning of it?” The Imperial Preceptor smiled faintly. “Are you going to let go or not?” Ma Guangzuo raged, “I won’t! What are you going to do about it?”

The Imperial Preceptor threw a straight punch at his face. Ma Guangzuo said, “Oh, getting rough, are we?” He raised his fan-like palm to catch the fist. But the punch was a feint. The Imperial Preceptor’s left hand shot out and lifted from beneath, hard and soft force combined. Ma Guangzuo’s enormous body went flying, crashing down the slope. Fortunately, the hillside was thick with long grass, and his skin was thick and flesh tough, he was not seriously hurt, though his forehead swelled and bruised. Wailing, he clambered back up.

Yang Guo saw them fighting and knew Ma Guangzuo would come to grief. He had only taken three steps to intervene when Ma Guangzuo was already thrown hard. Though Ma Guangzuo was simple, he had his own brand of cunning. He knew he could not beat the monk in a straight fight, so he moaned and groaned, “Ow, ow! My arm, that thieving baldy broke my arm!”

The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor had been summoned by the Mongol Empress Dowager and invested as the Mongol Empire’s First Imperial Preceptor. Xiaoxiangzi and Nimoxing had always been resentful and defiant. Seeing his overbearing behaviour now only deepened their anger. The two exchanged a look. Xiaoxiangzi said, “The great master’s martial skill is indeed impressive, worthy of the title of Mongol Empire’s First Imperial Preceptor.” The Imperial Preceptor replied, “You flatter me, you flatter me…” Reading their expressions, he knew Xiaoxiangzi and Nimoxing were about to attack, while Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü stood to the side, also eager to move. Yin Kexi’s intentions were still unclear. Though he was confident in his martial prowess, if these five masters joined forces against him, he would not only be utterly unable to withstand them, his very life would be at risk. He made polite replies while his mind raced for an escape.

But Ma Guangzuo, still moaning and groaning, slowly worked his way behind the Imperial Preceptor’s back. Suddenly, he threw a mighty punch. bong! It landed square on the back of the Imperial Preceptor’s skull. Given the Imperial Preceptor’s martial skill, Ma Guangzuo’s sneak attack should never have succeeded. But the monk’s full attention was fixed on Yang Guo, Xiaoxiangzi, and the other three. He had paid no heed at all to this simpleton. The punch landed like an iron hammer, making stars dance before his eyes. Shocked and enraged, he drove an elbow backward. It caught Ma Guangzuo square in the chest. Ma Guangzuo cried out and collapsed forward, limp. The Imperial Preceptor bent his knees slightly, and Ma Guangzuo’s massive body landed squarely on his shoulder. Without pause, the monk fled down the slope.

Everyone shouted and gave chase, Yang Guo in the lead. Though the Imperial Preceptor bore a man weighing nearly three hundred jin² on his shoulder, he ran like the wind. Yang Guo, Xiaolongnü, Nimoxing, all were first-rate in qinggong. But with the Imperial Preceptor’s head start, they could not close the gap within several dozen zhang. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü quickened their pace and gradually began to gain. The Imperial Preceptor stopped abruptly and turned, a savage grin on his face. “Fine!” he snarled. “Will you all come at once, or fight one on one?” He held Ma Guangzuo upside down, positioning the man’s head against a rock on the hillside as if about to dash it to pieces.

Yang Guo circled behind him, blocking his escape. “If you harm his life,” he said, “we will indeed all attack together.” The Imperial Preceptor laughed and tossed Ma Guangzuo to the ground. “A simpleton like this, is he worth taking seriously?” He reached both hands into his robes and then withdrew them. In his left hand, white light shimmered. In his right, a yellow aura glowed. He now held a silver wheel and a bronze wheel. He struck the two wheels together, and the ringing hum echoed through the valley. Proudly, he said, “Who will be first?”

Yin Kexi said with a grin, “You are all exchanging martial pointers. I am merely a merchant. I’ll just observe from the side.” The Imperial Preceptor thought, This man is neutral, one less opponent. Xiaoxiangzi thought it best to let someone else go first, exhaust the monk’s strength, then strike when he was flagging. He said, “Brother Ni, your martial skill surpasses mine. Please, go first!”

Nimoxing understood Xiaoxiangzi’s intent but was confident in his own abilities. His martial learning was unmatched in all of India, he had never met his equal. He thought that even if he could not defeat the Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor, he would not lose. He casually seized a massive boulder from the hillside and bellowed, “Fine! Let me test your two little circle-things.” Raising the boulder, he hurled it straight at the Imperial Preceptor’s chest. The rock must have weighed at least three hundred jin. Everyone was shocked to see him forgo weapons and attack with a giant stone.

The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor had not expected this dwarf to possess such natural strength, hurling boulders as weapons. He dared not meet it head-on. He sidestepped to avoid it, then swept his bronze wheel at Nimoxing’s back. Nimoxing, still gripping the boulder, swung it around to block. Wheel met rock with a spray of sparks and a deafening tang that echoed through the valley. The Imperial Preceptor’s left arm tingled with numbness. This dark dwarf’s martial arts are bizarre, he thought. I must not be careless. But no matter how strong he is, how long can he hold up that boulder? His twin wheels danced as he circled Nimoxing’s body.

Yang Guo helped Ma Guangzuo up and stood with Xiaolongnü, watching the fight. Nimoxing’s superhuman strength and strange martial arts astonished them both. They fought on. Nimoxing’s power showed no sign of flagging. Suddenly, he roared, “A-po-xing!” He hurled the boulder at the Imperial Preceptor.

This throw was a fearsome technique from Indian Buddhist martial arts, called the “Shakyamuni Elephant-Hurling Skill.”³ The Buddhist scriptures record: when Shakyamuni was still a prince, one day he left the city and an elephant blocked his path. The prince seized the elephant by its foot and hurled it into the sky. Three days later, the elephant fell back to earth, the impact carving a deep trench, now called Elephant-Hurling Gully. This was, of course, allegory, illustrating the inconceivable power of the Dharma. In later ages, Indian martial artists developed an external technique that allowed them to hurl objects with tremendous force, naming it after this story. Now, as Nimoxing employed this divine skill, the boulder spun rapidly through the air, carrying a fierce wind as it hurtled toward the Imperial Preceptor.

Powerful as the Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor’s martial arts were, he dared not meet such a colossal projectile head-on. He leaped aside. Nimoxing’s body suddenly flew into the air. He caught up with the great rock and struck it with both palms. The boulder changed direction and hurtled after the Imperial Preceptor once more. This second throw combined the remaining force of the first with the new impetus, it was even stronger than before.

Footnotes

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

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

3. 释迦掷象功 – Shìjiā Zhìxiàng Gōng. Based on the Buddhist story of Prince Siddhartha (the future Buddha) hurling an elephant over the city walls. Technique uses supernatural strength to launch heavy objects at enemies. Story is allegorical, illustrating the Buddha’s extraordinary power. ↩