The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 21 – Part 4

Guo Jing, suspended in midair, thought, I have taken repeated attacks from this Tibetan monk without returning a single blow. Would that not mean I have lost to him? He saw the Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor nock yet another arrow. The moment his left foot touched the top of the wall, Guo Jing snatched a bow and arrow from a guard’s hands. His ape-like arm extended and contracted. A long arrow flew, aimed directly at the Imperial Preceptor’s incoming shaft. The two arrows met in midair, and Guo Jing’s shaft split the Preceptor’s in two. The Imperial Preceptor had just frozen in shock when a fierce blast of wind arrived. With a resonant zheng, the iron bow in his hands shattered. It must be understood that the Imperial Preceptor and Guo Jing were roughly equal in martial arts. But Guo Jing had been trained since childhood in Mongolia by the divine archer Jebe.¹ Combined with his exquisite neili, his archery skill was unmatched under heaven. The Imperial Preceptor could only stare in disbelief, left far behind. Guo Jing had fired three arrows in rapid succession. The first split the enemy’s arrow. The second shattered his bow. The third, the third was aimed at Khubilai’s great banner.

That great banner, fluttering in the wind, had stood with majestic pride amid the thousands upon thousands of troops. Suddenly, an arrow struck, the banner cords snapped. Khubilai’s yellow standard slid down. Soldiers above and below the wall let out another unified roar.

Seeing Guo Jing’s awe-inspiring might and his own army’s flagging morale, Khubilai gave the order to withdraw.

Guo Jing stood upon the city wall and watched the Mongol army retreat in impeccable formation, those in front unhurried, those in the rear unafraid. He could not help but sigh deeply. The Mongol elite troops, he thought, are truly beyond the ability of our weak and weary Song army to match. His thoughts turning to matters of state, melancholy rose unbidden within him, and his heavy brows furrowed. Zhu Ziliu, Yang Guo, and the others had witnessed him display his might amid the enemy ranks, flaunt his martial prowess before a multitude, and yet show not the slightest trace of arrogance. Their admiration for him knew no bounds.

Khubilai withdrew his army several dozen li.² Along the way, he silently pondered strategies to breach the city. With Guo Jing there, he thought, Xiangyang will indeed be hard to take. The Imperial Preceptor said, “Your Highness saw it with your own eyes. If that brat Yang Guo had not intervened to save him, Guo Jing would have lost his life today. Yang Guo’s martial arts are formidable, who would have thought he would prove so fickle?” Khubilai said, “Not so. I expect Yang Guo wishes to kill Guo Jing with his own hands, to avenge his father. He will not let another do the deed for him. From what I have seen, he is a man of soaring spirit and bold decisiveness, not some cunning, treacherous scoundrel.” The Imperial Preceptor disagreed but dared not argue. He merely said, “May it be as Your Highness predicts.”

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The Mongol army retreated, and Xiangyang was delivered from peril. The Pacification Commissioner Lü Wenhuan was exultant. He once again laid out a grand banquet at the Marshal’s residence to celebrate the victory. This time, Yang Guo was also invited as an honoured guest at the head table. Everyone lavished praise upon him for the swiftness and courage with which he had thrown himself into danger to save Guo Jing, risking his life without hesitation. The Wu brothers sat at a side table in a corner. Seeing Yang Guo achieve such renown the moment he arrived, they could not help but feel jealousy gnawing at their hearts. They also feared that after this battle, Guo Jing, moved by the debt of gratitude for saving his life, would be all the more inclined to betroth his daughter to Yang Guo. The two brothers sat in silence, drinking their gloom away.

After the banquet, the party returned to Guo Jing’s residence. Huang Rong invited Yang Guo to the inner hall for a private meeting and praised him warmly. Yang Guo responded with modest thanks. Guo Jing said, “Guoer, you exerted yourself fiercely just now. Does your chest ache faintly?” He worried that after last night’s qi deviation, the intense effort on the wall might have injured Yang Guo’s internal organs.

Yang Guo, fearing that Huang Rong would press for details and see through the deception, hastily said, “It is nothing. Nothing at all.” He quickly changed the subject. “Uncle Guo, that technique of leaping up the city wall, that is truly unrivalled in the wulin.” Guo Jing smiled faintly. “I set that technique aside long ago. I have not practised it for several years, so it has grown rusty. That is why things went wrong.” In truth, if he had not used his true energy the previous night to help Yang Guo guard his dantian, thereby exhausting his vital power, then even with the Imperial Preceptor’s arrows to obstruct him, the Ascending Heaven’s Ladder would not have troubled him. But he naturally did not mention this. He only said, “Back then, Daoist Master Ma Yu of Danyang taught me the Golden Wild Goose Skill in Mongolia. That is the foundation of the Ascending Heaven’s Ladder. If you like it, I will teach you the technique in a few days.”³

Huang Rong observed that Yang Guo’s expression was distracted, and that he often seemed lost in thought as he spoke. His courageous rescue of Guo Jing today had been witnessed by thousands, there could be no doubt of that. Yet she still could not set her mind at ease. She said, “Jing gege, I am not feeling well tonight. Stay here and look after things.” Guo Jing nodded. To Yang Guo, he said, “Guoer, you have had a tiring day. Go back and rest early.”

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Yang Guo took his leave of the two and returned alone to his room. He heard the second watch drum sound from the watchtower. Sitting at his desk, he stared at the candle flame flickering between brightness and darkness. A tumult of tangled thoughts rose within him. Suddenly, he heard a light tapping at the door. A woman’s voice spoke from outside: “Not asleep yet?” It was Xiaolongnü’s voice. Yang Guo was overjoyed. He leaped to his feet and opened the door. There stood Xiaolongnü in a pale green dress, graceful and lovely against the night. Yang Guo said, “Gugu, what is it?” Xiaolongnü smiled. “I wanted to come see you.” Yang Guo took her hand and said tenderly, “I was just thinking of you, too.”

Side by side, they strolled slowly toward the garden. Flowers and trees grew thick and fragrant. Xiaolongnü gazed at the half-moon overhead and said, “Must you kill him with your own hands? There is not much time left.” Yang Guo hurriedly whispered in her ear, “There are too many ears here. Do not speak of this.” Xiaolongnü stared at him with a dazed expression. “When the moon is full, that will be the end of the eighteen days.”

Yang Guo started in alarm. He counted on his fingers. Nine days had passed since they parted from Qiu Qianchi⁴. If he did not kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong within the next day or two, he would not be able to return to Passionless Valley⁵ before the poison flared. He sighed quietly and sat down with Xiaolongnü on a Taihu rock. The two sat facing each other in silence. Tenderness deepened between them. Their spirits connected wordlessly, and they forgot entirely about vengeance, killing, and war.

After a long while, they suddenly heard footsteps beyond the rockery. Two people were approaching, separated by the flower thickets.

A young woman’s voice said, “If you keep pressuring me, I may as well take a sword and draw it across my own throat. That would spare me this slow, piecemeal suffering.” A young man’s voice, thick with anger, replied, “Hmph. You think I do not know you have two hearts? The moment that fellow Yang arrived in Xiangyang, he made a grand spectacle of himself before everyone. The words you spoke before, do you still hold them in your heart at all?” From the voices, it was clear: Guo Fu and Wu Xiuwen. Xiaolongnü made a mischievous face at Yang Guo, as if to say, Everywhere you go, you leave tangled threads of romance behind, causing no end of trouble for the young ladies. Yang Guo smiled and drew her closer, gently shaking his head to signal silence. He wanted to hear what the two would say.

Guo Fu, hearing Wu Xiuwen’s words, immediately flew into a rage. Raising her voice, she said, “If that is how it is, then everything we said before counts for nothing. I will go far, far away alone. I will never see Yang Guo again. And you and I, we will never see each other again, either.” The sound of rustling cloth followed. Wu Xiuwen must have grabbed Guo Fu’s sleeve, and she had shaken him off with force. The fury in her voice deepened. “What are you grabbing and pulling at? Whether he makes a spectacle of himself or not, what does that have to do with me? Even if my parents betroth me to him for life, I would rather die than consent. If Father presses me too hard, I will run far away. That Yang Guo, he has been arrogant and overbearing since childhood, always thinking he is something special. I have never held him in any regard. Father treats him like a treasure. Hmph. I say he is no good man.” Wu Xiuwen hastily said, “Yes, yes! I was blind with suspicion before. Fu Mei, please, do not be angry. If I ever do this again, may I die a wretched death and be reborn as a tortoise, a turtle, a bastard king of eight!”⁶ His voice brimmed with delight. Guo Fu let out a puchi of laughter.

Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü exchanged a smile. One smile meant, See? She tears me down like that. The other meant, So I was wrong before. The one I love is in my heart, but someone else holds another’s heart. From Guo Fu’s tone, it was clear that though she scolded Wu Xiuwen at one moment and toyed with his feelings at the next, twisting him around her finger, making him dizzy and disoriented, deep in her heart, she held genuine tenderness for him.

Wu Xiuwen said, “Your mother dotes on you most. Beg her day and night. Pester her without letting up. As long as she agrees not to marry you to that Yang, your father will have nothing to say.” Guo Fu said, “Hmph. What do you know? Father may listen to Mother’s words, but when it comes to important matters, Mother never goes against Father.” Wu Xiuwen sighed. “If only you were like that with me.”

A crisp pa rang out. Wu Xiuwen cried, “Ah!” in pain and said urgently, “Why are you hitting me again?” Guo Fu said, “Who told you to say cheap things? I will not marry Yang Guo, but that does not mean I will marry a little monkey like you.” Wu Xiuwen said, “Fine! Tonight, you have finally spoken your true heart. You will not be my wife, but you are willing to be my sister-in-law. I tell you, I tell you…” He was choking with rage and frustration. The words that followed could not come out.

Guo Fu’s voice suddenly turned gentle. “Little Wu gege, you have been good to me, you have said it a thousand times, ten thousand times. Of course I know your heart is true. Your elder brother has never said it even once, but I know he, too, is hopelessly devoted to me. No matter whom I choose, one of you brothers will be heartbroken. You care for me, you cherish me, do you not know how difficult this is for me?”

Wu Dunru and Wu Xiuwen had lost their parents when they were young. The two brothers had always been deeply devoted to each other. But in recent years, both had fallen hopelessly in love with Guo Fu, and an unspoken rift had grown between them. Wu Xiuwen’s heart seized with anguish, and tears spilled down his cheeks. Guo Fu took out a handkerchief and tossed it to him. With a sigh, she said, “Little Wu gege, we grew up together since we were small. I respect your elder brother, but when I talk with you, the words come more easily. Between you two brothers, I truly have no favourite. Today, you insist that I speak plainly. If you were me, what would you say?” Wu Xiuwen said, “I do not know. I can only tell you, if you marry someone else, I cannot go on living.”

Guo Fu said, “All right. No more talk tonight. Father was fighting for his life against the enemy today, and here we are in the garden, chattering about trivial things. If Father overheard us, everyone would lose face. Little Wu gege, let me tell you, if you want to win my parents’ favour, why not distinguish yourself in battle? Hanging around me all day, will that not make my parents look down on you?” Wu Xiuwen leaped to his feet and said loudly, “You are right! I will go assassinate Khubilai and lift the siege of Xiangyang. Then, will you have me or not?” Guo Fu gave a radiant smile. “If you perform such a great deed, even if I wanted to refuse you, I probably could not. But how many guards surround Khubilai? The Golden Wheel Imperial Preceptor alone, even Father might not defeat him. Stop your wild fantasies and go to bed like a good boy.”

Wu Xiuwen gazed at Guo Fu’s lovely face with lingering reluctance. “Fine,” he said. “Then you should sleep early too.” He turned and walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back. “Fu Mei, will you dream tonight?” Guo Fu laughed. “How would I know?” Wu Xiuwen said, “If you do dream, what do you think you will dream about?” Guo Fu smiled slightly. “I will probably dream of a little monkey.” Wu Xiuwen was overjoyed. He bounced and skipped away.

Behind the flower thicket, Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo had listened to this endless lovers’ chatter. They smiled at each other. Both thought, One hopelessly entangled, the other uncertain. Compared to our single-minded devotion, love that does not fear death, the contentment and joy in our hearts must far surpass theirs.

After Wu Xiuwen left, Guo Fu sat alone on the stone bench, staring blankly at the moon. After a long silence, she let out a deep sigh. Suddenly, a figure emerged from behind the rockery opposite. “Fu Mei,” he said. “Why do you sigh?” It was Wu Dunru. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü both started slightly. It seemed Wu Dunru had been quietly following behind ever since his brother and Guo Fu had entered the garden.

Guo Fu said with mild annoyance, “You are always so strange and shadowy. You heard everything I said to your brother, did you not?” Wu Dunru nodded. He stood facing Guo Fu, keeping his distance, but his eyes brimmed with yearning. The two faced each other in silence. After a long while, Guo Fu said, “What do you want to say to me?” Wu Dunru said, “Nothing. You already know without me saying it.” He slowly turned and slowly walked away.

Footnotes

1. 哲别 – Zhébié. One of Genghis Khan’s greatest generals and the master archer who taught Guo Jing archery during his youth in Mongolia. “Jebe” means “arrow” in Mongolian. ↩

2. 里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 metres or a third of a mile. ↩

3. 马钰 – Mǎ Yù. His name meaning “precious jade”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 裘千尺 – Qiú Qiānchǐ. Gongsun Zhi’s wife and Qiu Qianren’s younger sister; known as Iron Palm Lotus. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 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. ↩

6. 乌龟大王八 – Wūguī Dà Wángbā. Colourful Chinese insult. Tortoises and turtles are considered low and shameful creatures in Chinese folk culture. “King of eight” refers to the eight characters in a person’s birth chart — implying someone of thoroughly bad destiny. ↩