The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 22 – Part 6

Xiaolongnü cried out urgently, “You… you…” She had only spoken two words when, with a ripping sound, the Imperial Preceptor’s golden wheel tore through the cloth on her left shoulder. Yang Guo said, “To act in such a way, how could I face Uncle Guo? How could I have the face to wield this sword?” He raised the Gentleman’s Sword as he spoke. His sudden change of heart was something Xiaolongnü could not have known. Her entire being was devoted to one thing: curing the poison in Yang Guo’s body. Hearing him say he wanted to honour the man who had killed his father, that he wanted to be a virtuous gentleman, she was utterly bewildered. With their thoughts now at odds, their swordplay became even harder to coordinate. The Imperial Preceptor seized the advantage, stepped forward, bent his arm, and drove an elbow strike into Yang Guo’s left shoulder.

Yang Guo felt half his body go numb. The baby slipped from his arms. The three of them were fighting fiercely on the rooftop. The moment the infant left Yang Guo’s embrace, it plummeted straight toward the ground. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü cried out together in horror, wanting to leap down and save it, but how could they possibly make it in time?

The Imperial Preceptor had pieced together the truth from the fragments of their conversation. He knew this baby was the daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Though I could not capture Guo Jing, he thought, if I take his daughter as a hostage and use her to force his surrender, would that not be an extraordinary achievement? Seeing the critical danger, he swept his right hand out. The silver wheel flew forth and landed perfectly beneath the baby’s swaddling clothes.

The silver wheel caught the infant, holding her five chi above the ground, and glided forward on a level plane. All three leaped down from the roof, racing to seize the wheel. Yang Guo was the closest. He saw the silver wheel descending lower and lower, soon it would touch the ground. He kicked off with his right foot, throwing himself into a roll, intending to cushion himself beneath the wheel and catch both wheel and child together, so the baby would not suffer the slightest harm. But suddenly, an arm reached in from the side, seized the golden wheel with the baby still upon it, and drew them away. The figure immediately turned and fled.

Yang Guo flipped to his feet. The Imperial Preceptor and Xiaolongnü rushed to his side. Xiaolongnü cried out, “It is my shijie¹!”

Yang Guo saw the figure draped in a pale yellow Daoist robe, a horsetail whisk in her right hand, it was Li Mochou²’s back, unmistakably. How had this woman come to Xiangyang at such a moment? She was vicious by nature, her methods deadly beyond measure. If this infant fell into her hands, what good could possibly come of it? Yang Guo gathered his breath and gave chase at top speed.

Xiaolongnü shouted, “Shijie! Shijie! This baby is of great consequence! Why are you taking her?” Li Mochou did not turn back. From the distance, her voice drifted back: “Our Ancient Tomb School has been virgins for generations. Yet you have gone and had a child. Have you no shame?” Xiaolongnü called out, “It is not my child! Give her back!” She shouted several more times, but the effort cost her breath, and she immediately fell a dozen zhang behind. She watched Li Mochou and the other two heading north, and she pursued.

By now, troops and horses were everywhere in the city, with shouts and commands filling the air, some directing the firefighting, others hunting for spies. Xiaolongnü saw and heard none of it. She was just reaching the city wall when she spotted Lu Youjiao leading a contingent of Beggars’ Sect members on patrol at the north gate, on guard against the enemy exploiting the chaos of the fires to attack. The moment he saw Xiaolongnü, he asked urgently, “Miss Long, are Chief Huang and Great Xia Guo safe?” Xiaolongnü ignored his question and asked instead, “Have you seen Young Master Yang and Jinlun Guoshi? Have you seen a woman carrying a child?” Lu Youjiao pointed beyond the city wall. “All three jumped down from the wall.”

Xiaolongnü was stunned. The city wall was so high, even the strongest martial artist would break bones leaping from it. How could all three have jumped? Then her eye fell on a Beggars’ Sect disciple who was brushing down Guo Jing’s Sweat-blood Horse. A chill ran through her: Even if Guoer manages to seize the baby, without this horse, how can he reach Passionless Valley in time? She rushed forward and grabbed the reins. Turning to Lu Youjiao, she said, “I have urgent business outside the city and need this horse immediately.”

Lu Youjiao’s only concern was for Huang Rong and Guo Jing. He asked again, “Are Chief Huang and Great Xia Guo safe?” Xiaolongnü swung onto the horse’s back. “They are both safe,” she said. “But the baby Chief Huang just gave birth to has been snatched away by that woman. I must go and get her back.” Lu Youjiao was alarmed and immediately ordered the city gate opened.

The gate had barely opened a few chi, and the drawbridge had not yet been lowered, when Xiaolongnü spurred her horse through. The Sweat-blood Horse was a steed of divine calibre. Its hind legs thrust, and it soared over the moat as though riding clouds and mist. The soldiers on the wall, seeing this, burst into a unified cheer.

Outside the city, Xiaolongnü found two soldiers lying dead at the base of the wall, their bodies a mess of blood and flesh. A warhorse lay nearby, its legs broken, its head split. She gazed into the distance, all she could see were the grey-blue mountains and the vast, open plains. How could she know which way the three had gone? Desperate and at a loss, she patted the horse’s neck and said, “Horse, oh horse, I am going to save your young mistress. Quickly, take me to her!” Whether the horse truly understood her words or not, it raised its head and gave a long neigh, then stretched out its four legs and galloped away toward the northeast.

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What had happened was this: Yang Guo and the Imperial Preceptor had pursued Li Mochou all the way to the top of the city wall. Both had assumed that the wall was far too high, she had no way out, and they could certainly intercept her here. But the moment Li Mochou reached the top of the wall, she grabbed a soldier and hurled him off the edge, then leaped down after him. Just as the soldier was about to hit the ground, she placed her left foot on his back, neutralizing the force of her descent. Her body shot forward, and she landed as light as a feather, even the baby in her arms was not jostled. The soldier, however, had his neck snapped and his bones shattered. He did not even have time to groan before he was dead.

The Imperial Preceptor cursed under his breath: What a formidable woman! He copied her method, throwing a soldier off the wall and leaping down after him.

Yang Guo could not bring himself to use another human being as his cushion. Seeing how urgent the moment was, an idea struck him. He shoved a warhorse off the top of the wall. Before the horse hit the ground, he leaped onto its back. The horse was smashed to pulp, but he landed safely and continued his pursuit behind the Imperial Preceptor. The day before, during the great battle in the Mongol camp, the Imperial Preceptor’s wheel had cut him in two places. Though the wounds were not serious, he had lost a great deal of blood, and his body was weak. He had fought fiercely again all this day, and he was truly past the point of endurance. But the thought that Guo Jing’s infant daughter, whether in Li Mochou’s hands or the Imperial Preceptor’s, faced mortal danger drove him on. Though he felt his heart pounding harder and harder, he gripped his sword and pressed forward in pursuit.

All three were naturally fast runners. But Li Mochou now carried a baby, and the Imperial Preceptor’s arm bore a sword wound, he still could not be certain whether the blade had been poisoned and was constantly worrying that the wound might fester. Neither dared exert full power, so each was running slower than usual. After several li, Xiangyang was far behind, yet the three were still separated by about a dozen zhang each. The Imperial Preceptor could not catch Li Mochou, and Yang Guo could not catch the Imperial Preceptor.

Li Mochou ran on. Ahead, the ground rose in rolling hills. In a few more li, they would enter the mountains. She quickened her pace, once she was in the valleys, it would be easy to hide and slip away. Although she had heard Xiaolongnü say this was not her child, seeing Yang Guo chase with such desperate determination, she concluded it must be his and Xiaolongnü’s bastard, beyond any doubt. With the baby in her hands, she could force Xiaolongnü to trade the secret manual of their school, the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.³ The last time, in the Ancient Tomb, Xiaolongnü had tossed a book into an empty coffin. After Xiaolongnü had gone, Li Mochou had retrieved it from the coffin, only to find it was a common Daoist text, the Cantong Qi.⁴ Her disappointment had only intensified her obsession with her shifu’s Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.

The three climbed higher and higher. The trees around them grew thick and dense, the mountain paths rugged. The Imperial Preceptor thought that if he did not intercept her soon, she would vanish into the deep woods and hidden gorges, and then she would be impossible to find. He had never crossed hands with Li Mochou before, but seeing her qinggong, he knew she was a formidable opponent. He had already lost two of his five wheels and had not wanted to throw any more. But the situation was pressing, he could no longer hesitate. He bellowed, “Hey, woman! Put down the child and I will spare your life! If you refuse to listen, do not blame this great monk for showing no mercy.” Li Mochou gave a tinkling, seductive laugh and ran even faster. The Imperial Preceptor swung his right arm. The wind howled as the golden wheel traced a golden rainbow through the air, hurtling toward her back.

Li Mochou heard the wheel’s ferocious approach and dared not ignore it. She had no choice but to turn and swing her horsetail whisk, intending to flick it against the wheel. But she suddenly saw the wheel spinning at blinding speed, its golden glare dazzling her eyes. If her whisk made contact, it would surely snap. She twisted her body and leaped aside, evading the wheel’s direct strike. The Imperial Preceptor advanced two steps and launched his copper wheel, this time sending it outward first, then using its return arc to smash back inward. Li Mochou still dared not meet it directly. She retreated three steps, bent her slender waist, and used the highest level of qinggong to dodge. But with this advance and retreat, the distance between her and the Imperial Preceptor had shrunk to less than three zhang. The Imperial Preceptor caught the golden wheel with his left hand, advanced several more steps, and brought his right-hand lead wheel smashing down toward her left shoulder.

Li Mochou slanted her whisk, transforming it into a myriad golden needles that sprayed toward the Imperial Preceptor’s eyes. The Imperial Preceptor threw his lead wheel upward, deflecting this attack, while his right hand caught the copper wheel as it flew back. He crossed his hands, and the gold and copper wheels collided with a resounding clang that echoed endlessly through the valley. In that moment, the golden wheel was now in his right hand and the copper wheel in his left. During this shift, he launched a flurry of killing moves. Li Mochou had met a truly formidable opponent, and her spirit rose to the challenge. She had never imagined this tall, gaunt monk would possess not only profound strength but also such startling speed. She drew upon everything she had learned in her life and fought with all her might.

The two had exchanged only a few moves when Yang Guo caught up. He stood several zhang away, watching from the periphery while regulating his breathing, waiting for a chance to snatch the baby. The two fighters grew faster and faster. Amid the dance of three spinning wheels, a single horsetail whisk rose and fell.

In terms of martial skill and neili, the Imperial Preceptor held the advantage in both. Moreover, Li Mochou was carrying a baby. By all logic, within a hundred moves, she should have been defeated. Yet at first, she had been protecting the baby, afraid it would be harmed by the Imperial Preceptor’s sharp wheels. But she noticed that whenever a wheel came close to the infant, he would hurriedly pull back his attack. After a moment’s reflection, she understood: This bald villain wants the child alive. Naturally, he does not want to harm her. With her ruthless nature, she cared nothing for the lives of others. Once she had seen through the Imperial Preceptor’s intentions, whenever he launched a killing move that was hard to parry, she would simply raise the baby as a shield. In this way, the infant was not a burden at all, she had become an immensely powerful shield. All she had to do was lift the baby, and no matter how fierce or lethal the Imperial Preceptor’s attack, he would pull it back.

The Imperial Preceptor launched several wheel attacks in succession, each deflected by Li Mochou using the baby as cover. Yang Guo watched in mounting horror. If either of the two fighters used even slightly too much force, what chance would the baby have? He was about to charge in and seize the child when he saw the Imperial Preceptor’s right-hand golden wheel suddenly swing inward from the outside, while his left-hand copper wheel pushed forward horizontally. The two wheels formed an encircling embrace, trapping Li Mochou between his arms. A faint blush rose on Li Mochou’s cheeks. She spat in disgust, cursing inwardly at this bald villain for using a move so unbecoming of a monk’s dignity. Her whisk swept backward, deflecting the golden wheel, while her left arm raised the baby to shield her chest. But the Imperial Preceptor had already calculated his follow-up when he made that embracing motion. He loosened his left fingers, and the copper wheel suddenly shot upward at an angle, smashing toward her face.

The wheel was barely a chi away from her when it suddenly flew out, its momentum fierce and urgent, incredibly difficult to defend against. But Li Mochou had roamed the jianghu all her life, surviving hundreds of battles large and small. Her combat experience was far richer than the Imperial Preceptor’s. In that critical moment, she threw her body backward while her feet remained planted firmly on the ground, and her whisk struck back at the enemy’s shoulder. The Imperial Preceptor jerked his right shoulder back. The whisk swept past, but a few strands still grazed his shoulder. With his left palm now free, he followed through and chopped into Li Mochou’s left arm. Her arm immediately went numb and weak. She gasped. “Ow!”, and leaped into the air. But she felt her arms were empty. The baby had been snatched away by the Imperial Preceptor.

The Imperial Preceptor was exultant. But then he felt a rush of wind beside him. Yang Guo threw himself forward and seized the baby. He rolled across the ground, his longsword weaving a net of light to guard his rear, then flipped to his feet. With a single stroke of his sword. “Pushing the Boat with the Current”, he held both enemies at bay. Yang Guo had seen the baby fall into the Imperial Preceptor’s hands and knew that if he delayed even a moment, reclaiming her would be a thousand times harder. So he had pounced with the “Sky-soaring Azure” technique,⁵ risking everything in a single motion, and it had worked. The baby had passed through three sets of hands in the span of a single instant.

Footnotes

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

2. 李莫愁 – Lǐ Mòchóu. Her name meaning “do not sorrow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 玉女心经 – Yùnǚ Xīnjīng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 参同契 – Cān Tóng Qì. Fully the Zhouyi Can Tong Qi (周易参同契), “The Kinship of the Three in Accordance with the Book of Changes.” A foundational text of Daoist internal alchemy. ↩

5. 夭矫空碧 – Yāojiǎo Kōngbì. Qinggong technique from the Ancient Tomb School involving dramatic high leaps and swooping descents. ↩