The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 4 – Part 4

Guo Jing said, “Surely that wasn’t necessary.” Qiu Chuji replied, “Indeed! My shifu knew her intentions were good and kept yielding throughout. But the senior had a perverse temperament and said, ‘The more you yield, the more you look down on me.’ My shifu had no choice but to fight her. It was right here that the two seniors duelled, exchanging several thousand moves. My shifu held back his heaviest techniques, and they could not determine a victor. The woman raged, ‘You’re not truly fighting me. What do you take me for?’ My shifu said, ‘If martial combat cannot decide it, let us compete in the literary arts.’ She said, ‘Very well. If I lose, I will never see your face again, so your ears and eyes may be clean.’ My shifu asked, ‘And if you win, what do you want?’ Her face reddened, and she could not answer. Finally, she clenched her teeth and said, ‘Then you will give me your Tomb of the Living Dead to live in.’

“These words of hers carried a deeper meaning: she meant that if she won, she and my shifu would live together in that tomb. My shifu was deeply troubled. He reckoned his martial arts were slightly superior to hers, but forced into this corner, he had no choice but to defeat her to avoid future entanglements. He asked how they should compete. She said, ‘We are both tired today. We shall decide the victor tomorrow evening.’

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“The next day at dusk, the two met again at this spot. She said, ‘Before we compete, we must set a rule.’ My shifu asked, ‘What rule now?’ She said, ‘If you win, I will take my own life on the spot, and you will never see my face again. If I win, you must either give me the Tomb of the Living Dead to live in and obey my every command for the rest of your life, never opposing any wish of mine, or else you must leave the secular world: become a monk if you like, or a Taoist. Whether monk or Taoist, you must build a temple or monastery on this mountain and keep me company for ten years.’ My shifu understood in his heart: ‘Obey your every command for life’ meant she wanted him to marry her. Otherwise, he must become a monk or Taoist, meaning he could never marry anyone else. And how could he bear to defeat her and drive her to suicide? Yet keeping her company on this mountain for ten years. That too was difficult. He hesitated for a long time. In truth, this woman senior was outstanding in talent, beauty, and martial arts. Her deep feelings were not lost on my shifu. But somehow, when it came to marriage, the fate was simply not there. After long deliberation, my shifu made up his mind. He knew this woman meant what she said: if she lost, she would surely take her own life. So he resolved to sacrifice himself for her sake. Whatever the contest, he would lose to her. He said, ‘Very well. So be it.’

“She said, ‘Our literary contest is simple. Each of us will use a finger to carve characters on this stone. Whoever writes better wins.’ My shifu said, ‘How can one carve with a finger?’ She replied, ‘This is a contest of finger skill. We shall see who can carve deeper.’ My shifu shook his head. ‘I am no immortal. How could I carve characters on stone with a finger?’ She said, ‘If I can do it, will you admit defeat?’ My shifu was caught between a rock and a hard place. He thought such a thing was impossible in this world and saw it as a perfect way to step down, ending in neither victory nor defeat, letting the contest dissolve into nothing. He said at once, ‘If you have such ability, I will naturally admit defeat. If you cannot either, then we are evenly matched and need not compete further.’

“She smiled sadly and said, ‘Very well. So you are determined to become a Taoist.’ With her left hand, she stroked the stone surface for a long while, deep in thought. ‘What shall I carve? Ah, since ancient times, the greatest hero among those who left the secular world was Zhang Zifang. He resisted the tyrannical Qin, sought neither fame nor profit. He is your predecessor.’ Then she extended the index finger of her right hand and began writing on the stone. My shifu watched as stone chips fell away wherever her finger passed, truly carving out character after character. He was utterly astonished. The characters she wrote on the stone were the first eight lines of this poem.

“My shifu was filled with admiration and had nothing to say. That very night, he moved out of the Tomb of the Living Dead and let her live there. The next day, he left the secular world and became a Taoist, building a small Taoist temple near the Tomb of the Living Dead, the predecessor of today’s Chongyang Palace.”

Guo Jing was amazed. He reached out and carefully felt the characters again. Indeed, they were neither chiselled nor carved but truly made by a finger. He said, “That senior’s finger skill is truly astonishing.” Qiu Chuji threw back his head and laughed. “Jing’er, this matter fooled my shifu, fooled me, and fools you even more. But had your wife been present, it would never have escaped her eyes.” Guo Jing’s eyes widened. “You mean there was trickery?”

Qiu Chuji said, “Need you even ask? Think: in this world, who is number one in finger skill?” Guo Jing replied, “Naturally, it is Great Master Yideng’s¹ Yiyang Finger.”² Qiu Chuji said, “Exactly! With Great Master Yideng’s transcendent finger skill, even on wood he might not be able to carve characters, let alone on stone. Let alone anyone else. After my shifu became a Taoist, he brooded over this puzzle without solving it. Later, your father-in-law, Elder Huang Yaoshi,³ visited Mount Zhongnan. My shifu knew his wisdom was profound and obliquely mentioned the matter, seeking his insight. Island Master Huang thought for a long time, then laughed heartily. ‘I can do this too. But I haven’t yet trained this skill. I shall visit again in a month.’ Laughing, he descended the mountain. A month later, Island Master Huang returned and came with my shifu to view this stone. The previous senior’s poem had ended at ‘Extraordinary men and extraordinary books, Heaven does not lightly bestow,’ meaning that my shifu should follow Zhang Liang’s example and leave the world behind. Island Master Huang stroked the stone surface with his left hand for a long while, then suddenly extended his right hand and began writing on the stone. He wrote from ‘Chongyang raised Quanzhen’ to ‘halls and towers rise through mist and cloud’, all words in praise of my shifu.

“My shifu saw the rock sink deep beneath his touch, exactly as before, and was even more astonished. He thought, ‘Huang Yaoshi’s skill is clearly a notch below mine. How can he possess such fearsome finger power?’ Full of doubt, he suddenly jabbed his finger at the rock. Strangely, the rock yielded and his finger pierced a hole. Right here.” He guided Guo Jing’s hand to a spot on the rock.

Guo Jing felt a small hole. He inserted his index finger, and it fit perfectly, like a mould. He thought, “Could this rock be unusually soft?” He exerted force with his finger and squeezed hard, but only made his fingertip ache. The rock, of course, did not budge.

Qiu Chuji laughed heartily. “I doubt even a simpleton like you could figure out the trick. Before that woman senior wrote with her right finger, she first stroked the stone surface for a long time with her left hand. Hidden in her left palm was a large piece of Fossil-Softening Elixir,⁴ which softened the stone surface. For about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the surface would not harden. Island Master Huang saw through the trick, went down the mountain to gather herbs and compound the Fossil-Softening Elixir, then returned to do the same.”

Guo Jing was silent for a long while, thinking, “My father-in-law’s wisdom is truly not inferior to that woman senior’s. But I wonder where he has gone.” His heart was heavy with concern.

Qiu Chuji, unaware of his thoughts, continued, “At first, my shifu was resentful about becoming a Taoist. But the more he read the Taoist scriptures, the more he attained great enlightenment, understanding that everything is governed by fate. He also penetrated the wondrous essence of purity and emptiness, devoted himself to arduous cultivation, and brought glory to our sect. Tracing back to the source, had that woman senior not provoked him so, there would be no Quanzhen Order in this world, no Qiu of today, and who knows where you, Guo Jing, would even be.”

Guo Jing nodded in agreement and asked, “But what was that woman senior’s name? Is she still in this world?” Qiu Chuji sighed. “When that woman senior roamed the jianghu performing heroic deeds, her movements were exceedingly secretive. Very few ever saw her true face. Aside from my shifu, I fear no one in this world knows her real name, and my shifu never spoke of it to anyone. She passed away before the first Huashan Sword Summit. Otherwise, with her martial arts and temperament, how could she have not participated?”

Guo Jing nodded. “Indeed. Did she leave any descendants?” Qiu Chuji sighed. “That is where the trouble lies. That senior never took disciples in her life, keeping only a personal maidservant to attend her. The two of them endured in that tomb, not emerging for over ten years. The senior passed all her astonishing martial arts to that maidservant. The maidservant never set foot in the jianghu, so naturally no one in the wulin knew of her. But she took two disciples. The elder is surnamed Li. You must know her: the jianghu calls her the Scarlet Serpent Immortal,⁵ Li Mochou.”⁶

Guo Jing let out an “Ah!” He said, “That Li Mochou is vicious beyond measure. So this is her origin.” Qiu Chuji asked, “You’ve met her?” Guo Jing replied, “A few months ago, I encountered her in the jianghu. Her martial arts are indeed formidable.” Qiu Chuji asked, “Did you injure her?” Guo Jing shook his head. “No. In truth, we never truly faced each other. I only saw her kill several people in succession, utterly ruthless, surpassing even the Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng⁷ of those days.”

Qiu Chuji said, “It’s just as well you didn’t injure her, or the trouble would be endless. Her shimei⁸ is surnamed Long…” Guo Jing started. “That woman surnamed Long?” Qiu Chuji’s expression shifted slightly. “What? You’ve met her too? Did something happen?” Guo Jing said, “This disciple has not met her. But in coming up the mountain today, the fellow brothers repeatedly cursed me as a demon and a lecher, saying I had come for Long. It left me utterly bewildered.”

Qiu Chuji laughed heartily, then sighed. “It was also fate that Chongyang Palace should suffer this calamity. Had it not been for a series of errors and coincidences creating this misunderstanding, not only would the Big Dipper Grand Formation have surely blocked those evil heretics, but had you arrived even a quarter-hour earlier, Hao shidi would not have been so gravely wounded.” Seeing Guo Jing’s face full of confusion, he said, “Today is that woman surnamed Long’s eighteenth birthday.” Guo Jing echoed absently, “Ah, her eighteenth birthday!” But how a young woman’s eighteenth birthday could cause such a catastrophe, he still did not understand in the slightest.

Qiu Chuji said, “What that woman surnamed Long’s name is, outsiders naturally have no way of knowing. Those evil heretics all call her Xiaolongnü,⁹ so we shall call her that too. Eighteen years ago, one night, the sound of an infant’s crying was suddenly heard outside Chongyang Palace. Disciples went out to investigate and found a baby wrapped in a bundle, placed on the ground. It would have been most inconvenient for Chongyang Palace to take in the infant, but those who have left the secular world take compassion as their foundation and could not simply ignore it. At that time, neither the zhangmen nor I were on the mountain, and the disciples were at a loss. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman appeared from behind the mountain and said, ‘This child is pitiful. Let me take her in.’ The disciples could not have asked for more and immediately gave her the infant. Later, when Ma shixiong¹⁰ and I returned to the palace, they told us of this. Hearing the description of the woman’s appearance and dress, we realised it was the maidservant who dwelt in the Tomb of the Living Dead. We Seven Masters of Quanzhen¹¹ had met her a few times but had never exchanged words. Though our two homes were close, because of the entanglements of the previous generation, it was truly a case of hearing each other’s chickens and dogs yet never visiting until death. We heard the story and thought no more of it.

“Later, her disciple, the Scarlet Serpent Immortal Li Mochou, emerged into the world. This woman was ruthless and cruel, her martial arts extremely high, and she turned the jianghu upside down. The Quanzhen Order discussed the matter several times, wanting to deal with her, but out of respect for our neighbour in the tomb, we found it awkward to act. We wrote a letter and sent it into the tomb, the wording most courteous. But after the letter was delivered, it was like a stone sinking into the sea. No reply ever came. And she continued to indulge Li Mochou as before, making no attempt to restrain her.

Footnotes

1. 一灯大师 – Yīdēng Dàshī. Literally one-lamp master; a Buddhist honorific title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 一阳指 – Yīyáng Zhǐ. Literally One Yang Finger. Dali Duan family’s signature finger technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 黄药师 – Huáng Yàoshī. His name meaning “medicine master”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 化石丹 – Huàshí Dān. Fossil-Softening Elixir, a compound that temporarily softens stone so that it can be carved as though it were clay. ↩

5. 赤练仙子 – Chìliàn Xiānzǐ. Literally scarlet chain immortal. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

7. 梅超风 – Méi Chāofēng. Her name meaning “surpassing the wind”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 师妹 – shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 全真七子 – Quánzhēn Qī Zǐ. Seven Masters of Quanzhen, the seven personal disciples of Wang Chongyang: Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, Hao Datong, and Sun Bu’er. ↩