The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 4

Disciples of Quanzhen.

Guo Jing¹ shook off the pursuing Taoists and, gathering his qi, raced towards Chongyang Palace.² Suddenly, the clang of bells rang out from within the palace. The ringing was urgent, as if sounding an alarm. Guo Jing looked up and saw flames shooting into the sky from the rear courtyard of the temple. Startled, he thought, “So the Quanzhen Order³ truly faces a major enemy assault today. I must hurry to help.” Behind him, the Taoists shouted in unison and surged forward like a swarm of bees. Only now did he understand: “These Taoists must think I’m with the enemy. With the main temple in danger, they’re even more desperate to fight me.” Paying them no mind, he sprinted straight up the mountain.

Deploying his movement technique, he covered several dozen zhang⁴ in moments. In less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, he arrived before Chongyang Palace. Flames licked upward, thick smoke billowed, and the fire blazed fiercely. Strangely, though Chongyang Palace housed countless Taoists, not a single one had come out to fight the fire.

Guo Jing’s heart tightened with alarm. He saw over a dozen temple buildings scattered sparsely across the mountainside. Though the rear courtyard burned fiercely, the main hall had not yet been touched. From within the main hall came shouts and curses, the clashing of weapons ringing loud. He pushed off with both feet, leapt onto the high wall, and saw a vast square packed with people locked in fierce combat. Looking closely, he saw forty-nine yellow-robed Taoists formed into seven Big Dipper Arrays,⁵ holding off over a hundred attackers. The enemies came in all shapes and sizes, tall and short, fat and thin. At a glance, their martial arts schools and dress were all different. Some wielded weapons, others fought barehanded, assaulting the seven Big Dipper Arrays from every direction. These attackers were clearly no weaklings, and with their superior numbers, the Quanzhen Taoists had already fallen to a disadvantage. But the enemies fought independently, while the seven Big Dipper Arrays supported one another with tight, rigorous defence. Strong as the enemy was, they could still hold them off.

Guo Jing was about to shout a challenge when he heard the rush of wind from within the main hall. Someone was still fighting inside. Judging by the force of the fist-wind, the combatants within far surpassed those outside. He dropped from the wall, sidled in at an angle, weaving east and west, and slipped through the gaps between three Big Dipper Arrays. The Taoists were alarmed and struck their swords in warning, but the enemy’s ferocious assault left them no chance to break off and intercept him.

The main hall had been brightly lit by over a dozen enormous candles, but now the firelight from the rear courtyard streamed in, drowning the candle flames into dim insignificance. Seven prayer mats were arranged in the hall, and seven Taoists sat cross-legged upon them, left palms joined, each extending their right palm to fend off the attacks of over a dozen assailants surrounding them.

Guo Jing ignored the enemies and looked first at the seven Taoists. Three were elderly, four were young. The elders were none other than Ma Yu,⁶ Qiu Chuji,⁷ and Wang Chuyi.⁸ Among the four younger ones, he recognised only Yin Zhiping.⁹ The seven sat motionless, arranged from the Celestial Pivot to the Twinkling Brilliance in the Big Dipper formation. Before them lay a Taoist face-down, unmoving, his hair white with age, his face hidden from view. Guo Jing saw that Ma Yu and the others were in dire straits, and hot blood surged in his chest. Not caring who the enemy was, he roared like spring thunder: “Impudent villains! How dare you run wild at Chongyang Palace?” He reached out and seized two enemies by the back. But as he prepared to hurl them away, both proved to be skilled fighters, their feet rooted firmly to the ground. He could not throw them. Guo Jing thought, “Where have all these tough opponents come from? No wonder the Quanzhen Order faces disaster today.” He suddenly released his grip and swept his leg across. The two men had been using the Thousand-Jin Anchor¹⁰ to resist his arm strength, never expecting him to switch techniques. The sweep sent them flying through the door.

The enemies were startled by the sudden arrival of a formidable fighter, but confident in their overwhelming advantage, they did not take it too seriously. Two men rushed forward, demanding, “Who are you?” Guo Jing paid them no heed. With two whooshing sounds, he struck out with both palms. Before the men could close in, his palm force knocked them off their feet. Thud, thud, their backs slammed against the wall, and they spat blood. Seeing him injure four men in his first exchange, the remaining enemies were greatly shaken, and for a moment none dared step forward to challenge him. Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and Wang Chuyi recognised him and were overjoyed, thinking, “With this man here, our sect is saved!”

Guo Jing, paying the enemy no further regard, knelt and kowtowed to Ma Yu and the others, saying, “Disciple Guo Jing pays his respects.” Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and Wang Chuyi smiled and nodded, raising their hands in return salute. Yin Zhiping suddenly cried, “Brother Guo, watch out!” Guo Jing heard the wind behind his head and knew someone was launching a sneak attack. Without rising, he braced his elbow against the floor, launched his body into the air, and as he descended, drove both knees into the backs of the two attackers, striking their Hunmen acupoints.¹¹ The two men collapsed, paralysed. Guo Jing remained kneeling, but now with two human cushions beneath his knees.

Ma Yu smiled faintly. “Jing’er, rise. In over ten years, your skills have advanced greatly!” Guo Jing stood and said, “How shall we deal with these people? I await the venerable masters’ instructions.” Before Ma Yu could answer, Guo Jing heard two simultaneous laughs behind him, the sound deeply strange.

He turned at once and saw two men standing behind him. One wore a red robe and a golden crown, gaunt and withered, a middle-aged Mongol monk. The other wore a pale yellow brocade gown and held a folding fan, dressed like a noble scion, around thirty years old, his face marked by arrogance and cruelty. Guo Jing saw that their bearing was calm and weighty, utterly unlike the rest of the enemy, and dared not treat them lightly. Cupping his fists, he said, “Who are you two? What business brings you here?” The nobleman replied, “And who are you? What are you doing here?” His accent was impure, clearly not that of a native of the Central Plains.¹²

Guo Jing said, “I am a disciple of these masters.” The nobleman sneered. “I never imagined the Quanzhen Order still had someone like you.” He was a few years younger than Guo Jing, yet his speech was presumptuous and exceedingly arrogant. Guo Jing had meant to explain that he was not actually a disciple of the Quanzhen Order, but the man’s flippant tone irritated him. Never skilled with words, he said no more, only: “What grievance do you two hold against the Quanzhen Order, to muster such forces and set fire to the temple?” The nobleman sneered. “You are a junior of the Quanzhen Order. This is no place for you to speak.” Guo Jing said, “Carrying on like this is far too overbearing.” By now the flames pressed even closer. It seemed only moments before they would reach the main hall of Chongyang Palace.

The nobleman opened and closed his folding fan with a snap, stepped forward, and laughed. “All these friends were brought by me. If you can withstand thirty moves from me, I’ll spare these old ox-noses.¹³ What do you say?” Seeing the crisis deepen, Guo Jing had no desire for talk. His right hand shot out, seized the fan, and pulled hard towards himself. If the man did not release the fan, he would be dragged forward.

Under that pull, the nobleman’s body swayed several times, yet the fan did not leave his hand. Guo Jing was mildly surprised. “This man is young, yet he can withstand my pull. His neili technique resembles that of the Qinghai monk Lama Zhizhu,¹⁴ but far more cunning and agile. He must also belong to the Esoteric school.¹⁵ The ribs of his fan are forged from steel. It’s a weapon.” He increased his strength and barked, “Let go!” A layer of purple qi suddenly appeared on the nobleman’s face, then faded in an instant. Guo Jing knew he was desperately circulating his neili to resist. If Guo Jing increased his force now, once the purple qi appeared three times on the man’s face, his internal organs would surely be gravely injured. Thinking that it was no easy feat for the man to have trained to this level, Guo Jing was unwilling to use heavy force to harm him. He smiled faintly and suddenly opened his palm.

The fan lay flat on his palm. The nobleman’s pulling force had not yet dissipated, but Guo Jing’s palm strength, transmitted through the fan to the man’s hand, transformed into a pushing force. The nobleman could not keep his footing and was about to fly backward. Had Guo Jing added even a little more force, the man would have fallen flat on his back in a great tumble. But at that moment, Guo Jing released his grip. The nobleman understood: his opponent’s martial arts far surpassed his own, and he had refrained from shoving him down to preserve his dignity. Leaping back with his hands lowered, his face flushed red, he said, “May I ask your honoured name?” His tone had become considerably more respectful. Guo Jing replied, “My humble name is not worth mentioning. Masters Ma, Qiu, and Wang here are all my benefactors and teachers.”

Footnotes

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

2. 重阳宫 – Chóngyáng Gōng. Main temple of Quanzhen Order on Zhongnan Mountain. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 全真教 – Quánzhēn Jiào. Daoist martial-monastic order founded by Wang Chongyang, one of the most influential orthodox factions. Same as LOCH reference. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

5. 天罡北斗阵 – Tiāngāng Běidǒu Zhèn. Quanzhen battle formation based on the Northern Dipper. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

7. 丘处机 – Qiū Chǔjī. His name meaning “dwelling in opportunity”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 王处一 – Wáng Chùyī. His name meaning “dwelling in oneness”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. Yin Zhiping (尹志平). In the original editions, the third-generation Quanzhen disciple who violated Xiaolongnü. In the third edition, this role and name were changed to Zhen Zhibing (甄志丙). Yin Zhiping remains a separate, more honourable character in the revised canon. ↩

10. 千斤坠 (Qiānjīn Zhuì). “Thousand-Jin Anchor.” An neili technique that roots the practitioner to the ground with immense weight. ↩

11. 魂门穴 – Húnmén Xué. Literally gate of the ethereal soul. Acupoint on the back below the shoulder blade on the bladder meridian; striking it can numb the arm. See Wikipedia. ↩

12. 中原 – Zhōngyuán. Central Plains, the historical heartland of Chinese civilisation along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. ↩

13. 牛鼻子 – niú bízi. Literally ox-nose, a derogatory term for Daoist priests, alluding to the topknot that resembles an ox’s nose. ↩

14. 灵芝 – língzhī. Rare fungus prized in traditional Chinese medicine; specimens of a thousand years or more were believed to greatly increase neili. ↩

15. 密教 – Mìjiào. Esoteric school, referring to Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism (Vajrayana), associated in wuxia fiction with distinctive martial arts. ↩