The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 5 – Part 4

This move caught Zhang Zhiguang completely off guard. In his moment of confusion, Granny Sun had already bowed her head low when suddenly a flash of cold light shot forth, a hidden projectile flying straight at him. Zhang Zhiguang cried “Ah!” He hurriedly twisted aside, but the projectile was too fast. Smack! It struck the corner of his left eye. The projectile shattered, and blood streamed down Zhang Zhiguang’s forehead. Granny Sun had casually pulled the empty porcelain bottle from her robe and hurled it using her sect’s unique projectile technique. This school of martial arts had been created by women, and every move and technique was executed with feminine subtlety, endlessly shifting and unpredictable. This move, “Humble Before, Proud After,” was even more unpredictable. Though it was only an empty porcelain bottle, thrown at close range with such suddenness, Zhang Zhiguang, caught completely unprepared, could not avoid it.

Seeing Zhang Zhiguang’s face covered in blood, the Daoists cried out in shock and fury, drawing their weapons one after another. In an instant, the courtyard blazed with the gleam of swords. Granny Sun stood with her back to the wall, a faint sneer on her lips. She knew there would be no good end to this day, but her temperament was hard and unyielding, growing fiercer with age. How could she submit? She turned to Yang Guo and asked, “Child, are you afraid?” Yang Guo had been looking at those long swords and thinking, If Uncle Guo were here, I wouldn’t fear even more stinking Daoists. But relying on Granny Sun’s skill alone, we won’t break through. Hearing her question, he answered clearly, “Granny, let them kill me. This matter has nothing to do with you. You should leave quickly.”

Hearing the child speak with such grit, and thinking of him even now, Granny Sun’s affection for him only deepened. She declared loudly, “Granny will die here with you, so these stinking Daoists can have their wish.” Suddenly she roared, “Take this!” She lunged forward, arms outstretched, seizing two Daoists by the wrists. With a twist and a wrench, she had snatched away two long swords. This barehanded blade-snatching technique was bizarre in the extreme, seemingly brute force, yet marvellously deft. The two Daoists had been completely off guard. In the blink of an eye, the weapons were gone from their hands.

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Granny Sun handed one long sword to Yang Guo. “Child, do you dare fight these stinking Daoists?” Yang Guo said, “Of course I’m not afraid. It’s just a shame there’s no one else here.” Granny Sun said, “What do you mean, no one else?” Yang Guo declared loudly, “The Quanzhen Order’s might is renowned throughout the land. Wouldn’t it be a pity if no outsider were here to spread the word of such heroic deeds as bullying an orphan and an old woman?” He had grasped the key point from listening to Granny Sun’s verbal sparring with Zhang Zhiguang moments before. His words rang out crisp and clear, though still carrying the unmistakable tone of a child’s voice.

At these words, more than half the Daoists felt a pang of shame, thinking that indeed, for so many to join forces against one old woman and one young child was hardly a glorious victory. Someone murmured, “I’ll go report to the zhangmen and await his instructions.” At that time, Ma Yu¹ was in secluded cultivation in a small hut some ten li² beyond the mountain, having delegated all sect affairs to Hao Datong. The one who spoke was a disciple of Tan Chuduan,³ feeling the matter had escalated too far, now involving the Quanzhen Order’s reputation, and that only the zhangmen himself could preside over it.

Zhang Zhiguang’s face had been cut in over a dozen places by the shattered porcelain, and blood had obscured his left eye. In his shock and fury, he had not examined it carefully and assumed his left eye had been blinded by the projectile. He thought that the zhangmen was gentle and kind by nature and would surely order them to release the prisoners, meaning his eye would have been lost for nothing. He immediately shouted, “First capture this vicious old hag, then we’ll ask the zhangmen to pass judgement. Fellow disciples, attack together and take them!”

The Celestial Dipper and Northern Dipper Formation tightened steadily, and it seemed Granny Sun would soon have no choice but to submit to capture. But when the seven Daoists closed to within three paces of her, she whirled her long sword and defended with such extraordinary tightness that they could advance not a single step further. Had Zhang Zhiguang been directing the formation himself, they could have shifted formations and pressed the attack, but he feared the old woman’s projectiles were poisoned, for if he joined the fight, his accelerated blood flow would spread the poison faster. So he merely stood to the side, squinting through his good eye, shouting orders. With him not entering the fray, the formation’s power was greatly diminished.

As the Daoists fought on without result, growing increasingly frustrated, Granny Sun suddenly let out a cry, threw down her long sword, and charged forward three steps. She slipped through the gaps in the Daoists’ flashing steel, seized a young Daoist by the chest, and lifted him up, shouting, “Stinking Daoists, are you going to let us pass or not?” The Daoists hesitated, and suddenly someone rushed out from behind them, reached out, and tapped Granny Sun’s wrist. Before Granny Sun could even see the person’s face, she felt her wrist go numb, and the young Daoist she had seized was snatched from her grip. Immediately after, a fierce gust of wind struck her face as the person’s palm came straight at her. Granny Sun hurriedly returned the palm to block. Palms met with a smack, and Granny Sun retreated one step.

The attacker also retreated slightly, but only by a foot or so, then followed up with a second palm without the slightest pause. Granny Sun returned another blow. Palms collided, and she retreated another step. The attacker advanced half a step and struck with a third palm. These three palms came faster and faster, forcing Granny Sun back three steps in succession, giving her no time even to see her opponent’s face. By the fourth palm, Granny Sun’s back was against the wall. There was nowhere left to retreat. The attacker’s right palm thrust forward, pressing against Granny Sun’s palm, and said clearly, “Granny, leave the antidote and the child behind.”

Granny Sun raised her head and saw a man with white beard and white brows, his face suffused with a purple glow. It was none other than Hao Datong, who had driven away the jade bees with poison smoke earlier that day. Having exchanged three palms, she knew his neili⁴ was far deeper than her own. If he unleashed his full palm strength, she could not possibly withstand it. But her nature was hard and unyielding. She would rather die than submit. She shouted, “If you want the child, you’ll have to kill this old woman first.” Hao Datong knew her ties to his late patriarch ran deep and did not wish to harm her. He held back his strength and said, “We have been neighbours for decades. Why ruin our goodwill over a child?” Granny Sun laughed coldly. “I came with good intentions to deliver medicine. Ask your own disciples if that’s true or not.” Hao Datong turned his head to ask, but Granny Sun suddenly kicked out at his lower body.

This kick came without a trace. Her body did not move, her skirt did not stir. By the time Hao Datong noticed, her toes were already at his abdomen. Even if he retreated, it was too late. In this critical moment, with no time to think, he pushed out with full force. With a heh, he sent Granny Sun flying with a palm strike. This push contained the profound neigong of the Quanzhen Order that he had cultivated for decades. Crash! A large section of plaster and brick fell from the wall. Granny Sun sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood, slowly collapsed, and slumped to the ground.

Yang Guo was horrified. He threw himself over her, crying, “If you want to kill someone, kill me! No one is allowed to hurt Granny.” Granny Sun opened her eyes, smiled faintly, and said, “Child, let us die together.” Yang Guo spread his arms to shield her, his back to Hao Datong and the others, utterly disregarding his own safety.

Hao Datong had struck too heavily and, seeing that he had wounded her, was already filled with regret. He wanted to examine Granny Sun’s injuries and give her medicine to treat them, but Yang Guo blocked his view. He said gently, “Yang Guo, move aside. Let me look at Granny.” How could Yang Guo believe him? He wrapped his arms tightly around Granny Sun. Hao Datong repeated himself several times, but Yang Guo ignored him. Growing impatient, Hao Datong reached out to pull Yang Guo’s arm. Yang Guo shouted, “Stinking Daoist! Thieving Daoist! Kill me if you want. I won’t let you hurt my Granny!”

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Just as the chaos reached its peak, a cold voice suddenly spoke from behind, “Bullying a child and an old woman, what kind of hero does that make you?” Hao Datong felt a chill at the sound of that clear, cold, severe voice. He turned and saw an extraordinarily beautiful young woman standing at the entrance of the great hall, her robes white as snow, her gaze piercingly cold. The moment the bells of Chongyang Palace had rung, Daoists had been densely deployed for more than ten li in every direction, layer upon layer, with exceptionally tight security. Yet this young woman had entered without a single person raising the alarm. No one knew how she had slipped into the temple so silently. Hao Datong asked, “Who are you, Miss? What brings you here?”

The young woman glared at him without answering and walked over to Granny Sun’s side. Yang Guo raised his head and said mournfully, “Aunt Long, this evil Daoist… he… he’s killed Granny!” This young woman in white was none other than Xiaolongnü. As for Granny Sun’s departure from the tomb with Yang Guo, her entry into the temple, and her attack, Xiaolongnü had followed behind and watched everything clearly. She had assumed Hao Datong would not strike a killing blow and so had not revealed herself. But circumstances had forced the issue, and Granny Sun had been gravely wounded. By the time Xiaolongnü moved to save her, it was already too late. She had seen clearly how Yang Guo had risked his life to protect Granny Sun. Seeing the tears in his eyes, she nodded and said, “Everyone must die. It’s nothing to make much of.”

Granny Sun had raised her from infancy, and they were as close as mother and daughter. But for eighteen years, Xiaolongnü had lived a life as still as stagnant water. Moreover, having cultivated neigong from childhood, she had trained herself to the point where her heart held not the slightest trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure. Seeing Granny Sun so gravely wounded that recovery was impossible, she naturally felt grief, but the pang of sorrow flickered through her heart and was gone in an instant, leaving no trace on her face.

Hearing Yang Guo call her “Aunt Long,” Hao Datong realised this beautiful young woman before him was none other than Xiaolongnü, who had driven away Prince Huodu.⁵ He was even more astonished. Prince Huodu’s defeat and flight had been the talk of the jianghu for months. Though Xiaolongnü had never taken a single step down Mount Zhongnan,⁶ her name had already become quite renowned in the wulin.

Xiaolongnü slowly turned her head and looked at each of the Daoists in turn. Aside from Hao Datong, whose neigong was profound and whose mind remained steady, every other Daoist who met her gaze, clear as autumn water, cold as black ice, could not help feeling a jolt in their hearts.

Xiaolongnü bent down to examine Granny Sun. “Granny, what happened to you?” Granny Sun sighed. “Miss, in all my life, I have never asked anything of you. But when I did ask, you refused and refused.” Xiaolongnü’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. “What do you want to ask of me now?” Granny Sun nodded and pointed at Yang Guo, but for a moment, words failed her. Xiaolongnü said, “You want me to look after him?” Granny Sun forced out a breath and said, “I ask you to look after him for all his life, never let anyone harm him in the slightest. Do you agree?” Xiaolongnü hesitated. “Look after him for all his life?” Granny Sun said sternly, “Miss, if this old woman had not died, she would have looked after you for all your life. When you were little, eating, bathing, sleeping, using the chamber pot, was it not this old woman who took care of everything? You… you… what have you ever done to repay me?” Xiaolongnü bit her lower lip with her upper teeth and said, “Fine. I agree.” A faint smile appeared on Granny Sun’s ugly face. Her eyes rested on Yang Guo as if she had something to say, but her breath would not come.

Footnotes

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

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

3. 谭处端 – Tán Chǔduān. One of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, known as the Perfected One of Long Peace. He was killed by Ouyang Feng in The Legend of the Condor Heroes. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 内力 – nèilì. Literally internal force. Kinetic manifestation of cultivated qi; generates tangible effects such as deflecting weapons or scaling walls. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 霍都王子 – Huòdū Wángzǐ. Literally Prince Huo Du; a Mongol princely title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 终南山 – Zhōngnán Shān. Sacred Daoist mountain housing both Quanzhen Order and Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩