The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 5 – Part 6

Later, Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi¹ brought ten disciples as reinforcements. Li Mochou knew she could not fight so many masters alone, so she used words to provoke them, arranging with Qiu, Wang, and the others to fight one-on-one in sequence. The first day’s match was Sun Bu’er. Li Mochou struck secretly with her Soul-Freezing Silver Needles,² wounding her, then personally went to deliver the antidote, forcing Qiu Chuji and the others to accept it. With that, the Quanzhen Daoists were now indebted to her and, by the rules of the wulin, could no longer oppose her. The group exchanged bitter smiles and returned in defeat. Fortunately, Qiu Chuji had been anxious to return to the mountain and had left earlier, not accompanying Wang Chuyi and the others on their sightseeing trip to the Taihang Mountains, and so he had arrived in time to save Hao Datong’s life.

Qiu Chuji investigated the cause of the conflict between Hao Datong and their neighbour of the Ancient Tomb School. Learning that it had all arisen from Zhao Zhijing’s unjust treatment of Yang Guo, he was deeply angered. Because of his disciple Yang Kang,³ he had wanted to properly raise Yang Guo within the Quanzhen Order and mould him into a talented man, but now this most disappointing affair had occurred. The child had entered the Ancient Tomb, and it would be improper to forcibly demand his return. He felt he had failed Guo Jing’s trust and could only hope to look after Yang Guo in the future. Among the Quanzhen Order’s third-generation disciples, Zhao Zhijing had originally been the strongest in martial arts. Masters Ma, Qiu, and Wang had intended to appoint him as the third-generation head disciple, but he had made a grave error while commanding the Northern Dipper Formation to repel the evil invaders on Mount Zhongnan, and now his treatment of Yang Guo had been so petty and harsh. The man clearly had skill but lacked virtue and talent. After deliberation among the Seven Masters, they instead appointed Zhen Zhibing, of the Changchun lineage, as the third-generation head disciple. Burning with jealousy and regret, Zhao Zhijing’s hatred for Yang Guo only doubled.

---

After leaving Chongyang Palace, Xiaolongnü set Yang Guo down, carried Granny Sun’s body, and brought Yang Guo back to the Tomb of the Living Dead. She laid Granny Sun’s body on the couch where she had always slept, then sat in a chair before it, chin resting on her hand on the small table, staring blankly without a word. Yang Guo threw himself on Granny Sun’s body, heartbroken and furious, sobbing without end. After a long while, Xiaolongnü said, “She’s already dead. What’s the use of crying? No matter how you cry for her, she won’t know.” Yang Guo was stunned. He felt her words were harsh and heartless, but thinking carefully, they were also true. His grief only deepened, and he could not help bursting into loud sobs again.

---

Xiaolongnü watched him coldly, her expression utterly unchanged. After another long while, she finally said, “Let’s go bury her. Follow me.” She picked up Granny Sun’s body and left the room. Yang Guo wiped his tears with his sleeve and followed behind. There was not the slightest glimmer of light in the tomb passage. He strained his eyes as wide as he could, but still could not make out the white-robed figure of Xiaolongnü ahead. He could only follow closely, not daring to fall even half a step behind. She wound her way east and west through twisting turns. After walking for some time, she pushed open a heavy stone door, took out a fire striker, struck a flame, and lit the two oil lamps on the stone table. Yang Guo looked around and could not suppress a shiver. In the vast, empty hall stood five stone coffins in a row. Looking more closely, he saw that the lids of two coffins were tightly sealed, while the lids of the other three were only pushed halfway shut, and he could not tell whether they contained bodies or not.

Xiaolongnü pointed to the first stone coffin on the right. “Grandmaster rests here.” She pointed to the second. “My shifu rests here.” Yang Guo watched as she extended her finger towards the third stone coffin, his heart pounding. He did not know who she would say rested there. The lid was not fully closed. If there were a corpse inside, would that not be terribly frightening? He heard her say, “Granny Sun rests here.” Only then did Yang Guo realise it was an empty coffin, and he let out a soft breath. He looked at the two empty coffins beside it. Curiosity stirred, and he asked, “What about those two coffins?” Xiaolongnü said, “My shijie⁴ Li Mochou rests in one. I rest in the other.” Yang Guo was stunned. “Li Mochou… will she come back?” Xiaolongnü said, “My shifu arranged it this way. She will always come back. There is one stone coffin missing here, because my shifu could not have foreseen that you would come.” Yang Guo was startled and said hastily, “Me? Not me!” Xiaolongnü said, “I promised Granny Sun I would look after you for all your life. I will not leave this place, so naturally, neither will you.”

Hearing her discuss matters of life and death with such indifference, Yang Guo cast aside all restraint and said, “Even if you won’t let me leave, once you die, I’ll leave.” Xiaolongnü said, “Since I said I would look after you for all your life, I will not die before you.” Yang Guo said, “Why? You’re older than me!” Xiaolongnü said coldly, “Before I die, I will naturally kill you first.” Yang Guo was startled. “Granny Sun told me I should also look after you for all your life…” Xiaolongnü gave a faint smile. “You, look after me? We’ll die together. Then no one needs to look after anyone.”

She walked to the third stone coffin, pushed open the lid, and lifted Granny Sun to place her inside. Yang Guo’s heart could not bear it. “Let me look at Granny one more time,” he said. Seeing that he had known Granny Sun for barely a day yet already felt such deep attachment, Xiaolongnü could not help feeling annoyed. She furrowed her brows but held Granny Sun’s body still. In the dim lamplight, Yang Guo saw Granny Sun’s face looking as though she were still alive and wanted to cry again. Xiaolongnü shot him a sideways glare, placed Granny Sun’s body into the stone coffin, reached out, and pulled the lid. With a rumble, the lid’s tenon jointed with the coffin, sealing it tight.

Afraid Yang Guo would cry again, Xiaolongnü did not spare him another glance. “Let’s go,” she said. With a wave of her left sleeve, both oil lamps in the chamber went out, plunging everything into darkness. Yang Guo, fearing she would lock him in the burial chamber, hurried after her.

Within the tomb, there was no distinction between day and night. After all the turmoil, both were weary. Xiaolongnü told Yang Guo to sleep in Granny Sun’s room. Yang Guo had roamed the jianghu alone since childhood, often spending nights in abandoned temples in the wilderness. He had always been brave, but now, told to sleep alone in a chamber within the tomb, thinking of the dead in those stone coffins, he felt an indescribable fear. Xiaolongnü repeated herself several times, but he simply would not respond.

Xiaolongnü said, “Didn’t you hear me?” Yang Guo said, “I’m scared.” Xiaolongnü said, “Scared of what?” Yang Guo said, “I don’t know. I don’t dare sleep alone.” Xiaolongnü frowned. “Then sleep in my room.” She led him to her own chamber.

Accustomed to darkness, she never lit lamps or candles, but now she specially lit one for Yang Guo. Yang Guo saw that she was exquisitely beautiful, her clothes as pure white as snow, without a speck of dust. He imagined her boudoir must be decorated with equal elegance, but the moment he entered, he was greatly disappointed. Her room was utterly bare, no different from the burial chamber with the stone coffins. A long slab of grey stone served as a bed, spread with a straw mat and a piece of white cloth as a thin blanket. There was nothing else.

Yang Guo thought, I wonder where I’ll sleep. She’ll probably make me sleep on the floor. Just as he was thinking this, Xiaolongnü said, “You sleep in my bed.” Yang Guo said, “That’s not right. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Xiaolongnü’s face hardened. “If you want to stay here, you must obey whatever I say. Fighting with the Quanzhen Daoists, that’s your business. But if you defy me in the slightest, I will take your life immediately.” Yang Guo said, “You don’t need to be so fierce. I’ll obey you.” Xiaolongnü said, “You still dare talk back?” Seeing her, so young and beautiful, putting on such a fierce and domineering act, Yang Guo stuck out his tongue and said no more. Xiaolongnü had already noticed. “What are you sticking your tongue out for? Think I can’t handle you?” Yang Guo did not answer. He took off his shoes and climbed straight into bed.

The moment he lay down, he felt a bone-penetrating cold. In great alarm, he jumped off the bed barefoot. Xiaolongnü, seeing his frightened, bedraggled state, nearly laughed out loud despite her reserve. “What is it?” she asked. Yang Guo caught the hint of amusement at the corners of her eyes and said with a grin, “There’s something strange about this bed. You were deliberately playing a trick on me.” Xiaolongnü’s face turned serious. “Who’s playing tricks on you? The bed is just like that. Get back on and lie down.” She took a broom from behind the door and said, “If you lie down for a while and then slip off, you’ll get ten strokes of this broom.”

Seeing she was serious, Yang Guo had no choice but to climb back onto the bed. This time he was prepared and did not startle, but he felt as though a thick layer of ice had been placed beneath the straw mat. The longer he lay, the colder it became. He could not stop his whole body from shivering, his upper and lower teeth chattering. After lying there a while longer, the cold penetrated to his very bones. He truly could not endure it any longer.

He glanced over at Xiaolongnü and saw an expression on her face that was half smile, half gloating. He could not help feeling a surge of resentment. Clenching his teeth, he threw all his strength into resisting the cold beneath him. He saw Xiaolongnü take out a rope and tie one end to an iron nail on the eastern wall of the chamber, then stretch the rope across the room and tie the other end to a nail on the western wall. The rope hung about the height of a person. She leapt up lightly and lay sideways on the rope, using it as a bed. Then she waved her left palm, and the palm wind extinguished the candle.

Yang Guo was filled with admiration. “Aunt,” he said, “tomorrow, will you teach me this skill?” Xiaolongnü said, “This skill is nothing. If you study diligently, I have many formidable skills to teach you.” Hearing that Xiaolongnü was willing to teach him sincerely, Yang Guo immediately cast all his earlier resentment to the farthest clouds beyond the ninth heaven. Overcome with gratitude, he could not stop tears from streaming down his face. Choking, he said, “Aunt, you treat me so well, and earlier I was even angry at you.” Xiaolongnü said, “I drove you away, and naturally you would be angry. That’s nothing strange.” Yang Guo said, “It wasn’t that. I thought you were just like my previous shifus, only teaching me useless skills.”

Hearing his voice tremble, Xiaolongnü asked, “Are you very cold?” Yang Guo said, “Yes. What’s strange under this bed? Why is it so terribly cold?” Xiaolongnü said, “Do you like sleeping on it?” Yang Guo said, “I… I don’t.” Xiaolongnü laughed coldly. “Hmph, you don’t like it. Countless experts of the wulin would give anything for the chance to sleep on this bed.” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “Isn’t that just asking for suffering?” Xiaolongnü said, “Hmph, so I’m being kind and showing you favour, and you think it’s suffering. You truly don’t know what’s good for you.”

Hearing her tone, Yang Guo sensed that her making him sleep on this cold bed was indeed not out of malice. He pleaded softly, “Good Aunt, what’s so good about this cold bed? Won’t you tell me?” Xiaolongnü said, “You’ll be sleeping on this bed for the rest of your life. Its benefits you’ll naturally understand in time. Close your eyes. No more talking.” In the darkness, he heard the soft rustle of her clothes as though she had turned over. That she could sleep suspended on a rope and still turn over at will was truly inconceivable.

Her last two sentences had been spoken with stern severity. Yang Guo dared not ask further. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but wave after wave of cold rose from beneath him, and thinking of Granny Sun made his heart ache. How could he sleep? After a long while, he called softly, “Aunt, I can’t take it anymore.” But Xiaolongnü’s breathing was slow and steady. She was already asleep. He called softly twice more, but still heard no response. He thought, I’ll get off the bed and sleep on the floor. She won’t know. Quietly, he slipped off the bed and stood in place, not daring to breathe.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, there was a soft se as Xiaolongnü leapt over from the rope. She seized his left hand, twisted it behind his back, and pressed him to the ground. Yang Guo cried out in alarm. Xiaolongnü picked up the broom and struck him hard on the backside. Yang Guo knew begging for mercy would be useless, so he clenched his teeth and endured. The first five strokes were extremely painful, but by the sixth, Xiaolongnü’s hand had already lightened, and the last two were even lighter, as though she feared he could not bear them. After the ten strokes, she lifted him and tossed him back onto the bed, shouting, “If you get down again, I’ll beat you again.”

Footnotes

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

2. 冰魄银针 – Bīngpò Yínzhēn. Li Mochou’s signature concealed weapon. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 杨康 – Yáng Kāng. His name meaning “health” or “peace”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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