The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 5

Tomb of the Living Dead.

Yang Guo¹ tumbled down the slope, rolling into the tall grass and thickets of the forest, where he lost consciousness. He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a stinging pain on his body. Opening his eyes, he saw countless white bees buzzing and darting around him, their humming filling his ears. An unbearable itch penetrated to his very bones, and before his eyes was nothing but a vast whiteness. Unable to tell if this was real or an illusion, he fainted again.

After another long while, he suddenly felt a cool, fragrant sweetness slowly pouring into his throat. He swallowed it groggily, finding it indescribably soothing. Opening his eyes a crack, he was startled to see, barely two feet away, an ugly face covered in goosebump-like wrinkles, staring straight at him. The shock nearly made him faint again. The ugly-faced person reached out with her left hand to hold his jaw steady, while her right hand held a cup, pouring the sweet liquid into his mouth.

Yang Guo felt the maddening itch and sharp pain had lessened, and he realised he was lying on a bed. Knowing the ugly-faced person had treated him, he gave a faint smile to show his thanks. The ugly-faced person smiled back, and after feeding him the sweet liquid, placed the cup on the table. Though her smile was even more hideous, Yang Guo could see that within that extreme ugliness lay a kindness and gentle warmth. A wave of comfort washed over his heart, and he pleaded, “Granny, don’t let my shifu come and take me away.”

The ugly-faced old woman asked gently, “Good child, who is your shifu?” It had been so long since Yang Guo had heard such a warm and caring voice that his chest tightened with emotion, and he could not help but burst into loud sobs. The old woman took his hand in her left, and without offering words of comfort, simply gazed at him with a smile, her eyes full of tender affection, patting his back gently with her right hand. Only after he had cried for a while did she say, “Feeling a little better?” Hearing the kindness in her voice, Yang Guo could not help but cry again. The old woman wiped his tears with a handkerchief and soothed him, “Good child, don’t cry, don’t cry. The pain will pass soon.” But the more she comforted him, the harder he wept.

Suddenly, a soft, delicate voice came from beyond the curtain, “Granny Sun,² why does this child keep crying so?”

Yang Guo raised his head and saw a hand, white as jade, push aside the curtain. A young woman walked in. She was draped in a thin white cotton robe, as though wrapped in mist and cloud, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Apart from her jet-black hair, her entire body was snow-white. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, beyond the ordinary, though her skin lacked the flush of blood and seemed unusually pale. Yang Guo’s face reddened. He immediately stopped crying, lowered his head in shame, but then stole a glance at the young woman from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she was looking at him too, he quickly dropped his head again.

Granny Sun laughed. “I’m out of ideas. You try comforting him.”

The young woman approached the bedside. She examined the sting wounds on his head from the jade bees, then reached out to feel his forehead, checking for fever. The moment Yang Guo’s forehead touched her palm, he felt how startlingly cold her hand was and could not suppress a shiver. The young woman said, “It’s nothing. You’ve already drunk the jade bee honey. You’ll be better in half a day. Why did you come into the forest?”

Yang Guo raised his head and met her gaze. He found this young woman pure, elegant, and beautiful beyond compare, yet her expression was icy and indifferent. She was truly as pristine as ice and snow, and just as cold. He could not tell whether she was pleased or angry, sorrowful or joyful, and he could not help feeling a sense of dread. Is this maiden made of crystal, or is she a snow person? Is she human or ghost, a bodhisattva or an immortal? Though her voice was soft and gentle, her tone seemed to carry not the slightest warmth. He was so stunned that he dared not answer.

Granny Sun smiled. “This Sister Long is the mistress of this place. Whatever she asks you, just answer honestly.”

This beautiful young woman in white was none other than the mistress of the Tomb of the Living Dead,³ Xiaolongnü.⁴ She had already passed her eighteenth birthday, but because she had lived so long inside the tomb, never seeing sunlight, and because the neigong⁵ she cultivated was of a nature that suppressed the emotions, she appeared several years younger than ordinary girls her age. Granny Sun was the maidservant who had attended her shifu. Since her shifu’s death, the two had depended on each other within the tomb. That day, hearing the sound of the jade bees, they knew someone had trespassed into the forest outside the tomb grounds. Granny Sun had gone out to investigate and found Yang Guo unconscious from bee venom, so she had brought him back to treat him. According to their sect’s rules, no outsider was permitted to set even half a step inside the tomb, and for a male to enter was an even graver taboo. But Yang Guo was so young, and seeing his body covered in wounds, Granny Sun could not bear to turn him away, and so broke the rule to save him.

Yang Guo flipped up from the stone couch, jumped to the ground, and kowtowed to both Granny Sun and Xiaolongnü, saying, “This disciple Yang Guo pays respects to Granny, and pays respects to Aunt Long.”

Granny Sun beamed with delight and hurriedly helped him up. “Ah, so your name is Yang Guo. No need for such formality.” She had lived in the tomb for decades, never interacting with outsiders, and now, seeing Yang Guo’s handsome features and courteous manners, she felt an indescribable fondness for him. Xiaolongnü merely nodded and sat down on a stone chair beside the bed. Granny Sun said, “How did you come to be here? How did you get hurt? What villain beat you into this state?” Even as she asked, she did not wait for his answer, instead going out to fetch pastries and cakes, urging him to eat.

After eating a few pastries, Yang Guo told his entire life story from beginning to end. He was naturally eloquent, and his tale was already compelling, but with the fresh humiliation he had suffered, his words were even more charged with emotion. Granny Sun sighed continuously, interjecting a comment here and there, every word defending him, at one point saying Huang Rong favoured her own daughter and treated him unfairly, neglecting an orphan from outside the family. At another, denouncing Zhao Zhijing⁶ as narrow-minded, a bully to children. Xiaolongnü, however, remained utterly impassive, sitting leisurely, only exchanging a few glances with Granny Sun when Yang Guo mentioned Li Mochou.⁷ When Yang Guo finished his story, Granny Sun wrapped her arms around him and held him close, saying over and over, “My poor, suffering child.”

Xiaolongnü slowly rose to her feet. “His injuries are not serious. Granny, take him out.”

Both Granny Sun and Yang Guo were stunned. Yang Guo shouted, “I’m not going back! I’d rather die than go back!” Granny Sun said, “Miss, if this child returns to Chongyang Palace,⁸ his shifu will surely mistreat him.” Xiaolongnü said, “Take him back and speak with his shifu. Tell him not to make things hard for the child.” Granny Sun said, “Ah, the affairs of another’s sect are not ours to meddle in.” Xiaolongnü said, “Take a bottle of jade bee honey and give it to him. Tell him that, and the old Daoist will have no choice but to agree.” She spoke gently, but her tone carried an authority that was difficult to defy. Granny Sun sighed. She knew Xiaolongnü was stubborn by nature and that further words were useless. She looked at Yang Guo, her eyes full of pity.

Yang Guo abruptly stood and bowed to both of them with clasped hands. “Thank you, Granny and Aunt, for healing my wounds. I’ll be going now!” Granny Sun said, “Where will you go?” Yang Guo paused for a moment. “The world is vast. I can go anywhere.” But in his heart, he truly had no idea where to go, and an expression of desolation crept unbidden onto his face.

Granny Sun said, “Child, it’s not that our Miss refuses to let you stay the night. It’s just that this place has always had strict rules forbidding outsiders from entering. Don’t take it to heart.” Yang Guo lifted his head proudly. “What is Granny saying? My thanks to Granny and Aunt. We shall meet again.” He spoke entirely in the manner of an adult, but his voice was still that of a child. Granny Sun found it both amusing and pitiful. Seeing the glint of tears in his eyes as he struggled to hold them back, she said to Xiaolongnü, “Miss, it’s the dead of night. Let him go tomorrow morning.” Xiaolongnü shook her head slightly. “Granny, have you forgotten the rules my shifu laid down?” Granny Sun sighed, rose to her feet, and said softly to Yang Guo, “Come, child, let me give you something to play with.” Yang Guo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, lowered his head, and rushed out the door, shouting, “I don’t want anything. I’d rather die than go back to those stinking Daoists.”

Granny Sun shook her head. “You don’t know the way. I’ll lead you out.” She stepped forward and took his hand. The moment they left the room, Yang Guo was met with pitch darkness. Holding Granny Sun’s hand as they walked, he felt they turned corner after corner, with no idea how she could navigate such a winding path in the dark.

The truth was that although the Tomb of the Living Dead was called a tomb, it was in fact an enormous and spacious underground storehouse. Back when Wang Chongyang⁹ was preparing to rise against the Jin,¹⁰ he had mobilised thousands of labourers and spent several years building it, secretly storing weapons, armour, and provisions within to serve as a base for the Shaanxi-Shanxi region. The exterior was shaped like a tomb to deceive the Jin soldiers. Fearing the Jin army might eventually attack, he had also installed countless ingenious traps and mechanisms throughout the tomb to repel enemies. After the loyalist forces were defeated, he had lived here in seclusion. Thus the tomb contained many rooms and complex passageways. An outsider entering, even with lamps and candles burning everywhere, would easily lose their way, let alone without a single spark of light.

Footnotes

1. 杨过 – Yáng Guò. His name meaning “fault or transgression”; his courtesy name Gaizhi means “to correct it”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. Grandma Sun (孙婆婆). Elderly caretaker of the Ancient Tomb who rescued Yang Guo when he fled the Quanzhen Order. She was killed by Hao Datong while protecting Yang Guo, and with her dying breath she entrusted him to Xiaolongnü’s care. ↩

3. 活死人墓 – Huósǐrén Mù. Tomb of the Living Dead, the vast underground complex beneath Zhongnan Mountain built by Wang Chongyang and later home to the Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

5. 内功 – nèigōng. Literally internal skill. Practice of developing neili through breathing, meditation and qi cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 赵志敬 – Zhào Zhìjìng. His name meaning “aspiring to reverence”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

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

9. 王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. His name meaning “double yang”, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 金朝 – Jīn Cháo. Former Jurchen dynasty that ruled northern China before being conquered by the Mongols. Represented by descendants like the Wanyan clan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩