The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 6 – Part 5

Xiaolongnü had been instructed by her shifu not to indulge in great sorrow or great joy. Knowing this was improper, she hurriedly suppressed her smile. Yang Guo saw that Xiaolongnü, who usually rarely showed a smiling face, now had a countenance as lovely as a flower in bloom, warm and endearing, and the way she forced herself to hold back her smile only made her more charming. He could not help but want to stretch out his arms, embrace her, and kiss her a few times. But then he immediately remembered that she was his shifu, and the arms he had stretched out he pulled back. Xiaolongnü asked, “What move was that?” Yang Guo said, “I was afraid that while Qiu Chuji was kneeling on the ground, he might suddenly use ‘First Bow, Then Pounce’ to trick and injure you, so I wanted to protect you with all my strength.”

This was precisely the core intent of the seventh section of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. When Lin Chaoying had created this sutra all those years ago, she had already taken possession of the ancient tomb, but Wang Chongyang had refused to come with her. Living alone in the stone tomb, she created strange and unorthodox martial arts, pouring the helpless longing of her heart into the moves, imagining herself in peril and her beloved Wang Chongyang disregarding his own safety to rush to her rescue, blocking the enemy’s attacks on her behalf. Yang Guo’s casual lie had actually fulfilled the very intent with which Founding Grandmaster had composed this sutra. Xiaolongnü nodded in agreement.

When the two trained to the nineteenth move, “Canopy Like a Pavilion,” Xiaolongnü repeated the essential instruction passed down by her shifu: “In this move, I cannot withstand the enemy. He strikes me down with a palm or kicks me to the ground, and I fall. The enemy follows up, striking with fist, palm, blade, or sword to injure me further. You must throw yourself forward, shielding me with your body, and take this strike in my place. When the enemy raises fist, palm, blade, or sword to strike you, as you throw yourself over me to protect me, you must spread your legs apart, bracing them against the ground, and use the strength of your waist and spine to hold yourself up, so that your upper body does not truly press down upon me. I will thrust my sword upward from between your legs, piercing straight into the enemy’s lower abdomen. Seeing the two of us fallen, the enemy will think we have lost all ability to resist and will be completely off guard. Moreover, with you shielding my weapon, the enemy cannot see this ‘Something from Nothing’ thrust. Not only can they not dodge it, it would never even occur to them to try. Naturally, the sword will pierce straight into their lower abdomen.”

Yang Guo shook his head. “Gugu, this move is indeed wondrously ingenious, the enemy would never expect it. It’s just… it’s just a little too sinister.” Xiaolongnü said, “What do you mean, sinister? The two of us have already fallen, that bull-nose ought to stop there. Why would he rush forward and strike again to injure you? If he does not press the attack, this sword thrust will not reach him. Therefore, this sword only pierces villains, not good people.” Yang Guo nodded. “Exactly right. The ones Founding Grandmaster meant to deal with were villains to begin with.”

Little did he know that when Lin Chaoying created these moves, she had imagined herself facing danger in battle, and Wang Chongyang, because he loved her beyond all measure, would be willing to sacrifice himself to save his beloved. All these simulations were purely self-pity and self-comfort, nothing more than consoling herself in her helplessness, pouring out the longing of her heart.

Yang Guo followed the instructions recorded in the latter part of the seventh section of the Heart Sutra. After memorising the moves, he practised them with Xiaolongnü one by one. By this time, the two had achieved initial success in the internal techniques of the first half of the Heart Sutra. Their strikes were swift and light beyond compare, coming and going in an instant, all strange and unusual moves, yet incredibly fast. In the past, when Yang Guo sparred with Xiaolongnü, he had always harboured a sense of sincere respect, not daring to let his palm so much as brush against the hem of her clothing. But training the techniques of the latter part of the seventh section, every move and every stance required him to exert himself fully to shield and protect her. In his mind, he imagined the enemy’s attacks as fierce and vicious, with Xiaolongnü barely able to withstand them, constantly in the gravest danger. As they sparred longer, he naturally began to feel that Xiaolongnü was no longer his shifu, superior to him in martial arts, but rather that she was frail and pitiable, suffering the bullying of villains, and that he must exert himself to protect her.

Xiaolongnü was originally several years older than him, but having grown up in the stone tomb and rarely seen the light of day, and with the Jade Maiden Divine Skill she trained having the effect of reducing worry and slowing ageing, when the two stood side by side, it seemed rather that Yang Guo was the older one. Once they began training this set of martial arts, Yang Guo eventually came to feel that Xiaolongnü was a little sister who depended on him for protection, and he no longer regarded her as his gugu and shifu. All his fist moves and sword techniques were devoted to blocking the enemy’s attacks on Xiaolongnü’s behalf, with no regard for himself. In this way, the techniques of the latter part of the seventh section were trained with perfect precision, displaying the original intent of the Heart Sutra’s martial arts without omission, not only did the moves match, but the very intent of the fist and the meaning of the sword were expressed with utter clarity.

As Xiaolongnü’s moves were blocked and protected by Yang Guo on her behalf, as time passed, her heart followed her hands, and she could not help but develop a sense of dependence and compliance. The dignity and authority of the shifu suddenly melted away. When their eyes occasionally met, one gaze was full of tender protectiveness, the other of trusting appeal, and suddenly their hearts were in communion. This was originally the intent of the Heart Sutra’s internal techniques. Training the internal techniques alone made it difficult to reach this state, but once combined with the external techniques, the two could not help but merge internally and externally.

One day, training the move “Would Be Iron Armour,” Yang Guo was required to wrap both arms around Xiaolongnü as if transforming into a suit of iron armour, protecting her entire body from the enemy’s attacks, while Xiaolongnü was to submit to this protection with folded hands and regulate her true qi on her own. Yang Guo darted forward, his arms encircling her in pantomime, in truth he did not touch his shifu’s body, but his eyes were brimming with tender affection, showing his determination to sacrifice his own life and endure the enemy’s blades, spears, fists, and kicks on her behalf. The moment Xiaolongnü’s eyes met his, a blush rose to her cheeks. She felt a slight unease, and a look of shyness appeared in her eyes. She said softly, “Guoer, this isn’t right!” Yang Guo immediately leapt away.

The two had spent a long time together in the ancient tomb. As the years passed and they grew older, feelings had long since sprouted between them. It was only that one was reserved and cold, the other respectful and deferential, even in their words there had never been the slightest transgression. But now the martial arts they were training required them to leap and exert themselves with their whole bodies, and even more, to constantly imagine themselves poised on the line between life and death. All manner of barriers of propriety had long since weakened, and they naturally followed the innate nature that all mortals possess. That day, training from the beginning, when they reached the move “Canopy Like a Pavilion,” Xiaolongnü cried, “Ah!” She stumbled, pitching forward and falling sideways. Yang Guo darted forward and threw himself over her in midair to block the enemy’s strike, his feet spread apart and braced against the ground, his waist exerting force, his upper body held up so as not to touch her body. At this moment the enemy rushed up, intending to harm Yang Guo. Xiaolongnü then thrust her long sword upward through the gap between Yang Guo’s legs, piercing straight into the enemy’s lower abdomen and killing him.

Yang Guo used the strength of his waist and back to hold himself up, not letting himself press down on Xiaolongnü. But he saw her eyes glistening like waves, her face flushed crimson, the corners of her mouth seeming to hold a smile yet not quite smiling, utterly enchanting. He could not restrain himself. His whole body burning hot, he wrapped his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Xiaolongnü was past twenty. In her heart she was not entirely without desire. Embraced by Yang Guo in this way and seeing the look in his eyes, she could not help but feel stirred. But the internal technique she had trained since childhood was one of cold detachment and self-restraint, no matter what changes occurred in the outside world, she was neither to be alarmed nor angered, and being stirred by emotion was naturally even more forbidden. Suddenly she sensed that something was wrong. She exerted force to leap up, breaking free of Yang Guo’s embrace, and in the same motion struck him heavily on the buttocks with her palm. She shouted, “You’re not behaving! No more training.” And she ran back to the stone tomb.

Yang Guo was both shocked and ashamed. He hurried after her. Fortunately, Xiaolongnü had not closed the tomb door. Yang Guo went to the outside of Xiaolongnü’s bedchamber, picked up a broom, and knelt on the ground. “Gugu, I was wrong today. Please beat me severely!” He raised the broom high above his head. Xiaolongnü said, “I won’t beat you. As long as you know you were wrong, that’s enough. We won’t train that move anymore.” Yang Guo said, “Not training it is fine too. If in the future there really are villains who try to harm you, I will still throw myself forward regardless, to protect you and block the killing blow in your place!” Xiaolongnü gave a soft humph. “So you are still well-behaved after all, you weren’t trying to bully me.” Hearing her humph, the great stone in Yang Guo’s heart finally fell. He said, “I will protect you forever and ever, and never bully you.”

From then on, the two made night into day. They trained at night and rested in the ancient tomb during the day. Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü kept strict guard against each other, to avoid repeating the mistake of that day when they had nearly lost control of their feelings. Over two months passed in this way, peaceful and uneventful.

The core purpose of the Heart Sutra’s internal techniques was to further increase leaping ability and striking speed. The growth of striking force was not the aim of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. The reason two people had to train together was, first, so that if they encountered dangers such as a deviation, they could rescue each other, and more importantly, so that the two would achieve communion of heart, becoming as one in moments of crisis. The reason Lin Chaoying and Wang Chongyang’s fine match could not be fulfilled was primarily that they did not understand each other, what each thought and felt was often at odds with the other, making communion of heart difficult. Lin Chaoying was by nature reserved and also shy. Unwilling to be the first to express her feelings, she had only hoped that by training internal techniques together, the other would realise on his own, and their hearts would beat as one. In truth, if a man and a woman are in love, speaking frankly and directly is enough to express their feelings. To seek mutual understanding of hearts through internal techniques was to take an excessively roundabout path. Moreover, by setting aside spoken words and language, as internal techniques were trained to advanced levels, hostility would gradually increase, and affection would correspondingly diminish.

Wang Chongyang had in fact never trained the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra together with Lin Chaoying. It was only decades later that Lin Chaoying’s painstaking efforts bore fruit for her grand-disciples. Yang Guo received instruction with an open heart, and Xiaolongnü transmitted the sword arts with sincere intent. Their feelings were in harmony, and no hostility arose.

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The ninth section of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra was entirely internal techniques, divided into nine segments to be practised separately. That night Xiaolongnü had already trained to the seventh segment, and Yang Guo had trained to the sixth. That evening the two trained on opposite sides of the flower clump, each focused on their own practice. Hot vapour steamed from their entire bodies, and when熏ed by the fragrance of the flowers, it became even more richly perfumed. Gradually the moon reached the zenith. In another half a shichen,¹ the two would have completed the sixth and seventh segments of their training respectively. Suddenly, from behind the mountain came the sound of footsteps. Two people were talking as they approached.

The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra’s odd-numbered training was “Yin Advancing,” while even-numbered was “Yang Retreating.” Yang Guo was training the “Yang Retreating” technique, which could be stopped at any time. Xiaolongnü, however, was training “Yin Advancing,” which had to be completed in one continuous flow, there could be not the slightest pause midway. At this moment her training was at a critical juncture, and she was completely oblivious to the footsteps and voices. Yang Guo, however, heard them clearly. Alarmed, he hurriedly expelled the qi from his dantian² out of his body, inhaled and exhaled three times, and stopped his training. He heard the two people drawing nearer and nearer, and their voices were very familiar. One was his former shifu, Zhao Zhijing. The other was Zhen Zhibing. The two were speaking louder and louder, they were actually arguing with each other.

He heard Zhao Zhijing say, “Zhen shidi³, there’s no use denying this any further. I will report it to Qiu shibo⁴ and let him investigate.” Zhen Zhibing said, “Why are you hounding me like this? Do you think I don’t know? You just want to compete with me for the position of head disciple of the third generation, so that you can become the zhangmen in the future.” Zhao Zhijing laughed coldly. “You have failed to observe the rules of purity and have violated a major precept of our sect. How can you still serve as head disciple?” Zhen Zhibing said, “What major precept have I violated?” Zhao Zhijing shouted, “The fourth precept of the Quanzhen Order, the precept against lust!”

Yang Guo hid within the flower clump and stole a glance outward. He saw the two Daoists standing facing each other. Zhen Zhibing’s face was ashen, looking even more bloodless under the moonlight. He said in a low voice, “What do you mean, the lust precept?” As he spoke these four words, his hand reached for his sword hilt. Zhao Zhijing said, “Ever since you laid eyes on that Xiaolongnü in the Tomb of the Living Dead, you have been distracted and restless all day long, your thoughts wandering wildly. In your heart, I don’t know how many thousands of times you have imagined holding Xiaolongnü in your arms, caressing and being intimate with her, doing everything imaginable. Our sect emphasises the cultivation of the heart and the nurturing of one’s nature. For you to harbour such thoughts in your heart, is that not already a violation of the lust precept?”

Yang Guo’s reverence for his shifu was beyond compare. Hearing Zhao Zhijing speak this way, fury blazed within him, and his hatred for the two Daoists deepened to the marrow of his bones. But he heard Zhen Zhibing say in a trembling voice, “Nonsense! Even what I think in my heart, you know that too?” Zhao Zhijing laughed coldly. “What you think in your heart, naturally I cannot know. In order to capture Yang Guo, that little beast who betrayed our sect, and bring him back to the temple for punishment, I sent Lu Qingdu and three other disciples to take turns lying in ambush in the forest outside the ancient tomb, waiting for that little beast to come out into the forest so they could seize him and bring him back to the temple…” Zhen Zhibing said, “Yang Guo’s martial arts have long since surpassed those of your disciple Lu Qingdu. Can they still catch him?” Zhao Zhijing said coldly, “They couldn’t catch Yang Guo, but they did discover a great secret. They saw that a certain Zhen shishu of our Quanzhen Order constantly paces back and forth in the forest outside the ancient tomb, tilting his head up and muttering to himself. I’m afraid what he’s calling out is ‘Xiaolongnü, Xiaolongnü!’” Zhen Zhibing said angrily, “A pack of nonsense! There is no such thing!”

Footnotes

1. 时辰 – shíchen. Traditional Chinese double hour; one twelfth of a day, equal to two modern hours. ↩

2. 丹田 – dāntián. Literally cinnabar field. Primary energy centre below the navel, where qi is stored and cultivated. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 师弟 – shīdì. Male junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 师伯 – shībó. Senior lineage uncle. Shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Bó means father’s elder brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩