The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 6

Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.

Xiaolongnü took a porcelain bottle from within her robes and handed it to Yang Guo, saying clearly, “This is honey paste for treating bee venom. Take it to Zhao Zhijing.” The moment Yang Guo laid eyes on Zhao Zhijing, his teeth had been itching with hatred, but he could not bring himself to go against Xiaolongnü’s wishes. He strode forward and set the honey paste down heavily on the ground before Zhao Zhijing. The assembled Daoists, hearing that Xiaolongnü had come to the temple gates once more, assumed she had returned to pick another fight and avenge Granny Sun. They tightened their guard on one side while urgently reporting to Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and the other masters. Who could have guessed she had come only to deliver antidote for the bee venom? Stunned, they found themselves speechless. Yang Guo set down the porcelain bottle, shot Zhao Zhijing a look of utter contempt, turned, and walked away.

Lu Qingdu caught sight of Yang Guo and fury surged through him. He shouted, “You little wretch! You betrayed your sect and now you think you can just walk away?” That day Yang Guo had knocked him unconscious with the Toad Stance,¹ but though he had stopped breathing for a moment, Yang Guo’s internal power was shallow and the injury was not severe. After Qiu Chuji had massaged his acupoints several times and he had rested for a few days, he was fully recovered. Now he dashed forward, intent on avenging the shove he had received that day.

Xiaolongnü said, “Guoer, don’t strike back today.” Yang Guo heard footsteps behind him, followed by the whistle of palm wind, someone was grabbing for the back of his collar. He had slept eight days on the Cold Jade Bed² in the Tomb of the Living Dead³ and spent eight days practising sparrow-catching. Though Xiaolongnü had only taught him a few techniques for catching sparrows, these were the essence of the Ancient Tomb School’s qinggong. His martial ability now was already quite different from the day of the minor tournament. Without rushing or delaying, he waited until Lu Qingdu’s palm was just about to seize him, then ducked low and darted out, taking the opportunity to hook a hand against the hem of Lu Qingdu’s robe and tug. Lu Qingdu could never have imagined that in just a few short days Yang Guo’s qinggong would have advanced so far. In his fury he had attacked carelessly. Missing his sudden lunge, his body already leaning forward, and then given that extra tug, he could not keep his footing and crashed heavily to the ground, face first.

By the time he scrambled to his feet, Yang Guo had already dashed back to Xiaolongnü’s side. Lu Qingdu roared with rage and was about to charge forward and strike again when a figure suddenly burst from the crowd of Daoists, darting forward as if his feet never touched the ground, seized his arm, and pulled him back into the throng. The moment Lu Qingdu was caught, half his body went numb. He looked up and saw it was his shishu⁴ Zhen Zhibing. The curse that had already reached his lips was swallowed back down.

Zhen Zhibing called out clearly, “Many thanks to Miss Long for bestowing the medicine.” He bowed with his hands clasped. Xiaolongnü ignored him, took Yang Guo by the hand, and said, “Let’s go back.” Zhen Zhibing said, “Miss Long, this Yang Guo is a disciple of our Quanzhen Order.⁵ You have forcibly taken him in. How is this matter to be settled?” Xiaolongnü paused for a moment, gave no reply, and, holding Yang Guo’s arm, strode swiftly into the forest.

Zhen Zhibing, Zhao Zhijing, and the assembled Daoists stood frozen in place, staring at one another in bewilderment.

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The two returned into the tomb chamber and came to the main hall. Xiaolongnü said, “Guoer, your skill has improved, but the way you struck that fat Daoist was very wrong.” Yang Guo said, “That fat Daoist beat me badly, but today I listened to you and didn’t hit him enough. Gugu,⁶ why shouldn’t I have hit him?” Xiaolongnü shook her head. “It’s not that you shouldn’t have hit him, it’s that your method was wrong. You shouldn’t have tugged him into falling. You should have made him trip and fall flat on his back all by himself, without laying a hand on him.” Yang Guo was overjoyed. “That would be wonderful! Gugu, teach me.” Xiaolongnü said, “I’ll be Guoer and you be the fat Daoist. Come, try to catch me.” She began walking slowly forward.

Yang Guo reached out to grab her, grinning. Xiaolongnü seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. When Yang Guo ran fast, her steps quickened, when he slowed, she slowed her pace as well, always keeping a distance of about three chi from him, neither too close nor too far. Yang Guo called, “I’ve got you!” He lunged forward. Xiaolongnü did not dodge. Yang Guo saw his arms were about to encircle her neck, but just as his arms were closing, not yet closed, Xiaolongnü slid backwards at an angle, slipping out of his embrace. Yang Guo hurriedly pulled back his arms to grab again, but this sudden rush and recoil threw his own momentum into reverse, and he could no longer keep his footing. He fell flat on his back, his spine aching dully from the impact.

Xiaolongnü reached out, took his right hand, and pulled him up, helping him stand straight. Yang Guo said delightedly, “Gugu, this technique is wonderful. How can your body move so fast?” Xiaolongnü said, “Catch sparrows for another year and you’ll have it.” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “But I can already catch them.” Xiaolongnü gave a cold laugh. “Hah. You call that catching? Do you think the skills of our Ancient Tomb School are so easy to learn? Come with me.”

She led him to another stone chamber. This chamber was roughly twice the length and breadth of the previous sparrow-catching chamber, and there were already six sparrows inside. With so much more space, catching sparrows was naturally far more difficult, but Xiaolongnü also taught him additional techniques of lightness, leaping, and grappling. After eight or nine days, Yang Guo could catch all six sparrows in a single breath.

After this, the chambers grew larger and larger and the number of sparrows increased, until finally he was catching eighty-one sparrows in the great hall. The mental techniques of the Ancient Tomb School were wondrously effective, and the Cold Jade Bed was an immense aid to cultivating neili. In just three months, Yang Guo could catch all eighty-one sparrows as easily as reaching out his hand. Seeing his rapid progress, Xiaolongnü was pleased and said, “This foundational skill is called the ‘Soft Net Stance’.⁷ Now we must go outside the tomb to practise.” When Yang Guo heard they would train outside the tomb, delight spread across his face. Xiaolongnü said, “What is there to be happy about? This skill is terribly difficult to master. Not one of those eighty-one sparrows may be allowed to fly away.”

The two emerged from the tomb. It was late spring in the third month. The branches were covered in tender green. Yang Guo drew several deep breaths, feeling the fragrance of flowers and grass pour into his chest, sweet, fresh, indescribably comfortable and pleasant.

Xiaolongnü shook open the mouth of the cloth sack, and the sparrows flew out in all directions. Her pair of slender, pale hands swept out, gathering on the east, swatting on the west, blocking back several sparrows that were flapping away. The flock, suddenly granted freedom, could not help but scatter in every direction. But Xiaolongnü’s palms blocked here and swatted there, and all eighty-one sparrows were gathered within a three-chi space before her chest.

Her arms danced through the air, her two palms seeming to transform into a thousand hands and a thousand palms. No matter how the eighty-one sparrows rolled, tumbled, and darted, they could not escape the circle formed by her palms. Yang Guo stared, dumbfounded, both astonished and delighted. The moment he collected himself, he thought: “Gugu is teaching me a wondrous set of palm techniques. I must carefully commit them to memory.” He focused his attention and watched how she struck out to block, how she pulled back her arms to counter. Her palm strikes were astonishingly fast, yet each move and each stance was clear and distinct, forming complete sequences. Yang Guo watched for a long while. Though he did not yet grasp the subtle intricacies of the palm technique, he was no longer as utterly bewildered as when he first saw it.

Xiaolongnü continued for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then spread both palms outward and placed her hands behind her back. The sparrows, suddenly freed from their restraints, shot up into the sky. Xiaolongnü said, “Making it so they cannot fly away, this skill is called ‘Soaring Through the Azure Sky’.”⁸ Suddenly she leapt high, her long sleeves sweeping out, and two gusts of sleeve wind burst forth. The flock of sparrows all plummeted to the ground, chirping chaotically. Only after a while did they regain their strength one by one and flap away.

Yang Guo was overjoyed. He tugged at her sleeve and said, “Gugu, I’ll bet even Uncle Guo couldn’t do what you just did.” Xiaolongnü said, “Each school’s martial arts follows a different path. After the Soft Net Stance comes Soaring Through the Azure Sky, skills created by our founding grandmaster herself. Study them well.” She then taught him over a dozen palm moves, and Yang Guo learned them one by one. Within ten-odd days, Yang Guo had learned all eighty-one moves of the “Soft Net Stance” and practised them until they were thoroughly familiar. Xiaolongnü caught a sparrow and ordered him to block it with his palm technique. At first he could block it two or three times before the sparrow slipped through a gap between his palms. Xiaolongnü waited at the side, and with a flick of her pale hand, blocked the sparrow back. Yang Guo continued to unfold his palm technique, but either his strikes were not quick enough or his timing was off, after just two or three moves, the sparrow would escape again. Xiaolongnü blocked it back and let him continue practising.

Thus they trained without pause. Spring ended and summer came. Day by day he progressed. Yang Guo was gifted with natural intelligence and trained with diligence. The number of sparrows he could block steadily increased. By the time Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, the “Soft Net Stance” was fully mastered. When he unfolded his palm technique, he could now block all eighty-one sparrows. The occasional one that slipped through was due to his internal power not yet being pure, something that could not be achieved in a matter of days.

One day Xiaolongnü said, “Now that you have mastered this set of palm techniques, the next time you meet that fat Daoist, you can send him tumbling head over heels without the slightest effort.” Yang Guo asked, “And if I fight Zhao Zhijing?” Xiaolongnü did not answer. She thought to herself: “Judging by the skill Zhao Zhijing showed when he fought Granny Sun, if he had not been poisoned by the bees, Granny Sun might not have been able to defeat him. Your current ability is still far below his.” Yang Guo understood the meaning in her silence and said, “It doesn’t matter if I can’t beat him now. In a few more years, I’ll surpass him. Gugu, the martial arts of our Ancient Tomb School are indeed superior to those of Quanzhen, aren’t they?”

Xiaolongnü tilted her head back and gazed at the stone ceiling of the chamber. “In this world, only you and I believe that. The last time I fought that old Daoist Qiu of the Quanzhen Order, my martial skill was not equal to his. But that is not because the Ancient Tomb School is inferior to Quanzhen, it is only because I have not yet mastered the most profound skill of our sect.” Yang Guo had always been troubled by the thought that Xiaolongnü could not defeat Qiu Chuji. Hearing these words, joy rose unbidden to the tips of his brows. “Gugu, what skill is that? Is it very difficult to train? Why don’t you start training it right now?”

Xiaolongnü said, “Let me tell you a story, so you will understand the origins of our sect. Before you took me as your shifu⁹, you paid homage to our founding grandmaster. Her surname was Lin and her given name was Chaoying.¹⁰ Several decades ago, in the wulin,¹¹ Founding Grandmaster and Wang Chongyang¹² were the two with the highest martial arts. Originally neither could claim superiority over the other. Later, Wang Chongyang organised a volunteer army to resist the Jin invaders¹³ and was busy day and night, while Founding Grandmaster devoted herself wholly to training in martial arts. In the end she surpassed him by a margin. But Founding Grandmaster never concerned herself with the mundane affairs of the wulin and did not care for showing off, so very few people in the jianghu¹⁴ knew her name. Later, Wang Chongyang’s uprising failed, and in his indignation he secluded himself here in this Tomb of the Living Dead. With nothing to do day or night, he amused himself by delving into the study of martial arts. Founding Grandmaster, however, was in low spirits at the time and fell seriously ill twice in succession. So by the time Wang Chongyang emerged from seclusion a second time, Founding Grandmaster was once again his inferior. In the end, the two of them somehow competed in martial arts and made a wager, and Wang Chongyang actually lost to Founding Grandmaster. This ancient tomb was given to her to live in. Come, I will take you to see the relics left behind by these two predecessors.”

Footnotes

1. 蛤蟆功 – Hámá Gōng. Ouyang Feng’s supreme neili technique, storing and releasing explosive power like a toad’s sudden leap. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 寒玉床 – Hán Yù Chuáng. Bed carved from rare deep-cold jade found by Lin Chaoying. Training on it greatly accelerates neili cultivation by forcing the practitioner to circulate qi constantly to resist the cold. ↩

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. 师叔 – shīshū. Junior lineage uncle. Shidi or shimei of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Shū means father’s younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. Quanzhen Order (全真教). Major Daoist school founded by Wang Chongyang. In Jin Yong’s wuxia universe, it is one of the most powerful martial arts sects, based at the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan. Its seven senior disciples are known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. ↩

6. Gugu (姑姑) — Literally “paternal aunt,” but used here as a term of respectful address for a young woman of the older generation. Yang Guo uses this to address Xiaolongnü, his shifu. ↩

7. 柔网势 – Róuwǎng Shì. Soft Net Stance, the foundational lightness and palm technique of the Ancient Tomb School, training the practitioner to trap eighty-one sparrows within a defined space. ↩

8. 夭矫空碧 – Yāojiǎo Kōngbì. Soaring Through the Azure Sky, an advanced technique following the Soft Net Stance in which the practitioner prevents sparrows from flying away by forcing them down with palm wind. ↩

9. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 林朝英 – Lín Cháoyīng. Founder of the Ancient Tomb School and a martial genius who once surpassed Wang Chongyang. She created the sect’s arts specifically to counter Quanzhen techniques, driven by her unrequited love for him. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Those who actually practise, teach or study martial arts. Wulin sits inside the jianghu and is narrower than it: every member of the wulin belongs to the jianghu, but a pedlar or physician of the jianghu who never trained is no part of the wulin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. Founder of the Quanzhen Order and foremost of the Five Greats. He led anti-Jin resistance before turning to Daoism; in the novel he was Lin Chaoying’s beloved, though their relationship was never consummated. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 金兵 – Jīn Bīng. Jin-dynasty forces; Jurchen invaders who conquered northern China and drove the Song court south. Wang Chongyang organised resistance against them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. Itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them, including pedlars, physicians, fortune-tellers, entertainers, boatmen, beggars, outlaws and the like. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩