The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 7 – Part 5

As for the secret map on the ceiling, it had been carved there when the tomb was first built, so that if the tomb were ever besieged by Jin¹ troops for a long time, its people could slip away by the secret passage. Not even Lin Chaoying knew of the passage. She believed that once the Dragon-Breaking Stones were dropped, she would die together with her enemies. She never imagined that when Wang Chongyang built the tomb he was planning a great campaign to recover the Central Plains,² his breast full of soaring ambition. How would such a man, after a single defeat, ever shut himself up in a place with no way out? Later, when Wang Chongyang gave up the tomb, he was afraid Lin Chaoying would mock him for keeping a back door to run away by, as if he lacked the spirit of a brave and generous man, and so he never told her. That too came of a moment’s pride.

Xiaolongnü dared not look at the map and kept her eyes fixed on another corner. All at once four small characters flashed into her eyes like lightning: Secret Method for Unsealing Acupoints. Her heart gave a jolt. She read the method carefully several times over, and for a moment she was so overjoyed that, had she not always kept such a hold on herself, she would almost have cried out. The method explained how to open one’s own acupoints. If something went wrong in the practice of neigong and the acupoints became blocked, this method would open them without anyone’s help. For the neigong of the Nine Yin Manual was extremely profound, and if a practitioner’s inner breath went astray and sealed their own acupoints, even a master standing by could hardly open them on their behalf. Only the practitioner could free them, by this secret method. Otherwise, anyone who had trained as far as the Nine Yin Manual would already have reached the first rank of martial skill, and would seldom ever have their acupoints sealed by anyone else.

Three of its divine skills were bound up together: the Secret Method for Unsealing Acupoints, the Secret Method for Holding the Breath, and the Soul-Shifting Art.³ Acupoints and meridians that have been sealed and blocked cannot easily be opened without force from outside. But if one could stop breathing for a while by the method of holding the breath, the inner breath would cease to flow, and one could then open the sealed acupoints and meridians by following its course. Yet holding the breath is extremely hard. It requires the art of loosing the mind and parting from the soul, from the Soul-Shifting Art: the spirit roams beyond the body and the mind does not cling to the flesh, so that for the short span of the held breath one does not choke and die. From loosing the mind and parting from the soul comes holding the breath. From holding the breath comes the unsealing of acupoints. The three skills run on from one to the next and form a single whole. The highest part of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, where the divine light gathers and parts, now there and now not, now hidden and now seen, past all grasping, demands this art of loosing the mind and parting from the soul. Only then can the spirit roam beyond the body, untroubled in the mind, as if nothing were happening, empty and full by turns, real or illusory past all guessing, and only so can one avoid being mastered. At that point one cannot say whether Quanzhen martial arts or the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra stands higher. It is only that neither can master the other, and neither is mastered by the other, and each goes its own way free and at ease. In the plight Xiaolongnü was in now, these three divine skills were truly a wonderful key to life.

But then she thought, Even if I open my acupoints, I still can’t beat Shijie,⁴ so it’s no use. At once she scanned the writing on the ceiling for a skill she could learn on sight and use at once, something that would pin Li Mochou down at the first stroke. But at a rough glance every item was deep and intricate, and she reckoned that even the easiest of them would take several dozen days to master. And she dared not look for long, for fear that Li Mochou would follow her gaze up and discover the map and the Nine Yin Manual on the ceiling. The Soul-Shifting Art was founded on neigong of the highest order, and Xiaolongnü judged that her own neigong was not yet the equal of her shijie’s. Used rashly, it might well leave her mastered instead. She could hear Yang Guo shouting and bawling, trading jibes with Li Mochou without pause, and thanks to that her usually sharp-eyed shijie had not noticed where she was looking. Suddenly an idea came to her, and she had a plan. She raised her head, silently recited the Secret Method for Unsealing Acupoints, the Secret Method for Holding the Breath and the Soul-Shifting Art once through, then put her lips to Yang Guo’s ear and quietly taught them to him.

Yang Guo grasped it at once. “Open your acupoints first,” Xiaolongnü whispered. Afraid that Li Mochou and her disciple would notice, Yang Guo groaned loudly and babbled on and on. “Owww, Li shibo,⁵ your hand is far too cruel. You’ve wronged our founding matriarch, and wronged our founding matriarch’s grandma even more. Owww, Li shibo, you’re still quite young, and though your looks can’t match my shifu’s, you’re still a rare beauty, one in a thousand. With a heart as black as yours, I’m afraid the black will spread all the way up into your face and spoil those flower-and-moon looks of yours, and what a pity that would be. Aren’t you afraid of wronging her grandma’s great-grandma…” It hung together not at all. Under cover of it he set his spirit roaming beyond the body and let his soul leave its dwelling, and the moment his mouth paused he held his breath. Li Mochou had found it rather insolent when he called her by her name earlier, but now he had gone back to calling her “shibo” and was praising her looks, and his babbling was so comical that she sat listening with a smile.

Following the Secret Method for Unsealing Acupoints in Wang Chongyang’s carvings, Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo silently set their arcane skill to work. Both had a grounding in neigong, and in a few moments they had opened the two sealed acupoints in their bodies. On the outside nothing stirred, yet Li Mochou sensed at once that something was wrong. “What are you doing?” she shouted, and sprang at them. Xiaolongnü leapt to her feet and struck back-handed, patting her lightly on the shoulder, a move from the highest martial arts of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. Li Mochou had never dreamed that she could open her own acupoints, and in alarm she leapt back. “Shijie,” said Xiaolongnü, “do you want to get out or not?”

Li Mochou was overjoyed to hear it. She had always prided herself on her great martial skill, and still more on a cleverness few could match, and now a little shimei⁶ who had never seen anything of the world had been toying with her as if she held her in the palm of her hand. Fury and resentment boiled in her. But she thought it best to swallow her anger for the moment: get out of the tomb first, and there would be time enough to deal with the girl afterwards. Xiaolongnü had a few strange moves, but there was no strength behind them when they landed. By now Li Mochou sensed that this was not mercy holding her hand but a real lack of inner force, and nothing to worry about. At once she smiled. “Now that’s my good shimei. I beg your pardon. Lead us out.”

Yang Guo thought, Here’s a fine chance to set her and her disciple at odds. “My aunt says she can take only one of you out,” he said. “So tell us, does she take you, or your disciple?” “You wretched little brat,” said Li Mochou, “shut your mouth this minute.” Xiaolongnü had not yet seen what Yang Guo was about, but she always took his side. “That’s right,” she said at once. “I can only take one person. Any more won’t do.” Yang Guo laughed. “Shibo, better let Hong shijie come out with us. Hong shijie isn’t as pretty as you, but you’re getting on, and you’ve lived long enough.” Li Mochou was furious but still held her tongue. “Right!” said Yang Guo. “Let’s go! Aunt leads the way and I go second. Whoever walks last can’t get out.”

Xiaolongnü understood now. She gave a soft laugh, took Yang Guo’s hand and walked out of the chamber. Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo both made a dash for the place behind them, and the two of them jammed in the doorway together, each afraid Xiaolongnü really would drop some mechanism and shut the last one in the tomb. “You’d race me, would you?” snapped Li Mochou, and her left hand shot out and clamped Hong Lingbo’s shoulder. Hong Lingbo knew how ruthless her shifu’s hands were. If she did not stop, she would die under that palm on the spot, so she had no choice but to let her shifu go first, hating her and fearing her at once.

Li Mochou kept close behind Yang Guo, not daring to fall a single step back. She felt Xiaolongnü turning east and winding west, going lower and lower, and the ground underfoot was growing damp. She knew they had long since left the ancient tomb, but in the dark she could only dimly make out side passages branching off everywhere. A little further on, the way became fearfully steep, plunging straight down, and if the four of them had not all been such fine martial artists they would long since have slipped and fallen. Li Mochou thought, Mount Zhongnan isn’t all that high. Going down like this, we’ll soon be at the bottom. Can we be inside the belly of the mountain?

They went down for about half a shichen.⁷ The way levelled out, but the damp grew heavier, until at last they heard the gurgle of running water and the path was under water to the ankle. The further they went the higher it rose, from their legs to their bellies, until it was nearly up to their chests. “You remember the Secret Method for Holding the Breath clearly?” Xiaolongnü asked Yang Guo in a low voice. “I remember,” Yang Guo said quietly. “In a moment, hold your breath,” said Xiaolongnü, “and don’t swallow any water.” “Mm,” said Yang Guo. “Aunt, you be careful too.” Xiaolongnü nodded.

Long ago Wang Chongyang had built the tomb’s underground storehouse beside a small stream on the mountain and led a little of its water into the tomb. The people of the tomb cooked with the stream water and did all their washing and cleaning with it too. The stream rose high in the mountains and came tumbling down. After it had been used in the tomb it rested a little while, then flowed on and ran clear again. Now Xiaolongnü was leading Yang Guo, Li Mochou and the others out of the tomb along this stream, and they would have to dive into an underground current before they reached level ground. Once the stream ran into the underground current it joined other streams, and the flow grew stronger and deeper.

As they talked, the water had already reached their throats. Li Mochou was secretly alarmed. “Shimei,” she called, “can you swim?” “I’ve grown up in the tomb all my life and never been outside,” said Xiaolongnü. “How would I know how to swim?” Li Mochou felt a little easier. She took a step forward, but suddenly there was nothing under her foot, and a gush of water drove straight at her mouth. In alarm she stepped hastily back. But Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo had already ducked under the water, and now, even if a mountain of blades and a sea of swords lay ahead, she had no choice but to push through. All at once she felt a tug at her back. Hong Lingbo had grabbed her clothes. She struck back-handed at once, and it was no light blow, but the water slowed it, and Hong Lingbo was clinging so tight she could not shake her off. The water roared. It was only an underground current, but its force was still frightening. Neither Li Mochou nor Hong Lingbo knew anything of the water. Struck by the current, they lost their footing and floated up.

Superb as Li Mochou’s martial arts were, at that moment she could not help panicking. She clawed and scrabbled wildly, touched something, and gripped it with all her strength. It was Yang Guo’s left arm. Yang Guo was holding his breath, walking along the bottom step by step with Xiaolongnü, hand in hand. When Li Mochou suddenly grabbed him, he quickly used a grappling technique to break free. But now that she had hold of him, how would she ever let go? Gush after gush of water poured into her mouth and nose until she passed out, and still she held on tight. Yang Guo tried several times to shake her off and could not. Afraid that if he used too much force he would swallow water, he let her hang on.

The four of them struggled on along the bottom, dragging and hauling, for about as long as it takes to eat a meal. Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo held their breath by the method, but they were still horribly short of air and kept having to rise to the surface for a few breaths. Little by little they could hardly hold out, and both had swallowed a bellyful of water. Luckily the current gradually slackened and the ground rose, and soon their heads broke the surface. They walked on for as long as it takes an incense stick to burn, and the further they went the brighter it grew ahead, until at last they crawled out through a mountain cave. The two of them were utterly spent. First they worked their qi to bring up the water in their bellies, then lay on the ground by the stream, panting and panting.

Li Mochou was still clutching Yang Guo’s arm, and only when Yang Guo had prised her fingers open one by one did she let go. Xiaolongnü first sealed the acupoints in the shoulders of Li Mochou and her disciple, then laid them on a round boulder so that the water in their bellies could trickle slowly out of their mouths.

Yang Guo looked all around. Deep shade covered the ground, and the light danced among the flowers. His joy was boundless. “Aunt,” was all he said, “isn’t it lovely?” Xiaolongnü nodded and smiled. When they thought back over the past few days, it seemed another lifetime.

A long while later Li Mochou gave a few groans, “Ah, ah,” and was the first to come round. She saw dazzling sunshine. She had truly seen the light of day again. When she thought of the danger of being trapped in the stone tomb and the ordeal in the underground current, she still shivered, but though her upper body was numb and limp, her heart was far easier than before. A while later Hong Lingbo slowly came to as well. “Shijie,” Xiaolongnü said to Li Mochou, “you may go!” Li Mochou and her disciple could not use their arms, but their legs were free. They got to their feet, exchanged a silent look, and went off, one in front and one behind.

---

All around was silent, without a human voice. The cave lay in a very remote spot at the foot of Mount Zhongnan. That night Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo slept on the grass in the shade of the trees. When they woke the next morning, Yang Guo wanted to go off exploring at once. But Xiaolongnü had never seen the bustling world, and for some reason it frightened her badly. “No,” she said. “First I must heal my wound, and then the two of us have to master the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.” Yang Guo struck himself hard on the crown of his head. “Damn! Take that, you muddle-headed brat! I forgot all about your wound.” It also occurred to him that once they had gone down the mountain, opening their clothes to train together again would be awkward in many ways. So he laid his palm on her and passed his qi into her, helping her work her neigong to heal. In less than half a month Xiaolongnü’s inner wound was quite healed.

Under a great pine they built two small thatched huts to keep off wind and rain. Purple wisteria spread all over the huts. Yang Guo liked a rich, heavy scent, and in front of his own hut he planted roses, jasmine and other sweet-smelling flowers. Xiaolongnü preferred things plain and delicate. The clean scent of pine needles, she said, was far better than any rare flower or exotic plant, and in front of her hut everything was left to nature, with nothing but wild grass.

Shifu and disciple slept by day and trained by night. Several months went by. First Xiaolongnü mastered the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, and a month or so later Yang Guo too completed his training. They tried it out together again and again and found nothing left to hinder them, and Yang Guo raised once more the idea of going out into the world.

To Xiaolongnü there was nothing in the world to equal a quiet life like this. But she knew he yearned for the bustle of the world and that she could never keep him tied to these wild mountains for long, so she said, “Guoer, our martial arts may be far better than before, but how do they compare with your Uncle Guo and Auntie Guo?” “We’re still a long way short of them, of course,” said Yang Guo, “though you and he probably each have your strengths.” “Your Uncle Guo has taught his martial arts to his daughter, and to the Wu brothers too,” said Xiaolongnü. “When we meet them, they’ll bully us again.”

Footnotes

1. Jin Dynasty (金朝). Jurchen-led dynasty (1115–1234) that ruled northern China during this period. Wang Chongyang’s volunteer army fought against the Jin, who had conquered the Central Plains from the Song dynasty. ↩

2. Central Plains (中原). Zhōngyuán. Historical heartland of Chinese civilisation, roughly corresponding to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. In the Southern Song period, the Central Plains were occupied by the Jurchen Jin dynasty. “Recovering the Central Plains” was the rallying cry of Chinese patriots seeking to drive out the foreign invaders. ↩

3. 移魂大法 – yíhún dàfǎ. Technique from the Nine Yin Manual that allows the practitioner’s spirit to depart from the body, achieving a state of dissociation. ↩

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

5. 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. ↩

6. 师妹 – shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 时辰 – shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩