The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 7

Chongyang's carved legacy.

Following Xiaolongnü through the passageway, Yang Guo dashed out of the ancient tomb. Overcome with joy, he drew several breaths beneath the starlight and said, “Gugu, let me lower the Dragon Severing Stone¹ and suffocate those two wicked women inside the tomb.” He made to search for the mechanism. Xiaolongnü shook her head. “Wait. Let me go back inside first.” Yang Guo was startled. “Why?” Xiaolongnü said, “My master commanded me to guard this tomb well. I must never let anyone else take possession of it.”

Yang Guo said, “If we seal the tomb door, they will not survive.” Xiaolongnü replied, “But then I could never go back inside either. I would never dare disobey my master’s words. Unlike you!” She shot him a glare. A surge of heat rose in Yang Guo’s chest. He reached out and took hold of her arm. “Gugu, I will do as you say.” Xiaolongnü fought to control her emotions. Afraid of being stirred, she dared not say another word. She shook off his hand, walked through the tomb gate, and said, “Lower the stone!” She turned her back to the outside, fearing that she might change her mind at the last moment. She did not look back at him even once.

Yang Guo’s resolve was set. He drew a deep breath, filling his chest with the fragrance of flowers and the crisp scent of grass and trees. He raised his head and looked up, the sky was filled with glittering stars. He thought to himself, This is the last time I will ever see the stars. He dashed to the left side of the grave marker and, following Xiaolongnü’s earlier directions, exerted his strength to shift aside a great rock. Sure enough, beneath it was a round stone. He seized it and pulled with all his might. The round stone shifted from its position, revealing a hole. A stream of fine sand poured rapidly from the opening, and the two great stone blocks above the tomb gate began to descend slowly. These two Dragon Severing Stones weighed over ten thousand jin.² When Wang Chongyang³ had constructed this tomb, it had taken the combined strength of several hundred men pulling with massive cables to install them. Now, with the tomb gate sealed shut, no matter how great the martial skill of Li Mochou,⁴ Xiaolongnü, or Hong Lingbo, they could never break their way out.

Xiaolongnü heard the rumbling of the descending stone blocks. Despite herself, tears streamed down her face. She turned back. Yang Guo waited until the stone blocks had dropped to about two feet above the ground, then suddenly executed a move. Jade Maiden Casting the Shuttle, and shot through the gap like an arrow. Xiaolongnü let out a startled cry. Yang Guo straightened up, smiled, and said, “Gugu, now you can never drive me away again.” No sooner had he spoken than two booming crashes sounded, the stone blocks had struck the ground.

Xiaolongnü was overcome with shock and joy. The emotional intensity nearly made her faint again. She threw herself against Yang Guo, gasping for breath. Yang Guo gently put his arms around her and patted her back softly. Only after a long while did Xiaolongnü say, “Very well then. The two of us shall die together.” Taking Yang Guo by the hand, she led him toward the inner chambers.

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Li Mochou and her disciple had been searching everywhere for the mechanism, knocking here and striking there without any clue, frantic with anxiety. When they suddenly saw the two reappear, joy beyond all expectation filled their faces. Li Mochou’s figure blurred as she darted behind Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo, first cutting off their retreat. Xiaolongnü said coolly, “Shijie,⁵ let me take you somewhere.” Li Mochou hesitated, thinking: This tomb is filled with traps and mechanisms. I must not fall into her schemes. If she tries any tricks, I would have no defence. Xiaolongnü said, “I shall take you to pay respects at our master’s coffin. If you do not wish to go, so be it.” Li Mochou said, “Do not think you can use our master’s name to deceive me.” Xiaolongnü smiled faintly and, without replying, walked directly toward the entrance. Li Mochou felt there was a natural authority in her speech and bearing, something that seemed impossible to defy. So master and disciple followed behind, guarding against every possibility, not daring to relax for an instant. Xiaolongnü walked ahead, holding Yang Guo’s hand, unafraid that her shijie might launch a sneak attack from behind. She led them into the spirit chamber where the stone coffins were kept.

Li Mochou had never been here before. Thinking of her late master’s nurturing kindness, a faint sorrow stirred in her heart. But immediately she recalled her master’s favouritism, and grief turned to fury. She would not even kneel before her master’s coffin. “The bond between us master and disciples was severed long ago,” she said angrily. “Why have you brought me here?” Xiaolongnü said flatly, “There are still two empty stone coffins here. One is for you, one is for me. I am simply informing you. You may choose whichever you like.” She gestured toward the two stone coffins.

Li Mochou was enraged. “How dare you mock me like this?” Even as she spoke, she struck out with a palm aimed at Xiaolongnü’s chest. But when Xiaolongnü saw the palm coming, she neither dodged nor blocked. Li Mochou was taken aback. This palm will surely kill her. Her palm edge stopped a few inches from Xiaolongnü’s chest, and she pulled it back with great effort. Xiaolongnü said calmly, “Shijie, the Dragon Severing Stone at the tomb gate has already been lowered.”

Li Mochou’s face drained of colour instantly. Though she did not fully understand every mechanism in the tomb, she knew that the Dragon Severing Stone was the most lethal device for sealing the tomb gate. Years ago, their master had faced a mighty enemy and nearly been unable to hold them off. She had almost lowered the Dragon Severing Stone to block the enemy, but in the end had used the Soul-Freezing Silver Needles⁶ and Jade Bee Needles⁷ to wound the powerful foe. She had never imagined that her shimei would seal her inside the tomb. Panic-stricken, her voice trembling, she said, “You have another way out. Is that not so?”

Xiaolongnü said evenly, “Once the Dragon Severing Stone is lowered, the tomb gate can never be opened again. Do you not know this?” Li Mochou reached out and seized the front of Xiaolongnü’s robe, her voice fierce. “You are lying!” Xiaolongnü remained unmoved. “The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra⁸ left by our master is right here.” She reached into her robes and drew out an old scripture, tossing it into one of the open, lidless coffins. This old scripture was a Daoist classic, the Can Tong Qi,⁹ which all students of the Dao were required to study. Xiaolongnü had happened to read a few pages and tucked it into her robes. She casually tossed it out now and said, “If you wish to look at it, go right ahead. No matter how refined your skill becomes, you will have no opponent. Guoer and I are here. If you wish to kill us, feel free to try. But as for leaving this ancient tomb alive, I fear that is not possible.”

Li Mochou had no way of knowing the truth. Her heart was shaken to its core, believing that the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, which she had yearned for day and night, was right before her eyes. She wanted to bend down and retrieve it from the empty coffin, but feared that the moment she turned, her shimei and her disciple would strike at her exposed back. Better to kill them first, then take the sutra. That is the safest course. She swung a palm toward Xiaolongnü’s face. Yang Guo sprang forward, placing himself before Xiaolongnü, and shouted, “Kill me first!”

Li Mochou’s palm sank, shifting toward Xiaolongnü’s chest, her force held back. She glared viciously at Yang Guo. “You protect her like this. You would willingly die for her, is that it?” Yang Guo said loudly, “Exactly!” Li Mochou’s left hand shot out at an angle and seized the sword at Yang Guo’s waist. She held it against his throat and said fiercely, “I will kill only one person. Say it again, will you die, or will she?” Yang Guo turned toward Xiaolongnü and smiled, then said in a clear voice, “Naturally, I die!” By now the two of them had already placed life and death beyond concern. Whatever killing blow Li Mochou might deliver, they did not take it to heart.

Li Mochou let out a long sigh. “Shimei, your vow is broken. You may descend the mountain now.”

The founder of the Ancient Tomb School, Lin Chaoying,¹⁰ had loved Wang Chongyang with a bitter passion in her youth, but in the end their union was not to be. In her grief, she established a sect rule: anyone who received her true legacy must swear an oath to dwell within the ancient tomb for life, never to descend Mount Zhongnan.¹¹ But if there was a man willing to die for her of his own free will, the oath would be considered broken. However, this matter must on no account be revealed to the man beforehand. For Lin Chaoying was convinced that all men under heaven were faithless and ungrateful, and that not a single one would willingly die for the woman he loved. Even Wang Chongyang, a hero of chivalry and righteousness, had been no different, let alone anyone else. If in the future there truly were such a man, then her disciple of later generations would not have lived in vain if she descended the mountain with him. Li Mochou had entered the sect before Xiaolongnü and should originally have inherited the mantle. But she was unwilling to keep the oath of never descending the mountain for life, and so in the end it was Xiaolongnü who received the true legacy.

Footnotes

1. 断龙石 – Duànlóng Shí. Dragon-Breaking Stone, two massive ten-thousand-jin blocks installed by Wang Chongyang at the tomb entrance. Once dropped, they seal the tomb permanently. ↩

2. 斤 – jīn. Traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately 500 grams or 1.1 pounds. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 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. ↩

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

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

6. Soul-Freezing Silver Needles (冰魄银针). Bīngpò Yínzhēn. Li Mochou’s signature hidden weapons, silver needles coated in a deadly poison that freezes the soul. ↩

7. 玉蜂针 – Yùfēng Zhēn. Fine needles coated with Jade Bee poison, a signature concealed weapon of the Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 玉女心经 – Yùnǚ Xīnjīng. Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, the supreme manual of the Ancient Tomb School, created by Lin Chaoying to counter Quanzhen martial arts. Its advanced internal portions require two practitioners training together. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 参同契 – Cān Tóng Qì. Fully the Zhouyi Can Tong Qi (周易参同契), “The Kinship of the Three in Accordance with the Book of Changes.” A foundational text of Daoist internal alchemy. ↩

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. Mount Zhongnan (终南山). Zhōngnán Shān. Mountain range south of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, historically significant in Daoism. Site of the Chongyang Palace and the Tomb of the Living Dead. ↩