Yin Kexi

Yin Kexi (simplified: 尹克西, traditional: 尹克西, pinyin: Yǐn Kèxī, jyutping: wan5 hak1 sai1) was a martial artist who, together with Xiao Xiangzi, stole the Lankavatara Sutra (楞伽经) containing the Nine Yang Manual (九阳真经) from Shaolin Temple. They hid the manual inside a dark grey ape’s belly to escape detection, and later fought each other to the death in the Kunlun Mountains. Their actions led to the Nine Yang Manual’s disappearance for nearly a century, until it was finally discovered by Zhang Wuji.

Biography

The theft of the Lankavatara Sutra

More than ninety years before the events of The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Sabre, Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi stole the Lankavatara Sutra from Shaolin Temple’s repository. The sutra was particularly precious as it had been personally transcribed by Bodhidharma when he came to China from the West, but more importantly, it contained the legendary Nine Yang Manual written in the margins and between the lines.

The theft was discovered by Jueyuan, the librarian monk who was responsible for the repository. Jueyuan pursued the two thieves not because he knew about the Nine Yang Manual (which he viewed merely as health preservation techniques), but because he felt responsible for the loss of the precious Buddhist text.

The pursuit to Mount Hua

Jueyuan pursued Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi all the way to the summit of Mount Hua (华山), where they had no chance of escaping. However, the two thieves had brought a dark grey ape with them, and they came up with a desperate plan: they cut open the ape’s belly and hid the manual inside.

When Jueyuan, Zhang Junbao (later known as Zhang Sanfeng), Yang Guo, and the others caught up with them, they searched the two thieves thoroughly but found nothing. Unaware of the manual hidden inside the ape, they let Yin Kexi, Xiao Xiangzi, and the dark grey ape go.

Journey to the Western Regions

Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi took the dark grey ape and travelled to the far Western Regions. However, the two of them were suspicious of each other; each feared that if the other mastered the martial arts from the manual, he would kill him. As a result, they kept a close watch on each other and neither dared to take the manual out from the ape’s belly.

Death in the Kunlun Mountains

Finally, they arrived at Jing Shen Peak (精神峰) in the Kunlun Mountains, where Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi plotted against each other. They fought, and both sustained injuries. However, Xiao Xiangzi’s martial arts skill was slightly better than Yin Kexi’s, but because Xiao Xiangzi had been hit by Jueyuan’s fist on Mount Hua, his internal strength was shaken and he suffered serious injury. As a result, when they fought each other in the Kunlun Mountains, Yin Kexi was able to kill Xiao Xiangzi, even though Xiao Xiangzi was the more skilled fighter.

Final words to He Zudao

At the point of his death, Yin Kexi encountered He Zudao, the Kunlun Three Sage (昆仑三圣). Pricked by his conscience, Yin Kexi asked He Zudao to go to Shaolin Temple and tell Jueyuan that the books were inside the ape’s belly.

However, by that time Yin Kexi was already delirious, and his speech was incoherent. He said “jing zai hou zhong” (经在猴中), meaning “scriptures inside the monkey,” but He Zudao heard it as “jing zai you zhong” (经在油中), meaning “scriptures inside the oil.”

He Zudao kept his promise and went to the distant Central Plains to convey the message “jing zai you zhong” to Jueyuan. Jueyuan failed to comprehend the meaning of the message, and rather than talking about it, he stirred up a big disturbance instead. This eventually led to the creation of the Wudang and Emei Orders, as Jueyuan transmitted the Nine Yang Manual to Zhang Junbao and Guo Xiang before his death.

Legacy

The hidden manual

The Nine Yang Manual remained hidden inside the dark grey ape’s belly for more than ninety years. The ape, fortunate to have the Kunlun Mountain’s immortal peaches as its diet, lived for many years, gradually transforming from a dark grey ape into a white ape. However, the manual hidden inside its belly caused digestive system problems, and it developed a malignant skin ulcer on its belly that lasted until Zhang Wuji removed the books and treated it.

Zhang Wuji discovered the manual in the hidden valley after falling from the cliff, and spent five years practising the Nine Yang Power from it, which completely cured his cold poison and elevated his internal energy to an extraordinary level.

Behind the scenes

Narrative significance

Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi’s theft of the Lankavatara Sutra plays a crucial role in the backstory of The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Sabre. Their actions directly led to the disappearance of the Nine Yang Manual for nearly a century, and the misunderstanding between Yin Kexi and He Zudao (jing zai hou zhong vs. jing zai you zhong) created a chain of events that ultimately led to the establishment of the Wudang and Emei Orders.

Their story demonstrates how small misunderstandings can have profound consequences, and how greed and mutual suspicion can lead to tragic outcomes. The fact that neither of them ever benefited from the manual they stole, and that they both died fighting each other, serves as a cautionary tale about the destructive nature of greed and mistrust.

Connection to The Return of the Condor Heroes

Yin Kexi appears primarily in The Return of the Condor Heroes as one of the Mongolian court’s martial artists. However, his role in stealing the Lankavatara Sutra and his death in the Kunlun Mountains are mentioned in The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Sabre as part of the backstory explaining how Zhang Wuji came to discover the Nine Yang Manual.