by Jin Yong
She looked at the weapon and noticed the two characters “Guo Jing” carved into its hilt. “This belongs to Jing ge ge,” she thought bitterly. “Why does she get to have it?” She removed the weapon from its sheath. A cold air immediately emanated from the weapon. “Good dagger!” Huang Rong said. She put the dagger back into the sheath and placed it within her shirt. “I’m going to go give this to Jing Ge ge,” she said.
Stricken, Mu Nianci said, “What?”
“The two characters engraved on the hilt proves who the rightful owner of this dagger is,” Huang Rong said. “I’m going to give it to him.”
Mu Nianci cried out angrily, “That is the only possession I have from my adoptive parents. How can you take it? Quickly give it back to me.” She stood up and walked towards Huang Rong.
“If you have a problem, come and get it!” Huang Rong shouted as she ran out of the inn. Huang Rong knew Hong Qigong was asleep in the forest and Guo Jing was up on the mountains practicing his palms. She ran to the left.
Mu Nianci pursued anxiously, fearing Huang Rong would ride the red horse. She continued to chase until she heard a loud noise, which she followed.
Huang Rong had taken a bend into a clearing surrounded by tall, locust trees. She stopped there and laughed.
“You’ve won,” she said. “You’re the better horse. Now let us match against one another to see who gets the bride’s dagger.”
Mu Nianci’s cheeks reddened. “Don’t joke little sister,” she said. “When I see this dagger, I see my adoptive father. Why did you take it away?”
Huang Rong’s brow dropped. “Who is your sister?” she shouted. She immediately jumped at Mu Nianci with her palm extended.
Mu Nianci tried to dodge, but Huang Rong used the ‘Palm of the Divine Sword Felling the Hero’. Employing the many and mysterious variations in the style, Huang Rong hit Mu Nianci twice in the ribs, causing a lot of pain. Angry, Mu Nianci turned to the left before also returning her own palm stroke, which was a violent strike.
“That is the ‘Wandering Strides’ fist!” Huang Rong shouted. “How is this possible?”
Mu Nianci was surprised upon hearing Huang Rong’s shout. “This was the style Hong Qigong passed on to me alone,” she thought. “How could she know about it?” Mu Nianci watched as Huang Rong retracted her left palm and attacked with her right as a fist. After three moves, Mu Nianci recognized the style to be none other than the ‘Wandering Strides’. Surprised, she jumped back. “Stop!” she shouted. “Who taught you this style?”
“I just figured it out myself,” Huang Rong said with a smile. “What’s so special about this rough and crude kung fu?” So saying, she attacked again with the ‘Wandering Strides’, employing its two central moves, ‘Alms Bowl at the Door’ and ‘Seeing a Benefactor’, in a continuous attack.
Mu Nianci became even more bewildered after avoiding another move, ‘Traveling the Seas Without Worry’. “You know Senior Hong Qigong?” she said.
“He and I are old friends,” Huang Rong said with a smile. “You can use this style. I’ll use the kung fu I know and then we’ll see who wins.”
With a menacing chortle, Huang Rong immediately attacked. She did not use the ‘Wandering Strides’ style. Instead, she employed the martial arts taught to her by her father to get the better of Mu Nianci, whose skills were taught to her by Hong Qigong. How could Mu Nianci block?
Mu Nianci tried to flee but she couldn’t. She watched a palm rise like a sword slashing across with a roaring wind. Feeling the spear-like force, Mu Nianci twisted her body to the side to dodge, but then felt pain in her neck as Huang Rong successfully hit her with ‘Brushing the Orchid Blossoms from the Road’. The palm had struck the neck vertebrae precisely where the blood vessels regulate the body, hands and feet. After being hit, Mu Nianci’s hands and feet immediately became numb and weak.
Huang Rong then stepped forward and pressed an acupoint on Mu Nianci’s waist. Mu Nianci immediately fell over. Huang Rong took out the dagger and laughed, before slashing at Mu Nianci’s cheeks with ten different strikes. None of them hit — but they were only one inch away from striking flesh.
Mu Nianci closed her eyes, expecting death, but to her surprise she felt a cool air near her cheeks that didn’t hurt. When she opened her eyes, she saw the dagger coming towards her eyes, only to see it stop next to her face. “If you’re going to kill me, kill me,” she yelled in anger. “Why all the threats and theatrics?”
“You are not my enemy, nor do I hate you,” Huang Rong said. “Why would I kill you? You just have to swear one oath, and I’ll release you.”
Although they were indeed not enemies, Mu Nianci refused to even consider giving an oath. “Lady, you threaten to kill me because you want me to swear an oath,” she shouted. “You must be dreaming.”
Huang Rong sighed with admiration. “It would be a real pity to kill a beautiful lady of marriageable age,” she said.
Mu Nianci closed her eyes and waited for death, but she heard not a sound.
After a moment, Huang Rong gently said, “Jin Ge ge and I have already shared our hearts. If you were to marry him, there is no way he would give you the same.”
Mu Nianci opened her eyes. “What did you say?” she asked.
“I know you won’t promise not to marry him,” Huang Rong said.
“Who is it that you like?” Mu Nianci said in confusion. “Who is it you think I want to marry?”
“Jin Ge ge, Guo Jing,” Huang Rong said.
“Oh him,” Mu Nianci said. “What do you want me to swear?”
“I want you to swear a heavy oath that you will not marry him,” Huang Rong said.
Mu Nianci giggled. “You put a dagger to my throat when I already cannot marry him,” she said.
“Is it true?” Huang Rong asked joyfully. “How can this be?”
“Although my adoptive father betrothed me to brother Guo Jing, honestly.” she said before lowering her voice. “Honestly, my adoptive father, despite all his wisdom, neglected to prevent me from giving my heart to someone else.”
“I’ve made such a bad mistake about you,” Huang Rong said ecstatically before immediately unsealing Mu Nianci’s accupoints and massaging her numb hands and feet. “Elder sister, who have you matched yourself with?”
Mu Nianci blushed before cooing, “You’ve seen this person before.”
Huang Rong tilted her head and thought for a moment. “I’ve seen him before?” she said. “What kind of person around this town is worthy of ascending to elder sister’s level?”
Mu Nianci laughed. “In this world, this man is unrivaled by anyone except for your Jing ge ge,” she said. “Elder sister, is he so crazy that he hasn’t married you?” Huang Rong said with a smile.
“Is brother Jing crazy?” Mu Nianci said. “His character is honest, and his heart is chivalrous. I admire him very much. He treated my father and me very well that day when he helped us at the risk of his own life. I am very grateful for that. This quality of man is very rare in the world.”
Worried, Huang Rong pressed, “Did you say that you couldn’t marry him just so I wouldn’t put this dagger against your throat?”
Mu Nianci noticed how Huang Rong pressed the issue and concluded the imprudence she exhibited before wasn’t far off. She grasped Huang Rong’s hands and slowly spoke, “Little sister, your heart is already set on brother Jing. Finding another man his equal will be difficult even with all the thousands of men in the world, right?”
“Yes, I do believe it’s very unlikely to find another his equal,” Huang Rong said.
“If brother Jing heard your praises of him, his heart would be filled with joy,” Mu Nianci said. “During the contest my father set up in Yanjing, a man defeated me.”
Huang Rong understood. “I know now,” she said. “The person in your heart is the Little Prince, Wanyan Kang.”
“Yes, it is the young prince,” Mu Nianci said. “He is the one my heart wants. He’s a good person underneath. I can m
ake him stop being rotten. ”
Though she spoke softly, Mu Nianci’s expression was very firm. Huang Rong nodded her head when she suddenly realized she felt the same way about Guo Jing as what Mu Nianci said in such simple words. They grasped each other’s hands and sat side-by-side below the locust trees with the sensation of shared feelings. Huang Rong thought for a moment. Then she gave the dagger back to Mu Nianci.
“Elder sister, let me return this to you,” Huang Rong said.
Mu Nianci did not take it. “Keep it — this is your Jin Ge ge’s possession,” she said. “His name is carved there on the hilt. With it everyday, I ...” She paused. “If I should carry it everyday, it wouldn’t be very good.”
Huang Rong lovingly took the dagger and stowed it near her bosom. “Elder sister, you are truly good,” she said. After receiving the valuable dagger, Huang Rong was momentarily distracted from her thoughts. “Elder sister, what business has drawn you to the South alone?” Huang Rong asked. “Maybe little sister can help you?”
Mu Nianci blushed and lowered her head. “I don’t have any pressing matters at hand,” she said.
“In that case, I will take you to see Master Qigong,” Huang Rong said.
Mu Nianci felt joy. “Master Qigong is here?” she said.
Huang Rong nodded before grasping Mu Nianci’s hand and pulling her up. Suddenly, she heard a sound among the branches above. A piece of bark fell to the ground. In the distance, they could see one person’s shadow jumping happily from locust tree to locust tree. After a while, they could tell it was Hong Qigong.
Huang Rong picked up the bark and saw characters carved onto its surface with a needle. “Two dolls like this are very good,” she read. “But if Rong’er deliberately causes trouble again, then Qigong will hit your eldest child on the ear.” The bark was not signed at the bottom. Instead, a gourd was carved in its place. Huang Rong knew Qigong carved the bark and couldn’t help blushing. She knew Qigong had observed the whole fight and knew all about the particulars of the oath she wanted Mu Nianci to swear. Both people had entered the locust grove and did not even notice Hong Qigong. The pair walked hand-in-hand back to the inn.
Guo Jing, who was sitting inside after he finished practicing, was shocked to see Mu Nianci. He quickly said, “Sister Mu, did you see my masters?”
“Your respected masters and I left the capital together and went south to Shandong,” she said. “We split up there, and I have not seen them since.”
“Are my masters well?” Guo Jing said.
“Be at ease, brother Guo,” Mu Nianci said with a smile. “They are not angry with you.”
Guo Jing was indeed very worried, fearing his masters were very angry with him. He rose and fiddled with some tea and food as his simple mind was lost in thought. Mu Nianci turned to Huang Rong and asked how they met Hong Qigong. Huang Rong told the tale.
“Little sister, you are so blessed,” Mu Nianci said with a sigh. “You spent so much time with Master Qigong that you lived like a little family. But I only wanted to see him and he is not here.”
“He was looking after you,” Huang Rong said comfortingly. “He would have revealed himself if I tried to injure you. If I had hurt you, how could he not have acted?” Mu Nianci nodded in acceptance.
Guo Jing thought this was strange. “Rong’er, why would you want to injure sister Mu?” he asked.
“I cannot say,” Huang Rong said quickly.
Mu Nianci smiled. “She feared ... feared I would,” she said without finishing. Although she started to speak of the matter, she felt shy about the subject.
Huang Rong reached out and tickled Mu Nianci’s armpit. “You dare to speak of it?” Huang Rong said with a smile.
Mu Nianci stuck her tongue out and then shook her head. “How would I dare?” she said. “Don’t you want me to swear an oath?” Huang Rong spluttered as she recalled trying to force Mu Nianci into swearing to not marry Guo Jing. Both her cheeks turned a bright red. Seeing their shared emotions, Guo Jing felt great happiness.
After eating, the three went into the middle of the forest and strolled about as they idled away their day. Huang Rong asked Mu Nianci how she had received instruction from Hong Qigong.
“It happened when I was very young,” Mu Nianci said. “I followed father to a river in Henan province. We stopped at an inn, and while I played at the entrance, I saw two beggars lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. No one was willing to help them for fear of getting themselves dirty.”
Huang Rong made the connection. “Oh, so you showed compassion!” she said. “You tended their injuries.” “I could not do much for their injuries,” Mu Nianci said. “But I pitied them and took them to father’s room where I cleaned their wounds and bandaged them. When my father returned, he said I did the right thing, and then sighed and said how his former wife was kind hearted as well. Then my father gave the two beggars some money to help them with their injuries. They thanked him and left. After several months, we went to Xinyang, where we ran into those two beggars again, who had recovered from their wounds. They took me to a temple where I first met Hong Qigong. After praising me, he taught me the ‘Wandering Strides’ form, which took three days. On the fourth day, when I returned to the temple, the master had gone.”
Huang Rong said, “Master Qigong won’t allow us to teach his skills to others. But if you, my sister, would like to learn my father’s skills, I could spend the next few days teaching you some of them.” When she found out that Mu Nianci did not want to marry Guo Jing, a burden was lifted from her heart. Now she felt that she was a really nice person, so she wanted to make her a gift.
Mu Nianci said, “Many thanks, but at present I have some urgent matters to attend to. In future I would ask you even without you suggesting it.”
Huang Rong wanted to ask her what was it but one look at her face and Huang Rong knew she did not want to talk about it and thought, “From her shyness, it seems like she’s made up her mind. If she doesn’t want to mention it, it’s alright.”
Mu Nianci left the inn around noon in a hurry and only returned after dusk. Huang Rong noticed the joyful expression on her face but pretended that she did not notice. After their meal, the two ladies retired. Huang Rong saw her cheek resting on her palm and her heart seemed full of emotions, so she pretended to sleep. After a while, she saw her reach into her bundle and take something out, kiss it lightly and look at it fondly. Huang Rong looked over her back and saw that it was a piece of finely-embroidered handkerchief.
Suddenly Mu Nianci jerked around and the handkerchief fluttered. Huang Rong was shocked and immediately shut her eyes while her heart pounded. She only heard the slight breeze in the room and carefully lifted her eyelid. She saw Mu Nianci pacing around the room executing moves randomly. She said to herself, “Hey, that’s the handkerchief she snatched from that young prince during their sparring match.” She saw Mu Nianci smiling to herself, and felt that she was reminiscing of that day’s events as she was imitating Wanyan Kang’s movements and actions. She did that for some time before walking near her bedside.
Huang Rong closed her eyes tightly as she knew Mu Nianci must have been looking in her direction. After a brief moment, she sighed, “You’re really beautiful!” She suddenly turned around and opened the door and walked out. Huang Rong became curious and gave pursuit, utilizing her lightness kung fu [Qinggong] to follow her. Her Qinggong was better than Mu Nianci’s, but she kept her distance to evade detection. She saw her jump onto a roof and glance around. Mu Nianci then jumped to a larger building to the south. Huang Rong had been visiting the place daily to buy groceries, and knew that this was a rich man’s house, so she thought, “Most likely she’d run out of money, so she came here to ‘get’ some.”
Huang Rong saw that the door was brightly painted and there were two large lanterns suspended at the door inscribed with the words, “The Great Jin Kingdom’s Envoy” and there were four Jin soldiers guarding the door. She had passed this door numerous times but had ne
ver seen this before, so she thought, “She wants to rob the Great Jin’s bounty; that’s great, after she’s done I can also help myself.” She then followed Mu Nianci to the back courtyard and saw her hide at every other corner, so she followed suit.
They saw the candlelight coming from the kitchen and there was a man’s shadow there pacing about the room. Mu Nianci cautiously walked over and gazed at this shadow. After some time, the shadow was still pacing around while Mu Nianci was starring at him motionlessly. Huang Rong became impatient and thought, “Sister Mu is hesitating; why doesn’t she just barge in and immobilize him?” She went around the other side and thought, “I’ll help her by immobilizing him and hiding in one corner to surprise him.” Just as she was about to enter through a window, she suddenly heard the door open and a man went in, saying, “Reporting, sir, the Southern Imperial Court will send a special envoy here the day after tomorrow.” The man nodded and the messenger left.
Huang Rong thought, “So the guy inside is a Jin nobleman, Sister Mu must have some good reason for coming here and not for burglary; I shouldn’t interfere.” She dipped her finger in her mouth and poked a hole in the window panel and peeped in. She was surprised; it was none other than the young prince Wanyan Kang. In his hand was a black object, and when illuminated by the candlelight, Huang Rong saw that it was a head of a rusty spear. [Note: Window in those days were made of oiled paper.]
Huang Rong did not know that this spear was his father Yang Tiexin’s property and only felt that it had something to do with Mu Nianci, so she laughed to herself, “The two of you are really acting in concert; don’t tell me you’re inseparable.” She let out an uncontrollable laugh. Wanyan Kang was startled and quickly extinguished the candle, exclaiming, “Who’s that?” Huang Rong took this chance to sneak behind Mu Nianci and swiftly sealed her accupoints, rendering her immobile. Huang Rong laughed, “Don’t be afraid, I’m just letting you meet your sweetheart.”
Wanyan Kang opened the door and was about to run out when he heard a girl giggling, “Your sweetheart is here, catch!” Wanyan Kang exclaimed, “What?” A soft, warm and fragrant body landed in his arms, and the girl who spoke was swiftly over the wall laughing, “Sister, how can you ever thank me?” As the laughing faded, the girl in his arms struggled to get down. Wanyan Kang was shocked beyond words and immediately stepped backed, asking, “Who’s this?” Mu Nianci said softly, “Do you still remember me?” He felt her voice was familiar and stammered, “You. you’re Miss Mu?” She replied, “Yes.” He asked, “Who came with you?” She said, “It was a mischievous friend; I didn’t know she followed me.”
