Legend of Condor Heroes Book 2

by Jin Yong

  “Having a match with you is exactly what I hoped for,” Ouyang Ke thought. “I don’t care what witchcraft is on your hands, as long as I don’t touch them.” So he smiled brightly and said, “I am willing to die by your hands.”

  Huang Rong said, “Your other martial arts are so sloppy and ordinary, I only want to fight your stinky snake moves. If you use any other martial arts, you lose.”

  “Whatever Miss says, I wouldn’t dare to disobey,” Ouyang Ke said.

  Huang Rong laughed. “I can’t believe a bastard like you would have a very sweet mouth,” she said. “Watch out!” As soon as she finished speaking her fist came flying with Hong Qigong’s ‘Wandering Strides’ technique.

  Ouyang Ke let the fist pass to his side. Huang Rong followed with her left leg kicking horizontally, while her right hand formed a hook. It was a stance from the ‘Peach Blossom Divine Sword Palm’, her own family heritage. Unfortunately Huang Rong was still too young and the time she spent on training was limited; however, this time her purpose was a victory, so she used whatever kungfu she knew, regardless of who passed it on to her.

  Ouyang Ke saw the exquisiteness of her moves; he did not dare to be careless. His right arm extended and suddenly curved back to hit her shoulder. This move from the ‘Spirit Snake Fist’ was swift. His hand almost touched Huang Rong’s body when he suddenly remembered that she was wearing the soft hedgehog armor. Had he proceeded, wouldn’t his fist be dripping with blood?

  Huang Rong quickly dodged and sent both her palms whishing toward an opening on his face. Ouyang Ke brushed his sleeve and parried her palms.

  Huang Rong’s body was protected by the soft hedgehog armor, her hands were covered with ointment; the only part unprotected was her face. Ouyang Ke was in a predicament; he was getting attacked without any chance to hit back. Even though the ‘Spirit Snake Fist’ was wonderful; he was forced to fly east and dodge west trying to elude Huang Rong’s attack, while keeping himself from touching her palms. “If I hit her face to gain victory, that would be offensive to her, and if I pull her hair, I treat her rudely; other than that I can’t think of anything else,” he thought. But he suddenly had an idea. He stepped aside and quickly tore the corner of his sleeve; ripped it into two parts and wrapped them around his hands. With protected hands he tried to grab Huang Rong’s palms.

  “You lost!” Huang Rong jumped out of the arena and called out. “That’s not the ‘Stinky Snake Fist’.”

  “Oh, I forgot,” Ouyang Ke said.

  “Your ‘Stinky Snake Fist’ is not that special, it cannot defeat Hong Qigong’s disciple,” Huang Rong continued. “At the Zhao Palace you defeated me, but that was because you had Liang Ziweng, Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Reverend Ling Zhi, and also that wart-headed Hou Tonghai at your side. I was overwhelmed by sheer numbers; also I did not want to get into trouble, so I admitted defeat. All right, now that we have defeated each other, let’s just have a match to decide victory or defeat.”

  Li Sheng and the others were taken aback, they thought, “Even though this young girl’s martial arts are good, she is definitely not this man’s match. She won by using a trick. Why would she add something superfluous and ruin the victory? What else does she want to prove?”

  Hong Qigong on the other hand fully realized that this girl was full of clever tricks; she must have something in mind to trick the enemy. So he simply smiled but did not say anything. He continued gnawing the chicken leftovers and ate noisily; like that chicken was the best food in the world.

  “Why are you so serious?” Ouyang Ke laughed. “You’ll win or I’ll win, it doesn’t make a difference. But if you really want to play, I will accompany you.” “At the Zhao Palace we were surrounded by your friends. Had I won, they would surely attack me; thus I was not willing to fight you seriously,” Huang Rong said. “But now you have your friends,” she pointed to the female disciples/concubines in white, “and I also have my friends. Although you have more friends than I do, I am not afraid. Let us fight just like we did before: you may draw a circle on the ground; we will follow the same rule; whoever steps out of the circle first, loses. I have kowtowed and taken Senior Hong as my master; I also have highly skilled martial siblings, including this young man. You do not have to tie your hands behind your back as before.”

  Ouyang Ke was amused. What she said was partly funny, but also, if you thought about it, it did make sense. So he planted his left foot on the floor, and used it as the axis; while his right foot was stretched three feet away. He turned around and made a circle about six feet in diameter.

  The Beggar Clan people did not like him, but seeing this they could not help but secretly praise him.

  Huang Rong entered the circle and said, “Are we going to fight the ‘soft’ way [‘wen’ - literary] or ‘hard’ way [‘wu’ - military, or martial arts]?”

  Ouyang Ke was baffled, “You are eccentric,” he said in his heart, but his mouth asked, “How do fight the ‘soft’ way? And how do you fight the ‘hard’ way?”

  “If we fight the soft way, I attack you three times, you don’t counterattack; then you attack me three times, I won’t counterattack,” Huang Rong explained. “If we fight the hard way, we can fight each other at will. You can use your ‘Dead Snake Fist’ or ‘Live Mouse Stance’, I don’t care. Whoever steps out of the circle first, loses.”

  Ouyang Ke thought for a moment. “I think we’d better fight the ‘soft’ way,” he said. “That way, we can avoid injury and won’t spoil our friendship.”

  “If you chose the ‘hard’ way, you will certainly lose,” Huang Rong said. “But if we fight the ‘soft’ way, you still have a chance. Good! Let us fight as you wish, the ‘soft’ way. Do you go first, or I go first?”

  How could Ouyang Ke hit her first? “Certainly ladies first,” he said.

  Huang Rong smiled. “You are sly! You know you will suffer a loss if you hit me first. All right, I am being generous to you; let me hit you first.”

  Ouyang Ke was going to say, “In that case I will hit you first.” But before he could open his mouth Huang Rong had already shouted, “Watch out!” She immediately sent her palm to attack. Something flashed in her hand; as it turned out she was throwing some hidden projectiles.

  Ouyang Ke saw the multitude of projectiles; normally he would use his folding fan to parry an attack like this, but his fan was crushed by Hong Qigong’s hand. He could also use his long sleeve to trap the projectiles, but he’d torn his sleeves earlier. The steel needles encompassed an area about six or seven feet wide; if he leaped sideways, he would be out of the circle. He had no time to consider any other alternatives, so he leaped about ten feet vertically. The steel needles flew below him.

  Huang Rong waited until he was at the peak and was falling back down before she called out, “Here comes the second attack!” Her hands launched about a hundred steel needles. It was the ‘Blossoms

  Rain from the Sky’ needle tossing technique [man tian hua yu zhi jin zhen] from Hong Qigong. She did not even try to aim and just shot the needles toward Ouyang Ke.

  Even if Ouyang Ke’s skills were much higher, his body was midair and there was simply no way he could avoid them. “I am finished!” he sighed in his heart, “This girl is so vicious.” Right at that moment he felt someone pulling his collar and his body moved back upward; with swishing noise the needles fell to the ground.

  Ouyang Ke knew somebody must have saved him. He was thrown back to the ground. It was not too hard, but the energy behind that throw was peculiar - a sign of a highly skilled martial artist; he fell left shoulder first. Naturally he tried to stand back up, but he was unable to do so. He rolled around on the floor a bit before he finally managed to stand. He knew it must be Hong Qigong, because nobody in that vicinity had that kind of skill. He was terrified yet upset and immediately walked out the temple without saying anything. His female disciples followed.

  “Master, why did you save that scoundrel?” Huang Rong asked.

  Hong Qigong smile
d. “His uncle is an old friend of mine. That kid has committed many disgraceful acts; he deserves to be damned. But it wouldn’t be good for his uncle’s face if he were injured by my hand.” He patted Huang Rong on the shoulder and said, “Smart girl, you have given me much good face today. How should I reward you?”

  Huang Rong stuck out her tongue. “I don’t want your bamboo stick,” she said.

  “Even if you want it, I cannot give it to you,” Hong Qigong said. “I have a mind to teach you one or two kinds of kungfu, but I am too lazy these past few days. I don’t have any interest in doing anything.”

  “I’ll prepare some good food for you to boost your interest,” Huang Rong offered.

  Hog Qigong’s eyes lit up; but then he heaved a big sigh. “I don’t have time to eat right now. What a pity, what a pity .!” He turned to Li Sheng and the others and said, “The Beggar Clan has several matters we need to discuss internally.”

  Li Sheng and the others came to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, expressing their gratefulness for saving their lives. Huang Rong had cut the rope that bound Miss Cheng’s hands and feet. Miss Cheng was extremely shy; she held Huang Rong’s hand and quietly said her thanks. Huang Rong pointed to Guo Jing and said, “Your Eldest Martial Uncle, Priest Ma taught him kungfu, your Martial Uncles Qiu and Wang are also very fond of him, so I can say that we belong to the same family.”

  Miss Cheng turned her head toward Guo Jing and suddenly blushed. She lowered her head and after a while quietly stole a glance toward Guo Jing again.

  Li Sheng and the others also congratulated Hong Qigong, Guo Jing and Huang Rong. They knew Qigong did not usually accept disciples; even amongst the Beggar Clan members did he rarely teach more than one or two stances. They wondered how Guo Jing and Huang Rong persuaded him so that he was willing to take them. In their hearts they envied these two.

  “We are going to prepare a banquet tomorrow evening to congratulate Clan Leader on having accepted two very fine disciples,” Li Sheng said.

  Hong Qigong smiled, “I am afraid they won’t like filthy foods, the kind we beggars eat.”

  “We will certainly come,” Guo Jing hastily said, “Big Brother Li is a Senior Hero, Junior would very much like to know you.” Li Sheng had been saved by Guo Jing; thus he kept his eyes on this young man and listening to his humble speech he was even more delighted. He decided right then and there to befriend Guo Jing.

  Hong Qigong said, “I am glad you two feel like old friends at your first meeting; but I warn you not to persuade my first disciple to be a beggar like you! You, my younger disciple, go and take Miss Cheng back home. We, the beggars are going to steal some chickens and beg for some rice.” After saying these words, he left the temple followed by all the beggars. Just before leaving Li Sheng told Guo Jing that the banquet tomorrow would be held in that very same temple.

  Guo Jing accompanied Huang Rong escorting Miss Cheng back home.

  Miss Cheng quietly told Huang Rong her full name was Cheng Yaojia. Even though she had learned martial arts from the ‘Sage of Tranquility’ Sun Bu’Er, she was born to a rich family and had been pampered since her childhood. Thus, by nature, she was very shy and did not know too many people. She was very different from Huang Rong who was carefree and brave. She did not dare to say even a half word to Guo Jing. Occasionally she would steal a glance and immediately lower her head; her cheeks blushed profusely.

  Chapter 16 - The Nine Yin Manual

  Translated by Frans Soetomo

  The coffin’s lid opened; it turned out it had not been nailed down. There was no zombie inside; only a good-looking young girl with a pair of big eyes. It was none other than Mu Nianci. Yang Kang was pleasantly surprised and quickly he held out his hand to help her out.

  Guo Jing and Huang Rong left the Cheng’s residence and were very tired since they have not had any sleep that night. They had wanted to go back to the inn to rest, but suddenly heard the sound of hoof beats galloping fast from the south heading north. The sound was coming nearer but suddenly it stopped. Huang Rong’s curiosity was piqued, “There must be something unusual happening. It sounds interesting.” Utilizing her lightness kungfu she immediately went to take a look. Guo Jing followed closely.

  To their surprise, what they saw was Yang Kang standing at the roadside, holding a horse’s reins and talking to Ouyang Ke. Guo and Huang did not want to come any closer because they did not want to be detected. They hid themselves quite a distance away. Those two spoke in low voices so all Huang Rong could hear was bits and pieces. Ouyang Ke mentioned ‘Yue Fei’ and ‘Lin’an government office’, while Yang Kang did say ‘my father’. Huang Rong was curious, she wanted to go nearer, but at that moment Ouyang Ke cupped his fists and headed east along with all of his female disciples/concubines.

  Yang Kang stayed behind. He stared blankly for a while; then let out a long sigh and mounted his horse. “Xian Di [Worthy Brother], I am here,” Guo Jing called. Yang Kang heard his voice and was startled but stopped his horse anyway. “Elder Brother, you are here as well?” he replied.

  “I ran into Miss Huang and we fought Ouyang Ke, that’s why we were delayed,” Guo Jing explained. Yang Kang’s face turned red; he felt uneasy since he wasn’t sure if Guo Jing heard his conversation with Ouyang Ke. Guo Jing’s face remained calm; so Yang Kang felt better. “This man does not know how to deceive,” he thought, “He wouldn’t be this calm if he had heard me.”

  “Elder Brother,” he said, “shall we hurry up and continue our trip tonight, or shall we spend the night here? Will Miss Huang go to Beijing with us?”

  “It’s not I who goes with you, it is you who follows us,” Huang Rong said.

  “What’s the difference?” Guo Jing smiled. “Let us go back to the ancestral temple and have some rest. Tomorrow evening we will enjoy the Beggar Clan’s banquet and then we can continue our trip.”

  Then the three walked back to the temple. Huang Rong lit a candle. As she carried the candle she picked up the needles she shot out minutes ago. At this time of the year the weather was got hotter, so they took down the doors and took them outside. They intended to sleep in the courtyard.

  Just before they fell asleep, the sound of horses’ hoof beats could be faintly heard from the distance. They tilted their heads to listen. The sound was coming fast and sounded like it was more than one horse.

  “Three horses in front, pursued by more than ten people,” Huang Rong guessed. Guo Jing literally grew up on horseback; he knew exactly the number of the horses.

  “There are sixteen pursuers altogether,” he said. ”Well, well, well ... what do you know?”

  “What?” Huang Rong asked.

  “The three at the front are on Mongolian horses, but the pursuers are not,” Guo Jing answered. “What in the world are Mongolian horses doing in this area?” he wondered.

  Huang Rong tugged Guo Jing’s hand and they walked outside the temple gate. Suddenly a swishing sound was heard as an arrow flew above their heads. The three riders rushed towards the temple. An arrow flew from the pursuers and hit the last horse’s thigh. The horse uttered a sad neigh as its leg buckled. The rider’s equestrian skill was superb; he managed to leap clear just before the horse hit the ground. It seemed the rider did not know any lightness kungfu and his steps were heavy. The other two riders stopped their horses and turned back.

  “I am all right,” shouted the one now on foot. “Quickly, go! I’ll try to slow the enemy!”

  “I will help you with the enemy. Fourth Prince, you go ahead,” shouted one of the other two.

  “How can you do that?” asked the Fourth Prince.

  Those three were speaking Mongolian. Guo Jing, as he listened, thought he knew those voices. They sounded like Tolui, Jebeh, and Borchu. He was really surprised. “What are they doing here?” he thought. He wanted to go nearer, but the pursuers had already surrounded the three riders. The three Mongolians were experts at shooting arrows, so the pursuers did not dare to come too close and shot their own arrows from a
distance.

  “Let’s go up!” one of the Mongolians shouted, his hand pointing to a flagpole. The three scurried to the flagpole and climbed up. They were trying to gain a better position.

  The pursuers dismounted and surrounded the flagpole on all sides. Somebody shouted an order and four soldiers lifted high their shields, came near the flagpole and tried to chop it down with their swords.

  “You are wrong,” Huang Rong whispered, “There are only fifteen pursuers.”

  “No, I can’t be wrong,” Guo Jing countered. “Maybe one of them was killed.” He’d just closed his mouth when a horse came wandering in. There was a rider with it but he was dead with an arrow sticking out from his chest; his foot was stuck in the stirrup so the horse was dragging him along.

  Guo Jing crawled towards the corpse and pulled the arrow out. As soon as he felt the arrow with his fingers he could feel that it was made of wrought iron and had the engraving of a leopard’s head. It was an arrow used by the Master Archer Jebeh and was heavier than average arrows. His suspicion was gone; he called out, “You on the flagpole, are you Master Jebeh, Brother Tolui and Master Borchu? This is Guo Jing!”

  The three were delighted. “How can you be here?” they asked.

  “Who pursues you?” Guo Jing asked.

  “Jin soldiers!” Tolui answered.

  Guo Jing grabbed the dead Jin soldier’s body, lifted it up, and rushed forward. He threw the corpse toward the soldiers at the foot of the flagpole. The corpse did knock down two soldiers and the other two were frightened and ran away.

  Out of the blue two white shadows swooped down to Guo Jing. He recognized his two eagles, which he and Hua Zheng raised back in Mongolia. The two birds recognized their master even in the dark night; they uttered a loud cry and came down on Guo Jing’s shoulders.

  Huang Rong had heard Guo Jing’s story of how he had shot two eagles and how he raised a pair of eagles as his playmates. Now, suddenly seeing the white eagles, she ignored the surrounding soldiers. She came running towards Guo Jing and called out, “Let me play with them!” She held out her hand to stroke one eagle’s feathers. But the eagle did not know Huang Rong, so it moved its head to hit Huang Rong’s hand with its beak. Luckily Huang Rong was quick; if not, the back of her hand would’ve been injured.