Legend of Condor Heroes Book 1

by Jin Yong

  “If you are not united,” Jamuka said in a low voice, “you can be broken by those of no importance, just like a single arrow. If you unite, you will be as solid as the five arrows and no person will break you.”

  “So,” Temujin said, “you remember that. What happened next?”

  “The five sons united their efforts and conquered an immense territory. They are the ancestors of our Mongol tribes.”

  “Exactly! Both of us are brave and heroic; why not unite all of the Mongolians? If we do not quarrel amongst ourselves, we will be strong enough to destroy the Jin Empire!”

  “But how?” Jamuka asked, “The Jin Empire is powerful and its armies and wealth are immeasurable; how can we Mongolians defeat them?”

  “Then you prefer to remain submissive to the Jin?”

  “The Jin Empire does not oppress us,” Jamuka protested. “The emperor has even made you a ‘Northern Ambassador’!”

  “At first,” Temujin said honestly, “I also believed that they had good intentions. But the greed of the Jin has no limits, and they demand more from us each time. First they want cattle, next horses, and now they ask that we send soldiers to help them make war. The country of the Song is far removed from our lands! Even if the Song dynasty falls, all the lands conquered will belong to Jin alone. We will lose warriors, to win what? Since when would our cattle stop eating the green grass of our plains to go eat the sand on the other side of the mountains? If we must battle, it should be against the Jin Empire only!”

  “Ong Khan and Senggum do not want to betray the Jin.” Jamuka said.

  “To betray?” Temujin mocked. “Betray? And you?”

  “I beseech you, brother, do not let your anger get the better of you; release Dukhsh, and Senggum and I will guarantee to let you leave safely.”

  “I have no confidence in Senggum; now I have no confidence in you!”

  “Hear the words of Senggum,” Jamuka said. “If a son dies, other sons will be born. If Temujin dies, there will never be another Temujin! If you do not release Dukhsh, you will not see another sunrise!”

  Temujin knew well the characters of Senggum and Jamuka. If left in their hands, he knew that he would have no chance of survival. If Ong Khan was there, he might possibly live. He brandished his saber and whirled around.

  “I would rather die in battle,” he cried, “than to surrender! Under heaven, there is a Temujin who will die on the field of honour and no Temujin that flees!”

  Jamuka said, “You give all of the loot to the warriors, saying that it belongs to them and not to the whole tribe. The chieftains of the tribes say that you do wrong; that you run counter to our traditions.”

  “But the young warriors are delighted!” Temujin said harshly. “The chieftains pretend that the treasures of war cannot be distributed equitably to each warrior, so they keep it all for themselves. Such practices insult the warriors who risked their lives to support them. When we are at war, do we need stupid and greedy chieftains, or do we need young courageous warriors?”

  “Brother,” Jamuka said, “You’ve always acted on your own and never listened to the leaders of the other tribes. Don't call me ungrateful or traitor. These past days, you’ve been sending people to convince my soldiers to join your army by telling them that, once back home, the resources gained in battle belong to the ones that fought for them. They won't be distributed amongst all the tribe's members. Did you think that I didn't know of it?”

  "If you are aware of it,” Temujin thought, “then we won't ever live in peace with each other.” He then took a small bag out of his clothing and threw it at the feet of Jamuka. “Here are the gifts that you offered me when we swore, three times, loyalty to each other. Take them. Later, when you cut off my head with your saber, you will only kill an enemy and not a sworn brother. I am a hero, you are also a hero. The plains of Mongolia are vast, but it cannot contain two heroes.”

  Jamuka picked up the bag. He then took a small leather bag from his own clothing, dropped it at Temujin’s feet in silence, and moved down the hill.

  Temujin looked at him as he moved away; then he stood a long time in silence. He slowly opened the bag, withdrew the stones and the arrowheads from it, and remembered the games that they’d played when they were children. He sighed, dug a hole with a dagger and buried the gifts he’d given to his former sworn brother in it.

  Guo Jing was next to him, also feeling heart-broken. What Temujin buried, he well knew, was an infinitely precious childhood friendship.

  The Khan stood up and studied the scene. As far as he could see there were fires lit by the armies of Senggum and Jamuka illuminating the plain, looking like the myriads of stars in the sky. He remained divided in his thoughts. He turned around and saw Guo Jing close to him. “Are you afraid?” he asked.

  “I was thinking about my mother,” answered the young man.

  “Indeed, you are a brave son,” said Temujin, “a true brave son!” He pointed to the thousands of fires on the plain, “They also,” he continued, “are brave! We Mongols have so many brave sons, but we spend time making wars on ourselves. If we could unite them, we could take over the world and make it a huge field for our herds!”

  Guo Jing, hearing these very ambitious words, felt even more admiration for Temujin. He stuck out his chest and said, “Great Khan, we are surely going to win, because we cannot be beaten by a coward like Senggum!”

  Eagle Shooting Hero 177 “Precisely,” Temujin answered with a smile. “Let's remember what we say tonight. If we manage to survive, henceforth I will consider you as my own son.” He then hugged the young man.

  As they spoke, the new day had begun. Horns sounded repeatedly in the ranks of the enemy.

  “Help won't come,” Temujin said. “Let's prepare ourselves to die on this hill.” They heard, in the adversary’s army, the jangle of the weapons and the neighs of horses; the attack was imminent.

  “Great Khan,” Guo Jing suddenly said, “my red horse is extremely fast. Take it and bring back help. In the mean time, we will remain here to face the enemy.”

  Temujin smiled and stretched his hand to caress the hair of the young man. “If Temujin,” he said, “was capable of abandoning his friends and his men to run away in fear for his life, he wouldn’t be worthy of being your Khan!”

  “That’s true, Great Khan,” Guo Jing acknowledged, “I was wrong...”

  They hid themselves behind protective mounds of earth, ready to fire arrows at the attackers.

  Shortly thereafter, three men left the enemy's ranks preceded by a yellow standard and moved forward. On the left was Senggum, on the right, Jamuka, and in the center, surprisingly, was the Sixth Prince of the Jin Empire, Wanyan Honglie! He was covered with armor, a golden helmet and had a shield of gold on his arm. He shouted, “Temujin, do you dare betray the Jin Empire?”

  Jochi, Temujin’s eldest son, shot an arrow at him, but a man in his escort seized it from the air with astounding speed.

  “Capture Temujin!” Wanyan Honglie shouted. At these words, four men hurried up the hill. Their movements were a surprise to Guo Jing. He noted that the newcomers, who used a lightness technique, were experts in martial arts and weren’t warriors of the plains. Arriving at mid-hill, they avoided with agility the rain of arrows that Jebe, Borchu and the others shot. “We have officers and brave men of great strength here,” Guo Jing worried, “but they won’t be a match for experts in martial arts! What can we do?”

  One among them, clothed in black, bounded to the summit of the hill.

  Ogedai tried to stop him, but the newcomer hit his neck with a dart and swung down with his saber at the injured man. However, as quick as lightning, a sword came down to hit his wrist with a great speed and precision. The movement so well executed that he was forced to move back three steps. Surprised, he saw a young man with a strong build standing in front of Ogedai. Not expecting to find an expert swordsman amongst Temujin’s soldiers, he exclaimed, in Chinese, “Who are you? What is your name?”

/>   “I am called Guo Jing!”

  “I’ve never heard anyone speak of you! Surrender now!”

  Guo Jing took a look around and saw that the three other attackers were on the summit of the hill and already engaged in an unarmed fight with Tchila’un, Borchu and the others. He struck again at the man with the saber who defended, then retaliated.

  Just as Senggum’s soldiers got ready to assault the hill, Muqali put his saber on the nape of Dukhsh’s neck. “If you come,” he shouted, “my blade will be without mercy!”

  Senggum, very worried, turned toward Wanyan Honglie and said, “Lord Zhao, tell your men to come back, we will find another way! There’s no reason to sacrifice my child!”

  “Don’t worry,” Wanyan Honglie smiled and said, “Nothing will happen to him!” But in reality he wanted to force Temujin to kill Dukhsh and create a lasting hate between the two tribes.

  Senggum’s men didn't dare move, while those of the Prince were in a violent fight.

  Guo Jing used the techniques of the ‘Sword of the Yue Maiden’ that Han Xiaoying had taught him. After several exchanges, he was faced with danger. His opponent’s saber was powerful, his strength abundant and all his techniques were backed with internal energy so he was not a weak adversary. Guo Jing’s long sword made swift movements and seemed to have turned into flashes of light. His sword tip was aimed at the critical places on his adversary and every technique was intended to harm his opponent. Guo Jing’s opponent felt a bit overwhelmed by his fast attacks and became flustered.

  His three companions, who had already defeated several Mongol officers, saw him in difficulty. One among them, armed with a big spear, approached with a jump, “Big Brother, I’ve come to give you a helping hand!”

  But the man with the saber shouted, “Don't move and admire the dexterity of your Older Brother!”

  Taking advantage of his distraction, Guo Jing, delivered a stroke ‘The Phoenix Flies off and the Snake Bounds’, as he pointed the tip of his sword at the lower part of his opponent’s body. The man moved back, but the blade had already split his left sleeve.

  The man with the saber moved back and shouted, “Who is your master? Why do you look for death here?”

  Guo Jing remained in a defensive posture and answered in the language of the Rivers and Lakes region [Jianghu] taught by his masters, “I am the disciple of the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’. What are your honorable names and surnames?” He had practiced these polite forms of address for a long time, but this was the first time that he’d actually used them.

  “Our names,” the man with the saber said, while casting a glance towards his brothers-in-arms, “even if I told you, you would not know them. Defend yourself!”

  After the first clashes, Guo Jing truly felt that his adversary was stronger than him. But the techniques taught by his Seventh Shifu were extremely sophisticated and provoked a lot of apprehension in his enemy; so much so that he could take the initiative and attack without moving back. The man with the saber used the stance ‘Survey the Sea and Behead the Dragon as his saber slashed towards Guo Jing’s legs. In a matter of moments they had exchanged twenty or thirty stances. Both sides intently observed the fight. The man with the saber began to get nervous and his strokes became more and more violent. Suddenly, he attacked Guo Jing’s waist. Guo Jing twisted and replied with a stroke called ‘Turn Around to Pick the Fruit’ towards the arm that held the saber. His adversary, seeing that he didn't bother about defending, believed that his hour had come: “When your sword touches its goal,” he thought, “my saber will have already cut you in two!”

  Eagle Shooting Hero 179

  However, Guo Jing, sure of his strong neigong, moved his waist to the side without moving the rest of his body, and avoided the saber and planted his sword in the man’s chest.

  The man screamed, released his saber and struck the blade of the sword with his hand causing it fall to the ground. But the tip of Guo Jing’s sword had already penetrated a half inch into his chest! He had saved his life, but his palm was cut and bled profusely.

  He then heard the hiss of a weapon behind him and heard Jebe shout, “Watch out, behind you!”

  Without even looking back, Guo Jing executed a backwards kick and blocked the stroke that came at him. At the same time, he grabbed the fallen saber and executed a saber cut at the hand of the enemy. Guo Jing delivered the stroke ‘Advancing a Pace to Seize the Basket’, deflecting the lance with his left hand. He turned his left palm and seized his opponents spear while his right hand holding the saber hacked towards the spear wielder. The man used all his strength to pull back his spear, but when he saw the saber about to hit him, he released his grip and retreated.

  With this victory, the young man felt renewed again. With a flourish, he threw the saber to the foot of the hill, and picked up the lance. The fourth man jumped at him shouting and attacking with his two short axes. Guo Jing’s spear techniques were taught by Quan Jinfa. After several exchanges Guo Jing feigned a flaw that the man with the axes was thrilled to see and he hacked at him. Suddenly, he felt pain in his stomach; he had been kicked by Guo Jing. He flew backwards while the force remaining in his left hand moved his axe towards his own head. The third martial brother of the axe man blocked it with his iron whip. When the two weapons met there was a ‘clang’ and sparks flew. The man released his axe when the weapons collided and sat down on the ground with a frightened look on his face, dumbfounded but alive. The man was a fool and it took him a minute before he realized that he had lost. He shouted angrily and picked up his axes to attack again. After a few axe slashes he hacked Guo Jing’s spear into two pieces. Guo Jing had lost his weapon, so he used his palms to counter him. The man with the iron whip came to his martial brother assistance and Guo Jing saw that he was at a disadvantage but had no choice but to keep fighting.

  This provoked indignation amongst the soldiers. Mongols are simple and direct and respect men of courage. They were scandalized to see these four men taking turns fighting Guo Jing, and now, they were pitting themselves two against one unarmed man! They regarded that as dishonorable, and shouted for them to stop. Guo Jing was a worthy opponent and they cheered him.

  Borchu and Jebe drew their sabers and joined the battle; they did so well that the other two assailants also joined in the battle. The two Mongolians were invincible on the battlefield, but they were out of their depth in single combat against experts in martial arts. They fought only a couple of exchanges with great difficulty before they were disarmed and had to retreat. Guo Jing saw that Borchu was in danger and stormed towards him to attack the man that used the saber. Guo Jing struck a palm towards the back of the eldest martial brother who used his saber to hack at Guo Jing’s wrist. Guo Jing retracted his palm and used his elbow to attack the second martial brother to save Jebe. His attempts to provide some assistance to them proved futile.

  The four assailants had only one obsession, to kill Guo Jing. They doubled their efforts to attack Guo Jing. The soldiers on the summit and at the foot of the hill redoubled their shouts and insults; but the four turned a deaf ear on them. The spearman had collected a javelin from the ground. Coming at him Guo Jing saw, at the same time, a saber, javelin, whip and axes! Since he was unarmed, he could not parry or reply, so his only option was to avoid the blows employing his lightness art [Qinggong]. He moved back and forth and avoided numerous attacks in him.

  For another twenty odd stances the men continued their attacks on Guo Jing. His arm, cut by the saber, was bleeding and he was in a dire position.

  Suddenly a disturbance disrupted the ranks of Senggum’s army as six individuals nimbly brushed through the soldiers and ascended the hill. The Mongolians thought that they were more lackeys of Wanyan Honglie coming to lend assistance to their comrades, and noisily voiced their disapproval.

  Temujin’s men prepared to shoot arrows at them to prevent their approach when Jebe, whose vision was particularly acute, saw that it was the ‘Jiangnan Freaks’. “Jing’er,” he cr
ied, “Here come your teachers!”

  Guo Jing, nearly unable to resist any longer, was cheered up.

  Arriving first, Zhu Cong and Quan Jinfa realized right away the perilous position their disciple was in. Quan jumped forward and struck the four weapons with a blow of his balance scale, “Have you no shame!” he cried.

  Feeling great pain in their hands, the four men realized that a more powerful opponent had just arrived and drew back. Zhu Cong had rescued Guo Jing. Meanwhile, the other Freaks arrived.

  “Shameless scoundrels,” Quan Jinfa scolded. “Be off! Have you no face?

  The man with the saber was well aware that they had lost their advantage, and if they continued the fight, they would be defeated. But if they backed down, they would lose face and could no longer dare to serve the Sixth Prince!

  “Are you the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’?” he demanded, to give himself some breathing space. “Indeed,” Zhu Cong replied, laughing. “Who are you?”

  “We are the disciples of the ‘Dragon King of the Demonic Group’.”

  The ‘Freaks’ were very surprised, for, given that these individuals had openly abused their numerical superiority, they believed that they must be vagabonds without a master. But the ‘Dragon King of the Demonic Group’, Sha Tongtian, is a weighty personality in the martial arts world.

  “Are you misusing that name, or not?” Ke Zhen'E demanded in an icy voice. “The ‘Dragon King of the Demonic Group’ is a renowned personage, how could he have disciples as miserable as you?”

  “Misusing a name?” the axe man said. “This is Elder Brother Shen Qinggang, nicknamed ‘Saber Breaks Down The Soul’; this is Second brother, Wu Qinglie, nicknamed ‘Lance Seizes Life’; this is Third brother Ma Qingxiong, nicknamed ‘Whip Captures Spirit’; and I, Qian Qingjian, am nicknamed ‘Axe Buries Family’.”