by Jin Yong
Guo Jing tried to wrap his mind around the many twists and turns in his shifu’s story, while confronting a barrage of emotions—joy, shock, sorrow, shame, remorse.
I have sorely wronged Lotus, he said to himself.
“Our lives should be forfeit. How could we be so gullible?” Ke Zhen’e yelled into the desolate landscape.
Nodding vehemently, Guo Jing replied: “First Shifu is not to blame. You can’t see. It’s all my fault.”
“No. I am not just blind in the eyes, I am blind in here too.” Ke thumped his chest.
After a moment’s pause, Guo Jing said, “We need to rescue her.”
“Where is her father?” Ke asked.
“He took Shifu Hong back to Peach Blossom Island. Where do you think Viper Ouyang has taken Lotus?”
Ke Zhen’e had no answer for him. After a short silence, he said, “The Venom is sure to use torture. He won’t be gentle. Go and find her, quickly. I will take my own life to thank her for uncovering the truth about my siblings’ death.”
“No, Shifu, you mustn’t!” Guo Jing cried, though he knew his Master’s temperament: no one could sway the eldest Freak when his mind was made up. “Please hurry to Peach Blossom Island. We need Apothecary Huang’s help. I’m no match for Viper Ouyang.”
Guo Jing’s words spurred Ke Zhen’e into action. Clutching his spear, he adjusted his course and stumbled off in the direction of the coast, but, before long, he realized that his student was trailing after him. Ke swung his spear shaft backward in a blind arc. “Why are you following me? Why aren’t you looking for Lotus? I’ll kill you with my bare hands if you fail to find her!”
Shocked by the anger in his mentor’s voice, Guo Jing halted and watched as Ke continued on his way east, eventually disappearing into a mulberry grove. At a loss as to how he might find Lotus, he eventually decided to start from her last known location, Iron Spear Temple. He leaped onto Ulaan and, with the condors flying overhead, made his way back toward Jiaxing.
It took Guo Jing no time at all to cover the distance it had taken his teacher three days to cover on foot. All around the abandoned shrine, he found dark clumps of lifeless crows. A pile of bones picked clean by the now lifeless scavengers lay outside the main hall of worship, their bleached white appearance a stark contrast to the black feathered bodies surrounding them.
Guo Jing loathed Yang Kang for causing the death of his five shifus, but the sight of his pitiful remains took the edge of his hatred—after all, they had been sworn brothers. He collected what was left of the young man and buried it at the rear of the temple.
“Brother Yang, I’ve given you a final resting place,” Guo Jing said, bowing on his knees. “Please, help me find Lotus, to atone for your wrongs.”
* * *
AUTUMN HARDENED into winter and winter melted into spring. Six moons had passed, and yet Guo Jing had found no trace of Lotus. He had asked many wulin Masters for help, including those of the Quanzhen Sect and the Beggar Clan, tapping into their vast networks of associates and contacts.
Nothing. Not a single sighting. Not a whisper of her whereabouts.
The thought of the hardships Lotus must be enduring sliced through Guo Jing’s heart like a keen blade. He was determined to find her. He would travel to the heavens’ edge and the ocean’s end if need be.
He went to Zhongdu, the Jin capital. He went to Bianliang, the Song Empire’s former seat, stolen by the Jurchens. He went to Peach Blossom Island, where he found no sign of Lotus or her father. He even went to Roaming Cloud Manor. The grand estate had been razed to the ground, but he had no time to ask around and find out what disaster had befallen Zephyr Lu and his son Laurel Lu.
Guo Jing ventured north once more, entering Shandong province. Desolation met him along the way. Houses and villages stood empty and abandoned. Roads were packed with people fleeing from bloody clashes between the Mongolians and the Jurchens. The latter had been routed, and what was left of the Jin forces had taken to pillaging as they retreated, committing every manner of evil.
For three days, Guo Jing rode through war-torn landscapes, and the further north he went, the more heartbreaking the devastation. He was witnessing firsthand how the common people paid the greatest price when two armies met in battle. As the Jin soldiers moved south, they killed, burned, raped and looted. The Mongol troops were perhaps less brutal, but the difference was negligible to those who came across them. Though he had no love for them, Guo Jing had to admit that, for the time being, the Jin were keeping the Great Khan’s cavalry away from the diminished Song Empire, delaying the horrors that were heading its way.
On the fourth day, Guo Jing crossed the border of East Shandong into territory still occupied by the Jin. He rested for the night in the town of Juzhou and continued north until he reached a village outside Mizhou. Just as he was about to ask the locals for a place to water Ulaan and prepare some food, the neighing of war horses and the murmur of gruff, threatening voices filled the air. A company of Jurchen soldiers, several dozen strong, torched their way through the settlement, forcing the villagers from their burning homes. Young women were taken prisoner, their hands bound; the rest—including children and the elderly—were cut down on sight.
Outraged by the savagery on display, Guo Jing urged Ulaan forward, galloping straight at the leader of this cruel troop, and snatched his spear from his grasp. At the same time, he swiped his other hand at the Great Sun acupressure point on the man’s temple. The officer’s eyes bulged and he dropped dead. His followers roared in fury, leveled their weapons at Guo Jing, and charged.
Sensing the excitement of combat, the Fergana horse burst forward at such speed it was as though he had taken wing, bringing his master into the fighters’ midst. Guo Jing seized a broad saber from a nearby soldier. He was still surprised by his own strength, for he had not intended to kill their officer with a single blow. Thrusting the spear with his right hand and swinging the blade with his left, he unleashed the Competing Hands technique on the rogue platoon. The ferocity of the onslaught crushed the men’s fighting spirit. They wrenched their horses around, fleeing the same way they had come. And yet, at that same moment, a banner was sighted beyond the fire and smoke. A small division of Mongol riders was galloping toward the village. The Jurchen cavalry had already been crushed by the Mongolians on the battlefield, and they had no desire to face them again, so they pinned their hope on their strength of numbers, reasoning that they might stand a chance against a lone warrior, and spurred their mounts back into the settlement.
But Guo Jing was not prepared to let these soldiers terrorize the helpless farmers any further. Sitting astride his proud steed, he blocked the path leading into the village. A dozen of the braver men led the first charge, and a handful of them fell to Guo Jing’s spear in a matter of moments. The rest remained rooted to the spot, too cowed to advance and too frightened to retreat.
The Mongol riders, who had not expected to receive help in enemy territory, now launched a decisive offensive to finish off the remaining Jin soldiers. When the fighting was over, the commander turned to Guo Jing, but, before he could address him, one of his subordinates recognized the young man and hailed him—“Prince of the Golden Blade!”—as he prostrated himself on the ground. Realizing he was in the presence of Princess Khojin’s betrothed, the commander scrambled down from the saddle to pay his respects, sending his fastest rider to inform his superior.
While the Mongol soldiers were busy extinguishing fires, on Guo Jing’s orders, to a chorus of gratitude from the surviving villagers, a thundering rumble of pounding hooves approached the settlement. The appearance of a yet another cavalry force, and a sizeable one at that, had the locals exchanging looks of fear and dismay.
A magnificent steed with a rich chestnut coat broke out from the newcomers’ ranks, as fleet as the wind, and his rider—a strapping young general—asked, “Where is my anda Guo Jing?”
“Tolui!” Guo Jing rushed over and joyfully embraced his sworn brother. Recog
nizing a familiar figure, the condors swooped down to greet the Mongolian Prince, nuzzling him affectionately.
Once the two anda had greeted one another, Tolui sent a company to round up the Jin stragglers in the area and arranged for a tent to be set up on the hillside, so he and Guo Jing could catch up in comfort on all that had happened since they had parted.
The last few times these childhood friends crossed paths, circumstances had not allowed them much time to speak. Tolui now filled his anda in on developments over the past year or so since Guo Jing had left for the Central Plains with his shifus, the Six Freaks of the South. He had followed his father Genghis Khan on campaign after campaign, riding eastward and west, as had his three brothers, the Princes Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedai; the Four Great Generals, Muqali, Bogurchi, Boroqul and Tchila’un; and less-exalted generals, such as Jebe and Subotai. Together, they won many glorious victories for the Great Khan, greatly expanding Mongol territory—even the Tangut state would soon fall to their might and become a part of their realm. Now he and Muqali were tasked with the conquest of the Jin Empire, and they had been routing the Jurchens in Henan and Shandong. The defeated soldiers—along with other remnants of the Jin army—had retreated to Tong Pass, taking refuge in the mountain stronghold, too afraid to venture into Shandong to face the invaders.
3
Several days later, an urgent message arrived at Tolui’s camp. Genghis Khan was summoning all his Princes and generals to the northern part of the Mongolian desert. Tolui and Muqali handed the banners of command to their deputies without delay and set off that very night. Guo Jing decided to join them since he had not seen his mother for more than a year and had no clear idea where he should go next in search of Lotus.
After several days of intense riding, they arrived on the banks of the majestic Onon River. Looking out over the vast plains, which stretched from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see, Guo Jing saw thousands of war horses roaming between rows and rows of gers, as countless spearheads and weapons glistened in the spring sunlight. In this makeshift city of tents, one magnificent example fashioned from beige felt stood out from the tens of thousands in modest gray. The tip of its canopy was crowned in solid gold, and a banner made from the tail hairs of nine yaks was planted beside its entrance.
As Guo Jing took in this grand view, he could feel the might of the Great Khan’s army and the authority that the golden ger exuded reaching far across the steppes into distant lands. He could imagine Genghis Khan issuing an order from his tent, and a herald carrying it to the swiftest horse, to be passed from rider to rider, until the Khan’s words were received by a Prince or a general ten thousand li away. Bugles would sound. Beacons would be lit. Smoke signals would rise from the grasslands. Arrows would fall as dense as a locust swarm. Swords and sabers would flash as iron hooves pounded through plumes of dust.
What are the Great Khan’s plans for these lands and people? Guo Jing wondered, but he was soon distracted from his musings by the cloud of fine earth kicked up by the cavalrymen spurring over to welcome them.
Tolui, Muqali and Guo Jing followed the soldiers to the golden ger to greet Genghis Khan. They realized they were the last to answer the summons, for all the other Princes and generals were already standing in two rows inside the tent.
Genghis Khan was pleased by their arrival. He listened to Tolui and Muqali’s report on the situation in Henan and Shandong, before turning to Guo Jing. The young man knelt and said, “The Great Khan sent me to take the head of the Jin Prince Wanyan Honglie, but I failed and let him slip away several times. I accept my punishment willingly.”
“Why would I wish to punish you? When the condor comes of age, it will catch the fox,” Genghis Khan replied with a smile. “I am glad you are back. I have thought of you often.”
The conversation soon moved on to the next steps in the campaign against the Jin. The majority of their remaining elite troops had taken refuge at Tong Pass, and it would be nigh on impossible for the Mongolian forces to breach its natural fortifications. But, if they could not subdue its garrison, they would not be able to vanquish the Jurchens once and for all. Muqali proposed they seek alliance with the Song Empire and join forces with their army to launch a pincer attack. Genghis Khan put the proposal into action instantly, ordering a scribe to draft a letter to the Song court and appointing an ambassador to ensure its safe delivery.
The meeting went on for some hours before they adjourned for the day. Guo Jing left the ger to be greeted by the spreading hues of dusk, and immediately went in search of his mother. He had barely walked a few steps when he sensed two hands reaching from behind to cover his eyes. Someone of his martial stature could not possibly fall for such an ambush. He leaned a fraction to the side and was raising his arm to push the attacker away when he caught a sweet fragrance. He pulled back immediately and cried out, “Khojin!”
Genghis Khan’s favorite daughter regarded him with a hint of a smile. She had grown taller since their last meeting, near Ox Village, half a year ago. She stood proud over the windswept grasslands, her long-limbed, athletic frame accentuated by her spirited nature.
“Sister,” he said, greeting her again.
“You’ve really come back!” Khojin burst into joyful tears.
This unguarded display of emotion touched Guo Jing. He could tell that she had a thousand things to say to him, but no idea where to start.
“Go and see your mother,” she said after a long pause. “Who do you think will be more delighted by your return—me or her?”
“I’m sure Ma will be very happy.”
“You mean I’m not?” A playful admonishment.
Guo Jing felt a pang of familiarity at Khojin’s frank response. Though he had grown accustomed to the more roundabout way in which people expressed themselves in the South, it warmed him to experience Mongolian forthrightness again, to hear someone state outright what they were feeling in their heart. He was indeed back in the land of his boyhood.
Khojin took his hand and led him to Lily Li’s ger. She was overjoyed to be reunited with her son, though the sight of him could not chase away the lonely months she had had endured while he was away.
* * *
WITHIN A week of his return, Guo Jing was summoned by Genghis Khan.
“Tolui has told me about your decision. You chose to abide by your word, and that pleases me more than you can know, child. You shall wed my daughter very soon.”
Shocked, Guo Jing’s first instinct was to refuse. He had yet to find out whether Lotus was dead or alive. How could he marry someone else behind her back? Faced with the imposing Genghis Khan, however, he could only stammer incoherently, unable to string half a sentence together.
The Khan thought the artless young man was struck dumb by excitement. He made him a gift of a thousand household slaves, a hundred jin of gold, five hundred horses, five hundred oxen, two thousand goats and three hundred camels, then ordered him to make preparations for the ceremony.
Khojin was the youngest daughter of Genghis Khan and his first wife and Consort, who had the highest status among all his women. The Mongol Empire had grown prosperous, its might reaching far and wide. Genghis Khan was indefatigable in battle; he could conquer any state or kingdom. When the khans and chieftains of other local tribes learned of the forthcoming nuptials, they all came with congratulations and precious gifts, enough to fill dozens of gers. Khojin was radiant with joy, but Guo Jing’s face was drawn with worry, his belly full of troubles.
As the day of their union approached, Guo Jing was increasingly weighed down by dejection, and his whole person was haunted by a cloud of gloom.
Lily Li noticed his demeanor and decided to probe him one evening. Guo Jing told her all about Lotus, holding nothing back, from how they first met to how they had parted. She considered for a long time how she should respond, but, before she could share her thoughts, Guo Jing said, “Ma, I’m really torn. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know if she can forgive me for how I t
reated her.”
“We can’t repay the Great Khan’s kindness with ingratitude. But, as for Lotus…” She sighed. “Though I haven’t met her, I can tell she must be very charming.”
“What would Papa do?”
It was not a question Lily Li had expected. She cast her mind back to the brief years she had enjoyed with Skyfury Guo, recalling his character and values.
“Your papa would rather suffer for a lifetime than break his word,” she said with pride.
Guo Jing got to his feet solemnly, his mind made up. “I have never met Papa, but I will live as he did. If Lotus is unharmed, I will keep my promise and marry Khojin. But if something bad has happened to Lotus, then I will not take a wife in this lifetime.”
Lily Li was taken aback by his decision, for it meant that, if the worst were to happen, the Guo bloodline would end with him. And yet, she understood her boy. He was stubborn to a fault, just like his father, and she knew there was nothing anyone could say to sway him.
“How are you going to break the news to the Great Khan?”
“I will tell him the truth.”
“Then we can’t stay here any longer.” Lily Li would stand by her son, no matter what. “After you thank the Great Khan, we will go south immediately.”
Guo Jing nodded and started to help his mother pack a few changes of clothes and a small amount of silver for the journey. Everything else in the ger had been a gift from Genghis Khan and she left it all where it was.
When they were ready, Guo Jing said, “I want to bid Khojin farewell.”
“Are you … able to say it to her? We should just go quietly … spare her the heartache.”
“No, I must tell her myself.” With these words, he took leave of his mother and went to find Khojin.
* * *
KHOJIN AND her mother were bustling around the ger they shared, getting ready for the impending marriage ceremony, when they heard Guo Jing’s arrival.
