A Bond Undone

by Jin Yong

“How did you know I needed to scratch my back? Here you go.” She smiled at Gallant Ouyang and offered him the weapons.

  Her action fanned Gallant Ouyang’s jealousy further. He thought she was going to throw the shuttles down. But her hand remained outstretched as she waited for him to fetch them himself. So he tapped the ground lightly with the tip of his left foot and leapt up, perching elegantly on an upturned corner of the roof.

  With his white robe fluttering in the wind, even Lotus had to admit that he cut rather a dashing figure at that moment.

  “Wow, fantastic qinggong!” Lotus cheered at his ascent and took a step closer. She held the shuttles out in her hand.

  Gallant Ouyang saw the exposed skin on her wrist, white as virgin snow, and he swooned. He reached out gleefully, grateful for a chance to caress her skin. But a golden cloud dispelled his wishful thinking.

  Having suffered these needles twice already, he flipped over in a somersault and landed back on the ground, waving his sleeves to flick away the needles.

  Giggling, Lotus hurled the shuttles at Viper Ouyang’s head.

  “Don’t!” Guo Jing grabbed Lotus by the waist and they jumped down together.

  “Brother Viper!” Apothecary Huang exclaimed.

  A billow of energy rushed at Guo Jing just as his feet touched the ground. He set Lotus down and immediately launched a Dragon in the Field with each hand. Pushing back with every ounce of his strength, he kept nothing in reserve.

  Pang!

  A turbulence of qi ripped through his chest, throwing him back by half a dozen steps. He had never felt so awful, but he thrust his feet down in a effort to stand his ground.

  What mattered was shielding Lotus from this destructive force.

  He took a deep breath and held his palms out, one in front of the other, ready for the next wave of the onslaught.

  Both Count Seven Hong and Apothecary Huang were now standing between him and the still-crouching Viper Ouyang.

  The Venom straightened up and said, offhandedly, “My mistake, my mistake. I wasn’t able to pull back fast enough. I didn’t hurt the young lady, did I?”

  Though frightened, Lotus would not let him have the last word. “You can’t hurt me with Papa here.”

  Apothecary Huang took her hand and spoke with genuine concern: “Take a deep breath. How do you feel?”

  Lotus inhaled slowly, then exhaled quickly. She could not feel anything unusual. She smiled and shook her head.

  “Your uncles were comparing martial knowledge. It was no place for a little girl to interfere. Uncle Ouyang’s Exploding Toad is unlike any other kung fu. If it wasn’t for his mercy, you would have lost your life.” A note of relief was evident in Apothecary Huang’s voice.

  The true power of the Exploding Toad came from inertia. Viper Ouyang simply gathered strength and waited for his opponent to strike. The force of that blow, when it came, would bounce back at the attacker, compounded with the blast of energy stored up in the Venom’s body.

  Although Double Sun Wang Chongyang had set him back in his pursuit of this kung fu by tapping Viper Ouyang with a Yang in Ascendance, the Venom had worked hard in the intervening years to recover lost ground.

  Just now, Viper Ouyang had summoned all his might against Count Seven Hong. He was as taut as a fully drawn bow when Lotus threw the shuttles.

  When he heard Apothecary Huang’s shout, his energy had already been unleashed. Though he did try to pull back, there was little he could do once his power had burst forth.

  Such a shame this beautiful girl will die by my hand!

  As the thought had crossed Viper Ouyang’s mind, a gust of energy was thrown back at him, and he had taken the chance to retrieve as much of his own strength as he could, surprised to find it was Guo Jing. He could only be impressed that the Beggar had trained such a powerful disciple.

  Apothecary Huang assumed that Viper Ouyang had held his energy back as a courtesy to him. The Guo Jing he met at Roaming Cloud Manor could not have withstood the Exploding Toad. He sneered at the young man’s stupidity. Was he really foolish enough to raise his hand against Viper Ouyang’s ultimate kung fu? He had no idea that Guo had saved his daughter’s life. Even so, he could not deny that Guo Jing had just thrown himself in death’s way to protect Lotus.

  I shall give him a gift worthy of his devotion to Lotus, Apothecary Huang decided.

  Though he still could not countenance Guo Jing as a suitor, he was reminded of the time when he had harboured such single-minded passion for a woman. He found the boy a little less repulsive now.

  “We aren’t done yet, Old Venom!” Count Seven Hong said, and stepped forward for another round.

  Apothecary Huang raised his left arm to hold Viper Ouyang back. “Brother Seven, Brother Viper, you are both guests of Peach Blossom Island. Should we not sit down and share a few cups of the wine I brew? You have already exchanged more than a thousand moves and still we have no winner. The second Contest of Mount Hua is soon upon us. I shall be there, and so will Duan, the King of the South. We can finish the fight then. What do you say?”

  “I shall most certainly have to concede, if we continue today.” Viper Ouyang smirked.

  Count Seven chuckled. “Since our dear Venom, here, is well known for speaking in opposites, I take it you mean you will most certainly gain the upper hand. Well, we shall see.”

  “I am very happy to learn more from Brother Seven.”

  “Excellent.” Count Seven flicked his sleeve, raring to go.

  “Ah, so this is the real reason why our two Masters grace Peach Blossom Island today. To show off your martial skills,” Apothecary Huang said, with a smile.

  “Brother Apothecary is right.” Count Seven roared with laughter. “We are here for the lady’s hand, not to fight.”

  4

  “AS I WAS SAYING BEFORE, I WOULD LIKE TO SET UP THREE trials so our two young masters can show us their knowledge,” Apothecary Huang said, returning to the matter of Lotus’s betrothal. “I will welcome the young master who passes the tests as my son-in-law, but I shan’t let the other young man leave empty-handed.”

  “Eh? Have you got another daughter?” Count Seven asked.

  “I am afraid not, and I doubt I can find a new wife to make another one fast enough. However, I have acquired a little knowledge through the years. The three religions, the nine schools of thought, as well as medicine, divination and astrology. If our young master is willing, he may choose a subject and I will be happy to share all I know. He would not have come to Peach Blossom Island in vain.”

  Count Seven Hong weighed up Apothecary Huang’s words. The Heretic has clearly made up his mind; whatever tasks he comes up with will definitely put Guo Jing at a disadvantage. But if this simpleton learns kung fu from the Heretic, the benefits will be for life . . .

  Noticing Count Seven Hong’s deliberation, Viper Ouyang agreed immediately. “This really is an excellent suggestion. Though Brother Apothecary had already consented to my nephew’s proposal, we shall put our two young men to the test, out of respect for Brother Seven.”

  He then turned to Gallant Ouyang. “If Master Guo, here, proves more knowledgeable, you mustn’t blame anybody for your shortcomings. We shall gladly drink to his happiness. If you try anything, not only will the two Masters, here, not abide it, I won’t let it pass either.”

  Count Seven Hong guffawed into the sky. “Those words are for our ears, aren’t they?”

  “Who can predict the result? One thing is certain, though: people of our stature always accept our defeat gracefully. Don’t we?” Viper Ouyang grinned. “Brother Apothecary, please name your first trial.”

  Though Apothecary Huang was determined to marry Lotus to Gallant Ouyang, it would not befit his status as a martial great to be seen as biased. He also wished to avoid offending Count Seven Hong.

  While Apothecary Huang deliberated over the tests he could set that would guarantee his preferred suitor would win, Count Seven Hong said, “We are all men who live by our
fists, Brother Apothecary. Your trials must be about the martial arts. If you test them on poetry, songs, chants, talismans, or some other rot like that, then we might as well admit our ignorance now, dust our behinds and go. We have not come here to make fools of ourselves.”

  “Of course, the first trial will test their martial skills,” Apothecary Huang replied.

  “That won’t do,” Viper Ouyang protested. “My nephew is injured.”

  “I am aware of that and I have no intention of sowing discord by letting the two young masters duel, here, on Peach Blossom Island.”

  “They will not fight each other?” Viper Ouyang asked.

  “Indeed.”

  “Are you going to test them yourself?” the Venom pursued.

  “No, it would be impossible to demonstrate my impartiality if I played an active role,” Apothecary Huang said. “We have just seen that your kung fu and Brother Seven’s are not only at the very pinnacle of martial excellence, but also truly on the same level. I propose that you be the judge of Master Guo’s skills and that Brother Seven should test Master Ouyang.”

  Count Seven Hong had to bow to Apothecary Huang’s quick thinking. I couldn’t come up with a solution as clever or as fair.

  “Not a bad idea.” Then he beckoned Gallant Ouyang. “Come, let’s begin.”

  “We haven’t set the rules yet,” Apothecary Huang said. “First, Master Ouyang is injured; he can’t summon his internal strength. So we are only judging moves, not the level of internal kung fu. Second, the trial shall take place on these two pine trees – whoever falls first, loses. Third, if one of you strikes too hard and hurts your young opponent, then your side must concede this trial.”

  “I lose if I injure him?” Count Seven Hong asked.

  “That’s right. Do you think either of them could fight one of our martial greats and come away unscathed? So, Brother Seven, for example, if you so much as scratch Master Ouyang, then your side loses. Same for Brother Viper, here. One of the young masters will be my son-in-law. How can I let him come to harm?”

  “That’s a rule unheard of in the martial world.” Count Seven Hong scratched his head with a laugh. “Our Heretic is living up to his eccentric reputation. But if it’s fairly judged, I’ll play along.”

  Apothecary Huang invited the four men to take their positions. Count Seven Hong and Gallant Ouyang leapt to the top of the tree on the right, while Viper Ouyang and Guo Jing took the one on the left. Count Seven was giggly and giddy, the other three solemn and grave.

  Lotus Huang was desperate to help Guo Jing, but what could she do against a master like Viper Ouyang? Moreover, injured as he was, Gallant Ouyang was still the superior martial artist and his lightness qinggong kung fu was exceptional.

  “The trial begins on the count of three,” she heard her father announce. “Master Ouyang, Master Guo, whoever touches the ground first loses this round. Ready? Three, two, one!”

  A blur of shadows danced up and down the trees. In the twinkling of an eye, Guo Jing had exchanged more than a dozen moves with Viper Ouyang.

  Lotus could hardly believe her eyes. When had his kung fu improved so much? He’s not struggling at all!

  Her father was equally surprised.

  Growing irate, Viper Ouyang let his strength seep back into his strikes, hoping to send Guo Jing tumbling down quickly. Yet, the fear of injuring the young man held his aggression somewhat in check.

  Leaping up, he charged at Guo Jing with a series of kicks, fast and relentless, like the wheels of a speeding chariot. Guo Jing fought back with a Dragon Soars in the Sky, jumping higher and higher as he sliced and hewed at Viper Ouyang’s legs with his palms.

  Lotus’s heart was pounding. She could not bear to watch, so she glanced over at the other side.

  Gallant Ouyang flitted around, darting up and down the branches, dodging Count Seven Hong’s attacks with his lightness kung fu.

  Annoyed by Gallant Ouyang’s refusal to engage, Count Seven Hong looked over to check on Guo Jing.

  My silly boy’s matching the Venom, blow to blow, while this coward scurries around to kill time, Count Seven thought angrily. If you think you can defeat the Beggar with your little tricks, well, well . . .

  He sprang high into the air, then swooped, his fingers extended like talons, aimed towards the crown of Gallant Ouyang’s head.

  This is not a sparring move. He’s striking to kill!

  Fearing for his life, Gallant Ouyang swerved to the right.

  The fearsome dive turned out to be a feint and Gallant Ouyang reacted just as Count Seven Hong had anticipated.

  With a twist of his waist, the Beggar changed course and landed at the tip of the branch beside Gallant Ouyang.

  “I don’t mind losing. Let’s see if a ghost can find a bride!” He raised his hands to deliver the knockout blow.

  Gallant Ouyang was already petrified by Count Seven Hong’s physically impossible act of changing direction mid-air. Now, the Beggar had made his intentions clear with his words and his moves.

  All the fight went out of the Master of White Camel Mount. He just wanted to run. He shrank back, forgetting he was standing on a tree branch – and plunged.

  I’ve lost!

  As that thought flashed across his mind, he sensed another weight rushing through the air.

  Guo Jing had actually managed to resist Viper Ouyang’s onslaught for quite some time. Then a voice screamed in the Venom’s mind: You’re no martial great if it takes you fifty moves to send a boy down a tree!

  Quick as lightning, Viper Ouyang darted forward and snatched at Guo Jing’s collar.

  “Down you go!”

  Ducking, Guo Jing flung a backhand to block. A great strength rushed at him. “You—”

  Before he could accuse the Venom, the energy was replaced by a smirk.

  “Yes?”

  Guo Jing had channelled everything he had into his defence. He thought Viper Ouyang was going to use the Exploding Toad kung fu and turn his inner organs into pulp.

  Now, he pushed back at nothing, and he had yet to master the skill of pulling back his internal-energy flow at will.

  Luckily, the Luminous Hollow Fist had given him a better grasp of the concept of “repent”, of reserving strength. He narrowly avoided repeating his fate against Apothecary Huang at Roaming Cloud Manor. Only, this time, his shoulder, rather than his wrist, would have been dislocated. Even so, he was rocked off balance. He tipped forward and plunged, head first.

  The two young men plummeted, side by side. One was about to land on his feet; the other seemed certain to crash on his head.

  Gallant Ouyang congratulated himself on his luck, flung his arms out and pushed down on Guo Jing’s airborne feet, both to send his rival down even faster and to leverage the moment of contact to slow his own fall.

  “Aiya!” It was clear to Lotus that Guo Jing had lost.

  Yet, somehow, with a heartbeat to spare, Guo Jing shot upwards, before her attention was caught by a loud thud.

  Gallant Ouyang lay sprawled on the ground, while Guo Jing bobbed serenely on a branch.

  How did Guo Jing do it? He was inches from crashing head first into the ground! She let out a very different aiya!

  Count Seven Hong jumped down from his tree, roaring with laughter.

  With a look as dark as cast iron, Viper Ouyang turned to Count Seven Hong and said, in a voice sharp and frosty, “Your disciple’s mongrel kung fu is quite something. He’s even well versed in Mongolian wrestling tricks!”

  “Don’t look at me!” Count Seven could barely speak through his chuckles. “That’s not a martial skill I’m familiar with. I didn’t teach him that.”

  When Gallant Ouyang had tried to break his fall by pushing down on Guo Jing’s feet, he had left his own legs dangling in Guo Jing’s face. Guo Jing had wrapped his arms around Gallant Ouyang’s calves instinctively, yanking hard to hoist himself up.

  A classic throwing technique in Mongolian wrestling, and one Guo Jing was familiar with
long before he met the Six Freaks of the South, tumbling around the Mongolian steppe with his sworn brother, Tolui. And, in his teens, he had honed his skills under Genghis Khan’s generals and master wrestlers, Jebe and Boroqul. These moves came as naturally to him as walking and eating.

  And, because of this, even Guo Jing himself did not understand how he had won.

  5

  APOTHECARY HUANG SHOOK HIS HEAD IMPERCEPTIBLY AT THE result, certain that only a cruel twist of fate had allowed the dim-witted Guo Jing to emerge victorious.

  “Master Guo wins the first trial. Brother Viper, be not troubled. With your nephew’s solid learning, there is a chance to catch up in the second and third trials.”

  “We look forward to the next task,” Viper Ouyang said.

  “We will now move on to cultural subjects—”

  “Pa, you’re clearly biased,” Lotus interrupted her father. “You promised it would be martial trials. Why are we doing cultural subjects now? What’s the point of making Guo Jing go through this?” Her face settled into a sullen pout.

  “What do you know? When martial skills reach an exceptional level, do you think we’ll still be throwing punches and brawling like commoners? Do you think we would lower ourselves to stage demeaning spectacles, like a Duel for a Maiden?”

  Lotus and Guo Jing exchanged a glance, remembering the snowy day when Mercy Mu and Yang Kang met at such a fight.

  “For the second trial, I would like to invite our young masters to critique a tune that I will play.”

  Gallant Ouyang eyed Guo Jing with satisfaction. This country bumpkin clearly has no understanding of the harmonies created by silk and bamboo. This round is mine, for sure.

  Viper Ouyang, however, suspected it would prove a trial of internal kung fu, and he knew how deep Guo Jing’s inner strength ran, from their fight just moments ago.

  If it came down to internal control, his nephew might not perform better than Guo Jing. The music might even aggravate his chest injury . . .

  So, he said, “I fear our young men, here, aren’t learned enough to appreciate your music. May I ask—?”

  “There is nothing to worry about, Brother Viper. The tune is very ordinary; I am not testing their internal strength.” He turned to Guo Jing and Gallant Ouyang. “Please take a switch of bamboo and beat time to the music I play. Whoever does better shall win this trial.”