A Snake Lies Waiting

by Jin Yong

  Gallant Ouyang had no choice but to obey. He grabbed hold of the back of Count Seven’s robes and heaved him up with his one good arm.

  “I think that’s the first noble deed I’ve seen you do since the moment I met you.”

  Gallant’s heart leaped. He wanted to reply, but he could not find the words.

  Just as Lotus was about to turn and climb back onto the burning ship, a deafening rumble echoed all around them. A wall of water was heading their way. She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for it to hit, but, when nothing came, she opened her eyes again. She was astonished to see a large whirlpool drawing the ship, Guo Jing and Viper Ouyang into its churning maw.

  Her mind went blank. She could not think, she did not feel; it was as if the skies and world around her had all disappeared. She did not know where she was. Suddenly, a rush of water filled her mouth and she felt herself sinking. Only then did her body jolt back into action. She began kicking her way to the surface. As she broke through to the air, she looked around. All she could see was water, and one lonely boat. Everything else had been swallowed by the waves.

  Lotus dived down, kicking herself deeper. She was a powerful swimmer, but the strong current made it difficult to search for Guo Jing. She swam in circles, but there was no trace of him. Viper Ouyang, too, had seemingly gone down with his ship.

  She was soon exhausted, but refused to give up. She prayed that the heavens would show mercy and deliver Guo Jing back to her, but the waves rose like mountains on every side. After an hour, she could continue no longer. She would rest for a while on the boat before resuming her search.

  Gallant Ouyang reached out and pulled her on board. “My uncle? Did you see him?” He was similarly distraught.

  But Lotus was too tired to answer him. Darkness suddenly drew a veil over her eyes, and she fainted.

  When, finally, she regained consciousness, it felt as if her body was floating—not in the water, but up in the clouds. The wind and the waves continued to beat against her eardrums. She sat upright and noticed that the boat was moving, carried by the current. How far had they moved from where the ship was swallowed up? She would never find Guo Jing again. The realization made her heart physically hurt, which in turn caused her to faint once again.

  Gallant gripped the side of the boat, fearing that the waves would fling him overboard. He did not dare move in case he destabilized the vessel.

  Time passed and eventually Lotus awoke. The first thought that came to her was the pointlessness of her existence, now that her beloved was lying on the seabed. She looked across at Gallant Ouyang, his ashen cheeks and frightened expression, and felt nothing but disgust. Am I destined to die alongside this beast? was all she could think. Suddenly, she stood. “Into the water!”

  “What?” Gallant replied in alarm.

  “Aren’t you going to jump? Then I’ll capsize the boat.”

  She began to shift her weight from right to left. The boat lurched more violently with each movement. Gallant began to shout in terror, which only turned Lotus’s grief into joy. She rocked the boat harder.

  Gallant knew how close the boat was to rolling. He waited until Lotus moved left and threw himself right, his weight canceling out hers. The boat sunk momentarily deeper into the water, but bobbed back up again. Lotus tried twice more, but Gallant continued to counteract her efforts, until the boat began to stabilize.

  “Very well, I will make holes in the boat instead. Then we’ll see what you do.”

  She took out the dagger again and moved to the center of the boat. That was when she noticed her Master, lying in the prow. He had neither said anything nor moved a muscle since Guo Jing disappeared into the ocean, so she had completely forgotten about him. A bolt of shock passed through her. She bent over to check his pulse. It was weak, but still there. Relieved, she pulled him into a sitting position. His eyes were screwed tightly shut and his cheeks were white like paper. He no longer clutched at his chest. Pushing aside all thoughts of Gallant, she focused on her Master and unbuttoned his shirt to check his wounds.

  At that moment, the boat lurched. “Land! Land!” Gallant Ouyang shouted.

  Lotus looked in the direction he was pointing. There, in the distance, was the hazy outline of trees. The boat, however, had stopped moving. It had run aground on a shallow reef.

  They were still far from the shoreline, but they could see the seabed. Gallant Ouyang jumped over the gunwale. The water only came up to his belly. He took a few steps, then looked back at Lotus. He returned to the boat.

  Count Seven’s back bore the bluish-black imprint of a hand. It seemed to have been branded into his skin. Lotus examined it in astonishment. Could the Venom’s palm really be so powerful?

  At that moment, she noticed two puncture wounds on his shoulder. Had she not been looking carefully, she would have missed them. She reached over to feel them, but a sharp pain seized her fingertips. She pulled them away. “Shifu, how do you feel?”

  Count Seven’s only answer was a groan.

  Lotus turned to Gallant. “Give me the antidote.”

  Gallant Ouyang threw his hands up in the air. “My uncle has it.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Then search me.” He began to undo his belt to empty his pockets and pouches of all the trinkets stored inside. There was no medicine bottle among them.

  “Then you must help me carry Shifu onto dry land!”

  Together, they each took one arm over their shoulders. Lotus then reached out and took Gallant’s free hand, so that Count Seven could sit on their arms. He whimpered, but, wishing to appear brave before Lotus, bore the pain. Slowly, they waded to shore.

  Count Seven was shivering violently, and Lotus was growing ever more concerned. Gallant, in contrast, was in a state of ecstasy as he felt her smooth skin in his hand. It was like a dream. He only regretted how quickly they made it to the shore.

  Lotus squatted and placed Count Seven on the ground. “Go and drag the boat up onto land,” she said to Gallant. “Don’t let it be swept out to sea.”

  Gallant Ouyang did not go; instead, he touched his hand to his lips, as if in a trance. Lotus repeated her instructions, shouting this time, but he merely looked up at her blankly. He had not heard a word she had said.

  Fortunately, Lotus was unaware of what he was thinking. She gave him a sideways glance and repeated her instructions a third time.

  Gallant returned to the water and dragged the boat to shore. Lotus, meanwhile, had rolled Count Seven onto his back in the grass and was tending to his wounds.

  Where are we? Gallant asked himself. He ran up a small hill so that he could assess their surroundings. What he saw was a pleasant surprise. In all directions, as far as the eye could see, the ocean stretched out to the horizon. They had landed on a small, remote island, lush with vegetation, but with no signs of human habitation. But then it hit him. With no food and no shelter, how would they survive? They had been lucky to find it, the heavens had surely arranged it, and he was alone with this beautiful goddess. Apart from the Old Beggar, of course, but he was severely injured. How could he not count this as a blessing? With the right person, even a deserted island like this could be paradise. Should death come quickly, it would still be an ending for which he owed a debt of thanks to the grace of the gods above. His whole body was jittery with the thought.

  A pain in his shoulder suddenly reminded him of his broken bone. He approached a nearby tree and broke off two branches, then tore some cloth from his robes and fashioned himself a splint and sling.

  Lotus was, at that moment, squeezing the venom from Count Seven’s neck. She could not think how else to help him, other than moving him onto a large rock where he might get some rest. Fortunately, the lid to the bottle of Dew of Nine Flowers pills had been screwed securely shut, so no water had got inside. She took out two and fed them to her Master. Then she called over to Gallant: “Go and see where we are and if there is an inn nearby.”

  “This is an isla
nd, there is no inn. We’ll be lucky if we find any other people.”

  Lotus was taken back. “Go and look,” she replied.

  Excited, he began to run east, using his lightness kung fu. All he could see were trees. There was no evidence of any human activity. He managed to kill two wild hares, however, as he completed his full loop of the island.

  “It’s deserted,” he announced upon his return.

  Lotus saw the trace of a smile on his face and felt irritation bubble up inside her. “Deserted? Why are you so happy?”

  Gallant did not dare answer, and instead got to work skinning the hares. Lotus reached inside her robes for a tinderbox. It had been wrapped in oil paper, so there was still some tinder that was dry. She lit a fire and roasted the meat. She tossed one toward Gallant, tore a hind leg from the second and proceeded to feed it to Count Seven.

  Count Seven was still feeling faint and confused, but the smell of roasting meat had revived his spirits. He opened his mouth wide, tasted the succulent flesh and then gestured for more. Delighted, Lotus tore off the other leg. Count Seven managed to finish half before he could resist sleep no longer, and, with his mouth still full of succulent flesh, he drifted off.

  Lotus ate two mouthfuls before she remembered her poor beloved Guo Jing at rest at the bottom of the sea. The grief was overpowering, and she felt herself choke on the meat. She could stomach no more. The sky was turning dark blue. She found a cave and Gallant helped her to move Count Seven, laying him out carefully on a bed of dry grass. Lotus watched as he fixed bedding for them and settled down next to her.

  She drew her dagger. “Get out!”

  “Why does it concern you if I sleep in here too? Why are you so fierce?”

  Lotus raised her eyebrows. “Are you going?”

  “Go to sleep, there’s a nice girl. Don’t worry. I don’t need to leave.”

  Lotus reached for a lit torch and set fire to the grass bedding under him. Within seconds, it had flared and burned down to ash.

  Gallant laughed bitterly. He knew he had no choice but to leave. What if there were poisonous insects or vicious animals? He decided to climb a tree for safety. But he couldn’t settle, and shinned up and down at least a dozen times to check on the cave. He could see that the fire at the mouth of the cave was still lit, but Lotus was fast asleep. Still, he could not bring himself to enter. A coward! He had stolen many moments amid the perfume and jade of a lady’s private quarters, but he was scared of this particular young woman. In reality, he could overcome her with his one good hand. Count Seven was in a critical condition and would not be able to help her. And yet, still, every time he approached the fire, he ended up shrinking back.

  Lotus did not sleep well that night, concerned over Count Seven’s health and wary of Gallant returning to the cave. She managed a few hours’ sleep just before dawn, during which she dreamed that Count Seven was groaning. She awoke with a start.

  “Shifu, how are you?”

  Count Seven pointed to his mouth and wiggled several of his teeth with his tongue.

  Lotus laughed, fetched the leftover roasted hare from the night before and began feeding him. As the meat entered his stomach, he felt his strength return. He pulled himself into a sitting position and regulated his breathing. Lotus did not want to disturb him, so she watched in silence as his cheeks flushed red before once again turning ashen white. The color came and went a few times, until she saw a burst of steam come out of the top of his head. Sweat ran down his forehead like rain and his whole body began to shake.

  Suddenly, a shadow passed across the mouth of the cave. Gallant Ouyang had stepped inside to see what was going on.

  Lotus knew very well that her Master was calling on his inner strength to heal his injuries. With his life hanging by a thread, any disturbance would break his concentration and put him in real danger.

  “Get out,” she hissed.

  “Let’s talk,” Gallant Ouyang replied. “We need to come up with a strategy to survive this deserted island. We might be here for a very long time!” He took a few further steps into the cave.

  Count Seven Hong opened his eyes only a crack. “Deserted island?”

  “Shifu, ignore him and concentrate on your kung fu.” Lotus turned to Gallant Ouyang. “Come with me. We’ll talk outside.”

  Her answer pleased him no end and he followed her out.

  The weather was fine, but the blue skies did nothing to cheer Lotus. She looked out to where the sky met the vast open ocean and saw nothing, save for a few lonely clouds. There was no sign of land.

  She walked toward the beach where they had waded ashore the previous day, and where Gallant had deposited their craft.

  “Where’s the boat?” she said, a tremble in her voice.

  “Oh, yes, where is it? The waves must have taken it. What a shame! How terrible!”

  One look at his face was enough to tell Lotus that he had pushed the boat out to sea on purpose. How despicable! Guo Jing was dead, and she had no desire to go on living. The boat was probably too flimsy to make it back to the mainland, anyway. But still, she feared she would not be able to keep this scoundrel contained for long enough to allow her Master to heal from his injuries. She stared at Gallant Ouyang, her expression frozen. In her heart, she was thinking of all the possible ways to kill him and save her shifu.

  Gallant, in turn, looked away in shame.

  Lotus jumped up onto a large rock at the water’s edge, sat down and gazed out at the sea, clutching her knees.

  If I don’t try to get close to her now, when will I? Gallant Ouyang thought. He climbed up beside her and sat down close to her. He waited. She did not seem to be angry and did not move further away. He shuffled a bit closer. “Lotus, we could live out our days here. It could be our paradise. I must have done something wonderful in a past life to deserve such happiness!”

  Lotus laughed. “There are only three of us on this island. Won’t you feel lonely?”

  There was something gentle in her tone and it boosted his confidence. “With you by my side, how could I be lonely? And with a few children, even less so.”

  This made Lotus laugh even harder. “Children? Who is going to have them? I don’t know how.”

  “I’ll teach you,” Gallant said with a smile, and he reached out to touch her. He felt a warmth in his left hand. Lotus had already placed her hand in his. He felt a rush of blood and his heart started thumping wildly. He was dizzy with happiness.

  Lotus removed her hand and gently touched his wrist. “I’ve heard rumors that you took Mercy Mu’s chastity? Is that true?”

  “That Mu girl didn’t know what was best for her,” Gallant said and laughed. “She refused me, and I, Gallant Ouyang, am not a man to force a woman.”

  “Then the rumors are just talk? She and her sweetheart fought because of them.”

  “What a pity that her reputation should be thus tainted!” was all Gallant Ouyang offered as a reply.

  “What’s that?” Lotus said suddenly, pointing out to sea.

  Gallant Ouyang looked to where she was pointing. Just then, he felt his wrist tighten and his body go numb. He could not move. Lotus drew her dagger and stabbed in the direction of his abdomen.

  Thus immobilized, how could he stop her?

  And yet, he had spent a dozen bitter winters training at the summit of White Camel Mount. At the last moment, he managed to launch himself at Lotus’s back. She jumped down from the rock, her blade instead scoring a foot-long gash in his leg. Gallant leaped after her. He saw her dagger and laughed. Pain filled his chest. He glanced down to find the front of his robes soaked in blood. The spikes of her Hedgehog Chainmail had torn through his skin.

  “We were talking, just now; why did you try to charge at me?” Lotus said. “Well, no matter.” With that, she turned and left.

  Gallant Ouyang watched her leave in silence, his heart thumping with love and hate, surprise and joy.

  4

  As lotus walked back to the cave, she reproach
ed herself for having allowed him to escape. It was thanks to her mediocre skills! Once inside, she saw Count Seven asleep and a black pool of blood on the ground.

  “Shifu, how are you? Any better?”

  “Bring me wine,” came the reply through shallow breaths.

  The request left the young woman feeling anxious; where was she going to find wine on this deserted island? “I will do my best. Your injuries are not serious, are they, Shifu?”

  Tears collected in her eyes and a few tumbled down her cheeks. Lotus rarely cried, but, now that she had started, she could not hold it back. Burying her face in Count Seven’s chest, she heaved and sobbed. Count Seven stroked her hair and gently patted her on the back. He had spent decades wandering the rivers and lakes, but this was the first time he had consoled a crying maiden. He was not sure what to do. “There, there, little girl,” was all he could think to say. “Don’t cry, your shifu will take care of you. Please don’t cry. Shifu doesn’t want wine anymore.”

  Presently, the tears stopped, and Lotus looked up to see her Master’s clothes were damp from all her crying.

  “Oh, why didn’t I manage to kill that awful scoundrel?” She then began to relate the story.

  Count Seven Hong listened in silence before eventually saying, “Shifu can’t help you now. That rogue’s skills are more advanced than yours. I’m afraid all you’ve got against him are your wits.”

  “All Shifu needs is a few days’ rest, and then you’ll be able to take him with one thrust of your palm!” Lotus replied.

  “The Venom of the West got me with his deadly venom and his Exploding Toad kung fu. I’ve had to use all my strength to rid my body of the toxins, but still some remains. Even if I survive, my martial skills will be affected. I will be just like any other old man.”

  “Nonsense, Shifu!”

  “My heart still beats, but even an old beggar must recognize when the time comes to look at life philosophically.”

  He paused, before continuing in a grave tone: “Child, your shifu has no choice. I must ask you a favor—a most difficult one! Will you do it?”