A Snake Lies Waiting

by Jin Yong

  “You’re right. But I’m worried about you, and about Shifu. Old Venom commands a sect. What he says contains at least some credibility.”

  “Fine. Let’s save Gallant and take the consequences as they come.”

  They turned back and approached the rock. As they rounded it, they saw Viper standing in the water, holding his nephew in his arms. He looked up and saw them coming. There was a brutal glint in his eye.

  “I told you to leave. What are you doing here?” he cried.

  Lotus sat on a nearby stone and laughed. “I’ve come to see if he’s dead yet.”

  “What does it matter to you if he is dead or alive?”

  “If he’s already dead, then I’m too late.”

  Viper Ouyang leaped up. “Dear … Dear girl, he’s not dead. If you can save him, tell me … Tell me how.”

  Lotus threw the reed pipe to him. “Put this in his mouth, and he might just live.”

  Grinning, Viper snatched it out of the air and knelt in the water to fit it between his nephew’s lips. The water was just starting to cover Gallant’s nose and he was down to his last lungfuls of air. He had been able to hear their conversation, however, and so, as soon as the reed was placed in his mouth, he sucked greedily for air. It felt so good that it made him forget the pain in his legs for a moment.

  “Quick, let’s keep making the ropes,” Viper said.

  “But, Uncle Ouyang, you’re planning to kill me and bury me with your nephew, aren’t you?”

  Viper was startled. How did she hear that?

  “If you kill me,” Lotus said with a smile, “who’s going to help you the next time you get in trouble?”

  Viper Ouyang had no choice but to pretend not to have heard her mockery, and instead he turned his attention back to gathering tree bark.

  They worked for more than two hours, weaving together a thick cable, over one hundred meters in length. The water had submerged the bottom half of the rock, and only the tip of Gallant’s reed pipe remained above the surface. Viper was uneasy and repeatedly reached into the water to feel for his nephew’s pulse.

  As they continued, the tide began to recede, slowly revealing Gallant’s head again. Lotus measured the rope and called, “We have enough, now! I need four large trunks to act as masts.”

  Viper Ouyang was skeptical. How could they find the tools on a deserted island to make a winch?

  “How?”

  “Never you mind. Just find me what I need.”

  Viper feared the young girl’s temper, so he began searching for suitable trees. Once he’d selected them, he crouched and thrust his palms at the lower part of the trunk, in a move from his Exploding Toad repertoire. It took only a few strikes to fell each one. Guo Jing and Lotus watched this fearsome display of internal strength and exchanged glances. Viper then found a long, flat piece of rock. Once again, he gathered his qi and shaved the branches from the trunks, before bringing them to Lotus.

  Lotus and Guo Jing tied one end of the long cable around three of the trunks, before looping it around the rock and tying it to a nearby pine, several hundred years in age and of such girth that it would take at least four men to stretch their arms around it.

  “This tree should be able to take the weight,” Lotus said, answering a question no one had asked.

  Viper Ouyang nodded.

  Lotus instructed them to take another length of their rope and tie the fourth trunk so that they formed a square shape around the rock. They then attached the cable to it.

  “How clever, little girl! No one could doubt that you are your father’s daughter!”

  “I am nothing compared to your nephew,” Lotus said and smiled. “Let’s begin!”

  The three began to pivot the trunks around the old pine. The ropes quickly tightened, and the rock started to rise.

  The sun was setting, and half the sky was painted a bright red, its reflection staining the sea. It was a marvelous sight. The tide had long since pulled back, and Gallant was lying in the soft sand, his eyes fixed on the giant rock as it trembled on its upward trajectory. The ropes creaked as Gallant watched in anxious delight.

  They had completed one revolution of their giant winch, but the rock had only lifted half an inch. The old pine shook ever so slightly, the strain becoming evident as its needles rained down to carpet the ground around it, and the rope carved a groove into its bark.

  Viper was not usually one to call upon the gods for help, for he did not admit to believing in spirits, but at this moment he was praying quietly to himself.

  Then the rope snapped and the rock crashed back down upon Gallant with a loud thud. Gallant tried to scream, but no sound came from his lips. The tree trunks spun back, slamming into Lotus and knocking her off her feet. Guo Jing rushed to her side to help her up.

  Viper watched, grief overtaking him. No smile graced Lotus’s lips anymore.

  “Let’s tie it back together with another rope, to make it stronger,” Guo Jing said.

  “There’s no way. We give up.”

  “If only someone could help us,” Guo Jing mumbled to himself.

  “Huh!” Viper spat. He knew the boy was well intentioned, but, in his grief, he had no patience for such nonsense.

  Lotus thought in silence. Then, suddenly, she jumped up and clapped her hands. A smile was spread across her face. “There is someone!”

  “Who?” Guo Jing asked.

  “The only problem is, Brother Ouyang would have to be patient for another day and wait for the tide to come in again before we could free him.”

  Viper and Guo Jing looked at her. Was someone going to come with the tide to rescue Gallant?

  “We are all tired and hungry. Let’s go and find some food,” Lotus said.

  “Young lady, please explain first,” Viper said.

  “This time tomorrow, Master Ouyang will be freed from under that rock. I’m afraid I am not at liberty to explain how.”

  Her confidence appeased Viper’s doubts. He did not have a choice. He would stay by his nephew’s side and wait.

  Guo Jing and Lotus caught a few wild hares and cooked one for Viper and Gallant. They then returned to Count Seven in the cave, where they ate and talked about everything that had happened since they had parted.

  Much to Guo Jing’s surprise, Lotus explained that she had been the one to set the trap. Viper would not bother them during the night, so they lit a fire at the mouth of the cave to stop any animals entering and then settled down for a full night’s sleep.

  10

  The next morning, Guo Jing awoke to see a shadow hovering at the mouth of the cave. He jumped up, only to realize it was Viper.

  “Is Miss Huang awake?”

  Lotus pretended to be sound asleep still.

  “Not yet,” Guo Jing whispered. “What is it?”

  “Once she’s awake, please ask her to come quickly.”

  “I will.”

  “I gave her a glass of One-Hundred-Day Drunken Slumber,” Count Seven interjected. “I also pressed her sleep pressure point. She won’t be awake for another three months.”

  Viper stared back at them blankly. Then Count Seven began to howl with laughter. Furious, Viper turned and left.

  Lotus sat up and smiled. “If we don’t tease Old Venom now, when will we ever get the chance again?”

  In no hurry, she brushed her hair and washed her face. She straightened her robes and went out to catch some fish and hares for breakfast. Viper came and went eight more times, as jumpy as an ant in a hot pan.

  “Lotus,” Guo Jing said eventually, “will there really be help when the tide comes in again?”

  “Do you think there will be?”

  “No,” Guo Jing said, shaking his head.

  “Neither do I,” Lotus said and laughed.

  “So you lied to Old Venom?”

  “No, I didn’t lie. When the tide comes in, we’ll be able to save him.”

  Guo Jing knew she was always full of schemes, so he did not ask any more. The young coup
le went down to the beach to collect pretty patterned shells.

  Lotus never had other children to play with when she was growing up. The beaches of Peach Blossom Island had been hers alone to explore. Now, with Guo Jing, she felt a joy take hold of her heart. They competed to see who could find the prettiest shells, stuffing their robes as their laughter echoed around the beach.

  “Brother Jing,” Lotus said suddenly, “your hair is in knots. Let me comb it.”

  They sat down on a rock. Lotus removed a tiny jade comb, inlaid with gold, from her robes and began to comb Guo Jing’s hair.

  “How can we be rid of Viper and his nephew, so that the three of us can live on this island in peace? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Lotus said with a sigh.

  “Except that I would miss my mother, and my six mentors.”

  “Yes, and I father.” Lotus was quiet for a while. “I wonder where Mercy is? Shifu asked me to take over as chief of the Beggar Clan. I’m starting to miss those beggars a bit, too.”

  Guo Jing laughed. “Then let’s think of a way to get back.”

  Lotus coiled Guo Jing’s hair back into its bun.

  “You reminded me so much of my mother while you were combing my hair.”

  “Then call me Ma,” Lotus said with a laugh.

  Guo Jing laughed, but did not reply.

  Lotus reached out and tickled him under the armpit. “Aren’t you going to say it?”

  Still laughing, Guo Jing wriggled out of her reach. His hair was already a mess again.

  “Fine—don’t say it. I don’t care. You don’t think anyone will ever call me Ma, is that it? Sit down.”

  Guo Jing obeyed, and Lotus began combing his hair once again, gently brushing the sand away. Her heart was bursting with love. She bent down and kissed the nape of his neck. She recalled the way Guo Jing had watched her use her new Dog-Beating kung fu against Viper Ouyang the previous day and how he had praised her. She would teach him. Seeing Guo Jing’s skills improve delighted her even more than bettering her own. As the daughter of the Heretic of the East, she had witnessed many great displays of martial prowess growing up. She was no longer so impressed by great feats in this regard, much as gold and pearls are nothing to the son of a rich man. Except, Dog-Beating kung fu can only be passed to the Chief of the Beggar Clan, she realized.

  “Guo Jing, do you want to be the Chief Beggar?”

  “But Shifu asked you; why are you asking me?”

  “I’m a girl. I don’t look like the Chief of the Beggar Clan. You would be better. The beggars will be more willing to listen to you than to me; you have such a commanding presence. And, if I don’t pass it on to you, I won’t be able to teach you Dog-Beating Cane.”

  “No, no,” Guo Jing said, shaking his head. “I can’t be the chief. I’m not smart enough to deal with even the smallest of trifles. How could I take on something so important?”

  Lotus had to agree. Shifu had been in grave peril, he was forced to hand over the chieftainship, but, even so, he must have known that she was of rare intelligence, despite her tender years. He had judged her no less capable than the Clan’s Four Elders, and, besides, he had not given her permission to pass on the leadership to another, and certainly not to a simple young man whose only qualification was knowing Dragon-Subduing Palm.

  “If you can’t, then you can’t,” Lotus said with a laugh. “But it is a shame you will never learn Dog-Beating Cane.”

  “As long as you know it, isn’t it the same as me knowing it?”

  His reply came from his heart, and so touched her that she could not help but say, “When Shifu recovers, I will make him chief again. Then … Then…” She wanted to say, Then we can become husband and wife, but somehow the words refused to come out of her mouth. “Do you know how babies are made?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me.”

  “A man and a woman get married and then they have a baby.”

  “Yes, that much I know. But why do babies only come when they’re married?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “Neither do I. I asked my father once, but he said babies tunnel their way out of your armpit.”

  Guo Jing was about to ask for more details when they heard a loud voice cry, “You’ll find out when you’re older. The tide is coming in!”

  Lotus jumped up. She had not expected Viper to sneak up on them. She may not have known much of the intricacies of what happens between a man and a woman, but she knew that it was shameful to speak of them. Her cheeks flushed red as they ran over to the cliff.

  Having spent a day and a night under the rock, Gallant was weaker than ever.

  Viper looked at Lotus with a stern expression. “Miss Huang. You said that someone would come with the tide to help. This is not a game.”

  “My father is most proficient in the ways of Yin Yang and the Five Elements, so it would only be natural for his daughter to have picked some up along the way. No one can compare to the Old Heretic, but I do know a bit about the art of prophesy.”

  Viper was well acquainted with Apothecary Huang’s reputation.

  “Is your father coming? Wonderful.”

  Lotus snorted. “Why would my father bother about a trifle such as this? And once he hears how you hurt my shifu, why would he take pity on you? You would never be able to defeat my father and the two of us together. The idea of him coming should not bring you delight.”

  Viper Ouyang could do nothing but listen to her reproach in silence.

  Lotus turned to Guo Jing. “Go and get some more tree trunks. The more the better. Big ones.”

  Guo Jing nodded and left. Lotus started mending the broken rope with more bark. Viper kept asking if her father was really coming or if it was someone else, but Lotus hummed to herself and did not answer.

  Viper was frustrated, but also comforted by the girl’s relaxed demeanor, which suggested she had a plan, so he went to help Guo Jing. Guo Jing was using Dragon-Subduing Palm to fell the trees.

  The boy’s skills are quite extraordinary, Viper thought to himself. And he knows the Nine Yin Manual by heart. Letting him live will only spell disaster. He would have to get rid of him, if his nephew survived or not. He crouched down between two trees, about three foot apart. Then, with a howl, he sent one palm to each and the sturdy trunks snapped.

  “Uncle Ouyang,” Guo Jing said in amazement, “I wonder how long it would take me to achieve your level of kung fu.”

  Viper did not reply, but his face was dark. Not in your lifetime, he said to himself.

  The two men carried a dozen felled trunks to the foot of the cliff. Viper looked out toward the sea, but the horizon was clear. Not a sail in sight.

  “What are you looking for?” Lotus said. “No one’s coming.”

  This surprised Viper. “No one?” he growled.

  “This is a deserted island; why would anyone come here?”

  Rage boiled so hard in Viper’s chest that he could not speak. He felt the strength gathering in his left hand, in preparation for a strike.

  Lotus did not look at him directly, but instead turned to Guo Jing. “What’s the most you can lift?”

  “About four hundred jin, I would guess.”

  “What about a rock that weighs six hundred jin?”

  “Certainly not.”

  “What if it was in water?”

  “That’s it!” Viper cried in delight. Guo Jing still did not understand her plan. “Once the tide comes in, the rock will be lighter,” Viper explained.

  “And, if we tie it to these trunks,” Lotus said, “when they float with the tide, it will be lighter still.”

  Guo Jing finally understood and clapped his hands.

  In order to maximize buoyancy, Viper tied eight large trunks together and then helped Guo Jing connect them to the broken cable from the day before.

  Lotus stood watching with a smile as the two men worked steadily for nearly two hours until all the trunks were attached. Now all they had to do was wait for the tide.


  * * *

  LOTUS AND Guo Jing were in the cave with their shifu when, later that afternoon, as the sun was setting, Viper came running back to tell them the sea had reached the rock. They made their way to the cliff to wait. As the water reached Gallant’s nostrils once more, they looped the rope around the pine again and waded into the water. Together, they began to work the winch.

  This time, it felt like they had the strength of an army of men, as the tree trunks rose with the water. After only a few rotations around the pine, Viper held his breath and dived down. Within moments, he had pulled his nephew free and was lifting him to the surface.

  Guo Jing cried out with delight. Lotus clapped her hands, momentarily forgetting that she had been the one to lay the trap in the first place.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ON THE BACK OF A SHARK

  1

  Lotus watched as Viper Ouyang carried his Sandy Nephew to the shore. His usually spiteful expression was transformed to one of beaming delight, but he did not utter one word of thanks to either of them. Lotus tugged at Guo Jing’s sleeve and together they strolled back toward the cave.

  Guo Jing could see the look of concern on Lotus’s face. “What are you thinking?” he asked when they were inside with Count Seven again.

  “Three things, each of which present us with a grave problem.”

  “But you’re so clever, you always think of a way to solve everything.”

  Lotus smiled before allowing the frown to wrinkle her brow again ever so slightly.

  “The first is of no concern,” Count Seven Hong said suddenly. “The second and third, however … Indeed, they do present a conundrum.”

  “But Shifu, how do you know what she’s thinking?”

  “A guess. The first is how to heal my injury. The island houses no doctor, no medicine, never mind a master of internal neigong kung fu. But the Old Beggar accepts his fate. Whether I live or die is hardly of import.”

  “Shifu, the Nine Yin Manual,” Guo Jing said. “It contains a few passages entitled ‘On Treating Wounds.’ These explain how to cure internal injuries, although the language is a little odd and I don’t understand much. I could recite them for you—I’m sure you can figure them out.”