A Snake Lies Waiting

by Jin Yong

  Ox Village? Lotus’s heart skipped a beat. This is where Guo Jing’s family came from. He must not find out, not until he is stronger. She made a brief reply and escorted the farmer back outside.

  When Lotus went to check on Guo Jing, he was sleeping. She checked his bandage, which was still clean.

  She approached the cupboard and twisted the metal bowl to open the doors to the secret chamber. Then she started carrying the melons inside, one by one. The only thing that remained was to work out what to do with the girl. Lotus explained to her repeatedly that she must not let anyone know they were there, no matter what was happening outside. Whatever she did, she must not call for them.

  The young woman did not understand, but she could detect the seriousness with which the instructions were being given, so she nodded a firm promise. “You want to eat your watermelon in peace, in case someone steals them, and, once you have finished, you’ll come out again. I understand. Silly girl won’t tell.”

  “Silly girl won’t tell. Good girl,” Lotus said. “If you tell, silly girl will be a bad girl.”

  “Silly girl won’t tell. Silly girl is a good girl,” she insisted.

  Lotus proceeded to feed Guo Jing a bowl of congee, and then she too filled her stomach, before helping him hobble into the dark chamber. As she was about to close the door, Lotus looked up and saw the girl’s blank expression. She was watching without comprehension.

  “Silly girl won’t tell.”

  Lotus felt a pang in her heart. What a foolish young girl. What if, the first person she sees, she says, “They’re in the secret room, eating watermelons. Silly girl won’t tell”? The only way to make sure we are safe is to kill her.

  Lotus had grown up under a father who cared little for traditional ideas of justice, good and evil. The girl had some kind of close relationship to her martial brother, Tempest Qu, she knew this, but she was also a real and present danger. If there were ten of these silly girls, she would kill them all.

  She took the dagger from Guo Jing’s belt and stepped back into the room.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  IN THE SECRET CHAMBER

  1

  Lotus only managed two steps before turning to glance back at Guo Jing. She was met with a look of suspicion. It was as if he had read the murderous intent on her face.

  Killing her isn’t essential, Lotus thought. And Guo Jing would be very upset with me. This got her thinking. It would be no simple matter to make amends. He might not just be upset with me; he might hate me forever. Maybe he won’t say anything for years, decades, but instead carry the feeling in his heart. No, it’s not worth it. We’ll just have to take the risk.

  She closed the door again and looked around the chamber. In the western corner, there was a small skylight of only a foot square, allowing light to filter through. The paper window pane was caked in dust, but it did at least mean they could just about see around them. The air holes were clogged, so Lotus cleaned them with the tip of the dagger. The small, stuffy chamber was filled with a foul, musty smell, but, considering the danger they were in, it was the best they could do.

  Guo Jing leaned against the wall and smiled. “This is perfect. Only … we are joined by two dead bodies. Does that scare you?”

  In her heart, Lotus did feel a little afraid, but she was determined not to show it. “One was my martial brother; he won’t harm me. The other was a good-for-nothing official. I wouldn’t have been scared of him when he was alive, let alone as a ghost.” She proceeded to move the skeletons into the northern corner of the room, setting them down side by side. Then she spread out the rice straw that had come with the watermelons and laid a dozen or so of them in a circle on top of it. “What do you think?”

  “Excellent. We can start.”

  Lotus led him over to the straw and sat him down. She then settled down to his left and crossed her legs. She looked up and spotted a small hole in the wall, the size of a coin. She peered through and, to her delight, discovered a mirror on the other side, which reflected a view of the room beyond. Whoever built this secret chamber had planned it carefully. They could see what was going on outside, even when hiding inside. Unfortunately, the mirror too was covered in a thick layer of dust. She wrapped a handkerchief around her finger, poked it through the hole and rubbed it clean.

  The Qu girl was sitting on the floor, throwing stones. Her lips were moving, but Lotus could not make out what she was saying. She placed her ear to the hole; now, she could hear. The girl was singing a lullaby. Lotus found it funny at first, but, the longer she listened, the more her heart stirred. Had the girl’s mother sung the same song for her when she was a baby? If my mother … hadn’t died so young, maybe she would have sung it for me, too. Her eyes were wet.

  “What’s the matter?” Guo Jing said. “Don’t be upset—I’ll recover.”

  Lotus quickly wiped her eyes. “Come, teach me how to do this.”

  Guo Jing dutifully began reciting the relevant section of the Nine Yin Manual once again.

  There was a saying in the wulin: “Before you punch, you must first learn to take a punch.” That was the most fundamental thing for any student—how to stop yourself from getting seriously injured. This could involve sophisticated techniques to aid recovery, including the unlocking of pressure points, the setting of broken bones or the drawing of poison from wounds. But the chapter “On Treating Wounds” in the Nine Yin Manual was aimed at masters of the martial arts and focused on the restorative power of deep-breathing exercises. It assumed any reader would already know how to deal with external injuries like fractures and cuts.

  Lotus only needed to hear the passage once to memorize it. There were, however, several sections in which the meaning was unclear and needed to be discussed. Luckily, what Guo Jing lacked in intelligence, he made up for in years of practice in the principles of Quanzhen kung fu, so, together, they were able to make out most of it.

  Lotus reached out her right palm and connected with Guo Jing’s left. Together, they started to move the qi around their bodies, just as the Manual described. The injured party used their breathing to dislodge any blockages, while the accomplice added their own qi when needed.

  Four hours later, having managed several full circulations, they separated their palms for a short rest. Lotus took up the dagger and cut one of the watermelons into slices, feeding some to Guo Jing and then to herself. Then they began again. After a few hours, Guo Jing began to feel the tightness in his chest ease. Lotus’s warm qi began to flow through his veins and pressure points. The pain in his abdomen also started to let up. The techniques described in the Manual were truly amazing. He would follow them to the letter.

  By the time they took their third break, the light coming through the small skylight was noticeably dimmer. Outside, the sun was setting, and already Guo Jing’s chest was feeling less constricted. Lotus, meanwhile, was also feeling invigorated.

  They chatted briefly, but, just as they were about to start up again, they heard the pounding of footsteps, which stopped outside the inn door. Then came the sound of several people bursting inside.

  “Bring us food! We’re starving!”

  Guo Jing and Lotus looked at each other in shock. They recognized the gruff voice. It was Hector Sha.

  Lotus got up quickly and peered through the small hole. Not only could she see Hector Sha, but also Wanyan Honglie, Yang Kang, Viper Ouyang, Tiger Peng … They were all there.

  Hector Sha slapped his hand down on the table, but no one came. Where was the girl?

  Graybeard Liang reappeared after looking through the different rooms. “The place is abandoned,” he said, frowning.

  Hector Sha volunteered to go into the village and buy food. Viper Ouyang had already spread out some straw in a corner; now, he carried his nephew over, so that he might rest and recover.

  “Those palace guards may be useless,” Tiger Peng began, “but their heinous influence seems to extend in every direction. We haven’t eaten all day. Your Majesty, you’re f
rom the north, and yet you knew about this isolated village and could lead us here. Such knowledge really is remarkable.”

  Yet Wanyan Honglie did not look in the least pleased to receive this compliment. He sighed briefly before speaking. “I first came here nineteen years ago.”

  Everyone noticed the pained look on his face. It puzzled them, for they did not know that this was where Charity Bao had saved his life. The village was as desolate now as it had been then. But he would never again see that beautiful girl dressed in plain green robes, with a hairpin in her hair, who had fed him chicken soup.

  At this point, Hector Sha returned with wine and food. Tiger Peng poured a draft for everyone and then turned to Wanyan Honglie. “Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince, today you succeeded in obtaining General Yue Fei’s last writings—surely a sign, if ever there was one, that the Great Jin will soon triumph over the world, bringing ten thousand lands under your dominion. May we all offer our sincerest congratulations!” He raised his cup, then swallowed its contents in one.

  His voice had been so loud that even Guo Jing could hear him, through the wall. General Yue’s writings have fallen into their hands? The shock went through him, undoing the effects of the day’s training in an instant. Lotus could feel her palm trembling. She could sense that he had heard everything and that the news had affected his qi. If she did not act, he could come to great danger. She leaned closer and put her lips to his ear.

  “They may have got hold of it, but we can always steal it back. Your second shifu Quick Hands Zhu Cong could steal ten books, if he wanted,” she whispered.

  Indeed, Guo Jing thought. He closed his eyes and shut out the voices on the other side of the wall.

  Lotus once again put her eye to the spyhole. This time, she saw Wanyan Honglie raise his cup and drink from it. “You have all worked hard to secure this victory, but, above all, Master Ouyang must be praised for his role. Had he not dealt with the Guo boy, it would have been much more difficult.”

  Viper Ouyang’s laugh clanged like crashing cymbals. Guo Jing heard it and a shiver shot through his heart.

  Heavens above, please protect us, Lotus thought. Don’t let the Venom start plucking his devil’s zither, or else Guo Jing’s life will be in grave danger.

  “There is no way the Song army will find us here,” Viper Ouyang said. “I confess, I am curious about these writings of the General. Why don’t we all take a look?”

  He removed the marble box from his robes and placed it on the table. If the writings did indeed contain passages relating to the martial arts, he would take them for himself. If they were concerned merely with military strategy, then he would have no use for them and would happily let Wanyan Honglie take them.

  Everyone gathered round. Lotus was also watching. What can I do? It would be better to destroy it completely than let it fall into the hands of these traitors.

  “I have made a comprehensive analysis of the General’s poetry,” Wanyan Honglie began, “as well as official documents and records from previous dynasties as relating to the construction of imperial palaces, which is how I came to deduce its location, fifteen steps east of the Hall of Wintry Jade. I was proved right. I do not believe anyone in the Song court was aware of the treasure hidden in their palace. Therefore, I don’t think they will have realized what the commotion last night was about.”

  He was clearly proud of himself, and the men gathered in the inn understood that this was their opportunity to heap yet more praise on the Prince.

  “Son,” the Sixth Prince continued, twisting his mustache, “open the box.”

  Yang Kang stepped forward, ripped the paper that covered the seal, and opened the lid. Everyone crowded forward and peered inside. Immediately, their faces fell, and no one dared to speak.

  The box was empty.

  Lotus could not see inside it, but she understood just from their expressions. She watched in great amusement.

  Wanyan Honglie reached out to clutch the edge of the table, sat down and placed his head in his hands. All this time spent making plans, deciphering texts—all of which suggested the writings would be in that box. How can they have suddenly disappeared?

  Just then, a smile broke across his face. He took the box and went out to the courtyard, where he threw it against the stone slabs, breaking it into hundreds of small pieces.

  He thinks there is a secret compartment, Lotus thought at once. She wished she could see, but she could not risk going outside. Moments later, however, she had her answer, as Wanyan Honglie entered, his face as glum as before.

  “There was a secret part to the box. But it too was empty,” he said as he sat down.

  The others took turns offering their ideas. Lotus listened to their outrageous summations and could not help but feel amused. She related the events to Guo Jing, who was relieved to hear that the Prince did not have the writings, after all.

  Not that these traitors will give up so easily, Lotus thought. They will go back to the palace tonight. Lotus and Guo Jing’s shifu, Count Seven Hong, was still inside and he could be implicated. The Hoary Urchin was there to protect him, but he was erratic and could not be trusted to deal with things in the right way.

  “We can go back to the palace tonight and keep looking.” Just as she had guessed. It was Viper Ouyang who was first to make this suggestion.

  “Not tonight,” Wanyan Honglie replied. “The palace will be on alert, after the disturbance we made.”

  “We can’t avoid the guards, that much is true,” Viper continued, “but why worry about them? His Majesty and the young Prince can rest here, along with my nephew.”

  Wanyan Honglie cupped his hands. “Master is most kind. I will remain here, awaiting your good news.”

  At this, everyone spread out straw and lay down to sleep.

  2

  After a mere two hours of sleep, Viper Ouyang woke the men and together they set off in the direction of the city.

  Wanyan Honglie, meanwhile, tossed and turned. Around midnight, he heard the sound of the rising tide along the Qiantang River. A dog started barking at the other end of the village. It sounded like wails of distress, which only added to his anxiety.

  Hours later, he heard footsteps outside. Someone was coming. He sat up and drew his sword. Yang Kang was already at the door, waiting. A pool of moonlight collected on the floor. The door opened and in stepped a bedraggled young woman.

  She had been out in the forest all this time. The sight of people sleeping in her room did not trouble her. Instead, she walked over to where the firewood was piled up, found a patch of floor to lie down on and was soon snoring loudly.

  A simple country girl, Yang Kang thought. He smiled and went back to sleep. Wanyan Honglie’s mind, however, was racing. He got up, took a candle from his bag and lit it. Then he took out a book and started flipping through its pages.

  Lotus saw the light through the small hole in the wall. She leaned in to take a look, but all she could see was a moth dancing around the candle. Suddenly, it threw itself into the flame, scorching its wings, before falling onto the tabletop. Wanyan Honglie picked it up. “If only Lady Bao were here, she would make you right again.” He then removed a small silver knife from inside his robes, as well as a bottle of herbs, and stroked them affectionately.

  Lotus tapped Guo Jing on the shoulder and then moved aside so that he might take a look. Guo Jing watched, rage swelling in his chest. He vaguely recognized the blade and the bottle as belonging to Yang Kang’s mother, Charity Bao. He had seen her using them when she was tending to the injured rabbit in the Zhao residence.

  “Nineteen years ago,” Wanyan Honglie began to murmur. “In this very village.” He rose to his feet with a sigh, picked up the candle and went outside.

  The implication of what he had just heard hit Guo Jing hard. Could this be his true home? Ox Village? He pressed his lips to Lotus’s ear to ask her. Lotus merely nodded. Guo Jing felt his blood bubble and his body shake.

  As Lotus’s right palm was still
touching Guo Jing’s left, she could sense the agitation in his qi. This was dangerous. She reached for his other palm and together they started to try to calm his beating heart.

  After what felt like a long time, a shaft of light flickered through the hole as they heard Wanyan Honglie sigh and enter the inn once again. By now, Guo Jing’s heart and mind were at peace. He peered out.

  Wanyan Honglie was sitting in the candlelight, as if in a trance, clutching several pieces of broken tile and brick in his hands.

  This traitor is only ten steps away, Guo Jing was thinking. All I would need to do to kill him is throw my dagger.

  He drew from his waistband the golden blade Genghis Khan had given him, and whispered to Lotus, “Open the door.”

  “No!” Lotus hissed. “Killing him may be easy, but then our hiding place will be revealed.”

  “But I don’t know where he will be in six days and six nights,” he replied with a tremble in his voice.

  Lotus knew he would not be easily persuaded, so she leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Both your mother and I want you alive.”

  Guo Jing slowly nodded and replaced the dagger in its sheath. He then pressed his eye to the hole once more. Wanyan Honglie was asleep, slumped over the table. At that moment, he saw someone rise from the bed of straw. Light fell on their profile, but it was difficult to make out who it was by way of the dusty mirror. Guo Jing watched as the figure walked over to Wanyan Honglie, took the silver knife and medicine bottle, examined them and then placed them gently back on the table. The figure turned to face Guo Jing, and that was when he saw who it was. Yang Kang.

  Now is your chance to avenge the death of your parents, Guo Jing said to himself, willing Yang Kang to hear his thoughts. Stab him. Then you will never have to breathe the same air ever again. You won’t get another chance like this. The Old Venom and the others will return soon.

  He watched anxiously to see if his sworn brother would make a move. But, after replacing the items on the table, Yang Kang blew out the candle. For a moment, all was black, until Guo Jing gradually managed to make out some vague shapes by what remained of the moonlight. He watched as Yang Kang removed his robe and draped it over Wanyan Honglie’s shoulders. This only infuriated Guo Jing even more. He could not bear to watch. How could Yang Kang treat the man who killed his parents with such tenderness?