Return of condor heroes, p.105
Return of Condor Heroes, page 105
Ma Guangzuo felt unspeakable delight when he saw Yang Guo suddenly appearing here again. He went to him and kept on asking questions; the thought of him disturbing the two never entered his mind.
Yin Kexi had heard that twenty years ago, Qiu Qianren shook the world of Wulin and was extremely famous. Now he heard the laugh and shout which echoed throughout the valley; his internal energy was extremely high and he wanted to meet him. He stepped forward and bowed, saying “Today is Valley Master Gongsun’s day of celebration; has Senior Qiu Lao come for the celebrations as well?”
Qiu Qianchi pointed to Gongsun Zhi and said, “Do you know who that person is to me?”
Yin Kexi said, “I don’t know, but I would like to know.”
Qiu Qianchi said, “You need to ask him yourself.”
Gongsun Zhi asked again, “Are you really the Iron Palm Water Floater? That’s strange!” He clapped his hands and said to a disciple in green, “Go to the library and bring the box from the shelf on the eastern side to me.”
Lu E did not know what to do and just pulled a chair over for her mother to sit down in.
Gongsun Zhi was surprised, “How come she and that Yang scum are still alive after falling into the crocodile pool?”
In a short while, the disciple returned with the box and handed it over to Gongsun Zhi. Gongsun Zhi opened it and took out a letter. He said frostily, “Years ago, I received a letter from Qiu Qianren. If you really are Qiu Qianren then this letter is a fake.”
Qiu Qianchi was shocked and thought, “Ever since brother and I argued, we’ve never contacted each other; why did he send a letter to me all of a sudden? What’s in the letter?” She then said loudly, “When did I write a letter to you? That really is a load of bull.”
When Gongsun Zhi heard her accent, he suddenly remembered someone. He was shocked and his back broke out in a cold sweat; but he immediately thought, “It can’t be, it can’t be; she died long ago in that grotto, she’s just a pile of bones now. But who exactly is this person?” He opened the letter and read it out loud:
“To Brother Zhi and Sister Chi:
Ever since first brother died at the hands of Guo Jing and Huang Rong on Iron Palm Peak…”
When Qiu Qianchi heard this line she was filled with hurt and sorrow; she shouted, “What? Who said my brother is dead?” The sibling love between she and Qiu Qianzhang was extremely deep; when she heard news of his death her whole body shook and her voice changed. Originally she had submerged her chi into her ‘dan tian’ and it was difficult to distinguish whether her voice was a male’s or female. Now, as her feelings were brought out, the words ‘who said my brother is dead’ were said with a female voice.
Gongsun Zhi heard that the person in front of him had a female voice and said ‘my brother’, he was shocked even further; but now he was certain that this person in front of him is definitely not Qiu Qianren, he continued reading:
“…this stupid brother had been extremely shameful in not holding our sibling relationship together and creating this hostility between us; all the blame is on this stupid brother. I pondered in the middle of the night and realized all the countless evil deeds I have done. At the second Mount Hua tournament, Reverend Yideng enlightened this stupid brother; I dropped my knife of slaughter and followed the ways of Buddha. I have just begun my studies; apart from Buddha’s teachings my mind is always on the joyous days of the past with brother and sister. I wish to make up for the things I’ve done before it’s too late. Fate is a hard thing to judge.
From monk Ci’en.”
Qiu Qianchi had been sobbing during all this; by the time Gongsun Zhi finished reading the letter she could hold it in no longer and cried out, “Big brother, second brother, you need to know the suffering I’ve been through.” She took off the mask and shouted, “Gongsun Zhi, do you remember me?” This sentence was shouted out sternly, another seven or eight candles in the hall blew out while the ones that stayed alight flickered.
In the gloomy candlelight, an old woman with a long face and wretched expression could be seen; everyone trembled in fear and no one dared to say anything. The hall was silent and everyone’s heart was pounding.
Suddenly, an old servant who was standing in the corner threw himself forward and called out, “Matron, Matron, you’re not dead.”
Qiu Qianchi nodded and said, “Second Uncle Zhang, you remember me.”
This old servant was extremely loyal; when he saw his Matron alive and well, he was delighted and kept on kowtowing, calling out, “Matron, this really is something to rejoice.”
Apart from Jinlun Fawang and the others, all the guests were residents of the valley; most of the people over thirty or forty years of age could remember who she was and they all rushed forward with their questions.
Gongsun Zhi shouted loudly, “Stand back!”
The crowd was alarmed and moved back. They saw him pointing to Qiu Qianchi, shouting out, “Witch, why have you returned? You’ve actually still got the face to see me?”
Lu E had been hoping that her father would admit his mistakes and get back together with her mother. But when her father came out with this, she became emotional and rushed to her father; she knelt down on the floor and called out, “Father! Mother’s not dead, mother’s not dead. Quickly apologize and ask for her forgiveness.”
Gongsun Zhi chuckled, “Ask her for forgiveness? What have I done wrong?”
Lu E said, “You trapped mother down that grotto and let her stay down there to suffer for over ten years. Father, how could you do that to her?”
Gongsun Zhi chuckled, “It was she who first harmed me; do you know that? She pushed me in the flower thicket and let me endure the suffering of the piercing of thousands and thousands of thorns; do you know that? She placed the antidote in frosty arsenic water, putting me in a situation where if I took it I’d die, if I didn’t I’ll still die; do you know that? She even forced me to… to kill my lover; do you know that?”
Lu E cried, “I know that, it was Rou’er.”
Gongsun Zhi had not heard this name for over ten years; his face changed as he heard it and he faced the sky, mumbling, “Yes, it was Rou’er, it was Rou’er!” He pointed to Qiu Qianchi and said with revulsion, “It was that evil and cruel witch who forced me to kill Rou’er!” His face was becoming more and more mournful; he quietly called out, “Rou’er… Rou’er…”
Yang Guo felt that sinful couples were not good people. He was poisoned himself and had only a few days to live; he just hoped that he could spend these few days with Xiao Longnu in peace. He didn’t care about which one of the Gongsun couple was wrong or right; he lightly tugged on Xiao Longnu’s sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go.”
Xiao Longnu said, “Is that woman really his wife? Was she really trapped down in a cave by her husband for over ten years?” She could not believe that such an evil person could exist.
Yang Guo said, “That couple is taking revenge on each other.”
Xiao Longnu thought for a while and whispered, “I don’t understand this; could it be that she was the same as me and forced into marrying him?”
In her thoughts, if two people aren’t forced into marriage then they’ll be loving and compassionate towards each other; how could they harm each other?
Yang Guo shook his head and said, “There are many bad people in the world, while there’s only a few who’re good; the thoughts of these people are hard to fathom…”
Suddenly Gongsun Zhi shouted, “Move!” His right leg lifted up and Lu E’s body flew away; she had been kicked by her father.
Her body was flying straight towards Qiu Qianchi’s upper body. Qiu Qianchi could not move her arms and legs; she could only lower her head to avoid her. But Lu E was coming in too fast; a ‘peng’ sound was heard as she crashed into the shoulders of her mother. Qiu Qianchi fell backwards with the chair, her bald head crashing into the stone pillar behind her. Blood stained the stone pillar and she couldn’t crawl back up. After being kicked by her father, Lu E was on the floor as well, lying unconscious.
Chapter 20 : A Hero's Imperative
The Mongolians attacked Xiang Yang once again. Arrows and stones were sent towards the city like rain and hail. The soldiers at the front of the attack placed ladders around the city of Xiang Yang and climbed up. The city was guarded tightly; groups of eight soldiers held a wooden ram in the arms and were knocking the ladders off the city walls.
Yang Guo wanted to keep himself away from this dispute but when he saw how cruel Gongsun Zhi was, his anger erupted and he decided to step forward to argue with him. Just as he was about to do this, Xiao Longnu dashed forward and picked up Qiu Qianchi. She patted her ‘Jade Pillow’ pressure point a few times and controlled the bleeding. She then tore off a piece of cloth from her sleeve and covered her wound before shouting at Gongsun Zhi, “Mr. Gongsun, she is your wife, how can you treat her like that? Since you’ve already got a wife, why do you still want to marry me? Even if I married you, won’t you treat me just as you’ve treated her?”
Those three sentences were asked fervently; Gongsun Zhi’s tongue was tied and he couldn’t reply. Ma Guangzuo couldn’t help himself and cheered.
Xiaoxiang Zi said coldly, “This Miss is right.”
Gongsun Zhi really did love Xiao Longnu; though he was made speechless by her he didn’t get angry, he was just embarrassed; he lowered his tone and said to her, “Sister Liu, how can you compare yourself with that evil woman? I can’t love you enough; if I have any ill intent towards you then let heaven condemn me where I stand.”
Xiao Longnu said coldly, “All I need is him to love me; even if your love for me is a hundred times stronger I wouldn’t care.” She then went over to Yang Guo and held his hand.
Yang Guo was filled with resentment, he thought, “Gu Gu loves me like this yet I just have a few days to live and it’s all because of this bastard.” He pointed to Gongsun Zhi and shouted, “You said you have no ill intent towards my Gu Gu, huh! You left me for dead and then lied to my Gu Gu to get her to marry you; is that good intent? She’s been poisoned by the Passion Flowers and you know that there isn’t an antidote to cure her, yet you don’t tell her, is that good intent?”
Xiao Longnu was shocked and quivered, “Is this true?”
Yang Guo said, “Don’t worry; you’ve already taken the antidote.” He then smiled a smile that was filled with grief along with joy, he thought, “I’ve given the antidote to you; I’m willing to die for you.”
Gongsun Zhi looked at Qiu Qianchi and then looked at Xiao Longnu and Yang Guo; his eyes swept across them and jealousy, yearning, anger, shame, embarrassment and disappointment all filled his heart and disturbed him. Although he had great self control, he had now fallen into a semi mad state. He suddenly bent down and took out his yin yang twin blades from under their red cover; he clashed them together and shouted, “Fine, fine! We’ll all die together!”
Everyone gasped; they would never have thought that he had actually brought weapons to his wedding ceremony.
Xiao Longnu chuckled, “Guo’er, we don’t have to be respectful to such an evil person.”
A ‘qiang lang’ sound was heard as she took out a pair of swords from underneath the bridal gown; it was the ‘Gentleman’ and ‘Lady’ swords. Though she wasn’t versed in the ways of the world, she did not have an ounce of mercy in her when dealing with such evil people. When she went to take revenge for Grandma Sun, she frightened all the Taoists of Chongyang Palace witless and the Blithe Sage Hao Datong almost lost his life to her. The thought of killing him entered her mind when Gongsun Zhi had stopped her and Yang Guo from getting back together today. She had hidden the weapons beneath her gown so that when Gongsun Zhi cured Yang Guo, she would immediately take the opportunity to attack him with Yang Guo at her side. If it didn’t work then she would kill herself for Yang Guo; not allowing herself to be sullied in this Passionless Valley.
All the guests were shocked when they saw that both of them had prepared weapons. Only Fawang and the others, who were experienced, knew that this celebration would end in tragedy and weren’t surprised. They were only surprised with the fall of Qiu Qianchi in one attack; this did not match the abilities of someone with the profound internal energy she had just shown.
Yang Guo took the ‘Gentleman’ sword from Xiao Longnu and said, “Gu Gu, today we’ll kill that man to take revenge for me.”
Xiao Longnu’s ‘Lady’ sword trembled and she said surprised, “Take revenge for you?”
Yang Guo was filled with sadness in his heart but he couldn’t tell her about it, he just said, “This bastard has harmed many people.” He flipped his sword and went for Gongsun Zhi’s left side. He knew that this battle was extremely dangerous; though Xiao Longnu’s Passion Flower poison had been cured, he was still poisoned. If they come together and used the “Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay” and stirred feelings of love, he would break out with unbearable pain. He kept his eye on the enemy and used “Quanzhen Swordplay”; every stance and form of his was extremely stringent and cautious. If these stances were performed by Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the other old Taoists, the stances will of course be performed steadily and controlled, profound and intense. In the hands of Yang Guo it displayed maturity beyond his years but his stances were slightly less smooth.
Gongsun Zhi knew that when the two used their combined swordplay they were powerful so he immediately used the “Yin Yang Wild Blades” with the black sword in his right hand and the gold saber in his left. His stances were getting fiercer and fiercer with every stroke. The “Quanzhen Swordplay” that Yang Guo was using was developed by Wang Chongyang; though it wasn’t vicious and fierce like the opponent’s, it was subtle and had variations. Yang Guo defended cautiously and did not attack as he received three stances. Xiao Longnu called out and raised the ‘Lady’ sword, attacking Gongsun Zhi’s back.
Gongsun Zhi was furious, he thought, “This beautiful girl was going to be my wife and now she’s joined an outsider to attack me.” He continued thinking, “The evil bitch coming back here suddenly and revealing all the things I’ve done has caused me to lose my respect and all face. Not only can’t I force sister Liu to marry me; it looks I won’t be able to keep my position here in the valley.” Though today’s matters are troublesome, he was going to rely on his martial arts to get him out of this mess. All he wanted to do was beat Yang Guo, kidnap Xiao Longnu and run away. He didn’t know that Xiao Longnu’s Passion Flower poison had been cured and still thought that she had less than thirty six days to live; he was still going to force her to marry him. His thoughts were becoming more and more evil and the wild twin blades in his hands were becoming more vicious by the minute.
Xiao Longnu used the “Jade Maiden Swordplay” so that when Yang Guo and she become one, they would be able to unleash the power of the “Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay”. But his eyes did not glance over at her once; he was just concentrating on himself as he fought.
Xiao Longnu was extremely surprised and asked, “Guo’er, why aren’t you looking at me?” Her love was gradually being stirred and the light from her sword suddenly enhanced.
When Yang Guo heard her voice, his heart trembled and his chest broke out with an unbearable pain. His sword slowed and a ‘chi’ sound was heard as the black sword cut his sleeve. Xiao Longnu was alarmed and unleashed three stances in a row, blocking Gongsun Zhi’s attack.
Yang Guo said, “I can’t look at you or listen to you.”
Xiao Longnu said tenderly, “Why?”
Yang Guo was afraid that he would meet danger again and replied coarsely, “If you want me to die then continue talking to me!” As soon as his anger stirred the pain immediately stopped and he received the stances of Gongsun Zhi’s black sword.
Xiao Longnu was extremely sorry and said, “Don’t be angry, I won’t say anything more.” Her mind suddenly lit up, “My poison has been cured but his hasn’t! He got the antidote but he didn’t take it and returned here to give it to me.” She was extremely touched and the love in her was boundless; as soon as this feeling grew, the power of the “Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay” enhanced greatly. The stances that she unleashed protected all of Yang Guo’s vital points. Since she was protecting Yang Guo, Yang Guo should protect her, but he didn’t dare to glance over at her; and so she was completely unprotected and exposed to the enemy’s attack.
Gongsun Zhi’s eyes were very sharp; he discovered the weakness in just a few stances but he didn’t want to harm a single hair of Xiao Longnu’s head. He directed all his vicious sword and saber stances towards Yang Guo. He was attacking like a crashing wave but Yang Guo was defending like an unmovable cliff. With Xiao Longnu using all her efforts to protect him, all of Gongsun Zhi’s attacks were actually rendered useless.
By this time, Lu E had wakened up and stood next to her mother watching the battle. She watched as Xiao Longnu concentrated only on guarding Yang Guo, ignoring all dangers to herself; she couldn’t help but ask herself, “If that was you, could you disregard all the dangers to yourself to protect him?” She sighed lightly and said, “I would definitely be able to act like Miss Long, but he would not act the same way towards me.”
