Return of condor heroes, p.33
Return of Condor Heroes, page 33
Yang Guo quickly said, “No, you have always been kind.”
Xiao Longnu shook her head and said, “I treated you terribly before, at first I kicked you out of the tomb, it was lucky that Grandma Sun made me promise to take care of you. If I didn’t turn you away, Grandma Sun would not have died!” When she said this, she couldn’t stop tears flowing from her eyes. She had begun to practice martial arts at the age of five, and had never cried since; now she cried heavily, she was in a disturbed state of mind, her bones and joints made cracking noises, and she felt her internal energy draining away from her.
Yang Guo was alarmed and said, “Gu Gu, what’s happening? How are you feeling?”
Just as he said this, two ‘zha’ ‘zha’ noises were heard from behind and the stone door opened, Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo entered. Once the ‘Dragon Snapping Stone’ had been set, Li Mochou thought they were going to die anyway so there wasn’t any need to be wary of the tomb’s booby traps, and boldly dashed throughout the tomb. She managed to go through some rooms before finally arriving at Grandma Sun’s room. She knew she must have had extraordinary luck, she managed to avoid the booby traps but she didn’t know that the tomb’s booby traps were actually designed to repel Jin soldiers, once the large heavy stones had been set, someone must activate the traps to ambush the enemy. Xiao Longnu didn’t do this, and so the tomb’s booby traps were not armed.
Yang Guo immediately darted across, and blocked Xiao Longnu.
Li Mochou said, “Move out of the way, I have something to say to your master.”
Yang Guo was afraid that she was going to harm his master and didn’t dare to move and said, “Just say it there.”
Li Mochou stared at him for a while and sighed, and said, “There are very few men like you left in this world.”
Xiao Longnu got up and asked, “Apprentice sister, is it good or bad that you have described him this way?”
Li Mochou said, “Apprentice sister, you have never left the mountain, you don’t know how evil people’s hearts can be. Someone who views love and passion as deeply as him, it would be difficult to find another under heaven’s skies.” She has been hurt by love, her anger and fury was great, and she killed many men in the world who were loving and passionate.
Xiao Longnu was extremely pleased and quietly said, “If that is true, then having him die with me won’t make my life be without purpose.”
Li Mochou said, “Apprentice sister, who exactly is that person to you? You want to marry him?”
Xiao Longnu said, “No, he is my disciple. He said I treat him extremely well. But whether I have been kind or not, I don’t know.”
Li Mochou was puzzled, she shook her head and said, “Apprentice sister; let me see your arm.” She stretched out her left hand and grasped Xiao Longnu’s arm, she lifted her right arm’s sleeve and saw on her white skin a red dot, it was the ‘shou gong sha’ (virginity dot) left by her master.
Li Mochou was secretly respectful, “The two of them having a relationship like this in the tomb yet they’ve kept respect, she is still a pure and untouched virgin.” She then rolled up her sleeve, a ‘shou gong sha’ was on her arm, the sight of two white arms next two each other was captivating. She had no alternative but to be chaste; however her apprentice sister has a lover who was willing to die for her, fortunate and unfortunate. The two women were very different, she couldn’t stop herself from sighing, and let go of Xiao Longnu’s hand.
Xiao Longnu said, “What have you got to say to me?”
Li Mochou had originally wanted to insult her, saying that she seduced men and had brought the sect to shame, and thereby anger her into revealing the way out of the tomb. But right now she had nothing to say. After a while, she had another idea, and said, “Apprentice sister, I have come to apologize to you.”
Xiao Longnu was shocked by this, she knew that her apprentice sister was a very proud woman, never has she lowered her head to anyone, she didn’t know what she wanted. So she calmly replied, “You live your life, and I live mine, we go our own ways, there is no need to apologize for anything.”
Li Mochou said, “Apprentice sister listen to me, in my entire life, the happiest time was when I had a lover. There’s an old saying ‘It’s easy to get money and treasures, but it’s difficult to find a lover’. There is no need to talk about sister’s bitter life. That young man treats you well, you do not lack anything.”
Xiao Longnu smiled and said, “Yes, I am very happy. I know that he will never forget about me.”
Li Mochou’s heart ached and said, “You should leave the mountain and enjoy life. It’s a beautiful world; the two of you together will have boundless pleasures.”
Xiao Longnu raised her head and quietly said, “Yes, it’s just a pity that it is too late now.”
Li Mochou said, “Why?”
Xiao Longnu said, “The ‘Dragon Snapping Stones’ has been set, even if our Master was resurrected, will we not be able to get out of here.”
Li Mochou quietly breathed out, blowing through her lips and thought, “you had hoped to take advantage of Xiao Longnu’s will to live, and rely on her familiarity with the tomb to find a way out; but in the end it was useless”, she became angry and her urge to kill suddenly emerged, her hand twisted slightly and she raised a palm towards Xiao Longnu’s head.
Yang Guo was at the side listening to the two of them talking when he suddenly saw Li Mochou attack, alarmed, he automatically lowered his body and threw out two palms, called out, and unleashed the “Toad Stance” that Ouyang Feng had taught him. This was the kung fu he learned when he was younger, but since he lived in the tomb he did not practice it. But it was etched in his mind, at the most dangerous times he would use it without thinking. Li Mochou’s palm had yet to be unleashed, when she suddenly felt an extremely powerful wind pushing her from the side, she quickly sent the palm out to block the attack. Yang Guo had practiced martial arts in the tomb for two years, his internal energy had improved, though it was different to the internal energy of the “Toad Stance”, the power behind the push was still great, a thudding sound was made as he sent Li Mochou across the room, and she crashed into the wall causing pain in her back.
Li Mochou was angry and she wiped her palms, in the middle of a battle she fell into someone’s trap.
Xiao Longnu knew that Yang Guo’s last attack was a lucky hit, if her apprentice sister used her most refined “Divine Serpent Palm”, Yang Guo and she would not be able to hold her off. She grabbed Yang Guo’s arm and dashed towards the door.
Li Mochou sent out a palm, she didn’t guess that while her palm was in midair she would be struck across the left cheek. Although it didn’t hurt the sound was crisp, she heard Xiao Longnu call out, “You want to learn the skills of the “Jade Heart Manual”; well here it is!” Li Mochou was struck on the right cheek and she was also startled by what she said. She knew that the “Jade Heart Manual” was extremely powerful, and now she saw Xiao Longnu’s palm was extremely swift and quick, the variations mysterious, it was undoubtedly from their sect’s skills. But she couldn’t see through it or understand the essence of the palm, but knew that the skills just used belonged to the “Jade Heart Manual”. She immediately became frightened, and stared as her apprentice sister took Yang Guo’s hand and exited the room, shutting the door. She felt her cheek and thought, “At least she held back, if she used all her strength behind the palms, wouldn’t I have died?” She didn’t know that Xiao Longnu had yet to complete this kung fu, although the palm stances were refined, the power in them would not hurt anyone.
Yang Guo saw his master strike Li Mochou’s cheek and was delighted and said, “Gu Gu, Li Mochou would definitely not be able to beat the manual’s skills” before he finished he saw Xiao Longnu shaking and she wasn’t able to control it, alarmed, he called out, “Gu Gu, how are you…you” and Xiao Longnu shivered and said, “I’m… I’m cold.”
Although the attacks she used were light, she still had to use her internal energy. She had yet to recover her internal energy; this injury was serious. She has always practiced on the Chilled Jade Bed, her foundation was of this nature, now the strength to oppose was gone; an extreme cold penetrated her and her teeth chattered incessantly.
Yang Guo was alarmed and called out, “What should I do?” In this urgent situation he held Xiao Longnu tightly, using his body heat to counter the cold, but after a while he felt she was becoming colder, he himself gradually could not endure it for much longer.
Xiao Longnu felt her internal energy dripping away, and said, “Guo’er, I won’t make it, take me to the room with the stone coffins.”
Yang Guo was distressed and couldn’t say anything, but he thought about how they only had a few days to live anyway, it would be just the same if he died with her now so he quickly replied, “Fine.” He carried her to the room and then placed her on one of the lids and lit a candle. In candlelight, and with the backdrop of the stone coffins, Xiao Longnu appeared even weaker.
Xiao Longnu said, “Push one of the lids open and place me in the coffin.”
Yang Guo said, “Alright!”
Xiao Longnu couldn’t hear any sadness in his voice and was slightly surprised. Yang Guo pushed open one of the stone lids and placed her inside the coffin, and then leaped inside, lying together face to face with her. The two of them together in the coffin didn’t allow much space to move.
Xiao Longnu was happy and also puzzled, she asked, “What are you doing?”
Yang Guo said, “Of course I’m going to follow you. I’ll let the other two sleep in the other coffin.”
Xiao Longnu gave a deep sigh, she was feeling calm and relaxed, her body’s coldness wasn’t as severe as before. She turned her eyes on Yang Guo and saw his eyes looking at her. Her dress was on top of Yang Guo, she wished that Yang Guo would put his arms around her, but she saw his arms were straight; they were placed in his lap as they should be, afraid that he was going to touch her.
Xiao Longnu was slightly embarrassed, her face turned red, she turned her face away not daring to look at Yang Guo; her mind was enchanted for half an hour when she suddenly saw that something was written on the coffin lid. She looked closely and indeed there were some words:
“The art of the Jade Heart Manual wants to overcome Quanzhen’s. But Chongyang, in his life, was inferior no one.”
The words were written in heavy ink, the words refined and their form large. The lid was only half open yet it was very clear.
Xiao Longnu gave an ‘hmm’ sound and said, “What does this mean?”
Yang Guo followed her eyes and saw the words; he pondered and said, “It’s written by Wang Chongyang?”
Xiao Longnu said, “It looks like it was written by him. He is saying that our “Jade Heart Manual” is superior to Quanzhen’s kung fu, but he is saying that he is not weaker than our Ancestor Grandma, isn’t that it?”
Yang Guo laughed and said, “That old Taoist is bullshitting.”
Xiao Longnu looked at the words again, and saw that after them, there were many small words, because the words were small and they were lower down on the lid, Xiao Longnu couldn’t make it out and said, “Guo’er, get out.”
Yang Guo shook his head and said, “I won’t leave.”
Xiao Longnu smiled and said, “Just get out for a second and you can come back to be with me later.” Yang Guo climbed out of the coffin.
Xiao Longnu sat up, and got Yang Guo to lower the candle, and then turned her body around to read the small words. She looked at the words and read each one, after she finished two passages she felt that she had no strength left and the candle fell onto her chest. Yang Guo’s hand quickly darted in and pulled her out of the stone coffin and asked, “What is it? What does the writing say?”
Xiao Longnu regained her composure and then sighed again, and said, “After Ancestor Grandma died, Wang Chongyang returned to the tomb.”
Yang Guo asked, “Why did he come back?”
Xiao Longnu said, “He came back to pay his respects to our ancestor. He saw that the “Jade Heart Manual” martial art skills left on the ceiling of the training room had defeated all the skills of the Quanzhen sect. The writing left on the lid says that the martial arts that our ancestor defeated were Quanzhen’s basic and coarse skills, but compared with the most advanced skills of Quanzhen, the skills of the “Jade Heart Manual” could not defeat them?
Yang Guo gave an ‘humph’ sound and said, “Ancestor Grandma is dead, he could say whatever he wants.”
Xiao Longnu said, “He also said that in another room he has the techniques to defeat the “Jade Heart Manual”, if her descendants were fated to, they will know it when they see it.”
Yang Guo was curious and said, “Gu Gu. Let’s go take a look.”
Xiao Longnu said, “Wang Chongyang stated that the room is below this one. I have lived here for a lifetime and didn’t know that such a room exists.”
Yang Guo begged, “Gu Gu, let’s think of a way to get there.”
Xiao Longnu wasn’t strict with him anymore, although she was tired, she let him have his way and smiled, and said, “OK!”
They looked all around the room, and in the end they came back to the coffin they had just rested in and she said, “This stone coffin was left by Wang Chongyang. The base opens.”
Yang Guo was delighted and said, “Ah, I know, it’s the way to that room.” He leapt into the coffin and searched around; true enough, he found a hollow for a hand, he pulled up strongly, but nothing happened.
Xiao Longnu said, “First turn to the left and then pull up.”
Yang Guo followed the instructions, a ‘ka’ sound was heard as a stone panel on the base of the coffin responded to the switch; he was delighted and called out, “Let’s go!”
Xiao Longnu said, “There’s no need to rush, let the old air rush out first and then we can go.”
Yang Guo was sitting restlessly, after a while he said, “Gu Gu, can we go now?”
Xiao Longnu sighed and said, “With your impatient character, it must have been hard for you living with me for the last few years.” She slowly got up, and picked up a candle, and went down into the coffin with Yang Guo, below it was a series of stone steps that formed a short passageway, after a few turns they did indeed arrived at a stone chamber.
The room was empty, and both of them looked up at the ceiling, it was covered with carvings and symbols; on the far right were written the words “Nine Yin Manual”.
The two of them didn’t know the “Nine Yin Manual” was martial arts at its highest level; they looked at it for a while and felt that it was hard to explain.
Xiao Longnu said, “Even if that kung fu is unbeatable, it is of no use to us.”
Yang Guo sighed and was about to lower his head when something got his eye in the southwestern corner, a picture, it had nothing to do with martial arts, he looked closer and saw it looked like a map and asked, “What’s that?”
Xiao Longnu followed his finger and stared at it for a while, her body was like a corpse, not moving an inch. After a long while, she was still like statue, lost in thought as she examined the map closely. Yang Guo was frightened and tugged her sleeve, and asked, “Gu Gu, what is it?”
Xiao Longnu gave a moan, and suddenly fell into his chest and started crying.
Yang Guo softly said, “Your body hurts again, isn’t it?”
Xiao Longnu said, “No, it’s not that.” After half an hour she said, “We can escape from here.”
Yang Guo was delighted and leapt up, and called out, “Really?”
Xiao Longnu nodded her head and quietly said, “That map reveals the secret passage out of here.” She was familiar with the layout of the tomb, one look and she understood the map.
Yang Guo was ecstatic and said, “That’s great! Why are you crying?”
Xiao Longnu contained her tears and smiled, and said, “I never used to fear death, I was going to live in the tomb forever, die early, die late, what difference would it make? However in the last few days I’ve felt the urge to go and see the outside world. Guo’er, I’m afraid and happy.”
Yang Guo tugged her hand and said, “Gu Gu, when we go outside together, I’ll pick flowers for you to wear, and I’ll catch crickets for you to play with, okay?”
Although he has grown up, all his thoughts were either amusing or about things that children play and do. Xiao Longnu had never played with anyone, she listened quietly to what he said, and thought, “It’ll be better if we leave as soon as possible.” But her body was sore, and had no strength, she wasn’t able to endure anymore and slowly rested on Yang Guo’s shoulder. Yang Guo talked for a while and didn’t hear her reply so he turned his head around to take a look, her eyes were closed, her breathing slow, she had fallen into a deep sleep. He was feeling tranquil; he was tired as well and eventually also fell asleep.
After a long while, he felt his back ached; someone had sealed the ‘Centre’ (zhong shu) pressure point on his back. He woke up alarmed, and wanted to jump up but someone was holding his neck down and preventing him from moving. He turned his head and saw Li Mochou and her disciple standing there laughing; his master also had her pressure points sealed. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu didn’t have the Jianghu experience of guarding yourself; in their delight, they had forgotten to go back up and close the coffin lid. Li Mochou had discovered that there was a room below the coffin and succeeded in her ambush.
