by Jin Yong
“Get your big brother to help?” Zhu Cong scoffed. “Only weak children do that. I’ll teach you some moves and I guarantee you will beat those boys tomorrow.”
“Two against seven?”
“Yes.”
“Teach me.” Tolui was excited by the thought of beating Tusakha all by himself.
“How about you? Don’t you want to learn too?” Zhu Cong asked Guo Jing, who was standing further away, looking hesitant.
“Ma told me I shouldn’t fight. I don’t want to make her angry.”
“Little coward.” Ryder Han smiled.
“If that’s true, then why did you fight those boys just now?” Zhu Cong pressed.
“Because they started it.”
“So what are you going to do when you come face to face with Justice Duan?” Ke Zhen’e said.
“I’m going to kill him!” Guo Jing’s eyes flashed a fiery red.
“Your father was an expert in martial arts and yet Justice Duan still managed to kill him. How are you going to avenge your father if you don’t learn?”
Ke Zhen’e’s question silenced the young boy.
“You’re going to have to,” Jade Han concluded.
“See that mountain over there?” Zhu Cong pointed at a solitary peak to his left. “If you want to learn martial arts, then meet us up at the top tonight at midnight. But you must come by yourself. No-one else can know about this, apart from your little friend here. Do you think you’re brave enough? Are you scared of ghosts?”
Guo Jing could not take his eyes away from Zhu Cong, but Tolui was growing impatient. “Teach me instead, I want to learn!”
Zhu Cong grabbed Tolui’s wrist, hooked his left foot behind the boy, and moments later Tolui was on the ground.
“Why did you do that?” Tolui demanded as he climbed back to his feet.
“That was kung fu. Can you do it?” Zhu Cong smiled.
Tolui was a clever child and understood. Copying Zhu Cong, he pretended to trip an imaginary foe. “Teach me something else.”
Zhu Cong faked a punch at Tolui’s face. Tolui dodged to the left, but Zhu Cong had his right hand in position, waiting. There was no force behind the punch however, and it barely nudged Tolui’s nose.
“Teach me something else!” Tolui was enjoying himself. Zhu Cong bent down and pushed his shoulder upwards into the little boy’s stomach, sending him flying into the air. Gilden Quan jumped up, caught him and gently put him back on safe ground.
“Mister, teach me something else!”
“You’ll be able to fight off most adults with just those three moves.” Zhu Cong smiled. “That’s enough.” He turned to Guo Jing. “Can you do them?”
Guo Jing shook his head. The Seven Freaks were even more disappointed. Compared to his friend, Guo Jing seemed very slow indeed. Jade Han sighed, and rubbed at her reddened eyes.
“I say we stop wasting our energy,” Gilden Quan said in their southern dialect, so Guo Jing and Tolui could not understand. “Why don’t we take the mother and son back south and hand them over to Qiu Chuji? We may as well admit defeat.”
“The boy doesn’t have it in him, he has no natural understanding of kung fu,” Zhu Cong agreed.
“He doesn’t have an ounce of fight in him. I don’t see how we could win,” Ryder Han added.
“You can go home now,” Jade Han said to the two children, waving them away. Tolui grabbed hold of Guo Jing’s hand and they skipped happily off.
The Seven Freaks had spent six long, hard years searching the steppe for Guo Jing. Their joy at finding him had been fleeting in the extreme. Perhaps it would have been better if they had never found him.
Ryder Han beat the ground in frustration, whipping the sand into a whirlwind. The other Freaks tried to calm him, but he would not stop. Only Woodcutter Nan the Merciful was yet to speak.
“What are you thinking, Fourth Brother?” Ke Zhen’e asked.
“A fine boy,” Woodcutter Nan replied.
“What do you mean?” Zhu Cong said.
“The boy. I wasn’t so bright when I was young.” Woodcutter Nan smiled.
Nan’s words brought the others a glimmer of hope and their mood lifted.
“Yes, you’re right! When has anyone ever called me smart?” Zhang Asheng added, looking across at Jade Han.
“Let’s see if he comes tonight,” Zhu Cong said.
“Not likely,” Gilden Quan said. “I’m going to find out where he lives first.”
He mounted his horse and trailed the boys, keeping his distance. He watched from afar and made note of which ger Guo Jing entered.
THAT NIGHT the Seven Freaks waited for Guo Jing on the deserted hilltop, watching the stars move through the sky. By quarter to ten, there was still no sign of the boy.
“Our reputation reaches from east to west.” Ryder Han sighed. “But today we must concede defeat to that stinking Taoist.”
“The Quanzhen Sect is resisting the Jurchen in the north, protecting the Chinese there,” Zhu Cong said. “They are patriotic and virtuous. The Seven Masters are exceptional in all aspects of the martial arts, everyone in the wulin admires them, and Qiu Chuji is considered the foremost among them. Losing to him will not destroy our reputation. And in any case, we are saving an honourable patriot’s line of descent. There will be praise once our friends in the south find out.”
Zhu Cong’s words brought comfort and the other Freaks nodded in agreement.
In the west, layer upon layer of thick black cloud was building. Above them the sky was still a clear, deep blue. An anxious gust of wind blew its way from the north-west and the moon hovered high above, ringed by a yellow halo.
“It looks like rain,” Jade Han remarked. “He’s not coming.”
“Then we will go to him, tomorrow morning,” Zhang Asheng said.
“The boy is allowed to be a bit dull, but we have problems if he’s afraid of the dark. Aiya!” Ke Zhen’e shook his head.
“Look! What’s that?” Ryder Han said, pointing deep into the bush. There, illuminated by the moonlight, were three strange-looking white objects.
Gilden Quan went to investigate. Three piles of neatly stacked human skulls!
“It must have been the children who arranged them like this . . . Wait, what’s that? . . . Second Brother, come quick!”
His sudden change in tone unsettled the others. The Seven Freaks rushed over, all except Ke Zhen’e.
“Look at this!” Gilden Quan picked up one of the skulls and handed it to Zhu Cong. Zhu Cong inspected it and observed five holes in the cranium, into which he slotted his fingers and thumb. Almost a perfect fit. The gap for the thumb was too big and the one for his little finger a bit tight.
This was no child’s toy.
Zhu Cong’s face fell. He bent over and picked up two more skulls. These too had the same holes punched into them. Could someone have made these holes with their fingers? he asked himself. But surely no-one could break through bone with their fingers? The thought was terrifying.
“Were they made by some kind of man-eating mountain monster?” Jade Han asked.
“Yes, definitely a monster of sorts,” Ryder Han said.
“But what monster would arrange the skulls in such neat piles?” Gilden Quan muttered to himself.
“How have they been arranged?” Ke Zhen’e joined them.
“In three pyramids, each consisting of nine skulls,” Gilden Quan said.
“In three layers, am I right? Five on the bottom, then three, then one on top?”
“Yes,” Gilden Quan said in surprise. “How did you know, Big Brother?”
“Two of you, take one hundred steps to the north-east and northwest. Quickly! What do you see?”
Master Ke was rarely rattled, but now he seemed acutely alarmed. The other Freaks did not waste a second. Splitting into two groups, they began counting steps in both directions. Before long Jade Han called out from the north-east, just as Gilden Quan shouted from the north-west.
“Skulls!”
“There are skulls here too!”
Ke Zhen’e flew over to Gilden Quan and hissed, “No-one make a sound. Our lives depend on it.” He then rushed over to where Jade Han was standing and repeated his instructions. The Freaks were astounded.
“What is it? Monsters or human foes?” Zhang Asheng whispered.
“Two of the most violent beings that ever existed. They killed my brother.”
The other Freaks rushed to join them, just in time to hear Ke Zhen’e’s explanation. This elder brother, Ke Bixie the Talisman, was considered even more skilled than Ke Zhen’e, as the Freaks all knew. His killer must have been terrible in the extreme. The Seven Freaks kept no secrets from each other, but though they had learned of Ke Bixie’s death before, this was the first time they had heard their brother mention any details of the circumstances behind it. Ke Zhen’e picked up a skull and felt for the holes. He slotted the fingers of his right hand into them.
“They managed it. They finally managed it,” he mumbled, before turning to the others. “Are there three piles here too?”
“Yes,” Jade Han said.
“Nine skulls in every pile?”
“One pile has nine, the other two eight.” Jade Han again.
“Count the ones over there too.”
Jade Han ran over, before returning moments later. “Seven in each pile. All newly decapitated. There’s still flesh on the bone.”
“Then they’ll be back soon,” Ke Zhen’e said quietly, handing the skull to Gilden Quan. “Replace this. Don’t leave any sign that we were here.”
Gilden Quan arranged everything as it had been and returned to Ke Zhen’e’s side. Everyone was looking to their Big Brother, waiting for an explanation.
Ke Zhen’e turned his face up to the sky and the others watched as it twitched. “Copper and Iron Corpse.”
“But aren’t they dead?” Zhu Cong said in disbelief. “How can they still be alive?”
“I thought so too. But it looks as if they have been hiding here, practising their Nine Yin Skeleton Claw,” Ke Zhen’e said. “Mount your horses and head south, as fast as you can. Don’t come back for me. Keep riding for one thousand li and then wait for ten days. If I do not join you by the eleventh day, there is no need to wait any longer.”
“Brother, what are you saying?” said Jade Han. “We have sworn an oath in blood to live and die together. How can you tell us to leave?”
“Go, go now.” Ke Zhen’e waved them away. “We don’t have time for this.”
“What must you think of us? Are we such cowards that we’d leave you here alone?” Ryder Han was furious.
“The Seven Freaks fight and die together,” Zhang Asheng cut in. “That’s the way it has always been. What reason do we have to run?”
“These two possess incredible martial skill. Now that they’ve mastered the Nine Yin Skeleton Claw, we cannot prevail. To stay would be pointless.”
Ke Zhen’e was a proud man who did not admit defeat easily, not even in the face of a great master such as Qiu Chuji. He always chose to fight. Copper and Iron Corpse must be endowed with a power beyond their comprehension.
“In that case, we’ll all go,” Gilden Quan said.
“They condemned me to a life of daily mourning,” Ke Zhen’e said, his voice raw. “I must avenge my brother.”
“Share your blessings and your hardships too will be shared,” Woodcutter Nan replied.
Ke Zhen’e paused. His martial family valued loyalty above all else; to even suggest they leave without him must have offended them greatly, he realised. But they were putting themselves in great danger. “Fine. But you must be careful,” he said. “They are married, Copper Corpse is the husband, Iron Corpse the wife. Together they are known as Twice Foul Dark Wind. They started practising the Nine Yin Skeleton Claw about two years ago, and, in doing so, killed many a fine warrior of the jianghu. My brother was invited to help stop them and he sent someone to ask me to join them. But we were looking for Lily Li. I didn’t want to abandon our search, especially as we had just received new clues as to her whereabouts, and as they already had many great fighters for their cause, I decided that I was not needed. I never expected it to take us so long to find Guo Jing. I was told about my brother’s fate at the hands of Twice Foul Dark Wind last spring and only then did I hear their story and learn of the real extent of their kung fu. I knew I would not be able to avenge my brother’s death for some time, and fearing the consequences for my martial family, I decided not to tell you.”
Ke Zhen’e paused. “Sixth Brother, take one hundred steps to the south and check if there is a coffin.”
Gilden Quan counted his steps . . . Ninety-nine, one hundred. No coffin. He looked more carefully. There, poking through the dirt, was the corner of a stone slab. He tried pulling at it, but it would not budge. He turned and waved at the others, who rushed to join him. Zhang Asheng and Ryder Han stooped down and together they pulled and panted and at last loosened the lid. The Seven Freaks peered into the grave beneath. By the moonlight they could make out two bodies, dressed in Mongolian robes.
“Those demons will be back soon to use these bodies for practice. I’ll lie in here and take them by surprise. You find places to hide nearby. Whatever you do, do not let them know you’re here. Come out only when I’m in trouble and show them no mercy. It might not be the honourable way to fight, but they are too ruthless, too skilled. We will all be killed otherwise.”
The Freaks nodded as he spoke, his voice quiet and steady.
“They notice everything, even the slightest disturbance or sign of something unusual. They can sense things from great distances.”
Ke Zhen’e lay down in the grave. “Replace the cover, but leave a slit so I can breathe.”
The Freaks gently shifted the slab back into place. Taking their weapons, they slid in among the trees and bushes and hid.
Jade Han had never seen her Big Brother like this before. She was as much intrigued as scared and made sure to hide close to Zhu Cong.
“Who are these people? Copper Corpse and Iron Corpse I mean,” she whispered across to him.
“Two years ago, Ke Bixie sent a messenger to Master Ke, but he didn’t want you all to find out so he asked me to go with him. He wasn’t sure if the messenger was who he said he was. The man told us that Copper Corpse and his wife Iron Corpse were disciples of the Lord of Peach Blossom Island, out in the Eastern Sea.”
“Peach Blossom Island? Then that means they’re from Zhejiang, just like us?”
Zhu Cong nodded. “That’s right. People say the Lord expelled them. They are skilled to be sure, but also cruel in the extreme. They come and go like ghosts. Our friends in the jianghu said they disappeared after killing Master Ke’s brother. We all thought they must be dead. But they were hiding here in Mongolia all along.”
“What are their real names?”
“Copper Corpse is otherwise known as Hurricane Chen. His cheeks are scorched brown, hence the name, his expression always deathly still.”
“And Iron Corpse?”
“Her name is Cyclone Mei.”
“Big Brother mentioned something called Nine Yin Skeleton Claw. What kind of kung fu is that?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never heard of it either.”
Jade Han glanced across at one of the skulls close by. Its black cavernous eye sockets were staring out at her. A shiver went through her and she turned. “Why didn’t Big Brother tell us? Maybe . . .”
Before she could finish, Zhu Cong’s hand clapped over her mouth and he pointed down the hill. Jade Han poked her head up from the bushes and saw a long shadow in the distance skimming across the sand.
I should have been keeping watch, not chatting, Jade Han said to herself.
Within moments the shadow had reached the foot of the hill. It belonged in fact to two figures moving at great speed, as if glued together.
“Such monstrous kung fu,” Ryder Han said to himself.
The Freaks held their breath
and waited for the smudge of black to climb towards them. Zhu Cong gripped his broken fan and Jade clutched her weapon, pushing the blade into the dirt so the moonlight would not catch it. The swishing sound of their feet reached them first. Their hearts were pounding and each second seemed to last forever. A north-westerly wind was picking up and the black clouds on the horizon rolled like mountains on the move, edging ever closer.
Moments later, all was silent. The footsteps had stopped. In the distance before them stood two silhouettes. One wore a leather cap as if in Mongol dress. Beside him, long ribbons of black hair fluttered in the wind.
There they are, Jade Han whispered to herself. Now let’s see their skills.
The woman circled the man, slowly at first, her joints cracking as she moved. She began picking up speed and the crackle became an ever-quickening rhythmic accompaniment.
Her inner strength is quite something, Jade Han said to herself. No wonder Big Brother was so frightened.
Cyclone Mei thrust her palms out and back at rapid speed. Her elbows snapped and her hair stuck out like the bristles of a brush.
A chill ran to Jade Han’s heart and the hairs on her body stood on end.
Then, without warning, Cyclone Mei’s hand struck at the Mongol man’s chest.
He can withstand such force? The Freaks watched in amazement as he fell backwards. But she had already spun behind him and hit him in the back. So she circled him, whipping up a wind around them, faster and harder. He made no sound. On the ninth strike, she leapt straight into the air and came down, head first, swiped his cap and plunged her hand through the top of his head.
Jade Han tried to scream but the terror silenced her.
The woman planted her feet and cackled. The man had collapsed into a heap on the dirt and did not move. Her fingers were smeared with blood and spots of brain. She stretched them out before her, examining them in the moonlight. She was still laughing. She turned and Jade Han caught sight of her face: gruesome but rather beautiful. It was a hideous smile.
This was not her husband, they realised. He was just for practice.
All was silent. She reached down and tore the clothes from the dead man’s back. In the north, men wore thick leather coats against the cold, but she ripped it as if it were made of paper. She then pulled open the skin across his torso and removed his organs one by one, surveying them in the moonlight. The Freaks watched as she threw down the pulpy remains. In nine strikes of her hand she had turned his insides into a squelchy mess without breaking a single bone.