Legend of Condor Heroes Book 2

by Jin Yong

  Wanyan Kang rushed over to his mother and exclaimed, “Mother, I’ve finally found you!”

  Bao Xiruo was frightened and replied, “Do not ask me to return to the palace. I never will!”

  Shocked, Wanyan Honglie and Wanyan Kang said in unison, “What?”

  Bao Xiruo pointed at Yang Tiexin. “My husband is still alive and I will follow him to the ends of the earth,” she said.

  This came as no ordinary blow to Wanyan Honglie and he silently mouthed something to Liang Ziwong. Liang Ziwong understood the prince’s intentions and flicked his right hand, sending three of his ‘Bone-Penetrating Meridian Nails’ flying towards Yang Tiexin’s essential junctions. Qiu Chuji saw the flight of the nails but it was too late for him to do anything and Yang Tiexin would surely not be able to evade them. Having no projectiles with him, he grabbed a Jin soldier out of desperation and hurled him towards the space between Liang Ziwong and Yang Tiexin. With a loud “ah”, the three ‘Meridian Nails’ struck the soldier.

  Liang Ziwong regarded his ‘Bone-Penetrating Meridian Nails’ as his greatest skill. Having sent three nails simultaneously, it was absurd to think he would miss the target. Seeing Qiu Chuji foil his move in such a peculiar way, he roared angrily and attacked. Peng Lianhu saw this and decided against providing the antidote, knowing that the little prince’s priority was rescuing his mother. He leapt forward abruptly and grabbed hold of Bao Xiruo’s arm. With two swishing sounds, Qiu Chuji sent his sword thrusting towards both Liang Ziwong and Peng Lianhu. Both saw the fierceness of the strokes and were forced backwards. Qiu Chuji thundered at Wanyan Kang, “Ignorant boy, you have called your enemy ‘father’ and led eighteen years of your life in folly. Now that your real father is here, aren’t you going to acknowledge him?”

  Having heard it from his mother, Wanyan Kang was already eighty percent convinced. Hearing it from his Shifu now further reinforced his belief and he glanced at Yang Tiexin. Wanyan Kang saw that his clothes were old and tattered and his face was smeared with dirt; turning around, he saw his ‘father’ wearing fine, embroidered robes and expensive jewels, looking handsome and refined. There was a world of difference between these two men. Wanyan Kang contemplated in his heart, “Am I actually going to give up this life of luxury and riches and roam the streets with this poor man? No.. .never!” His mind was made up.

  “Shifu, don’t listen to this person’s nonsense,” Wanyan Kang said. “Please help rescue my mother!”

  “You stubbornly refuse to listen still, you’re worse than a beast!” Qiu Chuji replied angrily.

  Seeing that Shifu and pupil had fallen out, Peng Lianhu and the others started to attack even more fiercely. Wanyan Kang knew Qiu Chuji was in danger, but did not attempt to again stop the fight. Qiu Chuji was enraged and shouted, “Little bastard, you really have no conscience.”

  Wanyan Kang had always been very afraid of his Shifu and secretly hoped that Peng Lianhu and the rest would kill him to avoid any trouble in the future. Shortly into the battle, Qiu Chuji was struck by Liang Ziwong’s spade and though it wasn’t serious, blood seeped through his robes. From the corner of his eye he caught a hint of delight on Wanyan Kang’s face and he was further incensed and swore continuously. Ma Yu retrieved a sparkler from his robes and tossed it in the air, sending a blue blaze soaring through the sky. Peng Lianhu thought it must be a communicative signal for the Quanzhen Sect’s members and alerted the others, “The old priest is sending for help.”

  After exchanging a few more moves, another blue blaze appeared from the northwest not far from here. “Younger Martial Brother Wang is nearby,” Qiu Chuji said with delight. Switching his sword over to his left hand, he attacked from the top with his sword and from the bottom with his right palm, executing seven or eight fatal moves one after another forcing his enemies steadily backwards.

  Ma Yu pointed to the blue glow in the northwest and said, “Go in that direction.”

  Weapons in hand, Yang Tiexin and Mu Nianci rushed in that direction while guarding Bao Xiruo. Ma Yu followed closely behind. Qiu Chuji interrupted his sword mid-move and in the next instant he had also turned to leave. Sha Tongtian repeatedly employed his ‘Change Form Exchange Place’ technique, hoping to bypass Qiu Chuji and snatch Bao Xiruo, but Qiu Chuji’s sword was too swift and he did not succeed. It was not long before they arrived at the small inn where Wang Chuyi was staying. Qiu Chuji wondered to himself, “Why hasn’t Younger Martial Brother Wang come out to greet us?”

  Just after this thought, Wang Chuyi came walking unsteadily towards them, supported by a wooden stick. At the sight of each other, the Martial Brothers were shocked to see that Quanzhen Sect’s top three pugilists were all injured.

  Qiu Chuji called out, “Retreat back into the inn.” “Hand the Consort over in one piece and I’ll spare your lives,” Wanyan Honglie hollered.

  “Who needs your mercy, you treacherous Jin dog?” Qiu Chuji shot back. He raised his sword and started fighting.

  Despite being exhausted, Qiu Chuji still refused to yield and his swordplay remained as enthralling as ever. Seeing this, Peng Lianhu and the others were inwardly impressed. Yang Tiexin contemplated, “Since things have already come to this, it will not be easy to escape our end. We mustn’t risk Priest Qiu’s life for us.” Grasping Bao Xiruo’s hand, he stepped forward.

  “Everyone, stop fighting,” he yelled. “My wife and I will end our lives here and let that be the end of it.” Raising his spear, he thrust towards his heart. With a “pu” sound, blood splattered in all directions and he fell backwards.

  Bao Xiruo felt no sadness. With a bitter smile, she pulled the spear out of her husband’s body and braced it on the ground while saying to Wanyan Kang, “Child, you still don’t believe he’s your real father?” She leaned forward and sank onto the tip of the spear.

  In horror, the color drained from Wanyan Kang’s face. “Mama!” he cried, rushing forward wanting to save her. Seeing this astonishing development, Qiu Chuji and the others stopped fighting. Reaching her side, Wanyan Kang saw her body was pierced through her chest by the spear and he began sobbing uncontrollably. Qiu Chuji went forward to inspect the couple’s wounds and saw that the spear had pierced fatal points on their bodies. There was no room for hope. Wanyan Kang held his mother and Mu Nianci held Yang Tiexin as the two wept with grief.

  Qiu Chuji said to Yang Tiexin, “Brother Yang, tell me if you have a request and I will see that it gets done. I... I didn’t manage to save you in the end, I... I...” He felt a dull ache in his heart and choked up with sorrow.

  At this very moment the sound of footsteps came. Everyone turned and saw the ‘Six Freaks of Jiangnan’ hurrying over with Guo Jing. Upon seeing Sha Tongtian and the others, the ‘Six Freaks’ immediately pulled out their weapons. Getting closer, they saw a man and a woman on the ground and looks of surprise appeared on their faces. They turned around and saw Ma Yu and Qiu Chuji and were further surprised.

  Guo Jing saw Yang Tiexin lying on the ground covered with blood and hurriedly went to his side. “Uncle Yang, how are you feeling?” He asked.

  Yang Tiexin was barely alive but broke into a smile when he saw Guo Jing. “Your late father and I had a pact: if we had a son and daughter then they would be married,” he said. “I don’t have a daughter, but this foster daughter is like my own.” He turned his gaze to Qiu Chuji. “Priest Qiu, see to this marriage and I. I will go in peace.”

  “That’s easy. Don’t worry,” Qiu Chuji assured him.

  Bao Xiruo was lying beside her husband and clutched his arm with her left hand, afraid that he would leave her again. In a haze, she heard him mention the betrothal agreement from years ago. She sought to retrieve a dagger from her robes and said: “This. this is the token from that time.” Then she said, “Brother Tie, we finally to die together, I’m. I’m so happy.” With that, she showed a small smile and passed away peacefully, looking as warm and enchanting as always. Qiu Eagle Shooting Hero 311

  Chuji retrieved the dagger and saw
that it was none other than his gift to them at Ox Village in Lin’an; the words ‘Guo Jing’ were carved on its handle.

  Yang Tiexin said to Guo Jing: “In. in honor of your late father, I hope you treat my daughter well.”

  “I. I can’t.” stuttered Guo Jing.

  Qiu Chuji said, “I will see to everything, go. go in peace!”

  Yang Tiexin had all but given up hope of finding Guo Xiaotian’s descendent, and so arranged the ‘Joust for a Spouse’ for Mu Nianci. Today, he was not only reunited with his beloved wife but had also found his sworn brother’s son; his daughter would have a husband to rely on. With that, having no further regrets, he closed his eyes for the last time.

  Guo Jing was both sad and confused, thinking, “Rong’er has deep feelings for me, how can I marry someone else?” With this thought, his mind suddenly turned to something else and he was further taken aback. “How could I have forgotten Hua Zheng? The Khan has betrothed her to me, this. this. how could this be?”

  All this time he had kept his good friend Tolui in his thoughts, but seldom did he think of Hua Zheng. Although the ‘Six Freaks’ regarded this wish difficult to fulfill, they couldn’t bear to say so in front of Yang Tiexin, a dying man.

  Wanyan Honglie had gone to great lengths scheming to marry Bao Xiruo, but to the end she had been unable to forget her husband. For over ten years he had loved and labored for her, but at the end of it all, things still unfolded this way. Though she was dead, Wanyan Honglie saw true happiness and contentment in her face. In all their eighteen years together, when had she ever looked at him this way? He might be a prince, but in her heart he was much, much inferior this village peasant. Despondent and heart-broken, he turned to leave.

  Although the three Quanzhen priests were injured, the arrival of the ‘Six Freaks’ meant that Sha Tongtian and the others wouldn’t necessarily win. Since the Prince had already turned to leave, they followed.

  “San Heimao,” shouted Qiu Chuji, “leave the antidote behind!”

  Peng Lianhu laughed. “Your Stockade-Chief goes by the surname Peng; people in the pugilistic world call me the ‘Butcher With A Thousand Hands’. Priest Qiu, have you lost your eyes?”

  Qiu Chuji went cold, thinking, “It’s no wonder this person is so powerful; so it is him.” The poison had penetrated deep into his Elder Martial Brother’s body and only the unique antidote from Peng Lianhu could save him. He loudly said, “Who cares if you’ve got a thousand hands or ten thousand? If you don’t leave the antidote behind, don’t hope to leave this place.” Maneuvering his sword exquisitely, a flash of brilliant light advanced towards Peng Lianhu. Though only left with one brush, Peng Lianhu was not afraid. Brandishing it, they clashed head-on.

  Zhu Cong saw Ma Yu was seated on the ground, working his internal energy. One of his palms was all black. “Priest Ma . how did you get hurt?”

  Ma Yu sighed. “I shook hands with that fellow Peng and he hid poison needles in his palm.”

  “Ah. He’s not that great.” Turning to Ke Zhen’E, he said, “Elder Brother, pass me a caltrop.” Not understanding his intentions, Ke Zhen’E retrieved a poisonous caltrop [water chestnut] from his bag and handed it to him. Zhu Cong turned to look at the fight between Qiu Chuji and Peng Lianhu. The fight was intense, and it would be impossible to break it up with his level of kung fu alone.

  “Elder Brother, let’s go and break them apart. I have a plan that can save Priest Ma,” he said. Ke Zhen’E nodded.

  “So it is the ‘Butcher with a Thousand Hands’, Chief Peng!” shouted Zhu Cong. “We’re all on the same side, stop fighting. I have something to say.” Pulling Ke Zhen’E along, the two went forward and broke them apart - Zhu Cong with his fan and Ke Zhen’E with his staff.

  Both Qiu Chuji and Peng Lianhu felt surprise hearing Zhu Cong’s remark and thought, “How come we’re ‘on the same side’ now?” Seeing the two Freaks come forward, they broke apart and waited to hear exactly how they were ‘on the same side’.

  Laughing cheerfully, Zhu Cong said to Peng Lianhu: “Eighteen years ago, the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’ and Priest Qiu had a small dispute that ended with five of our brothers injured. On the other hand, the famed Priest Qiu also sustained heavy injuries that nearly left him dead. This dispute has yet to be resolved.” Zhu Cong turned to Qiu Chuji. “Am I right, Priest Qiu?”

  Qiu Chuji was enraged, thinking: “Fantastic, you’re going to take advantage of my precarious situation.” Aloud, he retorted: “That’s right, now what?”

  Zhu Cong continued, “But we also have a small feud with ‘Dragon King’ Sha. One inept disciple of ours once single-handedly defeated ‘Dragon King’ Sha’s top four disciples. We’ve also heard that ‘Dragon King’ Sha and Chief Peng are the closest of friends. Since we’ve offended ‘Dragon King’ Sha, then we’ve also offended Chief Peng.”

  “Heh..heh, how dare I?” said Peng Lianhu.

  Zhu Cong laughed. “Since Chief Peng and Priest Qiu both have feuds with the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’, wouldn’t you then be on the same side against a common enemy? Ha ha, what are you still fighting for? Wouldn’t Chief Peng and I also be on the same side? Come; let’s get to know each other.” Zhu Cong stretched out his hand for a handshake.

  Having listened to this warped nonsense, Peng Lianhu thought, “The Quanzhen Sect saved the ‘Seven Freaks’ disciple, so they’re obviously in it together. I won’t fall for your trickery. Want to trick the antidote from me? It’s not so easy.” Seeing Zhu Cong’s outstretched hand, Peng Lianhu laughed and said, “Splendid!” He tucked his Brush back into his waist and slipped on his ‘Poison Needle Ring’.

  Startled, Qiu Chuji said: “Brother Zhu, be careful.” Zhu Cong ignored this and stretched out his hand. With a slight crook of his little finger, he had hooked the ‘Poison Needle Ring’ from Peng Lianhu’s finger. Peng Lianhu did not realize this and went ahead with the handshake, both parties exerting strength.

  Suddenly, a small pain penetrated Peng Lianhu’s palm and he struggled to let go. Raising his hand, he saw three holes in his palm that were much bigger than those of his Poison Needles, with black blood oozing from them. Instead of pain, the wound felt both numb and itchy and the sensation was rather nice. He knew that the more potent the poison, the less painful the wound would be because the numbness would be overpowering. Both angry and frightened, he had no idea how he had fallen into this trap.

  Looking up, he saw Zhu Cong hiding behind Qiu Chuji, holding up an object in each hand. In between two fingers of his left hand was Peng Lianhu’s ‘Poison Needle Ring’. In between two fingers of his right, however, was a black object shaped like a water chestnut with a sharp tail, and it was stained with blood.

  Nicknamed the ‘Magical Hands Scholar’, Zhu Cong’s skill with his hands was near magical and impossible for any human to detect. To first take Peng Lianhu’s ring then pierce his palm with the poison caltrop was child’s play to him. Fuming, Peng Lianhu attacked.

  Qiu Chuji raised his sword and warded off the blow, shouting: “What are you going to do?”

  Zhu Cong grinned. “Chief Peng, the poisonous caltrops are my Elder Brother’s specialty projectiles. Once you’re hit, it doesn’t matter if your name is tiger [Peng Lianhu- ‘hu’ means tiger], lion, leopard, pig, dog or any other beast on this earth. You still will not live beyond four hours.”

  “Big Brother Peng, he’s insulting you,” said Hou Tonghai.

  “You talk too much,” Sha Tongtian reproached. “Do you think Big Brother Peng hasn’t realized that?”

  Zhu Cong chuckled and quipped, “Good thing Chief Peng has a ‘Thousand Hands’. Allow me to give you a piece of friendly advice - why not chop off the hand that’s been poisoned? You’ll still be left with nine hundred and ninety-nine. However you’ll have to alter your nickname a bit to become the ‘Butcher with Nine hundred and ninety-nine Hands’.”

  By this time, the numbness had already spread to Peng Lianhu’s wrist. Panic-stricken, he couldn’t be bothered with
Zhu Cong’s taunts. Beads of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

  “You have your poison needles, I have my poison caltrops; these are two completely different poisons that require completely different antidotes. If you can’t bear to give up the nickname of the ‘Butcher with a Thousand Hands’, how about we exchange antidotes?” suggested Zhu Cong. “We’re on the same side, after all.

  Before Peng Lianhu could reply, Sha Tongtian said quickly, “That will do. Hand the antidote over.”

  Zhu Cong said, “Elder Brother, pass him the antidote.” Ke Zhen’E retrieved two small medicine packets from his robes and handed them to Zhu Cong.

  “Brother Zhu, don’t fall for his trap,” warned Qiu Chuji. “Let him hand over the antidote first.”

  Zhu Cong said cheerily, “We are all men of honor, I’m not afraid.”

  Peng Lianhu reached into his robes and felt for the antidote and his expression changed at once. He said in a low voice, “Oh no, the antidote is gone.”

  Qiu Chuji flew into a rage. “Hmph. up to your tricks again! Brother Zhu, don’t give it to him.”

  Zhu Cong laughed. “Take it!” He said. “We said we’d give it to you. The ‘Quanzhen Seven’ and the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’ are men of our word.”

  Sha Tongtian knew that Zhu Cong was skilful with his hands. Not wanting to be taken advantage of, he extended his iron stick horizontally. Zhu Cong placed the antidote on the stick and Sha Tongtian retrieved it. The bystanders were perplexed, not understanding why Zhu Cong gave him the antidote so casually without forcing Peng to handover his. Suspecting that the antidote was not genuine, Sha Tongtian said, “The ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’ are renowned figures in the martial arts world. Surely you wouldn’t use bogus medicine to harm others?”

  Zhu Cong laughed, saying, “Of course, of course.” He then returned the poison caltrops to Ke Zhen’E and started leisurely fishing out item after item from his robes. There was a handkerchief, some notes, a few pieces of loose silver and a white snuff bottle.