Legend of Condor Heroes Book 3

by Jin Yong

  Guo Jing did not understand the poems, but when he saw the words ‘wind’, ‘flower’, ‘snow’ and ‘moon’ he sighed and said, “Even if we had a thousand pairs of fists, we can’t break them all. Rong’er, you have learned literature and art.. .what are all these for?”

  Huang Rong smiled. “There were some good ones among these poems,” she said.

  Guo Jing shook his head. “I still think fists and kicks are more useful,” he said.

  While walking and talking they reached the ‘Flew in Peak’ [fei lai feng]. There was a pavilion built on that peak. Above the gateway there were three characters ‘Jade-Green Small Pavilion’ [cui wei ting] in Han Shizong’s handwriting. Guo Jing knew Han Shizong’s reputation. Upon seeing the handwriting of the general who resisted the Jin army he was delighted. He quickly walked into the pavilion. There was a stone monument inside, with a poem inscribed on it reading:

  ‘With the passing years dust has settled on the battle uniforms, especially seeking some fragrant jade-green wine, not enough to only see good mountains and good rivers, taking advantage of the bright moon light the return of horse hoofs.’

  This seemed to be the handwriting of Han Shizhong as well.

  “This is a good poem,” Guo Jing praised. Actually, he did not know a good poem from a bad one,

  but he believed this poem was Han Shizhong’s. It also contained words like ‘battle uniforms’

  [zheng yi] and ‘horse hoofs’ [ma ti], so it must be good.

  Huang Rong said, “That was Master Yue, Yue Fei’s work.”

  Guo Jing was surprised and asked, “How do you know?”

  Huang Rong replied, “I listened to father tell the story. In the winter of the eleventh year of

  Shaoxing, Master Yue died at the hands of Qin Gui. In the spring of the following year, in remembrance of him, Han Shizhong built this pavilion and engraved this poem as a memorial. Unfortunately, Qin Gui was very influential during that period, so he could not openly commemorate Master Yue.”

  Remembering the previous dynasty’s General, Guo Jing reached out his hand and ran his finger along the inscriptions in the stone. While he was lost in thought Huang Rong suddenly pulled his sleeve and jumped towards the bushes behind the pavilion and pushed his head down. As they were crouching, they heard the footsteps of people entering the pavilion. A moment later they heard someone say, “Han Shizhong was a hero. His lady, Liang Hongyu, although a former prostitute, helped her husband achieve victory by beating drums during the battle. She could be considered a heroine.”

  Guo Jing thought this voice was somewhat familiar but could not remember who it was. Again another man said, “Yue Fei and Han Shizhong were heroes, but the emperor wanted them dead and stripped them of their military leadership. Both Han and Yue had to follow orders. Obviously the emperor held the power that even heroes like them could not defy.”

  Guo Jing listened to the accent and recognized that this person was Yang Kang. Guo Jing was startled and wondered, “What is Yang Kang doing here?” Still surprised, another broken cymballike voice confounded him even more. It was the Western Poison Ouyang Feng. He heard Ouyang Feng say, “That’s correct. With muddle-headed ruler reigning, just like the previous dynasty, it doesn’t matter how great a hero is.. .he is useless.”

  The first man then said, “But if a wise ruler is on the throne, a great hero like Mr. Ouyang could help him greatly to achieve his aspirations.”

  Listening to those two speak, Guo Jing suddenly recognized that the other one was the enemy who’d killed his father, the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Wanyan Honglie. Even though he had seen Wanyan Honglie’s face before, he’d not often heard his voice and was therefore unable to recognize it for a moment.

  The three talked and laughed and then they left. Guo Jing waited until they had gone far enough and then asked no one in particular, “What are they doing in Lin’an? How come Brother Kang is with them?”

  “Humph,” Huang Rong snorted, “I realized earlier that this brother of yours is not a good person. You still say that he is the descendant of a hero. You have been deceived. Now you understand his real intentions. If he is really a good man, how could he accompany those two scoundrels?”

  Guo Jing was very much bewildered, “I don’t understand,” he said. Thereupon Huang Rong told him everything she’d heard in the Fragrant Snow Hall of the Zhao Palace. She said, “Wanyan Honglie gathered Peng Lianhu and the other fellows to help with his plan to steal Master Yue’s Wumu’s Legacy. Now they suddenly arrive here. Perhaps this Legacy is in Lin’an. If they succeed, then our Great Song’s common people will suffer great calamities.”

  Guo Jing shivered with fear, “We simply cannot let them succeed,” he said.

  Huang Rong said, “The problem is that the Western Poison is traveling with them.”

  “Are you afraid?” Guo Jing asked.

  “Aren’t you?” Huang Rong asked back.

  Guo Jing replied, “Naturally I am frightened of the Western Poison, but this is not a small matter. We ... even if we are afraid, we cannot simply overlook it.”

  Huang Rong smiled, “If you must take care of it, then naturally I will follow you.”

  “Very well,” Guo Jing said, “Let’s go after them.”

  Leaving the pavilion they could not see any trace of Wanyan Honglie’s group and were forced to look randomly around the city. Lin’an was a big city, so how could they find what they were looking for in a short period of time? After walking for a long time, the sky turned dark as the two arrived in front of the ‘Martial Arts Garden’ [wu lin yuan] at Zhong Wazi. Huang Rong saw a shop with a lot of masks with vividly drawn features hanging in its entrance. She was amused and remembered her promise to buy something fun for Zhou Botong. She spent five silver coins and bought ‘the king of ghosts’ [zhong kui], ‘the judge of hell’ [pan guan], ‘kitchen god’ [zao jun], ‘earth god’ [tu di], ‘soldier of heaven’ [shen bing] and other ghosts and supernatural beings, more than a dozen masks in all.

  While the shopkeeper was wrapping the masks with paper, there came the sweet fragrance of food and wine from a restaurant next door. The two had been walking for a long time and were starving. “What restaurant is that?” Huang Rong asked.

  The shopkeeper smiled and said, “So it turns out you two are new to the capital. No wonder you don’t know. The ‘Three-Primary Tavern’ [san yuan lou] is very well-known in our Lin’an. The wine, the food, and the utensils are number one under heaven. You two cannot not leave without trying it.”

  Huang Rong’s heart was stirred by what he said. She took the masks and then pulled Guo Jing to the front of ‘Three-Primary Tavern’. They could see that the building was decorated with colorful paint and had a row of red and green fencing. Beneath the second floor roof hung flower-patterned lanterns. The interior was lined with luxurious wood inlay and the pavilion looked elegant and unconventional. It was truly an exquisite tavern.

  As the two walked in they were welcomed by a waiter with a smiling face and were led through a corridor to a chamber already set with bowls and chopsticks. Huang Rong immediately placed an order and the waiter left to prepare the food.

  In the candlelight Guo Jing saw more than a dozen courtesans with heavy makeup sitting in a row on a nearby porch. He wondered who they were and was about to ask when, from the chamber next door, he suddenly heard Wanyan Honglie’s voice call out, “That’s fine! Send somebody to sing and join us drinking wine.”

  Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other and thought, “Just like the saying goes, ‘wearing out iron shoes to look around, finding the result without any effort.’”

  A summons was heard and a woman gracefully stood up and walked towards the chamber next door with a pair of ivory planks in her hands. A short moment later the woman started to sing. Huang Rong tilted her head to listen to her song:

  “The southeast appears victorious, the rivers and lakes (Jianghu) convene, Qiantang River always flourishes from the ancient times. The bri
dge looks like a painting of smoking willow; the wind blows the wine shop sign and the jade-green curtain, amidst a hundred thousand people. Cloudy trees wind around the sandy dike, angry waves roll up like frosty snow, the sky and the moat around the city are boundless. Rows of pearls line up in the market, the homes compete with each other to show their extravagance. The clear water lake is surrounded by three autumn cassia buds and ten ‘li of lotuses. Along the clear alleys the water chestnut songs floating through the night, enticing old gentlemen to the lotus-like dolls. A thousand riders gather around the ivory tower, intoxicated by the sound of flute and drum, enjoying the rosy-cloud smoke. A particular day to paint fine scenery, as the phoenix returns to the pond of praise.”

  Guo Jing did not understand the sing-song sound of her singing, but he did enjoy the gentle tapping of her ivory planks and the melodious sound of the flute.

  As the song finished, both Wanyan Honglie and Yang Kang proclaimed their praise. “You sing very well!”

  The woman repeatedly expressed her gratitude and jubilantly went out with the musicians while wishing Wanyan Honglie much enjoyment.

  Wanyan Honglie said, “Son, do you know that this Liu Yong [Eternal Willow] poem, ‘Gazing at the Ocean Tides’ [wang hai chao], has a close relationship with our Great Jin?”

  “Your child does not know,” Yang Kang replied. “Would Papa [Die] please explain?”

  Hearing him calling Wanyan Honglie ‘Papa’ in an affectionate tone, Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other. Guo Jing was angry and broken hearted. He wished he could go over, grab him, and ask for an explanation.

  He heard Wanyan Honglie reply, “During the prosperous years of our Great Jin, the Jin Lord Liang saw this poem by Liu Yong, which praises the beauty of the West Lake’s scenery. Thereupon he sent an emissary south and at the same time dispatched a famous painter to paint the scenery around the City of Lin’an. The painter inserted the Jin Lord’s image in the painting, sitting on horseback on the peak of Wu Shan [Wu Mountain]. The Jin Lord wrote this poem on the painting: ‘Ten thousands of li riding on a chariot, how can there be another border to Jiangnan? Dispatching soldiers by the millions to the West Lake, on a horse’s back to stand on Wu Shan’s first peak!’”

  “What a grand and heroic spirit!” Yang Kang praised. 694

  Guo Jing was so angry hearing him that he clenched his fist so hard, his knuckles made cracking sounds.

  Wanyan Honglie sighed. “Jin Lord Liang’s desire to dispatch soldiers to the south and to stand on Wu Shan on horseback did not come true, but his heroic spirit to cross the river was inherited by us, his descendants. Once he inscribed this poem on a folding fan: ‘With a great fan in the hand, bringing a cool breeze over the entire world.’ That’s the kind of ambition he had!”

  Yang Kang repeated that poem. “With a great fan in the hand, bringing a cool breeze over the entire world.” He sounded like he was really impressed by it.

  Ouyang Feng laughed and said, “Someday the Prince’s dream of having great authority and standing on Wu Shan will come true.”

  Wanyan Honglie quietly said, “I do hope Sir’s words will come true. There are too many ears and eyes around here.let’s just drink some wine.” So the three people changed the topic of their conversation immediately and instead talked about the scenery, what they’d seen and heard about local conditions and social customs.

  Huang Rong whispered into Guo Jing’s ear, “They are having a good time drinking wine and I don’t want them to have a good time.” The two slipped away from their chamber and went to the backyard. Huang Rong took out her flint and ignited the firewood in a shed and spread the fire around. In a short moment flames arose and people shouted in confusion, “Fire!” Then they heard copper gongs being struck noisily.

  “Quick.. .we must go to the front or we’ll lose track of them again,” Huang Rong said.

  Guo Jing was filled with hatred. “Tonight I must kill that traitor Wanyan Honglie!” he said.

  Huang Rong said, “First we must take Master to the palace to eat. Afterwards we will entreat the Old Urchin to face the Western Poison. Only then can we deal with the other two traitors.”

  “That’s right,” Guo Jing said.

  Amidst the commotion, the two walked to the front of the restaurant just as Wanyan Honglie, Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang emerged from the building. Guo Jing and Huang Rong followed them at a distance through streets and alleys towards the west market. They entered the Guan Gai Inn. The two waited outside the inn for a long time without seeing Wanyan Honglie or the others coming back out. They concluded that they must be staying here. “Let’s return to our inn, fetch the Old Urchin, and come back here to deal with them,” Huang Rong said. They went back to the Jin Hua Inn immediately.

  Approaching the inn they heard Zhou Botong shouting. Guo Jing was frightened because he thought his Master’s injury was getting worse. He rushed forward anxiously only to see Zhou Botong squatting on the ground squabbling with six or seven boys. As it turned out, he was gambling with these kids in front of the inn’s gate and he’d lost. He argued with the kids, and the kids argued back, hence the noise.

  With Huang Rong’s return he was afraid she would scold him, so he turned around and went back into the inn. Huang Rong smiled and brought out the masks. Zhou Botong was delighted and squealed again and again. He put on a mask and become the ‘Judge of Hell’, and then became a little demon.

  Huang Rong expressed their desire to take him back to help them fight the Western Poison. Zhou Botong readily agreed. “Don’t worry,” he said, “My two hands can use two different fist techniques to fight him.”

  Huang Rong recalled the time on Peach Blossom Island when Zhou Botong was afraid he might involuntarily use the martial arts from the ‘Nine Yin Manual’. He tied his own hands and as a result was injured by her father. “The Western Poison is very bad,” she said, “You can’t be considered disobeying your martial brother’s death wish if you injure him with the martial arts from the manual.”

  Zhou Botong stared hard at her. “No, I can’t do it” he said. “I have trained hard and I don’t need to use the techniques from the manual.”

  By this time Hong Qigong’s heart was already inside the Imperial Palace’s kitchen. He had waited until the second hour of this night with great difficulty. Guo Jing carried Hong Qigong on his back and the four walked on the roofs towards the Imperial Palace. The palace was taller than the other buildings and its roof glittered with gold inlay. It was very easy to identify. Before long, very quietly and without making any noises, the four leaped over the palace’s wall.

  The security inside the palace was tight and guards patrolled everywhere. But with the level of lightness kungfu Zhou, Guo and Huang possessed, how could they be caught by the guards? Hong Qigong knew where the kitchen was and in a low voice he explained the way to it. In a few moments they had arrived at the imperial kitchen, located behind the ‘Six Ministry Hill’ [liu bu shan]. The kitchen was to the east of ‘Fine Bright Hall’ [jia ming dian], where the imperial meals were being prepared. These places were adjacent to the imperial sleeping chamber and the imperial personal office. All were closely guarded with alarm gongs everywhere. By this time the emperor had already gone to bed and the imperial kitchen staff had been dismissed. The four people arrived at the well-lit kitchen where several young court eunuchs slumbered inside.

  Guo Jing helped Hong Qigong sit on a beam while Huang Rong and Zhou Botong looked for already cooked meals in the kitchen cabinets. Very soon the four began to eat.

  Zhou Botong shook his head, “Old Beggar, the food here can’t be compared to Rong’er’s culinary skills. I don’t understand why you so earnestly desired to come here.”

  Hong Qigong replied, “I wanted to eat the minced ‘Five-Treasures Mandarin Duck’. I don’t know where the chef lives.but tomorrow we will catch him. Then we’ll force him to prepare something more to your taste.”

  “I can’t believe his culinary skill is superior to Rong’e
r’s,” Zhou Botong said.

  Huang Rong smiled. She knew he wanted to thank her for the masks, which was why he praised her repeatedly.

  “I want to stay here and wait for the chef,” Hong Qigong said, “Since you are bored, why don’t you and Jing’er go out of the palace and let Rong’er stay with me. Tomorrow night you can come back.”

  Zhou Botong put on the ‘City God’ mask and laughed. “No,” he said, “I want to stay here with you. Tomorrow I am going to wear this mask to scare the old emperor. Brother Guo, Rong’er, you keep your eyes on the Old Poison. Don’t let him steal Yue Fei’s legacy.”

  “What the Old Urchin said was very reasonable,” Hong Qigong said. “Go quickly and be careful.” The two gave their promise.

  “Don’t fight the Old Poison tonight. Wait for me tomorrow,” Zhou Botong said.

  “We can’t beat him so naturally we won’t fight,” Huang Rong said. She, along with Guo Jing, slipped away from the imperial kitchen with the intention of going back to the Guan Gai Inn to observe Wanyan Honglie and the others’ activities.

  They tiptoed through two halls in the dark. Suddenly they felt a cool breeze and faintly heard the sound of water. In the stillness of the night they could also smell a faint delicate fragrance from deep in the palace courtyard. Unexpectedly they’d come across a wooded hill placed inside the palace.

  Huang Rong sniffed and knew there must be a flower garden nearby. She thought there must be many wonderful flowers and unusual plants in the Imperial Palace garden. Since she was there, she certainly could not pass up this rare opportunity to take a look. So she tugged Guo Jing’s hand and followed the flowery fragrance, looking for the garden.

  Gradually the sound of water grew louder. The two walked on flower-lined paths and saw pine and bamboo trees blocking the deep blue sky above along with beautiful hills quietly standing in the background. Huang Rong was deeply impressed with this place. Even though the landscaping was inferior to that of Peach Blossom Island, the flowers and trees were exquisitely beautiful.