A Snake Lies Waiting

by Jin Yong

  Count Seven’s confidence, meanwhile, was growing. Maybe this time he was going to defeat the Venom of the West. But, at that moment, another thought popped into his head. If he dies now, it will have all been for nothing. I won’t get to see him waste his time studying the fake Nine Yin Manual. At this, he laughed.

  “Old Venom, today I will show you mercy. Get on the boat.”

  Viper Ouyang gave him a strange look, but quickly flipped over the edge and into the sea. Just as Count Seven was about to join him, Viper Ouyang called up: “Wait! Now I’m wet too, we can continue the fight, fair and square.”

  He then reached for a chain that was hanging down the side of the ship and used it to flip himself up onto the deck.

  “Excellent! What better time for a fight!”

  At that, fists began to fly and the duel was once again in motion.

  “Lotus, look how fierce Old Venom is,” Guo Jing said, his eyes still glued to the scene in front of them.

  But Lotus was unable to answer, her pressure points still locked.

  “Should I go up there and help Shifu?” he continued. “The ship is about to go down.”

  Still no answer. Guo Jing turned to look at her, only to find Gallant Ouyang with his hands around her wrists. “Get your hands off her!”

  But Gallant had been longing to touch her for so long. How could he let go so quickly? “Make one move,” he said with a cold smile, “and I will put my fist through her skull.”

  Without thinking, Guo Jing swung the oar he was still clutching straight at Gallant’s head. Gallant ducked. Guo Jing dropped the oar and sent out two palms, forcing his opponent to let go of Lotus. Gallant cast his eyes around the small boat. It was no place for a fight. With a sweep of his arm, he moved into a Sacred Snake Fist. Guo Jing extended his left arm to block, at which Gallant suddenly bent his elbow and punched Guo Jing on the cheek—hard.

  Stars clouded Guo Jing’s vision. He momentarily closed his eyes—then, realizing the danger he was in, opened them again, just in time to see a second attack coming his way. He raised his left arm to block it. Again, Gallant’s arm bent at an unnatural angle and Guo Jing threw his head back and struck out with his right hand. Usually, sending his body in two opposite directions would have resulted in each counteracting the other, but Guo Jing had studied Competing Hands under Zhou Botong. With his left arm poised, he pushed out with his right, trapping Gallant’s arm. Guo Jing twisted and—crack! Gallant’s bone broke.

  Gallant was in fact a fighter on a par with the Quanzhen greats, like Ma Yu and Wang Chuyi, and much more accomplished than Guo Jing. The only thing was, Guo Jing’s methods were just so strange. He had never seen anything like it and twice now had been injured because the unorthodox approach had caught him unawares.

  Gallant Ouyang fell over, grimacing through the pain. Ignoring him, Guo Jing rushed to Lotus and unlocked her pressure points. Luckily, the combination of Count Seven’s attack and Lotus’s Hedgehog Chainmail had prevented Viper Ouyang from using the full force of his kung fu when he pressed the point on her neck. Otherwise, Guo Jing would never have been able to release her.

  “Quick, Shifu needs help!” Lotus cried.

  Guo Jing looked up to see his Master and Viper Ouyang engaged in hand-to-hand combat among the rising flames. The air rushed around their rapidly moving fists as the wooden deck bubbled and crackled. Suddenly, with an ear-splitting crack, the ship broke in two. The stern began to vanish into the waves, creating a whirlpool around it. Just as the other half of the ship started to sink, Guo Jing grabbed his oars and rowed the small boat up close.

  At that moment, the blazing mainmast broke free and began to fall. Both men jumped back and watched as it landed between them.

  Viper Ouyang reached for his Serpent Staff and swung it above the flames. Count Seven pulled out his Dog-Beating Cane and blocked.

  Guo Jing rowed closer still, watching in amazement.

  There was a saying in the wulin: “It takes a hundred days to master the saber, a thousand to master the spear, and ten thousand to master the sword.” The sword may be considered the paragon, and yet every master brings their own unique skills and talents whatever weapon they are using, so that, in the end, there is little to separate them in a real fight. Many years ago, the great Masters gathered on Mount Hua in a Duel of Swords, yet this was actually a misnomer; the fighters employed all of the finest martial techniques—in much the same way as the term “classic” was first used for the seminal texts of Confucianism—the five, six, then thirteen classics—but then came to cover other philosophies, such as the Classic of Mozi, the Classic of the Way and Virtue, etc. Religious texts began to use the term “classic” too, as a translation of the Sanskrit word “sutra.”

  Count Seven’s bamboo cane had been passed down for generations in the Beggar Clan. It was pliable and strong and a foot longer than most swords. A master of external kung fu, he had concentrated on strength when it came to wielding it, but after exploring the full possibilities of his weapon, he matched force with flexibility, which only increased its might many times over.

  Viper Ouyang’s Serpent Staff was also unique in that it combined the characteristics of the cudgel, the stick and the cane. He was able to execute a bewildering variety of moves with it. The top was carved into the shape of a grinning face with two rows of sharp teeth, like fangs, tipped with poison. The head seemed to dance like a demon about to chomp down on its enemy. A secret button, when pressed, would release darts laced with poison. The head could also be opened to reveal the two tiny snakes, which, now they had recovered from being drained, could wrap themselves around the shaft, spitting poison and writhing in all directions, making them dangerous and unpredictable.

  When the two weapons clashed, each had its own advantages. Viper’s staff may have been more sophisticated, but beggars are masters of catching snakes. Count Seven’s cane danced like summer lightning, parrying each move and scoring hits whenever there was an opening. Viper moved his staff quicker. Count Seven, meanwhile, was yet to display his Dog-Beating skill. Yet both men feared revealing their secrets—one for fear of ridicule, the other for fear of having nothing left to use against his opponents at the next contest on Mount Hua.

  Guo Jing stood on his small boat, watching. Several times, he thought of scrambling aboard to help his shifu, but it was a close and intense fight. He would not have much to contribute. It would be difficult even to get near them. All he could do was look on, helpless.

  CHAPTER TWO

  TEN THOUSAND TONS OF ROCK

  1

  Viper Ouyang felt himself get hotter with each passing second. The deck beneath his feet was cracking and splintering; the boat was about to sink. Yet, Count Seven Hong’s attacks were as furious as ever. If he did not use one of his special moves now, he might not come away from the fight alive. He pulled back his Serpent Staff and struck with his other hand. Count Seven aimed his bamboo stick at the weapon while blocking with his free hand.

  Count Seven watched Viper Ouyang’s arm bend and his fist come corkscrewing toward his right temple, the precise location of his Great Sun pressure point.

  Viper had spent years developing his Sacred Snake Fist repertoire. He had been intending to save it for the second Contest of Mount Hua. He had not revealed even one of its moves while exchanging over a thousand blows with Count Seven on Peach Blossom Island. Mimicking the writhing of a snake’s body, which moves as if it contains no bones, the arms twist and coil in all directions, enabling him to land punches even when his opponent believes he has successfully blocked an attack. Of course, it is not physically possible for the arms to move like a snake, but the effect of the style was to make it seem that way.

  Normally, such a strange and unexpected move would have made it difficult for Count Seven Hong to defend himself. But Gallant Ouyang had already used something similar against Guo Jing in the temple in Baoying, and, though he had prevailed against the Beggar’s disciple, in doing so he had revealed his uncle’s
secret and given Count Seven the chance to spot a vital weakness.

  That night, he had not attended the usual feast with Vigor Li and the other beggars, but instead had spent his time contemplating how it could be overcome. And now it delighted him that Old Venom was giving him the chance to test his theory. Forming his hand into a claw, he reached out and caught hold of Viper’s fist. His approach was quick and accurate—the perfect way to counter Sacred Snake Fist. It came across as a lucky strike, but in fact it had taken Count Seven many a restless night and thousands of failed attempts to come up with the move. This one technique was sufficient to overcome the entire repertoire. He had doubted it, but now, in the heat of the battle, he could see that its simplicity, speed, and the element of surprise gave him a considerable advantage.

  Viper Ouyang was in shock. He had expected his opponent to be rendered helpless, allowing him to move in and make his killer attack. He stumbled backward. At that moment, a cloud of black smoke descended and he disappeared within it.

  Count Seven Hong leaped back in surprise. A large sail that had been set ablaze had fallen on top of Viper Ouyang.

  In normal circumstances, a falling sail would not have troubled Viper Ouyang. But he had just witnessed the fruits of years of practice and careful training being subdued in an instant. Stupefied by this daunting revelation, he did not move as the large, stiff sail, still attached to the mast, descended upon him. Viper tried to throw it off a few times, but it was too heavy. Despite the danger he was in, his mind was remarkably clear. He tried to raise his Serpent Staff in order to slash through the cloth, but it was trapped beneath the mast.

  There it is, he sighed. To the heavens I shall return.

  As he relaxed his body to submit to the inevitable, he felt a great weight lifted from him. He opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer covered by the sail. Count Seven had raised the anchor and used it to pull the cloth away. The Old Beggar had no desire to watch his opponent be burned alive.

  Viper Ouyang’s clothes, hair, and brows were on fire. He jumped up and rolled across the deck, desperately trying to put out the flames. Unfortunately, bad luck rarely comes but once, and, at that moment, the boat lurched to one side, causing the heavy metal chain of the anchor to hurtle toward him.

  “Aiya!” Count Seven launched himself forward and grabbed the chain, which by now the fire had rendered red hot. His skin crackled and fizzed as it came into contact with the burning metal. Instantly, he cast the chain into the sea. He was about to follow behind it when he felt his back go numb.

  I saved Viper, and now he attacks me with his venom? Can it be possible? He turned to find himself face-to-face with a snake, fresh blood dripping from its teeth. Enraged, he threw two palms at Viper Ouyang, who merely stepped aside and watched as Count Seven’s hands slammed into the second mast, splitting it in two.

  Viper Ouyang was delighted that his surprise attack had succeeded, but Count Seven Hong’s thrashing and punching was getting ever more intense and so he slunk back.

  “Shifu! Shifu!” Guo Jing shouted. He started climbing up onto what remained of the ship.

  Suddenly, Count Seven, feeling dizzy, stumbled. Viper Ouyang charged at him and struck his palms at the Beggar’s back. One of the snakes had sunk its teeth into the back of Count Seven’s neck. Luckily, its normally deadly poison had been depleted only days before in the wager with Zhou Botong. It was enough, however, to scramble Count Seven’s wits and leave him unable to summon sufficient internal strength to resist Viper’s blow.

  He spat blood and collapsed.

  Viper Ouyang knew that it was not enough just to defeat a skilled martial artist such as Count Seven Hong. Given a few days of rest, he would be back to cause untold troubles. An attack, once made, had to be decisive.

  2

  Moments before, Guo Jing had pulled himself over the side of the crippled ship and was now standing on the deck. His shifu was in great danger. He thrust both palms at Viper Ouyang’s lower back, in a Twin Dragons Skim the Water. The Venom of the West knew that the boy’s martial skills were considerable, yet he paid him little attention at that moment. He blocked with his left hand, and he launched his foot at Count Seven Hong’s lower back. Determined to save his Master, Guo Jing leaped up and grabbed Viper’s neck, thus exposing his pressure points. With a pow! Viper jabbed him below the ribs, knocking him aside.

  Viper did not put the full force of his strength behind the blow, but he knew he had the power to kill his opponent if he chose to. Had it not been for Guo Jing’s considerable internal strength, he would have suffered great harm. He felt a sharp pain, then a numbness spread through the lower half of his body.

  Undeterred, he leaped again and grabbed hold of the Venom’s head.

  Viper Ouyang was surprised by the boy’s rash move; he had expected him to retreat. Now, they both risked being injured. He pulled back his foot before it could meet with Count Seven Hong and bent at the waist to hit out at Guo Jing. He was too close to use any Exploding Toad kung fu or his Sacred Snake Fist. Masters of the wulin rarely grappled at such close range.

  Within moments, Guo Jing had both hands around Viper Ouyang’s throat. Viper flailed his arms behind his back, but did not manage to land a single blow. Guo Jing’s grip was tightening, and Viper Ouyang was struggling to breathe. The Venom thrust his elbow back.

  Guo Jing ducked right, released his left hand, slipped it under Viper’s armpit and then back onto his neck, and pulled. This was a move known as Camel’s Twist, which he had learned from Mongolian wrestling. It owed its name to the fact that, when done effectively, the technique could be used to snap the neck of even a camel. It was brutal and sent an intense pain through Viper’s body. Only the most skilled Mongolian wrestlers knew how to counter it. Viper had never come across anything like it, so he suffered the full extent of its power.

  Viper flailed once more with his arms, trying to hit back at Guo Jing, who took his chance to let go with his right hand and repeat the move by slipping it under Viper’s armpit, grabbing hold of his neck and twisting. Once again, Guo Jing had both hands around Viper’s throat, in a move called Breaking Mountain Stranglehold. It was impossible to get out of it without snapping one’s neck.

  And yet, the Venom of the West was a master of the wulin, not some common Mongolian wrestler. Using lightness kung fu, he ducked down and rolled out between Guo Jing’s legs.

  To have to roll under the legs of a junior fighter like this was humiliating, to be sure, but Viper had been in dire straits. Once on his feet, he immediately launched his left fist at Guo Jing’s back. He did not expect, however, that, before his hand met its target, his arm would be stopped dead.

  Guo Jing knew his kung fu was no match for his opponent, but a combination of youthful enthusiasm and his knowledge of close-combat fighting and Mongolian wrestling meant that he was managing to keep the Master at bay.

  But, before he could press home his advantage, the ship listed violently, knocking the two men off balance and into the flames, setting their hair and clothes alight.

  3

  Lotus caught sight of count Seven Hong’s lifeless body slumped over the ship’s railings. Was he alive? She could not tell. She looked up to see Guo Jing and Viper Ouyang still fighting without any sign of letup, their clothes now alight. Meanwhile, the Viper’s nephew had got to his feet again after the injury he had suffered at Guo Jing’s hands. Sensing the acute danger, she had no choice but to lift an oar and swing it in the direction of Gallant Ouyang’s head.

  Even with a broken arm, Gallant managed to dodge the oar. Then he reached out to grab Lotus’s bracelet. Lotus responded by stamping her feet so that the small boat rocked and almost capsized. Gallant was unable to swim, so he let go of Lotus to steady himself. Before the boat had returned to an even keel, Lotus dived into the sea.

  Within seconds, she was beside the Viper’s ship, which was by now so low in the water that the deck was almost level with the sea. Lotus pulled herself quickly aboard, removed Guo
Jing’s dagger from her waistband and rushed forward to help him. Guo Jing and Viper Ouyang were twisted into a bundle, rolling around on the deck. At that moment, Viper Ouyang was on top, but Guo Jing had a firm grip on his opponent’s shoulders, pinning his arms so there was little he could do to harm the young man.

  Lotus cast herself, dagger first, at Viper’s back. It was the very blade Qiu Chuji had given Guo Jing’s parents, with his name carved on the hilt. It had been in Mercy Mu’s possession, but Lotus had swapped it for the dagger with Yang Kang’s name on it.

  The dagger glanced off Viper’s back. Surprised, he twisted violently, spinning so Guo Jing was on top. Lotus bent low and aimed for his head, but Viper once again managed to dodge. Three times she stabbed, and three times he evaded her, so that she plunged the blade into the deck.

  A thick plume of black smoke blew over them, stinging Lotus’s eyes. She closed them, then felt a pain in her leg and rolled over. Viper Ouyang’s heel. She jumped to her feet, only to find her hair had caught fire. She raised the dagger once more, but, as she turned to face the Viper, Guo Jing shouted, “Shifu! Save Shifu first!”

  Lotus ran to Count Seven, picked him up and jumped overboard, into the sea, extinguishing the flames that were consuming his robe.

  She moved her shifu onto her back and began to swim toward the small boat. Gallant Ouyang watched her approach, raised the oar above his head and called, “Leave the beggar! I’ll only let you on board if you come alone.”

  “Then we can meet in the water,” she cried, and she began shaking the boat violently.

  It felt as if the boat was about to capsize. Gallant began to panic and gripped the side. “No … Don’t shake it! It’s going to roll!”

  Lotus laughed. “Then pull my shifu up. Be careful. If you try anything, I’ll give you another good drenching.”