A Snake Lies Waiting

by Jin Yong

  Guo Jing began with the first stance, Empty Bowl Filled with Rice, then went on to the second, Empty Cottage Inhabited, narrating the changes and transformations in the use of strength in each move as he went. Zhou Botong’s mischievous nature was evident in the witty names he had given them.

  By the time Guo Jing had reached the eighteenth move, Count Seven could not help but feel admiration. “That’s enough. I know how to deal with Old Venom.”

  “Using Luminous Hollow Fist? I’m not nearly proficient at it,” Guo Jing said.

  “I know. But this is a grave situation, so we must at least try. Do you still have the golden dagger Genghis Khan gave you?”

  A warm glint of metal flashed in the dark night as Guo Jing removed the dagger from the folds of his robes.

  “Use the dagger in combination with Luminous Hollow Fist to fell the trees,” Count Seven said.

  The blade was only a foot in length. Guo Jing looked at it and hesitated.

  “Your weapon is so sharp, it can slice through tree trunks. The blade is perhaps a little thick, but, as long as you follow the principles of empty and loose, the dagger should do the job.”

  Guo Jing pondered his shifu’s words. Seeing him hesitate, Count Seven gave him further instructions until finally he understood. He jumped down from the tree and approached a cedar of medium girth. Channeling the techniques Zhou Botong had taught him—light and quick, using force as if without force—he plunged the dagger into its trunk. As it sliced into the tree, he turned in a circle and it fell to the ground. Guo Jing was delighted. He went on to chop another dozen. He would have a hundred before daybreak, after all.

  “Boy!” Guo Jing suddenly heard Count Seven call. “Come up here!”

  Guo Jing jumped up onto the platform. “It worked. And I don’t feel tired.”

  “We can’t be wasting energy, can we?” Count Seven replied.

  “Exactly! That’s what the kong meng dong song means. Brother Zhou spent so long trying to teach me, but I didn’t get it.”

  “This kung fu is for more than merely chopping down trees. And yet, alone, it cannot beat the Venom of the West. You must train once again in the skills described in the Nine Yin Manual if we are to have any chance of overcoming him. Let’s think of a plan to buy us time.”

  Guo Jing nodded, but maintained a respectful silence. When it came to clever plans, he knew he was not much help.

  Eventually, Count Seven shook his head. “Nothing’s coming to me. We’ll have to ask Lotus to think of something tomorrow. Although, I did have a thought while listening to you recite the Manual. I don’t think I am wrong about this. Help me down from the tree; I need to practice.”

  “But you’re not well; how can you train?”

  “The Manual said, ‘the virtuous cultivate the body twofold, that is, in movement they find stillness, in attack they know peace’. These sentences helped me come to a realization. Come, now, let’s get down.”

  Guo Jing did not understand what the sentences meant, but neither did he wish to defy his shifu. Holding his Master in his arms, he gently jumped down from the tree.

  Count Seven took several deep breaths, assumed the opening stance and thrust with his right palm. In the darkness, Guo Jing watched him charge forward as if about to fall. He rushed to help, but Count Seven had already stopped.

  “I’m fine,” he panted.

  Moments later, he repeated the move with his left palm. Guo Jing watched him stumble. He was clearly in pain. Several times, Guo Jing wanted to call out to him to stop, but, to his surprise, his Master was growing ever steadier and stronger with each attempt. Before long, the heavy breathing and labored movements had given way to elegant twists of his body and firm, deft footwork. He was making fantastic progress. He finished all eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and moved straight into Wayfaring Fist.

  Guo Jing waited until he was finished, before crying out, “You’re healed!”

  “Carry me back up.”

  Guo Jing wrapped his arms around his Master’s middle and jumped up to the platform. “Well done, well done!” He could barely contain his delight.

  Count Seven sighed. “Not well done, indeed. It was a fine display, but my kung fu is of no practical use.”

  Guo Jing was confused.

  “After my injury, I took to rest, thinking it the best way to recover,” Count Seven explained. “But my kung fu is external in nature, it only improves through sustained movement. I may be out of physical danger, but I will never recover my martial skill.”

  Guo Jing wanted to comfort his Master, but he did not know what to say. “I’ll go back to felling trees,” he said at last.

  “Lad,” Count Seven said suddenly, “I think I have a way to scare Old Venom. Let me know what you think.” Count Seven explained his plan.

  “Marvelous!” Guo Jing jumped down from the tree at once to prepare.

  * * *

  AT FIRST light the next morning, Viper Ouyang approached their tree and began counting the trunks piled up beside it. Ninety.

  “Mongrel! Get down here at once! You still have ten more trees to fetch for me.”

  Lotus had spent the night by Gallant’s side, tending his wounds. The sound of his groans softened even her heart. As the sun had risen, she had watched Viper leave the cave and had followed him. Now, she was worried for her beloved Guo Jing.

  Viper waited, but no reply came. The only sound to be heard was the wind gathering speed behind the mountain. It reminded him of people practicing martial arts. Quickly, he followed it to its source. As he reached the top of the mountain, he was surprised to find Count Seven and the young boy locked in combat. Palms flew and kicks soared. It was an intense duel.

  Lotus, too, was surprised to see her shifu thus recovered and able to fight.

  “Boy! Watch out for this!” Count Seven cried and launched a palm. Guo Jing raised a hand to block, but, before they made contact, he flew back and crashed into a tree. It was not an old tree, but its trunk snapped and it fell to the ground.

  In fact, it had been a perfectly ordinary palm strike, but it was enough to leave Viper dumbstruck.

  “Shifu!” Lotus cried out. “Wonderful Splitting Sky Palm!”

  “Protect yourself—don’t let my palm hurt you!” Count Seven called out.

  “Your disciple understands.”

  Just then, thwack! Another palm strike sent Guo Jing flying into another tree. Guo Jing dusted himself off and they repeated the sequence, and, before long, Count Seven’s Splitting Sky Palm had felled eight more trees.

  “That’s ten!” Lotus called out.

  Guo Jing was panting heavily. “Your disciple is exhausted.”

  Count Seven cupped his hands and laughed. “The Nine Yin Manual really is marvelous. I was so weak after my injury, and yet, after just one morning of training, I’m recovered.”

  Viper watched with suspicion. He bent down to inspect the tree trunks, but what he found only amazed him further. Apart from the inner core, the rest of the trunk had been broken off smoothly—not even a saw could have done it so perfectly. What manner of kung fu must be contained within the Nine Yin Manual? The Old Beggar had been restored. How could he fight three of them at once? There was only one option: he had to start training from the Manual at once.

  He gave the three of them a baleful look before rushing back to the cave, where he grabbed the pile of papers wrapped in oil paper, containing Guo Jing’s shaky characters, and began reading.

  Meanwhile, Count Seven and Guo Jing waited until Viper was long gone before bursting into laughter.

  “Shifu!” Lotus cried in delight. “The Nine Yin Manual is a true marvel.”

  Count Seven merely laughed even harder.

  Guo Jing ran to her side. “Lotus, we were pretending.”

  He explained to her how they had done it. Guo Jing had used his blade to cut all but the center of the trees, taking care to leave them standing. Count Seven’s palm strikes had carried next to no strength at all, but instead
Guo Jing had used his own internal neigong to send himself flying backward into the pre-cut trees, toppling them to the ground. Viper Ouyang was not to know that the real work had been done by the dagger and Guo Jing’s use of Luminous Hollow Fist.

  Lotus laughed, but suddenly stopped, fell silent and then frowned.

  “I can walk again,” Count Seven said. “That’s miracle enough for me. I don’t care if it was real or fake martial skill. Lotus, you fear Old Venom will see through our ruse?”

  Lotus nodded.

  “The question is, can we fool him for any length of time?” Count Seven continued. “And yet, human affairs are never easily anticipated. There is no use worrying unnecessarily. Listen, there is a passage in the Nine Yin Manual that Guo Jing read to me, called ‘Transforming Muscles, Forging Bones’. It is most interesting. Why don’t we try to practice, seeing as we have nothing else to do?”

  His tone was light, but Lotus knew the situation was grave. Their Master would have his reasons for picking this passage.

  “Indeed. Please teach us, Shifu.”

  Count Seven asked Guo Jing to repeat the passage two more times, and then, based on what he heard, he gave them instructions before leaving to look for food. When he returned, he lit a fire and cooked them a meal. A few times, the young couple tried to help, but Count Seven would not allow it.

  * * *

  THE DAYS passed quickly, and Guo Jing and Lotus made significant progress with their training. Viper Ouyang, meanwhile, stayed in his cave, studying the Nine Yin Manual. It took all his energy and concentration.

  Count Seven Hong turned to Lotus after lunch one day and said, “How was your shifu’s roasted goat?”

  Lotus merely smiled and shook her head.

  “Indeed, I can’t stomach it either. You two have finished your first lesson; now, you must relax your muscles, otherwise your qi will be stifled, causing you great harm. Lotus, you prepare the meal tonight. Guo Jing and I will make a raft.”

  “Make a raft?” Guo Jing and Lotus said in unison.

  “Why, yes. Don’t tell me you were planning to keep Old Venom company on this wretched island forever?”

  The young couple were ecstatic and set to work immediately.

  The one hundred tree trunks Guo Jing had felled the week before were still piled neatly nearby. They began slicing tree bark and Guo Jing plaited the strands into another rope. But when he tugged on it, it snapped. He had not made it strong enough. He made another, thicker rope, and repeated the action, only for it to break too. Confounded, he stared at the rope, at a loss as to what to do.

  Just then, he heard Lotus shouting. He turned to see her running toward them, carrying a goat. She had taken some stones with her to throw at its head, but, without understanding how she had done it, she had overtaken the wild animal in a few steps and scooped it up into her arms. She had moved with such speed, it had taken even her by surprise.

  “The Nine Yin Manual is mighty indeed,” Count Seven said and smiled. “No wonder so many heroes of the wulin are willing to risk their lives to get their hands on it.”

  “Shifu,” Lotus breathed with delight, “do you think we can beat Old Venom now?”

  Count Seven shook his head. “No, we are still a long way off. You would have to train for another ten years. His Exploding Toad is no laughing matter; no kung fu has been able to overcome it, apart from Yang in Ascendance when combined with Cosmos neigong, which only Wang Chongyang knew.”

  “Another ten years and even then we might not beat him,” Lotus said, pouting.

  “Well, it’s hard to say. I might be underestimating the powers of the kung fu contained within the Nine Yin Manual.”

  “Be patient, Lotus,” Guo Jing said. “It’s always good to learn something new.”

  A few more days passed, and Guo Jing and Lotus were getting to grips with the second part of Transforming Muscles, Forging Bones. The raft was also ready. Together, they wove a sail from yet more tree bark and prepared rations of fresh water and food.

  The evening before they planned to set sail, just as they were preparing to go to bed, Lotus suddenly asked, “Aren’t we going to say goodbye to them?”

  “We will see them again in ten years, to fight,” Guo Jing said.

  “Exactly!” Lotus exclaimed, clapping her hands. “May the heavens guide those scoundrels back to the mainland and ensure Old Venom lives a long life, so that we might meet again in ten years. Either that, or ensure Shifu’s quick recovery, so that we can get it over with in a couple of years’ time instead. Yes, that would be even better.”

  Count Seven woke before sunrise the next morning to sounds coming from the shore.

  “Guo Jing! Do you hear that? It’s coming from the beach.”

  Guo Jing jumped down from the tree and ran toward the noise. As soon as he saw what was happening, he charged forward in fury.

  By this time, Lotus was fully awake. “Guo Jing! What’s happening?”

  “Those evil thieves stole our raft!”

  Lotus was shocked. By the time she reached the beach, Viper Ouyang had already placed his nephew on the pontoon, raised the sail and, together, they were floating several dozen meters from the shore, out at sea. Guo Jing was about to wade into the water to pursue them when Lotus tugged at his sleeve. “They’re already too far out.”

  “Thank you for the raft!” Viper shouted, then cackled with laughter.

  Guo Jing ran to a nearby red sandalwood tree and kicked at it, hard.

  Suddenly, Lotus had an idea. “That’s it!” She lifted a large rock onto one of the tree’s branches and instructed Guo Jing to pull down. “A catapult!”

  Guo Jing grinned, braced his feet against the roots and pulled down as hard as he could. The tree was strong but flexible, and the branch bent almost all the way to the ground without breaking. Then Guo Jing let go, and with a loud swoooooosh! the rock flew out, landing right beside the raft and causing a large splash.

  “What a shame!” Lotus cried, and ran to fetch another rock. Together, they aimed and fired. This time, they hit the floating craft dead on—but they had crafted it so well, it did not break. They launched three more rocks, but each landed with a splash and sunk to the bottom of the sea.

  Lotus had another idea, this one even crazier.

  “Quick, fire me like a cannonball!”

  Guo Jing was startled, unsure if he had understood her correctly.

  “Launch me at them. I’ll deal with them.” She took out her dagger and held it in her hand.

  She was a natural swimmer and her lightness kung fu had really improved, so he decided it was most likely safe. “Be careful.” Then he pulled down the branch once more.

  Lotus sat down carefully and cried, “Fire!”

  Guo Jing released the branch and watched as Lotus flew through the air, somersaulting twice before diving gracefully into the water, only a few meters from the raft. It was a marvelous sight to behold. Viper Ouyang and his nephew watched, stupefied. What was she going to do?

  Lotus swam down deep, and, instead of resurfacing, approached the raft underwater. As soon as she saw the boat’s dark shadow above, she knew she was in the right place.

  Viper struck at the water with his oar, but to no avail.

  Her dagger between her teeth, Lotus was swimming up to cut the ropes holding the raft together, when a thought struck her, and, instead of sawing them the whole way through, she left them partially intact. That way, the raft would hold until they were farther out, in rougher seas. Then she swam away and resurfaced some distance from the raft, shouting and gasping for breath, pretending to have failed to reach them.

  Viper laughed wildly as the sail caught the wind. Before long, they were far, far out at sea.

  Guo Jing and Count Seven were waiting for Lotus on the beach, cursing their misfortune. That is, until they saw Lotus’s satisfied grin. Lotus explained that the Ouyangs would soon find eternal rest at the bottom of the ocean, and the two men laughed with joy.

  “Bu
t,” Lotus added with a note of vexation, “it does mean we have to start all over again.”

  Nevertheless, the three ate their breakfast in high spirits, before getting to work cutting down yet more trees. It took them a few days to build a new raft. A southwesterly wind was blowing, so there was no time to lose. They hoisted the sail and set off in a westerly direction. Lotus gazed back at the island as it receded into the distance. “We almost lost our lives, back there, and yet, I feel quite sad to be leaving.”

  “We can always come back, one day,” Guo Jing said.

  “Yes!” Lotus cried and clapped her hands. “You’ve made me a promise. But, first, we need to give it a name. Shifu, what do you think?”

  “It was the place where you crushed that scoundrel with the rock, so what about Ghost Crushing Island?”

  “It’s not very elegant,” Lotus said and shook her head.

  “If it was elegance you wanted, why did you ask an old beggar? It was also the place where we managed to trick Old Venom into consuming my urine, so what about Eat Piss Island?”

  Lotus smiled and waved the idea away. She cocked her head and thought. On the horizon, a clutch of ruby clouds were gathering. “Rosy Cloud Island!”

  “No, no, far too elegant,” Count Seven replied.

  Unable to contribute much himself, Guo Jing listened with a smile. He did not care if the island was given an elegant or a vulgar name, but deep down he preferred Shifu’s suggestions.

  3

  Together, they traveled with the wind for two days. On the third night, Lotus and Count Seven were sleeping, while Guo Jing was keeping watch, when suddenly he heard a voice carried over the roar of the water.

  “Help! Help!” The voice clanged like crashing cymbals as it struggled to make itself heard over the screaming of the wind and the roaring of the waves.

  “Old Venom,” Count Seven said, sitting up.

  They heard him shout once more.

  Lotus grabbed her Master’s arm. “A ghost!” Her voice trembled.

  There was no moon that night and only a mere scattering of stars filled the black sky. A voice emerging from the darkness would be enough to scare anyone.