Return of Condor Heroes, page 150
Yang Guo let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Then he turned around, walking two steps towards the small trail that led to Gu Mu and slowly putting the sword back onto his back. His right sleeve flared out while he used his left arm to support Xiao Longnu. He secretly channeled air into his abdomen. Suddenly he lifted his head towards the sky and gave out a roar so loud that it shook the tree branches in the woods. Hearing this ear-shattering roar, the Taoists were startled.
And even before he finished his roar, he let go of Xiao Longnu and leapt backwards. In a flash, his left hand sealed both ‘ “Returning Orthodox” (Hui Zong) and “Sustaining Waterway” (Zhi Gou) points on Sun Bu’Er’s right wrist. As Xiao Longnu’s body, now without support, was about to collapse, Yang Guo quickly dragged Sun Bu’Er along with him to prop Xiao Longnu’s body back up. His jumping back and forth was lightning fast, like the movement of a fleeing rabbit. Before any of the Taoists had a chance to blink their eyes, Sun Bu’Er had already fallen into Yang Guo’s clutches and nothing could be done about it. Qiu Chuji and Sun Bu’Er had long fought powerful enemies. In the beginning, they were guarding themselves against Yang Guo’s swift attack but then they saw him put away his weapon and head out towards the small trail to the outside, with his only arm supporting Xiao Longnu. Naturally, they concluded that he’d decided to give up. They hadn’t expected that he would use his roar to distract the enemy and that his actions -- using his left hand to support Xiao Longnu instead of his shirt sleeve and putting away the sword -- were actually a strategy designed to fool them so he could capture Sun Bu’Er. Numerous Taoists shouted and raised their swords. But as Sun Bu’Er was held captive, nobody dared to move forward to attack.
Yang Guo said in a low voice: “Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun], I have made a great social blunder. Please turn around and keep us company during the ritual.” While still holding Sun Bu’Er’s wrist, he slowly led Xiao Longnu to the back of the hall of the Chongyang Palace. The Taoists followed them, their faces filled with anger, yet they didn’t know what else to do.
The three of them entered the hall through a side door and walked along the winding corridor until they arrived at the back of the hall. Yang Guo turned around and in a clear voice he said: “Everybody please stand outside. You may not enter the hall, not even one step. We’ve already decided that we would sacrifice our lives. If we fight, Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun] and the two of us will have the same fate.”
Wang Chuyi quietly said: “Qiu Shi Ge [Apprentice Brother Qiu], how do we handle this?” Qiu Chuji then replied: “Nothing for the moment, we’ll wait for the right opportunity. It looks like he wouldn’t dare to harm Sun Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister Sun].” These Quanzhen masters had roamed the martial world for their entire lives, their names are renowned. They hadn’t expected that in their sunset years they would be controlled by a mere boy. They were undoubtedly angry but also couldn’t help chuckling.
Yang Guo pulled out a prayer mat for Sun Bu’Er to sit down on and then said: “Pardon!” while sealing the “Big Spine” (Da Chui) and “Divine Hall” (Shen Tang) pressure points on her back, which left her unable to walk. As he saw the Taoists standing outside as they were told, not daring to enter, he helped Xiao Longnu stand in front of the portrait of Wang Chongyang, shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
Before their eyes was a portrait of a Taoist holding a long sword and showing a graceful disposition. He wouldn’t be more than thirty years old. On the side of the portrait were three words “The Living Dead.” The writing was sparse but the man in the middle of the painting exuded a heroic air, his elegance unparalled. When Yang Guo came to learn martial skills at the Chongyang Palace as a boy, he was familiar with this painting, knowing that this was a portrait of the founding master. But now he remembered quite vividly that there was also a portrait of Wang Chongyang at Gu Mu. Even though this one was a front portrait and the one at Gu Mu was a back view, the art strokes were no different so he said: “This painting was also done by our Ancestor Grandma.” Xiao Longnu nodded, giving him a sweet smile and softly saying: “The two of us get married before the portrait of Master Chongyang but the picture was drawn by our Ancestor Grandma, this is really very good.”
With his foot, Yang Guo placed two prayer mats side by side in front of the portrait and then said in a loud voice: “Disciple Yang Guo and the disciple named Long are here to marry in front of Founding Master Chongyang. At this place the Taoists of the Quanzhen sect all bear witness.” Having said that, he knelt down on a prayer mat but saw Xiao Longnu still standing, not kneeling down, so he said: “We are bowing to heaven and earth right now, you also have to kneel down!” Xiao Longnu hesitated, her eyes red and her tears flowing. Yang Guo softly asked: “What’s wrong? You don’t like us to get married at this place?”
Xiao Longnu’s voice broke: “No, it’s not that!” She paused and then said: “I’m not pure and I’m also dying. Why should you… Why should you have to be this good to me?” Having said this, tears flooded down her cheeks.
Yang Guo got up again and used his sleeve to wipe away her tears. He smiled and said: “Why do you still not understand my heart?” Xiao Longnu lifted her head to look at him and he softly continued: “I really wish we two could live to be 100 years old so I could take good care of you and return your love and affection. But if I can’t, if God should only give us one day, then for one day we’d be man and wife. Even if for only a few hours, then for a few hours we’d also be man and wife.” Xiao Longnu saw the sincere expression on his face and the infinite affection in his eyes, her heart fluttered, not quite knowing how to cherish him the way he deserved. Her sorrowful face slowly revealed a dimply smile, her tears stopped, and her expression was that of boundless joy. Then she gracefully knelt down on the prayer mat.
Yang Guo then also knelt down. The two people bowed down before the portrait and thought: “Even though our lives have been miserable, we have a time like this now - we are really most fortunate. Even if the pains of the past should cut our lives short, it wouldn’t be something to worry about at all.” Both of them exchanged a smile and, on the prayer mats, lowered their heads.
In a low voice Yang Guo spoke his vow: “Disciple Yang Guo and the Disciple named Long truly love each other and forever will not change. Throughout our lives, we will be husband and wife.”
Xiao Longnu also said in the same tone: “May Master bless us. Throughout our lives, let us be husband and wife.”
Sun Bu’Er was sitting on a prayer mat. Even though her body couldn’t move, she clearly heard everything the two people said. She looked at them and then understood. Even though the two people’s action was preposterous, it actually stemmed from their guileless nature. She couldn’t help thinking back to the days when she was young and newly married to Ma Yu. Originally she was very angry but by the time the Yang-Long couple stood up, the expression on her face had already turned gentle.
Yang Guo thought: “This time the two of us have become man and wife. Even if I am to die right way, I have no regrets.” As his original worry about the Taoists breaking in to stop them vanished, he turned to Xiao Longnu and joked: “I am a rebellious disciple of the Quanzhen sect. Throughout the martial world, they all knew about it. Now you are also a rebellious disciple.”
Xiao Longnu said: “That’s right. My master ordered me neither to accept a male disciple, nor to get married but I didn’t comply. The many disasters that have fallen upon us were actually to pay for our crimes.”
Yang Guo brightly said: “One must rebel to the end. Master Wang and our Ancestor Grandma were heroes, one hundred times greater than us, but they didn’t dare to get married. If the two of them in the afterworld know, they can’t say we were afraid to do it!”
Then this time there was a ‘ka la’ violent sound coming from the roof, tiles flying about and the rafter breaking. The force was astonishing. The roof actually cracked by the weight of a gigantic bell, which was falling straight down on the top of Sun Bu’Er’s head...
As Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were boldly bowing to heaven and earth in the hall, the old and young Taoists of the Quanzhen sect couldn’t suppress their anger. Liu Chuxuan pondered for a while and then came up with a plan. He bent down and whispered it into the ears of the other three masters, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi and Hao Datong. The three of them nodded again and again and then said something to a disciple at the door in a low voice. Taking advantage of the situation while the Yang-Long couple was kneeling down inside, they took down a heavy copper bell from in front of the hall, which weighed over a thousand catties. The four of them together would hold the bell, fly up to the top of the hall, and find the right location to smash it down with great force. The bell would make a big hole in the roof before falling down to where Sun Bu’Er was sitting below. With the four masters’ martial skills, even though the bell was very heavy, it would drop down with less than inches of error, trapping Sun Bu’Er inside so Yang Guo couldn’t harm her. As the many Taoists closed in on him, how would the two people be able to fight them off?
Seeing the gigantic bell dropping, Yang Guo instantly understood the ploy. He immediately drew out his black iron sword and sent out with it a thundering force. A ‘dang’ sound echoed as the sword tip made contact with the copper bell. Even though this bell weighed a thousand catties, the force from this sword was strangely fierce and hit the side of the bell. The bell was then bumped off course by a couple of feet. If dropped, Sun Bu’Er’s body would be crushed beneath.
Liu Chuxuan and the other masters who were looking down through the hole at the top of the hall realized the situation and cried out in alarm, their hearts aching. Nobody could have expected that this boy’s sword would have such a divine power. They now saw with their own eyes that Sun Bu’Er would be wretchedly crushed by the large bell, with flesh and blood splattering. Liu Chuxuan shut both eyes, not daring to look, but then heard Qiu Chuji calling out: “Many thanks for your mercy!” Liu Chuxuan then opened his eyes in surprise, only to see the large bell unexpectedly covering Sun Bu’Er’s body. There was no trace of crushed limbs at the side of the bell, and not even a part of her Taoist robe was seen.
As Yang Guo saw his sword pushing the bell off course, which would definitely violently kill Sun Bu’Er on the spot, he suddenly thought: “Today is our husband and wife’s happy day, why bother taking someone’s life? This old Taoist priestess only has a bad temperament and doesn’t possess any real evil intent.” Once thought, he acted. His right sleeve flared out, pushing the prayer mat that Sun Bu’Er was sitting on and sending her right under the bell.
The Liu-Qiu-Wang-Hao four masters at the top of the hall were pleasantly surprised and thought of Yang Guo as enemy no longer. But the numerous disciples below had earlier received their orders. As soon as the large bell was dropped, they were to rush in to attack. Also as they were outside, they didn’t see that the bell’s supposed location was changed. Only hearing a loud noise and seeing dust flying, they all cried out and ran into the hall to attack with their long swords.
Yang Guo then put his black iron sword back onto his back. He used his arm to carry Xiao Longnu and leapt out the back of the palace hall.
Qiu Chuji called out: “Disciples, be careful. You may not take these two people’s lives!” His voice was loud. Even among the noisy battle cries of hundreds of people, each person still heard it clearly. The numerous disciples ran out the back of the hall, their voices echoed: “Capture the treacherous scoundrel!” “The scoundrel violated our founding master’s painting, don’t let him go!” “Quick… Quick, they went out the eastern side!” “The great master ordered, don’t take their lives!”
Before Liu Chuxuan jumped to the top of the hall, he had ordered twenty-one strong men to hide in the courtyard at the back of the palace hall. Yang Guo was just about to open the screen door when he saw the sword reflections in the courtyard, and knew there were men waiting to block them. He thought: “It would be better to leap out through the hole in the roof of the hall. Although there are four big masters there, those people actually won’t dare kill me.” He carried Xiao Longnu and quickly leapt back inside.
Xiao Longnu held on to Yang Guo’s neck with both hands and softly said: “Anyway, we are now married. Our ultimate wish in this world has been granted. If we get out, it’s wonderful but if we don’t, it still doesn’t matter.”
Yang Guo said: “You are right!” Then his right leg flew up, following quickly by his left leg. A ‘peng’ ‘peng’ sound followed as two priests were kicked out of the hall. Unlike the Cave of the Jade Void area which was much wider, the palace hall was packed with the Taoist priests, who now blocked them with the “Big Dipper Formation” [Bei Dou Zhen Fa]. Yang Guo’s left arm was carrying Xiao Longnu so he could only use his legs to injure the enemy and couldn’t break out of the heavy encirclement. He darkly thought: “These dumb Taoist priests can’t spread a complete formation. If only I had my arm free, how would you be able to stop the two of us?” Then another ‘peng’ sound was heard as a priest was kicked, his body flying out and crashing into two other priests.
In between this chaos, an old man with white beard and hair suddenly ran into the palace hall. Trailing behind him was a swarm of honeybees. It was the Old Urchin Zhou Botong. When he first arrived behind the palace hall, the disciples there didn’t pay him any attention, but then the honeybees that followed him started to sting. These bees were not just any ordinary honeybees but indeed were the Jade Bees that Xiao Longnu kept and tamed at the Ancient Tomb. The Quanzhen Taoists who were stung immediately felt the itchy pain that was difficult to endure. Some couldn’t bear it and rolled down on the ground, crying out. This of course added another commotion to the situation.
Zhou Botong was originally on his way to Xiangyang city to help Guo Jing; but then he stole Xiao Longnu’s Jade Bee honey. Afraid to run into her, he decided not to go to Xiangyang but instead came to Mount Zhongnan to find Zhao Zhijing and to investigate how come he dared to plot his Martial Grandpa’s [Master of Masters] death. Along the way he played with the Jade Bee honey and mulled over ways to direct the bees. Playing with the common bees on the road was easy but once he reached Mount Zhongnan, suddenly it all became a disaster. The Jade Bees on the mountain sensed the smell of the Jade Bee honey, many of them buzzed out. Since the Jade Bees were used to Xiao Longnu’s hand signals and whistles, Zhou Botong naturally couldn’t direct them and also couldn’t drive them away. And more than that, they wouldn’t let him rest. The Old Urchin saw the situation was not very funny so he speedily ran to the Chongyang Palace, thinking to find a place to avoid the bees. It just so happened that there was also a commotion at the palace, and actually much noisier.
Seeing Xiao Longnu and Yang Guo in the palace hall, Zhou Botong was delightedly surprised. He quickly threw Xiao Longnu the Jade Bee honey and called out: “Can’t soothe them anymore. I can’t deal with these grandparents of bees. Good Guniang [good Miss] quickly come and save my life.” Yang Guo’s shirt sleeve flared out, catching the bottle. Xiao Longnu let out a small smile and stretched her hand out to take it.
By now the palace hall was filled with buzzing bees. Qiu Chuji and others jumped down to greet and kowtow to their Martial Uncle. Hao Datong shouted out: “Quickly go get torches!” Some of the many disciples were covering their faces with shirt sleeves while others were wielding their sword to strike the bees. Several went to get torches as told.
Zhou Botong paid no attention to Qiu Chuji and others. The Jade Bees had stung him twice on his forehead, which was now swollen with two big lumps. Right now he only wanted to find a secure hiding place where a bee couldn’t sneak in. Seeing a large bell on the floor, his heart was filled with delight. He quickly used his energy to lift it up, only to see that there was someone inside. He didn’t even look to see who that was, saying: “Excuse me. Excuse me. Let me get in.” He pushed Sun Bu’Er out and let himself in. Then he released his hands and a ‘teng’ sound was heard as the heavy bell fell back down. He was very pleased with himself and thought: “No matter how you thousands and thousands of bees pursue, you can’t sting me, the Old Urchin, anymore!”
Yang Guo said in a low voice: “You direct the bees to form a swarm then we can break out of here.” Xiao Longnu was now Yang Guo’s wife. Hearing his words had an authoritative tone, she felt sweetly comfortable in her heart and thought: “This is good. At last, he doesn’t think of me as his master anymore but really as his wife.” So she immediately said “All right!” in a soft and obedient tone. Then she lifted the honey bottle, waved it a few times, and whistled repeatedly. The Jade Bees flew back to their keeper and formed a swarm but Xiao Longnu continuously waved her hand and whistled. The large swarm of Jade Bees broke into two rows, one making way in the front and the other guarding the back, so the Yang-Long couple could find their way out.
Qiu Chuji and others were pleasantly surprised by Zhou Botong’s visit and found it very funny. Seeing that the Yang-Long couple had retreated to the back of the palace hall, they ordered their disciples not to pursue. Wang Chuyi unsealed Sun Bu’Er’s pressure points while Qiu Chuji went over to lift the large bell. Zhou Botong, hiding inside the bell, didn’t know the situation outside. Suddenly he felt that someone outside was lifting it up, he cried out loudly: “Can’t soothe them anymore!” His arms stretched out, pushing the side of the bell and shouting: “Come down!” Qiu Chuji couldn’t match Zhou Botong’s profound internal energy. A ‘dang’ sound was heard as the bell, which was already half a foot from the floor, came down once again. Qiu Chuji laughed and then said: “Zhou Shi Shu [Martial Uncle Zhou] is joking again. Come. We all will fight with him!”
