Tomb of the Living Dead.

Yang Guo¹ tumbled down the slope, rolling into the tall grass and thickets of the forest, where he lost consciousness. He had no idea how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a stinging pain on his body. Opening his eyes, he saw countless white bees buzzing and darting around him, their humming filling his ears. An unbearable itch penetrated to his very bones, and before his eyes was nothing but a vast whiteness. Unable to tell if this was real or an illusion, he fainted again.

After another long while, he suddenly felt a cool, fragrant sweetness slowly pouring into his throat. He swallowed it groggily, finding it indescribably soothing. Opening his eyes a crack, he was startled to see, barely two feet away, an ugly face covered in goosebump-like wrinkles, staring straight at him. The shock nearly made him faint again. The ugly-faced person reached out with her left hand to hold his jaw steady, while her right hand held a cup, pouring the sweet liquid into his mouth.

Yang Guo felt the maddening itch and sharp pain had lessened, and he realised he was lying on a bed. Knowing the ugly-faced person had treated him, he gave a faint smile to show his thanks. The ugly-faced person smiled back, and after feeding him the sweet liquid, placed the cup on the table. Though her smile was even more hideous, Yang Guo could see that within that extreme ugliness lay a kindness and gentle warmth. A wave of comfort washed over his heart, and he pleaded, “Granny, don’t let my shifu come and take me away.”

The ugly-faced old woman asked gently, “Good child, who is your shifu?” It had been so long since Yang Guo had heard such a warm and caring voice that his chest tightened with emotion, and he could not help but burst into loud sobs. The old woman took his hand in her left, and without offering words of comfort, simply gazed at him with a smile, her eyes full of tender affection, patting his back gently with her right hand. Only after he had cried for a while did she say, “Feeling a little better?” Hearing the kindness in her voice, Yang Guo could not help but cry again. The old woman wiped his tears with a handkerchief and soothed him, “Good child, don’t cry, don’t cry. The pain will pass soon.” But the more she comforted him, the harder he wept.

Suddenly, a soft, delicate voice came from beyond the curtain, “Granny Sun,² why does this child keep crying so?”

Yang Guo raised his head and saw a hand, white as jade, push aside the curtain. A young woman walked in. She was draped in a thin white cotton robe, as though wrapped in mist and cloud, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Apart from her jet-black hair, her entire body was snow-white. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, beyond the ordinary, though her skin lacked the flush of blood and seemed unusually pale. Yang Guo’s face reddened. He immediately stopped crying, lowered his head in shame, but then stole a glance at the young woman from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she was looking at him too, he quickly dropped his head again.

Granny Sun laughed. “I’m out of ideas. You try comforting him.”

The young woman approached the bedside. She examined the sting wounds on his head from the jade bees, then reached out to feel his forehead, checking for fever. The moment Yang Guo’s forehead touched her palm, he felt how startlingly cold her hand was and could not suppress a shiver. The young woman said, “It’s nothing. You’ve already drunk the jade bee honey. You’ll be better in half a day. Why did you come into the forest?”

Yang Guo raised his head and met her gaze. He found this young woman pure, elegant, and beautiful beyond compare, yet her expression was icy and indifferent. She was truly as pristine as ice and snow, and just as cold. He could not tell whether she was pleased or angry, sorrowful or joyful, and he could not help feeling a sense of dread. Is this maiden made of crystal, or is she a snow person? Is she human or ghost, a bodhisattva or a fairy immortal? Though her voice was soft and gentle, her tone seemed to carry not the slightest warmth. He was so stunned that he dared not answer.

Granny Sun smiled. “This Sister Long is the mistress of this place. Whatever she asks you, just answer honestly.”

This beautiful young woman in white was none other than the mistress of the Tomb of the Living Dead,³ Xiao Longnü.⁴ She had already passed her eighteenth birthday, but because she had lived so long inside the tomb, never seeing sunlight, and because the neigong⁵ she cultivated was of a nature that suppressed the emotions, she appeared several years younger than ordinary girls her age. Granny Sun was the maidservant who had attended her shifu. Since her shifu’s death, the two had depended on each other within the tomb. That day, hearing the sound of the jade bees, they knew someone had trespassed into the forest outside the tomb grounds. Granny Sun had gone out to investigate and found Yang Guo unconscious from bee venom, so she had brought him back to treat him. According to their sect’s rules, no outsider was permitted to set even half a step inside the tomb, and for a male to enter was an even graver taboo. But Yang Guo was so young, and seeing his body covered in wounds, Granny Sun could not bear to turn him away, and so broke the rule to save him.

Yang Guo flipped up from the stone couch, jumped to the ground, and kowtowed to both Granny Sun and Xiao Longnü, saying, “This disciple Yang Guo pays respects to Granny, and pays respects to Aunt Long.”

Granny Sun beamed with delight and hurriedly helped him up. “Ah, so your name is Yang Guo. No need for such formality.” She had lived in the tomb for decades, never interacting with outsiders, and now, seeing Yang Guo’s handsome features and courteous manners, she felt an indescribable fondness for him. Xiao Longnü merely nodded and sat down on a stone chair beside the bed. Granny Sun said, “How did you come to be here? How did you get hurt? What villain beat you into this state?” Even as she asked, she did not wait for his answer, instead going out to fetch pastries and cakes, urging him to eat.

After eating a few pastries, Yang Guo told his entire life story from beginning to end. He was naturally eloquent, and his tale was already compelling, but with the fresh humiliation he had suffered, his words were even more charged with emotion. Granny Sun sighed continuously, interjecting a comment here and there, every word defending him, at one point saying Huang Rong favoured her own daughter and treated him unfairly, neglecting an orphan from outside the family. At another, denouncing Zhao Zhijing⁶ as narrow-minded, a bully to children. Xiao Longnü, however, remained utterly impassive, sitting leisurely, only exchanging a few glances with Granny Sun when Yang Guo mentioned Li Mochou.⁷ When Yang Guo finished his story, Granny Sun wrapped her arms around him and held him close, saying over and over, “My poor, suffering child.”

Xiao Longnü slowly rose to her feet. “His injuries are not serious. Granny, take him out.”

Both Granny Sun and Yang Guo were stunned. Yang Guo shouted, “I’m not going back! I’d rather die than go back!” Granny Sun said, “Miss, if this child returns to Chongyang Palace,⁸ his shifu will surely mistreat him.” Xiao Longnü said, “Take him back and speak with his shifu. Tell him not to make things hard for the child.” Granny Sun said, “Ah, the affairs of another’s sect are not ours to meddle in.” Xiao Longnü said, “Take a bottle of jade bee honey and give it to him. Tell him that, and the old Daoist will have no choice but to agree.” She spoke gently, but her tone carried an authority that was difficult to defy. Granny Sun sighed. She knew Xiao Longnü was stubborn by nature and that further words were useless. She looked at Yang Guo, her eyes full of pity.

Yang Guo abruptly stood and bowed to both of them with clasped hands. “Thank you, Granny and Aunt, for healing my wounds. I’ll be going now!” Granny Sun said, “Where will you go?” Yang Guo paused for a moment. “The world is vast. I can go anywhere.” But in his heart, he truly had no idea where to go, and an expression of desolation crept unbidden onto his face.

Granny Sun said, “Child, it’s not that our Miss refuses to let you stay the night. It’s just that this place has always had strict rules forbidding outsiders from entering. Don’t take it to heart.” Yang Guo lifted his head proudly. “What is Granny saying? My thanks to Granny and Aunt. We shall meet again.” He spoke entirely in the manner of an adult, but his voice was still that of a child. Granny Sun found it both amusing and pitiful. Seeing the glint of tears in his eyes as he struggled to hold them back, she said to Xiao Longnü, “Miss, it’s the dead of night. Let him go tomorrow morning.” Xiao Longnü shook her head slightly. “Granny, have you forgotten the rules my shifu laid down?” Granny Sun sighed, rose to her feet, and said softly to Yang Guo, “Come, child, let me give you something to play with.” Yang Guo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, lowered his head, and rushed out the door, shouting, “I don’t want anything. I’d rather die than go back to those stinking Daoists.”

Granny Sun shook her head. “You don’t know the way. I’ll lead you out.” She stepped forward and took his hand. The moment they left the room, Yang Guo was met with pitch darkness. Holding Granny Sun’s hand as they walked, he felt they turned corner after corner, with no idea how she could navigate such a winding path in the dark.

The truth was that although the Tomb of the Living Dead was called a tomb, it was in fact an enormous and spacious underground storehouse. Back when Wang Chongyang⁹ was preparing to rise against the Jin,¹⁰ he had mobilised thousands of labourers and spent several years building it, secretly storing weapons, armour, and provisions within to serve as a base for the Shaanxi-Shanxi region. The exterior was shaped like a tomb to deceive the Jin soldiers. Fearing the Jin army might eventually attack, he had also installed countless ingenious traps and mechanisms throughout the tomb to repel enemies. After the loyalist forces were defeated, he had lived here in seclusion. Thus the tomb contained many rooms and complex passageways. An outsider entering, even with lamps and candles burning everywhere, would easily lose their way, let alone without a single spark of light.

The two exited the tomb gate and walked into the forest when suddenly they heard someone outside calling in a clear voice, “Disciple Zhen Zhibing¹¹ of the Quanzhen Sect,¹² on orders from my shifu, requests an audience with Miss Long.” The voice came from afar, clearly from beyond the forbidden grounds. Zhen Zhibing was Qiu Chuji’s¹³ second disciple, a man of considerable martial skill and talent, highly regarded within the Quanzhen Sect.

Granny Sun said, “Someone outside is looking for you. Don’t go out just yet.” Yang Guo was both alarmed and furious, his body trembling. “Granny, you don’t need to worry about me. A man bears responsibility for his own deeds. Since I accidentally killed someone, let them take my life in payment.” With that, he strode out boldly. Granny Sun said, “I’ll go with you.”

Granny Sun led Yang Guo by the hand through the forest until they reached the clearing before it. In the moonlight, they saw six or seven Daoists standing in a row, along with four lay worker Daoists carrying the severely wounded Zhao Zhijing and Lu Qingdu¹⁴ on stretchers. At the sight of Yang Guo, the Daoists murmured among themselves and, as if by unspoken agreement, stepped forward several paces. Yang Guo shook off Granny Sun’s hand, strode up to them, and declared loudly, “I am here. Kill me or cut me to pieces, do as you please. There is no need to trouble others!”

The Daoists had never expected such steely resolve from a mere child and were all taken aback. One Daoist rushed forward and seized Yang Guo by the back of the collar, dragging him over. Yang Guo laughed coldly. “I’m not running. What’s your hurry?” This Daoist was Zhao Zhijing’s eldest disciple. Seeing his shifu suffering unbearably from the jade bee stings because of Yang Guo, not even knowing if his life could be saved, and having always been deeply respectful towards his shifu, he thought it an outrage of the highest order for a disciple to be so rebellious towards his teacher. Hearing Yang Guo’s defiant words, he casually struck him on the head.

Granny Sun had originally intended to speak reasonably with the Daoists, but seeing Yang Guo forcibly dragged away had already stirred her indignation. Now, witnessing him being struck, how could she contain her fury? She strode forward, flicked her sleeve, and brushed it against the Daoist’s hand. The man felt a searing pain shoot through his wrist and could not help but release his grip. Before he could even shout a challenge, Granny Sun had already scooped up Yang Guo, turned, and begun walking away.

She might have appeared to be nothing more than a frail, aged woman, but this move to snatch the child was astonishingly swift. The Daoists had barely registered what happened before she had carried Yang Guo more than ten feet away. Three Daoists roared, “Put him down!” They rushed forward together. Granny Sun stopped, turned her head, and sneered. “What do you want?”

Zhen Zhibing knew that the inhabitants of the Tomb of the Living Dead shared deep historical ties with his sect and dared not offend them lightly. First, he called out to restrain the others, “Everyone spread out. Do not be disrespectful before this senior.” Only then did he step forward, bow with clasped hands, and say, “Disciple Zhen Zhibing pays respects to Senior.” Granny Sun said, “What do you want?” Zhen Zhibing replied, “This child is a disciple of our Quanzhen Sect. I ask Senior to return him.” Granny Sun’s brows shot up as she said sternly, “Right before my eyes, you beat him like this. Once you drag him back to your temple, who knows how you’ll torment him. You want me to let him go? Absolutely not!” Zhen Zhibing suppressed his anger and said, “This child is utterly unruly. He defied his shifu and betrayed his ancestors, gravely violating our sect’s rules. Among those of the wulin,¹⁵ respect for one’s teacher is paramount. Surely our sect is justified in disciplining him.” Granny Sun said angrily, “What ‘defying his shifu and betraying his ancestors’, that’s all one-sided talk.” She pointed at Lu Qingdu lying on the stretcher. “The child sparred with this fat Daoist according to the rules your own Quanzhen Sect established. He didn’t want to fight, but you forced him into the arena. Once they started, naturally there would be winners and losers. This fat Daoist was useless himself, who else is to blame?” Her face was ugly to begin with, and now, flushed purple with anger, it was even more fearsome.

As they spoke, more than ten additional Daoists arrived in succession, all standing behind Zhen Zhibing, whispering among themselves, wondering who this loud, ugly old woman was.

Zhen Zhibing thought to himself that the matter of injuring Lu Qingdu could not really be blamed on Yang Guo, but he could not afford to lose face before outsiders. He said, “As for the rights and wrongs of this affair, we will naturally report it to our zhangmen¹⁶ and let him pass fair judgement. I ask Senior to hand over the child.” Granny Sun laughed coldly. “And just how fair is your zhangmen? From Wang Chongyang down, the Quanzhen Sect has never produced a single good man. If that weren’t so, living so close to each other, why would we never have exchanged a single word all these years?” Zhen Zhibing thought, It’s you who refuse to associate with us. How can you blame the Quanzhen Sect? And you’ve even insulted our founding patriarch. This is too much. But unwilling to start a quarrel that would damage relations between the two sides, he merely said, “I ask Senior to be accommodating. If our sect has given any offence, we shall follow our zhangmen’s instructions and come to offer our apologies in person.”

Yang Guo wrapped his arms around Granny Sun’s neck and whispered in her ear, “Granny, don’t fall for his tricks.”

Having raised Xiao Longnü for eighteen years, Granny Sun had always secretly hoped she might one day raise a boy as well. Now, seeing how close Yang Guo was to her, she was overjoyed and made up her mind: no matter what, she would not let them take the child away. She shouted, “You insist on taking the child. Just how exactly do you plan to torment him?” Zhen Zhibing was taken aback. “This disciple shared a sect with the child’s late father. I would never mistreat the orphan of a departed friend. Senior may rest assured.” Granny Sun shook her head. “This old woman has never been one to listen to outsiders’ prattle. Farewell.” With that, she turned and strode towards the forest.

Zhao Zhijing lay on his stretcher, the jade bee stings itching and burning unbearably, yet his mind remained perfectly clear. Listening to Zhen Zhibing and Granny Sun argue back and forth without resolution, he grew angrier by the moment. Suddenly he pushed himself up from the stretcher, leapt before Granny Sun, and bellowed, “This is my disciple! Whether I beat him or scold him is entirely up to me. Since when does the wulin have a rule forbidding a shifu from disciplining his disciple?”

Granny Sun saw his face swollen like a pig’s head. Hearing his words, she knew this was Yang Guo’s shifu. For a moment, she had no retort and could only resort to bluster: “I just won’t allow you to discipline him. What are you going to do about it?” Zhao Zhijing shouted, “What is this child to you? What right do you have to interfere?” Granny Sun was stumped. She declared loudly, “He is no longer a disciple of your Quanzhen Sect. This child has already taken our Miss Xiao Longnü as his shifu. Whether he behaves well or badly, only Miss Xiao Longnü has the right to discipline him. You’d best stop meddling in other people’s business.”

At these words, the Daoists erupted in an uproar. It had always been the rule in the wulin that without the original shifu’s permission, one could never take another as shifu. Even if the new teacher’s skill was ten times greater, one could not abandon the old for the new on a whim. To do so was considered a grave betrayal, despised by all fellow martial artists. Years ago, when Guo Jing¹⁷ studied under Hong Qigong¹⁸ after having already become a disciple of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan,¹⁹ he had never once addressed Hong Qigong as ‘Shifu’ until Ke Zhen’e²⁰ and the others formally gave their consent and the shifu-disciple relationship was established. Now, Granny Sun, stung by Zhao Zhijing’s rebuke and having no answer, had blurted out whatever came to mind, never having interacted with the jianghu²¹ and knowing nothing of these customs. She had no idea she had committed a grave transgression. Most of the Quanzhen Daoists had originally felt sympathy for Yang Guo and thought Zhao Zhijing had handled things poorly, but hearing that Yang Guo dared to openly rebel against his sect, something unprecedented in the entire history of the Quanzhen Sect, they were all deeply angered.

Zhao Zhijing’s wounds alternated between searing pain and maddening itch, already nearly unbearable. He felt death would be a relief. Gritting his teeth, he asked Yang Guo, “Yang Guo, is this true?”

Yang Guo, too young to understand the gravity of the situation, saw Granny Sun arguing with Zhao Zhijing to protect him. Even if she claimed he had committed ten thousand unforgivable crimes, he would have admitted to every one, let alone merely switching shifus, which was exactly what he wanted. Never mind taking Xiao Longnü as his shifu, if she had said he had taken a pig or a dog as his shifu, he would have agreed without the slightest hesitation. He shouted, “Stinking Daoist, you thieving, goat-bearded ox-nose! You never taught me a shred of martial arts and you beat me like this. How are you fit to be my shifu? That’s right, I’ve already taken Granny Sun as my shifu, and I’ve taken Aunt Long as my shifu too!”

Zhao Zhijing felt his chest about to explode with rage. He launched himself forward, both hands reaching for Yang Guo’s shoulders. Granny Sun cursed, “Are you courting death?” She swung her right arm out to block, striking at Zhao Zhijing’s wrist. Zhao Zhijing was among the finest of the Quanzhen Sect’s third-generation disciples. In terms of martial attainment, he was on par with Qiu Chuji’s beloved disciples Yin Zhiping²² and Zhen Zhibing, each having their own strengths. Though severely wounded, his attack was still ferociously powerful. Their arms collided, and both staggered back two steps. Granny Sun spat. “Not bad, you mangy Daoist, you’re not entirely useless.” Zhao Zhijing’s first grab missed, and he launched a second. This time, Granny Sun dared not underestimate him. She sidestepped to evade, then her skirt-leg kick flew out without a trace. Zhao Zhijing heard the rush of wind and moved to dodge, but at that moment the jade bee stings suddenly flared with unbearable itching. He could not help crying out, “Aiyo!” He crouched down clutching his head. In the midst of his cry, Granny Sun’s kick landed squarely in his ribs. Zhao Zhijing’s body flew through the air, still crying “Aiyo! Aiyo!” from the maddening itch.

Zhen Zhibing rushed forward two steps, caught Zhao Zhijing in his arms, and handed him to the disciples behind. He saw that this ugly old woman’s martial techniques were strange and unusual, and that Zhao Zhijing, whose skill was comparable to his own, had been defeated in a single exchange. Realising he could not prevail either, he gave a sharp whistle. Six Daoists closed in from both sides, forming the Celestial Dipper and Northern Dipper Formation,²³ trapping Granny Sun and Yang Guo in the centre. Zhen Zhibing called out, “My apologies!” The two Daoists positioned at the Celestial Pivot and Twinkling Brilliance attacked.

Granny Sun did not recognise the formation. After exchanging only a few moves, she immediately sensed its danger. She could only fight with one hand, and by the twelfth or thirteenth exchange, she was already in grave peril. Every one of her attacks was neutralised by Zhen Zhibing’s manipulation of the formation, while the Northern Dipper Formation’s assaults came in an unending stream. After another ten-odd exchanges, Granny Sun’s right palm was tied up by two Daoists, and two more attacked from the left. She had no choice but to set Yang Guo down and use her left hand to defend. A whistle sounded from within the Northern Dipper Formation, and two Daoists rushed forward to seize Yang Guo.

Granny Sun was secretly alarmed. These stinking Daoists really do have some skill. This old woman can’t handle them. While using her skirt-leg kick to drive back two of them, she began humming softly. At first, the humming was extremely faint and the Daoists paid it no mind, but her hum layered upon itself, each note overlapping the last, growing louder and louder.

Zhen Zhibing had been on full alert from the moment he began fighting Granny Sun. He knew that the senior who had once lived in this tomb possessed martial arts that could rival their own founding patriarch, and her descendants would naturally be no ordinary opponents. Hearing the humming, he assumed it was some kind of sound-transmission heart-confounding technique and immediately held his breath and steadied his mind to guard against it. He listened for a while as her humming grew steadily louder, yet his heart remained completely unshaken. Just as he was wondering why, a thought suddenly struck him and his face went pale with alarm. He was about to order the Daoists to retreat when the distant humming merged with Granny Sun’s into a single sound. Zhen Zhibing shouted, “Everyone, fall back!” The Daoists hesitated, thinking, We already have the upper hand. Soon we’ll capture the old woman and the child. What’s there to fear from her senseless wailing? Suddenly, grey shadows flickered in the forest as a swarm of jade bees burst forth, swooping towards the crowd. The Daoists had seen what Zhao Zhijing had suffered and were terrified out of their wits. They turned and fled. The swarm pursued them at full speed.

Just as it seemed none of the Daoists would escape the bees’ stings, Granny Sun burst out laughing. Suddenly, an old Daoist dashed out from the forest, holding two torches high. Thick smoke rose from the torch heads as he waved them at the swarm. Struck by the black smoke, the bees fell into disarray and fled far away in panic. Granny Sun was startled. She looked at the old Daoist and saw white hair, white brows, and an extremely long face, clearly an eminent figure of the Quanzhen Sect. She demanded, “Hey, old Daoist, who are you? Why are you driving away my bees?”

The old Daoist laughed. “This humble Daoist is Hao Datong.²⁴ I pay my respects to Granny.”

Though Granny Sun had never interacted with the jianghu, living so close to Chongyang Palace, she knew that Hao Datong, the Master of Broad Peace, was one of Wang Chongyang’s seven great disciples. She thought to herself that even minor Daoists like Zhao Zhijing and Zhen Zhibing were already formidable, and this old Daoist would naturally be even more troublesome. The stench of the smoke from his torches made her want to vomit, and she guessed the torches were made from herbs specially designed to repel venomous insects. With no more jade bees to rely on, she decided to cut her losses. She barked, “You’ve smoked and ruined our Miss’s bees. We’ll settle accounts with you later!” Scooping up Yang Guo, she leapt into the forest.

Zhen Zhibing asked, “Uncle-Master Hao, do we pursue?” Hao Datong shook his head. “The founding patriarch laid down a strict rule: we must not enter this forest. Let us return to the temple, deliberate at length, and decide on a course of action.”

Granny Sun led Yang Guo by the hand back into the tomb. Having shared this ordeal together, the two had grown even closer. Yang Guo worried that Xiao Longnü would still refuse to take him in. Granny Sun said, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she agrees to keep you.” She told him to rest in a stone chamber while she went to plead with Xiao Longnü.

Yang Guo waited a long time, but Granny Sun did not return. He grew more and more anxious, thinking, Aunt Long probably won’t agree to take me in. Even if Granny forces her to say yes, staying here against her will would be meaningless. After thinking it over, he made up his mind and quietly walked out.

Just as he stepped out of the chamber, Granny Sun came hurrying towards him. “Where are you going?” she asked. Yang Guo said, “Granny, I’m leaving. When I’m older, I’ll come back to see you.” Granny Sun said, “No, I’ll take you somewhere where no one can bully you.” Hearing this, Yang Guo knew Xiao Longnü had indeed refused to keep him. His heart ached, and he lowered his head. “That won’t be necessary. I’m a troublesome child. Wherever I go, no one wants me. Granny, don’t trouble yourself over me.” Granny Sun had argued with Xiao Longnü for half the day, and seeing her stubborn refusal, had grown angry herself. Now, seeing how pitiful Yang Guo was, hot blood surged in her chest. She cried out, “Child, if others don’t want you, this old woman does. Come with me. Wherever we go, Granny will always stay with you.”

Yang Guo was overjoyed. He reached out and took her hand, and the two walked out of the tomb gate together. In her anger, Granny Sun did not turn back to gather her belongings. Reaching into her robe, her hand touched a small bottle, and she remembered it was the bee honey meant to treat Zhao Zhijing’s wounds. She thought that although the stinking Daoist was detestable, he did not deserve to die. Without this honey, he would suffer endless consequences. Taking Yang Guo with her, she headed towards Chongyang Palace.

Seeing her approach Chongyang Palace, Yang Guo was startled. He whispered, “Granny, what are you doing now?” Granny Sun said, “Delivering medicine to your stinking shifu.” In a few bounds, she had drawn near the temple. She leapt onto the wall and was about to jump into the courtyard when, in the darkness, bells suddenly clanged urgently, and whistles sounded from near and far. Amid the dead silence, a cacophony of noise erupted all at once.

The Quanzhen Sect was one of the foremost great sects of the wulin, and its usual defensive arrangements were already exceptionally tight. With trouble having occurred repeatedly that day, guards had been posted in every direction. Seeing someone break into the temple, they immediately sounded the alarm and transmitted the signal. The disciples within the temple split into groups to meet the enemy. Squad after squad of Daoists fanned out into the distance, both to surround the attackers and to block any reinforcements.

Granny Sun cursed under her breath. This old woman didn’t come to fight. Who are you trying to intimidate with all this posturing? She shouted, “Zhao Zhijing, come out! I have something to say to you.” A middle-aged Daoist emerged from the main hall in response, saying, “What business brings you trespassing into our temple in the dead of night?” Granny Sun said, “This is medicine for his bee-venom wounds. Take it!” She tossed the bottle of jade bee honey over. The Daoist caught it, half-believing and half-doubting, thinking, Why would she be so kind as to deliver medicine? He said clearly, “What kind of medicine is this?” Granny Sun said, “No need to ask so many questions. Have him drink it all, and you’ll see the effect.” The Daoist said, “How do I know this is goodwill or malice, antidote or poison? Zhao shixiong²⁵ is already in such a terrible state because of you. How is it you’ve suddenly grown a bodhisattva’s heart?”

Hearing his insolent tone, twisting her good intentions into an accusation of poisoning, Granny Sun could no longer contain her fury. She set Yang Guo down on the ground, rushed forward, snatched the jade bee honey back, pulled out the stopper, and said to Yang Guo, “Open your mouth!” Yang Guo did not understand her intention but obeyed and opened wide. Granny Sun tilted the porcelain bottle and poured the entire contents into his mouth, saying, “There. Now they won’t suspect it’s poison. Guoer, let’s go!” She took Yang Guo’s hand and headed towards the wall.

This Daoist was named Zhang Zhiguang,²⁶ Hao Datong’s second disciple. He now secretly regretted his groundless suspicion. It seemed the medicine she had brought was indeed the antidote. Without it, Zhao Zhijing might not survive. He rushed forward, spread his arms to block them, and said with a smile, “Old Senior, why such a temper? I was just making a casual joke, and you took it seriously. We’ve been neighbours for so many years. Surely there’s some goodwill between us. Ha ha, since it’s the antidote, please bestow it upon us.”

Granny Sun laughed coldly. “There was only one bottle of antidote. There isn’t any more. You’ll have to figure out how to treat Zhao Zhijing’s wounds yourself!” Zhang Zhiguang said, “I don’t believe there was only one bottle. This humble Daoist will just follow you to get more.” He winked and grinned slyly. Granny Sun despised his glib tongue and frivolous manner. She backhanded him across the face, snapping, “You show no respect to your elders. Let this teach you a lesson.” The slap was astonishingly fast. Zhang Zhiguang could not dodge in time. Smack! It landed squarely on his cheek, crisp and stinging.

The two Daoists by the door changed colour and said in unison, “Even if you are a senior, we cannot allow you to run wild at Chongyang Palace!” One thrust out a left palm, the other a right, attacking from both sides in a pincer movement. Granny Sun had already experienced the Quanzhen Sect’s Northern Dipper Formation and knew it was not to be trifled with. Now deep in enemy territory, how could she afford a prolonged fight? She slipped through the gap between their palms, scooped up Yang Guo, and leapt towards the top of the wall.

The wall seemed unguarded, but just as she was about to land on it, someone outside leapt up and shouted, “Get down!” Both palms thrust towards her face. Granny Sun was in midair with no way to borrow force. She could only counter with her right palm. Single palm met double palms, and both were pushed back, landing on opposite sides of the wall. Six or seven Daoists whistled in succession, hemming her into a corner.

These six or seven were all elite fighters of the Quanzhen Sect’s third generation, specially selected to defend the main hall of the temple. In an instant, they attacked in waves, one advancing as another retreated, then retreating as another advanced, surging against her several times. Granny Sun was forced into the corner. She tried to break out with Yang Guo, but the human wall formed by the Daoists blocked her firmly. Charge after charge, she was driven back.

After another ten-odd exchanges, Zhang Zhiguang, who was commanding the defence of the main hall, saw that the enemy was now powerless and ordered candles to be lit. More than ten enormous candles flared to life around the great hall, illuminating Granny Sun’s ashen face, her ugly features sinister and terrifying in the light. Zhang Zhiguang called out, “Hold the formation and cease attacks.” The seven Daoists who had been exchanging palms with Granny Sun simultaneously leapt back, palms held before their chests, each guarding their position. Granny Sun caught her breath and laughed coldly. “The Quanzhen Sect’s fame shakes the world, and well-deserved it is. Several dozen young, strong Daoists ganging up to bully one old woman and one small child. Heh heh, impressive. Truly impressive.”

Zhang Zhiguang reddened. “We are merely capturing an assassin who has trespassed into Chongyang Palace. Whether you’re an old woman or a grown man, if you walk in tall, you’ll have to crawl out short.” Granny Sun sneered. “And what does ‘crawl out short’ mean? You want this old woman to crawl out of your temple gate on all fours, is that it?” Zhang Zhiguang’s face still stung painfully from her slap, and he was not about to let the matter drop easily. “If you want us to let you go, that’s not difficult. You only need to agree to three conditions. First, you set your bees on Zhao shixiong, so you must leave the antidote. Second, this child is a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect. Without the zhangmen’s permission, how can he arbitrarily rebel against his sect? You will leave him here. Third, for trespassing into Chongyang Palace, you must kowtow and beg forgiveness before the patriarch Chongyang’s image.”

Granny Sun burst out laughing. “I told our Miss long ago that the Daoists of the Quanzhen Sect are all worthless. When has this old woman’s word ever been wrong? Come, come, I’ll kowtow and beg your forgiveness.” So saying, she bent forward as if to kneel.

This move caught Zhang Zhiguang completely off guard. In his moment of confusion, Granny Sun had already bowed her head low when suddenly a flash of cold light shot forth, a hidden projectile flying straight at him. Zhang Zhiguang cried “Aiyo!” He hurriedly twisted aside, but the projectile was too fast. Smack! It struck the corner of his left eye. The projectile shattered, and blood streamed down Zhang Zhiguang’s forehead. Granny Sun had casually pulled the empty porcelain bottle from her robe and hurled it using her sect’s unique projectile technique. This school of martial arts had been created by women, and every move and technique was executed with feminine subtlety, endlessly shifting and unpredictable. This move, “Humble Before, Proud After,” was even more unpredictable. Though it was only an empty porcelain bottle, thrown at close range with such suddenness, Zhang Zhiguang, caught completely unprepared, could not avoid it.

Seeing Zhang Zhiguang’s face covered in blood, the Daoists cried out in shock and fury, drawing their weapons one after another. In an instant, the courtyard blazed with the gleam of swords. Granny Sun stood with her back to the wall, a faint sneer on her lips. She knew there would be no good end to this day, but her temperament was hard and unyielding, growing fiercer with age. How could she submit? She turned to Yang Guo and asked, “Child, are you afraid?” Yang Guo had been looking at those long swords and thinking, If Uncle Guo were here, I wouldn’t fear even more stinking Daoists. But relying on Granny Sun’s skill alone, we won’t break through. Hearing her question, he answered clearly, “Granny, let them kill me. This matter has nothing to do with you. You should leave quickly.”

Hearing the child speak with such grit, and thinking of him even now, Granny Sun’s affection for him only deepened. She declared loudly, “Granny will die here with you, so these stinking Daoists can have their wish.” Suddenly she roared, “Take this!” She lunged forward, arms outstretched, seizing two Daoists by the wrists. With a twist and a wrench, she had snatched away two long swords. This barehanded blade-snatching technique was bizarre in the extreme, seemingly brute force, yet marvellously deft. The two Daoists had been completely off guard. In the blink of an eye, the weapons were gone from their hands.

Granny Sun handed one long sword to Yang Guo. “Child, do you dare fight these stinking Daoists?” Yang Guo said, “Of course I’m not afraid. It’s just a shame there’s no one else here.” Granny Sun said, “What do you mean, no one else?” Yang Guo declared loudly, “The Quanzhen Sect’s might is renowned throughout the land. Wouldn’t it be a pity if no outsider were here to spread the word of such heroic deeds as bullying an orphan and an old woman?” He had grasped the key point from listening to Granny Sun’s verbal sparring with Zhang Zhiguang moments before. His words rang out crisp and clear, though still carrying the unmistakable tone of a child’s voice.

At these words, more than half the Daoists felt a pang of shame, thinking that indeed, for so many to join forces against one old woman and one young child was hardly a glorious victory. Someone murmured, “I’ll go report to the zhangmen and await his instructions.” At that time, Ma Yu²⁷ was in secluded cultivation in a small hut some ten li beyond the mountain, having delegated all sect affairs to Hao Datong. The one who spoke was a disciple of Tan Chuduan,²⁸ feeling the matter had escalated too far, now involving the Quanzhen Sect’s reputation, and that only the zhangmen himself could preside over it.

Zhang Zhiguang’s face had been cut in over a dozen places by the shattered porcelain, and blood had obscured his left eye. In his shock and fury, he had not examined it carefully and assumed his left eye had been blinded by the projectile. He thought that the zhangmen was gentle and kind by nature and would surely order them to release the prisoners, meaning his eye would have been lost for nothing. He immediately shouted, “First capture this vicious old hag, then we’ll ask the zhangmen to pass judgement. Fellow disciples, attack together and take them!”

The Celestial Dipper and Northern Dipper Formation tightened steadily, and it seemed Granny Sun would soon have no choice but to submit to capture. But when the seven Daoists closed to within three paces of her, she whirled her long sword and defended with such extraordinary tightness that they could advance not a single step further. Had Zhang Zhiguang been directing the formation himself, they could have shifted formations and pressed the attack, but he feared the old woman’s projectiles were poisoned, for if he joined the fight, his accelerated blood flow would spread the poison faster. So he merely stood to the side, squinting through his good eye, shouting orders. With him not entering the fray, the formation’s power was greatly diminished.

As the Daoists fought on without result, growing increasingly frustrated, Granny Sun suddenly let out a cry, threw down her long sword, and charged forward three steps. She slipped through the gaps in the Daoists’ sword-light, seized a young Daoist by the chest, and lifted him up, shouting, “Stinking Daoists, are you going to let us pass or not?” The Daoists hesitated, and suddenly someone rushed out from behind them, reached out, and tapped Granny Sun’s wrist. Before Granny Sun could even see the person’s face, she felt her wrist go numb, and the young Daoist she had seized was snatched from her grip. Immediately after, a fierce gust of wind struck her face as the person’s palm came straight at her. Granny Sun hurriedly returned the palm to block. Palms met with a smack, and Granny Sun retreated one step.

The attacker also retreated slightly, but only by a foot or so, then followed up with a second palm without the slightest pause. Granny Sun returned another blow. Palms collided, and she retreated another step. The attacker advanced half a step and struck with a third palm. These three palms came faster and faster, forcing Granny Sun back three steps in succession, giving her no time even to see her opponent’s face. By the fourth palm, Granny Sun’s back was against the wall. There was nowhere left to retreat. The attacker’s right palm thrust forward, pressing against Granny Sun’s palm, and said clearly, “Granny, leave the antidote and the child behind.”

Granny Sun raised her head and saw a man with white beard and white brows, his face suffused with a purple glow. It was none other than Hao Datong, who had driven away the jade bees with poison smoke earlier that day. Having exchanged three palms, she knew his neili²⁹ was far deeper than her own. If he unleashed his full palm strength, she could not possibly withstand it. But her nature was hard and unyielding. She would rather die than submit. She shouted, “If you want the child, you’ll have to kill this old woman first.” Hao Datong knew her ties to his late patriarch ran deep and did not wish to harm her. He held back his strength and said, “We have been neighbours for decades. Why ruin our goodwill over a child?” Granny Sun laughed coldly. “I came with good intentions to deliver medicine. Ask your own disciples if that’s true or not.” Hao Datong turned his head to ask, but Granny Sun suddenly kicked out at his lower body.

This kick came without a trace. Her body did not move, her skirt did not stir. By the time Hao Datong noticed, her toes were already at his abdomen. Even if he retreated, it was too late. In this critical moment, with no time to think, he pushed out with full force. With a heh, he sent Granny Sun flying with a palm strike. This push contained the profound neigong of the Quanzhen Sect that he had cultivated for decades. Crash! A large section of plaster and brick fell from the wall. Granny Sun sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood, slowly collapsed, and slumped to the ground.

Yang Guo was horrified. He threw himself over her, crying, “If you want to kill someone, kill me! No one is allowed to hurt Granny.” Granny Sun opened her eyes, smiled faintly, and said, “Child, let us die together.” Yang Guo spread his arms to shield her, his back to Hao Datong and the others, utterly disregarding his own safety.

Hao Datong had struck too heavily and, seeing that he had wounded her, was already filled with regret. He wanted to examine Granny Sun’s injuries and give her medicine to treat them, but Yang Guo blocked his view. He said gently, “Yang Guo, move aside. Let me look at Granny.” How could Yang Guo believe him? He wrapped his arms tightly around Granny Sun. Hao Datong repeated himself several times, but Yang Guo ignored him. Growing impatient, Hao Datong reached out to pull Yang Guo’s arm. Yang Guo shouted, “Stinking Daoist! Thieving Daoist! Kill me if you want. I won’t let you hurt my Granny!”

Just as the chaos reached its peak, a cold voice suddenly spoke from behind, “Bullying a child and an old woman, what kind of hero does that make you?” Hao Datong felt a chill at the sound of that clear, cold, severe voice. He turned and saw an extraordinarily beautiful young woman standing at the entrance of the great hall, her robes white as snow, her gaze piercingly cold. The moment the bells of Chongyang Palace had rung, Daoists had been densely deployed for more than ten li in every direction, layer upon layer, with exceptionally tight security. Yet this young woman had entered without a single person raising the alarm. No one knew how she had slipped into the temple so silently. Hao Datong asked, “Who are you, Miss? What brings you here?”

The young woman glared at him without answering and walked over to Granny Sun’s side. Yang Guo raised his head and said mournfully, “Aunt Long, this evil Daoist… he… he’s killed Granny!” This young woman in white was none other than Xiao Longnü. As for Granny Sun’s departure from the tomb with Yang Guo, her entry into the temple, and her attack, Xiao Longnü had followed behind and watched everything clearly. She had assumed Hao Datong would not strike a killing blow and so had not revealed herself. But circumstances had forced the issue, and Granny Sun had been gravely wounded. By the time Xiao Longnü moved to save her, it was already too late. She had seen clearly how Yang Guo had risked his life to protect Granny Sun. Seeing the tears in his eyes, she nodded and said, “Everyone must die. It’s nothing to make much of.”

Granny Sun had raised her from infancy, and they were as close as mother and daughter. But for eighteen years, Xiao Longnü had lived a life as still as stagnant water. Moreover, having cultivated neigong from childhood, she had trained herself to the point where her heart held not the slightest trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure. Seeing Granny Sun so gravely wounded that recovery was impossible, she naturally felt grief, but the pang of sorrow flickered through her heart and was gone in an instant, leaving no trace on her face.

Hearing Yang Guo call her “Aunt Long,” Hao Datong realised this beautiful young woman before him was none other than Xiao Longnü, who had driven away Prince Huodu.³⁰ He was even more astonished. Prince Huodu’s defeat and flight had been the talk of the jianghu for months. Though Xiao Longnü had never taken a single step down Mount Zhongnan,³¹ her name had already become quite renowned in the wulin.

Xiao Longnü slowly turned her head and looked at each of the Daoists in turn. Aside from Hao Datong, whose neigong was profound and whose mind remained steady, every other Daoist who met her gaze, clear as autumn water, cold as black ice, could not help feeling a jolt in their hearts.

Xiao Longnü bent down to examine Granny Sun. “Granny, what happened to you?” Granny Sun sighed. “Miss, in all my life, I have never asked anything of you. But when I did ask, you refused and refused.” Xiao Longnü’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. “What do you want to ask of me now?” Granny Sun nodded and pointed at Yang Guo, but for a moment, words failed her. Xiao Longnü said, “You want me to look after him?” Granny Sun forced out a breath and said, “I ask you to look after him for all his life, never let anyone harm him in the slightest. Do you agree?” Xiao Longnü hesitated. “Look after him for all his life?” Granny Sun said sternly, “Miss, if this old woman had not died, she would have looked after you for all your life. When you were little, eating, bathing, sleeping, using the chamber pot, was it not this old woman who took care of everything? You… you… what have you ever done to repay me?” Xiao Longnü bit her lower lip with her upper teeth and said, “Fine. I agree.” A faint smile appeared on Granny Sun’s ugly face. Her eyes rested on Yang Guo as if she had something to say, but her breath would not come.

Yang Guo understood what she wanted. He bent down and put his ear close to her mouth, whispering, “Granny, do you have something to tell me?” Granny Sun said, “You… bend down lower.” Yang Guo bent even lower, pressing his ear against her lips. Granny Sun whispered, “Your Aunt Long has no one to rely on. You… you… also… look after her… for all her life…” At these words, her breath could hold no longer. Suddenly, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, splattering half of Yang Guo’s face and the front of his clothes with crimson spots. With that, she closed her eyes and died. Yang Guo wailed, “Granny! Granny!” Overcome with grief, he threw himself on her body and sobbed uncontrollably.

The Daoists watching from the side were all moved to pity. Hao Datong was even more filled with remorse. He stepped forward and bowed to Granny Sun’s body, saying, “Granny, I struck you by accident. It was never my intention. Since this karmic debt has fallen upon me, it must be that you were fated to suffer this calamity. Go in peace.” Xiao Longnü stood to the side without saying a word. When he finished, the two faced each other in silence.

After a long while, Xiao Longnü finally frowned and said, “Well? Are you not going to cut your own throat in recompense, or must I do it myself?” Hao Datong was stunned. “What?” Xiao Longnü said, “A life for a life. If you cut your own throat and end this, I will spare the lives of every Daoist in this temple.” Before Hao Datong could answer, the surrounding Daoists erupted in an uproar. By now, thirty or forty Daoists had gathered in the great hall, all denouncing her, “Little girl, leave now, we won’t make trouble for you.” “Nonsense! What ‘cut your own throat and spare the lives of every Daoist’?” “A mere girl, knowing nothing of the world.” Hao Datong, hearing the clamour, quickly waved his hand to restrain them.

Xiao Longnü acted as though she had not heard the Daoists’ words at all. She slowly drew from her robe a mass of something like icy gauze. Parting her hands, she slipped a piece of white silk onto her left hand. It was a glove. She then put on the right glove as well and said softly, “Old Daoist, since you cling to life and fear death, unwilling to cut your own throat, draw your weapon and fight.”

Hao Datong smiled bitterly. “This humble Daoist accidentally wounded Granny Sun and has no wish to continue this quarrel with you. Take Yang Guo and leave the temple.” He thought that although Xiao Longnü had become famous throughout the world for driving away Prince Huodu, it was ultimately only through the power of a swarm of jade bees. At her young age, even if her martial arts contained some unique secrets, she could not possibly surpass Granny Sun. Letting her take Yang Guo away would, on one hand, honour the friendship between their two sects’ previous generations and settle the matter peacefully. On the other, having accidentally killed Granny Sun, he truly felt deep unease and could only yield as much as possible.

To his surprise, Xiao Longnü still acted as though she had not heard him. Her left hand flicked lightly, and a white silk ribbon suddenly shot out, flying straight at Hao Datong’s face. The move came without a sound, without the slightest warning. In the candlelight, he could see a golden ball tied to the end of the ribbon. Hao Datong saw that her attack was swift and her weapon extremely strange. He was advanced in years and prudent in action, although he was confident his martial arts far surpassed hers, he was unwilling to receive the attack rashly and dodged to the left.

But Xiao Longnü’s silk ribbon weapon could actually turn in midair. As Hao Datong leapt left, the ribbon followed. Three crisp ding-ding-ding sounds rang out as the golden ball trembled three times, striking at the “Welcome Fragrance”, “Tear Container”, and “Human Centre” acupoints³² on his face. The speed and precision of these three point-strikes were truly first-rate martial arts. Moreover, the golden ball emitted a ding-ding sound, not loud, but deeply strange, unsettling to the heart and spirit. Hao Datong was completely caught off guard. In great alarm, he hastily executed an “Iron Bridge,”³³ leaning his body backward as the ribbon swept past mere inches from his face. Fearing the golden ball would follow with a downward strike, and with his martial skill refined to the point of effortless mastery, even as his body leaned back, he suddenly shifted three feet to the side. This move also caught Xiao Longnü by surprise. Clang! The golden ball struck the ground. Her golden ball point-strikes were continuous and unbroken, yet Hao Datong had evaded through a clever manoeuvre in a moment of crisis. Xiao Longnü’s left-hand ribbon and golden ball swept slowly through the air. Had she followed up with another strike, Hao Datong would have had no way to avoid it, but she did not pursue the attack, clearly showing mercy.

Hao Datong straightened up, his face already changed colour. The surrounding Daoists, whether his disciples or martial nephews, had always held his martial arts in the deepest admiration. Seeing that although he was uninjured, he had dodged this move with extreme awkwardness, they were all astonished. Four Daoists levelled their long swords and thrust at Xiao Longnü. Xiao Longnü said, “Ah, yes, you should have used weapons from the start.” Both hands struck out together as two white silk ribbons shot forth like water snakes. Ding-ding, then ding-ding again, the golden balls struck the “Spirit Path” acupoint on the wrists of all four Daoists. Clang, clang, four long swords clattered to the ground. This overwhelming display of dominance left every Daoist pale-faced, and none dared make another move.

Hao Datong had initially assumed Xiao Longnü’s martial arts were mediocre at best, but the moment they crossed hands, he had nearly been defeated by her. A competitive spirit rose within him. Taking a long sword from a disciple, he said, “Miss Long’s skills are extraordinary. This humble Daoist has been remiss. Come, come, let this humble Daoist experience your high techniques.” Xiao Longnü nodded. With a ding-dong, the white silk ribbon swept horizontally from left to right.

By seniority, Hao Datong was a generation above her. When Xiao Longnü attacked, she should have shown respect to her elder by yielding the first three moves, but she had gone straight for the kill from the very start, paying no heed whatsoever to the rules of the wulin. Hao Datong thought, This girl’s martial arts are not weak, but she seems to understand nothing at all. Clearly she has had very little real combat experience. However strong she is, she can’t be that strong. With his left hand forming a sword seal and his right hand wielding the long sword, he began exchanging moves with her pair of white silk ribbons.

The Daoists formed a tight circle around them, watching the battle with rapt attention. In the flickering candlelight, they saw a young woman in white and an old Daoist in grey, ribbons flying like rainbows, sword moving like lightning, youthful beauty against white hair, the fight growing fiercer by the moment.

Hao Datong had spent decades of bitter training on this sword. In terms of sword technique alone, he ranked third or fourth within the Quanzhen Sect. Yet after exchanging dozens of moves with this young girl, he could not gain the slightest advantage. Xiao Longnü’s twin silk ribbons twisted and turned like spirit serpents, fluid and effortless, while the two golden balls continuously emitted their ding-ding sound, disturbing the mind and spirit. Hao Datong fought long without prevailing. Though he had not fallen behind, he thought that as an elder with decades of renown in the wulin, if he fought this young woman to a hundred moves or more, even victory would be a loss of face. Growing impatient, he suddenly changed his sword technique, shifting from fast to slow. Though his moves were now several times slower than before, the power behind the sword was several times greater. At first, his blade had to avoid being entangled by the ribbons. Now, with increased power, he instead struck to cut the ribbons.

After several more exchanges, there was a clang as the golden ball collided with the sword’s edge. Hao Datong’s profound neili sent the golden ball rebounding towards Xiao Longnü’s face. Seizing the advantage, he pressed the attack. Amid the Daoists’ cheers, his sword blade followed the ribbon, thrusting towards Xiao Longnü’s wrist. He fully expected her to have no choice but to release the ribbon, or else her wrist would be struck. But Xiao Longnü’s right hand flipped swiftly and seized the sword blade. Crack! The long sword snapped in two.

The Daoists cried out in unison. Hao Datong leapt backward, holding the half-broken sword, staring in stunned disbelief. How could he have imagined that her gloves were woven from the finest, toughest platinum silk, a divine weapon passed down from her grandmaster? Though light, soft, and thin, they were impervious to blade and sword, able to withstand any treasured weapon. She had suddenly seized the blade and then, with deft strength, snapped it.

Hao Datong’s face was pale. In the shock of his crushing defeat, it did not occur to him that her gloves held such ingenious secrets. He assumed she had truly cultivated some supreme skill that made her impervious to weapons. His voice trembling, he said, “Fine, fine, fine. This humble Daoist admits defeat. Miss Long, take the child and go.” Xiao Longnü said, “You killed Granny Sun, and you think saying ‘I admit defeat’ settles it?” Hao Datong threw his head back and laughed bitterly. “I truly have grown old and senile!” He raised the half-broken sword towards his own throat.

Suddenly, there was a clang, and a violent shock ran through his hand as a copper coin had flown in from beyond the wall and knocked the half-broken sword to the ground. With Hao Datong’s profound neili, to knock a sword from his grip was no easy feat. He shuddered. From the skill of this coin-projectile sword-deflecting technique, he knew his shixiong Qiu Chuji had arrived. Raising his head, he called out, “Qiu shixiong, your shidi³⁴ is incompetent and has brought shame upon our sect. Do as you see fit.” From beyond the wall came a long, hearty laugh, and a voice said, “Victory and defeat are commonplace. If a man had to cut his throat every time he lost a fight, your shixiong would have run out of heads long ago.” Man followed voice as Qiu Chuji, long sword in hand, leapt over the wall.

Bold and unrestrained by nature, Qiu Chuji thrust his long sword at Xiao Longnü’s arm, saying, “Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect seeks instruction from our esteemed neighbour.” Xiao Longnü said, “You, old Daoist, are refreshingly straightforward.” Her left palm shot out and seized Qiu Chuji’s long sword. Hao Datong cried out in alarm, “Shixiong, be careful!” But it was already too late. Xiao Longnü exerted force through her hand while Qiu Chuji drove power through the blade. Strength against strength, crack! The long sword snapped again. But Xiao Longnü’s arm was also shaken numb, and a dull pain throbbed in her chest. In that single exchange, she knew Qiu Chuji’s martial arts far surpassed Hao Datong’s, and that she had not yet mastered her sect’s secret skill, the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra,³⁵ and could not defeat him. She threw the broken sword to the ground, tucked Granny Sun’s body under her left arm, scooped up Yang Guo with her right, pushed off with both feet, and soared into the air, floating lightly over the wall.

Qiu Chuji, Hao Datong, and the others watched her suddenly display this qinggong³⁶ skill and could not help exchanging looks of astonishment. Qiu and Hao had both crossed hands with her and knew that while her martial arts were refined, they were still inferior to their own, but such extraordinary qinggong was something they had truly never seen before. Hao Datong sighed deeply. “Enough, enough!” Qiu Chuji said, “Hao shidi, after all these years of cultivating the Dao, you still can’t see through such a small setback? Didn’t we sect brothers make fools of ourselves in Shanxi too?” Hao Datong said in alarm, “What? Was anyone hurt?” Qiu Chuji said, “It’s a long story. Let’s go see Ma shixiong.”

Li Mochou had wounded Lu Liding³⁷ and several others in Jiaxing,³⁸ Jiangnan,³⁹ then travelled far to Shanxi, where she injured several more heroes in northern Shanxi. Public outrage was finally stirred, and the local wulin leader issued a broad call to arms, inviting fellow martial artists to unite against her. The Quanzhen Sect had also received the call. At the time, Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji, and the others had discussed the matter, all agreeing that although Li Mochou had committed many evils, her grandmaster ultimately shared deep roots with Patriarch Chongyang. It would be best to mediate and give her a path to reform. Liu Chuxuan⁴⁰ and Sun Bu’er⁴¹ had set out north together. But Li Mochou’s movements were secretive, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Liu and Sun could do nothing about her, and she instead wounded several more heroes in southern and northern Shanxi.

Later, Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi⁴² brought ten disciples as reinforcements. Li Mochou knew she could not fight so many masters alone, so she used words to provoke them, arranging with Qiu, Wang, and the others to fight one-on-one in sequence. The first day’s match was Sun Bu’er. Li Mochou struck secretly with her Soul-Freezing Silver Needles,⁴³ wounding her, then personally went to deliver the antidote, forcing Qiu Chuji and the others to accept it. With that, the Quanzhen Daoists were now indebted to her and, by the rules of the wulin, could no longer oppose her. The group exchanged bitter smiles and returned in defeat. Fortunately, Qiu Chuji had been anxious to return to the mountain and had left earlier, not accompanying Wang Chuyi and the others on their sightseeing trip to the Taihang Mountains, and so he had arrived in time to save Hao Datong’s life.

Qiu Chuji investigated the cause of the conflict between Hao Datong and their neighbour of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Learning that it had all arisen from Zhao Zhijing’s unjust treatment of Yang Guo, he was deeply angered. Because of his disciple Yang Kang,⁴⁴ he had wanted to properly raise Yang Guo within the Quanzhen Sect and mould him into a talented man, but now this most disappointing affair had occurred. The child had entered the Ancient Tomb, and it would be improper to forcibly demand his return. He felt he had failed Guo Jing’s trust and could only hope to look after Yang Guo in the future. Among the Quanzhen Sect’s third-generation disciples, Zhao Zhijing had originally been the strongest in martial arts. Masters Ma, Qiu, and Wang had intended to appoint him as the third-generation head disciple, but he had made a grave error while commanding the Northern Dipper Formation to repel the evil invaders on Mount Zhongnan, and now his treatment of Yang Guo had been so petty and harsh. The man clearly had skill but lacked virtue and talent. After deliberation among the Seven Masters, they instead appointed Zhen Zhibing, of the Changchun lineage, as the third-generation head disciple. Burning with jealousy and regret, Zhao Zhijing’s hatred for Yang Guo only doubled.

After leaving Chongyang Palace, Xiao Longnü set Yang Guo down, carried Granny Sun’s body, and brought Yang Guo back to the Tomb of the Living Dead. She laid Granny Sun’s body on the couch where she had always slept, then sat in a chair before it, chin resting on her hand on the small table, staring blankly without a word. Yang Guo threw himself on Granny Sun’s body, heartbroken and furious, sobbing without end. After a long while, Xiao Longnü said, “She’s already dead. What’s the use of crying? No matter how you cry for her, she won’t know.” Yang Guo was stunned. He felt her words were harsh and heartless, but thinking carefully, they were also true. His grief only deepened, and he could not help bursting into loud sobs again.

Xiao Longnü watched him coldly, her expression utterly unchanged. After another long while, she finally said, “Let’s go bury her. Follow me.” She picked up Granny Sun’s body and left the room. Yang Guo wiped his tears with his sleeve and followed behind. There was not the slightest glimmer of light in the tomb passage. He strained his eyes as wide as he could, but still could not make out the white-robed figure of Xiao Longnü ahead. He could only follow closely, not daring to fall even half a step behind. She wound her way east and west through twisting turns. After walking for some time, she pushed open a heavy stone door, took out a fire striker, struck a flame, and lit the two oil lamps on the stone table. Yang Guo looked around and could not suppress a shiver. In the vast, empty hall stood five stone coffins in a row. Looking more closely, he saw that the lids of two coffins were tightly sealed, while the lids of the other three were only pushed halfway shut, and he could not tell whether they contained bodies or not.

Xiao Longnü pointed to the first stone coffin on the right. “Grandmaster rests here.” She pointed to the second. “My shifu rests here.” Yang Guo watched as she extended her finger towards the third stone coffin, his heart pounding. He did not know who she would say rested there. The lid was not fully closed. If there were a corpse inside, would that not be terribly frightening? He heard her say, “Granny Sun rests here.” Only then did Yang Guo realise it was an empty coffin, and he let out a soft breath. He looked at the two empty coffins beside it. Curiosity stirred, and he asked, “What about those two coffins?” Xiao Longnü said, “My shijie⁴⁵ Li Mochou rests in one. I rest in the other.” Yang Guo was stunned. “Li Mochou… will she come back?” Xiao Longnü said, “My shifu arranged it this way. She will always come back. There is one stone coffin missing here, because my shifu could not have foreseen that you would come.” Yang Guo was startled and said hastily, “Me? Not me!” Xiao Longnü said, “I promised Granny Sun I would look after you for all your life. I will not leave this place, so naturally, neither will you.”

Hearing her discuss matters of life and death with such indifference, Yang Guo cast aside all restraint and said, “Even if you won’t let me leave, once you die, I’ll leave.” Xiao Longnü said, “Since I said I would look after you for all your life, I will not die before you.” Yang Guo said, “Why? You’re older than me!” Xiao Longnü said coldly, “Before I die, I will naturally kill you first.” Yang Guo was startled. “Granny Sun told me I should also look after you for all your life…” Xiao Longnü gave a faint smile. “You, look after me? We’ll die together. Then no one needs to look after anyone.”

She walked to the third stone coffin, pushed open the lid, and lifted Granny Sun to place her inside. Yang Guo’s heart could not bear it. “Let me look at Granny one more time,” he said. Seeing that he had known Granny Sun for barely a day yet already felt such deep attachment, Xiao Longnü could not help feeling annoyed. She furrowed her brows but held Granny Sun’s body still. In the dim lamplight, Yang Guo saw Granny Sun’s face looking as though she were still alive and wanted to cry again. Xiao Longnü shot him a sideways glare, placed Granny Sun’s body into the stone coffin, reached out, and pulled the lid. With a rumble, the lid’s tenon jointed with the coffin, sealing it tight.

Afraid Yang Guo would cry again, Xiao Longnü did not spare him another glance. “Let’s go,” she said. With a wave of her left sleeve, both oil lamps in the chamber went out, plunging everything into darkness. Yang Guo, fearing she would lock him in the burial chamber, hurried after her.

Within the tomb, there was no distinction between day and night. After all the turmoil, both were weary. Xiao Longnü told Yang Guo to sleep in Granny Sun’s room. Yang Guo had roamed the jianghu alone since childhood, often spending nights in abandoned temples in the wilderness. He had always been brave, but now, told to sleep alone in a chamber within the tomb, thinking of the dead in those stone coffins, he felt an indescribable fear. Xiao Longnü repeated herself several times, but he simply would not respond.

Xiao Longnü said, “Didn’t you hear me?” Yang Guo said, “I’m scared.” Xiao Longnü said, “Scared of what?” Yang Guo said, “I don’t know. I don’t dare sleep alone.” Xiao Longnü frowned. “Then sleep in my room.” She led him to her own chamber.

Accustomed to darkness, she never lit lamps or candles, but now she specially lit one for Yang Guo. Yang Guo saw that she was exquisitely beautiful, her clothes as pure white as snow, without a speck of dust. He imagined her boudoir must be decorated with equal elegance, but the moment he entered, he was greatly disappointed. Her room was utterly bare, no different from the burial chamber with the stone coffins. A long slab of grey stone served as a bed, spread with a straw mat and a piece of white cloth as a thin blanket. There was nothing else.

Yang Guo thought, I wonder where I’ll sleep. She’ll probably make me sleep on the floor. Just as he was thinking this, Xiao Longnü said, “You sleep in my bed.” Yang Guo said, “That’s not right. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Xiao Longnü’s face hardened. “If you want to stay here, you must obey whatever I say. Fighting with the Quanzhen Daoists, that’s your business. But if you defy me in the slightest, I will take your life immediately.” Yang Guo said, “You don’t need to be so fierce. I’ll obey you.” Xiao Longnü said, “You still dare talk back?” Seeing her, so young and beautiful, putting on such a fierce and domineering act, Yang Guo stuck out his tongue and said no more. Xiao Longnü had already noticed. “What are you sticking your tongue out for? Think I can’t handle you?” Yang Guo did not answer. He took off his shoes and climbed straight into bed.

The moment he lay down, he felt a bone-penetrating cold. In great alarm, he jumped off the bed barefoot. Xiao Longnü, seeing his frightened, bedraggled state, nearly laughed out loud despite her reserve. “What is it?” she asked. Yang Guo caught the hint of amusement at the corners of her eyes and said with a grin, “There’s something strange about this bed. You were deliberately playing a trick on me.” Xiao Longnü’s face turned serious. “Who’s playing tricks on you? The bed is just like that. Get back on and lie down.” She took a broom from behind the door and said, “If you lie down for a while and then slip off, you’ll get ten strokes of this broom.”

Seeing she was serious, Yang Guo had no choice but to climb back onto the bed. This time he was prepared and did not startle, but he felt as though a thick layer of ice had been placed beneath the straw mat. The longer he lay, the colder it became. He could not stop his whole body from shivering, his upper and lower teeth chattering. After lying there a while longer, the cold penetrated to his very bones. He truly could not endure it any longer.

He glanced over at Xiao Longnü and saw an expression on her face that was half smile, half gloating. He could not help feeling a surge of resentment. Clenching his teeth, he threw all his strength into resisting the cold beneath him. He saw Xiao Longnü take out a rope and tie one end to an iron nail on the eastern wall of the chamber, then stretch the rope across the room and tie the other end to a nail on the western wall. The rope hung about the height of a person. She leapt up lightly and lay sideways on the rope, using it as a bed. Then she waved her left palm, and the palm wind extinguished the candle.

Yang Guo was filled with admiration. “Aunt,” he said, “tomorrow, will you teach me this skill?” Xiao Longnü said, “This skill is nothing. If you study diligently, I have many formidable skills to teach you.” Hearing that Xiao Longnü was willing to teach him sincerely, Yang Guo immediately cast all his earlier resentment to the farthest clouds beyond the ninth heaven. Overcome with gratitude, he could not stop tears from streaming down his face. Choking, he said, “Aunt, you treat me so well, and earlier I was even angry at you.” Xiao Longnü said, “I drove you away, and naturally you would be angry. That’s nothing strange.” Yang Guo said, “It wasn’t that. I thought you were just like my previous shifus, only teaching me useless skills.”

Hearing his voice tremble, Xiao Longnü asked, “Are you very cold?” Yang Guo said, “Yes. What’s strange under this bed? Why is it so terribly cold?” Xiao Longnü said, “Do you like sleeping on it?” Yang Guo said, “I… I don’t.” Xiao Longnü laughed coldly. “Hmph, you don’t like it. Countless experts of the wulin would give anything for the chance to sleep on this bed.” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “Isn’t that just asking for suffering?” Xiao Longnü said, “Hmph, so I’m being kind and showing you favour, and you think it’s suffering. You truly don’t know what’s good for you.”

Hearing her tone, Yang Guo sensed that her making him sleep on this cold bed was indeed not out of malice. He pleaded softly, “Good Aunt, what’s so good about this cold bed? Won’t you tell me?” Xiao Longnü said, “You’ll be sleeping on this bed for the rest of your life. Its benefits you’ll naturally understand in time. Close your eyes. No more talking.” In the darkness, he heard the soft rustle of her clothes as though she had turned over. That she could sleep suspended on a rope and still turn over at will was truly inconceivable.

Her last two sentences had been spoken with stern severity. Yang Guo dared not ask further. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but wave after wave of cold rose from beneath him, and thinking of Granny Sun made his heart ache. How could he sleep? After a long while, he called softly, “Aunt, I can’t take it anymore.” But Xiao Longnü’s breathing was slow and steady. She was already asleep. He called softly twice more, but still heard no response. He thought, I’ll get off the bed and sleep on the floor. She won’t know. Quietly, he slipped off the bed and stood in place, not daring to breathe.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, there was a soft se as Xiao Longnü leapt over from the rope. She seized his left hand, twisted it behind his back, and pressed him to the ground. Yang Guo cried out in alarm. Xiao Longnü picked up the broom and struck him hard on the backside. Yang Guo knew begging for mercy would be useless, so he clenched his teeth and endured. The first five strokes were extremely painful, but by the sixth, Xiao Longnü’s hand had already lightened, and the last two were even lighter, as though she feared he could not bear them. After the ten strokes, she lifted him and tossed him back onto the bed, shouting, “If you get down again, I’ll beat you again.”

Yang Guo lay on the bed without a sound. He heard her put the broom back in the corner and leap back onto the rope to sleep. Xiao Longnü had expected him to wail and make a scene, but to her great surprise, he remained completely silent. She asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?” Yang Guo said, “There’s nothing to say. You said you’d beat me, so you had to beat me. Begging for mercy is useless.” Xiao Longnü said, “Hmph, you’re cursing me in your heart.” Yang Guo said, “I’m not cursing you in my heart. You’re much better than my previous shifus.” Xiao Longnü said, surprised, “Why?” Yang Guo said, “Even though you beat me, in your heart you felt sorry for me. You hit lighter and lighter, afraid I’d be in pain.” Xiao Longnü’s heart was struck by his words, and her face flushed slightly, but fortunately, in the darkness, he could not see. She scolded, “Pei! Who feels sorry for you? Next time you disobey, I’ll hit even harder.”

Hearing the gentleness in her tone, Yang Guo said with a cheeky grin, “Even if you hit harder, I’d still like it.” Xiao Longnü spat. “Hmph, if you don’t get beaten at least once a day, you probably can’t sleep.” Yang Guo said, “That depends on who’s doing the beating. If someone who cares about me beats me, I’m not angry at all. I might even be happy. She’s beating me for my own good. But there are people who hate me in their hearts. If they so much as scold me or glare at me, when I grow up, I’ll find each and every one of them and settle accounts.” Xiao Longnü said, “Tell me then, who hates you, and who cares about you?” Yang Guo said, “I remember it all clearly in my heart. No need to mention those who hate me, there are too many to count. Those who care about me are my dead mother, my adoptive father, Uncle Guo, and Granny Sun and you.”

Xiao Longnü laughed coldly. “Hmph, I certainly don’t care about you. Granny Sun told me to look after you, so I’ll look after you. Don’t expect me to treat you kindly in this lifetime.” Yang Guo was already freezing unbearably, and hearing these words was like having a basin of cold water poured over his head. Holding back his anger, he asked, “What’s wrong with me? Why do you hate me so much?” Xiao Longnü said, “Whether you’re good or not is none of my concern. I don’t hate you either. I’ve lived my whole life in this tomb, caring for no one, hating no one.” Yang Guo said, “What fun is that? Aunt, have you ever been outside?” Xiao Longnü said, “I’ve never gone down Mount Zhongnan. Outside, there are just mountains and trees, sun and moon. What’s so good about that?”

Yang Guo clapped his hands. “Aiyo, then you’ve truly lived your life in vain. The city is full of all kinds of things. Now that’s worth seeing.” He proceeded to describe, one by one, all the various sights he had encountered in his wanderings since childhood. He was naturally eloquent, and now he embellished freely, making everything sound even more bizarre and wondrous. Fortunately, Xiao Longnü had lived eighteen years without ever descending Mount Zhongnan, so no matter how he exaggerated, she believed it all. As she listened, she could not help sighing.

Yang Guo said, “Aunt, let me take you out to play. How about it?” Xiao Longnü said, “Don’t talk nonsense! Grandmaster left a commandment: anyone who has lived in this Tomb of the Living Dead is forbidden to take a single step down Mount Zhongnan.” Yang Guo was startled. “Does that mean I can’t go down the mountain either?” Xiao Longnü said, “Of course not.” Hearing this, Yang Guo was not particularly worried. He thought to himself, Peach Blossom Island⁴⁶ was a lonely island in the middle of the sea, and I still managed to leave. How could this big tomb really keep me trapped? He asked, “You said that Li Mochou, Miss Li, is your shijie. She must have lived in this Tomb of the Living Dead too. How come she went down Mount Zhongnan?” Xiao Longnü said, “She disobeyed my shifu’s words. My shifu drove her out.” Yang Guo was overjoyed and thought, With this rule in place, it’ll be easy. The day I want to leave, I’ll just disobey you and let you drive me out. But he knew he must not let this plan slip, or it would not work.

As the two chatted, Yang Guo forgot the cold for a while. But the moment he stopped talking, his whole body shivered with cold again. He pleaded, “Aunt, have mercy on me. I won’t sleep on this bed.” Xiao Longnü said, “When you fought with your Quanzhen shifu, you refused to beg for mercy. Why are you so spineless now?” Yang Guo laughed. “If someone treats me badly, even if they beat me, I won’t yield a single word. But if someone treats me well, I’d gladly die for them, let alone beg for mercy.” Xiao Longnü spat. “Who treats you well?”

Hearing no anger in her voice, Yang Guo cried out loudly, “Cold! Cold! Aunt, I can’t take it anymore.” In truth, though his body was cold, there was no need to make such a heaven-shaking fuss. Xiao Longnü said, “Stop making noise. I’ll tell you the origin of this stone bed.” Yang Guo said happily, “Good. I’ll stop shouting. Aunt, tell me.”

Xiao Longnü said, “When I said the heroes of the world all dream of sleeping on this stone bed, I wasn’t lying to you. This bed is made of ancient cold jade and is truly an aid to cultivating the highest neigong.” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “Isn’t it just stone?” Xiao Longnü laughed coldly. “You claim to have seen many strange things, have you ever seen stone this cold? Grandmaster’s good friend spent several years of painstaking effort travelling to the farthest bitter-cold lands of the north, digging beneath hundreds of feet of solid ice to extract this cold jade. Sleeping on this jade bed to train neigong, one year is worth ten years of ordinary cultivation.” Yang Guo said delightedly, “Ah, so that’s the benefit.” Xiao Longnü said, “At first, when you sleep on it, you’ll find the cold unbearable and be forced to resist it with your entire strength. Over time, it becomes second nature, and even in your dreams, you’ll be training without pause. Ordinary people training, even the most diligent, must sleep for several hours each day. You must understand that cultivating gongfu goes against the natural order. The circulation of qi and blood is entirely different from normal. But every night when you sleep, your qi and blood inevitably return to their normal circulation, and you lose ninety per cent of what you trained during the day. But sleeping on this bed, not only do you not lose your day’s training in your sleep, you actually increase your gongfu.”

Yang Guo immediately understood. “Then sleeping on ice and snow at night would also be beneficial.” Xiao Longnü said, “Not so. First, ice and snow are warmed by body heat and melt into water, and one cannot sleep in cold water. Second, this cold jade far surpasses the coldness of ice and snow.” Yang Guo said, “Aunt, no wonder you wear white clothes even in cold weather, just like ice and snow, truly beautiful. So your body is cold too. I’ve seen that in winter, everyone wears dark-coloured padded clothes. Aren’t you afraid of the cold?” Xiao Longnü said, “I’m not afraid of the cold. You say white clothes are beautiful? I don’t care whether they’re beautiful or not. I just wear whatever clothes I have. This cold jade bed has another benefit. The greatest danger in cultivating neigong is deviation, going astray and becoming possessed. Therefore, in ordinary training, half your concentration is spent resisting the heart’s fire. This cold jade is the most yin, most cold object under heaven. When a cultivator sits or lies upon it, the heart’s fire is naturally quelled, so one can train with boldness and vigour, without fear of consequences. Is this not twice as fast as ordinary training?”

Yang Guo was so delighted his heart itched with eagerness. “Aunt, you treat me so well. You let me sleep on this bed while you only sleep on a rope, missing out on the cold jade bed’s benefits. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you. Granny Sun told me to look after you for all your life too, and I will certainly take good care of you.” Xiao Longnü said, “Weeping and wailing the way you do, how could you look after me?” Yang Guo said, “When I’m older, I won’t be a child anymore. Aunt, I’ll train hard, and then I won’t have to fear the Wu brothers and Guo Fu anymore. Even Zhao Zhijing and those Quanzhen Daoists, though they’ve trained for so long, I’ll catch up to them.” Xiao Longnü said coldly, “The commandment Grandmaster left behind says that those who live in this tomb must cultivate the heart and nature, and extinguish all thoughts of competing with others.” Yang Guo said urgently, “But they bullied me like that, and they killed Granny Sun, are we just going to let it go?” Xiao Longnü said, “Everyone must die. If Granny Sun had not died at Hao Datong’s hands, in a few more years she would have died peacefully on her own. Living a few more years, a few less, what difference does it make? Words of revenge and vengeance, do not speak of them to me again.”

Xiao Longnü had been raised from childhood by her shifu and Granny Sun. For eighteen years, she had always been in the company of two elderly women. Though both treated her well, her shifu had required her to cultivate the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, commanding her from an early age to banish all emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. If she was seen to cry or laugh, severe punishment would follow. Though Granny Sun was warm-hearted, she dared not interfere with Xiao Longnü’s training. Thus Xiao Longnü had developed a cold, solitary temperament. Not only was her neigong cold in nature, but her very character and disposition had been trained to be cold as well. Now Yang Guo had arrived, a boy whose heart burned like fire, still so young, whose every word and gesture was the complete opposite of the two old women. Xiao Longnü listened to him speak and, though she knew he was wrong, still found herself talking with him, engrossed and forgetting her weariness.

Yang Guo felt that although her words seemed reasonable, there was something not quite right about them, though he could not think of how to refute her. Just then, waves of cold assaulted him again, and he could not stop shivering. Xiao Longnü said, “I’ll teach you how to resist the cold of this bed.” She then transmitted to him a few oral formulas and the method for cultivating neigong, the foundational entry-level skill of her sect. Yang Guo practised according to the method. After only a short while, he felt the cold greatly diminish. By the time his inner breath had circulated three times, he felt heat rising through his body and no longer found the cold unbearable. Instead, lying on the stone bed felt cool and comfortable. His eyes closed, and he drifted hazily into sleep. After sleeping for less than half a shichen,⁴⁷ the heat faded and the bed’s cold woke him, so he resumed the practice. Thus he alternated between waking and sleeping, passing the entire night in this manner. When he woke the next morning, he felt not the slightest trace of fatigue. In just one night, his neili cultivation had already advanced.

The next day, after the two had eaten breakfast, Yang Guo took the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen, washed them clean, and returned to the main hall. Xiao Longnü said, “There is something you must think through clearly. If you truly take me as your shifu, then for all your life, you must obey my words. If you do not take me as your shifu, I will still transmit my skills to you. If in the future you surpass me, you may fight your way out of this Tomb of the Living Dead by martial skill.” Yang Guo answered without the slightest hesitation, “Of course I’ll take you as my shifu. Even if you never taught me a shred of martial arts, I would still obey your words.” Xiao Longnü said, surprised, “Why?” Yang Guo said, “Aunt, you treat me well in your heart, do you think I don’t know?” Xiao Longnü put on a stern face. “Whether I treat you well or not, I forbid you to keep saying it. Since you’ve decided to take me as your shifu, let us go to the rear hall and perform the ceremony.”

Yang Guo followed her to the rear hall. Xiao Longnü lit two candles on the table. Yang Guo saw that this hall too was empty, with hardly any furnishings, only two paintings hung on the walls, one on the east side and one on the west. The painting on the west wall showed two young women. One appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, combing her hair before a mirror. The other was a maidservant of fourteen or fifteen, holding a washbasin, attending at her side. The mirror in the painting reflected the older woman’s face, extremely beautiful, with elegant brows sweeping towards her temples, though the corners of her eyes faintly carried a hint of murderous aura. Yang Guo gazed at it for several moments and could not help feeling a surge of awe and reverence.

Xiao Longnü pointed at the older woman. “This is Grandmaster. Kowtow to her.” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “She’s Grandmaster? Why does she look so young?” Xiao Longnü said, “She was young when the painting was made. Later, she was no longer young.” Yang Guo turned over the words “She was young when the painting was made. Later, she was no longer young” in his mind, and suddenly felt a wave of desolation. He stared blankly at the painting and could not help feeling tears about to fall.

Xiao Longnü had no idea what was in his heart. She pointed at the young woman in the maidservant’s attire and said, “This is my shifu. Kowtow quickly.” Yang Guo tilted his head to look at the painting. He saw that this young woman had an innocent, endearing expression, her face full of childish charm. Who could have known she would later become Xiao Longnü’s shifu? Without further thought, he knelt and kowtowed to the painting, knocking his head heavily against the ground, his heart filled with sincerity.

After he rose, Xiao Longnü pointed at the painting hanging on the east wall and said, “Spit at that Daoist.” Yang Guo looked and saw a Daoist of tall stature in the painting, a long sword hanging at his waist, the index finger of his right hand pointing towards the northeast, his back turned so his face could not be seen. He found this very strange and asked, “Who is that? Why spit at him?” Xiao Longnü said, “This is Wang Chongyang, the patriarch of the Quanzhen Sect. Our sect has a rule: after kowtowing to Grandmaster, you must spit at him.” Yang Guo was overjoyed. He already detested the Quanzhen Sect with all his heart and thought this sect rule was marvellous beyond words. He immediately spat a great gob of saliva onto the back of Wang Chongyang in the painting. One gob did not feel like enough, so he spat twice more and cursed, “Stinking Daoist!” He was about to spit again when Xiao Longnü said, “That’s enough!”

Yang Guo asked, “Did our Grandmaster hate Wang Chongyang very much?” Xiao Longnü said, “That’s right.” Yang Guo said, “I hate him too. Why not destroy his painting instead of keeping it here?” Xiao Longnü said, “I don’t know either. I only heard my shifu and Granny Sun say that among the men of the world, there is not a single good one.” Her voice suddenly turned severe as she shouted, “In the future, when you’re older, if you do bad things, see if I spare you or not!” Yang Guo said, “Of course you’ll spare me.” Xiao Longnü had meant this as a stern warning and had never expected him to answer immediately with such a reply. Caught off guard, she found herself at a loss. She snapped, “Hurry up and bow to your shifu.”

Yang Guo said, “Of course I must bow to my shifu. But first you must agree to one thing, or I won’t bow.” Xiao Longnü thought, I’ve heard Granny Sun say that from ancient times, when accepting a disciple, it’s always the shifu who makes the disciple agree to this and that. How can there be a disciple who makes demands of the shifu first? But she was calm by nature and did not grow angry. “What is it? Tell me,” she said. Yang Guo said, “In my heart, I’ll treat you as my shifu, respect you and honour you. Whatever you say, I’ll do. But with my mouth, I won’t call you ‘Shifu’, I’ll only call you ‘Aunt’.” Xiao Longnü could not help being taken aback. “Why?” she asked. Yang Guo said, “I bowed to that stinking Daoist of the Quanzhen Sect as my shifu, and he treated me badly. Even in my dreams, I curse my shifu. So it’s better if I call you ‘Aunt’, that way, when I curse my shifu, it won’t involve you.” Xiao Longnü was struck speechless, then laughed despite herself, finding the child’s reasoning rather amusing. “Fine,” she said. “I agree.”

Yang Guo then knelt with the utmost respect and kowtowed eight resounding thuds to Xiao Longnü, declaring, “Disciple Yang Guo, today, bows to Aunt Xiao Longnü as his shifu. From this day forward, Yang Guo will forever obey Aunt’s words and will look after Aunt’s wellbeing for all his life. Should Aunt ever face danger or peril, Yang Guo will sacrifice his own life to protect Aunt. If villains come to harm Aunt, Yang Guo will fight to the death to kill them.” In truth, Xiao Longnü’s martial arts at this time were immeasurably greater than his, but seeing her delicate, elegant, and frail appearance, a manly spirit of protecting the weak rose unbidden in Yang Guo’s chest. By the end, his words grew more and more impassioned. Hearing the sincerity in his tone, Xiao Longnü, though his speech was full of childish bravado, could not help being moved.

After Yang Guo finished kowtowing, he scrambled to his feet, his face radiant with joy. Xiao Longnü said, “What are you so happy about? My skills can’t match that old Daoist Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect, much less your Uncle Guo.” Yang Guo said, “No matter how good they are, it’s none of my business. But you, you’re really willing to teach me gongfu.” Xiao Longnü said, “Actually, learning martial arts isn’t much use. But since there’s nothing else to do in this tomb, I’ll teach you, that’s all.”

Yang Guo said, “Aunt, what is our sect called?” Xiao Longnü said, “From the time Grandmaster entered this Tomb of the Living Dead, we have never interacted with the people of the wulin. Our sect has no name. Later, when Li shijie went out into the jianghu, others called her a disciple of the ‘Ancient Tomb Sect,’ so let us be called the ‘Ancient Tomb Sect.’” Yang Guo shook his head. “The name ‘Ancient Tomb Sect’ is no good!” He had just entered the sect and was already criticising its name, but Xiao Longnü paid it no mind. “What does it matter whether the name is good or not? Wait here. I’m going out for a while.”

Yang Guo thought of being left alone in this tomb and was terrified. He said hurriedly, “Aunt, let me go with you.” Xiao Longnü shot him a sideways glare. “You said you would always obey my words, and you’re already disobeying the very first one.” Yang Guo said, “I’m scared.” Xiao Longnü said, “A real man, scared of what? And you said you’d help me fight villains.” Yang Guo thought for a moment. “Fine. But come back quickly.” Xiao Longnü said coldly, “That’s hard to say. What if I can’t catch them right away?” Yang Guo said, puzzled, “Catch what?” Xiao Longnü did not answer and simply left.

With her gone, not the slightest sound remained in the tomb. Yang Guo wondered what she had gone to catch, but figured since she would not go down Mount Zhongnan, she must be going to catch one of the Quanzhen Daoists, though he did not know which one. Whoever she caught, she would surely torment them thoroughly, which would be a wonderful thing. But he worried she might be outnumbered and come to harm. After letting his imagination run wild for a while, he left the main hall and walked west along the corridor. Before he had taken more than ten steps, everything before his eyes went pitch black. Fearing he would lose his way, he felt along the wall and slowly walked back. But after more than twenty steps, he still could not see the candlelight of the main hall. Panic set in, and he quickened his pace. He had already taken a wrong turn, and this panic only led him further astray. The faster he walked, the more he bumped and crashed into things. In the darkness, it seemed every path was a fork or a branch, and he could never find his way back to the main hall. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Aunt! Aunt! Come save me!” The echoes reverberated through the tomb passages, muffled and eerie.

After blundering about for some time, he felt the ground grow damp, and his footsteps brought up mud. He was no longer in the tomb passages but had entered an underground tunnel connected to the tomb. He grew even more frightened and thought, If I were lost in the tomb, Aunt could always find me. But now I’ve come here, she’ll search everywhere and not find me, and she’ll think I ran away. She’ll be so sad. Not daring to walk any further, he felt around until he found a stone, rested his chin on both hands, and sat there blankly, wanting to burst into loud sobs but unable to produce a sound.

He sat like this for over a shichen when suddenly he faintly heard a voice calling, “Guoer! Guoer!” Yang Guo was overjoyed. He leapt up and shouted, “Aunt, I’m here!” But the calls of “Guoer! Guoer!” grew farther and farther away. Yang Guo grew desperate and screamed at the top of his lungs, “I’m here!” After a while, he still heard nothing, then suddenly felt a cool sensation on his ear as someone lifted him by it.

First he was terrified, then overjoyed. “Aunt, you came! How come I didn’t notice at all?” Xiao Longnü said, “What are you doing here?” Yang Guo said, “I took a wrong turn.” Xiao Longnü made a sound of acknowledgement, took his hand, and began walking. Though they were in complete darkness, she moved as though under bright sunlight, turning corners and navigating passageways with astonishing speed. Yang Guo said, “Aunt, how can you see?” Xiao Longnü said, “I’ve grown up my whole life in darkness. Naturally, I don’t need light.” For the past shichen and more, Yang Guo had been gripped by terror and regret. Now that he was rescued, his joy knew no bounds, though he hardly knew what to say.

In a moment, Xiao Longnü had led him back to the main hall. Yang Guo let out a long sigh. “Aunt, I was so worried just now.” Xiao Longnü said, “Worried about what? I would have found you eventually.” Yang Guo said, “It wasn’t that. I was afraid you’d think I’d run away on my own, and you’d be sad.” Xiao Longnü said, “If you ran away, I wouldn’t have to keep my promise to Granny Sun. What would there be to be sad about?”

Yang Guo found this reply deeply unsatisfying. He asked, “Aunt, did you catch them?” Xiao Longnü said, “I caught them.” Yang Guo said, “Why did you catch them?” Xiao Longnü said, “For you to practise martial arts. Follow me!” Yang Guo thought, So she went to catch a stinking Daoist for me to spar with. That’ll be fun. Best if she caught my shifu Zhao Zhijing, once Aunt has subdued him, he’ll have no choice but to take my punches and kicks without being able to fight back. What a satisfying thought. He followed behind, growing happier the more he thought about it.

Xiao Longnü turned several corners, pushed open a door, and entered a stone chamber lit by a lamp. The chamber was tiny. Two people standing could barely turn around, and the ceiling was so low that Xiao Longnü, stretching out her arm, could almost touch it.

Yang Guo saw no Daoist and was secretly puzzled. “Where’s the Daoist you caught?” he asked. Xiao Longnü said, “What Daoist?” Yang Guo said, “Didn’t you say you went out to catch someone to help me train?” Xiao Longnü said, “Who said it was a person? It’s right here.” She bent down, picked up a cloth sack from the corner of the stone chamber, untied the cord binding its mouth, and shook it upside down. Three sparrows flew out. Yang Guo was utterly baffled. So Aunt went out to catch sparrows.

Xiao Longnü said, “Catch all three sparrows and bring them to me. But you must not damage their feathers, feet, or claws.” Yang Guo said delightedly, “Alright!” He pounced to grab them. But the sparrows were extraordinarily nimble, darting east and swooping west. Yang Guo was soon panting and drenched in sweat. Let alone catching them, he could not even touch a single feather.

Xiao Longnü said, “You can’t catch them that way. Let me teach you the method.” She then taught him various techniques for leaping high and swooping low, for sweeping grabs and pinching holds. Only then did Yang Guo understand that she was teaching him martial arts through the act of catching sparrows. He committed the essentials firmly to memory. Though he grasped the principles, putting them into practice was not so easy. Xiao Longnü left him to figure it out through practice in the small chamber, closing the door behind her as she left.

That day, Yang Guo did not catch a single sparrow. After dinner, he trained on the cold jade bed. The second day, when he tried catching sparrows again, his leaps were several inches higher and his strikes considerably faster. By the fifth day, he finally caught one. Yang Guo was overjoyed and rushed off to tell Xiao Longnü. To his surprise, she showed not the slightest sign of approval. She said coldly, “What use is catching one? You need to catch all three in succession.”

Yang Guo thought, Since I can catch one, what’s so hard about catching two more? But he was greatly mistaken. For two days in a row, he could not catch a single one. Xiao Longnü saw that the three sparrows were utterly exhausted, so she fed them a hearty meal of rice grains, released them outside the tomb, and caught three new ones for him to practise with. On the eighth day, Yang Guo finally caught all three sparrows in one go.

Xiao Longnü said, “Today we should go to Chongyang Palace.” Yang Guo said in alarm, “What for?” Xiao Longnü did not answer. She led him out of the tomb gate. Yang Guo had not seen sunlight for seven days. At first sight of it, his eyes could barely open.

The two arrived before Chongyang Palace. Yang Guo’s heart was uneasy, and he kept glancing sideways at Xiao Longnü, but her expression was utterly indifferent, and he could not guess even half of what she was thinking. He heard her call out in a clear voice, “Zhao Zhijing, come out!”

The moment the two reached the palace gate, someone had already gone in to report. Xiao Longnü’s call had barely faded when several dozen Daoists surged out of the palace. Two young Daoists supported Zhao Zhijing from either side. He was gaunt and haggard, his eyes deeply sunken, unable to stand on his own. At the sight of the two, every Daoist pressed a hand to their sword hilt and glared with fury.

杨过 – Yáng Guò. His name meaning “fault or transgression”; his courtesy name Gaizhi means “to correct it”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Grandma Sun (孙婆婆). Elderly caretaker of the Ancient Tomb who rescued Yang Guo when he fled the Quanzhen Sect. She was killed by Hao Datong while protecting Yang Guo, and with her dying breath she entrusted him to Xiaolongnü’s care. ↩
活死人墓 – Huósǐrén Mù. Tomb of the Living Dead, the vast underground complex beneath Zhongnan Mountain built by Wang Chongyang and later home to the Ancient Tomb Sect. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
neili (内功). Nèigōng. Cultivation of qi through meditation, breathing exercises, and specialised training. neili enhances all martial arts and is the foundation of advanced techniques. ↩
赵志敬 – Zhào Zhìjìng. His name meaning “aspiring to reverence”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
李莫愁 – Lǐ Mòchóu. Her name meaning “do not sorrow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
重阳宫 – Chóngyáng Gōng. Main temple of Quanzhen Order on Zhongnan Mountain. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. His name meaning “double yang”, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
金朝 – Jīn Cháo. Former Jurchen dynasty that ruled northern China before being conquered by the Mongols. Represented by descendants like the Wanyan clan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
甄志丙 – Zhēn Zhìbǐng. His name meaning “aspiring to the third stem”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
全真教 – Quánzhēn Jiào. Daoist martial-monastic order founded by Wang Chongyang, one of the most influential orthodox factions. Same as LOCH reference. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
丘处机 – Qiū Chǔjī. His name meaning “dwelling in opportunity”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
鹿清笃 – Lù Qīngdú. His name meaning “pure and sincere”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Martial arts community and its schools and practitioners. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
掌门 – zhǎngmén. Head or leader of a martial arts faction. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
郭靖 – Guō Jìng. His name meaning “tranquillity” or “pacification”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
洪七公 – Hóng Qīgōng. Literally Hong the Seventh Lord; the numeral seven marks seniority among sworn brothers. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
江南七怪 – Jiāngnán Qī Guài. Group of seven martial artists from Jiaxing who followed their own code of honour. They took a bet to find and train Guo Jing and spent years in the Mongolian steppes fulfilling the vow; their integrity and loyalty were legendary. ↩
柯镇恶 – Kē Zhèn’è. His name meaning “subduing evil”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. Term refers to the jianghu: the subculture of wandering knights-errant, martial artists, and sect members who live outside mainstream society, governed by its own codes of honour, loyalty, and vengeance. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Yin Zhiping (尹志平). In the original editions, the third-generation Quanzhen disciple who violated Xiaolongnü. In the third edition, this role and name were changed to Zhen Zhibing (甄志丙). Yin Zhiping remains a separate, more honourable character in the revised canon. ↩
天罡北斗阵 – Tiāngāng Běidǒu Zhèn. Quanzhen battle formation based on the Northern Dipper. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
郝大通 – Hǎo Dàtōng. His name meaning “great penetration”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Zhang Zhiguang (张志光)* — A Quanzhen Daoist whom Grandma Sun attacked using the “Forward Respect, Backward Crouch” technique. He was nearly blinded when she threw a porcelain bottle at him. ↩
马钰 – Mǎ Yù. His name meaning “precious jade”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
谭处端 – Tán Chǔduān. One of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, known as the Perfected One of Long Peace. He was killed by Ouyang Feng in The Legend of the Condor Heroes. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
内力 – nèilì. Literally internal force. Kinetic manifestation of cultivated qi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
霍都王子 – Huòdū Wángzǐ. Literally Prince Huo Du; a Mongol princely title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
终南山 – Zhōngnán Shān. Sacred Daoist mountain housing both Quanzhen Order and Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
穴位 – xuéwèi. … See Wikipedia. ↩
铁板桥 – tiěbǎnqiáo. Literally iron-plank bridge. Defensive technique in which the practitioner bends backward from the waist until the body is nearly parallel to the ground, like a bridge, to evade an attack. ↩
师弟 – shīdì. Male junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
玉女心经 – Yùnǚ Xīnjīng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
轻功 – qīnggōng. Literally lightness skill. Martial art of body lightness; masters can leap great heights and move with extraordinary speed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
陆立鼎 – Lù Lìdǐng. His name meaning “establishing the tripod”, a metaphor for laying a stable foundation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
嘉兴 – Jiāxīng. City in northern Zhejiang Province, known for its South Lake and its role as a key location in Jin Yong’s novels. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
江南 – Jiāngnán. Prosperous region south of Yangtze River, continued from LOCH era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Liu Chuxuan (刘处玄). One of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, a disciple of Wang Chongyang. ↩
孙不二 – Sūn Bùèr. Her name meaning “not two”, signifying non-duality. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
王处一 – Wáng Chùyī. His name meaning “dwelling in oneness”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
冰魄银针 – Bīngpò Yínzhēn. Li Mochou’s signature concealed weapon. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
杨康 – Yáng Kāng. His name meaning “health” or “peace”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
师姐 – shījiě. Female senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Jiě means older sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
桃花岛 – Táohuā Dǎo. Huang Yaoshi’s island stronghold, continued from LOCH era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
时辰 – shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours. Day was divided into twelve shichen, each named after one of the Earthly Branches. ↩

The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 5

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