Maiden in white.

Yang Guo gently pushed open the window and slipped into the room belonging to the two Daoists, Ji and Pi. On the kang¹ he saw two bundles. He picked one up and weighed it in his hand, inside were about twenty taels of silver. This will serve perfectly as travelling money, he thought, and tucked it into his robes. The other bundle was about four feet long, wrapped around two longswords. He drew them out one at a time, used heavy-handed force to snap both blades, returned them to their scabbards, and wrapped the bundle up again. Just as he was about to leave the room, a thought struck him. He loosened his trousers and took a great piss right into the two Daoists’ bedding.

He heard the sound of someone climbing the wall and knew that these two Daoists had only ordinary lightness skills, they could not leap the wall in a single bound, but had to first jump onto the top, then spring down to the ground. He immediately slipped back into his own room, quietly closing the door behind him. The two Daoists were completely unaware. Yang Guo pressed his ear to the wall and listened to what was happening next door.

He heard the two Daoists talking in low voices, apparently quite confident about the martial contest scheduled for the following day. As they undressed and climbed onto the kang, Pi Qingxuan suddenly cried out, “Ah! What is this wet thing in the bedding? Ah, what a stench! Brother Ji, are you so lazy that you pissed in the bed?” Ji Qingxu spat, “What piss?” Then he too shouted, “Where did some filthy cat come from to piss in here?” Pi Qingxuan said, “A cat’s piss could never be this much.” Ji Qingxu said, “Strange… ah, where is the silver?” Instantly the room was thrown into chaos as the two men searched everywhere for the bundle containing the money. Yang Guo laughed to himself. He heard Pi Qingxuan shouting loudly, “Innkeeper! Innkeeper! Are you running a bandits’ inn here? Stealing a guest’s silver in the dead of night?”

The two men shouted several times before the inn servant, still half-asleep, came to ask what was the matter. Pi Qingxuan seized him by the chest and accused him of running a bandits’ inn. The servant cried to heaven that he had been grievously wronged, and soon the commotion roused the innkeeper, the cook, the serving staff, and even the other guests, who all crowded over to watch the excitement. Yang Guo mingled with the crowd and saw the inn servant launch into an eloquent defence, his tongue nimble and his argument flowing in an unending torrent, reducing the two Daoists to speechless silence. This servant was by nature someone who loved to argue with others, even when nothing was happening he would try to provoke people, so now that someone had come looking for trouble, and he was entirely in the right, how could he hold back? He talked until spittle flew from his lips and his spirits rose ever higher. The two Daoists, shamed into fury, wanted to resort to violence, but remembering the strict rules of their order and that they were at the foot of Mount Zhongnan,² how could they dare act rashly? They could only swallow their anger in silence, shut the door, and go to sleep. The inn servant continued to grumble outside their room without end.

The next morning, Yang Guo rose and went to eat noodles. The talkative inn servant came over to wait on him, still muttering curses without pause. Yang Guo asked with a grin, “What happened with those two thieving Daoists?” The servant, immensely pleased with himself, said, “Those mother-fucking scoundrels, those two stinking Daoists wanted to eat for free and stay for free. On account of the Chongyang Palace,³ I might have let it pass, but then they had the nerve to accuse us of running a bandits’ inn. Before dawn today, those two thieving Daoists slipped away. Hah! I’m definitely going to report this at the Chongyang Palace. The Quanzhen order⁴ has thousands upon thousands of Daoist masters, every single one of them strictly observes the rules and precepts. But I’ve got those two thieving Daoists’ faces burned into my memory, and I will certainly identify them…” Yang Guo laughed inwardly. He stoked the fire a little more, paid for his room and meal, asked for directions to Jackal-Wolf Valley, and set off on his way.

In the blink of an eye he had travelled over thirty li,⁵ and Jackal-Wolf Valley was no longer far. He saw that it was still only early morning. Yang Guo thought to himself, I’ll hide off to one side and watch how Gugu deals with those villains. Best if Gugu doesn’t recognise me first. He recalled how he had disguised himself as a farm boy to toy with Hong Lingbo that day, and the memory pleased him greatly. There was no harm in trying the same trick again. He went to the back courtyard of a farmhouse, poked his head in to look around, and saw a great bull in the cattle pen, full of vigour, lowering its head and thrusting its horns as it rammed furiously against the wooden fence with booming thuds. An idea stirred in Yang Guo’s mind. I’ll dress up as a cowherd. When Gugu sees me at first glance, she definitely won’t recognise me.

He slipped quietly into the farmhouse. Inside, only two small children sat on the ground playing with mud. They were too frightened to make a sound when they saw him. He found a set of farming clothes, put them on, slipped into straw sandals, grabbed a handful of earth, rubbed it evenly over his face, and approached the cattle pen. On the wall hung a bamboo hat and a short flute, exactly the things a cowherd would use. Delighted, he put on the hat, tied a straw rope around his waist, tucked the flute into the rope, then opened the pen gate. The bull, already snorting with rage at his approach, burst out the moment the gate swung open and charged straight at him.

Yang Guo pressed his left palm against the bull’s head and vaulted onto its back. The bull was tall and heavily muscled, weighing a full seven hundred jin⁶ or more, with long hair and sharp horns, a truly imposing beast. In the blink of an eye it had charged onto the main road. It was in heat and exceptionally irritable, leaping and bucking with all its might, trying to throw Yang Guo off its back. Yang Guo sat firmly in place, extremely pleased with himself. He laughed and scolded, “If you don’t behave, you’ll be in for some suffering.” He raised his palm and struck the bull on the shoulder with the edge of his hand. He used only twenty per cent of his internal power, yet the bull was already in such pain it could barely endure it, bellowing loudly. Just as it was about to leap up in fury, Yang Guo struck down with another palm. After more than ten such blows, the bull finally dared not resist any longer. Yang Guo further discovered that if he poked it on the left side of the neck, it turned right, if he poked the right side, it turned left. A poke at the rear made it advance, and a poke at the forehead made it retreat. He could direct it as he pleased.

Overjoyed, Yang Guo jabbed his finger hard into the bull’s rump. The bull charged forward, astonishingly swift, almost like a galloping horse. Before long it passed through a dense forest and arrived at a valley ringed on all sides by towering mountain walls, exactly as the inn servant had described. He jumped off the bull’s back, let it graze on the hillside, held the tether rope in his hand, and lay down on the ground pretending to sleep.

The red sun slowly climbed to the centre of the sky. Yang Guo’s heart grew more and more agitated, fearing that Xiaolongnü would ignore the other party’s appointment and not come at all. All around was utter silence, broken only by the occasional bellow of the bull. Suddenly, someone clapped hands at the mouth of the valley, and then the sound of answering claps came from behind the mountain to the south. Yang Guo lay on the slope, one muddy leg propped up on his knee, the bamboo hat covering more than half his face, leaving only his right eye exposed.

After a while, three Daoists entered the valley. Two of them were Ji Qingxu and Pi Qingxuan, whom he had seen at the inn the day before. The third was about forty years of age and very short in stature, presumably that so-called “Uncle-Master Shen”. Yang Guo studied his features and vaguely recalled having seen him at the Chongyang Palace. Then two more people came running from behind the mountain. One was stocky and powerfully built. The other had an aged face and a full head of white hair. Both were dressed as beggars, clearly the two men from the Beggars’ Guild,⁷ Han and Chen. The five men approached one another, exchanged wordless salutes, and formed a line facing west.

Just then, the faint sound of hoofbeats came from beyond the valley mouth. The five men exchanged glances and all fixed their eyes on the entrance. The hoofbeats grew nearer, a delicate, rapid rhythm, and at the valley mouth a contrast of black and white appeared: a black donkey carrying a maiden dressed all in white came racing in. From a distance, Yang Guo’s heart seized. It is not Gugu! Could it be another of their allies? He watched as the maiden reined in her black donkey a few dozen feet from the five men and swept a cold gaze over each of them, her face filled with utter disdain, as though she considered them beneath the dignity of speech.

Ji Qingxu called out, “Little girl, I wouldn’t have guessed you’d actually have the nerve to come. Call out your helpers.” The maiden gave a cold laugh. With a shua, she drew from her waist a slender, thin curved blade, like a crescent moon, its silver light dazzling the eye. Ji Qingxu said, “There are only the five of us here. Whenever your helpers arrive, we are not inclined to wait forever.” The maiden raised her blade and said, “This is my helper.” The blade sliced through the air with a humming ring.

At these words, all six people were startled. The five were startled that a lone girl would be so bold as to come without even a single ally, daring to challenge five skilled fighters of the jianghu. But Yang Guo was stricken with crushing disappointment and grief. He had come here fully expecting to meet Xiaolongnü. Who could have imagined that the so-called “beautiful maiden in white” was someone else entirely? Suddenly a surge of rebellious energy rushed up his chest, and unable to control himself, he burst out crying at the top of his lungs.

His crying startled the six as well, but when they saw it was only a cowherd boy leading an ox to graze on the hillside, they paid him no mind, assuming some country child had suffered some grievance and was weeping. Ji Qingxu pointed to the man surnamed Han and said, “This is Hero Han of the Beggars’ Guild.” Pointing to the man surnamed Chen, he said, “This is Hero Chen of the Beggars’ Guild.” Then he pointed to “Uncle-Master Shen” and said, “This is our Uncle-Master, Daoist Shen Zhifan, whom you have met before.” The maiden paid them no attention whatsoever, her cold gaze sweeping back and forth across their five faces as if they were not even there.

Shen Zhifan said, “Since you have come alone, we cannot fight you. We give you ten days’ grace. After ten days, bring four more helpers and meet us here.” The maiden said, “I already told you I have a helper. To deal with a bunch of wine-sacks and rice-bags like you, why would I need to bring anyone else?” Shen Zhifan said angrily, “You little girl, your arrogance is truly beyond belief…” He was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, but in the end he suppressed his rage and asked, “Are you from the Ancient Tomb Sect⁸ or not?” The maiden said, “What if I am? What if I’m not? You stinking old Daoist, do you dare to fight me or not?” Shen Zhifan saw that she was alone yet utterly fearless, and concluded that she must have skilled fighters lying in ambush nearby. Li Mochou⁹ of the Ancient Tomb Sect was not someone to be trifled with. He said, “Young lady, I would like to ask, you injured members of our sect without any cause. What exactly is the reason? If the fault lies with us, this humble Daoist will go to your master to offer apologies. But if you cannot give a reason, then do not blame us for being discourteous.”

The maiden laughed coldly. “Naturally it was because those two stinking Daoists of yours were discourteous that I taught them a lesson. Otherwise, with all the mangy-haired priests under heaven, why would I single out the two of them to cut off their ears?” The more Shen Zhifan saw her brazen confidence, the more uncertain and suspicious he became. The old beggar surnamed Chen, though advanced in years, had a fiery temper. He stepped forward and barked, “Little girl, you’re speaking to your seniors, why haven’t you dismounted from that donkey yet?” Even as he spoke, his body blurred and he closed in before the black donkey, reaching out to grab her right arm. This strike was lightning-fast, and the maiden could not dodge in time. He seized her immediately. With her right hand holding the blade and her right arm now caught, she had no way to swing her weapon in defence.

But then, with a flash of cold light, the maiden twisted her arm and brought the curved blade hacking down. The beggar surnamed Chen was horrified and hurriedly released his grip. He had reacted swiftly enough and changed his move with lightning speed, but two of his fingers had still been slashed by the blade’s edge. He leapt back, drew his broadsword, and bellowed, “You filthy little slut, are you truly tired of living?” The beggar surnamed Han took a pair of chain-hammers from his waist, while Shen Zhifan unsheathed his longsword. Ji Qingxu and Pi Qingxuan also gripped their sword hilts and drew their blades from their scabbards, only to feel something wrong with the weight. Both men let out simultaneous startled cries. They looked down and saw that each was holding only half a broken sword.

When the maiden saw the two Daoists’ flustered and awkward expressions, she could not help but let out a puchi of laughter. Yang Guo, who had been steeped in sorrow, heard her laugh and saw the two Daoists’ bizarre predicament. He too could not help bursting into laughter through his tears. The maiden bent forward and with a shua brought her blade slicing toward Pi Qingxuan’s head. Pi Qingxuan ducked hurriedly, but who could have known that her stroke was not yet spent, with a slight flick of her wrist, the blade curved in midair and finally cut across Pi Qingxuan’s right forehead, blood immediately streaming forth. This move was extraordinarily ingenious, its landing point utterly unpredictable and unfathomable, a classic technique of the Ancient Tomb Sect. The other four, both shocked and enraged, surrounded her black donkey in a tight circle. The two Daoists, Ji and Pi, hung back, each clutching half a broken sword, they could not bear to throw the fragments away, yet they were useless to hold. They had no idea what to do.

The maiden let out a clear whistle, pulled the reins with her left hand, and her black donkey suddenly bounded several dozen feet forward. The two beggars, Han and Chen, immediately gave chase, their blade and hammers raised as they attacked. Shen Zhifan followed close behind, deploying the Quanzhen swordplay,¹⁰ every thrust aimed at a vital point. Yang Guo observed that although his swordplay was fierce, it fell far short of Zhen Zhibing or Zhao Zhijing, he was clearly a third- or fourth-rate figure among the “Zhi” generation.

His mind now somewhat settled, Yang Guo took a closer look at the maiden’s features. She had an oval face, rather pretty, and seemed a year or two younger than himself. No wonder the inn servant had not believed that this “beautiful maiden in white” was his elder sister. She too wore white clothing, but her complexion had a faint yellowish tint, entirely different from Xiaolongnü’s snow-white purity. Her blade work was light and flowing, but for the most part followed the path of swordsmanship, more thrusting and slicing than hacking and chopping. After watching only a few moves, Yang Guo thought, She is indeed using our sect’s martial arts. Could she be another disciple of Li Mochou? He reflected that neither side were good people, it did not matter who won or lost, and added to himself, And what gives you the right to call yourself a “beautiful maiden in white”? White, well, your clothes are white enough. Maiden, yes, you are a maiden. But “beautiful” is pure dogshit. You are not even fit to be my Gugu’s serving maid. He bent his arm to pillow his head, lay on his back, and watched the fight from the corner of his eye.

For the first dozen or so moves, the young girl did not seem to be at a disadvantage. Mounted on the donkey’s back, she held the high ground, and wherever her curved blade swung, the five men were forced to leap and dodge. After another dozen exchanges, Ji Qingxu, seeing that the half-sword in his hand was truly useless, had an idea. He called out, “Brother Pi, follow me!” He ran toward a nearby thicket, selected a slender young tree, cut it down at the root with his broken sword, and trimmed off the branches and leaves, producing a staff. Pi Qingxuan did the same. The two Daoists attacked from both flanks, thrusting their staves at the black donkey.

The young girl snapped, “Shameless!” She swung her blade to deflect both staves. But with her attention divided, the beggar surnamed Han’s chain-hammer and Shen Zhifan’s longsword arrived simultaneously, one from the front, one from behind. The girl was forced to use a desperate move, she ducked her head and twisted sideways, the iron hammer sweeping past her face with a gust of force. Clang!, her curved blade met the longsword. At that very moment, the black donkey let out a long, pained bray and reared up on its forelegs. Ji Qingxu had already stabbed it with his staff. The beggar surnamed Chen rolled on the ground, executing his Ground-Sweeping Saber Technique,¹¹ and landed a heavy blow with the back of his blade on the donkey’s leg. The black donkey immediately collapsed to its knees. With this, the young girl could no longer fight from the donkey’s back. Seeing sword and hammer closing in, she immediately launched herself into the air, seized Pi Qingxuan’s staff with her left hand, and snapped it in two with a twist of force. She landed on both feet, swept her blade across, and parried a slash from the beggar surnamed Chen. Yang Guo was startled. What? She’s already wounded?

For the young girl’s left foot was slightly lame, and she was clearly unsteady when leaping and landing. The reason she had been unwilling to dismount was obviously because of this. Yang Guo’s chivalrous heart was stirred. He was about to intervene, but then reconsidered: Gugu and I were living together peacefully in the ancient tomb, until that wicked woman Li Mochou came and caused all this chaos. And this girl is impersonating my Gugu, demanding to be called “beautiful maiden in white”, she deceived me bitterly. How shameless! He turned his head away and refused to watch.

But the clanging of weapons rang unceasingly in his ears, and at last his curiosity could not be restrained. He turned back again and saw that the battle had shifted. The young girl was dodging east and evading west, now parrying far more than she attacked. Suddenly the beggar surnamed Han hurled his iron hammer. The girl tilted her head to evade it, and at that exact moment Shen Zhifan’s longsword sliced in. With a light ding, it severed one of the silver bands binding her hair, and half her tresses came cascading down. The young girl’s fine brows rose, her lips moved, and her face instantly became as if coated in a layer of harsh frost. She struck back with a counter-slash.

Seeing the anger in her raised brows and moving lips, Yang Guo felt a violent jolt in his heart. That is exactly the expression Gugu wears when she is angry with me. And because of that one flash of anger from the young girl, Yang Guo immediately resolved to help. He picked up seven or eight small pebbles and tucked them into his robes. He watched as she struggled to fend off attacks from both sides, her situation already quite desperate. Shen Zhifan shouted, “What exactly is your relationship with the Scarlet Serpent Fairy Li Mochou? If you do not tell the truth, do not blame us for being merciless!” The young girl’s curved blade swept back and suddenly hooked toward the back of his skull. Shen Zhifan had not anticipated this sudden ambush and could not block in time. The beggar surnamed Chen cried urgently, “Watch out!” Ji Qingxu swung his staff with all his might against the back of the curved blade, barely saving Shen Zhifan’s life.

The five men, seeing how vicious her moves were, redoubled their ferocity. In an instant, the young girl faced danger after danger. Shen Zhifan reasoned that this girl must have some connection to Li Mochou, and that killing her would bring endless trouble. But since the Quanzhen Sect had already clashed with Li Mochou in Shanxi, he need not fear his martial uncles’ reproach. Seeing that she clearly had no reinforcements, he might as well kill her to silence her, and so every stroke was aimed at her vital points.

Seeing that she was in mortal peril, Yang Guo could delay no longer. He pulled the bull’s head around to face the six combatants, flipped onto its back, then immediately slipped beneath its belly, hooked both feet over its spine, and jabbed his finger into the bull’s rump. The bull charged straight at the six people on all four hooves.

The six were locked in fierce combat when they suddenly saw a mad bull bearing down on them. All were startled and scattered in all directions to evade it.

Yang Guo, crouched beneath the bull’s belly, took aim at the five men’s back acupoints¹² and flung his pebbles one by one. Some struck the “Hunmen” point,¹³ others the “Shentang” point.¹⁴ There was a clatter of weapons and a chorus of pained cries as all five men felt their arms go numb and their weapons drop from their hands. Yang Guo had already driven the bull back up the hillside. He rolled out from beneath its belly and began shouting at the top of his lungs, “Aiya! The big bull has gone mad! This is terrible, terrible!”

Shen Zhifan’s acupoints had been sealed, his weapon knocked from his hand, and he had not even seen who had struck. He assumed it was the work of the young girl’s hidden ally, and that this person’s martial skill was unfathomably high. How could he dare to linger? Fortunately his legs could still move, so he broke into a run. To his credit, he still had a sense of loyalty, and called out, “Brother Chen, Brother Han, let us go!” The others, without pausing to think, all fled as well. Pi Qingxuan, in his panic, lost all sense of direction and actually ran toward the young girl. Ji Qingxu shouted, “Brother Pi, over here!”

Pi Qingxuan was about to turn when the young girl closed in and brought her curved blade chopping down. Pi Qingxuan was horrified, and with no weapon in his hand, he hurriedly twisted aside to evade. But who could have known that her curved blade, appearing to strike east yet landing west, seeming to go high yet coming low, with a flash of cold light, it was already at his face. In desperation, Pi Qingxuan raised his hand to block. Cha! The curved blade sliced off three of his fingers. He had not yet even felt the pain as he turned and fled for his life.

The beggar surnamed Han had fled a dozen paces when he saw that Lu Wushuang was no longer pursuing. He thought to himself, That girl has a lame foot, how could she possibly catch me? Thinking of her lameness, he could not help glancing at her left leg, then turned to run again. Little did he know that this very glance had struck the young girl’s sorest point. Her fury erupted beyond all control. She screamed, “You thieving beggar, you think I cannot catch you?” She whirled her curved blade several times, then with a hu hurled it through the air. The blade flashed silver in the sunlight and, with a pu, buried itself in the beggar surnamed Han’s left shoulder. The man staggered, the blade still embedded in his shoulder, and fled at a mad run. In moments, all five had vanished into the forest.

The young girl laughed coldly a few times, then thought with suspicion: Could someone be lying in ambush nearby? And why would he help me? She was somewhat regretful at losing her accustomed Silver Arc Blade, which the beggar surnamed Han had carried off with him. She picked up the broadsword that the beggar surnamed Chen had dropped, gripped it in her hand, and hurried to search the surrounding woods. All was perfectly silent, without a trace of anyone. She returned to the valley. There she saw Yang Guo sitting on the ground with a mournful face, wailing to heaven and earth about his misfortunes.

The young girl asked, “Hey, cowherd boy, what are you complaining about?” Yang Guo said, “This ox suddenly went mad and scraped off so much of its hide. When I go back, the master will beat me to death for sure.” The young girl looked at the bull, its coat was glossy and smooth, with no visible damage at all. She said, “Fine. Your ox helped me out, after all. Here’s a silver ingot for you.” She took a three-tael silver ingot from her robes and tossed it on the ground. She expected Yang Guo to be overjoyed and effusively grateful, but instead he remained sullen, shaking his head without picking up the silver. The young girl said, “What’s wrong with you? Fool, this is silver.” Yang Guo said, “One ingot is not enough.” The young girl took out another ingot and threw it down. Yang Guo, meaning to tease her, shook his head again.

The young girl grew annoyed. Her fine brows rose, her face darkened, and she snapped, “There’s no more, fool!” She turned to leave. Seeing her angry expression, Yang Guo could not help but feel hot blood surge in his chest and a stinging in his eyes, reminded of the way Xiaolongnü usually scolded him. His resolve was set. If I cannot find Gugu for a while, I shall simply gaze upon this girl’s angry face instead. He reached out and grabbed her right leg, crying, “You can’t leave!” The young girl struggled with all her might, but he held on fast and she could not break free. She grew even angrier and shouted, “Let go! Why are you clinging to me?” Yang Guo, seeing her rage building, grew all the more delighted. He cried, “I can’t go home! Save me!” And then he began yelling, “Help! Help!”

The young girl was both exasperated and amused. She raised her blade and threatened, “If you don’t let go, I’ll hack you to death.” Yang Guo held on even tighter. Pretending to cry, he said, “Go ahead and hack me to death. I won’t survive if I go home anyway.” The young girl said, “What do you want?” Yang Guo said, “I don’t know. I’ll follow you.” The young girl thought, For no good reason, I’ve got this fool clinging to me like a pest. She raised her blade and hacked down. Yang Guo had assumed she would not really strike, and kept holding her calf without letting go. But who could have known that this young girl struck viciously, the blade was truly aimed at the top of his head. Though she did not intend to take his life, she meant to cut his scalp and make him suffer, so that he would not dare pester her further. Yang Guo saw the blade coming straight down. He waited until the edge was mere inches from his head, then rolled aside to evade it, shouting, “Murder! Murder!”

The young girl grew even angrier. She closed in and slashed again. Yang Guo lay sideways on the ground, kicking wildly with both feet, shouting, “I’m dead! I’m dead!” His two mud-caked feet flailed about in the most unsightly manner imaginable, yet several times the young girl nearly had her wrist kicked and could never land a blow. Yang Guo watched the fury on her face, this was exactly the expression of anger he longed to see. He could not help staring at her in a daze. The young girl, seeing his strange expression, barked, “Get up!” Yang Guo said, “Will you kill me or not?” The young girl said, “Fine, I won’t kill you.” Yang Guo slowly got to his feet, gasping loudly for breath. Secretly he circulated his energy to constrict his blood flow, and instantly his face turned deathly pale, utterly bloodless, as though he had been scared out of his wits.

The young girl felt satisfied. “Pei!” she spat. “Let’s see if you dare pester me again.” She raised her blade and pointed at Pi Qingxuan’s severed fingers lying on the slope. “Those men were fierce as demons, and I still cut off their claws.” Yang Guo put on an expression of utter terror and cringed repeatedly. The young girl thrust the broadsword into her belt and turned to look for the black donkey, but the donkey had long since fled to who knows where. She had no choice but to walk.

Yang Guo picked up the silver, tucked it into his robes, and followed behind her, leading the ox by its rope. He called, “Gugu, take me with you.” The young girl paid him no attention. She quickened her pace and soon left him far behind, out of sight. But no sooner had she paused to rest than she saw him come running from afar, leading the bull and calling, “Take me with you! Take me with you!” The young girl frowned, then used her lightness skill to race several li in one breath, certain he could never catch up. But before long, she faintly heard the cry of “Take me with you!” once more. The young girl’s anger surged. She turned and charged back, drawing her broadsword and raising it high. Yang Guo cried, “Aiyo!” He fled, clutching his head. The young girl only wanted him to stop following, so she let it go and turned to walk again.

After walking a while, she heard a bovine bellow behind her. She turned her head and saw Yang Guo leading the bull, following far in the distance, about thirty or forty paces behind. The young girl stopped and waited for him to approach. But when Yang Guo saw that she had stopped, he stopped too. If she moved forward, he followed, if she turned around and charged at him with her blade raised, he turned tail and fled. This pursuit-and-pause continued until the sky darkened, yet the young girl still could not shake off his pestering. She saw that though this little cowherd seemed utterly foolish, his footwork was exceptionally quick, presumably from years of running in the mountains. Whenever she tried to catch up and knock him unconscious or slash his legs, he always escaped by the skin of his teeth, tumbling and crawling away in the most hair-raising fashion. The young girl noted that each time he escaped by a margin of no more than a hair’s breadth, and thought to herself that this fellow’s luck was remarkably good, without suspecting anything else.

After several more rounds of this, the young girl’s lame left foot was growing weary from walking so long. She thought of a plan. She called out loudly, “Fine, I’ll take you with me. But you have to do as I say.” Yang Guo said happily, “You really will take me?” The young girl said, “Yes, why would I lie to you? I’m tired from walking. You get on the ox, and let me ride too.” Yang Guo led the bull over quickly. In the dim twilight he saw a glint in her eyes and knew she was up to no good. Clumsily and awkwardly he scrambled onto the bull’s back. The young girl touched down with her right foot and sprang up lightly, settling in front of Yang Guo. She thought, My donkey has run off, riding this bull isn’t bad at all. She kicked the bull hard in the ribs with the tip of her foot. The bull felt the pain and broke into a gallop. The young girl smiled coldly to herself, then suddenly drove her elbow backward with force, striking Yang Guo squarely in the chest. Yang Guo cried “Aiyo!” He tumbled head over heels off the bull’s back.

The young girl was immensely pleased with herself. No matter how shameless you are, this time you’ve fallen for my trick. She jabbed her finger into the bull’s ribs and the beast ran even faster. But then she heard Yang Guo still shouting at the top of his lungs, and the voice was right behind her. She turned her head and saw him clinging tightly to the bull’s tail with both hands, his feet lifted off the ground, being dragged through the air by the galloping bull, his face covered in mud and his nose running with tears and snot, an indescribably wretched sight. Yet he would not release that tail. The young girl was at her wits’ end. She raised her broadsword, about to hack at his hands, when she suddenly heard the clamour of voices, the bull had charged into a market town. The crowd was dense and the bull had nowhere to go, so it stopped.

Yang Guo had loved teasing people since childhood and had always had a roguish streak in his nature. After entering the ancient tomb, with Xiaolongnü’s serious and strict discipline, he had not dared show the slightest recklessness. It had been bottled up for a long time. Now, with Xiaolongnü gone and his heart full of grief and bitterness, he amused himself by teasing this young girl, using it to vent his pent-up frustration, and at the same time taking comfort in watching her angry expressions, as though he were seeing his Gugu. He lay on the ground shouting, “My chest hurts so much! You’ve beaten me to death!” The people in the marketplace crowded around, asking what had happened.

The young girl tried to slip through the crowd and escape, but Yang Guo crawled across the ground and grabbed her right leg again, shouting, “Don’t go, don’t go!” Someone asked, “What is this? What are you arguing about?” Yang Guo, remembering how Xiaolongnü had asked him whether he wanted her as his wife, cried out, “She’s my wife! My wife doesn’t want me and beats me!” The man said, “A wife beating her husband, what kind of world is this?” The young girl’s willow-leaf brows stood on end. She kicked out with her left foot. Yang Guo shoved a burly man beside him into the path of the kick, which landed squarely in the man’s waist. The man was furious. “You little slut, kicking people?” he roared, raising a fist the size of a vinegar jar to strike. The young girl caught his elbow and pushed, borrowing his force to send him flying. The two-hundred-jin man soared through the air, howling, and crashed into the crowd, crushing people beneath him as they shouted and scrambled in chaos.

The young girl tried desperately to shake off Yang Guo, but he clung to her leg as if his life depended on it, how could she break free? She saw another five or six men closing in to cause trouble, so she had no choice but to lower her head and say, “Fine, I’ll take you with me. Just let go.” Yang Guo said, “Will you still beat me?” The young girl said, “Fine, I won’t!” Only then did Yang Guo release his grip and scramble to his feet. The two of them slipped through the crowd and fled the marketplace, with a din of shouting behind them. Even in the midst of all the chaos, Yang Guo had still managed to keep hold of the ox.

Yang Guo said with a grin, “Everyone says a wife shouldn’t beat her husband.” The young girl said viciously, “You dead fool, if you spout any more nonsense about me being your wife or whatever, see if I don’t hack your stupid head right off.” She raised her blade for emphasis. Yang Guo clutched his head and dodged a few steps away, pleading, “Fine, young lady, I won’t say it anymore.” The young girl spat, “Look at your filthy appearance, even the ugliest freak wouldn’t marry a fool like you.” Yang Guo giggled foolishly and said nothing.

By now the sky had darkened. The two stood in the open wilderness, gazing at tendrils of cooking smoke rising from the distant marketplace. Both felt hunger gnawing at their stomachs. The young girl said, “Fool, go into town and buy ten steamed buns.” Yang Guo shook his head. “I’m not going.” The young girl’s face darkened. “Why not?” Yang Guo said, “Of course I’m not going! You just want to trick me into buying buns so you can sneak away.” The young girl said, “I said I wouldn’t sneak away.” Yang Guo just shook his head. The young girl clenched her fist to hit him, but he darted away again. The two of them chased each other around the great bull like children playing hide-and-seek. The young girl’s lame foot made walking difficult, and though she had lightness skills, she saw this boy tumbling and scrambling, shouting and yelling, and could never catch him.

She was furious beyond measure. Here she was, possessing a full set of martial skills and known for her cleverness and cunning, yet utterly helpless against this filthy, stinking country fool. It was the height of incompetence. The truth was that Yang Guo’s wretched act was simply too convincing, otherwise, after failing to kill this little fool several times over, she would have grown suspicious long ago. She walked south along the main road, and seeing Yang Guo following from afar with his ox, she calculated how to kill him when he least expected it. After walking for the time it takes to eat a meal, the sky grew even darker. She saw a dilapidated temple by the roadside that seemed uninhabited. Tonight I’ll sleep here. When that fool falls asleep in the middle of the night, I’ll hack him to death with one stroke. She pushed open the temple door and entered. Dust assaulted her nostrils. The divine statues inside were broken and decayed, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time. She cut some grass, wiped the altar table clean, lay down on it, and closed her eyes to rest.

She saw that Yang Guo had not followed her in. She called, “Fool! Fool!” No answer came. She wondered, Could that fool have known I was going to kill him and run away? Though she told herself she did not care, she felt a faint loneliness. After a long while, just as she was drifting hazily toward sleep, the aroma of roasting meat suddenly filled her nostrils. She leapt up and went to the door. There she saw Yang Guo sitting beneath the moonlight, a large chunk of meat in his hand, chewing away with great relish. Before him blazed a fire, and over the fire, game meat hung roasting on a rack of branches, its fragrance wafting toward her in waves.

When Yang Guo saw her come out, he grinned and said, “Want some?” He tossed her a fragrant roasted leg of meat. The young girl caught it, it seemed to be the leg of a river deer. Her stomach was empty, so she tore off a piece and ate. Though there was no salt, the taste was still rather good. She sat down near the fire and ate with dainty refinement, tearing the meat into small shreds before chewing them slowly. But when she saw Yang Guo eating with spit flying everywhere, smacking his lips noisily, she could not help feeling disgusted. She wanted to stop eating, but her stomach was still hungry, so she could only turn her head away and not look at him.

When she finished one piece, Yang Guo handed her another. The young girl said, “Fool, what is your name?” Yang Guo said blankly, “Are you a fairy or something? How did you know my name is Fool?” The young girl was amused. She laughed and said, “Ha, so you really are called Fool. What about your father and mother?” Yang Guo said, “They’re all dead. What is your name?” The young girl said, “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” Yang Guo thought, You won’t tell me, let me provoke you into it. He said smugly, “I know, you’re called Fool too, so you won’t say.” The young girl flew into a rage. She sprang up and brought her fist crashing down on his head. “Who says I’m called Fool? You’re the fool!” Yang Guo, with a mournful face, clutched his head and said, “When people ask me my name, and I say I don’t know, they call me Fool. You said you don’t know too, so naturally you’re Fool as well.” The young girl said, “Who said I don’t know? I just don’t feel like telling you. My surname is Lu. Do you understand?”

This young girl was none other than Lu Wushuang,¹⁵ the little girl who had been picking lotus flowers on South Lake in Jiaxing¹⁶ that day. She had broken her leg while picking trumpet creeper flowers with her cousin Cheng Ying¹⁷ and the Wu brothers.¹⁸ Wu Sanniang¹⁹ had set the broken bone for her, but just at that moment Hong Lingbo²⁰ came attacking on her master’s orders, and as a result the bone was not set perfectly. After the injury healed, her left leg was about an inch shorter, giving her a slight limp when she walked. Her complexion was not particularly fair, but her features were delicate, and as she grew older she became even more lovely. Only her lame foot remained a source of lasting bitterness.

That day, Li Mochou had killed her parents and their servants and taken her to her residence at Crimson Cloud Manor.²¹ She had originally intended to kill her as well, but when she saw the embroidered kerchief around Lu Wushuang’s neck, she remembered her past feelings for Lu Wushuang’s uncle, Lu Zhanyuan,²² and could not bring herself to strike. Lu Wushuang was bright and quick-witted. She knew that her life hung by a thread in the hands of this demoness, and that since the demoness came and went like the wind, escape was utterly impossible. So from the very start, she went out of her way to be agreeable, fawning and pleasing in every way, until the Scarlet Serpent Fairy, who killed without blinking, gradually lost her desire to kill the girl. Sometimes when Li Mochou remembered the old grievances, she would torment Lu Wushuang, but Lu Wushuang deliberately kept herself dishevelled and filthy, limping along, enduring everything with submission. Li Mochou was not evil by nature. Having grown accustomed to the girl’s presence, and with no major cause arising, she no longer thought of killing her. Lu Wushuang stooped to compromise, it was remarkable that a little girl could survive under the wing of such a great demoness.

She buried the hatred for her parents deep in her heart and never let it show. When Li Mochou asked about her parents, she always pretended she could not remember. Whenever Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo practised martial arts, she would wait upon them attentively, handing them swords and towels, pouring tea and serving fruit with the utmost diligence. She already had some foundation in martial arts, so she secretly memorised what she saw when the two trained, and when Li and Hong went out, she would practise in secret. She was especially careful to curry favour with Hong Lingbo. Later, when Li Mochou was in a particularly good mood, Hong Lingbo interceded on Lu Wushuang’s behalf, and she was accepted as a disciple.

Thus several years passed. Lu Wushuang’s martial skills improved daily, but Li Mochou always harboured suspicions about her, and would not teach her the highest-level skills, nor even the second-tier techniques. It was Hong Lingbo who, taking pity on her, often gave her pointers in secret. Thus her skill was neither truly high nor truly low. That day, Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo, master and disciple, had gone one after the other to the Tomb of the Living Dead²³ to steal the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.²⁴ Seeing that they had not returned for a long time, Lu Wushuang resolved to escape Crimson Cloud Manor and return to Jiangnan²⁵ to discover whether her parents were alive or dead. Though she had seen her parents gravely wounded by Li Mochou as a child and feared the worst, she had never witnessed their deaths with her own eyes, and still clung to a thread of hope. She was determined to get to the bottom of it. Before leaving, she thought, In for a penny, in for a pound, and stole Li Mochou’s copy of the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms,²⁶ a handwritten volume recording the properties and preparation methods of various poisons and their antidotes.

Her lame left foot was her sorest point, and she hated it when anyone stared at her limp. That day at the inn, when two Daoists had looked at her crippled foot a few times too many, she had immediately rebuked them. The two Daoists had equally foul tempers, and after a few words, they came to blows. She had used her curved blade to slice off the two Daoists’ ears, which led to the appointment at Jackal-Wolf Valley. The day Li Mochou had taken her north, she had seen Yang Guo once at the kiln entrance, but both were young at the time, and their appearances had changed over the years. A brief encounter several years ago, naturally neither could recognise the other now.

After eating two pieces of roast meat, Lu Wushuang was full. Yang Guo, however, studied her face by the firelight and thought to himself, Where is my Gugu right now? If this girl before me were Gugu, and I were roasting deer leg for her to eat, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Lost in thought, he stared at her as if in a trance. Lu Wushuang snorted to herself, You dare stare at me so rudely. I’ll endure it for now. In the middle of the night, I’ll kill you. She went back into the ruined temple and lay down to sleep.

In the middle of the night, she crept up and went outside the temple. By the fire pit, Yang Guo lay motionless, fast asleep, the fire long since extinguished. She tiptoed behind him, raised her blade, and brought it chopping down toward his back. But suddenly her wrist shook and her thumb joint was struck by a jarring pain, she instantly lost her grip. With a clang, the broadsword fell from her hand. The spot where the blade had struck felt as hard as iron or stone. She was badly startled and immediately turned to flee, thinking, Could this fool have trained his entire body to be invulnerable to blades? She ran several dozen feet and saw that Yang Guo was not chasing her. She turned to look and saw that he was still lying motionless by the fire.

Lu Wushuang’s suspicions grew. She called, “Fool! Fool! I have something to tell you.” Yang Guo did not answer. She focused her gaze and looked carefully. Yang Guo’s form seemed to have shrunk into a ball, something was strange about it. Gathering her courage, she approached and saw that he did not even look human. She reached out and touched him, beneath the clothes was something hard, like a great rock. She grabbed the clothes and lifted, beneath them was indeed a rock. Where was Yang Guo?

She froze for a moment, then called, “Fool! Fool!” No answer came. She listened carefully and seemed to hear the sound of snoring coming from the ruined temple. Following the sound, she found Yang Guo sleeping on the very altar table where she herself had been lying, his back facing outward, snoring thunderously, deep in slumber. In her fury, Lu Wushuang did not stop to wonder how he had suddenly ended up on the altar table. She lunged forward and drove the tip of her blade toward his back. The blade sank in, but there was no sensation of flesh at all. She heard Yang Guo snore a few times, then murmur in his sleep, “Who’s tickling my back? Hee hee, stop it, stop it, I’m ticklish.”

Lu Wushuang’s face went white with terror. Her hands trembled. Could this person be a ghost or a demon? She turned to flee, but for a moment her legs would not obey. She heard him mumble again, “My back is so itchy. Must be a little mouse trying to steal my deer meat.” He reached behind his back and pulled out half a slab of river deer meat from under his clothes. Slap! He threw it to the ground. Lu Wushuang let out a long breath. Only then did she understand: So the fool had put deer meat on his back. The blade stabbed into the meat just now, gave me a scare for nothing.

Having failed twice, her hatred for Yang Guo only deepened. She ground her teeth and whispered, “Stinking fool, let’s see if I don’t take your miserable little life this time.” She darted forward and raised her blade to hack down viciously at his back. Yang Guo, in the midst of his rumbling snores, turned over. Thwack! The blade struck the table, sinking deep into the wood.

Lu Wushuang put strength into her hand, meaning to pull the blade out, but just then Yang Guo was having some nightmare and cried out, “Mama! Mama! A little mouse is biting me!” His two muddy legs shot out, his left leg landed on Lu Wushuang’s “Quchi” acupoint²⁷ in the crook of her arm, and his right leg landed on her “Jianjing” acupoint²⁸ at her shoulder. Both were major acupoints of the human body. His two muddy legs had come crashing down and, by sheer coincidence, struck precisely these two points. Lu Wushuang was instantly immobilised. She stood frozen, her body serving as a rack for his legs.

She was furious beyond words. Though her body could not move, her mouth could still speak. She shouted, “Hey, fool! Get your stinking feet off me!” His snoring only grew louder. She did not know what to do. In her rage and frustration, she spat at him. Yang Guo turned over again, and the tip of his right foot swept past casually, brushing lightly against her “Jugu” acupoint.²⁹ Lu Wushuang immediately felt numbness and weakness spread through her entire body, she could not even open her mouth. All she could smell was the stench of his feet assaulting her nostrils.

She endured this for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, so furious she nearly fainted. In her heart she swore a bitter oath: Tomorrow, when my acupoints are freed, I will hack this fool seventeen or eighteen times. After a while longer, Yang Guo decided he had toyed with her enough. He withdrew his legs and turned around. Even in the darkness, he could clearly see the anger on her face. The angrier she grew, the more she seemed to resemble Xiaolongnü. Yang Guo stared at her in a daze, how could he bear to close his eyes? In truth, Lu Wushuang’s looks were far inferior to Xiaolongnü’s, but the expressions of anger on a woman’s face are not so different from one to the next. Yang Guo, missing his master with desperate intensity, and with nothing else to occupy him, gazed at Lu Wushuang’s furious expression and imagined he could vaguely see Xiaolongnü in it. It was the longing of one who draws a picture of a cake to satisfy hunger, who stares at a plum to quench thirst.

After a while, the moonlight slanted westward and streamed in through the main door. Lu Wushuang saw that Yang Guo’s eyes were open and that he was gazing at her with a grin. Her heart chilled. Could this fool be playing dumb? Did he seal my acupoints deliberately, and not by accident? At this thought, she broke out in a cold sweat. Just then, she saw Yang Guo’s eyes slant toward the ground. She shifted her gaze and followed his line of sight. On the ground, three black shadows were lined up in a row, there were three people standing at the doorway. She focused and saw that all three shadows held weapons in their hands. Despair seized her. It’s all over, all over. My enemies have tracked me down, and this fool just happened to seal my acupoints. Though she had encountered one strange event after another and was beginning to feel suspicious, she still could not believe that such a filthy, wretched cowherd could possess such high martial arts.

Yang Guo closed his eyes and snored loudly. He heard a voice at the door call out, “Little slut, come out! You think if you stand there without moving, these Daoist masters will spare you?” Yang Guo thought, So it’s another stinking Daoist. He heard another voice say, “We don’t want your life, we only want to cut off your two ears and three fingers.” A third voice said, “I’ll wait outside. Come out quickly and fight.” With that, the speaker leapt outside. The three formed a semicircle outside the door.

Yang Guo stretched lazily and slowly sat up. “What’s all that shouting outside?” he said. “Miss Lu, where are you? Hey, why are you just standing there?” He pushed her back several times. Lu Wushuang felt a powerful force surge through her, her entire body shuddered, and the three sealed acupoints were released. Without pausing to think, she bent down, picked up the broadsword, and leapt out the main door. She saw three men standing with their backs to the moonlight.

She wasted no words. She flipped her wrist and thrust her blade at the man on the left. That man wielded an iron whip. He turned, brought the whip down with precision, and smashed it against the tip of her blade. The iron whip was heavy, and the man’s arm strength was considerable. With a clang, Lu Wushuang’s broadsword flew from her hand. A Daoist in the middle, wielding a longsword, thrust at Lu Wushuang. Yang Guo, lying sideways on the table, saw Lu Wushuang leap aside and point with her left hand at an angle. Good, he thought. That Daoist’s longsword is about to be lost. Sure enough, with a flip of her wrist she executed an Ancient Tomb Sect technique and snatched the longsword from the Daoist’s hand. She followed through with a chop. pu!, and the Daoist took a wound to the shoulder. He cursed loudly and jumped back to tear strips from his robe and bandage the wound.

Lu Wushuang whirled her sword and fought the whip-wielding man. Another short man wielded a spear, jabbing now here, now there, but not daring to press too close. The fierce whip-wielder was no weak fighter. After a dozen or so exchanges, Lu Wushuang began to falter. The man’s movements and footwork all had a certain dignity, he seemed quite conscious of his status. Several times Lu Wushuang slipped up, yet he did not press his advantage excessively.

The Daoist finished bandaging his wound and came back empty-handed. Pointing at Lu Wushuang, he cursed, “You little slut of the Ancient Tomb Sect, how vicious you are!” He thrust out his arms and charged at her with his fists. A flash of white light, the Daoist took another sword wound to the back. But at that same moment, the short man’s spear was already at Lu Wushuang’s back, and the fierce whip-wielder’s iron whip was thrusting toward her shoulder. Yang Guo thought, Not good! He hurled two pebbles simultaneously from his hands, one deflected the spear, and the other struck the fierce man’s right wrist.

But who could have guessed that this fierce man’s martial skill was formidable? Though the stone struck his right wrist and his iron whip could no longer extend forward with force, his left palm shot out, swift as lightning. Pu! It struck Lu Wushuang squarely in the chest. Yang Guo was horrified. He was, after all, young and inexperienced, and had not seen through the fierce man’s mastery of fist and palm techniques with his left hand. He rushed out, seized the man by the back of his collar, and with a surge of strength flung him away. The fierce man soared through the air and crashed down more than ten feet away. When the Daoist and the short man saw how formidable Yang Guo was, they quickly helped the fierce man to his feet and fled without looking back.

Yang Guo bent down to look at Lu Wushuang. Her face was the colour of gold paper and her breathing was faint, her injury was by no means light. He supported her back with his left hand and helped her slowly sit up. He heard two soft cracking sounds, the sound of bone grinding against bone. Two of her ribs had been broken by the fierce man’s palm strike. She had already lost consciousness, but when the two broken bones shifted, a violent stab of pain brought her back. She moaned softly. Yang Guo said, “What is it? Does it hurt badly?” Lu Wushuang was already in agony. She ground her teeth and cursed, “Why ask? Of course it hurts. Carry me inside.” Yang Guo lifted her, causing some unavoidable jostling. The broken bones ground together again, and Lu Wushuang suffered another wave of unbearable pain. She cursed, “Fine, you devil fool, you… you’re torturing me on purpose. Where are those three?” She had been knocked out just as Yang Guo had struck, so she did not know he had saved her life.

Yang Guo smiled and said, “They thought you were dead, brushed off their hands, and left.” Lu Wushuang felt slightly relieved. She cursed, “What are you smiling about? You dead fool, the more I hurt, the happier you are, is that it?” Every time Yang Guo heard her curse, he recalled the way Xiaolongnü used to scold him. Those years he had spent with Xiaolongnü in the Tomb of the Living Dead had been the happiest days of his life. Even when Xiaolongnü rebuked him, he knew his master truly cared for him, and his heart still felt warm. Now, unable to find his master, he had happened upon another young girl in white, and his desolate loneliness was somewhat eased. In truth, Xiaolongnü’s disposition was cold and detached, even when she scolded Yang Guo, it was never more than a few calm, emotionless words. How could it compare to Lu Wushuang’s wild cursing and raging? But in Yang Guo’s current state of mind, having a young woman scold him was far better than having no one scold him at all. He met her harsh words with only a smile and carried her to the table. When Lu Wushuang lay down sideways, her broken bones grated again, and she could not help crying out in pain. Crying out drew air into her lungs, which pulled at her ribs and made the pain even worse. She clenched her teeth, cold sweat covering her forehead.

Yang Guo said, “Shall I set the broken bones for you?” Lu Wushuang cursed, “Stinking fool, what do you know about setting bones?” Yang Guo said, “The mangy dog at my home got into a fight with the big yellow dog next door and had its leg bitten and broken. I set the bone for it. And Auntie Wang’s sow broke a rib. I set that too.” Lu Wushuang was furious, but dared not shout. She said in a low, harsh voice, “You’re calling me a mangy dog, and a sow. You’re the mangy dog! You’re the sow!” Yang Guo laughed. “Even if I were a pig, I’d be a boar. Besides, that mangy dog was female too, male dogs don’t get mange.” Though Lu Wushuang had a sharp tongue, every sentence she spoke sent a jolt of pain through her chest. She was bursting with the desire to trade insults with him, but her strength failed her. She could only close her eyes, endure the pain, and ignore him. Yang Guo said, “After I set that mangy dog’s bone, it was better in just a few days. When it fought with other dogs, it was as if the bone had never been broken.”

Lu Wushuang thought, Maybe this fool really does know how to set bones. Besides, if no one treats me, I’m dead for sure. But if he sets my bone, he’ll have to touch my chest, how… how can that be? Hmph, if he fails to heal me, I’ll drag him down to death with me. And if he succeeds, I absolutely cannot let anyone who has seen my body remain alive. Having suffered cruel misfortune as a child and endured humiliation to survive, her temperament had long since become twisted. Following Li Mochou for so long, exposed to her influence day and night, she had learned to be ruthless and merciless. Young as she was, her heart was full of vicious schemes. In a low voice she said, “Fine! But if you’re lying to me, heng, you little fool. I won’t let you die an easy death.”

Yang Guo thought, If I don’t make things difficult for her now, I’ll never get another chance. He said coldly, “When Auntie Wang’s sow broke a rib, her daughter begged and pleaded with me, calling me ‘dear brother’ a hundred times before I agreed to set the bone…” Lu Wushuang cut him off, “Pei, pei, pei! Stinking fool… stinking fool… aiyo…” Another wave of pain wracked her chest. Yang Guo grinned. “If you won’t say it, fine. I’m going home. Take good care of yourself.” He stood up and walked toward the door.

Lu Wushuang thought, If he leaves, I’ll die here in agony for sure. She had no choice but to swallow her pride and ask, “What do you want?” Yang Guo said, “Normally you’d have to call me ‘dear brother’ a hundred times, but since you’ve been cursing me so badly all along the way, it’ll have to be a thousand times.” Lu Wushuang calculated inwardly: Agree to everything for now. Once I’m healed, I’ll deal with him slowly. So she said, “Fine, I’ll call you dear brother, dear brother, dear brother… aiyo… aiyo…” Yang Guo said, “All right. The remaining nine hundred and ninety-seven go on the tab. You can pay after you’re better.” He approached and reached out to undo her clothes.

Lu Wushuang shrank back involuntarily. “Go away! What are you doing?” she cried in alarm. Yang Guo stepped back and said, “I can’t set broken bones through clothes. Those mangy dogs and old sows don’t wear clothes.” Lu Wushuang found this somewhat amusing, but the thought of letting him undress her was still too embarrassing. After a long pause, she lowered her head and said, “Fine. I can’t out-argue you.” Yang Guo said, “If you don’t want treatment, then don’t. It’s no skin off my back…”

Just as he reached this point, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: “That little slut is definitely within twenty li of here. Let’s search quickly…” The moment Lu Wushuang heard this voice, the colour drained from her face. Ignoring the pain in her chest, she reached out and clamped her hand over Yang Guo’s mouth. The speaker outside was none other than Li Mochou.

Yang Guo was equally shocked when he heard her voice. Then another female voice said, “That curved blade stuck in the beggar’s shoulder was clearly Shimei’s³⁰ Silver Arc Blade. Such a pity we couldn’t pull it out and examine it properly.” This was obviously Hong Lingbo.

Master and disciple had narrowly escaped from the Tomb of the Living Dead and returned to Crimson Cloud Manor, only to find that Lu Wushuang had fled. That alone was bad enough, but she had also stolen the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms. The reason the jianghu feared Li Mochou was not primarily her martial arts, but the deadly poison of her Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm³¹ and Soul-Freezing Silver Needles.³² The Secret Manual of the Five Venoms recorded the properties and preparation methods of the poisons and antidotes used on those very palm and needles. If the manual were to spread beyond her control, the Scarlet Serpent Fairy would be like a scarlet serpent whose venomous fangs had been pulled. She had long since committed the manual’s contents to memory and had no need to carry it with her. She had hidden it in the most secret place in Crimson Cloud Manor, yet who could have imagined that Lu Wushuang, who paid attention to everything, had discovered where her master kept it? Having resolved to flee in secret, she had stolen this book as well.

Li Mochou’s shock and fury at this were beyond description. She had taken Hong Lingbo and pursued Lu Wushuang day and night without rest, but Lu Wushuang had fled well ahead of them and travelled only by remote, desolate paths. Li Mochou and her disciple had swept from north to south and back again several times without ever catching sight of her. That night, by coincidence, as they travelled near Tong Pass,³³ they overheard Beggars’ Guild disciples spreading word of a gathering of the western-route members. Li Mochou thought that the Beggars’ Guild had followers everywhere and sharp ears and eyes, surely someone would have seen Lu Wushuang. So master and disciple hurried to the gathering place, hoping to seek information. On the road, they happened to encounter a five-bag disciple³⁴ being carried at a run by another guild member, with seventeen or eighteen other beggars guarding them. Li Mochou saw a curved blade embedded in the man’s shoulder, it was Lu Wushuang’s Silver Arc Blade. She concealed herself nearby and listened in. Through fragments of the beggars’ angry shouts, she gathered that a lame girl had hurled a curved blade into his shoulder.

Li Mochou was overjoyed. Since the injury was recent, Lu Wushuang must be nearby. She immediately hurried in pursuit and tracked them to the ruined temple. Before the temple she saw the remnants of a fire and caught a faint whiff of blood. She quickly struck her fire striker and looked around, sure enough, there were several spots of blood on the ground, and the blood was still fresh, indicating a recent struggle. Li Mochou tugged her disciple’s sleeve and pointed toward the ruined temple. Hong Lingbo nodded, pushed open the door, and charged in with her sword raised to protect herself.

Lu Wushuang, hearing her master and senior sister’s voices, knew there was no hope. She steeled her heart and lay waiting for death. She heard the door creak softly and a figure in pale yellow slipped inside, it was her senior sister, Hong Lingbo.

Hong Lingbo’s feelings toward her junior sister were fairly good. She knew that this time their master would employ every cruel and vicious method imaginable, tormenting her junior sister until she could bear no more, before finally killing her slowly. Seeing Lu Wushuang lying on the altar table, Hong Lingbo raised her sword and thrust it toward Lu Wushuang’s heart, meaning to spare her a piecemeal suffering.

The tip of the sword was just about to touch Lu Wushuang’s chest when Li Mochou reached out and patted Hong Lingbo on the shoulder. The strength drained from Hong Lingbo’s arm and it dropped immediately. Li Mochou laughed coldly. “Do you think I don’t know how to kill someone myself? What are you rushing for?” She turned to Lu Wushuang. “You see your master and you don’t even bow?” Though she was in a towering rage, her speech remained as refined and cultured as ever. Lu Wushuang thought, Now that I’ve fallen into her hands, whether I plead or defy her, I’ll suffer torment all the same. So she said flatly, “Between you and my family there is a debt of blood spanning generations. There is nothing to say.” Li Mochou gazed at her silently, her eyes holding an expression impossible to read, joy or sorrow, it was hard to tell. Hong Lingbo’s face was full of pity. Lu Wushuang’s upper lip curled slightly in an expression of arrogant defiance.

The three stared at one another like this for a long while. At last Li Mochou said, “That book. Hand it over.” Lu Wushuang said, “It was snatched away by a wicked Daoist and a stinking beggar!” Li Mochou was secretly alarmed. Though she had no quarrel with the Beggars’ Guild, her grievances with the Quanzhen Sect were considerable. She knew well the deep ties between the Beggars’ Guild and Quanzhen. If the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms had fallen into their hands, the consequences would be dire.

Lu Wushuang dimly saw her master give a faint, cold smile, clearly she was contemplating some vicious scheme. During her flight, she had been constantly on edge, terrified that her master would catch up. Now that she had actually been caught, she was not as afraid as before. A thought suddenly struck her: Where has that fool gone? In this moment when her life hung by a thread, thinking of that filthy, foolish cowherd, she felt, without quite knowing why, a sense of warmth and closeness. Suddenly there was a flash of firelight and the thunder of pounding hooves.

Li Mochou and her disciple turned around. A great bull was charging through the door. Tied to its right horn was a broadsword, and to its left horn, a bundle of blazing firewood. The bull’s charge was ferociously powerful. Li Mochou immediately dodged aside. The bull circled the temple and then charged back out. It had come in ramming and crashing, and it went out at full gallop, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye. Li Mochou stared after the bull’s retreating form. At first she was slightly puzzled, but then a thought stirred. Who tied firewood and a blade to the bull’s horns? She turned around, and master and disciple cried out in unison. Lu Wushuang, who had been lying on the table, had vanished without a trace.

Hong Lingbo searched the front and back of the ruined temple, then leapt onto the roof. Li Mochou was certain the bull was behind it and immediately chased it out of the temple. In the darkness she saw the firelight on its horns flickering as it entered the woods ahead. By the firelight, she could see that there was no one on the bull’s back. Lu Wushuang had apparently not escaped on the bull. She reconsidered: Yes, someone must be helping her from outside, driving this strange bull to distract me while taking advantage of the chaos to rescue her. But for a moment she did not know which direction to pursue. She quickened her pace and caught up to the bull in moments. She vaulted onto its back, but found no clues. She immediately jumped down, kicked the bull in the rump, and whistled low to signal Hong Lingbo. One swept from north to south, the other from west to east.

The bull, of course, had been driven into the temple by Yang Guo. The moment he heard the voices of Li Mochou and her disciple, he had slipped out the back door and stood listening beneath the window. After a single sentence, he knew Li Mochou had come to take Lu Wushuang’s life. An idea struck him. He ran to the bull, picked up Lu Wushuang’s broadsword, which the iron whip had knocked to the ground, gathered some dry branches, tied them and the blade to the bull’s horns, lit the branches, and crouched beneath the bull’s belly, gripping its body with his hands and feet. He drove the bull charging into the temple, scooped up Lu Wushuang in one motion, and fled the temple still hidden beneath the bull’s belly. His movements were swift and fluid, and with the bull presenting such a bizarre spectacle, even someone as sharp as Li Mochou, caught off guard, failed to see through the ruse. By the time she caught up with the bull, Yang Guo had already leapt into the tall grass with Lu Wushuang in his arms and hidden there.

The jostling had long since sent Lu Wushuang into agony, and she had been hazy about how Yang Guo had rescued her, how he had carried her hidden beneath the bull’s belly, and how he had jumped into the grass. After a long while, her senses gradually returned. She let out an “Ah!” Yang Guo hastily clamped his hand over her mouth and whispered in her ear, “Don’t make a sound!” They heard footsteps and Hong Lingbo’s voice: “Strange, how could she vanish in the blink of an eye?” In the distance, Li Mochou said, “Let’s go. That little slut must have fled far away.” The sound of Hong Lingbo’s footsteps gradually faded. Lu Wushuang was stifled and in pain. Yang Guo still kept his hand pressed over her mouth.

Lu Wushuang struggled slightly and realised she was held in his embrace. She was both embarrassed and furious, and was about to strike him when Yang Guo whispered in her ear, “Don’t fall for it. Your master is trying to trick you.” The moment these words left his mouth, sure enough they heard Li Mochou say, “She really isn’t here.” The voice was extremely close, almost right beside them. Lu Wushuang was startled. If not for the fool’s quick wits, I’d be dead by now! Li Mochou had suspected she was hiding nearby, and though she said she was leaving, she had actually used her lightness skill to creep back soundlessly. Lu Wushuang had nearly fallen for the trap.

Yang Guo listened carefully. Only when master and disciple had truly left did he release his hand from Lu Wushuang’s mouth and say with a grin, “All right, no need to be afraid now.” Lu Wushuang said, “Let go of me.” Yang Guo gently laid her flat on the grass and said, “I’ll set your broken bones right now. We need to get away from here quickly. Once daylight comes, there’ll be no escaping.” Lu Wushuang nodded. Fearing she would struggle and cry out in pain during the bone-setting and alert Li Mochou and her disciple, Yang Guo immediately sealed her numbness acupoint³⁵ and reached out to undo the buttons of her clothes. “Whatever you do, don’t make a sound,” he said.

After he undid her outer garment, a moon-white inner garment was revealed, and beneath that, an apricot-yellow undergarment.³⁶ Yang Guo dared not undo any more. His gaze travelled upward and he saw Lu Wushuang’s fine brows tightly knitted, her eyes squeezed shut, at once embarrassed and afraid, nothing like her usual overbearing manner. Yang Guo, just awakening to romantic feelings, caught the faint fragrance of a maiden’s body. His heart could not help but pound. Lu Wushuang opened her eyes and said softly, “Go ahead and treat me.” With these words, she closed her eyes again and turned her head away.

Yang Guo’s hands trembled slightly as he undid her undergarment. He saw her chest, smooth as cream, and did not dare touch it with his fingers. In his heart he told himself she was Xiaolongnü: If she were Gugu, lying here with her clothes open and her chest exposed, asking me to set her bones, would I dare look at her chest? Pei! Gugu’s chest is a hundred times more beautiful. As long as she wasn’t angry, of course I would look. His reverence and awe toward Xiaolongnü remained, but now when he thought of her, a romantic longing had inevitably mixed in with the reverence.

Lu Wushuang waited a long time. She felt the breeze on her bare chest, bringing a slight chill. She turned her head and opened her eyes, only to see Yang Guo staring at her in a daze. “You… what are you looking… looking at?” she said angrily. Yang Guo started. He reached out to feel her ribs, but the moment his fingers touched her skin, smooth as congealed lard, his body felt as though jolted by electricity, as if he had touched a burning coal. He immediately pulled his hand back. Lu Wushuang said, “Close your eyes! If you look at me one more time, I’ll… I’ll…” At this point, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Yang Guo hurriedly said, “Yes, yes. I won’t look. Don’t… don’t cry.” He truly closed his eyes and felt for the two broken ribs. Carefully aligning the broken ends, he quickly pulled her undergarment back over her chest. His mind settled somewhat. He broke four branches, placed two in front of her chest and two behind her back, bound them tightly with tree bark so the broken bones could not shift, then fastened the buttons of her inner and outer garments and released her acupoints.

Lu Wushuang opened her eyes. The moonlight fell on Yang Guo’s face, both his cheeks were flushed, his expression was bashful, and he was stealing glances at her expression. When their eyes met, he hurriedly turned his head away. Now that her broken bones were aligned, though it still hurt, the agony was greatly lessened compared to the grinding of the misaligned bones earlier. She thought, This fool actually has some skill. By now she could see that Yang Guo was no ordinary person, and certainly not a fool. But since she had mocked and scorned him from the very beginning, even now that he had saved her, she was unwilling to change her tone and show respect. She asked, “Fool, what do you think we should do? Stay here, or hide far away?” Yang Guo said, “What do you think?” Lu Wushuang said, “Leave, of course. Are we waiting to die here?” Yang Guo said, “Where to?” Lu Wushuang said, “I want to go back to Jiangnan. Are you willing to escort me?” Yang Guo said, “I need to find my Gugu. I can’t go that far.” When Lu Wushuang heard this, her face fell. “Fine, then go! Leave me here to die.”

If Lu Wushuang had pleaded with him in a gentle, soft voice, Yang Guo would certainly have refused. But seeing the anger in her eyes and the autumn frost on her brow, so like Xiaolongnü’s expression when she was upset, he found it impossible to refuse. He thought, Perhaps Gugu has happened to go to Jiangnan. If I escort Miss Lu there, as the saying goes, heaven takes pity on those with good hearts, and maybe I’ll be blessed enough to run into Gugu. He knew this hope was vanishingly slim, but he could not refuse what Lu Wushuang asked of him, so he could only make excuses to himself. He sighed, bent down, and picked her up.

Lu Wushuang said angrily, “What are you carrying me for?” Yang Guo grinned. “Carrying you to Jiangnan.” Lu Wushuang was overjoyed. She let out a puchi of laughter and said, “Fool, Jiangnan is so far away, can you really carry me all the way there?” But even as she spoke, she settled quietly into his arms and did not move at all.

By now the great bull had long since run off to who knows where. Fearing that Li Mochou and her disciple might spot them, Yang Guo took only the most remote and desolate paths. His feet moved swiftly, but his upper body remained perfectly steady, without the slightest jolt to Lu Wushuang’s injury. Lu Wushuang watched the trees receding on either side, this breakneck pace was like a galloping horse, even faster than when she ran at full speed on her own. His lightness skill was no less than her master’s. She was secretly amazed. So this fool possesses extraordinary arts. He’s so young, how could he have trained to this level? Soon the eastern sky began to lighten. She lifted her head and saw that although Yang Guo’s face was dirty, his features were refined and handsome, and his eyes were especially bright and spirited. Her heart stirred despite herself, and gradually she forgot the pain in her chest. After a while, she even fell sound asleep in his arms.

When it was fully light, Yang Guo grew somewhat tired. He ran beneath a large tree, gently set her down, and sat beside her to rest. Lu Wushuang opened her eyes and gave a faint smile. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry?” Yang Guo said, “Of course I’m hungry too. All right, let’s find an inn and eat.” He stood and picked her up again, but after carrying her for half the night, his arms were slightly sore. He lifted her onto his shoulder and walked slowly.

Lu Wushuang’s two feet swung gently back and forth against Yang Guo’s chest. She smiled and said, “Fool, what is your name really? Surely I can’t call you Fool in front of other people.” Yang Guo said, “I don’t have a name. Everyone calls me Fool.” Lu Wushuang said crossly, “Fine, don’t tell me! Who is your master, then?” When Yang Guo heard her mention the word “master”, his respect for Xiaolongnü was so deep that he dared not treat it lightly or make jokes. He answered seriously, “My master is my Gugu.” Lu Wushuang believed him and thought, So his martial arts are passed down through his family. She asked again, “Which school or sect does your Gugu belong to?” Yang Guo said stupidly, “She lives at home. What school. I don’t know anything about that.” Lu Wushuang said angrily, “You’re playing dumb! I’m asking you, what style of martial arts did you learn?” Yang Guo said, “You’re asking about the style of my front door? Who says it’s made of paper, it’s clearly made of wood.” Lu Wushuang pondered silently: Could this person really be a fool? His martial arts are good, but his mind is slow? So she said gently, “Fool, tell me honestly, why did you save my life?”

Yang Guo found this difficult to answer on the spot. He thought for a while and said, “My Gugu told me to save you, so I saved you.” Lu Wushuang said, “Who is your Gugu?” Yang Guo said, “Gugu is Gugu. Whatever she tells me to do, I do.” Lu Wushuang sighed. This person really is stupid. She had begun to feel a slight tenderness toward him, but now her disgust returned. Yang Guo heard her stop talking and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?” Lu Wushuang snorted. Yang Guo asked again. Lu Wushuang said crossly, “If I don’t feel like talking, I won’t talk. Fool, shut your mouth!” Yang Guo knew her expression right now must be a sight to see, but with her sitting on his shoulder, he could not get a look. He felt a twinge of regret.

Before long, they arrived at a small market town. Yang Guo found an inn and, after eating, Lu Wushuang took out some silver and told Yang Guo to buy a donkey. After paying for the meal, she mounted the donkey. But the moment she was on its back, her broken bones shot through with violent pain, and she could not help groaning. The donkey had a stubborn temperament. It sidled up against a wall and rubbed her body against it. Lu Wushuang had no strength in her hands or feet. With a startled cry, she tumbled off the donkey’s back. Her right foot touched the ground and she stood firm, but the jolt pulled at her injury, and the pain was unbearable. She said angrily, “You clearly saw me falling and didn’t help.” Yang Guo gave a few foolish laughs but said nothing. Lu Wushuang said, “Help me back onto the donkey.” Yang Guo did as he was told and helped her mount. The moment the donkey felt someone on its back, it prepared to cause trouble again.

Lu Wushuang said, “Hurry up and lead the donkey.” Yang Guo said, “No, I’m afraid the donkey will kick me. If only my big bull were still here.” Lu Wushuang was furious. This fool, say he’s stupid, but he’s not. Say he’s clever, but he is. He clearly just wants to hold me. She had no choice. “Fine,” she said. “You get on the donkey too.” Only then did Yang Guo grin and climb onto the donkey’s back. He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed slightly with his legs. The donkey felt a sharp pain in its belly and dared not act up any longer. It walked obediently.

Yang Guo said, “Which way?” Lu Wushuang had long since inquired about the route. She had originally intended to travel east past Tong Pass, then through Zhongzhou³⁷ and turn south, that was the main road. But she feared that on the main road she might easily run into her master or the Beggars’ Guild. It would be better to take side roads, passing through Bamboo Forest Pass, crossing Dragon Colt Stockade, then going south through Purple Jing Pass. Though the route was more circuitous, it would be much safer and even harder for her master to track. She considered for a moment, then pointed southeast and said, “That way.”

The donkey’s hooves clopped slowly along. Just as they were leaving the market town, a farm child ran up to the donkey and called, “Miss Lu, something for you.” He tossed a bunch of flowers at her, then turned and ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. Lu Wushuang caught it, it was a bunch of rapeseed flowers, and tied to the stems was a letter. She hurriedly tore open the seal and pulled out a sheet of yellow paper. On it was written:

“Your honoured master will arrive in the blink of an eye. Hide at once, without delay!”

The paper was coarse, but the handwriting was rather elegant. Lu Wushuang let out a surprised “Yi!” and was seized by confusion and suspicion. Who is this child? How does he know my surname is Lu? And how does he know my master is about to catch up? She asked Yang Guo, “You know this child, don’t you? Was he sent by your Gugu too?”

Yang Guo, from behind her head, had already read the writing on the letter. He thought, This is clearly an ordinary farm child, surely sent by someone else to deliver the message. I just don’t know who wrote it, though it seems to be well-intentioned. What if Li Mochou really does catch up? What then? Though he had studied the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra and the Nine Yin Manual, possessing the combined secrets of the jianghu’s two great traditions, his training time was, after all, too short. He understood the profound mysteries but had not yet attained the corresponding level of cultivation, which made it futile. If Li Mochou caught up with him, he would absolutely be no match for her. In broad daylight, there was nowhere to hide. He was still pondering this dilemma without a solution when Lu Wushuang questioned him. He answered, “I don’t know that little fool. Doesn’t look like my Gugu sent him either.”

He had barely spoken these words when they heard the sound of wind and percussion instruments. Coming toward them was a bridal sedan chair, with several dozen people escorting it, it was a wedding procession. Though the music was the crude, rustic drumming of village folk, it was still filled with joyous spirit and possessed a stirring charm all its own. An idea stirred in Yang Guo’s mind. “Do you want to be a bride?” he asked.

: 尺 (Chǐ). A traditional Chinese unit of length, roughly equivalent to one-third of a metre or about 13 inches.

炕 – kàng. Traditional heated brick bed platform common in northern China, built with a flue system that channels heat from a cooking stove or fire underneath. ↩
Mount Zhongnan (终南山). Zhōngnán Shān. Mountain range south of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, historically significant in Daoism. Site of the Chongyang Palace and the Tomb of the Living Dead. ↩
王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. Historical founder of the Quanzhen school of Daoism (1113–1170). In Jin Yong’s world he won the first Huashan Sword Summit and was the greatest martial artist of his era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Quanzhen Sect (全真教). Major Daoist school founded by Wang Chongyang. In Jin Yong’s wuxia universe, it is one of the most powerful martial arts sects, based at the Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan. Its seven senior disciples are known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. ↩
里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately one-third of a mile or five hundred metres. ↩
斤 – jīn. Traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately one pound or half a kilogram. ↩
丐帮 – Gàibāng. Largest martial arts organisation in the jianghu, continued from LOCH era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Ancient Tomb Sect (古墓派). Gǔmù Pài. Martial arts sect founded by Lin Chaoying within the Tomb of the Living Dead. Its martial arts emphasise lightness, speed, and unpredictability, designed to counter the Quanzhen Sect’s techniques. ↩
李莫愁 – Lǐ Mòchóu. Her name meaning “do not sorrow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
全真剑法 – Quánzhēn Jiànfǎ. Seven swords with seven forms, totalling forty-nine variations emphasising defence. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
地堂刀法 – dìtáng dāofǎ. Ground-Sweeping Saber Technique. Martial style involving rolling and sweeping along the ground while wielding a blade. ↩
穴位 – xuéwèi. Acupoints in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. Striking or sealing specific acupoints can numb limbs, immobilise opponents, or cause internal injury. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
魂门穴 – Húnmén Xué. Literally gate of the ethereal soul. Acupoint on the back below the shoulder blade on the bladder meridian; striking it can numb the arm. See Wikipedia. ↩
神堂穴 – Shéntáng Xué. Literally hall of the spirit. Acupoint on the back alongside the spine on the bladder meridian; striking it can numb the arm. See Wikipedia. ↩
陆无双 – Lù Wúshuāng. Her name meaning “peerless” or “without equal”. 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. ↩
程英 – Chéng Yīng. Her name meaning “heroine” or “outstanding”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Wu Brothers. Wu Dunru (武敦儒) and Wu Xiuwen (武修文), sons of Wu Santong, disciples of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. ↩
武三娘 – Wǔ Sānniáng. Literally third lady Wu; a married woman’s honorific title. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
洪凌波 – Hóng Língbō. Her name meaning “treading the waves”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
赤霞庄 – Chìxiá Zhuāng. Crimson Cloud Manor, Li Mochou’s residence. ↩
陆展元 – Lù Zhǎnyuán. His name meaning “spreading the origin”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
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. ↩
玉女心经 – Yùnǚ Xīnjīng. Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, the supreme manual of the Ancient Tomb Sect, created by Lin Chaoying to counter Quanzhen martial arts. Its advanced internal portions require two practitioners training together. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
江南 – Jiāngnán. Prosperous region south of Yangtze River, continued from LOCH era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
五毒秘传 – Wǔdú Mìchuán. Secret Manual of the Five Venoms, a handwritten compendium recording the preparation and antidotes for various poisons used by Li Mochou. ↩
曲池穴 – Qūchí Xué. Literally pool at the bend. Acupoint at the lateral end of the elbow crease on the large intestine meridian; striking it can numb the arm. See Wikipedia. ↩
肩井穴 – Jiānjǐng Xué. Literally shoulder well. Acupoint at the highest point of the shoulder on the gallbladder meridian; striking it can paralyse the arm. See Wikipedia. ↩
巨骨穴 – Jùgǔ Xué. Literally great bone. Acupoint in the hollow of the shoulder on the large intestine meridian; striking it can numb the limb. See Wikipedia. ↩
师妹 – shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
赤练神掌 – Chìliàn Shénzhǎng. Li Mochou’s palm technique, infused with poison. Name links her palm strikes to her serpentine nickname, suggesting that her very touch is as deadly as a venomous snake’s bite. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Soul-Freezing Silver Needles (冰魄银针). Bīngpò Yínzhēn. Li Mochou’s signature hidden weapons, silver needles coated in a deadly poison that freezes the soul. ↩
潼关 – Tóng Guān. Tong Pass, a historically strategic mountain pass in Shaanxi Province guarding the approach to the Central Plains from the northwest. ↩
Five-Pouch Disciple (五袋弟子). In the Beggars’ Guild hierarchy, disciples wear pouches indicating their rank. Five pouches denotes a mid-level disciple with significant experience and authority. ↩
麻软穴 – Máruǎn Xué. Literally numbness and softness. Fictional acupoint in martial arts fiction; sealing it suppresses pain and immobilises the victim. See Wikipedia. ↩
肚兜 (Dùdōu). Traditional Chinese undergarment worn by women and children, similar to a chemise or bellyband, covering the chest and abdomen. It was the standard undergarment in pre-modern China. ↩
中州 – Zhōngzhōu. Ancient name for the central plains region of China, roughly corresponding to modern Henan Province. ↩

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