A hundred schemes to evade the foe.

In the midst of her panic, Lu Wushuang heard Yang Guo suddenly ask a foolish question and snapped, “Fool! What nonsense are you spouting now?” Yang Guo laughed and said, “Let’s play at bowing to heaven and earth and becoming husband and wife. You dress up as the bride, all right? That would be wonderful. With a red cloth draped over your face, no one could see who you are.” Lu Wushuang paused. “You want me to dress up as a bride to hide from my shifu?” Yang Guo giggled. “I don’t know. You play the bride, and I’ll play the groom.” With the situation pressing, Lu Wushuang had no time to scold him further. She thought, This fool’s idea is truly strange, but apart from this, there really is no other way. “How do we do it?” she asked.

Yang Guo dared not waste another moment. He cracked the whip several times across the donkey’s rump, and the beast broke into a gallop.

The country road was narrow, and an eight-man bridal sedan chair blocked the way, leaving no room to pass on either side. The wedding procession, seeing a donkey charging straight at them, shouted in unison for the riders to rein in and slow down. But Yang Guo clamped his legs tighter and urged the donkey even faster. In the blink of an eye he had reached the wedding crowd. Two stout men rushed forward to seize the donkey and prevent it from colliding with the bridal chair. Yang Guo flicked his whip, coiling it around their arms, lifted and released, and both men were sent tumbling to the roadside. “I’m going to be the groom now,” he said to Lu Wushuang. He leaned forward and with his right hand plucked the bridegroom clean off his white horse.

The bridegroom was a young man of seventeen or eighteen, dressed in brand-new wedding clothes with a golden flower pinned to his cap. Seized so suddenly by Yang Guo, he was frightened out of his wits. Yang Guo tossed him high into the air, well over ten feet, and as he came plummeting back down, amidst the horrified screams of the onlookers, caught him in his outstretched arms. The wedding party numbered about thirty, half of them burly men from the western passes, but seeing this display of skill and with the bridegroom held hostage, who among them dared step forward? An old man who had seen much of the world assumed this was a highway robbery. He stepped up and bowed deeply. “Great King, please spare the bridegroom. Whatever travel money the Great King requires, we can certainly discuss it.”

Yang Guo turned to Lu Wushuang and laughed. “Wifey, why is he calling me Great King? My surname isn’t Wang.¹ I think he’s even more foolish than I am.”

Lu Wushuang said, “Stop messing around. I think I heard the bells on my shifu’s donkey.”

Yang Guo started. He cocked his ear and listened intently. Indeed, from far away came the faint sound of bells. She’s coming fast, he thought. “Bells? What bells? Is it a candy seller? That would be wonderful, let’s buy some sweets.” He turned to the old man. “If you all do exactly as I say, I’ll release him. Otherwise…” He tossed the bridegroom into the air again. The young man screamed in terror and burst into tears. The old man bowed repeatedly. “Whatever the Great King commands.”

Yang Guo pointed at Lu Wushuang. “She’s my wife. She saw you all playing at weddings and thought it looked like fun, so she wants to play too…”

Lu Wushuang snapped, “Fool, what are you saying?”

Yang Guo ignored her. “Quick, dress her in the bride’s clothes. I’ll play the bridegroom.”

Children playing at weddings, pretending to be bride and groom bowing to heaven and earth, such games were common the world over, nothing out of the ordinary. But who could have imagined that a highway robber would suddenly demand this particular entertainment? The crowd stared at one another, utterly speechless. Yet looking at the two of them, one a young man barely out of his teens, the other a maiden in her prime, they did, in truth, make a passable couple. While everyone stood frozen in indecision, Yang Guo heard the golden bells drawing nearer. He sprang off the donkey, laid the bridegroom across the saddle for Lu Wushuang to guard, then went to the bridal chair himself. He lifted the curtain and pulled the bride out.

The bride screamed in terror, her face still covered by the red cloth, with no idea what was happening outside. Yang Guo reached out and pulled the cloth from her face. She had a full-moon face and a look of prosperous good fortune. “What a pretty bride,” he said with a laugh, and gently touched her cheek. The bride was now so stunned she dared not make a sound. Yang Guo lifted her with his left hand and shouted, “If you want her to live, dress my wife in the bride’s clothes, now!”

Hearing her shifu’s donkey bells drawing ever closer, Lu Wushuang shot Yang Guo a sidelong glare. This fool has no idea how dangerous this is, making jokes at a time like this. But she heard the old man urging frantically, “Quick, quick! Change their clothes!” The attending matrons immediately set to work, stripping off the bride’s phoenix crown, embroidered cape, brocade jacket and red skirt, and dressing Lu Wushuang in them. Yang Guo put on the bridegroom’s wedding garments himself. “Good little wife,” he said to Lu Wushuang, “get in the bridal chair.” Lu Wushuang made the bride enter first, then sat on top of her before letting the curtain fall.

Yang Guo glanced at the straw sandals on his feet and wanted to change them, but the bells had already reached the mountain bend. “Head southeast!” he called. “Start the music! If anyone comes asking, don’t say you saw us.” He snatched the new shoes off the bridegroom’s feet, put them on, leapt onto the white horse, and rode alongside the bridegroom on the donkey. The crowd, seeing both the bride and groom in the hands of bandits, dared not disobey. Horns and gongs struck up at once.

The bridal chair turned around and had gone barely a hundred feet when the clear ringing of bells sounded urgently behind them. Two painted donkeys, moving at a swift gait, came racing up. Lu Wushuang, hearing the bells from inside the chair, knew that whether she could escape this calamity would be decided in the next instant. Her heart pounded wildly as she listened for what was happening outside. Yang Guo feigned shyness, lowering his head to study the horse’s neck. He heard Hong Lingbo² call out, “Hey! Have you seen a girl with a lame foot pass by?” The old man in the wedding party said, “No… no.” Hong Lingbo asked again, “Have you seen a young woman riding a beast of burden?” The old man again answered, “No.” Shifu and disciple rode their donkeys past the wedding crowd and galloped off.

Before long, Li Mochou³ and Hong Lingbo turned their donkeys around and came back. Li Mochou swept out her horsetail whisk. It coiled around the bridal chair’s curtain and with a chi sound, tore off half the fabric. Yang Guo was badly startled. He urged his horse closer, ready to spring to the rescue the moment she swung her whisk a second time. But Li Mochou merely glanced into the chair and laughed. “The bride has a fortunate look about her.” She raised her head to Yang Guo. “Young man, you’ve got good luck.” Yang Guo kept his head down, not daring to meet her eyes. Hoofbeats sounded, and the two women were gone.

Yang Guo was astounded. Why did she let Lu Guniang go? He peered into the chair. The bride sat ashen-faced, trembling violently, but Lu Wushuang was nowhere to be seen. Even more baffled, Yang Guo cried, “Aiyo, where’s my wife?” Lu Wushuang laughed. “I’ve disappeared.” The bride’s skirt stirred and Lu Wushuang crawled out from beneath it. She had known her shifu was thorough in all things and would never easily overlook any hiding place. Sure enough, Li Mochou had gone and returned, so she had hidden herself. “Sit tight and be a proper bride,” said Yang Guo. “A bridal chair is more comfortable than riding a donkey.”

Lu Wushuang nodded and said to the bride, “You’re crushing me and I can barely breathe. Get out, quickly.” The bride had no choice but to leave the chair and ride the donkey Lu Wushuang had been on. The bride and groom had never laid eyes on each other before. Now the groom saw that his bride was plump and fair, with a certain pearl-like roundness. The bride stole a glance at the groom and found him passably handsome. Both felt a secret delight.

The procession travelled twenty-some li⁴ and the sky began to darken. The old man kept pleading with Yang Guo to release his people, lest they miss the auspicious hour for the wedding ceremony. Yang Guo snapped, “What are you nagging about?”

The words had barely left his mouth when two figures flashed at the roadside and darted into the woods. Yang Guo grew suspicious and gave chase, catching a glimpse of their backs, ragged clothing, the dress of beggars. Yang Guo reined in his horse and thought, Could the Beggars’ Guild⁵ have seen through our ruse and set more men ahead to ambush us? It’s come to this, the only way is forward.

The bridal chair soon arrived. Lu Wushuang poked her head through the torn curtain. “What did you see?”

Yang Guo said, “The chair curtain is torn, and your face isn’t covered with red cloth. When you’re playing the bride, you ought to be weeping and wailing. Even if in your heart you’re dying to get married, you should still have tears and snot streaming down, calling for your mother and father, refusing to leave home. Where under heaven is there such a shameless bride as you?”

Lu Wushuang caught the implication, he seemed to be saying that someone had seen through their disguise. She merely muttered “Fool” under her breath and said no more. After travelling further, the mountain road grew increasingly narrow as they climbed a ridge, rough and difficult going. The wedding party was long since exhausted, but fearing to anger Yang Guo, not one of them dared utter a word of complaint.

Once they crested the ridge, the party rested a long while before lifting the chair and pressing on. By the second watch of the night,⁶ they reached a market town. Only then did Yang Guo release the wedding party. The crowd had assumed they had fallen into the hands of bandits and would certainly be held for ransom, likely suffering greatly in the process. Who could have imagined that this “bandit” truly only wanted to play at being bride and groom, and that was all? It was an unexpected delight, and they could not stop thanking Yang Guo profusely. The attending matrons were even more generous with their auspicious phrases: “May the Great King and the Lady of the Stronghold share a hundred years of harmony, grow old together with white hair, and bring forth many little Great Kings!” Yang Guo roared with laughter, while Lu Wushuang burned with both embarrassment and indignation.

Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang found an inn and took a room. They ordered food and had just sat down to eat when a figure flashed past the doorway, someone poked a head in, saw the two of them, and immediately withdrew. Sensing something amiss, Yang Guo rushed to the door. In the courtyard stood two men, none other than Shen Zhifan and Ji Qingxu, the Daoists who had fought Lu Wushuang in Jackal-Wolf Valley. The two Daoists drew their longswords and sprang forward. Yang Guo thought, What are you looking for trouble with me for? Looking to suffer? The two Daoists closed in, but then veered sideways, dashed into the main hall, and charged at Lu Wushuang. At that very instant, a sudden jingling of bells rang out.

The bells came without warning, and by the time they reached the ear, the source was already nearby. The two Daoists’ faces changed dramatically. They exchanged a glance and retreated hastily into the first room on the west side, slamming the door shut and refusing to come out again. Yang Guo thought, Stinking Daoists, they’ve probably suffered at Li Mochou’s hands before, to be this terrified.

Lu Wushuang whispered, “My shifu is here. Fool, what do we do?”

“What do we do?” said Yang Guo. “Hide!” He had just reached out to help her when the sound of bells abruptly stopped at the inn’s entrance. Li Mochou’s voice rang out: “You, get up on the roof and stand guard.” Hong Lingbo acknowledged the order and with a sou landed on the rooftop. Then came the innkeeper’s voice: “Immortal Maiden, honoured elder, would you like a room… aiyo, I…” A pu sound, he had collapsed to the floor, making no further noise. How could he have known that Li Mochou hated nothing more than being called “old”? And to address her to her face as “honoured elder”? Her whisk swept out and nearly claimed the innkeeper’s old life then and there. She asked the serving boy, “There’s a girl with a lame foot, where is she staying?” The boy was already scared witless and could only stammer, “I… I…” without managing a single word. Li Mochou kicked him aside with her left foot, then kicked open the door of the first room on the west side with her right and strode in to search. It was precisely the room where Shen Zhifan and Ji Qingxu were staying.

Yang Guo thought quickly. We’ll have to slip out the back. Even if Hong Lingbo spots us, we don’t need to fear her. He said quietly, “Wifey, flee with me.” Lu Wushuang glared at him and rose to her feet, thinking that if they escaped this time, heaven itself must truly be looking out for her.

Just as the two turned around, a guest sitting at a square table in the eastern corner stood and approached them. “Let me draw the enemy away,” he said in a low voice. “Quick, find a way to escape.” This man had been sitting facing inward in the shadows. Neither Yang Guo nor Lu Wushuang had noticed his face. Even as he spoke, his face was turned away, and the words were barely out of his mouth before he was out the door, leaving them only a glimpse of his back. He was not tall, and wore a loose, wide gown of green cloth.

Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang had only exchanged a single glance when the sound of bells erupted, racing northward. Hong Lingbo called, “Shifu,⁷ someone’s stealing a donkey!” A yellow blur flashed. Li Mochou shot out of the room and gave chase. Lu Wushuang said, “Go!” Yang Guo thought, Li Mochou’s qinggong is unrivalled, she’ll catch him in an instant and be back immediately. I can’t move fast enough carrying Lu Guniang. We still won’t escape. An idea struck him. He burst into the first room on the west side.

Shen Zhifan and Ji Qingxu were sitting on the edge of the kang,⁸ their faces still pale with terror. There was not a moment to lose. Yang Guo gave them no chance to rise or question him, he lunged forward, his fingers darting out in quick succession, sealing the acupoints of both men. “Wifey, come in,” he called. Lu Wushuang entered. Yang Guo shut the door. “Quick, take off your clothes!”

Lu Wushuang flushed red. “Fool!” she spat. “What nonsense are you talking?”

“Take them off or don’t, up to you,” said Yang Guo. “I’m taking mine off.” He stripped off his outer garments, then pulled off Shen Zhifan’s Daoist robe and put it on, topping it with Shen Zhifan’s Daoist cap. Lu Wushuang understood at once. “Good, we’ll disguise ourselves as Daoists to fool my shifu.” She reached to undo her buttons, then blushed again. She kicked Ji Qingxu. “Close your eyes, you dead Daoist!” Ji Qingxu and Shen Zhifan could not move their limbs, but their senses still worked. They immediately shut their eyes, who would dare look at her?

Lu Wushuang added, “Fool, turn around. Don’t watch me change.” Yang Guo laughed. “What’s there to be afraid of? When I set your bone, didn’t I see everything already?” The moment these words left his mouth, he felt they had been far too flippant and brazen, and could not help looking somewhat embarrassed. Lu Wushuang’s fine brows drew together, and she struck him with a backhand slap.

All Yang Guo had to do was tilt his head and he would have evaded it easily, but in that moment he was utterly distracted, standing there in a daze. Pa! The blow landed solidly on his left cheek. Lu Wushuang had never imagined the slap would actually connect, and so heavily at that. Feeling a pang of guilt, she laughed and said, “Fool, did it hurt? That’s what you get for talking nonsense.”

Yang Guo rubbed his cheek, smiled, and turned around. Lu Wushuang changed into the Daoist robe and laughed. “Look! Do I look like a little Daoist priest?” Yang Guo said, “I can’t see, so I wouldn’t know.” Lu Wushuang said, “Turn around, then.” Yang Guo turned back. The robe hung loose and billowing on her, making her slender frame appear even more delicate. He was about to speak when Lu Wushuang suddenly gave a low cry, pointing at the kang. From under the bedding a Daoist’s head had emerged, it was Pi Qingxuan, the very man whose three fingers she had cut off in Jackal-Wolf Valley. He had been lying there on the kang recovering from his wounds the whole time, and when Lu Wushuang entered the room, he had immediately pulled his head under the covers. Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang had been so busy changing clothes that they had not noticed him at all. “He… he…” Lu Wushuang stammered, wanting to say “he watched me change” but finding it too awkward to speak.

At that moment, the painted-donkey bells rang out again. Yang Guo had heard them several times by now and knew that Li Mochou had recovered her donkey. When the man in green had ridden it away, the bells had been chaotic and disordered, when Li Mochou rode, though the donkey ran fast, the bells rang with a measured, rhythmic cadence. In a flash of decision, Yang Guo seized Pi Qingxuan, sealed his acupoints, lifted the kang door, and stuffed him into the space beneath the bed-platform. In the northern winters, fires were burned beneath the kang for warmth, but the weather was still warm and no fire was needed, yet the space was full of soot and charcoal ash. Pi Qingxuan, shoved inside, was instantly covered from head to toe in black grime.

The bells abruptly stopped. Li Mochou was back at the inn entrance. Yang Guo said to Lu Wushuang, “Get on the kang and sleep.” Lu Wushuang frowned. “A stinking Daoist slept there. It’s filthy, how can I sleep in that?” Yang Guo said, “Suit yourself.” Even as he spoke, he stuffed Shen Zhifan under the kang as well, then casually released Ji Qingxu’s acupoints. Though Lu Wushuang found the bedding disgusting, the thought of her shifu’s ruthless methods made her climb onto the kang, facing the inner wall. She had barely settled when Li Mochou kicked open the door and came to search a second time. Yang Guo sat holding a teacup, his head lowered as if drinking tea, but his left hand was pressed against the fatal acupoint⁹ on Ji Qingxu’s back. Li Mochou saw that the room still held three Daoists, and Ji Qingxu’s face was the colour of death, his spirit utterly shattered. She smiled and moved on to search the next room. On her first visit she had carefully studied the three Daoists’ features, worried that Lu Wushuang might have disguised herself as one of them. On this second visit, she only glanced at Ji Qingxu and did not bother examining the other two closely.

That night, Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo, shifu and disciple, searched every corner of the town, stirring up such a racket that every household’s chickens and dogs were set to clamouring. But Yang Guo lay peacefully side by side with Lu Wushuang on the kang, catching the faint, warm fragrance of a young girl’s body and feeling utterly content. Lu Wushuang’s thoughts surged like a storm-tossed sea. She found Yang Guo impossibly strange, call him a fool, yet he seemed brilliant beyond measure. Call him brilliant, yet he was always acting crazy. She lay without daring to move a muscle, thinking, That fool is sure to reach out and embrace me. What will I do then? A long, long time passed, and Yang Guo showed not the slightest sign of movement. Instead, she felt a faint disappointment. She caught the strong masculine scent of him and found herself, against all reason, utterly spellbound. Only after a long while did she drift hazily into sleep.

When Yang Guo awoke, the sky was already bright. Ji Qingxu was slumped over the table in deep sleep. Lu Wushuang’s breathing was soft and delicate, her cheeks flushed pink, her thin red lips slightly upturned. Yang Guo felt his heart stir violently. If I kissed her lightly, just once, she would never know. A young man’s heart opening to love for the first time, at this moment, with the morning sun just rising, when desire burns at its fiercest, he remembered the beauty of her bosom when he set her bone, and could restrain himself no longer. He leaned over to kiss her lips. Before he had even touched her, he caught the sweetness of her breath, and a wave of heat surged through his chest. Then he saw her brows knit slightly, as though even in sleep she felt the pain of her broken bone. Seeing her like this, Yang Guo was suddenly reminded of Xiaolongnü¹⁰, of their conversations in the ancient tomb, when he had said, “Gugu,¹¹ in this life and for all lives to come, I will love only you.” And Xiaolongnü had answered, “The same for me.” Cold sweat broke out all over his body. Pa! Pa! He struck himself twice across the face, hard, and leapt off the kang.

The sound woke Lu Wushuang. She opened her eyes and asked, “Fool, what are you doing?” Yang Guo, burning with shame, muttered vaguely, “Nothing. A mosquito bit my face.” Lu Wushuang remembered that they had slept together the entire night, and suddenly her face flushed deep red. She lowered her head and said softly, “Fool… fool…” Her voice was full of tenderness and something close to longing.

The two discussed what to do next when they suddenly heard the bells of Li Mochou’s painted donkey, heading northwest, she was going back along the road they had come, searching once more. No doubt she had realised that the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms¹² had fallen into her renegade disciple’s hands, and every day it remained unrecovered meant another day of danger. She would not waste a moment, setting out at the first hint of dawn.

Yang Guo said, “She’ll go back looking for us, and when she doesn’t find us, she’ll come this way again. It’s a shame your injury can’t take the jolting, otherwise we could steal two fine horses and gallop a full day and night. How would she ever catch us then?” Lu Wushuang said crossly, “You don’t have any injuries. Why don’t you go steal a fine horse and gallop a day and night?” Yang Guo thought, This girl is so touchy, she gets angry at a casual remark. But because he enjoyed watching her angry expression, he deliberately provoked her further. “If you hadn’t begged me to escort you to Jiangnan,¹³ I’d have left long ago.” Lu Wushuang flared up. “Then go! Go! Fool, just looking at you makes me angry. I’d rather die on my own.” Yang Guo laughed. “Hey, I couldn’t bear it if you died.”

Fearing she might truly fly into a rage and jolt her broken bone, he left the room with a grin. He borrowed ink, brush, and an inkstone from the front counter, returned to the room, dissolved the ink in the washbasin, dipped both hands in it, and suddenly smeared it across Lu Wushuang’s face.

Lu Wushuang was caught off guard. She hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it off, cursing without pause: “Stinking fool! Dead fool!” Then she saw Yang Guo scoop a great handful of coal ash from under the kang, mix it with water, and smear it over his own face. Instantly his face became bumpy and pitted, as though covered in boils. She understood at once: I’ve changed into a Daoist’s clothes, but my face is the same. If my shifu catches up, how could she fail to recognise me? So she spread the watered-down ink evenly over her own face. Girls by nature love beauty, and even while blackening her face, she still applied it as carefully as if putting on rouge and powder, smoothing and adjusting with meticulous care.

Once they had finished their disguises, Yang Guo reached under the kang with his foot and kicked open the two Daoists’ acupoints. Lu Wushuang watched him casually kick a few times without even looking, and immediately the two Daoists let out groans of pain. She felt a secret admiration: This fool’s martial arts are ten times better than mine. But she let none of her admiration show on her face, and still called him “Fool” as though she did not consider him worth noticing at all.

Yang Guo went to the marketplace to hire a large cart, but the town was too small and none was available. He could only buy two inferior horses. By this day, Lu Wushuang’s injury had healed somewhat. Each rode one of the horses as they slowly made their way southeast.

They had travelled for a little over one shichen¹⁴ when Yang Guo, worried she could not hold out, helped her dismount and sit on a stone by the roadside to rest. He recalled how that morning he had actually entertained improper thoughts toward Lu Wushuang. Improper thoughts about her were one thing, but to betray Gugu like that, he truly was a colossal bastard. Lost in bitter self-reproach, he was startled when Lu Wushuang suddenly said, “Fool, why won’t you talk to me?” Yang Guo smiled without answering. Then something struck him. “Aiyo! Not good. I’m truly an idiot.”

“You’ve always been an idiot,” said Lu Wushuang.

“We changed our clothes and disguises, and those three Daoists saw everything. If they tell your shifu, won’t that be a disaster?”

Lu Wushuang pressed her lips together in a smile. “Those three stinking Daoists rode past on horseback long ago, they’re way ahead of us now. My shifu is still behind. You’ve been wandering in a daze, who knows what you’ve been thinking about. You didn’t even notice.”

Yang Guo let out an “Ah!” He smiled at her. Lu Wushuang felt there was a deeper meaning in that smile, and recalling how she had said “wandering in a daze, who knows what you’ve been thinking about,” she could not help blushing. Just then, a horse suddenly gave a long, piercing whinny. Lu Wushuang turned her head. At the bend in the road, two old beggars were walking toward them side by side.

Yang Guo caught a glimpse of two more figures ducking back behind the mountain bend. Shen Zhifan and Ji Qingxu. So that’s it, he understood. Those three stinking Daoists went and told the Beggars’ Guild that we’re disguised as Daoists. He clasped his hands in salute and said, “Two Beggar elders, you beg for rice in all eight directions, but we humble Daoists beg for alms in all ten directions. Today we must ask for your charitable donations.”

One beggar, whose voice boomed like a great bell, said, “Even if you shaved your heads and dressed as Buddhist monks or nuns, you still couldn’t escape our notice. Stop playing the fool. Come with us, nice and easy, to present your case before the Law Enforcement Elder.”

Yang Guo thought, This old beggar’s voice is full of power, his martial skills are probably considerable. The two men were Seven-Bag Disciples¹⁵ of the Beggars’ Guild. Seeing that Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang were both youths under twenty yet possessed remarkable martial skill, they suspected something strange was afoot.

While both sides hesitated, the golden bells rang out from the northwest, ding-ling, ding-ling, light and flowing, rhythmic and pleasing. Lu Wushuang thought grimly, This is bad. Real bad. I’ve changed my face and clothes, but now of all times these two damned beggars have to show up. Once they expose me, how can I escape my shifu’s deadly hands? My luck is truly rotten, so many obstacles, one after another. All these people with nothing better to do, all finding me, tangling me up endlessly.

In moments the sound of bells drew even closer. Yang Guo thought, I can’t beat Li Mochou. I’ll have to break through forward and flee. “If the two of you won’t offer alms, no matter,” he said. “Just let us pass.” He strode forward in great steps. The two beggars saw that his stride seemed hollow and unsteady, as though he knew nothing of martial arts. Each reached out a right hand to seize him. Yang Guo’s right palm lashed out, meeting both their hands. Three palms met and held for a brief, tense moment, then all three retreated three steps. These two Seven-Bag Disciples had trained for decades, their internal power deep and profound. In the jianghu, they had rarely met their match. In terms of pure martial foundation, they far surpassed Yang Guo, but in the strange cunning and subtle brilliance of his moves, they fell short. Yang Guo had borrowed their force to neutralise theirs, dissolving their palm power, yet he could not break through. All three men were secretly alarmed.

At that moment, Li Mochou and her disciple arrived. Hong Lingbo called out, “Hey! Beggars, little Daoist, have you seen a girl with a lame foot pass by?” The two old beggars held senior rank in the jianghu and were offended by Hong Lingbo’s manner of questioning. But the Beggars’ Guild’s rules were strict and forbade members from quarrelling with outsiders at will. They answered curtly, “Haven’t seen her.” Li Mochou’s eyes were sharp. She studied the backs of Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang and a faint suspicion stirred: I seem to have seen these two somewhere before. She also noted the four facing off, poised for violence, and thought she might as well stay and watch the show.

Yang Guo glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She wore a faint smile and stood with her hands in her sleeves, watching the fight. An idea stirred. There is a way, do this, and I can throw off her suspicion. He turned, walked up to Hong Lingbo, and made a Daoist salute. “Fellow traveller of the Way,” he said in a hoarse voice, “my greetings.” Hong Lingbo returned the salute in Daoist fashion. Yang Guo said, “This humble Daoist was passing through when two villainous beggars blocked my path for no reason and insist on violence. I carry no weapon. I beseech you, fellow traveller, in the name of the Most High Lord Lao,¹⁶ to lend me your treasured sword.” He bowed deeply again. Hong Lingbo saw that his face was pitted and bumpy, dark and ugly, yet his manner was humble and courteous, and he had even invoked the name of the Most High Lord Lao, the patriarch of the Daoist faith. It seemed hard to refuse. She drew her longsword, looked toward her shifu, and seeing Li Mochou nod her approval, reversed the blade and passed it over.

Yang Guo bowed in thanks, took the sword, and turned to Lu Wushuang, saying loudly, “Junior brother, stand aside and watch. No need to join in. Let the Beggars’ Guild beggars witness the skill of the Quanzhen order.”¹⁷

Li Mochou was startled. So these two little Daoists are from Quanzhen. But the Quanzhen Sect and the Beggars’ Guild have always been on good terms, why would disciples of the two sects be fighting?

Yang Guo was afraid the two beggars would shout something out and expose Lu Wushuang’s secret. He charged forward, sword levelled, calling, “Come, come. I’ll fight the two of you alone.” Lu Wushuang, however, was deeply worried: Fool, you don’t know that my shifu has fought the Quanzhen Daoists more than ten times, large and small. Is there a single move or form of Quanzhen martial arts that she wouldn’t recognise? There are Daoist sects all over the world. Zhengyi, Dadao, Taiyi¹⁸, he could have passed himself off as any of them. Why did he have to pick Quanzhen, of all sects?

The two old beggars were startled when they heard the words “of the Quanzhen order.” They shouted in unison, “You really are a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect? You and that…”

Yang Guo gave them no chance to mention Lu Wushuang. His longsword darted out, attacking both men’s chests and abdomens, the authentic swordplay of the Quanzhen Sect. The two old beggars held high rank and would never willingly gang up on a junior, but Yang Guo’s strike came with such uncanny speed that they were forced to raise their iron staves together to block. The staves had barely lifted when Yang Guo’s sword slipped through the gap between them, still thrusting at their chests. The two old beggars had never imagined his swordplay could be so swift and retreated hastily. Yang Guo showed no mercy, pressing his attack relentlessly. In the span of a few breaths, he had thrust eighteen times in succession, each thrust splitting into two, a single thrust that, with a flick of the wrist, became two strikes. This was the Quanzhen Sect’s advanced technique, the “One Breath Transforms into Three Pure Ones”¹⁹ sword art, where every move could split into three. Each time Yang Guo thrust his sword, the two old beggars retreated three steps. After these eighteen thrusts, the two beggars had not managed a single counter-stroke and had retreated a total of fifty-four steps. The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra²⁰ martial arts were designed specifically to counter the Quanzhen Sect. Yang Guo had not yet practised the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, he had trained in Quanzhen martial arts first, but his training was far from refined. He could not manage “transforming into three pure ones,” but “transforming into two pure ones” he could pull off convincingly enough.

Li Mochou watched the little Daoist’s swordplay, so refined and extraordinary, and could not help a secret shock. No wonder the Quanzhen Sect’s name rings so loudly, she thought. They truly produce talent in every generation. Give this man another ten years, and how could I possibly be his match? The leadership of the Quanzhen Sect may well fall to this little Daoist one day. If she had crossed hands with Yang Guo, within a few moves she would have known that his Quanzhen swordplay was only half-true, his foundation really being the Ancient Tomb Sect’s²¹ martial arts. But to the eye, truth and falsehood were hard to distinguish. Yang Guo had received the Quanzhen Sect’s oral formulae from Zhao Zhijing²² and had practised them since, so his Quanzhen martial arts were not entirely counterfeit. Hong Lingbo and Lu Wushuang, naturally, were even more dazzled by the spectacle.

Yang Guo’s eighteen thrusts completed, he shook his sword and darted behind the two beggars, again splitting one strike into two. The two beggars spun around hastily to defend. Yang Guo gave them no chance to let their iron staves meet his sword, he shifted behind them once more. The two beggars whirled again, but Yang Guo was already at their backs. He knew that in a contest of true skill, let alone one against two, he could not even match a single beggar. So he kept spinning and circling, relying entirely on qinggong as he orbited the two men.

Every Quanzhen disciple, upon reaching the appropriate level of martial training, was required to practise this qinggong in preparation for the footwork of the Big Dipper Formation.²³ Yang Guo’s footwork was Quanzhen, but his breathing and energy circulation followed the methods of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. The Ancient Tomb Sect’s qinggong was the finest under heaven. The moment he began moving, the two Beggars’ Guild experts could not keep up. They saw only a blur of lightning speed, a flash of white light as the longsword thrust again and again. Had Yang Guo truly intended to take their lives, twenty beggars would already be dead. The two beggars spun frantically, swinging their staves to protect their vital points, no longer able to think of countering, only of guarding their lives.

After dozens of such frantic circuits, the two beggars were dizzy and exhausted, staggering on their feet, on the verge of collapse. Li Mochou laughed. “Hey, Beggars’ Guild friends, let me teach you a method. Stand back to back. Then you won’t have to spin.”

The advice struck home. The two beggars were overjoyed and were about to follow it when Yang Guo thought, Not good! If they do that, I’ll lose. He stopped circling and thrust one move in two directions at the beggars’ backs.

The two beggars heard the urgent wind of the strike behind them. There was no time to turn and block with their staves. They hurriedly stepped forward, but the moment their feet touched ground, the sword was at their backs again. In their terror, they could only summon their energy and sprint. Yet Yang Guo’s sword tip was like a shadow, no matter how fast they ran, the blade was always hovering behind them. The moment their pace slackened, the sword tip pricked painfully at their back muscles. The two beggars knew Yang Guo meant them no real harm, otherwise, with a slight push of his hand, the sword tip advancing a mere foot, would the blade not have passed clean through their chests? Yet their feet dared not stop for an instant. All three sprinted with all their might, and in moments had covered over two li, leaving Li Mochou and the others far behind.

Yang Guo suddenly put on a burst of speed, darted ahead of the two beggars, and said with a grin, “Take it easy, careful you don’t fall!” The two beggars swung their iron staves together. Yang Guo’s left hand shot out and seized one staff, while his right hand laid the flat of his longsword against the other staff and pushed sideways. His left palm opened wide, and he gripped both staves at once. The two beggars sensed danger and immediately exerted their strength to pull back. Yang Guo’s internal power was inferior to theirs, how could he contest them in a direct clash of force? He slid his longsword straight down along the staves. If the two beggars did not release their grip, all eight of their fingers would be severed on the spot. They had no choice but to let go and leap back, their expressions deeply chagrined. To keep fighting was hopeless. To simply flee would be a disgrace too great to bear.

Yang Guo said, “Our humble order has always been on good terms with your noble guild. Every wrong has its source, every debt its debtor. The Scarlet Serpent Immortal²⁴ Li Mochou of the Ancient Tomb Sect is right here before you, why don’t you gentlemen seek her out instead?”

One old beggar suddenly understood. “Ah, yes, she carries a horsetail whisk, and her painted donkey wears golden bells. That one in the yellow robe, that’s her?”

Yang Guo laughed. “Correct, correct. The young lady who wounded your guild brothers with the Silver Arc Flying Blade²⁵, she is Li Mochou’s disciple…” He paused, then added, “Only I’m afraid… no, it won’t work, it won’t work…”

The beggar with the booming voice was impatient by nature. “What won’t work?” he demanded.

Yang Guo said, “Think about it. Li Mochou has rampaged across the jianghu, and everyone who hears her name trembles. Your noble guild is formidable, but not one among you is her match. Since it was her disciple who wounded your guild brother, you may as well let it go.”

The beggar, provoked to fury, bellowed and grabbed his iron staff, ready to charge back the way they had come. But the other beggar was more cautious by nature. He thought, The two of us together couldn’t even handle this little Daoist, and now we’re going to provoke the Scarlet Serpent Immortal? That would be walking straight to our deaths. He seized his companion’s arm. “There’s no need to rush. Let’s go back and plan this properly.” He clasped his hands toward Yang Guo. “May I ask the Daoist brother’s honoured name?”

Yang Guo laughed. “This humble Daoist’s surname is Sa, given name Huazi. We shall meet again.” He made a Daoist salute and turned to leave.

The two beggars muttered to themselves: “Sa Huazi, Sa Huazi? Never heard of him. Such a young man, yet his martial arts are so formidable…” One beggar suddenly leapt up, cursing. “That son of a bitch! That dog-fucking bastard!”

“What is it?” asked the other.

“His name is Sa Huazi, that’s ‘Kill Beggars’!²⁶ We got cursed by that thieving little Daoist and didn’t even know it.”

The two beggars rained down curses, but they did not dare go back to settle the score.

Yang Guo laughed to himself as he hurried back, worried that something might have happened to Lu Wushuang. He saw her turning her head this way and that, watching anxiously, clearly afraid to face her shifu directly. The moment she spotted Yang Guo, her face lit up. She urged her horse forward to meet him. “Fool,” she said softly, “that’s good. You abandoned me.”

Yang Guo smiled. Holding the sword horizontally in both hands, he presented the hilt to Hong Lingbo, bowing as he did so. “Many thanks for the loan of the sword.” Hong Lingbo reached out to take it. Yang Guo was about to turn away when Li Mochou said, “Wait.”

She had seen that this little Daoist’s martial arts were impressive and thought, If I let this man live, he will surely become a threat in the future. I might as well eliminate him now, while his skill is still below mine. The moment Yang Guo heard the word “wait,” he knew trouble was coming. He immediately pushed the sword forward a few more inches, placing it in Hong Lingbo’s hand, then released his grip and stepped back from the weapon. Hong Lingbo was forced to grasp the hilt. “Little Daoist,” she said with a laugh, “your martial arts are excellent.”

“You flatter me,” said Yang Guo.

Li Mochou had intended to provoke him into attacking, then finish him with a single sweep of her whisk. But now he held no weapon. Given her status, she could not use a weapon against an unarmed opponent. She slipped her whisk into the back of her collar and asked, “Which of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen²⁷ is your teacher?”

Yang Guo laughed. “I am a disciple of Wang Chongyang.”²⁸

He bore no goodwill toward any of the Quanzhen Daoists and held not the slightest respect for them. Qiu Chuji²⁹ had treated him decently enough, but they had spent so little time together, and at their parting Qiu Chuji had given him a harsh dressing-down. As for Hao Datong³⁰ and Zhao Zhijing, the mere thought of them set his teeth on edge. In the ancient tomb, he had studied the essential formulae of the Nine Yin Manual³¹ that Wang Chongyang himself had carved into the stone. To claim Wang Chongyang as his teacher was, if one stretched the point, not entirely untrue. But given his age, he could only be a disciple of Zhao Zhijing or Zhen Zhibing’s³² generation. Li Mochou, seeing that his martial arts were not weak, had asked which of Wang Chongyang’s seven disciples was his shifu, in doing so, she was already elevating him. If Yang Guo had casually named Qiu Chuji or Wang Chuyi,³³ Li Mochou would have believed him. But he refused to place himself a generation below Hao Datong, who had killed Grandma Sun,³⁴ so he raised the name of Wang Chongyang instead. The Chongyang Realised One³⁵ was the founding patriarch of the Quanzhen Sect and had accepted only seven disciples in his lifetime, a fact known to everyone in the jianghu. This little Daoist had not even been born when the Chongyang Realised One departed the mortal realm.

You ugly little wretch, you don’t know the height of heaven or the thickness of earth, Li Mochou thought. You don’t even know who I am, and you dare play tricks in front of me. But then she reconsidered: What Quanzhen Daoist would dare jest about their founding patriarch? Or use the name “Wang Chongyang” so casually? Yet if he is not a Quanzhen disciple, why do his martial moves clearly belong to the Quanzhen Sect?

Yang Guo saw that though she still wore a faint smile, her brows were faintly knit in deliberation. He recalled how he had disguised himself as a farm boy and toyed with Hong Lingbo that day, and how he had crossed hands with shifu and disciple several times in the ancient tomb. I mustn’t let them recognise my voice or mannerisms. The sooner I leave, the better. He raised a hand in salute, swung onto his horse, and was about to gallop away.

Li Mochou drifted forward lightly and blocked his path. “Get down,” she said. “I have questions for you.”

Yang Guo said, “I know what you want to ask. You want to ask whether I’ve seen a beautiful young woman with a slightly disabled left leg, and whether I know where the book she carries is hidden.”

Li Mochou’s heart jolted. “Yes,” she said mildly. “You are clever. Where is that book?”

Yang Guo said, “A while ago, my junior brother and I were resting by the roadside when we saw that young lady fighting three beggars. One beggar was wounded by her blade, but then two more beggars arrived. The young lady could not hold them off, and in the end they captured her…”

Li Mochou had always been composed and unflappable, even when heaven itself was falling, her expression would not change. But the thought that Lu Wushuang had fallen into the Beggars’ Guild’s hands, and that the Secret Manual of the Five Venoms must have fallen into their hands as well, stirred a flicker of anxiety in her.

Yang Guo, seeing his lie take effect, embellished further. “One beggar pulled a book of some kind from the girl’s bosom. She refused to give it up, and the beggar gave her a mighty slap across the face.” Lu Wushuang shot him a sidelong glare. Fine, you fool, you’re making up stories to mock me. Just wait till I get my hands on you. Yang Guo, knowing full well Lu Wushuang was terrified, deliberately asked her, “Junior brother, wouldn’t you say that’s infuriating? Those beggars were feeling her up, touching her hands and feet, she suffered quite the indignity, didn’t she?” Lu Wushuang lowered her head and could only answer with a muffled “Mm.”

Just then, the sound of hoofbeats came from behind the mountain bend. A column of troops surged forth, with ceremonial guards and soldiers, a formidable procession. It was a unit of Mongol soldiers. By this time, the Jin dynasty had been destroyed, and all the lands north of the Huai River³⁶ belonged to the Mongols. Li Mochou naturally did not regard these soldiers as worth her attention, but she was anxious to learn Lu Wushuang’s whereabouts and did not wish to invite trouble. She stepped aside. Iron-shod hooves raised clouds of dust as over a hundred Mongol cavalry escorting an official thundered past. The Mongol official wore a brocade robe, a bow and quiver at his waist, and rode with great skill. His features could not be seen clearly, but his bearing as he galloped was fierce and dashing.

Once the cavalry had passed, Li Mochou raised her whisk and brushed away the dust the galloping horses had kicked onto her robes. Every time the whisk moved, Lu Wushuang’s heart gave a violent lurch, knowing that if that sweep, instead of brushing away dust, were to land on her head, her brains would inevitably splatter on the spot.

Having dusted herself off, Li Mochou asked, “What happened next?”

Yang Guo said, “The beggars seized the young lady and headed north. This humble Daoist, seeing injustice on the road, wanted to intervene, so those two old beggars stayed behind to fight me.”

Li Mochou nodded and gave a faint smile. “Very well. Thank you. My surname is Li, and my name is Mochou. In the jianghu they call me the Scarlet Serpent Immortal, though some call me the Scarlet Serpent Demon. Have you heard of me?”

Yang Guo shook his head. “I have not. Young lady, you are so young and beautiful, as lovely as a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world, how could anyone call you a demon?”

By now Li Mochou was past thirty, but her neigong was profound, her skin snow-white and tender, without a single wrinkle, she still looked like a woman of twenty. All her life she had been proud of her beauty, and hearing Yang Guo praise her to her face naturally pleased her. She flicked her whisk. “You jest with me, claiming to be a disciple of Wang Chongyang. I should make you suffer a little before you die. But since you know how to speak pleasantly, I’ll merely use this whisk to teach you a small lesson.”

Yang Guo shook his head. “That won’t do. This humble Daoist cannot casually cross hands with a junior.”

Li Mochou spat. “At death’s door and still joking. How am I your junior?”

Yang Guo said, “My teacher, the Chongyang Realised One, was of the same generation as your shizu. Wouldn’t that make me a generation above you? You are such a young, pretty little girl, innocent, fair-skinned and adorable. I, your elder, cannot bully you.”

Li Mochou smiled faintly. “Lingbo,” she said to Hong Lingbo, “lend him the sword again.” Yang Guo waved his hand. “No, I…”

Before he could finish, Hong Lingbo had drawn the sword from its scabbard. But there was a cha sound, what she held was only the hilt. The blade remained inside the scabbard. For a moment she was stunned, then understood: when Yang Guo had returned the sword, he had secretly used force to snap the blade, leaving only the barest thread of metal connecting it. The moment she exerted force to draw the sword, it had broken clean off.

Li Mochou’s expression darkened. Yang Guo said, “Under normal circumstances, I could not cross hands with junior young ladies. But since you insist on testing me, how about this: I will receive three moves of your whisk with my bare hands. Let us be clear, only three moves. As long as you can withstand them, I shall let you go your way. But after three moves, you must not pester me further.” He knew that in this situation, a fight was unavoidable. But if they truly matched skills, he was absolutely no match for her. So he put on the airs of a senior, speaking with exaggerated authority, and used words to bind her, making her agree to only three moves, with no fourth move. Since he could not beat her anyway, whether he used a weapon or not made no difference. Ideally, she would also refrain from using that whisk, with its terrifyingly lethal techniques.

How could Li Mochou not see through his scheme? As if a whelp like you could take three of my moves, she thought. “Very well,” she said aloud. “Old senior, your junior requests instruction.”

Yang Guo said, “I wouldn’t dare, little sister…” Suddenly, a blur of grey-green motion, the shadows of the whisk surrounded him, front and back. This was Li Mochou’s move, “No Crevice Unpenetrated,”³⁷ which attacked every joint and bone of the opponent’s body. Though it was a single move, it was in truth a thousand strands, ten thousand threads, one move containing dozens of strikes, aiming simultaneously at every major acupoint across his entire body. She had just witnessed Yang Guo fight the two beggars and seen that his swordplay was refined, no mediocre hand. To wound him within three moves would not be easy. So from the very first move, she unleashed the most prized technique of her life: the Triple Threat Hand.

These three moves were her own creation, even Xiaolongnü had never seen them. Yang Guo, seeing them for the first time, was badly startled. This was, in truth, an unblockable move, dodge left and the right acupoints are struck. Evade the front and the back acupoints suffer. Only a fighter whose martial skill far surpassed hers could counter with a ferocious frontal assault, forcing her to pull back her whisk in self-defence. Yang Guo naturally lacked that level of power. In his desperation, he suddenly somersaulted, landing head-down, feet-up, and circulated his energy in the method taught by Ouyang Feng³⁸, reversing the flow through his meridians, sealing every acupoint in his body. He felt countless points on his body simultaneously prickle with a faint numbness, then nothing more. His body spun and he kicked out while inverted.

Li Mochou saw with her own eyes that she had clearly struck multiple acupoints, yet he could still counter-attack. She was astonished. She followed with “No Place Unreached,” a move that targeted the lesser acupoints across his entire body. Yang Guo, supporting himself on his head, thrust out his left hand, stabbing his finger at the “Weizhong” acupoint³⁹ in the bend of her right knee. Even more shocked, Li Mochou dodged hastily. The third move of the Triple Threat Hand, “Nothing Left Undone,” followed immediately.

This move no longer targeted acupoints but struck specifically at the eyes, throat, lower abdomen, groin, and other soft, vulnerable parts of the body, hence the name “Nothing Left Undone.” It was vicious and merciless, bordering on the outright despicable. When she had practised this lethal move, how could she ever have imagined that there existed someone in the world who would fight standing on his head? In her haste, she launched the attack exactly as she had trained it, striking at the usual target areas of a standing opponent. As a result, the strike aimed at the eyes landed on the instep. The strike at the throat hit the calf. The strike at the abdomen struck the thigh. The strike at the groin landed on the chest. Every blow meant for softness met only solidity, utterly without effect.

Li Mochou’s shock was beyond description. In her life she had witnessed many great battles and had faced opponents whose martial skill exceeded her own, but she always assessed the enemy thoroughly beforehand, and whether attacking or defending, striking or evading, she had a plan firmly in mind. Never could she have imagined that this little Daoist possessed such inconceivable skill. In that single moment of stupefaction, Yang Guo suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on the filaments of her whisk. He flipped upright, and with a jerk, wrenched the whisk from her grasp.

At the second Huashan Sword Summit,⁴⁰ Ouyang Feng, reversing the flow through his meridians, had bitten Huang Yaoshi’s⁴¹ finger in a single snap and nearly cost him his life. When reversing the meridian flow, the lips and mouth circulate energy, and the instinct to bite arises naturally from the opening and closing motions. Of all the forces the human body can exert, none surpasses the power of the teeth, an ordinary person can crack a walnut with their teeth, but even the strongest man’s grip cannot crush a walnut shell. Thus, though Yang Guo’s internal power was far inferior to Li Mochou’s, the moment his teeth clamped onto the whisk, he wrested away the weapon she had used to dominate the jianghu for over a decade.

This turn of events was so sudden that Hong Lingbo and Lu Wushuang both cried out in alarm. Li Mochou, though startled, showed not a trace of fear. She clapped her palms together lightly, unleashing the Scarlet Serpent Divine Palm, and lunged to seize back her whisk. But just as her palm was about to strike, she suddenly cried, “Ah! It’s you! Where is your shifu?” For Yang Guo had smeared mud on his face, and during those frantic inverted spins, the mud had flaked off, revealing half his true features. At the same moment, Hong Lingbo recognised Lu Wushuang and called out, “Shifu, it’s Shimei!”⁴² Earlier, Lu Wushuang had not dared face Li Mochou or Hong Lingbo directly, but while Yang Guo and Li Mochou fought fiercely, she had watched intently and forgotten to keep her face turned away from Hong Lingbo’s gaze.

Yang Guo touched down with his left foot and flew onto Li Mochou’s painted donkey. At the same time, his left hand flicked and a Jade Bee Needle⁴³ shot into the head of the donkey Hong Lingbo was riding. Li Mochou was enraged. She flew at Yang Guo. Yang Guo vaulted from the saddle, reversed the whisk handle, and with a pu sound, smashed the painted donkey’s skull to pulp. “Wifey!” he yelled. “Quick, flee with your husband!” He landed on his horse’s back and flailed the whisk wildly behind him. Lu Wushuang instantly spurred her horse into a gallop. Li Mochou’s qinggong, when deployed, could easily outrun a four-legged beast within one or two li, but Yang Guo’s bizarre moves had frightened her so badly that she dared not close the distance too much. She merely used the Lesser Grappling Hand⁴⁴ to try to snatch back her whisk. On the fourth exchange, the three fingers of her left hand brushed the whisk filaments. She reversed her grip and pulled. Yang Guo could not hold on, and the whisk was back in her hands.

Hong Lingbo’s donkey, struck in the head by the Jade Bee Needle, suddenly went mad. It charged straight at Li Mochou, jaws gaping to bite. Li Mochou shouted, “Lingbo! What’s wrong with you?” Hong Lingbo said, “The donkey’s gone stubborn!” She yanked hard on the reins, pulling until the donkey’s mouth was full of blood. Abruptly the donkey’s four legs went soft and it collapsed, dead. Hong Lingbo sprang up. “Shifu, let’s chase them!” But by now, Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang had already raced more than half a li away, there was no catching them now.

Lu Wushuang and Yang Guo galloped hard for a long stretch. When she turned and saw that her shifu was no longer pursuing, she called out, “Fool, my chest hurts terribly. I can’t take it!” Yang Guo leapt off his horse, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened. There was no sound of pursuing hoofbeats. “No need to be afraid now,” he said. “Let’s go slowly.” And so the two rode side by side.

Lu Wushuang let out a long sigh. “Fool, how did you manage to snatch even my shifu’s whisk away?”

Yang Guo said, “I messed around with her and made her happy, so she gave me the whisk. But I, your elder, was too embarrassed to take a little girl’s things, so I gave it back.”

“Hmph,” said Lu Wushuang. “And why exactly was she happy? Because she thought you were handsome?” As she said this, her cheeks flushed faintly.

Yang Guo laughed. “Maybe she thought I was amusingly foolish. It’s possible.”

Lu Wushuang spat. “Pei! Amusing indeed.”

The two travelled slowly for a while, then, fearing Li Mochou would catch up, spurred their mounts into another gallop. Thus they alternated, fast, then slow, fast, then slow, until dusk. Yang Guo said, “Wifey, if you want to keep your little life, you’ll have to endure the pain of your wound and ride through one more night.”

Lu Wushuang said, “If you spout any more nonsense, see if I pay you any attention.”

Yang Guo stuck out his tongue. “It’s a shame the horses are tired. Ride them one more night and they’ll surely drop dead.”

The sky was darkening when suddenly they heard the neighing of several horses ahead. Yang Guo said happily, “Let’s change horses.” They urged their mounts forward and after about a li came upon a village where over a hundred horses were tethered, it was the Mongol cavalry unit they had seen earlier that day. Yang Guo said, “Wait here. I’ll scout the village.” He dismounted and slipped inside.

He saw lamplight streaming from the window of a large house. Yang Guo crept to the window and peered in. A Mongol official sat with his back to the window. An idea stirred in Yang Guo’s mind: Rather than change horses, change the man. He waited a moment until the Mongol official rose and began pacing the room. The man was about thirty years old, the same brocade-robed official they had seen during the day. His manner and bearing carried great authority. His rank was clearly not low. When the official’s back was turned, Yang Guo gently lifted the window lattice and slipped inside. The official heard the wind at his back. He lunged forward a step, swung his left arm across, and spun around, the ten fingers of both hands like the talons of a hawk, stabbing viciously forward. It was the fierce and formidable “Great Power Eagle Claw Skill.”⁴⁵ Yang Guo was mildly surprised, he had not expected this Mongol official to possess some degree of martial ability. He sidestepped, slipping through the gap between the man’s hands. The official grabbed several more times, but Yang Guo evaded each strike with casual ease.

In his youth, the official had received instruction from a renowned exponent of the Eagle Claw School⁴⁶ and was confident in his martial prowess. Yet after exchanging several moves with Yang Guo, he found himself utterly unable to execute a single technique. Yang Guo saw him thrusting viciously with both hands again. He suddenly sprang upward, pressing his left hand on the man’s left shoulder and his right hand on the right shoulder, driving his internal power straight through both arms. “Sit!” he commanded. The official’s knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor, his chest tight and stifled as though a bellyful of blood was about to burst from his throat. Yang Guo reached out and massaged two acupoints beneath the man’s ribs. The official’s chest immediately relaxed, and he let out a long breath. He rose slowly and stared at Yang Guo. After a long pause, he finally asked, “Who are you? What do you want?” These two sentences of Chinese were spoken with perfect pronunciation and tone.

Yang Guo smiled and countered, “What is your name? What office do you hold?”

The official’s eyes blazed with fury and he lunged again. Yang Guo paid him no mind and sat down in the chair the man had just vacated. The official hammered straight down with both arms. Yang Guo casually deflected and neutralised each blow without the slightest effort. “Hey,” he said, “you’ve got an injury in your shoulder. Better not exert yourself.”

The official froze. “What injury?” He touched his right shoulder with his left hand, there was a faint, deep ache at one spot. Hurriedly he touched his left shoulder with his right hand. The same spot there ached in just the same way. He had not noticed it before, but now that his fingers pressed on it, a single tiny point seemed to hurt clear through to the bone. Horrified, the official tore open his clothing and looked sidelong. On his left shoulder was a red dot the size of a needle hole, and the same on his right shoulder. He understood instantly, when the other man had pressed down on his shoulders moments ago, he had concealed a hidden weapon in his hands and already struck. Shocked and furious, he shouted, “What hidden weapon did you use? Is it poisoned or not?”

Yang Guo smiled faintly. “You’ve studied martial arts, how can you not know even this basic rule? Large hidden weapons are non-toxic. Small hidden weapons are naturally toxic.” The official was ninety per cent convinced, but still hoped it was mere intimidation. His expression flickered between belief and doubt. Yang Guo smiled again. “Your shoulders have been struck by my divine needles. The poison spreads one inch per day. In about six days, it will reach your heart, and then you will return to heaven.”

: 寸 – cùn. A traditional Chinese unit of length, about 3.3 centimetres. Ten cun make one chi.

Though the official wanted to beg for a cure, he could not bring himself to speak the words. In his fury and desperation, he roared, “In that case, your lordship will take you down with me!” He threw himself at Yang Guo. Yang Guo slipped aside, now holding a Jade Bee Needle in each hand. When the official lunged to grab him again, Yang Guo extended both hands and drove the needles into the man’s palms. The official felt a stab of pain in both palms. He stopped dead, stared at the fine needles in his hands, and then felt both palms go numb. Utterly terrified, he dared resist no longer. After a long pause, he said, “I admit defeat.”

Yang Guo roared with laughter. “What is your name?”

The official said, “This humble officer is Yelü Zhu.⁴⁷ May I ask the hero’s honoured name?”

Yang Guo said, “I am Yang Guo. What office do you hold among the Mongols?” Yelü Zhu told him. He was, it turned out, the eldest son of the Mongol Grand Chancellor Yelü Chucai.⁴⁸ Yelü Chucai had assisted Genghis Khan and Ögedei in conquering the four quarters, his achievements towering and illustrious. Thus Yelü Zhu, though young, had already attained the high office of Commissioner of Bianliang, and was journeying south to Henan to assume his post.

Yang Guo did not understand what a Commissioner of Bianliang was. He merely nodded and said, “Very good, very good.”

Yelü Zhu said, “This humble officer does not know how he has offended Hero Yang. I am utterly baffled. Whatever Hero Yang commands, please simply give your orders.”

Yang Guo laughed. “No particular offence.” Suddenly he vaulted out the window.

Yelü Zhu was horrified. “Hero Yang!” he cried, rushing to the window, but Yang Guo had long since vanished without a trace. Yelü Zhu was seized with terror and doubt. This man came like a shadow and left like the wind. I’ve been struck by his poison needles, what am I to do? He hurriedly pulled the fine needles from his palms. His shoulders and palms began to itch and burn unbearably.

While he was lost in turmoil, the window lattice stirred and Yang Guo was back. In the room now stood a young woman as well. Lu Wushuang. Yelü Zhu said, “Ah, you’ve returned!”

Yang Guo pointed at Lu Wushuang. “She is my wife. Kowtow to her.”

Lu Wushuang snapped, “What did you say?” She struck him with a backhand slap. If Yang Guo had wanted to evade it, how could that slap possibly have landed? But ever since losing Xiaolongnü, in his despondency and boredom, his mood had turned perverse and he had developed a taste for suffering. Being slapped by her, being cursed by her, he found it indescribably comfortable and satisfying. He did not dodge. Pa! The blow landed hot and stinging on his cheek.

Yelü Zhu, not knowing that the two of them were used to playing around like this, assumed Lu Wushuang’s martial arts were even higher than Yang Guo’s. He stared dumbly at them, not daring to make a sound. Yang Guo rubbed his slapped cheek and said to Yelü Zhu with a smile, “You’ve been struck by my divine needles, but you won’t die immediately. As long as you behave obediently, I will naturally cure you.”

Yelü Zhu said, “All my life, this humble officer has most admired heroes and gallant men. It is only a pity that until now I have never met anyone of true ability. To be able to make the acquaintance of such an eminent worthy today truly fulfils a lifelong wish. Whatever Hero Yang commands, this humble officer will gladly carry out.” These words simultaneously elevated his own status while heaping lavish praise on the other party.

Yang Guo had never dealt with government officials before and did not know that the greatest skill of office-holders was flattering their superiors, and the more adept they were at the art of officialdom, the more seamlessly the flattery was woven into their words. Yelü Zhu was originally of Khitan descent, rough and honest by nature. But after the fall of the Liao, serving in the Mongol court, he had gradually absorbed the habits of Chinese officialdom. Yang Guo, puffed up by a few phrases of flattery, was thoroughly pleased. He raised his thumb in praise. “I wouldn’t have guessed, you’re a man of real backbone. Come, I’ll cure you right now.” He immediately used a lodestone to draw out the two Jade Bee Needles from Yelü Zhu’s shoulders, then applied antidote to the wounds on his shoulders and palms. Unless Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo were facing a truly formidable enemy, the Jade Bee Needles they used were only coated with the mildest poison.

Lu Wushuang had never seen a Jade Bee Needle before. Now, looking at the two needles, finer than human hair, so light they seemed they could float on water, she thought, A single gust of wind could blow these needles away to who knows where, how could they possibly serve as hidden weapons? Her admiration for Yang Guo grew another notch, but her mouth still said, “Using such insidious hidden weapons, no manly spirit at all. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you?”

Yang Guo smiled but did not respond. He said to Yelü Zhu, “The two of us wish to seek refuge with Your Excellency and serve as your attendants.” Yelü Zhu started. “Hero Yang jests,” he said hastily. “Whatever instructions you have, please simply speak them.” Yang Guo said, “I am not jesting. We truly wish to be Your Excellency’s attendants.” Yelü Zhu thought, So these two want official posts, seeking a career path. His manner instantly became more imposing. He cleared his throat and said gravely, “Mm. Having studied martial arts, to sell one’s skills to the imperial house, that is the proper path.”

Yang Guo laughed. “Now you’ve got it wrong again. We have an extremely formidable enemy pursuing us from behind. The two of us cannot defeat her and wish to pose as Your Excellency’s attendants, to hide from her for a while.” Yelü Zhu was deeply disappointed. His stiffened face relaxed back into a fawning smile. “With martial skills like yours, what mere enemy is worth mentioning? If they come in numbers, this humble officer shall muster the troops and have them arrested, to be dealt with at your pleasure.” Yang Guo said, “Even I cannot defeat her, so Your Excellency need not trouble yourself. Quickly, instruct your attendants to bring us a change of clothes.”

His words were spoken lightly, but his tone carried an authority of its own. Yelü Zhu assented repeatedly and ordered attendants to bring clothing. Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang went to another room to change. Lu Wushuang took a mirror and studied herself, in the glass, a handsome young Mongol officer looked back at her, with sable coat and brocade robes, bright eyes and white teeth. She found it rather amusing.

They set out early the next morning. Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang each rode in a sedan chair, carried by bearers, while Yelü Zhu continued on horseback. Before noon, the clear ringing of bells sounded faintly, from far to near, and swept past the travelling party. Lu Wushuang was overjoyed. Resting and recovering in this sedan chair, nothing could be better. That fool’s foolish ideas do have some merit after all. I’ll just let them carry me all the way to Jiangnan.

They travelled thus for two days without hearing the bells again. Li Mochou had presumably kept pursuing forward without doubling back. The Daoists and Beggars’ Guild members seeking revenge on Lu Wushuang had also failed to discover her trail.

On the third day, the party reached Longju Fortress,⁴⁹ a vital transport hub between Shaanxi and Henan, bustling with commerce. After dinner, Yelü Zhu strolled into Yang Guo’s room to consult him on martial arts, piling hat after hat of flattery onto him until Yang Guo was thoroughly comfortable. Yang Guo casually offered a pointer or two. Yelü Zhu was listening with rapt attention when an attendant hurried in. “Reporting to Your Excellency. His Lordship has sent a family letter from the capital.” Yelü Zhu said happily, “Good, I’ll come at once.” He was about to rise and excuse himself when a thought struck him: I’ll receive the messenger right here in front of him, to show that I hold nothing back from him. Then he will surely be equally open when teaching me martial arts. He said to the attendant, “Have him come here to see me.”

The attendant’s face showed unease. “That… that…”

Yelü Zhu waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. Bring him in.”

The attendant said, “It is… His Lordship himself…”

Yelü Zhu’s face hardened. “All this fussing, hurry up and…” Before he could finish, the door curtain lifted and a man walked in, laughing. “Zhu’er, you didn’t expect it to be me, did you?”

The moment Yelü Zhu saw him, shock and joy mingled on his face. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees. “Father! How is it that you, honoured elder…” The man laughed. “Indeed! I came myself.” This man was none other than Yelü Zhu’s father, Yelü Chucai, the Grand Chancellor of the Mongol Empire, known in the Mongol official system as the Director of the Secretariat.

Yang Guo heard Yelü Zhu call the man “Father.” He did not know that this man’s authority extended across ten thousand li, that he stood beneath only one man and above all others, the most powerful Grand Chancellor alive. Yang Guo studied him: he was not particularly old, his features refined and elegant, his dignified bearing tempered with a touch of kindness and warmth. An involuntary respect stirred in Yang Guo’s heart.

The man had barely settled into a chair when two more people entered and came forward to pay their respects to Yelü Zhu, calling him “Elder Brother.” One was a man of twenty-three or twenty-four. The other a woman about Yang Guo’s age. Yelü Zhu said delightedly, “Second Brother, Third Sister, you’ve all come too.” To his father he said, “Father, you left the capital and your son knew nothing of it.”

Yelü Chucai nodded. “Yes. There is a matter of great importance, if I did not come personally to oversee it, I truly could not rest easy.” He glanced at Yang Guo and the other attendants, signalling for them to withdraw.

Yelü Zhu was caught in a dilemma. He ought to wave away the attendants, but Yang Guo was a man he could not afford to offend. His face showed his hesitation. Yang Guo understood his predicament. He smiled and withdrew on his own. Yelü Chucai had already noticed that Yang Guo’s bearing was unusual. When he had entered, all the attendants had bowed in obeisance, only this one man had stood erect. And now he walked out with an air of complete independence, as though he regarded dukes and princes with contempt. Yelü Chucai’s interest was piqued. “Who is that man?” he asked Yelü Zhu.

Yelü Zhu was a high frontier official with his own command, to confess Yang Guo’s true background in front of his younger siblings would be far too humiliating. He answered vaguely, “A friend your son met on the road. Father, you have come south in person, may I ask what matter this concerns?” Yelü Chucai led his children into Yelü Zhu’s private chamber and, with a sigh, slowly explained the situation.

After the death of the Mongol Great Khan Genghis Khan, his third son Ögedei had succeeded to the throne. Ögedei had ruled as Great Khan for thirteen years before his own death, after which the Empress Naimazhen⁵⁰ had assumed the regency and presided over the court. The Empress placed her trust in petty men and pushed aside the great generals and ministers of the previous reign. The court had fallen into disorder. Chancellor Yelü Chucai was a veteran of three reigns and a founding minister of the empire. Whenever the Empress’s measures were improper, he would remonstrate loyally and directly. The Empress, finding her decrees constantly obstructed by him, was naturally angered. But his rank was high, his reputation weighty, and what he said was always correct in principle, he could not easily be shaken. Yelü Chucai knew he had offended the Empress and that the lives of his entire household, a hundred mouths in all, hung by a thread as fragile as piled eggs. So he had submitted a memorial stating that the Henan region was unsettled and required a high minister to pacify it, volunteering himself for the mission. The Empress was overjoyed, the farther this man went, the better, so she would no longer have to endure his aggravating presence every day. She immediately approved the memorial. Thus Yelü Chucai, taking his second son Yelü Qi⁵¹ and third daughter Yelü Yan,⁵² had come directly to Henan, nominally on a pacification mission, in truth to escape disaster.

Yang Guo watched Yelü Chucai and the others leave his quarters and returned to his own room, where he chatted nonsense with Lu Wushuang to amuse himself. Lu Wushuang turned her head away and ignored him. After Yang Guo had teased her several times without getting a single response, he sat cross-legged and began his training.

Now Lu Wushuang felt ignored. She watched him lower his head and close his eyes, remaining motionless for what seemed like forever. “Hey, Fool,” she said, “why are you training at a time like this?” Yang Guo did not answer. Lu Wushuang said crossly, “Training can wait. Are you going to keep me company and talk or not?” She was about to reach out and tickle him when Yang Guo suddenly sprang to his feet. “Someone’s spying on the rooftop!” he said in a low voice.

Lu Wushuang had heard not the slightest sound. She glanced up at the ceiling. “Trying to fool me again?”

Yang Guo said, “Not here, two buildings over.” Lu Wushuang was even more sceptical. She laughed softly and muttered, “Fool,” assuming he was just playing dumb.

Yang Guo tugged her sleeve and whispered, “It might be your shifu come looking. Let’s hide first.” At the word “shifu,” a cold sweat immediately broke out across Lu Wushuang’s back. She followed him to the window. Yang Guo pointed west. Lu Wushuang looked up. Sure enough, on the rooftop two buildings away, a dark figure lay crouched in the blackness. It was a moonless night, without the light of stars or moon. Without concentrating intently, one could not have made it out at all. She marvelled inwardly: How did that fool notice? She knew her shifu had always been proud and would never change from her apricot-yellow or indigo Daoist robes, even for night operations. She whispered in Yang Guo’s ear, “It’s not my shifu.”

The words had barely left her lips when the black-clad figure suddenly sprang up and raced across the rooftops to the window of Yelü Chucai and his children. A kick shattered the window lattice, and the figure vaulted inside, blade in hand, crying, “Yelü Chucai! Today I will perish together with you!” The voice was a woman’s.

Yang Guo’s heart stirred. That woman moves fast, her martial arts seem superior to Yelü Zhu’s. The old man’s life may be in danger.

“Let’s go look!” Lu Wushuang cried. The two of them dashed over and crouched outside the window, peering in.

Inside, Yelü Zhu was wielding a wooden bench, thrusting and blocking as he fought the black-clad woman. The woman was quite young, but her blade work was vicious and merciless. The willow-leaf saber⁵³ in her hand was exceptionally sharp. After several strokes, she had hacked off all four legs of the bench. Yelü Zhu could hold out no longer. “Father! Get away, quickly!” he shouted, then yelled at the top of his lungs, “Guards!”

The young woman suddenly launched a flying kick. Yelü Zhu, caught off guard, took it squarely in the waist and toppled to the floor. The young woman pressed her advantage, raising her saber to cleave Yelü Chucai’s skull.

Not good! Yang Guo thought. Save the man first. I’ll figure out the rest later. He had a Jade Bee Needle ready between his fingers, about to shoot it at the young woman’s wrist, when Yelü Chucai’s daughter Yelü Yan cried, “Show some respect!” She struck with her right palm at the young woman’s face while her left hand employed the Empty Hand Seizes Blade⁵⁴ technique to snatch the weapon. These two moves were coordinated with considerable finesse. The young woman tilted her head to evade the palm strike, but her wrist was caught by Yelü Yan. In her desperation, she launched a flying kick, forcing Yelü Yan to retreat, only then was her saber not wrested away. Yang Guo saw that both young women moved with impressive speed and secretly admired them. In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged seven or eight moves, slashing, blocking, striking, evading.

By now, more than ten guards had crowded through the doorway. Seeing the two women locked in combat, they all moved to intervene. Yelü Zhu said, “Hold! Third Miss doesn’t need your help.”

Yang Guo whispered to Lu Wushuang, “Wifey, these two girls’ martial arts are better than yours.” Lu Wushuang flared up and struck at him with a side palm. Yang Guo evaded with a smile. “Don’t make trouble, watch the fight.” Lu Wushuang said, “Then tell me truthfully, am I better, or are they?” Yang Guo lowered his voice. “One on one, neither of those girls is your match. But if you fought both at once, based purely on martial skill you’d lose. However, their fighting style is too straightforward, nowhere near as cunning and treacherous, as vicious and venomous as yours. So in the end, you’d still win.” Lu Wushuang was secretly pleased. “What do you mean, ‘cunning and treacherous, vicious and venomous’? How ugly that sounds! It’s ‘adaptable and versatile, nimble and ingenious.’ When it comes to cunning treachery, no one in the world can match our Fool, Silly Guo.” Yang Guo smiled. “Wouldn’t that make you Silly Madam?” Lu Wushuang spat lightly.

The two young women fought on. Yelü Yan, after all, had no weapon. Several times she tried to seize the opponent’s willow-leaf saber but failed, and instead was forced to dodge and weave, unable to counter-attack. Yelü Qi said, “Third Sister, let me try.” He sidled in at an angle, his right hand launching three successive palm strikes. Yelü Yan withdrew to the wall. “Fine,” she said. “Let’s see what you can do.”

Yang Guo had watched only three moves from Yelü Qi and was already secretly astonished. The man’s left hand remained tucked at his waist, never moving. His right hand extended and retracted, his feet never shifting position, as he casually dealt with the young woman’s saber. His techniques were exquisitely refined, but even more remarkable was the precision of his timing and positioning. This man is truly formidable, Yang Guo thought. His martial arts seem to be from the Quanzhen Sect, yet they are quite different.

Lu Wushuang said, “Fool, his martial arts are far better than yours.” Yang Guo was watching so intently that he did not even hear her.

王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. Founder of the Quanzhen Order and foremost of the Five Greats. He led anti-Jin resistance before turning to Daoism; in the novel he was Lin Chaoying’s beloved, though their relationship was never consummated. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
洪凌波 – Hóng Língbō. Her name meaning “treading the waves”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
李莫愁 – Lǐ Mòchóu. Her name meaning “do not sorrow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately one-third of a mile or five hundred metres. ↩
丐帮 – Gàibāng. Largest martial arts organisation in the jianghu, continued from LOCH era. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
二更 – èr gēng. Second of the five night watches, approximately 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. ↩
师父 (Shīfu). “Teacher-Father.” The standard term for a martial arts master, combining the characters for “teacher” (师) and “father” (父). Compound reflects the Confucian principle that the teacher-disciple bond carries the weight of the parent-child relationship. ↩
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. ↩
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. ↩
小龙女 – Xiǎolóngnǚ. Literally little dragon maiden. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
Gugu (姑姑) — Literally “paternal aunt,” but used here as a term of respectful address for a young woman of the older generation. Yang Guo uses this to address Xiaolongnü, his shifu. ↩
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. ↩
江南 – Jiāngnán. Prosperous region south of Yangtze River, 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. ↩
七袋弟子 – qī dài dìzi. Seven-Bag Disciple of the Beggars’ Guild. Members wore bags on their clothing to indicate rank; seven bags denotes a senior position. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
太上老君 – Tàishàng Lǎojūn. Literally the Grand Supreme Elder Lord. Deified form of Laozi and supreme patriarch of the Daoist pantheon; invoking his name was a solemn appeal within Daoist courtesy. See Wikipedia. ↩
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. ↩
正一，大道，太一 – Zhèngyǐ, Dàdào, Tàiyī. Three alternative Daoist sects that Yang Guo could have impersonated instead of Quanzhen. Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) is one of the two major branches of Daoism. Dadao (Great Way) and Taiyi (Supreme Unity) were smaller Daoist schools that flourished during the Jin-Yuan period. ↩
一气化三清 – Yī Qì Huà Sān Qīng. “One Breath Transforms into Three Pure Ones.” An advanced Quanzhen sword technique where a single thrust splits into three simultaneous strikes ↩
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. ↩
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. ↩
赵志敬 – Zhào Zhìjìng. His name meaning “aspiring to reverence”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
天罡北斗阵 – Tiāngāng Běidǒu Zhèn. Quanzhen battle formation based on the Northern Dipper. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
赤练仙子 – Chìliàn Xiānzǐ. Literally scarlet chain immortal. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
银弧刀 – Yín Hú Dāo. Literally silver arc blade. Curved dao that could be thrown or wielded at close range. ↩
萨华滋 – Sà Huázī. Pun in Chinese: “Sa Huázī” (萨华滋) is a pun of “Shā Huàzi” (杀化子), which means “Kill Beggars”. Yang Guo deliberately chose this name to insult the two Beggars’ Guild members, knowing they would not catch on immediately. ↩
全真七子 – Quánzhēn Qī Zǐ. Seven Masters of Quanzhen, the seven personal disciples of Wang Chongyang: Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, Hao Datong, and Sun Bu’er. ↩
王重阳 – Wáng Chóngyáng. His name meaning “double yang”, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
丘处机 – Qiū Chǔjī. His name meaning “dwelling in opportunity”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
郝大通 – Hǎo Dàtōng. His name meaning “great penetration”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
九阴真经 – Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng. Legendary martial arts compendium compiled by Huang Shang during the Northern Song dynasty. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
甄志丙 – Zhēn Zhìbǐng. His name meaning “aspiring to the third stem”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
王处一 – Wáng Chùyī. His name meaning “dwelling in oneness”. 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. ↩
Chongyang Zhenren (重阳真人). “Chongyang the Realised One,” the Daoist honorific title of Wang Chongyang. Zhenren is a title for an enlightened Daoist master. ↩
淮河 – Huái Hé. Major river in central China, traditionally marking the boundary between north and south. ↩
三无三不手 – Sānwú Sānbù Shǒu. Literally three no’s and three doesn’ts. It refers to the three absolutes of this technique: No crevices it doesn’t penetrate, no place it doesn’t reach, and nothing it doesn’t do. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
欧阳锋 – Ōuyáng Fēng. His name meaning “blade” or “cutting edge”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
委中穴 – Wěizhōng Xué. Literally middle of the bend. Acupoint at the back of the knee on the bladder meridian; striking it can numb the leg. See Wikipedia. ↩
华山 – Huáshān. One of China’s Five Sacred Mountains, site of martial arts competitions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
黄药师 – Huáng Yàoshī. His name meaning “medicine master”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
师妹 – shīmèi. Female junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Mèi means younger sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
玉蜂针 – Yùfēng Zhēn. Fine needles coated with Jade Bee poison, a signature concealed weapon of the Ancient Tomb School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
小擒拿手 – Xiǎo Qínná Shǒu. Grappling and joint-locking technique. Qinna (擒拿) is the art of seizing and controlling an opponent through joint locks and pressure-point manipulation; the Small variant uses the hands and fingers rather than the whole body. ↩
大力鹰爪功 – Dàlì Yīngzhuǎ Gōng. Great Power Eagle Claw Skill, a hard-style external martial art that trains the fingers to grip and tear with the strength of an eagle’s talons. Practitioners can crush bone and tear flesh with their bare hands. ↩
鹰爪门 – Yīngzhuǎ Mén. Martial arts school specialising in hard-style external claw and finger techniques, training practitioners to seize, tear, and crush with the strength of an eagle’s talons. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
耶律铸 – Yēlǜ Zhù. His name meaning “to cast or forge”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
耶律楚材 – Yēlǜ Chǔcái. (1190–1244) Historical Khitan statesman who served as Grand Chancellor of the Mongol Empire. See Wikipedia. ↩
龙驹寨 – Lóngjū Zhài. Longju Fortress, a historical market town at the strategic junction between Shaanxi and Henan provinces. Longju means dragon colt, referring to fine horses. ↩
乃马真 – Nǎimǎzhēn. Empress Naimazhen (Töregene Khatun), regent of the Mongol Empire after Ögedei Khan’s death in 1241 until 1246. See Wikipedia. ↩
耶律齐 – Yēlǜ Qí. His name meaning “equal” or “together”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
耶律燕 – Yēlǜ Yàn. Her name meaning “swallow”, the bird. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
柳叶刀 – Liǔyè Dāo. Literally willow leaf blade. Thin, curved single-edged saber named for its shape, widely favoured in the jianghu for its lightness and sharp cutting edge. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩
空手夺白刃 – Kōngshǒu Duó Báirèn. “Empty Hand Seizes the White Blade,” a disarming technique where an unarmed fighter uses precise timing and positioning to seize a bladed weapon from an opponent’s grip ↩

The Return of the Condor Heroes Chapter 9

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