Return of Condor Heroes (235 page)

Guo Xiang felt her face go red. She softly said, “Nothing.” But she was thinking, “I never knew you would be so good-looking.”

Guo Xiang pulled herself together and returned another needle to Yang Guo, saying, “I’ll tell you my second wish.”

Yang Guo smiled, “Telling me a few years from now will make no difference, young lady, and you’re having childish wishes.” He did not stretch out his hand to receive the needle.

Guo Xiang stuck the needle in his shirt and said, “My second wish is that on the 24th of the tenth month, which is my birthday, I want you to come down to Xiangyang to have a chat with me.”

This wish required more effort to complete, but was still rather childish. Yang Guo said, “I promise, it’s not so difficult. But I will only meet you alone; I won’t see your parents or your sister.”

Guo Xiang smiled, “That’s alright with me.” Her smooth white hand clutched the third needle and waved it in the moonlight and said, “My third wish is…”

Yang Guo shook his head, thinking, “Do I, Yang Guo, grant wishes so easily? This young lady is naïve and treats this as a game.”

He saw her face had turned red and she laughed, “I can’t think of the third wish now. I’ll tell you some other day.” She then rushed into the forest calling, “Sister, sister!”

Guo Xiang ran towards the clashing sounds and she saw Guo Fu fighting fiercely with Shi Mengjie and the Big Head Ghost, while Feng Yiweng and Shi Jiqiang were watching the fight with their weapons at the ready. Guo Xiang shouted, “Sister, I’m here, and these are good friends.”

Guo Fu’s training had her parents’ guidance in martial arts, while her husband, Yelu Qi, was a highly skilled expert. In the past few years her skills had improved greatly. But she was inattentive and impatient, so she did not train hard. Although her parents and husband were well-known experts, her wugong was only slightly above average. She found it difficult with the two’s continuous onslaught and was becoming listless. Then suddenly she heard her sister calling out, so she shouted, “Sister, come here.”

Shi Mengjie heard Guo Xiang call Yang Guo “Big Brother”, and now Guo Fu called her “sister”, he was surprised and thought, “Can it be that this woman is the Eagle Hero’s wife or sister?” He had just sent out a blow that he quickly withdrew and leapt backwards.

Guo Fu clearly knew her opponent had given way to her, but she was angry and she thrust her sword forward fiercely and slashed Shi Mengjie’s chest. The Big Head Ghost was shocked and shouted, “Hey, what…” Guo Fu made turned the sword with a bright flash and the Big Head Ghost’s back suffered a long slit. She felt proud of herself and said, “Now you know my great prowess!”

Guo Xiang shouted, “Sister, I said these are friends!” Guo Fu angrily said, “Quickly follow me back! Who could be friends with these scoundrels?” Shi Mengjie’s chest injury was not light. He staggered a few steps backwards and collapsed onto the ground.

Guo Xiang hurried forward and bent down to raise him up, asking, “Uncle Shi, how are you?” Shi Mengjie’s chest was bleeding profusely, staining her dress. Guo Xiang quickly tore off a strip of cloth from her dress and dressed his wound.

Guo Fu held her sword and stood aside, nagging, “Hurry up, let’s go! I’ll go back and tell Father and Mother and we’ll see if they beat you!”

Guo Xiang angrily said, “You rashly injured people. I’ll tell Father and Mother as well!” Shi Mengjie saw her face turning red with fury and tears forming in her eyes so he said, “Lady, please don’t worry. I won’t die from it.” Shi Jiqiang held the horn to his mouth and breathed heavily, but he could not decide if he should fight all out with Guo Fu or attend to his brother’s injuries.

Suddenly Guo Fu screamed “Ah!” Two fierce tigers appeared out of the blue silently, then, as she turned away to evade them, she saw two lions squatting in front of her, and four leopards waiting by the side. It was Shi Zhongmeng who had led the animals here and surrounded her. Guo Fu became white as sheet and almost fainted.

Then from within the forest someone shouted, “Fifth brother, how are your wounds?” Shi Mengjie said, “I’m still fine.” Then that person said, “The Eagle Hero has instructed us to allow these two ladies to leave.” Shi Jiqiang made a few whistles and the animals turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

Guo Xiang said, “Uncle Shi, I apologize on behalf of my sister.”

Shi Mengjie’s wound was hurting badly, so he laughed bitterly and said, “Because of the Eagle Hero’s intervention, even if your sister killed me it would be nothing.”

Guo Xiang anxiously asked, “Your injuries… are really not serious?”

Guo Fu grabbed her hand and said, “Are you still not coming?” She pulled her hard and dragged her out of the forest.

When the Shi brothers and Xishan Ghosts saw the sisters leave they all came out together to check Shi Mengjie and the Big Head Ghost’s injuries. They started talking and all said Guo Fu was in the wrong. But they did not know what her relationship was with the Eagle Hero, so they did not dare be rude to her. Shi Jiqiang furiously said, “That young lady is such a nice girl, but her sister is so overbearing. Fifth brother clearly gave way to her and she knew it, yet she did such a despicable thing. If the sword had pierced two inches deeper, how could he survive?” The Big Head Ghost said, “Let’s ask the Eagle Hero about this woman. At Fenglingdu she kept defaming the Eagle Hero, so I guess he wouldn’t protect her.”

Someone stepped out from behind a big tree, saying, “Thank God Brother Shi’s injuries are not serious. That woman has always been rash. My right arm was actually cut off by her.” That person was Yang Guo.

When they heard this, they felt very angry and could only stare at him wordlessly. They all wanted to know more, but dare not ask.

Guo Fu dragged her sister all the way to Fenglingdu. By that time the ice on the Huang He (Yellow River) had already melted, so they crossed the river and headed back to Xiangyang. All along the way Guo Fu nagged like an old woman, continuously chiding Guo Xiang, telling her not to mix with such uncouth people. Guo Xiang pretended to be deaf and largely ignored her, but she could not stop talking about the Eagle Hero.

When they reached Xiangyang, Guo Fu handed over the ‘Everlasting Spring Priest’, Qiu Chuji’s letter to her parents. The letter said that he was old and sick in bed, so he has sent the Quanzhen Sect’s new leader Li Zhichang together with the top Quanzhen disciples to help. After this was done, the first thing Guo Fu said was, “Father, Mother, sister was disobedient along the way and caused a lot of trouble.” Guo Jing was shocked and asked about the matter. Guo Fu then told of how, at Fenglingdu, Guo Xiang followed someone they did not know and went missing for two days and nights, exaggerating the events as she went along.

At that time Guo Jing was handling some urgent military matters and was quite worried about the situation, so when he heard what Guo Fu said, he got very angry and asked, “Xiang’er, your sister is right, isn’t she?”

Guo Xiang laughed happily, saying, “Sister is making a mountain out of a molehill; I went with a friend to see what’s going on, what’s the big fuss about that!”

Guo Jing frowned and said, “What friend? What’s the name?”

Guo Xiang stuck out her tongue and said, “Ah, I never asked his name, but his nickname is ‘Big Head Ghost’.”

Guo Fu said, “He’s one of the so called Xishan Ghosts.”

Guo Jing had heard of the Xishan Ghosts, and although they did not commit any evil acts, they were not gentlemen either. When he heard of his daughter’s mixing with such people, he got even angrier. But he remained silent, only making a “Hey” sound and saying no more. Huang Rong however rebuked Guo Xiang sternly.

That night Guo Jing organized a family feast and arranged the seating plan for Guo Fu and Guo Polu, but left Guo Xiang out. Yelu Qi tried to persuade his father and mother-in-law otherwise. Guo Jing said, “If that girl is not firmly taken in hand, it will only harm her. Xiang’er has been strange since she was small, causing me to worry about her. Since you’re her brother-in-law, you should worry for her too.” Yelu Qi did not dare say more.

The Guo couple had spoiled Guo Fu too much, thus allowing her to create so much trouble. So now they were stricter with Guo Xiang and Guo Polu. Guo Polu was quiet and serious, just like his father, but Guo Xiang usually agreed on the outside, yet she was usually dissatisfied on the inside. That night she heard the maid say that Master and Mistress organized a family feast but intentionally did not invite her. Guo Xiang got angry and went on hunger strike and starved for two whole days. On the third day, Huang Rong’s heart softened and without informing Guo Jing she personally cooked several dishes and cajoled her daughter, finally making her smile. Huang Rong’s cooking skills were the best in the world; even though she had not cooked for a long time she was still able to cook delicious food for Guo Xiang. But in doing so all the effort to discipline her had gone right down the drain.

The Mongols had conquered Dali and sent the troops north; another division headed south, planning on meeting at Xiangyang. They aimed to destroy the Song Dynasty in one fell swoop. The Mongols had been planning this campaign for many years, and the north division was led by the Great Khan’s brother Khubilai. The south division was led by the Great Khan Mengke himself, together with all their valiant and capable generals. The large number of troops involved was unprecedented in Mongol history. The troops looked grand and unyielding, showing the Mongols’ might.

Before the Mongols arrived, Xiangyang was already in a state of shock. However, the useless Song Premier Ding Daquan was a traitor and dismissed this matter totally. Xiangyang dispatched numerous urgent messages, but the traitorous premier just said, “The Mongolians have been attacking Xiangyang for many decades and have never succeeded; they just may go back empty-handed this time as well. This is just a small matter; why should we bother ourselves with it?”

When the Mongols’ south division conquered Dali, Guo Jing immediately knew the urgency of this matter and sent letters to all the heroes in Jianghu, inviting them to meet at Xiangyang to assist with the defense. The Mongol troops were swift and deadly and were able to conquer Dali in just a short time. The King of Dali, the great-grandson of Yideng, was young and ignorant and he had only ruled for two years when Dali was conquered. He was rescued in the final hour by Zhu Ziliu, Wu Santong and the Fisherman.

The Mongolian troops were steadily advancing closer and closer. The Heroes’ Summit was scheduled for the 15th of the tenth month and was to last 10 days. Today was the 13th, two days away from the meet, and all the heroes from all over Jianghu had gathered at Xiangyang. Guo Jing and Huang Rong were concentrating on military affairs and gave the responsibility of welcoming the guests to Lu Youjiao and Yelu Qi, with the Wu brothers and their wives Yelu Yan and Wanyan Ping to assist them.

On this day Zhu Ziliu, the Fisherman, Wu Santong, Quanzhen Sect’s leader Li Zhichang and his fellow sect disciples, the Beggar Clan elders with the seventh and eighth grade members, Lu Guanying and Cheng Yaojia had all arrived… Xiangyang was now filled with many well known martial experts. Many old heroes who rarely appeared in Jianghu were also present. This time the Heroes’ Summit may decide the fate of Xiangyang. They also respected the Guo couple, so all of them rushed to Xiangyang upon receiving the invitation. This Meet was grander than the one at Dasheng many years ago.

That night, Guo Jing had a private banquet with his old friends, inviting more than 10 people to dine with him, including Zhu Ziliu and Wu Santong. They drank past the third watch but the Beggar Clan Chief still did not turn up. They thought he must have been busy with the Beggar Clan affairs and so did not find anything amiss. They ate and drank, discussing Jianghu events of the past 10 years. Yelu Qi, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers group had a table to themselves and they chatted animatedly.

Suddenly an eighth grade member of the Beggar Clan burst in and whispered something to Huang Rong. Huang Rong’s face became grave and she stood up, saying loudly, “What?” The people were shocked and all turned to stare at her. Huang Rong said, “There are no outsiders here. Just say it. How did this happen?” They saw tears well up in her eyes as she spoke, so it must be something terrible. Then the beggar said, “This afternoon Clan Leader Lu took two seventh grade sect members to patrol outside the city but they didn’t return. I could not let the matter rest and went to investigate. We went to the Yang Tai Fu Temple down the hill and found Clan Leader Lu’s corpse there…” The group gave a cry of “Ah!” when they heard this.

The beggar’s voice cracked as he said this, he knew Lu Youjiao’s martial arts were not excellent, but he was responsible and caring and had earned the respect of the beggars. The beggar continued, “The two seventh grade members are not dead yet. They said the three of them were ambushed by the Mongolian prince Hou Du who killed the Clan Leader. The two seventh grade members fought with him and were severely injured by his palms.”

Guo Jing was so angered his face turned white and only said, “Hou Du!” He thought that if he had known this would happen, he would not have spared him at Chongyang Palace years ago.

Huang Rong said, “Did Hou Du leave any message?”

The beggar said, “I dare not say.”

Huang Rong said, “Why not? He wants Guo Jing and Huang Rong to surrender to the Mongols, or they will end up like Lu Youjiao, right?”

The beggar said, “The Chief is brilliant. The scoundrel Hou Du said exactly that.” According to tradition, Huang Rong was no longer the Beggar Clan leader, but the beggars all still addressed her as “Chief”.

Huang Rong frowned and said, “Lu Youjiao’s “Dog Beating Stick” has been taken by Hou Du, right?” The beggar said, “Yes.”

The guests all left the banquet and went to see Lu Youjiao’s body. They observed a steel fan’s mark on Lu Youjiao’s back and a rib bone was broken. This showed that Hou Du had snuck up and attacked with his fan from behind, then killed him with his palm. The people all felt deeply grieved when they saw this.