Return of Condor Heroes (236 page)

At that time thousands of beggars in Jianghu were gathered in Xiangyang. When they heard that Lu Youjiao had been killed, the city fell into a gloomy silence.

Guo Xiang was on good terms with Lu Youjiao, often pulling him out into the wilderness to drink wine and chat about Jianghu affairs. The two usually chatting for half a day, and were very friendly. The Yang Tai Fu Temple was not far from Xiangyang, so Guo Xiang and Lu Youjiao often went there. When she heard her dear old friend was killed there she was greatly hurt and aggrieved, so she took a pot of wine and went to the temple like she usually did.

Late that night, Guo Xiang put down two cups and filled them with wine, saying, “Uncle Lu, half a month ago, when we were merrily chatting here, who knew such a hero would meet such a tragic end? Let me offer you a toast.” She took up a cup and poured the wine onto the ground in a sweeping motion, remembering their past friendship. She felt overwhelmed by sadness and tears welled up in her eyes. She said, “Uncle Lu, rest peacefully.” She held the other cup forward with both hands and then drank the wine.

Her tolerance for liquor was not very good, but she was open-minded and friendly with the heroes of Jianghu and often drank with them. When she drank two cups of wine she felt giddy and slightly hot.

In the darkness a shadow suddenly flashed past and she thought it must be Lu Youjiao’s spirit who had come and said, “Is that Uncle Lu? Please come here.” Although her heart was beating rapidly, she still wanted to meet Lu Youjiao’s spirit. However a female voice was heard saying, “Why are you fooling around here in the middle of the night? Mother wants you to go back quickly.” The person came into the temple in a flash – it was Guo Fu.

Guo Xiang was very disappointed and said, “I’m waiting here for Uncle Lu’s spirit. Now you come barging in like this, how would he show up? Sister, you return first, I’ll be following you shortly.”

Guo Fu said, “Stop talking rubbish. You’re just imagining things. Why would Lu Youjiao’s spirit want to see you?”

Guo Xiang said, “He was very friendly with me, moreover I promised to share my private thoughts with him. I said I would tell him on my birthday. Who knew he couldn’t be here.” She became depressed as she said this.

Guo Fu said, “Mother saw that you had disappeared and predicted you’d be here. You monkey, you’re getting naughtier, but you can’t escape from Mother’s palm. Mother is angry with you for being so daring – who knows, that Hou Du might be lurking around here somewhere; won’t that be dangerous?”

Guo Xiang sighed and said, “I was thinking about Uncle Lu and forgot about the danger. Good sister, please accompany me for a while, maybe Uncle Lu’s spirit might still come and see me. But you shouldn’t talk, lest you scare him away.”

Guo Fu had never really respected Lu Youjiao and felt that he became the Beggar Clan Leader all due to her mother’s grooming and recommendations. She thought that even if his spirit came, she would not be afraid. She also knew her sister’s character – since she wanted to wait there, unless if their parents personally came to stop her, she would not budge no matter what Guo Fu said. So she sat down and sighed, “Sister, you’re getting older, yet you are still so childish. You’re sixteen this year; in two or three years you’ll be getting married. Please don’t tell me, that even when you move into your in-laws’ place, you’ll still act so crazily?”

Guo Xiang said, “What’s the difference? After you married brother-in-law, you are still as carefree as a single woman.”

Guo Fu said, “Hey! How can others compare to your brother-in-law? He’s a hero of the times and is very broad-minded, he wouldn’t restrict my movements. He’s talented in martial arts and literature. Among the younger generation, who can compare to him? If your future husband is half as good as him, Father and Mother will be very satisfied.”

Guo Xiang knew she was so boastful and said, “Brother-in-law is of course talented, but I don’t believe there’s none in this world who can compare to him.” She felt proud of herself as she said that. Guo Xiang said, “I know someone who’s ten times better than brother-in-law.”

Guo Fu got angry, saying, “Who? Tell me.”

Guo Xiang said, “Why must I say it? It’s good enough for me to know.”

Guo Fu laughed coldly, asking, “Is it Brother Zhu? Wang Jianming?” She named a few young heroes.

Guo Xiang kept shaking her head, saying, “They can’t even compete with brother-in-law, how can they be ten times better?”

Guo Fu said, “Unless you’re talking about Grandfather, Father, Mother, and Uncle Zhu, they are older heroes.”

Guo Xiang said, “No! The person I mentioned is younger than brother-in-law, and he’s more handsome and his martial arts are very much better. The difference is as great as night and day, you can’t even compare them…” As she said this, Guo Fu continuously spit, “Pui…pui…pui…pui...”

Guo Xiang ignored her and continued, “If you don’t believe me that’s up to you. He has a good character. If anyone is in trouble, he’d lend a hand whether he knows them or not.” She lifted her head and started day-dreaming.

Guo Fu angrily said, “You’re just making things up. Lu Youjiao’s dead, now the Beggar Clan doesn’t have a leader. Mother said that, since so many heroes are here for the Heroes’ Meet, there will be a martial arts contest to pick a highly-skilled expert to lead the Beggar Clan and prevent it from splitting up into the Dirty Faction and Clean Faction again. You said this man is so powerful, tell him to spar with your brother-in-law and see who will be the next Beggar Clan Leader.”

Guo Xiang laughed, “He doesn’t want to be the Beggar Clan Leader.”

Guo Fu scolded, “You dare to look down on the Leader’s status? Elder Hong was the leader, Mother was the leader; you dare to look down on Elder Hong and Mother?”

Guo Xiang said, “When did I say I looked down on the Leader? You knew Uncle Lu and I were good friends.”

Guo Fu said, “OK! Tell your grand hero to spar with your brother-in-law, and then we shall clearly see who the hero is and who the useless bum is.”

Guo Xiang said, “Sister, you always talk unreasonably. When did I say brother-in-law was a useless bum? If he’s one, then that makes you an animal. We have the same mother, so I’d be ashamed too.”

Guo Fu heard this and did not know whether to laugh or flare up, so she stood up and said, “I don’t have the energy to talk nonsense with you. If you still won’t come back, I’ll get a scolding too.”

Guo Xiang had a razor-sharp tongue and liked to argue with her sister, so she said, “Even though you’re married, Father and Mother dote on you the most. Who will have the guts to scold you if you are the wife of the next Clan Leader?”

Guo Fu heard her sister address her as the ‘wife of the next Clan Leader’, she became smug and said, “There are so many heroes here and he’s not the Leader yet; don’t say such things, you’ll only make people laugh.”

Guo Xiang woke up from her day-dream and saw that the pale moon was almost full. Then she sighed and said, “It looks like Uncle Lu’s spirit won’t be coming. Sister, why the hurry to choose a new Leader? Why can’t we mourn Uncle Lu a little longer?”

Guo Fu said, “You’re being childish again. The Beggar Clan is the number one sect in Jianghu, how can it go without a leader even for a day?”

Guo Xiang said, “Which day did Mother say the Leader would be chosen?”

Guo Fu said, “The Heroes’ Summit will start on the 15th, the most important issue is to discuss how to allocate all the heroes in Jianghu to resist the Mongolians. This should take about five to nine days, so the new leader should be chosen on the 23rd or 24th.”

Guo Xiang exclaimed, “Ah.”

Guo Fu asked, “What?”

Guo Xiang said, “Nothing. The 24th just happens to be my birthday. Everyone will be busy preparing for this Meet, so Mother won’t be celebrating my birthday for me.”

Guo Fu laughed, “Ha-ha, you’re a little baby, what significance is your birthday? How can you put it on the same level as the Leader’s selection? People would laugh their teeth out. Ah, there can only be one such person like you on this Earth, remembering such trivial matters.”

Guo Xiang’s face turned red, saying, “Father may not remember, but Mother will surely remember. You say it’s a small matter, but I think otherwise. I’m going to be 16, you know?”

Guo Fu laughed even louder and needled her, “On that day all the heroes will congratulate our Miss Guo on her sixteenth birthday. She’s no longer a baby, she’s a lady now! Ha…ha…ha!”

Guo Xiang shook her head and said, “Others might not care, but there will be at least one hero who will remember my birthday. He promised that he will come to see me.” She felt very happy as she said this.

Guo Fu said, “What hero? Ah, is he the one who is superior to your brother-in-law? Let me tell you – Number 1, there’s no such person, you’re just fantasizing; Number 2, even if there’s such a person, he must have many things to do, how would he have the time to celebrate your birthday? If he’s attending the Heroes’ Summit, then he will come to Xiangyang.”

Guo Xiang heard this and was almost moved to tears. She stamped her feet and said, “He promised, he promised. He won’t attend the Heroes’ Summit; he won’t vie to be the Leader.”

Guo Fu said, “If he’s not a hero, our parents would not invite him. Even if he comes, he may not be fit to attend.”

Guo Xiang took out her handkerchief to dab her tears and said, “If that’s the case, I won’t attend the Heroes’ Summit either, nor will I even look in at the Leader’s selection.”

Guo Fu coldly laughed, “Ah, Miss Guo’s not attending the Heroes’ Feast, all the grandeur is gone. Where’s the glory of being the new Leader? Face it, nobody would miss you.”

Guo Xiang covered her ears and dashed out of the temple.

Suddenly a black shadow flashed across and stood silently at the temple’s entrance, blocking it. Guo Xiang was shocked and leapt back to prevent herself from running into him. The tall person stood under the moon light, exhibiting his dark face, but his upper body was rather short. Looking closely, she noticed that he had two legs missing, his arms supporting his body with six-foot long crutches. His pants were very long, dangling on the ground, making him look like a giant.

Guo Fu was shocked and said, “You’re Nimoxing?”

That person was indeed Nimoxing. This time the Khan was commanding the campaign himself, so all the brave warriors followed him north from Dali. The warriors all tried to prove themselves to win glory for their names. Although Nimoxing’s legs were gone, he did not lose his martial skills; in fact he trained harder and he was better than before he lost his legs. The Mongols were still a hundred li from Xiangyang, but some warriors were sent ahead to Xiangyang to scout first, so Nimoxing reached Xiangyang earlier. On this night he was wandering around the temple and he overheard the Guo sisters’ conversation. Then he got very excited, thinking that since Guo Jing was leading Xiangyang’s defense, if he captured the Guo sisters he could force him to surrender or at least demoralize him and thus contribute greatly to the Mongol war effort. He heard that Guo Fu knew him, so he said, “Miss Guo is very sharp, I’ve not seen you for so many years and you have grown even more pretty. Don’t cause any trouble, just be good and follow me!”

Guo Fu was shocked and angry. She knew his martial arts were very high, even if she and Guo Xiang attacked him together, they would still lose, so she could not help but glare at Guo Xiang, thinking, “It’s entirely your fault, how are we going to get out of this mess?”

Guo Xiang asked Nimoxing, “Why are your two pant legs so strange? Were your legs very long before you lost them?”

Nimoxing snorted and ignored her, telling Guo Fu, “You two walk in front. Don’t try any tricks!” He treated them as his prisoners as he said that.

Guo Xiang said, “You’re talking very strangely. Where do you want to take us in the middle of the night?”

Nimoxing angrily said, “Little girl, just shut up and follow me.” He was afraid that there might be strong opponents from Xiangyang coming to help, so he wanted to leave quickly.

Guo Fu whispered, “Sister, this black guy is a Mongolian warrior and his martial arts are great; you attack his right while I attack his left.” She drew out her sword and thrust towards Nimoxing’s waist.

Guo Xiang did not bring any weapons out of the city and thought that since he had lost his legs and was using his crutches to fight, how could he fight her sister? So she said, “Sister, this person is pitiful, don’t hurt him!”

As she said this, Nimoxing braced his left crutch on the ground and defended himself with his right crutch. Then he struck Guo Fu’s sword, causing sparks to fly and Guo Fu’s sword to fly out of her hand. She felt her hand go numb and her chest was hurting. Then she used a special stance to follow the sword and retrieve it with her left hand. Striking forward with the ‘Sword of the Yue Maiden’ [Chao Nu Jian Fa] as she fought with Nimoxing. This ‘Chao Nu Jian Fa’ was taught to Guo Jing by Han Xiaoying of the Jiangnan Seven Freaks. Guo Jing taught this skill to his two daughters out of gratitude to her. This sword skill was smooth and contained subtle changes and was a powerful skill. If Guo Jing executed this skill, it would be strong and powerful and would not be overcome easily, but Guo Fu was not very strong; although the strokes were good, they were not good enough to defend against Nimoxing’s crutches.

Guo Xiang saw how Nimoxing was using his crutches. The left and right crutches were swapping roles intermittently and were very swift. The crutches were long as well, so her sister was losing to his fierce attacks. She then became more anxious. Guo Fu felt the pressure from his crutches getting stronger and stronger, hitting her sword with great force, causing her strokes to be unsteady. Guo Xiang was worried about her sister but was unarmed so she sent out her palms and struck towards Nimoxing.

Nimoxing shouted and poked his left crutch on the ground and leapt into the air, attacking with both crutches at great speed. The crutches hit Guo Xiang in the shoulder and Guo Fu in the chest. Guo Xiang stumbled and retreated several steps. Guo Fu was hit quite hard and could not withstand the pain and she sat down heavily.