Return of Condor Heroes (241 page)

Another time she lifted her head and watched the match on the stage. Xiuwen had defeated two competitors, and looked like the third would not hold him much longer. “Today the valiant people of the world are competing for the Clan Chief position,” she thought, “I wonder who will hold this prestigious position?”

Of course the same question had been hovering in everybody’s mind.

Except … in the Chinese peony pavilion [shao yao ting] behind the Guo’s Family Mansion, there was somebody who did not show the slightest interest in what was happening on the field. She sat alone daydreaming, with many questions in her heart. “That day I gave him one golden needle and specifically asked him to see me today. Today is my sixteenth birthday. That day, he gave me his promise. Why doesn’t he show up?”

She was sitting on a porch, leaning against a doorpost. The sun slowly crept to the west. “It’s already afternoon. Even if he comes, we will meet for only half a day at most,” she said softly to herself.

She looked at the flowerbeds, while her little fingers held the last golden needle. She sighed and with an almost inaudible voice said again, “I can ask him one last favor … ah…! I think he has already forgotten me. He doesn’t even remember his promise for today. What other favor I could ask?” Another moment later she had another thought, “It’s impossible. He wouldn’t forget his promise. He is a chivalrous hero (Da Xia) of the world, and he must always keep his word. Just wait … he’ll be here.” With this thought, her face turned pink and the fingers that hold the golden needle were shaking a little bit.

She sighed again. One thought kept coming back. “Even though he is a chivalrous hero, and he always keeps his word, I am only a young girl,” she thought, heart beating faster. “If he made a promise to Father, he would not fail to keep his word. But to me, I am only the ‘Young Eastern Heretic’ (Xiao Dong Xia) Guo Xiang. What am I worth in his eyes? Only a young girl! It’s very possible that when he remembered his promise, he would only laugh and said: Ah! Don’t bother!”

While Guo Xiang was busy thinking in the Chinese peony pavilion, Huang Rong, on the field, could not keep her second daughter off her mind. “According to Brother Jing, there were only two persons in this whole wide world who had the internal energy high enough to help Fu’er and Xiang’er back at the Yang Tai Fu temple,” she thought. “If not the Benevolent Master Hong Qigong, then it must be Brother Jing himself. The fact is, the Benevolent Master had passed away, and Brother Jing didn’t do it. Who could it be that invited those strange characters to wish Xiang’er a happy birthday? Old Urchin Zhou Botong loves to fool around, but even he could not make this meticulous plan. Reverend Yideng? Not likely; he is a monk. Western Poison Ouyang Feng and Monk Ci’en Qiu Qianren both have passed away. Could it be … Father?”

Huang Rong had not seen her father for more than ten years. Huang Yaoshi was like a wandering cloud or a wild crane, roaming Jianghu; nobody knew his whereabouts. She thought the peculiarity of this mystery went well with her father’s character. For a long time the name, Huang Yaoshi, had been well known in the Jianghu world, and people called him the ‘Eastern Heretic’. His peculiar way of thinking went very well with those weird people. So if the ‘Old Heretic Huang’ asked, they would certainly oblige.

Having this thought, Huang Rong’s heart beat faster and her countenance brightened. True, it was not appropriate for a grandfather to make jokes with his granddaughter. But Huang Yaoshi did not follow ‘appropriateness’, the custom and regulations of the day. He was like a heavenly dragon that was out of this world. Huang Rong was his daughter, but even she could not predict what he would do. Could it be that this grandfather had invited guests to congratulate his granddaughter? She held this train of thought and asked Guo Fu. “When she returned from those two days of being missing at Fenglingdu, did she mention Grandfather’s name?”

“No. Sister has never even seen Grandfather.”

“Think hard,” urged her mother. “She left Fenglingdu and went with Xishan Ghosts, did your sister ever mention anybody else?”

“No,” she answered, shaking her head.

Of course Guo Fu knew that her sister went to see Yang Guo. It was all right with her mother, but if her father ever heard that name, he would turn sour and wouldn’t talk to her for two or three days. Therefore, while Guo Xiang herself didn’t mention Yang Guo, Guo Fu certainly was not willing to look for trouble.

Huang Rong saw her daughter’s countenance change and she knew Guo Fu was hiding something from her. “This is not a simple matter,” she said. “If you know anything, you’d better tell me.”

Guo Fu did not dare to hold back anymore. “That day we heard people were talking about the Eagle Hero, which is Yang … Yang … Yang Guo,” she said. “After listening to their stories, Sister insisted she wanted to see him.”

Huang Rong was startled. “Did Xiang’er meet him?” she asked.

“Of course not,” came the answer. “If she did, she wouldn’t stop bragging about it.”

“Guo’er … Guo’er …” mumbled Huang Rong softly. “Is it him?” She turned to her daughter and continued, “Fu’er, what do you think? Was it him who killed Nimoxing at the Yang Tai Fu Temple?”

“How could it be him?” Guo Fu answered, “How could Yang … Yang Da Ge [big brother Yang] have this kind of martial art?”

“What did you and your sister talk about in the Yang Tai Fu Temple? Tell me all, don’t skip anything,” Huang Rong said.

“It was nothing important,” Guo Fu said, “Mei zi [little sister] loves to bicker with me.” And then she narrated how her little sister didn’t want to attend the Heroes Summit, didn’t want to see the Beggar Clan Chief election, and how she told her that a very handsome hero would visit her on her birthday. Finally, she laughed and said, “Her friends did indeed come to visit. But they are monks, priestesses, grandpas and grandmas. Where is that handsome hero?”

Now Huang Rong was convinced that the handsome hero could not be anybody else but Yang Guo. She thought Guo Xiang and Yang Guo had made an appointment to meet at the Yang Tai Fu Temple, but that plan was foiled by Guo Fu. Then, to vent his anger Yang Guo had invited several Jianghu characters to wish Guo Xiang a happy birthday. “But … why would he spend so much time and energy just for a kid like Xiang’er?” she asked herself. Suddenly she remembered Guo Xiang’s extraordinary behavior. She remembered how Guo Xiang liked to daydream, talked to herself, and her countenance turned pink for no reason. Huang Rong shuddered involuntarily. Her heart pounding, she thought, “We are doomed! Yang Guo hates me because I caused his father’s death; he hates Fu’er who chopped off his arm, he hates Fu’er even more for striking Xiao Longnu with a poison needle. Xiao Longnu promised to meet him sixteen years later, and now it is sixteen years later. Aiyo! Yang Guo is coming to exact his revenge.”

Once the thought ‘Yang Guo is coming to exact his revenge’ came into her mind, cold sweat trickled down her spine. She knew Yang Guo’s behavior was completely unpredictable; his love for Xiao Longnu was very deep. If he had waited sorrowfully for sixteen years and Xiao Longnu did not show up, he might unleash his anger and frustrations at the Guo family. After sixteen years it would not be enough just to kill Guo Fu; he must have another evil scheme in his mind. “Could it be that Guo Xiang was his target? Making her fall in love with him, then crushing her heart so she would suffer for the rest of her life? Well, with Yang Guo’s personality, that was very possible.” Once she finished her train of thought, she came to a conclusion: Yang Guo killed Nimoxing to save Guo Xiang’s life, then he sent several strange characters to wish her a happy birthday; his intention was to win her heart.

“But … something is not right!” her brain clicked again. “Today is Xiang’er’s sixteenth birthday. It was several months after Xiang’er was born that he parted with Xiao Longnu in the Passionless Valley. If he wanted to exact revenge, he would’ve waited for a full sixteen years, just like his wife had promised him … Although this sixteen-year appointment is questionable, that message was obviously her own handwriting. Who can tell if the two of them, husband and wife, will or will not see each other again? But my father … and the ‘Divine Nun of the South Sea’ [Nan Hai Shen Ni] …” The longer she thought, the more muddled her mind became. “Ah! Whatever happens, Xiang’er should not be allowed to see him,” she thought. “Xiang’er is just a child, she is too naïve for man’s wickedness.”

Suddenly an “Aiyo!” was heard from the stage. Huang Rong turned her gaze there and she saw Xiuwen’s palm strength had sent a fat monk down from the stage. She approached her husband and whispered, “You wait here. I am going to see Xiang’er.”

“Isn’t Xiang’er here?” asked her husband.

“I will bring her here,” she answered. “That child is a little weird.”

Guo Jing looked at his wife with smile on his face. Wasn’t his wife also a weird child? He remembered the very first time they met, when Huang Rong was dressed like a beggar boy.

Seeing his smile, Huang Rong also smiled, and briskly walked back to her mansion. As upset as she was, seeing her husband’s smile and his broad shoulders – like he was strong enough to carry the burden of the whole world, Huang Rong suddenly felt better.

Arriving at Guo Xiang’s room, she did not find her daughter there; and was told by a maid that the Second Miss went out to the flower garden and said that she was not to be disturbed.

Huang Rong was shocked. “Xiang’er did not want to see the election, I am sure she’s made another appointment with Yang Guo,” she thought. She then turned her steps toward her own room, to get her own steel needle projectiles, slipped a dagger on her waist, and fetched her short stick. Only then did she go to the flower garden. She understood very well that Yang Guo now wouldn’t be the same as the Yang Guo of the past. He was already a formidable opponent then and she would not dare to be careless. She did not take the brick-covered path, but walked stealthily around the decorative stones and rocks scattered throughout the garden. Nearing the pavilion she could hear her daughter’s sigh.

She went closer still and hid herself behind a big rock. A moment later she heard her daughter’s voice, “Why isn’t he here yet?”

Huang Rong was relieved. “Turns out he is not here yet. I can still prevent them from meeting,” she thought.

“Every birthday Mother always tell me to make three wishes,” she heard Guo Xiang was talking to herself. “Good thing there is nobody around; I can talk to Heaven.”

Huang Rong was about to step out, but hearing her last sentence she stayed in her hiding place. “Even though I’m her mother, I can’t predict what is in her heart,” she thought, “let me hear what she has to say.”

A moment later Guo Xiang said, “God of Heaven, my first wish is that Father and Mother will be successful in leading the army and the multitude of valiant people to defeat the Mongolian invaders, so that the people of Xiangyang will live in peace and prosperity.”

Huang Rong exhaled softly. “Even though I call her weird, this child has a benevolent heart,” she praised her in her heart.

“My second wish is that Father and Mother are granted good health and longevity, that they may live to a hundred years,” the young miss continued. “I wish that everything will happen just like they have wanted.”

Guo Xiang was born to her parents when they were facing a great danger. Huang Rong’s heart pounded every time she recalled that incident. Thus, without her realizing it, her love toward Guo Xiang was not as strong as toward Guo Fu. But now, hearing the little girl’s wish, she was very touched and tears welled up in her eyes.

The young miss paused a moment before she continued, “My third wish is for the Eagle Hero Yang Guo …”

Huang Rong was startled. She had thought that the third wish must’ve have something to do with Yang Guo, but hearing his name, she was still startled. “… that he might meet his wife, Xiao Longnu, a lot sooner, and let them live happily forever,” finished Guo Xiang.

This third wish floored Huang Rong. She originally thought Yang Guo had deceived her daughter with all kind of lies. Who would have known that her daughter knew everything about his marriage to Xiao Longnu and what had happened to them afterward. But a moment later another thought entered her mind and she became worried again. “Damn it, Yang Guo is so shrewd!” she moaned. “By showing her that he had never forgotten his wife, he earned Xiang’er’s highest respect. Right! If after meeting me Brother Jing had ignored Princess Hua Zheng, I would’ve looked down on him.”

And so, because Huang Rong regarded this matter from all possible directions; she became fearful of Yang Guo molesting her daughter. She started to breathe heavily; her own mind had driven her to distraction.

Suddenly an unusual noise was heard above the wall, followed by someone jumping down to the ground. His body was short and small, but his head was big. His figure, as well as his face looked ridiculously strange.

But Guo Xiang leaped with joy upon seeing this dwarf. “Uncle Big Head Ghost!” she greeted him with delight, “Is … is he coming?”

That man indeed was the Big Head Ghost. He walked to the pavilion and made obeisance to Guo Xiang. “Aiyo!” cried the young Miss, “Uncle Big Head Ghost, don’t you honor me like that.”

“Miss, don’t call me ‘Uncle Big Head Ghost’,” he said, “just call me ‘Big Head Ghost’. The Eagle Hero has instructed me to let Miss know …”

“He isn’t able to come?” cut in Guo Xiang, desperation in her voice, while tears welled up in her eyes, “He gave me his promise …”

“No, not at all,” answered Big Head Ghost, repeatedly shaking his big head.

“Why not?” asked Guo Xiang. “Didn’t you know, he did give his promise to me?” Tears almost flowed down her cheeks.

“Miss, I did not say that the Eagle Hero did not give you his promise, or that he is not able to come,” explained the Ghost.

“Just look at you,” Guo Xiang sulked, “You are talking gibberish, not this, not that …”

The Big Head Ghost showed a faint smile, “The Eagle Hero said that since he had to prepare three gifts for your birthday, he will be a little bit late.”