The Legend of the Condor Heroes

" In that little imp's technique," said Qi Gong, " there are many more feints than real attacks. If you try to follow her, she will run around you like you were a donkey and you will always fall, since you never will be able to be as quick as her. You will think that, after all these feints, the next blow will be real, but no, it will be a feint! And the blow following after, you will believe that it is a feint, but no, she will strike a real blow, and you will be in trouble!"

Guo Jing nodded his head in agreement.

" Thus, to fight her, the clever way is to completely put the thought of whether it is a feint or not out of your mind. When she attacks you with a palm blow, whether it is a feint or not, return it with a blow of "Opposing the Dragon means Regret". Against of the power of your attack, she will be forced to withdraw and defend herself, so well that all her tricks falls to water!"

" And after that?" asked Guo Jing.

" What do you mean, 'and after that'?" Qi Gong replied, his face suddenly darkening. " You great idiot, do you think she is able to withstand this blow that I taught you?"

" But if she can't withstand it, " said Guo Jing, very worried, " won't she be injured?"

Qi Gong shook his head and sighed:

" If, in such a blow one seeks only to send out the force and not to keep it, if one cannot somehow control its lightness or its power, firmness or softness, how can one consider himself a master of these unique 'Eighteen Dragon Mastering Palms'?"

Guo Jing was eager to consent, but he had taken an inner decision: " As I haven't learned to control my force perfectly, I won't fight with Rong-er!"

" You don't believe me?" said Qi Gong. " In that case, try it!"

Guo Jing took up position, imitating his senior's posture, picked a pine with a particularly slender trunk and he struck it a violent blow. The pine was a little shaken but not at all itself broken.

" You big idiot," Qi Gong said, " why are you shaking this tree for? To catch squirrels? Or to drop pinecones?"

Guo Jing, red with shame, laughed with an air of denial, not knowing what to reply.

" I already repeated it for you," said Qi Gong, " it is necessary to put the opponent in a position such that it cannot back up or get away. Your blow just now had enough force, but all it needed was for the pine to shake itself a little for it to escape the full force. It is necessary that you learn to approach and strike in such a way that the tree cannot budge, in order to be able to break it at one go."

This was, for Guo Jing, an illumination:

" Then," he cried joyously, " it's necessary for the force to be particularly swift, delivered in such a way that the opponent has no time to defend himself!"

Qi Gong shot him a black look:

" Absolutely! That goes without saying! You sweated blood for such a long time, and you only now understand this truth? One really can say that you aren't clever! For this stroke, known as "Resisting the Dragon Means Regret"- it's essence is not found in the word "Resisting" but rather in the word "Regret". If one concentrated only on pure violence, brute power, a little forces in the muscles would suffice. But then, how could this technique be admired by Huang Yaoshi? As the old saying goes: « The inflexible Dragon itself repent, the surplus will not last a long time ». This is the reason that if there has transmission, there must be rétention. When you send out a force of ten, it is necessary again to preserve within yourself a force of twenty. The day where you will know to appreciate the full meaning of the concept "Regrets", then you will be able to consider that you have understood thirty percent of this stroke. Just as a fine old wine, that has had time to season: at first taste, it is not strong, but afterwards that it releases its full heady flavour, that explains the concept "Regret"."

Guo Jing didn't understand anything about these matters, but he tried to memorize them, in order for him to calmly reflect upon them later. To learn the martial arts, he always had adopted the same method: "That which others may assimilate in a morning, I will devote ten days!" Then he concentrated on the study of the palm technique.

At first, the pine balanced itself to each of the blows that it received. Towards the end, these became more and more powerful, but the tree moved less and less. He realized that he had progressed and rejoiced somewhat. The face of his palm had become red and swollen, but he did not treat it, and continued to train with determination, never relaxing.

Qi Gong, who had initially laughed at his persistence, had stretched himself on the ground and snored calmly.

Little by little, Guo Jing felt more comfortable, he attained a mastery of his energy, to carry the blow and to keep it. He brought up his breath into his dantian, advanced his palm violently, withdrawing his force immediately, so well that the tree did not move at all. Delighted, the young man repeated in the same way while concentrating his force on the edge of his palm: he heard a creak, and the small pine broke apart.

" Bravo!" cried Huang Rong, who had seen the scene from a distance.

She approached slowly, carrying a heavy shopping basket.

Before even opening his eyes, Qi Gong had smelt the delicious aroma of the food that she brought.

" That feels good! That feels good!" he cried while jumping to his feet.

He seized the basket from the girl's hands and opened the lid. He beheld a dish of roasted frogs thighs, a very fat duck suited to the Eight treasures, and a big bowl of white and immaculate money noodles. With joyful cries, he pounced on the foods, not drying up any praises on this that it devoured to beautiful teeth. But, as his mouth was full, one couldn't understand anything he said. In an instant, the bowls containing the frog thighs and the duck were emptied. Realizing that Guo Jing again had not eaten, the old beggar felt a little ashamed of his gluttony:

" Go on, eat up," he says, " these noodles aren't bad…"

And as he felt really bothered, he added:

" They are even better than the duck!"

Huang Rong laughed and says:

" Qi Gong, you haven't yet tasted my best dishes!"

Surprise and delighted, the old beggar eagerly asked:

" What dishes? What dishes?"

" You can't name them all," replied Huang Rong. "For example returned cabbage in the wok, steamed tofu, hard eggs, roasted meat…"

As a well-informed gourmet, Qi Gong knew well that it was in the most simple dishes that the true masters really showed their talents. The same applied to martial arts: wondrous execution of the most simple techniques, that was the hallmark of the great masters! These words of Huang Rong delighted him, therefore, so well that his face itself was almost imploring:

" Good, good!" he says. " I always said that you were a brave little girl..do you want me to buy you cabbage and tofu? Please?"

" It's not worth your while", said Huang Rong while laughing. " And then, what you will buy will not suit me necessarily."

" Fair enough," said Qi Gong. " None other than you can choose your ingredients…"

" Just now," Huang Rong said again, " I saw him break the trunk of a pine: he's already more powerful than me!