The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Looking at these ancient twelve rattans with their branches rising up to the sky, suddenly the 'fei long zai tian' [dragon flies to the sky] came into Guo Jing's mind. Following the Nine Yin Manual principles, these twelve rattans formed different stances of the dragon postures, creating twelve grand stances where the move might be executed. From being lost in thought, suddenly he woke up with a start, "I was hoping I could forget the martial art I already learned, how I could think about creating a new move to defeat and to kill others? I have fallen too deep, truly I am incorrigible."

Suddenly Qiu Chuji voice was heard, "Mount Hua is our Taoist holy mountain; these twelve dragon rattans were supposedly planted by 'chen tuan lao zu', [ancestor Chen Tuan].

"Chen tuan lao zu?" Guo Jing asked, "Was he the deity who slept for many years without waking up?"

"Chen tuan lao zu was born toward the latter part of the Tang Dynasty," Qiu Chuji explained, "During the Five Dynasties period: Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, Zhou, every time he heard the kingdom changed ruler, he was always worried and not happy; so he closed his door and refused to come out. Hence the people said he was sleeping for many years. Actually he was just troubled by the world's anxiety, that the common people always suffered hardships; that's why he was not willing to go out. Finally he heard 'Song Dai Zu' [the great ancestor of Song Dynasty] rose up to the throne; he laughed heartily and in his happiness he fell from the donkey's back, saying that the world henceforth would be peaceful. Song Dai Zu was kind and had a deep affection toward the common people; his contribution was truly not a few."

"If Chen tuan lao zu were born today, he would unavoidably close his door and sleep for exhausting years and tiring months," Guo Jing commented.

Qiu Chuji heaved a deep sigh and said, "Mongolians rule in the north, deliberately will invade the south. It's a pity the Song Dynasty's princes and ministers are muddle-headed idiots; they have eyes but cannot see the problem we are facing. But we are real men, although we realize we are helpless, still we need to fight. Even though Chen tuan lao zu was an honorable person, he hid himself whenever the world was in trouble; that was a bad example of chivalry."

Guo Jing silently agreed.

Two men had to leave their steeds at the foot of the mountain. They continued on foot; slowly climbing through the 'tao hua ping' [peach blossom plain], crossing the 'xi yi xia' [lit. rare barbarian box, I don't know what it is], climbing 'sha meng ping' [grassy dream plain]. The further they went, the more dangerous the terrain became. After reaching 'xi xuan men' [western mysterious gate] they had to ascend holding on to an iron chain. Utilizing their lightness kungfu, two men climbed up rapidly. After about seven 'li's, they reached the 'qing ping' [green plain]. Beyond this plain they saw a row of rocks that looked like they were truncated. Toward the north of this wall there was a big rock blocking the pathway.

"This rock is called 'hui xin shi' [lit. turn-around heart stone]," Qiu Chuji said, "Beyond this stone the pathway is getting more rugged and dangerous than ever. Casual travelers are advised to turn back here."

In the distant they saw a small stone pavilion. "That is the 'du qi ting' [gambling chess pavilion]," Qiu Chuji explained, "Legend has it that the Song Emperor, Song Dai Zu made a bet playing chess with Mister Xi Yi [the same 'xi yi' as in the paragraph above]. The Mount Hua was the stake. The Emperor lost, and ever since the Mount Hua territory is exempt from paying tribute."

Guo Jing said, "Genghis Khan, the Khoresm King, the Great Jin Emperor, the Great Song Emperor; seemed like they are all gambling with this world as the stake."

Qiu Chuji nodded. "Absolutely," he said, "Jing'er, looks to me like you have done a lot of thinking lately. I can see the difference; you are no longer your muddle-headed-dumb-kid previous self." Then he continued, "These emperors and generals view the world as their gambling stake; if they lose, not only they will lose the 'jiang shan' [lit. river and mountain – country/homeland], they will also lose their lives, as well as making the world a living hell for common people."

Crossing the 'qian chi xia' [thousand-foot gorge], the 'bai chi xia' [hundred-foot gorge], they had to walk sideways. Guo Jing thought, "It will be very difficult to ward off if suddenly an enemy attack in this place." He was just having this thought when suddenly someone shouted from ahead of them, "Qiu Chuji, we spared your life at the Misty Rain Tavern [yan yu lou]; what are you doing climbing Mount Hua?"

Qiu Chuji hastily rushed ahead several steps until he reached a small cavity on the side of the cliff before he raised his head to see Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Lingzhi Shangren [lit. upper/above man, a respectful term to address Buddhist monk], and Hou Tonghai, four people standing at the end of the pathway.

When he climbed the mountain, Qiu Chuji had expected at some point to see Ouyang Feng, Qiu Qianren and other archenemies; he thought Zhou Botong, Hong Qigong, Guo Jing and the others would meet their match. But he had never expected that Sha Tongtian and the others had the guts to climb this mountain. Although he was standing on an open space, the terrain was extremely dangerous. If he was crowded by the enemy, chances are he would fall into the tens of thousands 'zhang's deep canyon below.

In this critical time he did not have time to think, with a 'shua' sound he pulled his sword and with 'bai hong jing tian' [bright rainbow across the sky] he ferociously attacked Hou Tonghai. Among these four enemies, Hou Tonghai was the weakest, but he was also the closest; Qiu Chuji's sword stance was precisely aimed to the weakest point of the enemy.

Hou Tonghai saw the sword was swift and fierce, he had no alternative, he leaned sideways to evade and lifted up his three-prong fork to block the sword. Peng Lianhu's judge pen and Lingzhi Shangren's copper cymbals made a converging attack with the intention of forcing Qiu Chuji to fall into the ravine below.

As Qiu Chuji's sword made contact with Hou Tonghai's three-prong fork, he transferred his energy to the tip of the sword and borrowing the strength, his body soared above Hou Tonghai's head. Sparks flew everywhere as Peng Lianhu and Lingzhi Shangren's weapon hit a rock.

Sha Tongtian had lost an arm at the Temple of the Iron Spear; by this time his wound was completely healed. Seeing his 'shi di' [younger martial brother] fail to block the enemy, he executed the 'yi xing huan wei' [altering shape changing position] technique right in front of Qiu Chuji to prevent him from running away. Qiu Chuji's sword moved swiftly; Sha Tongtian only saw bright lights flashing around him, aiming his vital points. Sha Tongtian was dazzled and unable to fend off the sword; he was forced to move back several steps, giving Qiu Chuji an opportunity to dash forward.

Sha and Peng shouted loudly and pursued him. Qiu Chuji turned his sword around and launched several stances. At that moment Lingzhi Shangren arrived sweeping his cymbals. Three different types of weapons clashed.

Seeing Qiu Chuji's precarious condition Guo Jing should have gone forward and help, but he felt that people who resort to violence were very bad. He loathed watching both sides fought violently; turning his head, unwilling to watch, he continued his journey, holding on to a rattan branch. Unexpectedly the path was sloping down.

While strolling leisurely two thoughts were waging war inside his mind, "Shall I help Qiu Daozhang? Or shall I stick to my commitment of not fighting anybody anymore?" The more he thought, the more confused he became. He considered, "If Qiu Daozhang is killed by Peng Lianhu and the others, how can I not blame myself? But if I did help and struck Peng Lianhu and the others that they fell into the ravine below, do they really deserve to die?"