The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 27 – Battle of wits and strength, Part 9

Suddenly Ma Guangzuo loudly cried out “Ohh”. This was the slanting copper wheel flying by, curving fiercely and just passing the top of his head. The wheel cut a piece out of his scalp, which still had a chunk of hair. Blood dripped profusely to the ground. Ma Guangzuo held his head with both hands, cursing, but didn’t dare rush out to fight.

Yang Guo knew Xiao Longnü was severely injured. The more they were delayed, the less time for treatment there was. Anxiety filled his heart. Fawang called out: “Be careful!” Suddenly the five wheels returned again, coming side by side about to strike the two people like five powerful waves. Yang Guo’s whole body strength rushed to his left arm, the tip of his sword vibrating. ‘dang’ ‘dang’ ‘dang’ sounds echoed as the sword brushed away the gold, copper and steel wheels. Everyone was alarmed, dust flew up, and the silver wheel and the lead wheel were broken, dropping on the ground.

Fawang cried out loudly, flying upwards. His left hand pushed aside the steel wheel while grabbing the gold and copper wheels and he then ferociously smashed down for the top of Yang Guo’s head. Yang Guo didn’t ward him off but the black iron sword thrust out from his chest. The sword was long while the wheels were short. The wheels were yet to smash his head but the tip of his sword was already less than half a foot away from Fawang’s chest. Fawang immediately retreated. His forward attack was no doubt very fast but the retreat was also fast. It was not so clear how he cross stepped, going left and then suddenly jumping back several feet. This was actually quite rare in the martial world. The spectators were dazzled, cheering the one they were rooting for. One cried out loudly: “Good!”

Yang Guo suddenly wielded the black iron sword to the back. Then came a sound, from behind and the copper wheel was chopped in half. And even before the copper wheel hit the ground, the sword whipped out horizontally and the two pieces turned into four. Although the blade of the black iron sword had no sharp point, he applied his internal energy to break the wheel. When the spectators saw Fawang’s lightness Kung Fu, they shouted in appreciation. Now they saw the strange power of Yang Guo’s divine sword, they all were startled, falling silent.

In just a short while, three out of five of Fawang’s wheels were destroyed. Still he was not discouraged, brandishing his gold and steel wheels around without fear. Yang Guo stretched out his sword while Fawang sidestepped to evade Yang Guo’s sword strikes. This time he didn’t throw out his wheels. Even though he wouldn’t be able to attack from afar, this was actually more powerful. When he saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü together, attacking on the left side and resisting on the right side, he jumped up high in the air and bore down with both wheels, sending out the Wu-Wu humming sound. Yang Guo’s black iron sword did appear quite dull but no matter how Fawang changed his moves, he couldn’t get within two or three steps of the couple. Forty or fifty moves passed, both Fawang’s wheels returned again and were about to pound into Xiao Longnü. Yang Guo thrust out the black iron sword, and the soft clattering sound was heard as the two weapons met. Both Yang Guo and Fawang sent out their internal forces to their weapons. Both refused to budge and were now motionless in a deadlock situation.

Yang Guo could feel that the opponent’s continuing waves of energy growing stronger and stronger, he was secretly alarmed: “This person’s internal energy is surprisingly high.” He also thought: “We’re already matching internal forces and the full power of the black iron sword can’t be lashed out. If this battle of internal forces goes on for a long time, the one with more profound energy would have the upper hand. If he moves his body forward further, I’ll use the sleeve to strike him by surprise.” As a result, his left arm was slowly pulled back. The two people were originally five feet or so apart. The distance was gradually reduced to five feet and then four and a half, from four and a half to four feet.

As Fawang’s disciples Da’erba and Huo Du, who were constantly guarding their master’s body nearby, saw that their master was gradually gaining the upper hand, they were delighted, moving forward several steps. While Da’erba cared about his master’s safety, he also hoped that his master would not injure his reincarnated “Da Shi Xiong” [big apprentice brother]. Huo Du on the other hand was secretly plotting against Yang Guo. He wielded his folding fan, appearing to be cooling himself, but he actually was waiting for an opportunity to launch his fan attack.

As Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi saw Huo Du’s eyes glinting as he moved forward, they knew that he thought to help his master. The two persons looked at the situation and thought: “Even though Yang Guo has become our sect’s enemy, real men are open and upright. Losing or winning depends on the original fight. How could Mount Zhongnan allow this scheming disciple to act?” They pulled out their long swords, stepping forward and at the same time sending Huo Du a warning stare. Priest Qiu and Priest Wang’s beards and hair were all white but the two had practiced martial arts for a long time; their faces had a red glow. The two swords also emitted blue-green lights like a rainbow, showing their own chilling power. Intimidated, Huo Du dare not act rashly.

By now Yang Guo’s left arm gradually shrank and he was already only three feet away from Fawang. He thought: “If this monk moves forward another half foot, my right sleeve will strike him. Although it may not be enough to take his life, it will knock him out.” As Fawang saw his right shoulder slightly moving, he understood what Yang Guo meant to do, thought: “Even though your arm has been cut off, you still have the shirt sleeve. If applying internal force and sending it out, it will be the same as a sharp soft whip. I’ll let you do this and deflect your strike. When you wield your sleeve, the strength in your left arm must lessen and then I’ll take advantage of the situation by using my full force attack and as a result your body will be heavily injured.”

Xiao Longnü leaned against Yang Guo’s body in a perpetually dazed state. As Yang Guo was summoning his internal energy and accelerating it, his body became hotter and hotter. Xiao Longnü felt his face emitting a steam so she opened her eyes, seeing the beads of sweat seeping out at the side of his forehead. She used her sleeve to gently wipe the sweat for him. Then she saw his serious expression, both eyes looking straight ahead so she followed his gaze and turned her head to look. She couldn’t help being startled by Fawang’s wide-open copper eyes in front of her. Seeing these two eyes with fierce glows, she shut her eyes quickly and then opened them again. Fawang’s eyes were still near. Xiao Longnü was cuddling and leaning against her loved one. Having a pair of wicked eyes fixedly gazing at her was really disgusting. This time she didn’t think that Fawang was fighting with Yang Guo. She only knew that this monk was a really evil person and also she was not willing to let him disturb her sweet time right now so she quickly dipped her hand into her bosom, took out a jade bee golden needle, and slowly extended her hand towards Fawang’s left eye.

Aside from the fact that this golden needle had a virulent poison on it, any ordinary embroidery needle pricking an eyeball would blind that eye. This time Xiao Longnü only wanted to get rid of the big disgusting eyes, she didn’t mean to shoot it out fiercely. With her severe injury, her stretched hand was soft and weak. Her hand was really very slow.

But Fawang and Yang Guo were in a deadlock situation. In this critical stage, one who moved even a little would be paying dearly. Xiao Longnü’s golden needle slowly coming near, Fawang could not resist in the least bit. Seeing the golden needle moving closer, from two feet to one foot, from one foot to half a foot, Fawang cried out loudly, pushing both wheels out to the front while struggling to flit backwards. But after all, the overwhelming force from both weapons could not be unloaded so he just firmly stood there and then sat down on the ground. Da’erba and Huo Du called out “Master!” and rushed out to hold Fawang.

Yang Guo’s sword then moved twice, splitting both gold and steel wheels in half. Then he moved forward two steps, wielding his sword to cut the top of Fawang’s head. Fawang just breathed in, only feeling melancholy death coming. He was weary and did not have the strength to resist. Da’erba lifted his golden rod and Huo Du raised his steel fan, together blocking the black iron sword. But the strength of the sword blow was strangely fierce. Da’erba and Huo Du’s knees felt weak, unable to stop the falling sword. They knelt down on the ground but still held their weapons, desperately shielding Fawang.

As the force from the black iron sword was growing stronger, Da’erba and Huo Du felt as if their backs were about to break, their body joints rumbling. Huo Du said: “Shi Ge (older apprentice brother), you hold on alone for a moment. Little brother will save the master first and will be back to help you.” Originally the two people’s combined force was already unable to resist the force. Now with only Da’erba, how could he block the power of the heavy sword? But he would give up his life to protect his master so he called out: “Good!” and furiously pushed his golden rod upwards.

The two of them were speaking in Tibetan, which Yang Guo could not understand. He only felt the increasing force from the golden rod and was about to apply more force to press down but then Huo Du jumped out.

Who would have thought that Huo Du didn’t plan to save his master but only to seek his own retreat? He called out: “Shi Ge [Apprentice Brother], little brother will go back to Tibet and diligently practice martial skills. After ten years I will certainly look for this Yang boy and avenge you and master!” As he said that, he turned around and leapt away as if flying.

Da’erba was duped by his apprentice brother; he was unable to control his anger. He also remembered that Yang Guo was his reincarnated big apprentice brother, how could he heartlessly wrong their master like this? He loudly said: “Da Shi Ge [Big Apprentice Brother], please spare little brother’s life. Wait for me to save the master and search for that scum [heart of a wolf & lung of a dog] of a disciple so I could break him into ten thousand pieces. After that I’ll voluntarily throw my life into Da Shi Ge [Big Apprentice Brother]’s hand. At that time you’ll kill me or cut me, little brother won’t even dare to frown.”

Yang Guo listened to him mumbling a long speech, he naturally didn’t understand. However, Huo Du narrowly escaped death but this person was loyal and did right by his master. He actually understood. Yang Guo saw that his expression was earnest and respected him as a true man who was not too smart. He also saw Xiao Longnü’s tender eyes gazing at him. Suddenly his thought to kill and take revenge was dissipated, only feeling that it didn’t matter if all the lifetime grudges were not resolved. He immediately lifted his black iron sword and said: “You are released!”

Da’erba got up, but only after a great effort. Strength escaped his whole body and he couldn’t hold on to his golden rod. A ‘tang’ sound was heard as it dropped on the ground. He bent down and bowed to Yang Guo several times, thanking Yang Guo for not killing them. At this time, Fawang still sat motionless on the ground. Da’erba carried his master on his back and went down the mountain in big strides.

Yang Guo alone used his sword to defeat six Mongolian masters. The numerous warriors saw their six leading people either defeated or wounded, they dared not to attack. Instead they picked up Xiaoxiang Zi and Yin Kexi and quickly ran away, leaving no trace.

Ma Guangzuo, with his head still dripping blood, walked over to Yang Guo, waving fingers at him and saying: “Xiao Xiong Di [Little Apprentice Brother], you are really good!” Yang Guo said: “Ma Da Ge [Big Brother Ma], these people you run around with are not a good kind. If you mix up with them, you will definitely suffer. It would be better to say goodbye to the Mongolian prince and go back to your native land!” Ma Guangzuo said: “You are right, Xiao Xiong Di [Little Apprentice Brother].” He looked at Xiao Longnü, seeing that although heavily injured, she was still full of grace and beauty. He struggled to find sweet words, asking: “When do you and the bride get married? I’m waiting to drink your celebration wine, is that good?” When he first met Xiao Longnü at the Passionless Valley, he saw her as a bride and from then on he always called her the bride.

Yang Guo forced a smile and shook his head. He then rounded up several hundred Taoist priests. Ma Guangzuo said: “Oh, there are still these many stinky priests to be taken care of. I’ll help you.” Yang Guo thought: “If fighting one on one, not even one of these priests is my rival. But if they together close in on me, circumstances will be terribly dangerous. It’s not worthwhile to let him die in vain with me.” So he said loudly: “You’d better be off quickly. I alone can handle this.” Ma Guangzuo now understood, applauding: “Right, that’s right! With all those big priests, not one could defeat you. What’s with all these stinky little priests? Xiao Xiong Di [Little Apprentice Brother], the bride, I’m leaving!” Dragging his copper rod and laughing merrily, he turned and left, only the sound of his copper rod bumping stones could be heard on his way down the mountain. And the sound gradually quieted.

Yang Guo propped his heavy sword on the ground. His fight with Fawang had used up a lot of his internal energy. He pondered: “Jinlun Fawang, Xiaoxiang Zi and others all worried about one another so they fought with me one on one in the hope to get rid of each other and leaving only himself at the end. I was benefiting as a third party in a dispute. Had those six people together attacked me, it would have been very difficult to withstand. Let alone the fact that I competed with internal energy with Jinlun Fawang. I was certainly going to lose but fortunately Gu Gu [Xiao Longnü] pulled out a golden needle so I could win by luck. These Quanzhen priests’ minds and bodies fight as one, all obeying their five masters’ commands. Although the Taoist group’s martial skills can’t match those of Fawang and others, numerous wills build a city. Their combined power really was much stronger than Fawang and the gang. Anyway, Gu Gu and I are already together here. We fight until we have no strength left, then we two will die together.”

Qiu Chuji said in a clear voice: “Yang Guo, so your martial skills have reached this stage; our generation is much, much inferior. But our sect has several hundred people; do you think you can break through our blockade by yourself?”