The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 25 – Domestic troubles and foreign invasion, Part 12

Suddenly she saw three horses and riders in the distance. They wore the yellow robe and Taoist hat. “Why three?” she wondered. She strained her eyes and could see Zhen Zhibing rode in the back, with Zhao Zhijing and an unknown young Taoist priest in front of him. Xiao Longnu pulled her reins and followed with her donkey.

Zhen Zhibing heard the donkey and turned his head. His countenance paled.

“Martial Brother Zhao, who is that woman?” the young priest asked.

“Our archenemy,” he answered, “Don’t ask too much.”

The young priest was startled. “The Scarlet Serpent Deity Li Mochou?” he asked, trembling with fear.

“No, but she is her martial sister,” Zhijing explained.

The young priest was Qi Zhicheng, one of Qiu Chuji’s disciples. He knew Li Mochou had fought with the Quanzhen’s masters, and they were troubled by her. Naturally her martial sister would not be friendly toward the Quanzhen sect.

Zhao Zhijing anxiously whipped his horse and galloped away. Both Zhen and Qi did not have any choice but to follow suit, leaving Xiao Longnu far behind. But the donkey had good stamina; it could not run fast, but it ran steadily. After about four or five li the horses panted and slowed down, and Xiao Longnu gradually caught up with them. Again Zhijing lifted his whip and struck his horse, but the horses’ strength was already spent; they ran for while, and then slowly trotted.

“Martial Brother Zhao,” Qi Zhicheng said, “Let us block the enemy to give Martial Brother Zhen a chance to escape.”

Zhao Zhijing’s face turned green with anger. “You talk rubbish!” he snapped. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“Martial Brother Zhen bears the heavy burden of becoming our new Sect Leader [zhang jiao],” answered Qi Zhicheng. “We have the responsibility to protect him.” He was sent by Qiu Chuji to summon Zhen Zhibing back to Chongyang Palace to be the new Sect Leader.

Zhijing snorted and ignored him. He thought, “You don’t know the height of the heaven, or the depth of the earth; yet you want to block her with your meager skill?”

Qi Zhicheng saw his angry face and did not dare to say anything. He held his reins to wait for Zhen Zhibing; then he spoke to him in a low voice, “Martial Brother Zhen, you bear a very heavy responsibility, you’d better go first.” Zhibing simply shook his head. “No need,” he said, “She can do anything she wants.”

Qi Zhicheng saw his calmness and could not help but admire him. “No wonder Master wants him to take over,” he thought. “Merely by his calmness, who among the third generation disciples can match him?” Actually, he did not know that Zhen Zhibing at this time had no regard for his own safety. If Xiao Longnu wanted to kill him, he would stretch out his neck voluntarily.

Zhao Zhijing saw those two were calm, but he was always thinking of ways of escaping. It was good that Xiao Longnu did not seem to plan to attack soon. Even so, he could not help but turn his head in anxiety every now and then.

The four of them proceeded north. By now they were already far away from the Mongolian troops. The wind still carried a muffled sound of horse hoofs and a faint sound of a military bugle, but the area they were traveling in was desolate. The houses were in ruin and the common people had left to avoid the enemy troops. Before that day Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing could still find a place to eat. But now, not even a house was left standing.

That evening the three of them spent the night in a house ruin without any windows or doors. Zhao Zhijing took a look outside, and saw Xiao Longnu sleeping on a piece of rope strung between two big trees. Qi Zhicheng also saw this amazing skill and was scared. Zhijing did not dare to close his eyes. He was ready to jump and dash out whenever any noise came from the trees. Zhen Zhibing was the only one who slept soundly all through the night.

Early the next morning they continued their journey. Zhao Zhijing was tired; he rode his horse in silence. Qi Zhicheng and Zhen Zhibing rode together, about two to three meters behind. Qi Zhicheng could not contain himself much longer and said, “Martial Brother Zhen, I have seen both you and Martial Brother Zhao’s martial art skills. Each of you has his own strengths and weaknesses, it really is difficult to compare. But speaking of character, there is no comparison between yours and his.”

Zhen Zhibing smiled wryly. He asked, “How long will Master and Martial Uncles live in seclusion?”

“Master said at least three months, but it could be as long as a year,” Qi Zhicheng answered. “That was the reason he anxiously summoned Martial Brother Zhen to take over.”

Zhen Zhibing was lost in thought. “Their skills are already very high, what kind of martial arts are they developing?” he thought aloud.

Qi Zhicheng answered in low voice, “I heard the five Masters want to develop something to defeat the Ancient Tomb Sect.”

Zhen Zhibing said, “Oh” and could not help but cast a glance toward Xiao Longnu.

In the year when Xiao Longnu turned 18, a large group of heretic martial artists gathered at Mount Zhongnan. Da’erba and Huo Du easily entered the Chongyang Temple and Huo Du was able to wound Hao Datong in a few stances. If Guo Jing had not arrived on time, Quanzhen School would have suffered a heavy blow. Nonetheless, the main hall of the Chongyang shrine was burned by Huo Du and his men. Since the time Master Chongyang’s grandeur awed the realm, Quanzhen was known as the orthodox martial arts school. The Seven Masters of Quanzhen had deep and profound martial arts cultivation and retained Quanzhen’s reputation. However, the martial arts of the Tibetan Lamaistic Sect proved to be powerful too and when Jinlun Fawang first came to China he shocked the realm with his impressive skills. On their return Hao Datong and Sun Bu’Er expressed their worries and added more frustration for Qiu Chuji and others. At the Heroes’ Assembly at Dasheng Guan, Xiao Longnu and Yang Guo were able to repel Jinlun Fawang and his pupils. Hao Datong, Sun Bu’Er, Zhao Zhijing and Zhen Zhibing saw the martial arts that were displayed by Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were excellent. Yang Guo was able to mock and overcome Zhao Zhijing without making actual movements in Guo Jing’s study. Later on, Xiao Longnu heavily injured Zhao Zhijing within one stance. Although Sun Bu’Er was present, she could not clearly see the movements Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu made. It seemed the martial arts of the Quanzhen School were entirely useless when facing the Ancient Tomb School; this was another frightening thought. Afterwards, they heard that Xiao Longnu and Yang Guo defeated Jinlun Fawang with their combined swordplay; the entire Quanzhen School was shocked.