A Bond Undone Read online

  Though Guo Jing barely understood the meaning of the phrases he was repeating, he could answer Mei’s questions without hesitation. He had no idea that the martial philosophy of Peach Blossom Island was different in every way from that of the Taoist tradition. He could not have guessed that Cyclone Mei had groped blindly for an interpretation of those phrases in the Nine Yin Manual for more than a decade, nor that her current paralysis had been caused by one of these wild guesses.

  “What about Three Splendours Gather at the Crown?” This was the point at which everything began to go wrong.

  “Essence into force, force into spirit—”

  Cyclone Mei was now paying more attention to Guo Jing’s words than to the fight. Her opponents, each of them a martial master with decades of combat experience, saw their opportunity. A palm strike from Gallant Ouyang hit her in the left shoulder, and one from Hector Sha met her ribcage from the right. Even with her body-toughening training, the pain shook her to the core.

  Lotus Huang had hoped Cyclone Mei would keep her pursuers busy while she escaped with Guo Jing, but now he was her warhorse and they were stuck.

  Under attack from all four sides, Mei was struggling.

  “How did you offend so many martial masters? Where is Shifu?”

  She really hoped he would arrive soon. Not only would he see her risking her life to help his daughter, but he would also dispatch her assailants with ease. But, then again, what punishment would he mete out for her?

  “He’ll be here any moment. These people can’t touch a hair on your head, even if you fight them sitting down.”

  Lotus hoped that Mei would fall for the flattery and let Guo Jing go, but Mei was running out of tricks and she knew it. A small mistake now could cost her life. Moreover, she was being held aloft by a store of neigong knowledge contained within a young boy who also happened to be her husband’s murderer. Nothing in the world could tempt her into letting him go.

  Another dozen moves were exchanged. Cyclone Mei could feel the air rushing at her from both left and right. She flung her arms out sideways to deflect the blows.

  Just then, Greybeard Liang leapt up and grabbed Mei by the hair. Lotus knew she had to step in and she thrust her palm at Liang’s back. He twirled his right hand and locked onto Lotus’s wrist, his left still gripping Mei’s hair. But his attention was now divided and it gave Mei a small window of opportunity to strike. Her palm whipped up a gust into Old Liang’s face. He had to let go to avoid it.

  “Lying wench!” Tiger Peng shouted. “You are Twice Foul Dark Wind’s disciple!”

  “She’s not my shifu! Not in a hundred years!” Lotus retorted. “It would be more accurate to say I’m her teacher.”

  The answer took Tiger Peng aback. It was obvious that the girl and Cyclone Mei shared the same martial fingerprint, but no member of the wulin would deny their shifu outright, to their face. Could she be telling the truth?

  “Shoot the horse to take the rider!” Hector Sha called to his companions as he swept his right leg at Guo Jing.

  If he gets hurt, I won’t survive this fight! Cyclone Mei thought, and she lunged her claws at Hector Sha’s foot. But the desperate move exposed her back to Gallant Ouyang. He immediately thrust his palm at her from behind.

  Hearing his approach, Mei flicked her wrist and a sliver of glittering white unfurled in the air. White Python Whip. The four men ducked out of the weapon’s reach.

  We need to kill her quick! It was unlike Tiger Peng to show mercy – not for nothing was he known in the martial world as the Butcher of a Thousand Hands. We’ll be in big trouble when her husband Copper Corpse appears.

  News of Hurricane Chen’s death had not reached the Central Plains, as neither Cyclone Mei nor the Freaks had spoken in the wulin about that night.

  The unforgiving lash of the White Python Whip could maim anyone within four zhang, but Cyclone Mei was not facing common brawlers.

  Now at a safe distance, Gallant Ouyang, Greybeard Liang, Hector Sha and Tiger Peng looked for a pattern in her moves.

  Suddenly, Peng whistled through his fingers and rolled under the reach of the whip. Mei heard Guo Jing’s yelp and extended her left arm with a downward strike. She needed Guo Jing to support her, and it was hard to focus on Tiger Peng while also keeping the other three Masters at bay.

  Lotus Huang wanted to help, but she could not get near them. She could see that Mei was struggling to subdue Tiger Peng with one hand. The situation was turning very ugly for Guo Jing. She needed to act fast.

  “Stop! Listen!” she shouted. Her words fell on deaf ears.

  “Lotus, run! I’ll find you!” Guo Jing called back.

  “I’m not going anywhere without you!”

  2

  “STOP!”

  This time, the voice came from the top of the palace wall. But mere words can never halt a fight, especially when no-one recognises the speaker. Lotus looked up and saw six disparate figures standing in a line. The diminutive, rotund one leapt down first, with a whip in hand. He was accompanied by a broad-chested man brandishing a shoulder pole.

  “You can’t run from us, libertine!” the first man cried.

  Guo Jing knew the voice very well. “Third Shifu! Help me!”

  After parting ways with Guo Jing near Kalgan, the Six Freaks of the South had tailed the eight women from White Camel Mount who they had overheard conspiring at the inn. That night, they had discovered that the women were part of Gallant Ouyang’s retinue and their master planned to abduct a maiden for his harem. The Freaks could not stand by and do nothing in the face of such moral depravity.

  The Freaks had spent more than a decade honing their martial skills in the arid landscape of Mongolia, teaching Guo Jing. Fighting six to one also gave them a distinct advantage against Gallant Ouyang when they challenged him. The eldest of the Freaks, Ke Zhen’e, the Suppressor of Evil, landed a blow on Gallant Ouyang with his metal staff, and Zhu Cong the Intelligent, the second of this martial brotherhood, fractured the little finger in Gallant Ouyang’s left hand with his signature move Split Muscles Lock Bones. Two of Ouyang’s female accomplices lost their lives to Woodcutter Nan and Gilden Quan, the fourth and the sixth of the Freaks. The Master of White Camel Mount had fled without his prize.

  The Freaks escorted the frightened girl home and they began to track Gallant Ouyang. They knew none among them could beat the rake single-handed, so they stayed together as they searched. Sly though Gallant Ouyang might have been in his decision to take less-trodden paths, the physical appearance of his women – dressed completely in white and travelling on camels – meant they were always noticed. The Freaks were able to follow their trail by questioning innkeepers along the way, until they found themselves at the Prince of Zhao residence, the palace of the Sixth Prince of the Jin Empire, Wanyan Honglie.

  Shocked and surprised to find Guo Jing here, Zhu Cong was the first to spot their disciple carrying Cyclone Mei on his shoulders!

  Jade Han, the youngest of the Freaks, charged at Mei with her sword raised, and Gilden Quan rolled under Mei’s dancing whip to get to Guo Jing.

  Tiger Peng could not tell whether these new arrivals were friends or foes, as they were taking on both Gallant Ouyang and Cyclone Mei. He performed several somersaults of the Ground Boxing technique to distance himself from Mei’s whip and bellowed, “Stop!”

  His voice rang like a mighty bell, crashing and clanging in everyone’s ears. Greybeard Liang and Hector Sha took a step back and paused their attack on Cyclone Mei.

  “Third Brother, Seventh Sister, stop!” Ke Zhen’e ordered. He knew his martial siblings would not be able to subdue this man whose shout still echoed. Ryder Han, the rotund, bow-legged man Guo Jing called Third Shifu, backed away from Gallant Ouyang.

  Gasping in pain, Cyclone Mei let her silver whip hang limp. Lotus moved closer and said in her sweetest voice, “You’ve done brilliantly. Father will be so pleased.” At the same time, she gestured wildly at Guo Jing to throw Mei off.

 
; “Essence into force, force into spirit, spirit into emptiness: such is the meaning of Three Splendours Gather at the Crown.” Guo Jing summoned his qi and hurled Cyclone Mei from his shoulders as she pondered the cryptic explanation. He jumped back to put more distance between himself and the blind woman. But, before his feet could touch the ground, he found the White Python whip hurtling at his face, its hooks glistening under the stars.

  Ryder Han let fly his whip with a backhand flick. As it curled over Mei’s, a sharp tremor jolted his grip. The weapon flew out of his hand.

  Still airborne, Cyclone Mei reached out, tapped the ground lightly with her hand to guide her descent, and landed gracefully.

  The Seven Freaks of the South! She recognised Ke Zhen’e’s voice as well as Jade Han’s moves. Why did they have to come now? On any other day, she would have rejoiced at their arrival. I have been looking for them for so many years, she thought. But I am having trouble enough with these four others . . .

  Once again, that fateful night came back to her. She knew what she had to do next. If I am fated to die today, I will take the Freaks down with me. As many of them as I can manage. The other four are of no matter.

  She tightened her grip on the whip and listened. How come there are only six? Where’s the seventh Freak? She did not know that Laughing Buddha Zhang Asheng, the fifth sibling, was killed by her husband in the same fight that took her sight and the love of her life.

  No-one dared stray within the whip’s reach. Silence sat heavy in the air until Zhu Cong broke it.

  “Why were you helping that witch?” he whispered.

  “They were trying to kill me. She saved me.” Guo Jing’s answer brought more confusion than clarity.

  “Who are you?” Tiger Peng demanded. “Why did you break into the Prince’s palace?”

  “My name is Ke. We siblings seven are known on the jianghu as the Seven Freaks of the South.”

  “The Seven Heroes of the South – we have long admired your reputation.” There was not a drop of sincerity in Tiger Peng’s voice.

  “Excellent! I have always wanted to see with my own eyes what the Freaks are made of.” Hector Sha glowered.

  The Seven Freaks of the South were a sore point for Sha. His four disciples had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Guo Jing not long ago, in Mongolia, in full view of both the Jin and the Mongolian armies, including his host, Prince Wanyan Honglie.

  Hector Sha darted forward with a swerve of his body, swinging his palm at Woodcutter Nan’s head with a whoosh. Nan thrust his shoulder pole into the ground and lifted his arms to block. Within a few moves, Nan was struggling. Jade Han rushed forward with her sword to aid her Fourth Brother, followed by Gilden Quan with his steelyard.

  Howling, Tiger Peng lunged at Gilden Quan and snatched at his weapon. The Sixth Freak jolted backwards, a move that sent the steelyard’s hook and counterweight flying at Peng. It was not a weapon Peng had ever seen in his decades roaming the martial world. With a Python Flip, he slipped past the projectiles.

  “Is this thing, these weighing scales, your weapon?” Tiger Peng was incredulous.

  “It’s made for weighing pigs like you!” was Gilden Quan’s comeback.

  Tiger Peng pounced, thrusting his palms in quick succession. These powerful strikes sliced the air with a roar.

  Gilden Quan ducked and dodged. He did not stand a chance against such a skilled fighter. Ryder Han came to his aid, swinging punches and launching kicks. Though competent in hand-to-hand combat, he had lost his Golden Dragon whip, the conduit of his most accomplished kung fu. Even fighting two to one, there were too many close calls for the Freaks.

  The two eldest Freaks now stepped in. Brandishing his Exorcist’s Staff, Ke Zhen’e joined Woodcutter Nan and Jade Han in resisting Hector Sha. Zhu Cong came to Gilden Quan and Ryder Han’s aid, jabbing his oilpaper fan at Tiger Peng’s vital pressure points. Their skill far exceeded that of their younger martial siblings. Now fighting three against one, Sha and Peng instantly lost their advantage.

  Meanwhile, Lotus Huang was harrying Browbeater Hou once more. He was without a doubt the more skilled fighter, but he was too scared to strike, worried that he would get stung again by the spikes on her body and in her hair. Lotus took advantage of this and launched her armoured body at him.

  “Take off your chainmail. Make it a fair fight!” Hou protested as he dodged.

  “Well, cut off your cysts then. Otherwise, it’s not going to be fair.”

  “They don’t hurt anyone!”

  “The sight of them makes me sick. And that’s giving you an advantage! Come on, one, two, three, you cut them off and I’ll remove my steel shirt.”

  “No!”

  “You said you wanted to fight fair.”

  “I’m not falling for your tricks again!”

  Gallant Ouyang had been watching from the sidelines, calculating his next move. Cyclone Mei isn’t going anywhere in this crippled state; I can deal with her later. I’m going to show these six busybodies some real kung fu and cast them down to the underworld, he thought.

  He leapt up and, suddenly, he was next to Ke Zhen’e. It was a lightness qinggong technique known as A Thousand Miles in One Breath.

  “I’ll show you martial prowess!” Gallant Ouyang slapped down at Ke Zhen’e with his right hand.

  The eldest Freak twirled his staff to block, but Gallant Ouyang’s attack morphed into a backhand strike from the left.

  Ke Zhen’e ducked and swung his staff in a move known as Protector Adamantine Dharma. But, by now, Gallant Ouyang had moved on to attacking Woodcutter Nan. Darting east and west, he threw a deadly blow at each of the Freaks.

  With the Freaks struggling against Gallant Ouyang, Greybeard Liang saw his opportunity. He charged at Guo Jing. Within a couple of moves, he had the young man by the front of his shirt and aimed a sweeping strike at his abdomen. Guo Jing sucked his tummy in and lurched back. His shirt ripped and the herbs he had stolen tumbled out. Recognising the scent, the Ginseng Immortal quickly gathered and stowed the packages, then launched his palms at Guo Jing once more.

  Guo Jing managed to swerve away from Old Liang and ran to Cyclone Mei. “Help me!”

  “Lift me up. We have nothing to fear from the Ginseng Codger.” She still had many questions about Taoist neigong training, but she could sense Guo Jing was not going to let her sit on his shoulders again – instead, he ran past her, with Greybeard Liang hard on his heels.

  Guo Jing was now within the reach of Cyclone Mei’s whip; the time had come to take her revenge. She listened and flicked her wrist. The lash slithered towards its target.

  All through her fight with Browbeater Hou, Lotus had kept an eye on Guo Jing. She had been too far away to help when he was grabbed by Greybeard Liang, but he was now racing in her direction and Cyclone Mei’s whip was snaking towards him. Lotus launched herself forward and sailed into the path of the lash. The whip’s thong coiled around her waist and then cast her high up into the air.

  “You’d hurt me, Flora Mei?”

  Oh no, Shifu will never forgive me now, Cyclone Mei realised with horror. What’s done is done. I’ll pull her to me and then decide what to do.

  With another flick of her wrist, the lash swirled and set its load beside its owner.

  Cyclone Mei untangled Lotus from the whip, expecting the hooks to have sunk deep into her flesh, yet only the outermost layer of her clothing was torn and it was curiously dry.

  “My clothes! Ruined! You’d better replace them!”

  She doesn’t sound hurt. Now Cyclone Mei understood. Of course! Shifu had given her the Hedgehog Chainmail.

  “Forgive me. I shall happily buy you a new dress to replace the one I have damaged.”

  Lotus beckoned Guo Jing over. They stood several paces from Mei, close enough to keep the Ginseng Codger away, but just out of her reach.

  The Six Freaks of the South were now standing back-to-back in a circle, using all their martial knowledge to resist the attentions of H
ector Sha, Tiger Peng, Gallant Ouyang and Browbeater Hou. The Freaks had developed this formation when they were in Mongolia, to keep themselves protected from an attack from the rear. Though the arrangement amplified their strength, there were still too many heart-stopping moments.

  Ryder Han had suffered an injury to his shoulder, but he pushed through with gritted teeth. If the formation was broken, it would put everyone’s life in danger.

  Noticing this weak link, Tiger Peng launched a succession of his deadliest moves at Ryder Han.

  Guo Jing sprinted over to help his Third Shifu, thrusting his palms at Tiger Peng’s back in a Dispel the Clouds to Push the Moon. The martial Master sniggered at this feeble effort and had the young man scrambling for his life in just three moves.

  Lotus did not have the skills to help Guo Jing, but perhaps she could create a distraction?

  “Cyclone Mei –” she raised her voice – “you’ve stolen my father’s Nine Yin Manual. Give it to me and I will bring it back to him.”

  Gallant Ouyang, Hector Sha, Tiger Peng and Greybeard Liang turned to Cyclone Mei with the same thought: the Manual! It’s still in her hands! Once I kill her, it will be mine!

  Instantly, their quarrel with the Freaks was entirely insignificant.

  Mei realised what was coming. Once more, she created a circle of protection with her silver whip, keeping the four martial masters at bay. For the time being.

  Lotus grabbed Guo Jing’s hand. “Let’s go!”

  At that moment, a messenger from the palace arrived in their midst.

  “Masters, my father requires your assistance in an important matter.” A gold coronet perched on his head, askew. “My mother . . . has been abducted. Please hurry.”

  It was Wanyan Honglie’s son, Wanyan Kang. He had been sent by the Prince, who, after a fruitless search for his Consort, remembered his martial guests and their extraordinary skills. The young man, who was around Guo Jing’s age, had come upon the fight in such a distraught state, he did not notice that his father’s guests were attacking his clandestine shifu.

  The four men backed away reluctantly. It would be churlish to refuse the young Prince when his father had showered them with so many lavish gifts, but it was also difficult to let Cyclone Mei go when they were so close to getting their hands on the Nine Yin Manual.