The Legend of the Condor Heroes

"Watch closely!" the Taoist shouted.

He jumped as if it was nothing special, made six or seven turns with the sword, before softly landing again on his feet. Guo Jing was awestruck.

The man threw the sword on the ground and said while laughing, "The white eagle was quite admirable, it is necessary to save its offspring!"

He sprang toward the cliff and began climbing at full speed using his feet and hands, as agile as a monkey and as light as a bird. The slope rose very steeply and was, in part, as straight as a wall. But the slightest bump was sufficient for him to climb up higher. Even when the rock appeared smooth as a mirror, he climbed like a lizard.

Guo Jing and Hua Zheng were very anxious; if he slipped, the fall would definitely kill him. The silhouette became smaller and smaller and gave the impression he was about to enter the clouds. The girl closed her eyes, afraid of seeing what could happen:

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"He's nearly at the summit," Guo Jing answered. "There, he made it!"

Opening her eyes, she saw the Taoist fly off as if he was going to fall and let out a scream of fright. In fact, when he reached the summit, the large sleeves of his robe floated in the violent wind that blew there. One had the impression, seen from below, that he was a huge bird.

The man slipped his hand into the nest, caught the two eaglets and put them against his chest. Then, back to the slope he went, where he let himself slip, grabbing a hand on a bump here or giving a kick from time to time, to slow his fall, and reached the ground very quickly.

Guo Jing and Hua Zheng ran towards him. He took the eaglets and said to the girl, in Mongolian, "Will you take good care of them?"

"Yes, yes, yes," she answered quickly. Hua Zheng, surprised and delighted, stretched out her hands.

"Be careful of their beaks," warned the Taoist, "they are small, but their bite is dangerous…"

Hua Zheng undid her belt and attached it to the legs of the fledglings. Then she held them against herself, delighted, "I am going to look for meat to feed them."

"Wait," the Taoist said. "If you want the eaglets, you must promise me one thing."

"What?"

"You must not tell anyone that I climbed the cliff to catch the birds."

"Okay," Hua Zheng said joyfully. "That's easy. I won't tell anyone."

"While they are growing," warned the Taoist while smiling, "these two white eagles will become aggressive. Be very careful while feeding them!"

Happy, she told Guo Jing, "Each of us will have one, and it will be me who keeps them in the meantime, okay?"

Guo Jing nodded his head. Hua Zheng got on her horse and happily rode off.

The young man stayed immobile, as if hypnotized, reviewing in his head the ease of the movements of the Taoist executing 'The Branch Hits the White Gorilla'. The man grabbed the sword and kindly offered it to him and turned on his heels. Seeing that he was leaving, Guo Jing said, in panic:

"You… please… Don't leave…"

"Why not?" asked the Taoist.

Guo Jing scratched his head, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, he kowtowed, knocking the ground with his forehead, without stopping.

"Why do you prostrate yourself before me?" the Taoist asked.

There was a deep ache in Guo Jing's heart. Seeing the kind face of the Taoist, he felt as if he had met a relative with whom he was able to confide. Suddenly, two big tears rolled down his cheeks and he said while choking back sobs. "Me… Me… I am very dumb, I can't manage to learn martial arts, and I am a disappointment to my six Shifus, to whom I owe everything…"

"What are you going to do?" the Taoist asked.

"I give all of myself, day and night, and still I don't manage to do it properly… I really can't manage to learn it…"

"Do you want me to show you a way?" he asked.

"Yes, please!" replied Guo Jing, kowtowing again.

The Taoist smiled, "It seems to me that you are full of sincerity. Very well, let's meet each other again in three days; we will meet on the fifteenth day of the month. When the moon is full, I will wait for you at the summit of the cliff. But you must not tell anyone!" Then he left.

"But I won't be able to climb up there," Guo Jing protested in a rush.

The Taoist didn't answer and it appeared, as he departed, that his feet didn't touch the ground at all, and he was already far away.

"He made that promise on purpose to embarrass me; he doesn't want to teach me." Then he said himself, "I am not yet without a Shifu and my six Shifus have caused themselves much pain trying to teach me; it's me that is stupid, what choices do I have ? This Senior is probably very strong, but I won't be able to learn any of what he knows from him anyway; why should I even try?" He contemplated the top of the cliff, and then he tried to not think more about it. He took his sword, and repeated the moves again and again of 'The Branch Hits the White Gorilla', until sunset, when hunger urged him to go back home.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. That afternoon, Han Baoju taught him the 'Whip of the Golden Dragon'. This kind of flexible weapon required particularly close attention; if one didn't master all the refinements of it, not only would you not reach the enemy, but you risked getting injured by it yourself. Guo Jing, of course, made a false move, and "slash", the whip turned against him, striking him on the head causing a big bump. Han Baoju, who had a legendary harsh character, immediately gave him a slap. Guo Jing didn't dare to shy away and continued to practice. Seeing him putting in a lot of effort, Han Baoju regretted having lost his temper. Even though his pupil made mistakes several more times, the master didn't scold him again. He showed him five more movements, encouraged him, and recommended that he train by himself. Then he left on his horse.

To practice the 'Whip of the Golden Dragon' wasn't an easy task. After having executed the set of the sequences about ten times, Guo Jing's forehead, arms, and thighs were covered with blue welts. Tired and aching all over, he fell asleep on the grass. When he woke up, the moon had appeared from behind the mountains. He felt burning pains on his whole body and notably on the cheek, where Han Baoju had slapped him.

Contemplating the top of the cliff, he had suddenly a burst of self-esteem, "If the Taoist can climb up there, why not me?" he thought. Clenching his teeth, he ran to the cliff and began to climb it, clinging onto the plants that grew there, slowly going up. At the end of six or seven zhangs, [1 zhang = 3.3 meters / approx. 11ft] the cliff became completely smooth without any vegetation or bumps to grasp. How could he advance further in these conditions? He gritted his teeth, tried two times, but his foot always slipped, and he almost fell. Understanding that any new attempt would be in vain, he wanted to go back down again. When he glanced behind him, he was terrified! He had forced himself to follow this path of ascent, and now found his feet were unable to use the same support points on the way down. If he jumped, he would certainly smash himself below!