EASTERN HERETIC, WESTERN POISON (Book 2 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Mutual Hands Combat Part 2

Zhou Botong smiled, "If I win, I won't be here. He hit me until I was spitting up blood. I ran away until I found this cave. He pursued me, wanted to break my legs, He wanted to snatch the first volume of the Nine Yin Manual to be burned in front of his wife's memorial tablet. I hid the book inside the hole and sat at the cave entrance guarding. I said that if he resorted to force I would destroy the book immediately. He said, 'I will find a way to force you out of there.' I said, 'We'll see!'

Just like that and I have been here for fifteen years. This man is arrogant, and he is not desperate yet, so I am sure he won't put poison in my food. But he had used every means possible to force me out of here. I leave the cave only to urinate and defecate, he won't have any opportunity to sneak in. Only I have to live with this stench. Sometimes I pretend to have a bowel movement. His heart itches to lay his fingers in, but he ended up enjoying the smelly thing." He ended his narration by laughing heartily.

Listening to his story Guo Jing was fascinated. He found this big brother of his to be smart and witty. Zhou Botong continued, "After fifteen years he started to attack my heart and mind, but so far I was able to defend myself. Only last night I was almost fallen; fortunately ghost or angel has brought you here and helped me. If not, this book would certainly fall into Old Heretic Huang's hands. Ay! Old Heretic Huang's 'jade-colored tidal wave song' contains a strong internal energy, very profound."

Guo Jing listened to him recounting this gratitude and grudges; his heart was troubled. "Big Brother, what will you do now?" he asked.

Zhou Botong smiled, "I will just continue our competition. We'll see if Old Heretic Huang will outlive me, or I'll live a few years longer than he will. I told you the life story of Huang Shanga moment ago; he had outlived all his enemies."

Guo Jing felt it was not a good idea, but he didn't have anything better, so he asked, "How come Priest Ma Yu and the others did not come to rescue you?"

"Most probably they don't even know I am here," Zhou Botong said. "Even if they do, the vegetation in this island is so strange that unless Old Heretic Huang himself gives consent, other people won't be able to enter the Peach Blossom Island. Also, even if they come to rescue me, I won't go. I haven't finished the competition with Old Heretic Huang yet."

After talking with Zhou Botong for half a day, Guo Jing found that even though this man is old, he was filled with childlike innocence and always spoke straightforwardly, without any pretension.

In the meantime the sun had climbed high in the sky. That old servant came back delivering their meal. After done eating Zhou Botong continued, "I have stayed on the Peach Blossom Island for fifteen years, yet my time did not totally go to waste. Here my heart and mind are clear, without any disruption. I can achieve here what I can achieve elsewhere for twenty-five years. But although I know I have advanced greatly, too bad I don't have any sparring partner; so I had to use my left hand to fight my right hand."

Guo Jing was astonished. "How can the left hand fight with the right hand?" he asked.

"I pretend my right hand to be the Old Heretic Huang, the left hand to be the Old Urchin. The right hand attacks, the left hand neutralizes that attack and launches a counterattack, like this," Zhou Botong said, then moved his hands to battle each other.

At first Guo Jing thought it was very funny, but after several moves he realized that the stances were mysteriously wonderful, he couldn't help but feeling great admiration. People who practice martial arts, regardless of whether they are barehanded or wielding a saber or thrusting a spear, will always use both hands either to attack or to defend; but Zhou Botong was different. He used one hand to attack and the other to defend; each attack was fierce and always aimed vital points, while the defending hand would parry and counterattack with no less fierceness; truly like two people fighting each other. Guo Jing had never seen nor heard anything like this before.

After watching Zhou Botong fought himself for a moment Guo Jing commented, "Big Brother, why don't you use your feet too?"

Zhou Botong halted and smiled, "Not a bad observation! You could see through my moves. Come, come, come! You try!" While speaking thus he stretched his palm to attack. Guo Jing also stretched his to parry.

"Careful! I am going to push you to the left," Zhou Botong said. As soon as he finished speaking he exerted his energy. Guo Jing was ready, even before Zhou Botong warned him he had prepared himself to use the '18-Dragon Subduing Palms'. Two great forces collided, and Guo Jing staggered back seven, eight steps. He felt his arm sore and numb.

"Last time I borrowed the strength from my feet and you were pushed back," Zhou Botong said, "Now I am not going to use my feet. You try again."

Guo Jing followed his bidding to attack again; but suddenly he felt a pushing and pulling force. He was unable to stand steadily; he fell forward; his forehead hit the ground. He crawled trying to stand up; he was in a daze.

Zhou Botong smiled, "Do you understand?"

"No, I don't," Guo Jing replied.

"I developed this technique after toiling for more than ten years through training and meditation inside this hole," Zhou Botong said. "My martial brother had told me once about a technique of using emptiness to gain victory. That time my understanding of Taoist principles was still shallow. I heard him but I didn't understand. About five years ago I was moving my two hands when it suddenly dawned on me that I can develop palm technique using that principle. I was still unsure about it since it was only a theory; I have never tried it in a real combat. Brother, come and fight me again. Please don't fear the pain. I am going to make you fall some more times."

He saw Guo Jing was hesitant, so he persuaded again, "Good Brother, I have been here for fifteen years, and always longed for someone to come over and train with me. Several months ago Old Heretic Huang's daughter came and talked with me to chase my boredom. I was thinking of training with her, but she did not return the next day. Good Brother, I certainly am not going to hit you too hard."

Guo Jing saw his both hands were itching to move; his face showing eagerness that was hard to resist, so he complied and said, "What is falling some more times?" He launched his palm and fought a few stances; but he felt Zhou Botong palm was sometimes void of strength. He was about to fall again when suddenly Zhou Botong's left hand hit his shoulder from below. His body was sent somersaulting in the air and he fell hard to the ground. His shoulder was hurting very bad.

Zhou Botong face showed regret, he said, "Good Brother, I can't let you fall for nothing. Hear me out, I am going to teach you this technique." Guo Jing endured the pain, crawling up and came near.

Zhou Botong said, "In the Lao Zi's [Taoist Founder] 'dao de jing' [Taoist Holy Scripture – I don't know the correct English translation] there is a saying: 'a clay utensil is useful because it is empty, a room is useful because it is empty.' Do you understand this saying?"

Guo Jing's literary knowledge was limited; naturally he did not understand the saying. He smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

Zhou Botong took the rice bowl they used earlier. "This bowl is empty inside, that's why we can fill it with rice. If it is a solid clay clump, how can we put food inside?" he asked.

Guo Jing nodded; he thought, "It is a very simple truth, but I've never thought about it."

"Likewise a house can be occupied by people because it has four walls and windows and doors on those walls," Zhou Botong added. "What good it is if the building is made of solid bricks without windows and doors?

Guo Jing nodded again; his heart was more open to this truth.

Zhou Botong continued, "Our Quan Zhen Sect's highest martial art is based on 'gong' [empty] and 'ruo' [soft], these two characters. It was so-called because 'lacking accomplishment does not necessarily mean weak, lacking fullness does not necessarily mean empty.'"

Following these deep and profound thinking Guo Jing listened attentively and pondered deeply.

Zhou Botong added, "In terms of energy exertion, your master Hong Qigong's martial art is on the external side of the spectrum. Even though I know Quan Zhen Sect's martial art, I am not his match. But I am afraid once you reach certain level of the external type of martial art you cannot go much higher. Not so with the internal type of martial art, the type that my martial brother practiced. That time when my martial brother won the title 'Number One in the Martial Art World' he was not just being lucky. If he were still alive today, with the additional of more than ten years of training, if he again fights Eastern Heretic, Western Poison and the others, I believe he would probably need only half a day, not seven whole days and nights to subdue them."

"Venerable Wang's martial art was truly amazing; brother is unfortunate not to make his acquaintance," Guo Jing said. "Benevolent Master Hong's '18-Dragon Subduing Palms' is the pinnacle of the 'hard' type of martial art; but a moment ago Big Brother had made me fall to the ground using the world 'softest' type of martial art, isn't that so?"

Zhou Botong laughed. "That's true, that's true," he said. "Although the soft can subdue the hard, I wouldn't be able to push you that easy if your '18-Dragon Subduing Palms' was as fierce as Hong Qigong's. It all depends on the depth of your comprehension. Do you remember the move I used to push you down just a moment ago? Try to remember it well." And then he carefully recounted how to move the hand and how to exert the energy. He knew Guo Jing's comprehension was slow, so he took his time explaining everything.

Guo Jing tried the move dozens of time; fortunately he had a good foundation of profound internal energy technique from Quan Zhen Sect, so he had a good grasp albeit slowly.

Zhou Botong was elated, he said, "Brother, if your pain has lessened, let me make you fall one more time."

Guo Jing laughed. "Pain is nothing," he said, "But I am afraid I won't be able to remember your lesson." While speaking he was still trying hard to memorize everything.

Zhou Botong had a childlike enthusiasm; he kept urging, "Is it enough? Have you memorized it? Come on, quick!"

But actually his nagging was disturbing Guo Jing's mind. After some time was he finally able to memorize the move. So again he charged toward Zhou Botong; and again he fell down.

Day and night those two people trained together. Guo Jing was a young man, he did not need too much sleep; but even when he did, Zhou Botong wouldn't let him to. He kept urging him to train. Guo Jing fell down seven, eight hundreds times. His body was swollen and hurt all over, full of purple bruises. Fortunately he was strong, so he just gritted his teeth and doggedly learned and finally mastered Zhou Botong's special skill which he created during his fifteen years inside the cave, the 72-move 'kong ming quan' [lit. empty and clear fist technique – the Vacant Fist].

Two people were so engrossed in training martial arts that they did not know how many days had passed. Guo Jing was thinking about Huang Rong all day, but since he was unable to seek her, he had to be content in waiting painstakingly. Several times he wanted to go with the mute servant who delivers their meals to find her, but every time, Zhou Botong called him back.

One day right after lunch Zhou Botong said, "You have mastered the entire Vacant Fist. After this I won't be able to make you fall easily; so we have to change they way we play."

"Very well. How should we play?" Guo Jing laughed and asked.

"We play as four people fighting each other," Zhou Botong replied.

"Four people?" Guo Jing was perplexed.

"Absolutely!" Zhou Botong said. "Four people. My left hand is one person, my right the other. Your pair of hands are two other people. Four separate individuals, nobody helps anybody else. Four people in a tangled battle! That should be more interesting."

Guo Jing's interest was piqued. "It certainly is interesting; too bad I cannot separate my left and right hands," he smiled and said.

"I meant to teach you later," Zhou Botong said. "For now, let us just have a three-way fight." His pair of hands made two people and attack Guo Jing immediately. He separated himself into two different entities, each hand launched different stance, they did not complement each other; totally different from one person using two hands. When his left hand was giving Guo Jing a hard time, his right hand would come to Guo Jing's rescue. Likewise when his right was gaining an upper hand, his left would fight his right. When Guo Jing gained an upper hand, his both hands would fight together like two people facing one opponent. In short, it was like three separate individuals fighting each other. After fighting for a while they stopped for a rest.

Guo Jing thought this way of playing was so amusing; he could not help but remembering Huang Rong. He thought if she were there, three people would be able to fight as six individuals. He was sure Huang Rong would be very interested.

Zhou Botong was full of enthusiasm. As soon as Guo Jing caught his breath he immediately taught him how to divide his hands in a mutual hands combat. This technique was actually more difficult than the Vacant Fist.

There was a saying, 'Mind cannot be divided,' and somewhere along the same line, 'Left hand draws a square, right hand draws a circle; is not a good habit.' But this mutual hands combat technique was precisely dividing one's mind into two, and the way to train it was by drawing a square with the left hand and a circle with the right hand. Guo Jing practiced doing the drawings. Initially his square resembled a circle, and his circle looked like a square. He painstakingly practiced for a long time before he finally got the hang of it; both hands could draw perfect square and circle at will.

Zhou Botong was very excited. "If you haven't practiced our Quan Zhen's internal energy cultivation – which enables you to combine inner and outer strength, how could you master this mutual hands combat technique so quickly?" he said. "Now, use your left hand to launch 'nan shan quan' [south mountain fist technique] and your right hand 'yue nu jian' [Yueh Maiden sword technique]." These were the martial arts Guo Jing learned from Nan Xiren and Han Xiaoying. Guo Jing knew these techniques by heart, but launching them at the same time with different hands was actually very difficult.

Zhou Botong was dying to play the 'four people mutual combat', so he urged Guo Jing to train. He himself did not stop giving instructions and pointers. A few days later Guo Jing had mastered the mutual hands combat technique. Zhou Botong's delight was unspeakable. "Come, come!" he urged, "Your left hand and my left one form an alliance against your right hand and mine. Let us have a martial art contest."

Guo Jing was still young, how could this kind of game not interest him? Immediately his right hand fought Zhou Botong's left while his left hand fiercely fought Zhou Botong's right. Nobody had ever seen or heard about this kind of battle.

While they were fighting each other and themselves, Zhou Botong incessantly gave Guo Jing pointers on how to attack swiftly and fiercely, and how to form a stable defense. Guo Jing listened and committed each and every one of them in his memory.

Zhou Botong only wanted to have an interesting playtime, but Guo Jing's mind came up with other thoughts. One day when they were playing, he thought, "If our legs can also be divided, wouldn't two people be able to fight as eight individuals?" But he knew if he brought this up, Zhou Botong would go on indefinitely, so he refrained himself from saying anything.

Several more days passed. Guo Jing and Zhou Botong fought as four separate individuals. Zhou Botong was having fun; he fought and laughed heartily. Guo Jing's skill was still shallow, so when one of his hands was unable to withstand, the other involuntarily would come to its rescue. Zhou Botong's fists moved rapidly, Guo Jing was not able to keep up fighting as four separate individuals, so oftentimes he became one individual fighting two people, as in three people mutual combat. But his two hands launched different moves, so it was like two Guo Jing fought together hand-in-hand against two opponents.

Zhou Botong laughed heartily, "You are fighting disregarding the rules," he said.

Guo Jing jumped back. He was silent for a while than opened his mouth, "Big Brother, I have been thinking of something."

"What is it?" Zhou Botong asked.

"Well, your both hands can launch completely different moves. Why can't they work together as two people facing a common enemy? This technique can be very useful; if your enemy is strong, you can divide your mind and helping yourself. Although the force won't be doubled, but the stances would enjoy a great advantage."

Zhou Botong had created the mutual hands combat technique out of his boredom living in the cave alone. It never occurred to him that he could actually use the technique in a real combat. Now that Guo Jing reminded him a thought suddenly came flashing back and forth in his mind. Suddenly he leaped out of the cave and walked back and forth on the cave entrance; laughing incessantly.

Guo Jing saw a sudden change in his action like an evil spirit possessed him; he became anxious and called out, "Big Brother, what happened to you? What is it?"

Zhou Botong did not answer; but he kept laughing. After a while he said, "Brother, I am coming out of this hole! I am not going to urinate, I don't have a bowel movement; but I am coming out."

"You are!" Guo Jing exclaimed.

Zhou Botong smiled, "Right now my martial art is number one in the world, why should I fear Huang Yaoshi? I only hope he would show up so I can beat him really good."

"Are you sure you can defeat him?" Guo Jing asked.

"Actually my martial art is still a notch below his, but by dividing my mind I can be two people against one; nobody can defeat me. Huang Yaoshi, Hong Qigong, Ouyang Feng; their martial arts are superb, but how can they defeat two Zhou Botongs?" Guo Jing was delighted; what Zhou Botong said was very reasonable.

"Brother," Zhou Botong continued, "You have understood this mutual hands combat technique; all you need is just a few more years of practice, then your martial art skill will be doubled." As they chatted, the two became more and more excited.

Before then Zhou Botong was afraid Huang Yaoshi would come and made things difficult for him, but now he hoped Huang Yaoshi would show up. He would beat him up and leave this awfully smelly cave forever. He impatiently looked outside hoping to catch a glimpse of Huang Yaoshi's shadow. He would dash out to seek him if he didn't know the pathways on the island were mysteriously arranged.

That night the mute servant came back delivering their dinner. Zhou Botong grabbed his neck and said, "Quickly tell Huang Yaoshi to come over, tell him to try my new technique!" But that old servant only shook his head.

Zhou Botong swore and uttered some indistinct remark before he suddenly realized, "Bah! I forgot you are deaf and mute!" Turned his head to Guo Jing he said, "Tonight we must eat really good." Then he stretched his hand to grab the food basket.

Guo Jing's nostril caught delicious smell from the basket, unlike the meal they usually got. So he hastily opened the basket and saw two small dishes of vegetable with a big bowl of chicken cooked with winter-picked mushroom; one of his favorite. With a thumping heart he took a porcelain spoon to scoop a spoonful of soup. It tasted exactly like the one Huang Rong prepared for him; so he was certain it was Huang Rong. His heart was thumping even harder. Quickly he looked at the basket to see if there was anything unusual. He found a box with ten steamed buns inside. One of them had an image of a gourd, carved using a nail. The marking was so subtle that if he did not pay attention he would surely miss it. Guo Jing knew this bun was unusual. With a trembling hand he picked the bun, broke it into halves and found a wax pill inside. Guo Jing saw Zhou Botong and the old servant did not look his way, so quickly he slipped the pill inside his pocket.

This time two people ate their dinner without caring for its taste: one person was eating while thinking how to have a peerless martial art in the world; while the right hand grabbed a steamed bun the left hand threw some fists, both hands were very busy; sometimes they were fighting each other while the mouth was chewing; the other person wanted to eat as fast as he could so that he could see what Huang Rong had hidden inside the wax pill.

Zhou Botong ate the steamed bun with some effort; with a noisy sound he finished the soup too. The old servant cleaned up and took the basket away. Guo Jing hurriedly pulled out the wax pill, crushed it and took the paper hidden inside. It was indeed Huang Rong's handwriting. It said, 'Brother Jing, please do not worry. Father and I are reconciled. I will slowly ask him to release you.' The letter was closed with two characters, 'Rong'er'. Guo Jing was ecstatic; he showed the letter to Zhou Botong.

Zhou Botong laughed. "Leave it to me," he said. "He can't not release you. We will compel him to; don't need to ask him nicely. If he refuses, I will imprison him in this hole for fifteen years. Aiyo! That's not right! What if in fifteen years he found the secret of mutual hands combat?"

The sky was gradually turning dark. Guo Jing sat cross-legged and was going to cultivate his energy. But his mind kept wandering back to Huang Rong. He could not concentrate for a long time. Finally he was able to calm himself and his chest was relieved; he started to breath evenly. A sudden thought came to his mind: if he could divide his mind to control two hands using two different martial arts, why not try dividing his breathing into two? So he closed one of his nostrils and practice breathing using only one nostril.

He had practiced for about an hour and felt that he had made some progress when he heard some rustling sound. He opened his eyes and could see in the dark somebody with long hair and long beard was moving around: Zhou Botong was practicing martial arts. He opened his eyes wide and looked closely. He saw Zhou Botong's left hand was doing the seventy-two stance of Vacant Fist, while his right hand was doing some other Quan Zhen Sect's fist technique. The fists moved slowly, but they created gusts of wind that created the rustling sound he heard earlier. Guo Jing admired this amazing skill.

While he was half watching and half lost in thought, suddenly he heard Zhou Botong cried anxiously, "Aiyo!" then busily brushed something from his body. A long black and shiny thing flew from his body and hit a distance tree; like he was throwing a secret projectile of some sort. Guo Jing saw Zhou Botong was shaking; he was startled, hurriedly came near and called out, "Big Brother, what happened?"

"I am bitten by a viper! I am dying!" Zhou Botong shouted.