The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 15 – Disciples of the Eastern Heretic, Part 12

He didn’t know that as Huang Yaoshi roamed the world and the one thing he hated most were the present custom and traditions of the world. His actions and words did not match with the normal and because of this he was given the name ‘Heretic’. He had met many people, but in his life, he did not have an understanding friend. Though he had a daughter and son-in-law as loved ones, they did not understand him. He didn’t know that in his later years he would come upon Yang Guo.

The events of the heroes meet had already spread to his ears and Huang Rong told him about this young man’s actions and behavior. After speaking to him a few times he found that Yang Guo matched his expectations even more.

That night, Huang Yaoshi returned to the room and said, “Yang Guo, I heard you expelled yourself from the Quanzhen sect and beat up your Master, you are rather heretical. Why don’t you leave the Ancient Tomb sect, and then enter my tutelage.”

Yang Guo was startled and said, “Why?”

Huang Yaoshi laughed and said, “First you’ll acknowledge that Xiao Longnu is not your Master and then marry her, won’t that be proper?”

Yang Guo said, “That’s a good idea. But who set the rule that you can’t marry your Master? I want her to be my Master and my wife.”

Huang Yaoshi clapped and laughed, he said, “Good! The way you think is a level higher than me.” He stretched out his hand to help him recuperate through his palms and said, “I originally wanted you to enter my tutelage so I could let the world know that after Senior Heretic Huang, there’s a young Heretic Yang. You don’t want to be my disciple; I can’t do anything about that.”

Yang Guo said, “I don’t have to be your disciple to spread your ‘Heretic’ name. If you don’t mind me being of a young age and have poor martial arts, we could be friends or else we could become brothers.”

Huang Yaoshi angrily said, “You sure are bold for a little kid. I’m not the Old Urchin Zhou Botong, how can there be no order between us?”

Yang Guo said, “Who’s the Old Urchin Zhou Botong?”

Huang Yaoshi then told him a few things about Zhou Botong’s character and how he became sworn brothers with Guo Jing.

The two of them chatted and hit it off perfectly, there’s a saying: ‘A thousand cups is too little for understanding friends who meet through wine, half a word is too much for those whose words don’t get along’.

Yang Guo was good with words and they got along because of the closeness of his character to Huang Yaoshi’s. Whenever he spoke, Huang Yaoshi would sigh as someone who understood him. For Huang Yaoshi, it really was like the first meeting of an old friend, a meeting that has come extremely late in life. Though he didn’t admit it through his words, in his heart he treated him as a friend of old. That night he told Cheng Ying to prepare another bed for him in the same room and the two continued their exchange.

Days passed and Yang Guo recovered from his injury. He and Huang Yaoshi were like glue, like paint, it was difficult to separate the two. Huang Yaoshi had originally wanted to take Sha Gu south but now he didn’t mention one word about leaving. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang watched the old and young with amusement; in the day they would drink wine together and at night, they would talk in the candlelight without end. They felt that the old man didn’t maintain the status of a Senior and the young man was too unrestrained and fearless.

When it came to discussions of knowledge, Yang Guo wasn’t anywhere as knowledgeable as Huang Yaoshi. But whatever Huang Yaoshi said, Yang Guo would concentrate on understanding. When he made a comment he would just add a single word yet his comment had its fine points. Huang Yaoshi couldn’t stop himself from treating him as the closest friend in his life.

In these past few days, apart from spending time with Huang Yaoshi talking, he would always think about how Sha Gu mistakenly recognized him as his father and the words that she said, “It wasn’t me who killed you, go and find someone else!” He knew that Sha Gu must know who had killed his father; other people might not say, but Sha Gu is mad and crazy and maybe he could get the truth from her.

After midday, Yang Guo said, “Sha Gu, come, I have something to say to you.”

Sha Gu felt that he looked too much like Yang Kang and was still afraid; she shook her head and said, “I don’t want to play with you.”

Yang Guo said, “I know circus tricks, are you going to watch?”

Sha Gu shook her head and said, “You’re lying, I don’t want to watch.”

She closed her eyes after she said this. Yang Guo suddenly flipped upside down with his legs above his head and called out, “Quickly look!” He used the martial arts that Ouyang Feng taught him of walking upside down and leaping forward. Sha Gu opened her eyes and was delighted as soon as she saw this, she clapped and cheered and followed behind him.

Yang Guo kept on leaping forward and arrived at a hidden and covered wood faraway from the hut, he turned upright and said, “Let’s play hide and seek, you want to? But the loser has to be punished.”

Sha Gu has been following Huang Yaoshi for the past few years; nobody played with her. When she heard Yang Guo say this, she was ecstatic and clapped her hands, most of the fear she had for him disappeared and she said, “Yes, yes. Good brother, what is the punishment?” She called his father brother, and she also called him brother.

Yang Guo took out a handkerchief and blindfolded her and said, “Come and catch me. If you catch me, then whatever question you ask I’ll have to answer it truthfully. If you can’t catch me then I get to ask you a question, you have to answer it truthfully as well.”