RETURN OF THE CONDOR HEROES

Life And Death Are Indistinct Part 5

All except for Jinlun Fawang – whose accupoints were sealed, and Guo Xiang – who was too tired, worked hard. Cheng Ying, Lu Wushuang and Yinggu braided, while Yideng, Zhou Botong, Huang Yaoshi and Huang Rong gathered tree bark. They were not skilled at making rope; therefore, when the sky darkened all they had was a little over a hundred 'zhang's [around 300 meters] of rope.

Even though she felt the rope was not long enough, Cheng Ying put it into the gorge anyway. She tied one end to a rock and the other end to a tree stump and threw the rock into the gorge. The rope slid down, penetrating the thick fog below and vanished from their sight.

These seven people worked hard all night long without taking any rest. The next morning Guo Xiang was strong enough to help. Huang Rong asked her how she got captured by Fawang to help pass the time.

The rope was getting longer and longer. They did not hear anything from Yang Guo down below. Huang Yaoshi was restless; he took out his jade flute and played a song. The sound of the flute echoed and flowed down into the gorge. Usually, as soon as Yang Guo heard the flute, he would whistle in response. When the song ended the gorge was still quiet, still no response, and only a thin mist rising up.

Huang Rong thought hard. She chopped a piece of wood, and carved this letter: "Are you all right? Please respond." Then she threw the wood into the ravine.

They waited some more, still nothing ... They looked at each other with anxiety in their eyes.

"Even though this gorge is deep, I believe our rope has reached its bottom," said Cheng Ying. "Let me go down and take a look."

"Let me!" Zhou Botong did not wait for an answer. Immediately he grabbed the end of the rope and climbed down, agile as a monkey, and disappeared into the fog below. About an hour later he reappeared, his hair and beard was covered with moss. He shook his head.

"Not a single shadow or footprint was there, let alone Yang Guo? No 'niu guo' [a live ox], no 'ma guo' [a live horse] either [play on words: 'guo' of 'Yang Guo' also means 'live']," he said. They looked at Guo Xiang and were perplexed.

Guo Xiang was almost crying, "I am sure Brother Yang was down there, where could he go?" said the girl. "He was sitting next to the big tree by the water."

Cheng Ying didn't say anything; she grabbed the rope and start climbing down. Lu Wushuang followed suit. And then Yinggu, Zhou Botong, Huang Yaoshi and Yideng did the same. They were worried about Yang Guo, but they were also curious.

"You have not recovered Xiang'er, don't come down," Huang Rong counseled her daughter. "Don't make your mother worry about you. If your Brother Yang is down there, we certainly will rescue him, won't we?"

Guo Xiang was anxious, but she agreed with her mother. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Huang Rong looked at Jinlun Fawang, she thought, "He has been sealed for more than twelve hours. He is highly skilled, perhaps he has managed to unseal some of his accupoints ..." Thus she came to him and sealed some more of his accupoints: 'ling tai' [soul platform] on his back, 'ju que' [gigantic imperial city] just below his chest, 'qing ling yuan' [clear and cold abyss] on his two arms. Only then did she slide down the rope.

Huang Rong held the rope loosely and let her body fall down fast; then tightened her grip to slow her fall. She did that several times and a short while later arrived at the bottom, and sure enough, she saw a body of water like a pond or a spring. Huang Yaoshi and the others were standing on the shore. She looked around but there was no Yang Guo. On her left she saw several big trees, where about thirty beehives were hung. The Jade Bees were flying around.