The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 5 – Tomb of the living dead, Part 12

Yang Guo was feeling cold already, but when he heard those words it was like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. He asked, “What’s wrong with me? Why do you hate me?”

Xiao Longnu said, “Whether you are feeling good or bad, what is that to do with me? And I don’t hate you. I have lived in this tomb all my life, I don’t love anything, and I don’t hate anything.”

Yang Guo said, “Is there anything fun around here? Gu Gu, have you ever been outside?”

Xiao Longnu said, “I have never left Mount Zhongnan, there’s just trees and mountains, the sun and moon outside, what is so good about that?”

Yang Guo clapped his hand and said, “Ah, then you haven’t lived properly. There are many colorful and interesting objects in the city, you should see them.” Then he described all the things he had seen in his life. He was a good speaker, he added his own colorful descriptions and the objects he was describing sounded even more interesting and strange, he described hundreds of things. It was fortunate that Xiao Longnu had lived in the tomb for the past eighteen years; she didn’t question his descriptions and believed them all, after he had finished, and she gave out a sigh.

Yang Guo said, “Gu Gu, I’ll take you out to play, how about that?”

Xiao Longnu said, “Don’t say such things! Ancestor Grandma passed down a rule; those who have lived in the Tomb of the Living Dead must not leave Mount Zhongnan one step.”

Yang Guo was shocked, and thought, “Peach Blossom Island is an island in the middle of the sea, I went there and was able to leave, how can this large tomb keep me here?” and he asked, “Miss Li Mochou is your apprentice sister, she lived in the Tomb of the Living Dead, how did she leave Mount Zhongnan?

Xiao Longnu said, “She didn’t obey my Master, it was my Master who sent her out of the tomb.”

Yang Guo was pleased and thought, “If there is such a rule, when I want to leave all I’ve got to do is disobey you and you will send me out of the tomb.” He thought how he mustn’t let this slip otherwise his plan wouldn’t work.

The two of them talked, just for a moment, Yang Guo forgot all about the cold, but after a while his body started to shiver and shake. he then pleaded with Xiao Longnu, “Gu Gu, spare me please. I don’t want to sleep on this bed.”

Xiao Longnu said, “When you were fighting with your master in the Quanzhen sect, you didn’t say a word about mercy, why are you like this now?”

Yang Guo laughed and said, “Those who ill treat me, even if they beat me I won’t say a word. Those who treat me well, I’ll be willing to die for them, what’s a word of mercy compared to that?”

Xiao Longnu gave a ‘humph’ and said, “Little rogue, who’s going to treat you well?”

Xiao Longnu was brought up by her teacher and Grandma Sun, and for these last eighteen years they were her only company. The two of them treated her well but because her Master wanted her to learn the “Jade Heart Manual” so, ever since she was small, she was told to purge her emotions. When she cried or smiled she would be punished heavily. Grandma Sun was a warm person but she didn’t dare to disturb her refinement of the skill, and so Xiao Longnu became a cold, unfeeling, lonely girl. Now Yang Guo came. He was a young hot-blooded, emotional person, and the way he spoke was completely the opposite of Grandma Sun and her Master. Xiao Longnu heard him speak; she was aware that something was strange but she listened to him talking and forgot about their tiredness. When she first agreed to take in Yang Guo, it was at the request of Grandma Sun. Later on when she heard Yang Guo say that she treats him well, she felt that she indeed did treat him well.

Yang Guo heard her tone had no more strictness within it, he said loudly, “Its cold…its cold, Gu Gu, I can’t endure it anymore.” Indeed he was cold, but it wasn’t anything too serious.

Xiao Longnu said, “There’s no need to be noisy, I’ll tell you about the bed.”

Yang Guo was pleased and said, “Great, I won’t call out anymore, please tell Gu Gu.”

Xiao Longnu said, “I said that there are many fighters who wished that they had the chance to sleep on this bed, that wasn’t a lie. The bed is made out of an ancient Chilled Jade; it aids those who practice advanced types of internal energy.”

Yang Guo asked, “Isn’t it just a stone?”

Xiao Longnu chuckled and said, “You’ve said that you have seen countless strange and wondrous objects, haven’t you ever seen an icy cold piece of rock before? It was Ancestor Grandma who spent seven years of blood and sweat in the extreme cold of the northern plains to dig out the Chilled Jade from under thousands of feet of ice and snow. If you practice your internal energy on this bed, one year is equivalent of ten years of normal practicing.”

Yang Guo was surprised and said, “Oh, so it has such benefits.”

Xiao Longnu said, “When you first sleep on it, it is extremely cold and hard to endure. Only by circulating your chi to oppose it and slowly getting used to it, you’ll be able to practice your internal energy in your sleep. A normal person who practices internal energy, even the most energetic, will have to spend a few hours each day in sleep. You have to be aware that practicing internal energy is opposing the natural flow of things, chi and blood intermix; it is completely different to what happens normally. But each night when you sleep, the chi that is produced in your sleep does not waste the energy you have accumulated in the day, it enhances your internal energy.”

Yang Guo understood and said, “If you sleep on ice and snow at night, then you will have the same effect.”