Temujin looked at him as he moved away; then he stood a long time in silence. He slowly opened the bag, withdrew the stones and the arrowheads from it, and remembered the games that they’d played when they were children. He sighed, dug a hole with a dagger and buried the gifts he’d given to his former sworn brother in it.
Guo Jing was next to him, also feeling heart-broken. What Temujin buried, he well knew, was an infinitely precious childhood friendship.
The Khan stood up and studied the scene. As far as he could see there were fires lit by the armies of Senggum and Jamuka illuminating the plain, looking like the myriads of stars in the sky. He remained divided in his thoughts. He turned around and saw Guo Jing close to him. “Are you afraid?” he asked.
“I was thinking about my mother,” answered the young man.
“Indeed, you are a brave son,” said Temujin, “a true brave son!” He pointed to the thousands of fires on the plain, “They also,” he continued, “are brave! We Mongols have so many brave sons, but we spend time making wars on ourselves. If we could unite them, we could take over the world and make it a huge field for our herds!”
Guo Jing, hearing these very ambitious words, felt even more admiration for Temujin. He stuck out his chest and said, “Great Khan, we are surely going to win, because we cannot be beaten by a coward like Senggum!”
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“Precisely,” Temujin answered with a smile. “Let's remember what we say tonight. If we manage to survive, henceforth I will consider you as my own son.” He then hugged the young man.
As they spoke, the new day had begun. Horns sounded repeatedly in the ranks of the enemy.
“Help won't come,” Temujin said. “Let's prepare ourselves to die on this hill.” They heard, in the adversary’s army, the jangle of the weapons and the neighs of horses; the attack was imminent.
“Great Khan,” Guo Jing suddenly said, “my red horse is extremely fast. Take it and bring back help.
In the mean time, we will remain here to face the enemy.”
Temujin smiled and stretched his hand to caress the hair of the young man.
“If Temujin,” he said, “was capable of abandoning his friends and his men to run away in fear for his life, he wouldn’t be worthy of being your Khan!”
“That’s true, Great Khan,” Guo Jing acknowledged, “I was wrong...”
They hid themselves behind protective mounds of earth, ready to fire arrows at the attackers.
Shortly thereafter, three men left the enemy's ranks preceded by a yellow standard and moved forward. On the left was Senggum, on the right, Jamuka, and in the center, surprisingly, was the Sixth Prince of the Jin Empire, Wanyan Honglie! He was covered with armor, a golden helmet and had a shield of gold on his arm. He shouted, “Temujin, do you dare betray the Jin Empire?”
Jochi, Temujin’s eldest son, shot an arrow at him, but a man in his escort seized it from the air with astounding speed.
“Capture Temujin!” Wanyan Honglie shouted. At these words, four men hurried up the hill. Their movements were a surprise to Guo Jing. He noted that the newcomers, who used a lightness technique, were experts in martial arts and weren’t warriors of the plains. Arriving at mid-hill, they avoided with agility the rain of arrows that Jebe, Borchu and the others shot. “We have officers and brave men of great strength here,” Guo Jing worried, “but they won’t be a match for experts in martial arts! What can we do?”
One among them, clothed in black, bounded to the summit of the hill.
Ogedai tried to stop him, but the newcomer hit his neck with a dart and swung down with his saber at the injured man. However, as quick as lightning, a sword came down to hit his wrist with a great speed and precision. The movement so well executed that he was forced to move back three steps.
Surprised, he saw a young man with a strong build standing in front of Ogedai. Not expecting to find an expert swordsman amongst Temujin’s soldiers, he exclaimed, in Chinese, “Who are you?
What is your name?”
“I am called Guo Jing!”
“I’ve never heard anyone speak of you! Surrender now!”
Guo Jing took a look around and saw that the three other attackers were on the summit of the hill and already engaged in an unarmed fight with Tchila’un, Borchu and the others. He struck again at the man with the saber who defended, then retaliated.
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Just as Senggum’s soldiers got ready to assault the hill, Muqali put his saber on the nape of Dukhsh’s neck. “If you come,” he shouted, “my blade will be without mercy!”
Senggum, very worried, turned toward Wanyan Honglie and said, “Lord Zhao, tell your men to come back, we will find another way! There’s no reason to sacrifice my child!”
“Don’t worry,” Wanyan Honglie smiled and said, “Nothing will happen to him!” But in reality he wanted to force Temujin to kill Dukhsh and create a lasting hate between the two tribes.
Senggum’s men didn't dare move, while those of the Prince were in a violent fight.
Guo Jing used the techniques of the ‘Sword of the Yue Maiden’ that Han Xiaoying had taught him.
After several exchanges, he was faced with danger. His opponent’s saber was powerful, his strength abundant and all his techniques were backed with internal energy so he was not a weak adversary.
Guo Jing’s long sword made swift movements and seemed to have turned into flashes of light. His sword tip was aimed at the critical places on his adversary and every technique was intended to harm his opponent. Guo Jing’s opponent felt a bit overwhelmed by his fast attacks and became flustered.
His three companions, who had already defeated several Mongol officers, saw him in difficulty.
One among them, armed with a big spear, approached with a jump, “Big Brother, I’ve come to give you a helping hand!”
But the man with the saber shouted, “Don't move and admire the dexterity of your Older Brother!”
Taking advantage of his distraction, Guo Jing, delivered a stroke ‘The Phoenix Flies off and the Snake Bounds’, as he pointed the tip of his sword at the lower part of his opponent’s body. The man moved back, but the blade had already split his left sleeve.
The man with the saber moved back and shouted, “Who is your master? Why do you look for death here?”
Guo Jing remained in a defensive posture and answered in the language of the Rivers and Lakes region [Jianghu] taught by his masters, “I am the disciple of the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’. What are your honorable names and surnames?” He had practiced these polite forms of address for a long time, but this was the first time that he’d actually used them.
“Our names,” the man with the saber said, while casting a glance towards his brothers-in-arms,
“even if I told you, you would not know them. Defend yourself!”
After the first clashes, Guo Jing truly felt that his adversary was stronger than him. But the techniques taught by his Seventh Shifu were extremely sophisticated and provoked a lot of apprehension in his enemy; so much so that he could take the initiative and attack without moving back. The man with the saber used the stance ‘Survey the Sea and Behead the Dragon as his saber slashed towards Guo Jing’s legs. In a matter of moments they had exchanged twenty or thirty stances. Both sides intently observed the fight. The man with the saber began to get nervous and his strokes became more and more violent. Suddenly, he attacked Guo Jing’s waist. Guo Jing twisted and replied with a stroke called ‘Turn Around to Pick the Fruit’ towards the arm that held the saber.
His adversary, seeing that he didn't bother about defending, believed that his hour had come: “When your sword touches its goal,” he thought, “my saber will have already cut you in two!”
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However, Guo Jing, sure of his strong neigong, moved his waist to the side without moving the rest of his body, and avoided the saber and planted his sword in the man’s chest.
The man screamed, released his saber and struck the blade of the sword with his hand causing it fall to the ground. But the tip of Guo Jing’s sword had already penetrated a half inch into his chest! He had saved his life, but his palm was cut and bled profusely.
He then heard the hiss of a weapon behind him and heard Jebe shout, “Watch out, behind you!”
Without even looking back, Guo Jing executed a backwards kick and blocked the stroke that came at him. At the same time, he grabbed the fallen saber and executed a saber cut at the hand of the enemy. Guo Jing delivered the stroke ‘Advancing a Pace to Seize the Basket’, deflecting the lance with his left hand. He turned his left palm and seized his opponents spear while his right hand holding the saber hacked towards the spear wielder. The man used all his strength to pull back his spear, but when he saw the saber about to hit him, he released his grip and retreated.
With this victory, the young man felt renewed again. With a flourish, he threw the saber to the foot of the hill, and picked up the lance. The fourth man jumped at him shouting and attacking with his two short axes. Guo Jing’s spear techniques were taught by Quan Jinfa. After several exchanges Guo Jing feigned a flaw that the man with the axes was thrilled to see and he hacked at him.