Cracking the Great Yin-Yang Hand

The night grew heavy, the moon’s radiance just rising. Dusk settled in layers, accompanied by a lonely, chilling wind.

Second Brother Yang crouched by the wall, his ear pressed close, intently listening for any sound from the staircase outside the corridor.

“The first batch should be up to the second floor by now. What do you say, Old Fourth? Should we strike?” He whispered, channeling his inner energy to send his voice across the room, past the sounds of Guo Hao and Zuo Feng’s combat.

I shook my head and signaled him with gestures.

“The time is not ripe. Wait for the change. Let them come up to the third floor first!”

Upon seeing my signal, he immediately crouched back down and continued monitoring the advance of the impatient enemies charging up.

Seeing that he obeyed, I let out a slow breath. I glanced over at Third Brother Linghu lurking nearby; he nodded at me knowingly, which somewhat reassured me.

Success or failure hung on this single move! Such were my thoughts as I waited quietly for that moment. This was also the most crucial step in the ‘Night Escape’ plan…

Over there, the battle between Big Brother Guo and Zuo Feng had fallen into a bitter struggle. After finishing my instructions to Yang Chun and Linghu, I cast a glance at their fight. I saw Zuo Feng’s left and right palms spinning and flying, still seeming to follow the path of the ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm,’ but for some reason, Big Brother Guo was having a harder time than before. Their fists and palms clashed, and the exchange of palm forces seemed somehow off…

After watching a few moves, I suddenly understood the source of that dissonance: whenever Big Brother Guo met Zuo Feng’s left palm, the clashing sound was very loud, but when it came to the other palm, the sound was much duller and deeper, as if falling on a cushion. After a moment’s thought, I realized that Zuo Feng was channeling completely different internal energies into his two palms—one was Yin, the other pure Yang!

In a flash, I recalled that my father had once mentioned that within the ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm’ of the Songshan Sect specialization, there was a variation called the ‘Great Yin-Yang Hand,’ which split the originally balanced Yin-Yang internal energy into two separate parts, infusing each palm with one aspect. Father had said that in terms of palm techniques alone, such clear separation of Yin and Yang was inferior to the original ‘Great Songyang Iron Palm’s’ unified and balanced hardness and softness. However, if the practitioner could assess the situation, discern the enemy’s condition, and also understand the principles of Tai Chi and Yin-Yang, then the power of this palm technique could indeed exceed that of the ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm.’

Given the current situation, it seemed that Zuo Feng was indeed using this variation of the ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm’!

Seeing Zuo Feng’s palms combining Yin and Yang, advancing with both streams, Big Brother Guo was immediately in a dangerous situation, unable to defend.

Thinking that if Zuo Feng defeated Big Brother Guo before that crucial moment arrived, the ‘Night Escape’ plan would become incredibly difficult, if not impossible. This thought sent a wave of panic through me, but I had to forcibly calm myself, knowing that if I lost my composure at this critical juncture, everything would be lost.

I managed to collect my thoughts a bit and focused my eyes on Zuo Feng’s palm technique, trying to find some flaw, or at least some hint that could help Big Brother Guo hold on a little longer.

After another two moves, my mind suddenly raced, and then clarity dawned!

As the saying goes, softness overcomes hardness. Although Zuo Feng’s palm technique combined Yin and Yang and possessed both hardness and softness, in terms of pure hardness, the ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm’ was still a grade lower than the world’s most rigid technique, the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.’ Even if he gathered all his Yang strength into his left palm, he could not suppress Guo Hao. Instead, it was the Yin-soft right palm that was the true source of Guo Hao’s difficulty.

Having figured this out, the method to counter this ‘Great Yin-Yang Hand’ naturally became clear. It was as simple as the eight words: ‘Use your strength to attack the enemy’s weakness.’

Given my special position at the moment, it was not appropriate for me to directly suggest this method to Big Brother Guo. So I whispered it into Linghu’s ear, and he then announced loudly, “Brother, this man is using the ‘Great Yin-Yang Hand.’ His palms have different forces—left Yang, right Yin. To defeat him, you must break them separately. Use your strength to attack his weakness. Attack him from his left!”

These words were laid out clearly, reaching both Guo Hao and Zuo Feng. Zuo Feng’s expression changed; he likely realized that in terms of Yang palm strength, he was no match for the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.’ He immediately focused on preventing his opponent from getting to his left side. But I had already anticipated this. The reason I dared to shout this out so brazenly was that Big Brother Guo was exceptionally skilled in lightness kung fu, and furthermore, his ancestor Guo Jing had once diligently practiced the ‘Celestial Net Formation’ of the Quanzhen Sect. This formation imitated the pattern of the Big Dipper, emphasizing positioning, and thus required mastery of positional shifting. Handed down through the family, Big Brother Guo was naturally an expert in this art!