A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition (Legends of the Condor Heroes #1)

by Jin Yong

So, dear reader, all that is left is to enter through these pages into a universe at once fantastical and based on real historical events, one both foreign and intimately familiar, a story full of heart and of remarkable physical prowess.

“Clear heart, emotions departed, In empty body qi can spread. A dead mind, yet the spirit lives, For Yin thrives but the Yang is shed.”

“I am a cloud with no fixed plan or destination,”

“Lead is solid like the kidneys,” Ma Yu began, “and mercury flows like water, like the body’s internal heat. The principle of storing mercury and lead in the body in order to achieve immortality essentially means consolidating the kidneys and extinguishing the fires of the heart-mind, that is to say pent-up anger or worry. This can be achieved through breathing exercises.”