Could Yu Doi Nam have escaped had he been healthy?

[Ken Cheng]

At the beginning of HEAVEN SWORD & DRAGON SABRE, Mo Dong Hero # 3 Yu Doi Nam was brutally beaten by mercenary warriors in the employ of the Yuan Dynasty. At the time, Yu was completely helpless to run away or fight back because he had already been immobilized by Yan So So's "Mosquito Whisker" Needles.

Some of those fighters who beat Yu Doi Nam, such as Ah 2 and Ah 3, were more powerful fighters than Yu was. Nevertheless, had Yu been fully healthy when confronted by those warriors, is there a chance he could have gotten away from them safely...or at least held them off until help arrived?

[Felix]

At the beginning of HEAVEN SWORD & DRAGON SABRE, Mo Dong Hero # 3 Yu Doi Nam was brutally beaten by mercenary warriors in the employ of the Yuan Dynasty. At the time, Yu was completely helpless to run away or fight back because he had already been immobilized by Yan So So's "Mosquito Whisker" Needles.

Some of those fighters who beat Yu Doi Nam, such as Ah 2 and Ah 3, were more powerful fighters than Yu was. Nevertheless, had Yu been fully healthy when confronted by those warriors, is there a chance he could have gotten away from them safely...or at least held them off until help arrived?

Are we to assume he has the Dragon Sabre with him? Would that do any help for him, if he has to face off 6 guys?

[Ken Cheng]

Are we to assume he has the Dragon Sabre with him? Would that do any help for him, if he has to face off 6 guys?

That's a good question. Since each enemy combatant was probably superior to him, six would be entirely overwhelming. If he had the Dragon Sabre in hand, however, would any of them dare get close to him? If any of them did, would he be able to wrench the sabre out of Yu's hand before getting wounded or killed by the infamous weapon?

[TommyH]

Are we to assume he has the Dragon Sabre with him? Would that do any help for him, if he has to face off 6 guys?

I thought the DS and HS were just indestructible weapons. It's not like they'll boost your internal energy or make you any stronger.

[Felix]

If YDN did indeed have the Dragon Sabre, would Fang Dongbai be the most likely candidate to face off against YDN, with Fang's skills in swordsmanship? While the other 5 would get in some cheap shots.

[Ken Cheng]

I thought the DS and HS were just indestructible weapons. It's not like they'll boost your internal energy or make you any stronger.

They don't improve the user's skills, but they do make the user more dangerous because each strike will do more damage. Let's say you and I are swordsmen, and your skills are somewhat better than mine. If we both use ordinary swords, our weapons will clash until you outmaneuver me and strike me down. If I use the Heaven Sword, however, even though I'm the inferior swordsman, if our swords clash, your sword will break. My sword will then continue until it strikes you (unless you can dodge).

These weapons definitely grant an advantage: Mit Jeut See Tai was unable to defeat Granny Golden Flower when Mit Jeut used an ordinary sword, but when Mit Jeut switched to the Heaven Sword, she defeated Granny Golden Flower easily. Mit Jeut See Tai's skills did not change, but she had an overwhelming weaponry advantage.

[Ken Cheng]

If YDN did indeed have the Dragon Sabre, would Fang Dongbai be the most likely candidate to face off against YDN, with Fang's skills in swordsmanship? While the other 5 would get in some cheap shots.

Fong would be a formidable opponent for Yu. I'd say Fong's swordsmanship is definitely not below Yu's and might very well be better. If Fong is using an ordinary sword (which he would be because at this point, the Yuan mercenaries do not have possession of the Heaven Sword) and Yu is using the Dragon Sabre, however, then it's not so clear cut. Just the very intimidation factor of the Dragon Sabre might cost Fong some initiative points.

But if Yu Doi Nam were healthy, would he even try to confront these guys? Yu was no fool. If he were overmatched, he'd probably run. Mo Dong Sect's hing gung skills were quite good...possibly better than the Yuan warriors' even though the Yuan warriors were more powerful fighters.

[Ken Cheng]

When Cheung Chui San discovered that it was his wife and her brother who initially incapacitated Yu Doi Nam, making him helpless to resist or escape from the Yuan warriors who crippled him, Cheung placed the blame on his wife, so unable to accept the chain of events that he committed suicide. For years, Yan So So had carried guilt for Yu Doi Nam's injury in her.

How much blame do the Yans really deserve, though? A number of those Yuan warriors, including the Yeun Ming Elders and Ah Dai, Ah 2, and Ah 3, were stronger than or at least as strong as any Mo Dong Hero. Of course, if Yu Doi Nam had been at full strength and mobile, he would have stood a better chance than he did immobilized, but given the enemy's superior strength and numbers, wouldn't the end result likely have been the same anyway? Even a fully capable Yu Doi Nam would struggle to escape that many superior enemies.

[wkeej]

Yin Su-su needs to hold some responsibility (50%, <50% or >50% is debatable) for Yu Daiyan's injury. At least the latter has a better chance for escape if he is not "poisoned".

[EdenResident]

Yes, he could have. Unless he unknowingly ran into an ambush, if Yu Dainan wanted to purposely evade the pursuer, he could have done that pretty easily. Not to mention with the amount of goodwill Wudang had generated, many people would have been willing to help him get away. In fact, the Yuan mercenaries didn't even get to him until he almost got to Wudang. If he had been healthy, his brothers probably would have heard of his troubles and come to his aid much earlier.

And the worst case is, he could just give up the Dragon blade and people would let him live because no one would want to mess with Wudang. That's exactly what he did during the fight with Yin Yewang. The reason he got beat up that badly because he DIDN'T have the Dragon blade with him at the time. If he had, they would have just taken the blade and left him alone.

[hyoyatika]

Considering Wudang's Ti Yun Zong was highly famed, I believe he could had escaped if he had and was willing to give up the Dragon Sabre.