Yang Kang

From Wuxia

Yang Kang (楊康) is an antagonist of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Yang Kang was the sworn brother of the protagonist, Guo Jing. He was also the husband of Mu Nianci and the father of Yang Guo, the protagonist of the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes. Yang Kang was descended from the illustrious Yang clan, which produced heroes who fought for the Song Dynasty. Ironically, Yang Kang himself is a traitor to the Song Dynasty.

Yang Kang was born ca. 1203. He was raised by his step-father Wanyan Honglie, who had orchestrated the disappearance of Yang Tiexin, Yang Kang's biological father. Unaware of his heritage, he truly believes that he is of Jin descent and assumes the surname of Wanyan. At age 6, he is taught by Qiu Chuji the Quanzhen Martial Arts, but Yang Kang was often not interested. He even secretly learns Martial Arts from a notorious Martial Artist Mei Chaofeng. Around his 18th birthday, he is confronted with the reality that he is not a prince of the Jin empire, but a Song Chinese.

Tragically, lured by promises of wealth and luxury, Yang Kang refuses to let go of his status as a Prince of Jin and is led to committ villainous acts. These acts eventually catch up to him and he indirectly kills himself.