The Legend of the Condor Heroes（射雕英雄传）Chapter 16

Scriptures of the Nine Yin.

Original translation by foxs

Guo Jing and Huang Rong left the Cheng’s residence and were very tired since they have not had any sleep for the rest of the night. They had wanted to go back to the inn to rest, but suddenly heard the sound of hoof beats came galloping fast from the south heading north. The sound was coming near, but suddenly it stopped. Huang Rong’s curiosity was piqued, “There must be something unusual happening. Sounds interesting.” Utilizing her lightness kungfu she immediately went to take a look. Guo Jing followed closely.

To their surprise, what they saw was Yang Kang standing on the roadside, holding a horse’s rein and talking to Ouyang Ke. Guo and Huang did not want to come any closer because they did not want to be detected. They hid themselves quite a distance away; moreover, those two spoke in low voice. So what Huang Rong could hear were bits and pieces. Ouyang Ke mentioned ‘Yue Fei’ and ‘Lin An government office’; while Yang Kang did say ‘my father’. Huang Rong was curious, she wanted to come nearer, but at that time Ouyang Ke cupped his fists and heading east, along with all his female disciples/concubines.

Yang Kang stayed behind. He stared blankly for a while, then let out a long sigh and mounted his horse. “Brother, I am here,” Guo Jing called. Yang Kang heard his voice and he was startled, but stopped his horse anyway. “Elder Brother, you are here as well?” he replied.

“I ran into Miss Huang here and we fought that Ouyang Ke, that’s why we were delayed,” Guo Jing explained. Yang Kang’s face turned red; he felt uneasy since he wasn’t sure if Guo Jing heard his conversation with Ouyang Ke. But Guo Jing’s face remained calm; so Yang Kang felt better. “This man cannot pretend,” he thought, “He wouldn’t be this calm if he heard me.”

“Elder Brother,” he said, “shall we hurry up and continue our trip tonight, or shall we spend the night here? Will Miss Huang go to Beijing with us?”

“It’s not I who go with you, it is you who follow us,” Huang Rong said.

“What’s the difference?” Guo Jing smiled. “Let us go back to that ancestral temple and have some rest. Tomorrow evening we will enjoy the Beggar Clan’s banquet; and then we can continue our trip.”

So the three people walked back to the temple. Huang Rong lighted a candle; grabbing the candlestick she picked up the needles she shot out a moment ago. This time of the year the weather was getting hot, so they took down the doors, and brought the planks outside. They intended to sleep in the courtyard.

Just before they fell asleep, the sound of horses’ hoof beat from a distance can be faintly heard. They tilted their head to listen. The sound was coming fast, sounded like it was more than one horse.

“Three horses in the front, pursued by more than 10 people,” Huang Rong guessed. Guo Jing literally grew up on horseback; he knew exactly the number of the horses.

“There are 16 pursuers altogether,” he said. ”Well, well, well … what do you know?”

“What?” Huang Rong asked.

“The three horses on the front are Mongolian horses, but the pursuers are not,” Guo Jing answered. “What in the world are the Mongolian horses doing in this area?” he wondered.

Huang Rong pulled Guo Jing’s hand and they walked outside the temple gate. Suddenly a swishing sound was heard, and arrow flew above their heads. The three riders rushed toward the temple. An arrow flew from the pursuers and hit the last horse’s thigh. The horse uttered a sad neigh and knelt down on the ground. The rider’s equestrian skill was superb; he managed to leap just before the horse hit the ground. Looked like the rider did not know any lightness kungfu, his step was heavy. The other two riders stopped their horse and turned back.

“I am all right,” shouted the one who fell down. “Quickly, go! I’ll try to block the enemy!”

“I will help you block the enemy. Fourth Prince, you go ahead,” shouted one of the other two.

“How can you do that?” asked the Fourth Prince.

Those three were speaking Mongolians. Guo Jing who was listening thought he knew those voices. They sounded like Toulei, Jebeh, and Bourchu. He was really surprised. “What are they doing here?” he thought.

He wanted to come nearer, but the pursuers had already surrounded the three riders. The three Mongolians were experts in shooting arrows; so the pursuers did not dare to come too close; they only shot their own arrows from a distance.

“Let’s go up!” one of the Mongolian shouted, his hand pointing to a flagpole. Three people scurried to the flagpole and climbed up. They were trying to gain a better position.

The pursuers dismounted their horses and surrounded the flagpole on all directions. Somebody shouted an order and four soldiers lifted high their shields; came near the flagpole and tried to chop it down with their swords.

“You are wrong,” Huang Rong whispered, “There are only 15 pursuers.”

“No, I can’t be wrong,” Guo Jing countered. “Maybe one of them was shot dead.” He just closed his mouth when a horse came wandering, there was a rider on it, but he was dead; his foot was stuck on the stirrup so the horse was dragging him along, an arrow sticking out from his chest.

Guo Jing crawled toward that corpse. He drew the arrow out. As soon as he traced his fingers on the arrow, he could feel that it was made of wrought iron, and had an engraving of a leopard head. It was the arrow used by the Master Archer Jebeh; heavier than average arrows. His suspicion was gone; he called out, “On the flagpole, are you Master Jebeh, Brother Toulei and Master Bourchu? This is Guo Jing!”

The three people were delighted. “How can you be here?” they asked.

“Who pursued you?” Guo Jing asked.

“The Jin soldiers!” Toulei answered.

Guo Jing took the dead Jin soldier’s body, lifted it up and rushed forward. He threw the corpse toward the soldiers at the foot of the flagpole. The corpse did knock down two soldiers that the other two was scared and ran away.

Out of the blue two white shadows swooped down to Guo Jing. He recognized those were his two condors, which together Huazheng and he raised back in Mongolia. Those two birds also recognized their master amidst the dark night, so they uttered a loud cry and came down on Guo Jing’s shoulder.

Huang Rong had heard Guo Jing’s story on how he had shot down an eagle, and how he raised a pair of condors as his playmates; and now suddenly saw the white condors she ignored the surrounding soldiers. She came running toward Guo Jing and called out, “Let me play with them!” She held out her hand to stroke the condor’s feather. But the condor did not know Huang Rong, so it moved its head to hit Huang Rong’s hand with its beak. Luckily Huang Rong was quick; if not, the back of her hand would be injured.

Guo Jing hurriedly pulled the birds away. Huang Rong sulked, “Your pet birds are bad!” But actually she was happy, she leaned her head to take a closer look at the birds.

“Rong’er, watch out!” suddenly Guo Jing shouted. Two fast arrows flew toward Huang Rong’s chest. She ignored the arrows, nonchalantly reached toward the dead soldier’s pocket. The arrows hit were right on target, but they hit the soft hedgehog armor and simply fell down near her foot. Huang Rong continued groping the pocket until she found some dried meat and fed them to the birds.

“Rong’er, play with the condors, I am going to kill some Jin soldiers!” Guo Jing said. He jumped to strike an arrow flying toward him, stretched his left palm and with a cracking sound broke a nearby Jin soldier’s arm.

“Where did the dog that creates trouble in here come from?” suddenly a voice called out in the dark. Surprisingly, he was speaking Chinese. Guo Jing was startled, “This voice sounds familiar,” he thought. At that time a couple of metal came flashing down his way; two short hatchets came chopping down on him, one slashing his chest, the other slashing toward his lower abdomen.

Guo Jing saw the incoming force was fierce; he knew the attacker was not an ordinary officer. Immediately he shot his palm using the ‘divine dragon swings its tail’. His palm hit that man on the shoulder, broke the shoulder blade into pieces and sent the man flying backward a few feet. The man cried out pitifully. Suddenly Guo Jing remembered, “This is one of the ‘huang he si gui’ [four demons of the Yellow River], the ‘sang men fu’ [deadly gate hatchet] Qian Qingjian.”

Guo Jing knew that his martial art skill had improved tremendously these past several months; of course he was in entirely different league compared to when he fought the Four Demons of the Yellow River in Mongolia a while back; but to be able to strike the enemy more than ten feet away with only one palm? He was blown away. While he was still amazed by it, a couple more metal objects came down flashing toward him. This time it was a saber and a spear.

Guo Jing guessed they must be ‘duan hu dao’ [severing soul blade] Shen Qinggang and ‘zhui ming qiang’ [pursuing life spear] Wu Qinglie. His right hand forming a hook and caught the spear near its head and pulled it hard. Wu Qinglie tried to resist, but he was pulled along and fell face down in front of Guo Jing. Right at that moment Guo Jing was stepping back to elude the chopping saber; that Shen Qinggang’s blade was hacking toward his martial brother’s skull.
Guo Jing’s leg flew up, kicked Shen Qinggang’s right wrist. A streak of blue light flashed in the dark night, his saber flew up from his hand; Wu Qinglie’s life was saved. Guo Jing then picked up Wu Qinglie from his back and whirled him against his martial brother. With a ‘bang’ sound two brothers collided and passed out immediately.

Among the Four Demons of the Yellow River, only three left, since ‘duo po bian’ [soul snatching whip] Ma Qingxiong was killed by Lu Guanying when he was trying to penetrate the robber gang of Lake Tai. These three people were the elite fighters of the Jin soldiers who pursued Toulei and his company. The rest of the Jin soldiers were not aware that their leaders had fallen due to the dark. They were still engaging Toulei, Jebeh and Bourchu in shooting battle.

“You are not running away, do all of you want to die here?” Guo Jing roared. He rushed toward the enemy soldiers, hit here and grabbed there, throwing bodies everywhere. Very soon the soldiers panicked and scattered in all directions. Shen Qinggang and Wu Qinglie slowly came out to their senses, each with a splitting headache. They were seeing things, but realizing that their company scattered they also ran away without hesitation. Accidentally they stumbled upon Qian Qingjian and woke him up. He mumbled indistinctly, but seeing the rest of the soldiers scattered away, he ignored his pain and ran different direction.

Jebeh and Bourchu were skilled archers; they kept shooting their arrows and managed to kill three more Jin soldiers. Toulei looked down and saw his sworn brothers had scattered the enemy; he was delighted and called out, “Anda [Mongolian term for sworn brother]! How are you?” Holding the flagpole he slid down to the ground.

Guo Jing and Toulei held each other’s hand; they were very happy that they were speechless for a while. A moment later Jebeh and Bourchu joined them. “Those three Han people holding shields to block our arrows, prevented us from shooting them,” Jebeh said. “If Jing’er did not come and rescue us, we won’t be able to drink Onon River’s clear water anymore.”

Guo Jing pulled Huang Rong’s hand and have her meet Toulei and company. “This is my sworn sister,” he introduced her.

“Will you give me these two white condors?” Huang Rong asked, smiling. Toulei did not understand Chinese, his translator ran away when they were being attacked by the Jin soldiers. He only noticed that Huang Rong’s voice was clear and sounded pleasant to his ears, but actually he had no idea what she was saying.

Guo Jing ignored Huang Rong’s request. “Anda, why did you bring the condors here?” he asked.

“Father sent me to see the Song Emperor; to make a bilateral agreement between the north and south, so that we can dispatch troops together and attack the Jins from both directions,” Toulei explained. “My sister thought I might meet you here, so she sent these condors to you. She guessed right, didn’t I meet you here?”

Guo Jing heard him mentioning Huazheng, his heart was saddened. He had fallen in love with Huang Rong; but occasionally Huazheng came into his mind. Not that he had any romantic feeling toward her, but actually he did not know how to sort this thing out. Sometimes he chased that thought away; but now hearing Toulei he was at a loss. His only thought was, “Within a month I am going to the Peach Blossom Island where Rong’er’s father might kill me. How could I attend to her?” Therefore, he turned toward Huang Rong and told her, “These two birds are mine. You can have them to play with.”

Huang Rong was delighted; she found more dried meat to feed the condors.

Toulei proceeded by telling how his father, Genghis Khan had gained victory over the Jins on several fronts; but the Jin army was strong in numbers. They consolidated themselves and for many years strengthen their forts that for a while they have managed to defend their borders. Thereupon Genghis Khan had sent Toulei to make contact with the south to form an alliance with the Songs to attack the Jins. Unfortunately they ran into a brigade of the Jin army and could not prevent a battle. Their company perished and only three of them managed to escape and ran away there.

Guo Jing remembered that day at the Cloud Village he heard Yang Kang asking Mu Nianci to go to Lin An and see the Prime Minister Shi Miyuan, to ask him to kill the Mongolian messengers. At that time he did not know anything, but now he knew that the Jins had found out the conspiracy and had sent Yang Kang to prevent the Songs and the Mongols to form an alliance.

Toulei continued, “Looked like the Jins have determined to kill me to avoid Mongolia and the Song Dynasty formed the alliance successfully; that the Sixth Prince himself personally led the troop to capture me.”

“Wanyan Honglie?” Guo Jing asked in surprise.

“That’s right!” Toulei answered. “He was wearing a golden helmet, I saw him clearly and even shot three arrows to him, too bad they were blocked by his bodyguards’ shields.”

Guo Jing was ecstatic, “Rong’er, Brother Kang! Wanyan Honglie is here, let us quickly find him.” Huang Rong quickly came, but Yang Kang was nowhere to be seen. Guo Jing was impatient, he shouted, “Rong’er, you go to the east, I will search to the west.” Two people launched their lightness kungfu and ran very fast opposite directions.

After several li’s Guo Jing managed to catch up with several ran away Jin soldiers. He captured one of them and found out that indeed it was the Sixth Prince Wanyang Honglie who personally led the pursuers, but that soldier did not know his whereabouts.

“We have deserted the Prince without any regard of his safety; if we went back, we will be executed. Hence we are throwing away our uniforms and try to hide among the common people,” that soldier said.

Guo Jing turned and resumed his chase. It was almost dawn, but where was Wanyan Honglie’s shadow? He knew the enemy who killed his father was near, but seemed to be unreachable. He was anxious.

He rushed forward a little bit further and arrived at a small wooded area where he saw a white shadow flashing by. It was Huang Rong. Two people met, they looked at each other and knew they did not find him. Dejectedly they decided to go back to the temple.

“Wanyan Honglie led quite a number of troops pursuing us; he was riding a fast horse. I think by now he must be going back to fetch enforcement to capture us,” Toulei tried to reason. “Anda, I am bearing my father’s decree; I can’t stay for long. Let us part here. My little sister asked me to deliver this message to you: Please go back home to Mongolia as soon as possible.”

Guo Jing agreed to what he said, but feared that it would be difficult for them to meet again in the future. His heart was heavy. He hugged Toulei, Jebeh and Bourchu farewell, but said very little. They mounted their horses and galloped away. The sound of hoof beats gradually vanished away; men and horses slowly hidden behind a cloud of yellow dust.

“Let us hide and wait for Wanyan Honglie to come back,” proposed Huang Rong. “If the troops are numerous, we will simply following them and try to assassinate him in the evening. Don’t you think it’s a good idea?”

Guo Jing was delighted. He praised Huang Rong incessantly. Huang Rong was very happy too, she smiled and said, “It was nothing, I was just using the common tactic of ‘yi an jiu chuan’ [leaving to shore to move to a ship].”

“I’ll go to the woods to hide our horses,” Guo Jing said. He walked toward the backyard of the temple, and suddenly saw something gleaming among the grass under the morning sun. He bent down to take a closer look and found that thing was a golden helmet, inlaid with three big jewels. Guo Jing picked it up and walked back to Huang Rong. “What do you think this is?” he quietly asked.

“Wanyan Honglie’s golden helmet?” Huang Rong guessed.

“Exactly!” whispered Guo Jing. “I believe he is still hiding somewhere close to this temple. Let’s spread out and find him.”

Huang Rong turned her back, her hands pressed down on the wall and she floated atop the wall in no time. “I am searching from above, you from below,” she called out. Guo Jing entered the temple.

“Was my lightness kungfu a moment ago good?” Huang Rong called.

Guo Jing was taken aback, he stopped in his track. “It was very good! Why?” he asked.

“Then why didn’t you praise me?” Huang Rong said with a laugh.

Guo Jing stomped his feet. “Oh, you mischievous kid! You still want to joke at a time like this,” he said.

Huang Rong simply laughed; raising her hands she flew to the rear courtyard.

When Guo Jing was fighting the Jin soldiers, Yang Kang had observed from the side. Despite the darkness he could recognize the Sixth Prince Wanyan Honglie. Although by now Yang Kang knew he was not his own father, but nonetheless he had raised Yang Kang for more than ten years; he had been a father’s figure for Yang Kang all this time. Yang Kang saw how Guo Jing had dispersed the Jin soldiers; if Wanyan Honglie was seen by Guo Jing, he would lose his life for sure. It was a critical time, Yang Kang did not have too much time to think; so he jumped to the battleground. At that time Guo Jing was hurling a Jin soldier’s body to the air. Wanyan Honglie’s horse got scared, so he was busy holding the rein. Yang Kang grabbed him from behind and pulled him to safety.

“Fu Wang [Father King], it’s me, Kang’er. Don’t make a sound!” Yang Kang whispered urgently.

Guo Jing was still fighting, and Huang Rong’s attention was occupied by the condors. The night was dark, so nobody saw him with Wanyan Honglie moved toward the rear courtyard of the temple.

Yang Kang quietly pushed open the door to the west wing, and equally quietly two people hid themselves there. Their ears could still hear the battle cry outside, then the noise of Jin soldiers scampered away; finally they heard the mumbling sound of the three Mongolians talking to Guo Jing.

Wanyan Honglie thought he was dreaming, “Kang’er,” he whispered, “What brought you here?”

“It was a fortunate coincidence,” Yang Kang replied. “Ah … but that man surnamed Guo meant you harm.”

By that time Wanyan Honglie heard Guo Jing and Huang Rong were going separate ways to look for him. He also saw a moment ago how Guo Jing had defeated the Three Ghosts of the Yellow River; and how fiercely and swiftly Guo Jing had beaten and killed numerous Jin soldiers. If he were discovered by those two, what would happen? He shuddered involuntarily.

“Father King, if we exit now, I am afraid we’ll run into them. Let’s just hide in here, they will eventually leave. Wait till they are far away, then we can slowly come out,” Yang Kang said.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Wanyan Honglie said. He paused, then said, “Kang’er, why did you call me ‘fu wang’ [father king], and not father?”

Yang Kang was silent. He remembered his late mother’s fate; his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

Wanyan Honglie slowly said, “You were thinking of your mother, were you not?” He stretched his arm to hold Yang Kang’s hand; that hand was icy cold, Yang Kang’s cold sweat.

Yang Kang gently pulled his hand away. He changed the subject, “This Guo Jing’s martial art is high. He is seeking vengeance for his father; he is determined to find and kill you. He also has befriended many-many experts in martial art; it will be impossible for you to guard against him. I think it will be to your benefit that you do not go back to Beijing in the next six months or so.”

Wanyan Honglie recalled what happened at the Ox Village of Lin An nineteen years ago; he was saddened, yet there was a tinge of guilty feeling in him, so he was silent for a quite a while. “Very well,” he finally said, “I’ll avoid Beijing for a while. Have you gone to Lin An yet? What did the Prime Minister Shi say?”

“I haven’t been there,” Yang Kang coldly replied.

Wanyan Honglie heard the tone of his voice, he could guess that Yang Kang had probably found out about his own life story; but why did Yang Kang save him? Could he have another plan in mind?

Those two men had lived together for eighteen years as father and son; they loved each other dearly. But now that they were together in that small room, suddenly Yang Kang thought there was a deep hatred between them. There was a raging battle inside his heart: “With just a whack of my palm I will avenge my father and mother, but how can I do that? That Yang Tiexin fellow was my biological father, but what did he give me? Normally Mama treated Father King well, if I kill him now, would Mama like it? Besides, if I really forsake being a prince, will I end up wandering around in the wilderness, destitute just like Guo Jing?”

He was still having these disquieting thoughts when Wanyan Honglie said, “Kang’er, we have had father-son relationship. No matter what, you are my son and I love you. Within ten years our great Jin will conquer the Song. At that time I will have enormous power and authority in my hands; with unlimited riches and honor. This beautiful country, this mortal world, will eventually fall into your hands.”

Yang Kang understood the implication of his speech; Wanyan Honglie aimed to be the emperor. Thinking about ‘unlimited riches and honor’, his heart was thumping loudly, secretly thought, “With the power of the Great Jin, it is not difficult to crush the Song. Mongolia will pose another problem, but it will be temporary. They are just a bunch of barbarians with excellent riding and archery skills; nothing refine. Father King’s management skill is superb. Which Great Jin’s other prince can be compared to him? When all’s said and done, I will definitely become the crown prince of this world.” Thinking thus far his blood boiled. He stretched his hand to grab Wanyan Honglie’s. “Father, your child will certainly help you in this great undertaking.”

Wanyan Honglie felt Yang Kang’s hand was warm, he was delighted. “I am Li Yuan, you are Li Shi Min.” [Translator note: Li Yuan and Li Shi Min were father and son, founder of the Tang Dynasty]

Yang Kang was about to reply when suddenly they heard a noise behind them. Two men froze. Quickly they turned their heads. It was already morning; a bright sunlight came through the window. They saw seven, eight coffins scattered throughout the room. Turned out this west wing was the temporary placement of the dead before burial. They listened carefully; the noise sounded like it came from one of the coffin.

“What was that?” Wanyan Honglie asked.

“Probably a mouse,” Yang Kang replied. At that moment they heard Guo Jing and Huang Rong were talking outside about the golden helmet; then joking around looking for them.

“Confound it!” Yang Kang thought, “Father’s golden helmet is left outside! This could be bad.” With a low voice he said, “I am going to lead them away.” Quietly he opened the door and jumped outside, toward the roof.

Huang Rong was on the roof; suddenly she saw a shadow flashing on the roof peak. “Good! He is here!” She dashed toward that shadow, but the shadow quickly jumped down and disappeared over a corner.

Guo Jing heard her voice and came. “He can’t run away, he must be hiding in the woods,” Huang Rong said.

Two people were about to run into the woods when suddenly there was a noise from the bush and out came Yang Kang. Guo Jing was pleasantly surprised. “Brother, where did you come from?” he asked. “Did you see Wanyan Honglie?”

“Wanyan Honglie is here?” Yang Kang feigned surprise.

“He was the commander of that troop. Look, his golden helmet is here,” Guo Jing said.

“So that’s how it is,” Yang Kang said.

Huang Rong saw his expression was unusual; she also remembered he was speaking with Ouyang Ke earlier; she was suspicious. “We were looking for you everywhere just a moment ago. Where were you?” she asked.

“I ate too much strange food yesterday, I think I suffered a food poisoning, so I relieved myself over there,” Yang Kang said, pointing to a small wooded area.

Huang Rong did not believe him, but she was uncomfortable to chase him. “Brother,” Guo Jing said, “Let’s look together.”

Yang Kang was worried; he was not sure if Wanyan Honglie had run away or was still there; but his face did not show anything. “He came here to die! We could not have asked anything better,” he said, “Why don’t you two search to the east, I’ll go to the west.”

“Very well!” Guo Jing said, and immediately walked to the east; pushing open the door to the ‘jie xiao tang’ [clemency and filial hall].

“Brother Yang,” Huang Rong said, “I think that man is hiding in the west; let me come with you.”

Yang Kang groaned inwardly, but his face feigned happiness. “Let us go, quick!” he said, “Don’t let him run away.” Immediately two people searched from room to room.

The Liu family of Bao Ying was originally a big family during the Song Dynasty; naturally their ancestral temple was huge. But because of the war with the Jins, this temple was partially burned and some of the Liu family was killed. Hence the parts of temple were left in ruins without any effort to rebuild it.

With a cold look Huang Rong watched Yang Kang opened dust-laden and full-of-spider-web doors one by one. He searched each and every room. Finally they arrived at the west wing. Huang Rong saw thick dust on the floor, and on that dust there were several footprints, which – from the look of them, were recently made. There were a couple of handprints on the closed door too. “In here!” she shouted excitedly.

Guo Jing and Yang Kang both heard her cry; Guo Jiang was delighted, while Yang Kang was anxious; both rushed toward her.

Huang Rong kicked the door open, but to her surprise, all she saw was several coffins with no signs of Wanyan Honglie.

Yang Kang was greatly relieved, he knew Wanyan Honglie must have escaped; but he entered the room and loudly shouted, “Wanyan Honglie, traitor! Where do you hide? Come out!”

“Brother Yang, he must have heard us a long while ago. You don’t have to kindly let him know we are here,” Huang Rong snickered.

Yang Kang was embarrassed, his face was flushed, “Miss Huang, why do you joke with me?” His embarrassment turned to anger.

“Never mind her, Brother; Rong’er likes to joke,” Guo Jing smiled. He lowered his head and said, “Look here, someone must have left all these footprints. Indeed he was here.”

“Quick, we must pursue him!” Huang Rong urged. Just as she turned her head, there came a noise from behind her. All three people were scared. They saw a coffin moved slightly.

Huang Rong was always scared of coffins; ever since she entered this room, she had been feeling queasy; now that she suddenly a coffin moved by itself, she uttered a cry and tightly held Guo Jing’s arm. But even though her heart was scared, her brain was still working. “That traitor … that traitor hides in the coffin,” she said with a trembling voice.

Yang Kang suddenly pointed his finger outside, “Hey! He is over there!” Without waiting anything he ran outside. But Huang Rong was quick, she reached backward and grabbed Yang Kang’s main artery. “You have seen a ghost?” she sneered.

Half of Yang Kang’s body was numb; he could not move. “You … what are you doing?” he anxiously asked.

Guo Jing was delighted. “Right! That traitor must be hiding in the coffin.” With big strides he walked toward the coffin and lifted his hands, ready if Wanyan Honglie came out.

“Elder Brother, be careful!” Yang Kang called out. “There could be a zombie inside.”

Huang Rong twisted Yang Kang’s hand that he fell to the ground. “You still want to scare me?” she angrily asked.

She was certain that it was Wanyan Honglie hiding inside the coffin, but still, she was scared. What if it were really a zombie inside? You never know, don’t you?

“Brother Jing, not so fast!” she tremblingly said.

Guo Jing halted and turned his head, “What is it?”

“Just hold the lid down,” Huang Rong said. “Don’t let … don’t let that thing come out.”

Guo Jing smiled, “How can it be a zombie?” But he saw that Huang Rong was really scared, so he jumped toward the coffin and comforted her, “He won’t be able to crawl out!”

Huang Rong was still anxious, she hesitated a little bit, and then said, “Brother Jing, let me hit the coffin using the ‘pi kong zhang’ [splitting empty palm] while you keep your eyes open. Whether it is a zombie or Wanyan Honglie, I will split the coffin up. We will see whether it is a person crying or a zombie wailing!”

As soon as finished speaking she exerted her energy toward her palms, treaded two stepped and sent the palms hacking the coffin. Her splitting empty palm was not as strong as Lu Chengfeng’s; therefore, she needed to hack the coffin directly; while actually it could be launched from a distance with an empty air between her and the target.

“That’s not right!” Yang Kang anxiously called, “You hack the coffin’s lid, zombie might poke his head out and bite your hand, that won’t be good!”

He was successful in making Huang Rong more scared than ever. She was shivering and halted her movement. Suddenly a cry came out of the coffin; it was a woman’s voice. Huang Rong jumped. She was extremely terrified. “A female ghost!” she cried. Flailing her hands she ran outside and cried, “Quick! Get out of here!”

Guo Jing was brave, “Brother Yang, let us lift the coffin lid and take a look,” he said.

Yang Kang was drenched in cold sweat, but how could he refuse Guo Jing’s request? Surely he could not make himself an enemy of these Guo-Huang couple. But then he heard that woman’s voice again, so he rushed ahead to raise the coffin lid. They used a knife to jack the lid up, and together they open the lid, which actually had not been nailed down to the coffin.

Guo Jing had directed his strength to his arms, ready to strike the zombie’s head. But when he looked down, he was stunned. There was no zombie; it was a good-looking young girl, with a pair of big eyes looked up on them. She was none other than Mu Nianci.

Yang Kang was pleasantly surprised, quickly he held out his hand to help her out.

“Rong’er, come here, quick!” Guo Jing called out. “Look who is here?”

Huang Rong turned her head with eyes closed. “I don’t want to see!” she shouted back.

“But it’s Elder Sister Mu!” Guo Jing urged.

With left eye still closed, Huang Rong took a peek with her right eye. She saw Yang Kang was embracing a woman, whose appearance looked like Mu Nianci. She felt relieved, and timidly entered the room again. Who was that woman if not Mu Nianci?

Huang Rong saw Mu Nianci’s face was haggard, two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks. She was unable to move. Huang Rong unsealed her acupoint and asked, “Elder Sister, why are you here?”

Mu Nianci’s acupoint had been sealed for quite a while, her whole body was stiff and her breath was uneven, so Huang Rong helped by rubbing her back. After a while [lit. time needed to drink a cup of tea] Mu Nianci told her, “I was captured and held prisoner.”

Huang Rong saw that the acupoint sealed was located at the center of palm of the foot, the ‘yong quan’ [bursting fountain] acupoint; which was rarely done by the wulin characters of the central plain. So with 80, 90% certainty she guessed, “Was it that bastard Ouyang Ke?” Mu Nianci did not answer, but she nodded.

That day when she was trying to contact Mei Chaofeng for Yang Kang’s sake she was captured by Ouyang Ke near the pile of skulls and her acupoint was sealed. After Huang Yaoshi played his jade flute to disperse the snakes and help Mei Chaofeng; Ouyang Ke’s concubines and his three snake slaves were unconscious under the flute sound, and Ouyang Ke ran away, distressed. By daybreak the concubines and the slaves woke up and found Mu Nianci lying on her side, unable to move; so they took her to their master. Ouyang Ke tried to rape her, but she was determined to fight to her death. Although Ouyang Ke was conceited and lecherous; but he always pride himself as an elegant and cultured man, his martial art’s skill was high, so he could easily melt women’s hearts. If he resorted to violence and brute force, he would certainly succeed in raping her; but then he would mar the name of the White Camel Mountain. So because of this pride, Mu Nianci was fortunate and able to keep her purity.

Afterward they arrived at Baoying and Ouyang Ke hid her inside one of the Liu ancestral temple’s coffins. He sent his concubines to ‘invite’ several beautiful young women of the rich families, including Miss Cheng. It was then that the Beggar Clan interfered that resulted in a battle. Ouyang Ke left in a hurry. He had had several women these past few days that he did not remember Mu Nianci was still inside one of the coffins. If Guo Jing and the others were not looking for Wanyan Honglie, she would have been starved to death inside the coffin.

Yang Kang was unexpectedly happy to see his lover here. With a compassionate face he said, “Little sister, just take a rest here, I am going to boil some water for you to drink.”

“How can you boil some water?” Huang Rong smiled, “I’ll go. Brother Jing, come with me.” She had a mind to let those two alone in private to alleviate their lovesickness. Who would have thought that Mu Nianci sat up straight, “Hold a moment!” she said without a smile, “Mister Yang, I congratulate you on your unlimited riches and honor in the future.”

Yang Kang felt redness came creeping to his entire face, but his heart turned cold. “She must have heard my conversation with father king in here.” He stood still not knowing what to do.

Mu Nianci saw he was distressed, her heart melted; she did not have a heart to reveal the secret that he was the one who let Wanyan Honglie go, for fear that Guo Jing and Huang Rong would kill him out of their angers.

“You called him ‘Father’, wasn’t that better? It was much more intimate than if you call him ‘Father King’, wasn’t it?” she coldly said. Yang Kang felt so ashamed; he hung his head and did not say anything.

Huang Rong did not know what was going on; she thought this young woman was upset and blamed Yang Kang for not coming earlier to rescue her. He pulled Guo Jing’s sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go out, I am sure those two will immediately make up.” Guo Jing smiled and went along with her.

“Let’s eavesdrop what they are saying,” said Huang Rong as soon as they reached the courtyard.

Guo Jing smiled, “Don’t you intentionally create trouble. I don’t want to go.”

“Very well!” Huang Rong sulked. “Just don’t be disappointed if I heard something interesting and I won’t tell you about it.” She leaped to the roof and walked quietly back to the west wing; only to hear Mu Nianci was speaking harshly.

“You called an enemy your father. I can understand that considering your past relationship; you will get over it. Who would have thought you have delusional thoughts; you want to destroy the country of your own parents, this … this …” Speaking to this point she was so furious that she could not continue.

Yang Kang smiled nervously. “Little sister, I …” he said softly, but Mu Nianci cut him short. “Who is your little sister? Don’t touch me!” she screamed. ‘Slap!’ her hand left a red print on Yang Kang’s face.

Huang Rong was surprised. “They were fighting already, must stop them,” she thought. Entering through the window she laughed and said, “Aiyo! Even if you don’t agree with each other, please don’t resort to violence.” But she stopped dead on her track seeing Mu Nianci’s cheeks were fiery red while Yang Kang was very pale. She was about to open her mouth again when Yang Kang suddenly shouted, “Good! You have met the new one and abandon the old. Your heart is already occupied by another that you treated me like this.”

“You … what did you say?” Mu Nianci stammered. Yang Kang snickered, “You and that fellow surnamed Ouyang. His martial art is ten times better than mine; of course you would immediately brush me off from your heart.”

Mu Nianci was so angry that her hands and feet were icy-cold; she nearly passed out.

Huang Rong interrupted, “Brother Yang, you must not speak nonsense; if Sister Mu liked him, how could that bastard seal her acupoint and let her starving inside the coffin?”

By this time out of shame Yang Kang became indignant. “The truth is good, yet hypocrisy is also good. She was captured by that bastard for quite some times, she has lost her innocence. How could she and I be together again?”

Mu Nianci was outraged, “I … I … What innocence have I lost?”

“You were in that man’s possession for many days; he must have cuddled you, you must have embraced him. How could you keep your crystal clear purity?” Yang Kang mocked.
Mu Nianci really could not hold herself any longer. She was tired and angry. This last attack was too vicious for her to bear. With a ‘wah’ sound she spurted some blood and fell backward.

Yang Kang realized his words were too vicious; seeing her like that he felt remorse and wanted to embrace and comfort her; but he remembered she knew his secret. Huang Rong had voiced her suspicion earlier; if Mu Nianci should open her mouth, his life would be in danger. Moreover, he was worried about his father king; so without saying anything he turned around, rushed outside and leaped over the wall.

Huang Rong had to massage Mu Nianci’s chest for quite a while before she finally came to. She was unusually composed; did not even cry at all. “Little Sister,” she calmly said, “Let me borrow the dagger I gave you earlier.”

“Brother Jing!” Huang Rong loudly called out, “Can you come over, please?” Guo Jing quickly came. “Please give the dagger that belongs to Brother Yang to Elder Sister Mu,” Huang Rong said.

“Certainly,” Guo Jing complied. He pulled the dagger out of his pocket; it was the dagger taken by Zhu Cong from Mei Chaofeng. It was wrapped by what to the casual onlookers would look like a thin sheet of leather. The leather was full of characters tattooed with a needle. Guo Jing was not aware that the characters were actually the second part of the Nine Yin Manual. He casually unwrapped the leather and gave the dagger to Mu Nianci.

Huang Rong also took a dagger out from her pocket; she softly said, “Brother Jing’s dagger is in my possession; Brother Yang’s dagger is now in yours. Elder Sister, this is a destiny that will bring you two together. You have a disagreement but for a moment, please don’t be sad. My father and I are also having some disagreements. Brother Jing and I are going to Beijing to look for Wanyan Honglie. Elder Sister, please don’t let your heart be troubled. Why don’t you come with us? We can leisurely walk together. I am sure Brother Yang will come back to you.”

Guo Jing was puzzled, “Brother Yang?” Huang Rong stuck her tongue. “He provoked Elder Sister to anger; Elder Sister slapped him hard. Elder Sister Mu, if Brother Yang did not like you, when you slapped him, how come he did not retaliate? His martial art is stronger than yours. The fight between you …” She wanted to say ‘the fight between you two must be a habit’ (she was referring to the ‘Joust to Find a Spouse), but she saw Mu Nianci was grieving and she did not have a heart to say any joke.

“I am not going to Beijing,” Mu Nianci said, “You also don’t have to go. Within the next half a year that traitor Wanyan Honglie won’t be in Beijing. He is afraid of you. Brother Guo, Little Sister, you are good people, your life must also be good …” She choked up; covered her face and rushed toward the door. With a leap she was gone.

Huang Rong looked down and saw the blood Mu Nianci spurted earlier. She hesitated for a moment, and in the end did not feel comfortable; so she also leaped over the wall and chased after her, only to see Mu Nianci under a big willow tree in a distance. The sunlight was reflected by the naked dagger’s blade. Mu Nianci lifted the dagger high above her head. Huang Rong was anxious, she thought Mu Nianci was going to kill herself. She loudly shouted, “Elder Sister! Please don’t …” But the distance between them was too far; she would not be able to prevent her. Luckily Mu Nianci only lifted her left hand and pulled up her hair. With a slash of the dagger in her right hand she sheared a big clump of hair, threw them to the ground and ran away.

“Elder Sister! Elder Sister … !” Huang Rong called out. Mu Nianci turned a deaf ear and kept going.

Huang Rong stared blankly at a distance, she was lost in thought. She saw the clump of soft hair was dancing in the morning breeze. A short time later the hair was scattered to the rice field, some went to the creek, some flew up to the trees lining the pathway, some followed the blowing dust, going don’t know where, yet some fell into the flowing water. Huang Rong had always been tender, carefree and mischievous since her childhood. She laughed when happy, cried or sulked when not; the word ‘anxiety’ was never in her vocabulary. But now she saw what had just happened, could not keep sadness from creeping into her heart. Now, she found out about the world’s anxiety.

Slowly she walked back to the temple and told Guo Jing what had happened to Mu Nianci. Guo Jing did not know why those two people were having disagreement; he simply said, “I don’t understand why Elder Sister Mu took a big deal out of it. I think her character is just too strong.”

“How could a woman hugged by some stranger lost her innocence? Even her loved one did not respect her anymore? Did not care about her anymore?” Huang Rong thought. She did not have a clue the reasoning behind all that, so she brushed it off as that was the way it was and stopped at that. She slowly walked to the rear courtyard, sat against a pillar. Her mind was still heavy with thoughts. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

That very evening Li Sheng and other Beggar Clan members threw a banquet in honor of their leader, Hong Qigong, and to congratulate Guo Jing and Huang Rong. They have been waiting until around midnight but Hong Qigong still did not show up. Li Sheng knew his Leader’s unusual habit so he did not give any thought; he kept serving wine to Guo Jing and Huang Rong and they drank to their hearts’ content. The Beggar Clan people had a high respect toward these two people, so their conversation was congenial. Miss Cheng had personally prepared some food and four big pots of good quality wine and delivered everything via her servants.

After the banquet was over Guo Jing and Huang Rong discussed what to do next. Wanyan Honglie would not be in Beijing, so it must be difficult to find him in a short period of time. The Peach Blossom Island appointment was drawing near. Guo Jing needed to go back to Jiaxing immediately and consulted his six masters on what action they would take.

Huang Rong nodded her head in agreement. “I think it is best for your six masters not to go to the Peach Blossom Island,” she added. “You fought with him and received quite a few beatings; for him to hit a few more heads is no big deal, is it? If you don’t agree with me, let me hit you a few times in the head. If your six masters meet my father, what good will it brings?”

“You are right,” Guo Jing said. “But you don’t need to hit my head.”

Early the next morning two people rode south. It was the beginning of the sixth month; the weather was burning hot. Natives of Jiangnan had a saying, ‘the sixth of the sixth month, a duck egg cooked by the sun.’ Traveling under the hot sun they were very miserable. So they would hurry along early in the mornings and later in the evenings; and took some rest at noon.

A few days later they arrived at Jiaxing. Since it was earlier than the appointed time, the Six Freaks were not there yet. So Guo Jing wrote a letter and left the letter with the innkeeper of the Drunken Immortal Tavern, asking him to deliver the letter in person to the Six Freaks of Jiangnan when they arrived on the beginning of the seventh month.

In the letter he explained that he had met Huang Rong and was going to the Peach Blossom Island to fulfill his promise; that with Huang Yaoshi’s favored daughter’s company, he should not come across any problem, so he asked his six masters to not be anxious; and they did not need to accompany him, and so on.

Even though he said that, actually he was scared since Huang Yaoshi was very peculiar. He was afraid he would more likely meet misfortune than good fortune. He was afraid Huang Rong would feel anxious for his sake, so he did not tell her anything. Thinking that his six masters did not have to go to the harm’s way was his only consolation.

Two people headed east. After Zhoushan, they hired a boat and continued by sea. Huang Rong knew that local sailors were afraid of the Peach Blossom Island, like people scared of the vipers or scorpions. Nobody dared to sail within 40 li’s of the island. If she mentioned the name of Peach Blossom Island, no matter how much money she offered nobody would be willing to take them. So she said they were going shrimp fishing to a nearby island. It was only after they were quite a distance from the shore did she tell the boatman to change course to the north. The boatman was terrified, but Huang Rong wielded a dagger in front of his chest; cold and bright sparkle emanated from the blade; he had no choice but to comply with their request.

As the boat was nearing the island, Guo Jing smelled flowery fragrance amidst the salty smell of the sea. He threw his gaze toward the island. It was green and lush with colorful trees and shrubs. Some were green, some red, some yellow, and some purple. The island looked like a massive flower garden.

Huang Rong smiled. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked.

Guo Jing sighed, “I have never seen so many beautiful flowers like that in my whole life,” he answered.

Huang Rong was very pleased; she smiled and explained, “Come the third month, the peach blossom is in full bloom. Now, that is really beautiful. Master did not want to admit that my father’s martial art is number one in the world, but he cannot deny the fact that my father’s gardening skill is unrivaled. Too bad he is only interested in food and drink; he didn’t even know what a good flower or plant is. Such an uncouth person.”

“You are talking about Master behind his back,” Guo Jing scolded, “Not a good habit.” Huang Rong stuck her tongue and made a face.

They waited until the boat was closer before they leaped ashore. Guo Jing’s red horse also jumped to the shore. The boatman had heard many horror stories about the island; it was said that the Master of Peach Blossom Island would kill without batting an eye; that he liked to dig people’s hearts, lungs, livers and intestines out. So as soon as his passengers disembarked, he turned the rudder, wanting to leave the island as soon as possible.

Huang Rong took out a silver ingot worth ten ‘liang’ and tossed it to the boat. With a clanking noise it landed on the bow. The boatman did not expect such a generous recompense; he looked ashore delighted, but still did not dare to stop on that island much longer.

Being on her home again, Huang Rong’s joy was unspeakable. “Father! Father! Rong’er is back!” she loudly shouted; beckoned to Guo Jing, then dashed forward.

Guo Jing saw her turning east and dodging west among the flowers and very soon disappear from his sight. He hastily chased her, but after several ‘zhang’ he had already lost track of her. He saw there were trails heading east, south, west and north; but did not know which one he should take.

When he arbitrarily took a path and walked for while he seemed to be returning to where he started. He recalled the pathways of the Cloud Village; Huang Rong had said that although that village was wonderfully arranged it was still pale in comparison with the Peach Blossom Island, which was designed based on yin-yang and open-close elements. If he forced himself to walk in this wonderful, almost magical place he would end up wasting his strength in vain. So he decided to just sit underneath a peach tree and waited for Huang Rong to fetch him up. Who would have thought that after waiting for half a day Huang Rong still did not come. He looked around in all directions but did not see even half a shadow of a human being; not even a single sound was heard. He was lost!

Anxiously he stood up and climbed atop a nearby tree. Again he looked everywhere; to the south of him was the sea, to the west was a barren rock hill, to the north and east were forest of flowers all kinds and colors; he could not even see the end of it. His head became dizzy. He did not see anything that resembled a wall or a chimney; did not even hear a dog’s bark. It was extremely quiet and lonely that it scared him.

Quickly he slid down the tree and ran in panic toward the dark forest; but suddenly stopped in his track and anxiously cried, “Not good! I am running around aimlessly! If Rong’er comes looking for me, she won’t find me!” Having this thought he turned around and ran back; but he was lost again! He couldn’t even find the place where he started.

The little red horse of his was following him closely, but then he ran among the bushes and climbed trees, very soon the horse was also lost. The sky was getting dark, Guo Jing did not know what to do; so he simply sat on the ground and waited for Huang Rong. It was a good thing that that place was covered with thick green grass, so he was quite comfortable sitting down.

He started to get hungry and thirsty too. His mind wandered to the delicious food Huang Rong used to prepare for Hong Qigong; he was getting hungrier. Suddenly a thought came into his mind. “What if Rong’er’s father locks her up? She won’t be able to rescue me. How can I starve myself to death in this forest?”

He recalled he still had to sort the enmity with Huang Rong’s father; also remembered he had not paid back his masters’ kindness. Then his mind wandered to his mother in a far away land of Mongolia; if he died here, who would take care of her? With these heavy thoughts he got tired and fell asleep.

It was deep into the night when he dreamt he was on a trip with Huang Rong. They visited a lake near Beijing. They got to a beautiful spot and Huang Rong was singing a tune in a soft voice. Out of the blue there came another sound singing along; it was a bamboo flute. He woke up, startled. The flute sound was still lingering in the air. Guo Jing got up and looked around. The moon shone brightly in the sky, and the sweet fragrance of the flower was thickening by the dark night. The flute sound came from a distance; he was not dreaming!

Guo Jing was delighted. He walked toward the flute sound following the path in front of him. It was a winding path, and sometimes there was no path in front of him, but the flute sound was still coming from the front. He remembered the pathways of the Cloud Village; so he ignored the winding path and just went straight to the sound. If a tree or shrubs were in front of him, he simply climbed or jumped over them.

The flute sound was getting clearer. Guo Jing walked faster. Rounding a bend, he arrived at an area of white flowering shrubs. Layer upon layer of flowers glistened under the bright moonlight, they looked like a small white lake. In the middle of these white flowers he saw something big and tall, looked massive. Here the sound of the flute suddenly changed. Sometimes high, sometimes low; sometimes the sound came from his front, sometimes it moved to his back. He thought the sound was coming from the east, but when he rushed to the east, the sound moved to the west; when he chased to the north, the sound swiftly moved to the south. It sounded like more than ten people were playing flutes around him. This flute sound really drove him crazy.

After running around like that for a while Guo Jing’s head was also spinning around, so he decided to quit running and walked directly toward that massive thing in the middle of white flowers lake. Turned out it was a grave. There was a tombstone in front of the grave with this inscription: ‘tao hua dao nu zhu feng shi mai xiang zhi zhong’ [the fragrant burial ground of Mistress surnamed Feng of the Peach Blossom Island], eleven large characters.

“This must be Rong’er’s mother’s grave,” Guo Jing thought. “Rong’er lost her when she was very small, it was really sad.” He knelt down in front of the grave and kowtowed four times to pay his respect.

The flute sound suddenly stopped when Guo Jing was kneeling down. Everywhere around him was very quiet; but as soon as he stood up, the flute sound resumed in front of him. “I don’t care if it will bring luck or misfortune, I will follow the sound,” Guo Jing thought.

Again he walked among the vegetation following the flute. And again sound of the flute changed its personality. First it sounded like laughter, but suddenly changed into anger; it affected his feelings to no end. Guo Jing’s pulse quickened, “How come this tune is so pleasant to my ears?” he was fascinated.

The tune increased its tempo, urging him to get up and dance. Guo Jing felt the urge, his face blushed, and he felt his blood was blowing even faster trough his hundreds of arteries. Immediately he sat on the ground and meditated as Ma Yu had taught him: circulating his internal energy around.

At first his heart was shaken, several times he felt the urge to stood up and dance to the tune. After breathing in and out several times, his heart calmed down, his mind became clear. No matter how the flute was changing, he heard it like the sound of the waves of the sea, or like a breeze of wind on the tree tops. He felt his ‘dan tian’ was bursting with energy; his whole body felt comfortable. No longer he felt hunger or thirst. He knew that as he reached this state, external elements would not be able to affect him anymore; so he slowly opened his eyes only to see in the darkness, about two ‘zhang’s ahead a pair of bright eyes was looking straight at him.

He was startled, “What kind of beast is that?” he thought while leaping several steps back. But suddenly those eyes disappeared. “This Peach Blossom Island is really strange,” he thought, “even a quick leopard or a swift fox won’t be able to move that fast.” He hesitated for a moment and then heard a fast breathing sound; it was a human’s breathing. So he realized, “It is a human being! Those sparkling eyes were his. I didn’t see them anymore because he shut his eyes, but actually he is still here.”

Having this thought he laughed at his own foolishness; but it was unclear to him whether that person was a friend or a foe, so he did not dare to make a sound and just open his own eyes wide to observe quietly.

At that time the flute floating carrying a passionate, seducing feeling; resembled a woman sighing and groaning: sometimes murmuring softly but at other times raging wild with desire.

Guo Jing was still young, but he had trained martial arts since his childhood, hence did not know much about sexual relationship. He felt the flute was affecting his emotion; the melody was enchanting to the soul, but he did not give too much thought of it. But not so with the other man; he was gasping for breath, groaning softly. It sounded like he was struggling with all his strength just to resist the enticement that came from the flute.

Guo Jing’s heart was moved with compassion toward this man; slowly he came to him. The trees on that place were dense; the moon was bright, but the moonlight could not penetrate the thick branches and leaves. Guo Jing walked closer and only then he could vaguely see the man’s appearance. He was sitting cross-legged; his hair was long, almost touching the ground. His eyebrows, moustache and beard were long, covering his mouth and nose. His left hand was on his chest, his right hand on his back.

Guo Jing knew that was one of the positions to train/cultivate internal energy the ‘dan yang zi’ [Son of Cinnabar] Ma Yu had taught him atop that barren hill in the Mongolian desert. It was the technique to closed one’s heart and mind. Whenever someone has master it to perfection, even if thunder rumbles and the lighting flashes; or water gushes and creates landslides, it would not bother him a bit. This man looked like he knew this advanced skill of internal energy cultivation; but why couldn’t he control himself and was afraid of the flute sound?

The flute sound quickened; that man’s body swaying and twitching. Several times he jumped a few feet off the ground; finally after struggling with all his might he was able to sit down. Guo Jing saw this cycle happened several times: he would be calmed for a moment then agitated before calming down himself again; but the cycle was getting shorter and shorter. Guo Jing knew that man was fighting a losing battle, so he started to worry for him.

The flute played two intricate melodies softly. Suddenly that man shouted, “All right! All right!” he was about to jumped up. Guo Jing realized the time was critical; without thinking he rushed forward and stretched his hands pushing down on that man’s shoulder; his right hand tapped the ‘da zhui xue’ [big spine acupoint] on his neck. He remembered when he was training on that Mongolian cliff; whenever his mind was troubled and could not achieve tranquility, Ma Yu would gently stroke him on his ‘da zhui’ acupoint and that helped him to be calm. His internal strength was not as strong as Ma Yu’s, he could not help this man to overcome the flute sound; but because he struck the right spot that long-haired old man was able to calm himself. That man closed his eyes and seemed like he was under control.

Guo Jing was secretly happy, but then someone scolded him, “Little beast! You ruined my big effort!” The flute suddenly stopped. Guo Jing turned his head but did not see anybody. That voice sounded like Huang Yaoshi. He became anxious and regretted his action. “I don’t know if this long-haired old man is good or bad? I carelessly helped him, surely increased Rong’er’s father’s anger. If this old man were a monster or evil witch, didn’t I just commit a big mistake?”

He heard the old man’s breathing was slowing down to an even breathing. Guo Jing refrained himself from asking that old man question. He simply sat quietly opposite him; closed his eyes and used that time to meditate. Soon he was able to calm himself and achieve the state of emptiness. He lost track of time and opened his eyes when the morning star began to dim by the dawn sunlight.

The morning light shone through the trees and flowers above, illuminating the old man’ face. Guo Jing could see clearly now; his hair and beard were not entirely white but God knows how many years a shaving knife had not touched his head. He looked like a cave man.

Suddenly that old man’s eyes opened. His eyes were bright and twinkling. He smiled faintly and asked, “Which one of the Quan Zhen Seven Masters is your master?”

Guo Jing saw his countenance was kind, he was put at ease. He stood up and bowed respectfully, “Disciple Guo Jing pays his respect to Senior. I am the disciple of the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan.”

That old man seemed surprised. “Seven Heroes of Jiangnan? Is that Ke Zhen’E and the others? How could they teach you the internal energy cultivation of Quan Zhen Sect?” he asked.

“Actually, Venerable Dan Yang, Taoist Priest Ma had spent two years teaching disciple, but he had not included me inside the Quan Zhen Sect’s gate and wall,” Guo Jing answered.

That old man laughed heartily and then made faces. He looked so funny, like a child playing jokes. “So that’s how it is” he said, “How did you come to the Peach Blossom Island?”

“Master Huang told me to come,” replied Guo Jing.

The old man’s face suddenly changed, “What for?” he asked.

“Disciple had offended Master Huang,” Guo Jing answered. “I come here to accept my fate.”

“Are you telling the truth?” the old man asked.

“Disciple does not dare to lie,” answered Guo Jing.

The old man nodded, “Very good! Sit down!” he commanded.

Guo Jing sat on a big rock. Now he could see clearly that the old man was sitting inside a cave on the rock wall.

“Other than your Masters who had taught you martial arts?” the old man asked again.

“The Nine-fingered Divine Beggar, Benevolent Master Hong …” Guo Jing said.

The old man’s face changed again, it was so weird, like he was going to smile but restrained himself. “Hong Qigong also taught you martial art?” he interrupted.

“Yes,” replied Guo Jing. “Benevolent Master Hong taught me the ’18 Dragon-Subduing Palms’.”

The old man’s face showed happiness and envy at the same time, “You know ’18 Dragon-Subduing Palms’? This martial art is so amazing. How about teaching me that? I will take you as my master.” But then he shook his head and said, “Won’t do! Won’t do! As the Old Hong’s disciple your energy must not that strong. Did Old Beggar Hong teach you internal energy?”

“He did not,” answered Guo Jing truthfully.

The old man looked up and thought aloud, “He looks so young. Even if he cultivated his internal energy inside his mother’s womb, that would at most 18, 19 years worth of internal energy. How could he resist the flute sound, while I could not?” He was deep in thought for a moment; then he looked at Guo Jing from top to bottom and again from bottom to top. He stretched his right palm and said, “Push my palm; I want to test your martial art.”

Guo Jing complied; he extended his right palm and pushed. The old man said, “”Qi’ at your ‘dan tian’, push hard!” Guo Jing exerted his strength. The old man pulled his palm slightly then push hard while cried out, “Be careful!”

Guo Jing sensed a powerful force pushing him. He could not hold it, so he used his left hand to enforce his right palm. Who would have thought that old man flipped his palm and push Guo Jing’s wrist with his four fingers. The power of these fingers was enough to send Guo Jing flew backward seven, eight steps until his back hit a tree. Only then did Guo Jing manage to stand.

“His martial art is not bad, but nothing extraordinary either,” the old man muttered, “But how could he resist the Old Heretic Huang’s ‘bi hai chao sheng qu’ [jade-colored tidal wave song]?”

Guo Jing felt his chest tightened; he was astonished, “This man’s martial art is about the same level as Benevolent Master Hong’s and Master Huang’s. How could there be an expert his caliber in the Peach Blossom Island? Could it be he was the Western Poison or the Southern Emperor?” As soon as he remembered ‘Western Poison’ his heart turned cold, “Did I fall into his trickery?” Quickly he lifted his palm under the sunlight and checked it out. But he did not see any inflammation or black mark; he was relieved, at least he wasn’t being poisoned.

“Can you guess who I am?” that old man laughed.

“Disciple had heard people say that in the martial art realm there are five experts. The Quan Zhen’s founder Venerable Wang had passed away; disciples have met the ‘Nine-fingered Divine Beggar’ Benevolent Master Hong and the Master of Peach Blossom Island. Could Senior be Senior Ouyang or Emperor Duan?”

“You thought my martial art is comparable to the Eastern Heretic and Northern Beggar, didn’t you?” the old man smiled.

“Disciple’s martial art is mediocre, my experience shallow, I do not dare to speak nonsense. But when Senior pushed me a moment ago, I can say with confidence that other than Benevolent Master Hong and Master Huang, I have never experience such force,” Guo Jing said.

That old man was delighted with Guo Jing’s praise; his face looked like a child’s happy face. “I am neither the Western Poison Ouyang Feng, nor the Emperor Duan,” he smiled broadly. “Guess again.”

Guo Jing hesitated. “Disciple had met somebody whose name was as well known as Benevolent Master Hong, Qiu Qianren. But this person’s martial art is just ordinary. Disciple is really not smart, I cannot guess Senior’s honored name,” he said.

That old man laughed heartily, “My surname is Zhou; can you guess now?” he asked.

“Ah, you are Zhou Botong?” Guo Jing blurted. As the words came out of his mouth Guo Jing froze. Mentioning someone’s name, especially a Senior, could be considered disrespectful. He quickly bowed and apologized, “Disciple had shown disrespect, would Senior Zhou please forgive me.”

The old man laughed, “You are right! I am precisely Zhou Botong. My name is Zhou Botong, and you called me Zhou Botong; when did you show me disrespect? The Quan Zhen Sect’s Founder Wang Chongyang was my martial brother; Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the others are my martial nephews. You are not a Quan Zhen disciple, you don’t have to call me Senior this or Senior that; just call me Zhou Botong.”

“How would disciple dare?” Guo Jing asked.

Zhou Botong had lived in the Peach Blossom Island for a long time; he was bored, but suddenly Guo Jing came along. Talking with him he found relief; he was thrilled. Suddenly a strange thought came into his mind. “Little friend, what do you say you and I become sworn brothers?” he asked.

No matter how strange his words were, this was the weirdest of all. Guo Jing’s jaw dropped, he looked at Zhou Botong in disbelief; he thought Zhou was joking. After a while he opened his mouth, “Disciple is Priest Ma and Priest Qiu’s junior; I deserve to address you as my grand martial master.”

Zhou Botong busily shook his hands. “My martial art skill came from my martial brother. Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the others did not consider me their senior; they also did not respect me as a senior. You are not my son, I am not yours; we do not have older-younger generation difference.” Speaking thus he heard footsteps approaching; an old servant appeared, carrying a food basket. Zhou Botong beamed, “Our food is here!”

The servant opened the basket and took out four dishes of food, two pots of wine and a wooden basket full of rice. He placed the food in front of Zhou Botong, on top of a big rock; poured out two cups of wine and stood silently aside.

“Where is Miss Huang? Why didn’t she come looking for me?” Guo Jing asked. That servant shook his head, pointing to his ear and his mouth, signaling that he was deaf and mute.

“Huang Yaoshi had punctured his ears. You can ask him to open his mouth wide and take a look,” Zhou Botong chuckled.

Guo Jing made a signal, asking that servant to open his mouth. Guo Jing was startled and scared; that servant’s tongue had been cut in half.

“The servants of Peach Blossom Island are just like that,” Zhou Botong said. “You have come here; if you don’t die, you will end up like them.”

Guo Jing heard what he said; he was silent for a long time. “How could Rong’er’s father be so cruel?” he thought.

“That Old Heretic Huang tortures me every night,” Zhou Botong continued, “I don’t want to admit defeat to him. Last night I was almost fallen in his hand; if not for you, little brother, my more than 10 years effort of resisting him might crumble in one evening. Come little brother, here we have wine and food. Today we will take an oath to be sworn brothers; in the future we will share fortune and bear difficult times together. That year when Wang Chongyang and I became sworn brothers he also refused in every way … Why? Do you really not know? My sworn brother Wang Chongyang’s martial art was much higher than mine; that was why he was not willing to swear brotherhood with me. Is your martial art also much higher than mine? I don’t think so.”

“Junior’s martial art is way below yours,” Guo Jing answered. “I don’t deserve to swear brotherhood with you.”

“If you say to swear brotherhood have to have the same level of martial art, then I have to swear brotherhood with Old Heretic Huang, or Old Poison,” Zhou Botong said. “I only like to fight with them! That’s ridiculous! Do you want me to swear brotherhood with this deaf and mute fellow?” He pointed to that old servant; jumped up and down in a fit of rage.

Guo Jing saw his face was red, he quickly said, “Disciple and Senior differ by two generations. If I follow Senior’s direction, people will laugh at us and ridicule me. If later on I meet Priest Ma and Priest Qiu; how could I not be ashamed?”

“You have these many considerations. You certainly don’t want to swear brotherhood with me because I am too old. Boo hoo hoo …” Zhou Botong covered his face and cried, randomly pulling his beard.

Guo Jing nervously waved his hands, “Disciple will do whatever Senior instructed.”

Zhou Botong cried even harder. “You said that because of my coercion, you reluctantly agreed; that doesn’t count. When someone asks in the future, you will say that it was entirely my fault. I know you are not willing to call me your sworn brother.”

Guo Jing was secretly amused. How could such an old man not act his age? He saw him taking up a dish and tossed it outside, did not want to eat anymore. The old servant promptly picked it up; he didn’t know what was going on and he was terrified.

Guo Jing had no choice; suppressing his laugh he said, “Since Elder Brother had shown kindness, how could Little Brother not accept? Let us use the earth in place of incense; we become sworn brothers.”

Zhou Botong smiled through his tears. “I have sworn to Old Heretic Huang that as long as I cannot defeat him, I will never leave this hole except for bowel movement or urinating. I kowtow inside, you kowtow outside,” he said.

“If you fight Master Huang all your life, then you will live in this hole all your life?” Guo Jing thought; but he did not say anything; simply knelt down on the ground.

Zhou Botong knelt alongside; with a clear voice he said, “Today the Old Urchin Zhou Botong and Guo Jing are tying a brotherhood [lit. ‘jin lan’ – golden orchid]. We will share good fortune together and will face difficulty together. If I break this oath, may my martial art perish that I can’t even fight a puppy or a kitten.”

Guo Jing heard he called himself ‘Old Urchin’, and his oath was sort of peculiar; he could not restrain his smile. Zhou Botong stared at him. “What are you smiling at? Quickly say your oath.” Guo Jing quickly recited his oath; then two people poured down the wine on the ground. Guo Jing then paid his respect to his elder brother.

Zhou Botong laughed heartily and loudly shouted, “That’s enough! That’s enough!” He poured some more wine and drank. “The Old Heretic Huang is very stingy; he served me only insipid wine. One day a little miss came and brought me some good wine; it’s a pity she never came back.”

Guo Jing remembered Huang Rong told him she stole some wine and brought it to Zhou Botong, and because of that she was scolded by her father; which caused her to leave the island in anger. It looked like Zhou Botong was not aware of it. Guo Jing had been hungry for the whole day, he did not want to drink any wine; but he ate five big bowls of plain rice. Now at least he was full. As soon as two people finished eating, the old servant cleaned up and took the leftovers back.

“Brother,” Zhou Botong asked, “How did you offend the Old Heretic Huang? Tell your big brother.”

Guo Jing then narrated how he accidentally killed Chen Xuanfeng in his childhood; how at the Cloud Village he had fought and defeated Mei Chaofeng; how Huang Yaoshi made things difficult for the Six Freaks of Jiangnan; how because of that he had made a promise to come to the Peach Blossom Island within a month to die; he told Zhou everything.

Zhou Botong loved to listen to stories; he leaned his head and narrowed his eyes to focus, he listened with enthusiasm, when Guo Jing only recounted something briefly he would ask every detail of it. Every time Guo Jing paused even for the slightest time he urged him, “Then what happened?”

“Then I arrived here,” Guo Jing finally said.

Zhou Botong hesitated a moment. “Hmm, turned out that pretty little girl is the Old Heretic Huang’s daughter. She is good to you. Why did she disappear soon after arriving at the island? Must have a reason, maybe Old Heretic Huang lock her up.”

Guo Jing’s anxiety showed on his face, “Disciple also has this thought …”

“What did you say?” Zhou Botong snapped, his face changed color.

Guo Jing knew he made a mistake, quickly said, “Little brother made an indiscreet remark, please don’t mind me, Big Brother.”

Zhou Botong smiled. “The way you address me cannot be wrong. If you call me any name, then you’d better call me ‘wifey’, or ‘mommy’, or ‘daughter’. No, can’t make a mistake,” he said. Guo Jing agreed.

Zhou Botong leaned his head and asked, “Could you guess how I ended up being here?”

“Brother is just about to ask,” Guo Jing said.

“It’s a long story, I will tell you leisurely,” Zhou Botong said. “Do you know when the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar and the Central Divinity, the five experts were having a sword meet on Mount Hua?”

Guo Jing nodded, “I’ve heard people say that.”

“It was the dead of wintertime at Mount Hua,” Zhou Botong continued. “The peak was covered with heavy snow. Five people were having a meeting there; their hands contended in martial arts straight for seven whole days and nights. In the end the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and the Northern Beggar admitted that my martial brother, Wang Congyang’s martial art was number one in the world. Do you know why those five people were having that sword meeting at Mount Hua?”

“This, brother had not heard,” Guo Jing replied.

“It was because of a scripture …” Zhou Botong said.

“The Nine Yin Manual!” Guo Jing exclaimed.

“That’s right!” Zhou Botong said. “Brother, you are young, but your knowledge of Wulin matters is not shallow. Do you know the origin of the ‘Nine Yin Manual’, then?”

“That I actually do not know,” Guo Jing replied.

Zhou Botong playfully pulled his ears and long hair and his face showed that he was very pleased with himself. “A moment ago you told me a very interesting story, now …”

“What I told you was not a story; that was really happening to me,” Guo Jing interrupted.

“What is the difference? As long as it is good to listen to,” Zhou Botong said. “Some people spend their lives eating, sleeping, urinating and defecating. If those people tell me every single details of their life, the Old Urchin will die of suffocation.”

Guo Jing nodded his head. “That’s true,” he said. “Then why doesn’t Big Brother tell the story of the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ for little brother to hear.”

“The Emperor Hui Zong in the year of Zheng He wanted to compile Taoist books and scriptures from all over the world. He wanted to publish the work, which consisted of 5481 Chapters altogether. They were called the ‘wan shou dao zang’ [the Everlasting Life Taoist canon]. The Emperor commissioned someone to do the work; he was called Huang Shang …”

“He was also surnamed Huang?” Guo Jing asked.

“Bah! What’s so special about the family name Huang?” Zhou Botong spat. “This person had nothing to do with the Old Heretic Huang Yaoshi; don’t you have any wrong ideas. There are numerous people surnamed Huang in this world; that ‘huang’ [yellow] dog or yellow cat also surnamed Huang.”

Guo Jing thought that yellow dog and yellow cat did not necessarily have ‘huang’ as their surnames, but he did not want to debate him; so he let him continue with his story.

“This Old Heretic Huang is not as smart as that Huang Shang. He was extremely intelligent …” Zhou Botong continued. Guo Jing wanted to say, “It turned out he was also an extremely intelligent person,” but that thought stopped at his mouth.

“This Huang Shang was very afraid he might make any mistake in the writing of the canon; because if the Emperor found out later, he would surely lose his head. Therefore, he read and re-read each volume to make sure his work was error-free. Unexpectedly after several years of studying the scriptures he became very proficient in the Taoist doctrines; he had found the profound truth of martial arts. He did not have any master; he trained himself in internal and external energy cultivation and became a grand master in martial art. Brother, this Huang Shang was many times smarter than you are. I don’t have his kind of intelligence, and I don’t think you do too.”

“Naturally,” Guo Jing said. “If I were to study more than five thousand chapters of scripture; it will take me a life time just to read them from beginning to the end. How can I comprehend the martial art inside them?”

Zhou Botong sighed. “This kind of intelligent people still exist in the world today,” he said, “But if you meet this kind of people chances are you will face unfortunate events.”

Guo Jing did not agree with his view, he secretly thought, “Rong’er is very intelligent; but since I met her I have always found good luck; how can he say ‘unfortunate’?” But he was not the kind who likes to argue, so he kept his thought to himself.

“That Huang Shang had mastered the martial art, yet he still held an office in the government,” Zhou Botong continued. “There came a time when suddenly there arose a religious movement in the kingdom; they called themselves ‘ming jiao’ [Ming Cult] something. It was said that this movement was originated from central Asia; a place called Persia. The follower of this Ming Cult were: first – did not worship ‘tai shang lao jun’ [translator note: I think he was a Taoist Deity]; second – did not worship ancestor’s spirit; third – did not worship Buddha; they only worship old foreign devil. They did not eat meat nor drink wine; they were vegetarians. The Emperor Hui Zong only believed in Taoism; so as soon as he found out he issued an imperial decree assigning Huang Shang to eradicate this devil cult. Unexpectedly there were many martial art masters among the members of the cult. They were fearless of death and fought Huang Shang and his troops, rendered them useless. After several battles Huang Shang and his troops suffered big loss. Huang Shang was indignant. He went out and challenged the Devil Cult’s martial art masters on one-to-one combat. He personally killed several ‘fa wang’ [imperial priest – just like Jin Lun Fa Wang of RoCH and ‘kings’ of Ming Cult in HSDS] and some envoys. Who would have known that the people he killed were disciples of well-known Wulin characters, some were their martial uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters; or their immediate families. Of course these people were enraged and they came together to face him. They scolded him as not handling the affairs according to the Wulin custom. To which Huang Shang replied, ‘I am a government officer, and am not part of the Wulin world; what do I know about your Wulin custom?’ Those whom family or relative was killed argued, ‘If you are not part of the Wulin world, then how did you know martial art? Are you saying that your master only taught you martial art, but did not tell you anything about the Wulin custom?’ Huang Shang replied, ‘I don’t have any master.’ Of course they did not believe him; so they were involved in heated argument. What do you think happened?”

“They began to fight each other,” Guo Jing said.

“Without question, wasn’t it?” Zhou Botong said. “Huang Shang’s martial art was strange; none of his enemies had seen it. Because of this he could kill some of them quite easily. However, his enemies were numerous; he was also injured from the fight, so in desperation he ran away. Those enemies of him then wiped his parents, wife and children clean.”

Listening to this part Guo Jing heaved a sigh. He thought that people who practiced martial art would unavoidably kill others. This Huang Shang was no different; if he did not practice martial art, he would not experience such tragedy.

“That Huang Shang fellow had ran away to a deserted place and hid himself there,” Zhou Botong continued. “There he tried to remember his enemies’ martial art one by one. He painstakingly pondered on how to defeat each and every one of them. He thought that as soon as he succeeded in developing the martial art, he would go back and seek his revenge. A long time passed; finally he was able to master the new martial art. He was very happy; expecting that very soon he would be able to avenge his family. Thereupon he left the mountain to seek his enemies. But unexpectedly the people he was looking for had disappeared. Can you guess what happened to them?”

“Perhaps his enemies have found out his intention, and they knew his martial art was good, so they were scared and hid from him,” Guo Jing guessed.

Zhou Botong shook his head, “No, no. When my martial brother told me this story he also asked me to guess what happened, and I also said the same thing. I even made seven, eight guesses but none of them was right.”

“Well, if Big Brother guessed seven, eight times yet did not hit the target then I don’t have to make any guess at all; since even if I guessed seventy, eighty times I certainly cannot guess right,” Guo Jing said.

Zhou Botong roared in laughter, “No chance, you have no chance at all! All right, since you admit defeat I won’t ask you to guess anymore. Actually several dozens of his enemies had all died.”

Guo Jing uttered a cry of disbelief. “That’s strange! Could it be that his friends or maybe his disciples had avenged him and killed all his enemies?” he asked.

Again Zhou Botong shook his head, “No, no. You missed by a hundred and eight thousands li’s. He did not have any disciple. He was a government official, his friends were all scholars, not martial artists; how could they avenge him?”

Guo Jing scratched his head. “Could it be that they were plagued by some disease and died in some kind of epidemic?”

“Also incorrect. His enemies were scattered; some lived in Shandong, some came from Huguang, several were from Hebei and Liangzhe. How could they die from the same epidemic?” Zhou Botong asked, but then he exclaimed. “Ah! Yes, yes! That’s right! Some epidemic could kill you no matter where you are, even if you ran to the end of the earth. Can you guess what kind of epidemic was it?”

Guo Jing mentioned typhus, smallpox, dysentery, and six, seven other type of diseases; but Zhou Botong shook his head every time. Finally Guo Jing exclaimed, “Foot-and-mouth disease!” Then he faked surprise, covered his mouth, stood up and tapped his head with his left hand and burst into laughter. “I was kidding! Foot-and-mouth disease is the plague of the cattle at the Mongolian desert; it won’t attack human.”

Zhou Botong also burst in laughter. “The more you guessed the weirder you became. That Huang Shang looked everywhere before he finally found one of his enemies. She was a woman. When they fought, she was only about sixteen, seventeen years old young girl, but when Huang Shang found her, she was some sixty-year old granny …”

Guo Jing’s jaw dropped. “This is really weird! Ah, right, she must have disguised herself as and old lady so Huang Shang wouldn’t recognize her.”

“She did not disguise herself,” Zhou Botong answered. “Just think: Huang Shang had several dozens enemies, each one of them was a martial art expert, each came from a respectable martial art school or family. Can you imagine how profound and complicated each of their skills was? He wanted to defeat each person’s unique skill, just how much time did he painstakingly spend to achieve such result? He was hiding in a remote mountain area and diligently trained himself. Day and night only martial art occupied his mind, he did not care about anything else; unconsciously he had spent more than forty years altogether.”

“More than forty years?” Guo Jing was astonished.

“That’s right,” Zhou Botong asserted. “When you are absorbed in learning martial art, forty years will pass quite easily. I have been here for fifteen years yet did not feel like it was that long. Huang Shang saw that young girl turned into an old granny; his heart was heavy with emotion. That old lady was sick to the bone; she was bedridden and was dying. Without him moving his hand she would die in a few days. His heartache and hatred for dozens of years just vanished without a trace. Brother, everybody has to die. The epidemic I was asking you earlier was death. When your time comes, you cannot run away.”

Guo Jing silently nodded. Zhou Botong continued, “My martial brother and his seven disciples day in and day out dedicated themselves to achieve perfection of life. But tell me: is it really possible to cultivate a divine body that won’t see death? That was the reason I did not want to follow those ox-nosed way of living.”

Guo Jing was lost in thought. Zhou Botong continued, “Huang Shang’s enemies were about forty, fifty years of age; another forty years plus, how could they not die? Ha … ha … ha … Actually he did not have to trouble himself by training his martial art and developing new techniques; all he had to do was outlive his enemies. Forty plus years and the Heaven would take care of his personal enemies for him.”

Guo Jing nodded. “Well then, should I look for Wanyan Honglie to avenge my father, or should I not?” he wondered in his heart.

Zhou Botong again said, “However, learning martial art diligently could bring endless pleasure to one’s life. If one did not practice martial art, what other interesting thing worth doing? There are endless toys and gadgets in the world, but after playing for a while you will get bored eventually. Only martial art; the more you play, the more interesting it becomes. Brother, don’t you agree?”

Guo Jing only made an ‘hmm’ sound noncommittally, showing neither his approval nor disapproval. He admitted that knowing martial art could be fun; but it was also hard work. He had trained martial art since he was very young and he could not say the training was ‘fun’. He had to work and suffer hard; without a single leisure day.

Zhou Botong saw him did not show enthusiasm, “Why didn’t you ask me what happened next?” he asked.

Guo Jing hastily said, “Right! What happened next?”

Zhou Botong was sulking, “If you don’t prompt me every now and then I will lose my eagerness in telling you the story.”

“Yes, yes, Big Brother, what happened next?” Guo Jing prompted.

“That Huang Shang thought, ‘I realize I am old now, but do not have too many years of good works.’ He had taken these several dozens years in pain to master the martial art technique of almost every martial art schools in the world. But after all this years who would enjoy his works? How could he let his long-life’s work wasted just like that? Therefore, he decided to compile the techniques he had mastered into a two-volume book. What would that be?”

“What is it?” Guo Jing asked.

“Ay! Don’t tell me you cannot guess this one,” Zhou Botong said.

Guo Jing thought for a moment, then asked, “Is it the Nine Yin Manual?”

“We have talked for half a day about the origin of the Nine Yin Manual; why did you still ask?” scolded Zhou Botong.

Guo Jing smiled, “Well, Little Brother was afraid to make another incorrect guess.”

Zhou Botong continued, “After compiling the Nine Yin Manual, Huang Shang wrote it disguised as a literary book; my martial brother later found out. Huang Shang had hidden the book in a very secret place that for dozens of years nobody knew its existence. For some reasons later this book appeared and the Wulin world was troubled. Everybody wanted to get hold of the book. It was a dog-eat-dog situation. My martial brother said that the heroes who fought over this book and lost their lives came from all sides of the Wulin world; the number was over a hundred people. Every time someone got hold of it, before one could practice for half-a-year or a year, somebody else would find that person and snatched the book away. This cycle had repeated don’t know how many times; don’t know how many lives. The one who got it would try to avoid others, but the pursuers were so many and in the end they would always find that person. Sometimes they used force, sometimes used trickery; but I don’t know how many times the book had changed hands.”

“If that’s the case, then this book is actually the most damned thing for mankind,” Guo Jing said. “If Chen Xuanfeng did not have this book he would be able to live peacefully with Mei Chaofeng in some remote village; Island Master Huang would not look for him. If Mei Chaofeng did not have this book, she would not be in her wretched condition today.”

“Brother, why do you have such a negative feeling toward the book?” Zhou Botong asked. “The martial arts contained inside the Nine Yin Manual are very profound and divinely wonderful. If someone is able to learn even a little bit of it, how could that someone’s life not changed? Even though it had created a disaster; what does it have to do with it? Didn’t I say that not everybody was dead because of it?”

“Big Brother,” Guo Jing said, “That was because you are so fascinated with martial art.”

“That goes without saying,” Zhou Botong smiled. “Those who practice martial art have an endless pleasure. Common people are just so foolish; some loves to study to become government officials; some love gold or exquisite jewels; some loves beautiful women; but those who find pleasure in martial arts, wouldn’t those people be able to do much more in time of emergency?”

“Little Brother has practiced a little bit of shallow martial art, but I have not yet learned to have an endless pleasure from it,” Guo Jing said.

Zhou Botong sighed. “Silly kid, silly kid; then why did you practice martial art?” he asked.

“Masters wanted me to practice, I practiced,” Guo Jing replied.

Zhou Botong shook his head. “You are really dumb,” he said. “I am telling you: a man may not like to eat his food; he may not love his own life, but he cannot not practice martial art.”

Guo Jing replied while thinking in his heart, “This Brother of mine is really addicted to martial arts that he acted this crazy,” he said, “I noticed the Twin Killers of the Dark Wind practiced the martial art of Nine Yin Manual, it was completely evil. That one is absolutely cannot be practiced.”

Zhou Botong shook his head. “Those Twin Killers of the Dark Wind did not train correctly. The Nine Yin Manual is upright and honest, how could it be evil?”

Guo Jing had seen Mei Chaofeng’s martial art with his own eyes, so he did not believe what he heard.

Zhou Botong asked, “Where were we on the story?”

“You talked about the heroes of the world fighting over the Nine Yin Manual,” replied Guo Jing.

“That’s right!” Zhou Botong said. “Afterwards the trouble getting bigger and more complicated that the like of Quan Zhen Sect’s Sect Leader, Peach Blossom Island Master Old Heretic Huang and Beggar Clan’s Clan Leader Hong had to intervene. These five people agreed to meet at Mount Hua and have a contest. Whoever possessed the highest martial art skill would get the book.”

“And the book fell into your martial brother’s hand,” Guo Jing said.

Zhou Botong’s eyes were lit. “That’s right! My martial brother Wang and I were good friends; he had not become a priest when we became good friends; later on he taught me martial art. He said I practiced martial art like crazy and too determined; did not go well with the Taoism way to seek peace and perfection. That was the reason although my martial art is from Quan Zhen, but my martial brother did not let me to become a Taoist priest. That was precisely what I expected. Among my martial brother’s disciples, Qiu Chuji was the one with the highest martial art skill. My martial brother did not like it, he said Qiu devoted too much time practicing martial art and neglected to cultivate the Taoist faith. He said that whoever wanted to practice martial art must do so diligently; while those who entered Taoist way must do so with a simple heart. Those two did not go together very well. Ma Yu had inherited my martial brother’s Taoist faith, but his martial art is actually inferior to Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi.”

“That Quan Zhen Sect’s Master Wang, how did he become both a Taoist saint and a martial art master?” Guo Jing asked.

“His natural talent was so incredible. He was able to master martial art quite easily, while I had to practice hard and diligently.” Zhou Botong answered. “Where were we on the story? Why did you divert my attention with your question?”

Guo Jing smiled. “You were talking about your martial brother obtained the Nine Yin Manual.”

“That’s right,” Zhou Botong said. “After he had the book in his possession, he did not learn anything from it. He put the book inside a stone box and buried it underneath the flagstone where he sat daily meditating. I felt strange and asked him what was going on. He smiled but did not say anything. I became anxious, but he simply told me to go and think about it. Go ahead and try to guess, why did he do that?”

“Was he afraid somebody might come and steal it from him?” Guo Jing said.

Zhou Botong repeatedly shook his head, “No, no! Who would dare to steal Quan Zhen Sect Master’s belonging unless that person was bored of his own life?”

Guo Jing pondered for a long time. Suddenly he jumped up and exclaimed, “That’s right! That book should be hidden away really well; better yet, it should have been burned.”

Zhou Botong was astonished; he stared hard at Guo Jing. “My martial brother at that time had said the same thing; but every time he was going to do that, he hesitated at the last moment. Brother, you are not that smart, how did you guess so correctly?” he asked.

Guo Jing blushed. “I thought that Venerable Wang’s martial art was already number one in the world; even if he trained from the manual himself, he would still be number one. I also thought that his intention in the sword meeting on Mount Hua was not to be the number one but for this Nine Yin Manual. He wanted it, not to benefit from it, but rather to avoid further bloodshed among the heroes of Wulin.”

Zhou Botong raised his head and looked up to the sky; he looked like one whose spirit had left him. He was silent for half a day. Guo Jing became anxious, he was afraid he had said something wrong and had offended this brother of his with a strange temperament. Finally Zhou Botong sighed and asked, “How can you think of this truth?”

“I don’t know,” said Guo Jing, scratching his head. “I just thought that this book had caused numerous deaths; even if it were a precious book, still it would be better if it was destroyed.”

“I know his reasoning, but I have never understood it,” Zhou Botong said. “My martial brother often time said that I am smart and have a natural talent to learn martial art; also I have the determination do achieve success; but, he said, first of all I am too fascinated with it, second, I do not have a caring heart toward other people. Even if I have a lifetime to train myself hard; I still will never achieve perfection. At that time I listened to him, but did not believe him; thinking what does training myself moving my fist or kick or a blade have anything to do with the state of my heart? These past ten years or so I have been pondering about it and I cannot not believe it any longer. Brother, your heart is upright, your mind is broad. It’s a pity that my martial brother is dead, otherwise I am sure he would like what he saw in you; I am sure he would bestow his unparalleled martial art to you. If only he didn’t die …” Remembering his late brother suddenly he bent over a rock and wept bitterly.

Guo Jing did not really understand what he was saying, but seeing his brother cried miserably could not help but feeling grief in his heart. After a while suddenly Zhou Botong raised his head and said, “Ah! Our story is not finished yet; let us finish it, then we can cry some more. Where were we? Why didn’t you persuade me not to cry?”

Guo Jing smiled and said; “You were telling me about how Venerable Wang had hidden the Nine Yin Manual underneath a flagstone.”

Zhou Botong slapped his thigh and said, “That’s right! He had hidden the book underneath a flagstone. I asked him if I could take look at it, but he scolded me to my face; afterward I did not dare to ask him again. The Wulin world was again enjoying peace and quiet for some time. But then martial brother died; and at the time of his death there was quite a disturbance in the martial art world.”

Guo Jing heard the tone of his voice he became anxious, knowing that the disturbance must not be small. He opened his ears wide and listened attentively. Zhou Botong continued, “Martial Brother was aware that he could not avoid the imminent death; therefore, he arranged for us to take care of his unfinished business. He even asked me to take the Nine Yin Manual out and brought it to him. He prepared a fire and was about to burn the book down. But after stroking the book for a long time he heaved a deep sigh and said, ‘This book is the Senior’s lifelong effort; how could it be destroyed in my hand? Water can float a boat, yet it also can sink a boat; so we’ll have to see how the future generations make a good use of it. However, I forbid our Sect’ disciples to practice whatever is in this book, so that people cannot accuse me of wanting to own this book for personal gain.’ After saying those words he closed his eyes and died. That very evening, not even the third hour yet, something happened in the temple.”

“Ah!” Guo Jing uttered a cry; Zhou Botong continued, “That night I stayed up with the Quan Zhen first generation seven disciples; keeping a vigil by the side of the coffin. Around midnight enemies came. They were all skilled pugilists. The Quan Zhen Seven Masters immediately scattered out and engaged the enemies in battles. They were afraid the enemies would desecrate their master’s remains. I was the only one left guarding by the coffin side. I heard someone outside shouted, ‘Quickly hand over the Nine Yin Manual, otherwise your temple will be burned to the ground.’ I looked outside and could not help feeling cold in the stomach. I saw a man standing on a tree branch and his body was swaying following the branch movement. That was an extraordinary demonstration of lightness kungfu. At that time I thought, ‘This lightness kungfu is superior to mine; if he is willing, I’d like to take him as my master.’ But then I changed my mind, ‘It’s wrong! It’s wrong! This man must have come here to steal the Nine Yin Manual; not only I cannot bow to him to be his disciple, but I must fight him.’ I did not know him, but whether I wanted it or not, I had to fight him. So I jumped outside and fought with him on the tree. I fought him thirty, forty moves and I was getting scared; the enemy was a few years younger than I was, but his martial art was so fierce that I had a hard time keeping up with him. Finally I got hit on my shoulder by his palm and fell down the tree.”

“You have such a high martial art skill, yet you lost to him. Who was that?” Guo Jing wondered.

Zhou Botong answered his question with another question, “Can you guess?”

Guo Jing thought for a while then exclaimed, “Western Poison!”

“Ah!” Zhou Botong was amazed. “How did you guess?”

Guo Jing replied, “Little Brother thought that the people whose martial arts were higher than yours must be the people who were involved in the sword meet at Mount Hua. Benevolent Master Hong is straightforward and honest. The Emperor Duan is an Emperor, he would not stoop so low to steal someone else’s possession. The Island Master Huang’s real character Little Brother does not know really well, but he is a proud man, not the kind of person who would take advantage of someone else’s precarious condition and make a thief of himself!”

From the flower shrubs outside suddenly came a shout, clear and loud, “Little animal still has a good judgment!””

Guo Jing leaped toward that voice, but that person’s movement was so swift. Guo Jing could not even see his shadow anymore; only the trees were still swaying and the flower petals fell down to the ground in abundance.

“Brother, come back!” Zhou Botong called out. “That was the Old Heretic Huang. He’s already far away.”

Guo Jing returned to the front of the cave, while Zhou Botong commented, “Old Heretic Huang is proficient in amazing and weird five-element techniques; he had arranged these vegetation according to the lost art of garden arrangement based on Zhuge Liang’s law of ‘eight-wave diagram’ of the past.”

“Zhuge Liang’s law?” Guo Jing was amazed.

Zhou Botong sighed, “That’s right. Old Heretic Huang is well versed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting; medical, divination and astronomy, as well as farming and irrigation; economics and military strategy. Nothing is hidden from him, nothing that he is not proficient in. It’s too bad he likes to give the Old Urchin a hard time and when we fight, I will not necessarily win. Once he flies east and west among this vegetation nobody will be able to catch him.”

Guo Jing was silent for half a day. He was thinking about how amazing Huang Yaoshi was, and was unable to restrain feeling captivated. After a while he remembered the story and asked, “Big Brother, you were hit by the Western Poison and fell down the tree. What happened next?”

Zhou Botong slapped his thigh. “Right! This time you did not forget to remind me with the story,” he exclaimed. “I was hit by Ouyang Feng’s palm, the pain entered my heart and lungs, I wasn’t able to move for half a day. I saw him rushing into the mourning hall, but I couldn’t do anything, I was badly injured. But I gritted my teeth and risking my own life I chased him. I saw him standing in front of my martial brother’s coffin. He stretched his hand to take the book from the table in front of the coffin. I was secretly groaning; I was not his match, while my martial nephews have not come back from fighting the enemies outside. In this critical moment suddenly there was a loud cracking sound; the coffin wooden lid burst open and flew, leaving a gaping hole on the coffin.”

“Did Ouyang Feng use his palm to destroy Venerable Wang’s coffin?” Guo Jing asked.

“No, no!” Zhou Botong replied. “It was my own martial brother who used his palm strength to break open the lid.”

Listening to this strange and absurd tale Guo Jing’s eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped. He was speechless.