The mystery of the Gong Nam 5 Freaks' deaths: how soon did you figure it out?

In the immediate aftermath of the Gong Nam 5 Freaks' deaths on Peach Blossom Island, Gwok Jing, Wong Yung, and their associates all initially believed that East Heretic Wong Yerk See had indeed murdered the Freaks on Peach Blossom Island. All signs pointed to East Heretic: the murders happened on his property, after all, and he did have a possible motive (he never liked the Freaks, and they didn't particularly like him).

The first time you saw/read LOCH, what did you think? Did you initially believe that Wong Yerk See murdered the Freaks? Did you figure it out before Wong Yung did? Also, did you suspect West Poison Au Yeung Fung and Yeung Hong, or did you think the culprit might have been someone else?

i didn't really think that huang yaoshi did it, but i had no idea who else would have done it. because no one else was technically there

Yeah I had no idea. I think the whole plot only lasted 1-2 episodes in LOCH '94 which was the first one I watched, and I was too busy being excited that HYS was going to fight the QZ7 with Guo Jing.

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Originally Posted by tape

Yeah I had no idea. I think the whole plot only lasted 1-2 episodes in LOCH '94 which was the first one I watched, and I was too busy being excited that HYS was going to fight the QZ7 with Guo Jing.

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so true that is certainly a problem for that question

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Originally Posted by Alinda

i didn't really think that huang yaoshi did it, but i had no idea who else would have done it. because no one else was technically there

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Yes. That was the biggest indication that the culprit should have been Wong Yerk See: who would *dare* cause such bedlam on Peach Blossom Island and then, get away with it? Also, who else would have a motive for murdering the Freaks? At first, I did not suspect Au Yeung Fung because he had never met the Freaks and had nothing against them (nor they against him).

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Originally Posted by tape

Yeah I had no idea. I think the whole plot only lasted 1-2 episodes in LOCH '94 which was the first one I watched, and I was too busy being excited that HYS was going to fight the QZ7 with Guo Jing.

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I was in the same boat, except with LOCH '82. At first, I didn't even realize that Jin Yong (or the TVB scriptwriters) had set up a murder mystery. I fell into the same trap that the characters did: there was *no* mystery; Wong Yerk See had just flat out murdered the 5 Freaks. Nobody else seemed to have the motive for it (or so I believed). No one else would have dared to do what was done on Peach Blossom Island (or so I believed).

The only other possible suspects were:

1. Au Yeung Fung, who did indeed turn out to be the culprit, but again, I did not initially suspect him because I didn't think he had anything to gain from killing the 5 Freaks. I don't think he previously knew of Gwok Jing's relationship with the Freaks, and in any case, Au Yeung Fung didn't particularly hate Gwok Jing to the extent that he'd scheme to murder Gwok's teachers. Au Yeung Fung only wanted Gwok Jing to provide him with the 9 Yum Jen Ging, and murdering the Freaks wouldn't help Au Yeung Fung get any closer to that goal. I also didn't suspect Yeung Hong because he was too weak (same reason Wong Yung gave for initially overlooking him) to have murdered the Freaks.

2. Kau Cheen Yan - a long shot. Gwok Jing was his enemy, but not to the extent that Kau would make a point of hunting down and murdering Gwok's teachers. Moreover, Kau Cheen Yan wouldn't *dare* offend Wong Yerk See by murdering people on Peach Blossom Island.

3. A completely new, previously unknown enemy - an even longer shot. It was getting late in the LOCH narrative, and it would have been weird to introduce a completely unknown, previously unmentioned enemy at that point of the story.

When I first watched LOCH08 (I didn't know about the novel then nor about Jin Yong), I thought Huang Yao Shi and the 6 freaks got into an argument, had a fight and the 5 ended up being killed and I thought the argument was because Huang Yao Shi didn't want to see the 6 freaks when they went to the island and the 6 freaks were too proud that they don't want to be ignored (or something like that) :D

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Originally Posted by snowflakesdance

When I first watched LOCH08 (I didn't know about the novel then nor about Jin Yong), I thought Huang Yao Shi and the 6 freaks got into an argument, had a fight and the 5 ended up being killed and I thought the argument was because Huang Yao Shi didn't want to see the 6 freaks when they went to the island and the 6 freaks were too proud that they don't want to be ignored (or something like that) :D

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We were set up to expect that too because the previous time that Wong Yerk See and the Freaks encountered each other (at Ox Family Village), Wong Yerk See came quite close to killing them. Naturally, most people expected that Wong Yerk See and the Freaks would finish what they had started at Ox Family Village.

Provided my memory is correct, I never thought that Huang Yao Shi will kill those 5 Freaks. To me, Huang Yao Shi is an upright person. On the other hand, I have no clue who did the killing then.

The way it was written in the novel, it was obviously not HYS. But like everyone else so far, I had no clue who.

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Originally Posted by PJ

The way it was written in the novel, it was obviously not HYS. But like everyone else so far, I had no clue who.

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Yup, what PJ said. In the book, when Huang was accused of their murders, his response was, "Uh, wait, what? They're dead? I thought they were just chillin' at my island." And then, because he's arrogant and doesn't really give a shit, he said, "Go ahead and lay the blame on my door, I don't give a damn."

Of course, there were a few clues there that could have tipped us off if we were paying attention. Hon Bo Kui (Freak # 3) died from a 9 Yum White Bone Claw strike to the head, but we already knew that East Heretic Wong Yerk See never trained in any of the 9 Yum Jen Ging's martial arts techniques. Mui Chiu Fung and Chan Yeun Fung were dead, leaving Yeung Hong as the world's sole user of the 9 Yum White Bone Claws. Wong Yung explained this as a crucial clue that helped her to figure out one of the killers' true identity.

Additionally, the woman's shoe in Chu Chung's (Freak # 2) hand was not Wong Yung's mother's, and the only other woman's shoe of note was the one that Yeung Hong took from Muk Lim Chi during their betrothal duel. All signs were screaming, "YEUNG HONG," but in our shock over the Freaks' brutal deaths, the clues did not become apparent until Wong Yung highlighted them later.

A Gu Long character would have figured it out instantly. Huang Rong doesn't hold a candle to them in this regard.

With all the things you mentioned, readers also know that Yang Kang had the map of Peach Blossom Island that he took from Ouyang Ke's corpse.

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Originally Posted by tape

A Gu Long character would have figured it out instantly. Huang Rong doesn't hold a candle to them in this regard.

With all the things you mentioned, readers also know that Yang Kang had the map of Peach Blossom Island that he took from Ouyang Ke's corpse.

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Huang Rong didn't just have to figure the clues out. She also had to do it to Guo Jing's satisfaction. That meant letting the witnesses explain themselves within Ke Zhen E's hearing, or having Huang Rong explain the mystery while the culprits confirmed her guesses.

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Originally Posted by pannonian

Huang Rong didn't just have to figure the clues out. She also had to do it to Guo Jing's satisfaction. That meant letting the witnesses explain themselves within Ke Zhen E's hearing, or having Huang Rong explain the mystery while the culprits confirmed her guesses.

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Agree, I think she pretty much knew instantly it wasn't her father, but I don't think she deducted instantly who it was either.

It's more the ridiculous observational skills of GL characters that I'm poking fun at than any ineptitude on her part.

"Ah yes, I noticed the vase was 3 inches off center and combined with the drop of tea on your collar, I knew you were in a rush and thus must have been the killer!!"....and he would be right too.

honestly i watched LOCH 94 when i was like 8 and i was pretty sure HYS did it cause he was a real badass in that series, the guy seemed to the silent killer, even worst than YK or OYF, who was obviously the bad guys.