Eagle Shooting Heroes (LoCH), Chapter 4 and onward.

[chak]

Hello, The chinese text is taken from www.qiqi.com, just to fill in the blanks.


" You meddler ... (unable to figure this bit out)!" he growled arrogantly. " (unable to figure this bit out)?"

那公子怒道：“关你屁事？你自己看上了这姑娘是不是？”

My version -> "how does this concern you? Have you taken a fancy to this girl?

(Note: 关你屁事 guan1 ni3 pi4 shi4 is a very vulgar/rude way to ask. something like "how is this fart mattter your concern")


" Enough! So, you will return it or not?

郭靖摇头道：“不是！你到底还不还？

My version ->"No! will you return it or not?"

[eliza bennet]

Thank you so much.

It has stopped at such a scene!!!! Oh the suspense!

Guo Jing is indeed the man, he is honest and righteous.

[dgfds01]

a classic debate. which is better, inner strenght or technique. guo jing has better strenght but yang kang has better technique. this also shows the difference between ma yu and qiu quji. qiu taught yang kang so he must have practised neigong longer but guo jing has better neigong then him. also brings a point, mei chaofeng worked for the jin and the method yang kang used against ma yi resembles 9shades claws. did he learn any moves from mei chaofeng.

Mei Chaofeng is also Yang Kang's teacher and taught him 9 Yin White Bone Claws. But she did not work for the Jin.

[Strunf]

Patudo has been busy... I've translated the 7.7 in the meantime just soo DGSW can post the next ones

Part 7.7
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Guo Jing inspired deeply to concentrate its internal energy, while the other loosened its pressure making Guo Jing fall forward. He tried to re-establish his balance when he felt a stroke coming from his back. He hastened to avoid it but, not having a strong basis, he stumbled. While falling, he took support on his elbow and rebounded, while spinning in the air he threw a stroke of his left foot.

Watching this fast and spectacular recovery, the crowd applauds.

The young aristocrat moved away and attacked with two palms, one was a feint to disturb the adversary, while the other was the real stroke. Guo Jing used then the technique "To dissociate the tendons and to dislocate the bones": his hands fluttered in all senses, aiming the tendons and the joints on the whole body. Seeing the virulence of this attack, the aristocrat changed suddenly of tactic: he also started to use the same technique!

Only, the one learned by Guo Jing had been invented by Zhu Cong, the “Literate to the quick hands”, and diverged from the orthodox technique transmitted by the masters of the central Plains considerably. The two looked alike in their principles, but had some differences in the execution. One threatened with the index and the thumb the point " Food of the old man" behind the wrist, the other tried to pick the joints of the fingers. But the two felt mutual apprehensions and didn't dare to go all the way, hardly sketching a movement before passing to another. Thus, after forty or so exchanges, they still couldn’t see who had the upper hand.

Snow continued to fall, and a fine white layer covered the head and the shoulders of the spectators that surrounded them.

Suddenly, the young aristocrat seemed to have an opening on his chest.
Guo Jing saw it immediately and tried to benefit from it by pointing his index on the point "Tail of turtledove" of his adversary. But he had some scruples when passing to the action:
"There is no hate between us, he said to himself, I cant use such a deadly stroke on him!" He then deviated his finger and touched another point, what had no effect on his adversary. This one had the whole leisure to catch his wrist and pull him, while making a hook-foot. Guo Jing lost the balance and fell once again.
Mu Yi, whose hands had just been bandaged by his daughter, also watched the two. He saw Guo Jing fall for the third time and understood that he was not of size to face the insolent youngster and he hastened to raise him from the ground:
- Little brother, he said, let it go. There’s no point to stay any longer among scoundrels of this kind!
Guo Jing, that had seen the stars and was hurt already, felt the rage mount on his head.

He moved away from Mu Yi and rushed on his adversary, while increasing in strokes.
The young aristocrat, surprised to see him to insist on it of the sort, in spite of the beating that he had just received, moved back three steps :

- Don't you recognize your defeat?
Guo Jing didn't answer and continued to attack.
- If you don't stop, threatened the young aristocrat, I am going to be obliged to kill you!
- If you don't return the handkerchief, retorted Guo Jing, I will never finish with you!
- But this girl is not even your sister, why do you persist to want to be my brother-in-law ?
"To be the brother-in-law of someone" constituted an injury on the capital, the scoundrels exploded to laugh while hearing it, but Guo Jing didn't understand a drop of it.
- I don't even know her, he said, she isn’t my sister!
The young aristocrat didn't know anymore if he had to laugh or to be angry :
- Then in guard, he end up saying. Stupid!

The two young people restarted to fight. This time, Guo Jing appeared more prudent, and didn't fall anymore in the repeated traps that the adversary prepared him. In fact, from a strictly technical viewpoint, the gongfu of the young aristocrat was superior, but Guo Jing never gave up and fought like a barbarian: he had good receive some strokes, he always restarted to the attack with persistence, without renouncing. He had already fought like this when he was small, during the fights with the kids of the Dushi’s gang. Now, he had acquired more agility while learning the martial arts, but his way of fighting didn’t fundamentally change since it was in his nature to fight with savagery, not taking note of the recommendation of his Fourth Shifu: "Unbeatable enemy, flee!" In his mind, the more important formula had always been "Unbeatable enemy, insist!", except that he didn't realize it!

The spectacle attracted more and more world, the place was completely cluttered. Wind and snow increased in intensity, but no one left.

Mu Yi, because of his big experience of the Streams and Lakes, knew well that, if the fight continued, the crowds were going to attract the attention of the authorities and maybe provoke their intervention. He knew that it was better to not eternalize themselves there! Only, this young man had come generously to help them, he could not leave him alone here. But he felt very anxious. He raised the eyes and vaguely browsed the assembly, when he noticed, in the crowd, several individuals who seemed to belong to the world of the martial arts. He had been so concentrated on the fight that he had not even realized their arrival.

He moved then slowly, approaching of the servants of the young aristocrat who were held in a corner. Watching them of the corner of his eye, he saw, among them, three characters to the martial look: the first wore a big scarlet bonze dress and a golden cap, it was a very tall Tibetan llama. The second, medium-sized, had silvery white hair but a rubicund and beaming face, to the smooth skin as the one of a baby, without only one wrinkle. He was clothed of a long dress, one didn't know if it was a Taoist or a bonze. The third was very small, but his blood injected eyes had a piercing look, and he carried a proud small mustache.

The presence of these original faces astonished Mu Yi. He then heard one of the servants to say :
- Supreme Virtuous, have the goodness to rid us of this stupid, please! If that continues and that it arrives whatever to the Young Prince's, us other servants would be good for the gallows!

Mu Yi shaked hearing it: "Thus, he thought, this scoundrel is a young prince! Effectively, if the fight continues, it could happen a misfortune to him. Apparently, all these people are experts belonging to the royal house, that the servants summoned here to lend assistance to the prince."

The Tibetan llama smiles without saying a word. The old man shouted while laughing :
- The Supreme Virtuous Lingzhi is an eminent member of the esoteric school of Tibet, he cannot fall as low as to come to the hands with a rookie of this kind, it would be to disrespectful ... And then, if it was to arrive something, the Prince would at most break your legs, he wouldn’t go as far as wiping you out, wouldn’t he?
- Anyway, did intervene the small man of the eyes injected of blood, the Young Prince is stronger than this kid, what do you have to fear ?
He was small, but had a piercing voice. The spectators around them jumped while hearing it and turned around to look at him but, nervous by his menacing look, all lowered the eyes immediately.
- Our Young Prince had such a hard work to learn all this gongfu, said the silvery old man, if he cant even make the a demonstration publicly of it, he would be really frustrated if all these years of efforts were just wasted! If someone takes the liberty to go help him, he will be surely very vexed...
- Venerable Liang, says the small man, according to you to what school the technique of palm of the Young Prince does belong?
- Brother Peng, did answer the old man, while laughing, do you want to put me to the test? The Young Prince has a technique of palm allying agility and complexity, that are indeed difficult to acquire. If I am not mistaken, he should have learned his gongfu with the taoist of the absolute Perfection Sect!
Mu Yi jumped again: "Would this inconsiderate youngster be a disciple of the absolute Perfection Sect? "
- The Venerable Liang has a remarkable eye, says the small man. You spend your life to the foot of the Mountain of the eternal Whiteness and you dedicate yourselves to the meditation and to the alchemical practices. One says that you rarely come in the central Plains, and yet you seem to know by heart the styles of the Chinese schools. I’m very admired of you.
- Brother Peng is too laudatory, says the old man while sketching a smile.
- Only, pursued the small man, the Taoists of the absolute Perfection Sect are all of the bizarre and unforeseeable characters. How could they accepted to take the Young Prince for disciple? It is rather astonishing.
- When the Prince wants to insure the collaboration of someone, did retort the old man, do you believe that he doesn't have the arguments to what he wishes? As yourself, for example, Brother Peng, who dominates the Shandong and the Shanxi, don't you now make part of the Prince's house?
The small man agreed. Their attention was again concentrated on the fight: they noticed that Guo Jing had changed style again, his technique of palm adopted a slower rhythm, but permitted an extremely tight defense. The Young Prince had, repeatedly, searched to attack but had been repulsed by very heavy strokes.
- In your opinion, asked the old man to the small man, from where comes the gongfu of this small boy?
- His gongfu is very mixed, he answered after one moment of hesitation. One would say that he had several Shifus...
- Chief Peng is right, intervened someone nearby. This kid is the disciple of the Seven Fanciful of the Jiangnan.
Mu Yi examined the person who had just taken the word: it was a skinny man with a dark face, with three bumps on the forehead. "He called him of Chief Peng, would this small man therefore be the bandit Peng Lianhu, the Butcher to the one thousand hands, who slaughters without frowning? As for the Seven Fanciful of the Jiangnan, it has been since a long time that I didn't hear their name anymore, would they still be part of this world? ."
During this time, the skinny man with the dark face roars suddenly :
- Little brat, I finally found you.
He drew a steel trident with short-sleeved and bounded in the arena. Hearing the noise behind him, Guo Jing turned around and fell nose to nose with the three bumps on the forehead: it was the Dragon with three heads, Boo Tonghai, the uncle in arms of the Four Demons of the yellow Stream. Surprised and worried, he hesitated, not knowing what to do. The Young Prince took benefit out of this hesitation to hit him on the shoulder, thus making Guo Jing come back to the fight.
Seeing Boo Tonghai to bound in the arena arms to the hand, the spectators believed that he was going to help one of the fighters and, finding this unworthy attitude, began to hoot it.

Mu Yi, that had understood that he was part of the royal house, moved forward, ready to fight him if he intended something against Guo Jing, while being conscious that the enemy was superior in number.
However, Boo Tonghai was not angry at the young man. He sped along directly into the crowd, to the other side, where a young boy, puny, in rags, jumped while seeing him and turned the heels. The Dragon with three heads rushed after him, himself follow-up by four men.

Of the corner of eye, Guo Jing had well seen that it was Huang Rong, the new friend that he had gotten used to since Kalgan, and that Boo Tonghai pursued the weapons to the hand, with the help of the Four Demons of the yellow Stream. Very worried, he throwed a kick and jumped backward :

- A moment! he exclaimed. I need to stop for one moment, we will continue our fight later.
The Young Prince, tired of this fight, had lost all desire to continue and had not asked better to stop :
- If you recognize your defeat, he sneered, you can go...
Preoccupied by his friend's security, Guo Jing got ready to be going to lend him assistance when he heard noises of step: it was Huang Rong that came back while dragging a worn-out old shoe while laughing, pursued by Boo Tonghai, that called him names and tried to hit him with its trident on the back. But Huang Rong was of an extraordinary agility, and the trident always missed its target of little. The young boy adroitly slipped through the crowd and had already come out again on the other side.

[rayon]

Yay! Thanks a lot, Strunf....

[Du Gu seeking a win]

When Hou Tonghai came nearer, one could notice black marks of two palms on his cheeks: obviously, the fragile boy had managed to slap him twice. Hou Tonghai hustled everyone, managing to find a path through the crowd, but Huang Rong was already far. Hou Tonghai stopped and maliciously made gestures to show Huang Rong what he had in mind.
- If I don't succeed in catching and slicing you up, howled Hou Tonghai insane with rage, I don't want to be called a man anymore!
Huang Rong waited until Hou Tonghai came nearer before fleeing again. Everyone bursted out laughing, in the meantime three breathless men arrived, they were the three Demons of the Yellow River, the only one missing was Qian Qingjian, known as Killing-axe.
Seeing such a spectacle, Guo Jing was surprised and pleased at the same time: "Thus, he thought, this friend of mine must have excellent gongfu. The other day, in the Black Pine Woods, it must be him who had lured Hou Tonghai away and hung the Four Demons of the Yellow River on the trees!"
The surprise was not less in the opposite camp.
- Supreme Virtue Lingzhi asked: "Ginseng Immortal, that little beggar has a remarkable agility, to which school does he belong? Apparently, Brother Hou has lost the skirmish... "
The white-haired Master of the Eternal White Peak, was called Liang Ziwong. Since his youth, he had consumed natural ginseng and other remedies, which had protected him from attacks of old age. He didn't recognize the gongfu of the little beggar and shook his head. Then, after a moment, he said:
- When I am way beyond the Pass (Yan Men Guan?), I often heard claims that the Dragon King of the demonic group was a frightening expert, who would have thought that his apprentice brother was such a pitiful figure, at the point of not being able to handle a mere child?
The small man was Peng Lianhu. He frowned without really answering. He was a great friend of the Dragon King of the demonic group, with whom he often collaborated, assisting on robbing raids. He knew the gongfu of Hou Tonghai, which was not bad, but he couldn't explain how Hou Tonghai could be ridiculed that easily.
The diversion with Huang Rong and Hou Tonghai thus stopped the duel between Guo Jing and the young Prince. The latter had clearly an edge on Guo Jing, since he succeeded several times to make his adversary fall, but he himself had to receive a multitude of blows and felt tired out. He wiped up the sweat which ran abundantly on his face with a scarf wound as a belt.

Mu Yi, who had rearranged the brocade banner, held the hand of Guo Jing, thanking him warmly and urging him to leave the place. Suddenly, a pitter-patter was heard: Huang Rong and Hou Tonghai returned running, one chasing the other. The former held two pieces of fabric, two pieces which were missing precisely on the tunic of the latter, the torn tunic exposed a hairy chest. A little later, Wu Qinglie and My Qingxiong appeared, weapons in their hands, following arduously and breathless. Missing was the one called Shen Qinggang, whom Huang Rong apparently managed to dispose of in some mysterious way. The commotion provoked laughter and jibes among the audience.

Suddenly, one heard shouts from the West: several tens of soldiers, wicker rods in their hands, shouted and struck the onlookers to open the way for a large red and golden palanquin carried by six musclemen.
- It is the Princess, exclaimed the servants of the young Prince.
- Which idiot has the insolence to inform my mother? the latter thundered frowningly. The servants, who did not dare to answer, hastened to approach the palanquin which halted at an emptied spot.
- You've fought again? a soft female-intonated voice was heard from the inside.
- It has been snowing and you don't have your coat on, you will certainly catch a cold ...

Upon hearing that voice from a distance, Mu Yi seemed to be struck by lightning: "How is this possible? he thought dumbfoundedly. That voice resembles hers so much! But it's impossible, she is a Jin princess ... I believe I've thought too much of my wife and I've become crazy ... " Despite everything, he could not stop himself from nearing the palanquin.

He saw a dainty hand with a handkerchief appearing from inside the palanquin and tenderly wiped up the sweat on the face of the young nobleman, who listened to the words pronounced in a low voice, undoubtedly of reproach and admonition ...
- But mom, the Young Prince said, I have fun, all is well ...
- Put your coat on quickly, the Princess said, and let us go home ...

"How could two voices be that similar?", Mu Yi was still astonished. He saw the white hand disappearing behind a silk curtain on which peonies were embroidered in gold wire. He tried to peer in but his glance failed to penetrate the bright curtain.

One of the servants collected the brocade coat of his Master and bawled at Guo Jing:
- Animal! Look, what a state you've put this coat in! One of the soldiers who came with the Princess raised his wicker rod and violently bashed down on Guo Jing's head. Guo Jing dodged, seized the wrist of his attacker, took the rod away, tripped him up: the man fell on the ground. Guo Jing then whipped him with the rod:
- You dare to strike wrongly and rampantly? he shouted. The crowd, some of whom had received blows from the rod, applauded with appreciation. The other soldiers shoutingly hastened to the rescue of their companion, but Guo Jing took them by pairs and threw them away.

- You are still bragging? the young Prince shouted. He leapt to Guo Jing and both exchanged blows again. The Princess shouted to stop, but the son did not seem to fear his mother, on the contrary:
- Look at me, mom, he exclaimed. This bloody peasant is doing wicked things in the capital! If he is not taught a good lesson, he wouldn't respect his old man!
He wanted to exhibit his best performance, he redoubled his efforts: Guo Jing, not being able to parry his nimble and fast palm, was struck by several blows and stumbled twice.

Mu Yi, for his part, was magnetized by the palanquin. A corner of the curtain had been drawn, he saw two gracious eyes appearing, some hair strands, a part of the face of a mother, full of tender worry regarding her son. Mu Yi remained petrified.

Guo Jing had changed for the better, but was confronted with an adversary with renewed vigour. The young Prince sought to execute mortal blows, hoping to injure his adversary seriously, in order to definitively put an end to the combat.
But Guo Jing had a thick skin, and a good basis of neigong, so that he was able to endure many blows. Moreover, the technique of the prince did certainly miss sophistication, his power was limited because of his youth and lack of experience. He tried on several occasions to grab Guo Jing with ten fingers forming claws, using the technique which had enabled him to injure Mu Yi, but the disciple of the Six Freaks defended himself using the technique "to detach tendons and disjoint bones".

As the brawl climaxed, one still could see Huang Rong and Hou Tonghai run one behind the other. This time, the latter carried a long straw in his hair. Usually, it was a sign indicating the setting on sale of something. A bit of straw on a head thus meant that the head was to be sold. Obviously a joke of Huang Rong, of which Hou Tonghai was not aware of, occupied he was in chasing! The remaining two Demons of the Yellow River had also disappeared, obviously dispersed in some way ...

Liang Ziwong and his companions lost themselves in racking their brains about the identity of Huang Rong. They saw Hou Tonghai run really swift, but he never managed to catch up with the boy in rags.
- This kid, would he be a member of the Beggar Clan? Peng Lianhu asked suddenly.
The Beggar Clan was at that time the most powerful secret society in the realm of JiangHu (Rivers and Lakes). Liang Ziwong twitched, but didn't answer.

The two young people attacked each other swiftlier, with increasing strength. Sometimes Guo Jing received a palm blow on his shoulder, sometimes the prince got a kick on his thigh. They fought really body against body, raging and panting. Even a beginner could see that the fight became increasingly dangerous, the least distraction could cause a fatal injury. Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziwong prepared their invisible projectiles covertly, in order to intervene when necessary: Guo Jing was a very obstinate person, his gongfu was not yet up to par, and the two experts persuaded themselves to be able to control the situation in time.

In fact, Guo Jing's development was difficult to reproduce: having grown in the desert, he had undergone all rigours, had experienced and was hardened through numerous battles. The Prince on the other hand, had always lived in luxury, no wonder, in this utterly brutal and merciless carried endurance battle, he began stumbling into lapses of fatigue. Suddenly, Guo Jing uttered a great cry, seized his adversary by the collar, raised him high and violently threw him to the ground. It was neither the technique "to detach tendons and disjoint bones" nor the qin-na, but a unique Mongolian technique that Jebe, his teacher, had taught him.

The Prince reacted promptly, jumping up as soon as he touched the ground, seizing the legs of Guo Jing and they both fell. He got up quickly, tore from the hands of a soldier a long lance and thrusted towards Guo Jing's stomach. Guo Jing rolled to the side, whereas the other continued handling the long lance with dexterity. Guo Jing wanted to grab the lance with the stance "to seize a blade with naked hands", but in vain!

- My son, exclaimed the Princess, do not injure him! Be satisfied with winning!
However, the Prince, who seemed really eager to nail Guo Jing down, turned a deaf ear.
Guo Jing, seeing the gleaming tip of the lance a few inches from his nose, parried with his arm, something collapsed behind him, he seized the brocade banner of Mu Yi. With the stance "To draw aside the clouds to peer at the sun", he used the pole like a long stick to counter the circling lance.

Both fighters armed from now on, Guo Jing employed the techniques of the "Exorcizing cane" taught by his First Shifu. In spite of the length of the pole, which obstructed him a little, he could deploy all subtleties of this art, methodically developed by Ke Zhen' E in order to counter Mei Chaofeng. Each movement comprised of variants, often unexpected, always effective. Surprised by the ability of that weapon, the Prince was forced into defence. But his dexterity with the lance was also impressive.

As Mu Yi saw the Prince handling that weapon, he grew astonished: indeed, all its stances corresponded with the lance style of the Yang family. This technique, which was only handed down from father to son, could rarely be seen even in the South, he was really astonished seeing it now in the capital of Jin. But, in spite of its nimble movements, this version of the lance style did not seem completely orthodox, it appeared devoid of its essence, as if it had been copied without the knowledge of its rightful owner. Thus, one saw crossing and swaying of the lance and the banner pole, fluttering the snowflakes in all directions.

The Princess, seeing her son sweating blood and water, could not keep her anxiety anymore:
- Stop! she exclaimed. Stop fighting both of you!
Hearing these words, Peng Lianhu advanced with big steps in the arena, he struck the banner pole brutally. Guo Jing felt a sharp pain in his hands and released the pole, which flew away, the brocade spreading in the wind and one could read, through the falling snowflakes, the golden letters: "Contest to find a spouse".
Very surprised, Guo Jing did not even have time to distinguish the face or the silhouette of his adversary as he felt the coming blow. He leapt back, but rather slow: the palm of Peng Lianhu had already touched him on his arm, he lost balance and fell to the ground.

- Young Prince, Peng Lianhu said laughing, I will get rid of this thoughtless young man, so that he can not intrude anymore ...
He raised his palm, inhaled deeply, and sent a brutal blow on the head of Guo Jing. Guo Jing, who was on the ground, knew that he did not have any chance, but regardless, he raised his arms to parry the blow. Supreme Virtue Lingzhi and the Ginseng Immortal exchanged glances: the arms of the young man would be lost, the blow of the Butcher-of-a-thousand was violent and was obviously going to break them.
At this critical moment, a shout from the crowd was heard:
- Hold on!
A gray silhouette holding a strange weapon leapt, and wrapped up the right wrist of Peng Lianhu. Peng Lianhu drew with force, cracking and breaking the weapon, attacking with his left palm immediately. The man avoided the blow by lowering his head, while seizing Guo Jing by the waist and carrying him away. Then one could see him clearly:
he was a middle-aged taoist, dressed in gray, holding a mop in his hand, of which only the handle remained, the torn-off strands were around the wrist of Peng Lianhu. Both looked at each other: they had exchanged only one stance, but had been able to fathom each others gongfu.

- You are undoubtedly the famed Master Peng?, the taoist said. It is a great honor to meet you here today.
- You are overcourteous. May I ask the name of Master taoist? The taoist, on which all glances were fixed, did not answer, being satisfied to advance his left foot and then to withdraw it. Then one could see on the ground, covered with a very fine layer of snow, a deep hole of ten inches! A simple pressure of the foot had dug such a deep hole, that revealed an extraordinary gongfu.

Peng Lianhu was startled and said:
- Are you the Immortal-with-iron-foot, Jade-Sun Wang?
- Master Peng is overpraising, the taoist answered. I am indeed Wang Chuyi, but I am not worthy of the title Immortal.

Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziwong and Supreme Virtue Lingzhi knew very well that Wang Chuyi was an eminent member of the Quan Zhen (Total Perfection) Sect, his fame was only a bit less than Perpetual Spring, Qiu Chuji. They only had heard, but had never seen him, and they examined him attentively: he was a man with fine features, with a little goatee on his chin. He wore immaculate white socks, gray shoes, and seemed to heed much care to his clothes. If he had not made a demonstration of his gongfu, nobody there would believe that he was indeed the Immortal-with-iron-foot, who, in keeping one foot at the cliff's edge and swaying like a "lotus leaf in the wind", had definitively impressed the brave men of Hebei and Shandong.

Wang Chuyi smiled and said, pointing at Guo Jing:
- I don't know this young friend at all, but seeing him intervening with such an amount of bravery and courage, I was full of admiration. That is why I allow myself to beg Master Peng to let him alive.
"The request was courteously uttered, said Peng Lianhu, and if a Quan Zhen eminence personally interfered, who wouldn't grant him a wish?"
- Very well, Wang Chuyi answered by cupping his hands, thank you .....
After thanking, Wang Chuyi turned. His expression changed, his face darkened, he asked the young Prince severely:
- What is your name? Who is your Shifu? The young Prince, after having heard the name of Wang Chuyi, felt ill and would have liked to disappear unnoticed. However, the taoist had kept an eye on him:
- My name is Wanyan Kang, he answered, I cannot reveal the name of my Shifu.
- Your Shifu has a red mole on his left cheek, hasn't he?
Wanyan Kang wanted to dodge the question with a witty remark, but the terrible glance of the taoist frightened him, he suppressed what he intended to say, and nodded.
- I suspect it, Wang Chuyi said, you are the disciple of Brother Qiu. What had your Shifu said before teaching you martial arts? Wanyan Kang understood the situation had turned very unsound for him. "If Shifu, he thought, get to know what has happened today, it would be a catastrophe!"
- If Master taoist knows my Shifu, he said servilely, you has the right to my whole respect. Why don't you come to my modest residence, so that I can benefit from your advices?
Before Wang Chuyi could answer, the prince had turned to Guo Jing and said bowing:
- After exchanging blows, a friendship could grow, he said smiling. I admire the gongfu of Brother Guo very much. I invite you both to come to my house in order to know each other better.
- And what will happen with the marriage? Guo Jing asked, pointing at Mu Yi and his daughter.
Wanyan Kang seemed embarrassed:
- This matter deserves further pondering ...
- My friend, Mu Yi said, drawing Guo Jing by his sleeve, let us go, we don't need to occupy him anymore.
Wanyan Kang bowed again in front of Wang Chuyi:
- Master taoist, I thus await you at home, you only have to ask for the residence of Prince Zhao. The weather is very cold, all things are freezing. It is an ideal time to sit together by a fire and admire the snow. We shall drink to celebrate this meeting.
He climbed on the horse whose bridle his servant held and galloped, without being concerned of trampling somebody, full into the crowd, who immediately dispersed.
This contemptuous behaviour triggered the anger of Wang Chuyi:
- My little friend, he said to Guo Jing, come with me.
- I must wait for a very dear friend, Guo Jing said. As he said these words, he saw Huang Rong making a jump in the middle of the crowd and shouting to him:
- Don't worry about me, I'll find you in no time at all! Huang Rong stood back on his feet and his diminutive figure soon disappeared in the crowd. One saw Hou Tonghai, the three-headed Dragon, giving chase. Guo Jing turned and kowtowed on the snow, to thank Wang Chuyi for saving his life. The taoist raised him, took his arm. Both found a path among the crowd and ran in the direction of the outskirts.


End of Chapter 7

[Anatman]

Wow! Thanks for the great posts! Very cool stuff.

Having read more of RoCH than LoCH, it is interesting seeing the Quan Zhen members as the good guys. (Though I guess they are not really the "bad guys" in RoCH...)

Great story, though. Thanks for translating!

[eliza bennet]

Thank you both so very much! Wow, the plot thickens and I admire Guo Jing even more with each section of translation.

[longdong]

Cool, thanks for all of your continued hard work!

[Patudo]

8.1

Each one demonstrating his skill

Wang Chuyi went extremely quickly. In little time, they left the city. Some li further, they arrived at the foot of a hill. Eager to test the abilities of Guo Jing, the Taoist did not slow and ran more and more quickly.

At the time Guo Jing learned from Ma Yu to control his breath, he had climbed and descended a high mountain many times. Today, even after a heated battle, this race did not frighten him. Going against the wind, as snow fell heavily, Wang Chuyi sprang up the small hill, its sides covered with slipping snow. At the end, the slope became increasingly steep. But the progress of Guo Jing made him wonder: he advanced without being blown, as though his pulse did not accelerate, as if the ground were flat.

The Taoist, extremely surprised, released Guo Jing's arm:

"Your gongfu foundation is rather well established! How is it made that you are not able to beat him?"

Guo Jing had no answer and could only remain silent.

"Who is your Shifu?" Wang continued.

Guo Jing knew of the Taoist, since, at the top of cliff, he had received the order to play the part of Yin Zhiping, to mislead Mei Chaofeng. He remembered that Wang Chuyi was one of the martial brothers of Ma Yu. Therefore he did not hesitate to tell the truth, telling quickly how he had been taught by the Jiangnan Odd Seven, and also by Ma Yu.

"My senior brother gave you lessons!" Wang exclaimed, delighted. " He is formidable! Then I don't see why I should worry!"

Guo Jing's eyes widened, looking at him without understanding.

" This so-called Young Prince, Wanyan Kang," explained Wang," is the disciple of my brother in arms Qiu Chuji. Did you know?

" Ah," Guo Jing was astonished. " I was unaware of it..."

Indeed, Ma Yu had taught to him some bases for the control of internal energy, as well as the qinggong technique called "Flight of the Golden Eagle", in order to enable him to climb the cliff. But he had never given him the least indication in battle technique or in weapons skills. This is why Guo Jing did not know any Quanzhen gongfu at all. By hearing the remarks of Wang Chuyi, he remembered his battle, that night, with the young Taoist Yin Zhiping, whose movements seemed to come from of the same style as those of this Wanyan Kang.

He believed that he had done wrong and bowed his head.

" I did not know," he said humbly, " that this Young Prince was a disciple of Master Qiu. I behaved out of order to him, please do not hold it against him..."

Wang Chuyi burst out laughing.

" Your righteousness and gentlemanly spirit suits me right to the heart. How could I reproach you? The rules in our Sect are extremely strict. If a disciple is at fault, he will be punished accordingly and justice will be done. This young boy was impudent and arrogant, I will ask Brother Qiu to punish him severely."

" If he agrees to marry this young lady, Mu," pleaded Guo Jing, " please agree to forgive him..."

Wang Chuyi shook the head without answering. He could see that Guo Jing had good heart, and that he forgave readily, and looked upon him with still more sympathy.

"Brother Qiu always hated evildoers, and especially Jin," he thought. " How did it come about that he agreed to take on a Jin prince for his disciple? The more so as the knowledge which it seems to have of our gongfu appears rather thorough. That means, obviously, that Brother Qiu devoted to him much time and energy! However, in his gongfu, one senses the pernicious influences of unorthodox and perverse schools. I'm totally mystified!"

"Brother Qiu told me he was going to Yanjing," he said to Guo Jing. " He should arrive in the next few days. We will ask him for explanations when we see him. I intended to say that he took a disciple of the name of Yang, who must go to contest himself against you in Jiaxing. I do not know how powerful this chap is, but don't be worried; I will be there, and am sure you will come out on top."

Guo Jing had obeyed the order given by his six Masters, to go, at the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, to the prefecture of Jiaxing. But they had not explained to him for what reason.

" Master Taoist," he asked then, " why must I test myself against him?"

" If your teachers did not think it well to explain it to you," answered Wang, "it would be wrong for me to do it in their place."

He had learned, from Qiu Chuji, the origin and outcome of this business, and he felt, for the generous actions of the Odd Six, an immense admiration. He had had the same thoughts as Ma Yu, and hoped for the victory of the Six. However, as a junior, he could not require of Qiu to step down. Today, encouraged by the personality of Guo Jing, he wondered how he could help him secretly, without damaging to the reputation of his martial brother. He thus decided to also go to Jiaxing, and to think on the spot some way to support him.

" Let us return and visit Mu Yi," proposed the Taoist. " His daughter seems to be rather stubborn, I fear this will cause him problems..."

Guo Jing started. Both went to the Prosperity Inn, in the western part of the city.
When they arrived at the door of the Inn, ten servants richly clad in brocade were there. They came to them while greeting:

" Our master humbly requests of the Master Taoist and Lord Guo, whether they would agree to a banquet held at his modest residence."

The red invitation card respectfully carried the inscription "Your disciple Wanyan Kang invites".

" Well," Wang Chuyi said, shaking his head. " We will come presently."

" These cakes and fruits," declared the chief of the servants, are a modest present from the Young Prince. If the Master Taoist and Lord Guo indicate to me where to place them, I will bring them over there."

The servants presented twelve large boxes, filled with various fresh fruits and fine cakes, very appetising.

"Brother Huang Rong likes finely made pastries," thought Guo Jing, " I will keep some for him"

Because of his aversion to Wanyan Kang, Wang Chuyi intended to return the present. But, seeing that Guo Jing seemed to appreciate them, he ordered to leave them at the counter.

"Young people are covetous," he said with a smile. " It's normal..."

They went then in the room of Mu Yi. He was stretched out on the bed, his face pale, his daughter in tears sitting by his bedside. By seeing Wang and Guo to enter, they pushed a cry of surprise. The girl rose to her feet, the man tried to get up.

Wang Chuyi examined the wounds of Mu Yi. On each hand, the five wounds dug by the fingers of Wanyan Kang were open to the bone, as if they had been inflicted by a weapon. The hands were extremely swollen: they had been coated with alleviating balsam but, because of fear of infection, no bandage had been applied.

Wang Chuyi could not understand the nature of the wound: "Who taught Wanyan Kang such a cruel and brutal technique? Looking at the seriousness of those wounds, it isn't superficial; it would take a long time for someone to reach this power. How could Brother Qiu not realize this at all? Or if he had some idea about it, why didn't he do anything to stop him?"

He turned to the girl:

" Young lady, you are...?"

" I am called Mu Nianci (Nianci: "to remember the mother")," she answered, casting a grateful glance towards Guo Jing before bowing her head.

Guo Jing saw that the pole of the banner was at the foot of the bed, but the banner itself, with the inscription "Tournament to find a husband" had been torn into shreds.

" Don't you wish to see a husband?" he wondered in surprise.

" Your father's injury is quite serious," continued Wang. "It should be looked after properly."

Seeing the destitution in which they lived, he understood that the father and the girl had few means, and would have probably found it very hard to find the money for the medicines. He left two ingots money from his pocket and placed them on the table.

" I will return to see you tomorrow," he promised.

Without awaiting the thanks of Mu Yi and his daughter, he took Guo Jing by the arm and left.

At the door of the inn, the four brocade clothed servants advanced towards them and bowed:

" Our young Master awaits your honourable visit, please follow us."

Wang Chuyi agreed.

" Master," Guo Jing said, " wait to me one moment."

He turned and ran to the counter of the inn, opened the boxes of delicacies offered by Wanyan Kang, chooses four cakes, carefully wrapped them in a handkerchief and put them in a pocket. Then he followed Wang Chuyi to the residence.

On the two sides of the large door painted in bright red, flags were spread on high poles. Two lions of jade, majestic and fierce, stood guard. A flight of white jade steps carried out to the large hall. The effect was impressive. Above the large door, there was an inscription in gold letters: "Residence of Prince Zhao".

Guo Jing knew that Prince Zhao was the title of the Sixth Prince of the Jin Empire, Wanyan Honglie.

"So," he said to himself, full of fear, " this Young Prince is the son of Wanyan Honglie? He knows me, it'll be terrible if I come upon him here!"

As he hesitated, there came the sound of drums and trumpets. The Young Prince, wearing gold crown and a red tunic, a gold belt tied around his waist, descended the steps to meet them.

However, he had a black eye, and a swollen face, marks of the keen combat of a few hours ago. Guo Jing was not in better state, with a swollen eye, bruises on his lips, his face and the cheek ravaged. Both felt amused, and could not prevent themselves from smiling.

Seeing the luxurious garb of Wanyan Kang, Wang's eyebrows came together and he followed him to the large room without saying a word. Wanyan Kang requested him to sit down in the place of honor.

"It's a distinguished honour that Master Taoist and Brother Guo have agreed to come here!"

As he did not kowtow to him and did not seem to recognize his membership of the Quanzhen Sect, Wang felt anger rise within him.

" For how many years were you taught the martial arts by your Shifu?" he asked.

" I know nothing in martial arts," answered Wanyan Kang while laughing. " My Shifu gave me lessons for several years, but what he taught me would make you laugh, because that it's no more than a three-legged cat's skills."

" The skills of the Quanzhen Sect are nothing exceptional," Wang said, containing his anger, " but it is nonetheless better than a three-legged cat skill. Your Shifu, did you know he will arrive in a few days?"

" My Shifu is here," retorted Wanyan Kang, always smiling. " Do you wish to see him, Master?"

" Where is he?" exclaimed Wang Chuyi, amazed.

Without waiting for him to answer, Wanyan Kang struck in its hands, and ordered:

" Serve the banquet!"

----------------------------

[longdong]

Sweet! Thanks Patudo!

[Du Gu seeking a win]

Then he took his two guests towards the banquet hall. They crossed several corridors, several decorated pavilions. Guo Jing, who had never seen such a pompous residence, was overwhelmed. But he was especially worried about the coming confrontation with Wanyan Honglie, because he did not know what he should do. "The great Khan wants me to assassinate the prince, he thought, but it turns out his son is the disciple of Taoist Elder Qiu! Should I kill him or not?" He did not manage to decide, so uneasiness plagued him.

In the banquet hall, six or seven people have already awaited them. One of them had three lumps on his face, it was Hou Tonghai, the three-headed Dragon. Hands on his hips, he looked at them with anger. Guo Jing made a movement of retreat, then he was reassured, thinking that the presence of the Taoist Elder at his side would dissuade Hou from undertaking anything. However, not being able to suppress a certain feeling of apprehension, he averted his head, avoiding the glance of his adversary. Then, recalling the foolish behaviour of Hou during the chase of Huang Rong, he laughed up his sleeve.

- Taoist Elder, said Wanyan Kang, a charming expression on his face, Here are several people who admire you and have wished, since a long time, to get acquainted. You have already met Chief Peng. Here is the honourable Liang Ziwong, also called the Ginseng Immortal, who is from the Eternal-white Peak. Liang Ziwong, an old man with a florid face and immaculate hair, greeted by joining his hands.
- What an honour to meet the Perfect Wang, the Immortal-with-iron-foot! I will now be able to claim that my voyage beyond the Pass has not been in vain. Here is Supreme Virtue Ling Zhi, also known as Distinguished Big-hand, from the esoteric school of Tibet. I myself came from the North-East, he from the South-West, it had required a voyage of tens of thousands Li, one could say that ours is a predestined encounter.

Obviously, Liang Ziwong was a very glib talker. Wang Chuyi greeted Supreme Virtue Ling Zhi, the lama answered by joining his hands.
Suddenly, a raucous voice was heard:
- Thus, it is because they feel supported by the Sect of Total Perfection (Quan Zhen) that the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan dare to be conceited!
Wang Chuyi turned his head and saw a completely bald man with gleaming skull and bulging red eyes. That man reminded him of someone:
- Are you possibly the venerable Sha, the Dragon king of the demonic group?
- Precisely, the man retorted with an angry voice. Thus, you still remember my name!
- We have never met, Wang thought, in what affair could I have offended him?
- I've heard of your great reputation for a long time, he answered in a conciliatory tone, and I much admire you. This Dragon king of the demonic group was Sha Tongtian, and he was much abler than his brother-in-arms Hou Tonghai. However, he possessed a quick temper, was constantly enraged when teaching, that's why he had only been able to transmit a negligible part of his ability to his four disciples. That was the reason why the Four-demons-of-the-Yellow-River, as they fought against Guo Jing in Mongolia, were not able to win and had to lose face in front of Wanyan Honglie. Since then, Prince Zhao did not grant any more credit to the four men. When he heard about that, Sha Tongtian got in a terrible fury, he punished his unworthy disciples viciously, the four demons nearly turned into four ghosts. Then he ordered his brother-in-arms to capture Guo Jing, but Hou Tonghai only turned out to be a teasing object for Huang Rong, and had to undergo an even larger humiliation. More and more annoyed, Sha Tongtian, without being concerned anymore about courtesy in front of others, sprang to Guo Jing, his hands forming claws. Guo Jing retreated two steps, Wang Chuyi, with a protecting movement, put himself in front of Guo Jing.
- You really want to protect this little rascal?, Sha exclaimed angrily. And he struck a palm in the direction of Wang. Wang, considering the brutality of the attack, was forced to defend himself. Their two palms clashed, and as they were both going to channel their internal energy, suddenly a man appeared, who with each of his hands, pressed their respective wrists and in that way separated them. Wang and Sha felt a shock and withdrew their hands immediately. Both being eminent personalities of the JiangHu realm, both had anticipated very well the real ability of their adversaries, and had already activated their own internal energy. That somebody was able to separate them easily with such a move were unbelievable to them!

The man, dressed in white, carried a light fur coat and a broad belt. Aged about thirty-five or thirty-six years, he moved elegantly, had a distinguished appearance, and an undeniable martial air. He seemed to be a scion of a noble family.
- Here is, said Wanyan Kang laughing, the Junior Chief of the White Camel Mountain from the Kunlun mountain range in the Western Territories. His name is Ouyang Ke. Honourable Ouyang had never been in the Central Plains before. It is thus for the first time you all meet him.

The sudden appearance of this man surprised not only Wang Chuyi and Guo Jing, but Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziwong as well, who also didn't know him. After seeing a demonstration of his ability, everyone was secretly very admiring, but nobody had ever heard about the White Camel Mountain in the Western Territories.

- Brothers, I should have arrived in the capital since several days, said Ouyang Ke while greeting. But I had a small hitch in the way, which caused a certain delay, that is why I have just arrived, please excuse me. After learning that he was the Junior Chief of the White Camel Mountain, Guo Jing understood that he was related to those young women wearing white clothes who had tried to burgle his horse on the road. He felt his heart tightening: "Have my six Shifus already clashed with him?, he wondered. Have they been injured?." Wang Chuyi noticed that all adversaries were of frightening ability, particularly he himself had experienced the pressure of Ouyang Ke's hand, who had an internal energy by no means inferior to his own, though it contained a strange viciousness.

If dialogue turned out to be impossible, and it turned into a fighting, he himself was not even sure of being able to beat Ouyang Ke. Then, should the enemy attack en masse, how could they defend themselves?
- And your Shifu?, he asked Wanyan Kang. Why don't you ask him to come?
- I will, the young man agreed, turning to his servants. Request Shifu to come and meet the visitors. Wang Chuyi was feeling more reassured. "If Brother Qiu is here, he mused, though the enemy are dominant in number, we will be able at least to remain unscathed." Some time later, one heard noises of boots. Through the large door a big old officer of forty years dressed in brocade entered, with a thick beard on his chin and a martial air. Wanyan Kang advanced.
- Shifu, he said respectfully. This Taoist Elder wishes to see you, and have already asked about you on several occasions.
Wang felt upsurging anger: "Ah, wicked one, he thought, you dare to make fun of me? The way this officer moves, he can't have a remarkable skill, he is certainly not the one who taught this rascal his strange techniques"

- Taoist, said the officer, what do you want from me? Normally I hate meeting either monks or taoists.
The anger of Wang was so strong that he burst out laughing:
- I would like, he said, to request alms from Your Excellency, alms of thousand silver taels.
The officer was called Tang Zude, captain of Prince Zhao's personal guard. When Wanyan Kang was small, Tang Zude had given him some martial arts' lessons, that's why everybody in the household called him "Shifu".
On hearing the outrageous request from Wang Chuyi, he was startled:
- Rubbish! he exclaimed.
- Thousand taels in silver, Wanyan Kang said, is nothing, nothing at all. Let someone quickly prepare thousand taels, and present it to the venerable Taoist.
Tang Zude remained baffled. He examined Wang Chuyi from top to toe with his mouth agape, then upwards, without managing to understand why one should show such benevolence.
- Please all take a seat, Wanyan Kang invited. Taoist Elder Wang, it's the first time you've come to us, the place of honour is reserved for you. Wang Chuyi refused modestly, but ends up settling at the place of honour. Three wine rounds were served.
- You are all eminent personalities of the JiangHu realm, Wang declared then. You all shall judge how we'll regulate the affair of Mr. Mu and his daughter. All glances were fixed on Wanyan Kang, waiting to see his reaction.

Wanyan Kang poured wine and raised the wine cup. Respectfully presenting the cup before Wang, he said:
- Senior, do me the honour and accept this cup first. As for the affair in question, it will be dealt according to Senior's instructions, your Junior dares not to disobey. Wang was amazed to see him accepting so frankly. He took the cup and drank it in one go.
- Very well, he said. Let us take Mr. Mu here and speak.
- Thus someone must take him here, Wanyan Kang said. Could I charge Brother Guo then with the task of bringing Mr. Mu here? Wang Chuyi nodded.
Guo Jing immediately left the banquet to go to the Prosperity Inn. But the room of Mu Yi was empty: the father and the girl had left, carrying all their belongings with them. Questioned, the boy at the inn answered that someone had come to seek them and had paid the room and the meals, but he could not say whom. Guo Jing hurriedly returned to the residence of Prince Zhao, where Wanyan Kang greeted him with a great smile:
- Brother Guo, thank you for your effort. Where is Mr. Mu? Guo Jing told him that he had sought in vain.
- Ah, it is my fault, sighed Wanyan Kang. Turning to one of his servants, he ordered:
- Take several men with you, go quickly in all directions. Must absolutely find Mr. Mu! The servant obeyed and left.
Thus, without the main person of interest, it was impossible to continue. Wang Chuyi could say nothing, but his head was full of suspicions.
"To go and seek Mr. Mu, he said to himself, it is enough to send one or two servants. This rascal insisted that Guo Jing should go, obviously he wants that Guo Jing himself should notice the departure of Mu, and can give testimony of it."
- It doesn't matter if mysterious things happened, he sneered, the truth will always come out.
- You have reason Taoist Elder, answered Wanyan Kang laughing, to believe that Mr. Mu did mysterious things, it is really odd. The officer Tang Zude, already furious to see how the taoist had easily extorted thousand taels, found it intolerable to see him also showing insolence with regard to the Young Prince. He vented his anger:
- Thus, taoist, to which temple do you belong? What right do you have to swindle our Master?
- Thus say, officer, retorted Wang Chuyi. To which country do you belong? What right do you have to occupy an official position here? He had seen well that Tang Zude was Chinese, but occupied an officer rank in the Jin army and benefitted from it to oppress his compatriots, it was for this reason he made fun of him.

[eliza bennet]

Thank you so much guys!

[rayon]

I am so happy. That was pretty fast. Thanks you guys.

[CrazyT]

Maybe this will bump the topic back into the main page.

[fastclock]

Hope noone minds this update: thanks to various translators of course.

(SunnySnow)

Chapter8-3

The thing that Tang Zude hated most was people mentioning that he is a Chinese. He felt that he is highly skilled in martial arts, is loyal and willing to risk his life for the Jins but yet, they still do not allow him to lead an army. He has worked hard for 20years but is ultimately kept in the Zhao prince residence for show. Wang Chuyi’s comments has hit his sore point and his face immediately changes before roaring out in anger. He stands up, opposite Liang Ziwong and Ouyang Ke and releases a fist towards Wang Chuyi’s face.

The later glances at the fist coming towards him and stretches out two fingers from his left palm to grab Tang Zude’s wrist, laughing,“ Even if you are not willing to answer, there is no need to resort to violence right?”

Tang Zude’s fist is stopped in mid-air, and finally is unable to move. He is surprised but angry, and scolds, “ Brilliant witchcraft, you used witchcraft!” He uses his might to release his fists but is unable to, and scowls, feeling very embarrassed.

Liang Ziwong, who is sitting beside him, laughs,“ General, fret not, come, sit down for a cup of wine.” And with that, stretches out his fingers towards Tang Zude’s left shoulder.

Wang Chuyi is aware that although his two fingers can suppress Tang Zude’s fist, but is unable to prevent Liang Ziwong’s one press. (not very sure of this part) He releases a finger and aims for Tang Zude’s right shoulder. With this quick change of stunt, Liang Ziwong is unable to restrain himself and two fingers press both sides of Tang Zude’s shoulders at the same time. It is really Tang Zude’s honor to have two highly skilled fighters to ambush him at the same time and his both hands uncontrollably punches forward, with the sound of two clashes, his left hand punches into a plate of left over fish and his right hand enters a bowl of hot and sour soup, two of the dishes break into small pieces. The fish bones and broken fragments of the dishes pierce into Tang Zude’s hands, mixing flesh blood with remains of the soup, causing him to yell out in pain.

The crowd laugh out aloud and quickly move aside. Tang Zude by this time is furious and very embarrassed, thus dashes out of the hall. The servants then suppress their laughter and move forward to clean up the mess.

Sha Tongtian marvels,“ Quanzhen sect really lives up to its name! Brother here wants Taoist Wang to enlighten me on something.”

Wang Chuyi replies,“ It’s nothing much, please ask, elder Sha.”

Sha Tongtian replies,“ Yellow river clan and Quanzhen sect have all along been at peace, so why does Taoist Wang make things difficult for brother here by going all the way to support the seven freaks of Jiangnan? Quanzhen sect may have many disciples, but brother here is not afraid.”

Wang Chuyi replies,“ I think there is some misunderstanding. I have heard of the seven freaks of jiangnan but I don’t know any of them. I have a martial brother who made a little bet with them. But I have never planned on helping the seven freaks of jiangnan against yellow river clan.”

Sha Tongtian exclaims,“ That’s great, then please hand over this rascal to me.” Speaking, he reaches forward to grab Guo Jing’s throat.

Wang Chuyi knows that Guo Jing is unable to avoid that grab and will get injured, thus stretches out his arm to push Guo Jing’s shoulders gently. Guo Jing falls out of his chair uncontrollably and a “ke cha” sound is heard, with Sha Tongtian’s five fingers changing direction towards the ground, the back of his chair is broken. This claw, smashing wood like bean curd (correct me if its wrong) is indeed one of the least seen but powerful stunt in the wulin world.

Sha Tongtian, who has failed in grabbing Guo Jing, furiously asks,“ So you are going to protect this rascal?”

Wang Chuyi replies,“ I brought this child in, so I will naturally bring him out safely. Why not brother Sha let him off today and find him another day?”

Ouyang Ke speaks up,“ This young chap offended brother Sha, let’s talk this out shall we?”

Sha Tongtian thinks,“ This Taoist priest’s skills are definitely not below mine, me and martial brother alone may not be able to make that little rascal stay behind. This Ouyang Ke has good skills and I’m not sure of his background, if he gangs up with that idiot, then there will be trouble.” He then speaks,“ I have 4 useless disciples who followed Prince Zhao to Mongolia for a big mission. They were about to succeed when this rascal whose surname is Guo appeared and spoilt everything, making Prince Zhao extremely furious. Gentlemen, please think, if we cannot even overcome a little rascal, how can we still accept the invitation to eat and drink in the place of Prince Zhao?”

Although Sha Tongtian is very bad-tempered and rash, he is not stupid, with this speech, Guo Jing immediately became the centre of suspicion. With the exception of Wang Chuji and Guo Jing, everyone else was invited by Prince Zhao. Wanyan Kang is Prince Zhao’s eldest son, after hearing what Sha Tongtian said, he is a little displeased and everyone present decides to capture Guo Jing and present him to Prince Zhao.

Wang Chuyi is anxious deep down and tries to think of a plan to escape, but there are so many strong opponents that it is quite impossible to do so. Actually he thought that since Wanyan Kang is his martial brother’s disciple, even though he is a Jin, he won’t dare to attack his teacher’s martial brother. However, he did not expect Wanyan Kang to be so insolent and even plan to trap them with the help of skilled experts, if he knew this would happen, he would not have rashly come, even if he knew, he shouldn’t have brought Guo Jing along. If he wanted to leave himself, no one had any reason to stop him, but to escape with Guo Jing at the same time was very tough.

He thinks,“ Under this situation, it’s best to stretch time” thus saying, “ Every single one of you are highly skilled and well-known, I have the utmost respect to each of you, to be able to meet you all today is my honor.” Pointing to Guo Jing, “ This child is unaware of the serious trouble he has cause you all and offended elder Sha, if you all want him to stay, I am powerless to stop it but even so, I cannot agree to that. Thus, I daringly request that each of you display your superior skills to Guo Jing so as to let him know that it is not that I don’t want to fight, but it is I am unable to help him.”(im not very sure of this part)

Hou Tonghai has been suppressing his boredom all the while and immediately jumps out from his chair, pulling his sleeve,“ Let me taste your skills first.”

Wang Chuyi replies,“ My shallow skills are unworthy to exchange stunts with all present. I hope that brother Hou’s superior skills will impress and teach this little rascal a lesson, allowing him to know the existence of many skilled experts so that he won’t dare to be arrogant in the future.”

Hou Tonghai has a feeling that there is sarcasm hidden in his speech but is unaware what is it, thus is unsure how to answer.

(SunnySnow)

Chapter8-4

Sha Tongtian thought,“ It’s very tough to compete with Taoists from Quanzhen sect. So it’s also good that I don’t have to do so.” Turning to Hou Tonghai, “ Martial brother, why not display the ‘burying one in the snow’ skill for elder Wang.”

The snow outside had not stop, Hou Tonghai rushed to the centre of the courtroom and swept both of his arms up, bringing the snow in until there was a huge pile of snow in front of him. He used his legs to arrange the pile neatly, retreated three steps and turned upside down, with his legs on top and head below, and with a ‘pa’ sound, he thrust forward himself and landed into the middle of the snow pile. The snow was not up to his chest, Guo Jing rubbed his head in confusion when he saw this skill as Hou Tonghai head was in the snow pile, motionless.

Sha Tongtian turned to Wanyan Kang and the others and said,“ Everyone, please kick all the remaining snow onto the snow pile which my brother Hou’s head is in.” The audience all felt curious, and laughingly kick the snow, making the pile Hou Tonghai’s head is in, even deeper. Actually Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai frequently practice on the yellow river, thus their water skills are excellent. Those who practice water skills focus on controlling their breathing under water and Hou Tonghai is able to bury his head in the snow without breathing and still use kungfu to fly out after a long while as he is used to it. The audience raised their cups of wine and praise this display of skill, after along while, Hou Tonghai finally use both his palms to pull his head out of the snow and flipped back to his normal standing position. Guo Jing, being an inexperienced youth, was the first to applaud out loud. However, Hou Tonghai returned to his seat and drank a cup of wine, before stared at Guo Jing fiercely.

Guo Jing saw that there were remains of snow on Hou Tonghai’s head and couldn’t control himself, he said,“ Third master Hou, there’s snow on your head.” Hou Tonghai angrily retorted, “ I am known as the three headed dragon, but I am not third in position, why call me third master? Even if I am fourth master Hou, is it any of your business? How would I not know if my head has snow? I wanted to wipe it away, but now that you asked me to, I will purposely not wipe!” The warm temperature in the room cause the snow on his head to melt and drops of water flowed down Hou Tonghai’s head, but he is a stubborn man who keeps to his word, so no matter what, he did not even try to wipe the water off his face.

Sha Tongtian said.“ My martial brother’s skills are rough and clumsy, please pardon him.” With that, he stretched his hand into a plate, grabbed some melon seeds, and the seeds were shot out in a straight line with a flick of his middle finger. The seeds were stuck into the snow pile which Hou Tonghai earlier built and formed a ‘huang(yellow)’ word. The snow pile was quite a distance from Sha Tongtian’s seat and yet, he was still able to form a word on it neatly with the mere use of melon seeds. His eyesight and accuracy was indeed amazing.

Wang Chuyi thought, “ No wonder the dragon king of the demonic group rules the yellow river, his skills are indeed spectacular.” Turning his head, he saw that the snow pile had another wave of seeds, forming a ‘he(river)’ word and a ‘jiu(nine)’ word, it seems like Sha Tongtian wants to form four words, reading ‘huang he jiu qu’(nine tunes of the yellow river).

Peng Lianhu laughed out, “ Brother Sha, I cannot help but really admire your remarkable finger skills. Lets make us make a deal, since this elder Wang wants to study our skills, I will borrow Brother Sha’s finger skills to display some of my skills.” With that, he flung his body and landed near the doorway. At this time, Brother Sha had already shot out the rest of the seeds to form the remaining ‘qu(song)’ word, but Peng Lianhu suddenly stretched out both arms to catch the seeds, it looked as if he were picking the seeds from midair. The seeds were very tiny and traveled at an amazing speed, but Peng Lianhu did not miss out a single one and had them all in his palms.

The audience broke into praises and Peng Lianhu retuned to his seat with a smile, Sha Tongtian then only managed to finish forming the “qu(song)’ word with the seeds. Peng Lianhu’s sudden display did steal away some of Sha Tongtian’s limelight, but the two were very close and Sha Tongtian did not seem displeased and even smiled a little. He turned to Ouyang Ke and asked, “ What does mister Ouyang plan on displaying so as to enlighten us inexperienced people?”

Ouyang Ke heard the sarcasm in Sha Tongtian’s words and knew that he was still sore at him for interrupting his hits earlier on and thought hard on what to display so as to allow Sha Tongtian to admire him. At that moment, the servants brought up four types of dessert and replaced the used chopsticks with clean ones. Ouyang Ke snatched up the used chopsticks and with a wave of his hand; twenty chopsticks flew out at the same time, stuck into the snow and neatly formed four shapes of four flowers. To snatch a chopstick up and stick in to the snow with a wave is child’s play, but to form the shape of a flower neatly using twenty chopsticks was very way difficult. This skill was deep and complex, such that Guo Jing and Wanyan Kang were not able to comprehend fully, but people such as Wang Chuyi and Sha Tongtian were secretly in praise.

In view of the high experts, Wang Chuyi thought, “ One of them is already a quite a hassle, and yet there are so many grouped here together. Why? Even people like Young Chief of White Camel Mountain, supreme virtue, Lingzhi and Ginseng immortal who do not reside in the central plains are here. There must be some suspicious plan going on.”

Ginseng immortal, Liang Ziwong laughed as he stood up before acknowledging the rest and reached the centre of the room with light steps. He stretched out his right foot and landed on the chopsticks, which Ouyang Ke had stuck, into the snow. Then he started his display of skills , “hugging the moon”, “two gentlemen up the hills”, “pulling arrow stunt”, “turning without shoes”, and displayed his “sparrow light fists”. His feet looked like he was jumping one moment and flying at another moment, every step he took would end by landing on top of the chopsticks. After his “giving way to step on a tiger” and “retreating to wrap it up”. Liang Ziwong finished displaying his “sparrow light fists” and the amazing thing was that the twenty chopsticks were still neatly in place, as before. With a constant smile on his face, Liang Ziwong retreated back to his seat. The hall exploded into applauses and even Guo Jing gave his praises.

At this moment, the banquet was over and the servants brought up golden bowls of warm water for the guests to wash up a little.

Wang Chuyi thought, “ Now, it remains Superior Virtue, Lingzi to display his skills before they all attack together.” Wang Chuyi glanced at him only to see him still dipping his hands in the water slowly, disregarding of everything else. After everyone finished washing, his hands were still in the bowl of water, as if thinking of something, everyone was feeling curious and after a while, steam was rising up from his bowl of water, the bowl gave out some noise before bubbles rose from the bottom of the bowl of water, as if water was boiling. Wang Chuyi was secretly anxious, “ His internal energy is powerful! I have to grab the chance to attack first.”

Seeing that all attention was focused on Lingzi, Wang Chuyi thought, “ I have to take them by surprise and make the first move to gain the upper hand.” Suddenly, he flew forward, with supreme speed, caught and pulled Wanyan Kang away with his right hand, before sealing the back of Wanyan Kang’s accupoints. At that moment, Sha Tongtian and the rest were taken back by surprise and did not know how to react.

Wang Chuyi picked up a bottle of wine with his left hand and said, “ To be able to meet up with so many heroes today is my honor, let me give everyone a toast.”

Wang Chuyi used the bottle to---serve wine. With that he drank a large mouthful and spat out, drops of wine landing into everyone’s cups. No matter whether the person’s cup was near or far away from him, whether the cups were half-filled or empty, the wine kept landing beautifully into the cups and every cup had the same proportion of wine, there was not a single drop of wine spilled or wasted. From the way Wang Chuyi spat the wine, Superior Lingzi knew that he had excellent internal energy, and he was still able to carry the wine bottle in one hand while holding Wanyan Kang in another. Although they knew that it was possible to attack Wang Chuyi at this moment, but no one dared to in fear of Wanyan Kang getting hurt. Lastly, Wang Chuyi served wine for himself and Guo Jing, and raising his cup, he said smoothly, “ I have no animosity towards everyone and have no strong relations to little brother Guo, but seeing that he is compassionate, heroic and has backbone, I want to plead with all present to let him go on my behalf.”

Everyone was silent. Wang Chuyi continued, “ If everyone is able to be magnanimous, I will free little prince, a royal descendent in exchange for a commoner is a very good deal right?”

Liang Ziwong laughed, “ Since taoist Wang is so easy-going, it’s a deal then.”

(SunnySnow)

Chapter 8-5

Without a moments hesitation, Wang Chuyi released Wanyan Kang. Wang Chuyi knew that although these people were well-known for their evil, cold-blooded, unorthodox methods and underhand means, they would not dare break their promise and attack in front of so many other fellow wulin experts in fear of tarnishing their reputation.

Biding farewell, Wang Chuyi pulled Guo Jing’s hand and said, “ I’ll bid farewell from here, and may we meet again”.

The crowd, watching their preys escape from the trap but not being able to stop them, sighed with pity and looked crashed.

Wanyan Kang recovered himself and laughed, “ Taoist Wang is superior, please feel free to visit anytime so that I can learn from the great elder.”

Wang Chuyi snorted, “ I haven’t solved our problem, we will definitely meet again.”

They walked towards the doorway when superior Lingzi suddenly said, “ Taoist elder has brilliant skills which I am in awe of.” He joined his palms in a prayer position and bowed. All of a sudden, his released both palms in the air and dashed forward with all his might.

Wang Chuyi also pushed out both his palms in defence, using the internal energy, which he had cultivated for more than ten years to meet superior Lingzi’s blow. Just as they were about to meet and exchange blows, superior Lingzi suddenly switched from internal to external energy and used his left palm to grab Wang Chuyi’s wrist.

Within a flash, Wang Chuyi reacted swiftly by grabbing back his opponent’s wrist, both sides used the utmost force and both wrists met briefly before separating.

Superior Lingzi’s face paled but he forced himself to say, “ I really admire Taoist skills.”

Before retreating back. Wang Chuyi laughed, “ Abbot is famous throughout wulin, but why do you not keep your word?”

Superior Lingzi is furious and spits out, “ I wanted to make you stay behind, not that Guo rascal….”

He had received a blow from Wang Chuyi and was injured, if he had quietly sit down to recuperate, it would not have become serious, but being mocked by Wang Chuyi had made him furious and he had not finish talking when he started to vomit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Wang Chuyi did not dare stay any longer, and taking Guo jing’s hand quickly made his way out.

Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu and the rest did not want to break their promise, and seeing that Superior Lingzi had suffered, they did not dare go forward to stop them.

Wang Chuyi had quickly left and was quite a distance away from Prince Zhao’s residence before he turned back to check whether there was anyone behind.

When he confirmed that there was no one, he lowered his voice and said to Guo Jing, “ Carry me back to the inn.”

Hearing his weak voice, Guo Jing was shocked, he later studied Wang Chuyi and realized that the latter’s face was very white, and he looked very sick, it was a vast difference from the quick and swift Wang Chuyi earlier on.

Guo Jing hurriedly asked, “ Taoist Wang, are you injured?”

Wang Chuyi nodded and could not balance himself properly, Guo Jing quickly lower his back to carry Wang Chuyi and hurriedly ran to a large inn. He was about to enter when Wang Chuyi whispered, “ Find…find the most desolated…. and smallest…. smallest inn.”

Guo Jing thought for awhile and then understood that Wang Chuyi was afraid that enemies may be looking for them and if they really meet rivals, with Wang Chuyi injured and himself so lowly skilled, they would definitely lose out. With that, Guo Jing lowered his head and started running to look for another inn, Guo Jing was unfamiliar with the roads and headed for routes with very little people, the further he walked, the more deserted the road seemed. He could feel Wang Chuyi’s breathe getting weaker and weaker before finding a very small inn after much difficulty.

Guo Jing saw that the inn was small and dirty, but fearing for Wang Chuyi’s safety, he immediately dashed in and placed Wang Chuyi down.

Wang Chuyi said, “ Find me a big tank…of water…..fresh…clean water…hurry…hurry up.”

Guo Jing asked, “ Is there anything else?”

Wang Chuyi remained silent and just waved his hands to hurry Guo Jing.

Guo Jing hurried out of the room, asked a inn waiter to help him prepare the water and gave him some money to do so, before rewarding the boy with some coins.

Ever since Guo Jing came to the central plains, he came to understand the importance of bribing. The inn boy was overjoyed, and hurriedly fetched a huge tank and filled it with clean water, Guo Jing went back to inform Wang Chuyi that the water was ready.

Wang Chuyi responded, “ Good…good child, now carry me and put me in the water…don’t allow…anyone to come here.”

Guo Jing did not understand why Wang Chuyi wanted to do this but did as he was told, the clean water covered Wang Chuyi’s head and Guo Jing instructed the inn boy to keep everyone out.

Wang Chuyi sat quietly with his eyes closed and breathed urgently, after awhile, the water turned black and colour began to return to his cheeks. Wang Chuyi said to Guo Jing, “ Help me out and change the water.”

Guo Jing changed the water before helping Wang Chuyi in again, it was after awhile before Guo Jing learnt that Wang Chuyi was using his internal energy to force out the poison in him, and allow the poison to float in the water, Guo Jing changed the water four times before no more poison came out of Wang Chuyi and the water stayed clear.

Wang Chuyi finally smiled and said, “ It’s okay now.” He climbed out of the water and sighed, “ This lama’s skills are deadly.”

Guo Jing was relieved and asked whether was there poison on the lama’s palms.

Wang Chuyi replied, “ Yes, I have seen the poison sand palms many times, but this is the strongest one yet such that it almost cost me my life.”

Guo Jing replies, “ Luckily you are alright now. What do you want to eat? I’ll ask the inn boy to buy.”

Wang Chuyi asked Guo Jing to borrow some ink and a brush before writing down some medicine formula.

Wang Chuyi explained, “ Although my life is not in danger now, my internal organs is not fully cleansed off the poison, if I do not cleanse the poison in twelve hours time, I may be crippled for life.”

Guo Jing received the medicine formula and rushed out, he saw that there was a medicine shop nearby and quickly asked the owner for the medicine formula.

The owner checked his shelves, but returned empty-handed after awhile and said, “ So sorry, you came at the wrong time, the medicine herbs that you need are out of stock.”

Guo Jing did not wait for him to finish and dashed to find another medicine shop, but to his surprise, the second medicine shop he went to also did not have the formula he wanted, it was the same result even after he went to eight shops.

Guo Jing grew anxious and angry at this time and ran to all the medicine shops in the city, only to get the same answer, that they had huge stock of the herbs he wanted but was all bought by someone earlier. It was then that Guo Jing realize that the people in the Zhao residence must have guessed that Wang Chuyi needed the medicine for his injury and thus, purposely buy up all the medicine herbs, so as to harm Wang Chuyi.

Dejected, Guo Jing returned to the inn and told Wang Chuyi what had happen and the latter responded with a sigh and also looked dejected. Guo Jing was so miserable that he leaned on top of the table and cried out aloud.

Wang Chuyi laughed, “ Everyone has to die sooner or later, it is up to heaven, we have no say and anyway I may not die, so why all this crying?” and started singing.

Guo Jing dried his tears and looked better, Wang Chuyi laughed out aloud and sat upright on the bed before using strength to recuperate.

Guo Jing did not dare to make any noise and crept out of the room, he suddenly thought, “ If I rush to another nearby city, they may not have finish buying up the medicine.”

Happily, he was about to set off when he saw the inn boy running towards him with a letter, on top of the letter spelt, ‘ Please read it yourself, big master Guo.’

Guo Jing felt curious and wondered who would write to him. He hurriedly tore open the letter and shook open a white piece of paper which wrote, ‘ I have something urgent to tell you, will be waiting for you at the river which is ten meters, west away from the city.” At the bottom of the letter, was a vivid drawing of a little beggar who was laughing, it was Huang Rong.

Guo Jing thought to himself, “ How does he know that I am here?” and turned to the inn boy, “ Who sent this letter here?”

The inn boy replied, “ It was sent here by a wandering commoner.”

Guo Jing returned to his room and saw that Wang Chuyi was stretching his limbs.

He said, “ Taoist Wang, I’m going to the nearby cities to buy the medicine.”

Wang Chuyi answered, “ If we are able to think of this, they will able too, there’s no need to go.”

Guo Jing would not give up and was determined to try, he thought, “ Brother Huang is so intelligent, so I will ask discuss with him first.”

He told Wang Chuyi, “ My good friend wants to meet me, I will immediately return after meeting him.” And with that, he showed the letter to Wang Chuyi, the latter thought awhile and asked Guo Jing how he knew this fellow.

Guo Jing related the story to Wang Chuyi and the latter thought, “ I saw how this fellow tricked Hou Tonghai, his skills are very weird and unusual…..”

He turned to Guo Jing and said, “ You must be careful, this kid’s skills is much higher than yours, and his skills seem unorthodox, up till now, I cannot guess his origins.”

Guo Jing replied, “ He is my best buddy so he will not harm me.”

Wang Chuyi sighed, “ You have not known him for long, how can you be sure whether he is your best buddy? He may be petite in size, but if he wants to trick you, you won’t be able to defend yourself.”

Guo Jing was not the least suspicious of Huang Rong and thought to himself, “ Taoist Wang says this because he doesn’t know brother Huang’s character.” And with that, kept singing praises of Huang Rong non-stop.

Wang Chuyi laughed and said, “ Alright, go then, young people must meet some danger so as to gain experience. This person….seeing his figure and voice….he is not a…..can’t you tell?”

Wang chuyi stopped here and just shook his head. Guo Jing placed the sheet of medicine formula in his pocket and ran out. When he reached the outer city, he could see snow, but it was isolated all around. He walked ten meters west and some reflections of water; it was indeed a small lake. The weather was not the coldest, so the lake was not frozen; flower petals covered with snow floated on the water and beside the lake were rows and rows of plum trees. The plum flowers looked magnificent beside the snow flowers.

Guo Jing could not see anyone about and for an anxious moment, he thought, “ What if he waited for me too long and so left?” and began to shout out loud, “ brother Huang, brother Huang.”

Guo Jing suddenly heard a sound and turned around sharply, only to realize that it was made by river birds. Guo Jing was very disappointed, and called out two more times, before thinking, “ Maybe he hasn’t reach yet, I’ll wait for him here then.”

Sitting down by the lake, Guo Jing thought about Huang Rong, then he thought about Wang Chuyi’s injuries and no mood to enjoy the sceneries. Besides, he was used to seeing snow as he has grew up in Mongolia and he did not bother to look out for the differences in landscape between Mongolia and the central plains. He waited for a long while and suddenly heard some noises among the trees.

Feeling curious, he walked over and heard a rough voice, “ Why still act like a big brother when all of us, including you wasted time just now?” another voice answered, “ Damn it! If it were not for you being such a coward we would have won if four of us ganged up on one.” Another one answered, “ What’s the big deal when you even tripped while running it away.” It sounded like the four demons of the yellow river.

Guo Jing summoned all his courage and stepped into the trees, only to see no one. He suddenly heard a voice, “ If we fought up front, how can we lose, but who we have thought that the little beggar had so many tricks up his sleeves…”

Guo Jing looked up and saw four men dangling in mid air, swinging to and fro, yet squabbling non-stop, it was indeed the four demons of the yellow river. His heart jumped for joy, as he knew that Huang Rong was nearby, and let out a laugh before asking, “Hey, are you guys practicing your lightness skill again?”

Qian Qingjian retorted angrily, “ Who says that we are practicing our lightness skills? Haven’t you any eyes to see that we were hanged here?”

Guo Jing laughed out loud and Qian Qingjian angrily tried to use his leg to kick Guo Jing, but how could he when the distance between them was so huge?

Ma Qingxiong scolded, “ Rascal, if you don’t go away, I will pee on you!”

Guo Jing laughed till he could not stand up straight and said, “ I stand away then, your pee can’t reach me.”

Suddenly, there was a sound of gentle laughter and Guo Jing turned around, only to hear the splashing of water and see a leaf floating down from a tree. Then, he saw a girl at the tail of a boat, rowing gently. She had long hair beneath her shoulders, was dressed in white from head to toe and had some golden pins in her hair, which shone like fire, amongst the snow. Guo Jing saw that the girl’s dressing looked like a fairy and was dumb. The boat slowly rowed nearer, and he saw that the girl was barely, fifteen or sixteen years of age. She had very smooth skin that was as white as snow, a beautiful colour on her cheeks and had an incredible beauty which was incomparable. Guo Jing was struck by her amazing beauty and retreated a few steps, before turning away, not daring to look at her.

The young girl tied the boat near the bank and called out , “ Brother Jing, come on board!”

Guo Jing was astonished, and turned around, only to see the girl smiling sweetly and her robe floating gently in the wind.

Guo Jing felt like he was in a dream and used both hands to rub his eyes.

The young girl giggled and said, “ Why? You don’t recognize me?”

Guo Jing thought that she sounded like Huang Rong, but how can a dirty and lowly male beggar suddenly transform into a beautiful fairy? He couldn’t believe his eyes.

He heard the voices of the four demons of the yellow river behind him shouting, “ Little miss, help us to cut off the ropes that are hanging us up, let us down! If you help us, I’ll give you a hundred tales of gold! Each one of us will give you a hundred tales; you’ll get four hundred tales all together. We can even give you eight hundred tales!”

(SunnySnow)

Chapter8 (end)

The young girl ignored them and smiled at Guo Jing, “ I am your brother Huang, why, don’t you care about me anymore?”

Guo Jing studied her face and saw that her features were exactly the same as Huang Rong’s and stuttered, “ You………you…………” he only managed to say the word, ‘you’ before stopping.

Huang gave a little laugh and said, “ I am actually a girl, who asked you to call me brother Huang? Hurry, come onto the boat.”

Guo Jing felt like he was dreaming, he move forward a little and tripped onto the boat. On the other hand, the four demons kept making a whole lot of noise in the background, raising the price of their reward higher.

Huang Rong rowed the boat to the middle of the lake, brought out some dishes and wine and giggled, “ And don’t you call me sister Huang, call me Rong’er. My dad always calls me that.”

Guo Jing suddenly remembered something and said, “ I brought some cakes for you.” He took out the cakes that Wanyan Kang gave earlier on but because he had carried Wang Chuyi, took care of the latter and ran all around finding medicine that the cakes were already smashed up into little pieces.

Huang Rong saw the smashed up cakes and laughed softly. Guo Jing reddened and said, “ It can’t be eaten now” and was about to throw the smashed cakes into the water when Huang Rong stretched out her hand and took the cakes from him before saying, “ I like to eat it.”

Guo Jing was surprised but she had already placed a small piece into her mouth and started eating. After watching her eat a few mouths, his eyes grew red and tears started forming slowly, he didn’t understand her actions.

Huang Rong said, “ My mother died ever since I was born, no one has ever remember my likes and habits so well before…….” And a few tears flowed from her eyes. She took out a clean handkerchief, Guo Jing thought that she was going to dry her eyes but she used it to wrap the smashed cakes instead, and placed it in her pocket, before turning back to him with a smile, “ I’ll eat it slowly.”

Guo Jing did not know much about romantic relationships, but he felt that ‘brother Huang’s’ actions were very special and unique. He asked her, “ You said you had something important to tell me, what is it?”

Huang Rong giggled, “ I wanted to tell you that I’m not brother Huang but Rong’er, isn’t this important?”

Guo Jing smiled and said, “ You are so pretty like this, why disguise as a little beggar?”

Huang Rong turned her head slightly and said, “ You say I’m pretty?”

Guo Jing replied, “ Yes, very beautiful, like the fairy on top of our snow mountain.”

Huang Rong laughed and said, “ You’ve seen a fairy?”

Guo Jing said, “ Of course not, if I’ve seen one, how can I still live?”

Huang Rong asked, “ Why?”

Guo Jing replied, “ The elders in Mongolia always say that whoever sees the fairy would never want to return back to the grasslands again, he would just stay in a daze and freeze to death after a few days.”

Huang Rong laughed and asked, “ Then do you feel dazed after seeing me?”

Guo Jing reddened and quickly answered, “ We are good friends, so it’s different.”

Huang Rong nodded and said seriously, “ I know you sincerely care for me, regardless whether I’m a girl or a guy, pretty or ugly. If I dress up like this, it’s not surprising if people are good to me, but you were nice to me even when I dressed up like a little beggar, so you are truly good to me.” At this point, Huang Rong was in high spirits and smiled, “ I’ll sing a tune for you, alright?”

Guo Jing replied, “ Can you sing tomorrow instead, we have to get the medicine for Taoist Wang first.” With that he related how the story of how Wang Chuyi got injured and how the medicine was all bought up by Wanyan Kang.

Huang Rong replied, “ Ah, no wonder you were anxiously going to one medicine shop after another.”

Guo Jing thought, “ She was following behind me, that’s why she knew where I stayed.”

He said, “ Brother Huang, may I ride your little red horse to buy the medicine?"

Huang seriously said, " Firstly, I am not your brother Huang. Secondly, the horse is yours; do you think that I would actually take it? I just wanted to test you. Thirdly, you may not be able to get the medicine even if you travel to the nearby cities.”

Hearing what she said, Guo Jing felt anxious. Huang Rong smiled a little and said, “ I am going to sing now, listen well.” Huang Rong gently turned her head, rowed the boat and started singing in a crystal clear voice. ( sorry, I can’t translate the lyrics)

Guo Jing listened carefully to each and every word. Although he didn’t know the meaning, but Huang Rong’s voice was gentle and sweet such that he felt like he was in a daze. The beautiful scenery gave him a feeling of warmness, one that he had never felt before.

Huang Rong finished singing and said in a low voice, “ This is a song composed by official Xing, which describes the plum flower which blooms after winter, is it good?”

Guo Jing replied, “ I don’t know all these, but the song sounds very nice. Who is official Xing?”

Huang Rong answered, “ Official Xing is Xing Qiji. My father says that he is a good official who loves his people. When the Jins captured the north, and after villains harmed mister Yue, official Xing was the only one left struggling to restore our lost lands. Although Guo Jing often listened to his mother talk about how violent the Jins were, and how they mercilessly kill many Chinese, he grew up in Mongolia and so, did not feel so strongly towards the Jins.

Guo Jing replied, “ I have never been in the central plains before, you have to tell me stories slowly another time, the most important thing now is to save Taoist Wang.”

Huang Rong said, “ Listen to me, let’s play a little while more, don’t worry.’

Guo Jing replied, “ Taoist Wang said that if he doesn’t eat the medicine in twelve hours time, he will be crippled!”

Huang Rong retorts, “ Let him be crippled then, anyway it’s not you or me who will be crippled.”

Guo Jing let out an “ Ah” sound and jumped up saying, “ This…..this……” his face turned furious.

Huang Rong giggled, “ Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that you get the medicine.”

Guo Jing heard the confidence in her tone and thought, “ She is way smarter than me and besides, I don’t have any brilliant ideas, so I should listen to her.” So he had no choice but to succumb to her wishes for the time being. They both clapped in laughter when Huang Rong talked about how she tricked the four demons of the yellow river and how she disturbed Hou Tonghai. The colours of white snow, water in the lake and plum flowers were beautiful, Huang Rong slowly stretched out her hand into Guo Jing’s and whispered, “ I’m not afraid of anything now.”

Guo Jing asked, “ Why?”

Huang Rong replied, “ Even if my father doesn’t want me anymore, you will also want me to follow you right?”

Guo Jing answered, “ Of course. Rong’er, I…I…like…like being with you.”

Huang Rong leaned gently on his chest and Guo Jing felt a sweet scent surround his whole body, surround the whole lake, surround the whole earth, he didn’t know whether it was the plum flower scent or was it coming from Huang Rong. The two just held hands silently. After a very very long while, Huang Rong sighed and said, “ It’s so nice here, such a pity that we have to go.”

Guo Jing asked, “ Why?”

Huang Rong said, “ Don’t you want to get the medicine to save Taoist Wang?”

Guo Jing rejoiced, “ Ah, where do we go then?”

Huang Rong asked, “ Where have all the medicine in the shop gone to?”

Guo Jing answered, “ The medicine have been bought up by people in Prince Zhao’s residence.”

Huang Rong said, “ Yup, that’s right, so we’ll go to his residence to take it.”

Guo Jing was shocked, “ Prince Zhao’s residence?”

Huang Rong replied, “ That’s right!”

Guo Jing said, “ We can’t go there, we’ll only lose our lives.”

Huang Rong said, “ Then can you bare to see Taoist Wang crippled? Or if his injuries take a turn for the worse, do you want to see him dead?”

Blood rushed up to his face, and Guo Jing replied, “ Alright, but, you can’t go.”

Huang Rong asked, “ Why?” Guo Jing answered, “ Just promise me that you won’t go.” But he couldn’t find a reason.

Huang Rong lowered her voice and said, “ I won’t be able to stand it if continue to worry for me. If you meet with any danger, how to you expect me to live alone?”

Guo Jing’s heart gave a leap and gratitude, happiness, love dashed to his brain, he suddenly felt a hundred time braver and wasn’t the least afraid of people like She Tongtian and Peng Liannhu, it was as if nothing was impossible in the world. He said, “ Alright, we will both go to get the medicine.”

Both of them rowed the boat to the bank and started towards the city. Halfway there, Guo Jing suddenly remembered that the four demons of the yellow river were still stuck in midair and said, “ Hey, do you want to release those four people?”

Huang Rong giggled, “ This four fellows call themselves ‘ Iron strong heroes’ so they are very powerful, they won’t freeze nor starve. Even if they starve to death, ‘ Four demons of the plum forest’ is superior to the ‘four demons of the yellow river’.”

End of Chapter 8

[fastclock]

(traveller)

Chapter 9 (part 1)

Guo Jing and Huang Rong went to the back of Prince Zhao's palace and leaped over the wall into the courtyard. Huang Rong whispered to Guo Jing in a soft voice:

"Your 'light body' Gong Fu is excellent!"

Guo Jing crouching by the foot of the wall watching out for any movement in the courtyard felt ecstatic at hearing such praise from her.

After a moment they heard some footsteps approaching - two men were laughing and talking as they walked towards them. One man was saying "What do you think the prince has in mind with the young lady?".

The other man laughed and said (not sure of this translation)"It's obvious isn't it? This type of pretty woman, after giving birth who would give her another glance?"

The first man retorted "With your dirty mind, you had better be careful that the prince doesn't cut your head off. This girl, although her face is pretty, she cannot compare to the princess."

The second man exclaimed "This peasant(??) girl! How can you compare her with the princess?"

The first man replied "The princess, you said she (??)..." He suddenly stopped, coughed twice and changed the subject(?) saying "The prince really suffered a loss at the hands of that big fellow today, you better be careful not to give him any cause for offence or you are sure to get a real beating!"

The second man said "If the prince tries to beat me, i'll simply dodge - and return with a kick..."

The first man laughed "Stop talking ****(?)".

Guo Jing thought to himself "So, that "Yuan Yan Kang" already has a pretty sweetheart no wonder he cannot marry the Mu girl. But if this true, then he shouldn't have even taken up the challenge in the first place let alone grab her shoe. Why would he want to concern himself with other people's affairs? Could it be that if a person is not willing to agree then he would use force to coerce them?

At this point the two men had walked very close (to Guo Jing and Huang Rong). One was carrying a lamp and the other a basket of food. They were dressed as servants, wearing green clothes and caps. The man with the basket laughed and said "Talking about other people I fear that someone has already become very hungry, we had better deliver these vegetables quickly!"

The other man replied "How can he win a young girls heart if he doesn't gain her sympathy?". Both men laughed as they walked away into the distance.

Huang Rong became very curious. She whispered to Guo Jing "Let's go and see what type of pretty girl they are talk about".

Guo Jing asked "What about getting the medicine, isn't that more urgent?".

"I want to see the girl first!" said Huang Rong stubbornly and she started off after the two servants.

Guo Jing thought "What's so interesting about seeing some girl? Really strange". What he didn't know was that invariably when a women hears about another beautiful woman, they will never be satisfied until they have seen them with their own eyes. If the women that hears about this other woman is herself especially beautiful, then all the more is the desire to see that other woman so she can compare herself to her! Guo Jing however did know enough about girls to know that they can be extremely difficult at times so he had no alternative but to follow.

(SunnySnow)

Chapter 9-2

The Zhao residence was huge. Guo Jing and Huang Rong followed the two servants for quite sometime before arriving in front of a big house. At the entrance stood a few guards with weapons in their arms. Guo Jing and Huang Rong hid behind a corner and heard the two servants whispering something to the guards before the guards opened the door and allowed them in. Huang Rong picked up a stone and flung it at the torches to put out the lights, before pulling Guo Jing with her to follow the servants in. Huang Rong was so swift that she and Guo Jing overtook the servants and were in front of them. The servants and guards didn’t notice that they slipped in and cursed and joke while starting the fire for the torches again. They entered a large room, before opening a small door at the corner and walked in. Guo Jing and Huang Rong followed them in silently and noticed rows of iron bars, forming a large prison cell. Behind the bars sat a woman and a man.

One of the servants lit a candle and placed it on the prison table. Under the candlelight, Guo Jing saw the man’s face which was anxious and furious; it was none other than Mu Yi. A young girl was sitting beside him and it was his daughter, Mu Nian Ci. Guo Jing was suspicious and thought, “ How did they end up here? Ah, it must be WanYan Kang who captured them. What does his intend to do with them? Does he love this lady or not?” The two servants took out some wine and dishes from their basket and pushed it into the cell.

Mu Yi picked up a plate of snacks and flung it out before yelling, “I have already fallen into your trap, kill me if you want to. Why pretend to be so nice?”

Amongst the commotion, the guard outside suddenly said, “Greetings, little prince!”

Guo Jing and Huang Rong exchanged glances and hurriedly hid behind the door, only to see WanYan Kang rushing in and scolding, “Who made Hero Mu angry? Let’s see whether I will break your legs when we leave later.”

The two servants were frightened and dropped on their knees, “We dare not.”

WanYan Kang answered, “Hurry up and get lost.”

The two servants replied, “Yes, yes.” And turned to leave, but when they reached the door, they stuck their tongues out at each other, made funny faces and left.

WanYan Kang waited till they close the door, before saying gently, “I invited Hero Mu and Miss for something else, please don’t get offened.”

Mu Yi was furious, “You lock us up here like prisoners, and you dare use the word ‘invite’?”

WanYan Kang said, “I’m so sorry. Please bear with it for the time being, I’m really sorry.”

Mu Yi retorted angrily, “You can use this to cheat a three year old. I’ve seen enough of vicious officials.”

Wanyan Kang tried to speak out several times but was shut up by the angry Mu Yi. Yet, he still remained good natured and laughed joyfully without a tint of anger.

Mu Nian Ci listened to the argument and whispered to her father, “Father, let’s hear what he has to say.”

It was then that Mu Yi grunted before becoming silent.

Wanyan Kang said, “Your daughter has rare talents and beauty. I’m not blind so how can I possibly not like her?”

Mu Nian Ci blushed deeply and lowered her head.

Wanyan Kang continued, “However, I am the eldest son of Prince Zhao and my family rules are very strict. If people know that I marry a commoner, my father will be furious and will face a lot of trouble.”

Mu Yi replied, “Then what do you plan to do?”

Wanyan Kang replied, “I was thinking of letting Hero Mu and Miss stay here for a few days to recover from any injuries, before going back. After a year or half, when the situation is better, I will either go and ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage or Hero Mu you send Miss to me so as to complete the marriage. Isn’t this a perfect solution?”

Mu Yi remained silent, though he was thinking about another thing.

Wanyan Kang continued, “My father has gotten into trouble all because of me. The emperor even reprimanded him three months ago. If my father learns about this now, he will never agree the marriage. So I hope that Hero Mu keeps this secret tight.”

Mu Yi turns furious, “If I listen to what you say then my daughter will suffer if she is with you since everything has to be kept under wraps.

Wanyan Kang replied, “I have everything planned out already, I will get some grand officials to ask for her hand in marriage, it must be a grand and joyous affair.”

Mu Yi’s faced suddenly paled and he said, “Please ask your mother to see me so that I can discuss this with her.”

Wanyan Kang smiled and said, “How can my mother meet you?”

Mu Yi yelled, “If I don’t get to meet your mother, I won’t give in to you no matter what you come up with.” With that, he picked up the jar of wine and threw it out.

Ever since Mu Nian Ci fought with Wanyan Kang, she already fell for him and was delighted after she heard his plan. But her father’s sudden outburst changed everything and she didn’t know whether she was surprised or dejected.

WanYan Kang flipped over and caught the wine jar in time before putting it back on the table and laughed, “I’m leaving!” before turning to go.

After hearing Wanyan Kang’s words, Guo Jing felt that the former had his reasons and a very good plan, but who would expect Mu Yi to lose his temper. He thought, “I will try to convince him now.” He was about to go out when Huang Rong pulled his sleeve and brought him out of the house.

They heard Wanyan Kang ask a servant, “Have you brought it?” The servant nodded and raised his arm to reveal a rabbit. Wanyan Kang took the rabbit from him and broke it’s hind legs in a flash, before placing it in his pocket and hurrying off. Guo Jing and Huang Rong felt curious and followed behind him. After a while, they saw a small three-roomed hut. It was a normal hut like any other commoner’s but stood out amongst the grand surroundings of the Zhao residence. The two felt very curious. They saw Wanyan Kang open the door and enter the hut. They tiptoed to the back of the house and peered into the window. They were sure that there was something secretive in the hut, which Wanyan Kang kept. However, they heard something they did not expect when he called out, “Mother!”

A woman’s voice answered him. Wanyan Kang walked into the room, Huang Rong and Guo Jing saw a middle-aged woman sitting beside a table, gazing blankly into space. This woman looked no more than forty, had very delicate features but wore little powder on her face and very common robes.

Huang Rong thought, “This princess is indeed prettier than Miss Mu, but why does she dress so shabbily and live in such a hut? Has she fallen out of Prince Zhao’s favor?”

Guo Jing was thinking about the same thing at first but later felt that it was nothing special. He thought, “She must be like Rong’er. She purposely dress up shabbily like a peasant for fun.”

Wanyan Kang walked to her side, pulled her arm and said, “Mother, are you ill again?”

The woman sighed, “I was worrying for you.”

Wanyan Kang leaned on her and giggled, “But your son is standing healthily in front of you.”

The woman replied, “With swollen eyes and a broken nose? You call that fine? You are getting more and more naughty, it’s alright if your father knows, but if your teacher learns about it, you’ll be in hot soup.”

Wanyan Kang giggled, “Mother, do you know who is the Taoist priest who came today?”

The woman asked, “Who?”

Wanyan Kang replied, “He is my teacher’s martial brother, and is my elder. But I purposely pretend to be ignorant of that fact and called him Taoist this, Taoist that. He scowled and was furious but couldn’t do anything.” With that, he started laughing again.

The woman was alarmed and said, “Oh no! I’ve seen your teacher flare up before and he can kill people. It’s really a frightening thought.”

Wanyan Kang was curious and asked, “You’ve seen teacher kill before? When? Why did he kill people?”

The woman lifted her head and gazed at the light, as if she was somewhere far away and said gently, “That was a long time ago. Ah, I cannot remember anymore!”

(SunnySnow)

Chapter 9-3

Wanyan Kang did not probe further, instead he grinned smugly and said, “ That Taoist Wang came to ask me how was I going to deal with the marriage and I told him that if he brought Miss Mu to me, I would listen to whatever he say.”

The woman asked, “ Have you asked your father permission? Has he agreed?”

Wanyan Kang smiled, “ Mother, you are too honest. I asked my men to trick them into coming here and locked them up in the back cell earlier on. How does Taoist Wang expect to find them then?” Wanyan Kang was going through the events in an excited manner while Guo Jing was fuming outside.

Guo Jing thought, “ To think that I actually thought that he had good intentions just now! Luckily Hero Mu is wise not to fall into his trap.”

The woman answered exasperatedly, “ How can you make fun of his daughter and lock them up? Hurry and release them now, and remember to apologize and give them some money.”

Guo Jing nodded his head and thought, “That’s more like it.”

Wanyan Kang said, “ Mother, you don’t understand! These swordsmen don’t care about money. If I release them and they go round telling people what happen, father will hear about it.”

The woman became anxious, “ Then do you want to lock them up forever?”

Wanyan Kang smiled, “ I sweet talked them into going back to their village and let them stupidly wait for me forever.” With that, he burst out laughing.

Guo Jing was shaking furiously at this time, he raised a palm towards the window frame and was about to yell out when he felt a soft and smooth palm cover his mouth and someone grab his left wrist. A gentle voice whispered into his ear, “ Calm down.”

Guo Jing recovered and turned towards Huang Rong with a faint smile before looking back into the room again.

Wanyan Kang continued, “ That Mu fellow is really cunning, he doesn’t take the bait. But let’s see how long he can last if I lock him up for another couple of days.”

His mother answered, “ I’ve seen Miss Mu and I find her beautiful and talented. She is quite likeable. Why not I talk to your father and ask him to let you marry her, then everything will be solved.”

Wanyan Kang laughed, “ Mother, for the last time, we are royalty. How can I marry such a commoner? Father always tells me that he will arrange a respectable match for me. But it’s a pity that we are the Wanyans.”

The woman asked, “ Why?”

Wanyan Kang replied, “ If not, I can marry the princess and become the crown prince.”

The woman sighed and said in a low voice, “ How can you look down on poor commoners…do you really think that…”

Wanyan Kang laughed, “ Mother, I have a joke for you. That Mu fellow says that he will only believe me if he meets up and discuss with you.”

The woman replies, “ I won’t help you to lie and do such despicable things.”

Wanyan Kang giggled aloud and walked around in circles. He said, “ Even if you are willing to do so, I will not allow it. You don’t know how to lie and will be exposed on the spot.”

Huang Rong and Guo Jing studied the room, which was furnished with normal wood furniture and normal farming tools. On the wall hung a moldy sphere and a broken plough. An old wooden carriage was placed in the corner of the room. Both of them thought, “ This woman is a princess. Why is her house so plainly furnished?”

Wanyan Kang pressed his chest and the rabbit in his pocket let out a squeal.

The woman asked, “ What’s that?”

Wanyan Kang replied, “ Ah, I almost forgot. I saw an injured rabbit just now and picked it up. Mother, please tend to it.” He took out a little white rabbit and placed it on the table. The rabbit’s hind legs were broken and it couldn’t move.

The woman asked, “Good child!” She hurriedly took out some tools and medicine and tended to the rabbit’s injury.

Guo Jing started to fume again and thought, “ This man purposely injures the rabbit as he knows that his mother is kind-hearted and will tend to its injuries. Therefore, the woman will forget about the bad stuff that he has done. How can he be so evil as to make use of his mother’s kind nature and cheat her?”

Huang Rong was leaning on him and felt Guo Jing’s whole body quiver. She knew that he must be fuming with anger and was afraid that he couldn’t control it and burst out at Wanyan Kang. She pulled his hand and said, “ Let’s ignore them, come, let’s go and find the medicine.”

Guo Jing asked, “ You know where they hid the medicine?”

Huang Rong shook her head, “ No. So we have to go and find out.”

Guo Jing thought about how huge the Zhao residence was and wondered where to start finding, “It would de disastrous if we alert Shao Tongtian and the rest…” he was about to discuss this with Huang Rong when there was a flash of light in front of them. A man was carrying a small lantern while humming a tune. He was walking nearer and nearer to them. Guo Jing was about to slip behind a tree when Huang Rong rushed forward, towards the man. The man was alarmed and before he could say anything, Huang Rong flipped her palm and shot out a shiny steel object (direct translation) which pierced into his throat, she asked, “Who are you?”

The man got a fright of life and only managed to answer after awhile, “ I…I am the caretaker. What…what are you doing?”

Huang Rong answered, “ What am I doing? I am going to kill you! You are the caretaker? That’s great. Where did you keep the medicine that your little prince asked people to buy during the day?”

The caretaker replied, “ I…I don’t know. Little prince kept it himself!”

Huang Rong used her left hand to twist his wrist and used her right hand to push forward slightly, causing the steel object to pierce even deeper into his throat. The caretaker felt strong pain shoot through his wrist but didn’t dare scream out loud.

Huang Rong said in a low voice, “ Are you going to tell me or not?”

The caretaker responded, “ I really don’t know.”

Huang Rong used her right hand to remove his cap and stuffed it into his mouth. Following that, her left hand pulled and twisted his arm. A crack sound was heard as she broke the bone of his right shoulder. The caretaker yelled out aloud before fainting onto the ground. However the cap in his mouth muffled his voice.

Guo Jing was stunned as didn’t expect this young petite lady to be so vicious and cruel in her actions. Huang Rong shook the caretaker and he came around. She swiftly removed the cap from his mouth and placed it back on his head before saying, “Do you want me to break your left shoulder as well?”

The caretaker wept in pain and answered weakly, “ I really don’t know. Even if Miss kills me, I still won’t know.”

Huang Rong only believed him then, she lowered her voice and said, “ Go and find little prince now and tell him that you fell and broke your shoulder. Also tell him that you suffer serious internal injures and the physician says that you must take the medicine which he bought up earlier and is not available in the shops now. Beg him to give you some of the medicine.”

The caretaker listened attentively to Huang Rong’s instructions and dared not question anything.

Huang Rong continued, “ Hurry up, little prince is at the princess’s place. I am going to follow you and if I see that you do not act properly, I will break your neck and dig out your eyes.” With that, she stretched out her fingers and made a clawing sign at the skin of his eyes. The caretaker shivered and stood up; he clenched his teeth, ignored the dreadful pain and dashed towards the princess’s house.

Wanyan Kang was still talking with his mother when the caretaker suddenly dashed in, sweating and crying. He repeated what Huang Rong instructed him to say. The princess saw that his face was as white as a sheet and knew he was in great pain, she didn’t wait for Wanyan Kang’s answer and immediately ordered him to give the caretaker the medicine.

Wanyan Kang frowned and said, “ The medicine is with Mister Liang, go and find him yourself.”

The caretaker wept and said, “ Little prince, please write a note for me.”

The princess immediately took out some paper, ink and a brush and Wanyan Kang wrote the note. The caretaker bowed and thanked them while the princess said gently, “ Hurry and take the medicine to cure your injuries.”

The caretaker came out of the house and walked a few steps when he felt the cold blade of a knife on the skin of his neck. He heard Huang Rong say, “ Go to Mister Liang now.”

The caretaker walked a little but he could take the pain no longer and fell to the ground.

Huang Rong said, “ If you don’t get the medicine, your neck will be broken into two.” With that, she pressed onto his head and turned it forcefully.

The caretaker got a shock and had a sudden wave of determination. Sweating non-stop, he hurried on. They passed by seven or eight servants but no one questioned anything when they saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

When they reached Liang Ziwong’s quarters, they found the door locked. A servant then tells them that he has gone to the fragrant snow guest hall. Guo Jing saw the caretaker having difficulty walking and helped him along the way. They were reaching the guest hall, when two guards carrying lanterns in one hand and sabers in another said, “Stop, who’s there?”

The caretaker took out the note written by Wanyan Kang and gave it to the guards. They glanced at it and let him through before going up to question Guo Jing and Huang Rong, the caretaker said, “ It’s our own people.”

One of the guards said, “ The prince is having a banquet with important guests, so no one is allowed to disturb them. If you have anything, you can come back tomorrow to…” he didn’t finish his sentence when the two guards felt strength less, numb and were unable to move as Huang Rong had sealed their points. Huang Rong hid them in the bushes before grabbing Guo Jing’s hand and made their way towards the entrance of the hall. She gently pushed the caretaker forward and swung up with Guo Jing. They caught the wooden window frame and peered inside the hall.

The hall was brightly lighted with a huge banquet table in the middle. Guo Jing looked at the people sitting around the table and his heart beat furiously. He saw the same people in the same room as earlier, such as the junior chief of white camel mountain, Ouyang Ke, the dragon king of the demonic group, Sha Tongtian, his martial brother, the three headed dragon, Hou Tonghai, ginseng immortal, Liang Ziwong, the slaughterer of a thousand hands, Peng Lianhu and the head of the banquet was the Jin sixth prince, Wanyan Honglie. At a corner of the table was a thickly padded grand chair, which sat superior virtue Lingzhi, who had a golden complexion and looked seriously injured.

Guo Jing laughed in glee, “ You ambushed Taoist Wang, so it serves you right, have a taste of your own medicine.”

The caretaker entered the room and bowed towards Liang Ziwong before handing him the note written by Wanyan Kang.

Liang Ziwong read the note, glanced at the caretaker and handed the note to Wanyan Honglie, “ Prince, is this written by little prince?”

Wanyan Honglie looked through the note and said, “ Yes, please follow what it says mister Liang.”

Liang Ziwong turned behind and instructed a dwarf dressed in green, “ Go and take out five grams each of the medicine which little prince delivered today and give it to the caretaker.”

The dwarf nodded and followed the caretaker out.

Guo Jing whispered to Huang Rong, “Let’s go, these people here are too formidable.”

Huang Rong smiled and shook her head. A strand of Huang Rong’s soft hair brushed pass Guo Jing’s face and he felt a tickling sensation not only on his face but also in his heart. He didn’t argue with her and jumped down. Huang Rong hurriedly grab his wrist, flung her body forward, locked her legs on the high wooden pole and gently released Guo Jing onto the ground.

Guo Jing was relieved, “What a close shave, if I just jumped that like that, won’t it alert the top fighters inside?” Guo Jing was not a veteran Jiang Hu traveler and tended to be careless at times.

The caretaker and the dwarf came out and Guo Jing followed behind them. He walked ten steps before turning around and saw that Huang Rong had done a somersault and was peering into the hall with her legs hooked on top and her head below. There was a light breeze, causing her white robe to float gently, the image looked like a blooming white lily amongst the darkness. Huang Rong glanced into the hall and saw that no one had notice her presence, she turned around and watched till Guo Jing’s figure disappeared into the darkness before turning her attention back to what was going on in the hall.

Suddenly, Peng Lianhu turned around, and with eyes quick as lightning; he did a check on the windows. Huang Rong didn’t dare look anymore, and only crouched near the window to hear what was going on. She heard a rasp voice say, “ Do you people think that Wang Chuyi turned up coincidentally or was it for a reason?”

A high pitched voice replied, “ No matter whether he has ill intentions or not, having being injured by superior virtue Lingzi would leave him dead, or at least crippled.”

Huang Rong glanced into the hall and saw that the person talking was Peng Lianhu, who was petite and had eyes that looked like lightning. She heard a clear voice laugh, “ We would hear of the seven sons of Quanzhen even when we are in Tibet. They really live up to their name, if it were not for superior virtue Lingzi’s attack, we would have been defeated by him.”

A deep and rough voice answered, “ Mister Ouyang, you don’t have to flatter me, both me and that Taoist priest are injured, there is no winner.”

Ouyang Ke said, “ Anyway you just have to recuperate quietly for some time whereas even if he doesn’t die, he would end up a handicapped!”

(traveller)

Chapter 9-4

After this comment no one spoke. The host could then be heard toasting all the assembled guests. Guest by guest he said "Sir has come from a great distance to visit, I am deeply honored! It reflects greatly on the Jin nation to have such honored guests as yourself!"

Huang Rong thought to herself that the person speaking must be Prince Zhao Wanyan Honglie. The assembled guests then all answered with modest protestations as decorum required.

Wanyan Honglie then continued, "Lingzhi is Tibet’s foremost monk, Liang is a master of great learning and integrity, Chief Ouyang is an legendary leader of military virtue, Master Peng's prestige is widely feared on the central plains, Formidable Sha rules over Yellow River! If any one hero among the five of you lent a hand, the Jin Nation's challenges could be overcome, imagine what could be achieved with all five of you united together! Ha Ha! That would be akin to having a lion using all it's strength to catch a rabbit!". At this he sounded very arrogant indeed.

Liang Ziwong smiled and said, "If Your Lordship has a task for us to carry out, you need only say it and we will gladly carry it out. Only this old man's (referring to himself) GongFu is very shabby and weak. I fear that if I was to be entrusted with such a task by you Lordship I would fail and not be able to show my worthless face again, ha ha!". Peng Lianhu also added a few self depreciating remarks in the same vein.

<EducatedGuess>
These men have always been the center of attention and power in their own areas and were not used to having to make humble and polite comments in the presence of a noble such as Wanyan Honglie.
</EducatedGuess>

Wanyan Honglie again toasted each guest in turn with a cup of wine "Humble Prince is deeply moved by your presence here tonight. I talk of a great matter with you all. This matter cannot be mentioned to any other person outside of this room. If it were to escape it would cause great trouble for my Jin nation. This humble prince places his great confidence in your hands."

These words, although humbly spoken, implied a great importance and caused everyone to present to take note that this must be a very serious matter that required the utmost secrecy. Everyone therefore replied, "Your Lordship need not fear, no words that are spoken here tonight will leave this room!"

The five invited guests all knew that the reason for their invitation must be a matter of great importance. Something that would require no small measure of effort to carry out. Although having spared no expense in sending them presents of gold, silver and other valuables, Wanyan Honglie had still not made any mention of what task he would be asking them to perform. Now that he was about to reveal such a deeply held secret, there was not one person present who didn't feel highly interested and excited.

<EducatedGuess>
Wanyan Honglie spoke again boasting about the weakness of the last two emperors Hui Zong and his son Qin Zong and how the mighty Jin Army secured a crushing victory over the Northern Song Empire. All the guests cheered at this speech.
</EducatedGuess>

Huang Rong thought to herself angrily "How Shameless! Everyone aside from that Tibetan Monk are Chinese. The Jin Prince is boasting about how his country had invaded our country and held our two emperors captive and you are all actually cheering him on!"

She heard Wanyan Honglie again speak: "At that time our Great Jin soldiers were vigorous, their numbers were vast, but now after almost 100 years the Zhao officials serve our emperor at Huangzhou. Esteemed guests, can you guess why they serve there?".

Liang Ziwong said "Please enlighten us your Lordship."

Wanyan Honglie sighed "This year Yue Fei had defeated us and he had us in his hands and although there was no one who did not know it who dared to say it out loud? Our Jin Generals knew how to lead troops but when they encountered Yue Fei they were always defeated. Even after Qin Gui ordered Yue Fei's execution our soldiers were still demoralized by their earlier defeats that they lacked the willpower to act against the Southern Song. However this although the humble prince has the ambition to act, he lacks the abilities to succeed. If my guests with their god like abilities were to help with this enterprise, then there is no way that we could not succeed and earn great merit."

<EducatedGuess>
All the guests looked at each other without fully understanding exactly what was being asked. They all thought "Charging enemies and fighting valiantly, taking cities and seizing territory, truly all of us can do, but could it be that he actually (only?) wants us to go and kill the Southern Song palace's general (Yuan?)?
</EducatedGuess>

Wanyan Honglie’s face showed self importance (de2 yi4). His voice was slightly trembling "A couple of months ago, this humble prince was looking through some old files in the palace when I stumbled across a letter left behind by the former emperor. It was actually a few lines written by Yue Fei, the phrasing of which was most peculiar. I puzzled over this for a few months until at long last I figured out it's hidden meaning. It turns out that when Yue Fei was languishing in prison he realized that he had no hope of leaving with his life. His loyalty towards serving his country was so great that he wrote down his entire life's learnings regarding battle tactics and other secret military arts in this letter in the hope that it could be passed on to other loyal countrymen who could use put them to use in defending China against the Jin invaders. Luckily Qin Gui was very clever and feared that Yue Fei would try to communicate with people outside of prison so he was very careful to prepare against such an event. Every guard assigned to watch over Yue Fei was personally selected by Qin Gui as to be known as completely trustworthy and loyal to him (Qin Gui). If the troops formerly under Yue Fei were to get word from Yue Fei and rise up in rebellion against the court, who would stop them? At that time the only reason that there was not such a rebellion was in fact entirely due to Yue Fei not being willing to rebel against his emperor. If he changed his mind and decided to do so he would have certainly succeeded. What Qin Gui did not know though was that Yue Fei didn't have any desire to save his own life, only to save the rivers and mountains of the Song Empire (i.e. his country). Fortunately this letter never left the palace even after his execution."

Everyone was listening intently to this story so intently that they forgot to drink their wine. Huang Rong hanging outside the window was also listening mesmerized.

(traveller)

Chapter 9-5

Wanyan Honglie continued "Yue Fei had no way to communicate his military strategies except through hiding them in his writing. He wrote four pieces entitled <<Pu Sa Man>> (Buddhist Barbarian?), <<chou nu er>> (Shameful Slave?), <<He Sheng Zhao>> (Congratulating the Sage Imperial Court?) and <<Qi Tian Yue>> (Level Heaven Music/Happiness?). Each piece of writing appeared to be nonsense. The style did not follow the proper rules and the tonal sequence was all wrong. The sentances were jumbled to the point of incoherence. Qin Gui, who was said to have wisdom and talent the size of the oceans, was not even able to figure out what meaning lay in these pieces so he dispatched some men with these letters to the Jin. Many years later these four pieces of nonsense writing found their way into the secret files of the Jin palace. No one was able to comprehend the meaning of these letters. Everyone thought that Yue Fei, who was near execution at the time he wrote these letters, was giving vent to his anger and frustrations by writing such disjointed and sensless verse. Nobody guessed that apparantly nonsense verse was in fact a riddle hiding a very great secret!

This humble prince though continued to work on these letters until I finally discovered it's secret. It turns out that if you took every third word in a piece and put them together then reversed the order a the hidden message was revealed. In these four letters Yue Fei instructed his successors/followers in the arts of military strategy, to continuously attack along the Yellow River and wipe out our Jin armies. But for all of his dilligent work for his emperor, it turned out to be all in vain. Ha Ha!"

All the guests gasped in surprise, then one after another began praising Wanyan Honglie's intelligence for cracking such a difficult code.

Wanyan Honglie said " Yue Fei's military abilities were supernatural, when he attacked the was no one more formidable or successful. Imagine if we were to have his book of secret military strategies, the whole empire would be ours for the taking!".

(Note: from the above context it seems that Yue Fei's letters refer to a book that is hidden in his tomb. I must have missed that in the above translation, but can't see where in the Chinese text)

Everyone suddenly realised what was being asked: "Prince Zhao invited us here to do a bit of grave robbing!"

Wanyan Honglie went on "This humble prince thinks that this great book must be with Yue Fei in his tomb." At this point he paused before continuing "Honoured Guests you are all brave heros and now you must be wondering how I could be asking you to rob a tomb? Further more, although Yue Fei is the Jin's sworn enemy, but his spirit and loyalty is something that is world renown, we couldn't possibly disturb is resting place. Humble prince searched through the historical reports from spys of the Southern Song to look for further clues. It turns out that the day Yue Fei died he was buried near by beside "Zhong An Bridge". Later Emperor Xiaozong moved his body to Xi Hu (Westlake) in a temple he had built for him. His 'cloth cap' however was buried at another place, and this must be where his book is. This other place is near LinAn." As he spoke this last sentance he watched his guests intently. Everyone was listening intently for him to reveal the exact location of the book.

Wanyan Honglie however suddenly changed the topic: "Humble prince again had another thought: since someone moved Yue Fei items then I fear that the book must have been taken by them as well. But after some very detailed research I know that this could not be possible. The people of Song venerated Yue Fei so much that they would not have dared interfear with his belonging. We are certain to find the book at this place. However in the south there are many martial people of high ability. If we are to succeed we cannot allow the slightest word of this to get out or else some of them my try to search for the book themselves which would cause no end of trouble! This task concerns the fate of two nations and it is not something I would lightly undertake unless I had the help of the greatest heros of the Wulin world."

Everyone nodded their head at this.

Wanyan Honglie then said "Although the location of this book is no small matter, because this affair is indeed difficult to speak of however with the presence of people of such great ability it is easy to speak (???) The location of the book is..." At this point the door to the hall was suddenly pushed open and one man rushed in, his face all swollen and pale. He rushed forward to Liang Ziwong and called out "Master..." everyone recognised him as the dwarf dressed in green that Liang Ziwong sent to fetch the medicine.

(traveller)

Chapter 9-6

When Guo Jing went with the caretaker and dwarf to fetch the medicine, he used his left hand to not only support the caretaker and help him walk, but also to ensure the caretaker would not dare try warn the dwarf in any way about Guo Jing. The three of them went along a long corridor past some rooms before arriving at Liang Ziwong’s storeroom. The dwarf lit a candle, opened the doors and entered.

Guo Jing stepped close to the room where he smelt the pungent scent of various medicinal herbs. He also saw that the table, couch, floor and everywhere else was covered with all types of dried herbs, bottles big and small, jars, bowls, vats and so forth. It seems that although Liang Ziwong was a guest here, he still couldn't help but play around with different medicinal herbs and concoct different drugs. The dwarf seemed to be well versed in the nature of herbs as well as he quickly selected portions of four different herbs and wrapped them up in separate packets of white paper which he gave to the caretaker.

Guo Jing reached out and took the packets before turning and leaving the room. Now that he had the medicine in his hands, he didn't pay any attention to the caretaker. Unfortunately for him though, the caretaker was a slippery fellow. When Guo Jing and the dwarf left, he deliberately hung back, waiting until they were past the door. Then he suddenly slammed the door shut, grabbed the door bolt and locked the door, shouting "Robber, Thief!". Guo Jing got a big shock, and immediately turned to try and push open the door only to find that it wouldn't budge, the door was firmly shut. The dwarf, although he was small, he was by no means slow witted. He immediately sized up the situation and took advantage of Guo Jing's distraction with trying to open the door to quickly snatch the four medicine packets out of his hand and threw them into the pond beside the room. Guo Jing tried to hit the dwarf with his fists, but the dwarf was too quick and managed to slip away.

Guo Jing became more frantic and angry. He placed both his palms against the door and used his internal energy to break the door. There was a loud crack as the door bolt snapped and the door flew open. Guo Jing rushed in and smashed the caretakers jaw with one swing of his fist which silenced him immediately. Luckily for Guo Jing, Liang Ziwong liked not to be disturbed so his room was located in an out of the way place in the palace far from anyone else so the caretakers screams had not alerted anyone. He rushed out of the room and saw that the dwarf was already a long way off. Guo Jing sprinted after him and in no time at all had caught up with the dwarf and grabbed him by the neck. The dwarf when he heard Guo Jing behind him tried to use his leg to sweep Guo Jing off his feet(?) The dwarf was no stranger to fighting having encountered many rough types in his travels with LiangZiwong so his skills were not weak. Guo Jing knew that he was in danger of not only failing to get the medicine for Wang Chuyi, but also if the alarm was raised Huang Rong would also be in mortal danger if she was caught. Since there was no time to lose he made use of his most vicious moves such as "bone and tendon splitting" move (the one taught by one of the seven freaks of the south I think).

Guo Jing soon had the dwarf knocked unconscious and he hastily hid him in the bushes beside the path. He then hurried back to the medicine store room and lit a candle which revealed the caretaker still lying unconscious on the floor.

======================

Guo Jing cursed himeself silently for being so careless: "Which four jars did the dwarf select the medicine from? I wasn't paying attention and now I have no idea of which herbs he used." All the jars were marked with strange signs but no words. He thought hard: "I remember he was standing here so maybe I should just grab a little from each jar around here and bring them all back to Wang Chuyi to select from." He hurridly snatched a pile of paper and began grabbing a handful of each type of herb/medicines which he then wrapped up in several packets all the while worried that someone had heard the caretakers shouts earlier.

As soon as he had packed up all the medicine he felt much more relieved. As he turned to leave his elbow accidentally knocked over a large bamboo basket which fell to it's side. As soon as the lid fell off there was a sudden hiss and a huge blood red snake shot out of the basket straight towards his face.

Guo Jing was startled and jumped back. He saw the snake was still half coiled in the basket so he wasn't sure how long it was. Its head waved back and forth as its forked tongue flickered at him. In Mongolia it was a cold climate and all the snakes that he had seen were small. This blood red snake certainly didn't look like any snake he has seen before. He felt petrified as slowly stepped back until he knocked against the table sending the candle tumbling over. In an instant the candle went out and the room was plunged into pitch black darkness.

With the medicine in hand he quickly rushed towards the door but just as he reached it he felt something grab onto his leg as if someone was wrapping a thick rope around it very tightly. Without time to think he tried to jump up. However the thing wouldn't let go and immediately he felt a cold sensation on his right arm and found that he could no longer move it.

Guo Jing knew that the snake had already wrapped around him so he madly used his left arm to feel around his waste for the knife that "JiSiHan" had given him long ago. A sudden stench of pungent fishy-medicine like smell assailed his nostrils and he felt something cold on his face. It was the snake's tongue licking his cheek. At this point there was no time to find his knife so he grabbed the snake firmly around its neck. The snake was incredibly powerful and began to squeeze tighter; its head inched closer towards his face...

Chapter9-7 IRON SPEAR, BROKEN PLOW

Guo Jing tried to hold back the snake but his arm was becoming numb and it became difficult to breathe as the snake tightened it's grip around his chest. When He tried to use his internal energy to loosen the snakes grip it gave him slight relief before the snake resumed it's crushing grip. Guo Jing's left arm was beginning to lose strength. The stench of the snakes breath was unbearable and made him feel nauseous. He knew that he would not be able to hold off the snake for much longer. eventually he might lose consciousness and losen his grip, then the snake would strike...

*****************

When the dwarf who was knocked unconscious by Guo Jing eventually came around his first thought was where was Guo Jing. He looked over to his masters store room but saw it was dark and silent. He assumed Guo Jing had already fled. So he rushed back towards the "Fragrent Snow Hall" to report to his master Liang Ziwong.

Huang Rong got a shock when she heard the dwarf's report. She executed the move "Goose lands on flat sand" to quietly drop to the ground. When the guests in the hall were listening to Wanyan Honglie's story no one payed any attention to what was going outside. However as soon as they were interrupted by the dwarf's news this was no longer the case. In a room full of people with such high martial arts abilities who were no longer distracted could any of them now fail to notice Huang Rong's almost silent move outside? Liang Ziwong was the first to move. In a flash he was outside and standing in from of Huang Rong, blocking her path.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Huang Rong could see by the way Liang Ziwong moved that his ability even exceeded hers. Considering that there was a room full of other highly skilled martial artists this was no time to start a fight, so she simply smiled and said sweetly "This plum tree has such beautiful blossoms, could you please break a twig of them off for me?"

Liang Ziwong didn't expect to see such a beautiful young woman standing outside dressed in such splendid clothing. When he heard her delicate laugh (like pearls tinkling on jade) he couldn't help being surprised. He thought that she must be a palace lady, possibly (lady) Qian Jin, so he immediately broke off a twig of plum blossoms to give to her.

Huang Rong smiled and received the blossoms saying "Thank you kind sir."

By this time all the rest of the guests were standing by the door watching the proceedings. Peng Lianhu turned to Wanyan Honglie and asked "Sire, is this lady from the palace?" Wanyan Honglie shook his head and said "No."

Peng Lianhu went over and stood in front of Huang Rong blocking her way, saying "Please wait a moment lady. Let me also break off some blossoms for you." His right hand moved to execute a holding lock, grabbing her wrist, extending his five fingers towards her side, then suddenly flipping his hand to a claw and striking at her throat!

Huang Rong initially intended to pretend to be a simple lady with no martial abilities and not that bright so that play for time and find a way to escape. She didn't expect that Peng Lianhu not only had great martial ability but that he was very sharp and saw right through her deception. His blow was so strong that she had no alternative but to dodge, raising her right hand in a sweep, thumb touching index finger, the remaining fingers outstretched, as if like an orchid shooting out. Her execution of this move was not only of the highest skill but also exquisitely beautiful.

(Note things are a little hard to figure out here after!)
Peng Lianhu knew that if she landed her strike on his "Corner Pool" acupoint then his whole arm would become numb and useless so he was forced to suddenly change his strike to avaoid her counter strike. He was shocked that not only did this very young lady have such outstanding skill and speed, but that she also knew such secret acupoint gongfu. Although he had seen many types of gongfu in his time, he had never seen this "Orchid touch acupoint" style before.

This "Orchid style" relies upon speed, accuracy, surprise and purity. Of these "purity" was the most important. It requires graceful execution and easy and relaxed manner to execute properly, as if the the person using it had not a care in the world. If it was executed with too much urgency or viciousness then it would lose it's advantage in a fight.

As Huang Rong executed the "Orchid style" everyone else washed in astonishment. Peng Lianhu laughed "Little girl, what is your good name please? Who is your honourable master?"

Huang Rong smiled and replied "This sprig of plum blossoms is quite pretty is it not? I must go and put it into a vase!" She didn't answer Peng Lianhu at all. Everyone else looked at her suspiciously wondering where on earth she came from.

(last part 9-7)

[traveller]

I've been waiting for registration to be fixed so that I could get back in...

My thanks to fastclock for bringing the thread back up to date with previous posts.

My Latest translation follows. Hope to see posts from the others some time soon!

[traveller]

Hou Tonghai said sternly "Elder Peng asked your name. What's the matter, didn't you hear?" Huang Rong asked innocently "He asked something?"

Peng Lianhu actually saw Huang Rong earlier during the day (in disguise) making fun of Hou Tonghai, now seeing her here again, acting so impertinently, he suddenly thought "That filthy begger boy is actually you in disguise!" Suppressing a laugh he said "Elder Peng, don't you recognise who that girl is?"

Hou Tonghai was shocked. He looked Huang Rong over a couple of times while Peng Lianhu said "You were chasing someone all day today around in cricles, how could you forget?" Hou Tonghai again looked at Huang Rong blankly until at last he recognised her "Yeah, that filthy boy!". When he was chasing Huang Rong, he never stopped cursing her as "Filthy boy", however even though "he" had now become a "she" he could help but curse her as before. He raised both fists and charged her, but only grasped some air as Huang Rong deftly dodged aside.

The dragon king of the demonic group Sha Tongtian's body became a blur as he moved forward and clutched Huang Ron'd right wrist calling out "Where are you running to?"

Huang Rong shot her left hand up and struck at his eyes with her two fingers but Sha Tongtian was too fast and grabbed her left wrist as well. Huang Rong struggled to free herself but tray as she might she was not able to. Instead she shouted out "Shameless!"

Sha Tongtian asked " What is so shameless?"

"Big men bullying a girl and trying to take advantage of her!" she replied indignantly.

Sha Tongtian was surprised at this. He was after all a famous elder martial artist and this did appear to be a case of the strong bullying the weak so her relaxed his grip and said "Go in to the Hall and we will talk"

Huang Rong saw she had no alternative but to step into the Hall. Hou

"Before we do any talking let me first cut this filthy tyke down to size!" Hou Tonghai angrily demanded as he raised his fists to strike.

Peng Lianhu stopped him, cautioning "First we need to find out exactly who her ShiFu is and what School she belongs to." He could see from her fighting style and appearance that she must be from a great school and that it would be better to find out who she was before doing anything too hasty.

Hou Tonghai didn't pay any attention to him though and launched an attack at Huang Rong. She dodged aside and responded "So you really want to fight eh?"

"You're not going to get away", Hou Tonghai retorted. He was afraid that if she did get away then he would never be able to catch her again.

"If you want have a little competition with me, no problem" she said as she took up a wine bowl full of wine from the table and placed it on her head. She then grabbed another full wine bowl in each hand and continued "Do you dare to take up this challenge?".

Hou Tonghai was suspicious "What kind of mischief is this?"

Huang Rong looked around at all the assembled guests and smiled saying "Me and this big horn uncle have no deep grievance. If I am able to defeat him what does everyone think?"

Hou Tonghai angrily stepped forward and yelled "You defeat me? listen you little smelly brat, this is a carbuncle not a horn. Take a good look and stop spouting crap!"

Huang Rong didn't pay any attention to him, but rather continued addressing the others. "Let me and him compete with three full bowls of wine each. Who ever is the first to spill a drop will be considered the loser, is this fair enough?" She had seen Liang Ziwong, Peng Lianhu and Sha Tongtian in action and knew that she would be no match for any of them in a fight. However if this three horned dragon, through increased teasing, can be enticed to fight using light body skills and quick wits she would hold the advantage. If you were to campare true martial ability she may not be the equal but she thought "Right now my only chance is to play the fool and hope they don't find me a threat and let me go."

Hou Tonghai yelled "Who wants to play monkey tricks with you!" and with that he launched into another fierce attack.

Huang Rong again dodged aside still holding the wine and laughed "Ok! I'll hold the three bowls of wine and you can attack with without any bowls. Let's compete!"

Hou Tonghai was more than twice as old. Although his name was not as widely renowned as that of his martial brother Sha Tongtian, he was still a farily respected member of the Martial Arts world. To recieve such a taunt in front of his peers was enough to drive him even more angry. Without a further though he grabbed up three bowls of wine placing one on his head and the others in his hands. He crooked his left leg and sent a vicious kick towards Huang Rong with his right.

Huang Rong laughed "Well done! This shows the talents of a true hero." She then began to display her "Lightness" Qing Gonfu by moving all around the room. Hou Tonghai launched a series of kicks against her but she was able to dodge them all. Everyone began to roar with laughter to see such a ridiculous fight.

Huang Rong kept her upper body completely steady as she glided about the room while lumbering behind her with big steps was Hou Tonghai. She began spinning as she moved, her skirt forming a circle, as she alternated between dodging and attacking trying to use her elbows to knock over Hou Tonghai's wine cup. However he was always able to avoid her attacks.

Liang Ziwong thought to himself "This girl's gongfu is certainly trained to a high degree, but all things considered, she is still no match for brother Hou. However who wins and who loses is of no concern to me" His main concern was for his treasured medicinal herbs in his storeroom so he immediately thereupon turned and headed out the door to find this thief.

"The four medicines listed on the prescription, "Dragon's Blood", "Pseudo Ginseng", "Bear Gallbladder" and "Myrrh" (translators note: these names are straight out of the dictionary and all appear to be real plants judging from their scientific names also quoted under the same entries) are all the same ones as those the Prince ordered to be brought up. These herbs are nothing special and not very expensive so their loss is no big deal, but what does concern me is what else he may have taken whilst he was in there.

* * *

Gu Jing was beginning to lose consciousness as the snake squeezed tighter and tighter. From the smell and the feel of the snake's breath on his face he knew the sake must be getting closer. He knew that once the snake was able to bite him then he would surely be dead. Already the snakes body was brushing against his mouth. He whole body was immobile held fast in the sakes deadly vice like grip, or his left hand which was desperately trying to hold back the snake and even this was growing weaker. The only thing that he could move was his his head and teeth so he opened his mouth and bit hard into the snakes neck.

The snake began to writhe and squeeze even tighter as it felt the pain from Jing Guo's teeth sinking in. Guo Jing felt a gush of snake blood flow into his mouth. It tasted extremely bitter and was hard to bear. He didn't know if it was poisonous or not but he was too afraid to let go and spit it out as he feared he may never get a second chance to latch onto the snake again so he had no option but to swallow it. He also thought that the more blood the snake lost then the more strength it would also lose and it must eventually loosen it's grip so he redoubled his efforts to start sucking out the snakes blood and continue to swallow. After continuing in this manner for a while his stomach was full and the snake gradually began to loosen it's grip. Finally, after a few spasms the snake loosened it's grip entirely and moved no more.

Guo Jing was by now exhausted and had to lean heavily against the table to remain upright. His first thought was to flee however both his legs were still numb from the lack of blood flow and so he was forced to wait for his circulation to again reach through all his limbs. After a few minutes he felt his whole body getting hotter as if he was burning up. This made him very worried until after a short while he found that he could move again. However the feeling of extreme heat still continued to course through his whole body. When he pressed the back of his hand against his cheek it felt like it was scalding hot.

The packets of medicine were still safely in his coat. "Now I have the medicine I can help save Wang Daochang. Mu Yi and his daughter, though innocent of any wrong doing, are locked up by Wanyan Kang and are probably certain to be killed. I must help them escape before I leave."

With this he went out of the store room and, after looking about for the right direction, headed off to the prison where Mu Yi and his daughter were being help.

When he arrived at the prison he saw a bunch of guards patrolling around keeping a tight watch around the prison. Guo Jing waited a while but found no way to get in the same way they did the first time. So he went around to the back of the building and waited for a patrol of guards to go past. He then leaped lightly onto the roof of the building wall and then quietly into the courtyard within. Leaning against the building wall he listened for any presence of soldiers. When he was sure that the coast was clear he whispered quietly "Elder Mu, i've come to help you get out of here".

Mu Yi got a shock. "Kind Sir, who are you?" he asked.

Guo Jing replied "Junior's name is Guo Jing".

Mu Yi vaguely heard the name Guo Jing but after all the events of the past day and even being weak from injuries, when the two words 'Guo Jing' hit his ear drums it was light a thunderclap. With a trembling voice he asked "What? Guo Jing? Your...your...clan name is Guo?"

Guo Jing replied "Yes, junior is the one who fought with the young prince earlier today in front of the stage."

Mu Yi asked "What is your father's name?"

"My late father's name is Xiaotian". When Guo Jing was young he didn't know his fathers name. It was only later when Zhu Cong taught him to read that he was able to learn his father's name.

Mu Yi's eyes began to swell up with tears. He raised his head up and said softly "Heaven, oh Heaven!" He reached his hands through the bars and tightly held Guo Jings hand.

Guo Jing could feel Mu Yi's hand's trembling and at the same time could feel tears dropping on to his hand. He thought to himself "(Tr. Implied mild surprise at the depth of emotion shown like a 'Gosh' or 'Gee Wiz' here I think) Elder Mu is very grateful to me that I am comming to rescue them."

He quietly whispered "I have a sharp knife here which I am going to use to cut away the lock then you both can come out. Just before I heard the young prince talking. I know he is trying to decieve you, please don't trust him!"

Mu Yi however asked "Your mother, is her clan name Li? Has she passed away or is she still alive?"

"Oh!", Guo Jing asked surprised, "How do you know my mothers clan name? My mother is in Mongolia"

Mu Yi became even more excited upon hearing this. He continued holding Guo Jing's hand. Guo Jing said "Let my hand go so that I can break off the lock." Mu Yi held Guo Jing's hand as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. He was afraid if he let it go he would lose Guo Jing so he continued to hold fast, sighing "You...you have grown up into such a big man now. Ai! I only have to close my eyes and I can see your father, now long ago departed from this world."

"You knew my father?"

"Your father was my sworn brother. We swore to help our fellow country men." at this point his throat become choked with emotion and he was unable to continue. When Guo Jing heard this, he found his eyes become moist with tears as well.

Mu Yi was in fact Yang Tiexin. During the battle with the government troops he suffered a deep wound from a spear in his back. He managed to cling onto a horse and was carried for several miles before he finally lost consciousness and fell off into a clump of bushes. The next morning when he awoke he crawled to a near by farmers hut where he remained for over a month recovering before he could struggle out of bed with the aid of a walking stick. The village nearby was called Lotus Pond village and was only about 7-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) from his own Ox Village. Luckily the farmers family were very kind and took care of him as he slowly recovered. However he was worried about his wife and wanted to go back and look for her in Ox Village. Since he was afraid that government troops may still be there searching for him, he waited until midnight to return to his old house and look around.

When he arrived there he saw the door was ajar which made him fear the worst had happened. He pushed open the door and walked in. He looked around and saw things were very much like they were the night that they had to flee. There was some half finished new cloaths that his wife, Baoshi, had left still lying on the bed. On the wall where his two family spears had once hung one was missing, probably taken by one of the soldiers that night, leaving only one hanging there looking lonely as if like himself it had too had lost it's old partner/wife. Apart from this nothing else was disturbed, all covered by a thick layer of dust...

[itanic]

Great job, I've been waiting for more LOCH for weeks, lol!