On the other side, Zheng Keshuang had fought more than a dozen rounds; he saw Feng Jizhong’s hands and feet were clumsy, he kept staggering along as if his stances were extremely unsteady. Zheng Keshuang gathered his spirits, unleashing everything he had learned his entire life. He wanted to show off in front of Ah Ke, to win favor of this extremely beautiful woman. His fists created strong winds, his kicks made noise; move by move he pressed on. Feng Jizhong appeared to have barely enough strength to parry; often times he managed to evade at the nick of time [orig. jian jun yi fa – a thousand jun (unit of measure equivalent to thirty catties) one hair, ‘a thousand pounds hang by a thread’].
Ah Ke watched with anxious heart; she did not stop calling softly, “Aiyo, what a pity, he missed only a little.”
Wei Xiaobao came near and said, “Shifu, you, Senior has not completely recovered, these bandits are very vicious, when Zheng Gongzi is defeated, you, Senior, must not fight with them.”
Ah Ke angrily said, “Don’t you see he has complete upper hand? How can he lose? Really talk nonsense.”
Jiu Nan smiled and said, “These people do not seem to have evil intention toward Zheng Gongzi at all; they are just playing with him. The opponent’s martial art skill is a lot higher compared to Zheng Gongzi’s.”
Ah Ke was incredulous. “Shifu,” she asked, “Are you saying that this robber’s martial art is stronger than Zheng Gongzi?”
Jiu Nan smiled and said, “Do I need to tell you that? This man’s martial art skill is indeed excellent, I am afraid they are not necessarily some Funiu Mountain robbers. If they were really robbers, they would not carelessly blurt it out, saying that they were going to kidnap him and ask for a ransom.”
Wei Xiaobao thought, “In the end, Shifu’s insight is very clear.” He said, “In that case, why don’t disciple urge them not to fight?”
Ah Ke shot him a malicious look; she said, “What face do you have? What skill do you have that you can urge them not to fight?”
Wei Xiaobao said, “Although this robber’s martial art is strong, there must be holes in his punching and kicking. Zheng Gongzi cannot beat him, I guarantee that within ten moves I will beat him and make him flee to the wilderness.”
Jiu Nan knew his martial art skill was meager, but perhaps he had some strange or weird tactics, enough to score victory. “These people do not seem to be evil people, you must not harm their lives.” After a short pause, she continued, “Those lowly tricks such us knock-out drug, poison and so on, must not be used, unless you are facing a life and death situation. You have entered my Iron Sword School, you must not damage our school’s reputation.”
“Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I hear and obey Shifu’s instruction, I simply will not harm them.”
Jiu Nan sighed gently, as her mind suddenly revisited the Huashan’s summit, when the Iron Sword School’s Sect Leader Yuzhen Zi came to pick a fight with Priest Mu Sang. Yuzhen Zi had committed any imaginable misdeed: raping, looting, and so on. Speaking about Iron Sword School’s reputation, first of all, the number of disciples was very few, their reputation was not resounding; secondly, due to Yuzhen Zi’s conduct, in reality their reputation was not too great anyway. This young disciple was frivolous and jumpy, if he did not step into the proper way, it was very likely that in the future he would become Yuzhen Zi’s direct descendant, and that would be greatly inappropriate.
Seeing the sudden appearance of worried look on her face, naturally Wei Xiaobao did not understand the reason, he still thought that it was because she saw the Tian Di Hui warriors’ martial art was not weak, while her own martial art had not recovered, hence she felt it would be very difficult to deal with this situation. Thereupon he said, “Shifu, please set your heart at ease, I have a way to save Zheng Gongzi’s life.”
Ah Ke spat and said, “You speak nonsense again. Zheng Gongzi is going to win in a flash, what life do you want to save?”
Just as she finished speaking, there was ripping noise, Zheng Keshuang’s long gown was pulled and ripped. Zheng Keshuang was furious, he fought faster, but there was a series of continuous ripping noise; like the talon of an eagle Feng Jizhong’s ten fingers ripped his long gown, his undergarment and trousers, piece by piece. But he used just enough strength so that Zheng Keshuang’s flesh was not harmed.
Zheng Keshuang realized that with several more rips, he would be stark naked. In his fright he turned around trying to flee. Feng Jizhong bent his arms, both of his elbows were already stationed in front of Zheng Keshuang’s chest. Zheng Keshuang hastily pulled back, while sending out a double-punch. Suddenly he felt his wrist tightened, Feng Jizhong’s left hand grabbed his right hand, his right hand gripped Zheng Keshuang’s left hand. In one fluid motion he twisted around, sending Zheng Keshuang’s away. “Catch this!” he shouted. Unexpectedly this throw had sent Zheng Keshuang’s body seven, eight zhang away.
Priest Xuanzhen launched his qinggong to catch up, he raised his head and called out, “Gao Xiongdi, your turn!”
Gao Yanchao leaped immediately. Fan Gang, Xu Tianchuan, Guan Anji, and the others thought it was fun; they all shouted and rushed to join the game. Priest Xuanzhen caught Zheng Keshuang and tossed him over, he fell just as Gao Yanchao rushed over. Gao Yanchao caught him and threw him several zhang away toward Xu Tianchuan.
These people’s strength varied, some were stronger than the others, their qinggong also varied, some high, some low; when they threw Zheng Keshuang, some managed to throw him farther than the other, when they rushed to catch him, some could move faster than the other, yet Zheng Keshuang stayed in the air for several dozen zhang, and had never fallen to the ground. The Tian Di Hui warriors displayed what they were really good at; it was only now that they revealed their true skill.
Guan Anji’s physical strength was amazing; he tossed Zheng Keshuang about four, five zhang high in the air, and when he fell, he gave Zheng Keshuang’s back a push with both palms, two lines of force working together to send Zheng Keshuang high to the air, as if he was soaring to the clouds or riding in the fog.
Wei Xiaobao was watching with extreme delight; he clapped and laughed heartily. ‘Bang!’ Suddenly Ah Ke knocked the back of his head heavily with her knuckles. He was startled and quickly turned his head around. Ah Ke was frightened and angry at the same time; she anxiously said, “They are going to kidnap him, you … quickly save him.”
Wei Xiaobao said, “They have no enmity with Zheng Gongzi, Shifu said that they are just playing with him; why would you be worry?”
“No, they are not,” Ah Ke said, “They are going to kidnap him, to demand ransom for one million taels.”
Wei Xiaobao said, “There are lots of money in Zheng Gongzi’s home. They can easily afford to pay three millions, four millions taels. One million taels is not a big deal.”
Ah Ke stomped her right foot heavily on the floor. “Ay, don’t you have eyes?” she said, “These bandits will … will make him suffer extreme distress.”
Wei Xiaobao whispered in her ear, “You want me to save him? It’s not difficult, as long as you agree to be my wife.”
“Nonsense,” Ah Ke angrily said.
Looking up, she saw that after the last man caught Zheng Keshuang, he did not throw him up anymore; she heard someone calling out, “Hey, quickly go get the money and come back to Mount Funiu to redeem him. We won’t harm this fellow’s life, we will only give him three hundred floggings. The money is here one day early, he will suffer three hundred less floggings. If you are ten days late, he will suffer three thousand more floggings.”
Ah Ke grabbed Wei Xiaobao’s hand and anxiously said, “Did you hear that? Did you hear that? They are going to give him three hundred floggings every day. From here to Taiwan is very far, they won’t necessarily make it back in one month.”
Wei Xiaobao said, “Three hundred floggings every day. Supposing they took two months, two months is 60 days, three times six is eighteen, it’s only 1800 floggings …”
“Ay, you are wrong,” Ah Ke said, “It’s 18,000 floggings. You are really …”
Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “I am not good in counting. With 18,000 floggings, his ‘pigu gong’ [buttocks skill] can be trained to perfection.”
Ah Ke was extremely angry; she flung his hand and said, “I won’t pay you any attention.” In her anger and anxiety, she broke up crying.
“Alright, alright,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Don’t cry, I’ll think of something. But my proposal just now, you must not go back on your words.”
“You quickly save him, we’ll talk about it later,” Ah Ke said.
Wei Xiaobao knew that she was only blurting perfunctorily, she would never agree under any circumstances to really marry him; he said, “I will go through water and tread on fire for you, I won’t decline your request under any circumstances, but in the future you must not bully me again.”
“Yes, yes,” Ah Ke said, “Quickly go, quickly go!” While saying that, her eyes had never met his, she kept her gaze on the distant Zheng Keshuang. She saw those bandits tied his hands behind his back, and put him onto the horseback; very soon they were going to take him away. In a moment of desperation, she put her hand on Wei Xiaobao’s back and gave him a push.
Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, “His granny, laozi met a beautiful girl, she always asks me to save her sweetheart. Laozi may be extremely skillful in becoming a fool [orig. ‘yuan da tou’ – someone with more money than sense]; perhaps my ‘yuan da tou gong’ is also trained to perfection.” Quickly he rushed forward and called out, “Hey, hey Funiu Montain’s big kings[1], zaixia has something to say.”
The crowd of heroes was already waiting for him to bravely step forward; they turned around immediately. “Xiao Xiongdi,” Gao Yanchao said, “What is it that you want to say?”
“Why did you catch him?” Wei Xiaobao asked.
Gao Yanchao replied, “The brethren in mountain fort is many, yet we lack provision. Today we temporarily detain him, because we want to borrow one million taels from his father.”
Wei Xiaobao said, “One million taels, that’s a small matter. Why don’t I lend it to you?”
Gao Yanchao laughed aloud and said, “Xiao Xiongdi, what is your honored surname and great given name? What makes you talk big like that?”
“My name is Wei Xiaobao,” Wei Xiaobao replied.
“Aiyo,” Gao Yanchao exclaimed; he cupped his fist and bowed, saying, “Turns out it’s the Little White Dragon Hero Wei [the word here is ‘ying xiong’, not ‘da xia’]. You killed the Number One Warrior of Manchuria Oboi, your name became famous throughout the world, we admire you very much. Today we can pay our respect to our revered model, it is indeed the blessing of three lifetimes.”
Fan Gang and the others respectfully bowed and saluted. Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist to return the salute while saying, “I do not dare to accept the honor.”
Gao Yanchao said, “In view of Hero Wei’s great face, we’ll let this fellow go. That one million taels we do not dare to ask anymore.”
Xu Tianchuan fetched two big silver yuanbao from his pocket and presented the money respectfully with both hands, saying, “Hero Wei, if you do not have enough traveling expense along the way, here is a hundred taels, please accept it and use it first.”
“Thank you very much,” Wei Xiaobao said, while accepting the yuanbao. And then he turned around to give it to Ah Ke.
Not in a million years would Ah Ke expect this little vile creature’s reputation was this resounding. When these devils and monsters big robbers heard him announcing his name, they acted as if they had met their superior. How could she know that this ‘little vile creature’ was indeed those ‘big robbers’ immediate superior? In order to please their superior, these ‘big robbers’ had deliberately redoubled their effort to flatter him, and thus had performed a good play. She was pleasantly surprised, thinking that finally Zheng Gongzi would escape from danger.
But she saw Feng Jizhong took a step forward and said, “Wait a moment. Hero Wei, you killed Oboi, we extremely admire you. It’s just that we do not know each other. How do we know that you are indeed Hero Wei and not someone pretending to be him, assuming the Senior’s great name to come out and swindle us?”
“What you said makes sense,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “What can I do so that Sire is convinced?”
Feng Jizhong said, “Zaixia brazenly asks Hero Wei to give me direction with three moves. The Number One Warrior of Manchuria died in your hands, naturally Honored Sir’s martial art skill is no small matter. Whether you are real or fake, once we test it we will find out.”
“Very well,” Wei Xiaobao said, “We will only try the style, one touch and we stop.”
“Absolutely,” Feng Jizhong said, “I am asking Hero Wei to be lenient, so that zaixia will not seriously hurt.”
Wei Xiaobao was secretly amused; he thought, “Feng Dage usually does not like to talk; who would have thought that when playacting, he could emulate the actors very well.” Thereupon he said, “Laoxiong needs not be polite, perhaps I am not your match.”
With left hand finger pointed out, light as a feather his right palm struck out; only after moving for half a chi, the palm suddenly circled around and struck down diagonally. It was precisely the move from Bo’re Palm that Cheng Guan demonstrated, called the ‘without color without shape’.
Feng Jizhong’s had a vast knowledge and experience. “Wonderful!” he called out, “This is a masterstroke from Bo’re Palm, called ‘without color …’ something.” Stretching out his hand to block, he threw his upper body backward to evade too far that he nearly fell down.
Actually, there was not even half a part of internal energy; Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “Sire is right. This move is called ‘without color without shape’.” And then he raised his left hand and struck down diagonally from upper right corner to lower left. Suddenly his five fingers turned into a claw and moved down several times.
Feng Jizhong loudly shouted, “Amazing! There is the ‘Bo’re Palm’ divine skill, and then there is ‘spirited vulture listening to the scripture’.” Assuming the horse stance, he pushed both palms slowly forward, the center of his palm lightly touched Wei Xiaobao’s fingertips. Immediately he cried out, “Ah!” and tumbled anxiously backward three times. While somersaulting, he secretly circulated his internal energy so that by the time he stood up, his entire face was red as if he had just drunk seventeen, eighteen bowls of strong wine. Hid body swayed several times, and then he fell sitting down. Shaking his head, he said, “Can’t … can’t do it … no more fight. My utmost admiration! Hero Wei, thank you very much for sparing my life.”
Wei Xiaobao cupped his fist and said, “Laoxiong deliberately yielded to me.” While saying that, he winked several times.
Feng Jizhong’s appearance looked very real; he had a dejected expression, mixed with gratitude, on his face, but there was also a hint of heartfelt admiration.
Xu Tianchuan took a step forward and said, “Hero Wei’s martial art is astonishing, indeed your name is not in vain. Let ziaxia experience several moves.”
“Very well!” Wei Xiaobao said. Moving swiftly forward, his hands crossed each other, one hand swung to Xu Tianchuan’s left chest, one hand seized his right flank. It was a move from Shaolin Pai’s upper class martial art, ‘picking flower qinna [grab and capture]’.
Xu Tianchuan saw the brilliance of this qinna technique, he could not help but admiring him in his heart, “Wei Xiangzhu is extremely smart, as soon as he started learning martial art, his progress is amazingly quick.” He did not know that although Wei Xiaobao executed the style correctly, he did not have the slightest bit of internal strength, so that even if he was seized by him, he would not suffer any damage. Xu Tianchuan’s stature was short and small, the type of martial art he was most adept was, coincidentally, the qinna. Immediately he unleashed his special skill and sparred with Wei Xiaobao.
[1] Common people usually address bandits or robbers as ‘kings’.