by Jin Yong
The farmer’s left fist went straight ahead like a hammer hurled toward Ying Gu’s body. This attack carried a strong gust of wind, the force was astonishing. Seeing this strong attack Ying Gu stood her ground and did not evade. The farmer was alarmed; he thought if his fist hit her head, her skull would be cracked. Hastily he tried to withdraw his power, but by that time his fist had already touched the tip of Ying Gu’s nose. Ying Gu leaned her head slightly, the fist slipped from her nose and slid to her cheek. The farmer retracted his left arm, but it was too late. His hand was grabbed by his opponent and with a ‘crack’ sound he felt a shot of pain on his arm. His elbow joint was broken by the back of her fist. The farmer gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain, his right hand index finger swiftly attacked the crook of the opponent’s elbow.
The fisherman, the woodcutter, the farmer and the scholar’s acupoint sealing technique was taught by Reverend Yideng. It was inferior to the Solitary Yang Finger with its infinite variations, but it could be considered as a first class acupoint sealing technique in the Wulin world; how would they know that fighting Ying Gu they were like fighting their black star. She was determined to avenge the death of her son; she fully realized Reverend Yideng’s finger skill was very fierce, thereupon she spent a great deal of time and energy to find a method to subdue that skill. She was very skillful in embroidery, so she found her inspiration from the wonderful needlework technique. She wore a tiny golden hoop on the tip of her right hand index finger; on the hoop was a three-fen (about 1 cm) long golden needle, which tip was dipped in poison. Her vision was excellent, her hand was steady; after training hard for several years she was able to prick a fly flying in the air. This time fighting the enemy she was able to prick the scholar’s index finger. Seeing the direction of the farmer’s finger she laughed coldly, lifting up her delicate hand she aimed her fingertip to his and pricked the farmer’s finger.
As the saying goes, ‘ten fingers join the heart’, the tip of the index finger is connected to the hand’s ‘yang ming’ [positive and bright] passage to the large intestine. As the golden needle pricked in, it hit the ‘shang yang xue’ [positive quotient acupoint] squarely.
In his last effort to score victory amidst a defeat, the farmer had exerted all his strength to his finger. Ying Gu on the other hand, did not have to exert any strength; all she needed to do was to position her golden needle right on the path of the farmer’s finger. Hence she let the farmer prick his own finger by the needle.
As his finger was pricked, the farmer roared like a tiger and fumbled to the ground. Ying Gu coldly mocked, “Nice Captain!” and she dashed toward the courtyard in front of the meditation building.
“Niang-niang, stop!” the fisherman shouted.
Ying Gu halted her step and turned around; “And just how are you going to stop me?” she sneered. By that time she had already at the front of the lotus pond. The pond was connected to the meditation building by a small stone bridge. Ying Gu was standing on the bridge’s end, staring at the fisherman. The night was dark, barely enough ambient light to recognize her face. The fisherman stood facing her, he felt her stares were very cold; he shivered involuntarily and did not dare to step forward to stop her.
Ying Gu coldly said, “The Prime Minister and the Captain have been hit by my ‘qi jue zhen’ [seven lethal needle], nobody in this world can save their lives. Do you want to send your own life off?” Without waiting for an answer she turned around and slowly walked forward. Not once did she turn her head; apparently she was not afraid of any sneak attack.
It was only about twenty steps from the small bridge to the building. As she reached the end of the pathway, suddenly someone came out from the darkness; cupping up his fists he said, “Senior, how are you?”
Ying Gu was startled; she thought, “This person waited quietly here and appeared suddenly; why didn’t I heard his breathing before? If he had evil intention I would have been dead or at least wounded.” She fixed her eyes to look closer and saw this person was tall and broad-shouldered, with thick eyebrows and big eyes; it was precisely the person she gave directions to, Guo Jing. “Is the young miss’ injury healed?” she asked.
Guo Jing bowed and said, “Thank you so much for your directions, Senior. Reverend Yideng has cured my martial sister’s injury.
“Humph,” Ying Gu snorted, “Why didn’t she thank me in person?” Her mouth was speaking, but her feet also kept walking forward.
Guo Jing was standing at the other end of the bridge. “Senior, please return!” he hastily said.
Ying Gu ignored him; she slightly leaned her body sideways and utilizing the ‘ni qiu gong’ she slipped past by him. Even though Guo Jing had fought Ying Gu at the Black Marsh, he did not anticipate she would slip pass him while still talking and that her body could be this slippery. In his desperation Guo Jing flung his left arm backward, attacking Ying Gu using the marvelous Vacant Fist of Zhou Botong.
Ying Gu thought that she had already slipped through Guo Jing; who would have thought that suddenly a soft yet strong gust of wind came from his fist pounced toward her face, forcing her to draw back. But Ying Gu was determined not to return, so no matter how strong Guo Jing’s attack was, she bravely charged forward as if wanted to receive the blow head-on.
“Watch out!” Guo Jing hurriedly shouted. He felt a warm and soft female body was thrown into the crook of his own elbow. He was stunned. Taking advantage of his situation Ying Gu swept his feet and both of them fell into the lotus pond.
When they were still midair, Ying Gu’s left hand slipped underneath Guo Jing’s right arm pit, wound around his back and grabbed his left shoulder, her middle finger curled toward Guo Jing’s throat while her thumb and index finger pinched the back of his neck with all her strength. It was the fiercest ‘qian feng hou bi qi’ [sealing front throat shutting air] technique from the ‘qin na shou’ [grab and capture]; so long as one pinch hit the mark, the enemy’s air passage would be sealed and he would not be able to breathe.
While he was falling down Guo Jing felt his shoulder was grabbed, he knew his situation was not good. He bent his right arm to clasp Ying Gu’s neck. It was also a technique from the ‘qin na shou’ called the ‘hou xie jing bi qi’ [clasping the back of the neck to close up breathing]. Ying Gu knew Guo Jing’s arm strength was devastating, and that her own strength was far too inferior; she knew although she attacked first but she could not compete with him in terms of brute force, so she let her hand off Guo Jing shoulder and stretched her finger to prick him instead. Guo Jing used his left arm to parry her finger.
Falling from the stone bridge to the lotus pond actually took a short moment, but two people had exchanged attacks and counterattacks swiftly; in a blink of an eye they had exchanged no less than three stances. Both were utilizing close combat techniques of ‘qin na shou’. Ying Gu’s skill was profound, yet Guo Jing’s strength was astonishing. In these three stances victory and defeat could not be decided. ‘Splash!’ two people fell into the pond.
The bottom of the pond was covered with mud about three feet high; as they fell, they were immersed in the water up to their chests. Ying Gu’s left hand scooped down some mud and smeared it toward Guo Jing’s mouth. Guo Jing was shocked and lowered his head to avoid the mud. Ying Gu had lived on the Black Marsh for more than ten years. Her Loach Maneuver was developed based on watching loach diving and moving around in the mud. Fighting on land she was exceptionally slippery, how much more in the mud? She was like a tiger that grew wings. She intentionally dragged Guo Jing to the pond because she was aware of his martial art; she knew it would be difficult to cross the bridge with Guo Jing guarding it. Her finger-pricking technique was actually several times faster in the mud than on dry land; plus every now and then she scooped a handful of mud and smeared it on Guo Jing’s face.
Both of Guo Jing’s feet sank deep into the mud; moreover, he did not dare to use too much strength and accidentally injure her, so after about only four or five stances he was already at a disadvanta
ge. He heard a swishing sound of mud coming toward his face; hastily he dodged sideways. Who would have thought that as the first mud flew past; the second mud had arrived, followed by the third handful of mud, which hit him squarely on his face so that his mouth, nose and eyes were covered in stinky mud.
The Six Freaks of Jiangnan had taught him well, so he knew if he was hit by a secret projectile, he must not frantically trying to pull out the projectile, because then the enemy would seize the opportunity to assault and make a kill. At this moment he could not breathe and could not open his eyes; he moved his palms and launched three fierce stances so no one would be able to come within five feet near him. Just then he wiped the mud from his face with his left hand and opened his eyes; but Ying Gu had already leaped up to the stone bridge and dashed toward the meditation courtyard.
As Ying Gu successfully went through Guo Jing she secretly scolded herself, “Ashamed! If there were no pond, how would I overcome this dumb kid? It looks like the Heaven is helping me to seek revenge today.”
She sped up her steps and arrived at the temple door shortly. She raised her hand to push; the door was not bolted, it opened immediately with a soft creaking sound. This time she did not rush in, expecting an ambush or some booby trap on the door. She waited outside the door only to see the room was empty, nothing astir. Slowly Ying Gu entered the room. She saw it was a meditation room with a single oil lamp illuminating the image of Buddha with a dignified face. Ying Gu’s heart turned sour, she knelt on the meditation mat and offered a silent prayer.
She just barely prayed for a short moment when suddenly she heard someone chuckle softly behind her. Immediately her left hand flung backward in a sweeping movement to block any potential sneak attack, while her right hand pushed down the mediation mat, borrowing the momentum to leap upward and made a graceful somersault in the air before landing back down to the ground.
“Excellent skill!” she heard a woman’s voice applaud. Ying Gu turned to look and saw a young girl wearing green clothes with red belt around her waist and a bunch of golden hoops flickering under the lamp light on her hair, her pair of beautiful eyes stared at Ying Gu with a hint of smile in them; there was a gleaming dark green bamboo stick in her hand. Needless to say, it was Huang Rong. “Senior Ying Gu, I thank you for your kindness in saving my life,” she said.
“I gave you directions to treat your injury, but my real intention was to harm others,” Ying Gu said matter-of-factly, “So I really was not saving your life. Why should you thank me?”
Huang Rong sighed, “Vengeance and debt of kindness is really difficult to understand. My father imprisoned the Old Urchin Zhou Botong on the Peach Blossom Island for fifteen years. In the end he still could not save my mother’s life.”
As she heard the name ‘Zhou Botong’ was mentioned, Ying Gu was extremely shocked. “What
relation did your mother have with Zhou Botong?” she asked sternly.
Hearing her tone Huang Rong knew she suspected Zhou Botong had some love affair with her mother and consequently was imprisoned by her father on the Peach Blossom Island. Apparently even after more than a dozen years her feeling toward Zhou Botong did not subside; otherwise why
would she drink vinegar over nothing?
Lowering her head, in a mournful voice Huang Rong said, “My mother died of exhaustion due to the Old Urchin.”
Ying Gu was more suspicious than ever. Under the dim light she could see Huang Rong’s skin was as white as snow, her eyes and eyebrows were beautiful; even Ying Gu in her prime years was not as beautiful as she was. She deducted that Huang Rong’s mother must also be beautiful; it would be difficult for Zhou Botong to see her and not be attracted to her. Ying Gu frowned involuntarily.
“Don’t you have any ideas,” Huang Rong said, “My mother is like an angel; that Zhou Botong is as stupid and stubborn as a cow. Unless the woman has eyes but fails to see, nobody would have a crush on him.”
Ying Gu knew Huang Rong was mocking her, but her suspicion was gone; she was instantly relieved. Without batting an eyelid she coldly retorted, “Since there is someone who loves Guo Jing who is as stupid as a pig, there must be someone who loves a man as stupid and stubborn as a cow. How did the Old Urchin cause your mother’s death?”
Huang Rong pouted and said, “You scold my martial brother; I won’t talk to you.” She brushed her sleeve and turned around, pretending to be mad.
Ying Gu really wanted to know about Zhou Botong, so she busily said, “All right, I won’t do that anymore. Your martial brother is actually very smart.”
Huang Rong halted her steps and turned around. “That Old Urchin did not intentionally cause my mother’s death,” she said, “It was very unfortunate of my mother to die because of him. In his anger my father imprisoned him on the Peach Blossom Island; but afterwards my father regretted it. Injustice has its cause, debt has its originator. If someone killed your loved one you should go to the ends of the earth to seek vengeance on the murderer. Why would you vent your anger toward others?”
This speech was like a severe blow on Ying Gu’s head; she stood still without making any noise. She heard Huang Rong continue, “My father had long ago freed the Old Urchin .” Ying Gu was pleasantly surprised, “Then I don’t have to rescue him?” she asked.
Huang Rong smiled, “If my father had not released him, were you going to rescue the Old Urchin?” she asked. Ying Gu was silent.
When Ying Gu left Dali her intention was to look for Zhou Botong. The first few years was spent without hearing any news about him. Then quite by accident she heard from the Twin Killers of the Dark Wind that Zhou Botong was imprisoned on the Peach Blossom Island by Huang Yaoshi; but as for the reason behind it she could not inquire. That day when Zhou Botong renounced her and left Dali she knew that it would be very difficult for him to have a change of heart if not because of some significant cause. This time as she learned about his predicament she was both happy and sad at the same time; sad because the man she loved was in trouble, happy because she thought this was a good opportunity. If she managed to rescue him, how could he not have deep affection toward her? Who would have thought that the roads and pathways on the Peach Blossom Island had a thousand turns and a hundred detours? No need to mention rescuing anybody, she almost died of starvation for three days and three nights. If Huang Yaoshi did not send a deaf and mute servant to show her the way, she would never leave that island alive. Thereupon she made the Black Marsh her residence, diligently learning math and theory of numbers. Now she heard that Zhou Botong had been released she stared blankly with all kinds of thoughts bubbling up in her heart.
Huang Rong smiled and gently said, “The Old Urchin is most willing to listen to me; he won’t dare to turn down whatever I say. If you want to see him, follow me and go down the mountain. Let me be the matchmaker between the two of you; just consider it my way of saying thanks for saving my life.” Her words had made Ying Gu’s cheeks turn red with her heart thumping wild.
Seeing her speech might turn murderous intent into a happy occasion Huang Rong felt smug. Suddenly she heard a slapping sound; Ying Gu’s palms struck each other. Her face looked like it was covered with a layer of frost; sternly she said, “What makes him listen to you, a girl surnamed Huang? Why would he follow your direction? Because of your good looks? I have never shown kindness to you, I don’t need you to repay. Quickly make way for me, or else don’t blame me for being merciless.”
“Aiyo, you want to kill me?” Huang Rong laughed.
Ying Gu raised her eyebrows. “What if I do?” she coldly said, “Others are scared of the Old Heretic Huang, I am not afraid of the heaven and the earth.”
Huang Rong chuckled, “Killing me is not a big deal,” she said cheekily, “But who would help you solve the three mathematical problems I left for you?”
Since that day Huang Rong wrote three mathematical problems on the sand inside the thatched hut at the Black Marsh, Ying Gu had painstakingly racked her brain day and night; but she did
not have any clue on how to solve them. At first she studied mathematics with the intention of rescuing Zhou Botong; but later on she was captivated with this complex yet mysterious subject. The further she dug into it, the more fascinated she became that sometimes she forgot to eat or sleep, and could not stop even if she wanted to. She knew perfectly well that even if she could solve these problems, compared to Huang Yaoshi’s, her skill would still be like heaven from earth; in other words, it would not help her the least a bit in her plan to rescue Zhou Botong. But curiosity had forced her to rack her brain; without a clear answer it would be difficult for her to keep her mind at peace. Now that Huang Rong mentioned it, the three subjects immediately flashed on her mind clearly; without realizing it her face showed hesitation.
“Don’t kill me, I’ll teach you,” Huang Rong said. She took the oil lamp from the image of Buddha and placed it on the ground. Taking a golden needle out, she started writing numbers and letters on the brick floor.
The first subject was the ‘qi yao jiu zhi tian zhu bi suan’ [seven dazzling nine grasping Indian method of calculation]. As Ying Gu saw the solution she was dazzled and could not help but secretly sigh in praise. Huang Rong continued with the second subject, the ‘li fang zhao bing zhi yin gei mi ti’ [lit. standing up soldier supplying silver topic] had profound changes in it. As Ying Gu waited for her to write the last answer she sighed and said, “This middle subject surely has an endless wonderful secret.”
A moment later she said, “If we say the third subject to be easy, then it is easy; but if we regard it as difficult, then it is difficult. There is an unknown number; three and three has a remainder of two, five and five has a remainder of three, seven and seven has a remainder of two. What number is that? I know it was twenty-three; but that was a hard guess. I need to line up every number for all interchangeable computational patterns, but even after thinking until I split my head I could not figure it out.”
