by Jin Yong
Listening to his speech everybody remembered that today was the fourteenth of the eight month, so the martial art contest was going to be the next day. Besides, Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and their company had not arrived yet, so fighting today did not make much sense. Qiu Chuji said, “Lao Qianbei [Senior] is right, we should not have made disturbance here today.” He turned his head toward Ouyang Feng and said, “Ouyang Feng, let us find someplace else to decide who will be alive and who will be dead.”
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Ouyang Feng laughed, “I’ll gladly accompany you.”
Hong Qigong’s face turned sour, he said, “As soon as Wang Chongyang returned to heaven, the Quanzhen Sect’s bunch of mixed-up hair has become a reckless empty-headed bunch. Let me tell you something: five priests and one priestess, plus a little priest with low martial art skill, all of you join hands, you are still not the Old Poison’s match. Wang Chongyang has never left anything good for me; it is none of the Old Beggar’s business whether the bunch of mixed-up hairs will be alive or dead, but let me ask you this: you have a martial art contest appointment tomorrow, who will keep the appointment? Will seven dead Taoists be able to fight?”
This speech sounded like he was ridiculing the Quanzhen priests, but in it he reminded them that by fighting Ouyang Feng they would die and would not live. The seven of them could not defeat Huang Yaoshi then, obviously now they were not Ouyang Feng’s match. All of the Six Masters were experienced Jianghu characters, how could they fail to catch the real meaning of his speech? But they were facing their archenemy right now, how could they cower?
With the corner of his eye Hong Qigong saw Guo Jing was staring angrily at Huang Yaoshi; while Huang Rong was crying with tears streaming down her cheeks. He knew whatever it was, it must be a very complicated matter; he thought carefully, “I’ll wait for the Old Urchin; with his martial art skill he will be able to subdue everybody. At that time the Old Beggar will speak again.” Thereupon he shouted, “The Old Beggar is going to take a nap; whoever lift up his fist or his kick deliberately wants to offend me. Come tomorrow evening, I don’t care if you turn the sky over or shake the earth, the Old Beggar will not help anybody. Ma Yu, take this bunch of mixed-up hairs and sit down here with me cultivating your internal energy. Make a one notch internal strength gain is a gain; waiting for the last minute will not guarantee your victory. Jing’er, Rong’er, come over here and massage my legs.”
Ouyang Feng was rather scared of him; he thought that if Hong Qigong joined hands with the Quanzhen Masters, they would be difficult for him to fight. He said, “Old Beggar, Yao Xiong and I two guys have some unfinished business with the Quanzhen Sect. The Nine-fingered Divine Beggar’s words are like mountain; I’ll follow your direction today, and tomorrow you may not help either side.”
Hong Qigong was secretly amused, “If you push me with your little finger now, I am afraid I will fall down.” Thereupon he loudly said, “The Old Beggar’s fart is still sweeter than your words; I said I won’t help, then I won’t help. Are you sure you’ll win?” Then he laid down face up on the ground, using his wine gourd as a pillow and called out, “Two children, come and massage my legs!”
By now only the bone was left of the lamb leg in his hand, but he was still reluctant to throw it away, he kept gnawing and licking like it was still tasty. He looked at the clouds looming over the horizon and said, “Those clouds look strange, I am afraid the weather will change very soon!” He also noticed thin mist rose from the surface of the lake; he took several deep breaths and shook his head, “It’s very strange!” Turning his head toward Huang Yaoshi he said, “Yao Xiong, do you think I can borrow your daughter to massage my legs?”
Huang Yaoshi only showed a faint smile. Huang Rong came over and sat next to Hong Qigong, then started to massage his leg gently. Hong Qigong sighed, “Ay, these old bones have never enjoyed this kind of good fortune!” Staring at Guo Jing he said, “Dumb kid, are your dog’s paws broken by the Old Heretic Huang?”
“Yes,” Guo Jing replied. He came over the other side of Hong Qigong and started massaging his leg.
Ke Zhen’E was leaning on a willow tree by the lakeside; his pair of blind eyes was fixed at Huang Yaoshi. He was using his ears in place of his eyes. Huang Yaoshi was pacing around by the water. He walked to the east, Ke Zhen’E’s head followed his movement to the east, he turned west Ke Zhen’E followed him to the west. Huang Yaoshi did not pay him any attention, only the corners of his mouth showed a cold smile.
The Quanzhen Six Masters and Yin Zhiping were sitting cross-legged on the ground, maintaining their respective positions of the Big Dipper Formation; their heads were hung low, they were quietly training their internal energy.
Ouyang Feng’s servants, the snake shepherds, took out a table and a chair, set them up underneath the Misty Rain Tavern and served wine and food. With his back toward everybody else Ouyang Feng sat alone eating and drinking; he was wondering in his heart how Hong Qigong could recover that quick from the heavy injury his palm inflicted.
Meanwhile the weather was stifling hot, small insects were flying everywhere, and thin mist hovered on the surface of the lake. Hong Qigong said, “My thigh bone is sore, a storm must be coming; if we can see moon tomorrow at the mid-autumn festival, I will chop my own thigh and give it to you.” Casting a sidelong glance toward Guo Jing and Huang Rong, he noticed that their eyes had always looked somewhere else, and had never looked at each other. Hong Qigong was always frank and honest; seeing this awkward situation, how could he keep his peace? But after asking several questions, those two mumbled indistinctly without giving him any answer.
Hong Qigong raised his voice asking Huang Yaoshi, “Yao Xiong, what is the other name of this Nan Hu?”
“It’s called ‘yuan yang hu’ [Mandarin Duck Lake],” Huang Yaoshi replied.
“Indeed!” Hong Qigong said, “How come on this ‘yuan yang hu’ [Translator’s note: mandarin ducks have always been regarded as the symbol of lovers] your daughter and your son-in-law are having an argument and the father and father-in-law did not advise them?”
Guo Jing stood up immediately, he pointed to Huang Yaoshi and said, “He . he . has killed my five shifus, how can I still call him my father-in-law?”
Huang Yaoshi coldly laughed and said, “Is that strange? The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan are not completely dead; there is still a stinky blind kid left. I’ll say he won’t live to see tomorrow ...”
Without waiting for him to finish Ke Zhen’E had already pounced toward him. Guo Jing also jumped forward, and despite the fact he moved later, he arrived sooner. Huang Yaoshi launched a single stance, his palms crossed and ‘bang!’ he shook Guo Jing’s body, forcing him to retreat two steps.
Hong Qigong shouted, “I said don’t fight! Do you think the Old Beggar’s words are just fart?”
Guo Jing did not dare to attack again, his stared angrily at Huang Yaoshi. Hong Qigong asked, “Old Heretic Huang, the Six Freaks of Jiangnan are chivalrous heroes, why did you kill the innocents?
The Old Beggar thinks this kind of behavior is not pleasing to the eyes.”
Huang Yaoshi said, “I kill whoever I want, why do you care?”
Huang Rong called out, “Father, his five shifus were not killed by you; I know it. Please say that
you did not kill them.”
Under the moonlight Huang Yaoshi saw his daughter’s face was thin and pale, he could not help but feel compassion toward her; but when he turned his eyes toward Guo Jing he saw murder written all over Guo Jing’s face, his heart turned hard and he said, “I killed them.”
With a choking voice Huang Rong said, “Father, why do you insist on confessing the murder?”
With a loud voice Huang Yaoshi replied, “Everybody says your father is wicked and strange, didn’t you know it? Can a criminal do a good deed? All crimes in the world are your father’s. The Six Freaks of Jiangnan considered themselves righteous and chivalrous heroes; when I see this kind of self-proclaimed hero I become a
ngry.”
Ouyang Feng burst out in laughter and loudly said, “Yao Xiong, your words are right on target. Let Xiong Di [younger brother, referring to himself] toast you!” Lifting up his wine cup he drank it in one go; he said, “Yao Xiong, let me present you a gift.” His right hand slightly waved, he threw a cloth bundle away.
He was several ‘zhang’s apart from Huang Yaoshi, but by a casual wave of the hand the bundle flew like a bullet cutting the air; everyone was astonished and impressed. Huang Yaoshi held out his hand to receive it; the content of the bundle felt like a human head to him. After unwrapping the bundle he found it was indeed a human head, newly beheaded; the head wore a square hat, with beard on its chin, the face was not of someone he knew.
Ouyang Feng said with a laugh, “Xiong Di left for the west this morning and took a rest at a schoolhouse. I heard this rotten scholar taught the students to be loyal ministers and filial sons. Xiong Di loathes hearing such things, so I killed this rotten scholar. You and I are the Eastern Heretic and the Western Poison, we both are of the same kind.” Then he let out a long laugh.
Huang Yaoshi’s face changed, he said, “All my life I always respect loyal ministers and filial sons.” Stooping down he dug a hole with his hand, buried that human’s head, and respectfully bowed three times.
Ouyang Feng lost his interest, but he laughed and said, “The Old Heretic Huang has enjoyed a false reputation, turns out he also adheres to propriety and etiquette.”
Huang Yaoshi imposingly said, “Loyalty and being filial is integrity, it is not propriety and etiquette!”
He had just closed his mouth when suddenly a thunder crashed. Everybody looked up and saw black clouds covering half of the sky; a thunderstorm was coming. Right at that moment they heard loud music; seven, eight big boats on the lake approached near. The boats were decorated with red lanterns; on the bows stood signs like ‘Su Jing’ and ‘Hui Bi’; looked like they belong to a high ranking government officer.
End of Chapter 34.
Chapter 35 - In the Temple of the Iron Spear
Translated by Frans Soetomo
Two soldiers were forced to carry Ke Zhen’E as they continued their journey. Huang Rong moved her bamboo stick, constantly whipping them. Towards the evening they arrived at the Temple of the Iron Spear. On the tall pagoda next to the temple crows had made their nests for generations; thousands crows flew back and forth in the air.
As the boat reached the shore, twenty, thirty people came ashore; among them were Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and their company. The last ones to come ashore were two men, one tall the other short; the tall one was the Great Jin’s Prince Zhao, Wanyan Honglie, the short one was the Clan Leader of the Iron Palm Clan, Qiu Qianren. Apparently Wanyan Honglie relied on Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qianren to help them; so he was confident they would win this martial contest, hence he went as far as personally come over to Jiangnan.
Pointing to Qiu Qianren Huang Rong said, “Father, this old man has hit your daughter with his palm that I nearly lost my life.”
At the Cloud Village Huang Yaoshi had seen Qiu Qianren’s disgraceful act; he did not know it was actually Qiu Qianzhang in disguise. He thought it was strange how with just a little bit of trick this man could injure his daughter.
In the meantime Ouyang Feng was having a discussion with Wanyan Honglie and the others; they were talking in a low voice. After about half a day Ouyang Feng came to Hong Qigong and said, “Qi Xiong, you have said that in the upcoming martial art contest you are not going to help either side, haven’t you?”
Hong Qigong said in his heart, “I have the desire but am powerless; even if I want to help I don’t have the ability to do so.” With no other choice he replied, “Contest or no contest, I said the fifteenth of the eighth month.”
“That is so,” Ouyang Feng said, “Yao Xiong, the Quanzhen Sect and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan are seeking enmity with you; you are a grandmaster and a senior, it will be below your dignity to deal with these people. Let Xiong Di [younger brother, referring to himself] deal with them on your behalf, you can just stand on the side and be the spectator, what do you say?”
Huang Yaoshi thought about the battle situation from both sides’ point of view: if Hong Qigong did not go into action, the Quanzhen Masters would certainly fall under Ouyang Feng’s deadly hand, thus the Quanzhen Sect faced an imminent destruction. If Guo Jing helped them by defending the ‘tian xuan’, Ouyang Feng would not be the Big Dipper Formation’s match; but if this dumb kid kept pestering Huang Yaoshi, the situation would not be the same, he thought, “This kid Guo Jing is still wet behind his ears, the Quanzhen Sect’s life or death, fortune or disaster, actually depends on him. If Wang Chongyang in the underworld knew, all he could do is to laugh bitterly.”
Ouyang Feng saw that he looked indifferent without answering his question, if Zhou Botong arrived, the situation would be detrimental to him; therefore, he let out a long laugh and called out, “Everybody, attack! What are you waiting for?”
Hong Qigong was angry, “Was that a human speaking or a dog farting?”
Ouyang Feng pointed to the sky and said with a smile, “’Zi shi’ [first hour, midnight, between 11pm and 1 am] has passed, right now it is already early morning of the fifteenth of the eighth month.”
Hong Qigong looked up only to see that the moon had slightly shifted to the west, half of it was still covered by the dark clouds, it was indeed the end of the ‘zi shi’ and the start of ‘chou shi’ [second hour, between 1 am and 3 am].
Ouyang Feng’s snake staff struck, its target was Qiu Chuji’s chest. Facing their archenemy, with Peng Lianhu watching intently on the side, ready to strike, the Quanzhen Six Masters knew that the slightest mistake today would result in their demise; hence they pulled themselves together immediately and fought Ouyang Feng with all their might, but after just a few stances, the six of them groaned inwardly.
This time the Western Poison’s intention was to show off his power in front of everybody; everything he displayed was swift and deadly move, particularly the two snakes on the head of his staff, which was extended or withdrawn, striking or evading in sudden movements, it was virtually impossible to guard against. Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi and the others had tried several times to stab these snakes, but how could they match their speed?
Huang Rong saw Guo Jing was still staring angrily at her father; it was only because Hong Qigong was on his way that he did not dare to attack. She got a sudden inspiration and said, “All day long talking about avenging his father, humph, now that the killer is here he is afraid.”
Her words reminded Guo Jing, he turned his gaze to her and thought, “Kill the Jin dog first, then look for Huang Yaoshi; it won’t be too late.” Drawing his dagger he charged toward Wanyan Honglie.
Together Sha Tongtian and Peng Lianhu dashed forward, blocking in front of Wanyan Honglie. Guo Jing flicked his wrist and the dagger in his hand stabbed slanting down. Peng Lianhu blocked with his pair of judge pens, ‘clang!’ the weapons collided and he felt tingling sensation on his palms. Guo Jing successively went passed two people. Sha Tongtian’s ‘yi xing huan wei’ [altering form changing position] technique was also unable to stop him; hastily Sha Tongtian tried to pursue him. Lingzhi Shangren and Liang Ziweng, each with weapon in their hands positioned themselves to intercept Guo Jing.
Guo Jing flashed sideways to evade two of Liang Ziweng’s ‘tou gu ding’ [bone penetrating nail]; his both hands, one with a dagger the other with a palm, launched ‘di yang chu fan’ [ram charging fence], throwing his whole body forward.
Liang Ziweng saw that the incoming force was swift and fierce; he rolled away on the ground to evade. Lingzhi Shangren was big and fat, he was not as agile; he thought if he evaded, the enemy would have clear access to the Prince Zhao, so he raised his pair of cymbals, trying to block this attack. With two loud ‘Bang! Bang!’ his hands were shaken and the two cymbals flew to the air, while the wind from Guo Jing’s palm continued hacking toward his face. Relying on th
e strength of, and poison on, his palms, Lingzhi Shangren fended off Guo Jing’s palm, only to feel his chest constricted and his arm sore and numb; his palms hang loosely down, his wrist joints were shaken and to his shock he could not use his poisonous palm skill. He stood dumbly without knowing what to do. If Guo Jing took this opportunity and sent out a palm, he could easily take Lingzhi Shangren’s life, but he remembered his main target was Wanyan Honglie, so he did not give Lingzhi Shangren another look.
The pair of copper cymbals flew in the air and glimmering under the moonlight one after another they fell back down to the earth. ‘Bang!’ the first cymbal landed on Lingzhi Shangren’s head. Luckily it was in a horizontal position; otherwise with its knife-like sharp edge it would chop the Tibetan monk’s bald head in two. Another loud ‘Bang!’ followed, louder and brighter than the first;
the second cymbal landed on the first, creating a continuous buzzing noise, which reached far into the lake and echoed back on the surface of the lake.
Wanyan Honglie saw how Guo Jing was able to go through four martial art masters without missing a step and suddenly arrive in front of him, he was unable to restrain his great shock and cried out, “Aiyo!” while turning his body around and run away.
With the dagger in his hand Guo Jing chased him; but he only managed to pursue several steps when suddenly a yellow shadow flashed by, a pair of palms came slanting down on him. Guo Jing stepped aside to evade, while the dagger in his hand stabbed forward; but his body was swayed by the incoming palms; hastily he steadied his step and saw that the enemy was the Clan Leader of the Iron Palm Clan, Qiu Qianren. Guo Jing knew the enemy’s martial art skill is superior to his own, so he would not be able to pursue his personal enemy; immediately, with the dagger in his right hand and a bare palm on his left, he focused his attention to fight the enemy.
