by Jin Yong
“To violate the body of the virgins,” the girl insisted, “is to kill them?”
“No,” Hong responded, “when a woman undergoes such an outrage, this is sometimes more painful than death itself. The proverb says: ‘To be dishonored is grave, to die of hunger is nothing’. That says well what I want to say...”
Huang Rong did not understand. “Does that mean to cut the ears or the nose with a knife?”
“Pah!” Qigong said, bothered, “not at all! Little imp, you better ask your mother when you get back home... ”
“My mother is dead...”
“Ah!” said the beggar. “Then you will understand after your wedding night with our silly young fellow!”
Huang Rong reddened, understanding at last that it was a matter of shameful things. She said softly, “If you do not want to explain... Therefore, you fell on the old monster in the process of committing this evil deed.. .this was in past then?”
Qigong, relieved to see that she did not put up anymore embarrassing questions, continued, “Well, I intervened, that's right. I caught this rascal, gave him a good thrashing and pulled out all his hair! Afterwards, I obliged him to take those girls back to their homes and to promise solemnly that he would not try it ever again. If he resumed doing it, he would regret ever having been born! It would seem that, for all these years, he never broke his promise and that's the reason why I spared him today.” He said then, “Goodness, did his hair grow back?”
“Oh yes!” Huang Rong said while bursting out laughing. “Pulling out all the hair.. .that would have been really funny!” The three finished the meal.
“Master Qigong,” Huang Rong then said, “now, even if you wanted to give me this bamboo stick, I wouldn't want it. But we cannot remain close to you all our lives! What if we come across this Liang fellow, and he says to us: ‘Well little brat, last time you sheltered yourself under the name of Clan Master Qigong and you hit me with his bamboo stick, today I'm going to avenge myself. I will pull out all of your hair!’ What will we do then? When my Jing ge ge fought with him, his one and Eagle Shooting Hero 351 only blow, ‘The Proud Dragon Regrets’, is of course powerful, but that means little all the same, true? I am sure that Liang will say in his heart: ‘Clan Master Qigong has kung fu of infinite power, but when it comes to teaching a disciple; this is really not that troublesome!”
“I well know,” Qigong said, “that you utter all these stupidities, so provoking and threatening, so that I'll teach all my skills to you two! Well, so long as you prepare some good dishes for me, I won't disappoint you.”
Huang Rong, delighted, took Hong Qigong by the hand to go into the pine forest.
Hong imparted to Guo Jing the second blow of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, called ‘Flying Dragon in the Heavens’. In this stance it was necessary to jump into the air and strike from the top down; an extremely powerful attack. Guo Jing took three days to assimilate it. During these three days, Qigong took the opportunity to experience ten more delicious dishes even better than the others. Huang Rong, for her part, asked nothing from him for herself; provided that he continued to teach her loved one. This was more than enough to satisfy her.
In the space of a month, Qigong taught Guo Jing fifteen of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, from ‘The Proud Dragon Regrets’ to ‘Sighting the Dragon in the Field’.
These ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ were Qigong's ultimate skills. He had originally learned them from his Shifu and they were instrumental to his reputation. The number of blows was of course, limited, but each of them was full of exceptional power. At the time of the first Huashan tournament, when the Five Supreme Masters measured themselves, these Eighteen Palms were not completely up to the mark, but they did give rise to respect and general admiration. Thereafter, Qigong often expressed his regret that if he had concentrated all his efforts to perfect this technique some years earlier, the title of "First in the Martial World" might not have fallen to the Grand Master of the Quanzhen Sect, Wang Chongyang, but to himself!
At first, Hong had no intention of passing on to Guo Jing more than two or three of these Eighteen Palms, which would have been more than enough for him to defend himself. But Huang Rong was really an unparalleled cook; every day she prepared new dishes of exceptional taste, never repeating herself. The old beggar could not resolve himself to leave. So, day after day, he ended up teaching the fifteen blows. Guo Jing did not understand the stances quickly, but the little that he learned, he retained and repeated day and night. Working with such determination he achieved a good mastery of the fifteen blows and what he lacked in power, time and practice alone could give to him. Thus, in a little more than a month, his kung fu had achieved such progress that he was no longer the same person!
That morning, after breakfast, Qigong said, while sighing, “My children, we've been together for more than a month, it's time we took leave of each other.”
“Ah no,” Huang Rong protested. “I have many more simple dishes for you to taste...”
“There are not endless banquets, but there is an infinity of dishes... I never have, in all my life, taught anybody for more than three days. This time, I've done that for more than thirty days! If this continues it'll be a catastrophe!”
“Why's that?” “Well, you will strip me of all that I know!”
“You've started a good work; why not take it to the end! Teaching him the Eighteen Palms would be a real accomplishment!"
“Pah, that would be an accomplishment for you two, but not for me...” Huang Rong, worried, wondered what stratagems she could invent to get Hong to teach the three remaining blows to Guo Jing, but the old beggar did not give her the time. Flipping his gourd over his back, he left without speaking another word.
Guo Jing chased after him, but Qigong went so quickly that he disappeared in a wink. The young man raced into the pines and called, “Qigong, Qigong!” Huang Rong had followed him and added her calls to his. Suddenly, a shadow arose from the pines; it was Hong, who addressed them angrily, “Dirty kids, what are you still bothering me for? If you want me to teach you more, that is absolutely impossible!”
“You have already taught us too much,” Guo Jing said. “I am more than satisfied, how could I want more? It's only that I did not thank you again for your kindness!” He knelt then and kowtowed, striking the ground with his forehead, several times.
Qigong’s expression changed: “Stop,” he shouted, “That which I taught you is nothing other than a suitable payment for the small dishes that she prepared for me. There has never been a relationship of master and disciple between us!” At that, he also knelt and kowtowed in front of Guo Jing.
Stunned, he attempted to kowtow again, but Qigong extended a hand and touched a pressure point, freezing him with his legs half bent. The beggar released him only after having prostrated himself four times in front of him: “Remember,” he cautioned, “Never mention that you kowtowed to me and that you are my disciple!” Understanding that he had a stubborn character, Guo Jing didn't attempt to contradict him.
“Grand Master Qigong” Huang Rong sighed, “you were so good to us and now we must part. I had the intention of preparing some simple dishes for you, but... unfortunately... I fear that this is not possible anymore... ”
“And why not?” Qigong asked.
“Many people want to do evil to us... aside from that old monster the ‘Ginseng Immortal’, there are many more evildoers! One day, we will end up dying at their hands!”
“What is death?” Hong said with a smile. “Everyone must die one day.”
“Of course”" replied Huang Rong while shaking her head, “it's not a big deal to die, but I'm afraid that they will capture me and, learning that I received your teaching and that I cooked for you, they will force me to cook for them all those dishes that I prepared you. This would be a stain on your reputation!”
Qigong knew well that the girl was trying to trick more skills out of him, but, the thought that someone might force he
r to cook, while he himself could not taste those succulent dishes, caused a feeling of great anger. “Who are these villains that scare you?” he demanded.
“There is,” Huang Rong replied, “a certain old monster of the Yellow River, Sha Tongtian. He eats in such a disgusting way! What a shame it would be for him to have my delicious dishes!”
“There's no need to fear Sha Tongtian!” Qigong said while shaking his head. “In one or two years, this dummy Guo Jing will be stronger than him. There's nothing to fear...”
Huang Rong mentioned the Tibetan monk Ling Zhi and Peng Lianhu. To which Qigong replied again, “Nothing to fear!”
But when Huang Rong mentioned the young master of White Camel Mountain, Ouyang Ke, Hong Qigong seemed taken aback. He questioned her about the techniques and moves of this new opponent, before nodding his head. “That's indeed him!”
Seeing the seriousness of his face, the girl became serious herself, “He's very powerful, isn't that right?”
“There's nothing to fear from Ouyang Ke!” Qigong said. “It's his uncle, the old West Venom, who is fearsome.”
“The old West Venom? No matter how fearsome, he cannot be stronger than you, isn't that right?”
Qigong didn't reply. He thought for a while, before he stated, “At one time, we were equals. But that was twenty years ago... In those twenty years, he's surely trained harder than lazy and gluttonous me. Huh, but to beat this old beggar, nonetheless, won't be easy...”
“Then he certainly can't beat you!”
“We will see,” Qigong said, shaking his head. “Since the nephew of the old West Venom, Ouyang Feng, is after your head, we must be careful. I will eat your cooking for fifteen days. But let's make one thing clear.. .if, during these fifteen days, you present the same dish to me twice, I'll get up and say good-bye...”
Huang Rong was delighted. She decided to give the full measure of her talents. Not only did she not repeat the same dish, but she prepared infinite variations in the accompaniment of noodles and rice for every meal. Fried dumplings, steamed dumplings, boiled dumplings, fried rice, rice porridge, sticky rice, flower-shaped buns, rice flour noodles and a type of bean soup. Qigong, for his part, took pains to teach the two young people the art of adapting oneself to all the fighting positions, to react and to better defend themselves. But he never taught the three blows lacking from the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. Guo Jing, of course, deepened his mastery of the fifteen stances, and he equally increased the power of all the martial arts he had learned with the Six Freaks of Jiangnan. Hong Qigong had, before the age of thirty-five, practiced much diversified kung fu and learned innumerable fist and palm techniques. From among them he deliberately chose bizarre types for Huang Rong, but it was just as a joke. These techniques were beautiful to look at, simple and direct, but their real effectiveness in battle was far inferior to the Fifteen Palms Guo Jing had learned. Huang Rong desired only to have fun, so without really applying herself in this apprenticeship she had learned them to amuse herself.
Guo Jing was practicing his palms one evening, when Huang Rong climbed a tree to gather bamboo shoots and plums for an unconventional dish called ‘The Three Friends of Winter’, which has three distinct flavors.
Hong Qigong couldn’t stop himself from drooling. Then he suddenly bent over into a thicket of grass and fished out a two-foot-long blue snake.
“Snake!” Huang Rong shouted.
With his left hand, Hong Qigong lightly pushed Huang Rong on her shoulder, forcing her back a few feet. The thick patch of grass rustled again, revealing more snakes. Hong Qigong struck each snake with the dog-beating stick on the center of its head. The blow immediately killed them. Huang Rong cheered. Suddenly, two snakes silently slithered behind her and bit her.
Hong Qigong knew the blue snakes, although small, possessed a highly venomous poison without comparison. Alarmed, he tried to think of a way to neutralize the poison. The sound of continuous hissing was heard, as a hoard of snakes materialized about ten zhang away. “How do you feel?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Huang Rong laughed. Fear struck Guo Jing when he saw the two snakes still hanging onto Huang Rong.
Hong Qigong told Guo Jing to be careful. In his anxiety Guo Jing had already removed a snake. He noticed blood dripping from its head. They were already dead. Hong Qigong understood. “Your father gave you his soft hedgehog armor.” When the snakes bit Huang Rong, they were immediately killed by the spikes on her armor, which pierced their heads. Just as Guo Jing went to pull the other snake off Huang Rong more snakes emerged from the forest. Hong Qigong placed a yellow herb in his mouth and chewed. By this time, over a thousand snakes had emerged from the forest. Many more were out of the sight.
“Master Qigong, let’s get out of here,” Guo Jing said.
Hong Qigong didn’t answer. Instead, he unstopped his gourd and took a large swig from it. He mixed the yellow herb with the wine, which he spit from left to right, creating an arc in front of the three.
When one blue snake attempted to cross the medicated wine, it immediately died. None of the other blue snakes dared to cross the wine after that. Indeed, the ones in the front attempted to retreat, but more snakes were emerging from the forest. Both groups crashed into one another causing a writhing chaotic mass. Huang Rong clapped her hands and shouted with pleasure. The forest suddenly emitted a strange noise just before three men dressed in white emerged from it. They used a pole to herd the snakes as if they were oxen. Huang Rong found this all amusing. But then she suddenly felt like vomiting. Hong Qigong struck at a snake with his dog-beating stick. He then took the snake and used two fingers to extract its gallbladder.
“Quickly swallow this,” he said to Huang Rong. “Don’t bite or chew it or you will feel pain.” After swallowing the gallbladder, Huang Rong’s chest immediately felt at ease.
“Jing ge ge, do you feel dizzy?” Huang Rong said. Guo Jing shook his head.
Because he had drunk the blood of the giant snake, Guo Jing had become impervious to over a hundred poisons. The snakes also felt fear whenever they smelled the scent of the blood on Guo Jing. When they emerged from the forest, they were really after just Hong Qigong and Huang Rong.
“Master Qigong, these snakes were raised by people,” Huang Rong said. Hong Qigong nodded and angrily glared at the three men in white. The three men were also angry after they saw Hong Qigong feed the gallbladder to Huang Rong. They reorganized the snake line.
“You three bastards!” one of them shouted. “Are you tired of living?”
“No, you must be the three bastards who are tired of living!’ Huang Rong shouted back.
Hong Qigong clapped Huang Rong on the shoulders in approval. The three men became even angrier. The sallow-cheeked, middle-aged man standing in the middle thrust the long pole at Huang Rong with a surprising amount of force. Hong Qigong pressed the dog-beating stick against the pole, which immediately stopped. Startled, the man pulled on the pole with both of his hands. Hong Qigong shook the dog-beating stick and shouted, “Be gone!”
The man stumbled and flipped over, landing right in the middle of all the deadly snakes. He had luckily eaten a herb earlier, so the snakes were unwilling to bite him. Shocked, the other two men took a step back. “How was it done?” they said. Indeed, the other man had fallen so hard that he crushed ten snakes and felt sore all over.
One of his companions, a fair-skinned man, held out the pole to the sallow-cheeked man to support him. They were reluctant to fight again.
“Who dares to stop our snakes with that herb?” the sallow-cheeked man said. Laughing, Hong Qigong paid no attention to them.
“Who are you to send out so many poisonous snakes to injure people?” Huang Rong replied.
The three men looked at one another, trying to figure out how to respond when another man dressed in white appeared at the edge of the forest. He walked through a narrow path between the snakes while fanning himself. Both Guo Jing and Huang Rong recognized him as Ouyang Ke, th
e master of White Camel Mountain, whose presence amongst their ranks caused the snakes to disperse.
The three men welcomed their master and told him of Hong Qigong’s amazing ability and the situation that had just transpired. Ouyang Ke was surprised. Then he nodded.
“In their ignorance these three servants offended the old senior,” he said. “I apologize.” Then he turned to Huang Rong and smiled. “Ah, the lady is here,” he said. “I am at your service.”
Huang Rong turned her attention to Hong Qigong. “Master Qigong, you should take care of this bad egg,” she said.
Hong Qigong nodded and said to Ouyang Ke, “How can you lawlessly herd these snakes through the country in broad daylight? You obviously intend to use these snakes for reckless acts. Who do you intend to use them on?”
“These snakes have traveled a long distance,” Ouyang Ke said. “They can’t feed themselves in the conventional manner.”
“How many people have you hurt?” Hong Qigong said.
“We’ve herded the snakes through the country,” Ouyang Ke said. “Not many people were hurt.”
Hong Qigong glared at the other man. “Not hurt many people!” he said. “Your family name is Ouyang is it not?”
“That’s correct,” Ouyang Ke said. “The lady must have told you. And what is the venerable one’s name?”
“This man’s rank is a generation above yours,” Huang Rong said. “If he told you, he’d scare you to death!” But Ouyang Ke didn’t get angry. He laughed instead and cast a sidelong glance at her.
