by Jin Yong
Ouyang Ke was extremely shocked and knew that he had encountered a strong opponent tonight. He took out six poisoned projectiles and flung them towards the man’s head, chest and limbs. The projectiles were about to strike the man when he gently waved the end of his flute and blocked the projectiles. When he used his flute to block the projectiles, his lips continued to blow and did not leave the flute hole for a single moment. The tune coming out from the flute was not interrupted for a single second. Ouyang Ke could not stand it any longer and opened his fan, again wanting to dance.
Luckily Ouyang Ke had a rather good grasp of his internal energy and knew that if he started dancing, unless his opponent stopped blowing the flute, he would not stop dancing until he died of exhaustion. Ouyang Ke was a clear-minded and sharp man and forced himself to take back his arm with the fan in it. He suddenly thought of a plan, “I’ll tear some cloth off my robe and stuff the cloth in my ears so as to block the sound.” But the flute sound was marvelous and, although Ouyang Ke had torn off some cloth, the flute tune made him lose control of his actions; he struggled but could not put the cloth into his ears. He was alarmed and frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He saw Mei Chaofeng sitting on the ground with her head lowered, circulating her internal energy. He guessed that she was summoning her internal energy to combat the flute’s sound.
At this moment, three of Ouyang Ke’s least skilled apprentices had fallen onto the ground, ripping and tearing their clothing while twisting and turning uncontrollably. Mu Nianci had her accupoints sealed and could not move. Even though her emotions and concentration was deeply disturbed and provoked by the flute’s tune, she did not kick or dance madly because she could not move and just lay silently on the ground.
Ouyang Ke’s cheeks had turned bright red, his head was burning and his throat was dry and uncomfortable. He knew that if he did not stop this now and escape, he would die. He summoned up all his determination and bit on his tongue. The pain diverted his attention from the flute tune and the sound had less impact on him for a moment. He grabbed this opportunity to escape and ran for his life. It was not until he was several li away from the place and he could not hear the flute sound anymore that he felt relieved. Ouyang Ke was thoroughly exhausted and felt extremely weak, as if he had fallen very ill. He thought to himself, “Who is that strange man? Who is that strange man?”
o0o
Meanwhile, Huang Rong and Guo Jing returned to their rooms to sleep after they sent Mu Nianci off. They were pleased with their relaxing trip on the lake so far. Guo Jing knew that once Mu Nianci was off, Mei Chaofeng would soon appear. She was vicious and deadly in her attacks. He worried that there will be no one to match her and many people would get hurt. Guo Jing decided to consult Huang Rong and asked her, “I think we better tell Master Lu about Mei Chaofeng and plead with him to let Wanyan Kang go and save the people in the manor from any injury.”
Huang Rong waved her hand and replied, “That’s not a good idea. Wanyan Kang is an evil brat; let him suffer a few more days. If he is let off so easily, then he will not learn his lesson.” Actually Huang Rong couldn’t care less about whether Wanyan Kang repented or not. She thought that since
he was the disciple of ‘two bad eggs’ Qiu Chuji and Mei Chaofeng, then he might as well stay a baddie. She thought it fun making life difficult for Wanyan Kang. But Huang Rong was also afraid that if Wanyan Kang did not repent Mu Nianci would not marry him and if Mu Nianci does not have a husband, the busybodies would once again try to force Guo Jing to marry her. This would be disastrous. Therefore, she decided that it would be better for Wanyan Kang to repent.
Guo Jing asked, “What shall we do if Mei Chaofeng arrives?”
Huang Rong smiled, “Then we’ll try out what Qigong taught us on her!”
Guo Jing knew that it was pointless to argue with Huang Rong and so returned her smile. But he thought that since Master Lu had taken such good care of them, he would risk his life to protect everyone in the manor no matter what.
Two days later they told Master Lu that they would not leave just yet. Master Lu was even nicer to them since he had hoped that they would stay longer. On the third morning, Master Lu was chatting with Huang Rong and Guo Jing in his study when Lu Guanying rushed in with a pale face. Behind him was one of the housekeepers who carried a wooden tray. There was something on the tray wrapped up with a green cloth.
Lu Guanying said, “Father, someone sent this just now.” With that, he removed the green cloth to reveal a white skull with five finger holes in it; it was indeed Mei Chaofeng’s work.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong were not surprised, since they knew that Mei Chaofeng would appear sooner or later. Master Lu was however shocked and he paled. Quivering, he asked, “Who.who brought this here?” He straightened his body as he asked.
Lu Guanying knew that skull appeared strange but he was a daring and skilled fighter and furthermore, he was the leader of the pirates of the lake. Therefore he did not really take this matter too seriously. But when he saw how upset his father was, he was surprised and even more frightened. He answered hurriedly, “Someone put this in a box and sent it here. The housekeeper thought it was a normal gift and tipped the person without asking its origins. When he brought it to the accounts room and opened the box, he found the skull and when he went to ask the person who sent the gift that person was already gone. “Father, what do you think is going on here?”
Master Lu did not answer but inserted his fingers into the holes in the skull, which fitted his fingers perfectly. Lu Guanying asked in shock, “The holes in the skull are made by fingers? Are fingers that powerful?”
Master Lu nodded and sighed deeply before saying, “Ask the servants to pack up and send your mother to the north manor in the city to stay for the time being. Order the section leaders to gather and stay with their sections for three days. No matter what happens to Cloud Manor, tell them not to interfere.”
Lu Guanying was astonished and asked, “Why, father?”
Master Lu smiled weakly and turned towards Guo Jing and Huang Rong saying, “It is a blessing to be able to make friends with both of you. I had hoped that you could stay longer but I made two enemies when I was younger and they are coming to seek revenge. It’s not that I want to chase you away but Cloud Manor is.is in danger. If I am fortunate enough to survive, we will meet again;
400 Eagle Shooting Hero but ... but there is only a slight chance of that.” He laughed bitterly and shook his head before turning to the study keeper and said, “Bring forty gold taels to me.” The keeper left to do so. Lu Guanying did not dare ask any more questions and left the study to carry out his father’s instructions.
After a while, the keeper came back with the money and Master Lu offered it to Guo Jing saying, “The lady is beautiful and talented and is a perfect match for you. This small amount of money is for your upcoming marriage ceremony; please accept this humble gift.”
Huang Rong blushed and thought, “This person is very sharp, he knew all along that I was a girl. But how did he know that I am not married to Jing ge ge?”
Guo Jing did not know the art of politeness and just thanked Master Lu before accepting the gift. Master Lu then retrieved a glass bottle from the study table and poured out more than ten red pills before wrapping them up in some paper. He continued, “I am not talented but my teacher taught me some medical formulas and I used them to make these pills which can prolong lives when taken. Take them as a form of my respect.”
When Master Lu poured out the pills there was a sweet scent in the air. When Huang Rong smelled it, she knew immediately that those were the ‘Nine Flower Jade Dew Pills’. She had helped her father make those pills before and had to collect the dewdrops from nine different types of flowers. To make the pills, one had to know how to brew the substance on the correct days and season of the year. It was a very painstaking process and the pills consisted of many different types of scarce and precious herbs.
Huang Rong knew that Master Lu was bein
g too generous giving them so many and spoke out, “It is not easy to create the ‘Nine Flower Jade Dew Pills’. We would be more than grateful to accept two pills each.”
Master Lu was slightly surprised and asked, “How did Miss know the name of the pills?”
Huang Rong answered, “I know because I was weak when I was young and an honorable master gave me three pills which had positive effects when I took them.”
Master Lu showed a smile and said, “You don’t have to resist my offer. It would be a waste to keep them anyway.” Huang Rong knew that he was prepared to die and so did not argue and kept the pills.
Master Lu continued in a serious tone, “I have already prepared a boat so please cross the lake quickly. Even if you notice something strange, do not bother to stop. Remember this!”
Guo Jing wanted to stay and help but he caught Huang Rong’s eye signal and had no choice but to agree with Master Lu.
Huang Rong said, “Forgive little sister for her ignorance, but I have something to ask.”
Master Lu answered, “Please speak, Miss.”
Huang Rong replied, “Since Master Lu knows that there are formidable enemies coming to seek revenge, why not hide from them? As the saying goes, a hero avoids obvious dangers.”
Master Lu let out a huge sigh and answered, “Those two people have made me suffer so much! They are the ones who caused me to be crippled. For the past twenty years I have not sought revenge because I am unable to walk. Since they are coming now, no matter what, I will risk my life to fight them. Anyway, they offended my teacher. Even if I am unable to seek revenge for myself, I will definitely have to seek revenge for my teacher at all costs. I don’t hope to defeat them. I am more than happy as long as I can die together with them and thus, repay my teacher’s kindness.”
Huang Rong thought, “How come he keeps saying there are two people? Ah, I know, he still thinks that ‘Copper Corpse’, Chen Xuanfeng, is alive. I wonder what animosity he bears towards them? It is unfortunate for him but I won’t probe further, although I am still curious about something.” Huang Rong asked out loud, “Master Lu, it’s not surprising that you were able to see through my male disguise but how did you know that we are not married since we stayed in the same room?”
Master Lu was dumbfounded by her question and thought to himself, “It’s obvious that she is still a virgin but how do I explain it to her? This little Miss is intelligent and talented in all areas but how come she’s so blind when it comes to matters like these?” He was thinking of a way to answer her when Lu Guanying entered the study and said in a low voice, “I have given the command but leaders Zhang, Gu, Wang and Tan refuse to leave. They say that they will remain in Cloud Manor even if it means risking their lives.”
Master Lu sighed and said, “It is not often that you find such loyal and courageous people! Hurry and send these two guests off.”
Huang Rong and Guo Jing bid Master Lu farewell before following Lu Guanying out. The housekeeper had already prepared Guo Jing’s little red horse and their donkey on the boat. Guo Jing whispered to Huang Rong, “Are we going to get on the boat?”
Huang Rong whispered back, “We’ll leave and come back.”
Lu Guanying wasn’t bothered by their whispering since he was in a state of confusion and wanted to hurriedly send off the guests so as to be able to help out with the preparations against his father’s enemies. Guo Jing and Huang Rong were about to board the boat when Huang Rong spied someone on the bank, walking fast towards them. The person looked strange since he was supporting a huge jar on his head as he walked towards them without a pause. When he came nearer, Guo Jing, Huang Rong and Lu Guanying saw that the man’s hair was white; he wore a short yellow robe and carried a huge feather fan in his right hand, fanning himself gently as he quickened his pace. The jar looked as if it was made from iron and seemed like it weighed a hundred jin [110lbs / 50kg].
The man walked past Lu Guanying, glanced nonchalantly at them and continued walking. He had not taken but a few steps more when his body hunched a little and some water spilled out from the jar. The three then realized that the jar was filled with water, which would now weigh about a hundred jin more. The old man must be highly skilled to be able to balance such a heavy weight on his head.
Lu Guanying thought nervously, “Is this man father’s enemy?” He ignored the danger and went up to the man, while Guo Jing and Huang Rong stole a glance at each other before following him. Guo Jing heard his six teachers mention their fight with Qiu Chuji at the ‘Pavilion of the Drunken Immortal’ before and knew that Qiu Chuji was skilled enough to lift up a huge jar. But the size of the jar Qiu Chuji lifted as described by his teachers did not seem as big as this jar the man was lifting now. Guo Jing suspected that this old man’s skills were above those of ‘Eternal Spring’ Master Qiu Chuji. The old man walked on before reaching the bank of a small river with graves all over the place.
Lu Guanying thought to himself, “There is no bridge here so let’s see whether he crosses the river to the north or goes towards the west.”
Lu Guanying was stunned by what he saw next: The old man walked without a pause over the river; his body was steady and only his lower legs were submerged in the water. When he reached the opposite side of the river he placed the huge jar on the grasses next to a hill before returning to the river and walking on the water back to the other side again.
Huang Rong and Guo Jing had heard their seniors talk about all sorts of skills from various sects and schools but they never heard of the skills which the old man just displayed: Carrying a huge jar on his head and walking on water. They’d thought that such skills only existed in myths and legends; who would have thought that such skills do actually exist on earth? If they had not seen for themselves, they would never have believed such stuff and were secretly in awe of this old master.
The old man’s hair was white and he laughed heartily before turning to Lu Guanying, “You must be the leader of the pirates, Junior Master Lu right?”
Lu Guanying bowed and answered, “I dare not accept such praise, I wonder what is elder’s name?”
The old man pointed towards Guo Jing and Huang Rong and said, “You two boys come here as well.”
Lu Guanying turned around and got a surprise when he saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong behind him. It was then that he realized that the two had been following him. Their lightness skills were so good that they made no noise and he was not even aware of them following him. Guo Jing and Huang Rong bowed and said, “Greetings to elder.”
The old man laughed, “No need for such greetings.” He turned towards Lu Guanying and said, “Here is not a place to talk, let’s find somewhere to sit.”
Lu Guanying was suspicious and thought, “Is he father’s enemy?” He decided to be direct and asked, “Does elder know my father?”
The old man replied, “Master Lu? I have never met him before.”
Lu Guanying thought that the man didn’t seem like he was lying and asked some more, “My father received a strange gift earlier in the day, does elder know of this matter?”
The old man asked, “What strange gift?”
Lu Guanying replied, “It’s a dead person’s skull on the top of which is five finger holes.”
The old man said, “That’s funny; could it be someone playing with your father?”
Lu Guanying thought silently, “This man’s skills are exceptional. Even if he wants to fight father, he would do so openly and does not need to lie about it. It seems like he really doesn’t know anything. Why not invite him to the manor to help us instead? If he agrees to help us, it will be alright no matter how great father’s enemy is.” The more he thought about it, the more delighted he was and answered, “If elder does not mind, why not come to my residence for some tea?”
The old man hummed slightly and replied, “That will be good.” Lu Guanying was overjoyed and waved for the old man to go first.
The old man pointed towards Guo Jing and said, “These two young men a
re guests of the manor right?”
Lu Guanying answered, “They are father’s friends.” The old man did not probe further and walked in front with Guo Jing and Huang Rong following behind Lu Guanying. When they reached the manor, Lu Guanying ushered the old man to a seat in the main hall and sped off to find his father.
Not long after, two servants carried in a bamboo couch with Master Lu on it. Master Lu greeted the old man politely and said, “I hope my ignorant son has not offended elder in any way.”
The old man shifted his body slightly but did not greet him back. He replied blandly, “Master Lu may dispense with the formalities.”
Master Lu asked, “I wonder what elder’s name is?”
The old man replied, “My surname is Qiu and my name is Qianren.”
Master Lu was shocked and asked, “Could it be that elder is the renowned ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’, elder Qiu?”
Qiu Qianren smiled slightly and answered, “To think that you can remember my nickname, you really have a good memory. I have not been active in Jianghu for the past twenty years and thought that people had long forgotten me!”
The name ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’ was indeed a formidable name twenty years ago. Master Lu knew that the old man was the chief of the Iron Palm Sect in Hunan. He had been famous and active in Jianghu but had disappeared suddenly for a very long time so it was not surprising that many juniors born later would not know of him.
