by Jin Yong
He continued, “I have wracked my brain for a plan to protect the safety and happiness of the people and there is only one way to protect the country. I have traveled all the way to Jiangnan for this. I heard that the Little Jin Prince and Commander Duan are held in this manor. Why not invite them in for a discussion?”
Master Lu did not know how Qiu Qianren knew of this but hurriedly ordered two servants to bring them in. He ordered their chains removed but asked the servants to place them on the floor and denied them any utensils for dinning. Guo Jing and Huang Rong noticed that Wanyan Kang looked weak and exhausted. Commander Duan looked like he was in his early fifties, had a thick beard and wore a frightened expression.
Qiu Qianren looked at Wanyan Kang and said, “Little Prince has suffered?”
Wanyan Kang nodded and thought, “I wonder why Guo Jing and Huang Rong are here?” The day he fought in Master Lu’s study, he didn’t notice them hiding in one corner. The three looked at, but did not greet each other.
Qiu Qianren faced Master Lu and said, “There is much wealth in front of your manor but why hasn’t brother retrieved it?”
Master Lu was curious and asked, “I live a simple, rural life. What wealth is Elder talking about?”
Qiu Qianren answered, “When the Jin Army attacks the South, a great war will start and many lives will be lost. If brother gathers the heroes of Jiangnan and you fight together, you will banish the Jin and attain peace.”
Master Lu thought silently, “This is a serious matter indeed.” He answered hurriedly, “It is my honor to help fight for my country and it is something that I am responsible for. I am loyal to my country but the Imperial Court does not appreciate it. If a person is evil, even if he becomes a priest, it is useless if he does not have the right morals. I hope Senior creates a pathway for me and Junior to follow and we will be more than grateful. I do not crave any wealth or rewards.”
Qiu Qianren stroked his beard and laughed. He was about to answer when the housekeeper rushed forward and said, “Leader Zhang has spotted six suspicious-looking people on the lake. They have already reached the Manor.”
Master Lu paled and called out, “Invite them in quickly.”
He thought silently, “Why are there six people? Could it be that the ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’ have found allies?”
End of Chapter 13.
Chapter 14 - The Master of Peach Blossom Island
Translated by Frans Soetomo
The power of the 'Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms' was not light. However, Mei Chaofeng always knew in advance where his attack would go and was able to evade quickly. Several moves later the strange man flicked three pebbles in succession. Mei Chaofeng followed the sound and launched three deadly attacks one after another.
What he saw was six people, five men and one woman, entering the hall. They were the Six Freaks of Jiangnan. They had been wandering around the north and south and on this particular day had arrived at Lake Tai, where they met some Jianghu people on a boat who received them attentively.
They had been away from their hometown for such a long time that they did not know the current affairs of the martial arts world. They weren’t sure who these people were, so Zhu Cong exchanged some pleasantries with them. It turned out these people were Manager Zhang [zhai zhu] and his men from ‘Cloud Manor’ [gui yun zhuang].
They had received orders from Lu Guanying to guard the lake and to report any unusual activities. They did not know who these six people were, and since these six wielded weapons, they were inclined to regard the six as the enemies of the Old Manor Master. Therefore, Manager Zhang acted with utmost prudence and received the six cordially then invited them to enter the manor while at the same time sending a report to the Manor Master.
Guo Jing, however, was ecstatic to see his six masters. Quickly he knelt and greeted them one by one, “First Master, Second Master, Third Master, Fourth Master, Sixth Master, and Seventh Master! You are all here! This truly is wonderful!” He was overly exuberant, but because of his spontaneity everyone could see his sincerity and genuine delight.
Although the Six Freaks were angry with him over the Huang Rong affair, in all honesty they loved him dearly. They were pleasantly surprised to see him and all anger simply vanished into thin air.
“Child, where is that female demon of yours?” Han Baoju could not help scolding him.
Han Xiaoying, however, had a pair of sharp eyes. She saw Huang Rong wearing men’s clothing sitting amongst the group. She tugged Han Baoju’s sleeve and whispered, “Calm down. We will talk this over later.”
Initially Master Lu also suspected that his enemies had arrived, but then he saw that these six were total strangers to him. Moreover, Guo Jing had addressed them as his masters. He was relieved. Cupping his fists in respect he apologized, “I have crippled legs; please forgive me for not standing up to welcome you,” and immediately gave the order to prepare another banquet table for the guests.
Without wasting another second Guo Jing introduced his Masters. Master Lu was delighted and said, “I have heard of your illustrious names and admired you for a long time. It is very fortunate to finally meet you in person today.” His manner was very cordial.
Qiu Qianren, on the other hand, did not show any interest in the six guests. He simply smiled faintly and kept eating and drinking.
Han Baoju was irritated and could not hold his temper. “And who is this gentleman?” he asked.
“I am pleased to introduce him to you, Six Masters,” Master Lu proudly said. “He is the highly respected Senior of Wulin, the Taishan (Mount Tai) and the Big Dipper Constellation [meaning -the ultimate] of this present age.”
The Six Freaks were startled. “Is he the Peach Blossom Island Master Huang Yaoshi?” asked Han Xiaoying. “Could he be the ‘Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar’ [jiu zhi shen gai] Hong Qigong?” asked Han Baoju.
Master Lu smiled and explained, “No, he is neither. He is the ‘Iron Palm Floating on the Water’ [tie zhang shui shang piao], Senior Qiu.”
“He is Senior Qiu Qianren?” Ke Zhen’E asked, surprised by the revelation.
Qiu Qianren laughed heartily with a smug face
By that time the manor staff had finished preparing a new banquet table and the Six Freaks took their seats. Guo Jing wanted to sit with his masters. He tugged Huang Rong’s hand for them to go together, but Huang Rong simply smiled and shook her head. She was not willing to sit with the Six Freaks.
Master Lu laughed and said, “I thought Brother Guo did not know martial arts. Who would have known that you are the disciple of these well-known Masters? Truly my eyes are blind and could not see the hidden treasure right in front of me .”
Guo Jing stood up. “My skill is mediocre,” he said, “I was indeed taught by these Masters. I do not dare to show off in front of the Manor Master. I beg your forgiveness.”
Ke Zhen’E was delighted listening to their conversation. He was proud that Guo Jing was well-behaved.
Qiu Qianren suddenly said, “The Six Freaks of the South [Jiangnan] are prominent characters in the Jianghu world. This old man has a very important matter to deal with. It would be wonderful if I could acquire your valuable assistance.”
“Senior Qiu was just about to explain the matter when the six guests arrived,” explained the Manor Master. “Now would Senior please enlighten us?”
Qiu Qianren complied and said, “For we who live in the Jianghu world, the ultimate purpose of our existence is chivalry and helping the suffering people. Right now we see with our own eyes the Jin army moving south. If our Song Dynasty cannot discern good from bad and is not willing to surrender, when the war breaks out, I wonder how many lives will perish? As the saying goes, ‘shun tian zhe chang, ni tian zhe wang’ [following Heaven’s will means prosperity, opposing Heaven’s will means death]. Therefore, this old man is going to make contact with the valiant people of the south and to take up arms alongside the Jin army and attack the Song Dynasty from both sides. This will render
it helpless and thus it will not have any choice but surrender. If we succeed, not only will we gain riches and honor, but the gratitude of the common people as well. That way our martial arts skills are not useless and we do not taint the two characters ‘xia yi’ (chivalry) with dishonor.”
Hearing this, the Six Freaks’ countenances flushed and the Han siblings were ready to open their mouths. Luckily Quan Jinfa - who sat between them, quickly pulled their sleeves and signaled with his eyes towards the Manor Master, hinting that they should wait to see how he responded.
So far Master Lu had showed great admiration for Qiu Qianren; but listening to his speech he was unable to restrain his great surprise. He forced a smile and said, “Even though Junior is unworthy and my body is as worthless as grass, I have never dared to forget ‘zhong yi’ [loyalty and brotherhood]. The Jin army is going south to attack my country and they mean harm to the people. Junior will certainly join other Jiangnan heroes to fight the invaders to my death. Senior, what you just said, was that to test me?”
“Brother Lu, how can you be so short sighted?” Qiu Qianren asked. “What good is it to help the Song fight the Jin? Most likely you will end up like Yue Wu Mu [General Yue Fei], who suffered a tragic death at the ‘Crisis Pavilion’ [Feng Bo Ting].”
Hearing this, Master Lu was shocked and angered at the same time. Initially he thought he could count on Qiu to help him deal with the ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’ [hei feng shuang sha]. Who would have thought that he had decided to betray his own country? It was useless to possess a high martial arts skill if the person had such a low character and was this shameless. He flicked his sleeve and said, “Junior is facing a formidable enemy tonight. I was going to ask Senior to help me uphold justice; but since we do not hold to the same values, I do not dare to entertain your honorable presence even if blood should splash from my neck. Please!” He cupped his fists. His intention was clear; he did not want the guest to stay any longer.
The Six Freaks of Jiangnan - along with Guo Jing and Huang Rong, were delighted and secretly admired their host.
Qiu Qianren smiled but did not say anything. As his left hand gripped the wine cup, his right hand moved towards the cup’s mouth, revolving the cup around in his hand. Suddenly he flipped his right hand and flicked the cup away. To everyone’s amazement the cup was cut smoothly into two parts: the cup bottom and about half an inch of porcelain ring. To crush a cup is not difficult, but to cut the cup smoothly was a demonstration of profound energy worthy of respect.
Master Lu realized he was being threatened. While he was still hesitating, the ‘Horse God’ [ma wang shen] Han Baoju had already leaped out of his seat. Angrily he called out, “Shameless scoundrel, let us see who is superior, you or I!”
Qiu Qianren did not falter. “I have heard for a long time of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’s stellar reputation. Today I want to see whether what I heard is true or not. All six of you, come!”
Master Lu knew Han Baoju was no match for the old man. He was delighted to hear the old man challenge all six of them. He quickly said, “The Six Freaks of Jiangnan always move forward and backward together. Facing a single enemy or fighting an army, the six go together, not a single one of them willing to be left behind.”
Zhu Cong understood very well the Manor Master’s intention. “Very well,” he said, “let us five brothers and our sister fight this famous Wulin character!” He waved his hand and his five brothers and sister immediately left their seats.
Qiu Qianren also stood up, picked his chair up, strolled to the center of the hall, set the chair down, and sat with his right foot above his left. He calmly said, “This old man will fight you sitting down.”
Ke Zhen’E and the others were startled. He knew that the old man would not dare to act so arrogantly if he did not have a very high level of martial arts.
While his six masters had not made any moves yet, Guo Jing quickly moved forward. He had heard amazing stories about this old man’s kungfu and knew his masters were not this old man’s match. He had received his masters’ kindness and even though he knew the risk, he stepped in front of his masters and boldly said, “Junior is asking for some lessons from the Senior.”
Qiu Qianren was surprised; then exploded in laughter. “It wasn’t easy for your parents to raise you. Why would you waste your unworthy life for nothing in this place?”
Almost in unison Ke Zhen’E and the others called out, “Jing’er, move back!”
But Guo Jing was determined. He was afraid his masters would hold him back, so without saying anything he bent his left leg a little bit, moved his right palm in a circular motion, then thrust it forward, hard. It was the ‘The Proud Dragon Shows Remorse’ [kang long you hui] from the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, which he had unceasingly trained hard up to this day. It could not be compared to what it was when Hong Qigong first taught it to him.
Qiu Qianren had judged Han Baoju’s skill when he leaped out of his seat. It wasn’t extraordinary so it was natural that he thought Han’s disciple would not be good either. It was beyond his comprehension that Guo Jing’s attack would be so fierce. He was shocked and hastily leaped up from his chair, only to hear a loud cracking sound. His chair had been destroyed by Guo Jing’s palm.
“Confounded kid!” he shouted angrily when he landed back on the floor.
Guo Jing was a bit wary; he did not dare to advance. “Senior, please give me some pointers,” he said politely.
Huang Rong wanted to disturb Qiu Qianren’s mind so she called out, “Jing ge ge, don’t be so polite to this old scoundrel!”
The old man was livid! As long as he had roamed Jianghu, who would dare call him ‘old scoundrel’ to his face? He was about to thrust his palm to attack her, but suddenly remembered his own reputation. He sneered and lifted his right hand and positioned his left hand on his eyebrows. Then, just when Guo Jing darted sideways to fend, redirected his hand to make a claw then retracted it. The hand on his eyebrows moved forward in circular motion. His right hand followed, changing from a fist to a palm.
Huang Rong called out, “What’s so special about that move? That is the ‘Lone Goose Leaves the Flock’ [gu yan chu qun] from the ‘Open Arm Six Palms Technique’ [tong bi liu he zhang]!”
Qiu Qianren was surprised that she recognized his move. It was indeed the ‘Open Arm Six Palms Technique’, which was created based on the ‘Open Arm Five Elements Technique’ [tong bi wu xing zhang]. It was not an extraordinary move, but he had perfected this move for decades. The word ‘open’ here actually meant that his right and left arms were interchangeable. Guo Jing saw his right hand coming fast, while his left hand moving to the right, then the right hand went back and supported the left hand. Both hands were supporting each other, increasing the strength of both hands and was very fierce.
Guo Jing had seen his amazing strength and he lacked experience in combat. He was a little bit nervous and did not dare to counterattack. He kept stepping back.
Qiu Qianren thought, “This kid could destroy a chair because of his strength, but actually his martial arts are only average.” He immediately launched several stances: ‘Penetrating Palm Hacking Down in a Flash’ [chuan zhang shan pi], ‘Lifting the Cloud Palm Technique’ [liao yin zhang], ‘Step Across the Tiger to Climb a Mountain’ [kua hu deng shan], getting stronger with each stance.
Huang Rong was anxious seeing that Guo Jing was losing. She approached the two with the intention of stepping in if Guo Jing was in danger.
When Guo Jing saw her coming, he turned his head to see her anxious face and could not help but feel nervous. Qiu Qianren saw this and, wasting no time, he attacked with the ‘White Snake Spitting Sign’ [bai she tu zhi]; his palm hit Guo Jing squarely on the chest.
Huang Rong and the Six Freaks - as well as Master Lu and his son, all called out in alarm. They thought that with Qiu’s strength hitting such a vital part, Guo Jing must be dead or at least severely injured.
Guo Jing was also shocked, so he immediat
ely circulated his chi and lifted both arms. Strangely he did not feel too much pain, which puzzled him no end. Huang Rong saw him staring blankly and thought that he was internally injured and was about to pass out. She immediately jumped forward to support him and asked anxiously, “Jing ge ge, are you all right?” Her heart was so shaken that tears flowed involuntarily from her eyes.
Guo Jing’s response was unexpected, “I am all right! Let me try again.” He stuck his chest out, walked toward Qiu Qianren and boldly said, “You are the senior ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’, hit me again!”
Qiu Qianren was furious; he immediately struck another palm at Guo Jing’s chest with all his strength. But instead of collapsing, Guo Jing laughed loudly and shouted, “Masters! Rong’er! This old scoundrel’s skill is only ordinary. As long as he did not hit me, his secret was safe; but as soon as he hit me, his secret is revealed!” His words were followed by a sweep of his left arm, forcing Qiu Qianren to step back. “Now you can feel my palm!” he shouted.
Qiu Qianren saw his movement and thought, “You said ‘palm’ but your hand forms a fist, do you think I am blind?” He underestimated Guo Jing’s attack and simply blocked the fist with both hands in front of his chest. Who would have known that Guo Jing was using the ‘Dragon Battling in the Wilderness’ [long zhan yu ye] which was the most mysterious stance of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. Both left and right arms could be either solid or void without any specific rules.
Qiu Qianren saw Guo Jing’s left arm move while his right arm hung loose; suddenly the right arm thrust forward and hit Qiu Qianren on the right shoulder, followed by a punch to his chest. Qiu Qianren’s body flew out of the hall through the main entrance like a kite with broken string!
Just as everyone uttered a startled cry, somebody suddenly appeared in the entrance. She held Qiu Qianren by his collar while entering the main hall with big strides. She put Qiu Qianren down on the floor and stood coolly at the center of the hall. Her face was cold and expressionless and her long hair lay scattered about her shoulders. She looked up. It was none other than ‘Iron Corpse’, Mei Chaofeng. Every heart skipped a beat.
