by Jin Yong
“Do you dare?” Mei Chaofeng asked with a trembling voice.
“To visit Peach Blossom Island without Master’s permission is a big violation of our banishment, but after listening to that old man Qiu talking nonsense, my heart was troubled. I want to make sure he is all right. If I don’t go, I will be haunted with uncertainty for the rest of my life.”
Before Mei Chaofeng could answer Huang Rong had already said, “Let us all go together. I will ask his forgiveness on your behalf.”
Mei Chaofeng was silent for a moment. Two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks. “I don’t have face to see him,” she sadly said. “Our benevolent master had compassion on a wretched child like me. He took me as his disciple and raised me. But because of wild ambition I have betrayed him.” Suddenly she lifted her head and shouted, “I only want to seek revenge for my husband. Afterwards, I know what to do. Seven Freaks of Jiangnan.. .let us sort out our business now. Martial Brother Lu, Little Martial Sister, you stand aside; don’t even think of interfering. No matter who lives or who dies, I don’t want you to help either side. Do you hear?”
Ke Zhen’E walked in big strides to the main hall, his iron staff striking the brick floor. Then he said clearly with his hoarse voice, “Mei Chaofeng, you can’t see me, neither can I see you. That night when we fought on that barren hill, your husband died a violent death, but our fifth brother also died at your hands. Did you know that?”
“Oh.. .there’s only six of you left?” Mei Chaofeng asked.
“We promised Taoist Priest Ma Yu to no longer seek vengeance towards you, but it is actually you that looked for us. Good! Even though the world is wide, we always meet each other. It seems like the heavens won’t allow the six of us to co-exist with you in this world. Come!” Ke Zhen’E coldly said.
Mei Chaofeng snorted. “The six of you can attack together,” she said icily.
Zhu Cong and the other Freaks quickly arranged themselves near their elder brother, guarding against Mei Chaofeng’s sudden attack. Everybody unsheathed their weapons.
Suddenly Guo Jing moved forward. “Let your disciple fight her first,” he said.
Lu Chengfeng was in an awkward situation. He heard Mei Chaofeng’s challenge and the six accepted. He did not know how to be the mediator and he hated himself for not having authority or influence over these people. But hearing Guo Jing’s words an idea suddenly came to his mind. He quickly said, “Both sides please stay your hands for a moment. Please listen to Little Brother’s words. Although Mei Shijie and the Jiangnan Six have deep enmity between you, each side has suffered an unfortunate loss. In Little Brother’s opinion, no more blood needs to be shed. Let today’s match only decide victory or defeat, please don’t deepen the enmity. The Six Freaks, although they always face the enemy together, it is still six against one; that, in my opinion, is not fair. Why doesn’t Mei Shijie teach several moves to young Brother Guo?”
Mei Chaofeng snorted and coldly said, “How could I fight an unknown junior?” “Your husband died at my hands. What does it have to do with my Masters?” Guo Jing called out.
Mei Chaofeng was furious. She jumped up and shouted, “Precisely! I will kill you first, little scoundrel!” By listening to voices she knew her enemy’s position. Her five fingers stretched towards Guo Jing’s skull.
Guo Jing leaped to avoid the attack. “Senior Mei!” he called out. “I was very young and ignorant and I accidentally killed your husband. But one has to be responsible for one’s actions. Today you want to kill me and I won’t run away. But will you still look for my Masters in the future?” He realized he was no match for Mei Chaofeng and was ready to die under her fingers; but he was determined to protect his Masters in any way he could.
“You really aren’t going to run away?” Mei Chaofeng asked.
“No!” Guo Jing asserted.
“Good!” Mei Chaofeng shouted. “I am willing to write off the Six Freaks’ debt. Good boy, come, follow me!”
“Mei Shijie, he is a real man. You on the other hand, will be the laughingstock of the heroes of Jianghu!” Huang Rong suddenly called out.
“How?” Mei Chaofeng was angry.
“He is the only heir to the Jiangnan’s Six Freaks’ skills,” Huang Rong explained. “The Six Freaks martial arts of today cannot be compared to theirs of the past. It would be quite easy if they really wanted to take your life. But they have actually forgiven you. Not only that, they also gave you face. It was you who didn’t know the good from the bad.. .yet you are still boasting.”
“Did I want them to forgive me? Bah! ” Mei Chaofeng was furious. “Six Freaks, have your martial arts improved greatly? Want to try me?”
“Why would they want to fight you personally? Even their disciple won’t necessarily lose to you,” Huang Rong said.
Mei Chaofeng was so angry she almost screamed, “If I can’t kill him in three stances, I will kill myself right here right now.” She had fought Guo Jing in the Zhao palace and thought she knew his level of martial arts. What she didn’t know was that in the past few months Guo Jing had received the tutelage of the ‘Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar’. His skill now couldn’t be compared to his skill then.
“Good!” Huang Rong said, “Let all the people here bear witness. Three stances are too few, let’s give you ten.”
“I will match Senior Mei for fifteen stances,” Guo Jing said. He’d only learned fifteen out of the eighteen moves of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, hence he thought he could at least survive fifteen stances.
“Ask Martial Brother Lu and the guest who accompanied you to be the witnesses,” Huang Rong added.
“Who accompanies me?” Mei Chaofeng was taken aback. “I rushed to this manor alone...who came with me?”
“Who is that behind you then?” Huang Rong asked.
Mei Chaofeng threw a sudden backward punch, quick as lightning. Nobody saw the man move, but her attack hit empty space. That person moved like he was a ghost or spirit; the amazing part was that he moved without making a sound.
After she arrived in the Jiangnan region Mei Chaofeng always had the feeling that somebody was following her, but no matter how she spoke or attacked, she could never hear anything. She thought she was losing her mind, or it was a ghost haunting her. And then she heard the flute driving away the snakes and she was certain someone with a very high level of martial arts was shadowing her. She had tried to express her gratitude to the air, but nobody answered. She waited among the trees, but was not sure if that person had left or not. Now she heard Huang Rong speak and she was unable to hide her feeling.
“Who are you?” she asked, trembling, “What do you want from me?”
That person did not answer. Nobody knew if he even heard the question. Mei Chaofeng thrust herself forward. That person did not seem to move but again she did not touch anything. Everybody was stunned. They had never seen someone with this person’s immeasurable skill.
Lu Chengfeng boldly asked, “The Honorable Guest has come from a long way and I have not had the opportunity to welcome you. Would you please sit down and have a drink with me?”
That person turned around, seemingly floating on air as he went outside.
Mei Chaofeng gathered her courage and asked, “Is Honorable Senior the one who played the flute to help me? Mei Chaofeng is deeply grateful.”
Nobody was able to restrain their amazement. Being a blind woman, Mei Chaofeng had very sharp ears, but she could not hear that person leaving the hall.
“Mei Shijie, that person has already left,” Huang Rong said.
Mei Chaofeng was startled. “He did? I ... How could I not hear him?”
“Go after him quickly; don’t boast about yourself in here,” Huang Rong said.
Mei Chaofeng was dumbfounded. Her face showed sadness, yet there was a tinge of anger. Suddenly she shouted, “Guo Kid, take this!” She lifted both hands with all ten fingers out-stretched, emanating a spooky bluish green aura in the candlelight; but she did not attack.
&
nbsp; “I am here,” Guo Jing said.
As soon as Mei Chaofeng heard the word ‘I’ her right hand moved, followed by her left hand’s five fingers, towards Guo Jing’s face.
Guo Jing saw her fast movement; he slightly leaned his body sideways and sent his left palm toward her. Mei Chaofeng heard the sound of the palm and was about to evade, but she was not fast enough for the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ exquisite move and her shoulder was struck. She was shaken and forced to retreat three steps. But her martial arts were not weak. While stepping backwards she sent her fingernails to counterattack. Guo Jing was taken by surprise and his right wrist was caught by Mei Chaofeng on three acupoints: ‘Inner Gate’ [nei guan], ‘Outer Gate’ [wai guan], and ‘Ancestor Meeting’ [hui zong]. Guo Jing had carefully heeded his masters warning, that Mei Chaofeng’s ‘Nine Yin White Bone Claw’ [jiu yin bai gu zhua] was very lethal; hence he guarded himself carefully. But now he could not avoid being grasped by those deadly fingers. “Not good!” he screamed. His whole body felt weak. In that critical moment he managed to bend two fingers, and with his hand forming a half-palm-half-fist he hit her chest. That was the ‘Hidden Dragon is Forbidden’ [qian long wu yong]. It was supposed to be followed by his left hook - a brilliant stance difficult to fend; but since his left wrist was in the enemy’s hand, he could only launch a half stance. But the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ was amazing and even a half stance was no small matter.
Mei Chaofeng heard the incredible wind generated by this half-palm-half-fist move; she did not dare to parry but tried to elude it. Still her shoulder was hit very hard and she was forced to let Guo Jing go.
As Guo Jing was struggling to free himself, he pulled hard, so when his hand was suddenly free both people were thrown backwards and each hit a pillar. The roof shook and bricks, stones and dust fell down into the hall. Many manor people cried out and ran to escape.
The Six Freaks of Jiangnan looked at each other with amazement but were also pleasantly surprised. “Where did Jing’er learn this kungfu?” they asked in their hearts. Han Baoju looked at Huang Rong suspiciously; he thought she was the one who taught Guo Jing and secretly felt admiration, “Peach Blossom Island’s martial arts are amazing.”
By now Guo Jing and Mei Chaofeng were engaged in a fierce battle. Palms, fists, and claws were exchanged. Mei Chaofeng was furious and she fought with gusto. Guo Jing was calm but agile. Both had exerted their full strength and the hall was filled with the sound of their blows.
Suddenly Mei Chaofeng jumped vertically; her attacks seemed to come from every direction, one after another, ever changing. Guo Jing knew this attack was fierce and he would suffer defeat if he left any openings in his defense. He recalled Hong Qigong’s lesson on how to deal with Huang Rong’s ‘Peach Blossom Divine Sword Palm [tao hua shen jian zhang]; no matter how many changes his opponent executed he steadily used fifteen moves out of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’.
By repeating these fifteen moves he was able to defend himself for forty to fifty moves; without giving Mei Chaofeng even half a step advantage.
Huang Rong was keeping her eyes on her ‘Jing ge ge’ with a smile on her pretty face. The Six Freaks stood still in amazement, sometimes clucking their tongues in praise. Lu Chengfeng and his son could only look on in dismay.
“Mei Shijie has improved so much,” Lu Chengfeng thought. “If I had to fight her, I would certainly lose my life in only ten moves ... This young Brother Guo, how could he master such a profound kungfu at his young age? I was really blind . Luckily I was not careless or indiscreet, but treated him with politeness and respect.”
Wanyan Kang was also upset, “I was supposed to compete with this boy; with his kungfu, how could I win?”
“Mei Shijie, you have been fighting for more than eighty moves. Why don’t you admit defeat?” Huang Rong loudly called out. Actually they had only fought for about sixty moves, but she exaggerated by adding twenty more.
Mei Chaofeng was fuming. “I have trained hard for dozens of years but cannot cope with this kid?” she thought. She ignored Huang Rong’s remark and increased the speed of her attacks. Her kungfu was actually many times better than Guo Jing’s; but first, she was at a disadvantage because of her blindness, and second, she could not think straight because her heart was filled with rage in her efforts to seek revenge for her husband. Anger is a big taboo in a battle between two martial arts experts. Thirdly, Guo Jing had the advantage of a youth’s strength, plus he had mastered most of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. Therefore, the battle between these two was extremely fierce.
After about a hundred moves, Mei Chaofeng started to recognize and become more familiar with Guo Jing’s fifteen moves. She knew Guo Jing’s line of defense was formidable; she could feel the wind from more than ten feet away. But she also knew that performing the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ took a lot of energy, and her internal energy was stronger than Guo Jing’s. Therefore, Mei Chaofeng changed her tactics and was trying to tire him. She used the ‘Nine Yin White Bone Claw’ and ‘Heart Destroying Palm Technique’ [cui xin zhang] interchangeably.
Huang Rong knew if this fight was further prolonged, Guo Jing would suffer defeat. “Mei Shijie, it’s more than a hundred moves and quickly will reach the two-hundredth move. You still don’t want to admit defeat?” she called. But Mei Chaofeng turned a deaf ear and increased the intensity of her attacks.
Suddenly Huang Rong had an idea; she leaped to a nearby pillar and called out, “Jing ge ge, look at me!” Guo Jing launched two moves in succession: ‘Wading a Wide Creek’ [li she da chuan] and the ‘Phoenix Slowly Arises from the Land’ [hong jian yu lu], and managed to push Mei Chaofeng back far enough so that he could turn his eyes to Huang Rong. He saw her running around the pillar and making some hand signals, but did not understand what she wanted. So she called out again, “Fight here!”
Guo Jing finally understood; he turned around and leaped toward a nearby pillar. Mei Chaofeng followed with her five fingers to grab him, but her claw ended up penetrating the pillar. As a blind woman, she used sounds to know the whereabouts of her opponent; but the pillar was fixed in place and did not make any sounds at all. When Guo Jing hid behind one, how would she know?
As soon as Guo Jing overcame his surprise he immediately launched a palm which Mei Chaofeng parried. Two forces collided and both were pushed back several steps while Mei Chaofeng’s fingers were freed from the pillar. Mei Chaofeng was very angry and she did not waste another second. Before Guo Jing could steady himself she sent another attack his way.
Guo Jing was able to elude it, but his clothes were ripped and his arm was scratched by her fingernails. Luckily he was not injured, but Mei Chaofeng had scared the hell out of him. Guo Jing quickly counterattacked by launching three successive moves combined with hiding behind the pillar. Mei Chaofeng shouted angrily as once again her fingers pierced the pillar.
Actually Guo Jing did not want to take advantage of her blindness, so he loudly called out, “Senior Mei, my kungfu is far inferior to yours; please show me mercy!”
Everybody could see that Guo Jing had gained the upper hand albeit with the help of the pillar. They knew he was giving Mei Chaofeng face by asking her to stop. Lu Chengfeng also thought that this was a good time to stop the fight.
But Mei Chaofeng coldly said, “If we were competing in martial arts and when I could not defeat you in three moves I should have admitted defeat. But today’s fight is not a martial arts competition; I am seeking revenge for my husband. I have already lost to you, but I still want to kill you!” As soon as she finished speaking both arms launched successive attacks: three times with her right hand and another three with her left. Each attack hit the pillar squarely on. Finally both her hands hit the pillar at the same time. With a loud crack the pillar broke and the roof collapsed.
The people in the hall were martial artists; even though they were shocked they could still jump out to escape. Lu Guanying grabbed his father and rushed o
utside just in time before half the hall was filled with debris. Unfortunately the Jin officer was not able to escape and his legs were pinned beneath a beam. He was screaming for help. Wanyan Kang rushed to his rescue. He lifted the beam up, pulled him up, grabbed his hands and took him out of the hall. As soon as they turned their backs they suddenly felt numbness; without knowing who, someone had sealed their acupoints.
Mei Chaofeng had always concentrated her attention on Guo Jing. As soon as she heard Guo Jing move she followed. By now, under heavy cloud, the outside was dark. As soon as everybody was able to calm him or herself, they could see Guo Jing’s and Mei Chaofeng’s fight had become fiercer than ever. They fought in the dim light; both parties exchanged swift blows one after another, creating gusts of wind everywhere. Compared to the fight inside the hall this fight was more intense.
The darkness was a disadvantage for Guo Jing and he started to fall under Mei Chaofeng’s attacks. Mei Chaofeng’s left leg made a sweeping move, followed by her right leg kicking toward his legs. If he was hit, his leg would break for sure. But this kick was a trick move. Mei Chaofeng unexpectedly held her leg half way and her left arm grabbed Guo Jing’s leg. Lu Guanying was looking from the sidelines. “Watch out!” he cried. He had experienced defeat from Wanyan Kang with this exact same move.
In this dangerous situation Guo Jing tried hard to overcome his fear and used his left hand to parry Mei Chaofeng’s hand. He was fast enough, but his strength was waning. As soon as their hands collided, Mei Chaofeng understood his situation. She immediately turned her hand over and used three fingers: middle, ring, and little finger to scratch the back of Guo Jing’s hand. Guo Jing also realized the danger he was in as his right palm thrust toward her. It was a fierce attack; if Mei Chaofeng did not back off, both of them would be injured. Mei Chaofeng avoided the attack by leaping sideways and then uttered a sinister laugh.
Guo Jing felt his left hand become numb and itchy, then felt a burning sensation. Lowering his head he saw three scratch marks on the back of his left hand. The scratches were bleeding only a little but the blood slowly turned black. He suddenly remembered the time he climbed that hill on the
