by Jin Yong
Zhang Wuji was startled; he raised his head and saw the eleven Precious Tree Kings, each one wearing glittering metal armor and holding weapon in their hands, were jumping toward his ship.
Xie Xun and Zhou Zhiruo held their Saber and Sword tight, placing them on Pingdeng Wang and Miaofeng Shi’s necks. The eleven kings noticed this and as they jumped to the bow, they did not dare to press further. They formed a half moon formation and gazed intently, waiting for an opportunity to make their move.
In Zhou Zhiruo and Zhao Min’s eyes, these eleven kings looked so mean and ferocious, plus they were tall in stature; they were rather afraid.
Zhihui Wang spoke in Chinese, "Thou better release my fellow Cult member quickly, we will spare thy lives. They people are like pigs or dogs in us eyes; why do thou need to place thy blades on they people’s necks? If thou dare, go ahead and kill they people. There are thousands of people like them people in the Persian Holy Cult. What regret do we people have if thou kill one or two of they people?”
"Thou don’t have to talk big to deceive we people,” Zhao Min said, "We people know that they two people are the Pingdeng Bao Shu Wang and Miaofeng Shi. They people’s positions in thy Ming Cult are quite high. Thou said that they people are just like pigs or dogs in thy eyes then thou have made a mistake, a big heap mistake!”
That Zhihui Wang’s Chinese was a ‘textbook’ Chinese, the terms they used for ‘thou’ and ‘they people’ were nondescript. Zhao Min had cleverly imitated his intonation and terminology. Although they were in a dangerous situation, Xie Xun and the others could not restrain from smiling.
Zhihui Wang frowned and said, "In our people’s Holy Cult, there are three hundred sixty Bao Shu Wang, Pingdeng Wang holds the three hundred and fifty-ninth position. We people have one thousand two hundreds emissaries, this Miaofeng Shi’s martial art is just so-so, he is totally useless. Thou quickly kill they people then!” "Very good, very good!” Zhao Min said, "Friends with saber and sword in your hand, quickly kill these useless people!”
"Accepting order!” Xie Xun said. Lifting up his Saber, he drew a deep breath and hacked down toward Pingdeng Wang’s skull.
Everybody shouted in alarm; but the Tulong Saber swept gently and swiftly less than half an inch pass Pingdeng Wang’s head, cutting a clump of his hair, which was blown by the sea breeze, vanishing into the air. Xie Xun moved his arm, slicing to the left and to the right, seemingly cutting Pingdeng Wang’s arms; but in the last moment he flicked his wrist slightly and cut Pingdeng Wang’s sleeves instead.
These three moves were executed fiercely, yet accurately. It was extremely difficult even for people with seeing eyes, let alone for a blind man.
Narrowly missing death, Pingdeng Wang was so scared that he almost passed out several times. The other eleven Precious Tree kings and the Wind and Cloud three emissaries were dumbstruck;
their mouths were wide open but their tongues were tied.
"Now thou have seen the Central Earth Ming Cult’s martial art,” Zhao Min said, "This Jin Mao Shi Wang ranks three thousand five hundred and ninth in the Central Earth Ming Cult. If thou want to rely on numbers to achieve victory, then the Central Earth Ming Cult will come to Persia to seek revenge in the future. We will wipe out thy central altar, and thou will certainly not able to resist. I suggest thou make peace with we people.”
Zhihui Wang knew Zhao Min was bluffing, but he did not know how to answer her. Suddenly Dasheng Bao Shu Wang spoke. Xiao Zhao called out, "Zhang Gongzi, they are going to sink our ship.”
Zhang Wuji’s heart turned cold; he realized his side did not possess excellent water skill. Once the ship sunk, they would certainly be captured by the enemy. His shadow flashed and he had arrived in front of Dasheng Wang.
"What are thou doing?” Zhihui Wang shouted. From both sides Gongde Wang and Zhanghuo Wang, one was using a whip, the other a hammer, struck together.
By this time Zhang Wuji had already understood Persian Sect’s martial art; without even trying to evade, both of his hands reached out and grabbed the kings’ throats. ‘Clang!’ Gongde Wang’s iron whip and Zhanghuo Wang’s octagonal hammer struck each other. Sparks flew everywhere. Zhang Wuji sealed both men’s acupoints on their throats to immobilize them and dragged them away.
In this confusion Zhang Wuji kicked his feet left and right; two kicks made the blades in Qixin Wang and Zhen’E Wang’s hands flew away, two more kicks made Qinxiu Wang and Juming Wang flew into the water. Suddenly he saw a tall and skinny Precious Tree King pounc on him with a pair of daggers in his hand, stabbing Zhang Wuji’s chest. Zhang Quji’s foot flew up and kicked his wrist. That man overlapped his hands and stabbed Zhang Wuji’s lower abdomen. This change was so quick that Zhang Wuji was forced to hurriedly leap back to evade.
Turned out this man was Changsheng [eternal victory] Wang, who possessed the highest martial art skill among the twelve kings of the Persian Central Cult. After sealing Gongde Wang and Zhanghuo Wang’s acupoints, Zhang Wuji quickly threw them into the cabin, and then turned his body around to fight Changseng Wang’s pair of daggers.
Although this man was numbered among the twelve kings, his martial art skill was strong, greatly different from the rest of the kings. Zhang Wuji attacked for three stances and defended for another three stances, he advanced three steps and retreated three steps. He inwardly praised, "A Persian with an excellent skill!”
After gaining an understanding of the martial art theory from the Sheng Huo Ling, Zhang Wuji did not have time to practice. Now that he met a powerful enemy, he had to think and fight Changsheng Wang at the same time. For the first dozen or so stances, he defended himself relying on his profound internal energy and the ingenuity of his moves, thus he managed to fight evenly with a narrow margin. After the twentieth stance, he was getting more and more comfortable in utilizing the secret from the Sheng Huo Ling on top of the martial art from the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi.
Changseng Wang earned his title ‘Eternal Victory’ because in his entire life he had never met any worthy opponent. This time he felt like his hands and feet were bound by the enemy, which he had never experienced before; naturally he was astonished, but also scared.
After thirty stances, Zhang Wuji made a step forward and suddenly sat on the deck, while grabbing Changsheng Wang’s calves. This strange move was an extremely profound move recorded on the Sheng Huo Ling. Although Changseng Wang knew about it, he had never dared to use it.
As Zhang Wuji grabbed the enemy, his ten fingers moved and sealed the ‘zhong dou’ [central capital] and ‘zhu bin’ [building guest] acupoints on Changseng Wang’s calves, using the acupoint sealing technique of the Central Earth martial art. Changseng Wang felt the lower half of his body went numb and difficult to move; he heaved a deep sigh and let his hands caught by the enemy.
Suddenly Zhang Wuji felt a fondness in his heart toward this man’s ability. "Thy martial art skill is excellent, I want to save your reputation. Quickly return to your ship,” he said, while releasing his captive. Changsheng Wang was grateful and ashamed at the same time, he leaped back to his ship.
Dasheng Wang saw Changsheng Wang’s bitter defeat, also saw how Gongde Wang and Zhanghuo Wang fell into the enemy’s hands, he realized that if the enemy’s ship sank, Pingdeng Wang and the other three kings would also perish with them. He shouted his command, calling everyone to return to their ship.
Zhao Min loudly called out, "Quickly release Taj-kis and agree to Jin Mao Shi Wang’s three requests!”
The remaining kings quietly discussed their situation. Zhihui Wang said, "Complying with thy requests is not a big deal. But this young master’s martial art is obviously our Persian Sect’s skill, where did he learn it from? We demand an explanation.”
Stifling her laugh, Zhao Min maintained a solemn face and said, "Thou art naive and lack of understanding, boastful and wishy-washy. This young master is our Cult Emissary’s eighth disciple. His seven martial brothers will arrive soon. By that time, if the seven of them are upset,
then it will be extremely awful for thou. Woe is thou ...”
Although Zhuhui Wang was intelligent, Chinese language is difficult and profound; he only understood around 60, 70% from what Zhao Min said, but he was certain she was blowing her horn. He hesitated a moment before saying, "Very well! Send Taj-kis over to their ship.”
Two Persian cult members took Taj-kis to the bow of Zhang Wuji’s ship. Zhou Zhiruo raised her sword. ‘Ding, ding!’ immediately the shackles on Taj-kis’ hands and feet were cut off. Seeing the sharpness of the Sword, those two Persians were scared to death; they hastily leaped back to their ship.
"Thou may set sail immediately, return to the Central Earth,” Zhihui Wang said, "We will send a small boat to follow behind thy ship.”
Zhang Wuji cupped his fists and said, "The Central Earth Ming Cult came from Persia, thou and us are like brothers. Today we had a misunderstanding. I respectfully wish thou do not keep this in thy mind. I invite you to visit the Brightness Peak in the future, we will drink wine and have a pleasant chat together. For the offenses of today, herewith Xiongdi [brother] apologize.”
Zhihui Wang laughed out loud and said, "Thy martial art skill is excellent, you’ve won our utmost admiration. For those who learn some kind of skill, isn’t it a delight to train it to perfection? A friend comes visit from afar, isn’t it a delight to the host? Even if they are upset, shouldn’t they be delighted?”
Zhang Wuji and the others were surprised to hear him quoting Kongzi [Confucius], showing that he was an educated man, he was able to respond accurately to Zhao Min’s remarks earlier. They all laughed.
Zhao Min said, "What you say is very good; you are truly a distinguished Persian, a true rarity! I wish you all a prosperous and long life, blessed with abundance and kept from calamities, free of sickness until the day you die.”
Zhihui Wang understood the four character ‘prosperous and long life’ [duo1 fu2 duo1 shou4], so he believed the rest were also good wishes for him. He smiled and mumbled, "Many thanks, many thanks!”
Zhang Wuji realized that although Zhao Min was speaking amiably, she could turn vicious and hurl some cunning and provocative speeches. Right now they were among tigers and wolves, the night was still young and the dreams many; hence the earlier they get out of danger the better. Immediately he pulled the anchor and turned the rudder, he hoisted the sail and slowly drove the ship away.
All around them the Persians aboard their ships watched how Zhang Wuji weigh the anchor and hoist the sail, a job for dozen of sailors, alone; a demonstration of an astonishing strength. They burst out in cheers. Someone tossed the mooring rope of a small boat, which Zhang Wuji caught and tied to the rear mast. The big ship towed the small boat, gradually they sailed away. There were two people on the small boat, a man and a woman; they were none other than Liuyun Shi and Huiyue Shi.
Zhang Wuji manned the rudder and steered the ship westward, he saw that the Persian ships did not pursue. Quickly they sailed away for several ‘li’s, until the ships by the Ling She Island looked no more than one inch big, yet they were still unmoving, so finally he felt relieved. He asked Xiao Zhao to handle the rudder, while he went into the cabin to check on Yin Li’s condition.
Yin Li was still in a blurry condition, half-asleep and half-awake. Although she did not seem to improve, but her sickness did not get worse either. Zhang Wuji thought that in this big Persian ship, there must be some medicine around.
Taj-kis was standing on the bow with her eyes gazed into the ocean. She heard Zhang Wuji walk on the deck, but she did not turn her head. Zhang Wuji saw her from behind, and had to admit that her figure looked beautiful and elegant; her beautiful hair floated in the wind, the back of her neck as white as the white jade. Xie Xun said she was the Wulin world’s most beautiful woman in the past, it was certainly not an empty word. He imagined her standing by the bank of the Bi Shui Han Tan, with her purple gown as beautiful as a flower, her sword as brilliant as the snow; he wondered how many heroes and warriors’s hearts had fallen because of her.
Sailing until the evening, they had left Ling She Island approximately a hundred ‘li’s behind.
Looking to the east they did not see a single sail on the surface of the ocean; obviously the Persian Central Cult did not dare to pursue them under their threat.
"Yifu,” Zhang Wuji said, "Can we release them now?”
"Very well!” Xie Xun replied, "Even if they want to pursue, they won’t overtake us.”
Zhang Wuji unsealed Pingdeng, Gongde, Zhanghuo, three kings, and Miaofeng Shi’s acupoints, while apologizing to them repeatedly. He took them to the stern and helped them to leap into the small boat.
Miaofeng Shi said, "We are responsible for these six Sheng Huo Ling; losing them is not a small offense. Please return them to us.”
Xie Xun said, "Sheng Huo Ling is the Central Earth Ming Cult’s token of authority; today it returned to its rightful owner, how can we let you take it away?”
Miaofeng Shi talked incessantly, insistent that the tablets be returned to him. Zhang Wuji thought he must subdue Miaofeng Shi’s heart today to avoid more trouble in the future. He said, "If we return these tablets to you, your ability is still too low. I am afraid you won’t be able to defend them. Rather than letting some strangers snatch them away, don’t you think it would be better if the Ming Cult has them?”
"How can some strangers casually snatch them away?” Miaofeng Shi asked.
"If you don’t believe me, then let us try,” Zhang Wuji said, handing over the six Sheng Huo Ling tablets to him.
Miaofeng Shi was delighted; he had barely uttered, "Many thanks!” when Zhang Wuji hooked with his left hand and pulled with his right, taking the six tablets back.
Miaofeng Shi was surprised and angrily said, "I was not even ready, that one did not count.”
Zhang Wuji smiled, "All right, there is no harm in trying again,” he said, handing the Sheng Huo Ling back to him.
Miaofeng Shi put the four tablets of Sheng Huo Ling into his bosom first, and then held the two tablets in his hands tightly. Seeing Zhang Wuji reached out to snatch, he moved the Sheng Huo Ling in his left hand to hit Zhang Wuji’s wrist. Zhang Wuji flipped his wrist and grabbed Miaofeng Shi’s right arm and pulled it up so that two Sheng Huo Ling struck each other. ‘Clang’ the noise shook their hearts. Zhang Wuji transmitted his abundance internal energy to Miaofeng Shi’s arm.
Both of Miaofeng Shi’s arms were numb because of this attack, his whole body lost its strength as if he was paralyzed, so that the Sheng Huo Ling tablets in his hands fell onto the deck. Zhang Wuji took the four Sheng Huo Ling from his bosom first before taking the ones on the deck.
"Well?” he said, "Do you want to try it again?”
Miaofeng Shi’s face was ashen. "You are not a human,” he stammered, "You are the devil, you are the devil!” He took several steps backward and was about to jump into the small boat, but he staggered and tumbled down. Liuyun Shi leaped up to carry him down.
The small boat raised its sail. Gongde Wang pulled the towing rope. ‘Snap!’ the rope broke and the small boat was separated from the big ship. Zhang Wuji cupped his fists and said, "Please forgive us for the many offenses.”
Gongde Wang and the others’ eyes were full of hatred, they turned their heads around without answering. The big ship rode on the wind and sailed to the west, two boats were getting farther and farther away from each other.
Suddenly Taj-kis cursed, "Bastard! How dare you?” She jumped into the water.
Zhang Wuji was shocked and hastily turned the rudder. He saw blood bubbling up from the water, followed by another one some distant away. Altogether there were six bloody areas with bubbles
up to the surface.
With a splash Taj-kis’ head appeared from below the surface with a short dagger in between her teeth, her right hand was holding a Persian man’s hair, which appeared above the water shortly.
Zhang Wuji turned the rudder quickly to meet them, but the hull of that ship was too
big; because of the strong wind, instead of turning around, the ship slowly made a big circle on the water. In the water, Zi Shan Long Wang was as agile as a fish; without taking too much time, she had reached the ship. Her left hand reached the anchor and with one pull she flew up, taking the Persian along with her, to the deck.
Everybody realized now, that the Persians had concealed this disastrous thought. They waited until Gongde Wang and the others safely moved to the small boat, then they raised the sail to cover up some people who went underwater toward the big ship, with the intention of sinking Zhang Wuji and the others to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, Zi Shan Long Wang noticed the bubble in the water from these people’s breathing, leaped into the sea, and managed to kill six of them while capturing one alive. She was about to interrogate this survivor when suddenly there was a loud explosion coming from the aft; followed by black smoke rising to the sky. The hull shook violently, as if it was hit by a cannon; the mast broke and the top part flew into the air.
Zhang Wuji and the others felt a searing heat; hastily they ducked down. "What a wicked scheme!” Taj-kis called out. She rushed to the mast and saw a big hole on the aft, while the rudder disappeared without any trace. Water rushed in from the hole. Taj-kis asked several questions in Persian to the man she captured, and then her palm struck down toward his skull, smashing his head altogether. She kicked his body to the ocean while saying, "I only knew they were trying to make some holes on the ship; I did not think they planted explosive on the aft.”
By this time Gongde Wang and the others had sailed quite some distance away on their small boat; although Taj-kis’ water skill was excellent, there was no way she could overtake them. Everybody looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing what to do. Zhao Min gave Zhang Wuji a sorrowful look while thinking in her heart, "The enemy ships will be over very soon; all of us will certainly die without any burial place.”
