by Jin Yong
"Zhang Wuji,” Chen Youliang said, "Why don’t you release our Shi Bangzhu while I pull my sword away?” Without waiting for a reply, he immediately put his sword back into its sheath. He knew Zhang Wuji would comply his request, and sure enough, Zhang Wuji replied, "Very well.”
A shadow flashed, and Zhang Wuji was standing by Zhou Zhiruo again. He saw her eyes were deep and her expression weary; he could not help but feeling compassion and pity. Holding her
hands, he helped her to sit down on a round rock stool in the courtyard.
Chen Youliang turned toward that beautiful lady in yellow; he cupped his fists and said, "Your presence has honored our Clan. I wonder what instructions do you have for us? May we have the honor of learning your precious surname and your great given name?” To the ugly young girl he asked, "Young Miss, where did you get this bamboo stick?”
In a cold voice the beautiful lady in yellow said, "Where is Hun Yuan Pi Li Shou [Lightning Hand of the Originating Formation] Cheng Kun? Tell him to come out and see me.”
Zhang Wuji felt strange as he heard the seven characters ‘Hun Yuan Pi Li Shou Cheng Kun’; he saw Chen Youliang’s expression suddenly changed, but he recovered quickly, and then with an indifferent voice he said, "Hun Yuan Pi Li Shou Cheng Kun? Isn’t that Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun’s shifu? You’d better ask Zhang Jiaozhu of Ming Cult.”
"Who are you, Sire?” the beautiful lady in yellow asked.
"My surname is Chen, given name Youliang,” Chen Youliang replied, "I am a Beggar Clan eight-pouch elder.”
The beautiful lady in yellow cast a sidelong glance toward Shi Huolong, and asked, "And who is this fellow? He looks like a warrior with a valiant spirit, why is he so useless? [orig. nong2 bao1 -cloth used to wrap a boil wound with pus on it] He was only punished lightly by others, and already screaming and crying. Truly unfit of his image.”
The crowd of beggars felt their faces were lost; they were inwardly ashamed. Some of them cast their glances toward Shi Huolong with 30% disdain and 20% anger.
"This is our Clan’s Shi Bangzhu,” Chen Youliang said, "The Senior has just recently recovered from a serious illness. His body is still not well. You are the guest; we are yielding 30% to you. Don’t blame us for offending you if you speak anymore nonsense.” The last two sentences were spoken in stern voice and expression.
The beautiful lady in yellow was unfazed; she turned toward one of the women in black and said, "Xiao Cui, return the letter to him.”
"Yes!” the girl in black replied. Taking a letter from her bosom, she held it on her hand.
Zhang Wuji took a glance and saw these characters on the envelope, ‘To Master Han Shan Tong of the Ming Cult. Confidential.” And a smaller row of four characters, ‘Shi of the Beggar Clan.’
As Zhang Bang Longtou saw the letter, immediately his face turned purple. "Little [female] slave,” he cursed, "Turned out the joker who stole the letter from the Old Man along the way is you, the dead slave girl.” In his anger he raised his iron staff high, ready to stake his all and pounce on the girl.
The girl in black chuckled and said, "I am a slave girl indeed [Translator’s note: the word ya1tou2 literally means ‘slave’ or ‘servant girl’, but can also be translated as ‘little girl’]; but I am not dead yet. Such a big man like you, but failed in a simple task of delivering a letter. What a shame.” Finished speaking, she waved her delicate hand and the letter flew smoothly toward Zhang Bang Longtou. Immediately Zhang Bang Longtou lifted his hand to catch the letter.
That night Zhang Wuji witnessed how Shi Huolong ordered Zhang Bang Longtou to deliver a letter
for Han Shantong, while holding Han Lin’er hostage to coerce Han Shantong to surrender to the Beggar Clan. Listening to the above exchange, he presumed it was these girls in white and in black who played joke on Zhang Bang Longtou along the way by stealing the letter, and thus forcing Zhang Bang Longtou to return to Lulong. But Zhang Bang Longtou had a strong martial art; listening to his words, it seemed like until this moment he did not know who had played the joke on him. Therefore, either these eight women possessed an outstanding resourcefulness, or they possessed a very high martial art skill; or it could be that the beautiful lady in yellow was behind all this, deliberately throwing the masters from the Beggar Clan into confusion. Thinking to this point, he felt grateful toward that lady in yellow.
The beautiful lady in yellow said, "Han Shantong is fighting around the rivers Huai and Si to drive the Tartars away. Along the way, I heard that he is kindhearted and chivalrous; he has never disturbed common people. A hero of his caliber, how can he betray the Ming Cult and surrender to the Beggar Clan for the sake of his son? If this letter ever reach the hand of Han Da Ye [master Han], the joke will be on you. I saw this Longtou Dage [big brother Longtou] is muddle-headed and funny; furthermore, there is an important matter within the Beggar Clan that requires his presence, hence I intercepted the letter.”
Zhang Wuji cupped his fists and said, "Many thanks Dajie [big sister] for your assistance. Zhang Wuji pays his respect.”
The lady in yellow returned the respect. "Don’t be overly courteous,” she said. And then she addressed the Beggar Clan again, "Do you really believe that by capturing Han Lin’er you can compel Han Shantong to surrender? Zhang Bang Longtou Dage, along the way your trip was hindered several times. Do you think by detouring to smaller pathways you can evade the obstructions? Hey hey, even if you did evade the obstructions and deliver this letter to Han Shantong; your Beggar Clan will not enjoy any advantage at all.”
Chen Youliang’s heart sank; he took the letter and saw that the envelope was still intact. Ripping the envelope open, he took the letter and as he browsed it, his countenance changed greatly. Originally it was a letter compelling Han Shantong to surrender, now it became a letter from the Beggar Clan begging the Ming Cult to accept its surrender. The language was very humble, in which the Beggar Clan was bowing and bending its knees, assuming the lowest position by cursing its own past conducts and deeds, admitting that they were ten thousands of unpardonable evil. Furthermore, it declared that from that day onward, the Beggar Clan decided to rectify its wrongdoings and asking the Ming Cult’s benevolence by not holding them responsible of their former misdeeds. It also promised to submit under the Ming Cult’s authority and be willing to be the vanguard in the great undertaking of expelling the Yuan.
"That’s right,” the lady in yellow coldly said, "I have seen the letter, but it wasn’t me who changed it. As I saw this letter, I realized Zhang Bang Longtou had already been tricked by others. My parents had a close relationship with the previous generation of the Beggar Clan. I do not wish the aweinspiring prestige of the biggest clan in the world, which has been built since the days passed, to be disgraced like this today; hence I decided to interfere. Just think, if Zhang Bang Longtou delivered this letter to the Ming Cult, do you think the Beggar Clan would still have a face to stand in the Jianghu?”
One by one Chuan Gong Zhanglao, Zhi Fa Zhanglao, Zhang Bo Longtou, Zhang Bang Longtou and the others read the letter, and every single one of them was shocked and angered; in their hearts, they all cried out, "We’ve been shamed!” They realized the truth in what that lady in yellow was saying, if this letter did indeed fall into the Ming Cult’s hands, the Beggar Clan would be so disgraced that it would be difficult for the Beggar Clan disciples to stand straight in front of other people. Speaking of which, by intercepting the letter, the lady in yellow was actually doing a big
favor toward the Beggar Clan. The question was: who stole the letter in the first place?
Xiao Cui, the maiden in black, laughed and said, "You want to know who changed the letter, don’t you?” No one in the Beggar Clan responded, but their faces revealed their anxious desire to know.
"Zhang Bang Longtou,” Xiao Cui said, "Take your outer robe off; you’ll find the answer.”
Early on Zhang Bang Longtou’s face had turned red, with his veins bulging on his neck. As soon as he heard Xiao Cui, he ripped
his outer robe with both hands. A series of ‘Snap, snap’ noise was heard as his buttons were pulled. He tossed the robe backward and barked, "Then what?”
"Ah!” he heard the crowd of beggars behind him cry together in alarm; obviously they had seen something strange.
"What?” Zhang Bang Longtou asked, while turning his body around, only to see six, seven people pointing their fingers toward his back.
Zhang Bang Longtou had never been known for his patience. Again his hands grabbed the lapels of his inner robe and ripped it open, revealing his muscular body. Spreading the inner robe open, he saw a picture of large bat in dark green ink, its wings spread wide; its face bore a ferocious and terrifying expression, with some red dots representing drips of blood on the corner of its mouth.
"Qing Yi Fu Wang [green-winged bat king] Wei Yixiao!” Chuan Gong Zhanglao, Zhi Fa Zhanglao and the others exclaimed in unison.
Previously, Wei Yixiao very seldom visited the Central Plains [zhong yuan], only a few people knew his name; but over the past few years, he had made several mysterious appearances in the Jianghu, displaying his full capabilities. As a result, his fame soared and in a short period of time it was in par with the Bai Mei Ying Wang [white-browed eagle king].
Zhang Wuji rejoiced secretly, "Other than Wei Xiong [brother Wei] with his superb ‘qing gong’ [lightness kungfu], which enables him to come and go without leaving any trace, it would be difficult to play a joke on Zhang Bang Longtou and leave him senseless.”
Zhang Bang Longtou was startled, he raised his inner robe and threw it on Zhang Wuji’s face, while cursing, "Fine! Turns out it was one from your group of evil bastards who played a joke on the Old Man.”
Zhang Wuji flicked his sleeve up and that inner robe floated slowly upward and landed on a forked branch of a ginkgo tree on that courtyard. As the robe fluttered in the wind, the picture of bloodsucking bat appeared to be alive.
"Zhang Bang Longtou,” Zhang Wuji smiled and said, "My humble cult’s Wei Fu Wang [bat king Wei] has shown you mercy; don’t you understand? What if he decided to take your life?” As Zhang Bang Longtou thought about it, he could not help but shiver.
Chen Youliang realized that the longer he let this matter go on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them; the best plan would be to turn their attention someplace else. Thereupon he asked the lady in yellow, "May I ask Miss’ honored surname? I wonder what relationship do you have with us?”
The lady in yellow laughed coldly and said, "What relationship do I have with you? I only have a relationship with this Dog Beating Stick.” She pointed her finger to the dark green bamboo stick in
the ugly girl’s hand.
The crowd of beggars had early on recognized the stick to be the Dog Beating Stick [da gou bang], the symbol of authority of their own Clan’s Clan Leader; however, they were not clear on how this stick could fall into someone else’s hand. Everybody turned their attention toward Shi Huolong. They saw his face was deathly pale and looked desperate.
"Bangzhu,” Chuan Gong Zhanglao asked, "Is the Dog Beating Stick in this girl’s hand fake?”
"I ... I ...” Shi Huolong stammered, "I think it is a fake.”
"Fine,” the lady in yellow said, "Take the real Dog Beating Stick out so that we can compare the two sticks.”
"The Dog Beating Stick is the Beggar Clan’s most precious article, how can we casually show it to anybody?” Shi Huolong replied, "I don’t have it with me, because if I lose it, won’t it be terrible?”
As the crowd of beggars listened to him, they felt he did not make any sense; as the Clan Leader of the Beggar Clan, how could he be afraid to lose the Dog Beating Stick?
The little girl lifted high the bamboo stick and with a loud voice said, "Everybody, come and see. This Dog Beating Stick is our Clan’s ... our Clan’s heritage, which was passed on from the first generation to the next. How can it be a fake?”
As the crowd of beggars heard her saying ‘Our Clan’, they were astonished; so they came near to examine the stick. They saw the stick was as crystal-clear and smooth as jade, and as hard as iron; without any doubt this was the real Clan Leader’s symbol of authority. They looked at each other in confusion.
The lady in yellow said, "It is widely known that the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and the Dog Beating Stick technique are two of the Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan’s most famous divine skills. Xiao Hong, go and ask Shi Bangzhu for some advice in the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms first, and then Xiao Ling, after Xiao Hong Jiejie [elder sister] has won, ask Shi Bangzhu for some advice in the Dog Beating Stick technique.” Two flute-player young girls responded and jumped out; they stood side by side in the courtyard.
Chen Youliang indignantly said, "By not willing to reveal your name, Miss has already despised the Beggar Clan; and now you ordered two little maids to fight our Bangzhu. How can there be such logic in the Jianghu? Shi Bangzhu, let disciple deal with these two maids first, and then we can ask this Miss to show her expertise. In the end we will see what kind of master has showed such contempt toward the Beggar Clan.”
"Damn it! [orig. ta1 nai3 nai5 - his granny]” Shi Huolong said, "Very well, Chen Zhanglao, please take care of this matter for me.”
‘Swish!’ Chen Youliang unsheathed his sword, and slowly walked to the courtyard.
Xiao Hong said, "Miss told me to ask some advice in the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. Do you know this palm technique? Does the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms technique use a sword?”
"What kind of position do you think Shi Bangzhu holds?” Chen Youliang shouted in response, "How can he fight a lowly servant like you? The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is a divine skill, how
can a lowly servant like you see it that easily?” While saying that, he took another step forward.
The lady in yellow turned toward Zhang Wuji and said, "Zhang Jiaozhu, please do me a favor.” "Just say it,” Zhang Wuji replied.
The lady in yellow said, "Could you get rid of this fellow surnamed Chen for me? And then, unmask that big fraud who pretends to be Shi Bangzhu.”
When Zhang Wuji was successful in capturing Shi Huolong with only one move, he had thought that his martial art skill was only mediocre. He also recalled when Han Lin’er spat some phlegm to him, surprisingly Shi Huolong was not able to evade. Doubt started to rise in Zhang Wuji’s heart; especially after witnessing that in everything he had always listened to Chen Youliang without any ideas of his own. Based on his martial art skill, knowledge and experience, he was unfit to become the leader of the Beggar Clan. This time he heard the lady in yellow say that he was a ‘big fraud who pretends to be Shi Bangzhu’, his suspicion was confirmed and thus he understood 60, 70%. He nodded and immediately went toward Shi Huolong.
Shi Huolong launched the ‘chong tian pao’ [shattering the sky cannon]. ‘Bang!’ his fist hit Zhang Wuji’s chest.
Zhang Wuji laughed out loud and said, "Is the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms this useless?” [again, the original word is ‘nong bao’, see above] Reaching out, he grabbed Shi Huolong’s collar and lifted him up.
Chen Youliang realized he was not Zhang Wuji’s match; he quietly withdrew into the crowd without waiting for Zhang Wuji to make his move.
The ugly girl suddenly wailed and pounced toward Shi Huolong, hitting and pulling his clothes like crazy, while crying out, "You killed my Father, killed my Father, wicked thief!”
The acupoints on Shi Huolong’s back were grabbed by Zhang Wuji so he was not able to move.
He was a burly man and the girl’s little fists only reached his belly. Zhang Wuji bent his arm to push his head down. The girl grabbed and pulled his hair. Suddenly the entire hair on Shi Huolong’s head fell off, revealing his shiny bald head. Turned out he was bald and was using a wig. The girl continued randomly grab, scratch and pull; and she pulled away his nose, but no blood gushing out. Everybody was astonished. They looked closely and saw that the fallen piece of nose was a fake; his high nose was also a fake.
The cr
owd of beggars broke into a commotion; they asked together, "Who are you?” "Why did you pretend to be Shi Bangzhu?”
Zhang Wuji raised him up and then with a jerk he tossed him to the ground. Shi Huolong was knocked out and was speechless for half a day. Zhang Wuji smiled faintly and withdrew; thinking that this man was masquerading Shi Huolong, and now that the fact was known, the crowd of beggars would certainly deal with him.
Zhang Bang Longtou was hot-tempered; he stepped forward and slapped that man left and right, ‘Slap, slap, slap, slap’ seven, eight times.
The fake Shi Huolong’s cheeks were red and swollen. "It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me,” he cried out loudly, "It was Chen ... Chen Zhanglao who told me to do it.”
Zhi Fa Zhanglao’s heart was stirred, he shouted, "Where is Chen Youliang?” But Chen Youliang’s shadow was nowhere to be seen. Apparently as Chen Youliang realized his plot was uncovered, he quickly escaped and was already gone for a long time.
"Quickly chase him!” Zhi Fa Zhanglao barked his order. Several seven-pouch disciples responded and ran out of the gate to pursue.
"Mother of a thief! [this is a literal translation]” Zhang Bang Zhanglao cursed, "Who do you think you are, telling the Old Man to kowtow to you and call you ‘Bangzhu’?” Raising his palm, he was about to slap again.
Zhi Fa Zhanglao quickly reached out to grab his hand. "Feng Xiongdi [brother Feng],” he said, "Don’t be reckless. If you kill him, we won’t find out anything from him.” Turning toward the lady in yellow, he cupped his fists and respectfully said, "If Miss did not expose this man’s deceitful scheme, we would still be kept in the dark. By your illustrious name, Miss was able to see through this deception. My humble Clan, from the biggest to the smallest, all are indebted to you.”
The lady in yellow only gave a slight smile and said, "Xiao Nuzi [lit. little/lowly girl - referring to herself] lives in the deep of the mountain, and has never had any contact with outsiders; so knowing my name would be quite useless. As for this little sister, could it be that nobody in your clan recognize her?”
