by Jin Yong
Out of eight monks, five had died miserably. The remaining three wicked monks were frightened out of their wits; they raced against each other to get out of the room, and went straight out of the temple gate. After they were sure that Zhang Wuji did not run after them, they stopped and discussed among themselves. One monk said, "This kid must have used some witchcraft.” The other monk said, "I think it was not witchcraft; this kid’s internal energy is very strong, he could rebound the strike to injure the enemy.” The third monk said, "That’s right. In any case we must avenge our brothers’ death.”
The three of them talked for half a day. One monk suddenly said, "This kid must be suffering a heavy injury. Otherwise, why didn’t he run after us?”
"That’s right!” the other monk happily said, "Most likely he can’t walk. When our five brothers hit him by fist and kick, he fought them by inciting his internal strength. If we use blades to chop him or pierce him, I don’t think he has copper muscles or iron bones to resist us.”
As the three monks made a decision, one of them got a lance, the other unsheathed his saber, and the third wielded a sword; together the returned to the courtyard. They noticed that the eastern room was extremely quiet, as if it was unoccupied. They peeked over the broken window lattice, and saw that young man was still sitting cross-legged on the bed; his face looked weary, his body was shaky, as if he would fall down any minute. The young girl was wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. The three monks looked at each other; they did not dare to rush in.
One of the monks called out, "Stinky kid, if you have some skills, get out and fight your master for three hundred stances.”
Another monk cursed, "What skill does this kid have? All he has is some witchcraft to harm others. That is such a cheap trick, despicable to the lowest end, totally without any sense of shame.”
The three monks saw that Zhang Wuji did not reply and he did not get down from the bed either, so they became bolder and bolder, their cursing and swearing were getting dirtier and dirtier. In term of dirty talk, perhaps among the disciples of Buddhism there was nobody who could surpass these three monks.
Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min were not angry at all. They were more afraid of these three monks leave and not return, rather than being annoyed by their coming back to seek revenge. That place was not too far from the Shaolin Temple of the Song Shan [Mount Song in Henan]. If those three monks went to inform Cheng Kun, they would face an even graver problem. It would be almost impossible for Zhang Wuji to treat his injury in less than ten days. Within that period, it would not take as much as Cheng Kun to personally come, one or two martial experts of Chen Youliang’s caliber would be difficult for him to resist. Thus, Zhang Wuji was secretly delighted to see these three monks return.
After receiving the five monks’ attacks, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi inside Zhang Wuji’s body had been somewhat more controllable, so although he still could not use it to attack the enemy, his heart was not as frightened as it was before.
Suddenly a loud ‘Bang!’ was heard as a monk kicked the door open and rushed in. A dark green light flashed by, the red tassel trembled, as the lance in his hand came straight toward Zhang Wuji.
"Aiyo!” Zhao Min cried out. Hastily she handed over the dagger in her hand to Zhang Wuji.
Zhang Wuji shook his head without moving his hand. He groaned inwardly, "I don’t have the least bit of strength on my hand; how would I resist the enemy even though I have a weapon? My flesh and blood won’t withstand the enemy’s weapon.” He had not finished musing when the tip of enemy’s lance formed a circle, with its red tassel blooming like a flower, had already reached in front of Zhang Wuji’s chest.
The lance strike was fast, Zhao Min’s mind worked even faster. She reached into Zhang Wuji’s pocket to take a Sheng Huo Ling tablet out, and placed it on Zhang Wuji’s chest to shield it against the spearhead. ‘Bang!’ the tip of the lance struck the Sheng Huo Ling.
Even an extremely sharp weapon like the Yitian Sword was not able to scratch the Sheng Huo Ling, much less an ordinary spearhead. Again, this strike had aroused the Jiu Yang Shen Gong inside Zhang Wuji’s body, which reacted naturally. "Aahhhhh ...” a long and miserable cry was heard as the lance’s pole penetrated the monk’s chest.
This monk had not fallen down when the second monk’s saber was hacking down on the top of Zhang Wuji’s head. Zhao Min was afraid one Sheng Huo Ling would not suffice to block the saber, so grabbing a Sheng Huo Ling in either hand, she swiftly placed them on Zhang Wuji’s head.
Her action was truly effective. With another ‘bang!’ the saber bounced, its back crashed into that wicked monk’s forehead, smashing his skull; but the tip of Zhao Min’s left little finger was also sliced off. In the excitement of the moment, she did not feel the pain.
The third monk, wielding a sword in his hand, was just about to enter the door; seeing his two companions meet their cruel fate, he screamed in terror and ran out the door.
"We can’t let him escape!” Zhao Min called out, while throwing one Sheng Huo Ling tablet over the window. Her throw was accurate, but she lacked the strength, so it fell down even before touching that monk’s body.
Zhang Wuji wrapped his arms around her and called out, "Throw again!” He concentrated his
internal energy in his chest and transmitted it to Zhao Min’s back. Zhao Min threw the Sheng Huo Ling in her left hand. Two more steps, then that monk would have stepped over behind the wall; but the Sheng Huo Ling was so fast that it struck his back. Immediately blood spurted from his mouth and he died on the spot. As soon as the Sheng Huo Ling left their hands, Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min fainted and fell on the bed.
At this moment, there were six dead monks in the room, with two more dead monks in the courtyard, so Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min had fainted in the pool of blood. The temple was so small and it was located on a remote hill. Under the cold moon and cool breeze, there was not a sound to be heard.
After a long while, Zhao Min gained her consciousness first. Still in daze, she reached out to feel Zhang Wuji’s breathing. She felt that the breathing was weak, but it was long and steady. Propping up herself she arose slowly. Because she was too weak to get him out of bed, she had no alternative but pulling him down, and then rested his head on one of the dead monk bodies. Just this little exertion forced her to sit among the dead bodies, gasping for breath.
After half a day, Zhang Wuji opened his eyes. "Min Mei,” he called out, "You ... where are you?”
Zhao Min gave him one of her captivating smiles. The bright and cold moonlight streamed in from the window. They both saw the other’s face was full of blood, so they’ll know their own faces must be frightening. But after going through a life and death situation together, they felt that the other’s face was very handsome and beautiful. Without realizing it, they both reached out and embraced each other tightly.
In this dramatic battle, Zhang Wuji was able to kill the first seven monks without the least bit of strength on his part; he simply borrowed strength to fight strength, and contrary to his expectation, he did not suffer any harm. However, when throwing the Sheng Huo Ling to kill the eighth wicked monk, both Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min had exhausted the remainder of the strength they had after the injury. Right now, the two of them were incapable of moving; all they could do was leaning on dead people’s bodies and quietly wait for their strength to return. Zhao Min wrapped her cut left-hand little finger, and then, still in daze, she went back to sleep.
Around noon the next day, they started to awake. Zhang Wuji sat up and circulated his ‘chi’, trying to harmonize the flow. After meditation for more than an hour, he felt his spirit return. He stood up by pushing himself against the floor, and suddenly heard his tummy was growling. He went to the kitchen by leaning on the wall. He saw a pot of rice, where half of the rice had already turned black, and the other half was also burned that it carried a strong burning smell. He filled a bowl full of burnt rice and returned to their room.
Zhao Min said with a laugh, "You
and I are in such a distressed situation today. The Heaven knows, the Earth knows, you and I know, but nobody else knew about it.”
They both laughed heartily, and then ate the rice with their bare hands. To them, the burnt rice tasted so good that it was better than any exotic delicacies they had ever had.
They had not finished this bowl of rice, when suddenly from the distant came the muffled noise of hooves against mountain rocks. ‘Crash!’ the bowl in their hands crashed down on the tiled floor. Zhao Min and Zhang Wuji looked at each other. Their hearts were beating rapidly. They heard two horses were coming their way, and stopped in the front of the temple’s main gate. They heard the brass ring on the door was knocked four times, and then someone banged the door. The noise stopped for a moment then the knocker banged four more times.
"What should we do?” Zhang Wuji asked in low voice.
They heard someone outside the door calling out, "Shangguan San’ge [third (older) brother Shangguan], it is me, Qin Laowu [old fifth Qin]!”
"They are going to break in,” Zhao Min said, "Let’s pretend we are dead; we’ll act according to the circumstance.” The two of them lied down among the corpses, with their faces on the floor.
They had just lied down when with a loud crash the door was pushed open. From the noise generated by the broken door, it was obvious that the newcomers had quite a bit of strength. Zhao Min had an idea. "Go lie down near the door,” she said, "Don’t let these people escape.”
Zhang Wuji nodded and crawled toward the entrance. Right at that moment, they heard two people cry out in fear, followed by ‘swish, swish!’ as the two people who entered the temple were pulling their weapons out. Obviously they had seen the two corpses in the courtyard.
"Careful!” one of them said in low voice, "Watch for the enemy’s ambush.”
The other man loudly shouted, "Friends, sneaking and hiding in the dark, what kind of heroes are you? Come out and fight Laozi [the Old Man - referring to self] to the death if you have the nerve.” This man’s voice was strong and heroic, a sign of his abundant internal energy. He must be the one who pushed the gate open.
He shouted several times, but did not hear the least bit of voice answering his call. "The thieves must have left far away,” he said.
The other man said in a hoarse voice, "We must look up everywhere, make sure the enemy is not setting up an ambush.”
"Shou Laodi [lit. ‘old’ (younger brother) Shou],” the one who called himself Qin Lauwu said, "You
look to the east and I’ll search to the west.”
Apparently, the one surnamed Shou was a coward; he said, "I am afraid the enemies are numerous. We’d better go together.” Qin Laowu did not say anything.
Suddenly the one surnamed Shou exclaimed in terror while pointing his finger toward the room on the east, "There . there are more dead people inside!”
The two of them went to the door and saw that in that small room there were about seven, eight corpses lying around on the floor.
Qin Laowu said, "This temple ... this temple’s eight brethrens have lost their lives at the same time.
I wonder whose treacherous hands have done it!”
"Qin Wuge [fifth (older) brother Qin],” the surnamed Shou said, "We must return to the Temple
immediately, to report ... report ... report this to Shifu.”
Qin Laowu hesitantly said, "Shifu has urgently ordered us to deliver these invitations promptly, since the guests are expected by the fifth day of the fifth month [orig. ‘duanl wu3 jie2’ - Dragon Boat (or Duanwu) Festival day] for the Lion-slaying Heroes’ Assembly [orig, tu2 shil yingl xiong2 hui4]. If we fail, I am afraid we will be punished.”
As he heard the words ‘Lion-slaying Heroes’ Assembly’, Zhang Wuji was slightly taken aback; and
then he was shocked, delighted, ashamed and angry, as a hundred feelings filled up his heart. He mused, "His Shifu issued invitations for some ‘Lion-slaying Heroes’ Assembly’, his intention must be to gather the heroes and warriors under the Heaven, and then to kill Yifu publicly. From what he said, it seems like before the Duanwu, Yifu’s life will not be harmed. I cannot protect Yifu completely; I let him down by letting him fall into others’ hands that he has to suffer this disgrace. I am unfilial and unworthy; there is nothing worse than this.”
The more he thought, the angrier he got; he wished he had a weapon in his hand and kill these two villains, but he was afraid they might escape while he was powerless to pursue them. Therefore, all he could do was to wait for these two men to enter the room and then cut their way out. Just like before, he hoped the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi in his body would get rid of these two traitors.
Unexpectedly, because these two saw the room was full of dead bodies, they did not dare to enter, but simply stood and talked in the courtyard
"This is most important,” the one surnamed Shou said, "The sooner we report to Shifu the better.”
"Let’s do this then,” Qin Laowu said, "We take our separate ways; I deliver the invitation, you go back to the Temple to report to Shifu.”
The surnamed Shou was afraid he might run into the enemies on the road; thereupon he did not answer immediately. Qin Laowu was angry, "Take your pick, then. Would you rather deliver the invitations? It is up to you.”
The surnamed Shou contemplated the options in his mind. In the end he decided that returning to their mountain was safer; thereupon he said, "I will follow Qin Wuge’s instruction; let me return to the mountain and give report to Shifu.” Straightaway both of them turned around to leave.
Zhao Min moved slightly and groaned lightly twice. Qin and Shou two people were startled. Turning their heads around they saw Zhao Min were moving. This time they looked carefully and saw that she was a woman.
"Who is this woman?” Qin Laowu was surprised. He walked into the room. Although the one surnamed Shou was a coward, seeing that it was a woman, a seriously wounded woman, he gathered up his courage and followed in.
Qin Laowu reached down to pull Zhao Min’s shoulder. Zhang Wuji coughed and sat up. He took a meditation position with his eyes half open. Qin and Shou two people were extremely shocked to see him suddenly sit up, with his face full of blood and a terrifying appearance.
"Not good!” the surnamed Shou cried out, "It’s a zombie. This corpse ... this corpse is haunted by a ghost. Qin Wuge must ... must be careful.” He hastily jumped on top of the bed.
"Bad zombie!” Qin Laowu called out, "The one surnamed Qin is not afraid of you.” Lifting up his saber, he ferociously hacked it down on the top of Zhang Wuji’s head.
Zhanh Wuji had been ready with two Sheng Huo Ling tablets in his hands. As soon as the saber hacked down, he raised his tablets and placed them on top of his head. ‘Bang!’ the saber hacked the Sheng Huo Ling and immediately bounced back and smashed Qin Laowu’s brain that he died immediately.
The one surnamed Shou was holding a saber in his hand, but he was trembling all over; how could he dare to slash it on Zhang Wuji’s body? Zhang Wuji was waiting for him to attack, so that his Jiu Yang Zhen Qi might strike him dead.
Zhao Min saw that the surnamed Shou was not moving for a long time; she was getting anxious, "This coward is scared out of his wits and does not dare to make his move. If he throws his saber away and run out, how can we stop him?” She saw his teeth were chattering, and then ‘clank!’ his saber fell down from his grip.
"Chop me if you dare,” Zhang Wuji said, "Strike me with your fist.”
"Xiao ... Xiao De [little/lowly one] don’t have any guts,” he replied, "Don’t ... don’t dare to fight Laoye [old master].”
"Kick me, then,” Zhang Wuji said.
The man replied, "Xiao De ... Xiao De do not dare even more.”
"You are such a useless man [orig. ‘nong2 baol’ - wrapping cloth of boiled wound], you’d better be dead,” Zhang Wuji indignantly said, "Quickly chop me once or twice. If I see that your strength is not bad, I might spare your life.”
"Yes, yes!” the man scrambled
to pick up his saber. He took a glance on the wretched condition of the smashed skull of Qin Laowu, and thought that this zombie’s magical power was superior, so it would be better for him to ask for mercy. Hence, he knelt down immediately and knocked his head on the floor, "Laoye have mercy! You have died an unjust death. It has nothing to do ... nothing to do with Xiao Ren [little/lowly man]. Please don’t ... don’t take revenge on Xiao Ren’s life.”
Listening to him addressing Zhang Wuji as a dead man, Zhao Min was angry. "Humph,” she snorted, "I am surprised in the Wulin world there is this kind of peon with no future.”
"Yes, yes!” that man said, "Xiao De has no future, no future. I am only a peon, only a peon.”
The more he did not dare to act, the more Zhang Wuji was baffled. Suddenly he had an idea. "Come here!” he barked.
"Yes!” that man hastily replied. He crawled several steps forward, still in kneeling position.
Zhang Wuji stretched out his arms and placed his thumbs on that man’s eyeballs. "I’ll dig out your eyeballs first!” he roared.
In his great shock, without thinking that man raised his hands to ward off Zhang Wuji’s arms with all his strength. Zhang Wuji was expecting this push; borrowing this strength, he slid his arms downward and sealed the ‘shen feng’ [lit. divine seal (‘seal’ as in official ‘seal’ on a letter)] and ‘bu lang’ [lit. walking/pacing porch] acupoints on his chest.
The man’s entire body went numb and he slid down to the floor. "Laoye have mercy! Laoye have mercy!” he loudly cried, "Turns out Laoye is not a zombie. That’s very good! Then ... then you have even more reasons to spare my life.” By now he was prostrating right in front of Zhang Wuji, after looking clearly that the other party was a living person.
Zhao Min realized that Zhang Wuji sealed the acupoints using a borrowed strength, but the sealing force was really too small. He could only immobilize that man’s limbs for a short time; that man’s strength was not completely gone. In less than an hour, the sealed acupoints would be opened; and then they would be in trouble. She also knew that there were so many questions she would like to ask him, so obviously they could not kill him yet.
