Smiling Proud Wanderer Vol 03

by Jin Yong

  Linghu Chong thought, "They arrived here first. So they naturally know that I'm hiding behind this wooden signage. Mr. Ren is telling me not to come out, what's his idea?"

  But in an instant later, he understood Ren Woxing's idea. He saw a few people rushing through the door to come into the hall. With a glance, he saw his Master and Master-Wife along with the Shaolin Abbot Fangzheng and many other people. He didn't dare to look anymore and quickly pulled his head back behind the wooden signage. His heart skipped a beat as he thought, "Yingying and the rest of them had been surrounded. I... even if my body were grounded to dust and my bones broken to pieces, I have to help them escape from danger." He heard Great Master Fangzheng said, "Amituofo! You, three honourables, have very fierce palms. The female honourable had already departed Shaolin, why did you come back again? These two people must be Dark Wood Cliff's masters. Forgive old monk for not recognising."

  "This person is Divine Sun Moon Sect's Chief Ren. I'm Xiang Wentian," Xiang Wentian introduced. The two of them had very high reputations. When Xiang Wentian mentioned their two names, many people in the hall exclaimed their surprise.

  "So it's Chief Ren and Left Protector Xiang. I've been looking up to your names for a long time already. What lessons do you have to teach me by coming here?" Fangzheng said.

  "Old man hadn't paid attention to worldly matters for a long time so I don't recognise many of the promising youths in Jianghu of this generation. I don't know who these little friends are," Ren Woxing said.

  "Let old monk introduces them to you. This Taoist is Wudang School's headmaster, his name is Chongxu," Fangzheng said.

  An elder spoke out, "Poor Taoist is perhaps a few years older than Mr. Ren. But when I took over the leadership of Wudang School, Mr. Ren had already retreated in secret from Wulin. Youth is youth but this word ‘promising’, you're flattering me, hehe."

  When Linghu Chong heard this elder’s voice, he thought, "The voice of this Wudang School's leader sounds familiar." Another thought quickly followed. "Ayo! I met three people at the foot of Mount Wudang. One was carrying firewood, one was carrying vegetable, and the other one was an old man riding a donkey who possesses a wonderful sword art. So he's actually the headmaster of Wudang School." Suddenly, a good feeling rushed forth in his heart and his hands started to sweat. Wudang School and Shaolin School had been famous for several hundred years. One had soft movements and the other had hard movements, but each had their own specialties. Priest Chongxu's sword art was wonderful and esteemed. He was delighted when he suddenly learned that he had unexpectedly defeated Priest Chongxu.

  He then heard Ren Woxing said, "This big leader Zuo, we've met before. Master Zuo, these last few years, your ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm’ must've improved by a lot, right?"

  Linghu Chong was again startled. "So Songshan School's leader, martial uncle Zuo, is also here." He then heard a person said coldly, "I heard Mr. Ren was imprisoned by your own subordinate and was in hibernation for many years. Congratulations on coming out again. I haven't used this ‘Great Songyang Divine Palm’ for many years now. I'm afraid I've probably forgotten half of it."

  Ren Woxing laughed. "How can Jianghu be that lonely? When old man was hidden away, there's no one else who can trade palms with brother Zuo. What a pity, what a pity."

  "In Jianghu, there are many people with martial art equal to Mr. Ren, such as Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu. But we can't just go around asking for a lesson without any reason at all," Zuo Lengchan said.

  "Very well. If there's some free time, let me try out your new moves."

  "I'll certainly accompany you."

  Hearing these two people speaking to each other, it was obvious that they had fought before. But who won or lost, they could not tell from just hearing what these two people were saying. Great Master Fangzheng continued with his introduction. "This person is Taishan School's headmaster, Priest Tianmen. This person is Huashan School's headmaster, Mr. Yue. This person is Madam Yue, back then she was known as Heroine Ning. Mr. Ren must have heard of her."

  "I already know of Huashan School's Heroine Ning. But this Mr. Yue whatever, I've never heard of him before."

  Linghu Chong was displeased. "My Master's name was known before Master-Wife's. If he said that he doesn't know them both then that's fine. But there's no one who only knows Heroine Ning but doesn’t know Mr. Yue. He was imprisoned under the West Lake for close to ten years. Before that time, my master's name was already known throughout the realm. It's obvious that he's doing this on purpose to provoke my Master."

  Yue Buqun indifferently replied, "Junior's name is lowly. It would insult Mr. Ren's ears to hear my name."

  "Mr. Yue, I'd like to ask you about a person. I don't know if you know of his whereabouts. I heard that he was formerly under your Huashan School," Ren Woxing said.

  "Who's Mr. Ren asking for?"

  "This person's martial art is extremely high. His conduct is also very rare in this world. My heart was blind before and was actually jealous of him so I kicked him out. But he actually felt like an old friend to me when I first met him. Now, I wholeheartedly want to betroth my darling daughter to him..."

  When Linghu Chong heard him saying this, his heart started to thump loudly. He felt that something big was going to happen soon. He heard Ren Woxing continued, "This youth has passion and righteousness. When he heard that my darling daughter was being imprisoned in Shaolin temple, he led a few thousand heroes to come to Shaolin to greet his wife. But I don't know his whereabouts now and it's making me very anxious. It's for this reason that I'm asking you about it."

  Yue Buqun looked towards the sky and laughed. "Mr. Ren is very resourceful. How come you’ve lost your own son-in-law? This youth Mr. Ren is talking about, is he that little thief Linghu Chong who was expelled from my humble school?"

  Ren Woxing laughed. "I clearly saw a piece of jade but you saw gravels. Old brother, your vision has become really poor. This youth I'm talking about really is Linghu Chong. Haha, you scolded him as little thief, doesn't this mean that you're scolding me as an old thief?"

  Yue Buqun sternly replied, "This little thief's conduct is very inappropriate and he has a weakness for women. Just because of one woman, he roused groups of unorthodox sects, foxes and dogs, and come to Shaolin temple causing a lot of disturbance. If it weren't for Songshan's martial brother Zuo's arrangements, this thousand year old temple would've been burned to the ground. This would've been a big sin that even a thousand deaths wouldn't have been able to atone. This little thief was indeed part of my Huashan School before, but unfortunately, I didn't teach him enough manners. Now, he's shaming everyone."

  Xiang Wentian hastily replied, "Mr. Yue is wrong! Brother Linghu came to Shaolin just to meet lady Ren and not to absurdly cause a disturbance. You go and have a look. So many friends were in Shaolin temple for one day and one night, but did they burn a single piece of grass or tree? They didn't even eat a single grain of rice and they also didn't even drink a mouthful of water."

  Suddenly someone interrupted, "Shaolin temple has instead gained many items when these swine and dog friends came here."

  Linghu Chong heard the sharp voice of this person and recognised him to be the Qingcheng School's headmaster Yu Canghai. He thought, "So this person has also come."

  "May I ask Priest Yu, what has Shaolin temple gained?" Xiang Wentian asked.

  "Cow shit, horse piss. Everywhere on the ground is full of yellow stuff." Yu Canghai answered. A few people laughed hearing this but Linghu Chong felt apologetic. "I only restricted those brothers not to damage anything but I didn't ask them not to urinate on the ground. Those crude people just pulled their pants down and pee everywhere and soiled the clean ground of the temple."

  Great Master Fangzheng said, "When Master Linghu led so many people to come to Shaolin, old monk was really worried that this temple would be burned down. But when those friends were in Shaolin, not a single thing was damaged. This must be because of Master Linghu's merciful
heart restricting these people. Everyone from the temple is really appreciative towards him. When I meet Master Linghu in the future, I will thank him wholeheartedly. Mr. Xiang, never mind about what Priest Yu said."

  Xiang Wentian praised, "So there's actually an eminent monk here who is very open minded and very different from other people. Compared to hypocrites and really small-minded people, he's completely different."

  Fangzheng continued, "Old monk doesn't understand one matter here. How did Heng-Shan School's two Shi Tai die in my humble temple?"

  "Ah!" Yingying exclaimed in surprise. Her voice trembled as she asked, "What... what? Dingxian, Dingyi Shi Tai... died?"

  "That is so. We found their bodies inside the temple. Their time of deaths is around the time that those many Jianghu friends entered the temple. Could it be that Master Linghu didn't restrict his subordinates and the two Shi Tai were outnumbered and lost their lives here? Amituofo, amituofo," Fangzheng let out a long sigh after saying this.

  "This... this is really strange. That day I met with the two Shi Tai in the hall behind the temple. Because of Abbot's merciful heart and the two Shi Tai, you agreed to release me." Yingying said.

  Linghu Chong's heart swelled with gratitude towards the two Shi Tai but he also felt sad at the same time. "The two Shi Tai pleaded for Abbot's mercy and Abbot actually released Yingying out of the temple. But the two of them lost their lives because of this. They've died because of Yingying and me. But who are their murderers? I must seek revenge for them." He heard Yingying said, "These last few days, many friends from Jianghu had come here to rescue me and make some disturbance at Shaolin temple. But more than a hundred of them were captured by the Shaolin temple. Great Master Abbot is merciful and talked to them about the ten heavenly ways, hoping that they would turn from their violent ways before they were released. But I was already imprisoned for a long time so I was allowed to go earlier."

  "This Great Master Fangzheng is really a good person but he's slightly pedantic. How can Yingying's subordinates turn from their violent ways after just hearing you talk to them about the ten heavenly ways?" Linghu Chong thought.

  He heard Yingying continued, "I have so much gratitude towards the two Shi Tai. After thanking Great Master Abbot, I accompanied them down Mount Shaoshi. On the third day, I heard Linghu... Master Linghu was leading friends from Jianghu to come to Shaolin temple to meet me. Dingxian Shi Tai said: "We must travel at twice the speed to intercept those people in order to avoid disturbing the eminent monks in Shaolin temple." That night, we met a friend from Jianghu. He said that people were coming from all directions and have decided to gather at Shaolin on the fifteenth of the twelfth month. The two Shi Tai discussed this and said that Jianghu's good and bad warriors of outstanding abilities are mixing together. Furthermore, they were all coming from all directions. So it might happen that not everyone would listen to Master Linghu's order. So Dingxian Shi Tai instructed me to go catch up and meet with him... Master Linghu, and ask everyone to disperse while the two Shi Tai would go back to Shaolin to lend their help to Great Master Abbot."

  She said all this clearly and elegantly. When she was speaking of the two Shi Tai, there was a hint of sadness in her voice. When she was speaking of ‘Master Linghu’, she couldn't cover up her bashfulness. Linghu Chong's heart was thumping hearing all these from behind the wooden signage.

  "Amituofo! Old monk appreciates the two Shi Tai's good intention. When news of the difficulty facing the Shaolin temple spread, all the orthodox schools, whether they knew what the difficulty was or not, came to help. My humble school doesn't know how to repay them for all their efforts. Luckily, we didn’t fight and avoided a bloodbath. Ai, the two Shi Tai understood the Buddhist teachings very well. They were kind and merciful. We've now lost two eminent people of our Buddhist faith. What a pity, what a pity," Fangzheng said.

  Yingying continued, "After I parted ways with the two Shi Tai, I was overwhelmed by sheer number and was captured by Mr. Zuo's Songshan School on that same night. I was then imprisoned for a few days before daddy and uncle Xiang came and rescued me. By then, those friends from Jianghu have already entered the Shaolin temple, so the three of us went to Shaolin temple to find them. We've been here for around an hour but didn't know where everyone had gone to. We also didn't know that the two Shi Tai had died."

  "If that's the case, then the two Shi Tai were not harmed by Mr. Ren or Left Protector Xiang," Fangzheng said.

  "I'm indebted to the two Shi Tai for rescuing me and I only have gratitude towards them. If my daddy and uncle Xiang had met with the two Shi Tai and had a disagreement, I would have definitely mediated between them. There's no way that I would just stand by and do nothing," Yingying said.

  "Well said," Fangzheng complimented.

  Suddenly Yu Canghai interrupted, "Devil Sect's people's conducts are usually opposite to that of other people. Common people returns kindness with kindness. But the disciples of those demons repay kindness with enmity."

  "That's strange, very strange! When did Priest Yu join the Divine Sun Moon Sect?" Xiang Wentian asked.

  "What? Who said I joined the Devil Sect?" Yu Canghai replied indignantly.

  "You said my divine sect's people repay kindness with enmity. Escort leader Lin from Fujian's Fortune Prestige Escort House assisted with the lives of your household. Every year they sent ten thousand silver taels to you. But your Qingcheng School repaid them by killing escort leader Lin. Priest Yu's reputation for repaying kindness with enmity is well known throughout the world. No one in the world doesn't know about this. So given your conduct, Headmaster Yu must be a member of my sect then. Very good, very good, welcome to the sect," Xiang Wentian remarked.

  "Nonsense, don't fart here!" Yu Canghai was livid.

  "I was sincere in my welcome but Priest Yu is scolding me of farting. If this is not repaying kindness with enmity, then what is it called? So, it's clear that rivers and mountains can be easily changed but character is hard to change. When one person repays kindness with enmity for his whole life, then his speech and action clearly shows this," Xiang Wentian said.

  Fangzheng was afraid that they would get into a fight over this senseless dispute. He said, "We should ask Master Linghu who killed the two Shi Tai. This will make things come to light. But the three of you have come to Shaolin temple and killed eight disciples of the orthodox schools. Why did you do this for?"

  "Old man has always wandered Jianghu by myself and no one has dared to be rude towards me. These eight people shouted at old man here telling me to come out from my hiding place. Don't they deserve to be killed for this?" Ren Woxing asked.

  "Amituofo, so it was only because they shouted at you that you violently killed them. Isn't that too much?" Fangzheng said.

  Ren Woxing laughed before answering, "Great Master Abbot said that it's too much then it's too much. You didn't give my daughter any more trouble so old man has received your compassion in that regard. At first I came here to thank you so I don't want debate with you this time. So there's no need to say thanks anymore now, let's just call it even between us."

  "Since Mr. Ren already said that we're even, then we're even. But the three of you have come to my humble temple and killed eight people. What should we do about this matter?"

  "What's there to decide? My Sun Moon Sect has a lot of disciples and you have skills. Just kill eight of them.”

  "Amituofo. Killing people carelessly is a very big sin. Headmaster Zuo, from these eight people who were killed, two of them were from your respectable school. What do you think we should do?"

  Zuo Lengchan had not said anything when Ren Woxing hurriedly said, "I killed those people. Why did you have to ask other people what to do and not ask me? Listening to your tone, it sounds as if you're relying on the superiority in numbers to kill the three of us. Isn't this right?"

  "How would I dare to do that? It's just that Mr. Ren has come out again and this will make Jianghu very eventful. I'm afraid countless number of people will lose
their lives under Mr. Ren's hands. Old monk has this thought to keep the three of you in my humble temple to read Buddhist scriptures so there would be peace in Jianghu. What do the three of you think of this?"

  Ren Woxing looked up towards the sky and laughed loudly. "Wonderful, wonderful, this idea is brilliant."

  "When your daughter resided at the back of my humble temple, everyone in this temple treated her with respect and she didn't lack for anything. Old monk kept your daughter here but not because I wanted to avenge the disciples of my school who were killed. Ai, revenge breeds revenge, you'll get entangled endlessly. How can a Buddhist disciple act like that? The few disciples of Shaolin School who were killed by your daughter's hands; maybe this was revenge from the previous life. But... but she's very vicious and kills people easily. If she can stay in my humble temple to cultivate her mind and grow her soul, then that would be to the benefit of everyone."

  Ren Woxing laughed and said, "In that case, Great Master Abbot's intention was good then."

  "That is so. But old monk didn't anticipate that this matter would unexpectedly lead to a great disturbance in Jianghu. Also, that day your daughter carried young hero Linghu on her back to the temple to seek help. She said that if old monk agrees to save young hero Linghu's life then she would be willing to repay the killing of the temple disciples with her own life. Old monk told her that there was no need for her to repay with her life, but she must stay in seclusion on top of Mount Shaoshi, and she can't leave the mountain without old monk's permission. She immediately agreed to this. Miss Ren, is what I said true?" Fangzheng said.

  Yingying answered quietly, "It's true."

  Linghu Chong's heart swelled with gratitude when he heard the story of that day told from the Great Master Abbot's own mouth. Even though he had heard this story from other people before, it was very different hearing it directly from Great Master Fangzheng's own mouth. Also, hearing how Yingying undertook this matter by herself, he couldn't help his eyes becoming moist from tears.