by Jin Yong
He avoided going in directly and tried to slip in from the side. He listened for a moment and did not pick up any movements in the room. He looked in and saw Hong Qigong sitting on the ground, meditating. His face showed no signs of any injury.
Ouyang Ke thought, “I’ll test him to see if he can move.” He said in a loud voice, “Uncle Hong, this is bad.. .this is bad!” Hong Qigong opened his eyes and asked, “What?” Ouyang Ke pretended to be in a state of panic and said, “Sister Huang tried to catch a rabbit but fell into a deep valley and is injured. She can’t climb out!”
Hong Qigong was shocked and said, “Then quickly save her!” Ouyang Ke was excited and thought, “If he can walk, why doesn’t he come out and save her?” He walked in and laughed, “She tried
several ways and means to take my life, why should I help her? You go save her.”
Hong Qigong observed his expression, knew that he was lying, and thought, “This scum has discovered that I’ve lost my martial arts.I’m in danger!” In this situation, he could only try to bring him down as well; he secretly channeled all his strength to his arm, and waited for him to come closer before he struck. However when he did that, he felt a sharp pain near his heart and his body felt like it was about to come apart. When he saw Ouyang Ke’s twisted smile, he let out a long sigh and waited for death.
Huang Rong saw Ouyang Ke get to shore and got worried, thinking, “At this point the scoundrel will be prepared for me; it will be harder to scheme against him now.” She swam out a ways and headed left. After a while she saw lush foliage and noticed that this beach was different. She thought of Peach Blossom Island and became sad. Then she thought, “If I can find a safe place here for us to hide for a while, that scoundrel might not find us.” It was not a fantastic plan, but it was better than their situation now and he might not actually find them, giving her master time to recover. So she went ashore but she did not dare explore too far inland since she was afraid of bumping into Ouyang Ke. She stuck close to the seashore, thinking, “If I hadn’t been so carefree in the past and had mastered Father’s Five-Element skills, I’d have been able to handle that scoundrel. Aiyo, Father gave him the map to Peach Blossom Island and he’ll surely be able to understand it.”
She was so absorbed in thought that she tripped on a tree vine and stumbled; above her she heard some rustling noises followed by mud and small pebbles raining down on her. She dashed aside but bumped into a tree behind her and a few of the pebbles hit her body. Fortunately she was wearing the Soft Hedgehog Armour, so she was not really hurt. She looked up and was so stunned that her heart beat rapidly. She saw a sheer cliff face with a gigantic rock at its edge. Half the rock was hanging over the edge and even slight disturbance could bring the rock crashing down. The top of the cliff had many thick vines winding around and the very vine she tripped on just now was attached to the rock. If she snapped a vine connected directly to the thousand-pound rock [the catty in the chapter title is 500 grams or 1.1 lb], the rock could have smacked into her, turning her into mincemeat.
The rock had moved but was not dislodged. Huang Rong became extremely careful and watched where she was going while jumping here and stopping there. She moved back several dozen meters and became curious. She knew that she could pull the rock down with just one arm but no one ever came here; there was not even a bird in sight and the rock had been here for hundreds of years.
Cliffs surrounded this place so even the sea breeze could not get through, and it seemed likely this rock had rocked in the wind for the hundreds of years. As Huang Rong headed back to find her master she suddenly had an idea, “Heaven wants that scoundrel dead and has presented this wonderful opportunity; how can I be so dense?” She became excited and somersaulted twice.
She hurriedly returned to the cliff and carefully examined the place. She saw trees reaching up to the sky and if one wanted to avoid the falling rock, one could only move four or five feet in any direction at most. If that rock came crashing down, even birds or squirrels might not evade it. She took her spike out and cautiously walked to the base of the cliff and noted the seven or eight vines directly attached to the rock so that she would not touch them, then she cut the remaining vines. When she cut a vine she held her breath because she was afraid that one small mistake and it would be she who would be flattened.
When she finished, she was drenched with sweat and felt that it had been more tiring than a fierce battle. She then tied the cut vines together and placed a few heaps of dry grass as markers, then memorized the route she took before heading back. As she went she hummed a few tunes along the way, feeling quite proud of herself.
When she got near the cave she still had not seen Ouyang Ke. Then she suddenly heard a perverted laugh coming from inside followed by someone saying, “You claim to be among the best martial artists, yet today you are in Grandfather’s power, how do you feel? All right.because you’re an elder, I’ll let you have a three-move advantage, how’s that? You can display each and every one of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’!” Huang Rong softly exclaimed, “Ah!” She knew that the situation was dire and shouted, “Father, you’re here? Ah, Uncle Ouyang, you’re here too!”
Ouyang Ke had already assessed Hong Qigong’s abilities and was about to strike when he heard Huang Rong’s shout. He was happy and thought, “How is it possible that Uncle and Old Heretic Huang are here?” Then he thought further, “It must be that girl shouting rubbish to save the old beggar. Fine, since the old beggar is in my control anyway I might as well take a look.” He then exited the cave.
He saw Huang Rong waving towards the beach and shouting, “Father.. .Father!” Ouyang Ke looked that way but of course he did not see Huang Yaoshi. He laughed, “Sister, you wanted to trick me into coming out to play.how could I refuse?” Huang Rong laughed and said, “Who’s lying?” She then ran to the beach. Ouyang Ke laughed, “This time I’m prepared; you want to drag me into the sea again, so let’s try it.” Then he chased her. His Qinggong [lightness kung fu] was good and he was catching up fast. Huang Rong inwardly exclaimed, “This is bad! I might even get caught before I reach that cliff.” She ran another few dozen meters and Ouyang Ke was almost catching her. Huang Rong broke left and off the beach. Ouyang Ke had learned his lesson and did not dare go near, so he laughed, “OK, let’s play hide-and-seek.”
Though he did not stop, he was prepared for any trick she might try. Huang Rong stopped and laughed, “There’s a large worm in front of you, and if you chase me again it’ll eat you in one gulp.” Ouyang Ke laughed, “I’m a worm too and I’m going to eat you!” He leaped forward but Huang Rong just laughed and ran ahead.
The two came close to the cliff wall soon enough. Huang Rong ran even faster and shouted, “Come on!” Just as she was about to reach the wall, she saw two figures on the beach. She was really curious but did not have the luxury of stopping; she carefully looked for the piles of grass then ran all the way to the cliff’s base.
Ouyang Ke laughed, “Where’s the worm?” He also ran faster and reached the cliff wall quick as an arrow. The spot where Huang Rong stopped was already cleared of vines, but Ouyang Ke, not suspecting a trap, stepped right into it, wrenching the rock out of its place. The vines snapped and Ouyang Ke felt a great pressure descending on him. He looked up and what he saw scared the living daylights out of him; a mountain of a rock rolling down towards him.
Although the rock was very high up, the gust of wind it created was so strong that he could hardly breathe; he hastily jumped backwards, but smacked right into a tree with such a great force that the tree cracked and the splinters pierced him. At this point he was fleeing for his life and ignored the pain. He jumped again, but only managed to move three feet. Now he was in a daze, then suddenly felt as though someone had jolted him awake, dragging him several feet away.. ..but it was too late. Amidst the thunderous rumble and flying dust, he fainted.
Huang Rong saw that her plan had worked and she was very happy. She had not expected the deafening rumble whi
ch seemed to shove her aside and her head was hit by the countless grains of dirt and dust. She bent over and held her head for a moment before opening her eyes and saw two shadows through the dust.
As the dust settled, she rubbed her eyes and saw that it was actually West Poison Ouyang Feng and the other was the one she so deeply missed.Guo Jing. Huang Rong shouted and jumped for joy.
Guo Jing had never expected to meet her here and he rushed forward and hugged her. In their excitement, they had forgotten that their enemy was close by.
o0o
When Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng were fighting on the boat, neither could gain the advantage, while at the same time the boat was sinking. It took them down with it. Deep in the sea the water pressure was very high and they felt water forcing its way into their ears and noses, causing great pain. They had to stop their struggle and cover their ears and noses.
The bottom of the sea had a swift undercurrent moving in a different direction than the surface current and before they knew it they were swept some distance away. When Guo Jing managed to get up to the surface to breathe it was already dark and the boat seemed very far away. While Guo Jing shouted, at that very moment Huang Rong was looking for him; but they were so far apart, how could they find each other?
Guo Jing shouted again and felt a tug on his leg, followed by another head reaching the surface.it was Ouyang Feng. He was at a disadvantage in the water, so although he was a martial arts master, he struggled wildly and refused to release Guo Jing’s leg.
Guo Jing struggled harder but his other leg was also grabbed. They wrestled for a brief moment before submerging again. When they hit the surface, Guo Jing shouted, “Let my legs go.I won’t desert you.” Ouyang Feng also realized that this would kill them both, so he released his legs and grabbed his shoulder.
Guo Jing supported him, allowing them to float. At this time they saw a large wooden board floating by and it bumped Guo Jing. Ouyang Feng shouted, “Careful!” Guo Jing grabbed it, shouting, “Grab it and don’t let go!”
They looked around but could not see any boats. Ouyang Feng’s Snake Staff was lost and he worried, “If we meet any sharks, we can only hit them wildly like Zhou Botong did. I saved him that time, but who’ll save me now?” They floated for some time and saw many fish swimming by so they had to depend on the fish for survival.
As the ancient saying goes, “Helping each other in the same boat ( )”, so these two men
who fought a bitter battle just a while ago could share the same raft. During this time they were fortunate not to meet any danger. In time the current brought them to the island where Hong Qigong and Huang Rong were only two days after their arrival.
When they hit shore they lay down for some time before they suddenly heard someone laughing. Ouyang Feng jumped up and followed the laughter and coincidentally met Ouyang Ke who had just fallen into the trap. Ouyang Feng tried to rush forward to save him. He managed to pull him back several feet but Ouyang Ke’s legs were crushed by the rock and he fainted from the pain.
Ouyang Feng was suspicious and looked around but did not find any more danger. He went back to check on his nephew. He noticed that he was still breathing so he tried to push the rock off him, but it did not budge even an inch. He then knelt down and grunting, tried again with both hands. Even though his strength was tremendous, how could even he move a thousand-pound rock?
He bent down just as Ouyang Ke opened his eyes and called, “Uncle!” Ouyang Feng said, “You’ll have to bear with it for a while.” He hugged him and pulled him, but Ouyang Ke screamed and fainted again. The rock had pinned his legs beneath it, so this pulling only worsened his pain but did not free him. Ouyang Feng was perturbed.
Guo Jing held Huang Rong’s hand and asked, “Where’s master?” Huang Rong pointed, saying, “Over there.” Guo Jing hearing that his master was alright was elated and wanted her to lead him there. Then he heard Ouyang Ke’s scream and could not bear it; he said to Ouyang Feng, “I’ll help you.” Huang Rong tugged his sleeve, saying, “Let’s go see master, ignore this bad guy!”
Ouyang Feng did not know that this was a trap set up by her since he saw the rock tumble down and it was impossible for anyone to lift it up the cliff. But when he heard Huang Rong stop Guo Jing, his anger flared. Then he heard that Hong Qigong was here and he was startled, thinking, “That beggar took one of my palms and was also poisoned by my snake, yet he’s not dead; even at that he should be ninety percent dead, so why should I fear him?”
He saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong about to leave so he knelt down again and pretended to push the rock as he waited for them to turn away before saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll save you. For now just concentrate on circulating your Qi to protect your heart and pretend that those legs are not yours.” He followed them and saw them with an arm around each other and talking romantically; he was flabbergasted and thought, “If I don’t torture you until you’re worse than dead, I’m not the Western Poison.”
Huang Rong took Guo Jing to the cave entrance. Guo Jing rushed in and shouted, “Master!” Then he saw that Hong Qigong’s eyes were closed and there was no color in his face. He had been insulted by Ouyang Ke and his injury had relapsed. Huang Rong quickly undid his outer gown while Guo Jing massaged his limbs.
Hong Qigong opened his eyes and saw Guo Jing; he was naturally very happy to see him and smiled, saying in a low voice, “Jing’er, you’re here too!” Guo Jing was about to reply when a rough voice cut in from behind, which said, “Old beggar, so am I.” Guo Jing turned around to block the entrance. Huang Rong snatched her master’s bamboo stick and stood beside Guo Jing.
Ouyang Feng laughed, “Old beggar, come out.if you don’t, I’m coming in.” Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other while thinking, “Even if it costs us our lives, we must not let him molest Master.” Ouyang Feng laughed and stepped in. Guo Jing stepped forward to block him.
Ouyang Feng twisted aside to evade his palm strike and moved to his right. Then a bamboo stick flew over and made a circle that seemed aimed at three separate spots at the same time, making it difficult to deal with. He waved his left hand and swept his leg to force his opponents back. He did not expect Huang Rong’s stick to hit the centre of the circle his leg made.
Ouyang Feng was surprised and jumped back, watching carefully. Huang Rong was using the ‘Dog Beating Skill’ and had managed to force her much stronger opponent backwards. She was feeling very proud of herself. Ouyang Feng had not expected that this girl would learn the old beggar’s wonderful rod skill. He snorted and advanced again to hit her bamboo stick. Huang Rong executed the stick skill she’d just learned as she poked, hit, circled and flew around; although she could not injure him, she managed to evade seven or eight successive moves.
Guo Jing, who was surprised and happy, kept cheering, “Very good Rong’er, great rod skill!” Then he attacked with a fist and palm from the side. Ouyang Feng shouted in anger, then knelt down while launching both palms. Even before the palms arrived the wind from the palms caused dust to fly. Guo Jing saw that the palms were very powerful and was afraid that Huang Rong might get injured if she was hit; he hurriedly pushed her aside and they managed to evade the strike together.
Ouyang Feng stepped forward two steps and struck out again with both palms. His attack was terribly strong and he had fought to a draw with Hong Qigong on Peach Blossom Island a few days ago. Guo Jing and Huang Rong were far from his match and were forced to retreat step by step. Ouyang Feng rushed into the cave and flipped his palm, hitting the stone wall and causing bits of stone to flake off. He brought the other palm up above Hong Qigong’s head and held it there to sense his condition.
Huang Rong said, “My master saved your life, yet you want to hurt him. aren’t you ashamed?” Ouyang Feng pushed Hong Qigong’s chest lightly and felt his chest muscles contract, indicating that his martial abilities were really gone. He was happy inside and lifted him, saying, “If you help me rescue my nephew, I’ll spare the beggar’s life.”
Huang Rong said, “Heaven released the rock that pins him, you saw that yourself, so who can save him? Try any more tricks and Heaven will crush you with a rock too.” Guo Jing noticed that Ouyang Feng had lifted Hong Qigong higher and was prepared to throw him down.. .but he doubted that he would really do it. Still he was worried and quickly said, “Put him down and we’ll go save your nephew.”
Ouyang Feng missed his nephew and was very eager to hurry to him, but he kept his face impassive and put Hong Qigong down very slowly.
Huang Rong said, “Helping him is not difficult, but let’s make an agreement.” Ouyang Feng said, “What do you want?” Huang Rong said, “After we save your nephew, you must not harm the three of us while we’re here on this island.” Ouyang Feng thought, “My nephew and I are afraid of water; if we want to get back I may need to depend on these three people.” He nodded his head, saying, “OK, I’ll not kill any of you now, but I can’t promise anything after we leave this island.”
Huang Rong said, “When the time comes, even if you leave us alone, we’ll come after you. Another thing, my father has betrothed me to him and you saw that for yourself. If your nephew bothers me again, you’re worse than a pig or a dog.” Ouyang Feng spat, saying, “OK, but that only applies on this island, once we leave, then we’ll see.”
Huang Rong smiled, saying, “Finally, although we’ll try our best to help you, we’re not gods; if fate has decreed that your nephew must die, you can’t blame us.” Ouyang Feng said, “If my nephew dies, you two can forget about living. Little girl, shut up and come save my nephew.” He then ran to where the rock was.
Guo Jing was about to follow when Huang Rong said, “Jing ge ge, when he uses his strength to push the rock, you can strike his back when he least expects it.” Guo Jing answered, “We must honour our word; let’s save his nephew first, then try to avenge Master.” Huang Rong sighed and knew that it was useless to try to get him to backstab someone.
