by Jin Yong
The raft sailed until about the ninth hour [3-5pm] when they saw a dark line in the distance. It appeared to be land. Guo Jing was the first to jump up and shout in delight. In the time needed to eat a bowl of rice they could see more clearly; it was indeed land. The sea was calm and the sun shone brightly, scorching these people and making them miserable. Ouyang Feng suddenly stood up; he swayed a little bit and stretched out his hands and grabbed both Guo Jing and Huang Rong. With the tip of his foot he also kicked and sealed Hong Qigong’s acupoint.
The two were taken by surprise and their vital acupoints sealed; half of their bodies numbed immediately. Startled they asked, “What are you doing?” Ouyang Feng grinned evilly, but did not say anything.
Hong Qigong sighed, “The Old Poison is very conceited; he is not willing to accept another’s mercy. We have saved his life; if he does not kill his saviors, how can his heart be at peace? Ay, I can only blame my own benevolent heart for rescuing these people in the middle of the night and forgetting this fact. Now I’ve endangered the lives of these two weary kids.”
“You knew it very well,” Ouyang Feng said, “Also the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ is in my hands; if I leave a copy in this boy named Guo’s mind, I will only invite inevitable misfortune on myself.”
Hearing him mentioning the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ Hong Qigong’s heart was stirred; with a loud voice he recited, “Nu er qi liu, ha gua er, ning xie qi qia, ping dao er ...”
Ouyang Feng was startled; he recognized the sentence to be one among hundreds of difficult sentences he did not know the meaning of. Listening to Hong Qigong reciting it, he believed Hong Qigong understood the meaning and he thought, “There are many strange sentences in the manual, there must be a key to unlock their secrets. If I kill these three, I am afraid there is nobody else in this world who understands it and my taking possession of the manual will have been in vain.” Therefore, he asked, “What does it mean?”
Hong Qigong replied, “Hun hua cha cha, xue gen xu bat u, mi er mi er .” Even though he had listened to Guo Jing reciting the strange sentences from the manual, how could he have memorized everything? He was just talking nonsense, but his face showed deep veneration.
Ouyang Feng actually thought the sentences carried a very profound meaning; he focused his attention and thought deeply. Hong Qigong shouted, “Jing’er, now!”
Guo Jing pulled back his left hand and sent out his right palm while his left leg flew forward simultaneously. Actually when Ouyang Feng sent out his kick and launched a surprise attack, his vital acupoint was grabbed and he was unable to move. When Hong Qigong talked nonsense and confused Ouyang Feng, it caused him to lose his concentration and slightly loosen his grip. Guo Jing took this opportunity to free himself and launch a counterattack. Guo Jing had trained the ‘Changing Muscle Forging Bones’ to the second stage; although he did not learn any new fist or 656 Eagle Shooting Hero
kick techniques, his original strength was actually increased by at least twenty percent This one pull, one palm and one kick were executed without any extraordinary moves, but the force within his attack was unexpectedly strong.
Ouyang Feng was taken by surprise and because the raft was narrow, there was no space to withdraw; he was forced to raise his hand to fend off the attack, but his grip on Huang Rong did not loosen.
Guo Jing’s fist and palms went out one after another, attacking his enemy like a violent storm. He was well aware that, on this narrow raft, should he ever let Ouyang Feng attack with his Toad Stance, then the three of them would be dead with no burial ground. This flurry of attacks forced Ouyang Feng to withdraw half a step.
Huang Rong leaned sideways slightly, positioning her shoulder to bump Ouyang Feng’s body. Ouyang Feng was amused and thought, “This little girl wants to bump me, just how much skill does she think she has? Don’t blame me if I bump you clear to the ocean.” He had just finished this thought when Huang Rong’s shoulder arrived. Ouyang Feng did not evade nor try to parry, appearing not to pay attention; then he suddenly a felt pricking pain on his chest. The pain caused him to realize immediately that she was wearing Peach Blossom Island’s treasure, the ‘Soft Hedgehog Armor’ [ruan wei jia]. By now he was already at the edge of the raft, so he could not move back even half a step. Her armor was full of sharp spines which he could not deal with. He hastily let go of her vital acupoint and flung her to one side.
Huang Rong did not have any room to set foot on and she was going to fall into the water. Guo Jing reached behind his back and grabbed her, while his left hand was still attacking his enemy. Huang Rong drew out her dagger and rushed forward to attack.
Ouyang Feng stood on the edge of the raft with water splashing his legs; no matter how hard Guo Jing and Huang Rong attacked, they were not able to force him into the water.
Hong Qigong and Ouyang Ke were unable to move, so both of them helplessly watched the ferocious fight. Their hearts were thumping madly as they watched this evenly matched fight where the margin between life and death was as narrow as a strand of hair. They both bitterly wished they could help their side.
Ouyang Feng’s martial arts were considerably above Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s combined power, but because he had been immersed in the water for several days, almost half of his strength was gone. Although Huang Rong’s martial arts were not too high, she was wearing the ‘Soft Hedgehog Armor’ and her hand was holding a sharp dagger. These offensive and defensive weapons were enough to give Ouyang Feng some headaches. Not only that, Guo Jing’s ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, his seventy-two stances of the ‘Vacant Fist’, the ‘Mutual Hands Combat’ technique, as well as the recently learned ‘Changing Muscles Forging Bones’ from the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ combined to make him a formidable opponent. Besides that, the three were engaged in a close fight on a raft!
After a while Ouyang Feng’s palms started getting stronger; Guo Jing and Huang Rong started to fall under his attack. Hong Qigong was very anxious watching this fierce battle. Amidst Ouyang Feng’s dancing palm shadows his left leg kicked out with a strong gust of wind. Huang Rong did not dare to block it and was forced to somersault back and fell into the water.
Suddenly facing a strong enemy alone, Guo Jing was feeling the strain. Luckily, after falling into the water on the left side of the raft, Huang Rong swam under the bottom of the raft, boarded on the right side, and swept her dagger towards Ouyang Feng’s chest. Now Ouyang Feng had to face enemies on two sides.
While fighting courageously, Huang Rong thought of plans to overcome this situation, “If this fight continues, and with our inferior martial arts, in the end we will fall under his hands. The only way to defeat him is under water.” As soon as this thought entered her mind, she swept her dagger and cut the sail rope and the sail immediately fell down; the raft now carried by the waves and no longer moved forward. Huang Rong drew back two steps, wrapped the rope several times around Hong Qigong’s body, then several turns on logs from the raft and made two tight knots.
With Huang Rong out of the battle, Guo Jing would not be able to withstand the enemy much longer. He managed to block three successive stances, but the fourth stance forced him to step backwards. Ouyang Feng did not want to let him go and his palms continuously attacked. Guo Jing was forced to step backwards again and using the ‘Fish Jumping out of the Deep’ [yu yue yu yuan] he managed to block another stance. For the next stance he was forced to move backwards again and his left foot stepped on empty air. In this critical moment he did not get nervous; his right foot immediately flew forward to block his enemy from attacking further. With no feet on the raft, with a ‘splash!’ he also fell into the water.
The raft was rocking hard and Huang Rong also took this opportunity to leap into the sea. The two pushed and pulled the raft, trying to overturn it. They knew Ouyang Ke would drown, and besides, in the water Ouyang Feng was not their match. Hong Qigong’s was tied to the raft and the two took the risk of dealing with the Western Poison first before trying to save their master.
Ouyang Feng understood their intentions very well and he raised his foot over Hong Qigong’s head and loudly shouted, “You two kids listen to me! If you rock the raft one more time, I will kick instantly!”
Huang Rong understood her first plan had been foiled so she proceeded with her second plan: she took a deep breath, dove underneath the raft and began cutting ropes with her dagger. She knew they were not too far from land; after drowning Ouyang Feng and his nephew, she thought they could ride on logs and get to shore without too much trouble.
‘Snap. snap!’ the wooden raft broke into two halves. Ouyang Ke was on the left half, while Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong were on the right half. Inwardly Ouyang Feng felt anxious and he quickly stretched his hand to grab his nephew; then he bent over looking into the water, ready to strike Huang Rong if she cut another rope.
From under the water Huang Rong could see Ouyang Feng’s shadow clearly. Knowing his next attack would be very fierce, she did not dare to cut another rope. Both sides were in deadlock for a long time. Huang Rong swam several zhang away, took another deep breath, then dove right back under, waiting for an opportunity to launch her attack.
With concentrated attention, both sides waited for an opportunity. For the moment their part of the sea became very calm and the sun shone brightly over their heads. The ocean seemed so peaceful, but on this half raft, with one above and one below, there were very murderous intentions.
Huang Rong thought, “If this half raft is cut in two, the waves will certainly turn it over.” While Ouyang Feng thought, “As soon as she pokes her head up, I am going to slap the water. The vibration should be enough to scatter her brains. Once this little girl is gone, the little thief named Guo should not prove a problem to me.” Two people waited without blinking, both itching to strike.
Suddenly Ouyang Ke pointed to the left and called out, “A boat.. .a boat!”
Hong Qigong and Guo Jing turned their heads and saw a big boat with a dragon figurehead and its sail fully raised; it approached riding the wind and breaking waves. A moment later Ouyang Ke saw someone standing on the bow; he was large in stature and was wearing a scarlet kasaya [a garment worn by Buddhist monks] and looked like the Monk Lingzi. As the boat got closer, he could see more clearly, it was indeed the Monk Lingzi. He quickly told his uncle.
Ouyang Feng concentrates his ‘qi’ in his ‘dan tian’ [lower abdomen] and loudly called out, “Friends, here, come quickly!”
Under water, Huang Rong did not know what was happening, but Guo Jing knew they were in more trouble. He swam underwater and pulled Huang Rong’s arm, signaling her that more enemies were coming. Huang Rong was not very clear on his intentions, but she was aware something was not right. She signaled back to Guo Jing to block Ouyang Feng’s palm while she severed the rope.
Guo Jing knew his own skill was inferior to his enemy by a long shot; but now that he was underwater and the enemy above, the difference was lessened. He knew blocking Ouyang Feng’s palm meant endangering his own life, but it was a critical time and he had no other alternative. Therefore he exerted all his strength into his palms and suddenly swept upwards.
“Ugh!” Ouyang Feng grunted as his palms struck the water; meanwhile Guo Jing’s palms were coming up from below. Two forces collided on the surface of the sea, creating a big splash. The raft was lifted several feet upwards and, ‘snap.snap’, the half raft broke into two parts; it seemed Huang Rong managed to cut the rope just in time.
In the meantime the big boat was only a few dozen zhangs away from the raft. After cutting the rope, Huang Rong immediately dove deeper underwater. She was about to come up and stab Ouyang Feng when she noticed Guo Jing was motionless and slowly sinking. She was alarmed, quickly swam near, and grabbed his arm. She swam several zhangs away before coming up to the surface. Guo Jing’s eyes were tightly shut, his face blue and his lips colorless; he was unconscious.
The large boat lowered a small boat with several sailors pulling the oars; they took Ouyang Feng, his nephew, as well as Hong Qigong aboard. Huang Rong called three times, “Jing ge ge!” but Guo Jing did not wake. She thought that although the boat was full of the enemies, she had no alternative; she held on to Guo Jing’s head and swam towards the small boat.
The sailors pulled Guo Jing aboard and held out their hands to pull her in. Huang Rong’s left hand pressed on the boat’s edge and she leaped up from the water like a flying fish, into the boat, scaring the sailors.
When his palms collided with Ouyang Feng’s, Guo Jing felt a tremendous force surging through his body and he passed out immediately. He awakened and knew he was leaning on Huang Rong’s chest and aware that they were on a small boat. He concentrated his breathing and found out that he was not internally injured; he raised his eyebrows and smiled at Huang Rong.
Huang Rong smiled back at him and her anxiety and fears were gone in an instant. She at last had an opportunity to see what kind of boat was coming to rescue them. Once she looked up, she groaned inwardly; she saw, standing at the bow of the big boat, seven or eight men, both tall and short. They were the same Wulin characters she’d met several months earlier at the Zhao Palace in Yanjing. The short, stout one with bright eyes was the ‘Butcher with a Thousand Hands’ [qian shou ren tu] Peng Lianhu, the one with a bald, shiny head was the ‘Dragon King of Guimen’ [gui men long wang] (lit. Ghost Gate) Note to final editor: the earlier chapter has ‘Dragon King of Demonic Group’] Sha Tongtian, the one with three carbuncles on his head sticking out like horns was the ‘Three-Headed Dragon’ [san tou jiao] Hou Tonghai, the one with ruddy face and white hair was the ‘Ginseng Immortal’ [shen xian lao guai] Liang Ziweng, the one wearing scarlet kasaya was the Tibetan monk the ‘Big Handprint’ [da shou yin] Venerable Lingzhi. There were several others that she did not know. She thought, “Jing ge ge’s martial arts and mine have recently enjoyed tremendous improvements. If we have to fight with Peng Lianhu and the others one-on-one, I might not win, but Jing ge ge will definitely score a victory. But the Old Poison is standing nearby, plus these other people. It will be very difficult for us to escape danger today.”
The people on the big boat were surprised to hear Ouyang Feng’s shouts from the raft. Now that they saw Guo Jing and the others, they were even more surprised. Ouyang Feng was holding his nephew; Guo Jing and Huang Rong carried Hong Qigong; the five people in two groups jumped up one after another from the small boat to the big boat.
Soon a man came out of the cabin to welcome them; he wore an embroidered colored robe. As soon as he saw Guo Jing, both men were stunned. The man wore a neat beard on his chin, had a handsome face; it was none other than the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Wanyan Honglie.
After escaping from the Liu family ancestral hall in Baoying, Wanyan Honglie was afraid that Guo Jing might pursue him to the north; he did not dare go home. He came across Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and the others and decided to head down south to steal the book left behind by Yue Wumu (the Wumu Legacy). By this time the Mongolian army had dispatched a large scale military expedition against the Jin; the capital, Yanjing, had been besieged for several months and the sixteen prefectures surrounding it had fallen to the Mongolian invasion. As the days passed the situation for the Jin got more and more critical. Wanyan Honglie was very worried about the fate of his country; he’d seen with his own eyes that the Mongolians were very swift and fierce. Although the Jin army was ten times superior in numbers, each time they met, the Jin were routed. Wanyan Honglie painstakingly pondered all ideas to rebuild his country’s lofty aspirations, and came to the conclusion that what he needed right at that time was the Wumu Legacy. He thought that if this book on military strategy was in his possession, he would be able to build a divine and invincible army just like Yue Fei’s own army. Even though the Mongolian army was strong, they would flee at the sight of his army.
He presently led this expedition south, trying to track down the whereabouts of the Legacy; but he feared the Southern Song would uncover his intentions and be on guard again
st intruders. He decided to go by sea, hoping nobody would know his itinerary and he could land on the Zhejiang coast undetected and quietly enter Lin’an to steal the book.
Before departing he looked for Ouyang Ke knowing he was a martial arts expert and would be a highly useful companion. After a long time of not hearing any news of him, he decided to leave without waiting for this man. Now they suddenly meet quite by accident on the sea; not only
Ouyang Ke, but Guo Jing as well. He could not help but feel anxious; he was afraid his secret mission had been compromised.
Seeing the enemy who’d killed his father, Guo Jing seethed with anger; he did not care if he was surrounded by powerful enemies and he looked at Wanyan Honglie with blazing gaze.
Just then someone else came out of the cabin, but when only half step through the door he immediately drew back in. Huang Rong’s sharp eyes saw that the man looked like Yang Kang.
In the meantime Ouyang Ke introduced his uncle to the prince, “Uncle, this is the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin who loves people with high skills.” Ouyang Feng cupped his fists in front of his chest.
Wanyan Honglie did not know that Ouyang Feng was a very big name in the martial arts realm. He noticed Ouyang Feng had an arrogant expression, but for Ouyang Ke’s sake he returned the cupped fists gesture.
When Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian and the others heard his name, they bowed and spoke their praise, “For a long time Mr. Ouyang has been the Mount Tai and the Big Dipper [meaning ‘ultimate’] of the Wulin world; today we are fortunate to finally meet you.” Ouyang Feng slightly bowed, returning their respect half-heartedly.
‘Big Handprint’ the Venerable Lingzhi came from Tibet and did not know of the Western Poison’s reputation; he merely put his palms together without saying anything.
Wanyan Honglie knew that Sha Tongtian and the others were conceited men and they always looked down on others; but he noticed they were very respectful towards Ouyang Feng, almost to the point of fear and heaped flattering words on him. Their expressions looked very unusual. Wanyan Honglie realized that this water-swollen man with disheveled hair and bare feet was not an ordinary person; he immediately treated Ouyang Feng with respect and uttered some polite words.
