by Jin Yong
Qiu Qianren coldly said, “Nicely I shook his hand; it was your precious Bangzhu who tested the Old Man first. Yang Bangzhu deliberately wanted to crush my old bones.” While his mouth was talking, his grip did not loosen up; while Yang Kang kept crying out, “Aiyo!” By the time he finished speaking, Yang Kang’s voice weakened and he passed out.
Qiu Qianren loosened up his hand and waved it away; Yang Kang had already fainted, he tumbled down to the ground. Lu Youjiao hastily rushed forward to pick him up. Jian Zhanglao angrily said, “Qiu Lao Bangzhu, you ... you ... What’s the purpose of this? Isn’t this outrageous?”
“Humph,” Qiu Qianren sneered; his left palm slapped Jian Zhanglao’s face. Jian Zhanglao lifted up his steel staff to fend off. Very quickly Qiu Qianren changed his slap into slicing down to grab the head of the staff. As the edge of his palm touched the head of the staff, he pulled the staff inward before even grabbing it.
Jian Zhanglao’s battle experience was vast; he was startled, but did not release the staff in his hand. Qiu Qianren indeed did not snatch his staff; quick like a wind his right palm swept away to the left. ‘Clang!’ it hit the middle of Jian Zhanglao’s staff. Jian Zhanglao’s palm was chaffed, blood flowed out and he could not hold his staff anymore; it was snatched by Qiu Qianren. Qiu Qianren swept the staff horizontally to parry Peng and Liang two Elders’ saber and sword while his right elbow struck toward Lu Youjiao’s face. Hence in a short period of time he compelled all four Elders of the Beggar Clan to step back.
The crowd of beggars watched with amazement. They unsheathed their weapons; they would fight the Iron Palm Clan as soon as their Clan Leader issued his command.
Qiu Qianren’s left hand gripped the steel staff’s head, his right hand held its tail; he let out a loud and long laugh and secretly sent his strength to both hands. With a shout he wanted to break the steel staff into two. He did not know that Jian Zhanglao’s steel staff was made of a specially treated metal, it was very ductile; the staff did not break. It stubbornly resisted his arms’ supernatural power. Qiu Qianren exerted more strength and the steel staff slowly curved into an arc.
The crowd of beggars was astonished and angry. Suddenly they saw Qiu Qianren swung his left arm back and immediately wield forward, hurling the arched steel staff flying to the sky, toward the mountain rock at the opposite side. With a loud ‘Clang!’ the staff’s head struck the rock; the noise reverberated for a long time.
As Qiu Qianren demonstrated his hands’ power, the crowd of beggars was amazed and frightened. Huang Rong was even more astonished, she thought, “This old man is obviously a useless swindler; how can he become so fierce all of a sudden? Could it be that he colluded with Yang Kang and Jian Zhanglao to perform this trick? Perhaps there is some secret on that steel staff.”
The moon had reached the middle of the sky, all around the torches adding up its brightness. Huang Rong looked clearly, it was really the Qiu Qianren she saw at the Cloud Village and the Ox Village. She turned her head toward Guo Jing. He was still looking up to the sky, mumbling intelligibly. Could it be that he was so scared and angry he turned insane? She was deeply concerned about Guo Jing, so she no longer watched Qiu Qianren’s acrobatic play; her pair of beautiful eyes watched Guo Jing’s expression closely.
Qiu Qianren said with a cold voice, “The Iron Palm Clan with your precious Beggar Clan is usually like the water of the river, does not mix with the water from the well. Upon hearing that your
Eagle Shooting Hero 825
precious Clan is having a general assembly at Mount Jun I come to pay a visit with a good intention. Why did as soon as we met your precious clan’s Bangzhu demonstrated his power?”
Jian Zhanglao was intimidated by Qiu Qianren’s power and reputation, he was already scared; hearing the hostility in Qiu Qianren’s voice he busily said, “Qiu Lao Bangzhu misunderstood. Lao Bangzhu’s prestige has shaken the four corners of the world; we always admire you. Today we are very honored to have Lao Bangzhu shines your glorious light upon us.”
Qiu Qianren looked up to the sky without saying anything; his demeanor was very arrogant and threatening. After a long while he said, “I heard Hong Lao Bangzhu passed away. We have one less great hero of this world. Pity! It is a pity! Your precious clan also elected this kind of new Bangzhu. Ay! Pity! It’s a pity!”
By this time Yang Kang had regained his consciousness; he heard he was being ridiculed at his face, he was angry but did not dare to say anything. He felt his right hand was still burning hot; his five fingers were so swollen they looked like five Chinese yams. The Four Elders of the Beggar Clan did not know how to respond.
Qiu Qianren said, “My visit today is to ask an important favor from your precious Clan; in return, I am going to offer something to you.”
“We don’t dare,” Jian Zhanglao replied, “But please Qiu Lao Bangzhu tell us.”
Qiu Qianren said, “Recently some brothers from my clan received the Old Man’s order to take care of some business. I don’t know how they had provoked two friends from your precious Clan that they were beaten and suffered heavy injuries. My brothers’ skills were unrefined, so there is nothing I can say; but if this matter is spread out within the Jianghu, the Iron Palm Clan will certainly lose our face. Old Man does not know the good from evil; I want to ask for some lessons from the two friends from your precious Clan.”
From the start Yang Kang did not have the slightest bit of care toward the Beggar Clan; how could he dare to offend Qiu Qianren for the sake of two Beggar Clan disciples? Immediately he said, “Who has dared to cause trouble and fight with friends from the Iron Palm Clan without authorization? Quickly come out and apologize to Qiu Lao Bangzhu.”
Ever since Hong Qigong became the Clan Leader of the Beggar Clan, they had never lost power and prestige within the Jianghu. Now as soon as Hong Qigong was dead, the new Clan Leader was this weak; as the crowd of beggars heard this order, they were filled with contempt and resentment. Li Sheng and Yu Zhaoxing came out several steps from among the crowd. With a clear voice Li Sheng said, “Reporting to Bangzhu: our Clan’s fourth commandment clearly states that every one of us must uphold justice and chivalry; helping others in suffering. The day before yesterday while we were on our way the two of us saw some friends from the Iron Palm Clan bullying common people, taking some women captive. We could not hold our patience; we stepped forward to stop them. We fought and in the end have injured the friends from the Iron Palm Clan.”
Yang Kang said, “No matter what you have to apologize to Qiu Lao Bangzhu.”
Li Sheng and Yu Zhaoxing looked at each other; they were furious. If they did not apologize, they were disobeying their Clan Leader’s order; if they apologized, this humiliation was difficult to bear. Li Zheng loudly called out, “Brothers, if Lao Bangzhu was still alive he would not allow us to
826 Eagle Shooting Hero throw this face away. Today Xiao Di [little brother, referring to himself] prefers to die rather than be disgraced!” With a smooth motion he pulled a short dagger from his leg and stabbed it into his own heart; he died immediately. Yu Zhaoxing pounced forward to snatch the short dagger, then he stabbed his own chest; he died on top of Li Zheng’s body.
The crowd of beggars saw these two would rather commit suicide than to be insulted; their hearts were tumultuous, but the Beggar Clan’s regulation was extremely strict, without the Clan Leader’s command, nobody dared to move.
Qiu Qianren smiled wryly, he said, “Let this matter be settled this way then. Now I want to give your precious Clan a gift.” His left hand waved; a dozen or so men dressed in black behind him opened a chest they brought along. Each one held out a tray and respectfully presented the tray to Yang Kang. The trays glittered brightly, they were full of gold, silver, jewels and pearls. The crowds of beggars were astonished to see them suddenly present these jewels.
Qiu Qianren said, “Although the Iron Palm Clan has enough food to eat, we cannot afford to present you with any appropriate gift. This gift is from Zhao Wangye [P
rince Zhao, lit. King Zhao] of the Great Jin who asked the Old Man to pass along to you.”
Yang Kang was pleasantly surprised; he asked quickly, “Where is Zhao Wangye? I must see him.”
Qiu Qianren replied, “Several months ago Zhao Wangye sent his people to deliver this gift along with his message for the Old Man to pass them along to your precious Clan.”
Yang Kang uttered an ‘Hmm’, he thought, “It was before father even made a plan to go south. I wonder what he had in mind with these beggars.”
He heard Qiu Qianren continued, “Zhao Wangye admires the heroes of your precious Clan; he asked the Old Man to come over personally and deliver this gift.”
Yang Kang happily said, “How can we be worthy to receive Lao Bangzhu’s precious effort?”
Qiu Qianren said with a smile, “Yang Bangzhu is young, but you are very broadminded; you far surpass Hong Bangzhu.”
When he was still at Yanjing Yang Kang had not heard Wanyan Honglie mention anything about the Beggar Clan; he was anxious to hear his intention. “I wonder what does Zhao Wangye want with my Clan? Would Lao Bangzhu give us directions?” he asked.
“Giving you direction, that I cannot do,” Qiu Qianren smiled, “Zhao Wangye told the Old Man, that the land of the north is barren and its people are poor, it is difficult to set your feet on ...”
Yang Kang caught fast, “So Zhao Wangye wants us to move to the south?”
Qiu Qianren laughed, “Yang Bangzhu is very smart, the Old Man is impressed. Zhao Wangye said: in Jiangnan the lakes are wide, the land is warm, the people rich; why don’t the brothers from the Beggar Clan move to south? It far surpasses the cold northern land.
Yang Kang smiled, “Thank you for Zhao Wangye’s and Lao Bangzhu’s kind direction. I will certainly comply.”
Qiu Qianren did not expect that the Beggar Clan would readily accept his proposal; his face showed doubt. He had not anticipated this response. His mind churning, he thought this man was young and weak; and when he had just squeezed his hand with Iron Palm, he fainted from the pain. It was obvious that this man was afraid of him; so it was not strange that no matter what he said this man did not dare to defy. However, the Beggar Clan had a deep root in the north, how could he easily agree to move to the south? When the Beggar Clan talked about it later, they were bound to regret this decision. Therefore, he decided to put the last nail on the coffin by saying, “A real man cannot breach his own word. Today Yang Bangzhu gave your word; once the Beggar Clan brothers cross the great river, you will not return to the north, correct?”
Yang Kang was about to comply, but Lu Youjiao suddenly said, “Reporting to Bangzhu: we beg for a living, what use we have for gold and silver? Besides, our Clan has hundreds of thousands of members spreading all over the world, how can we limit their movements? I beg Bangzhu to reconsider.”
By now Yang Kang had understood clearly Wanyan Honglie’s intention. He knew that at the north of the river the Beggar Clan had always fought the Jins. Each time the Jins attacked to the south the Beggar Clan would disturb the rear of the army’s movement; either by assassinating the high ranking military officers or burning their provisions down.
If the Beggar Clan moved to the south, naturally it would tremendously help the Jin’s effort in attacking the south. Thereupon he said, “This is Qiu Lao Bangzhu’s kind intention; if we refuse, we would be disrespectful to him. I don’t want any of the gold and silver; four honorable Elders can divide it among the brethrens after the assembly is over.”
Lu Youjiao anxiously said, “Our Hong Lao Bangzhu was widely known as the Northern Beggar. Everybody in the world knows that our base is in the north. How can we move so easily? Our Clan has vowed our loyalty and patriotism to serve our country, we have been enemies with the Jins forever. We surely cannot accept their gift; and most certainly we cannot move across the Changjiang.”
Yang Kang was furious; he was about to reply when Peng Zhanglao said with a smile, “Lu Zhanglao, the important matter in our Clan is decided by our Bangzhu; it is not decided by you, is it?”
Lu Youjiao imposingly said, “I would rather die than forgetting about loyalty and patriotism to my country.”
“Jian, Peng, Liang Zhanglaos, what do you say” Yang Kang asked.
Jian and Liang Zhanglaos hesitated before answering; they also thought moving across the Changjiang was not an appropriate thing to do. But Peng Zhanglao with a loud voice replied, “We rely on Bangzhu’s decision. How can subordinates dare to disobey?”
“Good,” Yang Kang said, “We will move across the Dajiang [Great River] by the first of the eight month.”
As he said this, more than half of the crowd of beggars broke in clamor. Hearing this reaction Yang Kang was temporarily at a loss. Jian, Peng and Liang three Elders shouted their orders for the noise to stop, but most of those who were angered were from the Dirty Clothes Faction; they ignored these three Elders.
Peng Zhanglao shouted, “Lu Zhanglao, are you going to rebel against our Bangzhu?”
Lu Youjiao imposingly said, “Even if a thousand sabers chop my body to pieces, I will not dare to rebel against Bangzhu. But Lu Youjiao does not dare to abandon the wishes of our forefathers even more! The Jin kingdom is our Great Song’s archenemy. What would Hong Lao Bangzhu say to us?”
Jian and Liang two Elders hung their heads without saying anything; they started to regret their indecisiveness.
Qiu Qianren saw the situation was not good; he was afraid it would be difficult to attain success if he does not deal with Lu Youjiao. He coldly laughed and said to Yang Kang, “Yang Bangzhu, is this Lu Zhanglao always this bossy?” As his words come out, his palms ferociously struck out to grab Lu Youjiao’s shoulder.
As soon as Qiu Qianren sneered, Lu Youjiao was ready to protect himself; he knew Qiu Qianren was fierce, he did not dare to parry. He bent his waist and slipped through under Qiu Qianren’s crotch. Without straightening up his body, ‘whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!’ he already sent three kicks toward Qiu Qianren’s buttocks. He was called Lu Youjiao [Lu with a foot/kick], it was because his leg skill was really good; the kicks were very swift and fierce.
Qiu Qianren thought this man’s way of evading his attack by slipping underneath his crotch was very strange; and then he felt the gust of wind from behind, quickly his palm slapped backwards. If Lu Youjiao’s third kick hit its target, it would certainly cause some damage; but if the kick was hit by the opponent’s Iron Palm, his own shin could break. Hence Lu Youjiao pulled it back abruptly when it was still midway; he rolled sideways and suddenly spat thick phlegm toward Qiu Qianren’s face. Qiu Qianren leaned his head sideways to evade; he was startled by the opponent’s strange move.
“Lu Zhanglao, don’t be rude to the honored guest!” Yang Kang shouted.
Lu Youjiao immediately went back two steps as soon as he heard his Clan Leader’s order. But Qiu Qianren actually showed no mercy whatsoever; his hands went straight toward Lu Youjiao’s throat like a pair of pliers. Lu Youjiao was startled; he turned around to evade, but heard the enemy shout ‘hey’ and both of his hands were grabbed.
Lu Youjiao had fought hundreds of battles; he stayed calm in face of defeat. With all his might he raised his hands but failed to lift the enemy, he immediately struck the enemy’s stomach using his head. Since he was little, Lu Youjiao had trained his head in ‘tong chui tie tou’ [copper hammer iron head]; with his head he was able to make a hole in the wall. Many times he made a bet with his fellow beggars to strike his head against a bullock’s. Each time the two heads collided, his head was not injured, but the bullock actually passed out.
This time he understood that he might not be able to injure the enemy, but he hoped he could get his hands freed up from the enemy’s grasp. Who would have thought that as the top of his head touched the enemy’s stomach he felt he was hitting a soft object; as if he was entering a soft cotton pillow. He knew it was not a good sign; so he hastily withdrew his head, but to his surprise the enemy’s stomach also followed his head. L
u Youjiao struggled with all his strength, yet Qiu Qianren’s Eagle Shooting Hero 829 stomach had a very strong suction, holding Lu Youjiao’s head firmly. Lu Youjiao was frightened since he felt his head was gradually burning hot; at the same time he felt as if his hands were also entering a hot furnace. The pain was unbearable.
“Do you surrender?” Qiu Qianren shouted.
“Stinky old thief,” Lu Youjiao cursed, “Why would I surrender to you?”
Qiu Qianren exerted more strength to his left hand. ‘Crack! Crack!’ he broke Lu Youjiao’s right hand fingers. “Do you surrender?” Qiu Qianren asked again.
“Stinky old thief,” Lu Youjiao cursed, “Why would I surrender to you?”
‘Crack! Crack!’ Lu Youjiao’s left hand fingers were broken. He was in so much pain that his mind
was in a daze, but his mouth kept shouting curses.
Qiu Qianren said, “If I add more strength to my stomach, your head will be crushed. I want to see if
you can keep cursing.”
He had not finished speaking when suddenly someone leaped out from among the crowd of beggars; he was tall and broad-shouldered, it was none other than Guo Jing. He was walking in big strides toward Lu Youjiao’s back. He lifted his right palm high, ‘slap, slap, slap!’ he slapped Lu Youjiao’s buttocks three times so hard that the sound was heard loud and clear.
Although these three slaps hit Lu Youjiao’s buttocks, Qiu Qianren felt strong bursts of energy flowing from Lu Youjiao’s head toward his stomach. ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ the energy melted the suction force of his own stomach.
Lu Youjiao felt his head was free, he hastily withdrew, trying to stand up; but his hands were still firmly gripped by the enemy. Guo Jing called out, “You are not Qiu Lao Qianbei’s [old senior Qiu] match; get out of the way!” His left leg swept away, kicking Lu Youjiao’s left shoulder.
This kick of his looked ordinary, yet although it landed on Lu Youjiao’s body, the force was actually transmitted to Qiu Qianren’s arms. Qiu Qianren felt his palms were shaken and involuntarily loosened his grip. Lu Youjiao took advantage of this good opportunity; he borrowed the strength from Guo Jing’s kick and threw himself aside. Only his head was captured for quite a long time and he felt dizzy; he was not able to stand steadily and tumbled down on the ground.
