by Jin Yong
He blew out the candle, walked to the side of the wall, and jumped out.
Before he landed, a sudden, loud, swoosh sound came, as a heavy weapon swept across at him, followed by a yell, "Lie down, Zhang CuiShan.” While in midair, Zhang CuiShan could not adjust to evade the weapon, which came with great power. In this critical moment, he quickly tipped the weapon with his left hand, borrowed its force, and lifted himself back up on the wall. This move used several strokes of the character ‘Martial’. As the saying goes, "The swallows rise from the water, the geese fly swiftly in the sky, facing danger control yourself, in the middle of danger soar away,” to create a path of escape in the middle of a dangerous situation. In this life and death moment, he suddenly realized that this new kung fu could be hard as stone, yet also soft as feather, easily dissipating the opponent’s powerful attack. His left foot lightly set on the edge of the wall, the Judge’s Iron Brush now in his right hand. From that attack, Zhang CuiShan realized this opponent is very formidable.
The attacker was shocked that Zhang CuiShan could evade his attack so easily, couldn’t help but let out a ‘huh?’ Then he yelled, "Humph, you’re pretty good, kid.”
Zhang CuiShan put his brush and hook in front of his chest, pointed then down in the ‘Willing to Learn’ position. This is Wu Dang’s signature pose as a sign of respect to elder opponents. Had Zhang CuiShan not learnt the new kung fu from his master, that last attack would have at least broken his shoulder. Yet even while incredibly angry, Zhang CuiShan did not forget his master’s teachings, and leave out courtesy in the face of an opponent.
In the darkness he vaguely saw two yellow-robed monks on his left and right, each with a large, thick staff. The one on the left said, "Zhang CuiShan, the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang are fairly renowned in the martial world. Yet how could your ways be so vicious?”
As Zhang CuiShan hear the monk call him by his name, instead of ‘Fifth Hero Zhang’ or ‘Mr. Zhang CuiShan’, he felt a surge of anger, and responded in a cold manner, "You don’t ask for explanation, nor seek the truth. Instead you hide in the darkness and sneak up on me. Is that what a hero is suppose to do? I have heard that Shaolin’s kung fu is unparalleled, but didn’t realize that their ability to sneak up on the enemy is also so amazing.”
That monk let out a loud grunt, jumped up the wall and attacked at the same time with his staff. Even before the monk landed, Zhang CuiShan felt a strong wind coming from the point of the staff towards his chest, and quickly diverted the staff with his hook. The brush shot out, hitting the middle of the staff. That monk suddenly felt a strong shock coming from the staff, which prevented him from gaining balance on the wall, fell off. Zhang CuiShan only felt much numbness in both hands, thought, "This monk’s strength is quite good.” He asked, "May I ask for your name?”
The monk on the right said, "I am Yuan Yin. This is my martial brother Yuan Ye.” Zhang CuiShan said, "Oh, so you are the Yuan generation at Shaolin. May I ask why you’re here?”
Yuan Yin seemed to be gasping for breath when speaking, said, "This is a serious matter between us Wu Dang and Shaolin. Although we are of the younger generation, we still must intervene in this matter. I ask of you. Now that you’ve kill all the people in the Dragon Gate Protection Agency, in addition to two of my martial nephews. I want to ask, how Fifth Hero Zhang intends to solve this dilemma involving so many deaths.” Despite the courteous nature of his tone, his words were very critical.
Zhang CuiShan said coldly, "I’m also trying to find out who killed these people. But since you’re so sure that I did it, I ask you. Did you actually see me murder anyone?” Yuan Yin yelled, "Hui Feng. Why don’t you have a chat with Hero Zhang?”
Four yellow-robed monks appeared from the forest, the same ones Zhang CuiShan knocked down earlier. That monk named Hui Feng steped up and said, "Martial uncle. It’s indeed him. He killed all the people in the agency, plus brothers Hui Tong and Hui Guang.” Yuan Yin said, "You saw it with your own eyes?” Hui Feng said, "Yes. If the four of us hadn’t escaped quickly enough, we would’ve also been dead.” Yuan Yin said, "Monks cannot lie. Plus the reputations of Wu Dang and Shaolin are at stake here. Are you absolutely certain of what you saw?” Hui Feng got on his knees and said, "With the Holy Buddha above listening, every word I now say is the exact truth.” Yuan Yin said, "Good. Now recall the exact events.” When Zhang CuiShan heard this, he quickly jumped down the wall.
Yuan Ye thought that Zhang CuiShan wanted to kill Hui Feng, and quickly attacked him with a sweep of his staff. Zhang CuiShan lowered his head and easily dodged the attack, in a smooth motion, twisted around behind Hui Feng. Yuan Ye originally planned on following up with another attack, but saw that he can no longer hurt Zhang CuiShan without first hurting Hui Feng. Yuan Ye retracted his staff and said, "What do you want?”
Zhang CuiShan said, "I just want to hear a bit more closely, hear exactly just how I killed all those people.”
Seeing Zhang CuiShan behind him, Hui Feng knew that if he made any hasty moves, Zhang CuiShan could immediately kill him. Even his martial uncles won’t be able to help him. But due to his anger towards, Hui Feng did not flinch, yelled, "A few days ago, martial uncle Yuan Xin received a letter from martial brother Du DaJin, north of the Yangtze river. He immediately sent Hui Tong and Hui Guang to help out. Then he sent me a note to also come here, with three fellow martial brothers. Upon entering, Brother Hui Guang said that the enemy might be here tonight, and that the four of us should guard outside. He also told us to not fall for any diversions.” Yuan Yin said, "Then what? Keep going.”
Hui Feng said, "Soon after dark, I heard Hui Tong fighting in the back hall, followed by a loud scream, as if he were gravely injured. By the time I got there, he’s already dead. this bastard Zhang.”
He turned around and pointed his finger at Zhang CuiShan, almost touching his nose, yelling, "I saw you push Brother Hui Guang to the wall with your palm, killing him. I know I’m no match for you, so I simply watched through the window. Then eight people tried to escape, and you followed them outside, killed them all with your hands, not even letting go the old and the young.
Afterwards, you left.” Zhang CuiShan did not move at all. Even while Hui Feng’s salive fell on his face, he neither dodged nor retaliated. Afterwards, he said coldly, "Then what?”
Hui Feng continued, "After that, I discussed with my three brothers on what to do next. Everyone thought your kung fu was too powerful for us, so we should stay low for a moment. Who’d have thought that you’d come back again just then. We knew we couldn’t beat you, but at that moment, we didn’t think that that much. I asked for your name, didn’t you say that you are Wu Dang’s Zhang CuiShan? At first I didn’t believe you, thinking that the heroes of Wu Dang would not do such a thing. But when you showed your weapons, I had to believe you.”
Zhang CuiShan said, "I admit that I did indeed give you my name, showed my weapons, and knocked the four of you down. But are absolutely certain that I’m the one who killed everyone in the escort agency?”
At this moment, Yuan Yin flew up, grabbed Hui Feng’s body and pushed him into the distance. He said, "He already told you the whole event. So the renowned Fifth Hero Zhang could not try to hide the truth.” He pushed Hui Feng aside so Zhang CuiShan could not try to kill this witness.
Hui Feng said to Zhang CuiShan, "Fine, I’ll say it again. I personally saw you killed Hui Guang and Hui Tong, personally saw you killing the eight people in the escort agency.” Zhang CuiShan said, "Did you see my face clearly? Was I wearing this same outfit?” As he spoke he took out a match, lighting up his face and body. Hui Feng stared at him with great disdain, said, "You were wearing this robe exactly. At that time, you had a fan in your left hand. Now you have it on your waist.”
Zhang CuiShan felt his stomach boiling, not knowing why this monk would purposely say such a lie, walked up and stared into his face, yelled, "If you have the guts, say those words again. Say that it’s me who killed them all, not someone else!”
Yuan Yin yelled, "You. You killed him?” Zhang CuiShan also did not expect to see this turn of events. He quickly turned around, only to see a shadow running away among the trees. He yelled, "Stop!” and immediately flew toward the shadow. If he couldn’t find the real killer at this moment, he’d be misunderstood as the killer.
Who’d have thought that while in midair, two swooshes of wind would come from behind, as two staffs caught up to him from left and right. At the same time, the two monks yelled, "Don’t think you can get away, murderer!” Zhang CuiShan’s brush and hook both swept down, writing the word ‘Saber’[only two strokes to this character] in a backhanded manner. His hook bent around and trapped Yuan Ye’s staff point, while his brush cast aside Yuan Yin’s staff. Borrowing their power, he quickly flew over them to land on the roof behind them. Zhang CuiShan then tried to scan the area, but saw no person in sight.
Yuan Ye quickly jumped up to the roof for another attack. Zhang CuiShan yelled, "I need to find the killer. Don’t get in my way!” Yuan Yin said in rage, "You. you killed him in front of my face, and yet
try to deny it?” Zhang CuiShan flung Yuan Yin’s staff to the side, preventing him from coming up.
Yuan Yin said, "Fifth Hero Zhang. We don’t want to take your life. You simply need to drop your weapons, come with us to the Shaolin, and let the abbot pass judgment on you.” Zhang CuiShan said angrily, "I can’t believe you’re actually ‘Yuan’ generation Shaolin experts. The real killer came and went without you even noticing.” Yuan Yin said, "Look, I can’t personally decide your fate for killing my fellow brothers. So please come with us to Shaolin.” Zhang CuiShan said coldly, "Urgh! I can’t believe the Yuan generation at Shaolin is filled with idiots. You can’t even see who the real killer is?” Yuan Yin said, "I’m sorry. You have too much blood on your hands. We can’t let you escape.”
Upon hearing Yuan Yin so adamantly pointing him as the killer, Zhang CuiShan became angrier and angrier. Not only did he have to argue with Yuan Yin, but he also must fight off Yuan Ye at the same time. In the heat of the battle, Zhang CuiShan said with a smirk, "You think you can actually capture me?”
Only to see Yuan Ye push his staff onto the ground, trying to borrow its force to get him up. Zhang CuiShan jumped at the same time. His lightness kung fu is far superior to Yuan Ye’s, attacked downward as he jumped. Yuan Ye tried to block his attack with the staff, but Zhang CuiShan’s hook suddenly changed directions in midair, followed by a tearing sound, as his hook sliced through Yuan Ye’s shoulder. Yuan let out a scream, fell to the ground. He only lived because Zhang CuiShan showed mercy, and not aim for Yuan Ye’s throat.
Yuan Yin quickly held up his brother and asked, "Are you alright?” Yuan Ye said, "I’m fine! You still talking and not attacking? Stop with the indecisiveness!” Yuan Yin sighed, then raised his staff to attack. Yuan Ye did not bother to wrap up his wound, instead immediately went back to fighting Zhang CuiShan. The dancing staffs carried the wind, both converged to attack as one. Zhang CuiShan knew the wrist power of the two monks, in addition to the heaviness of their weapons. Should they be able to jump onto the wall, he would have great difficulty winning. So Zhang CuiShan played defensive, guarding his higher vantage point. Neither monks could jump up to the wall as a result. The ‘Hui’ generation monks have much lower kung fu, so despite seeing their martial uncles at a disadvantage, they had no way of helping.
Zhang CuiShan thought, "I really must go find the real killer quickly, no reason to get caught up in this misunderstanding.” He retracted his hook and brush into defensive positions, holding off attack. Just as he’s about to spring away, Zhang CuiShan heard a yell from behind, the voice thunderous, followed by a powerful force pushing towards him. Only to see a big-bodied monk jump up unto the roof, both his hands now reaching for Zhang CuiShan’s weapons. Although Zhang CuiShan could not see his face in the darkness, he realized that this monk is using Shaolin’s famous and powerful Tiger Claws. Yuan Ye yelled, "Thank goodness you’re here, brother Yuan Xin. Don’t let this murderer get away.”
Zhang CuiShan had seldom met any formidable enemy in his lifetime, plus his martial arts recently increased a great deal with this new kung fu. When he saw this new monk attacking, he felt a strong hatred, and began to have the urge to duel with them. He put away his hook and brush, yelled, "Humph, do you think the three of you could beat me?” Just as Yuan Xin’s left hand is nearly next to him, Zhang CuiShan retracted his right palm, swooped around and ripped apart a piece of Yuan Xin’s robe. As Yuan Xin’s claws touched his shoulder, Zhang CuiShan’s left foot flew out, hitting Yuan Xin squarely on the kneecap.
Yuan Xin’s knees are unusually sturdy, so he did not fell down even after suffering such an injury. With a loud roar, his right claw came at Zhang CuiShan. At the same time, Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye’s staffs also attacked from behind. Yuan Yin’s voice might be croaked, seemingly ill, but his
kung fu is the best of the three. A staff weighing at least thirty to forty pounds seemed light as a sword in his hands, very quick and flexible.
After meeting his match for the first time in life, Zhang CuiShan thought, "Wu Dang and Shaolin had been considered the two most powerful sects in the world recently, yet we never really had a chance to compete against each other. Today’s a good opportunity to test against the powerful Shaolin martial arts.” With that thought, he shot out his two palms, freely shifting among the two staffs and a pair of claws, cutting down, capturing, pointing and attacking. Even while fighting one on three, Zhang CuiShan gradually gained the upper hand.
Shaolin and Wu Dang sects both have their strengths and weaknesses. Zhang SanFeng is a seldom-seen genius when it comes to martial arts, but Wu Dang nonetheless lacked the thousands of years of experience Shaolin had. The difference is that, Zhang CuiShan is one of the best Wu Dang fighters, while the three monks are only second tier fighters in Shaolin. So as the fight went on, Zhang CuiShan became more and more energetic, his movements became swifter and faster. Suddenly, his right hand wrote out the long hook in the character ‘Dragon’, grabbing Yuan Ye’s staff, and redirected it unto Yuan Yin’s staff. With a loud collision sound, so loud everyone’s ears vibrated. Both monks had incredible strength. Their strength, adding Zhang CuiShan’s, caused such a powerful collision that blood came out of the two monks’ mouths. As Yuan Xin came over to help, Zhang CuiShan quickly stepped to the side, held out his foot in front of Yuan Xin, and then gave him a shove on the back. With the shove and his own natural forward movement, Yuan Xin immediately tripped to the ground.
Zhang CuiShan said coldly, "Want to take me to Shaolin? You’ll have to practice a few more years first.” Yuan Xin got up and yelled, "Murderer! Don’t try to run away!” And with that the three monks began to come after Zhang CuiShan again. Zhang CuiShan thought, "They really are pesky, but I can’t exactly kill them.” So he took a deep breath and began to use his lightness kung fu to escape.
Yuan Xin and Yuan Ye both tried to chase him, but could not catch up, due to their inferior lightness kung fu. They can only yell, "Capture the murderer! Don’t let him go!” while chasing along the banks. Zhang CuiShan laughed inside, thinking how can you people catch up to me? Suddenly he heard Yuan Xin and Yuan Ye both yell out "Ahhh!” while Yuan Yin let out a light groan, but also seemingly injured.
Zhang CuiShan turned his head around, only to see all three monks with their hands over their right eyes, as if hit by hidden weapons. Then Yuan Yin yelled, "Zhang CuiShan. If you got the guts, come back and blind my left eye too!”
Zhang CuiShan thought, "Were they blinded by someone? Who’s helping me?” He then realized something, yelled, "Seventh brother, seventh brother. Where are you?” Among t
he seven Wu Dang heroes, Muo ShengGu’s the best at hidden weapons. That’s why Zhang CuiShan figured his seventh brother must be here.
But after several yells, no response came. Zhang CuiShan searched around several trees by the banks, but could not find even half a shadow.
Yuan Ye lost control after getting blinded, and wanted to keep chase Zhang CuiShan. But Yuan Yin stopped him, knowing that doing so would be pointless. He said, "Brother Yuan Ye, we don’t have to be in such a hurry to seek revenge. Even if we give up, do you think our elder reverends would let him go? Let’s go seek the advice of the abbot. He’ll help us.” o0o
Zhang CuiShan felt a bit more comfortable, after seeing the Shaolin monks leave. But he still wondered, "Just who was the person that helped me?” He didn’t want to stay by the lake much longer, and decided to hurry back to the inn. After quickly running for about thirty meters, he saw a bush rustling by the lake.
Since there’s no wind right now, so someone must be hiding behind it. Zhang CuiShan walked closer, about to ask who’s there, when suddenly a person shot out of the bush, attacked him with a saber, yelling, "Today, either you die or I die!”
Zhang CuiShan kicked his foot out, and quickly knocked the saber out of that person’s hand, into the lake. Looking closely, he saw that this person is yet another monk, except his kung fu is quite mediocre. Zhang CuiShan yelled, "What are you doing here?” While speaking, he saw three other people lying behind the bush. Zhang CuiShan ignored the monk, and went over to examine the three people. He found that these three people are the three leaders of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Du, Shi, and Zhu.
Shocked, Zhang CuiShan yelled, "Leader Du, what. what happened.” Before he could finish, Du DaJin sprung up, grabbed Zhang CuiShan’s collar with both hands, gritted his teeth, said, "Murderer. I just left three hundred taels of silver for myself, yet. yet you still won’t let me go?” Zhang CuiShan said, "What are you talking about?” About to brush Du DaJin’s hands away, only to see his lip spewing out blood. Zhang CuiShan asked, "Have you suffered internal injuries?”
