by Jin Yong
They leaped back downstairs. Guo Jing was about to make a move when Huang Rong whispered in his ear, “Let the Beggar Clan go first.” Guo Jing complied. He stretched his neck and saw four female disciples carrying the sack with Li Sheng in it, while the other four were guarding the rear. Further back, about ten yards behind them, were the Beggar Clan members, each wielding a wooden staff.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong waited a moment to put some distance between them before they quietly leaped out of the garden and followed from afar. A little while later they arrived at the edge of the town. The eight women took the sack to a big house, while the four Beggar Clan members spread out to surround the building.
Huang Rong pulled Guo Jing’s arm and they walked toward the back of the building; jumped over the back wall and saw that the building was actually an ancestral temple. The main hall was full of memorial tablets. On the main beam hung big banners with the deceased people’s merits and honorable titles written on them. The hall was lit by four or five big red candles; and in the center sat a man waving a folding fan.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong had guessed earlier it must be Ouyang Ke’s doing and they were right. They hid themselves under a window, not daring to move at all, while wondering in their hearts, “Would that Li Sheng fellow be able to fight him?”
They saw the eight women entering the hall and one said, “Young Master, Miss Cheng is here.” Ouyang Ke sneered coldly. He looked outside and said, “Friends, you have been so kind to visit, why not come in and introduce yourselves?”
Hiding on top of the wall, the Beggar Clan members knew they had been found out, but without Li Sheng’s command they did not dare to make any noises.
Ouyang Ke turned his head and looked at the sack. “I did not expect such a beautiful lady as you would be so easily invited to come here.” He walked slowly forward, waving his folding fan slowly. When he folded the fan, it resembled an iron pen.
Huang Rong and Guo Jing saw his hand movements and his expression; they were shocked. It seemed Ouyang Ke had already discovered that an enemy was hiding inside that sack and was going to strike.
Huang Rong instantly put three steel needles into her hand, aimed toward the fan; ready to strike if Li Sheng was in danger. Suddenly there were swishing sounds and a couple of sleeve-arrows flew toward Ouyang Ke’s chest. They were released by a beggar who appeared on the windowsill. They also had seen the danger threatening Li Sheng and launched a pre-emptive strike.
Ouyang Ke moved his left hand sideways, his index and middle fingers pinched one arrow, his ring and little fingers pinched the other, with a ‘crack’ sound the two arrows became four pieces.
The Beggars saw this and were amazed. “Martial Uncle Li, come out!” Yu Zhao called. He had not even finished shouting when the sack was ripped open; out came two blades followed by Li Zheng rolling on the floor. He used the sack as a shield and quickly stood up.
Li Sheng knew Ouyang Ke was a fierce opponent and he was not sure he could defeat him; that was the reason he wanted to attack him by surprise by hiding inside the sack. Who would have thought that Ouyang Ke would foil his plan?
“A beautiful lady turned into a beggar. That was a good sack trick!” Ouyang Ke laughed.
Li Sheng ignored his remark. “This city has lost four girls in three days. All were your doing, I presume?” he countered.
“This Baoying County is certainly not a poor area, how did a law enforcement officer turn into a beggar?” Ouyang Ke smirked.
Li Sheng remained calm. “I am not begging for food here,” he answered. “But I heard yesterday that four adolescent girls suddenly vanished without a trace. My curiosity was piqued, so I took a look.”
Ouyang Ke reluctantly said, “Actually those girls are not exceptional; since you want them and considering we are the people of the martial arts world, I’d like to give them to you. Beggars usually eat dead crabs; so I am sure you will treat these four girls as your treasures.” He waved his right hand, and several female disciples of his went inside to get the four girls. The girls’ clothes were unkempt, their faces thin and pale and their eyes red from crying.
Li Sheng was outraged to see this. He loudly shouted, “What is your honorable name? Whose disciple are you?”
Ouyang Ke still maintained his carefree attitude. “My surname is Ouyang. What is it that you want, my friend?” he nonchalantly answered.
“I want to fight you!” Li Sheng roared.
“Nothing could be better!” Ouyang Ke replied. “Please start!”
“Good!” Li Sheng shouted and moved his right hand. Just before he struck a white shadow flashed with a gust of wind. He was very shocked and leaped up immediately, but his neck was scratched nonetheless. Luckily he was swift, if not; his neck would have a hole in it.
Li Sheng was an eight-bag disciple of his clan; a highly respected position. His martial arts were strong and the beggars in Liangzhe area came to him for advice. In short, he was one of the Beggar
Clan’s elite fighters; who would have thought that he was nearly injured in just one stance. His face flushed with anger and embarrassment. Without turning his body he launched his hand backward.
“He knows the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’,” whispered Huang Rong. Guo Jing nodded.
Ouyang Ke could see this move was fierce and did not dare to meet it head-on; he jumped sideways. By this time Li Sheng had turned his body around and stepped forward. He lifted both hands in front of his chest and with a loud cry pushed them forward.
This time it was Guo Jing who whispered into Huang Rong’s ear, “Is that move from the ‘Wandering Strides’ fists technique [xiao yao you quan fa]?” Huang Rong nodded; but she noticed that Li Sheng’s movements were heavy and not elegant like the ‘Wandering Strides’ should be executed.
Ouyang Ke saw Li Sheng’s step was steady and his hands were proficient at launching wonderful moves; he did not dare to act casual and underestimate his opponent any longer. He slipped his folding fan into his waist and quick as a flash launched a counterattack toward Li Sheng’s shoulder.
Li Sheng parried with the ‘Begging for Rice’ move [fan lai shen shou], still from the ‘Wandering Strides’ fists technique. Ouyang Ke parried with his left hand, which forced Li Sheng to lift his right arm; Ouyang Ke swiftly moved toward Li Sheng’s back and stretched both hands with all fingers forming two claws attacking Li Sheng’s vital ‘Sleeveless Garment’ [bei xin] acupoints.
Huang Rong and Guo Jing were startled, “That move is difficult to defend against.”
By that time the rest of the Beggar Clan members had entered the hall. They saw Li Sheng was in grave danger and were rushing to help.
Li Sheng could hear the wind behind his back and felt the claws almost touching his clothes. Again he launched his hand backward using the ‘Divine Dragon Swings its Tail’ [shen long bai wei] from the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. The stance came from the trigram, ‘to tread on’ which is part of the Yi Jing [Book of Changes]. The master who created the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ actually named the stance ‘Treading on the Tiger’s Tail’ [lu hu wei]. It was a more powerful description compared to ‘Attacking the Tiger from Behind’ because if one steps on the tiger’s tail, it will no doubt turn around and attack furiously. However, the later generation felt that this description in the Yi Jing was too soft and not pleasing to the tongue. Thus, they changed it to the ‘Divine Dragon Swings its Tail’.
Ouyang Ke did not dare to meet this attack head-on, so he flexed his body and jumped back.
“A very close call!” Li Sheng said in his heart. He turned his body around to face his opponent again. His martial arts were inferior to Ouyang Ke’s exquisite moves. They had fought thirty or forty moves and already his life was threatened five or six times. Fortunately he could always use the ‘Divine Dragon Swings its Tail’ to get out of trouble.
“Looks like Hong Qigong only passed on this single move to him,” Huang Rong whispered. Guo Jing nodded. He recalled the time
when Hong Qigong passed on to him the ‘Proud Dragon Show Remorse’ and he fought Liang Ziweng using this single move over and over. Later on Hong Qigong taught him a total of fifteen moves, while this important figure in the Beggar Clan only knew one move. His heart swelled with gratitude toward Hong Qigong.
In the meantime Ouyang Ke had increased the intensity of his attacks and step-by-step he forced Li Sheng into a corner. Earlier Ouyang Ke sent his fierce attacks without any particular target, but now his moves were intended to prevent Li Sheng from turning around and launching his backward palm. Li Sheng understood his intentions very well, so he worked hard to step back into the middle of the room.
Suddenly Ouyang Ke let out a long laugh; he whirled the fist straight up from below hitting Li Sheng’s chin. Li Sheng stuttered in pain and cried out in alarm. He tried to stretch his hand to counterattack but he was a split second too late. Ouyang Ke’s fist had struck its target. Li Sheng was hit five or six times on the head and chest. He felt dizzy and his body weak as he wobbled and fell to the floor.
The Beggar Clan people rushed to help but Ouyang Ke turned around, grabbed two of the front most attackers and threw them to the wall. They fainted immediately. The rest of the beggars did not dare continue.
“What, did you think that a bunch of stinky beggars would deceive me so easily?” Ouyang Ke sneered. He clapped his hands and two female disciples came out dragging a young woman along. Her hands were tied behind her back, her face forlorn and tears flowed down her cheeks; it was none other than Miss Cheng.
Everybody, including Huang Rong and Guo Jing, was shocked and baffled.
Ouyang Ke waved his hand and his disciples took Miss Cheng back inside. With a smug expression he said, “While the old beggar went into the sack, I worked downstairs capturing Miss Cheng and came back here immediately to wait for the rest of you.”
The beggars looked at each other in blank dismay; they’d lost this bout big time.
Ouyang Ke casually waved his fan and mocked, “The Beggar Clan’s name is well-known throughout the world. Today I have seen it with my own eyes; it’s a fame that will make people laugh until their teeth fall out of their mouths! Your special skills of stealing chickens, stroking dogs, begging for food, catching snakes, I have seen them all. Now, do you still dare to meddle in your Young Master’s business? I am willing to spare this old beggar’s life, but I must take his two lights as a souvenir.” After saying that, he stretched out two fingers toward Li Sheng’s eyes.
“Hold it!” a voice suddenly called out. A man leaped into the hall and immediately sent an attack toward Ouyang Ke.
Ouyang Ke sensed the swiftness and fierceness of the attack; he moved sideways to evade, but could not get out of the wind. His body shook and he was forced to draw back two steps. He could not help but be inwardly startled. “Since I left the Western Regions I have fought many skilled masters; who is this man who has an unexpectedly high martial arts skill?” He turned his eyes toward the newcomer and once again he was startled. He had fought Guo Jing before at the Zhao Palace and his martial arts were only average; how did his palm carry such profound strength just now?
“You have committed all kinds of evil, but instead of repenting you wanted to injure this good man. Do you really not have any consideration for the heroes of Jianghu?” Guo Jing scolded.
Ouyang Ke thought that Guo Jing’s last attack was just a fluke. He looked down on Guo Jing, “Are you one of those ‘heroes’?” he mockingly asked.
“I do not dare to call myself a hero,” Guo Jing answered. “With all due respect, I am asking you to release Miss Cheng and return to the west immediately.”
“And what if I don’t want to listen to your childish request?” Ouyang Ke smirked.
Before Guo Jing had a chance to reply, Huang Rong called from outside the window, “Jing ge ge, just punch that bastard!”
When Ouyang Ke heard Huang Rong’s voice, his spirits were shaken. “Miss Huang, you want me to release Miss Cheng, that is easy, just as long as you follow me wherever I go. Not only Miss Cheng, but I will also release all my female disciples; moreover, I will promise you not to take another female disciple. Wouldn’t that be good?”
Huang Rong leaped inside the hall, smiling as she said, “That is very good! We are going to tour the Western Regions. Jing ge ge, are you coming?”
Ouyang Ke shook his head, “No, I want you to come with me. I don’t want this stinky kid to come along,” he said, still smiling.
Huang Rong was angry, her palm slapped backward. “You dare to slur him? You are the stinky one!” she shouted loudly.
Ouyang Ke was mesmerized with Huang Rong’s gracefulness and her sweet smile while talking to him. She looked so innocent yet free. His spirit was enthralled. Who would have thought that she would abruptly turn hostile? He was not on guard against her and Huang Rong used the exquisite move from the ‘Peach Blossom Divine Sword Palm’, the ultimate in Peach Blossom Island palm techniques. His left cheek was slapped. Fortunately Huang Rong did not use her full strength, but his face burned with pain nonetheless.
“Bah!” Ouyang Ke spat. His left hand suddenly stretched out toward Huang Rong’s breast. Huang Rong did not elude him but threw both hands toward the top of his head. Ouyang Ke was lascivious and seeing that Huang Rong did not move, he was delighted. Ignoring the blow on his head his hand caressed her breast. Who would have thought that as soon as his fingers touched her clothing he felt a stabbing pain. It suddenly dawned on him, “She is wearing the soft hedgehog armor.” Luckily he was being frivolous and had not used much strength. Quickly he lifted his arm to parry her blow.
“It’s not easy for you to hit me,” Huang Rong smiled. “I can hit you, but you can’t hit me.”
Ouyang Ke was exasperated; he could not get angry with Huang Rong, so he directed his anger toward Guo Jing. “Let me kill this kid first; I hope then her feelings toward him will die,” he thought. While his eyes were fixed on Huang Rong, his leg flew backward towards Guo Jing’s chest. This leg movement was swift and ruthless. It was the ‘Western Poison’ Ouyang Feng’s unique family skill. It was difficult to fend against. Once the leg hit its target, the ribs would fracture in towards the lung.
Guo Jing did not have enough time to jump back, so he turned his body around and launched a backward palm. With a loud crash Guo Jing’s palm hit Ouyang Ke’s leg just as Ouyang Ke’s leg almost simultaneously hit Guo Jing’s chest. Both men felt pain that seared to the bone. They turned their bodies around facing each other and stared at each other angrily; then they immediately attacked each other again.
The Beggar Clan people were surprised and thought, “This move obviously is Li Sheng’s unique skill, the ‘Divine Dragon Swings its Tail’, how come this young man can use it? Moreover, his movement was superior to that of Li Sheng.” By now they had already pulled Li Sheng, who had come to his senses, to the side. He also recognized not only the ‘Divine Dragon Swings its Tail’, but other stances as well. He saw Guo Jing’s moves were exquisite and powerful; he was amazed. “The ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ is Clan Leader Hong’s special skill. Because I had no regard for my own life and rendered a great service, the leader generously rewarded me with one stance. Where did this youth learn the full set of eighteen stances?” Obviously he did not realize Guo Jing only knew fifteen stances.
Ouyang Ke was also amazed. He secretly admired Guo Jing’s progress. “How could this kid’s martial arts improve so much in just two months?”
In a short time they already exchanged about forty moves. Guo Jing had repeatedly used his fifteen stances several times. It was enough for him to defend himself; but in all honesty he had to admit that Ouyang Ke’s martial arts were several levels above his. He realized he would not win.
Another ten or so moves later Ouyang Ke changed his tactics. He swiftly moved in all directions to divert Guo Jing’s attention then he launched an attack from an unexpected direction. Guo Jing tried hard to fend it off but his left hip was kicked
. He stepped backward limping. Luckily his stances were concentrated in his palms, so he could still launch his fifteen moves in succession.
Ouyang Ke did not dare to press the situation for a while. He tried to force an opening in Guo Jing’s defense line. About a dozen or so moves later, he did see an opening and immediately launched an attack. Guo Jing had finished all fifteen moves and was about to repeat the whole set. After the fifteenth stance, the ‘Seeing the Dragon in the Fields’ [jian long zai tian], he could have launched the first stance, the ‘Proud Dragon Shows Remorse’ [kang long you hui]; but he could also repeat the last stance, the ‘Seeing the Dragon in the Fields ’. His mind was not quick enough as he pondered, “Shall I repeat from the beginning, or shall I reverse the order?” This slight hesitation was enough for Ouyang Ke. He immediately took advantage of this small flaw and attacked Guo Jing’s shoulder.
Guo Jing was taken aback; he did not have any chance to think which one of the fifteen stances he could use to parry that attack, so in reflex he stepped backward and slapped his opponent’s hand. It was a move that followed no martial arts principles; it was a move without a move. It took Ouyang Ke by surprise and his arm was squarely hit. Ouyang Ke was shocked; he leaped back and immediately examined his arm. Luckily, even though it hurt, it was not broken.
Guo Jing was delighted with this unexpected result. He thought, “I realized there are three areas on my body that are not protected well: my shoulder, left hip and right waist. If only I could develop more stances using both hands ...” His mind was still reeling as Ouyang Ke launched another attack.
Guo Jing was not the smartest kid in the country. Even if he painstakingly racked his brain for ten days or two weeks, he would not necessarily come up with even half of a new move. Right now he was engaged in fierce combat, how would he have a chance to think? All he could do was clumsily modify whatever principles he had learned from the ‘Dragon Palms’ just to protect these three areas, his shoulder, left hip and right waist.