by Jin Yong
Ouyang Feng saw the boat that brought Huang Rong had already far away, too far for them to pursue and the big boat they were on was already ablaze. The main mast was burning and about to fall and things on deck were extremely chaotic; the boat would sink at any minute. His only hope now was the small life boat in Hong Qigong’s control; so he shouted loudly, “Stinky Beggar! Miss Huang is in my hands; do you see her?” He lifted Huang Rong high in the air.
By that time the sea was lit bright red from the fire on the boat. Hong Qigong and Guo Jing could see her clearly. Hong Qigong was very indignant, “Again he uses a dirty trick to get this boat. Humph! I am going to get Rong’er back.”
Guo Jing saw the boat was nearly burnt to the rails, “I am coming too!” he said.
“No! You stay and guard this boat; don’t let the Old Poison take it away,” Hong Qigong said.
“All right!” Guo Jing said and exerted his strength pulling the oars. By that time the big boat was motionless on the sea’s surface, so with several pulls they had come close to the big boat.
Hong Qigong kicked the small boat and his body flew toward the big boat. Stretching his left hand he grabbed the boat’s rail with his strong fingers and then catapulted his body upward and somersaulted to the deck.
Ouyang Feng was still holding Huang Rong’s wrists; “Stinky Beggar, what do you want?” he said, smiling ferociously.
Hong Qigong cursed him silently, “Come.let us fight another one thousand stances.” ‘Swish...swish...swish!’ He sent three palm attacks towards Ouyang Feng’s face. Ouyang Feng was shrewd; he pushed Huang Rong’s body forward as a shield, forcing Hong Qigong to retract his attack. Ouyang Feng had sealed Huang Rong’s acupoints, so she was paralyzed.
Hong Qigong shouted loudly, “Old Poison, you are shameless! Quickly unseal her and let her go; you and I will fight here to decide victory or defeat.”
How could Ouyang Feng release his prisoner so easily? Then he noticed his nephew was continuously being pushed backwards by the fire; he threw Huang Rong towards him and called out, “Go to the small boat!”
Ouyang Ke caught Huang Rong and looked downward to see Guo Jing waiting in the small boat below. He thought the small boat was too small. If he jumped down carrying someone, he might cause the boat to turn over, so he found a thick rope. After tying it to a mast he used his right hand to slide down onto the small boat while holding Huang Rong with his left.
Guo Jing was relieved to see Huang Rong on the small boat but he did not know that Huang Rong’s acupoints were sealed. His attention was focused on his master and Ouyang Feng fighting a fierce battle on the blazing deck. He was so worried about his master’s safety that his gaze was fixed on the fight and he forgot to speak to Huang Rong.
Both Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng demonstrated their excellence in martial arts while leaping around to avoid falling wood and ropes. They attacked and counterattacked each other. Hong Qigong had a slight advantage in that his body was still wet from swimming to the small boat earlier, while Ouyang Feng’s clothes and hair had caught fire here and there.
The two’s martial arts were at par to begin with and a slight advantage was enough for Hong Qigong to gain the upper hand. Ouyang Feng was forced to step back bit by bit until his back was very close to the cabin and his clothes and beard started to catch fire. He wanted to jump into the sea, but Hong Qigong did not give him any slack. If he tried to jump and thus diverted his attention from the fight, he might be seriously injured or even worse, killed. Ouyang Feng became very anxious and it seemed like defeat was imminent.
Hong Qigong also realized that he would certainly win this time and that boosted his confidence. But then another thought came into his mind, “If I forced him to enter the fire and die, that won’t do my plan any good. He has obtained the ‘Nine Yin Altered Manual’ from Jing’er and he won’t die satisfied until he practices that manual. Why don’t I let him off this time?” Thereupon he laughed and said, “Old Poison, I let you off this time, quickly jump into the boat.”
Ouyang Feng looked at him strangely, then turning his body he jumped into the sea. Hong Qigong was about to follow when Ouyang Feng suddenly flew back up. “Hold on! Now that my body is also wet, we are on level ground. Let us fight again to decide victory or defeat.” Holding onto the boat’s rail he swung his body up and landed on the deck.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Hong Qigong said, “I’m having a very satisfying fight today!” He sent his fist forward, and the two engaged in a fierce battle one more time.
“Rong’er, do you see how fierce the Old Poison is?” Guo Jing asked. Huang Rong’s acupoint was still sealed, so of course she was not able to answer. “Do you think I should go up there and help Master? The boat is about to sink,” Guo Jing said. There still was no answer from Huang Rong. Guo Jing turned his head to see Ouyang Ke hugging Huang Rong; he became angry and shouted, “Take your hands off her!”
After great difficulty Ouyang Ke was finally able to touch Huang Rong’s hands; how could he let go that easily? Smiling he said, “If you move, I am going to bash her brains out with my palm.”
Guo Jing did not even think; he swept the oar in his hand horizontally. Ouyang Ke ducked to avoid this attack, but Guo Jing sent his palm with a whistling sound toward his head. Ouyang Ke was forced to let Huang Rong go and swung his head backwards to avoid this attack. Guo Jing’s fists moved simultaneously, one downward, the other upward, both aimed at Ouyang Ke’s head.
Ouyang Ke realized this small boat was not the best place to fight while his enemy attacked fiercely. He stood up and sent a stance from his ‘Spirit Snake Fist technique’ [ling she quan], his hand swept horizontally. Guo Jing extended his left arm to parry, but suddenly Ouyang Ke’s fist curved upward turning into a palm that slapped Guo Jing hard on his cheek.
This blow was very hard and Guo Jing’s head was spinning because of it; but he realized the danger and he opened his eyes to see the second attack coming. Ouyang Ke’s movement resembled a wine gourd with two bends. Guo Jing avoided this attack by throwing his head backwards while sending his right arm forward to counterattack. Because his head was moving backwards, his attack was not effective. Luckily he had learned the ‘Mutual Hands Combat technique’ from Zhou Botong, so both his left and right hands could move independently of each other. This time his left hand followed his right with a different stance heading at his opponent. Because Ouyang Ke’s hand was still coming towards Guo Jing, Guo Jing’s arms surrounded his hand. Ouyang Ke's right arm happened to get caught in between Guo Jing's hands and as the left hand was pulling inwards and the right was pushing outwards. With a crack one of Ouyang Ke’s arm bones was broken.
Actually Ouyang Ke’s martial arts skill was not much below those of Ma Yu, Wang Chuyi or Sha Tongtian. No matter which technique he used, he should be able to defeat Guo Jing in a fair battle. Because Guo Jing’s techniques were more bizarre than any other techniques he had seen before, he suffered under Guo Jing’s hands twice. Ouyang Ke fell onto the small boat’s deck.
Guo Jing did not pursue his attack on his opponent; instead he quickly took Huang Rong’s yielding body and unsealed her acupoint. Luckily for him that when Ouyang Feng sealed her acupoint, he did not use too much energy; he was trying to conserve his energy because he’d anticipated Hong Qigong’s attack. Guo Jing would not have been able to unseal the Western Poison’s acupoint sealing otherwise.
Huang Rong came to her senses, “Quickly help Shifu!” she called out.
Guo Jing lifted his head to see his master and Ouyang Feng engaged in close hand-to-hand combat and looked like they were dancing in the midst of the blazing fire. The sound of the winds generated by their movements was intermingled with the sounds of cracking and debris falling over them. Suddenly a loud crack was heard as the boat’s back broke; the stern slowly sank into the sea and vanished in the dark water. The bow was lighter, but slowly sank as well. Guo Jing took his oar and started paddling to get the small boat closer with the intention of helping
his master.
Hong Qigong’s feet hit the water first. His clothes had been dried out by the fire, while Ouyang Feng’s were still wet from jumping into the sea earlier. This time the Western Poison had gained the upper hand over the Northern Beggar. Hong Qigong did not want to surrender so easily, so he fought with all his might. At that moment the main mast broke and fell. The two hurriedly jumped backwards so they were separated by the burning mast.
Ouyang Feng fetched his snake staff and jumped over the burning mast. Hong Qigong immediately drew the bamboo stick from his waist and fended off the attack. They had been fighting ferociously barehanded before, so imagine how fierce the battle had become now that both were wielding weapons.
Guo Jing held the oar in his hands, ready to jump on board. He was very concerned about his master’s safety, yet watching the two’s wonderful weapon techniques he was carried away, clucking his tongue and praising them unceasingly.
There is a saying among martial arts practitioners, “A hundred days to master a saber, a thousand days to master a spear, ten thousand days to master a sword,” indicating that sword techniques were the most difficult to learn. However, when martial artists reached perfection, each would develop his/her own unique skill and the difference between various weapons would become minuscule. Twenty years ago during the Sword Meet of Mount Hua both Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng already admired each other’s martial arts very much. Even using swords it was very difficult for one to defeat the other. Now neither used the sword any longer.
Hong Qigong wielded a bamboo stick which he carried anywhere he went as the symbol of authority of his position as the Beggar Clan Leader. The bamboo was pliable but hard to break. Compared to a sword it was about one foot longer. His skill in external martial arts was superb; he was able to impart an incredible amount of strength to the flexible weapon in his hands, increasing its might tremendously.
Ouyang Feng’s snake staff was also unique in that he’d combined the cudgel, stick, and spear techniques; the movements were complicated. The staff’s head was carved in the form of a human head; its mouth grinned ferociously, looking very scary. The two rows of sharp teeth inside its mouth were covered with poison. The head danced around like a ghost ready to strike its victim. On top of that, there was a hidden button on the staff that, when pressed, would shoot some poison towards the enemy. If that wasn’t enough, fiercer still were the two snakes wrapped around the staff. They were alive and able to make unpredictable moves and were very difficult to guard against.
The two exchanged palms and weapons, displaying their respective unique skills. Ouyang Feng had a slight advantage in terms of weaponry, but Hong Qigong was the leader of beggars everywhere and beggars were experts in catching snakes. His bamboo stick danced amidst the snake staff movements and parried every move that came his way. He also took advantage of any opening in his opponent’s offense and struck at the snake staff’s vital point. Ouyang Feng moved his staff very quickly, making it difficult for his opponent to take accurate aim; he knew Hong Qigong meant to kill the snakes on his staff. He did not activate the secret button on his staff for fear that his reputation would be ruined.
Hong Qigong still had a unique skill set belonging to the Beggar Clan, namely the ‘Dog Beating Stick technique’ [da gou bang], its changes were subtle yet marvelous. It was a very sophisticated stick technique. However, Hong Qigong did not want to use this special skill unless except in an emergency situation. He was planning on using it at the second Sword Meet of Mount Hua the following year and he did not want to let this would-be-contender to have the advantage of watching his moves beforehand.
Guo Jing stood on the bow of the small boat and several times wanted to jump on board to help his master; but the two combatants were fighting closely. He realized his own skill was too far below theirs and it would be very difficult to even get close to them. All he could do was stare blankly, unable to do anything.
End of Chapter 20.