by Jin Yong
“Yes!” Yu Canghai exclaimed. “Your suggestion has merit! Since you, yourself, are studying under Mr. Mu, your Kung Fu skills must be quite remarkable. I would like to check them out.” By saying these particular words, Yu Canghai was basically telling everyone that his challenge was strictly for Lin Pingzhi, and that Mu Gaofeng should not interfere.
Mu Gaofeng took a few paces back and grinned. “My cute little grandson, I am afraid your skills are still too low and will be no match for the Head Master of Qingcheng Sword School. He can whack you with his first move. As your grandpa, I am overjoyed to have such a hunchbacked and also handsome grandson. I’d really hate to lose such a good kid. Why don’t you kneel down and kowtow to your grandpa, then your grandpa will take him on for you. How does that sound?”
Lin Pingzhi looked at Yu Canghai and thought, “If I get into a fight with Yu recklessly, he will probably kill me with the first blow in his fury. If I can’t even protect myself, how can I avenge my parents? But I, Lin Pingzhi, am a grown man, how can I call this hunchback Grandpa? It’s alright if I myself am humiliated, but doing this will be a dreadful humiliation for my father as well. He would never be able to walk with his head up; how could he survive the Martial World? If I kneel down in front of this man, then I would be living under the fame of the Hunchback of the North and never be myself again.” Not able to decide, he held onto the table with his left hand and his entire body trembled slightly.
“I know you have no guts! If you want somebody else to fight for you, what’s so big a deal to kowtow a couple of times?” Yu Canghai mocked. He could tell that Lin Pingzhi and Mu Gaofeng’s relationship wasn’t anything usual. It was obvious that Mu Gaofeng wasn’t his real grandfather, otherwise, why did Lin Pingzhi only call him “Senior,” but never “Grandpa?” Mu Gaofeng wouldn’t be asking his own grandson to kowtow at such a moment, either. He wanted to provoke Lin Pingzhi into fighting himself, thus making things much easier to handle.
Memories flashed through Lin Pingzhi’s mind, including how the Fortune Prestige Escort House was bullied and humiliated again and again by the Qingcheng Sword School. He thought to himself, “A true man will not let a small setback ruin his master plan. As long as I eventually feel pride and elation, why can’t I suffer some humiliation now?” So he turned around, knelt down in front of Mu Gaofeng, and started to kowtow. “Grandpa,” he said, “Yu Canghai uninhibitedly kills innocent people and robs them of their belongings. Everyone in the Martial World has the right to kill him. Would you please uphold justice and rid this evil for all the people in the Martial World?”
Lin’s action was a big surprise for both Mu Gaofeng and Yu Canghai. The young hunchback acted with resolution and integrity when Yu Canghai grabbed his wrist and crushed it with his inner strength, but he was now actually willing to kowtow and beg for protection, especially in public with so many people around. Most people thought that this young hunchback was really the grandson of Mu Gaofeng; and even if he wasn’t a real blood relative, he must be at least a grand-apprentice or something along those lines. Only Mu Gaofeng himself knew for certain that this man had no relationship with him whatsoever. Although Yu Canghai had an inkling that there was something suspicious going on, he still could not determine the actual relationship between the two. All he knew was that the “Grandpa” was said in a very reluctant manner, maybe because Lin was just afraid to die.
Mu Gaofeng burst into loud laughter. “Good boy, nice lad! Why, you really want to play the game?” He praised Lin Pingzhi while staring at Yu Canghai, so the words “good boy” and “nice lad” almost seemed to be directed at Yu Canghai.
Yu Canghai was furious, but he calmed and readied himself, knowing that the fight today would not only be important to his own destiny, but also to the destiny and fame of the entire Qingcheng Sword School. He let out a smile.
“If Mr. Mu wants to present his outstanding skills in front of all our friends here, I’ll just have to play along.”
Earlier, when Mu Gaofeng patted on Lin Pingzhi’s shoulder, Yu Canghai had already learned that Mu had resourceful inner strength. And his inner strength was the explosive type; once he started the attack, it would be as overwhelming as thunder and lightning, or like landslides and tidal waves. “It is well known that this hunchback is very conceited,” he thought to himself. “If he can’t defeat me in a short time, he will become reckless and rush his attack. I’d better use all defensive moves for the first one hundred bouts. That will keep me undefeated. After one hundred moves, I will surely be able to find his weaknesses.”
Mu Gaofeng studied Yu Canghai carefully. This short priest only had the height of a youth, and probably weighed only eighty pounds, but by the way he stood, he seemed to be as stable as a mountain, well displaying the imposing manner of a great master; obviously he had well developed inner strength.
Mu Gaofeng thought to himself, “This little priest really is something. Every generation of Qingcheng Sword School has had famous people. This bull-nose priest, being the Head Master of the sword school, certainly won’t be someone easy to deal with. I hope I won’t lose this battle and let all my fame swirl down the pipe.” Being a very careful person, he did not recklessly attack right away.
Right at the moment when the two were about to fight, two men flew out from the back, and with two loud thumps, landed on the floor and lay still. Both men wore purple robes, and each had a muddy footprint right on the bottom. The clear and melodious voice of a young girl shouted, “This is Qingcheng Sword School’s best move, called ‘Bum Bum Back, Geese Landing in Sand’!”
Yu Canghai was outraged. Turning around without wasting any time, he dashed toward the sound without even looking. Seeing a young girl in a green shirt standing nearby, he instantly grabbed her by the arm.
“Mom!” the girl screamed loudly and then burst into tears.
Yu Canghai was startled. After hearing the embarrassing words, he acted in great anger without thinking. He had thought that she must have been involved with what had happened to the two Qingcheng apprentices, so he grabbed her arm at full strength. When he heard the girl’s scream, he realized he had made a terrible mistake. This was just a little girl. How could he have used such power against her? In front of so many people, such behavior really did not fit with his image as the Head Master of Qingcheng Sword School. He quickly let go of her arm, yet the girl cried louder and louder.
“You broke my arm. Mom, my arm is broken! Waah, it hurts! It hurts!” The girl cried.
Head Master Yu of the Qingcheng Sword School had fought many fights and overcome many difficulties, but this was the first time he had been placed in such an embarrassing situation. Being stared at by hundreds of accusing eyes, he felt his face burn with shame, and he did not even know where to put his arms and feet.
“Don’t cry! Don’t cry!” he whispered to the girl. “Your arm is not broken. It won’t break.”
“It’s broken already. Why are you bullying me? A grownup beats up a kid, shame on you! Waah, it hurts! Waah…!” she cried.
The young girl was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. She had a green blouse on. With skin as white as milk and a pretty little face, she looked adorable. The crowd in the hall all felt sympathy for her. A couple of the rougher members had already started shouting out, “Beat the bull-nose up!” “Kill the short priest!”
Yu Canghai was very embarrassed. He knew he had incurred the public wrath, so he dared not to say anything, and just said to the girl, “Little sister, don’t cry. I am sorry. Let me look at your arm, see if it hurts.” He wanted to roll her sleeves up, but the girl screamed, “No, no! Don’t touch me! Mom, Mom, the short priest broke my arm.”
While Yu Canghai was completely lost, a man in a purple robe walked out from the crowd. It was none other than Fang Renzhi, the most cunning apprentice of the Qingcheng Sword School. “Hey, little girl, you’re just pretending now!” he said. “My Master’s hand did not even touch your sleeve, so how could he have broken your arm?”
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br /> “Mom, another one is coming to hurt me!” the girl shouted.
Having watched everything angrily from the side, Sister Dingyi stepped forward and tried to slap Fang Renzhi’s face. “Big bullying the small, shame on you!” she yelled. Fang Renzhi tried to block with his arm, but Dingyi extended her right arm quickly and grabbed his hand, and then pushed down on his elbow with her left arm. If she gave a solid push, Fang Renzhi’s arm would be broken instantly. Yu Canghai poked his finger at Dingyi’s back. Dingyi had to let go of Fang Renzhi and strike back with her hand. Yu Canghai didn’t want to fight with her, so he jumped back two steps and said, “Excuse me!”
Dingyi held the little girl’s hand and asked gently, “Good child, where does it hurt? Let me have a look. I’ll heal it for you.” She felt the girl’s arm but did not find any broken bones. That helped her relax a little. She rolled the girl’s sleeve up. On the lovely white arm, four clear black finger marks could be easily seen. Dingyi’s anger exploded.
“You liar!” she shouted at Fang Renzhi. “If your Master did not touch her arm at all, then who left the four black marks?”
“It was the turtle! It was the turtle!” the little girl said, pointing at Yu Canghai’s back as she spoke.
Suddenly, everybody burst into loud laughter, and some even spit out the tea from their mouths; some laughed till they doubled over. Laughter filled the entire hall. Yu Canghai had no idea why everybody was laughing so hard. He thought that the little girl had called him a turtle just like any kid would have after they got upset. What was so funny about that? But seeing everyone laughing at him, he still felt quite embarrassed.
Fang Renzhi jumped forward and peeled a piece of paper off Yu Canghai’s robe, then crumpled the paper into a ball. Yu Canghai took the paper ball and opened it, then saw a picture of a big turtle on the sheet. Embarrassed and anguished, Yu Canghai suddenly realized that it must have been a set up. The picture of the turtle was drawn ahead of time of course. It must have been the girl who cried and screamed to divert his attention, and then stuck the paper onto his back. It would be impossible for anybody else to play such a trick behind his back. If that was the case, then there must have been adults behind the scene. He turned around and glanced at Liu Zhengfeng, thinking, “This girl must be a member of the Liu household, so it was Liu Zhengfeng who played all these tricks on me.”
Liu Zhengfeng saw the glance from Yu Canghai and immediately understood that Yu had placed the blame on him. He took a step forward.
“Little sister, where are you from? Where are your mom and dad?” he asked the little girl.
By asking these words, he wanted to first assure Yu Canghai that he had no clue as to what was going on, and also, he had become suspicious himself and wanted to know who had brought this little girl here.
“My mom and dad went away for something else,” the little girl muttered. “They told me to sit here and not go anywhere. They said that later there would be a good show; two guys would fly out and then lie still. They said this is the Qingcheng Sword School’s best move called ‘Bum Bum Back, Geese Landing in Sand.’ It was a good show indeed!”
She clapped her hands. The crystal teardrops on her cheeks had not yet dried out, but she was already smiling quite happily. No one could help but laugh at these words. These words were undoubtedly said to humiliate the Qingcheng Sword School. The two Qingcheng apprentices were still lying on the ground with their bottoms up, and each had a clear footprint on it. Qingcheng Sword School had really lost all face.
Yu Canghai struck one apprentice’s back, only to find that both apprentices had their acupoints sealed in exactly the same manner as Shen Renjun and Ji Rentong earlier. To unseal their acupoints would require quite some inner strength and quite some time. Now, not only was Mu Gaofeng staring at him fiercely, but another tough opponent was hiding close by; the smart thing to do would be not to waste any of his inner strength on unsealing the apprentices’ acupoints.
“Carry them out,” he whispered to Fang Renzhi. Fang Renzhi waved at several Qingcheng apprentices, who rushed out and carried the two out of the hall.
Out of the blue, the little girl said loudly, “Qingcheng Sword School really has a lot of people! One ‘Geese Landing in Sand’ takes two to carry. Two ‘Geese Landing in Sand’ takes four to carry.”
Yu Canghai’s face turned livid with rage. “What’s your dad’s name?” he asked the little girl with a long face. “Did he teach you these words?”
He figured that since those words were really sarcastic, if it wasn’t her parents who had taught her, she would never have said them at such a young and tender age. He then thought, “The name ‘Bum Bum Back, Geese Landing in Sand’ was made up by Linghu Chong; could it be that Huashan Sword School blames Renjie for killing Linghu Chong, and now wants to get even with the Qingcheng Sword School? The one who had sealed the acupoints had very high skills; could it be…could it be that the Head Master of the Huashan Sword School, Yue Buqun, was playing tricks behind the scene?” When he thought that Yue Buqun had plotted against him, he couldn’t help thinking, “That man’s Kung Fu skills are outstanding. And since the five sword schools are united under the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, if they all start to attack, the Qingcheng Sword School would suffer a crushing defeat.” At these thoughts, his face whitened with worry.
The little girl ignored Yu Canghai’s question. Smiling merrily, she started reciting, “One times two is two; two times two is four; three times two is six; four times two is eight; five times two is ten….”
“I am asking you a question!” Yu Canghai yelled in a stern voice.
Her mouth twitching, the little girl started crying again while hiding her face in Sister Dingyi’s arms. Dingyi patted her on the back gently and comforted her.
“Don’t be scared. Don’t be afraid! Good child, don’t be scared.” She turned to Yu Canghai. “Why are you scaring a kid like that?”
Yu Canghai let out a disgruntled snort. “So the Five Mountains Sword Alliance is against my Qingcheng Sword School now. I’d better be very careful,” he thought to himself.
The little girl stuck her head out from under Dingyi’s arms and grinned. “Granny, two times two is four; two of the Qingcheng Sword School ‘Bum Bum Back, Geese Landing in Sand’ will take four to carry. Three times two is six. Three ‘Bum Bum Back, Geese Landing in Sand’ will take six to carry. Four times two is eight….” She did not continue, but starting giggling.
Such behavior in suddenly going from crying to all of a sudden smiling was more appropriate for a seven or eight year old child. Judging by her height, the girl looked to be thirteen or fourteen. Every word from her was designed to humiliate Yu Canghai somehow; people all thought those were definitely not the words from an innocent and sincere child; there was no doubt that someone must have been behind it all.
“A true man acts openly and aboveboard. Whichever friend wants to be hard on me, better show yourself. What kind of a hero are you if you only hide, sneak around, and direct a little child to utter such nonsense?” Yu Canghai bellowed loudly. Although he was short, the words were spoken using inner strength all the way down from his abdomen and echoed in everyone’s ears. People were shocked by the great energy Yu had put on display and stopped belittling him. The entire hall quieted down, and nobody answered.
After a while, the little girl suddenly spoke again. “Granny, he asked what kind of hero that was. Are the people of the Qingcheng Sword School heroes?”
Dingyi was a senior sister of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Although she was displeased with the Qingcheng Sword School, she wouldn’t just defame the entire school in public, so she answered vaguely, “The Qingcheng Sword School…the Qingcheng Sword School had many heroes in the last generation.”
“Then how about now? Are there any left?” The girl asked again.
Dingyi pouted her lips at Yu Canghai. “Why don’t you ask the Head Master Priest of the Qingcheng Sword School?” she said.
“Head Master Priest
of the Qingcheng Sword School,” the girl said, “if someone was badly wounded and could not even move, then someone else came to bully him, is the second person who took advantage of the other’s precarious position a hero?”
Yu Canghai was shocked. “She is indeed from the Huashan Sword School!” he thought secretly.
People who had listened to Yilin recount the story of Luo Renjie killing Linghu Chong all felt a shock too. “Could this little girl be somebody related to the Huashan Sword School?”
Lao Denuo thought, “These words from the little girl are really all for defending Big Apprentice Brother against injustice. Who is she?” Afraid to upset the Little Apprentice Sister, he hadn’t been in a hurry to inform his fellow apprentices about the death of Big Apprentice Brother.
Yilin’s entire body started to tremble. She felt grateful toward the little girl. She had always wanted to ask Yu Canghai the same question, but being a gentle and kind girl who always respected the elders and seniors, she simply could not confront Yu Canghai, a senior. Now that the little girl had spoken them out for her, teardrops started to run down her cheeks.
“Who taught you to ask this?” Yu Canghai asked, lowering his voice.
The young girl ignored his question once again. “There was a guy named Luo Renjie. He was your apprentice, wasn’t he? When he saw someone badly wounded, and the badly wounded man was a very good person, not only didn’t he help him, he stabbed him with his sword. Was that Luo Renjie a true hero? Was that the kind of Qingcheng Sword School’s chivalrous virtue you taught him?”