by Jin Yong
Suddenly, a girl’s shouting voice came from the direction of the inner rooms. “Hey, back off! What are you doing? Who I want to play with is none of your business!”
Stunned, everyone recognized her voice. It was the young girl Qu Feiyan who confronted Yu Canghai the day before.
A man’s voice rose, “Sit down tight and shut up. I will let you go later.”
“Huh, how strange! Is this your home? Why are you blocking sister Liu and I from going to the back garden to catch butterflies?” Qu Feiyan’s voice rose again.
“Fine! If you want to go, go by yourself. Miss Liu has to stay here for a while,” the man answered.
“Sis Liu thinks you are disgusting! Why don’t you just go away and leave us alone? Sister Liu doesn’t even know you,” Qu Feiyan snapped.
Another girl’s voice came, “Sister, let’s go. Don’t pay any attention to him.”
“Miss Liu, please stay here for a while,” the man ordered.
Liu Zhengfeng’s anger started growing. “Which jerk is being bold enough to cause trouble in my house and tease my Jing’er?” he thought.
Second senior apprentice of Liu House, Mi Weiyi, rushed into the inner rooms toward the direction of the voices and saw his apprentice sister, hand in hand with Qu Feiyan, standing in the courtyard, while a young man in a yellow robe extended his arms and blocked their way. From the robe the young man was wearing, Mi Weiyi recognized him as an apprentice of the Songshan Sword School. With anger, he faked a cough and said loudly, “Are you an apprentice brother of the Songshan Sword School? Why didn’t you take a seat in the Big Hall?”
“No need for that. I am following Alliance Chief’s order to keep an eye on Liu’s family members, and not to let anyone get away,” the man said arrogantly. His voice was not loud, but it had a clear tone of haughtiness. From his words, all the guests were stunned.
Liu Zhengfeng’s anger exploded. “What’s all this about?” he questioned Shi Dengda.
“Apprentice brother Wan, you can come out now. Watch your words; Uncle-Master Liu has already agreed to stop the Hand Washing ceremony,” Shi Dengda urged.
“Yes. That would be the best,” the man in the inner room answered. He entered the Big Hall from the inner room and bowed to Liu Zhengfeng. “Songshan apprentice Wan Daping here shows his respect to Uncle-Master Liu.”
Liu Zhengfeng’s body trembled from of anger. “How many Songshan apprentices are here today? Why don’t you all show yourselves now?” he yelled.
Right after his last word, voices of dozens of people suddenly answered in unison from above the roof, outside of the gate, around the corner of the hallway, in the backyard, and all other directions, “Sure. Songshan apprentices show their respect to Uncle-Master Liu.” The shouting of dozens of voices came at the exact same moment, loudly and unexpectedly. That really caught all the guests in the Big Hall completely off guards. The dozen people standing on the roof were all in yellow robes, but the others in the Big Hall each dressed differently, and obviously had sneaked into the Big Hall a while back to keep watch on Liu Zhengfeng in secret. They mixed themselves in the over one thousand guests, and no one had suspected them at all.
Sister Dingyi was the first one to lose her calmness. “What…what’s this about? This is too much!” she called out.
“Please excuse us, Uncle-Master Dingyi,” Shi Dengda explained. “Our Master gave the specific order that we should stop Uncle-Master Liu’s hand washing ceremony at all costs. We were afraid that Uncle-Master Liu wouldn’t follow the order, so had to give offense. Please pardon us.”
Right at that moment, over a dozen people walked out from the inner rooms. They were Liu Zhengfeng’s wife, his two young children, and seven apprentices of the Liu House, each with a Songshan apprentice behind holding a dagger against each one’s back.
“Dear friends,” Liu Zhengfeng said loudly, “Liu Zhengfeng is not someone who would cling obstinately to his course, but today with such intimidation from apprentice brother Zuo, if I have to bend my will because of force, my reputation will be ruined, then why should I even live? Apprentice brother Zuo will not allow me to have my Gold Basin Hand Washing; humph, my head can be cut off, but my will can not be bent.” He took a step forward and reached for the gold basin.
“Hold it!” Shi Dengda yelled out. He waved the Command Flag and blocked the way.
Reaching his left hand out, Liu Zhengfeng poked at Shi’s eyes. She Dengda raised both of his arms to block when Liu Zhengfeng abruptly pulled his left hand back and poked with his right hand. With no other options, Shi Dengda had to take a step back.
After forcing Shi Dengda back, Liu Zhengfeng reached for the gold basin again, when he heard some kind of swooshing sounds from behind his back – and two people had jumped on him. Without turning around, Liu Zhengfeng threw a swift back kick with his left foot. “Bang,” a Songshan apprentice flew into the air. Then he grabbed back with his right hand following the direction of the sound and grabbed at another Songshan apprentice’s collar. Pulling toward the direction of the force, he lifted the second apprentice over his shoulder and threw him toward Shi Dengda. The back kick with his left foot and the back grab with his right hand were executed so swiftly and accurately that it was almost like he had eyes on his back. The unusual skills of an elite fighter were clearly shown in those moves.
In shock, no more Songshan apprentices dared to come at Liu Zhengfeng again. The Songshan apprentice behind Liu Zhengfeng’s son shouted, “Uncle-Master Liu, if you don’t stop right now, I will have to kill your son.”
Liu Zhengfeng turned his head back and threw a glance at his son. “With so many heroes here today, if you dare to touch a single hair of my son, all you dozens of Songshan apprentices will be grounded into ten thousand pieces,” he said coldly.
These were not bluffing words. If this Songshan apprentice had really hurt his young son, it would certainly arouse public indignation, and cause all of the guests to attack the Songshan apprentices, and then none of the Hengshan apprentices would make it out alive. He turned back and reached for the gold basin once again.
It seemed that no one would be able to stop Liu Zhengfeng this time, when suddenly, with a silver flash, a tiny missile flew over. Liu Zhengfeng took two steps back; “Ring,” the missile hit the edge of the gold basin and knocked it down to the ground. “Clank,” the gold basin flipped over and landed bottom up; water splashed all over the floor. Meanwhile, a yellow shadow jumped off the rooftop, and in a flash, had rushed by the fallen gold basin. He stomped on the gold basin; the gold basin collapsed under his foot and was flattened.
In his forties, the man had medium height. He was an extremely thin man with ugly mustaches under his nose. “Apprentice brother Liu, I’ve got orders from the Alliance Chief to not let you have your Gold Basin Hand Washing,” he said, cupping his hands toward Liu Zhengfeng.
Liu Zhengfeng knew the man in front of him. His name was Fei Bin, and he was the fourth apprentice brother of Zuo Lengchan – the Head Master of the Songshan Sword School. His outstanding skills in “Great Songyang Palm” earned him great fame in the Martial World. Obviously, people sent by Songshan Sword School to deal with him included more than just second-generation apprentices. Since the gold basin had been destroyed, there was no way to continue the Gold Basin Hand Washing ceremony. Should he fight with all his might or temporarily endure humiliation? Liu Zhengfeng could not make up his mind. Then he quickly thought, “Even though the Songshan Sword School has the Command Flag of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, they are so overbearing. Among the one thousand or so heroes here today, someone had got to stand out and uphold justice.” So he cupped his hand to salute back.
“Apprentice brother Fei, why didn’t you join us and enjoy a cup of wine, but would rather hide on top of the roof to suffer from the sun? Probably there are even more masters from Songshan Sword School here today. Please all come out now. If you want to deal with me, apprentice brother Fei is more than enough. If you want to wipe out a
ll these heroes here today, the power of the Songshan Sword School probably is not yet enough.”
“Apprentice brother Liu,” Fei Bin said with a slight smile, “you don’t need to foment discord. Just to fight apprentice brother Liu you alone, I wouldn’t have a chance defending myself against the ‘Slight Geese Landing’ Kung Fu you have just showed. The Songshan Sword School would never dare to offend the Hengshan Sword School, and would never dare to offend any hero here today either; we wouldn’t even dare to just offend apprentice brother Liu. We are only here to beg apprentice brother Liu to not Wash Hands for the sake of thousands of fellow martial people’s lives.”
Hearing these words, everyone in the Big Hall was greatly surprised. “Whether or not Liu Zhengfeng has his Gold Basin Hand Washing, how could it affect thousands of fellow martial people’s lives?” They all pondered the question.
“Well,” Sister Dingyi cut in again, “brother Liu wants to wash his hands and accept that tiny sergeant title. To be frank, I really didn’t approve that idea. But everybody has his own will. Heck, if he wants to win promotion and get rich, as long as he does not harm people and do not go against the chivalry side, then no one has the right to prevent him. I don’t think brother Liu has the kind of ability to harm so many fellow martial people.”
“Sister Dingyi,” Fei Bin said, “you are a devout Buddhist, that’s why you don’t understand the kind of dirty tricks that are used by others. If this big conspiracy got through, then not only will countless of fellow martial people die, a lot of innocent citizens will also be greatly harmed. Please think about it, Liu Sir of the Hengshan Sword School is a famous and well-respected hero in the Martial World. Why would he lower himself and endure the kind of ill treatment by those filthy government officials? Liu Sir already has tons of money, why would he hanker after promotion and money? There is really a sinister reason here.”
“That sounds reasonable,” everyone thought to himself or herself. “I have felt suspicious earlier: why would someone like Liu Sir accept such a tiny government title? How odd?”
“Apprentice brother Fei, if you want to throw maliciously slanders at me, at least make it sound right,” Liu Zhengfeng said with a laugh, holding his anger back. “Other apprentice brothers of the Songshan Sword School, why don’t you show yourself now?”
“Fine!” voices came from both the east side and the west side of the roof. Two yellow shadows flashed by in front of everyone’s eyes and two men appeared at the entrance of the hall. The Qing-Gong they used was the exactly same type Fei Bin had used earlier when he jumped down the roof. The one standing to the east was a big fatty with broad shoulders. Sister Dingyi and others recognized him to be the second apprentice brother of the Songshan Sword School Head Master, “Tower Holding Palm” Ding Mian. The one standing to the west was a tall and thin man. He was the third apprentice of the Songshan Sword School, “Crane Hands” Lu Bai. “Hi, Liu Sir. Hi, everyone,” the two cupped their hands slightly to greet. Ding Mian and Lu Bai both had great fame in the Martial World; everyone stood up to greet back.
Seeing that more and more first-class Songshan masters showed up, all had a gut feeling that this whole thing was not going to end pleasantly. Most likely Liu Zhengfeng would get the worst of it.
“Brother Liu, don’t worry. All things in this world cannot go against righteousness. Even though they have an overwhelming number of guys, the friends from our Taishan Sword School, Huashan Sword School, and Heng-Shan Sword School aren’t just a bunch of good-for-nothing guys either,” Sister Dingyi said angrily.
“Sister Dingyi,” Liu Zhengfeng said with a wry smile, “this is so embarrassing. It is really an internal affair with my Hengshan Sword School, yet it caused worries for so many friends. It is very clear in my mind that my senior apprentice brother Mo must have complained to Alliance Chief Zuo of the Songshan Sword School, which brought so many apprentice brothers of the Songshan Sword School here to denounce my wrong deeds. Fine, fine, fine! It was my fault that I have not shown good manners to senior apprentice brother Mo. I will apologize to senior apprentice brother Mo and ask for his forgiveness.”
Fei Bin glanced around the hall, his eyes squinting, yet appearing to be bright and piercing, clearly showing his great inner energy.
“What does this have anything to do with Great Mr. Mo? Great Mr. Mo, please come out, so we can straighten this out,” he demanded.
After his words, the entire hall quieted down, but after quite a while, “Night Rain of Xiaoxiang” – Great Mr. Mo still did not step out.
Liu Zhengfeng let out a wry smile. “Everyone in the Martial World has already known that my apprentice brother Mo and I don’t get along, so I really don’t have to hide this fact. I am lucky to have been born in a rich family and inherited quite a few assets from my ancestors. My apprentice brother Mo, on the other hand, came from a very poor family. Normally speaking, even friends should be giving loans to each other, not mentioning apprentice brothers, but just because of the difference here, senior apprentice brother Mo loathed about it and never come to my home. We have not seen each other or contacted each other for years. Of course senior apprentice brother Mo would not come here today. What really ticked me off was the fact that simply with the one-sided story from my senior apprentice brother Mo, Alliance Chief Zuo had sent so many apprentice brothers here to deal with me today, even taking my wife and my children prisoner. Don’t…don’t you think you are making a fuss over a trifling matter?”
“Raise the Command Flag,” Fei Bin said to Shi Dengda.
“Yes!” Shi Dengda answered and raised the Command Flag high in the air by the side of Fei Bin.
“Apprentice brother Liu,” Fei Bin said grimly, “the matter today has nothing to do with the Head Master of the Hengshan Sword School, Great Mr. Mo. You don’t need to mix him into this. Alliance Chief Zuo has ordered us to investigate what secret collaboration does apprentice brother Liu have with the Demon Cult Chief – Dongfang Invincible, and what plot you are developing to attack our Five Mountains Sword Alliance and other chivalrous martial fellows.”
Everyone in the Big Hall was greatly stunned by those words. Many could not help but utter a cry of surprise. The Demon Cult was the ultimate enemy of all the martial people on the good side of the Martial World. The two sides had scores tracing back to a hundred year, fighting continuously all these years with exchanging triumphs. Among the thousand or so people in the Big Hall, at least half of them had old scores to settle with the Demon Cult – some lost family members in the fights, and others lost senior masters. Every time the name Demon Cult was mentioned, all would bite their lips hard with hatred. The ultimate reason why the Five Mountains sword schools had formed an alliance was to unite together to fight the Demon Cult. Demon Cult had many followers and did not lack highly skilled elite fighters; that was why even though the chivalrous schools all had unique skills of their own, they still failed to defeat the Demon Cult. Furthermore, Demon Cult Chief, Dongfang Invincible, maintained the title of “Number One in the Martial World.” His name was Invincible, and he had never lost a single fight after he completed his apprenticeship; that was simply incredible. So when everyone heard Fei Bin criticizing Liu Zhengfeng for collaborating with the Demon Cult, which did relate to everyone’s own life, the sympathy they had toward Liu Zhengfeng evaporated instantly.
“I have never seen Demon Cult Chief Dongfang Invincible before in my whole life. Where did you get the idea of the so-called collaboration and the so-called plots?” Liu Zhengfeng asked.
Fei Bin turned his head to the side and stared at his third apprentice brother Lu Bai, waiting for him to speak.
“Apprentice brother Liu, what you just said might be a bit shallow. There’s an Elder in the Demon Cult named Qu Yang. I wonder if apprentice brother Liu knows him?” Lu Bai said in a soft voice.
Liu Zhengfeng had remained calm since the beginning of the disturbance, but as soon as he heard the name “Qu Yang” mentioned, his face changed color. He shut his mout
h tight and did not answer the question.
The fatty Ding Mian had not said anything since he entered the hall, but now he suddenly shouted harshly, “Do you know Qu Yang?” His voice sounded like a thunder, echoing in everyone’s ears. He was a big and tall guy, yet now he seemed to be even bigger and taller in everyone’s eyes, looking like a majestic giant.
Liu Zhengfeng still did not answer. Thousands of eyes stared at his face. Everyone thought the same thing – if he could not think of an answer, then he was really admitting to it.
After a long while, Liu Zhengfeng finally nodded. ‘That’s right! I not only know big brother Qu Yang, but also consider him the only person that knows my heart and is my best friend.”
Instantly, the big hall was taken over by uproar. These words of Liu Zhengfeng caught everyone by surprise. Everyone had thought that he would at least try to deny the allegation, or only admitting that he probably had met that Qu Yang once or twice. No one expected him to claim that this Demon Cult Elder was actually his best friend.
Fei Bin let out a relaxed smile. “It’s great that you admit it. A true man takes on his own responsibilities. Liu Zhengfeng, Alliance Chief Zuo has given you two options to choose from.”
Liu Zhengfeng paid no attention to him as if he had not heard any word from Fei Bin. He sat down slowly with no specific expression on his face, and poured himself a cup of wine. Raising the cup to his lips, he drank the wine slowly. Everyone could see that his robe and his long sleeves remained dead still, no trembling what’s so ever. That was a good indication that he had a very good grip of himself, even in such an emergent situation. It was clearly shown that his courage and his Kung Fu skills were both first-class. Without any one of the two, he would not have behaved in such a calm way. Inwardly, everyone could not help but praise him.