by Jin Yong
As the two Xuanming Elders were defeated, they howled and took their weapons out. In Lu Zhangke’s hand there was a short stick with a forked head, resembling a pair of deer antlers. The body of the stick was dark; it was unclear what the stick was made of. He Biweng’s hands were grasping a pair of pens; the tip of the pens was sharp, shaped like a crane’s beak. The pens glistened with crystal-like rays. These two people had followed Zhao Min for quite a while, but even Zhao Min had never seen them using their weapons. As these three weapons were launched, one black shadow and two white lights were seen; surrounding Zhang Wuji in their midst.
Zhang Wuji did not bring any weapons with him; with only his bare hand and empty fist, his situation was quite disadvantageous. But he was not scared one bit. He determined to test his own martial art against these two powerful opponents; he wanted to see if he would be able to score victory barehanded.
The Xuanming Elders had always relied on their profound internal energy, the Xuanming Divine Palms was a lost art of the martial art world; yet as soon as they went into battle against Zhang Wuji’s palms, his ‘jiu yang shen gong’ was actually so unfathomable that in dozens of palms they were defeated.
When using their weapons, these two people oftentimes scored victory because of their strange moves. Their names actually came from their weapons, ‘lu jiao duan zhang’ [deer antler short stick] and ‘he zui shuang bi’ [crane beak pair of pens]. Each of their moves was swift, fierce and very ruthless; rarely seen in the world.
With total concentration Zhang Wuji launched attacks and put up defenses among the weapons, but momentarily he had not yet understood his opponents’ movements; so it would not be easy to score any victory. Luckily He Biweng was severely wounded and his movements were unavoidably sluggish.
In the meantime Zhao Min lightly clapped her hands three times and naked blades dazzled in the hall. Three men attacked Yang Xiao, four people attacked Wei Yixiao, and two pointed the tip of their weapons on Zhou Zhiruo’s back. Yang Xiao snatched a sword and brandished it lightning fast, stabbing a man attacking his back. Wei Yixiao used his ‘qing gong’ [lightness kungfu] as his weapon and slapped two people with his ‘xuan yin mian zhang’ [dark cloud cotton palm]. But in reality the enemies were too many, for every man down, two came out to take his place; while Zhang Wuji was engaged in a fierce battle against the Xuanming Elders and was not able to lend them a hand. It would not be too difficult for the three of them to escape, but certainly it was almost impossible if they wanted to take Zhou Zhiruo along.
While they were anxious, suddenly Zhao Min shouted, "Everybody hold your hands!” Her voice was not too loud, but her subordinates obeyed her and immediately leaped backward.
Yang Xiao tossed his sword to the ground. Wei Yixiao had just snatched a blade from an enemy’s hand; he turned it around and threw it back to its owner, while laughing a big laugh. Seeing
someone was still holding a dagger on Zhou Zhiruo’s back; Zhang Wuji could not help but feeling anxious and it showed on his face.
With a sad voice Zhou Zhiruo said, "Zhang Gongzi [young master, a respectful term to address a young man], please leave. Xiao Nuzi [little/young girl] is deeply grateful of three gentlemen’s kind intention.”
Zhao Min smiled and said, "Zhang Gongzi, I feel sad to destroy such a beautiful face like this. Surely she is your beloved?”
Zhang Wuji blushed; he said, "Miss Zhou and I have known each other since we were little. When I was a child I was hit by this man’s .” he pointed to He Biweng, ". Xuanming Divine Palm. The cold poison entered my body and made me difficult to move. I was lucky this Miss Zhou helped me eating and drinking. I do not dare to forget her kindness.”
"So you were childhood friends,” Zhao Min said, "You are thinking of making her the Devil Cult’s Madame Cult Leader, aren’t you?”
Zhang Wuji blushed even deeper. "The barbarians have not yet been extinguished, how can I think of raising a family?” he said.
Zhao Min’s face darkened. "You surely want to destroy me very much, don’t you?” she asked.
Zhang Wuji shook his head. "Until now I still do not know Miss’ origin,” he said, "Although our paths have crossed several times, every time it was Miss who seeks out Zhang Wuji; it wasn’t the Old Zhang who looks for trouble with Miss. I will be deeply grateful if Miss is willing to let my martial uncles and the Wulin warriors from various sects go; I wouldn’t dare to seek enmity with Miss. Moreover, Miss still has to tell me three matters, which I will strive to carry them out, in no way will I refuse your command.”
Zhao Min could hear the sincerity in his voice, her face brightened like a fresh flower just blossomed. She smiled and said, "Hey, you haven’t forgotten that.” Turning her head toward Zhou Zhiruo she said to Zhang Wuji, "This Miss Zhou is not your beloved, she is neither your martial sister, nor your fiance; so if I want to destroy her face, it has nothing to do with you .” She cast a sidelong glance; Lu Zhangke and He Biweng immediately raised their weapons in front of Zhou Zhiruo, while another man raised a sharp dagger toward her cheeks.
If Zhang Wuji wanted to save her, he would have to break the Xuanming Elders’ defense line; which was not easy. Zhao Min coldly said, "Zhang Gongzi, you’d better tell me the truth.”
All of a sudden Wei Yixiao held out his palms and spat some saliva on them. He rubbed his palms several times to the sole of his shoes, and laughed a big laugh. Nobody knew what kind of crafty trick he was about to perform; suddenly a green shadow flashed. Zhao Min felt her left and right cheeks were rubbed by a palm. She looked at Wei Yixiao and found him stood on his original position, but now in his hands were two daggers; it was not clear whom he snatched the daggers from. Zhao Min realized things were not good; she did not dare to rub her own cheeks, but took a handkerchief and wiped her face. She saw her handkerchief was black with some mud, and knew instantly that it was the dirt from Wei Yixiao’s shoes plus his saliva. This thought made her sick that she almost threw up.
Wei Yixiao said, "Miss Zhao, whether you want to destroy Miss Zhou’s face or not, it is up to you. You are cruel and merciless; I, the one with surname Wei, cannot stop you. Just know this: today you cut Miss Zhou’s face once, the one surnamed Wei will double it; I will cut your face twice. You
cut her face twice, I will cut yours four times. You break one finger of hers, I will break two of yours.” Speaking to this point he struck the daggers in his hands to each other and continued, "What the one surnamed Wei wants to do, he can do it. ‘Qing Yi Fu Wang’ [The Green Winged Bat King] will do what he says. All my life I have never said an empty talk. You can guard against me for a year or a year and a half, but not for eight years, ten years. You can send your people to kill me, but I doubt they will be able to pursue me. I take my leave now!” When the word ‘now’ came out of his mouth, he had already disappeared.
‘Slap! Slap!’ two daggers flew and struck a pillar; followed by "Aiyo! Ah!” screams, two foreign monks in the hall slowly sat down. Somehow the swords in their hands were snatched by Wei Yixiao; while their acupoints were also sealed by him.
Wei Yixiao’s words were spoken lightly, but everybody knew it was not idle talk; they saw with their own eyes that Zhao Min white cheeks, which were red from rouge earlier, were smeared black by Wei Yixiao’s dirt. If he was holding knives in his hands, Zhao Min’s cheeks would have been destroyed. His movement to her and back was lightning fast; it was like a ghost or a demon’s movement; certainly no experts would be able to guard against him. Even Zhang Wuji felt ashamed of his own inferiority. In a long distance race Zhang Wuji would be able to win relying on his stronger internal energy, but moving in the courtyard or between the porch and the veranda nobody could match this person’s divine speed.
Zhang Wuji bowed and saluted. "Miss Zhao,” he said, "We have offended you today; we’ll take our leave now.” Taking Yang Xiao’s hand he turned around and went out the hall. He knew with Wei Yixiao’s threat Zhao Min would not dare to harm Zhou Zhiruo. Zhao Min looked at his back
with mixed feelings: ashamed and angry; but she did not command her people to block their way.
Zhang Wuji and Yang Xiao returned to the inn; Wei Yixiao was already waiting for them there. Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Wei Fuwang [Bat King Wei], today you have given them a demonstration of your prowess, letting them know not to easily provoke the Ming Cult.”
"It wasn’t difficult to scare a little girl,” Wei Yixiao said, "She can pretend to be fierce and wicked, but as she heard me wanting to destroy her face, I guarantee you she won’t be able to sleep for three whole days and three whole nights.”
Yang Xiao smiled and said, "She can’t sleep; that’s not good. It will make our effort to rescue people more difficult.”
"Yang Zuoshi [Left Emissary Yang],” said Zhang Wuji, "Speaking of rescuing people, do you have any ingenious plan?”
Yang Xiao hesitated. "We are only three people, plus our presence is already known; it is truly a thorny problem,” he said.
Zhang Wuji apologetically said, "When I saw Miss Zhou’s dire situation I could not bear not to help. In the end I messed up an important matter.”
"The way the turn of events went, nobody could bear not to help,” Yang Xiao said, "Single-handedly Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] defeated the Xuanming Elders and that can crush the enemy’s spirit big time; that was also very good. Moreover, now that they know we are here, they won’t dare to treat Song Daxia [great hero Song] and the others too rudely.”
Zhang Wuji remembered that his Song Dabo [first (older) uncle], Yu Erbo [second (older) uncle] and the others were still in the enemy’s hand; and then seeing how Zhao Min has treated He
Taichong, Tang Wenliang and the others with disgrace, his heart burned with anxiety.
Three people discussed their course of action for half a day without reaching any conclusion; finally they went their separate rooms to rest.
Toward the dawn the following morning Zhang Wuji was still half dreaming when he heard a noise from the window; he woke up immediately and opened his eyes wide only to see the window slowly open. There was someone outside staring at him. He was startled. Lifting up the bed curtain he saw that person’s face was filled with scars, he looked fearsomely ugly; it was none other than Ku Toutuo. Zhang Wuji was even more shocked; he immediately jumped out of bed, but Ku Toutuo’s face was still at the window, staring blankly at him. It seemed like Ku Toutuo did not mean any harm to him. "Yang Zuoshi! Wei Fuwang!” Zhang Wuji called out.
Yang and Wei two people responded from the neighboring rooms. Zhang Wuji was slightly relieved. In the meantime Ku Toutuo’s face disappeared from the window. Zhang Wuji hastily jumped out the window and saw Ku Toutuo go out the front gate in a hurry. By this time Yang and Wei two people had also caught up. Looking around to see there was no other enemy, three people moved their feet to pursue Ku Toutuo.
Ku Toutuo was waiting on a street corner. As he saw the three people approach, he turned around and went to the north. His strides were big, but he was not running. Three people exchanged hand signals and followed behind. By that time it was daybreak, not too many people were outside; so in a short moment they had reached the northern gate. Ku Toutuo continued leading the way along a small pathway. About seven, eight ‘li’s [1 li is approximately 0.5km] later they arrived at a small mound with rocks scattered around it. At last Ku Toutuo stopped and turned around; he waved his hands toward Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, asking them to step back, following which he cupped his fists in respect toward Zhang Wuji.
Zhang Wuji returned the salute while thinking in his heart, "I wonder what is this Toutuo’s intention in leading us here? There is nobody else here, if we fight, with one against three, he would surely lost. Judging by this, he doesn’t seem to have an ill intention.”
Before Zhang Wuji made his mind up, Ku Toutuo had already made a ‘heh, heh’ noise, then he attacked with his hands in the form of claws: tiger claw on his left hand, dragon claw on his right hand; all ten fingers in the shape of hooks, ferociously attacked Zhang Wuji.
Zhang Wuji diverted the attack by a sweep of his left palm; he said, "Shangren [lit. upper/above person, a respectful term to address a Buddhist monk], what is your intention? Please make it clear; we can always fight later.”
Ku Toutuo did not pay him any attention, as if he did not hear anything. His left hand tiger claw changed into an eagle claw, his right hand dragon claw changed into a tiger claw; one attacked the opponent’s left shoulder, the other attacked the right abdomen. The attacks were very vicious.
"Do we really have to fight?” Zhang Wuji asked.
Ku Toutuo’s eagle claw turned into a lion palm, his tiger claw turned into a crane beak; one struck the other pecked, in an ever-changing style. In a short three stances he had already used six different styles.
Zhang Wuji did not dare to slack off; he immediately launched the ‘Taiji Chuan’ [taiji fist]. His body moved like the passing clouds or flowing water, fighting his opponent on that stone mound. He felt this Ku Toutuo’s movements were very complicated; sometimes they were wide open and easily
predicted, but just they turn surreptitiously strange as swift, like the martial art from a demonical unorthodox sect, casting a profound heretical, almost evil, air around him, but all along Zhang Wuji only used Taiji Chuan to fight him.
After about seventy, eighty stances later Ku Toutuo suddenly grunted and shot his fist straight forward. Zhang Wuji used the ‘ru feng si bi’ [Apparent Closure] to seal his fist power, followed by the move ‘dan bian’ [Single Whip] his left palm slapped Ku Toutuo’s back; only he did not exert any internal energy, as soon as he touched his back, Zhang Wuji withdrew his palm.
Ku Toutuo knew Zhang Wuji was showing him mercy; he leaped backward and stared at Zhang Wuji for half a day. Suddenly he made a hand signal to Yang Xiao, indicating he wanted to borrow the long sword on Yang Xiao’s waist. Yang Xiao loosened up the sword belt and presented the sword, complete with the sheath, with both hands to Ku Toutuo.
Zhang Wuji felt strange, "How can Yang Zuoshi lend a weapon to the enemy?” he thought.
Ku Toutuo drew the sword and made a hand signal, telling Zhang Wuji to borrow Wei Yixiao’s sword. Zhang Wuji shook his head; he took the sword sheath from Ku Toutuo’s left hand, and with a ‘qing shou’ [invitation] stance he used the sheath as a sword. With his left hand he pinched the tip of the sheath and positioned the sheath horizontally in front of his chest.
Ku Toutuo swept the sword and stabbed diagonally down. Zhang Wuji had seen him teaching sword technique to Zhao Min, so he knew this man had a superb swordsmanship. At once he focused his attention to use the Taiji Sword he had learned for the past several months on Mount Wudang. He saw that the opponent’s sword moved sometimes fast sometimes slow, with the blade seemingly everywhere; but Zhang Wuji was always able to block or divert the attack. Ku Toutuo withdrew immediately and re-attacked with new stances; yet not a single one of them was able to penetrate Zhang Wuji’s defense.
Zhang Wuji silently praised him, "If I fought this man half a year ago, I certainly would not be his match in swordsmanship. Compared to that ‘ba bi shen jian’ [Eight-armed Divine Sword] Fang Dongbai this Ku Toutuo is a notch better.” He started to feel fondness toward him and decided not to score victory too conspicuously.
Ku Toutuo brandished his sword like a ‘luan pi feng’ [tornado]; the blade of his sword glistened under the sun as if ten thousands metal snakes scurried around the opponent. Zhang Wuji looked clearly and then abruptly turned the sword sheath around. ‘Shua!’ the sword entered its sheath perfectly while both of his hands shot out and lightly touched Ku Toutuo’s wrists. Smiling slightly Zhang Wuji leaped back. If he made any effort ever so slightly, he would have been able to seize the sword. This move to seize the sword was really dangerous; but it also demonstrated his excellent skill.
Before Zhang Wuji’s feet landed on the ground Ku Toutuo dropped the sword and with a grunt sent out his palm forward. Zhang Wuji heard the gust of wind and knew that this palm carried a
lot of strength. It was truly not a small matter; obviously the opponent was testing his internal strength.
He turned his right palm around and met the incoming palm head-on, while his left foot finally touched the ground.
In an instant Ku Toutuo’s force flowed out like a stream. Zhang Wuji used the power of the seventh level of ‘qian kun da nuo yi’ to gradually dissipate the incoming force. Suddenly he shouted loudly and pushed back; it was like the dam on a mountain lake suddenly burst and the water flooded out with an earth shattering force. Zhang Wuji was actually returning Ku Toutuo’s palm strength to its owner. It was the combination of ten opponent’s palm strength into one; the world had never seen
such force. If Ku Toutuo was hit, his wrist bone, arm bone, shoulder bone, and his ribs would be broken; blood would spurt out and he would have turned into a heap of shapeless pulp as he died a miserable death.
At this moment a pair of palms stuck to each other. It was impossible for Ku Toutuo to escape. Suddenly Zhang Wuji’s left hand grabbed his chest and flung him up; Ku Toutuo’s big body flew up. With a loud ‘Bang!’ the rocks behind him flew all over the place. Zhang Wuji’s matchless palm strength had hit the rocks on that mound.
Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, who were watching from the side, both cried out in alarm. They knew Ku Toutuo and their cult leader were staking it all in that internal energy competition. They thought it would take at least the time needed to drink tea for the match to reach its conclusion; who would have thought that the moment of life and death had arrived in just a short time. These two had a lot in their mind to say, but it was too late for them to open their mouths. Now that Ku Toutuo had landed on the ground, safe and sound, their palms were wet with cold sweats.
As his feet touched the ground Ku Toutuo’s hands made a sign like a blazing flame in front of his chest; he bowed to pay his respect to Zhang Wuji and said, "Xiao Ren [lit. little/lowly person] is ‘guang ming you zhi’ [Right Emissary of the Brightness] Fan Yao; I pay my respect to Jiaozhu [Cult Leader]. I thank Jiaozhu for sparing my life. Xiao Ren also asks forgiveness for my offensive behavior.” He had never talked for more than ten years, so his intonation was rather unnatural.