by Jin Yong
The woman sighed, “I was worrying about you.”
Wanyan Kang leaned on her and giggled, “But your son is standing healthy in front of you.”
The woman replied, “With swollen eyes and a broken nose? You call that healthy? You are getting more and more disobedient. It’s alright if your father knows, but if your teacher learns about it, you’ll be in hot soup.”
Wanyan Kang giggled again, “Mother, do you know who the Taoist priest is that came today?”
The woman asked, “Who?”
Wanyan Kang replied, “He is my teacher’s martial brother and is my elder. I purposely pretended to be ignorant of that fact and called him Taoist this, Taoist that. He scowled and was furious but couldn’t do anything.” With that, he started laughing.
The woman was alarmed and said, “Oh no! I’ve seen your teacher flare up before and he can kill people. It’s really a frightening thought.”
Wanyan Kang was curious and asked, “You’ve seen teacher kill before? When? Why did he kill people?”
The woman lifted her head and gazed at the lamp, as if she was somewhere far away and said gently, “That was a long time ago. Ah, I cannot remember anymore!”
Wanyan Kang did not probe further; instead he grinned smugly and said, “That Taoist Wang came to ask me how was I going to deal with the marriage and I told him that if he brought Miss Mu to me, I would listen to whatever he said.”
The woman asked, “Have you asked your father’s permission? Has he agreed?”
Wanyan Kang smiled, “Mother, you are too honest. I asked my men to trick them into coming here and locked them up in the back cell earlier. How can Taoist Wang find them now?” Wanyan Kang was going through the events in an excited manner while Guo Jing fumed outside.
Guo Jing thought, “To think that I actually thought that he had good intentions! Luckily Hero Mu was wise enough not to fall into his trap.”
The woman answered exasperatedly, “How can you make fun of this man and his daughter and lock them up? Hurry up and release them now. Remember to apologize and give them some money.”
Guo Jing nodded his head and thought, “That’s more like it.”
Wanyan Kang said, “Mother, you don’t understand! These people don’t care about money. If I release them and they go round telling people what happened, father will hear about it.”
The woman became anxious, “Do you plan to lock them up forever?”
Wanyan Kang smiled, “I tried to sweet talk them into going back to their village and stupidly wait for me forever.” With that, he burst out laughing.
Guo Jing was shaking with fury by this time; he raised a palm towards the window frame and was about to yell when he felt a soft and smooth hand cover his mouth and grab his left wrist. A gentle voice whispered into his ear, “Calm down.” Guo Jing recovered and turned towards Huang Rong with a faint smile before looking back into the room again.
Wanyan Kang continued, “That Mu fellow is really cunning; he didn’t take the bait. Let’s see how long he can last if I keep him locked up for a couple of days longer.”
His mother replied, “I’ve seen Miss Mu and I find her beautiful and talented. She is quite likeable. Why don’t I talk to your father and ask him to let you marry her; then everything will be solved.”
Wanyan Kang laughed, “Mother, for the last time, we are royalty. How can I marry a commoner? Father always tells me that he will arrange a respectable match for me. But it’s a pity that we are Wanyans.”
The woman asked, “Why?”
Wanyan Kang replied, “If not, I could marry the princess and become the crown prince.”
The woman sighed and said in a low voice, “How can you look down on poor commoners.. .do you really think that.”
Wanyan Kang laughed, “Mother, I have a joke for you. That Mu fellow says that he will only believe me if he meets with and discusses it with you.”
The woman responded, “I won’t help you to lie and do such despicable things.”
Wanyan Kang giggled and walked around in circles. He said, “Even if you were willing to do so, I will not allow it. You don’t know how to lie and will be exposed on the spot.”
Huang Rong and Guo Jing studied the room, which was furnished with normal wooden furniture and normal farming tools. On the wall hung a moldy sphere, a broken plough and an old wooden cart was placed in the corner of the room. Both of them thought, “This woman is a princess. Why is her house so plainly furnished?”
Wanyan Kang pressed his chest and the rabbit in his pocket let out a squeal. The woman asked, “What’s that?”
Wanyan Kang replied, “Ah, I almost forgot. I saw an injured rabbit just now and picked it up. Mother, please tend to it.” He took out a little white rabbit and placed it on the table. The rabbit’s hind legs were broken and it couldn’t move.
The woman said, “Good child!” She hurriedly took out some implements and medicine and tended to the rabbit’s injuries.
Guo Jing began to fume again and thought, “This man purposely injured the rabbit because he knows that his mother is kind-hearted and will tend to its injuries. Then she’ll forget about the bad stuff that he has done. How can he be so evil as to make use of his mother’s kind nature to deceive her?”
Huang Rong was leaning on him and felt Guo Jing’s whole body quiver. She knew that he must be burning with anger and was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to control it and burst out at Wanyan Kang. She pulled his hand and said, “Let’s ignore them; come, let’s go and find the medicine.”
Guo Jing asked, “You know where they’ve hidden the medicine?”
Huang Rong shook her head and said, “No. So we have to go and find out.”
Guo Jing thought about how huge the Zhao residence was and wondered where to start the ‘finding’, “It will be disastrous if we alert Shao Tongtian and the rest.” he was about to discuss this with Huang Rong when there was a flash of light in front of them. A man came carrying a small lantern while humming a tune and he was walking closer and closer to them. Guo Jing was about to slip behind a tree when Huang Rong rushed forward, towards the man. The man was alarmed and before he could say anything, Huang Rong flipped her palm and shot out a shiny steel object which pierced his throat. She asked, “Who are you?”
The man, having had the fright of his life, only managed to answer after awhile, “I. I am the caretaker. What.. .what are you doing?”
Huang Rong answered, “What am I doing? I am going to kill you! You are the caretaker? That’s good. Where do you keep the medicines that your young prince had people buy during the day?”
The caretaker replied, “I.I don’t know. The young prince kept it himself!”
Huang Rong used her left hand to twist his wrist and used her right hand to push forward slightly, causing the steel object to pierce even deeper into his throat. The caretaker felt a sharp pain shoot through his wrist but didn’t dare scream out loud. Huang Rong said in a low voice, “Are you going to tell me or not?”
The caretaker responded, “I really don’t know.”
Huang Rong used her right hand to remove his cap and stuff it into his mouth. Following that, her left hand pulled and twisted his arm. A ‘crack’ was heard as she broke the bone in his right shoulder. The caretaker tried to yell before fainting but the cap in his mouth had muffled his yell. Guo Jing was stunned. He didn’t expect this petite young lady to be so vicious and cruel in her actions. Huang Rong shook the caretaker and he came around. She swiftly removed the cap from his mouth and placed it back on his head before saying, “Do you want me to break your left shoulder as well?”
The caretaker wept in pain and answered weakly, “I really don’t know. Even if Miss kills me, I still won’t know.”
Now Huang Rong believed him; she lowered her voice and said, “Go and find young prince now and tell him that you fell and broke your shoulder. Also tell him that you suffered serious internal injures and the physician says that you must take the medicine that he bought up e
arlier. Beg him to give you some of the medicine.” The caretaker listened attentively to Huang Rong’s instructions and dared not question anything.
Huang Rong continued, “Hurry up, young prince is with the princess. I am going to follow you and if I see that you do not act properly, I will break your neck and dig out your eyes.” With that, she stretched out her fingers and made a clawing move at his eyes. The caretaker shivered and stood up; he clenched his teeth, ignored the dreadful pain and dashed towards the princess’s house.
Wanyan Kang was still talking with his mother when the caretaker suddenly dashed in, sweating and crying. He repeated what Huang Rong instructed him to say. The princess saw that his face was as white as a sheet and knew he was in great pain; she didn’t wait for Wanyan Kang’s answer and immediately ordered him to give the caretaker the medicine. Wanyan Kang frowned and said, “The medicine is with Master Liang, go and find him yourself.”
The caretaker wept and said, “Young prince, please write a note for me.” The princess immediately took out some paper, ink and a brush and Wanyan Kang wrote the note. The caretaker bowed and thanked them while the princess said gently, “Hurry and take the medicine to cure your injuries.”
The caretaker came out of the house and walked a few steps when he felt the cold blade of a knife on the skin of his neck. He heard Huang Rong say, “Go to Master Liang now.” The caretaker walked a little ways but he could stand the pain no longer and fell to the ground.
Huang Rong said, “If you don’t get the medicine, your neck will be broken.” With that, she grabbed his head and turned it forcefully. The caretaker was shocked and had a sudden wave of determination. Sweating continuously, he hurried on. They passed by seven or eight servants but no one asked anything when they saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
When they reached Liang Ziwong’s quarters, they found the door locked. A servant told them that he had gone to the Fragrant Snow guest hall. Guo Jing saw that the caretaker was having difficulty walking and helped him along. Just as they reached the guest hall, two guards carrying lanterns in one hand and sabers in the other called, “Stop, who’s there?”
The caretaker took out the note written by Wanyan Kang and gave it to the guards. They glanced at it and let him through before going up to question Guo Jing and Huang Rong. The caretaker said, “They’re our own people.”
One of the guards said, “The prince is having a banquet with important guests, no one is allowed to disturb them. If you have anything to say, you can come back tomorrow to.” he didn’t finish his sentence before the two guards felt their strength disappear. They were unable to move because Huang Rong had sealed their accupoints. She hid them in some bushes before grabbing Guo Jing’s
Eagle Shooting Hero 245 hand and they made their way towards the entrance of the hall. She gently pushed the caretaker forward. She and Guo Jing swung up and caught a wooden window frame and peered inside the hall.
The hall was brightly lit with a huge banquet table in the middle. Guo Jing looked at the people sitting around the table and his heart beat furiously. He has seen the same people in the same room earlier. There was the Junior Chief of White Camel Mountain, Ouyang Ke, the ‘Dragon King of the Demonic Group’, Sha Tongtian, his martial brother the ‘Three-Headed Dragon’, Hou Tonghai, the ‘Ginseng Immortal’, Liang Ziwong and the ‘Butcher of One Thousand Hands’, Peng Lianhu. At the head of the banquet table was the Jin sixth prince, Wanyan Honglie. At one corner of the table was a thickly padded grand chair in which sat ‘Superior Virtue’ Lingzhi, who had a golden complexion and looked seriously injured. Guo Jing laughed gleefully, “You ambushed Taoist Wang, so it serves you right to have a taste of your own medicine.”
The caretaker entered the room and bowed in front of Liang Ziwong before handing him the note written by Wanyan Kang. Liang Ziwong read the note, glanced at the caretaker and handed the note to Wanyan Honglie, “Esteemed Prince, was this written by the young prince?”
Wanyan Honglie read through the note and said, “Yes, please do what it says Master Liang.”
Liang Ziwong turned and instructed a dwarf dressed in green, “Go and take out five grams each of the medicines that the young prince delivered today and give it to the caretaker.” The dwarf nodded and followed the caretaker out.
Guo Jing whispered to Huang Rong, “Let’s go, these people here are too formidable.”
Huang Rong smiled and shook her head. A strand of Huang Rong’s soft hair brushed past Guo Jing’s face and he felt a tickling sensation not only on his face but also in his heart. He didn’t argue with her and dropped down. Huang Rong hurriedly grabbed his wrist, flung her body forward, locked her legs around a high wooden pole and gently lowered Guo Jing to the ground.
Guo Jing was relieved, “That was close! Had I just jumped down, wouldn’t it have alerted the high level fighters inside?” Guo Jing was not a veteran Jianghu traveler and tended to be careless at times.
The caretaker and the dwarf came out and Guo Jing followed behind them. He walked ten steps before turning around and saw that Huang Rong had flipped up and was peering into the hall with her legs hooked on the roof’s edge and her head hanging below. There was a light breeze, causing her white robe to float gently; the image looked like a blooming white lily in the darkness. Huang Rong glanced into the hall and saw that no one had noticed her presence; she turned her head and watched until Guo Jing’s figure disappeared into the darkness before turning her attention back to what was going on in the hall.
Peng Lianhu suddenly turned around, and with eyes quick as lightning, he did a check of the windows. Huang Rong didn’t dare look any longer, and crouched near the window to hear what was going on. She heard a rasping voice say, “Do you people think that Wang Chuyi turned up coincidentally or was it for a reason?”
A high pitched voice replied, “No matter whether he had ill intentions or not, being injured by ‘Superior Virtue’ Lingzhi will leave him dead, or at least crippled.”
246 Eagle Shooting Hero
Huang Rong glanced into the hall and saw that the person talking was Peng Lianhu, who was small and had eyes that flashed like lightning. She heard a clear voice laugh, “We have even heard of the ‘Seven Masters of Quanzhen’ in Tibet. They really live up to their name; if it were not for ‘Superior Virtue’ Lingzhi’s attack, we would have been defeated by him.”
A deep and rough voice answered, “Master Ouyang, you don’t have to flatter me, both that Taoist priest and I are injured, there is no winner.”
Ouyang Ke said, “Yes, but you just have to recuperate quietly for some time whereas even if he doesn’t die, he will end up handicapped!”
After this comment no one spoke. The host could then be heard toasting all the assembled guests. Guest by guest he said “Sir, you have come from a great distance to visit me, I am deeply honored! It reflects greatly on the Jin nation to have such honored guests as you!” Huang Rong thought that the person speaking must be the Prince Zhao, Wanyan Honglie. The assembled guests then all answered with the modest protestations as decorum required.
Wanyan Honglie then continued, “Lingzhi is Tibet’s foremost monk, Liang is a master of great learning and integrity, Chief Ouyang is a legendary leader of military virtue, Master Peng's prestige is widely feared on the central plains, and Formidable Sha rules over Yellow River! If any one among the five heroes lends a hand, the Jin Nation's challenges could be overcome; but imagine what could be achieved with all five of you united together! Ha.Ha! That would be akin to having a lion using all its strength to catch a rabbit!” This speech made him sound very arrogant indeed.
Liang Ziwong smiled and said, “If Your Lordship has a task for us to carry out, you need only say it and we will gladly do it. Unfortunately this old man's (referring to himself) kung fu is very shabby and weak. I fear that if I was to be entrusted with such a task by your Lordship I would fail and not be able to show my worthless face again, ha.ha!.” Peng Lianhu also added a few self depreciating remarks in the same vein. T
hese men have always been the center of attention and power in their own regions. Their speech and manner showed that they did not consider themselves inferior to Wanyan Honglie.
Wanyan Honglie again toasted each guest in turn with a cup of wine “This humble prince is deeply moved by your presence here tonight. I will now speak of a great matter. This matter cannot be mentioned to any other person outside of this room. If word got out, it would cause great trouble for my Jin nation. This humble prince has great confidence in your ability to keep this secret.”
These words, although humbly spoken, implied great importance and caused everyone present to take note that this must be a very serious matter that required the utmost secrecy. Everyone therefore replied, “Your Lordship need not fear, no words spoken here tonight will be heard outside this room!” The five invited guests knew that the reason for their invitation must be a matter of great importance; something that would require no small measures to carry out. Having spared no expense at sending them presents of gold, silver and other valuables, Wanyan Honglie still had not made any mention of the task he would ask of them. Now that he was about to reveal this deeply held secret, there was not a person present who didn't feel extremely interested and excited.
Wanyan Honglie continued: “ During the reign of the Great Jin Emperor Taizong, in the third year of the Tianhui era [the seventh year of the Song Emperor Huizong’s Xuanhe era], our Jin soldiers, led by the generals Youzhanmeihe and Wolibu, captured the two Song Emperors, Huizong and
Qinzong. From ancient times there has never been such a great victory.” All the guests cheered his speech.
Huang Rong thought to herself angrily, “How shameless! Everyone, aside from that Tibetan Monk, is Chinese. The Jin Prince is boasting about how his country invaded our country and held our two emperors captive and you actually cheer him on!”
She heard Wanyan Honglie speak again, “At that time, our Great Jin soldiers were vigorous and their numbers vast, but now, after almost a hundred years, the Zhao officials serve our emperor from Huangzhou. Esteemed guests, can you guess why they serve from there?”