by Jin Yong
Hong Qigong asked Guo Jing to recite the ‘Changing Muscle Forging Bones’ twice, then, based on that, he taught the two how to practice it. He went out hunting and fishing himself as well as lighting the fire and cooking their meals. Several times Guo Jing and Huang Rong offered to help, but he shooed them away every time.
Seven days quickly passed and Guo Jing and Huang Rong made some progress in terms of their energy cultivation. Inside his cave Ouyang Feng was also painstakingly studying his manual and putting all his efforts into doing so. Towards the evening of the eighth day Hong Qigong smiled and said, “Rong’er.. .how was your Master’s roasted wild goat?”
Huang Rong smiled but did not say anything, she simply shook her head. Hong Qigong laughed, “I can’t eat it myself either. You two have finished the first part of your lesson; today you must rest your muscles and bones, otherwise your ‘qi’ will be obstructed and you will suffer an injury. Ok Rong’er, you prepare our meal tonight; Jing’er and I will go and build a raft.”
Guo Jing and Huang Rong were astonished, “Build a raft?”
“That’s right,” Hong Qigong said, “Do you want to stay with the Old Poison on this deserted island forever?”
Guo Jing and Huang Rong were delighted; they both voiced their agreement and started to work immediately.
The hundred logs Guo Jing cut down were piled neatly at one side. They cut the tree’s bark, wove it into ropes and tied the logs together to make the raft. When Guo Jing used his strength to pull the rope, it broke. He thought the rope was not made strong enough. He tried pulling another rope, but as soon as he exerted a little strength, it also broke easily. Guo Jing was baffled; he stared blankly at the rope and did not know what to do.
From the other side of the hill Huang Rong ran shouting with a wild goat in her hands. When going out to hunt for the goat she carried some pebbles to herd the goat with; who would have thought that with only several jumps she had already overtaken the goat. She twisted around and grabbed the wild goat. Her body movements were so swift that she even surprised herself.
Hong Qigong smiled, “So the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ is truly a wonderful manual; no wonder countless heroes and warriors were willing to risk their lives for it.”
Huang Rong was delighted, “Master, do you think we can beat the Old Poison now?” she asked.
Hong Qigong shook his head, “Not yet, you are still far from that,” he replied, “You’ll have to train for another eight to ten years. His Toad Stance is not a small matter; no martial art can break it except Wang Chongyang’s Solitary Yang Finger.
Huang Rong pouted and said, “Then even if we train for another eight to ten years we might still not be able to defeat him.”
“That’s hard to say,” Hong Qigong said, “Perhaps the martial arts in that book are fiercer than I think.”
“Rong’er, please be patient,” Guo Jing said, “There is nothing wrong with learning a new skill.”
A few more days passed and Guo Jing and Huang Rong finished the second part of the ‘Changing Muscles Forging Bones’. The raft was also ready. The three of them wove a sail from tree bark and they also prepared some fresh water and food on the raft. All along Ouyang Feng acted indifferent to what they were doing; he simply watched their activities with a cold look.
One evening everything was ready so they planned on sailing the next day. Just before bed that night Huang Rong asked, “Do we have to say goodbye to them?”
“Not only that, we must make a ten year agreement with them,” Guo Jing answered, “They have bullied us badly; how can we just forget it?”
Huang Rong clapped her hands and said, “Absolutely! I pray to Heaven to bless those two thieves so that they can go back to the mainland, and also to give the Old Poison ten more years of life; or perhaps to restore Master’s martial arts quickly, so that in one or two years we can hunt for him. That would be even better.”
The next day before the crack of dawn Hong Qigong awoke; he indistinctly heard some noises from the shore. He quickly called, “Jing’er, did you hear that noise from the beach?”
Guo Jing got up immediately and jumped down from the tree. Once he saw what was happening on the beach he could not stop cursing; he immediately rushed forward in pursuit. By this time Huang Rong also awoke and ran after him, calling out, “Jing ge ge, what’s the matter?”
Guo Jing shouted from the distance, “Those wicked thieves stole our raft.” Hearing this, Huang Rong was shocked.
By the time they got to the beach Ouyang Feng had already carried his nephew out to the raft, raised the sail and was already several zhang [1 zhang = 3.3m or 11ft] away from land. Guo Jing was furious and was about to jump into the ocean to pursue, but Huang Rong pulled his sleeve and said, “They are already too far.”
Ouyang Feng roared with laughter, “Many thanks for the raft!” he shouted.
Stomping his feet with rage, Guo Jing furiously kicked a red sandalwood tree nearby. Huang Rong suddenly had an idea, “I’ve got it!” she called out. She took a big rock and placed it in the tree branches. She wanted to use the tree as a slingshot. “Pull on this tree,” she said, “and we’ll hurl the rock.”
Guo Jing was delighted. He braced his legs on the tree’s base and pulled the trunk backward with all his might. Sandalwood trees are strong but supple; it bent almost completely down to the ground but did not break. Guo Jing let go and with a whooshing sound the big rock flew out to sea and fell near the raft’s side, creating a zhang high big splash.
“What a pity!” Huang Rong called out. She took another rock, aimed carefully and let go. This time the rock hit the raft dead on, but the raft’s construction was too good and it did not break. The two launched three more rocks, but all of them fell into the water.
Watching all their rocks miss the target, Huang Rong had a crazy idea. “Quick, use me as the rock!” she shouted. Guo Jing was startled, unclear of what she meant. Huang Rong explained, “Hurl me out to sea; I’ll deal with them.”
Guo Jing knew her water skills were excellent, her lightness kungfu was excellent as well; he saw no danger in complying with her request. He drew his knife and put it in her hand. “Be careful,” he said. He pulled the tree one more time. Huang Rong sat steadily on a branch and called out, “Fire away!”
Guo Jing released his grip and Huang Rong’s body flew into the sky. She somersaulted twice in the air and plunged into the water several zhang away from the raft. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Ouyang Feng and his nephew were dazzled and they didn’t know what she was going to do.
Huang Rong went deep into the water. She did not emerge, but swam underwater towards the raft instead. Once she saw a black shadow overhead she knew she had arrived at the bottom of the raft. Ouyang Feng randomly hit the water with the oar, but he could not hit her.
Huang Rong held up the dagger, ready to sever the ropes tying the wooden raft together; then she suddenly came up with a bright idea. She reduced the strength of her hand only partly cutting the ropes, leaving a third intact; that way the raft would not break apart until the rough waves of the open sea hit it. She turned around and swam away, emerging on the surface about a dozen zhang away; she gasped for breath, pretending she could not catch the raft. Ouyang Feng laughed wildly and hoisted the sail. Not too long afterwards the raft was far away.
While waiting for her to arrive back at the beach, Hong Qigong and Guo Jing cursed continuously; but then they saw Huang Rong’s smug expression and were puzzled. After hearing what had happened, they were delighted to no end. “Even though we are sending those two wicked men to the bottom of the sea, we will have to start the work over again,” Huang Rong said.
The three ate their meal in high spirits; then they cut logs again and built another raft. Several days later they were ready, and when the southeast wind blew, they hoisted the tree bark sail and left the island heading to the west. Huang Rong gazed towards the island, which was getting smaller and smaller, she sighed and said, “Our lives were almost lost on
that island; but leaving it today, my heart is filled with sadness.”
“We can always revisit the island in the future,” Guo Jing said.
Huang Rong clapped her hands and said, “Good! We must come back. When that time comes, you can’t go back on your word. But first, let’s give this small island a good name. Master, what do you think?”
“You crushed that little bastard’s legs with a big rock on that island,” Hong Qigong said, “Let us call it ‘Crushing Ghost Island’ [ya gui dao]. What do you say?”
Huang Rong shook her head. “That is not very elegant.”
“If you want elegance, why ask the Old Beggar in the first place?” Hong Qigong said, “If you ask me, since the Old Poison ate my urine on the island, I say we call it ‘Eat Urine Island’ [chi sui dao].”
Huang Rong smiled with a negative wave of her hand; she leaned her head to one side to think. She saw a group of red clouds on the horizon, like a cluster of gems hovering gloriously over the island. “Let’s call it ‘Bright Red Cloud Island’ [ming xia dao]!” she called out.
“Not good, not good!” Hong Qigong countered, “That was too elegant.”
Guo Jing listened to the master and disciple arguing; he smiled and did not say anything. He did not care whether the island had an elegant name or a vulgar name; but deep down in his heart he thought ‘ya gui’ or ‘chi sui’ were more interesting than ‘ming xia’.
Carried by the blowing wind they sailed for two days and the wind did not change its course. Towards the evening of the third day Hong Qigong and Huang Rong were asleep while Guo Jing kept charge of the rudder for the night. Amid the ocean breeze and rolling waves he suddenly heard somebody shout, “Help! Help!” twice. The voice sounded like clashing cymbals and it could be heard clearly amidst the blowing wind and waves.
Hong Qigong sat up and said in a low voice, “That’s the Old Poison.” They heard the shout one more time and Huang Rong grabbed Hong Qigong’s arm, “It’s a ghost.. .it’s a ghost!” she said with a trembling voice. It was the end of the sixth month and the night was dark and moonless; there were only a few stars scattered sparsely in the dark night. The sea was pitch-black and a scream in the middle of the night would make anybody terrified.
“Is that the Old Poison?” Hong Qigong called out. His internal energy was lost, so his voice did not travel too far. Guo Jing gathered the ‘qi’ on his ‘dan tian’ and called out, “Is that Uncle Ouyang?”
From the distance they heard Ouyang Feng answer, “It is me, Ouyang Feng. Help!”
Huang Rong was still terrified, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a man or a ghost, let’s just leave, quickly!”
“Help him,” Hong Qigong suddenly said.
“No, no!” Huang Rong quickly answered, “I am afraid.”
“It’s not a ghost,” Hong Qigong said.
“Even if it is a man we still don’t have to help,” Huang Rong said.
“Helping others in distress is one of our Beggar Clan rules,” Hong Qigong said, “You and I are two generations of Clan Leaders; we can’t abandon the honorable customs handed down from previous generations’ leaders.”
“The Beggar Clan’s custom is not right,” Huang Rong countered, “Ouyang Feng is clearly a scoundrel; when he becomes a ghost, he will be a scoundrel ghost. It doesn’t matter if it is a man or a ghost, we should not help.”
“It is the Clan’s regulation; we can’t change it,” Hong Qigong said.
In her heart Huang Rong was very angry. They heard Ouyang Feng’s voice in the distance again, “Brother Qi [Qi Xiong], are you really ‘seeing death, but do not help’ [jian si bu jiu]?”
Huang Rong said, “I’ve got it! Jing ge ge, wait until you can see Ouyang Feng clearly, then strike him dead with your stick. You are not a Beggar Clan member; you don’t have to observe this unreasonable rule.”
Hong Qigong was angry, “Is taking advantage of somebody else’s precarious condition the way of the righteous warrior?”
Huang Rong did not have a choice. She watched helplessly as Guo Jing steered the raft towards the voice. In the deep darkness of the night they vaguely saw two men in the water rocked by the waves; next to their heads were logs. It seemed that after their raft broke up, Ouyang Feng and his nephew had clung onto the logs until now.
“Let him swear an oath never to harm anybody else, then we will rescue him,” Huang Rong said.
Hong Qigong sighed, “You don’t know the Old Poison’s character; he would rather die than surrender. He won’t make that kind of promise. Jing’er, rescue them.”
Guo Jing bent down and grabbed Ouyang Ke’s collar and lifted him up onto the raft. Hong Qigong was eager to help and he forgot his martial arts were gone. He held out his hand and Ouyang Feng took it. He wanted to borrow strength and leap to the raft; but because of his pull Hong Qigong fell unexpectedly into the sea with a splash. Guo Jing and Huang Rong were shocked; they immediately jumped into the sea and saved Hong Qigong. Huang Rong angrily scolded Ouyang Feng, “My Master has a good heart and wanted to rescue you; how could you drag him into the sea like that?”
Ouyang Feng now knew Hong Qigong had lost his martial arts; otherwise, how could his simple pull make a martial arts expert fall into the sea? But he had been immersed in the water for several days and he was extremely weary. He did not dare to look at them; he lowered his head and said, “I ... I did not mean to. Brother Qi [Qi Xiong], please don’t blame your brother.”
Hong Qigong laughed heartily, “Well said, well said. But now the Old Beggar’s real skills are known to you,” he said.
“Good Miss,” Ouyang Feng said, “Could you spare something for us to eat? We haven’t eaten for several days.”
Huang Rong replied, “We only have food and water enough for three people on this raft. I can give you some, but what do we eat?”
“Very well,” Ouyang Feng said, “Please give a little bit of food to my nephew then; his legs are severely injured and he won’t survive without food.”
“In that case let’s make a deal,” Huang Rong said, “Your viper injured my Master; he has not recovered. Give him the antidote.”
Ouyang Feng groped in his pocket and produced two vials; handing them over to her and said, “Miss, please take a look; the vials were submerged in the water and the antidote has been washed out!”
Huang Rong took the vials, shook them, and sniffed them; the vials really were filled with seawater. “In that case, tell us ingredients for the antidote; as soon as we are ashore we can prepare some.”
“If I wanted to swindle you, I could just tell you some ingredients and you wouldn’t know if it is genuine or fake; but how can Ouyang Feng be that kind of person?” Then he said, “Let me tell you the truth: my vipers are the most poisonous in the world; nothing can match their lethalness. If one is bitten, although you won’t die immediately due to one’s excellence in martial arts, within sixty-four days half of your body will be paralyzed and you will be an invalid for the rest of your life. I have no problem about giving you the antidote ingredients, but not only are the ingredients hard to find, it also requires processing for three successive winters and summers. By the time the antidote is ready, I am afraid it will be much too late. I have told you the truth; if you still want to take my life that is entirely up to you.”
Huang Rong and Guo Jing listened to him and secretly admired him; they thought, “Although this man is evil and cruel, in a matter of life and death he did not lose his honor as the grand master of his martial arts school.”
“Rong’er,” Hong Qigong said, “He is telling the truth. A man’s life has been decided by fate; the Old Beggar has nothing to be worried about. You give them something to eat.”
Inwardly Huang Rong’s heart was crushed and she knew her master would not recover from his injury. Silently she took a roasted wild goat leg and tossed it towards Ouyang Feng. Ouyang Feng first tore some meat off for his nephew before he took a big bite and chewed the meat.
Huang Rong said co
ldly, “Uncle Ouyang, you have injured my master; at the second Sword Meet of Mount Hua you will be the winner amongst the heroes. Let me be the first to congratulate you.”
“That is not necessarily true,” Ouyang Feng replied, “There is at least one other person in this whole wide world who can heal Brother Qi’s injury.”
Guo Jing and Huang Rong jumped up in shock so that the raft leaned to one side. They both asked in unison, “Is that true?”
While biting the goat leg Ouyang Feng said, “But it is very difficult to ask this person to help. Your Master also knows about it.”
The two’s eyes turned to their master. Hong Qigong smiled, “You know it is difficult.. .why did you mention it?”
Huang Rong tugged her master’s sleeve, asking for an explanation, “Master, tell us. Even if it is difficult, we still have to try. I will ask my father to help; surely he’ll find a way.” Ouyang Feng snorted softly. “What are you snorting about?” Huang Rong said. Ouyang Feng did not answer.
Hong Qigong said, “He was laughing at you for thinking your father is all powerful. Finding that person is not a small matter, so how could your father convince that person to help?”
Huang Rong was astonished, “That person! Who is that person?”
Hong Qigong continued, “Let’s not talk about that person’s high level of martial arts skills. Even if he was so weak that he couldn’t even kill a chicken, the Old Beggar will never harm someone to benefit myself.”
Huang Rong hesitantly said, “High level of martial arts skills? Ah! I know. He is the Southern Emperor, Emperor Duan. Master, let’s ask him to heal your injury, how does that harm others to benefit yourself?”
“Go to sleep and don’t ask any more questions! I forbid you to bring up this matter again. Understand?” Hong Qigong said. Huang Rong did not dare to say more. She was afraid Ouyang Feng might steal their food, so she leaned against the food basket and slept.
Waking early the next morning Huang Rong looked at Ouyang Feng and his nephew; she jumped in fright because their complexions were very pale and their bodies swollen from being in seawater these past several days.