Legend of Condor Heroes Book 3

by Jin Yong

  “See!” Zhou Botong said, “Even a young miss is afraid of your smelly fart. Alright, I’ll let you go this time. I was not going to ask you to do a difficult thing anyway; quickly tend to the Old Beggar’s injury. The Old Beggar’s skill is not less than yours; if not of your sneakiness, there’s no way you would be able to injure him. After he is healed, the two of you can fight again. At that time let the Old Urchin be the judge.”

  Ouyang Feng knew Hong Qigong’s injury was incurable, so he was not afraid of future retaliation. But he was afraid that Zhou Botong would come up with a more difficult and strange request. Under the scrutiny of numerous people he felt really awkward; he did not want to comply, yet he was too proud not to. Without saying anything he bent down, exerted strength to his palm and unsealed Hong Qigong’s acupoints. Huang Rong and Guo Jing rushed forward to help their master stand.

  Zhou Botong swept his gaze to the other people on the deck, he said, “The Old Urchin is most afraid to smell the urine scent of the sheep eaten by you barbarians. Quickly let down a small boat and send us four people ashore.”

  Ever since he’d seen the fight between Zhou Botong and Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng knew that this man’s martial arts were very strange. If for any reason they had to fight, he was certain he would not be defeated, but scoring a victory was not guaranteed either. He decided to endure things patiently for the time being. He wanted to wait until he had mastered the ‘Nine Yin Manual’, then he would come and settle the account with Zhou Botong. Besides, he had the excuse of losing the bet earlier. When all was said and done, it would be better off to send this annoying plague away, so he made up his mind and said, “Very well, your luck was very good! Since you won the bet, let it be as you said.” Turning his head to Wanyan Honglie he said, “Prince, please let down a boat to take these four people ashore.”

  Wanyan Honglie hesitated as he thought, “I am afraid that as soon as they are ashore, these four will leak my secret mission to the south.”

  All this time the Venerable Lingzhi was watching with his cold eyes. Earlier he had seen Ouyang Feng’s unkempt appearance and his heart was filled with contempt. He thought that this ‘chicken half-drowned in soup’ did not dare to defy even half a word of whatever Zhou Botong told him to do; it seemed likely he enjoyed an unearned reputation. Even if his martial arts were excellent, he would not necessarily be more skillful than the rest of the people on board. Noticing Wanyan Honglie’s slight hesitation, he moved forward two steps and said, “If we were on the raft we would have to comply with Mr. Ouyang wishes; how could other people dare to speak too much? But we are on this boat and we have to listen to the Prince’s instructions.”

  Listening to this, everyone’s heart was stirred and they turned their gaze on Ouyang Feng to see what he was going to do. Ouyang Feng coldly looked the Venerable Lingzhi up and down, sizing him up. He raised his face to the sky and wryly said, “Does this Great Monk deliberately want to make things difficult for this old man?”

  Venerable Lingzhi replied, “I don’t dare. The lowly monk has lived at the edge of Tibet, friendless and ignorant. Today is the very first time I heard Mr. Ouyang’s honorable name. I don’t need to have anything to do with you whatsoever .”

  Before he could finish, Ouyang Feng had moved forward one step; his left hand swiftly made a false move while his right hand deftly grabbed Venerable Lingzhi. With a little effort he turned the monk over and held him upside down. It had happened so fast that all the others saw was Venerable Lingzhi’s red kasaya sway, and then flutter loosely in midair. Nobody saw clearly what technique Ouyang Feng used.

  Venerable Lingzhi was a head taller than anyone else, but Ouyang Feng was able to grab his neck easily. Even if Ouyang Feng lifted his arm up over his head, he would not necessarily be able to lift Lingzhi’s feet off the deck; but when Ouyang Feng turned his body upside down, the top of Lingzhi’s head was actually about four feet above the deck.

  Venerable Lingzhi’s legs were kicking wildly in the air and his mouth let out roaring curses. Everybody had seen Venerable Lingzhi fight Wang Chuyi at the Zhao Palace; they knew his skill was not a trivial matter. But how could he have been turned upside down by Ouyang Feng and held there with his arms flailing weakly beside his head as though the arms were broken and he did not have the strength to struggle free?

  With his eyes still looking upward, Ouyang Feng said dryly, “Today was the first time you heard my name; therefore, you look down on the old man, don’t you?”

  Venerable Lingzhi was both frightened and angry. He tried to exert his internal energy several times, trying to struggle free, but no matter what he did, he was not able to escape. Peng Lianhu and the others had seen what happened and their faces showed amazement.

  Ouyang Feng continued, “You look down on the old man, that’s alright. But I don’t want to stoop to your low level in front of the Honorable Prince. So you want to detain the Old Urchin, Master Zhou and the Nine-fingered Divine Beggar, Master Hong. Heh, heh ... do you think you can rely on your magical skills to match them? You are both friendless and unlearned; it’s no wonder you don’t know much and have not had enough lessons to teach you manners. Old Urchin, take this!”

  Again, nobody saw Ouyang Feng’s hand move; he merely exerted his strength to his palm and Venerable Lingzhi flew like a cloud from the port to the starboard side of the deck. As soon as he

  668 Eagle Shooting Hero felt Ouyang Feng’s palm strength leave his body and he was free, Lingzhi stretched his body like a carp trying to turn his body right side up. Then he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck; he cried out and stretched out his left arm to attack. Again he felt his arm go numb and hang helplessly beside his head. Once again his body was suspended midair. As it turned out, Zhou Botong followed Ouyang Feng’s example and grabbed him by the neck.

  Although Wanyan Honglie understood Lingzhi’s precarious situation, he knew nobody could accuse Ouyang Feng of not giving forewarning. None amongst his warriors had the ability to deal with Zhou Botong, just this one man; hence he hastily said, “Mister Zhou, you don’t have to play any longer, Little Prince will send a boat out to take the four of you ashore.”

  “Very good,” Zhou Botong said, “You can also try to take this!” Following Ouyang Feng’s example, he exerted his strength to his palm and sent the Venerable Lingzhi flying towards the Prince.

  Of course Wanyan Honglie knew martial arts, but his skill was limited to the saber, spear and bow and arrow from horseback. The flying monk from Zhou Botong’s hand carried a swift and strong force; how could he take it? Even if he didn’t die he would certainly suffer a heavy injury; so he hastily stepped aside to avoid him.

  Sha Tongtian knew the Prince was in danger and straight away stepped forward in front of the Prince, trying to protect him. He saw the Venerable Lingzhi coming fast and if he struck with his palm, he might injure the monk. Following Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong’s earlier example, he wanted to grab the monk’s neck, turn him right side up, and then lay him down gently. However, he had forgotten one important detail; namely, his martial arts were way below that of those two people. He had seen Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong, seemingly without effort, grabbing and throwing Venerable Lingzhi’s heavy body. Therefore he leaped up to intercept Lingzhi, stretching his hand to grab his neck. As he touched Venerable Lingzhi’s neck he unexpectedly felt a burning sensation followed by a strong force attacking his hand and wrist. He knew if he did not ward off this attack his wrist would be broken immediately. At this critical moment he quickly withdrew his right hand, while his left fist launched his ‘Splitting Armor Awl’ [po jia zhui].

  What had happened was when Venerable Lingzhi was thrown back and forth between Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong, his blood was flowing adversely, his head was dizzy while his heart burned with anger. He heard Zhou Botong calling out for someone else to take his body; all he knew was that person must be an enemy, so while he was still airborne he had already exerted his strength in anger. As soon as Sha Tongtian’s hand
touched his neck, Venerable Lingzhi’s ‘Big Handprint’ [da shou yin] slashed out.

  In terms of strength these two were on par with each other; Sha Tongtian had the advantage of standing upright, but Venerable Lingzhi had prepared his attack beforehand, and thus caught him off guard. Two equal forces collided; Sha Tongtian was pushed back three steps, but Venerable Lingzhi, also shaken by the collision, fell flat on the deck. He immediately stood up and saw that the person he thought attacked him was Sha Tongtian; he thought, “Even you, a stinky thief, want to take advantage of me!” With a loud roar he pounced forward.

  Peng Lianhu knew he misunderstood the situation and hastily stepped in between the two people, calling out, “Reverend, please don’t get angry, Brother Sha only had good intentions.”

  In the meantime the small boat had been lowered. Zhou Botong grabbed the stick inside the shark’s mouth; he lifted and hurled the huge shark into the sea while simultaneously exerting his strength and breaking the stick into two parts. As it splashed into the sea, the shark felt the stick in its mouth had been broken and was very happy. It dove deep into the water to hunt for some fish.

  Huang Rong smiled, “Jing ge ge, later on the two of us and Big Brother Zhou can ride sharks together and we can have a race.” Guo Jing did not answer but Zhou Botong clapped his hands and cheered. He said, “We can ask the Old Beggar to be our judge.”

  After watching Zhou Botong and the others leave on the small boat, Wanyan Honglie started to think. With his kind of martial arts, Ouyang Feng would provide valuable assistance in his plan to steal the book. He took Venerable Lingzhi’s hand and walked towards Ouyang Feng. “Everyone here are good friends and I hope Sir was not offended; I am sure Reverend was not serious. I wish both gentlemen to give Little Prince face and consider everything as a joke,” he said.

  Ouyang Feng smiled and extended his hand. Venerable Lingzhi, on the other hand, was still upset. He mused, “You only used the seizing technique [qin na] and caught me off guard. I have trained painstakingly for dozens of years to develop my ‘Big Handprint’ power; do you think I am inferior to you?” Then he also stretched out his hand while sending energy to his palm with the intention of gripping Ouyang Feng’s palm hard. Just as he was about to exert his strength he suddenly jumped away. He felt as though he was touching red-hot steel and his hand was in so much pain that he dropped it in a hurry. Ouyang Feng did not want to pursue the matter so he faintly smiled. Venerable Lingzhi looked at his hand and did not see anything unusual and thought, “Damn it, this old thief surely knows some demonical tricks.”

  Ouyang Feng noticed Liang Ziweng was still lying on the deck, unmoving. He came to examine him. Ouyang Feng knew that Liang Ziweng was pushed into the sea by Guo Jing and intercepted by Zhou Botong, who sealed his acupoints and threw him back onto the boat. He unsealed Liang Ziweng’s acupoints and, there and then, Ouyang Feng became the leader of this group of warriors.

  Wanyan Honglie immediately ordered a banquet to welcome Ouyang Feng and his nephew. While drinking wine Wanyan Honglie explained to Ouyang Feng his plan to go to Lin’an and steal the ‘Wumu Legacy’ while at the same time asking his willingness to help. Ouyang Feng actually had heard about this matter from his nephew but this time his heart was stirred. Suddenly a thought came into his mind, “What kind of man do you think I, Ouyang Feng, am? How can I submit to you? But I heard that not only was Yue Fei’s military skill divine, his martial arts skill was also superb. I also heard that the Yue Family’s martial arts had been lost to the martial art world. Perhaps in his legacy there is a martial arts manual as well as the military strategies. I will agree to help him get the book and if I like what I see.. .can’t the Old Poison get what he wants?”

  It was a case of: You cheat and I am crafty.it’s everyone for himself. Wanyan Honglie wholeheartedly wanted the book to help him defeat the Great Song. It is said that while the praying mantis was hunting for the cicada, the yellow canary caught it from behind. Ouyang Feng had a different idea to top his. Therefore, while one man heaped flattering words, the other’s mouth was full of compliance. In addition, Liang Ziweng did his utmost to be a good host and the banquet table was overflowing with wine. The guests and the hosts were having a good time. Only Ouyang Ke, who was still in pain from his injury, did not drink anything, but only ate some dishes. Then he asked the crew to help him to the rear cabin to rest.

  While they were eating and drinking in a lively manner, Ouyang Feng’s countenance suddenly changed. The cup stopped at his mouth and he did not drink. Everyone was startled; nobody knew what had offended him. Wanyan Honglie was about to ask when Ouyang Feng said, “Listen!”

  Everybody inclined their heads to listen, but other than the wind and the waves of the sea, they did not hear anything. A moment later Ouyang Feng asked again, “Do you hear it this time? It’s a flute’s sound.” Everybody listened attentively with rapt attention and now they could hear, amidst the sound of the waves, the faint sound of a bamboo flute, sometimes broken, sometimes continuous. Nobody would have heard it if Ouyang Feng had not pointed it out.

  Ouyang Feng walked to the bow; there he let out a long whistle and the sound traveled far. By now everybody else had arrived at the bow. They saw in the distance a light boat with three green sails, cutting the waves and coming fast towards their boat. They were inwardly astonished, “Is the flute sound coming from that boat? It’s very far away.. .how could the sound travel here?”

  Ouyang Feng ordered the sailors to turn the rudder to intercept that fast boat. Two boats gradually came closer to each other. On the bow of that fast boat stood a man wearing a long dark green robe and in his hand was indeed a flute. He called out loudly, “Brother Feng, have you seen my daughter?”

  “Your daughter has a very strong temperament, how would I dare to provoke her?” Ouyang Feng replied.

  Two boats were several zhang apart and nobody saw that man move his body and jump, yet they saw a blurred shadow and that man was already standing on the big boat’s deck.

  As Wanyan Honglie saw his marvelous skill and his desire to recruit warriors arose; he stepped forward to welcome the guest, saying, “What is your surname, Sir? I am very fortunate to receive your visit.” Considering his lofty position as a prince of the Great Jin, he was being unusually modest. Upon seeing he was wearing a Jin official’s costume, that man only gave him a blank stare, apparently not paying any attention to him.

  Seeing the prince not getting the attention he deserved Ouyang Feng said, “Brother Yao, let me present to you the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Prince Zhao.” To Wanyan Honglie he said, “This is the Master of Peach Blossom Island, the number one martial artist in the world; his knowledge is unparalleled.”

  Peng Lianhu and the others were so shocked that they involuntarily withdrew several steps. They knew from the start that Huang Rong’s father was a very fierce devil and the Twin Killers of the Dark Winds were his renegade disciples and were able to shake Jianghu with their might. The faces of the people of the Wulin world would change color whenever their names were mentioned. If the disciples were that fierce, how much more so would be their master? He has appeared here to create trouble for sure, they thought, and everyone remembered that they had offended his daughter. Therefore, everyone’s heart was filled with fear and nobody dared to make a sound.

  When his daughter ran away, Huang Yaoshi knew she must be looking for Guo Jing. Initially he was angry and ignored her. But a few days later he became worried; he was afraid she would find Guo Jing on the special ship he built and they’d go down to the bottom of the sea together. He was worried to death for his daughter, so he decided to go out to sea and search for her.

  Knowing they were returning to the mainland, he decided to head to the west. But looking for a boat on a boundless sea was truly easier said than done. Even though Huang Yaoshi possessed extraordinary intelligence, after searching back and forth he did find any trace of her. On this particular day backed by his strong internal energy he played his flu
te at the bow of his boat, with the hope that his daughter would hear and respond. Unexpectedly it was Ouyang Feng who responded.

  Huang Yaoshi, Peng Lianhu and the others did not know each other. Hearing Ouyang Feng say that this person was a prince of the Jin, he did not want to stay any longer; he cupped his fists across his chest and said to Ouyang Feng, “Brother needs to continue my search for my daughter; I apologize for not accompanying you longer.” Then he turned around to leave.

  Venerable Lingzhi had been angered by Ouyang Feng and Zhou Botong, and now another extremely arrogant and impolite person had come on board. He heard what Ouyang Feng had said, but he thought, “Could it be that there are so many highly skilled people in this world? Most likely these people know some witchcraft and deceive others with their demonical abilities. Let me try and perhaps I can deceive him as well.” Seeing Huang Yaoshi was about to leave he said with a loud voice, “Are you looking for a fifteen or sixteen years old young lady?”

  Huang Yaoshi paused and turned around with a happy expression on his face, “Yes Reverend, did you see her?”

  Venerable Lingzhi coldly replied, “I did see a young lady, but the one I saw was a dead one, not a live one.”

  Huang Yaoshi’s heart turned cold, “What?” he asked quickly, his voice was trembling.

  Venerable Lingzhi replied, “About three days ago I saw the body of a young girl floating on the surface of the sea. She was wearing white clothes and a gold ring in her hair; originally her face must have been very pretty. Ay! What a pity, what a pity! What a pity her body was swollen by the seawater.” He had accurately described Huang Rong’s clothing and adornments.

  Huang Yaoshi’s mind was greatly troubled; his body shook and his face turned pale. A moment later he asked, “Are you telling me the truth?”