by Jin Yong
Everyone clearly saw Huang Rong board the small boat just minutes ago; now they heard Venerable Lingzhi deceiving this man and taking pleasure from another’s misfortune. Even as they watched Huang Yaoshi’s grieving face, nobody made a sound.
Venerable Lingzhi coldly continued, “Beside that young lady’s body I saw three other corpses; one was of a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, the other one was an old beggar with a scarlet wine gourd on his back, and the last one was a white haired old man.” He was describing Guo Jing, Hong Qigong and Zhou Botong.
Reaching this point Huang Yaoshi’s doubts were completely gone. He squinted at Ouyang Feng, thinking, “You knew about my daughter so why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Ouyang Feng noticed his look and realized his grief had reached its peak so he began to have murderous intent. Although he himself would not suffer a loss, the oncoming force would not be easy to resist. He quickly said, “Brother has just come on board this boat today and it is the first
672 Eagle Shooting Hero time I met these people. When this Reverend saw some floating corpses, your daughter was not necessarily amongst them.” Sighing, he continued, “Your beloved daughter is such a good girl; it is very regrettable if she really died at such a young age. If my nephew found out, he would die of heartbreak.” This speech shifted the blame from his shoulders, but clearly did not offend either side.
After listening to Ouyang Feng, Huang Yaoshi was in total shock; his heart sank in an instant. He was the type who loved to vent his anger on others; if it were otherwise, then when the Twin Killers of the Dark Winds stole his manual, why did he break Lu Chengfeng and his other innocent disciples’ legs and expel them from his school? His chest felt icy-cold, but his blood was boiling, just like when his beloved wife died some years ago. His hands were trembling and his face changed from snow white to crimson red alternately.
Everybody looked at him in silence and their hearts were filled with unspeakable fear. Even Ouyang Feng was anxious; he gathered his ‘qi’ in his ‘dan tian’, his whole body alert, ready to take any attack. The entire boat was unusually quiet. Suddenly Huang Yaoshi let out a long laugh, sounding like a never ending dragon’s roar.
This latest development took everybody by surprise and they were startled. They saw him facing skyward, laughing wildly and getting louder and louder. His laughter caused a chill in the air; those who listened to it felt more and more miserable. Gradually the laughter turned into weeping, a very sad weeping. The people could not bear it any longer; they felt like they shared his grief and were about to shed tears as well.
Ouyang Feng was the only one who knew his temperament well and knew that he used to sing and cry for no specific reason, hence he was not affected. But listening to him weeping so miserably he thought, “If he keeps crying like this, the Old Heretic Huang will inevitably injure himself. In past days Ruan Ji mourned the death of his mother and in doing so vomited a lot of blood. The Old Heretic Huang could experience the same fate as that person from the past. It was a pity my iron zither was lost when my boat sank, otherwise I could have played it and made his crying more interesting. This man has an unusual character; once he unleashes his uncontrolled emotions he will most likely suffer a serious internal injury. When it’s time for the second Sword Meet of Mount Hua I will surely miss a worthy and formidable opponent. Ay! What a great loss! What a pity, what a pity!”
After crying for a while Huang Yaoshi lifted his jade flute and struck the rail of the boat while singing, “Why did God make someone’s life so short? Why did someone die when all the hair on his head turned white, while the other died because of disaster or child-birth. The previous calamity had not yet passed, when the new one has come along. Morning had just blossomed, but the evening has already come, the dew came with the dawn and evaporated immediately. The departed cannot be pursued, the emotion suddenly fails. The high heaven does not have stairs; to whom shall I pour out my complaints to?”
With a ‘Crack!’ the jade flute was broken in two. Without turning his head Huang Yaoshi walked to the bow. Venerable Lingzhi dashed forward to block him and coldly said, “You wept and you laughed like a madman, what do you think you are doing?”
“Reverend, don’t ...” Wanyan Honglie called out, but before he finished, Huang Yaoshi’s right hand stretched out and grabbed Venerable Lingzhi’s neck. Turning him midair until his feet were
facing upward Huang Yaoshi threw him down and his fat bald head penetrated the deck up to his shoulders.
It seems that in the martial arts Venerable Lingzhi practiced, his neck was his weakest point. As soon as he made his move, a highly skilled martial artist like Ouyang Feng, Zhou Botong and Huang Yaoshi could immediately see this flaw and attack his weakest point.
Huang Yaoshi continued singing, “The sky’s eternal, the earth unchanging, how long will a man live? The past, the future, everything passes unawares; there is a time for everything.” A dark green shadow flashed and he had already moved to his own boat, turned the rudder and sailed away.
The people on board were about to rescue Venerable Lingzhi who remained motionless; they did not know if he was alive or dead. Then suddenly they heard a grunt and the deck hatch opened and out came a young man. He was handsome, with red lips and white teeth, and a face like crown jade; it was Wanyan Honglie’s son, Yang Kang, who’s former name was Wanyan Kang.
After having a disagreement with Mu Nianci he kept remembering Wanyan Honglie’s words, ‘unlimited riches and honor’; soon after he contacted a Jin government office in the north to get information about him. Not long after, he found his father and thus accompanied him to the south. When Guo Jing and Huang Rong came onboard, he caught a glimpse of them and immediately hid inside the cabin, not daring to come out. He only peeked through a crack in the cabin’s door and from there he clearly saw everything that happened on the deck. When the people were eating and drinking he was afraid Ouyang Feng was Guo Jing’s accomplice. He hid in the boat’s hold and eavesdropped on the conversations at the banquet table, trying to find out Ouyang Feng’s real intentions. Only after Huang Yaoshi left did he finally decide that he had nothing to worry about, so he opened the hatch-cover and came out.
Venerable Lingzhi’s fall was truly severe; fortunately, due to his hard training, his head was strong. He’d made a hole in the deck, but his head was not injured and he was only a little bit dizzy. He calmed himself and pushed with both hands on the deck to heave his body up and stood.
The people looked at the round hole in the deck and then looked at each other in amazement. They thought it was funny, but felt it was inappropriate to laugh, so they kept their faces straight, but looked very awkward.
Wanyan Honglie broke the silence by saying, “Son, meet Mr. Ouyang.”
Yang Kang immediately knelt in front of Ouyang Feng and kowtowed to him four times. This was a very big honor, surprising everyone. At the Zhao Palace Yang Kang had felt great admiration towards Venerable Lingzhi; but today he had seen Ouyang Feng, Zhou Botong and Huang Yaoshi, one after another, grab his neck and toss him back and forth like he was a baby. Only then did he realize there was a sky above the sky and there was another man above a man. He recalled the disgrace of being held captive at Cloud Manor on Lake Tai, and of when he was afraid of and lost his nerve to fight Guo Jing and Huang Rong at the Liu ancestral hall in Baoying.. .all because his skill was inferior to others. Now there was a man with very high skills in front of him and he wanted to take him as his master. After paying Ouyang Feng such respect he turned to Wanyan Honglie and said, “Father, your son wants to take this gentleman as my master.”
Wanyan Honglie was delighted, quickly he stepped forward and bowed in respect to Ouyang Feng, saying, “My young child likes to learn martial arts, only he has not yet met a suitable master. If Sir
674 Eagle Shooting Hero does not refuse this request and is willing to bestow instructions, Little Prince and son will be forever grateful.”
The others thought that bei
ng the young prince’s master was the wish of all of them; who would have thought that Ouyang Feng would simply return the greeting and say, “There has always been a rule in the Old Man’s martial arts school that our knowledge will be bestowed on one disciple only and no one else. The Old Man has already taken my nephew as my disciple; I can’t take another one. For this I beg the Prince’s forgiveness.”
Seeing that Ouyang Feng did not grant his request Wanyan Honglie did not press the issue. He ordered his men to prepare more food and wine. Yang Kang, on the other hand, was quite disappointed.
Ouyang Feng smiled and said, “I don’t deserve to be the young prince’s master, but it will not be difficult for the Old Man to give you some pointers on martial arts. We will talk about it later.”
Yang Kang had seen Ouyang Ke’s many concubines and they had received instructions in martial arts from him; but because they were not his disciples their skills were nothing extraordinary. Listening to the way Ouyang Feng said it, he was not in the least enthusiastic, but his mouth was obliged to utter some grateful words. He had not realized that Ouyang Feng’s skill was not to be compared with his nephew’s; receiving one or two instructions on martial arts from an expert of Ouyang Feng’s caliber would give him sufficient skill to boost his power and prestige among the heroes of the Wulin world.
Ouyang Feng noticed his expression and realized his intention to give instructions was not very well received; he never raised this matter again.
During the banquet they talked about Huang Yaoshi’s arrogance and rudeness; they praised Venerable Lingzhi for fooling him so well. Hou Tonghai said, “That man’s martial art’s skills are truly high and it turns out that stinky girl is his daughter; no wonder her ways are crafty.” While saying that he turned his attention towards Venerable Lingzhi’s bald head. After staring for a while he turned his gaze toward Lingzhi’s fat neck, and then he used his right arm to grab his own neck. “Hey, hey,” he mocked and asked, “Shige [Older Martial Brother], those three used a grabbing skill, what kind of technique was that?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Sha Tongtian rebuked him.
Venerable Lingzhi could not hold his patience any longer and he stretched out his left hand to grab the three carbuncles on Hou Tonghai’s forehead. Hou Tonghai quickly shrank his body and slid under the table. Everybody laughed and cheered.
Hou Tonghai reappeared in his chair and said to Ouyang Feng, “Master Ouyang, your martial arts skill is very high indeed! How about you teach me the skill of grabbing someone’s fat neck?” Ouyang Feng smiled but did not answer. Venerable Lingzhi glared at Hou Tonghai.
Hou Tonghai turned his head and asked again, “Shige, that Huang Yaoshi was crying and singing; what was he saying?”
Sha Tongtian glowered at him, not knowing how to answer. “Who cares about the gibbering of a madman?” he said.
Yang Kang explained, “What he sang was a poem written by Cao Zijian of the Three Kingdoms period. Cao Zijian composed two stanzas of lamentations because of his daughter’s death. In the poem he said how some people live until the hair on their heads had turned completely white, while some children died prematurely. He questioned why God was so unfair? He hated the fact that Heaven was so high and without stairs so that he could not ascend to God’s throne to cry out his complaints. He finally said that his grief was so deep that the day he would follow her to the grave would not be far away.”
The warriors immediately heaped him with praise, and said, “The Young Prince is truly a scholar and highly educated. We are rough men; how would we know?”
Huang Yaoshi’s heart was filled with grief and indignation. He pointed his finger to the sky and scolded the heaven, cursed ghosts and blamed divine beings for treating him unjustly, for all his sorrows and unfair fate. He commanded his boat towards the mainland. Once he was ashore his anger flamed again. He looked up to the sky and shouted, “Who killed my Rong’er? Who killed my Rong’er?”
Suddenly a thought came into his mind, “It’s that boy surnamed Guo. That’s right, it was him. If not for him, why would Rong’er go aboard that boat? But that boy died alongside Rong’er; who should I unleash my anger on?”
As soon as he had this thought, he remembered Guo Jing’s masters, the Six Freaks of Jiangnan. “Those six are the guiltiest of killing my Rong’er! If they hadn’t taught that Guo kid, how would he have met Rong’er? I won’t be appeased until I cut off their arms and legs one by one.”
As his anger increased, his sorrow decreased somewhat. He arrived at a small town and stopped for some food, while still thinking deeply about how he would pursue the Six Freaks of Jiangnan. “The Six Freaks’ martial arts skills are not high, but their reputations are not low. Perhaps they have something that sets them above everybody else, or perhaps they only use deceit. If I pay a visit to their residence and inquire, chances are I am not going to find them. I must go in the middle of the night and break into their houses. Then I will wipe them and their families clean, young and old alike.” Then he took big strides walking north towards Jiaxing.
End of Chapter 22.
Chapter 23 - Big Trouble in the Imperial Palace
Translated by Daniel Shultz., Bluebook & Frans Soetomo
While they talked they arrived at the Broken Bridge by the West Lake. Because it was summer what they saw was lotus under the bridge. Huang Rong saw a neat little wine shop by the lakeside. “Let’s drink a cup of wine and enjoy the lotus,” she said. “Very good,” Guo Jing agreed.
Hong Qigong, Zhou Botong, Huang Rong and Guo Jing took a small boat to the west. Guo Jing rowed at the stern, while Huang Rong continuously pestered Zhou Botong with questions about riding sharks on the sea. Zhou Botong devised ways of catching sharks to amuse Huang Rong.
Guo Jing, observing his master’s pale complexion, asked “Master, what are you thinking about?” Hong Qigong did not reply as he hoarsely took small breaths again and again. The strike he received from Ouyang Feng had penetrated to the bone. Although the acupoint had already been unsealed, the internal injury had actually worsened. Huang Rong fed him nine ‘Nine Flower Jade Dew Pills’. Although the pain lessened somewhat, his breathing was just as bad as before. The Old Urchin, with complete disregard for the suffering of others, continued to make a ruckus and shouted that they must catch a shark. Huang Rong knew his behavior was inappropriate and tried signaling him with her eyes to be quite and not disturb Hong Qigong.
Zhou Botong, not understanding in the least, simply continued to cause a disturbance. Huang Rong frowned and said, “You want to catch sharks, but you don’t have any bait to attract them, so what are you going on about?”
The Old Urchin never acted like a respected senior. When juniors drink and swear in front of him, he’s never offended in the least. He suddenly said, “Got it! Brother Guo, I’ll hold your hands while you dip the lower half of your body into the sea.”
Guo Jing respected his sworn brother and even though he did not know his intentions, he quickly agreed. Huang Rong, just as quickly, called out, “Jing ge ge! Don’t listen to him! He wants to use you as bait to catch sharks.”
Zhou Botong clapped his hands and shouted happily, “Exactly! When a shark comes, I’ll immediately whack it and pull it up! Or you could hold my hands and I’ll attract the sharks.”
Huang Rong replied, “You two are causing so much trouble on this small boat and if it capsizes, we’ll have you to blame!”
Zhou Botong replied, “If the boat capsizes, that will be great! Then we can all play in the sea!”
Huang Rong replied, “And what about our Master? Do you want him to live or not?”
Zhou Botong held his head, at a loss for words. After a short time, he said that it was strange that Hong Qigong should be injured by Ouyang Feng’s attack. Huang Rong shouted, “If you talk nonsense again, the three of us will not speak to you for three days and three nights!” Zhou Botong stuck out his tongue but did not dare to say another word. He grabbed an oar to help Guo Jing with the rowing.
Although land appeared to be close by, it was already dusk by the time they finally disembarked. That night the four of them slept on the sandy beach. The next morning, Hong Qigong’s illness had worsened considerably and Guo Jing began to cry.
Hong Qigong said with a smile, “Even if I were to live for another hundred years, I’d still have to die in the end. Good child, I only have one wish left. Using this old beggar’s last breath, I would ask that the three of you do something for me.”
Huang Rong replied tearfully, “Master, please tell us.”
Zhou Botong interrupted, “That ‘Old Poison’ is a disgrace. Because of him old Senior is at the point of death. Before he died, my martial brother had to fake his death because of Old Poison. One person had to die twice.. .isn’t he satisfied? Old Beggar, you go right ahead and die and don’t worry about a thing. I will go and kill him to get revenge for you.”
Hong Qigong replied with a smile, “Avenging a grievance cannot be considered a final wish. What I want is to eat a bowl of minced ‘Five-Treasures Mandarin Duck’ from the Imperial Palace kitchen.”
Which of the three would have thought that his final wish was for food? Huang Rong replied, “Master, that’s easy. Since we’re not far from Lin’an so I’ll go steal several large pots from the Imperial Palace so that you can eat to your heart’s content.”
Zhou Botong interrupted again, “I also want to eat.”
Huang Rong gave him a displeased look and replied, “Do you also understand how to differentiate between good and bad food?”
Hong Qigong said, “The minced ‘Five-Treasures Mandarin Duck’ is hard to come by. Back in the day I hid in the Imperial Palace for three months and only managed to try a tiny bit. Just recalling the flavor is enough to make one drool.”
Zhou Botong said, “I have an idea, We’ll grab the old emperor’s chef and make him prepare it.”