by Jin Yong
Huang Rong realized this kind of treatment was similar to the meditation for cultivating someone’s martial arts. Before reaching a satisfactory result, one cannot experience any external interruptions. Otherwise, the mind would be disturbed with bad thoughts or would go out of control. Unavoidably the result would be a fire deviation and not only would the whole energy cultivation be wasted, but at the very least the person could suffer an injury or even die. That is the reason warriors who cultivate internal energy will find a secluded and uninhabited mountain or field, or at least close their doors and not leave, and have a skilled and powerful master or friend protecting them from the sidelines to prevent their training going astray.
She thought, “With this short notice it’s difficult to find a peaceful and quiet place and I am the only one who can help him treat his injury. It’s impossible to rely on Sha Gu to guard against external disturbances. She could even come and create endless disturbances herself. If only Big Brother Zhou would come back. But even then I don’t think he will be able to focus his mind on guarding us for seven days and seven nights. Success won’t be guaranteed and more than likely, things will go wrong. What should I do?” She mused over this matter for a long time. Then she glanced over at the iron bowl in the cabinet. An idea came into her mind, “I’ve got it. We can hide inside the secret room. In the past Mei Chaofeng practiced martial arts without anybody protecting her. Didn’t she hide herself in a cave?”
It was now dawn. Sha Gu went to the kitchen and cooked some rice porridge for the two to eat. “Jing ge ge,” Huang Rong said. “Wait here for a moment. I am going to buy some food and then we can start your treatment immediately.”
She thought that with the weather being blisteringly hot, if she cooked some rice and dishes, they would definitely spoil if kept in the room for seven days and nights. She went to the village market to buy a picul [approximately 50 kg or 100 lbs] of watermelons.
The farmer who sold the watermelons brought everything back to Sha Gu’s inn and stacked them on the floor. On the way out after being paid he said, “Our Ox Village’s watermelons are sweet and crispy. Once Miss tastes them, you will agree with me.”
On hearing the words ‘Ox Village’ [niu jia cun], Huang Rong’s heart skipped a beat. “So it turns out this is Ox Village,” she said to herself. “This is Jing ge ge’s hometown.” She was afraid that if Guo Jing found out his mind would be disturbed and therefore, she replied noncommittally.
She waited until the villager went out before going to the hidden chamber. Guo Jing was asleep and blood no longer seeped out through the cotton cloth wrapped around his waist. Huang Rong opened the cabinet, turned the iron bowl to open the secret chamber’s door, and took the watermelons inside one by one. Then only one thing remained outside.. .Sha Gu. Huang Rong had repeatedly warned Sha Gu not to tell anybody that they would be staying inside the chamber. No matter what kind of earth shattering things happened, she was not supposed to call out from outside.
Sha Gu did not understand her intentions, but seeing Huang Rong’s serious expression, she said she understood and repeatedly nodded her head. “You want to eat watermelons inside and you don’t want anybody to know. After you finish eating watermelons, you will come back out again. Sha Gu will not tell.”
Huang Rong was happy. “If Sha Gu doesn’t tell, Sha Gu is a good girl,” she said. “If Sha Gu tells, Sha Gu is a bad girl.”
“Sha Gu won’t tell.. .Sha Gu is a good girl,” Sha Gu said repeatedly.
Huang Rong fed Guo Jing another big bowl of rice porridge and ate one herself. Then she helped him enter the secret chamber. As she was closing the door from the inside, she saw Sha Gu’s simple face showing a smile. Sha Gu said, “Sha Gu won’t tell.”
Suddenly Huang Rong’s heart fluttered. “This girl is so dumb and what if every time she meet someone she says, ‘Those two eat watermelons inside the cabinet, but Sha Gu won’t tell?’ The only way to ensure our safety is to kill her.”
She grew up under the influence of her father. Benevolence and justice, the differences between good and evil didn’t matter to them. Although she knew that Sha Gu had a very close relationship with Qu Lingfeng, right at that moment she presented a danger to Guo Jing’s life. Even if there were a dozen Sha Gus, she would kill them all.
She took the dagger from Guo Jing’s waist and walked out of the room.
Chapter 24 - Healing in the Secret Room
Translated by Frans Soetomo
Sha Gu walked over to Liang Ziweng and said, “You hit my nose, I must hit your nose. You hit me once; I must pay you back three times.” Her fist went straight to his nose.
Huang Rong had walked two steps before she turned her head and saw Guo Jing’s suspicious expression, as if he could see the murderous look on her face. She thought, “I don’t have a problem with killing Sha Gu, but Jing ge ge might ask me about it later. He might not ask me now, he might not even raise this matter.. .ever, but in his heart he might harbor hatred towards me and that won’t be good. All right, we’ll just have to take this huge risk.” She closed the door immediately and then looked around the room carefully.
In the western corner, near the roof of that small room, there was a small ventilation window about one foot square where the sunlight entered the room through a sheet of clamshell curtain. It was by this light that they were able to see everything inside the room. The ventilation hole was dusty, so Huang Rong took ut her dagger and cleaned it out. The bad smell in the room still lingered, but they did not seem to notice it. In light of the life and death experiences they’d faced earlier, the smelly, dusty room felt like a sanctuary to them.
Guo Jing leaned against the wall, smiled slightly and said, “There is no better place for us to treat my injury than in this room. Unfortunately we are accompanied by two dead people. Are you afraid?”
Inside, Huang Rong was actually frightened, but she was determined not to think about it. She said with a smile, “One was my older Martial Brother [shige], he certainly won’t harm me, and the other was a rice bucket government official. Alive he wouldn’t scare me and by becoming a ghost he would scare me even less.” She immediately kicked the pair of skeletons towards the northern corner of the room. She took the straw mat covering the watermelons, spread it out on the floor, and then she piled the watermelons around it within arm’s reach. “What do you think?” she asked.
“Very good,” Guo Jing replied. “Now we can start.”
Huang Rong helped him sit down on the straw mat and she sat cross-legged to his left. When she raised her head she saw a small peep-hole the size of a coin in the wall right in front of her. She looked through it and to her delight she saw a mirror in which she could see the entire room outside. Apparently the people who built this secret room had planned it well. When they were hiding from enemies inside this room, they could still observe the activities outside in the mirror. It had been unused for a long time and the mirror was covered with a thick layer of dust. She took out a handkerchief, wrapped it around her index finger, and poked it through the hole to clean the mirror. She saw Sha Gu sitting on the floor throwing pebbles while humming a tune. Huang Rong could not hear clearly what she was humming, so she pressed her ear to the hole to listen. It seemed Sha Gu was humming a lullaby: “Swing, swing, swing; swing to the Grandmother’s bridge. Grandmother calls me the precious baby .”
It was strange, but the more she listened, the more she felt the touching emotions that song carried. Her heart overflowed with tender affection. She could not help but wonder: “Could this song be the one her mother sang to her when she was little .? If my mother had not died, would she have sung to me like this?” Thinking of this, her eyes became moist.
Guo Jing saw her sad expression and said, “What are you thinking? My injury is not that bad.. .don’t feel so sad.”
Huang Rong moved her hand to wipe away tears and said, “Quickly teach me the internal energy cultivation technique.” Thereupon Guo Jing started to slowly recite the ‘Tr
eating Injuries’ chapter from the ‘Nine Yin Manual’.
Eagle Shooting Hero 711
There was a saying amongst martial arts practitioners: ‘Learn how to take a beating first before learning how to beat someone.’ Therefore, the most basic lesson in martial arts was how to take a beating without getting seriously injured. When the martial arts became more profound, the practitioner must learn how to protect their own body and their life by sealing acupoints to treat an injury, set broken bones, cure poison, treat wounds, and many other kinds of advanced techniques. Better techniques would result in better skills and it did not matter if one’s martial arts skills were unmatched, there would come a day when he would fall. The ‘Treating Injuries’ portion of the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ explained how a highly skilled martial artist could use his own internal energy to treat an injury and how to circulate his own and other’s internal energy for treating internal injuries. As for broken bones, weapon-inflicted wounds or other external injury treatments, it was assumed that the person who practiced the ‘Manual’ did not need further instructions.
Huang Rong needed to listen to something once and she would remember forever. There were several unclear passages in the ‘Manual’, which they needed to discuss in detail. One had a strong foundation in the Quanzhen Sect’s internal energy cultivation and the other had extraordinary intelligence. With some deliberation, they were able to grasp almost everything. Huang Rong held out her right hand, clasped Guo Jing’s left, and they started to train diligently according to the techniques in the ‘Manual’.
After training for four hours they took a short break. Taking her knife in her left hand, Huang Rong cut up a watermelon. She fed some to Guo Jing, while her right hand still clasped Guo Jing’s left. After training for several hours, the tightness in Guo Jing’s chest gradually decreased as the warm energy from Huang Rong’s palm slowly dispersed into his bones. The pain in his side also gradually reduced. He thought the techniques contained in the manual were truly incomparable. He did not dare to be negligent and proceeded with care.
When the time came for them to take their third break, the light streaming through the ventilation window had gradually dimmed. It was near dusk. Not only did Guo Jing feel that his chest was a lot less constricted, but Huang Rong also felt invigorated. The two chatted a while before continuing their training. Suddenly they heard running footsteps that stopped in front of the inn. Then several people came in. An insolent voice shouted, “Quickly get some food. Your masters here are starving!”
They recognized that the voice belonged to the ‘Three-Headed Dragon’ Hou Tonghai. Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other in surprise. Huang Rong quickly looked through the small hole and to her surprise, she saw in the mirror not only Hou Tonghai, but Wanyan Honglie, Ouyang Feng, Yang Kang, Peng Lianhu and the others. Huang Rong had no idea where Sha Gu had gone to
play.
Hou Tonghai slapped the table and made quite a racket but nobody came. Liang Ziweng went out and walked around the building. He frowned and said, “Nobody lives here.” Hou Tonghai volunteered to go into the village and buy some wine and food. Ouyang Feng found a spot protected from the blowing wind and spread some straw. Then he carried his nephew and gently placed him on the straw to let him lie quietly to heal his broken legs.
Peng Lianhu said with a laugh, “Although those palace guards are useless, they are haunting us like ghosts. We didn’t even have time to stop and eat for the whole day. Prince, you are a northerner, yet you knew that there is a desolate village by the Qiantang River and led us here. Truly nothing is hidden from your knowledgeable mind.”
Although he heard the flattering tone in Peng Lianhu’s voice, Wanyan Honglie’s face did not show the slightest satisfaction. He merely sighed softly and said, “I came to this place nineteen years ago.” Everyone could see that his expression had changed. They felt a little strange. Of course, nobody knew he was thinking about how Bao Xirou had saved his life in this village. The desolate village still existed, but that gentle lady with a hairpin in her hair, wearing green robes, and who fed him warm chicken soup, was no longer in this world.
Meanwhile, Hou Tonghai had returned from the village with wine and food. Peng Lianhu poured wine for everybody and said to Wanyan Honglie, “Prince, today you succeeded in attaining the marvelous book of military strategy. It is a sign that the Great Jin’s prestige will soon inspire the world, and your armies will dominate tens of thousands of lands. Let us all congratulate you!” He raised his cup and gulped his wine. His voice was loud and clear so Guo Jing could hear him clearly in spite of the wall between them. He was shocked. “Master Yue’s Legacy [Yue Yeye] has fallen into his hands!” he thought bitterly. As soon as his mind became anxious, the flow of energy in his chest reversed. Huang Rong could feel his palm shaking and she knew he’d heard everything. It had affected his ‘dan tian’ [pubic region] energy. If it was not controlled quickly his life might be in danger. She quickly pressed her lips to his ear and whispered, “If he could steal the book, can’t we do the same? When your Second Master [Er Shifu], the ‘Magical Hands Scholar’ makes his move, he can easily steal ten books.”
Guo Jing thought she was right and immediately closed his eyes. His mind no longer listened to the conversation beyond the wall. Huang Rong looked into the hole again and saw Wanyan Honglie raise his cup and drink his wine. Then, with a delighted smile, he said, “In today’s battle everyone worked hard to help and Mr. Ouyang rendered the greatest service. If he had not gotten rid of that kid named Guo, we would have had to expend a lot more effort.”
Ouyang Feng let out a dry laugh which sounded like a broken cymbal. As Guo Jing heard his laughter, his heart was stirred yet again. Huang Rong inwardly thought, “Heaven bless us and not let the Old Poison pluck his devilish zither here, or Jing ge ge’s life will be difficult to save.”
She heard Ouyang Feng say, “This place is so remote, the Song army will not find us here. I wonder what kind of treasure this Yue Fei Yishu [Legacy] is. Let us all take a look.”
He took the stone box from his clothing and placed it on the table. His thoughts were that should Wumu Legacy contain an exquisite martial arts method, then he would, without regard for anyone else, take it for himself. However, if the book only contained marching techniques and military strategies, it would be useless to him. In that case, he would gladly let the others enjoy it and allow Wanyan Honglie keep it.
In the meantime, everyone was gazing at the stone box. Huang Rong thought, “What can I do to destroy the book? Destroying it would be better than letting it fall into the hands of these traitors.” She heard Wanyan Honglie say, “Xiao Wang [lit. little prince] has performed a comprehensive analysis of Yue Fei’s riddle in the form of a poem. I also carefully studied the official historical records of the previous dynasties on the construction of the Imperial Palace. I came to believe that this book was concealed fifteen steps east of the ‘Green-Jade Cold Hall’. Today my deduction was proved correct. I believe no one in the Song Dynasty knew that such a treasure was hidden in their palace. The commotion we made last night.. ..I don’t think anybody knew what it was all about.” He sounded very proud of himself. Everyone seized the opportunity to immediately heap praises on him.
Wanyan Honglie twisted his moustache and laughed. “Kang’er,” he said, “Go ahead.open the box.”
Yang Kang responded and stepped forward. First he removed the seal and then lifted the lid. Everyone’s eyes were on the box. Their countenances suddenly changed and they were confounded. No one made a sound. The box was completely empty. There wasn’t a military strategy book inside .there wasn’t even a blank sheet of paper. Although Huang Rong could not see the box, judging from everyone’s expression, she could deduce that the box was empty. She was delighted and found it amusing.
Wanyan Honglie was very disappointed. He held onto the table as he sat down. His hand propped his cheek as he began thinking deeply. “My thousands of calculations, tens of thousands of iterations, all po
inted to Yue Fei’s Legacy being in this box. How can it be that there’s not even a trace of it?” he thought. Suddenly he had an idea and his face lit up. He took the stone box outside towards the well and smashed it with all his might against the flagstones. ‘Bang!’ the box broke into pieces.
When Huang Rong heard that breaking stone she immediately thought, “Ah, there is a secret compartment in the box.” She was anxious to see if the Legacy was inside a secret compartment, but no matter what, she could not go out. After a moment, however, she saw Wanyan Honglie dejectedly return to the room and sit down.
“I knew there was a secret compartment in that box, but who could have known it was also empty,” Wanyan Honglie said.
One after another the others tried to offer their opinions. Huang Rong was amused listening to their wild imaginings. Each was weirder than the next. She immediately told Guo Jing. When he learned that the Wumu Legacy had not been stolen, he was greatly comforted. Huang Rong deliberated further. “These traitors will not give up just like that.they must be thinking of going back to the palace tonight.” She was thinking of her Master who was still inside the palace and she was afraid he might be implicated if found. Zhou Botong was there to protect him, but Huang Rong could not help but feel worried since the Old Urchin behaved like a madman. He could not take care of important matters properly.
Sure enough, she heard Ouyang Feng say, “It’s not a big deal. We’ll go back to the palace tonight and search some more.”
“We can’t go tonight,” Wanyan Honglie objected. “We made quite a disturbance last night and I am sure they will guard the palace closely tonight.”
“We can’t avoid the guards,” Ouyang Feng said, “But why worry over it? The Prince and Young Prince do not need to go. You and my nephew may stay here to have some rest.”
Wanyan Honglie cupped his fists in front of his chest. “Then I will trouble Mister to do this work for me. The Prince will await your good news with a peaceful heart.” Straightaway everyone spread out some straw in the room and lay down to sleep. After they’d slept for more than two hours, Ouyang Feng woke the others and they went to the city once again.