by Jin Yong
Huang Rong smiled, “I gave three mathematical problems to her. Humph, I doubt it if she will be able to solve them in half a year. Let all her gray hair turn white. Who told her to be so rude?”
“What enmity does she have toward your father?” Guo Jing asked.
“I have never heard Father mentioned it,” Huang Rong replied. After being silent for about half a day she suddenly said, “She must be very beautiful when she was young. Jing Gege, don’t you agree?” Actually she bore a suspicion in her heart, “Is it possible that in the former days my father and she were lovers? Humph, most likely she wanted my father to marry her but my father did not want her.”
Guo Jing replied, “Doesn’t matter if she was beautiful or not; even if she cannot solve your problems she still won’t be able to chase us and take the pouches back.”
“I wonder what’s inside those pouches. I doubt it if she had our well-beings in her mind. Let’s open them and take a look,” Huang Rong said.
“No, no!” Guo Jing hastily said, “We must follow her instructions, we must not open it until we arrive at Taoyuan.”
Huang Rong was very curious; she persuaded Guo Jing to open it, but Guo Jing firmly refused; finally Huang Rong resigned.
After being busy the whole night finally the sky turned brighter. Guo Jing leaped up a tree to take a good look around; he was relieved not to see any trail of the Iron Palm Clan disciples. He whistled loudly several times, and the little red horse came galloping fast. Not too long afterwards his pair of eagles was also seen flying above their heads.
Two people were just mounting the horse when suddenly they heard shouts coming out of the forest. Dozens of Iron Palm Clan disciples came rushing forward. They have been guarding around the forest for half a night. As soon as they heard Guo Jing’s whistle they came out to catch them. Luckily Qiu Qianren was not among these people. Guo Jing called out, “You missed!” He squeezed his legs on the horse’s belly and the little red horse ran like the wind; in a moment they could not see their pursuers anymore.
By noon that day the little red horse had run for more than a hundred ‘li’s; they stopped by a small restaurant by the roadside. Huang Rong’s chest was still hurting, but she managed to drink half a bowl of rice soup. Guo Jing asked around and found out that they had arrived within Taoyuan County border. Quickly he took the white pouch and cut the thread. Inside he found a map with two lines of characters which read, “Follow the route shown on the map. At the end of the road you will find a waterfall with a thatched hut next to it. Open the red pouch when you arrive there.” Guo Jing did not tarry any longer; they remounted the horse and galloped away.
After traveling for about seventy, eighty ‘li’s, the road was getting narrower. Eight, nine ‘li’s later they entered a narrow passageway with mountain walls on both sides. Soon the pathway turned into a winding alley so narrow that one person could barely squeeze through. They were compelled to leave little red horse to graze by itself on the side of the hill. Guo Jing took Huang Rong and carried her on his back; together they entered the alley. Following the steep mountain pathway they walked for about two hours. Sometimes the alley was so narrow that Guo Jing had to lift Huang Rong up and he walked sideways, squeezing in between the mountain walls.
It was already the seventh month, the weather was scorching hot and it felt like the heat would be enough to melt metal. Fortunately there were skyscraping mountain peaks around them cooling down their path.
A moment later Guo Jing was hungry; he took some dried buns from his pocket and tore several pieces to feed Huang Rong. He did not stop walking however; he was eating while walking forward. After eating three buns he was thirsty. Suddenly he heard from a distant a faint sound of a waterfall. His spirit arose and he sped up his steps.
In the quietness of the mountain, that waterfall echoed in the valley, creating a loud rumbling noise like a torrential flood. The closer he got, the louder the noise became. When he reached the top of the hill he saw a big waterfall like a white dragon coming out from in between a pair of peaks opposite the hill where he was standing, falling down to a big pond below with astonishing force.
From the top of the hill Guo Jing looked down and saw a thatched hut next to the waterfall. Guo Jing sat on a piece of rock and took the red pouch from his pocket. Inside was a piece of paper with these words: ‘The injury this girl suffers can only be healed by Emperor Duan .’
Seeing those three characters ‘Duan huang ye’ [Emperor Duan] Guo Jing was startled, “Emperor Duan, isn’t he the Southern Emperor who share the same fame as your father?” he asked.
Huang Rong was exhausted, but hearing him mentioned the Southern Emperor her heart was stirred. “Emperor Duan?” she said, “Shifu also said that his injury can only be healed by Emperor Duan. I heard my father mentioned Emperor Duan is the emperor of Dali in Yunnan. Isn’t that ...” Suddenly she remembered that this place was separated with Yunnan by ‘ten thousand rivers and a thousand mountains’ [wan shui qian shan - meaning ‘the trails and tribulations of a long journey’]. It was impossible to reach in three days. Suddenly her chest felt cold. She made an effort to sit down and leaning on Guo Jing they read the paper together.
‘The injury this girl suffers can only be healed by Emperor Duan. Because many of his conducts were not righteous he hid himself in Taoyuan and made it very difficult for outsiders to see him. Anyone seeking medical help is a taboo to him; if you mention your intention, before you reach his residence you will be stopped by the vicious hands of a fisherman, a woodcutter, a farmer and a scholar. Therefore, you must say that you have an important message from your master Hong Qigong and want to have an audience with the Emperor. Once you are in the presence of the Southern Emperor, give him the yellow pouch. Your fate depends on this.’
Finished reading Guo Jing turned his head to Huang Rong only to see her frowning silently. “Rong’er,” he asked, “Why did Emperor Duan do many unrighteous conducts? Why is it seeking medical help is a taboo to him? What are the vicious hands of a fisherman, a woodcutter, a farmer and a scholar?”
Huang Rong sighed, “Jing Gege, please don’t think that I am so smart that I know everything.”
Guo Jing was taken aback; he held out his arms and gave Huang Rong a hug. “Very well, let us go down,” he said. Casting his glance to the distant he could see there was a man sitting under the willow tree next to the waterfall. That man was wearing a bamboo hat, but because the distance was quite far he could not see clearly what that man was doing.
First, he was in a hurry, second, the pathway down was a lot easier, therefore, without needing to much time Guo Jing with Huang Rong on his back quickly arrived by the waterfall. He saw that man was wearing a raincoat, sitting on a piece of rock, fishing.
The falling water created a strong rapids, the water flowed too fast, how could there be any fish? Even if there was, how could the fish have time to take the bait?
Guo Jing saw that man was about forty years old, his face was black like the bottom of a pot, full with beards and whiskers sprouting out like wire brush. His eyes stared motionless toward the water. Seeing he was fishing with a full concentration Guo Jing did not dare to disturb, he put Huang Rong down by the willow tree to rest, while they waited to see what kind of fish live in that waterfall.
After waiting for a long time suddenly a golden streak of light came flashing out of the water; that fisherman’s face showed delight, his fishing pole was bent downward. They saw something about a foot long biting the fishing line. That something did not look like either a fish or a snake, it looked so strange.
Guo Jing was astounded, he could not restrain from calling out, “Ah! What is that?”
By that time another golden streak jumped up the water to bite the fishing line. That fisherman was delighted, he kept the fishing pole steady. But the pole was bent more and more. The fisherman struggled to keep it straight. ‘Crack!’ suddenly the pole broke. Two strange fish let the fishing line go, then swam away complacently.
The water current was very strong but it seemed like those fish were swimming in a still water. In an instant they disappeared under a rock.
The fisherman turned around with eyes bulging, glaring angrily, shouted loudly, “Stinky kid, your old man has waited painstakingly for half a day, and then you little thief came and scared them away.” His hands stretched out with palms open wide, moved forward two steps ready to pounce. But for an unknown reason he managed to control his temper and held his big hands; his finger joints made cracking sounds; his face was full of anger.
Guo Jing realized he had inadvertently caused trouble therefore he did not dare to talk back. “Uncle is angry, that was my fault. But what kind of strange fish are they?” he humbly asked.
That fisherman scolded him, “Are you blind? Those are not fish, those are ‘jin wawa’ [golden baby or baby doll].”
Guo Jing was not angry even though scolded; he smiled and asked further, “Please forgive my ignorance, but what is a ‘jin wawa’?”
That fisherman flew into a rage, he shouted, “’Jin wawa’ is ‘jin wawa’, why do you stinky little thief want to know anyway?”
Because Guo Jing earnestly wanted to ask him to show the way to see Emperor Duan, he did not dare to say anything, he simply raised his cupped fists to apologize.
Huang Rong could not hold her patience much longer, she interrupted, “‘Jin wawa’ is a golden colored giant salamander. We raise several pairs of them in my home. What’s so strange about it?”
Listening to Huang Rong correctly explained what a ‘jin wawa’ really was, the fisherman was slightly confounded, he scolded, “Humph, you are blowing your horn very loud! Raising several pairs of them! Let me ask you, what’s the purpose of a ‘jin wawa’?”
“What’s the purpose?” Huang Rong asked, “They are attractive, can make a ‘ya ya ya’ noise like a little baby, so we raise them to play with them.”
Hearing her saying the right thing, that fisherman’s face softened, he said, “Little baby girl, if you raise several pairs in your house, then you must give me a pair to compensate my loss.”
“Why must I compensate you?” Huang Rong asked.
The fisherman pointed to Guo Jing and said, “I happened to catch one with my fishing pole, but he came and rudely shouted, so the other one appeared and pull apart my fishing pole. This ‘jin wawa’ is very smart; once it escaped danger, don’t ever think of catching it for the second time. If I don’t ask you to compensate me, whom should I ask?”
Huang Rong smiled, “Even if you did catch it, you only caught one. Try as you might, but how could the second one be willing to take your bait?”
The fisherman could not find any word to answer this; he scratched his head and said, “All right then, just give me one.”
“If you separate a pair of ‘jin wawa’, within three days both of them, the male and the female, will die,” Huang Rong said.
That fisherman did not have any doubt anymore; he cupped his fists and bowed respectfully to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, “All right, just consider it my fault,” he said, “Would you share a pair with me?”
Huang Rong smiled. “Tell me first, what are you going to do with ‘jin wawa’?” she asked.
The fisherman hesitated a little bit, then explained, “All right, I’ll tell you. My martial uncle is an Indian. He had come to visit my master these past few days. On the way here he managed to catch a pair of ‘jin wawa’; he was very happy. He said there was an extremely poisonous insect harming a lot of people in India. There was no way of exterminating this insect. This ‘jin wawa’ is actually the insect’s adversary. He asked me to take care of them for a few days, and then hand them back to him by the time he is done talking to my master and is ready to go down the mountain. He is going to take them back to India and breed them. Who would have thought .”
“Who would have thought you were not careful and let the ‘jin wawa’s run away into this waterfall,” Huang Rong cut him off.
That fisherman was startled, “Ah! How did you know?” he asked.
Huang Rong pouted her little mouth and said, “Is that so difficult to guess? This ‘jin wawa’ is really not easy to keep. Originally we have five pairs, later on two pairs ran away.”
The fisherman’s eyes gleamed, his face showed a happy expression. “Good Miss, please give me a pair. You will still have two pairs. Or else my martial uncle will be mad at me; I may not be able to take it,” he begged.
Huang Rong laughed. “It’s not difficult to give you a pair, but why were you so vicious to us earlier?” she asked.
That fisherman smiled awkwardly, he sheepishly said, “Ay! My bad temper; I really have to change. Good Miss, where is your mansion? Is it alright if I follow you? Is it far from here?”
Huang Rong gently let out a deep breath and said, “If you say it’s near, it is not; but if you say it is far, it isn’t either. Maybe about three, four thousand ‘li’s from here.”
That fisherman was startled, his brush-wire whiskers stood up, he roared, “Little girl, you are swindling me!” His vinegar-bowl sized fist raised up, ready to smash Huang Rong’s head; but realizing she was only a young and feeble girl, he was afraid he might kill her. His fist stayed midair then slowly dropped down to his side.
Guo Jing was ready, as soon as that fisherman strikes, he would block the attack immediately. Huang Rong smiled and said, “Why worry? I have already had a good idea from the start. Jing Gege, please call the white eagles.”
Guo Jing was not clear of her intention, but he whistled to call the eagles anyway. That fisherman was secretly surprised; Guo Jing’s whistle echoed throughout the valleys and mountains, supported by a profound internal energy. “Luckily I did not fight with him earlier,” he thought, “Otherwise this little kid will beat me to death.”
Not too long afterwards, the pair of eagles came flying by, following the whistle sound. Huang Rong peeled a piece of tree bark, and then carved a line of characters with a needle, ‘Father, I want a pair of ‘jin wawa’. Let the eagles carry them back here. Your daughter Rong pays respect.’
Guo Jing was delighted; he cut two pieces of cloth from his belt and firmly tied the bark on the male eagle’s foot. “Go to the Peach Blossom Island, quickly go and quickly come back,” Huang Rong told the pair of eagles.
Guo Jing was afraid the eagles did not understand, he pointed to the east and said three times, “Peach Blossom Island.” The pair of eagles let out a long cry, lifted up their wings and soared away. They made a circle in the air, headed east and then disappeared behind the clouds in a short moment.
The fisherman’s jaw dropped and stayed open for a while; he muttered, “Peach Blossom Island, Peach Blossom Island? What is Huang Yaoshi, Venerable Huang to you?”
“He is my father, why?” Huang Rong proudly said.
“Ah!” that fisherman exclaimed; he was at a loss of words.
Huang Rong said, “My white eagles will bring the ‘jin wawa’ here in a few days; it won’t be too late, will it?”
“I hope not,” the fisherman said. He looked up and down Jing and Rong two people to size them up with eyes full of suspicions.
Guo Jing bowed and asked, “We haven’t found out Uncle’s honorable name.”
The fisherman did not answer, instead he asked questions, “What are you doing here? Who told you to come here?”
Guo Jing respectfully answered, “Junior has come to seek an audience with Emperor Duan.” Initially he wanted to say as Ying Gu had directed them to say, that Hong Qigong had sent them to come; but he was not able to lie, eventually he did not say anything.
“My Shifu does not see outsiders,” that fisherman sternly said, “What do you want from him?”
By Guo Jing’s natural disposition, he wanted to speak the truth, but he was afraid they would not be able to see the Southern Emperor, and thus jeopardizing Huang Rong’s life. He could not say the truth, yet he did not have the power to lie; so he hesitated before answering the question.
The fisherman noticed his indeterminate expression, also Huang Rong’s thin and pale countenance; he had guessed 70, 80% correctly. “You want my Shifu to heal your injury, don’t you?” he roared.
Guo Jing felt like a heavy load was taken from his mind, he had nothing to hide any longer. He had no other choice but nodded hid head, but his heart was filled with anxiety and regret, he hated himself for not be able to tell a lie.
The fisherman was almost shouting, “Don’t ever think of seeing my Shifu. Even if I have to bear my Shifu and Shishu’s [martial uncle] scolding, I don’t want your ‘jin wawa’ or ‘yin wawa’ [silver baby] anymore. Just go gown the mountain, quick!”
His words without any doubt did not give them the slightest amount of leniency. Guo Jing was silent for half a day, sucking in cold air. After a moment he stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “The injured is the Huang Daozhu [Island Master Huang] of Peach Blossom Island’s daughter. Currently she is also the Bangzhu of the Beggar Clan. I am asking Uncle to consider Island Master Huang and Hong Bangzhu’s golden faces and show us the way so that we can seek an audience with the Emperor Duan.”
Hearing the three characters ‘Hong Bangzhu’, the fisherman’s countenance softened; he shook his head and said, “This young miss is the Beggar Clan’s Bangzhu? I don’t believe it.”
Guo Jing pointed his finger to the bamboo stick in Huang Rong’s hand, he said, “This is the Beggar Clan Leader’s Dog-beating Stick; certainly Uncle recognize it.”
The fisherman nodded. “What is the Nine-fingered Divine Beggar to you, then?” he asked.
“He is our Benevolent Master,” Guo Jing replied.