Return Of The Condor Heroes - chapter 16.1
Avenging a Father’s Death
Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang were both shocked and pleased to hear that blacksmith Feng was actually Cheng Ying’s apprentice brother. Being Huang Yaoshi’s disciple, his martial arts can’t be that bad, unexpectedly they suddenly had another strong helper in this danger.
Li Mochou chuckled, “You’ve been expelled by your Master yet you still can’t let go, isn’t that extremely stupid? Today I’m going to kill three kids and a mad woman; you better just stand aside and take in the atmosphere.”
Feng Mofeng said slowly, “Though I’ve learned martial arts, I have never fought anyone before in my life and my left leg is crippled, I can’t really fight.”
Li Mochou said, “Yes, that’s the best thing for you, you can’t afford to throw your life away.”
Feng Mofeng shook his head and said, “I cannot allow you to harm a single hair of my apprentice sister’s head, since these people are friends of hers you better find somewhere else to do evil.”
Li Mochou’s murderous intent was stirred and she laughed, “The four of you fighting me at once, that’s great.” She stood up.
Feng Mofeng was unmoved and kept on striking the metal with his hammer, he was like a character from an opera following prompts from a gong, he struck the metal and then followed it with a few words. He said, “I left my school over thirty years ago, my martial arts have gone rusty long ago, I need to think hard about them.”
Li Mochou laughed and said, “Half my life I’ve roamed Jianghu but I’ve never seen a person like you who grabs the feet of Buddha and prepares for battle at the last minute. Today my eyes have been opened. Feng Mofeng, have you really never fought anyone before in your life?”
Feng Mofeng said, “I never offend others, when others beat me and insult me I don’t do anything, so of course my hands have never been raised against anyone.”
Li Mochou chuckled and said, “Ha-ha, old ‘Heretic’ Huang actually picked a bunch of face losing crap to be his disciples.”
Feng Mofeng said, “Please don’t speak ill of my merciful Master like that.”
Li Mochou gave a wry laugh and said, “He abandoned you as a Master long ago yet you still merciful Master this, merciful that, you’re not afraid of making people laugh.”
Feng Mofeng continued to strike down with his hammer and said, “I have no one in this world, the only loved one I have is my merciful Master, if I don’t respect him, love him, who should I think about? Little apprentice sister, is Master well?”
Cheng Ying said, “Master is very well.”
Feng Mofeng’s face lit up with joy.
When Li Mochou saw his feelings, she thought, “Old ‘Heretic’ Huang is a good Master, and indeed there is something great about him. He beat his disciple into this state yet this person still remains loyal to him.”
The metal that was being forged was now gradually getting colder, Feng Mofeng again used his tongs to place the metal into the furnace but he was preoccupied and actually sent the hammer in his right hand into the furnace instead.
Li Mochou laughed and said, “Blacksmith Feng, just slowly think about your Master’s martial arts, there’s no need to lose your mind as well.”
Feng Mofeng didn’t reply and stared at the flaming furnace in deep thought, after a while, he sent the crutch under his left arm into the furnace.
Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang both said, “That’s your crutch!”
Cheng Ying also called out, “Apprentice brother!”
Feng Mofeng still did not reply and gazed into the furnace. The crutch didn’t burn in the furnace, instead it gradually became red; the crutch was actually made of metal. After another while, the hammer also became red but his hands weren’t burned as he held onto the handle of the hammer and crutch.
Li Mochou’s disdain turned into precaution, she knew that this rough looking man must have qualities that excel. She was afraid that he would suddenly attack and she would fall victim to him so she urgently waved her fly whisk about to protect her front’s fatal areas and leapt outside, calling out, “Blacksmith Feng, let’s just get it over with!”
Feng Mofeng responded and exited the shop, his movements were swift and light, it didn’t look like he was crippled. He placed his red crutch into the ground and said, “Angelic Priestess”, please don’t insult my Master and please stop troubling my apprentice sister. And spare the bitter life of this old blacksmith!”
Li Mochou was again greatly surprised and thought “Why is he begging just before he’s about to fight?” She said, “I will spare you only; if you are afraid then don’t intervene.”
Feng Mofeng clenched his teeth and said, “Fine, then kill me first!” As he said this, he trembled; he was afraid but was also emotional.
Li Mochou raised her fly whisk and struck down towards his head. Feng Mofeng quickly leapt away, his dodging was very sharp but his arms trembled, he actually was afraid to counterattack. Li Mochou attacked three times in a row but each time, Feng Mofeng avoided the attacks with great movements yet he still did not counterattack.
Yang Guo and the others were standing to the side watching; when the time came they will go and help. They saw that Li Mochou’s attacks were gradually intensifying and Feng Mofeng really looked like someone who has never fought before. In accordance with his peaceful nature, he didn’t make an attack with his red hammer.
Yang Guo thought that this isn’t good, though this person’s martial arts are strong, he didn’t have any intent to fight, and he must be stirred so he said loudly, “Li Mochou, why did you insult Island Master Huang by calling him heartless, unrighteous and wicked?”
Li Mochou thought, “When did I insult him?” She sped up her attacks and did not reply.
Yang Guo continued, “You said that Island Master Huang seduced other’s daughters and wives, captured other’s sons and brothers, did you see that with your own eyes? You said he lied to friends, betrayed his benefactors, did those things really happen? Why did you spread all these things over the world of Jianghu and tarnish Island Master Huang’s name?”
Cheng Ying was startled and didn’t understand, Feng Mofeng’s fury erupted when he heard this, his valor stirred and he attacked with his hammer and crutch at the same time. His left leg was on the ground, assuming the form “Golden Cockerel Standing Alone”, it was like he was nailed to the ground, sturdy and still; the hammer and crutch produced a fierce gust of blazing air, heading straight towards Li Mochou.
Li Mochou saw that the incoming force was ferocious, she didn’t dare to meet it front on and leapt out of the way, looking for a gap to attack him.
Yang Guo carried on, “Li Mochou, you said that Island Master Huang is a liar and a shameless scoundrel. I say that you’re the shameless one!”
Feng Mofeng was becoming angrier and angrier as he heard this, the hammer and crutch swept and lunged forward with unstoppable force, at first his stances looked rather rusty but as he fought on, they became more and more fluid.
The two’s internal energy weren’t that far apart but Li Mochou had roamed Jianghu for many years and had been in hundreds of battles; her experience was far greater than his. After about twenty or thirty stances, Li Mochou knew that Feng Mofeng’s internal energy wasn’t weak but he lacked experience and had one good leg only. After a while, she knew that he would lose so she decided to wait until his anger disperses and then counterattack.
Indeed, after another ten or so moves Feng Mofeng’s anger gradually disappeared, his will faded and he began to slip away. Li Mochou was thrilled and attacked with her fly whisk towards his chest.
Feng Mofeng swept his hammer across to block. The fly whisk curved its way around and wrapped around the hammer’s head; this was the special stance that Li Mochou used to take the opponent’s weapon. All she needed to do was trap the weapon and pull; the hammer would then leave Feng Mofeng’s hand. But as she did this, ‘chi’ ‘chi’ ‘chi’ sounds were heard, smoke rose, everyone smelt an unpleasant smell; the hairs of the fly whisk were burned off.
Instead of taking the opponent’s weapon, Li Mochou had lost her own, she remained calm and threw the handle of the fly whisk away and changed her attack to her “Divine Five Poison Palm”. Though this palm technique was powerful, one has to be very close to the opponent to use it. Feng Mofeng had a hammer in his right hand and a crutch in his left, he was using it swiftly and forcefully with gusts of wind generated, he was now able to do as he wished.
However in between the two images, smoke kept on rising up; Li Mochou’s gown was being burned by the hot hammer and crutch, piece by piece her gown was getting burned. She was furious, she was definitely going to gain victory but the old blacksmith had an advantage in his weaponry. She could not take it at all and wanted to strike him with a palm to vent her anger.
This was the first time that Feng Mofeng fought somebody, if he had been held back and on the receiving end of a beating, he would have retreated; but now he had the upper hand, the stances of the hammer and crutch were coming out with extreme mastery.
Li Mochou was almost struck by the hammer and crutch a few times in her quest to land a palm on him, if it wasn’t for her speed, her palm would have been burned.
Suddenly Feng Mofeng called out, “I don’t want to fight; I don’t want to fight, look at you, what decency have you left?” His single leg leapt back five feet.
Li Mochou was stunned, a cool breeze blew and pieces of her clothing flew away, her arms, shoulders, chest and legs were revealed. She was a virgin, she wasn’t able to control her embarrassment; she wanted to turn around and run away when suddenly her back felt cool, a large piece of cloth flew away from her back.
Yang Guo saw that she was in a wretched state, he tore off his belt and took off his gown; he circulated his internal energy and shot it over to her. The gown was like a person hugging her. Li Mochou quickly put her arms in the sleeves of the gown and buttoned it up. She has seen countless battles in her life but right now she was frightened and embarrassed. Her face was red one moment, white the next, she didn’t know whether or not to keep on fighting. She thought, “If I fight him again, this gown will be burned off again, I can only swallow my anger and do something about it later.”
She nodded at Yang Guo, thanking him for giving her the gown. She then turned her head towards Feng Mofeng and said, “These crafty weapons are indeed the evil skills of old ‘Heretic’ Huang. To tell the truth, if it was a battle with proper martial arts alone, could you beat me? If old ‘Heretic’ Huang’s disciples fought fairly and squarely one on one with me, could they beat me?”
Feng Mofeng said with ease, “If you didn’t lose your weapon, after a while, you’d be able to beat me.”
Li Mochou said arrogantly, “It’s good that you know it. My words on that piece of paper about the disciples of Peach Blossom Island winning by numbers aren’t wrong.”
Feng Mofeng lowered his head and pondered, after a while he said, “That is not correct! If my apprentice brothers and sister Qu, Chen, Mei, and Lu were here, any one of them would be stronger than you. I don’t even need to mention my highly skilled apprentice brothers Qu and Chen; you wouldn’t be able to beat my apprentice sister Mei Chaofeng who’s also a woman like you.”
Li Mochou chuckled and said, “All those people are dead and can’t prove anything, why are you talking about them? Old ‘Heretic’ Huang’s martial arts aren’t all that good. I wanted to test out his daughter Mrs. Guo’s martial arts but I don’t think there’s a need to now.” She turned around and was about to leave.
Yang Guo had a thought in his mind and said, “Wait!”
Li Mochou’s brows raised and she said, “What?”
Yang Guo said, “You’re wrong about Island Master Huang’s martial arts being so-so. I heard of swordplay from him, called the “Jade Flute Swordplay”, it can neutralize your fly whisk techniques.” He picked up an iron rod and drew on the ground. He explained, “Your attacks from the front are indeed swift and powerful but if his sword cuts down from this direction, you will not be able to take back your attack. If you counterattack, the sword will attack quickly from this direction. If you sweep the fly whisk and attack the pressure points, then he’ll use a tiger claw form and grab your whisk’s tips, turn his sword around and use the handle to strike the ‘virtuous’ pressure point on your shoulder. Can you imagine that?”
That stance was indeed unimaginably strange but it was also ingenious. Brushing the pressure points in front of her were one of Li Mochou’s fly whisk technique’s lethal stances, the stance that Yang Guo described left her with no reply, in such a case she could only throw down her fly whisk and admit defeat.
Yang Guo made another comparison and said, “When it comes to your “Divine Five Poison Palm”, Island Master Huang will use his fingernail to neutralize your palm. When your palm arrives, he will use the “Divine Release of the Flicking Finger”, his fingernail flicking against your palm; how can your palm not be crippled as a result? All he needs to do is to immediately cut off his fingernail and the palm’s poison won’t spread to his body.” He continued and described over ten other different stances that could neutralize her martial arts.
These words turned Li Mochou’s face grey, every word of his was reasonable and logical, the stances that he described were ingenious; she wouldn’t be able to fend them off.
Yang Guo said, “Island Master Huang was angry at your words; he has the status of being a great Master and cannot fight you personally so he passed these techniques to me so I could take care of you. But I thought about how my Master and you are still apprentice sisters. Today I give you a warning about the power of Island Master Huang, next time you see his disciples, you better run as far away as possible.”
Li Mochou was silent for a while and then said, “I give up…I give up!” She turned around and ran away; in a flash her image disappeared behind the hills, her speed was really something rarely seen in the world of Jianghu.
In reality, although Huang Yaoshi did pass these techniques to Yang Guo, to be able to reach a state where he could use it to neutralize and defeat an enemy requires years of practice. Yang Guo’s description of these techniques was enough to intimidate and overawe her and from now on she would never dare to say one derisive word about Huang Yaoshi.
In the vicinity of Li Mochou, Lu Wushuang’s heart would jump at the sound of her voice; when she saw that Li Mochou had gone, it was like a heavy load had been removed from her. She clapped and laughed, saying, “Sha Dan! You’re pretty good with words; you could even scare away my Master.”
Cheng Ying had seen Yang Guo throw away the gown she had personally made to Li Mochou. It was a pressing situation then and that was that; but she saw that underneath the new gown, he was still wearing the torn and ragged old one. She knew that Xiao Longnu must have made it; he was attached to familiar things and would never forget about things of old. Her heart ached a little but she pretended she didn’t care. Then, the four of them returned to the shop to take a look at Sha Gu.
Just as they entered the sudden clamor of men and neighing of horses could be heard from beyond the hills; the four of them turned around.
Yang Guo said, “I’ll go take a look.” He leapt on his horse and galloped around the hill and arrived at the main road. He saw dust and dirt flying up everywhere; it was a division of Mongolian soldiers heading south, they had iron bows and long sabers, their force like a crashing wave.
Yang Guo has never seen an army marching before, he watched with a thumping heart, stunned.
Two soldiers raised their long sabers and shouted, “Barbarian, what are you looking at?” They rushed over.
Yang Guo turned his horse around and galloped away, the two Mongolian soldiers raised their bows and shot an arrow towards his back. Yang Guo turned his head back and caught them but felt the great force behind the arrows. If he didn’t know martial arts, these arrows would have pierced his chest. The two soldiers were frightened when they saw his abilities and reined in their horses, not daring to continue pursuing him.
Yang Guo returned to the blacksmiths and told them what he saw.
Feng Mofeng sighed, “The Mongolian army are indeed heading south. The Chinese citizens are going to suffer!”
Yang Guo said, “The Song army will not be able to defend against the archery techniques of the Mongolian army; this is going to be a great disaster.”
Feng Mofeng said, “This is just the time for a brave and heroic young man like Master Yang; why don’t you return south and join the army and help fight off the invaders?”
Yang Guo was taken aback, he said, “No, I have to go north to find my Gu Gu. The Mongolian army’s power is vast; I’m just one person, what use would I be?”
Feng Mofeng shook his head and said, “Though the force of one person is small, the force of many is strong. If everyone thought like you, who’d come out to defend the country against invaders?”
Yang Guo knew that his words were right, but now, there was nothing more important to him than finding his Gu Gu. He had wandered around Jianghu ever since he was small; he had suffered the abuse of officials. He saw that the Mongolians were indeed violent and ruthless, but the Song Emperor may not be a good person himself. There was no need for him to help the emperor. He just gave a wry smile and didn’t reply.
Feng Mofeng gathered his hammer, tongs and air bellows and hung them across his back; he turned to Cheng Ying and said, “Apprentice Sister, when you see Master please tell him that disciple Feng Mofeng will never forget his teachings. Today I’m going to join the Mongolian army and I’m going to kill one or two of these generals who are invading my land. Apprentice sister, take care. I’m extremely delighted at seeing a disciple of Master’s.” He supported himself on his crutch and left, not even turning his head again; he didn’t take another look at Yang Guo.
Yang Guo looked at Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang, he said, “It was unexpected that we would meet such a person like him here.”
Lu Wushuang favored Yang Guo in her heart and said, “Cousin, apart from you, the people under the tutelage of your Master are either mad or crazy.”
Cheng Ying smiled and said mildly, “Everyone has their own will, you can’t force them. You said he was mad and crazy; he in turn might be calling us heartless. Anyway, don’t I possess a touch of madness and craziness myself?”
Yang Guo’s heart jumped when he heard this, she looked different and he couldn’t tell whether her words were meant to be ambiguous.
Suddenly a thumping sound was heard as Sha Gu fell from her bench. The three of them were alarmed and quickly put her up on a bed; her face was red and her eyes stared ahead blankly, the poison from the “Divine Five Poison Palm” was flaring up again.
Cheng Ying fed her some medicine while Yang Guo helped her sooth her pressure points. Sha Gu looked at him startled, her face was full of fear as she called out, “Brother Yang, don’t look for me for revenge, it wasn’t me who killed you.”
Cheng Ying said softly, “Sister, don’t be scared, he isn’t…”
Yang Guo suddenly thought, “She’s not fully conscious at the moment, I can force her to reveal the truth.” He turned his hands and grabbed onto her wrists and said with a severe tone, “Who killed me? If you don’t tell me then I’ll take my revenge on you.”
Sha Gu begged, “Brother Yang, it’s not me.”
Yang Guo said angrily, “You’re not telling me! Fine, I’ll strangle you to death!” He stretched his hands around her throat. Sha Gu gave out a piercing scream.
How would Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang know what Yang Guo was doing, they both called out to stop him, one called out, “Brother Yang”, the other called out, “Sha Dan!” One said, “Don’t frighten her further”, the other said, “Why are you mucking around at a time like this?”
Yang Guo didn’t take any notice; he closed his hands slightly tighter, the expression of an evil spirit was on his face; he clenched his teeth and said, “I’m brother Yang’s evil ghost. I died a horrible death, do you know that?”
Sha Gu said, “I know, after you died, crows ate your flesh.”
Yang Guo’s heart felt as if a knife was plunged into his heart, he knew that his father had died under someone else’s hands but he didn’t know that after he died, his body was actually eaten by crows and wasn’t buried, he called out, “Who killed me? Tell me, tell me.”
Sha Gu strained out, “It was you who hit Auntie, Auntie had poison needles on her body, you died.”
Yang Guo yelled loudly, “Who is this Auntie?”
Sha Gu couldn’t breathe with Yang Guo holding her throat and wanted to faint, she said quietly, “Auntie is auntie.”
Yang Guo said, “What’s Auntie’s surname? What’s her name?”
Sha Gu said, “I… I… don’t know, let me go!”
Lu Wushuang saw that the situation was becoming urgent; she went over to pull away Yang Guo’s hands. Right now, Yang Guo was like a madman, he waved out with all his strength, how could Lu Wushuang defend herself? She was thrown away and crashed into a wall painfully.
Cheng Ying saw that the usually peaceful, warm and graceful Yang Guo was now like a mad tiger, she was so frightened that her limbs went limp.
Yang Guo thought, “If today I can’t get the name of the person who killed my father, I’ll immediately throw up blood and die.” He asked, “Is Auntie’s surname Qu? Is Auntie’s name Mei?” He thought that since Sha Gu’s surname was Qu, her auntie’s surname would most probably be Qu, or perhaps it could have been Mei Chaofeng.
Sha Gu struggled with all her strength, though she has practiced martial arts for a longer time than Yang Guo, her martial arts couldn’t compare to his. The pressure points on her wrist were being held and she couldn’t break free, she could only say urgently, “Go and find Auntie for revenge, don’t… don’t look for me!”
Yang Guo said, “Where’s your Auntie?”
Sha Gu said, “Me and Grandpa left! She’s with a man on the island.”
Yang Guo’s spine chilled when he heard these words, he quivered, “What does your Auntie call your Grandpa?”
Sha Gu said, “Father, what else?”
Yang Guo’s face went grey but he was afraid he was wrong and asked, “Your Auntie’s man is called Guo Jing, isn’t he?”
Sha Gu said, “I don’t know. Auntie just calls him ‘brother Jing, brother Jing (Jing ge ge)!” She copied the way Huang Rong called Guo Jing; suddenly her legs flailed about and squealed, “Help, help! Ghost… ghost…”
What doubts did Yang Guo have now? All the suffering and bitterness of the past rushed to the surface and he thought, “If father wasn’t killed, my mother wouldn’t have been in pain all the time and die so early like that. I wouldn’t have endured all the pain and suffering I’ve been through.” He continued, “When I was on Peach Blossom Island, the Guo couple were not at ease with me, they were a bit too polite, they seemed to be covering up something and didn’t treat me like the Wu brothers. Telling them how things are, shouting at them when needed. I felt something then but how would I know that it was because they carried the guilt of killing my father. It’s because of this that they didn’t want to teach me martial arts and sent me to the Quanzhen sect to suffer.”
His anger and fear stirred throughout him, his limbs became limp. Sha Gu called out loudly and leapt up from the bed.
Cheng Ying went over to Yang Guo and said softly, “Sister Sha has always been a bit crazy, you know about this. She’s even worse after suffering this injury, don’t believe her whatever you do.” But in her heart she believed that the words of Sha Gu were true, and she knew that consoling him like this would be no use. But her heart couldn’t endure seeing his face full of anger, despair, bitterness and sorrow.
Yang Guo did not take in any of these words; he stood there stunned for a while before calling out. He got on his horse, kicked with his legs and the horse galloped forward, in a flash it had gone over a hundred feet. Faint calls of ‘Sha Dan!’ and ‘Brother Yang!’ were heard behind him but he ignored them. The only thought in his mind was, “I need to take revenge, I need to take revenge!”
He galloped in a single stretch for two hours and had gone tens of li. Suddenly he felt a pain on his lips; he lifted his hand and felt them. His hand was covered in blood; in his anger and pain, he had bitten down and actually pierced his lower lip. He thought, “Auntie Guo has always treated me badly, but recently she suddenly began to treat me well, but it was all fake. I don’t care about this but Uncle Guo… Uncle Guo…” He had always revered Guo Jing; he felt that his actions and martial arts were one of a kind, and he had always treated him exceedingly well. Now he knew that this was one big lie; he felt that this person was even more cunning than Huang Rong. Anger and resentment filled him, almost bursting out of his chest.
When he thought about the pain he was in; he got off the horse, covered his head and began to cry. This release of sorrow was extremely distressing; it was like all of the world’s pain and troubles had all amassed in him.
He had never seen his father and had never heard anyone talk about him; not even his own mother. But ever since he was little, he had the image of the perfect father in his mind; there wasn’t another who was as kind as him. Yet this hero was killed by a devious trick of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
He cried for a while before hearing the sounds of horses; four horses galloped from the north, the riders all Mongolian warriors. The first rider was holding a long spear; on the spear was a child that was two or three years of age. He was laughing as he galloped along. The baby was still alive; it was giving out a weak cry. The four warriors were a little surprised when they saw Yang Guo in the middle of the road but a ragged clothed young Han like him could be found everywhere so they didn’t take any notice.
One of them called out, “Move out of the way, move out of the way.” As he said this, he thrust his spear forward.
Yang Guo was deep in the middle of his troubles right now; without thinking he pulled the spearhead forward and dragged the warrior down. He turned his hand and swept the spear; the warrior went flying over ten feet away, his skull was crushed and he died. When the remaining three warriors saw his valor, they called out, turned around and galloped away. A ‘pai’ sound was heard as the baby fell onto the ground.
Yang Guo ran up to it and saw that it was a Han child; it was healthy, chubby, and very cute. The pierce to its stomach wouldn’t kill it right away but it would be difficult for it to recover and live. It was calling out ‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’, as if it was calling out for its mother. Yang Guo was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief and sympathy stirred in his heart. He picked up the barely alive baby and tears flowed again; he saw that its pain was unbearable so he lightly gave it a palm and stopped its pain. He used the Mongolian warrior’s spear to dig a hole so he could bury the baby.
He dug ten or so times before he heard the thunderous noise of horses and horns; a group of Mongolian soldiers were rushing towards him. Yang Guo’s left hand held the dead baby; his right extended the spear as he got on the horse. The skinny horse was actually an experienced battle horse; when it saw it was about to go into battle, its spirits soared; it neighed and charged towards the Mongolian soldiers.
Yang Guo’s hand raised, the spear descended, he turned over three or four soldiers in one go, but he saw that countless soldiers were coming; he turned the horse around, went onto the wild lands and rode away. Arrows rained down behind him like locusts; he swung the spear and deflected the arrows away. The skinny horse was extremely fast; in a short while it had left the Mongolian soldiers behind but it didn’t stop; it continued galloping away like the wind into the wild lands.
After another while, Yang Guo saw that the sky was beginning to get dark; he looked around and saw that long grass and strange rocks were everywhere. Dusk was covering the area; it was quiet without any sounds of people, and there wasn’t even a crow or sparrow about.
He got off the horse with the baby still held in his hands. The face still looked alive but covered in extreme suffering; pain filled his heart, he thought, “The parents of this child must have loved it very much; now that he’s dead, his parents must be feeling great pain. I don’t know how many people have died by the hands of these vicious and violent Mongolian soldiers as they head south.”
The more he thought about it, the more difficult he found to endure; he dug a hole by a large tree and buried the child. He then thought about the words of Sha Gu again, “When this child died, it had me to bury it, but my father’s body was eaten by crows. You killed him, what harm is there in burying him? You really are evil! If I don’t take revenge, Yang Guo isn’t a human!”
That night he slept in a tree. The next morning he rode the horse and let the horse go as it pleased; sometimes he thought about going back to the tomb to see Xiao Longnu, and at others he would think about how he must kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong first, no matter what, to avenge his father. When he felt hungry, he would pluck wild fruits to eat.
On the fourth day, he saw someone faraway, leaping up to a tree to pick some wild fruits. Yang Guo rode closer and saw that it was the disciple of Jinlun Fawang, Da’erba. Every time he jumped, he could only pick one fruit; eventually he became impatient and attacked the tree a few times. The tree gave a ‘craack’ as it broke; he then plucked the wild fruits from the tree and placed them in his pockets.
Yang Guo thought, “Could it be that Jinlun Fawang is nearby?”
He and Jinlun Fawang originally didn’t have any ties; but now he had recognized Guo Jing and Huang Rong as his father’s killers. He regretted helping Guo Jing and Huang Rong in opposing Fawang; he quietly followed Da’erba to see where he was going. He saw him moving like he was flying, straight towards the mountains. Yang Guo got off the horse and followed from a distance behind. Da’erba headed into a forest; the further he went, the higher he got. Yang Guo followed him up to the peak of a mountain.
At the top of the mountain was a small exposed hut. Jinlun Fawang was sitting in the middle of the hut, meditating with his eyes closed and eyebrows drooping down. Da’erba put the wild fruits down on the floor and turned around; his face changed as he suddenly saw Yang Guo approaching. He called out, “Senior apprentice brother, you’ve come to cause further harm to Master?” He dashed forward to Yang Guo and stretched out his arm to twist the front of his garment. His martial arts are better than Yang Guo’s, but he was affected by the perilous situation that his Master was in and in his fear he lost control of his state of mind. This stance was a mess and broke one of the rules of martial arts; Yang Guo grabbed his arm in return and tossed him away.
Da’erba had always thought that Yang Guo was the reincarnation of his senior apprentice brother and now he was thrown on the ground by him; he rolled over a few times, picked himself up and then leapt in front of Yang Guo.
Yang Guo thought that he was going to raise his hands again so he took a step backwards, he didn’t know that Da’erba would suddenly fall down to his knees and kowtow, “Senior apprentice brother, please remember your relationship with Master in your previous life. Master has a serious injury and is now trying to recuperate, if you disturb him, then… then…” His voice croaked as he reached this point and tears flowed.
Though Yang Guo did not understand his Tibetan, from his emotional state and Jinlun Fawang’s distressed look, he more or less understood. He quickly helped him up and said, “Relax, I’m not going to harm your Master.”
Da’erba saw that his face was gentle and peaceful; he was pleased. Although he didn’t understand his words, his wariness started to go away.
Right at this time, Jinlun Fawang opened his eyes; he was shocked when he saw Yang Guo. He was concentrating on circulating his chi and didn’t hear the words of Da’erba and Yang Guo. Suddenly he saw the enemy in front of him; he gave a sigh and said slowly, “I have practiced martial arts for many years but I still have yet to find a way to break through the echelon barrier, I didn’t know that today I would die in the central plains.” When he suffered that blow from the rock, he had suffered serious internal injuries; in the past few days he had built a hut on the top of the mountain so he could recuperate. It was unexpected that Yang Guo would actually find his way here. He wasn’t able to use even one ounce of strength at the moment; he immediately ordered Da’erba to force Yang Guo away. But in the middle of their battle his state of mind would be disturbed and it would be difficult to recover from this serious injury.
How would he know that Yang Guo would bow; then say, “I have not come here to do any harm to the Reverend, please don’t be wary.”
Jinlun Fawang shook his head and was about to say something when he felt a severe pain in his chest; he quickly closed his eyes and circulated his chi. Yang Guo went inside the hut and stretched out his right hand, placing it on the ‘To Yang’ pressure point. This pressure point is just below the seventh vertebrae and is one of the major pressure point that regulates the veins and arteries.
Da’erba was shocked when he saw this; he sent out a fist towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo shook his left hand and made a signal with his eyes.
Da’erba saw that nothing was wrong with his Master, a slight smile was forming on his face and he took back his fist.
Yang Guo’s internal energy was not deep and he didn’t know anything about Tibetan internal energy; when he felt a Fawang’s internal chi stirring, he circulated his internal energy and sent chi to him to help him clear upwards the ‘Spirit Stage’, ‘Divine Route’, ‘Body Pillar’ and ‘Chest Route’; then clearing the downwards ‘Withdrawing Muscle’, ‘Central Hinge’, ‘Central Spine’ and the ‘Suspending Hinge’ pressure points. These were up to Fawang; he could only help him protect his veins and arteries.
Though Da’erba’s martial arts were strong, all he’d learned were external martial arts and couldn’t help his Master to recuperate. In the past few days he could only worry anxiously.
Since Jinlun Fawang now had no worries, his chi ran through his body and he used all his strength to heal the injuries in his chest and lower abdomen; after two hours the pain had lessened and his face was red. He opened his eyes and nodded to thank Yang Guo; he joined his palms and said, “Master Yang, why are you suddenly helping me?”
Yang Guo did not hide anything from him; he told him how he recently found out that Guo Jing and Huang Rong killed his father, and how he decided to go and take revenge. He explained how he accidentally bumped into Da’erba and followed him here.
Jinlun Fawang knew that this young man was crafty; in ten words it was difficult for him to believe one of them. But today, killing him would have been as easy as turning his palm, but instead of killing him, Yang Guo actually helped him to recuperate. He really did not have any ill intent towards him and he said, “So Master Yang has such heavy matters on him. But the Guo couple’s martial arts are extremely high, I’m afraid that it would be difficult for Master Yang to take revenge.”
Yang Guo was silent, after a while he said, “Fine, then both father and son will die at their hands!”
Fawang said, “At first, I thought I was invincible and just by my power alone, I could hold down the heroes of the central plains and take the position of the Chancellor of Wulin. But the warriors of the central plains do not follow the rules of fighting one on one, and they all came at once; I can only make another plan. When I’ve recovered, I’m going to need to invite many skilled fighters to assist me. Once my forces are large, the central plains martial artists can’t use numbers to overcome me and everyone can compete fairly. Have you got intentions of joining my side?”
Yang Guo was about to agree but he thought about the killings by the Mongolian soldiers and said, “I cannot help Mongolia.”
Fawang shook his head and said, “If you want to kill the Guo couple by yourself, it would be almost impossible.”
Yang Guo thought for a while and said, “Fine, I’ll help you get the position of the Chancellor of Wulin, you help me to take my revenge.”
Jinlun Fawang stretched out his palm and said, “That’s settled, we’ll exchange palms to seal this deal.”
The two of them exchanged three palms to set this deal.
Yang Guo said, “I’m just going to help you to take the position of the Chancellor of Wulin, I cannot help you in your quest to help the Mongols attack Jiangnan and kill its citizens.”
Jinlun Fawang laughed and said, “Everyone has their will, one cannot force them. Brother Yang, don’t mind me commenting, but your martial arts have many styles; learning martial arts from many schools is of course good, but it would be unavoidable that your martial arts won’t be refined. What is your most proficient skill? What martial arts are you planning to use against the Guo couple?”
Those words froze Yang Guo’s tongue; it was hard for him to reply. Yang Guo has had extraordinary encounters in his life and his character was also covetous; Quanzhen, Ouyang Feng, Ancient Tomb, the Nine Yin, Hong Qigong and Huang Yaoshi, he had learned numerous martial arts from these schools. All the martial arts of these schools are ingenious and Masterly, but they all need a lifetime of difficult work to reach the upper level of these skills. He took a bit here and a bit there, but none of his martial arts had actually reached a great level.
When he meets second rate fighters, the martial arts he uses are all flowery and fancy, causing confusion to opponents; but when he meets a first rate martial artist, he will eventually be proved inferior. He can’t even compare to Jinlun Fawang’s disciples Da’erba and Huo Dou. He lowered his head and pondered about it; these words by Jinlun Fawang were a real warning to him and showed up the weakness in the foundations of his martial arts.
He had another thought, “Since I’ve decided to stay with Gu Gu forever, how can I have relationships everywhere? Cheng Ying, Wifey and there’s also Wanyan Ping. I don’t have any real feelings for them, how can I treat them improperly like this? Being greedy is really not a good thing.” He continued thinking, “No matter if it’s Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng or even the Quanzhen Seven Masters and Jinlun Fawang, every one of them is a famous Master. They just practiced the martial arts of their own school; they understand other sect’s and school’s martial arts but they don’t practice them. They just make themselves aware of them. In that case, what school of martial arts should I concentrate on?”
Based on his background, he should concentrate on the “Jade Heart Manual” of the Ancient Tomb sect; but then he thinks about the Mastery and ingenuity of Hong Qigong’s “Dog Beating Stick Technique”, the subtlety of Huang Yaoshi’s “Jade Flute Swordplay”; if he ignores all of them, isn’t that a pity? There’s godfather’s “Toad Stance” and “Reversal of the Veins”. There are the martial arts of the “Nine Yin Manual” as well. Any one of them is enough to make your name in the world. It was difficult to learn them, how can I just give them up like that?”
He left the hut and walked around the peak, thinking bitterly; it was extremely troubling. He thought for half a day when suddenly his mind lit up, “Why don’t I take the best of all these schools and form my own? The martial arts of the world were all formed by someone; if others can do this, could it be that I can’t?” His eyes lit up as he thought about it.
He thought from morning to midday, from midday to night and didn’t eat or drink. All the martial arts he had seen in his life were floating around in his mind, clashing with each other. He had seen Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong compete martial arts verbally and he himself frightened away Li Mochou by using words from his mouth; but right now, the martial arts competing in his mind were even more rapid and spectacular than describing them verbally. Eventually he involuntarily started to wave out fists and kicks. At first, it could be distinguished that this stance was from Hong Qigong, the other was Ouyang Feng but eventually everything became muddled up, he couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted.
Da’erba watched from afar, he saw that he was acting crazy, pointing out his hand and sweeping his legs, he didn’t understand what it was all about. Suddenly he saw him falling onto the ground, he wanted to go over there and help him but Jinlun Fawang laughed and said; “Don’t disturb his thoughts. It’s a pity that your intelligence is mediocre and you can’t grasp the meanings within.”
Yang Guo slept for half a night and continued with his thoughts the next morning. In seven days, he fell unconscious five times. He thought he wanted to invent his own school of martial arts, but how easy is that? With his present abilities it would be almost impossible to succeed. This isn’t something that can be achieved in ten days or two weeks. But after studying for several days, he suddenly understood. Since he couldn’t combine all these martial arts together, there was no need to force the issue. He realized that all martial arts were at his fingertips; later on when he meets an enemy, he’ll use whichever is needed. There was no need to think about the source of the martial art and this wasn’t far off from his intentions of forming his own school. Once he understood this point, he was immediately filled with comfort.
In the past few days, Jinlun Fawang has been self-recuperating; his injury was now almost fully recovered and he can move as freely as usual. Today, he saw Yang Guo’s expression was now at ease and calm, and knew that he had advanced another level in his martial arts. He said, “Little brother Yang, I’ll take you to see someone. This person is a great hero, an extremely open minded person, once you see him you’ll definitely be in awe.”
Yang Guo said, “Who?”
Jinlun Fawang said, “The Mongolian Prince Khubilai. He is the grandson of Genghis Khan and the fourth son of Prince Tolui.”
Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang were both shocked and pleased to hear that blacksmith Feng was actually Cheng Ying’s apprentice brother. Being Huang Yaoshi’s disciple, his martial arts can’t be that bad, unexpectedly they suddenly had another strong helper in this danger.
Li Mochou chuckled, “You’ve been expelled by your Master yet you still can’t let go, isn’t that extremely stupid? Today I’m going to kill three kids and a mad woman; you better just stand aside and take in the atmosphere.”
Feng Mofeng said slowly, “Though I’ve learned martial arts, I have never fought anyone before in my life and my left leg is crippled, I can’t really fight.”
Li Mochou said, “Yes, that’s the best thing for you, you can’t afford to throw your life away.”
Feng Mofeng shook his head and said, “I cannot allow you to harm a single hair of my apprentice sister’s head, since these people are friends of hers you better find somewhere else to do evil.”
Li Mochou’s murderous intent was stirred and she laughed, “The four of you fighting me at once, that’s great.” She stood up.
Feng Mofeng was unmoved and kept on striking the metal with his hammer, he was like a character from an opera following prompts from a gong, he struck the metal and then followed it with a few words. He said, “I left my school over thirty years ago, my martial arts have gone rusty long ago, I need to think hard about them.”
Li Mochou laughed and said, “Half my life I’ve roamed Jianghu but I’ve never seen a person like you who grabs the feet of Buddha and prepares for battle at the last minute. Today my eyes have been opened. Feng Mofeng, have you really never fought anyone before in your life?”
Feng Mofeng said, “I never offend others, when others beat me and insult me I don’t do anything, so of course my hands have never been raised against anyone.”
Li Mochou chuckled and said, “Ha-ha, old ‘Heretic’ Huang actually picked a bunch of face losing crap to be his disciples.”
Feng Mofeng said, “Please don’t speak ill of my merciful Master like that.”
Li Mochou gave a wry laugh and said, “He abandoned you as a Master long ago yet you still merciful Master this, merciful that, you’re not afraid of making people laugh.”
Feng Mofeng continued to strike down with his hammer and said, “I have no one in this world, the only loved one I have is my merciful Master, if I don’t respect him, love him, who should I think about? Little apprentice sister, is Master well?”
Cheng Ying said, “Master is very well.”
Feng Mofeng’s face lit up with joy.
When Li Mochou saw his feelings, she thought, “Old ‘Heretic’ Huang is a good Master, and indeed there is something great about him. He beat his disciple into this state yet this person still remains loyal to him.”
The metal that was being forged was now gradually getting colder, Feng Mofeng again used his tongs to place the metal into the furnace but he was preoccupied and actually sent the hammer in his right hand into the furnace instead.
Li Mochou laughed and said, “Blacksmith Feng, just slowly think about your Master’s martial arts, there’s no need to lose your mind as well.”
Feng Mofeng didn’t reply and stared at the flaming furnace in deep thought, after a while, he sent the crutch under his left arm into the furnace.
Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang both said, “That’s your crutch!”
Cheng Ying also called out, “Apprentice brother!”
Feng Mofeng still did not reply and gazed into the furnace. The crutch didn’t burn in the furnace, instead it gradually became red; the crutch was actually made of metal. After another while, the hammer also became red but his hands weren’t burned as he held onto the handle of the hammer and crutch.
Li Mochou’s disdain turned into precaution, she knew that this rough looking man must have qualities that excel. She was afraid that he would suddenly attack and she would fall victim to him so she urgently waved her fly whisk about to protect her front’s fatal areas and leapt outside, calling out, “Blacksmith Feng, let’s just get it over with!”
Feng Mofeng responded and exited the shop, his movements were swift and light, it didn’t look like he was crippled. He placed his red crutch into the ground and said, “Angelic Priestess”, please don’t insult my Master and please stop troubling my apprentice sister. And spare the bitter life of this old blacksmith!”
Li Mochou was again greatly surprised and thought “Why is he begging just before he’s about to fight?” She said, “I will spare you only; if you are afraid then don’t intervene.”
Feng Mofeng clenched his teeth and said, “Fine, then kill me first!” As he said this, he trembled; he was afraid but was also emotional.
Li Mochou raised her fly whisk and struck down towards his head. Feng Mofeng quickly leapt away, his dodging was very sharp but his arms trembled, he actually was afraid to counterattack. Li Mochou attacked three times in a row but each time, Feng Mofeng avoided the attacks with great movements yet he still did not counterattack.
Yang Guo and the others were standing to the side watching; when the time came they will go and help. They saw that Li Mochou’s attacks were gradually intensifying and Feng Mofeng really looked like someone who has never fought before. In accordance with his peaceful nature, he didn’t make an attack with his red hammer.
Yang Guo thought that this isn’t good, though this person’s martial arts are strong, he didn’t have any intent to fight, and he must be stirred so he said loudly, “Li Mochou, why did you insult Island Master Huang by calling him heartless, unrighteous and wicked?”
Li Mochou thought, “When did I insult him?” She sped up her attacks and did not reply.
Yang Guo continued, “You said that Island Master Huang seduced other’s daughters and wives, captured other’s sons and brothers, did you see that with your own eyes? You said he lied to friends, betrayed his benefactors, did those things really happen? Why did you spread all these things over the world of Jianghu and tarnish Island Master Huang’s name?”
Cheng Ying was startled and didn’t understand, Feng Mofeng’s fury erupted when he heard this, his valor stirred and he attacked with his hammer and crutch at the same time. His left leg was on the ground, assuming the form “Golden Cockerel Standing Alone”, it was like he was nailed to the ground, sturdy and still; the hammer and crutch produced a fierce gust of blazing air, heading straight towards Li Mochou.
Li Mochou saw that the incoming force was ferocious, she didn’t dare to meet it front on and leapt out of the way, looking for a gap to attack him.
Yang Guo carried on, “Li Mochou, you said that Island Master Huang is a liar and a shameless scoundrel. I say that you’re the shameless one!”
Feng Mofeng was becoming angrier and angrier as he heard this, the hammer and crutch swept and lunged forward with unstoppable force, at first his stances looked rather rusty but as he fought on, they became more and more fluid.
The two’s internal energy weren’t that far apart but Li Mochou had roamed Jianghu for many years and had been in hundreds of battles; her experience was far greater than his. After about twenty or thirty stances, Li Mochou knew that Feng Mofeng’s internal energy wasn’t weak but he lacked experience and had one good leg only. After a while, she knew that he would lose so she decided to wait until his anger disperses and then counterattack.
Indeed, after another ten or so moves Feng Mofeng’s anger gradually disappeared, his will faded and he began to slip away. Li Mochou was thrilled and attacked with her fly whisk towards his chest.
Feng Mofeng swept his hammer across to block. The fly whisk curved its way around and wrapped around the hammer’s head; this was the special stance that Li Mochou used to take the opponent’s weapon. All she needed to do was trap the weapon and pull; the hammer would then leave Feng Mofeng’s hand. But as she did this, ‘chi’ ‘chi’ ‘chi’ sounds were heard, smoke rose, everyone smelt an unpleasant smell; the hairs of the fly whisk were burned off.
Instead of taking the opponent’s weapon, Li Mochou had lost her own, she remained calm and threw the handle of the fly whisk away and changed her attack to her “Divine Five Poison Palm”. Though this palm technique was powerful, one has to be very close to the opponent to use it. Feng Mofeng had a hammer in his right hand and a crutch in his left, he was using it swiftly and forcefully with gusts of wind generated, he was now able to do as he wished.
However in between the two images, smoke kept on rising up; Li Mochou’s gown was being burned by the hot hammer and crutch, piece by piece her gown was getting burned. She was furious, she was definitely going to gain victory but the old blacksmith had an advantage in his weaponry. She could not take it at all and wanted to strike him with a palm to vent her anger.
This was the first time that Feng Mofeng fought somebody, if he had been held back and on the receiving end of a beating, he would have retreated; but now he had the upper hand, the stances of the hammer and crutch were coming out with extreme mastery.
Li Mochou was almost struck by the hammer and crutch a few times in her quest to land a palm on him, if it wasn’t for her speed, her palm would have been burned.
Suddenly Feng Mofeng called out, “I don’t want to fight; I don’t want to fight, look at you, what decency have you left?” His single leg leapt back five feet.
Li Mochou was stunned, a cool breeze blew and pieces of her clothing flew away, her arms, shoulders, chest and legs were revealed. She was a virgin, she wasn’t able to control her embarrassment; she wanted to turn around and run away when suddenly her back felt cool, a large piece of cloth flew away from her back.
Yang Guo saw that she was in a wretched state, he tore off his belt and took off his gown; he circulated his internal energy and shot it over to her. The gown was like a person hugging her. Li Mochou quickly put her arms in the sleeves of the gown and buttoned it up. She has seen countless battles in her life but right now she was frightened and embarrassed. Her face was red one moment, white the next, she didn’t know whether or not to keep on fighting. She thought, “If I fight him again, this gown will be burned off again, I can only swallow my anger and do something about it later.”
She nodded at Yang Guo, thanking him for giving her the gown. She then turned her head towards Feng Mofeng and said, “These crafty weapons are indeed the evil skills of old ‘Heretic’ Huang. To tell the truth, if it was a battle with proper martial arts alone, could you beat me? If old ‘Heretic’ Huang’s disciples fought fairly and squarely one on one with me, could they beat me?”
Feng Mofeng said with ease, “If you didn’t lose your weapon, after a while, you’d be able to beat me.”
Li Mochou said arrogantly, “It’s good that you know it. My words on that piece of paper about the disciples of Peach Blossom Island winning by numbers aren’t wrong.”
Feng Mofeng lowered his head and pondered, after a while he said, “That is not correct! If my apprentice brothers and sister Qu, Chen, Mei, and Lu were here, any one of them would be stronger than you. I don’t even need to mention my highly skilled apprentice brothers Qu and Chen; you wouldn’t be able to beat my apprentice sister Mei Chaofeng who’s also a woman like you.”
Li Mochou chuckled and said, “All those people are dead and can’t prove anything, why are you talking about them? Old ‘Heretic’ Huang’s martial arts aren’t all that good. I wanted to test out his daughter Mrs. Guo’s martial arts but I don’t think there’s a need to now.” She turned around and was about to leave.
Yang Guo had a thought in his mind and said, “Wait!”
Li Mochou’s brows raised and she said, “What?”
Yang Guo said, “You’re wrong about Island Master Huang’s martial arts being so-so. I heard of swordplay from him, called the “Jade Flute Swordplay”, it can neutralize your fly whisk techniques.” He picked up an iron rod and drew on the ground. He explained, “Your attacks from the front are indeed swift and powerful but if his sword cuts down from this direction, you will not be able to take back your attack. If you counterattack, the sword will attack quickly from this direction. If you sweep the fly whisk and attack the pressure points, then he’ll use a tiger claw form and grab your whisk’s tips, turn his sword around and use the handle to strike the ‘virtuous’ pressure point on your shoulder. Can you imagine that?”
That stance was indeed unimaginably strange but it was also ingenious. Brushing the pressure points in front of her were one of Li Mochou’s fly whisk technique’s lethal stances, the stance that Yang Guo described left her with no reply, in such a case she could only throw down her fly whisk and admit defeat.
Yang Guo made another comparison and said, “When it comes to your “Divine Five Poison Palm”, Island Master Huang will use his fingernail to neutralize your palm. When your palm arrives, he will use the “Divine Release of the Flicking Finger”, his fingernail flicking against your palm; how can your palm not be crippled as a result? All he needs to do is to immediately cut off his fingernail and the palm’s poison won’t spread to his body.” He continued and described over ten other different stances that could neutralize her martial arts.
These words turned Li Mochou’s face grey, every word of his was reasonable and logical, the stances that he described were ingenious; she wouldn’t be able to fend them off.
Yang Guo said, “Island Master Huang was angry at your words; he has the status of being a great Master and cannot fight you personally so he passed these techniques to me so I could take care of you. But I thought about how my Master and you are still apprentice sisters. Today I give you a warning about the power of Island Master Huang, next time you see his disciples, you better run as far away as possible.”
Li Mochou was silent for a while and then said, “I give up…I give up!” She turned around and ran away; in a flash her image disappeared behind the hills, her speed was really something rarely seen in the world of Jianghu.
In reality, although Huang Yaoshi did pass these techniques to Yang Guo, to be able to reach a state where he could use it to neutralize and defeat an enemy requires years of practice. Yang Guo’s description of these techniques was enough to intimidate and overawe her and from now on she would never dare to say one derisive word about Huang Yaoshi.
In the vicinity of Li Mochou, Lu Wushuang’s heart would jump at the sound of her voice; when she saw that Li Mochou had gone, it was like a heavy load had been removed from her. She clapped and laughed, saying, “Sha Dan! You’re pretty good with words; you could even scare away my Master.”
Cheng Ying had seen Yang Guo throw away the gown she had personally made to Li Mochou. It was a pressing situation then and that was that; but she saw that underneath the new gown, he was still wearing the torn and ragged old one. She knew that Xiao Longnu must have made it; he was attached to familiar things and would never forget about things of old. Her heart ached a little but she pretended she didn’t care. Then, the four of them returned to the shop to take a look at Sha Gu.
Just as they entered the sudden clamor of men and neighing of horses could be heard from beyond the hills; the four of them turned around.
Yang Guo said, “I’ll go take a look.” He leapt on his horse and galloped around the hill and arrived at the main road. He saw dust and dirt flying up everywhere; it was a division of Mongolian soldiers heading south, they had iron bows and long sabers, their force like a crashing wave.
Yang Guo has never seen an army marching before, he watched with a thumping heart, stunned.
Two soldiers raised their long sabers and shouted, “Barbarian, what are you looking at?” They rushed over.
Yang Guo turned his horse around and galloped away, the two Mongolian soldiers raised their bows and shot an arrow towards his back. Yang Guo turned his head back and caught them but felt the great force behind the arrows. If he didn’t know martial arts, these arrows would have pierced his chest. The two soldiers were frightened when they saw his abilities and reined in their horses, not daring to continue pursuing him.
Yang Guo returned to the blacksmiths and told them what he saw.
Feng Mofeng sighed, “The Mongolian army are indeed heading south. The Chinese citizens are going to suffer!”
Yang Guo said, “The Song army will not be able to defend against the archery techniques of the Mongolian army; this is going to be a great disaster.”
Feng Mofeng said, “This is just the time for a brave and heroic young man like Master Yang; why don’t you return south and join the army and help fight off the invaders?”
Yang Guo was taken aback, he said, “No, I have to go north to find my Gu Gu. The Mongolian army’s power is vast; I’m just one person, what use would I be?”
Feng Mofeng shook his head and said, “Though the force of one person is small, the force of many is strong. If everyone thought like you, who’d come out to defend the country against invaders?”
Yang Guo knew that his words were right, but now, there was nothing more important to him than finding his Gu Gu. He had wandered around Jianghu ever since he was small; he had suffered the abuse of officials. He saw that the Mongolians were indeed violent and ruthless, but the Song Emperor may not be a good person himself. There was no need for him to help the emperor. He just gave a wry smile and didn’t reply.
Feng Mofeng gathered his hammer, tongs and air bellows and hung them across his back; he turned to Cheng Ying and said, “Apprentice Sister, when you see Master please tell him that disciple Feng Mofeng will never forget his teachings. Today I’m going to join the Mongolian army and I’m going to kill one or two of these generals who are invading my land. Apprentice sister, take care. I’m extremely delighted at seeing a disciple of Master’s.” He supported himself on his crutch and left, not even turning his head again; he didn’t take another look at Yang Guo.
Yang Guo looked at Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang, he said, “It was unexpected that we would meet such a person like him here.”
Lu Wushuang favored Yang Guo in her heart and said, “Cousin, apart from you, the people under the tutelage of your Master are either mad or crazy.”
Cheng Ying smiled and said mildly, “Everyone has their own will, you can’t force them. You said he was mad and crazy; he in turn might be calling us heartless. Anyway, don’t I possess a touch of madness and craziness myself?”
Yang Guo’s heart jumped when he heard this, she looked different and he couldn’t tell whether her words were meant to be ambiguous.
Suddenly a thumping sound was heard as Sha Gu fell from her bench. The three of them were alarmed and quickly put her up on a bed; her face was red and her eyes stared ahead blankly, the poison from the “Divine Five Poison Palm” was flaring up again.
Cheng Ying fed her some medicine while Yang Guo helped her sooth her pressure points. Sha Gu looked at him startled, her face was full of fear as she called out, “Brother Yang, don’t look for me for revenge, it wasn’t me who killed you.”
Cheng Ying said softly, “Sister, don’t be scared, he isn’t…”
Yang Guo suddenly thought, “She’s not fully conscious at the moment, I can force her to reveal the truth.” He turned his hands and grabbed onto her wrists and said with a severe tone, “Who killed me? If you don’t tell me then I’ll take my revenge on you.”
Sha Gu begged, “Brother Yang, it’s not me.”
Yang Guo said angrily, “You’re not telling me! Fine, I’ll strangle you to death!” He stretched his hands around her throat. Sha Gu gave out a piercing scream.
How would Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang know what Yang Guo was doing, they both called out to stop him, one called out, “Brother Yang”, the other called out, “Sha Dan!” One said, “Don’t frighten her further”, the other said, “Why are you mucking around at a time like this?”
Yang Guo didn’t take any notice; he closed his hands slightly tighter, the expression of an evil spirit was on his face; he clenched his teeth and said, “I’m brother Yang’s evil ghost. I died a horrible death, do you know that?”
Sha Gu said, “I know, after you died, crows ate your flesh.”
Yang Guo’s heart felt as if a knife was plunged into his heart, he knew that his father had died under someone else’s hands but he didn’t know that after he died, his body was actually eaten by crows and wasn’t buried, he called out, “Who killed me? Tell me, tell me.”
Sha Gu strained out, “It was you who hit Auntie, Auntie had poison needles on her body, you died.”
Yang Guo yelled loudly, “Who is this Auntie?”
Sha Gu couldn’t breathe with Yang Guo holding her throat and wanted to faint, she said quietly, “Auntie is auntie.”
Yang Guo said, “What’s Auntie’s surname? What’s her name?”
Sha Gu said, “I… I… don’t know, let me go!”
Lu Wushuang saw that the situation was becoming urgent; she went over to pull away Yang Guo’s hands. Right now, Yang Guo was like a madman, he waved out with all his strength, how could Lu Wushuang defend herself? She was thrown away and crashed into a wall painfully.
Cheng Ying saw that the usually peaceful, warm and graceful Yang Guo was now like a mad tiger, she was so frightened that her limbs went limp.
Yang Guo thought, “If today I can’t get the name of the person who killed my father, I’ll immediately throw up blood and die.” He asked, “Is Auntie’s surname Qu? Is Auntie’s name Mei?” He thought that since Sha Gu’s surname was Qu, her auntie’s surname would most probably be Qu, or perhaps it could have been Mei Chaofeng.
Sha Gu struggled with all her strength, though she has practiced martial arts for a longer time than Yang Guo, her martial arts couldn’t compare to his. The pressure points on her wrist were being held and she couldn’t break free, she could only say urgently, “Go and find Auntie for revenge, don’t… don’t look for me!”
Yang Guo said, “Where’s your Auntie?”
Sha Gu said, “Me and Grandpa left! She’s with a man on the island.”
Yang Guo’s spine chilled when he heard these words, he quivered, “What does your Auntie call your Grandpa?”
Sha Gu said, “Father, what else?”
Yang Guo’s face went grey but he was afraid he was wrong and asked, “Your Auntie’s man is called Guo Jing, isn’t he?”
Sha Gu said, “I don’t know. Auntie just calls him ‘brother Jing, brother Jing (Jing ge ge)!” She copied the way Huang Rong called Guo Jing; suddenly her legs flailed about and squealed, “Help, help! Ghost… ghost…”
What doubts did Yang Guo have now? All the suffering and bitterness of the past rushed to the surface and he thought, “If father wasn’t killed, my mother wouldn’t have been in pain all the time and die so early like that. I wouldn’t have endured all the pain and suffering I’ve been through.” He continued, “When I was on Peach Blossom Island, the Guo couple were not at ease with me, they were a bit too polite, they seemed to be covering up something and didn’t treat me like the Wu brothers. Telling them how things are, shouting at them when needed. I felt something then but how would I know that it was because they carried the guilt of killing my father. It’s because of this that they didn’t want to teach me martial arts and sent me to the Quanzhen sect to suffer.”
His anger and fear stirred throughout him, his limbs became limp. Sha Gu called out loudly and leapt up from the bed.
Cheng Ying went over to Yang Guo and said softly, “Sister Sha has always been a bit crazy, you know about this. She’s even worse after suffering this injury, don’t believe her whatever you do.” But in her heart she believed that the words of Sha Gu were true, and she knew that consoling him like this would be no use. But her heart couldn’t endure seeing his face full of anger, despair, bitterness and sorrow.
Yang Guo did not take in any of these words; he stood there stunned for a while before calling out. He got on his horse, kicked with his legs and the horse galloped forward, in a flash it had gone over a hundred feet. Faint calls of ‘Sha Dan!’ and ‘Brother Yang!’ were heard behind him but he ignored them. The only thought in his mind was, “I need to take revenge, I need to take revenge!”
He galloped in a single stretch for two hours and had gone tens of li. Suddenly he felt a pain on his lips; he lifted his hand and felt them. His hand was covered in blood; in his anger and pain, he had bitten down and actually pierced his lower lip. He thought, “Auntie Guo has always treated me badly, but recently she suddenly began to treat me well, but it was all fake. I don’t care about this but Uncle Guo… Uncle Guo…” He had always revered Guo Jing; he felt that his actions and martial arts were one of a kind, and he had always treated him exceedingly well. Now he knew that this was one big lie; he felt that this person was even more cunning than Huang Rong. Anger and resentment filled him, almost bursting out of his chest.
When he thought about the pain he was in; he got off the horse, covered his head and began to cry. This release of sorrow was extremely distressing; it was like all of the world’s pain and troubles had all amassed in him.
He had never seen his father and had never heard anyone talk about him; not even his own mother. But ever since he was little, he had the image of the perfect father in his mind; there wasn’t another who was as kind as him. Yet this hero was killed by a devious trick of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
He cried for a while before hearing the sounds of horses; four horses galloped from the north, the riders all Mongolian warriors. The first rider was holding a long spear; on the spear was a child that was two or three years of age. He was laughing as he galloped along. The baby was still alive; it was giving out a weak cry. The four warriors were a little surprised when they saw Yang Guo in the middle of the road but a ragged clothed young Han like him could be found everywhere so they didn’t take any notice.
One of them called out, “Move out of the way, move out of the way.” As he said this, he thrust his spear forward.
Yang Guo was deep in the middle of his troubles right now; without thinking he pulled the spearhead forward and dragged the warrior down. He turned his hand and swept the spear; the warrior went flying over ten feet away, his skull was crushed and he died. When the remaining three warriors saw his valor, they called out, turned around and galloped away. A ‘pai’ sound was heard as the baby fell onto the ground.
Yang Guo ran up to it and saw that it was a Han child; it was healthy, chubby, and very cute. The pierce to its stomach wouldn’t kill it right away but it would be difficult for it to recover and live. It was calling out ‘a’ ‘a’ ‘a’, as if it was calling out for its mother. Yang Guo was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief and sympathy stirred in his heart. He picked up the barely alive baby and tears flowed again; he saw that its pain was unbearable so he lightly gave it a palm and stopped its pain. He used the Mongolian warrior’s spear to dig a hole so he could bury the baby.
He dug ten or so times before he heard the thunderous noise of horses and horns; a group of Mongolian soldiers were rushing towards him. Yang Guo’s left hand held the dead baby; his right extended the spear as he got on the horse. The skinny horse was actually an experienced battle horse; when it saw it was about to go into battle, its spirits soared; it neighed and charged towards the Mongolian soldiers.
Yang Guo’s hand raised, the spear descended, he turned over three or four soldiers in one go, but he saw that countless soldiers were coming; he turned the horse around, went onto the wild lands and rode away. Arrows rained down behind him like locusts; he swung the spear and deflected the arrows away. The skinny horse was extremely fast; in a short while it had left the Mongolian soldiers behind but it didn’t stop; it continued galloping away like the wind into the wild lands.
After another while, Yang Guo saw that the sky was beginning to get dark; he looked around and saw that long grass and strange rocks were everywhere. Dusk was covering the area; it was quiet without any sounds of people, and there wasn’t even a crow or sparrow about.
He got off the horse with the baby still held in his hands. The face still looked alive but covered in extreme suffering; pain filled his heart, he thought, “The parents of this child must have loved it very much; now that he’s dead, his parents must be feeling great pain. I don’t know how many people have died by the hands of these vicious and violent Mongolian soldiers as they head south.”
The more he thought about it, the more difficult he found to endure; he dug a hole by a large tree and buried the child. He then thought about the words of Sha Gu again, “When this child died, it had me to bury it, but my father’s body was eaten by crows. You killed him, what harm is there in burying him? You really are evil! If I don’t take revenge, Yang Guo isn’t a human!”
That night he slept in a tree. The next morning he rode the horse and let the horse go as it pleased; sometimes he thought about going back to the tomb to see Xiao Longnu, and at others he would think about how he must kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong first, no matter what, to avenge his father. When he felt hungry, he would pluck wild fruits to eat.
On the fourth day, he saw someone faraway, leaping up to a tree to pick some wild fruits. Yang Guo rode closer and saw that it was the disciple of Jinlun Fawang, Da’erba. Every time he jumped, he could only pick one fruit; eventually he became impatient and attacked the tree a few times. The tree gave a ‘craack’ as it broke; he then plucked the wild fruits from the tree and placed them in his pockets.
Yang Guo thought, “Could it be that Jinlun Fawang is nearby?”
He and Jinlun Fawang originally didn’t have any ties; but now he had recognized Guo Jing and Huang Rong as his father’s killers. He regretted helping Guo Jing and Huang Rong in opposing Fawang; he quietly followed Da’erba to see where he was going. He saw him moving like he was flying, straight towards the mountains. Yang Guo got off the horse and followed from a distance behind. Da’erba headed into a forest; the further he went, the higher he got. Yang Guo followed him up to the peak of a mountain.
At the top of the mountain was a small exposed hut. Jinlun Fawang was sitting in the middle of the hut, meditating with his eyes closed and eyebrows drooping down. Da’erba put the wild fruits down on the floor and turned around; his face changed as he suddenly saw Yang Guo approaching. He called out, “Senior apprentice brother, you’ve come to cause further harm to Master?” He dashed forward to Yang Guo and stretched out his arm to twist the front of his garment. His martial arts are better than Yang Guo’s, but he was affected by the perilous situation that his Master was in and in his fear he lost control of his state of mind. This stance was a mess and broke one of the rules of martial arts; Yang Guo grabbed his arm in return and tossed him away.
Da’erba had always thought that Yang Guo was the reincarnation of his senior apprentice brother and now he was thrown on the ground by him; he rolled over a few times, picked himself up and then leapt in front of Yang Guo.
Yang Guo thought that he was going to raise his hands again so he took a step backwards, he didn’t know that Da’erba would suddenly fall down to his knees and kowtow, “Senior apprentice brother, please remember your relationship with Master in your previous life. Master has a serious injury and is now trying to recuperate, if you disturb him, then… then…” His voice croaked as he reached this point and tears flowed.
Though Yang Guo did not understand his Tibetan, from his emotional state and Jinlun Fawang’s distressed look, he more or less understood. He quickly helped him up and said, “Relax, I’m not going to harm your Master.”
Da’erba saw that his face was gentle and peaceful; he was pleased. Although he didn’t understand his words, his wariness started to go away.
Right at this time, Jinlun Fawang opened his eyes; he was shocked when he saw Yang Guo. He was concentrating on circulating his chi and didn’t hear the words of Da’erba and Yang Guo. Suddenly he saw the enemy in front of him; he gave a sigh and said slowly, “I have practiced martial arts for many years but I still have yet to find a way to break through the echelon barrier, I didn’t know that today I would die in the central plains.” When he suffered that blow from the rock, he had suffered serious internal injuries; in the past few days he had built a hut on the top of the mountain so he could recuperate. It was unexpected that Yang Guo would actually find his way here. He wasn’t able to use even one ounce of strength at the moment; he immediately ordered Da’erba to force Yang Guo away. But in the middle of their battle his state of mind would be disturbed and it would be difficult to recover from this serious injury.
How would he know that Yang Guo would bow; then say, “I have not come here to do any harm to the Reverend, please don’t be wary.”
Jinlun Fawang shook his head and was about to say something when he felt a severe pain in his chest; he quickly closed his eyes and circulated his chi. Yang Guo went inside the hut and stretched out his right hand, placing it on the ‘To Yang’ pressure point. This pressure point is just below the seventh vertebrae and is one of the major pressure point that regulates the veins and arteries.
Da’erba was shocked when he saw this; he sent out a fist towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo shook his left hand and made a signal with his eyes.
Da’erba saw that nothing was wrong with his Master, a slight smile was forming on his face and he took back his fist.
Yang Guo’s internal energy was not deep and he didn’t know anything about Tibetan internal energy; when he felt a Fawang’s internal chi stirring, he circulated his internal energy and sent chi to him to help him clear upwards the ‘Spirit Stage’, ‘Divine Route’, ‘Body Pillar’ and ‘Chest Route’; then clearing the downwards ‘Withdrawing Muscle’, ‘Central Hinge’, ‘Central Spine’ and the ‘Suspending Hinge’ pressure points. These were up to Fawang; he could only help him protect his veins and arteries.
Though Da’erba’s martial arts were strong, all he’d learned were external martial arts and couldn’t help his Master to recuperate. In the past few days he could only worry anxiously.
Since Jinlun Fawang now had no worries, his chi ran through his body and he used all his strength to heal the injuries in his chest and lower abdomen; after two hours the pain had lessened and his face was red. He opened his eyes and nodded to thank Yang Guo; he joined his palms and said, “Master Yang, why are you suddenly helping me?”
Yang Guo did not hide anything from him; he told him how he recently found out that Guo Jing and Huang Rong killed his father, and how he decided to go and take revenge. He explained how he accidentally bumped into Da’erba and followed him here.
Jinlun Fawang knew that this young man was crafty; in ten words it was difficult for him to believe one of them. But today, killing him would have been as easy as turning his palm, but instead of killing him, Yang Guo actually helped him to recuperate. He really did not have any ill intent towards him and he said, “So Master Yang has such heavy matters on him. But the Guo couple’s martial arts are extremely high, I’m afraid that it would be difficult for Master Yang to take revenge.”
Yang Guo was silent, after a while he said, “Fine, then both father and son will die at their hands!”
Fawang said, “At first, I thought I was invincible and just by my power alone, I could hold down the heroes of the central plains and take the position of the Chancellor of Wulin. But the warriors of the central plains do not follow the rules of fighting one on one, and they all came at once; I can only make another plan. When I’ve recovered, I’m going to need to invite many skilled fighters to assist me. Once my forces are large, the central plains martial artists can’t use numbers to overcome me and everyone can compete fairly. Have you got intentions of joining my side?”
Yang Guo was about to agree but he thought about the killings by the Mongolian soldiers and said, “I cannot help Mongolia.”
Fawang shook his head and said, “If you want to kill the Guo couple by yourself, it would be almost impossible.”
Yang Guo thought for a while and said, “Fine, I’ll help you get the position of the Chancellor of Wulin, you help me to take my revenge.”
Jinlun Fawang stretched out his palm and said, “That’s settled, we’ll exchange palms to seal this deal.”
The two of them exchanged three palms to set this deal.
Yang Guo said, “I’m just going to help you to take the position of the Chancellor of Wulin, I cannot help you in your quest to help the Mongols attack Jiangnan and kill its citizens.”
Jinlun Fawang laughed and said, “Everyone has their will, one cannot force them. Brother Yang, don’t mind me commenting, but your martial arts have many styles; learning martial arts from many schools is of course good, but it would be unavoidable that your martial arts won’t be refined. What is your most proficient skill? What martial arts are you planning to use against the Guo couple?”
Those words froze Yang Guo’s tongue; it was hard for him to reply. Yang Guo has had extraordinary encounters in his life and his character was also covetous; Quanzhen, Ouyang Feng, Ancient Tomb, the Nine Yin, Hong Qigong and Huang Yaoshi, he had learned numerous martial arts from these schools. All the martial arts of these schools are ingenious and Masterly, but they all need a lifetime of difficult work to reach the upper level of these skills. He took a bit here and a bit there, but none of his martial arts had actually reached a great level.
When he meets second rate fighters, the martial arts he uses are all flowery and fancy, causing confusion to opponents; but when he meets a first rate martial artist, he will eventually be proved inferior. He can’t even compare to Jinlun Fawang’s disciples Da’erba and Huo Dou. He lowered his head and pondered about it; these words by Jinlun Fawang were a real warning to him and showed up the weakness in the foundations of his martial arts.
He had another thought, “Since I’ve decided to stay with Gu Gu forever, how can I have relationships everywhere? Cheng Ying, Wifey and there’s also Wanyan Ping. I don’t have any real feelings for them, how can I treat them improperly like this? Being greedy is really not a good thing.” He continued thinking, “No matter if it’s Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng or even the Quanzhen Seven Masters and Jinlun Fawang, every one of them is a famous Master. They just practiced the martial arts of their own school; they understand other sect’s and school’s martial arts but they don’t practice them. They just make themselves aware of them. In that case, what school of martial arts should I concentrate on?”
Based on his background, he should concentrate on the “Jade Heart Manual” of the Ancient Tomb sect; but then he thinks about the Mastery and ingenuity of Hong Qigong’s “Dog Beating Stick Technique”, the subtlety of Huang Yaoshi’s “Jade Flute Swordplay”; if he ignores all of them, isn’t that a pity? There’s godfather’s “Toad Stance” and “Reversal of the Veins”. There are the martial arts of the “Nine Yin Manual” as well. Any one of them is enough to make your name in the world. It was difficult to learn them, how can I just give them up like that?”
He left the hut and walked around the peak, thinking bitterly; it was extremely troubling. He thought for half a day when suddenly his mind lit up, “Why don’t I take the best of all these schools and form my own? The martial arts of the world were all formed by someone; if others can do this, could it be that I can’t?” His eyes lit up as he thought about it.
He thought from morning to midday, from midday to night and didn’t eat or drink. All the martial arts he had seen in his life were floating around in his mind, clashing with each other. He had seen Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong compete martial arts verbally and he himself frightened away Li Mochou by using words from his mouth; but right now, the martial arts competing in his mind were even more rapid and spectacular than describing them verbally. Eventually he involuntarily started to wave out fists and kicks. At first, it could be distinguished that this stance was from Hong Qigong, the other was Ouyang Feng but eventually everything became muddled up, he couldn’t hold on any longer and fainted.
Da’erba watched from afar, he saw that he was acting crazy, pointing out his hand and sweeping his legs, he didn’t understand what it was all about. Suddenly he saw him falling onto the ground, he wanted to go over there and help him but Jinlun Fawang laughed and said; “Don’t disturb his thoughts. It’s a pity that your intelligence is mediocre and you can’t grasp the meanings within.”
Yang Guo slept for half a night and continued with his thoughts the next morning. In seven days, he fell unconscious five times. He thought he wanted to invent his own school of martial arts, but how easy is that? With his present abilities it would be almost impossible to succeed. This isn’t something that can be achieved in ten days or two weeks. But after studying for several days, he suddenly understood. Since he couldn’t combine all these martial arts together, there was no need to force the issue. He realized that all martial arts were at his fingertips; later on when he meets an enemy, he’ll use whichever is needed. There was no need to think about the source of the martial art and this wasn’t far off from his intentions of forming his own school. Once he understood this point, he was immediately filled with comfort.
In the past few days, Jinlun Fawang has been self-recuperating; his injury was now almost fully recovered and he can move as freely as usual. Today, he saw Yang Guo’s expression was now at ease and calm, and knew that he had advanced another level in his martial arts. He said, “Little brother Yang, I’ll take you to see someone. This person is a great hero, an extremely open minded person, once you see him you’ll definitely be in awe.”
Yang Guo said, “Who?”
Jinlun Fawang said, “The Mongolian Prince Khubilai. He is the grandson of Genghis Khan and the fourth son of Prince Tolui.”