EASTERN HERETIC, WESTERN POISON (Book 2 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Great Waves And School Of Sharks Part 3

"The world's big beggars, medium-sized beggars, and little beggars, within a few days will gather together at Yueyang, in Hunan province. They will look up to the Old Beggar to appoint a new leader. If the Old Beggar meets a calamity and has to return to heaven before first appointed a successor, who would lead the world's beggars? Therefore, the Old Beggar has to go, whether he wants it or not. Your brother truly appreciates Yao Xiong's generosity. Whenever your daughter and son-in-law get married, I will come back to disturb the wedding."

Huang Yaoshi sighed, "Qi Xiong, you are truly an ardent man; you dedicate your life toiling for others, like a horse that never stops galloping everywhere."

Hong Qigong laughed, "The Old Beggar never ride a horse; my feet can't be compared to a horse's hoof. Aiyo! Something's wrong! You are indirectly scolding me, saying that my feet are hoofs, wouldn't that mean you are saying I am a horse?"

Huang Rong laughed, "Shifu, you said it yourself, my father never scolded you."

"Of course, Shifu will always inferior to father," Hong Qigong said, "Just you watch, I am going to take a Mistress Old Beggar, then we will have a baby girl beggar for you to look after."

Huang Rong clapped her hands, "That's great! I will have a little beggar as my martial sister to play with. Won't that be fun?"

Ouyang Ke stole a glance toward her; under the bright sunlight she looked so beautiful, her cheeks pink like a spring flower, colorful as rosy-colored clouds at dawn; he couldn't help but feeling crazy for her. However, from her his thought went to Guo Jing. His pulse quickened, knowing she had her eyes only for Guo Jing, his anger rose, he swore in his heart, "There will come a day when I will kill this stinky kid."

Hong Qigong held out his hand to help Zhou Botong, he said, "Botong, I will accompany you riding this new boat. Old Heretic Huang is so weird, we two boys better not mind him at all."

Zhou Botong was delighted, "Old Beggar, you are a very kind man, what do you say we become sworn brothers?"

Hong Qigong had not answered when Guo Jing interrupted, "Big Brother Zhou, you and I have become sworn brothers so how could you take my master as your sworn brother also?"

Zhou Botong laughed, "What's the problem? If your father-in-law is kind enough and let me ride on this new boat, when my heart is happy I might take him as my sworn brother as well."

"What about me?" Huang Rong laughed.

Zhou Botong squinted his eyes, "I am not too keen to take a baby doll; if I look at pretty women too much; they turn into trash." Taking Hong Qigong's arm he walked to the boat.

Quickly Huang Yaoshi blocked their way, stretching both arms and said, "Old Huang does not dare to take advantage of others. Riding this boat will bring more harm than good. Gentlemen, you don't need to prove your courage, it has been well known on the Central Plains."

Hong Qigong laughed heartily, "You have repeatedly warned us; even if the Old Beggar returns to heaven due to seasickness I will still appreciate Yao Xiong's friendship." Although he said those things jokingly, but in his heart he was quite wary seeing Huang Yaoshi had twice tried to stop them from boarding the boat. He knew something was wrong with that boat, but Zhou Botong was insistent on coming aboard. He saw with his own eyes how stubborn Zhou Botong was. If something really went wrong, Zhou Botong could not possibly face the danger alone, with his internal injury and all. That was the reason he made up his mind to come with Zhou Botong.

Huang Yaoshi made a humph sound and said, "You two gentlemen are experts in martial art; I am sure you would be able to turn bad luck into good. This Old Huang here worries too much. You, the boy surnamed Guo, you are going with them."

Guo Jing was startled. When he became Huang Yaoshi's son-in-law he was called 'Jing'er' but now suddenly Huang Yaoshi changed the way he called him; moreover, his expression was so stern. Looking at Huang Yaoshi he said, "Father-in-law ..."

"Who's your Father-in-law?" Huang Yaoshi cut him off with a harsh voice, "You are a greedy lying boy! If you ever tread your foot on the Peach Blossom Island again even for half a step, don't blame the Old Huang for being ruthless." Reaching backward he grabbed a servant's collar, shouted, "This is your example!" The deaf and mute servant's tongue was cut early on, so only a low and deep neighing was heard from his throat; his body flew to the sea. His internal organs were crushed by Huang Yaoshi's palm; he dropped to the sea and in an instant disappeared among the waves without any trace.

The other deaf and mute servants were terribly terrified, they all knelt down at once. All of them were originally criminals; Huang Yaoshi had investigated their background carefully before capturing them one by one and took them to the island; cut their tongues and pierced their ears, making them his slaves. He once said, "The Old Huang is not a gentleman, Jianghu people call me the Eastern Heretic. Naturally I don't like any gentlemen as my companions; I prefer wicked people to be my servants. The more wicked they are, the more I like them." That one servant, although he deserved to be condemned, struck by his palm and thrown out to the sea without any reason, had shaken everybody's heart. They could not help but sighing inwardly, "The Old Heretic Huang is really wicked."

Guo Jing was scared; he also knelt down on the ground.

"What did he do to offend you?" Hong Qigong asked.

Huang Yaoshi did not answer his question, instead, sternly he asked Guo Jing, "Did you or did you not give the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual to Zhou Botong?"

"I did give something to Big Brother Zhou, but I really did not know if it was the manual," Guo Jing said, "If I knew ..."

"What do you mean you didn't know?" Zhou Botong interrupted. He was always ignorant of what was serious and what was not. The more he saw other people upset, the more he wanted to play practical jokes on them. Without waiting for Guo Jing to explain he said, "You said it yourself that you took that manual from Mei Chaofeng; said you were lucky the old man Huang Yaoshi didn't know. You also said that after you master the manual, you will become number one expert of martial art in the world."

Guo Jing was stupefied. "Big Brother, I ... when did I say that?" he said with a trembling voice.

Zhou Botong's eyes glittered, with a stern voice he said, "You certainly have said that."

The fact that Guo Jing was able to recite the book was well-known to those present; whether he knew it was the Nine Yin Manual or not, nobody cared. Now that Zhou Botong had confirmed it Huang Yaoshi was very, very angry. Why would he think Zhou Botong was only joking? He forgot that Zhou Botong was childish and always liked to crack a joke; while Guo Jing was naïve and unable to tell lies. He was so wild with rage that he was afraid he would rip Guo Jing apart, thus smearing his own reputation; so he raised his hand in respect of Zhou Botong, Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng, saying, "Please!" Pulling along Huang Rong's hand he turned around and walked away.

Huang Rong still wanted to have a few words with Guo Jing. "Brother Jing ..." she called; but she was pulled by her father and in a blink of an eye they have traveled dozens of feet away, disappearing into the forest.

Zhou Botong burst out in laughter, but stopped abruptly because his chest hurt. Finally he chuckled and said, "The Old Heretic Huang has fallen into my trap. I spoke nonsense to deceive him and he took it seriously. Amusing, amusing!"

Hong Qigong was taken aback. "Then Jing'er really didn't know beforehand?" he asked.

Zhou Botong laughed, "Of course he didn't know! He thought the Nine Yin martial arts are evil; if he knew, he wouldn't want to learn with me. Brother, you have memorized the manual really well didn't you? Even if you want to forget it, you can't, can you?" He held his stomach and burst out into laughter again; didn't care if it hurt his chest; so his expression was really awkward.

Hong Qigong stomped his foot. "Ay! Old Urchin! Don't you think this joke is too much? I am going to talk to Yao Xiong." Moving his feet he dashed into the forest, but the pathways was confusing; he did not know which way Huang Yaoshi went. As for the deaf and mute servants, as soon as their master gone, they scampered away following him. Hong Qigong had no one to lead him the way, so he was compelled to come back. But suddenly he remembered that Ouyang Ke had the map of the Peach Blossom Island in details. "Ouyang Xianzhi, can I borrow the Peach Blossom Island map, please?" he asked urgently.

Ouyang Ke shook his head, "Without Uncle Huang's permission little nephew does not dare to let other people see it; Uncle Hong please don't blame me."

"Humph!" Hong Qigong snorted. He said in his heart, "I am really stupid, how can I borrow the map from this kid? He earnestly wishes for the Old Heretic Huang to hate my dumb disciple." While he was still staring at the forest suddenly he saw some white shadows coming out. Turned out they were Ouyang Feng's 32 white clothed dancing girls.

As they came close to Ouyang Feng, they bent their knees and one of them said, "Master Huang told us to go back with Master."

Ouyang Feng did not even look their way; he simply waved his hand telling them to board the boat. Toward Hong Qigong and Zhou Botong he said, "I am afraid Yao Xiong did put some booby-traps on board. Don't you two gentlemen worry, Little Brother will follow closely on my boat. In case of emergency we can lend you a hand."

Zhou Botong angrily said, "Who wants your charity? I want to see what kind of gadgets the Old Heretic Huang put on his boat. If you follow along the danger won't come; where is the fun part then? If you mess with me, the Old Urchin will drench you with urine one more time!"

Ouyang Feng laughed, "Very well! In that case, till we meet again." He cupped his fists and took his nephew boarding his own boat.

Guo Jing was still staring blankly at where Huang Rong disappeared, lost in his thought. Zhou Botong laughed, "Brother, let us board the boat. I wonder if this ill-fated boat will swallow us three people alive" His left hand took Hong Qigong's arm and his right hand pulled Guo Jing along, together they board the new boat.

The boat came with about seven, eight sailors waiting to serve them; they were all mute. Zhou Botong laughed, "One day the Old Heretic Huang will be very angry that he cut his precious daughter's tongue. Only then will I admire him to have guts." Listening to this Guo Jing could not help but shivered. Zhou Botong saw him and laughed heartily, "Are you scared?" he asked; then made a hand signal to the sailor to start sailing. The sailors hoisted the anchor and raised the sail; under the southern wind they headed north.

"Come," Hong Qigong said, "Let us take a look of this boat and see what is so strange about it." Three men walked the boat from stern to bow; from the deck to the bottom of the hold. The boat was painted in bright and clear paint; the hold contained supply of foods and drinks: water, white rice, wine, meat and vegetables in abundance. Nothing was out of ordinary.

"The Old Heretic Huang deceived us!" Zhou Botong hatefully said, "Where is the strange thing on this boat he was talking about? He is such a liar!"

Hong Qigong, however, was still in doubt. He leaped to the mast and with his strength tried to rock the mast and the sail, but again, he found nothing out of ordinary. He lifted up his eyes looking at a distance; he saw seagulls flying, the billows rolled and the horizon where the sea met the sky. The boat's three sails were fully raised; they were heading north. He spread his collar and enjoyed the invigorating wind. Turning his head he saw Ouyang Feng's boat following them approximately two li's [about 1 km] behind.

Hong Qigong leaped down the mast, made a hand signal to the sailor, told him to change course to the northwest. A moment later he looked again and saw that Ouyang Feng's boat had also changed its direction to the northwest.

"What does he follow us for?" Hong Qigong muttered under his breath, "Can he really have good intentions? The Old Venom shows kindness of heart, the sun may have to come out from the west." He was afraid if Zhou Botong knew he would throw a fit of temper. He didn't say anything, but signaling the sailor to change course to the east.

The boat made an abrupt turn that the sail were almost touching the water and they slowed down. Approximately the time needed to drink a cup of tea later Ouyang Feng's boat was also changing its direction to the east. "If you want to settle our score on the sea, that's allright with me," Hong Qigong thought.

He left the deck to enter the cabin only to see Guo Jing looked depressed; he was quiet, lost in thought. Hong Qigong said, "Tu'er [disciple], let me teach you how a beggar begs for rice: if the master of the house did not give you anything, you hang around his door for three days and three nights, see if he still didn't want to give you anything."

Zhou Botong laughed, "What if the master of the house owns a vicious dog? What if he told to dog to bite you because you don't want to go? What would you do?" he asked.

Hong Qigong laughed, "That case he is a heartless rich man. If you come again at night and steal his belonging, you are not violating the heaven's law."

Zhou Botong turned to Guo Jing. "Brother, do you understand your Master's speech? He taught you to be persistent in front of your father-in-law. If he still won't give his daughter to you and beat you for no reason, then you can steal her at night," he said, "Only if you really have to steal that treasure, you don't have to do it yourself; all you need to do is just call out, 'bao bei er [Treasure, precious], come!' And she herself will come out and follow you."

Listening to him Guo Jing was unable to restrain a smile. He saw Zhou Botong pacing up and down the cabin, could not stay still even for a moment. Suddenly a thought came into his mind, "Big Brother, do you have any destination to go?" he asked.

"I don't have any," replied Zhou Botong, "I will go where my heart tells me to. I have stayed on the Peach Blossom Island for too long, I felt cooped up."

"I have a favor I'd like to ask Big Brother," Guo Jing said.

Zhou Botong shook his head. "No, I am not going to the Peach Blossom Island to help you steal a wife, I don't want to."

Guo Jing blushed, "No, not that," he said, "I want to bother Big Brother to visit the Cloud Village in Yixing, by the Lake Tai."

"What for?" Zhou Botong asked.

"The Cloud Village Master, Lu Chengfeng is a brave hero," Guo Jing explained, "He was Father-in-law's disciple. Because of the Twin Killers of the Dark Wind's affair, Father-in-law has broken his legs so he became a cripple. I saw Big Brother's legs recovered, so I want to ask Big Brother to teach him the technique to heal his legs."

"That's easy," Zhou Botong said, "Even if Old Heretic Huang breaks my legs again, I know how to heal myself. If you don't believe me, go ahead, break my legs." After saying that, he sat on a chair and stretched out his legs with a challenging look on his face.

Guo Jing smiled, "I don't need to try, I know Big Brother have this ability," he said.

While they were still talking suddenly a loud crashing was heard, the door burst open and a sailor came rushing in with a terror-stricken face. He could not speak, so he just gesticulated in panic. Three of them knew something was terribly wrong, so they dashed out of the cabin.

Huang Rong wanted to have a word with Guo Jing when was pulled away by her father. She was really upset, so as soon as they arrived at their home she went straight to her room and locked the door, crying uncontrollably. In his anger Huang Yaoshi had expelled Guo Jing from the island; now that his anger had subsided he regretted his rash decision; realizing he had sent Guo Jing to his death. He wanted to comfort his daughter, but no matter how hard or how long he knocked on her door, she just simply turned a deaf ear to him. During supper he called for her, but she did not appear; he sent a servant with Huang Rong's dinner, but she trashed the dinner to the ground, she even hit the servant a couple of times.

"Father had said that if Brother Jing ever step his foot on this island again he would kill him. I want to go out and find him, but how can I leave Father alone here? He will definitely be grieved," Huang Rong pondered left and right, but could not come out with any idea until her stomach hurt.