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

Healing In The Secret Room Part 6

Lu Guanying responded, "Kitchen God, Master, I have heard for a long time the reputation of Quanzhen Sect's martial art; certainly there are many martial art experts within the Quanzhen Sect. But this doesn't mean that there are no arrogant blabbermouths among the disciples."

Yin Zhiping was angry, his palm struck and the corner of the kitchen stove collapsed. He stared hard and shouted loudly, "Good kid, you curse people!"

'Bang!' Lu Guanying also struck the other corner and it fell to the ground. He shouted, "How do I dare to curse you? I am cursing those condescending conceited disciples."

Yin Zhiping had seen Lu Guanying's martial art skill just now; he knew it was still inferior to his, so his confidence was boosted and with a cold laugh he said, "Fine! Let us try, we'll see who is conceited in the end."

Lu Guanying knew perfectly well that he was not Yin Zhiping's match, but he hated it when others insulted his school. He was like one riding on a tiger's back, he could not continue riding, yet it is difficult to back down. He drew his saber, made a gesture of respect with his left hand and said, "Little Brother is ready to receive Quanzhen Sect's excellent stances."

Cheng Yaojia was very anxious, tears streaming down from her eyes. She wanted to throw herself in between these two men, but each time did not have the courage to do so. She saw Yin Zhiping sweep his whisk away and step forward to launch his attack and straightaway two people fight ferociously.

Lu Guanying did not expect victory; he merely hoped he would avoid an embarrassing defeat. Immediately he launched the 'luo han dao fa' [Buddhist arhat's saber technique] he learned from Reverend Kumu [Dead Wood], creating a tight defense around him.

Yin Zhiping assumed offensive position immediately, and to his surprise he found the opponent's saber power to be quite strong. He realized he had recklessly underestimated his opponent when his left arm was almost chopped down. His heart shivered and he hastily concentrated his attention to face the attack and respond accordingly; launching his school's special teaching of calming his mind and spirit, slow step but quick hand movements. Only by doing this did he gradually gain the upper hand.

For the last several months Lu Guanying had received his father's instructions so that he enjoyed progress by leaps and bounds, but the days of his training were too short to be compared to Yin Zhiping who was a main disciple of Changchun.

Huang Rong was watching this fight through the small mirror; she saw Yin Zhiping gradually take the lead, she cursed in her heart, "This 'xiao za mao' [lit. little mixed-up hair – a derogatory term to Taoist priest] was scolding my father. If Jing Gege was not injured, I would certainly teach you some lessons on the heretical Peach Blossom Island's martial art. Aiyo! Not good!"

She saw Lu Guanying's saber strike down with a familiar stance, Yin Zhiping intercepted it with his whisk and diverted the saber away; then turning his hand over his finger moved with an exceptional speed toward the crook of Lu Guanying's elbow. Lu Guanying felt his arm go numb and his saber fell down to the ground. Without showing any mercy Yin Zhiping swept his whisk toward Lu Guanying's face while loudly shouted, "This is Quanzhen Sect's martial art, remember it well!" His whisk was made of horse's tail mixed with strands of silver threads; once Lu Guanying's face got hit, it would certainly be slashed with countless cuts.

Lu Guanying understood the danger, he quickly ducked and the whisk followed by sweeping downward. Suddenly a tender voice was shouting, "Yin Shige!" Cheng Yaojia thrust her sword to block the whisk. Lu Guanying took that opportunity to leap back and pick his saber from the ground.

Yin Zhiping coldly laughed, "Good! Cheng Shimei, you are helping an outsider. Come! You two lovers can fight me together."

"You ... you ..." Cheng Yaojia stammered.

'Swish! Swish! Swish!' Ying Zhiping swept his whisk three times, forcing her to move her hands and feet in a disorderly manner. Lu Guanying saw her precarious situation he raised his saber and joined the fight two against one. But Cheng Yaojia did not want to fight her martial brother, so she jumped back.

"Come!" Yin Zhiping said, "He cannot fight me alone. Otherwise, in a while you will come and help him anyway."

Huang Rong watched these three people fighting each other in amusement; she was wondering how this matter could be resolved when suddenly she heard some noise from the door. She saw Peng Lianhu, Sha Tongtian, along with Wanyan Honglie, Yang Kang, and the others came in together.

It turned out they had been waiting for Hou Tonghai for a long time and he did not come back. Sha Tongtian was concerned over his martial brother, so gathering his courage he quietly came over to take a look. He saw inside the inn two people were fighting; their martial art skills were only average. He waited for a long time but did not see anybody else. He was afraid to come in alone, so he went back and summoned the others, taking them back to the inn.

Yin and Lu two people saw these people came in; they leaped back and stopped fighting. They asked these newcomers, but Sha Tongtian swayed and stepped forward with arms open wide, grabbing both men's wrists. Meanwhile Peng Lianhu stooped down and untied Hou Tonghai's hands.

Hou Tonghai had been suffering for half a day; he was really angry. Without taking out the cloths in his mouth he roared and threw himself at Cheng Yaojia, attacking her with his palms. Cheng Yaojia evaded by moving backward in a circle. Hou Tonghai's face was purple from the bruise; his fists went straight up and down fiercely attacking Cheng Yaojia.

"Hold on!" Peng Lianhu repeatedly said, "Let's talk first." But Hou Tonghai's mouth and ears were stopped with cloths, how could he have heard anything?

The acupoint on Lu Guanying's wrist was grabbed by Sha Tongtian; he felt half of his body went numb, he could not move. But seeing Cheng Yaojia in danger and Hou Tonghai was like a mad tiger; he struggled hard and without knowing where the strength came from, he shook Sha Tongtian's grab loose and fiercely threw himself toward Hou Tonghai.

Before he reached his target Peng Lianhu swept his leg and sent him tumbling down and immediately Peng Lianhu pounced on him. He grabbed Lu Guanying by the back of his neck and lifted him up; "Who are you?" he asked, "Where is that fellow who played ghost?"

Suddenly the door creaked and it opened slowly. Everybody turned their head at once, but nobody came in. Peng Lianhu and the others could not help but feel shivers of fear in their hearts; suddenly a female head with disheveled hair sticking out was at the door. Liang Ziweng and Lingzhi Shangren jumped up in fright; they even shouted, "Not good! A female ghost!"

Peng Lianhu saw clearly that she was just an ordinary country girl; "Come in!" he shouted.

Shagu walked in with a giggle, sticking out her tongue she said, "Ah, so many people!"

Liang Ziweng was the one shouted, "Female Ghost!" earlier, now he saw she was just a poor peasant girl with tattered clothes and silly demeanor; out of shame he became angry. He jumped forward and shouted, "Who are you?" Stretching out his hand he grabbed her arm. Who would have thought that Shagu withdrew her arm and flipped her hand, then her palm struck with the Peach Blossom Island's 'bi bo zhang fa' [jade-green wave palm technique]. Although her skill was not refined, the stance was subtle and wonderful. Liang Ziweng did not guard against her counterattack at all. 'Slap!' Shagu's palm hit the back of his hand, hard.

Liang Ziweng was stunned and angry at the same time. "Good!" he called out, "You are playing dumb!" He rushed forward with both fists straight up. Shagu stepped back to evade, suddenly she pointed toward his shiny bald head and burst out in laughter.

This laughter caught everybody by surprise; Liang Ziweng was stunned and he stopped dead on his tracks for a few seconds; only then he ferociously resumed his attack. Shagu raised her hands to block, but she staggered back. She knew she was not his match, so she turned around, trying to run away. But Liang Ziweng would not let her escape, he stretched his left leg backward to block her, while his elbow struck backward, followed by his fist. Shagu's nose was hit hard until she felt her head spinning. She cried out, "Sister who eats the watermelon, come out quickly! Help me! Somebody is hitting me!"

Huang Rong was startled, she thought, "Not killing this dumb girl was a big mistake; she is bound to bring us disaster." Suddenly she heard a soft 'humph' sound. It was so soft, almost inaudible, but Huang Rong's heart jumped in delight. "Father is here!" she thought. Hastily she looked through the small hole and saw Huang Yaoshi wearing a human-skin mask, standing on the doorstep.

Nobody saw him come, as if he had just arrived, but also as if he had been there before everybody else came. He stood motionless like a log of wood, without showing the least bit of emotion on his face. Everybody who saw him could not help but shudder. He did not have a green face nor did he have fierce teeth; he did not even look loathsome or ugly, but in all honesty nobody could say that his face belonged to a living person.

Shagu only exchanged three stances with Liang Ziweng but Huang Yaoshi could immediately tell that she was using the martial art of his school. With a heart full of questions he asked, "Miss, who is your master? Where is he?"

Shagu simply shook her head. She stared at him blankly. Suddenly she clapped her hands and laughed. Huang Yaoshi frowned; he knew she must have had some relation with his disciples. If not their disciple, then she must be their family or relative. He was very fond and tended to be over-protective toward his disciples; in no way would he allow anybody to bully them. Mei Chaofeng was a renegade disciple of his; she had committed a great crime against her master. Yet when she was defeated by Guo Jing Huang Yaoshi would still help her; much less Shagu who was a naïve and child-like young girl. Thereupon he said, "Dumb kid, others hit you, why don't you hit back?"

The other day on the boat, when Huang Yaoshi was looking for his daughter, he did not wear any mask, so his appearance was not the same as today; nobody recognized him. But as soon as he opened his mouth, Wanyan Honglie, Yang Kang and Peng Lianhu, three people remembered his voice and vaguely guessed his identity. Peng Lianhu knew this evil man must not have good things in his mind; he also guessed that the ghost of the imperial palace last night might be this man. He knew there was no way he could fight this man, so while there was an opportunity, he was thinking of launching the thirty-sixth stance, namely: run away.

Shagu said, "I can't hit him?"

"Who says you cannot hit him?" Huang Yaoshi said, "He hit your nose, you must hit his nose. He hit you once, you must pay him back three times."

Shagu laughed. "All right!" she said. Without thinking that Liang Ziweng's skill was way above hers she walked over to him and said, "You hit my nose, I must hit your nose. You hit me once, I must pay you back three times." Her fist went straight up to his nose.

Liang Ziweng raised up his hand to block, suddenly the 'qu chi' [crooked reservoir] acupoint on the bent of his arm was numb. His hand was already half way up but could not go further. 'Bang!' his nose was squarely hit by Shagu's fist.

"Two!" Shagu called out and sent out another fist.

Liang Ziweng bent his knees, keeping his back straight; left hand straight out with one of the highest 'qin na' [grab and capture] techniques. He was sure he could turn Shagu's arm over and divert the attack; who would have thought that as his fingers touched Shagu's arm, the 'bi ru' [arm scholar] acupoint on his arm was numb and he was unable to divert Shagu's hand. 'Bang!' for the second time his nose was hit by Shagu's fist. It was such a violent blow that his head was thrown backward and he staggered, almost fell down. Liang Ziweng was really angry.

Other people were astounded, but they did not see anything unusual. Peng Lianhu was an expert in secret projectile usage; he was the only one who noticed something. Each time Liang Ziweng blocked the attack, both times Peng Lianhu heard a very light swishing noise of secret projectiles. He knew Huang Yaoshi had launched some kind of tiny metal needles toward Liang Ziweng's acupoints. Only he did not see Huang Yaoshi's arm move, so he did not know how Huang Yaoshi did it.

Actually Huang Yaoshi was flicking his finger inside his sleeve and sent the needles piercing through the fabric toward the enemy. Invisible and almost inaudible, the needles suddenly arrived; how could the enemy evade this kind of attack?

"Three!" Shagu called out. Both of Liang Ziweng's arms did not obey their master's order. His eyes saw the fist coming straight toward his face; he did not have any choice but step backward to evade. Who would have thought that as he was about to step back the 'bai hai' [white ocean] acupoint on the inside of his right leg suddenly turned numb. His shock had not subsided when a spark fluttered in the air and he felt tears brimming in his eyes.

It turned out when his nose was hit the tears acupoint was also hit. He had always regarded defeat in martial art contests as nothing; but if tears streaming down his face, his lifelong reputation would be ruined. Hastily he lifted up his sleeve to wipe the tears away, but his arm did not follow his order. Two big drops of tears finally came down his cheeks.

Shagu saw his tears and busily said, "Please don't cry! Don't be afraid, I won't hit you anymore."

Compared to the three blows on his nose, those three comforting sentences were more difficult for Liang Ziweng to bear. In his resentment, 'Wah!' he vomited a mouthful of fresh blood. He looked up to Huang Yaoshi and said, "Who are you Sire? You secretly harmed people; what kind of hero are you?"

With a cold laugh Huang Yaoshi replied, "Are you worthy to ask my name?" Suddenly he raised his voice up, "Everybody roll out of my presence!"

Everybody standing on the side had early on felt their four limbs and hundreds of bones uncomfortable; nobody had the guts to fight, they just stood in that inn without knowing what to do. When they heard his shout, it was as if the had just received pardon on their lives. Peng Lianhu was the first one wanted to go out, but only after two steps he saw that Huang Yaoshi was standing on the doorstep, not allowing anybody to pass through; hence he stopped dead on his tracks.

Huang Yaoshi sneered, "I told you to go, but you don't go. Do you want me to slaughter all of you one by one?"

Peng Lianhu had heard about Huang Yaoshi's strange temperament; he would do what he said. Therefore, Peng Lianghu turned to the rest of them and said, "This Senior Master told us to leave. Let's just leave."

By this time Hou Tonghai had pulled the cloth away from his mouth. He dashed toward Huang Yaoshi and glared at him menacingly. "Let me pass!" he shouted.

Huang Yaoshi did not pay him any attention; "You are not worthy to make me move aside," he said flatly, "If you want to live, crawl out underneath my legs."

Everybody looked at each other in blank dismay; it was clear from their faces that they were angry. They thought that even though Huang Yaoshi might be highly skilled, there were currently many skilled pugilists gathered in that room; if they joined forces and staked it all, they might not necessarily lose.

Hou Tonghai roared and pounced on Huang Yaoshi, but with a cold laugh Huang Yaoshi moved his left hand and Hou Tonghai was lifted up high in the air; and then his right hand pulled Hou Tonghai's left arm. 'Crack!' Hou Tonghai's arm, flesh and bones, was severed from his body. Huang Yaoshi cast the severed arm and the man to the ground. He raised his head up looking at the sky, seemingly indifferent to his surrounding. Hou Tonghai passed out from severe pain; blood rushed forth like a fountain from the wound on his arm.

Everybody's face changed color. Huang Yaoshi slowly turned his head; his eyes swept through everybody's face one by one. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu and the others were used to killing people without batting their eyelids; but seeing Huang Yaoshi's gaze on them, they shuddered in fear involuntarily, their hair standing on its end, goose bumps appeared on their skins.

Suddenly Huang Yaoshi roared, "Are you going to crawl out or not?"

Merely his voice was enough to scare the hell out of them; nobody thought about joining forces and attacking him altogether. Peng Lianhu hung his head low and was the first to crawl out underneath his legs. Sha Tongtian released Yin and Lu two people; carrying his martial brother in his arms he followed. Yang Kang helped Wanyan Honglie, and finally Liang Ziweng and Lingzhi Shangren; one by one they crawled out underneath Huang Yaoshi's crotch. Once they were out of the door, they scurried away like a frightened cat. Who dared to turn around and look back?