Eagle Shooting Hero 1(146)

“You really aren’t going to run away?” Mei Chaofeng asked.

“No!” Guo Jing asserted.

“Good!” Mei Chaofeng shouted. “I am willing to write off the Six Freaks’ debt. Good boy, come, follow me!”

“Mei Shijie, he is a real man. You on the other hand, will be the laughingstock of the heroes of Jianghu!” Huang Rong suddenly called out.

“How?” Mei Chaofeng was angry.

“He is the only heir to the Jiangnan’s Six Freaks’ skills,” Huang Rong explained. “The Six Freaks martial arts of today cannot be compared to theirs of the past. It would be quite easy if they really wanted to take your life. But they have actually forgiven you. Not only that, they also gave you face. It was you who didn’t know the good from the bad…yet you are still boasting.”

“Did I want them to forgive me? Bah! ” Mei Chaofeng was furious. “Six Freaks, have your martial arts improved greatly? Want to try me?”

“Why would they want to fight you personally? Even their disciple won’t necessarily lose to you,”

Huang Rong said.

Mei Chaofeng was so angry she almost screamed, “If I can’t kill him in three stances, I will kill myself right here right now.” She had fought Guo Jing in the Zhao palace and thought she knew his level of martial arts. What she didn’t know was that in the past few months Guo Jing had received the tutelage of the ‘Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar’. His skill now couldn’t be compared to his skill then.

“Good!” Huang Rong said, “Let all the people here bear witness. Three stances are too few, let’s give you ten.”

“I will match Senior Mei for fifteen stances,” Guo Jing said. He’d only learned fifteen out of the eighteen moves of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, hence he thought he could at least survive fifteen stances.

“Ask Martial Brother Lu and the guest who accompanied you to be the witnesses,” Huang Rong added.

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“Who accompanies me?” Mei Chaofeng was taken aback. “I rushed to this manor alone...who came with me?”

“Who is that behind you then?” Huang Rong asked.

Mei Chaofeng threw a sudden backward punch, quick as lightning. Nobody saw the man move, but her attack hit empty space. That person moved like he was a ghost or spirit; the amazing part was that he moved without making a sound.

After she arrived in the Jiangnan region Mei Chaofeng always had the feeling that somebody was following her, but no matter how she spoke or attacked, she could never hear anything. She thought she was losing her mind, or it was a ghost haunting her. And then she heard the flute driving away the snakes and she was certain someone with a very high level of martial arts was shadowing her.

She had tried to express her gratitude to the air, but nobody answered. She waited among the trees, but was not sure if that person had left or not. Now she heard Huang Rong speak and she was unable to hide her feeling.

“Who are you?” she asked, trembling, “What do you want from me?”

That person did not answer. Nobody knew if he even heard the question. Mei Chaofeng thrust herself forward. That person did not seem to move but again she did not touch anything. Everybody was stunned. They had never seen someone with this person’s immeasurable skill.

Lu Chengfeng boldly asked, “The Honorable Guest has come from a long way and I have not had the opportunity to welcome you. Would you please sit down and have a drink with me?”

That person turned around, seemingly floating on air as he went outside.

Mei Chaofeng gathered her courage and asked, “Is Honorable Senior the one who played the flute to help me? Mei Chaofeng is deeply grateful.”

Nobody was able to restrain their amazement. Being a blind woman, Mei Chaofeng had very sharp ears, but she could not hear that person leaving the hall.

“Mei Shijie, that person has already left,” Huang Rong said.

Mei Chaofeng was startled. “He did? I … How could I not hear him?”

“Go after him quickly; don’t boast about yourself in here,” Huang Rong said.

Mei Chaofeng was dumbfounded. Her face showed sadness, yet there was a tinge of anger.

Suddenly she shouted, “Guo Kid, take this!” She lifted both hands with all ten fingers out-stretched, emanating a spooky bluish green aura in the candlelight; but she did not attack.

“I am here,” Guo Jing said.

As soon as Mei Chaofeng heard the word ‘I’ her right hand moved, followed by her left hand’s five fingers, towards Guo Jing’s face.

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Guo Jing saw her fast movement; he slightly leaned his body sideways and sent his left palm toward her. Mei Chaofeng heard the sound of the palm and was about to evade, but she was not fast enough for the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ exquisite move and her shoulder was struck. She was shaken and forced to retreat three steps. But her martial arts were not weak. While stepping backwards she sent her fingernails to counterattack. Guo Jing was taken by surprise and his right wrist was caught by Mei Chaofeng on three acupoints: ‘Inner Gate’ [nei guan], ‘Outer Gate’ [wai guan], and ‘Ancestor Meeting’ [hui zong]. Guo Jing had carefully heeded his masters warning, that Mei Chaofeng’s ‘Nine Yin White Bone Claw’ [jiu yin bai gu zhua] was very lethal; hence he guarded himself carefully. But now he could not avoid being grasped by those deadly fingers. “Not good!” he screamed. His whole body felt weak. In that critical moment he managed to bend two fingers, and with his hand forming a half-palm-half-fist he hit her chest. That was the ‘Hidden Dragon is Forbidden’ [qian long wu yong]. It was supposed to be followed by his left hook – a brilliant stance difficult to fend; but since his left wrist was in the enemy’s hand, he could only launch a half stance. But the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ was amazing and even a half stance was no small matter.

Mei Chaofeng heard the incredible wind generated by this half-palm-half-fist move; she did not dare to parry but tried to elude it. Still her shoulder was hit very hard and she was forced to let Guo Jing go.

As Guo Jing was struggling to free himself, he pulled hard, so when his hand was suddenly free both people were thrown backwards and each hit a pillar. The roof shook and bricks, stones and dust fell down into the hall. Many manor people cried out and ran to escape.

The Six Freaks of Jiangnan looked at each other with amazement but were also pleasantly surprised.

“Where did Jing’er learn this kungfu?” they asked in their hearts. Han Baoju looked at Huang Rong suspiciously; he thought she was the one who taught Guo Jing and secretly felt admiration, “Peach Blossom Island’s martial arts are amazing.”

By now Guo Jing and Mei Chaofeng were engaged in a fierce battle. Palms, fists, and claws were exchanged. Mei Chaofeng was furious and she fought with gusto. Guo Jing was calm but agile.

Both had exerted their full strength and the hall was filled with the sound of their blows.

Suddenly Mei Chaofeng jumped vertically; her attacks seemed to come from every direction, one after another, ever changing. Guo Jing knew this attack was fierce and he would suffer defeat if he left any openings in his defense. He recalled Hong Qigong’s lesson on how to deal with Huang Rong’s ‘Peach Blossom Divine Sword Palm [tao hua shen jian zhang]; no matter how many changes his opponent executed he steadily used fifteen moves out of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’.

By repeating these fifteen moves he was able to defend himself for forty to fifty moves; without giving Mei Chaofeng even half a step advantage.

Huang Rong was keeping her eyes on her ‘Jing ge ge’ with a smile on her pretty face. The Six Freaks stood still in amazement, sometimes clucking their tongues in praise. Lu Chengfeng and his son could only look on in dismay.

“Mei Shijie has improved so much,” Lu Chengfeng thought. “If I had to fight her, I would certainly lose my life in only ten moves ... This young Brother Guo, how could he master such a profound Eagle Shooting Hero

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kungfu at his young age? I was really blind … Luckily I was not careless or indiscreet, but treated him with politeness and respect.”

Wanyan Kang was also upset, “I was supposed to compete with this boy; with his kungfu, how could I win?”

“Mei Shijie, you have been fighting for more than eighty moves. Why don’t you admit defeat?”

Huang Rong loudly called out. Actually they had only fought for about sixty moves, but she exaggerated by adding twenty more.

Mei Chaofeng was fuming. “I have trained hard for dozens of years but cannot cope with this kid?”

she thought. She ignored Huang Rong’s remark and increased the speed of her attacks. Her kungfu was actually many times better than Guo Jing’s; but first, she was at a disadvantage because of her blindness, and second, she could not think straight because her heart was filled with rage in her efforts to seek revenge for her husband. Anger is a big taboo in a battle between two martial arts experts. Thirdly, Guo Jing had the advantage of a youth’s strength, plus he had mastered most of the

‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. Therefore, the battle between these two was extremely fierce.

After about a hundred moves, Mei Chaofeng started to recognize and become more familiar with Guo Jing’s fifteen moves. She knew Guo Jing’s line of defense was formidable; she could feel the wind from more than ten feet away. But she also knew that performing the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ took a lot of energy, and her internal energy was stronger than Guo Jing’s.