‘The night is silent without any chirping from the birds. It is already late in the night when I fall into deep sleep. I awake only to carry on alone, there is no one but the bright moon there. A hundred 376
Eagle Shooting Hero
pieces gain recognition and success. The aging hills and withering branches block my path.
There are so many things buried within me but no one is willing to listen, to whom can I confide in my problems?’
Huang Rong recognized this poem as one written by Yue Fei entitled ‘Little Strong Hill’. It had been taught to her by her father. She saw the signature at the bottom which read ‘The Crippled Person of Five Lake is seriously ill’ and realized that the ‘Crippled Person of Five Lake’ must be the pen name for the owner of this manor. The strokes of the words were written in a harsh and forceful manner and seemed like they were tearing through the paper.
Master Lu saw that Huang Rong was concentrating on the painting and asked, “Brother, how do you find my painting? Would you care to give me some pointers?” [Reminder: Huang Rong is dressed as a boy.]
Huang Rong answered, “I will express my thoughts then, but I hope Master Lu does not get offended.”
Master Lu said, “Please go on.”
Huang Rong said, “The poem in the painting is Yue Fei’s ‘Little Strong Hill’, which he wrote in his Wu Mu collections. The words depict a distressed and depressed mood. However there are specific meanings to them. General Yue was a courageous soul and fought hard for his country and people.
The phrase, ‘A hundred pieces for recognition and success’ in the poem is probably to show his humble being. At that time, many court officials were corrupt and were on the side of the Jin. Yue Fei was a strong official but it was a pity no one was willing to listen to him. This was probably why he wrote the phrase, ‘There are so many things buried within me but no one is willing to listen, to whom can I confide my problems?’ The phrase depicts a despondent Yue Fei, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he wanted to oppose the court. However when master wrote this poem, you were in an agitated and aggressive mood and thus asserted much force in your brush strokes; it seems as if you wanted to fight it out with your sworn enemy and thus, your intentions and mood do not tie in at all with Yue Fei’s at the time when he worked on his Wu Mu collections. Forgive me for my ignorance but from what I know, if one strives to over achieve or over express in literary and art works, the true and pure intentions will be lost and the work will be unable to achieve its brilliance.”
When Master Lu heard what Huang Rong said, he gave a long sigh. He wore a miserable expression and was silent. Huang Rong saw his unusual response and thought, “I’m afraid I have been too direct in my words and offended him. But it’s exactly what father taught me when he explained this poem.”
She said, “This humble one has been too ignorant and spouted nonsense. Please forgive me Master Lu.”
Master Lu recovered a little and then wore a delighted expression on his face. He asked happily,
“Brother Huang, please don’t say that. You are the first person who can actually read my feelings, what a great confidant you are. As for the over use of expression, it is one of my worst habits. I thank brother for your pointers.” He turned to his son and said, “Hurry and ask the servants to prepare the banquet.”
Eagle Shooting Hero
377
Guo Jing and Huang Rong hurriedly conveyed their thanks and said, “Please don’t bother.” But Lu Guanying had already disappeared from the room.
Master Lu said, “Brother is wise and knowledgeable, you must have mastered a high level of literary classics and your father must be a brilliant teacher. I wonder what his honorable name is?”
Huang Rong answered, “This humble one knows nothing much and thus does not deserve all this praise. My father lives in isolation and does not have any students; thus his name is not well known.”
Master Lu sighed, “What a pity it is, not being able to meet such talent.”
After the banquet, they returned to the study for a chat. Master Lu said, “The scenery outside is some of the best, why don’t the two of you reside in one of the houses in the manor and enjoy the view? Furthermore, it’s getting late and it is time for you to rest.”
Guo Jing and Huang Rong stood up and bid their farewell. Huang Rong was about to leave the room when she suddenly looked up and saw that eight pieces of iron strips were fixed above the study’s lintel. The iron strips were arranged to form the ‘Eight trigrams’, but it was not as neat as the usual arrangement. The iron strips were arranged in a rather sloppy and messy way. Huang Rong’s heart skipped a beat but she remained silent and expressionless and followed Guo Jing to a guest room. The guest room was decorated in an elegant way; the two beds faced each other and the pillows and sheets were clean.
A servant served them some fragrant tea and said, “If sirs need anything, just ring the bell beside the bed and I will come. Please be reminded never to leave the room.” With that, he left the room and gently closed the door behind him.
Huang Rong asked in a low voice, “What do you find peculiar about this place? Why do they ask us not to leave the room?”
Guo Jing said, “The manor is huge and the pathways lead out in all directions. Maybe they’re afraid that we will get lost?”
Huang Rong gave a little laugh, “The manor has an unusual design. What kind of person do you think Master Lu is?”
Guo Jing said, “Maybe a retired official?”
Huang Rong shook her head, “This person is no doubt highly skilled in martial arts. Did you see the iron ‘Eight Trigrams’ just now?”
Guo Jing asked, “Iron ‘Eight Trigrams’? What’s that?”
Huang Rong answered, “That’s used to practice the ‘Thrusting Air Palms’. Father taught me this set of palm techniques but I was bored and stopped learning it after a month. I would never have expected to see it here.”
Guo Jing said, “Master Lu means us no harm. Since he did not mention anything about it, let’s just pretend that we are unaware of it.”
378
Eagle Shooting Hero
Huang Rong nodded and smiled. She gently thrust out her palm towards the candle and a ‘chi’
sound was heard just before the candle went out.
Guo Jing praised in a low voice, “Great palm technique!” He asked, “Is that the ‘Thrusting Air Palm’?”
Huang Rong smiled, “I only learned it to this level. It can be used for fun but it is totally useless when used in a real duel.”
There was a sudden distant humming in the middle of the night, which startled Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who had been sleeping before that. They strained to hear more and heard the sound again, which sounded like someone was blowing a tune on a seashell. After a while, the humming started again. There was definitely more than one person creating the noise as both hums were created at the same time. It seemed like there were two people standing apart and blowing the shells to communicate. Huang Rong whispered, “Let’s go and see what’s up.”
Guo Jing answered, “Let’s not go and find trouble.”
Huang Rong argued, “Who says we’re finding trouble? I only suggested that we check out what’s happening.”
They pushed open the window quietly and looked out. They saw many people running about with lanterns in their hands, but there was no clue as to why they were rushing about. Huang Rong looked up and saw three or four blurred figures crouching on a nearby rooftop. The light from the lanterns shone briefly onto the figures and Huang Rong saw the moving light reflecting from the weapons which those people carried. After a while, the crowd of servants ran out of the manor.
Huang Rong was curious and pulled Guo Jing towards the side of the window. She made sure no one was about and gently leaped out such that the people on the roof weren’t aware of her movements.
Huang Rong signaled to Guo Jing to walk backwards. The pathways in the manor turned and twisted such that the directions were very complicated. The most unusual thing was that the railings and pillars at every turn looked exactly the same. After a few whirls, one would not be able to distinguish between the different directions. Huang Rong, however, was not the least bothered about this obstacle and walked around without any hint of worry or suspicion. Several times, it looked as if it was no pathway but she always managed to identify a fake rock and spin past it; or she would just twirl round the flowers and they would be back on the main path. At times, it looked as if there was a dead end in front of them, but somehow or other, there would always be a way past a screen of a huge trees. At times, there would be a path through the opening of a grotto but Huang Rong would never walk through. Instead, she would miraculously be able to identify a hidden and unnoticeable entrance in the walls and push through. The more Guo Jing proceeded the more curious he became. He whispered, “Rong’er, the pathways of this manor are really bizarre, how is it that you are always able to identify the right way?”
Huang Rong signaled for him to be quiet and after seven or eight more turns, they arrived by the wall of the backyard. Huang Rong examined the wall and used her fingers to count before walking and counting her footsteps. Guo Jing heard her mumble, “Form a trigram first, thirdly prepare, fifthly supplement, repeat the seventh…”and he did not understand a single word.