The man walked past Lu Guanying, glanced nonchalantly at them and continued walking. He had not taken but a few steps more when his body hunched a little and some water spilled out from the jar. The three then realized that the jar was filled with water, which would now weigh about a hundred jin more. The old man must be highly skilled to be able to balance such a heavy weight on his head.
Lu Guanying thought nervously, “Is this man father’s enemy?” He ignored the danger and went up to the man, while Guo Jing and Huang Rong stole a glance at each other before following him. Guo Jing heard his six teachers mention their fight with Qiu Chuji at the ‘Pavilion of the Drunken Immortal’ before and knew that Qiu Chuji was skilled enough to lift up a huge jar. But the size of the jar Qiu Chuji lifted as described by his teachers did not seem as big as this jar the man was 402
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lifting now. Guo Jing suspected that this old man’s skills were above those of ‘Eternal Spring’
Master Qiu Chuji. The old man walked on before reaching the bank of a small river with graves all over the place.
Lu Guanying thought to himself, “There is no bridge here so let’s see whether he crosses the river to the north or goes towards the west.”
Lu Guanying was stunned by what he saw next: The old man walked without a pause over the river; his body was steady and only his lower legs were submerged in the water. When he reached the opposite side of the river he placed the huge jar on the grasses next to a hill before returning to the river and walking on the water back to the other side again.
Huang Rong and Guo Jing had heard their seniors talk about all sorts of skills from various sects and schools but they never heard of the skills which the old man just displayed: Carrying a huge jar on his head and walking on water. They’d thought that such skills only existed in myths and legends; who would have thought that such skills do actually exist on earth? If they had not seen for themselves, they would never have believed such stuff and were secretly in awe of this old master.
The old man’s hair was white and he laughed heartily before turning to Lu Guanying, “You must be the leader of the pirates, Junior Master Lu right?”
Lu Guanying bowed and answered, “I dare not accept such praise, I wonder what is elder’s name?”
The old man pointed towards Guo Jing and Huang Rong and said, “You two boys come here as well.”
Lu Guanying turned around and got a surprise when he saw Guo Jing and Huang Rong behind him.
It was then that he realized that the two had been following him. Their lightness skills were so good that they made no noise and he was not even aware of them following him. Guo Jing and Huang Rong bowed and said, “Greetings to elder.”
The old man laughed, “No need for such greetings.” He turned towards Lu Guanying and said,
“Here is not a place to talk, let’s find somewhere to sit.”
Lu Guanying was suspicious and thought, “Is he father’s enemy?” He decided to be direct and asked, “Does elder know my father?”
The old man replied, “Master Lu? I have never met him before.”
Lu Guanying thought that the man didn’t seem like he was lying and asked some more, “My father received a strange gift earlier in the day, does elder know of this matter?”
The old man asked, “What strange gift?”
Lu Guanying replied, “It’s a dead person’s skull on the top of which is five finger holes.”
The old man said, “That’s funny; could it be someone playing with your father?”
Lu Guanying thought silently, “This man’s skills are exceptional. Even if he wants to fight father, he would do so openly and does not need to lie about it. It seems like he really doesn’t know Eagle Shooting Hero
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anything. Why not invite him to the manor to help us instead? If he agrees to help us, it will be alright no matter how great father’s enemy is.” The more he thought about it, the more delighted he was and answered, “If elder does not mind, why not come to my residence for some tea?”
The old man hummed slightly and replied, “That will be good.” Lu Guanying was overjoyed and waved for the old man to go first.
The old man pointed towards Guo Jing and said, “These two young men are guests of the manor right?”
Lu Guanying answered, “They are father’s friends.” The old man did not probe further and walked in front with Guo Jing and Huang Rong following behind Lu Guanying. When they reached the manor, Lu Guanying ushered the old man to a seat in the main hall and sped off to find his father.
Not long after, two servants carried in a bamboo couch with Master Lu on it. Master Lu greeted the old man politely and said, “I hope my ignorant son has not offended elder in any way.”
The old man shifted his body slightly but did not greet him back. He replied blandly, “Master Lu may dispense with the formalities.”
Master Lu asked, “I wonder what elder’s name is?”
The old man replied, “My surname is Qiu and my name is Qianren.”
Master Lu was shocked and asked, “Could it be that elder is the renowned ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’, elder Qiu?”
Qiu Qianren smiled slightly and answered, “To think that you can remember my nickname, you really have a good memory. I have not been active in Jianghu for the past twenty years and thought that people had long forgotten me!”
The name ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’ was indeed a formidable name twenty years ago.
Master Lu knew that the old man was the chief of the Iron Palm Sect in Hunan. He had been famous and active in Jianghu but had disappeared suddenly for a very long time so it was not surprising that many juniors born later would not know of him.
Master Lu was surprised and curious by his visit and asked, “I wonder what has caused Senior Qiu to come here? If you need junior’s help, I would be more than happy to offer it.”
Qiu Qianren stroked his beard and laughed, “It’s nothing big actually, just that I have been too softhearted and fate has it that it will not end…um, I would like to seek a secluded place to practice my skills; we’ll talk again in the night.”
Master Lu saw that he wore no evil expression but was still unsettled and asked, “I wonder, did Senior happen to meet the ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’?”
Qiu Qianren replied, “The ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’? That evil pair are not dead yet?”
Master Lu was greatly comforted by what he heard and spoke out, “Ying’er, please bring Senior Qiu to my study to rest.” Qiu Qianren gave everyone a nod and left with Lu Guanying.
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Although Master Lu had never seen Qiu Qianren’s skills before, he had heard his formidable name.
He knew that when the five greats, Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar and Central Divinity met for the Hua Shan tournament, they had invited him but he had something to attend to and thus turned down the invitation. His skills must have been exceptional to get the invitation; even if he was not up to the level of the greats, he should not be far from their standards. Should the ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’ come, they would not be able to mess around with him.
He turned to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, “You haven’t gone? That’s very good. The Elder Qiu’s skills are formidable, how lucky that he should appear at this moment. I do not have to fear my opponents any longer! Later on you can rest in your rooms but please do not leave them and you’ll be fine.”
Huang Rong gave a little laugh, “Can I watch the fun?”
Master Lu let out a deep sigh and replied, “I’m afraid that my enemy will bring lots of people so I’m afraid that I won’t be able to protect myself and will allow you two to be hurt. Alright then, but you two must stick with me. With Senior Qiu around, it will be useless no matter how many people they bring!”
Huang Rong clapped her hands in delight and laughed, “I love seeing people fight. It was so interesting that day you defeated that Little Jin Prince.”
Master Lu replied, “This time it will be the Little Prince’s teacher who is much more skilful than him; that’s why I’m worried.”
Huang Rong answered, “Ah! How do you know?”
Master Lu replied, “Miss Huang, you won’t understand these fighting matters. That claw technique which the Little Jin Prince used to attack my Ying’er’s thigh is the same as the skill used to create those finger holes in the top of the skull.”
Huang Rong answered, “Oh, I understand now. Wang Xianzhi’s calligraphy was taught by Wang Yizhi and Wang Yizhi was taught by Lady Wei whose teacher was Zhong You. Thus, any professional would be able to guess the family or sect the calligrapher belongs to merely by looking at his works.”
Master Lu laughed, “Miss is highly intelligent. I just have to give you a hint and you are able to understand everything. My two opponents are evil and vicious. Compared to Zhong Wang, they have smeared the reputation of their teacher and ancestors.”
Huang Rong pulled Guo Jing’s hand and said, “Let’s see what great skill the white bearded Grandpa is practicing.”
Master Lu was alarmed and said, “Ah, don’t…don’t disturb him.”