Qiu Qianren had judged Han Baoju’s skill when he leaped out of his seat. It wasn’t extraordinary so it was natural that he thought Han’s disciple would not be good either. It was beyond his comprehension that Guo Jing’s attack would be so fierce. He was shocked and hastily leaped up from his chair, only to hear a loud cracking sound. His chair had been destroyed by Guo Jing’s palm.
“Confounded kid!” he shouted angrily when he landed back on the floor.
Guo Jing was a bit wary; he did not dare to advance. “Senior, please give me some pointers,” he said politely.
Huang Rong wanted to disturb Qiu Qianren’s mind so she called out, “Jing ge ge, don’t be so polite to this old scoundrel!”
The old man was livid! As long as he had roamed Jianghu, who would dare call him ‘old scoundrel’
to his face? He was about to thrust his palm to attack her, but suddenly remembered his own reputation. He sneered and lifted his right hand and positioned his left hand on his eyebrows. Then, just when Guo Jing darted sideways to fend, redirected his hand to make a claw then retracted it.
The hand on his eyebrows moved forward in circular motion. His right hand followed, changing from a fist to a palm.
Huang Rong called out, “What’s so special about that move? That is the ‘Lone Goose Leaves the Flock’ [gu yan chu qun] from the ‘Open Arm Six Palms Technique’ [tong bi liu he zhang]!”
Qiu Qianren was surprised that she recognized his move. It was indeed the ‘Open Arm Six Palms Technique’, which was created based on the ‘Open Arm Five Elements Technique’ [tong bi wu xing zhang]. It was not an extraordinary move, but he had perfected this move for decades. The word ‘open’ here actually meant that his right and left arms were interchangeable. Guo Jing saw his right hand coming fast, while his left hand moving to the right, then the right hand went back and supported the left hand. Both hands were supporting each other, increasing the strength of both hands and was very fierce.
Guo Jing had seen his amazing strength and he lacked experience in combat. He was a little bit nervous and did not dare to counterattack. He kept stepping back.
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Qiu Qianren thought, “This kid could destroy a chair because of his strength, but actually his martial arts are only average.” He immediately launched several stances: ‘Penetrating Palm Hacking Down in a Flash’ [chuan zhang shan pi], ‘Lifting the Cloud Palm Technique’ [liao yin zhang], ‘Step Across the Tiger to Climb a Mountain’ [kua hu deng shan], getting stronger with each stance.
Huang Rong was anxious seeing that Guo Jing was losing. She approached the two with the intention of stepping in if Guo Jing was in danger.
When Guo Jing saw her coming, he turned his head to see her anxious face and could not help but feel nervous. Qiu Qianren saw this and, wasting no time, he attacked with the ‘White Snake Spitting Sign’ [bai she tu zhi]; his palm hit Guo Jing squarely on the chest.
Huang Rong and the Six Freaks – as well as Master Lu and his son, all called out in alarm. They thought that with Qiu’s strength hitting such a vital part, Guo Jing must be dead or at least severely injured.
Guo Jing was also shocked, so he immediately circulated his chi and lifted both arms. Strangely he did not feel too much pain, which puzzled him no end. Huang Rong saw him staring blankly and thought that he was internally injured and was about to pass out. She immediately jumped forward to support him and asked anxiously, “Jing ge ge, are you all right?” Her heart was so shaken that tears flowed involuntarily from her eyes.
Guo Jing’s response was unexpected, “I am all right! Let me try again.” He stuck his chest out, walked toward Qiu Qianren and boldly said, “You are the senior ‘Iron Palm Who Floats on Water’, hit me again!”
Qiu Qianren was furious; he immediately struck another palm at Guo Jing’s chest with all his strength. But instead of collapsing, Guo Jing laughed loudly and shouted, “Masters! Rong’er! This old scoundrel’s skill is only ordinary. As long as he did not hit me, his secret was safe; but as soon as he hit me, his secret is revealed!” His words were followed by a sweep of his left arm, forcing Qiu Qianren to step back. “Now you can feel my palm!” he shouted.
Qiu Qianren saw his movement and thought, “You said ‘palm’ but your hand forms a fist, do you think I am blind?” He underestimated Guo Jing’s attack and simply blocked the fist with both hands in front of his chest. Who would have known that Guo Jing was using the ‘Dragon Battling in the Wilderness’ [long zhan yu ye] which was the most mysterious stance of the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’. Both left and right arms could be either solid or void without any specific rules.
Qiu Qianren saw Guo Jing’s left arm move while his right arm hung loose; suddenly the right arm thrust forward and hit Qiu Qianren on the right shoulder, followed by a punch to his chest. Qiu Qianren’s body flew out of the hall through the main entrance like a kite with broken string!
Just as everyone uttered a startled cry, somebody suddenly appeared in the entrance. She held Qiu Qianren by his collar while entering the main hall with big strides. She put Qiu Qianren down on the floor and stood coolly at the center of the hall. Her face was cold and expressionless and her long hair lay scattered about her shoulders. She looked up. It was none other than ‘Iron Corpse’, Mei Chaofeng. Every heart skipped a beat.
Behind her was another person no less peculiar than ‘Iron Corpse’. That person was tall and rather thin and wearing a dark green robe. His countenance was pale and expressionless. Other than his Eagle Shooting Hero
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eyes, the rest of his face seemed frozen like a wooden statue. He stood still and stiff like a standing corpse. As soon as everyone saw this person, a chill crept down their spines. They immediately turned their gaze away from this person, not daring to look at his face any longer with their hearts thumping.
Master Lu was perplexed. He would never have thought that the world famous Qiu Qianren would collapse unexpectedly from the first blow of his opponent. He was about to smile but, seeing Mei Chaofeng’s arrival, his smile froze.
Wanyan Kang saw his master and was very excited. He immediately stepped forward to pay his respects. Everybody could see that these two, master and disciple, were actually similar in appearance and could not help but be astonished.
Master Lu raised his cupped fists and said, “Martial Sister Mei, it’s been twenty long years and we finally meet here. How is Martial Brother Chen?”
The Six Freaks exchanged glances with Guo Jing. They clearly heard Master Lu calling her ‘Martial Sister’ and could not help but feel dismayed. Ke Zhen’E was upset. “We fall into a trap today,” he said. “Mei Chaofeng alone is not easy to deal with, now she has her martial brother at hand.”
Huang Rong on the other hand secretly nodded her head. “This Master’s martial arts and literary knowledge, as well as his general conduct and manner of speaking, resemble those of my father. I suspected he must have a martial relationship with us. But who would have thought he’s my father’s disciple.”
Mei Chaofeng replied coldly, “Is the speaker my martial brother Lu Chengfeng?”
“Yes,” Master Lu answered. “Has Martial Sister been well since our last meeting?”
“Why do you ask?” Mei Chaofeng answered. “Both of my eyes are blind. Can’t you see it? Your Martial Brother Xuanfeng was murdered a long time ago. That was your expectation, was it not?”
Master Lu was both pleasantly surprised and shocked. The ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’ had roamed Jianghu and turned it upside-down...how could ‘Copper Corpse’ have been murdered? But he was also relieved because he had one less formidable enemy and moreover, the one left behind was blind. However, he recalled their apprenticeship together on Peach Blossom Island and could not help but feel sad. “Who killed Martial Brother Chen?” he sighed and asked. “Has Martial Sister sought revenge?”
“I have wandered everywhere looking for them,” Mei Chaofeng answered.
“Let Little Brother help you,” Master Lu said. “Afterward we can sort out our own business.”
“Humph!” Mei Chaofeng sneered.
“Mei Chaofeng!” Han Baoju could not hold himself. He slapped the table and shouted, “Your sworn enemies are here!”
He was going to pounce on her, but Quan Jinfa quickly pulled him back. Mei Chaofeng, on the other hand, was taken aback. “You … you …” she stammered.
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At that time Qiu Qianren, who had been silent because of the chest pain from Guo Jing’s punch, felt the pain subsiding. He opened his mouth to say, “What is it you were talking about…revenge?
Why, your own master was killed and you don’t know it? What kind of hero are you?”
“What did you say?” Mei Chaofeng almost screamed. She tightly crushed Qiu Qianren’s hand so that he cried out in pain, “Let go…let go!”
Mei Chaofeng ignored him, “What did you say?” she repeated.
“The Master of Peach Blossom Island has been killed!” Qiu Qianren answered.