Everybody was amused hearing her threat. She asked him for the truth but she didn’t want him to say Huang Yaoshi was dead.
Qiu Qianren was writhing in pain and also suffering from an itch. “I am afraid he is not dead yet. I don’t know …” he said, trembling.
Huang Rong beamed from ear to ear. “Very good!” she said, “I will spare you.” She struck his
‘Open Basin’ [que pen] acupoint to ease his suffering.
Lu Chengfeng thought, “Little Martial Sister’s question was one-sided and really missed the point.”
So he asked, “You said my Master had been killed by the Quanzhen Seven Masters, did you see it with your own eyes, or did you just hear it from somebody else?”
“I heard it from somebody else,” Qiu Qianren replied.
“Who was it?” Lu Chengfeng pursued.
Qiu Qianren hesitated, but finally said, “It was Hong Qigong.”
“When did he tell you that?” asked Huang Rong.
“About a month ago,” Qiu Qianren answered.
“Where did you two meet?” Huang Rong asked again.
“At the summit of Mount Tai [Taishan],” Qiu Qianren answered. “We were having a match and he lost to me. He unintentionally mentioned it.”
Huang Rong was ecstatic. She hopped around like a little kid. Her left hand grabbed his chest, her right hand pulled away some of his beard. Giggling she said, “Hong Qigong lost to this old scoundrel? Martial Sister Mei, Martial Brother Lu, don’t listen to him, he was just … just …” Being a girl, she didn’t have the heart to use vulgar language.
Zhu Cong continued for her, “He was just farting!” then he covered his mouth, laughing.
Huang Rong continued, “A month ago Hong Qigong was with Jing ge ge and I. Jing ge ge, give him another blow!”
“Right!” Guo Jing said, moving towards Qiu Qianren.
Qiu Qianren was frightened and he turned around to escape, but Mei Chaofeng was standing in the middle of the doorway. He turned around again, but this time Lu Guanying blocked his way. He quickly pushed until Guanying staggered and fell. Even though he had gained his fame by deceiving 422
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people, Qiu Qianren still possessed some real martial arts skill. If he did not, he would not recklessly dare to challenge the Six Freaks and Guo Jing. Lu Guanying was certainly not his match.
Huang Rong jumped to block him. “You carried an iron cauldron over your head and walked on water, how did you do it?” she asked.
“That was my special skill,” Qiu Qianren answered. “My title is ‘Iron Palm Floating on Water’; that was the ‘Floating on Water’.”
“You are still boasting,” Huang Rong said with a smile. “Aren’t you going to tell me the truth?”
“I am old, my martial arts are not as they used to be,” Qiu Qianren answered. “But my lightness kungfu has been trained to perfection.”
“Very well,” Huang Rong said, “There is a large cistern containing gold fish outside in the courtyard. Why don’t you demonstrate your ‘Floating on Water’ so that everybody can see your skill? Just go out of the hall, turn left beneath the sweet-smelling ‘osmanthus’ [gui hua] tree.”
[Note: A fragrant evergreen tree/shrub native to China.]
“How can someone train in a cistern …?” Qiu Qianren had not finished speaking when something flashed brightly in front of his eyes and, without him realizing it, his foot had been grabbed and he was hanging upside down.
“Your death is imminent, yet you still open your big mouth!” Mei Chaofeng shouted. Her
‘Poisonous Silver Dragon Whip’ [du long yin bian] curled in midair and hurled him toward the cistern, following Huang Rong’s directions.
Huang Rong quickly moved to the cistern, waving her butterfly shaped steel piece menacingly. “I won’t let you out of the cistern unless you explain to me your ‘Floating on Water’!”
Qiu Qianren kicked the cistern’s bottom, trying to leap up, but Huang Rong’s steel punctured his shoulder. He fell back into the cistern, soaking wet. With face showing much pain he said, “In that cauldron was laid a thin sheet of iron which was sealed; above it I put three inches of water. In that creek I hid some wooden poles about five to six inches below the surface to make them invisible.”
Huang Rong laughed, then re-entered the hall, not paying Qiu Qianren any more attention. He quickly leaped up from the cistern and hastily ran out of the manor without looking back.
Mei Chaofeng and Lu Chengfeng smiled in embarrassment. They had fought and cried over nothing. Their master had not been killed. Now that this matter was made clear, they felt uneasy towards each other. Mei Chaofeng hesitated for a moment, then clearing her throat she said, “Lu Chengfeng, let my disciple go. For the sake of our Master I won’t remember our past differences any longer. As for the fact that both husband and wife had to flee to Mongolia … oh well, that was our fate.”
Lu Chengfeng heaved a deep sigh. He said in his heart, “Her husband has died, her eyes blinded and she is alone and forsaken in this world. Both my legs are crippled, but I have a wife and a son. I have a family and I have a business. Actually my condition is a hundred times better than hers. Both of us are decades older than we were then, why would I keep holding resentment towards her?”
Therefore, he answered, “You can take your disciple away. Mei Shijie [older martial sister], your Eagle Shooting Hero
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younger brother will leave for Peach Blossom Island to visit our benevolent master tomorrow. Will you come with me?”
“Do you dare?” Mei Chaofeng asked with a trembling voice.
“To visit Peach Blossom Island without Master’s permission is a big violation of our banishment, but after listening to that old man Qiu talking nonsense, my heart was troubled. I want to make sure he is all right. If I don’t go, I will be haunted with uncertainty for the rest of my life.”
Before Mei Chaofeng could answer Huang Rong had already said, “Let us all go together. I will ask his forgiveness on your behalf.”
Mei Chaofeng was silent for a moment. Two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks. “I don’t have face to see him,” she sadly said. “Our benevolent master had compassion on a wretched child like me. He took me as his disciple and raised me. But because of wild ambition I have betrayed him…”
Suddenly she lifted her head and shouted, “I only want to seek revenge for my husband. Afterwards, I know what to do. Seven Freaks of Jiangnan…let us sort out our business now. Martial Brother Lu, Little Martial Sister, you stand aside; don’t even think of interfering. No matter who lives or who dies, I don’t want you to help either side. Do you hear?”
Ke Zhen’E walked in big strides to the main hall, his iron staff striking the brick floor. Then he said clearly with his hoarse voice, “Mei Chaofeng, you can’t see me, neither can I see you. That night when we fought on that barren hill, your husband died a violent death, but our fifth brother also died at your hands. Did you know that?”
“Oh…there’s only six of you left?” Mei Chaofeng asked.
“We promised Taoist Priest Ma Yu to no longer seek vengeance towards you, but it is actually you that looked for us. Good! Even though the world is wide, we always meet each other. It seems like the heavens won’t allow the six of us to co-exist with you in this world. Come!” Ke Zhen’E coldly said.
Mei Chaofeng snorted. “The six of you can attack together,” she said icily.
Zhu Cong and the other Freaks quickly arranged themselves near their elder brother, guarding against Mei Chaofeng’s sudden attack. Everybody unsheathed their weapons.
Suddenly Guo Jing moved forward. “Let your disciple fight her first,” he said.
Lu Chengfeng was in an awkward situation. He heard Mei Chaofeng’s challenge and the six accepted. He did not know how to be the mediator and he hated himself for not having authority or influence over these people. But hearing Guo Jing’s words an idea suddenly came to his mind. He quickly said, “Both sides please stay your hands for a moment. Please listen to Little Brother’s words. Although Mei Shijie and the Jiangnan Six have deep enmity between you, each side has suffered an unfortunate loss. In Little Brother’s opinion, no more blood needs to be shed. Let today’s match only decide victory or defeat, please don’t deepen the enmity. The Six Freaks, although they always face the enemy together, it is still six against one; that, in my opinion, is not fair. Why doesn’t Mei Shijie teach several moves to young Brother Guo?”
Mei Chaofeng snorted and coldly said, “How could I fight an unknown junior?”
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“Your husband died at my hands. What does it have to do with my Masters?” Guo Jing called out.
Mei Chaofeng was furious. She jumped up and shouted, “Precisely! I will kill you first, little scoundrel!” By listening to voices she knew her enemy’s position. Her five fingers stretched towards Guo Jing’s skull.
Guo Jing leaped to avoid the attack. “Senior Mei!” he called out. “I was very young and ignorant and I accidentally killed your husband. But one has to be responsible for one’s actions. Today you want to kill me and I won’t run away. But will you still look for my Masters in the future?” He realized he was no match for Mei Chaofeng and was ready to die under her fingers; but he was determined to protect his Masters in any way he could.