Hua Zheng, exploding in sobs, bounded onto her horse and left at full speed. Temujin had a hard heart, but he could not stop sighing while thinking of his daughter's pain. He then took the eagles to the camp, followed by his officers and soldiers.
After the crowd dispersed, Guo Jing drew the dagger and felt the coldness of the blade. He had the impression he could see traces of blood on it. It was a short massive weapon, and it impressed him because it had killed many people! He moved it about for a moment and then put it back in its sheath, which he attached to his belt. Then he drew his sword and started practicing the ‘Sword of the Yue Maiden’ again. In spite of all his efforts, he didn't succeed in executing the movements of
‘Branch Hits the White Gorilla’ correctly. He either didn't jump sufficiently high or he didn't have Eagle Shooting Hero
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the time to make the turns. The more frustrated he got, the less he controlled his breathing; the result was catastrophic and he was sweating heavily. Suddenly, he heard a galloping horse; it was Hua Zheng coming back.
She stopped not far from him, got off the horse and lay down on the grass with her chin on her hand, to watch Guo Jing train. Seeing that he seemed to be suffering a lot, she shouted to him,
“Stop, rest for a while.”
“Don't disturb me,” Guo Jing retorted, “I don't have the time to chat with you.”
Hua Zheng didn't say anything else, but observed him while smiling. Then, she took a handkerchief from her pocket, made two knots in it, and threw it to him. “Wipe off the sweat with it!”
Guo Jing grumbled, but didn't look up to catch it, and continued to train.
After a little while, she asked, “You asked dad to not marry me to Dukhsh. Why?”
“Dukhsh is very mean. He once released leopards so that they could devour your brother Tolui. If you marry him, maybe he will beat you...”
“If he beats me, you will come to defend me!”
“But,” thought Guo Jing, speechless, “how would that be possible?”
“If I don't marry him, who WILL marry me?” Hua Zheng said with a tender look.
“I don't know,” Guo Jing said, shaking his head.
“Pah!” Hua Zheng said, while the face that had blushed earlier became suddenly furious. “You never know anything!”
Some moments later, she softened her attitude. Then they heard the eaglets, on the summit of the cliff, calling. Loud screeches sounded in the sky; it was the second white eagle coming back after having been drawn afar by the black eagles. From the heights, it saw its beloved companion dead on the cliff; then it flew like a white cloud in concentric circles.
Guo Jing stopped and raised his head. The white eagle didn't stop whirling, still uttering screeches of pain.
“Watch,” Hua Zheng said, “the eagle is unhappy!”
“Yes,” Guo Jing agreed, “it must be very sad.”
The eagle uttered a long call and suddenly flew off up towards the highest clouds.
“Why does it go up so high?” Hua Zheng wondered.
Suddenly the eagle came down again like an arrow and dove onto the cliff, where it smashed itself.
Horrified, Guo Jing and Hua Zheng uttered a scream of surprise, and didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, they heard a loud voice behind them saying, “Admirable…admirable.”
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They turned around and saw a white-haired Taoist and with a red-face. His clothing was strange and to his hair were attached three high adornments. He wore the immaculate dress of a Taoist, which was a surprising sight on this windy and dusty plain. Since he had spoken in Chinese, Hua Zheng didn't understand him and lost interest.
“The two eaglets lost their father and mother,” she said, looking up at the top of the cliff, “how will they survive now?”
The extremely steep cliff reached up into the sky, and it looked nearly impossible to climb.
Obviously, the two eaglets, which had not yet learned to fly, were going to die of hunger in their nest.
“Unless,” said Guo Jing, “someone has wings and flies there, it is the only way to save them...” He collected his sword and started to practice. In spite of all his efforts, he still didn't manage to execute the movements; just as he began to despair, he heard a voice behind him say coldly, “If you keep doing it that way, you will still be dragging your sword a hundred years from now, and you won't progress as much as a hair!”
Guo Jing turned around; it was the Taoist with the three adornments.
“What did you say?” he asked.
The man smiled, didn't answer, and suddenly advanced. Guo Jing felt like his arm was paralyzed and, without knowing how, saw his sword, that he had held firmly, in the hand of the Taoist! Zhu Cong had already taught him the technique ‘To Seize a Blade with the Bare Hand’; even though he hadn't mastered it entirely, he had assimilated the principles of it. However, this time, he didn't have the slightest idea as to how the Taoist did it. Frightened, he moved back three steps. He stood in front of Hua Zheng to protect her and drew Temujin’s knife.
“Watch closely!” the Taoist shouted.
He jumped as if it was nothing special, made six or seven turns with the sword, before softly landing again on his feet. Guo Jing was awestruck.
The man threw the sword on the ground and said while laughing, “The white eagle was quite admirable, it is necessary to save its offspring!”
He sprang toward the cliff and began climbing at full speed using his feet and hands, as agile as a monkey and as light as a bird. The slope rose very steeply and was, in part, as straight as a wall. But the slightest bump was sufficient for him to climb up higher. Even when the rock appeared smooth as a mirror, he climbed like a lizard.
Guo Jing and Hua Zheng were very anxious; if he slipped, the fall would definitely kill him. The silhouette became smaller and smaller and gave the impression he was about to enter the clouds.
The girl closed her eyes, afraid of seeing what could happen: “Where is he now?” she asked.
“He’s nearly at the summit,” Guo Jing answered. “There, he made it!”
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Opening her eyes, she saw the Taoist fly off as if he was going to fall and let out a scream of fright.
In fact, when he reached the summit, the large sleeves of his robe floated in the violent wind that blew there. One had the impression, seen from below, that he was a huge bird.
The man slipped his hand into the nest, caught the two eaglets and put them against his chest. Then, back to the slope he went, where he let himself slip, grabbing a hand on a bump here or giving a kick from time to time, to slow his fall, and reached the ground very quickly.
Guo Jing and Hua Zheng ran towards him. He took the eaglets and said to the girl, in Mongolian,
“Will you take good care of them?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she answered quickly. Hua Zheng, surprised and delighted, stretched out her hands.
“Be careful of their beaks,” warned the Taoist, “they are small, but their bite is dangerous...”
Hua Zheng undid her belt and attached it to the legs of the fledglings. Then she held them against herself, delighted, “I am going to look for meat to feed them.”
“Wait,” the Taoist said. “If you want the eaglets, you must promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“You must not tell anyone that I climbed the cliff to catch the birds.”
“Okay,” Hua Zheng said joyfully. “That’s easy. I won't tell anyone.”
“While they are growing,” warned the Taoist while smiling, “these two white eagles will become aggressive. Be very careful while feeding them!”
Happy, she told Guo Jing, “Each of us will have one, and it will be me who keeps them in the meantime, okay?”
Guo Jing nodded his head. Hua Zheng got on her horse and happily rode off.
The young man stayed immobile, as if hypnotized, reviewing in his head the ease of the movements of the Taoist executing ‘The Branch Hits the White Gorilla’. The man grabbed the sword and kindly offered it to him and turned on his heels. Seeing that he was leaving, Guo Jing said, in panic:
“You... please... Don't leave...”
“Why not?” asked the Taoist.
Guo Jing scratched his head, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, he kowtowed, knocking the ground with his forehead, without stopping.
“Why do you prostrate yourself before me?” the Taoist asked.
There was a deep ache in Guo Jing’s heart. Seeing the kind face of the Taoist, he felt as if he had met a relative with whom he was able to confide. Suddenly, two big tears rolled down his cheeks and he said while choking back sobs. “Me... Me... I am very dumb, I can't manage to learn martial arts, and I am a disappointment to my six Shifus, to whom I owe everything...”
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“What are you going to do?” the Taoist asked.
“I give all of myself, day and night, and still I don't manage to do it properly... I really can’t manage to learn it...”
“Do you want me to show you a way?” he asked.
“Yes, please!” replied Guo Jing, kowtowing again.
The Taoist smiled, “It seems to me that you are full of sincerity. Very well, let's meet each other again in three days; we will meet on the fifteenth day of the month. When the moon is full, I will wait for you at the summit of the cliff. But you must not tell anyone!” Then he left.