Guo Jing also had an obstinate character. When he began to get tired, he slipped his arms around the neck of the horse and began to tighten them, making use of his internal energy. The animal bounded, jumped, and shook itself in all directions, without getting rid of this pressure that was suffocating it. It then knew that it had met its master, and stopped.
“Bravo!” exclaimed Han Baoju, delighted. “That’s it! You have succeeded!” Fearing that the horse would run away again, Guo Jing didn't dare dismount. “You can come down,” Han Baoju reassured him. “Now it will follow you all of your life. Even if you wanted to get rid of it you wouldn’t be able too...”
The young man jumped to the ground. The horse licked his hand, showing affection that made everyone there laugh. A guard approached it a little too closely and the animal gave him a kick that made him somersault. Guo Jing led it to the water, to wash it and calm it down.
Since this session of horse breaking had tired him a lot, the Six released him from practice for now; but doubts still troubled them.
After the lunch, Guo Jing came into the ger of his masters. “Jing’er,” Quan Jinfa said, “I would like to see your practice of the ‘Crunching Mountains’ palm strokes.”
“Here, in the ger?”
“Yes. One can meet enemies in any place; it’s necessary to train to fight even in closed spaces.” He feinted with the left, and delivered a stroke with his right fist.
Guo Jing, respecting the rule of courtesy due to elders, defended three movements before responding. Quan Jinfa then attacked with violence. Suddenly his fists hit the young man’s chest, with a movement named ‘Penetrating Deeply in the Lair of the Tiger’. It was no longer a practice stroke, but a deadly, violent and heavy one, used to kill! Panicked, Guo Jing wanted to move back, but he already had his back against the wall of the ger. Trying to protect himself when confronted with danger is a natural reaction especially since he had a rather slow mind. Without even thinking about it, he turned his left arm, and blocked the attack of Quan by repulsing his arms. The fists had already touched his chest, when Quan realized with surprise, that it was as soft as cotton, without any resistance. Then he was repulsed with strength, and his arms were afflicted by a jolting pain; he moved back three steps before recovering his balance.
Guo Jing was speechless and knelt before saying, “I probably did something that I shouldn’t have,”
he exclaimed, “I accept the punishment of the Sixth Shifu!” Afraid and surprised, he wondered what crime he could have committed that was worthy of his master's anger, to the point of wanting to kill him!
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Ke Zhen’E and the others got up, all with stern expressions. “You train with someone besides us,”
Zhu Cong said. “Why did you hide it from us? If Sixth Shifu hadn’t tested you like that, you would have continued to lie to us, am I wrong?”
“There is only master Jebe,” Guo Jing said, “who teaches me the bow and the spear!”
“Do you dare lie to us again?” an angry Zhu Cong said, with a severe look.
“I would not dare to lie to my Shifus ever!” Guo Jing said with his eyes full of tears.
“Then where did you learn this mastery of neigong?” Zhu Cong insisted. “Now that you have the support of a powerful master, you no longer have any respect for us!”
“Neigong?” Guo Jing wondered. “But I don't have a neigong!”
“Pfui!” Zhu Cong spat, still doubtful. He moved his index finger toward a location situated two inches below the sternum, named ‘Tail of Turtledove’. A stroke to this essential point on the body induces immediate unconsciousness. Guo Jing didn't dare to avoid or to defend against it and remained immobile. However, he had practiced for almost two years with the Taoist of the three adornments and, even though he didn't know it himself, his body was filled with internal energy. On contact with Zhu Cong’s finger, his flesh naturally retracted and then expanded itself, repulsing the finger. The stroke still hit the point effectively, but caused only a certain amount of pain, without succeeding in affecting that point on the meridian. Zhu Cong had not used all of his strength, but Guo Jing’s internal energy had succeeded in neutralizing him. When he realized it he was astonished and angry. “And that’s not neigong?” he shouted.
“Could the Taoist master have taught me neigong?” wondered Guo Jing finally understanding. He said, “During these past two years, someone came, every evening, to teach me how to breathe, to sit and meditate and to sleep. I found it funny, but I followed his instructions. But he didn't teach me any techniques, but he did tell me to not talk of it with anyone. Since I thought that there wasn’t anything wrong with it and that it didn't affect my practicing, I didn't speak of it to any of you. I recognize my mistake; I won't go to him anymore.” He kowtowed.
The Six looked at each other and thought, “The young man seems sincere, and he doesn’t seem to be lying.”
“Don't you know what the neigong is?” Han Xiaoying asked.
“I really don't know what the neigong is!” Guo Jing said. “He told me to sit and meditate and to breathe slowly, without thinking about anything while concentrating only on the way the breath circulates inside the body. In the beginning I couldn't manage to do it, but lately I’ve had the impression that, inside me, there was something like a hot small mouse running through all of my body; it was very funny.”
The Six were surprised and delighted at the same time, to see that this simple-minded kid had succeeded in reaching such a level. This was not very easy, especially for him.
In fact, Guo Jing did have a simple mind. Compared to so-called intelligent people, he didn't have a head cluttered full of difficult and meandering thoughts to bother him. His type of mind encouraged 154
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progress in the acquirement of neigong. Thus, in barely two years, he had succeeded in reaching this level.
“Who taught it to you?” Zhu Cong asked.
“He doesn't want me to say his name,” answered Guo Jing. “He said that the kung fu of my Shifus is not lower than his, and that’s why he cannot teach me martial arts and cannot be my Shifu. He made me swear to not ever describe his appearance to anyone.”
The Six Freaks were more and more astonished. In the beginning, they thought to themselves that Guo Jing had by luck met an expert, and were delighted for him. But this individual appeared so mysterious that they were now suspicious. With a gesture, Zhu Cong asked Guo Jing to leave.
“I won't dare go and amuse myself with him anymore,” the young man said.
“You can go,” reassured Zhu Cong. “We are not angry with you, but you don’t need to tell him that we know.”
Guo Jing acquiesced and, seeing that his masters weren’t annoyed anymore, happily left. Outside of the ger, he saw Hua Zheng with the two white eagles, which had grown a lot. Standing next to her, they were nearly as tall as her.
“Come quickly,” Hua Zheng said, “I’ve been waiting for you a long time.”
One of the eagles fluttered over and came to perch on Guo Jing’s shoulder. “A while ago,” he said,
“I tamed a small red horse that runs with incredible speed! I don't know if it will let you mount it...
“If it doesn't let me,” said Hua Zheng, “I’ll slaughter it!”
“No you won’t!”
The two young people, hand in hand, ran on the plain to have fun with their horses and eagles.
End of Chapter 5.
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Chapter 6 – Mysterious Happenings on the Summit of
the Cliff
Translated by Strunf, Patudo, Taihan and Dugu Seeking a Win
Guo Jing shot three arrows with a rush of wind, killing the three closest pursuing soldiers, before interposing himself between the pursuers and the pursued. While continuing to shoot arrows he killed one more pursuing soldier. In the meantime Jebe had arrived and his arrows flew as well, swift and deadly.
Remaining in the ger, the Six quietly conferred with each other. “This man taught a superior neigong to our Jing’er,” Han Xiaoying said. “He can’t possible want to hurt him...”
“Then why doesn't he want us to know about it?” Quan Jinfa asked. “And why he doesn't tell to our Jing’er that it’s neigong that he’s teaching him.
“I fear that he’s someone that we know,” Zhu Cong said.
“Someone we know?” Han Xiaoying wondered. “If it’s not a friend, it can only be an enemy!”
“Amongst our friends,” Quan Jinfa confirmed, “no one has kung fu this exceptional.”
“But if it is an enemy,” Han Xiaoying pursued, “what reason would he have to teach our Jing’er?”
“Maybe there is a devilish plan behind it.” Ke Zhen’E said with a cold voice. The others froze thinking about his words.
“Tonight,” Zhu Cong said, “Sixth brother and I will follow Jing’er discreetly to see who the expert is.” The five approved.
That night, Zhu Cong and Quan Jinfa hid themselves not far from Guo Jing and his mother’s ger.
After a half-hour wait, they heard the young man say in a high voice, “I’m going, mom!” He left the ger, discreetly followed by his two masters, who were surprised at the speed of his leaving.