He was surprised because this hand was soft, smooth and so flexible it seemed boneless. The boy smiled slightly and bowed his head. Guo Jing noticed that, whereas the boy's face was smudged with dirt, the skin at the nape of his neck had the whiteness of jade. Guo Jing found this a bit strange, but he did not give it further thought.
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“Well we've chatted for such a long time,” the boy said, withdrawing his hand, “everything is cold now, the dishes and also the rice ...”
“Yes,” Guo Jing said, “but it is not spoiled. It is still good ...” The boy shook his head. “Then we'll get it warmed up ...”
“No,” the boy said, “When it’s warmed up it isn't good anymore ...” He called the waiter, ordered him to throw everything away and prepare new dishes with fresh ingredients. The manager, the cooks and waiters found this attitude quite strange, but they did it readily. The Mongols show extreme hospitability to their guests, and besides, it was the first time in his life that Guo Jing handled money and he didn't know its value. But even if he had known, he got along so well with the boy and he felt such pleasure in his company, he would have spent ten times as much without batting an eye. The new dishes were served and after a few mouthfuls he had had enough.
“You are really an idiot,” the waiter thought, “This little urchin has taken advantage of you.” He brought the bill, which amounted to nineteen taels, seventy-four bao. Guo Jing took out a gold ingot
[yuan bao] and ordered the waiter to exchange it for taels at the money changer after which he paid for the food. As they left the restaurant the north wind blew strongly. The young boy seemed to feel the cold. He shivered and said, “I've disturbed you enough... Now, it’s goodbye.”
Seeing that the boy was not dressed warmly enough, Guo Jing felt concerned. He removed his black sable coat and covered the shoulders of the boy. “Brother,” he said, “I feel like we've known each other forever. Please accept this coat.” He had four gold ingots left; he took two and slipped them into the coat's pocket. Without even thanking him, the boy, wearing the sable coat, walked along dejectedly. After walking about ten steps, he turned and saw Guo Jing, holding his horse by its bridle, watching him. He knew that Guo Jing did not want to part like that; he made a gesture with his hand. Guo Jing approached him eagerly and asked, “Does the worthy brother still need something?”
“I haven't asked for the name of my big brother,” said the boy smiling.
“That’s true,” Guo Jing said laughing, “we forgot about that. My name is Guo and Jing is my first name. And yours, brother?”
“My name is Huang and my first name is Rong.”
“Where are you bound?” Guo Jing asked. “If you are heading towards the south, we could travel together. What do you think?”
“I’m not going south,” Huang Rong said, shaking his head. Suddenly he said, “Big brother, I'm still hungry ...”
“Very well,” Guo Jing happily said. “Let us eat something together.”
This time, Huang Rong took him to the House of Eternal Celebration, the principal restaurant in Kalgan. Its decorations accurately imitated the great establishments of the ancient capital of Song, Bianliang [Kaifeng]. He did not order a feast this time, but only asked for four plates of fine pastry, a pot of longjin tea (aka Dragon’s Well tea, famous green tea of the province Zhejiang), and they continued their rambling conversation.
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Having learned that Guo Jing had tamed two white eagles, Huang Rong expressed a certain desire.
“Very good,” he said, “I did not know exactly where to go. Tomorrow I'll leave for Mongolia, to catch two white eagles for my amusement.”
“They are not easy to find,” Guo Jing remarked.
“Then how did you find them?”
Guo Jing didn't answer and only smiled. “The climate is severe in Mongolia,” he thought, “and the north wind blows icy and hard, how would this slight young boy withstand it?”
“Where do you live?” he asked. “Why don't you return home?”
Huang Rong had tears in his eyes, “Dad doesn't want me anymore!”
“Why not?” Guo Jing asked.
“He locked somebody up,” Huang Rong answered, “and did not wish to set that person free. I took pity on the prisoner because he was lonely; I brought good things for him to eat, and I tried to converse with him. Dad got angry and cursed at me, so I ran away in the middle of the night.”
“I’m sure your dad thinks of you at this moment”, Guo Jing said. “What of your mom?”
“She died a long time ago! I haven’t had a mom since I was very small ...”
“If you’ve had your fun, it would be better to return home.”
“Dad does not want me anymore,” Huang Rong said crying.
“That's impossible!” Guo Jing said.
“Then why doesn't he look for me?”
“Perhaps he is still looking, but hasn't found you ...”
“You’re probably right,” Huang Rong said, who’d changed from crying to laughing. “When I’ve had my fun, I'll return. But first of all, I need to tame two white eagles!”
They chatted again about what they had seen or experienced. Guo Jing told of the incident with the eight women in white, disguised as men, and who wanted to take possession of his horse. Huang Rong asked questions about the small red horse, its capabilities, its character, and seemed full of envy. He drank a mouthful of tea and said smilingly, “Big brother, I want to ask for something of great value to you. Would you agree to that?”
“Of course, why wouldn't I?”
“What I would like, is your horse that sweats blood!”
“All right,” Guo Jing said without hesitating, “I'll give it to you gladly.”
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In fact, Huang Rong was joking. He knew very well that Guo Jing adored his invaluable horse.
Since they had just recently met and by chance, he was curious to see how this good chap was going to refuse his improper request. However, Guo Jing answered with such generosity and simplicity that he was taken by surprise. Moved beyond words, he could not stop himself breaking into sobs and hiding his face with his arms. Guo Jing was even more surprised, “Brother,” he asked with concern, “what’s happened, don't you feel well?”
Huang Rong raised his head. He had been crying, but now a big smile lit his face. The running tears had washed away the dirt, revealing white skin like pure jade. “Big brother,” he said, “let’s go!”
Guo Jing paid and they left the restaurant. Guo Jing took his horse by its bridle caressing it gently and gave it the following advice, “I've given you to my good friend here. You will act obediently and especially do not show your foul temper!” Then he addressed Huang Rong, “Brother, mount the horse!”
The small red horse usually did not allow anyone else to mount it, but, during the past few days, it had quieted a lot. Since its master had ordered it to do so, it didn't make a fuss. Huang Rong leapt on the horse and Guo Jing let go of the bridle, and clapped him lightly on the rump. Rider and horse disappeared in a cloud of dust. Guo Jing waited until he could see them no more before he turned back.
It was very late when he obtained a room at an inn. Just as he was going to extinguish his candle and to go to bed, he heard a scratch at the door. He thought that it was Huang Rong who had returned, and felt great joy. “Is that you, brother?” he asked. “That's great!”
“It's your old man!” replied a hoarse voice. “What's so great?”
Surprised, the young man opened the door and saw, by the glimmer of the candle, five men.
Looking at them more closely, he felt a shiver go down his spine; four of them, armed with a saber, a lance, a whip and twin axes, were none other than the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’, whom he had previously fought on the hill. The fifth one was a lean man of about forty years, with a long dark face with three big lumps on his forehead that gave him an extremely ugly appearance. The lean man sneered and swept grandly into the room. He seated himself arrogantly on the bed of bricks [kang], then turned his head to regard Guo Jing. [In northern China, sleeping arrangements generally were installed on top of a kind of brick "oven", that allowed for heating underneath.]
The senior brother of the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’, Shen Qinggang, nicknamed ‘Saber Breaks Down the Soul’, declared coldly, “This is our martial uncle, the renowned Hou Tonghai, known as ‘Three-Headed Dragon’! Kowtow before Lord Hou right now!”
Guo Jing realized that he was cornered. He could never defeat the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’ together, to say nothing of their martial uncle, who had to be fearsome. “What do you want?”
he demanded, while clasping his fists in greeting.
“Where are your teachers?” Hou Tonghai questioned.
“My six Shifus are not here.”
“Huh,” sneered Hou Tonghai. “Then I will give you a half-day respite. If I killed you now, people could say that the ‘Three-Headed Dragon’ was taking advantage of an opponent weaker than him.