At this critical moment, a shout came from the crowd, “Hold on!” A gray silhouette holding a strange weapon leapt forward and wrapped up the right wrist of Peng Lianhu. Peng Lianhu withdrew with force, cracking and breaking the weapon, then attacked with his left palm immediately. The man avoided the blow by lowering his head, while seizing Guo Jing by the waist and carrying him away. The spectators saw a middle-aged Taoist, dressed in gray, who had been Eagle Shooting Hero
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holding a fly-whisk in his hand, of which only the handle remained. The torn-off strands of the fly-whisk were still around Peng Lianhu’s wrist. They looked at each other; although they had exchanged only one stance, they’d been able to fathom each others kung fu.
“You are undoubtedly the famed Master Peng?” the Taoist said. “It is a great honor to meet you here today.”
“You are overly courteous. May I ask the name of Master Taoist?”
The Taoist, on which all eyes were fixed, did not answer. He stepped forward with his left foot and then withdrew it. One could see on the ground, covered with a very fine layer of snow, a ten inch deep hole! The simple pressure of his foot had dug such a deep hole, revealing extraordinary kung fu.
Peng Lianhu was startled and said, “Are you the ‘Immortal with the Iron Foot’, Jade Sun Wang?”
“Now Master Peng is over praising,” the Taoist answered. “I am indeed Wang Chuyi, but I am not worthy of the title ‘Immortal’.”
Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziwong and ‘Supreme Virtue’ Lingzhi knew very well that Wang Chuyi was an eminent member of the Quanzhen [Absolute Perfection] Sect; his fame was only slightly less than that of ‘Eternal Spring’, Qiu Chuji. They had only heard of, but never seen him. They examined him attentively. He was a man with fine features and a little goatee on his chin. He wore immaculate white socks, gray shoes, and seemed to take much care to his clothing. If he had not demonstrated his kung fu, nobody there would believe that he was indeed the ‘Immortal with the Iron Foot’, who, by keeping one foot on a cliff's edge and swaying like a "lotus leaf in the wind", had much impressed the brave men of Hebei and Shandong.
Wang Chuyi smiled and said, pointing at Guo Jing, “I don't know this young friend at all, but seeing him intervening with such bravery and courage, I was full of admiration. That is why I permit myself to beg Master Peng to let him live.”
“The request was made with such courtesy,” said Peng Lianhu, “and when an eminent Quanzhen master intervenes, who wouldn't grant him a request?”
“Very well,” Wang Chuyi answered, cupping his hands, “thank you .....”
After thanking Peng, he asked Guo Jing his name. Then Wang Chuyi turned and his expression changed; his face darkened and he asked the young Prince sternly, “What is your name? Who is your Shifu?”
The young Prince, after having heard the name of Wang Chuyi, felt ill and would have liked to disappear unnoticed. However, the Taoist had kept an eye on him, “My name is Wanyan Kang,” he answered, “I cannot reveal the name of my Shifu.”
“Your Shifu has a red mole on his left cheek, hasn't he?” Wanyan Kang wanted to divert the question with a witty remark, but the terrible glance of the Taoist frightened him; he suppressed what he intended to say, and nodded. “I suspected it,” Wang Chuyi said, “You are the disciple of Brother Qiu. What did your Shifu tell you before teaching you martial arts?”
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Wanyan Kang understood the situation had become very untenable for him. He thought, “If Shifu hears of what has happened today, it will be a catastrophe!”
“If Master Taoist knows my Shifu,” he said in a servile manner, “you deserve my complete respect.
Why don't you come to my modest residence, so that I can benefit from your advice?” Before Wang Chuyi could answer, the prince turned to Guo Jing and said while bowing, “After exchanging blows, a friendship may grow,” he said smiling. “I admire the kung fu of Brother Guo very much. I invite you both to come to my house in order for us to get to know each other better.”
“And what will happen about the marriage?” Guo Jing asked, pointing at Mu Yi and his daughter.
Wanyan Kang seemed embarrassed. “This matter deserves further pondering ...”
“My friend,” Mu Yi said, after approaching and drawing Guo Jing by his sleeve, “let us go, we don't need to occupy him any longer.”
Wanyan Kang bowed again to Wang Chuyi. “Master Taoist, I will await you at home; you only have to ask for the residence of Prince Zhao. The weather is very cold, all things are freezing. It is an ideal time to sit together by a fire and admire the snow. We shall drink to celebrate this meeting.”
He climbed on the horse, whose bridle his servant held, and galloped off into the crowd without any concern about trampling somebody. This contemptuous behavior triggered Wang Chuyi’s anger,
“My little friend,” he said to Guo Jing, “come with me.”
“I must wait for a very dear friend,” Guo Jing said. As he said these words, he saw Huang Rong jumping up in the middle of the crowd and shouting to him, “Don't worry about me, I'll find you in no time at all!” Huang Rong turned and his diminutive figure soon disappeared into the crowd. Hou Tonghai, the ‘Three Headed Dragon’, gave chase. Guo Jing turned and kowtowed in the snow, to thank Wang Chuyi for saving his life. The Taoist raised him and took his arm. Both found a path through the crowd and ran in the direction of the outskirts of the city.
End of Chapter 7.
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Chapter 8 – Each One Demonstrating His Skill
Translated by Patudo, Dugu Seeking a Win and SunnySnow
The water splashed and a flat boat floated out from among a cluster of trees. He saw on the stern of the boat a woman paddling. Her long hair was draped on her shoulder and she was dressed in white from head to toe, with a golden hair band on top of her head; the white snow reflected its resplendent brightness.
Wang Chuyi went extremely quickly. In little time, they’d left the city. Some li further, they arrived at the foot of a hill. Eager to test the abilities of Guo Jing, the Taoist did not slow and ran more and more quickly.
At the time Ma Yu taught Guo Jing how to control his breathing; he had climbed and descended a high mountain cliff many times. Today, even after a heated battle, this race did not intimidate him.
Running against the wind as heavy snow fell, Wang Chuyi sprang up a small hill with its slope covered with slippery snow. Near the top, the slope became increasingly steep, but Guo Jing’s progress made him wonder. He advanced without breathing hard, as if his pulse had not accelerated and as if the ground were flat. The Taoist, extremely surprised, released Guo Jing's arm, “Your kung fu foundation is rather well established! How is it possible that you were not able to beat him?" Guo Jing had no answer and could only remain silent. “Who is your Shifu?” Wang continued.
Guo Jing knew of the Taoist, since, at the top of cliff, he had received instructions to play the part of Yin Zhiping, to mislead Mei Chaofeng. He remembered that Wang Chuyi was one of the martial brothers of Ma Yu and he did not hesitate to tell the truth. He quickly told of how he had been taught by the ‘Seven Freaks of Jiangnan’ and also by Ma Yu.
“My senior brother gave you lessons!” Wang exclaimed, delighted. “He is formidable, so I see no reason why I should worry about you!” Guo Jing's eyes widened as he looked at him without understanding.
“This so-called Young Prince, Wanyan Kang,” Wang explained, “is the disciple of my martial brother Qiu Chuji. Did you know?”
“Ah,” Guo Jing was astonished. “I was unaware of it...” Indeed, Ma Yu had taught to him some basics for the control of internal energy, as well as the qinggong technique called ‘Flight of the Golden Eagle’, to enable him to climb the cliff. But he had not given him the least instruction in battle techniques or weapons skills. This is why Guo Jing did not know any Quanzhen kung fu.
Hearing the remarks of Wang Chuyi, he remembered his battle with the young Taoist Yin Zhiping, whose movements seemed to come from the same style as those of Wanyan Kang. He believed that he had done wrong and bowed his head. “I did not know,” he said humbly, “that this Young Prince was a disciple of Master Qiu. I behaved out of order with him; please do not hold it against him...”
Wang Chuyi burst out laughing. “Your righteousness and gentlemanly spirit appeal to me. How could I reproach you? The rules of our Sect are extremely strict. If a disciple is at fault, he will be punished accordingly and justice will be done. This young boy was impudent and arrogant; I will ask Brother Qiu to punish him severely.”
“If he agrees to marry the young lady, Mu,” Guo Jing pleaded, “please agree to forgive him...”
Wang Chuyi shook his head without answering. He could see that Guo Jing had a good heart and that he forgave readily; he looked on him with even more sympathy. “Brother Qiu has always hated evildoers, and especially the Jin,” he thought. “How did it come about that he agreed to take on a Jin prince as his disciple? Even more strange is that the knowledge he seems to have of our kung fu appears rather thorough. That would mean that Brother Qiu devoted much time and energy on him!