The guard dare not refuse the order any longer and opened the lock freeing them. The consort then produced two ingots of silver from her cloak and passed them to Yang Tiexin saying softly, “Please go safely!”
Yang Tiexin didn't take the silver but just stared at her without so much as a blink. The consort assumed from his stare that he was angry with her and felt remorse for what they had suffered. In a gentle voice she apologized, “Please forgive us, my son, by his disgraceful behavior, has wronged both of you most gravely today.”
Yang Tiexin stared at her a while longer before slowly taking the silver and putting it in his robe without a word. He then took his daughter's hand and walked out of the prison.
The bodyguard called after him. “Hey you scum, don't you have any manners? When our lady saves your life you should get down on your knees and kowtow to show your thanks!” But Yang Tiexin kept on walking as if he had not heard.
Guo Jing waited until they had closed the door. Only when he heard the consort was far enough away did he emerge from hiding and look around. By then there was no sign of Yang Tiexin or his daughter. He thought that they must have left the palace by now so he had better return to the
‘Fragrant Snow Hall’ and pull Huang Rong away from her listening so they could hurry back with the medicine for Wang Chuyi. As he rushed off following the winding path he saw two figures carrying red lanterns coming directly towards him in what seemed a great hurry. Guo Jing tried to hide behind some decorative rockery but he was too late, he had already been spotted.
“Who's there!” shouted one man as he dashed forward with his hands raised in a claw stance.
Guo Jing could only raise his arms to block the strike. In the light of the two lanterns he was able to clearly see that his attacker was none other than Wanyan Kang!
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As it turned out, the bodyguard, after releasing the prisoners, had hurriedly reported the consort's actions to the young prince. Wanyan Kang was shocked when he heard this.
He thought to himself, “Mother's heart has always been too soft and she does not know the consequences of the old man and his daughter getting away! If my Shifu were to hear about this, and were to bring them to face me, how could I deny what's been going on! I would really be in much trouble!” He immediately rushed off to search for them and see if he could stop them in time before they actually escaped from the palace compound. Running into Guo Jing was the last thing he expected.
They had already fought viciously that day and now they meet again in the middle of the night. One was in a hurry to rush back with medicine, the other in a hurry to kill two people to seal their lips.
Now they fought even more viciously than before. Guo Jing tried to escape a couple of times but was blocked by Wanyan Kang. When Guo Jing saw the bodyguard coming forward drawing his sword ready to assist his master he thought things were going badly indeed!
o0o
Liang Ziwong thought that Huang Rong was about to be defeated and turned to leave, but to his surprise he heard a call from the crowd that indicated a change in the situation. Huang Rong suddenly raised both her arms and tossed her head sending the three bowls of wine soaring straight up in the air. She then swung both fists towards Hou Tonghai and struck using a move called ‘Eight Steps to Overtake the Moon’. Because Hou Tonghai was holding the wine bowls he couldn't block the strike and instead dodged quickly to the left. Huang Rong followed through with a flash of her right hand leaving Hou Tonghai no option this time but to block with his arm. Not only was he unable to stop the wine in his hands from spilling, but the bowl perched atop his head also tipped over and fell to the floor with a crash.
Huang Rong instantly stepped back and caught two of her bowls in mid air while the remaining one fell neatly onto the soft cloud of her hair, all without spilling so much as a drop of wine. Those present could not help murmuring ‘Excellent’ after seeing this brilliant performance of skill.
Ouyang Ke however didn't murmur his praise but said it rather loudly. Sha Tongtian shot him an angry glare; but Ouyang Ke did not notice and again called out, “Brilliant indeed!”
Hou Tonghai's cheeks flushed red, “Try that again!”
Huang Rong laughed and touched her cheek with a finger and said, “Now, now, aren't you ashamed?”
Sha Tongtian, seeing his younger martial brother's loss of face, let out a grunt, “Young girl, you are certainly full of devious tricks. Tell us, who is your master?”
Huang Rong smiled sweetly saying, “I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now I must be on my way.”
Without appearing to bend a leg or take a step Sha Tongtian suddenly appeared in the doorway blocking Huang Rong's exit. Just a few minutes earlier Huang Rong had already learned just how powerful Sha Tongtian's kung fu was when he had grabbed and locked both of her hands. Now his
‘Change Form Exchange Place’ maneuver only served to highlight just how powerful an opponent he would be. Although she felt a slight rush of worry, her face didn't betray her feelings. Instead she showed a slight frown and asked in a slightly annoyed tone, “Why are you blocking my way?”
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Sha Tongtian replied, “I want you to tell me which school you belong to and why you came barging into the palace.”
Huang Rong arched her pretty eyebrows and asked, “And what if I don't tell you?”
Sha Tongtian snapped, “When the ‘Dragon King of the Demonic Group’ asks a question, there is no choice but to answer!”
Huang Rong saw that she was surrounded and there wasn't much chance of her making a run for it.
She had seen Liang Ziwong about to leave and called out to him pleading sweetly, “Uncle! This bad man is blocking my way and won’t let me go home.”
Liang Ziwong laughed when he heard her pleading in such a cute manner. “The ‘Dragon King’ has only asked you a question, why don't you be a nice girl and answer him? I'm sure he will let you go then.”
Huang Rong laughed in her most charming way and replied, “But I just don't feel like answering.”
And then to Sha Tongtian she said, “OK - If you won't make way, I'll just have to dash through.”
Sha Tongtian laughed coldly, “Only if you have the ability to get past.”
Huang Rong demanded, “You must not lay a finger on me!”
Sha Tongtian replied, “What need is there for me, the ‘Dragon King’, to move a finger in order to stop a little girl like you.”
Huang Rong exclaimed, “Good, it's settled then. A gentleman cannot go back on his word. Dragon King Sha, do you see that?” She pointed with her left hand off to one side of the room. Sha Tongtian looked over to where she was pointing and at this point Huang Rong made a dash to get past him while he was distracted.
She moved with blinding speed, but Sha Tongtian's reaction was even faster. He shot his right two fingers up and aimed towards her eyes as she moved forward. If she didn't stop she would be blinded. Luckily she was agile enough to stop in time and leap back away from the danger. She tried again and again from many different angles but each time she found her way blocked no matter how quickly she moved. Finally, when she found her nose almost smashing into Sha Tongtian's shiny bald head threatening to stain it with blood from her broken nose, she gave up with a little shriek of frustration.
Liang Ziwong laughed heartily, “Dragon King Sha is a master at this, there is no point in continuing. Why not just admit defeat?” He then turned away and set off at a rapid pace back to his medicine store room.
As soon as he stepped into the room he smelled fresh blood and knew that all was not well. He looked down and saw, by the glow of his torch, the shriveled body of his prized red snake. All its blood had been drained and his stores of medicines were strewn about the place. Liang Ziwong's blood ran cold. Twenty years of work had been destroyed in one night! He clutched the body of his dead snake and couldn't control his tears.
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The Ginseng Immortal was originally a ginseng picker on Changbai Mountain. Later he killed a seriously wounded senior master and from inside his sack he took a manual of martial arts secrets along with ten or so prescriptions for the preparation of different types of medicines, drugs and potions. The study of this book combined with use of these drugs would lead to martial arts of incredible power. Part of the preparation of the drugs required the raising of a special type of venomous snake. He searched deep in the forests and mountains to find this type of snake and fed it the most precious of herbs and other medicines. The snake’s body was originally black, but over the years as he fed it cinnabar it gradually began to turn a bright red. After twenty years of feeding the snake it had only a few more days before it completed its transformation. Then he was called to Yanjing to meet with the Prince. When the snake was ready he need only drink the blood of the snake and meditate to gain the full benefit of the martial arts power. This would make his kung fu more powerful than ever. Seeing his life’s work not only lost to him, and possibly someone else having benefited instead, was more than he could bear.
After a few moments he managed to compose himself and saw that the traces of blood on the snake had not yet congealed. He realized then that it couldn't have been very long since the snake died, so the culprit must still be near by. He immediately leapt up into a tall tree and looked all around for any signs of the thief. From there he saw the vicious fight between Guo Jing and Wanyan Kang going on in the garden. Burning with fury and anger, he leaped down and sped off towards the fight.