Huang Rong, “I have to go. If they try to stop me, you will help me, won't you?”
Ouyang Ke smiled, “If you want me to help you, then you must obey me as your teacher and stay with me forever.”
Huang Rong answered, “Obeisance to the Shifu does not mean staying with him forever!”
Ouyang Ke said, “My disciples are different. They're all women so they follow me wherever I go. I only need to call and they will come.”
Huang Rong tossed her head and laughed as she said, “I do not believe it.”
Ouyang Ke whistled and at once about twenty white-clad women appeared at the entrance. Whether they were fair or dark, amply built or thin, all of them wore the same style of clothes. Their carriage was proud and their smiles seductive as they focused their eyes on Ouyang Ke. During the banquet earlier in the Fragrant Snow Hall, these mistresses remained outside the wall. This was the first time Peng Lianhu and the others saw them and in their hearts, they were envious of his good fortune.
When Huang Rong challenged him into calling his mistresses, her intention was to cause a disruption in the hall, and take the opportunity to escape; but who would have thought that Ouyang Ke anticipated her thoughts? He looked at the group of women and signaled them with his folded fan to stay in the entrance. Then, casting a sidelong glance at Huang Rong, he appeared casual and self-satisfied. The mistresses looked at Huang Rong fixedly; some of them feeling inferior while others felt jealousy in their hearts. They knew that the pretty girl had somehow caught the eye of Master Shifu's son. They could not allow her to become another one of his ‘female disciples’
because he might, thereafter, stop doting on them. These mistresses gathered around him tightly, making it difficult for Huang Rong to rush out through the door.
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Seeing that the situation was not favorable, Huang Rong said, “You prefer a real fight? You want me to obey you as my teacher, which is something I've never done before, and I don't want to cause any embarrassment.”
Ouyang Ke asked, “Is it possible that you don't want to try?”
“OK, I will.” Huang Rong answered.
Ouyang Ke said, “Good, then come. Don't be afraid. I won't hit you back.”
Huang Rong said, “Why? If you don't hit back, I'll win, won't I?”
Ouyang Ke said smiling, “Even if you hit me, I'll still like you. How can I hit you back?” The crowd snickered at his frivolous manner but they were also wondering, “This young girl's kung fu is not weak. Even if you are ten times stronger, how do you expect to defeat her? What magic are you going to use?”
Huang Rong said, “I don't believe you're really not going to hit back. I must tie up both your hands.”
Ouyang Ke then loosened the sash around his waist to give it to her. He folded his hands behind his back and walked towards her. Huang Rong saw that he seemed harmless but her mind continued to work. Although her face remained smiling, in her heart she was actually feeling more and more anxious as she paced back and forth for a while, thinking, “I have to be careful with my steps.”
Thereupon, she took the sash, spread both her hands, pulled on opposite sides, but the cloth was strong as though it was made of silk so that even though she used internal energy, she still could not tear it. She immediately tied up his hands and smiled as she said, “How will we know who loses or who wins?”
Ouyang Ke stretched out his right foot, while keeping his left foot anchored, which left about three feet of distance in between. He proceeded to move his right foot against the brick floor, creating a sound like flowing water, until he made a complete circle six feet in diameter. Creating such a circle was no easy task and thus displayed his great internal energy. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu and the others all looked on with admiration. Ouyang Ke stepped into the circle and said, “Whoever steps out of the circle loses.”
Huang Rong said, “And if we both leave the circle?”
Ouyang Ke said, “Then, I lose.”
Huang Rong answered, “If you lose, you won't try to chase or stop me?”
Ouyang Ke replied, “Naturally. But if you leave the circle, that will result in you becoming my little darling. Everyone here is witness to that.”
Huang Rong replied, “Alright!”
She stepped into the circle, her left palm performing the ‘Encircling the Wind to Stroke the Willow’
[Hui Feng Fu Liu] and her right palm the ‘River of Stars in the Sky’ [Xing He Zai Tian]. The left was light and the right was heavy, both hands exerting hard and soft forces. Ouyang Ke dodged Eagle Shooting Hero
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slightly and both his shoulders were struck at the same time. Huang Rong encountered the force coming out of his body, startled to find that this Ouyang Ke's internal energy was truly profound.
Though he remained true to his word of not hitting back, he actually borrowed the force she used and used it as his own so that no matter how many times she hit him, he was always able to retaliate immediately. His hands remained motionless but Huang Rong was unsteady, almost falling out of the circle. This was why she did not dare to attack for the moment as she paced inside the circle.
Then she said, “If I leave, that doesn't mean you’ve won. You said before that if both of us leave the circle, you lose.”
Ouyang Ke looked shocked as he watched Huang Rong jog out of the circle. She was afraid that a long delay might cause more complications so she quickened her footsteps. With her golden bangles sparkling and her flowing robes fluttering in the wind, she rushed towards the entrance. Ouyang Ke shouted loudly, “I've been tricked!” He could only shout a warning but could not pursue. Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu and the others saw how Huang Rong cleverly tricked Ouyang Ke and could not stop themselves from laughing loudly.
Huang Rong was just about to reach the entrance when a fierce sound could be heard coming from above and a large body suddenly dropped from nowhere. She moved sideways to avoid it, suppressing her fear at this unknown thing. She saw a person sitting down in a large round-backed wooden armchair; it was that tall Tibetan monk. He was wearing a red gown and even though he was seated, he was still able to tower over her. The skill with which he was able to leap high with the chair still stuck to his body was no ordinary feat. Huang Rong was just about to speak when she suddenly saw the Tibetan monk whip out a pair of cymbals from beneath his robes. He struck them together, releasing a shocking, deafening sound, before opening them like a flower and sending both, one on top of the other, flying fiercely towards her. The cymbals turned into a blur of shining metal, moving so fast it seemed there were a dozen of them. She tried to fend them off but the cymbals suddenly became three. Startled, she turned only to find the cymbals still drawing nearer.
She dashed forward, dodging, before immediately darting away; then reversed directions while sending out a right palm towards the top cymbal and her left foot flicked towards the two cymbals at the bottom. The two cymbals separated so that they were able to fly past. Her fierce stance was unusual but the cymbals were able to avoid it and Ling Zhi then leapt forward. He executed his ‘Big Hand Imprint’ [Da Shou Yin] towards her. Huang Rong was hit, the blow sending her violently towards the center of the crowd.
Everyone shouted in alarm at seeing the young girl hit by Ling Zhi’s great palm, which had probably broken several bones and caused severe internal injuries. Ouyang Ke shouted, “Show mercy!” But was there enough time? He saw Ling Zhi’s great palm strike her on the back, but also saw that the hand was withdrawn immediately, its owner cursing loudly. Huang Rong used the force of his palm to run out of the hall. He heard her clear laughter as though she was not injured at all.
He expected that Ling Zhi’s palm was strong but what he did not know was that before the palm could hit her fully, it was rapidly withdrawn so that the force behind the blow was greatly diminished.
The crowd watched with rapt attention when they heard Ling Zhi roar again and again, his right palm dripping with blood. He lifted it and saw ten small punctures. His features changed as he remembered, shouting, “Soft Hedgehog Armor…Soft Hedgehog Armor!” His voice revealed his great surprise, his anger, and his pain.
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Startled, Peng Lianhu asked, “This girl was wearing ‘Soft Hedgehog Armor’? That is the treasure of Peach Blossom Island [Taohua Island]!”
Sha Tongtian wondered, “How could someone her age get a hold of the ‘Soft Hedgehog Armor’?”
Missing Huang Rong, Ouyang Ke ran out the entrance but he could barely see anything in the darkness. Not knowing where she was, he whistled for his concubines and ordered them to track her down. In his heart, he was secretly relieved, “It's good that she was able to escape and did not get injured. Good or bad, I must have her hand.”
Hou Tonghai asked, “Shi Ge (Elder Martial Brother), what is this soft hedgehog armor?”
Peng Lianhu snapped, "Have you seen a hedgehog?"
Hou Tonghai nodded, "Of course."
Peng Lianhu replied, “Under her clothes next to the skin, she wears a sort of soft armor. Though soft, this armor can withstand the thrust of a sword or a spear. Moreover, it is covered with spines like those of a hedgehog. A single kick or punch will be enough to get you pricked!”