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Guo Jing thought hard. “My six masters do not have enmity with this man. They will give up their lives in vain. How can I let them go in harm’s way?” he said in his heart. He quickly jumped forward. “Chen Xuanfeng died at my hand! It has nothing to do with my masters! I will pay for his life with mine!” But then he had another thought, “The First Master, Third Master and Seventh Master are hot-tempered. If they see me losing my life, they will surely fight to their deaths. I have to stall. I must deal with him later, alone.” He boldly positioned himself between Huang Yaoshi and the Six.
“My only regret is that my father’s death has not yet been avenged. I beseech Senior to give me a month’s grace. After thirty days I will personally come to Peach Blossom Island to give up my life,”
he said fearlessly.
Huang Yaoshi’s anger had subsided by now; plus, he was worried about his daughter. He’d lost his appetite for fighting. So he waved his hand casually and walked away.
Everybody was surprised; how did Guo Jing’s simple speech send him off just like that? They were suspicious that he was playing a trick; so they kept their eyes open at full alert. But after waiting a time, Huang Yaoshi still did not come back.
After a while Lu Chengfeng regained his composure and invited everybody to go back to the hall for some rest.
Mei Chaofeng laughed suddenly, waved her sleeves, then turned around and leaped outside. Before long she had vanished in the dark.
“Mei Shijie!” Lu Chengfeng called out, “Take your disciple with you!”
But the darkness swallowed his voice. Mei Chaofeng had already gone far.
End of Chapter 14.
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Chapter 15 – The Divine Dragon Swings Its Tail
Translated by Frans Soetomo with special thanks to Sunnysnow
He saw in front of her two clay figurines, one resembling a man, the other a woman.
These figurines were made in the famous Wuxi city; they were round, fat and really cute. In front of the figurines sat tiny clay bowls filled with flower petals, leaves, and so on.
A moment later Lu Guanying remembered their other guests; he helped Wanyan Kang stand up but he could not move because his acupoints were still sealed; only his eyes were moving.
“I accepted your Master’s request, you may go,” Lu Chengfeng said. He did not want to unseal the acupoints, since it was someone outside his school who did that. If he did, he would be showing disrespect towards other people. He therefore cast his glance toward his guests. Before he even said anything Zhu Cong had come up to Wanyan Kang and hit several times on his waist, and tapped some more on his back; unsealing the acupoints.
Lu Chengfeng was impressed. “This Wanyan Kang’s martial arts are not weak, yet this man was able to seal his acupoints without any resistance. His martial arts must be good,” he thought. What he did not know was that Zhu Cong took advantage of the commotion caused by the collapsing roof so that Wanyan Kang did not even realize what was happening.
Wanyan Kang was ashamed; he turned his back and walked away without saying anything. Zhu Cong saw the Jin officer still lying around; he unsealed his acupoints and called out, “Who is this officer? Take him away.”
That officer had thought that he was going to die, but he was unexpectedly released. He was delighted and hurriedly kowtowed, “Valiant Hero … thank you so much for saving my lowly life.
Duan Tiande will not forget it as long as I live. Next time when you visit the capital, please make sure you stop by my residence, I will be at your service with all my heart …”
Guo Jing heard that name ‘Duan Tiande’; his ears were buzzing. With a trembling voice he asked,
“You … your name is Duan Tiande?”
“That’s right,” answered Duan Tiande. “Duan Tiande at your service, Young Hero.”
“Eighteen years ago, were you serving as a military officer in Lin’an?” Guo Jing asked.
“How did the Young Hero know that?” Duan Tiande asked; and then he remembered that Lu Chengfeng had mentioned that Lu Guanying was a disciple of the monk Kumu; he turned his head to Lu Guanying and said, “I am Monk Kumu’s nephew, only I did not attend the monastery. I say we belong to the same family. Ha … ha …!” He laughed merrily.
Guo Jing looked at him strangely but did not say anything. Meanwhile Duan Tiande was still smiling happily. After a while Guo Jing regained his composure and turned his head to Lu Chengfeng. “Manor Master Lu, may I please borrow your courtyard for a moment?” he asked.
“Sure, use it as you wish,” Lu Chengfeng answered.
Guo Jing took Duan Tiande’s arm and led him to the courtyard in big strides. The Six Freaks of Jiangnan were having mixed feelings; they thought the heavens did indeed have eyes. Had he not said his own name, they would not have known he was the person they’d been looking for these past seven years and tens of thousands li.
Lu Chengfeng and his son, along with Wanyan Kang followed behind. They had no idea what Guo Jing was about to do.
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The courtyard was bright with the torches held in the manor servants’ hands. Guo Jing requested the use of some writing instruments, which the servants also quickly provided. Guo Jing then turned to Zhu Cong.
“Second Master,” he requested, “Would you please write down my father’s name?” To which Zhu Cong complied. He wrote in large characters, ‘Guo yi shi Xiaotian zhi ling wei’ [memorial tablet for the righteous warrior Guo Xiaotian] and placed it on the center table.
When he was taken out of the hall, Duan Tiande thought they were going to enjoy some refreshments; but as soon as he saw the name ‘Guo Xiaotian’ the blood drained from his face. He looked around and found the Six Freaks of Jiangnan had taken positions surrounding him. He was especially wary of Han Baoju with his short and stout stature; involuntarily he wet his pants. That day when he took Guo Jing’s mother to the north with the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan hot on his trail, he stopped at an inn for the night. He heard a commotion and took a peek through a crack in the door and had seen Han Baoju. Han’s short and stout stature was not easily forgettable. Earlier that day they met in the hall, but since he was a prisoner, he was more worried about his own fate so that he did not pay too much attention to anyone else. But now under the bright torch light it was impossible to mistake Han Baoju for someone else.
Guo Jing smashed a table and loudly shouted, “Now tell me, do you want a quick and easy death, or do you want me to slice your body with a thousand cuts before killing you?”
Duan Tiande knew he was not going to see another day. He scrambled to find something; anything to save his life. “Your father the chivalrous hero Guo’s death was unfortunate and I did have a small role in his death, but … what could I do as a lowly officer against higher authority?” he stammered.
“Who was that? Who sent you to harm my father? Quick, say it!” Guo Jing shouted.
“It was the Sixth Prince of the Great Jin, Prince Wanyan Honglie,” Duan Tiande said.
“What did you say?” Wanyan Kang was startled.
At this point all Duan Tiande could think of was, if he was going down, other people were going down with him. Who knows? He might get away with his crime. Therefore, without concealing anything he narrated how Wanyan Honglie was infatuated with Yang Tiexin’s wife, Bao Xiruo; how he conspired with Song authorities to kill Yang Tiexin while Wanyan Honglie would pretend to be the good guy who rescued Bao Xiruo. He told how they ransacked Ox Village and ended up killing Guo Xiaotian; how Duan Tiande then took Guo Jing’s mother to Beijing and then joined the Jin envoy to Mongolia. He explained how, during the chaotic times in Mongolia, he got separated from Guo Jing’s mother; how he decided to go back to Lin’an and worked diligently as a career soldier, finally to get promoted to his current position. He ended his story by kneeling in front of Guo Jing.
“Young Hero Guo, Guo Da Ren [‘honorable’ – someone in high position],” he said. “Please do not blame your lowly servant. I saw how chivalrous your father was, how solemn his expression was; I wanted to befriend him, only … only … your lowly servant was a very low ranking officer and I must obey orders. It was useless for me to have good intentions. Heaven is my witness, how I, Duan Tiande, did not have any enmity towards anybody …” He saw Guo Jing’s expression had not changed a bit and he did not say anything either. He quickly scooted over to the table and kneeled in front of Guo Xiaotian’s memorial. “Master Guo,” he continued. “I am sure your spirit in heaven is 446
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very clear that it was the Sixth Prince Wanyan Honglie who killed you, and not this lowly creature in front of you. Today I witnessed that your son is an extraordinary young man, your spirit must be very proud of him. I pray, with your blessing, he will forgive a lowly dog like me …”
While he was still babbling, Wanyan Kang swiftly leaped, struck with both hands and shattered his skull. He collapsed and died instantly.
Guo Jing kneeled in front of the table, sobbing uncontrollably. Only now did Lu Chengfeng understand the real story, so along with his son and the Six Freaks of Jiangnan they bowed to pay their respects in front of Guo Xiaotian’s memorial. Wanyan Kang also kneeled and kowtowed several times. Then he stood up and said, “Brother Guo, today I know that … that Wanyan Honglie is our archenemy. Little Brother did not realize it and has committed many-many despicable actions, more like heinous crimes.” And then he remembered his mother’s suffering and wept bitterly.