Guo Jing saw his eyes had a murderous look and he was really frightened. “Disciple really does not know Mei … Senior Mei’s Manual’s whereabouts. If I did, I will gladly help retrieve it and return it to the Island Master.”
Huang Yaoshi looked at him with his penetrating gaze yet did not see even the slightest bit of deceitfulness on Guo Jing’s face. He was compelled to believe it was his late wife from the underworld who’d taught Guo Jing; he felt joy and grief at the same time. With a loud and clear voice he gave his verdict, “Very well. Brother Qi, Brother Feng, it was my deceased wife who chose our son-in-law; your brother does not have anything else to say. Child, I betroth Rong’er to you. Treat her well. I have spoiled Rong’er badly, so you need to yield thirty percent of the time.”
Huang Rong was ecstatic and she grinned from ear to ear, “I am a completely well-behaved girl; who said I am spoiled badly?”
Guo Jing might be stupid, he might be slow, but this time he did not need Huang Rong to prompt him; he immediately kneeled down and kowtowed, “Father-in-law!”
He had not yet stood back up when Ouyang Ke suddenly called out, “Hold on!”
End of Chapter 18.
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Chapter 19 – Great Waves, School of Sharks
Translated by Frans Soetomo
Alone in that small underground room and seeing the painting of her deceased mother made by her father's own hand; with a roller coaster of emotions Huang Rong thought, “I have never seen Mother. I wonder after I die, will I meet her? Was she really as beautiful as in the picture? Where is she right now? Is she in the sky above, in the earth below, or still in this room?”
Not in his wildest dreams did Hong Qigong think the memorization contest would end up this way.
Guo Jing beating Ouyang Ke and making him roll around on the ground seventeen or eighteen times would be ten times more believable to him. He was so happy that he could not wipe the smile off his face. Hearing Ouyang Ke protesting he snapped, “What? You are not convinced?”
“What Brother Guo recited was a lot more than what was written in the book,” Ouyang Ke said,
“He must have the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ in his possession. Junior has the courage to ask to search him.”
“Island Master Huang had accepted his proposal,” Hong Qigong said, “What other business is there to discuss? Didn’t you hear what your uncle said before the tests?”
Ouyang Feng glared. “Do you think a man surnamed Ouyang would be easily deceived?” he said.
He heard what his nephew just said and was convinced that Guo Jing knew the ‘Nine Yin Manual’.
He wanted very much to get the book for himself. Whether Huang Yaoshi accepted his marriage proposal or not became secondary to him.
Guo Jing took off his belt and opened up his clothing, saying, “Senior Ouyang, you can search me if you want to.” He immediately took everything out of his pockets and placed them on top of a big rock nearby: silver coins, a handkerchief, a flint and the like.
“Humph!” Ouyang Feng snorted and began searching Guo Jing’s body. Huang Yaoshi had known Ouyang Feng as a ruthless man for a long time and he would do unpredictable things when angry.
His strength was profound and if he put forth a violent hand, nobody would be able to rescue Guo Jing. Huang Yaoshi coughed, stretched out his left hand and placed it on Ouyang Ke’s neck close to his spine; it was a vital point. Should Huang Yaoshi put some force into it, Ouyang Ke’s spine would break and Ouyang Feng could give up any ideas of saving him.
Hong Qigong knew his intentions very well and he was fascinated, “Old Heretic Huang is really one-sided. Now that he gives favor to his daughter and future son-in-law he wants to protect this dumb disciple of mine. Ay! He was capable of reciting the whole book, so I can’t call him dumb anymore.”
Originally Ouyang Feng was going to strike Guo Jing’s lower abdomen with his ‘Toad Stance’
energy and let him suffer for three years before he finally died. Seeing that Huang Yaoshi had guarded against his scheme he did not dare to strike. He searched Guo Jing’s body without any results. All he could do was stay silent for a long time, thinking really hard. He did not believe all this nonsense about Madame Huang’s spirit choosing her son-in-law. He recalled that this kid was dumb, slow and apparently he could not lie. Perhaps he could coerce the whereabouts of the Manual from him. He shook the staff in his hand and with a scratching sound the two weird looking snakes slithered up the length of the staff.
Huang Rong and Guo Jing had seen these strange animals; they were frightened and moved back one step. Pointing at Guo Jing’s throat, he asked, “Nephew Guo, where did you learn the ‘Nine Yin Manual’?” His eyes were blazing red as he looked at Guo Jing with a penetrating glare.
“I know about the ‘Nine Yin Manual’, but I have never seen it,” Guo Jing said. “The first volume is in the hands of Zhou Botong, Big Brother Zhou …”
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“Why did you call Zhou Botong ‘Big Brother Zhou’?” Hong Qigong asked, “Have you met the Old Urchin Zhou Botong?”
“Yes,” Guo Jing replied, “Big Brother Zhou and your disciple have become sworn brothers.”
“One is old and the other young,” Hong Qigong mocked, “That’s really preposterous!”
“What about the second volume?” Ouyang Feng asked.
“The second volume was in Mei Chaofeng … Mei … Mei Shijie’s hands, but it was lost at Lake Tai,” Guo Jing explained. “Right now she is under Father-in-law’s orders to search for it everywhere. Disciple was thinking that after everything is done here, I will go and lend her a helping hand.”
Ouyang Feng asked fiercely, “If you have not seen the ‘Nine Yin Manual’, how can you recite it so well?”
Guo Jing was puzzled. “Did I recite the ‘Nine Yin Manual’?” he asked, “That can’t be. I recited a text Big Brother Zhou taught me; he said it was his own secret martial arts creation.”
Huang Yaoshi inwardly sighed. He was dismayed and thought, “Zhou Botong received his late martial brother’s order to guard the ‘Nine Yin Manual’. We played with marbles and he lost to me; I tricked him and in the end he burned the book. Up to that time he had not looked at the contents of the book at all, which was not at all strange. But now there seems to be some divine intervention; everything has happened so coincidentally that my daughter ended up betrothed to him. Isn’t he very lucky?”
Huang Yaoshi was still deep in thought as Ouyang Feng pressed on, “Where is Zhou Botong now?”
he asked.
Guo Jing was about to answer when Huang Yaoshi cut him off, “Jing’er, there’s no need to say more.” Turning his head to Ouyang Feng he said, “It is such a trivial matter, why do you care so much? Brother Feng, Brother Qi, we have not seen each other for twenty years. Let us spend three days together on Peach Blossom Island, drinking to our hearts’ content.”
“Shifu, I am going to prepare some food for you,” Huang Rong said, “The lotuses on this island are superb; so how about some chicken steamed in lotus petals, or some fresh water chestnut and lotus leaf soup? I am sure you’ll like it.”
Hong Qigong smiled widely, “Now that you’ve gotten your heart’s desire, look how happy you are!”
Huang Rong just gave him a faint smile. “Shifu, Uncle Ouyang, Brother Ouyang, please,” she said.
She was extremely happy to be betrothed to Guo Jing so that her animosity toward Ouyang Ke had vanished into thin air. At this very moment everybody in the whole wide world was, to her, a good person.
Ouyang Feng raised his hands in respect to Huang Yaoshi, “Brother Yao, I must decline your great hospitality. Many thanks. Let us part today.”
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“Brother Feng has come a long way,” Huang Yaoshi replied, “Brother has not fulfilled my responsibility as a good host; how can I let you leave?”
Ouyang Feng had come from thousands of li away, not only for his nephew’s sake, but for another grand scheme as well. He’d received his nephew’s carrier pigeon message which said that the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ had reappeared and was in the hands of Huang Yaoshi’s renegade blind female disciple. After the wedding he planned to join forces with Huang Yaoshi and obtain the ‘Nine Yin Manual’. But now the marriage proposal failed; his nephew lost the competition and he felt really dejected, so he insisted on leaving.
“Uncle!” Ouyang Ke suddenly said, “Your nephew is useless and I have made you lose face. But Uncle Huang has promised that he will teach Nephew some skills.”
“Humph!” Ouyang Feng muttered. He was aware his nephew had not given up hope on the Huang family’s girl, so he’d found some excuse to stay longer to be close to Huang Rong and try to win her heart. Who knows, she might eventually fall into his hands?
Huang Yaoshi was upset. He erroneously thought that Ouyang Ke would win the three tests and that was why he made that promise to reward Guo Jing. But it was Ouyang Ke who unexpectedly failed the tests. Apologetically he said, “Nephew Ouyang, your uncle’s martial arts are unparalleled in the world; others cannot hold a candle to him. You have mastered your own family heritage skills, what need do you have to learn somebody else’s? This old dog was lucky to master some ‘back door second rate’ [zuo dao pang men] techniques. If Nephew does not think it too superficial, then whichever skill you’d like to learn, this old dog will be happy to teach it to you.”