Hong Qigong stomped his foot. “Ay! Old Urchin! Don’t you think this joke is too much? I am going to talk to Brother Yao.” Moving his feet he dashed into the forest, but the pathways were confusing and he did not know which way Huang Yaoshi had gone. As for the deaf and mute servants, as soon as their master left, they scampered away following him. Hong Qigong had no one to lead him, so he was compelled to come back. Then he suddenly remembered that Ouyang Ke had the detailed map of Peach Blossom Island. “Nephew Ouyang, can I borrow the Peach Blossom Island map, please?” he asked urgently.
578
Eagle Shooting Hero
Ouyang Ke shook his head, “Without Uncle Huang’s permission little nephew does not dare to let other people see it; Uncle Hong please don’t blame me.”
“Humph!” Hong Qigong snorted. In his heart he said, “I am really stupid; how can I borrow the map from this kid? He earnestly wishes for Old Heretic Huang to hate my dumb disciple.” While he was still staring at the forest he suddenly saw some white shadows coming. It turned out they were Ouyang Feng’s thirty-two white clothed dancing girls.
As they came close to Ouyang Feng, they bent their knees and one of them said, “Master Huang told us to go back with Master.”
Ouyang Feng did not even look their way; he simply waved his hand telling them to board his boat.
To Hong Qigong and Zhou Botong he said, “I am afraid Brother Yao might have put some booby-traps on board. Don’t you two gentlemen worry, Little Brother will follow closely in my boat. In case of an emergency we can lend you a hand.”
Zhou Botong angrily said, “Who wants your charity? I want to see what kind of gadgets Old Heretic Huang put on his boat. If you follow us the danger won’t be there; where is the fun part then? If you mess with me, the Old Urchin will drench you with urine one more time!”
Ouyang Feng laughed, “Very well! In that case, until we meet again.” He cupped his fists and took his nephew aboard his boat.
Guo Jing was still staring blankly at where Huang Rong had disappeared, lost in thought. Zhou Botong laughed, “Brother, let us board the boat. I wonder if this ill-fated boat will swallow the three of us alive” His left hand took Hong Qigong’s arm and his right hand pulled Guo Jing along and together they boarded the new boat.
The boat came with seven or eight sailors who waited to serve them; they were all mute. Zhou Botong laughed, “One day Old Heretic Huang will be so angry that he cuts out his precious daughter’s tongue. Only then will I admire him for having guts.” Listening to this Guo Jing could not help but shiver. Zhou Botong saw him and laughed heartily, “Are you afraid?” he asked, and then made a hand signal to the sailors to start sailing. The sailors hoisted the anchor and raised the sail; under a southern wind they headed north.
“Come,” Hong Qigong said, “Let us take a look at this boat and see what is so strange about it.”
Three men walked the boat from stem to stern; from the deck to the bottom of the hold. The boat was painted in bright and clear paint and the hold contained a supply of food and drinks…water, white rice, wine, meat and vegetables in abundance. But nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Old Heretic Huang deceived us!” Zhou Botong said hatefully, “Where is the strange thing on this boat he was talking about? He is such a liar!”
Hong Qigong, however, still had doubts. He leaped to the mast and with his strength tried to rock the masts and the sails, but again, he found nothing out of the ordinary. He lifted his eyes and looked in the distance; he saw seagulls flying, the waves rolling and the horizon where the sea met the sky. The boat’s three sails were fully raised as they headed north. He opened his collar and enjoyed the invigorating wind. Turning his head he saw Ouyang Feng’s boat following approximately two li [about 1 km] behind.
Eagle Shooting Hero
579
Hong Qigong leaped down from the mast and made a hand signal to the sailor at the rudder telling him to change course to the northwest. A moment later he looked again and saw that Ouyang Feng’s boat had also changed direction to the northwest.
“What is he following us for?” Hong Qigong muttered under his breath, “Can he really have good intentions? The day Old Venom shows kindness of heart, the sun may have to rise in the west.” He was afraid if Zhou Botong knew he would throw a fit of temper. He didn’t say anything, but signaled the sailor to change course to the east.
The boat made such an abrupt turn that the sails were almost touching the water and they slowed down. In approximately the time needed to drink a cup of tea Ouyang Feng’s boat also changed direction to the east. “If you want to settle our score on the sea, that’s all right with me,” Hong Qigong thought.
He left the deck to enter the cabin and saw Guo Jing looking depressed; he was quiet and lost in thought. Hong Qigong said, “Tu’er [disciple], let me teach you how a beggar begs for rice: if the master of the house does not give you anything, you hang around his door for three days and three nights and see if he still refuses to give you anything.”
Zhou Botong laughed, “What if the master of the house owns a vicious dog? What if he told the dog to bite you because you don’t want to go? What would you do?” he asked.
Hong Qigong laughed, “In that case he is a heartless rich man. If you come again at night and steal his belongings, you are not violating heaven’s law.”
Zhou Botong turned to Guo Jing. “Brother, do you understand your Master’s speech? He taught you to be persistent in front of your father-in-law. If he still won’t give his daughter to you and beats you for no reason, then you can steal her at night,” he said, “But if you really want to steal that treasure, you don’t have to do it yourself; all you need to do is call out, ‘bao bei er [Treasure, precious], come!’ And she will come out and follow you.”
Listening to him Guo Jing was unable to restrain a smile. He watched Zhou Botong pacing up and down the cabin; he could not stay still even for a moment. Suddenly a thought came into his mind,
“Big Brother, do you have a destination in mind?” he asked.
“I don’t have one,” replied Zhou Botong, “I will go where my heart tells me to. I stayed on Peach Blossom Island for too long and I felt cooped up.”
“I have a favor I’d like to ask Big Brother,” Guo Jing said.
Zhou Botong shook his head. “No, I am not going to Peach Blossom Island to help you steal a wife, I don’t want to.”
Guo Jing blushed, “No, not that,” he said, “I want to bother Big Brother to visit Cloud Manor in Yixing, by Lake Tai.”
“What for?” Zhou Botong asked.
“The Cloud Manor Master, Lu Chengfeng is a brave hero,” Guo Jing explained, “He was Father-in-law’s disciple. Because of the ‘Twin Killers of the Dark Winds’, Father-in-law broke his legs and 580
Eagle Shooting Hero
he became a cripple. Big Brother’s legs recovered, so I want to ask Big Brother to teach him the technique of healing his legs.”
“That’s easy,” Zhou Botong said, “Even if Old Heretic Huang broke my legs again, I know how to heal myself. If you don’t believe me, go ahead, break my legs.” After saying that, he sat on a chair and stretched out his legs with a challenging look on his face.
Guo Jing smiled, “I don’t need to try, I know Big Brother has this ability,” he said.
While they were still talking a loud crashing noise was suddenly heard. The door burst open and a sailor came rushing in with a terror-stricken expression. He could not speak, so he just gesticulated in panic. Three of them knew something was terribly wrong, so they dashed out of the cabin.
o0o
Huang Rong wanted to have a word with Guo Jing but was pulled away by her father. She was very upset. As soon as they arrived at their home she went straight to her room and locked the door, crying uncontrollably. In anger Huang Yaoshi had expelled Guo Jing from the island; now that his anger had subsided he regretted his rash decision. He realized he had sent Guo Jing to his death. He wanted to comfort his daughter, but no matter how hard or how long he knocked on her door, she just turned a deaf ear to him. During supper he called for her, but she did not appear; he sent a servant with Huang Rong’s dinner but she threw it to the floor and even hit the servant a couple of times.
“Father said that if Jing ge ge ever sets his foot on this island again he will kill him. I want to go and find him, but how can I leave Father alone here? He will definitely be grieved,” Huang Rong pondered it back and forth, but could not come up with any ideas until her stomach hurt.
Several months ago Huang Yaoshi scolded her and she ran away from the island; with childish thoughts she did not want to go back. Afterwards, when she met her father again, she saw that the number of white hairs on his temple had suddenly increased. It had only been several months, but he looked ten years older than she remembered him. She felt really sorry, and promised in her heart never to leave him again. Who would have thought that she would now face this difficult situation?
She stayed on her bed all day, crying. She thought, “If Mother were still alive, she would take care of me; would she allow me to suffer like this?”