Guo Jing turned his head to see Ouyang Ke hugging Huang Rong; he became angry and shouted,
“Take your hands off her!”
After great difficulty Ouyang Ke was finally able to touch Huang Rong’s hands; how could he let go that easily? Smiling he said, “If you move, I am going to bash her brains out with my palm.”
Guo Jing did not even think; he swept the oar in his hand horizontally. Ouyang Ke ducked to avoid this attack, but Guo Jing sent his palm with a whistling sound toward his head. Ouyang Ke was forced to let Huang Rong go and swung his head backwards to avoid this attack. Guo Jing’s fists moved simultaneously, one downward, the other upward, both aimed at Ouyang Ke’s head.
Ouyang Ke realized this small boat was not the best place to fight while his enemy attacked fiercely. He stood up and sent a stance from his ‘Spirit Snake Fist technique’ [ling she quan], his hand swept horizontally. Guo Jing extended his left arm to parry, but suddenly Ouyang Ke’s fist curved upward turning into a palm that slapped Guo Jing hard on his cheek.
This blow was very hard and Guo Jing’s head was spinning because of it; but he realized the danger and he opened his eyes to see the second attack coming. Ouyang Ke’s movement resembled a wine gourd with two bends. Guo Jing avoided this attack by throwing his head backwards while sending his right arm forward to counterattack. Because his head was moving backwards, his attack was not effective. Luckily he had learned the ‘Mutual Hands Combat technique’ from Zhou Botong, so both his left and right hands could move independently of each other. This time his left hand followed his right with a different stance heading at his opponent. Because Ouyang Ke’s hand was still coming towards Guo Jing, Guo Jing’s arms surrounded his hand. Ouyang Ke's right arm happened to get caught in between Guo Jing's hands and as the left hand was pulling inwards and the right was pushing outwards. With a crack one of Ouyang Ke’s arm bones was broken.
Actually Ouyang Ke’s martial arts skill was not much below those of Ma Yu, Wang Chuyi or Sha Tongtian. No matter which technique he used, he should be able to defeat Guo Jing in a fair battle.
Because Guo Jing’s techniques were more bizarre than any other techniques he had seen before, he suffered under Guo Jing’s hands twice. Ouyang Ke fell onto the small boat’s deck.
Guo Jing did not pursue his attack on his opponent; instead he quickly took Huang Rong’s yielding body and unsealed her acupoint. Luckily for him that when Ouyang Feng sealed her acupoint, he did not use too much energy; he was trying to conserve his energy because he’d anticipated Hong Qigong’s attack. Guo Jing would not have been able to unseal the Western Poison’s acupoint sealing otherwise.
Huang Rong came to her senses, “Quickly help Shifu!” she called out.
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Guo Jing lifted his head to see his master and Ouyang Feng engaged in close hand-to-hand combat and looked like they were dancing in the midst of the blazing fire. The sound of the winds generated by their movements was intermingled with the sounds of cracking and debris falling over them.
Suddenly a loud crack was heard as the boat’s back broke; the stern slowly sank into the sea and vanished in the dark water. The bow was lighter, but slowly sank as well. Guo Jing took his oar and started paddling to get the small boat closer with the intention of helping his master.
Hong Qigong’s feet hit the water first. His clothes had been dried out by the fire, while Ouyang Feng’s were still wet from jumping into the sea earlier. This time the Western Poison had gained the upper hand over the Northern Beggar. Hong Qigong did not want to surrender so easily, so he fought with all his might. At that moment the main mast broke and fell. The two hurriedly jumped backwards so they were separated by the burning mast.
Ouyang Feng fetched his snake staff and jumped over the burning mast. Hong Qigong immediately drew the bamboo stick from his waist and fended off the attack. They had been fighting ferociously barehanded before, so imagine how fierce the battle had become now that both were wielding weapons.
Guo Jing held the oar in his hands, ready to jump on board. He was very concerned about his master’s safety, yet watching the two’s wonderful weapon techniques he was carried away, clucking his tongue and praising them unceasingly.
There is a saying among martial arts practitioners, “A hundred days to master a saber, a thousand days to master a spear, ten thousand days to master a sword,” indicating that sword techniques were the most difficult to learn. However, when martial artists reached perfection, each would develop his/her own unique skill and the difference between various weapons would become minuscule.
Twenty years ago during the Sword Meet of Mount Hua both Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng already admired each other’s martial arts very much. Even using swords it was very difficult for one to defeat the other. Now neither used the sword any longer.
Hong Qigong wielded a bamboo stick which he carried anywhere he went as the symbol of authority of his position as the Beggar Clan Leader. The bamboo was pliable but hard to break.
Compared to a sword it was about one foot longer. His skill in external martial arts was superb; he was able to impart an incredible amount of strength to the flexible weapon in his hands, increasing its might tremendously.
Ouyang Feng’s snake staff was also unique in that he’d combined the cudgel, stick, and spear techniques; the movements were complicated. The staff’s head was carved in the form of a human head; its mouth grinned ferociously, looking very scary. The two rows of sharp teeth inside its mouth were covered with poison. The head danced around like a ghost ready to strike its victim. On top of that, there was a hidden button on the staff that, when pressed, would shoot some poison towards the enemy. If that wasn’t enough, fiercer still were the two snakes wrapped around the staff. They were alive and able to make unpredictable moves and were very difficult to guard against.
The two exchanged palms and weapons, displaying their respective unique skills. Ouyang Feng had a slight advantage in terms of weaponry, but Hong Qigong was the leader of beggars everywhere and beggars were experts in catching snakes. His bamboo stick danced amidst the snake staff movements and parried every move that came his way. He also took advantage of any opening in Eagle Shooting Hero
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his opponent’s offense and struck at the snake staff’s vital point. Ouyang Feng moved his staff very quickly, making it difficult for his opponent to take accurate aim; he knew Hong Qigong meant to kill the snakes on his staff. He did not activate the secret button on his staff for fear that his reputation would be ruined.
Hong Qigong still had a unique skill set belonging to the Beggar Clan, namely the ‘Dog Beating Stick technique’ [da gou bang], its changes were subtle yet marvelous. It was a very sophisticated stick technique. However, Hong Qigong did not want to use this special skill unless except in an emergency situation. He was planning on using it at the second Sword Meet of Mount Hua the following year and he did not want to let this would-be-contender to have the advantage of watching his moves beforehand.
Guo Jing stood on the bow of the small boat and several times wanted to jump on board to help his master; but the two combatants were fighting closely. He realized his own skill was too far below theirs and it would be very difficult to even get close to them. All he could do was stare blankly, unable to do anything.
End of Chapter 20.
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Eagle Shooting Hero
She Diao Ying Xiong Chuan
(Eagle Shooting Hero)
by Jin Yong
Translators:
Minglei Huang,
Foreva,
Strunf,
Patudo,
Taihan,
Du Gu seeking a win,
SunnySnow,
James Worsley,
Rayon,
Xuelian,
Xfiberloss,
Hugh (aka IcyFox),
William Lee Chong Beng,
Daniel Shultz,
Bluebook,
Owbjhx,
Gimel Gimeno,
Frans Soetomo
Editors:
James Gataiant,
Percy Cael,
Qiu Shuyi,
Elif Kaya
Disclaimer
This work is an unofficial fan translation of Jin Yong’s She Diao Ying Xiong Chuan. The Copyright owner is Jin Yong and the publisher of his original Chinese text. The copyright owner of the English translations posted here is the respective translator(s). No part of this translation may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner(s) nor be otherwise circulated for commercial purpose. Except for Chapter 26, this translation is from the 2nd Edition.
Table of Contents
Chapter 21 – The Thousand-catty Rock ................................................................... 611
Translated by Hugh (aka IcyFox)
Chapter 22 – Wandering on a Shark's Back.............................................................. 639
Translated by William Lee Chong Beng & Frans Soetomo
Chapter 23 – Big Trouble in the Imperial Palace ..................................................... 677
Translated by Daniel Shultz, Bluebook & Frans Soetomo
Chapter 24 – Healing in the Secret Room ................................................................ 710
Translated by Frans Soetomo
Chapter 25 – Desolated Inn in the Village................................................................ 740
Translated by Sunnysnow & Frans Soetomo
Chapter 26 – New Allies, Old Arrangements ........................................................... 781