Aiyo, Father gave him the map to Peach Blossom Island and he’ll surely be able to understand it.”
She was so absorbed in thought that she tripped on a tree vine and stumbled; above her she heard some rustling noises followed by mud and small pebbles raining down on her. She dashed aside but bumped into a tree behind her and a few of the pebbles hit her body. Fortunately she was wearing the Soft Hedgehog Armour, so she was not really hurt. She looked up and was so stunned that her heart beat rapidly. She saw a sheer cliff face with a gigantic rock at its edge. Half the rock was hanging over the edge and even slight disturbance could bring the rock crashing down. The top of the cliff had many thick vines winding around and the very vine she tripped on just now was attached to the rock. If she snapped a vine connected directly to the thousand-pound rock [the catty in the chapter title is 500 grams or 1.1 lb], the rock could have smacked into her, turning her into mincemeat.
The rock had moved but was not dislodged. Huang Rong became extremely careful and watched where she was going while jumping here and stopping there. She moved back several dozen meters and became curious. She knew that she could pull the rock down with just one arm but no one ever came here; there was not even a bird in sight and the rock had been here for hundreds of years.
Cliffs surrounded this place so even the sea breeze could not get through, and it seemed likely this rock had rocked in the wind for the hundreds of years. As Huang Rong headed back to find her master she suddenly had an idea, “Heaven wants that scoundrel dead and has presented this wonderful opportunity; how can I be so dense?” She became excited and somersaulted twice.
She hurriedly returned to the cliff and carefully examined the place. She saw trees reaching up to the sky and if one wanted to avoid the falling rock, one could only move four or five feet in any direction at most. If that rock came crashing down, even birds or squirrels might not evade it. She took her spike out and cautiously walked to the base of the cliff and noted the seven or eight vines directly attached to the rock so that she would not touch them, then she cut the remaining vines.
When she cut a vine she held her breath because she was afraid that one small mistake and it would be she who would be flattened.
When she finished, she was drenched with sweat and felt that it had been more tiring than a fierce battle. She then tied the cut vines together and placed a few heaps of dry grass as markers, then memorized the route she took before heading back. As she went she hummed a few tunes along the way, feeling quite proud of herself.
When she got near the cave she still had not seen Ouyang Ke. Then she suddenly heard a perverted laugh coming from inside followed by someone saying, “You claim to be among the best martial artists, yet today you are in Grandfather’s power, how do you feel? All right…because you’re an elder, I’ll let you have a three-move advantage, how’s that? You can display each and every one of Eagle Shooting Hero
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the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’!” Huang Rong softly exclaimed, “Ah!” She knew that the situation was dire and shouted, “Father, you’re here? Ah, Uncle Ouyang, you’re here too!”
Ouyang Ke had already assessed Hong Qigong’s abilities and was about to strike when he heard Huang Rong’s shout. He was happy and thought, “How is it possible that Uncle and Old Heretic Huang are here?” Then he thought further, “It must be that girl shouting rubbish to save the old beggar. Fine, since the old beggar is in my control anyway I might as well take a look.” He then exited the cave.
He saw Huang Rong waving towards the beach and shouting, “Father…Father!” Ouyang Ke looked that way but of course he did not see Huang Yaoshi. He laughed, “Sister, you wanted to trick me into coming out to play…how could I refuse?” Huang Rong laughed and said, “Who’s lying?” She then ran to the beach. Ouyang Ke laughed, “This time I’m prepared; you want to drag me into the sea again, so let’s try it.” Then he chased her. His Qinggong [lightness kung fu] was good and he was catching up fast. Huang Rong inwardly exclaimed, “This is bad! I might even get caught before I reach that cliff.” She ran another few dozen meters and Ouyang Ke was almost catching her.
Huang Rong broke left and off the beach. Ouyang Ke had learned his lesson and did not dare go near, so he laughed, “OK, let’s play hide-and-seek.”
Though he did not stop, he was prepared for any trick she might try. Huang Rong stopped and laughed, “There’s a large worm in front of you, and if you chase me again it’ll eat you in one gulp.”
Ouyang Ke laughed, “I’m a worm too and I’m going to eat you!” He leaped forward but Huang Rong just laughed and ran ahead.
The two came close to the cliff wall soon enough. Huang Rong ran even faster and shouted, “Come on!” Just as she was about to reach the wall, she saw two figures on the beach. She was really curious but did not have the luxury of stopping; she carefully looked for the piles of grass then ran all the way to the cliff’s base.
Ouyang Ke laughed, “Where’s the worm?” He also ran faster and reached the cliff wall quick as an arrow. The spot where Huang Rong stopped was already cleared of vines, but Ouyang Ke, not suspecting a trap, stepped right into it, wrenching the rock out of its place. The vines snapped and Ouyang Ke felt a great pressure descending on him. He looked up and what he saw scared the living daylights out of him; a mountain of a rock rolling down towards him.
Although the rock was very high up, the gust of wind it created was so strong that he could hardly breathe; he hastily jumped backwards, but smacked right into a tree with such a great force that the tree cracked and the splinters pierced him. At this point he was fleeing for his life and ignored the pain. He jumped again, but only managed to move three feet. Now he was in a daze, then suddenly felt as though someone had jolted him awake, dragging him several feet away….but it was too late.
Amidst the thunderous rumble and flying dust, he fainted.
Huang Rong saw that her plan had worked and she was very happy. She had not expected the deafening rumble which seemed to shove her aside and her head was hit by the countless grains of dirt and dust. She bent over and held her head for a moment before opening her eyes and saw two shadows through the dust.
As the dust settled, she rubbed her eyes and saw that it was actually West Poison Ouyang Feng and the other was the one she so deeply missed…Guo Jing. Huang Rong shouted and jumped for joy.
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Guo Jing had never expected to meet her here and he rushed forward and hugged her. In their excitement, they had forgotten that their enemy was close by.
o0o
When Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng were fighting on the boat, neither could gain the advantage, while at the same time the boat was sinking. It took them down with it. Deep in the sea the water pressure was very high and they felt water forcing its way into their ears and noses, causing great pain. They had to stop their struggle and cover their ears and noses.
The bottom of the sea had a swift undercurrent moving in a different direction than the surface current and before they knew it they were swept some distance away. When Guo Jing managed to get up to the surface to breathe it was already dark and the boat seemed very far away. While Guo Jing shouted, at that very moment Huang Rong was looking for him; but they were so far apart, how could they find each other?
Guo Jing shouted again and felt a tug on his leg, followed by another head reaching the surface…it was Ouyang Feng. He was at a disadvantage in the water, so although he was a martial arts master, he struggled wildly and refused to release Guo Jing’s leg.
Guo Jing struggled harder but his other leg was also grabbed. They wrestled for a brief moment before submerging again. When they hit the surface, Guo Jing shouted, “Let my legs go…I won’t desert you.” Ouyang Feng also realized that this would kill them both, so he released his legs and grabbed his shoulder.
Guo Jing supported him, allowing them to float. At this time they saw a large wooden board floating by and it bumped Guo Jing. Ouyang Feng shouted, “Careful!” Guo Jing grabbed it, shouting, “Grab it and don’t let go!”
They looked around but could not see any boats. Ouyang Feng’s Snake Staff was lost and he worried, “If we meet any sharks, we can only hit them wildly like Zhou Botong did. I saved him that time, but who’ll save me now?” They floated for some time and saw many fish swimming by so they had to depend on the fish for survival.
As the ancient saying goes, “Helping each other in the same boat ( 同舟共济 )”, so these two men who fought a bitter battle just a while ago could share the same raft. During this time they were fortunate not to meet any danger. In time the current brought them to the island where Hong Qigong and Huang Rong were only two days after their arrival.
When they hit shore they lay down for some time before they suddenly heard someone laughing.
Ouyang Feng jumped up and followed the laughter and coincidentally met Ouyang Ke who had just fallen into the trap. Ouyang Feng tried to rush forward to save him. He managed to pull him back several feet but Ouyang Ke’s legs were crushed by the rock and he fainted from the pain.