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He checked his hands and found the blood glistening in the moonlight and was afraid Huang Rong’s protective vest could be poisoned. He looked closely and saw that the blood was still bright red, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Guo Jing took advantage of his procrastination to grab Huang Rong and dash out towards the summit. He only ran a few dozen steps when he heard angry shouts from behind. He turned and saw numerous black – clad men with torches swarming towards him. In the chaos he happened to discover that Huang Rong was not breathing. He screamed, “Rong-er! Ronger!” There was no response. With this slight delay, Qiu Qian Ren’s men came within a dangerous distance. Guo Jing thought, “If I were alone, I could break through this encirclement easily, but Rong-er is severely injured. I can’t take this risk.”
He ran faster and climbed directly upwards. He had learnt mountain-scaling skills before, so it was not long before he threw his pursuers far behind. Still, he did not stop, and when his face came into contact with Huang Rong’s face, he felt the warmth of her cheeks and felt greatly relived. However, she had yet to respond to him. He looked up and saw that the summit was quite narrow and could be easily surrounded, so he tried to find somewhere where he could save Huang Rong first. He thought he saw a cave in the darkness, so he dashed in that direction and found that it was really a cave, and its entrance had some stacks of jade stones. Guo Jing ignored any danger which may have lurked inside and rush in. He placed her down and put his hand on her “Ling Tai” accupoint to aid her breathing. The Iron Palm Sect members could be heard shouting and yelling in the distance, but even if an army charged in row, he would still save her first. After some time, she coughed and regained consciousness, groaning feebly, “My chest hurts.” Guo Jing was delighted and exclaimed,
“Rong-er, don’t be afraid, I’m here.” He walked to the entrance and looked down, and got a shock.
The torches below formed a neat wall surrounding them and one prominent figure stood in the middle – it was Qiu Qian Ren. Yet for all the yelling and shouting, none of the people below moved any closer. He could not guess what they were up to, so he went back in to check on her when he suddenly heard footsteps in the darkness. Guo Jing was surprised and used his palm to guard his rear while he tuned around, but he could not see who it was in the darkness. He called out, “Who’s that? Come out now.” The echo could be clearly heard in the cave, and after a slight pause, there was someone laughing, and he sounded just like Qiu Qian Ren. Guo Jing could make out a figure walking into the light – it was indeed Qiu Qian Ren. Guo Jing had clearly seen him down the mountain shouting and cursing, yet how could he get there in the blink of an eye? He felt the cold sweat trickling down his spine. Qiu Qian Ren laughed, “You 2 dolls aren’t afraid of death and came here to find your master, good.” He then said loudly, “This is the forbidden territory of the Iron Palm Sect, and all who trespasses it shall die, are you dolls tired of living?” Guo Jing could not guess his intention, but Huang Rong quietly said, “Since it’s forbidden, why are you here?” Qiu Qian Ren was taken aback and said, “I’ve got something important to do and I’ve got no time for your question.” He tried to leave the cave. Guo Jing saw his quick steps and feared that he would try to ambush him and harm Huang Rong, so he thought, “I should strike first.” Both his palms flew out toward Qiu Qian Ren’s shoulders and he expected Qiu Qian Ren to block him, so Guo Jing would then strike his waist. This move was invented by the scholar Zhu Cong, with emphasis on masking the actual target so that the enemy could not block it. As expected, Qiu Qian Ren blocked him, but just as Guo Jing changed direction to hit him, Guo Jing felt that his opponent was not using any strength at all, totally unlike what he experienced just moments ago. Guo Jing did not think as fast as he moved, so he naturally grabbed his opponent’s hands. Qiu Qian Ren struggled frantically but could not break free. But with this struggle, he allowed Guo Jing to see through his martial arts.
Guo Jing knew there was no danger and released him. Qiu Qian Ren stumbled towards him, allowing him to simply seal his “Yin Du” accupoint. Qiu Qian Ren collapsed immobilized onto the ground and said, “Young master, this is a dangerous situation, how could you play games with me?”
Now the yelling and chanting were getting much louder – the rest of the Iron Palm Sect members
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had rushed to the scene. Guo Jing said, “Bring us safely down the mountain.” Qiu Qian Ren numbly shook his head saying, “My own life is in danger, how could I still help you?” Guo Jing said, “Ask your disciples to make way. When we reach the foot of the mountain, I’ll release your accupoint.”
Qiu Qian Ren frowned, “Master, why torture me? Go the the entrance and see for yourself.”
Guo Jing went to the entrance and looked down and was startled. Qiu Qian Ren stood in front of his disciples yelling away. Guo Jing quickly turned around and saw him lying down. He asked in a confused voice, “You…you…Why are there 2 of you?” Huang Rong said, “Silly boy, don’t you see, there are 2 of them. One is highly skilled in martial arts while the other can only brag and boast.
They look exactly alike and this is the big-mouthed one.” Guo Jing was perplexed for a while before the truth dawned on him and he said, “Is that right?” Qiu Qian Ren made a sour face and said, “Since she said so, then it’s so. We’re twins and I’m the elder. At first I was better in martial arts but my brother’s improved drastically later.” Guo Jing said, “Then who is Qiu Qian Ren?” He replied, “What difference does it make? Isn’t it the same if I’m Qian Ren or he is? We were pretty close since young, so we share the same name.” Guo Jing said, “Quick, tell me.” Huang Rong said,
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s the impersonator.” Guo Jing said, “Eh, old man, then what’s your name?”
He could not avoid the question so he said, “I remember Father called me something like ‘Qian Zhang’. I felt it didn’t sound nice, so I didn’t use it.” Guo Jing laughed, “Ha, you’re Qiu Qian Zhang.” He replied, “So, what can you do about that? Ten ‘chi’ makes one ‘zhang’, and 7 ‘chi’
make one ‘ren’, so 1000 ‘zhang’ is longer than 1000 ‘ren’ by 3000 ‘chi’.” (Refers to the meaning of their names.) Huang Rong said, “I think you should change your name to ‘Qian Fen’ (1000 cm).”
Guo Jing said, “Why is he yelling there? What doesn’t he come up?” Qiu Qian Zhang said,
“Without my orders, who dares come up?” Guo Jing half-believed him. Huang Rong said, “Brother Jing, don’t trust this wily old fox. Hit his ‘Tian Tu’ accupoint!” Guo Jing stretched out finger and tapped it.
This accupoint was beneath the throat, and once hit, Qiu Qian Zhang felt as though a thousand ants were crawling all over him, and he felt extremely numb and itchy. He kept squealing, “Ah! Ah, are you trying to kill me?” Guo Jing, “Then answer me now and I’ll release you.” Qiu Qian Zhang shouted, “Alright, I can’t win you.” Bearing with the discomfort, he revealed everything. So Qiu Qian Ren and Qiu Qian Zhang were actually twins, and their similarities in looks made it difficult to differentiate them. When they were 13, Qiu Qian Ren unintentionally saved the life of the previous Iron Palm Sect Leader; The Leader repaid him by teaching him all his martial arts. When he was 24, Qiu Qian Ren’s martial arts were very outstanding, so when the previous leader passed away, he became the new sect leader. With his talent and determination, he managed to expand his sect and improve its reputation; hence Jiang Hu was well aware of the name “Iron Palms Floating On Water.” During the first Mt. Hua Sword meet, Wang Chong Yang invited him, but though his palm skills were powerful, he knew he was no match for Wang Chong Yang, so he declined to attend the tournament. During the past decade he practiced diligently, hoping to clinch the ‘World No. 1’ title at the 2nd Mt. Hua Sword Meet. It was at this stage that Qiu Qian Zhang took on his brother’s name for himself to brag around outside. The one Guo Jing and Huang Rong met at Gui Yun Manor and Lin’an Mansion was Qiu Qian Zhang. Because of their resemblance and Huang Rong’s carelessness, she sustained such a life-threatening injury. Now this second segment of the middle
‘finger’ was designated as the burial ground for all the previous leaders. The leader would enter this cave to await death when he was about to breathe his last. If the leader died while away, it was considered an honor for any disciple to bring the leader’s remains inside and die with him. Hence, it was declared a sacred and forbidden ground and all who entered must not leave alive. Therefore, when Guo Jing and Huang Rong barged into the cave, the members could only curse them from a Eagle Shooting Hero
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distance as none dared enter. Even the leader himself had to stoop to cursing them. Why then, did Qiu Qian Zhang dare to enter? Whenever a leader was close to death, he had to bring his favorite weapons and treasures with him, so the cave accumulated a lot of valuables. Hence, Qiu Qian Zhang wanted the weapons for himself to show off. He never expected to see Guo Jing and Huang Rong turn up here. Guo Jing listened to his narration and thought, “This place is forbidden to them, but there’s no other way down, how do we get out of this?” Huang Rong said, “Brother Jing, try looking inside.” Guo Jing said, “Allow me to check your injuries first.” He lit a torch and proceeded to undo her outer dress and Soft Armour. Her snow-white shoulders revealed two black palm-marks, indicating the grave condition of the injuries. If left untreated, the injuries would eventually claim her life. Guo Jing thought, “Ouyang Feng and Qiu Qian Ren’s martial arts are about the same, so Huang Rong’s injuries are probably just as a huge problem as Master’s injuries.” He stared into blank space. Qiu Qian Zhang yelled, “What rubbish is this lass talking now? Hurry up and unseal my accupoint. The itch is killing me, why don’t you try it yourself?” Guo Jing, though, was oblivious to all that.