IRON BLOODED HEART (Book 1 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

The Seven Freaks Of Jiangnan Part 3

Wanyan Honglie forced himself to calm down, and noticed that Qiu Chuji glanced at his face for a moment before moving his attention entirely onto the monk Jiaomu and the group of seven; obviously, he had not recognized him. Figuring that this was because he had been injured as soon as he showed up that night so Qiu Chuji was not able to see his face clearly, only then did he feel a little better. But when his eyes moved back to the copper vat, he was shocked again, so much so that he almost jumped out of his chair.

This kind of vat was common in temples and shrines and was commonly used for burning papers, incense and fake money for the dead. It was more than a meter across and was probably around 400 jins [200 kilograms / over 400 lbs] or so. From the vat came the sweet smell of wine, obviously it was filled with expensive wine, which without a doubt added a lot more weight to the vat. But he did not seem to be using any strength in his arm at all. Every step he took the floorboards moaned and bent from the weight. Panic engulfed the bottom level as the owner, waiters, cooks, all the patrons, and everyone else scrambled out, fearing that the entire floor would collapse on top of them.

Coldly, the monk Jiaomu spoke up: "I am honored that my Taoist brother would show himself here, but what's the point in bringing the paper burning vat from our humble little temple? Let me introduce you to the Seven Heroes of the South!" Qiu Chuji made a respectful gesture with his left hand and said: "This humble Taoist has just visited your holy temple where I heard from the other monks that the Venerable Monk was inviting me for a drink at Pavilion of the Drunken Immortal. I figured that you would have undoubtedly invited some other friends; it turns out I was right. I have long admired the Seven Heroes of the South; I am fortunate today to make your acquaintance." Monk Jiaomu turned to the seven people and said: "This is elder 'Changchun Zi' Qiu Chuji of the Quanzhen Sect, I'm sure everyone has heard of him." Turning around to Qiu Chuji, he pointed at the blind man and continued, "This is the head of the Seven Heroes, the hero Ke, 'Flying Bat Soaring through the Sky' Ke Zhen'E."

He followed by introducing the others, all the while Wanyan Honglie giving this all of his attention and memorizing their names. Number two in rank was that poor and downtrodden looking scholar that stole his money, named 'Magic Hands Scholar' Zhu Cong.