EASTERN HERETIC, WESTERN POISON (Book 2 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

The Cripples Of Wuhu Part 2

He whispered, " Rong'er, the pathways of this manor are really bizarre, how is it that you are always able to identify the right way?"

Huang Rong signaled for him to be quiet and after seven or eight more turns, they arrived by the wall of the backyard. Huang Rong examined the wall and used her fingers to count before walking and counting her footsteps. Guo Jing heard her mumble, " Form a trigram first, thirdly prepare, fifthly supplement, repeat the seventh..." and did not understand a single word.

Huang Rong counted as she walked, and after a particular count, she stopped in her tracks and said, " We can only leave by here, the rest of the place is filled with traps."

She leapt onto the top of the wall and Guo Jing followed suit. Huang Rong continued, " This manor is built according to the sixty four bearings (positions) which are concealed. My father is a master in this particular type of architecture, which requires one to design eight different types of routes (not really sure of this part). Master Lu can obstruct others, but he can't trap me." Her tone was filled with pride.

Both of them climbed up a small mound situated behind the manor and looked out towards the east. They saw a person walking towards the lake, with a lantern raised high up. Huang Rong tugged at Guo Jing's sleeve and both of them flew forward using their lightness skill. After arriving closer, they hid behind a huge rock and noticed a row of fishing boats near the shores of the lake. A crowd of people slowly boarded the boats and after they did so, each put out their lantern lights. Guo Jing and Huang Rong waited till the last batch of people boarded, and after it was pitch dark, before leaping out and landed on the tail of a large ship. After they heard the fishing boats start to move, they leaped on top of the sail of the ship and looked down. It was then they saw some one sitting inside a room in the boat and the person was none other than the junior owner of the manor, Lu Guanying.

As the row of boats started moving, the tune from the seashell could be heard again. A person on the ship walked to the front and also started blowing into the shell. After the ship drifted some distance, one could see many little boats drifting on the lake. The myriad of little boats looked like tiny ants in the distance; it was as if one had painted millions of black dots on a large sheet or paper. The person on the ship blew his shell three times and the large boat dropped its vessel into the midst of the lake. About ten little boats started moving in from all directions. Guo Jing and Huang Rong were mystified; they were not sure whether a battle was going to take place. They lowered their heads and peeped at Lu Guanying, who however looked calm and normal, he did not show any tint of anxiousness as one would show in times of war.

Not long after, the boats sailed nearer. Every boat saw either two or three people coming out and entering the ship. Every person, after entering the huge boat, would bow to Lu Guanying and were respectful in their behavior. It seemed that seats had been arranged for the visitors from the little boats and according to their status. Some people arrived earlier but sat at the back, whereas some who arrived later got to sit in the front. A tea server ushered the visitors to their seats. The visitors had stern and rough expressions, and their actions were swift and fierce. Although they dressed like fishermen, it seemed as if all of them were versed in martial arts and were definitely not the usual type of fisherman.

Lu Guanying raised his arm and said, " Brother Zhang, what have you found out?" A skinny man sitting in the middle stood up and said, " To answer Junior Master, the Jin ambassador has decided to sail across the lake tonight. The captain, who is on the pretext of receiving him, would reach in probably an hour's time. The latter is late due to the ransacking on the way."

Lu Guanying asked, " How much has he ransacked?"

The man answered, " There have been harvests from every village, and his soldiers are still robbing the villagers now. When I saw him alight the boat, his soldiers were struggling with more than twenty heavy chests of treasures."