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

The Three Tests Part 3

Huang Rong clapped her hands and laughed, "He does look like a toad!"

Ouyang Ke had observed those two people sitting close and leaning toward each other, talking and laughing; his heart was burnt with jealousy. He wanted to leap up and fight Guo Jing, but his chest was still in pain; he could not exert any strength. Besides, he did not have any confidence his martial art was superior to Guo Jing's. But now hearing Huang Rong said 'he looked like a toad' he thought they were ridiculing him, saying that he looked like a dirty toad desiring to eat a swan's meat; he was furious. With his right hand holding three secret projectiles he quietly walked around toward the back of the bamboo pavilion. Gritted his teeth he moved his hand and three silvery streaks came flying toward Guo Jing's chest.

In the meantime Hong Qigong was launching his palms to the front and to the back, busily fighting Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance with his 18-Dragon Subduing Palms. These two martial arts were the highest skill of each combatant, so the fight was no longer slow and sluggish like it was before. It was fierce as two people were using their dozens of years of martial art training trying to gain victory; life and death could be decided in a twinkling of an eye. Guo Jing had learned the 18-Dragon Subduing Palms, but he had not seen his master using this technique before. It sent shivers along his spine to see how wonderful the palm techniques were, with infinite variations in them. It was truly incomparable to the ones he had already mastered. He was completely captivated with what happened on the ground; how would he expect somebody to sneak in from behind and attacked him stealthily?

Huang Rong was not aware that the two fighting on the ground were using their highest martial art skills; she was still laughing and joking around when she suddenly realized one person was missing from the bamboo pavilion. Her mind immediately went to Ouyang Ke, she was afraid of his craftiness; so her eyes scanned around but it was her ears that heard the wind generated by the secret projectiles coming toward Guo Jing's back. With the corner of her eyes she could see three silvery streaks coming fast. She did not have any time to think, immediately she threw herself behind Guo Jing's back. "Puff! Puff! Puff!" three secret projectiles landed squarely on her back. She was wearing the 'ruan wei jia' [soft hedgehog armor] so she was not injured, but she felt some pain nonetheless.

Her hand reached and grabbed the secret projectiles. She turned around and smiled sweetly, "You are scratching the itch on my back, aren't you? Thank you, but I need to give these back to you."

Ouyang Ke saw how she intercepted the projectiles with her own body to protect Guo Jing, he was more jealous than ever. Hearing her saying thus he thought she was going to throw the projectiles back his way, so he readied himself. But after a moment he saw Huang Rong was holding the projectiles in her hand with the palm up, like she was expecting him to take them back from her hand.

Ouyang Ke kicked his left foot and leaped to the bamboo pavilion's roof. He intended to show off his lightness kungfu, lightly perched on the edge of the roof; looked like a white shadow swaying gently in the wind. It was indeed an excellent skill, as elegant as a deity.

"Your lightness kungfu is truly wonderful!" Huang Rong exclaimed. She stood up and walked toward him, arm extended with the projectiles in her hand.

Ouyang Ke saw her white complexion, he was mesmerized. Absentmindedly he stretched his hand to pick the projectiles, with an ill intention to rub her hand, when suddenly some metallic streaks coming his way. He had had fallen twice under Huang Rong's hands and did not want to repeat it, so he somersaulted and came down the roof; waving his sleeve and parried an abundance of Huang Rong's steel needles.

Huang Rong giggled and threw the three silver projectiles to the ground, right in front of squatting Ouyang Feng.

"NO! Don't!" Guo Jing cried in alarm. He grabbed Huang Rong's waist and jumped down the roof. Before his feet even touched the ground he had heard Huang Yaoshi's anxious shout, "Feng Xiong, have mercy!"

Guo Jing felt an earth-shattering force coming his way. Quickly he pushed Huang Rong aside and exerted all his strength to his hands with one of the 18-Dragon Subduing Palms, the 'jian long zai tian' [seeing dragon in the field].

"Bang!" a loud noise was heard when his force collided with Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance, and as a result he staggered back seven, eight steps. Guo Jing felt blood rising from his chest to his throat. He was alarmed, but was afraid Ouyang Feng would send another attack, so he forced himself and stood in front of Huang Rong, ready to take another blow. But then he saw Hong Qigong and Huang Yaoshi had already stepped in between them.

"So sorry! I am so ashamed!" Ouyang Feng stood up. "I was not able to retract my force. I hope I did not hurt the young lady, did I?" he called out.

Actually Huang Rong was scared, her beautiful face was pale, but hearing him said such thing, she put a bold face and laughed, "With my Father around, how could you hurt me?"

Huang Yaoshi was really anxious; he pulled her hands and quietly asked, "Do you feel anything different on your body? Quickly breathe in and out a few times." Huang Rong listened to her father and quietly circulate her 'qi' but did not feel anything unusual, so she laughed and shook her head.

Huang Yaoshi was relieved. "Your two uncles are practicing their martial arts just now, what did a little girl like you doing carelessly intervening?" he reprimanded. "Uncle Ouyang's Toad Stance is not a small matter; if he did not show you any mercy, do you think your little life would be spared?"

In order to launch the powerful Toad Stance, Ouyang Feng had to concentrate his strength in his whole body. As soon as the opponent attack, he would be able to counterattack by launching the full power already stored. That was exactly what happened when he was waiting for Hong Qigong to attack; his strength was concentrated, ready to be launched like an arrow on a completely pulled bow. Unexpectedly Huang Rong tossed something to him that he instinctively counterattacked toward her.

When he realized it was Huang Rong he was extremely shocked, his force had already being released, there was no way he could pull it back. He sighed inwardly, thinking he had created a terrible disaster that this beautiful-as-a-flower girl would die a violent death in his hand; moreover he heard Huang Yaoshi called out, 'Feng Xiong, have mercy!' Frantically he tried to divert his force, but there simply was not enough time; when suddenly he felt another force collided with his. He took this opportunity to retract his force. When he looked clearly, he found out that the person who rescued Huang Rong was Guo Jing! Secretly he admired Hong Qigong, "This Old Beggar is really good; he succeeded in training this young disciple to reach such high level of martial art!"

Huang Yaoshi had seen Guo Jing's martial art at the Cloud Manor; he thought, "This youngster did not know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth; he dared to parry Ouyang Feng's fierce Toad Stance. If Ouyang Feng did not see my face and showed him mercy, his bones would have been shattered to pieces." He did not know that the Guo Jing he met at the Cloud Manor was not the same as Guo Jing now. However, he acknowledged that Guo Jing had carelessly saved Huang Rong's life without any regard to his own safety; his hatred toward him was, for the most part, gone. He thought, "This kid really has a good heart; he really loves Rong'er. I can't give Rong'er to him, but certainly I can reward him by teaching him something." The rascal in front of him looked rather stupid and the word 'foolish' had stirred up anger in him.

"Old Poison! You are really good!" Hong Qigong called out, "But victory or defeat has not been decided yet, let us fight again!"

"Very well!" Ouyang Feng replied, "I will risk my life to accompany a gentleman play!"

"I am not a gentleman," Hong Qigong laughed. "You are risking your life to play with a beggar!" With a jump he was standing at the courtyard again.

Ouyang Feng was about to join him when suddenly Huang Yaoshi lifted his left hand, "Hold it!" he called out, "Qi Xiong, Feng Xiong, you have fought for more than one thousand moves yet you two are equally strong. Today the two of you are the Peach Blossom Island's honored guests; you are entitled to drink several cups of your brother's own brewed wine. The sword meet of Mount Hua is at hand. At that time not only you two will see who will gain victory; but your brother, along with the Southern Emperor will be there to practice our martial arts. So why don't we end today's contest right here?"

"Fine with me!" Ouyang Feng laughed, "If this fight continues, I will be forced to admit defeat very soon anyway."