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

The Thousand Pound Rock Part 2

Huang Rong bent down and placed Hong Qigong on the ground, saying, "Quick, get the boat ashore, don't let the tide sweep it out to sea." Ouyang Ke released his hand but stared blankly, vaguely hearing Huang Rong's voice but not paying attention to what she was saying. Luckily Huang Rong did not know what he was thinking inside and only stared at him and repeated what she said. Ouyang Ke then dragged the boat up to shore and saw that Huang Rong had turned Hong Qigong over and let him lie on the grass so that she could give him first aid. He then thought, "Where on Earth are we?"

He ran up a small hill and looked around, and could not help but be extremely surprised and pleased. In all directions were the vast sea, and they were on a remote island. The island was filled with lush greenery but there was no sign of human life. He was surprised as there was no sign of food or accomodation, so how could they survive? On the other hand, he was pleased because it seemed like he was fated to be on this deserted island with that angel-like beauty, and with the old beggar was seriously injured, he would not bother them. He thought, "With her staying here, this god-forsaken island is like a paradise; even if I had to die, I would die happy."

When he thought of this, he subconsciously waved his arms about but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder, causing him to remember that it was broken, so he broke off 2 branches and tore a strip of cloth and tied his arm into the splint. Huang Rong was at that time trying to suck out the poison from her master's back. She did not know how else she could help him so she let him lie down on a rock in a cave and shouted over to Ouyang Ke, "Go look around and see if there's any inn around here."

Ouyang Ke laughed, "This is an island, there's absolutely no inn here. Let's see if we're lucky to find anyone else here." Huang Rong was slightly shocked and said, "You go do that." When Ouyang Ke heard her instruction, he was very excited and utilised his Qinggong and ran east, but all he saw were even more wild trees and found no traces of humans. Along the way he killed 2 wild hares and headed north before making his way back in a loop. He told Huang Rong, "It's a deserted island."

That night Huang Rong did not dare sleep for fear of Ouyang Ke attacking them and also due to her anxiety over Hong Qigong. It was only at dawn the following morning did she catch a few hours of sleep. In her sleep she dreamt that Hong Qigong called her several times and she was jolted awake and asked, "Master, how are you?" Hong Qigong pointed at his mouth and moved his teeth. Huang Rong laughed and took out some of the unfinished rabbit meat from the previous night and fed him.

Once he consumed the meat, he felt the Qi stirring within him and he sat upright to breathe properly. Huang Rong did not dare utter a word and only scrutinized his expression. But she saw the reddish tint on his face turn pale, then red again. This cycle repeated several times and soon his head was emitting steamy mist and his sweat decended like the rain, and his body was shivering terribly. Suddenly there was a flash of a shadow – Ouyang Ke was trying to get over.

Huang Rong knew that her master was attempting to treat his injuries, which was a life-and-death situation, so if he forced his way in and distracted her master, nothing would save him then. So she softly snapped, "Get out now!" Ouyang Ke laughed, "Let's discuss how we can survive here on this deserted island. The days would get longer from now, you know!" Hong Qigong blinked and asked, "Is this really a deserted island?" Huang Rong said, "Master, please concentrate, ignore him." She turned to Ouyang Ke and said, "Come, let's talk outside." Ouyang Ke was elated and followed her out of the cave.

The weather was good this day, but Huang Rong only saw the edge of the vast seas meet the sky, and apart from a few clouds, there was nothing else. She went to their landing ground and was suddenly shocked, and asked, "Where's the boat?" Ouyang Ke said, "Huh, where is it? It must have been swept away by the currents! Ah, damn it!"

Huang Rong saw his expression and deduced that it was he who pushed the boat out to sea so that she could not get away from here and felt that it was absolutely despicable. Since Guo Jing's apparent death, she had no intention of living on. Besides, the small boat would not be able to make it across the fierce waves and the situation was bleak, but in that case she would not be able to get her master to safety.

She stared at Ouyang Ke without any change in her expression, but in her heart she was actually thinking of how she could kill him and save her master at the same time. Huang Rong jumped onto a large rock and looked into the distance. Ouyang Ke thought, "If I don't use this chance to get close to her now, then when?" He also leapt up the rock and waited her for her to sit down. After some time she was not angry and did not shift her position, so he moved closer and said, "Little sister, the 2 of us can live here till old and still live like the deities. I must have done something wonderful in my past life to deserve this!"
Huang Rong laughed and said, "This island has 3 of us including Master, wouldn't we be lonely?" Ouyang Ke felt that her tone was harmless and was ecstatic, saying, "With me by your side, why would it be lonely? Moreover, when we have children in future, it would be even less so." Huang Rong laughed, "Who will have children? I wouldn't." Ouyang Ke laughed, "I'll help you." Saying that, he stretched out his hand to hug her. He then felt warmth in his palm and realised that Huang Rong had already held his hand. Ouyang Ke's heart beat madly.

Huang Rong slowly moved her hand up his arm, then said in a low voice, "Sister Mu Nianci's chastity was destroyed by you, is it not?" Ouyang Ke laughed aloud, saying, "That girl did not want to submit to me. What kind of man am I, Gentleman Ouyang, to force her?" Huang Rong said, "So, it must be others who slandered her. Her lover had a big quarrel with her because of this." Ouyang Ke said, "Her reputation suffered because of this, what a pity!"

Huang Rong suddenly pointed to the sea and shouted, "Ah, what is that!" Ouyang Ke looked in that direction and was about to ask when he suddenly felt his wrist go stiff under her firm grip and his body went numb and he could not move. Huang Rong drew her spike and stabbed it towards his abdomen. Their distance was extremely small and Ouyang Ke was in a state of confusion, coupled with the fact that his arm was immobilized, how could he block it?

Still, all his training under expert guidiance at White Camel Mountain was not wasted; he suddenly twisted his body and used his chest to smash towards Huang Rong's back in a split second. Huang Rong evaded him and jumped off the rock, causing the spike to gash his leg, resulting in a deep wound that was almost 1 foot long.

Ouyang Ke jumped off too and saw her spike. He stood there and grinned but he actually felt terrible pain. He bent down and saw his gown stained blood red and realised that he just escaped with his life, but still he was severely injured. Huang Rong said, "We were talking fine, why did you try to bump into me for no reason? I won't bother about you now." She then turned and left. Ouyang Ke was filled with love and hatred, shock and joy, and just stood rooted there silently.

As Huang Rong went back to the cave, she blamed her poor skills for allowing her to waste such a good opportunity and let him escape. When she went inside, she saw Hong Qigong asleep and saw a pool of black blood on the ground, she started and asked, "Master, how are you? Are you better?" Hong Qigong said, "I want wine." Huang Rong felt distressed; she did not know how to find wine on this deserted island. Yet she agreed and said, "I'll try to get it. Master, your injury isn't serious, right?" Her tears dropped as she said that.

Despite having gone through so much, she had never cried. Now that her tears fell, she could not control herself and buried herself in Hong Qigong's bosom and cried her heart out. Hong Qigong stroked her hair and patted her back, trying to console her. The old beggar roamed Jianghu for so many decades, but had never had to deal with a crying girl before, so he did not know what to do. He could only say, "Good girl, don't cry, Master's here for you. Please don't cry. I don't want the wine already."

Huang Rong stopped after a while and lifted her head. When she saw that Hong Qigong's clothes were wet with her tears, she smiled and said, "I didn't manage to kill that evil jerk, what a pity!" She then told the whole story to him. Hong Qigong was silent for a moment before saying, "Master is useless now. That jerk is better than you in martial arts. For now you can only pit your wits against him." Huang Rong said, "Master, after resting a few days, you'd recover and then take his useless life with one palm, won't that settle it?"

Hong Qigong regretfully said, "I've been poisoned by the poisonous snake as well as Western Poison's deadly palm. I've already used all my martial abilities to purge the poison but there is some left within me. Even if I survive, my martial arts would be affected. Your master is just another old man without any powerful skills." Huang Rong quickly said, "No, no, Master, you won't, you won't!" Hong Qigong said, "I the old beggar have never taken this seriously, but now it has come to this, I can't deny it."

He paused, then said gravely, "Child, Master hasn't got a choice, but I have to request a huge favour from you – it's extremely difficult to accomplish – will you accept?" Huang Rong hastily said, "Yes, yes! Master, tell me." He sighed, then said, "Our time together as master and disciple is not long, I didn't get to teach you much martial arts. Now that you're also facing a strong opponent, I have no choice but to entrust a great burden to you, or I would not be at ease."

Huang Rong saw that usually he was carefree and easygoing but this time he was so hesitant, so she knew it must be some extremely important responsibility, so she said, "Master, please tell me. Your injuries are caused by you trying to help your disciple escape from Peach Blossom Island. Even if I died a horrible death, I would hardly be able to repay you. I'm just afraid I'm too young to carry out your instructions." Hong Qigong happily said, "So you agree to it?" Huang Rong said, "Yes. Please say it."

Hong Qigong stood up unsteadily and cupped his hands, bowing to the north and said, "Ancestors, the Beggars' Clan you founded has come to my hands. I am unfortunately incapable of bringing virtue to our clan. Today the matter is urgent and I have to pass on my responsibility. May Ancestors in Heaven bless us and help this child avoid trouble and also to bring our clan to greater heights." When he finished, he bowed to the north. Huang Rong was shocked and curious when he said that.

Hong Qigong said, "Child, kneel down." Huang Rong knelt down and Hong Qigong took his green bamboo rod and raised it over his head. He saluted it and placed it in her hands. Huang Rong was extremely shocked and said, "Master, you want me to be the Beggars' Clan... the Beggars' Clan..." Hong Qigong said, "Exactly, I am the 18th generation Leader of the Beggars' Clan, and you are hence the 19th Leader. Now let's thank our ancestors."

At this stage Huang Rong did not dare to disobey and could only imitate Hong Qigong's actions and bowed with both hands cupped. Hong Qigong suddenly coughed and spat out some phlegm which landed on Huang Rong's clothes. Huang Rong was secretly sad and thought, "Master's injuries are indeed serious – he doesn't even have the strength to spit properly." She pretended that nothing was amiss, however. He sighed, "When the Beggars pay obeisance to you in future, there will be a disgusting ritual. Ah, this will be hard on you."

Huang Rong smiled, thinking, "The beggars are filthy and rough, how could any of that be missing?" Hong Qigong drew a long breath. His face was pale but in his heart it was as though he has just put down a large rock and he was very pleased. Huang Rong helped him lie down. He said, "Now that you're the Leader, I am an Elder in the Clan. Although the Elders are respected by the Leader, but when there's something to be done the Leader has to give the order. This rule was laid down by our Ancestors, so you must follow it to the letter. When the Leader relays an order, all the beggars must obey you."

Huang Rong became depressed and worried, thinking, "On this deserted island, I don't know how we can return to the Central Plains. Moreover Brother Jing is dead, and I have no desire to live, but suddenly Master wants me to be some whatever Clan Leader and command all the beggars under the sky, how on Earth am I going to do that?" But when she saw her master's condition, she did not want to worry him further, so she could only agree to anything he proposed.

Hong Qigong said, "On the 15th day of the 7th month of this year, the 4 Elders of our Clan will hold a gathering at the lakeside Cave-Courtyard of the Yue Yang City to hear my announcement for the new Leader. You only need to bring the bamboo rod there and they will understand my intention. Every matter within the Clan will be dealt with by the 4 Elders, so I can leave it to them. But I have to send you this adorable doll into the midst of the filthy beggars; this is really hard on you."

He then laughed heartily but because of his injury, he coughed before he finished laughing. Huang Rong massaged his back for a while before he stopped coughing. Hong Qigong sighed, "This old beggar is really useless now, ah, I don't know when I'll recover, so I have to rush into teaching you the [Dog Beating Skill]." Huang Rong was wondering why this rod skill had such a horrible name. She then thought that no matter how fierce a dog could be, she could kill it with one punch, so she saw no need to learn this skill, but her master was gravely serious, so she could only agree.

Hong Qigong said, "Although you are now the Clan Leader, you don't have to change your personality; if you want to be playful and mischevious, go ahead and be, we are all beggars, we have no restrictions and we do as we please. If this won't do and that won't do, we might as well be judges and ministers. If you do not think highly of the [Dog Beating Skill], just say it simply!"

Huang Rong laughed, "Disciple is wondering what kind of dog could be so tenacious that it requires a specialised skill to handle it." Hong Qigong said, "Now that you're the head of all the beggars, you'll have to act like one. With your rich dress and your rich girl's attitude, the dog would be only too pleased to listen to you, why would you need to hit it? But if us beggars run into such dogs the it's a different story. The old saying is: the poor not armed with rods get bullied by dogs. You have never been poor, you don't know what it's like to be one."

Huang Rong clapped and laughed, "Master, you're wrong here!" Hong Qigong was perplexed and asked, "Why?" Huang Rong said, "On the 3rd month of this year, I escaped from Peach Blossom Island to play, and I disguised myself as a beggar. Whenever there are fierce dogs bothering me, all I have to do is give them a kick and they would scramble away." Hong Qigong said, "Yup, if the dog is too fierce then you'd have to use a rod to hit it."

Huang Rong thought, "What dog could be so fierce?" Then she realised and shouted, "Ah, yeah, bad guys are dogs too!" Hong Qigong smiled and said, "You're really clever. If..." He originally wanted to said that Guo Jing did not know, but his heart turned sour and he stopped.

When Huang Rong heard him stop midway, she understood what he was thinking and felt bitterness in her heart and wanted to cry out loud, but now Hong Qigong needed her help and she seemed all grown-up while Hong Qigong seemed like a youth, so she controlled herself and only turned her head away. The tears, however, dropped like pearls.

Hong Qigong was as sad as her, so he knew that consoling her was useless, so he talked about serious matters, saying, "The 36 moves of the [Dog Beating Skill] was created by our Ancestors and can only be passed down from one Clan Leader to the next without letting anyone else know about the skill. Our Clan's 3rd Leader far surpassed future Leaders and so he greatly improved this skill. After hundreds of years, when our Clan faces any strong opposition, our Leader would personally come forward and use this skill to defeat our enemies."
Huang Rong started to pay attention and then sighed softly, asking, "Master, when you were fighting with Western Poison on the boat, why didn't you use it?" Hong Qigong said, "This skill is very important in our clan, and even if I didn't use it, he may not have won. Who'd know he could be so despicable as to poison me after I saved his life?" Huang Rong saw that he was becoming depressed, so she tried to distract him and said, "Master, please teach me so that I can kill him to avenge you."

Hong Qigong made a stone-faced laugh and picked up a piece of firewood and leaned against the rock wall. He recited the formula and executed the steps, thus passing down all 36 moves to her. He knew Huang Rong was extremely intelligent but was afraid that he would not live long, so he passed everything down to her in one shot. Although the name of the [Dog Beating Skill] was crude, the changes within were subtle and the techniques profound, and was one of the best martial arts skills ever created. It was thus that this skill was passed down like a precious heirloom.

Although Huang Rong was very clever, she could only remember the general picture and had forgotten some of the finer details. How could she understand the skill in such a short time? After he was done, Hong Qigong took a deep breath amidst his sweat and said, "I didn't teach well, but... that's all I can do now." With a groan he collapsed and fainted. Huang Rong was shocked and shouted, "Master! Master!" She hurriedly supported him up but felt that his limbs were cold and his breathing was weak; he seemed somewhat beyond hope.

Huang Rong was severely tried for the past few days but now she could not cry. She listened to his heart beat and found it barely audible so she quickly massaged his chest to aid his breathing. Just at this critical moment, she heard noises behind her and a hand stretched out to reach for her wrist. She was concentrating fully on saving her master and did not even notice when Ouyang Ke entered the cave. Now she forgot that the person behind her was a vicious wolf and just said naturally, "Master may not make it, think of something to save him."

When Ouyang Ke heard her plead so sincerely, the tears welled up in her eyes and her face became pitiful, his heart shook. When he bent down to look at Hong Qigong, he saw that his face was white as sheet and his eyes were rolled up, he became more happy. The distance between Huang Rong and himself was less than 1 foot and he could even feel her breathing and smell her fragrance. A few strains of hair were caressing her face and his heart thumped madly until he could not restrain himself any longer, and he grabbed her waist.

Huang Rong was taken aback and struck out with force and took the chance to jump away when he evaded her. Originally Ouyang Ke was afraid of Hong Qigong so he did not dare be disrespectful to Huang Rong, but now he saw that Hong Qigong was half dead, he did not worry anymore and laughed, "Good girl, I wouldn't bother about other girls, but for such a beauty like yourself, I'll make an exception; come kiss me."

He then moved menacingly towards her. Huang Rong was scared out of her wits and thought, "This situation is terrible. Looks like I'll get killed here, though with indignation." She then took out her needles. Ouyang Feng smiled and used his outer gown as a weapon and even advanced another 2 steps. Huang Rong waited for him to advance another step before crouching low and dodging to the left.
Ouyang Ke followed her and Huang Rong waved her hand. He waved his long sleeve and blocked the spike and Huang Rong knew that she was like an arrow away from the bow and anxiously tried to run out. Still, Ouyang Ke was faster. Huang Rong heard the wind behind her back and knew he was attacking her back. She was wearing the soft armour so she was not afraid of that and furthermore she was prepared to die, but she wanted to injure him first, so she did not defend herself but returned a strike towards his chest.

Ouyang Ke did not mean to injure her and his strike was only to tire her out, so he readily hit out towards her wrist, neutralizing her move. At the same time, he jumped to the entrance, effectively trapping her inside. But the entrance was narrow and he could hardly turn about, so with Huang Rong's fierce onslaught coupled with her indifference to her defence, her power seemed to have increased tremendously. Although Ouyang Ke was better than her, he did not want to injure her, so he was at a disadvantage.

In a brief moment they had exchanged 50-60 moves and Huang Rong was in danger. Her martial arts were taught to her by her father while Ouyang Ke's was taught by his uncle. Huang Yaoshi's and Ouyang Feng's martial arts were about the same level, but Huang Rong was only around 15 while Ouyang Ke was almost 30, so the difference in their martial arts was worth almost 20 years' worth of training. Moreover Huang Rong was not as hardworking as Ouyang Ke and although she learnt some skills from Hong Qigong before, she hardly practised them. Now even with Ouyang Ke's injury, she was still unable to gain any advantage.