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

Wandering On A Shark's Back Part 6

Amidst the strong gusts of wind Hong Qigong's voice was heard, "Attack the lower part!"

Guo Jing immediately launched the stance 'zhan long zai ye' [exhausted battling dragon] and his left arm swept away. Liang Ziweng cried out in alarm and tumbled down over the edge of the boat.

Everybody was stunned and rushed forward to the edge to watch, only to hear somebody on the sea laugh a long laugh. Suddenly Liang Ziweng's body flew back up and with a loud grunt he fell straight back to the deck, unconscious.

What had just happened confounded everybody on board. Could it be that the sea water bounced his body back up? Everybody crowded by the edge of the boat, looking down to the sea below, only to see an old man with white beard and white hair rushing to the east and dashing to the west on the surface of the sea with an unusual speed. They strained their eyes to see more clearly; turned out that man was riding on the back of a huge shark, with a speed not inferior to those riding on horseback galloping on dry land.

Guo Jing was pleasantly surprised, with a loud voice he shouted, "Big Brother Zhou, I am here!" That shark rider was indeed the Old Urchin Zhou Botong.

Zhou Botong heard Guo Jing's shout; he cheered in delight and hit the shark head near its right eye with his fist; the shark turned left immediately, coming near by the boat's side.

"Is that Brother Guo?" Zhou Botong called out, "How are you? There is a whale ahead. I have been chasing it for a whole day and night. I want to continue chasing it. See you later!"

"Big Brother! Come here, quick!" Guo Jing anxiously called, "There are so many bad people in here want to bully your little brother!"

Zhou Botong was angry, "Is that so?" His right hand held on something inside the shark's mouth and pulled, while his left hand dangled on the ledge of the big boat. Both man and shark suddenly flew up and above everybody's head, and landed on the deck. He roared, "Who dares to bully my little brother?"

Every single one of the people aboard had an extensive knowledge of Jianghu matters, but this white bearded old man who suddenly appeared in a most bizarre way caused everybody to be stupefied. Even Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng were dumbstruck.

Zhou Botong saw Huang Rong; he felt strange. "How come you are also here?" he asked.

Huang Rong smiled, "Why not?" she replied, "I figured out you will come back today, that's why I am waiting for you here. Quickly teach me how to ride a shark."

Zhou Botong laughed, "Very well, I'll teach you."

Huang Rong replied, "But first you have to help us get rid of these bad people, and then you can teach me."

Zhou Botong swept his gaze across the people on the deck and he said to Ouyang Feng, "I knew other people won't dare to act so savagely, turned out it is really you."

Ouyang Feng coldly replied, "A man who did not keep his word, even if he is alive in this world, he will be the laughingstock of all the warriors of the world."

"Totally correct," Zhou Botong said, "A man of integrity certainly won't cause trouble; but whoever speaks and whoever farts has to be distinguished clearly; otherwise other people who hear it might not know if the sound comes out from above or from below. I am indeed looking for you to settle an old score, so it's nothing better than to see you here. Old Beggar, you are our witness; stand up and give us your judgment."

Hong Qigong was lying on the deck, he smiled slightly. Huang Rong said, "The Old Poison was almost dead nine times, and my Shifu was kind enough to rescue him every single time; but who would have thought that he has a heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog, repaying kindness with evil, he injured my Shifu and sealed his acupoints."

Actually, overall Hong Qigong only saved Ouyang Feng's life three times, but Huang Rong intentionally exaggerated that number three times. Ouyang Feng knew this, but he did not want to argue; he only looked at her with blazing eyes.

Zhou Botong stooped down trying to unseal Hong Qigong's 'qu xhi' [song reservoir] and 'yong quan' [bubbling spring] acupoints by rubbing them. "Old Urchin, it's useless," Hong Qigong said.

Turned out the acupoint sealing method Ouyang Feng used was somewhat unusual, other than himself and Huang Yaoshi, there was nobody else in this whole wide world who would be able to unseal it. Ouyang Feng was so smug, "Old Urchin, unseal his acupoints if you have the ability," he challenged.

Even though Huang Rong could not unseal them, but she was familiar with the sealing method; she made a flat lip and said, "What's so strange about that? Without too much effort my father can unseal this 'tou gu da xue fa' [penetrating bone acupoint sealing technique]."

Hearing her mentioning the correct name of his acupoint sealing technique, Ouyang Feng was amazed that this little girl knowledge was as deep as a bottomless abyss, even encompassing acupoint sealing techniques. However, he did not pay any attention to her; turning to Zhou Botong he asked, "You have lost our bet; why are you talking like breaking a smelly wind?"

Zhou Botong covered up his nose and called out, "Break wind? Smell bad, smell bad! But let me ask you this: what did we bet on?"

"Everybody here, except this surnamed Guo kid and this little girl, is a well-known warrior. I'll tell what had happened and ask these gentlemen to be our judge," Ouyang Feng replied.

"Well said, well said," Peng Lianhu said, "Mr. Ouyang, please tell us."

"This gentleman here is the Quan Zhen Sect's Zhou Botong, Master Zhou, known in the Jianghu world as the Old Urchin. In term of seniority he held a very high position, even Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, and the other Quan Zhen Seven Masters are his martial nephews.

For the last dozen of years or so, Zhou Botong was detained on the Peach Blossom Island, before then his martial art skill was still obscure; except for some mischievous troubles, he had never accomplished anything worth mentioning, therefore, his reputation did not spread loud and wide in the Jianghu world. However, everybody had seen that he was riding a shark, a feat not easily accomplished by any of them. Turned out he was the martial uncle of the Quan Zhen Seven Masters, no wonder he was this good. As a result everybody talked among themselves in low voice.

Peng Lianhu remembered their appointment on the eighth month's mid-autumn festival in Jiaxing; if the Quan Zhen Seven Masters had this strange man as their helper, they would not be easy to deal with. He could not help but feeling anxious.

Ouyang Feng continued, "This Zhou Xiong was stranded on the sea among a flock of sharks, and I rescued him out. I said this flock of sharks was nothing; without to much effort I can kill every single one of them. Zhou Xiong did not believe me, thus the two of us made a bet. Zhou Xiong, wasn't what I said true?"

Zhou Botong nodded his head repeatedly, "It was absolutely true. Betting on what, you need to explain to everybody," he said.

"Exactly!" Ouyang Feng said, "I said that if I lost, I will do whatever you want me to do. If I am not willing to do it, then I must jump into the sea to become fish food. You have said the same thing, is that correct?"

Zhou Botong nodded his head again, "Right, right, that was absolutely correct; and then what happened?" he asked.

"What do you mean 'what happened'? You have lost!" Ouyang Feng said.

This time Zhou Botong shook his head repeatedly, "Not true, not true!" he said, "It was you who have lost, not me."

Ouyang Feng was angry, "A real man can distinguish between right and wrong; how can you deny your own words? If I lost, how come you were willing to plunge into the sea to kill yourself?"

Zhou Botong sighed, "That's true. Originally I also said that the Old Urchin's fortune was bad so I lost to you; who would have thought that as I went down into the water the Heaven sent something we can regard as a coincidence. Only then did I know that the Old Poison had lost, the Old Urchin had won."

Together Ouyang Feng, Hong Qigong and Huang Rong asked, "What coincidence?"

Zhou Botong stooped down and with his left hand, grabbed a piece of stick stuck inside the shark's mouth. He lifted the shark and said, "I met my riding animal. Old Poison, take a look; it was your precious nephew who stuck this wooden stick inside its mouth, wasn't it?"

It was indeed Ouyang Ke who concocted this wicked plan to prop-up a wooden stick inside the shark's mouth, so that it would not be able to eat and eventually die of starvation. This, Ouyang Feng had seen with his own eyes. Right now he saw a huge shark with a wooden stick in its mouth; he also saw the wound caused by the hook on the shark's mouth. Without any doubt this was the very same shark they returned to the sea that day. "So what?" he asked.

Zhou Botong clapped his hands and laughed, "That means you lost! Our bet was you killed every single one of the sharks, but this good fellow was bestowed a good fortune by your nephew, it could not eat the dead sharks, hence could not eat the poison. It was the only shark left alive. So how can't you say the Old Urchin has won?" He burst out in laughter. Ouyang Feng's countenance changed, he could not say anything.

Guo Jing delightedly asked, "Big Brother, where were you these past few days? I was so miserable thinking about you."

Zhou Botong laughed, "I am playing and having fun. Not long after I jumped into the sea, I saw this fellow grasping for breath on the surface, it seemed to be in agony. I said, 'Old Shark, oh Old Shark, looks like today you and I share the same fate!' And then I jumped suddenly on the shark's back. It furiously went down under the water, I had to hold my breath, my both hands holding tightly to its neck and my feet randomly kicked its belly. With great difficulty it went back up to the surface. Without giving me a chance to take two mouthfuls of breathe this fellow dove back underwater. The two of us fought for half a day and finally he became obedient and was willing to listen to what I say; I want it go to the east, it went to the east, I want it to head north, he wouldn't dare of going south." While saying those words he gently patted the shark's head, looking so pleased.

Among those who were present, Huang Rong was the only one who admired and envied him. Her eyes shone and she asked, "I have played in the sea for many years, why hadn't I thought of this trick? I was so stupid!"

"Look at its mouth full of teeth, they are as sharp as knives," Zhou Botong said, "If there is no stick in its mouth, do you dare to ride it?"

"You spent the last few days riding on the back of the fish?" Huang Rong asked.

"Certainly," Zhou Botong replied, "The two of us have a pretty good skill of catching fish. As soon as we saw a fish, we chased it; I sent a fist or a palm to kill it. Out of ten fish, I only ate one and this fellow ate the other nine."

Huang Rong traced the shark's belly and asked, "You dumped dead fish into its belly? It did not need its teeth to eat?"

"Oh, he is a good eater," Zhou Botong answered, "There was a time the two of us chasing an extremely big cuttlefish ..."

Two people, one old the other young, were having an animated discussion, totally ignoring everybody else on board the ship. Ouyang Feng groaned inwardly, silently thinking of some ideas to deal with this situation. Suddenly Zhou Botong turned to him and said, "Hey, Old Poison, do you admit defeat?"

Ouyang Feng was the one making the speech earlier; how could he swallow his own words in front of these many people? He was obliged to say, "So what if I lost? Do you think there is anything I can't do?"

"Hmm," Zhou Botong said, "I must think of a difficult thing for you to do. Very well, you scolded me just now that I was farting; I want you to fart immediately! Let everybody smell."

Hearing Zhou Botong only asked Ouyang Feng to break wind for no reason at all Huang Rong was annoyed. Breaking wind at will was naturally not easy for an average person, but with a strong internal energy, it was not difficult to circulate the breathing to the whole body, hence it was an extremely trivial thing to do. She was afraid of Ouyang Feng's craftiness and of his venomous snake staff; she was afraid he would grab this opportunity and gently broke wind, hence put it all behind without too much trouble. Therefore, hastily she said, "Not good, not good! First you want to tell him to unseal my Shifu's acupoints, then we can talk again."

"Look!" Zhou Botong said, "Even a young miss is afraid of your smelly fart. Alright, I'll let you go this time. I am not going to ask you to do a difficult thing anyway; quickly tend to the Old Beggar's injury. The Old Beggar's skill is not under yours; if not of your sneakiness, no way you would be able to injure him. After he is healed, the two of you can fight again. That time let the Old Urchin be the judge."

Ouyang Feng knew Hong Qigong's injury was incurable; he was not afraid of future retaliation. But he was afraid Zhou Botong would come up with a more difficult and strange request. Under the eyes of numerous people he felt really awkward; he did not want to comply, yet he was too proud to deny. Without saying anything he bent down and exerted his strength to his palm and unsealed Hong Qigong's acupoints. Huang Rong and Guo Jing rushed forward to help their master standing up.

Zhou Botong again swept his gaze to the people on the deck, he said, "The Old Urchin is most afraid to smell the urine taste of the sheep eaten by barbarians. Quickly let down a small boat to send us four people ashore."