SWORDS FIGHTS ON MOUNT HUA (Book 3 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Secret Order In Embroidered Pouch Part 1

Guo Jing accompanied Qiu Chuji and his eighteen disciples, among them were Li Zhichang, Yin Zhiping, Xia Zhicheng, Yu Zhike, Zhang Zhizsu, Wang Zhiming, and Song Defang. When they went out of the palace, they saw Huang Rong and the three elders, Lu, Jian, and Liang, as well as about a thousand Beggar Clan disciples all on horseback, waiting outside the palace.

As soon as she saw Guo Jing leave the palace, Huang Rong slapped her horse to move forward, smiling she asked "Is everything all right?"

Guo Jing smiled, "My luck is not bad; Qiu Daozhang [Taoist Priest] arrived just in time, changing the Great Khan's mood to the better," he said.

Huang Rong paid her respects to Qiu Chuji, then she asked Guo Jing again, "I was afraid the Great Khan would kill you in his wrath, I took everybody here ready to rescue you. What did the Great Khan say? Did he agree to cancel your betrothal?"

Guo Jing hesitated for half a day before replying, "I did not ask."

"Why?" Huang Rong was startled.

"Rong'er, please don't get angry," Guo Jing said, "It was because ..." Right then Princess Huazheng rushed out of the palace, loudly called out, "Guo Jing Gege [big brother – a term of endearment]."

As soon as she saw her, Huang Rong's face changed immediately. She quickly mounted her horse and galloped away. Guo Jing was about to open his mouth to explain, when Huazheng pulled his hand and said, "Weren't you surprised I came here? Are you happy to see me?"

Guo Jing nodded, he turned his head to see Huang Rong, but she had already disappeared. Huazheng only had her eyes to Guo Jing, she did not notice Huang Rong at all; she held his hand, laughing, giggling and telling him how much she missed him.

Guo Jing secretly groaned, "Rong'er must think it was because I saw Huazheng that I did not ask the Great Khan to cancel my betrothal." He was silent and did not hear what Huazheng was saying.

A moment later Huazheng realized Guo Jing was in a daze, she was offended, "What's the matter with you? I came from far away just to see you and you do not pay any attention to me?"

"Meizi [younger sister – term of endearment]," Guo Jing said, "I have a very important matter I need to take care of, we will talk when I come back." Without waiting for her answer he assigned his personal guard to take care of Qiu Chuji, then hurriedly he went back to his camp, looking for Huang Rong.

His guard said, "Miss Huang came back to take the painting, then left toward the eastern gate."

Guo Jing was startled, "What painting?" he asked.

"The painting Master Consort frequently looked at," his guard replied.

Now Guo Jing really freaked out. "She took away this picture that means she really severed her relationship with me. No matter what, I have to go south to look for her." Hurriedly he wrote a letter to Qiu Chuji, then mounting his little red horse he went out of town to pursue.

That little red horse was very fast; but Guo Jing was afraid he might not see Huang Rong anymore, so he kept urging the horse to run even faster. In a short moment they had covered more than ten 'li's, already at the outskirt of the city; soldiers and horses' remains scattered everywhere. Another dozen or so 'li's later, all he saw was a vast open prairie covered with white snow. To his delight, there were horse's tracks on the snow heading east.

"The little red horse is so swift that no other horse in this world is its match. A little more time and I should be able to catch Rong'er," he thought, "I will take mother, then the three of us will go south at once. I don't care if Huazheng Meizi would blame me."

Another dozen of 'li's the track suddenly turned north, and there were human footprints beside the horse's track. The footprints were really peculiar, since the distance between two feet was about four feet; also, the size of the feet were big, but sank into the snow only lightly, only a few inches deep. Guo Jing was startled, "This person's lightness kungfu is excellent." Immediately he recalled something, "There is no one other than Ouyang Feng who has this kind of ability. Could it be that he is pursuing Rong'er?" Thinking of this, even though the cold wind was blowing, he could not help but sweat all over. The little red horse was truly smart, somehow it knew its master was in distress; so without Guo Jing pulling the rein it immediately ran following the tracks.

Guo Jing saw the footprints were always right by the horse's track. Several 'li's later both the track and the footprint suddenly turned west, and then turned south; turning and winding around, there was not a single section that was straight. Guo Jing thought, "Rong'er must have found out Ouyang Feng was chasing her, so she tried to shake him off. But the track is imprinted clearly on the snow, Old Poison won't have any difficulty following her."

Another dozen of 'li's or so, the footprint and the horse track intermingled, they were overlapping another set of footprint and horse track altogether. Guo Jing dismounted the horse to look closer. He was able to tell which set was made earlier and which set was made later. Looking both sets of tracks stretched out far on the snow he suddenly realized something, "Rong'er must have used her father's 'qi men zhi shu' [strange/wonderful/mysterious gate technique]; deliberately winding around to the east and circling to the west to confuse Ouyang Feng. Once he lost her track, she came back to her original route."

He stood back up, his heart was happy and anxious at the same time; happy because he knew most probably Ouyang Feng would not be able to overtake Huang Rong, anxious because of the confusing horse's track he also lost his trail. Standing on the snow he thought, "Rong'er went in circle, but eventually she must be heading east. I have to pursue to the east then." Leaping to his horseback, he looked to the sky to find his bearing then he rode to the east.

After speeding for quite some times, the horse's track indeed reappeared. He saw in the distance, where the blue sky met the snowy plain, a shadow of a person. Guo Jing urged his horse to run even faster and saw that the person was indeed Ouyang Feng. By now Ouyang Feng had also recognized Guo Jing, he called out, "Come, quick! Miss Huang has fallen into the quicksand." Guo Jing was shocked, his legs squeezed his horse, and the little red horse shot like an arrow forward.

When he was still about a dozen 'zhang's away from where Ouyang Feng was standing, suddenly he felt his horse's hoofs no longer tread on a solid ground, as if under the white snow was some kind of marsh. The little red horse also felt it was stepping on a softer ground, hurriedly it pulled its leg and sped forward. Guo Jing brought the horse in a big circle and came back, only to see Ouyang Feng continuously running around a small tree.

"Is he doing some kind of black magic?" Guo Jing wondered. He pulled his rein to stop the horse because he wanted to ask a question; who would have thought that his little red horse did not want to stop, but sped forward and circled back. Guo Jing realized immediately, "Turned out underneath the snow is a soft-mud marsh; we will sink down as soon as I stop." But then his blood froze, "Is it possible that Rong'er fell into this marsh?"

"Where is Miss Huang?" he called out to Ouyang Feng.

Ouyang Feng did not stop running, he called out, "I followed her horse's track to this place, then suddenly it disappeared. Look!" While speaking he pointed his finger toward the small tree.

Guo Jing sped past the tree on the horseback, he saw a bright yellow ring on the tree branch. He made the little red horse run close to the tree, stretched out his hand and snatched that ring. It was the golden band Huang Rong wore on her hair. His heart almost jumped out through his throat.

He turned his horse's head toward the east. Several 'li's later he saw something glittering on the snow ahead. Bending his body, hanging from the horseback he stretched his arm out and scooped that thing. It was the flower-patterned gold inlaid pearl head ornament that Huang Rong often wore. Guo Jing was very anxious, "Rong'er, Rong'er, where are you?" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He looked around as far as his eyes could see, but there was not a single movement on the vast and boundless white plain.

He went several 'li's further, toward his left he saw a black sable fur coat lying on the snowy ground. It was his own coat that he gave to Huang Rong when they first met at Zhangjiakou [Kalgan?]. He made the little red horse circle around the coat, while shouting loudly, "Rong'er!" His voice traveled far on the open snowy plain. There was no hill or mountain around, therefore, there was no echo answering his call. Guo Jing was extremely anxious, he wanted to cry but no sound was coming out from his throat.

A moment later Ouyang Feng arrived, "Let me rest on your horseback, then we will seek Miss Huang together," he said.

Guo Jing was indignant, "If you did not chase her, how could she fall into this marsh?" he scolded. Squeezing his legs he made his little red horse leap forward.

Ouyang Feng was angry, he leaped forward, and in three jumps he had already behind the horse, stretching his hand to grab the horse's tail.

Guo Jing did not expect him to come this quick, with a 'Divine Dragon Swings Its Tail' his right palm shot backward, crashing Ouyang Feng's palm, both people were using their full strength. Guo Jing was blown by Ouyang Feng's palm strength, his body flew from his saddle. Fortunately his red horse dashed forward; he stretched his left hand, grabbing the horse's buttocks, and swinging his body forward he was back on his saddle in no time.

Ouyang Feng, on the other hand, was pushed two steps backwards. Because of Guo Jing's palm strength he landed heavily; his left leg unexpectedly fell deeply into the mud, straight to his knee. Ouyang Feng was totally shocked; he knew on this kind of quicksand, as soon as he exerted his strength and tried to jump out, his right foot would also fall into the mud. Once both legs were in, it did not matter if his skill was as high as the sky, he would have a very difficult time pulling his own body out of the mud. In desperation he laid his body horizontally on the ground, then rolled around while at the same time kicked his right leg to the air. Using 'lian huan yuan yang tui' [chain mandarin duck's leg] he borrowed the strength from his right kick to lift his left foot. Mud splashed everywhere, but his legs were free.

He turned over and stood up, only to hear Guo Jing's loud calls, "Rong'er! Rong'er!" The man on the horse had left him for more than a 'li'. He saw the little red horse was running steadily; apparently they were already out of the marsh area. Ouyang Feng decided to pursue, but the further he ran, the more he felt the ground underneath his feet was getting softer; as if he was at the edge of the marsh and now he had treaded into the center of it.

Three times had Ouyang Feng fallen under Guo Jing's hands; the last time he was forced to be naked in front of hundreds of thousands people. It was an extremely dangerous situation; other people might admire his martial art skill, but he actually thought that was his greatest disgrace. This time he met Guo Jing again, alone. Good or bad he simply had to seek revenge. Even though the terrain was dangerous, he simply could not let this good opportunity pass. Much less Huang Rong's life or death was still unknown; he could not give up in light of this, no way; therefore, in his anger he decided to pursue Guo Jing.

Displaying his excellent lightness kungfu; in just several 'li's he had reached the speed of a fast horse. Guo Jing heard footsteps on the snow behind him; he turned his head quickly only to see Ouyang Feng was only several 'zhang's behind his horse's tail. He was startled, hastily urged his horse to run faster. In just a short moment they have covered more than a dozen 'li's.

Guo Jing did stop calling, "Rong'er!" but he saw the sky was getting darker; Huang Rong's fate was increasingly uncertain. His voice was hoarse from shouting, his occasional choke turned into sobs. The little red horse understood the danger they were on from the start, as it felt softer ground underneath, it ran even faster; eventually its four hooves moved so fast as if they were flying above the snow.

'Han xue bao ma' [precious horse with blood-like sweats] was a rare animal capable of running very fast; but Ouyang Feng's lightness kungfu was not inferior. Unfortunately he was getting tired, after running for a long time his breathing was getting heavier, his legs' strength diminished, his footsteps gradually slowing down. Little red horse was also sweating profusely; beads of red sweats trickled down from its body, splashing to the white snow below, next to its hoof tracks, like cherry blossom in full bloom.

By the time the sky was completely dark the little red horse had completely left the marsh; early on Ouyang Feng had disappeared without a trace. Guo Jing thought, "The horse Rong'er was riding did not have this kind of divine speed; it wouldn't run for half a li into the marsh without falling into the mud below. Even if I have to lose my life I must try to rescue her." He very well realized that Huang Rong had been missing for a very long time; if she did fall into the marsh, even if he could pull her out, he would not be able to bring her back to life. So his motivation was really for his own peace of mind.

Guo Jing dismounted his horse to give it a rest; caressing his horse's back he said, "Little horse, oh little horse, today I am asking you not to be afraid of exhaustion. Let's take a short rest and then we'll go again."

Guo Jing leaped back to his saddle and pulled the rein to turn the horse' head. The little red horse was afraid to tread back into the marsh, but Guo Jing kept urging it to go. Finally with a loud neigh the horse's four hooves splashed back into the marsh. The horse knew their destination was still far away, so it ran with all its might, faster and faster into the marsh.

Suddenly they heard Ouyang Feng's desperate cry, "Help! Help!" Guo Jing sped his horse up. Under the glimmering reflection of the white snow he saw Ouyang Feng had fallen into the mud. His hands were high in the air, flailing chaotically. The mud was slowly rising, it already reached his chest. As soon as it reached his mouth and nose, he would certainly be suffocated to death.

Guo Jing could see his desperate situation; he recalled Huang Rong might face similar danger. His blood boiled inside his chest; he almost dismounted his horse and fell into the same trap; but decided against doing so at the last minute.

"Quick, help me!" Ouyang Feng cried out.

Guo Jing gritted his teeth and said, "You killed my benevolent masters, you also killed Miss Huang; do you still want me to save you? Dream on!"

With a stern voice Ouyang Feng replied, "We had made an agreement, you have to spare my life three times. This is the third time. Are you saying you don't give a thought to the good faith?"

With tears in his eyes Guo Jing said, "Miss Huang is no longer alive, what use is our agreement?"

Ouyang Feng shouted curse and abusive words, but Guo Jing simply ignored him; he rode his horse away. Only a dozen 'zhang's later he heard Ouyang Feng's pitiful cry. Guo Jing could not bear it anymore. He heaved a sigh and turned his horse around. The mud had already reached Ouyang Feng's neck. "I am willing to save you, but if both of us ride on this horse, we will sink into the mud together," he said.

"Use a rope to tow me," Ouyang Feng suggested. Guo Jing did not carry any rope, but he remembered his long robe. Grabbing one end, he let his horse ran close to Ouyang Feng. Ouyang Feng held out his hand and grabbed the other end. Guo Jing squeezed his legs and gave a loud shout. The little red horse furiously charged forward and with a loud splashing sound Ouyang Feng was pulled out of the mire and dragged along on the snowy ground.

If they were heading east, very soon they were going to leave the marsh area; but Guo Jing was very anxious over Huang Rong, how would he be willing to give up searching for her? Therefore, they were galloping to the west. Ouyang Feng was still holding on to the robe, he laid down facing up, being dragged rapidly on the snow. He used this opportunity to catch his breath.