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

Discerning Good From Evil Part 5

Zhou Botong was dumbstruck. "What? My son?"

"Exactly," Ying Gu said, "Your son is killed by Qiu Qianren."

Zhou Botong still did not know that his affair with Ying Gu had resulted in they having a child. His mind was muddled; he was at lost. He turned his head to see that there were several more people standing next to Ying Gu; other than Guo Jing and Huang Rong, there were Reverend Yideng and his four disciples.

At that time Qiu Qianren had walked away from the edge of the cliff less than three feet, suddenly he saw in front of him a group of formidable enemies while the terrain they were on was really dangerous. He knew he was facing a grave danger. He clapped his hands and boldly said, "I am climbing the Mount Hua to fight over the 'Number One Martial Artist in the World' title. Hmm, hmm ... all of you gang up to get rid of a powerful opponent. It's truly despicable!"

Zhou Botong thought what this old thief said was reasonable, he said, "All right, I am going to wait until after the sword meet tomorrow, then I am going to take your dog life."

Ying Gu angrily called out, "I want to seek revenge, how can I wait until tomorrow?"

Huang Rong also said, "Old Urchin, toward a person with a good faith we speak with a good faith; toward a deceitful person we speak deceitfully. Let us just get rid of him once and for all; I want to see what he is going to do."

Qiu Qianren face turned deathly pale, he realized his precarious situation; but suddenly he got an idea, "Why do you want to kill me?" he called out.

The scholar replied, "You have done all kinds of evil deeds; everybody deserved to punish you."

Qiu Qianren lifted his face to the sky and laughed, "Speaking about martial art, you rely on numbers to bully me, certainly I am not your match. But speaking about right and wrong, good and evil, hey, hey ... Qiu Qianren is not alone. Whoever among you who has never killed anybody or done anything wrong; you can start punishing me. I will stretch out my neck to die in your hand; if I even creased my eyebrows; don't consider me a real man."

Reverend Yideng heaved a deep sigh, he was the first to step back then he lowered his head and sat cross-legged on the ground. Everybody else was deeply affected by Qiu Qianren's words; each thought how they have committed countless errors in their lives. The Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer, and the Scholar were all high-ranking government officials of the Dali country; they had killed people. Although they were acting in enforcing the justice, in the end they had unavoidably made some mistakes.

Zhou Botong and Ying Gu looked at each other; they recalled the love and hate between them, and each felt ashamed. During the expedition to the west Guo Jing had killed numerous people, and he still blamed himself for that. Huang Rong remembered how she had made her father suffer, how she was being an unfilial daughter, and how many times she had deceived others; truly she had committed not a few faults of her own.

Qiu Qianren thought that his speech had silenced everybody, now it was a good time to slip away; therefore, with big strides he walked pass Guo Jing's left side to leave. He saw Guo Jing step aside to let him go; he exerted his strength and about to flee when suddenly a bamboo stick appeared from behind the mountain rock, blocking his way. This bamboo stick was so swift, Qiu Qianren's left palm flew up, his wrist made a turn, trying to catch the stick's end; but unexpectedly the stick poked three times swiftly, targeting three major acupoints on his chest. Qiu Qianren was shocked; he felt that the bamboo stick's incoming force was like a strong wind. He was unable to neither parry nor evade, and had no choice but step backwards and thus return to where he started, by the edge of the cliff. From behind the rock a dark shadow appeared with the stick in his hand, and then stood up in front of him.

"Shifu!" Guo Jing and Huang Rong cried out. The 'jiu zhi shen gai' [nine-fingered divine beggar] Hong Qigong had arrived.

"Stinky beggar, you come to meddle. It's not time for the sword meet yet," Qiu Qianren cursed.

"I came to get rid of a traitor. Who wants to have a contest with you?" Hong Qigong said.

"Fine! What a great hero and warrior [actually, here he used the term 'da ying xiong da xia shi' - I don't know how to differentiate 'ying xiong' and 'xia'] you are, and I am a traitor. You are a good man and have never committed any misconduct," Qiu Qianren said.

"That's correct," Hong Qigong replied, "During my lifetime the Old Beggar has killed 231 people; all these 231 people were wicked, if not greedy and corrupt officials, then they were local bullies or criminals who oppressed common people; they were all evil people who had no regard of justice and honor. The Old Beggar is a glutton, but in all my life I have never killed an innocent person. Qiu Qianren, you are the 232nd person!"

His speech had made Qiu Qianren shiver with fear; he felt like his life had been taken from him. Hong Qigong continued, "Qiu Qianren, your Iron Palm Clan's past Clan Leader Shangguan Jian Nan was a true hero; he devoted his entire life to serve the country, he was loyal till the day he died. Didn't your master advise you to be a real man? You succeeded your master as the Iron Palm Clan Leader; yet you colluded with the Jins, betraying your own country. When you die, do you have any face to meet your master and Shangguan Jian Nan, Shangguan Bangzhu? You climb Mount Hua in a vain attempt to compete against other martial art experts to win the 'Number One Martial Artist in the World'. Not only your martial art is inferior to everybody else's; but even if your martial art were matchless, which hero of this world would want to submit to a traitor who sells his own country?"

This speech was like a bucket of cold water drenched over Qiu Qianren; everything he had ever done in the past dozens of years came into his mind one by one. He remembered his master's instructions. How his master at his deathbed had imparted the Iron Palm Clan rules and regulations after he assumed the Clan Leader position; earnestly warning him to be a patriot, loyal to his country and love its people. Who would have thought that the older he got, the stronger his martial art became, the more he forgot his oath to love his country; he has become a traitor and a criminal, killing people who oppose his personal ambition. He fell deeper and deeper, until the clan members who were loyal and righteous left him, and in their place he took criminals as his disciples. He went as far as changing the upright Iron Palm Clan into a gang of bandits; sheltering evil people and support their evil practices; carrying out all kinds of evil things.

He lifted up his eyes to see the bright moon in the sky; he lowered his eyes to see Hong Qigong's bright pair of eyes with a penetrating gaze looking at him. Suddenly his conscience was awakened; he felt that among all of his life conducts not one could be called honorable. His body was drenched in cold sweats; he sighed, "Hong Bangzhu, you are right." He turned around and jumped into the canyon below.

Hong Qigong was holding tight his bamboo stick to guard against Qiu Qianren lest he would launch a sudden attack from shame. This person's martial art is nothing to be trifled with; in his desperation his attack must be really fierce. Not in a million years would he expect him to suddenly attempt to commit suicide. He was stunned, but suddenly a grey shadow flew by his side; Reverend Yideng had arrived at the cliff edge. Initially he was sitting cross-legged, and when he moved, he was still cross-legged. His left arm stretched out and grabbed Qiu Qianren's feet, pulled him strongly back to safety.

"Zhan zai, zhan cai!" he said, "The sea of bitterness knows no bounds; turn around and you will see the shore. You have already repented of your previous wrong doings; it's not too late to become a new man."

Qiu Qianren wept loudly, he knelt down in front of Yideng. He had millions of things he wanted to say, but was unable to utter a single word.

Ying Gu saw his back was in front of her; it was a very good opportunity for her the seek her revenge. She took a dagger from her bosom and fiercely thrust it into Qiu Qianren's back.

"Wait!" Zhou Botong called out; stretching his hand to block Ying Gu's dagger.

Ying Gu was angry, "What are you doing?" she asked sternly.

Since the first time Zhou Botong saw Ying Gu, he had been scared. Now that she scolded him, he shouted, "Aiyo!" and turned around, rushing down the mountain.

"Where are you going?" Ying Gu called out and immediately pursued him.

"I have tummy ache, I need to defecate!" Zhou Botong shouted. Ying Gu was startled only for a second, then she ignored him and did not stop pursuing Zhou Botong.

Zhou Botong was stunned, "Aiyo! Not good! I have shits all over my pants; it stinks to high heaven. Don't come over here!" he anxiously shouted.

Ying Gu had been searching for him for over twenty years; she believed that if she missed him again this time, she would not see him anymore. Hence she did not care whether Zhou Botong was really defecating or just pretending, she kept pursuing him.

Zhou Botong heard the sound of footsteps approaching; he was scared out of his wits. Initially he said he was defecating to scare Ying Gu out from coming near him; he was hoping that he would find an opportunity to slip away. Who would have thought that Ying Gu ignored his words. He was so frightened that he cried out; and from pretending, Zhou Botong actually did start urinating and defecating.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong were amused to watch this couple who quickly disappear beyond the cliff in the distant; and then they turned their heads to see Reverend Yideng was speaking in low voice on Qiu Qianren's ears.

Qiu Qianren did not say anything, he simply nodded his head repeatedly. Yideng spoke for a long while then finally he stood up and said, "Let's go."

Jing and Rong two people hurriedly went forward to pay their respects; they also bowed to the Fisherman, the Woodcutter, the Farmer and the Scholar. Yideng held out his hand to stroke their heads; he looked at them tenderly with a gentle smile on his face. "Qi Xiong," he turned to Hong Qigong, "You are in good shape, your bravery is as great as I remember it; you also received these two fine disciples. I must congratulate you."

Hong Qigong bowed and said, "Reverend is also well."

Yideng smiled, "The mountain is tall and the river is long; till we meet again," he said. Putting his palms together he turned around and left.

"Tomorrow is the sword meet, why are you leaving?" Hong Qigong called out.

Yideng turned his head and smiled, "The Old Monk is an outsider; how could I dare to compete with world class heroes over a title? The Old Monk is here today to take care of twenty years' worth of gratitude and grudges; and I am happy my intention has been achieved. Qi Xiong, who is the present age hero but you? Why are you being modest?" Again he put his palms together, took Qiu Qianren's hand, and walked down the mountain.

The four main disciples of Dali bowed toward Hong Qigong then followed behind their master. The Scholar walked by Huang Rong's side. Seeing her cheeks were glowing he raised his eyebrows and smiled while reciting a line, "On the marshy land there was a 'chang chu' tree, its branches are soft and willowy!"

Hearing him tease her, Huang Rong replied with another line, "The chicken perched on their roost, the evening has arrived."

The Scholar laughed a big laughter, he cupped his fists and left.

Guo Jing was bewildered, "Rong'er," he asked, "Was that another Sanskrit line?"

"No," Huang Rong smiled, "It was from 'the book of poems'" she explained.

Hearing they were exchanging poetry, Guo Jing did not ask further.

Looking at him Huang Rong smiled. She thought, "This 'zhuang yuan' [honorable title conferred to the person who scored highest in the imperial examination] is really smart; he had guessed correctly what's in my heart. The next lines of what he recited from the book of poems are 'pleasure does not need knowledge, pleasure does not need a family, pleasure does not need a room'. It was about a maiden adoring a bachelor's love song. It is very appropriate to Jing Gege's situation; he was saying that this scattered brain dumb kid has finally found a wife. I am very happy!" Having thought this suddenly she uttered a soft cry, "Aiyo!"

"What is it?" Guo Jing hastily asked.

Huang Rong smiled and said, "The next lines of what I recited are 'The sheep and the cows coming down, the sheep and the cows went into the pen.' The poem says that it was getting late, the sheep and the cows from the hillside returned to the fold and the gate was closed. In short I called that 'zhuang yuan' an animal. But it can be considered that I called Reverend Yideng an animal too!"

Guo Jing did not pay too much attention to this poetry exchange; he was pondering on what Hong Qigong had said to Qiu Qianren earlier. His heart was heavy with doubts and anxiety for these past several days; all his questions were answered in just a few words. His mind became open and he understood, "Shifu said he has killed 231 people; but these 231 people were all wicked. As long as he did not kill an innocent person, then his conscience is clear. Look how Shifu reprimanded Qiu Qianren, physical prowess is useless. This Qiu Qianren's martial art is not necessary below that of Shifu's, but because his heart was not upright, he cowered in Shifu's presence. As long as I use my martial art to uphold justice, why would I want to put my martial art behind?"

It was actually a clear cut truth, even Qiu Chuji had spoken to him about the same truth. It was not that he did not believe Qiu Chuji, it was just that he recently joined Genghis Khan's expedition to the west; he saw with his own eyes the terrible massacre, the cruelty on the battlefield, the suffering of the people, the tragic death of his mother under his own dagger; he loathed all kinds of war and violence and his mind was overwhelmed with this bitter thought. But after going through this deep thinking in his mind, finally his determination to do good deeds was getting stronger.

Jing and Rong two people went forward and kowtowed in front of their master; then they talked about things that happened after they parted. Turned out Hong Qigong followed Huang Yaoshi back to the Peach Blossom Island to tend to his injury. Using the method from the Nine Yin Manual he was able to revive his internal strength and open up the passages through which the vital energy circulate. It took him about half a year to heal his internal injury, then another half a year to recover his internal strength.

Huang Yaoshi was worried about his daughter; therefore, as soon as Hong Qigong's injury was healed, he went to the north looking for her. Hong Qigong left the island much later than Huang Yaoshi did, and only a few days ago he came across Lu Youjiao; thus for the most part he had learned what happened to his disciples Jing and Rong.

Three people talked for a while. Finally Guo Jing said, "Shifu, please take some rest. Come daybreak you will compete in the sword meet; you will need a lot of energy."

Hong Qigong laughed, "The older I get, my desire to outdo others is actually getting stronger; but thinking that very soon I am going to fight the Eastern Heretic and Western Poison, my heart is anxious. It is ridiculous! Rong'er, in the recent years your father's martial art has improved tremendously. Tell me, in the upcoming contest between your father and your Shifu, who is strong and who is weak?"

Huang Rong replied, "The martial art of yours, Senior, and that of my father's are always difficult to compare; but now you have mastered the 'jiu yin shen gong' [nine yin divine energy]; how can my father be your match? Later when I see my father I am going to advise him not to compete with you; he'd better go back home to the Peach Blossom Island early on."

Listening to her manner of speaking, Hong Qigong felt something was strange. After pondering it for a while he understood her intention. He laughed loudly and said, "You don't need to talk in circle to me; I got the 'jiu yin shen gong' from you two. You don't have to goad me; the Old Beggar's face is not thick enough to use that skill. When I compete with the Old Heretic Huang later, I am going to use only my own original skills."

Huang Rong was expecting him to say these exact words; so she smiled and said, "Shifu, if you lose under my father's hand, I am going to prepare a hundred types of food for you to eat. So winning you will no doubt be delighted, losing you will also be happy."

Hong Qigong swallowed his saliva. "Hmm, this girl's heart is not good. You provoke me then you bribe me. You are wickedly shrewd; you hope wholeheartedly your own father will win."

Huang Rong smiled, but before she could answer Hong Qigong suddenly stood up. He pointed his finger toward Huang Rong's back and called out, "Old Poison, you arrived very early!"

Guo Jing and Huang Rong were startled; quickly they sprang up and stood next to Hong Qigong. They turned their heads and saw Ouyang Feng with his tall stature standing nearby. He arrived so quietly that these two people were not aware of his presence; they were greatly astonished.