THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Rescue Part 1

[The door curtain was lifted, and then a little nun walked quietly into the hall. She was possessed of grace and beauty. No one would have argued that she was a perfect creation of Heaven. Although wrapped in a big and loose nun's robe, the curves of her body were apparent from her graceful movements. She walked till she stood in front of Dingyi then knelt down gracefully.]

Lao Denuo continued with his story, "So I asked the Master, 'Is this Evil-Resisting Sword Art something very powerful? Why would the Qingcheng Sword School practice it so intensely?'

"Master did not answer right away. He closed his eyes for a long while and then said, 'Denuo, before you became my disciple, you had already spent much time in the Martial World. In that time, what did you hear of the Chief Master of the Fortune Prestige Escort House, Lin Zhennan?'

"I answered, 'Our friends in the Martial World said that Lin Zhennan was not stingy when socializing with others; he treated his friends well. Everybody liked him and left the goods he escorted alone out of respect. But regard to his real Kung Fu skills, I am not sure.'

"Master said, 'Right! For the last generation, the Fortune Prestige Escort House has been successful, primarily because people in the Martial World treated Lin Zhennan like a friend. Did you ever hear that Master Yu's teacher, Evergreen, was defeated by Lin Yuantu's 'Evil-Resisting Sword Art' during his youth?'

"I was lost. 'Lin...Lin Yuantu? Was he Lin Zhennan's father?' I asked.

"'No,' Master answered, 'Lin Yuantu was Lin Zhennan's grandfather. He was the original founder of the Fortune Prestige Escort House. In those days when Lin Yuantu founded the Escort House with the seventy-two moves of 'Evil-Resisting Sword Art,' none of the heterodox members of the Martial World was a match for him. Because his great fame at that time, even orthodox members of the Martial World went to challenge him. Evergreen was one of them, and thus lost to several moves of the Evil-Resisting Sword Art.'

"I asked, 'So the Evil-Resisting Sword Art is really very powerful?'

"Master said, 'The news that Evergreen lost the fight was kept secret by both sides, so nobody in the Martial World knew about it. However, Evergreen was a very good friend of our Grand Master and had once mentioned it to him. He considered this one of the greatest humiliations in his life, but knowing that he would never be able to defeat Lin Yuantu, he was never able to settle the score with him. Grand Master had studied the Evil-Resisting Sword Art together with him in order to find any flaws in this sword art. The seventy-two moves looked plain, but there were many profound mysteries locked within that no one could fathom, which allowed the moves to suddenly become very swift. The two of them studied it for several months and still could not devise a way to counter it. At that time, I was a mere teenager who had just become an apprentice. I served their tea at those sessions and was able to watch the moves everyday, so when you demonstrated the moves, I knew they were from the 'Evil-Resisting Sword Art.' Ah, time flows like a stream. That was a long time ago!'"

Ever since Lin Pingzhi had been beaten up by the Qingcheng apprentices without being able to defend himself, he had completely lost confidence in his family's Kung Fu. All he wanted was to learn from a good teacher to seek revenge later. Now hearing Lao Denuo speaking of the great prestige and fame of his great grandfather, Lin Yuantu, he was greatly encouraged. Their family's Evil-Resisting Sword Art was really nothing to scoff at. Years ago, even the masters of the Qingcheng and Huashan sword schools could not defeat it. But if this was so, why couldn't his father defeat those Qingcheng apprentices? Perhaps his father did not learn the secret and magic parts of the sword art.