THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Gaining Blood Part 5

"His nickname is Slippery and Hard to Grip. We shall not fight him with bare hands. Let's use our weapons," Madam Zhang exclaimed grimly.

Priest Yu Ling picked up his octagonal shaped Wolf-Fanged Hammer and waved it. "Swoosh!" The hammer made a circle in the air.

"Let's see if his head is any slippery against my hammer."

The sharp and pointy wolf-fangs on the hammer glinted with reflection. Taking a good glimpse of the hammer, and then taking a good look at the shining and puffy head of You Xun, everybody came to the same conclusion – You Xun's head did not seem to have a very promising prospect.

"Young Mister Linghu, only a few moments ago, a young friend from your respectful school helped Master Yu out of the tight spot with just a few words. Now when I am in deep trouble, why haven't you said anything to help, as though you didn't see anything or hear anything?" You Xun asked.

"If you don't speak out the whereabouts of the 'Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript,' I am afraid I'll have to wade in and won't be so easy on you," Linghu Chong replied. At that word, a dull and depressing sensation rose from his stomach, and he couldn't help but cast a side glance at Yue Lingshan, thinking, "Even you are wronging me for appropriating Little Lin's sword art manuscript."

"Excellent! Excellent! Young Mister Linghu, please go ahead!" Madam Zhang and the rest of the group cheered all together.

You Xun heaved a deep sigh. "Fine, I'll speak it out. Go on, return to your seats. Why are you still surrounding me?"

"We'd better be extra cautious when dealing with the Slippery and Hard to Grip," Madam Zhang spat out.

"Alas, why did I bring trouble to myself? Why didn't I just wait on the Five-Tyrant Ridge to join the fun, and would rather come here to court death?" You Xun heaved another sigh.

"Are you gonna speak it out or not?" Madam Zhang snapped.

"I will! I will! Why not!" You Xun answered. "Hey! Chief Dongfang! When did your Excellence decide to show your gracious presence, here?" He said the last two sentences very loud and clear, and as he spoke, he fixed his eyes toward the west end of the street outside the restaurant with such a bewildered star.

Astounded, everyone peered down the street following his gaze, and soon spotted a man strolling closer and closer along the long street, a vegetable basket hanging on his left arm. This man was a marketplace monger; how could he have been the Chief Dongfang with resounding fame – Dong Fang Invincible? By the time everybody remembered to turn back at You Xun, he had vanished from sight. By then, everyone finally realized that all had just been terribly fooled. Madam Zhang, Chou Songnian, and Priest Yu Ling all started pouring out streams of abuses, knowing well that with his outstanding Qing-Gong skills and crafty mind, there would be no way to catch him back once he had run off.

"I see! Turned out it is You Xun who has the 'Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript.' I didn't expect that at all!" Linghu Chong said loudly.

"Really? Is it really in You Xun's hands?" everyone asked in shock.

"Of course it's in his hands. What else? Otherwise, why would he never speak out the whereabouts of the sword art manuscript, and try so hard to run away?" Linghu Chong elaborated. He spoke these words in a very loud voice, and after spitting out the last few words, he had almost used up all his strength.

"Young Mister Linghu, why have you shifted the blame on me?" You Xun's voice suddenly rose from outside the door, loud and clear. And only seconds later, he had already walked back in.