THE SMILING PROUD WANDERER by Jin Yong

Secret Meeting Part 5

Shangguan Yun replied, "Chief is confident and is a divine strategist; in the present age nobody can come close to your brilliance. In the presence of Chief, how can subordinate dare to offer my trivial idea?"

Ren Woxing scowled and said, "When Dongfang Bubai discusses a matter with the sect, no one dares to say anything?"

"Dongfang Bubai's ability and wisdom is above everyone, and no one has as much experience as he is. Even if someone has a thought about it, they wouldn't dare to speak to avoid a sudden misfortune befalling them," Yingying said.

Ren Woxing said, "That's how it is. That's very good, extremely good! Brother Shangguan, what order did Dongfang Bubai give you to capture Linghu Chong?"

"He said whoever captures Hero Linghu would be heaped with gifts. If we couldn't capture him, then we should bring our own heads to him," Shangguan Yun said.

Ren Woxing laughed. "Very good, tie Linghu Chong up and claim your gifts."

Shangguan Yun retreated a step, and fear was etched on his face. "Hero Linghu is Chief's beloved general, and he has done a big service to our sect. How could Subordinate dare to commit this sin?"

Ren Woxing laughed and said, "It's very hard to go up to Dongfang Bubai's place, but if you're taking the bound up Linghu Chong up, he would definitely let us see him."

Yingying smiled, "Wonderful plan! We'll go up and see Dongfang Bubai pretending to be Uncle Shangguan's subordinates. Once we see him, we'll get our weapons out and attack him. Even though his martial art is high, he'll still find it difficult to fight four pair of hands with his one pair."

Xiang Wentian added, "It'll be best if Brother Linghu pretends to be heavily injured and has his feet and hands bound. We'll splash some blood on him to make it real and then we'll carry him up using a stretcher. Dongfang Bubai wouldn't have any protections against this plan, and we can also store weapons in the stretcher."

"Very good, very good," Ren Woxing agreed with this plan.

They then heard the sound of horses' hooves galloping on the long street, with someone shouting, "We've captured the Master of Wind and Thunder Hall. We've captured the Master of Wind and Thunder Hall!"

Yingying beckoned Linghu Chong to go with her. The two of them went to the entrance of the inn and saw tens of men on horses carrying torches. They were crowding around a tall and strong old man as they went past the street. That old man had a white beard and his face was full of blood. His two hands were bound behind his back and his eyes were staring ahead brightly as if they were spouting fire. It was apparent that he was furious.

Yingying whispered, "Five to six years ago, when Dongfang Bubai met uncle Tong, they were even more close to each other than the two bear brothers. Who could've thought that he would turn ruthless against him today?"

Not long after that, Shangguan Yun came carrying a stretcher with him. Yingying bound Linghu Chong's arms using a white cloth and hung the cloth on his neck. They then slaughtered a sheep and smeared the sheep's blood all over his body. Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian both changed into the uniform of the sect, and Yingying also changed into a man's clothes. They all smeared their faces black. After all of them had eaten and worn the uniforms of Shangguan Yun's subordinates, they went on their way to Dark Wood Cliff.

Forty li northwest of the Dingzhou prefecture, the mountain rock was dark red like blood, and there was a creek called Ape Creek with water rushing by. As they went further north, the cliffs on their sides rose up like walls, and the mountain road spanned only five feet wide in between the two cliffs. The road to the gathering altar of the Sun Moon Sect was heavily guarded by members of the sect, who were very respectful toward them because of Shangguan Yun. After passing three checkpoints, they arrived to another creek. Shangguan Yun released a signal arrow and three boats from the other side came over to them. Linghu Chong secretly thought, "Sun Moon Sect's hundreds years of existence really isn't a small matter. If it weren't for Shangguan Yun leading the way, we would've had to attack from the outside. That wouldn't be very easy at all."

On the other side of the creek, the way up the mountain was very steep. Everyone had to abandon their horses. Some people in the party carried torches to light up their way. Yingying walked besides the stretcher with her hand on her pair of swords guarding Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong felt the constant danger he was in as they went up the mountain. If the people carrying the stretcher decided that they didn't want to carry him anymore, they could just dump him into the deep valley besides the road and he would certainly die by their hands. When they reached the gathering altar, the sky was still dark. Shangguan Yun quickly ordered someone to report to Dongfang Bubai that he had successfully completed Chief's order. After some time, the sound of tinkling bells was heard and Shangguan Yun immediately stood up and respectfully waited.

Yingying pulled Ren Woxing up and whispered, "Chief's order has arrived. Quickly get up." Ren Woxing immediately stood up and saw that all the sect members inside the altar were suddenly standing still and motionless, as if they had come under a demonic spell. The tinkling bells rang really fast before stopping. Not long after it stopped, a person wearing the yellow gown of a sect's disciple appeared holding a yellow scroll with both hands. He read the scroll out loud, "Divine Sun Moon Sect's refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, just and wise Chief Dongfang commands: Jia Bu and Shangguan Yun have successfully carried out the order and have returned. This is an excellent achievement. Bring the captive along with you up the cliff."

Shangguan Yun bowed. "Long live the Chief, unify the Jianghu."

Linghu Chong found this hilarious. He thought to himself, "Isn't this what the court eunuchs usually read out?"

He then heard Shangguan Yun's loud reply, "Chief has granted subordinate to ascend the cliff. I will never forget this supreme virtue and benevolence." Shangguan Yun's subordinates also replied together, "Chief has granted subordinates to ascend the cliff. We will never forget this supreme virtue and benevolence." Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian followed along but secretly cursed.

Their party went up the stone steps ascending toward the cliff and passed three iron doors along the way. At each iron door, a person asked them for that night's password and also inspected what they were carrying on their bodies. At last, they reached a stone gate with inscriptions on each side of it. The sentence on the right side read 'Refined Scholar, Kind-hearted Warrior', while the sentence on the left side said 'Just and Wise'. There was a board hung horizontally above the gate with the red letterings saying 'Brilliance of Sun and Moon'.

After they passed the stone gate, they saw a big bamboo basket on the ground which could probably hold more than ten catties worth of rice. Shangguan Yun shouted, "Take the captive in." Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, and Yingying stooped down to pick up the stretcher and entered into the bamboo basket.

A copper gong was sounded three times and the bamboo basket was slowly pulled up. There was a pulley system on the top which allowed the bamboo basket to be pulled up. As the bamboo basket slowly ascended, Linghu Chong raised his head to take a look and saw only many dots of stars around him which made him realize how high the Dark Wood Cliff really was. Yingying extended her right arm and held his left hand. In the middle of the night, they were still able to see white clouds floating just above their heads. After some time, they entered a white fog, and when they looked down, they were not able to see anything except darkness around them.

After a long time, the bamboo basket finally stopped. Shangguan Yun and his men helped lift Linghu Chong out of the basket. Then they proceeded to the left for tens of feet before encountering another bamboo basket. Actually the peak of the cliff was too high so it required four pulley systems to reach the top. Linghu Chong pondered in his heart, "It'd be very difficult for Dongfang Bubai's subordinates to see him since he lives in such a high place."

When they reached the cliff's peak, the sun had already risen and it was shining brightly from the east. The sun's rays shone on an enormous decorated archway made from white jade, on which written in gold letters were the words 'For the Benefit of Common People'. The gold coating of the letters reflected the sunlight and bursts of gold glittered everywhere. When people saw this, a feeling of profound respect would blossom in their hearts.

Linghu Chong thought, "There's no one in Wulin who could setup this kind of fanfare like Dongfang Bubai. Even Shaolin and Songshan wouldn't be able to follow this. As for Huashan and Hengshan, they lack even further. He's really a learned man, unlike other crude and ordinary heroes in the realm."

Ren Woxing softly muttered, "For the benefit of common people, hng!"

Shangguan Yun called out in a clear voice, "Subordinate from White Tiger Hall, Elder Shangguan Yun, has received Chief's order and has come to pay a visit to Chief."

Four people came out of a stone house from their right and walked toward them. They were all wearing purple gowns. One of them said, "Congratulations Elder Shangguan for completing a great service. How come Elder Jia didn't come?"

"Elder Jia died for the cause and has repaid Chief's kindness," Shangguan Yun replied.

"That's how it is. Then Elder Shangguan will surely be promoted," that person replied.

"If Chief promotes me, then I wouldn't dare forget Brother's help," Shangguan Yun said.

When that person heard this promise of a bribe, a smile crept into his eyes. "We should thank you first!" He gave Linghu Chong a glance and laughingly said, "Is this the little kid that Young Lady Ren admires? I thought he would have a face like Pan An or Song Yu, but I guess I was wrong. Green Dragon Hall's Elder Shangguan, please come through here."

"Chief hasn't promoted me yet so don't say this too early. If Chief or General Yang heard this, then we'd be in big trouble."

That person stuck his tongue out and then led the way for them. They passed underneath the decorated archway and walked through a perfectly straight slab of road leading to a big door. After they went through the big door, another two people in purple gowns welcomed the five of them into the reception hall. One of them said, "General Yang wants to see you so just wait here."

"Yes!" Shangguan Yun acknowledged and put both of his arms besides his body. Even after a long time, that 'General Yang' still hadn't come out yet, but Shangguan Yun just stood there respectfully waiting. Linghu Chong thought, "Elder Shangguan's position in the sect isn't low, but once he comes up the cliff, everyone looks down on him and treats him just like a servant. Even the servants here seem to have more power than him. What kind of person is that General Yang? Most likely, he's that Yang Lianting person. Before he came to be a general, he was just some ordinary servant doing some trifle things. But now the White Tiger Hall's elder actually has to wait respectfully for his arrival. Dongfang Bubai has really gone too far!"

After another long wait, footsteps were heard coming towards them. From the sound of the steps, it seemed that the person had no internal energy at all. With a cough, a person emerged from behind the screen. Linghu Chong took a peek and saw that this person was around thirty years old and was wearing a red jujube satin gown. He appeared tall and strong, and his face was full of beard. In appearance, he really looked like a healthy and powerful martial artist.