DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 1 of 5 (Adventures of The Youth) by Jin Yong

Hiss Of The Tiger, Moan Of The Dragon Part 2

The Four Imperial Guardians Chu, Gu, Fu, and Zhu rushed into the room. Right as Gu Ducheng's left foot crossed over the threshold, he felt a cold wind rush towards the crown of his skull. Before his left foot had touched the floor, his right foot had already leapt backwards. He saw an extremely thin but broad sabre slice downwards in front of his face. The distance between him and the blade was but a few inches. If he had been but a moment slower to dodge, even if he had lucked out and his head wasn't split in twain, his nose would have been sliced off at the very least. Cold sweat trickled down his back. He saw that the hidden figure was a middle aged woman with elegant features. It was 'No Evil Left Undone', Ye Erniang. Her thin sabre was rectangular in shape. In all four directions, the blade was surpassingly sharp. Holding on to the short sabre-handle, she brandished it about, forming a circular halo about her.

Gu Ducheng was extremely startled at first. After calming himself, he let out a loud cry, then with a wave of his broad axe, chopped towards her thin blade. Ye Erniang's thin sabre continually spun around, not daring to directly meet such a heavy weapon as an axe. Gu Ducheng executed the seventy two strokes of his "Chaotic Whirlwind Hatchet" technique, his twin axes chopping upwards and downwards towards her. Ye Erniang was possessed of a weird temperament, and alternated between gently cooing towards Gu Ducheng and speaking boldly towards him. Zhu Dancheng, seeing how leisurely she fought and how strange her sabre techniques were, conjectured that if the battle went on for too long, Gu Ducheng wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Immediately, he struck out with his twin judge's pens in a pincer attack towards her.

At this time, Ba Tianshi and Yun Zhonghe were still happily running around in circles. Their qinggong abilities were on par, and it would take a long time before victory or defeat could be determined. At this time, what they were really competing in was the relative superiority of their internal energy. After having ran over a hundred circles, Ba Tianshi knew that although Yun Zhonghe's skill in his lower legs was abundant and graceful, he was unable to center himself perfectly. In this respect, Yun Zhonghe was inferior to his own movements, with its elegant and perfectly executed leaps and bounds which had no left-over energy. All he had to do was to come to a sudden halt and strike with three palms, and Yun Zhonghe surely would not be able to take it. But Ba Tianshi was determined to defeat Yun Zhonghe solely through superior qinggong, and not through superior fighting ability. Thus, he continued to run with all his might.

Suddenly, a coarse voice let fly a stream of curses. "Goddamnit, you guys are kicking up such a racket that your old man here can't even sleep. What type of rabbit whelp has come?" The Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas suddenly appeared, Crocodile Maw Scissors in hand, as he leapt closer and closer.

Fu Sigui called out, "Your master's father has come!" The Divine Crocodile yelled back, "What are you talking about, 'my master's father'?" Fu Sigui pointed towards Duan Zhengchun. "The South-Subduing Prince is the father of young lord Duan. Young lord Duan is your master. Are you trying to deny it?" Although the Divine Crocodile had done many vile things, he had one good quality. He never reneged on anything he said or agreed to. Upon hearing these words, he was so angry that his face turned bright yellow, but couldn't deny them. He angrily replied, "What ****ing business is it of yours, you son of a turtle, with regards to what goes on between me and my master?" Fu Sigui laughed. "I'm not your son. Why are you calling me the son of a turtle?"

The Divine Crocodile was confused. Only after a long moment had passed did he realize that the other person had insulted him and called him a turtle in a roundabout way. After coming to this realization, with a series of loud 'wa' cries, he repeatedly opened then chomped closed the two sides of his Crocodile Maw Scissors, then attacked Fu Sigui. He was a dim-witted person, but truly capable in martial arts. The Crocodile Maw Scissors were filled with a forest of white 'teeth', similar to the sharp needles on top of a wolf's fang cudgel. Fu Sigui received three of his attacks using his copper truncheon, and already felt his two arms turn sore. Chu Wanli waved his long pole, flourishing the soft steel-wire whip attached to the top of the pole and attacking the face of the Divine Crocodile. The Divine Crocodile drew his Crocodile's Tail Whip and blocked the attack.

Watching the battle scene, Emperor Baoding felt that none of his people were in any real danger. He said to Gao Shengtai, "Stay here and watch over things."

Gao Shengtai replied, "Yes sir!" He stepped aside.

Emperor Baoding entered the room and called out, "Yu'er! Are you here?" But no one responded. He opened the door to a side-room and called out again. "Yu'er! Yu'er!" Only to see a fifteen or sixteen year old girl come out from behind the door and ask, "You...who are you?" Emperor Baoding replied, "Where is Duan Yu?" The girl replied, "Why are you looking for him?" Emperor Baoding replied, "I'm going to rescue him."

The girl shook her head. "You won't be able to rescue him. He's been locked inside a stone house, and sealed in with a large boulder. Someone is guarding him too." Emperor Baoding replied, "Take me to him. I'll knock down the guard and push aside the boulder. Then I'll rescue him." The girl shook her head again. "I can't! If I took you there, my daddy will kill me." Emperor Baoding asked, "Who is your father?" The girl replied, "My surname is Zhong. My daddy is the master of this gorge." The girl was Zhong Ling, who had escaped from Mt. Wuliang.

Emperor Baoding nodded. He thought that for such a little girl, using words to threaten her or martial arts to force her to reveal the secret would be degrading to his stature and position. Since Duan Yu was definitely in the gorge, it wouldn't be too hard to locate him. He immediately exited the room, intending to find someone else to take him to Duan Yu.

Inside the stone room, upon hearing that the freak in green was actually the most vile man in the world, he who was known as 'Evil Beyond Human Capacity', Duan Yu and Mu Wanqing were terrified. In their shared fright, they rushed over and embraced each other. Duan Yu said in a low voice, "So we fell into the hands of 'Evil Beyond Human Capacity', the most evil man in the entire world. This is really, really bad." With a 'wu' sound, Mu Wanqing rested her head against his chest. Duan Yu gently stroked her hair. He consoled her, "Don't be afraid."

Both of their clothes were moist with sweat, as though they had just climbed out of a pool of water. Their bodies were burning hot, as though filled with steam. Smelling each other's breath, they were even more attracted towards each other. One was a healthy and vigorous male youth; the other was a young woman filled with deep love. Even if they hadn't been excited by the aphrodisiac, it would be difficult for them to control themselves. Much less now, having eaten the 'Yin and Yang Conjoining Powder', which had an abnormally powerful effect and possessed a despotic might. It was enough to turn an honorable scholar into a lewd lowlife, a chaste woman into a prostitute. It bewildered minds, turning even virtuous sages into beasts. At this moment, everything depended on one thing remaining bright in Duan Yu's mind; the pure and honorable reputation of the Duan dynasty. Only this allowed him to restrain himself.

The man in green was extremely pleased. His strange voice laughed. "You two, brother and sister! Hurry up and become husband and wife. The sooner you two have a baby, the sooner you will escape your imprisonment. I'm leaving!" After speaking, he leapt over the tree wall.

Duan Yu yelled loudly, "Yue Number Three! Yue Number Three! Your master is in trouble! Hurry up and help out!" He called out for a long time, but how could there be any response?

Duan Yu thought to himself, "We're in such a critical state. I can't even accept him as my master now, even if I wanted to. If I had made a wrong choice and accepted an evil man as my master, that would only be my personal business. I wouldn't have implicated my uncle and my father in this." Following this train of thought, he loudly shouted, "Divine Crocodile of the Southern Seas! I'm willing to accept you as my master now! I'm willing to be the heir of the Southern Seas sect! Quick, come and rescue your apprentice! If I die, you won't have a student anymore!"

He wildly shouted and cried out for a time, but never heard the Divine Crocodile's voice. He suddenly thought to himself, "Oh no! Not good! The one person whom the Divine Crocodile fears the most is his superior, the most evil person in the world, 'Evil Beyond Human Capacity'. Even if he heard me shouting, he wouldn't dare to come rescue us." His heart was filled with pure bitterness.

Mu Wanqing softly said, "My darling Duan, after we become husband and wife, do you want for our first baby to be a boy or a girl?" Duan Yu replied, in a dazed voice, "A boy!"

Suddenly, the sound of a female voice drifted in from outside the stone house. "Mr. Duan, you're her big brother! You definitely can't marry her!" Duan Yu was startled. "You...are you Miss Zhong?" That girl was indeed Zhong Ling. "Yes, it's me! I eavesdropped on what that evil man in green said. I'll definitely find a way to rescue you and Miss Mu!" Duan Yu was ecstatic. "That's great! Quick, find and steal the antidote to the poison for me!" Mu Wanqing angrily shouted, "Zhong Ling! You little devil, scram! Who wants you to save us?" Zhong Ling said, "It'd be best if I first thought of some way to push this boulder away and rescued you two." Duan Yu replied, "No, no! You go find the antidote. I...I can't hold on much longer. I'm...I'm about to die." Frightened, Zhong Ling cried, "What's wrong? What do you mean, you can't hold on much longer? Does your tummy hurt?" Duan Yu replied, "It isn't my stomach that hurts." Zhong Ling asked again, "Is it your head that hurts?" Duan Yu replied, "That isn't it either." Zhong Ling asked, "So where exactly do you feel uncomfortable?!"

Duan Yu was filled with uncontrollable lust. How could he possibly explain this to the little girl? He only replied, "My entire body is uncomfortable. Just think of a way to steal the antidote for me." Zhong Ling wrinkled her forehead. "If you can't tell me the symptoms, I won't be able to find the antidote for you. My father has lots of antidotes, but I need to know if it is your stomach that hurts, your head that hurts, or your heart that hurts." Duan Yu let out a sigh. "I'm not hurting, precisely. I just...I was poisoned by something called the 'Yin and Yang Conjoining' powder." Zhong Ling clapped her hands. "Since you know the name of the poison, it'll be no problem at all. Big brother Duan, I'll go and get the antidote from my daddy right now!"

She hurriedly climbed over the tree wall, intending to go find her parents and convince them into giving her the antidote for the 'Yin and Yang Conjoining' powder. The 'Yin and Yang Conjoining' powder actually belonged to the man in the green, but as soon as Zhong Wanchou heard the name of it, he knew what type of thing it had to be. His horse-like face stretching in disapproval, he said, "Little girl, why are you asking about such inappropriate things? If you keep on talking such rubbish, I'll grab you by the ear and give you a spanking." Zhong Ling hurriedly replied, "I'm not talking rubbish."

Just then, Emperor Baoding and the rest of the party had entered the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge. Zhong Wanchou had hurriedly rushed out to confront the enemies, leaving Zhong Ling by herself in the room. She heard the sounds of a ferocious fight brewing outside, with weapons clashing, but ignored them. She focused her energies on rummaging through her father's secret medicine cabinet. Zhong Wanchou had over a hundred medicine bottles with the names of the medicine written on them, but none of them were the antidote for the 'Yin and Yang Conjoining' powder. She had no idea what to do. Suddenly, she heard someone entering the house. Exiting the room to see who it was, she had run into Emperor Baoding.

Emperor Baoding looked for someone to lead him to Duan Yu, but couldn't find anyone at all. Suddenly, he heard someone running towards him from behind. Turning his head, he saw Zhong Ling rushing towards him. He immediately stopped and waited for her. Zhong Ling ran towards him and said, "I couldn't find the antidote! I guess it'll be best to take you there. I wonder if you can push the boulder aside." Emperor Baoding was baffled. "Antidote? Boulder?" Zhong Ling said, "Just follow me. As soon as you see everything, you'll understand."

Although the pathways within the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge were complex and winding, with Zhong Ling leading the way, Emperor Baoding arrived at the tree wall in a matter of moments. Emperor Baoding grasped Zhong Ling's arm. His body did not jump or flex, but suddenly levitated into the sky, smoothly and steadily flying past the tree wall. Zhong Ling clapped her hands excitedly. "Wonderful, wonderful! You fly so wonderfully! Wait! Oh no!"

Someone was in front of the stone house. It was the man in green!