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

Luan And Feng Exchange Nests Part 4

Cui Baiquan continued, "These two kept on talking incessantly, babbling about turtle sisters, brothers-in-law, older sisters, yadda yadda. I got impatient and yelled, 'Goddamnit, both of you bastards, roll the hell out!' But both of them acted as though they were deaf and hadn't heard my words at all. They simply continued to stare intently at that book. The woman said in a soft voice, 'There are nine steps that need to be taken from here to the elder sister's house. They can't be taken.' I yelled again, 'Take them, take them, take them! Take as many steps as you need to your grandmother's house! I'll send you to meet all eighteen generations of your ancestors!' Just as I was about to enter the room, that man suddenly clapped his hands and laughed. 'Brilliant, brilliant! The grandmother is the 'kun'. Eighteen generations of ancestors...hey, two times nine is eighteen! They should revolve around the 'kun' position. We've thought through this part of the footwork!' He reached out and grabbed an abacus on the table. I don't know what he did, but suddenly three abacus beads flew out towards me. I only felt some pain in my chest, then found my body to be paralyzed and unable to move any more."

"These two still ignored me, and continued to talking about their little brothers and their little swine. My heart was filled with unspeakable fear. My bandit nickname was the 'Golden Abacus', because I always carry with me an abacus forged from gold. Hidden within was a secret spring mechanism which would shoot out seventy seven abacus beads when the mechanism was activated. But the abacus on the table was an ordinary one made from mahogany. The bamboo cross-pieces of the abacus had been broken into countless pieces; clearly, he had used his internal energy to shatter the bamboo cross-pieces, then used his internal energy to agitate the beads and shoot them out. This display of martial arts prowess really was goddamn incredible."

"The more the man and the woman spoke, the happier their voices became. I, on the other hand, grew steadily more afraid. I committed over thirty bloody murders in this house, and now I was stuck here, unable to move, unable to speak. It would be alright if I had to pay with my own life for my murders. But if I were found here, I would be implicating brother Ke as well. The four hours that I spent there were more agonizing than that of ten or twenty years of torture. It wasn't until the chickens began to crow that the man laughed and said, 'Wife, it looks like we won't be able to figure out the next few steps tonight. Let's go!' The woman said, 'This 'Golden Abacus', Master Cui, helped you to come up with such a miraculous solution. We should give him some sort of reward!' I was startled once more. So they had known my identity all along. The man said, 'Since this is the case, let's let him live a few more years. We'll take his life the next time we meet him! He dared to insult you and insult me. We can't just pretend that didn't happen.' As he spoke, he picked up his book, then sent out a palm and lightly tapped me on the back, unsealing my acupoints. Following this, the two of them flew out of the window. I lowered my head and saw that three holes had appeared in the chest of my clothes. Three abacus beads were neatly and perfectly nailed into my chest. Even if one had used a ruler and other tools, it would be extremely difficult to place them so accurately. Look, look, look. Everyone, take a look at my predicament for yourself." And as he spoke, he removed his upper body garments.

As everyone looked at him, they couldn't help but laugh. Two of the abacus beads were planted precisely on top of his nipples, with the other one in between them. Can it be that he wasn't able to think of a way to remove them, despite all these years having passed? Cui Baiquan shook his head, rebuttoning his clothes. "For these three beads to be placed on my body is really a heavy punishment. At first, I wanted to dig them out with a knife. But as soon as I used the slightest bit of force, I agitated my own meridians and passed out. It took four hours before I was able to wake up. How about using sandpaper or a filing knife to slowly destroy it? It was still so agonizing that I screamed like a goddamn pig. This punishment has followed my spirit and never left my body. Whenever it is about to rain, these three points of my chest are filled with so much unbearable ****ing pain. It's more accurate than tortoise shell divinations!" Everyone present was both astonished and amused.

Cui Baiquan let out a sigh. "This man said that the next time he saw me, he would take my life. I can't let him take my life, but if I ever met him again, I can't prevent him from taking it either. The only thing I could do was to make sure he would never see me again. I had no other choice but to escape far away. I ended up arriving at the South-Subduing Palace. There were many experts here, including Prince Duan, Gao Shengtai, Chu Wanli, and the other bodyguards. Surely, they wouldn't stand by and do nothing and simply watch as my life was taken away. When these three beads on my chest began to hurt, I had no choice but to drown the pain in alcohol for a while. Any lofty aspirations, grand ideals, or dreams of becoming a famous man of my time had become totally out of ****ing reach, more distant than the ninth level of the heavens."

Everyone thought to themselves, "This person's situation is largely the same as that of the Yellow Browed Monk. The only difference is that one left the secular world and became a monk, whereas the other hid his identity and lived incognito." Duan Yu asked, "Mr. Huo, how do you know that those two belonged to Gusu's Murong lineage?" He was used to calling this person 'Mr. Huo', and wasn't able to instantly change his mode of address.

Cui Baiquan scratched his head and said, "That was the hypothesis of my martial brother. After being hit by these three abacus beads, I went to discuss the situation with him. He told me that in the wulin, only Gusu's Murong family would 'Use the opponent's skills, exercising them upon the opponent.' I use abacus beads to attack others, and so he used abacus beads to attack me. Gusu's Murong family isn't a flourishing one. ****! It's a good thing there's not a lot of them in the world. If they had thousands of sons and hundreds of grandsons, there would be no others left in the jianghu. Only their family would be left."

These words were extremely disrespectful to Dali's Duan family, but no one cared. He continued, "The only famous person from their family is Murong Bo. Forty three years ago, the kid who used the Vajra Finger to harm this respected monk was aged fifteen or sixteen. Eighteen years ago, the man who drilled these three beads into my chest was in his forties. It seems likely that they both were the same person, Murong Bo. I never would have imagined that my martial brother would lose his life to him as well. Yanzhi, how did your master offend him?"

Guo Yanzhi replied, "These past few years, my master had been focused on his business. He would often say, 'harmony brings prosperity'. He never quarreled with anybody. There's no way that he could've offended Gusu's Murong family. We're located in Nanyang; they're located in Suzhou. There's a huge distance between us."

Cui Baiquan said, "Most likely, Murong Bo wasn't able to find me, shrinking, cowardly turtle that I am, and went to ask your master for my location. Your master was a loyal, filial man. He would rather die than reveal my location, and lost his life under Murong Bo's hands. Brother Ke! I harmed you!" As he spoke, tears began to fall from his eyes and he had a runny nose. Sobbing, he said, "Murong Bo...Bo, Bo, Bo! I'll rip your skin off [Bo is a homonym for another Chinese character, meaning to skin]!" After crying for a bit, he turned to Duan Zhengchun and said, "Prince Duan, all I have to say, I have. Thank you for taking care of me over the past few years and not exposing my identity. I feel extremely grateful towards you, but it will be difficult for me to repay you. I am heading to Gusu right now!" Astonished, Duan Zhengchun said, "You are going to Gusu?"

Cui Baiquan said, "Right! My martial brother and I are as close as blood brothers. How can I not avenge his murder? Yanzhi, let's go!" As he spoke, he clasped his hands towards every person, then turned around and left. Guo Yanzhi also paid his respects to everyone present, then followed him out.

This turn of events was completely out of everyone's expectations. They saw how terrified Cui Baiquan was of Gusu's Murong family. But when he spoke of going to avenge his martial brother, despite the fact that he knew he was going to his death, he didn't show an iota of fear. Everyone secretly felt respect for him within their hearts. Duan Zhengchun called out, "Gentlemen, please wait. Brother Guo has travelled such a long distance to get here. Please take a night's rest at my humble abode first, then leave on the morrow." Cui Baiquan halted, turned around, and said, "Yes! We'll follow your orders, prince, and trouble you for one last meal. Yanzhi, let's go drinking!" He led Guo Yanzhi away.

Emperor Baoding said to Duan Zhengchun, "Brother Chun, tomorrow, go with Ministers Hua, Fan, and Ba to the Shenjie monastery of Luliang prefecture. Hold a memorial service on my behalf for master Xuanbei." Duan Zhengchun agreed. Huizhen and Huiguan kowtowed, showing their thanks. Emperor Baoding said to Duan Zhengchun, "After paying your respects to Abbot Wuye, wait at the Shenjie monastery for the arrival of the other master monks of Shaolin, then give them my return letter for Abbot Xuanci." He said to Ba Tianshi, "Prepare a pair of letters. One will go to Abbot Xuanci, the other will go to Abbot Wuye. Also prepare gifts for both of them." Ba Tianshi bowed and acknowledged the order. Emperor Baoding continued, "Escort these two eminment monks to their rooms so that they can have some rest." After Ba Tianshi escorted Huizhen and Huiguan out, Emperor Baoding said, "Dali's Duan family came from the wulin of the central plains. We have never dared to forget our origins, despite the passage of centuries. When friends from the wulin of the central plains come here, we always happily welcome them with lavish ceremony. But our ancestors laid down an extremely strict rule. The scions of the Duan family are completely forbidden from getting involved in the enmities of the jianghu of the central plains. Although we will not and cannot ignore the death of master Xuanbei, we will leave the question of getting revenge up to Shaolin. We cannot interfere." Duan Zhengchun said, "Yes, your brother understands."

The Yellow Browed Monk said, "It really is very difficult to decide what our proper course of action here is. We must assist Shaolin, but we cannot get involved in any revenge killings. Although Gusu's Murong family does not have many people, as a famous, aristocratic wulin family, they certainly have a huge number of friends and affiliates. For Shaolin to be open enemies of Gusu's Murong family would be an shocking, earth-shattering event of wulin. Blood will spray like rain, and the wind will reek of flesh. Who knows how many people will perish. For the past few years, the country of Dali has been peaceful and prosperous. If we get too deeply involved in this spat, I'm afraid that in future years, there will be many people who come to Dali for the purpose of settling scores."

Emperor Baoding said, "Master, your words are most correct. Our only option is to act totally in accordance with the righteous path, while also showing as much forebearance as we can. Brother Chun, you must always remember these four words: 'Maintain righteousness, exercise forebearance.'" Duan Zhengchun cupped his hands in acknowledgement of the lesson.

The Yellow Browed Monk said, "My two worthy brothers, I must depart now. I need to take a stroll at the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge." Everyone was astonished. Emperor Baoding said, "Martial brother, what business do you have at the Ten Thousand Calmities Gorge? Who do you want to take with you?" The Yellow Browed Monk laughed. "I won't even take my two disciples. My two worthy brothers, why don't you try to guess why I am going there?" Seeing a cheerful smile on his face, Emperor Baoding and Duan Zhengchun felt that it probably wasn't some dangerous affair. And yet, they still weren't able to guess what it might be. The Yellow Browed Monk smiled towards Duan Yu. "Worthy nephew, I'll wager you can guess what it is."

Duan Yu was startled. "Why is it that I can guess what it is, despite my uncle and father being unable to?" But suddenly, the answer came to him. Laughing, he said, "Master, you are going to investigate that game of chess!" The Yellow Browed Monk laughed loudly. "Precisely. I have no idea as to how, precisely, I defeated Crown Prince Yanqing in that game of chess. Why did he kill one of his own eyes?" Duan Yu shook his head. "I don't know either." The Yellow Browed Monk said, "Can it be that there was some oddity within the stone house, or on the blue stone? This humble monk must go take a second look!"

For students of chess, after each game, regardless of victory or defeat, they would go and ponder and deliberate the moves of that match. They would consider where they made weak moves or unwise moves, or where they attacked to aggressively or moved too sluggishly. They wouldn't feel comfortable until after they had totally understood the intricacies of the game. Not to mention, the Yellow Browed Monk won this game of chess in an extremely strange manner. If he couldn't discover the secret to this game of chess, it would most likely vex him for the rest of his life.

Emperor Baoding immediately returned to his own palace. The Yellow Browed Monk instructed his two disciples to return to the Flower Gathering Monastery, then went by himself to the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge. He reassembled the blue stone chessboard which was shattered by Crown Prince Yanqing, then began pondering each move step by step.

After escorting Emperor Baoding and the Yellow Browed Monk out of the palace, Duan Zhengchun returned to his own room, intending to discuss the day's events with his wife. Unfortunately, Dao Baifeng, still angry with him over the discovery that he had another illegitimate daughter, in the form of Zhong Ling, had locked the door and wouldn't let him in. Duan Zhengchun begged her from outside to open up for a long time. She replied, "If you don't leave immediately, I'm going back to the Hollow Jade Monastery!"

Helpless, Duan Zhengchun could only return to the study room, sitting down gloomily. He suddenly thought of Zhong Ling, and wondered if Zhong Wanchou and the Divine Crocodile could rescue her. Chu Wanli and the others had left to investigate, but hadn't returned to make a report yet. His mind was uneasy. He stroked the golden box which Gan Baobao had returned to him. Staring at her slender, fine handwriting, his mind returned to a time seventeen years past, where the two of them had shared joy and happiness so overwhelming, it had penetrated to their marrows. Then he thought of how she had painfully waited for him for so long, before she finally was forced to marry Zhong Wanchou. He couldn't help but feel a deep ache within his heart. "At that time, she was only a seventeen year old girl. Her parents had always treated her unkindly. She was carrying my child within her, out of wedlock. What else could she do?"

The more he thought, the more miserable he felt. Suddenly, he remembered the words which Dao Baifeng had earlier said to Minister Hua. "This tunnel passes by Madame Zhong's bedroom. If you don't collapse it, I'm afraid that one of the gentlemen currently present will henceforth go tunnel his way there every night from now on." He immediately ordered one of his servants to secretly summon two of Minister Hua's most able family warriors, admonishing him to keep everything secret.

Within his own study room, Duan Yu's mind was fully occupied with running through all the strange events which had recently transpired. First, his wedding engagement with Mu Wanqing, then his discovery that she was his sister. Even more bizarre, Zhong Ling was also his sister. Zhong Ling had been kidnapped by Yun Zhonghe, and whether or not she had escaped his clutches was as of yet unknown. His heart was filled with worry. Then, he thought of Murong Bo and his wife studying the art of the 'Graceful Steps Upon the Waves'. He wondered what sort of connection they might have with his Dear Goddess from the cave. Could it be that they were disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect [literally, 'Carefree' Sect]? Are they the people whom the Dear Goddess has ordered me to kill? They have attained such an incredibly high level of martial arts. For someone to expect me to try and kill them will be a joke of colossal proportions.

His mind wandered to his imprisonment within the stone house. Thank goodness he hadn't committed any incestuous acts. It really was a stroke of luck. In addition, he had become much more familiar with the footwork of the 'Graceful Steps Upon the Waves' as well. However, he had been slacking with regards to doing the homework which the Dear Goddess had assigned him. He immediately reached within his bosom, intending to pull the manuscript out. As soon as his fingers brushed its surface, he realized that something was wrong. He quickly extracted the manuscript, then let out a series of cries, "Aiyo! Aiyo!" The scroll had long since been torn into many scattered pieces. Upon unwrapping it, he found that all the pieces were jumbled together. How could this be readable at all? Of the scattered pieces of parchment, perhaps only thirty percent of the original remained. The damage done to the actual diagrams and instructions was even more severe. Duan Yu's entire body trembled, as though he had been thrown into a room built of ice. He thought to himself, "How...how could this have happened."