DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 2 of 5 (Shrouding Screen In Suzhou) by Jin Yong

Giving Pointers To Gathered Heroes At The Water Pavilion Part 5

Mr. Bao said, "Yao Bodang, are you going to roll the f*** out or not?" Yao Bodang laughed bitterly. "Mr. Bao, you have saved my life today. The only reason I am alive is because of your kindness. If you have any orders for me, I will carry them out. I bid you farewell." As he spoke, he bowed politely, then waved with his left hand. "Everyone, let's go!"

Mr. Bao said, "I told you to roll the f*** out, not walk out!" Yao Bodang was stunned. "I don't understand what you mean." Mr. Bao said, "Rolling means you roll. Are you going to roll or not?" Yao Bodang thought to himself that this person was extremely strange, clearly insane and unwilling to listen to reason. Paying no more attention to him, he hurriedly walked towards the main doorway.

Mr. Bao shouted, "Tis not so, tis not so! This is striding, this is jogging, this is walking, this is running. No matter how you spin it, it isn't rolling!" With a flicker of his shadow, he appeared behind Yao Bodang. His left hand flashed out, seizing Yao Bodang by the back of his neck. Yao Bodang tried to defend with his right elbow, but Mr. Bao lifted him up with his left hand, raising him above the floor. Thus, Yao Bodang's right elbow missed him.

Next, Mr. Bao stretched out his right hand, grabbing Yao Bodang by the buttocks. He loudly shouted, "This is the home of my sister, Ah Zhu! It's not the type of place where you can come and go as you please! Roll your motherf*** in' f** out!" His hands loosened, rolling Yao Bodang's huge form out of the building with a throwing motion.

Yao Bodang's acupoints had been sealed by him, rendering Yao Bodang unable to stand up. All he could do was helplessly roll on the floor like a giant log until his body exited the building. Fortunately, the doorway was very wide and his head did not collide with anything. The bandits of the Qin family let out a cry of alarm, and rushed out afterwards in unison, stopping his roll. Yao Bodang said, "Quick, let's go, let's go!" All of them ran away as though a swarm of bees were after them.

Mr. Bao looked at Duan Yu up and down, but wasn't able to figure out what sort of fellow he was. He asked Wang Yuyan, "What type of person is he? Should I roll him out too?"

Wang Yuyan said, "Ah Zhu, Ah Bi, and I were seized by Granny Yan and were in an extremely dangerous situation. It was our great fortune that young gentleman Duan rescued us. In addition, he knows the circumstances of how elder Xuanbei was killed by someone using a blow from the 'Veda Sceptre' technique. We can ask him about it." Mr. Bao said, "So what you're saying is that you'd like for him to stay?" Wang Yuyan said, "Correct." Mr. Bao grinned. "You aren't afraid that brother Murong will drink vinegar?" [Drinking vinegar means getting jealous] Wang Yuyan's eyes widened. "What do you mean, drink vinegar?" Mr. Bao pointed towards Duan Yu. "This fellow is glib and sly. Don't fall for his tricks!" Wang Yuyan still didn't understand. "What tricks did I fall for? Are you saying he'll make up false stories about Shaolin? I don't think that's the case."

Seeing how innocent and naïve she was, Mr. Bao felt it was inappropriate to say anything else. He let out three cold snickers towards Duan Yu, then said, "I heard that monk Xuanbei was killed in Dali by someone using a blow from the 'Veda Sceptre' technique, and that a bunch of stupid a******s are claiming someone from our Murong family did this. What exactly is going on? Tell me the truth." Duan Yu felt very unhappy. He coldly replied, "What do you think you're doing, interrogating a prisoner? If I don't tell you, what will you do, beat me up?" Mr. Bao was startled, but instead of being angry, he laughed while mumbling repeatedly, "Bold youngster, bold youngster!" He suddenly walked forwards, then seized Duan Yu by his upper arm. He need to only use the slightest bit of force for Duan Yu to feel pain deep within his bones. Duan Yu loudly cried out, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Mr. Bao replied, "I am interrogating a prisoner and cruelly beating him!" Duan Yu let him do what he want, pretending as though the arm no longer belonged to him. Smiling, Duan Yu said, "Go ahead and beat me up. I won't pay attention to you." Mr. Bao added more force to his grip, causing Duan Yu's bones to groan in protest, as though they were about to snap. Duan Yu expended enormous effort to resist the pain, continuing to ignore him.

Ah Bi hurriedly said, "Third brother, this young gentleman is extremely stubborn and has an extremely haughty temper when roused. He is our savior and benefactor. Don't hurt him." Mr. Bao nodded. "Wonderful, wonderful. Stubborn and has a haughty temper, eh? That's a very appealing trait to me, Mr. 'Tis not so, tis not so!'" As he spoke, he slowly released Duan Yu's arm.

Ah Zhu laughed. "Speaking of appealing, everyone must be hungry. Old Gu! Old Gu!" Raising her voice, she shouted. Old Gu stuck his head in from a side door. Seeing that Yao Bodang, Sima Lin, and the others had left, he was overjoyed and happily skipped inside. Ah Zhu said, "First, go brush your teeth twice, wash your face twice, then wash your hands three times. Lastly, prepare a few exquisite dishes for us. If they're even slightly dirty, Mr. Bao will make things rough for you!" Old Gu grinned. "I guarantee they'll be clean. I guarantee it!"

The servants of the 'Waterside Pavilion of Fragrant Sounds' prepared a banquet for them within a flowery pavilion. Ah Zhu arranged for Mr. Bao to take the head seat, with Duan Yu seated next to him and Wang Yuyan taking the third seat. Ah Zhu and Ah Bi took the seats on the right hand side, accompanying them. Not waiting for the tea to be served, Wang Yuyan said, "Third brother, he...he..."

Mr. Bao tossed a glance at Duan Yu, then said, "Miss Wang, there's an outsider seated here. There are some things we cannot talk about. Moreover, the fellow here is a sly, glib, pretty-faced playboy. I don't trust him at all..."

Duan Yu's temper rose as he listened. He suddenly rose to his feet, intending to immediately leave.

Ah Bi hurriedly said, "Young gentleman Duan, don't be angry. Mr. Bao always has had this sort of attitude. His formal name is Bao Butong [Butong means different, or contrary]. He insists on arguing or offending people for a bit. Only then can he swallow his food. The day he doesn't offend people with his words is the day the sun rises from the west. Please sit."

Duan Yu glanced at Wang Yuyan. It seemed to him as though she wanted him to sit as well. Although he couldn't be certain of it, in the end, he wasn't willing to give up the chance to enjoy a banquet with her. He once more sat down, then said, "Mr. Bao says that I am a pretty-faced playboy, and that I thus am very untrustworthy. I imagine, then, that your young master Murong's appearance is similar to that of Mr. Bao's?"

Bao Butong laughed loudly. "Excellent question! Our young master is much more handsome than you, brother Duan..." Wang Yuyan, hearing these words, immediately broke out into a radiant smile which seemed to come from the depths of her heart. Bao Butong continued, "Our young master has a vigorous, heroic spirit to his appearance. Although he is very handsome, it's totally different from your useless pretty-face, brother Duan. Totally different! As for my humble self, I am heroic but not handsome. I have an average degree of heroism and vitality, but an extraordinary amount of ugliness. Thus, I can be described as an ugly hero." Duan Yu and the others all broke out into laughter.

After drinking a cup of wine, Bao Butong said, "The young master sent me to Fujian to handle some business. He wanted me to secretly help Shaolin out in an important matter. As to what that matter is, we'll have to wait until brother Duan leaves before I can tell you. Since we are trying to become friends with the Shaolin sect, there is no way that we would kill one of their monks. In addition, the young master has never been to Dali. Although Gusu's Murong family is very powerful, I'm afraid we haven't yet mastered the ability to strike a person from thousands of miles away using the blows of the 'Veda Sceptre' technique."

Duan Yu nodded. "Brother Bao's words are very reasonable."

Bao Butong shook his head. "Tis not so, tis not so!" Duan Yu was startled. He thought to himself, "I said your words are reasonable. Why would you disagree?" Bao Butong said, "It's not that my words are reasonable. This is just how the truth of the matter is. Brother Duan, when you say that my words are reasonable, you leave open the implication that I am simply good at talking, and things aren't actually the way I say they are. Thus, these words of yours are really incorrect!" Smiling, Duan Yu did not reply, deciding there was no need to argue with him.

Bao Butong said, "Yesterday, I returned to Suzhou. I ran across fourth brother Feng, and the two of us pondered over the situation for a bit. It must be that some son of a turtle has a grudge against Gusu's Murong family and is secretly harming others with the intention of having others making out the bill for these crimes to Gusu's Murong family. To tell you the truth, originally, this wasn't a big deal at all. What can be better than a nice big brawl?" Ah Zhu laughed. "Fourth brother must have been exceedingly happy. He can't ask for anything better than a fight!" Bao Butong shook his head. "Tis not so, tis not so! How can you say that he can't ask for anything better than a fight? He always asks for fights! Wherever he goes, he likes to get into fights!"

Seeing how he rebutted Ah Zhu thusly, only now did Duan Yu believe Ah Bi's earlier words. This person really did take a perverse joy in arguing against others.

Wang Yuyan said, "Did you and fourth brother Feng figure anything out? Who is secretly causing trouble for us?" Bao Butong replied, "Number one, it can't be Shaolin. Number two, it can't be the Beggar's Sect. Their vice-chief, Ma Dayuan, was killed by someone using the 'Throat Locking Technique'. Ma Dayuan became famous because of his skill in the 'Throat Locking Technique'. It's no big deal for someone to kill Ma Dayuan, but for someone to use the 'Throat Locking Technique' to kill him is clearly trouble for Gusu's Murong family. Duan Yu nodded. Bao Butong said, "Brother Duan, you've been repeatedly nodding. You must be secretly saying to yourself that these words of mine are very reasonable."

Duan Yu replied, "Tis not so, tis not so! First, I only nodded once, and was not repeatedly nodding. Secondly, it's not that your words are reasonable; this is simply how the truth of the matter is."

Bao Butong laughed loudly. "This is the technique known as, 'using an opponent's skills, exercising them upon the opponent.' Do you want to place yourself in service to Gusu's Murong family? What's the meaning behind this? Have you taken a fancy to my little sister, Ah Bi?"