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

A Foreign Man's Vengeance Causes A Hero To Empty His Tears Part 5

At this moment, he again felt that Zhi Qing's body was very light, which was out of proportion to his tall and big stature. He thought: 'It's not proper for me to remove your clothes, but don't tell me that I can't take off your footwear?' He then stretched out his hand and pulled the Buddhist shoe off his right foot. When he pinched his sole, he only felt that his hand was touching something solid. Obviously it was not human flesh. He slightly pulled it with force. Following his hand, an object fell away, which turned out to be a wooden false foot. Only when he touched Zhi Qing's foot once more was it a soft delicate sole. Qiao Feng uttered a 'humph' sound and murmured: 'This person's really a female.'

He immediately used his lightness skill and went faster and faster. Running quickly until dawn, estimating that he was already more than 50 li's (0.5 km) away from Shaolin Monastery, he carried Zhi Qing into a grove on the right-hand side. Seeing a clear brook, which ran through the grove, he went to the side of it, scooped up some clear water and splashed it on Zhi Qing's face. Then he used the sleeve of her Buddhist robe to give her face a few wipes. All of a sudden, the flesh on her face fell down piece after piece. Qiao Feng was frightened and jumped to his feet: 'Why is her skin rotten like this?' Looking carefully with his doubtful eyes, he saw that under the rotten flesh on her face the smooth translucent skin was exposed.

Being carried in Qiao Feng's arms while he had been running, Zhi Qing had always been in a daze. At this moment, after her face had been wet by clear water, she opened her eyes, looked at Qiao Feng, forced a smile and softly said: 'Chief Qiao!' But because she was too weak, after uttering these words, she closed her eyes again.

Seeing that her face had different colors and was uneven, making it unable for him to see her real face clearly, Qiao Feng soaked the sleeve of her Buddhist robe in the brook until it was drenching then used force to swab her face several times with it. The gray dust continuously fell down under his hand, exposing the dainty face of a young girl. Qiao Feng could not refrain from shouting out: 'It's Ms A'Zhu!'

The person who had disguised as Zhi Qing and blended in with the monks at the Bodhi Institute was no one other than Murong Fu's maid A'Zhu. Her disguising and making-up skills were really unmatched. She had walked on wooden feet to make her body look taller, used cotton to make her shoulders look higher and her abdomen curve outwards, used flour to make her cheeks look puffy, worn a Buddhist hat, and put on a Buddhist robe. Even the people who met Zhi Qing daily such as Zhi Zhan and Zhi Yuan had not been able to discover that she had been the fake one.

When feeling confused and not being able to think clearly, she heard Qiao Feng call her 'Ms A'Zhu'. She wanted to reply and explain why she had sneaked in Shaolin Monastery, but she had no strength at all. Her tongue did not obey her orders either, therefore she could not even reply with a 'yes' sound.

Qiao Feng at first had firmly believed that Zhi Qing had been treacherous and vicious, and that the deaths of his father and mother must have had an enormous connection with him, hence he had not hesitated to spend his internal energy to save his life, wanting to investigate him and bring to light all the true facts. He had resolved that if Zhi Qing had not said, he would use all kinds of cruel unendurable tortures to force him to say the truth. Who could have expected that this person's true identity was the young girl A'Zhu, who was dainty, clever, lovely and delightful? Really, no one could have expected this, even in a dream. Even though Qiao Feng had met A'Zhu and A'Bi a few times, and had saved the 2 of them from the hands of Western Xia warriors, he did not know that A'Zhu was very proficient at making-up. If Duan Yu had switched with Qiao Feng, he would have already guessed correctly.

At this moment Qiao Feng already knew clearly that she was not poisoned, but was injured by palm force. After considering a little, he already knew the reason. Before Abbot Xuan Ci had sent out an Air Splitting Palm attack, he had used the copper mirror to cover his back. Even though the attack had not hit A'Zhu, because he had been carrying her in his left hand, the extremely swift and fierce palm force had transferred to her body as a result. After understanding this matter, he could not help feeling sorry inwardly: 'If I hadn't meddled in other people's affairs, letting her come and go as her pleased, she would've already escaped and definitely wouldn't have met with this disaster.' He had a very high opinion of Murong Fu, and as they said, if a person liked someone they would like even his house and the crow on the roof of his house (the English equivalent of this proverb is 'Love me, love my dog', but 'dog' gives a negative connotation in a Chinese context, so I don't use it here), therefore it was unavoidable that Qiao Feng also respected Murong Fu's maid. He thought: 'She suffered this serious injury all because of me. My sense of honor doesn't allow me not to cure her. I must go to a town and ask a doctor to treat her.' He then said: 'Ms A'Zhu, I'm gonna carry you to a town to treat your injury.' A'Zhu said: 'There's vulnerary in my bosom.' As she finished saying she moved her right hand, but did not have any strength to reach into her bosom.

Qiao Feng stretched out his hand and took out all the things in her bosom. Besides some pieces of silver, he saw a gold lock which was very finely crafted. On the lock, two lines of small characters were engraved: 'Stars in the sky, which are twinkling, will glitter forever, and forever well will you be.' (天上星, 亮晶晶, 永灿烂, 长安宁 – There's a hidden message in this poem, I'll explain in a later chapter) In addition, there was a small case made of white jade, which had been given to her by Grandpa Tan in the apricot forest. Qiao Feng felt happy as he knew this vulnerary was highly effective. He said: 'Saving your life is important, please forgive me.' Holding out his hands, he unfastened her gown then repeatedly applied all the Cold Jade Icy Toad Ointment in the case onto her chest. A'Zhu could not refrain from getting embarrassed. She felt a sharp pain in the injury again and passed out immediately.

Qiao Feng fastened her gown and put the white jade case and the gold lock back into her bosom, but he took the silver pieces. He then stretched out his hand to grab her body and walked quickly towards the north.

After going for more than 20 li's (0.5 km) he arrived in a densely populated big town called Xu Jia Ji. Qiao Feng went to the biggest inn and booked 2 rooms. He then helped A'Zhu settle down and invited a doctor to come and examine the condition of her injury.

That doctor felt A'Zhu's pulse then continuously shook his head and said: 'The lady's illness is incurable. This prescription is merely the best I can do. That's all.' Qiao Feng saw that the prescription had some licorice, peppermint, Chinese bellflower, pinellia ternata, all of which were mild medicines which might not necessarily be able to cure even a common stomach ache.

He did not go buy medicines either and thought: 'If even the effective medicine of Grandpa Tan of Chongxiao Cave can't cure her then what's the use of the medicines of a quack in this town?' He then channeled his internal energy and transferred it into her body. In an instant, A'Zhu's face became ruddy. She said: 'Chief Qiao, luckily you saved me. Had I fallen into the hands of those bald thieves, my life would've been threatened.' Hearing she talk with abundant energy, Qiao Feng was very happy and said: 'Ms A'Zhu, I was really worried that you wouldn't be able to get well.' A'Zhu said: 'Don't call me Ms or something. Calling me A'Zhu straight out is okay. Chief Qiao, why did you come to Shaolin Monastery?' Qiao Feng said: 'I'm no longer a chief already. Later on don't call me Chief...' A'Zhu said: 'Oh, I'm sorry. I'm gonna call you great master Qiao.'

Qiao Feng said: 'Let me ask you first. Why did you come to Shaolin Monastery?' A'Zhu laughed and said: 'Oh, speaking of that, please don't laugh at me for playing the goat. I heard that our young master had come to Shaolin Monastery so I wanted to find him and talked to him about Ms Wang. Who would've known that when I just entered the monastery, that monk Zhi Qing, who was on guard at the main entrance, aggressively said that women couldn't enter Shaolin Monastery? I had a quarrel with him. He instead scolded me. But I wanted to come in, besides I also disguised as him, to see what he could do.'

Qiao Feng smiled and said: 'You disguised, made up, and in the end entered Shaolin Monastery. Those monks couldn't discover that you're female at all. It'd have been better if after entering you had let them see your true appearance. They would've exploded in the bellies with anger without being able to do anything to you.' At first he had greatly respected Shaolin Monastery, but he could not help feeling angry because, firstly, Xuan Ku were already dead, and secondly, the monks had wrongly accused him of the 3 most serious crimes under heaven, which were patricide, matricide and killing his master, without asking about the rights and wrongs of him.

A'Zhu sat up, clapped her hands, laughed and said: 'Great master Qiao, that's a good idea. After I get well, I'll disguise as a man to enter the monastery then change to female clothes, swagger to the middle of the Great Mighty Sanctum and sit there, making all the monks so angry that they would roll on the floor. How interesting would that be! Ah...' Suddenly, she could not take even a breath. Her body then loosened and collapsed. She lay motionless on the bed.

Qiao Feng was startled. He put his forefinger next to her nostrils and felt that her breathing seemed to have completely stopped. Feeling anxious, he hastily put his palm on the 'Lingtai acupuncture point' on her back and sent his internal energy into her body. Within the time to finish a cup of tea, A'Zhu slowly turned her body over, laughed apologetically and said: 'A'yo, why did I fall asleep during conversation? Great master Qiao, I'm really sorry.' Qiao Feng knew that her condition was far from good. He said: 'You haven't recovered yet. You'd better sleep for a while to rest.' A'Zhu said: 'I'm not tired, but you've been busy for half a night, so please rest for a while.' Qiao Feng said: 'Okay, I'll see you after a while.'

He went to the parlor to order 5 Jin's of wine and 2 Jin's of beef (1 Jin = 0.6 kg) then ate and drank alone. Because at this moment he felt very sad, it was easy for him to get drunk. After drinking up 5 Jin's of wine, he unexpectedly felt slightly intoxicated. He then took 2 steamed buns to A'Zhu's room for her to eat. After he entered the room, he called several times but did not hear any reply. He went to the bed and saw that her eyes were slightly closed and her cheeks were sunken. It looked like she was already dead. He stretched out his hand and touched her forehead. Fortunately it was still warm. He then hastily used his internal energy to save her. A'Zhu slowly woke up. She received the buns and happily ate them.

This time, Qiao Feng knew that she was now totally depending on his internal energy to stay alive, if he did not transfer internal energy into her body, she would be exhausted within 2 hours and die. He did not know what he should do.

Seeing that he was having a thoughtful and worried look, A'Zhu said: 'Great master Qiao, am I so seriously injured that even the effective medicine of Sir Tan can't cure me?' Qiao Feng hastily said: 'No, no! It's nothing, after several days, you'll get well.' A'Zhu said: 'Please don't deceive me. I myself know it. I only feel empty, not having even the least bit of strength.' Qiao Feng said: 'Set your mind at rest and recover. I'll surely have a way to cure you.' Hearing his tone, A'Zhu knew that her injury was really serious therefore she could not help but get scared and her hand started to tremble. The bun half of which she had eaten then fell on the floor. Qiao Feng only thought that her internal energy had run out again, hence he immediately put his palm on her Lingtai acupuncture point.

At this moment, A'Zhu was still in full possession of all her faculties, she felt a warm stream of internal energy being channeled into her body from his palm and her whole body instantly felt comfortable. After thinking a little, she already understood that actually she had almost died for several times and every time Qiao Feng had used his internal energy to bring her back to life, hence she felt both grateful to him and frightened. Even though she was clever, after all she was still very young. With tears streaming down, she said: 'Great master Qiao, I don't wanna die, please don't ignore and leave me behind in here.'

Finding her words pitiable, Qiao Feng consoled her: 'That's definitely impossible. Don't worry. What kind of man is Qiao Feng? How can I abandon a friend who's in jeopardy?' A'Zhu said: 'I don't deserve to be your friend. Great master Qiao, am I gonna die? After a person die will they become a ghost?' Qiao Feng said: 'You don't need to think too much. You're so young like this, suffering a bit of minor injury, how could you die?' A'Zhu said: 'You're not fobbing me off, are you?' Qiao Feng said: 'No, I'm not.' A'Zhu said: 'You're a well-known hero in wulin. They all say: 'North Qiao Feng, South Murong', you and my young master, one in the north, one in the south, are equally famous. In your life, have you ever failed to keep your words?' Qiao Feng smiled and said: 'When I was little I often lied, but afterward, when traveling in jianghu, I no longer deceived other people.' A'Zhu said: 'You said the condition of my injury wasn't serious. It's deceiving me, isn't it?'

Qiao Feng thought: 'If you know that the condition of your injury is serious, you'll be anxious, making it harder to save you. Because of you I have no choice but to deceive you.' He then said: 'I can't deceive you.' A'Zhu let out a sigh and said: 'Okay, I feel at ease then. Great master Qiao, I have one matter to beg you.' Qiao Feng asked: 'What's the matter?' A'Zhu said: 'Tonight you stay in my room with me, and don't leave me.' She thought if Qiao Feng went away this time, she herself would possibly not be able to endure till dawn. Qiao Feng said: 'Very good. Even if you hadn't said that, I'd still sit here with you. Don't say anymore, just sleep quietly for a while.'

A'Zhu closed her eyes, but after a while, she opened them again and said: 'Great master Qiao, I can't sleep. I beg you one thing, is that okay?' Qiao Feng asked: 'What is it?' A'Zhu said: 'When I was little, every time I couldn't sleep my mother would sing for me to hear at the side of my bed. She would only need to sing 3 songs, I'd then sleep soundly.' Qiao Feng smiled and said: 'It's not easy to find your mother now.' A'Zhu let out a sigh and said quietly: 'I don't know where my father and mother are. I don't know if they still live in this world either. Great master Qiao, you sing a few songs for me to hear, is that okay?'

Qiao Feng could not help but smile bitterly. He was such a mighty man therefore if he sang to coax a young girl to sleep, this would really be outrageous. He then said: 'I really can't sing.' A'Zhu said: 'When you were little, your mother sang songs to you, didn't she?' Scratching his head, Qiao Feng said: 'That seems to have happened, but I already forgot everything. Even if I remembered I wouldn't be able to sing.' A'Zhu sighed and said: 'If you're unwilling to sing then I can't do anything about it.' Qiao Feng said apologetically: 'It's not that I'm unwilling to sing, but I really can't sing.' A'Zhu suddenly came up with another idea. She clapped her hands, laughed and said: 'Ah, I got it, great master Qiao, I beg you another matter, this time you can't say no.'

Qiao Feng felt this young girl was innocent and simple, but her words and behavior were often beyond people's expectations. After she had said she would ask him for another thing, he had no idea what whimsical thing it would be. Hence, he said: 'You say it first. If I can promise then I'll promise. If I can't promise then I won't promise.' A'Zhu said: 'This matter, everyone in the world can do, as long as they are at least 4 or 5 years old. You think it's easy or not?' Not wanting to be fooled, Qiao Feng said: 'In the end, what is it? You gotta say it clearly first.' A'Zhu gave a charming smile and said: 'Alright! Please tell several tales to me, it doesn't matter if they're about a rabbit gege (elder bro) or a wolf popo (husband's mother/grandmother), I'll always be able to fall asleep.'

Qiao Feng frowned. An awkward expression appeared on his face. Not long ago, he had still been the Chief of the number one large society in jianghu who had had great might and been in charge of extraordinary people. But during the past few days, he had been dismissed from the Chief post and expelled from the Society. The 3 dearest people to him, who were his parents and master, had passed away in one day. In addition, he did not know if he was a Hu man or a Han man, his origin was unclear, and yet he was bearing the 3 heinous crimes which were betrayal and murdering his parents. After receiving such blows one after another, of course he had no one to share his worries, but who could have expected that, at this inn, he would have to keep a young girl company and would be asked to sing and tell tales by her like this? In the past, had he heard only half a sentence regarding these kinds of mushy trivialities, he would have covered his ears and run away quickly. In his life, he had only liked drinking wine and betting with his brothers and speaking loudly and openly. Besides engaging in carousals, he had only talked about serious national affairs and military affairs, and about heroes in the world. Those things such as telling a tale, a rabbit gege and a wolf popo were really jokes and absurdities to him.