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

I'll Go, Despite A Myriad Of Foes Part 2

Bao Qianling said: 'I, brother Qi and brother Xiang personally heard that. It's a shame to say, but last night the 3 of us took a serious tumble.' Xiang Wanghai continuously gave him signals with his eyes, wanting to tell him not to relate the shameful incident of the night before. But Bao Qianling knew Divine doctor Xue and the You Clan's 2 Heroes were undoubtedly highly capable, there were also many intelligent people in the hero meeting, if he himself hid a bit, it would definitely cause other people to be suspicious. This matter was very important; he himself had become entangled in the maelstrom, if he dealt with it just a bit improperly, his status and reputation would instantly go out the window. He slowly took the flexible whip out from his waist. The piece of paper which had the 4 words 'Qiao Feng paying respects' was still sticking to it. He passed the flexible whip to Divine doctor Xue using both hands and said: 'Qiao Feng ordered the 3 of us to pass on a message that today he was going to Juxian Manor.' After that, he recounted things such as how they had met Qiao Feng and what he had said, not holding back even a single word. Xiang Wanghai continuously stamped, his whole face reddened with shame.

After Bao Qianling calmly recounted everything, he said: 'This Qiao Feng guy is from the Khitan dog ethnicity, we should still eliminate him even if he was noble and righteous, let alone the fact that his evil has become obvious and he's an increasingly intense danger. If he runs off to distant parts, it'll be hard to hunt him down. But Heaven really has its will, who could have expected that he would willingly hurl himself into the net?'

You Ju muttered: 'I've usually heard that Qiao Feng is both brave and resourceful. His abilities are sufficient for him to successfully do evil. He's not a reckless lout. Could it be that he really dares to go to this great banquet for heroes?'

Bao Qianling said: 'I'm afraid he has other wicked plans. We mustn't be without caution. The more people the more ideas. Let's plan together, everyone.'

While he was saying, many more heroes and extraordinary people arrived at the outside, including 'Impartial Judge' Shan Zheng and his 5 sons, Grandpa Tan, Granny Tan and Zhao Qiansun. Before long, the 2 high-level monks of Shaolin School Xuan Nan and Xuan Ji also arrived. Divine doctor Xue and the You Clan's brothers welcomed and sincerely received them one by one. When mentioning the evil of Qiao Feng, they all raged.

Suddenly, the housekeeper who received guests came in and reported: 'Elder Xu of the Beggar Society has led the Elder of Merit Propagation, the Elder of Rule Enforcement and the 4 Elders Song, Xi, Chen and Wu to our Manor for a visit.'

Everyone shivered with fear. The Beggar Society was the number 1 large society in jianghu and could not be held in contempt. Xiang Wanghai said: 'As expected, the Beggar Society has come here in great force to express support for Qiao Feng.' Shan Zheng said: 'Qiao Feng has already been expelled from the society. He's no longer the Beggar Society's Chief. I saw with my own eyes that they turned their backs on and became the enemies of one another.' Xiang Wanghai said: 'But at this point they haven't necessarily forgotten all the old feelings.' You Ji said: 'All of the Beggar Society's elders are proud brave men. How could they disregard rights and wrongs to protect their enemy? If they still helped Qiao Feng, wouldn't they become Han traitors to the country?' Everyone nodded in approval and said: 'Definitely not even a good-for-nothing would wanna be a Han traitor to the country.'

Divine doctor Xue and the You Clan's 2 Heroes went out of the manor to welcome. Seeing that there were only 12 or 13 people of the Beggar Society coming, they felt relaxed and thought: 'Needless to say, these beggars are unlikely to protect Qiao Feng. Even if they were up to no good this time, with these 12 or 13 people, what would they be able to achieve?' They greeted the people such as Elder Xu perfunctorily then invited them to enter the big hall. They could see a worried expression on the faces of all of the Beggar Society's people. Obviously these people were bearing a very heavy load on their minds.

After splitting into hosts and guests, everyone sat down. Elder Xu started the conversation: 'Brother Xue and the 2 laodi (younger male friend) of the You Family, today you invite all the heroes to gather here, is it because of the newly emerging cause of trouble in wulin Qiao Feng?'

After the heroes heard him call Qiao Feng 'the newly emerging cause of trouble in wulin', they looked at each other, and without prior consultation they all let out a sigh of relief. You Ji said: 'It's exactly for this reason. Elder Xu and every elder of your noble society come here together. This is really a great luck to wulin. If we want to kill this foreign dog, we must get the nod from the elders of your noble society. Otherwise, it would provoke misunderstanding and damage the harmony, making everyone unavoidably regret.'

Elder Xu let out a deep sigh and said: 'This man is extremely ruthless and vicious, and acts strangely. Originally, he achieved quite a few great feats for our society. Recently, when we made mistakes and were plotted against by crooks, it was also him who saved us. But when a dazhangfu (an ambitious or successful man) conducts himself he should attach most importance to the general situation, so we have no choice but to banish those few small kindnesses from our minds. He's a mortal enemy of our Great Song. The Elders of our Society have been treated well by him, but we can't abandon public righteousness because of personal gratitude. They say righteousness must be placed above family loyalty, let alone the fact that now he isn't a relative of our Society's people's.'

As soon as he said that, everyone in the crowd applauded and cheered.

You Ji then mentioned that Qiao Feng also wanted to attend the great banquet for heroes. When the elders heard that, all of them were astonished. Having followed Qiao Feng for a long time, they knew that he always acted with both valor and strategy, if he really single-handedly came to Juxian Manor, it would be extremely unusual.

Xiang Wanghai suddenly said: 'I think that Qiao Feng guy has deliberately created a diversionary front to make everyone kick their heels in here, but he has slipped away to somewhere no one knows. This is called the tactic of escaping by using crafty schemes.' Elder Wu stretched out his hand, gave the table a heavy slap and scolded: 'Escaping your mother by using crafty schemes! What kind of man is Qiao Feng? Once he says something, how could he not keep his words?' Scolded by him, Xiang Wanghai's face reddened. He said angrily: 'You wanna appear in public to support Qiao Feng, right? I, Xiang, am the first to disapprove of it. Come here; come here; come here. Let's have a fight.'

After hearing all kinds of news that Qiao Feng had killed his parents and master then caused a big disturbance at Shaolin Monastery, Elder Wu had been very depressed, his heart had been filled with resentment and rage and he did not know who he should vent his feelings on. Hence this Xiang Wanghai guy unreasonably challenging Elder Wu was really most welcomed by him. In a flash, he jumped into the courtyard in front of the big hall and said loudly: 'Qiao Feng is from the Khitan dog ethnicity or is completely a Han man? At this moment it's still unclear. If he's really a Khitan barbarian I'll be the 1st to fight him to the death. Wanna kill Qiao Feng? Even if counting to the person numbered 1000, it still wouldn't be your turn, you stinking turtle egg (~ s.o.b). Who the heck are you to gab in here? Escaping your grandmother by using stinking crafty schemes! Come here, your father's gonna teach you a lesson.'

Xiang Wanghai's face had already turned livid. A 'shua' sound was heard, he had drawn the saber out of its sheath. As soon as he looked at the blade, he remembered the piece of paper which read 'Qiao Feng paying respects' and could not help feeling at a loss.

You Ji said: 'The two of you are my honorable guests. Please have some consideration for my face. We cannot lose harmony.' Elder Xu also said: 'Brother Wu, you shouldn't be rash in your actions. You must take into account the reputation of the whole Society's.'

Suddenly someone in the crowd said in a soft voice: 'Having produced such a person as Qiao Feng, the Beggar Society really has a very good reputation. You must take it into account and preserve it carefully!'

As soon as the Beggar Society's extraordinary men heard that, they shouted furiously: 'Who's saying that?' 'Come out if you have skills. What kind of brave man would hide in the crowd to be a dwarf?' 'Which goddamn turtle egg is that?'

But after saying those sentences that person kept silent, hence no one knew who had just said those words. Being ridiculed with those 2 sentences, the extraordinary people from the Beggar Society were totally annoyed but because they could not find anyone who admitted saying so, they could not do anything either. Even though the Beggar Society was the number 1 large society in jianghu, the extraordinary men of the Society were all beggars. After all, they were not upper-class people who paid particular attention to formalities, hence some of them shouted and some even cursed other people's 18 generations of ancestors.

Divine doctor Xue frowned and said: 'All of you please calm down and hear this senile old man say a few words.' The beggars gradually became quiet.

Suddenly, in the crowd, that cold voice said again: 'Very good, very good, Qiao Feng has sent this many formidable guys to here to carry out undercover tasks. After a while, there'll definitely be a good play to watch.'

As soon as the people such as Elder Wu heard that, they got even angrier. Shua-shua sounds were heard continuously; dazzling lights of sabers were seen; many people had taken out their weapons. The rest of the guests only thought that the Beggar Society's people wanted to fight therefore many of them also took out their weapons. With a lot of shouting and cursing, the hall was plunged into disorder. Divine doctor Xue and the You Clan's brothers advised everyone to calm down, but the shouts by the 3 of them only added to the uproar in the hall.