DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS BOOK 4 OF 5 (SONG OF THE CAVE IMMORTAL) by Jin Yong

Victory Or Defeat, How Can It Be Predicted? - Part 1

The wheels of the carriage rumbled, they travelled day and night without stopping. XuanNan, Deng BaiChuan, Kang GuangLing and the rest are great heroes in the martial arts fraternity, but now they lost all their martial arts and became normal prisoners and got bullied around by others. Everyone roughly felt they are travelling in the south-east direction.

They travelled for 8 days, on the 9th day they travelled on mountain path early in the morning. As they travelled till afternoon, the terrain became steeper and steeper, eventually the carriage can no longer move up the steep slope. The disciples of XingXiu Sect ordered XuanNan and the rest to exit the carriage. They walk for an hour and came to a dense bamboo forest, the scenery is beautiful and serene, there's a large bamboo pavilion beside a mountain stream, the pavilion is elegant, a lot of time and effort must have been spent to build it, the bamboo forest looks like the pavilion, the pavilion looks like the bamboo forest, unexpectedly its difficult to differentiate between the bamboo forest and pavilion. Feng ASan was greatly impressed, he kept looking to the left and right, his bewildered.

Everyone had barely seat them properly in the pavilion when 4 people walk hurriedly up the mountain path. The front two men are XingXiu disiciples, when the carriage stop they went on ahead to scout or deliver news. The other two young men behind them wore country peasant clothes, they walk towards Ding ChunQiu, bow to pay their respect and presented a letter.

Ding ChunQiu unsealed the letter and took a look, he sneered: "Very good, very good. You still have yet to admit defeat and wish to fight till death, i will play with you."

The young man took a firework tube from his bosom, he ignited it, there is a 'Peng' sound and the fireworks flew up into the sky. Ordinary firework tube would have a 'Peng' sound, the firework will travel till mid air and there would be a 'Pai' sound, the firework would explode and scatter, but when this firework travel till mid-air, there is three 'Pai' sound. Feng ASan whispered to Kang GuangLing: "Elder brother, this firework is made by our Sect."

Soon after a group of people came up the mountain path, there is around 30 people, all of them wearing country peasant clothes and they seem to be carrying long bladed weapons. As they got nearer, everyone saw they did not carry any weapon but merely bamboo pole. Between two bamboo pole is a rope net, it allow someone to sit on it.

Ding ChunQiu sneered: "The host is taking good care of visitors, everyone don't be shy, please sit on it." Immediately XuanNan and the rest sat on the rope net. Two men lifted each bamboo pole and they quickly ran up the mountain path.

Ding ChunQiu took the lead, his big sleeves fluttering lightly as he travelled. Ding ChunQiu running speed was not hurried, but he seems to be floating like the wind as he travelled up the precipitous mountain path, his feet did not touch the ground, in an instant he entered the bamboo forest up ahead.

When Deng BaiChuan and the rest got hit by his [Great Energy Dissolving Skill], they were resentful, they felt this evil monster got lucky and injure them, they did not think they lost the fight, but when they saw his exquisite lightness martial art, its really true skill and not some cheap trick, they cannot help but gasp with admiration and pondered: "Even if he doesn't use his evil demonic skills, i am still not his match." Feng BoE praised: "The lightness martial art of this old devil is truly superb, respect, respect!" as he said this, the rest of XingXiu disciples all competed with each other to praise, they said Ding ChunQiu is peerless and without equal, a great master since ancient times and even Damo fall short against him, their flattery is really intense and unprecedented.

Bao BuTong said: "Hey you old chaps, the martial arts of XingXiu Sect is indeed better any other sect or school, no one has ever achieve it in the past and no one will ever achieve it in the future." The XingXiu disciples were excited, one of them ask: "In your opinion, what is the best skill from our Sect?" Bao BuTong said: "There is more than one, at least three." The XingXiu disciples were even more happy, they ask in unison: "Which three skills?"

Bao BuTong said: "The 1st skill is boot-licking skill. If this skill is not well trained, i am afraid you won't survive for more than 1 day in your Sect. The 2nd skill is horn-tooting skill, if you don't brag and exaggerate the martial arts of your Sect, not only would your Master despise you, your fellow apprentices would also despise you, you won't have any status in the Sect. The 3rd skill is shameless skill. If you don't kill your own conscience and be shameless, how can you master the divine boot-licking skill and divine horn-tooting skill."

As he finish his words, he knew the XingXiu disciples would be angry and indignant, they would all come and punch and kick him, but if he don't say it out loud its like having fish bone stuck in his throat, his not happy unless he spit it out, unexpectedly all the XingXiu disciples nod their head in silence. One disciple said: "Old chap you are extremely clever, you really understand the wonderful skills of our Sect. But this boot-licking, horn-tooting and shameless skills, its really difficult to train. Normal people are used to worldly life, they feel some things are good and some things are bad. If you harbour thoughts on good and evil, right and wrong, you would put in twice the effort but get half the result when training the shameless skill, you will fail at the most crucial moment. The foundation to these 3 divine skills is to distort the truth and be unable to distinguish right and wrong."

Bao BuTong was originally mocking and ridiculing them, he did not expect these people to regard their wrongdoing with equanimity, he had some doubts and cannot help but feel weird, he laugh and said: "The divine skills of your noble Sect is truly profound and matchless, i really admire it, i wish to invite great immortal to enlighten me."

When the XingXiu disciple heard Bao BuTong address him as 'Great Immortal', he felt elated and smug, he said: "You are not from our Sect, i cannot impart the secrets of these divine skills to you. But i have some superficial principles, there is no harm in sharing it with you. The most important principle is to praise your master as if his a god. If he fart......"

Bao BuTong interrupted and said: "then it must be fragrant. You have to inhale and exhale loudly, praise wholeheartedly......" the person said: "Generally speaking you are correct, but there are some minor flaws, you cannot inhale and exhale loudly, the correct way is to inhale loudly, exhale softly." Bao BuTong said: "Correct, correct, great immortal is correct in pointing it out, if you exhale loudly it shows you dislike your master's fart.....that his fart is not too fragrant."

The person nod his head and said: "Not bad, you are gifted and have the innate talent, if you enter our Sect you will have considerable achievements, its a pity that you took the wrong path and entered a heretical school. Although the skills of our Sect has infinite variation, but the fundamental skills are not too complicated, you only need to remember, kill your own conscience and you will more or less achieve success." As for 'distort the truth and be unable to distinguish right and wrong' its difficult to maintain when you are alone in the outside world, but when you join our sect you will automatically know its the proper thing to do and you won't find it difficult anymore.

Bao BuTong nod his head repeatedly and said: "Just one sentence from you, its better than studying for 10 years. I am really interested in your sect, i can't wait to join your noble sect, i wonder if great immortal can recommend me?" the person smiled and said: "If you want to join our sect, its really easier said than done, there are numerous challenging tests, i don't think you can withstand it." Another disciple said: "There's too many people here, it's not convenient to tell him. The one surnamed Bao, if you really intend to join our sect you have to wait until our Master is in a good mood, i can put in a few good words for you. Our sect recruits people from everywhere, your basics are not bad, if Master is benevolent and accept you as his disciple, you will have some achievements in the future." Bao BuTong said earnestly: "Many thanks, many thanks! The benevolence of great immortal, i will remember it for as long as i live."

Deng BaiChuan, GongYe Gan and the rest heard him making fun of these XingXiu disciples, they cannot help but feel happy and ridiculous, they thought: "There is really such shameless and despicable person in this world, he takes pride in bullshitting and boot-licking, its truly rare."