Return of Condor Heroes (237 page)

Nimoxing was feeling proud of himself and swaggered towards Guo Fu, laughing coldly, “I told you to be good and follow me…”

Guo Fu jumped up and said, “Let’s escape from the back of the temple!”

Nimoxing was shocked. He had obviously hit her “Shen Cang” (Hiding Deity) Accupoint, how could she still move? He did not know about Guo Fu’s soft armour and thought she must have learned some great skills from the Guo family that prevented her accupoint from being sealed. Actually, Guo Fu’s accupoint was not sealed, but she was injured by that strike and could not use her sword. Guo Xiang then unleashed the ‘Descending Hero’s Palm Skill’ [Luo Ying Zhang Fa] to protect her sister and shouted, “Sister, you go first!”

Nimoxing raised his left crutch and sent it towards Guo Xiang, stopping three inches in front of her nose, but the wind generated was so great that her face hurt. He shouted, “Don’t move!”

Guo Xiang angrily said, “At first I pitied you, but you’re such an evil person!”

Nimoxing laughed, “Little girl, if you don’t suffer you won’t know my strength.” His crutch hit the ground, his face was fierce and ugly, he opened his mouth, exposing his white teeth and charged forwards screaming like he wanted to bite someone.

Suddenly someone behind said, “Don’t be afraid! Use secret projectiles on him.”

This was a dangerous moment and Guo Xiang did not care who that was and felt around her body and urgently said, “I don’t have any.” She saw Nimoxing getting closer and was at her wits’ end and tried to use a palm stance called the ‘Flower Spreading Stance’ [Shan Hua Shi] to protect herself. She out stretched her palms and felt a breeze suddenly blow across them; then her hands trembled slightly and two thin golden bangles flew out, striking Nimoxing’s crutches.

Although the sound made on impact was not very loud, Nimoxing knew he could not withstand it and his crutches flew backwards, hitting the wall, causing dust and mud to fly on impact. Nimoxing lost his crutches and fell down. He hit his back on the ground and then jumped up, screaming angrily and struck his palms out, sending his whole body forwards with his palms aiming at Guo Xiang.

Guo Xiang did not think and reacted by taking a hair pin out of her hair and tried to hit Nimoxing, then she felt the breeze behind her again and sent the pin flying forward. Nimoxing suddenly saw the pin flying towards him and quickly tried to use both hands to block, then he cried, “Strange!” and fell onto the ground, unmoving.

Guo Xiang feared that he was up to no good, so she jumped to Guo Fu and said, “Sister, let’s go!”

The two sisters were standing next to a deity’s statue in the temple and saw that Nimoxing did not move at all, so Guo Fu said, “Did he suddenly have a stroke and die?” She raised her voice and said, “Nimoxing, what are you doing?” She thought that since he’d lost his crutches, it would not be convenient for him to move, so she was not afraid and advanced to him. She saw his eyes staring blankly upwards, his face without colour and his mouth wide open; he was dead.

Guo Fu was very surprised and lit the candles in the temple, wanting to investigate further when she heard someone outside the temple saying, “Fu, Second Sister, are you in the temple?” It was Yelu Qi. Guo Fu happily said, “Brother Qi, come quickly. Strange… this is strange!”

When Guo Fu went to find her sister and did not return for quite some time, Yelu Qi, remembering that Lu Youjiao was ambushed and killed and the enemy was just outside Xiangyang, got worried and went to find the two sisters. He brought two sixth grade Beggar Clan members and hurried there only to find Nimoxing dead on the ground, and he was shocked. He knew this short person’s martial arts were good; even he could not handle this person himself, so he was surprised that his wife had killed Nimoxing. He took the candle from Guo Fu’s hand and looked closely.

He saw two holes in Nimoxing’s palms and a hair pin stuck in the Shen Ting (Deity’s Hall) Accupoint. This pin hit with great force but did not break and instead was able to penetrate this highly-skilled expert’s palms and kill him. Such a powerful skill like that is unthinkable. He turned to Guo Fu and said, “Is Grandfather here (referring to Huang Yaoshi), quickly lead me to greet him.”

Guo Fu curiously said, “Who said Grandfather was here?”

Yelu Qi said, “It’s not Grandfather?” He swept the place with his eyes and said excitedly, “So it must be Master.” He looked around but could not find Zhou Botong. He knew his master was mischievous, so he must have hid himself to scare them. He went out of the temple and jumped onto the roof, but he saw no one.

Guo Fu said, “Hey! Why are you saying such silly things? What Grandfather, what master?”

Yelu Qi then came down and asked how they met Nimoxing and how he met his end. Guo Fu told him, but she completely could not explain how her sister’s hair pin could kill him. Yelu Qi said, “Some powerful hero must be helping Sister secretly. The only people I know with such martial arts are Father-in-law, Grandfather, Master, Reverend Yideng and the Golden Wheel Monk (Jinlun Fawang). Fawang is the Mongolian Guo Shi (Spiritual Leader), he wouldn’t kill Nimoxing, while Reverend Yideng won’t kill anyone, so I thought since it’s not Grandfather; it must be Master. Sister, who do you think helped you?”

After Guo Xiang’s hair pin killed Nimoxing, she immediately turned around but saw no one, and kept repeating “Don’t be afraid! Use secret projectiles on him,” to herself. She thought the voice familiar. She wondered if it could be Yang Guo. But as she thought of him, she said to herself, “That’s impossible! It must be because I was thinking of him, and I mistook that voice for his.” Yelu Qi saw that she seemed to be day-dreaming and might not have heard him.

Guo Fu saw that her sister’s eyes were red and tears were streaming down her face and she was looking lost. Guo Fu thought she must be in a shock and held her hand, asking, “Sister, what’s up with you?”

Guo Xiang trembled and her face turned red, saying, “Nothing.”

Guo Fu said, “Brother-in-law was asking you who saved you just now, didn’t you hear?”

Guo Xiang said, “Who saved me? It must be him! Who else would have such excellent skills?”

Guo Fu asked, “Him? Who’s he? Is he the special hero you were talking about?”

Guo Xiang felt her heart beating heavily and quickly said, “No, no! I’m talking about Uncle Lu’s spirit.” Guo Fu spat “Pui” and threw down her hand. Guo Xiang said, “I didn’t even see a shadow just now, it must be Uncle Lu secretly helping me. You know we were good friends when he was still alive.”

Guo Fu half-believed what she said and was wondering if Lu Youjiao’s spirit refused to go away. But if it was not a spirit, how could a person kill someone without even showing himself?

Yelu Qi took up Nimoxing’s crutches and sighed, “This level of martial arts really commands admiration.” Guo Fu and Guo Xiang looked carefully, observing that both crutches had a golden bangle lodged deep into them, as though they were made that way. This person actually used his internal energy (nei gong) to hit Nimoxing’s crutches out of his hands, so it was no wonder Yelu Qi praised him like that.

Guo Fu said, “Let’s bring them to Mother, she should know who did this.”

The two beggars carried the body, the crutches and followed Yelu Qi and the two sisters back into the city. Guo Jing and Huang Rong heard Guo Fu’s narration and thought about the matter, causing them to be shocked.

Guo Xiang thought she would surely be scolded by her parents for getting into such trouble again. However Guo Jing liked his daughter’s deep loyalty so he consoled her instead. Huang Rong saw that he was not angry so she hugged her and comforted her. She saw Nimoxing’s body and crutches and said to Guo Jing, “Brother Jing, who do you think it is?”

Guo Jing shook his head and said, “This internal energy is so fierce and powerful, from what I know, only two people are capable of it.”

Huang Rong said, “But Master Hong Qigong passed away long ago and it is not you.” She asked for the details but could not think of an explanation.

After taking Guo Fu and Guo Xiang back to their rooms to rest, she said, “Brother Jing, our second lady has hidden something from us, do you know that?” Guo Jing curiously asked, “Hiding what?” Huang Rong said, “Ever since she returned from sending the Heroes’ Summit invitations, she has been day-dreaming alone. Tonight she was speaking even more strangely.” Guo Jing said, “She has suffered a shock, so she’s not thinking clearly.”

Huang Rong said, “No. Sometimes she would be shy, sometimes she would smile to herself, and this is obviously not symptoms of suffering a shock. She actually has a joy in her heart which she can’t say.” Guo Jing said, “When a child suddenly fights an expert, she would be shocked and happy, there’s nothing strange about that.” Huang Rong smiled and thought, “Regarding matters concerning a girl’s heart, you didn’t understand when you were young, now that you’re old, what do you know?” They changed the topic, discussing strategies to defeat the enemy, how to welcome the guests to the Heroes’ Summit, how to arrange the seating etc. before resting.

Huang Rong lay on her bed and thought of Guo Xiang’s affairs and found it hard to sleep, so she thought, “This girl met with much hardship and troubles when she was born, I’m worried her life may be rather troubled. She has fortunately lived the past 16 years peacefully; don’t tell me she will meet with some serious disaster now?” She thought about the strong enemy’s imminent attack and the impending hardships for the people. If she had some prior intelligence, it would greatly aid them. Yet her daughter has been very strange since birth. If she did not want to say something, she would not say it no matter how her parents coerced or scolded her. Instead her face would turn red but she would not reveal a single word. Her parents found it funny yet still got angry.

The more Huang Rong thought of it, the more worried she was, so she stood up and went to the city wall, ordering the guards to open the gate and she went to the Yang Tai Temple.

The sky was cloudy, hiding the Moon and the stars. Huang Rong took a white candle and used her qing gong (lightness skill) to ascend Mount Xian. Suddenly, she heard voices dozens of meters away near “Dropping Tears Tablet”. She crouched down and crept forward and hid behind a tree several meters away, not moving any closer.

Someone said, “Brother Sun, the Benefactor told us to wait behind the Dropping Tears Tablet, but why does this place have such a unique name?”

The one named Sun said, “The Benefactor must have had some problematic affairs of the heart. So whenever he sees any place named Duan Chang (Severed Intestine), You Chou (Worries) or Duo Lei (Dropping Tears), he remembers them easily.”

The first person said, “With the Benefactor’s great skills, he should be able to solve any problem, but whenever I see his expression or hear his tone of voice, it seems like he has indeed some unhappy problems. I think he actually named this place Dropping Tears Tablet himself.”

The one named Sun said, “No. I’ve always heard Master Guo’er Shu say that during the Three Kingdoms Period, Xiangyang belonged to the Wei Kingdom. The general in charge, Yang Hu, had great merit in administrating the city and protecting the people. He used to tour this mountain. When he was dead the people remembered his contributions and built the Yang Tai Temple on this mountain and made this tablet to remember him. When the people remembered what he had done for them, they would be moved to tears, so this place is called the ‘Dropping Tears Tablet’. Brother Chen, someone who has done as much as Grand Elder Yang is really a great man.”

The one named Chen said, “The Benefactor has done many heroic deeds and helped countless people around the world. If he were the general of Xiangyang, he may even be better than Yang Hu.”

The one named Sun smiled, “Xiangyang’s Hero Guo is defending the people and does many heroic deeds, so he must be on the same level as Grand Elder Yang and the Benefactor.”

Huang Rong heard them praise her husband and was secretly pleased, but thought, “Who is the Benefactor they’re referring to? Is he the one who secretly helped Xiang-Er?”

Then Mr. Sun said, “Long ago we were the Benefactor’s enemies, then the Benefactor saved our lives; the Benefactor’s kind personality of treating his enemies as his friends might be comparable with Grand Elder Yang Hu. About that story during the Three Kingdoms Period, that master also mentioned that when Yang Hu was protecting Xiangyang, the enemy opposing him was General Lu Xun’s son Lu Kang of the Wu Kingdom. Yang Hu sent troops into Wu territory to fight the enemy, whenever he harvested the people’s rice for his military provisions he would compensate them. When Lu Kang was sick, Yang Hu sent medicine to him and Lu Kang took it without any suspicions. His lieutenants advised him to be careful, but he said, “Someone like Uncle Yang (“Zhen De Mu Pang Huan Xi Pang”) did not resort to despicable tactics. Uncle Yang is Yang Hu. His character was above question and the enemy respected him. When he died, even the Wu Kingdom Generals mourned him. The way he treated others really made him deserve to be a hero.”

(Some background information: the three countries of the Three Kingdom Period were Wu, Shu and Wei. Wei was controlled by Cao Cao and Wu by Sun Quan. When Shu’s Liu Bei attacked Wu in retaliation for the killing of Guan Yu, Lu Xun defended Wu. He managed to destroy Liu Bei’s 700,000 strong army with his 50,000 troops. Liu Bei did not listen to his advisor Zhuge Liang’s advice. This Zhuge Liang of Xiangyang was mentioned in earlier chapters by Guo Jing.)

Mr. Chen kept sighing as he touched the stone tablet, then after a while he said, “The Benefactor told us to meet here, is it also to admire Grand Elder Yang’s character?”

Mr. Sun said, “I heard the Benefactor mention before that when Yang Hu was alive there was a sentence that he always remembered.”

Mr. Chen asked, “What was that? Say it slowly, I must memorize this. If the Benefactor admired it, this sentence must be something great.”

Mr. Sun said, “After Lu Kang died, the Lord of the Wu Kingdom said that Yang Hu treated the Wu Kingdom sincerely and saved many Wu Kingdom citizens, but he was serving the traitors of the Imperial Court, so Yang Hu sighed, ‘Tian Xia Bu Ru Yi Si, Shi Chang Ju Qi Ba’ (easy matters are often complicated). The Benefactor praised these words.”