Return of Condor Heroes (245 page)

Guo Fu was shocked and enraged, she leaped to her husband, trying to protect him.

Elder Liang was facing a dilemma. On one hand he knew He Shiwo had used a dirty trick, on the other hand, nobody knew what exactly happened, hence nobody could prove it. Both parties were injured, but Yelu Qi was thrown from the stage, so he could be considered the loser.

Guo Fu could not accept it. “He used a dirty trick!” she angrily shouted, “Brother Qi, go up there and fight him!”

Yelu Qi shook his head. “Even so, he still won,” he said. “Even if we used honest techniques, I am not confident enough of victory against him.”

Huang Rong signaled her son-in-law to come close so she could see what was inside Yelu Qi’s hand. It was a piece of steel, about five-inches long and looked like a fan’s spine. She could not remember who in the Jianghu world used that kind of weapon.

While everybody was still quiet from shock, He Shiwo raised his yellow and swollen ugly face, and was heard saying, “Even though this lowly beggar has defeated Master Yelu, I still do not dare to accept the Chief’s position. I want to wait until the stick is back and the enemy Hou Dou has been killed.”

His speech was received with loud cheers by the Beggar Clan’s disciples. Although his victory was questionable, he had demonstrated his high martial arts. After listening to his speech a lot of beggars lifted up their cups to toast him.

He Shiwo then stood on the edge of the stage and cupped his fists to the audience. “Is there any hero out there who would like to teach me a lesson or two?” he challenged.

He was just saying the word ‘stage’ when Shi Bowei loudly shouted, “Ah!” followed by his army of animals. Suddenly the beasts – which were sitting neatly in formation, leaped up and loudly roared. A single lion or tiger’s roar is loud; imagine all five hundreds animals roaring at the same time. The earth shook, wine cups and rice bowl turned upside down, everybody was aghast.

Amidst the loud noise, the Xishan Ghosts and Shi Brothers, fifteen people, leaped toward the stage, unsheathed their weapons and surrounded the stage. Suddenly eight people, each holding high a torch, were seen entering the field and coming straight toward the stage. Somebody said loud and clear, “The Eagle Hero wishes the Second Miss Guo a happy birthday! We deliver the third present.”

They moved fast, like they were flying above the ground; a demonstration of a very high lightness kung fu. In no time they had come close to Guo Xiang. Four of them then stretched out their arms, presenting Guo Xiang with a big sack. It seemed the present was inside the sack.

Then these eight people cupped their fists to her and introduced themselves. Everybody who heard their names was surprised. They were not ordinary people. The first was an old Buddhist monk, none other than the Abbot of Mount Wutai’s Foguang Monastery, Reverend Tanhua. He was the peer of the Shaolin’s Abbot, Zen Master Tianming. The others were old Marquis Zhao and the Deaf and Mute Dhuta, Qingling Zi, the leader of the Kunlun School, etc. All of them were seniors of the martial arts realm.

Guo Xiang did not seem to care about the background of all these people. She returned their greeting and laughing sweetly she asked, “I have bothered you all, Uncles! Thank you! What kind of toy is that?”

The four people holding the sack gave a strong tug and the sack was ripped into four pieces. A bald headed monk rolled out of the sack.

The monk’s shoulder hit the ground then he stood up, appearing to be very agile. His face was red with fury and he shouted some words that seemed unintelligible. Guo Jing and Huang Rong knew he was the Golden Wheel Monk’s (Jinlun Fawang) second disciple Da’erba and did not know how Master Tan Hua and Old Master Zhao captured him.

Guo Xiang thought there would be some amusing toy in the sack but saw a rough-looking monk instead, so she was somewhat disappointed and said, “I don’t like this monk that Big Brother has given me. Where is he? Why is he still not here?”

One of those who came to deliver the third present had spent some time in Tibet and understood Tibetan, so he whispered a few words to Da’erba. His face changed and he stared at He Shiwo. The man, Qingling Zi (Green Spirit Sage), said a few more words in Tibetan to him, then handed Da’erba his golden rod which had been taken away when he was captured by the eight experts.

Da’erba raised his rod with a shout and jumped onto the stage.

The man laughed and told Guo Xiang, “Miss Guo, this monk can do magic tricks, the Eagle Hero told me to conjure a few tricks for you.” Guo Xiang was happy and clapped her hands, saying, “Oh OK, I was starting to wonder why Big Brother spent such a great effort to bring the monk here.”

Da’erba shouted a few grunts at He Shiwo. He Shiwo said, “What the hell are you yelling about? I don’t understand the words that are coming out of your mouth!” Da’erba stepped forward fiercely and smashed the rod towards his head. He Shiwo quickly avoided the blow. Da’erba spun his rod and attacked swiftly. He Shiwo was fighting single-handedly and was pushed back by Da’erba’s heavy assault.

The Beggar Clan members saw this monk was so fierce and his face full of hatred so they quickly rushed forward. Elder Liang said, “Big Monk, don’t cause any trouble here. He’s the future Beggar Clan leader.” But Da’erba ignored him and kept on spinning his rod, causing golden flashes and gusts of wind together with heavy crashing sounds.

Several Beggar Clan members could not control themselves and jumped towards the stage, attempting to stop the fight. However the eight experts, Shi brothers and Xishan Ghosts surrounded the stage and prevented anyone from accessing the stage. Although the Beggar Clan had many people, they were held back and could not get onto the stage. Amidst the confusion Qingling Zi turned around, went up on the stage and took away He Shiwo’s metal staff. He Shiwo was shocked and tried to snatch it back but was blocked by Da’erba’s rod and could not advance a single step.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong could not guess why Yang Guo sent these people here to create trouble, but since the first two presents he gave Guo Xiang were beneficial to Xiangyang, they guessed this third present would not mean any harm. The Guo couple stood aside and watched silently.

Although Yelu Qi was beaten by He Shiwo, he was eager to continue his mother-in-law’s great service to the Beggar Clan, so when he saw He Shiwo panicking under Da’erba’s attacks, he shouted, “Brother He, don’t panic, I’m going to help you!” He jumped towards the stage. A person shouted fiercely, “Nobody’s allowed on the stage!” Then the person blocked his way. Yelu Qi stretched his hand out to grab him but that person caught his hand instead with a strange move and such great internal strength that he could not move. Yelu Qi was shocked and saw that it was the third of the Shi brothers Shi Shugang. Yelu Qi exchanged a few moves but still could not force him to retreat, so he thought, “This person is a small fry and under the Eagle Hero’s command, yet he is so remarkable. Because the Eagle Hero is able to command all these experts, he must be a really great man.” Qingling Zi raised the iron staff and shouted, “Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look at this.” He chopped down on the rod’s middle with his hand and the rod broke – it was actually hollow. He pulled one end off and took out a bright green bamboo rod.

The Beggar Clan members were momentarily stunned and speechless, then all cried out together, “The leader’s “Dog Beating Stick”!” The Shi Brothers and other experts stepped aside. Everyone was wondering, “Why was the “Dog Beating Stick” concealed in the iron staff? How did He Shiwo get his hands on it? Why did he not reveal it?”

The people were all waiting for Qingling Zi to explain everything but he wordlessly stepped down from the stage and handed the “Dog Beating Stick” respectfully with both hands to Guo Xiang. Guo Xiang saw the rod and thought about Lu Youjiao and became sad; she received the rod then handed it to Huang Rong.

Da’erba’s rod moves became more intense and He Shiwo had to evade the dangerous stances with his agility. When the Beggar Clan members saw the “Dog Beating Stick”, they knew the experts must have a good reason for bringing Da’erba here to deal with He Shiwo, so none of them pushed their way up on stage.

In less than ten moves, He Shiwo looked like he would die under the golden rod, then Huang Rong suddenly thought, “He Shiwo used a weapon to hurt Qi’er, so the weapon must be concealed in his sleeve. Yet at this critical juncture, why doesn’t he use his weapon?” Da’erba swept his rod on the stage and He Shiwo leapt up and evaded it. Da’erba flipped his rod and brought it upwards. He Shiwo was in midair and could not evade this attack. Suddenly a clash of weapons was heard and He Shiwo leaped aside with a short weapon in his hand. Da’erba was seething with anger and cursed him and increased the intensity of his rod attacks. However, with a weapon in He Shiwo’s hand, his martial skills increased and his strokes became masterful. Although his weapon was short, he was able to fend off Da’erba. Zhu Ziliu saw this and suddenly remembered something, saying, “Madam Guo, I know who he is. But I still don’t understand something.”

Huang Rong laughed, “That it was pasted on with glue, honey and flour.”

Yelu Qi, Guo Fu and Guo Xiang were standing next to Huang Rong and heard their conversation but did not understand what on Earth they were talking about.

Guo Fu asked, “Uncle Zhu, who did you say was who?”

Zhu Ziliu said, “I’m talking about the He Shiwo who injured your husband.”

Guo Fu said, “What? He’s not He Shiwo? Then who is he?”

Zhu Ziliu said, “Look carefully, what weapon is he using?”

Guo Fu stared for a while then said, “This short weapon is less than a foot, and it’s not sharp like those pens used to seal accupoints.”

Huang Rong said, “Think carefully. He’d rather not use his weapon and risk discovery, thus putting his life on the line fighting the monk. Why doesn’t he use his weapon? Why did he extinguish the torches before using his weapon?”

Guo Fu said, “This person is sly and crafty, what’s wrong with that?”

Guo Xiang said, “He knows someone in the crowd will recognize his weapon techniques, so he doesn’t want to reveal it.”

Zhu Ziliu praised, “Ah ha, Miss Guo is indeed clever.”

Guo Fu heard him praise her sister and was not happy so she said, “What about not revealing the truth? Isn’t he standing on the stage? Everyone can see that.”

Guo Xiang thought about what her mother just said and replied, “Ah, his ugly face is actually a disguise made of flour. This face is really repulsive, after glancing once I don’t want to see it anymore.”

Huang Rong said, “The more repulsive he disguises himself, the more he can conceal his identity because no one wants to stare at an ugly face for long. If there are any changes to his disguise no one would notice them. Ah, it’s really not easy keeping up such a disguise for so many years.”

Zhu Ziliu said, “His face may be false, but his decades worth of martial arts can’t be faked.”

Guo Fu said, “If this He Shiwo is fake, then who’s he? Sister, since you’re so clever, tell us who he is.”

Guo Xiang said, “I’m not that clever, so I don’t know.”

Zhu Ziliu smiled, “Elder Miss Guo has seen him before, and at that time the younger Miss Guo wasn’t even born yet. Seventeen years ago, at the Da Sheng ‘Heroes’ Meet, someone exchanged a few hundred moves with me, who was that?”

Guo Fu said, “Hou Du? No, it can’t be him. He uses a fan. Although this weapon looks like it, this weapon only has the skeleton but not the surface.”

Zhu Ziliu said, “I fought such an intense battle with him before, it was the only time in my life I experienced such great danger, how could I possibly forget his stances? If he isn’t Hou Du then I must be blind.”

Guo Fu looked at He Shiwo again and saw that he was agile and his strokes lethal. It really appeared to be like the Hou Du at the ‘Heroes’ Meet years ago, but she still had many doubts. She asked, “If he’s really Hou Du, then this monk is his martial brother, can it be he doesn’t recognize him so that’s why they’re fighting?”

Huang Rong said, “It’s precisely because he recognizes him that they’re fighting. That year at Chongyang Palace, Yang Guo used his sword to pin down Da’erba and Hou Du. Hou Du didn’t want to risk his life so he deserted Da’erba. His master had run away. This incident was witnessed by the whole the Quanzhen Sect, you must have heard of that too.”

Guo Fu said, “Hmmm, no wonder Da’erba hates him so much.”

When Guo Xiang heard “Yang Guo used his sword to pin down Da’erba and Hou Du” she thought of how great he was and was awe-struck.

Guo Fu asked, “Why did he become a beggar? How did the “Dog Beating Stick” end up with him?”

Huang Rong said, “Isn’t that easy? Hou Du betrayed his master, so he’s afraid his master and martial brother will find him, hence he disguised his face and joined the Beggar Clan. Without revealing who he is, he slowly rose to be a 5th grade member over the past 10-over years. Since no one in the Beggar Clan was suspicious of him, Fawang wasn’t able to find him. But this scoundrel wouldn’t be content with hiding here all his life so he was waiting for an opportunity to do something big. When Leader Lu was patrolling outside the city, he waited there and ambushed him, revealing his identity and a message for the beggars to bring back, which was to tell everyone Leader Lu was killed by Hou Du. After he snatched the “Dog Beating Stick”, he hid it inside his hollow metal staff. When the Beggar Clan elected a leader, he could raise the matter of finding the “Dog Beating Stick”. Since the Stick is a very significant icon of the Beggar Clan, who can oppose him? Ah, this scoundrel Hou Du is a really brilliant schemer to think of this plan.”