Chapter - 228 Disaster Strikes When the Screen Wall Breaches the Impregnable Fortress (8)

Zhang Wuji pondered deeply and did not answer for half a day.

Shuo Bude added, "This evil monk took advantage of our precarious position and launched a sneak attack. It was a despicable deed, you have heard it with your own ears. If you don't kill him, tens of thousands Ming Cult people, from top to bottom, will be wiped out completely by outsiders. If you kill him, you are performing a huge virtuous deed and chivalrous duty."

Zhang Wuji still hesitated and did not say anything.

Yuan Zhen said, "Right this moment I cannot move the least bit. If you kill me, won't you be the laughingstock of all heroes under the heavens?"

"Stinky bald thief," Zhou Dian angrily said, "Shaolin Pai calls themselves a righteous major sect; but you surreptitiously came up here and launched a sneak attack. Won't you be the laughingstock of all heroes under the heavens?"

Zhang Wuji had taken a step toward Yuan Zhen, but then he stopped and said, "Shuo Bude Dashi [reverend], your precious Cult's dispute [orig. shi fei qu zhi – right or wrong, crooked or straight] with the Six Major Sects, Xiao Ke [the young one] does not know; Xiao Ke is very wiling to help you, gentlemen, but is unwilling to harm this Great Monk from the Shaolin Pai."

"Xiao Xiongdi," Peng Yingyu said, "You are somewhat ignorant. If you do not kill him now, when this monk's strength is restored, he will definitely kill you as well."

Yuan Zhen said with a laugh, "I have neither grudges nor enmity with this Xiao Shizu [young benefactor]; how can I kill him without any reason? Let alone this Xiao Shizu does not belong to the Devil Cult; apparently, out of ill intention Bu Dai Heshang captured him and took him up the mountain. You, the Devil Cult people, have never shrunk from any crime; what good might come out of this for him?"

Both sides were huffing and puffing, it was extremely difficult for them to talk, but they forced themselves to speak, trying to touch Zhang Wuji's heart. Zhang Wuji was in quandary; he had personally heard how this Yuan Zhen monk launched a sneak attack, which was a cowardly act. But to go forward and strike him dead was also against his wish. Besides, once he made his move, he would be standing in the Ming Cult's side forever and become the enemy of the Six Major Sects. His Tai Shifu [grand master], the Six Heroes of Wudang, Zhou Zhiruo, and the others would become his enemy.

He also thought, "The Ming Cult is recognized by the mainstream Wulin community as demonic and heretical, such as Wei Yixiao sucks people's blood and Yifu indiscriminately killed the innocent. Really they have done too many things they should have not done. Tai Shifu has repeatedly warned me not to make friends with the Devil Cult people to avoid the disaster of lifelong suffering. Because my Father had involvement with the Devil Cult by marrying my Mother, he had to commit suicide on the top of Wudang Mountain. A warning example is close at hand, road to disaster is straight ahead. Much less this Yuan Zhen is Divine Monk Kong Jian's disciple. Kong Jian Dashi willingly endured thirteen punches of 'Qi Shang Quan' [seven-injury fist] with the hope of restoring my Yifu, but the end result was he died under the fist. This kind of benevolence, justice and mercy is extremely hard to come by within the Wulin world even from the ancient times; how can I harm his disciple?"

As he heard Shuo Bude urge again, Zhang Wuji said, "Shuo Bude Dashi, could you teach me a way so that I do not need to harm this Great Monk while he also cannot harm all of you? Xiao Ke will certainly do as instructed."

Shuo Bude thought, "Looking at the current situation, it is a fight to the death between the two parties; how can there be a way to preserve both sides? If Yuan Zhen does not die, then we will perish."

While he was still deep in thought, Peng Yingyu said, "Xiao Xiongdi, your benevolence is truly admirable. In that case please stretch out your finger and lightly push the 'yu tang' [jade hall] acupoint on Yuan Zhen's chest. This way you will definitely not harm him, you will only prevent him to use his internal energy for several hours. We will send someone to take him down the mountain, we will not harm even a hair on his body. Do you know the location of the 'yu tang' acupoint?"

Zhang Wuji's medical knowledge was deep, he knew that if the 'yu tang' acupoint was lightly sealed, the flow of real 'chi' from the 'dantian' upward would be temporarily blocked, but his health would not be affected. Thereupon he said, "I do."

He heard Yuan Zhen say, "Xiao Shizhu must not act on their behalf. You seal my acupoint, no doubt it is not fatal, but as soon as their internal energy is restored, they are going to kill me at once. How are you going to prevent it?"

"Your Mama's stinking dog's fart!" Zhou Dian cursed, "We said we are not going to harm you, naturally we are not going to harm you. Do you think the words of Wu San Ren of the Ming Cult cannot be trusted?"

Zhang Wuji believed that Yang Xiao and the Five Wanderers were people who would not fail to keep their own words, but he was not certain about Wei Yixiao. Thereupon he asked, "Wei Qianbei, what do you say?"

With a trembling voice Wei Yixiao said, "I won't harm him for now. But the next time we meet, we will disregard our lives and fight … fight to the … the death." By the time he said the words 'fight to the death', his voice was getting extremely weak while he was gasping for breath.

"Then so be it," Zhang Wuji said, "Guangming Shizhe [The Emissary of the Brightness], Qing Yi Fu Wang, and Wu San Ren, seven gentlemen, each one is a hero and warrior of the present age, how can they break their own promise renege their own words? Yuan Zhen Dashi, please forgive 'wanbei's offense." While saying that, he walked toward Yuan Zhen.

Because he was inside the sack, he could only take about one foot at a time; therefore, it was a dozen steps later that he finally arrived in front of Yuan Zhen. This kind of big cloth sack creeping forward slowly was actually a funny scene, but this moment everybody's life was hanging on a thread; nobody found it amusing.

Listening to Yuan Zhen's breathing, Zhang Wuji knew when he was about two feet away from him, so he stopped and said, "Yuan Zhen Dashi, 'wanbei' is doing this for the benefit of both sides, you must not blame me." While saying that, he slowly raised his hand.

With a bitter laugh Yuan Zhen said, "At this moment my whole body can't move; I can only let you, 'xiao wan bei', to do whatever you want."

Ever since the Divine Doctor of the Butterfly Valley Hu Qingniu died, ZhangWuji's technique in acupoint identification was already incomparable in this present age. Yuan Zhen and he were separated by a cloth sack, but unexpectedly his stretched finger toward the 'yu tang' acupoint did not miss even a thousandths of a hair width. This 'yu tang' acupoint was located on the pit of the stomach, about one 'cun' six 'fen' [1 cun is approximately 1 inch, 1 fen is about 1/3 of a centimeter] below the 'zi gong' [purple palace] acupoint, and about one 'cun' six 'fen' above the 'shan zhong' [mutton smell] acupoint. It belonged to the 'ren mai' [lit. free, unrestrained blood passage]. This blood passage was not a fatal major acupoint, but it was located as such that the 'chi' passage must pass through. If this passage was blocked, the flow of 'chi' in the entire body would be obstructed.