Chapter - 129 Spectres of the Past (9)

She called out: "My father taught you this move. Have you forgotten?"

Mei Chaofeng heard the noise of the air rustling around her but she kept still, her suspicion still in place, though she raised her hand and softly called out: "Shi Mei (Apprentice Sister), you have spoken with shifu?"

Huang Rong let her body drop, using one hand to pull and then drag Guo Jing to her side. Originally, Huang Rong was the Taohua Island (Peach Blossom Island) Master Huang Yaoshi's only daughter. Before giving birth to her, her mother had a turn for the worse, which caused her to be physically and mentally exhausted, leading to her death after a difficult labor. Huang Yaoshi had a fit afterwards, expelling all his disciples from the island, leaving only the father and the daughter alone there.

Huang Yaoshi was called "Dong Xie" (Eastern Heretic) because of his peculiarity of conduct. He often said that the etiquette and customs of the world were all nonsense. His love for his daughter was excessive and he naturally did nothing to control her, thus allowing her to become arrogant and willful. Although she was intelligent, she was not willing to focus her mind on learning martial arts. Her father was actually very proficient in the ying yang five lines, learning these methods from several classics. She was able to learn when still very young but even though her father had already reached a divine level, she was nevertheless unable to go beyond the Taohua Island martial arts basics.

One day, she was playing in the island when she came upon her father's enemy imprisoned in the cave. Feeling lonely, she conversed with that person, talking for almost half a day. The person's words were interesting to her so that she often returned, seeking him out only to speak with him, finding relief in that exercise. Afterwards, Master Huang Yaoshi found out and reproached her severely. Huang Rong had never been beaten or scolded by her father so she reacted with anger and self-pity. Her cunning and unreasonable temperament manifested itself suddenly and she took the boat to escape Taohua Island, thinking that no one cared for her there. Thus, she cut all wish for it and disguised herself as a poor, miserable youth, going in all directions, dissolute, though in her heart she was still with her father.

She thought angrily, Since you don't love me, then I will make the world feel most pitiful for a young beggar!" (I'm not sure about this. This is the text: 你既不爱我,我便做个天下最可怜的小叫化罢了)

However, she did not expect to meet Guo Jing in Zhangjiakou. At first, she went to the wine shop with him to spend his money and cause a disturbance, intending to lay on him her resentment towards her father. Who would have thought that he would be so dumb with no idea at all, talking with her as though they were old friends and even giving her his horse, showing his concern? She was bitter and lonely, thinking about how she deceived him but he continued to treat her honestly. She was touched. Since then, the two of them became good friends.

Huang Rong once listened to her father speak about Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng's affair in great detail and because of this, she learned about Mei Chaofeng's maiden name and the lines "Taohua Ying3 La4 Fei1 Shen2 Jian4, Bi4 Hai3 Chao2 Sheng1 An4 Yu4 Xiao1" (The peach blossom leaves behind the divine sword, the jade green sea gives life to the jade flute), which was the heretical couplet that hung inside the sword trial pavilion and which embodied the principles of Huang Yaoshi's wugong. Every Taohua Island disciple knew this. Since she knew that her wugong could not rival Mei Chaofeng's, she then lied and told her that her father was coming. As a result, Mei Chaofeng was frightened into releasing Guo Jing.

She thought, If shifu is indeed coming, how will I know that he won't kill me? She remembered that Huang Yaoshi had a ruthless nature and his methods were mean. She could not stop her face from going ashen and her whole body from shaking as though Huang Yaoshi, his face grim, was already standing in front. Her whole body became limp. It was as though she had lost her kung fu skills as she bent on the ground and shakingly said: "Disciple's many sins make her deserving of death. But I beseech shifu to take pity because my two eyes are blind and my lower body is handicapped. Please grant disciple leniency even though disciple is no better than a swine or a dog." Then she remembered how Huang Yaoshi used to treat her with favor. Fearing that his heart had changed, her bosom was filled with shame as she said: "No, shifu does not need to be lenient. Punish me severely."

The whole time Guo Jing was with her, she always appeared to be fierce, her manners evil. Even when faced with a great enemy or when climbing up that steep precipice, she remained unfazed as though nothing mattered. However, when Huang Rong mentioned her father, her whole person unexpectedly changed which he thought was very strange. Huang Rong was secretly laughing as she pulled Guo Jing by the hand and led him towards the wall outside. But before they could leap over the wall to escape, they were stopped by a clear voice. A person came, chuckling softly, his hand holding a folding fan. He laughed: "Daughter, I'm not certain you can manage to climb that."

Huang Rong saw that it was Ouyang Ke. She knew his kung fu skills and knew that it would be difficult to get past him. So, she immediately turned to Mei Chaofeng and said: "Mei Shizi (Elder Martial Sister Mei), father is always willing to listen to me. I can ask favor for you. But first, you have to do something meritorious so father can forgive you."

Mei Chaofeng asked: "What merit?"

Huang Rong said: "There's a bad person who wants to bully me. I will pretend to go along but you won't allow the enemy to strike or beat me. Once father comes and see you helping me, he'll be pleased."

Mei Chaofeng heard that her younger apprentice sister was willing to ask her father for a favor. Her spirit was revived. While they spoke, four of Ouyang Ke's concubines arrived. Huang Rong dragged Guo Jing behind Mei Chaofeng to avoid getting in the way, only waiting for Mei Chaofeng or Ouyang Ke to open moves and take the opportunity to sneak off. Ouyang Ke saw Mei Chaofeng sitting on the ground, her hair disheveled and her whole body covered with dark skin. She was clutching tightly the upper part of her bosom. Opening his folding fan lightly, he moved forward to catch Huang Rong when suddenly he felt a force heading towards his chest. He looked down to find the woman on the ground stretching out her hand to grab him. He had never encountered such level of strength in one stance before. Shocked, he hastily struck towards her wrist with his fan and at the same time, leapt away. He heard a scoff, "ka" "la", and loud successive cries. The front piece of Ouyang Ke's jacket was torn, his fan broken into two, and his four concubines collapsing to the ground. He took a quick look around and saw that all four women had been violently killed, their spirits left their bodies as soon as they were hit. The tops of their heads were covered in blood and brain matter gushed out of the five holes at the center. The swiftness and viciousness of the move was extremely rare. Ouyang Ke was surprised and angry at the same time when he saw the woman still sitting motionless as though paralyzed. His fear was lessened and he quickly launched into a stance passed on by his family, "Shen2 Tuo2 Xue3 SHan1 Zhang3" (Divine Camel Snowy Mountain Palm). His body floated as his palm prepared to attack. Mei Chaofeng's ten fingers were sharp, each one poised to grab him and squeeze the air out of him while she sneered. How could Ouyang Ke dare to get close?