Chapter - 372 On Tiezhang Peak (4)

Huang Rong then said, "How do you people propose we handle Elder Peng?" Elder Jian said, "Brother's offense is major and he deserves a serious punishment, but based on his merit for the Beggars' Clan, please spare him from death." Huang Rong laughed, "I knew you'd plead for him, Fine, he's already had enough laughing, so just demote him from Elder to an 8-Pocket member." The four Elders thanked her. Huang Rong said, "Brothers, you hardly meet and so must have much to say, you must give Li Sheng and Yu Tiaoxin a good burial. I see that Elder Lu is of good character, so all major matters will be decided by him. Elders Jian and Liang, please assist him. I shall take my leave now and we shall meet in Lin'an." She held Guo Jing's hand and left.

The beggars escorted them down the mountain and watched until their boat could no longer be seen before assembling again to discuss their plans.

The couple returned to the Yue Yang Mansion by dawn and found the red horse and the two condors waiting for them. Huang Rong looked around and saw the red Sun rising up from the lake; it was a beautiful scenery. She laughed, "Brother Jing, the essay by Master Fan Wen is really well written : 'The distant mountain swallows the river and is vast without boundaries. Day by day it stands majestically.' How can we not appreciate such a wonderful scene? Let's drink a few cups." Guo Jing agreed and they went upstairs. They thought of the previous night's events and laughed. They were drinking merrily when Huang Rong suddenly became angry and said, "Brother Jing, It's your fault!" Guo Jing was lost in confusion and begged, "Rong-er, please explain." She said, "OK, let me ask you, last night when we were both facing the Beggars' Clan formation you felt that your life was in danger, but why did you abandon me? If you had died could I still live? Don't you understand my heart?" Her tears fell into the cup. Guo Jing felt her deep feelings for him and was filled with love, grabbing her hand in his wordlessly. After some time, he said, "Yes, It was my fault. We should face death together." Huang Rong sighed and was about to reply when she heard someone on the stairs, when they saw each other, all three were surprised. It was Qiu Qianren.

Guo Jing quickly stood up and shielded Huang Rong as he was afraid of Qiu Qianren's murderous intent. However, Qiu Qianren merely laughed and went down. The laughter seemed to indicate surprise and panic. Huang Rong said, "He's scaring us. This is strange; I'll go check it out." She did not wait for Guo Jing's reply and ran downstairs. Guo Jing yelled, "Be careful!" He hurriedly dug out a piece of silver and plonked it on the counter before dashing out. He looked around but did not see them and remembered Qiu Qianren's vicious martial arts and underhand methods and was worried that Huang Rong might meet some mishap, so he shouted, "Rong-er, where are you?"

Huang Rong heard him but did not respond as she was closely tailing Qiu Qianren and knew that the slightest sound could betray her position. Huang Rong hid behind a wall and waited for Qiu Qianren to move further so that it would be safer for her to tail him. However, when he heard Guo Jing shouting, he knew she was behind and he too hid behind the wall on the other side. After some time, both of them heard nothing stirring and peered round the corner at the same time. They came face to face with each other and their expressions changed simultaneously.

The two people gasped and turned to walked away. Huang Rong was afraid of his palm strength but did not want to give up, so she went one big round, then used her Qinggong to dash behind the other corner of the wall. Qiu Qianren expected her to do that and he too made a circle then used his Qinggong to dash to the corner of the wall, but he went in the other direction and bumped into her again. Huang Rong thought, "If I turn around, he'd surely strike my back and I might not avoid it." She thought, "I should stall for time until Brother Jing comes." He laughed, "We met in Lin'an the other day and we meet here again. Miss, how are you?" She thought, "I clearly saw this scum last night yet he's still trying to fake it. I think I'll test him out with the 'Dog-Beating Skill'. She shouted, "Brother Jing, strike his back!" Qiu Qianren turned and saw no one, he realized he was tricked and he heard swishing sound around his legs. He hurriedly jumped and managed to avoid being hit, but the 'Dog-Beating Skill''s Trip principle is continuous like the flowing river and would continue to target the opponent until it succeeds. Though the technique is only about tripping the opponent, it contains many variations. He jumped faster and faster, but he kept seeing the stick's shadow dancing around his legs. By the 17th step, he accidentally slackened his pace and immediately found himself slamming onto the ground. He yelled, "Wait! I've something to say." Huang Rong laughed and waited for him to get up before tripping him again. He fell another five times and did not attempt to get up again but instead remained motionless on the ground. Huang Rong laughed, "Stop faking death." He stood up and snapped his belt. Holding on to his pants, he said, "Are you leaving? I'm going to let go!" Huang Rong was shocked, as she never expected a reputable clan leader to use such a dirty trick. She feared that he would really let his pants drop so she turned to leave. She heard him laughing behind as he grabbed his pants and chased her. The normally cunning Huang Rong somehow ran out of tricks and simply evaded him, finding it infuriating yet funny. He was about to catch up when he saw Guo Jing jumping out from the corner and shielding Huang Rong with his palms ready to strike. Qiu Qianren saw that this was a powerful stance so he laughed, "Ah! Oh no!" Huang Rong said, "Brother Jing, hit him." From what Guo Jing saw the previous night, he knew Qiu Qianren's martial arts level was comparable to Ouyang Feng, Huang Yaoshi and Zhou Botong so he did not dare underestimate him. He concentrated his Qi in his Dan Tian to prepare for his enemy. Qiu Qianren still held on to his pants saying, "You dolls better listen to Master here – today I ate something bad and my stomach's upset." Huang Rong repeated, "Brother Jing, hit him." But she herself stepped backwards. Qiu Qianren said, "I know what you're up to. You won't be satisfied unless old Master here teaches you a lesson. But today, I've got trouble with my stomach. Fine; listen up, within 7 days, meet me at the foot of Iron Palm Mountain. Do you dare come?" Huang Rong heard him refer to himself as Master and held her bronze needles to throw at him for talking rubbish. Just as she was about to release the needles, she heard "foot of the Iron Palm Mountain" and remembered the 4 lines of words in the painting she saw at Qu Ling Feng's place. She said, "OK, we should come to take a look. When we meet then, we're not going to play with you. How do we get there?"

Qiu Qianren said, "From here, head west, pass through Chang De, Chun District, then proceed up Chao Yuan River. There will be a 5-peak mountain shaped like a palm. That's it. That's a dangerous place; if you're afraid, then apologize to me and don't come." Huang Rong became more excited and said, "OK, it's a promise. See you there." Qiu Qianren nodded before exclaiming, "Ah!" and rushed off clutching his waist.

Guo Jing said, "Rong-er, there's something I don't understand. Please explain." Huang Rong asked, "Yes?" Guo Jing said, "This old man' martial arts are good; we're not his match, but why does he try to fool us? That day at the Gui Yun Mansion, he struck my chest. If he'd used his full strength, I'd be dead. What is he driving at?" Huang Rong nibbled her finger, saying, "I've got no idea. When I tripped him just now, he did not try to use his skill, maybe what he did with the bronze staff last night was a trick." Guo Jing shook his head, "He broke Lu Youjiao's fingers – that can't be faked."