Chapter - 540 The Peak of Mount Hua (8)

He was right; Yin Kexi did not realize the meaning behind Jueyuan's words. He thought the monk was just mocking him to disturb his concentration.

"Hey donkey head [derogatory name for monk], don't talk rubbish!" he snapped. "Oh, ouch … ouch!"

He screamed in pain because his left thigh had been kicked by Zhang Junbao. He was enraged and lifted both his hands; he intended to attack at the top of his strength. He ignored Junbao's attack and all he wanted was to vent his anger.

Junbao was nervous to see his fierce countenance; his hair and whiskers stood up. Junbao called out. He was about to leap back when he heard his master say, "Junbao, our strength against his! Quick, quick! Take rigidity from flexibility. Borrowing strength with 'Four Taels Against a Thousand Jin' [si liang bo qian jin]!"

Jueyuan was teaching the essence of Jiu Yang Zhen Jing; unfortunately it was too late. No matter how smart Junbao was, he could not grasp it in a short moment. Because of his anxiety, Junbao could not breathe. He could see Yin Kexi was really angry and was going to kill him.

At that critical moment he heard the swishing noise of a small stone flying toward Yin Kexi. The stone was really small, yet it made Yin Kexi clench his teeth and move a step backward. It was Yang Guo who helped Junbao. He had picked a couple of flowers, squeezed them in his hand and made a small flower ball. He then flicked the small stone with "Divine Flicking Finger" and immediately flicked the flower ball right after that.

Yin Kexi was trying to avoid the stone by moving backward, but the flower ball which came later hit his [da zhui xue] accupoint on his back accurately. The ball did not hit hard, but it left a flower juice mark on his clothes.

Junbao was saved from danger. He leaped to the west, but did not run away. On the contrary, he continued his attack with Yang Guo's "Who Killed the Deer".

Yin Kexi hesitated. He had experienced several punches from this youngster, "On the first move the left and right were interchangeable, the second move they were straight; I wonder what the third move will be?" Yang Guo was ingenious, he developed that move based on the old saying, 'qin shi qi lu, tian xia gong zhu zhi' [lit. Qin (Dynasty) lost its deer, everybody was chasing after it]; how could Yin anticipate the move?

No matter how hard Yin Kexi tried to keep up he got behind. Junbao moved fast, flashing to the left and right, and in no time he was behind Yin's back. At that time the moon was already high in the sky. Junbao could see the thumb-size flower juice mark. Without wasting any time he hit the mark. He thought, "Benevolent Master Yang is so good, without my being able to see it, he has given me the promised mark …"

Yin Kexi did not move quickly enough, before he realized it his back had been hit by Junbao's finger. This [da zhui xue] is the meeting point of three arteries. He felt a sudden numbness and he collapsed to the ground.

Except for Xiaoxiang Zi, everybody cheered! They praised, "A very nice "Who Killed the Deer"."

"Excuse me!" Junbao said and searched his fallen opponent's body. Unfortunately he did not find the sutra book he was looking for. He turned his eyes to Xiaoxiang Zi.

Xiaoxiang Zi was not stupid. He understood the boy's intention. His skill level was almost the same as Yin Kexi's. Therefore, if Yin Kexi has fallen, he would not gain victory either. Without waiting he brushed his long robe and said, "I don't have the books you are looking for. Farewell!" He paid no attention to Yin Kexi and immediately leaped southward to escape.

Unexpectedly Jueyuan flicked his sleeve; his body flew past him blocking Xiaoxiang Zi's way. Xiaoxiang Zi was fast, Jueyuan was even faster. Without further ado Xiaoxiang Zi attacked the monk's chest. He exerted his whole energy toward his both hands.

"Watch out!" Yang Guo, Zhou Botong, Reverend Yideng and Guo Jing cried simultaneously. They knew the fierceness of this blow. While they were still shouting, a loud crash was heard. The monk's chest was squarely hit by the 'book thief'. They groaned inwardly, "Damn!"

Even though his attack hit the monk's chest, Xiaoxiang Zi was the one who suffered from this blow. He flew away like a kite without a string; his body flew several meters and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Jueyuan did not have any martial arts, but he has mastered the 'Nine Yang Manual'. His body could be controlled at will. He did not dodge Xiaoxiang Zi's attack, but his body reacted to external force naturally. A soft blow would produce a softer reaction, and a hard blow would produce an even harder reaction. Xiaoxiang Zi's blow was very forceful; therefore, the reaction force was also enormous. Xiaoxiang's strength bounced back and he injured himself severely.

The spectators were pleasantly surprised; they secretly praised this monk's profound internal energy. But Jueyuan was dumbfounded, he softly murmured, "Amitaba Buddha, Amitaba Buddha." Zhang Junbao immediately leaped over and searched his body. As with Yin Kexi, he did not find any books. He stood still in bewilderment.

"I overheard their conversation. I am sure they stole the books," Yang Guo said, "I wonder where they hid them."

"Let us torture them and force their confession," Wu Xiuwen proposed.

"Please, please …" Jueyuan said, "don't …"

"I believe they won't confess even if we chop one off their arms or legs," Huang Rong quipped. She knew very well these two's characters.

While everybody was at loss as to what to do next, they heard a monkey's cry from the western peak. They turned their head and saw the Divine Eagle chasing a dark green ape. The ape was big, but it was no match for the Eagle. The ape frantically ran and shrieked incessantly.

"Brother Eagle, have mercy on the monkey, let him go," Guo Xiang ran toward the Eagle.

The Eagle understood, it stopped and stood still.

Yin Kexi woke up and stood. He helped Xiaoxiang Zi to stand; then beckoned to the ape. The ape rushed to his side; it seemed like it had been tamed by them. They leaned against the ape and limping, walked away down the mountain. Yang Guo and the others felt pity and let them go.

Guo Xiang saw Junbao's forehead was still bleeding; she took her handkerchief out and dressed the wound. Junbao was very grateful; he was about to open his mouth to express his gratitude when he saw tears welling up in Guo Xiang's eyes. He did not know why the Miss was heartbroken.

At that moment he heard Yang Guo's clear voice, "We had a great time gathering on this beautiful evening. We shall chat over a cup of wine when we meet again. Let us part here." He waved his sleeve, held Xiao Longnü's hand and walked down the mountain together with the Divine Eagle.

The moon was bright like it was day, a cool breeze stirred the leaves, the night birds chirped cheerfully but Guo Xiang could not hold back her tears and the tear drops fell to the ground.

So it is said:

"The autumn wind is clear and bright, the fallen leaves clump together, the birds go south for the winter. When can they meet again; that time is hard to decide."