CH 3.1

Chapter 3

Jianghu Tempest

Part 1 (12)

Let’s now talk about Yang Menghuan, who pulled the young lady along hurriedly around two bends and there was a forest before them. Menghuan slowed down and wound his way through the forest. They turned a corner and saw a white-haired old man in black who was as skinny as firewood standing in the middle of the road holding a snakehead walking stick. He stood towering in the moonlight, not moving, the night breeze blowing his white hair and rustling his black robe. He looked more sinister the more you looked at him. Yang Menghuan was brave enough, but he still was startled, and Shen Xialin was even more scared, sticking close against Big Brother Huan.

Yang Menghuan calmed down and pulled Xialin along the side of the road and went around. The old man laughed hideously and said, “I can’t be bothered to fight with you children. Just tell me honestly where the treasure map is and not only will I not harm you, I’ll also escort you out of northern Hunan. The Heavenly Dragon Gang is lying in wait around Watermoon Mountain Villa, all of them subdued by me through acupoints, or you would have run into trouble by now. However, everywhere within a hundred miles of Yueyang is still swarming with masterhands looking to waylay you, most of them very formidable martial worlders. You children can’t break through them. There’s two roads leading to life or death, which do you choose?”

Yang Menghuan thought, This emaciated white-haired old man looks eerie, eyes like lightning, holding that weird snakehead staff, glossy black under the moonlight. One look and he knew the man was made of iron, and he talked big, clearly not an ordinary person. His mind windmilled around several times, then he smiled and said, “I’ve never even seen the treasure map, how can I tell you where it is?”

The white-haired old man laughed his cold, eerie laugh. “You say you’ve never seen the treasure map, that might be true, but it’s also absolutely true that it has fallen into the hands of Master One Yang, the abbot of Mystic Metropolis. That ox-nose sectfather of yours might not have told you…”

He paused and slowly pressed in closer to Menghuan. “Then I’ll just take you two children hostage for now and tell your ox-nose sectfather to exchange for the map.

Yang Menghuan took a step back and said sternly, “Who are you to be so wildly arrogant…”

Before Menghuan could finish, the old man laughed hideously and said, “You’re not worthy to ask this old fogey his name.”

Just then a long cry was heard some ways off and under the moonlight a black figure zipped out like a shooting star and was soon upon the three of them. Yang Menghuan got a good look at him and swore to himself. It was none other than Eight Armed Divine Codger Wen Gongtai, who had seem in the abandoned temple.

Wen Gongtai held his bamboo staff and eyed the old man with the weird snakehead staff and said coldly, “Brother Qiu, you’ve had a long life, you’re not dead yet?”

The thin old man put on a fake smile. “You’re too kind. Brother Wen’s eyes and ears are sharp, you actually got wind of this and hurried here. There’s a deep connection between us, I never imagined running into you here.”

Wen Gongtai ignored the thin old man and turned to Yang Menghuan and Xialin. “Are you two disciples of Master One Yang of the Kunlun School?”

Yang Menghuan had heard the conversation between he and the two Geese of Diancang when he was hiding behind the god statues in the abandoned temple, so he knew he was the sectmaster of the Mount Hua School. He saluted with a hand cupped over his fist. “Junior is a Kunlun disciple. is Senior Eight Armed Divine Codger of the Mount Hua School?”

Wen Gongtai was taken aback and thought, This kid really is a bit unusual. He nodded. “That’s right, this old rotter is Wen Gongtai. How did you recognize me?”

Yang Menghuan sized up the current situation and had no choice but to adapt to it. “Senior is a revered sectmaster, Junior has often heard my teacher mention Senior’s noble bearing. My teacher told Junior that he has a deep respect for Senior.”

His words put a happy look on Wen Gongtai’s face, who laughed and said, “That’s no wonder, this old rotter and my old pal Master One Yang have met many times. Mount Hua and Kunlun are both honorable, major schools within the martial world.”

With that he changed his tone and asked, “Word has it that your teacher has obtained the treasure map. It that so?”

Yang Menghuan knew that if he continued to deny it now then he might very well incur Wen Gongtai’s wrath, and that wouldn’t be good, so he thought for a moment and said, “As far as Junior knows, my teacher recently indeed did obtain an exquisite jade box, but whether or not the jade box contained the treasure map, I don’t know.”

Wen Gongtai asked, “When your teacher left Mystic Metropolis, where did he go, do you know?”

Before Yang Menghuan could answer, the skinny old man bellowed, “Oh I see! You dare lie to me, I’ll take care of you.”

And then he attacked, his snakehead staff thrusting out with Flying Falls, Flowing Spring, but Wen Gongtai’s bamboo staff warded it off with Clog the River to Stop the Fight. He sneered, “Snakeman Qiu Yuan, for someone of your status within the martial world to deal with a junior like that, aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you?”

Qiu Yuan raged, “Spare me your pleasant words, you came from afar all the way out here to northern Hunan to snatch the treasure map too.”

Wen Gongtai laughed loudly. “That’s true actually, everyone wants the treasure map, but only one will be able to have it. Master One Yang’s whereabouts are unknown, but his student would make the perfect hostage. Kunlun’s Split Second Swordplay and Celestial Dipper Palm is famed throughout the martial world, Qiu Yuan, are you confident you can beat the Three Masters of Kunlun? The way I see it, it would be better for you to do me a favor and let me take these two kids and go, lest it harm our friendship!”

Qiu Yuan sneered eerily and said, “Brother Wen says it so casually, but I fear it won’t be as easy as you think!”

Wen Gongtai said, “What? You’d really dare to try and stop me?”

Qiu Yuan raised the snakehead staff in his hand. “Maybe I will. You think I won’t?”

Wen Gongtai raged, “Well then why don’t you try it?” And with the bamboo staff in his right hand he chopped down with Sudden Lightning Strikes the Crown, and Qiu Yuan’s snakehead staff blocked it with Wrist Overturns the Clouds and took the opportunity to sweep past. Wen Gongtai loosed a long laugh and sprang up, bamboo staff launching a quick attack, a there was a mass of blurring green striking with overwhelming force at Qiu Yuan. Wen Gongtai was the sectmaster of the Mount Hua School, a grandmaster, so his martial arts was naturally extraordinary, and right now he was eager to seek victory, attacking with strange moves continuously, move after move extremely ruthless. Despite the fact that it was only a green bamboo staff, in his hands it was extraordinarily powerful. It danced in the air up and down, internal forcewind threatening the distance of a stave away.

But Snakeman Qiu Yuan was also a standout figure of the jianghu, the snakehead staff in his hand forming its own school of moves. The two had fought before, twenty years ago, Snakeman losing to Wen Gongtai. To Qiu Yuan this was the greatest humiliation of his life, and so he had gone into hiding on Mount Jiuhua and trained arduously, his power and skill now much advanced compared to twenty years ago. Very few big names in the martial world could take ten moves of Wen Gongtai’s 81-move Demon-Subduing Staff. Now he had launched more than twenty moves in a row but it was still not enough to deal with Snakeman Qiu Yuan, which enraged him, his green bamboo staff striking swifter and more ferociously.

Snakeman Qiu Yuan’s strange snakehead staff also struck with remarkable moves in droves. It shot up and struck across with a faint sound of wind and thunder.

Yang Menghuan saw that the more they fought the stranger their moves became, and the forcewind from their staffs became stronger and stronger. He knew they were gradually put their internal force into their staffs when they struck, going all out. Now was the time for Menghuan to run away, but these two rare masterhands of the martial world exchanging blows, attacking and defending, was so amazing that Yang Menghuan was rapt, with no thought of fleeing.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his sleeve from the right and knew it must be Xialin. He reached out and held a smooth little hand. He just felt it was as soft as could be, as sleek as jade, and at the same time a faint scent assailed him and he heard a sweet soft voice say, “Why are you standing there in a daze, aren’t we going to get out of her? If we wait won’t we not be able to leave?”

Menghuan realized it didn’t sound like Xialin and turned to look and his shy handsome face couldn’t help but feel hot and he quickly let go of her hand, blushing and stammered but couldn’t get the words out. Turns out it was not Miss Shen but Shadowless Girl Li Yaohong.

Yang Menghuan was going to apologize, but Li Yaohong looked at him affectionately and lightly shook her head and Yang Menghuan’s mind cleared and he realized how much danger they were in. He turned and saw Xialin had also noticed. This adorable immature girl had just seen the girl in black when she stopped them on the road, but now she had a gentle look on her face, standing between her and Big Brother Huan. She felt is odd and was about to ask about it when Yang Menghuan pulled her by the hand and whispered, “Don’t say anything, let’s get out of here!” Xialin gave him a confused look and looked at Li Yaohong but was hauled away by Menghuan into the woods.

Shadowless Girl saw how intimate Menghuan treated Xialin and she felt a trace of jealous hate. She turned to see that Wen Gongtai and Snakeman Qiu Yuan had reached a critical juncture, each using their true internal power to unleash their blows in an all out fight, the invisible force of their internal power blasting out for several staves in all directions. Li Yaohong was inwardly shocked to see that the two of them had reached such an awesome stage of power. If she didn’t get out of here now but waited for one of them to lose, it would not be easy for her to get away. Their anger at Yang Menghuan getting away might be put on her, but as soon as she had that thought, Wen Gongtai noticed that Menghuan had left and he hollered, sweeping his bamboo staff to force back Qiu Yuan’s snakehead staff, and chopped through the air with his left hand with a whoosh, a gust of strong forcewind surging toward Qiu Yuan. This strike was like a dam bursting, its strength fare more than a thousand catties.

Snakeman Qiu Yuan knew if he met this chop head on it would decide who among them lived and died, so he could only spring up into the air to avoid the chop, and with a burst of ferocious forcewind he thrust directly into the woods behind him, the powerful forcewind so strong is broke branches and sent them flying.

Eight Armed Divine Codger Wen Gongtai warded off Snakeman Qiu Yuan with his palm strike, then leapt across and blocked Li Yaohong’s way and asked coldly, “Little girl, who are you? Where did that guy and girl just now go?”

Li Yaohong thought, “Yang Menghuan hasn’t been gone long, if I tell him where he went, this old guy will be able to catch up to him for sure. This person’s martial arts was unsurpassed, a rarity. It looked strong enough to take on her father, Sky and Sea Elder Li Canglan. Him pursuing Menghuan didn’t bode well, and for a time she felt a mix of love and hate in her heart. She thought for a long time but could not answer.

Wen Gongtai saw the girl in black was just lost in thought and not answering him. He raged, “What, don’t tell me you, little girl, are a Kunlun disciple too? If you don’t answer me, don’t blame this old man for bullying a junior!”