The Return to the Origin Manual
Part 3 (22)
Eight Armed Divine Codger had intended to mass all of his power and have it out once and for all with Master One Yang, and if he won, use that victory to snatch the Return to the Origin manual. If he lost, he could use his Finger-Snapping Golden Pellet skill which was unrivaled in the jianghu to gain victory. He was confident that his internal skill was advanced enough that victory was more likely than defeat. Unexpectedly, just as they were about to attack, the two Gees of Diancang arrived just in the nick of time. Wen Gongtai’s felt a chill, knowing that even if he could snatch the Return to the Origin manual, Master Wise Perfected and the Two Geese of Diancang would join up and intercept him.
His Finger-Snapping Golden Pellet was a unique skill in the martial world and could handle Master Wise Perfected and Greatmaster Clear Karma if he took them by surprise, but when you added in the Two Geese of Diancang, four teaming up together, then it was a more difficult matter. He couldn’t help but transfer his fury onto the Two Geese of Diancang. Given the current situation, he would have to strike first and defeat the Geese, getting rid of two formidable foes, then try to snatch the Return to the Origin manual. He predicted that Master One Yang and the others would never team up to help the Two Geese, so he concentrated his power and turned to the Two Geese, thinking to finish them both off with one strike.
But the Two Geese of Diancang were no weaklings. The second of the Three Geese, the one with the Daoist robe and his hair in a mallet bun, with a swarthy face and a long beard, was called Goose Among the Clouds Liao Kun. The other one, third in seniority, with the fair face and no beard, dressed as a scholar in his blue robe and squarecap, was Windchaser Goose Ye Hui. Together with the most senior one, Heaven Overthrowing Goose Ma Jiahong, they were known as the Three Geese of Diancang. Of the three of them, Ma Jiahong’s martial arts was the best, and he was Diancang School’s 14th generation sectmaster. Liao Kun and Ye Hui’s martial arts, though much inferior to their senior sectbrother’s, they were still top figures in the martial world. Ma Jiahong’s kungfu had already reached the sublime, and he spent all his time immersed in quiet cultivation and rarely left the mountain. Liao Kun and Ye Hui, rather, often roamed the jianghu together. This time while traveling to the Hunan and Hubei areas they got wind of a rumor that Master One Yang had obtained the treasure map, and they immediately had covetous thoughts about vying for the Return to the Origin manual themselves. There was no time to go back to the mountains and notify their sectmaster senior sectbrother, so they just just went in pursuit to Mount Kuocang.
Let’s turn now to the Two Geese, who saw Wen Gongtai’s beard and brows fanning out as he slowly closed in on them. They knew he was up to no good and hurriedly readied themselves, standing side by side surreptitiously focusing their qi in preparation for receiving Eight Armed Divine Codger’s overwhelming strike.
Wen Gongtai saw the Two Geese were as still as mountains, focused and waiting for him, and he knew they were ready to have an all-out battle of power. He sneered inwardly and was about to launch his attack when suddenly from behind he heard a clear shout, followed by the clanging sound of metal clashing. He held back the power he was about to unleash and turned to look. At some point Snakeman Qiu Yuan had arrived. And he was already fighting with Master Wise Perfected, his strange snakehead staff licking out, retracting, chopping, sweeping, staff forcewind whistling swift and fierce as anything.
Master Wise Perfected was still using the Split Second Swordplay to ward off her foe, a silver arc flashing like lightning as sword qi dashed to the clouds. Snakeman Qiu Yuan’s attack was peerlessly fast and ferocious, yet it was neutralized by Master Wise Perfected’s quick and nimble ingenious sword strokes.
Wen Gongtai studied and weighed the situation and felt that this was not the right time to have it out with the Two Geese. Even if he defeated them, it would cost him a lot of perfected energy. Better to quietly wait and see what happened and look for an opportunity to strike. His mind taking a sharp turn, he put away the power he had been about to unleash and said to the Two Geese with a derisive laugh, “There will be time for this later, when the Three Geese of Diancang are all together, then I’ll come seeking instruction. How’s that?”
The Two Geese obviously knew what Eight Armed Divine Codger meant, but they still had their sights set on the Return to the Origin manual. If they fought with him now, someone else could just wait and reap the rewards. Wen Gongtai stopping was just what they wanted, so they smiled faintly at the same time and didn’t reveal their thinking, and the hostility among the three of them disappeared for the time being and they stood by and watched the ferocious battle between Qiu Yuan and Master Wise Perfected.
Master Wise Perfected and Qiu Yuan exchanged 80 or more moves with still no victor decided. This made Master Wise Perfected furious and with a shout her sword suddenly switched to using the Soul Seeker Twelve masterstrokes. In an instant her sword waved in a myriad points of cold stars, swordlight transforming to a thousand streams of auspicious qi. The Soul Seeker Twelve Swordplay was the quintessence of Kunlun School’s swordcraft. As expected, Snakeman Qiu Yuan was no match for it. He was pushed back to the edge of the cliff by Master Wise Perfected’s sword forcewind. Just two more killer strokes from her and Qiu Yuan would be wounded. But she had always been a humane person and didn’t want to just randomly hurt someone. She put her sword away and said, “Your snakehead staff moves really are good but not good enough to steal the Return to the Origin manual.”
Qiu Yan looked ashamed and hung his head in silence. Eight Armed Divine Codger said coldly, “Brother Qiu, since you were defeated, what are you waiting for? You should go on and excuse yourself.”
Snakeman was so angered by Wen Gongtai’s provocation that he was shaking, his white beard standing on end in fury and his face taking on an ashen complexion. He loosed a ghastly laugh. “Brother Wen enough with the snide remarks. Sooner or later we will have our fight to the death.”
Wen Gongtai sneered, “I said earlier that Brother Qiu is no match for the Three Masters of Kunlun. Today you learned that my words weren’t empty talk. As for Brother Qiu wanting to fight me, naturally I’d stake my life to accompany you.”
Qiu Yuan was incited again by Wen Gongtai and was angry his eyes blazed. He threw down his snakehead staff and took weapons out from his robe as thick as chicken eggs. They were one span, eight fingerwidths long and shaped like a judge’s brush. He said to Master Wise Perfected, “I’m indebted to you for going easy. I ought to have humbly admitted defeat, but I’ve never known what’s good for me, and I’d like to try these Flying Dragon Cudgels against a few of your brilliant moves.”
Master Wise Perfected was furious that he still didn’t admit defeat. She held her sword out crosswise and said, “Feel free to use whatever weapon abilities you still have. I’ll definitely accompany you.”
Qiu Yuan laughed coldly, “Alright, Lady Xia, please be careful…”
Before he finished, Master Wise Perfected’s sword was already at his chest with the move Roiling Waves, Flowing Sand, and Qiu Yuan had to meet the foe with his Flying Dragon Cudgels. This time Master Wise Perfected was no longer lenient, using three Soul Seeker Twelve masterstrokes in a row: Rising Phoenix, Soaring Flood Dragon, Glimpse of the Divine Dragon, and Earth Smashing, Heaven Shaking, cycling through the three moves like a wild whirlwind blowing through in a sheet of cold lightning awns of light, forcing Qiu Yuan to continuously jump and pull back and duck in order to dodge them.
Master One Yang was suspicious when he saw Qiu Yuan abandon his snakehead staff and take out these weapons that were like a cudgel but not, like a brush but not. He scrutinized them but could not see anything special about them, and for a time he couldn’t figure it out, but he assumed they must have some function. He was about to call for Junior Sister to be careful when Master Wise Perfected struck first, three strokes in a swift attack, flustering Qiu Yuan till he was tripping over himself. He paid close attention to the weapons in Qiu Yuan’s hands while staying on guard against a surprise attack from Eight Armed Divine Codger and the Two Geese. Just as he turned to glance at Eight Armed Divine Codger, he suddenly heard Master Wise Perfected cry out. Master One Yang turned to look and was scared out of his skin and was so grieved he nearly cried.
What happened was Master Wise Perfected’s three masterstrokes forced Qiu Yuan back more than a stave, and she was about to unleash her killer move to force Snakeman to submit and eliminate a formidable foe. She immediately used the move Laughingly Pointing to the South and Qiu Yuan’s eyes raged, hair and beard standing on end. He shouted, “Master Wise Perfected, since you’re being vicious, don’t blame me for being cruel!” The iron cudgel in his left hand and cut upward, parrying her sword. Master Wise Perfected inwardly sniggered and thought, You’re bringing trouble on yourself. She sank her jade wrist and changed her sword stroke to Spring Clouds Suddenly Open Up. But before she could execute the move she saw a golden light flash before her eyes and a reeking wind assailed her. In her haste she did not have time to wound her enemy but turned her head to the side and swung her sword to guard her face and felt a pain in her right wrist holding her sword. She collected herself and looked and cried out in fright and her sword clanged to the ground.
On Master Wise Perfected’s snow-white jade wrist was attached a little golden snake seven or eight fingerwidths long with for long, pointy venomous fangs. It had already sunk deep into her flesh and its body hung down, tail swinging back and forth. She felt the bite area unbearably itchy, and at the same time several black lines were slowly moving up her arm and she felt a chill in her heart as her strength suddenly left her. She staggered back a few steps, nearly falling down.
Master One Yang, Greatmaster Clear Karma, and Yang Menghuan rushed over and surrounded Master Wise Perfected. Master One Yang swung his sword to decapitate the snake, but he heard Qiu Yuan holler, “Better stop, you really don’t want her to live?”
Master One Yang stopped and turned to Qiu Yuan and yelled, “How toxic could a small little venomous snake be? Are you saying it really is fatal?”
Qiu Yuan said coldly, “If it were an ordinary venomous snake then it wouldn’t be fatal to one proficient in internal skill. However, this gold thread snake is different. Unless you’re made of iron or steel, or are a bronze arhat, you won’t be able to endure it. If you cut off the snake biting her wrist, the wound from the snake will release all its venom, which will get into her wound and in less than a double-hour that rare venom will attack her heart and she will die. If you don’t believe me, just try it and see.”
Master One Yang took a good look at the little golden snake. It really was a kind he’d never seen before. In a low voice he said to Master Wise Perfected, “Hurry up and sit still and focus your qi to close off your right elbow’s ‘Pool at the Bend’ acupoint. Don’t let the snake venom spread.”
Master Wise Perfected was actually calm and smiled faintly. She looked hard at First Brother and said, “Dying is nothing. Don’t you dare be coerced by him.” Then she slowly sat down and closed her eyes and circulated her qi.
Master One Yang looked at Junior Sister, at the gold snake wriggling on her jade wrist, and though the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smile, decades of their past love flooded his mind instantly. Seeing Master Wise Perfected now facing death unflinchingly was like a hundred thousand invisible swords piercing his heart. In a burst of misery all his hopes turned to ash and he slowly took the yellow bundle from his back and handed it out to Qiu Yuan. “You just wanted the Return to the Origin manual. Now I will grant you your wish. However, you have to dispel the gold thread snake venom for her.”
Eight Armed Divine Codger and the Two Geese off to the side were livid when they saw this. Qiu Yuan stood there stupefied for a moment, then said, “If I wanted to cheat you out of your Return to the Origin manual I could just give you any old medicine, that’s not impossible. But I, Qiu, am not so low class and despicable as that.”
Master One Yang’s heart froze. Voice quavering, he asked, “You mean there’s no antidote that can save her?”
Qiu Yuan said, “Her life can be saved, but all of her internal power will be expended like running water, and even then she could only live another ten years. After that, the snake venom will flare up again, and even if you had a Rise From the Dead elixir it would be difficult to save her.”
Master One Yang sighed. “Then let her live ten more years! Dispel the snake venom for her, and I will give you the Return to the Origin manual.
Qiu Yuan took a small white jade vial from his robe and tipped out a green pill and put it in his mouth and chewed on it to crush it, then he pressed the spring mechanism on the handle of the Flying Dragon Cudgel in his right hand and the top end split open. Turns out his pair of Flying Dragon Cudgels were hollow, and a gold thread snake was hidden inside each one. When fighting, all he had to do was press the spring mechanism and the top end would split open and shoot out a gold thread snake.
These peculiar weapons had cost Snakeman a lot of painstaking effort, and the gold thread snakes had taken him dozens of years searching all over the famed mountains of the Western Regions to find a pair of them. He had been planning on using them against Wen Gongtai to avenge his humiliation from twenty years ago. He never thought the first time he’d use them would be to wound Master Wise Perfected.
Qiu Yuan went over to Master Wise Perfected looking nervous and first encased the wriggling golden tail of the snake in the open end of his cudgel, then he suddenly opened his mouth and blew out the crushed green pill.
The green pill was a special drug to control the venomous snake. Once hit by the medicine spray it opened its mouth on Master Wise Perfected’s wrist and slid into the Flying Dragon Cudgel. Qiu Yuan then let go of the spring mechanism and it closed up. After he put the gold thread snake away, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Now we just have to wait to treat her to remove the venom. But in this remote mountain valley there’s no way to find the proper tools and medicine. We’ll have to leave Mount Kuocang in order to be able to remove the venom.
RECENTLY UPDATES
