HEAVEN SWORD DRAGON SABRE Book 2 of 2

Casualties Of The Lion-Slaying Assembly Part 2

Hereafter, I will leave the word 'qi' as it is, or translate it as 'internal energy'.]

Zhang Wuji saw the old monk's five fingers striking toward Zhao Min like a bird's claw. Zhao Min was powerless to ward it off; she eluded by withdrawing into the bed. Zhang Wuji's mind was very anxious, but he kept sitting cross-legged, hoping that he could restore 20, 30% of his strength, which would be enough to drive these eight wicked thieves away.

Seeing that Zhang Wuji was still arrogantly sitting in meditation in a time like this, the short and stout monk angrily roared, "This kid is so arrogant; let the old man [referring to self] send him to the western sky first, so that he won't be in the way here!"

When saying that, he raised his right arm while his bones made cracking noise. With a 'whoosh' he sent a fist toward Zhang Wuji's chest. Seeing this desperate situation, Zhao Min's shrill voice cried out in fear; but she saw that as the stout monk's fist landed on its target, his right arm went limp, his eyes rolled until only the whites were visible, and he stood motionless.

The old monk was shocked; he stretched his hand to pull his comrade's hand. The plump monk's hand did not give any resistance, as he had already died. The rest of the monks were startled and angered. They cried out one after another, "This kid uses witchcraft! He is a sorcerer!"

What happened was: when the plump monk used his entire strength to strike Zhang Wuji's chest, he inadvertently hit the 'shan zhong xue' [lit. sheep odor acupoint]. Zhang Wuji's 'Jiu Yang Shen Gong' was not enough to attack the enemy, but it was more than sufficient to protect his own body. Not only did it rebound the fist strength of the enemy's strike, but also because the incoming strike was powerful, it spurred the Jiu Yang 'zhen qi' [real/true/genuine 'chi' – see above] inside his system, increasing the rebound force, adding strength behind the strength, so that the plump monk was killed instantly.

The old monk thought that Zhang Wuji's pocket must be loaded with poison-tipped arrows or some other venomous stingers, so that the plump monk died of severe poisoning. Stretching out his palm, he struck Zhang Wuji's right arm, which was exposed outside his sleeve, thinking that he had better break Zhang Wuji's arm first before dealing with him further.

As the powerful palm struck Zhang Wuji's arm, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi inside his body was incited again. The old monk was thrown outside immediately; he flew like an arrow and 'crack!', breaking through the window lattice, he struck the big locust tree in the courtyard, his skull was smashed and his brain burst forth.

The rest of the monks were shouting and screaming. One monk used both of his hands to attack Zhang Wuji's 'tai yang xue' [sun acupoint]. Another monk used the 'shuang long qiang zhu' [a pair of dragons fought over the pearl], stretching out his fingers to dig into Zhang Wuji's eyeballs. Yet another monk flew up and kicked Zhang Wuji's 'dan tian' [pubic area].

Zhang Wuji lowered his head to evade the attack to his eyes, letting the attacker's two fingers to hit his forehead. A series of 'Bang! Bang!', 'Aiyo!', 'Crack! Crack!' was heard; all three monks were shaken to their death one after another. The third monk's flying kick was so powerful that his right leg was broken on the spot. As Zhang Wuji's 'dan tian' received the kick, the 'zhen qi' in his body was aroused; unexpectedly the arteries and veins on the right half of his body were open. He mused, "It's a pity this wicked monk died too early. If he had kicked my dan tian several times, he might have helped me restoring my internal energy sooner. Apparently, although my injury is heavy, the recovery is not as difficult as I thought. I think I will need about ten days to half a month of recuperation to recover 100%."

Out of eight monks, five had died miserably. The remaining three wicked monks were frightened out of their wits; they raced against each other to get out of the room, and went straight out of the temple gate. After they were sure that Zhang Wuji did not run after them, they stopped and discussed among themselves. One monk said, "This kid must have used some witchcraft." The other monk said, "I think it was not witchcraft; this kid's internal energy is very strong, he could rebound the strike to injure the enemy." The third monk said, "That's right. In any case we must avenge our brothers' death."