"Let's do this then," Qin Laowu said, "We take our separate ways; I deliver the invitation, you go back to the Temple to report to Shifu."
The surnamed Shou was afraid he might run into the enemies on the road; thereupon he did not answer immediately. Qin Laowu was angry, "Take your pick, then. Would you rather deliver the invitations? It is up to you."
The surnamed Shou contemplated the options in his mind. In the end he decided that returning to their mountain was safer; thereupon he said, "I will follow Qin Wuge's instruction; let me return to the mountain and give report to Shifu." Straightaway both of them turned around to leave.
Zhao Min moved slightly and groaned lightly twice. Qin and Shou two people were startled. Turning their heads around they saw Zhao Min were moving. This time they looked carefully and saw that she was a woman.
"Who is this woman?" Qin Laowu was surprised. He walked into the room. Although the one surnamed Shou was a coward, seeing that it was a woman, a seriously wounded woman, he gathered up his courage and followed in.
Qin Laowu reached down to pull Zhao Min's shoulder. Zhang Wuji coughed and sat up. He took a meditation position with his eyes half open. Qin and Shou two people were extremely shocked to see him suddenly sit up, with his face full of blood and a terrifying appearance.
"Not good!" the surnamed Shou cried out, "It's a zombie. This corpse ... this corpse is haunted by a ghost. Qin Wuge must ... must be careful." He hastily jumped on top of the bed.
"Bad zombie!" Qin Laowu called out, "The one surnamed Qin is not afraid of you." Lifting up his saber, he ferociously hacked it down on the top of Zhang Wuji's head.
Zhanh Wuji had been ready with two Sheng Huo Ling tablets in his hands. As soon as the saber hacked down, he raised his tablets and placed them on top of his head. 'Bang!' the saber hacked the Sheng Huo Ling and immediately bounced back and smashed Qin Laowu's brain that he died immediately.
The one surnamed Shou was holding a saber in his hand, but he was trembling all over; how could he dare to slash it on Zhang Wuji's body? Zhang Wuji was waiting for him to attack, so that his Jiu Yang Zhen Qi might strike him dead.
Zhao Min saw that the surnamed Shou was not moving for a long time; she was getting anxious, "This coward is scared out of his wits and does not dare to make his move. If he throws his saber away and run out, how can we stop him?" She saw his teeth were chattering, and then 'clank!' his saber fell down from his grip.
"Chop me if you dare," Zhang Wuji said, "Strike me with your fist."
"Xiao ... Xiao De [little/lowly one] don't have any guts," he replied, "Don't ... don't dare to fight Laoye [old master]."
"Kick me, then," Zhang Wuji said
The man replied, "Xiao De ... Xiao De do not dare even more."
"You are such a useless man [orig. 'nong2 bao1' – wrapping cloth of boiled wound], you'd better be dead," Zhang Wuji indignantly said, "Quickly chop me once or twice. If I see that your strength is not bad, I might spare your life."
"Yes, yes!" the man scrambled to pick up his saber. He took a glance on the wretched condition of the smashed skull of Qin Laowu, and thought that this zombie's magical power was superior, so it would be better for him to ask for mercy. Hence, he knelt down immediately and knocked his head on the floor, "Laoye have mercy! You have died an unjust death. It has nothing to do ... nothing to do with Xiao Ren [little/lowly man]. Please don't ... don't take revenge on Xiao Ren's life."
Listening to him addressing Zhang Wuji as a dead man, Zhao Min was angry. "Humph," she snorted, "I am surprised in the Wulin world there is this kind of peon with no future."
"Yes, yes!" that man said, "Xiao De has no future, no future. I am only a peon, only a peon."
The more he did not dare to act, the more Zhang Wuji was baffled. Suddenly he had an idea. "Come here!" he barked.
"Yes!" that man hastily replied. He crawled several steps forward, still in kneeling position.
Zhang Wuji stretched out his arms and placed his thumbs on that man's eyeballs. "I'll dig out your eyeballs first!" he roared.
In his great shock, without thinking that man raised his hands to ward off Zhang Wuji's arms with all his strength. Zhang Wuji was expecting this push; borrowing this strength, he slid his arms downward and sealed the 'shen feng' [lit. divine seal ('seal' as in official 'seal' on a letter)] and 'bu lang' [lit. walking/pacing porch] acupoints on his chest.
The man's entire body went numb and he slid down to the floor. "Laoye have mercy! Laoye have mercy!" he loudly cried, "Turns out Laoye is not a zombie. That's very good! Then ... then you have even more reasons to spare my life." By now he was prostrating right in front of Zhang Wuji, after looking clearly that the other party was a living person.
Zhao Min realized that Zhang Wuji sealed the acupoints using a borrowed strength, but the sealing force was really too small. He could only immobilize that man's limbs for a short time; that man's strength was not completely gone. In less than an hour, the sealed acupoints would be opened; and then they would be in trouble. She also knew that there were so many questions she would like to ask him, so obviously they could not kill him yet.
"Your fatal acupoints have been sealed by this Master," she said, "When you take a deep breath, you feel a dull pain deep in the side of your left chest, don't you?"
Following her words, he took a deep breath and did feel pain on the muscle and bones of his left chest. Actually, it was the natural reaction when the flow of 'qi' and the blood was stopped momentarily; but that man did not know, so he wailed and cried for mercy even louder.
"Do you want to save your life?" Zhao Min asked, "I must use a golden needle to unseal the fatal acupoints. But it won't be easy."
The man kowtowed and said, "Miss, no matter the difficulty, you must save me. Even if Xiao Ren has to become an ox or a horse, I will still implore you."
Zhao Min smiled sweetly and said, "This is the first time I ever see a Jianghu character like you. All right, go find a brick and come back here."
"Yes, yes!" that man busily said. Stumbling out to the courtyard, he picked a brick and walked back.
"What do you need the brick for?" Zhang Wuji said in a low voice.
Zhao Min smiled mysteriously, "I have an ingenious idea."
With a brick in his hand, that man respectfully walked in. Zhao Min pulled a golden hairpin from her hair and placed the hairpin on that man's 'que pen xue' [lit. empty basin acupoint] on his shoulder. She said, "I am going to use this golden needle to unseal the blood vessels on the upper part of your body first, so that the deathly 'qi' from the fatal acupoint will not flow into your brain. If that happens, you are beyond help. But I don't know whether this Master is willing to spare your life or not."
That man looked at Zhang Wuji with a piteous face. Zhang Wuji nodded. That man jubilantly said, "This Daye [grand master] has agreed. Miss, please start immediately."
"Hmm, are you afraid of pain?" Zhao Min said.
"Xiao Ren only fears death, I don't fear pain," the man replied.
"Very well!" Zhao Min said, "Use the brick to tap this golden needle in."
That man knew that inserting the golden needle into his shoulder would mean his skin and flesh would be injured. But without wrinkling his brows, he lifted up the brick and struck the tail of the hairpin.
As the brick went down, the golden hairpin pierced the 'que pen xue'. That man did not feel pain at all, on the contrary, he felt comfortable, so his confidence in Zhao Min grew and he did not stop expressing his thanks to her. Zhao Min told him to draw the pin out, and then pierced his 'hun men' [soul gate], 'po hu' [spirit entrance], 'tian zhu' [pillar of the Heaven], 'ku fang' [storage room], and other acupoints, seven or eight in total.
Zhang Wuji smiled and said, "That's enough! That's enough!" He stood up, knowing that with these acupoints pierced, if that man wanted to escape, as soon as he exerted his strength to run, these acupoints would flare-up, and he would meet his doom.
"Go fetch two buckets of water," Zhao Min told him, "We want to wash our faces. And then you can cook some rice. If you want to die, go ahead and put some poison in the food, and then the three of us will become ghosts together."
"Xiao De does not dare, Xiao De does not dare," that man said. And thus Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min had a servant to attend to their needs.
Zhao Min asked his name. Turned out his surname was Shou [long life], given name Nanshan [southern mountain]; he was known in Jianghu as 'wan shou wu jiang' [ten thousand long life without limit]. Actually, his friends were making fun of him since he had always shrunk from battle, so they said that he would have a long life because he would never be killed in a battle.
Although he belonged to the group of 'lu lin' [lit. green forest, outlaws – see similar occurrence above] warriors who joined Yuan Zhen's school, Yuan Zhen regarded his talent as lacking, his intelligence low, so Yuan Zhen only used him to do the leg work but had never imparted any martial art skill to him.
Even after his acupoints were sealed, Shou Nanshan did not lose his physical strength; he carried out Zhao Min's instructions diligently. He was the one who dragged all nine corpses and buried them in the rear yard, and he also fetched water to clean the temple from all the bloodstains. His martial art skill might be mediocre, but his culinary skill could be considered first class. As Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min enjoyed the meat and vegetable dishes he prepared, they heaped him with praises.
After everything was settled, Zhang and Zhao two people began interrogating him about the 'Lion-slaying Heroes' Assembly'. Contrary to their expectation, Shou Nanshan did not even try to conceal anything from them, but too bad his companions did not regard him too highly, so that in many things nobody had ever told him anything. He only knew that the Shaolin Temple Abbot, Reverend Kong Wen, had assigned Yuan Zhen to preside over this assembly. Yuan Zhen, acting on behalf of Kong Wen and Kong Zhi, two divine monks, had broadcasted invitations to all heroes and warriors from all schools and sects, clans and societies around the world, to gather at the Shaolin Temple on the Duanwu day, to discuss a very important matter.
Zhang Wuji asked to see the invitation. It was addressed to Fu Chenzi, Gu Songzi, Gui Zangci, and other sword masters of Diancang Pai of Yunnan. The sword masters of Diancang had been famous for quite a while, but they were living way down south in Yunnan, and had never had any contact with the Wulin characters of the Central Plains. This time even Shaolin Pai invited them to come. It was clear that the scale of this assembly was to be magnificent. Shaolin Pai was the Wulin leader. When Kong Wen and Kong Zhi personally issued an invitation, no matter what important matter the addressee was facing, they would lay it aside and come to attend the meeting.
Zhang Wuji noticed that the invitation did not have too many characters on it; it simply said, 'Respectfully inviting (you) on the Duan Yang festival, to get together at Shaolin, to enjoy goblets of wine and be merry with the heroes of the world.' There was no reference on 'lion-slaying' at all.
"Why did that Qin Laowu say this meeting was called 'Lion-slaying Heroes' Assembly'?" Zhang Wuji asked.
Shou Nanshan, with a smug look on his face, said, "Zhang-ye [Master Zhang] did not know it, but my Shifu has captured a very important character who is called Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun. For this kind of accomplishment, our Shaolin Pai wants to show our face in front of all the world's heroes. We are going to kill this Jin Mao Shi Wang in public, that is why this meeting is called the 'Lion-slaying Heroes' Assembly'."
Suppressing his anger Zhang Wuji asked again, "What kind of character is this Jin Mao Shi Wang? Have you seen him? How did your Shifu capture him? Currently, where is this person being detained at?"
"This fellow Jin Mao Shi Wang," Shou Nanshan said, "Hey, hey, he is truly magnificent. He is twice as tall as Xiao Ren, his upper arm is thicker than Xiao Ren's thigh. Apart from everything else, whenever he is staring at you with that pair of sparkling bright eyes of his, you would feel that your soul is flying out of your body. Even without fighting, you would kowtow and beg for mercy ..."
Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min exchanged a glance, while Shou Nanshan continued, "My Shifu battled him for seven days and seven nights without clear decision of victory and defeat. Later on, my Shifu has gotten angry and launched his earth-shattering 'qin long fu hu gong' [capturing dragon, subduing tiger skill]; finally he was able to defeat him. Right now, this Jin Mao Shi Wang is detained in a large iron cage inside our Temple's Da Xiong Bao Dian [lit. great heroism precious hall]; with seven or eight pure steel chain links bound around his body ..."
The more Zhang Wuji listened, the angrier he got. "I told you to tell me the truth, and not such rubbish!" he roared, "Do you want me to take your life? Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Daxia has lost his vision, how can you say he has a pair of sparkling bright eyes?"
As his lies were exposed on the spot, Shou Nanshan busily said, "Yes! Yes! Xiao Ren must be mistaken."
"Now tell me, have you or have you not seen him [orig. lao3 ren2 jia1 – senior]?" Zhang Wuji asked, "What does Xie Daxia look like? Tell me."
In reality, Shou Nanshan had not seen Xie Xun at all. Knowing that he could no longer lie, he was afraid of his life, so he hastily said, "Xiao Ren does not dare to lie. Actually, I only heard what other brothers have said."
All Zhang Wuji wanted was the exact location of Xie Xun's imprisonment; but after repeated interrogation, Shou Nanshan still was not able to give him any new information. He thought this matter must be of great importance and was held in the strictest confidence, so of course a small peon like Shou Nanshan did not have any access to the information. Therefore, Zhang Wuji had no choice but to let it go. Luckily, the Duanyang festival was still some times away, since it was only the second month, so he still had time to wait until they were fully recovered from their injuries.
The three of them stayed in the Divine Temple of Mount Zhong ['zhong yue shen miao'] for several days. They spent their days in peace and quiet, since Shaolin Temple did not send anybody to establish any contact with the former occupants. Toward the eighth day, Zhao Min's injury had been 70, 80% healed, while Zhang Wuji's internal energy was flowing better progressively. He gradually regained the strength of his four limbs, so now it would not be difficult for them to escape even if the enemies arrived.
Shou Nanshan was waiting on them with all his heart, he did not dare to have the slightest idea of rebelling. Zhao Min said with a laugh, "'Wan Shou Wu Jiang', your mediocre martial art skill is nothing to be talked about, but your talent to be a 'guan jia' [housekeeper/butler] is actually top-notch."
"Well said, Miss," Shou Nanshan answered bitterly.
Everyday Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min enjoyed the delicacies Shou Nanshan meticulously prepared for them, making their stay at the Zhong Yue Shen Miao a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
After about ten more days, the two of them were fully recovered. Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min began to discuss their plan on rescuing Xie Xun.
"Actually, the best way would be to seal Wan Shou Wu Jiang's fatal acupoints, and then we can send him to Shaolin Temple as our spy," Zhao Min said, "But this man is so useless [orig. nong2 bao1], that he would most likely give himself away and spoil the important matters. Let's do this: right now, let us go to the foot of Shaoshi [the western peak of Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple is located]; we will act as the opportunity arises. Only we must change our appearances first."
"What should we disguise ourselves into?" Zhang Wuji asked, "Shall we shave our heads clean and become a monk and a nun?"
Zhao Min's face slightly blushed. "Pei!" she spat, "Only you can think of such thing! A young monk hanging around with a young nun all day; what would people think?"
Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Well then, let's become husband and wife, a couple of villagers who go to the foot of Shaoshi Peak to open up rice field and gather firewood."
"Can't we be brother and sister?" Zhao Min laughed, "If we become husband and wife, I am afraid if Miss Zhou sees it, I would have five more finger holes on my left shoulder."
Zhang Wuji also laughed, but he felt uncomfortable in continuing their conversation. After asking about the situation and the layout of the Shaolin Temple in details from Shou Nanshan, he said, "The sealed fatal acupoints in your body have been loosened. You can go."
"However," Zhao Min added sternly, "For the rest of your life, you must live in the southern area. As soon as you see snow and ice, you will lose your life. I suggest you move to the south as soon as possible; you must live in a warm climate; the hotter the better. See to it that you do not subject yourself to cold wind; if you ever catch a cold or cough, your life will be in grave danger."
Shou Nanshan took her advice seriously; he took his leave from the two people, and left the temple heading south that very same day. He spent the rest of his life on the hilly area of the south, being careful not to catch any cold or cough. He died during the years of Yong Le [the third Ming Emperor, 1403 – 1424], of the Ming Dynasty. Although he did not actually live an unlimited life for ten thousands of years [wan shou wu jiang], he did live a long and enjoyable life.
Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min waited for him to walk far before they carefully cleared up any evidence of their presence from the temple. They went for more than 20 'li's before stopping by at a farmer house to buy two sets of male and female farmer clothes. They changed their clothes in the wilderness, and buried the clothing they were formerly wearing in the ground, before continuing their journey to the foot of Shaoshi Peak in a leisurely pace.
Before they were within seven, eight 'li's of the Shaolin Temple, they had already met monks from the Temple three times. "We cannot get any further," Zhao Min said.
They saw there was a thatched hut by the mountain path, with a patch of vegetable garden in front of it. An old farmer was busy watering the plants.
"Let's ask for lodging here," Zhao Min said.
Zhang Wuji went forward, cupped his fists in respect, and said, "Excuse me, Uncle. We, brother and sister, are traveling. We are tired and wondering if you could give us a bowl of water to quench our thirst."
It was as if the old farmer did not hear him at all, or he ignored him; he kept scooping manure mixed with water with a ladle and splashed it on the root of his vegetables. Zhang Wuji repeated his words, but the old farmer was still ignoring him. Suddenly the wooden door of the hut opened with a creaking noise, a white-haired granny came out. She laughed and said, "My husband is deaf and mute. What do you [orig. ke4 guan1 – honorable guest] need?"
"My sister is too tired to walk," Zhang Wuji said, "May I ask for a bowl of water for her?"
"Please come in," the old granny said.
They followed her in, and saw that the hut was very clean and tidy. The wooden table and stools were spotless. Although her clothes were made of coarse homespun fabric, they were very clean. Zhao Min was very happy; after drinking a bowl of water, she took out an ingot of silver and said with a smile, "Popo [granny], my Gege is taking me to see our maternal grandmother. My legs gave up along the way. I was wondering if we can spend the night here and continue our journey tomorrow early in the morning."
"I don't have any problem with you staying overnight in here, and I don't need your money," the old granny said, "But we only have one bedroom with a single bed in it. Granted that my husband and I can spend the night outside, but you, brother and sister, cannot possibly sleep in one bed, can you? Hey, hey, little Miss, you'd better tell Popo the truth, didn't you run away from home to be with your beloved Gege here?"
As the secret of her heart was revealed, Zhao Min blushed, thinking that this granny had very keen eyesight. She also thought that she did not speak like an old woman of an ordinary peasant family. Thereupon she took a second look at her and noticed that although her back was hunched, her eyes were mysteriously bright; perhaps she was a martial art expert in hiding. Zhao Min also realized that Zhang Wuji did not look like an ordinary farmer either, while her own appearance and mannerisms were certainly not those of farmer women's.
"Popo," she said quietly, "Since you have already guessed correctly, I can't lie to you. This Zeng Gege [big brother Zeng] is my childhood friend. My Father does not like him because his family is poor; he won't let me marry him. My Mama was aware I would rather die than not to be with him, so she told me to go ... to go with him. Mama said that after two, three years, when we ... we get a baby, we may come home. By that time, Father will have no choice but to let us marry each other."
While she was speaking, her face turned deep red, while she often stole a glance toward Zhang Wuji, with eyes full of love. She continued, "My family is quite respectable [orig. you3 mian4 zi5 – have a face] in Dadu. Father is a government official. If we were ever caught, Father would certainly beat Ah Niu Gege to his death. Popo, I have told you everything, you must not tell anybody."
The granny laughed out loud and said, "When I was young, I also belonged to a respectable family. Don't worry, I will let you, two young married, to use our room. This is a remote place, your family certainly won't look for you this far. Even if there is someone who will give you trouble, Popo will not stand on the side doing nothing."
She saw that Zhao Min was tender and beautiful, and she had entrusted her secret with her; so in her heart she regarded Zhao Min favorably. Thereupon she decided to do her best to help this young couple and to see a successful conclusion to their good deed.
Listening to her last words, Zhao Min was convinced that she was a Wulin character. Only this place was so close to the Shaolin Temple, she wondered whether this granny was related to Cheng Kun or not. She decided they must be very careful and must not reveal the least bit of flaw. Thereupon she gracefully knelt down and bowed while saying, "Popo is willing to take care of us, we are very grateful. Ah Niu Gege, come quickly and say thank you to Popo."
Zhang Wuji came following her instruction; he bowed in respect to express his gratitude. The granny smiled and nodded; immediately she let them use her room, while she built another bed in the main room with a plank, padded with some straw, and spread out a woven straw mat on it.
As they entered the room, in a low voice Zhang Wuji said, "The old farmer watering his garden has an even higher martial art skill, did you see that?"
"Ah, I did not see that," Zhao Min replied.
Zhang Wuji said, "He was carrying buckets of manure mixture using a shoulder pole, and he walked very slowly, but surprisingly the two buckets were very steady. That is a sign of a very high internal energy skill."
"How is he compared with you?" Zhao Min asked.
Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "Let me try it, and we'll see." He lifted her up and carried her on his shoulder just like someone carries something with a shoulder pole.
"Aiyo!" Zhao Min giggled, "You think I am a bucket of manure mixture?"
From outside the room the granny heard these two people were affectionately laughing and joking; any remnant of suspicions she previously had in her heart immediately vanished.