Return of Condor Heroes, page 216
Jueyuan ignored these astonished people and continued his explanation, “Little Monk is in charge of the library. It is my duty to inspect every single book of the library’s collection. The ‘Nine Yang Manual’ is different from any other book. It contains lessons to make our body healthy and strong, like ‘Replacing Muscles Cleaning the Marrow’. I have mastered the lessons for many-many years, and true enough, I have never been sick. I have taught Junbao the rudimentary lessons from the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ for the last several years. Even though it was Master Damo’s original work, it was not as valuable as the Nijia Jing, which contains great teachings. Benevolent Sirs do not read Sanskrit; the book is useless to you. You’d better return it to me.”
Yang Guo was puzzled. He didn’t understand what the Monk was saying. He thought, “Lessons on health? This is very peculiar. The Monk is also very remarkable. If I didn’t know better, I would say the Monk is just acting. I wonder why Venerable Wuxiang and Wuse – who literally lived together with this Monk for decades, are not aware there is an expert of this caliber in their midst.” Reverend Yideng on the other hand, recognized that Jueyuan has reached perfection, that was the reason he could act so naïvely.
Yin Kexi patted his body. “I don’t have anything on me, how could I have the book?” he said loudly. “I don’t either!” Xiaoxiang Zi said, shaking his clothes.
“Let me see!” Junbao suddenly shouted. His body flew toward Yin Kexi. He grabbed his chest.
Yin Kexi turned his left arm around, eluding the attack. His right arm pushed Junbao’s shoulder. It looked like his movement was light, but it resulted in Junbao’s body collapsing to the ground.
“Aha! That was incorrect, Junbao!” cried Jueyuan, “You have to be patient. Your strength concentrated like a mountain. You will see whether he can push you down or not …”
Zhang Junbao leaped up. “That’s right, Shifu!” he said. Then he leaped toward Yin Kexi again.
Everybody else had lost their patience, but they were delighted hearing Jueyuan’s advice. They thought, “This gentle monk could encourage his disciple to fight after all …”
Yin Kexi repeated his former moves; he eluded the attack and then pushed out. But this time Junbao only staggered and did not collapse to the ground like before. Yin Kexi was astonished, he was afraid of Zhou Botong, Guo Jing and Yang Guo and their peers; who would have thought that he was not even able to overcome the boy? He was anxious and pushed harder.
Zhang Junbao held his ground. But Yin Kexi’s force abruptly disappeared and he fell down, face to the ground. Yin Kexi quickly straightened up and laughed, “Little Master, you shouldn’t have kneeled to me.” Of course he was mocking him.
Junbao’s face flushed. He came to his master and said, “I failed, Shifu.”
Jueyuan scratched his head. “He purposely made an ‘emptiness’,” he said. “He uses nothingness to defeat something. When you are exerting your energy, you must use it freely, don’t mind your opponent’s force’s direction. You see that mountain peak over there?” He pointed to a mountain peak to the west. “It has stood strong from thousands of years ago until today. Storms came from the west, rains from the east, it didn’t budge, but it did not purposely challenge the force of the nature either.”
Junbao was smart, he understood easily. He nodded. “Very well Shifu. I understand,” he said. “Let me try again.” After having said that, he slowly walked toward Yin Kexi.
Yang Guo kept his gaze on the youngster. He saw him leap forward before, and now he was walking slowly. Yang Guo knew it must be the principle taken from the ‘Nine Yang Manual’. So the book not only taught how to keep one’s body healthy, but also how to defeat an opponent.
When he was about four feet away from Yin Kexi, Junbao stretched out his arms to hold Yin’s hand. Yin Kexi laughed. He put forth his left arm as bait, and his right hand punched the boy’s chest. He had no intention to hurt him, so his punch was not frontal; it was slanted toward the boy’s side. He only wanted the boy to experience a little bit of pain and to learn a lesson.
Zhang Junbao did not elude the attack. In a flash his chest was hit. “Shifu, I can hold it!” he said.
Yin Kexi was shocked. His fist hit its target, yet he felt the boy’s body imparting an opposing force, which made his punch bounce back. Fortunately he was skilled. He quickly neutralized the force. His left hand moved toward the boy’s shoulder. He wanted to grab and lift and toss the boy away. When he lifted, the boy did not budge. He was shocked and amazed, and finally anxious. Several times he changed his tactics. Junbao only swayed back and forth, left and right, but he could not make him fall down. He kept throwing punches, and out of embarrassment said, “Little Master, I am not fighting with you! A valiant man would use diplomacy, not brute force. You go away, let us talk as decent people do.”
Each one of Yin Kexi’s punches was stronger than the previous one, but Junbao did not budge. His body kept imparting opposing forces. The harder he was hit, the stronger the opposing force was. After a while Junbao cried, “Ah, Shifu, he hit me hard! I feel pain! Shifu, help me!”
Yin Kexi said, “I won’t hit you if you don’t hit me first. Elder Master, if you want to hit me just do so. If you show mercy to me, I won’t dare to retaliate.”
Jueyuan shook his head. “What Benevolent Master Yin said was true!” he said, “You don’t need to use brute force … No, I can’t help you. You have to overcome your own problem. You have to know which one is empty which one is not. Everything is either empty or full. Remember what I said, your body must be like a drum, with nothing inside. Don’t put in too much, don’t put in too little, and don’t let it break.”
Junbao understood. He had been with Jueyuan since he was only six or seven years old, and his master had bestowed the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ on him. He readied himself. Now he only felt a little bit of pain, not as severe as before.
With a man of his skill, Yin Kexi could hurt the boy severely. But there were Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu, Zhou Botong, Guo Jing and the others standing nearby. He was afraid of them, thus he did not dare to kill or harm the boy. He could not knock the boy down, but the boy could not touch him either; so the two kept fighting.
Yang Guo and the others were amused. Xiaoxiang Zi frowned, he was perplexed and anxious. Guo Xiang also had lost her patience. “Little Brother, hit him!” she urged, “Why do you let him beat you without you retaliating?”
“No! Don’t!” Jueyuan cried, “Don’t be anxious, and don’t be angry! Don’t hit, don’t curse!”
“You hit him!” Guo Xiang encouraged, “If you can’t, I’ll help you!”
“Thank you, Miss!” said Junbao. He hit Yin Kexi’s chest.
“What a sin! What a sin!” cried Jueyuan shaking his head, “Your mind is no longer clear like a bright mirror stopping the water flow …”
Junbao fought as one who had never learned martial arts before, he just threw punches randomly; how could he injure the opponent? Yin Kexi heartily laughed, but actually he was distressed. He had been well known in the Jianghu world for dozens of years; nobody had the audacity to mock him. Who would have thought that he had to suffer humiliation by fighting with a young boy? The worse part was: he was not able to do anything … Even if Junbao’s punches were not hard, he eventually felt the pain.
Yin Kexi was anxious. His attacks were in vain. He wanted to kill the boy, but he was afraid of the others. He kept throwing punches, but the boy stood his ground. He was screaming with pain until Jueyuan repeatedly implored, “Benevolent Master Yin, please don’t kill my disciple; he is a very smart boy. He is bothering you because of the lost books; the treasured scriptures of our Sect. If the Abbot finds out, we will be severely punished. Little Monk implores you …” While to Junbao he said, “Junbao, remember your lessons. Use your brain, not your brawn. Follow the opponent’s movements, be flexible. Put your mind where he hits you …”
“That’s right!” Junbao loudly answered. Afterward, he did not scream anymore. Where Yin Kexi’s attack was, his mind was there. No more pain. Again Yin Kexi was puzzled. “Watch out, I will hit your head!” he threatened.
Junbao lifted his hand in anticipation, but he was tricked. Yin Kexi did not hit his head, but kicked with left leg so that the boy fell rolling to the ground. He kept rolling and came near Yang Guo.
“Benevolent Master Yin, why did you lie?” Jueyuan rebuked. “You said you were going to hit his head, you told him to watch out, but you kicked instead. You used trickery to deceive others.”
Huang Yaoshi and the others were very amused. In battle, emptiness is full, fullness is empty. One must use any trick that is unpredictable to the opponent.
Junbao was displeased. He rubbed the kicked part of his body and said, “I won’t stop until I search you!” He strode toward Yin Kexi.
Yang Guo stretched his arm to hold the boy. “Little Brother, wait a moment!” he said. Junbao was startled; he turned his head. He felt numbness from Yang Guo’s grip.
Yang Guo whispered, “All you did was let him hit you without hitting him back. You can’t do that. Let me teach you a move. And then you hit him and see what happens.” He then flicked his empty right sleeve in front to Junbao’s face while thrusting his left hand to the youngster’s chest. About half a foot away he suddenly changed direction to the boy’s waist. He whispered again, “Your Master was right, he said ‘put your mind where the opponent hits’. It is the same thing with your punch. Put your mind where your punch goes. As your Master said, use your brain, not your brawn.”
Junbao was delighted; he followed Yang Guo’s direction. He moved toward Yin Kexi, lifted his right arm toward Yin Kexi’s face while thrusting his left hand toward Yin’s chest. Yin Kexi lifted his hand to parry. Junbao could see the opponent’s movement; he suddenly moved his hand toward Yin’s ribs.
Yin Kexi had experienced the youngster’s punch before; it was not too hard. He also saw Yang Guo was giving the boy some pointers. He did not pay too much attention since he thought what harm could come from the kid’s hundred or two hundred punches anyway? But he was wrong. When the punch hit his ribs he felt an excruciating pain so that his body bent over. He almost screamed. Of course he was surprised, but also livid. He saw Junbao was going to repeat his attack. He waved his right hand toward Yin’s face and thrust his left hand toward Yin’s chest. Yin Kexi was already familiar with this move. He parried the thrust. Junbao was thrown toward, and hit, a rock so that his forehead was bleeding.
The youngster did not utter any words. He quickly wiped the blood away and walked toward Yang Guo. Kneeling in front of Yang Guo he said, “Benevolent Master Yang, please teach me another one.”
Yang Guo nodded. He knew Yin Kexi was paying attention now, so he whispered, “This time I teach you three moves. In the first, your left and right hands are interchangeable. It will look like you will use your left, but in actuality it will be your right. When you thrust your right, actually it will be your left.”
Junbao nodded. Yang Guo taught him the stance ‘Repelling the Heart Pressing the Stomach’ [tui xin zhi fu]. The boy memorized it well.
“And now the second move,” Yang Guo continued. “This time left is left and right is right.” He taught him the stance ‘To Extend in All Directions, Four Pass Through, Eight Reached’ [si tong ba da li]. Junbao went through it in his head twice and he would remember it forever.
“The third move is ‘Who Killed the Deer’ [lu si shui shou]. It involves front and rear exchange, it is more complex than the others, so you can’t make mistake. You don’t understand accupoints sealing technique, that’s fine. I will mark his back. If you press that, you will be able to control him.” While talking Yang Guo also moved his finger to give an example, he said, “Remember, this move relies on footwork. Understand it?”
“Yes,” Junbao nodded and walked toward Yin Kexi.
Yin Kexi had watched Yang Guo carefully; he said in his heart, “These three stances are good. They are difficult to counter if they came from Yang Guo himself, but he taught that kid in front of my eyes. Did he think Yin Kexi is as stupid as an ox or a wooden horse? Ah Yang Guo, you underestimate me too much!”
Because he was filled with anger, Yin Kexi did not think straight. As soon as Junbao came in front of him, he immediately attacked the boy’s shoulder. His punch was right on target.
Junbao remembered Yang Guo’s instructions, he let the attack come, he didn’t even dodge it, he only gritted his teeth. Yin Kexi hit using five parts of his strength; his objective was to frighten the kid. Junbao screamed in pain, his shoulder made a popping sound; but he ignored it and attacked with the first move.
Yin Kexi had watched Yang Guo’s instructions; he had thought of ways to fend off the attack, but he did not hear Yang Guo’s words. He thought he would punch the kid to the ground as he did before.
But Junbao’s attack was beyond his expectation: he parried the boy’s right hand punch with his left, but the attack was a fake one; while his right hand also grabbed in vain. Suddenly his stomach was hit very hard and he began to sweat profusely.
“Brother Yang that was a well executed “Repelling the Heart Pressing the Stomach”!” Zhou Botong praised while laughing heartily.
Yin Kexi was stunned, but Junbao had already attacked him with the second stance, “To Extend in All Directions”, which could be interpreted as the punch would come from all directions. He still felt pain when the boy flashed in front of his eyes. He thought this attack would be similar to the previous one; from left to right and vice versa; therefore, he counterattacked by moving to the left; half defense, half counterattack. But again he was tricked.
Junbao was able to execute his stance well. Both his hands hit Yin’s shoulder, chest and back. He moved nimbly, his hands fast; it was a pity his inner strength was still weak. Yin Kexi did not feel excessive pain, but he was frantically fending off the punches and dodging here and there.
Jueyuan watched his predicament and shouted, “Benevolent Master Yin, you are wrong! You must remember that there is no definite meaning of front and rear, left and right. Who lags behind will actually gain the initiative; and who initiates the attack will be under the opponent’s power.”
Yang Guo was impressed. “This Monk is right,” he thought. “He happens to know very well the essence of martial arts. His words were very valuable. I originally thought he only let his disciple fight; but he also gives valuable instructions. Yin Kexi had achieved a high level of martial arts, but I doubt he would grasp this lesson even if he were given five more years to ponder it.”
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.
