Chapter - 5 Subtle Steps And Hanging Threads (2/2)
Duan Yu further unrolled the scroll till its very end, and on it he saw the five words ”Graceful Steps upon the Waves”. These words reminded him of a poem he read in the past: The Goddess Luo.
Graceful Steps upon the Waves,
Dust settles on her gauze stockings….
Passionate fluttering eyelids and vivacious glances;
Euphoria moisturizing her jade-like countenance.
She has yet to say the delicate speech,
Her breath possesses the fragrance of the Tranquil Orchid.
An air of Grandeur and Elegance;
I lost my soul in the presence of such beauty!
Those unforgettable words of aesthetic elegance created by Cao Zhi flowed gently, unhurriedly across his mind:
Voluptuousness, Slenderness – flawlessly combined, she is;
Complementing elements of loftiness and daintiness,
Sculpted shoulders,
Waist of delicate silk,
Ravishingly long neck with a lovely chin,
Her unblemished substance now revealed,
Her fragrance needed no further enhancing,
Cosmetics, totally redundant!
Her hair flailed loftily like the clouds,
Her slender brows arched slightly, gracefully.
Radiant, sparkling lips of vermillion,
coupled with spotless teeth brimming with freshness.
With captivating, crystal-clear glances,
Those two alluring dimples on her cheeks,
A posture of magnificence and carefreeness,
A demeanour of tranquility and elegance.
With tender passions and graceful manner,
Words just cannot depict her charm….
The moment he thought of Dear Goddess' elegant posture, he recalled again a few verses:
Pure as the twilight – the morning sun;
Dazzling as the lotus sprouting from nature's waves!
To him, following Dear Goddess' instructions is the happiest and most blissful thing to do on Earth. Even if he was to die a hundred times, suffer ten thousand trials and tribulations, he would not regret the tiniest bit. I shall practice this ”Graceful Steps upon the Waves” first, Duan Yu mused, since this is a skill to flee and not to harm others, learning it would only bring good and no harm.
All steps were clearly illustrated in the scroll; given its wealth of details, not even a single positioning of the sixty-four trigrams of the Scripture of Changes has been missed out. Ever since Duan Yu was young, he had already familiarized himself with the Scripture of Changes, therefore felt no difficulty in learning these steps.
However, the footwork on the scroll is inconceivably weird. After moving a step, it was impossible to progress onto the next one. It was only until when Duan Yu thought of somersaulting into the air, could he finally be able to form a miraculous, yet strangely natural connection between the two steps. There were even weirder cases: such as leaping forwards and backwards, or fleeing to the left and dodging towards the right, only so could he be able to follow the instructions written in the scroll.
The moment the enormous potential behind his bookworm-ish nature is unleashed, he found immeasurable joy in analyzing, and eventually solving, any problems with an insurmountable level of difficulty. Such is the joy that he was unable to express his feelings at that moment, he thought unconsciously:
Never did I once expect to find such pleasure with no limits in martial arts; this is definitely not beneath studying books and memorizing scriptures.
In this way, a day has passed. He has grasped roughly twenty to thirty per cent of the intricacies of the footwork illustrated in the scroll. After dinner, he learnt more ten-odd steps before retiring to bed. In his semi-consciousness, the myriad of thoughts floating in his mind comprises the terms of the various acupoints such as: 'Less Merchant', 'Shan Zhong', 'Closed Energies' and 'Centre Extremity', along with other Scripture of Changes' trigrams like 'Concording People', 'Great Possessing', 'Converting The Maiden', 'Not-yet Fording' and so on.
During midnight, Duan Yu was awoken by a sudden series of thunderous croaks, each sounding like a 'Jiang-ang' noise. Not long after, another series of similar croaks ensued. The sound was similar to the mooing of a cow, but there were elements of melancholy and absolute misery to it. Duan Yu wondered what kinds of animal can produce such noises, but then again, he remembered that strange beasts and venomous insects are aplenty on Mt. No Measure. As soon as he heard the croaking noises died down, he could not care any less about the matter and slept soundly as soon as his head touched the pillow.
Somebody spoke nearby. ”The 'Venomous Crimson Bullfrog' hasn't appeared for quite some time, but now, it suddenly croaked again tonight. I wonder whether this means good or bad for us.”
Another voice replied. ”Our East Faction has been reduced to such a miserable state; things can't be anymore good for us. We owe our lives to heaven if this bad news isn't so extreme.”
Duan Yu knew those two disciples that spoke were Yu Guang Biao and Wu Guang Sheng. They must be sent to sleep in the room near mine so as to prevent me from escaping, he thought.
Wu Guang Sheng's voice can be heard once more. ”We, the No Measure Sword, have already belonged to Nimble Vulture Palace; even though this spells the lack of freedom for us, as we are now being controlled by those of higher authority, we could at least have a powerful backing. So, all in all, we have half of each: good and bad. However, what I truly cannot stand is this: The West Faction has always inferior to us, why did that Sacred Herald pass the position of No Measure Cave to Senior Martial Uncle Xin, leaving us at their beck and call?”
”What else could we do? Everybody - Heavenly Mountain Kid Nanny included - in Nimble Vulture Palace is female, and they say we guys aren't in the least bit trustworthy. Sacred herald Fu is considered kind enough: by placing Martial Uncle Xin as our leader, Nimble Vulture Palace will view us in a new light. Watch how cruelly Sacred Herald Fu has dealt with the Leader of Divine Farming Clan, as compared to her treatment of Martial Uncle Xin, they are miles apart!”
”This, I don't understand,” Wu Guang Sheng said. ”Senior Apprentice Brother Yu, why did Sacred Herald Fu treat that lad so courteously? She addressed him as 'Mister Duan', 'Mister Duan', doesn't that sound a little too affectionate?”
Hearing his name being mentioned, Duan Yu erased all temptations of sleeping from his mind, and began to listen more attentively to the ongoing conversation.
He heard a laugh - Yu Guang Biao's voice. ”These words can only be said here in secret. A young maiden, politely calling a white-faced lad 'Mister Duan', 'Mister Duan'….” The moment the three words ”Mister Duan” were spoken aloud, he pressed his windpipe and the results were immediate: he spoke using a tone simlar to that of Sacred Herald Fu, with the addition of some tenderly whining created by none other than he himself.
”Guess what's going on?”
Wu Guang Sheng spoke excitedly. ”So … so Sacred Herald Fu is infatuated with that white-faced lad?”
”Keep your voice softer,” Yu Guang Biao cautioned. ”Don't wake that little white-faced kid.” Following that, he laughed. ”I am not the 'sacred' parasite residing in Sacred Herald Fu's stomach, how am I to understand her intentions? I guess Martial Uncle Xin must be thinking along these lines too, no wonder she made us keep a close watch on him, preventing his escape.”
”How long must we keep him here?” Wu Guang Sheng asked.
Yu Guang Biao responded, ”Sacred Herald Fu said on the mountain peak, 'Xin Shuang Qing, bring Mister Duan down with you. If the Four Villains dare to create any trouble, tell them to find me at Obscure Peak, Nimble Vulture Palace.'” These words were spoken once again using the tone of the lady dressed in green.
He continued further, ”So what if we brought Mister Duan down the mountain? She wouldn't explain further, nobody dare query her. Suppose if one day Sacred Herald Fu sent people over here to pass on a message: Xin Shuang Qin, bring that Mister Duan up Nimble Vulture Peak to meet me. And it all happens that that little white-faced lad was killed by us, or set free, wouldn't things be disastrous for us?”
Wu Guang Sheng asked. ”What if Sacred Herald Fu was to forget this entire matter, aren't we supposed to keep that white-faced lad in here for ever, just to wait for Sacred Herald Fu's instructions?”
Yu Guang Biao laughed. ”That's right.”
Duan Yu's heart was filled with cries of 'T'is bad'. This Sacred Herald sister by the surname of Fu addressed me as ”Mister Duan” merely because she saw me as a scholarly man, hence was slightly more courteous in her speech, Duan Yu thought, flustered.
Where have you guys been thinking all these rubbish? Even until my beard has grown white and I am still under prison, that Sacred Herald sister wouldn't even think of seeing me, this white-faced oldie.
As Duan Yu was lost in his thoughts of worry, he heard Wu Guang Sheng speak again. ”Then wouldn't the both of us be -”
His words were cut off completely, by three thunderous 'Ji-ang' croaks. Clealy, that Venomous Crimson Bullfrog was croaking again. Wu Guang Sheng kept his mouth tightly shut. After a long while, when he was finally certain that the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog did not croak any further, he continued, ”Every time the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog croaks, my heart would leap like mad and I would have goose bumps all over. I wonder how many lives the God of Plague would want to claim this time round.”
Yu Guang Biao said, ”Everybody called the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog the creature of transport of the God of plague; that would be merely a saying. The Manjusri Bodhisattva rides a lion; the Samantabhadra rides on a white elephant; the Lord Supreme rides a green ox…. This Venomous Crimson Bullfrog is the king of all poisons, its powers are divine and all-reaching, and the formidableness of its toxicity is known throughout many generations. Calling it the creature of transport for the God of Plague simply wouldn't be enough!”
”Senior Apprentice Brother Yu,” continued Wu Guang Sheng. ”How do you think that Venomous Crimson Bullfrog looks like?”
Yu Guang Biao grinned. ”Why, aren't you interested in finding out?”
”That would be something you've got to tell me after you have seen it.” Wu Guang Sheng said, returning the grin.
”The moment I spot the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog, the toxic gases it emitted would instantly blind my eyes. Following that, it would creep into my brain. By then, I'm afraid I wouldn't have much time left to describe the looks of the King of All Poisons for you to know. How about having the both of us take a look?”
With that said, footsteps were heard, followed by the sound of someone unlocking the door.
Wu Guang Sheng was immediately seized with fear. ”Don't… Don't kid…” His trembling voice was easily noticeable. He rushed over to the door and locked the door again. Yu Guang Biao laughed at the sight.
”Hahaha! Now, really, you didn't for a moment think I would actually dare to take a look? Have a look at how laughably frightened you have became.”
Wu Guang Sheng was still recovering from the shock. ”This joke had better not be played, or else certain things we wouldn't want to happen really do. Let all be peaceful. Let's go to sleep!”
Yu Guang Biao changed topic. ”You guess whether that immoral couple – Gan Guang Hao and Ge Guang Pei – managed to escape?
”We haven't heard the slightest thing about them for so long, most probably they did manage to escape after all.”
”I know
everything
about Gan Guang Hao's capabilities. That person is greedy and lazy and flirtatious - he is totally uninterested in practicing swordplay; all that he is capable of would be to sweet-talk ladies. All of us combed the whole of North, South, East and West; even the Sacred Herald from Nimble Vulture Palace came here personally to search for them. Yet, in the end, that couple managed to escape. I just can't believe this.”
”However much you disbelieve, you just got to.”
Yu Guang Sheng was deep in his thoughts. ”I say, this couple must have been hiding deep inside the mountains, and met the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog.”
Wu Guang Sheng gasped loudly in surprise; even the most insensitive of people could sense the dread in his voice.
Yu Guang Biao continued. ”Yes. They must be searching themselves silly for a deserted area to hide themselves in. Yet, the moment they ran into the the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog, their brains would be filled with those toxins and hence, got themselves dissolved into a bloody heap as a result. No wonder we couldn't find them.”
Wu Guang Sheng said, nodding, ”You've got a point there.”
”What do you mean I have got a point?” Yu Guang Sheng snapped. ”If they hadn't ran into the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog, then there wouldn't be anymore points left, would there?”
”Perhaps they couldn't tolerate it any more. Deep inside the deserted mountains or ridges, they started doing this thing and that thing. And in the midst of all darkness, they unleashed the move 'Flipping the carp over' and oh, how could it be? – they fell into somewhere miles deep into the valley!”
At this point, both men started cackling nastily.
Duan Yu sank deep into his thoughts:
At that food stall Miss Mu shot both Gan and Ge to their deaths, how could it be that the No Measure Sword disciples weren't able to find them? Hmm… Right. It must be that the stall owner was afraid of attracting trouble, so he quickly buried the corpses somewhere. So when the No Measure Sword disciples came to investigate, everybody naturally kept silent, seeing their fierce looks and their weapons and all.
Wu Guang Sheng spoke again, ”The East and the West Factions of No Measure Sword merely lost two disciples. How big a matter could it be? The Emperor isn't in the least worried yet the eunuchs are. Why would the Sacred Heralds of Nimble Vulture Palace be so anxious? Why must they be in such a hurry in apprehending those two people?”
”This, you need to use your brains more to find the answer.”
Silence ensued. ”You know my mind isn't in the slightest quick. After thinking this to that, here to there, I just couldn't figure it out.”
”Let me pose you a question, then,” Yu Guang Biao said: ”the Nimble Vulture Palace is so keen on taking over our No Measure Palace - why is this so?”
Wu Guang Sheng was lost in his thoughts. ”Senior Apprentice Tang once said, the reasons most likely have something to do with the No Measure Jade Wall. The very moment Sacred Herald Fu arrives here, she would enquire non-stop about the divine silhouette, swordplay, and everything else up the No Measure Jade Wall.” After an afterthought, he added, ”That's right! All of us had to abide by the instructions Sacred Herald Fu set for us – the swearing of oath of never to divulge the slightest thing about the divine silhouette at the Jade Wall; yet both Gan Guang Hao and Ge Guang Pei had already escaped from No Measure Palace. Neither of them made the oath! There is no telling whether they wouldn't mention it to the outside world!”
At this point, he slapped his thigh in revelation, exclaiming, ”Right! Right! Nimble Vulture Palace went through all this effort just to silence those two rascals.”
”Hush! Don't make so much noise; there is somebody next door, have you forgotten?” Yu Guang Biao whispered warningly.
An abashed-looking Wu Guang Sheng nodded. ”Indeed, indeed.”
For a moment, neither spoke. Finally, Wu Guang Sheng broke the silence. ”That rat Gan Guang Hao sure has infinite blessings; having the fortune to cuddle Ge Guang Pei, such a white and fleshy little cute gunnysack in his arms; having the luck to skin her as if she were a sheep…. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Damn it. Even if he really did get dissolved into a bloody mass, he didn't… didn't really…. Hehe…”
From then on, the two men's conversation has been reduced to a lowly mixture of vulgarities and obscenities. Duan Yu was unwilling to eavesdrop any further, but the lewd and dirty jokes and laughters continually coursed through the wall separating them – much to Duan Yu's dismay; so trying to shut the noises away was impossible. The only way out for him would be to concentrate on the various channels, meridians and acupoints. Indeed, all it took was a short while of deep concentration, and the vulgarities nearby vanished without a trace as if they had been switched off, no matter how loud they were.
The following day, Duan Yu continued his training on the 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves'. He followed the footwork illustrated in the scroll very closely, and began trying them out step by step. This footwork was either inclined to the left or slanted to the right: none of the steps taught was to advance and retreat directly. Even though he was confined to a small area, all he need was to remove the table and chairs and he could perform the footwork without any obstructions; after a period of training, he had learned more ten-odd steps.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
Later, when somebody comes to give me lunch, all I need is to perform these weird, diagonal steps and it would take me no time at all to move round him and escape past the door. It is unlikely that he would be able to catch me. By then, I would be able to escape this place instantly and avoid the horrible fate that awaits me if I stayed – wait till the day I became an Oldie White-faced?
He was brimming with joy as he thought about this.
I must train this set of footwork very diligently to the extent of total familiarization
, he thought firmly,
Should I take a wrong step by accident and fail to escape, they might shackle my legs together from that point onwards to prevent me from escaping. By then, even how delightfully incredible 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' might be, every step I take would be restrained by the metal chains; I will really have to become Oldie White-faced no matter how much I dread it.
Lost in thoughts, Duan Yu involuntarily made dizzy circles with his head.
Without further ado, he speedily ran through the hundred-over steps he had learnt in his head. ”I need to reach a stage whereby I need not even think about the steps in my mind; the mere lifting of my legs would result in a rapid succession of the following steps.”
Suddenly, he sighed. ”I, Duan Yu, a stinky male, had to learn those graceful and delicate 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' from the Tranquil Lady Goddess Luo. What qualities of 'Dust settles on her gauze stockings' do I possess? More likely mine's a poor imitation in the form of 'Dust settles on his naked bottom', I guess.”
Chuckling merrily at himself, Duan Yu stepped on the position of 'Central Confirmation', followed shortly by an immediate turning towards the 'Already Fording' spot. What he didn't expect was that the moment he changed positions from 'Exultation' to 'Venom', a sudden blast of blazing energy surged upwards – towards his
dantian
, paralysing him instantly. His body rocked forwards as he lay resting against the tabletop – lifting a finger suddenly became an impossible feat.
Feeling stupefied, Duan Yu attempted to grasp the table by its sides and lift himself; little did he know that not a single of his muscles or bones complied. Not even a tiny finger. His current situation was reminiscent of a horrible nightmare gone wrong: the more anxious he was, the more helpless he became.
He had absolutely no idea that 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' is an extremely profound branch of martial arts. The reason for this skill being taught near the end of the scroll was for the practitioner to master 'Divine Skill of the Northern Darkness' and absorb fairly substantial amounts of internal energy before he or she could start training on the intricate footwork.
Every single step of the 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' was designed as such that when a step was made, the momentum and movement of the practitioner's entire body blended entirely and intimately with his or her internal energy; it amounts to much, much more than the mere lifting of limbs and moving about. Duan Yu had hardly any internal energy. Before then, he would always made a step before a momentary pause, with which he used to contemplate the next step. Then he would follow by retreating another step, which he then paused to think again. As such, he has had consistent intervals of rest in his blood flow, therefore no such obstructions occurred.
This time, however, he had memorized the steps and even attempted to try them all at once in one single breath; the blood flow in his channels and meridians went topsy-turvy, paralysing him in the process. In fact, he almost suffered from fire-deviation. Fortunately for him, he only moved a few steps, and was trying it out at a comfortable pace; therefore the extent of internal injury hadn't reached the fatal stage of the utter destruction of his own channels due to the immense blood pressure.
Flustered, Duan Yu struggled even harder to move; but the more he did so, he felt the suffocating pressure at his chest and abdomen intensify. To add to all these, he began feeling somewhat nauseous, but he could hardly vomit. He let out a sad sigh, ceased struggling and allowed nature to take its course. As he did so, the frustratingly painful feeling inside him began to subside.
Lying immobile against the table, Duan Yu saw the scroll in front of his eyes. Having nothing else to do, he studied those unfamiliar steps he had yet to try and thought them out in his mind, imagining himself trying them out step by step. About an hour later, he had learnt another twenty-odd steps, and to his surprise, the pain in his chest had almost fully dissipated.
It was almost noon. Duan Yu had finally understood all the steps that were illustrated in the scroll. In his mind, he decided to try them out by imagining himself starting on 'Bright Concealment', moving along several other positions like 'Adornments', 'Already Fording', 'Dwelling People'; and eventually completed stepping – or rather, imagining himself stepping – on the positions of all sixty-four Trigrams and ended nicely on the position 'Without Embroilments' after moving in the direction of a huge circle.
The fact that he had finally completed learning the entire footwork was overwhelming; ecstasy welling inside him, Duan Yu leapt into the air clapping his hands, exclaiming in delight. ”Amazing! Amazing!”
The moment these two words left his lips, Duan Yu realised he could finally move again. Unknown to him, his internal energy had unconsciously followed the thoughts in his head; as he completed one full cycle of 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves', his blood flow did the same, unclogging blocked meridians in the process.
He could barely contain his excitement and surprise that were threatening to burst from within. In his head, he tried to go through all the positions of the sixty-four Trigrams in his head a few more times. For fear that he might commit the same mistake as before; he moved each step very slowly -- every step made had to be followed by a few deep breaths.
In this way, all sixty-four positions had been completed. Duan Yu saw that he had finished one huge circle; meanwhile, his body was bursting with renewed vitality and vigour. Unable to bear his excitement any longer, Duan Yu gave a cry in joy.
”Amazing! Amazing! Utterly amazing!”
From outside the door, came a roar of annoyance. It was Yu Guang Biao's voice. ”Why are you screaming your head off? Whatever your old man, I, have said, I don't eat them back! You say a sentence, you eat a palm!”
Having said that, he unlocked the door and flounced inside. ”Earlier, you made three sentences, so you shall eat three palms! However, on account that you are a first-time offender, I shall discount you two slaps; just one palm would suffice.”
He advanced threateningly towards Duan Yu, his right palm poised to strike Duan Yu's cheek.
This palm didn't contain any hidden stances beneath it; neither was it anything special. But Duan Yu, lacking martial arts, couldn't block it with his arms. Slightly tilting his head to one side, Duan Yu instinctively moved his feet diagonally and landed on the position of 'Swallow' from his current position, 'Well'. And voila! Duan Yu managed to evade the slap.
Yu Guang Biao was furious. He thrust out his fist forcefully and rapidly towards Duan Yu. Meanwhile, Duan Yu was still contemplating which step to move (he has hardly familiarised himself with the 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' footwork) when the blow struck his chest with a loud
peng
. The fist has struck his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint.
The 'Shan Zhong' acupoint is vital to the human's body. The moment Yu Guang Biao threw out his fist, he instantly regretted his actions and feared he might inflict too heavy a damage for Duan Yu to handle; if anything happens to Duan Yu, he might not be able to account for it.
What he did not expect, however, was that the moment the fist came in contact with Duan Yu's chest, Yu Guang Biao felt his arm suddenly depleted of energy. What was even worse was that he felt some sort of emptiness in his heart! Yu Guang Biao could barely register this strange phenomenon when everything reverted back to normal. Seeing Duan Yu unhurt, Yu Guang Biao, relieved, said, ”Although you have managed to dodge my slap, your chest received my knuckle sandwich; that still counts as one slap.”
With that he disappeared from view as he left the room shortly after. Clunk! The door was locked once again.
The strike might be loud, but strangely enough, Duan Yu felt absolutely no pain in that strike. Unknown to him, whatever energy that was present in Yu Guang Biao's fist earlier has been transferred into his 'Ocean of Energies' in his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint, where it will be stored permanently.
It just happened so coincidentally. Had Yu Guang Biao's fist struck anywhere except his chest, Duan Yu would have been considered extremely lucky to have avoided injury, yet no matter what, he would not be spared from the excruciating pain. However, the 'Ocean of Energies' in his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint was the exact location where the 'Pure Energies of Northern Darkness' would be accumulated and stored.
The number of times he had tried cultivating this skill is too little; he has zero foundation in this skill. It would thus be impossible for him to perform the various feats needed to absorb internal energies from other sources at this stage: using the 'Less Merchant' acupoint to leech the internal energies of other people, channeling these energies via his Lung Meridians up to the 'Sky Shock' acupoint in his Ren Meridians, and sending them once again for permanent storage in his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint. Even if he had reached that stage after plenty of training, he would rather die than to do what he considers an immoral act – stealing stuff from others' for his own benefit.
In this case, however, it was the other party himself who had forced his own internal energies right inside Duan Yu's 'Shan Zhong' acupoint. Duan Yu could not resist the energy transferring process; the moment the fist touches the chest, the internal energy would gain entry into his body. It was as though gold coins and gold bars flew towards his backpack from outside the heavens, yet, the foolish lad was oblivious to all this. In fact, he even thought:
What an unreasonable brute. How much could a few sentences of 'Amazing!' offend him so much? He hit me for absolutely no reason.
The internal energy that was originally Yu Guang Biao's continually revolved and vibrated in Duan Yu's 'Ocean of Energies'. In an instant, Duan Yu felt his chest tighten. He immediately thought of the two channels in his body – the Lung Meridians and the Ren Meridians, and the effect was immediate: a faint warmth began to spread throughout these two channels. It circulated the channels once before dissipating back into the 'Shan Zhong' acupoint, bringing the pain along with it.
Unbeknownst to Duan Yu, the tiny warm circulation he has just experienced in just a short time had earned him some amounts of internal energy, which, upon storage, can no longer leave his body.
From a helpless lad without the tiniest trace of internal energy, Duan Yu finally acquired a little. All these began thanks to Yu Guang Biao's forceful punch at Duan Yu's chest.
Also, Duan Yu should thank heavens for the fact that Yu Guang Biao's internal energy was mediocre, and that he had not put in all his energy in that single strike. Had it been a martial arts expert the likes of the Divine Croc who struck his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint instead, Duan Yu, having no internal energy foundation at all, couldn't immediately absorb all force into his 'Ocean of Energies'; when that happens, his meridians and channels would have all been destroyed into smithereens, and he would die immediately after vomitting huge amounts of blood. Also, he amount of internal energy Yu Guang Biao lost is too slight – he hasn't noticed anything.
Right after lunch, Duan Yu got down very quickly to his 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' training. Each step he moved, he would take in a deep breath, followed by another step, and from there the cycle goes on. Sixty-four Hexagrams were completed in no time. Duan Yu felt no paralysis in his muscles, and speculated that so long as he maintains a constant, uninterrupted series of smooth intervals in his breathing, there wouldn't be any harm.
His second try was bolder than before: two steps before taking in a deep breath; rinse and repeat.
'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' is indeed an extremely profound skill. It enables its practitioner to cultivate internal energy through kinetic motion. One round of stepping all sixty-four positions would enable his internal energy to revolve smoothly around his body, leading to a slight growth of internal energy with every round made.
Duan Yu, however, barely knew that he was cultivating internal energy; he only wished he could familiarize himself with the footwork even better with every round, or that he could move at a quicker pace. ”Earlier, when that Brother Yu tried to slap my face, I managed to dodge it by moving from 'Well' to 'Swallow'. Following that I should keep it up by sliding to the position of 'Venom', in this way could I be able to evade that punch on my chest. Regrettably, I was busy thinking what step I should move when his fist struck. This 'busy thinking' suggests that I am not fully familiarized with this skill yet. Should I want to depend on this footwork and escape this place without being caught, I must immerse myself into this skill till any further training is pointless; every step made must be done without thinking. The phrases 'busy thinking' and 'without thinking' have only one dissimilar word, but it makes a world of difference between life and death.”
Immediately, he trained himself even more arduously on the footwork once more. Every day, from morning to night, with the exception of daily needs such as eating, sleeping and using the toilet, the rest of the time was spent on moving repeatedly in huge circles.
There were times when he thought:
The only reason I am practicing this skill so hard is merely to escape this horrid place and rescue Miss Mu; I did not abide by Divine Goddess's instructions and train the 'Mystical Skill of Northern Darkness'.
Guilt-stricken, Duan Yu spared some time to cultivate the Lung and Ren Meridians. He did so reluctantly and shoddily; all he wanted was to peace his mind. As for the rest of the channels and meridians, he shelved them aside temporarily.
After several days of training, Duan Yu made marked improvement in his 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves'. He need no longer count his steps and breaths, and could now glide to next step with rapid ease. To top it all, he suffered no more obstructions in his internal flow. As he moved, his mind and heart relaxed. Several lines from the poem 'Goddess Luo' came to mind – those that were related to the 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves':
She resembles the concealed moon behind the frail clouds; her floating grace, the returning snow from the flowing wind.
The body suddenly gains freedom; to roam the world, to enjoy life.
The Divine Brilliance converges and unites: the emergence of light and darkness.
The body, light as a feather, stands upright like a crane; seems ready to fly yet but has yet to.
Her body is as swift as a soaring teal; floating rapidly – goddess-like.
Movements without following norms: maybe perilous, maybe safe; Irregular movements and pauses: maybe departing; maybe arriving.
These last twenty words are easily the cruxes of this complex footwork. Although Duan Yu understood this point, trying to reach the realm of 'Movements without following norms: maybe perilous, maybe safe; Irregular movements and pauses: maybe departing, maybe arriving' would require God-knows-how-much diligent practice needed, not to mention how many years and months Duan Yu would have wasted just to acquire this phenomenal accomplishment.
Given his current martial arts, should his enemies stretch their hands and try to grab him, Duan Yu knows not of his chances of success in evading them. He has half a mind to stay for a couple of days to half a month to improve his chances of success. However, he realised that he had been separated from Mu Wan Qing for seven whole days; he thought of her having to accompany the unreasonable Divine Croc for so long, where every single day felt like years. Duan Yu finally decided to leave this place that day. He wished the servant bringing in food had better not know any kung fu; escaping this place would therefore be much easier.
Sitting on his bed, Duan Yu locked himself in deep concentration, refreshing his memory on the 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' while awaiting patiently the arrival for the servant. Finally, he heard the sound of the door being unlocked coupled with loud footsteps, and he saw the servant bringing in the food. Duan Yu walked towards him unhurriedly.
It all happened in a split second. Duan Yu quickly toppled the plates of food over the servant's head.
Ping! Ping! Pang! Pang!
And rice and bowls and vegetables and plates rained heavily down the poor fellow's head….
'Aiyoh!' The poor servant screamed in horror.
Wasting no time, Duan Yu rocketed out of the door in just a few steps.
Unfortunately, Yu Guang Biao happened to be guarding outside the door. Hearing the servant's scream, he rushed inside without delay. The narrow doorway caused both men to crash into each another on their way in, or in Duan Yu's case, out.
Duan Yu hastily leaped towards the position of 'Beholder' from his current ('Preparation') in a bid for not wasting anymore precious time. Unfortunately for him, however, while on his way out, his left foot landed on the doorstep.
Duan Yu was instantly overwhelmed with shock and confusion. Nowhere in the instructions under 'Graceful Steps under the Waves' taught him 'What to do in the case of stepping on the doorstep, which results in one foot higher than the other?'
He stumbled, struggling with might to step on the position of 'Comparison'. Till this day, never in his wildest dreams could he dream that he would step on Yu Guang Biao's foot! 'What to do when you accidentally step on others' foots, causing others to scream in pain and fury?' was also not recorded in the secret footwork manual!
Duan Yu thought depressingly:
Well, the Goddess Luo's 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves' in the Luo Waters embodies the 'sleekness and elegance of a swan in startled flight' and the 'restrained grace of a roaming dragon', certainly she wouldn't land herself in drastic situations such as stepping on doorsteps and crushing the feet of others.
In his fluster, Duan Yu felt someone's fingers closing over his wrist. The next moment he was dragged back inside by a fuming Yu Guang Biao.
All hard work over the last few days have came to naught. Things just had to happen against his wishes. Filled with resentment, Duan Yu raised his right hand to prise his left wrist away from Yu Guang Biao's grip. However, the five fingers encasing Duan Yu's wrist felt like iron; they simply refused to budge.
Suddenly, Yu Guang Biao made a 'yi?' sound in surprise. His fingers felt enervated and were about to release his grip in no time. Yu Guang Biao circulated his internal energy into his arm and held on firmly, but in no time at all, his fingers were weakened by an invisible force.
”Damnit!” He cursed.
He imbued more internal energy into his arm; only to find that this time, his entire arm drooped downwards. He wasn't aware that in Duan Yu's endeavour in forcing him to release his grip, Duan Yu had accidentally used his own thumb to prise Yu's thumb away. In this way, both 'Less Merchant' acupoints of the two men had connected themselves. As he used his energy to hold onto Duan's wrist tightly, whatever energy applied has flowed continuously into Duan Yu's thumb. Unknown to him, every bout of internal transferrence into his arm would result in a loss of internal energy.
Duan Yu was clueless about what was going on. He only felt Yu Guang Biao's fingers relaxed and tightened inexplicably. It seems almost as if by using more strength Duan Yu could prise away Yu Guang Biao's fingers and make an escape. But at this point of time, how was he to know how to remove his right thumb from between his left thumb and Yu Guang Biao's thumb?
That fateful day when Yu Guang Biao punched him hard in the chest, all the internal energy in his fist has been transferred into his 'Ocean of Energies'. Although the internal energy in Yu Guang Biao's punch was too little to be even noticeable, Duan Yu has used whatever little of these energies to clear the path in his Lung and Ren Meridians. Now, whatever energy Yu Guang Biao has on his body began moving along these channels slowly into Duan Yu's 'Ocean of Energies'. This fitted exactly the 'Mystical Skill of Northern Darkness's' theory of converging a hundred streams to form an ocean meant.
If both men did not use any energy at all and merely touched each other's thumbs instead, Duan Yu wouldn't be able to unleash the 'Mystical Skill of Northern Darkness' as he did not know how. This time, however, both men were fighting for their lives. It was similar to the previous scenario wherein Yu Guang Biao struck his chest; in both cases, Yu Guang Biao had forcibly inserted his own internal energies down Duan Yu's 'Ocean of Energies'. This can be likened to a scenario of pouring wine to a cup; even if the wine cup was unable to tolerate the wine, it simply cannot do anything.
Initially, Yu Guang Biao's internal energy was way more abundant than Duan Yu's. Had he understood what was happening and released his hold on Duan Yu immediately, the most Duan Yu could do would be to leave this place and escape. But Yu Guang Biao was under strict orders by his superiors to prevent Duan Yu from escaping; how could he let this white-faced dolt leave so easily?
His arm went numb again; Yu Guang Biao tried to replenish it with more internal energy. However, he felt that his one arm was no longer able to hold on any more. He stretched out his left arm in an attempt to assist his right one. Unknown to him, this only made the flood of internal energy gushing out of him flow even faster. Shortly afterwards, half of his internal energy has been transferred into Duan Yu's body.
One is losing energy; the other increasing. Yu Guang Biao's strength was no longer Duan Yu's match. His internal energy cascaded out of his thumb even more rapidly as time passes. Eventually, his energy leak was like that of water from a reservoir bursting out from a dam: spewing in enormous quantities at an alarming rate. He could no longer do anything except to helplessly watch his energy drain away and himself wither. He tried desperately to release his hand and escape this nightmare, but he couldn't: this time, it was Duan Yu who grabbed his five fingers firmly in place, unwilling to let go; try as he might, Yu Guang Biao simply couldn't do anything given his depleted strength.
The person who was once the captive suddenly became captor; yet, he was oblivious of this at all. In a frenzy, Duan Yu held on to Yu Guang Biao's for dear life: he didn't realize his struggle for 'prising away his fingers' had suddenly became 'grabbing tightly onto his fingers'.
Yu Guang Biao was on the verge of collapsing. Fearful, he screamed, ”Junior Wu! Wu Guang Sheng! Come quickly! Come quickly!”
Wu Guang Sheng happened to be at the toilet at that time. Hearing his senior apprentice's voice, he rushed towards Yu Guang Biao without a moment's hesitation. A hilarious scene, indeed, watching him totter hastily while clutching onto his pants.
”This lad wanna escape. I - I can't do anything to stop him!” Yu Guang Biao yelled.
Wu Guang Biao no longer cared about his pants; he released them and prepared to hurl himself at Duan Yu.
Yu Guang Biao saw this and immediately cried out, ”Get me out of here first!” He sounded as if he was about to cry soon.
”All right!” Wu Guang Sheng replied. He stretched out his arms and held on firmly to Yu's shoulders, trying to yank him away from Duan Yu. At the same time, he asked, ”Are you injured?”
Given Yu Guang Biao's martial arts, how couldn't he handle this sissy scholar by himself?
Wu Guang Sheng thought, puzzled.
The words barely left his lips when he felt his both arms ached painfully - it was as if there weren't any energy left in them! He quickly mustered his strength into his arms. But all the energy he summoned was gone almost as soon as they entered his arm.
What happened in fact was that Duan Yu had leeched Yu Guang Biao's internal energy dry; now he further proceeded to absorb Wu Guang Sheng's one. Yu Guang Biao's body now became the path for transferring Wu's internal energy over to Duan Yu.
Seeing more people rushing over to Yu Guang Biao's aid, in addition to Yu Guang Biao's tenacious grip closing over his wrist suddenly becoming more rigid, a terror-stricken Duan Yu used even more force if possible to prise away Yu Guang Biao's fingers. Wu Guang Sheng, sensing his limbs began to ache for no apparent reason, kept calling out, ”How strange! How strange!” Even as he said so, he did not release his hold a single bit.
The servant bringing in food for Duan Yu saw all three men lay in a mess on the floor, coupled with blanched faces belonging to Wu Guang Sheng and Yu Guang Biao, who looked almost as if they were about to collapse any time soon. He fumbled out of the room by crawling over their backs, screaming, ”Somebody, come quickly! That white-faced lad by the surname of Duan is trying to escape!”
The disciples of No Measure Sword nearby heard the cry and rushed over immediately. Two men appeared at the scene, followed shortly by another three, all bellowing in unison. ”What happened? Where's that kid?”
Duan Yu was crushed under both Yu Guang Biao and Wu Guang Sheng; naturally, the newcomers could not spot him.
Yu Guang Biao couldn't even catch his breath; to him, speaking was a total impossibility. Wu Guang Sheng already had eighty per cent of his internal energy drained away; he could only choke, ”Senior Brother Yu is… trapped by that laddie…. Come… come and help quickly….”
Two disciples immediately leapt forward; each of them grabbing Wu Guang Sheng's arm each and started pulling with all their might. However, as they pulled, they felt their arms became suddenly devoid of energy. Both men's internal energies were now flowing through Wu Guang Sheng's body into Yu Guang Biao's body, which would then later flow right inside Duan Yu's thumb. Currently, Duan Yu's 'Shan Zhong' acupoint had already accumulated both energies of Yu and Wu; now, with the tiny portion of energy collected from the two newcomers, his internal energy had surpassed the energies of the two men put together. Once the men felt their arms ache, they instinctively channeled more energy to their arms. Yet, the more they did so, the more presents they forced down Duan Yu's thumb.
As the amount of internal energy Duan Yu collected grew, his internal energy absorption accelerated too. Initially, his internal energy growth was that of tiny droplets; now they flushed like water streams.
The other three disciples stood there, dumbstruck. One of them laughed, ”What childish game are you guys playing? Stacking the Arhats?”
He moved forwards to heave his fellow disciples. Little did he know by his second pull, his entire arm glued itself to the arm of his fellow disciple! He shrieked in astonishment, ”This is demonic! Devilish!”
His fellow disciples who were still standing behind him rushed over to his side and too began pulling. All three of them pulled with all their might; the stack of human bodies moved ever so slightly, and the next thing they knew, a pang of ache coursed through their wrists and arm. Instantly, they felt themselves enervated by Duan Yu's draining force.
A huge pile of No Measure Sword disciples lay at the doorway of the room where Duan Yu was earlier held captive. The weight of their bodies crushed Duan Yu so painfully he could barely breathe. Seeing that it was impossible to escape, he had no choice but to surrender himself.
”Let go of me! I am not leaving anymore!” He yelled.
It was no use. The other parties' internal energy just had to surge into his body; Duan Yu felt his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint nearly bursting with all the myriad of energies churning inside him. The pain in his chest began growing more intense by the second.
He stopped trying to prise Yu Guang Biao's thumb; however, Yu's thumb was crushing his thumb so forcefully that he couldn't move. He screamed again, ”I am going to be crushed to my death! I am going to be crushed to my death!”
Yu Guang Biao and Wu Guang Sheng looked lifeless; the five disciples who came trying to prevent Duan Yu from escaping were flabbergasted and at a loss of what to do. Seized by a sudden bout of panic attack, they struggled and pulled with more strength. As they did so, their internal energy gushed out at an even faster rate.
Eight men huddled together messily; six were screaming their voices hoarse, yet none of them was able to hear what the other was yelling. After a while, it became four people yelling out loud. Shortly after, the number of people shouting has been reduced to three. Eventually, Duan Yu was the only person yelling, ”You are crushing me to death! Let go of me! I want to escape no more!”
Every cry he made, the pain in his chest subsided a little. To lessen the pain even further, he continued raving like mad, his voice hoarse yet his energy abundant. The more he shouted, the louder he became.
Suddenly, somebody bellowed, ”That evil witch stole my baby! Everybody, chase after her, quick! The four of you guard the door; the three of you, guard the rooftops; you four guys, seal the East Door; those five, guard the West Door. Don't – don't let that evil witch bring my kid away!” Although it sounded like a command, the voice sounded fearful and anxious.
Duan Yu immediately recognized the voice as Zuo Zi Mu's.
What woman stole his child away?
Duan Yu thought. A thought struck him.
Ah! It had to be Miss Mu! She stole his son and wanted to use it in exchange for her husband. This 'exchange for the general with the horse' tactic is useful for sure.
Finally, he stopped yelling. It was at this point he was aware that Yu Guang Biao's fingers that were closing over his wrist had relaxed. He struggled and heaved with all he could; the seven people lying over him tumbled to the ground, one after another.
Duan Yu felt immensely delighted.
Their master's kid has been snatched away by Miss Mu; now everybody's mind is in a whirl and frenzy. None of them could bother about catching me any longer,
he thought. Crawling out from under a pile of human bodies, Duan Yu wondered,
Why aren't these people lying immobile on the floor? Yes. They must be fearful that their master would punish them severely, hence they pretended to be injured.
He must be very intent on escaping, to the point that he had no idea how weak the logic in his conjecture was. Finally, he got the freedom he wanted so much; his legs sprinted so quickly as if there were wings attached to them. Never in his dreams would he ever have dreamt that all the internal energy of the seven disciples has now become his own ….
The distance he covered was disproportionate to the footsteps he took; he reached the back of the house in no time at all. The assorted positions such as 'Not-yet Fording', 'Already Fording' were all discarded at the back of his mind. The elegant postures of 'Concealed Moon behind the Frail Clouds; returning snow from the flowing wind' turned into garbage created by Cao Zi Jian. Duan Yu ran amok like a dog which owners have died, and frenzied as though he were a fish that was trapped in a net where there is a gaping hole large enough for it to escape.
No Measure Sword disciples had their swords ready and were scampering in all directions, yelling as loud as their lungs would allow. ”Don't let that evil witch get away!” ”Quick! Snatch our little junior apprentice back!” ”You go there! I'll go this way!”
Miss Mu's 'exchange for the general with the horse' tactic is ingenious; now it even became 'attracting the tiger to leave the mountain
, Duan Yu thought gleefully.
Now I must employ the thirty-sixth tactic.
He dived into a dense patch of grass, and crawled more than ten zhang away. He thought inwardly:
My hands and feet are touching the ground at the same time; what other skill am I using if it isn't the '(un)Graceful Crawling upon the Waves'?
The noises and yells decreased in volume; seeing that no one has noticed him, Duan Yu finally stood up and fled to the dense forest at the back of the mountain. Even though he was running for a long long time, he felt just indescribably energetic. He found it very strange and warned himself: Better not be so scared; otherwise I would run until all my energy has depleted.
A large tree stood nearby and he took the opportunity to rest under the shade. But he felt spirited and full of vigour; what's there to rest when he had too much energy to spare?
When people get lucky, they would feel as if their bodies were packed with dynamic energy; still, they will break down eventually
, Duan Yu thought.
He remembered the instructions stated for the 'Vibration' Trigram, number six two: Don't chase; harmonize after seven days. Suddenly, he remembered: Today is the seventh day of my captivity! I must be careful of the two words 'Don't chase', Duan Yu thought warily. He circulated the internal energy collected in his 'Shan Zhong' acupoint to the Lung Meridians; however, he just had too much internal energy. Back and forth the energies went; there were simply no end to it all.
He suddenly became frightened. ”This isn't good”, he told himself, ”There must be some danger awaiting me.” Since the pain in his chest has now fully dissipated, he ended his internal energy circulation, stood up and started walking again. He thought:
how am I to meet Miss Mu to tell her I am no longer in danger? I must also tell her to return the baby to Zuo Zi Mu; otherwise he would care for his son too much and live with fear from then onwards.
Walking a few more li, Duan Yu suddenly heard the sounds of something going 'ji' 'ji'. A grey shadow flashed past before his eyes. He saw that it was a tiny animal that soared past him in a speed few animals could ever possess, and vaguely recognized it as Zhong Ling's pet marten Lightning. The object simply leaped too fast for the naked eye to observe carefully. But Duan Yu knew this animal that could travel at lightning speed could only be the Lightning marten.
Duan Yu was pleased at seeing it. He thought inwardly:
Miss Zhong went everywhere yet she couldn't find you; all along you had hid yourself here, I shall bring you back to your rightful owner; she will be too pleased to be able to speak.
He whistled loudly, imitating Zhong Ling's whistling voice. The shadow flashed. An animal fell from the trees above and sat several zhang in front of him. A pair of quivering, sparkling eyes stared back at him. It was indeed Lightning. Duan Yu whistled once more; Lightning moved two steps closer and lay immobile on the floor.
”Good marten, good marten. I shall bring you back to your owner.” Duan Yu called out loudly. He whistled again and moved few steps forward. Lightning remained immobile. Duan Yu had touched its back before; he knew this animal was speedy as the wind, and had poisonous fangs; but it obeys its master before everything else. He saw the marten's eyes continued quivering, and couldn't help commenting how cute it was.
Duan Yu whistled and moved forward again, before squatting down before the animal and said, ”Obedient marten!” He slowly stretched his hand and caressed its back; Lightning lay unmovable on the floor all this while. Duan Yu caressed the marten's fur, which felt smooth, gentle and soft. In a gentle voice, he spoke, ”Good marten, let's go home!”
That said, his hand went over to carry the marten.
In an instant, his arms trembled, followed shortly by a sharp pain in his left thigh. A gray shadow flashed once more, and Lightning reappeared several zhang in front of him. It stood on the floor, staring back at Duan Yu with its quivering eyes.
Duan Yu shrieked in horror. ”Aiyo! You bit me!”
A tiny hole appeared in his left trousers. Duan Yu rolled up his pants and saw two rows of teeth marks imprinted on his left thigh. Fresh blood seeped out from the wound….
He could remember the horrific scene of Divine Farmer Clan Leader Si Kong Xuan slicing off his arm as if it has happened only a few minutes ago; fear gripped his heart and he was so sure his soul was about to leap out of his own body. He cried in disbelief, ”You…you…. How could you be so unreasonable? I am your master's good pal! Aiyoh!”
A pain shot through his left thigh, numbing it. Duan Yu involuntarily knelt down on the floor; his arms held on to the area above his wound, trying – but failing – to prevent the venom in his left thigh from spreading any further. Sure enough, the same numbing pain that coursed through his left leg did the same to his right thigh. No longer in control of his legs, Duan Yu collapsed onto the floor.
The shock was too much for him to handle; he used his arms to push himself against the floor, trying to get up. Unfortunately, his arms felt numb and enervated. With all the strength he could muster, Duan Yu crawled a few steps forward. Right in front of him, Lightning the marten looked on impassively; all this while, it did not seem to move a single inch.
Duan Yu thought bitterly to himself,
I am just too rash. This marten has been brought up by Miss Zhong; naturally, it would only listen to what she says. It is highly possible my whistle sounds different from hers. What … what should I do?
He knew perfectly well the only thing to do to preserve his life would be to follow what Si Kong Xuan did when he was bitten: hack at the injured area with a weapon. However, he hadn't had any weapons with him; moreover, he lacked the courage and instinct of a seasoned warrior like Si Kong Xuan. Furthermore, he had just learnt the skill 'Graceful Steps upon the Waves': without a leg, he could only perform the skill '(Un)graceful one-legged bouncing upon the Waves'. To him, that would have been meaningless.
He sighed and complained for a moment; his limbs gradually became stiffer and more immovable by the second. He knew the venom had spreaded throughout his entire body. Soon, he found himself unable to close his eyes and mouth. He was, however, still aware of his surroundings.
He mused sadly:
If I were to die like this, wouldn't I look ugly? My corpse would have a gaping mouth, would I become an idiot ghost or a hungry one in future? Fortunately, there is one good news amongst all this bad ones: When Miss Mu sees my grotesque corpse with my mouth wide open and my naked bottom, she might vomit at the ugly sight. Perhaps she might think less about me after my death. This would be better for her health.
Three thunderous 'Jiang-ang' growls reverberated noisily in the air. Then, came the sounds of
pu pu pu
. Something leaped out of the tall grasses.
Duan Yu froze, dreadfully.
Aiyo! The King of all Poisons, the ”Venomous Crimson Bullfrog” is here! Those two men said the moment one sees this creature, his or her own body immediately gets dissolved into a thick pool of blood. What am I going to do?
And then he thought,
What a silly blockhead I am. Given a choice between turning into a thick pool of blood and dying as a corpse with a wide mouth and a naked bottom, which would be preferable? Definitely the former.
'Jiang-ang' noises echoed continually in the air; the newcomer has arrived at Duan Yu's right. Duan Yu was unable to look at it as his neck bones had stiffen so badly he couldn't even turn his head; he could only await his fate: to dissolve into a pool of blood.
Pu
sounds were made again; fortunately for Duan Yu, the creature suddenly leapt at the direction where the marten Lightning was instead.
No words could describe Duan Yu's astonishment as the creature came into view. It was only a toad – a very tiny one. It couldn't have been longer than two cun*. Its body gleamed a crimson bloodlike colour from top to bottom and a golden aura radiated off its sparkling, glimmering eyes.
It opened its mouth wide; the flabby skin underneath its neck vibrated ferociously. A thunderous croak projected – the 'Jiang-ang' noise he has once compared to that of a buffalo's growl. It was incredible how a tiny little creature like that could produce such a sonorious cry. If not for the fact that the creature was right before his very eyes, Duan Yu would never have believed such a phenomenon existed.
He thought inwardly,
No wonder it is called the 'Venomous Crimson Bullfrog'. Its growl resembles a bull's; its body crimson all over; there can't be a better name to describe it. Even so, there must be a mistake going on regarding the rumour going on about dissolving into a pool of blood upon seeing it. Furthermore, the name 'Venomous Crimson Bullfrog' was surely coined by one who has seen it before. How can a pool of blood think of such a suitable name?
Upon seeing the Bullfrog, the Lightning marten seemed to look slightly apprehensive. It turned his head as if to run, yet it dared not. In an instant it leapt into the air. The Bullfrog widened its mouth, projecting a thunderous 'Jiang-ang' growl, and a faint spray of scarlet mist shot towards Lightning.
Lightning happened to be in mid-air at the time; as the mist struck it, the marten somersaulted into the air and plunged towards the ground. Then suddenly, it pounced forward and sank its teeth into the Bullfrog's back.
In the end, Lightning emerges victorious over the toad.
Duan Yu thought proudly.
He was wrong. Just as soon as the thought flashed in his mind, the marten fell limply and lay supine on the floor. Its legs quivered its last, and it would never move again.
Aiyoh!
Duan Yu thought sadly. Should he be able to speak, he would have cried out loud. Although Lightning had bitten him to 'death', he knew that it was entirely his fault for rashly trying to tame the marten even when he had neither experience nor knowledge of doing so. As such, he didn't blame the marten at all. Seeing it die before his very eyes, Duan Yu felt miserable.
Sigh. If Miss Zhong knows about this, she would feel so sad.
He watched helplessly as the Bullfrog leaped onto the marten's body, creeping towards its cheeks and began sucking at it. It started off with the marten's left cheek, followed by its right.
Duan Yu thought to himself:
The Venomous Crimson Bullfrog sure isn't given the title ”King of All Poisons” for nothing. The fatal venoms in Lightning's fangs did entirely no effect to the toad; instead, the poor marten got itself poisoned. Now, this Bullfrog is going to extract the venoms in Lightning's toxic glands. Lightning the marten is hyperactive and extremely cute; the Venomous Crimson Bullfrog has a scarlet body and golden eyes, its beauty almost unsurpassable. Who on Earth would suspect that beneath the exterior of such sheer beauty lay a river of venom so thick and deadly…. No, Dear Goddess, I wasn't referring to you....
The Bullfrog jumped off the marten's body when it's done, letting out two thunderous 'Jiang-ang' croaks. Suddenly, soft 'xiao xiao' hisses could be heard. The next instant, a huge centipede swam into view. Its body had brilliant spots of scarlet and black all over; it must have been seven to eight cun long.
The Bullfrog reacted quickly. It pounced at the nimble centipede, but missed it narrowly, as its poor victim was now fleeing for its life. Dissatisfied, the Bullfrog tried again a couple of times, yet none of its attempts succeeded.
It croaked out loud, ready to fire a blast of poisonous mist. Suddenly, the centipede changed its direction mid-way and headed for Duan Yu's mouth, which happened to be wide open ….
Duan Yu was stunned beyond words. Most unfortunately, he couldn't move. Not even close his mouth. He can't do anything except yell like mad in his mind,
Hey! This is my mouth, brother! Don't be mistaken; it isn't a centipede hole….
He heard a faint hiss; the centipede crawled unceremoniously up its tongue. Duan Yu almost fainted from the fright. He felt a moving sensation with many, many legs crawling down his throat, and went further down his gullet. It wasn't long before it disappeared right into Duan Yu's stomach.
Worst still, such catastrophes never end so early. The Bullfrog jumped into the air and landed right on Duan Yu's tongue! Duan Yu felt something icy at his throat, and sure enough, the Bullfrog went inside his stomach to chase after the centipede. Having a rather smooth skin, the Bullfrog slid down his gullet rapidly.
He could hear 'Jiang-ang' croaks emitting from his own stomach. They sounded depressing. Duan Yu felt nothing could possibly be worse – or more hilarious – than this. He wanted to bawl out loud, yet at the same time, felt like bursting out laughing too. However, his muscles had stiffened so badly he could do neither of these.
At this point, tears dropped onto the ground beneath.
Suddenly, he felt a continuous lurching motion in his belly. The pain was unbearable. He wondered whether the Bullfrog had succeeded in catching the centipede, he could only yell out in his mind,
Brother Bullfrog, go and catch the centipede quickly and climb out immediately once you're done. There is nothing fun to do in my lowly stomach.
A few moments passed, and his stomach finally stopped lurching. Vanishing along with it were the 'Jiang-ang' croaks. The pain, however, had not. Quite the contrary, it seemed to grow even more intense. Another few moments passed and Duan Yu suddenly closed his mouth and his teeth rammed painfully onto his tongue. Under excruciating pain, Duan Yu felt his tongue went back into his mouth.
Duan Yu, feeling surprised, called out loud, ”Brother Bullfrog, come out quickly!” He widened his mouth, waiting for it to come out, but even after a long long time, nothing happened.
”Jiang-ang! Jiang-ang! Jiang-ang!” Duan Yu croaked, hoping desperately that the Bullfrog would be attracted to the sound and would then get out from there. However, it appeared as if the toad was oblivious of the sound. Perhaps ... it could tell there's something amiss with the croaks; therefore it was unwilling to be fooled by him and preferred resting in his stomach.
Now unnerved and frantic, Duan Yu inserted his hand deep inside his mouth and tried digging out the Bullfrog. Needless to say, it was impossible for anyone to attempt this. After quite a while, Duan Yu became aware that he could move his limbs again! He stood upright and stretched his back; the paralyzing feeling in his limbs had disappeared without a trace.
”This is strange! This is strange!” Duan Yu remarked aloud.
This King of Poisons must be intending to stay in my stomach permanently; what am I to do if it really decides to treat my stomach as its cosy home? Allow me to congratulate it for its new home.
Duan Yu decided.
He did a handstand and supported his legs with a huge tree trunk nearby. He widened his mouth and shook his own body hard for quite a while. Still, nothing happened. It seemed as if the Bullfrog was insistent on using his stomach as a home and had decided to live there till it dies.
Duan Yu was left with no way out. He, however, had a rough idea of what has just happened,
This King of Poisons and that centipede must have become food digested in my stomach. It must be that their venoms have neutralized the marten's venom in my body. To think that I have digested such a venomous creature, and at this point of time my stomach stopped hurting anymore. This sure is very weird.
He did not know that typical venoms from snakes and toads are only fatal when they come into contact with one's blood. Yet, if they were to be consumed, so long as his of her mouth, throat, digestive tract and the various digestive organs weren't damaged internally, there would be no harm done. Similarly, if he were to get bitten by a poisonous snake, he could suck the venom out of his wound and save his own life.
However, the various poisons and venoms in this world are varied – too varied for one to generalize the whole of them in a single breath. The Venomous Crimson Bullfrog may possess powerful toxins in its body; however, it is absolutely harmless when placed in the stomach of a person. Rather, its body had been dissolved by Duan Yu's digestive juices. To the Bullfrog, Duan Yu's digestive juices are the toxic venoms – it was they which dissolved the poor creature into a thick pool of blood.
Duan Yu stood upright and walked a few steps. Suddenly, his stomach burned as if they were coals in it; a gust of blazing heat had erupted within his abdomen. 'Aiyoh!' He yelped.
The sudden gust of energy rocketed wildly inside him; however, it met with walls everywhere and thus cannot be released away. Duan Yu attempted vomitting it out, but no matter how hard he try, he couldn't succeed.
This time, he took an extremely deep breath and exhaled all the air in him with all he could, hoping that the venomous gas the Bullfrog has dissolved into will too leave his body.
Little did he know that his endeavour to expel the air within him had transformed the blazing heat into a coil of heat, which flowed unhurriedly into his Ren Meridians.
All right,
Duan Yu thought,
Let us get this done and over with. Brother Bullfrog, you have flatly refused to spare me and tried haunting me – now my 'Ocean of Energies' shall become your place of burial. Whenever you feel like poisoning me, I shall return your favour anytime you wish.
He continued to inhale and exhale deeply. Indeed, he felt the warmth within him channel along the meridians he had cultivated and disappear inside his 'Ocean of Energies'. Soon, he no longer felt anything strange.
Despite his struggling with life and death for so long, Duan Yu felt as energetic as before. He gathered rocks and sand and piled them onto the body of the dead marten. When he was done, he prayed silently:
Little brother Lightning, I will surely bring your master Miss Zhong to offer her prayers in front of your grave and at the same time offer you some poisonous snakes we could catch. Earlier you bit me unintentionally, I won't tell any of this to your master, for she will berate you if she knows about it – don't worry.
Out of the woods, Duan Yu saw Zuo Zi Mu running frantically with his sword in position.
He must be chasing after Miss Mu, I shan't not interfere.
With that, he silently stalked the panicky man. At this point of time he had the combined internal energies of the seven No Measure Sword disciples; following Zuo Zi Mu up the mountain was no difficult task. Besides, Zuo Zi Mu was too bothered for the safety of his child to notice somebody following him.
Fearing that Zuo Zi Mu might suddenly turn behind and act rashly towards him – or perhaps even use this opportunity to hold him hostage for exchange of his child, just like the 'exchange for the general with the horse' tactic Miss Mu employed against Zuo Zi Mu – he maintained a fairly wide distance between himself and the man before him.
Soon after, Duan Yu reached the waist of the mountain. Knowing that his reunion with Mu Wan Qing is coming soon, his heart burned with longing. He, however, feared that the Divine Croc might lose patience and harm her; no longer able to control himself, he yelled out to her at the top of his voice.