Chapter - 89 Fighting Contest to Find a Suitor (6) (1/2)

Seated on the bed, he praticed the meditations and controlled his breath according to the pointers given by Ma Yu. Next to him, Qian Qingjian whirled his axes while shouting and while criticizing his methods. Guo Jing gave him not the least attention. Towards noon, he rose.

”Let's go,” he said to his jailer.

He paid his expenditures to the innkeeper and both headed for the west. Ten li further on, they indeed came across a wood of thickly foliaged pines. Qian Qingjian left Guo Jing and entered the wood.

The young man pulled out the supple whip that he always carried by his side and cautiously entered the undergrowth. Progressing slowly, all the direction to the aguets, he followed the small path for a little more than one li, without seeing anyone. All was silent, with an occasional bird cry now and then. As he advanced, his apprehension grew.

”No one is watching me,” he said suddenly to himself, ”the wood is so thick, why not hide myself? To hide myself, that's not to flee!”

He prepared himself to slip into a bush when he heard swearing above his head:

”Little bastard! Idiot! Moron!”

Guo Jing jumped back, his whip held on guard. He looked up and burst out laughing: all at the top of four big trees, the Yellow River Demons, hands tied behind their backs, were hanging at the end of a rope and wriggled in the air. They struggled hopelessly but could not escape. Seeing Guo Jing, they redoubled their cursing.

”You playing at swings?” asked Guo Jing while laughing. ”This is very funny, isn't it? Then good-bye, I'll take my leave-”

He took a few steps back, then returned.

”How did you end up like that?”

”Damn you!” growled Qian Qingjian. ”We were trapped by surprise, this is not worthy of a real man!”

”Little guy,” cried Shen Qinggang, ”if you're brave enough, let us down, we will fight one on one to decide between us. For if we attacked you en masse, we would be cowards!”

Guo Jing wasn't very intelligent, but neither was he completely stupid. He burst out laughing again and said, ”I'll accept that you're brave, without needing to match blows!” Afraid that Hou Tonghai, the Three-Headed Dragon, might arrive, he had no desire to linger; he hastily departed and returned to the city. He bought a horse and resumed without delay his journey south.