Chapter - 395 Master Yideng (5) (1/2)

When Yideng heard the name Iron Palm Qiu Qianren, he frowned slightly, but immediately went back to listening Huang Rong attentively. While speaking, Huang Rong kept her eyes open to see Yideng's face; even though his frown was very slight it did not escape Huang Rong's eyes. When she got to the point where they met Ying Gu at the Black Marsh forest and how she gave them direction to find this place, Reverend Yideng's countenance once again momentarily changed; he lowered his head in deep thought, seemingly he was reminiscing over past events, and was grieved and pained over them.

A moment after Huang Rong shut her mouth Reverend Yideng heaved a sigh and asked, ”And then what happened?”

Huang Rong continued by recounting how the fisherman, the woodcutter, the farmer and the scholar had used all possible means to make things difficult for them. The woodcutter easily let them go up the mountain, therefore, she said some praising words on his behalf; but to the rest of them she added some spices to make their offenses worse than they were. Deliberately she made the scholar and the farmer mad.

Several times Guo Jing interrupted her, saying, ”Rong'er, don't talk nonsense; these Uncles are not that bad!” But Huang Rong kept talking like a spoiled child in front of Reverend Yideng, telling him all kind of things, making the faces of the two disciples standing behind Yideng turn red and blue. They did not dare to open up their mouths in the presence of their master.

Reverend Yideng repeatedly nodded his head, ”(Sigh), how can you treat guests coming from afar like that? These kids were really rude towards friends; I am going to tell them to apologize to you two later.”

Huang Rong stared at the scholar and the farmer with a smug expression; meanwhile her mouth did not stop; she told everything until how they ended up at the temple's gate. ”Afterwards I gave that drawing for you to see, and you asked me in; then they did not dare to hinder us anymore,” she said.

”What drawing?” Yideng was surprised.

”It's about some eagle, some pigeon, and someone cutting his own flesh,” Huang Rong replied.

”Whom did you give it to?” Yideng asked.

Before Huang Rong could answer the scholar took the drawing from his pocket and presented it with both hands. ”Disciple has it,” he said, ”Shifu has not finished meditation just now, I have not presented it to Shifu yet.”

Yideng held out his hand to take the drawing, he smiled to Huang Rong and said, ”You see, if you did not mention it, I wouldn't know a thing.” Slowly he opened up the drawing and looked at it; he knew what the drawing meant. He smiled and said, ”Turned out others were afraid I would not help you and sent this drawing to stir me up. Don't you think they underestimated the Old Monk too much?”

Huang Rong turned her head to see anxiety and deep concern on the scholar and the farmer's faces; she felt strange. ”Why is it that when they heard their Shifu promise to treat me they looked like they are losing their lifeblood? Is the medicine the most precious pill that they hate to give it up?” She turned her head back to see Yideng was carefully examining the drawing. He brought it under the sunlight to see the quality of the paper, he lightly flicked it several times; his face showed suspicions.

”Did Ying Gu draw this picture?” he asked Huang Rong.

”Yes,” Huang Rong answered.

Yideng was silent for half a day then asked again, ”Did you see it with your own eyes when she did it?”

Huang Rong knew something was amiss; she tried to recollect what happened that time and said, ”When Ying Gu wrote those, her back was toward us. I saw her pen moved, but I did not see with my own eyes whether she was writing or drawing.”

”You said she gave you two other pouches; let me see the contents of the other pouches,” Yideng said.

Guo Jing took the pouches from his pocket and Yideng examined them; his face changed slightly. ”Indeed that is so,” he muttered softly. He gave the three sheets of paper to Huang Rong and said, ”Yao Xiong is an expert in calligraphy and paintings; your educational background came from your family, certainly you understand connoisseurship. Why don't you take a look at these three sheets and tell me what you think.”