Chapter - 113 Woman with a Loose Tongue Sharp As a Spear (6) (1/2)
Ji Xiaofu and her older sister-at-arms, Ding Minjun, were terribly shocked at this unexpected turn of events, but they managed to leapt away on time. When they looked at their five wounded companions, they found them throwing up mouthfuls of blood. The two men in secular attire even screamed in pain, for their bodies were not as strong as the other three.
The Taoist with the long beard said, ”Ding- guniang, Ji- guniang, stab him quickly with your swords!”
Among the nine of them, one Shaolin monk was already dead, and Monk Peng and five others were seriously wounded. Thus, Ji Xiaofu and Ding Minjun were the only two left unharmed. Ding Minjun thought: Hmmph! Am I so poor in the sword that you must tell me how to use it? Then, she raised her weapon and slashed at Monk Peng's shin with a move called 'Splitting Metal with a Nominal Stroke' (Xu1 Shi4 Fen1 Jin1).
Monk Peng heaved a long sigh, closed his eyes and waited for death. Suddenly, a loud clang was heard, as if two weapons had come into contact with each other. Opening his eyes, Monk Peng saw that Ji Xiaofu had used her sword to deflect her sister's blade.
”Why?” asked Ding Minjun in surprise. ”Elder Sister,” answered Ji Xiaofu, ”Monk Peng held his hands back in mercy, so we should not push him over the edge.”
”What hands of mercy?” Ding Minjun retorted. ”His hands had run out of strength!” Then, she turned to the monk and said, ”Monk Peng, my sister is very kind to spare your life, so you should tell us where Bai Guishou is.”
Monk Peng threw head back and roared with laughter. ”Ding- guniang, you have really underestimated Peng Yingyu,” he said. ”Zhang Cuishan, the Fifth Warrior of the Wudang School, would rather die of suicide than reveal his sworn brother's whereabouts. Although I am not as talented, I admire loyalty and courage of Zhang the Fifth enough to follow his example.” Then, he threw up a mouthful of blood and sank to the ground.
Ding Minjun walked up and kicked him three times in the waist, so that he could not launch another stealth attack at them.
Peng Yingyu's words brought a surge of warmth and gratitude into Zhang Wuji's heart, and the boy suddenly felt as if he had found a close relative. After his father, Zhang Cuishan, committed suicide, members of renowned and upright organisations often spoke of the man in this manner: ”He was an outstanding young warrior who took one wrong step and became involved with a heretical witch. As a result, he died in personal ruin and shame, and brought humiliation to the Wudang School.” Zhang Wuji had never heard these exact words, of course, but he could gather as much from the conversations and attitudes of his grand-teacher and uncles. Besides being deeply grieved, they had blamed his mother for the terrible things that had happened. They had felt that everything about his father was good, except for the mistake he made in marrying his mother. No one had ever expressed admiration and respect for his father like Peng Yingyu just did.
Ding Minjun sneered and said, ”Zhang Cuishan was blind to marry that heretical witch. This is what I call 'willing self-degradation', so what good is there to learn from it? His Wudang School … ” At this point, Ji Xiaofu tried to interrupt her sister, only to hear Ding Minjun say, ”Do not worry. I will not include Yin the Sixth in this.” Then, pointing her sword at Peng Yingyu's right eye, she added, ”If you do not speak up, I will poke your right eye out before doing the same to your left. Then, I will poke through your right ear and the left one. After that, I will slice your nose off, for I will not allow you to simply drop dead.” The tip of her sword glinted barely half a cun (1.67 centimetres) away from Peng Yingyu's eye.
The stubborn monk opened his eyes wide in defiance and said in a calm voice, ”I have heard that the Abbess Mie Jue of the E-mei School is cruel and ruthless in her ways, so her students should be no different. Since I have fallen into your hands, go ahead and show me E-mei's best techniques!”
Ding Minjun raised her eyebrows and screeched, ”Crooked baldy, how dare you ridicule my school!” She pushed her sword forward and gouged out Peng Yingyu's right eye. Then, she placed the tip of the blade on his left eye-lid.
Peng Yingyu laughed as blood poured out of his blinded right eye. Then, he opened his good left eye as widely as he could and glared at Ding Minjun until goosebumps appeared all over her. ”You are not from the Eagle Sect,” the woman said, ”so why are you giving your life up for Bai Guishou?”