g of which was most peculiar. I puzzled over this for a few months until at long last I figured out it’s hidden meaning. It turns out that when Yue Fei was languishing in prison he realized that he had no hope of leaving with his life. His loyalty towards serving his country was so great that he wrote down his entire life’s learnings regarding battle tactics and other secret military arts in this letter in the hope that it could be passed on to other loyal countrymen who could use put them to use in defending China against the Jin invaders. Luckily Qin Gui was very clever and feared that Yue Fei would try to communicate with people outside of prison so he was very careful to prepare against such an event. Every guard assigned to watch over Yue Fei was personally selected by Qin Gui as to be known as completely trustworthy and loyal to him (Qin Gui). If the troops formerly under Yue Fei were to get word from Yue Fei and rise up in rebellion against the court, who would stop them? At that time the only reason that there was not such a rebellion was in fact entirely due to Yue Fei not being willing to rebel against his emperor. If he changed his mind and decided to do so he would have certainly succeeded. What Qin Gui did not know though was that Yue Fei didn’t have any desire to save his own life, only to save the rivers and mountains of the Song Empire (i.e. his country). Fortunately this letter never left the palace even after his execution.”

Everyone was listening intently to this story so intently that they forgot to drink their wine. Huang Rong hanging outside the window was also listening mesmerized.

Wanyan Honglie continued, “Yue Fei had no way to communicate his military strategies except through hiding them in his writing. He wrote four pieces entitled ‘Pu Sa Man’ (Buddhist Barbarian), ‘chou nu er’ (Shameful Slave), ‘He Sheng Zhao’ (Congratulating the Sage Imperial Court) and ‘Qi Tian Yue’ (Level Heaven Music/Happiness). Each piece of writing appeared to be nonsense. The style did not follow the proper rules and the tonal sequence was all wrong. The sentances were jumbled to the point of incoherence. Qin Gui, who was said to have wisdom and talent the size of the oceans, was not even able to figure out what meaning lay in these pieces so he dispatched some men with these letters to the Jin. Many years later these four pieces of nonsense writing found their way into the secret files of the Jin palace. No one was able to comprehend the meaning of these letters. Everyone thought that Yue Fei, who was near execution at the time he wrote these letters, was giving vent to his anger and frustrations by writing such disjointed and sensless verse. Nobody guessed that apparantly nonsense verse was in fact a riddle hiding a very great secret!

This humble prince though continued to work on these letters until I finally discovered it’s secret. It turns out that if you took every third word in a piece and put them together then reversed the order a the hidden message was revealed. In these four letters Yue Fei instructed his successors/followers in the arts of military strategy, to continuously attack along the Yellow River and wipe out our Jin armies. But for all of his dilligent work for his emperor, it turned out to be all in vain. Ha Ha!”

All the guests gasped in surprise, then one after another began praising Wanyan Honglie’s intelligence for cracking such a difficult code.

Wanyan Honglie said, “Yue Fei’s military abilities were supernatural, when he attacked the was no one more formidable or successful. Imagine if we were to have his book of secret military strategies, the whole empire would be ours for the taking!”

(Note: from the above context it seems that Yue Fei’s letters refer to a book that is hidden in his tomb. I must have missed that in the above translation, but can’t see where in the Chinese text)

Everyone suddenly realised what was being asked, “Prince Zhao invited us here to do a bit of grave robbing!”

Wanyan Honglie went on, “This humble prince thinks that this great book must be with Yue Fei in his tomb.” At this point he paused before continuing, “Honoured Guests you are all brave heros and now you must be wondering how I could be asking you to rob a tomb? Further more, although Yue Fei is the Jin’s sworn enemy, but his spirit and loyalty is something that is world renown, we couldn’t possibly disturb is resting place. Humble prince searched through the historical reports from spys of the Southern Song to look for further clues. It turns out that the day Yue Fei died he was buried near by beside “Zhong An Bridge.” Later Emperor Xiaozong moved his body to Xi Hu (Westlake) in a temple he had built for him. His ‘cloth cap’ however was buried at another place, and this must be where his book is. This other place is near LinAn.” As he spoke this last sentance he watched his guests intently. Everyone was listening intently for him to reveal the exact location of the book.

Wanyan Honglie however suddenly changed the topic, “Humble prince again had another thought: since someone moved Yue Fei items then I fear that the book must have been taken by them as well. But after some very detailed research I know that this could not be possible. The people of Song venerated Yue Fei so much that they would not have dared interfear with his belonging. We are certain to find the book at this place. However in the south there are many martial people of high ability. If we are to succeed we cannot allow the slightest word of this to get out or else some of them my try to search for the book themselves which would cause no end of trouble! This task concerns the fate of two nations and it is not something I would lightly undertake unless I had the help of the greatest heros of the Wulin world.”

Everyone nodded their head at this.

Wanyan Honglie then said, “Although the location of this book is no small matter, because this affair is indeed difficult to speak of however with the presence of people of such great ability it is easy to speak (???) The location of the book is…” At this point the door to the hall was suddenly pushed open and one man rushed in, his face all swollen and pale. He rushed forward to Liang Ziwong and called out, “Master…” everyone recognised him as the dwarf dressed in green that Liang Ziwong sent to fetch the medicine.

When Guo Jing went with the caretaker and dwarf to fetch the medicine, he used his left hand to not only support the caretaker and help him walk, but also to ensure the caretaker would not dare try warn the dwarf in any way about Guo Jing. The three of them went along a long corridor past some rooms before arriving at Liang Ziwong’s storeroom. The dwarf lit a candle, opened the doors and entered.

Guo Jing stepped close to the room where he smelt the pungent scent of various medicinal herbs. He also saw that the table, couch, floor and everywhere else was covered with all types of dried herbs, bottles big and small, jars, bowls, vats and so forth. It seems that although Liang Ziwong was a guest here, he still couldn’t help but play around with different medicinal herbs and concoct different drugs. The dwarf seemed to be well versed in the nature of herbs as well as he quickly selected portions of four different herbs and wrapped them up in separate packets of white paper which he gave to the caretaker.

Guo Jing reached out and took the packets before turning and leaving the room. Now that he had the medicine in his hands, he didn’t pay any attention to the caretaker. Unfortunately for him though, the caretaker was a slippery fellow. When Guo Jing and the dwarf left, he deliberately hung back, waiting until they were past the door. Then he suddenly slammed the door shut, grabbed the door bolt and locked the door, shouting, “Robber, Thief!” Guo Jing got a big shock, and immediately turned to try and push open the door only to find that it wouldn’t budge, the door was firmly shut. The dwarf, although he was small, he was by no means slow witted. He immediately sized up the situation and took advantage of Guo Jing’s distraction with trying to open the door to quickly snatch the four medicine packets out of his hand and threw them into the pond beside the room. Guo Jing tried to hit the dwarf with his fists, but the dwarf was too quick and managed to slip away.

Guo Jing became more frantic and angry. He placed both his palms against the door and used his internal energy to break the door. There was a loud crack as the door bolt snapped and the door flew open. Guo Jing rushed in and smashed the caretakers jaw with one swing of his fist which silenced him immediately. Luckily for Guo Jing, Liang Ziwong liked not to be disturbed so his room was located in an out of the way place in the palace far from anyone else so the caretakers screams had not alerted anyone. He rushed out of the room and saw that the dwarf was already a long way off. Guo Jing sprinted after him and in no time at all had caught up with the dwarf and grabbed him by the neck. The dwarf when he heard Guo Jing behind him tried to use his leg to sweep Guo Jing off his feet(?) The dwarf was no stranger to fighting having encountered many rough types in his travels with LiangZiwong so his skills were not weak. Guo Jing knew that he was in danger of not only failing to get the medicine for Wang Chuyi, but also if the alarm was raised Huang Rong would also be in mortal danger if she was caught. Since there was no time to lose he made use of his most vicious moves such as, “bone and tendon splitting” move (the one taught by one of the seven freaks of the south I think).

Guo Jing soon had the dwarf knocked unconscious and he hastily hid him in the bushes beside the path. He then hurried back to the medicine store room and lit a candle which revealed the caretaker still lying unconscious on the floor.

Guo Jing cursed himeself silently for being so careless, “Which four jars did the dwarf select the medicine from? I wasn’t paying attention and now I have no idea of which herbs he used.” All the jars were marked with strange signs but no words. He thought hard, “I remember he was standing here so maybe I should just grab a little from each jar around here and bring them all back to Wang Chuyi to select from.” He hurridly snatched a pile of paper and began grabbing a handful of each type of herb/medicines which he then wrapped up in several packets all the while worried that someone had heard the caretakers shouts earlier.

As soon as he had packed up all the medicine he felt much more relieved. As he turned to leave his elbow accidentally knocked over a large bamboo basket which fell to it’s side. As soon as the lid fell off there was a sudden hiss and a huge blood red snake shot out of the basket straight towards his face.

Guo Jing was startled and jumped back. He saw the snake was still half coiled in the basket so he wasn’t sure how long it was. Its head waved back and forth as its forked tongue flickered at him. In Mongolia it was a cold climate and all the snakes that he had seen were small. This blood red snake certainly didn’t look like any snake he has seen before. He felt petrified as slowly stepped back until he knocked against the table sending the candle tumbling over. In an instant the candle went out and the room was plunged into pitch black darkness.

With the medicine in hand he quickly rushed towards the door but just as he reached it he felt something grab onto his leg as if someone was wrapping a thick rope around it very tightly. Without time to think he tried to jump up. However the thing wouldn’t let go and immediately he felt a cold sensation on his right arm and found that he could no longer move it.

Guo Jing knew that the snake had already wrapped around him so he madly used his left arm to feel around his waste for the knife that “JiSiHan” had given him long ago. A sudden stench of pungent fishy-medicine like smell assailed his nostrils and he felt something cold on his face. It was the snake’s tongue licking his cheek. At this point there was no time to find his knife so he grabbed the snake firmly around its neck. The snake was incredibly powerful and began to squeeze tighter; its head inched closer towards his face…

Guo Jing tried to hold back the snake but his arm was becoming numb and it became difficult to breathe as the snake tightened it’s grip around his chest. When He tried to use his internal energy to loosen the snakes grip it gave him slight relief before the snake resumed it’s crushing grip. Guo Jing’s left arm was beginning to lose strength. The stench of the snakes breath was unbearable and made him feel nauseous. He knew that he would not be able to hold off the snake for much longer. eventually he might lose consciousness and losen his grip, then the snake would strike…

When the dwarf who was knocked unconscious by Guo Jing eventually came around his first thought was where was Guo Jing. He looked over to his masters store room but saw it was dark and silent. He assumed Guo Jing had already fled. So he rushed back towards the “Fragrent Snow Hall” to report to his master Liang Ziwong.

Huang Rong got a shock when she heard the dwarf’s report. She executed the move “Goose lands on flat sand” to quietly drop to the ground. When the guests in the hall were listening to Wanyan Honglie’s story no one payed any attention to what was going outside. However as soon as they were interrupted by the dwarf’s news this was no longer the case. In a room full of people with such high martial arts abilities who were no longer distracted could any of them now fail to notice Huang Rong’s almost silent move outside? Liang Ziwong was the first to move. In a flash he was outside and standing in from of Huang Rong, blocking her path.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

Huang Rong could see by the way Liang Ziwong moved that his ability even exceeded hers. Considering that there was a room full of other highly skilled martial artists this was no time to start a fight, so she simply smiled and said sweetly, “This plum tree has such beautiful blossoms, could you please break a twig of them off for me?”

Liang Ziwong didn’t expect to see such a beautiful young woman standing outside dressed in such splendid clothing. When he heard her delicate laugh (like pearls tinkling on jade) he couldn’t help being surprised. He thought that she must be a palace lady, possibly (lady) Qian Jin, so he immediately broke off a twig of plum blossoms to give to her.

Huang Rong smiled and received the blossoms saying, “Thank you kind sir.”

By this time all the rest of the guests were standing by the door watching the proceedings. Peng Lianhu turned to Wanyan Honglie and asked, “Sire, is this lady from the palace?” Wanyan Honglie shook his head and said, “No.”

Peng Lianhu went over and stood in front of Huang Rong blocking her way, saying, “Please wait a moment lady. Let me also break off some blossoms for you.” His right hand moved to execute a holding lock, grabbing her wrist, extending his five fingers towards her side, then suddenly flipping his hand to a claw and striking at her throat!

Huang Rong initially intended to pretend to be a simple lady with no martial abilities and not that bright so that play for time and find a way to escape. She didn’t expect that Peng Lianhu not only had great martial ability but that he was very sharp and saw right through her deception. His blow was so strong that she had no alternative but to dodge, raising her right hand in a sweep, thumb touching index finger, the remaining fingers outstretched, as if like an orchid shooting out. Her execution of this move was not only of the highest skill but also exquisitely beautiful.

(Note things are a little hard to figure out here after!)

Peng Lianhu knew that if she landed her strike on his “Corner Pool” acupoint then his whole arm would become numb and useless so he was forced to suddenly change his strike to avaoid her counter strike. He was shocked that not only did this very young lady have such outstanding skill and speed, but that she also knew such secret acupoint gongfu. Although he had seen many types of gongfu in his time, he had never seen this “Orchid touch acupoint” style before.

This “Orchid style” relies upon speed, accuracy, surprise and purity. Of these “purity” was the most important. It requires graceful execution and easy and relaxed manner to execute properly, as if the the person using it had not a care in the world. If it was executed with too much urgency or viciousness then it would lose it’s advantage in a fight.

As Huang Rong executed the “Orchid style” everyone else washed in astonishment. Peng Lianhu laughed, “Little girl, what is your good name please? Who is your honourable master?”

Huang Rong smiled and replied, “This sprig of plum blossoms is quite pretty is it not? I must go and put it into a vase!” She didn’t answer Peng Lianhu at all. Everyone else looked at her suspiciously wondering where on earth she came from.

Hou Tonghai said sternly, “Elder Peng asked your name. What’s the matter, didn’t you hear?”

Huang Rong asked innocently, “He asked something?”

Peng Lianhu actually saw Huang Rong earlier during the day (in disguise) making fun of Hou Tonghai, now seeing her here again, acting so impertinently, he suddenly thought, “That filthy beggar boy is actually you in disguise!” Suppressing a laugh he said, “Elder Peng, don’t you recognize who that girl is?”

Hou Tonghai was shocked. He looked Huang Rong over a couple of times while Peng Lianhu said, “You were chasing someone all day today around in circles, how could you forget?”

Hou Tonghai again looked at Huang Rong blankly until at last he recognized her, “Yeah, that filthy boy!” When he was chasing Huang Rong, he never stopped cursing her as, “Filthy boy,” however even though “he” had now become a “she” he couldn’t help but curse her as before. He raised both fists and charged her, but only grasped some air as Huang Rong deftly dodged aside.

The dragon king of the demonic group Sha Tongtian’s body became a blur as he moved forward and clutched Huang Rong’s right wrist calling out, “Where are you running to?”

Huang Rong shot her left hand up and struck at his eyes with her two fingers but Sha Tongtian was too fast and grabbed her left wrist as well. Huang Rong struggled to free herself but tray as she might she was not able to. Instead she shouted out, “Shameless!”

Sha Tongtian asked, “What is so shameless?”

“Big men bullying a girl and trying to take advantage of her!” she replied indignantly.

Sha Tongtian was surprised at this. He was after all a famous elder martial artist and this did appear to be a case of the strong bullying the weak so he relaxed his grip and said, “Go in to the Hall and we will talk”

Huang Rong saw she had no alternative but to step into the Hall.

“Before we do any talking let me first cut this filthy tyke down to size!” Hou Tonghai angrily demanded as he raised his fists to strike.

Peng Lianhu stopped him, cautioning, “First we need to find out exactly who her ShiFu is and what School she belongs to.” He could see from her fighting style and appearance that she must be from a great school and that it would be better to find out who she was before doing anything too hasty.

Hou Tonghai didn’t pay any attention to him though and launched an attack at Huang Rong.

She dodged aside and responded, “So you really want to fight eh?”

“You’re not going to get away,” Hou Tonghai retorted. He was afraid that if she did get away then he would never be able to catch her again.

“If you want have a little competition with me, no problem” she said as she took up a wine bowl full of wine from the table and placed it on her head. She then grabbed another full wine bowl in each hand and continued, “Do you dare to take up this challenge?”

Hou Tonghai was suspicious, “What kind of mischief is this?”

Huang Rong looked around at all the assembled guests and smiled saying, “Me and this big horn uncle have no deep grievance. If I am able to defeat him what does everyone think?”

Hou Tonghai angrily stepped forward and yelled, “You defeat me? Listen you little smelly brat, this is a carbuncle not a horn. Take a good look and stop spouting crap!”

Huang Rong didn’t pay any attention to him, but rather continued addressing the others. “Let me and him compete with three full bowls of wine each. Who ever is the first to spill a drop will be considered the loser, is this fair enough?” She had seen Liang Ziwong, Peng Lianhu and Sha Tongtian in action and knew that she would be no match for any of them in a fight. However if this three horned dragon, through increased teasing, can be enticed to fight using light body skills and quick wits she would hold the advantage. If you were to compare true martial ability she may not be the equal but she thought, “Right now my only chance is to play the fool and hope they don’t find me a threat and let me go.”

Hou Tonghai yelled, “Who wants to play monkey tricks with you!” and with that he launched into another fierce attack.

Huang Rong again dodged aside still holding the wine and laughed, “Ok! I’ll hold the three bowls of wine and you can attack without any bowls. Let’s compete!”

Hou Tonghai was more than twice as old. Although his name was not as widely renowned as that of his martial brother Sha Tongtian, he was still a fairly respected member of the Martial Arts world. To receive such a taunt in front of his peers was enough to drive him even more angry. Without a further though he grabbed up three bowls of wine placing one on his head and the others in his hands. He crooked his left leg and sent a vicious kick towards Huang Rong with his right.

Huang Rong laughed, “Well done! This shows the talents of a true hero.” She then began to display her “Lightness” Qing Gonfu by moving all around the room. Hou Tonghai launched a series of kicks against her but she was able to dodge them all. Everyone began to roar with laughter to see such a ridiculous fight.

Huang Rong kept her upper body completely steady as she glided about the room while lumbering behind her with big steps was Hou Tonghai. She began spinning as she moved, her skirt forming a circle, as she alternated between dodging and attacking trying to use her elbows to knock over Hou Tonghai’s wine cup. However he was always able to avoid her attacks.

Liang Ziwong thought to himself, “This girl’s gongfu is certainly trained to a high degree, but all things considered, she is still no match for brother Hou. However who wins and who loses is of no concern to me” His main concern was for his treasured medicinal herbs in his storeroom so he immediately thereupon turned and headed out the door to find this thief.

“The four medicines listed on the prescription, “Dragon’s Blood,” “Pseudo Ginseng,” “Bear Gallbladder” and “Myrrh” (translators note: these names are straight out of the dictionary and all appear to be real plants judging from their scientific names also quoted under the same entries) are all the same ones as those the Prince ordered to be brought up. These herbs are nothing special and not very expensive so their loss is no big deal, but what does concern me is what else he may have taken whilst he was in there.

Guo Jing was beginning to lose consciousness as the snake squeezed tighter and tighter. From the smell and the feel of the snake’s breath on his face he knew the sake must be getting closer. He knew that once the snake was able to bite him then he would surely be dead. Already the snake’s body was brushing against his mouth. He whole body was immobile held fast in the sakes deadly vice like grip, or his left hand, which was desperately trying to hold back the snake and even this was growing weaker. The only thing that he could move was his head and teeth so he opened his mouth and bit hard into the snake’s neck.

The snake began to writhe and squeeze even tighter as it felt the pain from Guo Jing’s teeth sinking in. Guo Jing felt a gush of snake blood flow into his mouth. It tasted extremely bitter and was hard to bear. He didn’t know if it was poisonous or not but he was too afraid to let go and spit it out as he feared he may never get a second chance to latch onto the snake again so he had no option but to swallow it. He also thought that the more blood the snake lost then the more strength it would also lose and it must eventually loosen it’s grip so he redoubled his efforts to start sucking out the snakes blood and continue to swallow. After continuing in this manner for a while his stomach was full and the snake gradually began to loosen its grip. Finally, after a few spasms the snake loosened its grip entirely and moved no more.

Guo Jing was by now exhausted and had to lean heavily against the table to remain upright. His first thought was to flee; however both his legs were still numb from the lack of blood flow and so he was forced to wait for his circulation to again reach through all his limbs. After a few minutes he felt his whole body getting hotter as if he was burning up. This made him very worried until after a short while he found that he could move again. However the feeling of extreme heat still continued to course through his whole body. When he pressed the back of his hand against his cheek it felt like it was scalding hot.

The packets of medicine were still safely in his coat. “Now I have the medicine I can help save Wang Daochang. Mu Yi and his daughter, though innocent of any wrong doing, are locked up by Wanyan Kang and are probably certain to be killed. I must help them escape before I leave.”

With this he went out of the storeroom and, after looking about for the right direction, headed off to the prison where Mu Yi and his daughter were being help.

When he arrived at the prison he saw a bunch of guards patrolling around keeping a tight watch around the prison. Guo Jing waited a while but found no way to get in the same way they did the first time. So he went around to the back of the building and waited for a patrol of guards to go past. He then leaped lightly onto the roof of the building wall and then quietly into the courtyard within. Leaning against the building wall he listened for any presence of soldiers. When he was sure that the coast was clear he whispered quietly, “Elder Mu, I’ve come to help you get out of here.”

Mu Yi got a shock. “Kind Sir, who are you?” he asked.

Guo Jing replied, “Junior’s name is Guo Jing.”

Mu Yi vaguely heard the name Guo Jing but after all the events of the past day and even being weak from injuries, when the two words ‘Guo Jing’ hit his ear drums it was light a thunderclap. With a trembling voice he asked, “What? Guo Jing? Your…your…clan name is Guo?”

Guo Jing replied, “Yes, junior is the one who fought with the young prince earlier today in front of the stage.”

Mu Yi asked, “What is your father’s name?”

“My late father’s name is Xiaotian.” When Guo Jing was young he didn’t know his fathers name. It was only later when Zhu Cong taught him to read that he was able to learn his father’s name.

Mu Yi’s eyes began to swell up with tears. He raised his head up and said softly, “Heaven, oh Heaven!” He reached his hands through the bars and tightly held Guo Jings hand.

Guo Jing could feel Mu Yi’s hand’s trembling and at the same time could feel tears dropping on to his hand. He thought to himself, “(Tr. Implied mild surprise at the depth of emotion shown like a ‘Gosh’ or ‘Gee Wiz’ here I think) Elder Mu is very grateful to me that I am coming to rescue them.”

He quietly whispered, “I have a sharp knife here which I am going to use to cut away the lock then you both can come out. Just before I heard the young prince talking. I know he is trying to deceive you, please don’t trust him!”

Mu Yi however asked, “Your mother, is her clan name Li? Has she passed away or is she still alive?”

“Oh!” Guo Jing asked surprised, “How do you know my mothers clan name? My mother is in Mongolia”

Mu Yi became even more excited upon hearing this. He continued holding Guo Jing’s hand.

Guo Jing said, “Let my hand go so that I can break off the lock.”

Mu Yi held Guo Jing’s hand as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. He was afraid if he let it go he would lose Guo Jing so he continued to hold fast, sighing, “You…you have grown up into such a big man now. Ai! I only have to close my eyes and I can see your father, now long ago departed from this world.”

“You knew my father?”

“Your father was my sworn brother. We swore to help our fellow country men.” at this point his throat become choked with emotion and he was unable to continue. When Guo Jing heard this, he found his eyes become moist with tears as well.

Mu Yi was in fact Yang Tiexin. During the battle with the government troops he suffered a deep wound from a spear in his back. He managed to cling onto a horse and was carried for several miles before he finally lost consciousness and fell off into a clump of bushes. The next morning when he awoke he crawled to a near by farmers hut where he remained for over a month recovering before he could struggle out of bed with the aid of a walking stick. The village nearby was called Lotus Pond village and was only about 7-8 kilometers (4-5 miles) from his own Ox Village. Luckily the farmer’s family was very kind and took care of him as he slowly recovered. However he was worried about his wife and wanted to go back and look for her in Ox Village. Since he was afraid that government troops may still be there searching for him, he waited until midnight to return to his old house and look around.

When he arrived there he saw the door was ajar which made him fear the worst had happened. He pushed open the door and walked in. He looked around and saw things were very much like they were the night that they had to flee. There were some half finished new cloths that his w