The Legend of the Condor Heroes

The woman angrily said: "Who dares to seize a person here?"

Liang Ziweng scolded: "You disguise yourself like a crafty ghost. Are you trying to frighten me?"

The asthmatic woman began to breathe heavily as she said: "Hmph, the young fellow can come here and hide."

Guo Jing had thought that the situation he was in was hopeless and critical in the extreme when he heard her saying this, without hesitation, he jumped as he felt five icy cold fingers touch his wrist. They were much stronger than him so that when he was pulled by her, his body was not able to resist from being thrown forwards and feeling himself growing numb. Gasping for breath, the woman said to Liang Ziweng: "You were able to grasp him adeptly which means your strength is not a trifle. You are from outside the mountain pass?"

Liang Ziweng was shocked, thinking, I cannot see even half of her hair, how is it possible she was able to recognize my martial arts? Is she capable of seeing things in the dark? This woman, she must be an old eccentric who's used to being proud and strict! He did not dare to say anything careless or indiscreet and instead said pleasantly: "This lowly one who is an invited guest from Guan Dong is surnamed Liang. This boy stole something from me and I'm trying to get it back. I ask your excellency not to interfere."

The woman said: "Ah, is the Ginseng Immortal Liang Ziweng trying to right a wrong? The other person seems unaware of it. I have no desire to interfere but when he rushed into my cave, the crime can already be pardoned. Lao Liang, you are a martial arts expert, how come you don't understand the rules of wulin?"

Liang Ziweng was even more surprised and asked: "May I consult the name of your excellency?" The woman said: "I… I…"

Guo Jing felt the hand grasping his wrist shiver violently, the fingers slowly beginnning to loosen and he also heard her trying to keep down a groan as though she was in extreme pain. He asked: "You are sick?"

Liang Ziweng's high kung fu allowed him to hear her groan and surmised that this person has lost her skills not from a sickness but from an injury which caused her to be greatly weakened. He immediately applied strength to his arm, sending both hands evenly to grasp Guo Jing's chest. He managed to brush against his clothes, waiting for his fingers to grab hold when he suddenly felt a strong force meeting his wrists. Shocked, Liang Ziweng discovered that when he sent out his left hand, he managed to grab instead the enemy's arm. The woman shouted angrily: "On guard!" A palm hit Liang Ziweng on his back. He leapt, the palm forcing him to take several steps back. Fortunately for him, his internal strength was good so that he was not injured.

Liang Ziweng said: "Hao3 zei2 po2! (Something like, you good mother-in-law of a thief! Po is sometimes used as a not-so polite term for old woman. The thief in question is Guo Jing.) You come here." When that woman continued gasping for breath, remaining motionless, Liang Ziweng realized that she could not move the lower part of her body. His alarm and fear was immediately reduced and he began to slowly approach. He was just about to jump forward to attack when he suddenly felt something curl around his ankles. This thing was like a soft whip, silent, and came like electricity. Greatly alarmed, he quickly tried to resist it, but the whip was able to lift his body in a flash. He tried to aim a kick at the woman when a sound came as the top of his head hit the earthen wall.

His leg kung fu was of a high level, unmatched in wulin which caused him to enjoy more than 20 years of great prestige outside the mountain pass. This leg when executed was incomparably fierce. Who would have thought that before even the tip of his toe could arrive, he would suddenly sense his "Chong1Yang2 Xue2" (Flushing Out the Sun Hole) growing numb, causing him to immediately dodge in great alarm? This "Chong1Yang2 Xue2" was located five inches from the instep of the foot. If this vital point was sealed by the person, his whole leg would grow numb. Luckily, he was able to withdraw his foot quickly, avoiding it, but the action of anxiously kicking and then anxiously withdrawing has caused his knee to ache.

Liang Ziweng thought as he dodged, This person is in this dark cave but acts as though she is dwelling in a bright and sunny place, being able to accurately find my vital point, how can she not be a witch or a demon?

Realizing the critical situation he was in, he executed a half somersault to avoid, backhandedly sending out a palm in an effort to shake her off. He knew this stance was severe, the palm ten times stronger, and he thought that this person with asthma definitely would not have the internal strength to resist. However, he suddenly heard a loud cry as he felt the enemy's arm heading violently towards him, its fingertips already making contact with his shoulder. Liang Ziweng's left hand sensed the opponent's ice-cold wrist, her body appearing as though it was not made of flesh and blood as it once more tried to attack. He immediately rolled away, rushing out in a hurry, even using his hands and foot to crawl out of the tunnel, panting heavily as he thought, I have lived for dozens of years but I have never encountered such a strange event where I don't even know if she is a woman or a ghost! I must inform the prince about this matter. He hastily ran back to the Fragrant Snow Hall.

On the way, he thought: "I do not know if that creature is a woman ghost or female demon, but now that the stinky boy has fallen into her hands, she will naturally suck all the precious blood in his body dry. Would she act as if she was a polite guest of mine? Sigh, due to a strange combination of circumstances, I had met that stinky beggar. Then, having raised the snake and refined its blood, I had to run into that female ghost. I nearly lost my life in both encounters. Could the fabrication of the pill of longevity really be against the ways of Heaven, and envied by ghosts and deities, that I would fail on the verge of success?"

When Guo Jing heard him moving farther and farther away, he felt greatly relieved and fell on his knees, kowtowing to the woman as he said: "Junior politely thanks old senior for saving his life."

That woman was able to match Liang Ziweng's moves earlier but now she was exhausted, causing her asthma to play up. She coughed, wheezing as she said: "Why did Lao Liang want to kill you?"

Guo Jing: "Taoist Elder Wang was injured and needed medicine to treat his wounds. The disciple then came to the palace…" Suddenly, he thought, This person lives in the Zhao Palace, how do I know he's not with Wanyan Honglie's party? He stopped talking immediately.

The woman said, "Mmm, so you have stolen the Old Monster's medicine. I have heard that he is very knowledgeable in the research of medicines and their properties, so you must have stolen a miraculous pill or a marvellous drug."

Guo Jing: "I took some of his medicine to treat an internal injury, but he was so angry he wanted to kill me. Is the old senior injured? Disciple has several medicines, four samples of tian2 qi1 (pseudoginseng), xie3 jie2 (dried blood), xiong2 dan3 (bear's gall), mei2 yao4. Taoist Elder Wang does not have to use this many, if old senior…"

The woman angrily said: "Whether I'm injured or not, what concern is it of yours?"

At this snag, Guo Jing could only say hastily: "Yes, yes." But after only a moment, he heard her gasping for breath and could not restrain himself from saying again: "If old senior cannot walk, junior offers to carry you out of here."