The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Hearing that there were indeed no Quan Zhen pugilists nearby, Peng Lian Hu thought they could win with numbers. Not only that – the two priests had yet to meet up with Wang Chu Yi, and Ma Yu was trusting and off guard. All Peng Lian Hu had to do was keep up this friendly pretence and they would be able to pull a sneak attack. Beaming, he said: "We are honored that Priest Qiu and Ma do not look down on us, and to be friends would be fantastic. My surname is San, my full name is San Hei Mao [三黑猫 – three black cats]."

At this, Ma Yu and Qiu Chu Ji were both startled, thinking: "This person's kungfu is impressive, so his name must be famous. But this name, San Hei Mao, is so strange and I've never heard of it."

Peng Lian Hu tucked his Judgemental Twin Brushes back into his waist and approached Ma Yu. He said, smiling: "Nice to meet you, Priest Ma."

He stretched out his hand for a handshake. Unsuspectingly, Ma Yu reached out to shake his hand but the moment their hands touched, he suddenly felt Peng Lian Hu's grip tighten.

Ma Yu thought: "Hmph, trying to test my kungfu." He merely smiled and applied his internal energy in response, squeezing Peng Lian Hu's hand. Suddenly, an intense pain drilled into his five fingertips and it felt as if he was pierced by many steel needles. He quickly withdrew his hand, astonished. Peng Lian Hu burst out laughing and retreated a few feet. Ma Yu raised his palm and saw that all 5 fingertips had been punctured with holes that went deep into his flesh, lined with black.

So it was that when Peng Lian Hu was keeping his Judgemental Twin Brushes, he had secretly slipped on his special Poison Needle Bangle on his right hand. Made from refined steel, this bangle was as slender as a thread and on it were five thin needles armed with lethal poison. As long as the needles penetrated the flesh and drew blood, the victim would undoubtedly die within ten hours. Peng Lian Hu usually wore this bangle to increase the potency of his palm attacks when exchanging blows, thus ensuring that his opponent would not live beyond half a day. He had also deliberately introduced himself as "San Hei Mao" (Three Black Cats") so that while Qiu Chu Ji and Ma Yu were busy being astounded, he could seize the chance and sneak an attack.

Characters of the pugilistic often harbor no admiration for one another on the first meeting, but tact and face made public aggression improper. Thus, they would often reach out for a handshake in the guise of friendliness, but in actuality it was a duel of sorts. It was not unusual for the inferior fighter to have his bones broken and his hand swollen, or beg for mercy when the pain became too much. Ma Yu only thought that Peng Lian Hu was practicing the old pugilistic habit of being friendly on the surface but secretly appraising each other's strength. He never thought that Peng Lian Hu would have another vicious trick up his sleeve – thus, when both of them exerted strength, the five poisonous needles not only pierced his fingertips but sunk straight down to the bones of his fingers. By the time Ma Yu realized what had happened and struck forward with his right palm, Peng Lian Hu had already leapt away.

All Qiu Chu Ji knew was that his Elder Martial Brother had been normally shaking hands with someone when suddenly, his facial expression changed and he attacked. Qiu Chu Ji hurriedly asked: "What happened?"

Ma Yu replied angrily: "Crafty scoundrel, he poisoned me." With that, he advanced towards Peng Lian Hu.

Qiu Chu Ji had always known his Elder Martial Brother to be tolerant and had never seen him attack anyone in over 10 years – yet at this moment, he had opened his attack with the most formidable of Quan Zhen's skills – the "Three Flowers Atop" Palm technique. Qiu Chu Ji knew it must have taken a great reason for him to be so furious and thus, with a flick of his sword, weaved left and right to reach Peng Lian Hu. With a quick "swish, swish, swish", he had dealt him three strokes. By this time Peng Lian Hu had already retrieved his Twin Brushes and successfully deflected two of Qiu Chu Ji's strokes while managing to deal a strike with one brush. But Peng Lian Hu never expected Qiu Chu Ji's palm technique to be as ferocious as his sword. In that very instant when he was about to withdraw his brush – but not yet – Qiu Chu Ji had reached out and grabbed it by the tip. He shouted: "Withdraw!" Combining internal power and external force, Qiu Chu Ji tried to rupture the brush but despite using full energy, Peng Lian Hu was a formidable opponent and did not allow the brush to shatter. Qiu Chu Ji followed by steering his sword straight forward and Peng Lian Hu had no choice but to let go of his brush and evade. With the sword in his right hand and palm technique on his left, Qiu Chu Ji kept up the attack ceaselessly. Peng Lian Hu had lost one brush and his right arm was also feeling stiff and weak. Having lost sharpness, he continuously retreated.

At this point, Sha Tong Tian and Liang Zi Weng were embroiled with Ma Yu. Ouyang Ke and Hou Tong Hai came forward to aid Peng Lian Hu, one on the left and the other on the right. Faced with strong opponents, Qiu Chu Ji felt even more energetic. With gliding palms and flashing sword, the more he fought the swifter his attacks became. Qiu Chu Ji was fighting three people by himself and yet had not lost advantage, but over at the other end, Ma Yu was having trouble sustaining the situation. His right palm was already swollen and besieged with numbness and itch as the poison gradually took effect – though he knew that the needle was poisoned, he never expected such drastic reaction. He understood that the more he exerted himself, the faster his blood would circulate and the quicker the poison would attack his heart. Immediately he sat down and engaged his internal energy to halt the poison's passage, while wielding a sword in his left hand for self-protection. Liang Zi Weng's weapon was a shovel, similar to the ones used for exhumation. Between slamming vertically and scooping horizontally, at times sweeping across and at times hitting directly, the variations in attack were plentiful. Sha Tong Tian's iron stick was all the more heavy and dangerous. After ten moves or so, Ma Yu's breathing was hastening and his defensive circle, shrinking. Inwardly resisting the poison and outwardly defending against two enemies, he soon felt lethargic despite having an accomplished level of internal energy.

Qiu Chu Ji was shocked at the sight of his Elder Martial Brother seated on the floor, with hot air rising slowly from his head as if he were being steamed. He wanted to quickly finish off his 3 opponents and rush forward to aid him, but these opponents were sticky and he could not spare a moment to pause his attack and escape. Admittedly Peng Lian Hu was a weaker fighter, but Ouyang Ke was proficient in both internal energy and external moves. His attacks were both fierce and unusual and in terms of ability, he was way above Peng Lian Hu. From what Qiu Chu Ji could tell, Ouyang Ke's kungfu looked similar to that of the "Western Poison", someone Quan Zhen Sect had always feared the most. This startled him and he thought: "Who is this person? Could he be a disciple of the Western Poison? Has the Western Poison arrived at the Central Plains? I wonder if he's actually right here in Zhong Du." While following this train of thought he momentarily lost concentration and repeatedly encountered close shaves.

Yang Tie Xin knew in his heart that the skills of these 2 priests were way above his, but upon seeing both of them in danger he immediately lifted his spear and stabbed towards Ouyang Ke's back.