The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Suddenly that old man's eyes opened. His eyes were bright and twinkling. He smiled faintly and asked, "Which one of the Quan Zhen Seven Masters is your master?"

Guo Jing saw his countenance was kind, he was put at ease. He stood up and bowed respectfully, "Disciple Guo Jing pays his respect to Senior. I am the disciple of the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan."

That old man seemed surprised. "Seven Heroes of Jiangnan? Is that Ke Zhen'E and the others? How could they teach you the internal energy cultivation of Quan Zhen Sect?" he asked.

"Actually, Venerable Dan Yang, Taoist Priest Ma had spent two years teaching disciple, but he had not included me inside the Quan Zhen Sect's gate and wall," Guo Jing answered.

That old man laughed heartily and then made faces. He looked so funny, like a child playing jokes. "So that's how it is" he said, "How did you come to the Peach Blossom Island?"

"Master Huang told me to come," replied Guo Jing.

The old man's face suddenly changed, "What for?" he asked.

"Disciple had offended Master Huang," Guo Jing answered. "I come here to accept my fate."

"Are you telling the truth?" the old man asked.

"Disciple does not dare to lie," answered Guo Jing.

The old man nodded, "Very good! Sit down!" he commanded.

Guo Jing sat on a big rock. Now he could see clearly that the old man was sitting inside a cave on the rock wall.

"Other than your Masters who had taught you martial arts?" the old man asked again.

"The Nine-fingered Divine Beggar, Benevolent Master Hong …" Guo Jing said.

The old man's face changed again, it was so weird, like he was going to smile but restrained himself. "Hong Qigong also taught you martial art?" he interrupted.

"Yes," replied Guo Jing. "Benevolent Master Hong taught me the '18 Dragon-Subduing Palms'."

The old man's face showed happiness and envy at the same time, "You know '18 Dragon-Subduing Palms'? This martial art is so amazing. How about teaching me that? I will take you as my master." But then he shook his head and said, "Won't do! Won't do! As the Old Hong's disciple your energy must not that strong. Did Old Beggar Hong teach you internal energy?"

"He did not," answered Guo Jing truthfully.

The old man looked up and thought aloud, "He looks so young. Even if he cultivated his internal energy inside his mother's womb, that would at most 18, 19 years worth of internal energy. How could he resist the flute sound, while I could not?" He was deep in thought for a moment; then he looked at Guo Jing from top to bottom and again from bottom to top. He stretched his right palm and said, "Push my palm; I want to test your martial art."

Guo Jing complied; he extended his right palm and pushed. The old man said, ""Qi' at your 'dan tian', push hard!" Guo Jing exerted his strength. The old man pulled his palm slightly then push hard while cried out, "Be careful!"

Guo Jing sensed a powerful force pushing him. He could not hold it, so he used his left hand to enforce his right palm. Who would have thought that old man flipped his palm and push Guo Jing's wrist with his four fingers. The power of these fingers was enough to send Guo Jing flew backward seven, eight steps until his back hit a tree. Only then did Guo Jing manage to stand.

"His martial art is not bad, but nothing extraordinary either," the old man muttered, "But how could he resist the Old Heretic Huang's 'bi hai chao sheng qu' [jade-colored tidal wave song]?"

Guo Jing felt his chest tightened; he was astonished, "This man's martial art is about the same level as Benevolent Master Hong's and Master Huang's. How could there be an expert his caliber in the Peach Blossom Island? Could it be he was the Western Poison or the Southern Emperor?" As soon as he remembered 'Western Poison' his heart turned cold, "Did I fall into his trickery?" Quickly he lifted his palm under the sunlight and checked it out. But he did not see any inflammation or black mark; he was relieved, at least he wasn't being poisoned.

"Can you guess who I am?" that old man laughed.

"Disciple had heard people say that in the martial art realm there are five experts. The Quan Zhen's founder Venerable Wang had passed away; disciples have met the 'Nine-fingered Divine Beggar' Benevolent Master Hong and the Master of Peach Blossom Island. Could Senior be Senior Ouyang or Emperor Duan?"

"You thought my martial art is comparable to the Eastern Heretic and Northern Beggar, didn't you?" the old man smiled.

"Disciple's martial art is mediocre, my experience shallow, I do not dare to speak nonsense. But when Senior pushed me a moment ago, I can say with confidence that other than Benevolent Master Hong and Master Huang, I have never experience such force," Guo Jing said.

That old man was delighted with Guo Jing's praise; his face looked like a child's happy face. "I am neither the Western Poison Ouyang Feng, nor the Emperor Duan," he smiled broadly. "Guess again."

Guo Jing hesitated. "Disciple had met somebody whose name was as well known as Benevolent Master Hong, Qiu Qianren. But this person's martial art is just ordinary. Disciple is really not smart, I cannot guess Senior's honored name," he said.

That old man laughed heartily, "My surname is Zhou; can you guess now?" he asked.

"Ah, you are Zhou Botong?" Guo Jing blurted. As the words came out of his mouth Guo Jing froze. Mentioning someone's name, especially a Senior, could be considered disrespectful. He quickly bowed and apologized, "Disciple had shown disrespect, would Senior Zhou please forgive me."

The old man laughed, "You are right! I am precisely Zhou Botong. My name is Zhou Botong, and you called me Zhou Botong; when did you show me disrespect? The Quan Zhen Sect's Founder Wang Chongyang was my martial brother; Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the others are my martial nephews. You are not a Quan Zhen disciple, you don't have to call me Senior this or Senior that; just call me Zhou Botong."

"How would disciple dare?" Guo Jing asked.

Zhou Botong had lived in the Peach Blossom Island for a long time; he was bored, but suddenly Guo Jing came along. Talking with him he found relief; he was thrilled. Suddenly a strange thought came into his mind. "Little friend, what do you say you and I become sworn brothers?" he asked.

No matter how strange his words were, this was the weirdest of all. Guo Jing's jaw dropped, he looked at Zhou Botong in disbelief; he thought Zhou was joking. After a while he opened his mouth, "Disciple is Priest Ma and Priest Qiu's junior; I deserve to address you as my grand martial master."

Zhou Botong busily shook his hands. "My martial art skill came from my martial brother. Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the others did not consider me their senior; they also did not respect me as a senior. You are not my son, I am not yours; we do not have older-younger generation difference." Speaking thus he heard footsteps approaching; an old servant appeared, carrying a food basket. Zhou Botong beamed, "Our food is here!"

The servant opened the basket and took out four dishes of food, two pots of wine and a wooden basket full of rice. He placed the food in front of Zhou Botong, on top of a big rock; poured out two cups of wine and stood silently aside.

"Where is Miss Huang? Why didn't she come looking for me?" Guo Jing asked. That servant shook his head, pointing to his ear and his mouth, signaling that he was deaf and mute.