Chapter 43- Rescue Mission

Secure in the knowledge that she had backing, Gu Xiang thus appeared at the door with a grand swagger. When she saw Cao Weining's battered figure, a nameless pyre ignited in her heart.

She sneered.

"And here I thought you people from so-called orthodox schools only ganged up on people when you can't beat them on your own. Turns out, it's an actual habit! Zhang Chengling, get out here and tell them where exactly I've kidnapped you too!"

The gathered crowd noticed the timid teenager behind her only then.

Called upon to speak up in front of so many, Zhang Chengling felt embarrassment seize him. Plus, with Feng Xiaofeng and co looking particularly fiendish on that day, he couldn't help but cower a bit. With small, demure steps that befitted a young bride, he shuffled closer to Gu Xiang and mumbled in a near murmur.

"Sister Gu Xiang didn't kidnap me. I was the one who followed them."

"Rubbish," the Green Gent snarled. "Zhang boy, don't tell me you've been hoodwinked by that minx, too! How old are you to ape that other little scamp and indulge in lust?"

At the sight of Gu Xiang, Feng Xiaofeng's eyes turned red from anger. He unsheathed his machete and swung it at her.

"Fucking bitch, leave your eyeballs behind!"

Gu Xiang twisted sideways and retreated three successive steps to dodge the slashes coming at her. Then she surged upward, hopping onto the roof beams.

"Shorty," she said, towering from above. "That giant oaf of yours is lucky I took pity on him 'cause I figured having to follow you around has got to be eight lifetimes' worth of crap luck. In my gentle lady's mercy, I only blinded his blinkers. Had it been anyone else, they'd have taken his life for sure. So, yeah, how about you show some remorse for getting your pal hurt by looking for trouble, eh? Pfft..."

That last snort at the end of her harangue was a little out of breath. The lithe young woman was leaping from one beam to the next to evade the rackety mob besieging her from all sides. All the while, her chest laden with anxiety, she edged toward Cao Weining.

Without warning, Huang Daoren vaulted up to the ceiling to intercept her. He pounced in her direction.

Quick to judge that she was at a disadvantage, Gu Xiang crouched down before hopping toward another broad joist. Then, like a monkey, she reached out to hook her arms around the horizontal beam and executed a nimble somersault.

Whilst she was still suspended in mid-air, she made a flinging motion with her hand — as if she were throwing something out.

"Catch!" she shouted.

Huang Daoren jumped in fright at her cry. Who knew what vicious trick the little witch from who knows where was using now? He let out a groan and retreated with a large step. But there were no hidden weapons or poisonous powder. And when Huang Daoren took a second look, Gu Xiang had already evaded him.

Without even glancing back, she jeered at him. "Ha, ugly face — scared you!"

Mo Huaikong had released the panicked Cao Weining a while ago. As he observed the happenings coolly, he remarked on how the girl who had already escaped still came back to save his foolish school-nephew. Although quite evidently a thorny one, it seemed she may be true in her affection yet.

He slid a glance at Cao Weining, who was fidgeting on the spot with a stupid expression on his face — as though he was itching to pull the girl over — and pursed his lips.

Thorny or not, somebody was willing to get pricked. Even if in the future the foolish lad married she- dragon1, it'd be a case of one happily dishing it out and the other gladly lapping it up.

Just at that moment, the Pink Matron and Green Gent bolted toward Gu Xiang. One attacking from her right and the other from her left, they sandwiched the girl in the middle.

Gu Xiang didn't hesitate. She issued an upward kick, the small blade that sprang from her shoe aimed at the Green Gent's chest.

The Green Gent, however, was skilled. He didn't dodge or otherwise evade but drew up his walking staff crosswise, and Gu Xiang felt a burst of energy surge at her.

Gu Xiang understood at once that she wasn't the old man's match. She swiftly retracted her leg, but it still wasn't quick enough, and the blade at the point of her shoe snapped off.

She followed by making an about-turn, prepared to reuse her old trick, but she didn't expect that the Pink Matron had already sneaked up on her from behind.

"What are you guys doing?!" Gu Xiang called out in an urgent voice. "I'm about to die over here and you're still watching the show!"

A chuckle echoed through the air then, and the Pink Matron felt something hurl toward her back.

It was too late for her to duck; the only thing she could do was to dive forward — she sprawled herself on the roof beam like a giant lizard.

Gu Xiang used the opening to hop off from the ceiling. Meanwhile, the gathered crowd realized that the throwing weapon which had scared the Pink Matron witless was... only a walnut shell. More accurately, half of it.

A "crack" from someone unshelling the stone fruit of the Juglans regia thereupon resounded from the door. It originated in an unremarkable-looking man holding a small paper bag in one hand and pinching a rounded nut in his other.

The man pressed two fingers together, producing another cracking sound, and threw the resultant kernel into his mouth in a small arc. He chewed with visible relish while a second sorry-looking dude stood by his side, watching.

The two of them looked like they could have been brothers birthed by the same mother, both afflicted as they were with the same sallow complexion and puffy eyes and brows.

The walnut cracker politely addressed his companion:

"Are you sure you don't want to try one?" he asked while holding out his bag of nuts.

The second dude canted backward as if avoiding the plague and grimaced in disgust.

"Get that thing away from me."

The walnut cracker laughed.

"Ha. The vaunted... is afraid of eating walnuts? Idiot, the stuff's good for you. It's a supplement for the brain, makes you smarter.2"

The second dude marched up to clasp Zhang Chengling by the shoulder, muttering: "You can feed brain supplements to a pig all you want, it'd still be pig-brained." Yu Qiufeng scowled and growled.

"Now, who are you two?"

The second dude merely shoved Zhang Chengling.

"I don't like the look of that guy. Go beat him up for me," he whispered into the boy's ear.

Zhang Chengling's mouth gaped open; he stared back at the guy.

" Shi ... I... I..."

"You, you, what? They're bullying your Sister Gu Xiang, and you're going to stand by, doing nothing? Are you a man or not?"

Zhang Chengling reached out a finger to the first point at Yu Qiufeng, then at himself. "Erm... Um..." he said.

The second dude couldn't stand the stupid look on the boy's face. He aimed a kick at Zhang Chengling's rear, sending him stumbling forward and a breath short of falling into Yu Qiufeng's embrace.

Overjoyed, Yu Qiufeng hurried to gentle his voice. "My good boy, come over to me!"

Zhang Chengling only gazed around him with his wide, baffled eyes, looking like a small rabbit that couldn't find its way home.

The walnut cracker let out a low laugh. "That's harsh," he said.

"When an eaglet grows up, the father eagle will boot it out of the nest," the second dude replied with an impassive face. "I'm only doing it for his good."

The "eaglet" Zhang Chengling shyly took a step back while eyeing Yu Qiufeng as if he were an old and dirty pedophile.

Feng Xiaofeng wasn't inclined to be so courteous, however. He reflected that the Zhang boy seemed in cahoots with that lot, so he may as well seize him to hold him hostage. As long as he didn't kill the brat, it was all good. Thus, he dashed forth, reaching out to grab him.

Zhang Chengling, the hopeless boy, turned around to flee at once. "Mama! Shifu! He wants to snatch me!" he shrieked.

The walnut cracker made a puffing sound as he burst out laughing. He nudged his companion with the point of his shoe.

"Look at your eaglet, he's flapping his wings."

"Pathetic," the second fellow snapped before he struck at the air, and Zhang Chengling felt a surge of energy soar toward him.

Without being able to control it, Zhang Chengling stopped dead in his tracks, as if somebody had pushed him back. Immediately afterward, like a puppet on a string, his arm lifted of its own accord and aimed itself at the pouncing dwarf.

Scared witless, Zhang Chengling shut his eyes and reflexively closed his hand into a fist. It landed squarely on Feng Xiaofeng's nose bridge, making the dwarf give an earth-shaking yowl of pain.

Zhang Chengling reopened his eyes and stared at his fist in confused disbelief, only to hear his Shifu's voice (the guy was using a sound-transferring technique) vociferate in his ear:

"Idiot, what are you waiting for? Kick him in the chest, at the Danzhong acupoint!"

Zhang Chengling obeyed out of reflex. It felt as if the energy that had surged at him still hadn't left him, and his limbs thrummed with it. With the energy pushing him forward, he sent Feng Xiaofeng flying with a kick.

"Who are you?" Yu Qiufeng shouted.

The strange man failed to reply. He only struck again at the air behind Zhang Chengling's back.

Zhang Chengling yelped as he felt himself hurl at Yu Qiufeng.

Yu Qiufeng's gaze stilled; he unsheathed a sword that he had procured from who knew where after the last one got shattered, and met the boy head-on.

Zhang Chengling plunged right toward that blade, seconds from impaling himself on it.

Scared to the point of pissing his pants, but still unable to stop his feet that were carrying him forth out of their own

volition, he screeched in panic, " Shifu ! Help me!" The voice in his ear sounded again.

"The point of his sword is wavering. It means he has a combo prepared. Retreat with the 'Nine Halls Step', and take out his elbow from the side."

Those words made sense to Zhang Chengling. So, almost involuntarily, he took a sidestep before executing a pirouette to evade Yu Qiufeng's sword.

Yu Qiufeng instantly changed his stance; with a jolt, his blade zeroed in on Zhang Chengling once more. But Zhang Chengling didn't falter. By putting his right foot forward, he hopped ahead.

Although his posture was awkward (it looked frankly ridiculous), he succeeded in dodging Yu Qiufeng's attack again. Then, heeding Shifu's instruction, he "took out his elbow from the side": Zhang Chengling shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as he slammed into Yu Qiufeng head first.

The walnut cracker was, of course, Wen Kexing. When he saw the scene, he nearly cackled out loud again.

It turned out, Zhou Zishu had been teaching his disciple a one-of-a-kind qing-gong technique: the "Drifting Cloud Amidst Nine Halls Step"3.

The technique was so named because the person using it was to "move like a drifting cloud and float like willow catkins". Well executed, it made one resemble an immortal taking flight, full of elegance and grace.

Wen Kexing was witnessing for the first time someone turns "drift like the cloud" into "dance like a bear".

Even so, Zhou Zishu at his side relaxed his brows.

Although the kid's bearing was beyond clumsy, he had got the entire sequence right without misstepping once. It proved to him that his disciple had been conscientious in reciting the rhymes he had taught him, and had practiced the steps on his no less than tens of thousands of times. Else, he wouldn't have been able to execute them while being keyed up with panic.

Yu Qiufeng had already been seriously injured when he got into the fight with Wen Kexing on that other day. Getting hit by Zhang Chengling's headbutt full-on made him drop his newly acquired sword on the spot.

"Don't let them escape!" he bellowed in a fit of towering rage.

At his yelp, the crowd swarmed toward Zhang Chengling at once.

The situation wasn't one Zhang Chengling could handle on his own. Wen Kexing stuffed his half-emptied bag of walnuts into Zhou Zishu's hand.

"Hold this for me," he said. "Daddy's gotta discipline a bunch of unruly kids!"4 With that, he rushed into the fray, his laughter echoing in the air.

Zhou Zishu had always found walnuts disgusting. Their smell was disgusting and their shape was likewise disgusting, the small rounded horrors resembling many miniature brains. He pinched the paper bag between two fingers and held it at an arm's length with a revolted grimace on his face. All the while, he used the sound-transferring technique to give Zhang Chengling instructions as he watched the spectacle from the sideline.

With the commotion on Wen Kexing's side creating a distraction, Gu Xiang took the chance to sneak up to Cao Weining. After kicking away some guy who tried to stop her, she met Mo Huaikong's eyes and glared at him.

Whoever you are, she thought, if you dare get in my way, I'll send you packing!

She had yet to get close, however, when Mo Huaikong let out a loud "Argh!" while hunching forward. Then, with

pain seemingly etched on his every feature, he pointed at the baffled Gu Xiang and gasped:

"Oh! Ahh! Ahh! This... This little witch... is too strong! I'm not her match!"

With that, all by himself, he flopped down onto the floor with a thud, shut his eyes, and stopped moving.

Gu Xiang and Cao Weining glanced at each in stupefaction, none of them getting it.

They remained frozen on the spot for so long that Mo Huaikong cracked an eye open to scold them in a low voice.

"Are you stupid? What are you waiting for? Run!"

Gu Xiang unsheathed her dagger and slashed through the ropes binding Cao Weining.

"Uncle, thank you so much," Cao Weining whispered as he jumped to his feet.

"Old man," Gu Xiang added hastily, "We'll never forget the great favor you did us. When I get around to it, I'll make sure to erect a memorial plaque in your name!"

Your mother, go erect a memorial plaque for yourself! Go erect memorial plaques for your entire family! 5Mo Huaikong inwardly cursed while feigning incapacitation with his eyes shut tight.

That Gu Xiang girl not only looked like an aggravating little imp, she also talked like one.

From his end, Zhou Zishu saw that Gu Xiang had already fled with Cao Weining.

In a sudden movement that seemed a blur, he picked up Zhang Chengling by the back of his collar and swung him around like a giant wooden club. Whirling in the air, Zhang Chengling's legs knocked Huang Daoren square in the chest, sending him staggering backward.

Zhou Zishu then shoved the bag of walnuts into Zhang Chengling's hands before hollering at Wen Kexing. "Enjoying ourselves, are we? Have you forgotten what we came here for? Let's go!"

Wen Kexing har-har'd.

" Mt Qing never changes, the green waters ever flow," he said whilst taking flight. "Lady and gents, so long."

Thereupon, he left shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Zishu, who was still carrying Zhang Chengling. Both had qing- gong that was unsurpassed. They exercised it at full might and left everyone in the dust. In a blink, they were gone without a trace.

The three of them made it to quite a distance before they came to a halt.

Zhou Zishu dropped Zhang Chengling, pulled off his mask, and straightened his clothes.

When he looked down, he saw that Zhang Chengling was staring at him with shiny eyes, his expression evocative of a pet waiting for a reward.

Zhou Zishu's hand stilled. His modus operandi with his junior had been to punish him for any mistake he made, else he'd grow lazy, and never praise him when he had done well, else he'd grow complacent. But now, with the kid looking like that, he couldn't help but soften somewhat. After a moment's reflection, he finally came up with something.

"Your qing-gong wasn't too lousy," he said.

It was as if flowers were blooming on Zhang Chengling's face, but before he could enjoy the feeling for a full second, Zhou Zishu's face fell again.

"What are you getting pleased with yourself for? Look at you, cowering in fear and crying for your mommy at the tiniest sign of danger. Such a disgrace."

Thus, Zhang Chengling resumed hanging his head in dejection. But then he felt a warm hand coming to rest on the back of his head.

"Don't listen to him," Wen Kexing said in a smiling voice. "That thin skin of your shifu's is about as delicate as a sheet of paper. And with his extra layer off, he gets bashful all the more easily..."

Wen Kexing hadn't finished speaking, however, when Zhou Zishu turned to him with a fake smile plastered on. "Old Wen, what was that?"

Wen Kexing changed his tune in a jiffy.

"I said that you're a rock of a man who remains calm in any situation, unshakable by even thunder," he supplied readily. "And that you're not thin-skinned at all. You're completely shameless — so shameless, you wouldn't know what shame is even if it bit you in the ass."

Out of the blue, Zhou Zishu then reached out to cradle Wen Kexing's face in his palm.

Wen Kexing started. But Zhou Zishu said nothing. He only leaned in close, until he was a breath away, and bored into Wen Kexing's eyes with his unblinking, piercing gaze.

Zhang Chengling swiveled his head back and forth between the two, not understanding at all what they were doing.

A good five minutes passed thusly before Zhou Zishu, with a faint smile floating on his lips, released Wen Kexing. "Red. Finally," Zhou Zishu said with a chuckle as he flicked once at Wen Kexing's earlobe.

Wen Kexing took a sudden step forward — and staggered.

Zhou Zishu burst out laughing.

But then, his laughter came to an abrupt halt shortly afterwards.

Zhang Chengling and Wen Kexing followed his gaze to a man wearing white who stood not far away, observing them with an impassive face.

Notes

1. The original expression is "Lioness from the north riverbank" from an anecdote

involving celebrated scholar Su Dongpo.

2. Walnuts are said to be a supplement for the brain because they look like tiny brains. It turns out to be not wrong as fatty nuts have some omega-3 in them (if you believe in that sort of thing as I do).

3. is an existent m.a. technique from, to my knowledge, Daoist traditions. The Nine Hall refers to the division of the heavens in a magic square composed of nine smaller squares with each a number attributed to them. The step sequence follows the sequence of the number.

4. WKX says "Grandaddy is going to teach his grandsons a lesson" in the original. Calling someone "grandson" is an insult implying that the insultee has to venerate the insulter.

5. Gu Xiang says she is going to erect a paifang ( "memorial arch") for Mo Huaikong. It sounds both boastful as memorial arches are costly edifices and incongruous as paifangs aren't generally erect in the name of someone