Ouyang Feng assumed that with his vicious strike, the opponent would retreat, but he did not expect the dumb kid to use such a move that would get them both injured. Thus he had to retract the foot which was halfway towards Hong Qigong to twist his waist around to attack Guo Jing. At such close proximity, he could not execute any of his refined Snake moves.
For highly-skilled exponents, whenever they fight, they would not allow the opponent to get close to them even if they were targeting accupoints, so there was hardly any close-contact grappling involved. When it came to advanced martial arts, there were no moves for scuffling.
Ouyang Feng felt his throat being gripped forcefully by Guo Jing and he struck out backwards, but Guo Jing managed to avoid the blows. He felt that it was becoming harder to breathe, and felt that the grip was becoming tighter, so he jabbed his elbow backwards. Guo Jing evaded right and had to release his left hand, but also used his legs to execute a Mongolian wrestling technique while his left hand slipped past Ouyang Feng’s shoulder.
He slammed down forcefully on Ouyang Feng’s back, causing Ouyang Feng to suffer intense pain even with his good martial arts. This technique was called the [Camel’s Pull], and it was so effective that only a wrestling expert could deal with it. Ouyang Feng did not know wrestling, so he suffered the whole extent of the strike.
Guo Jing was happy and his right hand released its grip and slipped upwards behind Ouyang Feng’s back. With a loud yell he pressed both palms down. In wrestling this move was called the [Mountain Breaking Move] and was used when the opponent had fallen, so that no matter how strong his shoulders were or how good his wrestling techniques were, there would be nothing much he could do as his shoulder would break if he tried to move.
However Ouyang Feng’s martial arts were much better than the Mongolian wrestlers, so even with such a disadvantage he still managed to think of a way to turn defeat into victory. When Guo Jing’s hands came down, he used his Qinggong to duck aside and rolled away under Guo Jing’s waist.
With his status as a highly skilled martial arts master, rolling under a junior’s waist was a great disgrace, but that did not bother him. He broke free from the [Mountain Breaking Move] and immediately threw out his fists to counterattack Guo Jing’s back. He did not expect that before his fists reached Guo Jing, his left leg was immobilized.
Guo Jing knew he was no match for his opponent, but with such a close-combat situation and his wrestling background, coupled with the fact that he disregarded his safety, Ouyang Feng could not get any closer to his master to injure him. At this point the fires became fiercer and the planks listed, causing them to lose their balance and fall and their clothes caught fire.
Huang Rong was anxious and worried sick as she saw Hong Qigong’s motionless body slumped on the side of the boat and she could not tell if he was dead or alive. Meanwhile Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng were still rolling and struggling about without showing signs of stopping. Their clothes were on fire and the situation was getting dangerous, so she lifted her oar and smashed it towards Ouyang Ke’s head.
Although his right arm was broken, his martial arts were still good enough for him to evade the oar and he stretched out his left hand to grab Huang Rong’s bracelet. Huang Rong stomped her feet fiercely and the small boat almost capsized. Ouyang Ke could not swim and he was about to fall overboard, so he had to let go of Huang Rong. When the boat stabilized, Huang Rong took the opportunity to jump into the sea.
She swam a few strokes and rushed towards the big boat. The boat was already half submerged in water and the deck was almost touching the water surface. Huang Rong climbed aboard to help Guo Jing and took out the ‘Moth-Eyebrow’ Spike from her waist. Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng were deadlocked into a bundle and rolling about. Ouyang Feng’s martial arts were better and he managed to pin Guo Jing underneath, but Guo Jing tenaciously held on to his shoulders, causing him to be unable to counterattack. Huang Rong fought through the smoke and went up to Ouyang Feng, piercing his back with the spike.
Ouyang Feng was struggling madly with Guo Jing, but when he felt the prick, he was surprised and twisted around forcefully, causing Guo Jing to land on top. Huang Rong now wanted to poke Ouyang Feng’s head with the spike, but Ouyang Feng’s agility allowed him to evade her attacks and she finally pierced the spike into the deck.
A gust of wind blew some thick black smoke over, causing her eyes to smart. Just as she was about to rub her eyes, she suddenly felt pain in her leg and she fell over. It was Ouyang Feng who kicked her. Huang Rong rolled over and jumped up, but her hair caught fire. She was about to attack him when Guo Jing shouted, “Save Master first!” Huang Rong agreed in her mind and ran towards Hong Qi Gong, grabbed him and jumped into the sea, extinguishing the fire on her body.
Huang Rong placed Hong Qigong on her back, kicked her legs in the water and swam to the boat. Ouyang Ke stood at the side of the boat and raised the oar up high, shouting, “Put the old beggar down, I’ll only let you board alone!” Huang Rong said, “Fine! Let’s meet in the water!” She shook the boat violently. The boat rocked terribly and looked like it was about to capsize. Ouyang Ke became frantic and gripped the side of the boat tightly, saying, “Don’t… don’t shake, the boat is going to overturn!”
Huang Rong laughed, saying, “Quickly pull my master up. And watch out; if you try any tricks, I’ll dunk you in the water for 6 hours.” Ouyang Ke had no choice but to comply and held on to Hong Qigong’s back, pulling him onboard.
Huang Rong smiled and praised him, “From the first time I met you, this is the first good deed you’ve done.” Ouyang Ke’s heart stirred and wanted to speak, but could not open his mouth. Huang Rong was about to swim back to the large boat to help out in the fight when she suddenly heard a thunderous rumble – a huge wall of water loomed over her head.
She was utterly shocked and quickly held her breath, waiting for the water to hit the boat, but when she looked again and touched the back of her wet hair, her jaw dropped. A whirpool had formed on the surface of the sea and the large burning boat had disappeared together with Guo Jing and Ouyang Feng.
At this moment, her mind was completely blank and she completely did not feel anything or think of anything, and she became completely lost, not knowing where she was. Suddenly, the salty water filled her mouth and she found herself sinking into the water. She started and her senses were awoken as she swam upwards. When she broke through the surface, all she could see in all directions was the small boat; everything else had gone disappeared under the waves.