“You have committed all kinds of evil, but instead of repenting you wanted to injure this good man. Do you really not consider the heroes of the Jianghu anymore?” Guo Jing scolded.
Ouyang Ke thought that Guo Jing’s last attack was just a coincidence. He looked down on Guo Jing, “Are you one of those ‘heroes’?” he mockingly asked.
“I do not dare to call myself a hero,” Guo Jing answered. “But with all due respect I am asking you to release Miss Cheng and then return to the west immediately.”
“And what if I don’t want to listen to your childish request?” Ouyang Ke smirked.
Before Guo Jing had a chance to reply, Huang Rong called from outside the window, “Brother Jing, just punch this bastard!”
Ouyang Ke heard Huang Rong’s voice, his spirit was shaken. “Miss Huang, you want me to release Miss Cheng, that is easy, as long as you follow me wherever I go. Not only Miss Cheng, but I will also release all my female disciples; moreover, I will promise you not to take any other female disciple. Wouldn’t that be good?”
Huang Rong leaped inside the hall, smiling she said, “That is very good! We are going to tour the western region. Brother Jing, are you coming?”
Ouyang Ke shook his head, “No, I want you to come with me. I don’t want this stinky kid to come along,” he said, still smiling.
Huang Rong was angry, her palm slapped backward. “You dare to scold him? You are the stinky one!” she loudly shouted.
Ouyang Ke was mesmerized with Huang Rong’s gracefulness and her sweet smile while talking to him. She looked so innocent yet free. His spirit was captured. Who would have thought that she abruptly turned hostile? He did not guard against her, plus Huang Rong was using the exquisite move from the [fallen flower divine sword palm], the ultimate in palm technique. So his left cheek was slapped. Fortunately Huang Rong did not use her full strength; but his face was burning in pain nonetheless.
“Bah!” Ouyang Ke spat. His left hand suddenly stretched out toward Huang Rong’s breast. Huang Rong did not elude him; she threw both hands toward the top of his head. Ouyang Ke was lascivious, seeing Huang Rong did not move, he was delighted. While ignoring the blow on his head he caressed his hand on her breast. Who would have thought that as soon as his fingers touched her clothes, he felt stabbing pain. Suddenly it dawned on him, “She is wearing the soft hedgehog armor.” Luckily he was being frivolous that he did not use much strength. Quickly he lifted his arm to parry her blow.
“It’s not easy for you to hit me,” Huang Rong smiled. “I can hit you, but you can’t hit me.”
Ouyang Ke was exasperated; he could not enrage Huang Rong, so he vented his anger toward Guo Jing. “Let me kill this kid first, I hope her feeling toward him will die,” he thought. So while his eyes fixed on Huang Rong, his leg flew backward toward Guo Jing’s chest. This leg movement was swift and ruthless. It was the Western Poison Ouyang Feng’s unique family skill. It was difficult to fend off. Once the leg hit its target, the ribcage would be fractured toward the lung.
Guo Jing did not have enough time to jump back, so he turned his body around and launched a backward palm. With a loud crash Guo Jing’s palm hit Ouyang Ke’s leg, while Ouyang Ke’s leg hit Guo Jing’s chest almost simultaneously. Both men felt searing pain to the bone. They turned their bodies around facing each other and staring at each other angrily; immediately they attacked each other.
The Beggar Clan people were surprised, “This move obviously is Li Sheng’s unique skill, the [divine dragon swing its tail], how come this young man can use it? Moreover, his movement is superior to that of Li Sheng.” By now they have already pulled Li Sheng – who had come to his senses, to the side. He also recognized not only the [divine dragon swing its tail], but other stances as well. He saw Guo Jing’s moves were exquisite and powerful; he was amazed. “This ’18 Dragon-subduing Palms’ is Clan Leader Hong’s special skill. Because I had no regard for my own life and rendered a great service, the leader had generously rewarded me with one stance. Where did this youth learn the full set of 18 stances?” Obviously he did not realize Guo Jing only knew 15 stances.
Ouyang Ke was also amazed. He secretly admired Guo Jing’s progress. “How could this kid’s martial art improve so much in just two months?”
In a short time they have already exchanged about forty moves. Guo Jing had repeatedly used his 15 stances several times. It was enough for him to defend himself; but in all honesty he had to admit that Ouyang Ke’s martial art was several levels above his, so he realized he would not win.
Another ten or so moves later Ouyang Ke changed his tactics. He swiftly moved to all directions to divert Guo Jing’s attention then he launched quick attack from unexpected direction. Guo Jing tried hard to fend off but his left hip was kicked. He stepped backward and was limping. Luckily his stances were concentrated on his palms, so he could still launch his 15 moves in succession.
Ouyang Ke did not dare to press on for a while. He tried to force an opening in Guo Jing’s defense line. About a dozen or so moves later he did see an opening and immediately launched an attack. Guo Jing had finished all 15 moves and was about to repeat the whole set. After the fifteenth stance ‘jian long zai tian’ [dragon appeared from (rice) field] he could have launched the first stance, ‘kang long you hui’ [the proud dragon show remorse]; but he could also repeat the last stance, ‘jian long zai tian’. His mind was not quick enough, he pondered, “Shall I repeat from the beginning, or shall I reverse the order?” This slight hesitation was enough for Ouyang Ke. He immediately took advantage of this small flaw and attacked toward Guo Jing’s shoulder.
Guo Jing was taken aback; he did not have any chance to think which one of the 15 stances he could use to parry that attack, so in reflex he stepped backward and slapped his opponent’s hand. It was a move without following any martial art principles; it was a move without a move. But it took Ouyang Ke by surprise and his arm was squarely hit. Ouyang Ke was shocked; he leaped back and immediately examined his arm. Luckily even though it hurt, but it was not broken.
Guo Jing was delighted with this unexpected result. He thought, “I realized there are three areas on my body which are not protected well: my shoulder, left hip, and right waist. If only I can develop more stances using my both hands …” His mind was still reeling when Ouyang Ke had launched another attack.
Guo Jing was not the smartest kid on the block. Even if he painstakingly racked his brain for ten days or two weeks, he would not necessarily come out with even half of a new move; much less now he was engaged in a fierce combat, how would he have a chance to think? All he could do was clumsily modifying whatever principle he had learned from the dragon palms just to protect his shoulder, left hip and right waist; these three areas.