The beggars around looked at each other and wondered what he was laughing at. Elder Jian kept shouting, “Elder Peng, What are you doing? How dare you show disrespect to the Chief?” Elder Peng pointed at his nose and bent his waist in laughter. Elder Jian though it was something on his face and roughly brushed his hand across his face. Elder Peng laughed even more wildly and somersaulted down, rolling on the ground. The beggars realized something was not right. Two of his own aides tried to support him up but he shoved them away amidst his laughter. For this sort of hypnotizing technique, it required a substantial amount of internal energy and will power to control the other party. For an ordinary person, if subjected to such treatment, the person would simply fall asleep, but because Elder Peng was concentrating on controlling Huang Rong, the effect on him was ten times worse when she suddenly ‘attacked’ him while in such a state.
Elder Jian was worried that he would die from exhaustion, so he bowed to Huang Rong and said, “Chief, Elder Peng has been disrespectful, but I beg that Chief would be magnanimous and spare his life.” Elder Liang and Lu Youjiao came forward and bowed too. Huang Rong asked Guo Jing, “Do you think it’s enough?” Guo Jing replied, “OK, let him off.” Huang Rong said, “Elders, if you want me to spare him, fine, but you folks must not spit on me.” Elder Jian hurriedly said, “The clan rules are set by the Chief, and can be altered by the Chief, we will listen to you.” Huang Rong was delighted to hear that she could avoid the spitting and laughed, “Ok, go tap his accupoint.” Elder Jian jumped to Elder Peng and sealed two of his accupoints, causing him to stop laughing and he panted heavily. Huang Rong giggled, “Now I can rest! Hey, where’s Yang Kang?” Guo Jing replied, “Gone!” Huang Rong jumped, asking, “How did that happen? Where did he go?” Guo Jing pointed at the lake and said, “He went off with that old man Qiu,” Huang Rong saw the blur figures a distance away and did not pursue, knowing that Guo Jing let him off on account of their family ties.
When Yang Kang witnessed the match between Huang Rong and Elder Jian and saw her gain the advantage, he knew that if he did not leave now, his life would be at stake, so he slipped away to join the Iron Palm Sect while everyone was concentrating on the match. Qiu Qianren saw Huang Rong take the Clan Leadership and realized that with Guo Jing’s and Huang Rong’s good martial arts, coupled with the numerical strength of the Beggars’ Clan, it was unwise for them to stay, so he led the Iron Palm Sect members and Yang Kang off the island by boat. Some of the beggars observed them leaving, but with the ongoing match, there was no one controlling the situation, so they ignored the party. Huang Rong held the stick up and said clearly, “Before Chief Hong returns, I shall preside over all matters in this Clan. Elder Jian and Liang should lead some 8-Pocket members to welcome Chief Hong back; Elder Lu should remain here to recover from his injuries.” The beggars all cheered.
Huang Rong then said, “How do you people propose we handle Elder Peng?” Elder Jian said, “Brother’s offense is major and he deserves a serious punishment, but based on his merit for the Beggars’ Clan, please spare him from death.” Huang Rong laughed, “I knew you’d plead for him, Fine, he’s already had enough laughing, so just demote him from Elder to an 8-Pocket member.” The four Elders thanked her. Huang Rong said, “Brothers, you hardly meet and so must have much to say, you must give Li Sheng and Yu Tiaoxin a good burial. I see that Elder Lu is of good character, so all major matters will be decided by him. Elders Jian and Liang, please assist him. I shall take my leave now and we shall meet in Lin’an.” She held Guo Jing’s hand and left.
The beggars escorted them down the mountain and watched until their boat could no longer be seen before assembling again to discuss their plans.
The couple returned to the Yue Yang Mansion by dawn and found the red horse and the two condors waiting for them. Huang Rong looked around and saw the red Sun rising up from the lake; it was a beautiful scenery. She laughed, “Brother Jing, the essay by Master Fan Wen is really well written : ‘The distant mountain swallows the river and is vast without boundaries. Day by day it stands majestically.’ How can we not appreciate such a wonderful scene? Let’s drink a few cups.” Guo Jing agreed and they went upstairs. They thought of the previous night’s events and laughed. They were drinking merrily when Huang Rong suddenly became angry and said, “Brother Jing, It’s your fault!” Guo Jing was lost in confusion and begged, “Rong-er, please explain.” She said, “OK, let me ask you, last night when we were both facing the Beggars’ Clan formation you felt that your life was in danger, but why did you abandon me? If you had died could I still live? Don’t you understand my heart?” Her tears fell into the cup. Guo Jing felt her deep feelings for him and was filled with love, grabbing her hand in his wordlessly. After some time, he said, “Yes, It was my fault. We should face death together.” Huang Rong sighed and was about to reply when she heard someone on the stairs, when they saw each other, all three were surprised. It was Qiu Qianren.
Guo Jing quickly stood up and shielded Huang Rong as he was afraid of Qiu Qianren’s murderous intent. However, Qiu Qianren merely laughed and went down. The laughter seemed to indicate surprise and panic. Huang Rong said, “He’s scaring us. This is strange; I’ll go check it out.” She did not wait for Guo Jing’s reply and ran downstairs. Guo Jing yelled, “Be careful!” He hurriedly dug out a piece of silver and plonked it on the counter before dashing out. He looked around but did not see them and remembered Qiu Qianren’s vicious martial arts and underhand methods and was worried that Huang Rong might meet some mishap, so he shouted, “Rong-er, where are you?”
Huang Rong heard him but did not respond as she was closely tailing Qiu Qianren and knew that the slightest sound could betray her position. Huang Rong hid behind a wall and waited for Qiu Qianren to move further so that it would be safer for her to tail him. However, when he heard Guo Jing shouting, he knew she was behind and he too hid behind the wall on the other side. After some time, both of them heard nothing stirring and peered round the corner at the same time. They came face to face with each other and their expressions changed simultaneously.