Chapter 42: The Initial Meeting of Jingkang (Part 2)

  Just as Yang Tie Xin and his daughter were worried, they heard one of Yang Kang's servants say to the tall Tibetan monk: "Master, you'd better go down and get rid of that little brat. If we continue to fight and Little Master Wang accidentally gets hurt, we followers of Little Master Wang will all be doomed."

  That monk heard the words and turned his head to look at Guo Jing and Yang Kang who were fiercely fighting in the arena, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he didn't take action immediately.

  An old white-haired man beside him said, "Where did that little kid come from? Young Master Wang's martial arts are already quite good, but that kid seems to be even better! At this rate, Young Master Wang might really be at a disadvantage."

  The short man asked the white-haired old man, "I've long heard that your martial arts knowledge is vast and profound. Have you figured out the kung fu paths of Young Master Wang and that young man?"

  That white-haired old man hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Peng, you've really got me stumped this time. The palm technique that Little Wangye has revealed is agile and dynamic, with subtle changes in virtuality and reality, which should be the skill of the Quanzhen Sect. However, the claw technique he mixed in was fierce and treacherous, and its power seemed to surpass that of the palm technique. I couldn't guess what kind of ultimate skill it was from which family or sect."

  "As for that little guy's martial arts being quite mixed, it seems like he wasn't taught by just one person. Although his moves are also quite exquisite, compared to Young Master Wang they're still a notch inferior. However, that little guy's internal energy is quite profound, looking like he's already reached the level of 'entering the hall and ascending the chamber'. That's why Young Master Wang can only cope with some difficulty."

  At this point, a man with three tumors on his forehead chimed in: "What Mr. Liang said is not wrong, this kid was indeed not taught by one person, he is the disciple of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan."

  "What's the big deal about Jiangnan Seven Freaks? They're not even that great, if you ask me. Alright then, I'll take care of this little brat for Young Master Wang." The short man said with a slight pause.

  It turned out that these people who came this time were all martial arts masters brought by Jin Guo Zhao Wang Wanyan Honglie with heavy gifts, and their identities and backgrounds were all extraordinary. The tall foreign monk was called Lingzhi Shangren, a master of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism, whose Mahamudra skills were unparalleled.

  That crane-haired and youthful old man was named Liang Ziweng, a martial arts master from Changbai Mountain outside the pass. He had been taking wild ginseng and other precious medicines since he was young, so he looked youthful and his kung fu was extraordinary, earning him the nickname "Ginseng Immortal Old Monster". The four characters of "Ginseng Immortal Old Monster" were usually called separately; to his face, people generally called him "Ginseng Immortal", but behind his back, they all called him "Old Monster".

  That short but sharp-eyed man named Peng Lianhu, was a notorious bandit who roamed the Shandong and Shanxi regions, with many followers and a grand momentum. Due to his formidable martial arts skills and ruthless personality, he had earned the nickname "Thousand-handed Butcher".

  As for the man with three fleshy tumors on his head who later took over, he was the master uncle of the Yellow River Four Ghosts, the master younger brother of Guimen Longwang Sha Tongtian, and the second master of the Yellow River Gang, San Tou Jiao Hou Tonghai.

  They were all invited by Wanyan Honglie and had been staying in the Zhao Wang Mansion, enjoying feasts and hospitality. Today, they also heard from Yang Kang's servants who came back to report that Young Master Wanyan Kang (Yang Kang) had encountered trouble, so they came out of the mansion to take a look, lest Yang Kang suffer losses.

  They originally thought that with their skills, some minor troubles were not a big deal. Unexpectedly, when they arrived here and took a look, they were all shocked. Not only did Yang Kang, this young master, have impressive martial arts skills, but his opponent, Guo Jing, was even more extraordinary. At such a young age, his martial arts skills were on par with many famous masters in the Jianghu. Even compared to them, he was only slightly inferior. It was precisely because of this that these few people did not immediately jump into action to help after arriving at the scene, but instead observed the two men's fighting styles first.

  It is said that the older one gets in Jianghu, the smaller one's guts become. These few people are all old-timers in Jianghu and deeply understand that a lifetime of fame and prestige does not come easily, so they are always extra cautious when dealing with matters. Seeing Guo Jing's exceptional martial arts skills at such a young age, who knows if there isn't some extraordinary figure backing him? They don't dare to make a move without first figuring out the whole situation.

  However, after Hou Tonghai mentioned that Guo Jing's master was one of the Jiangnan Seven Freaks, Lingzhi Shangren and Canxian Laoguai Liang Ziweng both had never heard of a few people in the Central Plains and didn't know how deep they were. Peng Lianhu, who had been mixing with the Central Plains for a long time, put down his heart. Peng Lianhu had heard of the Jiangnan Seven Freaks and knew that they were not easy to mess with, but being difficult to mess with doesn't mean they can't be messed with, the key is whether the risk and benefit are proportional. Obviously, in Peng Lianhu's opinion, compared to the benefits he could get from saving the young prince Yang Kang and selling him to Wanyan Honglie, offending the Jiangnan Seven Freaks was a risk worth taking.

  But before Peng Lianhu could step down, he suddenly heard Hou Tonghai's angry shout beside him: "You stinky brat, you're here? Don't run!" Immediately afterwards, Hou Tonghai "dangdangdang" pulled out a short-handled three-pronged steel spear from behind his back and leapt into the arena.

  Everyone saw Hou Tonghai rush into the arena with a spear in hand, obviously wanting to help Xiao Wangye Wanyan Kang. Peng Lianhu was suddenly displeased, he had clearly said that he would take action to help Xiao Wangye, and now Hou Tonghai was taking action to help, wasn't this snatching his job and sweeping his face? If it weren't for the fact that he had a close relationship with Hou Tonghai's senior brother, Gui Men Long Wang Sha Tongtian, he would have taken action to severely teach Hou Tonghai a lesson.

  Yang Tie Xin and Mu Nian Ci, upon hearing Hou Tong Hai's conversation with Liang Zi Weng and others, realized he was also from the young prince's mansion. The father-daughter duo simultaneously prepared to take action and intercept him, preventing him from assisting in the attack on Guo Jing. Although their opponents were numerous and powerful, driven by circumstances, they had no choice but to fight back.

  But to everyone's surprise, Hou Tonghai didn't rush towards Guo Jing after he went down. Instead, he charged straight at a frail and dirty-faced young boy in the crowd on the opposite side. The boy saw him coming and let out a startled cry before turning around and running away. Then, four more men emerged from Hou Tonghai's side, brandishing knives and guns as they chased after him - the Four Devils of the Yellow River.

  Ling Yun peeked out from the crowd and followed the sound, only to see that the young man was none other than Huang Rong, who had bid them farewell at Zhangjiakou earlier. Looking again, he saw that Hou Tonghai and the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River were staring at her with a crazed expression, as if they had seen their arch-nemesis. Upon reflection, it became clear that this was because Huang Rong had previously tricked them in Hei Songlin, playing a cruel joke on them before Guo Jing could intervene, which would explain why the group was so enraged and frenzied.

  Guo Jing, who was fighting Yang Kang, caught a glimpse of the person and saw that it was Huang Rong, his new friend, with Hou Tonghai and the Four Ghosts of the Yellow River chasing after her with swords drawn. His heart racing, he lost interest in continuing to fight Yang Kang and jumped out of the battle circle, shouting: "Hold on! I'll be right back, we can continue fighting later."

  Yang Kang had been suppressed by Guo Jing for some time and was forced to fight hard several times, really suffering a few setbacks. If not for Guo Jing always holding back, he would have been knocked down long ago. Therefore, as soon as he saw Guo Jing stop, he couldn't ask for more, naturally wouldn't continue to suffer and entangle with Guo Jing, taking the opportunity to retreat to the side and constantly wipe away sweat with his handkerchief.

  Just then, a sudden rapid footsteps sounded, and Huang Rong was seen hurrying back with a smile on her face. Hou Tonghai was closely pursuing behind her, but the four ghosts of the Yellow River were nowhere to be seen. Hou Tonghai cursed loudly, shaking his steel fork, thrusting it again and again towards Huang Rong's back. The three-pronged steel fork sparkled in the sunlight, with three copper rings on its body, clashing against each other when shaken, making a loud "ding" sound, which was frightening. However, Huang Rong's movements were extremely agile, no matter how hard Hou Tonghai tried to thrust his steel fork, it always seemed to miss by a hair's breadth.

  Zhao Qian was chased by Guo Jing to the front, and everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing. It turned out that on both sides of his face, there were two black five-finger palm prints, obviously left by Huang Rong's slap.

  Ling Yun saw this scene and was also speechless with laughter, secretly laughing at Huang Rong's mischievousness and cuteness, her boldness and recklessness, actually teasing Hou Tonghai and the others like this. Because from his perspective, he had already seen that Huang Rong's martial arts were indeed stronger than the Yellow River Four Ghosts, but compared to Hou Tonghai, they were still slightly weaker, only relying on her agile and unpredictable movements to play with Hou Tonghai and the others. At the same time, he couldn't help but secretly praise Huang Rong's family background, the martial arts of Peach Blossom Island were indeed extraordinary.

  Huang Rong led Hou Tonghai in a wild chase through the crowded streets, teasing him mercilessly until he was furious but helpless to do anything about it. The crowd watched in amusement as they performed this farce, completely absorbed in the spectacle.

  Just then, a loud shout was heard from the street corner not far away. More than a dozen military men and strong servants holding rattan sticks rushed to both sides, driving away onlookers. The crowd swarmed to either side, making way for the procession. Next, six robust men carrying a large sedan chair with golden embroidery and red silk appeared around the corner. Yang Kang's attendants immediately shouted: "The princess is coming!"

  Upon seeing this scene, Yang Kang's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he turned around and scolded those attendants: "Who was it that went to report so many things to the princess?"

  None of the attendants dared to answer, and when the sedan chair was carried to the edge of the martial arts arena, they hurriedly went up to serve. On the one hand, it was to show their diligence, and on the other hand, it was also to avoid Yang Kang. These people who were usually by Yang Kang's side knew that this young prince was not a good-tempered person, and now he was in a bad mood, so it was better to stay away from him.

  The embroidered sedan chair stopped, the curtain slightly lifted, revealing a woman's beautiful face. She said to Yang Kang: "Why aren't you staying in the Wang mansion? How did you end up fighting with someone? In this cold weather, not even wearing an outer garment, be careful of catching a chill!"

  Yang Tie Xin, who was standing nearby, heard the soft voice and his heart was like a thunderbolt, he hastily turned his head to look, and when he saw the face of the woman in the sedan chair, his body was as if nailed to the ground, unable to move. It turned out that the woman in the sedan chair was actually his wife Bao Xiruo, whom he had been searching for eighteen years!