The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre Chapter 11

Woman with a loose tongue sharp as a spear.

An unshaven, burly man rowed the boat in an urgent manner. A little boy and a little girl sat with him on the boat. The boat behind them is bigger, with four lamas and seven or eight Mongolian officers on it. The officers all helped the sailors peddle the boat, allowing the boat to move much faster. The burly man’s strength is also quite amazing, rowing the small boat at great speed. Nonetheless, due to superior manpower, the bigger boat kept gaining on the smaller boat. When they got close, the lamas and the officers picked up bows and began to shoot at the smaller boat.

Zhang SanFeng and Zhang WuJi walked down the Shao Bao Mountain. Realizing that Zhang WuJi’s condition is terminal, Zhang SanFeng stopped talking about possible cures. He simply tried to help Zhang WuJi pa.s.s time by chatting with him. On this day, they reached the Han River. And the two took a boat across. The boat floated on the water, wavering gently back and forth. Like the boat, Zhang SanFeng’s heart also wavered back and forth.

Zhang WuJi suddenly said, “Grand-master, don’t be sad. When I die, I’ll get to see mama and papa again.” Zhang SanFeng said, “Don’t say that. No matter what, your grand-master going to save you.” Zhang WuJi said, “Actually, I really wished I could’ve learnt Shaolin’s ‘Art of Nine-Yang’, so I can teach it to Third Uncle Yu.” Zhang SanFeng asked, “Why?” Zhang WuJi said, “I had hoped that once Third Uncle Yu learnt both Wu Dang and Shaolin’s ‘Art of Nine-Yang’, his injury could heal.”

Zhang SanFeng sighed, and said, “Your Third Uncle’s injuries are external. No amount of inner power can cure him.” He then thought, “This child knows that he’s about to die, yet he is not afraid of death. Instead, he thinks about the welfare of others, a very kind indeed.” Just about to compliment him, Zhang SanFeng suddenly heard a booming voice, “Stop the ship immediately. Hand over the child, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” This voice came from far down the river, yet one can hear the words clearly. Obviously, this person has strong inner power.

Zhang SanFeng chuckled, thought, “Who would dare ask me to hand over the child?” Raising his head, only to see two boats getting near. Upon closer examination, an unshaven, burly man rowed the boat in an urgent manner. A little boy and a little girl sat with him on the boat. The boat behind them is bigger, with four lamas and seven or eight Mongolian officers on it. The officers all helped the sailors peddle the boat, allowing the boat to move much faster. The burly man’s strength is also quite amazing, rowing the small boat at great speed. Nonetheless, due to superior manpower, the bigger boat kept gaining on the smaller boat. When they got close, the lamas and the officers picked up bows and began to shoot at the smaller boat.

Zhang SanFeng thought, “Oh, so they wanted that burly man to hand over the child.” He despises Mongolians killing Hans very much, and instantly decided to help out this burly man. Only to see this man’s left hand continue to paddle, while his right hand raised the other paddle to knock down the oncoming arrows. Zhang SanFeng thought, “This man’s kung fu is quite formidable. How could I not help such a hero in trouble?” So he then said to his boatman, “Sir, let’s go help him.”

The boatman was scared out of his wits from watching the scene. He tried his best to stay away from the confrontation. So when the boatman heard Zhang SanFeng’s words, he said in shock, “Old… priest. You’re… kidding, right?” Realizing that they have no time to waste, Zhang SanFeng s.n.a.t.c.hed the paddles from the boatman, and began to row towards the other two boats. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream, as an arrow struck the back of the little boy on the small boat. The burly man then immediately lost his poise, as he hurriedly turned to look at the boy’s wounds. At this moment, two arrows. .h.i.t him on the shoulder and back. With the arrow wounds, the burly man could no longer hold on to the paddles, and they dropped into the water. The boat soon stopped. The bigger boat quickly caught up, as the officers and lamas jumped onto the smaller boat. That burly man did not surrender, however. Instead he fought them with all his energy.

Zhang SanFeng yelled, “Stop, filthy Mongols. I won’t allow you to hurt anyone!” As his boat got close, Zhang SanFeng jumped into the air towards the burly man’s boat.

Two officers shot arrows at him. But with a wave his sleeve, Zhang SanFeng easily whisked the arrows away. As he landed, Zhang SanFeng’s left palm shot out. Two officers immediately fell down into the water. Upon seeing this, the other officers and lamas immediately froze from the shock. The head officer said, “Old priest, what do you want?”

Zhang SanFeng yelled, “Filthy Mongols! Trying to do more evil, hurting more civilians? Get out of here!” That officer said, “Do you know who he is? He is a remaining member of Yuan Province Devil Cult rebels, a wanted outlaw!”

Zhang SanFeng gasped upon hearing the words ‘Yuan Province Devil Cult rebel’. He thought, “So this man is Zhou Ziw.a.n.g’s subordinate?” He turned and asked the burly man, “Is he speaking the truth?”

That burly man’s whole body filled with blood, as his left hand clutched the little boy, and cried, “They… they killed little master.” This sentence confirmed his ident.i.ty.

Zhang SanFeng said in shock, “Is this Zhou Ziw.a.n.g’s son?”

That burly man said, “That’s correct. I could not carry out my order, so what’s the need to keep on living?” He slowly put down the boy’s body, and then attacked an officer. But he’s already injured, plus the arrows are poisonous. So even before he could fully get up, he fell down onto the deck.

At this time, the little girl rushed towards a man’s body in the cabin, crying, “Papa! Papa!” Looking at the clothing on the body, Zhang SanFeng figured this man must be the boatman.

He thought, “If I had known the Devil Cult was involved, I wouldn’t have gotten interfered. But I can’t back out now.” So he said to the officer, “The boy’s already dead. The other man’s already seriously injured, and will die soon. Since you’ve already accomplished your task, you can surely leave!” That officer said, “No, I have to get their heads.” Zhang SanFeng said, “Why be so excessive?” That officer said, “Who are you, old priest? What gives you the right to intervene in this matter?” Zhang SanFeng chuckled, and said, “Who cares who I am? Everyone has the right to intervene in all matters.”

That officer gave his subordinates a gesture, and said, “What is your Taoist t.i.tle? Which temple do you reside in?” Before Zhang SanFeng could respond, two other officers quickly raised their sabers, and attacked him. These two officers were already quite close to Zhang SanFeng. Plus, due to the small s.p.a.ce of the boat, Zhang SanFeng had nowhere to evade.

But he quickly turned to the side, and with a quick twist of the body, dodged the sabers. His two palms quickly shot out, reaching the backs of the two officers, and yelled, “Get back there!” As the palms connect, the two officers flew out, landing in the middle of the large boat they came from. Zhang SanFeng hasn’t fought anyone in ages. But felt a bit unsatisfied simply beating up on these mediocre fighters.

That officer in charge gasped, and stuttered, “You… you… could you be…?” Zhang SanFeng swept his robe, and yelled, “This old priest only kills Mongols!” The lamas and officers immediately felt a strong wind bearing down hard on them, preventing them from breathing. After the wind pa.s.sed, their faces all turned white. All of them then quickly returned to the large boat.