le to steal the books under his care,” Yang Guo thought.

Suddenly the youngster opened his mouth, “Shifu, these two criminals did not have good intentions, they only want the treasured book! I don’t believe they have any interest in our religion.”

Everybody was surprised hearing this youngster’s voice. He was only a boy, yet his voice was loud and clear like a bell. They looked at him and saw his extraordinary features. He had a narrow forehead, slim neck, broad chest, round eyes, and big ears. His skin was ruddy. He looked about twelve or thirteen years of age, but acted like an adult.

“Little Brother, what is your great surname and given name?” asked Yang Guo.

“The little Monk’s disciple is surnamed Zhang and given name Junbao,” Jueyuan answered on his disciple’s behalf. “He has helped me in the library since he was really young, sweeping the floor and watering the plants. He calls me Master, but he has not shaved his head, since he is a layman disciple.”

Yang Guo was impressed, he praised, “An excellent Master will produce an excellent disciple. The Venerable Monk’s disciple is an extraordinary one.”

“It’s not ‘excellent Master’, it’s just that this boy has a flawless talent,” said Jueyuan humbly. “It’s a pity little Monk does not know anything. I am afraid I will not do him any good. Junbao, you are very fortunate to meet such experts today. You have to ask for advice. Remember the saying that goes like ‘listening to a master’s words is more precious than reading books for ten years’.”

“That’s right,” answered Junbao, while he thought in his heart, “Right now the most important thing is getting the books back. I can ask advice later …” He kept this thought to himself, and did not say anything.

Zhou Botong could not contain himself any longer after listening to Jueyuan’s gentle words.

“Hey Yin Kexi and Xiaoxiang Zi!” he said, scolding those two. “You can deceive Elder Monk, but you cannot deceive me, the Old Urchin! Do you know who the Five Experts of today are?”

“I do not know,” answered Yin Kexi. “Please enlighten me.”

“Good!” said Botong proudly. “Stand straight and listen! They are the Eastern Heretic, Western Passionate, Southern Monk, Northern Hero and Central Urchin! The first and foremost is the Central Urchin! I say you stole those books, and therefore, you are the thieves! If you were not the thieves, then those books must be in your possession somehow! You have to present those books to this monk! If you hesitate, watch out, I am going to cut off one of your ears!”

Having said that, the Old Urchin moved forward, his arms open wide. He wanted to carry out his threat.

Xiaoxiang Zi and Yin Kexi frowned. They knew the Old Urchin’s skill; they also knew he would do what he said he would. While they are contemplating what to do, Jueyuan opened his mouth again, “Benevolent Master Zhou, you are wrong! There are rules for everything. On the matter of the Nijia Jing scriptures, if they said they borrowed them, then they borrowed them. If not, then they didn’t borrow them. But if they did borrow and did not admit it, then we can say they broke the rules.”

Botong heartily laughed. “You see?” he said, “Elder Monk is remarkable! I’m helping him to get his books back, yet he helps them to speak! What kind of rule is that? Elder Monk, I want to say something! I want to make sure they stole the books. If they didn’t, I’ll take them back to Mount Shaoshi for them to steal the books. Either they did or did not steal, but they still are the thieves!”

Botong spoke unreasonably, but Jueyuan nodded his head. “Benevolent Master Zhou, now you are talking!” he said. “Only let us not use the word ‘steal’, let’s just say that they ‘took without permission’. These two gentlemen had the desire to borrow; yet they did not have the permission. They have taken the books without permission.”

Listening to this discussion, everybody smiled in amusement. They talked without logic. Yang Guo could not contain his anger. He stood up in front of Zhou Botong, facing Yin Kexi and Xiaoxiang Zi. “You have assisted a tyrant committing atrocities!” he said, “You have betrayed our country by being allies with the Mongolians! You deserve death for this crime! We have Reverend Yideng and Venerable Jueyuan here. These two monks won’t let me beat you to death. Therefore, I am going to give you two choices. First, you return the books you stole and never set foot on the central plains again. Second, each of you will receive one blow from me. Whether you live or you die, let your fate decide!”

The two looked at each other. They did not dare to give an answer. They knew the fierceness of this man surnamed Yang. They realized they would not be able to take even one of his blows. Yin Kexi thought, “Only this one day…if I can survive this day, I can train myself and take revenge later on … Seems to me that amongst this bunch the monk is the easiest one to talk to. I’d better try him.” He said, “Great Hero Yang [Yang Da Xia], let’s sort out the business between you and I later. In terms of martial arts skills, you are way superior to me; I do not dare to offend you. But about the books, let us talk to Monk Jueyuan. You don’t have any business in it; do you, Yang Da Xia?”

Before Yang Guo could answer, Jueyuan had already nodded his head repeatedly. “That’s true!” he said, “This Benevolent Sir had spoken reasonably.”

Yang Guo could only shake his head. He grinned and turned to Zhang Junbao. He saw the youngster’s eyes were shining; it looked like he wanted to attack. Therefore, Yang Guo winked at him, encouraging him to go. Yang Guo then positioned himself behind the boy.

Zhang Junbao understood his signal; he moved toward Yin Kexi and harshly said, “Benevolent Mister Yin, I was reading the book that day. You sneaked up on me, sealed my accupoints and disabled me; then you stole the four-volume Nijia Jing scripture. Is that true?”

Yin Kexi shook his head. “If I wanted to borrow the book, I would ask you,” he denied, “I believed little Master would not deny me. Why would I seal your accupoints?”

Jueyuan nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s true,” he said.

“Both of you said you did not borrow the book, do you mind if I search your body?” Junbao asked.

“Body search is not proper,” said Jueyuan, “But this business is complicated. Benevolent Sirs, do you have a better idea on how you can remove my suspicions?”

Yin Kexi was about to deny further when Yang Guo suddenly said, “Venerable Monk Jueyuan, I believe these two would not have any interest in the teachings of Buddha! Monk Jueyuan, is there anything special in those books?”

Jueyuan was silent for a while, he was thinking hard. But then he answered with a deep voice, “As a monk I cannot tell lies. Since Benevolent Master Yang has asked, little Monk has to give you the truth. Inside the Nijia Jing scripture there is another book written by Master Damo himself. That book is the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing].”

Everybody was stunned. In the past, the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ [Jiu Yin Zhen Jing] had caused people to fight to the death; blood had been shed. It was at the Mount Hua Sword Meet that Wang Zhongyang won the right to that book. But Wang Zhongyang was a man of honor; he was not greedy. He won the book but did not to take advantage of its contents at that time. He later read the book out of curiosity. He divided it into two parts. He wanted to avoid further bloodshed due to people fighting over it. But still, the book created more disasters. For instance, Huang Yaoshi had to expel his disciples, Zhou Botong was kept captive on the Peach Blossom Island, Ouyang Feng went crazy, and, indirectly, Emperor Duan became a monk.

Actually, besides the ‘Nine Yin Manual’ Master Damo had written another book, which was the ‘Nine Yang Manual’. This book had the same value as the ‘Nine Yin Manual’; as a matter of fact, these two books complement each other. Only the name of the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ was not as widely known as the ‘Nine Yin Manual’. It was the first time that everybody heard this book mentioned. No wonder Huang Yaoshi and the others were astonished and amazed.

Jueyuan ignored these astonished people and continued his explanation, “Little Monk is in charge of the library. It is my duty to inspect every single book of the library’s collection. The ‘Nine Yang Manual’ is different from any other book. It contains lessons to make our body healthy and strong, like ‘Replacing Muscles Cleaning the Marrow’. I have mastered the lessons for many-many years, and true enough, I have never been sick. I have taught Junbao the rudimentary lessons from the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ for the last several years. Even though it was Master Damo’s original work, it was not as valuable as the Nijia Jing, which contains great teachings. Benevolent Sirs do not read Sanskrit; the book is useless to you. You’d better return it to me.”

Yang Guo was puzzled. He didn’t understand what the Monk was saying. He thought, “Lessons on health? This is very peculiar. The Monk is also very remarkable. If I didn’t know better, I would say the Monk is just acting. I wonder why Venerable Wuxiang and Wuse – who literally lived together with this Monk for decades, are not aware there is an expert of this caliber in their midst.” Reverend Yideng on the other hand, recognized that Jueyuan has reached perfection, that was the reason he could act so naïvely.

Yin Kexi patted his body. “I don’t have anything on me, how could I have the book?” he said loudly. “I don’t either!” Xiaoxiang Zi said, shaking his clothes.

“Let me see!” Junbao suddenly shouted. His body flew toward Yin Kexi. He grabbed his chest.

Yin Kexi turned his left arm around, eluding the attack. His right arm pushed Junbao’s shoulder. It looked like his movement was light, but it resulted in Junbao’s body collapsing to the ground.

“Aha! That was incorrect, Junbao!” cried Jueyuan, “You have to be patient. Your strength concentrated like a mountain. You will see whether he can push you down or not …”

Zhang Junbao leaped up. “That’s right, Shifu!” he said. Then he leaped toward Yin Kexi again.

Everybody else had lost their patience, but they were delighted hearing Jueyuan’s advice. They thought, “This gentle monk could encourage his disciple to fight after all …”

Yin Kexi repeated his former moves; he eluded the attack and then pushed out. But this time Junbao only staggered and did not collapse to the ground like before. Yin Kexi was astonished, he was afraid of Zhou Botong, Guo Jing and Yang Guo and their peers; who would have thought that he was not even able to overcome the boy? He was anxious and pushed harder.

Zhang Junbao held his ground. But Yin Kexi’s force abruptly disappeared and he fell down, face to the ground. Yin Kexi quickly straightened up and laughed, “Little Master, you shouldn’t have kneeled to me.” Of course he was mocking him.

Junbao’s face flushed. He came to his master and said, “I failed, Shifu.”

Jueyuan scratched his head. “He purposely made an ‘emptiness’,” he said. “He uses nothingness to defeat something. When you are exerting your energy, you must use it freely, don’t mind your opponent’s force’s direction. You see that mountain peak over there?” He pointed to a mountain peak to the west. “It has stood strong from thousands of years ago until today. Storms came from the west, rains from the east, it didn’t budge, but it did not purposely challenge the force of the nature either.”

Junbao was smart, he understood easily. He nodded. “Very well Shifu. I understand,” he said. “Let me try again.” After having said that, he slowly walked toward Yin Kexi.

Yang Guo kept his gaze on the youngster. He saw him leap forward before, and now he was walking slowly. Yang Guo knew it must be the principle taken from the ‘Nine Yang Manual’. So the book not only taught how to keep one’s body healthy, but also how to defeat an opponent.

When he was about four feet away from Yin Kexi, Junbao stretched out his arms to hold Yin’s hand. Yin Kexi laughed. He put forth his left arm as bait, and his right hand punched the boy’s chest. He had no intention to hurt him, so his punch was not frontal; it was slanted toward the boy’s side. He only wanted the boy to experience a little bit of pain and to learn a lesson.

Zhang Junbao did not elude the attack. In a flash his chest was hit. “Shifu, I can hold it!” he said.

Yin Kexi was shocked. His fist hit its target, yet he felt the boy’s body imparting an opposing force, which made his punch bounce back. Fortunately he was skilled. He quickly neutralized the force. His left hand moved toward the boy’s shoulder. He wanted to grab and lift and toss the boy away. When he lifted, the boy did not budge. He was shocked and amazed, and finally anxious. Several times he changed his tactics. Junbao only swayed back and forth, left and right, but he could not make him fall down. He kept throwing punches, and out of embarrassment said, “Little Master, I am not fighting with you! A valiant man would use diplomacy, not brute force. You go away, let us talk as decent people do.”

Each one of Yin Kexi’s punches was stronger than the previous one, but Junbao did not budge. His body kept imparting opposing forces. The harder he was hit, the stronger the opposing force was. After a while Junbao cried, “Ah, Shifu, he hit me hard! I feel pain! Shifu, help me!”

Yin Kexi said, “I won’t hit you if you don’t hit me first. Elder Master, if you want to hit me just do so. If you show mercy to me, I won’t dare to retaliate.”

Jueyuan shook his head. “What Benevolent Master Yin said was true!” he said, “You don’t need to use brute force … No, I can’t help you. You have to overcome your own problem. You have to know which one is empty which one is not. Everything is either empty or full. Remember what I said, your body must be like a drum, with nothing inside. Don’t put in too much, don’t put in too little, and don’t let it break.”

Junbao understood. He had been with Jueyuan since he was only six or seven years old, and his master had bestowed the ‘Nine Yang Manual’ on him. He readied himself. Now he only felt a little bit of pain, not as severe as before.

With a man of his skill, Yin Kexi could hurt the boy severely. But there were Yang Guo, Xiao Longnü, Zhou Botong, Guo Jing and the others standing nearby. He was afraid of them, thus he did not dare to kill or harm the boy. He could not knock the boy down, but the boy could not touch him either; so the two kept fighting.

Yang Guo and the others were amused. Xiaoxiang Zi frowned, he was perplexed and anxious. Guo Xiang also had lost her patience. “Little Brother, hit him!” she urged, “Why do you let him beat you without you retaliating?”

“No! Don’t!” Jueyuan cried, “Don’t be anxious, and don’t be angry! Don’t hit, don’t curse!”

“You hit him!” Guo Xiang encouraged, “If you can’t, I’ll help you!”

“Thank you, Miss!” said Junbao. He hit Yin Kexi’s chest.

“What a sin! What a sin!” cried Jueyuan shaking his head, “Your mind is no longer clear like a bright mirror stopping the water flow …”

Junbao fought as one who had never learned martial arts before, he just threw punches randomly; how could he injure the opponent? Yin Kexi heartily laughed, but actually he was distressed. He had been well known in the Jianghu world for dozens of years; nobody had the audacity to mock him. Who would have thought that he had to suffer humiliation by fighting with a young boy? The worse part was: he was not able to do anything … Even if Junbao’s punches were not hard, he eventually felt the pain.

Yin Kexi was anxious. His attacks were in vain. He wanted to kill the boy, but he was afraid of the others. He kept throwing punches, but the boy stood his ground. He was screaming with pain until Jueyuan repeatedly implored, “Benevolent Master Yin, please don’t kill my disciple; he is a very smart boy. He is bothering you because of the lost books; the treasured scriptures of our Sect. If the Abbot finds out, we will be severely punished. Little Monk implores you …” While to Junbao he said, “Junbao, remember your lessons. Use your brain, not your brawn. Follow the opponent’s movements, be flexible. Put your mind where he hits you …”

“That’s right!” Junbao loudly answered. Afterward, he did not scream anymore. Where Yin Kexi’s attack was, his mind was there. No more pain. Again Yin Kexi was puzzled. “Watch out, I will hit your head!” he threatened.

Junbao lifted his hand in anticipation, but he was tricked. Yin Kexi did not hit his head, but kicked with left leg so that the boy fell rolling to the ground. He kept rolling and came near Yang Guo.

“Benevolent Master Yin, why did you lie?” Jueyuan rebuked. “You said you were going to hit his head, you told him to watch out, but you kicked instead. You used trickery to deceive others.”

Huang Yaoshi and the others were very amused. In battle, emptiness is full, fullness is empty. One must use any trick that is unpredictable to the opponent.

Junbao was displeased. He rubbed the kicked part of his body and said, “I won’t stop until I search you!” He strode toward Yin Kexi.

Yang Guo stretched his arm to hold the boy. “Little Brother, wait a moment!” he said. Junbao was startled; he turned his head. He felt numbness from Yang Guo’s grip.

Yang Guo whispered, “All you did was let him hit you without hitting him back. You can’t do that. Let me teach you a move. And then you hit him and see what happens.” He then flicked his empty right sleeve in front to Junbao’s face while thrusting his left hand to the youngster’s chest. About half a foot away he suddenly changed direction to the boy’s waist. He whispered again, “Your Master was right, he said ‘put your mind where the opponent hits’. It is the same thing with your punch. Put your mind where your punch goes. As your Master said, use your brain, not your brawn.”

Junbao was delighted; he followed Yang Guo’s direction. He moved toward Yin Kexi, lifted his right arm toward Yin Kexi’s face while thrusting his left hand toward Yin’s chest. Yin Kexi lifted his hand to parry. Junbao could see the opponent’s movement; he suddenly moved his hand toward Yin’s ribs.

Yin Kexi had experienced the youngster’s punch before; it was not too hard. He also saw Yang Guo was giving the boy some pointers. He did not pay too much attention since he thought what harm could come from the kid’s hundred or two hundred punches anyway? But he was wrong. When the punch hit his ribs he felt an excruciating pain so that his body bent over. He almost screamed. Of course he was surprised, but also livid. He saw Junbao was going to repeat his attack. He waved his right hand toward Yin’s face and thrust his left hand toward Yin’s chest. Yin Kexi was already familiar with this move. He parried the thrust. Junbao was thrown toward, and hit, a rock so that his forehead was bleeding.

The youngster did not utter any words. He quickly wiped the blood away and walked toward Yang Guo. Kneeling in front of Yang Guo he said, “Benevolent Master Yang, please teach me another one.”

Yang Guo nodded. He knew Yin Kexi was paying attention now, so he whispered, “This time I teach you three moves. In the first, your left and right hands are interchangeable. It will look like you will use your left, but in actuality it will be your right. When you thrust your right, actually it will be your left.”

Junbao nodded. Yang Guo taught him the stance ‘Repelling the Heart Pressing the Stomach’ [tui xin zhi fu]. The boy memorized it well.

“And now the second move,” Yang Guo continued. “This time left is left and right is right.” He taught him the stance ‘To Extend in All Directions, Four Pass Through, Eight Reached’ [si tong ba da li]. Junbao went through it in his head twice and he would remember it forever.

“The third move is ‘Who Killed the Deer’ [lu si shui shou]. It involves front and rear exchange, it is more complex than the others, so you can’t make mistake. You don’t understand accupoints sealing technique, that’s fine. I will mark his back. If you press that, you will be able to control him.” While talking Yang Guo also moved his finger to give an example, he said, “Remember, this move relies on footwork. Understand it?”

“Yes,” Junbao nodded and walked toward Yin Kexi.

Yin Kexi had watched Yang Guo carefully; he said in his heart, “These three stances are good. They are difficult to counter if they came from Yang Guo himself, but he taught that kid in front of my eyes. Did he think Yin Kexi is as stupid as an ox or a wooden horse? Ah Yang Guo, you underestimate me too much!”

Because he was filled with anger, Yin Kexi did not think straight. As soon as Junbao came in front of him, he immediately attacked the boy’s shoulder. His punch was right on target.

Junbao remembered Yang Guo’s instructions, he let the attack come, he didn’t even dodge it, he only gritted his teeth. Yin Kexi hit using five parts of his strength; his objective was to frighten the kid. Junbao screamed in pain, his shoulder made a popping sound; but he ignored it and attacked with the first move.

Yin Kexi had watched Yang Guo’s instructions; he had thought of ways to fend off the attack, but he did not hear Yang Guo’s words. He thought he would punch the kid to the ground as he did before.

But Junbao’s attack was beyond his expectation: he parried the boy’s right hand punch with his left, but the attack was a fake one; while his right hand also grabbed in vain. Suddenly his stomach was hit very hard and he began to sweat profusely.

“Brother Yang that was a well executed “Repelling the Heart Pressing the Stomach”!” Zhou Botong praised while laughing heartily.

Yin Kexi was stunned, but Junbao had already attacked him with the second stance, “To Extend in All Directions”, which could be interpreted as the punch would come from all directions. He still felt pain when the boy flashed in front of his eyes. He thought this attack would be similar to the previous one; from left to right and vice versa; therefore, he counterattacked by moving to the left; half defense, half counterattack. But again he was tricked.

Junbao was able to execute his stance well. Both his hands hit Yin’s shoulder, chest and back. He moved nimbly, his hands fast; it was a pity his inner strength was still weak. Yin Kexi did not feel excessive pain, but he was frantically fending off the punches and dodging here and there.

Jueyuan watched his predicament and shouted, “Benevolent Master Yin, you are wrong! You must remember that there is no definite meaning of front and rear, left and right. Who lags behind will actually gain the initiative; and who initiates the attack will be under the opponent’s power.”

Yang Guo was impressed. “This Monk is right,” he thought. “He happens to know very well the essence of martial arts. His words were very valuable. I originally thought he only let his disciple fight; but he also gives valuable instructions. Yin Kexi had achieved a high level of martial arts, but I doubt he would grasp this lesson even if he were given five more years to ponder it.”

He was right; Yin Kexi did not realize the meaning behind Jueyuan’s words. He thought the monk was just mocking him to disturb his concentration.

“Hey donkey head [derogatory name for monk], don’t talk rubbish!” he snapped. “Oh, ouch … ouch!”

He screamed in pain because his left thigh had been kicked by Zhang Junbao. He was enraged and lifted both his hands; he intended to attack at the top of his strength. He ignored Junbao’s attack and all he wanted was to vent his anger.

Junbao was nervous to see his fierce countenance; his hair and whiskers stood up. Junbao called out. He was about to leap back when he heard his master say, “Junbao, our strength against his! Quick, quick! Take rigidity from flexibility. Borrowing strength with ‘Four Taels Against a Thousand Jin’ [si liang bo qian jin]!”

Jueyuan was teaching the essence of Jiu Yang Zhen Jing; unfortunately it was too late. No matter how smart Junbao was, he could not grasp it in a short moment. Because of his anxiety, Junbao could not breathe. He could see Yin Kexi was really angry and was going to kill him.

At that critical moment he heard the swishing noise of a small stone flying toward Yin Kexi. The stone was really small, yet it made Yin Kexi clench his teeth and move a step backward. It was Yang Guo who helped Junbao. He had picked a couple of flowers, squeezed them in his hand and made a small flower ball. He then flicked the small stone with “Divine Flicking Finger” and immediately flicked the flower ball right after that.

Yin Kexi was trying to avoid the stone by moving backward, but the flower ball which came later hit his [da zhui xue] accupoint on his back accurately. The ball did not hit hard, but it left a flower juice mark on his clothes.

Junbao was saved from danger. He leaped to the west, but did not run away. On the contrary, he continued his attack with Yang Guo’s “Who Killed the Deer”.

Yin Kexi hesitated. He had experienced several punches from this youngster, “On the first move the left and right were interchangeable, the second move they were straight; I wonder what the third move will be?” Yang Guo was ingenious, he developed that move based on the old saying, ‘qin shi qi lu, tian xia gong zhu zhi’ [lit. Qin (Dynasty) lost its deer, everybody was chasing after it]; how could Yin anticipate the move?

No matter how hard Yin Kexi tried to keep up he got behind. Junbao moved fast, flashing to the left and right, and in no time he was behind Yin’s back. At that time the moon was already high in the sky. Junbao could see the thumb-size flower juice mark. Without wasting any time he hit the mark. He thought, “Benevolent Master Yang is so good, without my being able to see it, he has given me the promised mark …”

Yin Kexi did not move quickly enough, before he realized it his back had been hit by Junbao’s finger. This [da zhui xue] is the meeting point of three arteries. He felt a sudden numbness and he collapsed to the ground.

Except for Xiaoxiang Zi, everybody cheered! They praised, “A very nice “Who Killed the Deer”.”

“Excuse me!” Junbao said and searched his fallen opponent’s body. Unfortunately he did not find the sutra book he was looking for. He turned his eyes to Xiaoxiang Zi.

Xiaoxiang Zi was not stupid. He understood the boy’s intention. His skill level was almost the same as Yin Kexi’s. Therefore, if Yin Kexi has fallen, he would not gain victory either. Without waiting he brushed his long robe and said, “I don’t have the books you are looking for. Farewell!” He paid no attention to Yin Kexi and immediately leaped southward to escape.

Unexpectedly Jueyuan flicked his sleeve; his body flew past him blocking Xiaoxiang Zi’s way. Xiaoxiang Zi was fast, Jueyuan was even faster. Without further ado Xiaoxiang Zi attacked the monk’s chest. He exerted his whole energy toward his both hands.

“Watch out!” Yang Guo, Zhou Botong, Reverend Yideng and Guo Jing cried simultaneously. They knew the fierceness of this blow. While they were still shouting, a loud crash was heard. The monk’s chest was squarely hit by the ‘book thief’. They groaned inwardly, “Damn!”

Even though his attack hit the monk’s chest, Xiaoxiang Zi was the one who suffered from this blow. He flew away like a kite without a string; his body flew several meters and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Jueyuan did not have any martial arts, but he has mastered the ‘Nine Yang Manual’. His body could be controlled at will. He did not dodge Xiaoxiang Zi’s attack, but his body reacted to external force naturally. A soft blow would produce a softer reaction, and a hard blow would produce an even harder reaction. Xiaoxiang Zi’s blow was very forceful; therefore, the reaction force was also enormous. Xiaoxiang’s strength bounced back and he injured himself severely.

The spectators were pleasantly surprised; they secretly praised this monk’s profound internal energy. But Jueyuan was dumbfounded, he softly murmured, “Amitaba Buddha, Amitaba Buddha.” Zhang Junbao immediately leaped over and searched his body. As with Yin Kexi, he did not find any books. He stood still in bewilderment.

“I overheard their conversation. I am sure they stole the books,” Yang Guo said, “I wonder where they hid them.”

“Let us torture them and force their confession,” Wu Xiuwen proposed.

“Please, please …” Jueyuan said, “don’t …”

“I believe they won’t confess even if we chop one off their arms or legs,” Huang Rong quipped. She knew very well these two’s characters.

While everybody was at loss as to what to do next, they heard a monkey’s cry from the western peak. They turned their head and saw the Divine Eagle chasing a dark green ape. The ape was big, but it was no match for the Eagle. The ape frantically ran and shrieked incessantly.

“Brother Eagle, have mercy on the monkey, let him go,” Guo Xiang ran toward the Eagle.

The Eagle understood, it stopped and stood still.

Yin Kexi woke up and stood. He helped Xiaoxiang Zi to stand; then beckoned to the ape. The ape rushed to his side; it seemed like it had been tamed by them. They leaned against the ape and limping, walked away down the mountain. Yang Guo and the others felt pity and let them go.

Guo Xiang saw Junbao’s forehead was still bleeding; she took her handkerchief out and dressed the wound. Junbao was very grateful; he was about to open his mouth to express his gratitude when he saw tears welling up in Guo Xiang’s eyes. He did not know why the Miss was heartbroken.

(Partially Translated by IcyBlade)

At that moment he heard Yang Guo’s clear voice, “We had a great time gathering on this beautiful evening. We shall chat over a cup of wine when we meet again. Let us part here.” He waved his sleeve, held Xiao Longnü’s hand and walked down the mountain together with the Divine Eagle.

The moon was bright like it was day, a cool breeze stirred the leaves, the night birds chirped ch