re already enveloped by the palm force of the 3 monks, if he was determined to break through, it would be impossible not to use hard techniques, if he did not injure the opponents, he himself would be injured. At that moment, not having time to think carefully, he channeled internal energy into his 2 palms and pushed out forwards. With loud ka-la-la sounds, the Buddha statue in front of him was pushed down. Qiao Feng conveniently lifted Zhi Qing up and leaped forwards. He suddenly felt a swift and fierce palm wind at his back. The palm force had not yet arrived but the wind force had already reached him.

Qiao Feng was unwilling to clash palms with or try his power against high-level Shaolin monks therefore his right hand grabbed the screen in front of him on which the copper mirror was installed, then he turned his wrist and moved his arm backwards, using the screen to cover his back like a shield. Only a loud ‘deng’ sound was heard, a palm attack of Xuan Nan had hit the copper mirror, causing a shock that made Qiao Feng feel a little pain and numbness in his right arm. The screen around the mirror was broken into several pieces.

Qiao Feng made use of the force of this palm attack of Xuan Nan and jumped forwards more than 1 zhang (3.333 m). Suddenly he heard someone at his back taking a deep breath. The sound of the breath was louder than usual. Qiao Feng knew instantly that a high-level Shaolin monk was going to use a type of martial arts akin to the ‘Air Splitting Divine Fist.’ Despite not fearing him, he himself did not want to waste internal energy together with him either, hence, without delay, he blocked his back with the copper mirror and also channeled internal energy into his right arm.

At that moment, he only felt the palm wind of the opponent coming at a slanting angle, the direction of the palm attack was really bizarre. Qiao Feng was very surprised but he immediately understood. That elderly monk’s palm force was not for hitting his back, but instead, was aimed at Zhi Qing’s back. As Qiao Feng and Zhi Qing did not know each other, he at first had no intention of saving him, but because he was already carrying him in his hand, the idea of taking care of him involuntarily appeared in his mind. Therefore, he pushed the copper mirror to shield Zhi Qing with it. Only a low unclear ‘pai’ sound was heard then the sound from the copper mirror disappeared. It turned out this mirror had already been cracked by the palm force of Xuan Nan before, therefore, at this moment, when it was again hit by the Air Splitting Palm of Abbot Xuan Ci, it sounded like a gong getting broken.

When moving the mirror backwards to block the attack, Qiao Feng had already lifted Zhi Qing and jumped up towards the roof. He felt that his body was very light, really being out of proportion with his tall and big stature. But when that sound, which was rather like the sound of a gong getting broken, was heard, unexpectedly he could not stand firmly on the eaves, his knees became weak and he fell back. Ever since he had started to travel in jianghu he had never met such a formidable opponent, therefore he could not help being startled. He immediately turned around and stood on the ground like a lofty mountain, showing a mighty bearing and paying absolutely no attention to the fact that he was being surrounded by strong enemies.

Xian Ci said: ‘Amitabha, Qiao shizhu (almsgiver), besides coming to Shaolin Monastery and committing murder, you’ve also destroyed Buddha statues.’

Xuan Ji shouted loudly: ‘Take one palm attack of mine!’ He moved his 2 palms inwards from the sides in circles then slowly pushed them out towards Qiao Feng. When his palm force had not yet arrived, Qiao Feng already felt his breathing had become difficult in his chest. In an instant, Xuan Ji’s palm force came fiercely like a raging tidal wave.

Qiao Feng threw the copper mirror away and struck back with an ‘Arrogant Dragon Having Remorse’ stance in the ’18 Dragon Subduing Palms’. When the 2 streams of palm force met each other, they produced chi-chi sounds. Both Xuan Nan and Qiao Feng had to move back 3 steps. For a very short time, Qiao Feng felt his whole body had no strength and he also let Zhi Qing slip out of his hand. But as soon as he channeled his internal energy, he felt vigorous again. Without waiting for Xuan Ji to send out the 2nd palm attack, he shouted: ‘I must take my leave!’ He then lifted Zhi Qing up and leaped onto the roof.

The 2 monks Xuan Nan and Xuan Ji both uttered a ‘yi’ sound simultaneously and felt extremely astonished. The palm attack sent out by Xuan Ji just now had really gathered all of his power and was called ‘One Hit Two Disperse’. The words ‘Two Disperse’ (两散) indicated that if using it to hit a rock, the rock would be broken into pieces which would then disperse, and if using it to hit a person, that person would become so frightened that their soul would leave their body and disperse. This palm technique only had 1 stance because the palm force was too powerful, and hence when facing the enemy, there would be no need to use the 2nd stance as the enemy would already be killed by the 1st stance. But because this one palm stance used such an extremely powerful internal energy as the basis, if a user of it wanted to change the stance or switch to a different one, they would not be able to do so. Unexpectedly, after Qiao Feng had taken this stance, not only had he not dropped dead on the spot, he had also recovered in a very short period of time then jumped onto the roof while carrying a person and run away.

Xuan Nan sighed and said: ‘This man’s martial arts are really outstanding!’ Xuan Ji said: ‘We must eliminate him as soon as possible to prevent him from becoming an extremely great danger.’ Xuan Nan continuously nodded. But Abbot Xuan Ci looked at the horizon in the path in which Qiao Feng had just left, entranced.

Just before running away, Qiao Feng had turned his head around and cast a glance, only seeing that the copper mirror had been broken into dozens of pieces, which had scattered on the ground, by that punch of Abbot Xuan Ci. His back had been reflected in every piece. Qiao Feng had again been startled without a reason: ‘Why do I always feel uneasy every time I have a view of my own back? In the end what’s unusual about this?’ In that moment, he had been eager to get away from Shaolin, and hence even though this suspicion had appeared in his mind, when hurriedly rushing away, he had also forgotten it.

As he was extremely familiar with the paths at Mt Shaoshi, he fled to the back of the mountain and chose precipitous narrow tracks to go along. After running away quickly for several li’s (0.5 km), hearing no Shaolin monk chasing him, he felt a little bit calm. He then put Zhi Qing down on the ground and shouted loudly: ‘Walk by yourself! But don’t think about escaping.’ Unexpectedly, when Zhi Qing’s feet touched the ground, he immediately became weak, paralyzed and exhausted. He then curled up into a heap, looking as if he was already dead. Startled, Qiao Feng stretched out his hand to check Zhi Qing’s breathing, only feeling that his breathing was unclear and extremely weak. When he checked his pulse next, he also found that it was beating extremely slowly. It seemed he was going to die very soon.

Qiao Feng thought: ‘There’re countless doubts and suspicions in my mind that I’m going to ask you about. I mustn’t let you die so easily like this. After falling into my hands, this monk fears that his schemes would be exposed so he has prolly taken a fierce poison to kill himself.’ He then held out his hand to touch Zhi Qing’s chest and check the monk’s heartbeat, only to feel that his hand was touching something pliant. This monk was unexpectedly a female!

Qiao Feng hastily withdrew his hand. He felt more and more strange: ‘He… He’s a female in disguise?’ In the dark it was unable to examine carefully the appearance of this person. Unlike Duan Yu, who liked to read books, was familiar with decencies and had a lot of scruples, he was an open-minded tolerant man and did not stick to trivial matters, therefore he held Zhi Qing’s back, lifted him up and shouted: ‘Are you male or female? If you don’t tell the truth, I’m gonna undress you to find out about it!’ Zhi Qing’s lips made a few movements. He wanted to say but was unable to utter any sound at all. Obviously he was at his last gasp and his life was hanging by a thread.

Qiao Feng thought: ‘Regardless of whether this person is male or female, good or bad, I mustn’t let him die at this point.’ He held out his right palm, putting it on Zhi Qing’s back. He then circulated his internal energy in his dantian (the point which is located ~ 5 cm below the navel), channeled it from his abdomen into his arm, from his arm into his palm and transferred it into Zhi Qing’s body. Even if he was unable to save his life, at least he also needed to ask and get some clues from him. Before long, Zhi Qing’s pulse gradually became stronger, and his breathing was also getting smoother. Seeing that he was unable to die at the moment, Qiao Feng was somewhat relieved and thought: ‘This place isn’t far from Shaolin. I can’t stay here for too long.’ He immediately bent his arms to carry Zhi Qing horizontally in them and strode westwards.

At this moment, he again felt that Zhi Qing’s body was very light, which was out of proportion to his tall and big stature. He thought: ‘It’s not proper for me to remove your clothes, but don’t tell me that I can’t take off your footwear?’ He then stretched out his hand and pulled the Buddhist shoe off his right foot. When he pinched his sole, he only felt that his hand was touching something solid. Obviously it was not human flesh. He slightly pulled it with force. Following his hand, an object fell away, which turned out to be a wooden false foot. Only when he touched Zhi Qing’s foot once more was it a soft delicate sole. Qiao Feng uttered a ‘humph’ sound and murmured: ‘This person’s really a female.’

He immediately used his lightness skill and went faster and faster. Running quickly until dawn, estimating that he was already more than 50 li’s (0.5 km) away from Shaolin Monastery, he carried Zhi Qing into a grove on the right-hand side. Seeing a clear brook, which ran through the grove, he went to the side of it, scooped up some clear water and splashed it on Zhi Qing’s face. Then he used the sleeve of her Buddhist robe to give her face a few wipes. All of a sudden, the flesh on her face fell down piece after piece. Qiao Feng was frightened and jumped to his feet: ‘Why is her skin rotten like this?’ Looking carefully with his doubtful eyes, he saw that under the rotten flesh on her face the smooth translucent skin was exposed.

Being carried in Qiao Feng’s arms while he had been running, Zhi Qing had always been in a daze. At this moment, after her face had been wet by clear water, she opened her eyes, looked at Qiao Feng, forced a smile and softly said: ‘Chief Qiao!’ But because she was too weak, after uttering these words, she closed her eyes again.

Seeing that her face had different colors and was uneven, making it unable for him to see her real face clearly, Qiao Feng soaked the sleeve of her Buddhist robe in the brook until it was drenching then used force to swab her face several times with it. The gray dust continuously fell down under his hand, exposing the dainty face of a young girl. Qiao Feng could not refrain from shouting out: ‘It’s Ms A’Zhu!’

The person who had disguised as Zhi Qing and blended in with the monks at the Bodhi Institute was no one other than Murong Fu’s maid A’Zhu. Her disguising and making-up skills were really unmatched. She had walked on wooden feet to make her body look taller, used cotton to make her shoulders look higher and her abdomen curve outwards, used flour to make her cheeks look puffy, worn a Buddhist hat, and put on a Buddhist robe. Even the people who met Zhi Qing daily such as Zhi Zhan and Zhi Yuan had not been able to discover that she had been the fake one.

When feeling confused and not being able to think clearly, she heard Qiao Feng call her ‘Ms A’Zhu’. She wanted to reply and explain why she had sneaked in Shaolin Monastery, but she had no strength at all. Her tongue did not obey her orders either, therefore she could not even reply with a ‘yes’ sound.

Qiao Feng at first had firmly believed that Zhi Qing had been treacherous and vicious, and that the deaths of his father and mother must have had an enormous connection with him, hence he had not hesitated to spend his internal energy to save his life, wanting to investigate him and bring to light all the true facts. He had resolved that if Zhi Qing had not said, he would use all kinds of cruel unendurable tortures to force him to say the truth. Who could have expected that this person’s true identity was the young girl A’Zhu, who was dainty, clever, lovely and delightful? Really, no one could have expected this, even in a dream. Even though Qiao Feng had met A’Zhu and A’Bi a few times, and had saved the 2 of them from the hands of Western Xia warriors, he did not know that A’Zhu was very proficient at making-up. If Duan Yu had switched with Qiao Feng, he would have already guessed correctly.

At this moment Qiao Feng already knew clearly that she was not poisoned, but was injured by palm force. After considering a little, he already knew the reason. Before Abbot Xuan Ci had sent out an Air Splitting Palm attack, he had used the copper mirror to cover his back. Even though the attack had not hit A’Zhu, because he had been carrying her in his left hand, the extremely swift and fierce palm force had transferred to her body as a result. After understanding this matter, he could not help feeling sorry inwardly: ‘If I hadn’t meddled in other people’s affairs, letting her come and go as her pleased, she would’ve already escaped and definitely wouldn’t have met with this disaster.’ He had a very high opinion of Murong Fu, and as they said, if a person liked someone they would like even his house and the crow on the roof of his house (the English equivalent of this proverb is ‘Love me, love my dog’, but ‘dog’ gives a negative connotation in a Chinese context, so I don’t use it here), therefore it was unavoidable that Qiao Feng also respected Murong Fu’s maid. He thought: ‘She suffered this serious injury all because of me. My sense of honor doesn’t allow me not to cure her. I must go to a town and ask a doctor to treat her.’ He then said: ‘Ms A’Zhu, I’m gonna carry you to a town to treat your injury.’ A’Zhu said: ‘There’s vulnerary in my bosom.’ As she finished saying she moved her right hand, but did not have any strength to reach into her bosom.

Qiao Feng stretched out his hand and took out all the things in her bosom. Besides some pieces of silver, he saw a gold lock which was very finely crafted. On the lock, two lines of small characters were engraved: ‘Stars in the sky, which are twinkling, will glitter forever, and forever well will you be.’ (天上星, 亮晶晶, 永灿烂, 长安宁 – There’s a hidden message in this poem, I’ll explain in a later chapter) In addition, there was a small case made of white jade, which had been given to her by Grandpa Tan in the apricot forest. Qiao Feng felt happy as he knew this vulnerary was highly effective. He said: ‘Saving your life is important, please forgive me.’ Holding out his hands, he unfastened her gown then repeatedly applied all the Cold Jade Icy Toad Ointment in the case onto her chest. A’Zhu could not refrain from getting embarrassed. She felt a sharp pain in the injury again and passed out immediately.

Qiao Feng fastened her gown and put the white jade case and the gold lock back into her bosom, but he took the silver pieces. He then stretched out his hand to grab her body and walked quickly towards the north.

After going for more than 20 li’s (0.5 km) he arrived in a densely populated big town called Xu Jia Ji. Qiao Feng went to the biggest inn and booked 2 rooms. He then helped A’Zhu settle down and invited a doctor to come and examine the condition of her injury.

That doctor felt A’Zhu’s pulse then continuously shook his head and said: ‘The lady’s illness is incurable. This prescription is merely the best I can do. That’s all.’ Qiao Feng saw that the prescription had some licorice, peppermint, Chinese bellflower, pinellia ternata, all of which were mild medicines which might not necessarily be able to cure even a common stomach ache.

He did not go buy medicines either and thought: ‘If even the effective medicine of Grandpa Tan of Chongxiao Cave can’t cure her then what’s the use of the medicines of a quack in this town?’ He then channeled his internal energy and transferred it into her body. In an instant, A’Zhu’s face became ruddy. She said: ‘Chief Qiao, luckily you saved me. Had I fallen into the hands of those bald thieves, my life would’ve been threatened.’ Hearing she talk with abundant energy, Qiao Feng was very happy and said: ‘Ms A’Zhu, I was really worried that you wouldn’t be able to get well.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Don’t call me Ms or something. Calling me A’Zhu straight out is okay. Chief Qiao, why did you come to Shaolin Monastery?’ Qiao Feng said: ‘I’m no longer a chief already. Later on don’t call me Chief…’ A’Zhu said: ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m gonna call you great master Qiao.’

Qiao Feng said: ‘Let me ask you first. Why did you come to Shaolin Monastery?’ A’Zhu laughed and said: ‘Oh, speaking of that, please don’t laugh at me for playing the goat. I heard that our young master had come to Shaolin Monastery so I wanted to find him and talked to him about Ms Wang. Who would’ve known that when I just entered the monastery, that monk Zhi Qing, who was on guard at the main entrance, aggressively said that women couldn’t enter Shaolin Monastery? I had a quarrel with him. He instead scolded me. But I wanted to come in, besides I also disguised as him, to see what he could do.’

Qiao Feng smiled and said: ‘You disguised, made up, and in the end entered Shaolin Monastery. Those monks couldn’t discover that you’re female at all. It’d have been better if after entering you had let them see your true appearance. They would’ve exploded in the bellies with anger without being able to do anything to you.’ At first he had greatly respected Shaolin Monastery, but he could not help feeling angry because, firstly, Xuan Ku were already dead, and secondly, the monks had wrongly accused him of the 3 most serious crimes under heaven, which were patricide, matricide and killing his master, without asking about the rights and wrongs of him.

A’Zhu sat up, clapped her hands, laughed and said: ‘Great master Qiao, that’s a good idea. After I get well, I’ll disguise as a man to enter the monastery then change to female clothes, swagger to the middle of the Great Mighty Sanctum and sit there, making all the monks so angry that they would roll on the floor. How interesting would that be! Ah…’ Suddenly, she could not take even a breath. Her body then loosened and collapsed. She lay motionless on the bed.

Qiao Feng was startled. He put his forefinger next to her nostrils and felt that her breathing seemed to have completely stopped. Feeling anxious, he hastily put his palm on the ‘Lingtai acupuncture point’ on her back and sent his internal energy into her body. Within the time to finish a cup of tea, A’Zhu slowly turned her body over, laughed apologetically and said: ‘A’yo, why did I fall asleep during conversation? Great master Qiao, I’m really sorry.’ Qiao Feng knew that her condition was far from good. He said: ‘You haven’t recovered yet. You’d better sleep for a while to rest.’ A’Zhu said: ‘I’m not tired, but you’ve been busy for half a night, so please rest for a while.’ Qiao Feng said: ‘Okay, I’ll see you after a while.’

He went to the parlor to order 5 Jin’s of wine and 2 Jin’s of beef (1 Jin = 0.6 kg) then ate and drank alone. Because at this moment he felt very sad, it was easy for him to get drunk. After drinking up 5 Jin’s of wine, he unexpectedly felt slightly intoxicated. He then took 2 steamed buns to A’Zhu’s room for her to eat. After he entered the room, he called several times but did not hear any reply. He went to the bed and saw that her eyes were slightly closed and her cheeks were sunken. It looked like she was already dead. He stretched out his hand and touched her forehead. Fortunately it was still warm. He then hastily used his internal energy to save her. A’Zhu slowly woke up. She received the buns and happily ate them.

This time, Qiao Feng knew that she was now totally depending on his internal energy to stay alive, if he did not transfer internal energy into her body, she would be exhausted within 2 hours and die. He did not know what he should do.

Seeing that he was having a thoughtful and worried look, A’Zhu said: ‘Great master Qiao, am I so seriously injured that even the effective medicine of Sir Tan can’t cure me?’ Qiao Feng hastily said: ‘No, no! It’s nothing, after several days, you’ll get well.’ A’Zhu said: ‘Please don’t deceive me. I myself know it. I only feel empty, not having even the least bit of strength.’ Qiao Feng said: ‘Set your mind at rest and recover. I’ll surely have a way to cure you.’ Hearing his tone, A’Zhu knew that her injury was really serious therefore she could not help but get scared and her hand started to tremble. The bun half of which she had eaten then fell on the floor. Qiao Feng only thought that her internal energy had run out again, hence he immediately put his palm on her Lingtai acupuncture point.

At this moment, A’Zhu was still in full possession of all her faculties, she felt a warm stream of internal energy being channeled into her body from his palm and her whole body instantly felt comfortable. After thinking a little, she already understood that actually she had almost died for several times and every time Qiao Feng had used his internal energy to bring her back to life, hence she felt both grateful to him and frightened. Even though she was clever, after all she was still very young. With tears streaming down, she said: ‘Great master Qiao, I don’t wanna die, please don’t ignore and leave me behind in here.’

Finding her words pitiable, Qiao Feng consoled her: ‘That’s definitely impossible. Don’t worry. What kind of man is Qiao Feng? How can I abandon a friend who’s in jeopardy?’ A’Zhu said: ‘I don’t deserve to be your friend. Great master Qiao, am I gonna die? After a person die will they become a ghost?’ Qiao Feng said: ‘You don’t need to think too much. You’re so young like this, suffering a bit of minor injury, how could you die?’ A’Zhu said: ‘You’re not fobbing me off, are you?’ Qiao Feng said: ‘No, I’m not.’ A’Zhu said: ‘You’re a well-known hero in wulin. They all say: ‘North Qiao Feng, South Murong’, you and my young master, one in the north, one in the south, are equally famous. In your life, have you ever failed to keep your words?’ Qiao Feng smiled and said: ‘When I was little I often lied, but afterward, when traveling in jianghu, I no longer deceived other people.’ A’Zhu said: ‘You said the condition of my injury wasn’t serious. It’s deceiving me, isn’t it?’

Qiao Feng thought: ‘If you know that the condition of your injury is serious, you’ll be anxious, making it harder to save you. Because of you I have no choice but to deceive you.’ He then said: ‘I can’t deceive you.’ A’Zhu let out a sigh and said: ‘Okay, I feel at ease then. Great master Qiao, I have one matter to beg you.’ Qiao Feng asked: ‘What’s the matter?’ A’Zhu said: ‘Tonight you stay in my room with me, and don’t leave me.’ She thought if Qiao Feng went away this time, she herself would possibly not be able to endure till dawn. Qiao Feng said: ‘Very good. Even if you hadn’t said that, I’d still sit here with you. Don’t say anymore, just sleep quietly for a while.’

A’Zhu closed her eyes, but after a while, she opened them again and said: ‘Great master Qiao, I can’t sleep. I beg you one thing, is that okay?’ Qiao Feng asked: ‘What is it?’ A’Zhu said: ‘When I was little, every time I couldn’t sleep my mother would sing for me to hear at the side of my bed. She would only need to sing 3 songs, I’d then sleep soundly.’ Qiao Feng smiled and said: ‘It’s not easy to find your mother now.’ A’Zhu let out a sigh and said quietly: ‘I don’t know where my father and mother are. I don’t know if they still live in this world either. Great master Qiao, you sing a few songs for me to hear, is that okay?’

Qiao Feng could not help but smile bitterly. He was such a mighty man therefore if he sang to coax a young girl to sleep, this would really be outrageous. He then said: ‘I really can’t sing.’ A’Zhu said: ‘When you were little, your mother sang songs to you, didn’t she?’ Scratching his head, Qiao Feng said: ‘That seems to have happened, but I already forgot everything. Even if I remembered I wouldn’t be able to sing.’ A’Zhu sighed and said: ‘If you’re unwilling to sing then I can’t do anything about it.’ Qiao Feng said apologetically: ‘It’s not that I’m unwilling to sing, but I really can’t sing.’ A’Zhu suddenly came up with another idea. She clapped her hands, laughed and said: ‘Ah, I got it, great master Qiao, I beg you another matter, this time you can’t say no.’

Qiao Feng felt this young girl was innocent and simple, but her words and behavior were often beyond people’s expectations. After she had said she would ask him for another thing, he had no idea what whimsical thing it would be. Hence, he said: ‘You say it first. If I can promise then I’ll promise. If I can’t promise then I won’t promise.’ A’Zhu said: ‘This matter, everyone in the world can do, as long as they are at least 4 or 5 years old. You think it’s easy or not?’ Not wanting to be fooled, Qiao Feng said: ‘In the end, what is it? You gotta say it clearly first.’ A’Zhu gave a charming smile and said: ‘Alright! Please tell several tales to me, it doesn’t matter if they’re about a rabbit gege (elder bro) or a wolf popo (husband’s mother/grandmother), I’ll always be able to fall asleep.’

Qiao Feng frowned. An awkward expression appeared on his face. Not long ago, he had still been the Chief of the number one large society in jianghu who had had great might and been in charge of extraordinary people. But during the past few days, he had been dismissed from the Chief post and expelled from the Society. The 3 dearest people to him, who were his parents and master, had passed away in one day. In addition, he did not know if he was a Hu man or a Han man, his origin was unclear, and yet he was bearing the 3 heinous crimes which were betrayal and murdering his parents. After receiving such blows one after another, of course he had no one to share his worries, but who could have expected that, at this inn, he would have to keep a young girl company and would be asked to sing and tell tales by her like this? In the past, had he heard only half a sentence regarding these kinds of mushy trivialities, he would have covered his ears and run away quickly. In his life, he had only liked drinking wine and betting with his brothers and speaking loudly and openly. Besides engaging in carousals, he had only talked about serious national affairs and military affairs, and about heroes in the world. Those things such as telling a tale, a rabbit gege and a wolf popo were really jokes and absurdities to him.

However, in a glance, seeing that there was an earnest expectant look in A’Zhu’s eyes and that her face was haggard, he thought: ‘Suffering such a serious injury, it’s perhaps already hard for her to recover. If she couldn’t take a breath, she would die at any moment. She wants to hear a tale then I’ll conveniently tell her one.’ He then said: ‘Okay, I’m gonna tell you a tale. But I’m afraid you’ll think that it’s not good.’

A’Zhu was very happy. She said: ‘It’ll definitely be interesting. Please tell me quickly.’

Even though Qiao Feng had agreed to tell a tale, he really did not know what to tell. Only after a while did he say: ‘Hum, I’m gonna tell a tale of a wolf. Once upon a time, there was an old man. While walking in the mountains, he saw a wolf which had been tied up by men and put into a cloth bag. That wolf begged him to set it free. The old man then untied the cloth bag and released the wolf. The wolf…’ A’Zhu continued: ‘The wolf said it was hungry and wanted to eat the old man, right?’ Qiao Feng: ‘Oh, so you’ve already heard this tale?’ A’Zhu said: ‘This is the tale of a wolf in the mountains. I don’t like to hear the stories in books. I want you to talk about the countryside, and not the stories written in books.’

Qiao Feng considered and said: ‘Not a story written in books but a story in the countryside. Okay, I’m gonna tell you a story of a country kid.’

‘A long long time ago, there was a poor family in the mountains. The father and the mother had only 1 child. When that child turned 7, his body was very tall and big, and he could already help his father chop firewood in the mountains. One day, the father got sick, but because their family was very poor, they couldn’t afford to invite a doctor or buy medicine. But the father’s illness got more serious with each passing day. Not using medicine was out of the question. So, the mother took the only 6 hens and a basket of eggs of the family to the market and sold them.’

‘The hens and the eggs were sold for 4 silver qian (1 qian = 1/10 tael = ~ 4 g). But the doctor said it was too far to go into the mountains and he didn’t want to see the patient. The mother made every effort to beg him, but that doctor always shook his head and refused. The mother then knelt down and begged him sincerely. The doctor said: ‘Going to your house in the mountains to see the patient isn’t worth the trouble of being affected by the miasma and the poverty. What illness can your 4 silver qian cure?’ The mother then pulled a corner of his