"Hmm, but we saw that your injuries are healed, from your movements and your voice," said the towering Thian Kui Lo-jin.
"Indeed, someone helped me, lo-cian- pwe. When I regained consciousness, there was a woman and a teenage girl here. According to the teenage girl, the woman's name is Ban-tok Sian-li."
"Sian-cai...! So the Poisonous Laksa Goddess came to you and treated your poisoned wounds? That's truly extraordinary! She usually doesn't care about others.”
"Indeed, she had a motive in helping me, lo-cian- pwe. Perhaps in my semi-conscious state, I mentioned Si Golok Naga and she was intrigued. After treating me, she asked about Mestika Golok Naga. When I replied that I didn't know and that the one who killed my master was just a person named Si Golok Naga and Living Skull, and I didn't know where Mestika Golok Naga was, she got angry and wanted to kill me. But God still protects my life. Her student, a teenage girl, prevented her from killing me and I was saved."
"Hmm, unbeknownst to you, you've gotten involved in matters that will endanger your life in the future, Tiong Li. You witnessed the black giant kill the leaders of the four major parties, which means you are a direct witness to his crimes because your father, the second witness, is dead. That black giant surely won't be relieved and satisfied until he can kill you. Fortunately, you met and became a disciple of our friend, Pek Hong San-ji n, otherwise you would've been in mortal danger long ago," said Thian Kui Lo-jin.
"Lo-cian-pwe, who exactly is that black giant? And who is the skull-faced person who killed my master?"
"We don't know. But considering his skills and oddities, it seems that he and the skull-faced person are not figures in the kang-ouw world that we know. Perhaps he comes from a foreign land, and it's very likely that he comes from the Cin country, a figure from the north or west where there are many skilled and strange people. However, let's not worry about them, we are more interested in you. Since you are the disciple of our late friend, we cannot stand idle seeing you in mortal danger."
"Ha-ha-ha, the only way is for you to join us, to become our disciple, Tiong Li. In this way, we will not waste all the hard work of old hwe-shio. So, would you like to become our disciple and join us?" Tee Kui Lo-jin asked while laughing.
Hearing this question, Tiong Li immediately kneeled before them. They were his master's friends, and he felt that his martial arts skills were still far from being able to compete with skilled people, so he gladly and willingly expressed his gratitude and said, "Teecu is grateful if ji-wi suhu (both masters) are willing to take me as a disciple. Teecu will obey all the commands and instructions of ji-wi suhu."
The two odd people laughed happily. They didn't have any disciples and didn't have any desire to take any. But when they met Tiong Li, saw his loyalty to his masters, saw how Tiong Li was involved in major matters and that the boy had good talent, they were intrigued and they agreed to forge the young man as their disciple.
Thus, after the fire that burned the hut was extinguished and its ashes were blown away by the mountain wind, the two hermits led Tiong Li to leave the place.
"Let Pek Hong San Ji n's ashes be blown by the wind, scatter all over the hill's surface and become good fertilizer for the plants here," said Tee Kui Lo-jin while laughing. "This is in accordance with his will."
The two hermits lived in the Wu-Kiang Valley, in the Kui-san mountains, and chose one of its peaks as their hermitage, which was Ki-lin-san (Ki-lin Hill). It was named so because from a distance, the peak looked like the shape of a ki-lin (a mythical creature half lion half tiger).
Just like when he was studying with Pek Hong San-ji n before, this time Tiong Li also studied diligently, almost never leaving the peak so he never knew or heard about the condition in the outside world.
)odwo( Meanwhile, outside of that hermitage, many great things happened. Seeing the movements of the Cin (Kin) troops who were always violating the border, the martial artists in the kang-ouw world felt very frustrated. They disagreed with Emperor Kao Cung's weak attitude, who preferred to give in to the Kingdom of Kin, shamelessly inviting the Yu-cen race to make peace and even pay tribute.
In the provinces of Ho pei and Shan-si, everywhere, patriotic martial artists formed their own citizens' troops to fight against the Kin troops who were always violating the border and committing robberies and murders on the village people around the border. These citizen troops made their nests in the hills and forests along the Yang-ce River.
Once a citizen troop who called themselves the Red Ribbon Army raided a Kin (Cin) troop camp and wiped out all its inhabitants! Their spirit was burning, very different from the attitude of Emperor Sung Kao Cung who was deemed to degrade the Kingdom's dignity.
Defending the capital city Kai-feng that had fallen into enemy hands was General C ung Ce. He was now leading the Sung Kingdom's forces stationed on the front lines. At one point, General C ung Ce crossed the Yang-ce River and negotiated with the patriots fighting in the north to regain the territory controlled by the enemy. He ordered seven thousand troops, led by the martial artist Wang Yen, to break the siege of tens of thousands of Kin troops and managed to reach and control the Tai-hang-san Mountains. They mobilized over one hundred thousand people in the Tai-hang-san Mountains and repeatedly defeated the Kin troops and strengthened their own forces.
Repeatedly General Cung Ce proposed to continue the attack to the north, but the Emperor always refused. On the contrary, the Emperor, controlled by Prime Minister Jin Kui, was worried that Cung Ce, who was cooperating with the patriotic martial artists, would have too much power and threaten the emperor's position. So, in addition to rejecting General Cung Ce's proposal, the emperor also ordered his people to monitor the general's movements with full suspicion.
Seeing this, General C ung Ce became frustrated, angry and extremely disappointed. His heart was severely saddened. He was loyal and defended the country to expel the invaders, to regain the Sung Kingdom in the north controlled by the enemy, not only was he forbidden to attack the north, but he was also watched and suspected.
This heartache made the seventy-year-old general fall seriously ill. However, his spirit never faded. Before his death, he invited the patriotic martial artists and persuaded them to continue the struggle to eradicate the enemy. He died with a heart full of frustration until his eyes couldn't close!.
At that time there was another brave and loyal general to the country, named Gak Hui. Along with all his sons, this general was a tenacious fighter and had repeatedly pushed back the Kin troops. General Gak Hui came from the city of Tang-yin in the province of Honan, from an ordinary peasant family. But his mother was a wise woman and a true patriot. Once Gak Hui's mother wrote words on Gak Hui's back commanding her son to serve the country and be loyal to the Emperor until death!.
General Gak Hui greatly loved his homeland and after the Yu-cen race took over the Sung Kingdom in the north, he massively hated this enemy. He gathered troops that mostly consisted of young farmers who were very obedient to him. In any situation, whether starving or freezing, no soldier dared to disturb the people. Therefore, the people greatly loved and respected the troops led by General Gak Hui and everywhere these troops were warmly and proudly received by the common people.
After several times pushing back the Kin troops, Gak Hui led his troops further north and joined with the citizen troops in Tai-hang-san and with the troops in Ho-pei.
In the year 1140, the grand general of the Kingdom of Kin named Wu-cu led his troops to the south. But in Shun-cang, An-hwi province, his troops were destroyed by Sung's troops led by General Lui Chi. Also, General Wu Lin hit the Kin troops in Tu-feng, Shen-si province. As for General Gak Hui himself, he attacked from Siang-yang, Hu-peh province. General Gak Hui sent the patriots across the Yellow River.
They managed to wreak havoc on the enemy's defense. Gak Hui chased them up to Yen-ceng, Ho-nan province. All the forces of the fighters in the north joined with Gak Hui. The people supported, donated rations and the force grew larger because many volunteers joined and fought with high spirits.
Glossary
- Thian Kui Lo-jin: A character's name in the story.
- lo-cian- pwe: An honorific term used to show respect towards elders.
- Ban-tok Sian-li: A character's name in the story.
- Sian-cai: An honorific term used to show respect towards women.
- Si Golok Naga: A character's name in the story, translates to 'Dragon Sabre'.
- Mestika Golok Naga: A special term for a treasured Dragon Sabre.
- Pek Hong San-ji n: A character's name in the story.
- Tee Kui Lo-jin: A character's name in the story.
- Teecu: An honorific term used to show respect towards oneself.
- ji-wi suhu: A term of respect for two masters.
- kang-ouw: World of martial arts.
- Cin (Kin): Name of a kingdom.
- Emperor Kao Cung: Name of an Emperor.
- Yu-cen: Name of a race.
- General C ung Ce: Name of a General.
- Prime Minister Jin Kui: Name of a Prime Minister.
- General Gak Hui: Name of a General.