Chapter 42: This Time Doesn

After being expelled by Huang Yaoshi, Feng Mofeng hid his identity and became a blacksmith named Feng Tiejiang, spending his days hammering iron, never sparring with anyone or involving himself in the Jianghu affairs—until this day, when a man and a woman entered his shop; the man was young, the woman ugly, and Feng Mofeng cast a glance at them both.

“Come.”

Gu Qing placed the Golden Wheel of the Golden Wheel Lama and the iron wheel onto the forge stand, handed them to Feng Mofeng, then pulled out a Jade Bee Needle and said: “I want you to forge all these materials into needles like this.”

Feng Mofeng looked at the two wheels, then at the Jade Bee Needle, and fell silent.

“I run a blacksmith shop. If you want this made, you should go to a needle shop.”

Feng Mofeng turned the Golden Wheel slightly, listening to the clicking inside, examined its edge structure, and realized it was an unusual weapon—but turning it into a needle? He felt Gu Qing was deliberately mocking him.

“I think you can make it.”

Gu Qing gestured for Feng Mofeng to try harder.

Feng Mofeng turned his back and said: “I’m not Zheng the Butcher, and you’re not Lu the Patrol Captain—I don’t serve you.”

The world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes inherits that of Water Margin; Guo Jing’s family are descendants of Guo Sheng from Water Margin, and those in the Jianghu still know some of these old tales.

“So your Peach Blossom Island lineage truly cannot do it?”

Gu Qing looked at Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying felt utterly baffled—she had brought Gu Qing to find a blacksmith, as if she’d taken on some blame—and just as she was about to speak, she saw the blacksmith’s body tremble, then turn around.

“What can’t the Peach Blossom Island lineage do?”

Feng Mofeng asked.

“This Jade Bee Needle was crafted by a senior master who once stood on equal footing with Wang Chongyang. Now that master is dead, and this single needle has become one of a kind...”

Gu Qing’s voice carried regret.

Listening to Gu Qing, Feng Mofeng sensed the implication: that even the Master of Peach Blossom Island had been powerless before this needle, humbled and defeated.

Feng Mofeng picked up the tongs, clamped the Jade Bee Needle, examined it closely, analyzed its craftsmanship, and after a moment, let out a scoff: “This needle? Aside from being finer, made of different material, and coated in poison—what’s so special? Go buy a bundle of needles from a needle shop, coat them in poison—would they be useless?”

“For the Master of Peach Blossom Island to examine this thing would be the greatest insult to him!”

With that, Feng Mofeng tossed the Jade Bee Needle directly into the charcoal fire.

Hearing this, Cheng Ying looked at the blacksmith before her and realized his identity; quietly she said: “My master long ago expelled disciples from the island—Qu, Lu, Wu, and Feng were all unjustly punished. Later, the master regretted it and wished to take his former students back into the fold...”

Wu Gangfeng died earliest; Chen Xuanfeng was killed by Guo Jing; Mei Chaofeng fell to Ouyang Feng; Qu Lingfeng was slain by imperial guards; Lu Chengfeng was later readmitted but is now dead—the Lu family manor where the Hero Gathering was held was built by Lu Chengfeng’s own efforts.

Feng Mofeng was the blacksmith before her.

Hearing this, Feng Mofeng could not hold back his tears; he looked at Cheng Ying and asked: “Are you the Master’s newly accepted disciple?”

Cheng Ying, seeing this, glanced at Gu Qing and said with a hint of reproach: “This time doesn’t count.” As she spoke, she peeled off the human-skin mask.

An oval face, slightly shy, with a dimple visible even as she blushed.

“This time doesn’t count”—of course she meant her wager with Gu Qing. Sensing Gu Qing’s gaze upon her, Cheng Ying blushed faintly, turned her eyes away from him, and said to Feng Mofeng: “My master has newly created a Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg Technique, and has long wished to restore his former students’ legs.”

Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg was an old Peach Blossom Island technique; Feng Mofeng knew it well—but Huang Yaoshi, proud and stubborn, had quietly devised a martial art capable of healing leg injuries as reparation for his disciples, yet still called it Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg to preserve his prideful image.

Hearing this, Feng Mofeng wept like rain.

Gu Qing looked at Cheng Ying—elegant, refined, exuding quiet fragrance—and felt deeply satisfied. As he listened to her and Feng Mofeng recount Huang Yaoshi’s deeds, he turned his face aside, waiting until their conversation wound down before turning back to ask Feng Mofeng: “Can you forge this Jade Bee Needle?”

Feng Mofeng bent to extinguish the furnace fire and said: “This morning, a Mongol squad leader came to recruit me—the Mongols are conscripting blacksmiths, likely preparing to invade the Song. I’m about to pack up, accept their conscription, infiltrate their ranks, assassinate a few Mongol officers, and offer what little help I can to the realm. I have no heart left to polish needles for you.”

What Feng Mofeng said was precisely the most urgent matter at hand.

The Hero Gathering was convened chiefly to confront this imminent crisis: Guo Jing, on one hand, was expanding the Jianghu Alliance across the land, and on the other, gathering elite martial artists to gather in Xiangyang, preparing to face this great calamity together.

“Put every man to his proper use, every tool to its proper task—that is true balance.”

Gu Qing said: “Since you have talent as a blacksmith, at this moment you should go to Xiangyang—help the soldiers and Jianghu heroes forge weapons. That is your duty. As for assassinations, leave them to me.”

Gu Qing stopped Feng Mofeng.

In truth, Feng Mofeng had already infiltrated the Mongol camp and secretly assassinated two men—but the incompetence of the Da Wu brothers drew Guo Jing into the fray, leading to Mongol encirclement; Feng Mofeng risked his life to shield Guo Jing.

Before dying, Feng Mofeng never learned Guo Jing was Huang Yaoshi’s son-in-law; he merely saw Guo Jing fight bravely defending the city, and gave his life to save him.

Gu Qing did not want Feng Mofeng to repeat his fate, so he said: “I am now Vice Leader of the Jianghu Alliance. If you have the will, go to Xiangyang immediately and take orders from Guo Daxia.”

Feng Mofeng hesitated: “I can join under the guise of a blacksmith and still gather intelligence...”

Gu Qing glanced around, drew a kitchen knife from the blacksmith shop, and stepped out. About the time of one incense stick’s burn, he returned, the knife dripping blood, one hand holding several severed heads—including the squad leader who had come to recruit Feng Mofeng.

Gu Qing was a man of action—he had just blocked Feng Mofeng’s plan to infiltrate.

“The Mongols are always cruel; they slaughter without mercy.”

Feng Mofeng worried: “If you kill like this and someone reports it, this town will suffer immediate disaster.”

“Then hurry and lead the townspeople to flee south to the Song.”

Gu Qing said: “I’ve already killed every Mongol in town. As for the Mongol army, I’ll draw them away—I’ll buy you time. We can’t be so afraid of everything that we refuse to fight back.”

As he spoke, Gu Qing gave Feng Mofeng the Anti-Mongol, Defend-the-Nation Alliance emblem, instructing him to seek aid from the Jianghu Alliance along the way; Guo Jing, well aware of Mongol brutality, had stationed Jianghu members along the route to protect civilians.

Feng Mofeng nodded. There was nothing more to say.

Gu Qing watched Feng Mofeng go door to door warning the townsfolk, standing guard at key intersections with his knife, scanning for threats—when he spotted several riders galloping toward the town; the lead monk had a slightly sunken forehead—it was the Golden Wheel Lama.

Seeing the Golden Wheel Lama heading for the town, Gu Qing leapt forward and stood squarely in the middle of the road.

(End of Chapter)