Chapter 5: Nine Yin Scripture, Activate!

Refusing Wen Shan’s offer to repay him with her body, Gu Qing rested at the inn in Jing’an Set, exhausted from the afternoon’s journey; he needed rest, the donkey needed rest, and having done something satisfying, he slept soundly until dawn broke.

After washing up, Gu Qing descended the stairs; before he could order food, the inn brought up breakfast—lamb and oil tea—making him pause in surprise, and he asked the waiter if they’d delivered to the wrong table.

“No mistake—it’s for you.”

said the waiter.

“Who arranged this for me?”

Gu Qing asked.

The waiter’s gaze naturally drifted outside; Gu Qing followed it and saw a young man who, upon meeting his eyes, stepped forward and bowed to him.

Gu Qing sized up the young man; though his clothes were clean, they bore several noticeable patches, suggesting he was from the Beggar’s Sect. The youth sat down without speaking, and Gu Qing, relying on his system’s immunity to poison, calmly tore into the lamb.

After eating lamb and drinking oil tea so early in the morning, Gu Qing felt invigorated and finally set down his chopsticks.

“Your righteousness is admirable.”

The young man introduced himself: “I’m Ding Qi, fourth-bag disciple of the Beggar’s Sect.”

The Beggar’s Sect was the largest sect in the land, the Quanzhen Sect the greatest religious order; their disciples maintained close ties, though Gu Qing had never interacted with the Beggar’s Sect before and didn’t know any of its members. After hearing Ding Qi’s introduction, he thought for a moment and said: “I’m Shi Hao from Chang’an.”

Quanzhen Sect lay within Mongol-controlled territory; Gu Qing didn’t want his killing of Tartars to bring trouble upon Quanzhen.

Out in the world, your identity is what you make it.

Gu Qing could claim he was the Emperor of the Wasteland and it would be fine.

“So you’re Great Hero Shi Hao.”

Ding Qi, upon hearing the name, addressed him as Great Hero: “We of the Beggar’s Sect heard of your actions yesterday and hold you in high esteem. That Wen Shan family is returning to Jingzhao Prefecture, and the road is unsafe—we’ve dispatched disciples to escort them, ensuring they reach home safely.”

Gu Qing praised the Beggar’s Sect’s righteousness.

“Great Hero Shi.”

Ding Qi looked at Gu Qing and said: “To be honest, I’ve come today to ask for your help.”

More merit points coming his way?

Gu Qing was intrigued; his merit system loved being begged for. He gestured for Ding Qi to continue.

“It’s a family shame, really.”

Ding Qi said: “One of our own has defected, carrying a list vital to our sect, and fled to the Tartars’ Yanghuzhuang. We’ve sealed off the estate’s perimeter and are preparing to storm in and wipe them out.”

A full-scale assault?

Gu Qing’s interest sparked: “How many are they?”

“Including guards, barely two hundred.”

Ding Qi said: “We’ve barely mustered three hundred men. If we charge in, we’ll have the advantage.”

Uncertain whether Gu Qing would join, Ding Qi spoke vaguely, but one thing was certain: the Tartar estate must have a master-level guardian inside—ordinary men were no match for martial artists.

In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Li Mochou had looked down on a hundred Mongol cavalry.

“Do it!”

Gu Qing slammed the table; he adored combat and immediately agreed.

Ding Qi hadn’t expected Gu Qing to agree so easily; his voice brimmed with eagerness, and he eagerly invited: “Great Hero Shi, please follow me.”

Gu Qing strapped on his sword, told the inn to look after his donkey, and followed Ding Qi. He knew getting involved was dangerous, but he hadn’t revealed his real name or Quanzhen’s, so he had no burdens—fight if he could, flee if he couldn’t, treating it all as martial training.

Outside Jing’an Set, a group of beggars waited; their leader, covered in patches, stepped forward and bowed to Gu Qing: “Beggar’s Sect Liu Er, greetings, Great Hero Shi. Yesterday you slew Tartars and swept away our accumulated hatred—truly heartening.”

This Liu Er spoke with literary refinement.

Gu Qing, long secluded in Zhongnan Mountain, didn’t know Liu Er’s reputation; seeing him as the leader, he showed him due respect. After exchanging greetings, he asked where Yanghuzhuang was and when they’d attack.

“Yanghuzhuang is thirty li from here. We’re clearing scouts along the way. As for the attack—it’s now.”

Liu Er revealed everything to Gu Qing, the ally.

“Aren’t we waiting for reinforcements?”

Ding Qi asked urgently.

Liu Er frowned: “New orders—we attack immediately. Delay invites change.”

Ding Qi stared at Liu Er in surprise.

Liu Er offered no explanation, grabbed Gu Qing, and briefly outlined the situation.

Yanghuzhuang was surrounded by water on three sides; only one path led to the estate, flanked by arrow towers. Legend said a Jurchen official had amassed great wealth, built the estate to store it, and stationed heavy guards—making it easy to defend. But when the Mongol army arrived and blockaded it, he became a fish in a barrel and surrendered.

But the Beggar’s Sect couldn’t fully blockade it—it was Mongol territory; if they held out, they had ways to survive.

“We have several skilled slingers—we don’t fear those arrow towers.”

Liu Er said: “But there are over a dozen masters inside… Anyway, Great Hero Shi, do your best—if things turn bad, don’t overextend.”

Gu Qing nodded naturally—he wouldn’t throw his life away for nothing.

Horses were ready outside Jing’an Set; Liu Er gave Gu Qing one, and they rode toward Yanghuzhuang.

Galloping, they reached the spot in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Gu Qing arrived to find their forces already hidden. As the group gathered, the Beggar’s Sect slingers fired—whizzing arrows struck the arrow towers, and within Yanghuzhuang, alarm bells rang!

“Dong!”

“Dong!”

“Dong!”

The sound carried for miles; drums echoed inside the estate, and men emerged with iron shields, rushing forward.

“Tartars off their horses—nothing to fear!”

Liu Er roared, charging ahead without hesitation. Arrows flew from the towers, but he dodged them with lowered head. At the front line, his left hand circled, his right palm struck straight—combined with his horse’s momentum, the blow sent the Tartars before him tumbling, carving a gap in their line.

“Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms?”

Behind him, Gu Qing recognized the palm technique.

In the Tianlong Babu era, it was called Dragon Subduing Twenty-Eight Palms; later, Xiao Feng deemed the last ten superfluous and, with Xu Zhu, deleted them and revised the form, giving rise to Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms.

Usually, only the sect leader knew both the Dog-Beating Staff Technique and Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms.

Gu Qing spurred his horse into the fray; before entering Yanghuzhuang, he flicked his sword, severing an arm.

Liu Er clearly knew the estate’s layout; upon entering, he abandoned his horse and headed straight for the left courtyard. The horse, galloping into the crowd, was stabbed by blades and went wild, throwing the courtyard into chaos.

Behind Liu Er, two masters of the Beggar’s Sect—whose internal energy rivaled Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing—also charged forward. Gu Qing, sword in hand, cut down several men in the courtyard; he sensed they possessed some martial skill, but it was minimal. Having trained in Quanzhen, he had refined his internal energy and swordplay, then mastered lightness techniques to secure positions in the Heavenly Gang Beidou Array, excelling in chaotic combat—he now moved with precise taps and thrusts, calm amidst the battle.

With Gu Qing holding the center, the Tartars were split—unable to defend front and rear. Soon, the outer Beggar’s Sect members surged into the center; only then did Gu Qing break free, leaping toward the eastern courtyard.

“Pa!”

Suddenly, a palm struck toward Gu Qing.

Gu Qing instinctively countered with “Step-on-Frost-Break-Ice Palm”; the impact was overwhelming—he was shoved back three steps.

“Soo-soo-soo!!”

Several iron thorns flew at him; Gu Qing swept his sword, deflecting them all. As he parried palm and sword, he scanned the courtyard: twenty-one opponents total—fifteen scattered around, armed with hidden weapons; among the remaining six, three were Tibetan monks, three inside the house—one seated, two guarding.

Liu Er, who’d charged in first, was now drained; seeing Gu Qing, he called out: “Brother Shi, these men are strong—don’t waste energy fighting them head-on.”

Gu Qing nodded; he saw the two Tibetan monks unleashing palm strikes, while others hurled hidden weapons, pinning down Liu Er and his men.

“Shua!”

The Tibetan monk who’d first attacked Gu Qing struck again.

At that moment, Gu Qing focused.

Long ago, Lin Chaoying, targeting Quanzhen’s martial arts, created the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture. In Jin Yong’s original text, the marvel of Gumu Sect’s internal energy was that as it grew, the power of techniques didn’t increase—instead, speed and movement soared; where others struck once, Gumu could strike three or four times.

This speed was the bane of steady internal energy—hence the saying: “Jade Maiden Scripture surpasses Quanzhen.”

Wang Chongyang had no answer, so he recorded countermeasures using techniques from the Nine Yin Scripture… namely, matching speed with speed.

In The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Zhou Zhiruo held Xie Xun’s head within an inch—she could have killed him with a touch; yet the Yellow Robe Maiden, still far off, flashed forward, forcing the lightning-fast Zhou Zhiruo to parry.

Now, in an instant, Gu Qing activated the Nine Yin Scripture.

Instantly, his sword moved like a gale—he lunged at the hidden-weapon wielders. Each strike was swift as shadow; to onlookers, Gu Qing seemed encircled by lightning, his blade forming a vast circle—wherever it spun, screams followed.

The Tibetan monk who’d tried to ambush him froze his palm, anticipating Gu Qing’s move and striking at a guard—but Gu Qing leapt off the wall, effortlessly evading, his speed unchanged, and severed the guard’s head with one sword.

Left, right, up, down—he cleared all fifteen hidden-weapon wielders. With pressure lifted from Liu Er and his men, Gu Qing surged like thunder, sword poised, and burst into the house, thrusting straight at the seated man!

The two guards on either side unleashed their internal energy, slashing palms forward—but Gu Qing, light as cotton, rose gracefully through their blows, his sword a great river inverted, swirling and slicing off half of each guard’s palm.

This spinning sword technique was the Nine Yin Scripture’s “Cotton-Fluff Force”—utterly incomprehensible to the two guards.

Gu Qing tapped the ground, flipped, and drove his sword straight into the seated man’s throat!

One thrust—deadly cut!

“...”

Gu Qing withdrew his sword, momentarily stunned—he’d assumed the seated man was a master, radiating stillness like a mountain, but he had no martial skill at all.

One thrust—instant kill!

“You’ve got no martial skill—why pretend?”

Gu Qing had already planned his escape route!

This novel hasn’t been signed yet, so I’m writing less—starting tomorrow, 6,000 characters daily.

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(End of Chapter)