Chapter 174

After that night when Liu Guozhong rescued Aunt Wang from the Ku Jing, he lay unconscious in bed. He ran a fever for several days, his mind grew hazy, and naturally he overlooked the scene where Aunt Wang had scratched him. He might not even know what the girl he saved looked like.

Only after a while, when everyone burst in, chattering around Liu Guozhong asking questions, did he gradually regain consciousness and recall to the others what had happened that night.

That evening, Liu Guozhong took a few capable men out to look for the lost yellow ox of the production team.

When villagers reclaim land, they need farming tools and livestock. In the old society's production team, besides human labor, important labor also included oxen and plow tools; without oxen, the field could not be cultivated and became wasteland unsuitable for sowing.

Thus, the ox's status in society at that time even surpassed that of humans; even if common folk went hungry, they had to find ways to feed the ox.

That night, Liu Guozhong led several able men searching the village for half the night but found no trace of the yellow ox. After dark, to quickly recover the ox, he suggested everyone split up to search, expanding the scope and increasing the chances of finding it.

The direction Liu Guozhong took happened to be the far end of the Zhu Lin. As he walked in with a flashlight, not long after he heard a faint cry for help.

Martial artists observe six directions and listen to eight; as their qi sense sharpens, their eyesight and hearing grow keener. Thus, though the sound was slight, Liu Guozhong still caught it.

When Liu Guozhong hurried three steps at a time to the edge of the Ku Jing, he clearly heard the cry for help from the well's edge. Though martial folk of the jianghu are rough and illiterate, those who wander the jianghu are mostly righteous, ready to draw swords to aid the unjust. So Liu Guozhong almost without thought leapt straight into the well.

Afterwards, Aunt Wang was hauled up, while Liu Guozhong's leg was seized by the Thousand-Faced Corpse.

Fortunately, Liu Guozhong is the authentic heir of the Southern Liu Family Fist; otherwise an ordinary person might have been dragged down by the Thousand-Faced Corpse within moments and had his face peeled off.

Liu Family Fist differs from Cai Li Fo and Mo Family Fist; besides the fame of Liu Family Staff in the south, its bridge hand and Liu Family Stance are also supreme in southern martial circles.

As is well known, martial artists stress waist-horse unity; when issuing a punch, the explosive force is not brute strength but borrowed from the waist, issuing power from the fist. For example, the Two-Level Horse (two-character clamp yang horse) of Wing Chun, when perfected, is as stable as a thousand-pound weight; even if you break his sticks or smash his bricks, he remains unmoved. Even if you catch him off guard and strike his groin, as long as he clamps his stance, the opponent's foot is as if locked in a thousand-pound vise; if he does not release, the opponent cannot move.

In Guangdong there is a martial saying describing Liu Family Fist.

"Bird-Spider Claaw (spider claw), swift as lightning traceless, Shrimp Official Waist," the body can bend freely for offense and defense.

"Bird-Spider Claaw" describes the bridge hand needing to be swift and agile like a spider catching prey; "Shrimp Official Waist" describes the waist turning flexibly. Advancing or retreating, one can turn attack into defense and defense into attack.

Thus the horse stance of Liu Family Fist is no inferior to Wing Chun's. First train endurance with the static horse, then combine bow horse and walking horse with bridge hand punches. It emphasizes four flat, eight steady; feet rooted like an old tree, firm and powerful.

That night, in peril, Liu Guozhong relied on this solid stance to preserve his life. He planted his heels firmly in the rock crevice, clenched his teeth, held his breath. After exhaling his whole body's yang qi, he engaged in a delaying struggle with the Thousand-Faced Corpse.

In the end, everyone knows: the Party Secretary led villagers to arrive just in time, pulling Liu Guozhong from the brink of sinking to the well bottom.

After hearing Liu Guozhong's account, the onlookers marveled at the danger, raised their thumbs to praise his kung fu, and some even knelt publicly, wishing to become his disciple.

Though Liu Guozhong is an honest fellow from a martial family, the Liu clan has long declined; his father's so-called headmaster is merely nominal. These years he followed his father south and north performing acrobatics, living a life of wind and rain, hungry one meal, full the next—how could he expect anyone to show him such great respect?

Thus Liu Guozhong hastily waved his hands at the kneeling villagers: "I only have some empty martial skills, not fit for the grand stage. If you like it, I will gladly teach you. A man's knees hold gold; please do not bow, it makes me uncomfortable."

Liu Guozhong's blushing, honest demeanor made everyone laugh heartily, and their impression of him rose a notch.

At that moment, a busybody went outside and pulled in Aunt Wang, who had been peeking through the door crack to watch Liu Guozhong.

An aunt could not help teasing Aunt Wang: "You're already this big, still shy? Come, quickly meet your lifesaver."

The aunt then shoved the stunned Liu Guozhong: "Older Brother Yong, you too—Wang Sister has been tending you day and night without sleep. You ought to thank her."

At this moment, Liu Guozhong and Aunt Wang, teased by the lively crowd, blushed, fidgeted, held back their faces, but felt too embarrassed to speak to each other.

Aunt Wang had already secretly harbored affection for Liu Guozhong; girls naturally have thin skin, and the teasing made her utterly embarrassed.

As for Liu Guozhong, frankly his skin is even thinner than a girl's. Though he subconsciously felt someone had been quietly caring for him during his fever, facing the crowd he was at a loss, only able to smirk foolishly and scratch the back of his head.

Seeing them like this, the crowd naturally knew there was a chance; thus the merry folk laughed and shoved them together, pushing them into each other's arms.

Being squeezed hard by the crowd, Liu Guozhong and Aunt Wang became even more flustered; Liu Guozhong, though a martial artist, had been ill for days, his strength gone, and could not match the crowd's force.

Fortunately, at that moment a loud shout came from outside, timely defusing the embarrassment for Liu Guozhong and Aunt Wang.

"Noise, noise, noise—what are you all shouting about?"

The person who entered was precisely the production team's Party Secretary.

Upon seeing the Party Secretary, everyone instinctively gathered around, chattering about the daring tale they'd heard from Liu Guozhong.

"Secretary, you don't know—our Brother Yong is fierce; plant his horse stance and even ghosts have no way."

"Yes, yes, Brother Yong now truly displays divine power; Secretary, shouldn't you award him a prize?"

Just as the clamor reached its midpoint, the Party Secretary's loud shout silenced them all.

"Nonsense, talk of ghosts and monsters is all rubbish; we are in the reform and opening era, advocating science and down-to-earth work—ghosts are fabrications, simply nonexistent."

Having said that, the Party Secretary swept his gaze over the crowd, his face stern, and said solemnly: "Everyone remember, this incident is merely Aunt Wang accidentally falling into the well. Brother Yong went to rescue her and got tangled in water weeds; we went up the mountain to save Brother Yong from drowning—there is no ghost or deity involved."

Having said that, the Party Secretary drove the bustling crowd out. Meanwhile, shy Aunt Wang seized the moment, covered her face, and fled.

Although she escaped the crowd's teasing, Aunt Wang's heart still lingered on Liu Guozhong; as she stepped out, she kept glancing back, stealing looks at him.

After everyone left, the Party Secretary closed the door, sat on the edge of Liu Guozhong's bed, frowned for a while without speaking.

After a while, the Party Secretary took a few puffs of dry tobacco, then asked Liu Guozhong in a low voice: "Brother Yong, do you not understand why I deceived everyone, twisting the facts…"

"Secretary, you needn't say—I, Liu Mengyong, may be a rough man who knows few characters, but I'm not a fool; I naturally grasp your painstaking effort. Secretary, rest assured, this matter will be recorded as I, Liu Mengyong, falling into the water and you pulling me up." Before the Secretary finished speaking, Liu Guozhong respectfully clasped his fists and interrupted him.

Liu Guozhong naturally knows the Secretary's painstaking motive; although this incident truly involved a ghost, the truth must never be spoken abroad. Though the Cultural Revolution has passed, the reform and opening era remains atheistic; unless one wishes to be sent to labor camp for thought reform, no one would foolishly go about claiming to have encountered a ghost.

However, Liu Guozhong's heart also felt rare calm. Though he is a brute, he also harbors a fervent martial heart; he cannot tolerate injustice. Now that ghosts have appeared in the village, he thinks of how to eliminate them so that no more villagers fall victim.

Immediately, Liu Guozhong asked the Party Secretary in a low voice: "Secretary, how could such a fierce wild ghost appear in our village? You've lived here decades—do you know the cause?"

Although Liu Guozhong is illiterate, he is not stupid; his jianghu experience tells him that vengeful ghosts always have a cause. To find a solution, he must first understand the full story.

"Regarding this matter, the ages are also very distant. This old man of mine heard it from the elders when I was young…" The Party Secretary puffed on his dry tobacco and slowly recounted the concubine's origin to Liu Guozhong.

After listening, Liu Guozhong pondered long, a plan forming in his mind; he leaned close to the Party Secretary's ear and whispered the plan repeatedly.

After a while, the Party Secretary grew more shocked the more he heard; finally he gasped, inhaling cold air. He stared at Liu Guozhong, eyes wide, and exclaimed in alarm: "Brother Yong, are you really intending to do this?"