Ode to gallantry, p.45
Ode to Gallantry, page 45
Shi Potian received it and drank tool a mouthful and felt perplexed. Drinking the ice wine after drinking from red wine gourd; and again ice liquor the taste was even better. When he saw all the four eyes staring at him immediately understood and said with a smile apologetically: "sorry, I drank too much this time."
That thin person coldly gazed at him and said: "you boast a lot for a real man, and even have a bigger mouth."
Shi Potian says with a smile: "if everyone doesn’t drink until one is full, then we will go to a nearby town, I have money here with me, and will drink there. Is this only a good wine." As he was saying he drunk again from the red bottle gourd and gives it back to the fat person.
That fat person sat cross-legged, secretly using his internal energy to drink more wine. He saw Shi Potian calmly sitting and drinking both wine and was greatly surprised.
The fat and the thin both people looked at each other in blank dismay. They both were martial-arts masters who practiced exactly opposite type of martial-arts.
That fat person practiced the yang type of martial-arts, powerful, positive and sturdy in whereas that thin person practiced the yin type of martial-arts, soft, flexible and fast in nature.
In the bottle gourd of both people was a medicated wine which they used as an auxiliary to improve their internal strength. In the red bottle gourd was the dry and extremely hot drug ‘red raging inferno’; when put in with wine it turns in to extremely strong and toxic wine".
In the blue color bottle gourd was a very strong coolant drug mixed with the wine and then it was further mixed with ’99 pills’. These ’99 pills’ were made of hundreds of different types of poisonous and medicinal herbs whereas ‘red raging inferno’ wine was in addition made of the gall bladder of red peacock and crane that is why it was also fatally poisonous.
These two people were using these medicated wines for years and were used to it. But both these wines were so fierce that an average man needs only to put a drop of any wine of these on the tip of tongue and by the time they would have licked it; they would be on ground, dead.
Both of these have a very high internal strength, and both were taking these poisonous wines for a long time as medicine still they have to count there drinks and didn’t dare to take it in excess. If the fat person drinks the cold liquor by mistake or the thin person takes the ‘red raging inferno’ wine both would have died very painfully there only. So when these two people saw with their own eyes that Shi Potian was drinking both wines and still was acting as though nothing has happened were amazed, even to say that is an understatement.
Although both of these were very experienced in the martial-arts realm and knew several masters but how could have they known about Shi Potian. He had gone through such an irony of fate that even if he told them they won’t believe.
Initially he practiced the pure ‘yin’ martial-arts for about ten lunar months and thus had ‘yin’ type of internal strength first, after that he practiced the ‘yang’ martial-arts so had then ‘yang’ type internal strength, and eventually managed to have two type of internal energy streams in his body both the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ type.
Although these two type of energy streams could have been detrimental to him and the fire deviation could have actually caused his death but accidentally his energy was discharged at the crucial moment. Furthermore he also practiced the 'Arhat’s Divine Demon-Subduing Skill’ so he had immense internal energy base.
He also drank a rare medicated wine of Ding Busan which helped to increase his resistance against any poison but also increase his internal energy. So even though both wines were highly toxic still he was impervious to any harmful effect of both the ‘red raging inferno’ wine and great cold toxicant.
Shi Potian drank the good wine which two people brought, under his heart he felt sorry, so he gain roasted some more wild pork, they all ate the grilled meat but even after Shi Potian’s persuasions both of them didn’t drank further.
That two people only said that if he wants to drink the poisoned wine to test his internal energy and didn’t want to admit defeat then please go on, so he took out bottle gourd again and drank. Both people looked at him steady gaze, saw that despite drinking so much still he was showing no sign of any poison or drug, thought that this is really rare, where is this young hero coming from?
After that the fat person went to Shi Potian and took back his red bottle gourd; put out a hand to greet and said: "Little brother’s internal energy is really admirable. Can I ask the little brother his honored name?"
Shi Potian wrinkled his brow, and said: "this is matter which gives me most of my headache, as soon as others see me the first thing they do is to ask my name. Actually my surname is not Potian (stone) and I am kind of nameless therefore it’s really difficult to answer you."
That fat person thought: "this boy is deceiving me actually don’t want to tell his name." He asked: "then little brother who is your respected teacher? What school you belong to?"
Shi Potian said: "my master is Grandma Shi, have you seen her? She is the master of the Golden Phoenix School and I am eldest disciple of the second generation."
Both people thought: "He is talking nonsense; we know all the schools in the martial-art realm. What is this Golden Phoenix sect. who is this Grandma Shi? This boy is dodging our questions."
That fat person didn’t drink and handed back the bottle gourd, said: "So little brother is actually the Golden Phoenix sect’s eldest disciple, no wonder he drank from both the bottle gourds."
Shi Potian saw that he had not drunk, thought: "he forgot to drink while speaking to me." So he said: "you have not drunk."
The face that fat person turned a bit red, said: "Really?"
In his heart he thought that if he drank more he might injure his own body so he didn’t drink but it looks that this young fellow has seen through my trick, he got angry for a moment but felt ashamed when he realized that Shi Potian was asking with good intention in his heart.
That fat person had earlier drank twice, altogether he had drunk eight times, already the over the quantity he was used to. So he pretended to drink again, he raised the bottle gourd to his mouth but closed down his teeth tightly, made a sound from his throat as though he was drinking; the medicated wine went back in to the bottle gourd.
This way that fat person managed to show off he was drinking but how could have he deceived the thin person? The thin person also imitated the fat one and pretended that he was drinking with his blue bottle gourd but no wine entered the throat.
Initially each bottle gourd was filled with around eighth part drugs and two part wine however Shi Potian drank most of the wine from both bottle gourds. His alcohol capacity was originally not really great and although he had immense internal energy and overall it increased his resistance and totally neutralized the poisonous drugs but still he was not able to handle the alcohol completely and started speaking slowly and unintelligible.
He started to say: "where is A’Xiu, where is Dingding Dangdang. Both people heard him but were not able to make out what exactly is he speaking.
That thin person deliberately considered: "this young fellow has shown extraordinary talent and handled us admirably. He maintained composure but now is talking nonsense, it looks he is really sinister and insidious. He only feared that this person was just faking drunkenness and if they try to deal with him with martial-arts it can be dangerous for them.
The fat person thought in his heart: "today we two people are against a single person still this young person’s internal energy is very strong and rarely heard of. We should wait for him to drink even the rest of wine and let us see if can resist it." He then signaled with his eyes to that thin person.
That thin person understood his wink and nodded back, he put his hand innocuously in his bosom and took out a pill, actually it was the "99 pills" drug in his hand and when Shi Potian handed him back his blue bottle gourd, he pretended to drink, puts out his hand to wipe the saliva from mouth of bottle gourd and secretly put "99 pill" in it, slowly swings the bottle gourd and said: "nice wine, nice wine!"
When the thin person was doing so that fat person also put "red raging inferno" drug from his bosom and mixed in to the wine.
Shi Potian only thought that he has met two generous straightforward people. He drank wine and ate meat in excess and gradually he was feeling a bit tipsy so didn’t realize they were giving his highly toxic wine.
He only heard that thin person saying: "little brothers, there isn’t much left in both these bottle gourds, your alcohol capacity is really good, drink up!"
Shi Potian said with a smile: "good! Your two are straightforward people, I am the impolite one."
He took up the bottle gourd and was just about to drink, he remembered an incident suddenly, he said: "on the long river boat, I once heard Ding dang saying that man and woman, if are perfectly suited to each other, they will tie the knots and become husband and wife, if there is good friendship between one man and another then they swear brotherhood. Its rare thing that I met you two esteemed people, why don’t we swear brotherhood and be brothers, later will drink the rest of wine, what do you two think?"
Both these people said: "Good". They both said that it is a very good idea and started toasting the wine saying: "for your health!"
Shi Potian was already feeling tipsy and didn’t understand much of the big talk but still started to speak freely.
That fat person listened to him talking affectionately and thought it’s an irony we are trying to kill him and he is speaking so. He thought that he should attack Shi Potian when he had already taken the wine this way he have to use his internal energy to suppress the poison and won’t be able to defend himself. Although this act was not really frank and upright, but it looked like this youth was really dangerous, and they both couldn’t compete with this person directly.
They feared that he might not drink the medicated wine, so anxiously said: "very good, very good, well said. Now you have to finish both the bottle gourds."
Shi Potian said to that thin person showing the bottle gourd: "Sir, how about you?"
That thin person said: "I would have really loved too..." he coughed and the said: little brother, thanks for the kindness please go ahead."
Shi Potian was already feeling drunk and his vision was also now kind of blurry still he drank up the wine from blue bottle, he was having some serious trouble to suppress the cold emanated from the wine.
At the same time that fat person clapped and said: "nice wine capacity, nice wine capacity! In this bottle gourd also there is some wine left, little brother, finish this off then we are sworn brothers."
Shi Potian took the red bottle gourd with interest, didn’t think at all and drank in one breath.
Both people looked towards him and thought: "we made this medicated wine with ‘99 pill’ and ‘red raging inferno’, we normally mix one pill with at least six bottle gourd wine and then drink that bottle gourd wine for one month, so that we can exercise our internal energy daily and thus it is harmless.
However if we mix this ‘99 pill’ with ‘red raging inferno’ then it is equal to at least twelve bottle gourds of medicated wine. It was enough for these people for at least half a year so literarily he was drinking their half year quota of medicated wine, if he could still handle it than there can’t be any justification for sure."
Suddenly they heard Shi Potian crying in extreme agony: "oh, not ......It is not good, there is extreme pain in my belly."
He held his belly to bend the waist. As soon as both people saw that they looked at each other and smiled.
That fat said with a smile: "how? Belly pain? It looks that you have eaten a lot of this pork."
Shi Potian said: "is not, oh, it is not good!" he cried, suddenly leapt about ten feet in the air.
Both people stood up and thought that at this moment he is facing death, if we strike one final swift and furious blow simultaneously than surely we will be able to get rid if this person.
Unexpectedly Shi Potian struck with his palm at the big tree, called out: "ouch, I ......I might die with this pain!"
His abdomen felt unbearable pain and he twisted and turned, he moved his internal energy immediately to his abdominal region; these drugs ’99 pills’ and ‘red raging inferno’ were highly toxic in nature and when given in such large quantity and together was no small matter; the toxic outbreak came on, he felt such pain that he was close to fainting, he whole body started to twitch and then he started convulsing with cramp forming in his arms and legs.
This strange pain was really hard to endure, he again shot out his left hand fist and struck a big tree, after having struck this fist, the abdominal pain reduced slightly, he immediately stuck out his right hand also. It only shook the big tree branches and leaves it in chaotic dance. He again hit with his fist palms, the abdominal pain reduced a bit, but in a short time he felt as though ten thousand steel knives have simultaneously sheared his stomach.
He constantly was yelling "Aaah…aah!"
He constantly was yelling "Aaah…aah!" His hands and feet moved in a chaotic dance sometimes he move his arms as in sword moves, and then some fist moves.
Actually unconsciously his arm and leg movement closely resembled the martial-arts moves he had seen or learnt earlier. He had not studied proficiently and at this time he felt as though someone was twisting knives in his abdomen, his brain was in total confusion, so obviously he was not thinking about any strategic move; he was trying to distract himself from his pain and randomly throwing different kind of moves.
Although these moves were random and didn’t followed any sequence but accompanied by his strong internal energy and power were really fierce. He felt strange that every time he hit with his palm or leg the pain subsided a bit so he started to move more quickly.
Both people looked at each other in blank dismay and gradually drew backwards. They thought that this person has so much poison in their body and at the point of death has started executing all his skills in desperation.
He is just like a brave fighter who went crazy and if somehow grasps another person it will be very difficult to escape.
They saw his fist exuding a hu-hu sound, the style looked similar to the snow mountain sword sect, and also looked like Ding family’s seizing techniques, it also had some unique style of sword skills but they had not seen it before. They thought is it really possible that this person is some Golden phoenix school disciple.
Although these moves of Shi Potian were strange and ungraceful but were extremely ferocious in nature. As he made another strange vertical move it sent out a gentle breeze, both of these were inwardly amazed to see his skills.
As he started to execute his moves quickly, the breeze also unexpectedly started to get more and more swift and fierce, two people as if by prior agreement looked each other, showed a faint smile, thought: "although this boy’s internal energy is good but his martial art is not that great, even if we have not used ‘99 pills’ and the ‘red raging inferno’ still this person couldn’t have rivaled us.
Earlier as they saw his internal energy they thought that his martial arts will be even better."
As soon as such thought came they cannot help but pity themselves that they had wasted the pot of medicated wine and that pill, only if they had known they would not have resorted to this underhand method and could have saved that precious drugs.
Both poisons were actually of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ kind; that means that of opposite properties, because of this after sometime they start to neutralize each other.
Also originally Shi Potian had practiced the "arhat’s divine demon subduing skill". If he had only drank that fat person's ‘red raging inferno’ wine or that thin person's cold medicated wine, he would have died because of the enormous quantity only, even though he has strong internal strength.
These two people use exactly opposite kind of poison and both were extremely strong in nature too. However they had no idea that both the poison will cancel out each other.
Xie Yanke had already tried to kill Shi Potian using ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ opposite energy streams and fortunately once he was injured he had learnt the "arhat’s divine demon subduing skill" and his resistance had increased a lot so he was able to hold out the initial outburst of the poison.
Shi Potian said after some time: "It’s not as painful now!"
He put out his hand at the fire of high-piled firewood to take one piece of roasted pork, under the flame he saw his right palm had a red spot of the size of a copper coin, nearby that red spot were revolving innumerable blue color specks."
He said: "this ......What is this?"
Then he looked at his left palm and saw a similar spot their too. He himself didn’t knew that his internal energy was not able to sublimate the poison directly so it forced it from his abdominal region to his palms and finally both of these poisons neutralized themselves.
When both these people saw it they understood the reason, they cannot help to think in their heart: "this boy’s internal energy is so strong that it forced such powerful drugs from his abdomen to palm, it’s unbelievable. Either such immense internal strength of this young person is natural or accidentally he has taken some kind of a rare herb like ‘immortal lingzhi mushroom’; no wonder his internal energy is so strong.
They earlier concluded that this person had evil intension that’s why they gave him poisonous drug but when they saw that he only struck against the big trees and even after recovering from such painful abdominal pain he was not looking at them with even slight hostility they understood that it was only a misunderstanding because of the way this dumb kid has behaved.
Both felt compunction in their heart and were ashamed of them to use such underhand tactics against an honest and straightforward person. They felt as though they have lost their identity as a martial-art master.
Then they heard Shi Potian saying: "we said a moment ago that we are sworn brothers now but don’t know which one of you is older? I don’t even know your honored name?"
