Guo Fu was afraid of her fatherâs strictness and said, âMother, I want you to teach me.â
Huang Rong smiled, âYou want me because you can cause trouble and you wonât be able to learn any kung fu. It will be better if your father teaches you.â Guo Fu sneaked a glance at her father, and saw him staring at her; she turned around and didnât dare speak out again.
Huang Rong spoke to her husband and said, âWe will set a rule: you mustnât teach Guoâer and I wonât teach your three. The four of them canât pass on skills to each other, just in case they practice incorrectly, there is no need to get hurt for no reason.â
Guo Jing replied, âOf course.â
Huang Rong said, âGuoâer, follow me.â
Yang Guo loathed Guo Fu and the Wu brothers, when he heard what Huang Rong had said, about not mixing with the other students, it was what he wanted, and followed her into the inner hall. Huang Rong led him to the study, and picked up a book saying, âYour teacher had seven teachers, their names were the Jiangnan Seven Freaks, first master is Grandpa Ke, second master was the Swift Hand Scholar Zhu Cong, now I will teach his skills to you.â
As she said this she opened the book and read clearly, âZi Yue: When practicing what you are taught, can you change? If youâve got friends all over, is it extreme?â (N.B. Sorry about this translation, itâs supposedly from âThe Analects of Confuciusâ, my Chinese is not at the level where I can decipher old sayings and writings.) The book that she picked was âThe Analects of Confuciusâ. Yang Guo thought this was strange but didnât dare to question her, and just repeated what she read and wrote down what she said. Throughout the day, all Huang Rong taught him was reading and writing, and refused to mention teaching kung fu.
One day after Yang Guo finished studying, he went to the back of the mountain to take a walk, and remembered Ouyang Feng. He didnât know where he was, he thought of fond memories, and at that moment flipped his body upside down, and copied the movements of Ouyang Feng. After a while, following the formula for contrary blood flow, he felt the more he stayed upside down the smoother it felt. He flipped upright and after a loud âguâ call, pushed out his two palms. He felt his body was smooth and relaxed, the gracefulness incomparable, and his body was covered with sweat. He didnât know that after a session of practicing, his internal energy had increased a level. All Ouyang Fengâs kung fu was dangerous; the most lethal types of the higher set of skills. Yang Guoâs intelligence and comprehension was high. Although he had learned very little in the past few days, now that he had begun to practice, his internal energy improved.
From now on, he would study and recite books and manuscripts with Huang Rong everyday, and whenever he had spare time in the evenings he would go to the secluded mountainside and practice his martial arts. He didnât intend to practice in order to learn the frightening skill; it was because every time he practiced, his body would be filled with a relaxed feeling. After he has achieved this then he would stop.
He secretly practiced and Guo Jing and Huang Rong didnât know. Huang Rong taught him literature, and within three months she had taught him the whole of âThe Analects of Confuciusâ. Yang Guo was able to memorize the texts quickly. Yang Guo was able to memorize the texts quickly. Though he disliked learning texts and manuscripts, he didnât raise any objections.
In reality, Huang Rong was not happy just teaching him how to read and study, but thought, âHis intelligence is not below mine and if his character is like his fatherâs and he learns kung fu he could definitely cause a lot of trouble in the future. Why not teach him to study, and shape him into a worthy and honest person. That had its good points.â Thatâs why she picked âThe Analects of Confuciusâ and now she would follow it with âMeng Ziâ.
A few months past and Huang Rong had still not passed on any martial arts, nor had Yang Guo asked about it. Ever since the fight with the other children, he had not tried to mingle with them, and kept himself to himself, becoming even more of a loner. He thought that although Guo Jing had taken him in as a student, he didnât have the intention of passing any skills to him. He already wasnât a match for the Wu brothers. If he had a fight with them after a year or so under Guo Jingâs teachings, it would be difficult for him not to die at their hands. He made a decision, when there was a chance to leave the island, he would take it.
One afternoon when Yang Guo was supposed to study a few passages of âMeng Ziâ, he slipped out of the library and went out for a walk on the beach. He looked out at the sea, at the white waves and foam, and thought, âWhen will I be able to leave this place, and happily leave the others where they are.â As he was gazing, he suddenly heard some wind sounds from the Peach Blossom forest. Curious, he went over to have a look, and eventually found his way. From a distance could see it was Guo Jing in the forest teaching the Wu brothers some fists and kicks. He was teaching them a stance of the âTrapping Handâ, âHolding the Bridgeâ, âChanging the Pillarâ (tuo liang huan zhu). Guo Jing gave them pointers, and then demonstrated it, instructing the Wu brothers to copy him. Yang Guo just took a glance, and recognized the essence of the stance immediately, but the Wu brothers practiced and practiced but couldnât quite get it. Guo Jing himself wasnât the best at picking things up immediately, and knew how hard things could be, so did not lose his temper with them and repeated this move again.
Yang Guo sighed and thought, âIf Uncle Guo was willing to teach me, I wouldnât be as stupid as them.â Feeling unhappy, he returned to his room and slept. After supper he read a few more books, but thought this was a waste of his time and so he went to the beach again. He practiced the punch and kicks that Guo Jing taught, and went over it a few times before he started to feel troubled and thought, âIf I secretly practice their skills to a much better standard than the Wu brothers, I wonât have to be scared of them.â This idea initially was good but as he thought about it he changed his mind. âUncle Guo doesnât want to teach me so why should I learn it in secret? Hmm⌠even if he decides to teach me, I wonât learn it. I may get beaten to death but who cares?â As he thought about this, he felt pride but also sadness. He sat and leaned on the cliff face; the soothing sound of the waves of the sea eventually sending him to sleep.
In the morning, Yang Guo did not go for breakfast, nor did he go to the library to study, he was by the sea and managed to gather several large clams which he roasted on a fire and ate. He thought, âEven if I donât eat Guo food, I wonât starve to death.â He saw a large boat and a small boat by the shore. âI wonât be able to operate that large boat, and I canât row far in that small boat, how can I escape from this island?â
He thought about this for half a day, having nothing to do, he went beside a large cliff face and flipped his body, and practiced the internal energy that Ouyang Feng taught.