"Hold on! Who are you, this mischievous monk?" Cong Cit shouted curiously
"I never hide my name. My name is Hwat Khong Monk. Stop talking so much. Let go of that lady, or you'll feel the harshness of my staff!"
"Don't be arrogant, donkey-head!" cursed Kwee Seng, who immediately attacked with his machete, but with just one parry, Kwee Seng's machete was knocked back and nearly slipped from his grip!
"Hm, back off, let me kill this bald monk," his teacher snapped.
The two of them had taken their stances and were ready for a fight to the death. Suddenly, a terrifying scream came from the room below them. This scream made them both halt their movements and turn their attention downwards.
Several of Cong Cit's disciples jumped out from below, and Kong Liat reported to his master, "Woe, the ewe (referring to Madam Han) hit her head on the wall and died!"
"How cruel!" exclaimed Hwat Khong Monk as he began to attack, and a moment later, Hwat Khong and Cong Cit were engaged in a fierce battle.
But the monk had limited freedom of movement because Han Lian Hwa, tied to his back, was moving and crying. Furthermore, Hwat Khong, who had killed too many criminals in his youth, had repented and vowed never to kill again. Of course, it was difficult for him to serve the skilled Cong Cit without launching lethal attacks, only defending himself. If his enemy wasn't as skilled as Cong Cit, it would still be easy for Hwat Khong to toy with him and inflict non-lethal, punitive blows. But the White-Faced Tiger wouldn't give him a chance to play around.
His spear flashed, its tip twisting until it became several dozen, seemingly encircling Hwat Khong with the Jade Wind Encircling the Waist trick. Hwat Khong spun his staff like a dragon piercing the clouds with the Sweeping Thousands of Soldiers trick. When Cong Cit unleashed his renowned fighting trick moves, Hwat Khong was preoccupied as well.
The skinny man's attacks were so unexpected, his body bouncing from right to left, forward to backwards, that even Han Lian Hwa, who was crying on his back, was threatened by the spear's tip. He was forced to use the famous staff trick from the Siauw-lim branch of martial arts, the Tiger-Subduing Staff Technique. His staff movement created a black circle that protected his body and temporarily paralysed Cong Cit's attacks. However, the thin, astute man changed his movements and used fighting trick moves, most dangerous feints, sometimes allowing the tip of his spear to penetrate the black wall and threaten his opponent.
Hwat Khong thought the situation was unfavourable for him. He acknowledged that Cong Cit was still more skilled than him, and he now had to protect the small child he was carrying on his back. Besides, why should he continue fighting? The child's mother was already dead, having committed suicide by banging her head against the wall; what else was there to defend?
He thought, as he fended off his opponent's attacks, better to run with the child.
He looked for a good opportunity. When the spearhead stabbed toward his neck from the right, he didn't block. But when the spearhead got close enough to feel the wind, he suddenly lowered himself, almost crouching, and swept his opponent's leg with a feint, the Black Dragon Exiting the Cave.
Cong Cit was shocked by such a powerful move, and unexpectedly, he immediately kicked his leg and shot backwards to avoid the enemy's attack. Hwat Khong seized the opportunity to twist and leap away.
"Where is the bald monk going?" Cong Cit gave chase angrily, but Hwat Khong had already fled, and because the night was still dark, Cong Cit quickly lost track of his enemy. He was forced to return, disappointed and angry.
Upon arriving at the Young Master Bong building, he saw the young master grieving because Lo Kim Eng had taken her own life by banging her head against the wall. He hadn't expected the young lady to be so reckless. He regretted that things had turned out this way when he heard that Han Siucai's daughter had escaped, and it was clear that the child would inevitably bring disaster in the future.
However, Cong Cit consoled him by saying that if he were only under the tutelage of Hwat Khong Monk, there was no way he could be feared, as the monk's skills were far inferior to his own. Since then, Young Master Bong diligently studied martial arts under Cong Cit's tutelage to protect himself, and he continued to gather skilled men to protect himself.
The murder of the Han family was easily resolved by the local official, who had received a bribe from Young Master Bong. The official filed a report that Master Han had been visited by robbers from outside the village seeking revenge. Such a report was made and settled!
Let's follow the journey of Hwat Kong, the Monk, carrying Han Lian Hwa to his temple. The five-year-old child had now stopped crying.
As dawn broke, Hwat Kong arrived at Kim-ma-san Hill. He took a shortcut to his temple, located on Mount Bok-lun-san. He didn't want to take the usual route, fearing Cong Cit and his friends would chase him. So he took a detour through the mountains and forests. He had never been that way before, but because he knew the direction and was familiar with the mountains from afar, he didn't get lost.
Kim-ma-san Hill offered beautiful scenery, but it was also very dangerous, with its wild forests and deep ravines covered in reeds, making it invisible from the outside and easily trapping the unwary.
Hwat Kong rested and sat on a black rock. He put Lian Hwa down, who was sleeping in his arms. The child woke up and immediately whispered, "Hungry... hungry..."
Hwat Khong laughed, "Good girl, don't worry. Wait a moment, I'll find you some food." Then he looked around for something edible. Since there was no fruit nearby, he went a little further into the forest.
Suddenly, he heard Lian Hwa shout, "Go... you... go...!"
Hwat Khong looked up and was shocked to see a thigh-sized snake slithering toward the girl. Without wasting any time, Hwat Khong aimed and threw his staff at the snake's head. This was the only way to help Lian Hwa, as there was no time to get there. The staff whistled like an arrow released from a bow.
When the tip of the staff was about two inches from the snake's head, a small white beam suddenly struck the tip of the staff. The beam was so powerful that it shifted its trajectory to the side and stuck almost halfway into the ground. Hwat Kong was shocked to see that the beam that struck his staff was nothing more than a small white coral stone. It was understandable how skilled the stone-thrower was that such a small stone could strike his heavy staff, which he had released with all his strength, causing it to veer off course.
"Oh, this world is truly strange, that even a monk would be so open-hearted and cruel, willing to kill an innocent fellow life being," someone grumbled from a small clump of trees.
Hwat Khong looked up and saw a man who didn't resemble an ordinary person, perhaps even half-animal. His face was covered in hair, with a long, irregular moustache and beard sticking out here and there. His long hair hung loosely behind him and over his shoulders, some of his two-colored hair even covering his forehead and face. He was shirtless, wearing only tiger-skin trousers, and his feet were bare.
Although the creature looked terrifying, its sparkling eyes radiated majesty and purity. It appeared to be truly old, for although its hair and sideburns were not yet completely white, the skin on its face and body was already wrinkled and full of signs of old age.
"Omitohud!" Hwat Khong exclaimed, clasping his hands in salute. "Strange friend, why do you call me cruel? Isn't that snake trying to harm this child?"
"Hmm, on the contrary, don't act before you know the truth," the man argued. "Why are you so certain that the snake is trying to harm this child?"
"Snakes are animals, usually…" Hwat Khong suddenly stopped speaking as he saw the snake approaching Lian Hwa and stretching out its tongue to lick her. The child was completely fearless, even using her small hands to stroke the snake's beautifully developed body.
"Ha, ha! It was my fault," he grumbled, then he said to the man, "Friend, forgive me for being so indiscriminate that I almost killed an innocent animal."
"Your audacity must be punished!" the man said in a firm voice.
"Punished?" Hwat Khong was astonished. The strange man nodded, his eyes shining. Hwat Khong didn't know that the man was elated because he hadn't seen anyone for years, and that the old man liked to joke around.
"Yes, there are two punishments. I'll tell you the second one later, but now the first one: You must confess frankly and tell the truth about why you came here with a child and who the child is.
Come on, tell me the truth."
Hwat Khong laughed heartily. "You're strange and funny, my friend. I am not a bad person, nor do I have any ill intentions. Of course, I'll tell you all about my experience with that child."
He then recounted from beginning to end the story of how he helped Lian Hwa and how the child's family was killed by his enemies. The man listened attentively without interrupting Hwat Khong's story.
"Why don't you just exterminate those evil people?" he rebuked.
"Omitohud, I won't break the taboo of killing so easily. Besides, their side is very strong, even Cong Cit is more skilful than me. My intention now is simply to educate this child so that one day he can avenge his parents."
"Hm, hm, your words are reasonable. Now, the second punishment: you must leave this child with me!"
"Ah, this is impossible!"
"Why is it impossible? This child is not yours!"
"But I am fully responsible for this child, because I brought her. I also intend to teach her to become a wise woman."
"Do you think I can't teach her better than you?"
"Not that, but... but your situation... and I don't know who you are?"
"Hmm, again, you don't trust people like you didn't trust the snake. Know this, you foolish monk, what's the point of your trying to teach this child with your lowly knowledge? When you can't defeat her enemies, let alone your disciple! Do you want to see her killed by her enemies in the future?"
Hwat Khong looked at him doubtfully, and the man understood that the monk still didn't believe him. So, he pinched Hwat Khong's staff that was stuck in the ground with two fingers and easily pulled it out, handing it to Hwat Khong.
"Now, try it. Can you pull your staff out of my grip?" he challenged.
Hwat Khong saw that the stick was only caught between the index and middle fingers of the man's right hand. He remembered his teacher, Hun Beng Siansu, who had also tried this method. Was this man as strong as his teacher? Impossible, he thought. With a "sorry," Hwat Khong grabbed the end of the stick with both hands and used all his inner strength to pull it out.
But to his surprise, the staff remained unmoved, as if rooted in the man's grip. Suddenly, the man let out a strange whistle, and Hwat Khong felt pulled by a giant force. He was pulled forward uncontrollably, taking three steps, following the man who had stepped back!
Hwat Khong hurriedly put down his staff and saluted. "Forgive me, who are eyeless. I truly don't see a wise man. Sorry, sorry. May I know the name of your noble master?"
"Ha, ha, Hwat Khong, you too have made progress. Enough for a man who abstains from killing like you.
I am Sian-kiam Koai-jin Ong Lun."
"Sian-kiam Koai-jin?" Hwat Kong said, shocked and astonished, but he quickly knelt.
"Forgive my disciple for being so rude. I never expected to meet Supreme Master here, but…"
"Yes, I understand your confusion. Your master once told me about you. Even your throwing of the staff at the snake has opened my eyes to the fact that you are indeed Hun Beng's disciple. Are you confused as to why I am still alive?" The man sighed. "It's true that the Heavenly Dao sometimes likes to toy with helpless humans. I, who wanted to die, didn't die, while Hun Beng, your teacher, who still wanted to live, died first. What can I do? I can only await the Almighty Heavenly Dao's call."
"This disciple is now handing the child over to the Supreme Master. It's up to the Supreme Master to decide," Hwat Khong said respectfully.
"This is what I mean: let me teach this child for a few years before I die, so that all this time learning my skills won't be in vain. I see this child has good bones, but it's a shame she's a girl. I'll hand her over to you to be further taught on the path of righteousness."
"Okay, disciple, just obey."
"Well, that's enough, Hwat Khong. I'm going with that child."
Without looking back, Sian-kiam Koai-jin Ong Lun, the Strange Sword God-Man, approached Lian Hwa, carefully picked her up, and with a wave of his arm, his shadow darted through the trees and disappeared from Hwat Khong's sight.
The monk took a deep breath. He had never imagined that the strange man was still alive, because he had once heard that his disciple had been killed by a mob of Pek-lian-kauw religious leaders. He had heard from his teacher before he died that his disciple's skill was even greater than his own and that in his youth, Sian-kiam Koai-jin had been a renowned warrior, but unfortunately, he was a bit too cruel to his enemies and loved to joke around. His sword skills were extraordinary, and because of his strange customs, he was given the nickname "Strange Man Sword God."
"I wonder what Lian Hwa, that child, will become," thought Hwat Khong. " She will receive a great martial arts teaching, but it would be a shame if his half-wild, sullen state affects Lian Hwa's soul..."
With his thoughts full of the child, Hwat Khong continued his journey back to Bok-lun-san Hill to take care of his Ban-hok-tong temple.
Sian-kiam Koai-jin Ong Lun led Lian Hwa into a tunnel he had spent more than two years building on Mount Kim-ma-san. The tunnel was more than two miles long and led to the top of the hill, where there was a fertile plain with beautiful scenery. The area was surrounded by deep ravines, and one could not go down or up except through the secret tunnel. But only the Strange Man knew the way.
Lian Hwa lived together for approximately ten years with his teacher and received advanced martial arts lessons. Ong Lun passed on all his intelligence to his only student. the only one, and he loved his student as well. Lian Hwa loves her teacher.
He not only inherited his teacher's intelligence, but also his traditions, the strange and always happy; he also inherited them. So on a mountain where there are no other people, it is now inhabited by two strange people. Ong Lun loves to sing a song, even though his voice is hoarse like broken drums; however, he is good at poetry. Lian Hwa also followed this habit
has a melodious voice. This girl is also good at writing witty poetry.
One morning, the Strange Man was immune to everything and the Strange Man was forced to submit to the power of nature. He fell ill with old age. He was over a hundred years old and had maintained his health for so long thanks to his great skill. But eventually, he fell. He called his disciple to come over. Lian Hwa was confused to see her teacher lying down and unable to get up.
"Lian Hwa, my disciple. Now my old bones are forced to surrender to the power of age."
"Master, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
The teacher nodded.
"Ah, why did the master succumb to illness? Didn't the master often sing,
"I am free as a bird in the air."
"I am free as a fish in the ocean."
"I am a strange, fortunate, happy person."
"I know neither hardship nor sorrow."
"What is illness? Go away, don't come near!"
"I don't know you!"
"So, why is the master sick now? Drive the illness away, master!"
His disciple's enthusiastic and humorous words made Ong Lun burst out laughing once again. But then he said earnestly,
"Lian, my disciple. You know, even such strong iron can still rust. What about me, who is only made of flesh and blood? I will surely succumb to old age. I often tell you about the power of the almighty Heavenly God. Well, now the time has come for me to answer the Heavenly God's call..."
Lian Hwa was shocked and opened her clear eyes wide.
"Master...! What do you mean? Will the master leave me?" "Are you going to die, Master?"
Seeing her teacher simply nod and smile, Lian Hwa immediately threw herself against him, sobbing. She rarely cried, but this time, something stirred in her, making her unable to hold back the flood of tears.
"Master, don't die! Don't leave me alone..."
Ong Lun stroked Lian Hwa's hair. "Eh, eh, you why Lian? It's not appropriate for my student to act this weakly. Be quiet, don't cry. Humans, no matter how brave or even the strange man, can not help against the death of old age. Now, Listen Lian. Even though I will die, I am satisfied to see you. You are a good disciple. You have done it several times before, ask about your mother. Indeed you have mother and father, as well as all the animals on the mountain, and I'm not your father, girl.
Lian Hwa bumped into and hugged her teacher again while... crying sadly.
"Calm your heart. When I'm gone, burn this hut and go to Bok-lu-san Hill and look for a temple there called Ban-hok-tong. There lives your senior named Hwat Kong Monk. Give him my letter. From now on, you must follow all his instructions and advice. He is a good man, Lian, and you consider him as my successor. You may take my sword, Sian-liong-kiam…" his voice was weak.
Lian Hwa could only nod while sobbing.
Suddenly, Sian-kiam Koai-jin Ong Lun, the Strange Man, sat up and said in a commanding voice,
"Lian Hwa, you surely still remember my story about Gak Keng Hiap? Well, if you meet that man, don't forget to satisfy my curiosity and kill him! Come on, Lian, don't be sad."