The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 36 – Grand birthday celebration, Part 11

“I understand now!” she was fuming, “I chopped off his arm so he bears a grudge against me. So he purposely made me lose face!” From feeling discontent, she became enraged.

Elder Liang shared the same bamboo mat with Yelu Qi and Guo Fu. He saw everybody’s countenance was bright, except Guo Fu’s. After pondering a while, he figured out the reason. Then he laughed and said, “Ah, this old man is so absent-minded. Because of these joyful victories I have neglected the important business right in front of my eyes!” He jumped on stage and said with a loud voice, “Valiant people! Twice tonight the Mongolian troops have been beaten. We are all very happy; but right here, right now, we have another thing that should double our happiness. Master Yelu had shown his exquisite skills and we all admire him. Master Yelu had been elected our Chief. Now I want to confirm this: is there any of you who still wants to challenge our decision? Is there any Beggar Clan disciple who is having a second thought?”

His question was repeated three times. Nobody said anything. Therefore, he continued, “Master Yelu, please come on stage!”

Yelu Qi accepted his bidding. He clasped his hands together in respect, and bowed to everybody. He was just going to open his mouth to make a ‘lack of character, lack of ability’ modest acceptance speech when suddenly a voice was heard from underneath the stage, “Wait a moment! Xiao Ren [lowly people] want to ask a thing or two of Master Yelu!”

Yelu Qi looked up in surprise. He heard the voice came from the Beggar group. He said, “I don’t dare, Please! Speak up!”

That man stood up, and with a loud voice said, “Master Yelu, your respected father was the Prime Minister of Mongolia, your own brother was a high official in the Mongolian administration. It is true that they both have passed away, but we – the Beggar Clan, have always had enmities with the Mongolians. With your obscure background, I wonder if it would be proper for you to be our Chief?”

Hearing this, Yelu Qi was irritated. He said, “My benevolent father, the late Yelu Chucai was poisoned by the Queen Mother of Mongolia. My brother, the late Yelu Qin, was executed by the Mongolian Khan! Wouldn’t that make me the sworn enemy of the Mongolians?”

“Even so,” said the Beggar Clan disciple, “Your father’s death is still a mystery. Nobody knows for sure whether he was poisoned. Your brother committed a crime against the monarch, he deserved the capital punishment. You can place your vengeance on hold, that’s fine with me; but how about our own resentment …?”

Listening to someone offending her husband, Guo Fu was enraged. “Who are you?” she asked harshly, “You dare to speak nonsense here! If you have any guts, come up here on stage!”

That beggar laughed mockingly. “Good! Good!” he repeatedly said, “The new Chief hasn’t been inaugurated yet, and the Mrs. Chief has shown her fearsomeness!”

As soon as he finished, he leaped to the stage. His movement was so swift that many missed seeing it. They were astonished and wondered in their hearts, “Who is this man? He is highly skilled.”

Several thousand pairs of eyes turned their gaze toward this beggar. He was wearing an oversized black raggedy robe. His right hand held an iron stick with a diameter as big as a wine cup. His hair was unkempt, his countenance yellow and dry. He had pockmarks all over his face. He bore five bags on his back; hence he was a fifth grade disciple of the Beggar Clan. There were not many good-looking men among the Beggar Clan disciples, but this man was very, very ugly. As soon as he appeared, people recognized him as He Shiwo. He was known as a quiet man, who did not like to socialize with his peers and used to follow the crowd without question. He had worked hard, was very loyal to the clan and in ten years he managed to attain the fifth grade. His martial skills were low and he did not demonstrate any other knowledge so that nobody had paid any special attention to him. Everybody thought that fifth grade was too good for him and he would not be able to advance any higher. Who would have thought this ordinary beggar would dare to open his mouth, or even jump on stage to challenge Yelu Qi. “Where did he steal his skill from?” some people thought.

He Shiwo was nobody special, but because of his ugliness, whoever saw him would have a hard time forgetting that face. Thus Yelu Qi also recognized him. He bowed to the beggar and said, “I wonder what instruction Brother He would give to me?”

“Instruct you I do not dare,” answered He Shiwo coldly, “But there are two things that I do not understand. Therefore, I came on stage to beg your explanation.”

“What are those two things?” asked Yelu Qi.

“First,” said He Shiwo, “it is our custom that every Chief of the Beggar Clan will have the ‘Dog Beating Stick’ as the symbol of his authority. Today Master Yelu has been elected Chief. I wonder where that ‘Dog Beating Stick’ is? This lowly beggar would like to see it.”

His question stirred the hearts of the Beggar Clan disciples, “That was a very good question,” they thought.

Yelu Qi answered, “Chief Lu met his death at a criminal’s hands; the ‘Dog Beating Stick’ was also snatched away at that time. This is a disgrace to our Clan. Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to get the Stick back.”

“The second thing the Xiao Ren [little/ lowly people] do not understand,” continued He Shiwo, “is about Chief Lu’s death. Have we exacted our revenge yet?”

“Chief Lu was murdered by Hou Dou, everybody knows that,” answered Yelu Qi. “We are all enraged by his atrocity. Unfortunately, we have searched everywhere and so far have not found any trace of that scoundrel Hou Du. This is our collective task, we will keep looking for him, even to the ends of the earth, and exact our revenge on behalf of our beloved Chief Lu!”

He Shiwo coldly laughed and said, “First, the ‘Dog Beating Stick’ is still missing! Second, the assassin of the late Chief Lu has not been found! This business need to be taken care of. Yet someone is actually thinking of becoming the new Chief. Don’t you think that is a rash decision?”

Many people were shocked! Yelu Qi’s face was flushed with anger; he was at a loss for words.

“Brother He, you have spoken reasonably,” Elder Liang intervened. “However, our disciples are numerous and scattered across the country. They cannot be left leaderless. Besides, the task of finding the Stick and the criminal is easier said than done. There must be someone who would spearhead the project. That was the reason why we worked hard to elect the new Chief.”

He Shiwo shook his head. “Elder Liang, I strongly disagree!” he said, “What you said was wrong! You put the cart before the horses!”