Chapter 18

Jiao Feng slowly paced in the courtyard and said, "Brothers, last night, I was drinking at the Wangjiang Tower by the Yangtze River in Jiangyin when I met a middle-aged scholar. He drank ten large bowls of wine in one breath without changing his expression, a good drinker, a good man! I drank three bowls with him. We talked about the martial arts figures in the south, and he boasted that his palm technique was the second best in the south, with the first being Young Master Murong Fu. I exchanged three palms with him. He took the first and second palms, but the third palm shattered the wine bowl in his left hand, and the porcelain shards cut his face, leaving it covered in blood. He remained calm and said, 'What a pity! What a pity! What a pity for such a good bowl of wine.' I felt a deep admiration and did not strike the fourth palm, saying, 'Your palm technique is truly remarkable, the title of "Second in the South" is well-deserved.' He replied, 'Second in the South, first in the world of nonsense!' I said, 'Brother, there's no need to be modest. In terms of palm technique, you are indeed a first-rate expert.' He said, 'It's the Chief of the Beggar Sect, Jiao Feng, who has come. I lost fairly, and I appreciate your restraint in not injuring me. I will drink another bowl to you!' We drank three more bowls together. When we parted, I asked him his name, and he said his surname was Gongye, and his given name was 'Qian.' This is not the 'Qian' of 'Qiankun' (Heaven and Earth), but the 'Qian' of 'Qianbei' (cheers). He said he was a subordinate of Young Master Murong and the master of Chixia Manor, inviting me to his manor for a three-day drinking spree. Brothers, what do you think of such a person? Is he a good friend?"

Wu Changfeng loudly said, "This Gongye Qian is a good man, a good friend! Chief, when can you introduce me to him?"

In Jin Yong's book, *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, it is full of boldness and a great capacity for drinking. In Jiao Feng's heart, such a man is a good man, but in Li Wuching's view, it is utterly illogical.

However, the brilliance of *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* lies in these bold and grand moments. Even the most infuriating and hateful characters cannot overshadow the chivalrous spirit of the book.

Elder Song asked, "Chief, what happened next?"

Jiao Feng said, "After parting with Gongye Qian, I headed for Wuxi. Around the second watch of the night, I suddenly heard two people arguing loudly on a small bridge. It was already completely dark, yet they were still arguing incessantly, which I found strange. I went forward to take a look and saw that the bridge was a narrow wooden one. At one end stood a man in black, and at the other end stood a peasant carrying a load of manure on his shoulders. They were arguing over who should give way. The man in black told the peasant to back up, saying he had arrived at the bridge first. The peasant said he couldn't back up with the manure load and asked the man in black to back up. The man in black said, 'We've been arguing from the first watch to the second. We can argue until dawn. I won't give way.' The peasant said, 'If you don't mind the smell of the manure, we can argue all night.' The man in black said, 'As long as you can bear the weight of the manure, we can argue until the end.'"

"I found the situation quite amusing. I thought, 'This man in black is truly peculiar. He could just step back a few steps and let the peasant pass. What's the point of standing face-to-face with a peasant carrying manure?' Their conversation revealed that they had been arguing for a watch. My curiosity piqued, I wanted to see the outcome—whether the man in black would give in to the smell or the peasant would give in to exhaustion. I didn't want to smell the manure, so I stood far away, upwind. I heard them speaking in the local Jiangnan dialect, which I didn't fully understand, but they were both insisting on their own reasons. The peasant was truly stubborn, shifting the manure load from one shoulder to the other, refusing to back up. After watching for a while, I became increasingly surprised. I noticed that the man in black stood on the narrow wooden bridge, immovable like a mountain, clearly a master of high-level martial arts. The peasant, on the other hand, was just an ordinary man, strong and healthy but with no martial arts skills. The more I watched, the more puzzled I became. This man in black, with such formidable martial arts, could have easily pushed the peasant and the manure into the river with just a finger. But he didn't use his martial arts at all. A person of such high skill should have had great self-cultivation. Even if he didn't want to let the peasant pass, he could have easily jumped over him. Instead, he chose to argue with the peasant, which was truly amusing!"

"Suddenly, the man in black raised his voice and shouted, 'If you don't let me pass, I'll start cursing!' The peasant said, 'Cursing is fine. Can you curse, and can't I?' He started cursing first. The man in black then joined in. They exchanged insults, using all sorts of strange and vulgar language. I could only understand half of what they said. After about half an hour, the peasant was exhausted, while the man in black, with his abundant inner strength, remained energetic. I saw the peasant swaying, and I thought he would fall into the river within a few minutes."

"Suddenly, the peasant reached into the manure bucket, grabbed a handful of manure, and threw it at the man in black, covering his face and mouth. The man in black, caught off guard, exclaimed, 'Oh no!' His face and mouth were covered in manure. I thought, 'This peasant is courting his own death. Who can blame him?' I saw the man in black, enraged, raise his hand to strike the peasant on the head."

Jiao Feng continued, "The incident happened too quickly. I was standing dozens of feet away to avoid the smell, and I couldn't have saved the peasant in time. Unexpectedly, just as the man in black's hand was about to strike the peasant's head, he suddenly stopped, laughed, and said, 'Brother, who won the patience contest?' The peasant, though clearly the loser, refused to admit it and said, 'I'm carrying the manure, so you have the advantage. If you carry the manure and I stand empty-handed, let's see who wins.' The man in black said, 'That's fair!' He took the manure load from the peasant's shoulder, extended his left arm, placed his hand in the middle of the pole, and held it level."

"The peasant, seeing the man in black holding the manure load with one hand, was stunned and could only say, 'You... you...' The man in black laughed and said, 'I'll hold it like this without changing hands. We'll see who gives up first. The loser drinks the whole load of manure.' The peasant, seeing his incredible skill, dared not argue further and tried to back away. However, in his panic, he stepped into thin air and fell into the river. The man in black reached out with his right hand, grabbed the peasant's collar, and held him up with his right arm, while still holding the manure load with his left. He laughed, 'This is great, this is great!' He leaped lightly to the other side of the river, placed the peasant and the manure load on the ground, and then used his lightness skill to disappear into the mulberry grove."

"The man in black, having been splashed with manure, could have easily killed the peasant or at least given him a few punches. But he didn't use his skills to show off. This man's character is indeed unique and rare in the martial arts world. Brothers, this is what I saw with my own eyes. I was far away, and he probably didn't notice me, so he wasn't putting on a show. Is such a person a good friend, a good man?"