Jianghu Qimen Lu

Chapter 28 Plum Blossom Fist

Red Moon suddenly realized what was happening and smiled slightly, saying, "I'm wearing a silken soft gold armor vest, a rare treasure from the Western Regions. No matter how sharp the sword or spear, it can't pierce it. I obtained it by chance and wear it often for self-defense. Your poison needles were probably blocked by my silken soft gold armor vest, and because they were only slightly touched, they stuck to the silk. Just then, Hong Quan grabbed me, and those poison needles pierced her instead!" Hong Quan was furious and cursed incessantly, "You vixen! You stole some strange things and caused me so much trouble!" Xiang Quan put down Hong Quan, looked around, and saw that the Rongmen disciples had suffered heavy casualties, with only five or six people still fighting. She shouted, "All six hall masters, come over and surround Red Moon!" Bai Mei Quan and the other four quickly jumped over, and the group surrounded Red Moon.

"The Xiang family of Jiangnan is renowned overseas, and the Southern Fist School is the representative of the Southern martial arts world, enjoying a high reputation throughout the entire Jianghu. I never imagined that the leader of the Southern Fist School would lead a whole gang to gang up on me, Red Moon, alone. Hmph, wouldn't people laugh their heads off if word got out? Are you all just empty-headed charlatans?" Red Moon sneered. Everyone was speechless for a moment, their faces flushing red, feeling as if they had been slapped, their cheeks burning! They felt extremely uncomfortable. These were all renowned heroes of the Jianghu, each dominating their own territory; how could they possibly save face after being spoken to like that? Xiang Quan coldly and fiercely rebuked, "You come from an official family, yet you betray your country for personal gain, shamelessly colluding with the Japanese pirates to steal our sect's rare books. What kind of Jianghu rules do you speak of? Any Chinese person with a conscience would want to kill a traitor like you who betrays his master and ancestors! But since you've challenged me today, I'll accept, lest we be accused of ganging up on you. How about this, let's have a fair and square fight. There are rules for our duel: neither of us can use weapons, let alone hidden weapons; it's a bare-handed duel! How about it, dare to accept the challenge?" It turned out that when Hong Yue Liang fought against the two masters of Hung Kuen and Wing Chun, Xiang Quan had been observing quietly from the sidelines and noticed something amiss. Hong Yue Liang's punches and kicks lacked power; he was merely avoiding the opponent's strength and relying on his superior lightness skill and agile movements to gain the upper hand by using speed to fight speed! The main emphasis was on the word "speed"! So she stepped forward, determined to subdue her with her most prized Southern Fist kung fu, and to regain face in front of her subordinates!

"Alright!" Red Moon readily agreed. "However, our duel must have a wager! If you win, I will return your sect's rare book, 'The Complete Book of Jianghu,' and your husband's imperial sword! If I am lucky enough to win, you must guarantee my and my disciples' safe departure from here!" Upon hearing this, the members of the Southern Fist Sect were overjoyed; it seemed the rare book was still hidden on her. Fragrant Fist was even more excited, her voice trembling as she said, "Alright, I agree!" Red Moon's eyes glistened with tears as she cried out, "Then tell all your disciples to stop!" Fragrant Fist turned her head and saw that the fierce fighting was raging on the rooftops, with the remaining Rongmen disciples fighting like cornered beasts, about to be slaughtered by the surrounding Southern Fist Sect members! He shouted loudly, "Disciples, stop! All of you come here!" The Southern Fist Sect was indeed disciplined and had a military style. At his command, hundreds of disciples hurriedly stopped and formed a large circle, keeping Red Moon and several Rongmen disciples at the core!

Xiang Quan walked to the center of the circle, took off the ring on his finger, placed it on the roof ridge, and coldly said to Hong Yue Liang, "Hand over the 'Complete Guide to the Martial World' and the Imperial Sword, and put them together with it!" Hong Yue Liang looked around at the dark mass of enemies on the surrounding rooftops, then glanced at his own side, and suddenly felt outnumbered and outmatched, with no choice but to take a desperate gamble. He decided to make the most of this fight, hoping to strike with one blow and capture the leader first. If he could subdue Xiang Quan, there would be hope of escaping today! He immediately sheathed the sword and placed it on the roof ridge, then reached into his robes and took out a book. Xiang Quan stepped forward and said, "To determine its authenticity, I'd like to examine this book." Hong Yue Liang withdrew her hand, coldly smiling, "I don't believe you! Once you have this extraordinary book, will you still fight me? A single command could lead to a brawl, wouldn't that be digging my own grave!" Xiang Quan chuckled loudly, scolding, "I am the dignified head of a sect, how can I go back on my word? You're probably habitually fickle and treacherous, judging a gentleman by your own petty standards! But then again, if your book is fake, it violates the rules of the fight, and I wouldn't deign to fight you!" Hong Yue Liang sighed and had no choice but to hand her the book. Xiang Quan glanced through it; it was the culmination of her years of hard work. A surge of anger rose within her, and she slammed it onto the Imperial Sword, shouting, "Let's begin!" A white crane spreads its wings, and the fierce battle began—

Xiang Quan, worthy of being the leader of the Southern Fist school, immediately adopted a firm stance, rooted to the ground. Her arms hung down, rotating inward, and suddenly she executed a rolling bridge strike, gathering internal strength. Her hands moved like lightning, unleashing a storm of blows! Seeing that Xiang Quan's first move was the most powerful bridge technique in Southern Fist, Hong Yue Liang quickly used the lightness technique of Plum Blossom Stakes, leaping up and passing over Xiang Quan's head. Suddenly, she struck a point, her toes like sharp knives aimed directly at Xiang Quan's head! Xiang Quan remained calm, her feet as firm as steel nails, rooted to the spot. She leaned back, her elbow sinking, and then swung it out with a powerful, thunderous sound. This was the secret of Southern Fist—the Iron Bridge! The boxing manual says: "Only by mastering a hard bridge and a hard stance can one strike steadily and surely. Stable as an iron bridge, legs straddling, hands like copper hammers, feet like horses. Elbows follow the waist, the body agile, the waist and stance generating power that shakes the world." Red Moon was plummeting downwards; how could she stop? She had no choice but to meet Red Moon's iron elbow head-on! Although her landing was incredibly powerful, Fragrant Fist's Iron Bridge technique was already at its peak. As the elbow collided with her feet, Red Moon felt a surge of immense force, involuntarily swinging back more than ten feet. In her haste, she performed a somersault in mid-air, finally dissipating the enormous internal force and landing steadily! Looking down, she saw Fragrant Fist still standing there, perfectly still! She thought, "No wonder the six famous styles of boxing all submit to her; her Southern Fist skills are truly remarkable!" She then cautiously unleashed her lifelong masterpiece, Plum Blossom Fist, to parry Fragrant Fist's attacks. One was grounded and powerful, the other agile and unpredictable; they had already exchanged over a hundred blows!

When Hongyue was three years old, Hongchen was busy with official duties and had no time to teach his daughter martial arts. He had to ask his master, a martial arts expert from Caozhou, Shandong, to teach her instead. Unexpectedly, upon seeing Hongyue, the master said that while the child had exceptional physique and was indeed good material for martial arts, she was not suited to the powerful and expansive style of Dahongquan (Big Red Fist). Instead, she was more suited to the varied, fast, and disciplined Meihuaquan (Plum Blossom Fist). Therefore, he recommended his good friend from Xingtai, Hebei, Zou Hongyi, to come to Hangzhou to teach her. Zou Hongyi was a reclusive master who had spent his life wandering the martial arts world and loved to spar with others. Therefore, his own skill was vastly different from that of the Caozhou Dahongquan expert! He saw that Hongyue was intelligent and quick-witted and took a great liking to her, so he taught her everything he knew. In half a year, Hongyue had mastered all the techniques. A strict teacher produces outstanding students. Under her master's supervision, she practiced diligently, enduring long winters and sweltering summers. By the age of eight, she had already achieved considerable success, and few could rival her in the entire Eight Banners army camp... This Plum Blossom Fist, also known as Plum Blossom Stakes, is practiced on over 100 upright wooden stakes. The stake setups include the Big Dipper Stake, Three Stars Stake, Starry Sky Stake, Heavenly Gang Stake, and Eight Trigrams Stake, and are further divided into five postures: "Big, Smooth, Twisted, Small, and Defeat," and also into the five elements: "Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth." Furthermore, it incorporates the five internal organs: "Lung, Kidney, Liver, Heart, and Spleen." The routines have no fixed form, conforming to the five elements and the five internal organs, varying the stake setups, and practicing high in the air with fluid, ever-changing movements. It emphasizes grappling, locking, hooking, and striking points, leaping and bounding, fast yet orderly. He integrates the principles of the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams into his boxing theory, and incorporates Yin and Yang and the Five Elements into his boxing techniques. Over the years, Red Moon has practiced to a level of consummate skill. At this moment, when he reaches a high level of intensity, his movements resemble blooming plum blossoms swirling and fluttering, emitting a captivating, subtle fragrance!

Seeing the opponent's agile movements and superb lightness skill, even in her cumbersome white lightning-clad attire, Xiang Quan felt a growing unease. In a moment of quick thinking, just as she was launching a fierce attack, she suddenly turned and fled. Seeing her opponent pause for a moment, then counterattack, she smiled coldly, suddenly performing a somersault to appear behind Red Moon, her palms striking out with lightning speed—