Free Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain by Jin Yong by Jin Yong

arrogant. From what was written on the scrolls, he lived to regret it."
    "No," interrupted the man with the long neck. "The lord of this eyrie said that Phoenix the Knight-errant was being modest. If it had not been such a mouthful, the epithet, 'Since Time Immemorial and Throughout Eternity' would also have been included in the sobriquet of Phoenix the Knight-errant."
    "Hm," sneered Tree. "In the Sutras, it is said that the minute the Gautama Buddha was born, these words came to his mind, 'I, As a Human Being, Am the Supreme, from Heaven to Hell.' Do you not think this is a superb match for the 'Invincible Under the Sky, Since Time Immemorial and Throughout Eternity'? They form a nice couplet."
    Curio knew he was trying to be sarcastic and laughed aloud. The long-necked fellow stared him in the face and asked, "Will our honourable guest please show others due respect?" Curio was taken aback by his remark.
    "And if I won't?" he demanded.
    To this the man replied, "If the Gilt-faced Buddha learns that you are mocking him, I am afraid the honourable guest will be in some danger."
    "There is no ultimate in martial ability," returned Curio, defending himself. "One must admit that there is a sky beyond the sky, a Master above another Master. The Gilt-faced Buddha is only a human being. No matter how excellent he is, he still cannot be called the Invincible Under the Sky."
    "I have not seen much of the world; I am not well-read; my views may be shallow. If my Master considers the name befitting, I think he must deserve it." The man who spoke sounded deferential but his manner was full of insolence.
    Anger filled Curio's breast and he was flushed with rage.
    "I am Grand Master of an established school," he pondered. "I shall take no nonsense from a low-bred servant like him, used only to be at the beck and call of others."
    And he immediately retorted with a sneer, "Are we to assume then that, with the exception of the Gilt-faced Buddha, your respectful Master is the champion under the sun. Ha, ha, ha, how funny!"
    To this the man replied, "Not at all."
    Reaching out his hand, the man then tapped the backrest of the chair in which Curio was sitting. It vibrated, throwing Curio off his balance. He started up from his chair. Still holding a tea bowl in his hand, Curio was caught off his guard. The bowl immediately slipped from his grasp, and just as it was on the point of shattering to pieces on the ground, the man bent and caught it with a clenched hand.
    "Will our honourable guest please take care?" said the man. Curio reddened. He turned his head away, paying no heed to the incident. The man then put the tea bowl down on the teapoy.
    Tree behaved as if he had not witnessed what had taken place. He turned to the man with the long neck and asked, "Who else, besides the Gilt-faced Buddha and I, the monk, has your Master invited up here to lend aid?"
    "Before the Master departed," answered the man, "he gave this servant instructions to expect Profundity the Taoist Phongie of the Kokonor-Tibetan School, Spirituality the Buddhist Devotee of the Altyn Tagh in Chinese Turkestan, and Jiang the Senior Mentor in Pugilism of the Absolute Lodge south of the Caramoran, to arrive on the mountain within a few days. My Master has also instructed my humble self to tend to them properly. Your Eminence is the first to arrive, and this shows us your great kindness. When my Master learns about it, he will appreciate it greatly."
    Tree the Great Master was here at the invitation of the Master of the eyrie. He believed that once he presented himself, all problems, even though they might be extremely taxing, could be easily solved. What he had not realized was that apart from himself, the Master had also invited many other famous personages, most of whom he had never met, although he had already heard much about them. All were first-rate adepts of the Martial Brotherhood. Had he known so many others had already been invited at the express request of the