Chapter 123
The ship of the Giant Whale Gang sailed along the coastline for several days. Fortunately, the weather was good and the sea was calm. The group finally arrived at a small island. After the ship docked, a man dressed as a servant came up to Pang Jun on the dock and said, "This is Dongling Island. If you want to see my master, please pass the civil and military examinations first, otherwise please go back."
Pang Jun said to him, "Junior Liu Jun, I came to Dongling Island this time to seek an audience with Island Master Han. These are my friends, and they will be waiting for my return here."
The servant nodded: "Then please follow me, sir." After that, he left the dock without caring about anyone else. After instructing the people from the Giant Whale Gang, Pang Jun followed the servant's footsteps and entered the island.
Dongling Island is less than 100 mu in size, but it is full of flowers, plants and trees, with beautiful scenery and dense forests. The scenery is unique, with dense forests and bamboos covering the sky and the gurgling water sounding like a musical instrument. The servant took Pang Jun to an open space with a large pile of sand. The servant pointed at the pile of sand and said, "Master Liu, this is the first stage of the literary test. There is a load of sea sand and 40 catties (140 catties) on the open space. There is an equal-arm balance from the Western Regions, and there are weights that can weigh two catties and seven catties. Please divide this pile of sand into two piles of 90 catties and 50 catties, provided that you can only use the balance three times."
"Huh? An equal-arm balance shipped from the Western Regions? Interesting. I didn't expect that Island Master Han also has the interest in collecting strange things in the world. Well, let me give it a try." After saying that, Pang Jun took two steps forward and looked intently at the sand and weighing device in front of him.
After dozens of breaths, Pang Jun turned his head and said to the servant who was waiting quietly on the side: "I have thought of it. Please divide this pile of sand into two equal parts and place them on both ends of the scale to complete the first weighing."
The servant listened and did as he was told. He finished the task quickly. Pang Jun then said, "Then put the weights of two catties and seven catties on the right side of the scale. Then reduce the sand on the right side until the scale is balanced again. The removed sand will form a pile. Then remove all the sand from the scale and divide it into three piles, namely seventy catties, sixty-one catties, and nine catties. This is the second weighing, right?"
Seeing the servant nod, Pang Jun continued, "The third weighing is easy. Put the two-jin weight on one side of the scale, then put the nine-jin pile of sand together with the two-jin weight, and then take the sand from the sixty-one-jin pile and put it on the other side of the scale until the scale is balanced. Finally, put all the sand on the scale on the seventy-jin pile, and the sand will be separated. Am I doing this right?"
The servant replied, "Sir, you are very talented. You are correct. Please continue with me."
The two walked several dozen steps forward, one in front of the other, and came to a pavilion. The servant pointed at a man in the pavilion and said, "That is your opponent for the martial arts test, but you must answer this question correctly before you can go to the pavilion and have the martial arts test with that man."
"Okay, I understand." Pang Jun nodded.
"Sir, please listen to the question. Suppose there are five pieces of paper on the table, with "one", "two", "four", "eight" and "sixteen" written on them respectively. Now, you and I each take a piece of paper. In addition to knowing the number written on our own paper, we only know that the multiplication of the numbers on these two pieces of paper is either eight or sixteen. At this time, I said "I don't know", and you also said "I don't know either". I said "I still don't know", but you said, "I know". Please ask, if you know that the paper in your hand is four, then what is the number on the paper in my hand?"
After hearing the question, Pang Jun smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that if Island Master Han is completely devoted to martial arts, there will probably be no such thing as the "Top Ten Masters of the Heavenly Ranking" in the world. Island Master Han will definitely be the top one. After learning so many diverse things, he can still enter the top ten martial artists in the world with martial arts. What a genius he is."
The servant smiled slightly and did not respond.
Pang Jun thought for a moment and gave an answer: "The first time you said "I don't know", it means that the number you had in your hand must not be sixteen. If you had sixteen, you must have known that I had one, so you said you didn't know. Similarly, when I said "I don't know either", it meant that I didn't have sixteen either. Since neither of us had sixteen, the only combinations left for the two of us are one and eight, two and four, and two and eight."
He paused, then continued, "Finally, you said "I still don't know", which only means that the number you have is either two or eight, there are only two of them, because if it is one or four, you will guess it immediately without any doubt, and the number I have is four, so the number you have is only two, am I right?"
After listening to what I said, the servant smiled and said, "Mr. Liu's answer is absolutely correct. I can only take you here. You can go the rest of the way, please." After saying that, he made a gesture of invitation. Pang Jun smiled and nodded at him, then walked towards the pavilion.
There was a middle-aged man in the pavilion. He did not speak, but just exchanged greetings with Pang Jun. Then his palm suddenly changed into a palm shape and attacked Pang Jun. However, that palm was as erratic as a winding snake, making it difficult to capture its trajectory.
Pang Jun remained calm when seeing this, and slashed his palm diagonally, intending to block the man's attack. "Bang!" The palms of their hands touched each other instantly. Both of their hands trembled slightly, and their momentum suddenly stagnated. Before Pang Jun could recover, the man quickly approached again, and suddenly exhaled his palm power, and a huge force surged towards Pang Jun again.
Pang Jun had no way to avoid it and could only practice the mysterious "guarding" technique in the "Lankavatara Sutra". The middle-aged man found that his powerful palm was like a drop in the ocean. A look of surprise appeared on his face, and he quickly retracted his palm power to prevent Pang Jun from attacking him. Sure enough, when he had just retracted his power, Pang Jun's fingers had already attacked his right shoulder silently. Fortunately, he retracted his attack quickly enough, otherwise he would have been injured by Pang Jun.
After the two separated, the middle-aged man felt that he had underestimated Pang Jun just now, and his expression became solemn. Suddenly, he stepped forward, and countless palm shadows swept out from his hands, instantly covering Pang Jun in this terrifying layer of palm shadows. Pang Jun stepped on the seven stars, and his body was like a breeze blowing through the palm shadows, shuttling between the layers of palm shadows.
In an instant, the palm wind whistled. The two had exchanged dozens of moves. At this time, Pang Jun took the initiative to change, changing his palm into a fist and going straight to the middle gate. The middle-aged man was very surprised. How could such a young boy dare to abandon the counter-attack and choose to compete in internal strength? Was he a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers and did not know the height of the sky and the depth of the earth, or did he have other intentions? However, Pang Jun's posture did not set any traps at all, and the fist force was already there, so he did not have time to think about it. He stood still, used 80% of his strength in his left hand, and followed Pang Jun's fist to meet it with a palm.
"Bang!" In an instant, Pang Jun's right fist and the middle-aged man's left palm collided. Both sides fought hard and practically without any tricks. When their hands collided, there was a loud bang, and both men retreated. A cloud of dust dissipated, and Pang Jun retreated two steps, while the middle-aged man retreated three steps.
The middle-aged man's face changed. He could not have imagined such a result. This boy's inner strength was so profound. Who on earth was he? He said dejectedly, "Your martial arts skills are amazing. You have passed this martial arts test."
Pang Jun bowed his hands and said, "Senior, I'm grateful for your kindness."
The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Young people are to be feared. Just keep going forward and you will see the island owner's residence. Let's go."
"Thank you for showing me the way, senior." Pang Jun bowed to the man again and left the pavilion.
After leaving the middle-aged man, Pang Jun walked forward for dozens of steps and finally came to a courtyard. In the courtyard, stood a handsome man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a graceful figure. However, what surprised Pang Jun was that the face of this handsome man was sometimes clear and sometimes hazy, as if there was a layer of mist covering his body. This was probably the effect of Han Li's unique skill - "Li Shui Zhen Jing". Legend has it that Han Li's Li Shui Zhen Jing magic skill has been practiced to perfection, and there is always a layer of mist around him. When fighting against the enemy, his figure, under different light, looks like a phantom, making it impossible to hit the entity.
Pang Jun took two steps forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Junior Liu Jun from Qinzhou, greetings to Island Master Han."
The handsome man in front of him was none other than Han Li, one of the top ten masters on the "Heavenly Ranking" and the island master of Dongling Island, who was also known as Lishui Zhenjun. He turned around, looked at Pang Jun and said with a smile, "Qinzhou Liu Jun, the martial arts champion is indeed amazing. Many people come to see me, but few can pass the test. It's even rarer for someone like you to come to me in just half an hour. It's true that there is no false reputation."
"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Han. Liu Jun was just lucky and a little clever. Please forgive me for making fun of him," Pang Jun said modestly.
"You don't have to be so modest. Your abilities are obvious to all, and your future is limitless. Tell me, as an official appointed by the imperial court, you should be enjoying your success. Why do you come to visit an outsider like me? What exactly do you want?"
Pang Jun bowed again and said, "I am Liu Jun, a humble man. Since I took over as the governor of Songzhou, I have been trying to make the people of Songzhou rich. So I came up with an idea. I used my connections in Zhejiang Province in the south of the Yangtze River and asked my friends to organize a fleet to travel between Zhejiang Province and Songzhou to exchange what they have. Finally, the development of Songzhou has improved. However, there are many powerful people in the East China Sea. I have heard for a long time that Island Master Han has a very high prestige in the East China Sea. Many giants who make a living on the sea are in awe of Island Master Han. This time, I came here to ask Island Master Han to say a few words in front of all the heroes who make a living on the East China Sea and give this fleet a break."
"Oh? Is that so? It's not impossible to say a few words to the pirates in the East China Sea, but what does this have to do with me? Or in other words, why should I help you do this?" Han Li asked Pang Jun with a smile.
Pang Jun smiled bitterly and said, "The island owner is a carefree person. I don't think he would be tempted by gold, silver and other valuables. I'm afraid his collection of rare treasures is thousands of times more than Liu's. But I heard that he is also interested in strange stories and cases in the world. I wonder if it's true?"
Han Li raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "Oh? That's true. I do have a desire to explore some things that don't make sense. I wonder what Lord Liu means?"
Pang Jun took out a sun-like emblem and threw it to Han Li. After Han Li took it, he looked at it for a few seconds and murmured, "This emblem is very exquisitely made. I have never seen it before. What is it?"
Pang Jun shook his head and said, "This is something that my master accidentally got when he was traveling in Qingzhou many years ago. It looks like a token. After years of verification, it was found to be a high-level token of the once famous "Chixia Bandits". At that time, the Chixia Bandits had a lot of blood debts, but they were destroyed by His Royal Highness the King of Wei overnight. But I think there must be something strange about this, because the Chixia Bandits are not ordinary thieves. Even the family of the white-clothed scholar Pang Yun was slaughtered overnight. I don't believe that any of them would be so stupid that there would be no fish that slipped through the net. I wonder if Island Master Han is interested in this mysterious organization of Chixia Bandits?"
Han Li pointed at Pang Jun with a smile, "You have bad intentions and want to drag me into this. The matter involves a prince of the imperial court, but you dare not verify it, but let me investigate it." He paused and said, "But the Chixia Bandits back then were indeed famous. I have heard of them even when I lived in Dongling Island. It is said that their leader's martial arts has reached the pinnacle, even Songshan Mu Qi is not inferior to him. Li Changluo of the Wei Wangfu was born in the Huangji Sect. His martial arts are indeed good, but not to that level. I don't quite believe that he killed the leader of the Chixia Bandits. This person must have a status in the martial arts world. You have indeed aroused my curiosity."
But before Pang Jun could breathe a sigh of relief, he continued, "However, I cannot let you take my words so easily. Come, fight with me and see how many moves you can hold out. If you can't hold out for one more move, my promise will be valid for another month. How do you think?"
"Island Master Han, it's a deal!" Pang Jun was startled when he heard Han Li's condition, and his expression was solemn, "Please teach me."