The pavilion clash and Huijing’s abduction

The pavilion clash and Huijing’s abduction turns a chance meeting among Shaolin monks, the Gusu Murong family, and the Xingxiu Sect into a confrontation over a stolen frost silkworm, You TanZhi’s iron mask, and the danger of his cold palm. The incident ends with Ding Chunqiu escaping with Huijing, while the people left behind discover that You TanZhi’s palm has poisoned Feng BoE and XuanTong as well as Bao BuTong.

A chance meeting and a divided pursuit

Deng BaiChuan and the other members of the Gusu Murong family had met Xu Zhu and received Shaolin’s invitation for Murong Fu to visit the temple on the Double Ninth Festival. XuanNan and XuanTong arrived with additional monks, including Huijing, who was being carried on a stretcher. The Shaolin monks were taking Huijing back to the temple after finding him following his departure without permission and his subsequent conflicts with others. The meeting brought together parties whose immediate aims differed: Shaolin was escorting Huijing, the Murong retainers were discussing their young master’s promised visit, and Ding Chunqiu had come looking for the frost silkworm.

You TanZhi recognized the monk on the stretcher as Huijing, the person who had captured the frost silkworm. He told Ding Chunqiu that the monk was its original owner and identified him by his conspicuously large belly. Ding Chunqiu was pleased to learn that the object he sought was within reach. He judged that seizing Huijing here would be easier than trying to enter Shaolin Temple to find him. The silkworm’s importance had drawn Ding Chunqiu from Xingxiu Sea to the Central Plains, after he had captured it on Kunlun Mountain and Huijing had taken it from him.

When Ding Chunqiu introduced himself, the people in the pavilion recognized the name of the Old Freak of Xingxiu and became wary. He presented himself as Huijing’s friend and asked whether the monk was ill, but XuanNan explained that Huijing was being returned to Shaolin after breaking temple rules and resisting the abbot’s orders. Ding Chunqiu then began to explain his claim to the frost silkworm. Huijing interrupted to ask where it was, asserting that he had found it on Kunlun Mountain and accusing Ding Chunqiu of taking it. Their competing claims made plain that the stretchered monk was not merely a patient being escorted home: he was the focus of Ding Chunqiu’s pursuit.

You TanZhi’s mask becomes a flashpoint

While the exchange over Huijing continued, Feng BoE’s attention fixed on You TanZhi, who had hidden behind Ding Chunqiu. The iron mask covering You TanZhi’s head looked unusual to Feng BoE, who examined it and asked how it had been put on. You TanZhi said he had not chosen to wear it. Feng BoE took this as evidence that someone had imposed it on him and offered to remove it with a dagger, believing that the blade could cut through iron without harming him.

You TanZhi knew the mask was attached to his head and that forcing it off could endanger his life. He repeatedly warned Feng BoE not to try. Feng BoE nevertheless took hold of his wrist and raised the dagger. You TanZhi called to Ding Chunqiu for help, but Ding Chunqiu was focused on Huijing and did not hear him. With Feng BoE preparing to cut the mask, You TanZhi struck him with his right palm to push him away.

The unexpected blow knocked Feng BoE down. He got back up, but soon showed signs of poisoning. GongYe Gan found his pulse rapid and irregular and suspected poison, so he gave him a detoxification pill. Deng BaiChuan and Bao BuTong moved to block You TanZhi and Ding Chunqiu. Bao BuTong prepared to attack, but Deng BaiChuan stopped him and asked Ding Chunqiu why his disciple had injured Feng BoE when Feng had intended to help.

Ding Chunqiu, pleased that his new disciple could injure a capable fighter with a single palm, treated the incident as proof of You TanZhi’s formidable power. He dismissed Feng BoE’s intervention as meddling and asked why his disciple’s mask should concern the Murong family. His reaction sharpened the divide: the Murong retainers saw an injury inflicted on one of their own, while Ding Chunqiu saw a display of the dangerous ability he had gained through the frost silkworm.

Cold poison and the escape

The detoxification pill did not relieve Feng BoE. He began to shiver, and the cold grew so severe that his lips turned purple. When GongYe Gan checked on him, the chill reached his hand; he concluded that Feng BoE had contracted serious frost poison and asked Ding Chunqiu for an antidote. Ding Chunqiu had none to offer. The poison was the frost silkworm’s deadly cold, driven out through You TanZhi’s internal energy after he had practiced the postures of the Tendon-Changing Sutra.

Instead of responding with an antidote, Ding Chunqiu laughed, cried out a phrase of praise, and flicked his sleeves. Poison powder spread through the pavilion, irritating the eyes of those present and forcing them to struggle to see. As Deng BaiChuan, GongYe Gan, and Bao BuTong shielded Feng BoE, XuanNan shut his eyes and struck out with his palm, breaking a pavilion pillar. Part of the structure collapsed, adding to the confusion. When the group recovered enough to look, Ding Chunqiu and You TanZhi had vanished.

The empty stretcher revealed that the confusion had served Ding Chunqiu’s purpose: Huijing had been abducted. XuanTong, furious, rushed out in pursuit, followed by Deng BaiChuan and Bao BuTong; XuanNan led the remaining Shaolin monks after them. Ding Chunqiu had turned the gathering into an opportunity to recover the person he believed possessed the frost silkworm, escaping before the others could stop him.

The poison’s aftermath

The escape did not end the danger at the pavilion. GongYe Gan stayed with Feng BoE, whose condition continued to worsen as cold sweat formed frost on his forehead. Deng BaiChuan and Bao BuTong returned, and the others soon followed. XuanTong had also been poisoned after exchanging palms with You TanZhi during the pursuit. Bao BuTong, too, had been struck by You TanZhi’s palm, leaving three men suffering from the same cold poison.

XuanNan produced three blood-red Six Solar Energy Pills, a Shaolin remedy effective against frost poison. He gave two to Deng BaiChuan and the third to XuanTong. The men gradually fought off the chill, while Deng BaiChuan helped Bao BuTong channel his internal energy at the ZhiYan acupoint; GongYe Gan and XuanNan likewise assisted Feng BoE and XuanTong. The remedies and their companions’ aid halted the immediate crisis, but the scene established how far You TanZhi’s power had advanced: his palm could spread a poison serious enough to defeat a detoxification pill and threaten several experienced fighters.

The episode joins two threads that initially seem separate. Feng BoE’s attempt to help You TanZhi remove his mask triggers the palm strike, while Ding Chunqiu’s pursuit of Huijing gives him a reason to exploit the resulting disorder. The pavilion becomes a temporary meeting point for Shaolin’s effort to recover a wayward monk, the Murong family’s concern for its injured retainer, and the Xingxiu Sect’s pursuit of the frost silkworm. The abduction leaves the central dispute unresolved and sends the Shaolin monks and Murong retainers after Ding Chunqiu, while the surviving group must first contend with the poison left behind.