Re: Divine Butterfly Sect
Quote:
Originally posted by Long
Prehaps I'll need to make it clearer when I edit my story in the second draft once I have finished the skeleton 1st draft. Or include a background like JRR Tolkien of each clan ect...
It is a clan rule that Chiefs of the Divine Butterfly Sect are supposed to remain a virgin and not allowed to marry during thier reign (I realise I haven't mentioned this anywhere). Once they hand over the leadership they may do as they wish - however thier youth would have been wasted by then.
When Cheung Cum was the Chief she had actually wanted to groom Lok Gum Fa as the next Chief. She did not want to marry her off. It was only when she discovered that her favorite apprentice had fallen for the Black Dragon Swordsman that she decided to bethroth her to the Gentleman Sword - to save her clan face. But Lok Gum Fa ended up defying her orders eloping with the Black Dragon Swordsman on her wedding day - causing great shame to Cheung Cum and also led to the death of Bak Tin Fei.
Thus when the Gentleman Sword met and sought the hand of Lin Chun Fa in marriage in Chongqing - Cheung Cum could not refused. She had caused the Gentleman Sword great shame and wished to rid herself of the blame for the death of Bak Tin Fei. That was the only reason why she agreed. I have more to this story in later chapters as we explore the Gentleman Sword more closely. Thus To Guk Fa became the Chief.
There's a side story to To Guk Fa which I'll reveal in the upcoming story. Cheung Cum named her apprentices, Lok Gum Fa, Lin Chun Fa, and To Guk Fa. Though they had Fa in thier names, each were unique. Cheung Cum did not love To Guk Fa as much as her two other apprentices. That's why she was a little bitter towards the other two. She wasn't the best figther either.
Thus when To Guk Fa took personal apprentices, she gave them all the surname of 'Yuk' to indicate that she loved them equally. And she wish her personal apprentices to treat each other like family members. She spoilt her apprentices with care and love as her master Cheung Cum never showed or display that much love towards her. Thus Yuk Wah and Yuk Ling became spoilt and didn't concentrate on learning martial arts. To Guk Fa did not discipline them enough (unlike Cheung Cum). That's why the clan's skills have deteriorated.
Yuk Long on the other hand is her own person. She doesn't share the same level of friendship as Yuk Wah/Yuk Ling. Like To Guk Fa, Yuk Long is an outsider of the 3 Jade Maidens - but unlike To Guk Fa - for the better. The thing troubling on her mind is that she's being groomed as the next CHief. It's not something she wants. But that's for the later chapters to explain...
Cheung Cum's generation including, Fung Mun Kit will also be explained a little later down the track - she's actually the clan's best figther! Her apprentice is Bak Tin Kiew. THere's a reason why I have done this as will be explained later in the chapters...(so stayed tunned)
Ah ok, thank you for clarifying. When I was reading the story, I thought Emei was very shrewd in its reasoning for hating the Butterfly sect. As a reader, I thought it made great sense, but you don't usually see this reasoning in wuxia novels, it's usually orthodox vs unorthordox, so it was a breathe of fresh air that they were able to see through the whole thing.
With your explanation, it becomes even more obvious. Cheung Cum forgos the usuall "forbid them to see each other" and brought in a third party, probably hoping to borrow a hand to kill as the saying goes. Maybe she even wants to be chancellor.
Maybe you should clarrify a little bit on whther Cheung Cum tried the "forbid to see" route first, because it doesn't make a lot of sense for her to give up a good apprentice right off the bat.
Re: Re: Divine Butterfly Sect
Quote:
Originally posted by Demitre
With your explanation, it becomes even more obvious. Cheung Cum forgos the usuall "forbid them to see each other" and brought in a third party, probably hoping to borrow a hand to kill as the saying goes. Maybe she even wants to be chancellor.
Maybe you should clarrify a little bit on whther Cheung Cum tried the "forbid to see" route first, because it doesn't make a lot of sense for her to give up a good apprentice right off the bat.
I have written 5 pages which deals with the fight at Taishan between Bak Tin Fei and the Black Dragon Swordsman. If you read back through the threads, I had intended to open Chapter 5 with this flashback when Bak Tin Kiew was sitting at the Black Dragon Lagoon admiring the lake. But the 5 pages was told from the Gentelman Sword's point of view - so it didn't make sense that Bak Tin Kiew could have understood what the Gentleman Sword was going through at the time.
It gives you an insight into what the Gentleman Sword was thinking at the time. How he wasn't really happy about the marriage - he was throughout the beginning of the ceramony fixing his eyes on Lin Chun Fa instead. He was an honorable man at that time caught between his own will and his father's will. It also explains why he had decided to use the 'exquistite snake sword'.
As for Cheung Cum, you were very much right. She had indeed intended to lend a sword (two swords in fact - she knew Unrivalled East would attend the wedding) to try and kill the Black Dragon Swordsman. At that time she hated all men. Memories of how her heart had been broken when she was 16 years old stirred in her mind. She did use the 'forgo seeing the Black Dragon Swordsman' with Lok Gum Fa and actually banished her to meditate for an entire year and 6 months in a cave at Butterfly Valley.
As will be explained later when Yeung Yin Siu finds the Divine 9 Dragon inner energy. The Black Dragon Swordsman had actually refined his skills, above and beyond the level taught to him by his master, so that he could detect all sorts of inner energy at a 300 metre raduis. He had a purpose and reason why he refined his skills to such an advance level. It nearly drove him mad and crazy. He thus was able to sneak up to the Butterfly Valley, follow Lin Chun Fa one day and located Lok Gum Fa. All he wanted to do was to be with Lok Gum Fa. His skills improved because of the love and the rage he felt when Lok Gum Fa suddenly no longer came to visit him at thier usual secret place. Everytime an apprentice or Cheung Cum came up to deliver lunch/dinner he would be able to detect with his inner energy thier presence and hide. So they were never caught. In the end the two decided that they would escape and elope but were eventually caught when they became so tired that both of them ended up falling alseep at the same time. Thus they could not detect the danger. The Black Dragon Swordsman could have fought but Lok Gum Fa gave herself up not wanting to harm Lin CHun Fa and To Guk Fa. Thus Cheung Cum reached the decision to bethroth Lok Gum Fa to someone else, someone powerful.
You never know - I'm still trying to find the right place for this 5 pages. Might even be the prologue because it ends with the Black Dragon Swordsman and Lok Gum Fa fleeing from Taishan with a whole host of people giving chase.
Re: Re: Re: Divine Butterfly Sect
Quote:
Originally posted by Long
You never know - I'm still trying to find the right place for this 5 pages. Might even be the prologue because it ends with the Black Dragon Swordsman and Lok Gum Fa fleeing from Taishan with a whole host of people giving chase.
Well, no one knows who YSS is yet, so when they find out, a lot of people will blame him for being unorthordox; and being the chanchellor's dauther, I am sure her father would object somewhat to the relationship. Or you could have the father support her while the rest of wulin shuns her. Either way, her father could explain the story then.
Chapter 15: Swordsman from the Himalaya
Chapter 15: Swordsman from the Himalaya
The last few days of summer in Kaifeng are always busy. The air is filled with the pleasant scent of the season and the aroma of hot noodle soup cooking on the side of the street. Many travellers and tourists rush through the streets to visit the Memorial of Justice Pao and the Iron Pagoda whilst the weather is still good. It’s now around 15 minutes to lunchtime. A number of local tradesman and labourers could be seen walking down a stone slab road that extended all the way to the Wuchao Gate west of the town. An old shopfront stood at the corner of the street. Two large clay dragon statutes were placed on either side of its gate. The large yellow silk banner hung aloft the gate bore three huge words in black that read “The Dragon Tavern”, all written in a bold. One could see that the Dragon Tavern was full of people at this moment. All of the tables and chairs had been taken. The many people inside were at this moment laughing and drinking whole heartily amongst themselves.
On closer inspection, one could notice that there were very few locals who were currently sitting inside the tavern. All of the people who had gathered were mostly warriors of wulin and carried some kind of weapon in their hand. Two men wearing white robes with red trimmings were sitting together at a small table to the corner of the tavern. A red half-crescent moon was embroidered on the top right hand corner of the robes, indicating that these men were from the Demon Cult. One of the men wore a red bandanna on his head and the other wore a green bandanna. They were none other than Red Flame and Green Earth. Across another long table at the centre of the tavern sat eight swordsmen wearing light blue robes with white trimmings. Eight broad swords, containing a ying yang at its hilt, rested on the table. These swordsman were obviously from Taishan. Three of the men wore a light blue rectangle hat on their heads. They were the 3 personal apprentices of the Gentleman Sword, Yik Ching Fung, Ling Wu Mun, and Hua Ling Do.
Towards the entrance sat eight female warriors around a rounded table. Seven of them wore a veil to cover the lower portion of their face. All of them wore silk dresses of various colours. Long broad swords with two black butterflies carved into the hilt of the sword rested on the table. These female warriors were obviously from the Divine Butterfly Sect. One of the females sitting on the table was an old Toaist Priestess. A white dust pen rested on the table before her. This was none other than the ‘Iron Maiden’ Cheung Cum. One could now see that the female who sat next to her wore a white dress with dark blue trimmings. It was none other than the ‘Moon Maiden’ To Guk Fa. The ‘3 Jade Maidens’ sat next to their master. They were all drinking herbal tea. None of them were drinking wine.
There was a lone swordsman wearing a yellow robe with black trimmings standing at the bar. A tiger was embroidered on the top right hand corner of his robes. He looked to be a man in his mid 30s. A long beard and moustache covered his thin face. A black phantom mask was worn to cover the left side of his face. He was at this moment keeping a watchful eye on the patrons gathered at the Tavern. He had a rather wicked look about him, and no one dared stand next to him except for a man in plain red robes who stood 3 paces away. The man in red robes was rather tall and skinny, and looked to be in his late 20s. One could see that a large green dragon was embroidered across the front and black of the robes of red swordsman. He carried a pair of twin swords in his right hand. The swords were curved at the end like that of a hook. A rounded piece of jade hung down from his right waist. He wore a black rectangle hat on his head. A peacock feather rested on the right of the hat. It was obvious that this swordsman was from the Royal Court of the Ming Government. He was at this moment leaning across the bar having an in depth conversation with the barman. There were various other swordsmen and warriors gathered inside.
“Waiter! Please bring me another jug of the finest red wine! Hurry up!”, suddenly shouted a scholar in grey robes as he slammed a fist against the table. His voice was rather loud and allowed him to be heard above the chattering crowd. Many of the patrons turned to cast a side-glance at the scholar. But they all resumed drinking upon noticing that he carried no weapon in hand. It appeared to them that he was just a local scholar who didn’t any know kung fu.
A young waiter wearing a torn brown robe rushed up to the table. Looking directly at the scholar in grey robes, he said, “Sir! You’ve already had 20 jugs of wine today! Any more and you’ll be drunk!”. As a waiter this young man was concerned about the health and safety of all his customers. He knew the scholar had drunk too much for the day already despite the fact that it was only lunchtime.
One could now see that the eyes of the grey scholar had become totally glazed. It looked as if he was having trouble seeing properly. His face and nose had turned a reddish complexion. He emitted a kind of foul and intoxicating odour. It smelt like beer or red wine that had gone off for weeks. The waiter nearly spewed up upon smelling the foul aroma. It was obvious that the grey scholar was very drunk at this moment. He had been drinking since the tavern opened at 8.00am in the morning. The table was full of broken wine cups and broken clay jugs. It was a total mess.
Not totally satisfied by the waiter’s earlier response the grey scholar struggled to stand up from the table. His body was now swaying left and right as he stood. Like a boat drifting in rough tides. Slamming 20 taels of silver on the table, he said, “What! Don’t you think I have enough money to pay? Well here’s my payment!”.
Pointing an index finger towards the direction of the wine cellar and grabbing the waiter gently by the throat he said in a threatening tone, “I’m a regular patron here! Your boss depends on my business each and every day! How dare you not serve me! Now get me some wine boy! Don’t give me any nonsense about being drunk! I’m very thirsty! Go quickly now! Or else!”.
The waiter shrugged his shoulders whilst casting a glance at the barman. He nodded to indicate to the waiter to serve another jug to the grey scholar. It was obvious that the barman recognised the grey scholar. Besides the barman was only concerned about making money. He couldn’t care less if the scholar in grey robes had one too many. But the barman was also slightly nervous at this moment upon noticing the many warriors that had gathered. He knew the temper of the scholar in grey robes well and didn’t want any trouble. Picking the 20 taels of silver off the table, the young waiter said, “Sir! Okay, I will get you another jug of wine. Please let go of me!”.
Releasing his grip from the waiter’s throat, the grey scholar said, “Wait! Just because I’ve had a few to drink, doesn’t mean I can’t count! 20 taels are worth four jugs! I now want four jugs instead of one! Hurry up boy!”.
The waiter shrugged his shoulders once more before giving a long sigh. He said, “Okay! Okay! Four jugs! I’ll be right back!”, before going down to the wine cellar. Moments later he returned and placed four large jugs of wine on the table. He then proceeded to serve his other customers.
“Excellent wine! Excellent wine!”, praised the grey scholar as he broke the seal to the first jug and smelt the sweet flagrance.
Reaching around on the table the grey scholar could not find a small wine cup from which he could drink from. They were all broken. He cursed slightly as he picked up the jug of wine before leaning back and opening his mouth to scull all of its contents down his throat. He finished in around 30 seconds. A loud ‘clank’ sound echoed through the tavern as he dropped the empty wine jug onto the floor. It smashed into bits and pieces. Moments later he picked up the second, third, and final jug before sculling all of its contents. A loud ‘bang’ sound echoed through the tavern as the scholar in grey robes suddenly dropped face first onto the table upon finishing the fourth jug of wine. It was obvious that he had passed out. He was now laying motionless as he leant over the table.
“Ay! Pity! What a pity!”, remarked a grey swordsman upon noticing that the grey scholar had sculled the four jugs of wine in quick succession and had passed out as a result. The grey swordsman was sitting at a table for two with a young girl around 7-8 years of age. A short green bamboo stick, and a long bamboo pen rested on the table before this man. A small rectangle bamboo basket containing various scrolls rested on the floor next to him. He was none other than the great Calligraphy Swordsman, Du Fu. The girl was none other than his young apprentice, Ah Sing.
“Pity? Why? Master I don’t understand!”, remarked Ah Sing whilst looking at the drunken scholar in grey robes.
“Those who drink wine like water do not drink for enjoyment! Therefore they can never appreciate the grand splendour and taste of the wine! So they should not be drinking at all! It’s a total waste of four jugs of fine wine!”, remarked Du Fu whilst shaking his head. He took a sip from his own wine cup upon making this remark.
Ah Sing remained silent. She was drinking herbal tea and thus did not understand what her master has just said. After a while she decided to ask, “Master, do you know who that young scholar in grey robes is?”.
Smiling slightly, Du Fu replied, “Of course! He was enrolled in the Royal Medical school in Southern China. But he wasted his university days by spending all of his time down at the tavern to make a name for himself. He is the one they call, ‘Thousand Cups Drunkard – The Lucky Doctor’, Wah Yek Si!”.
Ah Sing was just about to ask Du Fu another question, when she suddenly noticed that he had raised his hand in the air to indicate to her to remain silent. Du Fu then leant back in his chair to take up a casual pose. He poured another cup of wine for himself before fixing his gaze at the entrance of the Dragon Tavern. There were two strange people approaching the tavern.
One could now see that a tall well built man around 27-28 years of age had arrived at the Dragon Tavern. He had a rounded face, but one could see that he was rather handsome. The expression on his face seemed very indifferent. He looked neither happy nor sad. He stood around 6’0 tall. A plain white robe was wrapped around his gigantic frame. A plain white cape was worn over his shoulders and was flustering gently in the breeze. He carried a heavy looking sword in his right hand. It was 10cm wide, and around 100 cm long. It was thick in the middle and thin at the edges. The sword was resting in a white sheath. A cloud of white mist surrounded the hilt of the sword. His hair was neatly combed and tied up into a bundle at the back. A rounded white marble cap held his hair in place. He had an air of noble pride about him as he walked.
He carried a long rope in his left had. He was pulling it as he walked. The rope was wrapped around the waist of a very tiny and short girl wearing a torn green dress. She carried a long broad sword in her right hand. A small black cloth had covered the hilt of the sword. A white mask covered the top portion of the face. The young girl tried her hardest to resist being pulled along by the white swordsman, but her inner energy wasn’t as advanced.
“Waiter! A table for two please!”, shouted the white swordsman as he entered the tavern before tugging the rope hard with his left arm. The young girl in green entered the tavern moments later.
The young waiter raced up to the white swordsman before saying, “Sir! I’m terribly sorry! But the tavern is full at the moment! Please come back another day!”.
“What! I’m afraid that I can’t do that! I have an appointment with someone at this tavern at 12.00pm today! I’m not leaving! You must find me a table! Understand?”, said the white swordsman in a cold and chilling tone whilst taking a glance around the room to observe the surroundings.
“But… But… But…”, mumbled the young waiter in brown robes whilst shrugging his shoulders.
Pointing a finger at the table occupied by members from the Divine Butterfly Sect, the white swordsman said, “This is a tavern! Yet these people are drinking herbal tea! They’re not drinking wine or beer! Please ask them to leave! I’ll sit here!”.
Smiling, Yuk Long, waved her hands to the waiter before saying, “Waiter! I would like a jug of red wine please!”.
“We’re drinking now! So you have no right ask us to leave this tavern?”, remarked Yuk Long whilst casting a side glance at the white swordsman.
The white swordsman did not reply. He was neither angered nor upset by those comments. He still looked very indifferent. He scanned around the room once more with his razor sharp eyes. He kept a very cold and ‘icey’ disposition. Like a piece of white snow.
“That’s right! I’d also like a jug of wine!”, agreed her master, To Guk Fa, whilst casting a glare at the white swordsman.
“Humph! Bloody tourists! Always think they own the country!”, snickered Yuk Wah and Yuk Ling underneath their breaths whilst casting an unapproving look at the white swordsman.
Sounding very nervous the waiter said, “Yes! Two jugs of red wine coming up shortly!”. He was afraid that the white swordsman might lash out upon hearing those comments. He noticed that the white swordsman was holding a young girl as a hostage and thus realised that he was not a good person. But the white swordsman did not take any action. Instead he was still scanning around the room.
“Sir! I’m not trying to be difficult! But you must leave! This tavern is full at the moment!”, said the waiter whilst turning nervously to the white swordsman.
“Wait! I don’t believe you, when you say that the tavern is full!”, shouted the white swordsman whilst holding his hands up in the air.
He then fixed his gaze at a table for four at the centre of the tavern. Three of the seats were currently empty. A drunken scholar was laying face first on the table. Pointing with his index finger towards that particular table, the white swordsman said, “What about that table over there? It’s virtually empty except for that young scholar! But he’s passed out at the moment and you should probably throw him out! I’ll sit over there then!”.
“Sir, we can’t throw him out! He’s a regular here and owns that particular table that he is resting on! You’ll have to ask that scholar if it’s okay for you to sit there!”, replied the young waiter in brown robes before walking towards the wine cellar to retrieve two jugs of wine for members of the Divine Butterfly Sect.
“Fair enough! I doubt he’ll refuse!”, replied the white swordsman.
Dragging the young girl along with him, he soon approached the table occupied by Doctor Wah. Cupping his hands, he said in a loud voice, “You there! Is it okay if I sit at this table?”.
But he heard no reply. All he heard was soft snoring from the young scholar before him. So he asked again, “Young man! If you object to me sitting here just shake your head! Otherwise I’ll assume that it’s okay to sit down!”.
Hearing no response, for a second time, the white swordsman decided to sit down. Pulling out a chair form underneath the table for the young lady in green, he said whilst pointing to the chair, “Sit down! Now!”.
The young girl in green sat down at the table without objection. She knew that her kung fu were not as advanced as the white swordsman. Most of the warriors in the tavern quietened down upon noticing that the white swordsman had entered. They knew that the young girl in green was the white swordsman’s hostage, and they were thus a little outraged. Being members from orthodox clans, many of the warriors in the tavern had immediately wanted to intervene. But they did not as the young girl in green did not appear to be in a life-threatening situation at the moment. So many of them decided to wait until they found out a little bit more as to the identities of the white swordsman and the young girl in green before intervening. They knew it was not wise to rashly intervene into another’s business without first knowing what’s going on.
“Waiter! A jug of red wine please!”, shouted the white swordsman as he took out a couple of rice buns from his travelling bag.
“Yes sir! Coming up!”, shouted the young waiter in return as he disappeared down to the wine cellar once more.
Passing a white rice bun over to the young girl in green, the white swordsman said, “Here! Take this! You must be starving!”.
The young lady in green immediately grabbed onto the white rice bun before shoving it down her mouth. She had always been a big eater, and somehow managed stay slim and thin. She was still very hungry but knew that she would not get anything else to eat for quite a while. Looking up at the white swordsman, she decided to ask, “Who are you? Why did you capture me as a hostage and who are you waiting for?”.
At this moment the waiter return before placing a jug on red wine before the white swordsman. The white swordsman poured a cup of wine before downing it in one gulp. He replied, “Who am I? My surname is ‘Fa’, and first names are ‘Fei Sit’!”.
“Fa Fei Sit? Who on earth is Fa Fei Sit? Never heard of him before!”, thought the young girl in green inwardly.
Pausing for a moment he continued, “Why did I capture you and who am I waiting for? I captured you because I want to duel with someone! It’s the same person that I’m waiting for! I’m waiting for your brother Mo Yung Bak!”.
Suddenly there was a hush in the tavern as everyone channelled their inner energy to try their best to catch the entire conversation between the white swordsman, Fa Fei Sit, and the young lady in green. In fact it was now obvious that Fa Fei Sit’s hostage was none other than Bak Tin Kiew, who he captured from the Golden Dragon Inn a few days ago. Everyone in the tavern now became curious upon hearing the name Mo Yung Bak being mentioned. It was wide known throughout wulin that the ‘Mo Yung’ family possessed great martial arts ability. But they have throughout the generations been very secretive about their allegiances. It was rumoured throughout wulin that Mo Yung Bak was amongst the top 10 fighters on the Central Plains of China. In fact his skills were considered to be just a level below that of the Gentleman Sword. His ‘essence counterattacking strike, iron palms, and iron sword was well renowned. But no one had ever met him before as he was a master in disguise and was able to impersonate anyone he wished in wulin. Also whenever he murdered someone, he had used his opponent’s own kung fu against them. So people in wulin could never know whether that person had committed suicide or died at Mo Yung Bak’s hands.
The young swordsman wearing red robes appeared to become very interested in finding out more about the identity of the white swordsman and the young lady in green. He walked from the bar to the side of the tavern to be closer to the table to observe them.
“My brother, Mo Yung Bak!”, gasped Bak Tin Kiew out loud whilst taking a glance around the tavern herself. She noticed that members of the Divine Butterfly Sect, and Taishan Sect had gathered at the tavern. She recognised that it was Doctor Wah who was passed out on the table they were sitting at. She also noticed Du Fu and Ah Sing on the table next to them. Bak Tin Kiew became slightly nervous at this point as she did not want to reveal her real identity yet. She knew that Yik Ching Fung and the others would never let her out of their sight if they discovered who she was.
Pausing for a while to catch some air she continued, “No you’re very much mistaken! I’m not Mo Yung Bak’s sister! Please let me go!”.
“What! You’re not Mo Yung Bak’s sister, Mo Yung Kiew? Then who are you? Why were you staying in Mo Yung Bak’s room at the Golden Dragon Inn?”, asked Fa Fei Sit. Though he was slightly shocked by her comments, he was not totally convinced that she was telling the entire truth.
When Fa Fei Sit had initially captured Bak Tin Kiew, he was certain that she had been Mo Yung Bak’s sister. He had asked the hotel manager about who had been staying in the room with Mo Yung Bak. The hotel manager told him it was Mo Yung Bak’s sister, Mo Yung Kiew. So he immediately sealed all of her pressure points, including her vocal pressure points to prevent her from screaming. Bak Tin Kiew had been unable to speak for the past two days as a result. Fa Fei Sit had only decided to release her pressure points before arriving at the Golden Dragon Inn. They never spoke much during the past two days. Fa Fei Sit was a man of relatively few words.
“I’m Lok Tin Kiew! I’m not related to Mo Yung Bak!”, replied Bak Tin Kiew whilst casting another glance around the room.
Upon hearing the name, ‘Lok Tin Kiew’, Hua Ling Do and Du Fu immediately recognised her as the young lady who had been travelling with Fisherman Ho. But they decided to delay taking action as they wanted to find out the identity of the white swordsman first. None of them had ever heard of the name Fa Fei Sit before. So they were unsure as to his abilities and where his allegiances were.
“Lok Tin Kiew?”, remarked Fa Fei Sit out loud to himself.
Noticing that the young girl in green before him was wearing a white mast to cover the upper portion of her face, he said, “Somehow I don’t believe you!”.
Stretching his hand out to remove the white mask he continued, “Why are you wearing a mask? You’re hiding something!”.
“Oh no!”, gasped Bak Tin Kiew out loud upon noticing that the white masked had been removed from her face.
“Ha! It’s little Miss Bak!”, shouted Ling Wu Mun as he stood up from his table before unsheathing his sword.
“What are we waiting for? Attack formation!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung as he waved his hands in the air. The eight Taishan swordsman immediately surrounded the table with their swords pointed in an attacking position.
“Let little Miss Bak go! Or else!”, demanded Yik Ching Fung as he walked forward towards the white swordsman.
“Why should I let her go? Who is she?”, asked the white swordsman as he sat at the table whilst calmly drinking his wine. He did not appear at all concerned that he had been surrounded by the eight swordsman wearing light blue robes.
Striding forward, Hua Ling Do cupped his hands before saying in a polite tone, “Greetings! I’m Hua Ling Do, the 3rd senior apprentice of Bak Fung Wan, the Chancellor of Wulin! This young lady is his daughter, Bak Tin Kiew! We do not want to cause any trouble! We would appreciate it if you immediately released her!”.
“Bak Tin Kiew! So she’s Lin Chun Fa’s daughter!”, gasped Cheung Cum and To Guk Fa together as they watched the various events taking place before them. Yuk Long motioned to stand up to assist the Taishan swordsman, but To Guk Fa grabbed her hand whilst shaking her head. Indicating that it was not yet an appropriate time to intervene. Cheung Cum nodded her head to indicate that it was a good idea to wait before taking any action.
“Ah! So this is the Chancellor’s daughter! No wonder! No wonder!”, remarked the white swordsman out loud whilst casting a glance a the pretty rounded face before him. He had also noticed that all of the warriors who had gathered was now starring at him. They were all intent on saving the Chancellor’s daughter. The only two swordsman who did not appear to be concerned were the Demon Cult members quietly sitting towards the corner, trying their hardest to mind their own business.
After a while, Fa Fei Sit, thought inwardly, “It’s not a total loss then! If I can’t challenge Mo Yung Bak to a duel then I’ll challenge the Gentleman Sword instead!”.
Turning to face Hua Ling Do before shifting his glance across to Yik Ching Fung, he continued, “Young man! You have very good manners! Unlike that other wild dog in front of my eyes!”.
“Why you!”, interrupted Yik Ching Fung looking very annoyed.
He was about to charge forward when, Hua Ling Do stretched out an arm to prevent him from taking any further action. He said, “Senior apprentice brother Yik, don’t behave so rashly! Little Miss Bak is in his grasp. We’re here to ask for her release! We’re not here to cause trouble!”.
“Please let little Miss Bak go!”, continued Hua Ling Do as he turned his attention back on the white swordsman before him.
Taking another sip of wine, Fa Fei Sit said, “Let her go? I’m afraid I can’t do that as I’ve gone to so much trouble to catch her! Since she’s the Chancellor’s daughter, why don’t you get your master to come here personally to ask for her release!”.
Turning to face Yik Ching Fung again, Fa Fei Sit continued whilst snickering a little, “But the three of you are not worthy to be asking me to release this young girl! Do you think I’m afraid just because you out number me?”.
“What a devil! Attack!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung whilst waving his hands into the air. He directed the formation at the centre. Five swordsman attacked whilst three swordsman defended.
Fa Fei Sit immediately sealed Bak Tin Kiew’s pressure points before unsheathing his sword. One could now noticed that his word was entirely white. It appeared to be made of snow and a thick cloud of white mist surrounded it. The sword was very cold around the core. Fa Fei Sit leapt up from the table to avoid the five strikes aiming for his chest. Hua Ling Do attacked from the left, Ling Wu Mun from the right, and Yik Ching Fung from the centre. Fa Fei Sit twisted left and right to avoid the blows. He suddenly leapt over the five swordsman attacking him before to charging towards the three swordsman who specialised in defence and the back of the formation.
“Ah Ya!”, cried the three swordsman out loud as they were struck by a palm across the chest. They immediately felt very cold upon being struck. Their pressure points had been sealed and they could not move.
“Ha! The Frost Palms!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung upon recognising the palm attacks.
“Frost palms!”, remarked all of the warrior in the tavern together as they observed the fight before their very eyes. All of them knew that during his generation, Lin Sap Sam, had used the ‘frost palms’ and the ‘frost sword arts’ to claim the title of ‘Grand Champion of Wulin’. So they became very intrigued that this swordsman knew the ‘frost palms’. Some of the warriors immediately had the thought of murdering the white swordsman named, Fa Fei Sit, and claiming the manuals for themselves.
“So he’s the one who’s stolen the Frost Palms and the Frost Sword Arts!”, shouted Ling Wu Mun as he launched continuous attacks towards the lower stomach region of Fa Fei Sit.
“Stolen! The Frost Palms and the Frost Sword Arts originally belong to the ‘Fa’ family of Nepal! I, Fa Fei Sit, did not steal them!”, protested Fa Fei Sit as he blocked the attack with his snow sword.
Suddenly the sword in Ling Wu Mun’s grasp froze as a result of the chi energy being emitted through the snow sword. A loud ‘clang’ echoed through the air moments later as the sword shattered like ice into thousands of pieces. Ling Wu Mun was struck across the chest with a frost palm moments later. He coughed up a mouthful of blood as a result before crashing on the floor. He no longer had the strength to fight as his pressure points had also been sealed by the palm strike.
“Ah Ya!”, cried another two swordsman from the Taishan Sect moments later as they were struck by a palm across the chest. Their pressure points had been sealed as a result of the strike.
Yik Ching Fung launched his sword forwards. Flicking his wrist, he launched a swift attack towards Fa Fei Sit’s head. The sword appeared to have covered both Fa Fei Sit’s eyes and neck at the same time. He ducked left before striking his sword right. Another ‘clang’ sound echoed through the air as the sword in Yik Ching Fung’s sword shattered like ice.
“Ah Ya!”, cried Yik Ching Fung as he had also been struck by a frost palm across the chest. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before punching the ground with a fist. He had a very dejected look on his face. He was also slightly outraged that Hua Ling Do had managed to outlast him and was still battling with the white swordsman. Moments later he sat in a meditating position.
Hua Ling Do tried another tactic. He waited for Fa Fei Sit to strike first and he would counterattack. As expected Fa Fei Sit launched a strike towards Hua Ling Do’s thigh. Hua Ling Do flicked his wrist to turn the move of defence into a stance of attack towards the thigh of Fa Fei Sit. He immediately leapt back upon seeing the strike before counterattacking with a strike towards Hua Ling Do’s chest. Hua Ling Do twisted to the right before striking towards his left. Suddenly another loud ‘clang’ sound echoed through the air as the sword in Hua Ling Do’s grasp shattered into a thousand of pieces. Hua Ling Do was momentarily stunned by the events that he did not realise that a palm had been launched towards his right chest.
“Ah Ya!”, cried Hua Ling Do moments later has he suddenly felt all cold inside. His body temperature immediately dropped. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before sitting in a meditating position to channel his inner energy to release his pressure points and heal himself at the same time. Looking around he notice the other 7 Taishan swordsmen were also doing the same.
Casting a glance at Hua Ling Do, Fa Fei Sit said, “You cannot defeat me! If you want me to release this young lady, then get your master the ‘Gentleman Sword’ to come here personally to confront me!”.
Hua Ling Do and the others did not reply. They were concentrating hard to heal themselves. Upon seeing the awesome skills on display none of the warriors in the Dragon Tavern dared to intervene. Du Fu was just about to stand up and challenge Fa Fei Sit when he noticed that Cheung Cum had stood up and was now approaching the table occupied by Fa Fei Sit.
“The Chancellor is currently at Shaolin! It would take sometime for him to travel from Luoyang to Kaifeng! However if you wish to challenge the Chancellor to a duel you could go to Shaolin yourself!”, remarked Cheung Cum upon approaching the table. Lin Chun Fa was one of her favourite apprentices, so she had wanted to save her daughter from the white swordsman’s grasp.
Casting a glance at Fa Fei Sit, she continued, “Why do you need to hold the Chancellor’s daughter as a hostage? Please let her go!”.
“Humph! If I don’t hold the Chancellor’s daughter as a hostage, he would have no reason to duel with me! I won’t release her!”, replied Fa Fei Sit whilst casting a side glance at Cheung Cum.
“Who are you?”, suddenly asked Fa Fei Sit. He seemed to have recognised the face of the old Taoist Priestess. But he didn’t know where he had seen her before.
“I’m the ‘Iron Maiden’, Cheung Cum! Former Chief of the Divine Butterfly Sect!”, proudly replied Cheung Cum.
“Oh! So its only you! No wonder! No wonder!”, replied Fa Fei Sit whilst smirking a little.
Slightly shocked, Cheung Cum replied, “Do we know each other? Who are you?”.
“You’re very much mistaken! We don’t know each other! But I recognise you as the person who ordered your apprentices to kill the Black Dragon Swordsman after he had been seriously injured following the duel with Sword Saint Unrivalled East! That was very wicked!”, replied Fa Fei Sit as memories of 20 years ago flashed past his mind. He was in Chongqing on that fated morning and had seen a large number of people gathering in the city square. So he was slightly curious and stood amongst the crowd to watch the events unfold before his eyes. He had seen what had happened to the Black Dragon Swordsman that day. He was only 7-8 years of age then but had always hated the person who had wanted to take advantage of the Black Dragon Swordsman’s injury. That’s why he remembered Cheung Cum.
Upon hearing the Black Dragon Swordsman being mentioned, Cheung Cum, became totally outraged as past memories flashed through her mind. She had tried her hardest the past 20 years to bury the feelings of shame that she suffered at Taishan, when she was defeated by the Black Dragon Swordsman, and when her favourite apprentice had defied her orders. She was a very vengeful person and thus could not let those events rest. She had heard rumours of the Black Dragon Swordsman’s return in Chongqing, making her even angrier that she had been unable to kill him over 20 years ago. She shouted, “Who the heck are you? How are you connected to Black Dragon Swordsman?”.
“I’ve already told you! I am Fa Fei Sit!”, replied Fa Fei Sit.
Pausing for a while he continued, “The Black Dragon Swordsman is my saviour! I owe him greatly! I will never be able to thank him for his kindness!”.
“Saviour? You mean he actually saved someone in his lifetime?”, smirked Cheung Cum. She was slightly shocked by the white swordsman’s comments.
Shooting a glare at Cheung Cum, he replied, “I was nothing but a beggar until 20 years ago, when I stumbled across a kind and caring couple. The man gave me 20 taels of silver to hire a room for them to rest for the night at the ‘White Horses Inn’! That night I recovered something that has belonged to my family through the generations! Therefore I am very much grateful to the Black Dragon Swordsman!”.
It was now obvious that Fa Fei Sit was none other than the 7-8 year old boy who was standing by the side of the street noodle vending store. He was the same small boy who had gone to fetch goat milk to feed Yeung Yin Siu. He was also the same person that he been sent to book a room at the ‘White Horses Inn’. That night he stayed to beg for money at the side of the ‘White Horses Inn’. He had been there all night and had witnessed the Black Bat Assassin murdering a Lion Prestige Escort Swordsman and a man named Lin Mun Tung in front of the hotel. He immediately searched the two bodies for money and useful items that could help him survive. He managed to find the ‘frost palms’ and ‘frost sword art’ kung fu manuals that once belonged to his ancestors in Lin Mun Tung’s grasp. It was indeed fate that he manage locate the two kung fu manuals. He immediately reclaimed them as his own. That morning he had planned to leave China to learn the ‘frost palms’ and the ‘frost sword arts’. That’s when he stumbled across the large crowd at the city square and decided to remain behind to watch the various events. After that he decided to leave China and headed towards Nepal. From there he journeyed to the Himalaya’s to study the various arts in the two kung fu manuals, amongst the harsh and snowy conditions. He had now refined his skills to the highest level and has decided to return to China to attempt to claim the title, ‘Grand Champion of Wulin’.
Cheung Cum ignored the comments of the white swordsman, she said, “Are you going to release the Chancellor’s daughter or not?”.
“I’ve already told you that I wouldn’t! So why bother asking?”, replied Fa Fei Sit. He unsheathed his sword, anticipating an attack.
Cheung Cum launched her dust pen towards Fa Fei Sit’s head. He leant backwards before pushing his snow sword forward to block the attack. Upon retracting her weapon, Cheung Cum, noticed that every thread on her dust pen had frozen. Fa Fei Sit immediately launched his sword forward to strike the mid-stomach region of Cheung Cum. She slapped her dust pen hard to the right to block the blow. A loud ‘clang’ could be heard moments later a the dust pen shattered into thousands of pieces. It was followed by a loud ‘whack’ sound as Cheung Cum was struck across the chest by a ‘frost palm’. She was sent crashing towards the table being occupied by members from the Divine Butterfly Sect. Fa Fie Sit resumed sitting and drinking at the table.
Yuk Long assisted Cheung Cum to her feet. She had just coughed up a mouthful of blood upon being struck. To Guk Fa, Yuk Wah, and Yuk Ling motioned to charge forward to attack, Fa Fei Sit.
“Hold it! You’re no match for his abilities!”, shouted Cheung Cum whilst stretching out and arm to prevent them from moving forward. Seeing that To Guk Fa and the others had resumed sitting, Cheung Cum decided to sit in a meditating position to channel her inner energy to heal herself. The tavern was now dead silent. Everyone was shocked by the skills of the white swordsman. Cheung Cum was considered amongst the top 20 fighters in all of the orthodox clans, and yet she had been so easily beaten.
Looking at the entrance of the Dragon Tavern, Fa Fei Sit, had expected Mo Yung Bak to suddenly enter. Though he now knew the identity of the young girl in green before him, he was convinced that she still had some connections to Mo Yung Bak. In fact he had guessed her to be Mo Yung Bak’s girlfriend. So he expected Mo Yung Bak to be on time for his appointment. He thought inwardly, “It’s now 12.00pm! Where’s Mo Yung Bak?”, before taking a glance around the room. He knew that Mo Yung Bak was a master of disguise. So it would not be out of the question that he was at this moment, sitting at one of the tables nearby to observe him closely.
“Let her go!”, suddenly shouted someone to break the silence as they entered the room.
Everyone turned to take a closer look at the man who had just entered the tavern. It was just an old bearded man wearing a torn black robe. He looked and smelt like a Beggar Clan member. A long black spear was resting in his right hand. A sword was strapped to his back. It had been covered in a brown silk cloth so no one could see what the sword looked like. This man was none other than Yeung Yin Siu. The Divine Butterfly Sect members, Du Fu, and Bak Tin Kiew immediately recognised this person.
“Beggar Ho! You’re here! Where have you been?”, remarked Yuk Long as she raced by his side to acknowledge his presence. She had been very glad to see him and that he was alive. A few nights ago she had been greatly worried and concerned upon discovering that the old bearded man named, Beggar Ho, had suddenly disappeared. She had wanted to speak with him, after taking care of her master Cheung Cum that night.
Yeung Yin Siu had been a little late for his appointment with Fa Fei Sit. He had intended to arrive at the Dragon Tavern a lot earlier in the day to observe the atmosphere. But he remained on his boat to take good care of Chueng Ka Bo. She had caught a slight cold from spending too much time out on the deck of the boat to admire the sun. She had also been feeling slightly weak from her injuries. Yeung Yin Siu had spent much of the day pondering over the disappearance of Blacksmith Chan and the reasons behind why his shop had been burnt to the ground. The previous day he managed to locate the black dragon sword upon smashing the large clay statute of Buddha. Why Blacksmith Chan had hidden the sword there, he did not know, so became very curious and intrigued by his disappearance. The black dragon sword itself was a very long broad sword. It was very unique and different to every other broad sword that has ever been forged by Blacksmith Chan. It was around 80cm in length and 5cm in width. It was thick at the centre and thin at the edges. There was a long hollow groove down the centre of the sword. The groove was around 50cm in length and 0.5cm wide. A black dragon with golden scales was carved into the hilt of the sword.
Turning to face Yuk Long, Yeung Yin Siu remarked, “Miss Yuk, I apologise for not saying goodbye the other evening! But I had some urgent business I needed to take care off!”.
“Who’s that young lady? Why is brother Yeung apologising to her?”, Bak Tin Kiew thought inwardly upon fixing a gaze at the Divine Butterfly Sect apprentice standing next to Yeung Yin Siu. She felt slightly uneasy for some reason upon seeing that another pretty young lady had been standing next to Yeung Yin Siu. But she knew that there was nothing she could do at that moment in time.
Turning his attention to Fa Fei Sit, Yeung Yin Siu continued, “That man has captured a good friend of mine! Therefore I must confront him!”.
“But I must do this alone!”, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say whilst shifting his glance back at Yuk Long. He knew that she had wanted to assist him in dealing with Fa Fei Sit. But he was confident in his own abilities and thus did not want to be distracted during the fight.
“Long yee, what are you doing? Sit back down! Now!”, shouted To Guk Fa whilst pointing to the empty chair next to her. She hated the man named, Beggar Ho, after the events of the past few days. Yuk Long did not dare to defy her master’s orders and immediately sat down to watch the events unfold towards the side.
“So that’s Yuk Long! The senior apprentice of the Divine Butterfly Sect!”, Bak Tin Kiew thought inwardly. She had been keeping her gaze on the young lady wearing a light blue dress all this time. Trying her hardest to find out a bit more about her. Her heart suddenly ached a little upon realising who she was.
Standing up and believing the old bearded man to be Mo Yung Bak, Fa Fei Sit said in a very polite tone whilst cupping his hands, “Greetings Mo Yung Bak! Your skills are famed throughout wulin! It’s an honour to meet you!”.
Pointing with an index finger towards, Bak Tin Kiew he continued, “I will release your friend following our duel!”.
“This way! After you!”, continued Fa Fei Sit whilst motioning towards the garden of the Dragon Tavern at the back. That was where he had intended to duel with Mo Yung Bak.
But before Yeung Yin Siu had a chance to respond, the red swordsman leapt forward from the side of the tavern. He stood three paces away from Yeung Yin Siu with the pair of hooked swords held in an attacking position. He said, “So you’re Mo Yung Bak! I’ve come to arrest you!”.
Slightly amused, Yeung Yin Siu decided to ask the red swordsman, “Who the heck are you?”.
“My surname is ‘Jin’ and first names are ‘Mo Ying’! I’m the royal inspector! You’re under arrest for assaulting the Emperor’s brother, Chu Yin Fu!”, replied Jin Mo Ying as he reached out a hand to capture Yeung Yin Siu.
Slapping the red swordsman’s hands away from his grasp before drawing his spear, Yeung Yin Siu remarked, “So you’re the ‘Shadowless Sword’ - Inspector Jin! You’re the distant relation to the famous ‘Jin Chiu’!”.
“But you’re very much mistaken! I’m Beggar Ho! I’m not Mo Yung Bak! You’ve got the wrong person!”, continued Yeung Yin Siu with a smirk.
It was now obvious that the brother of the Emperor, Chu Yin Fu, had informed Emperor Xuande that a masked man, named Mo Yung Bak, had attacked him, and now sought his revenge. He had actually requested the Emperor to send a garrison to wipe out the ‘Mo Yung’ family. Although Emperor Xuande was outraged that someone had committed such a cruel and ruthless crime against his brother, he was a very wise man. He was well aware of how the Ming Dynasty had been established. He knew that if he were to send his entire garrison to wipe out the ‘Mo Yung’ family consisting of over 100 people, it would cause an outrage in wulin. He knew that the forces of all of the unorthodox nomads, orthodox clans, and Demon Cult combined were more than enough to overthrow his rule as the Emperor. His throne was safe as long as the various clans fought amongst each other. So he wasn’t about to do anything rash that could potentially unite the whole of wulin against him. So he sent his top royal investigator, Jin Mo Ying, to capture the man whom he thought had been directly responsible for committing the crime against his brother.
“You claim you’re not Mo Yung Bak! I don’t believe you! Why are you resisting arrest then? We can sort this out at the Royal Court in Kaifeng! You can prove that you’re innocent then!”, replied Jin Mo Ying. He had always believed the court system to be fair and equitable.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you! But you’ve got to be kidding! Courts are just a way for the rich and corrupt people in this world to get their own way against others! You could murder someone, but as long as you’ve got enough money, you can always get away with it! I’m not going anywhere! You’ll have to kill me first!”, replied Yeung Yin Siu. Although he had actually been the one who had committed the crime against the Emperor’s brother and not Mo Yung Bak, he would never admit it. Besides he did not consider it to be a crime as he had actually saved a girl from being rapped. Fronting up a court had never crossed his mind as he knew he would be at the whim of a corrupt law system that favours the rich.
“Okay! You leave me with no other choice! I must use force to arrest you!”, shouted Jin Mo Ying as he launched a strike forward the hook sword attacking towards Yeung Yin Siu’s right shoulder. He held his left sword in a position to defend against an incoming blow.
“Don’t think that I’m afraid of you and your ‘shadowless sword’! You asked for it!”, continued Yeung Yin Siu as he twisted to left to avoid the strike before launching his black spear directly forwards towards the mid stomach region of Jin Mo Ying.
Jin Mo Ying blocked the strike with his left sword. He suddenly felt a jolt go down his left arm as the sword collided with the spear. The sword nearly fell out of his grasp as a result. It was obvious that his opponent possessed a very high level of inner energy. Gripping both of the swords tightly he launched continuous attacks with both swords aiming for Yeung Yin Siu’s right and left shoulder. He was slashing at such a rapid rate that it almost appeared as if his sword had disappeared from sight. All Yeung Yin Siu could see was a thick cloud of silver mist attacking towards his right and left shoulder. Unsure as to the location of the attacks, Yeung Yin Siu, decided to leap a couple of paces backwards to avoid the blow. He then bent at the waist before appearing to separate into three different people before resuming in an upright position. Although he could not see the sword being wielded by Jin Mo Ying, Yeung Yin Siu, fixed his gaze on Jin Mo Ying’s right and left hand, and waited for an opportunity to strike. Jin Mo Ying’s on the other hand attacked forward towards the central image but struck nothing but thin air. He was certain that the two other images of the old bearded man were fake. But he attacked in the wrong place.
“Ah Ya!”, cried Jin Mo Ying moments later as he was struck on the right and left hand. A numbing sensation went down both his arms, causing him to drop the hook swords from his grasp. A soft ‘clang’ sound echoed through the air as the weapons hit the ground.
Pointing his long black spear at Jin Mo Ying’s throat, Yeung Yin Siu continued, “Inspector Jin! I’ve heard you are a very honest official! I will therefore let you go today! Besides we do not have any previous feuds with each other! You’ve just mistaken me for someone else! I’m not Mo Yung Bak! So you’ve come to arrest the wrong person!”.
Though Yeung Yin Siu had caught the young girl who had impersonated him, he stilled believed that Mo Yung Bak was behind the whole scheme. He now wanted to use Jin Mo Ying to help him track down the location of Mo Yung Bak. He was aware of Jin Mo Ying’s reputation as the best inspector and investigator on the Central Plains of China.
Giving a sigh, Jin Mo Ying replied, “Okay! I believe that you’re not Mo Yung Bak! Goodbye!”. He noticed that the various stances of the old bearded man did not match the renowned kung fu of Mo Yung Bak. So he reached the conclusion that the old bearded man had been telling the truth.
Moments later Yeung Yin Siu released the pressure points on Jin Mo Ying. He bent over to retrieve his weapons from the ground. He cupped his hands together before disappearing from the tavern.
Turning his attention to Fa Fei Sit, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say, “Brother Fa! You’re also mistaken! I’m not Mo Yung Bak! I’m Beggar Ho!”.
Pointing an index finger at Bak Tin Kiew he continued, “Your little hostage is a friend of mine! Please let her go!”.
“You’re not worthy to be asking me to release this young girl Only the top 10 fighters on the Central Plains on China may ask me to release her!”, replied Fa Fei Sit whilst calmly drinking his wine.
Noticing that Fa Fei Sit was rather arrogant and was over confident in his own abilities, Yeung Yin Siu, decided to say, “I don’t care whether you believe that I am worthy or not! But you will release the little girl!”.
“Oh! Is that so? We’ll see about that!”, replied Fa Fei Sit as he suddenly stood up and unsheathed his sword.
Wasting no time he launched a strike aiming for the middle of Yeung Yin Siu’s chest. A loud ‘clang’ echoed through the air as Yeung Yin Siu raised his black spear and blocked the blow. He was slightly surprised upon seeing that the middle portion of the spear that had blocked the strike had suddenly became white like snow. Extending his spear forward Yeung Yin Siu, attacked towards Fa Fei Sit’s head. He pulled his head back before taking a pace to the left. Taking a step towards Yeung Yin Siu, Fa Fei Sit, aimed a swift strike towards Yeung Yin Siu’s lower stomach. Another loud ‘clang’ echoed through the air as the spear clashed violently with the sword. The upper portion of the spear had now turned white after contacting the sword. Yeung Yin Siu immediately rolled towards the right. He launched a strike towards Fa Fei Sit’s lower thigh with the tip of the spear pointed upwards, whilst still rolling on the ground. Fa Fei Sit kneeled down on his right knee before blocking the tip of the spear with his sword. The long black spear in Yeung Yin Siu’s hands had turned all white. It felt rather cold, like ice, in his grasp. It appeared that the spear had become frozen. But it was still hard and sturdy. Noticing that the snow sword was now striking towards his head, Yeung Yin Siu raised his spear to defend against the blow. Another loud ‘clang’ echoed through the air as the black spear shattered like ice into a thousand of pieces.
“Excellent move!”, praised Yeung Yin Siu as he rolled forward to avoid the strike. He had also managed to narrowly miss being struck by a frost palm.
Realising that the ‘frost’ energy being emitted from the snow sword had frozen the spear, Yeung Yin Siu, worked on another tactic. He pulled his new black dragon sword from over his shoulders and unsheathed it. Running two fingers along the side of the blade he channelled his ‘essence dissolving energy’ into the sword. The black dragon sword suddenly radiated a kind of golden glow. The audience gave a soft cry upon seeing such a finely crafted sword. It had no equal on the Central Plains of China.
Giving a loud cry, Fa Fei Sit attacked forwards again. Flicking his wrists left and right, he attacked in a zig zagged motion with the tip pointed towards the right and left shoulders of Yeung Yin Siu. Swinging left and right whilst moving backwards, Yeung Yin Siu managed to block the continuos thrusts.
“Excellent inner energy!”, praised Fa Fei Sit upon seeing that water had been flowing freely from the end of the black dragon sword. His frost inner energy had been dissolved into water. He therefore realised that he could not freeze and subsequently shatter the sword in his opponents hands. Although he praised his opponent, he started to slightly fear his abilities.
They exchanged another 30 stances and fought to a standstill. Yeung Yin Siu suddenly utilised his ‘divine red moon reflecting in the water stance’ and attacked towards Fa Fei Sit’s chest. All Fa Fei Sit could see was three identical people attacking with the tip of the sword pointed towards his chest. The left image attacked towards the right. The right image attacked towards his left. The central image attacked directly forwards. He did not try to second-guess where the attacks were coming from, but instead, immediately did three back flips to avoid the strikes. He wanted to create some distance between himself and his opponent. Watching from a distance Fa Fei Sit, noticed something particularly odd. He spotted a flaw in his opponent’s stance. He noticed a shadow underneath the image to the left. Suddenly the shadow moved to the central image, and then the right image. He thought inwardly as his opponent approached him, “Attack the image with the shadow”.
Yeung Yin Siu flashed a strike directly forwards at his opponent’s stomach. He suddenly had a terrible fright when he noticed that Fa Fei Sit’s sword was suddenly attacking towards his elbow. He was forced to retract his sword and defend the blow. Otherwise he would have lost his right arm.
“Lucky guess!”, Yeung Yin Siu thought inwardly upon noticing that Fa Fei Sit had managed to strike directly towards where he stood.
The ‘divine red moon reflecting in the water’ stance at its most advance level consists of nine perfect reflections including a shadow below each of the images. But Yeung Yin Siu has only perfected 25% of the arts. Thus there was a flaw to his stance. Though he was aware of this, none of the other opponents he had fought against thus far had managed to perceive it, as he was moving at such a rapid rate. He utilised his 13 Ghost Mountain lightness kung fu along with each of the strikes. Another 10 stances were exchanged as the two fighters fought to yet another stand still. They appeared to be very evenly matched up until this point.
“He’s found the flaw!”, Yeung Yin Siu thought inwardly at the conclusion of the 11th stance. He now started to worry a little as he stared at his opponent in awe. It was now certain that Fa Fei Sit was indeed a top class fighter.
Suddenly Yeung Yin Siu, noticed that his body was starting to become very cold, and that his core temperature had dropped. He was using the ‘essence dissolving arts’ which required him to absorb all of the frost inner energy before dissolving its power. At its most advance level he could use such arts to dissolve any form of inner energy without causing him any harm or internal injuries. But he had only managed to master 25% of this art. He was therefore absorbing ‘frost inner energy’ at a faster rate than his body could dissolve. As a natural reaction, his body started shaking a little form the cold. He stances started to become a little slow. Noticing that he finally had his opponent on a back foot as a result of his ‘frost inner energy’, Fa Fei Sit launched forward with a ‘frost palm’ with his left hand towards Yeung Yin Siu’s chest.
“Dam it!”, cursed Yeung Yin Siu upon seeing the attack. His black dragon sword was now defending a strike from the snow sword, and he could not retract it to block the incoming palm attack. His palm strikes were his weakest skills.
A loud ‘whack’ echoed through the air as Yeung Yin Siu blocked the ‘frost palm’ with the ‘phantom palms’ he had perfected from Fung Lau Yin. Having left China for so long at such a young age, Fa Fei Sit, was unable to fully grasp the various kung fu being utilised by his opponent. He felt a surge of warm energy enter his body as his soft organs felt like being squeezed like an orange. But this feeling did not last long and he soon recovered. He praised, “Excellent kung fu! No one has been able to last this long against me! You’re truly an amazing fighter! But your abilities are not as great as mine!”.
Yeung Yin Siu did not reply, but instead gritted his teeth. He felt a surge of cold energy enter his body. That was more than his body could handle. Looking up he noticed that his left palm was still connected to Fa Fei Sit’s left palm. The handle of the black dragon sword was starting to turn a little white, and then the frost would evaporate into water. Yeung Yin Siu had a sudden thought. He strapped the black dragon sword towards his right waist. He suddenly grabbed onto a chair close by. Fa Fei Sit was concentrating his inner energy down his left palm that he did not strike with the snow sword in his right hand. He was convinced that he would win the contest of inner energy. Not long after the chair in Yeung Yin Siu’s grasp turned white. A layer of thick frost had built up along the chair. Yeung Yin Siu had decided not to dissolve the frost inner energy entering his body, but rather diverted it elsewhere. His body suddenly felt a little warmer as a result. This standstill lasted another 20 minutes.
“Excellent inner energy!”, praised Fa Fei Sit after a while. He thought that Yeung Yin Siu had been able to resist his ‘frost inner energy’. Most people who had fought like this against him had frozen up and died after around 5 minutes. He did not yet noticed that the chair behind Yeung Yin Siu had turned into a mountain of frost. So he did not know what Yeung Yin Siu had been doing all this time.
After another 5 minutes had passed, Fa Fei Sit, finally noticed a big mountain of frost building up behind his opponent. Taking his palm away before standing back 10 paces, he shouted, “What the heck! What devilish arts are these?”.
Yeung Yin Siu smiled and released his grasp on the chair before walked forwards. After 5 paces towards his opponent Yeung Yin Siu suddenly he collapsed on the floor as his body suddenly felt very cold. Being one of the first times that he had used the arts in a real battle, he did not realise that he had let go too soon. He hadn’t been able to diverted all of the residual ‘frost inner energy’ to the chair yet. His body became slightly frozen as a result. He struggled to pick himself up, before deciding to sit in a meditation position to channel all of his inner energy to warm his body.
Fa Fei Sit gave a slight laugh upon realising that his opponent had been defeated. He said, “Even with that devilish art, you still managed to lose today!”.
Walking back towards the table to take Bak Tin Kiew as a hostage once more, he continued whilst shifting a glance towards Hua Ling Do, “This little girl is my hostage! Tell the ‘Gentleman Sword’ to meet me at the ‘Obsession Inn’ in Louyang in three days if he wants to see his daughter alive!”.
Fa Fei Sit was just about to release Bak Tin Kiew’s pressure points and leave the Dragon Tavern, when Du Fu finally stood up. He said, “Wait! The Chancellor’s daughter should not be taken as your hostage! You will release her now before you leave!”.
“Who are you? You know I won’t release her until someone worthy comes to ask for her release!”, snickered Fa Fei Sit whilst casting a side glance at the swordsman in grey robes. He did not seem to possess any special abilities and resembled more of a learned scholar than a fighter.
Cupping his hands together and bowing slightly, Du Fu remarked, “Who’s worthy and who’s unworthy is not for your eyes alone to judge! Those who you think are worthy, may not be so. Those who you think are unworthy, may yet be so! One cannot tell for sure by appearances and reputation alone!”.
“My name is Du Fu! But most people know me as the ‘Calligraphy Swordsman’! You will release the Chancellor’s daughter now!”, smiled Du Fu whilst walking forward. He did not have an ounce of fear in his eyes as he casually strode forward.
“Ha! So you’re the ‘Calligraphy Swordsman’!”, remarked Fa Fei Sit in shock. The reputation of the Calligraphy Swordsman was well known to him along his travels. It was said that the skills and abilities of the Calligraphy Swordsman was a level below that of Kim Mo Dik, the Sword Saint Unrivalled East and equal to that of the Gentleman Sword. Fa Fei Sit had intended to duel against Mo Yung Bak, and then the Gentleman Sword to test his own abilities before confronting the Calligraphy Swordsman.
He was now trying his hardest to decide whether or not to duel with the Calligraphy Swordsman at this point in time. He was uncertain as to whether he would win or not and thus hesitated. But he was certain that he would be able to defeat Mo Yung Bak and the Gentleman Sword though. Knowing that a defeat would ruin his reputation, he decided to say after a while, “Since the great Calligraphy Swordsman has decided to ask me personally! I will release this young girl!”.
Releasing Bak Tin Kiew’s pressure points, he continued, “But I will only do so if you promise one thing!”.
Bak Tin Kiew immediately took this opportunity to rush to the side of Yeung Yin Siu. She asked, “How are you? I’m so glad to see you!”.
Yeung Yin Siu replied, “I’m fine! I’m glad that you’re safe from harm! You should thank Du Fu when you have the chance!”.
Bak Tin Kiew nodded her head to indicate that she agreed. Looking around she noticed that the other apprentices from the Taishan Sect were still sitting in a meditating position. Seeing that they weren’t in a dangerous condition she stayed by Yeung Yin Siu’s side.
At this moment Yik Ching Fung, opened his eyes and noticed that Bak Tin Kiew was sitting to the side of the old bearded man. He could see that they were quite intimate with each other. He slammed a fist against the ground as his face turned a slightly orange complexion. Ling Wu Mun looked across and noticed the jealous complexion on Yik Ching Fung’s face. But he did not say anything. Instead he appeared to have smiled slightly before resuming back into his meditating position.
Ignoring the various conversations going around him, Du Fu remarked with a big grin on his face, “You want to challenge me to a duel! Is that not correct?”.
Turning to face, Fa Fei Sit, he continued, “I accept! Just set a time and a date!”.
“Excellent! Two months from this day outside the great hall of Luoyang!”, replied Fa Fei Sit.
“Gentleman’s agreement! I will see you in two months time outside of the great hall of Luoyang!”, said Du Fu whilst cupping his hands.
“Agreed! Even the fastest horse can’t pull back the carriage!”, replied Fa Fei Sit whilst cupping his hands together. Moments later he walked towards the entrance of the tavern to leave.
“Wait! You devil!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung whilst still sitting in a meditating position on the floor some distance away.
“Humph! What do you want? Speak quickly!”, shouted Fa Fei Sit with a glare.
“You may go! But leave the ‘frost palm’ and ‘frost sword arts’ behind!”, demanded Ling Wu Mun.
“I’ve already told you! These two kung fu manuals belong to my great ancestors! So they are thus mine! There’s no need for me to leave the behind!”, rebutted Fa Fei Sit as he continued walking.
Bak Tin Kiew was just going to get up to confront Fa Fei Sit about the kung fu manuals when she felt someone grabbing her by the hand. It was Yeung Yin Siu. He said, “Don’t! He’s abilities are far too great! Besides there are other ways in which to clear your father’s name! Du Fu and members of the Divine Butterfly Sect know that Fa Fei Sit has taken those two manuals! They will inform everyone at Shaolin! You needn’t worry!”. Once again Bak Tin Kiew nodded her head to indicate that she understood. She resumed sitting by Yeung Yin Siu’s side.
“Wait!”, shouted Hua Ling Do as he got to his feet and blocked the entrance of the Dragon Tavern to prevent Fa Fei Sit from leaving. He had now recovered and managed to release his pressure points.
After a while Hau Ling Do continued, “My master has been accused of stealing the two kung fu manuals that are currently in your possession. The Kunlun Sect, Songshan Sect, and the Lion Prestige Escort have been warring for the past 20 years following the disappearance of the two kung fu manuals in Chongqing!”.
“So what? How does this concern me?”, replied Fa Fei Sit, unmoved by Hua Ling Do’s comments.
“Even if you decide not to hand over the two kung fu manuals to us! You should at least attend the urgent summit held at Shaolin and set the record straight! That you were the one who reclaimed these two kung fu manuals in Chongqing over 20 years ago and that these two kung fu manuals originally belonged to your great ancestor! That would also help my master to prove that he did not take them!”, continued Hua Ling Do whilst still guarding the entrance of the Dragon Tavern.
“Humph! I have some urgent business to attend to and have no time to be attending summits held at Shaolin! If your master wants to clear his name tell him to meet me here in two weeks time! Goodbye!”, shouted Fa Fei Sit as he extended both his arms before pushing Hua Ling Do out of the entrance. He disappeared moments later. Since Mo Yung Bak had not showed up for his appointment, Fa Fei Sit, decided that he would personally roam through wulin and track him down. A number of swordsman followed Fa Fei Sit closely behind. It was obvious that they were fools who backed their own abilities to murder Fa Fei Sit and claim the ‘frost palms’ and ‘frost sword arts’ for themselves. The swordsman in golden robes with black trimmings remained at the bar. He was at all times, paying close attention to all of the fighters that had gathered at the Dragon Inn.
Hua Ling Do picked himself up before running back into the tavern to release the pressure points on the other Taishan apprentices. All of the apprentices said, “Thanks”, upon having their pressure points released except for Yik Ching Fung. All he could manage was a loud ‘grunt’ and a “Humph!”, before rushing towards Bak Tin Kiew. The other Taishan apprentices including Hua Ling Do followed him.
“Old bastard! Let little Miss Bak go!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung as he approached Yeung Yin Siu and Bak Tin Kiew. He reached behind his shoulder to unsheathed another sword before standing in an attacking position. Most of the Taishan apprentices carried a spare sword strapped to their backs.
Yeung Yin Siu was still trying to heal himself at this moment, and thus did not have the strength to fight. But he could still manage a smile as he replied, “Humph! She’s not my hostage! I have not bound or tied her arms and legs with rope. She sits by my side because she wants to!”.
Turning to face Yik Ching Fung, he said, “And what’s this got to do with you?”.
“Humph! I’m her senior apprentice brother! I’m also her master! Therefore little Miss Bak’s business is my business!”, rebutted Yik Ching Fung getting more annoyed.
“Funny! You didn’t even teach her any kung fu! So how can you be considered as her master?”, snickered Yeung Yin Siu whilst casting an affectionate glance at Bak Tin Kiew.
Turning his attention to Yik Ching Fung, he continued, “Besides you’re not worthy to be her master! Now get out of my sight!".
“Why you!”, cursed Yik Ching Fung as he pointed the tip of his sword towards Yeung Yin Siu’s adam’s apple pressure point.
Bak Tin Kiew was just about to unsheathed her sword to block the attack, when a green bamboo stick flashed past and blocked the strike. It was now obvious that Du Fu had intervened. Looking at Yik Ching Fung with a big grin on his face, Du Fu continued, “Shameful! Attacking an injured person is something that a true ‘gentleman’ would never do!”.
“Eh! Senior apprentice brother Yik, we’re here to save little Miss Bak! She’s safe now! We should go and meet up with master! Not cause trouble!”, agreed Hua Ling Do to the side whilst exchanging a polite nod with Du Fu. It was obvious the two had met before. In fact the three ingenious stances that Hua Ling Do had given to Bak Tin Kiew on her 16th birthday were stances from Du Fu’s sword arts.
Turning his attention to Hua Ling Do, Yik Ching Fung said, “Humph! Who do you think you are? I’m the senior apprentice here! I give the orders and make the suggestions! Not you!”.
Shaking his head, Du Fu remarked, “Eh! Pity! Pity! You’re the senior apprentice brother only because you were the first apprentice accepted by your master! That alone does not make you a leader!”.
“Humph! What are you implying?”, protested Yik Ching Fung whistle glaring down at Du Fu.
Du Fu did not reply. He just folded his arms and remained silent. A cheeky grin appeared on his face. After a while Ling Wu Mun suggested, “Senior apprentice brother! Let’s go and report this incident to master!”.
“We’re not going anywhere! Master also told us to find and take care of little Miss Bak! She should come with us too!”, demanded Yik Ching Fung whilst reaching out a hand to help Bak Tin Kiew up onto her feet.
Bak Tin Kiew ignored Yik Ching Fung and stood up by herself. She asked, “Brother Hua! What are you, brother Ling and brother Yik all doing here?”.
Pausing for a moment, Hua Ling Do continued, “I had been sent to locate news of the ‘frost palms’ and ‘frost sword arts’. Then I received a message from master saying that you had gone missing! So I have been searching all over China for you for the past few months! I ran into senior apprentice brother Ling and Yik here by accident!”.
Bak Tin Kiew looked slightly apologetic upon hearing that she had caused so much trouble for Hua Ling Do whom she loved like a brother.
“Brother Yik and I had also been sent to find you! We arranged to meet here before heading to Shaolin to assist master!”, interrupted Ling Wu Mun anticipating that Bak Tin Kiew would ask that same question of him.
In fact Ling Wu Mun had been turned back by the Head Master of the Lion Prestige Escort as soon as he set foot inside Hennan. He was told in no uncertain terms that his presence was unwanted and that the Lion Prestige Escort were more than capable of dealing with the Head Master of the Songshan Sect. He thus headed back to Taishan only to discover that Bak Tin Kiew had gone missing. The same thing happened with Yik Ching Fung upon delivering the letter to the Head Master of the Songshan Sect. He was sent on his way as soon as he arrived. His presence was also unwanted. Upon returning to Taishan, Bak Fung Wan, had sent them on another mission. To roam through China to find Bak Tin Kiew. Whilst they were roaming around they heard news that an urgent summit would be held at Shaolin to discuss the position of Chancellor of Wulin. Yik Ching Fung thus sent a note to Ling Wu Mun and arranged to meet at the Golden Dragon Inn. He wanted to make Hua Ling Do look bad and had deliberately not sent him an invitation. By as fate would have it Hua Ling Do was in Kaifeng and decided to drop in for a drink at the Dragon Tavern, and thus bumped into Yik Ching Fung and Ling Wu Mun.
“You should probably come with us now! We’re heading towards Shaolin to meet up with master!”, Hua Ling Do and Ling Wu Mun decided to say together in a very polite tone.
“Err… Go to Shaolin with you two…”, mumbled Bak Tin Kiew whilst hesitating. She shot a glance at Yeung Yin Siu and her heart did not want to leave his side. They have been separated for a couple of days, yet she already missed him greatly.
"Little Miss Bak! You have no other choice but to come with us!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung whilst grabbing onto her arm.
“Let go!”, protested Bak Tin Kiew upon noticing that Yik Ching Fung had grabbed onto her arm.
At this moment, Yeung Yin Siu, had fully recovered. He stood up before tapping Yik Ching Fung on the right shoulder. He acted so quickly and swiftly that he was totally caught off guard. He felt his entire right arm going numb as he released the grip on Bak Tin Kiew. Casting a glare at Yik Ching Fung, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say, “Touch her again and you’ll die! She may go with whoever she chooses!”.
“Who the heck are you? How dare you interfere in the internal affairs of the Taishan Sect? You’re just an outsider! You have no power to interfere in this matter!”, rebutted Yik Ching Fung.
“I’m not an outsider! I’m her…”, replied Yeung Yin Siu before stopping short. He realised that even despite their intimate relationship, he was still a total outsider and thus could not interfere in another clan’s business. He knew that Bak Tin Kiew’s reputation would be ruined had she stayed by his side. Many of the orthodox warriors had now tuned into the conversation, ready to start gossip and nasty rumours, to make matters worst. But at the same time Yeung Yin Siu did not want Bak Tin Kiew to leave.
“I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying here with Beggar Ho!”, Bak Tin Kiew decided to say as she stood to the side of Yeung Yin Siu with a determined look on her face.
“So Beggar Ho has already got a girlfriend!”, Yuk Long thought inwardly as she gave a little sigh.
Hua Ling Do and Ling Wu Mun shot a glance at each other. It was clearly obvious to them that Bak Tin Kiew had fallen for the old bearded man in front of them, and that he had felt the same way about her. As Bak Tin Kiew was the daughter of the ‘Gentleman Sword’, and have yet to marry, Hua Ling Do knew that it would be inappropriate for her to be roaming around with another male all by herself. He also knew that she was determined to stay by the side of the old bearded man.
“Senior apprentice Yik and Ling! Why don’t the two of you travel to Shaolin first? I will stay here to look after little Miss Bak! She’ll be safe with me!”, suggested Hua Ling Do whilst turning to face Yik Ching Fung and Ling Wu Mun.
Yik Ching Fung did not respond. He was still brooding. He stared at the old bearded man with a jealous look in his eyes. Ling Wu Mun noticed that his senior apprentice brother did not respond. So he cupped his hands before bowing slightly. He said, “That sounds like a good idea junior apprentice brother! We’ll see you at Shaolin in a few weeks time! But don’t be too late as I’m sure master would eager to love to see little Miss Bak as soon as if hears of news that she’s safe!”.
“Don’t worry! I’ll make my way to Shaolin as soon as possible!”, replied Hua Ling Do whilst cupping his hands.
“Enough! Enough! Let’s go!”, shouted Yik Ching Fung as he waved a hand to the other Taishan apprentices before storming out of the Dragon Inn. Ling Wu Mun and the others followed him.
“Thanks, brother Hua! I don’t know what I would have done without you!”, remarked Bak Tin Kiew with a big smile on her face.
“It’s nothing! Besides, I wanted to catch up with a good friend of mine!”, replied Hua Ling Do as he took a seat at the same table as Du Fu. They immediately started chatting about the various stances and arts used by Fa Fei Sit.
Moments later, Yuk Long approached Yeung Yin Siu. Cupping her hands together, she said, “Beggar Ho! We’re leaving for Shaolin now! Goodbye!”.
She was just about to leave when, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say, “Miss Yuk! Wait!”.
“What is it Beggar Ho?”, asked Yuk Long whilst turning around. She had no idea what was on his mind. She also took this opportunity to shoot a glance at Bak Tin Kiew to observe her more closely.
“I was just a little curious as to why members of the Divine Butterfly Sect came to Kaifeng rather than head directly towards Shaolin?”, continued Yeung Yin Siu with a curious look on his face.
“We had some business with Blacksmith Chan! But when we arrived his workshop had already been burnt to the ground! He had also disappeared!”, replied Yuk Long.
“What business did your master have with Blacksmith Chan?”, questioned Yeung Yin Siu once more.
Raising her butterfly sword in the air for Yeung Yin Siu to see, Yuk Long said, “These swords were forged by Blacksmith Chan! Master just wanted to see him about forging another 3 swords for future apprentices!”.
“Oh! So they only wanted to see him about forging some swords!”, Yeung Yin Siu thought inwardly. He was still trying to figure out the reasons behind the sudden disappearance of Blacksmith Chan. He was the top Blacksmith on the Central Plains of China, and specialised in making precious swords. Just under half of the weapons forged in wulin were made by him.
He had another thought, “Dam! What if he’s been kidnapped by someone!”.
Seeing the worried and concerned expression, Yuk Long couldn’t help but ask, “Beggar Ho! Is there anything wrong?”.
“It’s nothing!”, replied Yeung Yin Siu, not wanting to reveal what was on his mind.
Noticing that To Guk Fa, and Cheung Cum were patiently waiting for Yuk Long at the entrance of the Dragon Tavern, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say, “Miss Yuk, you’d better get going now! Everyone’s waiting for you! But we shall meet again at Shaolin! Goodbye!”.
Yuk Long felt a little bit embarrassed upon noticing that she had kept everyone waiting for her. Turning to leave she said, “Goodbye! Take care!”.
As members of the Divine Butterfly Sect exited from the tavern, more people came in to take the empty seats. Pulling over two chairs from Doctor Wah’s table, Yeung Yin Siu and Bak Tin Kiew decided to join the table occupied by Hua Ling Do and Du Fu. They just caught onto the last part of the conversation where, Du Fu advised Hua Ling do that, “There’s foreseeable trouble at the Taishan Sect after the Gentleman Sword decides to pass over his leadership to Yik Ching Fung”. Hua Ling Do nodded in agreement. Though Bak Tin Kiew remained silent she couldn’t help but agree with Du Fu. But she was at this point powerless to do anything about it. Her father had already made up his mind it seems.
“You know each other?”, interrupted Bak Tin Kiew upon noticing that Hua Ling Do had been conversing with Du Fu.
“Of course! He’s the elite Wudang fighter whom I met along my journeys through wulin. He was the one I told you about at Taishan! He’s also the one who taught me those 3 ingenious stances that I gave to you on your birthday!”, replied Hua Ling Do whilst toasting Du Fu.
“Oh! Thank you very much! For those arts and for rescuing me earlier today!”, continued Bak Tin Kiew turning to Du Fu.
“It’s nothing! It’s nothing!”, replied Du Fu whilst looking across at Yeung Yin Siu.
He noticed the troubled look on his face, so couldn’t help but ask, “Beggar Ho! What’s the matter?”.
“Nothing! It feels like déjà vu! It seems as if I’ve been here before!”, remarked Yeung Yin Siu whilst taking a glance around the dimly lit tavern that was full of people. It was exactly like he had seen in his dreams, except for the fact that Ah Sing, Bak Tin Kiew and Hua Ling Do had been sitting at the table with him.
“Oh!”, remarked Du Fu whilst downing another cup of wine. He noticed that a pigeon had flown towards the barman, who untied the note before giving it to the waiter.
“Which one of you is Du Fu?”, asked the waiter as he raced around the tavern.
Holding his hands up in he air, Du Fu shouted, “I’m Du Fu! What’s the problem?”.
“Sir, no problem! We have just received a message that has been sent to you!”, replied the young waiter as he passed the note over to Du Fu before serving the other customers.
“What is it?”, questioned Yeung Yin Siu. He was slightly intrigued as to what the note had said.
Smiling slightly, Du Fu answered, “Oh! It’s nothing! My junior apprentice brother has just sent me a note to say that he’s located the senior apprentice of the Lion Prestige Escort, Dik Ho Tin, and that he’ll be here shortly! He tells me to wait here for him as he’d like to catch up for a drink!”.
“Oh! Who’s your junior apprentice brother?”, asked Bak Tin Kiew in a curious tone. Yeung Yin Siu had already guessed who this person was, though he wasn’t 100% certain.
“You’ve probably heard of him already! He’s name is Lee Siu Yan! But most people call him ‘Chopstick Lee!”, replied Du Fu with a smile.
“Oh him!”, remarked Bak Tin Kiew upon hearing the name.
Turning to Ah Sing, Du Fu continued, “Please go and greet junior apprentice brother Lee! Bring him here! We’ll wait here for you!”.
Ah Sing got up to leave, when Bak Tin Kiew got up as well. She said, “Wait little girl! I’ll come along with you!”. She wanted to meet with Dik Ho Tin and ask the many burning questions that had been on her mind about her mother’s death. She couldn’t wait any longer.
Knowing what was on Bak Tin Kiew’s mind, Yeung Yin Siu decided to say, “Eh! Kiew yee, can’t you wait till he arrives? I have a few things to discuss with Du Fu!”.
“No! I can’t! I must know!”, replied Bak Tin Kiew turning to leave.
“Okay! But I’ll wait here for you!”, continued Yeung Yin Siu. Knowing that he was going to be at the tavern a little while longer, he decided to signal to the waiter to bring him a jug of the finest red wine in the house. He wasn’t concerned about Bak Tin Kiew’s safety because she was travelling with Ah Sing and was going to meet up with Chopstick Lee.
Upon seeing that Bak Tin Kiew was leaving the tavern, Hua Ling Do immediately stood up. Cupping his hands together he said, “Brother Fu! Beggar Ho! I have promised to take good care of little Miss Bak! I therefore must leave! Goodbye!”. Moments later he disappeared from the tavern, following Ah Sing, and Bak Tin Kiew closely behind.
“Eh! Beggar Ho! What is it that you want to discuss with me?”, questioned Du Fu sounding very curious. He knew various people were listening into their conversation so decided not to call him ‘Fisherman Ho’.
“I was wondering if you knew whether Mo Yung Bak had a sister around 17 to 18 years of age?”, asked Yeung Yin Siu. Part of the reason he had remained behind was to pick apart Du Fu’s brains whilst at the same time, try and figure out the identity of the young girl who had impersonated him.
Du Fu was now rolling his eyes to the back of his head, searching his memory banks for critical information on the ‘Mo Yung’ family. After a while, Du Fu, said, “To the best of my knowledge, Mo Yung Kwok was the heir of the ‘Mo Yung’ family in the last generation. He had nine sons and one daughter! Mo Yung Bak is the only son of Mo Yung Kei, the third son of Mo Yung Kwok. There are no other girls in the ‘Mo Yung’ family! Mo Yung Kwok’s only daughter Mo Yung Lam never married for some reason! She passed away a few years ago!”.
“Are you sure? That there are no other girls in the ‘Mo Yung’ family?”, asked Yeung Yin Siu once more. He wasn’t totally convinced by Du Fu’s answer. He was certain that the young girl was connected to the ‘Mo Yung’ family.
Du Fu searched hard in his mind. Finally he said, “Actually, I heard rumours that Mo Yung Kwok had adopted a niece 14 years ago! Her name is Mo Yung Jing!”.
Turning to Yeung Yin Siu, Du Fu continued, “It’s rumoured that Mo Ying Jing bears a striking resemblance to Mo Yung Kwok’s only daughter, Mo Yung Lam!”.
“Mo Yung Jing! Ah! So she’s Mo Yung Jing!”, Yeung Yin Siu thought inwardly. He was confident that he had guessed correctly.
“Why did you want to know?”, questioned Du Fu upon seeing the expression on Yeung Yin Siu’s face.
“Its nothing!”, replied Yeung Yin Siu, wanting to keep his thoughts to himself.
Pouring a cup of wine he continued, “Enough talking! Let’s drink my friend”. The two toasted each other and started to drink. Du Fu started to tell Yeung Yin Siu some funny stories and jokes. They laughed whole-heartedly together. A hour had passed by without them knowing. They had gone through another 3 jugs of red wine during this period.
Now slightly drunk, Yeung Yin Siu remarked, “That Fa Fei Sit whom I fought today did possess some magnificent skills!”.
“If not for the ‘Black Dragon Swordsman’ the ‘Sabre Saint’ in the West, I’d say that he was the best swordsman from the Western Regions of China!”, remarked Du Fu out loud as he poured another cup of wine before downing it.
“That is certain. He has already reached an advance level in the ‘frost palms’ and ‘frost sword arts’! I could not defeat him today! In fact I’ll have to study for a few more years yet before I’m his match!”, remarked Yeung Yin Siu as he remembered the duel he had with Fa Fei Sit earlier in the day.
“Nonsense! You’re just being modest!”, rebutted Du Fu with a beaming smile.
Leaning forward so that no one could hear them, he said, “I know that you’ve learnt the ‘essence dissolving art’ and the ‘divine red moon sword arts’! You only need to master these arts for another few months and you’d be able to defeat that Fa Fei Sit with great ease!”.
“How did he know that they were the ‘essence dissolving art’ and the ‘divine red moon sword arts’? He does possess a great deal of knowledge!”, Yeung Yin Siu thought inwardly upon hearing Du Fu’s remarks. He figured that both arts had been lost through the generations, and that no one would be able to recognise them.
In fact Yeung Yin Siu could have never guessed, but Du Fu was very knowledgable in all kinds of martial arts possessed by Demon Cult members, unorthodox clan members, and orthodox clan members. He had also noticed that Yeung Yin Siu had used the ‘phantom palms’ of the 7 Vixens to defend against Fa Fei Sit’s ‘frost palms’. But Du Fu wasn’t overly concerned, as he figured that Yeung Yin Siu was a good person at heart. He became slightly curious as to his real identity however, knowing full well that ‘Fisherman Ho’ was just an alias name.
Not showing any concern at the previous comment by Du Fu, Yeung Yin Siu picked up another cup of wine before downing it. He said, “I can tell that you’re also modest man! If you had intervened earlier, you would have been able to defeat Fa Fei Sit with great ease! Why did you wait until two months before duelling with him?”.
Du Fu remained silent in thought. He said, after a while, “Fa Fei Sit’s skills are indeed well advance! You have the ‘essence dissolving art to counter his ‘frost inner energy’! I have yet to figure out a way to defeat him!”.
“You’re joking right? How’s that possible?”, remarked Yeung Yin Siu totally shocked at Du Fu’s response. He had heard a great deal about Du Fu, and according to the rumours the Calligraphy Swordsman was one of the top 5 fighters on the Central Plains of China.
Shaking his head and giving a long sigh, Du Fu said, “I only stepped out to challenge him today, upon seeing that you had lost! I would have not done so otherwise! Who would have thought that Fa Fei Sit would become scared upon hearing of my reputation! That’s the only way we managed to save the Chancellor’s daughter!”.
Seeing the blank look on Yeung Yin Siu’s face, Du Fu explained, “My skills are based on the essence and flow of ‘yin’. The theory of this art is that one must be as flexible as air and water. Fa Fei Sit’s ‘frost inner energy’ stifles this free and natural flow. My weapons will become frozen and break! My body would also become inflexible. That can lead me down the path of defeat! In fact not only will I fall victim to his arts! But so too would the ‘Gentleman Sword’. If the ‘Sword Saint Unrivalled East’, were alive today, he could defeat Fa Fei Sit! In fact only a person with 95%+ ‘yin’ can defeat him!”.
“Those capable of defeating Fa Fei Sit are those who’s kung fu are based on the sheer power and aggression of ‘yang’, like the ‘Black Dragon Swordsman’, Mo Yung Bak, and yourself! Each of you have arts that can counter the ‘frost inner energy’!”, continued Du Fu as he poured another cup of wine before downing it again.
“Ah! You’re only being modest again!”, replied Yeung Yin Siu with a beaming smile.
He continued after signalling to the waiter for another jug of wine. He said, “Brother Du! Don’t take me for a fool! I’ve heard that you’re actually 96% ‘yin’! Therefore you’re more than capable of defeating that white swordsman named Fa Fei Sit!”.
At this moment a scholar in dark blue robes walked into the tavern. He appeared to be in his mid 20s and had a rather average looking face. He looked a bit clumsy as he walked in. He carried two large books in each hand. He was dropping them, and picking them off the floor as he walked. Looking around the tavern he noticed that all of the tables were full. There were a couple spare seats next on the table occupied by Du Fu and Yeung Yin Siu. He immediately approached the table.
Not noticing that someone had walked towards them, Yeung Yin Siu continued, “Other than yourself, there’s no one else in China that could claim to be the best swordsman in the ‘Central’ regions!”.
“Oh! Is that so? You seem to hold me in very high regard!”, remarked Du Fu with a bigger grin. He knew his own abilities, but had always been modest about them. His was not the kind of person who brags.
Yeung Yin Siu was just about to respond, when he heard someone ask in a polite and curious tone, “Who’s the best swordsman in Central China?”. It was obvious that he had missed the majority of the conversation and only caught the end of it.
“Who are you?”, asked Du Fu upon noticing a young scholar in blue robes standing before him.
“My surname is ‘Cheung’ and first names are ‘But Tung’! Scholar and martial arts historian!”, replied Cheung But Tung whilst cupping his hands and bowing slightly.
Pulling over a chair, he continued, “You two gentleman seem very knowledgable in the matters and affairs of wulin! So do you mind if I sit down and join you both?”.
“Not at all! Not at all! Please sit!”, remarked Yeung Yin Siu whilst stretching out his hands. He gave a wink to Du Fu. In return Du Fu gave a little laugh.
“Brother Cheung! What brings you to Kaifeng?”, asked Du Fu in a very curious tone.
“I’m here to search for my sister! I am also here to help my master complete his life long ambition of recording the 4th volume of history in wulin!”, replied Cheung But Tung as he signalled for another jug of wine from the waiter.
“I wonder if this man is any relation or connected with the girl who impersonated me?”, Yeung Yin Siu couldn’t help by wonder, upon noticing that the young scholar’s surname had also been ‘Cheung’ and that he was looking for his sister.
Suddenly he had another thought, “Could this person be Mo Yung Bak?”. He suddenly became a little suspicious of the young scholar in blue robes. Although he did not appear to know any kung fu, Yeung Yin Siu, knew that looks could be deceiving.
“4th Volume? Where did the 3rd volume end?”, he could hear Du Fu asking the blue scholar.
“My master completed the 3rd volume over 20 years ago! The last pages record the epic and final duel between Yeung Tin Lung the ‘Sabre Saint Invincible West’ and Kim Mo Dik the ‘Sword Saint Unrivalled East’!”, replied Cheung But Tung as he opened the final pages before reading out the epic descriptions written by his master. Yeung Yin Siu and Du Fu listened to it very intently.
“What a minute! Your master described that Fung Lau Yin and the Black Bat Assassin snatched the Black Dragon Swordsman, his wife, and their son before escaping towards the Chongqing Port! Does he mention what the name of that baby was?”, asked Du Fu all of a sudden.
Yeung Yin Siu was feeling slightly nervous at this point in time, as he knew few people in wulin actually knew that the Black Dragon Swordsman had a son. The blue scholar was now turning the pages to find the information that Du Fu had sought. After a while he said, “Ah Ha! Here it is! The Black Dragon Swordsman son’s name is ‘Yeung Yin Siu’!”.
“Yeung Yin Siu”, remarked Du Fu to himself as he smiled whilst shifting his glance at the old bearded man before him.
Yeung Yin Siu caught his glance and felt a little uneasy. He thought to himself, “I wonder if he’s figured out my real identity?”.
Changing the subject, Yeung Yin Siu asked the young scholar, “So how would you like to start the 4th volume of the martial arts encyclopedia?”.
“I’d like to begin by recording the top 5 martial artists in wulin today!”, replied Cheung But Tung as he took out a long bamboo pen. Moments later he opened the fourth volume of the encyclopedia. He had not been lying. The pages were blank.
“Were would you like to start”, asked Du Fu as he signalled for another jug of wine for himself.
“Who’s the best swordsman in Central China?”, questioned Cheung But Tung.
End of Chapter 15.