The Legend of Dragon Heroes

[fridaythe13th]

This is something that I have thinking about writing for a very long time, and now, I finally have the time to start writing this. There is also another copy of the following story that will become available soon at FictionPress under my penname fridaythe13th.

Note: the English title is just a working title for the actual Chinese title 乱舞奇侠传. The name has no direct connection to the story itself.

[fridaythe13th]

Forward

The following story is fictional. Any event or character that is similar to real people or events will be purely coincidental. However, it is a cliché story and do contain elements of other stories and Chinese television series. Please note that this is purely for entertainment purposes so please don’t sue me.

If I am using an element of your story, I apologize and inform you that this is intended to be a parody of all wuxia clichés and fictions that I have read. Any character, place and kungfu names are intended to be clichés. So please do not take anything serious or personal in this story.

I dedicate this story all the writers out there in the world, whether or not you are writing wuxia fiction. Please enjoy and feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

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The following is just a preview of my main characters so that you have a basic background understanding of them. The following characters are written in both Chinese and English. Please be mindful that these are some stereotypes of wuxia characters.

Leng Ao Tian 冷傲天 - the lonesome assassin, nicknamed the Blade God <刀神> because of his famous swordsmanship.

Bai Miao Yun 白妙纭 - the cold and calculating head of Qing Yi Clan <青衣楼>. Because of her beauty, high martial arts skills and emotionless expressions, she has been dubbed the Blood Phoenix <血凤天仙>.

Mu Rong Yi Ran 慕容易然 - the fourth son of the Mu Rong family. He is considered very handsome, scholarly-like and a ladies' man.

Du Jiao Ting 杜娇婷 - the polite daughter of Minister Du. She is very kindhearted and very talented.

Qi Shuang Shuang 齐双双 - the granddaughter of Elder Qi of the Beggar Clan <丐帮>. She is very energetic and mischievous. She can also be very naive at times.

Ah Feng 阿峰 - an orphan who wanders the city. He is quick-witted and a prankster.

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Please stay tuned. Chapter 1 will be available very shortly.

[fridaythe13th]

Chapter 1

The willow branches rustle in the spring wind and the sun shines like the water sprinkling from the shower taps. There were a group of men on horses that raced down the dirt road. The men were all well-built and were carrying broadswords. The men at the front of the group had placed a triangular flag on the back of his saddle. It had a red dragon embodied on it, with the words Red Dragon Guardianships in big letters. A normal person wouldn’t have a clue about them but any martial artist know that the Red Dragon Guardianship was one of the biggest companies of ancient China. Their escorts were well trained and highly skilled. No ordinary person would dare to cross them.

As they sped down the road, one of the horses jerked backwards in shock. It immediately lifted its two front legs into the air and tried to retaliate against the rider’s orders. Something flashed in distance. Once a horse is frightened, the others will follow. Soon, all the horses were in a panic and shuffling around the ground. The men looked over their shoulders around the area. Several shadows flashed past. Those were definitely human. But who? One of the men asked another with a beard, “Escort Wang, what do we do?” The bearded man looked around.

“Stay calm,” he replied, “I think we have unexpected visitors.”

The horses were finally settled down, but the flashing among the trees didn’t stop. Wang shouted to the direction of the flashing, “We are from the Red Dragon Guardianship! Show your faces!”

Suddenly, the flashing stopped. Within the next second, twenty masked men appeared from nowhere. Or so it seems. The most likely explanation could have been that they were hiding in the trees. Either way, these ninja-like men leaped down like skilled leopards that were eying their prey. Wang looked at them with a suspicious eye. He knew that something was wrong, because these men aren’t there for a chat. He clutched the rein of his horse tighter while with his free hand, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, waiting in anticipation.

Suddenly, something (or someone) moved. Like a flash of lightning, one of the masked men shifted his position. While the other escorts may not know what was going on, but Wang, who had been in the business for a long time, knew exactly what was happening. Without any further delay, he shouted to the other escorts, “Careful!”

It was a sign that put the other escorts on alert and knew that they were going to be under attack any minute. Unfortunately, it was too late. The masked men had gotten the signal and changed their positions into a pentagon formation. They drew out their weapons. Wang and his men countered by drawing out their swords as well. But they were no match for twenty masked men with chains and short swords. Wang knew that. All he could hope for now was that the guarded subject would be safe. How wrong he was going to be.

The masked men with chains had formed a border around the escorts and had knelt down on one knee. The other men with the swords jumped onto their shoulders and thrust themselves towards the escorts, with the pointed end of the sword in front. While the escorts tried to block their attack, it was no use. The masked men flew across like ghosts and within a flash, there were blood spattered around. The masked men swiftly settled back into position. Wang looked over; eight of his men had their throats silt. It was a very clean cut. Wang suddenly knew who these men were, but unfortunately it was too late. As the remaining four escorts immediately surrounded him, four darts came into view and struck into their throats. The men had no time to react to the sudden attack. As Wang became the last standing escort of the guardianship, he knew he had no chance.

He jumped up onto his horse saddle and flanged his sword into the air. He jumped up and grabbed it in midair. The masked men with the short swords came at full speed at him and he swung his sword hard, knocking two of the men backwards as a string of energy shot out from the sword. The others immediately retreated just as the men with the chains swung their weapons at Wang. Wang came back down the ground hard and four chains were wrapped around his neck. I must admit that Wang wasn’t much of a martial artist. Sure, he was respected among the guardianships but it wasn’t for his martial art skills.

Wang was dragged to the ground as he was strangled with chains. One of the men, the one who gave the signals (the name is not important), stepped out. “Where is the chest?”

Wang smirked weakly, “Chest? There is no chest.”

“Don’t play games,” the man snapped, “We know that you were suppose to escort the chest to Capital City.”

“The rules are clear. I would rather die than to give it to you people.”

The man pointed his sword at Wang. Wang remain unmoved. “You are not afraid of death?”

Wang laughed, “A person in my occupation laughs at the sight of death.”

“Where is the chest?” The sword was now at the point of Wang’s throat. Wang looked down at it, then back at the man, unimpressed. The sword inched forward, making Wang bleed just a little. Wang laughed. He knew that there was no escape for him. So instead, he bit down on his tongue and killed himself. The man with the sword was quite surprised at Wang’s suicide.

A few minutes later, in a split second, the masked men had disappeared. Most likely jumped back into the surrounding forest. All that was left was 13 dead bodies and the flag of the Red Dragon Guardianship slashed into two pieces. Once again, the road was quiet.

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Note: Please do not ask me what happened between Wang’s death and the last paragraph. It is suppose to be like that and all will be revealed later.

[fridaythe13th]

TWO DAYS LATER………

Hangzhou is a beautiful city, especially in the spring time, when the peach blossoms just flowered. Hangzhou is also a busy place. It is one of the commercial centers of ancient China. Amongst the crowded streets, one place stands out. Situated right on Main Street is the Three Laughter Inn. The place seem a bit rundown from the outside, but it has enormous space in the restaurant area and the suites in the yards. There were several important people in the inn. At the corner of the area, a man in a straw hat sat alone at the table, drinking wine and eating a meat dish. His face was mostly covered by the rim of the hat but his body seemed very muscular and tall. There was an important thing that was odd about this man.

At the other end of the inn, a young broad shouldered man sat with a broadsword next to him on the table. He was also drinking wine.

Then, a man with a beard, about forty or so, came through the door. He was carrying a large box. He stopped to sweep his eyes around the inn and settled on the man with the straw hat. He walked to the man and sat down without even asking. He spoke in a whisper, without looking into the man’s eyes. “You must be the infamous Blade God.”

“Are you the person who sent for me?” The man at the table asked calmly, continuing to drink his wine.

“My master has a deal for you.” The old man replied, slowly settling his eyes on the muscular man.

“What makes your master think that I will accept?”

“It is an offer you can’t refuse.”

“How so?”

The old man put the box down onto the table and pushed it slightly towards the other man. The man opened the box, stared at it for a moment before slamming the lid shut. “Your master doesn’t know me very well.”

He got up and was about to leave when the old man spoke, “Blade God is Jianghu’s most priced assassin. Without the right price, how can we do business with you?”

The man turns to face the old man. He is indeed Jianghu’s most priced assassin, nicknamed “Blade God” because of his martial art skills. His real name is Leng Ao Tian and he has been Jianghu’s deadliest assassin for seven years. “That is just what other people say of me. Money doesn’t mean anything.”

“Then what do you want?” The old man said.

“What I want, I will get myself.” Leng Ao Tian answered. “Who are you after?”

“Blood Phoenix.”

Leng Ao Tian looks at him concerned, “Head of Qing Yi Clan?”

Even the other man in the inn looked up slightly at the words. He glanced at Leng Ao Tian and the old man quickly before going back to his wine.

To any ordinary person, the thought of Qing Yi Clan would sent terror down their spines. Qing Yi Clan is a group of 108 buildings, each with 108 martial artists. All of them are highly-skilled. No one knows who their leader is, but knows the name of Blood Phoenix. While no one has seen the leader, rumors has is that Blood Phoenix is a woman. A deadly, dangerous and highly-skilled woman. A woman who is dubbed Wulin’s most beautiful woman.

“Yes,” the old man could see that Leng Ao Tian has concerned, “Why? You don’t think you can kill her?”

Leng Ao Tian shot a cold stare at the old man. There was fire and ice in it, something that could have made the old man shudder. Yet, the old man remained calm, “I can hire someone else.”

Leng Ao Tian laughed, “I don’t think anyone else would want such an assignment.”

“Which is why my master came to you,” the old man smiled a bit.

Leng Ao Tian didn’t say anything. He wanted very much to see this Blood Phoenix but something about this doesn’t seem right. Something about the fact that she was dubbed the most beautiful woman even though no one has seen her. What really bothers him is the fact that he has an uneasy feeling about this Blood Phoenix. The old man broke his chain of thought, “Blade God, I don’t want to keep my master waiting.”

“I will take the assignment,” Leng Ao Tian replied without looking at the old man. With that, Leng Ao Tian walked out of the room before the old man could ask about the payment. Immediately afterwards, the man sitting at the other side of the inn got up and walked out as well.

[fridaythe13th]

Leng Ao Tian walked down the busy streets into an alleyway where he stopped. Without looking back, he spoke, “You were following me from the inn to here. If you have something to say, just say it.”

The man stepped out from behind the wall, “Brother knows it is me?”

“I saw you at the inn,” Leng Ao Tian swirled around to face him. “Wu Zhen, it is not honorable for a chivalrous man to stalk people.”

“Does that mean that brother is not an honorable man?” Wu Zhen asked, grinning.

“I am not a chivalrous man, so it doesn’t matter.” Leng Ao Tian took off his straw hat. His face was square and his hair was hanging at the side of his face, all the way to his shoulders. He had a very unique feature; a scar across his right eye. “You came to see me about what happened two days ago?”

“So you have heard,” Wu Zhen asked. Leng Ao Tian nodded, “A highly-skilled escort killed on a mission. That would interest anyone.”

“I came to ask for your help.” Wu Zhen went right to the point, “After Wang’s death, the whole guardianship is in a mess.”

“Aren’t you the vice-manager of the guardianship?” Leng Ao Tian looked at him confused.

“Yes but I am not experienced enough to handle the situation.”

“You want me to look into Wang’s death.”

“That is true, brother.” Wu Zhen turned around and paced back and forth. “Wang never goes on a mission himself. When he received this mission, he was very eager to escort the object himself.”

“What was the object?” Leng Ao Tian asked.

“A chest. It was not opened.”

“It does bring suspicions as to what was in the chest.” Leng Ao Tian sighed, “Was the chest gone?”

“Yes,” Wu Zhen replied firmly.

Leng Ao Tian nodded, “You should go back to the guardianship and handle the managerial things. I will see what I can do about the murder.”

“Thank you, brother.” Wu Zhen made a gesture and turned to leave the alleyway. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to ask Leng Ao Tian, “Brother, are you going to Qing Yi Clan?”

Leng Ao Tian nodded. Wu Zhen, “But no one knows who Blood Phoenix is or how good her martial art skill is.”

“Which is why I accepted the assignment,” Leng Ao Tian answered. Within a flash of light, Leng Ao Tian disappeared into thin air. Wu Zhen sighed a little, worried about how Leng Ao Tian is going to fight all the martial artists of Qing Yi Clan alone. But he decided that Leng Ao Tian is talented enough to take care of himself. After all, he is Jianghu’s most feared assassin, and he is the big brother. Wu Zhen left the alleyway quickly before anyone else saw him.