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Thread: HSDS unabridged.

  1. #1
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Default HSDS unabridged.

    The thread was created to bring the all the scatterred translated bits of HSDS together for easier access.

    Please do not post comments here. PM me if there are any issues.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (Translators' names in brackets)

    Chapter 1 (Athena)
    Chapter 2 (Athena)
    Chapter 3 (Meh)
    Chapter 4 (Meh)
    Chapter 5 (Meh)
    Chapter 6 (Meh)
    Chapter 7 (Meh)
    Chapter 8 (Meh)
    Chapter 9 (Meh)
    Chapter 10 (Faerie Queene)
    Chapter 11 (Meh and Huang Yushi)
    Chapter 12 (Huang Yushi)
    Chapter 13 (Huang Yushi, SmokeyTheBear and dgfds01)
    Chapter 14 (Translated by Efflix, IcyFox and Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 15 (Translated by Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 16 (Translated by Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 17 (Translated by Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 18 (Translated by Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 19 (Translated by Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 20 (Meh)
    Chapter 21 (Faerie Queen and Meh)
    Chapter 22 (Meh and dgfds01)
    Chapter 23 (Foxs with Eliza Bennet as editor)
    Chapter 24 (dgfds01)
    Chapter 25 (Huang Rong and Foxs, edited by Han Solo and Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 26 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 27 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 28 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 29 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 30 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 31 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 32 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 33 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 34 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 35 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 36 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 37 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 38 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 39 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Chapter 40 (Foxs, edited by Eliza Bennet)
    Last edited by dgfds01; 03-31-09 at 02:45 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 1: Pondering on the gentleman far far away

    (translated by Athena)

    The vast and mighty tour through Spring,
    is every year's winter yearning.
    The season of the pear blossom is nearing.

    The white jade brocade is without wrinkles and smells fragrantly and is mesmerizing.
    Snow is piling up on jade trees and jade petals.
    The quiet night is deep.
    The floating brightness is concealed through the clouds.
    A cold steep is enough to melt the moon.
    A dark silver fog illuminates heaven and earth.

    Her simple, natural but enchanting appearances mesmerizes me.
    Even greater were her will and spirit.
    She is like a bloom that exceeds other beautiful and fragrant flowers.
    Her noble spirit is clear and pure, her immortal ability lies high.
    She returns to the Jade palace and I can only see her from afar.

    The author of this poem, Free from Mediocrity, is a famous martial arts expert from the southern Song dynasty. The name of this expert was Qiu Chu Ji, also known as the Everlasting One. He is one of the 7 Masters of QuanZhen, and one of the most outstanding disciples of the QuanZhen School. Qiu ChuJi wrote this poem after he met Xiao LongNu for the first time. She was a neighbour of Qiu for many years. At this time Qiu ChuJi already passed away, and Xiao LongNu is the wife of the famous Condor Hero Yang Guo. Another girl was reciting this poem softly, in HeNan province and on Mount ShaoShi. This young girl was about 18, 19 years old and was wearing a cream yellow robe, she was riding on a mule and was proceeding up the mountain pass. She was thinking: "Only someone like sister Long is fit for him." "Him" of course refers to Yang Guo.

    After some time she softly recited: "Union is bliss, parting is woe, Agony is boundless for a lovelorn. Sweet heart, give me word....

    Trails of clouds drifting forward, Amid mountains cupped with snow, Whither shall my lonesome shadow go?"

    This girl carried a short sword and looked travel stained. She is a beautiful young girl who is supposed to be happy and untroubled but somehow, she looks unhappy, melancholic.

    Her name is Guo Xiang, is the second daughter of the Great Hero Guo Jing and the famous Huang Rong. Her nickname is Little Eastern Heretic. With her mule and sword she has traveled a lot, her purpose was to forget her worries but her travelling only increased her sorrow.

    Mount ShaoShi of HeNan province were a set of large stone steps, these steps were constructed under the order of Emperor GaoZong of the Tang dynasty. It looked very impressive as Guo Xiang proceeded up the mountain. Before long she could see the monastery.

    She stared at the roof for a moment and and thought: "The ShaoLin Monastery is said to be the origin of martial arts, but why aren't there any ShaoLin experts among the 5 Greats? Is it because the ShaoLin experts knew there weren't a match for the other experts and were afraid to disgrace ShaoLin and refused to go? Or was it because the monks had evolved beyond earthly matters and didn't want to scramble for power and fame.

    After a while she saw a large stone tablet, half of it was gone and the characters were unclear, Guo Xiang was thinking: "How come characters carved into stone can fade away through time, but my feelings carved in my heart become more and more stronger as time goes by."

    This tablet was bestowed by Emperor TaiZong of the Tang dynasty. He praised the ShaoLin monks for helping him suppress the rebellions. The tablet states the military credits of the ShaoLin monks for helping Emperor TaiZong defeat the rebel general Wang ShiChong, of which 13 monks were most famous. Only one monk became a general and the other 12 didn't want to become officials and Emperor TaiZong bestowed 12 purple kasayas. Guo Xiang was thinking: "During the Sui and Tang Dynasty, the ShaoLin Monastery was already very famous for its martial arts, and now after a few hundred years they must be even more formidable."

    When Guo Xiang parted with Yang Guo and Xiao LongNu at Mount Hua 3 years ago. She lost all contact with them and missed them a lot. So she told her parents that she wanted to roam a bit but in fact, she wanted to hear some news about Yang Guo. She doesn't want to actually meet them, she is very content if she can hear something about them. However, they seem to have disappeared entirely, Guo Xiang has traveled from north to south and from west to east. She practically traveled through China but still there was no news on Yang Guo.

    She remembered that Yang Guo asked reverend WuSe to bring her a present on her 16th birthday. WuSe was a friend of Yang Guo and instructed someone to deliver Guo Xiang a present. Although she has never met him, she wants to know if he has any news about Yang Guo.

    She was pensive for some time till she heard some metallic noise and a voice chanting Buddhist scriptures: "Through love worry will arise. Through love fear will arise. If you can free yourself from love, all worries and fear will be gone."

    When Guo Xiang heard this, she was completely dazzled. And softly repeated those words. The metallic noise and the chanting were becoming distant.

    Guo Xiang said: "I must ask him, how I can free myself from love and how my worries and fear will disappear." She tied her mule to a tree and chased after the sound. Guo Xiang caught with the monk and was shocked to see the monk carrying to large iron buckets and he was chained on his hands, feet, and neck, causing him to produce a metallic sound as he walked. The buckets were filled with water and it showed that the monk must posses extraordinary strength.

    Guo Xiang spoke to the monk: "I have a few questions, please stop for awhile."

    The monk turned around and both Guo Xiang and the monk were surprised to see each other. The monk was JueYuan. 3 years ago Guo Xiang met him on Mount Hua. Guo Xiang also knew that this monk was really pedantic, but had extremely powerful internal energy not inferior to any top martial arts expert of this time. She spoke to him: "Oh, it is you reverend JueYuan. What happened to you?" JueYuan smiled and nodded but didn't speak. He turned around and walked away again. Guo Xiang said: "It's me, Guo Xiang. Don't you recognize me anymore?"

    Jue Yuan turned his head and smiled and nodded but didn't stop. Guo Xiang asked: "Who chained you? Why do they torture you?" Jue Yuan raised his left hand and shook his hand in admonition, meaning do not ask.

    Guo Xiang wouldn't let this matter rest until she got to the bottom of this. And wanted to run in front of JueYuan but was not successful. Although JueYuan was carrying 2 large buckets of water he was still very quick. Guo Xiang was amused and leapt up and wanted to grab one of the buckets, but she missed by an inch.

    Guo Xiang said: "You have very impressive abilities, but I must catch up with you."

    JueYuan continued to walk and the metallic noise sounded rather melodic. Guo Xiang was having difficulty keeping up and she was really impressed: "Both my father and mother praised this monk for his superior martial arts, at that time I wasn't totally convinced, but now I know they were right."

    After awhile, JueYuan walked to the back of a small house and emptied the buckets of water in an old well. Guo Xiang asked: "What are you doing? Why are you emptying the water in this well?" JueYuan remained calm and shook his head. Guo Xiang thought she understood now and smiled: "You're learning some sort of powerful martial arts, aren't you?" JueYuan shook his head again. Guo Xiang was feeling a bit angry now and said: "I just heard you chanting, you're not dumb, why won't you answer me?" JueYuan put his palms together and looked apologetic and carried the buckets and walked away again.

    Guo Xiang looked into the well and couldn't find anything strange about it and stared at JueYuan's back and felt puzzled.

    She gave chase for awhile but soon she felt tired and rested on a rock. She was admiring the scenery and felt very fresh afterwards. Guo Xiang was thinking: "I wonder where the pupil of this monk is. The pupil will probably tell me what is going here."

    She started going down again and wanted to find Zhang JunBao, the pupil of JueYuan. She walked for awhile and soon she heard that metallic sound again, Jue Yuan came up again and Guo Xiang quickly hid and thought: "I'll spy on him and see what he is up to."

    The metallic sound was becoming clearer and she saw JueYuan reading a book. She silently approached him and called out: "What are you reading?"

    JueYuan was startled and cried out: "You gave me a scare, it's only you." Guo Xiang smiled: "You're not pretending to be a dumb anymore." JueYuan looked slightly afraid and looked to the left and right and shook his hand.

    Guo Xiang asked: "What is wrong?"

    Before JueYuan could answer, 2 monks in grey robes appeared out of the woods. One was very tall, the other one short. The tall monk sternly said to JueYuan: "JueYuan, you broke the rules by talking to an outsider and furthermore to a young girl. Come with us to see the elder of the Disciplinary Hall."

    JueYuan looked crestfallen and nodded and started walking behind those 2 monks. Guo Xiang was angry and annoyed and sternly reproached: "What kind of rule forbids people from talking? I know this reverend and if I want to talk to him, it's no concern to you."

    The tall monk gave her an arrogant look and said: "For more than thousand years, the ShaoLin Monastery doesn't allow women to enter. I suggest that Miss would leave before you get yourself in trouble."

    Guo Xiang became even more angry and said: "So what about women? Aren't women humans? And why do you pester reverend JueYuan? How come he is chained and you forbid him to talk to anyone?"

    The monk coldly replied: "These are the rules of our monastery, no one has the right to question, not even the emperor. Miss, needn't bother."

    Guo Xiang angrily said: "Reverend JueYuan is an honest good person, you're bullying him because he's a nice man. Where are reverend TianMing, the monks WuSe and WuXiang?

    The 2 monks were shocked. Reverend TianMing is the abbot of ShaoLin, WuSe is the elder of the LuoHan Hall and WuXiang is the elder of the DaMo Hall. The 3 of them are very respected, all the monks address them as 'old abbot, elder of the LuoHan Hall or elder of the DaMo Hall.'

    No one has dared to call out their names, and today these 2 monks hear this young girl calling out their names and creating a scene.

    These 2 monks are the pupils of the elder of the Disciplinary Hall, and received orders to keep an eye on JueYuan. But now they see Guo Xiang interfering, the tall monk yelled: "If you don't leave now, we will not be friendly."

    Guo Xiang said: "Should I be afraid of you? Hurry up and free JueYuan of his chains or else I will go to old monk TianMing."

    The short monk became angry now and saw Guo Xiangs' sword. He said: "Leave your weapon behind and we will not take actions against you. Leave now!"

    Guo Xiang removed her sword and held them in her hands and scoffed: "Alright then, I will comply."

    The short monk grew up in the ShaoLin monastery and heard his seniors say that ShaoLin was the origin of all martial arts and no matter how respected or how skilled, martial arts experts never carried weapons to the ShaoLin monastery. Although this young girl didn't actually reach the monastery but she was already on ShaoLin premises. He thought this young girl was afraid and presented her sword so he reached out to grab the sword. However, when his fingers touched the scabbard his felt a painful tingling, like being struck by lightning. He felt a strong force coming from the sword and pushing him backward. He couldn't maintain his stand and fell down. As he was standing on a slope he soon rolled down a few metres. With some difficulty, he could stop himself from rolling anymore.

    The tall monk was shocked and angry and yelled out: "Of all the nerves! How dare you come to ShaoLin to wreak havoc!" He turned his body and and advanced one step in front and his right fist aimed at Guo Xiang. His left hand was put on the back of the fist causing two palms striking down. This was the 28th technique of "Dashing ShaoLin" namely "Turning Over Split"

    Guo Xiang held on to her sword and pressed down her sword with scabbard and all to the monks' shoulder. The monk held on to the sword.

    JueYuan was very frantic and called out: "Stop! Don't fight!"

    The monk tried to pull the sword over, suddenly he felt a shock through his palm and both arms felt numb he cried: "No!" Guo Xiang swept her left leg and kicked him down the slope. He was somewhat more injured than the other monk, his face was bleeding.

    Guo Xiang was thinking: "I came to ShaoLin to find some information on brother Yang, but now I'm engaged in a fight for no apparent reason."

    She saw JueYuan looking sad, she pulled out her sword and cut the chains. JueYuan was screaming: "No, you musn't!" for a few times. Guo Xiang cut three chains and said: "Those 2 wicked monks will go back for reinforcements. We must go now, where is your little disciple?" JueYuan kept shaking his hands. Suddenly a voice came from behind saying: "Thank you for caring Miss Guo, I'm right here."

    Guo Xiang turned around and saw a 16, 17 year old man standing there. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes and was very tall. But still looked very young. She met him 3 years ago at Mount Hua, he was Zhang JunBao. He was taller this time compared to three years ago but he very much looked the same. Guo Xiang was very pleased and said: "Those nasty monks were bullying your teacher, we must go now." JueYuan laughed wryly and shook his head and suggested that Guo Xiang should quickly leave now before trouble comes.

    Guo Xiang knows that there were an uncountable amount of ShaoLin experts that were superior to her, but seeing this situation she couldn't leave this matter alone and she was worried that ShaoLin experts would stop them. So she pulled JueYuan in one hand and the other Zhang JunBao and told them: "Hurry up, we'll discuss everything when we leave this place." But the two of them just stood still.

    At this time 7, 8 monks with wooden rods came up the slope and yelled: "Who is that audacious girl? How dare she come to ShaoLin and behave atrociously!" Zhang JunBao called out: "Please don't be rude, this is......"

    Guo Xiang hurriedly said: "Don't say my name." She knew that she created a big scene today and perhaps this might even escalate so she didn't want to drag her parents into this. She added: "Let's go the other way! Don't mention my parents' name.

    But another 7, 8 monks came towards them. Guo Xiang saw that they were surrounded and raised her elegant eyebrows and said to JueYuan and Zhang: "The both of you are so fussy, you lack a hero spirit! Do you want to leave now?" Zhang JunBao said: "Master, Miss Guo has only good intentions..."

    At this point 4 monks came up the slope, although they didn't carry weapons but judging their body posture they were experts.

    Guo Xiang knew that using force would be futile so she just stood still and waited to see what would happen.

    The first monk walked up and spoke to Guo Xiang: "The elder of the LuoHan Hall ordered that the intruder was to lay down her weapon and was to be taken to the YiWei pavilion for questioning."

    Guo Xiang scoffed: "The monks of ShaoLin have mastered the air of government officials. All of you speak a bureaucratic tone! I'm wondering whether you're officials to the Song emperor or officials to the Mongolian emperor?"

    At this time, the entire northern territories of China were in hands of the Mongolians, the ShaoLin monastery fell under Mongolian jurisdiction. However, the Mongolians were busy deploying their troops so they had no time to control any temples, monasteries. Everything in ShaoLin remained the same.

    The monk felt embarrassed by Guo Xiang's remarks and his face turned red and he felt that giving orders to outsiders was not very appropriate. He put his palms together and said: "May I inquire what business you have here, Benefactress. Would you please lay down your weapon and go to the YiWei pavilion where tea will be served and we have some questions we would like to ask."

    Guo Xiang heard his tone became a bit more friendly and thought this would be a good chance to stop and said: "I don't care if you let me enter or not. It's not like ShaoLin has any treasure and I'm not willing to benefit from it." She turns to Zhang JunBao and quietly asked: "Are coming or not?" Zhang JunBao shook his head and looked at his teacher saying his place is here. Guo Xiang loudly said: "Alright then, I will not interfere. I'm off," and started walking down the slope. The first monk moved away but 2 other monks blocked her. And said: "Lay down you sword!" Guo Xiang raised her eyebrows and put her hand on the hilt. The first monk explained: "We don't want to keep your weapon, we will return it when you leave Mount ShaoShi. This is our rule, please forgive us."

    Guo Xiang heard his tone was polite and thought: "If I don't leave my sword, there is bound to be a fight and alone I'm no match for these monks. But if I leave my sword, I will disgrace my parents, brother Yang, sister Long and my grandfather."

    She was still thinking, and suddenly a figure appeared in front of her and shouted: "You come here with a weapon, injured 2 of our disciples. What's the meaning of this?" And he formed a claw and grabbed Guo Xiang' sword. If this monk didn't use force, Guo Xiang would surely hand over her sword after some consideration. She isn't like her elder sister Guo Fu. Although she is straightforward, she is not rash. Seeing this disadvantage, she would have complied and discussed this matter with her parents and Huang YaoShi and come back for an explanation. But now this monk used force, how can she watch her sword being grabbed away?

    The monk's grip was firm and he held on to the scabbard. He wanted to quickly disarm her. Because it would not be proper for a monk to be pulling and pushing with a pretty young girl. Guo Xiang couldn't hold on to the scabbard and pulled out her sword. The monk used his right hand to seize the scabbard but his 2 fingers on his left hand were cut off.

    The other monks were angry when they saw their martial arts brother wounded and picked up their wooden rods, cudgels and attacked. Guo Xiang knew that she had no choice but to fight now and used "Descending Flower Swordsmanship" to defend herself.

    The Descending Flower Swordsmanship was derived from Huang YaoShi's Divine Descending Flower Sword Palms. Although this swordsmanship is not as refined and excellent as the "Jade Flute Swordsmanship", it was still a special technique from the Peach Blossom Island. The monks saw green flashes surging, the sword dancing, making it seem like flowers descending. In a few moments, 2 monks were injured. But other monks took their places and soon Guo Xiang was completely surrounded. She would've been overwhelmed if not for the fact that the monks were benevolent and not willing to harm her life. All their stances were to immobilize her and not to kill her, so they would lecture her and escort her away from here. Also, all the monks saw that this young girl had learnt superior martial arts and they thought that she must be either the daughter of famous martial arts experts or at least the disciple of a skilled martial arts expert. So they didn't want to make any enemies, so every stance was rather limited. Some monks went to notify the elder of the LuoHan Hall.

    In the heat of the battle, an old tall monk came and observed the fight with a smile on his face. Two monks approached him and told him something.

    Guo Xiang was panting and her swordsmanship was becoming disorderly and she yelled out: "What origin of martial arts? 10 monks surrounding one person, what a way to win?"

    That old monk was the elder of the LuoHan Hall, reverend WuSe, when he heard this he said: "Stand back everyone!"

    All the monks jumped away. Reverend WuSe asked: "What is your name, Miss? And who is your father and teacher? What business do you have here at ShaoLin?"

    Guo Xiang was thinking: "I can't tell him my name. And I cannot reveal my reason in front of so many people. If my parents and brother Yang found out the mess I created they will be upset, the best thing to do is sneak away." She answered: "I can't tell you my name, I just came here to enjoy the scenery. I never guessed that the ShaoLin Monastery was even stricter than the imperial palace, with no reason your weapon will be confiscated. I would like to ask, did I enter the monastery? When Master DaMo taught ShaoLin martial arts he just wanted the monks to improve their conditions and concentrate on their meditation through martial arts. But when ShaoLin became more and more famous, and their martial arts kept improving, now the ShaoLin monks rely on martial arts to flaunt their superiority. Well you can have my sword, and if you don't kill me, everyone in the realm of martial arts will know what happened today."

    Guo Xiang is famous for being clever and fluent, this entire matter was actually her fault but with those words she rendered reverend WuSe speechless. She thought: "I don't want anyone to know about this, and it seems that ShaoLin doesn't want the outside world to know about this incident either. A group of 10 monks attacking a young girl will not do their reputation any good."

    She threw her sword on the ground and started walking away. Reverend WuSe walked up and used his sleeve to pick the sword and said: "Miss, I will return your sword and see you off respectfully."

    Guo Xiang smiled sweetly and said: "It seems that you're very reasonable. That's more like it. That's the style a martial arts expert should have."

    Seeming that she won, Guo Xiang just praised this old monk and reached out to get her sword back. When she wanted to pull back, she noticed it didn't move an inch. She used strength 3 times but in vain, and she said: "You're deliberately displaying your martial arts." Suddenly her left hand curled up and softly wanted to brush against WuSe's two left cheek acupoints, namely 'TianDing and JuGu.' WuSe moved away and released his grip. Guo Xiang quickly seized her sword.

    WuSe said: "Very impressive "Whisking Acupoint Orchid Hand." May I ask how you address the lord of the Peach Blossom Island?"

    Guo Xiang laughed: "The lord of the Peach Blossom Island? I call him old Eastern Heretic."

    Huang YaoShi is her maternal grandfather. He is a strange, eccentric man and he calls his granddaughter little Eastern Heretic and Guo Xiang calls him old Eastern Heretic. Huang YaoShi is not angry when he hears it and he is even happy when he hears it.

    WuSe was a robber in his early years. Although he has studied Zen for many years and has profound Buddhist knowledge, he still is very straightforward, otherwise, he couldn't be friends with Yang Guo. Seeing that this little girl is not willing to tell him, he wants to test her and find out. He smiled and said: "Young Miss, if you can withstand 10 of my stances, I can guess your school."

    Guo Xiang asked: "What if you cannot?"

    WuSe laughed and said: "Well if you can withstand 10 of my stances, I will have to listen to you."

    Guo Xiang pointed at JueYuan and said: "I met this reverend JueYuan some years ago and I want to plead on his behalf. If I can withstand 10 of your stances you have to promise not to give him anymore trouble."

    WuSe was surprised, he knew that JueYuan was very pedantic and stayed in the Library and watched over the scriptures and never met any outsiders. How did he meet this young girl? WuSe said: "We never did give him any trouble. He is sitting out his punishment, that is not giving him trouble."

    Guo Xiang pouted and scoffed: "It seems to me that you just want to go back on your word."

    WuSe clapped his hands and said: "Very well, if I lose I will carry 3108 buckets of water for JueYuan. Watch out, here I come."

    Guo Xiang was thinking when she spoke to him: "This old monk seems to be a true expert. If he starts to attack first, I will have to try my best to defend myself and will reveal my parents' martial arts. The best thing to do is for me to attack first and try to gain the upperhand." When she heard him say "Watch out, here I come." she didn't give him time to attack first and raised her sword and aimed for his chest. This was a technique from the "Descending Flower Swordsmanship" namely "Thousands and Myriads of Purple and Red."

    The tip of the sword kept moving, not revealing to the opponent where the sword was aiming for.

    Guo Xiang yelled out: "The second stance!" the short sword turned around and came from bottom to top, this was called the "Celestial Gentry Topping Apart" which was a QuanZhen technique.

    WuSe said: "Good, QuanZhen sword technique."

    Guo Xiang said: "Not necessarily." Her short sword stabbed into the air and saw WuSe using an attack as a defense and using his fingers to grab her wrist. She was a bit afraid: "This old monk is very formidable, he can attack bare-handed under such a dangerous technique."

    Seeing his fingers were coming closer, her sword dazzled a few times and used a technique from the "Dog Beating Stick", namely "Mean Hound Blocking the Road." And this stance belonged to the Sealing Formula.

    Guo Xiang was close friends with the deceased leader of the Beggars Association Lu YouJiao, they occasionally drank wine and played mora together. Sometimes Lu would demonstrate his martial arts, although the "Dog Beating Stick" is only permitted to be used and learnt by the leader of the Beggars Association, Guo Xiang could learn a few stances from Lu. Furthermore, her mother Huang Rong and her brother-in-law were leaders of the Beggars Association. So she has seen this style a lot and could trick people into believing that she knew this style although she didn't know the exact secret of it.

    WuSe's fingers just reached her wrist but he saw a bright light shining and the blade was coming towards his fingers in an excellently beautiful way. Almost cutting off his five fingers, but luckily his martial arts were high and he could avoid the attack by pacing back 2 steps. But his left sleeve was split. WuSe looked terrified and cold sweat was breaking out.

    Guo Xiang was very amused and smiled: "What sword style is this?" In fact this wasn't a sword technique, she just used a stance from the "Dog Beating Stick" and used it as a sword stance. Because this style was magnificent, even Guo Xiang couldn't completely learn it, it was still capable to scare off this martial arts expert of ShaoLin.

    Guo Xiang thought: "If I learnt a few more stances from the "Dog Beating Stick" I could easily defeat this old monk.

    She didn't give WuSe time to catch his breath and advanced forward. Her sword was slightly raised and she floated towards him. Her posture looked like a floating fairy, the blade was pointing at WuSe's legs. This was called "A Small Orchard for Chrysanthemum" which belonged to the Jade Maiden Swordsmanship. Guo Xiang learnt this technique from Xiao LongNu.

    The Jade Swordsmanship was created by Lin ChaoYing, this style was not only swift and fierce but also refined, elegant and beautiful. All the monks never saw something that beautiful, they were all surprised and pleased. Because ShaoLin sword styles were firm and fierce, for example, LuoHan and DaMo Swordsmanship. This Jade Maiden Swordsmanship was hardly known throughout the world of martial arts, the essence of it is the opposite of ShaoLin styles but when it comes to superiority of the stances, it is not above ShaoLin Swordsmanship.

    But this technique was absolutely beautiful and celestial.

    Even in Buddhist scriptures it is mentioned: "When the appearances are gracious and charming, when the manner is solemn, gentle and elegant. And behavior proper and gratifying. The watcher will not be bored."

    Reverend WuSe was impressed by such a magnificent stance and hoped to see it more clearly so he moved away and waited till Guo Xiang attacked again.

    Guo Xiang's technique now was changing directions a few times from east to west and from west to east. Zhang JunBao was mesmerized by it and was surprised to recognize this stance as "Extend in all Directions." 3 years ago Yang Guo taught Zhang JunBao this technique and Guo Xiang was there to see it and now is using it. This was originally a palm technique, now she used it as a sword stance, the power of this stance was not that powerful anymore but it was a very strange sword stance and WuSe was a bit frightened by it.

    They reached the fifth stance now, and WuSe didn't have any idea who she was. In his younger years, he roamed the world and gained a lot of martial arts experience and insight. And now he is the elder of the LuoHan Hall for more than 10 years and has examined all styles of different schools and compared to ShaoLin martial arts. So he was always very confident to recognize the martial arts of any expert within a few stances.

    His limit with Guo Xiang of 10 stances was already a very big margin. He never guessed that the parents, relatives, friends of Guo Xiang were all top martial arts experts and she learnt a few stances of each and every one of them, causing WuSe to be confused. WuSe now thought: "The only way for me now is to attack with strength, forcing to use her own martial arts to defend herself. If not, I cannot even guess her school after a hundred stances."

    He turned around and used "Double Piercing Hands" and 2 fists aimed for Guo Xiang. She saw that his attack was fierce and didn't dare to block it and twisted her body and glided away from that attack. She remembered when Ying Gu fought against Yang Guo, Ying Gu used this style.

    WuSe praised: "Good movement! Try another stance."

    His left hand curled up like a flower, bending his left elbow in front of his chest and this was another ShaoLin fist stance.

    This stance completely sealed Guo Xiang. She turned around her sword and use the sword as her finger and displayed the "Yi Yang Finger". She learnt this technique from her martial arts brother, Wu XiuWen. And she aimed for 3 of WuSe's acupoint of his wrist. Although she only learned the mere basics of "Yi Yang Finger" this technique of sealing 3 acupoints in one go was one of the key points of "Yi Yang Finger."

    Reverend YiDeng's Yi Yang Finger was renowned through the world. WuSe recognized it and quickly changed stance.

    However if WuSe didn't change technique, and let Guo Xiang touch his 3 acupoints he would have known that her "Yi Yang Finger" was far from perfect.

    But in a fight he wasn't willing to risk his reputation and name for it. Guo Xiang smiled sweetly and said: "You recognize a powerful technique when you see it."

    WuSe grunted and used a stance called "Single Phoenix Glaring At the Sun". With this stance WuSe used both hands to knock out Guo Xiangs' sword.

    She knew that he wouldn't really harm her but was still frightened and used Zhou BoTong's Kong Ming Fist to counter it. This Kong Ming Fist was quite new to the martial arts realm so WuSe didn't recognize it and turned to another stance namely "Siding to the 7 Stars Flower." One of his palms was up the other down and pressed down on Guo Xiang. If she didn't use internal energy to block it, her hands would be snapped.

    Guo Xiang thought: "Do you really want to break my hands?" And used an Iron Palm technique to block this attack. She learned this stance from Wu XiuWen's wife, WanYan Ping. This stance was created by the famous Qiu QianRen and this palm technique was known to be number one for being violent and fierce.

    WuSe was shocked to see a young girl using the Iron Palm technique and quickly withdrew his attack. First of all, he didn't want to harm her, second, he was quite afraid for the Iron Palm technique.

    Guo Xiang smiled sweetly: "This is the tenth stance, guess what school I belong to?"

    And attacked WuSe with a simple ShaoLin Fist called "The Sea of Bitterness has no Bounds." This stance belonged to the LuoHan fist style and WuSe was both angry and amused to see this. And he quickly used another stance to block it and lift her up. This was called "Carry the Mountain and Leap over the Ocean."

    But when he did that he realised: "I'm only wanted to win her and cannot recognize her school. She used 10 different stances, what can I say. I surely can't say she belongs to ShaoLin."

    Guo Xiang was yelling: "Let me go!" and something dropped out of her clothes. Guo Xiang yelled again: "Let me go, you old monk."

    WuSe was an enlightened monk, he believe all creatures were the same. He made no differences in men and women, he even treated animals with care. He said: "I'm old enough to be your grandfather. What are you afraid of?"

    He gently flicked his arm and Guo Xiang landed a few metres further.

    He was about to admit defeat, when he saw 2 small dark iron figures of 2 Arhats and picked them up.

    Guo Xiang asked him: "Well, do you admit defeat?"

    WuSe looked very pleased and said: "Why should I admit defeat? Your father is the great hero Guo Jing, your mother is the heroine Huang Rong. Your grandfather is Lord Huang of the Peach Blossom Island. You're second Miss Guo Xiang. Your father learnt martial arts from the 7 Eccentrics of Jiang Nan, Peach Blossom Island, Northern Beggar and the QuanZhen School. No wonder Miss Guo has such profound knowledge of martial arts."

    Guo Xiang was stunned: "This old monk is very formidable, I used 10 different stances but he was still able to know who I was."

    WuSe smiled and said: "Miss Guo, I recognized you from these 2 Arhat statues, how is brother Yang?"

    Guo Xiang was shocked for a moment and said: "You must be reverend WuSe. You gave me these 2 Arhats as a present to me. The reason I came here was to find out some news of brother Yang and sister Long."

    WuSe said: "Many years ago, Master Yang came to our monastery and stayed for a few days. And when he left for XiangYang he asked me to help him. But I don't know where he is now."

    It seems that both Guo Xiang and WuSe didn't know where Yang Guo was.

    Guo Xiang was stunned for a moment and said: "Not even you know where he is now. I wonder who does know."

    Guo Xiang thanked him for his present.

    These 2 Arhats were made by a carpenter monk of ShaoLin. These 2 Arhats could display a set of LuoHan fist if you activate the mechanism. That's why Guo Xiang knew that ShaoLin fist.

    WuSe laughed and said: "Because of the rules of our monastery I cannot invite you stay, however I will walk you down. Please forgive us."

    Guo Xiang was pensive and said: "It doesn't matter, I asked what I came for anyway."

    WuSe said: "As for my Buddhist brother JueYuan I will explain later. You know what, we will find a good inn and talk these things over by a good meal and some wine." Reverend WuSe was highly respected by the ShaoLin monks, and they were all puzzled to see him being so respectful towards a young girl.

    Guo Xiang said: "No need for that, I'm sorry that injured a few reverends. Please forgive me for being rash. I will leave now and I hope to see you again."

    WuSe laughed and said: "I'm adamant, I will see you off. I'm sorry I couldn't attend your 16th birthday that year. After burning down the supplies and the gunpowder of the Mongolian army I left without going to XiangYang.

    Guo Xiang knew he had good intentions, and like his straightforward manner and was very eager to make friends with him and said: "Good."

    After the 2 of them walked for awhile and passed the Yi Wei pavilion. They heard a footsteps behind them when they turned around to look they saw Zhang JunBao. Guo Xiang smiled and said: "Brother Zhang, did you come to see me off too?"

    Zhang JunBao blushed and said: "Yes."

    Suddenly another monk ran towards WuSe looking rather hectic. WuSe frowned his eyebrows and said: "Why are you so frantic?" That monk went to WuSe and said something very quietly. WuSe's face changed and said: "Really?"

    The monk said: "The abbot asked master WuSe to return now and to discuss matter."

    Guo Xiang saw that WuSe looked worried and told him: "If you have something to do now, feel free to go back. Real friends don't need all those formalities, we can always eat and drink another time."

    WuSe looked pleased and said: "No wonder Master Yang speaks highly of you. You're a true heroine, today you've made a friend."

    Guo Xiang smiled and said: "You're already friends with brother Yang. That makes you my friend too."

    The two parted and WuSe went back.

    Guo Xiang continued to walk down, Zhang JunBao didn't dare to walk next to her and kept 5 steps in between them.

    Guo Xiang asked: "Why do they punish your teacher?"

    Zhang JunBao said: "The rules of the monastery are very strict, if the monks break them they have to be punished."

    Guo Xiang asked: "What did your teacher do wrong, he's a very nice man."

    Zhang sighed: "It is all because of the Ni Jia Scripture that was lost."

    Guo Xiang said: "You mean the scripture that was stolen by Xiao XiangZi and Yin KeXing."

    Zhang said: "Yes, that day at Mount Hua, I searched them and found nothing even with the help of Master Yang. After we left the mountain we couldn't find them anymore. We returned to the monastery and reported it to the abbot. Because that scripture was written by Master DaMo, the elder of the Disciplinary Hall blamed my teacher for not paying better attention to the scriptures and heavily punished him."

    Guo Xiang sighed: "This is blaming it on someone else. Why should reverend JueYuan be punished for it. Because of this they ordered your teacher to fill that well and forbade him to speak."

    Zhang said: "This is an old punishment of ShaoLin. According to the elders, this punishment can also be seen as good form of self-cultivation."

    Guo Xiang laughed: "It seems I'm a busybody." Zhang quickly said: "We will always remember Miss Guo's help and intentions."

    Guo Xiang sighed and thought: "But someone has completely forgotten about me."

    After awhile they reached the place where Guo Xiang tied her mule and she said: "Brother Zhang, you needn't see me off anymore." Zhang JunBao looked reluctant to part and didn't know what to say to Guo Xiang.

    Guo Xiang took out her 2 Arhats and gave them to Zhang JunBao: "Here take it."

    Zhang JunBao didn't take it and said: "I...I.."

    Guo Xiang said: "I'm giving it to you, so take it." Zhang JunBao said: "I.....I...."

    Guo Xiang put them in his hands and mounted the mule.

    Suddenly someone called out: "Miss Guo, please wait."

    It was reverend WuSe, Guo Xiang thought: " This old monk was too formal."

    WuSe reached Guo Xiang in a few moments and told Zhang JunBao: "Return to the monastery, don't stroll about."

    Zhang JunBao said yes and stared at Guo Xiang for short while and quickly left.

    WuSe waited till he was gone and took out a note and said: "Miss Guo, do you know who wrote this note?"

    Guo Xiang took the note and read it:

    "ShaoLin martial arts have been proclaimed to be invincible throughout China for many years. Ten days from now, The 3 Saints of KunLun will see all ShaoLin skills."

    The handwriting was very strong. Guo Xiang asked: "Who are these "The 3 Saints of KunLun," they sound very arrogant."

    WuSe said: "You don't know them?" Guo Xiang shook her head and said: "No, I don't know them. I have not heard my parents mention this name before."

    WuSe said: "That's the strange thing about it." Guo Xiang asked: "What is strange?"

    WuSe said: "Miss Guo, we are now friends and I will be honest with you. Do you know who brought this note?" Guo Xiang answered: "Probably a messenger from The 3 Saints of KunLun."

    WuSe said: "If it was, I'm not that surprised. ShaoLin has been the leading martial arts school in WuLin for hundreds of years. So many martial arts experts come here to challenge us, but we always treat our guests with courtesy. And we try to avoid fighting as much as possible, because if we battled every expert who came here for a fight, we wouldn't have time for our cultivation."

    Guo Xiang nodded and said: "That's true."

    WuSe said: "However, when the experts are here, and if we don't show them some special ability they will not be impressed. The LuoHan Hall is there to welcome these guests with this special treatment."

    Guo Xiang laughed and said: "So you're just here for the fights." WuSe smiled with a wry: "Normally WuLin persons, the disciples of the LuoHan Hall can deal with them, I don't need to fight them personally. But today when I saw that Miss Guo's martial arts were out of the ordinary I decided to see for myself."

    Guo Xiang smiled: "You have a very high opinion of me."

    WuSe said: "Look at me, we're digressing. To tell you the truth, we found this note in the LuoHan Hall in the hands of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat." Guo Xiang was surprised and asked: "Who put it there?" WuSe shook his head and said: "We don't know. There are hundreds of ShaoLin monks in the monastery, if someone sneaked in, someone must have noticed that. And there are 8 disciples standing guard in the LuoHan Hall every day. Someone just found the note and quickly reported it to the abbot. Everyone found it strange and that's why I was called back so urgently."

    Guo Xiang now understood what he was getting it and said: "You think I'm in league with The 3 Saints of KunLun. I'm creating a diversion here while those 3 fellows enter the LuoHan Hall and leave the note."

    WuSe said: "After meeting you I found it impossible you would do something like that. But it was very coincidental that with your appearance a note is left behind in the LuoHan Hall. That's why the abbot and my martial arts brother WuXiang wrongly suspected you were involved in this."

    Guo Xiang said: "I don't know them, what are you afraid of? Ten days later if they dare to come, just accept the challenge."

    WuSe said: "Afraid, of course we're not afraid. I'm reassured now that they are not your friends."

    Guo Xiang knew WuSe's intentions were good, he was afraid that The 3 Saints were friends of hers and was afraid that in a fight they might damage their friendship. She said: "If they come here and courteously want to examine martial arts with you that's not a problem. Otherwise, just teach them a lesson. Also the tone of the note was very arrogant, 'see all ShaoLin skills'. Do they really want to see the 72 skills of ShaoLin?"

    Suddenly she thought of something and said: "Couldn't it be that there is a traitor amongst you and secretly put the note there?" WuSe said: "We thought of this too, but that was impossible. Because the Arhat statue's hand was almost 10 metres tall. If someone was to jump up there, his art of levitation should be superb. If there was a traitor he wouldn't have such good martial arts."

    Guo Xiang was very puzzled by this entire incident and was very interested to know the outcome of this duel. But she knew she would miss out on this fight because ShaoLin didn't allow women to enter.

    WuSe saw she was pensive and thought that she was thinking of a plan to help them and said: "ShaoLin has overcome many obstacles in these 1000 years and is still standing. If "The 3 Saints of KunLun" really want to pick a fight, we will try our best to battle them. Miss Guo, in less than a month, you'll hear whether these "3 Saints of KunLun" have defeated ShaoLin or not."

    At this point, he looked very energetic and brave.

    Guo Xiang smiled and said: "Don't forget about your cultivation? In less than a month I will await your good news."

    She mounted her mule again and smiled to WuSe.

    And then she rode off thinking of a plan not to miss out on this battle.

    After thinking for awhile: "Perhaps these "3 Saints of KunLun" are just some ordinary WuLin people. And will be easily defeated by the ShaoLin monks, if they only had half the skills of my mother, father, grandfather or brother Yang, this fight will be very interesting."

    When she thought of Yang Guo she became melancholic again. These 3 years of searching were in vain. The tomb on Mount ZhongNan was empty, no news in the Valley of No Love, The FengLing Ferry was deserted too. She thought: "What do I do when I find him? It will only increase my feelings for him and bring extra frustration. He left for a faraway place, that was also good for me. Although I know everything I do is in vain, it can't stop me from thinking about him and trying to find him."

    She rode her mule and wandered a bit on Mount ShaoShi and was feeling melancholic.

    She heard music sounds, she was surprised to hear someone playing the zither. She learnt the arts of zither, chess, literature and painting from her mother. Although she learnt only the basics, she is intelligent enough to give her own unique perspective on matters. Frequently, she discussed these arts with her mother. She tied her mule to a tree and walked towards the music.

    She heard the music was mixed by the singing of birds and it seemed that the birds were singing along. Guo Xiang thought: "According to mother there is a song called "Empty Mountain and Songs of Birds." But this song was lost for may ages, is it possible this is that song?"

    The music became more and more interesting. Guo Xiang was surprised and thought: "This man can lure birds with his music, this song must be "A Hundred Birds Admiring the Phoenix." And thought if her grandfather was here, both of them could play this song together. Because Huang YaoShi's flute was unequaled at this time.

    The music became softer and the birds flew away and suddenly the music stopped. The man sighed and said he couldn't find a soulmate and drew his sword and started carving on the ground.

    Guo Xiang thought: "This man is both well versed in artistic fields and martial arts, let's see how his swordsmanship is."

    She saw that this man was drawing a chessboard with his sword and started playing chess (Go) with himself.

    Guo Xiang thought: "This man is lonely too and can't find a soulmate either, so he's playing chess with himself."

    After awhile she saw that the man trapped himself in the western side of the chessboard and leaving the central open.

    Guo Xiang couldn't help herself and spoke: "Why do you take the western borders? While the central plains are open."

    The man saw what he did and took the central plains causing a draw. The man laughed and said: "Good, good!" and continued to play and realised that someone was present. He tossed his sword away and said: "Thank you for your help. May I ask who helped me?"

    Guo Xiang saw that he had a long face and dark eyes and was quite skinny. He was about 30 years old. She walked towards him and smiled: "I was very much enchanted by your music, Sir. And when I saw that you're losing to yourself I couldn't help pointing out. Please forgive me for my bluntness."

    The man was surprised to see a young girl and when he heard her talking about his music, he was very happy and said: "Miss, is a musician too? Would you please play a piece for me?"

    Guo Xiang smiled and said: "My mother taught me some basics, compared to your divine music I'm very bad. But since I heard your song it's only natural that I return a song back. But you musn't laugh."

    The man said: "I wouldn't dare."

    And handed the zither to Guo Xiang.

    Guo Xiang saw that this zither was an antique. She started to play the zither and her playing was not very spectacular but the man was very happy and surprised.

    The song was about a hermit and he lived alone on a mountain and felt lonely. Because he didn't have a soulmate he looked sickly but his aspirations will always be very high.

    The man heard his feelings in the music of Guo Xiang and was very grateful and when the music stopped, he just stared into the blank.

    Guo Xiang gently put the zither on the ground and turned around and left again. Reciting the poem that matched this song:

    *Note: I didn't translate the poems, songs in this part. It will take me too much time. Sorry! I found them on another website. They are not my work.

    A gentleman is exploring the mountainside
    Close to a stream, all alone
    Although he is forlorn, although he is unaware
    But he is wise, and will never change
    And this piece is the gentleman's song:

    The day is so short, a hundred years is so long
    The earth is so wide, one hundred incarnations approaches the Tao
    An angel releases the reins, one half is as white as snow
    The Creator meets the Jade Lady laughing, I wish for the dragon's embrace
    Turning towards Phu Tang, to buy good wine at Bac Bau
    Inviting the dragon to riches which I scorn,
    That throughout the year beautify only the being.

    Guo Xiang roamed the realm for three years now, and encountered many strange incidents. So she forgot all about the man who played the zither and chess. Another 2 days, The 3 Saints of KunLun will challenge ShaoLin. She was thinking of a way to sneak in and watch but couldn't think of anything. She thought: "My mother can think of 18 plans in a blink of an eye. I'm just too stupid and I can't even think of one plan. Never mind, I'll just go to ShaoLin and perhaps they are too busy fighting of the intruders that they forget to stop me from entering."

    She ate some rations for the journey and proceeded to ShaoLin. After riding for some time, she saw 3 horses riding towards her. And in short while they passed her and were headed towards ShaoLin. The riders were all men in their fifties and were green robes and weapons hung to the saddles.

    Guo Xiang thought: "These 3 men are martial artists and they are carrying weapons. They must be The 3 Saints of KunLun. If I don't hurry up, I'll miss out on a good fight."

    She gave her mule a clap and he quickly pursued them. The 3 riders whipped their horses to increase speed. One of the old man turned back and gave a strange look.

    Guo Xiang's mule gave chase for a short distance. The 3 horses were out of sight. The mule looked exhausted. Guo Xiang scolded: "Lazy animal! Normally you never listen to me and keep running about. When I need you to run, you can't keep up." She pulled the mule to a small stone pavilion and gave the mule to rest. After awhile the three riders came back. Guo Xiang was surprised and thought: "Could it be that they are really that useless and were defeated in one blow?"

    The three riders dismounted, Guo Xiang looked at them and saw that one of them had a cinnabar coloured face. The other had a really red face and looked very friendly. The third one was very tall and skinny and looked very pale, but in his paleness there was a touch of green.

    These 3 old men looked very normal except for their strange skin complexion. She was very fascinated and asked: "Could I ask you whether you went to the ShaoLin Monastery or not? Why did you return when you just when up there?" The pale-looking man gave her a stern look, like scolding her for asking questions.

    The red-faced man smiled and said: "How did you know we are headed for the monastery?" Guo Xiang said: "If you go up there, you'll go to the ShaoLin Monastery."

    The red-faced man nodded and said: "That's true, and Miss where are you going?" Guo Xiang said: "You're going to ShaoLin, and I'm going too."

    The pale-faced man said: "ShaoLin doesn't allow women to enter and carrying weapons is also forbidden." He sounded very arrogant, and because of his height he looked over Guo Xiang's head ignoring her completely.

    Guo Xiang was annoyed and said: "Well you're carrying weapons too. Or aren't those weapons?"

    The pale-faced man coldly said: "How can you compare yourself with us?"

    Guo Xiang scoffed: "What about the 3 of you? Are The 3 Saints of KunLun fighting with the old monks of ShaoLin yet? Who won and who lost?"

    The 3 old men's faces changed. The red-faced man asked: "Little Miss, how do you know about this incident with The 3 Saints of KunLun?" Guo Xiang said: "Of course I know."

    The pale-faced man walked up and sternly said: "What's your name? Whose disciple are you? And what is your business here at ShaoLin?

    Guo Xiang raised her pretty face and said: "Never you mind."

    The pale-faced man was hot-tempered and raised his hand to slap her. But he realised that if he did that, he will be bullying a young girl. He swiftly advanced towards Guo Xiang and seized her sword.

    Guo Xiang was taken off guard, this never happened before in her life. To be frank, with her martial arts and experience she was not fit to roam the realm on her own. But everyone respected Guo Jing and Huang Rong and knew she was their daughter and Yang Guo spread the word of her 16th birthday and all the unorthodox WuLin person knew her. Even if they dared not to give Guo Jing and Huang Rong face, they would surely respect Yang Guo. Furthermore, she was very pretty and straightforward, she treated everyone equally no matter what social status they had. Although the realm of martial arts was a dangerous place, she always came out fine and without any harm. She never suffered such humiliation in her life and knew she couldn't get her sword back. Because she was not their match yet, but to give up like this was very difficult to accept.

    The pale-faced man held the sword between his index finger and middle finger and coldly said: "I'll keep this sword for awhile. Seeing you have the audacity to be disrespectful towards me, it's clearly that your parents and teachers didn't teach you any manners. If you want them to come and reclaim the sword and I will tell them what happened and advise to pay more attention to you."

    Guo Xiang was furious when she heard this, according to this man she was a wild girl with no manners, and thought: "Fine! Not only did you scold me, you also scolded my parents, grandfather. Do you really think you have invincible abilities and you can be that arrogant."

    She held her temper and said: "What's your name?"

    The pale-faced man grunted and said: "Let me teach you, you should say: Sirs, may I be so bold to ask you what your names are?"

    Guo Xiang angrily said: "No, I will say it however I want. If you don't want to tell me, fine. It's not that I'm desperate to know. This sword isn't worth much, and you are bullying a young girl by stealing their possessions. I don't want it anymore."

    She turned around and walked out the pavilion.

    Suddenly the red-faced man blocked Guo Xiang and smiled: "Young girls shouldn't be that hot-tempered, when you get married you can't throw tantrums like that anymore. Let me tell you, we are 3 martial arts brothers, and we just arrived in China a few days. We're from the western borders of China."

    Guo Xiang pouted: "I know that too, in China we don't recognize the 3 of you." The 3 men looked at each other and the red-faced man asked: "May I ask Miss, who your teacher is?" Guo Xiang didn't want to reveal the names of her parents at ShaoLin originally. But now she was angry and told them: "My father's name is Guo Jing. And my mother is called Huang Rong. I don't have a teacher, I learnt a bit of martial arts from my parents."

    The 3 old men looked at each other and the pale-face man softly said: "Guo Jing? Huang Rong? Of which school do they belong? Whose disciples are they?"

    Guo Xiang was infuriated, because her parents were respected throughout the realm. Even ordinary people know them, let alone WuLin persons, the famous great hero Guo Jing was respected for guarding the city of XiangYang for many years.

    But judging from their expressions, they are not pretending to be ignorant. She realised: "These 3 Saints of KunLun live on the western borders and rarely come to China. Otherwise, with their martial arts father and mother were bound to mention them to me. If they truly don't know my parents then it's not strange. It's very likely that they just study martial arts at Mount KunLun and forget all other matters."

    When she realised this, her anger disappeared, she is not a girl to throw tantrums and said: "My name is Guo Xiang. Fine, I have told you everything you wanted to know. Sirs, may I be so bold to ask you what your names are?"

    The red-faced man smiled: "That's a good girl, now you show respect to seniors."

    He pointed to the yellow-faced man and said: "That's our eldest martial arts brother, his name Pan TianGeng, I'm the second martial arts brother and my name is Fang TianLao. This is my third martial arts brother and his name is Wei TianWang. The 3 of us all belong to the Tian character generation."

    Guo Xiang nodded and remembered their names and asked: "Are you going to the ShaoLin Monastery or not? Have you battle the monks there? And who is better?" Wei TianWang sternly asked her: "How did you know we're going to compete with the ShaoLin monks? Hardly anyone knows this and when did you know this? Tell us now!" He walked towards Guo Xiang made a fist and stared at Guo Xiang very viciously. Guo Xiang thought: "Do you really think you can intimidate me? Originally I wanted to tell you, but now I won't talk."

    She gave him an indifferent eye and said coldly: "Your name is good, why don't you change it in to TianE ('born viciously')?"

    Wei TianWang angrily shouted: "What?"

    Guo Xiang said: "I never met a more vicious man like you, you grabbed my weapon and you're still this fierce. Are you the Deity of Ferociousness in reincarnation?"

    Wei TianWang made a few strange noises like an animal and his chest swelled up and it looked like his hair and eyebrows raised too.

    Fang TianLao said: "Third brother, don't get upset." and he pulled Guo Xiang back and he stood between the 2 of them.

    Guo Xiang saw Wei TianWang and knew if he attacked, she would not be able to withstand it and was beginning to get a bit scared.

    Wei TianWang pulled out the short sword of Guo Xiang and used 2 fingers to hold it and used his internal strength to break it into 2 halves. He returned the broken half back into the scabbard and said: "Who wants your unworthy sword." Guo Xiang saw the powerful energy of his fingers and looked in awe.

    Wei TianWang saw her expression and was very pleased and laughed heartily. This laughter was ear-piercing and shook the roof tiles of the pavilion.

    Suddenly the roof cracked open and something fell down. Everyone was surprised at this and even Wei TianWang was even more surprised. He used his internal strength to make a laughing sound to tremble the tiles. But actually there was no tone of pleasure in his laughter. When he saw the roof cracking open he thought that without his own knowledge he reached a higher level in his cultivation of internal energy.

    When he looked at that "thing" that dropped down he was shocked to see a man in a white robe holding a zither. He was just lying there, closing his eyes.

    Guo Xiang was pleased to see him and said: "You're here too." This man was the man she met earlier.

    The man jumped up when he heard Guo Xiang talking to him and said: "Miss, I was looking for you. I didn't know you were here."

    Guo Xiang said: "Why are you looking for me?" That man said: "I forgot to ask you something, namely [ Miss, may I ask what your name is?]."

    Guo Xiang said: "How very formal, I can't stand that genteel and mournful way of talking." That man was stunned for a moment and laughed: "You're right, you're right. Those that cling on to mere conventionalities and put on airs have no real abilities. Those men are only fit to fool ignorant peasants." after saying that he looked at Wei TianWang and scoffed.

    Guo Xiang was very happy and thought this man was helping her.

    Wei TianWang stared at him and his face became even more white and coldly asked: "May I know your name, Sir?"

    That man ignored him and asked: "Miss, what's your name?"

    Guo Xiang said: "My name is Guo Xiang."

    That man clapped his hand and said: "Forgive me for not recognizing you, you're the famous Miss Guo. Your father is the great hero Master Guo Jing and your mother is the famous heroine Master Huang Rong. With the exception for ignorant peasants and idiots, everyone in the realm of martial arts knows them. The 2 of them are well-versed in both literary and martial arts, and are well-versed in sabre, swords, spears, halberds. Also renowned for their palm, fist techniques, internal energy, zither, chess, calligraphy, art, composing poems and songs. But there are clearly some foolish people who have never heard of them before."

    Guo Xiang was quite amused and thought: "You're were listening at our conversation on the roof. It seems that you don't know my parents are. And my father being well-versed in literary fields is even more hilarious." She laughed and said: "Well, what's your name?"

    The man answered: "My name is He ZuDao." Guo Xiang smiled and said: "He ZuDao! He Zu Dao Zai ('not worth mentioning')? A very modest name."

    He ZuDao said: "Compared to Tian ('heaven') something or Di ('earth') something these arrogant bragging, overweening ignoramuses, my name isn't that appalling."

    He ZuDao keeps mocking the 3 of them, they could keep their tempers under control because they knew this man wasn't an ordinary man. But He's remarks were getting even more insulting and Wei TianWang was the first to attack and raised his palm to strike He ZuDao. He ZuDao ducked his head and passed under Wei's arms. Wei TianWang felt a numbness in his left hand and saw that He seized the sword out of his hand. When Wei TianWang seized the sword, he was so swift that no one could see his movements, but He ZuDao did in a very floating and light manner.

    Wei TianWang was shocked and he used his hands as claws to try to get the sword back. He aimed for He's shoulder. He avoided that claw. Pan TianGeng and Fang TianLao leapt out of the pavilion. Wei TianWang attacked with both hands, left hand with a fist, right hand palm stances causing a 'whooshing sound.' He ZuDao avoided Wei's 7, 8 stances, Wei couldn't even touch He's clothes. With one hand holding the sword, he could still avoid the attacker's violent attacks, with a small movement Wei TianWang's attacks were always in vain.

    Guo Xiang, herself was not a real martial arts expert due to her young age. However, her friends and relatives are all top martial arts experts of this time so her insight is very profound on martial arts. When she saw that He ZuDao used balanced movements and very clever moves to avoid very violent attacks she knew his martial arts were of an entire different type and were very different from the martial arts found in China.

    Wei TianWang used 20 stances already and still couldn't force his opponent to fight back, so he took a deep breath and his fist techniques changed and he attacked slowly now but the force of his fists increased. Guo Xiang felt his energy and stepped out of the pavilion.

    At this point, He ZuDao didn't dare just to avoid these attacks and hung the sword at his belt and stood still and yelled: "You're not the only one skilled in tough martial arts." When Wei's 2 palms reached him He used his left hand to respond at this attack. Tough against tough, the 3 palms made a 'bamming' sound. Wei's body shook and he took 2 paces back. He ZuDao stood still.

    Wei TianWang always believed that this skill of his was unequaled in the realm. But today he was unable to win and he himself was pushed back 2 paces. He wasn't ready to give up and took a deep breath and yelled out both palms pushed forward. He ZuDao yelled out too and returned a palm, shaking the broken roof.

    Wei TianWang backed 4 paces, before he could stand still again. After 2 times of palm to palm attacks his hair was messy and he had bug-eyes now looking very eerie. He put his hands around his public region and took a few breaths causing his chest to swell up again. All his joints made a funny cracking sound and he walked towards He ZuDao.

    He ZuDao didn't dare to be inattentive and readied himself to encounter him. Wei TianWang kept walking towards He and walked so close that they could feel each other's breath. At this point, one of Wei's palms aimed for He's face the other palm aimed for the lower abdomen. With this attack he hoped to divide the opponent's energy. This stance was very violent and fierce.

    He ZuDao used his both palms to meet up with Wei's palms. He divided his energy into 2 sorts, Ying and Yang. Wei felt that the palm that aimed for his face was empty and hollow, the other palm felt it hit an iron brick wall. Wei TianWang knew this wasn't good and he felt an enormous energy coming towards him and pushing him out of the pavilion.

    This sort of tough attacks, the weaker one will be injured and there was no way to avoid that. No matter whether Wei TianWang could stand still or fall down. His own energy was reflected back and He ZuDao's energy was added to it. Wei was surely to cough up blood. Pan TianGeng and Fang TianLao both yelled: "Now!" Both jumped up and grabbed Wei's arms and picked him up, and helped him avoid the enormous blow. Although Wei TianWang wasn't injured, his 5 internal organs felt like it was turned upside-down and all his joints seemed to be cracked. He couldn't breathe easily now and was panting.

    Fang TianLao was angry and surprised to see his third martial arts brother wounded but remained smiling and said: "Your palm techniques are indeed very powerful, and are hardly equaled in the realm. My respects."

    Guo Xiang thought: "When it comes to powerful palm techniques, who can match my father's 18 Dragon-Subduing Palms. You, The 3 Saints of KunLun, are just too ignorant. One of these days you'll meet a true hero of the central plains."

    When she thought of this, she felt grieved again. Because she wished that the hero they would meet was Yang Guo and not her father Guo Jing.

    Fang TianLao said: "This unworthy old man wants to try your swordsmanship."

    He ZuDao said: "Brother Fang was very friendly towards Miss Guo. I don't blame you for anything and we needn't battle."

    Guo Xiang was surprised and thought: "The reason why you taught Wei TianWang a lesson was that he was very rude to me?"

    Fang TianLao drew his sword and used a finger to tick the tip of his sword. The sword made a humming sound. When Fang drew his sword, his smile disappeared. The sword pointed into the sky and this stance was called "An Immortal Giving Directions."

    He ZuDao said: "If brother Fang really wants to battle I'll use the short sword of Miss Guo." He drew the broken sword, the sword originally was very short and after Wei TianWang broke it was even shorter. Furthermore, the tip was gone now and it didn't even resemble a dagger.

    He ZuDao held the scabbard in his left hand and thrust the sword forward. This was a very fast maneuver, Fang TianLao saw a white flash and already He ZuDao attacked with 3 stances, because the sword He used was too short he couldn't wound Fang TianLao. But Fang was still frightened and thought: "Very fast 3 stances, most difficult to block. What kind of swordsmanship does he use? If he used an ordinary long sword I would be dead by now."

    After He ZuDao attacked with 3 stances, he backed away and stood still. Fang TianLao displayed his sword techniques in half defending and half attacking. He ZuDao avoided the attacks and didn't counter attack. Suddenly he attacked with incredible speed again forcing Fang TianLao to be in a frantic rush. And He ZuDao jumped back again. Fang TianLao displayed his sword into a white light, and his movements were very swift.

    Guo Xiang thought: "This old man's techniques are violent, fierce, ruthless and viscous. Similar to the palm techniques of Wei TianWang, but he's swifter and makes him more lethal......"

    When she thought of here, she heard He ZuDao yell out: "Be careful!" After saying 'careful' his scabbard in his left hand was quick as lightning and encased Fangs' sword and his right hand sword pointed at the throat of Fang TianLao.

    Fang TianLaos' sword was stuck in the scabbard and couldn't be used to block that stance. Seeing that sword was about to thrust through his throat, he let go of his sword and rolled away on the ground and avoided that lethal blow. Before Fang got up, Pan TianGeng seized the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of the scabbard. Both Guo Xiang and He ZuDao exclaimed: "Excellent movement!" This sickly looking old man didn't say a word, but it was evident his martial arts were above his two younger martial arts brothers.

    He ZuDao said: "Sir, you have very good martial arts. My respects." He ZuDao turned his head to Guo Xiang and said: "Miss Guo, after hearing your enchanting performance earlier, I've composed another song. And I would like you to give me your opinion."

    Guo Xiang asked: "What kind of song is it?" He ZuDao sat on the ground and started to prepare his zither.

    Pan TianGeng said: "You've defeated my two martial arts brothers. I would like to compete with you."

    He ZuDao shook his hands and said: "I have already competed and had no pleasure in it. I want to play a song for Miss Guo now. It's a new song, if you're interested you can stay and listen if you don't understand you're welcome to leave." And started playing the zither.

    Guo Xiang was amazed and pleased. Somehow He ZuDao composed this new song from the song she played earlier. Making it even more brilliant and interesting. The music was very mesmerizing.

    The actual translation will have to wait for some time, or someone else already knows the translation. He/she is welcome to do that part.

    At one point of this song, He ZuDao mentioned a "she" in his lyrics, Guo Xiang thought: "The "she" in his song, could it be me? The music was very touching, moving and was filled with admiration and love."

    Realising that Guo Xiang blushed. Never in her life did she even hear such beautiful music.

    Pan TianGeng and others didn't understand any of this. They don't know that He ZuDao was a rather arrogant man with a flair of a silly bookworm behavior.

    After composing a new song he rushed over to play it for Guo Xiang. Furthermore, he composed it for her and he forgot everything else. But seeing him like this, Pan and the others thought he was looking down upon them and couldn't restrain their anger anymore.

    Pan pointed the sword at He ZuDaos' shoulder and yelled: "Stand up, I want to battle you."

    He ZuDao was entirely into the music and thought himself to be a proud scholar who was roaming about to enjoy the scenery. He vaguely saw a very gentle young girl standing on a small island. No matter what stood in his way he had to reach her......

    Suddenly he felt a pain in his shoulder and raised his head to see Pan TianGeng pointing a sword against his shoulder and penetrating a bit of skin. He knew that if he didn't fight Pan would surely wound him. However, he didn't finish his song yet and felt that these Philistines were preventing him from finishing his song to Guo Xiang.

    He ZuDao drew the broken sword of Guo Xiang in his left hand and blocked Pan TianGeng's attacks and used his right hand to play the zither.

    He ZuDao displayed his special ability, one hand playing the zither and the other hand using a sword. He managed perfectly well with one hand playing the zither. He also used a puff of air to play another chord of the zither.

    Pan TianGeng attacked rapidly with a few violent techniques, He ZuDao easily blocked them and his eyes were concentrated on the zither and was afraid his puff of air will disperse.

    Pan TianGeng became angrier and angrier, his sword techniques were becoming fiercer and fiercer, but still He ZuDao easily warded them off.

    Guo Xiang was listening to the music and didn't pay any attention to the attacks of Pan TianGeng. However, the sounds of the swords intersecting was disturbing the music. She softly clapped her hands and raised her eyebrows and said to Pan TianGeng: "Your techniques are not in unison, are you not familiar with music? If you listen carefully the sounds of the swords won't disrupt the music."

    Pan TianGeng didn't pay any attention to her and saw that the enemy was sitting on the ground and was concentrated on the zither. And still he wasn't able to overcome He ZuDao, Pan became very anxious and his stances changed to rapid attacks and the clatter of the sounds were becoming very dense. This sound was the total opposite of the gentle soft music. He ZuDao raised his eyebrows and passed strength to his sword and the sword of Pan TianGeng made 'clank' sound and broke into two halves. However, one of the chords of the zither broke as well. Pan TianGeng looked very pale and didn't say a word and left the pavilion. The 3 martial arts brother mounted their horses and quickly rode up the mountain.

    Guo Xiang was a bit surprised to see that and said: "These 3 men were defeated, how come they're still headed towards the ShaoLin Monastery? Do they really want to fight to the end?"

    She turned to He ZuDao and saw him looking sad and was touching that broken chord and looked very unhappy. Guo Xiang thought: "Just a broken chord why so unhappy?" She picked up the zither and removed the broken chord and was tuning the zither again.

    He ZuDao sighed: "After all these years of training, I still cannot focus properly. I used force in my left hand breaking his sword but also breaking that chord."

    Now Guo Xiang understood and knew he was unhappy that his martial arts was still not perfect and smiled: "You want to fight with your left hand and play the zither with your right hand. This form of using your concentration of 2 matters is only known to three persons in the realm. You haven't reached that level yet, why worry so much about it."

    He ZuDao asked: "Who are these three people?" Guo Xiang said: "The first one is "The Old Imp" Zhou BoTong, the second one is my father and the third one is Madame Yang, Xiao LongNu. Apart from these 3 people, even people with great martial arts like my grandfather the lord of the Peach Blossom Island, my mother and "the Condor Hero" Yang Guo are unable to that."

    He ZuDao said: "It's hard to believe that there are so many astonishing people in the realm. You must introduce me to them."

    Guo Xiang faintly said: "If you want to meet my father that is not difficult, as for the other two, I don't even know where to look." She saw He ZuDao looking disappointed she said: "You've defeated "The 3 Saints of KunLun" which is a amazing thing. Why fret over such a small incident like a broken chord."

    He ZuDao was shocked and asked: "The 3 Saints of KunLun? What are you talking about? And how did you know?"

    Guo Xiang smiled: "Those 3 old men came from the western borders, they must be "The 3 Saints of KunLun." They do have their unique abilities, but challenging ShaoLin is a bit too arrogant....."

    She saw that He ZuDao was looking very strangely and asked: "What's so strange?"

    He ZuDao softly said: "The 3 Saints of KunLun, The 3 Saints of KunLun, He ZuDao. That's me."

    Guo Xiang was surprised and asked: "You're "The 3 Saints of KunLun"? Where are the other 2?"

    He ZuDao said: "The 3 Saints of KunLun" is one person, there were never 3. I have established a small reputation in the western borders, and the local friends say that my chess, sword and zither skills are superb. Also they say I'm fit to be a saint in the zither, a saint if chess and a saint in swordsmanship. But I knew that the saint was not something that could easily be assumed. So I changed my name to He ZuDao ('not worth mentioning'). So when other people hear my name they won't think I'm an arrogant, overbearing man."

    Guo Xiang smiled and clapped her hands: "Now I get it. I thought that "The 3 Saints of KunLun were 3 persons. But who were those 3 old men?"

    He ZuDao answered: "They? Those were ShaoLin disciples."

    Guo Xiang was even more confused and said: "So they belong to ShaoLin. Right, their martial arts were firm and strong. Indeed that red-faced man used "DaMo" swordsmanship and the sickly-looking man used "WeiTuo" Demon-Subduing Sword techniques. But there were a lot of changes and alterations to them I couldn't recognize them. Why did they come here?"

    He ZuDao said: "This is not without reason. Last year Spring, I was at Mount KunLun, peak JingShen playing the zither. Suddenly I heard fighting noises and took a look and saw 2 men were struggling on the ground. Both were heavily injured but both were still wrestling with each other. I yelled at them to stop but they still continued and walked over to push them aside. When I did so, one of them fell down and died, the other was still breathing. I took him to my home and gave him some medicines, after half a day he was revived. But he was mortally wounded and no medicine could prolong his life anymore. Before he died he said his name was Yin KeXi....."

    Guo Xiang called out in surprise and asked: "Was the other man called Xiao XiangZi? He was very tall and skinny and his face looked like a corpse, right?"

    He ZuDao was surprised and said: "Yes, how did you know?"

    Guo Xiang said: "I saw them once, I never thought they 2 would fight each other to the death."

    He ZuDao said: "That Yin KeXi said he did a life full wicked deeds, there was no use in feeling sorry for himself anymore. He said that he and Xiao XiangZi went to the ShaoLin Monastery and stole a manuscript, both of them were suspicious of each other. Both of them didn't trust each other and were afraid if the other one learnt the manuscript he would kill the other one and keep the manuscript for himself. Both ate at the same table, slept in the same bed and didn't leave the other out of sight. But, both were afraid that one would put in poison in the food or sneak up on him in the night and kill him. Both were extremely edgy and couldn't eat or rest properly, also, they were afraid that ShaoLin monks would catch up on them. So they went to the western borders and at Peak JingShen, both were extremely weary and knew if this continued both of them would be tired to death. So they fought it out there and then. According to Yin KeXi, Xiao XiangZi's martial arts was better than his and attacked first. Yin KeXi suffered a blow, but in the end, Yin KeXi gained the advantage. Then Yin realised that Xiao XiangZi was heavily injured at Mount Hua and hadn't recovered yet. If otherwise, they wouldn't have made it to Mount KunLun."

    After Guo Xiang heard this story she thought of the situation Yin KeXi and Xiao XiangZi were in and became gloomy and sighed: "Just because of a manuscript, this isn't worth it."

    He ZuDao said: "After telling this, Yin KeXi was having difficulty breathing and begged me to go to the ShaoLin Monastery and tell a monk called JueYuan something about 'the manuscript is in the oil' ('Jing Zai You Zhong'). I found this sentence very strange and didn't understand what he meant with the manuscript in the oil. Just when I wanted to ask him what he meant, he fainted. I thought after he rested for awhile I will ask him again. But he never woke up again. I thought perhaps he hid the manuscript in an oilcloth, but I couldn't find anything in their clothes. Anyway, I have been entrusted to deliver a message so I decided to carry this mission out. Furthermore, I've never been to China before so I decided to tour around for some time and ended up here.

    Guo Xiang asked: "Why did you leave a note at ShaoLin? And challenged the ShaoLin monks?

    He ZuDao smiled and said: "This is has to do with those 3 old men earlier. They are the ShaoLin disciples of the Western ShaoLin Monastery. According to the people there, they belong to the same "Tian" generation as the TianMing abbot of this ShaoLin. It seems that their patriarch had a disagreement with his martial arts brothers here and in a fury he left and founded the Western ShaoLin Monastery. Originally, the martial arts of ShaoLin came with Master DaMo of India to China and from China to the western regions. Which wasn't a strange thing. These 3 men heard of my reputation as "The 3 Saints of KunLun" and wanted to duel with me. On their way here, they kept boasting that ShaoLin martial arts were unequaled in the realm, I was permitted to be a saint in chess and the zither but not in swordsmanship. So I had to be the 2 saints instead of 3. And this happened before I met Yin KeXi so I thought I could finish 2 tasks in one go. I sent someone to notify those 3 old men to meet me at the ShaoLin Monastery. Anyway, the 3 of them were travelling very fast and could catch up with me."

    Guo Xiang laughed: "I guessed entirely wrong. I wonder what those 3 old men will say when they reach the ShaoLin Monastery."

    He ZuDao said: "I don't have any grudges against ShaoLin so I left a note that I will come 10 days later. I did this because I wanted those 3 old men to arrive at ShaoLin and battle them. But now the duel is over, let us go to ShaoLin together and after I delivered the message we will leave again."

    Guo Xiang frowned her eyebrows and said: "The rules of these monks are very strict, women may not enter."

    He ZuDao said: "Pooh! What damn rules! We're just going to enter and what are they going to do about it? Kill us?"

    Guo Xiang is a rather meddlesome girl, but after meeting reverend Wuse she has no bad feelings towards ShaoLin and shook her head and smiled: "I'll wait for you outside, you just enter and deliver the message. There's no need to create unnecessary trouble."

    He ZuDao nodded and said: "Alright! I haven't finished playing my song for you after delivering the message I'll played once again for you."

    End of Chapter 1

  3. #3
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 2: At the top of Mount WuDang the Pines and Cypresses are grown

    (Translated by Athena)

    Guo Xiang and He ZuDao walked towards the ShaoLin Monastery, before long they reached the gates of ShaoLin and didn't see anyone.

    He ZuDao said: "I'm not going in either, I'll just ask that monk to come out and deliver the message." He raised his voice and said: "He ZuDao of Mount KunLun pays a visit to the ShaoLin Monastery, I have something to say."

    After he said that, they could hear 10 large bells ringing.

    The door opened and 2 rows of grey-robed monks came out. In the left row there were 54 monks and on the right side there were also 54 monks. There were 108 monks, these were all disciples of the LuoHan Hall, filling up the positions of the 108 Arhats. After them, 18 monks came out wearing yellow kasayas. These monks looked a bit older than the disciples of the LuoHan Hall, they were the senior pupils of the DaMo Hall. After awhile 7 old monks came out wearing robes with big squares. These 7 monks all had wrinkles, the youngest was 70 odd years the eldest was about 90 years old. These were the 7 elders of the Meditation Hall. After them, Abbot TianMing came out, on his left reverend WuXiang head of the DaMo Hall and on the right reverend WuSe of the LuoHan Hall. Pan TianGeng, Fang TianLao and Wei TianWang followed after the 3 elders.

    In the end there were 70, 80 *common disciples of the ShaoLin Monastery.

    (*These pupils are not monks, just ordinary people. For example, pupils like Xiao Feng, Chen YouLiang, etc. belong to this category)

    That day He ZuDao sneaked into ShaoLin and left a note in the LuoHan Hall. This incident startled abbot TianMing, WuSe and WuXiang. Days later Pan, Fang and Wei said they would come to ShaoLin and duel, making all the monks very restless and vigilant. The Western ShaoLin was located far away from here and for many years the monks there didn't make any contact with the ShaoLin monks here. But all the monks knew that the patriarch of the Western ShaoLin Master GuWei was a powerful martial arts expert. So his disciples should be extraordinary people too. After hearing that Pan, Fang, and Wei didn't dare to look down upon "The 3 Saints of KunLun," and as the saying goes: "He who has come is surely strong or he'd never come along". The entire monastery was very vigilant and the abbot has ordered every disciple within a radius of 250 kilometers to return to the monastery and await orders.

    In the beginning, everyone thought that "The 3 Saints of KunLun" were 3 people, but after hearing from Pan TianGeng, Fang TianLao, and Wei TianWang they knew it was only 1 man. But concerning age and appearances, even Pan and the others weren't too sure. They only knew that he was proud of his skills in the zither, chess, and swordsmanship. Playing the zither and chess could slacken and leisure the heart and concentration that does no good to their Buddhist meditation. But martial arts experts who specialize in swordsmanship were very willing to duel with this arrogant man who called himself a "Saint of Swordsmanship".

    Pan TianGeng and his 2 martial arts brothers felt very confident of themselves and thought this entire incident was their doing and hope to travel thousands of miles to finish it here. They wanted to defeat He ZuDao before he could reach the monastery . After that, they would have a duel with the monks of the monastery and the Western ShaoLin will be greater than the Northern ShaoLin Monastery. However, after the battle at the stone pavilion, He ZuDao only used half of his abilities and he could easily overcome Pan, Fang, and Wei.

    After abbot TianMing heard of this, he knew that ShaoLin was facing an imminent danger. After careful analysis he realised that he, WuSe, and WuXiang were about the same level as Pan, Fang, and Wei. So he asked the 7 elders of the Meditation Hall to help out if necessary. However, no one knew how high the martial arts of the 7 elders were, and if they are strong enough to defeat He ZuDao if it really was necessary. These were all speculations of abbot TianMing, reverends WuSe and WuXiang.

    When abbot TianMing saw He ZuDao and Guo Xiang he put his palms together and said: "This must be the saints of chess, swordsmanship and zither, Benefactor He. Forgive us for a late welcome."

    He ZuDao returned respects and said: "My name is indeed He ZuDao, the nickname of 3 saints is not worth mentioning. I apologize for causing trouble at your monastery and I dare not deserve having all reverends coming to welcome me."

    TiangMing thought: "This arrogant scholar doesn't talk very arrogant. He seems to be around 30 years old, how could he easily defeat Pan and his martial arts brothers?"

    TianMing said: "You're very kind benefactor He, please enter our monastery for tea. However this benefactress......" He looked a bit awkward.

    When He ZuDao heard that abbot TianMing wasn't going to allow Guo Xiang to enter, his arrogance was aroused and laughed: "Old abbot, I came here to deliver a message on behalf of someone. After doing that I'll leave, but the rules set by your monastery prohibiting women from entering is ludicrous. Frankly, I have problems with that rule. According to Buddhism, every life is equally precious, not making unnecessary distinctions between men and women."

    Abbot TianMing is an enlightened priest, and is very broad-minded. TianMing smiled and said: "Thank you for pointing that out. We are a bit petty when it comes to that. Well, Miss Guo, please enter for tea too."

    Guo Xiang smiled at He ZuDao and said: "You're very eloquent, with just a few words this old monk already gave in."

    Abbot TianMing moved aside and made a gesture to welcome guests when suddenly an old and skinny monk to the left of TianMing stepped forward and said: "Just because of benefactor He's one sentence, ShaoLin should abolish an ancient custom, which isn't a bad thing, but we would like to see if the person who said those words have any real, impressive abilities. Or does he just clings on to a false reputation. I would like to ask benefactor He to reveal 1, 2 special abilities so all the monks can be convinced of your specialties, so we all know that we just abolished a thousand year old rule for a worthy purpose."

    The old monk who said this was reverend WuXiang, head of the DaMo Hall. His voice was clear and loud showing that his internal strength was full and solid. When Pan TianGen, Fang TianLao and Wei TianWang heard this, their facial expressions changed. The words of WuXiang clearly indicate he has no high opinion of these 3 Western ShaoLin disciples. He ZuDao defeating them didn't necessarily mean He ZuDao had any great abilities.

    Guo Xiang saw reverend WuSe looking awkward and thought this old monk is a good man and a friend of Yang Guo. If He ZuDao really fought against the monks, and either party would lose, she would still feel bad about it. So she said to He ZuDao: "Brother He, I don't really have to enter the monastery. After you've delivered the message, we'll go."

    Guo Xiang pointed at WuSe and said: "This reverend WuSe is a good friend of mine. I hope you can be friends too."

    He ZuDao said: "Oh, I see." and turned to abbot TianMing and said: "Old abbot, there is a Master JueYuan here in the monastery. Who is it? I have been entrusted a message that I have to deliver to him."

    Abbot TianMing softly said: "Master JueYuan?"

    JueYuan's position is very low in the monastery. For many years he was just staying in the library and no one really paid any attention to him. Also, never did anyone call him [Master JueYuan] so that's why abbot TianMing didn't know who He ZuDao meant. After awhile, TianMing said: "Oh! The monk who lost the "Ni Jia Scriptures". Benefactor He, does this have to do with the lost of the "Ni Jia Scriptures."

    He ZuDao shook his head and said: "I really don't know."

    TianMing told a pupil: "Tell JueYuan to come out and meet our guests."

    The disciple quickly left.

    Reverend WuXiang said: "Benefactor He, is the saints of the zither, chess and swordsmanship. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to be called [saint]. Benefactor He must have extraordinary abilities in these 3 arts. Many days ago you left a note in the monastery telling us that you're were eager to display your martial arts. Today you have come and we are very eager to see your martial arts."

    He ZuDao shook his head and said: "Miss Guo already said that both parties should not create any grudges."

    WuXiang was really annoyed and thought: "You left a note challenging us, now you're saying you don't want to fight. In these 1000 years, who dared to look down upon ShaoLin like that? Furthermore, Pan TianGeng, Fang TianLao and Wei TianWang were defeated at your hands. If word would get out that the head disciples of the ShaoLin School were defeated by you, your name the saint of swordsmanship will be even more famous in WuLin. Ordinary pupils are no match for him, I must challenge him personally."

    WuXiang walked forward and said: "Exchanging views on martial arts doesn't necessarily mean creating grudges. Benefactor He, there is no reason to be humble."

    Wuxiang turned to a disciple of the DaMo Hall and said: "Get a sword! We will see the swordsmanship of the famous [saint of swordsmanship]. And we will see if the word [saint] is the right word to name it."

    The weapons of the monastery were already prepared, but were not brought out. That was to avoid people from saying ShaoLin monks were petty.

    The disciple went back in and brought 7, 8 swords and went to He ZuDao and said: "Benefactor He, will you be using your own weapon or will you be using one of our swords?"

    He ZuDao didn't answer and picked up a sharp rock from the ground and started carving lines in the tiles. He drew a chess board with that sharp rock. Every line was precise, accurate, and deeply carved into the stone tiles. He ZuDao just picked up a rock and drew this, this use and possession of internal energy was rare in the realm. He ZuDao laughed and said: "Dueling with swords might create unnecessary animosities between us. There is no way in competing music. If all you are interested, we could play chess."

    This display of internal energy and drawing a chessboard with a small rock was amazing. TianMing, WuSe, WuXiang and the 7 elders of the Meditation Hall looked at each other and were stunned.

    Abbot TianMing knew that this man's internal strength was very powerful and no one in the monastery was his match. The abbot was about to admit defeat when they heard a metallic sound walking towards them. It was JueYuan carrying two large metal buckets. Behind him was a young tall man. JueYuan put down the buckets and paid his respects to TianMing and said: "I await your orders, abbot."

    TianMing said: "This benefactor He has something to tell you."

    JueYuan turned around and didn't know who He ZuDao was. JueYuan said: "I am JueYuan. Benefactor He, can I help you?"

    After He ZuDao finished drawing the chessboard, his interest for chess was awoken and asked: "The message can wait now. Who is interested in a game of chess?" He ZuDao didn't want to show off his martial arts, but he was always very captivated by the arts of zither, chess and swordsmanship. If his interest was awoken he can forget everything around him. He ZuDao just wanted a monk to play chess with now and forgot entirely about fighting.

    Abbot TianMing said: "Benefactor He's ability to draw a chessboard with a mere rock is amazing. Such magnificent ability is something I have never seen before. All the monks here are no match for you."

    When JueYuan heard these words, he looked at the lines on the ground and realised that this He ZuDao came here to challenge the ShaoLin Monastery. JueYuan picked up the iron buckets and took a deep breath and focused all his internal strength to his feet and started walking towards the lines.

    The chains bound to JueYuan's feet dragged over the lines and erasing it. When the monks saw that, everyone called: "Good!"

    TianMing, WuSe and WuXiang were surprised and happy to see that this old and pedant monk had such powerful internal energy. They lived in the monastery all these years and never realised it before. TianMing knows that no matter how powerful the internal energy of one person is, he/she can never leave such deep prints in the ground. The reason why JueYuan could do this was that his iron buckets were filled with water so in total, there was 200 kilograms.

    Before JueYuan could erase all the lines, He ZuDao spoke to him: "Very powerful internal energy, I don't have such powerful internal strength."

    JueYuan felt his energy growing in his public region but his legs were getting tired. JueYuan stopped when he heard He ZuDao talking to him and turned to him and said with a smile: "Is there a difference in white and black pieces?"

    He ZuDao said: "Right! This game of chess cannot be played anymore, I lose. I will try your swordsmanship." He ZuDao drew his sword and aimed for his own chest and the hilt was facing the opponent. This was a very strange technique and looked like he was trying to kill himself. In all the sword stances in the world there was never such a strange technique.

    JueYuan said: "I only how know to meditate and recite scriptures. My responsibility is to tidy the library. I've never learnt martial arts."

    He ZuDao didn't believe him and scoffed. He ZuDao advanced forward, the tip of the sword was now aiming for JueYuan's chest. This technique was very fast and was practically unequalled by all sword techniques in the realm. This stance wasn't meant to aim for yourself but the position He ZuDao took was to generate his internal energy to the sword and lash out. However, JueYuan's internal energy was so powerful it was able to come and go as JueYuan pleases. JueYuan used one of the buckets to block this technique and the tip of the sword hit the iron bucket. The sword bent a bit and He ZuDao retrieved this technique and attacked again. JueYuan used the other bucket to block that stance.

    He ZuDao thought: "No matter how high your martial arts is, these buckets are not easy to be handled. How can you block my stances? If you used your hands instead I would have slightly feared you."

    He ZuDao used his index finger to point at the tip of the sword producing a buzzing sound. It was similar to a cry of a dragon.

    He ZuDao called out: "Watch out, old monk!" With incredible speed He ZuDao launched 16 stances towards JueYuan.

    However, JueYuan blocked all of them, these 16 techniques were called "The Swift Lightning Swordsmanship."

    Everyone could see that JueYuan was in a frantic state, anyone knew now that JueYuan didn't know any martial arts at all.

    These excellent sword techniques of He ZuDao were all blocked in a very silly way.

    WuSe and WuXiang were very worried and called out: "Please spare him, benefactor He!"

    Even Guo Xiang called out: "Don't harm him!"

    He ZuDao put everything he knew in this battle but still couldn't overcome this monk.

    He didn't believe this monk didn't know any martial arts. The reason why JueYuan could avoid being hit was that he had very powerful internal energy.

    He ZuDao realised his swift techniques were in vain and yelled out. A light flash was aiming for JueYuan's abdomen.

    JueYuan called out and used the 2 buckets to clip down the sword. He ZuDao wanted to pull the sword back but couldn't move an inch. Quickly, He ZuDao changed technique and released the sword and placed all his energy to his palms and attacked with his palms. He aimed for JueYuan's head.

    At this point, JueYuan couldn't block that move anymore. The situation was very dangerous. Zhang JunBao was very worried for his teacher, so Zhang leapt out and used the technique that Yang Guo taught him 3 years ago, namely "Extend in all Directions." Zhang hit He ZuDao on his left shoulder.

    At this time, the internal energy of JueYuan was focused on the 2 buckets. The energy forced the water out in 2 spouts of water. When the energy of He ZuDao met with the spouts of water, the water was dispersed but also the energy of He ZuDao was gone. Both He ZuDao and JueYuan were wet.

    He ZuDao was engaged in the fight with JueYuan and didn't pay any attention to the young Zhang JunBao. Little did He ZuDao realise that Zhang's palm technique and internal energy were very good and strong. He ZuDao was pushed away and could only stand still after 3 paces backwards.

    JueYuan said: "Amitabha, Amitabha! Please let me go, benefactor He. Those few attacks were really frightening." JueYuan used his sleeve to wipe away the water on his face and quickly stepped aside.

    He ZuDao angrily said: "The ShaoLin Monastery has indeed many extraordinary people. Even a little boy has such good martial arts. Youngster, let us fight, if you can withstand 10 of my stances I will never step foot again in China."

    WuSe and WuXiang knew that Zhang JunBao was just a boy who cleaned the library and helped out JueYuan in his duties. Zhang never learnt any martial arts, he just accidentally hit He ZuDao just then. If they really fought, Zhang JunBao wouldn't last 1 stance.

    WuXiang spoke: "Benefactor He, you're wrong. You are called "The 3 Saints of KunLun, your martial arts is unequalled through the realm. How can you fight with a mere young cleaner? If you don't mind, let me accept that challenge."

    He ZuDao shook his head and said: "Everyone saw that he just hit me, I cannot let that go unpunished. Watch out, lad!"

    This palm technique was very fast and he stood very close to Zhang JunBao. WuSe, WuXiang and others wanted to help but were too late to do anything now.

    Everyone was worried for Zhang JunBao. Zhang just stood there and his toes were turning to the left and his body turned fluently to the right, taking on the position of an archer. This time, his right hand and left hand were guarding his waist. His right fist attacked. This was a beginning of the ShaoLin fist style called: "The Flower Fist piercing through right."

    This stance was absolutely excellent, this was a movement that should be made by a martial arts expert, not a young boy.

    When He ZuDao suffered a blow to his shoulder he knew that this young boy's internal strength was superior to Pan TianGeng and others. But he was confident he could defeat Zhang JunBao within 10 stances. When he saw that attack made by Zhang he was quite impressed and said: "Excellent move!"

    WuXiang thought of something and smiled to WuSe: "Congratulations, elder brother for having such a good disciple."

    WuSe shook his head and said: "I didn't...." At this point, Zhang JunBao used another 3 stances to counter attack. All the movements were grand and energy generated was full and fluent, not inferior to any ShaoLin martial artist.

    TianMing, WuSe, WuXiang and the 7 elders of the Meditation Hall saw that Zhang JunBao's techniques were that spectacular. They were all stunned. WuXiang said: " The grandness of his stances is nothing compared to his energy......"

    At this point, He ZuDao already used 6 stances and thought: "If I cannot defeat this young lad, everyone in WuLin will laugh at me for leaving a note to challenge ShaoLin."

    Suddenly He ZuDao changed his movement and used a stance called: "The Floating Snow Flocks of Mount Tian."

    His palms were incredibly fast, and it seemed like Zhang JunBao was surrounded by palms.

    Zhang JunBao was never really instructed on martial arts by anyone, with the exception of Yang Guo 3 years ago. This is the first time he saw such strange and fast palm techniques and didn't know how to counter it. In a fit of anxiety, he used a ShaoLin stance called: "Two Circling Hands." Zhang JunBao raised his 2 hands above his face and stood there. This stance was very grand and majestic, no matter how, or where He ZuDao attacked, his attacks will always be met by these 2 hands.

    The monks of the DaMo and LuoHan Hall were all calling out: "Good!" They were all impressed by Zhang JunBao's technique and praised him for using a simple ShaoLin stance to foil a heavy and complicated palm technique.

    He ZuDao changed stance again and aimed a fist towards Zhang JunBao. Zhang returned the attack with a stance called: "The Flower leaning towards the 7 Stars."

    Zhang's palm met with He's fist, there was a banging sound. He ZuDao's body shook and Zhang JunBao backed 5 paces. He ZuDao's face changed and said: "One more stance, try your best to deal with it."

    Everyone remained silent, they knew that this final attack of He ZuDao was very powerful. They knew that He threw in everything to win at this point.

    Again Zhang JunBao used: "The Flower leaning towards the 7 Stars."

    This time there was no sound when fist and palm met. Both were generating internal energy. When it comes to all-round martial arts, He ZuDao would win with ease over Zhang JunBao. But when it comes to internal energy, Zhang learnt some parts of the "Jiu Yang" codex so his internal strength kept increasing and increasing. He ZuDao knew he couldn't defeat this young boy and leapt away and let Zhang JunBao's energy dash forward and used his right hand to push gently on Zhang's back causing him to fall over.

    He ZuDao waved his hand and smiled wryly: "He ZuDao, He ZuDao. You're are too arrogant."

    He ZuDao turned to abbot TianMing and said: "The martial arts of the ShaoLin Monastery are renowned for a thousand years. It is indeed amazing. Today I have seen enough, knowing that the good name of ShaoLin is well deserved."

    He turned around and leapt forward a few metres, suddenly he turned around and said to JueYuan: "Reverend JueYuan, someone told me to deliver this message: The manuscript is in the oil/ [Jing Zai You Zhong]."

    After saying that, he even leapt further away and his movements were incredibly fast, so fast that it was rare in the realm.

    Zhang JuBao slowly struggled up, his face covered with sand. Although he was beaten by He ZuDao, He already admitted his defeat to ShaoLin.

    Suddenly one of the old monks of the Meditation Hall spoke sharply and coldly: "Who taught this disciple martial arts?" Everyone felt uncomfortable after hearing this old monk talk.

    Abbot TianMing, WuSe and WuXiang were all thinking about this too. They all looked at JueYuan and Zhang JunBao. JueYuan and Zhang just stood there not knowing what was going on now.

    TianMing spoke: "JueYuan's internal strength is powerful but he never learnt any other forms of martial arts. Who taught this boy martial arts?"

    The disciples of the DaMo and LuoHan Hall were all thinking, luckily today there was a young cleaner who come forward and warded off ShaoLin's disaster. The old abbot will surely reward him and the master who taught him martial arts.

    The old monk of the Meditation Hall stood still and his eyebrows were raised. He looked like he was ready to kill someone. The old monk sharply asked Zhang JunBao again: "I'm going to ask you again. Who taught you this LuoHan fist style?"

    Zhang JunBao took out the little iron Arhats Guo Xiang gave to him and said: "I just learnt a few stances from these little statues. No one taught me any martial arts."

    The old monk stepped forward and slowly said in a threatening way: "Tell me one more time: Your LuoHan fist was NOT imparted by any master of the monastery. You learnt it by yourself."

    Zhang JunBao was a bit startled but he also believed he didn't do anything wrong. Even though this old monk looked very stern, he wasn't afraid and said clearly: "I'm just responsible for keeping the library clean and tidy. I'm here to look after and help Master JueYuan. No other reverend in the monastery has taught me martial arts. I learnt this LuoHan fist by myself, I think I might have made a few mistakes in the stances. I hope old Master can give me some pointers."

    The old monk's eyes looked like spitting fire and fiercely stared at Zhang JunBao for a ver long time and not moving.

    JueYuan knew that this old monk was a senior of the monastery. He was one of the martial arts uncles of abbot TianMing. TianMing, himself, stood a generation higher than JueYuan, WuSe and WuXiang.

    JueYuan didn't understand why this old monk was so angry and he saw that the old monk's eyes were filled with hate. Suddenly he realised something, he once read in a codex something that happened more than 70 years ago in the ShaoLin Monastery.

    *More than 70 years ago, the abbot of the ShaoLin Monastery was reverend KuCheng. This abbot KuCheng stood 2 generations above abbot TianMing.

    One year in Autumn, during a yearly contest held in the DaMo Hall, something disastrous happened. It was a tradition of ShaoLin to examine and evaluate the disciples' martial arts every year. This was done in the DaMo Hall, the abbot and the 2 elders of the DaMo and LuoHan Hall would be the one to evaluate the disciples to see whether they had improved this year.

    That year, the judge was the elder of the DaMo Hall reverend KuZhi and all the disciples were displaying their martial arts.

    Suddenly a "TouTuo" entered and yelled out: "KuWei is full of nonsense and doesn't know the real essence of martial arts. He shouldn't even be the head of the DaMo Hall, this old monk is a complete disgrace!"

    All the monks were surprised and saw that this "TouTuo" was a mere monk in charge of cooking meals for the ShaoLin disciples. All the monks scolded him and started telling him to be quiet.

    Note: "TouTuo is a Buddhist monk with hair, I believe. Somewhat like Fan Yao, try to remember the TVB 1986 Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre. In that series we see Fan Yao wearing a sort of Buddhist robe and having hair, right? Now that's a "TouTuo." Also, this "TouTuo" who I am mentioning now was a monk with a lowly position in the monastery. He and other similar monks were in charge of cleaning, preparing meals for the "real" ShaoLin disciples. These monks do not participate in studying martial arts or in meditation. They cannot be considered to be ShaoLin disciples.Also this "TouTuo" was called "HuoGong TouTuo" meaning the monk working in the kitchen.

    This "HuoGong TouTuo" yelled: "The master is full of crap, the pupils are even more incompetent."

    So he went to centre of the hall, and challenged all the ShaoLin disciples one after the other. They were all defeated easily within 3, 4 stances. It was the rule in the DaMo Hall to be lenient in the battles. But this "HuoGong TouTuo" was very vicious, he defeated the 9 Head disciples of the DaMo Hall, all 9 of those pupils were heavily injured by him.

    The elder KuZhi was angry and shocked and saw that this "HuoGong TouTuo" used ShaoLin martial arts, so it wasn't an expert from a different school who came here creating havoc. KuZhi asked him who taught him martial arts.

    That "HuoGong TouTuo" said: "No one taught me, I learned it myself."

    It seems that the monk who was in charge of the kitchen was a very bad-tempered monk. This monk would often beat up other monks and this monk learned some martial arts so he often hit them very hard.

    "HuoGong TouTuo" was beaten up so severely in 3 years that he coughed up blood 3 times. In a fury, he started to secretly study martial arts. All the ShaoLin monks knew martial arts and it was easy for him to secretly observe and learn it. He made extraordinary, painstaking efforts and plus, he was very intelligent so in these 20 years he learned superior martial arts. However, he kept a low profile and performed his duties and even if the head of the kitchen would beat him up he didn't feel a thing anymore with his high internal energy. This "HuoGong TouTuo" also had a sinister and violent personality, he waited till he felt confident no one in the monastery was his match and wanted to show off his abilities in the annual contest. All these years of being beaten up made him hate all the monks in the monastery. So when he fought those monks, he didn't show any mercy.

    When reverend KuZhi knew what he did, he scoffed and said: "Taking such trouble is worthy of my respect."

    KuZhi stood up and challenged "HuoGong TouTuo" to a fight. Reverend KuZhi was a top martial arts expert from ShaoLin but he was already very old and HuoGong TouTuo was just middle-aged. Secondly, KuZhi was being lenient with his techniques and "HuoGong TouTuo" only used ferocious stances. So they were able to fight each other till 500 stances. At this point, Master KuZhi was gaining the upperhand and both used the same stance, namely "The Grand Intertwining Silk". 4 hands were entangled with each other. However, KuZhi's hands were placed on the death acupoints of HuoGong TouTuo' chest. If KuZhi was to release his energy, "HuoGong TouTuo" was surely to die. But reverend KuZhi admired and respected his ability to learn such powerful martial arts with no one teaching him, so he wanted to spare him. So KuZhi pushed his 2 hands forward and called out: "Turn back now!"

    Unfortunately, "HuoGong TouTuo" misinterpreted and thought KuZhi used a technique called: "Eight Strikes of the Divine Palm." One of the special skills of ShaoLin that "HuoGong TouTuo" saw the disciples of the DaMo Hall using was this stance before using both hands to strike out and breaking a wooden beam. The energy released is formidable. Although the martial arts of "HuoGong TouTuo" was high, he never received any pointers from any experts and the martial arts of ShaoLin are deep and profound. He only secretly saw and observed some skills but he could never learn everything completely. The stance KuZhi used was "The Resolve Stance." But "HuoGong TouTuo" thought it was the 6th technique of the "Eighth Strikes of the Divine Palm" namely the "Heart Splitting Palm." He thought: "You want to take me life, don't you? Well, it's not going to be that easy." So flew towards KuZhi and his 2 fists were aiming for KuZhi's body.

    The energy of the fists was incredibly powerful and violent, KuZhi was shocked and quickly raised his palms to block, but it was too late. Everyone heard a cracking sound, the arm of KuZhi was broken, as well as 4 of his ribs. All the disciples rushed forward to help and they saw KuZhi looking deadly pale and couldn't talk anymore. His internal organs were all severely injured. When they looked up, "HuoGong TouTuo" was gone in the confusion. That same night, reverend KuZhi passed away, the entire monastery was mourning. Little did they expect that "HuoGong TouTuo" sneaked back in ShaoLin and killed the head of the kitchen and 5 other monks who used to bully him.

    The entire ShaoLin Monastery was shocked and sent out various martial arts experts to track him down, but in vain.

    After this incident, the senior elders of the monastery had an intense argument. And in a fury, the elder of the LuoHan Hall Master KuWei left the Northern ShaoLin Monastery and went to the Western Regions to founded a Western ShaoLin Monastery.

    Pan TianGeng, Fang TianLao and Wei TianWang are his descendants.

    Also because of this, the ShaoLin Monastery was in a down period. The abbot set a new rule: no one was allowed to learn ShaoLin martial arts without a master teaching him. If not, in the worst case, this person will be put to death, and in lighter cases, the muscles and veins of his arms and legs will be snapped and this person will be come disabled for the rest of his life.

    But in all these years no one ever learned anything without permission so this rule was forgotten by most monks.

    This old monk of the Meditation Hall was the youngest disciple of Master KuZhi and the image of the death of his teacher is still vividly in his memory. So this incident with Zhang JunBao stirred up his anger and hate.

    JueYuan practically read all the manuscripts in the library and remembered these event. So JueYuan broke into cold sweat now and pleaded to the TianMing: "Old abbot, this cannot be blamed on JunBao....."

    At this time, the elder of the DaMo Hall reverend WuXiang called: "All the disciples of the DaMo Hall go forward and seize that boy!" The 18 DaMo disciples surrounded Zhang JunBao, JueYuan, and even Guo Xiang. That old monk of the Meditation Hall sternly yelled: "Why don't the disciples of the LuoHan Hall go forward and seize that boy!"

    All the 108 disciples said: "Yes!" and surrounded Zhang JunBao, JueYuan and Guo Xiang. There were 3 circles of disciples around them.

    Note: This incident of ShaoLin with "HuoGong TouTuo" happened around the same time of the First Battle at Mount Hua. That's why there were no experts from ShaoLin in the 5 Great Experts. - The main reason, and also the most important reason, was of course none of the ShaoLin experts of that time came close to the levels the Huang YaoShi, OuYang Feng, Duang ZhiXing/ Master YiDeng, Hong QiGong and Wang ChongYang. And of course Qiu QianRen and Zhou BoTong. -Second reason, ShaoLin was starting to fall in the realm of martial arts, plus the incident with "HuoGong TouTuo" led to 2 fractions in the monastery resulting from reverend KuWei leaving with his followers. -ShaoLin couldn't even protect their own martial arts from being secretly mastered by someone else. I don't think the abbot would have the face to try and to get the "Jiu Yin Zhen Jing." Arrogant people like OuYang Feng and Huang YaoShi would surely scoff and say something like: "ShaoLin can't even protect their own manuscripts and now they want to get their hands on Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. Such audacity!"-The last reason should be why should ShaoLin try to get hold of Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. The martial arts of ShaoLin is deep and profound already. Why be greedy while many special ShaoLin skills are waiting to be mastered?

    Zhang JunBao was in a frantic state, he believed that by defeating He ZuDao he broke the rules of the monastery.

    JueYuan loved Zhang JunBao like a son and he also knew that if Zhang was captured, he will certainly be punished severely.

    At this time, he heard WuXiang call out: "What are you waiting for, seize him!"

    The 18 disciples of the DaMo Hall stepped forward to seize Zhang JunBao. JueYuan didn't think anymore and turned a circle and the 2 iron buckets were rotating, causing the monks to back off. JueYuan threw the remaining water out of the buckets and placed Guo Xiang and Zhang JunBao in the buckets. He whirled the buckets round and round like a pair of comet hammers. All the disciples of the DaMo Hall quickly moved away.

    JueYuan swiftly leapt away and carried the 2 buckets with Guo Xiang and Zhang JunBao away. The monks gave chase, and after awhile they lost track of them. The rules are very strict of ShaoLin and the head of the DaMo Hall gave an order to seize Zhang JunBao, so even if the monks couldn't catch up they must still pursue them. After awhile, the monks with a level in the art of levitation were still chasing while the others were falling behind. In the end, only 5 monks were still running about, and they knew even if they caught up with them, they wouldn't be a match for JueYuan and Zhang JunBao.

    So they didn't have an option but to return to ShaoLin.

    JueYuan ran kilometers away from the monastery and he stopped when they were in the deep end of the forest. Although JueYuan's internal energy was powerful, this running away took a heavy toll on him. He was too weak now to even put down the buckets. Guo Xiang and Zhang JunBao jumped out and lifted the buckets from his shoulders.

    Zhang JunBao said: "Master, rest for awhile I will look for some food."

    But he couldn't find anything else but some wild strawberries. The 3 of them ate some and rested.

    Guo Xiang said to JueYuan: "Reverend JueYuan, all the monks of the ShaoLin Monastery are very weird. With the exception of you and reverend WuSe."

    JueYuan only murmured something. Guo Xiang continued: "You and your pupil defeated that "3 Saints of KunLun" He ZuDao. They should be thanking you and now they want to capture brother Zhang. That's ridiculous!"

    JueYuan sighed: "This cannot be entirely blamed on the old abbot and Buddhist brother WuXiang. ShaoLin has a rule....."

    After saying that JueYuan started coughing and couldn't catch his breath.

    Guo Xiang softly padded his back and said: "You're tired, you should rest now. We shall talk about this tomorrow."

    JueYuan sighed: "Yes, I'm very tired."

    Zhang JunBao made a small fire to dry his and Guo Xiang's clothes and the 3 of them slept under a tree.

    In the middle of the night, Guo Xiang heard JueYuan murmuring. It sounded like he was reciting sutras. So she woke up and heard: "The strength of the opponent just reaches my skin and hair, my essence penetrate the opponents bones. Raise your 2 hands and let your energy flow fluently. The left is heavy, yet empty, the right flows ever away. But the right is heavy yet the left is empty....."

    Guo Xiang thought: "This isn't a Buddhist sutra, and that final part was related to martial arts theory."

    JueYuan continued: "Your "qi" is like a wheel, rotating through your entire body, if not your body will be dispersed and converse. This illness is caused by waist and leg......." Guo Xiang knew for sure that he was reciting martial art theories and thought: "Reverend JueYuan didn't learn martial arts but he read almost every scripture he could find. And 3 years ago he said that in the handwritten Lankavatara sutra of Master DaMo, there was another codex namely [Jiu Yang Zheng Jing]. He thought it's purpose was to stay healthy and strong and learnt the essence from it. Both he and his pupil didn't have someone to teach them, but somehow he reached the same level as the other top martial arts experts of the realm. I could remember clearly that when Xiao XiangZi struck him, Xiao XiangZi was injured himself. I doubt that even brother Yang and my father can do something like that. And today, they managed to defeat He ZuDao, thanks to [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing]. He must be reciting that [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] at the moment." She sat up and started paying attention and remained quiet, she was afraid to disturb him. She was memorizing every word JueYuan said and thought: "If it is [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing], it must be excellent and profound. I will memorize what he says and ask him tomorrow if he can explain it."

    JueYuan recited: "...First use your heart to enable your body. Start from other people, do not start yourself. The back of your body can now start from the heart. Because you remain the same and people start first. Let your opponent attack first, and follow his movements. If he doesn't move, you don't move. If he moves a bit you move too.

    Guo Xiang thought: "This is wrong, my parents always taught me that in a battle you have to strike first before being struck. Reverend JueYuan is wrong here."

    Guo Xiang was confused, she was always taught to strike first, be quicker than your opponent. And JueYuan's theory was the opposite of what she learned and she thought: "In a fight you cannot really stand still and let your opponent be leading the fight."

    Because of this confusion she missed a part. She saw that Zhang JunBao sat there listening carefully. Guo Xiang thought: "No matter whether he's wrong or right. This old monk was able to injure Xiao XiangZi and defeat He ZuDao, I saw this myself. So his martial arts theories must be good."

    For both theories something can be said. You can't say that what Guo Jing taught Guo Xiang was wrong. It depends on the level and the user. Jiu Yang is NOT superior to Jiu Yin.

    JueYuan continued to recite and sometimes he would recite a piece from the Lankavatara sutra. [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] was written inside the Lankavatara sutra. JueYuan recited some parts in Indian causing Guo Xiang to be quite confused.

    Fortunately, Guo Xiang was an very intelligent girl and still managed to memorize 20-30 percent of everything.

    JueYuan continued to recite, his voice became lower and unclear. Guo Xiang said: "Rest for awhile, you've been exhausted."

    But JueYuan continued to recite: "... Borrow your strength from your opponent, your "qi" must be drawn from your spine. How to draw "qi" from your spine? Your "qi" lowers, and bend your shoulders to the back concentrate on your waist. This "qi" will come from above and go down. Meaning the "qi" is unified. Unifying means taking in, opening means releasing. If you understand opening and unifying, you'll understand "ying" and "yang."

    After reciting to this part, JueYuan's voice softly ended and it seemed he fell into a deep sleep.

    It was becoming dawn, JueYuan was still sleeping and he had a smile on his face.

    Zhang JunBao raised his head and saw a grey shadow appearing from the tree. This shadow wore a yellow kasaya. He was startled and said: "Who's there?"

    A tall, skinny, old monk appeared, it was the head of the LuoHan Hall reverend WuSe.

    Guo Xiang was startled and happy to see him and said: "Why do keep pursuing them? Must you really capture them and bring them back to ShaoLin?"

    WuSe said: "I know the difference between right and wrong. If I'm really an upholder of ancient rules and traditions I would have captured them last night and wouldn't wait till now. Brother JueYuan, brother WuXiang is leading the disciples of the DaMo Hall to the east. Quickly, go to the west!" JueYuan was still sitting and had his eyes closed.

    Zhang JunBao walked up and said: "Master wake up. The elder of the LuoHan Hall is talking to you."

    JueYuan was still sitting there, Zhang JunBao became frightened and touched his face. JueYuan was cold, he passed away some time ago. Zhang JunBao was devastated and cried: "Master, master!"

    But JueYuan will never wake up again.

    WuSe put his palms together and recited a Buddhist scripture and left.

    Zhang JunBao was crying, and Guo Xiang was crying too. When the monks of ShaoLin die, it was a custom to cremate them. So Guo Xiang and Zhang JunBao collected some wood and cremated JueYuan's body.

    Guo Xiang spoke to Zhang JunBao: "Brother Zhang, the ShaoLin monks will not easily let you off. You must be very careful. Our paths will now part, I hope to see again in the future."

    Zhang JunBao was still crying and asked: "Miss Guo, where will you be going? Where shall I go?"

    Guo Xiang felt sad after hearing his question: "I shall travel to the ends of the world if I have to. I, myself do not know where I'm going. Brother Zhang, you're still young and don't have any experience in WuLin matters. Furthermore, the ShaoLin monks are still looking for you."

    She removed a golden bracelet from her wrist and gave it to Zhang JunBao and said: "Take this bracelet and go to XiangYang to see my parents. They will treat you warmly. And if you're with my parents, those ShaoLin monks will think twice before trying to capture you."

    Zhang JunBao was in tears and took the bracelet. Guo Xiang said: "Tell my parents that I'm alright and tell them not to worry.

    My father likes heroic youngsters, if he sees that you're such a talented man he'll probably accept you as his pupil. My younger brother is a friendly, honest person, you will like him. But my older sister has a bad-temper, she'll scold anyone for the slightest matter and doesn't consider the feelings of other people. Just try to put up with her."

    After saying that she left.

    Zhang JunBao stood there and felt very lonely and thought, although the world was big there was no place for him to stay.

    He stood in front of JueYuan's ashes for a very long time and then started walking away. After walking for a few metres he went back and carried his teacher's iron buckets away. In the middle of nowhere, this young, skinny man walks lonely to the west, ever so sad and lonesome.

    After walking half a day, he reached the borders of the HeBei province. The city of XiangYang was not far from here and the ShaoLin monks were not be seen. This was due to reverend WuSe, he told the monks that Zhang JunBao was seen in the east so all the monks went to the east to look for him. So the farther Zhang JunBao traveled to the west, the bigger the distance he put between himself and his pursuers.

    This afternoon, he reached a tall mountain. It was very green and luxuriant, the forest was thick. And the mountain looked very majestic, on inquiry, this mountain was called WuDang.

    Zhang JunBao rested on a rock nearby and saw a man and a woman walking by. They seemed to be local farmers, the 2 looked ever so intimate and it seemed that they were just newly-weds. The wife was murmuring something and she seemed to be scolding her husband. The husband lowered his head and didn't make a sound.

    The wife said: "You're a grown man, why can't you support your own family? Why go to sister and brother-in-law? That scene was humiliating enough, wasn't it? We have hands and feet, we can support ourselves, even if we have to eat simple food. Just as long as we're happy and carefree."

    The husband just nodded and hmmd.

    The wife continued: "Besides death, there is nothing we should worry about. Do we really have to rely on others?"

    The husband didn't dare to say anything back, his face was swelling up.

    The words of the wife were getting through to Zhang JunBao and he thought that she was right. He stared at their backs and thought those words over and over again. Suddenly he saw the husband standing up straight and saying something. Both husband and wife laughed heartily, it seemed that the husband realised that he must take care of himself instead of relying on other people.

    Zhang JunBao thought: "Miss Guo said her older sister was very bad-tempered and often scolded other people for no particular reason. She also told me to just put up with her. I'm a grown man, why should I put up with that kind of attitude. If that husband and wife cling on to their self-respect, so should I, Zhang JunBao. Why do I have to put up with anyone's bad-temper?"

    He made up his mind and carried the 2 buckets up and went up Mount WuDang. He found a cave and lived in it, living on water from springs and fruit from the forest. He started studying [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing].

    Many years later, he realised something: "Master DaMo originated from India, even if he knew Chinese it would be very basic. The language of [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] is very deep and profound. It is definitely not written by foreigners. Probably some ShaoLin monk created this and used the name of Master DaMo. And this monk wrote [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] inside the Lankavatara sutra."

    But this was just his deduction and he felt still somewhat puzzled by it. JueYuan taught Zhang JunBao [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] for some time, so he was able to remember 50, 60 percent of it. More than 10 years later, his internal strength reached a very high level, and he started to study Taoist manuscripts and scriptures. He managed to learn a lot from the cultivation of "qi" in these scriptures.

    On one particular day, he looked up in the sky and some some clouds and looked down and some the flowing water, Zhang JunBao seemed to have realised something. He went back to his cave and pondered on his discovery 7 days and 7 nights, finally he understood it completely and comprehended the martial arts theory that "gentleness can overcome fierceness." [Yi Rou Ke Gang]. He laughed to his heart's content.

    This laughter produced a top martial arts master. He created a martial arts style based on Taoist theories and [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing]. He founded the famous and glorious WuDang School.

    Later when he roamed about, he saw 3 peaks reaching up into the sky. He changed his name to SanFeng and became China's martial arts mysterious master namely, Zhang SanFeng.

    End of Chapter 2
    Last edited by dgfds01; 05-26-07 at 10:37 PM.

  4. #4
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    Chapter 3: Refined for a Hundred Years the Precious Saber Creates a Mysterious Light

    (Translated by Meh)

    Flowers bloom, flowers wither. The young men in the martial world have become old. The young girls have begun to show their age with hair turning white.

    It’s has been over fifty years since the demise of the Sung dynasty.

    On this third month of the new lunar year, a thirty-some year old man walks on the beach in the southern China. He wears a blue robe, a pair of grass shoes, walking quickly forward, as if in a hurry. Although surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, he has no time to enjoy the scenery. Seeing that the sky is getting darker, he thinks, “Today is the 24th day of the third month. It’s only fourteen days till 9th day of the fourth month. If I hurry, I can make it just in time for Master’s ninetieth birthday.”

    This man is Yu DaiYan, the third disciple under the founder of Wu Dang, Zhang SanFeng. At the beginning of the year, Yu DaiYan was ordered to kill an evil, murderous outlaw. When that outlaw heard about this, he went into hiding. It took Yu DaiYan an extra two months just to find him. He then challenged the outlaw to a fight, and on the eleventh move, killed him with his Silence Illusory Saber. But by spending an extra two months, he now has to travel extra quickly to make it back in time for hiss master’s birthday.

    Now that he is close to the sea, he sees a wide, flat area sparkling on the beach, something he has never seen before. When he asked the locals, he chuckled after hearing the response. For these are nets used to capture seawater to make salt. Yu DaiYan thinks, “I have eaten salt for over thirty years, yet never knew how they’re made.”

    As he continues on his journey, Yu DaiYan sees twelve people carrying some bags on their shoulders, walking quickly. From the look of things, they’re all carrying salt. But this is more than two hundred pounds of salt each person’s carrying. Since corrupt officials like to hoard salts, it’s rare for commoners to be able to buy them through legitimate means. Salt smugglers are quite common in this area. Yu DaiYan thinks, “Wow, looks like salt smuggling is very important here. These people’s kung fu skills are quite good.” If it had been some other time, he would’ve wanted to take a closer look. But he can’t possibly miss his master’s birthday, so he ignores them. By nightfall he arrives at a small town, and settles down in the inn there.

    After eating the dinner and finishes washing his feet, Yu DaiYan sees that those twelve salt smugglers also came into this inn. He ignores them, and begins to meditate using Wu Dang’s inner power. After three repetitions, he lies down and falls asleep.

    At midnight, Yu DaiYan suddenly hears much noise coming from outside. He immediately gets up, only to hear someone say, “Let’s leave quietly. We don’t want to wake up our neighbor.” The rest of them open the door quietly and moves quickly outside. Yu DaiYan thinks, “They must be up to something bad to walk around at this hour. I can’t ignore this. If I save some innocent people, then it would be ok even if I miss master’s birthday,” He wraps his saber in a cloth and jumps out the window.

    With footsteps as his guide, Yu DaiYan follows secretly, utilizing his lightness kung fu. There is almost no moonlight, but he can still see those twelve people running quickly in the darkness. He thinks, “With their kung fu skills, these people can easily go rob rich land owners or officials. Why do they need to settle for salt smuggling? There’s something fishy going on.” With his great lightness kung fu, Yu DaiYan manages to follow the twelve people without a sound.

    After following for about an hour, they arrived at a beach. Suddenly, he hears a croaked whisper, “Are the ‘three water-dotted’* friends here?” The leader of the twelve men responds, “Yes. And you are?” Yu DaiYan ponders, “Who could these ‘three water-dotted’ people be?” He suddenly remembers, “Of course, it’s the Sea Sand sect. These three characters are all begin with three water dots.” Only to hear the croaked person say, “In my opinion, you’re better off staying away from the Dragon Saber. The leader says, “Are you here for the Dragon Saber too?” His voice carries a tinge of disbelief. The croaked man starts to laugh sinisterly, but does not respond.

    *Note: Three water dots is a term used to describe a particular left side of many Chinese characters. Usually characters with the three water dots have to do with water.

    Yu DaiYan moved up to get a better view, only to see that it’s a white-robed man blocking their path. Anyone who dares to wear white in the middle of the night must be extremely confident of his kung fu. That white-robed man laughs again, while the group leader yells, “Get out of our way. Unless you want to die…” Before he finished, a person suddenly yells out in pain, “Ahhhh!” and falls on the ground, dead. The white-robed man then quickly flies away.

    Some members of the Sea Sand Sect want to chase after him, but they don’t know which way he went. Yu DaiYan ponders, “This man’s speed is incredible. He seemingly just used Shaolin’s ‘Golden Steel Claws’, but I can’t be sure in this darkness. From his voice, it seems like he’s from the northwestern part of China. What is he doing here?” He then hears the leader say, “Put down fourth brother. We’ll come back for him afterwards.” The rest of the members then continue on their path.

    Yu DaiYan jumps out and examines the body, seeing two small holes on the person’s neck, made obviously by two fingers. He feels that there must be something important going on, and quickens his pace, following the Sea Sand Sect members.

    After a while, those people begin to split up, surrounding a house. Yu DaiYan wonders, “Is that Dragon Saber they’re talking about in this house?” He then sees the people outside begin to pour salt around the house, and thinks, “Why are they pouring salt around this place? Wait till I tell this to my brothers. I bet there’s no way they’d believe me.” But then he sees that these people pour salt in a very cautious manner, as if afraid that the salt will touch them. Yu DaiYan immediately realizes what is going on. There must be poison within the salt. He’s not certain whether the people inside are good or bad, but figures that he needs to warn them regardless. In an instant, he flew towards the house.

    There are many rooms in this house. But he sees that smoke is coming out of one of the rooms, so he figures that there must be someone there. When he arrives outside that room, he hears loud sound of fire, with three people standing besides a huge fireplace, with a huge saber in the middle. Those three people look to be about sixty, their faces filled with smoke. Even from afar, Yu DaiYan feels like he’s burning from the fire. He can’t believe that those people can stay that close. Yet despite the huge flames, that sword did not change its color to red, remaining black.

    At this moment, he hears a croaked voice, “How dare you to mess with a precious saber. Get away from it!” Yu DaiYan realizes that it’s the white-robed man’s voice. Those three people ignore the warning, and continue to work on the saber. Only to hear a chuckle coming from the roof as the white-robed man dashed in. He looks around forty, with a pale white face. He says in a cold voice, “Long White Elders, I don’t blame you for trying to get the saber. But why try to destroy it with this fire?”

    One of the three men walks up, picks up a shovel, and attacks the white-robed man. The white-robed man evades to the side, and then counters with fingers in a claw shape, dancing up and down with a huge force. Yu DaiYan sees that his moves look like it’s from Shaolin on the surface, but is more aggressive and venomous, certainly not as righteous as Shaolin’s kung fu.

    After a while, that old man with the shovel yells, “Who are you? You should at least leave your name.” The white-robed man chuckles again, his hands shot out, breaking the wrists of the old man. The second old man immediately grabs the saber out from the fire, while the third man shot takes out a dart, waiting for a chance to use it on the white-robed man. But the white-robed man is too fast.

    At this time, one can see smoke coming out of the second old man’s hands. It’s obvious that his hand is burning; yet for some reason, he does not let go of the saber. As he runs out of the hut, the white-robed man yells, “Do you really think you can get away?” Raising his eyebrows a bit, he quickly flies over to the second old man, picks him up, and throws him into the fire.

    Yu DaiYan originally didn’t plan on helping either side, but with someone’s life in danger, he felt that he needed to help out. He jumps out of his hiding place and pushed the old man lightly while spinning in midair, then floated down to the floor. The Long White Elders and the white-robed man had long known that he was outside, but no one cared. So they can’t help but feel an incredible shock when Yu DaiYan displayed such a skillful lightness kung fu. The white-robed man says, “Is this the famous ‘Cloud Stairs’?” Yu DaiYan first feels a bit of shock that this man knows of his kung fu, but then feels happy, knowing that his Wu Dang kung fu is so famous. He says, “This plain kung fu is nothing to brag about. May I ask who you are?” That white-robed man says, “Very nice. Wu Dang’s kung fu really is fairly decent.”

    Despite being a bit angry at his words, Yu DaiYang does not show it. Instead he says, “The power you displayed while killing that member of the Sea Sand Sect is quite amazing too. I can’t even tell what kind it is.” The white-robed man wonders, “He saw that? I wonder where he was hiding at the time. How come I didn’t sense him?” He says, “Of course you couldn’t tell. Not even your old man Zhang can figure it out.”

    Yu DaiYan felt greatly annoyed at this ridicule of his own master. But Wu Dang students are all taught to be calm and peaceful. He thinks, “This person is purposely trying to make me mad. There’s no reason for Wu Dang to add another powerful enemy.” He says, “There are thousands of kung fus in this world, both righteous ones and evil ones. Wu Dang’s kung fu only came from one source. Your skills look like it’s from Shaolin, but at the same time seems different.” That white-robed man’s expression changes a bit, as if flustered by this comment.

    While they are talking, the second old man with the saber suddenly lashes out. Yu DaiYan quickly dodges the blow, while seeing the old man aimlessly slashes left and right, as if he has gone crazy. The white-robed man and the other two old men realize the power of the saber, and do not try to block him. As the old man runs out of the house, he suddenly trips, falling on the ground and begins to scream in agony.

    The other two old men and the white-robed man immediately reaches out to grab the saber, but they all fell down once they reaches outside. The two old men start to roll around on the ground screaming, while the white-robed man simply flips up, and flies away.

    Yu DaiYan wants to immediately go save those three people, but then remembers the scene of salt being spread. He realizes that the whole area has been poisoned. Looking around, he sees some stools. Quickly, he threw a couple outside, then jumps on to them. With some clothing wrapped around his hand, he quickly picks up the old man with the saber. Only to see over ten darts coming from the surrounding Sea Sand sect members.

    Yu DaiYan bounces up from the stools, dodging the darts. He then flipped the stools forward with his feet, allowing him to step-by-step jump out of the salted area. Once outside, he immediately opens up his lightness kung fu to quickly run away from the Sea Sand sect members.

    Yu DaiYan realizes that he must first get rid of the poison from this old man. So he quickly runs to the beach, and throws the old man into the water to cleanse him. Once cleansed, Yu DaiYan says, “Your life is no longer in danger. Since I have other businesses to take care of, I shall take leave of you.” That old man asks, “Why don’t you take my saber?” Yu DaiYan says, “Although that’s a great saber, it’s not mine. Why should I take it?” That person says, “What are you up to? How are you going to torture me?” Yu DaiYan says, “I don’t even know you. Why would I want to torture you? I just wanted to save you because your life was in danger.” That old man doesn’t believe him, instead yelling, “Just kill me and get it over with. But be warned that even as a ghost I will haunt you.” Yu DaiYan simply smiles a bit, thinking that this old man must be a little crazy from the poison. Just as he’s about to leave, a wave came from the sea, carrying the old man into the waters.

    Yu DaiYan realizes that there are still poisons left in this old man’s body. If he doesn’t help him recover, this old man will die. Therefore he carried the old man, until they reached an empty building. Looking up, he sees that it’s a temple, called ‘Sea God Temple’. He put the old man by a statue. Then lights up a candle. When he looks at the old man again, he sees that the poison has spread all over the body. Yu DaiYan takes out a ‘Heaven Heart Antidote’ from his pocket and says, “Take this pill.”

    That old man says, “I’m not going to eat your poisoned pills.” Despite his peaceful attitude, Yu DaiYan can’t help but be angry at those remarks. He says, “Do you know who I am? Do you think a Wu Dang disciple would do such a thing as using poison? This pill is to help ease the poison in you. Although it might not cure the poison totally, it can at least prolong your life for three days. I suggest you give this saber to the Sea Sand Sect in return for its antidote.”

    That old man jumps up and yells, “I can’t give up my Dragon Saber.” Yu DaiYan says, “What’s the use of this saber if you’re going to die?” The old man responds, “I’d rather die than give up this saber.” As he says this, he clutches the saber tightly, then swallows Yu DaiYan’s pill.

    His words raised Yu DaiYan’s curiosity. He wants to ask just what’s to great about this saber, but decided not to after he sees the obsessive, angry look on the old man’s face. Feeling repulsed, Yu DaiYan stands up to leave. That old man yells, “Hold on! Where are you going?” Yu DaiYan smiles and says, “What’s it to you?” and begins to leave.

    The old man begins to cry after he walks a few steps. Yu DaiYan turns around and asks, “Why are you crying?” The old man says, “I spent so much effort just to obtain this saber, yet now I’m going to die. What’s the use of this saber now?” Yu DaiYan let out a ‘Humph’, and says, “The only thing you can do now is to exchange the saber for the antidote.” That old man cries, “But I don’t want to. I don’t want to.” Yu DaiYan wants to laugh at his words, but can’t do so. After a while, he says, “The whole point of learning martial arts is help the defenseless and defeat the evils of the world, setting a good example for the later generations. Precious sabers and swords are simply items. Hardly something worth your life.” The old man says, “ ‘Martial world’s most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying*, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow!’ Have you heard this phrase?”

    *Note: The proper translation of the ‘Dragon Saber’ is the ‘Dragon Slaying Saber’. However, I will use the more popular(and shorter :P) translation, ‘Dragon Saber’, that TVB came up.

    Yu DaiYan chuckles and says, “Of course I’ve heard it. There are two more phrases after this, something like ‘Power of heaven* not appear, Who can possibly compete?’ That’s just to describe an event many years ago, not really some saber.” That old man asks, “What event?”

    *Note: ‘Power of heaven’ here is used to described the name of the Heaven Sword. Actually, a proper description of those two characters is ‘reliance on heaven’, but that wouldn’t sound as good. The sword’s is therefore more aptly translated as ‘the sword that relies on the power of the heavens’. But for this translation, it will be shortened to Heaven Saber, just to match up with the name that TVB came up with.

    Yu DaiYan says, “That’s because the Legendary Condor Hero Yang Guo once killed the Mongol emperor, which greatly helped us Hans. So whenever Hero Yang asks of something, ‘None dares to not listen’. The ‘dragon’ is here is obviously the emperor, ‘dragon slaying’ means to kill the emperor. Do you really think there are such things as dragons in this world?”

    That old man smiles coldly, asking, “Do you know what weapon he used during that battle?” Yu DaiYan thinks for a moment, then responds, “I heard the master say that Hero Yang was missing an arm. So he normally doesn’t carry any weapon.” That old man asks, “So how did he kill the emperor?” Yu DaiYan says, “He used a pebble. Everyone knows that.” The old man says with a smile, “In that case, where does this whole ‘saber’ thing come from?”

    Yu DaiYan can’t find the answer. After a while, he finally says, “Probably because it’s made up by others. I mean, ‘Little pebble dragon slaying’ doesn’t sound nearly as nice.” That old man says, “You’re just making it up. How about this, can you explain the meaning of ‘Power of heaven not appear, Who can possibly compete’?” Yu DaiYan says, “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s to describe his wife. Maybe his wife’s name is the ‘power of heaven’. Or he might have meant Guo Jing, Hero Guo.”

    That old man says, “Really? I know you can’t explain it. Let me tell you. ‘Dragon Slaying’ is a saber. It’s this Dragon Saber I have. The ‘Power of Heaven’ is a sword, the Heaven Sword. This poem means that whoever has the Dragon Saber can rule the world. As long as the Heaven Sword does not appear, no one can compete with the Dragon Saber.”

    Yu DaiYan doesn’t know whether to believe or not, and says, “Let me look at it, and see just what’s so powerful about this saber.” That old man tightly clutches the Dragon Saber, says, “You think I’m a kid? Trying to take my saber, eh?” He just recovered a bit after taking the pill Yu DaiYan gave him. Yet by spending too much energy clutching the saber, he begins to have trouble breathing. Yu DaiYan chuckles, and says, “If you don’t want me to see it, then so be it. Besides, whom are you going to control anyway? Are you telling me that I’m going to listen to your orders because of this saber? You must be kidding. You were a normal person. But after listening to such a stupid rumor, you’ve now nearly lost your life. It’s obvious that this saber has no special powers.”

    That old man stays silent for a while, then says, “Hey, let’s make a deal. You help save my life, and I’ll give you half of this saber’s powers.” Yu DaiYan laughs, and says, “Is that how you think of us Wu Dang sect? We don’t help others for any rewards. Besides, I don’t have the antidote to your poison. You still have to ask the Sea Sand sect for it.” That old mans says, “I stole this saber from them. Why would they save me?” Yu DaiYan says, “If you give them back their saber, why would they care to kill you?”

    That old man says, “Your kung fu is incredible. I’m sure you can steal some from them.” Yu DaiYan says, “First, I have something important to do, and don’t have time for such a thing. Besides, you stole their saber. So it’s your fault to begin with. Why should I help you steal the antidote? Old man, I suggest you hurry and go ask for the antidote now, before it’s too late.”

    Seeing that he’s about to leave, that old man says in a hurry, “Ok. Let me ask you something else. How did you feel when you carried me?” Yu DaiYan says, “I thought it was kind of strange. You look small and skinny, yet you seemingly weigh over two hundred pounds. But I’m not sure why.”

    That old man put down the Dragon Saber, and says, “Now lift me.” Yu DaiYan picks him up, and feels like he’s only lifting about eighty pounds of weight. He thinks, “Wow, this saber is over a hundred pounds. That is quite strange.” After putting the old man back down again, he says, “This saber is pretty heavy.”

    The old man asks, “Is your surname Yu or Zhang?” Yu DaiYan says, “My name is Yu DaiYan. How do you know?” The old man says, “I know that First Hero Song is over forty years old. Your sixth and seventh brother Yin and Muo are still less than twenty. The rest of the four Wu Dang heroes all have surnames of Yu or Zhang. Everyone knows that. I’m grateful to meet the great Third Hero Yu today.” Although he’s fairly young, Yu DaiYan is quite experienced in the ways of the martial world. He knows that this old man only says such praises because he wants a favor. With a feeling of repulsiveness, he says, “And you are?” The old man says, “My name is De Cheng. Everyone calls me Hai Dong Qing.” Hai Dong Qing is a type of eagle, famous for its viciousness and predatory skills. Yu DaiYan says, “Nice to meet you.” Then proceeds to look up at the sky, trying to figure out the time.

    The old man realizes that he needs to try some other trick for this person to help him. So he says, “You don’t realize the meaning behind these words, they’re…” When he says this, Yu DaiYan’s expression suddenly changes changes. He immediately blows out the candle and whispers, “Someone’s here.”

    De Cheng’s inner power is not nearly as good as Yu DaiYan, so he did not notice anything. Only after a while does he hear footsteps coming from the front. He says, “Let’s sneak out the back.” Yu DaiYan says, “They have people in the back too. Besides, it’s the Sea Sand Sect. This is your opportunity to exchange for the antidote.” The old man clutches onto him tightly, yells, “Third Hero Yu, you can’t leave me. You can’t…”

    At this time, someone kicked down the door as Yu DaiYan quickly hides behind a Buddha statue. When De Cheng let out a small ‘ah’ sound, tens of darts came out straight at him, prompting him to fall down. Only to hear more sounds of hidden weapons being released, all containing the poisoned salts. After a while, Yu DaiYan hears the roof shaking, as salt begins to pour down through the cracks. Realizing that the salts will eventually touch him, Yu DaiYan quickly smashes a hole into the Buddha next to him, and crawls into the hole.

    Yu DaiYan then hears someone in the Sea Sand sect says, “There are no more sounds. They’re probably all unconscious.” Another person says, “That youngster’s footsteps are very light. It’s better to wait a while longer.” “I’m just afraid that he may have escaped.” Then someone yells loudly, “Get out of here and surrender.”

    At this momentm Yu DaiYan hears many horses gallop on the outside. Then someone from outside yells, “The sun and moon’s lights shine, the Eagle King spreads its wings.” This made the Sea Sand sect quiet. After a while, someone yells, “It’s the Heavenly Eagle sect. Let’s get out of here.” When he finishes, the galloping sounds stopped. Then someone whispers, “Too late.”

    Several people then enter the temple. One person asks, “Do you know who we are?” Several members of the Sea Sand Sect answers, “Yes. You are friends from the Heavenly Eagle sect.” That person says, “This is Heaven City Branch’s Leader Li of our Heavenly Eagle sect. You’re lucky to see him today. Leader Li asks you where the Dragon Saber is. If you’re nice enough to answer correctly, he just might be kind enough to let you keep your life.” Only to hear a Sea Sand member points to De Cheng, and says, “He… he took it. We’re just about to take it back.”

    That person from the Heavenly Eagle asks De Cheng, “Where is it?” De Cheng does not respond, instead simply falls to the ground.

    That person from the Heavenly Eagle says, “Search him.” Yu DaiYan hears some people making ruffling noises, and then someone saying, “This person has nothing on him.” The leader of the Sea Sand group says, “But… but it really is him who stole the Dragon Saber. We…” Yu DaiYan wonders, “Wait a minute. Where did the Dragon Saber go? Didn’t De Cheng have it on him?”

    This Branch Leader Li does not say anything, but his subordinate says, “If you want to stay alive, then tell the truth.” After a moment of silence, someone begins to yell, “You came right after we entered the temple. How could we have time to grab the saber beforehand? If you don’t believe us, then we’re going to die anyway. So we might as well go down fighting. You bunch of bullies, we…” He suddenly stops talking, obviously dead. Another person says, “I saw a middle-aged man with pretty good lightness kung fu with him. I bet that man has it, and escaped.” Branch Leader Li says, “Search them.” Yu DaiYan again hears ruffling sounds, and then hears Branch Leader Li says, “He’s probably right. Let’s go search for that man.”

    Yu DaiYan wants to wait till the Sea Sand people left too before getting out. But after a long time, he still could not hear any footsteps. He takes a peek outside, only to see the members of the Sea Sand sect standing still, as if their pressure points have been sealed.

    He jumps out, takes a torch, and begins to examine their faces, only to see their faces gray and without life. He wonders, “Who are these Heavenly Eagle people anyway? How come I’ve never heard of them? They’re obviously quite powerful, or these people won’t be so afraid of them. Humph, they certainly deserve their fate.” He then goes over and pushes the Hua Meng Point of one of the person to unseal his pressure point. Yet the person still remains still. Yu DaiYan then puts his finger by that person’s nose, and realizes that this person’s dead already. He thinks, “Wow. They could seal their Death points without making any sound. That is a very evil kung fu indeed.” But seeing how these people are very powerful, and he’s just by himself, Yu DaiYan knows that he can’t fight them. He decides to report this to his master, and have him choose how to handle the Heavenly Eagle sect.

    Seeing poisoned salt all around him, Yu DaiYan decides to burn this place and the surrounding area, so no innocents will be killed. As he went out, he sees a strange body. Yu DaiYan then picks it up to examine further. He finds that the body is very heavy. From a hole in the back, he pulls out the Dragon Saber. Apparently, De Cheng hid the Dragon Saber into one of the Sea Sand members before dying. The Heavenly Eagle sect people must not have noticed as they checked the bodies.

    Yu DaiYan thinks, “This saber has caused many problems in the world. I really should give it to the master, so he can decide what to do with it.” With a throw of his torch, he burns down the temple.

    As the fire is burning, Yu DaiYan examines the saber closely. He finds that the saber doesn’t look like it’s made of iron or gold, and can’t figure out just what kind of metal it’s made of. The fact that it can withstand so much heat is also quite strange. He thinks, “How can one use this sword in battle considering that it’s so heavy?”

    Yu DaiYan then wraps up the saber and puts it on the back of his shoulders, then continues on his journey. After an hour or so, he arrives at the edge of a river. Seeing a flicker of fire on the river from afar, he yells, “Can I get a ride across the river?” The person on the boat didn’t seem to hear. So he yells again, this time with his inner power. The boat then quickly comes over. When it reaches the edge, someone on the boat yells, “Do you want to go across the river?” Yu DaiYan says happily, “Yes. Thank your.” That fisherman says, “Then get on.”

    As he steps onto the boat, it immediately sinks down a bit. That fisherman asks with surprise, “What are you carrying that’s so heavy?” Yu DaiYan says, “Oh, nothing. I’m just a heavy person, that’s all.”

    When they reach the middle of the river, he suddenly sees a big boat coming over. An eagle flag appears in the front. Yu DaiYan immediately remembers the Heavenly Eagle sect, and begins to prepare himself for any danger.

    Suddenly, the fisherman jumps into the water and quickly swims away. Yu DaiYan is left on his own, as the big ship rams into his small boat. Seeing that the boat is about to sink, Yu DaiYan jumps onto the big ship using his ‘Cloud Stairs’ lightness kung fu.

    On the big ship, he looks around, seeing no one. An iron chain locks the door to the main cabin. He quickly breaks it down with his palm, and enters the cabin.

    Only to hear someone inside say, “Third Hero Yu of Wu Dang. Great ‘Cloud Stairs’ and ‘Mountain Cracking Palm’ you just displayed. Leave your Dragon Saber with me, and I’ll safely take you across the river.” Yu DaiYan thinks, “How does he know who I am?” That person then says, “You must be wondering how I know your identity. It’s quite easy, actually. Other than the top fighters of Wu Dang, no one can utilize those two moves with such gracefulness.”

    Yu DaiYan says, “Can I meet you? And what about your name?” That person says, “We Heavenly Eagle sect is neither friend nor foe of Wu Dang. No need for such pleasantries. Just leave your Dragon Saber here, and I’ll take you across safely.” Yu DaiYan says, “Is this saber yours?” That person says, “No. But whoever has it can control the martial world. Who wouldn’t want it?” Yu DaiYan says, “If it’s not yours, then there’s no need for me to give it to you.” That person then says something else. But Yu DaiYan can’t hear. He steps a bit closer, asking, “What did you say?”

    Suddenly, a large wave rocks the boat. As he’s regaining his balance, Yu DaiYan felt as if being bitten by mosquitoes on the leg and chest. He does not take notice, instead says, “You have killed ruthlessly for this saber. I don’t like your way of doing things.” That person says, “We are always ruthless towards those who are evil, but we are kind towards those who are good. As long as Hero Yu leaves the Dragon Saber, I will give you the antidote for the ‘Mosquito Needle’.”

    When he hears the words ‘Mosquito Needle’, Yu DaiYan immediately reaches for the places where he thought he was bitten by mosquitoes. He instantly feels week and numb. Then Yu DaiYan realizes, “He tricked me to get closer to him, so he could have a chance to hit me with these needles. Looks like the only way to get the antidote is to grab him.” He takes a deep breath, and rushes forward.

    His right palm shoots out, matching the palm of the other person. This palm contains all his power, and sent the other person backward. However, he also feels a bit of pain on his palm after that exchange. For his opponent once again deceives him, by coating his palm with a type of hidden weapon, one that poisoned Yu DaiYan as they matched palms. After coughing a bit, that person says, “Your power really is amazing. But my ‘Seven Star Needle’ is also quite deadly. Looks like it’s a tie.”

    Yu DaiYan quickly takes a ‘Heaven Heart Antidote’, but realizes that this can only delay the effects of the poison. He then tries to attack the enemy with his saber, but his attacks were easily parried.

    Then he heard that person say, “Do you want your life or the saber?” Yu DaiYan says, “Fine. I’ll give it to you.” And throws the saber down. That person happily picks up the saber and begins to examine it. Yu DaiYan says, “Now where’s my antidote?” That person laughs, “You really are stupid. Why did you give me the saber before I gave you the antidote?” Yu DaiYan says, “A man should remain true to his words. You promised me the antidote.” That person says, “When you had the saber, I was afraid of you. After all, even if you can’t beat me, at least you may throw the saber away. But now that I have saber, why should I still care about you?”

    Yu DaiYan feels much rage coming up from his chest, thinking that Wu Dang and Heavenly Eagle Sect has never had problems before, plus this person’s kung fu is quite powerful in the martial world. Why would he not keep his word? Yu DaiYan normally is quite hard to trick. But in such an unusual place, after getting poisoned twice, his mind obviously did not work as well. After gathering himself, Yu DaiYan asks, “May I ask your name?”

    That person says, “I’m just a nobody in the Heavenly Eagle sect. If Wu Dang wants to take revenge, then obviously they should look for our leader. Besides, I Dubt Zhang SanFeng can figure out who killed you anyway.” Yu DaiYan could only feel as if his hands are being bitten by thousands of ants, thinks, “Even though I die today, I’ll take you with me.” With a scream, he rushes up and attacks with his right palm. That person instinctively tries to block with the Dragon Saber, but forgot that the saber is extremely heavy. Instead of blocking, it actually pulled down his body. In a few seconds, Yu DaiYan’s palm lands on his chest, pushing him into the water.

    Yu DaiYan thinks, “Although you have obtained your precious saber, but now you’ve died along with it.” Suddenly, he sees a white rope thrown down into the water, grabbing the waist of that person. Only to see a skinny green-robed person on the edge of the ship, pulling on the rope. Unfortunately, by this time, the poison has taken over his body, and he passes out.

    When Yu DaiYan regained consciousness, he sees a small flag in a vase by the side, the flag shows a small fish swimming against the current. He thinks, “This must be Lin An city’s Dragon Gate Escort Agency. What happened to me?” His mind is still muddy, so he does not try to think any more. He only feels as if someone’s carrying him on a stretcher, into the middle of a big hall. When he tried to move, he realizes that he can’t.

    Only to hear two people converse, the first person in a booming voice, says, “You are?” The other person says, “Don’t bother asking. I just want to know if you’re going to take this delivery.” Yu DaiYan thinks, “This second voice has a high pitch. It’s seemingly that of a woman!”

    The man with the booming voice says, “You think we don’t have enough business here? If you won’t give me your name, then you can take your business elsewhere.” The person with the woman’s voice says, “But the Dragon Gate Escort Agency is the only decent one around. I don’t care for the others. However, if you can’t make a decision, get your boss out here.” The man with the booming voice says in an irritated voice, “I’m the boss. And right now, I have some other business to attend to. Please leave.”

    That person with the woman’s voice says, “Oh… so you’re Multi-Armed Bear Du DaJin…” After a pause, continues, “Escort Leader Du, nice to meet you. My surname is Yin.” Du DaJin feels a little better with her praise, and says, “What do you need?” The customer named Yin says, “I need to first make sure that you can handle my delivery. Because it’s very important.”

    Du DaJin says angrily, “I’ve delivered types of treasure in my twenty years here. Never have there been any problems.” Yu DaiYan has also heard of this person, knows that he’s a non-monk disciple of Shaolin. Du DaJin is proficient with both the fist and the saber, but he’s most famous for his steel darts. He can simultaneously fire forty-nine darts at the same time, which is how he got the nickname ‘Multi-Armed Bear’. It’s just that Shaolin and Wu Dang are not really close, which is why they have not yet met each other.

    The person named Yin says, “If it weren’t for your fame, why would I come? I have a delivery for you to make, and it comes with three conditions.”

    Du DaJin says, “We don’t accept any deliveries that require too much hassle. We don’t accept any deliveries we don’t know the background of. We don’t accept any deliveries that’s worth less than fifty thousand taels of silver.” He didn’t listen to the customer’s three conditions, and instead named three conditions of his own.

    That person named Yin says, “I’m sorry. But by my delivery will require some hassle. Its background is also quite muddy. As for its worth, well, that’s hard to say. Plus I also have three conditions. One, you must personally lead the escort. Two, you must take the package to the Xiang Yang city without any rest, so it will arrive in ten days. Three, should there be any problems, humph, I will kill every single person in your Dragon Gate Escort Agency.”

    Only to hear a loud ‘Peng!’ sound, which must be Du DaJin hitting the table, who yells, “Had you want to ridicule someone, you should not have picked my Dragon Gate Escort Agency. If it weren’t for the fact that you look way too small and skinny, I would pummel you right here!”

    The person named Yin chuckles, and then throws something heavy on the table, says, “This is two thousand taels of gold. It’s the fee for this delivery.” Yu DaiYan thinks in shock, “What? That’s tens of thousands taels of silver. Normally it takes several years to make this much money for an escort agency.” Only to hear Du DaJin breathing heavily, obviously staring at such amazing amount of wealth. After a while, he says, “Mr. Yin, what would you like us to escort?”

    That person named Yin says, “First tell me if you’re going to agree to my three conditions.” Du DaJin says, “Since you are offering so much money, I’ll risk my life this time to make sure it safely arrives. So where are the items you want to deliver?” That person named Yin says, “The package I want you to deliver is the gentleman on this stretcher.” This really surprised Du DaJin and especially Yu DaiYan himself. Yu DaiYan can’t help but yell, “Me…me…?” Yet for some reason, no words can leave his mouth no matter how hard he tries. Only to hear Du DaJin say, “This… this person?”

    That person named Yin says, “Correct. You can change horses and carriages along the way, but not the people escorting. In ten days, you must deliver this person to the master of Wu Dang, the Venerable Zhang SanFeng.” Du DaJin says, “Wu Dang sect? The problem is, Shaolin and Wu Dang are not very… how can I say this…” That person named Yin says, “This person is gravely injured. So it’s imperative that he’s delivered as soon as possible. What’s with the indecisiveness? Are you going to accept this deal or not?” Du DaJin says, “Fine. We’ll accept it.”

    That person named Yin chuckles and says, “Good! Today’s the 29th day of the third month. If he’s not safely at Wu Dang Mountain by the 9th of next month, I’ll make sure that no one in this escort agency will remain alive!” only to hear several ‘swoosh’ sounds, as several needles shot out, destroying all vases holding the agency’s flags in all parts of the room. Even Du DaJin let out a shocking ‘ahhh’. The person named Yin then yells, “Let’s go”, and leaves with the people carrying the stretcher.

    After that person left, Du DaJin gathers himself and walks up to Yu DaiYan, asks, “Are you a member of the Wu Dang sect?” Yu DaiYan can’t answer, but can see that this gentleman looks very muscular and strong, thinking his outer fighting skills must be quite formidable. Du DaJin asks again, “I never would’ve thought that this small, scholarly person has such incredible kung fu. Do you know which sect he belongs to?” Yu DaiYan closes his eyes and ignores him.

    Du DaJin’s name is quite sound, and his forte is with hidden weapons. Yet he couldn’t possibly destroy tens of vases using paper-thin needles. Besides, he has never seen anything quite so strange as someone giving two thousands taels of gold to deliver a live person. Du DaJin wraps up the gold and orders his servants to take Yu DaiYan to the guest room. He then gathers up his best men and prepares for the trip. By nightfall, they left the escort agency.

    While in the carriage, Yu DaiYan thinks, “After wandering in the martial world for so many years, I’ve never cared much for escort agencies. Who would’ve thought that they would be the people in charge of my life right now?” He then thinks, “I wonder who this friend named Yin is. She sounds like a woman. That Du DaJin says she’s very scholarly, yet her kung fu is certainly very good, and her way of doing things really is quite extraordinary. Too bad I didn’t get to see her, or say thanks. If we ever meet again, I’ll make sure to repay her kindness.”

    A row of horses quickly moves west. Other than leaders Du, Zhu, and Shi, everyone else is a young, energetic lad. They all picked the best horses, and changed them frequently on the road, just as their customer Yin ordered. When he left the escort agency, Du DaJin expected many people to block their paths. Yet for some reason, their trip was very smooth. In nine days, they’re already at the bottom of the Wu Dang Mountain. Although it’s been a long, arduous journey, everyone is glad that they’re not going to miss the ten-day deadline.

    Du DaJin says, “Brother Zhu, these past years the Wu Dang sect’s name has become quite sound. Although still not as sound as us Shaolin, but quite famous nonetheless. Look at the steepness of the mountain. You know the saying that the environment makes the person. Perhaps they really are quite good.” Sub-leader Zhu says, “But these rumors of their accomplishments aren’t reliable. Besides, they’ve only been around for a few years. How can they possibly compete with us Shaolin?” Sub-leader Shi says, “He’s right. We’ve never really seen their kung fu. Compared to us, they’re probably nothing.”

    After traveling some more, sub-leader Zhu asks, “What are we going to say to Zhang SanFeng when we see him?” Du DaJin says, “Although we’re from a different sect, he is after all almost ninety. So it doesn’t matter if we go up and kowtow a few times.” As they’re talking, Du DaJin wonders, “Who is this person inside? Is he a Wu Dang disciple, a friend of Wu Dang, or an enemy?”

    While he’s thinking, six people on horsebacks surrounded their group. Du DaJin thinks, “Could we possibly have problems now that we’re under the Wu Dang Mountain?” He whispers to sub-leader Zhu, “Watch the main carriage.” Then he went up to meet the strangers, says, “This is the Dragon Gate Escort Agency in the city of Lin An. Sorry we did not send a greeting beforehand.”

    Du DaJin sees that two of the people dressed as Taoists while the other four have on normal clothing. They all look very composed and gallant, with weapons attached to their sides. Du DaJin wonders, “Could this be six of the seven Wu Dang heroes?” He says, “May I ask who your names are?”

    A person with a large birthmark on the face responds coldly, “What are you doing on Wu Dang Mountain?” Du DaJin says, “We’re here to send a injured person to your master, Venerable Zhang SanFeng.” That person asks, “Who is the injured person?” Du DaJin says, “I don’t know. A person named Yin asked me to make this delivery. I know of nothing else. We don’t ask our customers for their reasons.” That person says, “A customer named Yin? What kind of person is he?” Du DaJin says, “He’s a handsome and scholarly fellow, whose projectile weapon skills are incredible.” That person then asks, “So you’ve fought him?” Du DaJin says, “No. No. He just…” Before he could finish, a short person among the strangers cut him off, asks, “Where the Dragon Saber?”

    Du DaJin says in bewilderment, “What Dragon Saber? Is it the mythical one everyone’s talking about?” That short guy immediately goes up to the carriage and looks inside. Du DaJin looks at his lightness kung fu, thinking, “This resembles Shaolin’s kung fu. Humph. Wu Dang claims that their kung fu skills are unique, but looks like they still cannot deviate from their Shaolin roots.” Now that he’s certain these are Wu Dang disciples, Du DaJin says, “Are you the famous Wu Dang heroes? Who is First Hero Song?” The man with the birthmark says, “Oh, you’re too flattering.”

    The short man says, “His injury is severe. Let’s get him back quickly.” That man with the birthmark says to Du DaJin, “Thank you for escorting our friend here.” Du DaJin says, “You are welcome.” That person than says, “He needs to see our master quickly. We’ll take it from here.” Du DaJin says, “Sure. In that case, I’ll give him to you.” That person says, “Thank you.” and throws a gold nugget at Du DaJin. “Just a little reward for you.” As he says this, those six people left with the carriage.

    Du DaJin looks at the nugget, and finds five fingerprints on it. He thinks, “Wow. These Wu Dang heroes really do possess some great kung fu. I bet only my martial uncles who knows the ‘Golden Steel Finger’ can make such a mark.” Sub-leader Zhu says, “These Wu Dang people really are arrogant. We spent all this time coming here, and they don’t even ask us to go up for a rest.”

    Du DaJin has the same feelings, except he didn’t bother to say it. Instead he says, “Well, at least we save some time. Besides, it would be awkward for us Shaolin disciples to visit Wu Dang. Let’s just leave.”

    On their way back, Du DaJin feels more and more unsettled, seeing how the Wu Dang heroes didn’t even bother to leave their name. But everyone else feels only joy, knowing that they just made a ton of money, since Du DaJin has always been extravagant when splitting their earnings.

    As they continued on their journey, a person on a fast galloping horse suddenly passed them from behind. Du DaJin sees that it’s a youngster of about twenty-one or twenty-two. He looks scholarly and charismatic, and as he passed said, “Thanks for letting me pass.” When he left, Du DaJin asks, “Brother Zhu, who do you think this is?” Sub-leader Zhu says, “He came from Wu Dang Mountain, so he’s probably a Wu Dang disciple. But he doesn’t have any weapons, and looks to scrawny too be a kung fu expert.”

    When he finished, that youngster suddenly came back, and asks, “May I ask a question?” Du DaJin says, “What do you need to know?” That youngster looks at the flag and says, “Are you the Dragon Gate Escort Agency?” Sub-leader Zhu says, “Yes!” That youngster says, “May I ask who everyone is? And how is your Head Leader Du?” Sub-leader Zhu says, “My surname is Zhu. What’s your name? Are you a friend of our head leader?”

    That youngster gets off the horse and steps forward a bit, says, “My name is Zhang CuiShan. I’ve heard of the famous Dragon Gate Escort Agency.” When he said this, Du DaJin felt a huge shock, thinking how could the famous Fifth Hero Zhang be a young scholar? He says, “I am Du DaJin. So you are the person everyone calls ‘Silver Hook and Iron Brush’ Fifth Hero Zhang?” That youngster says with a smile, “I don’t think I’m worthy of the ‘hero’ title. But since you’re here at Wu Dang Mountain, how about going up for a visit. Today is my master’s ninetieth birthday. If you don’t have anything important to do, we would appreciate your company.”

    Du DaJin sees that he’s quite sincere, and wonders, “How come the Wu Dang heroes differ so much in terms of personality?” He gets down his horse and says, “If your brothers were as nice as you, we would already be at Wu Dang now.” Zhang CuiShan says, “What? You say that you’ve met my brothers? Which ones?” Du DaJin thinks, “You really know how to put up an act.” And says, “I saw all your other brothers today.” Zhang CuiShan stutters for a moment, then asks, “You’ve also seen my third brother Yu?” Du DaJin says, “You mean Yu DaiYan? I don’t know who’s Yu DaiYan. I just saw the six of them together. So he must be there.” Zhang CuiShan says, “Six people? Which six people?” Du DaJin says, “Your brothers won’t give their names, so how would I know? Since you are the fifth hero, then they must be the rest of the seven heroes.” Zhang CuiShan seems lost in thought, and asks, “Did you really see them?” Du DaJin says, “Of course. Everyone in my agency saw them.” Zhang CuiShan says, “That doesn’t make sense. Brother Song and the others are all preparing for master’s birthday. Only I came down the mountain to find my third brother. So how could you have met them?”

    Du DaJin says, “You mean, that person with a birthmark on his face isn’t Hero Song?” Zhang CuiShan says, “None of my brothers have any birthmarks on his face.”

    Cold sweat rushes over Du DaJin. He says, “They said that they’re the six heroes of Wu Dang. Two of them are even Taoists. So we…” Zhang CuiShan says, “Although our master is a Taoist, none of his students are. Did they really say that they’re the Six Heroes of Wu Dang?” Du DaJin thinks back, and realizes that those people never did openly say who they are. After a pause, he says, “Looks like these people are up to no good. We have to chase them down!” As he says this he quickly gets back on his horse, and start riding back towards Wu Dang Mountain. Zhang CuiShan rides alongside, and says, “It doesn’t matter too much if they’re simply masquerading as us. Why not just let them go?” Du DaJin says, “But what about that person? Someone asked me to escort this person to your Venerable Zhang SanFeng. These six people took him…” Zhang CuiShan says, “Who is this person you’re talking about?”

    Du DaJin told Zhang CuiShan what had happened as they galloped back. Zhang CuiShan then asks, “What’s the wounded person’s name? What about his look?” Du DaJin says, “I don’t know his name, but he’s around thirty.” He then proceeds describe that person’s face. Zhang CuiShan says shockingly, “This… this is my Third Brother Yu.”

    He then asks, “How did my third brother get injured? Who asked you to escort him here? Who’s the enemy?” Du DaJin cannot answer these, and does not respond. Zhang CuiShan asks again, “What do those people who took away my third brother look like?” Sub-leader Shi then describes their looks. Zhang CuiShan says, “Thank you. I shall go on ahead.”

    After searching for hours, Zhang CuiShan sees a broken carriage on the side of the road. Turning around, he sees a person lying on the ground. With his heart beating fast, Zhang CuiShan races up next to the person, only to see that it’s indeed Yu DaiYan. Happy and distressed at the same time, Zhang CuiShan quickly picks him up and touches his face. Feeling warmth, he let out a sigh of relief, and then yells, “Third brother, you… what happened… I’m your fifth brother… fifth brother!” He examines Yu DaiYan, only to see all his joints crushed, and blood pouring out. Obviously, whoever hurt him did so a short while ago.

    While his first thoughts were rage and revenge, Zhang CuiShan then promptly remembers that Yu DaiYan’s life is still in danger. He did not bring any medicine down the mountain, so he quickly put Yu DaiYan on his back and quickly runs up the mountain, using all his lightness kung fu ability.

    Since today is their master’s ninetieth birthday, the Wu Dang’s main Purple Paradise Hall has been filled with an aura of happiness. The six disciples all gave their toast to Zhang SanFeng. The only problem was that they’re missing Yu DaiYan. So at noon, Zhang CuiShan said to his master, “Let me go down the mountain to check up on him.” Who would’ve thought that Zhang CuiShan would also disappear? It should’ve taken him at most a couple of hours to reach the old river before turning back. But it’s now nightfall, yet still no sight of him.

    The dinner in the hall has long been prepared, the candles almost half burnt. Everyone feels uncomfortable. Sixth disciple Yin LiTing and seventh disciple Muo ShengGu pace in and out of the hall. Zhang SanFeng is quite aware of these two missing disciples’ temper. Yu DaiYan is calm and composed, and can always be counted on to accomplish a task. Zhang CuiShan is smart and quick-witted, and is decisive. So if they haven’t come back yet, something important must have happened.

    First disciple Song YuanQiao looks at the candles, and then says with a smile, “Master, third and fifth brother must have found some terrible things happening down the mountain. They know that the best gift to you is to do good deeds. That’s why they’re late.” Zhang SanFeng says with a smile, “I remember you saved a widow from suicide back when I was eighty. But you know, if you kids have to wait ten years in between your good deeds, people might get a bit impatient.” His five disciples laughed. Zhang SanFeng has always had a casual relationship with his students, so they joke all the time.

    Zhang SongXi then says, “But you’re going to at least live till two hundred years old. So even if we just do one good deed per ten years, it’s still going to be a lot.” Muo ShengGu adds with a laugh, “I’m just afraid that we won’t be able to keep up for that long…”

    Before he could finish, Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou looked out the hall and yelled together, “Is that the third brother?” Zhang CuiShan says, “It’s me!” Only to see him carrying a person on the back, running into the hall with sweat all over his face, yelling, “Master, third brother…someone attacked him…” As everyone looks in shock, Zhang CuiShan stumbled a bit, and falls unconscious.

    Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou realize that Zhang CuiShan only fell down due to exhaustion, while Yu DaiYan’s situation is much more dire. Together they pick him up, and check his vital signs. Zhang SanFeng’s heart shook upon seeing his disciple injured, and then takes out 3 ‘Tiger Life Extending Pill’ and put it in Yu DaiYan’s mouth. But Yu Dai, in his unconscious state, could not swallow them. Zhang SanFeng then applies his inner power Yu DaiYan’s Jia Che Point. After a while, Yu DaiYan’s throat finally responds, and swallows the pills.

    At this point, Zhang SongXi begins to massage the muscles on his neck, while Zhang SanFeng continues apply his chi to several different important pressure points on Yu DaiYan’s body, trying to revive him.

    After a while, Zhang CuiShan came about again, and asks, “Master, can you save third brother?” Zhang SanFeng only says, “Everyone eventually dies in this world…” Only to see a servant come in, saying, “There are some people outside who wants to see you, master. They say they’re from the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.” Zhang CuiShan quickly stands up, his face filled with hatred, says, “It’s them!” and quickly goes outside. Only to hear some sounds of weapons clashing outside, as Yin LiTing and Muo ShengGu quickly follows to help their fifth brother. They see Zhang CuiShan holding a burly man by the collar and then throws him down, yelling, “It’s all this old guy’s fault!”

    Muo ShengGu, hearing that it’s this old man who injured his third brother, begins to step up and give him a kick, but Song YuanQiao quickly stops him. Only to hear someone outsides yelling, “Do you Wu Dang sect have any manners? I sincerely want to come and visit, yet you would treat us like this?” Song YuanQiao quickly goes up to Du DaJin and unseals his pressure points. Then he says, “Don’t worry. Be a little patient, and we will sort out the truth.” This sentence came out in a serious manner backed up by a great deal of inner power. Sub-leaders Zhu and Shi thought he’s actually Zhang SanFeng, and became silent.

    Song YuanQiao says, “Fifth brother. Tells what had happened. Don’t be in a hurry, but be detailed.” Zhang CuiShan stares at the Dragon Gate people a bit, and then proceeds to tell the story. Du DaJin then added what happened before he met Zhang CuiShan. Song YuanQiao can see that his kung fu is nowhere near the level of Yu DaiYan. That, plus his willingness to come to Wu Dang, pretty much dissolves him of any possible guilt. Du DaJin finally adds at the end, “Hero Song, I’m sorry that we weren’t able to protect Hero Yu. But what do we do now with all the family members of my agency’s employees?”

    Despite concentrating on healing Yu DaiYan, Zhang SanFeng heard all of Du DaJin’s words clearly, and says, “LianZhou, you take ShengGu to Lin An and protect the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.” Yu LianZhou nods, thinking, “Master really is kind. Although it’s possible that this customer Yin maybe bluffing, it’s still not a good idea to leave so many employee’s relatives alone and vulnerable.”

    Zhang CuiShan says, “Look at what this Du guy did to our third brother. Why would you help him out?” Song YuanQiao says, “How can you say that, fifth brother? Do you know why Head Leader Du came in the first place?” Zhang CuiShan says, “Obviously for the gold. Do you really think it’s because he cares for third brother?” When Du DaJin hears this, his face immediately turns red.

    Song YuanQiao says, “Don’t be rude to our guests. You’re tired too. How about taking a rest!” Being the first brother, Song YuanQiao wields great amount of power within Wu Dang. All other brothers defers to him. So when Song YuanQiao told Zhang CuiShan to rest, Zhang CuiShan could only close his mouth. But still fearing for Yu DaiYan’s life, he did not go back to his room.

    Song YuanQiao then says, “Second brother, hurry up and gather your stuff with seventh brother. You’ll leave tonight since this is urgent.” Yu LianZhou and Muo ShengGu quickly complied. Du DaJin, feeling warmth in his heart due to Wu Dang’s kindness, says to Zhang SanFeng, “Venerable Zhang. Thank you for your help. We won’t bother you any longer. Goodbye.”

    Song YuanQiao says, “Wait. Since you are already here, how about staying for the night. We also have some things we need to clear up.” Although his voice is calm, it carries a very serious and ordering tone, prompting Du DaJin to agree.

    Yu LianZhou and Muo ShengGu then said goodbye to everyone, taking extra long with Yu DaiYan, knowing this might be the last time they would ever see him.

    The hall suddenly became silent, with only Zhang SanFeng’s methodic breathing providing any noise. After about an hour, Yu DaiYan suddenly yells loudly, shaking everyone in the room. Du DaJin sneaked a peek at Yu DaiYan, wondering whether this is a good or a bad scream.

    Zhang SanFeng says, “SongXi, LiTing, take your third brother back to his room.” Zhang SongXi and Yin LiTing promptly follow his order. When they came back out again, Yin LiTing asks, “Is he going to recover?” Zhang SanFeng takes a deep breath, and then says, “It will take a month before I can tell if he lives or dies. Even if he survives, he’ll never… never be able to move again. His life is…” And proceeds to shake his head. Yin LiTing suddenly starts to cry, while Zhang CuiShan quickly gets to slap Du DaJin. This move came quick as lightning, and Du DaJin could not block in time before the palm slapped his cheek. As Zhang CuiShan tries to slap him again, Zhang SongXi quickly comes over and pushes the palm out of the way.

    When Du DaJin backs off, something heavy drops out of his robe, falling onto the floor. It’s a gold nugget. Zhang CuiShan says, “Humph, you greedy bastard. Giving away my third brother just for some gold…” Before he finished, he suddenly sees the fingerprints on the nugget, and asks, “Big brother, this… this is Shaolin’s Golden Steel Finger.” Song YuanQiao looks at it, and then gives it to Zhang SanFeng. Zhang SanFeng looks at it for a while, and then looks at Song YuanQiao for a moment silently.

    Zhang CuiShan yells, “Master, this is Shaolin’s Golden Steel Finger. No other kung fu in the world can possibly do this, right?” At this moment, Zhang SanFeng suddenly remembers his childhood days with Jue Yuan, matching palms with He ZuDao, and chased out of Shaolin onto Wu Dang Mountain. He realizes that Zhang CuiShan is correct, that this is indeed Golden Steel Finger. No other Finger techniques can match this in terms of power. Although his own inner power is very high, he has never learnt such Hard techniques. As for other sects’ Hard techniques, none can accomplish this. But should he confirm Zhang CuiShan’s guess, his disciples would want revenge. That would be very undesirable.

    Zhang CuiShan can see that he’s correct from his master’s look, and asks, “Is it possible that some extremely intelligent person invented a finger technique that can do this?” Zhang SanFeng says, “That’s impossible. It took Shaolin hundreds of years to perfect this. I don’t think anyone can invent it by himself.” Song YuanQiao says, “In that case, we can confirm that third brother’s joints were destroyed by Shaolin’s Golden Steel Finger.”

    When Du DaJin hears that they think it’s Shaolin who injured Yu DaiYan, he quickly gets up, wanting to say something, but did not say it. After a while, he says, “No… It can’t be Shaolin. I’ve been studying there for over ten years, yet have never seen those six people.” Song YuanQiao looks at him, and says, “Sixth brother, why don’t you show our guest to his room. Get him some dinner. I’m sure he’s hungry.” Yin LiTing goes over to Du DaJin to send him out. Although Du DaJin wants to speak some more, he finally decides against it, and followed Yin LiTing.

    After settling down Du DaJin, Yin LiTing goes back to Yu DaiYan’s room, and cried again as he saw Yu DaiYan’s pale, stiff face. When he came back out into the hall, he heard Zhang SanFeng say, “How venomous. SongXi. What do you suggest we do?”

    Out of all his students, Zhang SongXi is the cleverest. He normally doesn’t speak his mind much, but he is very good at analyzing. After Zhang CuiShan came back carrying Yu DaiYan, he felt much sadness, but at the same time started to investigate into this matter. Now that he heard his master ask, he says, “I believe this has nothing to do with Shaolin, but rather the Dragon Saber.” Zhang CuiShan and Yin LiTing both let out an ‘Ah’, while Song YuanQiao says, “Fourth brother. I’m sure you’ve thought this out. Tell us your conclusion.” Zhang SongXi says, “With third brother’s mild temper, it’s extremely unlikely that he made any enemy for no reason. That bandit he was suppose to kill was an outlaw. There’s no reason why Shaolin would hurt him over that.” Zhang SanFeng nods. Zhang SongXi continues, “Other than his joints, third brother was also poisoned back at Lin An city. If we want to find out exactly what had happened, we must first go to Lin An to investigate.”

    Zhang SanFeng nods again, says, “The poison he suffered is very unique. I still haven’t found the right antidote. There are several tiny holes in his right palm and leg. Does anyone know who uses this type of hidden weapon?” Song YuanQiao says, “This is strange. If this person is good enough so that he can hit third brother with hidden weapons, why would they need poison on it?”

    They all begin to think over this matter. After a while, they still could not find an answer, until Zhang SongXi says, “That man with the birthmark could’ve easily killed third brother, but instead simply paralyzed him. This obviously meant that he wanted to get some information from third brother. In my opinion, this information must have something to do with the Dragon Saber. Remember what Du DaJin said, that one of those six people yelled, ‘Where’s the Dragon Saber?’” Yin LiTing says, “ ‘Martial world’s most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow. Power of heaven not appear, who can possibly compete?’ This phrase has been around for a hundred years, could it be that there really is a Dragon Saber?”

    Zhang SanFeng says, “Not even for a hundred years, at most seventy to eighty. It did not exist when I was young.”

    Zhang CuiShan says, “Fourth brother’s right. We need to go down to the south to find the killer.”

    Zhang SanFeng asks Song YuanQiao, “What’s your opinion?” For the past few years, Zhang SanFeng has been letting Song YuanQiao manage most issues within the Wu Dang sect. So he wants Song YuanQiao to make the decision. Song YuanQiao says, “Master. Not only is this about third brother’s revenge, but also the reputation of Wu Dang. If we don’t settle this in the right fashion, we might cause some big problems.”

    Zhang SanFeng says, “Right! You and SongXi, LiTing will take my letter to Shaolin tomorrow and meet Abbot Kong Wen. Ask him how to handle the matter. Shaolin’s very strict. He will know how to take care of this properly.” Song YuanQiao, Zhang SongXi, and Yin LiTing nod together. Zhang SongXi thinks, “Sixth brother alone should be sufficient for this trip. There must be some other reason that master wants all three of us to go.” Zhang SanFeng confirms this by adding, “I am a escapist from Shaolin. After all these years, I guess they must respect the fact that I’m quite old, and never bothered to come to Wu Dang to capture me. But there is still some friction between us. Which is why I want three of you to go, to show more respect.”

    Zhang SanFeng then turns to Zhang CuiShan and says, “CuiShan, you’ll go down south tomorrow, and meet up with your second and sixth brother. There, listen to second brother’s orders.” Zhang CuiShan nods. Zhang SanFeng then says, “Don’t worry about drinking any wine tonight. A month later, we’ll gather here again. If DaiYan won’t recover, we can at least say goodbye to him.” When he said to this part, he sighed deeply with a gloomy expression. Yin LiTing continues to wipe his tears as he cries. Zhang SanFeng then says, “Let’s go to sleep.”

    Song YuanQiao says, “Master, third brother has been righteous his whole life. The lord will surely bless him, and… and…” He couldn’t go on, knowing that more words would only sadden his master further. With tears coming out of his eyes, he follows his fellow brothers out, and back to his room.

    End of Chapter 3

  5. #5
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 4: Among the Misfortune and Disorder, the Characters Showed the Way

    (Translated by Meh)

    Filled with pain and frustration, with nowhere to vent, Zhang CuiShan tossed and turned on the bed for over two hours. He then quietly got up, and decided to beat up Du DaJin to vent his frustration. Afraid that his big brother and fourth brother may stop him, Zhang CuiShan stayed extra quiet as he walked through the hallway. As he entered the main hall, he saw a man with both hands behind his back, pacing back and forth continuously.

    In the darkness, his eyes gazed upon a tall shadow figure, making heavy footsteps, and realized that it is the master. He stopped immediately, knowing his master would detect any further movement. Should the master then ask him why he is up, Zhang CuiShan would have to tell the truth.

    Only to see Zhang SanFeng pace back and forth for a while, inspecting his surroundings, when suddenly he raised his right hand, and began to write characters in the air. Zhang SanFeng is as much a scholar as he is a martial arts master, and his students often sees him reciting poems and writing characters. So it’s not unusual for him to do such a thing. Zhang CuiShan looked at the strokes he made in the air, realized the characters were ‘Grief Disorder’. After repeatedly writing those two characters a few times, he followed up with the characters ‘Tea Poison’. Then it suddenly dawned up on him, “Master’s writing out the characters in the ‘Grief-Disorder Writing Style’.” Zhang CuiShan’s received the nickname of ‘Silver Hook and Iron Brush’, because he used a silver Tiger Hook with his left hand, and a Judge’s Iron Brush with his right. After getting this nickname, he realized that scholars might snicker at him being fake scholar, so he began to study literature just as hard as his kung fu. Zhang SanFeng was indeed writing in ‘Grief-Disorder Writing Style’ created by Wang XiZhi*. By now his master’s finger-brush did not lower back down or retract, did not return nor repeat, following exactly the intentions of the ‘Grief-Disorder Notice’.

    *Wang XiZhi is perhaps the most famous calligrapher in Chinese history. He’s most famous for his cursive style of writing.

    Zhang CuiShan had seen this style of writing two years ago. He remembered that its usage of the brush emphasized easy top-to-bottom strokes, words clear and strong but hard to pull up. Zhang CuiShan always preferred ‘Orchid Pavilion Poem Sequential Writing Style’, ‘Seventeen Writing Style’ and others that are more majestic and solemn in nature. At this moment, as he saw his master’s finger writes in the midair, “Tired of obeisance: Incredible grief and disorder, the ancestor’s graves one again tormented, difficult to bring back.” Each stroke filled with an air of gloom and grief. He saw just how Wang XiZhi must’ve felt when he created this ‘Grief-Disorder Writing Style’.

    Wang XiZhi lived in the Eastern Jin* period. He was born to a prosperous family, but was not of Han origin. His family went southward to escape the chaos. During this chaotic time, his ancestor’s graves were robbed, which really saddened his heart, and quite evident in his ‘Misfortune-Disorder Writing Style’. Being a carefree youngster, how could Zhang CuiShan possibly understand the nature of this writing style? But his martial brother’s terrible injury finally allowed him to comprehend the depth of ‘Misfortune-Disorder Writing Style’.

    *Eastern Jin is one of the countries that existed between the Three-Kingdoms era and China’s reunification under the Sui Dynasty.

    Zhang SanFeng repeated those words several times, sighed deeply, walked to the center of the room, paused for a moment, and then started to write again. This time, his strokes again looked different. Zhang CuiShan followed Zhang SanFeng’s fingers, saw that the first character written was ‘Martial’, the second one ‘World’. In succession, Zhang SanFeng wrote out twenty-four characters total, exactly the phrase they discussed earlier, ‘Martial world’s most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow. Power of heaven not appear, who can possibly compete?’ Zhang CuiShan thought his master wrote them to better comprehend the meanings behind these words, and deduce the cause of Yu DaiYan’s injury. But how did this event have to do with the Dragon Saber and Heaven Sword, the two supreme mythical weapons?

    Only to see him write those words over and over, in many different ways, his strokes became longer and longer, his arm movement slower and slower, until they began to move with great ease, as if he were practicing martial arts. Zhang CuiShan, fixated on his master’s movements, was amazed and joyous. His master had combined the twenty-four characters into a single, powerful martial arts style. Each character contained multiple moves, with even more variations. The characters ‘Dragon’ and ‘Compete’ contained numerous strokes, while the words ‘Saber’ and ‘Under’ have only a few, but the longer characters were not written in a hurry, nor the shorter characters crudely, the contracted strokes were just as striking, like a cankerworm unyielding, the vertical strokes were just as dangerous, like a cunning rabbit escaping, the dots were written with ease, yet powerful and sturdy, the long slants seemed like the blowing wind, the dancing snow, the thick and heavy parts seem like a tiger’s squat, an elephants footsteps*, only to see some strokes floating in midair, like the dancing of the snow, while others heavy as tiger’s roar, moving as an elephant. Zhang CuiShan’s eyes followed the movements thoroughly, and instinctively began to memorize them. These twenty-four characters contain two ‘Not’ and two ‘Heaven’. Yet each one is written in a unique manner.

    *Note: These are descriptions of various basic strokes that typically make up Chinese characters. If you have some understanding of them, you might be able to picture what Jin Yong wanted the readers to see.

    In the recent years, Zhang SanFeng rarely taught kung fu anymore. Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou taught his final two disciples, Muo ShengGu and Yin LiTing. So despite being the fifth disciple, Zhang CuiShan really is the last person Zhang SanFeng had ever taught kung fu firsthand. Before, Zhang CuiShan’s knowledge was limited, and rarely grasped the deep concepts behind much of the martial arts skills Zhang SanFeng demonstrated. But he had since come a long way with the experience of recent years, plus the fact that they shared the same feelings tonight, two hearts as one, meeting misfortune and felt anguish, encountering torment and whisked it away. Under these extraordinary circumstances, Zhang SanFeng changed these twenty-four characters into a type of martial arts. He obviously did not plan on it, just as it was pure coincidence that Zhang CuiShan would see him as this moment. The two of them, one watched while one practiced, immersed themselves into these words, forgetting the outside world.

    Zhang SanFeng repeatedly wrote those words for over four hours, until the moon had risen to the top of the sky. Swoosh, the right palm came straight down, just like the sparkle of a star or a sword, thus completing the final stroke of the last character ‘compete’.

    Zhang SanFeng then looked up into the sky, and said, “CuiShan, what do you think of my writing skills?”

    Zhang CuiShan gasped in shock, as he did not expect his master to notice him without ever turning around. He promptly walked out of his hiding place, and said, “For your disciple to personally see master put on such an amazing display, words cannot even begin to describe my feelings. I’ll go get the others so they can also learn it.”

    Zhang SanFeng shook his head, said, “I got caught up in the moment, which is why it looked so good. If you want me to repeat it again, I doubt I can write nearly as well. Besides, the other students don’t know much about calligraphy. Even if they do see it, they would have a hard time comprehending.” As he spoke, he walked out of the main hall.

    Zhang CuiShan did not dare sleep, for fear of forgetting these intricate techniques, and immediately sat down in a meditating position. Each stroke each drag, each move each variation, silently recorded into his memory. Sometimes, he’d write out a few characters from the excitement. Even Zhang CuiShan himself could not remember how long it took him, but he finally recorded those twenty-four characters, and two-hundred-fifteen variations-there are 215 strokes within those 24 characters- into his memory.

    He stood up, practiced once, and felt his body light and calm as the cloud, incredibly refreshed. When finished, he looked up, blinked a bit, only to see the sun high up in the western sky. Zhang CuiShan gathered himself, not believing that it’s past noon already, but finally realized that he had been practicing for more than half a day.

    Zhang CuiShan wiped off the sweat on his face, and walked over to Yu DaiYan’s room, only to see Zhang SanFeng healing Yu DaiYan with his inner power. Upon asking, Zhang CuiShan found out that Song YuanQiao, Zhang SongXi, and Yin LiTing had left in the morning. None of them said goodbye, as they didn’t want to interfere with his meditation. The Dragon Gate Escort Agency’s people also left. Although Zhang CuiShan’s clothes were now soaked in sweat, Zhang CuiShan was in too much of a hurry to change them. He quickly grabbed his weapons and his normal change of clothing, took out some travel money, and returned to Yu DaiYan’s room, said, “Master. Your disciple will be leaving.” Zhang SanFeng nodded, smiled slightly.

    Zhang CuiShan walked to the bedside, only to see Yu DaiYan’s face gray-black, his whole body almost like a dead person. With pain in Zhang CuiShan’s heart, he said, “Third brother, even if it cost me my life, I shall give you your revenge.” He then kowtowed to his master three times, and left.

    He rode his long-legged spotted horse down the Wu Dang Mountain. By the time he left Wu Dang, it was already pretty late in the afternoon. Night came after riding south for only about twenty miles. Just as he entered the roadside inn, dark clouds gathered in the sky, followed by pouring rain. This rain lasted throughout the evening. The next morning, he woke up to an extremely muggy room, with loud sounds of rain hitting the rooftop outside. Zhang CuiShan bought a hat from the innkeeper, and continued to ride despite the weather. Fortunately, his horse is a prized stallion, which kept its footing despite galloping on the incredibly slippery mud.

    Upon reaching the edge of the Yellow River, he saw thick yellow river waves rolling heavily in the river, the current almost impossible for anyone to cross. He found out from the local residents that the water downstream had flood the riverbanks, and devastated the people there. As Zhang CuiShan entered the nearby town, only to see the flood victims seeking refuge in the town, everyone soaked in water.

    As he traveled across town, Zhang CuiShan saw a row of riders in front, who just happened to be the people of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. He hurried up, went past them, and blocked their way.

    Distressed upon seeing Zhang CuiShan, Du DaJin stuttered, “W… What do you need, Fifth Hero Zhang?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Have you seen the homeless people from the flooding?” Du DaJin didn’t expect this question, paused, and then responded, “Why do you ask?” Zhang CuiShan smirked, said, “It’s always right to do good deeds. How about donating some gold to the needy?” Du DaJin’s face turned white, said, “People like us put our lives on the line when we work. How would we find the money to save the homeless?” Zhang CuiShan lowered his voice, said, “Why don’t you take out the two thousand taels of gold, and donate them?” Du DaJin reached for his saber, asked, “Are you purposely looking for trouble today?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes. I’m going to get the money either way today.”

    Sub-leaders Zhu and Shi took out their weapons, and moved up next to Du DaJin. Meanwhile, Zhang CuiShan remained empty-handed, smirked, and then said, “Leader Du, you took your customer’s money, but did you accomplish the task asked? Do you really have the nerve to keep the gold?”

    Du DaJin said with a purple face, “But Hero Yu was sent to the Wu Dang Mountain alive, right? He was already injured when we took him in, and he’s still not dead even now.” Zhang CuiShan said angrily, “Do you really think you can weasel your way out of this? Were my third brother’s joints broken before you escorted him?”

    Before Du DaJin could respond, sub-leader Shi cut in, “Just say what you want us to do.” Zhang CuiShan said, “I’m going to break every single bone in your arms and legs!” As he said this, he immediately flew forward. Sub-leader Shi quickly raised his staff to attack, while Zhang CuiShan’s left hand swooshed down and across to the left, writing out his newly learnt kung fu’s long-slant in the character ‘Heaven’. Sub-leader Shi’s staff fell out of his hand, and fell off the horse. Sub-leader Zhu wanted to retreat, but how could he be quick enough? Zhang CuiShan very naturally finished the character “Heaven” with the short-slant right, finger swept across sub-leader Zhu’s waist, grabbed it, and threw him and his saddle a few meters away, in one smooth motion. For Sub-leader Zhu’s foot were stuck so firmly into the stirrup, plus Zhang CuiShan’s move was simply too powerful, that the saddle actually broke off the horse. With his feet firmly stuck in the stirrup, Sub-leader Zhu couldn’t get up.

    Shocked upon seeing such quick and smooth attacks, Du DaJin quickly got his horse to move forward. Zhang CuiShan turned around swiftly, gathered his energy, and shot out his left fist. This attack is the vertical stroke in the character ‘Under’, which hit Du DaJin flatly on the chest. Du DaJin’s kung fu is much better than Zhu and Shi, and did not fall off the horse. With extreme anger, he reined in his horse, tried to get off his horse to fight, when suddenly he felt a surge of pain from his throat, and coughed up a gulp of blood. He staggered, took a deep breath, only to feel yet another cluster of hot blood, surging within. Although he tried to act tough, his body could not hold up, both knees weakened, and fell down to the ground.

    Three young sub-leaders and all the rest of the people could only watch in alarm, who dared step forward to help?

    Zhang CuiShan originally planned to break their arms and legs, to help vent his frustration, but upon seeing the three agency leaders injured so deeply, especially Du DaJin, he now felt a little guilty. He never realized just how powerful this new ‘Heaven and Dragon Kung Fu’ really is. Zhang CuiShan said, “Listen up. Today I’ll stop here. But you must promise to give all your money to the homeless, so they can rebuild their homes. Don’t try to cheat. If I find out that you’ve kept any money for yourselves, I’ll tear down your Dragon Gate Escort Agency, and kill every living, breathing person in it.” That last sentence came from Du DaJin’s story of what that customer Yin had said, so he conveniently used it.

    Du DaJin tried to get up, only to feel his back in extreme pain, and began to cough up blood again. Sub-leaders Zhu and Shi only had some scratches, but neither dared fight Zhang CuiShan again. Sub-leader Shi said, “Fifth Hero Zhang, since we could not accomplish our task, we should return the money to our customer. Besides, the money is back at the agency. How can we use it to help these homeless?”

    Zhang CuiShan said with a cold smile, “Do you think I’m a child? All your kung fu experts came on this delivery. There are only family members back at the agency. Would you really keep so much money with them?” He scanned around, and walked over to one of the carts. Zhang CuiShan raised his palm to hit the case, ‘Bang, Bang, Bang’, the case on the cart fell apart, as gold nuggets fell out.

    The leaders’ faces turned pale, as they wondered, “How did he knew it was on that cart?” They didn’t realize that although Zhang CuiShan is young, he’s smart and experienced. He saw that this cart made the heaviest prints. And the three people guarding it did not try move at all when their leaders were attacked. Therefore, this case must contain some valuable items. After a cold laugh, Zhang CuiShan got up on his horse, and galloped away.

    He felt very delighted, knowing the due to Du DaJin’s fear for his relatives’ safety, he would certainly give the money to the needy. As he continued riding, Zhang CuiShan repeated the variations of those twenty-four characters in his head. That night when he first saw this kung fu, he simply felt that it was mysterious and strange. Only when used in combat, did Zhang CuiShan realize its power. To him, learning a new, powerful kung fu felt ten times better than obtaining some priceless treasure. Finally, when he remembered Yu DaiYan’s condition, Zhang CuiShan could not help but sigh in sadness.

    He traveled for several days in the heavy rain. Even with his spotted horse’s endurance, fatigue set in after a while. By the time he arrived in the Shan Xi province, his horse became a bit sick. Caring about the health of his horse, Zhang CuiShan traveled very slowly for quite some time. So it was already the thirtieth day of the fourth month when he arrived at the city of Lin An.

    * * *

    He booked a room at the local inn, and wondered, “I’ve traveled way too slowly. I wonder if Du DaJin and his people had returned to the agency. Where could my second and seventh brother be? Also, considering my altercation with Du DaJin and the others, I don’t think I can go to their agency openly. I should instead go in secret tonight.”

    After dinner, upon asking an inn worker, he found out that the location of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency lies by the bank of the West Lake. At the marketplace, he bought a new robe and the incredibly renowned fan of Hang Zhou. Afterwards he took a bath, brushed his hair, and changed his clothing, Zhang CuiShan looked into the mirror, only to see himself looking nothing like a kung fu expert, but rather a scholar. Zhang CuiShan held up a brush, thought he should write a poem on it, and spontaneously wrote out the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber poem, each stroke naturally and elegantly. Looking at the fan again, he thought, “Wow! Even my writing skills have improved from learning this new kung fu. These words look excellent.” He folded the fan, walked outside, towards the West Lake.

    Even before the end of the Southern Sung Dynasty, Lin An had fell under the control of the Mongolians. Due to its location as the capital of the Southern Sung Dynasty, the Mongolians were especially weary of its citizens, afraid that they may be too deeply in love with the old regime. Therefore, they established harsh, strict policies unto the citizens. That’s why most people have moved to other places. A hundred years ago, Lin An had been an incredibly prosperous place, but that was the old days.

    As Zhang CuiShan walked down the road, he only saw broken-down houses, dusts in his eyes, as the former famous city of the Lower-Yangtze River region had turned into a almost a ghost town. Even though the sun had not yet set, all the residents had already closed their doors and windows, only to see Mongolian patrol soldiers marching on the street. Zhang CuiShan didn’t want unnecessary trouble, so he immediately hid in the alley upon hearing the sounds of the troops.

    In the past, lanterns would light up the river at night, but now, only darkness covered the city, with no pedestrians in sight. Zhang CuiShan followed the inn worker’s directions to the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.

    The agency’s is made up of five buildings, one linked behind another, it’s gate facing the West Lake, with a pair of stone lions decorating the entrance. Zhang CuiShan saw the large houses from afar, walked toward it slowly, only to see a boat docked at the lake outside. Two lanterns lit up the front of the boat, with a single person tasting wine under the candlelight. Zhang CuiShan thought, “This is person is in an artistic mood.” Only to see the lanterns outside the agency unlit, the large front doors shut tightly, probably meant that everyone inside is already asleep.

    Zhang CuiShan walked to the main gate and thought, “Du DaJin said that someone carried third brother here a month ago. I wonder who was that?” While pondering, he suddenly heard deep sigh from behind him.

    This sigh sounded like a ghost in the dark, silent night. Zhang CuiShan quickly turned, scanned the area, but other than the single person on the boat, there is no one else around. Zhang CuiShan felt uneasy, examined the person on the boat, only to see him wearing a green robe, scholarly dressed, just like himself. With the dim lighting, Zhang CuiShan could not see his face clearly, but his cheeks looked very pale white, as the lanterns shined on it, looked like the green waves on the lake itself. Lone boat in the freezing water, cold and dark, seemingly out of this world. That person sat quietly on the boat, and for a long, long time, other than the sleeves flying with the wind, there was no movement.

    Zhang CuiShan originally wanted to sneak into the building, but changed his mind upon seeing the man on the boat, thinking that it’s really not the righteous thing to do. So he went up to the door and knocked three times. In the silence of the night, the sound from these three knocks could be heard from far away. Yet for a long time, no one came to the door. Zhang CuiShan knocked on the door three more times, a bit louder this time, almost hurting his ears. Again he could hear no movement from inside. Not sure what’s going on, he reach out with his hand and pushed the door, only to see it open without a sound, for it was not locked. Zhang CuiShan entered the courtyard and yelled, “Is your Escort Leader Du here?” As he spoke, he walked into the main hall.

    The main hall is completely dark, without any candlelight. Suddenly, the main gate closed quickly behind him.

    Zhang CuiShan hesitated a moment, turned around towards the gate, only to see it shut tightly, the lock now in place, meaning there’s someone here with him. Zhang CuiShan smiled coldly, thought, “What’s this all about?” Given the circumstances, he might as well enter the main hall.

    So he stepped into the room, only to hear sounds of wind coming from all directions, as four people surrounded him. Zhang Cuishan jumped out of the harm’s way. In the darkness, white light glittered, only to see weapons in each person’s hand. He quickly moved to the left, towards the west side, as his right fist swept across, hitting the Sun Point of one of the attackers, stunning him instantly, followed by his left hand sweeping from top-right down to bottom-left, hitting another person’s waist. These are the first two strokes of ‘no’. Zhang CuiShan’s left hand then swooshed down, as his right fist shot out and wrote the ‘point’, completing the whole ‘no’ character through these four strokes, knocking down all four attackers.

    He doesn’t exactly know who his attackers are, so Zhang CuiShan did not use much power, only about thirty percent or so. When the fourth person fell down, breaking a chair along the way, he yelled, “I can’t believe you’re so venomous. If you’re a true man, then you should leave your name.” Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “If I’m truly venomous, do you think you’d be alive right now? My name is Zhang CuiShan.” That person gasped, as if quite surprised. He said, “You really are Wu Dang’s Fifth Hero… ‘Silver Hook Iron Brush’ Zhang CuiShan? You’re not just pretending?”

    Zhang CuiShan smiled, reached into his robe and took out his weapons. His left hand held the Silver Tiger Hook, and his right hand held the Judge’s Iron Brush, as the two weapons scratched across one another, a few sparks appeared.

    During this brief moment of light, Zhang CuiShan saw the four people wearing yellow monk robes lying in front of him, for these are monks. Of course, those monks also saw his appearance at this time. Two of the monks stared intently at him, their eyes filled with hatred. Bewildered, Zhang CuiShan asked, “May I have your names?”

    Only to hear a monk yell, “Looks like we can’t get our revenge today. Let’s go!” As he spoke, the four monks got up, about to leave. But one of them suddenly fell down after walking a few steps, probably because Zhang CuiShan hurt him too deeply. Two monks returned to carry him.

    Zhang CuiShan yelled out, “Could you wait up a moment? Revenge for what…” Before he could finish, the monks had jumped over the wall.

    Zhang CuiShan felt that something’s not right, but could not pinpoint the exact reason. Why would there be four monks hiding in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency? Why did they ambush him? And what’s with this whole ‘revenge’ deal? He thought, “Surely the residents here would know.” He raised his voice and asked, “Is Escort Leader Du at home? Is Escort Leader Du at home?” In the empty hall, echoes reverberated from the walls, yet there is no response.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Surely not all of them slept so soundly, that no one heard me. Are they afraid of me, and simply hiding? Or perhaps they all left?” He lit up a match, only to see several candles on a nearby table. He then lit up a candle and walked into the rooms in the back. After only a few steps, Zhang CuiShan saw a woman lying on the floor motionless. He yelled out, “Big sister, what’s going on?” That woman remained still. Zhang CuiShan put a hand under her shoulders and pulled her up, then moved the candle over her face, and gasped out loud.

    Only to see this woman smiling, but her muscles tense, and had been dead for several hours. Zhang CuiShan thought she was dead when he touched her, but still felt odd that she’d die with a smile on her face. He stood up, only to see someone behind the left pillar. Walking over, he saw an old man dressed in servant clothing, also dead with a smile on his face.

    Bewildered, Zhang CuiShan pulled out his silver hook and scanned the room with the candle. He found several tens of people dead both inside and outside all the houses, indeed the place is filled with corpses, with absolutely no one left alive. After traveling around the world for many years, Zhang CuiShan had already seen many tragedies, but never a massacre such as this one. His heart fluttered, only to see his own shadow shook on the wall. For his hands were wavering, shaking the candle with it, and naturally the shadow too.

    Suddenly, he remembered something, “If you fail to make this delivery, I’ll kill everyone in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.” Obviously, these people died because of Du DaJin’s mistake, not able to adequately protect Yu DaiYan on the way to Wu Dang. He then thought, “That person obviously killed these people because of third brother. Which means he should be third brother’s friend. But why would the third brother befriend such a vicious person? Besides, he’s obviously much better than Du DaJin in terms of kung fu, so why didn’t he escort third brother himself?” The more Zhang CuiShan thought, the more mysterious this whole deal became. He walked out the door to the west. With the candlelight, he saw two yellow-robed monks, backs against the wall, examining him.

    Zhang CuiShan backed off a couple of steps, tightened the grip on his hook, and asked, “What do you want?” Only to see the two monks motionless, when suddenly, he realized that they’re also dead. Zhang CuiShan gasped, yelled out loud. “Oh no. Revenge, revenge…” Didn’t those monks say something like, “I can’t believe you’re so venomous. If you’re a true man, give me your name.” And also, “Looks like we can’t get our revenge today.” It appeared that he would be blamed for the deaths of these people. At that time when he’s still in the dark about everything, Zhang CuiShan not only gave his name, but also showed his renowned silver hook and iron brush. But who exactly are those yellow-robed monks?

    Zhang CuiShan suddenly realized that he finished off those four monks too quickly, and couldn’t therefore figure out their kung fu. But from the exchange, he could feel those monks use a power-oriented, hard kung fu style. Du DaJin is a disciple of Shaolin, so these people are most likely Shaolin monks. But where are second and seventh brother? The master asked them to protect the people of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Could the killer be so powerful that not even my second brother could handle him?

    Zhang CuiShan realized that the escaped monks would say that he’s the killer, and that Shaolin would eventually look for him. But Zhang CuiShan thought, “I can explain everything later, and the truth will come out one of these days. At that time, surely no killer could escape the search of both Wu Dang and Shaolin. It’s more important for me to find second and seventh brother right now.” He blew out the candle, walked to the side of the wall, and jumped out.

    Before he landed, a sudden, loud, swoosh sound came, as a heavy weapon swept across at him, followed by a yell, “Lie down, Zhang CuiShan.” While in midair, Zhang CuiShan could not adjust to evade the weapon, which came with great power. In this critical moment, he quickly tipped the weapon with his left hand, borrowed its force, and lifted himself back up on the wall. This move used several strokes of the character ‘Martial’. As the saying goes, “The swallows rise from the water, the geese fly swiftly in the sky, facing danger control yourself, in the middle of danger soar away,” to create a path of escape in the middle of a dangerous situation. In this life and death moment, he suddenly realized that this new kung fu could be hard as stone, yet also soft as feather, easily dissipating the opponent’s powerful attack. His left foot lightly set on the edge of the wall, the Judge’s Iron Brush now in his right hand. From that attack, Zhang CuiShan realized this opponent is very formidable.

    The attacker was shocked that Zhang CuiShan could evade his attack so easily, couldn’t help but let out a ‘huh?’ Then he yelled, “Humph, you’re pretty good, kid.”

    Zhang CuiShan put his brush and hook in front of his chest, pointed then down in the ‘Willing to Learn’ position. This is Wu Dang’s signature pose as a sign of respect to elder opponents. Had Zhang CuiShan not learnt the new kung fu from his master, that last attack would have at least broken his shoulder. Yet even while incredibly angry, Zhang CuiShan did not forget his master’s teachings, and leave out courtesy in the face of an opponent.

    In the darkness he vaguely saw two yellow-robed monks on his left and right, each with a large, thick staff. The one on the left said, “Zhang CuiShan, the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang are fairly renowned in the martial world. Yet how could your ways be so vicious?”

    As Zhang CuiShan hear the monk call him by his name, instead of ‘Fifth Hero Zhang’ or ‘Mr. Zhang CuiShan’, he felt a surge of anger, and responded in a cold manner, “You don’t ask for explanation, nor seek the truth. Instead you hide in the darkness and sneak up on me. Is that what a hero is suppose to do? I have heard that Shaolin’s kung fu is unparalleled, but didn’t realize that their ability to sneak up on the enemy is also so amazing.”

    That monk let out a loud grunt, jumped up the wall and attacked at the same time with his staff. Even before the monk landed, Zhang CuiShan felt a strong wind coming from the point of the staff towards his chest, and quickly diverted the staff with his hook. The brush shot out, hitting the middle of the staff. That monk suddenly felt a strong shock coming from the staff, which prevented him from gaining balance on the wall, fell off. Zhang CuiShan only felt much numbness in both hands, thought, “This monk’s strength is quite good.” He asked, “May I ask for your name?”

    The monk on the right said, “I am Yuan Yin. This is my martial brother Yuan Ye.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, so you are the Yuan generation at Shaolin. May I ask why you’re here?”

    Yuan Yin seemed to be gasping for breath when speaking, said, “This is a serious matter between us Wu Dang and Shaolin. Although we are of the younger generation, we still must intervene in this matter. I ask of you. Now that you’ve kill all the people in the Dragon Gate Protection Agency, in addition to two of my martial nephews. I want to ask, how Fifth Hero Zhang intends to solve this dilemma involving so many deaths.” Despite the courteous nature of his tone, his words were very critical.

    Zhang CuiShan said coldly, “I’m also trying to find out who killed these people. But since you’re so sure that I did it, I ask you. Did you actually see me murder anyone?” Yuan Yin yelled, “Hui Feng. Why don’t you have a chat with Hero Zhang?”

    Four yellow-robed monks appeared from the forest, the same ones Zhang CuiShan knocked down earlier. That monk named Hui Feng steped up and said, “Martial uncle. It’s indeed him. He killed all the people in the agency, plus brothers Hui Tong and Hui Guang.” Yuan Yin said, “You saw it with your own eyes?” Hui Feng said, “Yes. If the four of us hadn’t escaped quickly enough, we would’ve also been dead.” Yuan Yin said, “Monks cannot lie. Plus the reputations of Wu Dang and Shaolin are at stake here. Are you absolutely certain of what you saw?” Hui Feng got on his knees and said, “With the Holy Buddha above listening, every word I now say is the exact truth.” Yuan Yin said, “Good. Now recall the exact events.” When Zhang CuiShan heard this, he quickly jumped down the wall.

    Yuan Ye thought that Zhang CuiShan wanted to kill Hui Feng, and quickly attacked him with a sweep of his staff. Zhang CuiShan lowered his head and easily dodged the attack, in a smooth motion, twisted around behind Hui Feng. Yuan Ye originally planned on following up with another attack, but saw that he can no longer hurt Zhang CuiShan without first hurting Hui Feng. Yuan Ye retracted his staff and said, “What do you want?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I just want to hear a bit more closely, hear exactly just how I killed all those people.”

    Seeing Zhang CuiShan behind him, Hui Feng knew that if he made any hasty moves, Zhang CuiShan could immediately kill him. Even his martial uncles won’t be able to help him. But due to his anger towards, Hui Feng did not flinch, yelled, “A few days ago, martial uncle Yuan Xin received a letter from martial brother Du DaJin, north of the Yangtze river. He immediately sent Hui Tong and Hui Guang to help out. Then he sent me a note to also come here, with three fellow martial brothers. Upon entering, Brother Hui Guang said that the enemy might be here tonight, and that the four of us should guard outside. He also told us to not fall for any diversions.” Yuan Yin said, “Then what? Keep going.”

    Hui Feng said, “Soon after dark, I heard Hui Tong fighting in the back hall, followed by a loud scream, as if he were gravely injured. By the time I got there, he’s already dead… this bastard Zhang…”

    He turned around and pointed his finger at Zhang CuiShan, almost touching his nose, yelling, “I saw you push Brother Hui Guang to the wall with your palm, killing him. I know I’m no match for you, so I simply watched through the window. Then eight people tried to escape, and you followed them outside, killed them all with your hands, not even letting go the old and the young. Afterwards, you left.” Zhang CuiShan did not move at all. Even while Hui Feng’s salive fell on his face, he neither dodged nor retaliated. Afterwards, he said coldly, “Then what?”

    Hui Feng continued, “After that, I discussed with my three brothers on what to do next. Everyone thought your kung fu was too powerful for us, so we should stay low for a moment. Who’d have thought that you’d come back again just then. We knew we couldn’t beat you, but at that moment, we didn’t think that that much. I asked for your name, didn’t you say that you are Wu Dang’s Zhang CuiShan? At first I didn’t believe you, thinking that the heroes of Wu Dang would not do such a thing. But when you showed your weapons, I had to believe you.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I admit that I did indeed give you my name, showed my weapons, and knocked the four of you down. But are absolutely certain that I’m the one who killed everyone in the escort agency?”

    At this moment, Yuan Yin flew up, grabbed Hui Feng’s body and pushed him into the distance. He said, “He already told you the whole event. So the renowned Fifth Hero Zhang could not try to hide the truth.” He pushed Hui Feng aside so Zhang CuiShan could not try to kill this witness.

    Hui Feng said to Zhang CuiShan, “Fine, I’ll say it again. I personally saw you killed Hui Guang and Hui Tong, personally saw you killing the eight people in the escort agency.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Did you see my face clearly? Was I wearing this same outfit?” As he spoke he took out a match, lighting up his face and body. Hui Feng stared at him with great disdain, said, “You were wearing this robe exactly. At that time, you had a fan in your left hand. Now you have it on your waist.”

    Zhang CuiShan felt his stomach boiling, not knowing why this monk would purposely say such a lie, walked up and stared into his face, yelled, “If you have the guts, say those words again. Say that it’s me who killed them all, not someone else!”

    Hui Feng’s eyes suddenly let out a strange expression. He pointed at Zhang CuiShan and said, “You… you’re… you’re not…” and instantly he fell down onto the ground. Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye quickly went up to look check his condition, only to see an expression of shock on Hui Feng’s face, with no pulse in his body.

    Yuan Yin yelled, “You… You killed him?” Zhang CuiShan also did not expect to see this turn of events. He quickly turned around, only to see a shadow running away among the trees. He yelled, “Stop!” and immediately flew toward the shadow. If he couldn’t find the real killer at this moment, he’d be misunderstood as the killer.

    Who’d have thought that while in midair, two swooshes of wind would come from behind, as two staffs caught up to him from left and right. At the same time, the two monks yelled, “Don’t think you can get away, murderer!” Zhang CuiShan’s brush and hook both swept down, writing the word ‘Saber’[only two strokes to this character] in a backhanded manner. His hook bent around and trapped Yuan Ye’s staff point, while his brush cast aside Yuan Yin’s staff. Borrowing their power, he quickly flew over them to land on the roof behind them. Zhang CuiShan then tried to scan the area, but saw no person in sight.

    Yuan Ye quickly jumped up to the roof for another attack. Zhang CuiShan yelled, “I need to find the killer. Don’t get in my way!” Yuan Yin said in rage, “You… you killed him in front of my face, and yet try to deny it?” Zhang CuiShan flung Yuan Yin’s staff to the side, preventing him from coming up.

    Yuan Yin said, “Fifth Hero Zhang. We don’t want to take your life. You simply need to drop your weapons, come with us to the Shaolin, and let the abbot pass judgment on you.” Zhang CuiShan said angrily, “I can’t believe you’re actually ‘Yuan’ generation Shaolin experts. The real killer came and went without you even noticing.” Yuan Yin said, “Look, I can’t personally decide your fate for killing my fellow brothers. So please come with us to Shaolin.” Zhang CuiShan said coldly, “Urgh! I can’t believe the Yuan generation at Shaolin is filled with idiots. You can’t even see who the real killer is?” Yuan Yin said, “I’m sorry. You have too much blood on your hands. We can’t let you escape.”

    Upon hearing Yuan Yin so adamantly pointing him as the killer, Zhang CuiShan became angrier and angrier. Not only did he have to argue with Yuan Yin, but he also must fight off Yuan Ye at the same time. In the heat of the battle, Zhang CuiShan said with a smirk, “You think you can actually capture me?”

    Only to see Yuan Ye push his staff onto the ground, trying to borrow its force to get him up. Zhang CuiShan jumped at the same time. His lightness kung fu is far superior to Yuan Ye’s, attacked downward as he jumped. Yuan Ye tried to block his attack with the staff, but Zhang CuiShan’s hook suddenly changed directions in midair, followed by a tearing sound, as his hook sliced through Yuan Ye’s shoulder. Yuan let out a scream, fell to the ground. He only lived because Zhang CuiShan showed mercy, and not aim for Yuan Ye’s throat.

    Yuan Yin quickly held up his brother and asked, “Are you alright?” Yuan Ye said, “I’m fine! You still talking and not attacking? Stop with the indecisiveness!” Yuan Yin sighed, then raised his staff to attack. Yuan Ye did not bother to wrap up his wound, instead immediately went back to fighting Zhang CuiShan. The dancing staffs carried the wind, both converged to attack as one. Zhang CuiShan knew the wrist power of the two monks, in addition to the heaviness of their weapons. Should they be able to jump onto the wall, he would have great difficulty winning. So Zhang CuiShan played defensive, guarding his higher vantage point. Neither monks could jump up to the wall as a result. The ‘Hui’ generation monks have much lower kung fu, so despite seeing their martial uncles at a disadvantage, they had no way of helping.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “I really must go find the real killer quickly, no reason to get caught up in this misunderstanding.” He retracted his hook and brush into defensive positions, holding off attack. Just as he’s about to spring away, Zhang CuiShan heard a yell from behind, the voice thunderous, followed by a powerful force pushing towards him. Only to see a big-bodied monk jump up unto the roof, both his hands now reaching for Zhang CuiShan’s weapons. Although Zhang CuiShan could not see his face in the darkness, he realized that this monk is using Shaolin’s famous and powerful Tiger Claws. Yuan Ye yelled, “Thank goodness you’re here, brother Yuan Xin. Don’t let this murderer get away.”

    Zhang CuiShan had seldom met any formidable enemy in his lifetime, plus his martial arts recently increased a great deal with this new kung fu. When he saw this new monk attacking, he felt a strong hatred, and began to have the urge to duel with them. He put away his hook and brush, yelled, “Humph, do you think the three of you could beat me?” Just as Yuan Xin’s left hand is nearly next to him, Zhang CuiShan retracted his right palm, swooped around and ripped apart a piece of Yuan Xin’s robe. As Yuan Xin’s claws touched his shoulder, Zhang CuiShan’s left foot flew out, hitting Yuan Xin squarely on the kneecap.

    Yuan Xin’s knees are unusually sturdy, so he did not fell down even after suffering such an injury. With a loud roar, his right claw came at Zhang CuiShan. At the same time, Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye’s staffs also attacked from behind. Yuan Yin’s voice might be croaked, seemingly ill, but his kung fu is the best of the three. A staff weighing at least thirty to forty pounds seemed light as a sword in his hands, very quick and flexible.

    After meeting his match for the first time in life, Zhang CuiShan thought, “Wu Dang and Shaolin had been considered the two most powerful sects in the world recently, yet we never really had a chance to compete against each other. Today’s a good opportunity to test against the powerful Shaolin martial arts.” With that thought, he shot out his two palms, freely shifting among the two staffs and a pair of claws, cutting down, capturing, pointing and attacking. Even while fighting one on three, Zhang CuiShan gradually gained the upper hand.

    Shaolin and Wu Dang sects both have their strengths and weaknesses. Zhang SanFeng is a seldom-seen genius when it comes to martial arts, but Wu Dang nonetheless lacked the thousands of years of experience Shaolin had. The difference is that, Zhang CuiShan is one of the best Wu Dang fighters, while the three monks are only second tier fighters in Shaolin. So as the fight went on, Zhang CuiShan became more and more energetic, his movements became swifter and faster. Suddenly, his right hand wrote out the long hook in the character ‘Dragon’, grabbing Yuan Ye’s staff, and redirected it unto Yuan Yin’s staff. With a loud collision sound, so loud everyone’s ears vibrated. Both monks had incredible strength. Their strength, adding Zhang CuiShan’s, caused such a powerful collision that blood came out of the two monks’ mouths. As Yuan Xin came over to help, Zhang CuiShan quickly stepped to the side, held out his foot in front of Yuan Xin, and then gave him a shove on the back. With the shove and his own natural forward movement, Yuan Xin immediately tripped to the ground.

    Zhang CuiShan said coldly, “Want to take me to Shaolin? You’ll have to practice a few more years first.” Yuan Xin got up and yelled, “Murderer! Don’t try to run away!” And with that the three monks began to come after Zhang CuiShan again. Zhang CuiShan thought, “They really are pesky, but I can’t exactly kill them.” So he took a deep breath and began to use his lightness kung fu to escape.

    Yuan Xin and Yuan Ye both tried to chase him, but could not catch up, due to their inferior lightness kung fu. They can only yell, “Capture the murderer! Don’t let him go!” while chasing along the banks. Zhang CuiShan laughed inside, thinking how can you people catch up to me? Suddenly he heard Yuan Xin and Yuan Ye both yell out “Ahhh!” while Yuan Yin let out a light groan, but also seemingly injured.

    Zhang CuiShan turned his head around, only to see all three monks with their hands over their right eyes, as if hit by hidden weapons. Then Yuan Yin yelled, “Zhang CuiShan. If you got the guts, come back and blind my left eye too!”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Were they blinded by someone? Who’s helping me?” He then realized something, yelled, “Seventh brother, seventh brother. Where are you?” Among the seven Wu Dang heroes, Muo ShengGu’s the best at hidden weapons. That’s why Zhang CuiShan figured his seventh brother must be here.

    But after several yells, no response came. Zhang CuiShan searched around several trees by the banks, but could not find even half a shadow.

    Yuan Ye lost control after getting blinded, and wanted to keep chase Zhang CuiShan. But Yuan Yin stopped him, knowing that doing so would be pointless. He said, “Brother Yuan Ye, we don’t have to be in such a hurry to seek revenge. Even if we give up, do you think our elder reverends would let him go? Let’s go seek the advice of the abbot. He’ll help us.”

    * * *

    Zhang CuiShan felt a bit more comfortable, after seeing the Shaolin monks leave. But he still wondered, “Just who was the person that helped me?” He didn’t want to stay by the lake much longer, and decided to hurry back to the inn. After quickly running for about thirty meters, he saw a bush rustling by the lake.

    Since there’s no wind right now, so someone must be hiding behind it. Zhang CuiShan walked closer, about to ask who’s there, when suddenly a person shot out of the bush, attacked him with a saber, yelling, “Today, either you die or I die!”

    Zhang CuiShan kicked his foot out, and quickly knocked the saber out of that person’s hand, into the lake. Looking closely, he saw that this person is yet another monk, except his kung fu is quite mediocre. Zhang CuiShan yelled, “What are you doing here?” While speaking, he saw three other people lying behind the bush. Zhang CuiShan ignored the monk, and went over to examine the three people. He found that these three people are the three leaders of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Du, Shi, and Zhu.

    Shocked, Zhang CuiShan yelled, “Leader Du, what… what happened…” Before he could finish, Du DaJin sprung up, grabbed Zhang CuiShan’s collar with both hands, gritted his teeth, said, “Murderer. I just left three hundred taels of silver for myself, yet… yet you still won’t let me go?” Zhang CuiShan said, “What are you talking about?” About to brush Du DaJin’s hands away, only to see his lip spewing out blood. Zhang CuiShan asked, “Have you suffered internal injuries?”

    Du DaJin yelled to that monk, “Martial brother. Remember. The murderer is Wu Dang’s Zhang CuiShan. Get away before he kills you too!” As he said this, he quickly shot forward, trying to head-butt Zhang CuiShan.

    Zhang CuiShan hurriedly twist around, got out of the way by pushing off on Du DaJin’s arm, only to hear a loud thud, as Du DaJin fell onto the ground, ripping off a piece of Zhang CuiShan’s clothing along the way. Despite his courage, Zhang CuiShan nonetheless felt very uneasy about tonight’s events. Only to see Du DaJin’s heartbeat stopped. Obviously, he was already seriously injured, or that push Zhang CuiShan gave could not have killed him.

    That monk yelled in shock, “You… you just killed my martial brother…” He quickly turned around, and began to run away as fast as he can.

    Zhang CuiShan shook his head, saw that sub-leaders Zhu and Shi’s feet are in the water, already dead for some time. Looking at the three bodies, Zhang CuiShan felt much sadness. Although he hated them for making a grave mistake regarding Yu DaiYan, he hardly wanted to see them dead like this. Suddenly, he thought, “Du DaJin thought that I killed them because he left three hundred taels of gold for himself. I never knew anything about that. Besides, even if I did, I would hardly make a big deal out of it.”

    He reached into Du DaJin’s sack, and indeed found several gold nuggets. At this moment, Zhang CuiShan felt that life really is fleeting. This escort leader spent his whole life traveling around, living under constant threat of death, just for some gold. Yet now, with gold right by his side, Du DaJin would no longer be able to enjoy them. He then thought about his great triumph over those Shaolin monks, but how long can he enjoy this? After all, a hundred years later, he’d be no different from Du DaJin. Zhang CuiShan then sighed deeply.

    Suddenly, the sound of zither came from the lake. Zhang CuiShan looked up, only to see a young scholar on a boat, the same one he saw in front of the escort agency earlier. He looked at the three bodies by his side, and at the boat closing in, thought that should the person see him like this, and alert the soldiers, there would be much unnecessary problems. Just as he’s about to leave, that gentleman suddenly said, “If this friend likes to observe the night scenery of the lake, why not do so on my boat?” As he said this, Zhang CuiShan saw the boat rowing to the shore.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “If this person had been here all this time, he might have seen something that I missed. Perhaps I get some information from him.” So he walked over to the shore, waited for the boat to come, and then stepped onto the head of the boat.

    The scholar on the boat stood up, smiled, and gestured with his arm for Zhang CuiShan to sit down. Under the lantern light, Zhang CuiShan saw that this scholar’s hands are whiter than snow, his face delicate and slender, eyebrows curly and nose straight, more handsome than any exquisite scholar he had ever seen. Zhang CuiShan immediately realized that this scholar is actually a beautiful young woman in disguise.

    Wu Dang is very strict when it comes to women. So when Zhang CuiShan saw a lone lady on the boat, his face started to blush bright red. As he quickly got off the boat, Zhang CuiShan said, “I didn’t know that you are a woman disguising as a man. Sorry to bother you.”

    That young woman did not respond. The boat then rowed away, while the young woman kept playing her zither, singing, “Tonight wish for no more excitement, but there will be many more future nights, under the Six United Pagoda*, weeping willows and rowing boats. How those gentlemen, come to have fun on the water.” As the boat disappeared into the darkness, so did the song and the sound of the zither.

    *Note: I’m not sure too sure this is the right translation for the particular pagoda. Couldn’t find the reason for its name from the encyclopedia, so I just translated word-by-word. Anyway, it’s a big tourist attraction at the modern day Hang Zhou city.

    Hearing such beautiful melody, after all that killing earlier, Zhang CuiShan could not help but just stand there in silence. Only after over an hour of stillness did he make his way back to the inn.

    The next day, everyone found out about the mass murder at the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. But with Zhang CuiShan’s scholarly appearance, no one even thought he could be the culprit.

    At around noon, he started to search for his brothers in the marketplace and at tourist spots. But there are no signs of them anywhere. At dusk, he suddenly remembered the young woman’s song: “Tonight wish no more for excitement, but there will be many more future nights, under the Six United Pagoda, with weeping willows and rowing boats. How those gentlemen, come to sightsee.” Zhang CuiShan thought, “As long as I act as a gentleman, it would be ok to see her. Sighs, if second and seventh brother were here, we could’ve gone together. Other than her, I really don’t have any other leads.”

    After eating lunch, Zhang CuiShan began to walk towards the Six United Pagoda by the QianTang River.

    End of Chapter 4
    Last edited by dgfds01; 05-26-07 at 10:48 PM.

  6. #6
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    Chapter 5: Plum Flower Decoration on the Pure White Arm

    (Translated by Meh)

    By the time Zhang CuiShan reached the river, it’s already dark. Only to see a boat with two bright lanterns on it, the same one he saw last night. Under the lantern lights a young woman sat on the edge, wearing a long, light-green robe, a lady’s outfit.

    Zhang CuiShan originally planned on asking her about the events last night, but somehow held back upon seeing her in a lady’s dress. That young woman looked up in the sky and said, “Sitting on the edge of the boat, thinking of meeting a guest, the wind blows by, waking me up.” Zhang CuiShan said, “My name is Zhang CuiShan. I have some questions. I hope you won’t mind.” That young woman said, “Then please come on the boat.” Zhang CuiShan lightly sprung onto the head of the boat.

    That young woman said, “Dark clouds hovered over last night’s sky, and covered the moon. The weather’s much nicer today, now that those clouds have dissipated.” Her voice beautiful and clear, spoken while watching the sky, without looking at him even once. Zhang CuiShan said, “May I ask for the young lady’s name?” That young woman suddenly turned her head around, her bright, stunning eyes shinned at him, but did not respond. Zhang CuiShan saw her indescribable beauty looking at him, and felt a bit awkward. Afraid to press further, he jumped back onto the land, and began to walk back.

    After ten steps or so, his footsteps stopped. Zhang CuiShan thought to himself, “Zhang CuiShan, oh Zhang CuiShan. What happened to you? How can a man like you, so experienced in the martial world, be afraid of a young girl?” He turned around, only to see that young woman’s boat floated down the river, the jade lanterns lit up the river. Zhang CuiShan couldn’t make up his mind, so he simply followed the boat by the river edge.

    One on the river, one on land, traveling in parallel fashion. That young lady remained at the head of the boat, her head aimed towards the moon in the night sky.

    After walking a while, Zhang CuiShan unconsciously looked in the direction of her eyes, only to see dark clouds gathering in the distance. These clouds quickly covered the moon. Soon, the wind began to blow, and sleek rain came down. There’s only grassland by the lake, so Zhang CuiShan could not find any place to hide from the rain. Of course, he didn’t care much for the rain anyway. The rainfall was not heavy, but enough to totally soak his body after a while. Only to see that young woman still sitting on the head of the boat, also totally soaked.

    Zhang CuiShan yelled, “Young lady, you should enter the cabin to avoid the rain.” That young woman immediately stood up and let out an ‘Oh!’ She quickly gathered herself, and then asked him, “Why are you not afraid of the rain?” As she spoke, she walked into the boat’s cabin. After a while, she came out again, this time holding an umbrella, which she threw to him.

    Zhang CuiShan grabbed the umbrella, saw that it was made out of oilpaper, and opened it. He saw rivers in the foreground and mountains in the background, covered with willow trees, obviously a scenery painting. Along with the painting are seven characters, “No need to return simply due light wind and sleek rain*.” It’s not strange to see such paintings and writings on the umbrellas here in HangZhou, as it’s famous for such things. The painting came from a craftsman, so it carried a peculiar craftsman feel to it. What’s amazing is that a craftsman could paint in such an intricate and elegant way. The writing didn’t seem to live up to the standards of the painting, and looked like a rich young lady wrote it, yet at least the style carried a clear, beautiful, unworldly feel.

    *Note: The seven characters themselves are ‘Xie2 Feng1 Xi4 Yu3 Bu4 Xu1 Gui1’. Translated literally ‘Tilted Wind Sleek Rain No Need Return’.

    Zhang CuiShan did not slow down his steps as he examined the writing, and couldn’t see a ditch in his path. As his left foot came down, Zhang CuiShan felt it land in midair. Any normal person would’ve tripped and fell. But he quickly reacted, applied force to his right foot, jumped up, and landed on the other side of the ditch. Only to hear the young lady yell, “Great!” Zhang CuiShan turned around, saw that she has since put on a bamboo hat, and is standing there on the head of the boat. As her dress waved back and forth among the winds, she looked like a goddess from Heaven.

    That young woman said, “Are the painting and writing worthy of Mr. Zhang’s eyes?” Zhang CuiShan never cared much for paintings, as he studied mainly on writings in his life. He said, “These words are written in the famous Mrs. Wei’s style. The characters separate but their meanings connect, the lines are short but their meanings are stretched, very charming with its rhyming.” That young woman felt very happy that Zhang CuiShan understood her writing style, and said, “Among the characters, I thought the character ‘No’ was the worst.” Zhang CuiShan examined that character, and said, “This ‘No’ is quite naturally written, but it lacked any deep meaning, unlike the other characters, which leave an aftertaste in the reader’s mind, making them hard to forget.” That young woman said, “I understand now. I’ve always thought that this character somehow didn’t belong, but couldn’t spot the reason. Thank you for enlightening me.”

    Her boat continued to travel down the river, while Zhang CuiShan walked alongside it. The two people continued to talk about writing, until the sky became so dark they could not longer see each other. That young woman suddenly said, “Speaking with a scholar for just a short while beats reading books for ten years. Thank you for your help. Now let us part.” She pulled up the sail, and the boat started to move faster with the aid of the wind. Zhang CuiShan stood as he watched the boat travel further and further away, and felt saddened, his mind in a void. Only to hear the young woman yell from far away, “My surname is Yin… should we meet again, I’ll surely ask for more pointers…”

    When Zhang CuiShan heard the words ‘My surname is Yin’, he suddenly remembered, “Wait a minute. Didn’t Du DaJin say that a handsome scholar, whose surname is Yin, asked for them to deliver Third Brother Yu? Could he be this young lady in man’s clothing?” Once he realized this, he forgot all about the tradition that man and woman should remain apart, and began to chase after the boat. Although the boat traveled very fast, it still could not beat out his lightness kung fu. Soon, he caught up with the boat and asked loudly, “Ms. Yin, do you know my third brother Yu DaiYan?”

    That young woman turned around, but did not respond. Zhang CuiShan seemingly heard a sigh, but wasn’t sure due to their distance.

    So Zhang CuiShan added, “I have this suspicion in my mind, which I hope you can help clear up.” That young woman said, “Do you really need to know?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Did you ask the Dragon Gate Escort Agency to take my third brother back to Wu Dang? If so, then I would surely repay your kindness.” That young woman said, “Sometimes, it’s so hard to distinguish generosity and cruelness.” Zhang CuiShan said, “My third brother was gravely wounded at the bottom of Wu Dang Mountain. Do you know about this?” That young woman said, “I was saddened too, and is really sorry.”

    As they spoke, the wind picked up, and the boat sailed even faster. But Zhang CuiShan had no problem keeping up with the boat.

    As they traveled further, the river became wider, the light wind and sleek rain turned into heavy wind and heavy rainstorm.

    Zhang CuiShan asked, “Do you know who killed the people in the Dragon Gate Escort agency?” That young woman said, “I made it clear to Du DaJin for him to take good care of Third Hero Yu. Should there be any problems…” Zhang CuiShan said, “You said you’d kill everyone in his agency.” That young woman said, “That’s correct. He didn’t protect Third Hero Yu, so it’s his fault. You can’t blame others.”

    Those words sent a chill down Zhang CuiShan’s spine, and he said, “So you’re saying that everyone… everyone was killed by…” that young woman said, “Killed by me!” Zhang CuiShan’s ears trembled. He couldn’t believe that this incredibly beautiful young woman could be such cold-blooded killer. After a while, he said, “What about those two Shaolin monks?” That young woman said, “Also killed by me. I originally didn’t want to bother with them, but they used poisoned darts on me first, so I didn’t have a choice.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Then… then why did they say that I was the killer?” That young woman said, “Oh, I planned that.”

    Zhang CuiShan fumed, and yelled, “You planned for them to wrong me like that?” That young woman laughed, and said, “That’s correct.” Zhang CuiShan yelled angrily, “Surely we’re not enemies. So why would you do that to me?”

    That young woman waved her hand, and entered the cabin. Zhang CuiShan obviously couldn’t stop asking now, yet he’s too far from the boat to jump on it. So he grabbed two thick branches from a nearby willow tree and threw them onto the river. With the branches as his stepping-stones, Zhang CuiShan jumped onto the head of the boat. He then yelled, “How… how did you plan it?”

    No sound came out from the dark cabin, so Zhang CuiShan planned to go in. But at the last moment he changed his mind, thinking, “It’s rude to barge into a young lady’s room like that.” As he pondered about what to do, he saw a light appearing in the cabin, as a candle lit up.

    That young woman said, “Please come in.”

    Zhang CuiShan organized his robe, closed the umbrella, and walked inside. He immediately froze as he saw a young scholar inside, wearing a green robe, holding a fan, his expression quite colorful. For that young woman had taken this time to change into man’s clothing. At first glance, she looked quite like himself. Zhang CuiShan obviously needed no more words to answer his question. In dim conditions, anyone would mistake them to be the same person. No wonder Monk Hui Feng and Du DaJin were both so certain that he was the killer.

    That young woman said, “Please sit, Fifth Hero Zhang.” She then picked up the teapot and poured some tea into a cup. Then she reached out to give him the cup. She said, “Sorry we don’t have wine here. Let me use tea instead of wine to serve my honored guest.”

    After hearing such a mannerly speech, Zhang CuiShan could not find a way to release his anger. He finally said, “Thank you.” That young woman saw his whole body soaked wet, and said, “I have some clothing in the cabin here. Do you need one? You can change in the back.” Zhang CuiShan shook his head and said, “No need.” He immediately applied some inner power, and a wave of chi exited his body, releasing much body heat. The water on his robe quickly evaporated. That young woman said, “I forgot that Wu Dang’s inner power is one of the best in the martial world. It really was improper of me to ask you to change clothing.” Zhang CuiShan asked, “Would you mind telling me which sect you belong to?”

    That young woman immediately turned towards the window when she heard the question, her face filled with worry.

    When Zhang CuiShan saw this, he stopped pressing further. But after a while, he couldn’t help but ask again, “Who injured my third brother Yu? Can you tell me?” That young woman said, “Not only did they fool Du DaJin, they also fooled me. Actually, I should’ve realized that the seven heroes of Wu Dang would be very elegant and valiant, not crass and unmannerly.”

    Zhang CuiShan realized that she didn’t answer the question, but when she said ‘elegant and valiant’, he felt his heart jumped, and his head a bit feverish. But he’s still not sure what her words meant.

    That young woman sighed, and then suddenly lifted up her left sleeve, revealing an arm as white as white-jade. Zhang CuiShan quickly turned around to avoid her arm. That young woman said, “Do you recognize these hidden weapons?”

    When Zhang CuiShan heard this, he finally turned around to look at her, only to see three needles on her left arm. Her arm’s white as snow, but the area by the needles are black as ink. The tails of all three needles are shaped like plum flowers. Zhang CuiShan immediately stood up, and yelled in shock, “These are Shaolin’s Plum Flower Darts. Why… why are they dark?” That woman said, “Exactly. These are Shaolin’s Plum Flower Darts. They are poisoned.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Shaolin’s a very reputable upright sect. Their darts would never have poisons on them. But other than Shaolin disciples, who else can use them? How long have you been poisoned? We need to remedy this immediately.”

    When that young woman saw the deep concern in his face, she said, “I’ve been poisoned for over twenty days now, but I have temporarily stopped them from spreading with some medicine. However, I can’t pull them out either, since then the poison would spread.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “But if you don’t pull them out soon, your arm might… your arm might… be much harder to cure. It might leave a nasty mark.” Actually, he wanted to say that the arm might become useless.

    That young woman began shed some tears, and said faintly, “But I’ve done all I can… Last night I couldn’t find the antidote from those monks… I can never use this arm again.” As she spoke, she covered up her arm again.

    Zhang CuiShan felt a surge of warmth in his chest, and said, “Ms. Yin, do you trust me? Although my inner power is ordinary, I am still confident that I can cure your poison.” That young woman smiled innocently, and her cheeks turned pink, as if she’s incredibly happy. Yet she said, “Fifth Hero Zhang. I know you have many suspicions. If I don’t tell you everything, you might regret this decision later.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Saving people is what I’m suppose to do. Why would I regret it?”

    That young woman said, “It’s already been over twenty days, so I won’t mind waiting a while longer. Here’s what happened. Once I gave Third Hero Yu to Du DaJin, I followed him from behind. There were quite a few people who wanted to take Third Hero Yu away, but I took care of them. Funny thing is, Du DaJin didn’t know any of this.” Zhang CuiShan said, “The disciples of Wu Dang will never forget your kindness, Ms. Yin.” That young woman said coldly, “Don’t thank me just yet. Soon, you’ll be hating me.” Zhang CuiShan doesn’t know what to make of that statement. That young woman continued, “I kept changing my clothing along the way, sometimes dressed as a farmer, sometimes a businessman, until I followed them to the bottom of the Wu Dang Mountain, where the incident occurred.” Zhang CuiShan bit his teeth and said, “You mean you saw those six beasts? Unfortunately, Du DaJin and his people do not know who they are.” That woman sighed again, and said, “Not only did I saw them, I also fought them. Unfortunately, I also could not tell you much about them either.” She picked up a cup of tea and drank some. Then she continued, “That day I saw these six people come down from the top of the mountain. Du DaJin kept calling them ‘Six Heroes of Wu Dang’, and those six people did not seem to mind. I watched from far away, and saw them take the carriage that carried Third Hero Yu. At first I was relieved to see him arrive safely, but after a while, I realized that things didn’t make sense. The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang treat each other as brothers. They should’ve all gone up to examine his injury, yet only one person took a look, and without any expression too.”

    Zhang CuiShan nodded and said, “Ms. Yin, you really are attentive. Your suspicions are right on the mark.”

    That young woman said, “The more I thought about it, the more things didn’t add up. So I turned back and caught up to them, then asked for their names. These people’s eyes were quite sharp, and immediately saw that I was a woman. I shouted at them for pretending to be Wu Dang disciples, and then attacked them. A thirty-some year old skinny man came out to fight me, while a Taoist priest stayed by to back him up. The rest of them went away. This skinny man was quite formidable, and I could not defeat him after thirty or so exchanges. At this moment, that Taoist priest waved his left hand, and my left arm became numb. That skinny man said some indecent words, then tried to capture me. I had to fire off three darts of my own so I could escape.” As she said this, her face turned red. Probably that skinny man sought after her beauty and wanted to rape her.

    Zhang CuiShan asked, “Did you say he fired the darts with his left hand? How could Shaolin accept a priest as a disciple?” That young woman said with a smile, “A Taoist has to shave his head to look like a monk, but a monk just needs to put on a Taoist hat to look like a Taoist priest.” Zhang CuiShan nodded. That young woman continued, “I couldn’t beat that skinny man, and that Taoist’s kung fu is even better. So I had to let them go.” Zhang CuiShan wanted to say something, but refrained to do so.

    That young woman said, “I know you want to ask why I never went to Wu Dang to explain everything, right? But I couldn’t go to Wu Dang. If I could’ve, why would I ask an escort agency to do it for me? Besides, I overheard Du DaJin talking on my way back. Once I knew that the other Wu Dang heroes have looked into this matter, I knew there was nothing I could do to help. Since I was also in a hurry to treat my poison, I left. What happened to Third Hero Yu anyway?”

    Zhang CuiShan told her what happened afterwards. That young woman sighed, her eyelashes slightly flickered, and said, “Hopefully Third Hero Yu will get well, or… or…” Zhang CuiShan heard the sincerity in her voice, and was deeply moved. He said, “Thank you for you kindness.” As he spoke his eyes became wet. That young woman shook her head and said, “When I came back, someone told me that these darts are Shaolin’s unique Plum Flower Darts. Other than its own unique antidotes, the poison’s incurable. The only place with Shaolin disciples here is the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. So I went there, seeking the antidote. However, they tried to ambush me as I entered.”

    Zhang CuiShan let out a ‘huh’ and said, “But didn’t you say you purposely planned for them to think it was me?” That young woman blushed, lowered her head, and said softly, “I saw you bought this clothes at the store, and looked very… very dashing, so I went ahead and bought one too.” Zhang CuiShan said, “That would explain it. It’s just that they’re not your mortal enemies, so you really shouldn’t kill them all. That’s just too cruel and merciless.”

    The young woman’s face sank, and then spoke in a cold voice, “Are you trying to lecture me? Never in my nineteen years in life have I been lectured. I know Fifth Hero Zhang is righteous and kind. You don’t have to degrade yourself into associating with people like myself. Please feel free to leave.”

    After getting scolded, Zhang CuiShan’s face turned bright red. He quickly stood up and began to storm out the cabin, but then realized that he promised to cure her poison wound. So he said, “Please lift up your sleeves.” That young woman raised her eyebrows, and said, “Since you like to lecture me so much, I don’t want you to cure me anymore.” Zhang CuiShan said, “If you leave the wound like that, the poison will eventually spread. By that time, it will be very difficult to cure you.”

    That young woman said, “So what? If I die from this, it will be because of you.” Zhang CuiShan asked with surprise, “What does this have to do with me?” That young woman said, “If I hadn’t tried to sent your third brother back, then I would’ve never have met those six people. If I had decided not to interfere in that matter, I would’ve never been injured. Besides, had you gotten there sooner, and helped me fight them, how could they have injured me?”

    While the last sentence was ludicrous, the previous statements were quite reasonable. Zhang CuiShan said, “You’re right. I’ll help you right now to repay your kindness.” That young woman said, “So do you admit that you’re wrong?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Wrong about what?” That young woman said, “You said that I was cruel and merciless. Of course you were wrong. Those monks and all those people in the escort agency deserved to die.” Zhang CuiShan shook his head and said, “Although you’ve been poisoned, you can be cured. My third brother is gravely injured, but probably won’t die. Even if we can’t cure him, at least we should find the main culprit, instead of killing so many innocents.”

    That young woman said, “So you say that I killed the wrong people? Isn’t it true that it’s a Shaolin disciple who poisoned me? Isn’t it true that the Dragon Gate Escort Agency is part of Shaolin?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Shaolin disciples fill the world. Are you going to kill all of them with a wound on your arm?”

    The young woman couldn’t win this argument. In anger, she suddenly lifted up her right hand, and pressed it hard into her left arm, directly over her wounds. With this, her injury magnified.

    Zhang CuiShan never in his dreams expected her to do such a thing, that she’d hurt herself over a single argument. Considering how she treated herself, it’s hardly surprising that she didn’t value the lives of others. He wanted to stop her, but was unfortunately too late. He gasped with surprise, “Why… did you have to do this?” Only to see black blood staining her sleeves. Zhang CuiShan realized that it he doesn’t do something quick, her life would be in danger. He quickly grabbed her left hand with his left hand, and his right hand began to tear off her sleeve.

    Suddenly, a voice came from behind him, “Hold it right there!” as that person attacked him from behind with a knife. Zhang CuiShan knew he was the boatman, but in this critical moment, he had no time for explanation. With a swift back kick, he kicked the boatmen back out the cabin.

    That young woman said, “I don’t want you help. My life and death doesn’t concern you anyway.” As she said this, she promptly slapped him on the cheek. She slapped at lightning speed, and since Zhang CuiShan had not anticipated her attack, he immediately let go of her hand.

    That young woman composed herself and said, “Get out of my boat. I never want to see you again!” Zhang CuiShan, ashamed and angry by her slap, said, “Fine! I’ve never seen such an insolent girl in my life!” And he immediately turned around to leave. That young woman said coldly, “Never seen one before? Well, you saw one today.”

    Zhang CuiShan picked up a block of wood to help him get back to the banks. But at the last moment he thought, “If I leave now, she’s certainly going to die.” With that in mind, he suppressed his anger and went back to the cabin, said, “I’ll just forgive you for that slap. Roll up your sleeve quickly. Do you want to keep your life or not?”

    That young woman said, “What does my life have to do with you?” Zhang CuiShan said, “I must repay you for sending my third brother back.” That young woman said coldly, “Oh, you’re just trying to repay a debt. Looks like if I hadn’t sent back your third brother, you would’ve just watched me die.”

    Zhang CuiShan froze a second, and then said, “Not necessarily so.” Only to see her body began to shake, signs of the poison spreading. He quickly said, “Hurry! Roll up your sleeves. Do you really have a death wish?” That young woman said while biting her teeth, “If you don’t admit that you’re wrong, then I won’t let you help me.” Her face was naturally pale, and under such conditions she looked so very fragile, arousing Zhang CuiShan’s compassion.

    He sighed, and then said, “Fine. Let’s just say I was wrong. Those people all deserved to die.” That young woman said, “Not good enough. What’s with this whole ‘let’s just say I’m wrong’ deal? And why did you sight? Wrong is wrong. Say it with some conviction.”

    In this moment of life and death, Zhang CuiShan can’t possibly fuss over such small details. So he yelled, “With the Heaven above and River below listening, I, Zhang CuiShan today wholeheartedly apologize to Yin… Yin…” As he said this, he stuttered. That young woman said, “Yin SuSu.” Zhang CuiShan continued, “to Yin SuSu and seek her forgiveness.”

    Yin SuSu, delighted at his apology, smiled gleefully. Suddenly, her legs gave out on her, and fell back onto a chair. Zhang CuiShan quickly took out a pill of ‘Heaven’s Heart Antidote’ for her to swallow. Then he grabbed her arm and asked, “How do you feel?” Yin SuSu said, “My chest is burning up inside. Why did it take you so long to apologize? If I die, it will be all your fault.”

    In this circumstance, Zhang CuiShan could only sooth her with gentle words, “Everything’s fine. Don’t worry. Just relax your whole body, and don’t try to use any energy. Pretend as if you’re asleep.” Yin SuSu glanced at him and said, “I’ll just pretend as if I’m dead.”

    Zhang CuiShan thought to himself, “My gosh, she’s so unruly even at this moment. I can’t imagine what kind of anguish her future husband would suffer in her hands.” As he thought this, he found his heartbeat quickened, and his head feverish. Afraid that Yin SuSu might see through his thoughts, Zhang CuiShan glanced at her, only to see her cheeks bright red, with bashfulness mixed with frailty. When their eyes met, both quickly turned their eyes away.

    Yin SuSu suddenly said quietly, “Fifth Brother Zhang, I was very rude, and even hit you. Please… please don’t be offended.”

    When Zhang CuiShan heard her change from calling him ‘Fifth Hero Zhang’ to ‘Fifth Brother Zhang’, his heart began to beat quickly. After he took a deep breath, Zhang CuiShan composed himself, exerting his inner chi to his hands, which held Yin SuSu’s arm around the poisoned darts.

    After a while, thick steam came from the top of his head, signs that he’s utilizing his full power. Yin SuSu was grateful in her heart, and knew that this is a critical juncture, refrained from speaking as to not break his concentration. Suddenly, a Plum Flower Dart from her arm shot out, and black blood sprung out from the wound, turning into red blood a while later. The second dart quickly followed.

    At this moment, he heard someone yell from outside, “Is Miss Yin here? Red Sparrow Branch Leader requests a presence.” Zhang CuiShan needed to concentrate, and ignored him. He then heard the boatman yell, “There’s a thug on the boat. Leader Chang, please come here quick!” The first voice yelled, “Thug, if you hurt a single hair on Miss Yin’s head, you’ll die a painful death.” This person’s voice boomed across the river, its sound carried a threatening tone.

    Yin SuSu opened her eyes and smiled weakly towards Zhang CuiShan, as if to express an apology. Since her right hand hit her arm at the location of the third Plum Flower Dart, it sank deeper than the other two. Even after three attempts, Zhang CuiShan could not get it out. He then felt another boat nearing, and someone walking onto this boat. But with all his concentration on this last dart, Zhang CuiShan ignored all this.

    That person came into the cabin, and saw Zhang CuiShan’s hands holding tightly onto Yin SuSu’s arm. Obviously he would not believe that Zhang CuiShan’s actually trying to heal her. In his hastiness, that person’s palm shot out at Zhang CuiShan’s back, while yelling, “Still wouldn’t release your hands, thug?”

    Zhang CuiShan didn’t have time to get away, so he simply took a deep breath, and with a loud pop, this palm hit squarely on his back. Zhang CuiShan knew the intricacies of Wu Dang inner power, so he simply stayed still, channeling the force of the blow through his body. Immediately, the third Plum Flower Dart popped out, landing on the floor nearby.

    The person who hit Zhang CuiShan was about to follow up with a second blow, but when he saw the dart he immediately stopped, said, “Miss Yin, Are you… are you injured?” When he saw black blood pouring out her arm, he realized that he mistook this gentleman’s intentions, and felt guilty. Considering the power of his palm, he thought that Zhang CuiShan’s life was probably in danger. So he quickly took out some medicine for Zhang CuiShan to take.

    Zhang CuiShan shook his head, and once the blood pouring out turned to red, released his hands. He turned around and smiled, “That was one powerful blow.” That person stood in shock. He thought of how he had killed so many powerful fighters with his palm. Yet this young gentleman could take the full brunt of his attack and act as if nothing happened. He said, “You… you…” He looked at Zhang CuiShan’s face, and immediately went to grab his wrist and check his condition. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Why don’t I play a joke on him?” Then proceeded to gather his chi and stopped his heartbeat. When that person checked his pulse and found none, he was simply appalled, not knowing what to think.

    Zhang CuiShan took the handkerchief Yin SuSu just handed him, and used it to cover her wounds, then said, “Most of the poison had been flushed out. You should recover easily with the aid of common antidotes.” Yin SuSu said, “Thank you.” She then turned to that other person and said with a solemn expression, “Branch Leader Chang. Meet Fifth Hero Zhang of Wu Dang.” That person fell back a step, bowed, and said, “Oh, so it’s the fifth hero of the ‘Seven Heroes of Wu Dang’. No wonder your inner power is so amazing. My name is Chang JinPeng. Sorry for my rudeness.”

    Zhang CuiShan looked at this fifty-some year old man, with tight muscles all over his body, looking very strong. He returned with a bow.

    Chang JinPeng turned towards Yin SuSu and paid his respects. Yin SuSu nodded, but didn’t seem to care much for this man. Only to hear Chang JinPeng say, “Branch Leader Bai had already contacted the Sea Sand Sect, the Huge Whale Clan, and the Divine Fist Sect. The meeting time for showing the saber is tomorrow morning on QianTang river’s WangPan island. If my lady’s not feeling well, I can send you back home to Lin An. Branch Leader Bai alone should suffice taking care of these people.”

    Yin SuSu said, “Humph… Sea Sand Sect, Huge Whale Clan, Divine Fist Sect… Is the head of the Divine Fish Sect Guo SanQuan going to be there too?” Chang JinPeng said, “I heard he personally led his twelve best students.” Yin SuSu said, “Although he’s quite famous, Guo SanQuan’s ability is nowhere near that of Branch Leader Bai. Anyone else important that I should be aware of?” Chang JinPeng said, “I heard two young swordsman from the Kun Lun sect will be there. They said that they want to see the Dragon… Dragon…” He paused here for a moment, and glanced at Zhang CuiShan. Yin SuSu said coldly, “They want to see the Dragon Saber, right? Their hands might become itchy…” When Zhang CuiShan heard the words ‘Dragon Saber’, his ears perked up. Only to hear Yin SuSu continue, “We can’t underestimate these Kun Lun swordsman. My injury’s no big deal. Let me see, how about we also go to the meeting. Perhaps Branch Leader Bai could use our help.” She turned around and said to Zhang CuiShan, “Fifth Hero Zhang. We should part now. I’ll go ahead on Branch Leader Chang’s boat. You can take my boat back to Lin An city. After all, there’s no reason for Wu Dang to get into all this.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “My third brother’s injury is seemingly related to the Dragon Saber. Can Miss Yin fill me in on everything?” Yin SuSu said, “I don’t know all the details either. Why don’t you go back and ask your third brother?”

    Zhang CuiShan saw that she wouldn’t say, and decided against pressing further. He thought, “The people who hurt my third brother looked like they really wanted the Dragon Saber. From the tone of Branch Leader Chang, the Dragon Saber is in their hands. Should those people know about this, they’d surely come to this meeting.” So he said, “Do you think that Taoist priest who fired these darts would also go to WangPan Mountain?”

    Yin SuSu showed a slight grin, but did not answer his question. Instead she said, “If you really want to go to this ceremony, then let’s go together.” She then turned towards Chang JinPeng and said, “Branch Leader Chang. Please lead the way.” Chang JinPeng answered, “Yes!” and retreated back out the cabin like servant in front of a master. Yin SuSu only nodded, but Zhang CuiShan respected this old man’s martial arts ability. So he personally sent Chang JinPeng out the door.

    Yin SuSu looked at the tear on Zhang CuiShan’s clothes where Chang JinPeng had hit him. She said, “Take off your long robe. I’ll stitch it up for you.” Zhang CuiShan said, “No need!” Yin SuSu said, “You don’t trust my sewing ability?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I wouldn’t dare.” And then remained silent as he thought about all those deaths in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. He normally would have tried to kill anyone capable of such murder. Yet instead he saved this person’s life instead. Although he saved her because of her kindness to his third brother, he still realized that good and evil should not mix. Once this deal at WangPan Island is over, he’ll leave her immediately.

    Yin SuSu saw the surly expression on Zhang CuiShan’s face, and immediately what he’s thinking. She said, “In addition to all those people in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency and those two Shaolin monks, I also killed Monk Hui Feng.” Zhang CuiShan said, “I thought that was you, except I wasn’t sure how you did it.” Yin SuSu said, “That was hardly difficult to do. I simply stayed by the river and listened in on your conversation. When that Hui Feng monk saw that you weren’t me, I simply gave him a needle in the mouth. You kept on searching for me on the ground and on trees, but I was on the boat the whole time. So of course you couldn’t find me.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Which means that Shaolin would continue to think that I’m the killer. Miss Yin, you are certainly very smart, very cunning.” Yin SuSu ignored his cynical tone, and simply responded with a smile, “Thank you for your compliment!”

    Zhang CuiShan became even angrier, and yelled, “Why did you try to frame me? Since when did I ever do anything to you?”

    Yin SuSu said with a smile, “I didn’t purposely want to hurt you. But since Shaolin and Wu Dang are known as the two most powerful institutions in the martial world. I really would like to see who would win in a battle.”

    After getting over the initial shock, Zhang CuiShan found himself feeling less hatred towards Yin SuSu, but more wary towards her. He thought, “Looks like there’s a huge plan here, much bigger than just trying to hurt me. If Wu Dang and Shaolin really were to fight each other, the martial world would be much less peaceful.”

    Yin SuSu remained quite calm, and said, “May I see the designs on your fan?”

    Before Zhang CuiShan could respond, they heard someone on Chang JinPeng’s boat yell, “Is this Huge Whale Clan’s boat? Who’s there?” Another voice responded, “This boat carries the young leader of the Huge Whale Clan. We’re here for the meeting on the WangPan Island.” The man on Chang JinPeng’s boat yell, “The Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Miss Yin and Branch Leader Chang of the Red Sparrow Branch are here. Plus there’s an honored guest. Please get back behind us.” The other person yelled, “If your leader were here, we’d surely let you go first. But no one else is worthy.”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Heavenly Eagle Sect? What kind of evil sect is that? How come I’ve never heard of them? They look to be quite formidable based on what I’ve seen. This sect must’ve been established only recently, and stayed mostly in the southern area. Which is why I’ve never met them.” He opened the cabin window and looked outside, only to see a boat with a sculpture of whale carved to its head, and several curved sabers on its side, decorated as whale teeth. This boat had a huge mast, allowing it to sail much faster than Chang JinPeng and his boats.

    Chang JinPeng yelled, “Young Leader Mai, Miss Yin’s here. How could you not give face to her?” A yellow-robed young man stepped to the front of the whale-boat gave a cold laugh and said, “On land the Heavenly Eagle Sect rules supreme, but on water you think you can compete with us? Why should we give you face on the river?” Zhang CuiShan thought, “This river is so wide hundreds of boats can travel simultaneously. Why do they have to make other boats travel behind them? This Heavenly Eagle Sect really is odd.”

    By this time, the wind picked up, and the Huge Whale Clan’s boat is now way ahead of them. Chang JinPeng let out a ‘humph’, and said, “Huge Whale Clan… Dragon Saber… also… Dragon Saber…” It’s really hard to distinguish what he said with the huge wind and the distance between the boats.

    When that Young Leader Mai heard him say ‘Dragon Saber’ twice, he became very interested, and ordered his man to sail back towards Chang JinPeng’s boat. Once nearly there, he asked, “Branch Leader Chang, what did you say?” Chang JinPeng said, “Young Leader Mai… our Branch Leader Bai… that Dragon Saber…” Zhang CuiShan thought, “That’s odd. Why does he speak in fragments?”

    Only to see the two boats moving closer and closer together, until they’re only a few feet apart. Then suddenly, Chang JinPeng picked up an iron anchor on his boat and threw it onto the other boat, Amidst screaming from two sailors, the anchor swooped down onto the whale-boat.

    Young Leader Mai yelled, “What are you doing?” Chang JinPeng didn’t respond, instead picked up the second anchor on his boat and also threw it onto the whale-boat, killing three sailors in the process. Now the two boats are locked tightly together. Young Leader Mai tried to pick up the anchor to get it off the boat. Meanwhile, Chang JinPeng waved his right hand, and accompanied by the sound of chains, a dark green watermelon shot out, hitting the main cabin of the Huge Whale Clan’s boat. Only then did Zhang CuiShan realize that this watermelon is Chang JinPeng’s weapon. It seemed to be made out of steel, two of them total, connected by a long chain. Each one incredibly heavy, at least sixty to seventy pounds. Only someone with incredible strength can make them move with such ease.

    After hearing a huge amount of noise, Zhang CuiShan saw that the watermelon had made a cut in the middle of the boat. While the sailors on the boat panicked, Chang JinPeng retracted his watermelon and then threw both onto the back end of the whale-boat. After a while, the boat began to split apart.

    That young leader could only watch helplessly as his boat broke apart.

    He yelled some obscenities at Chang JinPeng, who retorted, “As long as Heavenly Eagle Sect’s here, we also rule the water!” As he spoke he threw out his watermelons again, this time he made a hole at the bottom of the ship, causing water to begin flooding in.

    Young Leader Mai jumped up from his boat towards Chang JinPeng’s. Chang JinPeng waited till he’s right in the middle of his jump before sending out a watermelon with his left hand. While in midair, this young leader could not hope to dodge the oncoming weapon. He immediately blacked out upon impact and fell back to his own boat.

    By now, there are already several holes in the Huge Whale Clan’s boat, and its sailors could only try to hold on for dear life. Without needing any orders from Branch Leader Chang, the sailors on his boat retracted their anchors and resumed sailing.

    Zhang CuiShan was thoroughly impressed by Chang JinPeng, thinking, “Had my teacher not taught me the intricacies of borrowing force to release force, His attack on my back would’ve certainly killed me. Not only is this person’s kung fu amazing, he’s also devious and clever. Must be a powerful person among the evil sects.” He turned back and looked at Yin SuSu, only to see her expression calm and ordinary, as if she didn’t really care about any of this.

    Although these sailors knew how to swim, it’s still impossible for them to swim all the way to the side of the river. Many of them cried out for help. Chang JinPeng and Yin SuSu’s boats did not bother to stop for any of them.

    Zhang CuiShan looked out the window at the broken-down boat. He felt sorry for these sailors, but knew that considering Chang JinPeng and Yin SuSu’s merciless attitude, he could not persuade them to save those people.

    Yin SuSu looked at his expression, smiled, and yelled out, “Branch Leader Chang. Our honored guest Fifth Hero Zhang wants to do a good deed. Why don’t you save these people?” Zhang CuiShan could not believe that she would speak such words. Only to hear Chang JinPeng say, “I will carry out the request of our guest.”

    He then yelled, “Listen up people. Wu Dang’s Fifth Hero Zhang wants to save your lives. If you value your life, swim towards our boats!” The Huge Whale Clan people immediately swam towards the boats, most of them made it.

    Zhang CuiShan’s heart warmed, and said happily, “Thank you!” Yin SuSu said coldly, “The Huge Whale Clan kill people like objects. None of them are compassionate people. Why did you want to save them?” Zhang CuiShan was taken aback. He knew that the Huge Whale Clan is one of the four most brutal water clans in the country. Yet for some reason, he actually tried to save them today. Only to hear Yin SuSu say, “Had I not saved them, I bet Fifth Hero Zhang would’ve scolded me, ‘You are such a malicious young woman. I really regret having saved your life.’” Being told exactly what he had been thinking, Zhang CuiShan’s face turned red. He said with a smile, “You’re so cunning, how can I hope to argue over you? Saving those people will only help you atone for your bad deeds. It has nothing to do with me.”

    At this moment, the tide roared like thunder, shaking everyone’s ears. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu could hardly hear each other in this situation. Zhang CuiShan looked out the window, and realized that those people in the Huge Whale Clan who hasn’t been saved are likely all dead.

    Yin SuSu walked over to the back room, closed the door, and came back out a bit later, this time in woman’s clothing. She then made a gesture for him to take off his robe. Zhang CuiShan didn’t want to refuse her, and did as he’s told. He thought Yin SuSu wanted to mend his robe; instead she actually wanted him to put the robe she just taken off. Afterwards, Yin SuSu took the torn robe into the back room.

    With nothing else to wear, Zhang CuiShan could only put on the robe Yin SuSu handed him. This robe is quite big, and he had no problem fitting in it. A faint fragrance came from the robe. Zhang CuiShan’s mind shivered, and looked away from her. He simply sat in the cabin pretending to look at the paintings on the all. But with the huge tide rocking the boat, plus so many worries in his mind, Zhang CuiShan could not enjoy anything at the moment. Yin SuSu did not speak with him either.

    Suddenly the boat rocked hard again, even the candle was blown out. Zhang CuiShan thought, “It’s bad image for Miss Yin if she and I continue to stay in a dark room like this together.” So he opened the cabin door and sat outside, only to see the boatman desperately trying to hold the tiller, rowing the boat under these extreme conditions.

    After about an hour, the tidal waves dissipated. A while later, they’ve arrived at WangPan Island.

    The WangPan Island is located right at the mouth of river, where it flowed into the Eastern Sea. The island is filled with stone mountains, seemingly without residents. Two boats docked by the beach. Only to hear a horn blowing in the distance, to see two people waving flags on the beach. As the boat got closer, Zhang CuiShan saw that the two boats both have a large eagle on their flags.

    An old man stood on the shore between the two boats. Only to hear him say, “Black Valiant Branch’s Branch Leader Bai GuiShou welcomes Miss Yin.” His words long but clear, although not too loud, managed to show his impressive inner power. When Yin SuSu’s boat docked, he personally put up the plank. Yin SuSu asked Zhang CuiShan to go first, before she walked down to the shore to introduce them.

    How nicely Yin SuSu treated Zhang CuiShan, who introduced him to be the fifth hero of Wu Dang, really startled Bai GuiShou. He said, “It really is a pleasure to meet one of the renowned heroes of Wu Dang.” Zhang CuiShan returned with some courteous words.

    Yin SuSu said with a chuckle, “Your words are so insincere. One’s thinking, ‘Darn, Wu Dang’s also here. Yet another person who wants to steal the Dragon Saber.’ The other’s thinking, ‘Man of an evil sect, I could care less about associating with the likes of you.’ If you ask me, you really should just speak your minds.”

    Bai GuiShou laughed, while Zhang CuiShan said, “I did not mean any disrespect. Branch Leader Bai’s kung fu is superb. I was amazed at your ability to stretch your sound across the water. I am only here with Miss Yin, not to take the Dragon Saber.”

    Yin SuSu’s expression brightened considerably upon these words. Bai GuiShou knew of Yin SuSu’s icy personality, and was quite shocked that she would warm up to Zhang CuiShan. So one could imagine just how important he is to her. That plus the fact that Zhang CuiShan complimented on his own kung fu lessened Bai GuiShou’s enmity towards Zhang CuiShan. He said, “Miss Yin, Sea Sand Sect, Huge Whale Clan, and Divine Fist Sect’s people are all here. Plus two Kun Lun swordsmen came. These two kids are extremely arrogant, nowhere near as courteous as Fifth Hero Zhang…”

    As he said to here, they heard someone yell from behind, “And just how courteous is it to speak foul of others behind the back?” Two men in long, green robes appeared, with swords on their back. Both looked like they were in their late twenties, with an expression as if they want to cause some trouble.

    Bai GuiShou said with a smile, “Well, look who’s here. Come, let me introduce everyone.”

    Those two started to complain, but stopped when they were captivated by Yin SuSu’s amazing beauty. One simply stared at her. The other turned away immediately after a glance, but kept her in the corner of his eyes.

    Bai GuiShou pointed at the man staring at Yin SuSu and said, “This is Swordsman Gao ZeCheng.” Then he pointed to the other man and said, “This is Swordsman Jiang Tao. Both are prestigious members of the Kun Lun Sect. As this is their first visit to the central plains, I’m sure they can show us their incredible swordsmanship.”

    His voice was filled with sarcasm and disdain. Zhang CuiShan thought these two people would have drawn their swords, or at least rebutted Bai GuiShou, immediately. Yet for some reason, neither did anything, as if they never heard those words. Then Zhang CuiShan looked at their expressions, and figured out that they were so enchanted by Yin SuSu that they forgot about everything else. Zhang CuiShan chuckled inside, thought, “I’ve always heard that Kun Lun’s a very prominent sect, and is famous for its incredible swordsmanship. Who’d have thought that its disciples would be so ill-disciplined?”

    Bai GuiShou then added, “This is Wu Dang’s Mr. Zhang CuiShan. This is Miss Yin. This is Branch Leader Chang JinPeng.” He did not elaborate on these three people when he made the introduction. In fact, he even changed from calling Zhang CuiShan ‘Fifth Hero Zhang’ to ‘Mr. Zhang’, obviously to convey their closeness.

    Yin SuSu, pleased at his words, turned to look at Zhang CuiShan with a bright smile.

    Gao ZeCheng’s jealously immediately acted up, stared at Zhang CuiShan angrily, and said coldly, “Martial Brother Jiang, I thought I heard back in western regions that Wu Dang is one of the righteous sects in the central plains.” Jiang Tao said, “I believe I heard that too.” Gao ZeCheng said, “Guess the sayings weren’t all that accurate.” Jiang Tao said, “Really? Well, it wouldn’t be all that surprising, considering these rumors tend to be wrong most of the time. What’s this whole deal about Wu Dang anyway?” Gao ZeCheng said, “How could a disciple of a righteous sect mingle with the members of an evil sect? Guess he really likes to sink to their level.” They didn’t realize that Yin SuSu is also a member of the Heavenly Eagle Sect, and merely implied Bai GuiShou and Chang JinPeng when they said ‘evil sect’.

    After hearing these words, Zhang CuiShan immediately became angry. He wanted to rebut, yet stopped himself at the last moment. He thought that since his purpose was to look for Yu DaiYan’s killers, there was no need to quarrel needlessly. Besides, the Heavenly Eagle Sect really does deserve the title of an ‘evil sect’, as Yin SuSu and Chang JinPeng both treat killing people like eating dinner. He certainly should try to associate as little as possible with them. Zhang CuiShan therefore smiled, and responded, “Like my two friends, I’m also just newly acquainted with the Heavenly Eagle Sect.”

    These words really shocked everyone. Bai GuiShou originally thought that Yin SuSu and him were long time friends. He’d never imagine they’re newly acquaintances. Yin SuSu became angry immediately, as Zhang CuiShan’s words showed blatant disrespect towards the Heavenly Eagle Sect. Gao and Jiang laughed in their minds, thinking, “What a coward. He must be afraid of our Kun Lun Sect.”

    Bai GuiShou said, “Looks like everyone’s here. We’re only missing the young master of the Huge Whale Clan, but let’s not wait on him. Everyone can relax for a while, as we’ll gather at noon to show the saber.” Chang JinPeng said with a smile, “Young Master Mai’s boat had some trouble, but Mr. Zhang helped him out. He’s currently on my boat, and will make it to the ceremony.”

    Zhang CuiShan saw that these two branch leaders had treated him with great respect, while Yin SuSu’s gaze revealed much tenderness. But on further thought, he felt necessary to stay as far away from these people as possible. So he said, “I want to take a stroll alone.” Before anyone could respond, he turned around and started walking into a nearby forest.

    Although he felt extremely angry at Yin SuSu’s vicious behavior, there’s always much warmness in his heart whenever he thought about her. He thought, “This Miss Yin’s place in the Heavenly Eagle Sect is very high, but she’s not the leader. These two branch leaders treated her like a princess. I wonder what position does she hold?” Then he thought some more, “The Heavenly Eagle Sect obviously want to show off the Dragon Saber, yet they only sent two branch leaders to guard against these other sects. Obviously they felt no need for extra security. Bai GuiShou’s kung fu looks to be even higher than Chang JinPeng. From this I can deduce that the Heavenly Eagle Sect is indeed a very powerful group. I really should know more about them, in case they ever become enemies with Wu Dang.”

    As he was thinking, he began to hear weapons clashing in the distance. Out of curiosity, Zhang CuiShan walked towards the sound, only to see Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao practicing swords with each other in the distance, while Yin SuSu watched on the side. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Master always said that Kun Lun sword art is very unique. When he was young, he even fought against a famous Kun Lun Swordsman called the ‘Sword Saint’. It really is an amazing opportunity to see their sword art.” But it’s a big no-no to secretly watch others practice their kung fu, so although Zhang CuiShan really wish to keep watching, he turned away.

    However, Yin SuSu had discovered him by now and yelled out, “Come here, Fifth Brother Zhang.” If Zhang CuiShan began to leave now, he’d look like he was peeking. So he had no choice but to walk towards her. Zhang CuiShan said to Yin SuSu, “Since they’re practicing swords, we really should go away as to not distract them.” Before Yin SuSu could respond, a streak of light shined, as Jiang Tao’s sword made a cut on Gao ZeCheng’s left arm, blood came out. Zhang CuiShan froze, thought that Jiang Tao only accidentally injured Gao ZeCheng. Yet Gao ZeCheng didn’t even let out a sound. He simply continued to fight, each sword attack deadlier than the previous one. Zhang CuiShan was shocked to see them actually fighting for real.

    Yin SuSu said with a smile, “Looks like the older martial brother is worse than the younger one. Brother Jiang’s sword art is more exquisite.”

    When Gao ZeCheng heard these words, he bit his teeth, his fast sword stretched down at a slanted angle, using the move ‘Hundred Meters of Blazing Wind’, came slicing down from midair. Zhang CuiShan couldn’t help but yell, “Great sword technique!” Jiang Tao immediately evaded, but Gao ZeCheng’s just too experienced. In the middle of the technique, he immediately switched to a different technique. The sword tip trembled, piercing into Jiang Tao’s left leg. Yin SuSu clapped her hands and said, “Wow, looks like the elder martial brother has a few tricks up his sleeves. Guess he’s better after all.” Jiang Tao said, “Don’t be so sure.” And used the technique ‘Rain Poured on Flying Flowers’. This technique is very tricky. A real attack hides among seven or eight elegant deceptions to fool the enemy. But since Gao ZeCheng is very familiar with this technique, he was not fooled and blocked every attack. By now, both people are wounded. Although the wounds were not severe, one can still see blood spluttering out from the cuts. Their attacks became more and more ruthless, until near the end they seemingly wanted to take each other’s lives. Yin SuSu kept on encouraging them, complimenting a bit on Gao ZeCheng, then a bit on Jiang Tao. The two martial brothers became fueled to the point where they fought as if their lives depended on it.

    By now Zhang CuiShan realized that their fight was initiated by Yin SuSu, as revenge for their words against the Heavenly Eagle Sect. Although their techniques are intricate, Zhang CuiShan saw that the two martial brothers lacked experience and inner power. So their amazing sword art could only be exerted at about ten to twenty percent capacity.

    Yin SuSu clapped her hands and smiled brightly, as if she’s very happy. She said, “Fifth Brother Zhang, what do you think of their Kun Lun sword arts?” Before he could respond, she had turned her head around. When she saw the disgusted look on Zhang CuiShan’s face, she added, “Actually, their techniques are all crap. Let’s go watch the scenery over there at the beach.” Without waiting for his response, Yin SuSu grabbed Zhang CuiShan’s hand and began to leave.

    Zhang CuiShan’s heart stirred as her soft hand gripped his own. Although he knew she was using him to further ridicule Gao and Jiang, he still could not bring himself to break himself apart, willingly followed her to the beach.

    Yin SuSu stared into the distant sea, then suddenly said, “In the chapter ‘Water in Autumn’ of the book Zhuang Zi, there’s a passage which says, ‘All the waters in the world, none more than in the sea, thousands rivers flow here, not knowing when they could stop but not overflow.’ But the sea is not proud. It says, ‘I belong between the sky and the earth, just like small rocks and small plants are between the sky and the earth.’ Zhuang Zi really is an incredible book. Its philosophies are so deep and so overwhelming.”

    Zhang CuiShan had been quite mad at her for inciting Gao and Jiang into fighting, but could not help but froze at these words. Zhuang Zi is a must-read for all Taoists. When Zhang CuiShan was at Wu Dang Mountain, Zhang SanFeng had used it often to explain philosophies to his students. He could not imagine this devilish lady could recite such words. After he regained his composure, Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes, ‘walking a thousand miles, would not match its immensity, climb up a thousand steps, would not match its depth.’ ”

    As Yin SuSu heard his quoted description of the sea from ‘Water in Autumn’, she saw a deep admiration on his face. She said, “Are you thinking of your master?”

    Deeply shocked, Zhang CuiShan unknowingly reached out with his right hand and grabbed hers. He asked, “How do you know?” Years before, when he and his martial brothers were reading this book, Yu DaiYan commented on this exact passage. He said at the time, “As we learn more and more, it appears as if we’re moving backward. The more we learn, the more apart we seem to be from master. These words described master’s bottomless, unparalleled martial arts perfectly.” Both Song YuanQiao and Zhang CuiShan nodded in agreement. So when he recited those words just now, Zhang CuiShan immediately thought of his master Zhang SanFeng.

    Yin SuSu said, “Based on your expression, you must be either thinking of your parents, or a Wu Dang elder. But other than Taoist Zhang SanFeng, who else on this world can be described as ‘walking a thousand miles, would not match its immensity’?” Zhang CuiShan said happily, “You’re really smart.” But then quickly realized that it was not courteous to have grabbed her hands.

    Yin SuSu said, “Just how good is your master’s martial arts anyway? Can you tell me?” Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “It’s not just martial arts. His knowledge is so broad and so deep that I can’t even begin to describe.” Yin SuSu smiled, said, “ ‘The scholar walks, the scholar moves faster, the scholar dashes, the scholar like a spirit flies into the distance, disappearing just as I look up.’” This quote was made by Yan Hui in Zhuang Zi to compliment his master, Confucius. After hearing her describe his master this way, especially as Zhang CuiShan himself felt this towards Zhang SanFeng, he said, “My master doesn’t even have to fly. He simply needs to walk for me to fall behind.”

    With Yin SuSu’s cleverness, plus her wish to get on Zhang CuiShan’s good side, they had no trouble carrying on an excellent conversation. Sitting side by side on a large stone, the two forgot the outside world as they conversed.

    After a while, loud footsteps came from faraway, followed by someone clearing his throat, and said, “Mr. Zhang, Miss Yin, it’s noon now. Please follow me to the place where we’ll hold the ceremony.” Zhang CuiShan turned around, and saw Chang JinPeng standing ten paces behind them. Although his expression is in a very respectful manner, there’s a slightly grin on his face, looking like an old man being happy to see a lovely young couple together. Although Yin SuSu had always viewed him as a subordinate, she still could not help but blush at this moment, and turn away. Zhang CuiShan’s cheek turned red upon seeing them, even if he’s sure of his own integrity.

    Chang JinPeng turned around to lead them. Yin SuSu whispered to him, “Let me go first, so they won’t see us together.” Zhang CuiShan thought, “Since when did this young woman became so shy?” But he nodded anyway. Yin SuSu caught up with Chang JinPeng, asked, “What happened to those two Kun Lun idiots anyway?” Zhang CuiShan’s thoughts were filled with mixed emotions as he watched them disappear into the trees. Then he followed them into the mountain valley.

    Upon entering the valley, he saw a grassy plain filled with several tables. Other than an elegant table to the east, all others were filled. When Chang JinPeng saw him walking near, he yelled, “Here comes Wu Dang’s Fifth Hero Zhang!” He spoke these words clearly and loudly, his voice vibrated between the mountains. After the introduction, Chang JinPeng and Bai GuiShou came up to greet him. Bai GuiShou said, “Branch Leader Bai GuiShou and Chang JinPeng, under Sect Leader Yin, welcome Fifth Hero Zhang to our ceremony.”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Ah, so the their leader’s surname really is ‘Yin’!” He responded, “Thank your for welcoming me here.” As he walked passed by the other tables, Zhang CuiShan saw everyone staring at him strangely, but didn’t thought much of it. He did not know that none of the other people here were so seriously greeted as he had been, with both branch leaders and all their sub-leaders welcoming him personally. For the other groups, only one or two sub-leaders had greeted them.

    Bai GuiShou showed him to the table that wasn’t taken, on the east side. This table only has one chair, but nonetheless the most elegant one. Zhang CuiShan looked around, and saw around six or seven people at each other table. Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao sat at the sixth table. Zhang CuiShan said, “I really don’t deserve such a seat. Brother Bai, please move me somewhere else.” Bai GuiShou said, “Wu Dang is one of the most highly respected institutions in the martial world. That plus Fifth Hero Zhang’s fame, you’re more than qualified for this seat.” Zhang CuiShan remembered his master’s lesson on modesty, thought, “If big brother or master were here, they could certainly sit here. But I certainly do not deserve it.” So he once again refused the seat.

    Gao ZeCheng gave Jiang Tao a glance. Then Jiang Tao picked up his chair and threw it at Zhang CuiShan’s table, over five other tables. It landed perfectly in place, demonstrating his exquisite palm ability and inner power. Gao ZeCheng yelled, “Humph, ‘most highly respected institution’? I wonder if Wu Dang’s really worthy of the title. If you, Mr. Zhang, refuse to sit there, then let us brothers take your place.” The two flew like the wind over to Zhang CuiShan’s table, next to the chairs.

    For you see, Yin SuSu had told them earlier that she wanted to learn some Kun Lun sword art. Both brothers immediately pulled out their swords and began to show her their sword techniques. At first, they simply wished to get the upper hand and gain her favor. But with Yin SuSu adding fuel to fire with her words, the duel quickly got out of hand. Only when Yin SuSu left with Zhang CuiShan did the two realize that they had been duped. Obviously, the two were extremely angry, but neither could act up towards Yin SuSu. So they tried to take Zhang CuiShan’s seat in an effort to make him fight them, then they can make him look bad here in public.

    Chang JinPeng put up a hand to stop them, said, “Hold on!” Gao ZeCheng was about to object, when Zhang CuiShan said, “If the two honored guests wish to sit here, then go ahead. I’ll switch seats with you!” As he spoke he began to walk towards the sixth table where the Kun Lun brothers were sitting. Yin SuSu suddenly waved her hand at him, yelled, “Fifth Brother Zhang, come here”

    Zhang CuiShan wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, so he went to her side. Yin SuSu pulled up a chair and put it by her seat, said, “Why don’t you sit here?” Zhang CuiShan never imagined that she would say such a thing. Under the stares of others, he could not decide what to do. Agreeing would make it seem as if they have an intimate relationship, while refusing would make her look very bad. Yin SuSu whispered, “I need to speak to you about several matters.” Zhang CuiShan saw a hint of begging in her gaze, softened his heard, and sat down on the chair. Yin SuSu, euphoric at his decision, poured a cup of wine for him to drink.

    Although they managed to grab the main table, Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao now felt even angrier, but could not act up in public. Bai GuiShou swept some dust off the chairs and said with a smile, “If the Kun Lun guests wish to sit here, then be my guest. Please, sit!” As he spoke the people from the Heavenly Eagle Sect returned to their seats. Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao thought, “This worthless fellow is too scared to sit here. So obviously his Wu Dang sect is lesser than our Kun Lun sect.” The two looked at each other, and sat down.

    Only to hear a loud cracking noise, the chairs broke under them, and the two brothers stumbled to the ground, looking very awkward. But with their solid martial arts, the two quickly regained composure and got back up. Even so, everyone at the ceremony began to laugh wildly. Gao and Jiang realized that Bai GuiShou did something to the chair while dusting it. They both suddenly become conscious of just how powerful Bai GuiShou’s inner power was, much more powerful than either could’ve imagined.

    Only to hear Bai GuiShou said coldly, “We all know that the Kun Lun martial arts is amazing. You don’t have to beat up on two chairs to prove it. Besides, everyone can do this simple chair-breaking kung fu anyway, right?” He waved his right hand and spoke to the ten sub-leaders under his command, “Why don’t you all try it out?”

    Only to hear numerous cracking sounds, as ten chairs immediately broke apart. Those ten sub-leaders remained upright throughout the whole process, not moving a tiny bit while their chairs crumbled. Obviously this made them look much better than Gao and Jiang. Everyone here realized that Bai GuiShou was purposely making Gao and Jiang look bad. But the scene really was very entertaining, so they could not hold back their laughter.

    Amidst the laughter, two sub-leaders each carried a large rock towards the main table, kicked away the scraps of the broken chairs. One said, “I’m sorry that our wooden chairs could not support the two honored guests. How about sitting on this rock instead?” These two people are renowned strongmen in the Heavenly Eagle Sect. So although their martial arts are plain, they still have the innate strength to carry these two huge rocks, each no less than four hundred pounds. They walked in front of the two Kun Lun brothers, seeking to hand the rocks to them.

    The exquisite Kun Lun sword skills, unfortunately, would not be of any help to Gao and Jiang when it comes to catching rocks. Gao ZeCheng yelled, “Put that down!” The two strongmen did not listen, instead they raised the rocks above their heads and yelled, “Take it!”

    When they said this, Gao and Jiang immediately retreated a few steps. They were afraid that the two strongmen did not have enough strength, and might accidentally drop the rocks onto them. Although extremely angry, Gao and Jiang did not dare attack the two strongmen.

    Bai GuiShou said, “If the two Kun Lun guests do not want to sit down, perhaps we should give these chairs to Mr. Zhang!”

    Zhang CuiShan had been sitting by Yin SuSu, taking in her fragrance, feeling heavenly in his heart, without a care for the outside world. When Bai GuiShou yelled out his name, Zhang CuiShan quickly returned to reality, and thought, “I can’t fall into this demonic trap, and be so closely associated with this evil sect’s lady demon.” So he immediately got up and walked over.

    Although he had heard Chang JinPeng compliment Zhang CuiShan’s ability, Bai GuiShou had never seen anything himself. At this moment, he wanted to try Zhang CuiShan out. So he gave the two strongmen a meaningful glance.

    The two strongmen understood his intentions, walked over to Zhang CuiShan, and yelled together, “Be careful, Mr. Zhang. Please take it!” The two people bent their knees, then used their legs’ power to help throw the rocks upward and forward, aimed towards Zhang CuiShan.

    When the crowd saw this, they unwittingly all stood up to look.

    Bai GuiShou originally planned to simply test Zhang CuiShan’s martial arts, and not out of malevolence. One reason is out of curiosity, as ‘Wu Dang’s Seven Heroes’ are too famous in the martial world. Another is because Bai GuiShou could not believe the famous Zhang CuiShan is actually a scholarly looking person. Finally, he saw that the icy cold Yin SuSu, who don’t seem to care for anyone, was extremely thoughtful and gentle towards this ‘Fifth Hero Zhang’. This meant that Zhang CuiShan would likely be an important character for the Heavenly Eagle Sect later on. But now as he watched the two stones headed towards Zhang CuiShan, Bai GuiShou began to regret his decision. Being a renowned Wu Dang disciple, Zhang CuiShan could surely dodge the rocks, but doing so would make him look bad. Zhang CuiShan and surely Yin SuSu would both be extremely angry. He instantly made up his mind, that should something go wrong, he would immediately put the blame on the two sub-leaders. Better execute them than face the wrath of Miss Yin.

    Zhang CuiShan was very shocked to see two rocks about to fall on top of him. He couldn’t get out of the way, for then he’d look no better than the Gao and Jiang, making Wu Dang look bad. So without much thought, Zhang CuiShan called upon all his powers at this critical moment. His left hand wrote the right-hook in the character ‘martial’, redirecting the movement of the left rock. His right hand wrote the left-slant in the character ‘saber’, bringing along the right rock. The force of the two huge rocks falling down is quite enormous. Zhang CuiShan’s strong point is certainly not his arm strength. So for him to even catch one rock would be impossible. Fortunately, he has learnt the techniques Zhang SanFeng created from characters, which are some of the deepest martial arts philosophies in the world. The basis of Wu Dang’s martial arts lies not with speed, nor with power. Rather, it is all about the intricacies of using force. If one can apply the right amount of power at the right time, he can ‘move thousands of pounds using ounces of force’. Through years of learning and experience, Zhang CuiShan can use this concept readily. Borrowing the innate force of the throw, Zhang CuiShan easily redirected the directions of the two rocks directly upward.

    As his long sleeves danced, the hands hidden inside the sleeves, from onlookers’ view, seemingly had caught the rocks, only to hurl them up once again. The two rocks went up one after the other, then began to descent. Zhang CuiShan floated up, until he sat down upon the higher of the two rocks.

    Only to hear a loud thud, as the bottom rock hit the ground, making a huge dent in the ground. Immediately afterwards, the top rock fell on top of the bottom one, with Zhang CuiShan sitting calmly on top. He said with a smile, “The two sub-leaders’ strengths are astounding. You have my admiration.”

    Those two sub-leaders could only stare at him in silence, unable to get over the shock of what had happened.

    For a while, the whole place remained silent. Then everyone started to applaud, which lasted for a long time.

    Yin SuSu glanced at Bai GuiShou, her expression positively delightful. Bai GuiShou was thrilled that his ‘mistake’ now turned into a big favor for Miss Yin. He picked up a cup of wine, walked towards Zhang CuiShan’s table and said, “I’ve long heard of Fifth Hero Zhang’s fame, but only today was I able to personally see your amazing kung fu. Here’s a toast for you.” As he spoke he drank the wine. Zhang CuiShan said, “You’re too flattering!” and drank a cup of wine in turn.

    Bai GuiShou walked to the middle of the gathering, yelled, “My sect has recently acquired a new saber, called the Dragon Saber. Some have said, ‘Martial world’s most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow!’” He paused slightly here, his eyes swept through the entire field, letting the words sink in. Then he added, “Our Leader Yin originally planned for heroes everywhere to meet on Heavenly Eagle Mountain, so they can see our Dragon Saber. However, that would take too long to plan. We want some of our close friends to see the saber first, and spread the good word for us.” He waved his hands, and eight disciples walked into a nearby cave.

    Everyone looked at these eight disciples, thinking they went in to grab the saber. Instead, they came out carrying a huge iron pot. They used poles to lift the pot, as to avoid the giant fire burnt within. The eight disciples put the pot in the middle of the gathering. Everyone sitting immediately felt the warmth of the fire. After those eight people left, four more came, carrying a large iron anvil, while two others carried two heavy hammers.

    Bai GuiShou said, “Branch Leader Chang, please show us the Dragon Saber!”

    Chang JinPeng said, “As you wish!” He turned around and yelled, “Get me the saber!”

    The two strongmen walked into the cave. When they reappeared, one carried a yellow package, while the other guarded him. That sub-leader handed the package to Chang JinPeng, and retreated to his side. Chang JinPeng opened the package to reveal a single saber. Under the gaze of the audience, he unsheathed the saber, said, “This is the famous Dragon Saber. Watch closely!” He held the saber above his head, as if showing great respect.

    Everyone here had long known about the Dragon Saber, but saw that this black saber looked quite plain. They all wondered whether this saber was real or not. Only to see Chang JinPeng give the saber to the strongman on the left, and said, “Test the hammer!”

    That strongman grabbed the saber and put it on the anvil, the sharp edge facing up. The other strongman raised the iron hammer, brought it down upon the saber. Only to hear a soft scratching sound, the hammer split in half, one side stuck to the anvil, the other fell to the ground. Everyone gasped, stood up, and thought, “It’s not incredibly rare to see precious swords cut through gold or jade. But to cut through an iron hammer like tofu, without making much of a sound, is simply unheard of.

    Two people from the Huge Whale Clan and the Divine Fist Sect went up to examine the broken hammer, saw that the cut was clean and shiny, meaning that it was recently made.

    That strongman grabbed another large hammer, and once again brought it down up the saber, with the same result.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “I can’t believe there exist a saber as sharp as this one.”

    Chang JinPeng grabbed the saber and with a seemingly light stroke cut the anvil in half. He then went to the nearby forest, and in a single swoop, used the saber to cut through eighteen trees. But oddly enough, none of the trees even moved. Just as the crowd was wondering, Chang JinPeng pushed one of the trees slightly, and the top part came down. The saber did indeed sliced through all the trees. But since it was so sharp, and Chang JinPeng’s slice was horizontal, the trunks did not fall down upon cut. Heavy wind came at this moment, the rest of the trees fell.

    Chang JinPeng let out a hearty laugh, waved his hand, and threw the Dragon Saber into the iron pot.

    Suddenly, loud cracking noises came from afar, as if someone else is also cutting down trees. Bai GuiShou and Chang JinPeng looked at each other, then stared into the distance, only to see the ships’ masts all falling down one after another. Not knowing what’s going on, each sect sent some people to the dock to see what’s going on.

    Only to hear loud noises continue, as if the boats were all sailing within a thunderstorm. One after the other, the boats sank. Everyone gathered froze, not knowing what to say. At first, they thought it was some trick by the Heavenly Eagle Sect. But once they saw the Heavenly Eagle Sect ships sinking, they felt something else is going on.

    The sects sent a second group of people to check on things. Again, no one came back.

    Bai GuiShou said to one of the sub-leader, “Go check it out.” That sub-leader did as told. Bai GuiShou then turned to the audience, said with a smile, “Looks like there’s something odd going on at the beach. Don’t worry. Even if the boats are ruined, we can always make more. Come, let’s drink!” Although everyone’s uneasy about the situation, none wants to show weakness in front of others. So they all picked up their cups for a drink. Suddenly a loud scream came from afar.

    Chang JinPeng and Bai GuiShou both realize that this was the scream of the sub-leader they sent out. Then, heavy footsteps could be heard, followed by the appearance of a heavily wounded man, indeed the sub-leader they sent out.

    He held his hand over his eyes, as blood poured out the numerous heavy scratchs on his body. He yelled, “Golden-Haired Lion King! Golden-Haired Lion King!” Bai GuiShou asked, “Did you say it’s a lion?” He calmed down a bit hearing it was just an animal. That sub-leader said, “No! No! He was a person. He clawed to death all the people. He sank all the boats!” At this moment, his body fell to the ground, dead.

    Bai GuiShou said, “Let me go see what happened.” Chang JinPeng said, “I’ll go with you.” Bai GuiShou said, “You should stay and protect Miss Yin.” He knew that the dead sub-leader’s kung fu is quite formidable. Anyone capable of decapitating him like that must be very powerful. Chang JinPeng nodded and said, “Yes!”

    Suddenly they heard a voice, “Golden-Haired Lion King is already here!” Everyone gasped, only to see a man appear from behind the trees. He was tall and massive, with yellow hair over his head, his eyes shined, in his hand is a three-meter long mace. The way he stood and looked gave off the aura of a war god from Heaven.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Golden-Haired Lion King? He must’ve gotten the nickname from his yellow hair. But who is he? Master never mentioned someone like him.”

    Bai GuiShou went up to him and asked, “May I have your name?” That person said, “My surname is ‘Xie’, given name is ‘Xun’. I also have a nickname called ‘Golden-Haired Lion King’.” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu looked at each other, thought, “This person looks very coarse, but his name is quite elegant. His nickname is much more fitting.” Hearing him very mannerly, Bai GuiShou said, “So it is Mr. Xie. I do not believe that we have met. So why did you come to this island and start killing people?”

    Xie Xun smiled, showing bright white teeth. He looked around and said, “Why did everyone else come here?”

    Bai GuiShou thought, “There’s no reason to hide the truth from him. Although his kung fu is formidable, he still can’t possibly defeat Chang JinPeng and myself combined, with the help of Fifth Hero Zhang and Miss Yin.” He said, “The Heavenly Eagle Sect recently acquired a precious saber. We simply asked our friends to come take a look.”

    Xie Xun examined the saber currently lying inside the huge iron pot. Its ability to keep its natural color under so much heat certainly demonstrated the saber’s value. He began to walk towards the pot.

    Chang JinPeng saw his intentions, blocked the way, yelled, “Stop!” Xie Xun chuckled, said, “What do you want?” Chang JinPeng said, “This saber belongs to the Heavenly Eagle Sect. You can certainly examine it, but you cannot take it.” Xie Xun said, “Did you make the sword? Or bought it?” Chang JinPeng could not respond. Xie Xun continued, “You also took it from someone else. So if I take it from you, it’s hardly unfair. So why can’t I do it?” As he spoke he went to grab the saber.

    Chang JinPeng took out the watermelons from his waist, yelled, “Mr. Xie, if you don’t stop right now, I shall be obligated to use force.” Even as he spoke his warning, his watermelon had shot out. Xie Xun did not even turn around. He simply waved his mace behind him, blocked the watermelon and redirected it back towards Chang JinPeng. Chang JinPeng gasped, quickly threw out his other watermelon to block the one headed towards him. Unfortunately, Xie Xun’s power is just too strong. Upon impact, the second watermelons changed its directions too, and both now came back towards him. In an instant, they hit Chang JinPeng directly on the chest, killing him instantly.

    This sudden change of events shocked Chang JinPeng’s five sub-leaders. They immediately attacked Xie Xun. Xie Xun’s left hand grabbed the Dragon Saber, and then tipped over the iron pot with his mace. The fallen pot immediately hit three sub-leaders. Then it began to roll on the ground, hitting the other two. Four sub-leaders died immediately, while the fifth caught fire, and rolled on the ground in extreme pain.

    Everyone’s gasped at what has happened. Zhang CuiShan had seen many powerful fighters in the martial world, but never someone of Xie Xun’s caliber. He knew that he has no chance against Xie Xun. Even his big brother and second brother would not likely defeat him either. Other than his master, Zhang CuiShan could not think of a second person that is this man’s match.

    Only to see Xie Xun examine the saber, lightly flicked it with his fingers. He nodded, said, “Amazing, amazing saber!” He raised his head, looked at sheath besides Bai GuiShou, said, “Is this the Dragon Saber’s sheath? Give it to me.”

    Bai GuiShou realized that in this situation, he’s pretty much likely to be dead no matter what. If he handed Xie Xun the sheath, his fame would go down the drain, and will likely die a terrible death when the sect leader finds out. But of course, to disobey this man would mean certain death right now. So he said, “If want to kill me, just go ahead. Do you think I am afraid of death?”

    Xie Xun let out a smile, said, “Oh, a tough guy! Looks like there are some characters in the Heavenly Eagle Sect.” Suddenly he threw the Dragon Saber towards Bai GuiShou. With the Dragon Saber coming at him, Bai GuiShou wouldn’t dare block it with a weapon, nor try to catch it. He quickly evaded to the side. In a flash, ‘swoosh’, the saber entered the sheath on the table. It continued to fly forward with the momentum, until Xie Xun grabbed the saber with one of the spikes on his mace, causing it to fly backward, until it entered his hand again. Everyone was astonished by this strange way of sheathing a saber.

    Xie Xun looked left and right, said, “Is there anyone else who object to me taking this saber?” He asked this question twice, without getting a single response.

    Suddenly, a person from the Sea Sand Sect table rose, said, “Elder Xie is famous throughout the world. Of course, this saber should belong to Elder Xie. None of us would dare object.” Xie Xun said, “You are the chief helmsman of the Sea Sand Sect Yuan ChangBuo, right?” That person said, “Yes.” He was both happy and terrified that Xie Xun knew his name.

    Xie Xun said, “Do you know who my teacher was? Which sect I belong to?” Yuan ChangBuo stuttered, “Well… Elder Xie…” Actually, he knows nothing about Xie Xun. Xie Xun said coldly, “If you don’t know anything about me, then why do you say that I am famous throughout the world? I absolutely abhor people like you. Get out here!” His last sentence roared like thunder in everyone’s ears. Yuan ChangBuo, scared of his power, obediently got up and stepped forward with his head down.

    Xie Xun said, “The martial arts of the Sea Sand Sect is mediocre, but specializes in harming people using poisonous salt. Last year you killed Zhang DengYun’s family in the town of Yu Tao. Just this last month you killed Sea Gate Sect’s OYang Qin. Am I correct?” Yuan ChangBuo gasped, thought that considering how secretive these two cases were, how could Xie Xun have known about them? Xie Xun said, “Get your subordinate to bring out two large bowls of your salt. I want to see what it is.” Everyone in the Sea Sand Sect carries poisonous salts with him. Yuan ChangBuo wouldn’t dare disobey, so he could only ask his subordinates to bring out the salts, filling two large bowls.

    Xie Xun picked up one bowl and smelled it, then said, “We’ll each eat a bowl.” He put the mace on the ground, picked up Yuan ChangBuo, held down his chin, and stuffed an entire bowl of the salt down his throat.

    The deaths of the Zhang DengYuan family and OYang Qin were two unsolvable cases of the martial world in recent years. Both Zhang and OYang’s reputations were quite good. No one knew that the Sea Sand Sect’s Yuan ChangBuo killed them. Zhang CuiShan was actually happy to see him being force-fed poisonous salt.

    Xie Xun picked up the other bowl, said, “I’ve always been a fair person. If you eat bowl, so will I.” He opened his mouth and poured the whole bowl into his mouth.

    No one expected this turn of events. Zhang CuiShan saw that although he’s quite vicious, Xie Xun had quite a bit of righteousness in him. Besides, the people he’s been killing were all terrible people anyway. Overall, Xie Xun left a favorable impression in Zhang CuiShan’s mind. At this moment, Zhang CuiShan couldn’t help but yell, “Elder Xie, this person deserves to die. You don’t need to be fair with him.” Xie Xun turned to look at him, asked, “Who are you?” Zhang CuiShan said, “I am Wu Dang’s Zhang CuiShan.” Xie Xun said, “Oh, Fifth Hero Zhang of Wu Dang. Are you also here to take the Dragon Saber?” Zhang CuiShan shook his head, said, “I came to look for more information regarding my third brother’s injury. If you know something about this, please tell me.”

    Before Xie Xun could respond, Yuan ChangBuo screamed in pain, held his stomach tightly while rolling back and forth on the ground. After a while, he stopped struggling, and died. Zhang CuiShan quickly said, “Elder Xie. Hurry up and take an antidote.”

    Xie Xun said, “What’s the need? Give me some wine!” The Heavenly Eagle Sect member responsible for taking care of guests quickly brought a bottle of wine over. Xie Xun said, “Is the Heavenly Eagle Sect this stingy? Give me a big bowl!” That person then brought a big bowl and courteously put it in front of Xie Xun, but thought, “Drinking wine right after being poisoned, are you afraid that you won’t die quickly enough?”

    Only to see Xie Xun chug the whole bowl down his throat. This bowl held at least twenty-some pounds of wine, yet he managed to drink it all up in one gulp. He patted his stomach, opened his mouth, and a streak of liquid came out, hitting Bai GuiShou’s chest. Bai GuiShou felt like being hit by continuous streaks of iron pellets. Despite his high inner power, Bai GuiShou eventually began to falter, and then fell to the ground, unconscious.

    Xie Xun then turned upward, as the wine shot up and came down like rain over the Huge Whale Clan’s people. They all felt an unbearable odor coming from the water. Those without good inner power fainted. When the wine had entered Xie Xun’s stomach, it cleansed the stomach of the poisonous salt, turning the wine into poisonous wine. Then Xie Xun released it back out using his inner power, leaving very little in his stomach. Considering his inner power, this amount of poison could not hurt him at all.

    The leader of the Huge Whale Clan, upon seeing Xie Xun mock his clan this way, stood up in anger. But then thought better of it, and sat back down.

    Xie Xun said, “Clan Leader Mai, you plundered a seagoing ship this May, didn’t you?” Mai Jing’s face turned pale, said, “That’s correct.” Xie Xun said, “I know you are pirates. If you don’t plunder ships, then there’s no way for you to make a living. I don’t blame you for that. But to throw tens of innocent passengers overboard, raping and killing seven women aboard the ship… don’t you think that is way too cruel?” Mai Jing said, “Well… well… these are done by my subordinates. I… I didn’t participate.” Xie Xun said, “Your subordinates are a vicious lot, yet you do not discipline them. Isn’t that just as bad as you yourself doing these deeds?”

    Mai Jing thought of his situation, wished only for his own survival, took out his saber, said, “Cai Si, Hua QingShan, HaiMa HuLiu, I remembered that you three participated in that day’s events!” In three flashes, he cut down three people. These blows came so quick those three people had no chance to retaliate, all died immediately.

    Xie Xun said, “Good! Except it came too late, and against your own will. Had you killed these people at the time, I wouldn’t be here to duel with you today. Leader Mai, what is your most accomplished martial art?”

    Mai Jing thought, “I probably can’t last even three exchanges if I fight him on land. But on water, he’s no match against me. Even if I can’t beat him, at least I can swim away. Or could he swim faster than me too?” He said, “I want to see the elder’s underwater kung fu.”

    Xie Xun said, “Fine, let’s duel underwater.” He walked a few steps, suddenly stopped, said, “Hold on. If I leave, these people here might escape!”

    Everyone quivered, thought, “He’s afraid that we’ll escape? Does that mean he wants to kill us all?”

    Mai Jing said in a hurry, “Actually, I’m no match for Elder Xie underwater either. I’ll admit defeat.” Xie Xun said, “Really? Well, that saves me some time. Go ahead and kill yourself and be done with all this.” Mai Jing was taken aback, said, “But… but it’s just a duel. There’s no reason for the loser to commit suicide upon defeat…”

    Xie Xun yelled, “Don’t give me that crap! You think you’re worthy of dueling me? I’m here to take your life. For people like us who practice martial arts, it’s not a big deal for us to shed some blood. But I only kill people who knows kung fu, and despise those who oppress the weak, kill innocent civilians. I will not let anyone who have done these things get away.”

    When Zhang CuiShan heard this, he couldn’t help but glance at Yin SuSu, thought that she did indeed kill many innocents at the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. If Xie Xun knew about that, he would have to kill her too. Only to see Yin SuSu’s face pure white, her lips shivering. Zhang CuiShan thought again, “If Xie Xun really tried to take her life, would I protect her? If I did, then I would surely die. Besides, she would deserve it, but… but… can I really stand and watch him kill everyone like this?”

    Only to hear Xie Xun said, “Except I want you to die without regret, which is why I challenge you to your best martial arts skills. If you know of any skill you can best me at, I’ll let you go.”

    As he spoke, he grabbed two piles of dirt from the ground and mixed them with some wine, making two piles of mud. He said to Mai Jing, “Let’s see how long you can last without breathing. Let both of us cover our noses and mouths with these mud. Whoever couldn’t stand the lack of air first kills himself.” Without even asking for Mai Jing’s approval, he put one pile of mud over his nose and mouth, while slapping the other pile over Mai Jing’s.

    Although everyone thought this scene is pretty funny, no one could laugh out loud.

    Mai Jing took a deep breath right before the mud covered him. Then he sat down in a meditating position, motionless. He’s been catching fish under water since he was seven, and has amazing marine skills. Therefore, he was quite certain that there’s no way he could lose this duel, waited peacefully on the ground.

    Xie Xun, though, could not sit peacefully. He walked in front of the Divine Fist Sect’s table, stared at its leader Guo SanQuan.

    Guo SanQuan* felt very uneasy under Xie Xun’s gaze. He stood up and said, “How are you, Elder Xie. I am Guo SanQuan.”

    *Note: ‘San’ means ‘three’ and ‘Quan’ means ‘fist’.

    Xie Xun could not speak, but held out his right hand, dipped it into some wine, then wrote three characters on the table.” Guo SanQuan’s face turned gray immediately, looking like he just saw a ghost. His disciples all looked at the words, saw them to be ‘Cui Fei Yan’. His disciples thought, “ ‘Cui FeiYan’ is a woman’s name. Why would the master be so afraid of these characters?”

    Guo SanQuan himself obviously knew, for Cui FeiYan was the wife of a relative. He wasn’t able to rape her, and killed her instead. He thought, “Looks like he’s going to kill me too. I really should attack right now, while he couldn’t breathe. This way, he’s bound to lose to Mai Jing.” He yelled, “I would like to challenge you to a duel.” Before Xie Xun could respond, his fist shot up, aimed at Xie Xun’s lower abdomen. The second fist immediately followed the first one. His ‘three fist’ name came from his amazing power in the fist. One fist can knock down a bull. Most martial artists could last at most three fists from him. He knew at the moment that he better hurry, for once Mai Jing could no longer hold out, Xie Xun would take off his pile of mud and be able to breath again. Anyone who can’t breathe while fighting would be at a severe disadvantage.

    When he attacked twice, Xie Xun could block them, but with much less power than when he had fought Chang JinPeng. Guo SanQuan yelled, “The third fist is coming!” This third fist has a name, called ‘One Sweep Across Thousands of Soldiers, One Blow to Knock Down Ten Thousand Horses’. It’s his best technique. He had won many fights using this move.

    By this time, Mai Jing’s face had turned red, with sweat pouring down his head, obviously unable to hold out much longer. Young Leader Mai, seeing his father in such a critical condition and Xie Xun fighting elsewhere, came up with an idea. He grabbed a hairpin from a lady sect member, and tried to stick it into his father’s mouth. Although it might hurt his father’s lips, at least the hole made by the hairpin would ensure air going in.

    At this moment, a pebble came in his direction, breaking the hairpin into two pieces. The tip flew up, Young Leader Mai let out a loud scream, clutched his right eye, only to see blood coming down from his right eye, pierced by the hairpin tip.

    Mai Jing raised his hands to wipe the mud off, but Xie Xun threw out two more pebbles, breaking the joints on his shoulders, preventing his arms to move.

    At this exact moment, Guo SanQuan’s third fist came directly at Xie Xun’s lower abdomen. He thought Xie Xun would obviously try to evade, but for some reason Xie Xun did not move at all. The punch landed perfectly. But upon impact, Guo SanQuan realized that something was wrong, for that part of the body should’ve been very soft, while his fist felt like it hit a stone wall. But it was too late, as the impact reverberated back into his body, and he fell back, dead.

    Xie Xun turned around, only to see Mai Jing now lay on the ground dead. He first wiped away the mud on Mai Jing’s face, checked his breath, then wiped the mud off his own face. He faced the sky and yelled, “These two people had been terrorizing society for too long now. Considering that they were able to live till today, the punishment came too late.” Then he quickly turned towards the two Kun Lun swordsmen, first at Gao ZeCheng, then at Jiang Tao, but did not speak for a long time.

    Gao and Jiang’s faces turned white, put their hands on their swords, stared back at Xie Xun. Zhang CuiShan knew that they are Xie Xun’s next targets, stood up, and said, “Elder Xie, the people you had killed all deserved to die. But if you kill without justification, then what makes you so different from them?”

    Xie Xun smirked, said, “What’s the difference? My kung fu is excellent, their’s are mediocre. The strong prevails over the weak. That is the difference.” Zhang CuiShan said, “The difference between humans and animals is that we can tell the difference between right and wrong. If the strong always oppress the weak, then how are we different from animals?”

    Xie Xun laughed out loud, said, “Do you think humans really knows right from wrong? Today, our Emperor is Mongolian. He can kill as many Hans as he wished. Are you going to discuss right and wrong with him? If the Mongolians want Han people’s children and property, they simply take them. If anyone resists, the Mongols kill him. Are you going to discuss right and wrong with them?”

    Zhang CuiShan pondered for a moment, then said, “The Mongolians’ actions are no better than animals. That’s why all proud Hans detestat them, hoping that one day we shall drive them off our lands.”

    Xie Xun said, “Before the Mongols came, we had Han emperors. Do you think they care about right and wrong? Yue Fei was a loyal court official, yet Sun GaoZong executed him. Qin Gui was a treacherous court official, yet he lived a prosperous life, enjoying unlimited riches.” Zhang CuiShan said, “The Southern Song’s emperor was indeed a terrible one, making use of wrong court officials, finally gave our land over to the Mongolians. His wrongdoings had terrible consequences. That’s why we must be righteous, to avoid regretful consequences.” Xie Xun said, “You’re right, the emperor was indeed terrible. However, most of the people these Mongolians killed were civilians. Tell me, what evils have these innocent civilians done to deserve such fate?” Zhang CuiShan paused.

    Yin SuSu suddenly answered, “The civilians have no power to retaliate. So it’s quite normal that they’d be slaughtered.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “The reason we practice martial arts is to help those in need, defend the weak who can’t protect themselves. Elder Xie’s martial arts is unparalleled. If you use your skills for the good of the people, many will benefit.”

    Xie Xun said, “What’s so good about being righteous? What’s my benefit for doing righteous things?”

    Zhang CuiShan paused. Since he was a child, Zhang CuiShan had been taught that one learns martial arts for righteousness. Yet he never really thought of the benefits of being righteous, only felt like it’s just simply the right thing to do. After a while, he said, “Well, if you do good deeds, then you’re on the side of justice. Doing good deeds will lead to good fortune. Doing bad deeds leads to bad fortune.”

    Xie Xun laughed wildly, said, “What a load of crap! Do you really believe that?”

    Zhang CuiShan thought of Yu DaiYan. His third brother had only done righteous things in his life, yet for no reason at all, he was gravely injured. Even he himself now isn’t so sure he believed these words. Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “Sometimes its hard to understand the workings of Heaven. We can only try to be true to our hearts. Whether this results in good fortune or bad fortune, is not something we can control.”

    Xie Xun looked at him, said, “I’ve long heard that your teacher Zhang SanFeng’s martial arts is unmatched in the world, but unfortunately never had the chance to meet him. You are one of his top disciples, yet you are so mediocre. Guess there’s no reason to visit him after all.”

    Zhang CuiShan, fuming at these words that belittled his master, said angrily, “Do you think you’re worthy to judge my master’s abilities? Your kung fu is extremely high, but still nowhere near my master’s level.”

    Yin SuSu hurriedly pulled on the back of Zhang CuiShan’s robe, telling him to bear with Xie Xun for the moment. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Life and death is not big of a deal, but I can’t let down the Wu Dang name.”

    Oddly enough, Xie Xun did not become angry. He said calmly, “Zhang SanFeng started the Wu Dang Sect. So there must be something extraordinary about him. The philosophy of martial arts is unlimited and boundless. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s much superior to myself. Perhaps one day I will visit Wu Dang just to meet him. Fifth Hero Zhang, what is your best kung fu? I’m quite interested to see.”

    End of Chapter 5

  7. #7
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 6: Floating Northward in the Endless Sea

    (Translated by Meh)

    Yin SuSu turned pale upon hearing Xie Xun’s challenge towards Zhang CuiShan, after seeing Bai GuiShou, Chang JinPeng, Yuan ChangBuo, Mai Jing, Guo SanQuan, and others all died in Xie Xun’s hands. Although Zhang CuiShan has incredible kung fu skills, he’s still no match for Xie Xun. She said, “Elder Xie. Now that the Dragon Saber is in your hands, and everyone recognizes your superior kung fu, what else could you possibly want?”

    Xie Xun said, “There’s an old saying regarding this saber. Do you know about it?” Yin SuSu said, “Yes, I’ve heard about it.” Xie Xun said, “It’s been said that anyone who holds this saber will rule the land. But what exactly is the secret that makes it so powerful?” Yin SuSu said, “Elder Xie is much more knowledgeable than I am. Please enlighten us.” Xie Xun said, “I don’t know either, which is why I need to find a peaceful place to find out.” Yin SuSu said, “Oh really? Elder Xie’s intelligence is unparalleled. If you can’t even figure it out, then I’m sure no one else in the world could.”

    Xie Xun said, “Although I am arrogant, there are still many who are superior. For example, Shaolin’s Reverend Kong Wen…” He paused here for a moment, a hint of regret appearing on his face, “… Shaolin’s Reverends Kong Zhi and Kong Sheng, Wu Dang’s Taoist Zhang SanFeng, the leaders of E Mei and Kun Lun. All of them have unbelievable skills. Although the Qing Hai Sect lies far in the western regions, its kung fu is mysterious and exceptional. The Ming Sect’s Left and Right Messengers… Awesome! Even your Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Leader Yin, White-Browed Eagle King, is an exceptional talent. I doubt I could defeat him.”

    Yin SuSu stood up and said, “Thank you for your kind words.”

    Xie Xun said, “I want this saber, but so do others. Leader Yin made a mistake, for there is no one here who can match me in kung fu. He thought that Branch Leaders Bai and Chang were more than enough to handle the likes of the Sea Sand Sect or the Huge Whale Clan. But he never expected someone like me here…” Yin SuSu cut in, “It’s not that Leader Yin made a mistake. Something important came up at the last moment, so he couldn’t make it.” Xie Xun said, “That makes more sense. Had Leader Yin been here, I would’ve never came. First, because I doubt I could defeat him. Second, because we used to be old friends, so it would look quite bad for me to take saber from him openly. Leader Yin had always been a calculative person. It would seriously hinder his image for this saber to fall into my hands.” Yin SuSu, upon knowing that he was a friend of Leader Yin, decided to try to talk him out of challenging Zhang CuiShan, said, “It’s really hard to figure out how people think, how the Heaven thinks. That’s why the saying goes, ‘Planning depends on man, While success depends on Heaven’. Elder Xie really is lucky that you can obtain the saber so easily. While others who might’ve spent countless hours caculating could not.”

    Xie Xun said, “After it came into existence, this saber had been in possession of countless people. Each died from owning the saber. Even though I have the saber today, what’s there to guarantee that a more powerful person wouldn’t take it from me?”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu looked at each other, thought that there’s something deeper behind Xie Xun’s words. Zhang CuiShan thought once again of Yu DaiYan, who was injured only because of his relationships with the Dragon Saber. While he himself is now likely to die after simply viewing this saber.

    Xie Xun sighed, said, “Both of you are knowledgeable in both philosophy and martial arts, look handsome and beautiful. If I killed you, it would be like shattering two priceless porcelains, a pity really. But I have to kill you two.” Yin SuSu asked, “Why?”

    Xie Xun said, “If there’s anyone left alive on this island, soon everyone will know that I had obtained the Dragon Saber. By then, many will come to take the saber away from me. I’m certainly not invincible. How could I be sure that the saber won’t be taken away? Forget others for a moment, just White-Browed Eagle King himself might possibly defeat me, not to mention all the other capable people in the Heavenly Eagle Sect who could help him.” As he spoke, he shook his head, said, “Yin TianZheng’s both outer and inner power strength and ferocity are unparalleled, and has my greatest admiration. To think, back in the days…” He sighed deeply, shook his head.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “So the leader of the Heavenly Eagle Sect is called Yin TianZheng.” He said coldly, “Are you going to kill us all to prevent any witnesses?” Xie Xun said, “That’s correct.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Then why do you have to point out the crimes of those people before killing them?” Xie Xun laughed, said, “This is so you people can die without regret, so you can die a little happier.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Looks like you’re a kind person.”

    Xie Xun said, “Who in this world can escape death? What’s so different from dying a few years earlier and a few years later? It’s a shame that you two youngster, Fifth Hero Zhang and Miss Yin, would die such an early death. But in the context of history, your deaths really would mean nothing. Even had Qin Gui not killed Yue Fei back then, would Yue Fei have survived till today? One person should only ask to die in a peaceful fashion. It’s not easy for us martial artists to die without regrets. That’s why I want to challenge everyone here to their most accomplished ability, so they can die fairly. You two are still young, so I’ll give you a break. Choose any form of competition you like: weapons, fists, inner power, hidden weapons, lightness kung fu, underwater kung fu, whatever. I’ll agree to anything.”

    Yin SuSu said, “Well, aren’t you arrogant. Anything’s ok?” From Xie Xun’s words, she knew that there’s no chance to escape. WangPan Island is isolated from everywhere else. With two Branch Leaders on hand, the Heavenly Eagle Sect would certainly not feel that reinforcements are needed. So although her words are sharp, her tone was quite uneasy.

    Xie Xun thought, “Wait a minute. What if she proposes that we compete in embroidery? Or brushing hair or applying makeup? Then what do I do?” So he said, “Obviously it must be a martial arts competition. Or did you want to compete in eating and drinking? Actually, I’d probably win in those competitions too. Alas, I really don’t want to kill a lovely young couple like yourselves.”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu’s faces both turned red upon hearing the words ‘a lovely young couple’.

    Yin SuSu’s elegant expression turned to a frown, asked, “If you lose, will you commit suicide too?” Xie Xun said with a smile, “How can I lose?” Yin SuSu said, “There’s always a chance to lose in any competition. This Fifth Hero Zhang is a renowned disciple. He just might be better than you at something.” Xie Xun said, “Even if he knows exquisite techniques, there’s no way his inner power is close to mine.”

    While they conversed, Zhang CuiShan thought, “What should I choose to compete with him? Lightness Kung fu? My newly learnt fist form?” Suddenly he thought of something, and asked, “Elder Xie, if you force me to fight, then I shall agree to one. Should I lose, I will commit suicide immediately in front of Elder Xie. But what if we drew?”

    Xie Xun said, “Then we compete in something else, until there is a winner.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Fine. Should I win, I won’t ask you to commit suicide, just to grant me a single request.” Xie Xun said, “Agreed. Now state your rules.”

    Yin SuSu said with great concern, “What are you going to compete in? How sure are you of success?” Zhang CuiShan whispered, “Not sure. I can only try my best.” Yin SuSu whispered, “If you lose, then lets try to escape.”

    Zhang CuiShan did not respond, thought, “Where can we escape now that the boats have all sunk?” He adjusted his robe and took out his Iron Judge’s Brush. Xie Xun said, “I’ve heard that you are known as ‘Iron Brush and Silver Hook Zhang CuiShan’. Where’s your Silver Tiger Hook? Why not take it out.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I don’t want to fight you, just compete in writing some words.” As he spoke he walked over to a high, mountain, with a smooth cliff. Zhang CuiShan took a deep breath, and jumped high into the air. His Wu Dang’s lightness kung fu absorbed the best of each other sects. At this moment of life and death, he obviously used it to its full potential. As his body rose several meters into the air, Zhang CuiShan used the advanced ‘Cloud Stairs’, lightly tapped the side of the mountain, and shot up several more meters. The judge’s brush on his right hand swiftly began to make strokes upon the stone surface. Quickly, the word ‘martial’ appeared. After he finished, he began to drop down.

    At this moment his left hand took out his silver hook, which quickly held on to the side of the cliff, allowing him to regain his balance. Then his right hand wrote out the world ‘world’. Each word contained all of Zhang SanFeng’s original ideas from that night, encompassing both hard and soft techniques. The words demonstrated some of the deepest martial arts philosophies of the Wu Dang style. Although the words aren’t deeply etched due to Zhang CuiShan’s shallow inner power, the speed and detail in which he wrote them are incredible.

    When finished, Zhang CuiShan followed it with the word ‘most’, and ‘venerable’. He began to write faster and faster, only to see dusts falling down the cliff, until twenty-four characters were etched onto cliff. This engraving really seemed like Li Bai’s poem: “[Seriously, you don’t REALLY think I can translate a non-butchered version of a poem by the most famous poet in China, do you? Now pretend that you’ve just read something very beautiful, very poetic, and very applicable to this situation. Use your imagination, folks! ^_^ ]”

    When Zhang CuiShan finished writing the last character, ‘compete’, he pushed off on the cliffs with both the brush and the hook. With a flip in midair, landed by Yin SuSu’s side.

    Xie Xun kept on staring at the words, after a long, long moment of silence, he finally sighed, said, “I can’t write that. I lost.”

    For you see, the way these twenty-four words were written involved ideas that only Zhang SanFeng thought up of. Each stroke contains a powerful technique. Even Zhang SanFeng himself, before the night he invented these techniques, would be hard pressed to duplicate Zhang CuiShan’s work. Xie Xun obviously did not know the details regarding the origins of Zhang CuiShan’s writing. He only thought that Zhang CuiShan wrote these exact words out of inspiration, upon seeing the Dragon Saber. Had Zhang CuiShan been forced to write any other words, he would not be able to create such a great piece of composition

    Yin SuSu clapped her hands loudly, yelled, “You lost, can’t go back on your promise.”

    Xie Xun looked at Zhang CuiShan, said, “Fifth Hero Zhang’s calligraphy really is one of a kind. I’ve never thought I’d see anything like this. You have my admiration. What do you demand?” Because of his promise, Xie Xun had to say this, but he obviously did not wish to in his heart.


    Zhang CuiShan said, “When it comes to knowledge, I’m far inferior to Elder Xie. It would be hard for me to ‘demand’ something. But I do have a single request.” Xie Xun said, “What is that?” Zhang CuiShan said, “You may take the Dragon Saber off the island, but leave everyone here alive. You may have everyone here swear that they do not reveal your secret.”

    Xie Xun said, “Do you think I’m that stupid? That I’d believe their stupid promises?” Yin SuSu said, “Since you lost, you have to do what he says. Or are you going back on your promise.”

    Xie Xun said, “So what if I don’t deliver on my promise? What are you going to do?” But after thinking a while, he felt his words sounded very unreasonable. So he said, “I’ll spare you two’s lives, but not the others.” Zhang CuiShan said, “The swordsmen from Kun Lun are disciples of a righteous sect. You really should…” Xie Xun shook his head, said, “Who cares? Doesn’t matter who they are. Hurry up and tear off two pieces of cloth from your clothing. Stuff them into your ears. Then cover your ears with your hands. If you value your life, do as I say now.” He spoke the last few sentences in a whisper, as if afraid someone might hear him.

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu looked at each other, not knowing what he planned on doing. But considering Xie Xun’s serious tone, they both did as directed.

    Suddenly they saw Xie Xun opened his mouth, as if yelling loud. Neither could hear what he’s yelling, but they could feel the ground vibrate, only to see everyone else with their mouth open, as if screaming in pain. Their faces then turned pale, almost in torture. After a while, one behind another, they fell to the ground.

    Gao and Jiang immediately went into a meditative position when they heard Xie Xun, trying to fight off the noise with inner power. Sweat came pouring down their heads quickly afterwards. Several times they tried to cover their ears, but failed each time. Until finally, they suddenly jumped up into the air, fell down, and stopped moving.

    Xie Xun closed his mouth, made a gesture, so Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu took out the cloth in their ears. Xie Xun said, “These people are now all unconscious from my scream, but their lives won’t be in danger. When they wake up, they’ll become retarded and forget everything in their past. This way, they won’t divulge my secret. Fifth Hero Zhang, I’ve granted you your request. I did not kill any of them.”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “Although you did not take their lives, their situation is possibly worse than death.” He absolutely despised the cruel manner in which Xie Xun did things. Looking at the people on the ground, he shuddered at the thought of what would happen to him should he had heard that roar.

    Xie Xun’s face remained expressionless, said, “Let’s go!” Zhang CuiShan said, “Where to?” Xie Xun said, “Back home, of course! What else is there to do here?” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu looked at each other, both thought, “Looks like we’ll have to be with this demon for another day. What else might happen during this time?”

    Xie Xun led them over a mountain in the back of the island, until they saw a boat docked by the beach. Xie Xun walked to the boat, bowed, and said, “Please step up onto the boat.” Yin SuSu smirked, said, “Well, since when did you turn into a gentleman?” Xie Xun said, “By coming onto my boat, you are my honored guests. Of course I should be courteous to you.”

    After getting on the boat, Xie Xun made a hand gesture, ordering the sailors to leave shore.

    There are sixteen sailors, yet they all used hand gestures with each other, as if they’re all mute. Yin SuSu said, “You are certainly something, to be able to find so many mute-deaf sailors.”

    Xie Xun said, “What’s so hard about that? First I find some illiterate sailors. Then I shatter their hearing with a roar. Then feed them some drugs to make them mute.”

    Zhang CuiShan shuddered inside. Yin SuSu clapped her hands, and said with a smile, “That’s a great idea. Since they’re deaf-mute, they certainly could not divulge your secrets. Too bad you need them to sail, or you’d probably blind them too, I bet.” Zhang CuiShan looked at her, said in a lecturing tone, “Miss Yin. Why do a girl like you only think of ways to hurt people? This is a sad story. How could you laugh at it?” Yin SuSu stuck out her tongue at him, about to argue, but thought better of it upon seeing his expression. Xie Xun said calmly, “After I get back to the mainland, of course I’ll blind them.” Zhang CuiShan looked at the sailors, thought, “In a day you’ll all be blind too.”

    The masts raised, the ship began to move. Zhang CuiShan said, “Elder Xie. Are you just going to leave these people here? How are they going to get back?” Xie Xun said, “Mr. Zhang. You are a pretty good guy. The only problem is that you’re too mindful of other people’s businesses. What’s wrong with leaving these people here on their own?” Zhang CuiShan realized that it’s impossible to talk any sense into this man, and decided to stop talking altogether. He thought, “Although most people on the island aren’t good people, it’s still a terrible fate that they’ve suffered. The elders of Kun Lun sect would surely look for their disciples now that they’re going to die here. Unfortunately, yet more troubles in the martial world.”

    For the past years, the seven Wudang heroes had always gotten the upper hand in any confrontation they’ve faced. Who’d have thought that he, Zhang CuiShan, would be a prisoner here on this boat? Angry and dejected, he decided to calm down and meditate, ignoring Yin SuSu and Xie Xun.

    After a while, he looked out the window into the sea, staring at golden the sun setting in the distance, a beautiful scene. Suddenly, he trembled, thought, “Wait, why is the sun setting to the back of the boat?” He turned around and asked Xie Xun, “The sailors are sailing in the wrong direction. We’re going east.” Xie Xun said, “I know. We’re supposed to go east.”

    Yin SuSu said in shock, “But there is only water to the east. Where are we going?”

    Xie Xun said, “Haven’t I been clear enough? After getting this saber, I want to seek a place to rest, to find the secret of the Dragon Saber, to know why it can rule over the martial world. In the central plains, there’s no way I can hide for very long before someone find out about my secret. Then I’d have to spend a ton of effort just fighting off those seeking the Dragon Saber. Besides, should those enemies be the likes of White-Browed Eagle King or Zhang SanFeng, I might lose the saber too. No… it’s much better to rest in a faraway island, where I can settle down.”

    Yin SuSu said, “But you have to take us back first.” Xie Xun said with a smile, “Wouldn’t my secret be divulged upon your return?” Zhang CuiShan stood up and said loudly, “Then what do you want?” Xie Xun said, “Simple. I just want you two to live on the island with me.” Zhang CuiShan said, “What if you can’t even figure out the secret after eighteen years? Xie Xun said, “Then you’ll live with me for eighteen years. If I never figure it out, then you’ll live with me forever. You too are a perfect match for each other. How about becoming husband and wife on the island, and have kids? Heheh, now wouldn’t that be nice?” Zhang CuiShan yelled angrily, “Don’t you dare say that sort of thing!” He looked around, only to see Yin SuSu’s head lowered, her face incredibly red.

    Zhang CuiShan shuddered, realized that if he spent any more time with Yin SuSu, he might not be able to control his emotions. Xie Xun’s a powerful opponent, his heart is yet another one. It really is best for him to leave this place as soon as possible. Suppressing his anger, Zhang CuiShan said, “Elder Xie, you should know about my reputation. I am willing to make a solemn promise, that I will not divulge anything I saw and heard today.”

    Xie Xun said, “I’ve heard of your reputation, that your words can be trusted. But I made a promise when I was twenty-eight. Look at my finger.” As he spoke he raised his left hand. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both saw that his pinky on the left hand has been cut off.

    Xie Xun said, “That year, the person I respected, loved the most ruined me. He killed my whole family, my parents, wife, and kid. From that moment on, I promised to never trust a single person again. Today I am now forty-one. For the past thirteen years I’ve only been friends with wild animals. I trust animals, but not people. In these years I’ve killed more humans than animals.”

    Zhang CuiShan shuddered, realized just why has no one heard of him despite his amazing kung fu. That event when he was twenty-eight must’ve devastated him. That’s why he has turned his hatred upon society. Zhang CuiShan originally only despised Xie Xun, but now he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. After a while, he said, “Elder Xie. I take it you’ve already had your revenge.”

    Xie Xun said, “No. The person who ruined me is superior at kung fu. I can’t beat him.” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both gasped, said, “Better than you? Who is this person?” Xie Xun said, “Why should I speak of him? It only brings back painful memories. If it weren’t for revenge, why do I need to take this saber? To find out its secret? Mr. Zhang, I really like you. Otherwise, I would’ve never let you two lived in my usual temper. It’s certainly quite abnormal for me let you live a while longer. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a problem.”

    Yin SuSu said, “What do you mean by ‘a while longer’?” Xie Xun said, “When I understand the secrets within this saber and leave the island, that’s the day I shall kill you. So the longer it takes for me to find the secret, the longer you two shall live.” Yin SuSu let out a ‘humph’, said, “Actually, this saber is just a bit sharper than other weapons, and can withstand lots of heat. What secret could it possibly contain? I bet ‘Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow’ simply meant that it can break all other weapons into pieces.”

    Xie Xun sighed, said, “If what you’re saying is true, then the three of us will live on the island forever.” Suddenly his expression turned pale, as if he felt this just might be the case. Then he would have no chance at revenge.

    Zhang CuiShan wanted to say some word to lessen his worry. Only to see Xie Xun blow out the candle, said, “Let’s go to sleep.” Followed by a long, deep sigh, which contained infinite pain, infinite despair, almost inhuman, as if wild beast sighing before its death.

    The cold wind came into the cabin again and again. Yin SuSu did not wear much. After a while, she began to quiver. Zhang CuiShan whispered to her, “Miss Yin, are you cold?” Yin SuSu said, “I’m fine.” Zhang CuiShan took off his robe and said, “Put this on.” Yin SuSu was very grateful, said, “You don’t have to. You’re cold too.” Zhang CuiShan said, “I’m not afraid of the cold.” As he spoke he put the robe on Yin SuSu’s hand. Yin SuSu took it and put it over her shoulder, still feeling the warmth of Zhang CuiShan’s body on the robe. She felt very content in her heart, and couldn’t help but smile brightly in the darkness.

    Zhang CuiShan, on the other hand, was only thinking of ways to escape. After a long time, he felt that there’s only one way out, “We must kill Xie Xun to escape.”

    He listened closely at his surrounding, only to hear heavy breathing from Xie Xun mixed with the sounds of the ocean. He thought, “He had made a promise to not trust another person. So why can he sleep so soundly in the same room as us? Does he have a special sixth sense that guards him from sneak attacks? Either way, I must attack now. Otherwise, I’d have to waste my entire life on an island with him.” He quietly moved towards Yin SuSu, so he could whisper in her ear. But Yin SuSu unexpectedly turned toward him at this exact moment. As a result, Zhang CuiShan’s lips fell right on top of Yin SuSu’s.

    Zhang CuiShan was shocked, about to explain his rudeness, but didn’t know where to start. Yin SuSu happily put her head on his shoulders, at the moment she only felt infinite warmness and kindness in her heart. Her only wish was for this boat to remain sailing on forever, as she would gladly remain in this exact moment for the next hundred years. Suddenly she heard Zhang CuiShan whisper by her ear, “I’m very sorry, Miss Yin.” Yin SuSu’s face had long been bright red, as if a big, red flower had grown on her face. She whispered back at him, “I’m very happy that you really like me.” Although she’s always been brash, and kills people without hesitation, Yin SuSu is still like any other girl when it comes to her first romance. Surprise, happiness, and confusion all mixed into her heart. If it weren’t for the darkness, there was no way she would’ve said those words.

    Zhang CuiShan was incredibly surprised. He never thought his apology would make her divulge her true feelings. Yin SuSu’s dazzling beauty is rarely seen, and from the very beginning has had feelings for him. These eight words further showed exactly where her heart lies. Even though Zhang CuiShan is upright and straightforward, and never thought about romance, his heart has nonetheless been moved at this moment. Only to feel her soft body resting on his shoulders, a faint fragrance entered his nose. He wanted to say something romantic towards Yin SuSu, but then suddenly remembered, “Zhang CuiShan. In a dangerous situation like this, how could you be so undisciplined? Have you forgot all about your master’s teachings? Even if you love her, and she loves you, she’s still born of an evil sect, and has done terrible things in her life. At least you should wait till you’ve met the master, and have him officially arrange a marriage for you. How can you do this sort of indecent deed in a dark room like this?” When Zhang CuiShan thought of this, he immediately straightened up, then whispered into Yin SuSu’s ear, “We need to find a way to get this person under control, so we can escape.”

    Yin SuSu was originally in a daze, but quickly returned to reality, asked, “How?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “If we attack him in his sleep, it would be very dishonorable. In a moment, I’ll wake him up and match palms with him. You can immediately release your silver needles from the side. Although it’s not right to fight two-on-one, he’s too powerful for either one of us. This is our only chance.”

    These words were spoken very softly. Plus, Zhang CuiShan had his mouth stuck tightly on Yin SuSu’s ears when he spoke. Yet before Yin SuSu could respond, Xie Xun started to laugh, said, “If you had snuck up on me, even though it wouldn’t have been successful, at least you had a tiny chance. Yet you just had to maintain your righteous image, and fight me openly. Well, you asked for it.” When he finished his sentence, Xie Xun’s body dashed towards Zhang CuiShan, his palm aimed at Zhang CuiShan’s chest.

    Zhang CuiShan had been gathering chi at the moment Xie Xun started to speak. By the time Xie Xun attacked, Zhang CuiShan matched his palm, using Wudang’s ‘Soft Palms’ in return. As the palms touched, Zhang CuiShan felt his opponents’ force came crushing down upon him like a mountain. Zhang CuiShan knew his opponents inner power is far superior to his own, and has long decided to concentrate only on defending.

    Xie Xun’s force came in three waves, only to feel that Zhang CuiShan’s power is much weaker, but never declining, never exhausted. No matter how powerful his palm strike is, Zhang CuiShan somehow managed to block it. Xie Xun raised his left hand and attacked Zhang CuiShan’s forehead. Zhang CuiShan blocked it with the technique ‘Golden Support Beam’. Wudang’s strength lies in its minuteness, vastly different from other sects’. So despite their huge difference in ability, Xie Xun could not finish off Zhang CuiShan in a short period of time.

    Sweat poured down Zhang CuiShan’s face, his strength nearly gone, thought, “Why haven’t Miss Yin used her silver needles yet? Xie Xun is just concentrating on me right now. If she attacks him, then he’ll have to release his palm to block the needles, at which time I could wound him with my palm.

    Of course, Xie Xun thought of all this too. He originally planned to take out Zhang CuiShan with one swift blow. Unfortunately, he underestimated his opponent, for Zhang CuiShan’s inner is much better than he imagined. As the two matched palms, both studied Yin SuSu’s movements. Zhang CuiShan could not break off concentration to speak, but Xie Xun had no such problems, said, “Little girl. I suggest you don’t try anything brash. For if I changed my palm into a fist, I can easily break all the bones in his body.”

    Yin SuSu said, “Elder Xie, I’ll simply promise that we shall follow your orders. Please let go of him.” Xie Xun said, “Mr. Zhang, what do you think?” Zhang CuiShan couldn’t speak, but he thought angrily, “Come on, release your silver needles. How could you not take advantage of an opportunity like this?” Yin SuSu said hastily, “Please release your palms, Elder Xie. If you hurt him, I’ll fight you till my last breath.” Actually, Xie Xun is quite afraid of Yin SuSu’s needles. This cabin is quite small. The needles are tiny and move without sound. He really would have much trouble blocking them. He could kill Zhang CuiShan immediately, but doesn’t really want to, thought, “This little girl must be afraid of me, which is why she hasn’t made a move yet. If this continues, the result would be bad for everyone.” So he said, “Then you make a promise on his behalf.” Yin SuSu paused for a moment, then said, “Fifth Brother Zhang, I know we’re no match for Elder Xie. Let’s just follow him to his island for a year or two. With his intelligence, he’s bound to figure out the Dragon Saber’s secrets by then. I’ll make the promise for you!”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “What stupid promise? Hurry up and fire the needles!” He hated the fact that he couldn’t talk, nor make any gestures in the darkness. Besides, with his hands tied, Zhang CuiShan couldn’t make any hand signals anyway.

    Yin SuSu did not hear any response from Zhang CuiShan, so she said, “I, Yin SuSu, and Zhang CuiShan will remain with Elder Xie on his deserted island, until he finds the secrets to the Dragon Saber. Should we break the promise, we shall die under a saber or sword.”

    Xie Xun said with a smile, “What’s so special about dying under a sword or saber for people like us?”

    Yin SuSu gritted her teeth, said, “Fine, then let me die before the age of twenty!” Xie Xun let out a hearty laugh, and retracted his palms.

    Yin SuSu quickly lit up a nearby candle, only to see Zhang CuiShan’s face looking like gold paper, his breathing very subtle. She hastily grabbed a handkerchief from her pocket and began to wipe away the sweat off of Zhang CuiShan’s face.

    Xie Xun said with a smile, “Wow. Wu Dang disciples really are worthy of their fame.”

    Zhang CuiShan had been annoyed at Yin SuSu for not firing her needles, but as he saw her teary, worrisome face, Zhang CuiShan began to appreciate her genuine concern. He took a deep breath, about to say something to her, when suddenly he blacked out, only to seemingly hear Yin SuSu yelled, “Xie Xun, you’ve tired Fifth Brother Zhang to death. I’ll kill you.” But Xie Xun simply laughed her off.

    Suddenly, Zhang CuiShan’s body fell to the side, rolling on the ground for a moment, while hearing Xie Xun and Yin SuSu both scream at the same time. Amidst their screams, the massive wind howled, and huge waves began to bombard the boat continuously.

    Zhang CuiShan’s whole body shivered, his mouth drank a large amount of salt water. Originally semi-conscious, he’s now fully awake. His first thought was, “Has the boat sunk?” He doesn’t know how to swim, and immediately try to stand up. The deck below his feet suddenly tilted to the left, and a batch of seawater poured out the boat. Hearing the huge wind howling, Zhang CuiShan felt his whole body drenched with water. Before he realized exactly what had happened, Xie Xun yelled, “Zhang CuiShan, hurry to the back of the boat and grab the helm!” This yell sounded like thunder. Even while in a this huge storm, his voice still carried a strange splendor. Zhang CuiShan did not think too deeply, immediately went to the back of the boat, only to see a black shadow flash before his eyes, as a sailor got washed off the boat, and into the sea.

    Before Zhang CuiShan made it to the helm, another tidal wave struck, this one hit like a brick wall, severely shaking the boat. By this time Zhang CuiShan had gathered up all his ability, his two feet fixed tightly to the boat’s surface, as if they were nailed to it. When the wave passed, he quickly darted towards the helm, holding the steering wheel.

    Only to hear ka-cha-cha, ka-cha-cha sounds in the distance, as Xie Xun waved his mace, tearing down the front and the middle masts.

    But even with just one mast in the rear, the boat still danced wildly in the sea. Xie Xun wants to roll up the back mast, but couldn’t in this weather, as part of it has sunk into the water. Xie Xun yelled angrily, “Damnable Heaven, stupid wind!” Seeing the boat about to tip over, Xie Xun was forced to cut off the rear mast too.

    Without the masts, the boat can no longer change directions, and can only travel to where the wind takes them.

    Zhang CuiShan yelled loudly, “Miss Yin, where are you?” He yelled several times, without hearing any response. After a while, his yells contained crying. When suddenly, a hand held on to his knees.

    By the time another wave had passed, that hand had grabbed his neck. A voice said, “Fifth Brother Zhang. Do you really care for me this much?” Indeed the voice of Yin SuSu. Zhang CuiShan, joyous at her appearance, grabbed the helm with his right hand, Yin SuSu’s body tightly with his left, said, “Thank goodness!” He thought happily, “Oh, she’s still here. She didn’t fall into the sea.” At this moment when each wave could easily wash them into the sea, Zhang CuiShan suddenly realized that his concern for Yin SuSu outweighed even his own life.

    Yin SuSu said, “Fifth Brother Zhang, let us die together.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes! SuSu, let us die together.”

    Under normal circumstances, there would be many apprehensions regarding them being together, like the fact that one’s good and one’s evil. So even if they were in love, it would not be nearly as close as they are right now. At this moment, in this dark, tumultuous environment, where each moment maybe their last, there is only unspeakable serenity in each person’s heart. Despite the fatigue Zhang CuiShan suffered in his duel against Xie Xun, he has never felt more energetic now due to Yin SuSu’s affection, and therefore could hold on to the helm tightly.

    All the mute-deaf sailors had now been washed into the sea. Only Xie Xun and Zhang CuiShan’s powerful martial arts kept them from having the same fate. Thankfully, the boat is incredibly sturdy, and kept together despite getting hit wave after wave.

    In this type of weather, no one knows just which direction they’re headed. Even if they did, it wouldn’t have mattered, for they could not control the ship anyway.

    Xie Xun walked to the rear of the ship, said, “Brother Zhang, that was great, now let me take over the helm. You two should go rest inside the ship.

    Zhang CuiShan stood up, and was about to go into the cabin with Yin SuSu, when another wave hit. This one came very unexpectedly, and threw Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu overboard.

    With the sea right below them, Zhang CuiShan instinctively grabbed Yin SuSu’s wrist with his left hand. His only thought was, “To die with her under the sea, never to part again.” Just as he grabbed Yin SuSu, a rope tied around his right hand, only to feel his whole body being pulled backward. For Xie Xun had noticed what had happened, and saved them by throwing out a rope. With two loud thuds, the two people landed back on the boat again. This escape from death was certainly quite unexpected. Even Xie Xun thought they were quite lucky. If he hadn’t had a rope by him, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu would’ve been dead by now.

    Zhang CuiShan carried Yin SuSu into the cabin, while the ship still floated among the huge waves, their fate yet very much unknown. But after going through that near-fatal situation, both people had stopped caring about life and death. Inside Zhang CuiShan’s embrace, Yin SuSu said into Zhang CuiShan’s ears, “Fifth Brother Zhang, should we live through this, I’ll be with you forever.” Zhang CuiShan’s heart jumped, said, “I wanted to say the same thing. Whether in Heaven or Hell, on Earth or under the sea, we’ll always be together.” Two hearts as one, they actually began to appreciate this storm that brought them together.

    In Xie Xun’s mind, though, there’s only extreme anger and complaint. No matter how strong his martial arts ability, he’s still at the mercy of the wind and water. Only the Heavens can determine fate.

    After about six hours of perpetual storm, the sky finally cleared, revealing bright stars above.

    Zhang CuiShan walked to the rear end of the boat, said, “Elder Xie, thank you for saving our lives.” Xie Xun said coldly, “Don’t thank me just yet. Our lives are still at the mercy of this Damnable Heaven.” Zhang CuiShan has never heard anyone put the word ‘damnable’ in front of ‘Heaven’. He thought a person must be incredibly angry at the world to think such a thing. He then pondered, it looks as if they’re going to float on this boundless sea forever, without really any chance of returning home. For this to happen just at the moment he and Yin SuSu fell in love, is like to have just tasted the finest wine in the world, only to have it snatched away. Hearing Xie Xun’s use of ‘Damnable Heaven’, he finally could understand just what the phrase ‘fate toys with humans’(common Chinese proverb) means.

    Zhang CuiShan sighed, and then took over the helm. Xie Xun went to take a rest after working hard all night.

    Yin SuSu sat by Zhang CuiShan’s side, and looked at the stars in the night sky above. She found the North Star, and saw that the water is carrying them in that direction. She said, “Fifth brother, this boat is continuously moving north.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes! Hopefully it will go west too, so we can return to the mainland.”

    Yin SuSu was spellbound at the scenery for a while, before saying, “I wonder where we’ll end up if this boat continues east.” Zhang CuiShan said, “There’s only water to the East. We don’t have any water, so we can only last seven to eight days…” Yin SuSu, who had just experienced love, still felt like living in a dream, and didn’t want to think about the negatives. She said, “I heard that there’s a celestial mountain in the Eastern Sea. Immortal beings live on that mountain. Perhaps we’ll sail to that mountain, meet gods and goddesses…” Then she pointed to the Silver River*, said, “Perhaps we’ll sail right into the Silver River. When we get there, we’ll see the Cow Herder and the Lady Weaver meeting on the Magpie Bridge**.”

    *Note: Chinese term for the Milky Way.

    **Note: For those who don’t know, ‘The Legend of the Cow Herder and the Lady Weaver’(pinyin: Nuo2 Lang2 Zhi1 Nu3) is a very popular romantic folk tale. Here’s what I know about it, although I’m not sure how detailed or accurate I am:

    **(Note, cont…) The Chinese Mythology is similar to Greek mythology, in that the gods live in a world of their own. In Chinese myth, the gods’ world is simply Heaven. An Emperor and an Empress rule the Heaven. They had seven daughters. One of them is the Lady Weaver (the star constellation Vega in the sky, or Lady Weaver star constellation for the Chinese). Lady Weaver one day decided to sneak down to the world of the mortals(aka Earth). She then fell in love with a cow herder. They got married and had two children together. However, the Empress found out about their relationship, and needless to say got really pissed. She went down to Earth to take back her insolent daughter. On their way back to Heaven, the cow herder chased after them, carrying their two children in two buckets, which he carried using a pole on his shoulder (The Cow Herder star constellation, not sure of its English name, is aptly three stars, a bright one in the middle, with two dimmer stars to its sides). To stop him from chasing, the Empress took out her hairpin, and made a cut through the sky, creating the Silver River(Milky Way). The cow herder could not get across the river, and could not therefore see Lady Weaver again.

    **(Note, cont...) However, their tale deeply moved the magpies(magpies are a type of bird, which are suppose to be the bearer of good news in ancient Chinese superstitions). So on the seventh day of the seventh month of each year, thousands of magpies would fly above the Silver River and make a bridge filled with birds. This way, the cow herder and Lady Weaver could meet on the bridge. <End Folk Tale>

    Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “We can give the boat to the Cow Herder, so if he wants to meet Lady Weaver, he can just take the boat over, instead of having to wait till the seventh day of the seventh month for the magpies.” Yin SuSu said, “If we give the boat to the Cow Herder, then how are we going to meet?” Zhang CuiShan said, “In Heaven or Hell, on Earth or under the sea, we’ll always be together. Since we’re going to be together, then why would we need to cross the Silver River?” Yin SuSu smiled brightly, as if a flower bloomed on her face. She held Zhang CuiShan’s hands, gently caressing it.

    The two has thousands of romantic words to say to each other, but don’t have to really say any at all. After a long, long time, Zhang CuiShan lowered his head, only to see tears flowing down Yin SuSu’s eyes. He said in shock, “Why are you so sad?” Yin SuSu said softly, “On Earth, under water, I might be able to stay with you. But when we die, you will go to Heaven, and I… I… will go to Hell.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, that won’t happen.”

    Yin SuSu sighed, said, “I know I’ve done too many evil things in this life. I’ve killed so many people that I’ve lost count.” Zhang CuiShan shuddered, and realized that her vicious ways really makes her a flawed match for him. But because he’s too in love with her, and they’re most likely going to die soon in the middle of the sea, he did not think too much about it. He tried to calm her, “As long as you can correct your ways, everything will turn out fine.” Yin SuSu did not say anything. After a while, she began to sing.

    She sang with the tune of the ‘The Hillside Sheep’.

    “He and I, I and he, so worried about each other. Enemies, how could we become fated to love, by dying in front of the gates of Hell, letting the devil torture, getting beat by a mallet, boiled in a frying pan, ouch! [followed by some other words of torture , too lazy to translate…]”

    Suddenly they heard Xie Xun yell in the cabin, “Great song. Miss Yin, that’s much more to my liking that this fake gentleman here.”

    Yin SuSu said, “You and I are both evil people. Fate will certainly bring us misfortune.”

    Zhang CuiShan whispered, “If you ever have a misfortune, then I’ll have the misfortune with you.”

    Yin SuSu yelled happily, “Fifth brother!” so happy could not add another word.

    The next morning had clear skies, and Xie Xun used his mace to catch some fish. After starving for a couple of days, the three people didn’t really care that the fishes were raw. There is no fresh water on the boat, so they drank fish blood for water.

    The sea continued to carry them northward, facing the North Star each night. The Sun continued to rise on the right, and set on the east. Their directions did not change for over ten days.

    The temperature became colder and colder. Due to their high inner powers, Xie Xun and Zhang CuiShan had no problems coping, but Yin SuSu’s health began to deteriorate. Xie and Zhang both took off clothes for her to wear, but that still didn’t help. Seeing her faint smiles, trying to fight off the cold, Zhang CuiShan felt unspeakable pain in his heart. He thought that if they continued north, Yin SuSu would certainly die from the cold.

    However, their luck finally came when the boat met a school of seals. Xie Xun killed several seals with his mace, and they then covered themselves in sealskin, so thick they felt like putting on a coat. They also ate the seal meat.

    That night, Yin SuSu asked with a smile, “What’s the best wild animal in the world?” The three of them answered together, “Seals!” At that moment, they heard a sound from the front of the boat, only to see a large chunk of ice hitting the side of the boat.

    Their moods turned sullen upon seeing this. As they travel further and further north, the temperature would get colder and colder. Until the boat would likely freeze, which would be the day they die.

    The next morning, they found chunks of ice. Xie Xun smiled bitterly, said, “I can’t believe this. I tried to find the secrets to the Dragon Saber, and ended up turning into an iceman. What a joke.”

    He picked up the Dragon Saber, and said angrily, “To Hell with this saber!” He then tried to throw it away, but stopped at the last moment, sighed, and put the saber back into the cabin.

    After four more days, the surface of the sea is now mostly covered with think pieces of ice. The three of them decided to ignore their condition. But that night, they heard a thunderous noise, trembling the entire boat.

    Xie Xun yelled, “Awesome! It’s a big iceberg!”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu smiled bitterly, but still held on to each other tightly, only to feel cold water up to their legs, as the boat began to sink. They heard Xie Xun yell, “Jump up to the iceberg. Even living an extra day or so would be good. Humph, the Damnable Heaven wants me to die now, but I won’t let him get his wish.”

    Zhang and Yin went to the head of the boat, only to see the moon’s silver rays reflected off the iceberg, a very beautiful, but also terrifying, sight. Xie Xun is already sitting on the side of the iceberg, reached out with his mace, so Yin SuSu and Zhang CuiShan both could use it to get onto the iceberg.

    The boat disappeared after a while.

    Xie Xun put two sealskins on the ground, so they can sit on top of them. This iceberg looks like a small hill, about sixty meters long, thirty meters across, much more spacey then the boat. Xie Xun looked around, said, “This is actually not a bad place. I can stretch a bit here.” As he spoke he got up and walked around. Although the iceberg is very slippery, Xie Xun’s steps are as secure as they would be on normal ground.

    The iceberg floated with the water, yet still towards the north. Xie Xun said with a smile, “Looks like this Damnable Heaven sent us a boat, so we can go to the North Pole to meet the North Pole’s immortal old man.” With the man she loves by her side, Yin SuSu seemed to be satisfied completely. Even had the sky fallen, she would still not have cared. Of the three people, only Zhang CuiShan worried about their situation.

    The iceberg floated for another seven days. In the daytime, the sunlight created a blinding light upon reflected off the iceberg, so they had trouble seeing. The three then decided to simply sleep during the day. Then they would catch fish and other animals at night. Oddly enough, the days became longer and longer as they sailed further north, until daytime lasted twenty-two hours. The night seemed to pass in an instant.

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu’s health became worse and worse, but Xie Xun seemed to be quite well. Each day, he would point to the sky and curse continuously at Heaven.

    One day, while Zhang CuiShan’s sleeping, he suddenly heard Yin SuSu screaming in his dream, “Let go of me, let go of me.” Zhang CuiShan immediately woke up, only to see Xie Xun holding Yin SuSu’s shoulders, his expression that of a wild animal. Zhang CuiShan had been worrying about Xie Xun’s expressions lately, but never thought he’d try to hurt Yin SuSu. He said in a hurry, “Let go of her!”

    Xie Xun said threateningly, “You bastard. You killed my wife. Fine, I’ll kill your wife today, leaving you to live alone in this world.” As he spoke his left hand began to choke Yin SuSu’s throat. Yin SuSu let out an ‘Ah’ in response.

    Zhang CuiShan said in shock, “I’m not your enemy. I didn’t kill your wife. Elder Xie, please regain consciousness. I am Zhang CuiShan, not your enemy.”

    Xie Xun froze for a moment, yelled, “Who is this? Is she your wife?” Zhang CuiShan, seeing Xie Xun choking Yin SuSu, hastily said, “She’s Miss Yin, Elder Xie. Not your enemy’s wife.”

    Xie Xun yelled madly, “Who cares? My wife was killed, my mother was killed, I’m going to kill all the women in the world!” As he spoke, his grip tightened, so Yin SuSu couldn’t even let out a sound.

    Zhang CuiShan realized that Xie Xun was mad, and couldn’t be reasoned with. So he quickly gathered his energy, and shot out his palm towards Xie Xun’s back. Xie Xun met the palm with his own. With the slippery surface, Zhang CuiShan fell onto the ground. Xie Xun’s right foot came up, about to kick him on the waist. Zhang CuiShan quickly tapped the ground with his hand, and sprung his body back up. Xie Xun then took back his foot, and instead, his right palm came at Zhang CuiShan’s forehead.

    Yin SuSu turned around, and attacked with her left hand, aimed at Xie Xun’s head. Xie Xun ignored her and concentrated on Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan matched his palm, only to find himself unable to gather up much chi from his body. As Yin SuSu hit Xie Xun on the forehead, she felt something very hard hitting her hand, and retracted her palm in pain. Xie Xun turned to look at her, his eyes bright red, as if there’s fire burning within them. He tightened his grasp even more.

    Just at this moment, light shined from the north side, many different strands of light, very suddenly in the darkness. First came purple lights, each strand darker and longer than the previous. Within the purple light carried golden light, blue light, green light, and red light. Xie Xun, in his surprise, gasped, and put down Yin SuSu. Zhang CuiShan felt that the force coming from Xie Xun gradually dissipated.

    Xie Xun, with his hand behind his back, walked towards the light, and simply stared at it. Of course, the light they’re seeing right now is the aurora borealis. But no one in China at that time had seen it.

    CuiShan held Yin SuSu closely, their hearts beating rapidly.

    Xie Xun, for the rest of the night, did not move, simply stared at the light. When daytime came, he regained his consciousness, and started to converse normally.

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both thought, “No wonder he’s so sad. His parents and wife were all killed. Wonder who the killer was?” Afraid that Xie Xun might go crazy again, they did not broach the subject with him.

    Many days passed by, when Xie Xun started to act abnormally again with his curses, and his eyes turned red. Although they never talked about it, both Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu were careful to guard against another attack.

    One day, when the sun did not set at its usual time, Xie Xun yelled, “Damn it! Even the sun is trying to piss me off now. If I had a bow and arrow, I’d shoot you down this instant!” Suddenly he grabbed a piece of ice and threw it towards the sun. After traveling about sixty meters, the ice dropped into the water. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu thought, “Wow, what arm strength. I probably can’t even throw half as far.”

    Xie Xun threw one piece of ice after another, until he threw about seventy pieces. He found that no matter how many he threw, the son still remained too far for him to hit.

    Yin SuSu said, “Elder Xie, perhaps you should rest a while. Ignore the sun.”

    Xie Xun looked back at her, staring into her eyes. Yin SuSu was terrified, but forced a smile. Xie Xun suddenly screamed, jumped up and quickly grabbed her, yelling, “Choke you to death! Choke you to death! Why did you kill my mother, why kill my son?” Yin SuSu felt like an iron hoop gagged around her neck, and this hoop became tighter and tighter.

    Zhang CuiShan tried to pry Xie Xun’s arm off of Yin SuSu, but could hardly move it. Seeing Yin SuSu about to die, Zhang CuiShan’s attacked Xie Xun, hitting the ‘Shen Dao Point’ on Xie Xun’s back. His fist felt like hitting a solid rock, while Xie Xun continued his grip on Yin SuSu. Zhang CuiShan yelled, “If you don’t let go, I’m going to use weapons.” When he saw Xie Xun ignoring him, Zhang CuiShan took out his Judge’s Brush and pointed at Xie Xun’s ‘Xiao Hai Point’ on his arm. Xie Xun retracted his right hand from Yin SuSu, and grabbed the brush with it, then threw the brush into the sea.

    Feeling the grip loosening, Yin SuSu quickly spun out of his hold. Xie Xun’s left hand reached for Zhang CuiShan’s head, while his right hand tried to grab Yin SuSu’s shoulder, tearing off a piece of Yin SuSu’s seal coat. Zhang CuiShan knew that if he simply dodged Xie Xun’s attacks, Yin SuSu would be caught. So instead of running away, he attacked Xie Xun, using the Soft Palm’s ‘Carefree Flying Flower’. Strangely, when his palm met Xie Xun’s, he felt like being pulled in, unable to get free.

    After controlling Zhang CuiShan, Xie Xun dragged him along while chasing Yin SuSu. Yin SuSu jumped away, but before she could get back to the ground, Xie Xun stomped on the ice with his foot, and several ice pellets flew out, all hitting her on the right leg. Yin SuSu let out a scream and fell down.

    Xie Xun then sent out a huge force towards Zhang CuiShan, pushing him backward, flying. This push was so strong Zhang CuiShan landed by the edge of the iceberg. With a slip as he tried to regain his footing, Zhang CuiShan fell off the edge, into the sea.

    End of Chapter 6

  8. #8
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 7: Who Sent the Ice Boat to This Heavenly Village

    (Translated by Meh)

    The silver hook in the left hand reached out, holding onto the ice mountain, then Zhang CuiShan sprung back up to the surface. He thought Yin SuSu must be in Xie Xun’s hands by now. But instead, only to see Xie Xun’s hands covered his eyes, yelling in pain, while Yin SuSu lied on ice.

    Zhang CuiShan quickly picked her up. Yin SuSu whispered, “I… I hit his eyes…” Before she could finish, Xie Xun let out a roar, charged at them. Zhang CuiShan embraced Yin SuSu tightly as they rolled a few times on the ground, getting out of the way. Only to hear loud sounds of ice cracking, as Xie Xun smashed his mace wildly on the icy surface surrounding him. He then put down the mace, raised a roughly hundred-pound ice over his head, paused a moment to hear their location, before hurling the ice towards Zhang and Yin’s direction.

    Yin SuSu wanted to run away, but Zhang CuiShan held her still. The two of them hid in a depressed region of the iceberg, neither even dared to breath loudly. But after throwing and missing that block of ice, Xie Xun became motionless, as if trying to hear their location. Zhang CuiShan saw blood trickling down his eyes, knew that Yin SuSu at the last moment finally released her silver needles. And in his mad, unconscious state, Xie Xun was not able to block them in time, becoming a blind man. Yet his hearing is still just as great. Should they make even the slightest noise, Xie Xun would find them. Thankfully, with the sounds of waves, wind, and ice hitting each on the sea, Xie Xun could not hear their breaths. Otherwise, they’d probably be dead by now.

    After listening for a while, and still unable to locate them, Xie Xun felt the pain in his eyes. With the shock of only darkness meeting his gaze, in addition to his innate anger, Xie Xun suddenly let out a terrible scream, then began to thrash his surrounding area senselessly. He would pick up pieces of ice and throw them wildly in different directions. Only to hear ‘ping, ping’ sound endlessly. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu embraced each other tightly; so scared their faces became pure white. As the endless waves of ice came in their direction, both knew that even getting hit by one of them could mean instant death.

    Xie Xun did this for about an hour, but to Zhang and Yin, it felt like years.

    Realizing the futility of throwing ices, Xie Xun suddenly stopped, said, “Mr. Zhang, Miss Yin, I was temporarily a bit reckless, as insanity took over my mind. Sorry about the trouble I’ve caused. Please forgive me.” He said these words in a courteous tone, as if returning to his original state.

    But after their experience, neither Zhang nor Yin dared to respond. Xie Xun repeated his apology several times, and when he realized there would be no response, stood up. Xie Xun sighed, said, “I don’t blame you for not forgiving me.” As he spoke, he took a very deep breath. Zhang CuiShan suddenly realized something, for Xie Xun breathed the exact same way before he let out the howl on WangPan Island. Of course, his howling would not be affected by his blindness. In this critical moment, there’s no time for them to cover their ears. So without thinking too carefully, Zhang CuiShan grabbed Yin SuSu and jumped down into the sea.

    Before Yin SuSu knew what’s going on, Xie Xun began to howl. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu drowned into the water, which also covered their ears. Zhang CuiShan’s left hand grabbed onto the iceberg with his hook, while his right hand embraced Yin SuSu. Other than his left hand, all parts of their bodies remained underwater. Yet even so they could still feel the vibrations from Xie Xun’s howl. The iceberg continued to travel northward, carrying them along. Zhang CuiShan was thankful that he used and lost his brush earlier. Had he lost his hook, even if Xie Xun’s howl hadn’t kill them, the sea would have.

    After a while, the two people raised their mouths over the water surface to change air, as their ears remained underwater. Only after six such exchanges did Xie Xun stop howling. Since the howl used up much of Xie Xun’s inner power, he felt tired, and sat down to regain his strength. Zhang CuiShan signaled Yin SuSu, and they climbed back up the iceberg quietly. Both people then ripped off some pieces of sealskin and covered their ears.

    They’re safe for now, but as long as they reside on the same iceberg as Xie Xun, any noise could mean the end. The two looked at each other with worry, and then gazed upon the western sky, where the sun still had not set. They didn’t know that this is the effect from being near the North Pole. Zhang and Yin only felt like being near the edge of the world.

    Yin SuSu, unable to withstand the cold water now soaked all over her cloths, shivered, her teeth made some noise as she uncontrollably gritted them. Upon hearing such noise, Xie Xun screamed, grabbed his mace and charged at them. Zhang and Yin were prepared, and quickly evaded, only to hear a loud ‘Ping!’, as the mace smashed down on the iceberg surface with at least six hundred pounds of force, causing seven pieces of huge ice chunks to fly in all directions. Astonished at the sight, the two then saw Xie Xun sweep the mace in their direction. This mace is already over three meters in length. With this sweep, its power extended to over fifteen meters, forcing them backward. After retreating a just few steps, they’ve arrived at the iceberg’s edge.

    Yin SuSu gasped, but Zhang CuiShan grabbed her wrist, gathered his energy, and jumped into the water. While in midair, they heard loud crackling noises from behind, as several pieces of ice hit them in the back, causing much pain. At the time of his jump, Zhang CuiShan targeted a table-sized ice sheet near the iceberg. He took out his silver hook and grabbed on to it. When Xie Xun heard them splash into the sea, he knocked loose several pieces of ice to throw at them. But because of his blindness, plus the fact that Zhang and Yin moved away from their splash point quickly, Xie Xun could not hit them. After missing with the first ice block, he stopped throwing.

    The ice sheet Zhang and Yin held onto traveled much faster than Xie Xun’s iceberg. By nightfall, they’ve traveled so far away Xie Xun looked like a tiny speck.

    It’s quite lucky that the two of them managed to hold on to this ice sheet. However, they couldn’t stay forever in this cold water. Thankfully, another iceberg appeared after a while. As the ice sheet floated next to it, Zhang and Yin quickly climbed up on top of this new iceberg.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I know people say that ‘Heaven will always give humans a path out’, but did it have to force so much suffering upon us first. How is your body?” Yin SuSu said, “Too bad we couldn’t bring some of the seal meat. Are you injured?” They spoke some more, with neither able to hear the other. Then both paused a moment, and hurriedly took out the sealskin from their ears. For while they were escaping, neither remembered to take out the sealskin.

    After going through so much adversity together, their hearts became even closer. Zhang CuiShan said, “SuSu. Let us simply die on this iceberg, so we’ll never again part.” Yin SuSu said, “I need to ask you something, but you can’t lie to me. If we were still on the mainland, without having gone through this hardship together. If I were just as intent on being married to you, would you still want me?”

    Zhang CuiShan hesitated a bit, said, “I think we wouldn’t have been this close this quickly. Besides…. There would be lots of problems. Our sects are so different…” Yin SuSu sighed, said, “I feel the same way. That’s why when you were matching palms with Xie Xun on the boat, I thought about firing my silver needles, but in the end did not.”

    Zhang CuiShan asked, “Oh yeah, why didn’t you? I’ve always thought that you couldn’t see clearly in the dark. That you were afraid to unintentionally hit me.” Yin SuSu whispered, “That’s not the reason. The reason is, had I injured him, and we ended up back on the mainland, you wouldn’t want to be with me.”

    Zhang CuiShan felt his heart melting away, yelled, “SuSu!”

    Yin SuSu said, “Perhaps you might blame me in your heart. But at that moment, I only wanted to be with you, go to a deserted island, where we can be with each other forever. Therefore, what Xie Xun proposed was my wish too.” Zhang CuiShan never expected her love for him to be so strong. With much appreciation in his heart, Zhang CuiShan said soothingly, “I would never blame you. Instead, I thank you for being so good to me.” Yin SuSu remained in his embrace, looked up into his eyes, said, “I don’t blame Heaven at all for sending us to this cold, hellish place, for instead I feel happy. I only hope this iceberg would never go south, for should we one day returned to the mainland, your master would hate me, and my dad might kill you…”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Your dad?” Yin SuSu said, “My dad is White-Browed Eagle King Yin TianZheng, the leader of the Heavenly Eagle Sect.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, I see. Don’t worry. I told you I’d always be with you. No matter how mean your dad is, he’s not going to kill his son-in-law.” Yin SuSu’s eyes brightened, her cheeks turned red, said, “Oh, do you really mean that?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Let us get married right now.”

    The two of them then got on their knees. Zhang CuiShan said loudly, “With the Heaven above watching, Zhang CuiShan today will marry Yin SuSu. Share our blessings together, endure our hardships together, never to be apart.” Yin SuSu prayed sincerely, “Please let the Heaven bless us, so we can be couples for all lifetimes*.” She paused a bit, then added, “Should we ever return to the central plains, I will renounce my old ways, change for the better, and follow my husband to do only good, never to kill again. If I fail to do so, then banish me down to the depths of Hell.”

    *Ancient Chinese believes in reincarnation. She simply meant that they would be husband and wife in every single incarnation in the future.

    Zhang CuiShan, exhilarated at her promise, held her tightly in his arms. Despite being soaked in icy cold water, the two people’s hearts felt warm and dry, as if blown by spring wind.”

    After a long time, the two of them realized that they have not eaten for a long time. Zhang CuiShan looked over the edge with his silver hook, only to see fishes swim on the sea surface, and caught some. The fishes in this region are filled with fat to counter the cold weather, which made them extremely smelly, but also really reenergized the two. Sitting on this iceberg, Zhang and Yin knew there’s no chance for them to return, but neither felt sad because of it. They were now no longer bothered by the long days and short nights, and stopped bother to count the days altogether.

    * * *

    One day, Yin SuSu suddenly saw a stack of smoke from the north. Shocked, she yelled, “Fifth brother!” and pointed at the smoke as she spoke. Zhang CuiShan, happy and surprised, yelled, “Could there be people living there?”

    Although the smoke looked big, it’s still far away. Even after a day of travel, the smoke still seemed just as far. However, the smoke eventually grew bigger and bigger, until later on, they could see sparks of fire.

    Yin SuSu asked, “What is that?” Zhang CuiSHan shook his head, did not respond. Yin SuSu screamed, “Oh no, this is the end! This is… is the door to the underworld.” Zhang CuiShan had also been alarmed for some time now, but he still tried to sooth her, said, “Perhaps someone’s making the fire over there.” Yin SuSu said, “Who can make a fire this big?”

    Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “Since we’re have no other choice, let’s just see what the Heaven has in store for us. If Heaven doesn’t want us to freeze to death, but rather burn to death, then we don’t really have a choice.”

    Oddly enough, the iceberg headed exactly towards the direction of the stack of fire. Zhang and Yin didn’t know the reason, thought that they must have been fated to go there. In actuality, that stack of fire is a volcano. With the fire spurting out, the neighboring waters warmed up. Warm water flows south, so the southern cold water obviously moves north, towards the island to take its place.

    After another day, the iceberg finally reached the bottom of the volcano, only to see the fire stack surrounded by green vegetation, for it’s actually an island. Neither of them had ever seen a volcano, so they didn’t know this island was created by the eruptions. The eastern side of the island had no vegetation, though, as it’s the path where the lava traveled down to the water. This place is quite close to the North Pole, but due to the continuous volcanic activities, the island had weather similar to the Long White Mountain and the Black Dragon River regions*. Snow covered the upper mountain, but plants filled the lower parts. Pine and Cypress trees here are incredibly big, plus there are all sorts of strange flowers and tress, none seen on the mainland.

    *Note: Those are the northeastern-most regions in China.

    Yin SuSu stared for a while, then with both hands held Zhang CuiShan’s neck, yelled, “Fifth brother, we’re arrived at a celestial island!” Zhang CuiShan was also joyous, but could not find any words to say. He then saw a drove of spotted deer eating grass. Looking around, Zhang CuiShan could not find anything scary other than the fire stack.

    But just as the iceberg neared the island, the warm water gave it a push backward, and it began to float away. Yin SuSu yelled in a hurry, “Oh no! We can’t get on the celestial island now!” Zhang CuiShan realized that if they didn’t get on this island now, they’d be washed away. He quickly chipped off a big block of ice, and then let it drop with them down into the water. After paddling with their hands for a while, they finally reached land.

    When the drove of deer saw them, they only stared, as if wondering whom these humans were, but certainly not afraid. Yin SuSu moved close, reached out and patted one of them on the back, said, “If there were some celestial cranes here, I’d say this would be the Celestial Region of the South Pole.” Suddenly the ground under her shook, and she fell down. Zhang CuiShan yelled in shock, “SuSu!” As he tried to help her, he also felt his legs wobble, and unable to maintain his balance.

    Only to hear a thunderous sound, the earth shook, for the volcano erupted some lava. After getting over the initial shock, and saw no other troubles, both people got up giddily. Due to their exhaustion, the two then slept for about eight hours.

    When they woke up, the sun still had not set. Zhang CuiShan said, “Let’s go look around, see if there are any people, or perhaps poisonous insects or wild beasts.” Yin SuSu said, “Just look at how tame these deer are. Looks like this celestial island is quite peaceful.” Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “I hope that’s the case. But if so, we should at least go pray to the celestial being here.”

    Even while on the iceberg, Yin SuSu kept her appearance nice, her clothing straight. Now on this island, she cared even more about appearances. So only after she straightened her dress, and then combed Zhang CuiShan’s hair, did Yin SuSu care to explore. She held her sword. Zhang CuiShan lost his brush, so he grabbed a tree branch to replace it. The two of them used their lightness kung fu, ran for about 7 miles, from south to north, exhilarated to be in such an environment. On their way, other than passing by small hills and tall trees, they also saw strange grasses and flowers. Above the plants flew many birds that they’ve never seen before, but seemed friendly.

    They made a turn and went through a large forest, only to see a stone mountain on the island’s northwestern corner. There is a cave on the mountain. Yin SuSu yelled, “This place is amazing!” and quickly ran over to the cave. Zhang CuiShan yelled, “Be careful!” Before he could finish, they heard a loud groan, as a white shadow flashed by them; a large white bear came rushing out the cave.

    That bear’s incredibly big, the size of a huge bull. Yin SuSu gasped in shock, and instantly retreated. The white bear stood up, raised his paws, then came slashing down on Yin SuSu. Yin SuSu raised her sword and attacked the bear’s shoulder. Unfortunately, her body’s too weak from the time on the sea, so despite striking the bear’s shoulder directly, she could not pierce deep enough to cause a serious wound. Before she got off another strike, the bear came close and knocked her sword down. Zhang CuiShan quickly yelled, “SuSu, get out of the way!” as he ran up to join her. Then he swept the branch horizontally, hitting the bear on the left kneecap. Only to hear a loud crack, as the branch split in two, but broke the white bear’s left leg too. After experiencing such an injury, the bear roared in pain, and came pounding on Zhang CuiShan.

    Zhang CuiShan jumped up several meters using the ‘Cloud Stairs’ lightness kung fu, and wrote the last stroke of ‘compete’[a stroke that comes straight down before making a tiny hook left] with his hook. The silver hook dropped straight down from midair, piercing the bear’s ‘Sun Point’. After penetrating a few inches, that white bear began to howl in a deafening tone. It started to roll on the ground in pain, pulling the silver hook out of Zhang CuiShan’s hand. After rolling for a while, it stopped struggling, fell dead.

    Yin SuSu clapped her hands, said with a smile, “Great lightness kung fu, great hook technique!” Suddenly she heard Zhang CuiShan yell, “Jump over here, quickly!” Yin SuSu could hear the fear in his voice, and jumped toward Zhang CuiShan without hesitation. When she turned around, Yin SuSu couldn’t help but scream in shock. For another white bear stood right behind her previous position, looking incredibly ferocious. With no weapons in his hand, Zhang CuiShan quickly pulled Yin SuSu up a tall pine tree. That bear kept circling under them, constantly roaring.

    Zhang CuiShan broke off a small piece of branch, aimed towards the white bear’s eye, and threw it down. When the branch hit its eye, the bear screamed in pain, and tried to climb up the tree in anger. Zhang CuiShan quickly grabbed Yin SuSu’s sword, aimed exactly at the bear’s head, gathered his energy, and nailed it down straight. The majority of the sword entered the bear’s forehead, making it stutter, until finally the bear fell dead under the tree.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I wonder if there’s another bear inside the cave.” He picked up a few rocks and threw them inside the cave. With no response after a while, he walked inside the cave. Yin SuSu followed closely behind. The cave is wide and deep, very spacious. A streak of light came through in the middle, like a window. Bears’ foods filled the cave. Animal carcasses, such as dead fishes, made the whole place very smelly. Yin SuSu pinched her nose, said, “This is a nice place, but too smelly.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Well, we can clean the place up. Then after ten or twenty days, the smell would be gone.”

    Yin SuSu remembered that they’d be living here together forever, with endless months to enjoy ahead, until they die of old age. She felt delighted, but lonely at the same time.

    Zhang CuiShan walked out the cave, broke several branches, and made a broom. He went back inside and cleaned the place, with Yin SuSu helping. After they cleaned the cave, the dirty smell remained. Yin SuSu said, “I wish we could get some water to wash this stuff off. Although there are lots of water in the sea, we don’t have a bucket to carry it.” Zhang CuiShan said, “I have an idea.” He left the cave, went to an ice-covered region of the island, and grabbed some large chunks of ice. Then he put the ice chunks on the tallest rock in the cave. Yin SuSu yelled, “Wow, great idea!” The ice would slowly melt, and trickle out the cave as water.

    Zhang CuiShan used this water to take a shower. Yin SuSu used her sword to cut the bears into small pieces. Despite being on a volcano, they’re still near the North Pole. So the weather’s quite cold. The bear meat would likely last for months without rotting. Yin SuSu sighed, said, “People really are greedy, never satisfied. Here I am, thinking how great it would if we could only light a fire, and cook these bear meats.” Then she added, “I’m afraid that the ice chunks would melt too slowly, and the smell would never go away.” Zhang CuiShan looked at the volcano, said, “Well, there’s certainly fire here, but simply too big for us. I’m sure we can find a way to get it, though.”

    That night, after eating bear meat, the two slept on the tree. During their sleep, both felt like they’re still on the iceberg, moving with the current. Actually, they only felt the wind blowing on the branches.

    The next day, before she even opened her eyes, Yin SuSu said, “What an amazing fragrance!” She jumped off the tree, only to smell a lovely fragrance coming from the flowers nearby. Yin SuSu said happily, “It’s so great that there are all these flowers in front of the cave.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “SuSu, don’t be so thrilled yet. I need to tell you something.” Upon seeing his serious expression, Yin SuSu paused a moment, then said, “What?” Zhang CuiShan said, “I found a way to get fire.” Yin SuSu said with a smile, “Oh! You’re so mean. I thought you were going to give me some bad news.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “The flame on the fire mountain is so big it’s nearly impossible to get close. We’d likely burn to death before reaching it. However, we can use tree barks to tie a long rope, and wait for it to dry. Then…” Yin SuSu cut in, “Great idea! Then we can tie a rock to the end, and throw it at the fire. Then the fire come towards us through the rope.”

    After eating raw meat for so long, the two were in quite a hurry to get the fire ready. They went to work immediately. After two days, they finally tied together a rope, over three hundred and thirty meters long. After leaving it in the sun for another day, they finally went up the volcano the fourth morning.

    Although it looked close, they still had to travel over thirteen miles to get near the top. The temperature rose as they walked up. First they had to take off their seal coats, then more clothing, until they had only one layer on. Even so, they still could not withstand the heat. Both sweated uncontrollably, and their mouths dried up. But with no water or vegetation around, there’s nothing they could do.

    Zhang CuiShan, with the rope hanging on his back, saw that Yin SuSu’s near exhaustion. Afraid for her health, he said, “You wait for me here. I’ll go up alone.” Yin SuSu said, “Don’t speak to me like this again. The worst that can happen is that we’ll never have fire. It’s no big deal to eat raw meat the rest of our lives.” Zhang CuiShan smiled slightly.

    After walking another thousand meters or so, the two are almost totally exhausted. Even Zhang CuiShan’s superior inner power could not help him withstand the heat. He said half-consciously, let’s throw the rope here. If we still can’t catch fire, then we’ll… we’ll…” Yin SuSu said with a smile, “Then we’ll just be a wild couple who drink blood and eat raw meat…” and then her body swayed. She almost fell to the ground before grabbing onto Zhang CuiShan’s shoulder. Zhang CuiShan picked up a rock from the ground, then tightened it to the rope. He gathered his energy, ran forward a few steps, and threw the rock with all his might.

    Only to see the rock disappear in the distance, and the rope eventually straightened, falling down to the ground. The rock’s landing spot is still way too far from any fire. After waiting for a long time, until the couple was about to explode from the heart, the rope still remained fireless. Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “I’ve heard ancient people used wood and stones to make fires. We can try those things. My way certainly doesn’t work.”

    Yin SuSu said, “Even so, this rope is now quite dry. Let’s go find some flint. Perhaps we can make a fire with the sword.” Zhang CuiShan said, “You’re right.” And retracted the rope, then tore down a small piece. There are tons of flints here on the volcano. They took one piece and struck it with the sword. Sparks flew out immediately. After the tenth try, fire lit up the bark.

    The two people embraced in joy. They took their bark, now a torch, happily back to the cave. Yin SuSu brought a stack of dry branches and grass to keep the fire going.

    With a kindle of fire available, everything else, like cooking meat or warming up ice, came easily. The two hasn’t eaten any cooked food since getting on the boat. Both salivated as they watched the meat simmer on the fire.

    That night in the warm bear cave, with streams of fragrance flowing, the fire flickering. For the first time since they married, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu enjoyed their first wedding night together.

    * * *

    The next morning, Zhang CuiShan walked out the cave, looked into the distance, feeling amazingly refreshed. He suddenly noticed a large figure far away, standing by a rock on the beach.

    This figure is none other than Xie Xun! Zhang CuiShan couldn’t believe his eyes. After going through this ordeal with Yin SuSu, he had expected to live peacefully on this island. Who’d have thought that this monster would come too? In an instant, Zhang CuiShan froze. Only to see Xie Xun staggering toward the inner part of the island. After being blinded, he seemingly could no longer catch fish for food, and in lived in hunger until today. Xie Xun walked a few steps forward, tripped, and fell to the ground.

    Zhang CuiShan returned to the cave. Yin SuSu said tenderly, “Fifth brother… you…” When she saw his serious expression, she held back the rest of the words. Zhang CuiShan said, “Xie Xun’s here too!” Yin SuSu gasped in shock, whispered, “Did he see you?” But then remembered that Xie Xun’s now blind. Her fear lessened somewhat, said, “Surely the two of us can defeat a blind person, right?” Zhang CuiShan nodded, said, “He just fainted from hunger.” Yin SuSu said, “Let’s go take a look!” She tore off some clothing and put them into Zhang CuiShan and her own ears, then grabbed her sword and some silver needles. They went out the cave together.

    When they’ve reached about twenty-five meters from Xie Xun, Zhang CuiShan said loudly, “Elder Xie, do you wish to eat some food?” Upon hearing a person’s voice, Xie Xun let out an expression of joy. But once he realized that it was Zhang CuiShan speaking, the joy disappeared. After a long time, he finally nodded. Zhang CuiShan went back to the cave and took out a piece of cooked bear meat. He threw it towards Xie Xun, said, “Please catch it.” Xie Xun heard the sound of the meat, quickly grabbed it with his hand, and began to eat.

    Zhang CuiShan felt pity for Xie Xun, after seeing such a powerful and proud man weakened like this. Yin SuSu was thinking of something else entirely, “Fifth brother is just too kind-hearted. Wouldn’t it be better to let him die of hunger? Saving him could very well bring trouble in the future. Perhaps we’ll later both die in his hands.” But then she remembered her promise to become a good person. So she did not speak her mind.

    After eating half a piece of meat, Xie Xun fell asleep on the ground. Zhang CuiShan made a pile of fire by his side.

    Xie Xun slept for a couple of hours before waking up. He asked, “What is this place? Zhang and Yin had been sitting by his side. When they saw him sitting up to speak, both unplugged their right ears so they could hear. Even so, they still kept their right hands near their ears, in case Xie Xun decided to howl. Zhang CuiShan said, “This is a deserted island near the North Pole.

    Xie Xun nodded. In this instant, thousands of thoughts floated through his mind. After a while, he said, “If so, looks like we have no chance to go back, right?” Zhang CuiShan said, “That will depend on the will of the Heaven.” Xie Xun said angrily, “Don’t give me that ‘Heaven’ crap. He searched around for the piece of meat, and began eating again. Then he asked, “What do you plan to do with me?”

    Zhang CuiShan looked at Yin SuSu, as he wanted to hear her opinion. Yin SuSu made a gesture, which meant he could decide for them both.

    Zhang CuiShan thought for a moment, then said, “Elder Xie, We husband and wife…” Xie Xun nodded, said, “Oh, you’re married.” Yin SuSu’s face turned red, but looked very happy. She said, “Actually, we have to thank you as our matchmaker.” Xie Xun let out a humph, said, “What are you going to do with me?” Zhang CuiShan said, “We’re sorry to have blinded your eyes. But what’s done is done. There’s no way to turn back time. Since we’re fated to come to this island, I doubt we’ll ever see the mainland ever again. In that case, we’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”

    Xie Xun nodded, sighed, and said, “I guess there’s no other choice.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Due to our deep love for each other, we have agreed to live and die together. Should the elder ever become crazy again, and kills one of us, the other would surely not live alone in this world.” Xie Xun said, “I know what you’re trying to say. That should you two die, there’s no way for me to live on this island alone, right?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Correct!” Xie Xun said, “If so, then why haven’t you taken out the cloths in your left ears yet?”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu smiled at each other, and took out the cloth in their left ears too. Both thought, “Despite his lack of sight, this person’s hearing is amazing, almost to the point where they could replace his eyes. Plus with his intelligence and knowledge, this person might not even need us if he weren’t on this cold, strange island.”

    Zhang CuiShan asked Xie Xun to name this deserted island. Xie Xun said, “Since this island is covered in ice year-round, yet also has a never-ending supply of fire. Let’s call it Fire-Ice Island.”

    From then on, the three of them settled peacefully on this Fire-Ice Island. There’s another small cave about a thousand meters from the bear cave. Zhang and Yin cleaned it up for Xie Xun to live. They then caught fish and animals for food, burned pottery to make bowls, gathered soil to make a kitchen, and made all sort of crude items for everyday use.

    Xie Xun never bothered to chat with them. He only held up that Dragon Saber, deep in thought. Sometimes Zhang and Yin would pity him, and advise him to stop trying to figure out its secrets. Xie Xun said, “You think I don’t know that it’s useless to find its secret, now that we’re on this deserted island? But with nothing else to do, how else am I going to spent the days?” The couple found his words reasonable, and stopped trying to persuade him.

    Soon, months passed. One day, the couple strolled up the northern part of the island, only to see a forest after walking about 6 miles. Zhang CuiShan wanted to explore the forest, but Yin SuSu was reluctant, said, “Who cares about all the strange creatures in the forest? Let’s just go back.”

    Zhang CuiShan found this weird, wondered, “SuSu has always been the curious type. Yet lately, she has become quite lazy.” Concerned for her health, he asked, “Are you ok? Is there something wrong?” Yin SuSu’s face turned red, said timidly, “I’m ok.” Zhang CuiShan found her expression unusual, and kept asking. Yin SuSu finally said, “Perhaps the Heavens thought we’re too lonely, so he sent another person to live with us.” Zhang CuiShan paused for a second, then felt like he’s in Heaven. He yelled, “You have a child?” Yin SuSu said in a hurry, “Don’t speak so loudly. Someone might hear you.” When she spoke this, Yin SuSu couldn’t help but start laughing. In this desolate place, who could possibly hear them?

    The weather changed. By now, the days became shorter and the nights longer, until there’s only about four to five hours of daylight. The temperature also dropped. After becoming pregnant, Yin SuSu became more and more fatigued. Yet she still managed to cook, sew, and do other household chores.

    Tonight marked the tenth month of her pregnancy. With the fire roaring in the cave, the couple chatted together. Yin SuSu said, “Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?” Zhang CuiShan said, “A boy would look like me. A girl would look like you. Both would be great.” Yin SuSu said, “No, I prefer a son. Why don’t you give him a name?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Yeah...” But then he remained silent for a long time. Yin SuSu said, “Is there something wrong? You’ve been acting weird the past few days.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, it’s nothing. Perhaps I’m a bit too happy knowing I’m going to be a father!”

    Despite having just spoken a lighthearted comment, Zhang CuiShan’s expression remained quite sullen. Yin SuSu said, “Fifth brother, keeping me in the dark would only make me worry more. There must be something wrong.”

    Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “Hopefully it’s just my imagination. But Xie Xun’s expression the past few days didn’t look right.” Yin SuSu gasped, said, “I also noticed. He’s becoming more and more vicious, as if he’s about to become insane again.” Zhang CuiShan nodded, said, “He must be frustrated at his inability to unlock the Dragon Saber’s mystery.” Yin SuSu cried, said, “Before, the worst that could happen would be to die, but… but now…”

    Zhang CuiShan held her in his embrace, said soothingly, “You’re right. We must value our lives now, for our son. Should Xie Xun really get out of control, we would have to kill him. Due to his blindness, I’m sure we can defeat him somehow.”

    Yin SuSu had become much more compassionate since becoming pregnant. Before, she could easily kill tens of people without so much as blink. Now, she felt bad even when killing a wild animal. One day, when Zhang CuiShan caught a deer back to the cave, a fawn came back with him. Yin SuSu forced him to release the mother deer, said that she’d rather eat fruits than to leave the fawn motherless. So when Yin SuSu heard Zhang CuiShan spoke of killing Xie Xun, her body trembled.

    Zhang CuiShan obviously felt this reaction, looked at her fondly, and said, “Hopefully, that won’t be necessary. But we still must make guard against him.” Yin SuSu said, “You’re right. But how would we control him? Perhaps put some poison in his food… No, let’s not do that. Perhaps we’re just being too paranoid.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “I have a plan. Tomorrow, we’ll move to the inner area of the cave. I’ll dig a deep hole by on the outer part of the cave, then put some mud and twigs over it.” Yin SuSu said, “But you have to go hunt everyday. What if he caught you outside?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Don’t worry. It’s easy for me to escape by myself. Should he attack me, I’ll just escape to a dangerous cliff or something. Without vision, Xie Xun cannot catch me.”

    The next morning, Zhang CuiShan began to dig his hole. Without an iron shovel, he had to rely on thick branches. Obviously this makes the job much more tedious. But thanks to his great inner power, Zhang CuiShan managed to finish it in seven days, a ditch about 10 meters deep. He saw Xie Xun’s expression becoming less and less stable each day, often swinging the Dragon Saber wildly. So Zhang CuiShan dug the hole a bit deeper, until it’s now over sixteen meters deep. He prepared some sharp, wooden spikes to put on the bottom, and gathered some stones by the side. Should Xie Xun ever fall into the hole, Zhang CuiShan could use the stones to smash him.

    This afternoon, Xie Xun came by the bear cave, and began to pace around outside. Zhang CuiShan didn’t dare work at this time, afraid that Xie Xun would suspicious. He also didn’t dare hunting today, only guard by the mouth of the cave, watching Xie Xun’s movements. Only to hear Xie Xun curse endlessly. He cursed the Heaven, the Buddha, Avalokitesvara, the Emperor of Heaven, the Lord of the Underworld, past human emperors, like ‘Yao-Shun-Yu-Shang*’ and ‘Qin Emperor-Tang Zong*’. And then scholars like Confucius and Meng Zi*, generals like Guan Yun* and Yue Fei*. Just about every single notable scholar or hero in the past, he cursed. Xie Xun’s a very knowledgeable person. So Zhang CuiShan was actually quite amused by his rants on historical figures.

    *Note: Yao, Shun, Yu, and Shang are four important emperors in the China’s VERY early days. I think in the ‘Zhou’ era. Certainly before the Spring-Autumn era and the Warring-Nations era. ‘Qin Emperor’ here denotes Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who united China (and built the Great Wall). ‘Tang Zong’ denotes Tang Tai Zong, the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li ShiMin. Tang Tai Zong is Li ShiMin’s imperial name. I’m sure everyone knows Confucius(look him up if you don’t). Although I don’t know much about Meng Zi, other than the fact that he’s famous scholar. I think most people know about Guan Yun, very famous person in the Three-Kingdoms era. Yue Fei is the famous general in the Southern Song dynasty. Anyone familiar with Jin Yong’s “Eagle Shooting Hero” should know him.

    Suddenly, Xie Xun began to curse the people in the martial world, making people like Shaolin’s originator Da Muo, or Divine Fist Yue WuMu, sound worthless. But at least he’s not cursing blindly. Xie Xun seemed to know the exact weaknesses of all the people and sects he cursed. Only to hear him curse the Tang dynasty fighters followed by the Sung dynasty fighters, ending with the greats of the Southern Sung, East Heretic, West Poison, South Emperor, North Beggar, and Central Theurgist. Followed by Guo Jing, Yang Guo, and finally Wu Dang’s originator Zhang SanFeng.

    Zhang CuiShan couldn’t bare Xie Xun curse his master, and about to rebut, when Xie Xun suddenly yelled, “Humph, Zhang SanFeng is a piece of bad crap. His disciple Zhang CuiShan is a bigger piece of crap. Let me go strangle his wife to death first!” As he spoke, Xie Xun walked past Zhang CuiShan and into the cave.

    Zhang CuiShan hurried inside, only to hear a crashing noise, as Xie Xun fell into the hole. Unfortunately, the spikes had not been put in yet, so Xie Xun was only startled, but not injured. Zhang CuiShan quickly picked up one of the branches he used to shovel dirt. When he reached the hole, Zhang CuiShan saw Xie Xun climbing back up. He immediately attacked Xie Xun with the branch. When Xie Xun heard the sound of the branch, his left hand reached out, grabbed the branch, and pulled it down. Zhang CuiShan could not hold on as the branch darted out of his hand. This pull was quite powerful, so the branch left Zhang CuiShan’s palm filled with blood. Along with this pull, Xie Xun once again fell back down the hole.

    Yin SuSu had been going into labor for over half a day now. It’s just that with Xie Xun walking outside, she couldn’t tell her husband, for it might break his concentration. But at this critical moment, she no longer cared for all that. Yin SuSu bit her teeth, got up, and threw her sword at Zhang CuiShan.

    Zhang CuiShan grabbed the sword, thought, “This person’s kung fu is far superior to mine. Even if I attack him, he’s bound to take the sword away from me.” But then he realized, “His eyes are blind. The only reason he took my branch is because it made a sound.”

    Just as he understood this, Xie Xun let out a laugh, and began to climb up again. Zhang CuiShan saw exactly where he would climb up, pointed his sword down at Xie Xun’s head, and did not move. Xie Xun climbed up with immense speed, going exactly towards the point of the sword, which gave no noise while remaining motionless. No matter how great Xie Xun’s kung fu, he could not possibly detect the sword. Only to see the sword pierce into Xie Xun’s head, who immediately let out a scream. When the sword entered about a centimeter into his head, Xie Xun quickly reacted, changing his direction in the opposite manner, immediately falling back into the hole. Had he been late by even a second, the sword would’ve killed him. However, even though his life is fine, the sword still made a serious wound. Blood poured down Xie Xun’s face, as the sword stuck on top of his head.

    Xie Xun took out the sword and tore out a piece of cloth to cover the wound. He knew that his wound is serious, but nonetheless did not care. Taking out his Dragon Saber to protect his head, Xie Xun tried for the third time to climb out. Zhang CuiShan tried to throw rocks at him, but Xie Xun cut them down with the Dragon Saber. With his saber shining brightly, Xie Xun climbed out of the hole, began to walk towards Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan backed off step by step. He felt saddened, for today he will die with Yin SuSu, never to see his child born.

    Xie Xun didn’t want Zhang CuiShan or Yin SuSu to walk past him to leave the cave. For then, he’d have no way to catch them. So with the sword in his left hand and the Dragon Saber in his right, Xie Xun unleashed techniques that covered a lot of area, sealing a five-meter width besides him which no one could go past.

    When suddenly, he heard a ‘Waaaaahhhhh’ sound, as the sound of a baby’s cry came out of the inner cave. Xie Xun gasped in shock. He immediately stopped walking and froze, hearing the baby cry continuously.

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu realized that they were going to die. So they forgot all about Xie Xun, and instead put all their attention on the newly born baby. The baby is a son, his arms and legs kept moving, while crying loudly. Zhang and Yin realized that once Xie Xun’s saber came slicing down, both of them, plus the baby, would all immediately die. Neither spoke, their gaze on the baby. Both thanked fate for being so kind, allowing them to see their baby before death. Even a single extra moment right now, meant a single extra blessing to them. In this instant, the couple felt an unusual serenity, not thinking at all about their future. Obviously, both wanted the child to live on, but since this was impossible, they did not dare to hope.

    Only to hear the baby cry continuously, when suddenly, Xie Xun’s conscience reappeared, his madness dissipated. He suddenly remembered the moment his whole family was killed, for it was soon after his wife gave birth. His child died that day too. This baby’s cry made him remember many things in his past: The love between him and his wife, the brutality of his enemy, the innocent baby thrown by his enemy into the wall and turning into a bloody pulp, cutting off his own finger, trying to get revenge, only to fail each time, getting the Dragon saber, but unable to find its secret… He stood in a trance, sometimes smiling, sometimes biting his teeth.

    Right before this moment, the three of them were in a life and death duel, but after the baby cried, all of them suddenly turned their attention to the baby.

    Xie Xun suddenly asked, “Is the baby a boy or a girl?” Zhang CuiShan said, “He’s a boy.” Xie Xun said, “That’s good. Have you cut the umbilical cord yet? Zhang CuiShan said, “Do I need to? Oh, yes, of course. I totally forgot.”

    Xie Xun turned the sword around, gave it to Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan took the sword and cut off the umbilical cord. Only then did he realize that Xie Xun was by his side, yet did not try to kill them. In fact, he looked very concerned, as if trying to help out.

    Yin SuSu said weakly, “Let me hold him.” Zhang CuiShan put the baby into her arms. Xie Xun then said, “Do you have some hot water to give the baby a bath?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, I can’t believe this. I didn’t prepare for anything. What an useless dad I am.” He quickly got up to go prepare for some hot water. But after he took a step, Zhang CuiShan saw Xie Xun standing right next to the baby, and stopped in fear for his child. Xie Xun said, “Why don’t you watch over the baby with your wife. I’ll prepare the water. While speaking, he put the Dragon Saber back on his waist and walked out the cave. As he passed by the hole, Xie Xun simply jumped over it.

    After a while, Xie Xun really did come back with a tub of hot water. Zhang CuiShan then gave the baby a bath. Hearing the baby’s cry, Xie Xun asked, “Does the child look like his mom or dad?” Zhang CuiShan smiled, said, “More like his mom. Not too heavy, he has a melon-seed-shaped head.” Xie Xun sighed, said quietly, “Hopefully, he’ll have good luck when he grows up, and not endure too many hardships.” Yin SuSu said, “Elder Xie, are you saying that the baby’s appearance is unlucky?” Xie Xun said, “No. It’s just that if the child looked like you, he’d be too handsome. I was just afraid that his good fortune is too thin. And when he enters society, will face much difficulty.” Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “Elder, you’re thinking too far into the future. We’re now at a deserted island by the North Pole. This child will live and die here. How can he possibly return to society?”

    Yin SuSu said in a hurry, “No, No! We don’t have to return, but do you really want our child to live here forever? When all three of us die, who will accompany him? After he grows up, how is he going to get married and have kids?” Yin SuSu had always been vicious while living under the Heavenly Eagle Sect’s influence. But ever since she became married to Zhang CuiShan, Yin SuSu turned gentler and kinder. Now that she’s a mother, her heart is only filled with love for her son, and only wished the best for him.

    Zhang CuiShan looked at her, massaged her hair, thought, “We’re thousands of miles from mainland. How can we possibly get back?” But he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, and remained silent.

    Xie Xun suddenly said, “Mrs. Zhang is right. The three of us don’t really have any future. But there’s no way we can let this child grow up and die here, never to enjoy the life of a normal person. Mrs. Zhang, the three of us should come up with a way to get this child back to mainland.”

    Yin SuSu was exhilarated, tried to get up. Zhang CuiShan quickly stopped her, said, “SuSu, what are you trying to do? You need to more rest.” Yin SuSu said, “No, fifth brother. Let us kowtow to this elder, for his willingness to help our son.”

    Xie Xun shook his hand, said, “No need. Have you given this child a name yet?” Zhang CuiShan said, “No. Elder Xie, you’re very knowledgeable. Perhaps you should name him!” Xie Xun said, “Ok. He needs to have a good name. Let me think…”

    Yin SuSu thought, “It’s so great that he actually loves this child. If he thought of the child as his own, then the child will be safe on this island. Even if Xie Xun gets mad, he still wont hurt his own son.” So she said, “Elder Xie, I’d like to ask you, on behalf of the child, for a favor. I hope you’ll agree to it.” Xie Xun said, “What favor?”

    Yin SuSu said, “That you accept this child as your godson! So as he grow up, he can treat you like his own father, and you can raise him as your son. Fifth brother, do you not think this is a good idea?” Zhang CuiShan knew the reasons for his wife’s request, said, “That would be great! Elder Xie, please accept my wife’s request.”

    Xie Xun said, “My own child was thrown to his death as a baby. Have you ever seen that?” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu looked at each other. They thought that perhaps his insanity is settling back in. But considering his past, they didn’t really blame him. Xie Xun then added, “If my son hadn’t died, he’d be eighteen now. Had I taught him all my kung fu, humph, I doubt he’d be worse than your seven Wu Dang heroes.” His voice carried both extreme pride and extreme sadness in that last sentence.

    The three people stayed silent for a while, before Zhang CuiShan said, “Elder Xie, you really should accept him as your godson, and his surname will become ‘Xie’.” An expression of extreme joy skimmed through Xie Xun’s face. He said, “Are you really willing to let his surname be ‘Xie’? My son who passed away was called Xie WuJi.” Zhang CuiShan said, “If you like, we’ll call this child Xie WuJi.”

    In his joy, Xie Xun feared that Zhang CuiShan might take his words back, said, “If you gave your son to me, then what about you?” Zhang CuiShan said, “It doesn’t matter what the child’s surname is. We’ll love him just the same. In the future, he’ll be filial to his mother, father, and his godfather all equally. What do you think, SuSu?” Yin SuSu paused a moment, said, “I leave everything up to you. A child could only benefit from an extra person loving him.”

    Xie Xun bowed down, said, “I really wish to thank you. Let us clear all our past differences. Xie Xun had lost a son, but he now gained a son. When Xie WuJi becomes famous in the martial world, everyone would know that his father is Zhang CuiShan, his mother is Yin SuSu, and his godfather is ‘Golden-Haired Lion King’ Xie Xun.”

    Yin SuSu originally hesitated because she thought the name was bad luck, since the original Xie WuJi died as a child. But when she saw the joy on Xie Xun’s face, she knew Xie Xun would treat this child as his own, a huge benefit to the child. For the happiness of her child, a mother can give up anything. So she held the baby in her arms, said, “Do you want to hold him?”

    Xie Xun reached out his hand, and took the child from her arms. He was so happy he began to weep, and his arms quivered, said, “You… you should take him back. He might be too afraid of my look.” Actually, how could a newly born child know anything about looks? Nonetheless, he did this only because of concern for the child. Yin SuSu said with a smile, “You can hold him for as long as you like. When he grows up, you can take him all over the place to play.”

    Xie Xun said, “Great, great…” When he heard the child cry, Xie Xun said, “He’s hungry. Why don’t you feed him. I’ll go outside.” Actually, considering his blindness, Yin SuSu wouldn’t have cared if he stayed. But oddly enough, he has turned into a courteous gentleman.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Elder Xie…” Xie Xun said, “Hold on. We’re one family now. You can’t consider me an elder now. How about this, the three of us become sworn brothers and sisters. This will be good to the child too.” Zhang CuiShan said, “But you are so much superior to us in ability. We’re not worthy.” Xie Xun said, “Humph, how could you be so wishy-washy? Fifth brother, fifth sister, are you going to call me big brother or not?” Yin SuSu said with a smile, “I’ll call you big brother first. If he still call you ‘elder’ afterwards, then I’d be his elder too.” Zhang CuiShan said, “In that case, I shall consent to big brother’s request.” Yin SuSu said, “After a few days, when I could get up. We can formally go through the ritual of bonding by bowing to the Heaven.”

    Xie Xun said, “A true man would never go back on his words. Since we’ve already verbally agreed, what’s the need to bow to Heaven?” As he spoke, he left the cave. Only to hear him laugh loudly and heartily in the open field. Since meeting him, this is the first time Zhang and Yin had ever seen him happy.

    * * *

    From then on, the three of them concentrated on raising this child. Xie Xun was a hunter as a young man, which was the reason for his ‘Golden-Haired Lion King’ nickname. His ability to catch wild animals is second to none. Zhang CuiShan showed him around the island, giving him descriptions to all the places. After a while, Xie Xun became familiar with the geography of the island. From then on, Xie Xun helped out a great deal when it came to hunting animals.

    The next few years passed peacefully. The child never got sick, and grew to be quite sturdy. Among the three people, Xie Xun was the most fond of the child. Sometimes when the child became overly mischievous, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu would try to discipline him, but he would run behind Xie Xun for support. After a while, the child became reliant on Xie Xun to help him all the time. Zhang and Yin could only shake their head and laugh. They said that their big brother dote on his godson too much.

    When WuJi turned four*, Yin SuSu taught him how to write. On his fifth birthday, Zhang CuiShan said, “Big brother. We can teach our child kung fu now. Why don’t you teach him?” Xie Xun shook his head, said, “No. My kung fu is too difficult. He can’t learn them yet at this age. You should teach him your Wu Dang’s inner power. When he turns eight, I’ll teach him my kung fu. After teaching him for two years, you can leave this island!”

    *Note: In ancient China, a person’s age starts at one when he’s born. So Xie WuJi is only three years old in modern age-counting method. Take note of this, since otherwise you’ll find that some conversations would otherwise not make sense.

    Yin SuSu asked in surprise, “What do you mean? Are you saying we could return to mainland?”

    Xie Xun said, “In this past few years, I’ve noticed the wind pattern on this island. Every year when the nights are the longest, the northern wind blew. Usually it blows nonstop for at least thirty or forty days. We can make a small raft, and put on a sail. If the Damnable Heaven doesn’t interfere, you just might make it back to mainland.” Yin SuSu said, “Wait, are you saying that you won’t go back with us?” Xie Xun said, “With my blindness, what’s the point for me to return to the mainland?” Yin SuSu said, “If you don’t go, then how can we let you stay here alone? Our son won’t either. Without his godfather, who will love and care for him?” Xie Xun sighed, said, “I’m grateful that I can take care of him for ten years. This Damnable Heaven always likes to piss me off. If this kid stays with me for too long, the bad luck might rub off on him.” Yin SuSu shuddered, but thought that Xie Xun simply blurted it out mindlessly, so she didn’t really thought much of it.

    Zhang CuiShan only taught his son fundamental inner powers. He thought that on this island, his child only needs to be strong, and won’t be fighting anyone. Although Xie Xun spoke about returning to the mainland, he never brought it up afterwards. Looks like he didn’t really mean that.

    In the eighth year, Xie Xun really did make WuJi to learn kung fu with him. When he taught WuJi, Xie Xun did not ask for Zhang and Yin to remain by their side. The couple followed the martial world’s rules, and stayed away during those times. They didn’t really bother to check on WuJi’s progress, since they trust Xie Xun would teach WuJi his best.

    There’s not much to do on the island. So days and months passed like flowing water. Another year went by quickly.

    Ever since WuJi’s birth, Xie Xun had something more important to occupy his time then the Dragon Saber. So he ignored it. One night, Zhang CuiShan couldn’t sleep. So he got out of bed to take a walk. He saw Xie Xun sitting on a rock under the moonlight, holding the Dragon Saber, deep in thought. Zhang CuiShan gasped, about to leave, when Xie Xun heard his footsteps. He said, “Fifth brother. It looks like this phrase ‘Martial world’s most venerable, Precious Saber Dragon Slaying’ really is just an empty boast.” Zhang CuiShan walked closer, said, “There are many rumors in the martial world. Considering big brother’s intelligence, why would you be so keen on finding this saber’s secret?” Xie Xun said, “You don’t know the whole story. I heard the story of the Dragon Saber from the venerable Reverend Kong Jian of Shaolin.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh, Reverend Kong Jian. I heard he’s Shaolin abbot’s elder martial brother. He died a long time ago.” Xie Xun nodded, said, “You’re right. Kong Jian died, died in my hands.” Zhang CuiShan was taken by surprise, as he remembered a saying in the martial world, “Shaolin’s Divine Reverends, Jian-Wen-Zhi-Sheng”, which referred to the four best martial artists in Shaolin, Kong Jian, Kong Wen, Kong Zhi, and Kong Sheng. Later he heard that Kong Jian died of natural causes. Looks like Xie Xun killed him instead.

    Xie Xun sighed, said, “Kong Jian is a very stubborn person. He simply let me hit him, without retaliating. After punching him thirteen times, I finally killed him.”

    Zhang CuiShan was quite stunned, thought, “Only the top fighters could withstand just one punch from big brother. Yet this reverend could withstand thirteen punches. His body must be harder than steel.”

    Only to see a mournful expression on Xie Xun’s face, as if he really regretted something. Zhang CuiShan figured that there must be an important story behind it. For the past eight years, Zhang CuiShan had much affection for his big brother. But within that affection hid a bit of fear. Afraid to bring up Xie Xun’s sad past, Zhang CuiShan did not dare ask further.

    Only to hear Xie Xun say, “There aren’t many people in this world whom I respect. Although I’ve heard much of your master Zhang SanFeng, I’ve never had a chance to meet him. As for this Reverend Kong Jian, he’s a very admirable person. His martial arts reputation is lower than his younger martial brothers Kong Zhi and Kong Sheng, but in my opinion, he’s better than both.”

    Every time Zhang CuiShan heard Xie Xun speak about famous peoples of the world, Xie Xun either dismissed them, or cursed them. It’s incredibly rare for him to ever compliment anyone. So Zhang CuiShan was quite surprised to hear Xie Xun speak so highly of Reverend Kong Jian. Zhang CuiShan said, “He must not travel around the world very much, which is why people don’t know much about him.”

    Xie Xun looked into the sky, stared aimlessly, and as if speaking to himself, “Too bad, this venerable reverend allowed me to kill him with thirteen punches. Even though his kung fu is incredible, he’s too stubborn. Had he fought me for real, I certainly would not have lived till today.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Are you saying that the depth of his martial arts is more than your’s?”

    Xie Xun said, “I’m nothing compared to him. Not even close! It’s the difference between night and day!” Both his voice and his expression showed his great respect for this man.

    Zhang CuiShan was quite surprised, and didn’t quite believe Xie Xun. He always thought that his master Zhang SanFeng’s martial arts is unparalleled. But compared to Xie Xun, Zhang SanFeng is only somewhat better. If this Reverend Kong Jian really is much superior to Xie Xun, then would he also surpass master Zhang SanFeng? But Zhang CuiShan knew that his big brother never exaggerates with his compliments.

    Xie Xun seemed to have read his mind, said, “You don’t believe me? Fine, go wake up WuJi. I want to tell a story to him.” Zhang CuiShan didn’t want to wake up a child in the middle of the night, especially for just a story. But since this is his big brother order, he couldn’t disobey. Zhang CuiShan walked back to wake up his son. WuJi yelled ‘Great!” when he heard that his godfather wanted to tell a story. This instantly woke up Yin SuSu. So the three of them went outside together.

    * * *

    Xie Xun said, “Son, soon you’ll return to the mainland…” WuJi asked, “What do you mean by ‘return to the mainland’?”

    Xie Xun held up his hand, telling WuJi to not interrupt him, and continued, “Should you somehow die in the sea, or end up elsewhere, then this will all be pointless. But should you end up back in mainland, I must tell you some things. There are many, many people in this world who are evil and devious. You should not trust anyone. For other than your parents, everyone could try to hurt you. Unfortunately, no one told me this when I was young. Actually, even if someone did, I wouldn’t have believed him.

    “At the age of ten, by simply a coincidence, I became the disciple of a person with powerful martial arts. My relationship with my master was like father and son. Fifth brother, at that time, my reverence for my master was no less than your reverence for yours. At the age of twenty-three, I finished my training and left. I went to the western regions, and met a bunch of pretty important people. Since we really hit it off, they considered me on of their brothers. Fifth sister, your father White-Browed Eagle King met me at that time. Afterwards, I married and had a son. My family live happily.

    “When I was twenty-eight, my master came by my house to stay for a while. I was absolutely thrilled. My family treated him as one of our own. When my master had some spare time, he gave me some pointers on kung fu. Who’d have thought that this renowned kung fu expert would be a wolf in sheep’s clothing? On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after we had a lot of alcohol, he suddenly tried to rape my wife…”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both gasped in disbelief, for it’s unheard of for a master to rape his disciple’s wife. It might be one of the most horrible deeds a person could possibly commit.

    Xie Xun continued, “When my wife cried out for help, my father forced himself into the room. After getting caught in the act, my master killed my father, and then killed my mother. Then to my infant child Xie WuJi…”

    When WuJi heard his name, he asked, “Xie WuJi?”

    Zhang CuiShan scolded him, “Don’t interrupt! Just listen.” Xie Xun said, “Yes, that son of mine is also called Xie WuJi. My master grabbed him, and threw him down, turning him into a bloody pulp.”

    WuJi couldn’t help but ask again, “Godfather, then can he still… still live?” Xie Xun shook his head, said, “No, No!” Yin SuSu shook her hands at her son, telling him to stop asking.

    Xie Xun paused for a while, before continuing, “I froze upon reaching the scene. I didn’t know what to do. What should I do in front of the man I respect most in life? Suddenly, he hit me right in the chest, and I just took it without really knowing what had happened. When I returned to consciousness, my master had disappeared. My house was filled with dead people, my father, mother, wife, son, brothers, sisters, and servants, thirteen people, all died in his hands. He must’ve thought I had died from his punch, and therefore left without killing me.

    “Afterwards I was sick for a long time. When I recovered, I began to practice kung fu day and night. Three years later, I sought out my master for revenge. Unfortunately, he’s way too powerful for me, and I couldn’t beat him. But how could I simply let him get away with murdering my family? Therefore I began looking for different kung fu experts, hoping to dramatically improve my kung fu. Five years later, I felt I had gained enough, and sought out master again. Unfortunately, I lost again, as his kung fu remained much more powerful than mine. This time, he also seriously injured me in the process.

    “After I recovered from my injuries, I received a <Fists of Seven Damages Manual>. This road of fist technique is unusually powerful. Therefore, I began to practice the inner power for the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’. Two years later, I succeeded, and thought that my kung fu should be first class now. Unless my master’s kung fu skill had increased a great deal, there’s no way he’s my match. Who’d have thought that he disappeared? No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t find him. I figured he must’ve been afraid of me, and hid in some remote village somewhere. But where to find him?

    “In my rage, I began to commit crimes everywhere. Killing people, burning down houses, everything. Each time I commit a crime, I’d leave my master’s name on the walls!”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both let out a surprising ‘Oh!” Xie Xun said, “You know who my master is?” Yin SuSu nodded, said, “Yes, you are the disciple of ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation’ Cheng Kun’.”

    For about two and a half years ago, many renowned members of the martial world were killed for no reason. Over thirty crimes were committed in half a year, and the murder site would always have the name ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation: Cheng Kun’ written. The victims were all either the leaders of a sect, or an old, famous hero. Every crime involved whole families killed. Any one of these crimes would have been earth shattering in the martial world, much less over thirty of them. At the time, Zhang SanFeng sent all seven of his disciples to investigate, but none of them found any clues on the matter. Everyone thought that someone was trying to frame Cheng Kun. ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation’ Cheng Kun’s kung fu is incredible, but has a great reputation and tends to be a recluse. Besides, several of his friends were among the victims. So Cheng Kun couldn’t possibly be the murderer. But to find the real killer, they still have to find Cheng Kun first. Who’d have thought that he disappeared all of a sudden? After a while, the cases all had to be laid to rest. Even though hundreds of people want to seek revenge, no one knew who did the crimes. If Xie Xun hadn’t personally admitted to these crimes, Zhang CuiShan could never have figured it out.

    Xie Xun said, “The reason I committed those crimes was make him reappear. Even if he stayed a coward, it’s still much easier to have thousands of people look for him than just me.” Yin SuSu said, “That was a great plan, except you had to kill so many poor, innocent people in the process.”

    Xie Xun said, “So? Are you saying that my family wasn’t poor or innocent? You used to be different. I guess after marrying fifth brother for nine years, you’ve also become so wishy-washy.”

    Yin SuSu glanced at her husband, smiled slightly, said, “Big brother, so what happened? Did you ever find Cheng Kun?” Xie Xun said, “No. But later, I saw Song YuanQiao at Luo Yang.” Zhagn CuiShan gasped, said, “You mean my eldest martial brother?”

    Xie Xun said, “That’s right, the eldest of the Wu Dang Seven Heroes. After committing all these crimes, I already turned the martial world upside down. Yet my master ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation’ Cheng Kun…” WuJi said, “Godfather, if he’s such a bad person, then why do you still call him ‘master’?”

    Xie Xun laughed bitterly, said, “It has become a habit. Besides, he taught me the majority of my kung fu. And although he’s a terrible person, I’m a not good person either. Perhaps he also gave me my viciousness. Since I learned both the good and the bad from him, I should still call him my master.”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “After going through such hardships in life, big brother has stopped caring for morals in his resentment for society. WuJi will certainly remember these things, and it can negatively affect his future. I must remember to talk to him about it later.”

    Xie Xun continued, “When my master still did not appear, I thought I must commit an incredible crime to get people’s attention. Shaolin and Wu Dang are considered the two most prominent organizations in the martial world, so I wanted to kill a famous person from one of these sects. That day in Luo Yang, I saw Song YangQiao kill an infamous local tyrant. His kung fu very formidable, so I decided to kill him.”

    When Zhang CuiShan heard this, his heart started to beat faster. Even though he knew his eldest martial brother did not die, the words still made him shudder. Xie Xun’s kung fu is much superior to eldest martial brother. Besides, one was hidden, one was in the open. Had they really exchanged blows, eldest martial brother would’ve surely died. Yin SuSu also knew that Song YuanQiao did not die, said, “Big brother. Did your conscience act up? Had you really killed Eldest Hero Sung, this Fifth Hero Zhang would’ve surely fought you to the death, instead of becoming your sworn brother.”

    Xie Xun let out a humph, said, “What conscience? If it were today, because of fifth brother, I would surely not harm a Wu Dang member. But I didn’t know fifth brother at all back then. At that time, even had fifth brother himself been there instead of Song YuanQiao, I’d still do the same thing.”

    WuJi asked, “Godfather, why would you want to kill my dad?” Xie Xun smiled, said, “I was just making an analogy. I don’t really want to kill your dad.” WuJi said, “Oh, I see now,” and stopped worrying.

    Xie Xun rubbed WuJi’s head, said, “Although this Damnable Heaven always pissed me off, but at least he didn’t let me kill Song YuanQiao. Or I would’ve never have become your father’s sworn brother.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “That night I ate dinner and meditated to gather my strength. I knew that as Zhang SanFeng’s eldest disciple, his kung fu must be amazing. Should I let him get away somehow, everyone would know who was behind those crimes. Then my plan would be foiled, not to mention just about everyone in the martial world would want my head. My life wasn’t a big deal, but I couldn’t die before getting my revenge.”

    Zhang CuiShan asked, “So what happened between you and my eldest martial brother? Odd, he never brought this up with us.”

    Xie Xun said, “Song YuanQiao didn’t know anything about this. He’s probably never even heard the words ‘Golden-Haired Lion King, Xie Xun’. Because I never attacked him.”

    Zhang CuiShan let out a sigh of relief, said, “Thank Heavens!” Yin SuSu said with a smile, “What are you thanking that Damnable Heaven for? You should really thank this Hero Xie instead.” Zhang CuiShan and WuJi both started to laugh.

    End of Chapter 7

  9. #9
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    Chapter 8: The Journey Home after Ten Years

    (Translated by Meh)

    Xie Xun continued, “I still remember that night as if it were yesterday. I sat in my hotel room, circulating the inner chi in my body, and thought about the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ in my head a few more times. Fifth brother, you’ve never seen my ‘Fists of Seven Damages’. Do you wish to take a look?” Before Zhang CuiShan could answer, Yin SuSu cut in, “I’m sure it’s without doubt an exquisite fist technique, unparalleled in power. Big brother, how come you didn’t go kill Eldest Hero Sung that night?”

    Xie Xun chuckled, said, “You’re afraid that when I demonstrate, I might hurt your husband, right? Don’t worry, if I can’t release and retract my power at will, then what kind of ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ would it be?” As he spoke, Xie Xun stood up, and walked over to a large tree. Accompanied by a roar as loud as the thunder, he punched the tree on the trunk.

    Considering Xie Xun’s ability, he could at least make a hole in the trunk, if not break the tree outright. Who’d have thought that when Xie Xun retracted his palm, the tree remained perfectly fine. Not even a piece of tree bark fell off. Yin SuSu felt badly for Xie Xun, thought, “Looks like after living on the island for nine years, big brother’s kung fu has deteriorated greatly. Well, it’s hardly surprising. I’ve never seen him practice kung fu.” But afraid that he’ll be sad, she still applauded him.

    Xie Xun said, “Fifth sister. Your applause didn’t seem very sincere. You’re thinking that my ability is not what it used to be, right?” Yin SuSu said, “On this island, there’s only the four of us. What’s the need for kung fu?” Xie Xun asked, “Fifth brother, can you see the profoundness in my punch?” Zhang CuiShan said, “You performed this punch using great power. Yet not a single leaf vibrated upon impact. I’m not certain why this is so. Even had WuJi punched the tree, the leaves would have moved.”

    WuJi yelled, “Yes, I can do that!” He swiftly ran over to the tree and punched on the trunk. The leaves really did move around, causing their shadows to shiver under the moonlight.

    Upon seeing the power of their son’s punch, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu were both delighted. Both gazed upon Xie Xun, seeking his explanation.

    Xie Xun said, “Three days later, the leaves will turn yellow and wither. Half a month later, the tree itself will shrivel up and die. My punch had broken the veins of the tree.”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both were hesitant to believe him, but they knew Xie Xun to be a man of his words. So he must be right. Xie Xun grabbed the Dragon Saber, unsheathed it, and ‘Swoosh!’ cut the tree in half. Then came a loud crash, as the tree fell down. Xie Xun put back his saber, said, “Can you see the power of my ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ now?”

    Zhang CuiShan and his family walked over to examine the inside of the tree, only to see most of the tree’s water passageways wrecked: some bent, some shattered, some broken into pieces, some only semi-broken. Signs that this punch incorporated many different simultaneous forces. Zhang and Yin were both very impressed. Zhang CuiShan asked, “Big brother. This was an amazing demonstration.”

    Xie Xun couldn’t help but respond in a proud manner, “This punch contained seven different types of force, some hard, some soft, some contain softness within hardness, some contain hardness within softness, some forces sweep across, some strike vertically, and some shrivel. An enemy might block the first force, but not the second one. If he blocked the second one, then how does he deal with the third force? That’s where the name ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ came from, as one can damage the opponent in seven different ways. Fifth brother, remember that day when you matched palms with me? Had I used ‘Fists of Seven Damages’, you would’ve immediately lost.” Zhang CuiShan said, “You’re right.”

    WuJi wanted to ask his father why he matched palms with godfather, but Yin SuSu immediately shook her head at him, telling him not to inquire further. However, WuJi couldn’t help but ask, “Godfather, can you teach me this ‘Fists of Seven Damages’?” Xie Xun shook his head, said, “No!” WuJi was disappointed, and wanted to plead some more. Yin SuSu said with a smile, “WuJi, don’t be silly. This kung fu is too difficult for you. Unless you have incredible inner power, how can you possibly learn it?” WuJi said, “I see. In that case, I’ll first make sure to acquire superior inner power first, and then learn it.”

    Xie Xun shook his head, said, “Actually, there’s no need to ever bother with this ‘Fists of Seven Damages’! Everyone’s body has two chi, yin and yang, plus ‘Gold-Wood-Water-Fire-Dirt’ five major regions. Your heart belongs to fire, lungs belong to gold, kidneys belongs to water, spleen belongs to dirt, and liver belongs to wood. Seven injuries to one person, or injuries to seven people. Unfortunately, every time you practice this Fists of Seven Damages, you will damage your own body. The ‘seven damages’ here means seven damages to your body first, then seven damages to your opponents. Had I not injured my veins while practicing ‘Fist of Seven Damages’, I would’ve never had problems with madness.”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu now realized why despite being such an intelligent, powerful person, Xie Xun would lose his mind on occasions.

    Xie Xun continued, “Had my inner power been really high, to the point of Reverend Kong Jian, or perhaps Wu Dang’s Taoist Zhang, I wouldn’t have hurt myself like this. Unfortunately, I was too keen on revenge in my youth. I stole a copy of the <Fists of Seven Damages Manual> from the Kong Dong Sect. Upon getting the manual, I immediately began to practice hastily. I was in a hurry, in case my master would pass away before I complete my training. By the time I realized the side effects, it was already too late. I should’ve recognized something from the beginning. Why would the Kong Dong Sect have such a powerful fist manual, yet couldn’t dominate the martial world? In addition, I realized that the sound of the punches were thunderous and crisp, which was very useful. Fifth sister, do you know why I say this?”

    Yin SuSu thought for a moment, then said, “Because its similar to your master’s kung fu?”

    Xie Xun said, “You’re right. My master’s nickname is ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation’. His palm carries wind and thunder, its power unimaginable. Once I find him, and use the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ on him, he would surely mistake it for the kung fu I learned from him. By the time he finds out, it would be too late. Fifth brother, don’t blame me for being so devious. Although my master looks coarse, he’s one of the most devious person you’ll ever find. If I don’t try to trick him, how could I get my revenge… sighs, so I’ve told you some of what happened afterwards, right? Anyway, I haven’t gotten to Reverend Kong Jian yet. That night I went over the inner power circulation for ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ three times, and jumped out the wall to look for Song YuanQiao.

    “In the middle of the jump, before I hit the ground, a person suddenly tapped my shoulder from the back. I was quite astonished, for I couldn’t imagine anyone capable of doing that without me noticing. WuJi, think about this for a moment. Had he used his full force to attack me, he could’ve at least seriously injured me. I reached with my hand to grab his arm, only to find nothing there. I then tried to turn around and punch him, but of course didn’t hit anything. So I turned back. Just at this moment, my shoulder was tapped once again from the back. At the same time, a person sighed, said, “ ‘The Sea of Misery is endless, turn around towards the shore.’”

    WuJi found this pretty funny, and laughed. He said, “Godfather, is this person playing a game with you?” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both knew that this must be Revered Kong Jian.

    Xie Xun continued, “At that moment, I was scared stiff. It was obvious that he could kill me any time he wants to. He spoke ‘the sea of misery is endless, turn around towards the shore’ in a time to blink an eye. Yet he spoke it in a very coherent manner, so I heard every single world clearly, in addition to his merciful, compassionate tone. But at that time, I only felt anger. So I turned around quickly, only to see a white-robed monk standing about thirteen meters from me. As I turned, he was at most two or three feet away from me. Who’d have thought that after that tap, he immediately flew backward thirteen meters. I’ve never dreamed of speed and agility like that.

    “At that moment I thought of only one thing, ‘He must be a ghost, someone I killed who’s haunting me now!’ For surely no living person could have this level of lightness kung fu. Once I figured that he was a ghost, I became braver, yelled, “Look, I don’t care if you’re a phantom or a ghost. Your old man I am afraid of neither the Heaven nor the Underworld. So do you think a ghost can scare me?’ That white-robed monk put his palms together, said, ‘Mr. Xie, my name is Kong Jian.’ When I heard the words ‘Kong Jian’, I recalled the saying ‘Shaolin’s Divine Reverends, Jian-Wen-Zhi-Sheng’. As the first among the four divine reverends, no wonder his kung fu is so formidable.”

    Zhang CuiShan remembered that this Reverend Kong Jian later died in his big brother’s hands, and could help but feel uneasy.

    Xie Xun continued, “So I asked, ‘Are you Shaolin’s Divine Reverend Kong Jian?’ That white-robed monk answered, ‘I don’t deserve the title Divine Reverend. However, I am Shaolin’s Kong Jian.’ I said, ‘We have never met before. Why do you toy with me so?’ Kong Jian said, ‘I do not dare toy with Mr. Xie. Mr, Xie, may I ask where are you going?’ I said, ‘Where I go is none of your business.’ Kong Jian said, ‘If I guessed correctly, you are trying to kill Wu Dang’s Hero Song YuanQiao tonight, right?’

    “I was surprised that he knew of my intentions. He added, ‘You want to commit another crime, one that would shock the entire martial world, so ‘Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation’ Cheng Kun would appear, allowing you to avenge your family’s death, right?’ I couldn’t believe he said my master’s name, for I had never told anyone about my master murdering my family. Since this was a hideous crime, my master would surely not tell anyone either. So how could this reverend know?

    “At that moment I shuddered, said, ‘If reverend can point out my master’s location, I will repay you in any way you wish.’ Kong Jian sighed, said, ‘Cheng Kun’s crime was indeed horrifying. Yet for revenge, you have killed so many people, done so many terrible deeds.’ I wanted to say, ‘Who asked for your opinion?’ But then I remembered his kung fu skills, plus the fact that I needed to ask him for a favor. So I held my anger in check, said, ‘I was forced to do these deeds, for Cheng Kun had gone into hiding. With the world so vast, how can I possibly find him?’ Kong Jian nodded, said, ‘I realize that your heart is filled with bitterness, and nowhere to release them. Hero Sung is the eldest disciple under Wu Dang’s Taoist Zhang SanFeng. If you kill him, your crime will be too immense.’ I said, ‘That is just what I want. The bigger the crime, the more likely I can get Cheng Kun to reappear.’

    “Kong Jian said, ‘Mr. Xie, if you kill Hero Sung, Cheng Kun would indeed have to appear. Yet the Cheng Kun today is no longer the Cheng Kun of the past. You kung fu is nowhere near his level. You can’t possibly get your revenge.’ I said, ‘Cheng Kun’s my master. Surely I can judge his kung fu better than you can.’

    “Kong Jian shook his head, said, ‘He has sought after another master, so his martial arts has grown immensely. Although you learned Kong Dong Sect’s ‘Fists of Seven Damages’, you still can’t hurt him.’ I didn’t know what to make of this person. I had never seen him before. Yet he seemed to know everything about me. I hesitated for a moment, then asked, ‘How do you know about that?’ He said, ‘Cheng Kun told me.’”

    At this moment, Zhang and Yin both gasped.

    Xie Xun said, “You must’ve been quite surprised to hear this. When I heard it back then, I immediately jumped up, and yelled, ‘But how did he know?’ He said, ‘For the past few years, he has been following you. Only he kept changing his disguises, so you never recognized him.’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me? I can’t recognize him? He can turn into dust, and I’d still recognize him.’ He said, ‘Mr. Xie, you are certainly a very perceptive person, but for the past years, you cared only for learning martial arts and revenge. You never tried to examine your surroundings. In addition, you were in the light, while he was in the dark. It’s not that you can’t recognize him, but rather you never attempted to recognize him.’

    “What he said made a lot of sense. Besides, Reverend Kong Jian is a world-renowned reverend. He can’t possibly lie to me. I said, ‘If so, then how come he just didn’t kill me?’ Kong Jian said, ‘He could have easily killed you had he wanted to. Mr. Xie, you have tried to fight him two times for revenge. Each time he defeated you. Why did he not kill you then? Besides, when you were stealing the <Fists of Seven Damages Manual>, you matched palms with three of the ‘Five Elders of Kong Dong’. Where were the other two elders? Had the other two elders also appeared, do you think you could have escaped?’

    “That day after I injured three elders of Kong Dong, I found the other two also injured, which was quite strange. I thought that perhaps Kong Dong Sect had some sort of internal conflict, or another kung fu expert had helped me. So when I heard Reverend Kong Jian spoke of the matter, my mind stirred, said, ‘Did Cheng Kun injure the other two elders?’”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu found the story more and more bizarre. Despite their experiences in the martial world, neither could figure this particular story out. Both thought Xie Xun was one of the impressive people they’ve ever seen. Yet his master Cheng Kun seemed even more impressive.

    Yin SuSu said, “Big brother, did your master really injure the other two elders?”

    Xie Xun said, “When I asked Kong Jian, he said, ‘Did you see their injuries that night? What did their faces look like?’ I thought about it for a while, then said, ‘So they really were injured by my master.’ That night, I saw the two elders lying on the floor, their faces filled with blood spots. From their appearance, they seemed to have used a powerful Yin-style inner power to attack someone, but an expert forced it back with the ‘Art of Origination’. Other than having one’s force repelled with ‘Art of Origination’, only a select few illnesses could provide the same symptoms. Yet that same morning, all five of them were perfectly healthy, so they certainly did not get ill. In the martial world, only the my master and I know the ‘Art of Origination’

    “Reverend Kong Jian nodded, sighed, said, ‘Your master became mad after drinking too much, and unknowingly killed your family. Afterwards he felt incredibly guilty. That is why he did not kill you during those fights. But since you fought so wildly, he had no way to escape unless he injured you. Afterwards he followed you for a few years. You later encountered three major perils. Each time he helped you live through them.’ I thought about it, and found that I did go through three life-and-death situations. Each time, my enemies miraculously retreated. Reverend Kong Jian continued, ‘He knows that his crimes are too severe, and does not ask for your forgiveness. His only hope is that with time, your pain will lessen. Who knew that your thirst for revenge magnified instead, killing more and more people. Should you kill Hero Song YuanQiao, it would be impossible to clean up this whole mess.’

    “I said, ‘If so, then ask my master to come see me, so we can settle our differences.’ Reverend Kong Jian said, ‘Your master says that he has no face to see you. Besides, you are hardly his match anyway. So seeing him would be pointless.’ I said, ‘I know you are a venerable reverend. You should know about right and wrong. Are you telling me that I should simply forget the death of my family?’ He said, ‘I am also saddened by your misfortune. But your master did not willingly commit those crimes. Besides, he has since repented. On the account of your past master-disciple relationship, he hoped you would leave him be.’ I became quite angry, said, ‘If I cannot defeat him, then he can just go ahead and kill me. I would rather die than leave my family unavenged.’

    “Reverend Kong Jian thought for a long time, then said, ‘Mr. Xie, your master’s kung fu is not what it used to be. Even though you’ve learned the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’, you are still not his match. If you do not believe me, then try hitting me a few times.’ I said, ‘I have no quarrel with you, why should I hit you? Although my kung fu is low, the ‘Fist of Seven Damages’ is nonetheless not easy to absorb.’ He said, ‘Mr. Xie, let us make a wager. Your master killed thirteen people in your family. Today you can hit me thirteen times. If you can injure me, I will get out of your way. Your master will then come out to see you. Otherwise, you must promise to let go of revenge.’ I did not respond. His kung fu is amazing. If my ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ could not hurt him, then what about my revenge?

    Reverend Kong Jian added, ‘Let me be frank with you. Since I decided to concern myself in this matter, do you really think I can let you keep hurting others? If you go back to doing good deeds, and give up on vengeance, I can forgive for your past crimes. Otherwise, if you can seek revenge, what about the relatives of those you killed? Do they not deserve their vengeance too?’

    “Upon hearing his voice becoming stern, I got quite annoyed, yelled, ‘Fine, I will go ahead and give you thirteen punches! You can give up any time you want to. However, do not go back on your promise. You better ask my master to come see me.’ Reverend Kong Jian smiled, said, ‘Please go on ahead!’ His body was very short and thin, with white hair and white eyebrows, and a gentle, compassionate face. I didn’t want to really hurt him. My first fist only used thirty percent of my power. Pang! The fist landed on his chest.”

    WuJi gasped, yelled, “Did you use the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ that destroyed the tree?”

    Xie Xun said, “No! I used my master’s ‘Lightning & Thunder Fist’. When my punch landed, his body lightly shook, and retreated a step. Realizing that this punch can make him back off, I figured the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ would probably kill him in three punches. So I added a bit more power to my second punch. Again his body lightly shook, and retreated another step. My third punch incorporated seventy percent of my power. But once again, his body just light shook, and retreated a step. I was surprised, as I have more than doubled my power, yet his expression remained the same. Considering his thin body, my punches should at least break his bones. Yet I found no signs of a competing force to negate my punch. It’s as if his body simply absorbed my power.

    “I thought that to hurt him, I must use all my power. But if I used full power, he will likely die. Even though I’ve done many evil deeds, I respected his kindheartedness. So I said, ‘Reverend, I cannot stand the fact that you do not return any blows. For taking three punches, I promise that I will not seek out Song YuanQiao.’ He said, ‘Then what about Cheng Kun?’ I said, ‘Nothing can change my mind on revenge. Only one of us can live.’ I paused for a moment, then added, ‘Out of respect for you, I will only look for Cheng Kun himself, and no longer hurt any innocents.’

    “Reverend Kong Jian put his palms together, said, ‘That is great. I am glad that you feel this way. On behalf of the martial world, I thank you. It’s just that I really wish to resolve this issue. So please go ahead and finish the rest of your punches.’

    “I realized that only by using the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ could I make my master appear. Thankfully, I can retract the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’ power at will. So I said, ‘I am sorry to offend you!’ and followed with my fourth punch. This time I used the ‘Fists of Seven Damages’. His chest tightened, and then he stepped forward.”

    WuJi said, “That’s strange. How come he didn’t retreat like before?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Did he use Shaolin’s Divine Art ‘Diamond Armor Invincible Body’?”

    Xie Xun nodded, said, “Fifth brother, you really are knowledgeable. That’s correct. When this punch connected, I felt totally different from the previous three punches. This time, his body produced a protective counterforce, which sent a tremor all the way into my inner organs. I knew that he must’ve had no other choice, and had to use this divine art to protect from the Fists of Seven Damages. I have long heard that Shaolin’s ‘Diamond Armor Invincible Body’ is one of the five top divine arts in history. It certainly lived up to its reputation. Then I unleashed my fifth punch, purposely made it carry more soft-yin force. Once again he stepped forward, and I had to spend a long time neutralizing the counterforce from his body.”

    WuJi said, “Godfather, this old monk promised not to fight back. So why did he still try to hurt you by countering your punches?”

    Xie Xun rubbed his hair, said, “After my fifth punch, Reverend Kong Jian said, “I never expected the Fists of Seven Damages to be so powerful. If I don’t use my inner power to counter your punches, I could not remain injury-free.’ I said, ‘I am already grateful that you have not tried to hit me.’ Immediately afterwards, I sent out the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth punches in one swift motion. Reverend Kong Jian really is amazing. He countered each and every one of those punches, using just the right blend of yin and yang for his counter.

    “Shocked at his ability, I yelled, ‘Watch out!’ and the tenth punch floated out lightly. He nodded, and before my punch reached his body, stepped forward two steps. At this moment, he actually gained the initiative.”

    WuJi obviously did not know the importance of these two steps. But Zhang CuiShan realized that when experts exchange blows, it is very difficult for one person to anticipate an opponent’s attack before it comes out. The ability to do so, even for one move, could very well mean a victory. He nodded, said, “Incredible, incredible!”

    Xie Xun continued, “I used all of my power in this tenth punch. Yet when he stepped up and shocked me, I had to back off a couple of steps. Although I couldn’t see my own expression, one can easily imagine just how pale I was. Reverend Kong Jian sighed, said, ‘Don’t be too hasty with your eleventh punch. Recover your strength first.’ Despite my combative nature, I had to follow his advice, for I really lacked the energy for another punch.”

    Zhang CuiShan and his family all worried for Xie Xun at this moment. WuJi suddenly said, “Godfather, I think you should just give up on the last three punches.” Xie said, “Why?” WuJi said, “This old monk is a really good person. You would feel guilty if you hurt him. If you end up hurting yourself, that would be bad too.” Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu glanced at each other, surprised that their child could have such insight at his young age. Zhang CuiShan rejoiced at WuJi’s compassionate nature, and his ability to comprehend good and evil.

    Only to hear Xie Xun let out another sigh, said, “I can’t believe that at the time, I didn’t even have the sense of a child. My heart was filled with revenge, and would not give up until I find my master. I knew one of us would end up either dead or seriously injured, but it didn’t matter at the time. Once I regained my energy, the eleventh punch shot out. This time he stepped up sideways, and met my punch with his waist. His eyebrows rose up, as if in quite a bit of pain. I knew his reason for this. It would hurt me too much should he counter at the chest. But the force exerted by his waist is much smaller, but this way, the force he had to absorb increased a great deal too.

    “I froze for a moment, said, ‘Considering my master’s terrible sins, why do you insist on helping him?’ Reverend Kong Jian adjusted his breathing, said with a bitter smile, ‘I just want to take two more punches from you, and resolve this issue.’ At this moment, a thought suddenly came to me, ‘Looks like he can’t speak when using Diamond Armor Invincible Body. Why don’t I trick him into talking, and punch him at that time?’ So I said, ‘If I do manage hurt you in thirteen punches, would my master really come out?’ He said, ‘He personally told me that…’ Before he finished speaking, I immediately punched his waist. This punch came very fast, and toward a low point on his body, so he won’t have time to raise his protective divine art.

    “Who’d have thought that his protection raises by the will of the heart. When my punch landed, his protective armor had spread throughout his body. I felt my head spinning around, my organs splitting apart, and unwillingly retreated seven or eight steps. My retreat only stopped upon hitting a tree.

    “At this moment of such utter defeat, my heart sank, said, ‘I give up. Looks like there is no way for me to get my revenge now. So what is the need for me to remain in this world?’ I raised my hand, aimed it on my forehead, about to push it down.” Yin SuSu yelled, “What an ingenious idea!” Zhang CuiShan asked, “Why so?” but then instantly understood, and said, “But, to do this to such a venerable reverend, isn’t that too cruel?” He also figured out that should Xie Xun tried to commit suicide, Kong Jian would obviously try to stop it. Xie Xun could take advantage of this, and attack right when Kong Jian is saving him. Zhang CuiShan’s cleverness does not take a backseat to his wife. He just never thinks about devious things, and therefore takes longer to realize such things.

    Xie Xun said sadly, “I was indeed using his kindness against him. You both guessed correctly. But it was a dangerous gambit. If this palm came down too slowly, he would see through the ruse, and refuse to help me. I had only one punch left. How could I possibly break his invincible armor? If so, then I would simply have to forget all about vengeance. At that moment, I really did use all my palm power. Had he not interfered, I would have killed myself. Of course, I wanted to die anyway should revenge no longer be a possibility.

    “When Reverend Kong Jian saw my abnormal actions, he yelled, ‘Hold on! There’s no need to…’ and flew toward me. His left hand reached out immediately to block my right palm. My left fist came out at the same moment. Pang! It hit him directly in the chest. He was indeed defenseless at the moment. I doubt he even gave applying the armor a passing thought. How could he possibly withstand my punch like this? Immediately his inner organs crumbled, and he fell down onto the ground.

    “After this punch, upon realization of his certain death, I suddenly found my conscience. I came to his side and began crying, yelled, ‘Reverend Kong Jian, I am such an ungrateful ingrate. I don’t deserve to be human!’”

    Zhang CuiShan and his family sighed. They all felt that he was terribly wrong to kill the reverend in such a despicable manner.

    Xie Xun said, “When Reverend Kong Jian saw me cry, he smiled, and try to calm me down, ‘Who on this world does not die? Why are you so sad? Your master will soon come. Try to compose yourself.’ With his reminder, I realized that I must prepare for my enemy instead of agonizing. So I immediately started to mediate, to recover my strength. Yet after a long time, my master still did not come. Surprised, I looked at Reverend Kong Jian.

    “With what little life he had left, Reverend Kong Jian said, ‘I… I cannot believe that he… he failed to keep his promise… could someone have… have blocked his path?’ I yelled angrily, ‘You tricked me. You tricked me into killing you, for my master still haven’t came out to see me.’ He shook his head, said, ‘I did not trick you, but I have wronged you.’ In my rage, I wanted to keep yelling at him. But then I thought, ‘Why would he want to trick me into killing him? Plus, in response to killing him, he only tried to apologize.’ Feeling incredibly ashamed, I kneeled in front of him and said, ‘Reverend, if you have any wishes, I will carry them out for you.’ He smiled slightly, said, ‘Hopefully, whenever you wish to kill someone, please remember me.’

    “This reverend not only have unparalleled martial arts ability, but also great wisdom. He knew that I would not give up on revenge, and therefore did not bother to request it. He only wanted me think of him when I wish to kill. Fifth brother. Remember when we matched palms on the boat? The reason I didn’t kill you was because I remembered Reverend Kong Jian.”

    Zhang CuiShan never imagined that Reverend Kong Jian saved his life. His respect for this reverend grew even more.

    Xie Xun sighed again, said, “His heartbeat became slower and slower. I put my palm on his ‘Ling Ti Pressure Point’, began infusing my inner power to extend his life. He suddenly took a deep breath, and asked, ‘Is your master still not here?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then he is not going to come.’ I said, ‘Reverend. Be assured that I will never again kill anyone to make him appear. But even if I have to walk to the end of the world, I will find him.’ He said, ‘But, you are no match for him. Unless… unless…’ At this point, his words became too soft to hear. I put my ear by his mouth, only to hear him say, ‘Unless you can find the Dragon Saber, and find… find the secret inside…’ At this moment, he stopped his breathing, and died.”

    Finally, Zhang and Yin knew why Xie Xun tried so hard to find the secret inside the saber. Why he’s normally very courteous, but occasionally gets mad like a wild animal. Why he has such incredible kung fu, yet spends his days in sadness…

    Xie Xun said, “Later, I found out the location of the Dragon Saber, and went to Wang Pan Island to take it. Fifth sister, your father was one of my dearest friends. We were the renowned Eagle King and Lion King. Later we became enemies, but that story is long and involves too many other people. I can’t tell you about them. Before I took the saber, my only wish was to find my master. Yet after obtaining the saber, my only fear was that my master might find me. That’s why I had to find a deserted island, so I safely find the saber’s secret. Afraid that you might reveal my secret, I had to take you along. Who’d have thought that ten years would pass in the blink of an eye, and I have yet to accomplish a single thing!”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Reverend Kong Jian might not have said everything he wanted before death. Perhaps he had something else in mind.”

    Xie Xun said, “I’ve thought of every single possibility. No matter how ludicrous. Yet nothing fit. I don’t doubt that there’s a huge secret within the saber. But I just could not find it.”

    * * *

    After this night’s conversation, Xie Xun never touched the subject again. He also became stricter when teaching WuJi martial arts. WuJi is only nine at this moment. Despite his intelligence, there was no way WuJi could learn Xie Xun’s powerful martial arts in such a short time. Xie Xun also taught him ways to exchange his pressure points, and how to break free a sealed pressure point. These are some of the deepest martial arts abilities in the world. WuJi didn’t even know what pressure points are, plus he has almost no inner power. So how could he learn them? Even so, Xie Xun yelled at him and hit him for mistakes. And he showed no signs of letting up.

    Yin SuSu felt dreadful upon seeing the marks on her son. She said to Xie Xun, “Big brother, your kung fu skills are too complicated. How can WuJi learn them all in such a short time? We have all the time in the world on this island. Don’t be so hasty.” Xie Xun said, “I’m not teaching him. I’m just asking him to memorize everything.” Yin SuSu said in surprise, “You mean, you haven’t taught him any kung fu?” Xie Xun said, “It will take too long to teach him step by step. That’s why I simply want him to memorize everything.”

    Yin SuSu didn’t understand Xie Xun’s reasoning, but trusted him to make the right decision. Whenever her son finished his lessons with injuries, she’d embrace him tenderly. WuJi seemed to be quite understanding of this matter. He said, “Mom, godfather only wanted the best for me. The stricter he is, the more I can remember.”

    Another several months passed like this. One morning, Xie Xun suddenly said, “Fifth brother, fifth sister, in another four months, the wind will start blowing south. Let’s start building a raft now. Zhang CuiShan, happy and surprised, asked, “Do you think we can get back to the mainland this way?” Xie Xun said coldly, “That depends on what the Heaven thinks. As the saying goes, ‘Planning depends on man, Success depends on Heaven’. Succeed, and you’ll arrive at mainland. Fail, and you’ll die in the sea.”

    There’s no reason for him or Yin SuSu to go back. They lived happily here on the island. But WuJi needs to get married and have children. It would be a shame for him to grow old and die alone on this island. When Zhang CuiShan thought of WuJi’s future, he happily began to make the raft. The trees on this island are mostly very old. Due to growing in such a cold climate, their trunks are incredibly hard and sturdy. Xie Xun and Zhang CuiShan cut down the wood, while Yin SuSu use animal skins to sew a sail. WuJi simply did odd jobs to help out.

    Yin SuSu is hardly the spoiled little girl of ten years ago, but she never did have formal sewing training. So it was very difficult for her to make this sail.

    While processing the wood to make the raft, Xie Xun would always have WuJi stand by his side. This way, he could test WuJi’s memorization. Of course, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu could no longer stay away, so they heard Xie Xun ask questions, while WuJi answers them. Xie Xun wanted to WuJi to memorize all sorts of sword techniques, saber techniques and numerous other things. It’s already strange that Xie Xun would teach martial arts in a ‘scholarly fashion’. Yet he never even tried to explain anything, and taught like a terrible teacher, by simply making his students memorize everything without understanding. Yin SuSu felt sorry for her son. She thought that even a kung fu expert probably can’t even memorize this much stuff. Besides, what’s the use of memorizing the wording without demonstrations? Surely talking about martial arts isn’t worth anything in a true battle. Even worse is that every time WuJi makes a mistake, Xie Xun would slap him on the face. Although Xie Xun didn’t apply any inner power to his hand, the slaps would still leave a red mark for half a day.

    After two and a half months, they managed to finish the base of the raft. Then they took another half a month to put on the mast. Finally, they began to start to store food and water for the trip. By now, the days were already quite short. Yet the wind still blew northward.

    By now, Xie Xun stayed with WuJi every single moment, even forcing WuJi to sleep with him. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu could only bitterly smile at Xie Xun’s mix of tenderness and sternness.

    * * *

    One night, Zhang CuiShan woke up from his sleep, found the wind oddly different. He sat up, and realized that the wind indeed now came from the north. Zhang CuiShan quickly woke up Yin SuSu, said happily, “Listen to the wind!” Before Yin SuSu could respond, they suddenly heard Xie Xun yelled outside, “The northern wind’s blowing!” His voice was mixed with tears, which sounded very odd.

    The next morning, Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu quickly gathered everything for the journey. Part of them didn’t want to leave. After all, they had lived here for ten years. Zhang and Yin finished putting food and water on the boat by noon. They then pushed the raft into the sea. WuJi first jumped onboard, and Yin SuSu followed.

    Zhang CuiShan grabbed Xie Xun’s hand and said, “Big brother, the raft is about six feet from us. Let’s jump on together!”

    Xie Xun said, “Fifth brother, we shall part here. Please take good care of yourself.”

    Zhang CuiShan’s heart jumped, as if someone had just punched him in the chest. He said, “You… you…” Xie Xun said, “You have a good heart, and should have a good life. But your views on good and evil are too idealistic, and therefore must be careful. WuJi is open-minded and tolerant, so I trust him to make good decisions when he grows up. Although fifth sister is a woman, she will never get the short end of the stick on things. Quite frankly, the person I fear for the most, is you.” Zhang CuiShan felt shocked. He yelled, “Big brother, what are you saying? You’re not going to… going to come with us?” Xie Xun said, “I said this a few years ago. Don’t you remember?”

    To Zhang CuiShan, these words felt like thunder roaring in his ears. He did remember Xie Xun’s words about remaining on the island. At the time, neither he nor Yin SuSu thought much of it. Afterwards, Xie Xun never repeated this sentiment. So these came as quite a shock to him. Zhang CuiShan said in a hurry, “Big brother, what’s so great about staying on this island alone? Jump on the raft, quick!” As he spoke, Zhang CuiShan pulled on Xie Xun’s hand. But Xie Xun remained at his spot firmly.

    Zhang CuiShan yelled, “SuSu, WuJi, get back! Big brother said that he wouldn’t go with us.” Yin SuSu and WuJi both gasped, and jumped back to shore. WuJi said, “Godfather, why won’t you go with us? If you don’t go, then I won’t go either.”

    Of course, Xie Xun didn’t want to leave them. After parting, they certainly would not return. To live alone on this island is possibly worse then death. But after becoming a sworn brother to Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu, he cared more for them than himself. And he loved WuJi as his own son. However, after thinking thoroughly, he knew that he had to stay. There are too many enemies back in the mainland. Plus, it’s quite possible that people knew that the Dragon Saber is in his hands now. Should he go back, just about everyone in the martial world would want his life. In the past, he would just shrug off the danger. But with both eyes blinded, he can’t possibly hold off his enemies. Besides, Zhang and Yin would certainly not see him die alone, and might fight with him to the end. He concluded that they would probably not live for more than a year back in mainland. Of course, Xie Xun didn’t care to share this. He would just go ahead and decided stay at the last moment.

    When he heard WuJi’s words, Xie Xun picked him up and said, “WuJi, you’re a good kid. Listen to your godfather, ok? Your godfather’s too old, and he is blind. I can live a carefree life here. But would feel uncomfortable living on the mainland.” WuJi said, “Don’t worry, I’ll will take care of you after we get back, and never leave your side. If you want to eat or drink, I’ll bring them to you. So you can live the same life.” Xie Xun shook his head, said, “No. I would still be happier here.” WuJi said, “I’m happy here too. Mom, dad, let’s just stay here, ok?”

    Yin SuSu said, “Big brother, why are you so adamant on staying? If there’s a problem, share it with us. But we can’t let you stay alone.”

    Xie Xun thought, “Looks like it’s impossible to reason with them into leaving. So what should I do?”

    Zhang CuiShan suddenly said, “I know you’re afraid of your enemies, right? We can just find an obscure place to settle down, so they won’t find us. Actually, we can simply go to Wu Dang Mountain. No one would expect you to be there.” Xie Xun said, “Humph. Although your big brother is useless, but at least he doesn’t need your master’s protection.” Zhang CuiShan knew he spoke the wrong words, and hurried said, “Big brother’s kung fu is my master’s equal. Why would you need his protection? Besides, we can go anywhere. There are many places for us to settle.”

    Xie Xun said, “If you want me to find an obscure place to live, what could be more obscure than this island? Look, are you three going or not?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “If big brother won’t leave, neither will we.” Xie Xun sighed, said, “Fine. We’ll all stay. You can wait till I die, and then leave.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Alright. We’ve already lived here for ten years. And are certainly not in a hurry to leave.”

    Xie Xun yelled, “Are you certain that you’ll leave after I die?” At this moment, the three of them saw Xie Xun’s hand flashed, as he unsheathed the Dragon Saber, and sliced at his own throat.

    Zhang CuiShan yelled in shock, “Don’t hurt WuJi!” He knew that he could not physically his brother from committing suicide. The only way to stop him is by this lie. Xie Xun immediately froze, put down his saber and yelled, “What?”

    Zhang CuiShan realized that he can’t change Xie Xun’s mind, and said with tears, “If big brother’s so adamant about it, then I will respect your wishes, and part.” As he spoke, Zhang CuiShan kneeled down and kowtowed several times. But WuJi yelled, “Godfather, if you don’t go, then neither will I! If you can commit suicide, so can I. A man of his words does what he says. I can slash my own throat too.”

    Xie Xun yelled, “Little fool. Don’t be ridiculous!” He instantly grabbed WuJi, and threw him onto the raft. Xie Xun then stepped up, and pushed both Yin SuSu and Zhang CuiShan onto the boat also. He yelled, “Fifth brother, fifth sister, WuJi! I wish you a safe journey. Hopefully, you will peacefully return to the mainland.” Then he added, “WuJi, after you get back to the mainland, you must call yourself Zhang WuJi. Only keep the name ‘Xie WuJi’ in your heart, never to be spoken.”

    WuJi yelled as loud as he could, “Godfather, Godfather!”

    Xie Xun raised his saber and said, “If you dare return to shore, our relationship ends immediately.”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu knew that their sworn brother’s mind is set. They could therefore only wave goodbye. By this time, the wind had begun to carry them away from the island. They saw Xie Xun’s body becoming smaller and smaller, until he disappeared into the distance. Only then did the family of three turn around. WuJi rested in his mother’s embrace, cried for a long time, before falling asleep.

    * * *

    The raft drifted in the sea, where the northern wind continuously carried them southward. None of them knew exactly where they are, but since the sun kept rising from the left, sets on the right, the North Star always behind them, and the raft kept moving. They knew that the mainland is closer with each passing day. Afraid that they might run into icebergs, Zhang CuiShan had only a small portion of the sail up. Although this made the journey longer, but also made it much safer. They still rarely bump into icebergs, but always just a light graze, before slipping away. After they left the region of icebergs, the sails went up fully.

    The wind direction never changed. And thankfully, they encountered no storms. Everyone was optimistic about reaching the mainland. Not wishing to make WuJi upset, Zhang and Yin never brought up Xie Xun.

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “It’s uncertain just how useful big brother’s teachings are. So when WuJi returns, he still must enter the Wu Dang Sect.” With nothing to do on the raft, Zhang CuiShan began to teach his son basic Wu Dang martial arts. He taught in a much more detailed manner than Xie Xun, and rudimentary Wu Dang martial arts are quite simple. WuJi learned them quickly. For much of the journey, father and son spent their time on the raft practicing techniques.

    When Yin SuSu saw the wind continuously blowing southward, she couldn’t help but say, “Big brother’s knowledge of nature is also incredible. He certainly is a genius.”

    WuJi suddenly said, “If the wind blows southward half the year, and northward half the year, then we can go back to visit godfather next year.” Zhang CuiShan said happily, “You are right. When you grow up, let’s go back north together…”

    Yin SuSu suddenly pointed southward and yelled, “What’s that?” Only to see two black dots in the distance. Zhang CuiShan gasped. He said, “Could they be whales? If they ram into the raft, we’re goners.” Yin SuSu stared for a while, then said, “Not whales. I didn’t see water coming out.” The three of them stared at the dots intently. More than hours later, Zhang CuiShan suddenly yelled, “They’re boats! Boats!” He immediately stood up, and did a cartwheel on the raft. After WuJi was born, Zhang CuiShan had never acted so silly like this. WuJi laughed out loud, and did two flips himself.

    After another couple of hours, they saw the boats clearly. Yin SuSu’s body suddenly trembled, and her face turned pale. WuJi asked, “Mother, what’s going on?” Yin SuSu’s mouth moved, but did not speak aloud. Zhang CuiShan grabbed her hand, his face filled with concern. Yin SuSu sighed and said, “What a coincidence, just when we came back.” Zhang CuiShan asked, “What do you mean?” Yin SuSu said, “Look at that mast.”

    Zhang CuiShan looked at the ships closely. Only to see a large, black eagle drawn on the left ship’s mast. He suddenly remembered the Heavenly Eagle Sect’s flag on Wang Pan Island, and said, “Is it… the Heavenly Eagle Sect?” Yin SuSu whispered, “Yes. It’s my dad’s ship.”

    In this instant, thousands of thoughts passed through Zhang CuiShan’s mind. “SuSu’s father is the leader of the Heavenly Eagle Sect. This sect does so many evil deeds. What should I do upon seeing my father-in-law? What would my master think of my marriage?” He felt Yin SuSu’s hands shake, realized that she must also be pondering a lot things at this instant. He said, “SuSu, look at how old our son is already. ‘In Heaven or Hell, never to part’. What are you afraid of?” Yin SuSu let out a long sigh, smiled, and whispered, “Hopefully there won’t be any problems on my behalf. Just do what’s best for WuJi.”

    WuJi has never seen a boat before. He stared at them curiosity, and didn’t hear his parents’ words.

    As the raft drifted closer, they saw that the two boats are next to each other, as if they’re together. Unless they changed their course, the raft would pass about thirty meters to the right of the boats.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Do you want hail them. Maybe we can find out about your dad.” Yin SuSu said, “No. Let’s get back to the mainland first. Then I’ll take you and WuJi to see my dad.” Zhang CuiShan said, “That’s fine too.” Suddenly, swords glittered on the boats, as four or five people were fighting. So he added, “There’s fighting on the ships.” Yin SuSu looked for a while, and was concerned. She said, “I wonder if my dad’s there.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Since we’re here, we might as well take a look.” He changed the raft’s direction, so it now drifted towards the ships.

    * * *

    The raft drifted very slowly, so it still took them a long time to get close.

    Suddenly, someone on the Heavenly Eagle Sect’s boat yelled, “We’re just doing normal business here. Outsiders should mind their own business.” Yin SuSu yelled, “Sun and Moon shines down, Heavenly Eagle spreads its wings, Holy fire rises up, Brings blessings down to us. I am a Hall Leader. May I ask which branch is burning incense and lighting fire?” A man on the boat immediately said courteously, “On this boat are Heavenly City Hall’s Leader Li, leading Green Dragon Branch’s Leader Cheng and Divine Snake Branch’s Leader Feng. Is the Heaven’s Secret Hall’s Leader Yin here?” Yin SuSu said, “I am Purple Secret Hall’s leader.”

    The people on the boat became chaotic upon hearing these words. Soon, many people shouted, “Hey, Miss Yin’s back, Miss Yin’s back.”

    Although Zhang CuiShan married Yin SuSu for ten years, she had never talked about the Heavenly Eagle Sect. Only now did he realize that she is Purple Secret Hall’s hall leader. Looks like a ‘hall leader’ is more powerful than a ‘branch leader’. He already saw the abilities of branch leaders Bai and Chang, and knew their skills to be above Yin SuSu’s. He figured that she’s only hall leader because her father is the sect leader. Zhang CuiShan also reckoned that this ‘Heavenly City Hall’ Hall Leader Li must be a powerful person.

    Only to hear an old voice say, “Looks like my sect leader’s daughter have come back. Why don’t we call a truce for now?” Another loud, crisp voice said, “Fine! Everyone stop fighting.” The sounds of weapons clashing immediately stopped, and the combatants backed off. Zhang CuiShan thought that crisp voice sounded familiar. He yelled, “Are you Brother Yu LianZhou?” That person on the boat yelled, “I am indeed Yu LianZhou. Who… oh… you… you…”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Your little brother Zhang CuiShan!” The raft is still several tens of meters from the boats. But in his excitement, Zhang CuiShan picked up a wood from the raft, threw it into the water, and used it to jump onto the boat.

    Yu LianZhou quickly came to greet him. After ten years of separation, with Zhang CuiShan’s fate unknown, one could expect their exhilaration upon being reunited. Their four hands grasped each other. One yelled, “Second brother!” One yelled, “Fifth brother!” Their eyes filled with tears, as no more words could come out.

    Meanwhile, the Heavenly Eagle Sect held their welcome celebration for Yin SuSu. Eight horns blew loudly in the back, while Hall Leader Li stood in the front. The two branch leaders, Feng and Cheng, stood directly behind him, with the others further back. They now prepared some boards to connect onto the raft, with several people holding on to them using long hooks. Yin SuSu and WuJi jumped onto the boat.

    The Heavenly Eagle Sect divides into three inner halls and five outer branches. Each division has their own people. The three inner halls divide into Heaven’s Secret, Purple Secret, and Heavenly City halls. The five outer branches divide into Green Dragon, White Tiger, Black Valiant, Red Sparrow, and Divine Serpent branches. Yin TianZheng’s eldest son, Yin YeWang, heads the Heaven’s Secret Hall. Yin SuSu heads the Purple Secret Hall. Yin TianZheng’s little martial brother Li TianYuan heads the Heavenly City Hall.

    Seeing Yin SuSu dressed in such strange clothing, holding a kid with her, Li TianYuan froze for a moment. Then a smile came to his face, as he said, “Thank heavens you’ve come back. You have no idea how worried your father had been these ten years.”

    Yin SuSu got on her knees and bowed, said, “Nice to see you, martial uncle.” Then she said to WuJi, “Hurry and kowtow to your martial granduncle.” WuJi quickly got on his knees and kowtowed several times. Meanwhile, his eyes stared at Li TianYuan, quite curious to see all these people on the boat.

    Yin SuSu got back up and said, “Martial uncle, this is your niece’s son. He’s called WuJi.”

    Li TianYuan stuttered a bit, and then started to laugh loudly, said, “Great! Great! Your father will be so delighted. Not only is his daughter back, but he also gained such a handsome little grandson.”

    Yin SuSu saw several dead people on the deck, and asked quietly, “Who are we fighting? What’s the reason?” Li TianYuan said, “They are members of Wu Dang and Kun Lun sects.” When Yin SuSu heard her husband yell ‘Brother Yu’, and then met up with someone on the other boat, she knew Wu Dang’s involved. So she said, “Try to resolve this peacefully if possible.”

    Li TianYuan said, “Yes.” Although he’s the martial uncle, his hall ranks below Yin SuSu’s. Hence, on official sect matters, Yin SuSu has power over him.

    Only to hear Zhang CuiShan yell, “SuSu, WuJi, come see my martial brother.” Yin SuSu grabbed WuJi’s hand, and walked over to the other boat. Li TianYuan was afraid for her safety, and followed.

    Only to see eight people on the other boat. A tall, skinny man of about forty is holding hands with Zhang CuiShan, showing a close relationship. Zhang CuiShan said, “SuSu, this is second brother Yu I always tell you about. Second brother, this is your sister-in-law and your nephew WuJi.” Yu LianZhou and Li TianYuan were incredibly shocked to hear these words. The Heavenly Eagle Sect and Wu Dang are in the midst of fighting, yet an important person from each sect is actually a couple. Not only that, they even have a child.

    Yu LianZhou knew that it’s impossible to tell the whole story at this time. So he went ahead and introduced everyone first.

    He introduced a short, chubby Taoist with a yellow hat as Kun Lun’s XiHua Zi. A middle-aged woman is XiHua Zi’s martial sister, Wei SiNiang*. People in the martial world call her ‘Lightning Madame’ behind her back. Both Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu had heard of these two people. The others are also expert swordsman from Kun Lun Sect, but not as famous as XiHua Zi and Wei SiNiang. Although XiHua Zi’s fairly old, he seemed to lack manners. His first words were, “Fifth Hero Zhang, where’s that bastard Xie Xun? You should know, right?”

    Note* ‘Si’ means ‘four’. ‘Niang’ means ‘Madame’, except it’s not as formal. So SiNiang is not her given name.

    Zhang CuiShan hasn’t even set foot on the mainland, and already two huge dilemmas are presented to him. First, Wu Dang and the Heavenly Eagle Sect are enemies. Second, people are already asking about Xie Xun. He didn’t know how to respond, and asked Yu LianZhou, “Second brother, what’s going on here?”

    When Zhang CuiShan didn’t respond to his question, XiHua Zi became furious. He yelled, “Did you hear my question? Where’s Xie Xun?” He ranks quite high in the Kun Lun Sect, and has very good kung fu. So XiHua Zi is used to ordering people around.

    Two of Branch Leader Feng’s men just died in XiHua Zi’s hands. So he’s already angry with XiHua Zi, said coldly, “Fifth Hero Zhang is my sect leader’s son-in-law. You might want to watch your mouth when speaking.” XiHua Zi yelled, “How could a demonic woman of an evil sect be married to a member of a righteous sect? There must be something suspicious behind it.” Branch Leader Feng chuckled, said, “Sect Leader Yin already has a grandson, and yet you still spew this sort of crap?” XiHua Zi yelled, “This demonic woman…”

    Wei SiNiang knew of Branch Leader Feng’s intentions. He wanted to separate the bond between Kun Lun and Wu Dang. At the same time, he also gets to please Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu. Things can only get worse should XiHua Zi keep talking. So she quickly cut in, “Martial brother, no need to waste time arguing. Let’s hear what Second Hero Yu has to say.”

    Yu LianZhou looked at Zhang CuiShan, then at Yin SuSu. He didn’t know what to think either, and therefore said, “Let’s get into the cabin to discuss this matter. Also, we can use this time to heal the injured.”

    On this boat, the Heavenly Eagle Sect is guest. And the highest ranked member of the Heavenly Eagle Sect is Yin SuSu. She entered the cabin first with WuJi, with Li TianYuan following.

    When Branch Leader Feng entered the cabin, he felt a strong wind coming towards his waist. Branch Leader Feng is very experienced, knew immediately that XiHua Zi ambushed him. Instead of blocking, he simply dashed forward, while yelling, “Huh? Are you attacking me?” He evaded XiHua Zi’s ‘Triple Lunar Hand’, and with the yell turned all attention towards them.

    Wei SiNiang glared at XiHua Zi, only to see his face all red. It was agreed that the Heavenly Eagle Sect members are guests on this boat. So XiHua Zi’s actions, especially as a member of a righteous sect, is quite shameful. Everyone sat down in the cabin, separating into two groups, guests and hosts.

    Yin SuSu is the head of the guests, and sat in the front with WuJi. On the host side, Yu LianZhou led the group. He asked Wei SiNiang to bring an extra chair, then said, “Fifth brother, sit here.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes” and sat down.

    This separated Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu, and put them into two different camps.

    For the past ten years, Yu DaiYan never left due to his injury. Zhang CuiShan disappeared, his fate unknown. Yet the remaining five heroes became even more famous. Although Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou are second-generation disciples, their position in the martial world rivals even the reverends at Shaolin. Therefore, out of respect for the Five Heroes of Wu Dang, the Kun Lun participants offered Yu LianZhou the front seat.

    Yu LianZhou thought, “Looks like during the ten years fifth brother disappeared, he married Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Leader Yin’s daughter. I’m sure there are a lot of details involved. He might not want to disclose everything to the public.” So he said, “Including Shaolin, Kun Lun, E Mei, Kong Dong, Wu Dang five major sects, Divine Fist, Five Winded Saber, and seven other minor sects, Sea Sand, Huge Whale, and five other clans, a total of twenty-one groups wanted to find the location of ‘Golden-Haired Lion King’ Xie Xun, Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Miss Yin, and my own sect’s martial brother Zhang CuiShan. We had some misunderstanding with the Heavenly Eagle Sect in the process, and ended up as enemies. This had been going on for ten years now…” He paused for a moment, then added, “Thankfully, Miss Yin and Brother Zhang both have appeared, so we can clear up our misunderstanding. However, it will take a long time to discuss the details. So I propose that we return to land first. Let Miss Yin first see her sect leader, my martial brother see his master, and then have everyone meet to discuss things peacefully. Hopefully, we can then resolve this issue…”

    XiHua Zi suddenly cut in, “Where is that bastard Xie Xun? We want the location of that bastard.”

    Zhang CuiShan felt uneasy after hearing about all these conflicts, knowing that he’s partially responsible for them. He also didn’t know how to respond to XiHua Zi’s question. If he tells the truth, countless people will go to Fire-Ice Island for revenge. But to not say anything would bring about suspicions on his family. Yin SuSu suddenly said, “The vicious, murderous Xie Xun died nine years ago.”

    Yu LianZhou, XiHua Zi, Wei SiNiang, and everyone else all let out a gasp, “Xie Xun’s dead?”

    Yin SuSu said, “That day I was giving birth. Xie Xun’s insanity acted up. Just as he was about to kill fifth brother and I, my son began to cry. This murderous, vicious Xie Xun developed a heart problem, and died.

    Zhang CuiShan realized what Yin SuSu’s trying to say. She didn’t lie, as the ‘vicious, murderous’ Xie Xun did indeed ‘die’ that day. The ‘good’ Xie Xun remained.

    XiHua Zi let out a humph. Since Yin SuSu’s a demonic woman in his mind, her words could not be trusted. He asked loudly, “Fifth Hero Zhang, is Xie Xun really dead?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes, that murderous Xie Xun really did die that day.”

    WuJi heard the whole conversation and was quite upset. Although he’s very intelligent, WuJi doesn’t know anything about the ways of the world. Xie Xun treated him like his own son, yet these people are cursing him, and even his own parents say that he’s dead. WuJi couldn’t help but cry out, “Godfather’s not vicious. He’s not dead.” These words stunned everyone in the cabin.

    In her rage, Yin SuSu slapped WuJi across the face, yelled, “Close your mouth!” WuJi cried, “Mom, why do you say that godfather’s dead? Isn’t he still alive?” He’s only lived with three other people all his life, and had never touched upon the evils of the society. Even a boy of average intelligence, growing up in the martial world, would know that lying is normal, and not make such a huge blunder. Yin SuSu scolded, “When adults are talking, a child should not cut in. We are talking about that vicious, murderous Xie Xun, not your godfather.” WuJi didn’t understand, but stopped speaking nonetheless.

    XiHua Zie laughed coldly, said, “Little brother, Xie Xun’s your godfather, right? Where is he?”

    WuJi saw the grave expressions on his parents’ face, and knew that they are in a middle of an important discussion. When XiHua Zi asked his question, he shook his head, and said, “I won’t tell you.” The words “I won’t tell you” further proved that Xie Xun is still alive.

    XiHua Zi stared at Zhang CuiShan and said, “Fifth Hero Zhang, is this Miss Yin really your wife?” Zhang CuiShan didn’t expect such question, and said, “Yes. She is my wife.” XiHua Zia said, “Your wife injured two disciples of my Kun Lun Sect. They’ve now become half-dead, half-retarded people. How do we resolve this issue?”

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu both gasped. Yin SuSu yelled, “That is nonsense!” Zhang CuiShan said, “There must be some misunderstanding here. My wife and I have been away from the mainland for ten years now. How could we have injured your sect’s disciples? XiHua Zi said, “Then what about ten years ago? It’s been ten years since Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao were injured.” Yin SuSu said, “Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao?” XiHua Zi said, “Does Mrs. Zhang still remember them? Perhaps you’ve killed too many people in your life, and couldn’t remember all of them.” Yin SuSu said, “What happened to them? Why do you accuse me for their deaths?”

    XiHua Zi let out a laugh, then said, “Accuse you? Ha! Although Gao and Jiang are now retarded, they still remember one thing, and could say one name, to tell us who injured them. That name is “Yin… Su… Su…” He said this in a very venomous tone, as if he’d kill Yin SuSu immediately if given the chance.

    Branch Leader Feng suddenly cut in, “How can you, an old Taoist, speak the given name of my sect’s hall leader? You don’t even adhere to your own Taoist rules, yet still pretend to be some elder in the martial world? Brother Cheng, do you think there’s anything more despicable than this?” Branch Leader Cheng said, “No. It’s a shame that a righteous sect could teach such an undisciplined disciple.”

    XiHua Zi yelled madly, “Are you talking about me? You dare ridicule me?”

    Branch Leader Feng didn’t even bother to look at him. He said, “Brother Cheng, even if someone learns some simple sword techniques, he should still speak like a human, right?” Branch Leader Cheng said, “After the passing of Taoist Ling Bao, Kun Lun Sect has become worse and worse with each generation.”

    Taoist Ling Bao is XiHua Zi’s martial grandfather, very respected in the martial world. XiHua Zi knew he needed to choose his answer carefully. Otherwise, he might end up saying that he’s more respected than the venerable martial grandfather. XiHua Zi quickly stepped to the cabin entrance. Swoosh, his sword came out, and yelled, “Evil sect’s demons. If you got the guts, come out and fight!”

    Branch Leaders Feng and Cheng purposely enraged XiHua Zi to help out Yin SuSu. They thought that since Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu are now married, Wu Dang would surely no longer be their enemy. Even if they don’t help the Heavenly Eagle Sect, Yu LianZhou and Zhang CuiShan would at least stay neutral. The Heavenly Eagle Sect can easily take care of these Kun Lun folks.

    Wei SiNiang frowned. She also knew that there was no way the Kun Lun disciples here alone could defeat the Heavenly Eagle Sect. Besides, Zhang CuiShan could easily fight on the other side. She said, “Martial brother, don’t be so rash. They are our guests. Let’s follow Second Hero Yu’s orders.” She purposely brought up Yu LianZhou, thinking that considering Yu LianZhou’s fame, he would certainly stay on their side. But XiHua Zi did not understand her intentions, and yelled, “Wu Dang and the Heavenly Eagle Sect are now relatives by marriage. He’s on their side now, so why should I listen to him?”

    Yu LianZhou rarely displays any expression on his face. And upon hearing XiHua Zi’s word, he simply remained silent.

    Wei SiNiang said in a hurry, “Martial brother, how can you say such a thing? Wu Dang and Kun Lun had been working together for the past ten years. Who doesn’t respect and know the fame of Second Hero Yu? We can trust Wu Dang’s Five Heroes to be objective.” XiHua Zi let out a humph, said, “I wouldn’t be so sure!” Wei SiNiang screamed madly inside at XiHua Zi, for being such a fool. She said, “Martial brother. Why do you insist on offending the Wu Dang’s Five Heroes? Don’t blame me if master reprimand you for this.” She kept on saying ‘Wu Dang’s Five Heroes’, obviously excluding Zhang CuiShan. XiHua Zi really did stop yelling upon hearing about his master.

    Yu LianZhou said calmly, “This issue concerns most of the major sects and clans in the martial world. Surely I cannot make a major decision alone. Since we’ve waited for ten years already, another year or two won’t matter. I’ll take my martial brother back to Wu Dang, so my master can decide on what to do.”

    XiHua Zi said with a smirk, “What a great defensive ‘Close Off by Enveloping’ by Second Hero Yu.”

    Yu LianZhou almost never gets mad. But this ‘Lock Away by Enveloping’ is a famous protective Wu Dang technique. To speak of it in such a manner meant ridiculing his master. But then Yu LianZhou thought, “I can’t be too rash on handling this matter, or the results might be disastrous. No need to argue with this wild Taoist.”

    After speaking, XiHua Zi saw Yu LianZhou’s eyes glowed like lightning for a moment, and shuddered. XiHua Zi thought, “My master and sect leader martial uncle are the two best fighters of Kun Lun. Yet the expression in their eyes could not match the deadliness of this person.” Yu LianZhou’s expression calmed, and said, “If brother XiHua has a good suggestion, I’d like to hear it.” XiHua Zi turned to Wei SiNiang and said, “Martial sister, what do you think? Should we just forget about Gao and Jiang?”

    Before Wei SiNiang could respond, sound of horn came from outside. A Kun Lun disciple came in and said, “E Mei and Kong Dong sects are here.” XiHua Zi and Wei SiNiang were overjoyed. Wei SiNiang said, “Second Hero Yu, why don’t we hear what Kong Dong and E Mei has to say?” Yu LianZhou said, “Fine.”

    Li TianYuan and Branch Leader Cheng glanced at each other. Both frowned.

    Zhang CuiShan became more troubled. He didn’t mind E Mei too much, but Xie Xun is Kong Dong Sect’s major enemy. He had once injured three elders of Kong Dong, plus stole their <Fists of Seven Damages Manual>. No wonder Kong Dong Sect wanted Xie Xun’s location.”

    Yin SuSu contemplated about the same things. She thought that everything would be easier had WuJi not interfered. But since WuJi had never lied before, and loved his godfather dearly, his reaction was perfectly normal. Upon seeing his red cheek from her slap, Yin SuSu felt bad for being so harsh. She embraced him in her arms. WuJi is still quite scared. He whispered into his mother’s ear, “Mom, godfather’s not dead, right?” Yin SuSu whispered into his ear, “Of course not. Your mother was lying to them. These are all bad people. They want to hurt your godfather.” WuJi immediately realized what’s going on. He glared at everyone in front of him, and thought, “Oh, so you are all bad people. You want to hurt my godfather.”

    From this day on, Zhang WuJi truly entered the martial world. He began to realize just how devious humans could be. He also knew that although his mother slapped him, the real culprits are these people in front of him. Living under the love of his family, he had never really understood the concept of a ‘bad person’. Even though Xie Xun told him about Cheng Kun, the idea still never really registered in his mind until now, when he’s actually facing one.

    End of Chapter 8

  10. #10
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Jun 2003
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    Chapter 9: Eternal Delight as the Seven Heroes Reunited

    (Translated by Meh)

    After a long time, Kong Dong and E Mei each had six, seven people enter the cabin. They greeted Yu LianZhou, XiHua Zi, and Wei SiNiang. The Kong Dong group is headed by an old, skinny man. The E Mei group is headed by a middle-aged nun. These two groups were quite surprised to see the Heavenly Eagle Sect people here.

    XiHua Zi said loudly, “Hello, venerable Jing Xu, Third Master Tang. Unfortunately, Wu Dang and Heavenly Eagle Sect have joined forces.” That short, old man is called Tang WenLiang, one of the ‘Five Elders of Kong Dong’. The middle-aged nun, Jing Xu, is E Mei fourth generation’s eldest disciple. Both are renowned experts in the martial world. They couldn’t believe what XiHua Zi just said. Jing Xu is a very careful person, knew about XiHua Zi’s bad temper, and didn’t say anything. However, Tang WenLiang’s eyes immediately glared at Yu LianZhou. He said, “Is this true, Second Hero Yu?”

    Before Yu LianZhou could respond, XiHua Zi cut in, “Wu Dang and Heavenly Eagle Sect are now relatives through marriage. Zhang CuiShan is Yin TianZheng’s son-in-law…” Tang WenLiang said with surprise, “You’ve found the Zhang CuiShan who had disappeared for ten years now?”

    Yu LianZhou pointed at Zhang CuiShan and said, “This is my fifth martial brother, Zhang CuiShan. Fifth brother, this is an elder of Kong Dong Sect, Third Master Tang WenLiang.” XiHua Zi added, “Zhang CuiShan and his wife know ‘Golden-Haired Lion King’ Xie Xun’s location. Yet instead of saying it, they chose to make up a huge lie.”

    Tang WenLiang’s turned incredibly angry upon hearing Xie Xun’s name, and yelled, “Where is he?” Zhang CuiShan said, “I must consult with my master on this matter first. So I’m sorry to withhold this information for now.” Tang WenLiang yelled furiously, “Where is this bastard Xie Xun? He killed my nephew. There’s no way I can coexist with him in the same world. Are you going to tell me his location or not?” He spoke in such a deafening voice, without a hint of courtesy.

    Yin SuSu said coldly, “You’re just one of the older guys in the Kong Dong Sect. What right do you have to question Fifth Hero Zhang this way? Are you the Martial World’s most venerable? Are you the Head of Wu Dang, Taoist Zhang?”

    In his rage, Tang WenLiang was about to attack Yin SuSu. But he held back at the last moment. Yin SuSu was simply a young woman. It would be very rude for an elder like him to attack her in such a manner. So he asked Zhang CuiShan, “Who is she?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “She is my wife.” XiHua Zi added, “And also the daughter of Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Leader Yin. Humph, just a wretched demonic lady of an evil sect.” ‘White-Browed Eagle King’ Yin TianZheng’s kung fu is quite incredible. No one who fought him had lasted more than ten exchanges. So when Tang WenLiang heard that she’s Yin TianZheng’s daughter, he hesitated to speak further, and said, “Good! Good! Absolutely marvelous!”

    Jing Xu had been silent ever since entering the room. She chose to speak up at this moment, “Can Second Hero Yu tells us the story behind all this?” Yu LianZhou said, “This is indeed a long story, as it covered events over a ten-year period. How about this, Wu Dang will host a gathering at Wu Chang city’s Yellow Crane Restaurant. We will welcome all heroes who wish to attend. There, the entire story will be told, and we can resolve this issue. Is this ok with everyone here?” Jing Xu nodded, said, “This is fine with me.”

    Tang WenLiang said, “We can wait to hear the story three months later. But as for Xie Xun’s location, I’d like to know now, Fifth Hero Zhang.” Zhang CuiShan shook his head, said, “I’m afraid I cannot tell you right now.” Although he didn’t like the response, Tang WenLiang knew he couldn’t offend Wu Dang and Heavenly Eagle Sects. Besides, there’s no way Zhang CuiShan can withhold the truth in three months. Without further words, he stood up, waved at his constituents, and said, “Let’s meet in three months. Goodbye.”

    XiHua Zi said, “Third Master Tang, can we hitch a ride back on your boat?” Tang WenLiang said, “Sure.” XiHua Zi said to Wei SiNiang, “Martial Sister, let’s go!” He came here on the same boat as Yu LianZhou, so this act clearly showed enmity towards Wu Dang. Yu LianZhou did not make a comment, and courteously showed them off the boat. Then he said, “After reporting to our master, we shall send out invitation letters to everyone.”

    Yin SuSu suddenly said, “Taoist XiHua, I wish to ask you something.” XiHua Zi turned his head, said, “What?” Yin SuSu said, “You said that I was a demonic woman of an evil sect. But how am I ‘demonic’ and ‘evil’?” XiHua Zi froze for a moment, then said, “You’re a devilish fox who belongs to an infamous evil sect. What’s more to say? Otherwise, why would a righteous Fifth Hero Zhang fall for you?” Yin SuSu said, “Thank you for your explanation.”

    XiHua Zi was surprised that Yin SuSu did not try to rebut. Hearing no further words, he walked over to Kong Dong Sect’s boats on the plank.

    Even thought the boats are next to each other, it still takes a seven-meter plank to connect the two. By answering Yin SuSu’s questions, XiHua Zi walked across last. Just as he walked toward the middle of the plank, sound of wind came from behind, followed by a scraping noise. Despite his temper, XiHua Zi’s kung fu is quite formidable, and certainly very experienced. Thinking that someone attacked from behind, he quickly drew his sword. At this moment, he felt the plank giving away below his feet, as it was cut in two. He tried to jump up, but as he was right in between two boats, there was nothing to hang on to. With only the deep, blue sea under him, Splash! XiHua Zi fell into the water.

    XiHua Zi didn’t know how to swim, and immediately swallowed a large amount of water. His hands waved like mad, when suddenly the hands found a rope. In his joy, XiHua Zi held on to the rope tightly, only to feel a person pulling him up. XiHua Zi looked up, and saw that the person pulling him is actually Branch Leader Cheng, who looked at him in a smug expression.

    Yin SuSu really despised XiHua Zi’s rudeness, and made this trap for him. Branch Leader Feng’s thirty-six flying daggers are renowned in the martial world. He’s both fast and accurate. Each dagger was exquisitely made by the best blacksmiths with the best materials. Thin as a feather, astonishingly sharp, so should his opponent try to block with a weapon, that weapon usually breaks in half. When Branch Leader Feng used the dagger cut off the plank, it split apart easily. Branch Leader Cheng prepared a rope at the same time. After XiHua Zi had drunk some seawater, he pulled XiHua Zi up.

    When Wei SiNiang, Tang WenLiang, and others saw XiHua Zi drop into the sea, they knew it was a trap. But Branch Leader Feng was too quick, and they had all been looking the other way. So no one knew exactly what had happened.

    As Branch Leader Cheng pulled him up, XiHua Zi held back his anger. He waited to get on the deck first to attack these people. However, after pulling him up a bit above the water, Branch Leader Cheng stopped. He yelled, “Old Taoist, don’t move. I’m not all that strong. If you move and I can’t hold on, I’d have to release the rope.” XiHua Zi didn’t want this person to throw himself back into the water again. So he held on to the rope tightly.

    Branch Leader Cheng yelled, “Be careful!” He then swung the rope, XiHua Zi’s body flew back over twenty meters, then this momentum was used to send him over to the other boat.

    XiHua Zi let go of the rope, and landed on the boat’s deck. His had just lost his sword to the sea, and was about to go berserk. Only to hear thunderous laughter coming from the Heavenly Eagle Sect’s boat. XiHua Zi quickly grabbed Wei SiNiang’s sword and was about to go duel with them. But then realized that the two boats are too far apart now. So other than cursing loudly, he couldn’t do anything else.

    Yu LianZhou saw exactly how Yin SuSu ridiculed XiHua Zi. He felt that this woman is quite cruel, not a good match for fifth brother, and then said, “Hall leaders Yin and Li. Please tell your sect leader that should he have time, we welcome him to the Yellow Crane Restaurant gathering. Now let us part. Fifth brother, are you coming with me to see master?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes.”

    Yin SuSu knew that Yu LianZhou wanted to separate her and Zhang CuiShan. She looked up at the sky, then down on the deck.

    Zhang CuiShan knew what she meant, ‘On Heaven or in Hell, never to part’. So he said, “Second brother, how about I take your sister-in-law and nephew to see our master. Then, with his permission, we would then go see my father-in-law. Is that alright?” Yu LianZhou hesitated, but knew that he can’t truly separate this family of three, and nodded.

    Joyous at his approval, Yin SuSu turned to Li TianYuan, said, “Martial uncle, please send these words to my dad. Tell him his daughter can’t visit him right now. I will go back home as soon as I can.”

    Li TianYuan said, “That’s fine, I’ll wait surely wait for you. He then stood up, and waved goodbye to Yu LianZhou.

    Yin SuSu asked, “How is my father’s health?” Li TianYuan said, “Excellent! He’s more energetic than ever.” Yin SuSu then asked, “How is my brother?” Li TianYuan said, “Also excellent! His kung fu has accelerated greatly these past years. Not even this martial uncle is his match now. Pretty ashamed of myself, really.” Yin SuSu smiled, and said, “Oh, you’re just joking with me.” Li TianYuan said seriously, “Actually, I’m not kidding. Even your father’s said that his son would soon surpass himself. Don’t you think that’s amazing?” Yin SuSu said, “Oh, I can’t believe you’re gloating like this in front of outsiders. You’re not afraid that Second Hero Yu would laugh at you?” Li TianYuan said with a smile, “Fifth Hero Zhang is now our leader’s son-in-law. How could Second Hero Yu be an outsider?” As he spoke, Li TianYuan bowed with his fists together, and walked out the cabin.

    Yu LianZhou felt quite annoyed upon hearing these last words. He raised his eyebrows, but did not speak.

    * * *

    After the people from the Heavenly Eagle Sect had left, Zhang CuiShan asked in a hurry, “Second brother, what happened to third brother afterwards? Did he…recover?” Yu LianZhou sighed, but did not respond for a long time. Zhang CuiShan waited in suspense. He kept examining Yu LianZhou, afraid that he’d say the word ‘died’.

    Yu LianZhou then said, “Third brother’s still alive. But quite frankly, he’s not much different from a dead person. His whole body’s permanently crippled. There is no longer a Third Hero Yu in the martial world now.”

    Zhang CuiShan was happy that Yu DaiYan was alive, but cried at third brother’s crippled condition. He then asked, “Have you found out who injured my third brother?”

    Yu LianZhou didn’t respond. Instead he turned toward Yin SuSu. His eyes glared like lightning, and asked, “Miss Yin, do you know who injured my third brother?” Yin SuSu shuddered and said, “I heard his joints were broken by Shaolin’s Golden-Steel Finger.” Yu LianZhou said, “That’s correct. Do you know who did it?” Yin SuSu shook her head, said, “I don’t know.”

    Yu LianZhou then ignored her, and said to Zhang CuiShan, “Fifth brother, Shaolin said that you killed everyone in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, including servants and relatives. Plus you killed several Shaolin monks. Is this true?”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Well…” Yin SuSu cut in, “This doesn’t concern him. I killed all of them.”

    Yu LianZhou glanced at her, with eyes full of hatred. But after an instant, his expression quickly returned to normal, then said, “I knew fifth brother would never kill mindlessly like that. Because of this matter, Shaolin came to Wu Dang Mountain three times. But since everyone knew fifth brother disappeared, they can’t really do anything. We kept saying that Shaolin injured third brother. They kept saying that fifth brother murdered all those people. Thankfully, the Shaolin Abbot Kong Wen is a cautious person, and quite respectful of our master. He told his disciples not to view us as enemies. So we never had any open conflicts with Shaolin these ten years.”

    Yin SuSu said, “This is all due to the mistakes of my younger days. But since I’ve already killed them, let’s just not tell them the truth. They can’t figure it out anyway.”

    Yu LianZhou showed an astonished expression, and glanced at Zhang CuiShan. He thought, “How could you marry a woman like this?”

    Yin SuSu saw Yu LianZhou’s cold expression toward her, including calling her ‘Miss Yin’ rather than ‘sister-in-law’. Frustrated, she said, “I will take responsibility for my own actions. Don’t worry, Wu Dang will not get dragged into this. If Shaolin wants revenge, then they can seek my Heavenly Eagle Sect.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Nothing in the martial world is above the word ‘reason’. Even if we’re not dealing with the powerful Shaolin, but rather a lowly farmer, one still cannot be unreasonable.”

    If this had been ten years ago, Yin SuSu would’ve drawn her sword in anger. But she heard Zhang CuiShan say, “Second brother’s words are quite right,” and thought, “Do you think I really care about your righteous crap? I just don’t want to burden my husband by arguing with you.” She then grabbed WuJi’s hands and walked out the deck, said, “WuJi, let me show you around this boat. You’ve never seen one, right?”

    After his wife and son left the cabin, Zhang CuiShan said, “Second brother, in the past ten years, I…” Yu LianZhou held up his hand, said, “Fifth brother, you and I closer than even blood brothers. No matter what you did, I will stand by your side. As for your wife, there’s no need to explain everything. Just tell master everything when we return. Should he truly oppose this marriage, us seven brothers will get on our knees and beg him. After all, even your son’s grown up now. Surely master would not separate you and your wife.” Exhilarated at these words, Zhang CuiShan said, “Thank you, second brother.”

    Yu LianZhou is cold on the outside, but warm inside. Among the seven brothers, he is the most stern and jokes the least. Although the younger brothers respect him a great deal, they also fear him much more than their eldest martial brother, Song YuanQiao. In reality, Yu LianZhou’s also incredibly caring of his brothers. When Zhang CuiShan disappeared, his heart was broken. But on the surface, he maintained the same, cold expression. Seeing his long, lost brother today is one of the happiest moments of his life. Yet he still carried that cold expression, and even scolded Yin SuSu. Only when alone with his brother, did Yu LianZhou speak his true feelings. He’s mostly afraid of one thing, Yin SuSu’s murder of those Shaolin disciples. Nonetheless, Yu LianZhou made a promise in his mind. He would protect fifth brother’s family with his life.

    Zhang CuiShan then asked, “Second brother, how did we become enemies with the Heavenly Eagle Sect? Did my wife and I cause the conflict?” Yu LianZhou did not respond, instead asked, “What exactly happened on Wang Pan Island?”

    Zhang CuiShan told the whole story, from going to the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, till Xie Xun forced them out to sea. Then Yu LianZhou inquired about Kun Lun’s Gao ZeCheng and Jiang Tao.

    Afterwards, Yu LianZhou pondered for a long time, before saying, “So that’s what happened. If you hadn’t came back, I doubt we’d ever find the truth.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes, my sworn brother… Sigh. Second brother, Xie Xun really isn’t as terrible as everyone thinks. He only did so many bad things because of a terrible tragedy. Now, he is my sworn brother.” Yu LianZhou nodded, thought, “This is another troubling issue.”

    Zhang CuiShan continued, “When my sworn brother howled, he turned everyone on the island insane. That way, no one could reveal his secret.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Although Xie Xun’s actions are very brutal, he is, undoubtedly, a very ingenious person. However, despite his careful planning, Xie Xun forgot one person.” Zhang CuiShan asked, “Who?” Yu LianZhou said, “Bai GuiShou.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Heavenly Eagle Sect’s Branch Leader Bai?” Yu LianZhou said, “That’s correct. You said that his internal power was the best among the people there. He fainted when Xie Xun shot him with the poisonous wine. Had he been awake, I doubt he could’ve withstood the howl…”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “So that’s what happened. Bai GuiShou was still unconscious during the howl, so he kept his sanity. My sworn brother never realized this.”

    Yu LianZhou sighed, said, “It seemed that only Bai GuiShou was able to make it out of Wang Pan Island unscathed. Although Kun Lun inner power is quite strong, Gao and Jiang had only rudimentary knowledge of it. They have since become mentally retarded. When others ask them who made them this way, Jiang Tao simply shook his head, while Gao ZeCheng kept repeating a single person’s name, Yin SuSu.” He paused a moment, then added, “Now I know that it’s because he couldn’t forget sister-in-law. Humph, the next time XiHua Zi utters such nonsense, I’ll certainly give him a piece of my mind. Obviously it’s the Kun Lun disciples who are unruly, yet he had to blame it on someone else.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “If Bai GuiShou was fine, then he should’ve explained everything.” Yu LianZhou said, “But he won’t say anything. Do you know why?” Zhang CuiShan thought for a moment, realized the reason, and said, “That’s right. The Heavenly Eagle Sect wants the Dragon Saber. They obviously don’t want anyone else to know about this.” Yu LianZhou said, “That’s how the conflict started. Kun Lun Sect kept saying that Yin SuSu destroyed Gao and Jiang. We thought the Heavenly Eagle Sect killed you.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Did Bai GuiShou tell you that I went to Wang Pan Island too?” Yu LianZhou said, “No. He wouldn’t say anything. Fourth brother, sixth brother, and I went to Wang Pan Island. We saw you wrote those twenty-four characters. That’s how we knew you went to that ceremony. When we couldn’t find you on the island, we asked Bai GuiShou. He didn’t respond, and instead attacked us. I managed to injure him with my palm. Later on, Kun Lun Sect started sought the Heavenly Eagle Sect out, but lost pretty badly. Then things started to get more and more out of hand.

    Zhang CuiShan was quite remorseful. He said, “I feel so awful, knowing my wife and I had caused so much problems in the martial world. After reporting to master, I’ll personally apologize to each sect.”

    Yu LianZhou sighed, said, “Actually, it’s just all a coincidence, rather than your making. Remember that day ten years ago? When master asked seventh brother and I to go protect the Dragon Gate Escort Agency? On the way, we encountered an unjust situation. We just had to stop and take care of the matter. And in the process saved more than ten innocent lives. But by the time we got to Lin An, the murder at the Dragon Gate Escort Agency had already occurred. Actually, you and your wife only caused the hostilities between Wu Dang, Kun Lun against the Heavenly Eagle Sect. But since the Heavenly Eagle Sect wanted the Dragon Saber, they never brought up Xie Xun’s name. So Sea Sand Sect, Huge Whale Clan, and Divine Fist Sect all believed that the Heavenly Eagle Sect killed their leaders. As a result, the Heavenly Eagle Sect developed quite a bad reputation.”

    Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “Actually, the Dragon Saber is hardly anything remarkable. Why would my father-in-law sacrifice so much for it?”

    Yu LianZhou said, “I had never seen your father-in-law. But I do respect his strong, fighting spirit, as he fought off waves of enemies.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Shaolin, E Mei, and these other sects did not go to the Wang Pan Island ceremony. How did Heavenly Eagle Sect offend them?” Yu LianZhou said, “This concerns your sworn brother Xie Xun. In order to get the Dragon Saber, the Heavenly Eagle Sect continuously sent ships out to sea, hoping to find Xie Xun. You can’t contain a fire by wrapping it with paper. No matter how tight Bai GuiShou’s lips, the secret eventually got out. Your sworn brother committed over thirty crimes using ‘Lightning Fist of the Originating Formation’ Cheng Kun’s name. Countless people in the martial world want him dead. Do you know about this?”

    Zhang CuiShan whispered, “They finally figured out that he did it.” Yu LianZhou said, “Every time he commits a crime, he’d write ‘The murderer is Lightning Fist of the Originating Formation: Cheng Kun’. At that time, we all investigated into this matter, but couldn’t find any leads. Things changed once people knew that Heavenly Eagle Sect is seeking Xie Xun. They remembered that Xie Xun is Cheng Kun’s only disciple, and that Xie Xun despised his master. Obviously, the killer framing Cheng Kun is likely Xie Xun. Think about just how many people Xie Xun killed, and how many people it affects. Just the murder of Shaolin’s Reverend Kong Jian alone, was enough to make him a very wanted person.”

    Zhang CuiShan sighed, said, “My sworn brother has changed his ways. But too much blood covers his hands… Second brother, I really don’t know what to do.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Wu Dang became the Heavenly Eagle Sect’s enemy due to you. Kun Lun due to Gao and Jiang. Huge Whale Clan and others due to revenge for their leaders. In addition, countless groups and people, led by Shaolin, sought out the Heavenly Eagle Sect due to Xie Xun. In the past years, there had been five major battles, and countless minor skirmishes. The Heavenly Eagle Sect lost every single major battle, but still hung on despite everything. Your father-in-law has truly done a remarkable job. Of course, the major sects like Wu Dang and Shaolin did not attack with full force. One, we didn’t want to act rashly before finding out the truth. Two, the Heavenly Eagle Sect didn’t look to be the main culprit. This time, we got information that their Heavenly City Hall’s Hall Leader Li headed out to sea, to look for Xie Xun. So we tried to follow them. But Hall Leader Li saw us, told us to leave. Kun Lun Sect then attacked them. Had you two not been here, both sides would’ve have suffered many more casualties.”

    Zhang CuiShan remained silent, while examined his second brother. Only to see his hair beginning to gray, and his face full of wrinkles. Zhang CuiShan said, “Second brother, you’ve been through a lot this past ten years. After surviving through these years, I was finally able to see you. I… I…”

    Yu LianZhou saw the tears on Zhang CuiShan’s face, and said, “It’s fantastic to have the seven brothers united again. After third brother got injured, and you disappeared, everyone renamed us ‘Five Heroes of Wu Dang’. Now we can changed it back to seven heroes again…” He then thought of Yu DaiYan’s crippled condition. Even though there are seven of them again, no longer can all seven roam the martial world together. Yu LianZhou’s heart saddened upon this realization.

    * * *

    After sailing southward for about ten days, they arrived at the mouth of the Yangtze River. They switched to riding a riverboat, and rode up the river.

    Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu changed into robes, looked no less amazing than ten years before. WuJi wore a new shirt, and a new pair of pants. He looked very cute with two pigtails tied on his head.

    Yu LianZhou spent his whole life on martial arts, never married or have kids. So he was very fond of WuJi. But due to his aloofness, Yu LianZhou’s face remained cold. However, WuJi knew this cold-faced uncle is quite nice to him. When he has spare time, WuJi would ask Yu LianZhou all sorts of questions. Grown up on a deserted island, WuJi knew almost nothing about the mainland, and found everything interesting. Yu LianZhou didn’t find WuJi annoying, and often hold him up on the front of the boat, to observe the river scenery. WuJi would ask nine or ten questions, and he’d just give a short answer to one.

    This day the boat arrived at the foot of the Tong Guan Mountain, in the An Hwei province. At dusk, the boat docked at a nearby town. The boatmen left the boat to go buy food. Zhang CuiShan, Yin SuSu, and Yu LianZhou stayed on the boat to chat.

    WuJi played by himself at the head of the boat. He saw an old beggar on the dock, sitting on the ground and playing with a snake. A green snake rested on his head, while a black snake danced on his hands. That black snake quickly jumped onto his head and slithered its way down the man’s back. WuJi had never seen a snake on the Fire-Ice Island. So he found it very interesting. When that old beggar saw him, he smiled, and flicked his finger. That black snake suddenly jumped up, did a flip in midair, and dropped into the beggar’s chest pocket. WuJi stared intently. That old beggar gestured at him, hinting that he has more tricks should WuJi get closer.

    WuJi quickly jumped off the ship toward him. The old beggar took out a sack, opened it up, and said, “There’s something really fun inside. You want to see?” WuJi said, “What’s inside?” That old beggar said, “It’s very interesting. Take a look and you’ll see.” WuJi put his head close to look, but still couldn’t see anything. He moved even closer, when that old beggar suddenly flipped his hands, covering WuJi’s head in the sack. WuJi let out an ‘Ah’, but the old man quickly covered his mouth. Afterwards, WuJi felt his whole body being lifted up.

    WuJi’s scream within the sack was hardly loud. But both Yu LianZhou and Zhang CuiShan heard him. They were quite far away, sitting inside the cabin. But upon the scream, they immediately rushed out to the front of the boat. Only to see the old beggar holding WuJi.

    The two was about to jump off the boat, when that old beggar yelled, “If you value the child’s life, then stay where you are.” As he spoke, he tore off a piece of WuJi’s shirt, and put that black snake next to WuJi’s skin.

    By now Yin SuSu also arrived. In a hurry to save WuJi, she immediately tried to throw the silver needles. But Yu LianZhou stopped her and said, “No!” He recognized that this black snake is called ‘Shadow Star’, a very famous breed of poisonous snake. The shinier its body, the more poisonous it is. This black snake shined brightly. Its mouth opened, aimed at WuJi’s skin. Due the poison’s potency, WuJi would die immediately if bitten. Even if the old man has the antidote, it would still be too late. Yu LianZhou’s expression remained unchanged, and said, “May I ask. Why you are holding this child?”

    That old beggar said, “Ask your boatman to immediately lift anchor, and move the boat out at least sixteen meters. Then we can talk.” Yu LianZhou knew the old man was guarding against a rescue attempt. Should the boat leave shore, it would be much harder to rescue WuJi. But at this moment, he had no other choice. Yu LianZhou picked up the anchor-chain. With a light flip of the wrist, a sixty-some pound anchor came out of the water.

    When the old beggar saw this scene, he was astonished at Yu LianZhou’s inner power, and shuddered. Zhang CuiShan picked up the barge pole, pointed at the shore, and the boat backed away from the dock. That old beggar said, “Back off a little more!” Zhang CuiShan said calmly, “Isn’t this more than sixteen meters?” That old beggar said, “After seeing Second Hero Yu’s anchor-raising talent, I’d feel safer if you back off some more.” Zhang CuiShan could only move the boat back some more.

    Yu LianZhou said, “May I ask your name?” That old beggar said, “I’m a nobody in the Beggar’s Clan. There’s no need to clutter Second Hero Yu’s ears with my name.” Seeing six pouches on his chest, Yu LianZhou thought that this must be a six-pouch member within the Beggar’s Clan. That’s a fairly high rank. Why would he do something like this? Besides, the Beggar’s Clan is a righteous clan, and its leader Shi HuoLong is quite renowned. This whole thing doesn’t make sense.

    Yin SuSu suddenly yelled, “Since when did Witch Mountain Clan join the Beggar’s Clan? How come I didn’t know?” That old beggar gasped, but didn’t respond. Yin SuSu added, “Old Man He, what on earth are you doing? If you hurt a single hair on my son’s body, I’ll chop your Mei ShiJian into tiny pieces!”

    That old beggar trembled, said, “Miss Yin really has incredible vision, and recognize me. I am simply following Leader Mei’s orders, to welcome your son.” Yin SuSu said angrily, “Move the snake away! The nerve of you Witch Mountain Clan. You dare offend the Heavenly Eagle Sect?” Old Man He said, “I only wish an answer from Miss Yin, and will then immediately release your son afterwards.” Yin SuSu said, “What’s your question?”

    Old Man He said, “Leader Mei’s only son died in Xie Xun’s hands. Something I’m sure you’ve heard. Leader Mei wishes to ask Fifth Hero Zhang and Miss Yin… sorry, my mistake. I should call you Mrs. Zhang. If the two can give the location of Xie Xun, everyone in my clan will thank you.”

    Yin SuSu’s eyebrows rose up, then said, “We don’t know the answer.” Old Man He said, “Then I wish you could find the answer for me. In the meantime, we’ll take good care of your son. When you’ve found Xie Xun’s location, Leader Mei will personally return your son.”

    Seeing the snake slithering next to her son’s skin, Yin SuSu stirred. She wanted to give him the answer. But as she turned her head toward Zhang CuiShan, Yin SuSu saw her husband’s determined expression. After ten year of marriage, she knew that Zhang CuiShan values loyalty and honor above all else. Should she reveal Xie Xun’s location, and cause his death, their marriage could very well break apart. So at the last moment, Yin SuSu stopped herself.

    Zhang CuiShan said loudly, “Fine. Then go ahead and take my son. Do I look like someone who would betray his friends? Surely you didn’t expect that from the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang.”

    Old Man He froze. He figured that with WuJi in his hands, Zhang CuiShan and his wife would surely divulge Xie Xun’s location. Who’d have thought that Zhang CuiShan would not be moved at all? Unsure of his next move, Old Man He said, “Second Hero Yu, Xie Xun’s crimes can fill a whole mountain. I know Wu Dang Sect is righteous. Surely you could help me on this matter.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “But first, w must seek our master’s advice. Then we plan to host a gathering at Wu Chang City’s Yellow Crane Restaurant. Leader Mai is welcome there. At this gathering, we will have an answer.”

    The boat rested about twenty meters from shore. Plus Yu LianZhou said this in a natural voice, yet Old Man He could hear each word clearly. With deep respect for the man, Old Man He thought, “The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang certainly lives up to their incredible fame. How could my little Witch Mountain Clan possibly go against the likes of Wu Dang and the Heavenly Eagle Sect? Unfortunately, Leader Mei must have his revenge.” So he bowed and said, “If so, then sorry for this inconvenience. I will take care of this child for now.”

    Suddenly, Yin SuSu pushed a boatman from behind, and kicked another boatman. Both of them let out a yell, and fell into the water. Yin SuSu screamed, “Oww! Fifth brother, why did you hit me?” and started to shout and jump wildly. Yu LianZhou and Zhang CuiShan both stood there stunned, not knowing what to make of her behavior. Old Man He was even more surprised, as he stared intently from afar.

    It only took an instant for Yu LianZhou to realize what’s going on. Seeing Old Man He watching Yin SuSu attentively, he quickly drew out his sword, and threw it out with his inner power. The sword flew across the air. It sliced the poisonous black snake into two, and even cut off the four fingers holding the snake. At the same moment, Zhang CuiShan grabbed onto a rope hung on the ship’s mast. Pushing off with his feet on the ship, Zhang CuiShan swung toward the shore. He arrived just a bit later than Yu LianZhou’s sword. Before landing, Zhang CuiShan shifted his upper body forward, and the left palm shot out, striking Old Man He back a few meters. At the same time, his right hand grabbed onto WuJi.

    Old Man He lied on the ground, unable to get back up again.

    The two boatmen in the water didn’t know why Yin SuSu was enraged. They were afraid to return. Yin SuSu chuckled and said, “You can come up now. Allow me to apologize. Here’s a tael of silver each.”

    * * *

    They continued the journey up the river. Zhang CuiShan was in a hurry to see his master and fellow brothers. So he wanted to switch to horses upon reaching An Qing city. But Yu LianZhou said, “Fifth brother. I think its better to stay on the boat. It might take longer, but it’s certainly safer. After all, who in the martial world doesn’t want your sworn brother’s location?” Yin SuSu said, “Surely no one would dare block Second Hero Yu’s path.” Yu LianZhou said, “If we seven brothers were together, I would be confident. But with just fifth brother and myself, there are no guarantees. Besides, we don’t want to stir things up even more.” Zhang CuiShan nodded, said, “You are right, second brother.”

    A few days later, they’ve arrived at the city of Wu Xue, in Hu Bei province. This night, the boatmen anchored the boat, and prepared for sleep. Yu LianZhou suddenly heard horses galloping by the shore. He looked out, only to see two riders turn around at the dock, heading back to the city. Yu LianZhou only saw the riders’ backs, but could tell that both knew kung fu. He turned and said to Zhang CuiShan, “It’s not safe to remain here. Let’s leave immediately.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Ok!” He deeply appreciated his second brother’s suggestion. The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang all have incredible kung fu, and do only righteous deeds. Generally, only people run from them, and not the other way around. In recent years, Yu LianZhou’s reputation had grown tremendously, exceeding even the likes of Kong Dong and Kun Lun leaders. He must really care for Zhang CuiShan’s family to run from these riders.

    Yu LianZhou went to the head boatman, gave him three taels of silver. Then asked him to set sail immediately. Although the boatmen are tired, three taels of silver is just way too much money to pass up. The boatmen immediately pulled up the anchor, and left the dock.

    The moon shined brightly in the sky, while a gentle breeze blew through the boat. WuJi had gone to sleep already. Yu LianZhou and the Zhang couple sat outside, enjoying the scenery.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Our master’s about to have his one hundredth birthday. I’m so glad that I can see this momentous event.” Yin SuSu said, “Too bad we’re in such a hurry. Otherwise, we really should have prepared a present.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Sister-in-law, do you know who’s my master’s favorite disciple?” Yin SuSu said, “His favorite disciple? Obviously you, second brother-in-law.” Yu LianZhou said with a smile, “That’s a pretty insincere statement. You knew the true answer, but purposely gave the wrong one. Among us seven brothers, the one master cares for the most, is your handsome husband.” Yin SuSu heart warmed. She shook her head and said, “I don’t believe you.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “We seven brothers each have our own strengths. Eldest brother has profound comprehension of the Book of Changes. He’s humble and forward thinking. Third brother’s is the best at accomplishing tasks. He never failed any job master gave him. Fourth brother is the cleverest. Sixth brother is a master of the sword. Seventh brother has been concentrating on hard techniques. Soon, he’d have the best combination of inner power and outer strength, soft and hard molded into one.” Yin SuSu said, “What about you?” Yu LianZhou said, “My aptitude is too low, and therefore lack a strong point. You could say that I practice master’s kung fu more meticulously than others.” Yin SuSu smiled and said, “You have the best kung fu among the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang. But you’re too modest to say it.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Among us, second brother always had been the best at kung fu. Ten years apart, now I’m even further behind second brother. After missing out on ten years of teachings, I’m definitely the lowest ranked among us brothers.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “But among us, only you are skilled at both kung fu and academics. Sister-in-law, I’ll let you in on a secret. Five years ago, at master’s ninety-fifth birthday, we held a banquet to celebrate. During the banquet, master suddenly frowned. He said, ‘Among my seven disciples, the one with the best comprehension, the only one who is knowledgeable in academics and in martial arts, is CuiShan. I had hoped that he would be the disciple to carry on my legacy. But alas, fate had decided otherwise. Five years of disappearance does not bode well for his fortune.’ You tell me, sister-in-law, does master like fifth brother the most?”

    Yin SuSu’s face brightened like a flower. Zhang CuiShan felt deep gratitude, and tears came out of his eyes.

    Yu LianZhou said, “So the best present for master, quite frankly, is the safe return of fifth brother.”

    At this moment, they suddenly heard horses galloping on the shore. The sound went from east to west, quite loud in the silent night, a total of four horses. The three of them glanced at each other. They knew that these riders are likely seeking them out. Although they didn’t want trouble, none of them are scared of anyone. So they simply ignored these riders.

    Yu LianZhou said, “When I came down the mountain this time, master was meditating in seclusion. Hopefully, he’ll be finished by the time we get back.” Yin SuSu said, “My father once told me, he only respected two people in life. One is Leader Yang of the Ming Sect. One is your master Taoist Zhang. My dad didn’t even respect the Shaolin’s four divine reverends all that much. Considering your master’s old age and unparalleled martial arts ability, why would he still need to meditate in seclusion? Is he trying to obtain eternal life?” Yu LianZhou said, “No. Master’s studying martial arts.” Yin SuSu said in shock, “He’s martial arts ability is already unparalleled. What’s the point of further studying martial arts? Is there actually someone who’s his adversary?”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Upon reaching ninety-five, master would meditate nine months out of the year. He once said, Wu Dang martial arts came mostly from a book called the <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture*>. Unfortunately, master was too young, and didn’t know martial arts, when he learned it from martial grandfather Jue Yuan. Martial grandfather Jue Yuan also wasn’t purposely teaching him the scripture. He simply recited it by chance. Therefore, there’s always this gap within our school of martial arts. Supposedly, Originator Da Muo wrote this <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture>. But according to master, this is not likely the truth. First of all, the contents of this Holy Scripture are quite different from Shaolin’s martial arts style. It resembled Taoist philosophy instead. Also, this <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> was written in Chinese, not in Sanskrit. All the words are situated on the borders of a Sanskrit-worded <Leng Ga Scripture**>. Despite Originator Da Muo’s brilliance, he’s still from another country. It’s unlikely that he’s proficient in writing Chinese. Plus, for such an important martial art scripture, why would he write within another book, rather than on separate papers by itself.”

    *Note: This is the same [Jiu Yang Zhen Jing] in Athena’s translation.

    **Note: Sorry, I have no clue as to what this book is.

    Zhang CuiShan nodded, asked, “So how did master explain all this?”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Master doesn’t know the exact story either. He figured that a Shaolin monk wrote it, but penned under Originator Da Muo’s name. Master thought, if the <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> he memorized was not complete, why not try to create the rest? Therefore, he has spent much time developing a new type of martial arts philosophy, one different from all others in the world.”

    Both Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu sighed in admiration. Yu LianZhou said, “Reverend Jue Yuan recited this <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> in front of three people. One is master, one is Shaolin’s Reverend Wu Se, one is a young woman. She is the founder of E Mei, Heroine Guo Xiang.” Yin SuSu said, “I’ve heard my father speak of her. He said that Heroine Guo is a very significant individual. Her father is Guo Jing, Hero Guo. Her mother was Huang Rong, former leader of the Beggar’s Clan. When the city of Xiang Yang fell to the Mongols, Hero Guo and his wife both died in the city’s defense.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “You are correct. Master actually met Hero Guo and his wife at the peak of Mount Hua. Every time he brings up the couple, master would praise their heroism. He says that anyone who practices martial arts should look at them as role models.” Yu LianZhou paused for a moment, then continued, “Each of the three people learned the <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> differently. Reverend Wu Se had the strongest martial arts among the three. As the daughter of Hero Guo and Clan Leader Huang, Heroine Guo had the richest martial arts background. Master knew basically no martial arts at the time. But for this reason, he learned the scripture in its purest form. Therefore, Shaolin, E Mei, and Wu Dang each gained ‘strong’, ‘rich’ and ‘pure’ aspects of the scripture, respectively. Each sect has its own strengths, but also weaknesses.”

    Yin SuSu said, “This Reverend Jue Yuan must’ve had incredible martial arts skills.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “No. Martial grandfather Jue Yuan did not know kung fu. He was the librarian for Shaolin’s library of scriptures. He absolutely loved book, and read every single one. He found <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> by accident, and read it like any other scripture. As for the martial arts philosophies, he understood them, but just the inner power portion, not the techniques.” Yu LianZhou then told the story of <Nine-Yang Holy Scripture> to the couple.

    Zhang CuiShan had already heard the story from master. But Yin SuSu had not, and was quite fascinated. She said, “I didn’t know E Mei and Wu Dang had such a relationship. Why didn’t this Heroine Guo marry your Master Zhang?”

    Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “Oh, don’t be ridiculous.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “After parting under the Shao Bao Mountain, master and Heroine Guo never met again. Master said, Heroine Guo could not forget one person. He is the one who killed the Mongol Emperor outside Xiang Yang with a stone pellet, Condor Hero Yang Guo. Heroine Guo searched the whole world, but could not find Hero Yang. At the age of forty, she finally found enlightenment, gave up the search, and became a nun. Afterwards, she founded the E Mei Sect.”

    Yin SuSu gasped, and felt pity for Guo Xiang. She glanced at Zhang CuiShan, who glanced back the same time. They both thought, “In Heaven or in Hell, we shall never be apart. Our fate is certainly much better than this Heroine Guo.”

    Normally, Yu LianZhou would almost never speak. Yet after reuniting with Zhang CuiShan, he lightened up a great deal, even enjoying chats with the couple. After spending some days with Yin SuSu, he found that her nature is benign. It’s her upbringing that made her so cruel and merciless. But after ten years of marriage with Zhang CuiShan, her temper had subsided a great deal. Yu LianZhou had changed his first impression of her. In fact, he admired her straightforward tendencies, much more pleasant than those self-righteous, arrogant members of the righteous sects.

    At this moment, sound of horses could be heard again. Zhang CuiShan ignored the noise, said, “Second brother, if the master welcomed Shaolin and E Mei elders to study the scripture with him, all three sects would benefit greatly.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “That would be a great idea. No wonder master said that you’d be the one who’d carry his legacy.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Master only felt that way because I was not around. After all, the child away is the one parents think about the most. Not only is my ability worse than eldest or second brother, even sixth and seventh brother are much better than I am now.”

    Yu LianZhou shook his head and said, “You can’t look at it that way. From a pure martial arts standpoint, I am better than you. But master always says, the world is so vast, the honor of Wu Dang itself is insignificant. The importance is to research into the depths of martial arts philosophies, and pass them down to future generations, so the righteous martial arts will overcome those of evil. In addition, we could unite practitioners throughout our land, drive out the Mongols, and reclaim our country. These are the reasons why we practice martial arts. To carry on our master’s legacy, one must first have a good heart. Then have incredible comprehension skills. When it comes to heart, there’s no different between us brothers. But in terms of comprehension, you are certainly the best.” Zhang CuiShan shook his head, said, “I’m sure the master just said it at the spur of the moment. Surely I’m not worthy of such a praise.”

    Yu LianZhou smiled, and said, “Sister-in-law, go take care of WuJi. Don’t let him get scared. Fifth brother and I will take care of the problems outside.” Yin SuSu looked around, but didn’t find anything unordinary. As she hesitated, Yu LianZhou said, “Behind the bushes on the shore, there are weapons flashing. Which means someone’s trying to ambush us. There should be enemy boats up ahead.”

    Yin SuSu did not notice anything, and thought that perhaps there’s something wrong with Yu LianZhou’s eyes.

    When suddenly, Yu LianZhou spoke loudly, “Wu Dang’s Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, are passing through this area. If friends would like to chat, feel free to come have a drink with us.” When he finished speaking, sounds of paddling came from the reeds. Six small boats came at them. A sound-arrow shot out of one boat, and ten or so people on the shore began to move. They all wore black clothes, held different types of weapons, and covered their faces with masks.

    Yin SuSu thought in awe, “Second brother-in-law really is amazing.” With the enemy coming in, she hurriedly went inside the cabin, only to see WuJi already awake. Yin SuSu helped him put on some clothes, and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, honey.”

    Yu LianZhou spoke again, “Who are you? Wu Dang’s Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, says hello.” Other than a single boatman paddling each ship, no one else even appeared, much less responded.

    Yu LianZhou suddenly came to a realization. He yelled, “Oh no!” and immediately dived into the water. Having grown up near a river, his swimming skills are excellent. He immediately saw four people swimming underwater, each holding a sharp prick, as if wanting to make a hole to the ship.

    Yu LianZhou waited till they were close, and quickly attacked with both hands, sealing two enemies’ pressure points. His leg shot out and hit the pressure point on the third enemy’s waist. The fourth tried to swim away, but Yu LianZhou quickly grabbed his feet, and threw him up onto the boat. Realizing that with their pressure points sealed, the other three people would die underwater, Yu LianZhou threw them onto the boat too. That fourth person rolled once on the deck, and stood up. He then immediately attacked Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan saw that the attacker’s kung fu is mediocre, didn’t block, and simply grabbed his wrist with the left hand, then struck that person’s pressure point on the chest with the left elbow. That man let out a light yell, and fell to the ground.

    Yu LianZhou said, “There are some decent fighters on the shore. Enough talk, let’s break through.” Zhang CuiShan nodded, and ordered the boatmen to just keep going. When they sailed near the six small boats, Yu LianZhou picked up those four men, unsealed their pressure points, and threw them over to the other boats. Oddly enough, no one on the other boats made a sound. Even the people on the shore remained silent, as if they’re all mute. The four men Yu LianZhou threw went into the cabin.

    Just as their boat passed by the six opposing boats, one of their boatmen suddenly threw something with his hand. After hearing two ‘ping’ sounds, the wood on their boat started flying everywhere, and an explosion destroyed the rudder. The boat itself suddenly turned horizontally. That sailor had thrown two fish bombs, which fishers use to catch fish. However, the one he used had much more explosives than a typical one. So it could destroy parts of the boat.

    Yu LianZhou remained calm, and quickly jumped to the neighboring boat. Confident of his abilities, Yu LianZhou went empty-handed.

    The boatman did not react as he landed. Yu LianZhou yelled, “Who threw that fish bomb?” The boatman did not respond. Yu LianZhou walked into the cabin, and saw two men sitting inside. Neither reacted upon his entrance. Yu LianZhou grabbed one of them, yelled, “Where’s your scoop to throw out water?” That person did not respond. Yu LianZhou didn’t want to force him, and returned back out. He saw that the Zhang family had already made it to this boat.

    Yu LianZhou snatched away the oar, and began to paddle this new boat. After a moment, Yin SuSu yelled, “They’ve scuttled the boat!” as they saw water seeping through the bottom. There was a hole on the bottom of the boat, which was covered by a cork. But now that the cork has been removed, water flooded in. Yu LianZhou jumped to the second boat, and saw a small pool of water on the deck. He turned around and said, “Fifth brother. Since they’re forcing us to land, let’s grant their wish!” Those six boats are perfectly positioned as stepping-stones, allowing them to easily jump to shore.

    The remaining ten-plus hooded figures positioned in a semi-circle, surrounding them. The majority held long swords, but a few held double sabers, or whips, but no heavy weapons.

    Yu LianZhou looked around, but didn’t say anything.

    The person in the middle gestured with his hand, and the crowd split apart. All of them bowed, their weapons facing the ground, opening a path. Yu LianZhou returned a bow, and walked through the opening. Just as he left, the people returned to their positions, surrounded the remaining three people.

    Zhang CuiShan laughed, and said, “Oh, so you are all here for me. I’m quite honored that you’ve spent so much effort to capture me.” That middle person thought for a moment, and the crowd opened up a path again. Zhang CuiShan said, “SuSu, you go first!”

    Yin SuSu, carrying WuJi, began to walk out, when suddenly the sound of wind surrounded her, as five swords came right at WuJi. Yin SuSu retreated in shock. Those five people continued to pursue her, the sword tips continuously vibrated, but always near WuJi.

    Yu LianZhou leapt forward, and flew toward the battle. His two hands quickly shot out four times, each time hitting one of the hooded person’s wrist. In a flash, their four swords flew up into the air. Yu LianZhou quickly followed the four strikes by grabbing the fifth person’s wrist, and sealed that hand’s pressure point. The hand he struck felt quite soft, like that of a woman, so he quickly let go. That person’s hand became numb, and immediately dropped the sword.

    With no swords in their hands, all five hooded figures retreated. Two more sparkles appeared under the moonlight, as another two swords came at Yu LianZhou. The sword edges pointed horizontally, the tips slashed from left to right, both attackers used the technique ‘Calm Desert Sand’. But there’s not much force behind the technique, as if they didn’t want to hurt him.

    Yu LianZhou thought, “Kun Lun Sword Art! These are from the Kun Lun Sect!” When the swords reached about a feet from his chest, his chest contracted, two arms swept down from above, striking the flat area of the two swords.

    These two strikes applied Wu Dang’s inner power. Normally, this should result in both swords dropping from the hands. However, during the moment of contact, Yu LianZhou felt a soft force coming out of the sword, which neutralized part of his power, and allowed the swords to remain in hand. But even so, Yu LianZhou’s power still pushed back the two attackers. One couldn’t maintain balance, and fell to the ground. The other let out a cry, and coughed out some blood.

    This was the first time any of these people let out a sound. The cry sounded like a woman’s voice.

    The middle hooded person waved the left hand, and everyone retreated away. Most of these people looked quite lean, most likely women dressed in men’s clothing. Yu LianZhou said, “Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, wish to apologize to ‘Mr. Iron Zither’, for causing all this trouble.” Those hooded figures did not respond, but one of them chuckled ever so slightly, in a woman’s voice.

    Yin SuSu put down WuJi, grabbed his hand tightly, and said, “The majority of them should be women. Second brother-in-law, are they from the Kun Lun Sect?” Yu LianZhou said, “No, they are E Mei disciples.” Zhang CuiShan asked in surprise, “Then why did you mention ‘Mr. Iron Zither’?”

    Yu LianZhou sighed, and said, “They covered their own faces, unwilling to speak a word. So they obviously wished to hide their identity. When the five swords attacked WuJi, they used Kun Lun Sect’s ‘Winter Plum Sword Formation’. The technique against me was ‘Calm Desert Sand’. I played along, went ahead and apologized ‘Mr. Iron Zither’ He TaiChong.”

    Yin SuSu said, “But how do you know they’re E Mei disciples? Did you recognize someone?”

    Yu LianZhou said, “No. None of their martial arts abilities are deep. Probably two generations removed from E Mei’s Master Mie Jue. Or perhaps some of her latest disciples. I don’t know any of them. However, they did indeed use E Mei’s inner power to neutralize my two strikes against their swords. It’s not hard to copy someone else’s techniques. But you can’t cover up your inner power.”

    Zhang CuiShan nodded, said, “When you struck their swords, they should’ve let go to avoid serious injuries. E Mei’s inner power is quite powerful. However, they didn’t have the ability to utilize it to full potential. Had second brother been fighting for real, both of them would’ve been dead by now. But E Mei and Wu Dang had always been on friendly terms.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “E Mei founder Heroine Guo helped out our master in his youth. For this reason, he always told us not to offend E Mei Sect, for old times sake. When I realized those two people were E Mei disciples, I tried to retract my inner power, but was too late. I didn’t mean to hurt them, but nonetheless disobeyed master’s orders.”

    Yin SuSu said, “Thankfully, you pretended that they’re Kun Lun Sect. So you didn’t officially offend the E Mei Sect.”

    The boat they were on kept sailing during this whole time. By now it’s long gone. The six smaller boats have sunk. Its occupants all swam ashore. Yin SuSu said, “Are these also E Mei disciples?” Yu LianZhou whispered, “Most likely Lake Chao’s Grain-Boat Clan.” Yin SuSu looked at the five swords on the ground, and wanted to examine them. Yu LianZhou said, “Don’t touch these weapons. If they have names on them, we’d have trouble claiming ignorance on the matter. Let’s just leave now!” Yin SuSu nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right.” She grabbed WuJi’s hand and walked towards the road.

    After walking for a while, they saw three horses tied to a tree. WuJi yelled happily, “Horses! Horses!” WuJi had always wanted to ride a horse since coming to the mainland. But because they kept traveling by boat, he never got the chance.

    When the four got close to, they saw a note stuck to the tree. Zhang CuiShan took down the note, and read it, “Please accept these three horses, as an apology for inconveniencing you.” The characters were written in charcoal, very delicately, in a lady’s writing style. Yin SuSu said with a smile, “Looks like this E Mei lady wrote to Heroes of Wu Dang using a charcoal pencil for drawing eyebrows.” Yu LianZhou said, “Well, they’re certainly quite courteous.” He untied the horses, and everyone got on. WuJi sat in front of his mother, feeling very excited.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Since everyone knows our movement anyway, we might as well ride horses. Yu LianZhou said, “You’re right. There will surely be more troubles ahead. If we must fight, don’t be too ruthless.” He still felt quite uneasy for hurting those two E Mei disciples.

    Yin SuSu felt ashamed, thought, “Second brother-in-law only used a bit too much force. He didn’t even intend to hurt anyone. They only sustained injuries because they wouldn’t let go of the swords. We really shouldn’t let second brother-in-law get further involved in this matter.” So she said, “Second brother-in-law. These people came for my family. If we encounter any trouble, my husband and I will take care of it. If we can’t handle them, then we can ask you for help.” Yu LianZhou said, “Do not treat me as an outsider. After all, we brothers live together and die together. Your problems are my problems.”

    Yin SuSu stopped discussing this matter, and asked, “If they knew you were with us, why did E Mei just send some younger disciples to block our way?” Yu LianZhou said, “They probably didn’t have time to gather the more powerful disciples.”

    Zhang CuiShan figured these disciples came because of Xie Xun, and said, “Looks like my sworn brother is also an enemy of E Mei. How come he never told me back on Fire-Ice Island?”

    Yu LianZhou sighed, and said, “E Mei’s a very strict sect, with mostly female disciples. Master Mie Jue doesn’t let her female disciples wander around freely. So even we used to find it strange that E Mei would go against the Heavenly Eagle Sect. However, we recently found out the reason. One night, ‘Golden Hammer’ Fang Ping, Old Hero Fang of the Kai Feng City in He Nan province, was killed. The words ‘The murderer is Lightning Fist of the Originating Formation: Cheng Kun’ were written on the wall.” Yin SuSu asked, “Is Fang Ping a member of the E Mei Sect?” Yu LianZhou said, “No. But Master Mie Jue’s surname was ‘Fang’ before becoming a nun. That Old Hero Fang was Master Mie Jue’s brother.” Both Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu gasped at the same time.

    WuJi suddenly asked, “Second uncle, is that Old Hero Fang a good person or a bad person?” Yu LianZhou said, “I heard that he was a recluse, and spends his days farming and reading. So he should be a good person.” WuJi said, “Oh, godfather really shouldn’t be killing so recklessly.” Yu LianZhou was overjoyed, reached out for WuJi’s arms, and took him from Yin SuSu. He said, “Son, your second uncle’s very happy for you, since you know to not kill recklessly. A person who dies cannot be resurrected. So even if your opponent is the most devious, vicious person in the world, you still shouldn’t automatically kill him. Try giving people a chance to reform.”

    WuJi said, “Second uncle, can you do something for me?” Yu LianZhou asked, “What?” Wu Ji said, “If they really do find godfather, can you tell them not to kill him? His eyes are now blind, and can’t beat these people.” Yu LianZhou thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t have the power to do this. But I myself will promise not to kill him.” WuJi did not speak further, but tears came down his eyes.

    The next day, they’ve arrived at a town. After sleeping for a while in an inn, they continued in the afternoon. Sometimes Yin SuSu and Zhang CuiShan would ride together, so WuJi could get a taste for riding alone. As a child, WuJi forgets his worries quickly. After riding alone for a while, he quickly forgot about Xie Xun’s problems.

    Following a day of riding, they almost reached the city of An Lu. Suddenly, ten or so merchants hurried past them. When they saw Yu LianZhou, one quickly shook his hand and yelled, “Turn round quickly! Mongolian soldiers are killing and pillaging ahead.” Another said to Yin SuSu, “You are one brave lady. But you really shouldn’t let the soldiers see you.” Yu LianZhou asked, “How many soldiers?” One merchant said, “Ten-plus. All looked really mean.” He quickly ran away as he spoke.

    The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang hated cruel Mongolian soldiers more than anything else. Zhang SanFeng is very strict about combat. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, his disciples should never get into fights. However, if the opponents are Mongolian soldiers acting viciously, then they have the go-ahead to kill. For this reason, if the seven heroes see large contingents of soldiers, they’ll simply hide. But if they meet only a few soldiers, then they’d eliminate the soldiers. So when Yu and Zhang heard that there are only ten or so soldiers, they immediately galloped ahead.

    After riding for another mile, they heard loud cries ahead. Zhang CuiShan went in front, and saw over ten soldiers holding spears and sabers, terrorizing a group of civilians. The ground is filled with blood, as seven or eight civilians were already dead on the ground. Only to see one soldier picking up a child of about three or four, and then kicked him into the air. When the child came down, another soldier kicked him up again, like kicking a bouncing ball. After a few kicks, the child’s breathing stopped. Filled with rage, Zhang CuiShan flew off the horse. Before hitting the ground, his fist struck one of the soldiers, who instantly fell to the ground. At this time, another soldier came at him with a spear.

    WuJi yelled, “Daddy, watch out!” Zhang CuiShan said, “Watch your dad beat up on Mongol soldiers.” When the spear nearly reached him, Zhang CuiShan grabbed the spear tip, and pushed it backward into that soldier’s chest. That soldier let out a loud scream, fell to the ground, seemingly dead.

    Upon seeing Zhang CuiShan’s actions, the other soldiers surrounded him. Yin SuSu got off the horse and quickly snatched one of the soldier’s sabers. She immediately killed two soldiers with it. The other soldiers quickly realized that something’s wrong, and began to run away. Yu LianZhou yelled, “Don’t let them get away.” He quickly went west to block four of the soldiers. Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu also split up to catch the remaining soldiers. All three knew that these soldiers’ fighting abilities are very mediocre, not even WuJi’s match. So they were comfortable leaving him alone.

    WuJi jumped off the horse. He saw his parents and second uncle leap as if they’re flying, clapped his hands and yelled, “Great! Great!” When suddenly, the soldier Zhang CuiShan knocked down with the spear sprung up. He quickly grabbed WuJi, jumped onto a horse, and began to gallop away.

    Yu LianZhou and the Zhang couple gasped in shock. They quickly gave chase. Yu LianZhou leapt just two times before catching up to the horse. He jumped up again, and shot out with his left palm, aimed at that soldier’s back. That soldier didn’t even bother to turn around. His palm came out behind, matching Yu LianZhou’s palm. Yu LianZhou sensed the opposing palm sending out an extremely powerful force, filled with incredibly icy yin-based inner power. Yu LianZhou felt like his whole body was frozen. He stuttered a bit, and retreated a few steps.

    That soldier also couldn’t handle Yu LianZhou’s palm either, and fell off the horse. He then carried WuJi and ran forward. Applying lightness kung fu, he was already forty-some meters away in an instant.

    When Zhang CuiShan caught up to Yu LianZhou, he saw a pale expression on his second brother. Knowing that he’s seriously injured, Zhang CuiShan went over to help him.

    Yin SuSu cared deeply for her child, and kept chasing. But that Mongolian soldier’s lightness kung fu is much better than hers. He quickly disappeared into the distance. Even so, Yin SuSu still wouldn’t give up. She only had one thought in mind, “Even if it costs me my life, I still must get my son back.”

    Yu LianZhou whispered, “Quick, get sister-in-law to stop chasing…” Zhang CuiShan raised his spear and killed the two soldiers besides them. He asked, “How’s your injury?” Yu LianZhou said, “It’s no big deal. First… first catch sister-in-law.” Zhang CuiShan was afraid that there are more kung fu experts among the remaining soldiers. So he went around and killed all the soldiers first. Then he got on a horse to chase after Yin SuSu.

    After a few miles, he finally saw Yin SuSu. But her steps are staggered, obviously from exhaustion. Zhang CuiShan picked her up onto the horse. Yin SuSu pointed forward, and cried in tears, “He’s gone. I couldn’t catch up, couldn’t catch up.” And then her eyes closed, and fainted.

    Zhang CuiShan worried about Yu LianZhou, and thought, “I must first take care of second brother, then worry about WuJi.” He turned his horse around, and returned to Yu LianZhou, only to see him meditating on the ground, readjusting his flow of chi.

    Yin SuSu slowly regained consciousness, and immediately yelled, “WuJi! WuJi!” Yu LianZhou’s face also slowly regained its color, opened his eyes, and said softly, “What amazing palm power!”

    Upon hearing his second brother speak, Zhang CuiShan knew the injuries aren’t life threatening. Zhang CuiShan calmed a bit, but still afraid to converse with Yu LianZhou. Yu LianZhou slowly got up, and said softly, “Is he gone?” Yin SuSu cried, “Second brother-in-law, what… what should we do?” Yu LianZhou said, “This person’s kung fu is very good. He won’t harm a little kid.” Yin SuSu said, “But… but he kidnapped WuJi.”

    Yu LianZhou nodded, and put one hand on Zhang CuiShan’s shoulder. After thinking for a while, he said, “I can’t figure out the origin of his kung fu. Let’s go ask master about it.” Yin SuSu felt extremely irritated, said, “Second brother-in-law. We have to find a way to get back WuJi first. The kidnapper’s origin doesn’t matter right now.” Yu LianZhou shook his head.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “SuSu. Second brother’s seriously wounded. That person’s kung fu is also incredibly high. Even if we catch up, what can we do?” Yin SuSu said impatiently, “So… so are we just going to give up?” Zhang CuiShan said, “Even if we don’t find him, he’s going to come to us.”

    Yin SuSu is normally very intelligent, but the loss of her child really messed up her mind. But upon her husband’s words, she immediately understood everything. If that soldier could injure Yu LianZhou in one blow, he could easily kill her and her husband. But instead, the soldier simply kidnapped WuJi. Obviously, the soldier wants to know Xie Xun’s location. When Zhang CuiShan knocked him down with the spear, none of them cared to examine his appearance. Now that they thought back to it, that soldier looked like a typical Mongol soldier.

    Zhang CuiShan sent his second brother onto the horse, and grabbed the horse’s leash. The three horses strolled forward. Upon reaching An Lu City, they rested at a small inn. After asking the worker to send in food, the three stayed in the room. They were afraid of meeting more soldiers and get into trouble.

    After killing those soldiers on the road, they knew the government would retaliate by killing more innocent people. But at that moment, they could hardly ignore the situation. This is called ‘The cruel fate of a conquered nation, country rich and vast, yet people live in torment’.

    Yu LianZhou kept circulating his chi, trying to heal his injury. Zhang CuiShan sat besides him. Yin SuSu leaned back on her chair, but could not sleep. At midnight, Yu LianZhou stood up, and walked around the room three times to loosen up. He said, “Fifth brother, other than master, I’ve never met such a powerful person.”

    Yin SuSu only had her son in mind, and said, “He kidnapped WuJi, obviously to find sworn brother’s location. I wonder if WuJi would say it.” Zhang CuiShan said, “If WuJi said it, would he still be our son?” Yin SuSu said, “Right! He absolutely would not say it.” Suddenly, she began to cry. Zhang CuiShan quickly asked, “What’s going on?” Yin SuSu choked with sobs, said, “If WuJi won’t answer, that monster… that monster would certainly beat him, perhaps they’d even use… use the torture chamber.”

    Yu LianZhou sighed. Zhang CuiShan said, “If jade isn’t carved, it won’t turn into a tool. This might be a good experience for him.” Although he says this, Zhang CuiShan’s heart is filled with grief, and the hope that WuJi’s ok. But if WuJi is resting peacefully right now, then he must’ve told his godfather’s location. It’s much better for WuJi to be tortured than for him to be ungrateful and dishonorable. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Rather for him to be dead than live as a dishonorable person.” He glanced at his wife, only to see tear-filled face with a grief-stricken, pitiful expression. He shuddered and thought, “If that person came and pressured with WuJi’s life, perhaps SuSu might give in.” So He said, “Second brother, are you alright now?”

    The two brothers grew up together. Through just a single question and expression, they could read each other’s thoughts. Yu LianZhou looked at the couple’s expressions, and realized Zhang CuiShan’s intention. He said, “I’m fine. Let’s leave tonight.”

    Under the cover of darkness, the three traveled on the smaller roads. They weren’t afraid of that person coming to kill them, but rather he torture WuJi in front of them.

    * * *

    But by traveling this way, they had no problems on the road. However, grief-stricken by the loss of her son, Yin SuSu became ill. Zhang CuiShan hired two mule-carts to carry Yin SuSu and Yu LianZhou. He himself rode his horse on the side. They finally passed by the city of Xiang Yang, and stopped at an inn in the town of Tai Ping Dian to rest.

    Zhang CuiShan took care of his second brother, and was about to return to his own room. When suddenly a man opened the door and came in. This person held a horsewhip in his hand, and looked like a cart-driver. He looked at Zhang and Yu, let out a snicker, and walked back out. Zhang CuiShan knew he’s up to no good, and felt quite annoyed at his blatant disrespect. Just as that man released the door curtain to leave, Zhang CuiShan grabbed the curtain, applied his inner power, and sent it forward. The bottom of the curtain swung up, and hit that man squarely on the back, sent him flying before falling flat on his face.

    That man got up and yelled, “Wu Dang punks. Don’t be so smug. You’re all about to die!” Despite talking this way, the man ran away as fast as he could. However, he must’ve been injured, for he kept staggering while running.

    Yu LianZhou saw the whole event, but didn’t say anything. At dusk, Zhang CuiShan said, “Second brother, lets go!” Yu LianZhou said, “No. We stay tonight. Let’s leave tomorrow.” Zhang CuiShan paused for a second, then realized his brother’s intentions. He said, “You’re right. We’re only two days away from the mountain. Even though the seven brothers are not together, we still cannot let down our sect’s reputation. How can we hide from others at the bottom of Wu Dang Mountain?”

    Yu LianZhou smiled lightly and said, “Since our tracks have already been exposed, I want to see just how we’re about to die.”

    The two walked over to Zhang CuiShan’s room, sat by the fire and meditated. That night, seven or eight people kept walking around their room, but none dared to go in. Yin SuSu slept through the entire night, not knowing what’s going on. Zhang and Yu simply ignored the people.

    The three of them left after finishing breakfast. Yu LianZhou told the driver to take off the cover on his cart, so he could see outside.

    After traveling a few miles out the town, three riders caught up from behind, and followed the mule-carts. They kept about thirty meters back, and didn’t try to get any closer. After a while, they found four riders in front. After the mule-carts passed them, these four riders joined with the previous three. A few miles later, four more riders caught up, with eleven total now. The cart-drivers began to panic, and whispered to Zhang CuiShan, “Sir, these people don’t look right. Perhaps they’re bandits. You should be careful.” Zhang CuiShan nodded.

    By noon, six more people joined up. These riders all looked different. Some dressed in expensive, silk robes, while others look like beggars. But all carried weapons. None of them spoke, so one can’t tell their dialect. However, all of them are short and have dark skin. So they’re likely from the south. By the afternoon, twenty-one riders had gathered behind them. Some of the more daring riders got as close as about ten meters, but wouldn’t dare get closer. Yu LianZhou simply meditated in the cart, ignoring them.

    By dusk, two riders came from the front. The first rider is an empty-handed old man. The second rider is a colorfully dressed married woman, holding a pair of sabers. The two horses stopped in the middle of the road, blocking their path.

    Zhang CuiShan held down his anger, and said courteously, “Wu Dang’s Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, says hello. May I ask the elder’s name?” That old man said, “Where is Gold-Haired Lion King: Xie Xun? If you tell me, I will let you through.” Zhang CuiShan said, “I cannot answer this question. Allow me to ask master for permission first.”

    That old man said, “With Second Yu’s injured, you’re only one person. Don’t think you can defeat all of us.” As he spoke, the old man took out a pair of judge’s brushes. The tips of the brushes are in the shape of serpent heads.

    Zhang CuiShan uses a judge’s brush himself, so he’s familiar with all of the famous brush users in the martial world. Upon seeing this serpent-like brush tip, he recalled that his master once said, there’s a sect in the Gao Li* region who specializes in judge’s brushes. Their brush tips are in the shape of serpent heads. They also use different moves and pressure point techniques compared to brush users in the central plains. Perhaps due to the serpent head tip, their techniques are quite vicious. The sect is called the ‘Green Dragon Sect’. The most renowned member is someone with a surname of ‘Quan’. But master did not know of his name. So Zhang CuiShan put together his fist and said, “Is elder a member of Gao Li’s Green Dragon Sect? How do you refer to Elder Quan?”

    *Note: Gao Li is in the present day Northeastern region of China. It was an independent country for a short while in history.

    That old man froze, thought, “This person looks to be thirty-some years old. How could he know my background?” This old man is head of the Gao Li’s Green Dragon Sect. His name is Quan JianNan. Sourthern Ling region’s ‘Three River Clan’ leader requested his help, and even offered large amounts of gifts. Quan JianNan hasonly been in the central plains for a short while, and had not fought. So he was very surprised when Zhang CuiShan pointed out his origin. and said, “I am Quan JianNan.”

    Zhang Cuishan said, “The Green Dragon Sect never associates with people in the central plains. What had Wu Dang done that angered Old Hero Quan? Please enlighten us.” Quan JianNan said, “I have nothing against you. I also know about a Wu Dang Sect back in Gao Li. And that the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang are all righteous men. I just have one question, ‘Where is Golden-Haired Lion King: Xie Xun?’”

    Although these words didn’t seem disrespectful, they showed clear hostile intentions. At the same time, Quan JianNan waved his judge’s brush. The riders behind them quickly scattered, surrounding the carts. Their intentions are obvious. If Zhang CuiShan did not reveal Xie Xun’s location, they will attack.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “What if I don’t want to say the location?” Quan JianNan said, “I know Fifth Hero Zhang’s kung fu is formidable. Even though we have many people, I doubt we could keep you here. However, Second Hero Yu is injured, and your wife is ill. Given such an opportunity, we’ll have to take advantage, and capture them. But you are free to leave.”

    Zhang CuiShan did not like his tone at all, and said, “Fine. If so, then let me see just how good Gao Li martial arts is. What if Elder Quan loses?”

    Quan JianNan said, “If I lose, then everyone will attack at once. We’re not going to use that stupid one-on-one rule here. If Wu Dang had more people, you can also try to win through numbers. Back when Sui YangDi*, Tang TaiZong*, and Tang GaoZong* invaded Gao Li, didn’t they also win through numbers with their large number of troops? Since the beginning of history, people had been using numbers to their advantage.”

    *Note: ‘Sui YangDi’ is the imperial name for Yang Guang, the infamous second(and last) emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Tang TaiZong and Tang GaoZong are the imperial names for Li ShiMin and Li Zhi, respectively. They are the second and the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty. These emperors ruled pretty much in succession, with Li ShiMin’s father Li Yuan ruling in between them. However, Li Yuan ruled during much civil strife, which is probably why he didn’t bother attacking Gao Li.

    Zhang CuiShan knew he couldn’t talk out of this situation. He figured that capturing Quan JianNan might get them to back off. So he got off the horse, and took out a silver tiger hook with his left hand, and an iron judge’s brush with his right. Zhang CuiShan said, “After you.” Zhang CuiShan’s previous judge’s brush fell into the sea. After returning, he bought a new one. Although it’s not as good as the previous one, it was the best available.

    Quan JianNan also came down the horse, and attacked. His right brush pointed gently, while his left brush still hasn’t came out, as his body had already reached the opponent. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Today I’m fighting for my sworn brother. As his sworn brother and sworn sister, my wife and I can die for him. But this doesn’t concern second brother at all. And he shouldn’t get hurt because of this.” As Quan JianNan’s right brush nears, the hook came up to block, which used twenty percent of Zhang CuiShan’s power. As the hook and brush met, Zhang CuiShan’s body shook.

    Quan JianNan thought happily, “The Three-River Clan kept saying how powerful Wu Dang is. But this guy’s nothing. They must’ve been exaggerating.” He quickly followed up with his left brush. Zhang CuiShan had trouble blocking, but still hung on. Quan JianNan thought that should he defeat Fifth Hero Zhang, his fame would rise dramatically. With this thought, his brushes came even faster, each attack pointed at Zhang CuiShan’s vital area.

    Zhang CuiShan blocked tightly, while carefully examining his opponent’s moves. Quan JianNan’s moves looked light and flexible, but there’s great power on the tip of the brush. The brush targets emphasized the lower body and the back, much different from brush users in the central plains. Upon further examination, his left brush attacked only the back’s ‘Ling Tai’ or lower points, like ‘Zhi Yang’, ‘Jin Sui’, ‘Zhong Shu’, ‘Ji Zhong’, ‘Xuan Shu’, ‘Ming Men’, ‘Yang Guan’, ‘Yao Yu’, and ‘Chang Chiang’. The right brush emphasized on attacking the opponent’s legs, like ‘Zi Wu Shu’, ‘Wei Dao’, ‘Huan Tiao’, ‘Feng Shi’, ‘Zhong Du’, and the calf’s ‘Yang Ling’ Point. Zhang CuiShan figured out that his left brush really only aimed at the several points along the ‘Du Artery’. The right brush aimed at only the several points in the front of the leg and foot. Despite the complicated appearance, it’s actually quite easy to counter. Zhang CuiShan thought, “Master once said, the Green Dragon Sect’s point-sealing technique relied on its oddity. So despite its ferociousness, their technique is nothing to worry about. Looks like master’s correct.” After he understood his opponent’s attack pattern, the silver hook and iron brush only protected the particular points that Quan JianNan aimed for, ignoring all other parts of the body.

    Quan JianNan fought with more and more energy as the battle went on. Zhang CuiShan thought, “You dare come to the bottom of Wu Dang Mountain with such pedestrian skills?” Suddenly his silver hook came scooping down using the hook in the character ‘Dragon’. The hook slashed through Quan JianNan’s right leg’s ‘Feng Shi’ Point. Quan JianNan let out a scream, and fell down.

    At this moment, Zhang CuiShan’s brush came straight down, sealing ten pressure points on Quan JianNan’s ‘Du Artery’, the same ten Quan JianNan aimed with his left brush during the fight. This brush came down fast as a shooting star, strong as a charging ox, fully immobilizing Quan JianNan. Quan JianNan sighed, and thought, “I give up. Even against a wooden sculpture, I wouldn’t be able to attack ten points in one single move. I’m not even worthy to be his disciple.”

    Zahng CuiShan put his hook by Quan JianNan’s throat, and yelled, “Everyone stand back! After escorting this elder to Wu Dang Mountain, I’ll release him.” He thought these people must be Quan JianNan’s subordinates, and would listen.

    But instead, that colorfully-dressed married woman yelled, “Everyone attack together. Break the carts.” Zhang CuiShan yelled, “If anyone moves any closer, I’ll kill this man!” That woman smirked and said, “Everyone just attack.” The riders immediately charged, ignoring Quan JianNan’s safety. This woman is one of the helmsmen of the Three-River Clan. They came here to capture Yu LianZhou and Yin SuSu, in order to get Xie Xun’s location. Quan JianNan is just a guest helper. So they hardly cared for his safety.

    Zhang CuiShan gasped, as he realized that even killing Quan JianNan would be useless. At this moment, six people had surrounded Yin SuSu’s cart, and six more surrounded Yu LianZhou’s cart. The rest gathered around the married woman. Just at this moment, Yu LianZhou suddenly yelled, “Sixth brother, come get rid of these people!”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “What’s second brother doing?” When suddenly, he heard a yell in the distance, “Sure thing! Fifth brother, how are you? Your little brother really misses you.” A shadow appeared from behind a nearby tree, with a sword in hand, coming closer. He is indeed the sixth hero Yin LiTing. Zhang CuiShan was simply overjoyed, and he yelled, “Sixth brother. Great to see you!”

    Several people from the Three-River Clan went to block Yin LiTing’s path, only to hear a continuous stream of ‘ah’ yells and ‘ding ding’ sounds. Each person’s wrist was slashed by sword on the ‘Divine Gate’ Point. All of them immediately dropped their weapons. The ‘Divine Gate’ Point is located one the back wrist. Once struck, the hand immediately becomes numb, unable to exert any more pressure. Yin LiTing walked briskly towards the carts. When an enemy comes, he would wave his sword, and the opposing weapon would drop. That woman yelled, “You’re Wu Dang’s…” With two ‘Dang Dang’ sounds, her two sabers both left her hands.

    Zhang CuiShan said ecstatically, “So master finally figured out the ‘Thirteen Divine Gate Swords’.” This ‘Thirteen Divine Gate Swords’ has a total of thirteen moves. Each one different from another, but all aimed at the opponent’s ‘Divine Gate’ Point. When Zhang CuiShan left Wu Dang ten years ago, Zhang SanFeng had started to invent this sword art. He discussed with his disciples several times, but couldn’t overcome several major problems. Now as Zhang CuiShan watched Yin LiTing use this sword art, no one in the Three-River Clan could block even one blow. Every single one of Yin LiTing’s strike was incredibly exquisite. After only five or six blows, he had already dropped over ten people’s weapons.

    That woman yelled, “Let’s get out of here!” The clan members immediately began to run away. Zhang CuiShan unsealed Quan JianNan’s pressure points and returned his brushes. Quan JianNan instantly ran away in a shameful expression.

    Yin LiTing returned his sword to its sheath, and grabbed Zhang CuiShan’s hands tightly. He said with joy, “Fifth brother. I missed you so much!” Zhang CuiShan said, “Sixth brother, you’ve grown taller.” When they parted, Yin LiTing was only eighteen. After ten years, the young boy had grown into a mature adult. Zhang CuiShan held Yin LiTing’s hand as he walked over to his wife.

    Yin SuSu is still quite ill. So she could only smile lightly, and said faintly, “Sixth brother-in-law.” Yin LiTing said with a smile, “So fifth sister-in-law also has a surname of ‘Yin’. That’s great. Not only are you my sister-in-law, but also my sister.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Second brother really is much better than me. You were hiding on that tree the whole time. He recognized you, but I never noticed.”

    Yin LiTing then spoke of why he came.

    A while back, fourth hero Zhang SongXi went down the Wu Dang Mountain to buy some items for master’s one-hundredth birthday. He saw two suspicious people walking around, and thought, “Considering Wu Dang’s fame, why would anyone want to cause trouble in this area?” So he followed them to see what they’re up to. Only then did Zhang SongXi know that Zhang CuiShan is back, and met up with Yu LianZhou. Both the ‘Three-River Clan’ and the ‘Saber of Five Winds Sect’ wanted to block their path, to ask for Xie Xun’s location. Zhang SongXi ecstatically went back up the mountain. At the time, only Yin LiTing was there. The two split up to look for their brothers. They both thought, at the time, that their second and fifth brother could easily take care of these people. But both were too impatient to meet up with their fifth brother. So they came down the mountain together. Neither knew about Yu LianZhou’s injury, for those people did not bring it up. Zhang SongXi followed ‘Saber of Five Winds Sect’, while Yin LiTing followed ‘Three-River Clan’.

    Yu LianZhou said, “If it weren’t for fourth brother, I don’t know what would’ve happened today.” Zhang CuiShan said shamefully, “I couldn’t even protect second brother myself. After leaving for ten years, my martial arts ability had lagged too far behind.” Yin LiTing said, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Even if I hadn’t appeared, you still could’ve easily taken care of them. It’s just that you couldn’t protect second brother and fifth sister-in-law at the same time. Think about the techniques you used against that old man from Gao Li. Master never taught it to anyone else. Master will be overjoyed to see you back. He’s bound to have lots and lots of stuff to teach you. Just hope you can remember them all. Hey, do you want me to teach you the ‘Thirteen Divine Gate Swords’?”

    Due to their bond, and being reunited after so much time apart, Yin LiTing is just dying to teach Zhang CuiShan everything he missed. As the two walked side by side, Yin LiTing talked endlessly, and kept making gestures to demonstrate various techniques.

    * * *

    That night the four rested in an inn. Yin LiTing wanted to sleep next to Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan also really likes this sixth brother. Although Yin LiTing’s already grown up, his personality still resembled the youngster ten years ago. Muo ShengGu might be the youngest of the seven brothers, but he matured at a very young age. So Yin LiTing actually has a weaker personality than his little brother. Zhang CuiShan’s age has always been close to Yin LiTing’s, and had always taken extra care of his sixth brother.

    Yu LianZhou chuckled, and said, “Fifth brother is already married. Do you think he’s still the same person from ten years ago? Fifth brother, you came back just in time. After we’re done with master’s birthday celebration, we will be following up with sixth brother’s wedding celebration.” Zhang CuiShan clapped his hands and laughed, said, “Awesome! Awesome! Who’s the lucky lady?” Yin LiTing’s face turned bright red, but won’t speak.

    Yu LianZhou said, “She is the daughter of ‘Golden Whip’ Old Hero Ji in Han Yang City.” Zhang CuiShan said with a smile, “Sixth brother, you need to stop acting like a kid now. It’s no fun getting whacked by a golden whip.” Yu LianZhou chuckled, said, “Miss Ji is actually a sword user. Thankfully, she was not among the hooded-women back at the river.” Zhang CuiShan asked in surprise, “You mean Miss Ji is an E Mei disciple?” Yu LianZhou nodded, said, “Those E Mei disciples we met by the river had ordinary kung fu. So Miss Ji couldn’t have been among them. Otherwise, if I offended sixth sister-in-law, while helping fifth sister-in-law, people might say I’m being unfair. This future sixth sister-in-law has great moral fiber, and excellent martial arts. She’s a top disciple of a righteous sect, very suitable for sixth brother…”

    When he got here, Yu LianZhou suddenly remembered that Yin SuSu is from an evil sect. Praising Miss Ji this way might hurt fifth brother’s feelings. Just when he wanted to change the subject, someone came to the door and said, “Mr. Yu, several people want to see you. They said they’re your friends.” This was the voice of a worker at the inn.

    Yu LianZhou asked, “Who are they?” The worker said, “There are six people total. They said they’re from the ‘Saber of Five Winds Sect’.” The three brothers were quite surprised. Zhang SongXi said he’d get rid of these people, so how did they manage to get here? Could something have happened to Zhang SongXi? Zhang CuiShan said, “Let me go out and see what’s going on.” Because of second brother’s injuries, Zhang CuiShan didn’t want to fight inside the room. Yu LianZhou said, “Let them come in.”

    A while later, five coarse men and a beautiful young married woman came in. Zhang CuiShan and Yin LiTing sat right next to Yu LianZhou, preparing for possible fighting. Yet these six people all had shameful expressions on their faces. None of them had any weapons. Hardly looking like they want to cause some trouble. The first man of about forty stepped up, bowed courteously with fists together, and said, “Are you Wu Dang’s Second Hero Yu, Fifth Hero Zhang, and Sixth Hero Yin? I am a disciple of the Saber of Five Winds Sect, called Meng ZhengHong. Nice to meet you.”

    Yu, Zhang, and Yin returned bows, all surprised at his actions. Yu LianZhou said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Meng. Everyone, please sit.”

    But Meng ZhengHong did not sit. He said, “My sect is located in the Shan Xi region. Although the sect is small, we nonetheless have heard of Wu Dang’s reputation. Today, upon reaching the foot of Wu Dang Mountain, we really should go up to respects to Master Zhang. But we heard that he’s already one hundred years old, and leads a quiet life. So we really shouldn’t bother him. We wish you could send a message to him. Tell him that the disciples of the ‘Saber of Five Winds Sect’ send their greetings, hoping he would have forever-good health, and many blessings.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “You are too kind. Thank you for your thoughtful words.”

    Meng ZhengHong then said, “We really were foolish and ignorant, to even dare come offend Wu Dang. Thankfully, the Heroes of Wu Dang were benevolent, and actually helped us out in our time of need. I really am very thankful, and therefore came to first express my gratitude, then express my apology. Hoping you could forgive us.” As he spoke he got on his knees.

    Zhang CuiShan quickly picked him up, said, “Mr. Meng, you don’t need to be so courteous.”

    Meng ZhengHong stuttered a bit, as he wanted to say something, but was afraid to. Yu LianZhou said, “Just speak what’s on your mind, Mr. Meng.” Meng ZhengHong said, “I wish for Second Hero Yu to say that Wu Dang forgives us. So we would have face to meet our master.” Yu LianZhou said, “I take it you came to seek Golden-Haired Lion King: Xie Xun’s location, right? What’s your reason for doing so?” Meng ZhengHong said, “Xie Xun killed my elder brother.”

    Yu LianZhou’s heart shook, said, “We really have our reasons for not giving this info. Hopefully you can understand. As for forgiveness, you don’t have to ever speak of it again. When you see your master Old Master Wu, say that Second Yu, Fifth Zhang, and Sixth Yin send their greetings.”

    Meng ZhengHon said, “If so, then we shall go now. If Wu Dang ever needs help in the future, you can simply send us a letter. Although we are just a small sect, we would still help in any way we can.” He then bowed again with the five other people, and left the room.

    That young married woman suddenly got down on her knees and whispered, “Thanks to Wu Dang’s help, I was able to keep my innocence. I’ll never forget your kindness.” The three brothers didn’t know what she’s talking about, but felt it would be inappropriate to ask further on this subject. So they just said some modest words. That young woman kowtowed several times, and left.

    Just moments after these people left, the door opened. A man flew in at lightning speed, and immediately hugged Zhang CuiShan.

    Zhang CuiShan said cheerfully, “Fourth brother!” The person who came in was indeed Zhang SongXi. Zhang CuiShan added, “Fourth brother. You really are amazing. Turning the ‘Saber of Five Winds Sect’ from enemy to friend. Zhang SongXi said with a smile, “It was just a coincidence. I can’t really claim credit.” He then explained how everything unfolded.

    That young married woman’s surname is Wu. She is the sect leader’s second daughter. That Meng ZhengHong is her husband. The six of them came here to search for Xie Xun. On the way, they met up with the Three-River Clan, who said that Zhang CuiShan know of Xie Xun’s location. That Wu lady was pampered since childhood. She proposed to capture Zhang CuiShan, and torture him into submission. Meng ZhengHong had always been afraid of his wife, but wouldn’t agree with her this time. He said that Wu Dang’s too powerful. They should instead ask politely. Should Wu Dang not acquiesce, they’ll find some other way to get the information. That Wu lady said, “This is a once in a life time opportunity. Once Zhang CuiShan get back to Wu Dang, he’d be with his martial brothers, and be protected by Zhang SanFeng. How do we ask then?” The two then began to bicker. The other disciples were beneath them in seniority, and didn’t dare interfere.

    That Wu lady said, “You are such a coward. Look, we’re trying to avenge your brother here, not mine. Humph, you’re not a man at all. Don’t you have any courage? Even if that Zhang CuiShan tells you Xie Xun’s location, I doubt you’ll have the guts to find him. The biggest mistake of my life is getting married to a coward like you.” Meng ZhengHong is used to giving in to his wife, and stopped talking. But he still won’t follow his wife’s plan: catching them using sleeping powder. In her frustration, that night when his husband fell asleep, the Wu lady secretly left.

    She wanted to do the deed alone, and embarrass his husband in the process. Unfortunately for her, a helmsman of the Three-River Clan saw everything. Lusted at her beauty, he followed behind secretly. He tried to apply some of the sleeping powder on her. However, Zhang SongXi was following their movement this whole time. At the last second, he came out of hiding and beat up on that helmsman, before chasing him away. Zhang SongXi didn’t say his own name, only mentioned that he was a Wu Dang disciple. The Wu lady was both surprised and embarrassed. She quickly went back and told her husband what happened. This way, Wu Dang turned into their savior. That’s why the couple came to thank the three Wu Dang brothers. Zhang SongXi didn’t want to further embarrass them, and therefore didn’t appear until they had left.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “It’s not difficult to send these people away. But it’s much more to master’s taste that you turned them into friends.”

    Zhang SongXi said with a smile, “Ten years apart, and the first thing you do is to flatter me.”

    That night, the four brothers slept in the same room and chatted. Despite his cleverness, Zhang SongXi could not figure out the origins of the man who kidnapped WuJi either.

    The next day, Zhang SongXi met Yin SuSu. The five of them traveled for a whole day before arriving at Wu Dang Mountain that night.

    As he returned to his childhood home, Zhang CuiShan’s first thought was to pay respects to his master. Then meet up with eldest brother, third brother, and seventh brother. Even though his son is missing and his wife is sick, Zhang CuiShan nonetheless felt more happiness and sadness.

    * * *

    Upon reaching the mountaintop, they saw eight horses tied by the front door. These horses don’t belong to Wu Dang. Zhang SongXi said, “There must be guests here. Let’s not bother them, and use the side door instead.” Zhang CuiShan held his wife and walked through the side door. When the priests and servants saw Zhang CuiShan back safely, they were all overjoyed. Zhang CuiShan really wanted to see his master. But the apprentice priest for Zhang SanFeng said that he’s still meditating in seclusion. Zhang CuiShan paid his respect in front of Zhang SanFeng’s meditation room. Then went to see Yu DaiYan.

    The apprentice priest who served Yu DaiYan whispered, “Third Martial Uncle’s asleep. Do you want to wake him up?” Zhang CuiShan shook his head, and walked into the room. Only to see Yu DaiYan sleeping soundly, with pale face and sunken cheeks. A righteous hero ten years ago, had turned into a sick man seemingly on his last breath. Zhang CuiShan watched for a while, and tears came down his eyes.

    After a long time, he finally walked out, and asked the apprentice priest, “Where’s your eldest and seventh martial uncles?” That apprentice priest said, “In the main hall.” Zhang CuiShan walked to the back room of the main hall to wait for them. After a long time, they still haven’t appeared. Zhang CuiShan finally asked the servant sending the tea, “Who are the guests?” That servant said, “They seem to be in the escort agency business.”

    Yin LiTing wanted to be with his long lost brother, and soon joined Zhang CuiShan. When Zhang CuiShan asked him about those guests, Yin LiTing said, “All three are top agency leaders. ‘Tiger Den Escort Agency’ Leader Qi TianBiao from Jin Lian City, ‘Rising Sun Escort Agency’ Leader Yun He from Tai Yuan City, and the third is ‘Sparrow Cloud Escort Agency’ Leader Guan JiuJia from the capital city.”

    Zhang CuiShan said with surprise, “All three of them came? Ten years ago, these are the most renowned escort agencies in the country. And their leaders have the best martial arts among escort leaders. Is that still true today? Why are they here?” Yin LiTing said with a smile, “They probably lost some shipments on one of their escort trips. The person who took their shipments is too powerful. So they came to ask big brother for help. Fifth brother, big brother has been helping more and more people recently. Every time someone has an unsolvable problem in the martial world, he’d ask for big brother’s help.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Big brother has a heart of Buddha. He never turns down anyone’s request. I wonder if big brother looks older now?” Unable to further suppress his urge to see his big brother, Zhang CuiShan said, “Sixth brother, I’m going behind the screen to take a peek at him, ok?” He walked up and peeked into the main hall.

    Only to see Song YuanQiao and Muo ShengGu sitting in two host seats. Song YuanQiao dressed as a priest, with a peaceful expression on his face. He looked similar to ten years ago, except there are some gray hairs on the side, and he looked chubbier. Song YuanQiao is not a priest. But since his master is a priest, and Wu Dang is a place of worship, he tends to wear a priest robe on Wu Dang Mountain. Muo ShengGu had already grown into an adult. Although only twenty-some years old, he had grown a long beard, and looked even older than Zhang CuiShan.

    Only to hear Muo ShengGu say loudly, “My big brother is a man of his words. Are you saying that you don’t trust his reputation?” Zhang CuiShan thought, “Seventh brother’s temper hasn’t changed at all. I wonder what he’s arguing about?” He turned and looked at the guest seats. Three people sat there, each about fifty years old. One looked very fiery. One is tall and skinny, looking composed. The third one looked terribly sick, his face seemingly a dry root. Only to hear the tall thin man say, “Of course we trust Hero Song’s words. But can you tell us when Fifth Hero Zhang would be back?”

    Zhang CuiShan thought, “So they came for me. Probably seeking my sworn brother’s location.” Only to hear Muo ShengGu say, “We seven brothers might not have great abilities, but we are proud of our righteous deeds. We thank our friends in the martial world for giving us the ‘Seven Heroes of Wu Dang’ title. Although we don’t really deserve it…” Zhang CuiShan thought, “After ten years, seventh brother’s much better at talking now. When I left, he would take forever answering questions from strangers. Other than third brother and I, everyone else has improved dramatically.”

    Muo ShengGu continued, “but we have indeed been bestowed this honor. Due to our master’s teachings, none of us dared make any mistake. Fifth Brother Zhang is one of my brothers. Among us, he has the best temper. If you keep saying that he killed those people at the ‘Dragon Gate Escort Agency’, Humph, that’s just nonsense.” Zhang CuiShan shuddered, “So it’s about the Dragon Gate Escort Agency again. Looks like they’ve heard about me coming back, and came to question me on the matter.”

    That fiery old man said, “No one questions the reputation of ‘The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang’. Seventh Hero Muo, you didn’t need to self-praise to tell us of your incredible fame.”

    Muo ShengGu frowned at his sarcastic remark, said, “What do you really want, Leader Qi? Just go ahead and say it.”

    That fiery man is indeed the leader of the ‘Tiger Den Escort Agency’, Qi TianBiao. Qi TianBiao said loudly, “The Seven Heroes of Wu Dang are men of their words. So did Shaolin Reverends lie? Shaolin monks personally saw Zhang CuiShan, Fifth ‘Hero’… Zhang, killed every member of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.” He purposely emphasized the word ‘hero’, and said it in a mocking tone.

    Yin LiTing was furious. Ridiculing his fifth brother is ten times more unbearable than mocking Yin LiTing himself. He was just about to go out and argue, when Zhang CuiShan pulled him back, and shook his head. Yin LiTing saw a painful expression on his face. He didn’t know what to make of it, but thought, “Fifth brother’s temper is so great. No wonder master always compliments him.”

    Muo ShengGu stood up, and said loudly, “First of all, my fifth brother is currently not here. But even if he were, my answer is still the same. Zhang CuiShan and I are brothers in life and death. His problems are my problems. You have to falsely accuse my fifth brother on this murder charge? Fine! Just put it all on me. If you want revenge, come to me. My fifth brother is not here, but Muo ShengGu is also Zhang CuiShan. Zhang CuiShan is also Muo ShengGu. To be honest, my kung fu and intellect are both beneath my fifth brother. So you are quite lucky to meet me today.”

    Qi TianBiao fumed, stood up and yelled, “Before coming to Wu Dang, many people laughed at me. They said that my kung fu was not worthy of challenging Wu Dang. But there’s no way we can simply forget what happened to Du DaJin and his people. After killing over Dragon Gate Escort Agency’s ninety-plus people, I’m sure Wu Dang won’t mind killing another Qi TianBiao. Looks like I will be dying on Wu Dang Mountain today. When we came up the mountain, out of respect for you, we carried no weapons. So I’ll seek my death under Seventh Hero Muo’s fists.” As he spoke, he walked to the center of the room.

    Song YuanQiao had been quiet this whole time, but he stepped in at this moment, and held back Muo ShengGu. With a light smile, Song YuanQiao said, “Let’s look at the purpose of your visit. You came because you are certain that my fifth brother killed everyone in Lin An City’s Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Good news is, he will be back soon. Why don’t the three guests be a bit patient, wait till he’s actually back. Then wouldn’t the truth be revealed?”

    That sick-looking old man, ‘Sparrow Cloud Escort Agency’ Leader Gong JiuGui, stood up and said, “Escort Leader Qi, please sit down. Since Fifth Zhang has still not returned, we can’t get a resolution. How about we first see Master Zhang, and ask his opinion. As the most esteemed individual in the martial world, surely he would be objective, and not just shield his own disciple.”

    Despite his courteous tone, these words carried a threatening message. Muo ShengGu said, “Our master’s in seclusion right now for meditation. Besides, my big brother handles most of the Wu Dang matters now anyway. Other than some of the most highly esteemed individuals of the martial world, my master would not greet any guest.” In another words, he meant that the three escort leaders were not worthy of meeting their master.

    That tall skinny man, Escort Leader Yun He, said, “Humph, what are the odds. So your master just happened to be meditating the same day we come, eh? Well, Master Zhang can meditate in seclusion whenever he wants. But does he think that by hiding, he can avoid the payment for the ninety-plus lives of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency?” Gong JiuGui realized that these words were too nasty, and quickly gestured for him to stop. But Muo ShengGu could not hold down his rage. He yelled, “Are you saying that my master’s hiding from you?” Yun He smirked, but did not respond.

    Despite his good temper, Song YuanQiao could not bear these people mocking his master. No one in over ten years had dared to mock Zhang SanFeng in front of the Wu Dang heroes. Song YuanQiao said calmly, “Since the three are guests, we dare not offend you. However, I must ask you to leave now!” And with these words he whisked his sleeve. A light wind left the sleeve. The three teacups by Qi TianBiao, Yun He, and Gong JiuGui were swept by the wind, and flew onto the tea table besides Song YuanQiao. The three cups flew up leisurely, and landed evenly. Not a single drop of tea came out in the process.

    The three escort leaders, at the moment Song YuanQiao whisked his sleeve, felt a seemingly soft, but actually powerful force pushing into their chests. The force was so dominating they couldn’t even breathe. The three immediately started to gather their inner chi in defense. But the soft wind came quickly, and left quickly, as they regained the ability to breathe again. The escort leaders were incredibly shocked. They knew that had Song YuanQiao followed up with a whisk of his left sleeve, the second wave of wind would have reversed the chi-flow that they gathered. Even if they don’t die from the reversed chi-flow, at least their inner power would be destroyed. From this one act, the three escort leaders realized that the soft-spoken eldest hero of Wu Dang has unbelievable martial arts.

    In the back room, Zhang CuiShan thought about Yin SuSu’s murder of Dragon Gate Escort Agency again. He felt very remorseful about the act. When he suddenly saw Song YuanQiao’s whisk of the sleeve, Zhang CuiShan felt awed, and thought, “Wu Dang inner power really does grow quicker the more the practitioner trains. When my sworn brother wanted to kill big brother, big brother really had no chance. But today, even if my sworn brother weren’t blind, his martial arts wouldn’t be much better than big brother’s, if at all. In another ten years, my big and second brother should surpass my sworn brother.”

    Only to hear Qi TianBiao say, “Thank you, Hero Song, for sparing our lives. Goodbye!” Song YuanQiao and Muo ShengGu sent them out the door. Qi TianBiao said, “No need see us out.” Song YuanQiao said, “It’s not often that such renowned escort leaders would visit Wu Dang. Why shouldn’t we escort you out? In the future, I’ll surely visit your agencies should I get the chance.” Qi TianBiao said, “Oh, you are too kind.” After Song YuanQiao showed off his martial prowess, his demeanor remained the same, with no arrogance. Qi TianBiao gained a lot more respect for this eldest Wu Dang hero, and had lost most of his urge for revenge.

    At this moment, Qi TianBiao suddenly saw a short but gallant looking man walk in the front door. Song YuanQiao said, “Fourth brother, let me introduce you to these guests.” He then introduced everyone.

    Zhang SongXi said, “The three came just in time. I have some items you might wish to see.” And he took out three small packets, and gave one to each person. Qi TianBiao asked, “What are these?” Zhang SongXi said, “This is not a good place to open them. You should look at the contents outside.” The three Wu Dang brothers then escorted the guests out the door.

    Immediately afterwards, Muo ShengGu asked impatiently, “Fourth brother, where’s fifth brother? Did he not come back with you?” Zhang SongXi said, “Go back inside to see your fifth brother. Your big brother and I will wait for these three guests to return.” Muo ShengGu yelled, “Fifth brother’s inside? These three escort leaders are coming back? What do we do then?” In his haste to see Zhang CuiShan, Muo ShengGu didn’t even wait for Zhang SongXi’s explanation, and hurriedly inside.

    Just as he went back to the main hall, the three escort leaders really did return. They immediately bowed to Zhang SongXi and Song YuanQiao, who quickly returned bows. Yun He said, “I finally know now that the Wu Dang heroes were my saviors. To think that I derided your Master Zhang… I feel incredibly ashamed.” As he spoke, Yun He picked up his hands, and slapped himself on the face ten times, until his face is pure red. Song YuanQiao doesn’t know what’s going on, and quickly stopped him.

    Zhang SongXi said, “Escort Leader Yun is a true loyalist of China. All patriotic Chinese wish to get rid of those Mongols, and return China to its rightful owner. Helping in this regards is what people like us should do. No need to say thanks.”

    Yun He said, “You saved my whole family, and everyone in my escort agency. To think that I had no clue these last five years. I really hope you two can hit me a few times, to lessen my emotional embarrassment.”

    Zhang SongXi said with a smile, “Don’t worry too much about the past. Out of respect for your actions, I’m sure even master would not mind those words you just said.” But even so, Yun He still felt uneasy.

    Song YuanQiao doesn’t know what’s going on, and simply said a few courteous words. Qi TianBiao and Gong JiuGui also thanked profusely, but Zhang SongXi didn’t seem to care much for them. He only had kind words to say for Yun He. The three escort leaders insisted on paying respects to Zhang SanFeng. They each bowed in front of Zhang SanFeng’s meditation room. Then insisted to see Muo ShengGu to apologize. After more apologies and words of thanks, the three finally left.

    * * *

    Afterwards, Zhang SongXi said, “Although they feel indebted to us, none of them spoke about the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Looks like we still can’t resolve this issue.”

    Song YuanQiao was about to ask what’s going on, when Zhang CuiShan came out from the back room. He yelled, “Big brother, I missed you so much.”

    Song YuanQiao is a very mannerly person. So even though he’s meeting his long lost brother, and felt exuberant in his head, Song YuanQiao nonetheless simply bowed courteously, and said, “Fifth brother. You’ve finally come back.”

    Before Zhang CuiShan could respond, Muo ShengGu asked impatiently, “Fifth brother. Didn’t you hear how rude those people are? You really do have a good temper. I would’ve taught them a lesson.” Zhang CuiShan sighed, and said, “It’s a long story. After I tell you all, we really should try to seek aneffective solution together.”

    Yin LiTing said, “Don’t worry, fifth brother. The Dragon Gate Escort Agency failed in their duty to escort third brother safely back. Even if fifth brother really did kill them all, it would be because of your love for third brother, and so wouldn’t be that…”

    Yu LianZhou yelled, “Sixth brother, are kind of nonsense are you speaking? If master hears these words, he’d lock you up for at least a month to repent. How can any of us kill a whole agency, including the elderly and the children?”

    The other brothers all looked at Zhang CuiShan. All saw the solemn expression on his face. After a while, Zhang CuiShan said, “I didn’t kill anyone in the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. I didn’t forget master’s teachings.”

    Song YuanQiao and his fellow brothers all breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t really believe that Zhang CuiShan could do such a thing. But Shaolin was just so adamant about it, even said that they witnessed the whole event. And when the three escort leaders came to question him, Zhang CuiShan did not speak up and claim his innocence. So all the brothers felt some uneasiness. Only when Zhang CuiShan spoke these words did they finally put to rest these nagging thoughts. They all thought, “There must be some problematic details that will make this hard to resolve. But as long as he didn’t kill them, everything will eventually be ok.”

    With this thought, Muo ShengGu asked why those three escort leaders returned. Zhang SongXi said, “Among these three leaders, Yun He’s character is the best. Using his fame, Yun He helped organized many people in his region to rise against the Mongol government.” The other brothers immediately expressed their admiration for his actions.

    Muo ShengGu said, “Never thought he’d some this type of a person. Hold your story until I come back…” As he spoke, Muo ShengGu quickly ran out the room.

    Zhang SongXi stopped talking, and they asked Zhang CuiShan about Fire-Ice Island. When Zhang CuiShan spoke about the six months of mostly daylight, six months of mostly night, everyone gasped in astonishment. Zhang CuiShan said, “It’s hard to tell the directions on that island. The sun doesn’t exactly rise in the east.” He then talked about the different strange plants and animals on the island.

    Muo ShengGu came back in the midst of his tale, said, “I went to apologize to Escort Leader Yun. Told him I respect him as an upright man.” Everyone knew this little brother’s straightforward temper, and had long figured that this was his reason for leaving.

    Yin LiTing said, “Seventh brother. Fourth brother held off his tale for you. But fifth brother’s story about the Fire-Ice Island is even more exciting.” Muo ShengGu jumped up and said, “Really?” Zhang SongXi said, “Yun He had prepared everything in detail…” Muo ShengGu shook his hand, said, “Fourth brother. Terribly sorry, but can you hold on a moment…” Zhang CuiShan chuckled, and said, “Seventh brother doesn’t want to miss out on anything.” So he repeated his tale about the Fire-Ice Island. Afterwards, Muo ShengGu said, “Odd, so odd! Fourth brother, you can speak now.”

    Zhang SongXi said, “Yun He prepared everything in detail. At the right moment, he’d start the rebellion. But a major participant was a traitor. Three days before the rebellion would start, this traitor took the list of rebel names to the government.”

    Muo ShengGu yelled, “Oh, no!”

    Zhang SongXi said, “There was some coincidence involved. I had a beef with the mayor of his home city Tai Yuan. That night when I entered the mayor’s mansion, I saw that traitor and the mayor having a secret discussion. I heard their plan to give this info to the national government, and to put down the rebellion using troops. So I went into their room and killed both people. Then took the list of names and returned to Wu Dang. When they found the list of names missing, Yun He and his cohorts knew how terrible the consequences would be. Not only can they not start the rebellion now, but every person on that list would in grave danger. They wanted to send a message to all people involved, but the city gate was closed for the night already. The next morning, the city gate remained closed due to the mayor’s assassination. Yun He and his cohorts were sweating out the situation, as their crime would mean execution of their families, plus the families of their friends on the list. But as the days passed, everything remained fine. Since the police could not capture the assassin, this whole thing eventually passed away. When Yun He found out that the traitor died in the mayor’s mansion, he thought that someone helped him. But didn’t realize it was me.

    Yin LiTing said, “I bet you gave him the list of names in that packet, right?” Zhang SongXi said, “That’s correct.”

    Muo ShengGu said, “What about Gong JiuGui? How did you help him?”

    Zhang SongXi said, “Gong JiuGui’s kung fu is certainly quite formidable, but his character’s not nearly as good as Yun He. Six years ago, he escorted a shipment to the Yun Nan province. At the city of Kun Ming, he took an order of jewelry worth about six hundred thousand taels of silver. Which he needed to escort back to the capital city of Da Du. But he encountered a problem in the Jiang Xi Province. When passing by the city of Po Yang, three of the ‘Four Brothers of Po Yang’ attacked him, and took his jewelry. Not even Gong JiuGui’s entire fortune comes close to the worth of these jewels. Besides, this failed delivery would surely destroy his reputation. After pondering for a while in the inn, he wanted to commit suicide.

    “‘The Four Brothers of Po Yang’ are certainly not bandits. So why did they take these jewels? You see, the eldest brother got in trouble with the law, and landed on death row in prison. About to be executed, his three brothers tried twice to bust him out of prison. They failed both times, and the prison became even more closely guarded. Knowing that officials are corrupt, the three brothers wanted to bribe them using this jewelry, to lessen their big brother’s crimes. I was moved by their friendship, and helped sneak their big brother out of prison. In return, I asked them to give Gong JiuGui his jewelry. Gong JiuGui might not be the greatest person in the world, but haven’t really done anything bad in his life. He didn’t befriend any officials in Da Du, nor ever oppress the poor. So I figured his life was worth saving. I told ‘The Four Brothers of Po Yang’ not to mention my name, just leave me the jewelry bag. So when I handed him the bag, Gong JiuGui understood what had happened.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “You did the right thing, fourth brother.”

    Muo ShengGu said, “Fourth brother, what did you give Qi TianBiao?” Zhang SongXi said, “I gave him nine ‘Soul-Splitting Centipede Darts’.” The five listeners all gasped. ‘Soul-Splitting Centipede Dart’ is very famous in the martial world. It’s the hidden weapon used by the rich aristocrat Wu YiMang.

    Zhang SongXi said, “Thinking back, I was too reckless when I dealt with this situation. That day, while Qi TianBiao was escorting a shipment, he offended a disciple of Wu YiMang. The two fought, with Qi TianBiao seriously injuring that disciple with a punch. Qi TianBiao immediately realized that he’s in trouble after landing this punch. So he quickly completed the shipment, and hurriedly back to his hometown Jin Ling, where he can ask several friends for help. But unfortunately, Wu YiMang caught him up at Luo Yang city, and challenged him to a duel at the city’s western gate.” Yin LiTing said, “Wu YiMang’s kung fu is very good. Qi BiaoTing is not his match.”

    Zhang SongXi said, “You’re right. Qi TianBiao knew this too. So he asked the Qiao brothers of Luo Yang to help him. The Qiao brothers agreed immediately, and said, ‘You should know that with our kung fu ability, we are no match for Wu YiMang. So you just want us there for support. Don’t worry, we will arrive on time.’”

    Muo ShengGu said, “The Qiao brothers are hidden weapon experts. With their help, three against one, they might have a chance. But did Wu YiMang get any help?”

    Zhang SongXi said, “No. But something happened to the Qiao brothers. The next morning, Qi TianBiao went to the Qiao brothers’ house to discuss battle plans. But the servant said that the brothers had left town for an emergency. Qi TianBiao was furious. Several years before, Qi TianBiao helped the brothers out of a major dilemma. He didn’t expect these brothers to sneak away during his moment of need. Knowing Wu YiMang’s merciless ways, Qi TianBiao knew he would not survive this encounter. He wrote a will and gave it to a subordinate. Then went to the west gate for the appointment.”

    “Of course, I saw everything. So that day I disguised myself as a beggar, and sat under a tree outside the west gate. Wu YiMang and Qi TianBiao came one after the other. Soon after they started fighting, Wu YiMang used his ‘Soul-Splitting Centipede Dart’. Qi TianBiao knew he couldn’t evade it, and simply closed his eyes to wait for death. I swooped in at this moment, and caught the dart. Wu YiMang was shocked and furious. He asked if I were a member of the Beggar’s Clan. I just smiled in silence. He then fired eight more darts. I caught every single one. His darts really were quite powerful. But if I had used Wu Dang skills, catching them would still be easy. However, I didn’t want him to know who I am. So I pretended to have a crippled left leg and right arm. Then using only my left hand, I caught them all using Shaolin skills. The seventh dart was a really close call, as the tip narrowly missed my palm. Wu YiMang really did thought I was a Shaolin disciple, and asked which divine reverend was my master. I pretended to be a deaf-mute, and just muttered some nonsensical stuff. Knowing that he couldn’t defeat me, Wu YiMang went away angrily. He never left home after that event.”

    Muo ShengGu shook his head and said, “Fourth brother, Wu YiMang might be a bad guy, but Qi TianBiao isn’t a good guy either. Why did you risk saving him?”

    Zhang SongXi said, “I was just felt nosy at the time. Besides, I also didn’t know the prowess of Wu YiMang’s darts.”

    Being a straightforward person, Muo ShengGu didn’t figure out Zhang SongXi’s reasoning. But Zhang CuiShan did so immediately. His fourth brother did all this to lessen the hatred for him, due to the Dragon Gate Escort Agency murder. Zhang SongXi knew the importance of these three escort leaders. Should there ever be any problems with the escort agencies, these three people would surely represent them. So Zhang SongXi purposely helped them beforehand in case of an event like this. Despite looking like ‘coincidences’, Zhang SongXi must’ve spent countless hours waiting for these events to occur.

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Fourth brother, you and I are closer than blood brothers. I won’t need to say the word ‘thanks’ to you. This whole incident, unfortunately, was all caused by your fifth sister-in-law.” Then he told what exactly happened at the Dragon Gate Escort Agency that night. At the end, he said, “Fourth brother, do you know how we should resolve this?”

    Zhang SongXi thought for a while, then said, “I have to ask the master first. But we can’t bring the dead back alive. Fifth sister-in-law has also changed her ways. A person who has corrected his mistakes should be given a second chance. Big brother, don’t you think so too?”

    Song YuanQiao hesitated a moment, due to the severity of a ninety-plus murder case. But Yu LianZhou nodded and said, “I agree!”

    Yin LiTing was most afraid of second brother. He knew that big brother has a soft heart, and can be easily persuaded. But second brother is cold and objective, and might be too harsh on fifth sister-in-law. Yin LiTing didn’t know that Yu LianZhou had already heard this story. He had long forgiven Yin SuSu. Seeing his second brother’s nod, Yin LiTing said happily, “Yeah, if others ask. Fifth brother can just say that he wasn’t the murderer, and nothing else. He wouldn’t be lying this way either.” Song YuanQiao said in a scolding tone, “How could fifth brother purposely hide the truth like that? This is not an option.” Yin LiTing asked, “Then what do we do?”

    Song YuanQiao said, “In my opinion, after master’s birthday. We should first find fifth brother’s son. Then we’ll have the gathering at the Yellow Crane Restaurant. After taking care of the Xie Xun issue, us six brothers, plus fifth sister-in-law, will go down to the south. Each of us will do ten good deeds within three years.” Zhang SongXi said, “Good idea. If we could save one or two hundred people, we can partially make up for these deaths.” Yu LianZhou said, “I like this idea. There’s no point in further punishing fifth sister-in-law. Even her death wouldn’t solve any problem.”

    Zhang CuiShan was exhilarated at the solution. He said, “Let me tell SuSu.” He then told his wife what Song YuanQiao proposed, and that his brothers would look for WuJi after their master’s birthday.

    Yin SuSu’s illness was due to the loss of WuJi anyway. So these words settled her down a great deal. She thought that with the Six Heroes of Wu Dang’s abilities, they could surely find WuJi.

    Zhang CuiShan then went to see Yu DaiYan. The brothers both felt joy and sadness as they reunited.

    End of Chapter 9

  11. #11
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 10: Hundred Years Celebration Brings Heartbreak

    (Translated by Faerie Queen)

    After the passage of a few days, it was already the eighth day of the fourth month. Tomorrow will be Zhang SanFeng's one hundredth year birthday and he knew that his disciples most definitely would have prepared a festive celebration. Because Yu DaiYan was crippled and Zhang CuiShan was missing, there would undoubtedly be lack amongst their celebration. Yet, in one's time, to be able to celebrate your one hundredth birthday was nevertheless considered as something special. Furthermore, during this period, he has also entered isolated meditation in order to study the practice of the “Tai Chi Skill” and had already fully comprehended its true essence. From now on, the sect of Wu Dang can fully exhibit its colours within the martial arts world, not being inferior to even the martial arts of Shaolin that was passed down from Northern India's DaMo. Therefore during the early dawn of that morning, Zhang SanFeng exited from his isolation.

    A clear whistling sound was heard as his sleeve fluttered slightly and the two door boards opened up with an “ah” sound. The first thing that Zhang SanFeng saw wasn’t anything or anybody else, but was rather the disciple he had thought and yearned for endlessly during the last ten years, Zhang CuiShan.

    Zhang SanFeng closed his eyes, believing that his eyes must have played a trick on him. But Zhang CuiShan had already thrown himself into Zhang SanFeng’s embrace, repeatedly crying out the words, “Master!” In the midst of his emotional state, he had actually forgotten to kneel down and perform obeisance. Five joyful voices coming from Song YuanQiao and the others cried out together, “Congratulations master! Fifth brother has returned to us!”

    Zhang SanFeng has lived a total of one hundred years and has seek enlightenment for more than eighty years now. The clarity of pure truth had long existed within the depths of his heart, for he has long ago forsaken all traces of longing or desire for the millions of material objects of the world. But the love he shared with his seven disciples was as genuine as that of a father and son, thus when he suddenly saw Zhang CuiShan reappear in front of him, he couldn’t help himself from holding him tightly within his embrace. He was so overwhelmed with joy that tears emerged from his eyes.

    The group of brothers all attended to their Master, serving him in his grooming and cleansing, bringing him a clean set of clothing. Zhang CuiShan did not dare to report any sort of news that would excite anger, and therefore only talked about the exotic adventures and rare entities of the Ice-Fire Island. Zhang SanFeng having heard that Zhang CuiShan had already married became even more joyful and asked, “Where is your wife now? Quickly bring her here to see me.”

    Zhang CuiShan knelt down on the floor and said, “Master, your worthless disciple has dared to take a wife without first gaining your permission.” Zhang SanFeng stroked his beard and laughingly replied, “You were stranded on the Ice-Fire Island for ten years, unable to return home. Are you suppose to wait ten years and reported to me before you could take a wife? What a silly, silly assertion! Quickly get up, there is no need to admit to any wrong. Zhang SanFeng does not have such a old-fashioned disciple.” Zhang CuiShan continued to kneel, refusing to get up, “But my wife is not of an orthodox background. She … she is the daughter of Heavenly Eagle sect’s sect-leader.”

    Zhang SanFeng continues to stroke his beard and said with a laugh, “And what matter is that? As long as your wife’s character is honest and her heart is good, then that is all that matters. Even if she is not a good person, having arrived here at our mountain, can we not slowly change and guide her towards good? So what if she is from the Heavenly Eagle sect? CuiShan, you have to understand that in life one should always take caution to never have a heart that is too restricted in breadth. You must never look down on others just because you reside in the position of the so-called orthodox sects. The two words of “good” and “evil” were originally hard to differentiate. A member of the orthodox sect when harbouring thoughts of impurity and immorality will be considered as a wicked villain, and similarly if a member from the evil sect harbours a heart that is completely directed towards goodness, then that person is a gentleman.” Zhang CuiShan was overjoyed, for he never would have thought that the very burden which had weighted heavily upon his heart for the last ten years could be so easily resolved by just a few words from his master. A beaming smile immediately lighted up Zhang CuiShan’s face as he stood up.

    Zhang SanFeng continued to say, “Your father-in-law, sect-master Yin is a person whom I have wanted to make acquaintances with for very long now. I am truly respectful towards his powerful martial arts and the fact that he is a brave, forthright and extraordinary man. Although his character is somewhat extreme and his actions may be a bit peculiar, yet he is not a despicable scoundrel. We can certainly make friends with him.” Song YuanQiao and the others thought to themselves, “Master really does treat fifth brother with profound love. He even went as far as extending his love towards all those under brother's roof, willing to make acquaintances with a big demonic lord like his father-in-law.” At this moment, a young Taoist apprentice came in and reported, “Heavenly Eagle sect's Sect-Master Yin has sent somebody here to deliver presents to Uncle Zhang.”

    Zhang SanFeng said with a smile, “Your father-in-law has sent you presents CuiSan, go out to receive your guests!” Zhang Cui Shan replied, “Yes.”

    Yin LiTing said, “I'm going with fifth brother.” Zhang SongXi laughed and said, “But it’s not Golden Whip Hero old master Jie who has sent the presents, why must you follow out with such haste?” Yin LiTing’s face flushed a beet red while he continued to follow Zhang CuiShan outside.

    Upon entering the main reception room, they saw two old men standing there dressed in the attire of a servant, with straight cloth hats. As soon as they saw Zhang CuiSan come out, they immediately rushed forward and knelt down together in an act of reverence while saying, “Young master, many blessings to you. We, your humble servants Yin WuFu, Yin WuLu bow down to you.” Zhang CuiShan returned the greeting by raising his joined hands and saying, “Housekeepers, please do get up” while silently thinking to himself, “The names of these two servants are so strange. The typical servant is usually given a name that blesses the house by containing words along the lines of ‘providence, well-being, blessings, opulence, longevity and happiness'. Why is it that these two people are called ‘the un-blest', and the 'un-prosperous’?” Zhang CuiShan then subsequently noticed that on Yin WuFu’s face was an extremely long scar left by a saber, stretching from the right corner of his forehead all the way downwards, passing over the tip of the nose and stopping at the far left corner of his lips. Yin WuLu's face on the other hand was filled with pockmarks. These two men looked to be more than fifty years old, their appearances were extremely ugly and unpleasant.

    Zhang CuiShan continued to say, “Are my father and mother-in-law well? I was originally planning to engage in a little preparation before your mistress and I immediately went to pay our respects to our honoured loved ones. But I never expected that father and mother would pay us a visit first, how can I be worthy of such generosity? The two of you must be extremely tired having travelled such a far distance, please take a seat and have a cup of tea.” Yin WuFu and Yin WuLu did not dare to sit down, but only came forward and respectfully presented the checklist for the gifts while saying, “Our master and madam said to tell you that these are merely meagre and humble presents, we hope that young master can accept them with pleasure.”

    Zhang CuiShan said, “Thank you!” and opened the checklist of gifts. He was shocked to see that on the ten or so pieces of darkly coloured gold paper were listed a total of more than two hundred gifts. The first listed gift was “Exquisite jade lions - a pair,” the second was “Emerald phoenix - a pair” and after the listings of an endless number of treasures was “High Grade Purple Wolf Drawing Brushes – one hundred pieces,” “Imperial tributes, Tang dynasty ink – 20 slabs,” “Xuan(1)1 paper made with Mulberry worm silk – a hundred sheets” “Top Quality Duan(2)2 Ink-Stones – 8 squares.” Because the master of the Heavenly Eagle Sect heard that his honoured guest was well-versed in the art of writing, he thus sent over an extremely expensive pile of pens, ink, paper and ink stone. On top of that were clothes, shoes, crowns and belts. Yin WuFu turned around to exit the room, only to return with ten baggage carriers, every one of them carrying two loads balanced on a shoulder pole, which they placed to the sides of the room.

    Zhang CuiShan was silently fretting to himself, “I grew up in a simple abode amongst the humble mountainous environment. What use do I have for these expensive gifts? Yet these gifts were bestowed by my father-in-law and brought here from afar, it would be too disrespectful if I don’t accept it.” Therefore he could only express words of gratitude and accept the gifts while saying “Your young mistress has contracted a slight illness through the arduous journey. Perhaps you can reside on the mountain for a few days before you see her?” Yin WuFu replied, “Master and madam are both extremely desirous to hear about young mistress, they commanded us to report back to them right away. If it is not too straining for young mistress, your humble servant I would like to request just one look at her and then we will retreat immediately.”

    Zhang CuiShan replied, “If that is the case, then please wait here for a moment” while he returned to his room and told his wife about the situation. Yin SuSu was extremely happy and briefly fixed her hair before going out to the smaller reception rooms to reunite with her two family members. While she asked about her father, mother and brother’s well being, she also invited these two servants for a meal and some drinks. Afterwards, Yin WuFu and Yin WuLu asked their young master and mistress for the permission to leave.

    Zhang CuiShan thought to himself, “Father and mother-in-law sent us such generous gifts, I should really grant a hefty reward to these two people. Yet I’m afraid that even if I gathered together all the money on this mountain, its meagre sum would still be hardly worthy of a mention.” Zhang CuiShan was by nature magnanimous and therefore does not take such matters to heart. With a laugh, he said instead, “Your young mistress has married a penniless master who can’t afford to grant you any rewards. Housekeepers, please do excuse us.” Yin WuFu replied, “Please do not say such things young master. To have the opportunity to meet the fifth hero of Wu Dang is my greatest pleasure and is a honour worth much more than a reward of a thousand pounds of gold.” Zhang CuiShan thought to himself, “This housekeeper expresses and enunciates his words with such poetic eloquence, he seems to be a person with an academic background.” When they arrived at the median gates, Yin WuFu said, “Young master, please cease your steps here. We hope that you and young mistress will arrive to our home as soon as possible in order to lessen master and madam’s longing. The whole sect will also be anticipating the day when they can be granted with a glimpse of your charisma.” Zhang CuiShan laughed.

    Yin WuLu said, “There is still one little thing that I need to report to you young master. When my brothers and I were delivering the presents to the mountain, we encountered three escorts gathered within an inn in the town of Xiang Yang. Amongst the conversation of these three men, there was mention of you.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Oh? What did they say?” Yin WuLu said, “one man said, ‘although we are much indebted to the seven heroes of Wu Dang, yet the seventy odd lives of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency cannot be forgotten just like that.’ The three of them decided that since they themselves cannot participate in this incident, they therefore wanted to go to the KaiFeng City’s Sacred Spear Ruling Eight Directions, Old hero Tan to stand out and dispute over this incident with you young master.” Zhang Cui Shan nodded his head and did not say anything.

    Yin WuFu reached inside his pockets and took out three small flags which he then presented to Zhang Cui Shan with both hands and said, “When your humble servants overheard that these three escorts were daring to dig up on the land governed by the Earth God(3)3, this incident is already considered as the business of our Heavenly Eagle Sect.”

    As soon as he saw the three small flags, Zhang CuiShan could help but be taken back for he saw embroidered on one flag the head of a vivacious tiger, roaring fiercely towards the heavens while in a crouching position. It was obviously the flag that represented the “Crouching Tiger Escort Agency.” Embroidered on the second small flag was a white crane soaring through the clouds, which would naturally be the agency flag that symbolized the “JinYang Escort Agency” for the white crane amongst the white clouds symbolized the head escort Yun He (4)4. As for the third small flag, there were nine swallows embroidered with gold thread, incorporating the word “Swallow” in “Cloud Swallow Escort Agency” and the “Nine” in their head escort Gong JiuJia’s (5)5 name.

    Zhang CuiShan asked with curiosity, “Why did you take their escort flags?” Yin WuFu replied, “Young master, you are the Heavenly Eagle sect’s honoured guest, who did Qi TianBiao and Gong JiuJia think they were? Especially since the seven heroes of Wu Dang has performed good deeds for them before, how dare they go to ask an old bloke such as the so-called “Sacred Spear Ruling Eight Directions” Tan RuiLai from the KaiFeng City to come and pester young master you? Is that not ridiculous? Therefore when we heard the three escorts’ offensive words of disrespect …” Zhang CuiShan remarked, “Those words really can’t be considered as being particularly disrespectful.” Yin WuFu said, “Yes, but that is because young master you are so magnanimous and forgiving, such is something that others cannot compare with. But my brothers and I really could not restrain ourselves from taking care of those three escorts and seizing the escort flags of their agencies.”

    Zhang CuiShan was greatly taken back as he thought about how people like Qi TianBiao were all lords that ruled over the escort agencies of a region and who have long made a name for themselves within the martial arts world. Even though they can’t be considered as great or ultimate figures of the martial arts world, yet they all had their own unique abilities. How can it be that the three servants of his father-in-law’s household can calmly say with such ease that they have ‘taken care of them’? However, even if Yin WuFu was just boasting for show, yet they were indeed able to obtain the three agencies’ escort flags. Forget just taking it from right under their eyes, but even to steal it secretly would prove itself to be a hard task. Can it be that they used some kind of tranquilizing sedative or soporific incense at the inn to harm the three heads escorts? Thus he asked, “How were you able to obtain these three escort flags?”

    Yin WuFu replied, “At that time, my second brother WuLu was the one who issued the challenge. We set up a time to meet with them at the Southern gates of Xiang Yang for a duel. It was the three of us up against the three of them. We’ve already stated before that if they lose, they must leave behind their escort flags and chop off one of their arms, while also promising to never step foot back into the Wu Bei Province for the rest of their lives.” Zhang CuiShan was becoming increasingly perplexed as he listened, no longer did he dared to take the two servants in front of him lightly. He asked, “Then what happened?” Yin WuFu replied, “Nothing much. They just left behind their escort flags, severed their left arm and stated that they will not take one step back into the Wu Bei Province for the rest of their lives.”

    Zhang CuiShan was secretly frightened as he thought, “These Heavenly Eagle Sect members are much too vicious in their ways” while his eyebrows knotted together unconsciously. Yin WuLu said, “If young master you are displeased with your unworthy servants for issuing too light of a punishment, then we can immediately go after them to finish the three of them off.” Zhang Cui Shan hurriedly insisted, “No! Not light at all. It’s severe enough already!” Yin WuFu said, “We also felt that because the purpose of our trip was to bring gifts to young master you, it is therefore a very wonderful and joyous event. If we killed any lives, it may ruin such a blessed event.” Zhang CuiShan said, “That’s right. How very thoughtful and considerate of you all. You just said that there were three of you who came, but where is that third person now?” Yin WuFu replied, “There is still another brother called Yin WuShou (6)6. After we took care of the three escorts, we were worried that the Sacred Spear old fool Tan would finally hear of the news and would still dare to come forward and bother young master you, therefore Yin WuShou has gone to KaiFeng City. He asks your humble servant I to express his regards on his behalf.” After saying this, he knelt down to the floor and bowed.

    Zhang CuiShan also gave a bow in return of the gesture and said, “That’s much too kind of him” while thinking to himself that this Sacred Spear Ruling Eight Directions Tan RuiLai’s name has always been well-known and respected for it has been almost forty years since he established a name for himself. Now because of him, Yin WuShou will go barging into the KaiFeng City. Regardless of whomever may be hurt, it will still cause him to be ridden with guilt. Thus he said, “I have long since heard the great name of the Sacred Spear Ruling Eight Directions, they say that old master Tan is a true gentleman. I would like to ask the two of you to please go to the KaiFeng City and to tell brother WuShou not to quarrel with old master Tan anymore incase the two sides get into an argument and subsequently start a fight, which I’m afraid will yield disasterous results.”

    Yin WuLu smiled ever so faintly and said , “Young master, there’s no need to worry. That old fool Tan won’t dare to meddle with my youngest brother. When my brother tells him not to stick his nose into this business, he will listen to his orders.” Zhang CuiShan murmured a “Really?” while silently asking himself how can this Sacred Spear Ruling Eight Directions Tan RuiLai possibly allow himself to be so easily bullied? Even if he may be an old man now, yet within the KaiFeng City, the Tan family has at least one or two dozen disciples who are highly skilled in martial arts, why would they be scared of a Yin WuShou? Yin WuFu could read the skeptical incredulity on Zhang CuiShan's face, therefore said, “The old bloke Tan was defeated by Yin WuShou twenty years ago, besides he also has some major discreditable information in our hands now. Please take care now young master.” The two of them then paid their final respects and departed.

    Zhang CuiShan stood there clutching the three escort flags within his hands, debating for a moment. He originally wanted to send these two people to help him out in his search for WuJi's current whereabouts. But when he thought to how mentioning this incident to an outsider might prove to be unwise for although he did not place much importance on his own name, yet it would still no doubt affect his second brother's eminent reputation. Therefore he could only slowly tread back to his bedroom.

    Yin SuSu was lying on the bed rereading through the checklist of presents, overwhelmed with gratitude at the love her parents had shown towards her. But when she thought to how at this moment, WuJi's whereabouts were still unknown, she was also overwhelmed with a burning heartache. When she saw her husband enter the room with an fretful expression, she immediately asked with alarm, “What's wrong?”

    Zhang CuiShan asked, “What are the backgrounds of those three people WuFu, WuLu and WuShou?”

    Yin SuSu has been married to her husband for ten years now, but because she knew that within his heart, there always existed discontent towards the Heavenly Eagle sect, she therefore purposely refrained from relating to him the details of her family and the sect's background. Similarly, Zhang CuiShan would never ask her. Now only when she heard her husband ask her himself, did she finally say, “Twenty years ago, these three people were actually great bandits that ruled over the Southwestern regions. But one time, they were surrounded by many powerful fighters all at once and knew that they were not going to be able to escape. At that time, my father happened to pass by and when he saw how in the midst of their hopeless battle, they still manage to uphold their integrity and refused to surrender, my father therefore lent out a helping hand and rescued them. The three of them originally had different surnames, so of course they weren’t brothers. But in order to prove their gratefulness towards my father for saving their lives, they thus solemnly vowed that for their rest of their lives, they will act as his servant and will cast off their original names and change it to Yin WuFu, Yin WuLu and Yin WuShou instead. Ever since I was small, I would be very courteous towards them and dared not to treat or view them as real servants. My father told me that in terms of martial arts and fame, there probably would be few famed fighters of the martial arts world who could compete with them.”

    Zhang CuiShan nodded and said, “I see” before describing the incident of how they decapitated other people’s right arm and seized another's escort flag. Yin SuSu’s scowled and said, “Their intentions were originally good, but they don’t understand that the disciples of the orthodox sects do things differently from the evil sects. CuiShan, I’m afraid that incident has caused you more trouble, I … I really don’t know what to do about this.” After a sigh, she continued, “After we find WuJi, I think we had better return to the Ice-Fire Island.” When she suddenly heard Yan LiTing call from outside the door, “Brother, come and flex your writing skills for us to write a pair of birthday celebratory phrases” he laughed before continuing, “Sister, don’t blame me for dragging brother away from you, but he is after all the ‘Iron Brush, Silver Hook.’”

    That afternoon, the six brothers split up, supervising and giving commands to the culinary help, while the little Taoist apprentices cleaned around and decorated the whole Purple Paradise Hall. The celebratory words that Zhang CuiShan penned were also displayed within the main reception hall. Everywhere was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.

    ********************************

    During the early dawn of the next day, Song YuanQiao and his brothers all changed into a newly tailored set of clothing and were all just about to go and assist Yu DaiYan so that the seven of them could go to their master as a group to offer their birthday blessings, when suddenly an Taoist apprentice came in and presented a calling card. It was Song YuanQiao who took the invitation but Zhang SongXi’s eyes were quick and saw that written on the card were the words, “Ku Lun Sect students He TaiChong accompanied by his disciples wishes master Zhang longevity comparable with the mountains.” Zhang SongXi exclaimed with alarm, “The sect master of Kun Lun has personally come to celebrate master’s birthday? When did he arrive in the Central Plains?” Muo ShengGu asked, “Did Madam He come as well?” He TaiChong’s wife Ban ShuXian was his martial arts sister, and rumour has it that the level of her martial arts were not below the likes of the sect master. Zhang SongXi said, “Her name is not listed on the calling card.” Song YuanQiao said, “This guest is of great stature and importance, we should ask master to personally receive him” as he hurriedly ran out to report to Zhang SanFeng.

    Zhang SanFeng said, “I have heard that Mister Iron Zither very rarely comes to the Central Plains, I can’t believe that he would even be aware of this old man’s birthday.” He then quickly stepped outside while bringing his six disciples along with him. When they saw Mister Iron Zither He TaiChong, they found that he did not look to be of a particularly old age. Dressed in a yellow gown, there was a sort of celestial holiness to his appearance. His expression was peaceful while also not lacking the solemn dignity the sect master of a famous Orthodox sect should have. Behind him stood a group of eight disciples comprised of male and female, XiHua Zi and Wei SiNiang were also included within the group.

    He TaiChong performed obeisance and expressed birthday blessings to Zhang SanFeng. Zhang San Feng continually expressed gratitude and raised his hands to form a representation of greeting in return. Song YuanQiao and his five brothers all knelt down and bowed their heads to the ground, while He Tai Chong also knelt and bowed in return while saying, “The fame of the six heroes of Wu Dang spreads through the universe, how can I be worthy of such a generous act of respect?”

    Zhang SanFeng led He TaiChong and his disciples into the main reception hall, and just when the host and guests had the chance to sit down and have tea be served, a young Taoist apprentice came in with a calling card in hand, presenting it to Song YuanQiao. It announced that the Kong Tong 5 elders have all arrived together. During the present era's martial arts world, the sects Shaolin and Wu Dang had the most illustrious recognition. E-Mei followed after them, and then came Kong Tong. In terms of status and rank, the likes of the Kong Tong five elders were on the same level as Song YuanQiao. But Zhang San Feng was extremely gracious by nature, thus he stood up and said, “The Kong Tong five elders have arrived. Brother He, please wait here for a short while this old priest goes out to receive the guests.”

    He TaiChong thought to himself, “To receive guests like the Kong Tong 5 elders, just sending out a disciple is good enough.”

    Not soon after, the Kong Tong elders entered accompanied by their disciples. After that, the Heavenly Fists School, Sea Salt Sect, Huge Whale Clan, Wu Shan Clan and many figures of eminence and importance from other schools and clans have also arrived on the mountain to express their blessings for the birthday. Song YuanQiao and his brothers had originally intended for this day to be a celebration between their master and his disciples, they never expected that so many guests would arrive as well. Each of the six disciples were all bustling around, receiving guests without a moment’s chance to rest. What Zhang SanFeng disliked the most throughout his life were these unnecessary rites and customs, thus during his seventy, eighty and ninetieth birthday, he would purposely remind his disciples to not alarm outsiders. But ironically on his one hundredth birthday, the fundamental core of the marital arts world would be gathered together here. It eventually got to be that within the Purple Paradise Hall, there wasn’t even enough chairs for the guests to sit in. Song YuanQiao could only send people to go outside to bring in some round rocks and closely packed them together amongst the hall. The sect masters and clan leaders of the various sects and clans were all afforded a chair, but their disciples could only sit on the rocks. All the teacups were used, and they could only resort to using rice bowls and meal bowls to serve the tea.

    Zhang SongXi pulled Zhang CuiShan into the side rooms before asking, “Brother, have you noticed anything?” Zhang CuiShan replied, “They've all planned beforehand to meet here. Although they were fully aware of what to expect, and confident about who they will see, yet some people would purposely feign surprised and end up making their masquerade all the more obvious.” Zhang SongXi said, “That’s right. They did not come with true intentions of celebrating master’s birthday.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Celebrating the birthday is just their excuse, when a planned interrogation comprises their true intentions.” Zhang SongXi said, “But they’re not trying to interrogate master. The case of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency will very unlikely have the power of bringing Mr. Iron Zither He TaiChong to here.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Yes. These people are all here because of the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun.”

    Zhang SongXi laughed coldly and said, “It seems that they’ve grossly underestimated the Wu Dang disciples. Even if they wanted to intimidate us with sheer numbers, did they think that a Wu Dang disciple would sell out their own friend? Brother, even if this Xie Xun is indeed a malicious and unforgivable crook, he is nevertheless your sworn brother. His whereabouts most definitely cannot be revealed through your lips.” Zhang CuiShan agreed, “You’re absolutely right brother. But what should we do now?” Zhang SongXi pondered briefly before saying, “We could only be on our guards for now. As long as we brothers stick and stand by each other, our combined strengths can shatter through solid gold. What big waves and storms haven’t the Seven Heroes of WuTang experienced? Why would we be afraid of them?”

    Although Yu DaiYan was crippled, he was still considered as a part of the “Seven Heroes of Wu Tang,” and behind the seven brothers, there still stood a grand Master Zhang SanFeng whose martial arts brilliancy can illuminate and astound the past and present, crowning and eclipsing over his contemporaries. It was just that the two brothers were being considerate of the fact that their master has now reached the advanced age of a hundred, thus even though the situation in front of them right now was extremely complicated, yet all the brothers still hoped to handle everything by themselves. Naturally, they wouldn't want to have their master take action himself, yet they also wouldn't want him to worry. Zhang SongXi's words were an attempt at reassuring his martial arts brother, but within his heart he knew that today's problem would be a very complicated matter. To protect the sect's well-being today will truly prove to be very difficult challenge.

    Back within the main reception hall, Song YuanQiao, Yu LianZhou and Yin LiTing were all accompanying the guests, engaging in light conversation. The three of them had already recognized that something was not right about the guests and were all estimating about the situation within their hearts.

    In the midst of the conversations, another young apprentice came in and reported, “Disciples of the E-Mei sect, revered nun JingXuan along with five of her fellow martial art brothers and sisters have arrived to celebrate Grand Master's birthday.” Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou both laughed at the same time while looking over at Yin LiTing. At that time Muo ShengGu was currently outside, accompanying the eight or nine guests into the direction of the reception hall. Zhang SongXi and Zhang CuiShan happened to be stepping out from the inner rooms right at that moment, and when they heard that the E-Mei disciples had arrived, they also grin slightly at Yin LiTing. Yin LiTing's face was beet red, while his motions betrayed his shyness. Zhang CuiShan grabbed his hand and said while laughing, “Come, come, come, let's go and welcome our guests.”

    As they both stepped out of the doors, they immediately saw this revered nun Jing Xuan was a nun already in her mid forties, built tall and sturdy, and possessing of a very commanding and arresting presence. Even though she was a female, yet she was taller than the average male by half a head. Amongst the five disciples standing behind her, there was a thin man in his mid thirties and two other nuns. Zhang CuiShan has already encountered revered nun Jing Xuan the other day on the boat amongst the sea. There were two other girls in their twenties, one's lips were pursed in a faint smile while the other girl had snow white skin and a long, slender body. This lovely girl's head was lowered while she fingered the corner of her clothing. This was of course the future wife to be of Yin LiTing, the daughter of the Golden Whip Ji family, Ji XiaoFu.

    Zhang CuiShan approached and expressed greetings before accompanying the six guests inside. Yin LiTing was incredibly embarrassed and didn't even dare to take one glance into Ji XiaoFu's direction. When they approached the corridor, he observed that everyone had grouped together and were walking ahead of them therefore couldn't help himself from glancing over at Ji XiaoFu. During that time Ji XiaoFu's head was lowered, but just at that moment she also happened to look over at him, causing the eyes of both parties to meet. Ji XiaoFu's younger apprentice sister Bei JinYi gave out a loud cough, causing the two of them to be so embarrassed that they immediately whipped their heads back around, their faces flushed into a deep colour of red. Bei JinYi bursted out into a giggle and then said in a low voice, “Sister, that brother Yin is even shyer than you.” Ji XiaoFu's body suddenly trembled a few times as her face turned into an ashen colour of grey, glistening tears were brimming in her eyes.

    During all during this time, Zhang SongXi was assessing their situation and calculating the dynamics between his sect and their enemies. When he saw the six disciples of the E-Mei sect come in, he felt somewhat relieved, as he thought to himself: “Miss Ji is sixth brother's future wife-to-be, if debating doesn't work out later and we do end up in a fight, the E-Mei sect may stand on our side to help us.”

    The various crowds of guests continued to arrive and time very quickly approached midday. There was absolutely no preparation within the Purple Paradise Hall beforehand, therefore what kind of banquet could they possibly arrange? The cook could only give each person a big bowl of white rice and arrange some simple vegetables and tofu on top. The six disciples of Wu Dang repeatedly expressed their apologies, but they've observed that while the guests were eating their rice, they kept repeatedly glancing towards the outer doors of the hall, as if they were expecting somebody.

    Song YuanQiao and his brothers were carefully observing each person, and they noticed that each sect's sect master and each clan's clan leader were all retaining their dignity and status by not bringing any weapons along with them. But noises were emanating from the waist area of many of their disciples and clan members, very obviously a sign that they were carrying weapons on them. Only the disciples of the three sects E-Mei, Kun Lung and Kong Tong were empty handed. Song YuanQiao and all his brothers felt indignant anger within their hearts as they thought to themselves, “You all say that you are here to celebrate my master's birthday, but then why would you secretly conceal weapons?”

    When they looked over the presents that everyone brought, they found that the majority of them were stuff that can be purchased at the last minute from the markets located at the foot of the mountain. Such things as birthday buns and birthday noodles were all that of which could be easily bought in haste. Not only was it incredibly incongruous with the status of a martial arts Grand Master such as Zhang SanFeng, but it was similarly contradictory with regards to the reputation and illustriousness of the leaders and masters of each sect and clan.

    Only the E-Mei sect presented a real present that was truly worthy of cherishing. Aside from the sixteen colours of valuable jade, there was also a large brocaded Taoist gown that had the word “Longevity” embroidered with gold thread one hundred times and in one hundred different styles of writing. It could be imagined the great deal of time that must have been spent in order to complete such a gown. Revered nun Jing Xuan explained to Zhang SanFeng, “This was completed by the combined efforts of ten female disciples of the E-Mei sect.” Zhang SanFeng's heart was quite touched as he smiled and said, “E-Mei heroines' fists and sword skills have long been made famous throughout the world, and to have them bring this wonderful embroidered gown for this old man today is a huge honour indeed.”

    Zhang SongXi was closely observing everyone's expressions while thinking to himself, “What kind of powerful backup are they all waiting for? Coincidently master does not enjoy festive celebrations and didn't invite Wu Dang's closest friends here ahead of time, otherwise we most definitely wouldn't be caught in such an circumstance today, where we are so greatly outnumbered and cut off from any assistance.” His thoughts are based on the assertion that his master's acquaintances and friends have always spread throughout the world. The seven brothers have similarly performed many heroic deeds and charitable acts of kindness, forming many ties of goodwill. Had they been prepared ahead of time, they most definitely would have been able to invite a few dozen first rate fighters to come and attend today's birthday banquet.

    Yu LianZhou who was standing by Zhang SongXi whispered, “We had originally intended to wait until after master's birthday before we distributed the Hero Invitations and conducted a Heroes Banquet at the WuChang town's (7)1 Yellow Crane Restaurant. Can't believe that just this one error would cause the whole match to be controlled within the hands of others.” He had already planned out everything within his head. He originally intended for Zhang Cui Shan to declare at the Hero's Banquet his justification of not betraying a friend. All members of the JiangHu world highly value and respect the notion of “righteousness,” thus as long as Zhang CuiShan openly declare this as his reason, nobody could force him to take on the crime of being a unrighteous rogue. Even if there were those who wouldn't be willing to give up so easily, as long as there are a good number of first rate fighters that are true friends of the Wu Dang sect attending that banquet, then even if the situation is forced to the point of using martial arts to solve problems, the Wu Dang sect can at least not worry about losing. But who would have thought that the others would already have discerned this step and would actually use the excuse of celebrating a birthday to first gather together a sufficient number of helpers and charge up on the mountain to catch the unsuspecting and unprepared Wu Dang sect at a disadvantage?

    Zhang SongXi whispered softly, “Since the situation has come to this point, the only choice we have is to fight to our deaths.”

    Amongst the seven heroes of Wu Dang, Zhang SongXi was the most astute and clever of them all. Whenever he came across a difficult or a tricky challenge, he would often be able to come up with a solution or plan to turn the tables around. Yu LianZhou secretly thought to himself, “If even fourth brother is at lost with what to do, I’m afraid that today the blood of Wu Dang's six disciples will have to soak the earth of this mountain.” If they were fighting one on one, amongst the guests today, there probably would be none who could compete with the six heroes of Wu Dang. But the situation right now on the mountaintop was not just a case of twenty against one, but was a thirty and forty against one sort of situation.

    Zhang SongXi gave a light tug at the corner of Yu LianZhou’s clothes, and the two of them went out to the quarters behind the reception hall. Once there, Zhang SongXi said, “In a moment, if all attempts at discussing and reasoning fails, we'll try to use words to pressure them into agreeing on an one on one fight with us. By using six matches to determine the winner, we will most definitely be residing in the undefeatable position. But they came with preparation and would have thought of this already, therefore they definitely won’t agree to giving up after just six matches, it most likely will end up being a gang brawl sort of situation.” Yu LianZhou nodded his head and said, “The first thing we must do is help our third brother to escape, we must not let him land into other people’s hands to suffer through more torture. I will give this task to you. I’m afraid that our sister’s health may not be very strong right now, tell fifth brother to invest all his attention on her. Other matters of countering the adversaries and defending against menaces can be left for the rest of us to chip in a little more work.”

    Zhang SongXi nodded his head and said, “Alright. That’s what we will do then.” He hesitated briefly before saying, “There may still be one measure we can take, it will be a dangerous step but we may pull through if we're lucky.” Yu Lian Zhou said with jubilation, “Even if it is a dangerous step, we have no other choice. What brilliant plan do you have in mind Brother?” Zhang SongXi replied, “We can each mark a target opponent and once that person takes action, we will each strike at our opponent by using just one stance, have them under our control. That way, they will all take caution and won’t dare to pressure us through sheer force.” Yu LianZhou debated for a while before saying, “If we can’t capture them in one stance, the others will most definitely advance as backup help. But to be able to succeed with just one stance, I’m afraid …” Zhang SongXi said, “Desperate times calls for desperate measures, I’m afraid that we have no choice but to be more vicious. Let us use the ‘Tiger Claws Destroying Procreation Skill’!” Yu LianZhou was taken back as he said, “ ‘Tiger Claws Destroying Procreation Skill’? But today is master’s birthday, wouldn't it be too cruel and deadly to use such a move?”

    There was still actually a very powerful grappling technique within the Wu Dang sect that was called the “Tiger Claws.” After Yu LianZhou became fully educated in this skill, he remain unsatisfied at how when the fighter clamps down, if their opponent’s martial arts were advanced enough, they will be able to struggle free using their powerful energy reservoir. Therefore it will likely end up being a competition of inner energies. He thus purposely added variations to modify the “Tiger Claws” and finally created twenty new stances.

    Before Zhang SanFeng accepted his disciples, he would closely examine and test into their character and morality while also discovering what their aptitude and talents were. Therefore after the seven disciples entered the sect, there was not one who hasn't been able to achieve greatness. Not only did they each inherit their sect’s martial arts skills, but they were further able to modify and create new stances according to their own personal nature and character. It was originally not a surprising thing that Yu LianZhou would transform the stances of the “Tiger Claws.” But after Zhang SanFeng watched him demonstrate these moves, he only nodded his head and didn’t input any further remarks.

    When Yu LianZhou observed how his master didn’t offer a single remark or comment, he knew that there most definitely must be some kind of problem with his stances. Therefore he concentrated his energies on examining and scrutinizing every move in hopes of further improving and advancing these stances. After a few months, when he once again demonstrated his revisions for his master, Zhang SanFeng was only heard to sigh and said, “LianZhou, these twelve stances of the Tigers claws are truly much more powerful than the ones that I taught you. But your every stance aims to attack one’s vital points. No matter who sustains this stance, they may possibly suffer the misfortune of having their Yin forces damaged and their chances of procreation ended. Are the decent and respectable stances that I taught you not enough? Must one resort to ending another’s chances of procreation with every strike?”

    After Yu LianZhou heard this sermon from his master, even in the midst of the harsh cold weather, he couldn’t refrain a cold sweat all from erupting all over his back. Fear struck his heart, and he immediately admitted to his mistake and begged for forgiveness.

    After a few days, Zhang SanFeng called his seven disciples to him and explained this incident to them before saying, “These twelve stances that LianZhou created was a result of hard work and honourable intentions, and are truly worthy of being considered as a ultimate skill. To abolish it based on just my one command may nevertheless be a pity. You should all learn this skill from LianZhou, but take caution to never use this skill lightly. Do not use it in anything less than a life and death situation. I will add the two words “Destroying Procreation” after the words “Tiger Claws” in order to remind you all that this skill can end all chances others have at procreation, thus running the danger of ending a whole family’s lineage.”

    The seven disciples immediately expressed their gratitude for this lecture and Yu LianZhou then related this martial art skill to his six brothers. After the seven of them mastered this skill, they indeed obeyed their master’s teachings and not one of them has used this skill even once. Even during such a critical juncture, when Zhang SongXi brought this up, Yu LianZhou still debated and and continue to hesitate.

    Zhang SongXi said, “Once this ‘Tiger Claws Destroying Procreation Skill’ grapples onto other’s vital points, there is a chance that it will end their chances of procreation. Your brother I have a plan, we can choose only monks or Taoist priests as our opponents, or if not, then old men in their seventies and eighties will also be suitable.” Yu LianZhou smiled faintly and said, “Brother, your vigilant thinking is not only nimble but also ingenious. Since monks and Taoists priests will not be having any children, to use this move on them is acceptable.”

    After the two brothers finished discussing their plans, the split up to inform Song YuanQiao and the other three brothers. Each one of them targeted a specific opponent and as soon as they hear a loud shout of “a-yo” from Zhang SongXi, the six of them would each use the “Tiger Claws Destroying Procreation Skill” to capture their opponents. Yu LianZhou selected the oldest of the Kong Tong elders Guan Neng, while Zhang CuiShan chose Kun Lun's taoist priest XiHua Zi.

    After the various guests finished their simple meal, the culinary workers took away the eating utensils. Zhang Song Xi then loudly said, “Honoured heroes and fellow friends, today is our master's hundredth year birthday. To be graced by the presence of so many heroes today fills everyone in our sect with glory and honour. But please do forgive us for the bareness and inefficiency in our reception here today. Our master had originally planned to invite all our respected guests to WuChang town's Yellow Crane Restaurant for a festive gathering. During that date, we most certainly will make up for the discourtesy in our reception here today. My brother Zhang CuiShan has been separated from us for ten years now, and it was just today that he finally returned to us from afar. He has not even had the chance to explain in detail to my master all of which he has encountered and experienced within the last ten years. Besides, today is our master’s big celebration, if we bother ourselves with discussing about the martial art world’s various scores of gratitude and vengeance, duels and deaths, it may be a very untimely and inappropriate thing to do. Our honoured guests’ pure intentions of offering birthday blessings will then turn into a purposely contrived plan of coming here to incite disharmony and create more trouble. Very seldom will all our honoured guests be gathered together here at Wu Dang, please allow me the honours of accompanying everyone for a tour around the mountain where we can appreciate the scenery.”

    This speech from him caused everyone to be at a loss for words. By stating ahead of time that today was a blessed day of celebration, if anybody mentioned Xie Xun and Dragon Gate Escort Agency’s incident, then they are purposely and openly making enemies with the Wu Dang Sect.

    These groups of people arrived on the mountain one after another, and aside from the E-Mei sect, they were all originally prepared to engage in a good battle in order to force out the whereabouts of the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun. But the Wu Dang sect’s great fame was so authoritative and respected, nobody dared to make enemies with the Wu Dang sect on their own. If these few hundred people all rushed forward as one group, they would of course have nothing to be worry about. But when requiring somebody to stand out by themselves to make the first move, nobody wanted to take on the role of the sacrificial lamb.

    Everyone looked at each other in a moment of uncomfortable silence. Kun Lun sect’s XiHua Zi stood up and shouted loudly, “Hero Zhang SongXi, there’s no need to strike first with your words. We’re all forthright people and there’s no need to beat around the bush. We will be honest with you, the purpose of our visit to the mountain today is firstly to celebrate Master Zhang’s birthday, but then we would also like to find out about the bandit Xie Xun’s current whereabouts.

    Muo ShengGu’s simmering anger has been bottled up for most of the day. At this moment, he could no longer hold back anymore as he laughed coldly and said, “Oh really? So that’s how it is, no wonder, no wonder!” XiHua Zi’s pair of eyes flared up as he asked, “What do you mean by ‘no wonder’?” Muo Sheng Gu replied, “I just heard a moment ago that you came to Wu Dang today for the celebration of my master’s birthday, but than at the same time you would all secretly carry weapons on yourselves. That makes me wonder, did all of you bring your precious sabers and esteemed swords here today because you wanted to present it to my master as a birthday gift? It’s only now that I understand what a priceless gift you’re all delivering here.” XiHua Zi smacked his hand against the table and then immediately undid his robe before loudly saying, “Hero Muo, take a good and close look. Don’t learn to frame and slander other people's honour at such a young age. Where do you see any weapons on our bodies?”

    Muo ShengGu laughed coldly and said, “Very good. There indeed aren’t any,” and he then extended two fingers to lightly tug on the belt of the two people standing beside him. His movements were so quick, with just this one tug he was able to snap apart the belt on those two people. Immediately clanking and clanging sounds were heard sequentially as two short daggers fell to the ground, its dazzling glint catching everybody's eyes. With this, everyone’s countenance underwent a great change while XiHua Zi roared out, “That’s right. If Hero Zhang won’t reveal to us Xie Xun’s current whereabouts, then who knows? We may very well have to resort to our sabers and swords!”

    Zhang SongXi was just about to loudly shout out the secret code “a-yo” in order to take advantage of striking out first when suddenly from outside the door drifted in a voice that said, “Amita Buddha.” This Buddhist incantation very clearly transmitted into everybody’s ear drums, ringing out loud and clear. Though it appeared to be coming from afar, yet when heard it also sounded as if it was spoken by somebody right beside you.

    Zhang SanFeng smiled and said, “The Shaolin sect's Abbot Kong Wen has arrived, hurry out and receive him.” The voice from outside was immediately heard to reply, “Shaolin's Abbot Kong Wen along with his fellow martial art brothers Kong Zhi, Kong Xing and sect disciples have come to wish Grand Master Zhang a thousand autumns of eternal happiness.”

    The three monks Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing were the figures that comprised the group known as the Four Divine Reverends of Shaolin(8)1. Aside from Reverend Kong Jian who has died, the other three Reverends has all arrived here today. In the midst of his shock, Zhang SongXi was unable to give that shout of “a-yo.” Now that Shaolin's supreme martial artists have arrived here on Wu Dang, he knew then even if the six brothers can use the "Tiger Claws Destroying Procreation Skill” to control Kun Lun and Kong Tong sect's key figures, it would still be useless.

    Kun Lun sect's sect-master He TaiChong said, “I've long heard of the Shaolin Divine Reverends' great name. To have the chance of encountering all three here today certainly made this a worthy trip.” Another somewhat low and husky voice from outside the door was heard to say, “This must be Kun Lun's sect leader Mister He. It is a pleasure, a pleasure indeed. Grand Master Zhang, the three of us have arrived here much too late to celebrate your birthday, it truly is discourteous of us.” Zhang SanFeng replied, “The number of guests concentrated here on top of the Wu Dang mountain today are as vast as the clouds, this old man has only lived a hundred years of an unimportant life, how can I possibly bother the three Divine Reverends' to make such a trip?”

    Through the generation of their internal energies, these four people were able to exchange words through the separation of several partitions, each conversing with the effortless ease akin to having a casual conversation with somebody standing right in front of them. The internal energies of E-Mei sect's revered nuns Jing Xuan and Jing Xu, Kong Tong's Guan Neng, Zong WeiXia, Tang WenLiang, Chang JingZhi and the likes' did not reach this level, thus naturally they could not join in on the conversation. The figures belonging to the rest of the sects and clans were even more astonished, while within their hearts they were simultaneously feeling shame at their inability to compare.

    Zhang SanFeng brought his disciples along with him as they started to step outside in order to greet them, but immediately they saw the three Divine Reverends slowly walk into the reception hall, bringing in nine other monks along with them.

    Abbot Kong Wen's white eyebrows drooped downwards to almost cover over his eyes, very much like a long browed LoHan. Kong Xing's body was robust and broad, while his expression was similarly forceful and quite commanding. As for Kong Zhi, his whole face was marked by sorrow, and even the corners of his mouth turned downwards. Song YuanQiao was secretly surprised, for he was well acquainted with the art of face reading. He thought to himself, “The typical person born with Reverend Kong Zhi's physiognomy would suffer such a fate that even if they don't have a short life span, they will at least experience unexpected calamities early in life. Why is it that he not only enjoys the pleasure of longevity, but will also end up being what all people of the martial arts world accept as a Grand Master? It seems that my knowledge in the art of face reading is still much too amateurish.”

    Even though Zhang SanFeng along with Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing were all Grand Masters of the martial arts world, yet they have never encountered each other before. In terms of age, Zhang SanFeng was thirty to forty years older than the three Reverends. He originated from the Shaolin sect, and if using his master Jue Yuan as a measure to determine generational rank and hierarchy, then he would actually be two generations above the likes of Kong Wen. But since he never officially took the commandment to become a monk within Shaolin, and because he never officially learned any Shaolin martial arts from the monks, therefore they all treated each other in the manner of equals. But Song YuanQiao and his brothers were actually reduced a generation.

    Zhang SanFeng welcomed Kong Wen into the reception hall. He TaiChong, revered nun Jing Xuan, Guan Neng and the likes all game forward to greet them, each offering their words of respect and admiration, bringing forth another round of formal courtesies. Coincidently, the Abbott Kong Wen was extremely humble and would join his palms to greet every junior in each clan and each pupil of every sect, offering a few formal words of greeting, bring forth a moment of cluttered confusion before a few hundred people could all be acknowledged.

    The three Divine Reverends Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing all sat down and took a sip of green tea. Kong Wen then said, “Grand Master Zhang, in terms of age and generational ranking, this worthless monk is your junior. Today, aside from offering you birthday blessings, all other stuff should originally not be mentioned. But since this worthless monk shameless takes on the title of Shaolin's Head Abbot, there are therefore a few words which I must reveal to Grand Master Zhang with utmost honesty.”

    Zhang SanFeng has always been a resolute and frank person, thus he spoke with utmost honesty, “Divine Reverends, did you come here today because of my fifth ranking disciple Zhang CuiShan?” When Zhang CuiShan heard his master mention his name, he immediately stood up.

    Kong Wen replied, “Yes indeed. We have two things that we have to ask Hero Zhang. The first thing concerns Hero Zhang murdering seventy-one lives of an agency belonging to a Shaolin disciple's Dragon Gate Escort Agency, and then further killing six Shaolin monks. All together, it comprises seventy-seven lives, how should this situation be handled? The second thing is, our older martial arts brother Reverend Kong Jian lived a life of beneficence and morality, though never competeting with anyone for anything, yet in the end would die a terrible death under the murderer Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun's hands. It's rumoured that Hero Zhang you are aware of this bandit Xie's whereabouts, we ask you to please point us to the right direction.”

    Zhang CuiShan replied in a clear voice, “Abbot Kong Wen, the murdering of the seventy-seven lives of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency and Shaolin sect was not your respectful pupil's doing. I, Zhang Cui Shan have been disciplined and shaped by my honoured teacher. Though I may be a piece of untalented and incompetent material, yet I would never dare to tell a single lie. As for the identity of the person who took the lives of the seventy-seven people, your humble pupil is indeed aware of whom this person is, but I do not desire to reveal the truth. That is the first issue. As for the second issue, there is nobody of the world who was not saddened and desolate over the Reverend Kong Jian's untimely departure from the world. However, the Golden Mane Lion King and your young pupil I are sworn brothers. To be honest, your humble pupil I am aware of the current whereabouts of Xie Xun, but those of us in the martial arts world value and honour the word “Righteousness” more than anything. Zhang CuiShan's head can fall and my blood can spill, but I most definitely will not reveal my sworn brother's whereabouts. This incident has absolutely nothing to do with my revered teacher and my fellow sect members, anything and everything will be accounted for by Zhang CuiShan's solitary self. If everyone must insist on using death as a threat, then whether you choose to come forward for a kill or to administer a blow, then go ahead. In Zhang CuiShan's whole life, he has never done one thing that will disgrace or sully the honour of his sect and has never killed one undeserving person. But if everyone wants to force me to be unrighteous today, then I can only use death as my answer.” These words of Zhang Cui Shan were spoken with boldness, his expression one of justified rectitude.

    Kong Wen murmured a “Amita Buddha” while thinking to himself, “From his words, it really doesn't sound like he's lying. What should be done now?”

    It was at this moment when from outside the long windows of the reception hall suddenly came a young child's voice that cried, “Father!”

    There was a big thump in Zhang CuiShan's heart for this voice belonged to WuJi. He loudly responded, “WuJi! You've come back?” and immediately dashed outside while caught up in the midst of his bewildered joy. Wu Shan sect and Heavenly Fists Clan each had someone standing by the door of the reception hall. They only conjectured that Zhang CuiShan must be trying to escape therefore shouted out simultaneously, “Where do you think you're going?” and extended their hands to clamp down. Zhang CuiShan was filled with haste due to the extreme concern for his child, thus with a contraction of his two arms, caused the two people to fly back separately into the left and right directions for more than a few dozen feet due to the impacting shock. After rushing out beyond the long windows, he only saw a mass of emptiness and silence. Where is there even a trace of a person's shadow? He loudly cried, “WuJi, WuJi!” but no reply was heard.

    The people within the reception hall have already rushed out, but when seeing that Zhang CuiShan hasn't escape, did not advance to capture him and only stood by a side watching over him.

    Zhang CuiShan continued to cry, “WuJi, WuJi!” but was again met with no answer. By this time, Yin SuSu's health had already recovered a fair bit, therefore even from the back room she could faintly discern her husband crying “WuJi” and immediately bolted outside, crying in a trembling voice, “Did WuJi return?” Zhang Cui Shan replied, “I thought I heard his voice just a moment ago. But when I chased outside, there was nobody.” Greatly disappointed, Yin SuSu murmured, “It must your longing for our child that induced you to hear wrong.” For a while, Zhang Cui Shan was in a state of stupefied shock, but he then shook his head and said, “I heard him, I know I did.” He then hurriedly said, “Go back inside” for he worried that there would be further trouble if his wife interacted with the crowd of guests.

    After he returned to the reception hall, he approached Kong Wen and bowed before saying, “In the midst of pining to be reunited with my little child, your unworthy student dared to be so discourteous, may Reverend Abbot you please forgive me.”

    Kong Wen said, “Such is well, such is well. Hero Zhang, your fervent longing for your beloved son is so full of anguish, yet did you really think that all those people who were murdered by Xie Xun did not have a father, mother, wife and children as well?” His body was very small and skinny, but his every word was spoken with booming clarity, reverberating in the eardrums of all the people within the reception hall. Zhang CuiShan's heart was in a state of befuddlement grief and could find no words to respond.

    Abbot Kong Wen then turned to Zhang SanFeng to say, “Grand Master Zhang, how do you suggest we should handle today's issues? I'd like to ask master you to please provide for us an answer.”

    Zhang SanFeng said, “This young disciple of mine may not have many worthy merits, but he most definitely would not lie to his master, and I don't think he would dare to lie to the three divine reverends. The people of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency and your sect were not killed by him and as for Xie Xun's whereabouts, that is something he refuses to reveal.”

    Kong Zhi said with a cold laugh, “But there was someone who witnessed Hero Zhang CuiShan kill our sect's disciples with their very own eyes. So is it that Wu Dang disciples will never dare to offer dishonest words, while the Shaolin disciples will?” And with a wave of his left hand, three middle aged monks stepped out from behind him.

    The three monks were each blind in their right eye. They were of course the monks who were blinded by Yin SuSu's silver needles at the riverside of LinAn City's XiHu, Yuan Xin, Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye.

    These three monks followed Abbot Kong Wen and the others to the Wu Dang mountain, and were observed by Zhang CuiShan from the beginning. He knew within his heart that he must answer to the bloodbath by the riverside of the Xi Hu. As expected, the Abbot Kong Wen spoke not more than a few words and already brought out the three monks. Zhang CuiShan was put into a tough spot, for the person who committed the murders by the bank of the XiHu was indeed not him, yet the true culprit was now his wife. The love between the couple was deep and the faith they held towards each other was strong, how could they possibly not shield each other from harm? But now at this point and in this situation, how is one to protect the other?

    Amongst the “Yuan” generation, Yuan Ye was the most hot-tempered. In accordance to his character, he would have struck out at Zhang CuiShan with all he's got the moment he saw him. But because his martial art uncles were all there, he was therefore forced to restrain himself. But at that time, it was his master who called him out, thus he immediately shouted, “Zhang CuiShan, at Lin An City's Xi Hu banks, you projected poisonous needles into the mouth of Hui Feng, taking his life. I saw that with my very own eyes, did you think I was framing you? The three of us were blinded in the right eye by your silver needles, did you still want to confound us and lay blame on others?”

    At this point, Zhang CuiShan could only argue point for point as he said, “Although we do use a pretty extensive range of weapons within the Wu Dang sect, yet they are all large sized projectiles along the likes of steel darts and sleeve arrows. My six fellow sect members and myself have been around in the martial arts world for quite a while now, but has there been anyone who's seen a Wu Dang disciple use any gold or silver needles type of weapons? As for acts such as coating poison onto the needles, that is a concept even more undeserving of my refute.”

    The ways and actions of the seven heroes of Wu Dang have always been honourable and upright, that was something everybody within the martial arts world knew. Therefore all the martial art fighters that were gathered together here on the mountain truly found the idea of Zhang CuiShan using poisonous needles to harm others hard to believe.

    Yuan Ye shouted with anger, “Even at this point, you're still trying to deny it? That day when you used needles to kill Hui Feng, my martial arts older brother Yuan Yin and myself clearly witnessed and discerned everything clearly and without any further doubt. If it wasn't you, then who was it?” Zhang CuiShan replied, “Just because there was somebody in your sect who fell into harm and injury, that gives you right to come to our Wu Dang sect and request us to tell you who the culprit was that injured your sect members? Since when was such a rule established?” Zhang CuiShan's intellect was quick and his tongue was sharp, he was good with words and skilled in debating. In the midst of his anger, Yuan Ye's words were becoming increasingly nonsensical, causing what was originally a very justified incrimination to suddenly become akin to an unreasonable allegation.

    Zhang SongXi immediately added, “Brother Yuan Ye, at present it's still not possible to ascertain who it was that wounded those Shaolin monks. However, our sect's Yu DaiYan was most definitely injured under the hands of Shaolin's Golden Steel Fingers. Everyone has come here at just the right time, we were just planning to inquire about who was the culprit that used the Golden Steel Fingers to injure my third brother?”

    Yuan Ye's mouth gaped open and was completely tongue tied. He could only stutter out the words, “Not me.”

    Zhang SongXi gave out an icy laugh and said, “I know it wasn't you. I doubt that you would have that kind of power.” After pausing a while, he continued, “If my third brother was perfectly healthy when he was exchanging stances with your revered sect's skilled fighters, then even if he was injured under the Golden Steel Fingers, he can only blame himself for being unable to excel in martial arts. Since in all types of battles and martial art exchanges, injuries and even deaths will likely occur, what else can he say? Can any guarantee be established before a fight that can warrant that a single strand of hair will not be harmed? But at that time, my brother was severely ill, he wasn't able to move even a single finger on his body. That Shaolin disciple used Golden Steel Finger to brutally cripple his arms and legs in order to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the Dragon Saber.”

    Having gotten to this point, he raised his voice to cry out, “You would think that Shaolin's martial arts eclipses over the whole martial arts world already, and they have also long been considered as the martial arts world's most venerable sect. Why must you still desire to possess the precious Dragon Saber in order to be satisfied? Besides, my third brother has only seen that Dragon Saber once, but the methods employed by your revered sect's disciples are really much too inhuman and atrocious. Within the martial arts world, Yu DaiYan can still be considered as possessing of some respectful fame. Within his whole life, he has only committed heroic and righteous acts of charity, doing many good deeds for the martial arts world. Now, because of a Shaolin disciple, he's crippled for his whole life, causing him to spend these last ten years lying on his bed unable to get up. We were just planning to ask the three divine reverends, what does Shaolin plan to do about this?”

    Because of Yu DaiYan's injuries and the deaths of the whole Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Shaolin and Wu Dang have already spent much time over these debates. But they were never able to come to a conclusion because of Zhang CuiShan's disappearance. Zhang SongXi purposely brought out this case again when he observed Kong Wen and Yuan Ye all speak with such forceful justification.

    The Abbot Kong Wen said, “I have already gone over this before. The disciples within our sect have already been investigated and questioned over in detail already. Nobody from our sect harmed Hero Yu.”

    Zhang SongXi reached his hands into his pockets and brought out a golden nugget, the finger marks left on the gold nugget can be clearly seen. He loudly exclaimed, “As all heroes can see, the culprits responsible for my brother Yu's injuries is the Shaolin disciple who left these marks on the golden nugget. Aside from the Shaolin sect's Golden Steel Finger, which school and which sect can boast to have a martial art skill that can produce such a mark on gold?”

    Yuan Yin and Yuan Ye were trying to incriminate Zhang CuiShan based soley on their words, but Zhang SongXi was able to produce material evidence which would of course be much more convincing than proof-less conjectures and empty words.

    Kong Wen said, “May the Buddha have mercy. Aside from the three of us brothers, there are also three other elders within our sect who have been able to master this skill of the Golden Steel Fingers. But these three elders have not stepped out of Shaolin's doors for thirty or forty years now. How would they be able to harm Hero Yu?”

    Muo ShengGu suddenly chimed in, “Revered abbot, you wouldn't believe my fifth brother's words because you insist that his defense was based solely on the testimonial of just his one person, but are the words of Revered abbot you not also based on just your sole defense?”

    Abbot Kong Wen's character was quite gracious and even though he recognized the disrespect in Muo ShengGu's words, he was not angry and only said, “If Hero Muo you don't believe this old monk's words, then there's nothing I can do.” Muo ShengGu said, “How could your humble pupil I possibly dare to not believe revered abbot's words? But things in life are often unpredictable and prone to change. What is right, wrong, true and false will often turn out to be contrary to one's expectations. You only insist that the fellow Shaolin monks were injured under my fifth brother's hands, and we also believe that my third brother must have been injured under the fingers of a skilled Shaolin fighter. But it may very well be that are still secret twists unbeknownst to us all. According to your unworthy pupil's views, these incidents still requires further examination and reconsideration in order to not disturb the harmony between the Shaolin and Wu Dang sects. If we handle things in a crass or crude manner, then one day when the truth is finally revealed, there will only be regrets.” Kong Wen nodded his head and said, “Hero Muo's words are right indeed.”

    Kong Zhi shouted with severe anger, “But are we just going to forget about the wrongful murder of our martial arts brother Kong Jian? Hero Zhang, we can put aside the death of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency for the time being. But today, if you are willing to reveal the whereabouts of the vicious bandit Xie Xun, then you better start revealing it because even if you are not willing to speak, we're still going to make you speak!”

    Up to this moment, Yu LianZhou has been silent, but seeing that the situation has reached a deadlock, he said loudly, “If the Dragon Sabre was not in the hands of Xie Xun, would Reverend still be so concerned about capturing him?” He didn't say much, but just these two lines were already powerful enough, for he was outright reprimanding Kong Zhi as harbouring the unhonourable intentions of desiring to covet a precious treasure.

    Kong Zhi was extremely enraged and with a slap, smashed his palm down upon the wooden table in front of him. With a bang, the table's four legs broke simultaneously as the table immediately shattered and the wooden splinters of the tabletop spewed everywhere. The immense force harboured within that palm was frightening. He roared with rage, “I've long heard that Grand Master Zhang's martial arts originated from Shaolin, but the word within the martial arts world has it that Master Zhang's martial arts excels beyond that of his originator. We've long been admirers even though we may not have been able to ascertain whether there is indeed truth in this rumour. Today, in the presence of the world's heroes, let us take this opportunity to boldly ask Grand Master Zhang to teach us a thing or two by exchanging a few stances with us!”

    As soon as he said these words, all the fighters within the room were brought to an excited state of frenzy. It has now been seventy years since Zhang SanFeng made a name for himself, but all the fighters who had the chance to combat with him have all died over time. There was not a single one of them left in this world who can testify to exactly how fathomless his martial arts were. Thus, even though there were all sorts of extraordinary and fantastic legends circulating within the martial arts world, nobody aside from his seven exclusive disciples had the chance to witness Zhang SanFeng's brilliance with their very own eyes. But Song YuanQiao and his brothers have stunned and dazzled the world with the celebrated name of the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang. If just the disciples can already be seen to have such powers, it would be hard to imagine much less describe what heights their master's abilities would reach.

    When the people outside of the Shaolin and Wu Dang sect heard Kong Zhi publicly declare a challenge against Zhang SanFeng, there was not a single person who was not roused into a state of excitement. They were all thinking within their heads that this was certainly turning out to be a worthwhile trip now that they had the chance to witness with their very own eyes the power of the present era's number one martial artist.

    Everyone's eyes immediately shot towards Zhang SanFeng's face, anticipating his response of whether or not he was going to give his consent. But he was only seen to smile faintly and did not reveal whether he was going to accept the challenge or not.

    Kong Zhi continued, “Grand Master Zhang's martial art abilities crowns over his era, and since he is already undefeatable within the world, the three of us are of course not your match. But since the situation has been forced to this point, I'm afraid that the entanglements between our two sects cannot be resolve if we don't settle it through a martial arts competition. Since master you are two generations above us, it would be much too disrespectful if we fought you one on one. Forgive us for daring to overestimate our capabilities, but we will combine the power between the three of us in order to challenge you Grand Master.”

    Everyone was thinking within their hearts, “That's some gallant-sounding excuse to cover up your intentions of combating one with the power of three. Even if Zhang SanFeng's martial arts are indeed supreme, yet he is nevertheless an old man that has reached his one hundredth year, his stamina and energy must without a doubt be on the decline. He may not be able to withstand the combined attack of the three divine reverends of Shaolin.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “Today is our master's hundredth year celebration, how could he possibly engage in any physical combat with his guests? ...” when everyone heard this, they all thought, “Wu Dang sect really is going to back out from accepting this challenge.” But unexpectedly, Yu LianZhou continued, “Besides, as reverend Kong Zhi has already said, my master and the three reverends are of different generational ranks, if he really did take action, wouldn't that make him guilty of the offense of picking on his juniors? But since Shaolin has stated their challenge, the seven disciples of Wu Dang will like a chance to learn from the twelve Shaolin monk's supreme martial arts.”

    After these words were spoken, there was again another great rumble that went through the whole group of guests who had all started to discuss and analyze amongst each other. Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing each had three disciples who accompanied them to the mountain today, bringing the total to twelve Shaolin monks. They all knew that Yu DaiYan was completely crippled and thus there were only six out of the seven Wu Dang disciples left. To fight twelve with six is a situation based upon a one against two ratio. Such terms as delineated by Yu LianZhou really can be said to serve a self-elevating purpose for the status of the Wu Dang sect.

    Yu LianZhou's move may seem to be a risky step, and in actuality it was indeed a move that he was forced into making. He was very aware that the Shaolin reverends' martial art skills were extremely powerful, and since their ages were older than him and his brothers, their cultivation would naturally be greater. If they fought one on one, his oldest brother Song YuanQiao would be able to break even with one of the reverends, but he himself was just recovering from his injuries and may not be able to withstand one of the reverends. As for the very last reverend, regardless of whether it is Zhang SongXi, Yin LiTing, or Muo ShengGu who fights that match, they most definitely will lose to the reverend. Although his terms of challenge were officially stating that the six brothers will combat against the twelve Shaolin fighters, but the other nine Shaolin disciples can be assumed to pose a very small threat. Therefore, though it seems that the Wu Dang sect was combating a larger crowd with a smaller group, in actuality it was really the Wu Dang six disciples who were combining their powers to fight the three divine reverends of Shaolin.

    How could Kong Zhi possibly not understand the dynamics of such an arrangement? After scoffing with a “hmph” he then said, “Since Master Zhang won't grace us with the honour of exchanging a few stances, then let us three brothers attempt to learn a few things by facing off against three of the Wu Dang six heroes. We can determine the victor with three matches, the side who is able to win in two of the three matches will be the winner.”

    Zhang SongXi said, “If reverend Kong Zhi really insists on fighting one on one, then that can also be done. But amongst the seven of us brothers, aside for my third brother Yu DaiYan who is unable to descend his bed after falling prey to the deadly attacks of a Shaolin disciple, there is not one of us who dares to back out from a challenge. Therefore, let us then determine the winner through six matches, where each of the Wu Dang six disciples will face off with a Shaolin disciple, the side that can win four matches out of the six will be determined as the victor.”

    Muo ShengGu loudly added, “Let's do it this way, if the Wu Dang sect loses, then my fifth brother Zhang will reveal the whereabouts of the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun to Shaolin sect's head abbot. But if Shaolin sect does kindly grant us the honour of winning, then we'd like to ask the three reverends along with all these guests who have come to here with the excuse of celebrating a birthday, but who are in actuality looking to stir up some trouble to please leave the mountain as a group!”

    Zhang SongXi's suggestion of using a six against six method of combat can already be said to situate the Wu Dang sect in the undefeatable position. For his oldest brother and second brother's martial arts can be expected to be comparable with the three divine reverends of Shaolin. As for the rest of the Shaolin disciples, they most definitely will lose in the last three matches.

    Kong Zhi shook his head while muttering, “That's not right, not right.” But at the same time, he couldn't openly admit to exactly what wasn't right about such a suggestion.

    Zhang SongXi said, “When divine reverends issued a challenged to my master, you said that you wanted to fight one man using the power of three. But when we said that we will use six fighters to combat the twelve revered monks of Shaolin, reverend Kong Zhi will suddenly request to fight one on one. Fine, so we'll agree to fighting one on one, but now reverend you say that such an arrangement is not right. Why don't we just do it this way then, let your unworthy pupil I fight against Shaolin's three divine reverends by myself, then everything would be absolutely perfect right? Let the three divine reverends obliterate your unworthy pupil, then that way Shaolin can be victorious and then wouldn't that be so gratifying?”

    Greatly agitated, Kong Zhi's face changed colours while Kong Wen murmured a Buddhist mantra, “Amita Buddha!” Since Kong Xin arrived on the Wu Dang mountain, he has not said one word. But at this moment he suddenly said, “Brothers, since this young hero Zhang says he wants to fight the three of us by himself, then let us do that!” Because Kong Xin had practiced monasticism from an early age, therefore even though his martial arts were skilled, he was not at all acquainted with customs of the world and could not catch the sarcasm and mockery in Zhang SongXi's words.

    Kong Wen said, “Hush up brother” as he turned around and said to Song YuanQiao, “We'll do this, let the six Shaolin monks face off against the six disciples of Wu Dang. We'll determine the winners with just one match.” Song YuanQiao replied, “Not the six disciples of Wu Dang, but the seven disciples of Wu Dang.”

    Kong Wen was greatly taken back as he asked, “Is Master Zhang also planning to join the battle as well?”

    Song YuanQiao replied, “Revered Abbot's conjectures are wrong. All fighters who have fought with my teacher have long since passed away, how can my teacher possibly act out again? However, although my third brother Yu is unable to move after being burdened by severe injuries, and while he also has no disciples, yet the seven of us brothers have always been as one body. Today, in such a confrontation that will concern life, death, glory and shame, how could he possibly stand detached without lending out a helping hand? I'll ask him to hastily find somebody and to give them a few instructions and guidelines in order for this person to substitute for him and fight on his behalf. Wu Dang's seven disciples will fight the revered monks of Shaolin as a group, it matters not whether you decide to send out seven fighters or twelve fighters!”

    Kong Wen paused briefly and thought, “Within the Wu Dang sect, aside for Zhang SanFeng and his seven disciples, there hasn't been mention of any other skilled fighters. He says they'll find a last minute substitution, but what use is that? If they ask another sect's disciple to fight, then that wouldn't be a battle of the Wu Dang sect versus the Shaolin sect. He most likely was just trying to preserve the famed glory of the 'Seven Heroes of Wu Dang' when he said these words.” Therefore he gave a nod with his head and said, “Alright. Then the seven monks of Shaolin will battle Wu Dang's seven heroes.”

    Yu LianZhou, Zhang SongXi and the others immediately understood what purpose Song YuanQiao was trying to induce with his words.

    Zhang SanFeng still had one set of martial art skill that was extremely worthy of pride, it was called “Zhen Wu's Seven Spheres Formation.” The Wu Dang sect offered worship to the deity Zhen Wu(9)1, and when Zhang SanFeng saw the pair of statuettes comprising of a snake and a tortoise that was always situated in front the statue of Zhen Wu, he thought to the SheShan (10)2 and GuiShan (11)3 located at the juncture between the ChangJiang (12)4 and the HanShui River Valleys.(13)5 When he thought over the agile lightness of a long snake contrasted with the lumbering heaviness of a tortoise, he also thought to how the diety Zhen Wu was able to place his leg on the shell of a tortoise while his right leg rested on the body of a snake, thus capturing the essence of the most lithe and cumbersome objects' fundamental nature. He immediately took off that moment, journeying through the night to arrive at the Northern areas of the HanShui River Valleys to study the two She and Gui mountains. Through the undulating twists of the SheShan and the stately stableness of the GuiShan, he was able to create an incredibly brilliant and mystical martial art skill.

    However, the She and Gui mountains were so majestic in their force, that it caused the martial arts inspired by the intensity of the mountains to be so profound and boundless, that it encompassed a vast field and became something of which could not be fully implemented through one person’s power. Zhang SanFeng quietly stood by the river’s bank and for three days abstained from drinking a single drop of water or consuming a tiny morsel of food. He concentrated all his energies into mulling over this skill, yet was still unable to solve this problem. But during the early dawn of the fourth morning, he watched the sun rise from the East to cast a million streaks of wavering golden slithers and flickering spots of sparkling illuminations on the face of the river. He was suddenly enlightened and after engaging in a hearty laugh, he returned to the Wu Dang mountain and brought his seven disciples to him in order to relate a martial art skill to each one of them.

    These seven different forms of martial arts when executed separately is of course each an embodiment of brilliance and exquisiteness in their own right, but if two people combine their efforts, the brothers can support and facilitate each other by simultaneously fostering their attack while maintaining their defence, causing their power to be increased even further. If three people simultaneously executed their moves, their power would be double that of the combined effort of two individuals. The power of four people would equal to that of eight first rate fighters while five people amounts to the force of sixteen fighters and six fighters will be equivalent to thirty-two fighters. By the time they can gather the efforts of seven fighters simultaneously, it would be analogous to having the collective force of sixty-four of the present era’s first-rate fighters attacking all at once. Within the present era, the number of martial artists who can be classified as a first rate fighter was merely a small list comprised of twenty or thirty people, what are the chances of having the opportunity to gather together all these first rate fighters? Even if they could be gathered together, within these fighters there were the good and the evil, the compassionate and the malicious, how could they possibly co-operate together as a group?

    Because this skill of Zhang SanFeng’s was inspired by the tortoise and snake statues that stood by the foot of deity Zhen Wu, it was therefore titled as the “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation.” At that time, he painstakingly pondered over the difficulty in making up for the vacancy in the west end while one watched over the east, which would simultaneously afford opponents with the chance of taking advantage of the exposed vacancy in the Southern and Northern ends. It was only later when he came up with the solution of directing his seven disciples to execute this skill as a group was he finally able to resolve this problem. Although he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed over the fact that this “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation” could not be worked out in such a way so as to enable just one person to executed it, but when he thought to, “If this skill really can be executed through the power of just one person, then wouldn’t that mean just one person’s power would be enough to defeat the combined force of sixty-four first rate fighters? Is that not a much too absurd and arrogant idea?” and couldn’t help himself from laughing while being at a complete loss of words.

    Since the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang have made their name within the martial arts world, there has not been an encounter in which they were not able to achieve the upper hand. Regardless of how powerful of an opponent they may be pitted up against, the most they would require would be just the combined efforts of two or three brothers in order to conquer and be victorious. This “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation” has not been used even once. At the present moment, Song YuanQiao knew that they were faced with great adversaries, for nobody really knew exactly how powerful the three divine reverends of Shaolin were. Though he thinks that he may be able to equally tie one of them, these were nevertheless overconfident conjectures on his own part. It could very well be that he would be thoroughly defeated as soon as he struck out, which was why he was suddenly reminded of the treasured secret weapon of the Wu Dang sect, the never-been-used “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation.”

    When he heard Abbot Kong Wen agreeing to fight the seven heroes of Wu Dang with seven Shaolin disciples, he then said, “We’d like to ask our respected guests to please wait here for a moment while we went and asked our third brother to find a successor right away in order to comprise the correct number for the seven disciples of Wu Dang.” Then with a look at Yu LianZhou and the others, the six brothers all respectfully bowed to Zhang SanFeng and asking to be excused before retreating into the inner rooms.

    Muo ShengGu was the first one to speak, “Eldest brother, let us use the ‘Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation’ today and show those Shaolin monks the capabilities of a Wu Dang disciple. But who should we ask to replace our third brother?” Song YuanQiao replied, “I think concerning this matter, we should all come to a decision together. Let us not say anything right now. Each one of us will write a name on our palms and then we’ll see what the general consensus is.” Muo ShengGu said, “Alright!” and immediately took out a pen which he handed over to Song YuanQiao.

    Song YuanQiao wrote a few words on his palm and then clenched together his fists before handing the pen over to Yu LianZhou. Everyone took turns writing and then revealed their answers simultaneously. Song YuanQiao, Yu LianZhou and Zhang SongXi all wrote the words “Fifth Sister.” Zhang CuiShan wrote the two words “Zhuo Jing,” whereas Yin LiTing’s whole face had flushed a deep red while he refused to reveal his answer by tightly clenching together his fist. Muo ShengGu said, “Hey that’s strange, what are you hiding?” and pried open his fist only to see that on his palm were written the words, “Miss Ji.”

    Zhang CuiShan was genuinely touched as he took Yin LiTing’s hands and said, “Brother!” Everyone understood that Yin LiTing was being considerate of the fact that because Yin SuSu was just beginning to recover from her illness, it was thus not very suitable for her to engage in battle. Therefore he would rather ask Ji XiaoFu, his own future wife to participate in the battle instead. Muo ShengGu had originally wanted to tease him but Zhang CuiShan immediately shot him a look to prevent him. Song YuanQiao thus said, “Fifth brother, please go and ask sister to come out then.”

    Zhang CuiShan returned to his bedroom and brought out Yin SuSu before briefly outlining what the situation was like outside in the reception hall. Yin SuSu said, “The lives of the whole Dragon Gate Escort Agency, Hui Feng and the other Shaolin monks were all ended by me. But at that time, I still haven’t met CuiShan yet. I don’t want this incident to burden the Wu Dang sect anymore, let me go and tell them to go and settle these scores with my father’s Heavenly Eagle sect instead.”

    Zhang SongXi said, “Sister, why continue to differentiate between you and I at this point? Besides, I believe that though these people ascended the mountain today by using the Dragon Gate Escort Agency incident as their excuse, their true goal is to interrogate about Xie Xun. Similarly, their interrogation of Xie Xun for the purpose of revenge is again just another excuse, while getting their hands on the Dragon Saber comprises their true purpose.” Muo ShengGu said, “Fourth brother's words are absolutely right. Their main desire is to covet the Dragon Saber, and regardless of what, they will try to force you to reveal the details of the treasured saber.” Zhang CuiShan said, “Years ago, the Reverend Kong Jian told my brother Xie Xun that concealed within the Dragon Sabre was a martial arts manual that can render its practitioner invincibility and the ability to conquer and dominate the whole martial arts world. Since Kong Jian was aware of this secret, then Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing must also know as well.”

    Yin SuSu said, “If that is the case, I will follow eldest brother's every command. But your unworthy sister's martial arts are so lowly, how can I fully comprehend the brilliance of the ‘Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation’ in such a brief moment of time?”

    Song YuanQiao replied, “In all honesty, by just combining the power of the six of us brothers to combat the seven Shaolin monks is already sufficient enough to secure our victory. But if sister you can participate on our third brother’s behalf by acting as his successor, then I’m sure that he will be incredibly grateful.”

    The hearts of the six heroes of the Wu Dang all beated together as one, and the purpose behind them asking Yin SuSu to participate in the battle was not for the sake of combating the adversaries, but rather it was for Yu DaiYan's sake. It should be understood that if the Six Heroes of Wu Dang combined their efforts to attack, the power of the “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation” would already be equivalent to the power of thirty two first rate fighters. Even if the three divine reverends did turn out to be very powerful, and even if there was some unknown first rate fighter amongst the disciples who accompanied them on this trip, yet even combining the power of all seven of them, it can be ascertained that there absolutely could be no way for them to turn out as being comparable to the combined power of thirty two first rate fighters. But ever since their master had taught them this “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation,” they never had the chance to use it. Today, they will clench victory with just one battle and defeat all three divine reverends of Shaolin, if Yu DaiYan cannot share this victorious glory, melancholy will most definitely fill his heart. Therefore Song YuanQiao and the others wanted Yin SuSu to learn the stances from Yu DaiYan and stand in as his substitution. That way, when the legend of this battle gets passed down amongst the martial arts world in the future, Yu DaiYan can still be considered as having partaken a role in this battle even if he didn't physically join in, and they will still be spoken of as the “Seven Heroes of Wu Dang.”

    The mutual understanding and genuine compassion that the brothers held towards each other were all discerned by Yin SuSu through just two three words, and therefore she said, “Alright, then I will ask our third brother to teach me. But my martial arts is much too inferior when compared to the rest of you, I just hope that I won’t get in the way and end up being a burden later.” Yin LiTing said, “Don’t worry, that won't happen. As long as you remember the steps and directions of the formation, that would already be good enough. Even if you happen to forget anything during the battle, we will all be there to remind you.”

    Therefore, the seven of them all went over to Yu DaiYan’s bedroom. Since Zhang CuiShan returned home, he has already had a few talks with Yu DaiYan, but because Yin SuSu was ridden with illness, it was only until now did she finally have the chance to officially go see Yu DaiYan.

    When Yu DaiYan saw the elegant exquisitness of her beautiful face and observed the gentle grace in her manners, he became very happy for his brother. Then he was filled with a desolate heartache when he heard Song YuanQiao say that she wanted to act as his substitution to participate in the “Zhen Wu Seven Spheres Formation” which they will form in order to counter the three divine reverends of Shaolin. But he has been crippled for ten years now and have gotten used to many things. Therefore with a faint smile he said, “Sister, your third brother I don't have anything good to give to you as a welcoming present. Now in this moment of haste, I can only relate to you the steps and directions of this formation. After the adversaries have retreated, I will explain to you in detail the variations and practicing methods to this formation.”

    Yin SuSu replied with elated joy, “Thank you third brother.”

    This was the first time that Yu DaiYan heard her open her mouth to speak, but when he suddenly heard her say the four words “Thank you third brother,” the facial muscles on his face began to contort and quiver uncontrollably while his two eyes stared blankly ahead, completely lost in thought. Zhang CuiShan asked with alarm, “Brother, are you not feeling well?” Yu DaiYan did not respond, but remained lost in a numbed, comatose state. There was a strange look in his eyes, an expression that communicated both pain and hatred. It was as if he was suddenly reminded of one of the most hated experiences of his life.

    When Zhang CuiShan turned around to look at his wife, he found that her expression had also changed suddenly as well, there was a mixture of horror and anxiety written all over her face.

    Song YuanQiao, Yu LianZhou and the others looked at Yu DaiYan and then looked over at Yin SuSu, not understanding why the expression of these two people would suddenly become so strange. Everyone's heart was filled with a premonition that something terrible would happen. The room had suddenly become a mass of oppressing silence, so quiet that the heartbeat of each person could almost be heard.

    Yu DanYan's breathing was heard to grow increasingly rapid, and a faint flush erupted over his pale cheeks. In a low voice he said, “Sister, please come over here and let me take a look at you.” Yin SuSu's whole body was visibly shaking while she actually refused to approach Yu DaiYan. She only extended her arm to tightly cling onto her husband's arm instead.

    After quite a while, Yu DaiYan sighed and said, “If you don't want to come over, that's fine as well. For I never did get to see your face that day anyways. Sister, can you please repeat these words after me, 'One, you must personally lead the escort. Two, you must take the package to the Xiang Yang city without any rest, so it will arrive in ten days. Three, should there be any problems, humph, I will kill every single person in your Dragon Gate Escort Agency.'”

    When everyone heard him recite these words slowly, nobody could stop their bodies from breaking out into a cold sweat.

    Yin SuSu ran forward a step and said, “Third brother, it truly is remarkable of you to be able to recognize my voice. That day at Lin An City's Dragon Gate Escort Agency, the person who entrusted Du DaJin with the mission of bringing you back to Wu Dang mountain was your worthless sister I.” Yu DaiYan said, “Thank you for your kindness sister.” Yin SuSu continued, “Afterwards when the Dragon Gate Escort Agency fouled up along the journey, causing brother you to end up like this, it was also your sister I who went and completely annihilated their whole family, killing everyone including even the young and old.” Yu DaiYan coldly asked, “For what reason did you treat me with such kindness?”

    Yin SuSu's face was sombre as she gave a long sigh and said, “Third brother, since things have come to this stage, I can no longer conceal anything from you any longer. But I have to state ahead of time that in regards to this, CuiShan has been kept from the truth all along. I was afraid ... afraid that after he knows of the truth, he will never ... never care about me again.”

    Yu DaiYan quietly murmured, “Then you don't need to say anything. I've already become a useless cripple, there's no need to persist in chasing after the past. Why ruin the relationship between the two of you for someone like me? Now, all of you go! The six heroes of Wu Dang will combat the revered Shaolin monks, victory is at hand, do not let people think that the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang is merely an empty name.”

    Yu DaiYan's will was incredibly strong, and ever since he was injured, he has never moan or groaned with any form of bitterness. Originally, he couldn't even make any sounds for speech, and it was only through Zhang SanFeng's careful and skilled treatments of transferring the inner energy that he had cultivated throughout all these years into his body, was he finally able to gradually open his mouth for speech. Yet he refused to mention a single word about what happened to him that day, and it was only today did anyone finally hear him utter these few indignant words of grief. After the brothers heard these words, there was not a single person whose blood was not boiling, while sounds of crying was furthermore heard to come from Yin LiTing.

    Yin SuSu said, “Third brother, I know that you have already figured out the truth, but you’re only refraining yourself from revealing it because you're taking into account of the love and friendship between CuiShan and you. It’s true, that day on the waters of the QianTang River, the person who was hiding within the compartment of the boat and who used the Mosquito Needles to hurt you was your unworthy sister I ...”

    Zhang CuiShan severely roared, “SuSu, was it really you? You … you … you didn't tell me this earlier!”

    Yan SuSu replied, “The true culprit who injured your third brother was your very own wife. How could I possibly tell you that?” She whipped her head around again to face Yu DaiYan and said, “Third brother, afterwards, the person who concealed the Seven Stars Needles in their palms in order to wound you and cheat away the Dragon Saber in your possession was my very own brother Yin YeWang. Because there has never been any trouble or scores of vengeance between our Heavenly Eagle Sect and your Wu Dang Sect, and since we have already obtained the Dragon Saber and furthermore respect you as a venerable and tough man, we therefore asked the Dragon Gate Escort Agency to bring you back to the Wu Dang mountain. But the twists that suddenly appeared along the journey was not something we ever expected would happen.”

    Zhang CuiShan’s whole body was shaking and fire seemed to be about to blaze out of his eyes. He pointed to Yin SuSu and said, “You … you really ruined me with a wicked lie.”

    Yu DaiYan was heard to suddenly give a loud scream while his whole body flipped off the bed boards. With a loud thump, he fainted while falling onto the ground. The four slabs of bed boards had broken simultaneously.”

    Yin SuSu took out her sword, rotated the handle around and handed it over Zhang CuiShan while saying, “CuiShan, we have been husband and wife for ten years now. To be sheltered by your compassion and be blessed by your profound love and genuine respect, I know that I can really die with no regrets now. Please kill me with one swipe of the sword in order to preserve the brotherly rightfulness between the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang.”

    Zhang CuiShan took hold of the sword and was just about to lurch forward to drive the blade through his wife’s heart when in that brief flash, the last ten years all surfaced within his heart, all of the various attractive qualities such as her warm tenderness and devoted care, gentle affections and sweet sentiments. How could he possibly bring himself to pierce forward with that sword?

    He remained in a state of dumbfounded shock for a moment, and then after suddenly giving out a loud scream, he dashed out of the room. Yin SuSu, Song YuanQiao and the others did not know where he wanted to go, so they all ran after him. They watched him tear out of the room and kneel on the floor in front of Zhang SanFeng, saying “Honoured master, your disciple I have made a terrible mistake, there’s no possibly of it being rectified. I would only like to beg you of one thing.”

    Zhang SanFeng was not aware of what the situation was like, therefore said with a tender expression, “What is it? Just say it and there would be nothing your master would not do for you.”

    Zhang CuiShan knocked his head on the floor three times and said, “Thank you respected master, your disciple I have only one cherished son who has landed in the hands of evil villains. I would like to beg esteemed master you to rescue him out of the demons' lair and raise him into an adult.” He then stood up and ran forward a few steps before turning towards reverend Kong Zhi, Mr. Iron Zither He Tai Chong, Kong Dong Sect’s Guan Neng, E-Mei Sect’s revered nun Jing Xuan and the others, declaring in a loud and clear voice, “All crimes and sins are the doing of Zhang CuiShan’s sole person only. A true man will always confront the consequences of their actions, today I’ll give everyone a satisfying answer!” As he was saying these words, he lifted his long sword and drew it across his own neck. Bright red blood immediately gushed out as his life ended right there.

    Zhang CuiShan’s intentions of committing suicide was quite strong. He already predicted that his master and fellow brothers would act out to stop him the moment he drew his sword, therefore he purposely situated himself amongst the crowd of guests and stuck out immediately after he finished saying those two sentences.”

    Zhang SanFeng, Yu LianZhou, Zhang SongXi and Yi LiTing all screamed out while rushing forward at the same time. Banging sounds rang out consecutively as the body of six or seven people flew up into the air. These were all people of whom were surrounding Zhang CuiShan and whose bodies were all blown back by the force harboured within the palms of Zhang SanFeng and his disciples. But they were still too late. Zhang CuiShan's blade had already slitted through his throat, there was no possibility of salvaging the damage. Song YuanQiao, Muo ShengGu and Yin LiTing all came out slightly later, and of course would be even further away from being able to stop Zhang CuiShan.

    It was at this time when a young child's voice cried from outside the long window of the hall, “Papa! Papa!” These two cries seemed to be smothered, the mouth of this speaker was obviously being covered by someone else. With a sway of his body, Zhang SanFeng had already arrived outside the long window. All that was seen was a man dressed in the attire of a Mongolian war general, in his arms was a eight or nine year old boy. That boy's mouth was covered, but he was struggling to break freak.

    Zhang SanFeng's beloved disciple has just died a terrible death, and it was as if somebody has driven a knife into his heart. But due to his cultivation of nearly one hundred years, his thoughts still remained clear. He shouted in a low voice, “Get inside!” That man gave a tap with his left leg, and was just about to leap up onto the rooftops with the kid in his arms. But his shoulders immediately slumped while his whole body seemed to be suddenly held down by an incredible weight and he found that he couldn't even lift his two feet from the ground. What had happened was Zhang SanFeng had soundlessly approached the man and placed his left hand lightly on his shoulders. That man was incredibly petrified, for he knew that all Zhang SanFeng needed to do was expel some internal energy, and even if he doesn't die right away, he most definitely will be severely injured. Therefore, he could only follow his orders and enter into the reception hall.

    That kid was indeed Zhang CuiShan's son, Zhang WuJi. His mouth was covered by that man, but from outside the long window he was able to witness very clearly how his father committed suicide with a slash of his sword. How could he possibly not be upset? He therefore broke free forcefully, and was finally able to release a loud scream.

    Yin SuSu witnessed her husband commit suicide for her, but then suddenly she saw her son return without any harm. After her tremendous sorrow, followed great joy. She asked, “Child, did you tell them the whereabouts of your godfather?” WuJi held his head upright and said bravely, “Even if they kill me, I would not say a single word.” Yin SuSu said, “That's a good boy, come and let me hold you.”

    Zhang SanFeng said, “Hand the child over to her.” That man's whole body was controlled, and had no choice but to follow Zhang's orders and passed WuJi over to Yin SuSu.

    Zhang WuJi fell into his mother's embrace crying, “Ma, why did they have to push my papa to commit suicide?” Yin SuSu said, “All these people here have come up onto the mountain because they wanted to force your father to kill himself.” WuJi's little pair of eyes swept slowly from the left to the right once. Though he was young, but when everyone's eyes met up with his gaze, they couldn't help but feeling shaken within their hearts.

    Yin SuSu said, “WuJi, you have to promise your mother one thing.” WuJi said, “Ma, just say it.” Yin SuSu said, “Don't rush to seek revenge, you have to be patient. But don't even let a single one of them go.” When everyone heard these few cold words from her, they couldn't help but feel a cold chill brush across their back. WuJi was heard to cry, “Ma! I don't want revenge, I only want my papa to come back to life!”

    Yin SuSu said tearfully, “When a person dies, there's no way of bring them back.” Her body quivered ever so slightly as she said, “Child, since your papa has died, we may as well reveal your godfather's whereabouts to others.” WuJi hurriedly said, “No, no we can't do that!”

    Yin SuSu said, “Abbot Kong Wen, you are the only person whom I will reveal the secret to, please bring your ear closer.” This move was out of everyone's expectations, and they were all surprised. Kong Wen said, “All is well, all is well! If only madam you were willing to reveal this earlier, fifth hero Zhang wouldn't have to die” and approached Yin SuSu, leaning his ear over.

    Yin SuSu's lips moved a few times but was not heard to emit any sounds. Kong Wen asked, “What?” Yin SuSu said, “The Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun is hiding in ...” when she got to the words “hiding in” her voice became extremely muddled again, no audible sound was heard. Kong Wen asked again, “What?” Yin SuSu replied, “He is there, your Shaolin sect can go and find him yourselves.”

    Kong Wen frantically insisted, “I didn't hear anything” while he straightened his body and lifted his hands to scratch his head, a completely confused and lost expression on his face.

    Yin SuSu laughed coldly and said, “I can only tell you that much. As long as you go there, you will most definitely find the Golden Mane Lion King Xie Xun.”

    She embraced WuJi and said in a low voice, “Child, when you grow up, you must take caution of woman tricking you. The more beautiful that woman is, the better of a manipulator she will be.” She then pressed her lips against WuJi's ears and whispered in an extremely soft voice, “I didn't tell that monk anything, I was only lying to him ... look at ... what a great liar your mother is!” and after a bitter, anguished laugh, her arms fell to her side as her whole body slumped down to the floor. What was immediately seen was the dagger that was stuck in her chest. She had already stabbed herself with this dagger when she was embracing WuJi, but because WuJi's body was blocking her front, nobody was able to detect it.

    WuJi threw himself onto his mother's body and screamed, “Mama, mama!” But Yin SuSu had driven that dagger into herself a long time ago and had been able to hold up for quite a while already. By this time, she had eventually stopped breathing. WuJi was incredibly devastated, but not only did he not sob and cry, he actually glared at Abbot Kong Wen while asking, “It was you who killed my mama wasn't it? Why did you kill my mama?”

    Having witness a series of life's great tragedies all at once, even Kong Wen, the sect leader of the present era's most revered martial arts sect couldn't stop himself from feeling incredibly shaken. After being interrogated by WuJi like this, he couldn't help but back up a few steps while frantically saying, “No, it wasn't me. She ... she was the one who killed herself.”

    Tears were rolling around in WuJi's eyes, but he exerted all his strength to force back these tears, muttering, “I won't cry, I will not let myself cry, won't cry in front of all you bad people.”

    The Abbot Kong Wen cleared his throat softly and said, “Grand Master Zhang, we never expected that ... ai ... ai ... that it would end up like this. Since fifth hero Zhang and his spouse has already committed suicide, then we will no longer continue to interrogate about the past. We will retreat now.” After saying these words, he pressed his palms together and bowed, while Zhang SanFeng returned a bow and said cooly, “Forgive us for not seeing you out.” All the Shaolin monks got up together, turned around and prepared to leave.

    Yin LiTing shouted with anger, “You all ... you all force my brother to kill himself ...” but then he immediately thought, “Brother killed himself because he felt that he had wronged third brother, it really wasn't their fault.” Therefore having just uttered half a sentence, he didn't continue to finish it and only threw himself onto Zhang CuiShan's corpse, wailing loudly.

    All the guests felt unease in their hearts as they all approached Zhang SanFeng to express their intentions of departing, while they were all thinking within their hearts, “This time, the bad blood has gotten really thick. The Wu Dang sect most definitely will not easily let us off the hook this time. There will be trouble in the future.” Song YuanQiao saw the guests out, accompanying them outside to the temple doors with reddened eyes. As soon as they stepped foot outside, he turned his head around, his tears already pouring down. Within the reception hall, all that could be heard was the sobbing from everyone in the Wu Dang sect.

    --- This last part is a summary. I might come back and fill in the rest later. But this part isn't all that important, especially the whole Shaolin trip. But if enough people petition for it, I can go ahead and do the detailed translation---

    E-Mei sect was the last group to leave, when Ji XiaoFu saw how devastated YinLiTing was, her eyes also reddened as she approahced him and told him that they planned to go and that he should take care of himself. Yin LiTing asked her whether her E-Mei sect was also trying to give his brother a hard time. She hurriedly said that her master only wanted to ask Zhang CuiShan to reveal XieXun's whereabouts. And then she continue to say that she had wronged Yin LiTing greatly, and once again told him to take care of himself while saying that she can only repay his kindness in her next lifetime.

    Ji XiaoFu then took down a necklace (more like a neck hoop) from her neck and was going to put it on Zhang WuJi while saying, “This is for you ...” when WuJi dodged his head and said, “I don't want it.” Embarrassed, tears popped up in her eyes. Her martial arts sister Jing Xuan Shi-Tai then commanded them all to leave.

    After the E-Mei sect left, WuJi held back no longer and was just about to cry wholeheartedly when he suddenly couldn't catch his breath and fainted to the ground. Yu LianZhou picked him up and held him in his arms, thinking he had fainted due to his distress, therefore massaged his chest a few times while urging him to “cry it all out.” But surprisingly, he didn't wake up, while the temperature of his whole body was icy and he was barely breathing. Even when Yu LianZhou generated his energies and massaged him, WuJi still didn't wake up. When everyone saw how the child seemed to be ready to die along with his parents in just a short moment, they all blanched.

    Zhang SanFeng delivered some inner energy into the acupoint located on his back. Considering Zhang SanFeng's current cultivation, there should be no reason why he couldn't cause somebody to regain consciousness if they weren't on the brink of death. But when delivering that internal energy into WuJi, the child's face turned from white to green, from green to purple, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Zhang SanFeng stopped and felt his forehead, feeling as if he had just placed his hand on a slab of ice. He felt that on a center of his back, there was a spot that was blazing hot while everywhere else was freezing cold. If Zhang SanFeng's internal energies hadn't reach such a fathomless level, when he came into contact with the coldness, even he would shiver. He then told Song YuanQiao to find the man in the Mongolian dress who had kidnapped WuJi. Yu LianZhou followed him out for he knew that Song YuanQiao was not the Mongolian soldier's match. But in the midst of all the turmoil involving Zhang CuiShan and Yin SuSu, nobody paid any attention to the Mongolian soldier, who had already fled amidst the chaos.

    When Zhang SanFeng tore open WuJi's shirt, a green-coloured hand print can be very clearly seen, the area of handprint was burning hot, while everywhere else was freezing cold.

    Song YuanQiao and Yu LianZhou returned and reported that there was no outsiders left on the mountian.

    ZhangSanFeng said that he always thought that every since Taoist Priest “Bai Sun” (Hundred Damages/Injuries Taoist Priest) died thirty years ago, there would be nobody left in this world who would know this Xuan Ming Divine Palms (“Xuan” means dark and/or mysterious, while “Ming” also means something along the lines of dark, deep, underworld, death). Song YuanQiao due to his age and experience was the only person aside from Zhang SanFeng who has heard of such a martial art skill.

    Zhang SanFeng sighed as tears ran down his face while he held WuJi within his arms and looked over at Zhang CuiShan's corpse and said, “CuiShan, CuiShan, you've chosen me to be your teacher and entrusted me with your last wishes. But I couldn't even save your beloved son, your only child! So what if I do live to a hundred? What use is it to me if Wu Dang sect's fame resonates throughout the world? I may as well be dead.”

    All his disciples were shocked, for they have never heard their master say such dejected words of despair. Yin LiTing asked him whether WuJi really had not hope of being saved. Zhang SanFeng replied that unless his master JueYuan could come back to life and related to him the complete whole fo the 9 Yang manual.

    Yu LianZhou told his master about how that day he was injured under the same man, but now he was able to recover. Zhang SanFeng told him that this was due to the fame of the Seven Heroes of Wu Dang, for Xuan Ming Divine Palms if used on an opponent whose inner energies exceed that of their own, the force of the palm would return back into the executer's body to injure them. It was then that Yu LianZhou realized that he got away last time because the man was taking caution of the possibility that Yu LianZhou's internal energies may be more profound than his own.

    Song YuanQiao remarked that through that brief glimpse he had of that man, he seemed to be of foreign race.

    WuJi opened his eyes and cried while clutching onto Zhang SanFeng, “Papa, papa, it hurts, it really hurts.”

    Yu LianZhou said, “WuJi, your papa has died already. But you have to live on and concentrate on praticing your martial arts in order to avenge your father's death.” WuJi cried, “I don't want revenge! I won't seek revenge! I only want my papa and mama to come back to life again. Second uncle, why don't we just let all those bad people go, and concentrate on saving papa and mama instead?”

    When Zhang SanFeng heard these words, his tears started up again, while he said that he could only try his best. He brought WuJi into his own room, sealing the eighteen major acupoints on his body. WuJi immediately stopped shivering as the green shade on his face grew increasingly deep, but Zhang SanFeng knew that as soon as this green shade turns into a black shade, WuJi would stop breathing and there would no longer be any way to save him. Therefore he took off WuJi's shirt while himself also untying his own taoist gown and pressed his own body against WuJi's back.

    Yu LianZhou and the rest knew that Zhang SanFeng was using the “Pure Yang Boundless Energy” skill to transfer some of WuJi's cold temperature onto his own body. Because Zhang SanFeng was a virgin and had eighty years of energy cultivation, he has already achieved the pinnacle of this skill. After about an hour’s time, a faint greenish colour started to appear on Zhang SanFeng’s face while the tips of his fingers started to tremble, therefore he told Yu LianZhou to sub in for him, reminding them that as soon as they can’t stand it, they must stop.

    When Yin LiTing took over, he immediately had to stop because he was hit so hard by Zhang CuiShan’s death, he had to stop a while, calm his thoughts down before he could continue.

    The six of them took turns and over three days and three nights, gradually relieved the coldness of WuJi’s body.

    From the eight day, each person would spend four hours each day in helping him relieve his illness.

    At the beginning, WuJi’s illness seemed to increase significantly, and everyone thought that he could be saved. But by the 36th day, Yu LianZhou found that regardless of how much energy he generates, he can’t seem to transfer out a single bit of WuJi’s coldness. Even Zhang SanFeng was not successful. During the following five days, everyone tried their best and thought of all sorts of methods, yet still was not successful.

    WuJi told Zhang SanFeng that his arms and legs were warm, but the top of his head, chest and abdomen were growing increasingly colder.

    Zhang SanFeng therefore knew that the since the coldness has already seeped into these areas, it could not be relieved through external energy, meaning that outsiders cannot help WuJi. The only solution is if WuJi practiced the 9 Yang Manual, to use the ultimate internal energy to disperse the coldness within him. The bit of 9 Yang that Zhang SanFeng knew was incomplete and even after undergoing the last few times of isolated meditation, he was only able to comprehend 30-40 percent. Therefore could only teach him what he knew in hopes that he may preserve his life for an extra day.

    WuJi thus practiced this skill for 2 years, developing a decent amount of “purple Qi” within his Dantien (elixir field). But the coldness within his body still was not able to be dispersed, and the green colour in his face grew more noticeable each day. Every time the cold spells attacked, they would worsen each time. Zhang SanFeng took care of him painstakingly each day during the last two years, and Song YuanQiao and the others went in search of precious medicine and rare herbs, all of which were consumed by him. But it was still to no avail, and WuJi only grew thinner and more sickly, despite his attempts to smile for everyone else.

    Due to caring for WuJi, the Wu Dang sect had no time to search out their enemies who had injured Yu DaiYan and WuJi. The Heavenly Eagle Sect had sent somebody over to ask about WuJi’s situation and to deliver presents a few times, but because the Wu Dang disciples hated how both Zhang CuiShan and Yu DaiYan's calamities were both indirectly caused under the hands of the Heavenly Eagle Sect, therefore every time a representative of the Heavenly Eagle Sect came around, they would chase them away. All the presents they would bring will be returned back to them, and after one time when Muo ShengGu severely beated up one of the representatives, Yin TianZhen no longer continue to send people over.

    During the Mid-Autumn festival, the whole Wu Dang sect got together for a dinner. WuJi had another attack, but because he didn't want to ruin the festive atmosphere, could only force himself to sustain the pain without saying a single word. But everyone could see very clearly what was happening. They brought him into the room and warmed him up, while Zhang SanFeng said that tomorrow he will be bringing WuJi to Shaolin.

    Everyone knew that this move was putting Zhang SanFeng in the inferior position, for he is purposely going over to Shaolin in order to ask for help, in hopes that the reverends of Shaolin can help to fill in the gaps of the 9 Yang manual, and heal WuJi's illness.

    Everyone knew that considering Zhang SanFeng's age and position, to personally go to Shaolin begging for help, would be a very disgraceful thing, and that from now on, every time the Wu Dang sect saw the Shaolin sect, they would not be able to raise their head with pride. But because of Zhang CuiShan, everyone was willing to put down their pride.

    Although E-Mei sect also had a portion of the 9 Yang, but Mi Jue Shi-Tai's character was extremely strange. Zhang SanFeng had already written a few letters to her, asking Yin LiTing to deliver it to E-Mei, but Mi Jue didn't even break open the envelope and would already send the letter back to Wu Dang, unopened. Now, other than begging Shaolin, there was no other way. Even though it would be better for the face of Wu Dang if Song YuanQiao brought his brothers along with them to Shaolin, but they knew that there was no way the Abbot Kong Wen would relate the 9 Yang to them.

    When Zhang SanFeng and WuJi got to the ShaoShi mountain, they waited by the gazebo outside the temple, until Kong Wen, Kong Xing and Kong Zhi came out to receive them. But they didn't invite them into the temple and only sat down with them in the gazebo, which displeased Zhang SanFeng at first, but he quickly got over it.

    Kong Wen explained that because years ago, Zhang SanFeng suddenly left the Shaolin, Shaolin's rules are such that all disciples who forsake the sect are not allowed to re-enter the sect's doors.

    Zhang SanFeng laughed and said that he was just someone who served JueYuan, and can't really be considered as a Shaolin disciple. Kong Zhi said coldly, “But Grand Master Zhang did steal martial arts from the Shaolin temple.”

    Zhang SanFeng was originally very angry, but when he thought to how though his martial arts were indeed created by himself, but its foundation was built through the 9 Yang that Jue Yuan related to him, and the bronze LoHan figurines that Guo Xiang gave him. Therefore to say that his martial arts originated from Shaolin, is not all that incorrect.

    Kong Wen and the others all figured that Zhang SanFeng was here because of Zhang CuiShan's death.

    Zhang SanFeng then explained the purpose of his trip, describing that there was only three people who had heard the 9 Yang manual as related by Jue Yuan years ago: himself, GuoXiang and Abbot WuSe. Because he was so young then, and was not knowledgeable in martial arts, out of the three, he was the one who was able to absorb the least out of the 9 Yang.

    Kong Zhi said coldly that it was because Zhang SanFeng did indeed serve Jue Yuan for many years, there is absolutely no reason that Jue Yuan wouldn't relate 9 Yang to Zhang SanFeng. He then said that Wu Dang sect's name was so famous now only because of Jue Yuan's doing.

    Two years ago, ever since Yin SuSu anounced in front of all the guests gathered on Wu Dang that she was going to reveal the whereabouts of Xie Xun to Abbot Kong Wen, every two or three days, there would be fighters who would come to Shaolin and bother the monks about the whereabouts of Xie Xun. Throughout the two years, there has been many combats in the Shaolin temple, causing a considerable number of injuries and deaths from both sides. Therefore, in a sense, Shaolin views this calamity they're experiencing as being caused by Wu Dang, which was why they were purposely venting out their anger on Zhang SanFeng.

    When Zhang SanFeng said that the purpose of his trip was to “learn a few things from Shaolin,” Kong Wen and the others immediately thought that he was trying to issue a challenge to a fight, for they all knew that in terms of martial arts, Zhang SanFeng was the number one martial artist in the world. Now that he has come up to Shaolin by himself, they all thought that he was arrogantly trying to show them up, trying to defeat them with some kind of powerful martial arts they believe he must have come up with during the last two years.

    In the midst of his fear for Zhang SanFeng, Kong Xing actually said that they were going to unleash the “hundreds and thousands” of monks against him.

    Zhang SanFeng immediately clarified that his purpose for this trip was not to fight, but was hoping that the Reverends can enlighten him by filling in the various holes in the portion of 9 Yang that he knew. Zhang SanFeng said quite a few humble words while even standing up to give a bow, surprising the monks so much that Kong Wen hurriedly got up to return the bow.

    Zhang SanFeng then related the details of WuJi's illness and explained why they needed the 9 Yang, emphasizing how no matter what, he will try his best to save WuJi for he was the sole child of Zhang CuiShan. Therefore he offered to relate to Shaolin all he knows of the 9 Yang, in hopes that Shaolin can also relate back to him their parts of 9 Yang, in order to form a more complete whole.

    But after pondering over this suggestion for a while, Kong Wen said that thought Shaolin had 72 major martial art skills that was inherited form DaMo, there has never been one monk in the whole Shaolin history who was able to master more than twelve. Therefore he felt it was unncessary for Zhang SanFeng to offer Shaolin his portion of 9 Yang, for they simply couldn't learn everything. He also said that Wu Dang's martial arts originated from Shaolin, but if Shaolin takes something from Wu Dang, in the future when people talk about this incident, they will say that Shaolin has benefited from Wu Dang.

    Even though Zhang SanFeng continued to persuade the Shaolin monks, Abbot Kong Wen still would not be persuaded. In the end, he just turned around to a monk and told him to bring forth some food for Zhang SanFeng. By this point, Zhang SanFeng could do nothing but express his intentions of departing.

    Taking WuJi in his arms, they left Shaolin.

    End of Chapter 10

    ***************************************
    Notes:

    1)'Xuan paper': A commonly known 'brand' of paper – 'Xuan' should be in reference to a place.

    2) 'Duan ink stones': like 'Xuan paper' was a brand of ink stones. 'Duan' should be in reference to a place.

    3) 'daring to dig up on the land governed by the Earth God': Just a phrase used to describe people who were messing around with a powerful force/person and not even realizing the consequences.

    4) 'Yun He': 'Yun' means 'Cloud' while 'He' means 'Crane.'

    5) 'Gong JiuJia’s': the “Jiu” in “Gong JiuJia's” name means “Nine.”

    6) 'Yin WuShou': 'Shou' means longevity

    7)'WuChang town': One of the three main towns in WuHan which is the capital of the HuBei province

    8)'Kong Wen, Kong Zhi and Kong Xing were the figures that comprised the group known as the Four Divine Reverends of Shaolin': The “Kong” that comprises the first character in the 4 Reverends names is the same character for “emptiness.” While the four names of the Reverends ranks as “Jian, Wen, Zhi, Xing.” “Jian” meaning “See,” (Kong Jian was killed by XieXun more than ten years ago) “Wen” meaning “Hear,” “Zhi” commonly means “Intellect,” although along with the word “Xing” (meaning “Insticts”) may possibly take on more profound meanings in Buddhist vocabulary.

    9) 'Diety Zhen Wu': The 'Zhen Wu Da Di' is also called the 'Xuan Wu Da Di' or 'Xuan Tian Shang Di' which are sometimes translated as the 'Dark Lord of the North.' It was said that he was the eighty-second reincarnation of the highest diety in the Taoist pantheon 'Tai Shang Lao Jun' (or Supreme Master Lao/Supreme Patriarch of Taoism/Celestial Lord of Virtue who was born as 'Lao Zi' and credited with being the founder of Taoism). Born as a Crown Prince, he later left his kingdom to retreat to the Tai He mountain (which later became known as the Wu Dang mountain) to seek for enlightment. After 42 years, he finally achieved immortality and transcended to the heavens. He was thus crowned by the Jade Emperor of the Heavens as the 'Tai Xuan' to rule over the Northern sphere. According to ancient Chinese astrological myths, the heavens were divided into 28 different houses of constellations ('Xiu'). These 28 different houses were further grouped into 4 groups (North, South, East West) and were assigned a specific animal 'form' (known as the 4 forms). The constellation group in the North was known as the 'Xuan Wu' ('Xuan' meaning black and referring to the snake, while 'Wu' refers to the shell of the tortoise). Thus Zhen Wu Da Di came to be known as the Xuan Wu Da Di. It was said that the Jade Heavenly Emperor later renamed the Tai He mountain to the Wu Dang mountain in honour of this deity ('Wu' from Xuan Wu, 'Dang' meaning 'managed'/'controlled' to indicate that this mountain was under the sole control of Xuan Wu).

    10) 'SheShan' : 'She' means 'Snake' while 'Shan' refers to mountain. Also called the 'HuangHe Shan' (the Yellow Crane mountain). It Faces Gui Shan.

    11) 'GuiShan' : 'Gui' meaning turtle. Also known as the 'LuShan.'

    12) 'ChangJiang': Also known as the Yangzte River.

    13) 'Han Shui River Valleys' : the greatest river branch of the Yangzte river.

  12. #12
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 11 - A woman whose tongue is sharp as spear

    (Translated by Meh and Huang Yushi)

    Available here.

    Note: I cannot post it here as the copyright of half of it belongs to Huang Yushi and Wuxiapedia. There's no point of me just putting half a chapter up.

  13. #13
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    Chapter 12: Needles and Prescriptions for Diseases Beyond Cure

    (Translated by Huang Yushi)

    Available here.

    Note: I cannot post it here as the copyright belongs to Huang Yushi and Wuxiapedia.

  14. #14
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 13: No Regrets for Second Chances

    (Translated by Huang Yushi, SmokeyTheBear and dgfds01)

    Huang Yushi's translation
    Available here.

    Note: I cannot post it here as the copyright belongs to Huang Yushi and Wuxiapedia.

    Continued...

    (SmokeyTheBear)

    In these few days, Zhang Wuji spent all his effort reading the medical book that Hu Qingniu had written, and discovered that the contents were deep and profound, a worthy work of the “Deity of Healing”. He only read it for about eight or nine days and his medical skills improved greatly, but as to the eradication of the “Yin” poison in his body, there wasn’t the slightest clue. He flipped through and read many pages, finally gave up hope, and thought, “If Hu Qingniu knew a method to cure me, how would he not do so? If he did not, how would the medical book have a method?” After thinking of this, he could not help feeling completely disheartened. He closed the book, walked outside the house, saw the two false graves, and thought,” Before a year passes, I will really be buried under the ground. What will my tombstone say?” While he was lost in thought, suddenly he heard a few coughs from behind, Zhang Wuji was surprised and turned his head, only to see the Golden Flower Granny holding the beautiful looking little girl, standing unsteadily a few ‘zhang’ away. (1 ‘zhang’=10 feet) The Golden Flower Granny asked, “Little one, who are you to Hu Qingniu? Why are you sighing here?” Zhang Wuji replied, “My body is afflicted with ‘Yin’ poison from the Xuanming Divine Palm......” The Golden Flower Granny walked to him, held his wrist, and felt his pulse, exclaiming, “Xuanming Divine Palm? Such a skill really exists in this world? Who was the one who hit you?” Zhang Wuji replied, “That man assumed the guise of a Mongolian military officer, but I do not know who he actually is. I came to seek treatment from Mr. Hu, he said I was not one of the Ming Cult, he would not heal me. Now that he has died from ingesting poison, my illness cannot be cured, so I felt sad thinking about this.”

    The Golden Flower Granny saw that he was handsome and refined, very likeable, yet was afflicted with this untreatable illness, then said, “A pity, a pity!” Three lines suddenly surged forth from Zhang Wuji’s heart, “生死修短,岂能强求?予恶乎知悦生之非惑邪?予恶乎知恶死之非弱丧而不知归者邪?予恶乎知夫死 者不悔其始 之蕲生乎?”*
    *Explanation to follow

    These three lines come from ‘Zhuangzi’. Zhang Sanfeng practiced Taoism. Although his seven disciples were not priests, but they studied this Taoist-venerated book ‘Zhuangzi Nanhua Jing’ very thoroughly. When Zhang Wuji reached five years of age on Fire and Ice Island, Zhang Cuishan taught him to read and write. Though the lack of books limited them to writing on the ground, he was taught to memorise the ‘Zhuangzi’. These four lines mean, “The span of life, how can it forced? How would I know, if wanting to live was a mistake? How would I know, if man’s fear of death, was not like wandering outside during youth not knowing to return to his hometown? How would I know, if dead people would not regret previously seeking to live?” Zhuangzi’s original meaning expounded that, life might not be bliss, death might not be suffering, life and death are actually no different, a living person is only “having a big dream”, and after dying is “greatly awakened”, and maybe after dying would feel that the previous time in life was stupid, why not die earlier? Just like after having a sad and terrifying nightmare, once awakened, would realise this annoying nightmare had simply went on for too long. Zhang Wuji was young and originally did not know these truths about life, but in these four years he had been between hovering between life and death, unavoidably experiencing the hidden meaning in Zhuangzi’s words. Originally he did not believe Zhuangzi’s words, but since his days were numbered, he hoped that after death there would be a wondrous change, making his days of struggling to live laughable. At this time, he heard the Golden Flower Granny’s repeated “a pity”, and laughed lightly, saying those three lines from the ‘Zhuangzi’ without thinking. The Golden Flower Granny asked, “What does that mean?” Zhang Wuji explained it once and the Golden Flower Granny was immediately stupefied.

    *'Zhuangzi' is a book on Taoist philosophy written by an author of the same name. Whenever quotes are used i.e. 'Zhuangzi' it refers to the book, and without quotes it refers to Zhuangzi the person/author.
    For more information, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi

    She thought of her deceased husband from these few lines. The two of them were husband and wife for ten years and were incomparably loving, once separated by ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ (i.e. life and death), no longer having a chance to meet, if one was to live on it was like wandering destitution in a foreign land. On the contrary death would be a return to native land, so when the enemy had poisoned her husband, Hu Qingniu’s refusal to treat him was not necessarily a bad thing. “Native land? Native land? But after returning to the native land, would it really be better than the foreign land?”

    However the little girl standing beside the Golden Flower Granny did not understand these few lines of Zhang Wuji’s at all, not knowing why once the granny heard them, had become still as if she was crazy. Her pair of beautiful eyes looked at the granny, then looked at Zhang Wuji, shifting from the two’s faces back and forth. Finally, the Golden Flower Granny took a breath, and said, “Matters of the nether realm, cannot be ascertained. Although death might not be frightening, but no mortal will not die, at the end of this life, it is difficult to escape that day. To be able to live one more day, is one day more!”

    Zhang Wuji, having seen Ji Xiaofu and the fifteen others cruelly wounded by the Golden Flower Granny and also the dread of the Hu Qingniu couple towards her, did not even have the courage to run away. He thought that this Golden Flower Granny was an extremely brutal person, but on meeting her it seemed otherwise. That day he caught a glance of her under the light and did not get a clear look. At this moment he saw that she was clearly a kind and gentle old granny. Although her face was hard and stiff, full of wrinkles and totally devoid of feeling, but her eyes were sparkling clear, with the liveliness of a young woman, and displayed warmth and kindness.

    The Golden Flower Granny asked again, “Child, what is the respected name of your father?” Zhang Wuji answered, “My father’s surname is Zhang, first name Cui second name Shan, a Wudang disciple.” But he did not mention his father’s suicide.

    The Golden Flower Granny was shocked, and said, “You are the son of Wudang’s Fifth Hero Zhang, does that mean that evil person who used ‘Xuanming’ Divine Palm to hurt you was for the whereabouts of the Golden-Mane Lion King and the Dragon-Slaying Sabre?” Zhang Wuji replied, “Correct, he inflicted all kinds of torture on me, but I would rather die than say it.” The Golden Flower Granny said, “You really know it?” Zhang Wuji answered, “En, the Golden-Mane Lion King is my godfather, I absolutely would not reveal it.” The Golden Flower Granny’s left hand shot forth and captured his hands with her palm. Only to hear his joints making a “ge, ge” sound, Zhang Wuji’s hands were so painful that he also fainted, he felt a bone-penetrating chill of cold ‘qi’ transmitted from his hands to his chest, this cold ‘qi’ was different from ‘Xuanming’ Divine Palm, but it had the same unbearable feeling. The Golden Flower Granny said gently, “Obedient child, good child, tell of Xie Xun’s whereabouts, granny will cure your cold poison, and pass on a set of invincible martial arts to you.” Zhang Wuji was in tears from the pain, fearlessly replying, “My parents would rather give up their lives, than reveal the location of a friend. Golden Flower Granny, you look upon me as one who would betray his parents?” The Golden Flower Granny smiled and replied, “Very good, very good! Your father? Is he here?” The transmission stopped and the iron-like fingers that gripped his hands loosened. Zhang Wuji said loudly, “Why don’t you pour mercury into my ears? Why not force me to swallow metal needles, swallow leeches? Four years ago when I was only a child, I was already unafraid of all kinds of torture from those evil people, now that I am grown up, could it be that I have degenerated?” The Golden Flower Granny laughed loudly “haha”, and said, “You think you are an adult, not a child anymore, haha, haha......” She laughed a few times and released Zhang Wuji’s hands, only to see that the wrists of his hands to his fingertips, had turned a purplish-black colour.

    That little girl shot him a meaningful glance, and said, “Quickly thank Granny for her mercy in sparing your life.” Zhang Wuji gave a “heng”, saying, “If she killed me, maybe I would be a little happier, what is there to thank?” That little girl wrinkled her brows, replying angrily, “You are disobedient, I am going to ignore you!” Saying this she turned away, but surreptitiously peeped at him to see what he was doing. The Golden Flower Granny laughed loudly, “Ah Li, you were alone on the island, without a young companion, it must have been lonely!” Let us capture this little child and tell him to serve you, how about that? The only thing is he has the temper of a donkey, being too stubborn and not very obedient.” That little girl’s long eyebrows raised, she clapped and laughed, “Wonderful, let us capture him then! If he is disobedient, won’t Granny think of a way to control him?” Zhang Wuji was hearing the two of them going back and forth, and became very anxious. If the Golden Flower Granny was to kill him on the spot, that would be fine, but if he were to be captured and brought to some island, to suffer the two’s torture and be half-alive or half-dead, it would be more unbearable than anything else.

    The Golden Flower Granny nodded, “Follow me, first we have to find someone, accomplish a task, then go back to Lingshe (Spirit Snake) Island.” Zhang Wuji said, “You are not a good person, I will not accompany you.” The Golden Flower Granny smiled, “Our Lingshe Island has everything, things to eat and play, you have not even seen them before. Obedient child, come follow Granny.” Zhang Wuji suddenly turned around and ran away quickly, who knows as soon as he took a step, the Golden Flower Granny was in front of him again, and said gently, “Child, you will not be able to escape, come follow us obediently.” Zhang Wuji gritted his teeth and sent a fierce palm towards her, the Golden Flower Granny turned sideways and blew a breath towards his palm. Zhang Wuji’s palm had already been made black and swollen by her, now that this breath came it was like using a sharp knife to cut into a wound, being so painful that he leapt up.

    All of a sudden a girl’s voice could be heard, “Brother Wuji, what are you playing? I’m coming as well.” It was precisely Yang Buhui that had come, followed by Ji Xiaofu who emerged from behind the trees and walked over. The mother and daughter duo had just strolled back from the field, unexpectedly seeing the Golden Flower Granny, Ji Xiaofu’s face paled. Finally gathering her courage, she said tremblingly, “Granny, you cannot trouble children?” The Golden Flower Granny stared fixedly at Ji Xiaofu, and laughed coldly, “You are not dead yet? This old granny’s affairs, need you to chatter about as well? Come over here to let me take a look, why have you not died to this day?”

    Ji Xiaofu came from a martial family, was a high disciple of a famous school, and was originally very courageous, but now she took her daughter into consideration and did not dare to get into danger. Clutching her daughter’s hand she retreated a step instead, and said quietly, “Wuji, come over.”

    Zhang Wuji felt like going over. That little girl Ah Li turned her palm over and caught the ‘San Yang Luo’ on his shoulder, and said, “Hold it there! You are called Wuji, surnamed Zhang, you are Zhang Wuji, is that it?” Once this ‘San Yang Luo’ was clasped, half of Zhang Wuji’s body immediately became numb and weak rendering him immobile. He was shocked and angry, and shouted, “Release me quickly!” Suddenly a crisp and clear female voice was heard, “Xiaofu, how can you be so useless? Go over if you want to!” Ji Xiaofu was shocked but happy, turned around and said, “Master!”, but there was no trace of anyone behind her. She looked carefully, only then did she see a grey-robed nun slowly walking over from a distance away, precisely the headmaster of Emei, her master Miejue Shitai*. Following behind her were two disciples, one was her elder martial-sister Ding Minjun, one was her younger martial-sister Bei Jinyi. The Golden Flower Granny saw that she was so far away that even her face could not be seen clearly, yet her voice was transmitted to everyone’s ears as though she was very close, which was sufficient proof of her profound internal energy. Miejue Shitai was very well-known, everyone in the martial world had heard of her, only that she rarely left the mountain and not many people had met her personally. As she came nearer, it could be seen that she was about forty-four to forty-five years of age and her features could be considered beautiful, but her two eyebrows arched downwards, her appearance was strange, and resembled the ‘Lu Si’ ghost from stage a little. Ji Xiaofu went to kneel down and kowtowed to her, and greeted quietly, “Master, you are well.” Miejue Shitai replied, “You have not angered me to death, I can still be considered well.” Ji Xiaofu continued kneeling and did not dare to get up. But hearing the cold laughs from Ding Minjun standing behind her master, as if she had said numerous bad things about herself to their master, she could not help breaking out in cold sweat. Miejue Shitai said icily,” This granny told you to go over and let her take a look as to why you have not died to this day. You go over and let her take a look.”

    *Shitai is a term of address used for senior nuns or priestesses. E.g. In Smiling Proud Wanderer the three senior Hengshan leaders are Shitai (senior Buddhist nuns), in Return of the Condor Heroes Priestess Shenying is also a Shitai (senior Taoist priestess).

    Ji Xiaofu answered, “Yes.” Standing up, she strode up to the Golden Flower Granny, and said in a clear voice, “Golden Flower Granny, my master is here. Your fierce and overbearing manner should be ended.” The Golden Flower Granny coughed, stared fixedly at Miejue Shitai, nodded, and said, “En, you are the Emei headmaster, I hit your disciple, what will you do?” Miejue Shitai replied icily, “Well hit! If you like to hit her, hit her again, even if you kill her it is none of my business.” Ji Xiaofu felt as if a knife had pierced her heart, and called out, “Master!” Two streams of warm tears flowed. She knew her master was always extremely protective of her disciples. When her disciples had crossed anyone, even if it went against her principles she would argue vehemently to protect them. Now that she said these words she clearly did not regard her as a disciple any longer. The Golden Flower Granny said, “I do not have any enmity with Emei, having hit her once, it is enough. Ah Li, let us leave!” Saying that she slowly turned away.

    Ding Minjun did not know the Golden Flower Granny’s background, only that she looked senile and sickly but dared to be so insolent towards her master. She became angry, stepped up quickly and obstructed her, exclaiming, “You did not apologise to my master and are thinking of leaving?” Saying that her right hand drew her sword, half-unsheathed, to intimidate the granny.

    The Golden Flower Granny suddenly extended two fingers and gently pinched on her sword sheath, then released it quickly, laughing, “Scrap metal, can also be used to scare people?” Ding Minjun became even angrier and wanted to unsheathe her sword. Unexpectedly her single pull was not able to pull out the sword. Ah Li laughed, “Scrap metal, it has become rusty!”

    Ding Minjun tried again with all her might, but was still unable to pull it out. Only then did she know that the Golden Flower Granny’s seemingly causal pinch on her sword sheath before, had secretly utilised her internal energy to make an indent into the sword sheath, making it grip the blade of the sword firmly. Ding Minjun could not unsheathe it even if she wanted to but she was unwilling to leave it at that. Her face reddened and her expression was wretched.

    Miejue Shitai walked up slowly, held the sword hilt with three fingers and shook gently. The sword sheath immediately cracked into two, freeing the sword blade. She said, “This sword is not any sharp or precious blade, but neither is it scrap metal. Golden Flower Granny, why do you not enjoy life on Lingshe Island, but come to the central plains to make trouble?”

    The Golden Flower Granny saw the way that she used her three fingers to shake the sword and break the sheath. She felt a pang of fear, and said to herself, “This bothersome nun is renowned, she truly possesses some real skill.” All smiles, she said, “My husband passed away, I was alone on the island and felt bored. So I left and wandered around, to see if I could find any suitable monk or priest to be my companion.” She emphasised “monk or priest” to ridicule the other as being a nun, yet was also wandering about. Miejue Shitai’s pair of drooped eyebrows hung even lower, she raised the sword and said in a bleak voice, “Show your weapon!” Since coming under her tutelage, Ding Minjun, Ji Xiaofu and the others had never seen their master fight with anyone. Ji Xiaofu was especially concerned as she knew that the Golden Flower Granny’s martial arts were extraordinary and inscrutable. Zhang Wuji’s shoulder was still being held by Ah Li and his upper body was becoming increasingly numb, he shouted, “Let go of me quickly! Why are you grabbing on to me?” Ah Li saw Ji Xiaofu at the side with the intention to step in. If she did not let him go, Ji Xiaofu would definitely come to intervene and by then she would have to release him anyway. Hence she exerted her strength and flung him away, releasing his shoulder, and said coldly, “Let us see whether you can escape?” The Golden Flower Granny gave a slight smile, and said, “Years ago Emei Sect’s Guo Xiang Heroine Guo’s sword skill was renowned throughout the land. It must have been extremely high, but I wonder how much of it has been passed down to the descendants?” Miejue Shitai replied strongly, “Even if only a fraction remains it is enough to annihilate the evil and unorthodox.” The Golden Flower Granny stared fixedly on the tip of her opponent’s sword unblinkingly. All of a sudden, she raised her walking staff and thrust it fiercely towards the sword. Miejue Shitai’s sword quivered and stabbed towards her shoulder. Amidst her coughing, the Golden Flower Granny swept her staff across. Miejue Shitai followed her sword, moving behind her opponent in a flash. Before her steps ended her sword move had arrived. However the Golden Flower Granny did not turn around but instead twirled her walking staff and sent a backhand smash towards the sword blade. The two of them had exchanged three to four moves and were already praising each other’s ability silently. An abrupt ‘dang’ sound was heard as the sword Miejue Shitai was wielding broke into two. When the sword and staff met the sword was broken by the impact of the walking staff. The onlookers were all shocked except for Ah Li. The Golden Flower Granny’s walking staff was dark, yellowish and dirty. It appeared very ordinary and seemed to be neither gold nor iron. Yet it could shatter a sharp sword, so it must be the force of her profound and abundant internal energy. However, when the Golden Flower Granny clashed weapons with Miejue Shitai she knew that the sword broke because of the sharpness of her weapon and not because her own internal energy had improved. Her walking staff was actually a special product of the seabed near Lingshe Island. It was called ‘Gold Coral’ and was made from a blend of various kinds of quality gold combined with coral, formed by undergoing thousands of years deep in the sea. It could shear metal like cutting tofu and strike rocks like hitting cotton. Any kind of sharp weapon would break immediately upon contact. Nevertheless the Golden Flower Granny did not press her attack. She only propped her staff against the ground and pat her chest, coughing. The three Emei disciples Ji Xiaofu, Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi feared that their master was injured. In unison they rushed to Miejue Shitai’s side to guard her.

    (dgfds01)

    Ah Li turned her palm and grabbed Zhang Wuji’s wrist. Laughing, she said: “I said you won’t be able to escape. Isn’t that true?” This was totally unexpected. Before Zhang Wuji could break free, his meridians were obstructed and lost the strength in his body. This was the second time she had beaten him. Feeling both embarrassed and indignant, both angry and anxious, he kicked out at her waist with his right foot. Ah Li’s fingers held firm and Zhang Wuji’s foot had traveled no more than half a chi (about a foot) when it lost the strength to continue. He yelled angrily: “Are you going to let me go?” Ah Li laughed: “If I don’t let you go, what can you do?” Zhang Wuji suddenly bent down and bit hard into her arm. Ah Li felt the pain and screamed: “Ai yo!” She loosened her right hand’s grip while her left hand clawed at Zhang Wuji’s face. Zhang Wuji jumped back quickly but he was too slow. AH Li’s fingers had scratched the right side of his face causing it to bleed. Ah Li’s bitten right arm was bleeding even more. The pain was so great that she wanted to cry.

    While the two children were fighting, Golden Flower Granny (Jinhua Popo) did not even glance at them. Miejue Shitai threw aside her broken sword and said: “This is my disciple’s weapon, not suitable for fighting against top experts.” So saying, she untied her knapsack and took out an antique long sword about four feet in length. Granny Golden Flower saw that a green-tinged aura was emitting from the scabbard. The sword had not yet been drawn but she could see it was something out of the ordinary. She then saw the words ‘Yi Tian’ (roughly translated as ‘supporting heaven’ but I’ll stick with simply ‘Heaven’ to be consistent with the title) inlaid in gold on the scabbard. Shocked, she blurted out: “The Heaven Sword!” Miejue Shitai nodded her head and said: “Correct, this is the Heaven Sword. Granny Golden Flower’s mind flashed to the well-know phases resounding over the Wulin: “Martial world’s most venerable, Prized saber dragon slaying, Controlling all under Heaven, None dares to not follow. Power of heaven not appear, who can possibly compete?” She muttered repeatedly to herself: “So the Heaven Sword has fallen into Emei’s hands.”

    Miejue Shitai shouted: “En garde!” Without removing the scabbard, she grasped the hilt and pointed the sword at Granny Golden Flower’s chest. Granny Golden Flower flipped her staff round to meet her. Miejue Shitai’s wrist moved slightly and the sword met the staff. With a light ‘chi’ sound, Granny Golden Flower’s precious ‘Gold Coral’ staff was cut into two as easily as a piece of paper.

    Granny Golden Flower was shaken. She thought: “The Heaven Sword has not even been drawn out of its scabbard, and yet it is already so formidable. It truly lives up to its reputation.” She gazed at the sword and asked: “Miejue Shitai, please let me see what the sword looks like.”

    Miejue Shitai shook her head and said coldly: “Once this sword leaves its scabbard, it will not return without first tasting blood.”

    The two women stared at each other, neither speaking for a long while.

    By this time, Granny Golden Flower knew that this nun’s kungfu was not below hers. Miejue had not yet displayed her top skills but as the head of Emei, she would definitely be quite formidable. Added to that, she had in her hand the “Number 1 Sword under Heaven”. Granny Golden Flower did not feel able to take her on. She coughed softly twice, then turned around, grabbed Ah Li’s hand and walked away. Ah Li turned her head and shouted: “Zhang Wuji, Zhang Wuji!” Her voice grew softer and softer as the distance increased, until finally it could be hear no more.

    Ding Minjun, Ji Xiaofu, and Bei Jinyi were overjoyed that their shifu had won and her powerful opponent had run away. Ding Minjun said: “Shifu, that old woman is no Mt Tai, is she? Yet she even dared to fight with you, she truly got what she deserved.” Miejue Shitai said: “When you roam the jianghu in the future, if you ever hear her cough, make sure you run far away.” Earlier when she struck out with her sword, it was backed with the power of her thirty years worth of cultivation of “Emei’s 9 Yang Divine Skill”. Even though she succeeded in breaking her opponent’s staff, when her internal energy came into contact with Granny Golden Flower’s body, it was as if it had fallen into a vast ocean and left no trace of itself behind. The force only managed to cause Granny’s clothing to flap while her footing remained firm. Now that she thought about it, her heart shivered with fear. She thought that the Granny’s inner power was strong and powerful while her body was strong and healthy, definitely not like that of an old lady in her twilight years. It was difficult to understand how this could be so. Miejue Shitai raised her head to stare at the sky, then after a while she called: “Xiaofu, come here!” Without even glancing at her, she walked into the house. Ji Xiaofu and the other two followed her inside. Yang Buhui called out: “Mama!” and tried to go inside too.

    Ji Xiaofu knew that her shifu had left Emei with the purpose of ‘cleaning out the home’ (i.e. dealing with a renegade disciple). Though she had previously been the object of love and attention, her shifu was very strict, so she really did not know how she would be dealt with. She told her daughter: “You should stay outside and play, don’t come inside.”

    Zhang Wuji thought: “The Ding woman is really bad. She will definitely bad-mouth Anuty Ji in front of their shifu. I saw clearly what happened that night, she’s venomous and cruel. If she talks rubbish now and confuses the truth, I will come out and help Aunty Ji.” He quietly went to the back of the house, crouched under a window, held his breath and listened. But inside the house was totally silent, nobody was talking.

    After a while, Miejue Shitai said: “Xiaofu, it is your story so you can tell me what happened.” Ji Xiaofu choked out: “Shifu, I… I…” Miejue Shitai said: “Minjun, come and question her.” Ding Minjun said: “Yes. Martial sister Ji, of our sect’s forbidden practices, what is the third?” Ji Xiaofun replied: “Taking part in lewd and lecherous activities.” Ding Minjun said: “Correct. What then, is the sixth? Ji Xiaofu replied: “Turning your heart to outsiders, rebelling against sect and master.” Again, Ding Minjun asked: “And how do we deal with people who break these rules?” Ji Xiaofu did not reply. Instead, she turned to Miejue Shitai, saying: “Shifu, there is something that I have difficulty saying. It is not as simple as what Martial Sister Ding is saying.” Miejue Shitai said: “Alright, there are no outsiders here. Tell me everything.”

    Ji Xiaofu knew that this was a very important moment, she didn’t dare conceal anything. She said: “Shifu, that year after we found out about the Heavenly Eagle Cult gathering at Wangpan Shan, you ordered me and 15 other martial sisters to leave the mountain and split up to look for the Golden-hair Lion King Xie Xun. I went west towards Sichuan. On the way, I met a middle-aged man dressed in white. He was around 40 years old. Everywhere I went, he followed. When I stayed at an inn, he stayed there as well. When I moved on, he moved on as well. At first I just ignored him. After that, I told him off because it was unseemly. That man talked like a madman, so I lost my patience, took out my sword and stabbed at him. He had no weapon but his kungfu was amazing. Within 3 moves, he had snatched the sword from my hand. I was frightened and tried to run away. He didn’t chase me. Early morning the second day, I woke up in my inn room only to see my sword next to my pillow. I was greatly frightened. When I left the inn, that man started following me again. There was no point in me fighting him again, so I tried begging him. I said that we are neither related nor are we enemies, we don’t know each other, plus men and women should remain apart, there is no point in you following me around. I also said, although my kungfu is not your match, you shouldn’t provoke our Emei Sect.” Meijue Shitai ‘hmmphed’ as if she agreed. Ji Xiaofu continued: “That man laughed and laughed, then said: ‘Once a person’s kungfu is split into different sects, it deteriorates a lot. If you are willing to follow me, you’ll acquire a new set of eyes and ears. I’ll teach you the greatest kungfu on earth.”

    Miejue Shitai has eccentric in nature. Her whole life had been devoted to martial arts to the exclusion of other matters (Note: I think there’s a mistake in the online text I’m using, so this bit is a guess). On hearing what that man said, she said: “You should have followed him to have a look and see what sort of weird skills he has.” Ji Xiaofu blushed bright red and replied: “Shifu, he is a strange man, how could I follow him?” Miejue Shitai then came to her senses: “Ah, you’re right! So you told him to get lost?” Ji Xiaofu said: “I tried time and time again to avoid him, but I just couldn’t lose him. Ai, I was unfortunate to run into this, the consequence of my sins in my previous life…” As she said this, her voice grew softer and softer.

    Miejue Shitai saked: “What happened after that?”

    Ji Xiaofu answered softly: “I couldn’t resist and lost my chastity to him. He had complete control over me, I couldn’t even end my life. This went on for a few months. Then one day, an enemy suddenly came looking for him and I took this opportunity to escape. Not long later, I discovered that I was pregnant. I didn’t dare tell you, Shifu, so I hid away and gave birth to my child in secret.”
    Miejue Shitai asked: “Are you telling me the truth?” Ji Xiaofu said: “I would never dare to lie to you, Shifu.” Miejue Shitai gave a low hum and said: “My poor child. Ai, this matter really wasn’t your fault!” When Ding Minjun heard her Shifu’s sympathy, she could not help but glare fiercely at Ji Xiaofu. Miejue Shitai sighed and asked: “Then what are your plans now?” Ji Xiaofu tearfully answered: “The arrangements my family made for me to marry Wudang’s Sixth Master have fallen apart. I beg Shifu to permit me to cut my hair and become a nun.” Miejue Shitai shook her head: “That won’t be good. Humph, what is the name of the evil man who harmed you?” Ji Xiaofu lowered her head and answered: “His… his surname is Yang, and his given name is Xiao.” Miejue Shitai suddenly leapt up. She waved her sleeve and with a ‘krack’ sound, the table collapsed into two pieces. Zhang Wuji who was eavesdropping outside was greatly frigetened. Even the expressions of Ji Xiaofu, Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi changed. Miejue Shitai yelled: “You said that he is Yang Xiao? The biggest demon of the Demon Cult, the man called the ‘Left Emissary of Guang Ming’ Yang Xiao?”

    Ji Xiaofu replied: “He… he… is from the Ming Cult and seemed to hold some position within it.” Miejue Shitai, with a furious expression on her face, said: “What Ming Cult? The Demon Cult is ferocious and inhuman, there are no evil deeds that they do not do. (Note: ‘Ming’ means ‘bright’ which implies good, as opposed to evil.) Where… where is he hiding now? Is he at Guang Ming Peak in the Kunlun Mountains? I’m going to look for him.” Ji Xiaofu said: “He said he is the Ming Cult’s…” Miejue Shitai shouted: “Demon Cult!” Ji Xiaofu said: “Yes. He said he is the Demon Cult’s leader. Ordinarily, he would be at Guang Ming Peak but the last few years, there has been internal discord and fighting within the Cult. So he no longer lives on Guang Ming Peak to prevent people from thinking he wants to be the Cult Leader. He is now secretly living in Zuo Feng Summit of the Kunlun Mountains. This was something he only told me, no one else in the Jianghu knows about it. Since Shifu asked me, I dare not refuse to answer. Shifu, this man… is this man our sects’s enemy?” Miejue Shitai answered: “Our enmity is as deep as the ocean! Your Eldest Martial Uncle Guhong Zi was angered to death by the great demon Yang Xiao.”

    Ji Xiaofu was very frightened, yet she couldn’t help but feeling proud. Her Eldest Mrtial Uncle Guhong Zi was a top expert in the world but even he was angered to death by “him”. She wanted to ask about the details but did not dare open her mouth.

    Miejue Shitai lifted her face to the sky, with great hatred she muttered to herself: “Yang Xiao… for many years I had no idea of your whereabouts, now that you’ve fallen into my hands…” She suddenly spun around and said: “Right, you lost your chastity to him, defended Monk Peng, offended your Martial Sister Ding, concealed the truth from me, and secretly gave birth to a child… I’ll forget about all this. I want you to do something for me, when you’ve rendered this great service come back to Emei. I will give you the robes, alms bowl and Yi Tian sword, and then make you my successor as the our Sect Leader.” These words shocked everyone. Ding Minjun’s jealousy and hatred burst forward. She was furious with their Shifu for not understanding right and wrong, and acting unreasonably.

    Ji Xiaofu said: “Whatever Shifu orders, I will do my utmost to complete. But I have too many faults and my martial arts are not good, so I dare not even dream of accepting your legacy. Miejue Shitai said: “Come with me.” She pulled Ji Xiaofu’s wrist and flew out of the house to the hill on the left side of the valley. She only stopped when they reached a deserted spot. Zhang Wuji observed them from far away. He then saw Miejue Shitai stand at a tall vantage point and gaze round in all four directions, before pulling Ji Xiaofu to her side and speaking softly into her ear. Only then did he realise that what she was saying was a big secret. Not only was she afraid of eavesdroppers, but she also did not even want her two disciples, Ding and Bei, to hear what she said.

    After hiding next to the house, Zhang Wuji did not dare reveal himself. From afar, he watched Miejue Shitai say something and Ji Xiaofu lower her head in thought before finally shaking her head firmly. He then saw Miejue Shitai lift up her right palm and struck down, only to stop halfway like she was giving Ji a last chance to change her mind. Zhang Wuji’s heart was beating rapidly. He thought that if this palm fell on her head, she would definitely die. He gazed intently at Ji Xiaofu without blinking an eye. He saw her drop to her knees and shake her head. Miejue Shitai’s palm fell squarely on her forehead, Ji Xiaofu’s body swayed and dropped to the ground. She writhed a little and then stopped moving.

    Zhang Wuji was both frightened and grieved, he flattened himself in the grass behind the house, not daring to move a muscle. At this moment, Yang Buhui giggled a couple of times and threw herself onto his back. Laughing, she said: “I’ve caught you, I’ve caught you!” She had been running around in the fields and had seen Zhang Wuji hide among the grass. She thought he was planning hide-and-seek with her and rushed forward to catch him. Zhang Wuji grabbed her, covered her mouth with one hand and whispered into her ear: “Keep quiet, don’t let the evil people find us.” Seeing that his face was pale and his expression frightened, Yang Buhui was shocked. Miejue Shitai came down from the slope hurriedly and told Ding Minjun: “Go and kill her bastard child. Don’t allow future disaster to take root.” Ding Minjun had seen how her shifu had dealt violently with Ji Xiaofu. Though she was inwardly happy, she was also greatly surprised. Hearing her shifu’s orders, she quickly borrowed Bei Jinyi’s sword and went off to look for Yang Buhui.

    Zhang Wuji hugged Yang Buhui and shrank further back into the long grass. He didn’t even dare take a deep breath. Ding Minjun looked everyone but couldn’t find a trace of the little girl. As she decided to do a thorough search, Meijue Shitai scolded: “Useless thing! You can’t even find a little girl!” Bei Jinyi had always gotten along well with Ji Xiaofu. After seeing her die under their shifu’s palm and now trying to kill her only child, she could not hold back any longer. She said: “I’ll go see whether the child has run out of the valley.” She knew her shifu was impatient by nature. Once they have gone out to search for the child unsuccessfully, she would not bother coming back to look. Though a little girl left alone in the world might not survive, Bei Jinyi could not bear the idea of seeing her stabbed by Ding Minjun’s sword. Miejue Shitai said: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Glaring at Bei, she led the chase out of the valley, with Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi following.

    Yang Buhui still did not know that disaster had befallen her mother. Her eyes were open wide and round, darting around with a questioning look. Zhang Wuji placed his ear to the ground and listened. When he heard the three going further and further away, he jumped up, pulled Yang Buhui’s hand and rushed up the slope. Yang Buhui laughed: “Brother Wuji, have the evil people gone? We’re going up the mountain to play right?” Zhang Wuji did not answer. He only pulled her quickly to where Ji Xiaofu was. When Yang Buhui got closer and finally saw her mother lying on the ground, she was very frightened. She surged forward crying: “Mama, Mama!” and threw herself down next to her mother. Zhang Wuji tested her breath and found it to be extremely weak. He saw that her skull had been smashed by Meijue Shitai’s palm. Even if Hu Qingniu arrived, it would be difficult to save her life. Ji Xiaofu opened her eyes slightly to see Zhang Wuji and her daughter. Her lips slightly moved as if she wanted to speak, but not a single sound came out. Two large tears flowed from her eyes. Zhang Wuji took out some golden needles and pushed them into her “Shen Ting”, “Yin Tang” and “Cheng Qi” acupoints, reducing the pain in her head. Ji Xiaofu regained some strength and said softly: “I beg… beg you… to take her to her father……I could not… could not harm her father……” Her left hand moved to her chest as if to retrieve some object but suddenly her head drooped and breathing stopped.

    Yang Buhui hugged her mother’s body, crying loudly she kept calling: “Mama, Mama, does it hurt a lot? Does it hurt a lot?” Ji Xiaofu gradually became cold, but she did not stop asking. She did not understand why her mother did not move at all, or why she did not answer her. Zhang Wuji already felt great sorrow. Then when he thought about his parents tragic deaths, he too felt like howling. He could not stop tear from pouring from his eyes. The two of them cried for a while, then Zhang Wuji thought: “Before Aunty Ji died, she begged me to take Sister Buhui to her father. Erm, her father’s name is Yang Xiao, he is the Ming Cult’s Guang Ming Left Emissary, and he lives on Zuo Wang Summit in the Kunlun Mountains. I must take her there.” He did not know that the Kunlun Mountains were tens of thousands of li to the west. How could two children make it all the way there? He had seen Ji Xiaofu reach towards her chest to retrieve something before her breath was cut short. Now he felt around her neck and found a silk cord hanging around her neck. From the cord hung a black pendant inlaid with a golden flame. Not knowing what it was, he just hung it around Yang Buhui’s neck. Then he got an iron shovel out of the house and dug a grave to bury Ji Xiaofu’s body. By this time, Yang Buhui had exhausted herself crying and had fallen into a deep sleep. When she woke up, Zhang Wuji told her that a mother had flown up to heaven and she will only come back down after a very long time.

    After that, Zhang Wuji slapped a meal together for himself and Yang Buhui to eat. Exhausted, they both fell asleep on a couch. The next morning, he packed two small travel packs and the money that Hu Qingniu had given him, then took Yang Buhui to pay their respects in front of her mother’s grave. That done, the two children left Butterfly Valley.

    End of Chapter 13.
    Last edited by dgfds01; 09-21-08 at 06:09 AM.

  15. #15
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    Chapter 14 – Meeting Zhongshan Wolf Along the Way

    (Translated by Efflix, IcyFox and Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    The two people (Yang Buhui and Zhang Wuji) walked for half a day, only then did they finally leave the Butterfly Valley. Yang Buhui’s feet were small and her legs were short and as a result couldn’t walk any further. After resting for a while, they needed to hurry on the road again, repeatedly stopping and starting, so that on the first night they couldn’t find a place to stay. They traveled until the sky was dark, but were still randomly travelling on the mountainside. The sounds of owls and wolves nearby made Yang Buhui start crying.

    Zhang Wuji was also scared, so when he saw a cave next to the road, he pulled Yang Buhui inside the cave, hugging her and covering up her ears so that she couldn’t hear the sounds of the animals. The two children, hungry and scared, suffered for an entire night. In the morning they were able to pick some wild fruit to eat and continued intermittently walking and resting.

    Around noon, Yang Buhui suddenly cried out loud, pointing to a tree by the side of the road. When Zhang Wuji took a look, he saw two corpses hanging from a tree. Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui were so scared that they turned around and starting running. They weren’t able to run more than ten paces when they tripped over a rock, falling down. Zhang Wuji bravely looked back, and this time was even more startled, blurting out “Mr. Hu!” The corpse hanging from the tree was actually Hu Qingniu. The other corpse had long hair and was apparently a woman; from the appearance of her clothes, it seemed to be Hu Qingniu’s wife Wang Nangu. The image of her long hair and corpse blowing in the wind created a dark, chilling air.

    Zhang Wuji tried to stay calm and in good spirits, telling himself, “Don’t be afraid, Don’t be afraid!” He slowly started crawling toward the corpses, verifying that the corpses were Hu Qingniu and Wang Nangu. On each of their faces was something glittering – it turned out that each of them had a golden flower on their face. Zhang Wuji was disappointed, thinking, “so they weren’t able to run away from Jing Hua Popo’s poisonous hand after all” He saw that in the mountain gorge was a broken carriage and a mule that had drowned in the river. Zhang Wuji really started crying and decided to loosen the ropes, taking down the Hu couple’s bodies from the tree.

    All of a sudden, there was a “Clap!” sound; a book fell from Wang Nangu’s body. Picking it up, he saw it was a handwritten book, titled “Wang Nangu’s poison manual.” When he flipped it open, he saw that the pages were filled with small print, detailing the toxicity of poisons and how to use them. Not only did it detail how to use poisonous medicine, but also poisonous weeds, snakes, centipedes, scorpions, spiders as well as other strange fish, insects, birds, flowers, fish and trees, leaving out nothing. He decided to keep it without much thought and put the Hu couple side by side, burying them with stones and dirt. He bowed down to the couple before grasping Yang Buhui’s hand and continuing with their journey.

    Shortly after they reached a large road, which then led them to a small town. Zhang Wuji wanted to buy some food to eat, but as he walked from house to house, they were all empty, without even a single person. They had no choice but to continue their journey.

    On the way, they noticed that the cornfields and rice fields were all dried up and desolate. Zhang Wuji was confused and worried, but he saw that Yang Buhui was able to not cry and keep walking which was already rather well-behaved, so what could he do? After a while, they saw next to the road were several corpses, with empty stomachs and sunken in cheeks – it was obvious at first glance that they had starved to death.

    The more they walked the more they saw others like this. Zhang Wuji was scared out of his wits, thinking, "Is there really nothing to eat? Are we also going to starve here like this?”

    In the evening, they reached a small forest and saw some white smoke emerging into the sky. Zhang Wuji was very happy - they had not seen anyone or any smoke since they had left the Butterfly Valley, so he quickly ran towards the white smoke.

    After going near the smoke, they saw two men wearing ragged clothes circling a pot of boiling water, adding firewood under the pot. When the two men heard footsteps, they turned around. When they saw Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui, they burst out with big smiles and jumped up. One of them waved a hand, “Small kids, good, come over here, come over here quickly. Where are the adults that came with you? Where did they go?”

    Zhang Wuji said: “There’s only the two of us, no adults came with us.” The two adults broke out into big smiles, while saying, “What luck, what luck!” Zhang Wuji was so hungry, so he took a look into the big pot to see what it was, only to see grass in boiling water.

    One of the men grabbed Yang Buhui in one hand, exclaiming, “This small lamb is so fat and tender! Tonight we can eat until we’re full, how nice.” The other man said, “Very good, we can eat the little boy tomorrow.” Zhang Wuji was very surprised, exclaiming, “What are you doing? Let go of my sister!”

    The man ignored him and proceeded to laugh and start to tear off Yang Buhui’s clothes, reaching into his boots to take out a knife, saying “It’s been a long time since I ate such a fat and tender lamb.” He grabbed Yang Buhui to the side, apparently to slaughter her. The other man took a bowl and followed him, saying, “Wasting lamb blood is a pity, we can cook a bowl of lamb blood soup, the flavor’s not bad.”

    Zhang Wuji was scared out of his wits, but he looked at them and it seemed that they really weren’t joking. It really looked like they were about to slaughter Yang Buhui, so he yelled loudly, “You want to eat people? You aren’t scared of harming heaven?”

    The man holding the turkey bowl laughed and said, “Old man hasn’t eaten a grain of rice for three months, if I don’t eat a person, can I really eat a cow or lamb?”

    For fear that Zhang Wuji would run away, he came over to grab Zhang Wuji’s neck. Zhang Wuji dodged the man. With his left hand he pulled the man and with his right hand he hit the man’s back.

    He had learned martial arts from the Blond haired Lion King Xie Xun as well as his Wudang Palms from his parents. So even though these few years he had only learned medicine and had not practiced martial arts, he had good martial arts habits and was able to exert good martial arts. He put forth this palm with great effort, and even someone studying martial arts for many years would’ve been unable to bear this palm, much less this ordinary village person. That man let out a “Hng!” before fainting and falling to the ground, unable to move.

    Zhang Wuji immediately jumped up next to Yang Buhui. The other man exclaimed, “I’ll kill you first”, raising his knife and striking towards Zhang Wuji’s chest.

    Zhang Wuji used a move from Wudang Palms called “Wild Goose Wings”; his right foot flew, hitting the man in the wrist. The knife flew out of the man’s hand. Zhang Wuji exerted another move called “Yuanyang lianhuan kick”, following with another kick to the man’s jaw. The man was in the process of opening his mouth to yell at him, but his jaws were forced shut by the kick, resulting in his biting his own tongue in half. Blood spurted out of his mouth and he fainted.

    Zhang Wuji hurriedly went over to support Yang Buhui. At the same time, he heard the footsteps of others entering the forest. Yang Buhui was terrified when she heard the sounds of other people and hid herself in Zhang Wuji’s arms.

    Zhang Wuji raised his head to take a look, but was calmed, shouting, “It’s Mr. Jian, Mr. Xue.”

    Five people had entered the forest. One was KongDong’s Jian Jie, and another was Huashan’s Xue Gongyuan along with two of his martial brothers. All these people were healed by Zhang Wuji. The last person was an heroic looking approximately twenty year old youth with a broad forehead whom Zhang Wuji had never met before. Jian Jie made a “Heng!”, saying, “Brother Zhang, you’re here also? What happened to these two people?” As he was saying this, he pointed to the two people on the ground.

    Zhang Wuji indignantly told the story of what happened, ending with, “They even dared to eat people, aren’t they outlaws?”

    Jian Jie was staring at Yang Buhui, when all of a sudden saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, so he licked his lips, saying, “Damn, for five days and five nights I haven’t had a grain of rice in my stomach, only eating some tree bark and grass…..En, fine skin and meat, fatty and tender…”

    Zhang Wuji saw that Jian Jie had a fire in his eyes, looking like a hungry wolf, with his mouth hanging wide open and his teeth gleaming. He really looked scary, so Zhang Wuji hugged Yang Buhui close to him. Xue Gongyuan asked, “Where is this girl’s mother?”

    Zhang Wuji thought in his heart: “If I say that Auntie died, they’ll have even more evil thoughts.” So he said, “Heroine Ji went out to buy some rice, she’ll be back soon.” Yang Buhui suddenly said, “No, My mom flew up to the sky!”

    When Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan heard the two of them speaking, they knew Ji Xiaofu had already died. Xue Gongyuan laughed coldly, saying “Buying rice? If you find a grain of rice within these five hundred kilometers, you’ll really have skills.” Jian Jie shot a look at Xue Gongyuan, and the two suddenly jumped towards them. Jian Jie’s two hands grabbed ahold of Zhang Wuji’s shoulders. Xue Gongyuan’s left hand covered Yang Buhui’s mouth, and with his right hand he picked her up.

    Zhang Wuji was startled and shouted, “What are you guys doing?” Jian Jie laughed and said, “In these thousand kilometers in Fengyang province, I’ve been so hungry I can’t stand it anymore. This girl isn’t related to you, so we’ll split a portion with you later.” Zhang Wuji angrily insulted them: “You wrongly claim to be heroes, how can you bully a small orphan? If this gets out, how can you even claim to be human?”

    Jian Jie flew into a rage, grabbed him with his left hand and hit him twice on the face, saying, “We’ll kill you small beast along with her, we originally thought one small lamb might not’ve been enough.”

    Zhang Wuji had just taken care of the two villagers easily, but up against Kongdong’s martial artists who had learned decades of martial arts, Zhang Wuji was easily captured and his struggles were in vain.

    Xue Gongyuan’s two martial brothers took some rope, tying up the two children. Zhang Wuji knew he would have no good luck today, and furiously regretted that he had saved these peoples’ lives. People’s hearts change quickly; who would know that these people would repay kindness with evil?

    Jian Jie said, “Little beast, you healed this old man’s head wound, so you’ve done some good for me, right? You must be hating me in your heart, right?” Zhang Wuji said: “Isn’t this paying kindness with evil? I have no debts or business with you, if I didn’t help you, how would you four have recovered from those strange diseases?”

    Xue Gongyuan laughed and said, “Young man Zhang, after we were injured we’ve displayed this ugly attitude, we’ve even let you see it. If this becomes public, it’ll be hard for us to live. Today we’re starving, if we have no fresh meat in our stomachs, it’ll also be hard for us to live. Why don’t you save us to the end, save us one more time.” Jian Jie was ferocious and scary, but this Xue Gongyuan had a smiling appearance and was cunning and treacherous.

    Zhang Wuji, seeing them couldn’t help but feel his heart freeze in terror, and shouted loudly: “I’m in Wudang, this sister is part of Emei, if you harm us two, will the Five Heroes of Wudang and MieJue Shitai forgive you?”

    Jian Jie was startled and made an “e” sound, feeling that there was some truth in his words - it was not a good idea to provoke Wudang and Emei. Xue Gongyuan laughed and said: “Here only the sky and ground will know, and you and I will know. Once you’re in our stomachs, go grumble to Zhang SanFeng.”

    Jian Jie guffawed, saying: “I’m so hungry fire is about to come out of my stomach, even if you were my brother or son, I’d eat your skin and bones.” He turned around and said to Xue Gongyuan’s martial brothers: “Quickly bring some fire and cook some soup, what are you waiting for?” Those two got the pot; one of them went to the creek to get water, and the other went to start the fire.

    Zhang Wuji said, “Mr. Xue, those two people are already dead, if you’re hungry and want to eat people, wouldn’t eating them be good?” Xue Gongyuan laughed and said, “These two men are just skin and bones, they’re not only old and tough, but hard and stinky, who wouldn’t eat tender lamb but eat old sheep instead?”

    Zhang Wuji usually would have a brave attitude, if someone was going to hit or kill him, he wouldn’t beg to be spared. However, when he was trapped by these evil men, about to be eaten alive, he couldn’t help but offer up a few words to try to plead for his life. But Xue Gongyuan instead just jeered repeatedly, “Haha, Wudang’s and Emei’s disciples claim to be the strongest and rule Jianghu, but today you’re going to be eaten bite by bite. It would be really strange if Zhang Sanfeng or Old Nun Miejue knew about this and weren’t angered to death.”

    Enraged, Zhang Wuji shouted, “Mr. Xue, if you have to eat people, then eat me. I just beg you to let this small sister go, then I can die with no regrets.” Xue Gongyuan asked, “Why?” Zhang Wuji replied: “When her mother died, she trusted me to bring this little girl to her father. Today, if you eat just me, you will be full, tomorrow you can go buy some cows, lamb, or rice, please spare this little girl.”

    Jian Jie saw that he was able to fearlessly face danger at such a small age and with such a heroic and chivalrous air. He really thought this was something to be admired and couldn’t help but be moved and hesitated, asking, “What should we do?” Xue Gongyuan replied, “Saving this small girl isn’t a big deal. However, this may leak out; in the future, when Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou come to find us, Brother Jian should have certain methods to take care of them.” Jian Jie nodded his head, saying, “What you said is also true. I’m a fool, never thinking of the future”

    While saying these words, the other Huashan disciples returned with the pot of water and put it on the fire. Zhang Wuji knew the situation was urgent and shouted, “Little Sister Buhui, swear an oath to them that in the future you won’t speak of today’s events.” Yang Buhui, confused, just cried out, “Can’t eat you, can’t eat you!” She didn’t understand what Zhang Wuji was saying, but vaguely knew that he was sacrificing himself to protect her.

    Meanwhile, the bold looking youth silently sat to the side, not speaking or moving. Jian Jie stared at him for a second, saying, “Xu xiaoshe, if you want to eat lamb, you must also be willing to handle the lamb’s body.” In the region of Hao Si, they called young men “xiaoshe.” That young man replied, “Yes!” He pulled out a small knife from his waist and said, “Killing pigs and cows are my specialty.” He clenched the knife in his teeth and carried Yang Buhui and Zhang Wuji in each hand toward the mountain creek.

    Zhang Wuji protested loudly and tried to bite his arm but couldn’t reach it. Xu xiaoshe walked away for more than ten steps when Xue Gongyuan said, “Xu xiaoshe, slaughter them here!” Xu xiaoshe looked back and replied, “Slaughtering them in the creek is better, it’ll be cleaner there.” However, the knife was clenched in his teeth so his words were unclear, but his legs didn’t slow down at all. Xue Gongyuan said, “If I tell you to stay here, then you’ll stay here.” He had noticed that Xu xiashe looked kind of strange; he was worried that Xu xiaoshe would run away with the two kids to eat them by himself.


    Xu xiaoshe whispered, “Quick, run away!” He put the two of them on the ground and stretched out his knife to cut the ropes that were binding them. Zhang Wuji said, “Thank you for your great kindness in saving our lives.” He grabbed Yang Buhui’s hand and pulled her up to run away. Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan both shouted and jumped up to chase them. Xu xiaoshe grabbed his knife to block them and shouted, “Stop!”

    When Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan saw him with the knife guarding his chest heroically blocking them, they were startled. Jian Jie said, “What are you doing?” Xu xiaoshe said, “If we’re walking around Jiang Hu together, bullying the small and the weak, wouldn’t we be laughed at by all the heroes under the sky?” Xue Gongyuan indignantly replied, “Hunger is urgent, I would even eat my mother or the old and the young.” He waved a hand to his two martial brothers, “Hurry up, chase them!”

    Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui couldn’t run quickly, especially since he was carrying her. He was already rather small, so carrying her made him even slower. Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan each pulled out their weapons and attacked Mr. Xu. After fighting for a little bit, Jian Jie with a stroke of his knife managed to cut Xu xiaoshe’s leg, causing it to drip wet with blood. Xu xiaoshe couldn’t hold out any longer and suddenly lifted up his knife and threw it towards Xue Gongyuan. Xue Gongyuan ducked to the side, and Xu xiaoshe managed to rush out.

    Xue Gongyuan and Jian Jie didn’t chase him, instead going after Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui. Mr. Xu from far away shouted, “Brother Zhang, don’t be nervous, I’ll go find helpers to help you,” Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan worked together and managed to again capture Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui. Jian Jie stared at Xue Gongyuan, shouting, “This person named Xu isn’t a good person, why would you travel with him?”

    Xue Gongyuan said, “This companion I randomly bumped into on the road, how would I know whether he’s good or bad? He said his surname was Xu, named something like Xu Da. Don’t listen to him, the sky’s black already, where would he go to find help around here?” One of the Huashan disciples said, “Listening to his accent, he’s native to this Fengyang Prefect, haha, even if he brought some country bumpkins here, we wouldn’t be scared of them.” Jian Jie laughed, “Fengyang’s people are so hungry they can’t even crawl. Let’s quickly cook these two lambs into a delicious meal, it is right to eat a full meal.”

    This was the second time Zhang Wuji was captured; he was hit until his nose and mouth were blue and swollen and his clothes were torn. His possessions and money were all scattered on the ground. He thought in his heart, “So this Mr. Xu’s name was Xu Da, this man is a good friend, too bad my life is so short and can’t be better friends with him.” When he bowed his head down to the ground, he saw a handwritten yellow-papered book on the ground blowing in the wind. This was the Wang Nanggu poison manual taken from Wang Nangu’s body. His eyes followed the words on the page and noticed that “poisonous mushrooms” was written, with small words detailing the forms of poisonous mushrooms such as their odor, color, toxicity, antidotes, type after type. His heart was in turmoil, how could he take this into his head?

    All of a sudden when he glanced to the left, he saw that about four or five feet away, under some rotten tree bark, were more than ten mushrooms with vivid colors. His heart jumped and he thought, “What type of mushroom is this? I don’t know whether there’s poison or not on it. The poison manual says that most poisonous mushrooms have vivid colors. If these poisonous mushrooms are toxic, there is hope to save Sister Buhui’s life.

    At this time he already wasn’t thinking of his own life, as he already had the cold poison inside him that was difficult to expel. If he managed to run away with his life today, he would only live for a few months anyways, so he really only hoped to save Yang Buhui. He sat on the ground, slowly moving his feet and bottom and turned his body around, reaching out his hand to pick those mushrooms. At this time the sky already was black; everyone was ready for the fire to burn, so nobody really paid attention to him. Zhang Wuji suddenly turned his eyes to the direction that Xu Da had run, jumping up and down and shouting, “Brother Xu, you’ve brought people here, save us! Save us!”

    Jian Jie and the others thought it was real, so the four of them grabbed their weapons and jumped up. Zhang Wuji took advantage of the four of them looking for Xu Da and backed up two steps, putting the mushrooms into the iron pot. Jian Jie and the others didn’t see anyone and started cursing, “Little bastard, even if you become crazy nobody’s going to come help you.” Xue Gongyuan said, “Prepare the knife, who wants to start?” Jian Jie said, “I’ll kill the small girl, you kill that guy.” As he was saying this he took his hand and grabbed Yang Buhui.

    Zhang Wuji said, “ Mr. Xue, my throat’s really thirsty, can you give me some hot soup, that way when I die my ghost won’t bother you. Xue Gongyuan said, “Alright, what’s wrong with letting you drink some soup?” Xue Gongyuan scooped some hot soup into the bowl for him. Before the soup reached his mouth, Zhang Wuji loudly shouted, “How tasty! How tasty!” Indeed, once the mushrooms had been boiling in the pot, they released a fragrant smell. Xue Gongyuan had been hungry for a long time, so when he smelled the fragrant soup, he grabbed Zhang Wuji’s soup and drank it into his stomach, licking his lips and saying, “Really fresh!”

    Jian Jie reached out and grabbed the bowl and also drank a large mouthful, and once again drank another bowl. Xue Gongyuan and the other two Huashan disciples also drank two bowls, so that when the two bowls of hot soup were in their stomachs, they felt an unspeakable comfort. Jian Jie even took the mushrooms in the put and ate them. Nobody even asked where the mushrooms were from. After Jian Jie ate the mushroom, he patted his stomach, laughing, “First eat some appetizers, then eat the lamb.”

    His left hand raised Yang Buhui behind him, and his right hand raised a knife. Zhang Wuji saw that after many people drank the mushroom soup there was no effect, so in his heart he thought that the mushrooms didn’t have poison after all and could not help but feel bitter. Jian Jie took two steps when all of a sudden, he shouted, “Aiyo!” His body faltered for a few moments before he fell on the ground, throwing Yang Buhuia and the knife to the side. Xue Gongyuan was startled and asked, “Brother Jian, what happened?” He ran over to look down at his body. When he stooped down, he also couldn’t stand up straight anymore and fell on Jian Jie’s body. The other two Huashan disciples also were poisoned and died miserably.

    Wuji shouted loudly, “Thank heaven and earth!” He rolled over to the knife and grasped the knife, cutting Yang Buhui’s ropes. Yang Buhui’s trembling hands also managed to cut Zhang Wuji’s ropes after wounding his palms a few times. Having just escaped from death, the two of them were exceedingly happy and hugging each other. When Zhang Wuji went to see the four other people, he just saw that every person’s face had turned black and that their muscles were warped. Their bodies were really scary and he thought, ”That Wang Nangu’s poison manual really is valuable, I’ll keep it with me and resolve to really study it carefully.”

    Zhang Wuji carried Yang Buhui’s hand and left the forest. They traveled along Yaomi road, when suddenly from the east they saw light from a torch. There were seven or eight people grasping their weapons and running quickly towards them. Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui hid in the underbrush.


    Xuda was very happy and hugged him, saying, “Brother Zhang, you have such a chivalrous character, not to mention among children, even among adults it’s hard to find such a person. I was scared that you’d be harmed by those evil thieves, fortunately there’s good news and the evil receive their punishment, this is a good judgment.

    When they asked how Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan were poisoned, Zhang Wuji told them the story of cooking the mushrooms in the soup. Everyone praised him as clever. Xuda said, “These are all my good friends, they slaughtered a bull. A large fire is at Huang Jue Si Temple where the meat is being cooked. I went to find them and they all came. But if it weren’t for Brother Zhang’s cleverness, we still would’ve come too late.” He introduced everyone to Zhang Wuji. One one side, a big eared guy was named Tang He, another heroic, exuberant one was named Deng Yu, a black faced, tall one was named Hua Yun; of two fair skinned brothers, the older one was named Wu Liang, and the younger was named Wu Zhen. The last one was a monk; his appearance was very ugly, with a protruding chin, resembling an iron shovel. Many scars and moles were on his face, and he had two sunken in eyes that were bright and unusually. Xuda said, “This person is Brother Zhu, his given name is Yuanzhang. He became a monk in Huang Juesi temple.

    Hua Yun laughed and said, “He is an unconventional, happy monk, not one of those who loves to read Buddhist scriptures and worship Buddha, drinking wine and eating meat all day. When Yang Buhui saw Zhu Yuanzhang’s ugly appearance, she felt afraid in her heart and hid behind Zhang Wuji. Zhu Yuangzhang laughed and said, “Even though this Buddhist monk eats meat, I don’t eat people, so little sister doesn’t need to be afraid.” Tang He said, “The beef we’ve been cooking in that pot should be ready now.” Hua Yun said, “Let’s go! Little sister, I’ll carry you.” He carried Yang Buhui on his back, walking with big steps. When Zhang Wuji saw this capable man was so happy and outgoing, he was also happy in his heart.

    When they had walked around two and a half kilometers, they arrived at a temple. They walked inside the main hall and noticed the fragrant aroma of the roasting meet. Wu Liang said, “It’s done, it’s cooked!” Xuda said, “Brother Zhang, rest here, we’ll get the meat ready.

    Deng Yu clapped his hands and said, “Brother Xu’s words are insightful, eat! Eat!”

    When they were eating and drinking, all of a sudden there was the sound of footsteps outside the door. Soon after, someone knocked on the door. Tang He jumped up and shouted, “Aiya! Zhang’s household is outside searching for this cow!” The door was opened, and in came two servants, heroic looking with protruding chests and bellies. One person shouted, “Alright! Our house’s big cow was actually stolen by you guys and eaten!” When he said this, he grabbed Zhu Yuanzhang. The other one said, “You lowly monk, today your entire club is here sharing the spoils, where can you run to? Tomorrow we’ll send you to the mansion, and kill you by hitting you to death with a wooden board.”

    Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, “You’re really speaking rubbish, how would you dare blame us for stealing that cow? Monks eat vegetables and pray to Buddha. If you’re accusing me of eating meat, isn’t this committing a great sin?” The heroic servant pointed to the meat inside of the plate, saying, “This isn’t beef?”

    Zhu Yuanzhang gave a signal with his eyes and laughed, “Who says this is beef?” The Wu Liang and Wu Zhen brothers walked up to the two servants and with a shout, grabbed the two men’s arms. Zhu Yuanzhang took out a short dagger from his pocket and laughed, “Two brothers, I don’t want to hide this from you, what we’re eating isn’t beef, but human meat. Today you’ve seen this, so we’ll just have to eat you so you won’t talk and leak this out. With a “chi” sound, one of the servant’s clothes was torn and the knife produced a line of blood on his chest. The heroic servant was really startled, even begging, “Spare us, spare our lives!” Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed a piece of beef and stuffed into the two servant’s mouths, saying, “Swallow it!”

    The two of them even didn’t dare to chew it and swallowed it into their stomachs. Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, “You can go out and tell your master we’ve stolen your cow, we can then cut open your stomachs and say, who’re the ones that have eaten the beef, not even cleaning off the hair?” He flipped over the knife, dragging a line along their bellies. That person just felt a cold, icy knife on his stomach and was scared out of wits, screaming. The Wu brothers laughed, lifted up their legs and kicked the two out of the palace hall. Everyone was relieved and started eating quickly, laughing and insulting the two servants who had asked for their miserable experience. On normal days, the Zhang household would bully around the villagers. This time, they were so scared about their bellies being cut open, they surely wouldn’t go out and tell them about everyone stealing the cow.

    Zhang Wuji thought his actions were funny and admirable and pondered, “Despite this monk’s ungly appearance, his behavior is upright and refreshing. His methods are really formidable.” Zhu Yuanzhang had heard Xuda tell the story of how Zhang Wuji was willing to sacrifice himself to save Yang Buhui’s life and was really fond of this chivalrous youth. He didn’t treat him as a normal child, instead proposing a toast to him and treating him like a good friend. They drank until they were intoxicated, when Deng Yu said, “Us Han people have really endured the oppression of these barbarians, receiving an era of their dirty farts. Until today we haven’t been able to have a good meal. If these days go on, how can we take it?” Hua Yun clapped his leg and said, “Half of the common people in Fengyang prefecture have died, really half of all the people under heaven have died of starvation, why don’t we stake all of it and fight those Tartars?”

    Xuda said with a clear voice, “Today people’s lives have been put on the same level as dogs and goats. This good little brother and sister nearly went into people’s stomachs. Under the sky, who knows how many common people have become like cows and sheep? If upright men can’t help all these people, living is really living in vain.” Tang He also said, “Not bad, our luck was good today, we managed to find a cow to slaughter and eat, tomorrow we may not necessarily find one to steal. Everyone doesn’t have enough clothes and food, do even upright men and heroes have to become thieves?”

    As these people spoke they became more and more furious and began insulting the Tartars for inflicting suffering on them. Zhu Yuanzhang said, “We’re randomly insulting these people here, but these insults aren’t even going to hurt a hair on these Tartars. If we’re really heroic, we should go to kill these Tartars!” Tang He, Deng Yu, Hua Yun, and the Wu brothers all yelled together, “Let’s go!”

    Xuda said, “Big Brother Zhu, you don’t need to be this hard-working monk anymore. You’re the oldest, we’ll all listen to your words.” Zhu Yuanzhang also didn’t decline and said, “After today, we will live and die together, whether we have fortune or problems we will share it together.” Everyone raised their bowl of wine together and drank it down, slamming their knives into the table with a heroic air. Yang Buhui looked at everyone, not understanding what they were saying and was inwardly scared.

    Zhang Wuji thought, Zhang Sanfeng Tai Shifu warned me repeatedly not make friends with these people in the Mo Jiao. But Chang Yucun and Brother Xu are all within the Mo Jiao. They’re far better than Jian Jie, Xue Gongyuan, these disciples in the righteous branch by tens of thousands of times. He always admired Zhang Sanfeng to the highest degree, but from his experience, he thought Zhang Sanfeng had some prejudice towards them in his heart. However, he also thought that he shouldn’t go against his Tai Shifu’s wishes. Zhu Yuangzhang said, “Good Han people will do what they say, this time when we eat full is just the right time to do things. The Zhang household invited the Tartar officers and soldiers to dinner today, let’s go capture and kill them. Hua Yun said, “Wonderful! “ and grabbed his knife and stood up.

    Xuda exclaimed, “Hold on a minute!” He went to the kitchen to get a basket and filled it with fourteen or fifteen pounds of beef to give to Zhang Wuji. He said, “Brother Zhang, your age is still small, you can’t follow us to this shady business of rebelling and killing government officials. Us small group of people are so poor, without money on our bodies, so we must give this meat to you. If we luckily don’t burn to death, we will see each other in the future and eat some beef together.

    Zhang Wuji took the basket and replied, “I hope that you will perform a great service and wipe out these Tartars in order to let these common people under the sky have some food to eat.” Zhu Yuanzhang, Xuda, Tanghe, Deng Yu all heard what he said and clapped and praised what he said, saying: “Brother Zhang, what you said is really correct, we hope that we will have some time together in the future.”

    As they said this they exited the temple, each carrying their weapons. Zhang Wuji thought in his heart, “They are going to go kill the Tartars, if I wasn’t accompanying this little sister, I would also go with them. They only have seven people and are not the enemy’s match. Zhang Yuan’s house have Tartars who may follow them here to kill them so I can’t really stay in this temple anymore. So he took his basket of beef and took Yang Buhui outside the temple. After traveling in the dark for four or five miles, suddenly they saw that to the north there was a red light rising to the sky and knew that Zhu Yuanzhang and Xuda were successful and had burnt down Zhang Yuan’s manor, making them very happy. At night the two of them slept on a mountain plain, and in the morning they proceeded westward. The two children endured wind, frost, hunger, and cold while walking along the road, making them exhausted. Fortunately Yang Buhui’s parents were martial artists, so her own physique was healthy and strong so a small girl traveling for such a long distance was able to avoid sickness. On the way, she did have some colds, so Zhang Wuji picked some herbal medicine and was able to cure it. Every day they did have to rest, so they could only cover 20 or 30 miles in a day. After about fifteen or sixteen days, they reached Henan province.

    There wasn’t much difference between Henan and Anhui province – everywhere they went, there was famine and people were dying of starvation. Zhang Wuji made a bow and arrow and managed to shoot some birds and animals – one day they would be full, and another they would be hungry, slowly making their way east. Fortunately, they did not run into the Mongolian military, and they also did not run into any Jiang Hu people. As for those ordinary criminals with evil thoughts, how would they match up with Zhang Wuji? One day they ran into an old man and told him they wanted to go to the summit of Mt. Kunlun. This old man was startled and raised his eyebrows, saying, “Little brother, Kunlun Mountain is still about 180000 gong li ( a gong li =0.5 km) away, I heard that a Tang monk only went there to fetch some scriptures. You little kids aren’t crazy are you? Where do you live? Quickly go back home!” When Zhang Wuji heard this, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed, thinking, “Kunlun Mt. is so far, it’s really impossible to go there, so the best thing to do is to go to Wudang to see Grandmaster first.” But then he thought: “Someone trusted in me, even though the road is far, how can one stop in the middle? My own life is not long, if I can’t send Sister Buhui before I die, I really can’t be forgiven by Aunt Ji. So without saying anything else to the old man, he pulled up Yang Buhui and continued their journey.

    Later, after walking for more than twenty days, the two children’s clothing were tattered, their appearances were wan and sallow. The thing that vexed Zhang Wuji most was that Yang Buhui constantly asked for her Mama. She would frequently cry for half a day because Mama did not fly back down from the sky. Zhang Wuji tried his best to distract her by telling her stories, by saying that their journey to the west this time was also to look for her Mama, by making faces and all kinds of things that would turn her tears into laughter.

    One particular day they arrived at Zhumadian [a city in Henan]. It was the end of autumn, early winter. The new moon wind was blowing hard. Since the two children only had the clothes on their backs, they were shivering incessantly. Zhang Wuji took out his tattered outer garment and put it on Yang Buhui.

    “Wuji Gege,” Yang Buhui asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

    “I am not cold,” Zhang Wuji replied, “I feel unbearably hot,” while doing some jumping jacks to keep himself warm.

    “You are so good to me!” Yang Buhui said, “I know you are cold, but you give your clothes to me.” The little girl spoke like an adult, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel astonished.

    Right that moment, they heard the sound of clashing weapons coming from the other side of the hill, followed by footsteps coming closer. A female voice called out, “Evil thief, you have been hit by my ‘wei du sang men’ nail [lit. feed the poison, mourning gate, loose translation: as soon as you are hit, you are at the death door]. The faster you run, the quicker the poison will flare-up!”

    Zhang Wuji quickly pulled Yang Buhui to hide under the bush by the roadside. They saw a sturdy-looking man, about thirty some years of age, flying their way. Several ‘zhang’s behind him, a woman ran after him with a pair of sabers in her hand. The man staggered, his legs turned weak and he stumbled down on the ground.

    The woman soon arrived by his side. “Finally, you will be dead under the Miss’ hands!” she called out.

    The man suddenly sprang up and struck her with his right palm. ‘Bang!’ the palm hit the woman’s chest. The force behind the strike was very strong. The woman fell backwards the pair of sabers in her hands was flung far away.

    The man reached to his back to pull the nail out. “Give me the antidote,” he said hatefully.

    The woman laughed coldly and said, “This time Shifu ordered us to pursue and capture you; he gave us the poisonous secret projectiles, but did not give us the antidote. Since I have fallen into your hands, I accept my fate, but do not even think that you can live either.”

    With the saber in his left hand on her throat, the man’s right hand searched inside her pocket, and sure enough, there was no antidote. The man got very angry. He took the ‘wei du sang men’ nail and stabbed the woman shoulder with all his might. He roared, “Now you can taste your own ‘wei du sang men’ nail! You, Kunlun Pai …” Before he finished speaking, the poison on his back flared up and he crumpled to the ground.

    The woman struggled to crawl up; but ‘wah!’ after vomiting a mouthful of blood, she fell back down. She pulled the nail on her shoulder and tossed it to the ground. The man and the woman both lied on the grass by the roadside. Their breathing was labored; they constantly gasped for air.

    Ever since he treated Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan and almost died in their hands, Zhang Wuji was extremely wary towards the Wulin characters. This time, as he watched the drama unfold in front of him, he did not dare to come out.

    After a while the man heaved a long sigh and said, “Today I, Su Xizhi, will lose my life at Zhumadian; yet I still do not know my offense against the Kunlun Pai. I will die with my eyes wide open. You have pursued me for a thousand ‘li’ and determined to kill me, in the end, what was that for? Miss Zhan, why don’t you be nice and tell me!” There was no trace of hostility in his voice anymore.

    The woman, Zhan Chun, knew her school’s ‘wei du sang men’ nail was very fierce, so she realized that both of them were going to die together. She was completely disheartened and quietly said, “Who told you to peek when Shifu was training his sword technique? This technique, the ‘Kun Lun Liang Yi Jian’ [double-appearance sword], should be personally taught by him, the Senior, if anybody is caught looking without permission, even our own School’s disciple must suffer punishment by his or her eyes being gouged; much less you, an outsider?”

    “Ah,” Su Xizhi exclaimed. “Damn it! Should die! Should die!” he cursed.

    Zhan Chun angrily said, “Your death is imminent, you still cursed my Shifu?”

    Su Xizhi said, “I want to curse him. What are you going to do? Isn’t this injustice? I was just passing through Bai Niu Shan [White Ox Mountain], and accidentally saw that your Shifu was practicing his sword. Because I was curious, I stopped and watched for a moment. Do you think that by watching for a moment I would be able to master this sword technique? If I have that kind of ability, how can you, a bunch of Kunlun disciples, possibly defeat me? Miss Zhan, let me tell you this: your Shifu, Tie Qin Xiansheng [Mister Iron ‘Qin’ – zither] is too narrow-minded. Not to mention that I did not learn even half a stance of the Kunlun Liang Yi Jian, even if I did, can you really say that I have committed a capital crime?”

    Zhan Chun was silent. Inwardly she agreed that her master had made a big fuss over a minor issue. Just because he found out that Su Xizhi saw him launching the sword technique, he dispatched six disciples to pursue and kill him for thousands of ‘li’. In the end, she was going to die together with this man. She believed at this moment this man had no reason to lie, so if he said that he did not steal the martial art technique, then she believed he was telling the truth.

    Su Xizhi also said, “He gave you these Wei Du secret projectiles, but did not give you the antidote. Is there such custom within the Wulin world? Damn it …”

    In a soft voice Zhan Chun said, “Su Dage [big brother], Xiaomei [little sister – referring to self] has harmed you. Right now my heart is heavy with regret. It’s good that I will accompany you to the other world. This is called fate. I only feel sorry for your family, your wife and children [Translator’s note: the original Chinese text was much more polite; she called his wife ‘Da Sao’ (eldest sister-in-law), and the children ‘gongzi’ and ‘xiaojie’ (young master and young miss).] I really have no idea what I had done.”

    Su Xizhi sighed and said, “My woman died two years ago, leaving behind a boy and a girl to me, one is six years old, the other is four. Tomorrow they will become orphans with no father and no mother.”

    “Do you have any other family member?” Zhan Chun asked, “Anybody to look after the children?”

    “Presently my sister-in-law is looking after them,” Su Xizhi said, “But she is rather short-tempered; oftentimes she is mean and unreasonable, I think she is a bit jealous of me. Ay! From now on these two babies will have to suffer a lot of pains.”

    Zhan Chun said in a low voice, “It’s all my fault.”

    Su Xizhi shook his head and said, “I can’t blame you on this. You have received your school’s strict order, and thus have no choice but to obey; it’s not like you have a personal enmity against me. In fact, after I got hit with your Wei Du secret projectile, I will certainly die; why should I strike you with my palm and use the secret projectile to injure you? Otherwise, I am saying this with all honestly: I know you have a good conscience, certainly you would be willing to look after my two cruel-fated children.”

    Forcing a smile, Zhan Chun said, “I am the murderer who killed you, how can you say I have a good conscience?”

    Su Xizhi said, “I really do not blame you, I do not blame you at all.”

    Just now, the two of them were fighting a life and death battle, but as they realized they were going to die soon, they both were reluctant to leave the world of the living and their hearts were filled with nothing but kindness and goodwill.

    Listening to this point, Zhang Wuji thought, “Looks like these man and woman are not bad people; besides, that surnamed Su still have two small children.” Remembering the hardship Yang Buhui and he suffered because they were orphans, he came out of his hiding place underneath the bushes and said, “Miss Zhan, do you know the kind of poison you have on your Wei Du nail?” To see a teenager and a little girl suddenly appear from the bushes, Su Xizhi and Zhan Cun had already felt strange. They were even more surprised to hear Zhang Wuji asking the question.

    hang Wuji said, “I have a rudimentary knowledge of medicine. Gentleman and Lady have been poisoned, you might not be beyond help.”

    Zhan Chun said, “What kind of poison, I may not know. But the wound is unbearably itchy. My Shifu said that after one got hit by this Sang Men nail, one will have only eight hours to live.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “Let me have a look at the wound.”

    Su and Zhan, two people noticed that he was young, his clothes were raggedy, his entire body was filthy; in short, he looked more like a beggar to them, what could he possibly know about treating poison wound?

    In a rough voice Su Xizhi said, “Look, our lives are in danger. This is not a place for children to create trouble. Just go far away from me, alright?”

    Zhang Wuji did not pay him any attention; he picked the Sang Men nail from the ground and sniffed it. He smelled a whiff of faint fragrance of flower. These days, whenever he had some time during their journey, he would flip the pages of Wang Nangu’s ‘Poison Manual’, to acquaintance himself with the fantastic oddities of every description of the poisons and venoms around the world. As soon as he smelled this kind of aroma, he knew at once that the poison on the Sang Men nail was from the blue ‘tuo luo’ flower [Datura stramonium(?)]. The Poison Manual did say that the juice of this flower’s original smell was stinky like dead fish. In itself, it was not poisonous, even if one to drink an entire bowl it would not bring the least bit of harm, but as soon as it is mixed with blood, it would turn into deadly poison, while its smell would turn fragrant.

    “This is the poison from the ‘tuo luo’ flower,” Zhang Wuji said.

    Zhan Chun did not know what kind of poison was applied on the Sang Men nails, but she knew that there was indeed this kind of flower in her Shifu’s flower garden. “Ah,” she exclaimed in surprise, “How do you know?” The blue ‘tuo luo’ flower was a very rare poisonous flower; it originated from the western region, and had never been found in the central China.

    Zhang Wuji nodded. “I know,” he said. Taking Yang Buhui’s hand, he said, “Let’s go.”

    “Xiao Xiongdi [little brother],” Zhan Chun busily said, “If you know the treatment, please be kind and save our lives.”

    At first, Zhang Wuji was considering to help them, however, he suddenly remembered the evil expressions on Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan’s faces when they were about to eat them, he could not help but hesitate.

    Su Xizhi said, “Xiao Xianggong [young master], I [orig. zaixia – the lowly or humble one] have eyes but failed to see an expert; please do not blame me.”

    “Alright,” Zhang Wuji said, “Let me have a try.” Taking some golden needles from his pocket, he pierced the ‘shan zhong xue’ [lit. sheep’s odor acupoint] on Zhan Chun’s chest, and the ‘que pen xue’ [empty basin acupoints] on her left and right shoulders, to stop the pain in her chest due to the palm injury she received earlier.

    “This ‘tuo luo’ flower will become poisonous as soon as it meets the blood,” he said, “But it will not create any harm if it enters the stomach. The two of you need to suck each other’s wound first, until the blood is free of any coagulation.”

    Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun were embarrassed and felt uncomfortable, but right now, their lives were more important, besides, there was no way they would be able to suck their own wounds. Therefore, left with no other choice, they sucked the poisonous blood from each other’s wound.

    Zhang Wuji picked three kinds of herbal medicine by the hillside; he chewed it until it was mushy and then applied it on the two people’s wounds. “These three types of herbal medicine can temporarily stop the attack of the poison, but it is ineffective to drive the poison completely out of your systems,” he said, “We must go to the next town and look for a drugstore, and then I will mix the medicine to treat your poison.”

    Originally, the wounds on Su and Zhan, two people, were unbearably itchy, but as soon as the herbal medicine was applied, they felt cool and comfortable, while at the same time their limbs were no longer numb and weak. At once they repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

    Each one of them broke a tree branch to use it as a crutch, then helping each other, they slowly continued their journey ahead. Zhan Chun asked Zhang Wuji’s school and origin. Zhang Wuji did not want to explain the truth, he simply said that he understood medicine since his childhood.

    After walking for more than two hours, they arrived at the town of Shahe [in Hebei province]. The four of them found an inn to rest. Zhang Wuji wrote a prescription and Su Xizhi had an inn-helper to get the medicine. By this time, the area west of Henan and Hebei had not suffered disaster; although the Mongolian government officers practiced unruly and tyrannical cruelty, they were not in the least different than any other places, the common people still had food to eat. The shops and inns in Shahe were open for business as usual. As soon as the inn-helper returned with the medicine, Zhang Wuji cooked it and fed it to Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun.

    The four of them stayed in the inn for three days. Each day Zhang Wuji changed the prescription. He applied the medicine externally as well as internally. By the fourth day, the poison in Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun’s bodies had been completely eradicated. The two of them profusely expressed their gratitude; they asked Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui’s destination. Zhang Wuji mentioned the name of Zuo Wang Peak of the Kunlun Mountain.

    “Su Dage,” Zhan Chun said, “We owe our lives to this Xiao Xiongdi. However, my five Shixiong [martial brother] are still out there looking for you. This matter has not been brought to completion yet. What do you say you come with me going up Mount Kunlun?”

    Su Xizhi was stunned. “Going up Mount Kunlun?” he asked.

    “That’s right,” Zhan Chun said, “I will accompany you to pay a visit to my master. We will explain that you have not learned even half a stance of the Kunlun Liang Yi Jian. If we do not resolve this matter with him, the Senior, you will face an endless disaster in the future.”

    Su Xizhi was angry in his heart, he said, “You, Kunlun Pai, bully others too much. I just took one look and I nearly entered the gates of hell. Isn’t that enough?”

    “Su Dage,” Zhan Chun said in gentle voice, “Please think about the difficulty Xiao Mei has to face. It’s not a problem for me to explain to my Shifu that you did not draw any advantage in sword technique from watching him; however, if my five Shixiong get hold of you and harm you, how would Xiao Mei feel?”

    After going through life and death situation together for several days, their affection to each other grew. Listening to her gentle words full of tender feeling, Su Xizhi’s anger subsided at once. He also thought, “Kunlun Pai is strong in numbers; if they do not stop harassing me, eventually I will lose my life under their hands.”

    Seeing him hesitate, Zhan Chun continued, “Please come with me first. Whatever important matter you need to attend, Xiao Mei will come with you and together we will deal with it after our visit to Mount Kunlun. What do you say?”

    Su Xizhi was delighted. “Alright,” he said, “Let’s do it this way. Only I wonder whether Zun Shi [revered master] would trust me?”

    Zhan Chun said, “Usually Shifu is very fond of me. If I earnestly ask him, I am sure he will not make things difficult for you. As soon as this matter is settled, Xiao Mei is thinking of visiting your young master and young miss, so that they will not be bullied by your sister-in-law.”

    Hearing the way she talked, Su Xizhi knew the feeling between them was mutual; he was very happy. To Zhang Wuji he said, “Xiao Xiongdi, let us go up the Mount Kunlun together, so that we will keep each other company.”

    Zhan Chun said, “The Kunlun Mountains stretch for thousands of ‘li’; I don’t even know how many peaks there are. I don’t know where that Zuo Wang Peak is, but if our Kunlun Pai is looking for a peak on Kunlun Mountains, I am sure we will find it.”

    The next day, Su Xizhi hired a large cart for Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui to ride, while Zhan Chun and he rode on horsebacks. When they arrived at the next bigger town, Zhan Chun bought several sets of clothes for Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui. After they changed clothes, they were transformed into totally different persons. Su and Zhan two people cheered loudly as they saw the change in appearances on this pair of children; the boy looked so handsome and the girl so pretty. Until that day, these two children had been travelling a long and arduous journey; after having good meals, they gradually turned into a pair of healthy children.

    They went farther and farther to the west, the weather also turned colder and colder. Fortunately, they had Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun looking after them, so they had a pleasant journey. When they reached the western region, Kunlun Pai’s influence was strongly felt; there was even less obstruction. Only, the yellow sand assaulted their faces and the cold wind penetrated their bones, making the journey hard to endure. In less than a day they had arrived at the Mount Kunlun’s San Sheng Ao [three-sage cavity/valley]. Everywhere they looked, there was green grass like a carpet, with fruit trees and flower bushes. Su Xizhi and Zhang Wuji had never imagined that there would be such a beautiful place like this in this desolate desert, they were delighted. Turned out the San Sheng Ao was surrounded on all sides by skyscraping mountain peaks, which protect it from the cold winds.

    Ever since ‘Kunlun San Sheng’ [Three Sages of Kunlun] He Zudao, the successive Sect Leaders had spent considerable effort and meticulous care to conserve and tidy up this valley in the next seventy, eighty years. They dispatched the disciples as far as Jiang Nan [general term referring to the area south of Yangtze River] on the east, and Tianzhu [Indian subcontinent] on the west, to collect rare flowers and extraordinary trees to be cultivated this valley.

    Zhan Chun took the three of them to ‘Tie Qin Ju’ [Iron Zither Residence], where Tie Qin Xiansheng, He Taichong took his residence. As they entered the door, she saw hat a crowd of her martial brothers and sisters were gathered inside with worried looks on their faces. They only nodded their acknowledgement to her without saying anything. Zhan Cun shivered inwardly, she wondered what had happened. Pulling a younger martial sister aside, she asked, “Is Shifu home?”

    The female disciple had not yet replied when they heard He Taichong roar in violent rage coming from the inner chamber, “What a useless bunch! A useless bunch! [orig. fan tong - ‘rice bucket’] Everything I ask you to do, nothing is done properly. What use do I have of these worthless [orig. nong bao – wrap cloth of a boil or a wound] disciples?” followed by an earth-shattering noise of a table being slapped.

    Zhan Chun turned toward Su Xizhi and said, “Shifu is having a fit of temper, we’d better not bump against the nail, let’s come back tomorrow.”

    “Is that Chun’er?” suddenly He Taichong called out, “What are you doing whispering sneakily? Have you severed the head of that little thief surnamed Su?”

    Zhan Chun’s face changed; she scrambled toward the inner chamber, kneeled down and kowtowed. “Disciple pays her respects to Shifu,” she said.

    He Taichong said, “I sent you to do something for me. How was it? How is that little thief surnamed Su?”

    “That man surnamed Su is outside,” Zhan Chun replied, “He comes to kowtow and apologize to Shifu. He said he did not realize his offense; or else he would not have watched Shifu practice the sword technique. But our School’s sword technique is most refined and subtle that as soon as he looked, he knew it was a brilliant sword move, unparalleled in the world. However, he did not have any luck that it was all an unfathomable mystery to him; in the end, he did not have the slightest comprehension.”

    She had followed her master for quite some time; she knew he was extremely proud of his own martial art skill. Therefore, she said that Su Xizhi highly commended their school’s martial art. If her master was happy, then he might forgive Su Xizhi.

    Normally, this conceited He Taichong would take things lightly, but today his mood was greatly agitated. “Humph,” he snorted, “You dealt with this matter well! Confine that surnamed Su in the stone building behind the mountain. I’ll punish him later.”

    Zhan Chun realized he was still in a fit of temper, so she did not dare to press further. “Yes!” she said; then she asked, “Are Shimu [master wives] all well? Let me pay my respects inside.”

    Altogether, He Taichong had five wives and concubines. The one he loved most was the youngest, the fifth concubine. Zhan Chun was thinking that in order to seek forgiveness for Su Xizhi, she would need this ‘Wu Shimu’ [Fifth Master Wife] to speak on their behalf.

    He Taichong’s face suddenly turned sorrowful, he heaved a deep sigh and said, “It’s alright for you to see ‘Wu Gu’ [fifth (paternal) aunt], she has been very sick. It’s good that you returned this quick so that you can still see her face.”

    Zhan Chun was startled. “Wu Gu is not feeling well?” she asked, “I wonder what kind of sickness?”

    He Taichong sighed again. “If we know the sickness, then we can help her. We have had seven, eight supposedly famous doctors to examine her, but they can’t even tell what sickness she is suffering. Her whole body swells; a woman as beautiful as flower and jade, swollen … Ay, I don’t want to talk about it …” He repeatedly shook his head, and then he continued, “I have this many disciples, but all are just a useless bunch. I told them to Changbai Shan [Mount Changbai, Jilin province] to look for thousand-year ginseng. They have been gone for two months, yet nobody returned. I told them to look for Xue Lian [snow lotus (Saussurea involucrata)], or other miracle drug, yet everybody returned empty handed.”

    Zhan Chun mused, “Changbai Shan is ten thousand ‘li’ away from this place, how can they promptly return? Even after reaching Changbai Shan, they might not necessarily find the thousand-old ginseng. As for Xue Lian or other miracle drug, which can bring the dead back to life, it’s not likely that we can find it even if we look for it our entire lives, much less in a short time? How can there be such convenience?” She knew her master loved this young concubine as much as he loved his own life. Now that she had fallen seriously ill, no wonder he vented his anger to others.

    He Taichong continued, “I transmitted my internal energy through her ‘chi’ passage, but it did not make the least bit of difference. Humph, humph, if Wu Gu’s life cannot be saved, I am going to kill all useless physicians in the world.”

    “Let disciple come and visit her,” Zhan Chun said.

    “Fine, let me come with you,” He Taichong said.

    The master and disciple went together to the Fifth Aunt’s chamber. As soon as Zhan Chun walked through the door, her nostrils were assaulted by strong odor of medicine. Upon opening the mosquito net, she saw the Fifth Aunt’s face was swollen like Zhu Bajie [the pig-face character in the Journey to the West]; her eyes were buried deep underneath the swollen flesh that she almost could not open her eyes. Her breathing was so heavy that it sounded like the bellows a blacksmith. The Fifth Aunt was originally a beautiful woman; He Taichong would not be this infatuated with her otherwise. However, because of the illness she had turned into an ugly woman. Zhan Chun could not help but heave a deep sigh.

    “Call those useless doctors to examine her again,” He Taichong said. The old female servant who was attending to her needs complied and went out the room. Soon afterwards, they heard the clinking noise of iron chains as seven doctors walked in. The legs of these seven men were chained together. Their appearance looked haggard and their faces were pitiful.

    These seven men were famous physicians from Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu regions. They were half-invited, half-kidnapped by He Taichong’s disciples. But these seven famous doctors did not share the same opinion; some said she was bloated, some said she was possessed by evil spirit. They all wrote prescriptions, but after taking the prescribed medicine, the Fifth Aunt condition was no different that her condition on the first day.

    In his rage, He Taichong had these seven famous physicians locked up, saying that if the Fifth Aunt was not cured, these seven useless doctors (by this time, the ‘famous doctors’ had turned into ‘useless doctors’) would accompany her to the grave. The seven doctors had used up their entire skill, but the Fifth Aunt’s swelling was growing bigger and bigger. They knew their lives were at stake, but each time they did the examination together, these seven doctors were always arguing loudly with each other. Each one criticizing the other six, saying that the Fifth Aunt’s worsened condition was because of the others’ mistake, it had nothing to do with him.

    This time was no different; as soon as they entered the room and examined her pulse, they started bickering with each other. He Taichong was anxious and enraged; he roared his curses that the seven famous or useless doctors’ voices were drowned.

    Zhan Chun’s mind suddenly clicked. “Shifu,” she said, “I brought a doctor from Henan. Although his age is young, his skill is somewhat superior to these doctors.”

    “Why didn’t you say so?” He Taichong was delighted, “Quickly invite him, quickly invite him!”

    Each time the famous doctor arrived, he always treated him with an utmost respect; but he would not be polite anymore as soon as the ‘famous doctor’ turned into a ‘useless doctor’.

    Zhan Chun quickly returned to the hall and took Zhang Wuji inside. As soon as Zhang Wuji saw He Taichong, he recognized him as one of the crowd who forced his parents to their death on Mount Wudang a few years ago; he could not refrain from feeling hatred and resentment. However, it had been four, five years since then, that Zhang Wuji’s face and stature had undergone huge changes. He Taichong did not recognize Zhang Wuji. He only saw a fourteen, maybe fifteen years old teenager, who did not kneel down and kowtow to him.

    He Taichong’s eyes narrowed; his face turned cold, and he no longer took any notice of Zhang Wuji. “Where is that doctor you were talking about?” he asked Zhan Chun.

    “This Xiao Xiongdi is the doctor,” Zhan Chun said, “He has an exquisite medical knowledge, I am sure his skill surpasses many famous doctors.”

    How could He Taichong believe her? “Nonsense, nonsense!” he said.

    Zhan Chun said, “Disciple was hit by the blue ‘tuo luo’ flower poison, he was the one who cure me.”

    He Taichong was astonished, he thought, “Without our School’s antidote, anybody who got hit by the blue ‘tuo luo’ flower poison would certainly die. If this kid can cure it, he must be some kind of freak.” Looking up and down to size up Zhang Wuji, he asked, “Young man, do you really know how to treat illness?”

    Recalling his parents’ tragic death, actually Zhang Wuji hated He Taichong to his bones, however, by nature, it was difficult for him to hold a grudge, otherwise, he would not easily treat Jian Jie and the others, and he would not treat Zhan Chun of Kunlun Pai. As he heard He Taichong’s rude question this time, although he was not happy, he still nodded his head.

    When Zhang Wuji entered the room, he had already smelled strange odor. After a while, he felt the odor was sometimes growing stronger, another time the odor was dispersing. He felt the odor was very unusual. He walked toward the Fifth Aunt’s bed and examined her face. He pressed the wrists of her both hands to check her pulse. Suddenly he took out a golden needle from his pocket and pricked it into her face which was swollen as big as a pumpkin.

    He Taichong was shocked. “What are you doing?” he barked. As he lifted up his hand to grab Zhang Wuji, Zhang Wuji had already pulled the needle out, but there was no blood coming out from the Fifth Aunt’s face. He Taichong’s five fingers were less than half a foot from Zhang Wuji’s back when he stopped. He saw that Zhang Wuji brought the needle to his nose and then nodded his head.

    A ray of hope grew in He Taichong’s heart. “Young … Xiao Xiongdi,” he said, “Can her illness be cured?” For a leader of a major sect to unexpectedly call Zhang Wuji ‘Xiao Xiongdi’ [little brother], he could be considered very polite.

    Zhang Wuji did not answer. He crawled underneath the Fifth Aunt’s bed for a while, and then he opened the bedroom window and looked at the flower garden outside. Suddenly he jumped out the window and took a stroll in the garden. He Taichong was very fond of the Fifth Aunt, so he had all kinds of rare flowers and plants grew outside her window. When he saw Zhang Wuji was acting strange, he felt as if his heart was frying in oil. He was hoping that Zhang Wuji would immediately write a prescription and cure the Fifth Aunt strange illness, but he was strolling leisurely in the flower garden instead; how could he not be angry? But when his hands and feet were bound without him able to do anything and suddenly he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, he was forced to suppress his anger. Still, his face turned dark and his breathing was getting faster.

    He observed that Zhang Wuji looked at the flowers and plants for a while and then he nodded his head as if he understood something. Upon returning to the room, Zhang Wuji said, “Her illness can be cured, but I don’t want to cure her. Miss Zhan, I am leaving.”

    “Zhang Xiongdi,” Zhan Chun said, “If you heal the Fifth Aunt, our Kunlun Pai, from top to bottom, will be greatly indebted to you. I must certainly ask you to heal her.”

    Pointing his finger to He Taichong, Zhang Wuji said, “This Tie Qin Xiansheng took part in forcing the death of my father and mother; why should I save his family’s life?”

    He Taichong was shocked. “Xiao Xiongdi,” he asked, “What is your honorable surname? Who are your respected father and mother?”

    “My surname is Zhang,” Zhang Wuji replied, “My departed father was the fifth disciple of Wudang Pai.”

    He Taichong’s heart turned cold. “Turns out he is Zhang Cuishan’s son,” he mused, “Wudang Pai is truly good; he learned from his family school, I guess his skill must be good.” Immediately he sighed in grief and said, “Zhang Xiongdi, when your respected father was still alive, he and I [orig. ‘zaixia’ – under, the humble one] were good friends. When he committed suicide, I did not stop grieving over his death …” In order to save his beloved concubine’s life, he did not hesitate to flatter without any reservation.

    Zhan Chun also helped her master propagating the lie, “After your father and mother died, Shifu wept bitterly several times. He often told us, the disciples, that your respected father was his most cherished friend he had his entire life. Zhang Xiongdi, why didn’t you tell me earlier? If I knew you are Zhang Wu Xia’s [fifth hero] son, I would have treated you with more respect.”

    Zhang Wuji was half-believing and half-doubting, but since he did not easily hold any grudge, he said, “Madame has not contacted some strange disease; she is suffering from the snake venom of ‘Jin Yin Xue She’ [gold and silver blood snakes].”

    “Jin Yin Xue She?” He Taichong and Zhan Chun exclaimed together.

    “That’s right,” Zhang Wuji said, “I have never seen this kind of vipers myself, but Madame’s cheeks are swollen, and when I pricked it with the golden needle, the needle smelled like the sandalwood fragrance. Mr. He, please take a look at Madame’s feet, the tips of her ten toes may have tiny bite marks.”

    He Taichong busily tore open the cotton-wadded quilt covering the Fifth Aunt’s body. When he examined her toes carefully, indeed he saw several purplish black bite marks on all her toes. The marks were as tiny as grains of rice; if he did not intentionally look for the marks, he would easily miss them.

    As soon as He Taichong saw the marks, his confidence in Zhang Wuji’s skill increased ten-folds. He said, “That’s right, that’s right, there are indeed bite marks on each toes. Xiao Xiongdi is very intelligent, very intelligent. Since Xiao Xiongdi knows the cause, you must also know how to treat it. After Concubine is healed, I will certainly reward you handsomely.” Turning toward the seven physicians, he sternly said, “What ‘cold’ or ‘possessed by evil spirit’, ‘devoid of Yang’ or ‘lack of Yin’? Rubbish! How come you, seven rice buckets, cannot see the bite marks on her toes?” Although he was swearing and cursing, his tone was actually jubilant.

    “Madame’s illness is very peculiar,” Zhang Wuji said, “It’s not surprising that they do not know the cause. Please let them go home.”

    “Very well, very well!” He Taichong laughed, “Xiao Xiongdi honors us with your presence; if we keep these useless doctors in here, won’t they annoy us to our deaths? Chun’er, give each of them one hundred ‘liang’ [tael], let them go home.”

    Narrowly escaped death, the seven physicians were overjoyed. They left in a hurry, for fear that Zhang Wuji’s medical technique was not effective, then He Taichong would lock this ‘little useless doctor’ together with them, and would bury eight big and little ‘useless doctors’ together with the beloved concubine.

    “Please ask the servant lady to move Madame’s bed,” Zhang Wuji ordered, “There is a hole underneath the bed from which the Jin Yin Xue snakes coming in and out of their lair.”

    He Taichong did not wait for the servant lady; grabbing the bed’s leg with his right hand, he single-handedly pulled the bed away, along with the Madame on it. Sure enough, he saw a small hole underneath the bed. Unable to contain his delight and his anger, he called out, “Quickly get some sulfur and fire over here! Fumigate the vipers, cut them into thousand cuts and ten-thousand pieces!”

    Zhang Wuji shook his hand. “Certainly not! Certainly not! Madame was hit by snake venom, she needs these two snakes to heal. If you kill the snakes, Madame will never recover.”

    “So be it,” He Taichong said, “What shall we do, then? Please advice.” Ever since his master died, it was the very first time he had uttered these two words ‘please advice’ again.

    Zhang Wuji pointed toward the flower garden outside the window. “Mr. He,” he said, “Your honorable wife’s illness stems from those eight ‘ling zhi lan’ [lingzhi orchid] trees in that garden.”

    “Is that what’s it called? Lingzhi Orchid?” He Taichong asked, “I did not know its name. A friend of mine knew my affection of flowers and plants, he brought those eight orchid trees from the western region for me. When the flowers bloom, they indeed emit sweet smelling fragrance, like that of sandalwood. The color of the petals is also extremely delicate and beautiful. I have never thought it is the source of the disaster.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “According to the book, the root of the Lingzhi Orchid is ball-shaped, fiery red in color, with deadly poison inside. Why don’t we dig it out to see whether it is true?”

    By this time, the other disciples had heard about the young doctor who was going to treat the Fifth Master-wife’s strange illness. The male disciples felt it was inappropriate for them to enter the room, so only Zhan Chun and the other female disciples, six in total, were standing on the side. Hearing Zhang Wuji’s order, two female disciples quickly fetched iron shovels and began digging around the root of one of the Lingzhi Orchid tree. As expected, they saw the fiery red ball-shaped root. The disciples heard Zhang Wuji when said that the root contained deadly poison; how could they dare to touch it?

    Zhang Wuji said, “Please dig all eight of the ball-shaped roots for me and place them in a clay pot. Put eight chicken eggs and a bowl of chicken blood, and mince everything into mush. Be careful in mixing the concoction, make sure nothing splashes onto your flesh.”

    Zhan Chun complied; she took two younger disciples to do his order. Zhang Wuji also wanted two bamboo tubes, about a foot long each, and a bamboo stick, which he set aside.

    Soon afterwards, the Lingzhi Orchid’s ball roots had been mashed into a thick paste. Zhang Wuji applied the paste on the floor, making a circle, but he left a gap about two ‘cun’ wide [1 cun is approximately 1 inch].

    “Soon you will see an unusual thing; do not make any noise,” Zhang Wuji said, “If the vipers are frightened, they will disappear without any trace. All of you must take licorice root and cotton; squeeze it into your nostrils.”

    Everybody followed his order at once. Zhang Wuji also stopped his nostrils then he took some kindling material and burned the Lingzhi Orchid’s leaf he placed in front of the snake hole.

    Less than the time to drink a cup of tea later, a little snake head appeared from the small hole. The snake’s body was blood red. There was a golden crown-like flesh on its head. The snake slowly crawled out. Unexpectedly, this snake had four legs. Its length was approximately eight ‘cun’. Behind this snake, there was another snake crawling out of the hole. The second snake was a little shorter, but it looked exactly like the first snake, except the crown on its head was silver in color.

    Seeing these two strange snakes, He Taichong and the others held their breath; nobody dared to make any noise. It goes without saying that this kind of strange snake must be deadly venomous, but these people were martial art experts, they were not afraid of the snakes. However, if the snakes were scared away, the Madame’s foul disease would be difficult to cure.

    They saw the two snakes were extending their tongues to lick each other’s back; they looked very affectionate, leaning and snuggling on each other, while crawling slowly to enter the Lingzhi Orchid paste circle.

    Zhang Wuji quickly placed one bamboo tube outside the circle’s gap, while using the bamboo stick he gently pushed the tail of the silver-crowned blood snake. The snake moved in a lightning speed; everybody only saw a flash of silver lightning and the snake had already entered the tube. The golden-crowned blood snake also wanted to follow in, but the bamboo tube was too small; it could contain only one snake. As the golden-crowned blood snake was unable to enter, it produced an anxious ‘hu, hu’ sound.

    With the bamboo stick, Zhang Wuji pushed the other bamboo tube in front of the golden-crowned blood snake. The snake also entered the tube. Zhang Wuji quickly took a wooden cork and closed the bamboo tube opening.

    From the time the pair of snakes came out of the hole, everybody had been nervously holding their breath in trepidation. When Zhang Wuji finally closed the bamboo tubes with wooden corks, these people exhaled together as if by prior agreement.

    Zhang Wuji said, “Please take several buckets of hot water and scrub the floor clean. We must not have any Lingzhi Orchid’s poison remain in here.”

    The six female disciples rushed into the kitchen to boil some water. They returned a short while later and promptly washed the floor clean.

    Zhang Wuji instructed them to shut the doors and windows tight, also for them to fetch some ‘xiong huang’ [realgar], ‘ming fan’ [potassium alum], ‘dai huang’ [Chinese rhubarb], ‘gan cao’ [licorice], and other drug ingredients, and ground them into powder, mixed with quicklime [Calcium Oxide]. He poured the mixture into the bamboo tube containing the silver-crowned blood snake. The snake immediately produced a 'hu hu' sound, which was immediately responded by the golden-crowned snake in the other bamboo tube. Zhang Wuji took the wooden cork out. The golden-crowned snake went out of the tube and crawled anxiously around the tube containing the silver-crowned snake. Suddenly it dashed toward the bed and disappeared underneath Fifth Aunt's cotton quilt.

    "Ah!" He Taichong was extremely shocked. Zhang Wuji shook his hand, and then gently uncovered the cotton quilt. They saw that the golden-crowned snake was biting the middle toe of the Fifth Aunt's left foot.

    Zhang Wuji's face lit up as he said in a low voice, "The Jin Yin Xue snakes' venom inside Madame's body is currently being sucked out by this snake."

    About half the time needed to burn an incense stick later, the snake's body grew several times its original size; the golden crown on its head also grew brighter. Zhang Wuji partly opened the wooden cork containing the silver-crowned snake. The golden-crowned snake leaped down from the bed and went to the bamboo tube. It spat the poisonous blood from its mouth to feed the silver snake.

    "That's enough," Zhang Wuji said, "We'll draw the poison out twice daily, plus I am going to write a prescription to rapidly reduce the swelling, within ten days she will recover completely."

    He Taichong was ecstatic. He invited Zhang Wuji into his study and said, "Xiao Xiongdi is extremely skillful. Would you advice me of what is going on?"

    Zhang Wuji replied, "According to the book, this pair of golden-crowned and silver-crowned snakes occupies number 47 in the world in term of its toxicity, so their venom cannot be considered very fierce. However, there is one singular characteristic: they feed on poisons; 'pi shuang' [arsenic frost], 'he ding hong' [lit. red top of a crane], 'kong que dan' [peacock gall bladder], 'zhen jiu' [wine made of feathers of legendary bird], and so on, no exception. Lingzhi Orchid grew in the flower garden outside Madame's window. This Lingzhi Orchid's toxicity is truly fierce; it had unexpectedly drawn the pair of Jin Yin Xue snakes."

    He Taichong nodded. "So that's how it is," he said.

    Zhang Wuji said, "Jin Yin Xue snakes always live in pairs, male and female. Just now, I used realgar and other chemicals to burn the silver-crowned female snake. To save its mate, the male golden-crowned snake absorbed the poisonous blood from Madame's toe and feed it to her. Hereafter I am going to burn the male snake. The female snake will definitely drew some more poisonous blood. By repeating this procedure several times, the venom inside Madame's body can be totally eradicated."

    Speaking to this point, he remembered something. "Why did the snakes bite Madame's toes in the first place?" he mused, "There must be another reason." After thinking for a while without finding any satisfactory answer, he dropped the matter out of his mind.

    That very same day He Taichong held a banquet at the inner hall to entertain Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui. Zhang Wuji thought that since Yang Buhui was Ji Xiaofu's illegitimate daughter, he did not want to implicate Emei Pai's reputation; thereupon, when He Taichong inquired of her, he gave him a vague answer without further explanation.

    A few days later, the swelling on the Fifth Aunt subsided, her spirit recovered, she was able to eat and drink. Zhang Wuji bid his farewell, but He Taichong earnestly asked him to stay, for fear that his beloved concubine’s illness would return.

    Toward the afternoon of the tenth day, the swelling on the Fifth Aunt had completely disappeared. The Fifth Aunt prepared an exquisite banquet complete with fine wine as her way of saying thanks to Zhang Wuji. She also invited Zhan Chun to accompany the guests.

    Although the Fifth Aunt’s countenance was still thin and pallid, her beauty had returned, making He Taichong utterly delighted. Seeing her master was in a very good mood, Zhan Chun implored him to take Su Xizhi as his disciple.

    He Taichong roared in laughter. “Chun’er,” he said, “Your ‘removing-the-firewood-from-under-the-pot’ ruse is very well executed. If I accepted this surnamed Su fellow, then I might pass on the ‘Kunlun Liang Yi Jian’ sword technique to him. In that case, what harm would it bring if he has previously peeked one time?”

    “Shifu,” Zhan Chun laughed, “If not because this surnamed Su fellow peeking your sword practice, disciple would not have left to pursue him, and thus would not come across Brother Zhang. No doubt that Shifu and Wu Gu’s good fortune have always flooded the heavens, and that Brother Zhang’s medical skill is brilliant; but come to think about it, this fellow surnamed Su also has a tiny bit of contribution.”

    The Fifth Aunt said to He Taichong, "You have received these many disciples, in the end, nobody was able to help you in your distress, except Miss Zhan who has rendered you a great service. Since Miss Zhan has her heart set on that fellow, I am sure he must have something good in him. Why don't you accept one more disciple? Who knows, perhaps in the future he will be your most capable disciple."

    He Taichong had always listened to his most beloved concubine, thereupon he said, "Very well, I will accept him on one condition."

    "What is it?" the Fifth Aunt asked.

    With a straight face He Taichong said, "Upon entering my school, he must keep his mind on his lessons, he must not have any wishful thinking toward Chun'er, thinking about taking her as his wife, for example. I will strictly enforce this one condition."

    Zhan Chun blushed and hang her head low. The Fifth Aunt giggled and said, "Aiyo, as the Shifu, you must set a good example. You yourself have three wives and four concubines, and yet you forbid your disciple to marry?"

    He Taichong was only teasing Zhan Chun. He broke out in laughter and said, "Let's drink! Let's drink!"

    A young maid came in, carrying a wooden tray in his hands, with a pot of wine on the tray. She came in front of the banquet table and poured wine for everybody. The wine was thick and rather sticky, golden yellow in color, its sweet aroma assailed their nostrils.

    "Zhang Xiongdi," He Taichong said, "This wine is our mountain's famous product, it is fermented from the 'hu po mi li' [lit. amber honey pear] grown on the snowy peak. It is called 'hu po mi li jiu' [amber honey pear wine]. You won't find it outside this area. You should not drink only a little of it." While in his mind he pondered, "How can I swindle him into spilling out the Jin Mao Shi Wang [golden-mane lion king] Xie Xun's whereabouts? I must plan it carefully, cannot have the slightest bit of rashness."

    Actually, Zhang Wuji was not a wine-drinker, but since the sweet aroma of the 'hu po mi li jiu' was flooding his brain, he took the cup with both hands. He had just brought the cup to his lips when the pair of Jin Yin Xue snakes he kept in his pocket was calling out, 'hu hu hu'. Zhang Wuji's mind was stirred. "We must not drink this wine," he called out.

    Everybody was startled and put down the wine cups at once. From his pocket Zhang Wuji took the bamboo tubes out and released the golden-crowned blood snake. The snake crawled toward the wine cup and stretching out its neck, it sucked the wine dry. Zhang Wuji returned the snake into the bamboo tube, and then released the female silver-crowned blood snake to also drink a cup. This pair of snakes did not want to be separated from each other, so if only either the male or the female was released, they would not go far and were very tame. However, if both of them were released at the same time, not only it would be difficult to return them into the bamboo tubes, they might even bite.

    The Fifth Aunt laughed and said, "Xiao Xiongdi, your pair of snakes can drink wine. They are so amusing."

    Zhang Wuji said, "Could you have someone bring in a dog or a cat, please?"

    "Yes," the young maid replied and turned around to leave the room.

    Zhang Wuji said, "Would this Jiejie [elder sister] wait here and not go? Let someone else get the cat or the dog."

    A short while later, a servant came in pulling a yellow dog. Zhang Wuji took the cup of wine in front of He Taichong and poured it into the yellow dog's mouth. The yellow dog barked sadly several times, and then died with blood flowing from all its seven orifices.

    The Fifth Aunt was so frightened that her entire body trembled. "The wine is poisonous ... who ... who wants to kill us? Zhang Xiongdi, how did you know?"

    Zhang Wuji said, "Jin Yin Xue snakes feed on poison. When they smelled the poison in the wine, they cried out happily."

    He Taichong's face turned pale; he grabbed the young maid's wrist and said in low voice, "Who told you to deliver this poisonous wine to us?"

    The young maid was shocked and scared out or her wits. In a trembling voice she stammered, "I ... I didn't know it was ... it was poisonous ... I took it from the kitchen ..."

    "Whom did you meet on the way from the kitchen to this room?" He Taichong asked.

    The young maid replied, "I saw Xing Fang at the corridor, she stopped me to talk to me, she opened the wine pot to smell its aroma."

    He Taichong, the Fifth Aunt and Zhan Chun looked at each other with fear on their faces. Turned out that Xing Fang was the trusted maid of He Taichong's first wife.

    "Mr. He," Zhang Wuji said, "I was reluctant to say it, although I have pondered about it in my heart. Think about it, why did this pair of Jin Yin Xue snakes bite Madame's toes in the first place, so that the snake venom entered into her system? Evidently, Madame has already been hit by a slow poison; her blood has already contained poison. This was what attracted the Jin Yin Xue snakes. I am afraid the person who poisoned Madame is the same person who put poison in our wine today."

    He Taichong had not replied when suddenly the curtain on the doorway was opened and a shadow flashed by. Zhang Wuji felt a severe pain on the chest below his breasts as his acupoints were sealed.

    A sharp voice said, "You are absolutely right, I was the one who put poison!"

    They saw a middle-aged woman came in. She was big and tall in stature, the hair on her head was graying, her eyes revealed a strong character, there were wrinkles in between her eyebrows. The woman said to He Taichong, "I put centipede venom in the wine, what are you going to do?"

    The Fifth Aunt's face showed fear; she stood up at once and respectfully bowed, "Taitai! [Madame]" she called out. Turned out this big and tall woman was He Taichong's first wife, Ban Shuxian, who was originally his older martial sister.

    Seeing his wife burst into the room, He Taichong was silent, he only snorted once. Ban Shuxian said, "I am asking you: I put the poison in the wine. What are you going to do?"

    He Taichong said, "You don't like this young man, that's fine with me. But you just did this without distinguishing right from wrong. Supposing the wine entered my belly, how can that be good?"

    Ban Shuxian indignantly said, "There is no good person in here! If I can torment everybody to death, it is good for me."

    She took the wine pot and shook it lightly. The wine splashed inside the pot; apparently, the pot was still almost full. She poured a cup of wine and placed it in front of He Taichong. "I was thinking of killing all five of you," she said, "But since this kid has discovered my plan, I am willing to spare four of you. I don't care who will drink this cup of wine. Lao Gui [old ghost], you decide." While saying that, 'shua!' she drew her sword.

    Ban Shuxian was Kunlun Pai's most illustrious character. She was two years older than He Taichong, and she entered their school earlier, her martial art skill was not inferior to He Taichong. When he was young, He Taichong was a handsome man, so he won the favor of this older martial sister. Their master, Bai Luzi, died in a battle against a Ming Cult expert, and did not leave any will. As a result, the numerous disciples fought over the Sect Leader position, nobody was willing to yield to anybody else. Ban Shuxian threw her full support behind He Taichong. With their combined effort, their power increased greatly. Although the other martial brothers each desired a selfish gain, nobody was able to challenge them. In the end, He Taichong took over the Sect Leader position. Out of his indebtedness, he took this older martial sister as his wife.

    As they grew older, due to the difference in their ages, Ban Shuxian appeared to be more than ten years older to He Taichong. Using the pretext of not having a male offspring, He Taichong took a concubine. Because of her dozens of years of prestige and his own conscience - he knew he was at fault, He Taichong held this Shijie [older martial sister] in very high regard. However, although he was afraid of her, he kept taking concubine after concubine. Only, each time he took a new concubine, his fear toward his first wife also increased by 30%.

    At this time, as he saw his wife put a poisoned wine in front of him, it had never occurred to him to disobey his wife's order. He thought, "Certainly I can't drink it. Wu Gu and Chun'er also cannot drink it. Zhang Wuji is the benefactor who saved our lives. Only this baby girl does not have any relation with us." Thereupon he stood up and handed the wine cup to Yang Buhui, saying, "Child, drink this cup of wine."

    Yang Buhui was terrified; she had just witnessed how a large yellow dog drank a cup of poisoned wine and died violently; how could she dare to drink the wine? Crying, she said, "I don't want to drink, I don't want to drink."

    He Taichong grabbed the clothes on her chest and was about to force her. Zhang Wuji coldly said, "Let me drink it."

    He Taichong felt a pang of regret, but he did not open his mouth at all. Ban Shuxian was actually jealous and wanted to poison He Taichong's most beloved concubine, the Fifth Aunt. Her scheme was doing so well until Zhang Wuji suddenly appeared and thwarted her plan; therefore, she loathed this young man. With a cold voice she said, "You are a crafty young man, perhaps you have taken the antidote. If you are going to drink, then one cup is not enough, you must drink the entire poisonous wine pot dry.”

    Zhang Wuji looked at He Taichong, hoping he would say something on his behalf, who would have thought that He Taichong was looking down and did not utter a single word. Zhan Chun and the Fifth Aunt did not dare to speak, for fear that as soon as they opened their mouth, Ban Shuxian might turn her anger to them, and then this almost full pot of poisonous wine would be poured into their own mouths.

    Zhang Wuji’s heart turned icy-cold, he said in his heart, “These several people’s lives were saved by me, but now that I am facing a disaster, they indeed only watch with folded arms, they don’t even utter half a word on my behalf.”

    “Miss Zhan,” he said, “After I die, please take this little sister to Zuo Wang Peak where her father is. Would you do that?”

    Zhan Chun looked at her master. He Taichong nodded. Thereupon Zhan Chun said, “Very well, I will take her there.” However, in her heart she thought, “Kunlun Mountains spread out for thousands of ‘li’, how do I know where the Zuo Wang Peak is?”

    Zhang Wuji could hear that she said those words half-heartedly, obviously she did not have the least bit of sincerity; he knew that these people were hypocritical bunch, so it would not do any good to speak further. With a cold laugh he said, “Kunlun Pai is one of the prestigious school in the Wulin world, turns out it is just like this. Mr. He, get the wine for me!”

    He Taichong was indignant to hear him, so he thought the sooner he got rid of Zhang Wuji the better, his wife’s anger would be suppressed sooner, and thus she would not think of any other treacherous scheme to kill the Fifth Aunt. To him, it was a desperate situation; he had no time to worry about Xie Xun’s whereabouts. Therefore, he fetched the almost full pot of poisonous wine and poured it into Zhang Wuji’s mouth.

    Yang Buhui hugged Zhang Wuji tight while wailing loudly.

    Ban Shuxian laughed coldly and said, “Even if your medical skill is more exquisite, I am going to make sure that you will not be able to save yourself.” Stretching out her hand, her fingers deftly sealed several acupoints on Zhang Wuji’s shoulder, back, waist and sides. Using the end of her sword’s hilt, she also sealed two major acupoints on He Taichong, Zhan Chun, the Fifth Aunt and Yang Buhui’s bodies. She said, “I’ll be back four hours later to release you.” When she sealed their acupoints, He Taichong, Zhan Chun, and the others did not move; they did not even dare to evade.

    Ban Shuxian turned toward the servants waiting on the side, "Out!" she said. She went out the room last and closed the door while laughing coldly all the way out.

    As soon as the poisonous wine entered his stomach, Zhang Wuji felt excruciating pain deep inside his belly. When Ban Shuxian left the room, he thought, "Now that you left, I may not necessarily die." Suppressing the pain, he circulated his 'chi' using the technique taught by Xie Xun. First, he freed the sealed the acupoints on his body, and then he pulled several strands of his own hair and tickled his throat. 'Wah!' he vomited about 80, 90% of the poisonous wine inside his stomach.

    He Taichong, Zhan Chun, and the others were utterly amazed seeing how he was able to move even after his acupoints were sealed. He Taichong wanted to reach out and stop him, but unfortunately, his acupoints were also sealed by his own wife. His superior martial art skill was useless at this time, it only increased his anxiety.

    Zhang Wuji was still hurting inside, but no matter how hard he tried, there was simply nothing else he could vomit out of his stomach. He thought the best course of action right now was to try to escape from this dangerous place and then find a way to repel the poison. Thereupon he reached out to unseal Yang Buhui's acupoints. To his surprise, however, Ban Shuxian's acupoint sealing technique was unique, Zhang Wuji was unable to unseal the acupoints. In this pressing moment, he had no time to try over various acupoint unsealing techniques, thereupon he carried her toward the window. Pushing the window pane outward, he looked around and after making sure there was nobody outside, he put Yang Buhui down outside the window.

    If He Taichong used his internal energy [orig. 'zhen qi' - true/real 'chi'] to force the acupoints open, he might be able to do it within a little more than an hour; however, Zhang Wuji was about to escape. If he waited until his wife returned and inquired, he would be in trouble; not to mention this Wudang Pai kid was able to escape from Kunlun Pai's San Sheng Tang [three-saint hall] unarmed [orig. 'chi shou kong quan' - empty hand, empty fist]. If his ungrateful act and hypocritical deeds were spread out in Jianghu, how could he save his face as the grand master of a prestigious sect? No matter what, he simply must kill him. Therefore, he took a deep breath, ready to shout, to warn his wife.

    Zhang Wuji had anticipated this, so he took a black pill from his pocket and stuffed it inside the Fifth Aunt's mouth, saying, "This is the 'jiu pi wan' [lit. turtle-dove arsenic pill]. After twenty-four hour, the Fifth Madame will die with broken intestines and split heart. I am going to put the antidote on a big tree thirty 'li' from here. You will see the mark. Six hours later, Mr. He can send someone to fetch the medicine. If by any chance I am captured on my way out and am put to death, there will be one person accompanying me."

    This abrupt turn of events took He Taichong by surprise; he hesitated a moment before saying in a low voice, "Xiao Xiongdi, although my San Sheng Tang is not a dragon pool or a tiger lair, I doubt two children like you will be able to break through."

    Zhang Wuji knew he was not bluffing. He laughed coldly and said, "But the toxicity of the 'jiu pi wan' the Fifth Madame took, no one else can neutralize it other than I."

    "Alright," He Taichong said, "You unseal my acupoints, I will personally escort you out."

    He Taichong's sealed acupoints were 'feng chi' and 'jing men' ['wind reservoir' and 'capital (city) gate']. Zhang Wuji massaged his 'tian zhu', 'huan tiao', 'da zhui', 'shang qu' [lit. sky pillar, jumping the hoop, big spine, and crooked quotient], several acupoints for a moment, but it hardly gave him the desired effect. In their hearts, the two of them admired one another.

    Zhang Wuji thought, “Their Kunlun Pai’s acupoint sealing technique is truly good. Mr. Hu had taught me seven different acupoint unsealing techniques, but all are useless against the sealed acupoints on his body.”

    He Taichong thought, “Surprisingly this kid knows these many acupoint unsealing techniques, every technique is marvelous, truly deserving my admiration. Shijie [martial (older) sister] clearly sealed seven, eight of his acupoints, yet somehow she failed to control him? For the last several years the name of Wudang Pai shook the Jianghu. This LaoDao [Ol’ Taoist] Zhang Sanfeng’ ability is unreachable. On the Mount Wudang that day, I was lucky I did not fight Wudang Pai. Otherwise, if they unleashed their anger, I would have fallen with head and face in the mud. He is only a small child, yet he is this good. The older and bigger ones must be ten times better than he is.”

    He did not know that Zhang Wuji learned acupoint sealing technique from Xie Xun and the acupoint unsealing technique from Hu Qingniu. Wudang Pai indeed gave him the solid foundation with its prestige that shook the Wulin world, however, these two special skills of Zhang Wuji’s had nothing to do with Wudang Pai.

    Seeing Zhang Wuji failed to unseal his acupoints, He Taichong had an idea, “Take that teapot and give me a mouthful of tea,” he said.

    Zhang Wuji did not know why he suddenly wanted to drink tea at a moment like this, but knowing that he cared too much about his beloved concubine’s life, he believed He Taichong would not dare to do any trick against him. Thereupon he took the teapot and let him drink some tea.

    He Taichong slowly sipped a mouthful of tea, but he did not swallow it. Aiming toward his own ‘qing leng yuan’ [lit. clear and cold abyss] on the crook of his elbow, he exerted his strength and blew a water dart. With ‘chi, chi!’ sound, the acupoint on his hand was immediately unsealed.

    Upon his arrival at the San Sheng Tang, Zhang Wuji saw right away how He Taichong threw a fit of temper because of the Fifth Aunt's illness, that he was a man who fears his wife and pampers his concubine, that he was a weak and indecisive man. Right now, as he witnessed He Taichong's skill, he could not restrain from being flabbergasted. "This Kunlun Pai Zhang Men's [Sect Leader] martial art skill is truly profound; I underestimated him before. Apparently, his skill level is not below those of Yu Er Shibo [second martial (older) uncle], Jin Hua Popo and Miejue Shitai. I thought he was a timid and careless. I forgot the fact that he is the Kunlun Pai Zhang Men, a position which not many people would be able to reach. If this water dart was shot to my face or my chest, I would have died instantly."

    He Taichong turned his right hand several times and then he unsealed his own legs' acupoints. "Give the antidote first," he said, "Then I will escort you safely out the valley."

    Zhang Wuji shook his head. He Taichong anxiously said, "I am the Kunlun Zhang Men, do you think I will break my promise to a child like you? Won't it be bad if the poison flares-up?"

    Zhang Wuji said, "The poison will not flare-up."

    "Alright," He Taichong sighed, "Let us go out quietly."

    The two of them jumped out the window. He Taichong reached out and lightly brushed Yang Buhui's back with his fingers. Her acupoints were immediately unsealed; his hand was incomparably light and swift. Zhang Wuji was extremely impressed, and his face showed his deep respect. He Taichong understood his feelings, he smiled slightly. With each hand holding one child, he circled toward the flower garden behind the San Sheng Tang, and went out through the side door.

    Altogether, there were nine entryways around the San Sheng Tang. Other than the side door of the rear garden, all the passages were winding around garden paths, and some lead into various pavilions and halls. Zhang Wuji saw endless rows of rooms with countless doors. If He Taichong did not lead them, he knew he would be lost for sure. Even without any Kunlun disciple stopping them, they might not necessarily be able to escape out.

    As soon as they left the San Sheng Tang, He Taichong grabbed Yang Buhui and carried her in his right arm while pulling Zhang Wuji with his left hand. Unleashing his 'qing gong', He Taichong took them toward the northwest. Taken by He Taichong, Zhang Wuji felt they were lightly floating on the ground; each jump covered a distance of more than a 'zhang' [1 zhang is approximately 10 feet or 3 meters]. The wind sounded so loud in his ears; it was as if they were flying high up in the sky. His respect towards He Taichong and Kunlun Pai grew by several points.

    Zhang Wuji realized that the poison in his stomach had not been completely eradicated, so he took two detoxifier pills from his pocket and felt relieved after the pills entered his belly.

    While they were still rushing ahead, suddenly they heard a woman's voice calling, "He Taichong ... He Taichong ... stop ..." This voice was riding on the wind; it sounded very far, yet also sounded as if the speaker was right next to them. It was precisely Ban Shuxian's voice.

    He Taichong hesitated, but in the end he stopped. He said with a sigh, "Xiao Xiongdi, the two of you better go quickly. She is my wife, I cannot escort you any further."

    Zhang Wuji thought, "This man is actually very decent toward us." Thereupon he said, "Mr. He, you can return now. The pill I gave the Fifth Madame is not poison; it is not 'Jiu Pi Wan' at all, it is only 'sang bei wan' [mulberry tree shell pill] to moist the throat and suppress coughing. A few days ago Buhui Meimei [younger sister] was coughing, so I made some for her. I still have several pills left and unavoidably I scared you."

    He Taichong was stunned, angry, but also relieved. "So it really is not poison?" he roared.

    “I was the one who brought the Fifth Madame back to life,” Zhang Wuji said, “How could I poison her?”

    In the meantime, Ban Shuxian did not stop calling, “He Taichong … He Taichong … Are you done running away?” Her voice was somewhat closer.

    He Taichong took Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui away because he was afraid his beloved concubine’s poisoning might be incurable, but now he knew for certain that the Fifth Aunt was not poisoned at all. Turned out he had fallen under this kid’s trick. His anger rose uncontrollably. ‘Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!’ four times on his ears left and right, Zhang Wuji’s cheeks were swollen and blood dripping down from his mouth.

    Zhang Wuji deeply regretted his own action, “I was muddle-headed. Why would I tell him the truth?” he mused, “Now Buhui Meimei and I will lose our lives.”

    Seeing He Taichong’s fifth strike was about to arrive, hastily he launched the ‘dao qi long’ [riding a dragon upside-down] from the Wudang ‘chang quan’ [long fist] style, in which his palm met the approaching enemy. If this stance was launched by Yu Lianzhou or his peers, the raw power would be unlimited, but Zhang Wuji’s mastery of this skill was only skin-deep, how could he possibly withstand Kunlun Pai Zhang Men’s strike?

    He Taichong slightly leaned sideways. ‘Slap!’ his palm hit Zhang Wuji’s face above his right eye so that his eye was immediately swollen. Zhang Wuji had realized early on that his skill was too far below of his opponent. Since he could not even return a single stance from the opponent, he might as well hang down his hands and stand still, no longer trying to resist. But He Taichong did not give up just because Zhang Wuji did not fight back, he still struck Zhang Wuji one palm after another. Only he did not use internal energy at all, otherwise, one palm strike would be enough to kill him. Still, each palm strike had made Zhang Wuji dizzy and his vision blurred; the pain was unbearable.

    While He Taichong was hitting enthusiastically, Ban Shuxian, taking two disciples along, had arrived, she coldly standing on the side.

    Seeing Zhang Wuji not fighting back, Ban Shuxian thought it was not interesting. “Try hitting that baby girl,” she said.

    He Taichong’s body turned sideways and ‘Slap!’ he struck Yang Buhui’s ear. Yang Buhui was hurt and crying loudly.

    Zhang Wuji was angry, "It's alright for you to hit me, why must you bully a little girl?"

    He Taichong ignored him, he stretched out his palm to strike Yang Buhui again. Zhang Wuji jumped forward to hit He Taichong's chest with his head.

    Ban Shuxian sneered and said, "A little boy like that still knows passion and righteousness, unlike an old fickle who completely lacks any sense of love and justice."

    Listening to his wife mocking him, He Taichong's face reddened. He grabbed the back of Zhang Wuji's neck and threw him out. "Little bastard!" he roared, "Go see your father and mother!" He was using his full power, aiming Zhang Wuji's skull toward a large rock on the side of the mountain. Zhang Wuji was unable, he flew swiftly and in an instant he would hit the rock, his brain would burst open.

    Suddenly a strong force came in from the side, pulling Zhang Wuji aside and stood him up on the ground. Zhang Wuji was shaken badly, he stood unsteadily and narrowed his swollen eyes to look to the side. He saw about five feet away stood a middle-aged scholar wearing white coarse cotton long robe.

    Ban Shuxian and He Taichong looked at each other in astonishment; they did not hear this scholar coming, and did not see from where he came. Supposing he had already been hiding behind the rock, based on their capability, why did these husband and wife not know his presence? Just now He Taichong was using a considerable force in throwing Zhang Wuji toward the rock, the momentum was at least five, six hundred catties, yet the scholar neutralized it, and stood Zhang Wuji on the side, with only a roll of his sleeve. Clearly his martial art skills were amazingly high.

    They noticed the scholar was around forty years of age, his appearance was elegant, only his eyebrows were slightly sagging. There were noticeable wrinkles on the corners of his mouth, as if he had grown old before his age due to suffering. He did not speak nor did he move, his expression was apathetic, as if his mind was on some distant place, thinking about some other matters.

    He Taichong coughed once and asked, "Who are you, Sire? Why are you meddling willfully, interfering Kunlun Pai's business?"

    The scholar indifferently said, "So you are Tie Qin Xiansheng [Mr. Iron Zither] and Mrs. He? I’m [orig. zaixia - the humble one] Yang Xiao."

    "Ah!" as soon as the two words 'Yang Xiao' came out of his mouth, He Taichong, Ban Shuxian and Zhang Wuji, three people, exclaimed together as if by prior agreement. The difference was: Zhang Wuji's exclamation was full of surprise and delight, while He Taichong, husband and wife, were shocked and angered.

    'Shua, shua!' the two Kunlun Pai female disciples unsheathed their swords, reversed the sword hilts and gave the sword to their Shifu and Shimu [master and master wife]. He Taichong held the sword across to protect his abdomen, in the ‘xue yong lan qiao’ [snow covers the blue bridge] stance. Ban Shuxian held the sword with its tip slanting to the ground in the ‘mu ye xiao xiao’ [the rustling of trees and leaves] stance. These two stances were the most refined and mysterious within the Kunlun Pai sword techniques. The stances appeared light and casual, but behind each movement seven, eight swift and fierce follow-up movements were hidden.

    The two people send their internal strength toward their right arms. With only a simple flick of their wrists, the swords in their hands would flash and they would be able to attack seven, eight vital points on their enemy’s body. Facing a formidable enemy, the two of them were prepared to launch the skill they had learned for all their lives. However, Yang Xiao seemed oblivious to these people; he heard the delight in Zhang Wuji’s voice and felt strange. He turned his glance toward Zhang Wuji, and saw his face was full of blood; his nose was swollen and his eyes blue from the beating he took from He Taichong earlier. He looked awful, but the happiness from the bottom of his heart overflowed to his unsightly face.

    Zhang Wuji called out, “You, are you the Ming Cult’s Left Emissary of Brightness, Yang Xiao Bobo [uncle, older than one’s father]?”

    Yang Xiao nodded, “How does a child like you know my name?” he asked.

    Zhang Wuji pointed toward Yang Buhui and called out, “She is your daughter.” Pulling Yang Buhui closer, he said, “Buhui Meimei, call him Papa, call him Papa! We finally found him!”

    Yang Buhui looked at Yang Xiao with eyes opened wide. She was 90% unsure, but truth be told, she did not care whether he was her father or not. She only asked, “Where is Mama? Hasn’t Mama flown down from the sky?”

    Yang Xiao’s heart was greatly shaken. He grabbed Zhang Wuji’s shoulder and said, “Child, tell me clearly. She … whose daughter is she? Who is her Mama?” His grab was too strong; Zhang Wuji’s shoulder bone made a ‘crack, crack’ sound, the pain penetrated his heart.

    Zhang Wuji was unwilling to show weakness and refused to cry of pain, but in the end an 'Ah!' cry still escaped from his mouth. "She is your daughter, her Mama was Emei Pai Heroine Ji Xiaofu," he said.

    Yang Xiao's original complexion was pale, but this moment his face did not show any sign of pink at all. "She ... she has a daughter?" his voice was trembling, "She ... where is she?" Hastily he bent down to pick Yang Buhui up. After being struck twice by He Taichong, her cheeks were swollen big, but her features did remind him of Ji Xiaofu's beauty.

    While Yang Xiao was about to inquire further, he suddenly saw black silk thread hanging over her neck. He gently pulled the thread and saw at the end of the thread there was a piece of iron medallion. On the medallion there was a carving of blazing fire inlaid with gold. It was precisely the Ming Cult's 'tie yan ling' [iron flame symbol of authority] he gave Ji Xiaofu. His doubts were entirely gone. He embraced Yang Buhui tight and asked, "Where is your Mama? Where is your Mama?"

    "Mama has flown to the sky," Yang Buhui replied, "I am looking for her. Did you see her?"

    Yang Xiao realized she was too young to speak clearly, so he turned his questioning gaze toward Zhang Wuji.

    Zhang Wuji sighed. "Yang Bobo," he said, "Please don't be grieved. Ji Gugu [(paternal) aunt] was struck to death by her Shifu. At the point of death she ..."

    "You're lying! You're lying!" Yang Xiao bawled. 'Crack!' Zhang Wuji's left arm was crushed by his grip. 'Thump! Thump!' Yang Xiao and Zhang Wuji fell down together. Yang Xiao's right hand was still holding his daughter tight.

    He Taichong and Ban Shuxian looked at each other. They raised their swords; one was pointing to Yang Xiao's throat, the other to his forehead in between his eyebrows. Yang Xiao was the Ming Cult's expert fighter, his name was widely well-known. Ban Shuxian and He Taichong's master, Bai Luzi was killed by a Ming Cult person. Although the killer's name was unknown to them, most of Kunlun Pai people suspected it was Yang Xiao. As soon as Mr. and Mrs. He came across him by chance, they felt as if their hearts were soaked by a bucket of cold water as the hearts were beating faster. Who would have thought that Yang Xiao suddenly fainted? It truly was a heaven-sent opportunity, so they immediately take control his vital points.

    Ban Shuxian said, "Let's chop his arms first."

    "Yes!" He Taichong replied.

    At this time, Yang Xiao had not come around yet. Zhang Wuji's broken arm hurt like hell that his brow was wet with cold sweats, but his mind was still very clear. Realizing their critical situation, he stretched out his leg and lightly knocked the 'bai hui xue' [hundred-gathering acupoint] on top of Yang Xiao's head with his toes. 'Bai Hui' acupoint was connected directly to the brain; as soon as it was jolted, Yang Xiao regained his consciousness and opened his eyes at once. But he immediately felt the cold air of the sword pointing toward the center of his eyebrows, and saw a dark green shadow flash as another sword was hacking down on his left arm. It was too late for him to make any move, much less Ban Shuxian’s sword was threatening his vital point; he simply could not move. Immediately he sent his internal energy to his left arm.

    When He Taichong’s sword cut his left arm, the blade suddenly slid to the side; the sword lost its power, as if it was cutting a slippery and resilient object. Yet the sleeve of Yang Xiao’s white robe suddenly turned red. Obviously his arm was cut after all.

    Right this moment, Yang Xiao’s body suddenly stiffened and slipped more than a ‘zhang’ backward, just like if someone was tying a rope around his neck and pulling him with such an unbelievable speed. Ban Shuxian’s sword was initially resting on his forehead. As Yang Xiao slipped backwards, the tip of the sword cut through from his forehead to his nose, mouth and chest, creating a long strip of bloody scar several ‘fen’ deep. [1 fen is approximately 1/3 of a centimeter or about 1/8 of an inch].

    It was a very risky move on Yang Xiao’s part. Supposing Ban Shuxian’s sword were half a ‘cun’ deeper [1 cun = 1 inch], Yang Xiao’s chest and abdomen would be fatally cut. As he slipped away, immediately he stood stiffly up. These two movements were totally unpredictable. His knees were not bent, his waist did not buckle, he slipped out abruptly and stood up suddenly, as if his body was a mass of spring. The way his body stiffened strangely was no different from a zombie.

    As Yang Xiao stood up, his feet pushed down and ‘Crack! Crack!’ both swords of He Taichong and his wife were broken. Although his two kicks were sent out one after another, the speed was like lightning as if they were sent out at the same time. Based on He Taichong and Ban Shuxian’s swordsmanship attainment, even if Yang Xiao martial art skill were stronger, he should not have been able to break the two people’s swords just like that. Only his movements were so weird, plus he was seriously hurting when he suddenly escaped and launched a counterattack. He Taichong, husband and wife were so shocked that they pulled their sword a fraction of a second too late.

    After breaking the swords, Yang Xiao kicked the two sword tips that they flew toward their two owners. He Taichong, husband and wife used their broken swords to block, but their palms were shaken and half of their bodies tingled. Although they managed to block the tips of the swords, the shock they experienced was not small. Hastily they retreated and jumped backward. One was standing on the northwest, the other on the southeast. Although they were holding half-broken swords in their hands, the ‘Yang’ sword pointed to the sky, the ‘Yin’ sword pointed to the earth. Two people with two swords combined and complemented each other. It was precisely the Kunlun Pai’s ‘liang yi jian fa’ [two appearances sword technique]. Although they were both scared, they still maintained a calm outward appearance, as steady and dignified as a mountain.

    Kunlun Pai’s ‘liang yi jian fa’ had enjoyed hundreds of years’ reputation. It was one of world-famous sword techniques. He Taichong, husband and wife came from the same school, they had been practicing together since they both were very young, so their familiarity with this particular skill was matchless.

    Yang Xiao had fought a number of great battles against the Kunlun Pai. He knew this sword technique was truly fierce. Although he was not afraid, he realized that he would not be able to defeat these two people in less than several hundred moves. This moment the only thing in his heart was Ji Xiaofu's death, how could he have any mood to fight? Let alone the cuts on his arm and face were not light, he would face an extreme danger if he let the wound bleed without an end. Thereupon he coldly said, "Kunlun Pai did not make any progress at all. I have to leave for the time being, but I will be back in the future to settle the score with worthy husband and wife."

    His left hand was still holding Yang Buhui, his right hand reached out to pull Zhang Wuji. Without anybody saw him raise his foot or move his leg, he suddenly moved back more than a 'zhang'. With one turn of his body, he was already several 'zhang' away.

    Mr. and Mrs. He looked at each other in astonishment; it was not easy for them to get rid of this big devil head, how could they dare to pursue?

    Carrying two children along, in one breath Yang Xiao covered a distance of several 'li' before he stopped suddenly. He asked Zhang Wuji, "What happened to Miss Ji Xiaofu?" He was running very fast, but was able to stop abruptly just like that, it was as if his body was nailed to the ground, he did not move even for half a 'fen'.

    Zhang Wuji could not overcome the momentum, he was pulled forward and would have fallen if Yang Xiao did not pull him back. Hearing the question, he gasped for breath for a moment before answering, "Ji Gugu has died. Believe me or believe me not, it is entirely up to you. Why did you have to break my arm?"

    A flash of regret appeared on Yang Xiao's face, but he kept asking, "She ... how did she die?" There was a hint of sobbing in his voice.

    After drinking Ban Shuxian's poison, it had not been completely eradicated from his system although Zhang Wuji was able to vomit most of the poison and had also taken some anti-poison pills along the way. Presently he felt pain in his stomach again, so taking the golden-crowned blood snake, he let the snake bite his left hand index finger and suck the poison, while narrating in details how he came to know Ji Xiaofu, how he treated her injury, how he saw she was beaten to death by Miejue Shitai. By the time he finished his story, the golden-crowned blood snake had also finished sucking the poisonous blood from his body.

    Yang Xiao asked him in detail what Ji Xiaofu had said at the point of her death. With tears streaming down his face he said. "That wicked nun Miejue was forcing her to harm me. If she agreed, not only she would render a great service to Emei Pai, she would also take over the Zhang Men position. Ay, Xiaofu, oh, Xiaofu, you would rather die than giving her your consent. Actually, you need only to pretend that you agreed, then wouldn't we meet each other again? Then you would not have to lose your life under that wicked nun Miejue."

    Zhang Wuji said, "Ji Gugu was a righteous person. She was not willing to scheme in secret and kill you surreptitiously but she was also unwilling to deceive her Shifu."

    With a bitter laugh Yang Xiao said, "You knew Xiaofu well ... who would have guessed that her own Shifu could actually strike a vicious blow and took her life."

    Zhang Wuji said, "I promised Ji Gugu that I will take Buhui Meimei to you ..."

    Yang Xiao stiffened. "Buhui Meimei?" he asked. Turning his head, he asked Yang Buhui, "Child, my obedient treasure, what is your surname? And what is your given name?"

    "My surname is Yang," Yang Buhui answered, "My name is Buhui [no regret]."

    Yang Xiao looked up to the sky and let out a long whistle. His voice shook the forest in all directions that leaves were falling down like rain. When he finally stopped after a long time, he said, "You really are surnamed Yang. Buhui, Buhui. Good! Xiaofu, although I forced my desire on you, you had no regret.”

    Ji Xiaofu had told Zhang Wuji the sin and fate between the two people. This time he met Yang Xiao in person and found him to be handsome, natural and a bit unrestrained. Although he was somewhat older, he still could be considered as an elegant and graceful handsome man. Compared to his sixth uncle Yin Liting, who was still a bit childish, Zhang Wuji was afraid it would be easier for Yang Xiao to make a woman fall upside down. Ji Xiaofu was disgraced by force, but in the end she fell in love with him; she must not be blamed. Although by this time Zhang Wuji was still too young to understand clearly, he had a vague thought about this kind of love-hate relationship.

    The pain on Zhang Wuji’s broken left arm was unbearable. Because for the time being he was not able to find herbal medicine to set broken bones and stop the pain, he had no alternative but to connect his broken bones first, then try to find some herbal medicine and apply it to his arm to reduce the swelling. He took two pieces of branch and used the tree bark to bind the branches onto his broken arm. Yang Xiao was amazed to see that young as he was, Zhang Wuji was able to mend the broken bones with only one hand with an absolute proficiency.

    Finished binding his arm, Zhang Wuji said, “Yang Bobo, I have not failed Ji Gugu’s trust. Buhui Meimei is safely in her Papa’s hands. Let us part here.”

    Yang Xiao said, “From tens of thousands ‘li’ you have come to take my daughter to me. How can I not repay you? What is it that you want? All you need to do is open your mouth. In this world, the matters that are impossible for Yang Xiao achieve, the things that are unreachable to Yang Xiao, I am afraid are not too many.”

    Zhang Wuji laughed and said, “Yang Bobo, you look down on Ji Gugu too much. It was in vain that she died for you.”

    Yang Xiao’s face was greatly changed. “What did you say?” he roared.

    Zhang Wuji said, “It was because Ji Gugu did not look down on me that she entrusted her daughter to me to take to you. If I am doing this to seek reward, do you think I would be worthy of her trust?” While in his heart he thought, “Along the way Buhui Meimei has encountered countless difficulties and I have had countless suffering for her. If I were greedy for benefit, unrighteous and unworthy disciple, how could you, father and daughter meet each other today?” It was just that he did not like to flaunt his own merit that he did not mention even a single word about the various hardships he endured along the way. As he finished speaking, he bowed with clasped hands and then turned around to leave.

    “Wait!” Yang Xiao said, “You have done me a great kindness. Yang Xiao always repays gratitude and grudges. Come with me. Within a year I will pass on to you the world’s rarest and fiercest martial art skills.”

    Zhang Wuji had seen it with his own eyes how he broke the swords of He Taichong, husband and wife; this kind of martial art skill was indeed rare to find its match in the Jianghu, so if he could learn only half a style from him, it would give him a tremendous advantage. However, he remembered Tai Shifu [grand master – referring to Zhang Sanfeng] repeatedly warned him not to associate himself with the Devil Cult people. Besides, even if Yang Xiao’s martial art skills were higher, how could he surpass Tai Shifu? In addition to that, his own life would not be longer than half a year more; what would be the use even if he learned the unmatched martial art skill in the world? Thereupon he said, “Many thanks for Yang Bobo’s offer, but ‘wanbei’ [younger generation – referring to self] is a Wudang disciple; I do not dare to learn other Sect’s bright skill.”

    “Oh,” Yang Xiao said, “Turns out you are Wudang Pai’s disciple! In that case, Yin Liting … Yin Liu Xia [sixth hero] …”

    Zhang Wuji said, “Yin Liu Xia is my Shishu [martial (younger) uncle]. Ever since my own father passed away, Yin Liushu’s treatment to me is no different than my own uncle. By accepting Ji Gugu’s entrustment to take Buhui Meimei to Mount Kunlun, I cannot avoid … cannot avoid feeling ashamed toward Yin Liushu.”

    As his gaze met with Zhang Wuji’s, Yang Xiao felt ashamed. Waving his right hand, he said, “The Ol’ Yang is deeply indebted to you. I am ashamed I cannot repay. Since that is the case, we will meet again someday.” His shadow swayed, he was already several ‘zhang’ away.

    Yang Buhui called out loudly, “Wuji Gege, Wuji Gege!” But Yang Xiao was unleashing his ‘qing gong’, in an instant he was very far, the ‘Wuji Gege’ cry gradually disappeared in the distant, until at last Yang Buhui’s voice and her shadow vanished from his view.

    End of Chapter 14.
    __________________
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 09:09 AM.

  16. #16
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 15 –Strange Scheme and Secret Intrigue Like in a Dream
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    For tens of thousands ‘li’ Zhang Wuji had been travelling together with Yang Buhui, keeping each other company and relying on each other. Now that they suddenly parted, he felt sadness. However, thinking that at last he did not fail Ji Xiaofu by successfully delivering her daughter to Yang Xiao, he could not help feeling relieved and gratified. After standing still for half a day, he remembered that he might bump into He Taichong, Ban Shuxian, or other Kunlun Pai here, so he quickly walked down the valley.

    After walking for more than ten days, his arm was gradually healing; however, wandering around Kunlun Mountains, he still could not find his way out of the mountain. One particular day, he walked for half a day and then stopped by a pile of rocks to take a rest. Suddenly from the northwesterly direction he heard sound of barking dogs. From the noise, he estimated there were about a dozen dogs or so. The sound of barking was getting closer, it seemed like the dogs were pursuing some wild animal. Amidst the barking dogs, there appeared a little monkey running for his life; there was a short arrow sticking out from the rear of the monkey’s thigh. The monkey was still several ‘zhang’ away from Zhang Wuji when suddenly it fell tumbling down. Because of the arrow on its thigh it was unable to climb a tree. By this time its strength was gone that it could not even crawl back up.

    Zhang Wuji came near the monkey and looked; the monkey looked back at him with fear, but its eyes also spoke to him, begging for pity. Zhang Wuji's heart was touched; he mused, "I am also running away from Kunlun Pai people, so we are in the same boat." Thereupon he gently lifted the monkey up and pulled the arrow out. Then he took some medicine from his pocket and applied it on the arrow wound.

    Right this moment the barking of the dogs sounded very near. Zhang Wuji quickly opened his robe and hid the monkey in his bosom. He heard loud and intense 'woof! woof! woof!' as a pack of about a dozen large hounds with sharp teeth surrounded him. The hounds smelled the monkey. They bare their fangs and brandish their claws threateningly, but did not dare to attack immediately.

    Zhang Wuji was terrified to see these vicious dogs exposing their row after row of sharp white teeth. He knew that as soon as he let the monkey in his bosom out, the dogs would turn their attention to the monkey and would not give him any trouble. However, he had received instruction from his father since he was a child to take chivalry seriously; he did not want to fail even toward a wild animal. Immediately he leaped over the dogs and ran as fast as he could. The pack of dogs barked wildly and ran after him.

    How could Zhang Wuji match the speed of the hounds? He only managed to run for about a dozen of 'zhang' when the pack of dogs overtook him. He felt a sudden pain on his leg as a vicious dog sank its teeth on him and would not let him go. Hastily he turned around and struck the dog's head with his palm. This palm strike carried his entire strength. The dog rolled down on the ground and then stopped moving altogether. The rest of the hounds attacked together. Zhang Wuji punched and kicked wildly with all his strength. However, his arm had not completely healed that he could not rotate his left hand; before long, a vicious dog bit his left hand and then the dogs pounced on him from all directions. His head, his face, his shoulders, practically his entire body was bitten by the dogs. While he was about to lose his consciousness out of shock and fear, he heard faint calls of a clear and tender voice of a woman. But the voice seemed to be very far away. His vision blackened and he passed out.

    In his unconscious state, Zhang Wuji felt as if he was in the middle of packs of jackals and wolves, tigers and leopards which were ready to devour him. He wanted to cry out for help, but no sound was coming out of his mouth. Suddenly he heard that someone was saying, "The critical situation has passed, perhaps he will live."

    Zhang Wuji opened his eyes and saw a pale yellow light. He felt he was lying on a bed inside a small room, with a middle-aged man standing next to his bed.

    "Da ... Dashu ... [big uncle, or more appropriately: honorable uncle] I ... how did I .." Zhang Wuji only managed to utter these words when he suddenly felt burning pains all over his body. Only then did he slowly remember that he was attacked and bitten by a pack of wild hounds.

    "Xiaozi [boy, kid]," that man said, "Just consider yourself lucky you did not die. What is it? Are you hungry?"

    "I ... where am I?" Zhang Wuji said. Because of severe pain all over his body, Zhang Wuji passed out again.

    By the time he came around for the second time, the middle-aged man was no longer in the room. Zhang Wuji thought, "Definitely I won't live much longer, why do I have to experience this much torment?" Looking down his body, he saw his neck, his chest, arms and thighs were wrapped in cotton cloths, while a strong smell of medicine assailed his nostrils. Turned out someone was treating his wounds, but from the smell of the medicine, he knew the person applying the ointment had a rather shallow medical skill. He smelled almond, 'ma qian zi' [sorry, I don't know what it is], 'fang feng' [windproof], 'nan xing' [southern star], and various other herbs. These kind of herbs were effective to treat rabid dog bites, as it would draw out rabies pus from the wound; but the dogs biting him were not rabid at all, his wounds were on his flesh and bones, without any poisoning. The medicine was not only ineffective, it would increase the pain.

    Powerless to get up, he lay down until dawn. The middle-aged man came to check him up. Zhang Wuji said, "Dashu, thank you so much for saving me."

    The man coldly said, "This is the 'Hong Mei Shan Zhuang' [Red Plum Villa]; it was our Miss who saved you. Are you hungry?" While saying that he went out and came back with a bowl of steaming hot porridge.

    Zhang Wuji drank several mouthful, but his stomach was nauseous; his head was dizzy and he did not have the appetite to each more.

    He lay down for eight days before he was finally strong enough to get up. His legs felt weak without the least bit of strength. He knew it was because of excessive lost of blood, so it would take a while to recover.

    The man came everyday to deliver his food and change his medication. Although his expression was rather bored, Zhang Wuji was still very appreciative toward him. Only, Zhang Wuji's mind was filled with unanswered questions, but he did not dare to ask too much because the man seemed uninterested to converse with him.

    One day, the man returned with the same medication, 'fang feng', 'nan xing' and so on. Zhang Wuji could not help from saying, "Dashu, these medicines are not effective for my illness. Would you change it for me?"

    The man turned to him with a condescending look. After staring at Zhang Wuji for half a day he said, "Laoye [old master, grandmaster] personally wrote the prescription; how can he be wrong? You said the medicine is not effective, how could it revive you from the dead then? Really! Little kid is babbling nonsense. If our Laoye heard it, he might not be offended, but you really do not know good from bad." While saying that he spread the medicine on Zhang Wuji's wound. Zhang Wuji could only force a smile.

    The man said, "I think you wound is so much better. Why don't you go see Laoye, Taitai [Madame], and Xiaojie [Miss] to kowtow and thank them for saving your life?"

    "That is only appropriate," Zhang Wuji said, "Dashu, why don't you take me to see them?"

    The man led Zhang Wuji out of the small room, walked through a long corridor, passed through two halls, and came to a warm chamber. It was the beginning of winter, but the Kunlun region had been very cold for quite some time. The room was as warm as the springtime. Zhang Wuji could not locate the furnace; he only saw the chamber was decorated extravagantly, with couches draped in brocade and soft pillows. In all his life Zhang Wuji had never seen such a splendid and cozy room as the one he was in. Looking at his own dirty clothes, he felt so out of place standing inside such a luxurious warm room; he could not help feeling ashamed at his own filth.

    There was no one inside the warm room, but the man’s expression was extremely respectful. Bowing, he said, “The boy who was bitten by the dog is well, he wants to kowtow to Laoye and Taitai to express his gratitude.” After saying this, he stood silently with relaxed hands; he did not even dare to breathe loudly.

    After what seemed like a long time, from behind the screen walked in a fifteen, sixteen year-old young woman. She cast a sidelong glance toward Zhang Wuji and said, “Qiao Fu, what are you doing? Why did you bring him here? If the bugs and parasites from his body jump down, what are we going to do?”

    “Yes, yes!” Qiao Fu replied.

    Zhang Wuji had already been uncomfortable, this time his face blushed even redder. Other than the one on his back, he did not have any other change of clothes. Certainly his clothes were full with bedbugs and fleas by now. He thought that this Miss was not the least bit wrong.

    He saw her face was oval like a goose egg, her black hair drooped over her shoulders. She was wearing some kind of fine silk or satin, which sparkled under the light. She wore a golden bracelet on her wrist. In short, he had never seen such a splendid and luxurious young lady. He mused, “When I was surrounded by the pack of dogs, I faintly heard a woman’s voice shouting. That Qiao Fu Da Shu also said that it was his Miss who saved me. I ought to thank her.” Thereupon he kneeled down and kowtowed. “Thank you Miss for saving me,” he said, “I will never dare to forget your kindness as long as I live.”

    The young girl was startled, and then she giggled. “Qiao Fu, Qiao Fu, what did you do? Did you fool this dumb kid?”

    Qiao Fu laughed and said, “Xiao Feng Jiejie [older sister], this dumb kid kowtowed to you, you shouldn’t accept it. The dumb kid has never seen beautiful face; he thought you are our Miss! But come to think about it, our home’s maid is somewhat comparable to our honorable precious Miss [orig. ‘qian jin’ – thousand gold].”

    Zhang Wuji was stunned, he stood up hastily. “It’s bad!” he thought, “Turns out she is a maid, and I thought she was the Miss.” His face turned red and white as he was extremely embarrassed.

    Xiao Feng suppressed her laughter. She looked at Zhang Wuji to size him up. His face and upper body were still stained with blood; his wounds were still wrapped in cloth strips. Zhang Wuji was very self-conscious; he was aware of his filth and unsightly appearance, he wished the earth would open up and swallow him.

    Xiao Feng lifted her sleeve to cover her nose while saying, “Laoye and Taitai are busy, you don’t need to kowtow. Let’s go to see Miss.” While saying that, she circled around Zhang Wuji at a distant and hurriedly led the way because she was afraid the bugs and fleas from Zhang Wuji’s body might jump onto hers.

    Zhang Wuji followed behind Xiao Feng and Qiao Fu. Along the way he noticed the maids and servants were all wearing expensive looking clothes and jewelry. Of the chambers, halls and pavilions he passed there were not any that didn’t look exquisitely beautiful. Zhang Wuji spent the first ten years of his life on the Bing Huo Island [ice and fire]. For the next several years, he spent half his time on Mount Wudang, the other half in the Butterfly Valley. His food and drink and everyday life was very simple. He had never imagined that there were this kind of rich and luxury households in the world.

    After walking for a while, they arrived outside a large pavilion. Zhang Wuji saw a sign above the door, which read 'ling ao ying' [spirit mastiff camp]. Xiao Feng walked into the pavilion. A moment later she came out and beckoned them to enter in. Qiao Fu then brought Zhang Wuji in.

    As soon as he stepped in, Zhang Wuji was shocked, for he saw more than thirty ferocious looking large dogs, arranged in three rows, crouching on the ground. A young woman wearing genuine arctic fox fur coat was sitting on a chair draped in tiger skin. There was a whip in her hand. She barked, "General Qian, throat!"

    A vicious dog leaped up suddenly and bit the throat of someone who was standing by the wall. "Aiyo!" Zhang Wuji could not help but crying out as he saw this cruel scene. He saw the dog bit off a piece of flesh and then sat down and started to chew. When he calmed down, Zhang Wuji noticed that the person was actually a dummy made of leather. All its vital points were covered in chunks of meat.

    The young woman barked again, "General Che Qi! Lower abdomen!" The second vicious dog leaped up and bit the dummy's lower abdomen.

    To Zhang Wuji's surprise, these dogs were in training to follow orders to attack people. Their bites were highly accurate. To his shock, Zhang Wuji recognized these dogs as the pack of malicious hounds that wildly bit him at the mountain. Thinking back, he vaguely remembered that the shout which stopped the dogs was the voice of this young woman. At first he only knew that this Miss had saved his life, but now he realized that the many suffering he received was actually because of her. Anger arose to fill his chest; he thought, "That's it, that's it! She was in cahoots with the dogs. How can I deal with her? If I knew it earlier, I would rather die on that mountain than treating my injuries in her house." Ripping the bandages from his body, he threw strips of cloth to the ground then he turned around and walked away.

    "Hey, hey!" Qiao Fu called out, "What are you doing? This is our Miss, why don't you kowtow to her?"

    "Pei!" Zhang Wuji spat, "Thank her for what? The malicious dogs that injured me, don't they belong to her?"

    The young woman turned her head. Seeing the extremely angry expression on Zhang Wuji's face, she showed a faint smile and beckoned him. "Xiao Xiongdi, come here," she called.

    When Zhang Wuji saw her face, his heart suddenly went 'thump, thump, thump' continuously, because this young woman face was very captivating; it was so fair and smooth. In trying to fight his feelings, his ears were buzzing, his back turned cold and his limbs slightly trembled. He quickly hang his head low, he did not dare to look at her. His face, which was originally bloodless, suddenly turned deep red.

    The young woman laughed. "Come here," she called again.

    Zhang Wuji looked up. His eyes met her bright eyes which were like a vast expanse of water. His mind suddenly turned blurry; he slowly walked toward her against his own will.

    "Xiao Xiongdi," the young woman said with a smile, "You are angry with me, aren't you?"

    Zhang Wuji had suffered many pains under these dogs' teeth, how could he not be angry? But as he stood in front of her, he only felt that her breath smelled like orchid, her body emitted intermittent whiff of fragrance that he felt he was going to faint; how could he think about this word 'angry'? Shaking his head, he said, "I am not!"

    The young woman said, "My surname is Zhu, given name Jiuzhen. How about you?"

    "I am called Zhang Wuji," Zhang Wuji replied.

    "Wuji, Wuji!" Zhu Jiuzhen said, "Hmm, it is a very elegant name. [Translator's note: Wuji means 'without a shame'] Xiao Xiongdi must have come from an aristocratic family. Mmm ... why don't you sit over there?" While saying that, she pointed to a low stool by her side.

    Since the day he was born, Zhang Wuji had never seen such a beautiful woman that he was shaken to the core as if he was enchanted. If Zhu Jiuzhen told him to jump into a fiery pit, he would jump down without hesitation. Hearing her telling him to sit next to her, with unspeakable delight he immediately went and sat down reverently. It was beyond Xiao Feng and Qiao Fu’s expectations to see their Miss showing favor toward this dirty and stinky kid.

    Zhu Jiuzhen barked her order again, “General Zhe Chong! Chest!” One large dog leaped up to bite the dummy, but the meat on the chest of that dummy had been bitten by another dog; so that dog bit the meat on the side of the dummy’s body and started to eat it.

    Zhu Jiuzhen angrily said, “Greedy pig! You did not follow orders?” Raising the whip in her hand, ‘Whack! Whack!’ she lashed it twice.

    The whip was full of thorns, as it lashed down, two long strips of bloodstains appeared on the back of the dog. But the dog was still unwilling to put the meat down, it growled menacingly instead.

    “You are not following orders?” Zhu Jiuzhen barked. The whip lashed again, striking the dog so that it rolled around wildly with blood dripping from all around its body. Her whip technique was swift and ingenious, no matter where the dog run, it could not escape from the whip. At last the dog spat out the meat and then kneeled on the ground, motionless, whining in low voice. Yet Zhu Jiuzhen did not stop lashing her whip until it was dying to its last breath, and then she said, “Qiao Fu, put medicine on it.”

    “Yes, Miss!” Qiao Fu replied, and took the wounded dog out of the hall and handed it over to the servant in charge of the dogs.

    The rest of the dogs were all frightened to see this scene; no one dared to move. Zhu Jiuzhen sat back on her chair and barked her orders again, “General Ping Kou! Left leg! General Wei Yuan! Right arm! General Zheng Dong! Eye!” One by one the vicious dogs leaped bit according to the order, no one missed the target.

    To Zhang Wuji’s amazement, she had given these dozens of ferocious dogs names as generals, while she directed them all with ease and competence just like a marshall. Zhu Jiuzhen turned her head toward Zhang Wuji and said with a smile, “Did you see these animals? If I do not firmly beat them with the whip, how can they be obedient to me?”

    Although this pack of dogs had inflicted enormous pain on him, seeing the dog was beaten to miserable condition, Zhang Wuji could not restrain from feeling sorrowful.

    Seeing he did not respond, Zhu Jiuzhen laughed and said, “You said you are not mad at me, but you don’t say something? How did you come to the western region? Where are your father and mother?”

    Zhang Wuji thought that with his current miserable condition, if he mentioned the name of Tai Shifu and his parents’ names, he would only bring disgrace to them; thereupon he said, “My parents are dead. It was hard for me to survive in the Central Plains, so I wandered everywhere and ended up in here.”

    “I shot that monkey,” Zhu Jiuzhen said, “Who told you to hide it in your bosom? You were so hungry that you wanted to eat monkey’s meat, weren’t you? You had not thought that you might be ripped to death by my dogs.”

    Zhang Wuji blushed; he repeatedly shook his head and said, “I was not thinking of eating the monkey.”

    With a captivating smile Zhu Jiuzhen said, “In front of me, you’d better not deny it.” Suddenly she remembered something and asked, “What kind of martial art did you train? My General Zuo’s skull shattered and it died. Your palm power is truly not bad.”

    Hearing that he had killed one of her pet dogs, Zhang Wuji apologetically said, “I was in panic and hit with all I had. When I was little, I learned two, three years of random punching and kicking with my father, it was not any martial art at all.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen nodded, then turned to Xiao Feng and said, “Take him to bath and give him some presentable clothes.”

    Xiao Feng pursed her lips, laughed and said, “Yes!” and took Zhang Wuji out.

    Zhang Wuji was reluctant to part from Zhu Jiuzhen; as he reached the door, he could not help but turn his head to look at her one more time. Who would have thought that Zhu Jiuzhen was also looking at him? As he looked at her bright and beautiful eyes, she flashed him a sweet and captivating smile. Zhang Wuji blushed until he felt his entire body, from the root of his hair to the end of his toes, turned red; as if his soul had just left him. He did not pay attention to the threshold, and thus he tripped and fell flat on his face, right on top of dog dung. His entire body was still covered with wounds; this fall had made him sore all over, but he did not dare to groan, he busily propped himself up and crawled away.

    Xiao Feng giggled and said, “To see our Miss, everybody would be infatuated and head over heels in love with her. But you are still this young, you are also falling for her?” Zhang Wuji was really embarrassed, he rushed ahead of her.

    After walking for a while, Xiao Feng laughed and said, “Are you going to take a bath and change your clothes in Taitai’s room?”

    Zhang Wuji halted his steps at once and looked up; he saw above the door ahead of them hung an embroidered golden banner. He had never been to this place before. It was then that he realized that in his confusion he had taken the wrong turn. That maid Xiao Feng was so sly that although she knew, she did not say anything, but waited until he went straight to the family room before opening up her mouth to mock him.

    Zhang Wuji hang his reddened face down without saying anything. Xiao Feng said, “You call me ‘Xiao Feng Jiejie’ and earnestly ask me, then I’ll take you out.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “Xiao Feng Jiejie …”

    With her right hand index finger pointing to her own cheek Xiao Feng said with straight face, “Hmm, what do you want from me?”

    “I am asking you to take me out,” Zhang Wuji said.

    “That’s better,” Xiao Feng laughed.

    Taking him back to the small room, Xiao Feng said to Qiao Fu, “Miss said for him to take a bath and change his clothes with a clean one.”

    “Yes, yes!” Qiao Fu replied. He was full of respect. Apparently, although Xiao Feng was also but a servant, compared to the other servants and maids her position was somewhat higher. Five, six male servants immediately stepped in, calling her ‘Xiao Feng Jiejie this’ and ‘Xiao Feng Jiejie that’, flattering her to no end. Xiao Feng actually looked cold and indifferent. Suddenly she came to Zhang Wuji and bowed to him,

    Zhang Wuji was flabbergasted. “You … why?” he stammered.

    Xiao Feng laughed and said, “Just now you kowtowed to me, right now I am returning the respect to you.” Finished speaking, she disappeared into the inner chamber in a flash.

    Qiao Fu told everybody else how Zhang Wuji thought Xiao Feng was their Miss, how he kowtowed to her, adding some spices to his story, describing Zhang Wuji’s appearance as more ridiculous than it actually was so the hall was full with the crowd of servants’ howl of laughter. Zhang Wuji entered the room with his head hung low, but he was not angry. His heart was filled with the memory of the Miss’ laughter and anger, and each word she uttered.

    After he took a bath, he saw Qiao Fu return with a set of dark green clothing, which he recognized as the servants’ attire. Zhang Wuji was angry in his heart, “I am not your family’s servant,” he mused, “How do you expect me to wear this kind of clothes?” He was about to wear his own worn out clothes when suddenly he noticed it was full of holes, exposing his skin and flesh. “If Miss wants to see me again and sees that I am still wearing this kind of dirty and worn out clothing, she will be unhappy,” he thought, “Actually, what wrong with me being her servant and doing errands for her?” With this thought, he calmed down and changed into the servant clothes.

    Contrary to his expectation, not only the Miss did not call him that day, for the next a dozen of days later, he did not even see Xiao Feng, let alone the Miss. Zhang Wuji often daydreamed with blank expression on his face, thinking the Miss’ voice, her laugh and her face. He even felt that her appearance when she fiercely whipping the dogs was kind of flirtatious and lovely. He was thinking of going to the rear courtyard on his own. He would be satisfied just by looking at her from a distant, or hearing her voice when she was talking to someone else. But Qiao Fu had repeatedly warned him that if it was not their master who summoned them, they were not supposed to enter the gate. Otherwise, the vicious dogs would devour them. Remembering the ferociousness of the dogs, although he longed to see her, in the end he decided it was probably not a good idea to go to the rear courtyard.

    More than a month had passed. Zhang Wuji’s broken arm was healed as good as new. The wounds of the dogs’ bite had also been healed, only there were some permanent teeth mark scars on his arms and legs. However, instead of feeling upset, a feeling of sweetness crept into his heart each time he remembered that these scars were from the Miss’ pet dogs.

    These days, the cold poison in his body still flared up once every few days. Each time it flared up, it was worse than the last. One day the poison attacked him again. He lay down on the bed with the cotton quilt wrapped tightly around his body, while he was shivering badly. Qiao Fu came into the room. He was accustomed to see Zhang Wuji under the cold attack and did not think of anything unusual.

    “Get plenty of rest,” he said, “Drink lots of hot preserved meat porridge! This is the new clothes Taitai [Madame] give to you for the New Year.” While saying that, he put a bundle on the table.

    Zhang Wuji endured the poison attack all through the night before the cold gradually subsided. He got up and opened the bundle only to see a set of leather clothes. The lining was of snow-white sheepskin. He was delighted. The style of the leather clothes was still of the servant attire, apparently the Zhu family had regarded him as their servant.

    Zhang Wuji had always had a warm nature and seldom lost his temper; he did not consider the clothes as an insult. He only thought, “It’s hard to imagine I have been here for more than a month. Very soon it will be the New Year. Mr. Hu said I would not live for more than a year. This New Year will be my last. I will be gone before the next New Year.”

    As the year came to a close and the New Year’s Day approached, the bustling of activities in the rich family doubled. The servants were very busy painting the walls and the doors, and slaughtering pigs and sheep; all were in high spirits. Zhang Wuji helped Qiao Fu do some errands. He was hoping the New Year’s Day would arrive soon, thinking that when he kowtowed to wish Laoye, Taitai and Miss a happy new year, he would see Miss again. After seeing her one more time, he would quietly go away and die in some remote mountain area, so that he would not be an unnecessary burden for Qiao Fu and the other servants.

    Amidst the noise of the firecrackers, the New Year’s Day arrived. Zhang Wuji followed Qiao Fu toward the main hall to greet their masters for the New Year. He saw a pair of elegant and beautiful middle-aged man and woman sitting in the hall, while around seventy, eighty maids and servants kneeled down on the floor.

    With a happy laugh the man and the woman said, “Everybody has worked hard!” While on the side, two housekeepers distributed money. Zhang Wuji also received two ‘liang’ [tael] of silver. He did not see the Miss and was very disappointed. Holding the money with a blank expression on his face, he suddenly heard a charming and flirtatious voice from the outside, “Biaoge [older male cousin], you come here early this year.” It was precisely Zhu Jiuzhen’s voice.

    A male voice laughed and said, “Would I dare to come late to greet Jiujiu and Jiumu [maternal uncle and aunt, respectively] a happy new year?”

    Zhang Wuji’s face turned hot; he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest, his palms were wet with perspiration. After hoping for two whole months this was the first time he heard Zhu Jiuzhen’s voice again; how would he stop his soul from being shaken?

    He heard another female voice saying, “Shige [older martial brother] rushed here early, I wonder if he wants to pay a New Year visit to our Elders, or if he wants to a New Year visit to Biaomei [younger female cousin]?”

    Amidst the voices, three people stepped into the hall. The crowd of servants stepped aside one after another. Zhang Wuji absentmindedly stood motionless. It was not until Qiao Fu forcefully pulled him aside that he finally moved out of the way.

    Among the three people walked in, one was a young man. Zhu Jiuzhen walked on his left. She was wearing a scarlet sable coat, accentuating her tender and beautiful face, difficult to be described, difficult to be painted. On the other side of the young man was another young woman.
    Ever since Zhu Jiuzhen entered the hall, Zhang Wuji’s eyes had never left her; he did not even care whether the young man and the other young woman were smart or were ugly, or whether they were wearing red or green. The two people kowtowed toward the masters, husband and wife. The hosts and the guests exchanged some words, but Zhang Wuji was oblivious to it all; he heard it but did not understand. In his eyes there was only Zhu Jiuzhen one person.

    Actually Zhang Wuji was still too young, about male-female relationship, he only ‘knew one but understand a half’. However, just like everybody else, it was the first time his lust was awakened by a young and good-looking woman that he was infatuated and head over heels like a fool; so it was hardly Zhang Wuji’s natural disposition at all. Furthermore Zhu Jiuzhen was indeed dazzlingly beautiful, and he met her while he was in distress and she saved him; his admiration was hard to control. He only felt that as long as he could look at her once and hear her voice, then he would have an inexhaustible joy.

    The masters, husband and wife, talked with three young people for a while. “Pa, Ma,” Zhu Jiuzhen said, “I am going out to play with Biaoge and Qing Mei [younger sister Qing]!” Her voice carried a thirty-percent little spoiled girl’s tone. The masters smiled and nodded.

    Mrs. Zhu said with a laugh, “Take good care of Wu Jia Meizi [little sister of the Wu family], you, three teenagers, must not quarrel among yourselves in this New Year’s Day.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen laughed. “Ma,” she said, “Why don’t you tell Biaoge not to bully me?”

    The three young people were talking and walking toward the rear courtyard. Without realizing it, Zhang Wuji followed from a distance. That day the servants had the freedom to do whatever they liked; some went out to play, some went out to gamble. By this time Zhang Wuji had seen clearly that the young man was quite handsome, his body was as beautiful as jade. Even in a cold day like this, he was only wearing thin yellow satin clothes; obviously his internal energy was not weak.

    The other girl was wearing a black sable coat. Her figure was slender and graceful, her words and actions were refined. Speaking of grace and beauty, she was comparable to Zhu Jiuzhen, but in Zhang Wuji’s eyes, she was nothing compared to the Miss he venerated as a goddess. All three of them were about seventeen, eighteen years of age.

    The three of them were walking and talking and laughing toward the rear courtyard. “Zhen Jie [older sister Zhen],” the other girl said, “Have you trained your Yi Yang Zhi [solitary yang finger] skill to the second level? Would you demonstrate it to broaden Meizi’s [younger sister] horizon?”

    “Aiyo!” Zhu Jiuzhen said, “You don’t want me to look good, do you? Even if I trained for ten more years, I would never surpass one stroke of your Wu family’s ‘lan hua xue shou’ [orchid acupoint brushing technique].”

    The young man said with a laugh, “The two of you need not to be modest. The great name of ‘Xue Ling Shuang Shu’ [Two Beauties of the Snowy Range] possesses an impressive power and prestige.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen said, “Being alone in my home, I blindly think through this, how can I surpass your rapid advancement, Shi Xiong Mei [martial (older) brother and (younger) sister], who can consult and discuss between the two of you? Today you came to see the stance, tomorrow you compare notes, doesn’t that mean ‘a thousand ‘li’ in one day’?”

    The other girl could hear the vinegar [meaning ‘jealousy’] in her voice; she simply pursed her lips without saying anything, but in doing so, she tacitly agreed with what she was saying.

    The young man was afraid Zhu Jiuzhen would get angry for real. “That’s not necessarily true,” he quickly said, “You have two Shifus, with Jiufu and Jiumu both teaching you, won’t you be stronger than we are?”

    Zhu Jiuzhen angrily said, “What do you mean by ‘we’? Humph, of course you love your Shimei more than your Biaomei. Whenever I am playing with Qing Mei, you are always in her side.” While saying that, she turned her head away, no longer paid any attention to him.

    Accompanied by a smile, the young man said, “I love my Biaomei, I also love my Shimei. My palm is part of my body, as much as the back of my hand, there is no difference between one and another. Biaomei, why don’t you take me to see those guard generals of yours? Certainly you have trained those generals to be fiercer and fiercer.”

    “Alright!” Zhu Jiuzhen started to feel happy; she led them toward the Ling Ao Ying.

    Zhang Wuji was following them from afar; he saw them talking and laughing, but he did not hear a word they were saying. Presently he also followed them into the dogs’ courtyard.

    Turned out Zhu Jiuzhen was a descendant of Zhu Zhiliu. The girl surnamed Wu was Wu Qingying, she was Wu Santong’s descendant from Wu Xiuwen’s line. Wu Santong and Zhu Zhiliu were disciples of Yideng Dashi [Reverend ‘One Lamp’], so their martial art skills came from the same source. But after more than a hundred years, each of the family developed their own variations. The two brothers Wu Dunru and Wu Xiuwen were under the tutelage of Da Xia [great hero] Guo Jing. Although they also learned the Yi Yang Zhi, their martial art style was closer to the ‘hard’ and ‘fierce’ way of Jiu Zhi Shen Gai [Nine-finger Divine Beggar] Hong Qigong.

    The young man, Wei Bi, was Zhu Jiuzhen’s [maternal] cousin. Not only he was handsome, his temperament was also gentle and easygoing, and thus both Zhu Jiuzhen and Wu Qingying’s hearts were captivated and both secretly fell in love with him. The two girls, Zhu and Wu, were approximately of the same age, they were both beautiful and glamorous. Just like the spring orchid and the autumn chrysanthemum, each had her own strength; the martial art skills they inherited from their respective families were also comparable.

    About two, three years ago, the Wulin community around the Kunlun region gave them the title ‘Xue Ling Shuang Shu’. Ever since then, these two women had been competing against each other in secret. This situation had put Wei Bi on the hot seat; it was as if he had to choose between the bear paw and the fish, a very difficult choice indeed. Consequently, each time the three of them were together, although outwardly they were polite, the two girls were actually fighting a battle of words, nobody was willing to yield to the other. Only Wu Qingying was more introvert and was not quite outspoken. Besides, Wei Bi and she were of the same school, everyday, day and night, they saw each other a lot; therefore, she had a distinct advantage over Zhu Jiuzhen.

    Zhu Jiuzhen ordered the servant in charge of the vicious dogs to release them out. The dogs followed orders to the letter, not one missed its intended target. Wei Bi did not stop voicing his compliments. Zhu Jiuzhen was very proud of herself.

    Wu Qingying pursed her lips and laughed. “Shige,” she said, “I wonder which one will you be in the future, ‘Guan Jun’ [lit. head of the army, champion], or ‘Piao Qi’ [lit. rider of the white horse]?”

    Wei Bi was taken aback. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

    Wu Qingying said, “You are so obedient toward Zhen Jie [older sister Zhen], won’t she bestow to you the title of ‘General Guan Jun’ or ‘General Piao Qi’? Only, you must be very careful toward her whip.”

    Wei Bi blushed deep red; there was a slight sign of anger in between of his eyebrows. “Pei!” he spat, “Rubbish! Are you cursing me as a dog?”

    Wu Qingying smiled and said, “The ‘generals’ are always by a beautiful woman’s side, shaking their tails and begging for affection. They have a very amusing life. What’s not to like?”

    Zhu Jiuzhen was angry. “If he were a dog,” she said, “What does that make his Shimei?”

    Listening to this, Zhang Wuji could not stop laughing, ‘Ha!’ escaped from his mouth. He realized immediately of his rudeness, so he covered up his mouth quickly.

    Wu Qingying felt anger was boiling inside her stomach, but she knew it was inappropriate to explode in front of Zhu Jiuzhen, so she stood up and said, “Zhen Jie, your mansion’s servants are truly well-mannered. We are chatting here and this servile kid unexpectedly eavesdropping on the side, and still dares to laugh once or twice. Shige, I am going home first.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen suddenly remembered that Zhang Wuji was able to strike dead her ‘General Zuo’ with his palm; his strength was actually not small. She laughed and said, “Qing Mei, you do not need to be angry, and do not underestimate this little servant either. Although your Wu family’s martial art is strong, if you are able to flatten this servile kid within three moves, I will truly submit to you.”

    “Humph,” Wu Qingying said, “Does this kind of kid deserve me put forth my own hand to deal with? Zhen Jie, you belittle me too much.”

    Zhang Wuji was not able to stop from shouting, “Miss Wu, I also have a father and a mother; am I not a human? What do you think you are? Bodhisattva? A princess?”

    Wu Qingying did not even look at him. “Shige,” she turned toward Wei Bi, “You let me receive the insult this little servant hurled at me without helping me?”

    Seeing her loveable and hurt expression, Wei Bi’s heart had melted early on. Although he was impartial toward the ‘Xue Ling Shuang Shu’, he knew perfectly well that his Shifu’s martial art skill was incomprehensively deep. The skill he would expect to learn from him would be at most ten or twenty percent. If he wanted to master the peerless skill, there was no other way but to win his Shimei’s favor. Thereupon he said to Zhu Jiuzhen, “Biaomei, this little servant’s martial art skill is not bad, is it? Would you let me test him?”

    Zhu Jiuzhen understood he was trying to help his martial sister, but she had another thought, “I don’t know the origin of this servant kid surnamed Zhang. Perhaps it is not such a bad idea to let Biaoge compel him to reveal his foundation.” Thereupon she said, “Alright. Let him receive instruction from the Wu family unique skill. Nothing could be better than that. This man, even I do not know which school’s disciple he is.”

    Wei Be was surprised. “This servant kid’s martial art skill did not come from your family?” he asked.

    Toward Zhang Wuji Zhu Jiuzhen said, “Why don’t you tell Shaoye [young master] who your Shifu is, and which school he belongs to?”

    "You despise me too much," Zhang Wuji thought, "How can I mention my parents' schools, and thus dishonor Taishifu and my departed parents? Besides, I have never seriously practiced Wudang Pai's martial art." Thereupon he said, "My parents passed away when I was a child, I wandered the Jianghu in destitute. I do not know any martial art, I only received a little bit of instructions from my father when I was little."

    "What was your father's name? Which school did he belong to?" Zhu Jiuzhen asked.

    Zhang Wuji shook his head. "I can't tell you," he said.

    Wei Bi laughed. "With the three of us looking, can't we find it out ourselves?" he said. Slowly he walked to the center of the courtyard. "Kid," he said with a laugh, "Why don't you try taking three stances of mine?" While saying that, he turned toward Wu Qingying and gave her a wink. His meaning was clear, "Shimei, no need to get angry. I am going to beat this kid really bad to vent your anger."

    For someone in love, each word and each action, a frown or a smile of the beloved's would not escape attention. Zhu Jiuzhen was no different. She understood clearly the meaning of Wei Bi's wink. Seeing Zhang Wuji was unwilling to concede, she beckoned to him, calling him to come over and then in a low voice whispered in his ear, "My Biaoge's martial art skill is very strong. You don't need to defeat him. As long as you can resist his three stances, you are giving me a lot of face." Finished speaking, she patted his shoulder to show her encouragement.

    Zhang Wuji knew he was not Wei Bi's match. If he conceded, he would unavoidably invite trouble and humiliation on himself, and brought nothing more than delight in these people's hearts. But standing in front of Zhu Jiuzhen, his mind was chaotic. Hearing her soft voice and gentle words urging him, and smelling her perfume, how could he think clearly? His only thought was, "Miss orders me to fight. Even for a more difficult and dangerous task, I would risk my life to do it; what's the harm in receiving a few punches and kicks?" He absentmindedly walked toward Wei Bi and stood in front of him with a blank expression.

    Wei Bi said with a laugh, "Kid, take this!" 'Slap! Slap!' he struck Zhang Wuji twice on his face.

    These two slaps came so fast that when Zhang Wuji was about to lift his hand to block, his face had already struck. His cheeks swelled with red palm marks on them.

    Wei Bi knew Zhang Wuji did not receive any martial art instructions from the Zhu family, so he knew he had nothing to fear in term of causing Zhu Jiuzhen, as well as his uncle and aunt lose face. His strikes were without any reservation, only he did not use any internal energy; otherwise, Zhang Wuji's teeth would have fallen and his cheekbones broken, he would have fainted.

    "Wuji, fight!" Zhu Jiuzhen called out.

    As soon as he heard his Miss call, Zhang Wuji's spirit was aroused. With a grunt he punched straight forward. Wei Bi evaded sideways and praised him. "Good kid, you know what you are doing!" he said. Moving sideways, he jumped toward Zhang Wuji's back. Zhang Wuji hastily turned around, but like a lightning Wei Bi's hand reached out and grabbed his collar. Lifting his arm high, he laughed and said, “Go eat the dog’s dung!” and threw Zhang Wuji hard to the ground.

    Zhang Wuji learned martial arts from Xie Xun for several years, but first, he was still too young; second, Xie Xun only told him to memorize the theory and the stances, without giving him any real combat experience. Meeting a disciple from a prestigious family like We Bi, his hands and feet were bound and he was unable to launch any stance. As he was being thrown, he wanted to stretch out his hand to break the fall, but it was too late. ‘Bang!’ his forehead and nose heavily hit the ground and blood spread all over his face.

    Wu Qingying clapped and cheered. Giggling sweetly she said, “Zhen Jie, is our Wu family martial art good enough for you?”

    Zhu Jiuzhen was ashamed and angered at the same time. If she said the Wu family martial art was not good, she would unavoidably offend Wei Bi; but if she said it was good, she was unbearably angry toward Wu Qingying and did not give her any satisfaction. Without any better option, her face turned cold and she did not say anything.

    Zhang Wuji crawled up and looked gingerly at Zhu Jiuzhen. Seeing her knitted eyebrows, he said in his heart, "Even if I have to die, I must not make Miss lose her face."

    Wei Bei laughed and said, "This kid does not even know three-legged cat martial art, why do we have to talk about his school or sect?"

    Zhang Wuji suddenly lunged forward, his leg flew toward Wei Bi's lower abdomen. "Aiyo!" Wei Bi called out with laughter. By moving slightly backward, he evaded this kick, right after, his left hand reached out and grabbed Zhang Wuji's right foot, which was still in the air, and flung it sideways. He was only using 30% of his power, but Zhang Wuji flew toward the walllike an arrow leaving its bow. In desperation Zhang Wuji kicked the ground to make his back face the wall. Although his skull escaped the disaster of shattering down, his back hurt so much that he felt as if all the bones in his body had been broken. He slid down along the wall and sat on the ground like a pile of mud; unable to crawl back up.

    Although he was in severe pain, he was still concerned over Zhu Jiuzhen losing face; while he was still in dazed, he heard that she was saying, "This servant kid is totally useless. Let us go to the garden to play!" Obviously she was very angry.

    Without knowing where the strength came from, Zhang Wuji turned around, propping himself on the ground and pounced with a palm strike toward Wei Bi.

    Wei Bi laughed aloud and stretched out his palm backward to block. 'Slap!' to his surprise, his body swayed, forcing him to take a step back. Turned out Zhang Wuji was using the 'Qi Xing Shou' [seven-star (or Big Dipper constellation) hand] from the 'Wudang Chang Quan' [Wudang Long Fist], which his father, Zhang Cuishan taught him during the voyage on the raft. Wudang Long Fist was Wudang's special skill. Although the fist was not strong, it carried a subtle variation. Wudang's martial art had always departed from the mainstream martial art study, the emphasis was to use softness to subdue hardness, using the weak to defeat the strong, injuring the enemy without using one's own strength; rather, it incited the enemy's strength toward himself. If the enemy was using a catty of force, then the reacting force was also one catty; if the enemy was using a hundred catties, then a hundred catties would return to him. It was like punching the wall. The heavier one punched, the heavierthe reaction force he had to suffer.

    In the past, when Jue Yuan Dashi [Reverend Jue Yuan] recited the 'Nine Yang Manual', he said, 'use one's own strength, strike only after the enemy has struck'. Later on, Zhang Sanfeng used this principle to govern the Wudang fist technique. If it was Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou or the other Wudang experts, they might add their own strength above the enemy's. Zhang Wuji’s mastery of this skill was only superficial, yet in this punch he was unconsciously successful in inciting the opponent’s force.

    Wei Bi felt his hand was sore and numb, the ‘chi’ and blood in the pit of this stomach were shaken. Immediately he leaned sideways and sent out a fist toward Zhang Wuji’s back. Zhang Wuji swept his palm backward to parry using the stance ‘yi tiao bian’ [‘the whip’]. Seeing his marvelous palm technique, Wei Bi hurriedly evaded backwards, but his shoulder was still brushed by Zhang Wuji’s three fingers. Although he was not hurt, Zhu Jiuzhen and Wu Qingying had naturally seen that he had lost this move.

    Wei Bi was in the presence of his sweetheart, how could he concede? At first, when he was face to face with Zhang Wuji, seeing the opponent was a young boy, he looked at him condescendingly. He had no doubt that he would win martial-art-wise, but he wanted to toy with Zhang Wuji to win Wu Qingying’s favor; and thus his fists and kicks only carried about 20, 30% of his strength. This time, as he suffered defeat twice in a row, he shouted, “Little demon, are you not afraid of death?” With a loud grunt his fist went straight to Zhang Wuji’s chest.

    His fist, which contained three layers of force, was from the ‘Chang Jiang San Die Lang’ [Yangtze River’s three layers of waves]. If the opponent used all his strength to block the first layer of force, he would not anticipate the second layer of force would follow closely, followed by the violent third layer of force immediately surging up. Unless the opponent was a martial art master, he would certainly meet death or at least seriously wounded.

    Seeing the severity of the opponent's move, Zhang Wuji was scared. Without enough time to think, he remembered that his father on the wooden raft in the middle of the ocean taught him a technique where both arms circled back and break the opponent's hand, called the 'jing lan' [cross-fence (like the symbol '#')]. This stance was very broad and deep; how could Zhang Wuji comprehend its essence? It was just that he was in such a desperate situation that he had used it without thinking.

    Wei Bi was sending out his right hand punch straight toward Zhang Wuji's right arm. He felt as if the first layer of force of his own fist was entering the vast ocean, it vanished without a trace. While he was startled, 'crack!' the second layer of force bounced back and the bone of his right arm was jolted and it broke. Lucky for him he had not launched the third layer of force, otherwise, because Zhang Wuji did not understand the wondrous use of this 'jing lan' stance, both of them would suffer serious injury under this third layer of force.

    Zhu Jiuzhen and Wu Qingying both cried out in alarm and rushed toward Wei Bi to look at his injury. "Not a problem," Wei Bi smiled bitterly, "I was just being careless."

    Seeing the love of their lives was wounded, as if by prior agreement Zhu Jiuzhen and Wu Qingying both sent out their palms toward Zhang Wuji. As he succeeded in breaking Wei Bi's arm, Zhang Wuji was also being hit so he was almost thrown backward. Zhu and Wu, two girls' palms had arrived while his feet were still staggering. In his daze, Zhang Wuji failed to evade. One palm hit his chest, the other hit his shoulder. He instantlythrew up a mouthful of blood. Yet in his heart his resentment was greater than his bodily pain; he thought, "I fought with all my might for you so that you won't lose face, but after I actually won you hit me!"

    "Stop!" Wei Bi called out. Zhu and Wu, two girls halted their hands following his order. They saw him raise his left palm with an ashen face, and he struck Zhang Wuji again. Zhang Wuji hastily leaped sideways to evade.

    "Biaoge!" Zhu Jiushen called out, "You are injured. Why should you lower yourself to the same level as this little servant? I was wrong. I should not have asked you to fight with him."

    Based on her usually arrogant temperament, she would never ever bow her head to admit her own mistake to anybody. It was just that she saw her lover's arm was broken that she was frightened and felt sorry for him and thus she was willing to humble herself. Who would have thought that when Wei Bi heard her, he was even more enraged?

    "Biaomei," he said with a cold laugh, "Your little servant's skill is superior, where were you wrong? It's just that I am not convinced yet." As he said that, he pushed Zhu Jiuzhen aside with his left arm, and then raised his fist to strike Zhang Wuji again.

    Zhang Wuji was about to step backward to evade when Wu Qingying pushed his back gently with her palms, so that he could not step back. Wei Bi’s fist hit Zhang Wuji squarely on the bridge of his nose and immediately blood started to flow down from his nose.

    Wu Qingying was far more shrewd compared to Zhu Jiuzhen; she helped her martial brother in secret, without showing any sign, so that he did not lose face and felt appreciative towards her.

    Zhu Jiuzhen saw it and thought, “You can help your Shige, do you think I cannot help my Biaoge?” Thereupon she also put forth her hand to attack Zhang Wuji.

    Zhang Wuji’s martial art skill was far inferior to Wei Bi to begin with; now that Zhu and Wu, two girls, one was helping him in the open, the other was helping him surreptitiously, in a short moment Zhang Wuji had to suffer the three people’s punches and kicks. In just seven, eight moves, he had vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

    With the heart full of resentment, Zhang Wuji disregarded his own life and launched the 32 stances Wudang Long Fist one after another. Although his mastery was insufficient and each fist and each kick lacked power,the Wudang Long Fist was his family’s special skill, so that after the time needed to drink a cup of tea later, he was still standing and not falling down.

    Zhu Jiuzhen roared, “Where did this stinky kid come from? He dares to come to the Zhu and Wu manors with such unruly manners; he is truly impatient to give his life away.”

    Wei Bi raised up his left palm and hacked down in full force toward Zhang Wuji's left shoulder so that Zhang Wuji's body was pushed forward toward Wei Bi's other palm. Wei Bi's broken arm was getting more and more painful, so he was unwilling to prolong his fight with this lowly servant. His palm carried 100% of his strength. Zhang Wuji, unable to stop himself from fumbling forward, felt a strong gust of wind on his face and realized he was helpless to block, but he still tried to lift both arms to parry.

    "Stop!" suddenly they all heard an imposing voice shout. A blue shadow flashed by, somebody flew from the side and fended off Wei Bi's palm. His movement seemed light, but surprisingly Wei Bi was unable to hold his ground and was forced to draw several steps backward and was about to fall sitting down on the ground. The man in blue robe moved extremely fast; he flew over Wei Bi's shoulder and reached out to steady him so that Wei Bi was able to stand.

    "Father!" Zhu Jiuzhen called out.

    "Zhu Bo Fu [paternal (older) uncle]!" Wu Qingying called out.

    Wei Bi gasped for breath, and then called out, "Jiujiu [maternal uncle]!"

    This man was indeed Zhu Jiuzhen's father, Zhu Changling. Wei Bi's broken arm injury was not a small matter, the servant in charge of the dogs in the Ling Ao Ying [spirit mastiff camp] rushed toward the main hall to inform their master. Zhu Changling hurriedly came and saw the three people were surrounding Zhang Wuji. After standing on the side to watch for a while, he saw that Wei Bi launched a killer strike, so he intercepted the attack to save Zhang Wuji's life.

    Zhu Changling cast a sidelong glance toward his daughter and Wei and Wu, two people. His face was filled with rage. Suddenly he slapped his daughter's face with the back of his hand and roared, "Very good! Very good! The Zhu family descendants are making a good progress. I have such a sweet daughter, will I still have a face to see our ancestors in the nether world later on?"

    Since her childhood, Zhu Jiuzhen had always been pampered by her parents; they had never even reprimanded her with harsh words, but today unexpectedly her father slapped her heavily in public. In that instant her head spun and she was at a loss about what to do. It was not until a moment later that she broke up crying.

    "Stop it! Don't cry!" Zhu Changling sternly said. His voice was full of authority and power, shaking the dust on the beam that it rained down. Zhu Jiuzhen was so terrified that she stopped crying at once.

    Zhu Changling said, “From generation to generation, our Zhu family has always been upholding chivalry. Your ancestor Ziliu Gong [‘gong’ is a general term to address a male senior/elder] worked under the Yideng Dashi as the Prime Minister of the Dali kingdom. Later on he fought to defend Xiangyang, his name spread out throughout the world. Now, he could be called a hero, don’t you think? Who would have thought that his descendants are unworthy? I, Zhu Changling, have this kind of daughter, three adults surrounding a child, wanting to take his life. Tell me, isn’t that shameless? Isn’t that shameless?” He was berating his daughter, but when Wei Bi and Wu Qingying heard him, it was as if each word was a stab of knife to their hearts that they felt so ashamed that it was a total loss of face for them.

    Zhang Wuji was hurt all head to toe and almost fainted, but he gritted his teeth to stay standing. His mind was still clear, however, he was able to hear everything Zhu Changling had said. His admiration grew, and thinking in his heart, “Right and wrong is clearly distinguished, this is the sign of a true hero.”

    He saw Zhu Changling was so furious that the skin on his face looked sallow, his entire body trembled, his breathing fast. Wei Bi and the others, three people, hung their heads low, they did not dare to meet his eyes at all. Zhang Wuji also noticed that Zhu Jiuzhen’s face was swollen big; it was obvious that her father’s slap was indeed not light. She looked ashamed and scared at the same time, truly pitiful; she looked as if she wanted to cry, yet she did not dare to. Zhang Wuji bit his own lower lip and said, “Laoye, this does not concern Miss.” He was startled by his own voice, for his voice was hoarse and almost inaudible. Turned out his throat was hit hard by Wei Bi earlier.

    Zhu Changling continued, “This Xiao Xiongdi’s [little brother] fists and kicks did not follow any specific method. It is obvious that he has never bowed to anybody and received proper martial art training. All the while he was relying on brute force and bravery, staking everything to defend himself. He has made others admire him even more. The three of you have bullied someone who does not know martial art. Don’t you remember anything your master and elders and your parents instructed?”

    His words were harsh and his countenance stern; he had unexpectedly showed the least bit of leniency toward Wei Bi and Wu Qingying. Listening to him, Zhang Wuji was frightened and anxious instead. Zhu Changling also asked Zhang Wuji how he came to the manor, how he came to wear a servant’s attire, while at the same time he also called someone to fetch medicine and some paste to mend broken bones to treat Wei Bi and Zhang Wuji’s injuries.

    Zhu Jiuzhen knew her father was furious and so she did not dare to conceal anything. She told him how Zhang Wuji protected the little monkey, how he was attacked by the pack of dogs, and how she rescued him and took him to the manor.

    The more Zhu Changling heard, the deeper his frown was; when his daughter finished her narration, he sternly said, “Out of chivalry this Zhang Xiongdi protected the little monkey; that fact shows his heroism, yet you have unexpectedly treated him as a servant. If this matter is spread out later, the Jianghu warriors will all say that I, ‘Jing Tian Yi Bi’ [One Pen Shocking the Heavens] Zhu Changling, am a heartless, unjust disciple. You are raising these malicious dogs, I only knew that you love to play with them, and that’s fine with me. Who would have thought that you dare to be reckless and use them to hurt others? If I don’t kill you, this little girl, today, how can I, Zhu Changling still have a face to take part in the Wulin world?”

    Realizing her father was really angry, Zhu Jiuzhen bent her knees and kowtowed on the ground. “Father,” she said, “Child will not dare anymore.”
    Zhu Changling’s rage continued, Wei Bi and Wu Qingying also kneeled down to beseech him. Zhang Wuji also opened his mouth, “Laoye …”

    Zhu Changling busily said, “Xiao Xiongdi, how could you call me ‘Laoye’ [old/senior master]? I am only several years older than you are. At most you can call me ‘Qian Bei’ [senior/older generation], that would be enough.”

    “Yes, yes, Zhu Qian Bei,” Zhang Wuji said, “You cannot blame Miss over this matter; her actions were by no means intentional.”

    “Look at that,” Zhu Changling said, “A young boy like him is very broad-minded and loving; how can the three of you rise above that? Today is the New Year’s Day, also Miss Wu is our guest, actually I should have not gotten angry, but this matter should not have happened at all. It was an act of cowardice, the act of the lowly characters of the ‘black way’, how could someone from the ‘chivalrous way’ like us do such thing? Since Xiao Xiongdi has interceded for you, you can all rise.”

    Swallowing their shame, Wei Bi and the others, three people, stood up. Zhu Changling turned toward the servant who feeds the dogs and shouted, “Where are those malicious dogs? Take them here.” The servant complied and took the dogs out.

    Zhu Jiuzhen saw the dark expression on her father’s face and wondered what he was about to do. “Father,” she called in low voice.

    With a cold laugh Zhu Changling said, “You raised these dogs to harm others. All right, tell them to bite me.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen cried. “Father,” she was sobbing, “Daughter realizes her mistake.”

    “Humph,” Zhu Changling sneered and walked toward the vicious dogs. ‘Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!’ four times, the skulls of four big vicious dogs, as big and vicious as wolves, were shattered and they fell down on the ground.

    The people were shocked and all were speechless. Zhu Changling punched and kicked, his palms hacked down and his fingers pierced, his body floated; a dark blue shadow circled around the courtyard, more than thirty vicious dogs were all killed without mercy. They could not even escape, let alone try to bite or attack. He was able to kill the dogs in one fell swoop, admittedly because the dogs were not under Zhu Jiuzhen’s order to attack, that is, the dogs were caught off guard; however, his action was as swift as the wind or lightning, his palm power was extremely fierce. Wei Bi, Wu Qingying and Zhang Wuji watched with their jaws dropped.

    Then Zhu Changling carried Zhang Wuji lying in his arms to his own house to tend to his injuries. Before long, Mrs. Zhu and Zhu Jiuzhen came to take care of him with some medicinal soup.

    After being bitten by the dogs, Zhang Wuji had lost a considerable amount of blood, his body was weakened. This time the injuries he suffered were not light, he was unconscious for several days. After his mind cleared up, he wrote his own prescription and asked the servant to prepare the medication and feed it to him, then his recovery was quicker. Seeing his divine-like medical ability, Zhu Changling was surprised and impressed.

    Within these twenty-some days of recovering, Zhu Jiuzhen often came to accompany Zhang Wuji by his bed, singing or guessing riddles, telling him stories, or simply chatting and joking, just like a big sister taking care of her ailing little brother, very attentive and considerate with meticulous care. After Zhang Wuji was strong enough to get up, Zhu Jiuzhen was still spending most of her days with Zhang Wuji. When it was time for her to train martial art with her father, she did not try to shun Zhang Wuji away; she always called him to watch on the side.

    Zhu Changling had hinted twice that he had the intention of taking Zhang Wuji under his tutelage to inherit his entire martial art skill, but seeing a lack of response on Zhang Wuji’s side, he no longer brought it up. But he still treated Zhang Wuji with kindness, not different than if he were one his own disciples.

    The Zhu family martial art was closely related to calligraphy. Zhu Jiuzhen was required to practice writing every day, and she always had Zhang Wuji accompany her studying the books. Ever since Zhang Wuji left the Bing Huo [ice and fire] Island and came to the Central Earth, he had always wandered alone in desperation, laden with grief and misery, when had he experienced this kind of peaceful and happy days?

    In the blink of an eye it was already past the middle of the second month. This particular day Zhang Wuji and Zhu Jiuzhen were practicing their calligraphy in a little study room when Xiao Feng the maid came in and reported, “Miss, Yao Er Ye [second master Yao] has returned from the Central Plains.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen was very happy; she tossed the pen brush away and called out, “Good! I have been waiting for him for more than half a year, now he finally comes.” Pulling Zhang Wuji’s hand along he said, “Wuji Di [little brother Wuji], come and take a look, I wonder what neat things Yao Ershu [second (younger) uncle] bought for me this time.” Two people walked hand-in-hand toward the main hall.

    “Who is Yao Ershu?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “He is my father’s sworn brother,” Zhu Jiuzhen replied, “He is known as ‘Qian Li Zhui Feng’ [pursuing the wind for thousand ‘li’] Yao Qingquan. Last year my father asked him to deliver a gift to the Central Plains. I asked him to buy some rouge cosmetics and silk fabrics from Hangzhou, and embroidery needles and patterns from Suzhou, also some Huimo [Anhui ink, known for its quality] brush and ink. I wonder if he managed to buy everything.” She explained further that the Zhu family manor was located in remote Kunlun mountain range of the western region, and that fine and delicate articles could not be bought within several thousand ‘li’ from where they were. Kunlun Mountain was tens of thousands ‘li’ away from the Central Earth, to make a round trip between two places would required two, three years; therefore, if anybody was going to the Central Plains, Zhu Jiuzhen would ask him to buy large quantities of goods.

    As the two of them were near the hall, they were shocked to hear the sound of crying and weeping. Upon entering the hall, their shock was even greater, since they saw Zhu Changling and a tall and slim middle-aged man were kneeling on the floor, weeping. The man was wearing white mourning garment with a straw belt on his waist.

    Zhu Jiuzhen went toward and man and called out, "Yao Ershu!"

    With a loud wailing Zhu Changling called out, "Zhen'Er, Zhen'Er, our great benefactor, Zhang Wu Ye [fifth master Zhang], Zhang ... Zhang Wu Ye ... he .. he ... he died!"

    Zhu Jiuzhen was startle. "How can that be?" she asked, "Zhang En Gong [benefactor master (see also my note on 'Gong' earlier] ... has been missing for ten years. So he did not return safely?"

    Sobbing, Yao Qingquan said, "We live remotely so we did not receive timely information. Turned out more than four years ago Zhang En Gong and Madame committed suicide together. I heard this news on the way at Shanxi, before I even went up Mount Wudang. Upon my arrival on the mountain, I met Song Da Xia and Yu Er Xia [first hero Song and second hero Yu, respectively]. Only then did I know the truth, ay ..."

    The more Zhang Wuji listened; his shock grew until finally his doubts were gone. The one they referred as 'the great benefactor, the fifth master Zhang' was his own father, Zhang Cuishan. Seeing saw Zhu Changling and Yao Qingquan were crying bitterly while Zhu Jiuzhen was also weeping with tears coming down her face, Zhang Wuji was unable to bear the urge to step forward and reveal his real identity, but then he changed his mind, "All along I did not tell them my origin, if I reveal the truth now, it is most likely that Zhu Bofu [father's elder brother, general respectful term to address an older man] and Zhen Jie [older sister] would not believe me. Perhaps they would think that I am merely trying to buy their sympathy, and then they would look down on me."

    Not too long afterwards, there came a loud noise of weeping from the inner courtyard. Mrs. Zhu, holding on a maid's shoulder, walked into the hall, while repeatedly asking Yao Qingquan question after question. In his grief and indignation, Yao Qingquan forgot to pay his respects toward the sworn sister-in-law. Immediately he narrated again how Zhang Cuishan committed suicide.

    Zhang Wuji tried hard to suppress his emotions. He did not cry openly,but tears rained down on his face. Everybody in the hall was crying, so nobody paid him any attention.

    Suddenly Zhu Changling raised his palm and 'crack!' he struck the octagonal table by his side that it broke in two. "Er Di [second (younger) brother]," he said, "Tell me clearly, who had forced En Gong and En Sao [benefactor sister-in-law] to their deaths on Mount Wudang?"

    "As soon as I heard the information, I should have returned quickly to report this matter to Dage [big brother]," Yao Qingquan said, "But I thought investigating the enemies' names was more important. Turned out the people who went up Mount Wudang and forced En Gong to his death were under the leadership of the Shaolin Three Divine Monks, the number of people was indeed not a few. Xiao Di [little brother – referring to self] secretly investigated everywhere, and thus was delayed several days.” Thereupon he named the people from Shaolin, Kongtong, Emei, and other ‘Pai’ [sect], and then Hai Sha [lit. sand of the ocean], Ju Jing [gigantic whale], Shen Quan [divine fist], Wu Shan [Mount Wu, located on the Changjiang River by the Three Gorges], and other ‘Bang Hui’ [clan and society], who had gone up Mount Wudang to coerce Zhang Cuishan, such as Abbot Kong Wen, Reverend Kong Zhi, He Taichong, Jing Xuan Shitai, Guan Neng, and many other names.

    Zhu Changling grimly said, “Er Di, these people are among the best of the Wulin characters of the present age; we can’t provoke even one of those people. However, Zhang Wu Ye’s kindness on us was as heavy as the mountain; we must avenge his deep enmity even if our bodies were ground into powder and our bones were broken into pieces.”

    Wiping his tears, Yai Qingquan said, “Dage is right, we owe our two lives to Zhang Wu Ye. In any case we are able to live these dozen of years, so if we must lose our lives for Zhang Wu Ye’s sake, that is only appropriate. What Xiao Di regrets most is that I was not able to meet Zhang Wu Ye’s young master; otherwise I would be able to convey Dage’s good intention. It would be best if we can invite him here, then we can give him everything we have and take a good care of him the rest of his life.”

    Mrs. Zhu prattled incessantly, asking in details about this Zhang Gongzi [young master]. Yao Qingquan only knew that he was seriously injured, but he did not know where he had gone to seek treatment. It seemed to be that this child was only eight, nine years old that year. Supposedly Zhang Sanfeng, Zhang Zhenren [lit. real/true person, a respectful term to address a Taoist priest] was going to pass his entire martial art skillon to him, so that in the future he could take over the Sect Leader position of Wudang Pai.

    Zhu Changling, husband and wife immediately kneeled down to express their thanks to the Heaven and the Earth for the future Sect Leader Zhang.

    Yao Qingquan said, "Dage asked me to deliver thousand-year-old king ginseng, snow lotus herb from Tianshan, jade lion paper weight, black gold dagger and other things for Zhang En Gong; Xiao Di has left everything on Mount Wudang, asking Song Da Xia to hand them over to Zhang Gongzi."

    "That's the best arrangement, that is," Zhu Changling said. Turning toward his daughter he said, "Why don't you tell Zhang Xiongdi how our family received great kindness from our benefactor?"

    Zhu Jiuzhen took Zhang Wuji's hand and led him to her father's study room. She pointed toward a large scroll of painting hanging at the center of the wall and told Zhang Wuji to take a look. On the right margin of the painting there were seven characters: 'Picture of Zhang Gong Cuishan's Kindness'.

    Zhang Wuji had never been to Zhu Changling's study before, this time, as he saw his father's revered name, his eyes were clouded with tears. The background of the painting was a vast wilderness. A handsome young warrior, with left hand holding a silver hook and right hand brandishing an iron brush, was fighting a fierce battle with five fearsome looking enemies. Zhang Wuji knew this warrior must be his father. Although the face was somewhat different, he could see the slight resemblance with his own face. There were two people lying on the ground, one was Zhu Changling, the other Yao Qingquan. There were two more people with severed heads. On the lower left corner there was a young mother, her expression was full of fear. She was Madame Zhu. She was carrying a baby girl in her arms. Zhang Wuji focused his eyes and saw a small black mole on the side of this baby's mouth, so she must be Zhu Jiuzhen.

    The paper of this painting had turned light yellow; apparently it was an old painting, at least ten years old. Zhu Jiuzhen pointed her finger to the painting and explained to him. Turned out shortly after Zhu Jiuzhen was born, in order to avoid strong enemies, Zhu Changling took his entire family to the west. Unfortunately, the enemy still managed to overtake them on the way. Two of his younger martial brothers were killed, while Yao Qingquan and he were also overthrown. The enemies were just about to finish them off when Zhang Cuishan happened to pass by. Out of chivalry he beat the enemies and drove them away, and thus had saved the lives of the entire family. A simple calculation would reveal that it must have happened before Zhang Cuishan went to the Bing Huo Island.

    After Zhu Jiuzhen narrated this story, her expression turned sad. She said, "We live in such a remote area that we have just found out about Zhang En Gong's return from overseas last year. Father had made an oath that he would not tread his feet on the Central Plains even for one step; thereupon he imposed upon Yao Ershu to deliver the precious gifts to Mount Wudang and pay his respects, who would have thought ...” While she was still talking, a young servant of the study room came in and invited her to the mourning hall to pay her respects.

    Zhu Jiuzhen hurriedly went out the room. After changing her clothes to a plain white gown, together with Zhang Wuji they went to the rear hall. There were two memorial tablets arranged in the hall. White candles were burning high. One of the memorial tablets bore this inscription: 'En Gong Zhang Daxia Hui Cuishan Zhi Lingwei' [the memorial tablet of benefactor Great Hero Zhang, revered name Cuishan]. The other one had 'Zhang Furen Yin Shi Zhi Lingwei' [the memorial tablet of Mrs. Zhang of the Yin family]. Zhu Changling, husband and wife, along with Yao Qingquan were kneeling on the floor, weeping with grief.

    Zhang Wuji followed Zhu Jiuzhen, together they also kowtowed. Zhu Changling stroke his head and with a choking voice said, "Xiao Xiongdi, very good, very good. This Zhang Daxia was generous and big hearted, a remarkable man, truly unparalleled in the present age. Although you do not know him, he was not your relative or acquaintance, yet you pay your respects to him. It is very appropriate."

    Faced with this situation, Zhang Wuji had even less reason to confess that he was the Benefactor Zhang's child, thinking, "The rumor Yao Ershu heard was incorrect, he said I am no older than eight, nine years of age; if I confess now, it would be more difficult for them to believe."

    "Dage," suddenly Yao Qingquan said, "About that Xie Ye [Master Xie] ..." Zhu Changling coughed and made an eye signal. Yao Qingquan immediately changed the subject, "What should we do about the thanksgiving sacrifice? Shall we hold a funeral for the Benefactor?"

    "You take care of it!" Zhu Changling replied.

    Zhang Wuji thought, "You were obviously saying 'Xie Ye'; how come suddenly changed into 'xie yi' [thanksgiving offering]? [Translator's note: the same 'Xie' (thank you) character, so in Chinese the two words did not differ too much.] Xie Ye, Xie Ye? Could he be talking about my Yifu [foster/adoptive father]?"

    That night he remembered his departed father and mother, as well as his Yifu who was spending the rest of his life on the cold island of the extreme north. His mind was full of disquieting thoughts; how could he sleep soundly?

    By the dawn the next day, he heard intermittent footsteps, while his nose caught a delicate fragrance, followed by Zhu Jiuzhen entering his room carrying a basin of water in her handsto wash his face with.

    Zhang Wuji was startled. "Zhen Jie, what ... what are you doing?" he asked.

    Zhu Jiuzhen said, "All the servants and maids have left completely. What's wrong with me taking care of you?"

    Zhang Wuji was even more surprised. "What ... what happened? Why did they leave?"

    "My father told them to leave last night," Zhu Jiuzhen said, "He gave every one of them some money and sent them back to their homes. It is too dangerous in here." After a short pause she continued, "After you wash your face, Father wants to have a word with you."

    Zhang Wuji quickly washed his face without taking too much care. Zhu Jiuzhen combed his hair, and then together they walked toward Zhu Changling's study. There were originally seventy, eighty servants in this big building complex, but now it looked cold and empty, not even one person was to be seen.

    Seeing the two of them walk in, Zhu Changling said, "Zhang Xiongdi, I very much admire your chivalrous heart and heroic spirit. Actually, I wanted to keep you in my humble home for eight or ten years, but now that we are suddenly on the brink of an unforeseen incident, we must part. Zhang Xiongdi you must not have questions in your heart." While saying that, he presented a tray; on the tray there were twelve gold ingots and twelve silver ingots, plus a self-defense dagger. He said, "This is a small token just to remember your meeting with a simple-minded couple and their daughter, I ask Zhang Xiongdi to accept. If the old man can keep his life, we will meet again in the future ..." Speaking to this point, his voice broke, he sobbed and was unable to continue.

    Zhang Wuji stepped aside to evade the gift. He boldly said, "Zhu Bobo [(older) paternal uncle], although your nephew is young and useless, he is not one who covets life and fears death. As your family is facing imminent danger, there is no way nephew will go away on my own. Perhaps nephew cannot help Bofu and Jiejie in any way, but I will follow Bofu and Jiejie in life or death.

    Zhu Changling urged him again and again, but Zhang Wuji's mind was set. "Ay!" finally Zhu Changling sighed and said, "You kid do not know danger. Alright, I will tell you the truth, but you must swear a heavy oath first, that you will not in any way divulge the secret to a second person, you also must not ask me too many questions."

    Zhang Wuji kneeled down at once and with a loud and clear voice said, "The Emperor of Heaven above, the matter which Zhu Bobo will tell me, if I divulge it to other people, or ask him too many questions, let me die with random chops of knife, and bring ruin and shame upon myself."

    Zhu Changling raised him up and then looked outside the door and the windows, followed by leaping up the roof. After ensuring there was no other people in all directions, he returned to the study room and said in low voice next to Zhang Wuji's ear, "What I am going to tell you, you are to remember it in your heart; you must not say anything to me, to guard against the wall with an ear." Zhang Wuji nodded.

    In low voice Zhu Changling continued, "Yesterday Yao Er Di brought the news of Zhang En Gong's death, but he also brought someone home. This person is surnamed Xie, given name Xun, he is known as the Jin Mao Shi Wang [golden mane lion king] ..." Zhang Wuji was so shocked that his body trembled.

    Zhu Changling continued, "This Xie Daxia and Zhang En Gong were sworn brothers, while he has tied many deep enmities with various schools and sects under the heavens. Zhang En Gong, husband and wife committed suicide was because they were unwilling to disclose their sworn brother's whereabouts. Somehow Xie Daxia returned to the Central Earth and went into action to avenge Zhang En Gong's grievance. He has killed many enemies, but the enemy warriors are simply too many; in the end he suffered a serious injury. Yao Er Di is quick-witted; he rescued him and brought him here to escape, but we know the enemies will pursue in an instant. The adversaries are too numerous, we are absolutely helpless to withstand them. I am risking my life to repay the kindness; I determine to die together with Xie Daxia. But you have no relation whatsoever with him, why must you lose your life here? Zhang Xiongdi, I have told you everything, quickly leave! Once the enemies arrive, all jades and rocks will be burned; it will be too late to escape by then.”

    When Zhang Wuji heard this, his heart was burning with surprise and delight. He had never thought Yifu would come to this place. “Where is …” he asked, but Zhu Changling’s right hand quickly covered his mouth while he whispered in his ear, “Must not speak. The enemy’s power is extensive; one careless word, we will jeopardize Xie Daxia’s life. Have you forgotten your heavy oath just now?” Zhang Wuji nodded.

    Zhu Changling said, “I have clearly told you everything. Zhang Xiongdi, although you are young, I have regarded you as a good friend and have taken you into my full confidence, concealing nothing. You must leave immediately.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “You have clearly explained everything to me, now I'm even more unwilling to leave.”

    Zhu Changling was deep in thought for a long time. Finally he heaved a deep sigh and decisively said, “Alright! Here after we will live or die together, no need to say anything anymore. While we still have time, we must act quickly.”

    Immediately he took Zhu Jiuzhen and Zhang Wuji and went out the door. Mrs. Zhu and Yao Qingquan had been waiting outside the door, with several cloth bundles sitting next to them, as if they were ready to take a long journey. Zhang Wuji looked to the east and gazed to the west, but did not see any sign of his Yifu. Zhu Changling ignited a paper flint to light a torch, and then aimed the fire at a spot above the main gate. Instantly fire blazed high into the sky while the fire tongues reaching out everywhere. Turned out the several hundred houses in this large building complex was already soaked with petroleum. Tianshan and Kunlunshan mountain ranges of the western region were rich with natural resources; it was common to see oil bubbling up from the earth like a fountain, which the people took to make the fire to cook their meals.

    The Zhu family village consisted of splendid large buildings spread over a wide area with somewhat connected interior, but with the help of the oil, the fire spread really fast. Zhang Wuji saw how quick the richly ornamented building engulfed in the raging flame; he felt very grateful in his heart. He thought, "This is Zhu Bobo's life savings, built with countless care, but when evening comes, everything will be reduced to ashes, and all for the sake of my father and Yifu. This kind of courageous and upright man is indeed very rare in the world."

    That night, Zhu Changling, husband and wife, Zhu Jiuzhen and Zhang Wuji, four people slept in a cave. Zhu Changling's five trusted disciples, led by Yao Qingquan, stayed on guard duty outside the cave with weapons in their hands.

    The fire was raging continuously to the end of the third day; fortunately the enemies had not arrived yet. By the evening of the third day, Zhu Changling took his wife and daughter, along with his disciples, Yao Qingquan and Zhang Wuji to go deeper into the cave, through dark long underground tunnel, toward several underground rooms with mountain rocks as their walls. The chambers were well stuffed with provisions: food and water, but it was rather hot and stuffy down there.

    Zhu Jiuzhen noticed that Zhang Wuji kept wiping his face with his long sleeve. She smiled and asked, "Wuji Di [younger brother], can you guess why is it so hot in here? Do you know where we are?"

    Zhang Wuji smelled strong burning odor and realized immediately, "Ah, we are underneath the original village."

    "You are very smart," Zhu Jiuzhen laughed.

    Zhang Wuji admired Zhu Changling's careful thinking even more. When the enemy's large-scale raid arrived, they would see the Zhu family village had been burnt down without a single tile left intact, so they would go to distant places to search, and would never have guessed that Xie Xun was actually hidden underneath the rubble. Zhang Wuji saw a closed iron door at the other end of the stone chamber, he surmised that his Yifu must be hidden inside. Although he was dying to see his Yifu and chat with him about what happened after they parted, he realized the danger they were still facing. Even Zhu Changling did not dare to talk with him, how could he act blindly without thinking? If he messed up this important matter, the loss of his own life was nothing, but he would also endanger the lives of his Yifu, as well as the entire Zhu family's, wouldn't he be responsible for this grave offense?

    After spending half a day underground, the heat gradually diminished, everybody unfolded their blankets and went to sleep. Suddenly they heard galloping hoof beats from a distant, which in a short while the noise sounded like it came directly above their heads. Someone with a gruff voice was heard saying, “This old thief Zhu Changling must be protecting that runaway Xie Xun, quickly pursue, quickly pursue!”

    Although they were underground, everyone was able to hear clearly the noise above the ground. Turned out there was an iron tube from the underground chambers leading to the surface, transmitting the noise.

    They heard random noise of hoof beats, which gradually went away. Altogether, there were a total of five groups of pursuing force coming and going one after another that night; people from Kunlun Pai, Kongtong Pai, and Ju Jing Bang [‘great whale clan’]. They could not hear the origin of the other two groups. Each group was at least seven, eight people, at most a dozen people. Their weapons made a resounding noise, their horses neighing noisily, they were all yelling and shouting evil words; the air was filled with violence that night.

    Zhang Wuji thought, “If Yifu was not blind and seriously injured, would he be concerned over these tiny demons and little clowns like you?”

    As the fifth group galloped away, Yao Qingquan picked up a wooden plug to cover the mouth of the iron pipe, so that the noise underground would not be accidentally heard by a passerby. But he was still speaking in a subdued voice. “I am going to check Xie Daxia’s condition,” he said. Zhu Changling nodded.

    Yao Qingquan reached out and pulled a lever by the iron door to operate the secret mechanism, the iron door slowly opened. Carrying an oil lamp in his hand, he walked through the iron door. By this time Zhang Wuji was no longer able to endure patiently, he stood up and peeked over Yao Qingquan’s back. He saw a big and tall man was lying on a couch facing in. To suddenly see his Yifus broad back, Zhang Wuji’s eyes were brimming with tears of excitement.

    He heard Yao Qingquan asked in a low voice, “Xie Daxia, do you feel a lot better now? Do you want to drink some water?”

    Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew out, the oil lamp in Yao Qingquan’s hand went out immediately, followed by ‘Bang!’ Yao Qingquan was struck by Xie Xun’s palm. He flew out of the iron door and fell heavily on the ground.

    Xie Xun shouted, “Dogs of Shaolin Pai, Kunlun Pai, Kongtong Pai, come, come! Do you think Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun is afraid of you all?”

    “Not good!” Zhu Changling called out, “Xie Daxia’s mind is confused.” Walking toward the door, he said, “Xie Daxia, we are your friends, not your enemies.”

    “What friends?” Xie Xun said with a cold laugh, “Are you deceiving me with sweet words?” He walked out the iron door in big strides and sent out his palm toward Zhu Changling’s chest. This palm strike was so swift and fierce that the fire of the oil lamps around the room flickered continuously.

    Zhu Changling did not dare to block head on, he circled around to evade. Xie Xun sent out a left punch toward his face. Zhu Changling had no choice but to parry by lifting up his arm, his body shook and he retreated two steps backward.

    Seeing this sudden turn of events, Zhang Wuji was frightened. Xie Xun’s fist and palm were like a storm with incomparable speed and power. Zhu Changling did not dare to parry and withdrew repeatedly. Xie Xun’s palm missed Zhu Changling and struck the rock wall nearby; debris of rock flew. If that palm had struck a human body, would he still be alive?

    Xie Xun’s long hair was draped on his shoulder, his eyes were like lightning, his face was full of bloodstains, his mouth continuously made ‘huh, huh’ noises, his palms were getting more and more violent. Mrs. Zhu and Zhu Jiuzhen were terrified, they huddled together at the corner of a wall.

    Seeing Xie Xun’s fist and palm arrive, Zhu Changling had no choice but shove a nearby wooden table to stop him. ‘Bang! Bang!’ Xie Xun punched twice and the table was smashed into smithereens.

    Zhang Wuji was completely dumbfounded, his jaw dropped, because as he watched from the side, he saw that this ‘Xie Xun’ was definitely not his Yifu Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun. His Yifu had been blind for a long time, this man’s eyes were flashing bright. He saw this man’s palm struck again, while Zhu Changling’s back was against the rock wall, unable to take another step backwards, but he still did not try to block. “Xie Da Xia,” Zhu Changling called out, “I am not your enemy, I am not going to fight you back.” The man ignored his plea completely, his palm was still striking toward Zhu Changling’s chest.

    Zhu Changling’s face bore a pained expression. “Xie Da Xia,” he called out, “Do you believe me now?”

    “Dog thief,” that man shouted, “Eat my fist!” as he sent out a punch.

    Zhu Changling spurted out a mouthful of blood. In a trembling voice he said, “You are my benefactor’s sworn brother; although you beat me to death, I will never fight you back.”

    With a wild laugh that man said, “It’s best that you don’t fight back, it will be easier for me to kill you.” With a left punch followed by a right punch he struck Zhu Changling’s chest and abdomen.

    “Ah!” with a miserable cry Zhu Changling’s crumpled body slid down to the ground. The big man showed no mercy and punched again. Zhang Wuji quickly stepped forward risking his life, he raised his arm to block. He felt that the power behind this punch was tremendous. As soon as he was shaken, he almost fainted. At that moment, forgetting about life and death he called out, “You are not Xie Xun, you are not …”

    The big man was furious. “What does a little rascal like you know?” He lifted his leg to kick him.

    Zhang Wuji rolled sideways to avoid the kick, while shouting, “You pretend to be Jin Mao Shi Wang with evil intentions, you are a fake! A fake …”

    Zhu Changling had already been sitting wearily on the ground, but listening to Zhang Wuji’s cry, he struggled to crawl back up. Pointing his finger toward the big man he called out, “You … you are not … you deceived me …” Suddenly he spurted another mouthful of blood, which shot toward that man’s face. He fumbled forward and while falling, he struck to seal the ‘shen feng xue’ [divine grace acupoint] under that man’s right breast.

    Actually, after being wounded, Zhu Changling was not that man’s match. But when he spurted blood and fell forward, he took the man by surprise and struck his vital acupoint using the special family skill ‘Solitary Yang Finger’.

    After sealing two other acupoints on that man’s waist, Zhu Changling could not hold himself any longer and passed out on the ground. Zhu Jiuzhen and Zhang Wuji rushed forward and quickly held him up.

    A moment later, Zhu Changling regained his consciousness and asked Zhang Wuji, “He … he …”

    Zhang Wuji said, “Zhu Bobo, I cannot hide the truth from you anymore; the one you call benefactor was my father. Jin Mao Shi Wang is my Yifu. How could I fail to recognize him?”

    Zhu Changling shook his head with a bitter smile; his face showed that he was not convinced the least bit. Zhang Wuji continued, “My Yifu is blind, this man’s eyes can see well, that is the biggest flaw of his disguise. My Yifu became blind overseas, of course no outsider would know. This man came here in disguise, he would not know about my Yifu’s blindness.”

    “Wuji Di,” Zhu Jiuzhen happily said, “Are you really our family’s great benefactor’s son? That’s very good, very good!”

    Zhu Changling still was not convinced. Zhang Wuji had no choice but narrated briefly how he came to be in Kunlun region. Yao Qingquan implied his disbelief by asking him all kinds of questions about the Wudang Mountain; he also asked him the circumstances around Zhang Cuishan, husband and wife’s suicide. After Zhang Wuji gave all the correct answers, only then did he believe.

    Zhu Changling still felt uncomfortable. “If this boy did not tell the truth and we offended Xie Da Xia, how can that be good?”

    Yao Qingquan pulled out a dagger and placed it on that man’s right eye, saying, “Friend, both of Jin Mao Shi Wang’s eyes are damaged. If you want to pretend to be him, then you must copy him well. I am going to help you by taking out these things first. I, the one surnamed Yao, have been deceived really bad by you; if this little brother did not expose your lie, wouldn’t I deliver my Zhu Dage’s life for nothing?” While saying that, he thrust the dagger forward until the tip touched that man’s eyelid. He asked again, “Who are you, anyway? Why do you pretend to be Jin Mao Shi Wang?”

    “If you have guts, just stab your dagger and kill me,” that man angrily said, “What kind of man do you think ‘Kai Bei Shou’ [hand splitting the stone] Hu Bao is? Do you think you can extort any confession from me?”

    “Ah,” Zhu Changling exclaimed, “Kai Bei Shou Hu Bao! You are from Kongtong Pai.”

    Hu Bao said loudly, “All schools and sects under the heavens know that Zhu Changling wants to avenge Zhang Cuishan. As the saying goes: strike first and gain the upper hand, strike later and suffer a calamity’.”

    Yao Qingquan roared, “You are so malicious!” His dagger went down to stab that man’s heart. But Zhu Changling reached out with his left hand to grab his wrist, saying, “Er Di, wait. What if he really is Xie Daxia? Even if we have to die ten thousand times, we still cannot redeem our wrong.”

    Yai Qingquan said, “Zhang Xiongdi has told us clearly. Dage, if you are half-hearted [orig. ‘san xin er yi’ – three hearts two intentions] and do not make a decision, it will be difficult to us to escape present disaster.”

    Zhu Changling shook his head, “I would rather we receive a thousand blades than make a mistake by injuring even a strand of hair of our benefactor’s sworn brother.”

    “Zhu Bobo,” Zhang Wuji said, “This man definitely is not my Yifu. My Yifu is widely known as ‘Golden Mane Lion King’, his hair is yellow. This man’s hair is black.”

    Zhu Changling was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he nodded. Taking along Zhang Wuji’s hand, he said, “Xiao Xiongdi, come with me.”

    The two of them went out from the stone chambers. They left the cave and walked toward a valley behind the hillside and then sat side-by-side on a piece of boulder.

    “Xiao Xiongdi,” Zhu Changling said, “If this man is not Xie Daxia, naturally we must kill him, but before we make our move, I must not have the least bit of doubt in my heart; don’t you think so?”

    Zhang Wuji said, “You don’t want to make any mistake, that is only natural. But this man is definitely not my Yifu. Zhu Bobo, set your heart at ease.”

    “Child,” Zhu Changling sighed, “When I was young, I fell into deceitful schemes of more than a few people. Today I did not want to fight back and I received a severe injuryas a result; hence I knew that I have misjudged that man. One mistake is enough, I cannot make another one. This is a significant responsibility. My death is not to be regretted, but whatever happens, I simply must protect Xie Daxia and your safety. Actually, I wanted to ask clearly Xie Daxia’s whereabouts, so that my heart can be truly at ease, but I feel that this is an inappropriate matter to ask.”

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was deeply touched. “Zhu Bobo,” he said, “For the sake of my father and Yifu, you have destroyed a million of your family properties, you also went as far as receiving this serious injury personally, how can I not trust you? Even if you did not ask about my Yifu, I certainly must tell you everything.”

    Thereupon he told Zhu Changling how his parents and Xie Xun were carried by the current to the Bing Huo Island, how they lived there for ten years, and how the three of them finally returned on a wooden raft; one by one he told him everything. He learned most of these events from his parents’ mouths, but he was able to narrate clearly. Zhu Changling repeatedly asked questions on things that were unclear, such as how Zhang Wuji learned martial art on the Bing Huo Island, how he brought Yang Buhui to the west, how he ran into a misfortune at the Kunlun San Sheng Ao [three-sage depression (of the earth)], until he understood everything clearly. Finding that Zhang Wuji’s story was without any flaw, only then did he believe him completely.

    With a long sigh of relief he looked up to the sky and said, “En Gong, oh, En Gong, I am asking your spirit in Heaven to clearly be my witness: Zhu Changling will exhaust everything he has to raise Wuji Xiongdi until he grows up and becomes an adult. Only powerful enemies lie in wait on all sides, while my martial art skill is meager, in all honesty I cannot necessarily bear this heavy burden. Therefore, I pray that En Gong will bless and protect.” Finished speaking, he kneeled down on the ground and kowtowed toward the heavens. Zhang Wuji was grieved, but also full of gratitude; he also kneeled down.

    Zhu Changling stood up and said, “Now I don’t have even half a part of doubt. Ay! Shaolin, Emei, Kunlun, Kongtong, which one of them does not have strength in number and superior martial art? Xiao Xiongdi, previously I was determined to risk my old life to fight the enemies one by one, to repay your honorable father’s great kindness. But today, comforting an orphan is an important matter, revenge comes second. Only, the earth is so vast, where can we go to escape this disaster? They managed to find even a secluded place in a remote area like mine, where can we find a more secluded place?”

    After pausing for a while he continued, “Xie Daxia lives alone on the Bing Huo Island with nobody to help him. I am thinking that for these past several years, his life must be really miserable. Ay, this great hero has such an esteemed friendship with benefactor and sister-in-law; if only I can see him just once, I will die a happy man."

    Hearing him talk about how his Yifu had a harsh life, alone on the Bing Huo Island, Zhang Wuji was overwhelmed with sadness. Suddenly he had an idea and blurted, "Zhu Bobo, what do you say we go to the Bing Huo Island together? My days on that island were happy, but as soon as I arrived on the Central Earth, I saw and suffered, if not murder then shedding of blood, and thus I feel alarmed and anxious."

    "Xiao Xiongdi," Zhu Changling said, "You really want to return to the Bing Huo Island, don't you?"

    Zhang Wuji hesitated and did not answer; quietly thinking that he would not live too much longer anyway. Besides, the voyage to the Bing Huo Island was difficult and dangerous, they might not necessarily reach their destination, and thus he should not endanger the lives of Zhu Changling and his family. The ocean was without mercy, just one slight mishap and their bodies would be buried underneath the giant billowing waves.

    Zhu Changling held his hands and looked at his face, saying, “Xiao Xiongdi, you and I are not strangers to each other, any concern should be discussed openly. Do you or do you not want to return to the Bing Huo Island?” His voice was full of sincerity.

    In Zhang Wuji’s heart right this moment, he was tired and loathed the sinister hearts of the Jianghu people, his desire was that he would be able to see his Yifu’s face one more time before he died. If only he could die in his Yifu’s arms, he would ask nothing else in this life. He was unable to conceal his heart’s content in front of Zhu Changling, thereupon he slowly nodded.

    Zhu Changling did not waste any time by more talking; holding Zhang Wuji’s hand, he took him back to the stone chamber, and said to Yao Qingquan, “That man is a traitor, no doubt about it.”

    Yao Qingquan nodded. With the dagger in his hand, he entered the cell. They heard Splitting Stone Hand Hu Bao’s long and miserable cry, and then it stopped abruptly. Yao Qingquan walked out of the cell and closed the iron door, his dagger was dripping with fresh blood, which he casually wiped on the bottom of his boots.

    Zhu Changling said, “That traitor could come here and be a mole among us, looks like our trail has been compromised; we can’t stay here anymore.” Immediately he led everybody out of the stone chamber, out of the cave, and walked for more than twenty ‘li’, around two mountain peaks, toward a valley, and arrived at a cluster of four, five little huts by a giant tree.

    It was dawn. After everybody entered the huts, Zhang Wuji noticed the plow, sickle and other farming tools in the room, as well as pots, pans and furnace, and plenty of all kinds of provisions. It appeared that to guard against his powerful enemies, Zhu Changling had prepared not a few of these safe houses. Due to his severe injury, Zhu Changing immediately laid down on a bed. Mrs. Zhu took out some long gowns made of hand-woven cloth, along with straw sandals, head scarves, and distributed everything to everybody. All of a sudden the rich family madam and miss were transformed into peasant women. Although they did not act or talk like peasants, as long as they did not come too close to outsiders, nobody would know their disguise.

    They stayed in the farm house for several days. Zhu Changling treated his injury with legacy medicine from Yunnan so he enjoyed a quick recovery. Fortunately, no enemy came to pursue. With nothing to do, Zhang Wuji quietly observed everything happening around him. He saw Yao Qingquan went out every day to seek out information. Mrs. Zhu led the disciples to pack their luggage, obviously for the long journey ahead of them. Zhang Wuji knew that to repay kindness and escape the enemy, Zhu Changling had decided to bring his whole family overseas to the Bing Huo Island, and Zhang Wuji was delighted.

    That night Zhang Wuji was lying on the bed, imagining that if he was lucky enough not to die and manage to reach the Bing Huo Island, he would be able to live together on the island with this elder sister Zhu Jiuzhen, whose beauty was like an immortal's. He blushed and felt his ears getting hot, his heart was thumping madly. He also envisioned that when (older) uncle Zhu, (younger) uncle Yao meet with his foster-father, the three of them would become good friends; they would live a carefree life on the island for the rest of their lives. They would not have to be afraid that the Mongolians would massacre or push them around; they also do not need to worry about the powerful enemies of the Wulin world sneakilyattacking them. If he could live that kind of life, he would not want anything else in the world. In his delight, he had forgotten about the cold poison in his body and that his own days were numbered. It was deep into the night, but he had not fallen asleep.

    While he was half-asleep, suddenly he heard the door gently pushed open, someone entered his room. Zhang Wuji was slightly surprised because his nose smelled light and delicate fragrance, which was precisely the jasmine perfume Zhu Jiuzhen used daily on her clothes. Suddenly his face turned deep red, for some unknown reason he felt extremely shy.

    Zhu Jiuzhen walked quietly to the bed and asked in a low voice, "Wuji Di, are you asleep?"

    Zhang Wuji did not dare to answer, he closed his eyes tight, pretending to be asleep. A moment later, he felt warm fingers on his eyelids. Zhang Wuji was surprised but happy, shy but scared; he wished she would quickly get out of the room. In his heart, he held Zhu Jiuzhen with the highest respect; if he could only look into her eyes every day, he would be very satisfied. He did not have the slightest degree of dirty thoughts toward her at all; even the hope of taking her as his wife in the future had never entered his mind. This moment, to suddenly see her entering his room, how could he not lose his mind?

    Suddenly a thought came into his mind, "Could Zhen Jie possibly have an important matter she needs to discuss with me in the middle of the night?" he mused. Right this moment, suddenly the 'shan zhong xue' [lit. sheep odor acupoint] in the pit of his stomach went numb, followed by 'jian zhen' [shoulder chaste(?)], 'shen zang' [divine storehouse], 'qu chi' [crooked reservoir], and 'huan tiao' [jump the hoop] acupoints were sealed one by one. He was totally taken by surprise, who would have thought that Zhu Jiuzhen came in the middle of the night to seal his acupoints?

    In his disappointment he tried to reason, "Ah, perhaps Zhen Jie wanted to test my alertness although I was asleep? She'll come back tomorrow to unseal my acupoints and make fun of me. If I knew it earlier, I would have jumped and scared her as soon as she entered the room, so that tomorrow she wouldn't have anything to boast."

    He saw that she quietly pushed the door open and flew out. "I'd better unseal my acupoints quickly and follow her," Zhang Wuji thought, "I will pretend to be a ghost to scare her. That should be fun." Immediately he used the acupoint unsealing technique he learned from Xie Xun. However, Zhu Jiuzhen's family legacy of 'Solitary Yang Finger' was not something to be trifled with; he had to spend the most part of an hour to release his sealed acupoints. It was because Zhu Jiuzhen did not have enough strength, and also because she did not want to awaken him, she had only used light force; otherwise, even if Zhang Wuji's acupoint unsealing techniques were more amazing, he would never be able to free himself.

    When he was able to stand up, he hurriedly put his outer garment on and jumped out of the window, but it was quiet everywhere he looked, not a trace of Zhu Jiuzhen to be seen. Standing in the darkness he was feeling rather dispirited, but suddenly he had another thought, "Zhen Jie is going to make fun of me for being useless; let her tease me if she want to, why should I fight over who wins who loses with her? I always try to win her favor daily, it is not easy; if I pursue her tonight, she may be angry with me instead." Having this thought, his heart immediately calmed down.

    It was the beginning of spring, the air was filled with the light fragrance of wild flowers all around the valley. Since sleep had left him, he wandered aimlessly along a small creek. The snow on the hillside was beginning to melt; it trickled down into the creek below. Occasionally he would step on or kick small pieces of ice, creating clinking noises along the way. After walking for a while, he heard giggles coming from the woods to his left, it was Zhu Jiuzhen's voice.

    Zhang Wuji was slightly startled, "Did Zhen Jie find me?" he mused. But then he heard that she was scolding in a low voice, "Biaoge, don't make a scene, or I will slap your big ears," followed by a male voice laughing gaily. Zhang Wuji did not need to hear more to know that it was of course Wei Bi.

    Zhang Wuji's heart was so shaken that he almost cried; the sweet dream he had for the last half a day was completely shattered, but his mind was suddenly as bright as the snow: "Why would I think that Zhen Jie sealed my acupoints because she wanted to play a joke on me? She is afraid I might find out that she is seeing her cousin in the middle of the night." In that instant his hands went numb and his legs went weak. He also thought, "I am a homeless pauper; how can I be compared to Wei Xianggongin terms of literacy or martial art skill, manners or appearance? ['xianggong' is yet another way of saying 'mister' or 'young master']. Zhen Jie and he are related as cousins, they are a perfect match [orig. 'lang cai nu mao' - talented man, beautiful woman], truly a match made in heaven [orig. 'tian zao di she' - heaven built, the earth arranged]."

    Once he accepted the fact, he gradually calmed down and sighed lightly. Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching, someone was coming from behind. Right this moment, Zhu Jiuzhen was still talking and laughing in a low voice with Wei Bi, while walking hand-in-hand toward him. Zhang Wuji did not want to be seen by them, so he hastily stepped behind a large tree to hide.

    He heard the two sets of footsteps were approaching each other. Suddenly Zhu Jiuzhen called out, "Father! You ... you ..." her voice trembled, apparently she was very scared. Turned out the person coming from the other side was none other than Zhu Changling.

    Seeing his daughter having a tryst in the middle of the night with his sister's son, Zhu Changling was really angry. "Humph," he snorted, "What are you doing here?"

    Zhu Jiuzhen forced herself to act like she did not care, she said with a laugh, "Father, Biaoge and I have not seen each other for such a long time, today he happened to come by, we are just chatting."

    "You, this little girl, are recklessly too bold," Zhu Changling said, "What if Wuji finds out ..."

    "I lightly sealed five of his major acupoints," Zhu Jiuzhen cut him off, "He is sleeping soundly right now. I am going to release him as soon as I am back, I am sure he will not know anything."

    Zhang Wuji said in his heart, "Zhu Bobo knew I like Zhen Jie. Because of my father's kindness to him, he does not want me to be broken hearted and lose heart. Actually, although I like Zhen Jie, I do not have any other intentions. Zhu Bobo, you are very good to me."

    He heard Zhu Changling say, “Even so, you must be very careful, don’t let us fail at the last hurdle and raise his suspicions.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen said with a smile, “Child understands.”

    “Jiufu [(maternal) uncle], Zhen Mei [younger sister],” Wei Bi said, “I’d better return. I am afraid Shifu is waiting for me.”

    Zhu Jiuzhen did not want to part with him too soon, she said, “Let me walk you off.”

    “Alright,” Zhu Changling said, “Let me go with you, I need to talk to your Shifu a little bit. This time we are going to Bing Huo Island, everybody must be fully prepared, we can’t afford any mistakes.” And then the three of them walked toward the west.

    Zhang Wuji felt rather strange; he knew Wei Bi’s master was called Wu Lie, which was Wu Qingying’s father. Listening to Zhu Changling, it seemed like the Wu family, father and daughter, along with Wei Bi, will be going to the Bing Huo Island too; why didn’t anybody tell him before? The more people knew about this matter, the greater the possibility that it would leak out; hopefully nothing would implicate his Yifu.

    He pondered about this for half a day. Suddenly he recalled something: Zhu Changling had said, ‘don’t let us fail at the last hurdle and raise his suspicions’. Suspicion … suspicion … what suspicion? Thinking about this word ‘suspicion’, suddenly something else flashed through his mind as if someone had just lighted a light in the darkness of his mind; the people in the painting 'Picture of Zhang Gong Cuishan's Kindness' all bore close resemblance to the real ones, but how come his father’s oval face was painted as square? He looked a lot like his father, true, because as father and son, they shared many similar facial features; however, his father face was oval with pointy chin, not at all like Zhang Wuji’s long face with square jaw. According to Zhu Changling, he drew the painting with his own hand more than ten years ago. Even if his painting technique was not good, he should not make such a blatant mistake that the face of his great benefactor was changed beyond recognition. The Zhang Cuishan in the painting was practically a grown up version of Zhang Wuji.

    “Ah, there is one more thing,” he mused, “Father’s iron pen had a straight handle with sharp nib; it looked just like ordinary writing brush. That day, not long after we arrived on the main land, he bought a regular judge pen from a weapon maker. He said that in term of weight and length, the weapon was acceptable for him to use, even with an extra iron hand. It did not look too pleasing to the eye. Mama said that as soon as we were settled, he should go and have one cast to his specifications. Yet the weapon Father had in the painting was actually a regular judge pen with a cast iron in the shape of a hand. Zhu Bobo himself is an expert in using judge pen, how could he paint it incorrectly? How could he draw Father’s judge pen wrong?”

    Thinking to this point, a faint feeling of dread started to grow in his heart. In the deepest part of his heart, he knew the answer, but the answer was too frightening, so he did not dare to think it clearly, he only tried to console himself, “I must not let my imagination run wild; Zhu Bobo treats me this good, why should I suspect him blindly? I’d better go back and sleep, if they knew I wander around in the middle of the night, I might put my own life in jeopardy.” As soon as he thought about ‘his life in jeopardy’, he shivered involuntarily, although he did not know for sure why he should be afraid.

    After standing on that place for half a day, he could not stop himself from walking toward the direction Zhu Changling, father and daughter, took. He saw a flicker of fire light like a star among the thick cluster of trees. Turned out there was another house in the middle of the woods. His heart was thumping wildly and immediately he stepped more lightly as he walked quietly toward the house. Arriving at the back of the house, he calmed himself down and peeked inside through a crack on the window. He saw Zhu Changling, father and daughter, and Wei Bi were sitting facing the window, talking with someone. There were two other people in the room, their backs were facing Zhang Wuji that he could not see their faces, but one of them was a woman, which obviously was one of the ‘Two Beauties of the Snowy Range’, Wu Qingying. The other was a big and tall man, listening to Zhu Changling talking about how they were going to disguise themselves as merchants and set sail from Shandong region. He did not say a single word, only nodded repeatedly.

    Zhang Wuji thought, “Aren’t I afraid over imaginary fears? Most likely this gentleman is the master of Wu family village, Wu Lie. He is a good friend of Zhu Bobo, so he is invited to come to the Bing Huo Island together. That is only natural, why should I make such a fuss over nothing?”

    “Father,” he heard Wu Qingying say, “What if we cannot find that small island in the boundless ocean, and then we cannot return home? What should we do, then?”

    Zhang Wuji mused, “This gentleman is indeed the Village Master Wu.”

    He heard Wu Lie reply, “If you are scared, then you should stay home. It is the matter of this world, if we do not go through hardship and suffering, how can we achieve peace and happiness?”

    “I was only asking,” Wu Qingying sulkily said, “Of course I will follow the lesson I’ve learned from you.”

    Wu Lie laughed and said, “Actually, in this matter we are staking everything on a single throw of a dice. If we are lucky, we will get to the Bing Huo Island. Even if that Xie Xun’s martial art skill is higher, he is still only one person, much less he is blind. He is certainly not our match …” Listening to this point, Zhang Wuji felt a cold air creeping up his back; he could not help but shiver. In the meantime, Wu Lie continued, “… how could we not take that Tulong Saber away from him? When that happens, the ‘ruling under the heavens, no one dares to disobey’, your Zhu Bobo and I together will become the ‘most revered in the Wulin world’. However, if our plan is not in accordance with the Heaven’s will [orig. ‘ren suan bu ru tian suan’ – man’s calculation is inferior to the Heaven’s calculation. I remember this saying has its origin from the Three Kingdoms, but I do not have the exact reference.], we will end up dead in the sea. Humph, who in the world would not eventuallydie?”

    Wei Bi said, “I heard Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun’s martial art skill is outstanding. On Wangpan Mountain Island, his roar had shaken dozens of Jianghu’s skilled people that they lost their minds. Disciple thinks that as we arrive on the island, we need not fight him openly; just put poison in his food and drink. Let’s not say that he is blind, even if his eyes are well and he can see clearly, he would never guess that the people his foster son brought along would harm him.”

    Zhu Changling nodded. “Bi’er’s idea is marvelous,” he said, “Only we, Zhu and Wu, two families, from generation to generation have always been upright and chivalrous prestigious martial art school; we have never used poison, even on our secret projectiles we have never put poison. In short, I do not know anything about which poison we should put in his food and drink without raising his suspicions.”

    Wei Bi said, “Yao Ershu goes to the Central Plains a lot, he should know. Ask him to buy some prepared poison.”

    Wu Lie turned around to pat Zhu Jiuzhen’s shoulder, he said with a smile, “Zhen’er …” As he turned his head around, Zhang Wuji was able to see his face and he was shocked! Turned out this man was the ‘Hand Splitting Rock’ Hu Bao who masqueraded as his Yifu, who struck Zhu Changling that he vomited some blood, who was killed by Yao Qingquan with a dagger. Zhang Wuji understood immediately, everything was a charade. In order to make the charade lifelike, the palm strike, the hit against the wall so that rock debris fall down, the smashing of the table, had to be performed by Wu Lie, whose martial art skill was very strong.

    Wu Lie was saying to Zhu Jiuzhen with a laugh, “Speaking about which, you have an important role to play in this drama; you have to be affectionate toward that little rascal along the way until he has delivered Xie Xun’s life. You must not reveal anything that would give our scheme away.”

    “Father,” Zhu Jiuzhen said, “You must promise me one thing.”

    “What is it?” Zhu Changling asked.

    “You want me to wait upon that little rascal,” Zhu Jiuzhen said, “You don’t know how much suffering I have to endure these last several days. From here until we get to the Bing Huo Island and kill Xie Xun, I don’t know how many more hardships I have to bear. As soon as you take the Tulong Saber, I want to use it to kill that little rascal!”

    Listening to such hateful and malicious talk, Zhang Wuji vision blackened and he almost fainted. Indistinctly he heard Zhu Changling say, "We are using this kind of trick to deceive him only to find out Jin Mao Shi Wang's whereabouts. Strictly speaking, we should not do this. This kid is not a bad kid. After we kill Xie Xun and get the Tulong Saber, pierce this kid's eyes blind, and leave him on the Bing Huo Island; that should be enough."

    Wu Lie praised him, "Zhu Dage has a benevolent heart, he does not want to fail the family's chivalrous values."

    Zhu Changling sighed, "This is like we are taking one step in chess, no feelings should be involved. Wu Erdi [second (younger) brother], when we are sailing, you must follow us from a distance. If you are too close, you might raise that kid's suspicion, but if you are too far, we might lose contact. You may have to take the trouble of selecting skilled sailors to man your boat."

    "Yes," Wu Lie replied, "Zhu Dage's plan is truly thorough."

    Zhang Wuji was confused. "I have never revealed my true identity, how could they find out?" he mused, "Hmm, perhaps when I staked everything to fight Wei Bi and Zhu and Wu girls, I used Wudang Pai's techniques. Zhu Bobo's experience is vast; perhaps he could instantly see my origin. He knew that my father and mother would rather die than revealing Yifu's whereabouts. Supposing he has used force, he could not make me reveal the truth; therefore, he forged the painting, burned down his own residence, using the ruse of inflicting self-injury to move my heart. Without uttering a single sentence of request, I asked him to take me to the Bing Huo Island instead. Zhu Changling, oh Zhu Changling, your sinister plot is truly ruthless."

    By this time Zhu Changling and Wu Lie were still discussing all kinds of preparations for their journey to the east. Zhang Wuji did not dare to listen further, he held his breath and quietly lifted his foot and quietly put it down. For every single step he had to listen and make sure there was nothing astir inside before he took the next step. He realized Zhu Changling and Wu Lie's martial art skills were very strong, as soon as he made a careless step, stepping on a dry twig, for instance, he would alert them at once. Hence, for the first thirty steps or so, he walked very slowly. It was not until he was more than ten 'zhang' away from the little hut did he quicken his pace.

    In his panic he did not see where he was heading, he only thought that he must have walked toward the deepest part of the forest on the hillside. He climbed higher and higher, and faster and faster, until finally he ran like a madman. He did not dare to slow down or stop to catch his breath for more than two hours.

    After running for half of the night, finally it was dawn. He noticed that he was inside a deep forest on a mountain range. He turned his head to see if Zhu Changling and the others pursued him or not, but as soon as he turned and looked, he cried out in desperation, because his feet made deep prints on the snow as far as he could see. The western regions were bitterly cold, although it was already the beginning of spring; the snow had not melted in between the mountain ridges. Running for his life in panic, with all his strength he managed to climb the mountain ridge; who would have thought that he had left a very clear track of his whereabouts.

    From where he was, Zhang Wuji could hear a faint howling of wolves ahead; it was sad and shrill, but also frightening. He walked toward the edge of a cliff and saw on the opposite hillside seven, eight large grey wolves looking up at him, baring their teeth and howling threateningly. Obviously the wolves wanted to eat their fill, but between them there was a bottomless canyon, perhaps tens of thousands ‘zhang’ deep, so the wolves would not be able to reach him. Turning his head again, his heart skipped a beat, for he saw on the hillside there were five dark shadows slowly creeping upward; they must be the people from the Zhu and Wu families. Presently they were still some distance away, it seemed like these five people did not walk too fast, but he knew that they were rushing like the wind that they would be able to catch up with him in less than two hours.

    Zhang Wuji calmed himself down and made a decision, "I'd rather die by becoming food for the hungry wolves than fall into their hands and have to suffer torment from this group of evil people."

    He thought about how stupid he was to hold Zhu Jiuzhen in the highest esteem, hidden away under her beauty was a heart as poisonous as a viper or a scorpion. In shame and grief he staggered to enter the dense forest.

    The grass in the forest was as tall as his waist, although there was accumulation of snow, his trail could not be seen easily. After running for a while, his body and mind were overcome by weariness, plus the cold poison in his body suddenly flared up, his legs gave up that he was unable to move further. He crawled into a clump of long grass and picked a sharp rock from the ground. He held the rock tight, thinking that as soon as Zhu Changling and the others find his hiding place, he would kill himself by striking the sharp rock on his 'taiyang xue' [sun acupoint, located on the temple].

    Thinking back on everything he went through in the last two months in the Zhu family manor, his heartache grew. "Kongtong Pai, Huashan Pai, Kunlun Pai people repaid kindness with evil, I did not keep their wickedness in my heart. But toward Zhen Jie I had nothing but sincerity, yet in the end it comes to this ... Ay, what did Mama tell me before her death? How could I forget her warning?"

    Just before she died, Zhang Wuji's mother had clearly whispered in his ear this warning, 'Child, when you grow up, you must be cautious of women tricking you. The more beautiful that woman is, the better of a manipulator she will be.' His eyes were brimming with tears as he vaguely recalled what happened that day. "Mama said those words with a dagger already thrust into her chest. She endured the severe pain just to warn me, but I did not keep the words she uttered through blood and tears in my heart. If I did not know the unsealing acupoint technique and by curious coincidence heard Zhu Changling's conspiracy, I would have fallen into their thorough scheme and would have brought them to the Bing Huo Island; then I would certainly bring harm to Yifu's life."

    As his mind was made up, his brain became exceptionally clear; he was able to see the meaning behind Zhu Changling, father and daughter's actions. When Zhu Changlin realized he was Zhang Cuishan's son, he went into action by killing the dogs and slapping his daughter, so that Zhang Wuji would believe that he was the kind of man who clearly distinguish right from wrong, a righteous man who upheld chivalry. Although the setting of his large complex of elaborately decorated buildings in flame was something to be pitied, it was nothing compared the 'Wulin Zhi Zun' [the most revered in the Wulin world] Tulong Saber. Just from the quick-thinking and decisive way of handling matters, Zhu Changling was indeed worthy to be feared.

    Zhang Wuji also thought, "When I was on the island, every day I have seen Yifu held the Saber in his hand, lost in thought. For ten years he was not able to penetrate the secret of the Saber. Although Yifu is intelligent, he is a straightforward man. This Zhu Changling's resourcefulness surpasses others. Speaking about the depth of his scheme, he is far above Yifu. Yifu cannot solve the mystery, but if the treasured Saber fell into Zhu Changling's hands, most likely he would succeed ..." Carefully thinking it over, all sorts of scenarios jumbled around in his head. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Zhu Changling and Wu Lie had entered the forest.

    Wu Lie said, “That kid must be hiding in the forest, he won’t run far …”

    Zhu Changling quickly cut him off, he said, “Ay, I wonder what did Zhen’er say that she offended Zhang Xiongdi. I am really worried over him; he is such a young boy, if he met a mishap on these snowy and icy mountain ridges, even if my body is ground to powder and my bones shattered, I would never forgive myself in front of Zhang En Gong.”

    These words were spoken with extreme anxiety, as if he deeply regretted himself. Zhang Wuji was completely horrified to hear him, he thought, “He has not given up hope; he still wants to deceive me with flowery speech.”

    He heard that Zhu and Wu, two men, were beating the bushes with three branches in their hands. Zhang Wuji crouched even lower and did not dare to make the slightest move. Fortunately, that forest covered a very large area that although they beat the bushes for a while they still could not find him. Shortly afterwards, Wei Bi and the Two Beauties of the Snowy Range also arrived. The five of them searched the forest for half a day without finding anything. They grew tired and sat on rocks to rest. Actually, the place they were resting was less than three ‘zhang’ away from Zhang Wuji’s hiding place; it was just that the grass in this forest was really tall that he was completely hidden from their sight.

    Zhu Changling focused his attention and thought for a moment, suddenly he loudly shouted, “Zhen’er, how have you offended Wuji Xiongdi that he left in the middle of the night without telling us?”

    Zhu Jiuzhen was startled. Zhu Changling busily signaled her with his eyes, but from his hiding place among the thick grass, Zhang Wuji actually was able to see this signal clearly.

    Zhu Jiuzhen understood, she also replied in loud voice, “I was just joking with him, I sealed his acupoints, I did not know that Wuji Di will take it seriously.” Finished speaking, she called out loudly, “Wuji Di, Wuji Di, quickly come out, Zhen Jie wants to apologize to you.” Although her voice was loud, it still carried a flirtatious and seducing tone, coaxing Zhang Wuji to respond.

    After calling for a moment without anything astir, suddenly she cried, “Father, don’t hit me, don’t hit me. I did not intentionally offend Wuji Di.” Zhu Changling raised his palm and slapped his own thigh, making loud slapping noises, while his mouth was shouting angrily. Zhu Jiuzhen did not stop screaming miserably, as if she could not bear the pain of her father’s beating. Wu Lie, Wei and Wu Qingying looked from the side with smiles on their faces.

    Zhang Wuji saw the drama performed by this pair of father and daughter, but hearing the noise, his heart was still sorrowful. He thought, “Luckily I can see your faces, otherwise, hearing her shrill screaming, although I know it is harmful to me, I would not be able to bear it and would have stepped forward.”

    Zhu family’s father and daughter were certain that Zhang Wuji was hiding in this forest; one cursed angrily, the other cried pitifully, their voices grew more and more severe. Zhang Wuji covered his ears with his hands, but intermittently, the voice still penetrated his ears. Finally he could not bear it anymore, he leaped out and shouted, “Whatever trick you are playing, do you think you can still deceive me?”

    Zhu Changling and the others, all five of them, cheered together, “He is here!”

    Zhang Wuji called out, “Zhen Jie, how are you?” and then turned around and dashed like crazy into the woods. Zhu Changling and Wu Lie flew to pounce on him at once. Zhang Wuji had made up his mind to die, hence without hesitation he ran toward that tens of thousands ‘zhang’ deep canyon. Zhu Changling’s ‘qing gong’ [lightness skill] was far superior to Zhang Wuji; as soon as Zhang Wuji rushed toward the nearby canyon, Zhu Changling had already very near behind him, reaching out to grab the clothes on his back.

    Zhang Wuji felt a severe pain to the bones as the five fingers of Zhu Changling’s right hand tightly held his back. By this time, however, his foot had already treaded on empty air; half of his body was already above the abyss. His left foot followed and his entire body was thrown rapidly forward.

    Zhu Changling had never imagined that Zhang Wuji would throw himself over the cliff to commit suicide. Because he was holding Zhang Wuji’s back, he was also pulled forward. Based on his dozens of years of martial art training, if he released his hand and immediately leaped backward, he would have preserved his life. However, he knew that as soon as he let his five fingers loose, he would forever lost the chance to get his hand on ‘the most revered in the Wulin world’, the treasured Tulong Saber. These past two months of painstaking planning and preparation, the burning of his vast magnificent dwelling complex to the ground, all would be wasted as soon as he let these five fingers loose.

    In his hesitation, Zhang Wuji’s fall did not slow down the least bit. ‘Not good!” Zhu Changling called out, while reaching back with his left hand, trying to grab the hand of Wu Lie, who was running close behind him, but he missed by about a foot, yet he was still unwilling to let his grab on Zhang Wuji go. Two people fell together over the cliff, into the tens of thousands ‘zhang’ deep abyss below. They only heard Wu Lie, Zhu Jiuzhen and the others cry out in alarm above, but in a blink of an eye their voices were no longer heard.

    The two of them fell straight down through the clouds and mist in the valley. In all his life, Zhu Changling had endured not just a few wind and waves; his mind stayed clear in this critical time. He felt the howling wind rushing past his ears as his body fell downward. Occasionally he would see tree branches extended from the wall of the cliff. He tried to reach out and grab these branches, but several times he missed by a few feet. Finally he succeeded, but the force of gravity on their bodies was simply too strong, the branch was unable to bear the load, ‘crack!’ the pine branch, as big as a human arm, snapped. But this slight slowing down was enough for Zhu Changling to swing his legs, using the move ‘wu long jiao zhu’ [black dragon entangles the pillar], and wrap them firmly around the trunk of the pine tree. Next, he swung Zhang Wuji and sat him on a branch. For fear that Zhang Wuji would leap down again, he kept holding on to Zhang Wuji’s arm.

    Seeing that in the end he was still unable to escape from Zhu Changling’s grasp, Zhang Wuji was extremely disheartened. “Zhu Bobo,” he bitterly said, “No matter how you would torture me, don’t ever think that I would take you to look for my Yifu.”

    Zhu Changling heaved his own body up and steadied himself sitting on the branch. Looking up, he could no longer see Zhu Jiuzhen and the others; he did not even hear their shouts anymore. Although he was gutsy, recalling that he had just narrowly cheated death, he could not stop cold sweats from trickling down his forehead.

    After calming himself down, he said with a smile, “Xiao Xiongdi, what are you talking about? I don’t understand anything. Please don’t let your imagination run wild.”

    “I have seen through your crafty scheme,” Zhang Wuji said, “It is completely useless against me. If you force me to take you to the Bing Huo Island, I can randomly point to north, south, east or west; then everybody will die together in the ocean. Do you think I will not dare to do just that?”

    Zhu Changling thought that he was telling the truth; right now there was no way he could argue with him face to face, his only hope was for another ingenious plan involving his daughter. He looked around to assess their situation. Climbing back up was certainly not an option. Looking down, he still cannot see the bottom, besides, even if he could reach the canyon ground, nine out of ten there would be no way out. The only possibility was to slowly crawl along the sloping mountain wall.

    “Xiao Xiongdi,” he said to Zhang Wuji, “You must not have any blind suspicion. I assure you, I simply will not compel you to find Xie Daxia. If I did, let ten thousand arrows penetrate this body of mine, and I the one surnamed Zhu die without a burial place.” His heavy oath was not empty words, because he thought that since Zhang Wuji had attempted suicide, he knew that it would be useless no matter how he compelled. His only hope was to entice him to willingly bring this matter up.

    Hearing his oath, Zhang Wuji was somewhat relieved. Zhu Changling said, “We will have to slowly crawl up from here. You must not jump down, do you understand?”

    “If you don’t compel me, why would I want to seek death?” Zhang Wuji replied.

    Zhu Changling nodded. Taking out his short saber, he peeled the tree bark to make some rope. He tied one end of the rope to his waist and the other to Zhang Wuji’s. Going all fours on the ground, they crawled one step at a time along the snowy mountain slope toward the sunlight high above their heads. The cliff was steep to begin with, now that it was covered with ice and snow, it was extremely slippery. Twice had Zhang Wuji slipped and fell, both times Zhu Changling exerted his strength to pull him that he did not fall into the deep canyon below. But Zhang Wuji did not appreciate his efforts at all. “If you don’t have your eyes on the treasured Tulong Saber, would you still have the good intention of saving me?” he silently thought.

    Two people crawled for half of the day; their elbows and knees were scraped and bruised bloody by the hard ice, until at last the cliff was not so steep. Two people were able to stand; step by step they struggled onward. With great difficulty they walked around a sheer cliff that seemed like a large screen and without any shame Zhu Changling cried out in despair. As far as the eyes could see, there was boundless ocean of clouds around them, there was no way out, that place was like a high and flat stage with empty air on its three sides. The circumference of the stage was more than ten ‘zhang’, but it was hanging in the middle of the air, they could not go up, and could not go down either; it was truly a dead-end.

    This large platform was covered with ice and snow; there was no vegetation, no wild animal. Contrary to expectation, Zhang Wuji was happy, he laughed and said, “Zhu Bobo, you have planned all this wholeheartedly, and yet we end up on this suspended-from-the-sky platform. If right at this moment someone offered the treasured Tulong Saber, what would you do with it?”

    “Stop talking nonsense!” Zhu Changling shouted. He sat cross-legged and ate two mouthfuls of snow, thinking, “Although I am tired right now, I still have some energy left. If stay here one more day without eating anything, I am afraid it would be hard to escape from this trap.” Thereupon he stood up and said, “There is no way out from this place, we must go back and find another way out.”

    “I actually think it is so fun in here,” Zhang Wuji replied, “Why must we go back?”

    Zhu Changling angrily said, “There is nothing to eat here, why stay?”

    Zhang Wuji laughed and said, “Isn’t it better not to eat human’s food? Then you can cultivate the way of the immortals.”

    Zhu Changling was enraged, but he knew that as soon as he used force, perhaps Zhang Wuji would jump over the cliff. “All right,” he said, “You can stay here and rest for a moment. As soon as I find another way out, I’ll be back here to get you. Don’t go too near the cliff, you might fall down.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “What concern it is to you if I live or die, exist or perish? If you are still dreaming of me leading you to the Bing Huo Island, I suggest you let it go.”

    Zhu Changling did not answer; he went back to where they came from. When he arrived at the big pine tree, he took the path to the left. This side of the cliff was more dangerous, but without having to look after Zhang Wuji, he managed to move faster. After more than an hour of climbing, he reached the top of the cliff. Again he did not see any way out. Zhu Changling looked over the cliff and heaved a long sigh. After staring blankly to the emptiness for a long time, he dejectedly went back to the platform.

    Without asking, Zhang Wuji could see from his expression that he failed to find a way out; he thought, “I was hit by the Xuan Ming Shen Zhang [black/mysterious and dark divine palm]. The cold poison is not easy to get rid of. I won’t have too much time to live. No matter where I die, it’s all the same to me. On the other hand, he has been blessed but failed to enjoy it in his vain attempt to become ‘the most revered in the Wulin world’, that unexpectedly he has to accompany me on this world of ice and snow, and die of starvation. It’s a pity, it’s a pity!”

    At first Zhang Wuji detested Zhu Changling for his treacherous scheme, even after they fell over the cliff together and escaped dangers, he still made fun of him several times, but as now their hope of escaping alive had been cut short and he saw Zhu Changling hung his head dispiritedly, Zhang Wuji began to feel pity on him instead. “Zhu Bobo,” he warmly said, “You are already old, you have enjoyed all kinds of splendor and happiness, if you die now, what else do you have to regret? Don’t be sad.”

    Zhu Changling had always yielded to Zhang Wuji because he had not given up yet; he still hoped that in the end he could swindle Zhang Wuji into leading them to the Bing Huo Island. But now as he saw his path to life had been cut and he was left in this desperate situation, all because of this kid, how could he suppress his resentment? He stared menacingly toward Zhang Wuji, with eyes spouting raging fire.

    Seeing the abrupt change of Zhu Changling’s expression, from that of a gentle and good-natured old man to a beast, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel very scared. He cried out in fear and ran away.

    “Where can you run?” Zhu Changling roared, reaching out to grab Zhang Wuji’s back. He was determined to torture him really bad, he wanted Zhang Wuji to experience the worst possible pain before he died.

    Zhang Wuji ducked forward one step, and saw the dark shadow of what seemed to be a cave on the mountain wall to his left. Without thinking he jumped into the cave. ‘Rip!’ a piece of his pants was torn and his thigh was cut by Zhu Changling’s claw. Zhang Wuji staggered along toward the inside of the cave. Suddenly ‘bang!’ his forehead bumped onto a mountain rock so hard that he saw stars dancing in front of his eyes. He knew that if Zhu Changling could tear his face to pieces right now he would use any savage method to torture him. Therefore, in his fear, he desperately struggled to enter further into the cave. He did not have the luxury of considering that if he entered this dark hole, might be trapped inside and it would be more difficult for him to escape the enemy’s poisonous hands. Fortunately, the deeper he went, the narrower the cave got. Crawling for more than ten ‘zhang’ later, he could barely push his way forward. Zhu Changling could no longer follow him. Zhang Wuji crawled several more ‘zhang’ forward and then he suddenly saw light ahead; he was delighted, he moved his hands and feet faster toward the light.

    Zhu Changling was anxious and angry at the same time. “I won’t hurt you,” he called out, “Quickly come out!” But how could Zhang Wuji heed his call?”

    Zhu Changling exerted his internal energy into his palm and struck the rock wall. The mountain rock was incomparably solid, when the palm hit the rock, his hand was shaken and he felt severe pain in the center of his palm, while the rock wall was not damaged in any way whatsoever. He took his short saber out with the intention of digging the rock loose so that the passageway would be somewhat wider, but he only dug a few times when ‘snap’, his blue-steel short saber was broken into two.

    Zhu Changling was furious. He sent his strength to his shoulder and squeezed his body through the opening. Sure enough, he advanced about a foot forward, but to move any further was totally out of question. The solid rock walls were crushing his chest and back, and to his shock, he could not breathe. If he did not want to die of suffocation, he had no choice but to withdraw. Unexpectedly, his body was stuck in between the solid rocks; he could neither move forward nor withdraw backward. He was so frightened that he felt his soul was leaving him. With his entire strength his arms pushed on the rock and his body was pushed about a foot back, but there was a burst of acute pain on his chest as one of his ribs broke.

    End of Chapter 15.
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 12:10 PM.

  17. #17
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 16 – If All Failed, Consult the Nine Yang
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    Zhang Wuji continued crawling through the passageway for several more ‘zhang’. The light was growing brighter, until suddenly he was dazzled by the bright sunlight. He had to close his eyes to calm down for a while before opening his eyes again. To his surprise, in front of him was a jade-green valley with clusters of bright flower bushes; the flowers were red, the trees green, complementing each other to deliver this dazzling scenery. He shouted in glee and crawled out of the cave.

    The mouth of the cave was actually about a ‘zhang’ above the ground [reminder: 1 zhang is approximately 10ft or 3m]. He lightly jumped down and landed on a layer of soft fine grass. His nose smelled the clear and quiet fragrance of flowers; his ears heard the chirping birds from the mountain pass, and he saw fresh fruits hanging from tree branches. Who would have thought that beyond the dark cave lay such a paradise like this?

    Forgetting all his wounds and pain, he let his feet loose and ran forward. After about two ‘li’ [1 li is approximately 0.5km], another peak blocked the way. Looking at all directions, he noticed that this jade-green valley was surrounded by tall peaks; apparently there have never been any human in this place. The tip of the peaks on the four sides all were hidden behind the cloud, the cliff was very steep, it seemed like nobody would be able to climb it.

    Zhang Wuji was delighted. He saw seven, eight mountain goats were grazing on the meadow, and the goats were not scared of him. On the trees there were dozens of monkeys playing around by leaping from branch to branch, apparently because tigers, leopards or other predators were heavier, they were not able to climb over the perilous peaks. He thought, “Laotianye [the Heaven] indeed treats me not so bad, he prepares for me this kind of fairyland as my burial place.”

    Strolling back to the mouth of the cave, he heard Zhu Changling shouting from the other end, “Xiao Xiongdi, come out! Aren’t you afraid of dying of suffocation in this cave?”

    “It’s so fun in here!” Zhang Wuji replied with a laugh. He picked a fruit from a dwarf tree whose name he did not know. He held it in his hand and smelled its sweet fragrance. Taking a bite, he found out that the fruit was delicious beyond comparison. Peach would not this be crisp, apple would not be this fragrant, while pear would not be this creamy. He took one of the fruits and tossed it to the cave, while calling out, “Take this! Something delicious is coming your way!”

    As the fruit went through the cave, it bumped several timed on the rock wall so that by the time it reached Zhu Changling, it was already smashed and mushy. But when he took a bite and chewed it, his appetite was roused that he was hungrier than ever. “Xiao Xiongdi,” he called out, “Give me some more.”

    “You are a man of wicked conscience,” Zhang Wuji called back, “You deserve to die of starvation. If you want more, then come and get it yourself.”

    “My body is too big,” Zhu Changling replied, “I can’t go through the cave.”

    Zhang Wuji laughed, “If you cut yourself in halves, won’t you be able to come here?” he said.

    Zhu Changling realized his plot had failed and been exposed; Zhang Wuji wanted him to die of starvation to avenge his hatred. In the meantime, the pain on his chest was worsening; he opened his mouth to shout curses, “Thief little rascal, can the fruits in this cave feed you for the rest of your life? I will die of starvation outside, but no more than three days you will also die of starvation.” Zhang Wuji ignored him, he took seven, eight more fruits and had his fill.

    About half a day later, a sudden wisp of thick smoke puffed out of the mouth of the cave. Zhang Wuji was startled, but then he realized that Zhu Changling must have ignited pine branches outside the cave, supposing that he would force Zhang Wuji to come out by smoking him. He did not know that there was another world at the other end of the cave, so that it would be useless even if he burned a thousand or ten thousand piculs [1 picul = 100 catties, approximately 50 kg] of pine wood. But just for the fun of it, he pretended to cough loudly.

    “Xiao Xiongdi,” Zhu Changling called out, “Come out! I promise not to harm you in any way.”

    “Aahhhhh …” Zhang Wuji cried out as if he was fainting, and then he left the cave.

    Walking to the west for about two ‘li’, he saw a large waterfall falling heavily down from a cliff, which he thought must be from the melted snow. Under the sunlight the falling water looked like a giant jade dragon in all its magnificence. The water flowed into a clear dark-green pool, but the pool did not overflow, so there must be another way through which the water drained from the pool.

    After enjoying the scenery for half a day, he looked down and saw his hands and feet were filthy with moss and mud, plus countless cuts and bruises from the thorns and coarse grass; thereupon he went to the edge of the pool, took out his shoes and socks, and washed his feet in the pool water.

    After washing for a while, suddenly ‘splash!’ a big white fish jumped from the water, it was about a foot long. Zhang Wuji quickly reached out to grab. He was able to touch the fish, but it slipped and fell back into the water. Zhang Wuji leaned over the pool edge to look down into the water. He saw about a dozen big white fish swimming back and forth in the dark green water. Catching fish was a skill he had learned since his childhood on the Bing Huo Island, thereupon he broke two stiff branches and sharpened one end. He then waited patiently by the edge of the pool. As soon as another fish jumped out of the water, he thrust the spear with all his strength and it pierced the fish body. He cheered, and then with the sharpened branch he cut the fish and cleaned its intestines. Gathering some dried wood, he took out his fire blade, flint and fire cloth to build a fire and roast the fish. Shortly the aroma floated everywhere. As soon as the fish was cooked, he enjoyed the smooth and tender, delicious roast fish. He could not remember ever eating this kind of tasty fish before. In just a short moment the big fish was cleaned to its bone.

    The next day he caught another big white fish and roasted it. He thought, “Since I am not going to die soon, I’d better leave the fire on, otherwise the fire cloth will be used up quickly and then it will be troublesome.” Thereupon he gathered the ashes and put the partly burned firewood inside to keep it burning. All household appliances on the Bing Huo Island were homemade, so living alone in the wilderness like this was not foreign to him. He made a pot from clay, and spread some straw as his bed.

    Busily working until the evening, he remembered that Zhu Changling must be very hungry, thereupon he picked a big fresh fruit and tossed it through the cave. He was afraid if he gave Zhu Changling some fish, his strength might increase and perhaps he would be able to break through the hole and give him trouble; therefore, he never gave him any roasted fish.

    By the fourth day, Zhang Wuji was busy building a clay furnace when he heard some miserable cry of a monkey. It sounded so urgent that he rushed toward the noise. He saw that a little monkey was lying on the ground next to a cliff. One of the monkey’s feet was crushed under a rock that it could not move. It seemed like the monkey lost its footing and fell from the steep cliff.

    He lifted the rock and pulled the monkey up, but the monkey’s right leg was broken. It cried out in pain. Zhang Wuji picked two straight branches as splint to connect the monkey’s broken bone. Next he looked for some herbal medicine, which he chewed mushy and applied it to the wound. Although it was difficult to seek effective herbal medicine in this valley and the medicine he applied did not have any miraculous effect, the broken bones were healing well because of his bone-mending skill.

    Unexpectedly, the little monkey was grateful and wanted to repay the kindness. The second day the monkey returned, bringing lots of fresh fruits for him. Ten days later, the broken leg was completely healed. Since Zhang Wuji did not have anything to do, he spent his days playing with the monkey. If not for the cold poison occasionally flaring up, his life in that secluded valley could be called carefree and happy. Sometimes he saw wild goats grazing by. He had a thought of catching one and roasting it over the fire, but seeing the goats were so tame, he did not have the heart to kill them. Fortunately he had enough fruits on the trees and fish in the pool, so he never lacked food.

    A few days later, he succeeded in catching several snow birds, which enhanced his appetite greatly. In this way he already passed more than one month. One early morning, while he had not completely awakened, he suddenly felt a large hairy hand gently stroking him on the face. He was greatly startled and jumped up, only to see a large white ape squatting by his side, holding the little monkey, with which he used to play every day, in its arm. The little monkey was squeaking and chattering incessantly with its finger pointed toward the big ape’s belly.

    Zhang Wuji smelled a whiff of nasty odor, like rotten meat; he saw a faint trace of pus and blood on the white ape’s belly, which looked like a large skin ulcer. He smiled and said, “Alright, alright! Turned out you are bringing a sick person to see the great doctor!”

    The large white ape extended its left hand, with a ‘pan tao’ [from the dictionary: the peaches of immortality kept by Xi Wangmu] about the size of a fist, which it respectfully presented to Zhang Wuji. Seeing this bright red and plump ‘pan tao’, Zhang Wuji mused, “Mama told me a legend about the immortal goddess Wangmu of Kunlun Mountain, who held a ‘pan tao’ feast every year on her birthday, inviting other immortals. Xi Wangmu might not exist; but the fact that Kunlun Mountain indeed produces large ‘pan tao’ is certainly undeniable.” With a laugh he said, “I normally do not take payment; even without ‘xian tao’ [immortal peach], I will still treat your sore.”

    He reached out to gently feel the white ape’s belly and could not help but feel shocked. The white ape’s malignant ulcer was no more than an inch in diameter, but the hard area around it was more than ten times larger. He had never read about this kind of malignant boil in the medical manual. Supposing this hard area was full with pus and was rotten, then this boil might be incurable. He pressed his finger on the white ape’s wrist to feel its pulse, but did not find anything to cause him any concern. Next he opened up the long hair covering the ape’s abdomen to look at the ulcer again. He was more shocked, because there was more or less a rectangular bump on the abdomen. All four sides of the bump were sewn. Apparently it was a human handiwork, because no matter how intelligent apes and monkeys are, they had never learned how to use needle and thread.

    Looking at the boil more carefully, he deduced that the bump was the culprit, it pressed on a blood vessel and stopped the blood from flowing that the flesh around it was gangrenous and became a long lasting boil. If he wished to treat the ulcer, he must remove whatever object sewn inside the ape’s abdomen. Speaking about performing operation to treat injury, he had mastered the skill taught by Hu Qingniu, and thus it should be an easy and simple procedure. However, he did not have any knife or scissors with him, also no medication whatsoever. This might pose some problems.

    After contemplating for a while, he picked a rock and threw it with all his might against another rock that it smashed into pieces. He chose one piece with a sharp edge and corner, with which he slowly cut the thread sewn on the white ape’s belly. The white ape was very old and was intelligent, it knew Zhang Wuji was trying to treat its injury; therefore, although it felt severe pain on its abdomen, with a strong willpower it endured the pain and did not make even a single move.

    After cutting the right and upper side of the stitches, Zhang Wuji made a slanting cut to the skin on the corner, which was healed a long time ago; he saw an oilcloth package hidden in the ape’s belly. He felt even more strange; but he did not have time to open the package. He set it aside and busily sewed the abdomen skin back. Since he had no needle and thread, he used the fishbone as the needle, piercing the skin one hole at a time, and then used tree bark as the thread, tying the small holes together. With great difficulty he finished mending the cut, and then he applied some herbal medicine on the wound. He was busy for more than half a day before everything was in order. Although the white ape was strong, by this time it lay on the ground, motionless.

    Zhang Wuji washed of the bloodstain from his hands and the oilcloth, then he opened the package. Inside were four thin books of scriptures. Because the oil cloth was watertight, although the books were hidden inside the ape’s abdomen for a long time, the pages were still intact without any sign of damage.

    The pages were filled with curvy and squiggly characters, which Zhang Wuji did not recognize. Browsing up all four books, he found that these strange characters were used in all the books, but in between the lines he saw tiny Chinese characters, as small as a fly’s head. After calming himself down, he started from the first line, and found that the content of the book was actually some secret instructions on cultivating and applying ‘chi’ and energy. He slowly read from top to bottom; suddenly his heart skipped a beat, for he read three lines with which he was very familiar. It was the ‘Wudang Jiu Yang Gong’ [Wudang’s Nine Yang Energy] he learned from Tai Shifu [grand master, referring to Zhang Sanfeng] and his Yu Erbo [second (older) uncle Yu, referring to Yu Lianzhou], only the subsequent part was different.

    Casually browsing through, after several pages he read another sentence of the ‘Wudang Jiu Yang Gong’, but all in all the theory differed greatly from the one taught by Tai Shifu and Yu Erbo. His heart was beating wild as he closed the book and pondered deeply, “What manual is this? Why does it contain sentences of the ‘Wudang Jiu Yang Gong’? But why is it different from the one taught at our Wudang school? Furthermore, it seems like this manual is ten times more complete than ours?”

    Thinking to this point, he remembered the story told by Tai Shifu when he was taking him to Shaolin Temple: Tai Shifu’s master was called Reverend Jueyuan, he mastered the ‘Jiu Yang Zhen Jing’ [nine ‘yang’ (positive, sun, male, etc.) real/true scripture, in this series it is commonly translated as ‘Nine Yang Manual’], which he recited from memory just before he passed away. Tai Shifu, Heroine Guo Xiang, and Reverend Wuse of Shaolin Pai, three people, each remember parts of it. As a result, Wudang, Emei and Shaolin, three Sects, enjoyed tremendous advancement in martial arts, and were regarded as equals in the past dozens of years, their names shook the Wulin world.

    “Could it be that this is the stolen Nine Yang Manual?” he mused, “That’s right, Tai Shifu said that the Nine Yang Manual was written inside the ‘Lengjia Jing’ [Lankavatara Sutra]. These squiggly and curvy characters must be the Lankavatara Sutra in Sankrit. But why is it inside the ape’s belly?”

    This four-volume book was indeed the Nine Yang Manual; as for why it was hidden inside the ape’s abdomen, no one in this generation knew. More than ninety years ago, Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi stole the manual from the Shaolin Temple library, for which crime they were pursued by Reverend Jueyuan to the summit of Huashan [Mount Hua in Shaanxi] without any chance of escaping. It so happened that they had this dark grey ape with them, so they had an idea: they cut open the dark grey ape’s belly, and hid the manual inside. Later on, Jueyuan, Zhang Sanfeng, Yang Guo, and the others searched Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi’s bodies thoroughly, but failed to find the manual, so that they let the two, along the dark grey ape, go down the mountain. [Author’s note: please read ‘Divine Eagle Gallant Knights’] And thus the Nine Yang Manual’s whereabouts became the great mystery of the Wulin World for approximately a hundred years.

    Later, Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi took their dark grey ape and went to the far away Western Region. The two of them were suspicious of each other; each of them feared that when the other one had mastered the martial art of the Manual, he would kill him. Thereupon they kept their eyes on each other and neither dared to take the manual out from the ape’s belly. Finally they arrived at the Jing Shen Peak of Kunlun Mountains; Yin and Xiao two people were plotting against each other. They fought until both of them sustained injuries. Thereafter this supreme manual of internal energy cultivation stayed hidden inside the dark grey ape’s abdomen.

    Actually, Xiao Xiangzi’s martial art skill was slightly better than Yin Kexi’s, but because he was hit by Reverend Jueyuan’s fist on Mount Hua, his internal strength was shaken and he suffered serious injury; hence when he fought Yin Kexi later, he was killed instead of scoring a victory.

    At the point of his death, Yin Kexi met ‘Kunlun San Sheng’ [Three Sages of Kunlun], He Zudao. Pricked by his own conscience, Yin Kexi asked He Zudao to go to Shaolin Temple and tell Reverend Jueyuan that the books were inside this ape’s belly. However, by that time he was already delirious that his speech was incoherent; he said ‘jing zai hou zhong’ [scriptures inside the monkey], He Zudao heard it as ‘jing zai you zhong’ [scriptures inside the oil]. He Zudao did keep his promise; he went to the distant Central Plains and conveyed the message ‘jing zai you zhong’ to Reverend Jueyuan. Jueyuan failed to comprehend the meaning of the message. Rather than talking about it, he stirred up a big disturbance instead. As a result, the Wulin world enjoyed the addition of Wudang and Emei, two Sects.

    As for the dark grey ape, it was fortunate to have Kunlun Mountain’s immortal peach as its diet; with the spiritual influence of the heavens and the earth, after more than ninety years it was still capable of jumping around as if flying. The dark grey and shiny long hair covering its entire body gradually turned snow-white that it turned into a white ape. It was just that the manual hidden inside its belly had caused a digestive system problem that from time to time it suffered stomach ache. Finally the malignant skin ulcer was developed on its belly, which lasted until today, when Zhang Wuji took the books out. Speaking of this white ape, it had entrusted its great misfortune to a trusted friend. This whole story was so complicated that even if there were someone with intelligence a hundred times better than Zhang Wuji in the world, he would definitely not able to deduce it.

    Zhang Wuji was lost in thought for half a day. Realizing he would not be able to solve this riddle, he did not take the trouble to think about it further. He took the big ‘pan tao’ presented by the white ape and took a bite, enjoying the fresh sweetness of the juice slowly flowing into his throat. It was indisputably better than the nameless fruits he found in the valley.

    Finished eating the ‘pan tao’, Zhang Wuji thought, “Tai Shifu once said that if I can practice the ‘Jiu Yang Shen Gong’ [nine ‘yang’ divine strength/power] of Shaolin, Wudang and Emei, three Sects, then I can drive the cold poison away from my body. These three Sects’ Jiu Yang Gong all came from the Nine Yang Manual. If this book is indeed the Nine Yang Manual and I practice according to it, then the end result will far exceed the result if I practice the three Sects’ divine power separately. Since I have nothing to do in this valley, I’d better practice according to this book. Supposing my guess is wrong; that this book is actually useless, so much so that it is harmful to me, the worst that can happen to me is death anyway.”

    Without anything to weigh his heart down, he put the other three volumes of the manual on a dry place. He spread some straw over the books, and put three big rocks on top, for fear that the monkeys, being mischievous, would fight over the books and perhaps would tear the books apart into pieces. With the first volume in his hand, he started by reading it several times to commit its contents to his memory. Afterwards he would try to understand it and only then he would start practicing the first sentence. His thought was, ‘Even if I succeeded in cultivating the divine strength from the book, and managed to repel the cold poison, I would still be imprisoned in this valley with steep peaks all around, could not get out forever. My days in this valley are long, if I can succeed today, good; if I must wait ‘til tomorrow, it’s also good. It doesn’t make any difference. If I fail, I would have something to do to pass my boring days anyway.’

    Strangely, with this win-or-lose-always-happy attitude, he made a surprisingly rapid progress. In only four short months, he succeeded to comprehend in detail the skill described in the first volume of the book, which he immediately trained accordingly.

    Finished training the first volume, he did a quick calculation, and found that the date predicted by Hu Qingniu on which the cold poison would take his life had already come and gone. His body felt light and healthy, the ‘zhen qi’ [real ‘chi’] flowed freely in his entire body, without any symptom of an illness. Previously, the cold poison would flare-up often; now, the interval between occasional attacks was more than a month. When the attack came, it was very light.

    Not too long afterwards, he read a sentence in the second volume: ‘Exhale according to the Nine Yang, hold in the mouth first, this book is called the Jiu Yang Zhen Jing’. [Translator’s note: I am not sure about this part; any help will be appreciated.] Now he was convinced that this book was really the treasured texts which had always been in Tai Shifu’s mind all these years. He was delighted and trained even more diligently. In addition, the white ape was grateful for his kindness in treating its illness that he had an endless supply of large ‘pan tao’, which was good to invigorate his body and lift his spirit.

    When he was halfway through the second volume, the cold poison inside his body had been driven out completely. Every day, other than cultivating his energy, he played with the apes and monkeys. When he picked the fruits, he would always give half to Zhu Changling. Thus he lived without worry or concerns, free and easy. However, to Zhu Changling, who was still on that little piece of platform, a day dragged past like a year. When winter came, his world was covered in ice and snow; the cold wind penetrated his bones. The hardships he suffered were beyond description.

    Zhang Wuji had acquired immunity to heat and cold after finishing the second volume. It was just that the further along he was, the more complicated and subtle the lesson got; his progress was not as rapid as before. He needed a whole year to finish the third volume; the final volume took him more than three years until he achieved a satisfactory result. He had been living in that quiet, secluded snowy valley for more than five years by now; he had grown from a boy to a tall and well-built young man.

    For the last year or two, whenever he felt like it, he would occasionally play with the apes and the monkeys by climbing up the rock wall and looking out into the distance. Based on his current skill, it would not be too difficult for him to climb over the peak and get out of the valley. However, each time he remembered that the world was full with treacherous and deceitful people, he could not help but shudder. He thought: why should he go outside to bring trouble to himself, just like a fish throwing itself into the net? Wouldn’t it be better to live in this beautiful valley until he grew old and die?

    One afternoon he browsed the four-volume book from head to tail all the way through. When he flipped the very last page, his heart was joyful but he felt a slight emptiness at the same time. He dug a hole, about three feet deep, on the mountain wall to the left of the cave. He wrapped the four-volume Nine Yang Manual, as well as Hu Qingniu’s Medical Manual and Wang Nan’gu’s Poison Manual, inside the oil cloth he took out from the white ape’s belly, and buried the bundle in the hole. He then filled the hole with dirt, thinking, “I got the Manual from the white ape’s belly; that was truly destiny, an enormous opportunity. I wonder if in a hundred or a thousand years it would be somebody else’s destiny to come hither and find these three Manuals?” Picking up a sharp stone, he carved six large characters on the mountain wall, ‘Zhang Wuji’s Manuals Burial Place’.

    When he was in training, he had something occupying his mind every day, so that he did not feel the slightest degree of loneliness. That day, after successfully completing his training, he felt hollowness in his heart. Moreover, with the newly acquired ‘shen gong’ [divine strength], his courage soared high. He mused, “If this time Zhu Bobo came to harass me again, I would not be afraid of him. There is no harm in going out and talk to him.” Thereupon he bent down to crawl into the cave again.

    When he entered the valley, he was a small fifteen-year old boy; going out, he was a grown up twenty-year old adult, who could not go through the narrow passage of the cave. Taking a deep breath, he utilized the ‘suo gu gong’ [shrinking bones skill], making the bones in his entire body crowded together, reducing the space between bone and bone. Gently and easily he slipped through the cave.

    Zhu Changling was sleeping soundly, leaning against the rock wall, dreaming he was sitting in one of his family’s banquets, with maids and servants running around him, and friends and relatives fawn up to him; it was a happy and ego-boosting occasion for him. Suddenly someone tapped his shoulder; he woke up with a start, and saw the shadow of a big and tall man in front of him.

    Zhu Changling leaped up, he was still half asleep. “You … you …” he called out.

    Zhang Wuji smiled and said, “Zhu Bobo, it’s me, Zhang Wuji.”

    Zhu Changling was startled and delighted, but angry and hateful as well. He stared at Zhang Wuji for a long time before saying, “You grew this tall. Hmm, why didn’t you come out to talk to me? No matter how I asked you, you have never paid me any attention.”

    Zhang Wuji smiled and said, “I was afraid you would hurt me.”

    Zhu Changling’s right hand suddenly reached out, using the ‘qin na’ [grab and capture, grappling] technique he grabbed Zhang Wuji’s shoulder, while sternly said, “So you are not afraid now?” But he felt the palm of his hand boiling hot; he could not stop his arm from shaking and his hand slipped, while there was a dull pain at the pit of his stomach. In his shock he took three steps backwards and stared at Zhang Wuji with a blank expression on his face.

    “You … you …” he asked, “What martial art is this?”

    After completing the Nine Yang Manual training, it was the first time that Zhang Wuji had ever tried it out; he was pleasantly surprised at its formidable power. Zhu Changling was a first rate martial art master, yet he was still shaken by his ‘shen gong’ without he him needing to lift even one finger. Seeing Zhu Changling’s miserable condition and his amazement, Zhang Wuji was very proud of himself. “So you think this martial art skill is useful?” he said with a laugh.

    Zhu Changling’s mind was still shaken. “What … what martial art skill was that?” he asked again.

    “It’s Jiu Yang Shen Gong,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    Zhu Changling was stunned. “How did you train it?” he asked. Zhang Wuji did not hide anything. He told Zhu Changling how he treated a white ape’s illness, how he found the manual inside the ape’s belly, and how he practiced according to manual.

    Listening to this story, Zhu Changling was jealous and resentful at the same time. He thought, “I had to suffer hardship beyond description for five years, alone on this peak, yet this kid actually trained an incomparably mysterious ‘shen gong’.” He did not remember that it was because his own heart’s desire to harm others that they ended up this way; he also did not remember that Zhang Wuji had supplied him with fruits these past five years, every day without fail, so that he could live until today. He only remembered that this kid was too lucky while he was too unlucky, and he felt it was so unfair. Anger rose in his heart, with a forced laughter he said, “Where is that Nine Yang Manual? Can you show it to me?”

    Zhang Wuji thought, “There is no harm in letting you take a look. I don’t think you will remember much in just a short time.” Thereupon he said, “I buried it inside the cave, I’ll bring it out tomorrow for you to see.”

    “You have grown this big,” Zhu Changling said, “How can you go through the cave?”

    “The cave is actually not too narrow,” Zhang Wuji said, “If you make an effort to shrink your body and push, you can come through.”

    “Do you think that I can squeeze through?” Zhu Changling asked.

    Zhang Wuji nodded and said, “We can try together tomorrow. The place inside the cave is spacious, nothing compared to staying on this tiny platform.” He was thinking of using his power to press his shoulder, chest, buttocks, and the bones all around his body, and help him to go through the cave.

    “Xiao Xiongdi,” Zhu Changling laughed, “You are indeed a good man, a gentleman who does not recall old grievances. I have done you wrong, I wish for your forgiveness.” While saying that, he bowed deeply with cupped fists.

    Zhang Wuji hastily returned the propriety, saying, “Zhu Bobo does not need to be overly courteous. We’ll think of a way to get out of this place tomorrow.”

    Zhu Changling was overjoyed. “Did you say we are going to leave this place?” he asked.

    Zhang Wuji said, “If apes and monkeys can come in and out, we certainly can.”

    “If that’s the case, why didn’t you leave?” Zhu Changling asked.

    Showing a faint smile, Zhang Wuji said, “I didn’t want to go out for fear that people would bully me, but now I am not afraid anymore. I also want to see my Tai Shifu, along with all Shibo and Shishu [martial older and younger uncles, respectively].”

    Zhu Changling laughed out loud, clapped his hands and said, “Very good, very good!” He took two steps backward, suddenly his shadow swayed, ‘Aiyo!” he shouted, and fell over the cliff to the empty air below.

    That his extreme joy suddenly turned into an unforeseen accident, had taken Zhang Wuji by surprise. He hurriedly leaned over the cliff and called out, “Zhu Bobo, are you all right?” He only heard two groans uttered in a low voice from underneath.

    Zhang Wuji was delighted; he thought, “Fortunately he did not fall all the way down, but I am afraid he is injured.” Judging by the sound of the groans, Zhu Changling was only several ‘zhang’ away from him. When he looked closely, he saw by coincidence a pine tree grew just beneath the cliff. Zhu Changling’s body lay horizontally on the tree trunk, unmoving. Seeing this situation, Zhang Wuji was thinking of leaping down and carrying Zhu Changling back over the cliff. With his skill right now, it should not be too difficult. Thereupon he took a deep breath and aiming for the tree trunk, which looked like an extended arm out the canyon wall, he jumped down lightly.

    When his toes were still half a foot away from the tree trunk, suddenly the tree trunk dropped. He was hanging midair and did not have any place to set his foot on; although he had mastered the ‘shen gong’, he was only a human and not a bird; how could he fly back up to the cliff? It was as if a lightning suddenly illuminated his dark mind as he understood: “Turns out Zhu Changling is still employing a dirty trick to harm me. He had broken the branch and held it in his hand, waiting for me to set my foot on it, he let the tree branch drop down.” But his understanding had come too late; his body fell straight down …

    Zhu Changling had lived on that tiny platform with circumference of less than several dozen ‘zhang’ for more than five years. He knew every grass every tree, every grain of sand and every rock on that platform by heart. He pretended to be falling over the cliff and feigned injury, knowing full well that Zhang Wuji would jump down to help. As expected, his treacherous plan prevailed; Zhang Wuji fell down the tens of thousands ‘zhang’ deep canyon.

    Zhu Changling laughed out loud, thinking, “This kid will fall into pulp today, finally I can vent my five years worth of resentment!” With the help of a long cane by the pine tree, he leaped over the cliff back to the platform. He mused, “Last time I could not go through that cave, perhaps I was impatient and exerted too much strength that my rib was broken. This kid’s stature is a lot bigger and taller than mine. If he could go through, I don’t see any reason why I cannot. After I find the Nine Yang Manual, I’ll find a way home from the other side. Someday when I have acquired the ‘shen gong’, I will be unequalled under the heavens, won’t it be wonderful? Ha ha ha ha …!” The more he thought about it, the happier he was; he went into the cave at once.

    Before long, he had crawled to the place where five years ago he broke a rib. His only thought was: ‘that kid is bigger than me, if he can go through, I certainly can too’. He did not think erroneously, however, he forgot one tiny little detail: Zhang Wuji had mastered the shrinking bone technique from the Jiu Yang Shen Gong.

    Calming himself down, he squeezed into the narrow passage, inch by inch forward, and sure enough, he managed to advance about a ‘zhang’ further than five years ago. But from this point forward, no matter how he exerted his strength, it was simply impossible to advance even half an inch more. He realized that if he used brute force, he would only repeat the disaster he suffered five years ago; he would certainly break some more rib bones. Thereupon he calmed himself down and exhaled all air from his lungs. Sure enough, his body shrunk two more inches that he managed to squeeze three more feet forward. However, without any air in his lungs, soon he was suffocating; his heart beat felt like the beating of a drum, several times he felt he was going to faint. Knowing his condition was far from good, he had no choice but retreat before he could make another plan. He did not think, however, that when he moved forward, his feet propelled his body by kicking against the uneven surface of the mountain wall, but to go back, there was nothing he could use as a stepping stone. As he moved forward, his arms were in front of his head to reduce size of his shoulder. At this moment, his hands were tied by the rocks all around his head; he could not stretch the arms further, he could not use the least bit of strength in his hands.

    He started to panic; thinking, “That kid is bigger than me; he could go through, I can certainly go through, why am I stuck in here? This really does not make any sense!” But there are so many things in this world that do not make sense. This man, who possessed excellent literary and martial art skills, whose intelligence and resourcefulness could be considered first rank among the masters, hereafter stuck inside the narrow passageway of a remote mountain cave; unable to neither advance nor retreat.

    Fallen under Zhu Changling's treacherous plan, Zhang Wuji fell straight down from the cliff, while continuously scolding himself, "Zhang Wuji, oh, Zhang Wuji, you are such a useless kid. You knew Zhu Changling's matchless craftiness, yet you still fell under his evil trick. You deserve to die, deserve to die!"

    Although he scolded himself as deserving death, he was actually struggling furiously to stay alive. The ‘chi’ inside his body flowed, sending his strength upward, trying to slow down his fall, so that his body would not be smashed to powder and his bones broken to pieces. But he was in midair, swaying against emptiness, his body was beyond his control. Even when he exerted his whole power until not an ounce of strength left, he still felt the wind passing his ears had not diminished at all.

    A short moment later, he felt the sting of the bright light reflected from the white snow below in his eyes. He knew he was at the critical moment between life and death, but he saw about a ‘zhang’ away there was a big pile of snow. He did not have time to distinguish whether that pile was really snow or a white rock; immediately he made three somersaults in the air, trying to land on that pile of snow. His body curved diagonally, his left foot pointed toward that pile of snow. ‘Splosh!’ his body sank into the pile of snow.

    His more than five years training of Jiu Yang Shen Gong showed its formidable power; as he made contact with the pile of snow, his body reacted naturally and he bounced upwards. But the momentum from the ten thousand ‘zhang’ fall was simply too great. He felt a severe pain on his legs as the bones were broken.

    Although his injury was severe, his mind was still clear; he saw firewood flying in the air, because the pile of snow was actually a farmer’s pile of firewood and straw. “What a close call!” he groaned inwardly, “If under the snow was not a pile of firewood but a block of boulder, I, Zhang Wuji, would have lost my life.” Sending his strength to his arms, he slowly crawled out of the pile of firewood, and rolled toward the snowy ground. Inspecting his own legs’ injury, he took a deep breath and set his broken bones, while thinking, “I must lie down without moving for at least one month before I can walk again. That shouldn’t be any problem because I can use my hands in place of my feet; but I cannot stay here and die of starvation.” He thought further, “This pile of firewood must belong to a farmer family; there must be some people nearby.”

    He was about to call for help when suddenly he had a second thought, “There are too many evil people in this world. It’s all right for me to lie alone on this snowy ground, recovering from my injury; but if I call and an evil person comes, I will be in big trouble.” Thereupon he quietly lied down on the snowy ground, waiting for his broken bones to heal slowly.

    And so he lied down like that for three days. His stomach rumbled from hunger, but he knew that especially at the beginning of the healing process, he must not move at all; he would be crippled for the rest of his life if the healing bones were not set straight. Consequently, he steeled himself not to make the slightest move. Whenever he felt unbearable hunger, he would grab a handful of snow just to appease his hunger. In these three days he kept thinking, "From now on, I will have to be extra careful in every step I take. I must not fall under evil people's tricks. Otherwise I may not be as lucky as today and in the end may not avoid great calamity."

    Toward the evening of the fourth day, he was lying down quietly while cultivating his internal energy. He felt his mind was clear and his body relaxed. Although the injury on his legs was heavy, it did not appear to hinder his training that he made some progress. Suddenly the quietness of the night was broken by the noise of barking dogs in the distant, which gradually came closer. Apparently, this pack of vicious dogs was pursuing some kind of wild animal. Zhang Wuji was startled. “Could the dogs be Zhu Jiuzhen Jijejie’s? Hmm, those vicious dogs have been killed by Zhu Bobo. But it’s been a few years; she could have raised another pack of dogs.”

    Focusing his eyes, he looked toward the distant snowy ground, and saw that a man was running fast, pursued by three large howling dogs. The man was obviously dead-tired; he staggered along for several steps and then tumbled down to the ground, but because he was afraid of the sharp teeth and claws of the dogs, he struggled hard to stand up and desperately ran.

    Zhang Wuji remembered his own sufferings he received from dogs attack a few years ago; he could not refrain the blood in his chest from boiling. He had the desire to render his help, unfortunately his legs were broken and he could not walk.

    Suddenly he heard the miserable cry of that man as he fell down and two vicious dogs climbed over his body and bit fiercely. "Vicious dogs, over here!" Zhang Wuji indignantly shouted.

    When the dogs heard the call, they charged toward Zhang Wuji. Smelling that Zhang Wuji was not someone they knew, the dogs surrounded him while barking madly, before they finally pounced on him to bite him. Zhang Wuji stretched out his finger and flicked each dog on its nose. The three vicious dogs rolled down and died at once. Seeing that with only a gentle flick of his finger he killed the three dogs, Zhang Wuji could not help feeling startled by the formidable power of his Jiu Yang Shen Gong.

    He heard that the sound of that man's groan was very weak. "Dage [big brother]," he asked, "Did the dogs bite you really bad?"

    "I ... I ... can't hold on ... I ... I ..." that man said.

    Zhang Wuji said, "My legs are broken, I can't walk. Can you come over here? Let me take a look at your wounds."

    "Yes ... yes ..." the man replied. Huffing and puffing he struggled to crawl over. After crawling for a while, he stopped a moment, then crawled again toward Zhang Wuji, but when he was about a 'zhang' away from him, he suddenly cried out, 'Ah!' and then fell flat on the ground, he could not move any more. The two of them were quite some distance away from each other; one could not go over, the other could not come closer.

    "Dage," Zhang Wuji asked, "Where exactly is your wound?"

    The man replied, "I ... chest, belly ... the vicious dogs tore my stomach and pulled out my intestines."

    Zhang Wuji was shocked. He knew that since that man's intestines had already out, he would not live. "Why did those vicious dogs chase you?" he asked.

    The man replied, "I ... went out tonight to chase the wild boars away, so ... so they will not damage my crop. I saw Zhu Jia Da Xiaojie [eldest miss of Zhu family] and ... and a young master talking underneath a tree. I should have not come close ... I ... aiyo!" With a loud cry he died.

    Although he did not finish, Zhang Wuji understood most of what he was about to say. It seemed like Zhu Jiuzhen and Wei Bi were having a rendezvous in the middle of the night, and met this peasant by accident, so Zhu Jiuzhen released her dogs to kill him. Zhang Wuji's anger arose, but suddenly he heard the sound of hoof beats, followed by several whistles. Apparently Zhu Jiuzhen was calling her dogs.

    The hoof beats came closer, two riders coming over, fast. The riders were one man and one woman. The woman suddenly called out, "Ah! How come General Ping Xi and the others are all dead?" The voice belonged to none other than Zhu Jiuzhen. She still called her vicious dogs as generals, no different than before.

    The man riding with her was indeed Wei Bi. He dismounted and said in astonishment, "Two people are dead in here!"

    Zhang Wuji quietly decided on his course of action, "If they come to harm me, I have no choice but to act without leniency."

    Zhu Jiuzhen looked at the peasant’s corpse with the intestines spilled out; it was a terrifying sight. Zhang Wuji’s clothes were tattered to the extreme, his hair was disheveled, his face was covered with unkempt moustache and beard, he was lying down on the ground motionless, so she thought he must be dead, bitten by the dogs early on. She was eager to talk about feelings and love with Wei Bi, and thus she did not want to stay much longer.

    “Biaoge, let’s go!” she said, “These two must be fighting with all they had and killed my three generals before their own deaths.” Pulling her reins, she galloped to the west.

    Wei Bi felt there was something unusual in the death of these three dogs, but seeing Zhu Jiuzhen riding away, he felt it was inappropriate for him to stay and investigate carefully. Thereupon he mounted his horse and galloped away behind her.

    Zhang Wuji could still hear Zhu Jiuzhen’s tender laughter coming from afar, he felt anger rise in his heart. Just a little over five years ago he adored her as a goddess. She only needed to lift her little finger, even if she wanted him to climb the mountain of blades or go down the boiling oil, he would do so without the least bit of hesitation. But seeing her again tonight, for some unknown reason, her charms on him had unexpectedly completely vanished.

    Zhang Wuji thought that it was because of his mastery of the Nine Yin Manual, or perhaps because he had discovered her treacherous scheme toward him. He did not realize that most young men would experience this kind of blind infatuation stage of the first love, in which he would neglect sleep and food for the sake of a young girl that he would live and die for that particular girl. However, this kind of passionate infatuation comes quickly, also vanishes as quickly, someday his mind would clear up and he would laugh at his own former days' wallowing.

    In the meantime, his stomach was growling with hunger. He was thinking of tearing off a dog leg and eating it, but he was afraid that Zhu Jiuzhen and Wei Bi would return and find out that he had not died yet, and he had eaten her general. In which case he would have committed a grave offense against her; he was not Wei Bi's match while his legs were broken.

    Early in the morning the next day, he saw a bald eagle eyeing the dead people and dead dogs on the ground. The eagle wheeled several times in the air before finally diving down to feed. This eagle really deserved to die, because instead of going down on the dead man or the dead dogs, it flew straight toward Zhang Wuji's face. Zhang Wuji reached up and caught the eagle's neck. With a light pinch he killed the bird.

    "It is truly a heaven-sent breakfast," he muttered happily. He plucked the feather, tore the eagle's leg, and took a big bite. Although it was raw, he ate it with gusto because he had been hungry for three days.

    Before he finished the first eagle, the second eagle came down. And thus Zhang Wuji appeased his hunger with eagle meat, while lying down on the snowy ground waiting patiently for his broken bones to heal completely.

    A few more days passed. Surprisingly, he did not see any humans wandering around in the wilderness. There were three dead dogs and one dead man by his side; fortunately it was the depth of the winter, the weather was bitter cold, so that the corpses did not decay. He was accustomed to spending his days alone, so he did not suffer from loneliness.

    One afternoon, after circulating his internal energy for one round, he saw two bald eagles flying high in the sky. The eagles circled around for a long time without daring to fly down. One eagle suddenly swooped down, fast, but when it was about three feet away from Zhang Wuji, it suddenly turned around and soared high to the sky. The movement was extremely swift and amazing. All of a sudden Zhang Wuji had an inspiration, "This movement can be used in martial art; attack when the enemy expects it the least, and when the attack fails, swiftly retreat far away."

    In the past, although Jueyuan Dashi's entire body was filled with the divine energy, when he received attack from Xiao Xiangzi and He Zudao, his hands and feet moved randomly without any ability to resist. Zhang Sanfeng had to ask Yang Guo to teach him four stances first before he was able to fight Yin Kexi.

    Zhang Wuji had learned martial arts ever since his childhood, so he had a far superior foundation compared to Jueyuan and Zhang Sanfeng. However, Xie Xun only taught him the theory of martial art, without the actual practical stance or style. Right now Zhang Wuji understood the painstaking effort of his foster father. Yifu's mastery of martial art was broad and profound; supposing he imparted his knowledge by step by step instructions, perhaps even twenty years would not be enough to teach Zhang Wuji everything he knew. Knowing that their time together was limited, he insisted that Zhang Wuji firmly remember all the key theories of the martial arts, so that he could comprehend it on his own later on.

    The only martial art ZhangWuji really learned was the thirty-two stance Wudang Long Fist, which his father taught him on the wooden raft. He realized that from now on, other than continue cultivating the Jiu Yang Shen Gong until he reached perfection, he should try to integrate his excellent internal energy with the martial art theory Xie Xun passed on to him. Thereupon every time he saw a flower blown by the wind or fell down to the earth, strange tree shape reaching out to the sky, as well as the movements of birds and beasts, the changing of the wind and cloud, he would often think about martial art movements.

    This moment, he was hoping that the bald eagles would circle back and display their various movements. While he was deep in thought, suddenly he heard footsteps on the snowy ground from a distance. The steps were light and intermittent; the newcomer appeared to be a woman. Zhang Wuji turned his head and saw a woman carrying a bamboo basket, approaching him in quick steps.

    When she saw bodies of people and dogs lying around on the snow, she exclaimed, “Ah!” and halted her steps in fright. Zhang Wuji focused his eyes and saw that she was a young girl, about seventeen, eighteen years of age. Her dress was simple; apparently she was a poor peasant girl. Her countenance was rather dark, she seemed to suffer some kind of skin disease, with bumps and indentations all over her face. In short, she was very ugly; only her eyes were bright, her posture was also slender and elegant.

    She took a step closer and was slightly startled to see that Zhang Wuji was staring at her. “You … you are not dead yet?” she asked.

    “Maybe not,” Zhang Wuji replied. Both the question and the answer did not make any sense; once both of them realized what they were saying, they could not help but laugh.

    “Since you are not dead, why are you lying down here without moving?” she asked with a laugh, “You frightened me.”

    “I fell from the mountain and broke my legs,” Zhang Wuji replied, “I have no choice but to lie down in here.”

    “Was that man your companion?” the girl asked, “Why are there three dead dogs over here?”

    "These three dogs were very vicious," Zhang Wuji said, "They bit this Dage to his death, but they also turned into dead dogs."

    The girl said, "What can you do, lying in here? Are you hungry?"

    "Naturally I am starving," Zhang Wuji said, "But I cannot move. I have to submit to the will of Heaven."

    The girl smiled slightly. She took two wheat cakes from her basket and handed the cakes over to him.

    "Thank you very much, Miss," Zhang Wuji said, but as he received the cakes, he did not immediately eat it.

    "Are you afraid my cakes are poisonous?" the girl asked, "Why don't you eat it?"

    In the last five years, other than occasional exchange through the cave with Zhu Changling, Zhang Wuji had never tasted anything else; furthermore, he had never spoken even half a word with another human being. This time he met this girl, although her appearance was ugly, her manner of speaking was actually quite charming; his heart was delighted. He said, "Because Miss gave me these cakes, I can't bear to eat it."

    His words carried a somewhat teasing tone. He was always honest and frank; he had never smooth talked anybody, but in front of this girl, he felt comfortable and almost without thinking had blurted those words.

    When she heard it, the girl's countenance darkened. "Humph," she snorted.

    Zhang Wuji immediately regretted his words; busily he took a big bite of the cake. But because he was in a hurry, the cake choked his throat, and he coughed it out.

    The girl's anger turned into delight, "Thanks the Heaven and thanks the Earth," she said, "May you be choked to death! This ugly freak is not a good person, no wonder Laotianye [God, lit. old master of the sky] punished you. How come nobody else broke his dog-legs, and only you fell down and broke your bones?"

    Zhang Wuji thought, "For five years I never cut my hair or shave my face, of course I look like an ugly freak. But you are not necessarily more beautiful than I am. We are the same ['ban jin ba liang' - half a pound eight ounces]. The eldest brother does not speak ill about the second brother." But of course he kept this thought to himself. With all seriousness he said, "I have been lying down in here for nine days. To see Miss passing through is such a blessing indeed. Now that Miss gave me these cakes, I thank you very much."

    The girl pursed her lips, laughed and said, "I asked you: How come nobody else broke his dog-legs, and only you fell down and broke your bones? If you do not answer, I am going to take the cakes back."

    Listening to her peal of laughter and seeing the twinkle in her eyes, showing her mischievousness, Zhang Wuji's heart was shaken. "How come her eyes look very much like Mama?" he mused, "When Mama swindled the old monk of Shaolin Temple just before she died, her eyes also shone like this." Thinking to this point, he could not stop tears from welling up in his eyes, and very soon the tears flowed down this face.

    "Pei," the girl spat and said, "I won't take your cakes away. You don't need to cry. I didn't know you are such a useless fool."

    “It’s not that I am crying over your cake,” Zhang Wuji said, “It’s just that I am remembering a sad memory.”

    That girl had turned away and walked for two steps, but as she heard him, she turned her head and said, “What sad memory? A foolish-looking fellow like you also have a sad memory?”

    Zhang Wuji sighed deeply and said, “I remember my Mama, my passed away Mama.”

    The girl guffawed and said, “Your Mama always gave you cake, didn’t she?”

    “Mama always gave me cakes to eat,” Zhang Wuji said, “But I remember her because your smile looks like my Mama.”

    The girl angrily said, “You devil! So you said I am that old? That I am as old as your mother?” While saying that, she picked a piece of firewood and hit Zhang Wuji, twice.

    If Zhang Wuji wanted to seize the firewood in her hand, it would be very easy, but he thought, “She does not know my Ma was young and pretty. She only knows that I look like an ugly freak; no wonder she is angry.” So after she struck him twice, he said, “When she died, my Ma was very pretty.”

    With a serious face she said, “You make fun of me because I am ugly, you don’t want to live. I’ll pull your leg!” She bent down, acting as if she was going to pull Zhang Wuji’s leg.

    Zhang Wuji was shocked; his broken legs were just beginning to heal. If she did indeed pull it, then all previous accomplishment would come to nothing. Hastily he grabbed a handful of snow. As soon as that girl’s hand touched his leg, he would strike the acupoint in between her eyebrows to knock her unconscious on the spot.

    Luckily that girl was only scaring him; looking at the great change of his face, she said, “Look at your frightened face! Who told you to make fun of me?”

    Zhang Wuji said, “If I intentionally make fun of Miss, after my both legs are healed, let me fall again and break my legs three times that in the end I become a cripple.”

    The girl giggled and said, “Alright, so be it!” She sat on the ground next to him and said, “So your Ma was a pretty woman. How could you compare me with her? Do you think I am pretty?”

    Zhang Wuji was speechless for a moment, then he said, “I don’t know why, but for some reason I feel that you are somewhat similar to my Ma. Although you are not as pretty as my Ma, but I like looking at you.”

    The girl bent her middle finger and gently tapped his forehead twice with her knuckle. She said with a laugh, “Good boy, then call me Mama!” But as soon as these words came out of her mouth, she immediately realized its inappropriateness; thereupon she closed her mouth and turned her head the other way, yet she still could not stifle her laughter.

    Looking at her expression, Zhang Wuji vaguely remembered when his Mama chatted with his Papa on the Bing Huo Island, her expression was very much like this. All of a sudden he felt that this ugly girl was simply elegant and charming; her manner was sweet, and that she was not ugly at all. He could not help but staring at her with a dreamy look on his face.

    The girl turned her head around and saw the way he looked at her; she laughed and said, “Why do you like looking at me? Tell me.”

    Zhang Wuji stared blankly at her for half a day. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know. I only feel that when I look at you, my heart feels safe and comfortable. I feel that you will treat me with nothing but goodness. You will not bully me, harm me!”

    “Ha ha …” the girl laughed, “You are dead wrong! In all my life, I like nothing better than harming others.” Suddenly she raised the firewood in her hand and struck Zhang Wuji’s broken legs twice, and then jumped up and walked away.

    These two strikes happened to fall right on Zhang Wuji’s broken bones. He was caught off guard and cried loudly in pain, “Aiyo!” But the girl only giggled and turned her head around to make a face at him.

    Zhang Wuji kept his gaze on her as she gradually disappeared in the distance. The pain on his broken legs was unbearable. He mused, “Turns out all women love to harm others. The beautiful ones love to hurt people, the ugly ones also like to inflict pain on me.”

    That night in his sleep he dreamed about that young girl, also about his mother. Several times the images in his mind blurred between that girl and his mother. He was unsure if the face in his dream was beautiful or ugly, he only knew that the eyes were clear and bright, and both were mischievous and charming at the same time as those eyes were gazing at him. His dream brought him to his childhood past, when his mother often teased him by deliberately stretching out her leg to trip him. And then when he stumbled and cried in pain, mother would hug him and kiss him, while did not stop saying, “Good child, don’t cry, Mama loves you dearly!”

    He woke up with a start; suddenly a thought flashed in his mind, a thought which he had never suspected before, “Why did Mama like to see others suffer? Yifu’s eyes were blinded by her, Yu Sanbo [third (older) uncle] was crippled by her underlings, the entire family of Lin’An prefecture’s Long Men [Dragon Gate] Escort Agency was also perished under her hands. In the end, was Mama a good person, or was she an evil person?”

    After gazing the continuously twinkling stars high in the sky for a long, long time, he sighed and said to himself, “Doesn’t matter if she was a good or evil person, she was my mother.” In his heart he thought, “If Mama was still alive, I would love her with all my heart.” Again his mind wandered toward that peasant girl. He was baffled as why without any reason she hit his broken legs. “I did not offend her at all, why did she want me to cry out in pain before she was happy? Could it be that she really loves hurting others?” He wished she would come again, but he was also afraid she would hurt him with different method.

    As his hand gently stroked the half eaten cake by his side, he remembered that peasant girl’s expression when she said, ‘So your Ma was a pretty woman. How could you compare me with her? Do you think I am pretty?’ He could not stop himself from saying out loud, “You are pretty; I really love seeing you.”

    Indulging himself in this kind of fancy thought, he lay down for two more days, but that peasant girl did not come. Zhang Wuji started to think that she would never come again, who would have thought that toward the afternoon of the third day, the peasant girl appeared from behind the hillside, walking toward him with the bamboo basket in her hand.

    “Ugly freak,” she said with a laugh, “You have not died yet?”

    Zhang Wuji also laughed. “Most of me have died of starvation, a little part of me is still alive,” he said.

    The peasant girl giggled and sat by his side. Suddenly she extended her foot and kicked his broken leg, asking, “Is this part dead or still alive?”

    “Aiyo!” Zhang Wuji cried out, “Don’t you have any conscience?”

    “What conscience?” the girl replied, “What did you do to me that I should be good to you?”

    Zhang Wuji was taken aback. He said, “Three days ago you hit me really bad, but I don’t hate you. In fact, I have been thinking about you often these past two days.”

    The girl’s face reddened, she was angry, but forced herself to bear it. “Who wants to be thought by you, an ugly freak?” she said, “Most likely you did not think good things about me. In your belly, you must be cursing me as ugly and evil girl.”

    “You are not ugly at all,” Zhang Wuji said, “But why must you hurt others first before you can be happy?”

    With a chuckle the girl said, “If others do not suffer pain, how can I be happy?” She could see the disagreement in Zhang Wuji’s expression, but she also noticed the half-eaten cake in his hand, which after three days he had not finished eating. She said, “You keep that cake until now? Won’t it taste awful?”

    Zhang Wuji said, “This cake was given by Miss, I hate to part with it.” Three days ago, he said those words half-jokingly, but today he was very sincere.

    The girl knew he was not talking empty words, her face blushed slightly. “I have fresh cake,” she said, while taking many more food from the basket. Other than cakes, there were a roast chicken and a roast mutton leg.

    Zhang Wuji was very happy. He had been eating raw eagle meat these days; it was dripping with blood, smelly, and tough. The roast chicken was delicious; it was still hot that it burned his hand somewhat, but in his mouth it was delicious beyond measure.

    The girl watched his appetite while she chuckled and sat down, hugging her knees. “Ugly freak,” she said, “You are eating happily, it’s fun watching you eat. Apparently you are different; I don't have to hurt you for me to be happy."

    "Others are happy, you are happy. Now that is the real happiness," Zhang Wuji said.

    "Humph!" the girl sneered and said, "Let me tell you first: right now I am happy, so I won't hurt you. There will come a day when I am not happy. I can't say for sure; perhaps I will torture you until you are neither dead nor alive. At that time you must not blame me."

    Zhang Wuji shook his head, "Bad people have been torturing me since I was little until I am a grown up. The more I was tortured, the stronger I became."

    With a cold laugh the girl said, "Don't be so sure of yourself. We'll see."

    Zhang Wuji said, "In that case, as soon as my legs are healed, I am going to go far away from you. Even if you want to torture me, hurt me, you won't be able to find me."

    The girl said, "Then I am going to cut your legs first, so you won't be able to leave me for the rest of your life."

    Hearing her icy-cold voice, Zhang Wuji could not help but shiver. He believed that she was capable of doing whatever she said. Those words were certainly not an empty threat.

    The girl stared at him for half a day. She sighed and then her expression changed suddenly, "Do you think you deserve it? Ugly freak! Do you think you deserve me cutting your dog legs?" She leaped up, grabbed the half-eaten roast chicken from Zhang Wuji's hand, the mutton leg, and the cakes, and tossed them all far away. Lastly, she also spat on Zhang Wuji's face.

    In shock Zhang Wuji looked at her. He felt that she was not actually angry with him, nor did she hold him in contempt; yet her face revealed her deep misery. Apparently she bore an unspeakable burden in her heart. He wanted to comfort her, but in that instant he was not able to find any appropriate words to say.

    Seeing the expression on his face, the peasant girl suddenly shouted, "Ugly freak, what are you thinking?"

    "Miss," Zhang Wuji said, "Why aren't you happy? Would you tell me?"

    Listening to his gentle words, the girl could not throw a tantrum anymore. She dropped herself next to him, holding her head in his hands, and sobbed uncontrollably.

    Looking at her shaking shoulders and her waist as delicate as a bee, Zhang Wuji felt sorry for her. "Miss," he said in low voice, "Who bullied you? Wait 'till my legs are healed, I am going to vent your anger for you."

    The girl was sobbing continuously. After a while she said, "Nobody bullies me. It's just that I have been unfortunate ever since the day I was born. I always think of one person, and cannot forget him."

    Zhang Wuji nodded and said, "He is a young man, isn't he? Was he cruel to you?"

    "That's right," the girl replied, "He is very handsome, but also very arrogant. I wanted him to come with me and be with me forever, but he did not want to. That was all right, but why did he have to scold me, hit me, and even bite me bloody?"

    Zhang Wuji angrily said, "This man is so rude and irrational. Miss, from now on, forget him."

    The girl burst into tears and said, "But ... but I can't forget him. He ran far away; I have been looking for him everywhere without ever finding him."

    Zhang Wuji thought, "This love affair between a man and a woman is indeed difficult to resolve. Although this miss' appearance is somewhat lacking, but it is obvious that her love is genuine. Her temperament is rather strange, that is because of the grief in her heart, because of her deep disappointment. It's hard to imagine that that man's heart is this callous toward her!" In soft voice he said, "Miss, don't be sad. There are plenty of good men in this world, why do you have to worry about this man, who do not have any conscience?"

    The girl heaved a deep sigh. Her eyes gazed toward a distant place, as if she was in a trance. Zhang Wuji knew that she would not be able to forget this boyfriend, the desire of her heart. He said, "That man scolded you, hit you; but the misery I suffered was actually ten times worse than Miss'."

    "What is it?" the girl asked, "Have you been cheated by a beautiful girl?"

    Zhang Wuji replied, "At first, she did not intentionally cheat on me; I was stupid, seeing her beauty, I was captivated by her. Actually, how could I deserve her? In my heart, I have never had any vain desire. But she and her father have arranged in secret a treacherous plan to inflict an unspeakable harm on me." While saying that, he pulled his sleeve to show the countless scars on his arm. "These teeth marks were from the bites of her vicious dogs," he said.

    Seeing that many scars, the girl flew into a rage. "Was it that girl Zhu Jiuzhen who harmed you?" she asked.

    "How do you know?" Zhang Wuji wondered.

    "Everybody within the surrounding area of several hundred 'li' knows that that lowly girl loves to raise vicious dogs," the girl replied.

    Zhang Wuji nodded. "Yes, it was Miss Zhu," he said indifferently, "But these scars have been healed a long time, I no longer feel the pain. I am fortunate to be alive, I don't need to hate her anymore."

    The girl stared at him for half a day, but she could not see any trace of anger, he looked at ease; she felt this was rather strange. "What's your name?" she asked, "Why are you here?"

    Zhang Wuji mused, "All the way from the Central Earth, people keep asking me about Yifu's whereabouts. They threatened, swindled, committing all manners of crimes that I had to suffer countless sufferings. From now on, Zhang Wuji is dead, nobody in this world knows Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun's whereabouts. Supposing I meet with someone ten times more cunning than Zhu Changling, I won't have to worry about falling into his trap and unintentionally cause trouble to my Yifu." Thereupon he said, "I am called Ahniu [lit. cow/bull]."

    The girl slightly smiled. "What's your surname?" she asked.

    Zhang Wuji thought again, "I can't say Zhang, Yin, or Xie; those are all not good. 'Zhang' and 'Yin' combined sounds like 'Zeng'." Thereupon he said, "I ... My surname is Zeng. What is Miss' surname?"

    The girl's body shook, she said, "I don't have any surname." After pausing for a moment, she slowly said, "My birth father did not want me; he would kill me if he sees me. How can I take Father's surname? My Mama was killed by me, I also cannot use her surname. I was born ugly. You can call me Miss Chou [lit. Ugly]."

    Zhang Wuji was stunned. "You ... you killed your Mama?" he asked, "How can that be?"

    The girl sighed and said, "It's a long story. Mama was my father's first wife. She had never given birth to any son or daughter; hence Father took Er Niang [Second Mother]. Er Niang gave birth to my two (older) brothers. Father doted on her very much. Later on Mama gave birth to me, her only daughter. Relying of Father's love, Er Niang had always bullied Mama. My two older brothers were also very bad; they helped their mother in bullying my Ma. My Ma could only cry in secret. Tell me, what should I do?"

    "Your father should have been more neutral" Zhang Wuji replied.

    The girl said, "Because Father constantly shielded Er Niang, I was unbearably angry. I took a blade and killed my Er Niang."

    "Ah!" Zhang Wuji exclaimed in shock. He always thought that people kill people in the Wulin world was nothing strange, but that this peasant girl unexpectedly could kill someone with a blade was beyond his expectation.

    The girl continued, "Seeing I was in deep trouble, Mama told me to run away at once. But my two brothers pursued me to take me back. Because Mama was helpless to stop them, she slit her own throat to save me. Tell me, didn't Mama lose her life in my hands? When my father saw me, is it possible for him not to kill me?" When she said all these, her intonation was light, without the slightest degree of excitement.

    Zhang Wuji, however, listened to her story with his heart thumping madly; he thought, "I am unfortunate that my parents are dead, but Father and Mother loved each other and they loved me very much. Compared to this Miss' bitter experience, I am actually ten thousand times luckier than she." Thinking to this point, his sympathy for the girl grew. With a tender voice he said, "Have you left home for a long time? Have you been always alone out here?”

    The girl nodded slightly. Zhang Wuji asked again, “Where do you want to go?”

    “I don’t know,” the girl replied, “The world is very big, it doesn’t matter if I go to the east or to the west. I will be all right as long as I don’t bump into my father or brothers.”

    Zhang Wuji’s heart burst with compassion because he felt they shared the same fate. He said, “Wait ‘till my legs are healed, I will accompany you to look for that … that Dage [big brother]. We’ll ask him what he thinks about you.”

    “What if he scolds me or bites me again?” the girl asked.

    “Humph,” Zhang Wuji boldly said, “If he dares to harm a single strand of your hair, I will not rest until I deal with him.”

    The girl said, “What if he simply ignores me, will not speak even one word to me?”

    Zhang Wuji was dumbfounded. He thought that he could not force a man to love a woman he did not have any affection to even if he possessed stronger martial art skills. After being silent for half a day, he said, “I will try my best.”

    Suddenly the girl bent over in laughter, as if she had just heard the funniest joke ever. “What’s so funny?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “Ugly freak,” the girl said, “Who do you think you are? Will others listen to you? Besides, I have been looking for him everywhere and did not even see any sign of him. I don’t even know if he is dead or alive. You will do your best? What kind of ability do you have? Ha ha ha ha …!”

    Zhang Wuji was about to open his mouth, but because of her laughter, he blushed and closed his mouth immediately.

    The girl saw him opening and closing his mouth, she stopped laughing and asked, “You are going to say something?”

    “You laughed at me, I won’t tell you,” Zhang Wuji said.

    “Humph,” the girl coldly said, “A laugh is a laugh. At worst I will laugh at you again. You won’t die because of my laughter, will you?”

    In a loud voice Zhang Wuji said, “I have nothing but good intentions toward you, you should not laugh at me!”

    The girl said, “I am asking you: what is that you were going to say?”

    Zhang Wuji said, “You are all alone, without friends or family. I am of the same fate. My father and mother have died; I have neither brothers nor sisters. I was going to say that if that wicked man still pays no attention to you, there is no harm in us traveling together as companions. I can accompany you and talk to you to relieve boredom. But since you said I am not fit, I might as well not say it.”

    The girl said angrily, “You certainly are not fit! That wicked man is a hundred times more handsome than you; he is a hundred times smarter than you. It is really bad luck that I hang around with you in here, engaging in idle conversation.” While saying that, she madly kicked the mutton leg and the roast chicken lying on the snowy ground, and then she ran away while covering her face.

    Being on the receiving end of such unreasonable fit of temper, Zhang Wuji did not get angry. He thought, "This Miss is truly pitiful. It's not surprising, considering she has been through many sufferings."

    Suddenly the girl rushed back and fiercely said, "Ugly freak, you must be upset with me. You must be thinking that my own face is so ugly yet I am looking down on you. Am I right?"

    "No, it's not that," Zhang Wuji shook his head, "Your face is not very good-looking, but as soon as I see you, I feel we can get along well. If you have not turned uglier and looked the same as before ..."

    The girl suddenly cried out in alarm. "You ... did you say I do not look the same as I was before?"

    Zhang Wuji said, "Compared to the last time we met, your face today looks somewhat more swollen, your skin also darkened somewhat. That is unnatural."

    The girl was startled. "I ... I did not dare to look into the mirror these past few days," she said, "Did you say I am getting uglier?"

    Zhang Wuji gently said, "For a person, the most important thing is good character. Who cares if one is beautiful or ugly? Mama told me that the more beautiful the women, the worse their conscience and the more they are capable of deceit. She told me to carefully guard against such women."

    The girl was not interested in listening to whatever his Mama said. She pressed on, "I am asking you: when you saw me the last time, I was not this ugly, yes or no?"

    Zhang Wuji knew that if he answered 'yes', than she would be unbearably heart-broken, therefore, he only stared at her with a blank expression on his face, his heart full of compassion.

    Seeing his expression, the girl knew what his answer would be. She covered her face and cried. "Ugly freak, I hate you! I hate you!" she screamed and ran away madly. This time she did not turn back.

    Zhang Wuji lied down for two more days. During the night, a wild wolf crawled near him, attracted by the smell. Zhang Wuji struck the wolf dead with his fist. Instead of feeding on Zhang Wuji, the wolf became his dinner instead.

    Several days later, his broken legs had healed for the most part. In ten more days at most he would be able to walk again. He thought that henceforth the peasant girl would not come again. He regretted that he did not even ask her name. "How can her face turn uglier?" he mused, "This is indeed a mystery." After pondering this matter for half a day without finding any answer, he gave up and tried to get some sleep.

    Around midnight, in his sleep, he heard the footsteps of several people walking on the snow. He woke up immediately and sat up, turning his head toward the direction of the noise. That night the new moon looked like an eyebrow. Under the soft moonlight, he saw that seven people walked in. The silhouette of the one in the front appeared graceful, apparently it belonged to that peasant girl. When these seven people were near enough, he could see that it was indeed the girl with the ugly face. The other six people were walking in a fan formation behind her, as if they were guarding against her running away.

    Zhang Wuji was greatly astonished. "Has she been captured by her father and brothers?" he wondered in his heart.

    Before he finished this thought, the girl and the six people behind her had come near. As soon as Zhang Wuji looked, he was even more shocked. Turned out these six people were his old acquaintances; they were Wu Qingying, Wu Lie and Wei Bi on his left, and He Taichong and Ban Shuxian, husband and wife, on his right. The one on the extreme right was a middle-age woman. Her face looked somewhat familiar. Turned out she was Ding Minjun of the Emei Pai. "How did she know all these people?" he mused, "Could it be that she is one of the Wulin people who knows my real identity so she is taking all this people to capture me and force me to reveal Yifu’s whereabouts?”

    Thinking to this point, the suspicion in his heart was gone and anger rose in its place. “I have no enmity no grudges, but you come here to bring harm to me!” he mused. He thought further, “Presently I cannot move my legs. There is not a single weakness among these six people; the peasant girl’s martial art may not be weak either. I’d better submit to them and agree to take them to look for my Yifu. When my legs are healed, I will deal with them one by one.”

    If it were five years ago, he would rather lose his life than submitting to the enemy. No matter how the enemy tortured or intimidated him, he would simply clench his teeth refusing to say anything. But now, first of all he was older, his mind was more open; second, after mastering the Nine Yang Manual, his confidence grew, he was able to deal with dangerous situations calmly. In the presence of powerful enemies, he did not feel the least amount of fear. The only unexpected thing was that the peasant girl would betray him. In his resentment, he could not help but be grieved. He lied back down and used his arms as a pillow, no longer paying attention to these seven people.

    The peasant girl stopped in front of him. She quietly looked at him for a long, long time before slowly turning around and walking away. Zhang Wuji could hear her sigh. The sound was extremely soft, but it was full of grief. He sneered in his heart, “I don't know what malicious intention you have in your heart, but since you already planned it, why fake compassion on me?”

    He saw that Wei Bi was swinging the sword in his hand back and forth and he said with a cold laugh, “You said you want to see someone before you die. I thought it must some young man whose appearance was as handsome as Pan An; turns out it as an ugly freak. Ha ha ... funny! Very funny! The two of you are really a pair made in Heaven."

    The peasant girl did not get angry. "That's right," she drily said, "I want to see him again before I die. I want to ask him clearly about one thing. After I know his answer, I will die with closed eyes."

    Zhang Wuji was greatly astonished, he did not understand what these two people were talking about. The peasant girl said, "I have something I'd like to ask you. You must answer me honestly."

    Zhang Wuji said, "Anything about me, I can answer truthfully; but if it is about another person, it may not be easy to tell you." He was guessing the peasant girl would ask him about Xie Xun's whereabouts. He had decided to yield to their wish for now, therefore, he stated his condition first so that later on he would have some leeway in the negotiation.

    "Why would I want to know other people's business?" the peasant girl said, "I am asking you: that day you said that both of us are all alone, without friends or family; therefore, you are willing to be my companion. Did you say that with a sincere heart?"

    What Zhang Wuji heard was beyond his expectation. He sat up at once, and saw that her eyes showed the grief she bore in her heart. “I did. I was sincere,” he said.

    “You really do not mind my ugly appearance, and willing to stay together for a lifetime?” the peasant girl asked.

    Zhang Wuji was taken aback. He had never expected this ‘staying together for a lifetime’ in his heart, but he could not bear to see her forlorn look, as if she was about to cry; thereupon he said, “Ugly or not, pretty or not, I don’t care at all. If you want me to accompany you, to talk and laugh together with you, as long as you don’t mind me, of course I will be happy to do so. But if you are thinking of deceiving me …”

    “Then are you willing to marry me, to take me as your wife?” the peasant girl asked in a trembling voice.

    Zhang Wuji’s body shook, and he was speechless for half a day. “I … I have never thought … to take a wife …” he mumbled.

    He Taichong and the others, six people broke out in laughter. Wei Bi laughed and said, “Even an ugly bum don’t want you. If we don’t kill you, what good is it for you to continue living? You’d better hit your head against the rock and die.”

    Hearing the laughter of the six people and Wei Bi’s mocking, Zhang Wuji was convinced that this peasant girl was not in cahoots with these people, and that Wei Bi and the others meant to kill her. The realization that the peasant girl really did not come to harm him, Zhang Wuji’s heart grew warm. He saw her hanging her head, with tears dripping down her face, obviously her sorrow was unbearable, only he did not know whether she was sad because she was going to die soon, or because she was ugly, or was it because Wei Bi’s mocking was like a blade cutting deep into her heart?

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was greatly moved, recalling that after his own parents’ death, he himself was wandering about in desperate plight, and was the victim of countless others’ bullying. This peasant girl was also alone and weak, she was a few years younger than him; she was also more unfortunate than he. Now that she came to him and asked that question, how could he let her broken-hearted to the point of shedding some tears, and suffer disgrace from others? Much less her question showed her sincere devotion to him. “In all my life, other than my parents, Yifu, Tai Shifu and all martial uncles, who else would show such loving care to me? If I treat her well, and she also treats me well, we are bound by a common destiny, what harm can that bring?”

    He saw that her body trembled, she was about to go away. Immediately he reached out to grab her right hand. In a loud voice he said, “Miss, with all my heart I sincerely desire to marry you. I only hope you will not regard me unworthy.”

    As the girl heard this, her eyes immediately lit up, with a low voice she said, “Ahniu Gege, you are not lying to me, are you?”

    “Of course not,” Zhang Wuji said, “From now on, I will cherish you with all my might, I will look after you. No matter how many people come to make things difficult for you, no matter how many fierce people come to bully you, I don’t care if I’ll have to lose my life, I will protect you. I want you to be happy, I want you to forget your past sufferings.”

    The peasant girl sat down on the ground, leaned against his body, and grabbed his other hand. “I am really happy that you are willing to treat me like that” she said with a tender voice. Closing her eyes, she said, “Please say those words again, let me hear it and remember each word in my heart. Tell me, how are you going to treat me?”

    Zhang Wuji was also grateful to see her so happy. Holding her soft and silky smooth hands he said, " I want you to live in safety and joy, I want to make you forget all sorts of past suffering, I don’t care how many people come to bully you, to give you trouble, I will protect you without any regard of my own life."

    With a tender and sweet smile the peasant girl leaned on his chest and said with a gentle voice, "I asked you to come with me, but you not only refused, you hit me, scolded me, and bit me ... Now you told me those things, I am really happy."

    As soon as Zhang Wuji heard her words, his heart turned cold. Turned out this peasant girl was talking with her eyes closed, she was imagining that he was the boyfriend of the past.

    The peasant girl felt his body tremble; she opened her eyes and looked at him. Her expression changed suddenly; she looked disappointed and angry, but there was also a hint of regret and tender feelings. Calming herself down, she said, "Ahniu Gege, you are willing to take me as your wife; you did not turn your back to me even though I am an ugly woman. I am very grateful. But several years ago I have given my heart to someone else. At that time he already had not paid me any attention. If he saw me now, he would not even cast me a glance. He is such a heartless and short-lived little rascal ..."

    She was cursing that man as 'heartless and short-lived little rascal', yet her voice was full of longing and tender sentiments.

    Wu Qingying coldly said, "He has agreed to marry you, and you two have spoken words of love to each other. Can we start now?"

    The peasant girl slowly stood up and said to Zhang Wuji, "Ahniu Gege, I am going to die soon. But even if I live, I cannot marry you. I want you to know that I am very happy to hear what you have just told me. Please do not be angry with me. If you have some free time in the future, please remember me." Her voice was extremely tender and sweet.

    Zhang Wuji's heart ached. He heard Ban Shuxian's hoarse voice say, "We have kept our words by letting you see this man. Now you must keep your words by telling us who the killer was."

    "Alright!" the peasant girl said, "I know for sure that the killer had once hidden in his house." While saying that she pointed her finger to Wu Lie.

    Wu Lie's countenance changed slightly. "Humph!" he shouted, "Nonsense!"

    Wei Bi angrily said, "Tell us the truth quickly. You killed my Biaomei, who ordered you to do so?"

    This time Zhang Wuji's shock was indeed not small. With a trembling voice he said, "Killed Zhu ... Miss Zhu Jiuzhen?"

    Wei Bi turned his stare toward him; he asked fiercely, "You know Miss Zhu Jiuzhen?"

    "The name of Two Beauties of the Snowy Range shook the heavens, who hasn't heard?" Zhang Wuji replied.

    A faint smile appeared on the corner of Wu Qingying's mouth. "Hey!" she loudly called the peasant girl, "Are you or are you not going to tell us who sent you?"

    The peasant girl said, “I was sent to kill Zhu Jiuzhen by Kunlun Pai’s He Taichong, husband and wife, and Emei Pai’s Miejue Shitai.”

    Wu Lie roared, “You attempt to sow dissension among us is in vain, what good is it for you?” With a loud shout his palm struck toward the peasant girl. This shout carried an impressive power, the palm also created a strong gust of wind causing the snowflakes rise on the ground that snow fluttered in the air.

    The peasant girl moved sideways to evade, her movement was fantastic. Zhang Wuji’s mind was chaotic, “She … she is indeed a Wulin character. She killed Xhu Jiuzhen, that must be because of me. I told her that I was deceived by Miss Zhu, and was bitten by the vicious dogs she raised. But I have never asked her to kill anybody. I only know that because she is ugly and has been through a misfortune in her family, her temperament turned strange. Who would have thought that she really is capable of killing people without a strong reason?”

    Wei Bi and Wu Qingying, each with a sword in their hands, attacked from left and right. The peasant girl dodged to the east and escaped to the west trying to evade Wu Lie’s palm force. Suddenly her slender waist twisted, she turned toward Wu Qingying’s side and slapped her on the face, while her left hand reached out and snatched the sword in her hand. Wu Lie and Wei Bi cursed and came together to her rescue. The sword in the peasant girl’s hand shook and she called out, “Got you!” as she inflicted a short cut on Wu Qingying’s face.

    Wu Qingying cried out in fear and leaped backwards. Her injury was actually very light, but she cherished her appearance very much, so when she felt a slight pain on her face, she was frightened out of her wits.

    Wu Lie swept his left palm, pressing down on the peasant girl. The peasant girl leaned sideways to dodge. ‘Clang!’ the sword in her hand crashed with Wei Bi’s sword. Right this moment Wu Li’s right index finger trembled and sealed the ‘fu tu’ [subduing rabbit] and ‘feng shi’ [windy city(?) – I am sure Jin Yong was not talking about Chicago?], two acupoints on the outer side of her left leg. The peasant girl uttered a soft groan as her leg gave up and she fell onto Zhang Wuji’s body. She felt her body was comfortably warm, but she could not exert an ounce of strength or the least bit of ‘chi’, even trying to lift a finger felt like hoisting a thousand-catty load for her.

    Wu Qingying raised her sword and hatefully said, “Ugly girl, I won’t let you die a quick and painless death. I am going to cut your arms and legs first and I’ll leave you here to feed the wolves.” She swung her sword down to chop the peasant girl’s right arm.

    “Hold it!” Wu Lie said, while reaching out to grab his daughter’s wrist and pushing her sword away. To the peasant girl he said, “Tell us who sent you and I’ll let you die a quick death. Otherwise, humph, humph! I’ll say you won’t enjoy rolling around on the snow without your limbs.”

    With a smile the peasant girl said, “Since you insist, I cannot hide the truth anymore. Miss Zhu Jiuzhen wanted to marry a man. Another pretty woman also wanted to marry this man. This other pretty Miss then gave me five hundred taels of silver, telling me to kill Zhu Jiuzhen. Actually, I should have kept this matter in the strictest confidence …” Before she finished talking, Wu Qingying’s pretty face had turned pale from anger; with a flick of her wrist the sword went straight toward the peasant girls’ chest.

    The peasant girl was good at observing people and evaluating their situations [orig. ‘inspect appearance distinguish/recognize look’. Elif, can you think of a better translation?]; early on she had guessed the awkward situation among the three people, Wu Qingying, Wei Bi and Zhu Jiuzhen, correctly. Deliberately enraging Wu Qingying, her intention was precisely that she would stab her to death quickly. She saw a blue ray flashed and the sword had already arrived at her chest. Suddenly, something flew noiselessly and struck the sword. ‘Whoosh!’ the sword was knocked out and flew more than a dozen ‘zhang’ away before it fell on the ground.

    In the darkness, nobody saw clearly how Wu Qingying’s sword left her hand and flew away, but this kind of force, even if she intentionally wanted to throw it away, she might not have the ability to do so. It was obvious that the peasant girl had a powerful helper.

    In their shock, the six people took several steps backward. They looked around, but there were only open spaces in all directions; there were no hills, trees or thick bushes in which someone might be hiding. As far as their eyes could see, not even half a shadow of other people was to be seen. The six of them looked at each other in alarm and uncertainty.

    “Qing’er,” in low voice Wu Lie said, “What happened?”

    “Seemed like a very fierce secret projectile,” Wu Qingying replied, “It knocked my sword out of my hand.”

    Wu Lie again looked around, but did not see any other people. “Humph,” he said, “Perhaps this slave girl played a trick on you.” But in his heart he felt strange, “She was definitely hit by my Yi Yang Zi [Solitary Yang Finger], how could she still have the strength to shake Qing’er’s sword away? This girl’s martial art is truly demonical.” He strode forward and struck the peasant girl’s left shoulder with his palm. He was using his entire strength with the intention to crush her shoulder bone, so that she would lose her martial art skill and thus give his daughter the opportunity to do to her as she wished.

    It seemed that the peasant girl’s shoulder bone would be crushed soon, when suddenly she raised her left arm and met his palm with hers. ‘Crash!’ Wu Lie felt a burning sensation in his chest; the opponent’s palm felt like a raging storm, a torrential flood which was impossible to resist. “Ahh!” he cried out loudly as his body flew backwards, and ‘Bang!’ it hit the ground, hard. Fortunately his martial art skills were superb that as soon as his back touched the ground, he leaped back up. But blood was bubbling up in his chest and abdomen, his vision blackened and his head spun, so that he had just straightened up his body and regulated his breathing when his body swayed and in the end he tumbled down on the ground again.

    Wei Bi and Wu Qingying were greatly shocked. They rushed to prop him up, but suddenly He Taichong said, “Let him lie down for a while longer!”

    Wu Qingying turned her head and angrily said, “What did you say?” In her heart she thought, “Father has just fallen under the enemy’s attack yet you take delight in his misfortune and ridicule him?”

    He Taichong said, “His ‘chi’ and blood bubbled up, he needs to calm down quietly.”

    Wei Bi understood immediately. “Yes!” he said, and gently laid his Shifu back to the ground.

    He Taichong and Ban Shuxian looked at each other in great surprise. They had fought the peasant girl before, and although her stances and techniques were exquisite and her skill was above average, her internal energy was mediocre. When she exchanged palms with Wu Lie, it was obvious that the internal strength that jolted Wu Lie was extraordinarily strong. This had puzzled them to no end.

    In her heart, the peasant girl was even more shocked. When her acupoints were sealed by Wu Lie, she fell into Zhang Wuji’s bosom, completely unable to move. Very soon Wu Qingying’s sword would have stabbed her, but suddenly something flew and shook the sword, while a stream of charcoal hot energy flowed through her leg, burst into her ‘fu tu’ and ‘feng shi’ acupoints and flushed the sealed acupoints open. Her body shook; lowering her head, she saw Zhang Wuji’s hands were gripping both of her ankles, the stream of hot energy rushing into her body continuously via the ‘xuan zhong’ [hanging bell] acupoint.

    This turn of events happened so quickly that before she had time to think about it, Wu Lie’s palm had already come down. Without thinking she raised her hand up, thinking that broken hand would be better than crushed shoulder bones. Who would have thought that as soon as two palms collided, Wu Lie was jolted more than a ‘zhang’ backwards by her own palm? She was startled and thought in her heart, “Could this ugly freak bum actually be a martial art master with immeasurably deep skill?”

    He Taichong was wary; he did not dare to contend in palm strength with her. Unsheathing his sword, he said, “I want to receive instructions in sword technique from Miss.”

    The peasant girl laughed. “I don’t have any sword!” she said.

    “Not a problem,” Wei Bi said, “I’ll lend you mine!” Raising his sword, he aimed the tip of the sword toward the girl’s chest and exerting himself, he threw the sword away.

    The peasant girl reached out and caught the sword in her hand. She laughed and said, “Your martial art skill is lacking too much, your thrust did not kill me!”

    Being a leader of a Sect, He Taichong did not want to take advantage of a younger generation. “You may start,” he said, “I will yield to you for three stances before I will attack!”

    The peasant girl thrust her sword toward He Taichong’s groin. He Taichong snorted in anger. “A junior is being impolite!” he said in low voice, while lifting his sword to block. But there was a ‘Crack!’ sound as both swords broke at the same time.

    He Taichong’s face changed greatly; his shadow swayed and he withdrew half a ‘zhang’ backwards.

    “What a pity! What a pity!” the girl exclaimed inwardly. Turned out Zhang Wuji transmitted his Jiu Yang Shen Gong to her body, but she did not know how to unleash the formidable power of Shen Gong’s, which resulted in both swords being broken. If she was able to utilize the power to attack the enemy, only the enemy’s sword would be broken, while the sword in her hand would stay intact.

    Ban Shuzian was greatly astonished. “What happened?” she asked in a low voice.

    He Taichong’s arm was still numb and aching. “Demonical!” he said with a bitter smile.

    Ban Shuxian drew her sword out. With a cold face she said, “I want to receive instructions.”

    The peasant girl spread out her hands, her meaning was clear: she did not have any sword. Ban Shuxian pointed towards Wu Qingying’s sword, which was fallen on the ground about a dozen of ‘zhang’ away. “Take that sword!” she ordered.

    The peasant girl did not dare to be away from Zhang Wuji’s hands; she had no choice but lift the broken sword in her hand, she laughed and said, “This broken sword is all right!”

    Ban Shuxian was angry. She mused, “This dead girl is too arrogant to despise me like this.” She was not like He Taichong who maintained his position in every aspect as an older generation of high skill level; her sword circled around and pierced the peasant girl’s neck. The peasant girl raised her broken sword to block, but Ban Shuxian’s sword technique was light and agile to the extreme; the sword quickly cut down on the peasant girl’s left shoulder. She quickly flipped her sword to fend off. Ban Shuxian again changed her sword to stab the right side of her body. Ban Shuxian successively attacked eight times like a whirlwind, but all along she did not dare to meet the peasant girl’s broken sword. She only displayed the exquisiteness of her swordsmanship without giving the opponent any opportunity to use her internal energy.

    The peasant girl blocked to the left and parried to the right; soon she repeatedly fell into dangerous situations. Her swordsmanship was far inferior to Ban Shuxian to begin with, now that she only had a broken sword in her hand and did not dare to move her feet, she could only defend without any possibility of attacking.

    Several stances later, the tip of Ban Shuxian’s sword flashed and made a slash on the peasant girl’s left arm. In Kunlun Pai’s sword technique, once one gained the upper hand, one would not allow the enemy even half a chance to take a breather, and pressed on with follow-up stances to advance.

    “Ah!” the peasant girl cried out as her shoulder was hit by the sword. “Hey!” she called out, “Aren’t you going to help me? Are you going to just watch me being killed?”

    Ban Shuxian took two steps back; holding the sword horizontally across her chest, she looked all around, but did not see anybody. Immediately her sword vibrated and the tip created cold plum flowers as she attacked the peasant girl again. The peasant girl frantically brandished her broken sword. After blocking three sword moves, the opponent’s sword was getting amazingly fast, but her defense was also amazingly swift. It was a situation where the eyes must be clear and the hands must be quick, there was simply no leeway for miscalculations.

    “Dead girl, your hand is quick!” Ban Shuxian praised.

    The peasant girl did not want to be beaten; she cursed back, “Dead Granny, your hand is not slow either.”

    But Ban Shuxian’s swordsmanship was from a major school with dozens of years of training. Her mouth was speaking while her hand did not slow down ever so slightly. On the other hand, the peasant girl was no more than seventeen, eighteen years of age; even if she was trained under a great master, how could she copy Ban Shuxian’s calm and composed manner even in a fierce battle? As soon as she opened her mouth, her attention was slightly distracted and she felt pain on her wrist immediately as the broken sword in her hand flew away.

    “Ah!” the peasant girl cried out in fear as the tip of Ban Shuxian’s sword threatened the lower part of her side.

    Ding Minjun had been watching from the side without doing anything. Now that she saw a small opening, because it was too late to draw her sword, she launched the stance ‘tui chuang wang yue’ [push out the window to look at the moon], in which both of her palms struck toward the peasant girl’s back. Right this moment, Wu Qingying also leaped in, her leg flew to kick the peasant girl’s right waist.

    The peasant girl was so frightened that she felt her heart was about to jump out of her throat. Suddenly she felt her whole body was boiling as if she had fallen into a raging furnace. Without thinking she stretched out her finger to flick Ban Shuxian’s sword. At the same moment her back was struck by the palms and her waist was kicked.

    “Aiyo! Aiyo!” two miserable screams were heard. Ding Minjun and Wu Qingying were thrown backward, while the sword in Ban Shuxian’s hand was reduced to a half-section broken sword.

    Turned out when Zhang Wuji saw the desperate situation, he sent out his entire ‘zhen qi’ [real ‘chi’] to the peasant girl’s body in great speed. By this time, his cultivation of the Jiu Yang Shen Gong had reached about thirty, forty percent of perfection; his power was indeed not small. As a result, Ban Shuxian’s sword, both of Ding Minjun’s wrist bones, and Wu Qingying’s right toes, were all broken.

    He Taichong, Wu Lie, and Wei Bi were stupefied; they were momentarily at a loss. Ban Shuxian tossed the broken sword on the ground. “Let’s go!” she bitterly said, “Haven’t we disgraced ourselves enough?” while her eyes shot a fierce glare toward her husband. Her belly was full of resentment, which she wanted to vent on him.

    “Yes!” He Taichong replied. Two people rushed away side by side. In a short moment they had already gone.

    Kunlun Pai’s ‘qing gong’ [lightness skill] was excellent; certainly it ranked among the top within the Wulin world. As far as how Ban Shuxian would vent her anger toward He Taichong as soon as they reached home, whether by punishing him by making him kneel in front of her sword, or by subjecting him to another strange Kunlun Pai sword stance, it was not for the outsiders to know.

    With one hand supporting his Shifu and the other supporting his martial sister, Wei Bi walked slowly away. The three of them were afraid the peasant girl would pursue and attack them; yet they were unable to run away as fast as He Taichong, husband and wife did. Each step they took was laden with anxiety.

    The bones on both of Ding Minjun’s wrists were broken, but her feet were not injured. Gritting her teeth and bearing the pain, she walked away alone.

    Pleased with herself, the peasant girl laughed heartily. “Ugly freak! You …” she said, but before she could finish, she passed out suddenly.

    Turned out as soon as Zhang Wuji saw the six people took off their separate ways, he released her ankles. Immediately the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi [the true/real ‘chi’ from Nine Yang] filling her body dispersed that it was as if her body was drained and her limbs and her entire bones were without any strength.

    Zhang Wuji was startled, but immediately realized what had happened. Both his thumbs lightly pressed the ‘si zhu kong’ [empty bamboo silk] acupoint on the ends of her eyebrows and transmit a little bit of ‘Shen Gong’.

    The girl slowly regained her consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was lying on Zhang Wuji’s bosom while he was looking at her with a smile on his face; for some reason she felt very bashful. She leaped up immediately, and stared at him with a face that seemed like smiling yet she was not smiling. Suddenly she reached out toward his left ear and twisted it with all her strength.

    “Ugly freak,” she scolded him, “You deceived me! You possess such a fierce martial art skill, why didn’t you tell me?”

    “Aiyo!” Zhang Wuji cried out in pain, “What are you doing?”

    The peasant girl laughed and said, “Who told you to deceive me?”

    “When did I deceive you?” Zhang Wuji replied, “You did not tell me you know martial arts, I did not tell you I know martial arts either.”

    “All right,” the peasant girl said, “I’ll forgive you this time, considering you have helped me big time just now, your merit compensates for your crime, I am not going to press charges. How’s your leg? Can you walk?”

    “Still cannot,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    The peasant girl sighed and said, “Finally good intentions are being repaid well. If I did not remember you and wanted to see you one more time, you would not help me.” After pausing for a moment, she continued, “If I knew your martial art skill level is much stronger than mine, I would not have to kill that witch girl Zhu Jiuzhen."

    Zhang Wuji's face darkened. "I did not ask you to kill her," he said.

    "Aiyo, aiyo! Turns out you still have this beautiful lady in your heart," the peasant girl said, "My bad, I killed your sweetheart."

    "Miss Zhu was not my sweetheart," Zhang Wuji replied, "Even if she were more beautiful, she had nothing to do with me."

    "Well! That's strange," the peasant girl exclaimed in amazement, "She had harmed you this bad, yet you don't like it when I killed her to vent your anger?"

    Zhang Wuji indifferently said, "There are too many people who have harmed me. If I want to kill each and every one of them to vent my anger, I would have gone on an endless killing spree. Besides, there were some people who deliberately harmed me, but actually I feel sorry for them. Take Miss Zhu for example, she had always been scared and edgy every day, she was afraid her Biaoge [older male cousin] would not get along well with her, she was always anxious that he would take Miss Wu as his wife. This kind of person, do you think she would be happy?"

    The peasant girl got angry. "Are you mocking me?" she said.

    Zhang Wuji was taken aback, he did not expect that talking about Zhu Jiuzhen would offend the girl in front of him right now. "No, no," he busily said, "I was talking about how everybody has his or her own misfortunes. If others were unfair to you and you killed them, that is really not good."

    The peasant girl laughed. "If you learned martial art not to kill people, then why did you learn it?" she asked.

    Zhang Wuji hesitantly said, "After we mastered the martial art skill, when bad people mistreat us, we can resist them."

    "My utmost admiration!" the peasant girl mocked, "Turns out you are such an upright gentleman, a very good man!"

    Zhang Wuji looked at her with a blank expression on his face. He always felt that somehow this girl's demeanor seemed familiar, he felt somehow this girl was related to him.

    The peasant girl closed her mouth and asked, "What are you looking at?"

    Zhang Wuji replied, "My Mama often laughed at my Papa who was indiscriminately good toward others, saying that he was a soft-hearted scholar. When she said that, her tone and her manner was exactly the same as yours just now."

    The peasant girl blushed. "Pei!" she spat, "You are mocking me again. You said I look like your Mama, then you yourself look like your Papa!" Although she was angry, her eyes were actually laughing.

    Zhang Wuji hurriedly said, "The Heaven above, if I had the intention of mocking you, let me be condemned by the Heaven and the Earth."

    "Talk is cheap," the peasant girl said, "Even if you did mock me, there is nothing serious about it. Why do you have to swear an oath?"

    They had just talked to this point when suddenly there was a clear whistle coming from the northeast. The whistle was bright and long, obviously it was coming from a woman. The whistle was responded by someone nearby; apparently it was Ding Minjun who had not gone too far. Ding Minjun immediately stopped.

    The peasant girl's countenance changed slightly; she said in a low voice, "Someone from Emei Pai is coming."

    End of Chapter 16.
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 12:52 PM.

  18. #18
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 17 – Green Wing Appears and Vanishes with a Laugh
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    Zhang Wuji and the peasant girl turned their gaze toward the northeast. It was already dawn. They saw a green shadow walking on the snowy ground with steps as light as a feather. When the shadow was about a dozen of ‘zhang’ away, they could see clearly that it was a woman wearing a green robe. She talked with Ding Minjun for a while, and then turned her head toward Zhang Wuji and the peasant girl, before finally she walked towards them.

    Her clothes fluttered in the wind, her movements were light and graceful, her steps were dainty, but in an instant she was already four, five ‘zhang’ away from the two people. They saw her style was simple yet elegant, her countenance beautiful, she could not be older than seventeen, eighteen years of age.

    Zhang Wuji was amazed; listening to her whistle and looking at her movements, he would have thought that she was a lot older than Ding Minjun, but it turned out that she looked even younger than him. He noticed a short sword hanging on the young woman’s slender waist, yet she did not draw her weapon but approached them barehanded.

    Ding Minjun warned her, “Zhou Shimei [younger martial sister], this witch girl’s martial art is very demonical.”

    The young woman nodded. With a refined and polite manner she asked, “May I know your honorable surnames and great given names? For what reason did you injure my Shijie [older martial sister]?”

    When she was near enough, Zhang Wuji thought she looked quite familiar. As soon as she spoke, he remembered immediately, “Turns out she is the Hanshui River boatman’s little girl, Miss Zhou Zhiruo. Tai Shifu took her up the Wudang Mountain, how did she become Emei School’s disciple?”

    His heart warmed up; he wanted to ask her about his Taishifu, but then he changed his mind. “Zhang Wuji is dead. Right now I am a bum, the ugly freak Zeng Ahniu. If I am not able to control my emotions, I would only invite inexhaustible calamity in the future. I simply must not reveal my true identity to avoid bringing harm to Yifu, so that my Papa and Mama’s death would not be in vain.”

    The peasant girl laughed coldly and said, “With the ‘pushing the window to look at the moon’ your honorable Shijie’s palms struck my back. She broke her own wrists because of that. How could you blame me? Go ahead and ask your honorable Shijie, did I attack her even for half a stance?”

    Zhou Zhiruo flashed a questioning look at Ding Minjun. Ding Minjun angrily said, “Take these two to see Shifu, let the Senior punish them.”

    Zhou Zhiruo said, “If these two did not offend Shijie intentionally, in Xiao Mei’s [little sister – referring to self] opinion, it’s always better to let it go, turning an enemy into a friend.”

    “What?” Ding Minjun angrily shouted, “Are you siding with the outsiders?”

    Looking at Ding Minjun’s expression, Zhang Wuji remembered one night a few years ago, when Monk PengYingyu was besieged by enemies in the forest, in which Ding Minjun showed hostility toward Ji Xiaofu. History repeated itself today. Ding Minjun again was forcing her will to her young martial sister. He could not help but secretly worry for Zhou Zhiruo. But Zhou Zhiruo was very respectful toward Ding Minjun.

    "Xiao Mei will follow Shijie's instructions, will not dare to disobey," she said with a bow.

    "Alright," Ding Minjun said, "Seize this stinky girl, break both of her hands."

    "Yes," Zhou Zhiruo replied, "I am asking Shijie to help watch my back." Turning around toward the peasant girl, she said, "Please forgive Xiao Mei for being rude; I want to request Jiejie’s [older sister] expert instructions."

    The peasant girl said with a cold laugh, "Where did this wordy girl come from?" While in her heart she said, "Do you think I am afraid of this little girl?"

    Without relying on Zhang Wuji's help, she sprang up and fast as a lightning launched three palm strikes in succession. Zhou Zhiruo leaned sideways and rushed forward, her left palm tried to capture the girl's hand. She had used an offensive strike as a defensive mechanism, her gambit was rather ingenious.

    Although Zhang Wuji's internal energy was strong, his knowledge of movements in martial arts had not reached the level of complete comprehension. As he watched Zhou Zhiruo and the peasant girl fight a fast-paced battle; Zhou Zhiruo's 'mian zhang' [soft palm] from Emei Pai was agile and swift, while the peasant girl's palm technique was weird and mysterious, he was very impressed, but also concerned about the two combatants. He did not care who would win; he only hoped that neither one of them would be injured.

    The two women fought for more than twenty stances; each had fallen into dangerous situations several times. Suddenly the peasant girl called out, "Got you!" Her left palm hacked down on Zhou Zhiruo's shoulder.

    'Rip!' Zhou Zhiruo flipped her hand and pulled the peasant girl's sleeve. Both of them leaped back immediately. Their faces were red.

    "Good 'Qin Na' [grab and capture] technique!" the peasant girl shouted. She was about to jump back into the arena when she saw Zhou Zhiruo wrinkle her brows with her hand pressing her chest. She staggered two steps and swayed as if she was about to tumble.

    Zhang Wuji could not stop from calling out, "You ... you ..." His face showed a very deep concern.

    Seeing this man with long hair and long beard show deep concern toward her, Zhou Zhiruo was secretly astonished.

    "Shimei, how are you?" Ding Minjun asked.

    Placing her left hand on her martial sister's shoulder for support, Zhou Zhiruo shook her head. Ding Minjun had suffered pain from the peasant girl, she knew the peasant girl was very fierce. It was just that their Shifu often praised this young martial sister, saying that her perception was wonderfully deep, her progress was amazingly rapid. She would most likely play a very important role on the advancement of their Sect in the future. It was hard for Ding Minjun to accept, therefore, she told her to give it a try, with the hope that she would also suffer some pain under the peasant girl's hands. Seeing her Shimei was able to fight the peasant girl for more than twenty stances without suffering any defeat, which exceeded her by a large margin, Ding Minjun was very jealous in her heart.

    Feeling the hand leaning on her shoulder was without any strength, she knew her Shimei's injury was not light. Afraid that the peasant girl would attack, she said hastily, "Let's go!" Supporting each other, the two of them walked toward northeast.

    The peasant girl noticed Zhang Wuji's expression. "Ugly freak," she said with a cold laugh, "Seeing a beautiful girl makes your soul fly to the heavens."

    Zhang Wuji wanted to explain, but he thought, "I won't be able to explain this matter clearly without revealing my history. I might as well not say anything." Thereupon he said, "Whether she is beautiful or not, what does that have anything to do with me? I was concerned about you, I was afraid you might be injured."

    "Are you telling me the truth?" the peasant girl asked.

    Zhang Wuji thought, "Actually, I was concerned about both of you." He said, "Why would I lie to you? I am surprised that such a young girl from Emei Pai can possess such an excellent martial art skill."

    "Fierce! Very fierce!" the peasant girl said.

    Zhang Wuji turned his gaze toward Zhou Zhiruo’s back, thinking that she came with light and graceful steps but left staggering. He remembered how on the boat on the Hanshui River she helped feed him, gave him towel to wipe his tears. He wished her injury was not heavy.

    Suddenly the peasant girl laughed coldly and said, “You don’t have to be worried, she was never been injured. When I said ‘fierce’, I was not talking about her martial art skill, but she is such a young girl, yet her quick thinking and scheming ability is this fierce.”

    “She was not injured?” Zhang Wuji wondered.

    “That’s right!” the peasant girl said, “When my palm hacked on her shoulder, her shoulder produced internal energy reaction, which diverted my palm. Turns out she has trained the Emei Jiu Yang Gong [Nine Yang energy/power], with which she shook my arm that it went slightly numb and painful. Where did her injury come from?”

    Zhang Wuji was greatly delighted; he thought, “Could it be that she is highly favorable in Miejue Shitai’s eyes that unexpectedly she passed on the Emei Pai treasured skill, Emei Jiu Yang Gong, to her?"

    Suddenly the peasant girl heavily slapped Zhang Wuji's face with the back of her hand. Her action was so sudden that Zhang Wuji was caught off guard and his cheek turned red and swollen at once.

    "You ... why did you do that?" he angrily asked.

    The peasant girl hatefully said, "Seeing that beautiful girl, your soul fly to the heavens. I said she was not injured, why are you this happy?"

    "I am happy for her, what does it do to you?" Zhang Wuji replied.

    The peasant girl swung her palm again, but this time Zhang Wuji ducked that she missed. The peasant girl angrily said, "You said you are going to take me as your wife. It is still less than half a day and you already changed your mind as soon as you saw that pretty girl."

    "You have said it early on that I am not fit to marry you," Zhang Wuji retorted, "You also said that your heart has already belonged to this boyfriend of yours, so you cannot marry me."

    "That's right," the peasant girl said, "But you have promised me that you will treat me well for the rest of our lives, that you will take a good care of me."

    "Of course I will keep my promise," Zhang Wuji said.

    The peasant girl was angry. "If that's the case, why did you lose your soul as soon as you saw this good-looking young woman? That is very aggravating to those who look at you."

    Zhang Wuji laughed. "I did not lose my soul," he said.

    "I forbid you to like her," the peasant girl said, "I forbid you to even think of her."

    "I've never said I liked her," Zhang Wuji said, "But why do you always have another in your heart, and never forget him?"

    "I met him first," the peasant girl said, "If I know you first, then all my life I would be good to you only, and would not think about other people. This is called 'faithful unto death' [Confucian ban on widow remarrying]. The Heaven will not tolerate a double-minded person."

    Zhang Wuji thought, "I knew Zhou family girl long before I met you." But it was inappropriate for him to say so, thereupon he said, "If you are good to me only, then I will be good to you only. If you remember another in your heart, I will also remember another in my heart."

    The peasant girl was silent for half a day. Several times she seemed to open her mouth to speak, but each time she stopped. Suddenly tears started to flow from her eyes. She turned around so Zhang Wuji would not see her wiping her tears with her sleeve.

    Zhang Wuji could not bear to see her crying. He grabbed her hand and said in a soft voice, "Why did we say these things without any reason at all? In a few more days my legs will be healed, and then the two of us will travel everywhere to have fun, won't that be great?"

    The peasant girl turned her head; with an anxious look on her face she said, "Ahniu Gege, I want to ask you one thing, but you must not get angry."

    "What is it?" Zhang Wuji asked, "As long as it is within my power, I will do it for you."

    "You must promise me not to get angry first before I tell you," the peasant girl said.

    "Alright, I won't," Zhang Wuji promised.

    The peasant girl hesitated for a moment before saying, "With your mouth you said you won't get angry, but I also want you not to be angry in your heart."

    "Alright, I also will not be angry in my heart," Zhang Wuji said.

    The peasant girl flipped her hands so that she was holding Zhang Wuji's hands now. "Ahniu Gege," she said, "The reason I travelled for tens of thousands 'li' from the Central Plains to this remote Western Region was to look for him. Before, I still heard news about him; but as soon as I arrived here, he vanished just like a stone sank in the ocean and I have never heard anything about him anymore. After your legs are healed, help me to find him, and afterwards I will accompany you roaming the mountains and playing on the rivers, will that be alright?"

    Zhang Wuji could not restrain from feeling unhappy. "Humph," he snorted.

    The peasant girl said, "You promised me not to get angry; aren't you angry right now?"

    Feeling uncomfortable, Zhang Wuji said, "Alright, I'll help you find him."

    The peasant girl was delighted. "Ahniu Gege," she said, "You are very kind." Looking toward the distant horizon, her heart was beating fast with the memory of 'him', she said quietly, "When we find him, he will know that I have been looking for him for such a long time that he won't be angry with me. I will do whatever he says, I will obey whatever he tells me to do."

    Zhang Wuji said, "Tell me, what is so good about this boyfriend of yours that you always keep him in your mind like this?"

    The peasant girl smiled slightly and said, "How can I explain how good he is? Ahniu Ge, do you think we will be able to find him? When he sees me, will he beat me, scold me?"

    Seeing how childish her affection was, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel sorry for her. He said in a low voice, "I don't think so. He will not beat you or scold you."

    The peasant girl's cherry lips quivered; tears welled up in her eyes. Also in a low voice she said, "That's true, he will love me and pity me that he won't beat me or scold me anymore."

    Zhang Wuji thought, "This girl loves her boyfriend this much. If only there was someone in this world who loves me and misses me like her, I will be happy even if I have to suffer more hardships and pain." He turned his gaze to the pair of footprints Zhou Zhiruo and Ding Minjun left on the snow, thinking, "I wish Ding Minjun's footprints were mine; if I could walk side by side with Miss Zhou ..."

    "Aiyo!" suddenly the peasant girl called out, "Let's go, quick! It will be too late if we tarry."

    "What?" Zhang Wuji was awakened from his daydreaming.

    The peasant girl said, "That Emei girl was not willing to fight with me so she feigned injury. But that Ding Minjun insisted on her to take us to see their Shifu. Miejue Shitai must be somewhere near. This old thief nun always loves to outdo others, how can she not come over?”

    Zhang Wuji recalled how Miejue Shitai struck Ji Xiaofu to her death without showing any mercy; he could not help from shuddering. “This old nun is very fierce,” he said in fright, “We are definitely not her match.”

    “Have you met her?” the peasant girl asked.

    “She is the Emei Pai Zhangmen [Sect Leader], how can she be an ordinary person?” Zhang Wuji replied, “I can’t walk yet, you’d better run away quickly.”

    “Humph,” the peasant girl was angry, “How can I abandon you and escape alone? You think my conscience is that bad?” Creasing her eyebrows, she thought hard for a moment. She took several pieces of stiff firewood from the pile and twisted the flexible ones as the ropes to build a snow sled. Carrying Zhang Wuji in her arms, she helped him sit on the sled with his legs stretched out straight; and then she pulled the sled toward the northwest direction.

    Zhang Wuji only saw her slender figure sway, just like a lotus leaf blown by the early morning breeze; her back looked graceful, her posture beautiful. She towed the sled just like a breeze of wind flitting across the snowy ground.

    She sped along without pausing for about thirty, forty ‘li’. Zhang Wuji felt bad for her. “Hey, let’s get some rest first!” he called out.

    The peasant girl laughed. “Who do you called ‘hey’?” she said, “Don’t I have a name?”

    “You don’t want to tell me; what can I do?” Zhang Wuji replied, “You wanted me to call you Miss Chou, but I think you are attractive.”

    The peasant girl scoffed; she let out a mouthful of breath then halted her steps. Pushing a stray hair, she said, “Very well, there is no harm in telling you. I am called Zhu’er.”

    “Zhu’er, Zhu’er,” Zhang Wuji said, “You are truly a precious pearl.” [Translator’s note: ‘zhu’ of ‘spider’ and ‘pearl’ sound the same in Chinese, and ‘pearl’ is a more common name for girls.]

    “Pei!” the peasant girl spat, “Not ‘Zhu’ of pearl [zhen zhu], but ‘Zhu’ of spider [zhi zhu].”

    Zhang Wuji was stunned. “Who would have used this ‘spider’ character as a name?” he mused.

    “That’s my name,” Zhu’er said, “If you are scared, don’t call me.”

    “Did your Papa give you that name?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “Humph,” Zhu’er said, “If my Papa gave me that name, do you think I would want it? It was my Ma. She trained me the ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ [hand of a thousand spiders ten-thousand posion], so she said for me to use that name.”

    Hearing the five characters ‘qian zhu wan du shou’, Zhang Wuji shuddered inwardly.

    “I have started training since I was a kid, yet I still have far to go,” Zhu’er said, “When I have mastered this skill, I will not have to fear this old thief nun Miejue. Do you want to see it?” While saying that, she took a glistening yellow gold case from her bosom. She opened the lid and showed two spiders, about the size of a thumb, squirming inside.

    The spiders’ back were spotted with bright, multi-colored dots, dazzling the eye. Zhang Wuji immediately remembered that Wang Nan’gu’s Poison Manual did mention that the spotted spiders were the most poisonous insects; once a human was bitten, he would be beyond help. Zhang Wuji could not help but feel very scared.

    Looking at his serious expression, Zhu’er laughed and said, “You know the benefit of my precious spiders. Just wait a moment.” As she said that, she leaped onto a large tree and looked around. Then she leaped back down to the ground and said, “Let us go a little bit farther; we can leisurely talk about spiders later.”
    Pulling the sled along, she ran about seven, eight ‘li’ until they arrived at the edge of a canyon. She helped Zhang Wuji out of the sled and she put several large rocks in his place. Pulling the sled, she ran toward the canyon. When she got to the edge of the canyon, she abruptly halted her steps, while the sled continued its journey into the canyon below. The sled, along with the rocks on it, crashed into the canyon with a loud, resounding sound, which continued for a long time.

    Zhang Wuji turned his head back and saw the firewood sled had left a pair of tracks, snaking on the snowy ground, as far as his eyes could see. Following the tracks with his eyes, he saw the tracks disappeared at the edge of the canyon. He thought, “This girl’s thinking is so thorough. If Miejue Shitai followed us here, she would think that we fell into the snowy canyon below, and died with none of our bones survived.”

    Zhu’er stooped down and said, “Get on my back!”

    “Are you going to carry me? You will be too tired,” Zhang Wuji said.

    Zhu’er rolled her eyes and said, “Do you think I won’t know it if I am tired or not?”

    Zhang Wuji did not dare to talk too much, he quietly got on her back and very lightly hugged her neck.

    Zhu’er laughed and said, “Are you afraid you will choke me to death? Your hands and feet are very light; you are only tickling me to death.”

    Seeing she was so innocent and without any apprehension toward him, Zhang Wuji was delighted; he hugged her neck tighter. Zhu’er leaped up suddenly and brought him flying to a tree. The row of trees extended toward the west, so Zhu’er leaped from one tree to another, also heading west. Her stature was small and delicate; Zhang Wuji was big and tall, but her feet were nimble and did not show the least bit of being over-burdened.

    After leaping about seventy, eighty trees, she jumped to a mountain wall and then leaped down to the ground. She gently lowered him to the ground, and said with a laugh, “We are going to build a cowshed in here. This is the perfect place.”

    “Cowshed?” Zhang Wuji wondered, “Why would we build a cowshed?”

    “For the bull and the cow to stay, of course,” Zhu’er laughed, “Aren’t you called Ahniu?” [Translator’s note: The ‘niu’ character of Ahniu means ‘cow/bull’.]

    “That’s not necessary,” Zhang Wuji said, “In four, five days, my broken legs will be healed completely. Actually, if I am forced to walk, I think I can manage without problem.”

    “Humph!” Zhu’er said, “Forced to walk? Right now you are already an ugly freak, if your cow legs are lame, will you look good?” While saying that, she took a strip of branch and swept the snow accumulated beside the mountain rock.

    Hearing her say, ‘Will you look good if your cow legs are lame?’ Zhang Wuji suddenly realized that she had a deep concern toward him; he could not help his heart from being touched. He heard her humming a tune while pulling and breaking branches and twigs to build a canopy in between two boulders, so that the thatched roof and the boulders formed a hut, an attractive little cabin which they could use to take shelter.

    As soon as the hut was finished, Zhu’er scooped piles and piles of snow and spread the snow on the roof. Working hard for half a day, she got the hut completely hidden in snow that it was not visible from the outside. Only then did she stop, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her face.

    “Wait here,” she said, “I am going to find something to eat.”

    “I am not that hungry,” Zhang Wuji said, “You are too tired. Why don’t you take a short rest before going again?”

    Zhu’er said, “If you want to treat me well, you must treat me really well. If you only sweet-talk me, what good would that bring?” Without waiting for an answer, she entered the woods in quick steps.

    Staying on the mountain rock, Zhang Wuji recalled Zhu’er’s tender voice and her graceful manners, which was the style of a refined woman. Her face might be ugly, but he remembered how just before her death, his mother had admonished him, ‘The more beautiful that woman is, the better of a manipulator she will be. You must take more caution.’ Zhu’er was not pretty, yet her treatment to him was fabulous; he had a mind of spending the rest of his life with her. However, her heart had already belonged to another man; she had no regard of him in her heart.

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was like a tidal wave as his mind raced in myriads of thoughts. Shortly afterwards Zhu’er returned with two snow birds. She built a fire and roasted the birds; it was tasty beyond comparison. Zhang Wuji ate one bird clean to its bone, but it was not enough for him. Zhu’er pursed her lips and laughed then she pushed her two bird legs, which she saved earlier, to him. Actually, she saved the legs because it was her favorite part of the chicken.

    Zhang Wuji was about to decline when Zhu’er angrily said, “If you want to eat, just eat. Whoever speaks to me with pretense, saying something without meaning it, I will stab three holes on his body with a knife.”

    Zhang Wuji did not dare to talk too much, he ate the two bird legs. Because his mouth was greasy, he picked up a handful of snow from the ground and wiped his face, then used his sleeve to dry it up. Zhu'er happened to turn her head and saw him wiping his face clean. She could not help from being startled and stared at him.

    Zhang Wuji was embarrassed; "What is it?" he asked.

    Zhu'er said, "How old are you?"

    "Twenty one," Zhang Wuji replied.

    "Hmm," Zhu'er said, "You are only three years older than I am. Why do you have such a long beard?"

    Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "I lived alone in a remote valley deep in the mountains, I have never met anybody else, so I have never thought of shaving."

    Zhu'er took out a knife with golden handle from her side and raised it to his face to shave him slowly. Zhang Wuji felt the blade was very sharp; everywhere the knife touched, hair immediately fell. Feeling her soft and tender palm and fingers, Zhang Wuji could not stop his heart from beating faster.

    The knife slowly arrived at his neck. Zhu'er laughed and said, "If I exert a little bit more force, your throat will be cut and you'll become a ghost. Are you or are you not afraid?"

    Zhang Wuji also laughed, "To die under Miss' jade-like hands, I will become a happy ghost."

    Zhu'er flipped the knife and pressed hard on his throat with the back of the knife. "Then be a happy ghost!" she shouted.

    Zhang Wuji was scared and wanted to jump, but her movement was swift, the knife was also very close. As he was about to jump, the blade had already slashed. He was powerless to resist, but the Jiu Yang Shen Gong inside his body reacted automatically and shook the knife sideways. It was then that he knew she was only using the back of the blade.

    Zhu'er felt a jolt on her arm. "Aiyo!" she cried out, but then giggled immediately. "Are you happy?" she asked.

    Zhang Wuji laughed and nodded his head. His natural disposition was rather serious, but in front of Zhu'er he somehow felt free and unrestrained. It was as if he had known her since childhood and they grew up together; he felt unexplainably at ease and even had an urge to joke around with her.

    Finished with shaving him clean, Zhu'er stared at him for half a day. Suddenly she heaved a deep sigh.

    "What is it?" Zhang Wuji asked.

    Zhu'er did not reply, she trimmed his hair a little bit, combed it, and tied the hair into a bun. She carved a hairpin from a tree branch and stuck it into his bun. After he was tidied up, although his clothes were tattered and unsightly (as a matter of fact, the clothes were too short and a few sizes too small for him, as if they were stolen clothes), his countenance glowed; the ugly freak has turned into one handsome young man.

    Zhu'er sighed again and said, "I have never thought you are such a handsome man."

    Zhang Wuji knew she was disheartened by her own ugliness; thereupon he said, "I am not that handsome. Besides, among the beautiful things in this world, oftentimes there is some bad thing hidden inside. The peacocks are adorned with beautiful feathers, but their gallbladders are extremely poisonous. Manchurian cranes' crest are bright red, very pretty, who would have thought that it was the most lethal poison? Within the various snakes and insects, oftentimes the more beautiful it looks, the more venomous it is. Aren't those two spiders of yours beautiful? What good is it to have a handsome appearance? A good heart is more desirable."

    Zhu'er sneered and said, "What good is it to have a good heart? Why don't you explain it to me?"

    Zhang Wuji could not find the answer right away. After being silent for a while, he said, "A man with a good heart will not harm others."

    "What good is it in not harming others?" Zhu'er pressed.

    Zhang Wuji said, "If you don't harm others, you will have a peaceful heart, you will be calm and composed."

    "I don't feel happy if I don't harm others," Zhu'er said, "If I can make others miserable beyond words, then my heart will be happy and peaceful, and then I will be calm and composed."

    Zhang Wuji shook his head. "You are forcing anarchy and robbing justice," he said.

    With a cold laugh Zhu'er said, "If not for the purpose of harming others, why would I want to train this 'qian zhu wan du shou'? I have to endure vast and limitless pain and suffering, do you think it was all for fun?" While saying that, she sat cross-legged on the ground, and after circulating her internal energy for a while, she took the small golden case from her bosom, opened the lid, and stuck her two index fingers into the golden case.

    The pair of colorful spiders inside the case crawled slowly toward her fingers and then the spiders bit the tip of her fingers separately. She took a deep breath, her arms slightly trembled as she used her internal energy to resist the poison. The colorful spiders fed on her blood, but in turn Zhu'er sucked the spiders' venom into her body by reversing her blood flow.

    Zhang Wuji saw her face was solemn while at the same time a faint black layer appeared on the center of her eyebrows and both of her temples. She clenched her teeth to endure the pain with all her might. A moment later, beads of perspiration started to form on the tip of her nose.

    Zhu’er trained this special skill for almost an hour, until the spiders were full with blood, with their belly bulged that they looked like a couple of furry balls; they dropped on their belly inside the case and fell asleep. Zhu’er continued circulating her internal energy for a good while. The blackness on her face gradually disappeared and the blood returned to her cheeks. When she exhaled, Zhang Wuji could smell that her breath was fragrant, but he felt dizzy immediately. Obviously her breath contained a violent poison.

    Zhu’er opened her eyes and smiled slightly. Zhang Wuji asked, “How do you train to reach perfection?”

    Zhu’er said, “Each colorful spider must turn to black, and then from black turn to white, then the venom is exhausted and it will die, while the poison inside the spider is completely transferred into my fingers. I need at least a hundred spiders to reach small success. To really reach perfection, a thousand or two are not considered too many.”

    Hearing her saying so, Zhang Wuji could not restrain the hair on his back from standing up. “Where did you get these many spiders?” he asked.

    “One way is to raise them, they can produce little spiders,” Zhu’er replied, “Another way would be to catch them in their original habitat.”


    “There are so many different martial art skills in the world,” Zhang Wuji exclaimed, “Why must you train this kind of poisonous skill? The spiders’ venom is extremely violent; granted that you have a way to withstand it if it enters your body, but in the long run it won’t give you any benefits.”

    With a cold laugh Zhu’er said, “No doubt there are many different martial art skills in the world, but which one school’s skill is superior to this ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ in terms of fierceness? You may rely on your strong internal energy, but when I reach perfection, you may not necessarily able to withstand one poke of my finger.” While saying that, she concentrated her ‘chi’ into her finger, and then casually poked her finger into a tree by her side. Because her internal energy had not reached perfection, her finger only went half an inch deep into the tree.

    Zhang Wuji asked again, “How did your Mama teach you this skill? Did she complete the training herself?”

    Zhu’er’s eyes suddenly shone with a malicious light; she hatefully said, “In training this ‘qian zhu wan du shou’, as long as one has consumed more than twenty spiders, the venom accumulated in one’s body is already considerable, one’s countenance will be deformed. If the training reaches a thousand spiders, one’s face will be incomparably ugly. My Mama had almost reached a hundred spiders when she met my father. Because she was afraid her countenance would grow uglier and would make my father unhappy, she discarded the entire skill from her body. As a result, she turned into an ordinary woman who lacked the strength to even truss up a chicken. Although she turned back into a pretty woman, but receiving Er Niang [second mother] and my two older brothers’ bullying and insults, unexpectedly she did not have the least bit of ability to fight back. In the end she still had to lose her life. Humph! What good is it to have a pretty face? My Ma was a very beautiful and extremely refined woman. Just because she did not bear a son, my father took a concubine …”

    Zhang Wuji’s eyes swept over her face. “So … it was because you train this skill …” he said in a low voice.

    “That’s right,” Zhu’er said, “It was because I train this skill that the poison turned my face to look like this. Humph, if that heartless man pays me no attention, just wait ‘til I master the ‘qian zhu wan du shou’. When I find him, if he does not have any woman by his side, then that’s all right …”

    “You are not married to him,” Zhang Wuji cut her off; “You also are not engaged to him, you’re just … you’re just …”

    "Just say it straight out, what are you afraid of?" Zhu'er said, "You wanted to say that I am just indulging myself in unrequited love, didn't you? What if I am? Since I have already fallen in love with him, I cannot let another woman occupy his heart. If he is heartless and wishy-washy, I'll let him taste my ‘qian zhu wan du shou’."

    Zhang Wuji stifled a laugh, but he did not argue with her, realizing that she had a weird character; when she was good, she was really good, but when she was bad, she would not listen to reason at all. He also remembered that his Tai Shifu, Er Shibo [second martial (older) uncle) and the others would often tell him to avoid Wulin people of the heretical way. Apparently the ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ she trained was one of the most ruthless martial art skills of the heretical sect. Her mother must also be a top ranking demon of the heretical sect. Thinking to this point, he could not help but feel somewhat apprehensive toward her.

    Zhu'er, however, did not realize the change in his mood; she was busy going in and out of their little hut. She picked a lot of wild flowers and arranged them inside the hut. Seeing the elegant taste with which she decorated the hut, Zhang Wuji knew that her good taste must have come from her natural instinct, it was the poison that caused her face to be ugly.

    "Zhu'er," he said, "After my legs are healed, I am going to pick some herbal medicine to try to cure the poison swelling on your face."

    When Zhu'er heard these words, her expression suddenly turned fearful. "No ... no ... don't," she said, "I have endured countless pain to reach today's level. Do you want to neutralize my ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ skill?"

    Zhang Wuji said, "Perhaps we can think of a way to eliminate the swelling of the poison on your face without any adverse effect to your skill."

    "No way," Zhu'er said, "If there were a way, my Mama would have inherited the skill, how could she not know? In this world, other than the Divine Doctor Hu Qingniu of the Butterfly Valley, nobody else has this kind of astonishing ability. But he ... he has died many years ago." [Translator's note: the original was 'yi xian' - medicine/medical immortal. Previous chapters also use 'Sage of Healing'.]

    "You know Hu Qingniu?" Zhang Wuji asked in astonishment.

    Zhu'er stared at him and said, "What? Something strange? The name of Divine Doctor of the Butterfly Valley was known throughout the Jianghu, everybody knew him." She heaved a deep sigh and continued, "Even if he was still alive, he had the reputation as Seeing Death Without Helping, [orig. Jian Si Bu Jiu. Previous chapters also used 'The One who Ignores the Dying'.] what good is it to see him?"

    Zhang Wuji thought, "She did not know that the Divine Doctor of the Butterfly Valley had passed on his entire skill to me. I'd better not mention it now, someday I'll think of a way to cure the poison swelling on her face, it will be a big pleasant surprise for her."

    White they were talking, the sky turned dark. They leaned on mountain rocks inside the hut to catch some sleep. In the middle of the night, Zhang Wuji suddenly heard one or two sobbing noises in his sleep. He woke up with a start only to find Zhu'er crying. Zhang Wuji sat up immediately and reached out to gently pat her shoulder twice.

    "Zhu'er," he said, trying to comfort her, "Don't be sad." Who would have thought that with his gentle words, Zhu'er cried even louder as she placed her head on his shoulder?

    "Zhu'er," Zhang Wuji asked, "What is it? You are thinking about your Mama, aren't you?"

    Zhu'er nodded. "Mama is dead!" she said in between sobs, "I am all alone. Nobody likes me, no one's good to me."

    Zhang Wuji pulled his lapel and slowly wiped her tears. "I like you," he said in a gentle voice, "I am good to you."

    "I don't want you to be good to me," Zhu'er said, "I only like one man, but he ignored me, beat me, scolded me, and he even bit me."

    With a trembling voice Zhang Wuji said, "Why don't you forget this unfortunate young man? I'll marry you, I will treat you well for the rest of your life."

    "No! No!" Zhu'er loudly said, "I won't forget him. If you tell me to forget him, I am going to ignore you forever."

    Zhang Wuji was greatly embarrassed; fortunately it was very dark inside the hut that Zhu'er could not see his red and awkward expression. For a good while nobody said anything.

    A long time afterwards, Zhu'er said, "Ahniu Gege, are you angry at me?"

    "I am not angry at you," Zhang Wuji replied, "I am mad at myself, I shouldn't have said those words to you."

    "No, no!" Zhu'er hastily said, "You said you wish to take me as your wife, you will treat me well for the rest of my life, I love to hear it. Can you say it one more time?"

    Zhang Wuji indignantly said, "Since you cannot forget that man, what else can I say?"

    Zhu'er reached out to grab his hand. "Ahniu Gege," she said in a soft voice, "Please don't be angry. I offended you. My mistake. If you really take me as your wife, I might prick your eyes blind, I might kill you."

    Zhang Wuji shuddered. "What did you say?" he asked in shock.

    Zhu'er said, "If you are blind, you won't see my ugly face, you won't look at that Miss Zhou from Emei Pai. If you still cannot forget her, with one finger I will stab you dead, with one finger stab that Miss Zhou from Emei Pai dead, and with one finger stab myself dead." She said those strange words with ease, as if what she was going to do was in accordance with the heaven’s law and the earth’s principle.

    Hearing her ruthless words, full of maliciousness, Zhang Wuji’s heart skipped a beat. Right this moment, suddenly from a distant came an old voice, “In which matter did Miss Zhou of Emei Pai give you trouble?”

    Zhu’er was startled, she leaped up and said in a low voice, “It’s Miejue Shitai!”

    Her voice was so low, but the person outside could still hear her. “That’s right,” she said sternly, “It is Miejue Shitai.”

    When the person outside spoke the first few words, the voice sounded from a far, but the second time she spoke, she was already outside the little hut.

    Zhu’er knew their situation was far from good, but it was too late for her to pick Zhang Wuji up and hide; she had no choice but holding her breath without saying anything.

    “Get out!” they heard the person outside said with a cold voice, “Do you think you can hide inside forever?”

    Zhu’er opened the straw curtain and walked out holding Zhang Wuji’s hand. She saw about two ‘zhang’ outside the hut stood an old nun with white hair and dreary face, she was none other than Emei Pai’s Zhang Men [sect leader], Miejue Shitai. Behind her, about a dozen people, divided into three groups, came rushing in. As they arrived, they stood on either side of Miejue Shitai. Half of those people were nuns, the rest were men and women in civilian clothes. Ding Minjun and Zhou Zhiruo were among them. The male disciples stood at the back row. Miejue Shitai had never favored male disciples, Emei Pai male disciples had never learned the most advanced of their school’s martial art, their status was somewhat lower than the female disciples.

    Miejue Shitai coldly looked at Zhu’er to size her up without saying anything for half a day. With trepidation, Zhang Wuji was crouching behind Zhu’er. He had made up his mind that if Miejue Shitai attacked Zhu’er, he would do his utmost to help her, although he knew he was not Miejue Shitai’s match. He heard Miejue Shitai humph and she turned toward Ding Minjun.

    “Was it this baby girl?” she asked.

    “Yes,” Ding Minjun replied respectfully.

    Suddenly they heard ‘Crack! Crack!’ twice, Zhu’er uttered a muffled grunt, while she was thrown about three ‘zhang’ backward with broken wrists. She fainted on the snowy ground.

    Zhang Wuji only saw a grey shadow flashed as with inhuman speed footwork Miejue Shitai dashed toward Zhu’er, with inhuman speed hand technique she broke her wrist bones and threw her out, and again with inhuman speed footwork she returned to her previous position, and stood loftily like an ancient tree. She looked so ghostly yet also grand standing in the night breeze. Each one of her actions was nimble yet so clear. Zhang Wuji could see each movement clearly, yet her speed was unfathomable. He was so astonished by her speed that he was paralyzed in fear.

    Miejue Shitai stared at Zhang Wuji with a piercing-heart-and-soul vision. “Get out!” she sternly said.

    Zhou Zhiruo took a step forward. “Shifu,” she reported, “This man’s legs are broken; he cannot walk.”

    “Make two snow-sleds, take them go,” Miejue Shitai said. The disciples complied at once.

    The dozen or so male disciples with quick hands and feet built two sleds. Two female disciples carried Zhu’er, two male disciples carried Zhang Wuji. They put them on the sleds and pulled the sleds behind Miejue Shitai who had already sped to the west.

    Zhang Wuji focused his attention, trying to hear or see if Zhu’er was astir. He did not know the severity of her injury. After travelling for about a ‘li’, he heard Zhu’er groan softly.

    “Zhu’er,” Zhang Wuji called out loudly, “How’s your injury? Have you received an internal injury?”

    “She broke my both my wrist bones,” Zhu’er replied, “But my chest and abdomen seem to be fine.”

    “No internal injury, that’s good,” Zhang Wuji said, “Use your left elbow to bump your right arm three ‘cun’ five ‘fen’ [1 cun is approximately 1 inch, 1 fen is approximately 1/3 of a centimeter or a little over 1/8 or an inch] below the bend, and use your right elbow to bump your left three ‘cun’ five ‘fen’ below the bend. That should lessen your pain somewhat.”

    Before Zhu’er could respond, Miejue Shitai had already exclaimed, “Ah!” She turned her head toward Zhang Wuji, stared at him and said, “This kid is proficient in medical skill. What’s your name?”

    “Zaixia [lit. under/below, the humble one] surnamed Zeng, called Ahniu,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    “Who is your Shifu?” Miejue Shitai asked.

    Zhang Wuji said, “My shifu was a nameless country doctor of a small town; Shitai would not know him even if I mentioned his name.”

    “Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted, but no longer paid him any attention.

    The party travelled straight until the dawn before they stopped to eat their rations. Zhou Zhiruo took out several cold steamed buns and gave them to Zhang Wuji and Zhu’er. As she gave the buns to Zhang Wuji, she looked up at his face for a second before turning her head away.

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was shaken; he could not bear it any longer. “Your kindness in feeding me on the Hanshui River boat, I will never dare to forget,” he said softly.

    Zhou Zhiruo’s whole body trembled; she quickly turned around and looked at him. This time Zhang Wuji was clean-shaven. She looked at him for a while. “Ah,” she suddenly exclaimed with a pleasantly surprise expression. “You … you …” she stammered. Zhang Wuji knew she finally recognized him, he slowly nodded his head.

    “The cold poison in your body, is it healed?” she quietly asked. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito that it was almost inaudible.

    In the same soft voice Zhang Wuji replied, “It is healed.”

    Zhou Zhiruo’s face blushed, and she walked away.

    All this time, Zhu’er was behind Zhang Wuji. She saw Zhou Zhiruo could not contain her joy; her lips quivered, her face also appeared bashful, but her eyes brightened. Zhu’er waited until Zhou Zhiruo left before she asked Zhang Wuji, “What were the two of you talking about?”

    Zhang Wuji’s face reddened. “What? No … nothing,” he said.

    “Humph!” Zhu’er snorted, “Barefaced liar!”

    They rested for about an hour and a half before continuing their journey in haste to the west, and continued in the same manner for three days. Apparently they had some important matter to attend to. Along the way, whether when travelling or resting, neither the male nor female disciples opened their mouths to talk, unless it was absolutely necessary; it was as if they were a bunch of mute people.

    By this time Zhang Wuji’s legs were already healed. He could walk if he wanted to, but he maintained his guise as a cripple. Every now and then he would fake a groan so Miejue Shitai would not guard against him. He was waiting for a good opportunity to help Zhu’er to escape. However, the terrain they had been travelling so far was a vast plain, before they could run too far, the pursuers would certainly overtake them; therefore, he did not dare to act recklessly. He quietly mended Zhu’er’s broken wrist; Miejue Shitai only gave him a cold look, but did not interfere. During their stops in the day, or in their bivouacs at night, Zhang Wuji was dying to get a glimpse of Zhou Zhiruo, but she had never come close to him anymore.

    After travelling for two more days, they arrived at the great desert in the afternoon. The snow on the ground had melted; the sleds were now being pulled over sand. Suddenly they heard horse hooves coming from the west. Miejue Shitai signaled with her hand. The disciples immediately hid themselves behind sand dunes. Two disciples drew their daggers and placed the daggers on Zhang Wuji and Zhu’er’s back. Their intention was clear: Emei Pai was ambushing of the enemy, as soon as Zhang Wuji or Zhu’er made any noise to warn the enemy, they would thrust the daggers forward and take their lives.

    It seemed like the horses were galloping very fast, only they were still very far away that it took almost half a day before the horses came near. As soon as the riders saw footprints on the sand, they reined their horses at once. Emei Pai’s senior disciple Jing Xuan Shitai waved her whisk; about a dozen disciples responded to her signal by leaping out from their ambush and surrounding the riders.

    Zhang Wuji took a peek to see there were four riders altogether, all wearing white robes. The robes were embroidered with a red blazing flame. Realizing they were being ambushed, the four riders shouted, drew out their weapons, and charged toward the northeast trying to break the siege.

    Jing Xuan shouted, “It’s the Devil Cult’s demons, don’t let even one of them escape!”

    Although Emei Pai had more people, they did not attack together. Two female disciples and two male disciples responded to Jing Xuan Shitai’s order. They shouted their compliance and stepped forward to block the enemies. The four Devil Cult’s people fought valiantly with curved sabers in their hands. But in the expedition to the western region this time, Emei Pai had sent their choice fighters; each one possessed strong martial art skill. After only about seven, eight stances, three of the Devil Cult people were killed by the swords and were thrown down from their horses. The remaining one was a lot stronger than his companions; he managed to chop and injure the Emei Pai male disciple’s left shoulder and rushed through this opening to escape.

    When he was several ‘zhang’ away, the third ranking Emei Pai disciple, Jing Xu Shitai called out, “Get down!” With a swift footwork she caught up with the man. Her whisk swept toward the man’s left leg. The man brandished his saber to block. Jing Xu’s whisk suddenly changed its course; ‘Shua!’ it struck the back of the man’s head.

    This move had hit the man’s vital point, the whisk also carried a profound internal energy; the man immediately fell down from his horse. Surprisingly this man was extremely swift and fierce; even under such a severe injury, he still attempted to perish together with the enemy. Spreading out his arms, he threw himself on Jing Xu. Jing Xu leaned sideways to evade while her whisk lashed on the man’s chest.

    Right that moment, from the cage hanging on the neck of the last man’s horse flew three white pigeons. “What devilish trick are you playing?” Jing Xuan called out. Her sleeve shook, three iron lotus seeds flew toward the three pigeons.

    Two pigeons were shot down. The third iron lotus seed was shot down by a secret projectile launched by the white-robed man, who at this time was lying on the ground. The last white pigeon dashed toward the cloud. The numerous Emei Pai disciples immediately launched their secret projectiles, but none hit its target. They saw that the pigeon was flying toward northeast.

    Jing Xuan waved her left hand. The male disciples immediately dragged the four white-robed men and stood them in front of her.

    From the initial attack toward the enemy down to shooting the pigeons and capturing the men, Miejue Shitai only looked coldly with her hands behind her back. Zhang Wuji thought, “She dealt with Zhu’er personally, which showed that she held Zhu’er in considerably higher regard; perhaps it was because she shook Ding Minjun’s wrists broken. If this old nun wanted to stop that white pigeon, all she needed to do was to lift her finger; what’s the problem with that? But she seemed to intentionally ignore her numerous disciples’ effort in dealing with the situation.”

    Zhang Wuji also recalled how Jing Xuan, along with Ji Xiaofu and the others, had come up the Mount Wudang to wish his Taishifu happy birthday. Clearly she was considered of the same rank as the various Sect Leaders of Kunlun, Kongtong, and other sects. By this time these Emei Pai’s senior disciples had held quite a reputation within the Jianghu; any one of them was fully capable to assume sole responsibility in important matters. In dealing with several Devil Cult people, Miejue Shitai did not need to personally go into action. The fact that Jing Xuan and Jing Xu had personally put forth their hands showed that they had a high regard toward the enemy.

    A female disciple picked up the two shot down pigeons. She took a roll of paper out from the small tube tied on the white pigeon’s leg and presented it to Jing Xuan. Jing Xuan unrolled the paper and read.

    “Shifu,” she said, “The enemy has found out our plan to besiege the Brightness Peak. This letter is an emergency call for help to the Heavenly Eagle Cult.” She looked at the other roll of paper and said, “Exactly the same. Too bad the other pigeon escape from the net.”

    “Why do you feel bad?” Miejue Shitai coldly said, “Let the devils gather together. We’ll wipe them out in one swoop. Won’t it be a happy occasion? It will save us running around to the east and to the west looking for them.”

    “Yes,” Jing Xuan said.

    Hearing the words ‘emergency call for help to the Heavenly Eagle Cult Heavenly Eagle Cult’, Zhang Wuji was startled. “Isn’t the Heavenly Eagle Cult Leader my ‘wai gong’ [maternal grandfather]?” he mused, “I wonder if he, the Senior, would come. Humph, this old nun is so arrogant; you may not necessarily be my Grandfather’s match.”

    Originally, he wanted to find an opportunity to help Zhu’er escape, but with this turn of events, he wanted to continue watching the drama unfold, thereupon he did not want to leave just yet.

    Jing Xuan sternly asked the four white-robed men, “Who else did you invite? How did you find out about the Six Major Sects’ plan to besiege the Devil Cult?”

    The four white-robed men laughed bitterly with their eyes to the sky, then suddenly they fell down to the ground, motionless. Two male disciples stooped down to take a look; they saw the contorted smile on the four men’s faces, it was obvious that they stopped breathing.

    “Shijie [older martial sister],” they called out in fear, “They all dead!”

    Jing Xuan indignantly said, “The witches took poison to kill themselves. The poison is very lethal, the reaction was this quick.

    Jing Xu said, “Search them.”

    “Yes!” four male disciples complied. They were about to search the corpses’ pockets when Zhou Zhiruo suddenly said, “Shixiong [martial brothers], be careful. There might be poisonous things hidden inside their pockets.”

    The four male disciples were startled; they drew out their weapons to search the pockets. They saw something was wriggling inside the pocket. Turned out in each pocket were hidden two extremely venomous snakes. If they had used their hands to search the pockets, they would have been bitten by the snakes. All disciples’ faces changed; everybody cursed the Devil Cult disciples as poisonous and ruthless in their actions.

    Miejue Shitai coldly said, “From the Central Earth we came to the west, today was the first time we dealt directly with the Devil Cult disciples. These four men were merely nameless pawns, but they were already this sinister. Can you imagine how we are going to deal with the leaders and the brains behind the Devil Cult? Humph, Jing Xu, you are not young anymore, but they way you handle matters is this careless, not as careful as Zhiruo.”

    Jing Xu’s face reddened; she bowed down to accept the reproach.

    In his heart, Zhang Wuji was still pondering Jing Xuan’s words earlier, ‘Six Major Sects besiege the Devil Cult’. “Six Sects? Six Sects?” he mused, “I wonder if our Wudang Pai is one of those Sects?”

    About the second hour that night, suddenly they heard the jingle of bells usually mounted on camel’s heads. It sounded like there was a camel approaching from a distance. Everybody was actually asleep, but they were awakened at once. At first the sound of the camel came from the west heading to the south, but a short time later it sounded like the camel ran from south to north, but as soon as the sound arrived at the northwest direction, it immediately turned east, and then the sound appeared again from the northeast. In this way the sound came from east and west just like a ghost.

    The people looked at each other in bewilderment. Everybody thought that no matter how fast the camel could run, it was impossible for it to be on the east at one time and suddenly on the west. From the sound of it, it was also unlikely that there were several people on the four directions who rang the bell one after another.

    After a while, it sounded like the camel bell came toward them from a distance, the bell grew clearer and clearer. Suddenly the bell rang loudly from the southeast, as if the camel was a bird, which flew swiftly.

    Coming to this great desert and hearing this kind of strange ringing bell, Emei Pai people were inwardly frightened. In clear voice Miejue Shitai said, “Which master is paying us a visit? Please come out to meet us. Won’t it be highly improper, playing tricks like this?” Her voice travelled far.

    After she spoke those words, the bell suddenly turned silent, as if the person ringing the bell was afraid of her and did not dare to play tricks anymore.

    Nothing happened all day the next day, but by the second hour in the evening, the camel bell returned. Suddenly going afar, suddenly coming near, suddenly it was on the east, suddenly it moved to the west. Miejue Shitai repeated her reprimand, but this time the camel bell ignored her. Sometimes the sound was light, another time it was loud. Sometimes it sounded as if the camel galloped in anger towards them, but suddenly it walked away sadly from them. It just drove everybody nuts.

    Zhang Wuji and Zhu’er looked at each other and smiled. Although they did not understand how the bell could make this kind of weird noise, they knew it must be the doings of a Devil Cult’s master to disturb the Emei people and render them helpless. Zhang Wuji and Zhu’er found it amusing to see them at a loss like this.

    Miejue Shitai waved her hand; the disciples lay back down to sleep, no longer paid any attention to the bell. The bell made a loud noise. Although it changed pattern a hundred times, the Emei people simply turned a deaf ear to the sound, apparently they were no longer interested in the bell. Suddenly the bell rang loudly on the north and then vanished. It seemed that Miejue Shitai’s tactic ‘seeing demon as not a demon, let the demon defeat itself’ was somewhat effective.

    By daybreak the next day, everybody was busy tidying up their clothes and blankets, preparing themselves for the journey ahead. Two male disciples suddenly cried out in alarm, because they saw somebody was lying next to them, sleeping soundly. This person's body was covered from head to toe with a filthy blanket, not the least bit of his body was exposed; his buttocks curved upward, he was snoring loudly.

    The rest of the Emei Pai people also jumped in fright. Last night numerous people took turns in night-watch duty, but how could nobody knew someone was coming and that he mingled with them? Miejue Shitai's martial art skill had reached such a level that even grass blown by the wind or a petal of a flower flying or a leaf falling would not escape her eyes and ears; but how could she not know there was an extra person in the midst of her disciples?

    Everybody was startled and ashamed. Two disciples immediately drew their swords and walked toward the man. "Who is it? What trick are you playing?" they shouted.

    The man was still snoring loudly, seemingly oblivious of everything around him. A male disciple used his sword to lift the blanket and saw an impressive-looking man wearing dark green robe over white long gown. The man was sleeping soundly with his face to the ground.

    Jing Xu knew that since the man dared to come like this, he must have an extraordinary background. She took a step forward and said, "Who are you, Sire? What business do you have here?"

    The man's snoring was getting louder, like the rumble of a thunder. Seeing the man was this rude, Jing Xu was enraged; she brandished her whisk. 'Shua!' the whisk lashed toward the man's buttocks which were sticking up. 'Whoosh!' suddenly the whisk somehow left Jing Xu's hand and flew vertically up for more than ten 'zhang' to the sky. Without realizing it, everybody looked up...

    "Jing Xu, watch out!" Miejue Shitai called out. She had just closed her mouth when the man in dark green robe had already moved several 'zhang' away. His steps were so swift it looked like he was flying; he carried Jing Xu in his arms across his chest.

    Jing Xuan and another senior female disciple, Su Mengqing, each with a sword in her hand, quickly pursued; but the man's movements were so fast they were almost fantastic, the pursuers definitely would not be able to catch up. Miejue Shitai let out a clear whistle, and then with the treasured Yitian Sword in her hand she also ran after them.

    The Sect Leader of Emei indeed possessed an extraordinary skill. In the blink of an eye she had already passed Jing Xuan and Su Mengqing. A dark shadow flashed as the sword pierced toward the man's back. But the man was really fast, the sword missed him by almost a foot and thus he escaped unscathed. The fact that he was carrying Jing Xu did not have any adverse effect on his speed; he was not by any means slower than Miejue Shitai.

    He did not run away, but ran in circles around the Emei people as if he intentionally wanted to show off his skill. Miejue Shitai repeatedly thrust her sword forward, but all along she failed to stab his body.

    Suddenly they heard a 'Pat!' as Jing Xu's whisk fell back down on the ground. By this time, Jing Xuan and Su Mengqing had stopped pursuing. Everybody watched with baited breath as about a dozen 'zhang' away where the two masters were chasing each other. Although they were running on a desert ground, both people's feet were like flying that the sand did not fly upwards.

    The Emei disciples noticed that in that man's arms, Jing Xu did not move at all, as if she had already died; their hearts were scared. A lot of the Emei disciples had the desire to step forward to intercept, but remembered their Shifu's prestige, how could she lower her rank by asking her disciples for help? If the incident ever spread out, wouldn't they be the laughingstock of the heroes and warriors of the Jianghu? It was a highly suspenseful moment, but nobody dared to take any step forward. They only wished their Shifu would be one step faster then she would be able to stab that weird-looking man's back.

    In the meantime, the man and Miejue Shitai had made three large circles around the people. If only Miejue Shitai were one step closer, her sword would injure the enemy. However, she was always one step too late. Although that man started first and Miejue Shitai managed to catch up with him, the man was carrying a person, which added his burden by more than a hundred catties. Therefore, in this 'qing gong' contest, although they could be considered even in terms of speed, Miejue Shitai was still one notch inferior to the man.

    By the fourth circle, the man turned around abruptly and stretching out his arms, he threw Jing Xu over to Miejue Shitai. Miejue Shitai only felt a strong wind in front of her face as Jing Xu arrived with an irresistible force. Hastily she concentrated her 'chi' into her legs and with 'qian jin zhui' [thousand-catty fall] she gently caught Jing Xu.

    The man let out a long laugh and said, "The Six Major Sects come to besiege the Brightness Peak. I am afraid it won't be that easy!" While saying that, he ran northward.

    When he raced Miejue Shitai earlier, the sand underneath their feet was not stirred up at all, but this time the yellow sand rose high behind him, surging on to the north with an overwhelming power that it looked like a giant dragon, several dozen 'zhang' long, which immediately blocked his shadow from view.

    The Emei disciples rushed toward their Shifu only to see Miejue Shitai's face paled; she did not say anything.

    "Jing Xu Shijie ..." suddenly Su Mengqing cried out in fear. Jing Xu's face looked like yellow wax, there was an open wound on her throat, apparently she had stopped breathing. The wound was covered in blood, but there were teeth marks around it; obviously she was bitten to her death by that strange man.

    The female Emei disciples broke out in loud crying. "What do you cry for?" Miejue Shitai shouted, "Bury her." Everybody stopped crying at once and buried Jing Xu right there.

    "Shifu," Jing Xuan respectfully asked, "Who was that demon? Let us remember him clearly in our hearts that we can avenge Shimei later."

    Miejue Shitai coldly said, "This man sucks blood from the neck, he is ruthless and savage; he must be one of the Devil Cult's four kings, the 'Qing Yi Fu Wang' [green-winged bat king]. I have long heard that his 'qing gong' is unparalleled in the world; apparently his reputation is well-deserved, he defeated me by a large margin."

    At first, Zhang Wuji hated Miejue Shitai for her ruthlessness, but now that he witnessed how in the face of huge changes she was able to maintain her composure, to keep her coldness as if nothing happened, as well as her ability to praise the enemy and not ashamed to admit her own shortcomings, which befit her status as a grandmaster of a prominent Sect, he could not restrain his respect toward her from growing.

    Ding Minjun hatefully said, "He did not dare to fight Shifu; always ran away, what kind of hero is he?”

    “Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted. ‘Slap!’ suddenly she slapped Ding Minjun’s mouth while angrily said, “Shifu cannot overtake him, cannot save Jing Xu’s life. He won. Victory or defeat is known to the world. Is hero or warrior a self-proclaimed title?”

    Half of Ding Minjun’s face immediately turned red and swollen. “I accept Shifu’s lesson. Disciple knows her own fault,” she respectfully said, while in her heart she said, "You cannot beat others and lost face, but vent your frustration on me. Just consider my bad luck!"

    "Shifu," Jing Xuan said, "Could you please tell us more about this Qing Yi Fu Wang?"

    Miejue Shitai waved her hand without answering Jing Xuan's question; she walked forward. As the rest of the disciples saw how their martial sister had bumped her head against the wall, nobody dared to say anything. They continued their journey in silence until evening, when they built a large fire and slept behind a sand dune.

    Miejue Shitai sat motionless with her gaze fixed on the fire, she looked like a stone statue. Seeing their Shifu had not slept, nobody dared to sleep. In this way they waited for more than two hours. Suddenly Miejue Shitai thrust both of her palms forward, creating a blast of strong wind. 'Bang!' the bonfire died down at once.

    Everybody was still sitting motionless. The cold moon cast its clear light on everybody's shoulders. Suddenly a sad feeling crept into Zhang Wuji's heart. "Will Emei Pai's awe-inspiring prestige collapse completely in this western region? Will they suffer a total defeat from the enemy?" he mused. He also thought, "Whatever happens, I must save Miss Zhou, but the Devil Cult's people are this fierce, what can I do to save others?"

    Suddenly he heard Miejue Shitai shout, "Kill the demon fire, extinguish the devil fire!" And then after a brief pause she continued slowly, "The Devil Cult regards the fire as sacred, reveres the fire as deity. After the death of their thirty-third generation Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] Yang Dingtian, the Devil Cult does not have any Jiaozhu. Left and Right Emissaries of the Brightness, Four Great Hu Jiao Fa Wang, Five Wanderers, as well as the Five Flag Leaders of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth Flags, all covet this Jiaozhu position so much so that they fight and massacre each other, and thus the Devil Cult became weak. Although each of the upright major sects is prosperous, I believe it is not easy at all to seek the destruction of this demonical and heretical people if they are not inthe midst of this internal strife."

    [Translator's note: here I repeat my note in chapter 30: ‘hu jiao fa wang’ (‘hu’ – protect, ‘jiao’ – Cult, ‘fa’ – law, ‘wang’ – king) has been translated as ‘Protector King’ throughout this novel. I believe the more accurate translation should be ‘Protector of the Cult, Law Enforcement King’, or ‘Judge’. The same ‘fa wang’ was translated ‘imperial priest’, as in Jin Lun Fa Wang, in Shen Diao Xia Lu – RoCH; in different story, it is also translated as 'Dharma King. I am going to keep using the term ‘Protector King’, interchangeably with ‘fa wang’ for the remainder of this novel; I just want the readers to know that the term carries a broader sense than simply ‘Protector King.’]

    Zhang Wuji had heard the name 'Devil Cult' ever since he was little, but because his own mother was somehow related to the Devil Cult, each time he asked, his parents did not look too happy. When he asked his Yifu, his Yifu would stare blankly as if he was entranced, then all of a sudden he would be thrown into a violent rage. For this reason, he had never known what the Devil Cult was. Later, when he was with Tai Shifu Zhang Sanfeng, who also abhorred the Devil Cult, whenever he brought it up, Tai Shifu would earnestly warned him, telling him to never, ever, mess with the Devil Cult people or make friends with them. However, Zhang Wuji then met Hu Qingniu, Wang Nan'gu, Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Zhu Yuanzhang, and other warriors, which were all Devil Cult people. These people were generous, just and loyal; they might not necessarily evil. It was just that their actions were sometimes underhanded that to the outsiders they were often unfathomable. This moment, as he listened to Miejue Shitai talk about the Devil Cult, he perked up at once and listened attentively.

    Miejue Shitai continued, "The Devil Cult's previous generations' Jiaozhu had always passed on the Sheng Huo Ling [lit. the order of the sacred fire] to the next generation as their token of authority. But to the thirty-first generation Jiaozhu, God rest his soul, the Sheng Huo Ling was somehow vanished without a trace. Hence the thirty-second and thirty-third generations Jiaozhu did not have this token of authority, and thus these two Jiaozhu led the Cult quite reluctantly. Yang Dingtian died suddenly. Nobody knows whether he was poisoned or fell under the enemy's plot, but he did not have enough time to appoint his successor. The number of highly-skilled devil-heads within the Devil Cult is truly not a few; there are at least five, six people who are qualified to be the Jiaozhu. You don’t submit to me, I won’t yield to you; and thus internally they are in a big chaos. Until today, they still do not have any Jiaozhu. The one we met today also wanted to be the Jiaozhu. He is one of the Devil Cult’s Four Great Protector Kings, Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao.”

    The disciples had never heard the name Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao before, they stayed silent.

    Miejue Shitai continued, “This man has never set foot on the Central Plains; the way the Devil Cult’s people handle matters is also extremely surreptitious. For this reason, although this man’s martial art skill is strong, he does not have the least bit of fame in the Central Plains. But I am sure you all know about the Bai Mei Ying Wang [white-browed eagle king] Yin Tianzheng and Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun, two people, don’t you?”

    Zhang Wuji shivered inwardly. Zhu’er softly exclaimed in surprise, ‘Ah!’ Yin Tianzheng and Xie Xun’s reputation was so widespread that nobody in the Wulin world could claim that they had never heard those names.

    “Shifu,” Jing Xuan asked, “Are those two also belong to the Devil Cult?”

    “Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted, “Of course they belong to the Devil Cult, what else? ‘Mo Jiao Si Wang, Zi Bai Jin Qing’ [The Devil Cult’s Four Kings: Purple White Gold and Green], Zi Shan Long Wang [purple-robed dragon king], Bai Mei Ying Wang, Jin Mao Shi Wang and Qing Yi Fu Wang are the Devil Cult’s four kings. The Green Wing is ranked the last, yet today all of you have seen his skill with your own eyes; you can imagine the skills of Zi Shan Long Wang, Bai Mei Ying Wang and Jin Mao Shi Wang. Jin Mao Shi Wang has gone insane and has done many despicable things. More than twenty years ago he suddenly went on killing the innocents indiscriminately. Finally he disappeared and his whereabouts became Wulin world’s big mystery. Yin Tianzheng failed to be the Devil Cult’s Jiaozhu, in his anger he founded another Tian Ying Cult [Heavenly Eagle]. His sickness was that he craved to be a Jiaozhu. I know that since Yin Tianzheng has forsaken the Devil Cult, he became like water and fire with the Brightness Peak. Who would have thought that when the Brightness Peak is facing a calamity, they still ask the Heavenly Eagle Cult for help?”

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was in chaos; he had known early on that his foster father and (maternal) grandfather’s conduct was heretical, which most of orthodox people would not tolerate; but he had never thought that those two people were actually the Devil Cult's Protector Kings.

    While being busy with his thoughts, he did not hear what the Emei disciples were talking. A little while later he heard Miejue Shitai continue, "We, the Six Major Sects, are currently in a mission to destroy the Brightness Peak. We will prevail. Even if the demons and witches are united, what do we fear? It's just that during the battle, many will be injured or dead. No one must have a faint heart; we should not rely on luck. If fear overcomes our hearts, then we will degrade Emei Pai's power and prestige in the presence of our enemy." The disciples jumped to their feet at once. They bowed in compliance.

    Miejue Shitai continued, "Whether one's martial art skill is strong or weak, it all depends on talent and destiny, we cannot force it at all. Before Jing Xu even had a chance to launch a stance, she had fallen under the enemy's scheme and died in the hands of that blood-sucking demon. Nobody can sneer at her. What is the purpose of training martial arts? Is it not to rob the rich and give it to the poor, to destroy the demons and devils? Today Jing Xu was the first to die. Who knows? Perhaps the second one will be your own Shifu. Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, Kongtong and Huashan, the Six Major Sects' mission is to besiege and destroy the Devil Cult. We, the Emei Pai, have earlier disregarded good luck or bad luck, disaster or happiness ..."

    In his heart Zhang Wuji thought, "Our Wudang is indeed among them." Deep in his heart he felt that his journey to the west this time would bring him to see countless wretched disasters, which eyes could not near to see, and ears could not bear to hear. And thus he seriously considered taking Zhu'er to escape so that they would not have to witness the war and massacre among the Jianghu people.

    In the meantime, Miejue Shitai said, "The proverb says it well: 'A thousand coffins go out the door, the home prospers. The children survive, the father dies first; and thus the descendants mourn their ancestors.' [Translator's note: this is a literal translation of the text. I am not sure about the background of this saying. Any help will be greatly appreciated.] Who in the world would not die? As long as we leave behind our successors, we can still prosper even though there are hundreds or thousands of deaths in the family. I am only afraid that you will all die and leave the old nun live alone." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Hey, hey, even if that happens, I will have no regrets. A hundred years ago, was it not that Emei Pai did not even exist? As long as every one of us is fighting with everything we have, wouldn't that be enough if Emei Pai had to meet its destruction?"

    With boiling blood, the disciples' drew out their weapons and responded in loud voices, "Disciples vow to fight to the death; we will not co-exist with the people of demonic way."

    Miejue Shitai laughed drily and said, "Very good! You may sit down!"

    Although the majority of Emei Pai disciples were weak women, Zhang Wuji had to admit that they possessed heroic spirits, which enable them to brave death without frowning. He thought that it was not by accident that Emei Pai was considered one of the Six Major Sects, and certainly not only because of their superiority in martial arts. Witnessing this scene, he was reminded of how Jing Ke went west to enter the Qin [Jing Ke was supposedly the would-be assassin of King Ying Zheng of Qin], with the sadness of 'the mournful wind rippled the cold water, the warrior departed on a one-way mission.'

    Actually, these words should be spoken before they embarked on this mission, while they were still thinking that the Devil Cult was weakened by internal strife that it would be easily destroyed with just a raise of the hand. They had not anticipated that in the middle of disintegration, the demons of the Devil Cult were still able to join hands in resisting outsiders' invasion. Now that Qing Yi Fu Wang had made his move, the situation was substantially different.

    Sure enough, Zhang Wuji heard Miejue Shitai say, "If Qing Yi Fu Wang could come, then Bai Mei Ying Wang and Jin Mao Shi Wang could also come. The possibility of Zi Shan Long Wang, the Five Wanderers, and the Five Flag Commanders to come is even greater. We, the Six Major Sects, originally thought that with our combined forces, we would be able to destroy Guangming Zuo Shi [the Left Emissary of the Brightness] Yang Xiao first, then sweep out the other demons one by one. Who would have thought that this time the prediction of Huashan Pai's Shen Ji Xiansheng [Mr. Divine Strategist], Xianyu Zhang Men's [Sect Leader Xianyu] is inaccurate? Hey, hey, he is totally off the mark."

    Jing Xuan asked, "What kind of evil devil-head is that Zi Shan Long Wang?"

    Miejue Shitai shook her head. "Zi Shan Long Wang's evil conduct is obscure; I myself only heard bits and pieces about him. I heard when this person failed to be the Jiaozhu, he immediately escaped to the distant overseas and no longer communicated with the Devil Cult. It would be best if he stays out of this. ‘Mo Jiao Si Wang, Zi Bai Jin Qing’. This person is the chief among the Four Kings, needless to say, he is the most difficult to be dealt with. Other than Yang Xiao, the Devil Cult has another Emissary of the Brightness. From generation to generation, the Devil Cult has always had Left and Right Emissaries of the Brightness, whose positions are above the Four Hu Jiao Fa Wang. Yang Xiao is the Guangming Zuo Shi [Left Emissary of the Brightness]; but the name of the Guangming You Shi [Right Emissary of the Brightness] is actually unknown to the people of the Wulin world. Kong Zhi Dashi [reverend] of Shaolin Pai and Song Yuanqiao, Song Daxia [great hero] of Wudang Pai, both are warriors with vast experience and knowledge, but even they did not know it. Yang Xiao is our enemy; in a frontal battle, victory or defeat will be decided by our martial art skill, which is fine with me. My main concern is if that Guangming You Shi suddenly launches a sneak attack.”

    The disciples were scared; without realizing it, they turned their heads around as if that Right Emissary of the Brightness or the Purple-robed Dragon King suddenly came and launched a sneak attack. Under the cold moonlight, everybody’s face looked deathly pale.

    Miejue Shitai indifferently said, “Yang Xiao killed your Gu Hongzi Shibo [martial (older) uncle], he also killed Ji Xiaofu. Wei Yixiao killed Jing Xu. Between Emei Pai and the Devil Cult there is an enmity as high as the heavens. Since our Sect was founded by Guo Zushi [ancestor master], the Zhang Men position has always been held by a virgin woman. Not to mention that a man will not have any part in this position, even a woman, if she is married, cannot hold the Zhang Men position. However, today our Sect is facing a life and death, exist or perish situation; how can I adhere strictly to the norms? In this mission, whoever set a great merit will inherit my cassock and alms bowl, I don’t care if it is a man or a married woman.”

    The disciples hang their heads in silence; they felt their Shifu was making an arrangement for things to do after her death, discussing the appointment of her successor, as if she knew that she would not return to the Central Earth alive. In everybody’s hearts there was a third part of uncomfortable, mournful feeling.

    Miejue Shitai let out a long, loud laughter, “Ha ha, ha ha …” her voice travelled far into the distant over the great desert. The disciples looked at each other in a start; inwardly feeling scared. Miejue Shitai waved her sleeve and loudly said, “Everybody, sleep!”

    As usual, Jing Xuan arranged the night watch.

    “No need for night watch,” Miejue Shitai said.

    Jing Xuan was startled, but then she understood. If a master of Green-winged Bat King’s caliber attacked in the middle of the night, how could the disciple find out? Night watch would be futile.

    That evening the Emei Pai seemed relaxed outwardly, but very tense inwardly; they seemed to be scattered loose, but actually in a very tight formation, ready for any unanticipated matter.

    End of Chapter 17.
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 12:57 PM.

  19. #19
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 18 – The Cold and Bright Ray of the Yitian Sword
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    The next day they continued their journey westward and did not stop for more than a hundred ‘li’. It was around midday, the sun was shining brightly overhead, although it was the depth of the winter, they felt hot.

    Continuing after the rest, suddenly they heard faint noises of weapons clashing and people shouting, coming from the northwest direction. Without waiting for Jing Xuan to give an order, everybody quickened their steps, rushing toward the noise. Shortly afterwards, they saw ahead that several people were dodging and attacking in a violent battle. When they were near, they saw three Taoist priests in white robes with weapons in their hands were surrounding a middle-aged man. The three Taoist priests’ left sleeves were embroidered with red blazing flame; apparently they were Devil Cult disciples. The middle-aged man brandished a long sword, the sword’s ray flickered; he fought the three Taoist priests intensely. With one against three, he did not show any sign of defeat.

    Zhang Wuji’s legs were already healed for some time, but he still pretended that he could not walk, so he stayed on the sled so that the Emei Pai people would not guard against him, while he waited for a good opportunity to take Zhu’er and escape. Right now, an Emei male disciple was standing in front of him, blocking his view that he had to lean over to see the four people fighting. He saw the middle-aged man’s sword was getting faster and faster. Suddenly the man turned around and shouted. ‘Shua!’ his sword slashed one Devil Cult’s Taoist priest’s chest.

    The Emei disciples cheered. Zhang Wuji could not restrain himself from calling out in surprise. The move was called ‘shun shui tui zhou’ [lit. push the boat along the current]; it was a unique skill from the Wudang’s sword techniques, because the middle-aged man who launched the stance was precisely Wudang Pai’s Sixth Hero, Yin Liting.

    The Emei disciples watched the battle from a distance and did not step out to help at all. As the other two Devil Cult Taoist priests saw one man down from their side, and the enemy had increased in number, their hearts sank. With a sudden whistle they ran separately, one to the north, the other to the south.

    Yin Liting flew to pursue the Taoist priest running to the south. His feet were a lot faster; only seven, eight steps later, he had already reached the Taoist priest’s back. The Taoist priest turned around and brandished his pair of sabers wildly; staking everything he had with the intention to take the enemy down with him.

    The Emei Pai disciples realized it would be difficult for Yin Liting to chase two enemies at once; the Taoist priest who ran to the north’s ‘qing gong’ was not bad either, he ran faster and faster. It appeared that even if Yin Liting managed to kill the Taoist priest who ran to the south, he would not be able to turn around to chase and kill the one running to the north. There was an enmity as deep as the ocean between Emei disciples and Devil Cult people; everybody looked at Jing Xuan, waiting for her to issue the order to block the escaping enemy. Most of the female disciples were good friends of Ji Xiaofu; they all thought that had it not because of the crime of Devil Cult’s villain, this Sixth Hero of Wudang would have been their Sect’s in-law. This moment they all hoped to lend him a helping hand.

    Jing Xuan was also hesitating; she thought that the Sixth Hero of Wudang held a prominent position within the Wulin world, if he did not ask for help and other people rashly put out their hands, it would be disrespectful for him. That was the reason she did not immediately issue the order to intercept; she would rather the Taoist priest escape than offending the Wudang’s Yin Liuxia [sixth hero].

    Suddenly they all saw a bright ray flashed, the sword in Yin Liting’s hand flew to the north. Swift like the wind, fast like a lightning, it shot toward the Taoist priest’s back. The Taoist priest suddenly felt this incoming attack, but by the time he was about to evade, the sword had already penetrated his heart, through his body, and still flew forward. The Taoist priest’s feet did not stop; he still ran at least two ‘zhang’ forward before finally he fell, dead. The sword was still flying for three more ‘zhang’ after going through the Taoist priest before it also fell to the ground. The blade flickered under the bright sunlight as the sword stuck straight up in the sand. Although it was only an object without a life or a mind of its own, the sword carried an awe-inspiring divine power.

    Seeing this hair-rising scene, there was not a single person among the spectators who was not shaken to the core; they were speechless for half a day. When they remembered to turn their heads back, they saw the Taoist priest fighting Yin Liting was shaking and swaying just like a drunk. He threw his pair of sabers to the ground, and hands were grabbing wildly the empty air. Yin Liting simply ignored him; he walked toward the Emei Pai party. He had just walked for several steps when the Taoist priest uttered a stifled grunt and fell with his face upward, and stopped moving altogether. Nobody saw with what technique Yin Liting had struck him.

    The Emei Pai disciples were loudly cheering and clapping. Even Miejue Shitai nodded her head before heaving a deep sigh. Perhaps with her sigh she was saying: Wudang Pai had this kind of excellent disciple, my Emei Pai did not have this accomplished disciple. But perhaps she was saying: Xiaofu was unfortunate not to be able to marry this man but fell under the hands of a Devil Cult lecherous disciple. In Miejue Shitai’s mind, Ji Xiaofu was killed by Yang Xiao, it was not her who struck her to death.

    The call ‘Liu Shishu’ [sixth martial (younger) uncle] was already on Zhang Wuji’s lips, but he swallowed it back. Among his martial uncles, Yin Liting was the one closest to his father, therefore, he also had always treated him with parental love. When he looked at this sixth uncle, whom he had not seen for nine years, he saw a face battered with wind and dust, the hair on his temples was graying out. Zhang Wuji presumed Ji Xiaofu’s death had given him a tremendous blow.

    As he saw a close relative after a long period of separation, Zhang Wuji’s first urge was to rush forward and greet him, but finally he thought that in front of too many people, he could not blurt out the truth and should avoid provoking endless trouble later on. Although Zhou Zhiruo knew his real identity, he did not think she would reveal it to others.

    Yin Liting bowed and saluted Miejue Shitai. “My humble Sect’s Da Shixiong [first martial brother], leading a number of his martial brothers and the third generation disciples, thirty-two people altogether, have arrived at the frontline’s canyon bank. Wanbei [younger generation – referring to self] is under Da Shixiong’s order to welcome your honorable Sect,” he said.

    “Good,” Miejue Shitai replied, “Wudang has arrived first. Have you had any contact with the demons?”

    “We have battled the Devil Cult’s Wood and Fire, two Flags, three times,” Yin Liting said, “We have killed several demons, but Qi Shidi [seventh martial (younger) brother] Mo Shenggu suffers a light wound.”

    Miejue Shitai nodded. She knew that although Yin Liting spoke lightly, these three battles must be exceptionally fierce and heavy, such that with Wudang’s five heroes’ ability, they still failed to kill the Devil Cult’s Flag Leaders and the Seventh Hero Mo Shenggu even sustained injury.

    “Has your honorable Sect ascertained the strength of the Brightness Peak yet?” Miejue Shitai asked further.

    Yin Liting said, “We heard the Heavenly Eagle Cult and other Devil Cult’s branches carried a massive operation to support the Brightness Peak, yet some others say that Zi Shan Long Wang and Qing Yi Fu Wang have also arrived.”

    Miejue Shitai was startled. “Zi Shan Long Wang has also arrived?” she asked.

    The two of them were talking while walking side by side, with the Emei disciples followed from a distance; they did not dare to listen to these two people’s discussion. After talking for a while, Yin Liting raised his cupped fists to take his leave, as he needed to make contact with the Huashan Pai.

    “Yin Liuxia,” Jing Xuan called out, “You have been busy running around; you must be hungry. Would you eat some light refreshments before continuing your journey?”

    Yin Liting was not shy, he said, “In that case I will bother you.”

    The Emei heroines immediately took out the provisions; some piled sand and built fire to cook noodles in an iron pot. Their meals were simple, but they were very attentive in entertaining Yin Liting; naturally it was for the deceased Ji Xiaofu’s sake. Yin Liting understood their intention; with moist eyes and choking voice he said, “Many thanks to you all, Shijie, Shimei.”

    Zhu’er had been waiting silently on the side, right now she suddenly said, “Yin Liuxia, may I inquire of you about somebody?”

    With a bowl of noodle in his hand, Yin Liting turned his head around and said, “I wonder what the honored name of this Xiao Shimei is [little martial (younger) sister? And who is it you wish to inquire about? If I have the information, I will certainly share it with you.” His manner was very cordial.

    “I don’t belong to the Emei Pai,” Zhu’er said, “I am their prisoner."

    At first Yin Liting thought she was Emei Pai’s young disciple; hearing her said so, he could not help but be a bit surprised. But thinking that the girl was very frank, he asked pointedly, “Are you of the Devil Cult?”

    “No,” Zhu’er said, “I am a Devil Cult’s enemy.”

    Yin Liting did not have time to ask her origin in details; to respect the host, he cast a questioning look at Jing Xuan.

    Jing Xuan said, “What is it that you want to inquire of Yin Liuxia?”

    Zhu’er said, “I want to inquire: is your honorable Shixiong, Zhang Cuishan, Zhang Wuxia [fifth hero Zhang] also come to the frontline’s canyon bank?”

    As soon as they heard this question, Yin Liting and Zhang Wuji were gob-smacked. “What do you want by inquiring about my Wu Shige?” Yin Liting asked.

    With a blushing face Zhu’er replied in a low voice, “I only want to know if his son, Zhang Wuji, also came with him.”

    Zhang Wuji was even more startled. “She knows my real identity,” he thought, “and is going to expose it to everybody.”

    “Are you telling the truth?” Yin Liting asked.

    “I am sincerely inquiring of the Yin Liuxia,” Zhu’er said, “How could I dare to deceive you?”

    “My Wu Shige has passed away more than ten years ago,” Yin Liting said, “The tree by his grave has arched over it. Could it be that Miss does not know it?”

    Zhu’er sprang up with a start. “Ah,” she exclaimed, “Turns out Zhang Wuxia has already passed away. So … he … he has become an orphan early on.”

    “Does Miss know my nephew Wuji?” Yin Liting asked.

    Zhu’er said, “Five years ago, I met him once at the Butterfly Valley’s Divine Doctor Hu Qingniu’s house. I don’t know where he is right now.”

    Yin Liting said, “Receiving my Master’s instruction, I also went to the Butterfly Valley to find him, but Hu Qingniu, husband and wife had been killed, while Wuji disappeared without a trace. Afterwards, I went around seeking him, without finding any information about him. Ay, who would have thought … who would have thought …” Speaking to this point, his expression turned sad, and he did not continue.

    “What?” Zhu’er hastily said, “What bad news did you hear?”

    Yin Liting stared at her. “Why are you so concerned about him, Miss?” he asked, “That nephew of mine, Wuji, did he have kindness with you, or enmity?”

    Zhu’er turned her gaze to a distant place; she quietly said, “I wanted him to come with me to the Lingshe Island [spirit snake] …”

    “Lingshe Island?” Yin Liting cut her off, “What relation do you have with Jin Hua Popo [Golden Flower Granny] and Yin Ye Xiansheng [Mr. Silver Leaf]?”

    Zhu’er did not answer, she continued as if she was talking to herself, “… not only he was not willing, he hit me, scolded me, and bit my palm bloody …” Her left hand gently stroke the back of her right hand, “… but … but … I am still thinking about him. I did not want to harm him, I wanted him to come to the Lingshe Island. Popo would teach him a martial art skill with which he could be healed of the cold poison of the Xuan Ming Shen Zhang [black/mysterious and dark/deep divine palm] in his body. Who would have thought that he was so vicious; he regarded other’s good intentions as bad ones.”

    Zhang Wuji’s mind was in turmoil; it was the first time he knew: “Turns out Zhu’er is Ah Li who grabbed me in the Butterfly Valley. The boyfriend who is always in her mind is me.” Casting a sidelong glance, he saw her bumpy cheeks. Where did the beauty he saw on her face when they first met? But her eyes were like limpid autumn water; clear, pure and bright, just like he remembered it after all those years.

    Miejue Shitai coldly said, “I hear her Shifu, Jin Hua Popo, also have some enmity with the Devil Cult. But Jin Hua Popo is certainly not an upright person, and this is not a good time for us to start a feud with her. For now, let’s just detain her.”

    “Hm, so that’s how it is,” Yin Liting said, “Miss, you had good intentions toward my nephew Wuji, it’s a pity that he was so unfortunate. I came across Wu Zhuangzhu [village/manor master] Wu Lie of the Zhu and Wu combined manor recently. I learned that more than five years ago, Wuji lost his footings and fell into a ten-thousand ‘zhang’ deep ravine; his body and bones did not survive. Ay, the love between his father and I was like hand and foot; who would have thought that the Emperor of Heaven did not bless a well-doer, such that even his only flesh and blood …” He had not finished speaking when with a thud Zhu’er fell backward as she lost consciousness.

    Zhou Zhiruo quickly propped her up and massaged her chest for quite a while before Zhu'er regained consciousness. Zhang Wuji was extremely grieved seeing Yin Liting and Zhu'er heart-broken like this, yet he steeled himself to stay out of this matter. When he looked up, he saw that Zhou Zhiruo was staring at him with a questioning look, apparently she was wondering, "How come she does not recognize you?" Zhang Wuji realized that over the last several years, his stature and appearance had undergone huge changes. Zhou Zhiruo would not recognize him as well if he did not mention the Hanshui River boat affair first.

    Biting her lips, Zhu'er asked, "Yin Liuxia, who harmed Zhang Wuji?"

    "Nobody did," Yin Liting answered, "Wu Lie of the Zhu and Wu combined manor said that he personally witness Wuji lost his footing on his own and fell into the ravine. Wu Lie's sworn brother, 'One Pen Shaking the Heavens' Zhu Changling also fell and died together with him." Zhu'er heaved a deep sigh and sat back down dejectedly.

    "Miss, what is your honorable surname and great given name?" Yin Liting asked.

    Zhu'er only shook her head in daze, as tears streaming down her face. Suddenly she threw herself on the sandy ground and cried miserably.

    "Don't be sad, Miss," Yin Liting consoled her, "Even if my nephew Wuji had not fallen into that snowy canyon, the cold poison in his body would have flared up by now, it would still be difficult for him to escape calamity. Ay, he fell with a smashed body and shattered bones, that might not necessarily a bad fortune. It sure beats the heavy and endless torture of the cold poison in his body."

    Miejue Shitai suddenly said, "It was better for this breed of sin Zhang Wuji to die early; otherwise he would just be a source of harm to mankind."

    Zhu'er was angry. "Old Thief Nun," she roared, "What nonsense are you blabbering about?"

    Hearing her unexpectedly dared to insult their venerated master, four or five the Emei disciples immediately drew their swords and pointed the tips to her back.

    Zhu'er was not scared at all; she still shouted curses, "Old Thief Nun, Zhang Wuji's father was this Yin Liuxia's Shixiong [martial brother]; his chivalry and prestige spread all over the world. What's not good about him?"

    Miejue Shitai laughed coldly without answering. Jing Xuan said, "Watch what you are saying. Zhang Wuji's father was no doubt a disciple of an upright and prestigious school, but what about his mother? He was the son of a Devil Cult witch. If he was not a breed of sin, the source of harm to the mankind, then what is he?"

    "Who was Zhang Wuji's mother?" Zhu'er asked, "Why did you say she was a Devil Cult witch?"

    The Emei disciples broke into raucous laughter; only Zhou Zhiruo lowered her head and looked at the ground. Yin Liting looked quite awkward. Zhang Wuji's face was flushed with fury, his eyes red and brimming with tears; if he had not made up his mind to hide his true identity, he would have stood up and defended his mother.

    Jing Xu was more honest and considerate; she explained to Zhu'er, "Zhang Wuxia's wife was Heavenly Devil Cult's Cult Leader, Yin Tianzheng's daughter; her name was Yin Susu ..."

    "Ah," Zhu'er exclaimed; her countenance changed greatly.

    Jing Xu added, "Because Zhang Wuxia took this witch as his wife, he brought ruin and shame upon himself and slashed his own throat on Mount Wudang. This matter was widely known all over the world. Could it be that Miss was not aware?"

    "I ... I lived on the Lingshe Island, and have never heard anything about the Wulin world affairs of the Central Plains," Zhu'er said.

    "Alright, then," Jing Xuan said, "You have offended my Shifu. Quickly apoligize."

    But Zhu'er still asked, "That Yin Susu, where is she?"

    "She died together with Zhang Wuxia," Jing Xu replied.

    Zhu'er's body trembled. "She ... she also died?" she asked.

    "Do you know Yin Susu?" Jing Xuan wondered.

    Right this moment they saw on the northeast horizon a blue flame shot up to the sky. "Aiyo!" Yin Liting said, "My nephew Qingshu is surrounded by the enemy." Turning around, he bowed to take his leave from Miejue Shitai then raised his cupped fists to everybody else and immediately dashed towards the direction of the blue flame.

    Jing Xuan waved her hand; Emei disciples immediately followed. When they got near, they saw that three men were besieging a young man. The three men were wearing hats and dressed like servants, each one had a saber in his hand. The people only watched the fight for several stances and they were secretly shocked. Although these three men were dressed like servants, their movements were ruthless and fierce, not at all inferior to top ranking martial artists. It seemed like their martial art skills were a lot stronger than the three Taoist priests killed by Yin Liting. They were attacking the young man dressed in scholar attire in rotation; one by one they took turns in engaging the young scholar in close combat. The scholar had fallen into a greatly disadvantageous situation, but the sword in his hand still formed a tight defense.

    By these four fiercely fighting men stood six men wearing yellow robes, their robes were embroidered with red blazing flame; obviously they were Devil Cult people. These six men stood out of the way and did not take part in the battle. As soon as they saw Yin Liting and the Emei disciples arrive, a stout man among the six called out, "Yin Jia Xiongdi [brothers of the Yin family], you have failed. Just run with your tails between your legs, Laozi [old man or 'your father' (vulgar term), referring to self] will cover your back."

    One of the men in servant attire angrily said, "Hou Tu [thick earth] Flag crawls the slowest. The one surnamed Yan, why don't you run away first?"

    Jing Xuan coldly said, "Death is knocking on your door, and you are still squabbling among yourselves?"

    "Shijie," Zhou Zhiruo said, "Who are those people?"

    "Those wearing the servant attire are Yin Tianzheng's servants," Jing Xuan replied, "They are called Yin Wufu [without luck/prosperity], Yin Wulu [without good fortune], and Yin Wushou [without long life]."

    Zhou Zhiruo was astonished. "Three servants, and yet they are this ... this good?" she asked.

    "Originally they were famous big robbers of the underworld; they are not ordinary people at all," Jing Xuan replied, "Those in yellow robes are the Hou Tu Flag demons of the Devil Cult. Perhaps the stout one is Yan Yuan, the Flag Leader of the Hou Tu Flag. Shifu said that the five flag leaders of the Devil Cult clashed with the Heavenly Devil Cult over the Jiaozhu position; they don't get along with each other ..."

    By this time the young scholar had repeatedly fallen into dangerous situations. With a 'Rip!' his left sleeve was cut by the saber in Yin Wushou's hand. Yin Liting let out a clear whistle, his sword went straight to Yin Wulu. Yin Wulu swept his saber horizontally across his chest to block. The saber and the sword collided. By this time, Yin Liting had already possessed abundant internal energy; it was not a small matter at all. 'Slap!' Yin Wulu's saber was shaken and bent, it turned into a square tool.

    Yin Wulu was shocked; he leaped three steps sideways. Suddenly Zhu'er leaped toward him, her right index finger stretched out and pierced the back of Yin Wulu's neck, and then she leaped back to her previous position at once. Yin Wulu's martial art skill was not superficial at all, but under Yin Liting's internal energy attack, the 'chi' and blood in his chest welled up. While he was still staggering, Zhu'er's finger pierced him. Immediately he doubled up in pain and only managed to let out a soft grunt while his body shivered incessantly.

    Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou were shocked; abandoning their fight with the young scholar, they rushed toward Yin Wulu to support him. They saw his body was twisted; obviously his injury was very heavy. They turned their gaze toward Zhu'er and suddenly exclaimed, "It is San Xiaojie [third miss]."

    "Humph," Zhu'er snorted, "You still recognize me?"

    Everybody thought that these two men would certainly stake everything they got to fight Zhu'er; who would have thought that they picked Yin Wulu and without saying anything they rushed to the north.

    This turn of events happened so suddenly that everybody was dumbstruck; they scratched their heads in confusion.

    The stout man in yellow robe raised his left hand, in which there was a yellow flag. The other five men also waved their yellow flags. Although there were only six of them, the flags made noise just like a boar hunting party. They slowly retreated to the north with an imposing manner.

    Seeing the strange flags, Emei disciples were taken aback. Two male disciples shouted and pursued. Yin Liting’s shadow swayed as he ran after them. He overtook them and cut their path. With arms straight to the front, he lightly pushed. The two men could not help but were pushed three steps back. Their faces immediately turned red.

    Jing Xuan shouted, “Shidi [martial brothers], come back! Yin Liuxia’s intention is good. This Hou Tu Flag must not be pursued.”

    Yin Liting said, “The day before yesterday Mo Qidi [seventh (younger) brother] and I chased the Lie Huo [raging inferno] Flag formation, and had to suffer a big defeat. Half of Mo Qidi’s hair and eyebrows were burned.” While saying that, he pulled his left sleeve up, showing a large red patch of burned skin. The two Emei male disciples could not help from feeling inwardly scared.

    Miejue Shitai’s cold and penetrating eyes swept Zhu’er’s face. “Was that ‘qian zhu wan du shou’?” she coldly asked.

    “Not perfect yet,”Zhu’er replied.

    “What could you have done if it were perfect?” Miejue Shitai asked, “Why did you harm that man?”

    “Too bad I couldn’t pierce him to death on the spot,” Zhu’er said.

    “Why?” Miejue Shitai asked.

    “It’s my business,” Zhu’er replied, “Why do you care?”

    Miejue Shitai’s body slightly moved to the side; she took the sword from Jing Xuan’s hand. ‘Ding!’ Zhu’er busily leaped backward; her face turned paper white. Turned out in that split second Miejue Shitai had chopped her right hand index finger. Her hand was so swift that nobody was able to see it clearly. Because her broken wrist had not completely healed, Zhu’er’s hand was still weak; moreover, because her ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ had not been perfected yet, Zhu’er had put a refined steel cap on her finger before she made her move. Besides, the sword Miejue Shitai used was not Yitian Sword; therefore, to everybody’s surprise, this sword unexpectedly failed to cut her finger.

    Miejue Shitai tossed the sword back to Jing Xuan. “Humph,” she snorted and said, “I’ll let you go this time. Next time you use this kind of malicious martial art, make sure you don’t fall into my hand.” Since her attack to a junior did not hit its target, true to her higher status, she was not willing to make another move.

    Yin Liting saw the vicious and malicious the martial art Zhu’er practiced, which was his school’s big taboo. However, she had pierced Yin Wulu in her attempt to help his side; furthermore, he also saw her concern toward Zhang Wuji and how passionately she was devoted to him. In the end, he felt compassionate toward Zhu'er and did not want Miejue Shitai to injure her.

    "Shishu [martial (younger) uncle]," he persuaded Miejue Shitai, "This child has learned the wrong kind of skill, we can slowly help her to learn from another great master. Hmm ... perhaps ... perhaps ..." He was thinking that it would be best if Miejue Shitai was willing to accept her as an Emei disciple; but he remembered how this young girl had just called her 'old thief nun'. Fortunately, he managed to stop in time and did not continue speaking. Beckoning to the young scholar to come over, he said, "Qingshu, quickly pay your respects to Shitai and to all Shibo and Shishu."

    The scholar hurriedly took three steps forward and knelt in front of Miejue Shitai. When he bowed to Jing Xuan, everybody continually called out 'Do not dare' and all of them returned his salute. Zhang Sanfeng's age was close to a hundred years; in terms of seniority, he was actually more than one generation above Miejue Shitai. But because Yin Liting was engaged to Ji Xiaofu, he was considered one generation younger than Miejue Shitai. Supposing Zhang Sanfeng was considered of the same generation with the Emei Pai founder Guo Xiang then technically Miejue Shitai should call Yin Liting 'Shishu'. Fortunately, Wudang and Emei were two distinct schools and neither one considered the seniority of the other school as important, so they address each other based on their age, regardless of the generational seniority. Therefore, when the young scholar called them as ‘Shibo’ and ‘Shishu’ [martial uncles], Jing Xuan and the others modestly declined.

    Everybody had just witnessed his battle against the three Yin brothers; his movements were deliberate, his techniques were refined and wonderful, clearly he was a disciple of a prestigious school. Furthermore, although he was at a disadvantage under the three martial art masters’ attack, he still maintained his calm in resisting the enemy; he did not the least bit look panicked, which was not easy to do. Now that they met face to face, everybody could not help but secretly admire him. “What a handsome young man!” they thought. They could see that in his delicately handsome appearance, there was a third part of proud and imposing bearing, causing those who saw him to be impressed.

    “This is my Da Shige’s only son,” Yin Liting said, “His name is Qingshu.”

    Jing Xuan said, “For the last several years, the name and chivalrous deeds of Yu Mian Meng Chang [Jade-faced Meng Chang – emperor of the Later Shu kingdom, known for his aptitude in ruling the kingdom] is quite famous; the Jianghu people say that Song Shaoxia [young hero Song] is generous and vehement in upholding justice, always ready to deliver people from their distress. It is very fortunate to meet a revered model.” The crowd of Emei disciples murmured among themselves with the ‘he really lives up to his reputation’ look of admiration on their faces.

    Zhu’er stood close to Zhang Wuji. “Ahniue Ge,” she said in low voice, “This man is a lot more handsome than you are.”

    “Of course,” Zhang Wuji replied, “Do you need to mention it?”

    “Are you jealous?” Zhu’er asked.

    “Are you joking?” Zhang Wuji replied, “Why should I?”

    “He is looking at your Miss Zhou,” Zhu’er said, “You are still not jealous?”

    Zhang Wuji turned his attention to Song Qingshu, and sure enough, Song Qingshu was looking at Zhou Zhiruo; but Zhang Wuji did not care. After finding out that Zhu'er was indeed Ah Li whom he met at the Butterfly Valley that year, his heart was tumultuous. At that time Zhu'er was forcing him to come with her to the Lingshe Island, he had no choice but fiercely bite her hand because he could not free himself otherwise. Unexpectedly, she had never forgotten him all this time. He could not help but feeling very grateful.

    "Qingshu," he heard Yin Liting said, "Let's go."

    Song Qingshu said, "Kongtong Pai has made an appointment to meet with us in this area by noon today, but they have not arrived yet until now; I am afraid they have met some set-back."

    Yin Liting looked worried. "I am afraid so," he said.

    "Yin Liushu," Song Qingshu said, "I think it is better for us to travel together with the Emei Pai seniors to the west."

    "Very well," Yin Liting nodded.

    Miejue Shitai and Jing Xuan and the rest all thought, "For the last several years, Zhang Sanfeng Zhenren no longer deals with day-to-day business, Song Yuanqiao is the acting Zhang Men [sect leader] of Wudang. It looks like the third generation Zhang Men position will fall into this Song Shaoxia's hand. Although Yin Liting is his Shishu, he heeds his advice."

    Actually, they did not know that Yin Liting was always easy-going; not often would he pull his rank on others, he very seldom opposed whatever other people suggested.

    After travelling for about forty, fifty 'li', they saw a tall sand dune ahead of them. Seeing Song Qingshu quickly climb the sand dune, Jing Xuan waved her left hand and two Emei disciples quickly followed. They did not want to be outdone by the Wudang Pai. As the three of them climbed over the sand dune, they cried out in alarm, because to the west of the sand dune there were about thirty bodies scattered on the sand.

    Hearing the cry, everybody rushed to climb the sand dune. They noticed that all the corpses, young and old alike, if their skulls were not shattered, then their chests were smashed in; apparently they were all struck by a large blunt object.

    Yin Liting had a vast experience; he said, “The Poyang [name of a city/county] Clan of Jiangxi has been wiped out by the Ju Mu [Gigantic Wood] Flag of the Devil Cult.”

    Miejue Shitai frowned. “Why did the Poyang Clan come over here?” she asked, “Did your honorable Pai invite them?” She did not sound too happy. The prestigious schools of the Wulin world had always been discriminatory against the clans and societies [‘bang’ and ‘hui’]; Miejue Shitai did not want to mingle with them.

    Yin Liting busily said, “We did not. But Poyang Clan’s Liu Bangzhu [Clan Leader] is a disciple of Kongtong Pai. They must have heard the Six Major Sects are besieging the Brightness Peak, and then volunteered to come and help their school.

    “Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted; no longer saying anything.

    The disciples buried the bodies of the Poyang Clan people in the sand. They were about to continue their journey when suddenly the grave farthest to the west split open; from beneath the sand flew a person, who grabbed a male disciple and ran away. The rest of the people were so frightened that they were at a loss; about seven, eight Emei female disciples screamed. But they saw that Miejue Shitai, Yin Liting, Song Qingshu and Jing Xuan had already run after that person.

    A short moment later everyone came to their senses; they realized now that the person jumping out of the grave must be Qing Yi Fu Wang of the Devil Cult. He must have put on Poyang Clan’s uniform, mixed himself among the corpses and stopped his breathing, pretended to be dead. The Emei disciples did not look carefully and had buried him in the sand. His skill was strong, and he had a lot of guts; so he did not immediately make his presence known. Luckily the sand was loose, so he had no problem holding his breath for a while. When he felt he had fooled them enough, he suddenly broke out of the grave.

    At first, Miejue Shitai and the other, four people, were running abreast; but after making a large half circle, the difference in their skill levels became apparent. Two people were now running ahead of the other two; Yin Liting and Miejue Shitai in the front, Song Qingshu and Jing Xuan on the rear. But Qing Yi Fu Wang’s ‘qing gong’ was very strong; truly unparalleled in the world; even when he was carrying a man in his arms, how could Yin Liting and the others overtake him?

    When they were about to circle the second time, Song Qingshu suddenly stopped and called out, "Zhao Lingzhu Shishu, Bei Jinyi Shishu, please outflank him from position 'li' [lit. leave/depart]; Ding Minjun Shishu, Li Mingxia Shishu, please cut him off from position 'zhen' [lit. shake/jolt; my dictionary also gives: symbolizing thunder in 'ba gua'] ..." He continuously shouted his order, instructing the more than thirty Emei disciples to occupy various positions according to Ba Gua [trigrams].

    At that moment, the Emei people were like a dragon without a head; hearing the instructions he shouted with authority, everybody complied immediately. This way, Qing Yi Fu Wang was not able to circle freely; with a shrill laughter he tossed the man he had been carrying high to the sky, and then he sped away.

    Miejue Shitai put out her hands to receive the disciple falling down, while Wei Yixiao's voice came across the sandy desert from afar, "Unexpectedly Emei Pai has this kind of skilled man; Miejue Lao Ni [old nun] is truly amazing!" It was obvious that he was praising Song Qingshu.

    When Miejue Shitai lowered her head to look at the disciple in her hands, she saw his throat was dripping with blood with two rows of teeth marks; he was definitely dead. Everybody stood around her; they were grieved beyond words.

    After a long time, Yin Liting spoke up, "According to what I heard, each time this Qing Yi Fu Wang has to use his martial art, he has to suck fresh blood from a live human being. It looks like the rumor is not false. It's too bad for this Shidi [martial (younger) brother] ... ay ..."

    Miejue Shitai was ashamed and furious at the same time. Ever since she assumed the Sect Leader position, Emei Pai had never received this kind of significant setback; two of her disciples died in succession, their blood being sucked by the enemy, yet she could not even see the enemy's appearance clearly.

    After staring blankly for half a day, she turned her piercing gaze toward Song Qingshu and asked, "How do you know these many names of my disciples?"

    "Jing Xuan Shishu introduced numerous Shishu to disciple," Song Qingshu replied.

    "Hey, photographic memory! ['ru er bu wang' - enter the ears not forget. How do you translate it without sounding awkward? ]" Miejue Shitai exclaimed, "Of course my Emei Pai does not have this kind of talent."

    When they stopped for the night that evening, Song Qingshu respectfully came to Miejue Shitai. He bowed and said, "Qianbei [senior, older generation], ‘wanbei’ [junior, younger generation] has a presumptuous request to ask."

    "If you know it is presumptuous, why ask?" Miejue Shitai coldly replied.

    "Yes," Song Qingshu respectfully replied. He bowed again and returned to sit next to Yin Liting.

    Everybody heard he came to Miejue Shitai with a request, but when the request was declined, he did not talk too much; they were all curious: what was it that he wanted to ask? Finally Ding Minjun could not hold her patience.

    "Song Xiongdi [brother]," she asked, "What is it that you want to ask my Shifu?"

    Song Qingshu replied, "When my father taught 'wanbei' sword technique, he mentioned that among the sword experts of this age, our own school's Shizu [ancestor master] is number one; next to him is Emei Pai Zhang Men Miejue 'qianbei'. Father said, Wudang and Emei swordsmanship each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, our school's 'Shou Hui Wu Xian' [hand brandishes five-stringed instrument] is very similar to your honorable Sect's 'Qing Luo Xiao Shan' [light veil, small fan] with minor differences. But if the force on the sword's blade is increased, the move loses its liveliness and agility, unlike the 'Qing Luo Xiao Shan', which can maintain its free and unrestrained character." He was speaking and pulling out his sword at the same time, and then executed those two stances in succession; only when he launched the 'Qing Luo Xiao Shan', his movements were somewhat nondescript.

    Ding Minjun laughed and said, "That's not right." Taking the sword from his hand, she demonstrated the stance for him and said, "My wrist is still in pain, I cannot exert my strength, but the movement should be like that."

    Song Qingshu gasped in admiration. He said, “Father always says that he is unfortunate never to see your revered master’s swordsmanship. Today ‘wanbei’ can see Ding Shishu’s 'Qing Luo Xiao Shan' stance, it truly is an eye opener for me. Wanbei was thinking of asking Shitai for some pointers to satisfy some doubts and suspicions in my heart. But wanbei is not your honorable Pai’s disciple; thereupon I shouldn’t have said anything.”

    Miejue Shitai was sitting some distance away, but she heard everything he said. Hearing that Song Yuanqiao ranked her as number two in the world in terms of swordsmanship, she was satisfied. Zhang Sanfeng was considered the ‘tai shan bei dou’ [as weighty as Mount Tai, as brilliant as the Big Dipper] in the martial art study of the present age; everybody admired him. She had never had any desire to surpass this grand master who was rarely seen, at present, as well as in the past. For a Wudang main disciple to unexpectedly regard her swordsmanship as the most refined aside from Zhang Sanfeng, she could not help but feel very proud of herself. Seeing Ding Minjun executed the stance with only thirty, forty percent proficiency, she was displeased; how could the Emei Pai sword technique whose prestige had shaken the world was just like this? She stood up and came near immediately; without saying anything she took the sword from Ding Minjun’s hand. Lifting the sword so that it was level with her nose, she gently shook the sword that the blade made a buzzing noise. And then she moved the sword from right to left, again from left to right, the sword successively flashed nine times with an extraordinary speed, but each move was very clear. Seeing their master launched this amazing sword technique, the Emei disciple’s hearts were pounding and their palms were wet with perspiration.

    “Excellent sword technique! Excellent sword technique!” Yin Liting called loudly, “Wonderful!”

    Song Qingshu watched with rapt attention while holding his breath; inwardly he was frightened. At first he commended Emei sword technique just to flatter Miejue Shitai; who would have thought that as she executed the technique, it was unimaginably subtle and amazing that he could not help but submit to her wholeheartedly. After that, with all sincerity Song Qingshu asked for advice. Whatever he asked, Miejue Shitai would answer without reservation, so that she passed on more knowledge to him than to her own disciples. Song Qingshu’s mastery of the martial art was already high, he was also intelligent so he asked all the right questions.

    Emei disciples sat around these two people. They watched their Shifu fully demonstrate each one of the sword techniques, every single one was exquisite, strange and subtle, amazing to the extreme. There were some disciples who had been with their Shifu for a dozen of years yet had never seen Shifu demonstrate such divine skill.

    Zhang Wuji and Zhu’er stood far outside the circle; they felt it was inappropriate for them to watch Emei’s sword technique demonstration without authorization. Suddenly Zhu’er said to Zhang Wuji, “Ahniu Ge, if I can learn ‘qing gong’ like Qing Yi Fu Wang, I will die satisfied.”

    “Why would you want to learn that kind of heretical skill?” Zhang Wuji said, “Yin Liu … Yin Liuxia said that each time this Wei Yixiao utilizes his martial art, he must drink human blood. Isn’t that demonical?”

    “His martial art skill is good,” Zhu’er replied, “He managed to kill Emei Pai’s disciples. If his ‘qing gong’ was somewhat lacking, that Old Nun and her companions would have caught him and killed him; only they would not suck his blood. The end result is the same; sucking blood or not, what’s the difference? Upright prestigious school or heretical and demonic way, what’s different?”

    For a moment Zhang Wuji could not find a right answer. Suddenly he saw a bright flash of a sword flying straight up to the sky from amidst the people. Turned out Song Qingshu was sparring with Miejue Shitai. During the fifth stance, ‘hei zhao ling hu’ [spirit fox of the black marsh], she shook Song Qingshu’s sword to the sky. This stance was created by Emei Pai’s founder, Guo Xiang to commemorate her adventure with Yang Guo when they went to the black marsh to catch the spirit fox.

    As everybody looked up at the sword, they saw a yellow flame shot to the sky on the northeast, about a dozen ‘li’ away. “Kongtong Pai meets the enemy,” Yin Liting called out, “Let’s go and help.”

    In this far away mission to the western region to besiege the Devil Cult this time, in order to conceal their operation, the Six Major Sects adopted a strategy of entering the enemy territory separately and then launch a converging attack from different directions. They had agreed on rockets in six different colors as their means of communicating with each other. Yellow rocket was Kongtong Pai’s signal.

    Everybody immediately rushed toward the direction of the flame. They heard loud noises of combat, the sound was getting increasingly wretched; often times they would hear one or two people crying out as they met their deaths. When they reached the place, they were greatly shocked, because what they saw was a large scale massacre, an orgy of bloodshed. Both sides had several hundred people in the battle. Under the bright moon, the sabers and swords flicker as the combatants ignore death and overlook live in hard fighting.

    As long as he lived, Zhang Wuji had never seen this kind of battle. He saw sabers and swords fly and dance in the air, blood spill and flesh cut open; truly it was a scene too horrible to endure. He did not wish for the Devil Cult to prevail, but also unwilling for Yin Liushu and his company to triumph over their opponent. One side was the Sect where his father came from, the other was his mother’s; but both sides were in an impossible-to-coexist kind of fierce battle. Each time he saw somebody was killed, his heart was shaken, a burst of grief rose up.

    Yin Liting observed the battle for a moment and then said, “The enemy consists of Rui Jin [acute/sharp metal], Hong Shui [flooding water] and Lie Huo [raging inferno], three Flags. Hmm, Kongtong Pai is here, Huashan Pai has also arrived, and so has Kunlun Pai. Our side’s three Sects against the enemy’s three Flags. Qingshu, let’s go into the battle.” He waved his sword to split the air, making a buzzing noise.

    “Wait,” Song Qingshu said, “Liushu, look on that side. There are still a large number of the enemy waiting for an opportunity to make their move.”

    Following the direction of his hand, Zhang Wuji saw that there were three groups of riders clumped together in neat formation toward the east, several dozen ‘zhang’ away from the battlefield. Each group had a hundred men. Currently, the three Sects against three Flags on the battlefield were evenly matched, but if these three companies of the Devil Cult entered the battle, Kongtong, Huashan and Kunlun, three Sects would inadvertently suffer a crushing defeat. However, for an unknown reason, these three companies only held their reins without moving.

    Miejue Shitai and Yin Liting were secretly alarmed. “Why don’t those people make their move?” Yin Liting asked Song Qingshu.

    Song Qingshu shook his head, “I can’t think through,” he said.

    Zhu’er suddenly laughed coldly. “What is it you cannot think through?” she said, “Nothing is clearer than this.”

    Song Qingshu’s face reddened, but he did not say anything. Miejue Shitai wanted to open her mouth to ask, but finally she held her peace. Yin Liting said, “Would Miss please give us directions?”

    Zhu’er said, “Those three groups are from the Heavenly Eagle Cult. Although the Heavenly Eagle Cult branched out from the Devil Cult, they have never been in good terms with the Five-Element Flags. If your party managed to wipe out the Five-Element Flags, the Heavenly Eagle Cult will be inwardly joyful. Perhaps Yin Tianzheng then can work his way to the Ming Cult’s Jiaozhu position.”

    Miejue Shitai instantly saw the light. Yin Liting said, “Thank you very much for your insight, Miss.”

    Miejue Shitai stared at Zhu’er. She nodded her head while thinking, “Jin Hua Popo’s martial art skill is not weak. Who could have thought that this young disciple of hers is actually also quite good?”

    By this time, the group of Emei disciples arrived one after another; they stood behind Miejue Shitai.

    “Song Shaoxia,” Jing Xuan said, “Speaking about battle strategy, none of us could surpass your knowledge. Everybody will obey your command. We just want to kill the enemy. Please don’t be bashful.”

    “Liushu, this … this …” Song Qingshu stammered, “How can nephew dare?”

    “At a time like this you still pay particular attention to superficial politeness?” Miejue Shitai said, “Just issue your order.”

    Song Qingshu saw the battle situation was urgent; fighting the Rui Jin Flag, Kunlun Pai seemed to have an upper hand, Huashan and Hong Shui seemed to be evenly matched, while Kongtong Pai seemed not able to hold with the Lie Huo Flag that surrounded them in the middle, slaughtering them left and right.

    Song Qingshu said, “Let’s form three groups and charge down on Rui Jin Flag from three directions. Shitai with her team attack from the east, Liushu with his team attack from the west, Jing Xuan Shishu, wanbei and our team attack from the south …”

    Jing Xuan was perplexed. “Kunlun Pai is not in a dire situation at all,” she said, “I think Kongtong Pai’s situation is extremely critical.”

    “Kunlun Pai is already holding the upper hand,” Song Qingshu explained, “With our additional great fighting power, we thunder in to kill; we can annihilate the Rui Jin Flag in one stroke. The other two Flags will then be wasted and will scatter into the wind. If we help Kongtong, we will be locked into a harsh battle. The Heavenly Eagle Cult will then reap the benefit just like a fisherman spreading his net. Our effort will then be wasted.”

    Jing Xuan was truly won over with admiration. “Song Shaoxia has said it well,” she said. She divided her martial brothers and sisters into three groups at once.

    Zhu’er pulled Zhang Wuji’s sled away. “Let us go,” she said, “There is no advantage for us to stay in here.” She then turned around and started to move.

    Song Qingshu quickly moved to overtake them, he blocked them with his sword across his chest. "Miss, please stop," he called out.

    "And why must I?" Zhu'er said.

    "Miss' origin is dubious," Song Qingshu said, "I can't let you go this easily."

    With a cold laugh Zhuer said, "So what if my origin is dubious? So what if it is not?"

    Miejue Shitai's heart was burning with impatience; she could not wait to set aside the Buddhist commandment against taking life immediately and kill the Devil Cult people neat and clean. Listening to Zhu'er and Song Qingshu bickering with each other, her shadow swayed and she had already reached Zhu'er. Her hand quickly sealed three major acupoints on Zhu'er's back, waist and leg. Zhu'er's martial art skill and Miejue Shitai's differed too much; she was completely helpless against this attack. Her knees buckled and she fell down to the ground.

    Miejue Shitai brandished her sword and shouted, "We are setting aside the commandment against taking life today; destroy the demons completely!" Along with Yin Liting and Jing Xuan, they charged toward the Rui Jin Flag from three different directions.

    Kunlun Pai disciples, led by He Taichong and Ban Shuxian, had already occupied the dominant position against the Rui Jin Flag. With Emei and Wudang now joining the battle, their power multiplied. Miejue Shitai's swordsmanship was swift and fierce beyond comparison; no one from the Ming Cult was able to hold her for more than three stances. Her big and tall figure was seen weaving through the enemies. Stabbing to the east and hacking to the west, in a very short time seven Ming Cult people lost their lives under her sword.

    Realizing the dire circumstances, Zhuang Zheng, the Flag Leader of the Rui Jin Flag rushed to meet the enemy with his wolf-fang staff. Only then was Miejue Shitai's advance slightly obstructed. After exchanging about ten stances, Miejue Shitai unleashed the full power of Emei swordsmanship; her sword was growing faster and stronger. But Zhuang Zheng's martial art skill was highly refined; unexpectedly he was able to match her for a while.

    By this time, Yin Liting, Jing Xuan, Song Qingshu, He Taichong, Ban Shuxian and their company had done major killing. Although the Rui Jin Flag did not lack highly skilled fighters under its banner, how could they resist the joined forces of Emei, Kunlun and Wudang, three Sects? Before long, the casualties on their side were disastrous.

    'Bang! Bang! Bang!' Zhuang Zheng struck his staff three times, forcing Miejue Shitai to take a step backward. These three strikes were immediately followed by another one as his staff went down, hard and fast, toward the top of her head. Miejue Shitai's sword moved slightly to the side and knocked the body of the staff, using the stance 'shun shui tui zhou' [push the boat with the current], forcing the wolf-fang staff to the side. To her surprise, as an important character within the Ming Cult, Zhuang Zheng could be considered a first-class martial art expert in the Wulin world; his natural strength was amazingly powerful, his internal energy cultivation had also reached top level. As he felt an internal energy push on his wolf-fang staff, he shouted loudly and countered it with a brute and fierce force of his arm. 'Crack!' Miejue Shitai's sword broke into three sections.

    When her weapon broke, Miejue Shitai's arm went numb, but she did not withdraw. Reaching to her back, she pulled the Yitian Sword. A cold and bright ray of light flashed and sparks flew as with the 'tie suo heng jiang' [iron lock across the river] she thrust the sword forward. Zhuang Zheng suddenly felt the wolf-fang staff in his hands got lighter, as the full-of-teeth head of the staff was cut down by the Yitian Sword, along with half of his own head, which was also truncated by this matchless sharp sword.

    Seeing their Flag Leader has lost his life, the Rui Jin Flag people screamed hysterically and with bloodshot eyes they fought even more ruthlessly, completely disregarding their own lives, immediately killing several Kunlun and Emei disciples.

    Someone from the Hong Shui Flag shouted, "Zhuang Qishi [Flag Leader Zhuang] has returned to Heaven for the sake of the Cult, Rui Jin and Lie Huo, two Flags to withdraw; Hong Shui Flag to cover our retreat."

    The banner of the Lie Huo Flag changed; following the order, they withdrew to the west. But the Rui Jin Flag was fighting even more fiercely, nobody withdrew. The man from the Hong Shui Flag shouted again, "Tang Qishi [Flag Leader Tang] of Hong Shui Flag gives his order: the situation is unfavorable, Rui Jin Flag people to withdraw immediately. We will avenge Zhuang Qishi on a later date."

    Several people from the Rui Jin Flag shouted together, "Hong Shui Flag, please withdraw, avenge our grievance in the future. Rui Jin Flag brethrens will live and die together with Zhuang Qishi."

    The Hong Shui Flag suddenly raised a black banner. Someone with a thunderous voice called out, "Brothers of the Rui Jin Flag, the Hong Shui Flag will definitely avenge you."

    The Rui Jin Flag only had about seventy men left; all in one voice called out, "Many thanks Tang Qishi!"

    The Hong Shui Flag's banner turned over and they also withdrew to the west.

    Seeing the orderliness of the enemy lineup, with about twenty people on the rear held some glittering cylinders, The people of Huashan and Kongtong, two schools did not dare to pursue they didn’t know what kind of strange trick these contraptions were. Everybody turned their attention on the attack on the Rui Jin Flag.

    By this time the battle outcome had been decided; Kunlun, Emei, Wudang, Huashan and Kongtong, five Sects surrounded the Ming Cult’s Rui Jin Flag. Other than Wudang, which had only two people present, the other four Sects’ people were all elite fighters. Since the Flag Leader was dead, the Rui Jin Flag was like a dragon without a head; naturally they were not a match of these martial art experts. But the people serving under the banner were very loyal, they all view death as a return home, and were determined to follow Zhuang Zheng in dying for the sake of the Cult.

    After killing several more people, Yin Liting felt their victory was inappropriate. In a loud voice he shouted, "Devil Cult demons, listen up: You have only one way out of the death's door. Throw your weapons at once, we will spare your lives."

    The Vice Flag Leader laughed aloud and said, "You disregard our Ming Cult's people too much! Since Zhuang Dage [big brother] has died, would we wish to live?"

    Yin Liting called out, "Friends of Kunlun, Emei, Huashan and Kongtong, everybody take ten steps back, let these demons surrender." One after another, everybody retreated.

    Out of her hatred toward the Devil Cult, Miejue Shitai did not retreat, but brandished her sword wildly. Wherever the blade of the Yitian Sword reached, swords broke and sabers cut, limbs severed and heads flew. Seeing that their master did not withdraw, the Emei Pai disciples charged back into the battleground to join the slaughter. Now it was Emei Pai one sect against the Rui Jin Flag.

    The Rui Jin Flag still had approximately sixty people, among which, around twenty men were martial art experts. Under the leadership of the Vice Flag Leader Wu Jingcao, they outnumbered the thirty some Emei disciples by two to one. Technically, they should gain the upper hand. However, the Yitian Sword in Miejue Shitai's hand was simply too sharp, her sword stances were also very fierce and swift; her dark green shadow appeared to be everywhere, sweeping everything in her path. Instantly seven, eight more people lost their lives under her sword.

    Zhang Wuji could not bear to watch. "Let us go," he said to Zhu'er. Reaching out, he unsealed her acupoints. Who would have thought that after massaging her back and waist for awhile, Zhu'er still felt numb and aching because her acupoints were still sealed. Only then did they realize the profoundness of Miejue Shitai's internal energy. She only touched lightly, yet her strength penetrated deep into the blood passages. Although Zhang Wuji possessed enough strength and knowledge to unseal the acupoints, he could not do that in such a short period of time.

    Zhang Wuji sighed. When he turned his head, he saw all the weapons of the dozens of Rui Jin Flag people were broken. In one hand, these people were surrounded by the Kunlun, Huashan and Kongtong disciples, on the other hand, they were unwilling to run away; thereupon they fought Emei disciples with their bare hands.

    Although Miejue Shitai abhorred the Devil Cult, with her status as the Sect Leader of a major sect, she did not want to use a weapon to massacre unarmed enemies. With an outstretched left hand finger, she floated everywhere like a passing cloud or flowing water. In a short moment, the various acupoints of fifty plus Rui Jin Flag people were sealed. They stood upright on the spot, unable to move at all.

    Witnessing Miejue Shitai's superior skill like this, the spectators all cheered. It was now daybreak. Suddenly they realized that the Heavenly Eagle Cult's three groups of riders slowly closing in from the east, south and north directions. The riders stopped when they were about several dozen of 'zhang' away from these people. Apparently they assumed a wait-and-see attitude from some distance away and did not wish to challenge the enemy right away.

    "Ahniu Ge," Zhu'er said, "Let's leave quickly. It would be a lot worse if we fall into the hands of the Heavenly Eagle Cult."

    Zhang Wuji had an inexplicable affection toward the Heavenly Eagle Cult in his heart. It was his mother’s sect. When he thought about his mother, oftentimes he also thought, “Mother has died, I can’t see her anymore; I wonder if I can see Waigong [maternal grandfather] and Jiujiu [maternal uncle]?” Now that the Heavenly Eagle Cult people were nearby, he wondered if his grandfather or his uncle was among them; therefore, he did not want to leave too soon.

    Song Qingshu stepped forward to talk to Miejue Shitai. “Qianbei, we’d better execute the Rui Jin Flag before dealing with the Heavenly Eagle Cult, so that we will have one less thing to worry.” Miejue Shitai nodded.

    The early morning sun slowly rose from the east. Its hazy ray shone on Miejue Shitai’s big and tall figure, leaving a long shadow on the ground. Within the imposing image she projected, there was a cold and lonely, yet frightening emotion. In her desire to break the Devil Cult’s spirit, she did not want to kill them with a sword just like that.

    In a stern voice she said, “Devil Cult people, listen up: whoever wants to live only needs to beg for mercy, then you’ll be free to go.”

    Her words were met with silence. After half a day, a series of incessant ha-ha, hey-hey, hee-hee laughter was heard; the Ming Cult people broke out in laughter, the sound was loud and clear.

    “What’s so funny?” Miejue Shitai indignantly asked.

    In a loud and clear voice the Rui Jin Flag’s Vice Flag Leader Wu Jingcao responded, “We have made an oath to live and die together with Zhuang Dage. Just kill us quickly.”

    “Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted, “Very well! You still want to be heroes and warriors in a time like this! You wish for a quick and painless death? Not that easy!” Her sword vibrated lightly and immediately cut Wu Jingcao’s right arm.

    Wu Jingcao laughed out loud, his expression remained calm and composed. “The Ming Cult enforces justice on behalf of Heaven, provides relief to the people, there is no difference between life and death. Old Thief Nun wants us to kneel down and surrender, I suggest you get rid of that desire at the earliest opportunity.”

    Miejue Shitai was even more furious. ‘Shua! Shua! Shua!’ three times, she chopped the next three Cult disciples’ arms. To the fifth man she asked, “Are you going to beg for mercy?”

    “Eat your own stinky old nun dog fart!” the man cursed.

    Jing Xuan stepped forward from the side and chopped that man’s arm with her sword, while calling out, “Let disciple chop these demons!” She asked several men in succession, but none of the Ming Cult people was willing to surrender. Jing Xuan chopped until her hand grew tired.

    “Shifu,” she turned her head around, “These demons are so stubborn …” Her intention was to ask for leniency from her master.

    Miejue Shitai ignored her completely. “Chop everybody’s right arm first,” she said, “If they are still stubborn, chop their left arms!” Jing Xuan had no choice but chop several more people’s arms.

    Zhang Wuji was not able to keep patient much longer; he sprang up from the snow sled and stood in front of Jing Xuan. “Stop!” he called out. Jing Xuan was startled; she took a step backward.

    In a loud voice Zhang Wuji said, “Such a cold-blooded cruelty, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

    Everybody was astonished t see a young man with tattered clothes and unsightly appearance suddenly stepping forward boldly. And then they heard his stern but logical question to Jing Xuan, who was a famous senior master of a famous Sect, they could not help but feel intimidated by his imposing manner.

    Jing Xuan let out a long laugh and said, "The demons of the heretic way deserve to be killed. What cruelty are you talking about?"

    Zhang Wuji said, "Each one of these men upholds brotherhood and loyalty above everything else, they are not afraid of death, those are the qualities of real heroes and warriors; why do you call them demons of the heretic way?"

    "Aren't they Devil Cult's disciples?" Jing Xuan retorted, "Isn't that of the heretical way? That Qing Yi Fu Wang sucks human blood, he killed my Shimei and Shidi. You saw it with your own eyes. If that is not demonic, then what do you call it?"

    Zhang Wuji replied, "That Qing Yi Fu Wang killed two people, you have killed ten times more people. He used his teeth to kill, Zun Shi [revered master] used Yitian Sword to kill. They both killed people. What difference there is in good or evil way?"

    Jing Xuan was furious. "Young fellow!" she shouted, "You actually dare to equate my Shifu with the heretic demon?" 'Whoosh!' her palm struck toward Zhang Wuji's face. Zhang Wuji hastily moved sideways to evade.

    Jing Xuan was the most senior disciple of the Emei Pai, her martial art skill was taught directly by her master. This strike to his face was a fake one; as soon as Zhang Wuji moved sideways, her left leg flew out toward the pit of his stomach. 'Bang! Crack!' Jing Xuan's left leg broke and she was thrown away several 'zhang' backwards.

    Turned out as soon as Zhang Wuji's chest was kicked, the Jiu Yang Shen Gong [the divine energy from Nine Yang] inside his body automatically reacted against the incoming force. His footwork was far inferior to Jing Xuan's, but the Jiu Yang Shen Gong was very powerful; the stronger the incoming force, the heavier the reaction force would be. Jing Xuan felt as if her kick was hitting her own body. Luckily she did not have any desire to take his life; this kick only contained about 50% of her strength, so that she did not suffer serious internal injury.

    "I am really sorry," Zhang Wuji apologetically said. He rushed forward to help her up.

    "Go away! Go away!" Jing Xuan angrily said.

    "Yes!" Zhang Wuji replied. He had no choice but to back off. Two of Emei female disciples quickly came over to helped their First Martial Sister up.

    Most of everyone watching knew Jing Xuan was the first or at least the second best martial art expert under Miejue Shitai. They were wondering why she was this useless; she was thrown several 'zhang' away by this raggedy youngster just in one stance? If they say that she had enjoyed false reputation, it did not seem so, because when battling the Rui Jin Flag just now, her swordsmanship was superb; indeed everybody had seen it. Could it be that they had misjudged this raggedy and filthy young man that he actually had a peerless martial art skill?

    Miejue Shitai also was secretly amazed. “Which school does this young man belong to?” she mused, “He has been my prisoner for many days, yet I have not paid attention to him. Turned out he is a master who did not show his true colors; he is actually a great character who did not boast his greatness. Even if I want to shake Jing Xuan like this, I am afraid I cannot; perhaps in this age only that old Taoist Zhang Sanfeng who has this kind of ability. But then he had to train for a hundred years before reaching this level.”


    Miejue Shitai’s character was like ginger; the older she got, the spicier she became. Although she did not dare to belittle Zhang Wuji, actually she also did not have the least bit of fear in her heart. She looked at him from top to bottom to size him up.

    At this time Zhang Wuji was already busy taking care of the Rui Jin Flag people’s bloody wounds. With top-ranked proficiency his hands sealed various acupoints on everyone so that the blood flowing from the cuts of arms was greatly reduced.

    Among the spectators, there were not a few experts with similar acupoint sealing technique to treat injuries, but Zhang Wuji’s technique actually made everybody felt ashamed of their own inferiority. They did not even know what extraordinary technique Zhang Wuji was using.

    The Vice Flag Leader Wu Jingcao said, “Thank you very much Shaoxia [young hero] for your kindness and loyalty. May I ask your honorable surname and great given name?”

    “Zaixia [lit. under/below, the humble one] surnamed Zeng, called Ahniu,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    Miejue Shitai coldly said, “Come over here, young fellow; take my three sword stances.”

    “I’m sorry, would Shitai wait a moment?” Zhang Wuji replied, “Helping people is more important.” He finished wrapping the wound from the cut arm of the last person before he finally turned around, cupped his fists and said, “Miejue Shitai, I am not your match, fighting with you, Senior, is even more beyond what I can think of. I only hope both sides will stop fighting and forget all grudges and grievances of the past.”

    When he said ‘both sides will stop fighting’, his tone was very sincere. In his heart, the ‘two sides’ was equal to the memory of his departed parents. One side was the prestigious and upright schools, the side of his father’s Wudang Pai; the other was demonic and heretical way of his mother’s Heavenly Eagle Cult.

    “Ha ha ... “Miejue Shitai laughed, “Just with a few words from a stinky kid you want us to stop fighting? What are you? The Most Revered in the Wulin World [wu lin zhi zun]?”

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was moved. “May I ask what about the Most Revered in the Wulin World?” he asked.

    Miejue Shitai replied, “He who has the Tulong Dao in his hand will still have to compete with my Yitian Sword to decide who is weak and who is strong, only then will he be the Most Revered in the Wulin World. By that time, it won’t be too late to give everybody orders.”

    Hearing how their master ridiculed Zhang Wuji, the Emei Pai disciples laughed mockingly. There were people from the other Sects who also laughed.

    Based on his age and status, it was highly inappropriate for Zhang Wuji to say ‘stop fighting’. Hearing everybody sneering at him, Zhang Wuji blushed to the root of his hair. But he still could not bear to stay silent. “Why did you kill so many people?” he asked, “Everybody has a father, mother, wife and children. You killed them, their children would turned into helpless orphans, receivers of others’ bullying. You Senior are a follower of Buddha [orig. ‘chu jia ren’ – one who left home], please show mercy.”

    He spoke without authority, his manner was inappropriate, but he remembered his own life experience and spoke with sincerity. His words were passionate and earnest that those who heard him were moved. Miejue Shitai, however, remained wooden.

    “Young fellow,” she said in her cold voice, “Do I need you to lecture me? You are conceited because of your profound internal energy that you are blowing hot air in here. Very well, take my three palm strikes, and I will let these people go.”

    “I can’t take even one palm strike from your disciple, how am I going to take three from Shitai?” Zhang Wuji said, “I do not dare to compete in martial art with you; I am only asking you to show mercy. Just consider yourself showing divine kindness to these people.”

    ‘Zeng Xianggong [young master],” in a loud voice Wu Jingcao called out, “No need to talk too much with this old thief nun. We would rather under die this old thief nun’s hand than receive her fake benevolence.”

    With squinting eyes Miejue looked at Zhang Wuji and asked, “Who is your Shifu?”

    Zhang Wuji thought, “Although Father and Yifu both taught me martial arts, but they are not my Shifu.” Thereupon he said, “I don’t have any Shifu.”

    Once these words came out of his mouth, everybody present was very surprised. At first when he shook Jing Xuan with one stance, they thought he must be a disciple of a master, in their hearts there were thirty percent suspicions; who would have thought that he said he did not have any master? Wulin people revered their masters the most. It was not uncommon for someone unwilling to reveal his master’s surname and given name; but very rare would someone who had a master to say he did not have any master. If Zhang Wuji said he did not have any Shifu, then he truly did not have any Shifu.

    Miejue Shitai did not want to talk too much. “Receive the first strike!” she said. Her right hand stretched out with a casual slapping motion.

    Faced with this circumstance, Zhang Wuji did not have any choice but to fight. Not daring to be careless, he pushed both palms out, receiving her one palm with his both hands. Unexpectedly Miejue Shitai’s palm went down and then from below his hands swiftly slipped through his palms like an extraordinary slippery small fish. ‘Slap! The palm squarely hit Zhang Wuji’s chest.

    Zhang Wuji was startled. The Jiu Yang Shen Gong protecting his body automatically reacted to the opponent’s palm strength. But just before these two whiffs of tremendously strong internal energy collided, Miejue Shitai’s palm strength suddenly disappeared without a trace. Zhang Wuji was taken by surprise. When he looked up to see her face, suddenly he felt as if the pit of his stomach was hit by an iron hammer. Zhang Wuji staggered and was thrown rolling around twice on the ground. ‘Wah!’ he spurted out a mouthful of blood, which looked like a pile of mud on the sandy ground.

    Miejue Shitai’s palm power switched between ‘swallowing’ and ‘throwing up’, changing indeterminately, sucking and diverting the enemy’s force before sending out her own strength again. It was the most refined and subtle of the internal energy cultivation of the martial art study. The spectators with profound martial art knowledge understood the amazing technique this palm; they all could not stop from cheering.

    Zhu’er was extremely worried; she rushed toward Zhang Wuji and reached out to help him up, but suddenly her knees went numb and she slipped to the ground. Turned out although Zhang Wuji had unsealed her acupoints, the blood had not flowed freely. Seeing he received injury, in her anxiety she rushed to help, but after a short moment her strength gave up and she fell down.

    “Ahniu Ge, you … you …” she called out.

    Zhang Wuji felt the blood in his chest bubbling over. Shaking his hand he said, “I am not dead.” And then he slowly crawled back up.

    In the meantime, Miejue Shitai ordered three of her disciples, “Chop all the demons’ right arms, no exceptions.”

    “Yes!” the three female disciples responded and with naked swords in their hands they walked toward the Rui Jin Flag people.

    Zhang Wuji hastily said, “You … you said if I take your three palm strikes you will let them go. I … I have received one strike, there are still … still two more.”

    When Miejue Shitai’s palm struck Zhang Wuji, she could tell that his internal energy was very strong, and not at all of the demonic and heretical way; it was rather similar to her own energy cultivation. She also knew that although he was protecting the Devil Cult people, he was not a Devil Cult member.

    “Young people should not meddle in other people’s business,” she said, “Upright and heretic should be distinguished clearly. In that one palm strike I only used thirty percent of my strength; do you know?”

    Zhang Wuji knew that as a Sect Leader of a respectable sect, her words could not be empty; if she said she had used only thirty percent of her strength, then she must have used only thirty percent of her strength. But no matter how hard-to-resist the next two palm strikes would be, he could not consider his own life more important by looking helplessly while she was harming the Rui Jin Flag people. Thereupon he said, “Disregarding my own capability, Zaixia would like … would like to receive Shitai’s two palm strikes.”

    Wu Jingcao called loudly, “Zeng Xianggong, we deeply feel your kindness! You are a hero who upholds justice and loyalty, deserving everybody’s utmost admiration and gratitude. You must not receive the remaining two palm strikes.”

    Seeing Zhu’er fell by Zhang Wuji’s side, Miejue Shitai was annoyed because she obstructed her hands and feet. Her left sleeve brushed away, she rolled Zhu’er inside the sleeve and threw her back. Zhou Zhiruo rushed one step forward to take her and gently laid her down on the ground.

    Zhu’er anxiously said, “Zhou Jiejie [older sister], quickly urge him not to receive the other two palm strikes. If you say it, he would listen.”

    “Why would he listen to me?” Zhou Zhiruo wondered.

    “In his heart, he likes you very much,” Zhu’er said, “Don’t you know it?”

    Zhou Zhiruo blushed profusely. “Pei!” she spat, “How can there be such a thing?”

    In a loud and clear voice Miejue Shitai said, “Since you insist on being the real man, the hero, it is you who seek your own death. You must not blame me.” Raising her right hand, with a strong gust of wind it attacked straight to Zhang Wuji’s chest.

    This time Zhang Wuji did not dare to lift up his hand to block; he wanted to avoid her palm power by leaning sideways. Miejue Shitai bent her right arm and turned it around quickly. From a seemingly impossible angle, her palm shot straight forward. ‘Slap!’ It struck him squarely on his back. Like a bunch of straw Zhang Wuji flew horizontally in the air and fell down heavily on the ground. His body crumpled motionlessly in the sand, it looked like he had met a violent death.

    In this palm strike, Miejue Shitai's technique was flawless and exquisite beyond comparison, the spectators should have cheered; but in their hearts, everybody was secretly admiring Zhang Wuji's chivalry. Seeing he met with an unfortunate incident, they all called out in alarm and sighed; unexpectedly, no one cheered.

    "Zhou Jiejie," Zhu'er begged, "Please, look at his injury; is it heavy?"

    Zhou Zhiruo's heart was pounding. Hearing Zhu'er was asking earnestly, she wanted to step out and look at his injury; but everybody was staring at Zhang Wuji. How could she, an eighteen, nineteen years old young woman, dare to look at a young man's injury? Much less the injury was caused by her own master. Although it might not be considered a blatant rebellion against her school if she stepped out, she would inadvertently show great disrespect toward her Shifu. Therefore, she had taken a step, but she pulled back.

    By this time the sky was bright with the morning sun. A moment later Zhang Wuji's back seemed to be moving. He struggled hard to sit up slowly, but when his elbow was about a foot from the ground, his strength was gone; he spurted another mouthful of blood and tumbled again to the ground. In his daze, all he wanted was to lie down quietly, but he remembered he still had to take another palm strike to save the Rui Jin Flag people's lives. He took a deep breath and finally was able to sit up, but his body was swaying, as if he was ready to fall back down any second.

    Everybody else was holding their breath while watching him intently. There were several hundred people all around, but it was so quiet that a fallen needle would be clearly heard.

    In this complete silence, Zhang Wuji suddenly recalled several lines from the Nine Yang Manual:
    'He is strong, let him be strong,
    The cool breeze brushes away the small hill;
    He is rowdy, let him be rowdy,
    The bright moon shines on the great river.'
    He had recited these lines several times in the deep valley, but had never understood the meaning. This time he suddenly understood: Miejue Shitai was strong and ruthless, fierce beyond compare; definitely not his match. But in light of the essence of the Nine Yang Manual, it appeared that regardless of how strong and fierce the enemy, regardless of how ferocious, to him it was no more than a cool breeze brushing away the hill or a bright moon illuminating a river. Although he could feel the cool breeze of the bright moon, it would not bring him any harm. But how? What should he do that he would not receive any harm?

    The next lines in the Manual said,
    'Let him be fierce, let him be ruthless,
    a mouthful of 'zhen qi' [real/genuine 'chi'] is enough for me.'
    Thinking to this point, his mind suddenly opened. He sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing according to the technique described in the Manual. Almost instantly he felt a warm and comfortable feeling in his 'dan tian' [pubic region], lively and strong; the 'zhen qi' flowed into his four limbs and the hundreds of bones in his body. He was finally able to unleash the formidable power of the Jiu Yang Shen Gong. Although his flesh wound was so heavy that he vomited fresh blood, the 'zhen qi' inside his body indeed did not suffer the least bit of damage.

    Watching him circulating his 'chi' to treat his injury, Miejue Shitai could not restrain her astonishment. This young man indeed possessed some extraordinary skill. The first stance she used to strike Zhang Wuji was from the 'piao xue chuan yun zhang' [floating snow piercing the cloud palm technique]. The second palm strike was even fiercer, it was the third stance of the 'jie shou jiu shi' [nine style cutting hand; the word 'cut' here means 'cut (or truncate) into section' or 'cut to length', not 'slice' or 'chop' kind of cuts]. Both were the best features of the Emei Pai palm techniques.

    In the first strike she used only thirty percent of her strength. In the second strike, she added the power to seventy percent. She presumed that if he did not get killed violently on the spot, his muscles and bones would certainly be shattered that he would be paralyzed and would not be able to move anymore. Who would have thought that after lying down for half a day he was able to sit up? It was totally beyond her anticipation.

    According to the Wulin world custom, Miejue Shitai was not required to wait for him to circulate his breathing to treat his injury. But she was a person of high status, she definitely must not take advantage of her opponent's precarious position, especially since her opponent was of the younger generation.

    "Hey, the one surnamed Zeng!" Ding Minjun called loudly, "If you do not dare to take my Shifu's third palm strike, just roll away as far as you can. If you are treating your injury for a lifetime in here, shall we also wait for you for a lifetime in here?"

    "Ding Shijie," Zhou Zhiruo softly said, "There is no harm in letting him rest for a moment longer."

    "You ... are you protecting an outsider?" Ding Minjun angrily said, "Looking at this boy ..." She wanted to say, 'Looking at this boy to be a handsome one, you are having ideas in your mind.' But she immediately remembered there were not just a few notable warriors of the other major sects standing around, naturally she must not utter this kind of vulgar language; and thus she stopped just in time. However, how could everybody present not understand her implication? Although she did not finish her words, it was not any different than if she had said it out loud.

    Zhou Zhiruo was ashamed and anxious at the same time. Her face paled from the anger rising in her breast, but she was not willing to bicker. "Xiao Mei is only concerned over our school and Shizun's [respected master] prestige," she said drily, "I hope others will not spread a gossip."

    "What gossip?" Ding Minjun was surprised.

    Zhou Zhiruo said, "Our school's martial art is well known all over the world, Shifu is one of the very best Senior Masters of the present age; she will not lower herself to the level of this junior young fellow. It's just that he was outrageously arrogant that she went into action to teach him a lesson. Do you think she really want to take his life? Our Sect's chivalry is renowned for nearly a hundred years, Shizun's benevolence and chivalry is magnanimous, who does not look up to her in admiration? This youngster is just like a candle, how can he be compared to the glorious light of the sun and the moon? Even if we let him train for a hundred more years, he still would not be our Shizun's match. Much less letting him tending his injury for a bit longer; what difference will it make?"

    Her speech had made all who heard inwardly nod their heads. Miejue Shitai's delight was even greater, thinking that this young disciple indeed understood the cardinal principle and had raised their Sect's prestige in the eyes of the masters of other Sects.

    As soon as Zhang Wuji finished circulating his 'zhen qi' for one round, his spirit was lifted and his body refreshed. He heard everything Zhou Zhiruo had said, and was aware that she had done everything she could to protect him. Also, based on her words, Miejue Shitai would be inconvenienced to strike him with a murderous intent. His heart was flooded with gratitude. He stood up and said, "Shitai, 'wanbei' will put my life at your service by taking your last palm strike."

    Seeing that his vigor immediately returned after only sitting cross-legged for a while, Miejue Shitai mused, "This kid's internal energy is indeed very deep, it's magical." She said, "You may fight me back. Who told you to take the beating without retaliating?"

    "With 'wanbei's tiny bit of coarse martial art skill, I cannot touch even half a 'fen' [1 fen is approximately 1/3 cm or a little over 1/8"] of the corner of Shitai's clothes, how could I think of retaliating?" Zhang Wuji replied.

    Miejue Shitai said, "Since you already know it, then why don't you run away at the earliest opportunity? A young man with this kind of courageous spirit is hard to come by. Miejue Shitai's palm does not normally show mercy, but today I am willing to make exception for you."

    Zhang Wuji bowed. "Many thanks, Qianbei," he said, "Will you also spare these big brothers of the Rui Jin Flag?"

    Miejue Shitai's long eyebrows drooped down. With a cold laugh she said, "Do you know what my Buddhist title is?"

    "Qianbei's honorable title consists of the character 'Mie' [extinguish or overthrow (a regime)] at the top and 'Jue' [extinct or vanish, completely] at the bottom," Zhang Wuji replied.

    "It's good that you know it," Miejue Shitai said, "Demons and heretical disciples, I must 'extinguish' and 'cut short'; I simply cannot show mercy. Do you think the two characters 'Miejue' [wipe out/destroy] is an empty name?"

    "That being the case," Zhang Wuji said, "Qianbei may send out your third palm strike."

    Miejue Shitai cast him a sidelong glance. She had never seen a more tenacious youth in her entire life. She was usually cold-hearted, but this time she started to feel affection toward this talented young man. She thought, “Once my third palm strike is launched, he would definitely die. Since he is not a master of the demonical way, it would be a pity if he loses his life in such a young age!” After hesitating for a moment, she made up her mind. The third palm strike would hit the vital acupoint above his ‘dantian’, she would transmit her internal energy to shake his ‘dantian’ to stop his breathing so that he would faint instantly. After executing the Rui Jin Flag demons, she would help awoken him.

    Brushing her left sleeve, she was about to launch the third palm strike when suddenly she heard someone called out, “Miejue Shitai, hold your palm!”

    These words were spoken with a shrill voice, as sharp as a needle piercing everybody’s ears; it was extremely uncomfortable. They saw from the northwest corner came a man wearing white robe, waving a folding fan in his hand, walking through the crowd. His feet did not raise the sand at all; it was as if he was floating over the water. The left lapel of this man’s white robe was embroidered with a tiny black eagle with its wings spread out like it was soaring in the sky.

    As soon as they saw him, everybody knew this man must be a master of the Heavenly Eagle Cult. Turned out the uniform of the Heavenly Eagle Cult was similar to the Ming Cult’s uniform, which was white robe. Only the Ming Cult’s uniform was embroidered with a red flame, while the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s uniform was embroidered with a black eagle.

    The man walked to within three ‘zhang’ from Miejue Shitai. He cupped his fists and said with a laugh, “Shitai, please, this third palm strike, how about I take it instead?”

    “Who are you?” Miejue Shitai asked.

    The man replied, “Zaixia surnamed Yin, and is called Yewang.”

    Once the name ‘Yin Yewang’ was uttered, a commotion broke among the people. Yin Yewang’s reputation was indeed resounding loud and clear throughout the Jianghu for the last twenty years. A lot of Wulin people said that his martial art skill was very high; as a matter of fact, it did not differ too far from his father, the Bai Mei Ying Wang, Yin Tianzheng. He was the ‘tang zhu’ [hall leader] of the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s ‘tian wei tang’ [Heaven’s Secret Hall]; his authority was second only to the Cult Leader.

    Miejue Shitai estimated this man was no more than forty some years of age, but his pair of eyes was like a cold lightning sweeping everybody around, his manner was imposing and intimidating. Truly he was not someone to be trifled with, especially since she had heard quite a bit about his reputation. Therefore, with a cold voice she said, “What is this kid to you that you want to take my palm strike on his behalf?”

    In his heart, Zhang Wuji cried out, “He is my Jiujiu [maternal uncle], my Jiujiu! Could it be that he recognized me and has come for me?”

    Yin Yewang laughed out loud and said, “I don’t even know him. I only saw that he is young yet strong-willed, not at all like those hypocritical Wulin people, those disciples who always fish for compliment. I am pleased, and thus I want to receive instruction and see how good Shitai's skill is."

    The last few words were not spoken politely, apparently he did not have too high of a consideration toward Miejue Shitai. But Miejue Shitai was not angry, she turned toward Zhang Wuji and said, "Kid, if you still want to live for a few years longer, it is not too late for you to go away at this time."

    "Wanbei does not dare to be greedy of live and forget loyalty," Zhang Wuji replied.

    Miejue Shitai nodded. She turned back toward Yin Yewang. "This kid still owes me one palm strike. Our own account will be settled a (pen) stroke for a stroke. I will certainly not disappoint Sire."

    "Hey, hey," Yin Yewang sneered, "Miejue Shitai, if you have the ability, kill this young man. If this young man loses his life, I guarantee all of you will die without any burial site." As soon as he finished speaking, he floated back through the crowd while shouted, "Get out!"

    Suddenly from the sandy ground around them appeared innumerable heads; each one had a shield in front of his body, while their hands held drawn bows. Row after row of arrowheads were aimed at the Major Sects' people.

    Turned out the Heavenly Eagle Cult people had dug a tunnel under the sand and surrounded those people. Because everybody's attention was focused on Miejue Shitai and Zhang Wuji exchanging palm strikes, nobody suspected anything. Song Qingshu and the others were experienced warriors; they were on guard against the Heavenly Eagle Cult's frontal attack. They did not anticipate the Heavenly Eagle Cult would take advantage of the soft sandy ground by excavating underground tunnel and occupying a strategic position, taking full advantage of the terrain around them.

    Everyone's face changed; they saw that the arrowheads emitted bluish rays under the bright sunlight, obviously the arrows were poisoned. As soon as Yin Yewang issued his order, it would be difficult for the upright sects' people to protect their own lives, other than a few masters with the highest martial art skill. Among the five Sects present, in term of seniority, prestige and age, Miejue Shitai was the most senior, therefore, everybody turned their eyes to her, waiting for her to issue an order.

    Miejue Shitai was simply too obstinate; although she knew the situation was highly unfavorable for her side, she was completely unmoved. "Kid," she said to Zhang Wuji, "You'd better blame yourself for your fate." Suddenly her entire bones started to pop and crack, not at all unlike the noise of beans being pan-fried; as her right hand went straight toward Zhang Wuji's chest.

    This palm strike was the pinnacle of Emei Pai's skill, it was called the 'fo guang pu zhao' [The Light of Buddha illuminates everything]. Any palm or sword technique always consists of an unbroken set of complementary stances. The technique could contain as many as several hundred stances, or as little as three or five styles. But whether it was three styles or five stances, in each style would hide several variations that one style could be executed in many stances, as many as a dozen stances. However, this 'fo guang pu zhao' only had one stance. Not only this one stance did not have further variations, once it was launched, whether it struck the chest or the back or the shoulder or the face, the style was plain, almost boring; it was always the same style. Its formidable power came from the Emei Pai’s Jiu Yang Gong as its foundation. Once it was executed, the opponent would not be able to either block or evade.

    At present, other than Miejue Shitai, no one else was able to launch this stance. At first she only wanted to strike Zhang Wuji’s ‘dantian’ to knock him out momentarily, but after Yin Yewang issued his threat, if she showed leniency, people would think that she did not show mercy, she only was afraid of death, and was kneeling in front of the enemy to surrender. Therefore, she had put all her strength into this one stance, without leaving any room to maneuver.

    Seeing that her strike was preceded by popping and cracking of her bones, Zhang Wuji knew this palm strike was not a small matter. With the life and death would be decided in the next split seconds, how could Zhang Wuji dare to be negligent? In this instant he remembered the phrase from the Manual: 'Let him be fierce, let him be ruthless, a mouthful of 'zhen qi' is enough for me'. Without thinking about how he was going to fend off the attack at all, he took a deep breath and gathered a whiff of 'zhen qi' in his chest.

    With a very loud 'Bang!' Miejue Shitai's palm struck Zhang Wuji's chest. All the spectators cried out in alarm, as they believed the entire bones in Zhang Wuji's body would be shattered to dust, or perhaps this earth-shattering force would break his body in two. Who would have thought that when the dust settled, they saw Zhang Wuji, with a shocked expression on his face, was still standing in one piece, while Miejue Shitai's face was as grey as a corpse while her palm trembled slightly.

    What happened was: Miejue Shitai's stance, 'fo guang pu zhao' purely took Emei Jiu Yang Gong as its foundation, which originated from the real Jiu Yang Shen Gong, which Zhang Wuji trained. After listening to Jue Yuan reciting the Nine Yang Manual, Guo Xiang developed Emei Jiu Yang Gong based on fragments she managed to remember. As a result, the power of Emei Jiu Yang Gong of course cannot be mentioned on equal terms with the original Jiu Yang Shen Gong. However, the power of these two internal energies were comparable, the essence was identical. When Emei Jiu Yang Gong met the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, it was like river and stream entering the ocean, or like milk dissolved into water, instantly disappeared without any trace.

    Miejue Shitai's first palm strike, the Floating Snow Penetrating the Cloud, and the second strike, the Nine-Style Cutting Hand, were not based on Emei Jiu Yang Gong; therefore, when the palm hit Zhang Wuji, the strikes had caused him to be injured and to throw up blood. This reasoning was unknown to everybody present. Zhang Wuji admittedly did not have vast knowledge, but although Miejue Shitai possessed an extensive experience and knowledge, her thoughts were no more than that this kid's internal energy was so deep that she was not able to inflict any harm. Therefore, other than Miejue Shitai herself, the hundreds of people, inside and outside of the besiege, all believed that she was being lenient, or that she was taken by Zhang Wuji's unyielding character, or perhaps she was working for the benefits of all, unwilling to let the Five Major Sects suffer disastrous casualties under the Heavenly Eagle Cult's poisoned arrows. Some even went so far as assuming she was a coward who submitted under Yin Yewang's threat.

    Zhang Wuji bowed and cupped his fists. "Many thanks Qianbei for holding your palm and showing mercy," he said.

    "Humph," Miejue Shitai snorted, she was in a very awkward situation; if she struck again, she would clearly breach her own words that she would strike him three times, but if she dropped the case, she would suffer great embarrassment by yielding to the Heavenly Eagle Cult's will.

    While she was still in a quandary, Yin Yewang had already laughed aloud and said, "Only an outstanding talent can submit to circumstances. Miejue Shitai has proven herself to be a great master of the present age." To his people he ordered, "Withdraw the arrows!"

    The Heavenly Eagle Cult people turned around abruptly and withdrew; like a wave row after row of shields and bows and arrows rolled away in a very neat formation. It appeared that Yin Yewang's troops were trained for battle; whether they are attacking or withdrawing, they followed certain rules.

    Miejue Shitai's countenance darkened, yet she did not know what to say in her defense; would she say that in the last palm strike she was showing mercy? Everybody had clearly seen how with gentle strike she had inflicted serious injury to Zhang Wuji, twice in a row. But under Yin Yewang's threat, the third palm, which appeared to carry a tremendous force, did not injure Zhang Wuji in the least bit. No matter how hard she defended herself, nobody would believe her. Much less she was always an arrogant person; how could she ask everybody to believe her?

    While staring maliciously at Zhang Wuji, she called in a loud and clear voice, "Yin Yewang, if you want to test my palm power, come over here."

    Yin Yewang cupped his fists and said, "After receiving Shitai's compassion today, I do not dare to offend further. We will meet again someday soon."

    Miejue Shitai waved her left sleeve; without saying anything she led her disciples to walk quickly westward. The people of Kunlun, Huashan and Kongtong Pai, as well as Yin Liting and Song Qingshu, followed behind them.

    Zhu'er's legs were still paralyzed. "Ahniu Ge," she said anxiously, "Quickly take me away." But Zhang Wuji wanted very much to speak a few words with Yin Yewang. "Wait a moment," he said, and he walked toward Yin Yewang.

    "Qianbei has rendered a great assistance, 'wanbei' will never dare to forget," he said.

    Yin Yewang pulled his hand and look at him from top to bottom, sizing him up. "You are surnamed Zheng?" he asked.

    Zhang Wuji had the urge to throw himself into his bosom and call out, 'Jiujiu, Jiujiu!' But in the end he forced himself not to do that, although he could not stop his eyes from turning red. There was a saying, 'Seeing (maternal) uncle is like seeing one's mother.' Since his parents died, Yin Yewang was the first close family member he had seen in more than ten years, how could his heart not get excited?

    Yin Yewang saw the affectionate look on his eyes, but he thought that Zhang Wuji was very grateful because he had saved his life, so he did not further think about this matter. His eyes turned toward Zhu'er, who was lying down on the ground. With a dry laugh he said, "Ah Li, are you all right?"

    Zhu'er looked up; her eyes were brimming with hatred. Immediately she lowered her head and after a while she called out, "Father!"

    As soon as she called, 'Father', Zhang Wuji was shocked. But his mind was churning fast, and very soon he understood everything. "Turns out Zhu'er is Jiujiu's daughter; in that case she is my Biaomei [maternal younger female cousin]. She has killed her second mother, and thus vexed her own mother to her death. She also said that her father would kill her if he sees her ... Oh, she used the 'qian zhu wan du shou' to pierce Yin Wulu, must be because these brothers, just like their masters, were not good toward these mother and daughter. Although Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou hated her very much, they cannot fight with her, hence they only said a sentence, ‘It is San Xiaojie’ before taking Yin Wulu away.”

    Turning his head around toward Zhu’er, suddenly he remembered something else, “No wonder I always felt that her mannerism very much resembled my Mama, turns out she is my own blood relative; my Ma was her (paternal) aunt.”

    He heard Yin Yewang’s cold laugh. “You still call me ‘Father’? Humph, I know you have followed Jin Hua Popo and did not have any regard toward the Heavenly Eagle Cult. You are a hopeless kid, exactly like your Mama, train that ‘qian zhu wan du shou’. Humph, look in the mirror, tell me, is there any ugly freak in my Yin family?”

    At first Zhu’er was so frightened that her whole body trembled, but suddenly she turned her head and stared directly at her father’s face, while in a loud and clear voice she said, “Father, if you did not raise the past matters, I wouldn’t have raise them either. But since you mentioned it, I want to ask you: you were happily married with Mama, why did you take Er Niang [second mother]?”

    “This … this …” Yin Yewang said, “Dead girl, which one among the men did not have three wives, four concubines? You are disobedient and unfilial; it’s useless to debate with you today. You do not have any regard to Jin Hua Popo, Yin Ye Xiansheng [Mr. Silver Leaf], or the Heavenly Eagle Cult.” He waved his hand to his back and said to Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou, “Take this girl along. Let’s go.”

    Zhang Wuji stretched out his arms to block. “Hold on!” he said, “Yin … Yin Qianbei, why do you want to take her along?”

    “This girl is my daughter,” Yin Yewang replied, “She killed her stepmother and vexed her own mother to death; she is more like a beast than a human being, how can I let her live in this world?”

    Zhang Wuji said, “At that time Miss Yin was still very young, seeing her mother bullied by others, she was enraged and had made the mistake of taking matters into her own hands. I beseech Qianbei to remember the love between a father and his daughter and punish her leniently.”

    Yin Yewang laughed with his face toward the sky. “Young fellow,” he said, “Who do you think you are that you always meddle with other people’s business? Why, you even want to interfere with my Yin family’s internal affair. Are you the ‘Most Revered in the Wulin World’?”

    Zhang Wuji’s mind was stirred. He really wanted to shout, “I am your nephew, I am not an outsider.” But in the end he held his peace.

    “Kid,” Yin Yewang laughed, “You are lucky that today your life was spared. But if you keep meddling into the Jianghu people’s business like this, even if you have ten little lives, that won’t be enough.” While saying that, he waved his left hand. Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou stepped forward to pick up Zhu’er then they followed Yin Yewang.

    Zhang Wuji knew that falling into her father’s hand this time, Zhu’er would most likely not have the good fortune to keep her life. In his desperation, he pounced forward trying to snatch her away.

    Yin Yewang frowned; like a lightning his hand reached out and grabbed Zhang Wuji’s chest and gently tossed him away. Zhang Wuji’s body refused to follow its master’s order; like soaring into the clouds or sailing in the fog he flew out and ‘Bang!’ he fell heavily into the yellow sand. The Jiu Yang Shen Gong inside his body protected him that he did not sustain any injury; but falling into the sand, his eyes, ears, mouth and nose were full of sand that it was unbearably uncomfortable. Unwilling to give up, he crawled up trying to grab Zhu’er again.

    ‘Kid,” with a cold laugh Yin Yewang said, “I was being lenient the first time, don’t force me to be impolite the second time.”

    Zhang Wuji earnestly begged, “She … she is your own daughter. When she was little you carried her in your arms, you kissed her. Please spare her.”

    Yin Yewang’s heart was touched, but when he turned his head to look at Zhu’er, he saw her bumpy face, and could not help feeling even more loathsome. “Get out of my way!” he shouted.

    Zhang Wuji took a step closer instead, still trying to grab Zhu’er.

    “Ahniu Ge,” Zhu’er called out, “Don’t mind me. I will always remember your kindness to me. Just go away, you are not my father’s match.”

    Right this moment, suddenly someone in dark green robe flew out of the sandy ground. Stretching out both hands, he grabbed Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou by the back of their collars and brought his arms together, hard. The two men’s heads bumped to each other and they fainted instantly. That man grabbed Zhu’er and carrying her in his arms, he swiftly ran away.

    “Wei Fu Wang [bat king Wei],” Yin Yewang shouted angrily, “You also want to meddle in my business?”

    Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao let out a loud and long laugh, while carrying Zhu’er speeding along forward. He was called ‘Yixiao’ [one laugh], but his laughter was continuous without pausing; why wasn’t he called ‘a hundred laugh’ or ‘a thousand laugh’?

    Yin Yewang and Zhang Wuji anxiously pursued at the same time. This time Wei Yixiao no longer run in circles; he flew straight toward the southwest direction. His feet moved very fast, almost unthinkable. Yin Yewang’s internal energy was deep; his ‘qing gong’ was also excellent. The ‘zhen qi’ circulated inside Zhang Wuji’s body; he ran faster and faster. But Wei Yixiao’s speed was even more difficult to be dealt with. When they started, he was only a few ‘zhang’ ahead, but not too long afterwards, he increased the distance to a dozen ‘zhang’, then twenty some ‘zhang’, thirty some ‘zhang’ … until finally his shadow vanished in the horizon.

    In his extreme anger Yin Yewang laughed. He was secretly amazed to notice that all along Zhang Wuji was able to run alongside him, without falling behind even for a half step. By this time he knew perfectly well that he would not be able to overtake Wei Yixiao, but he still wanted to test this youngster’s legs’ strength, so he increased his speed. Like an arrow leaving the string his body shot forward, but he still saw Zhang Wuji was able to keep up, still running side-by-side with him.

    Suddenly he heard Zhang Wuji say, “Yin Qianbei, although this Qing Yi Fu Wang can run fast, he might not necessarily have the strength to run long distance. We might be able to catch up with him eventually.”

    Yin Yewang was startled; he stopped his steps immediately, while thinking, “In unleashing my ‘qing gong’ like this, I have exhausted my life-long cultivated strength. I can't afford to make any mistake in regulating my breath, let alone to open my mouth to speak. This young man is able to speak, yet his feet did not slow down at all. What kind of skill is this?"

    When he stopped suddenly, Zhang Wuji had already flown several 'zhang' forward. Hastily Zhang Wuji turned around and returned to Yin Yewang, ready to listen to his instruction.

    "Zeng Xiongdi," Yin Yewang said, "Who is your Shifu?"

    "No, no!" Zhang Wuji hastily said, "You must not call me 'Xiongdi' [brother], I am your 'wanbei' [younger generation], you, Senior, just call me 'Ahniu'. I do not have any Shifu."

    A murderous intent grew in Yin Yewang's heart; he mused, "This kid's martial art skill is this weird, if I leave him alive, he might bring disaster later on. I'd better strike preemptively and kill him with a palm."

    Right this moment, suddenly they heard several sharp noise of ocean conch horn from the distant; it was precisely the Heavenly Eagle Cult's emergency signal. Yin Yewang creased his eyebrows. "Must be Hong Shui and Lie Huo Flags blaming me for not helping Rui Jin Flag that they create trouble for us," he mused, "If I failed to kill this kid with one palm strike, I would not have time to engage him in a dogfight at this time. I'd better borrow somebody else's knife to kill him; I'll let him deliver his own life into Wei Yixiao's hands." Thereupon he said, "The Heavenly Eagle Cult is facing an enemy; I must return at once to render my assistance. You can go alone to find Wei Yixiao. This man is ferocious and sinister, as soon as you meet him, you must strike first to gain the upper hand."

    "My skill is so low and inadequate, how can I fight him?" Zhang Wuji said, "Who is your enemy?"

    Yin Yewang inclined his ears to listen to the bugle call. "It is indeed the Ming Cult's Hong Shui, Lie Huo and Hou Tu, three Flags have arrived."

    Zhang Wuji said, "Everybody belongs to the Ming Cult; why must you fight and kill each other like this?"

    Yin Yewang's face sank as he said, "What does a child like you understand? Are you meddling in other people's business again?" Turning around, he rushed back to where he came from.

    Zhang Wuji thought, "Zhu'er has fallen into the hands of the great demon Wei Yixiao; if he bites her on the throat and sucks her blood, how can she keep her life?" Having had this thought, his anxiety grew; he took a deep breath and unleashing his 'zhen qi', he dashed forward to give a chase.

    Luckily, although Wei Yixiao's 'qing gong' was excellent, because he was carrying someone in his arms, he was not able to step on the sand without leaving any trace; he still left behind a set of his footprints on the desert sand. Zhang Wuji made up his mind, "If he stop to rest, I won't take a rest; if he stop to sleep, I won't sleep. Even if I have to run for three days and three nights, I will overtake him."

    However, running for three days and nights under the hot sun on the yellow sand was truly easier said than done; he ran until dusk, and his mouth dried out and his lips parched, while his entire body was sweating like rain. But strangely, his legs did not get weary. Bit by bit the Jiu Yang Shen Gong he cultivated for several years showed its effectiveness, the more he used his energy, his vigor grew more abundantly. He stopped by a spring to fill his stomach with water, and then continued following Wei Yixiao's tracks nonstop until midnight. He saw the moon was right in the middle of the sky. Suddenly a feeling of dread overcame Zhang Wuji; he was afraid that while he was running, Zhu'er's body, with her blood sucked dry, would suddenly appear in front of him.

    Right this moment, he seemed to hear faint footsteps behind him. Quickly he turned around, but did not see anybody. Unwilling to be delayed, he continued running forward; but the footsteps appeared again behind him. Greatly puzzled, he turned around again; still he did not see anybody. Looking carefully on the desert ground, he saw three sets of tracks; one obviously belonged to Wei Yixiao, one belonged to him, but where did the third track come from? Turning his head again, he saw ahead of him there was only Wei Yixiao's track. In that case, someone was following him; no doubt about it. But why couldn't he see the person? Could it be that this person knew magic of making himself invisible?

    Preoccupied with doubts, he continued running forward, and sure enough, the footsteps behind him reappeared. "Who's there?" Zhang Wuji called out.

    "Who's there?" a voice behind him echoed.

    Zhang Wuji was shocked. "Are you a human or a ghost?" he asked sternly.

    "Are you a human or a ghost?" the voice echoed.

    With a great speed Zhang Wuji turned around again. This time he saw a flash of shadow of the person behind him, so he was convinced that someone with an exceptionally swift footwork did indeed follow behind him.

    "Why are you following me?" he asked.

    "Why am I following you?" that person replied.

    Zhang Wuji laughed. "How do I know?" he said, "I was asking you."

    "How do I know?" that person replied, "I was asking you."

    Zhang Wuji knew this person probably did not have any malicious intention; he had been following him for a while, if he wanted to, it would be easy for him to make his move and send Zhang Wuji to his doom. Thereupon he said, "By what name are you called?"

    "Can't say [Shuo Bude]," came the reply.

    "Why can't you say it?" Zhang Wuji asked.

    "If I can't say it, then I can't say it; why should I explain to you the reason?" the man said, "By what name are you called?"

    "I ... I am called Zeng Ahniu," Zhang Wuji replied.

    "You are running wildly in the middle of the night; what are you doing?" the man asked.

    Zhang Wuji knew this man must be one who loved to play trick on others. He said, "A friend of mine is captured by the Qing Yi Fu Wang, I am going to rescue her back."

    "You cannot rescue her," the man said.

    "Why not?" Zhang Wuji asked.

    "The man said, "Qing Yi Fu Wang's martial art is stronger than yours; you cannot beat him."

    "Even if I cannot beat him, I must fight him," Zhang Wuji said.

    "Very good, you have the spirit," the man said, "Is your friend a young woman?"

    "Correct," Zhang Wuji replied, "How do you know?"

    “If it were not for a young woman, would a young man be willing to risk his life?” the man said, “Is she very beautiful?”

    “Very ugly!” Zhang Wuji replied.

    “How about you?” the man asked, “Are you ugly or not?”

    “Come over here,” Zhang Wuji replied, “You can see it for yourself.”

    “I don’t want to see,” the man said, “Does that young woman know martial arts?”

    “She does,” Zhang Wuji said, “She is the daughter of Yin Yewang Qianbei from the Heavenly Eagle Cult, and has learned martial art from Jin Hua Popo of the Lingshe Island.”

    “You don’t need to pursue,” the man said, “Once Wei Yixiao got hold of her, he will never let her go.”

    “Why is that?” Zhang Wuji wondered.

    “Humph,” the man snorted, “You are a fool, you can’t use your head. Who is Yin Yewang to Yin Tianzheng?”

    “They are father and son,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    The man asked, “Bai Mei Ying Wang and Qing Yi Fu Wang, whose martial art skill is stronger?”

    “I don’t know,” Zhang Wuji replied, “May I ask Qianbei, who is stronger?”

    “Each one has his own strong point,” the man said, “Whose influence is greater?”

    “Ying Wang is the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s Cult Leader,” Zhang Wuji said, “I suppose his influence must be somewhat greater.”

    “That’s right,” the man said, “Consequently, by seizing Yin Tianzheng's granddaughter, Wei Yixiao can take advantage of her by use her as a leverage, he can force Yin Tianzheng to submit to him."

    Zhang Wuji shook his head. "I am afraid that is impossible," he said, "Yin Yewang Qianbei is insistent in wanting to kill his own daughter."

    "And why is that?" the man was puzzled.

    Thereupon Zhang Wuji told him briefly how Zhu'er had killed her father's beloved concubine and had caused the death of her own mother.

    When Zhang Wuji finished, the man clicked his tongue and said, "Amazing, truly amazing. She is a perfect material."

    "What material?" Zhang Wuji wondered.

    The man replied, "In such a young age she was able to kill her stepmother, indirectly killed her own mother, and has received training under Jin Hua Popo of the Lingshe Island. I think she is a treasure. Wei Yixiao must want to take her as his disciple."

    Zhang Wuji was stunned. "How do you know?" he asked.

    "Wei Yixiao is my good friend," the man replied, "Naturally I understand his temperament."

    Zhang Wuji's mind went blank for a moment before he called out loudly, "It's bad!" and rushed forward. That man also ran closely behind him.

    While still running, Zhang Wuji asked, "Why are you following me?"

    "I am curious," the man replied, "I want to see some excitement. What are you going to do when you overtake Wei Yixiao?"

    Zhang Wuji angrily said, "Zhu'er is already rather heretical. I must stop her from taking Wei Yixiao as her master. What would happen if she also learned to become a demon who sucks other people's blood?"

    "Do you like Zhu'er that much?" the man asked, "Why do you care that much of her?"

    Zhang Wuji sighed and said, "I don't know if I like her or not; it's just that she ... she is a little bit like my mother."

    "Hmm, so your Mama is also an ugly freak; it may be assumed that you are not too good-looking," the man said.

    "My Mama was very good-looking," Zhang Wuji quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense!"

    "What a pity, what a pity!" the man said.

    "What do you mean, 'what a pity'?" Zhang Wuji asked.


    The man replied, "You are young and have some guts. You are brave and upright, which is very good. It is too bad that very soon you will be a bloodless corpse."

    Zhang Wuji's heart was stirred. "He is right," he mused, "Even if I can overtake Wei Yixiao, how can I save Zhu'er? Won't I simply deliver my own life in vain?"

    "Qianbei," he said, "Will you help me?"

    "No, I can't," the man replied, "First, Wei Yixiao is my friend. Second, I am also not his match."

    "If Wei Yixiao is your friend, why didn't you advise him?" Zhang Wuji asked.

    "Advice is useless," the man said, "Wei Yixiao himself does not want to suck people's blood, he has no choice, his suffering is indeed difficult to bear."

    "He has no choice?" Zhang Wuji asked in bewilderment, "How can that be?"

    "Wei Yixiao suffered a fire deviation when cultivating his internal energy," the man explained, "Henceforth, each time he uses his internal energy, he must drink human blood; otherwise his entire body would turn cold and he would freeze to death immediately."

    Zhang Wuji thought for a moment and said, "Does that mean the three 'yin' arteries in his armpits are damaged?"

    “Ah, how do you know?” the man was surprised.

    “I was just guessing,” Zhang Wuji said, “I don’t know if it is correct?”

    The man said, “Three times I climbed the Changbai Mountain to find a fire toad for him to treat his illness, but three times I failed. The first time I did see a fire toad, but I missed by about two ‘zhang’. The second and third time, not even the shadow of a fire toad was to be seen. After the current crisis is resolved, I am going back to try again.”

    “I can go together with you,” ZhangWuji said, “Is that alright?”

    “Hmm,” the man said, “Your internal energy is enough, but your ‘qing gong’ is lacking too much, simply not enough. We’ll talk again when the time comes. Hey, tell me, why do you want to help me find a fire toad?”

    Zhang Wuji replied, “If we can catch one, not only Wei Yixiao’s illness will be cured, we can also help a lot of people, because then he would not have to suck other people’s blood anymore. Uh, Qianbei, he has already run for such a long time, he has used up his internal energy. If he has no other choice, won’t he be forced to suck Zhu’er’s blood?”

    The man was taken aback. “That might be true,” he said, “Although he wanted to take Zhu’er as his disciple, when the cold attack came, his blood will be congealed into ice. If that happened, I am afraid even his own daughter …”

    The more Zhang Wuji thought about it, the more he was frightened; he ran madly as if his life depended on it.

    Suddenly the man exclaimed, “Ah, what’s that behind you?”

    Zhang Wuji turned his head around to see, but suddenly all he could see was darkness as his entire body was encased in an enormous sack; followed by the sensation of his body lifted to the air. It seemed like he was captured inside a cloth sack, which was lifted up by that man. Quickly he stretched out his arms, trying to rip the cloth sack. Who would have thought that the sack was made of neither silk nor animal hide? It was exceptionally tough and durable. He groped around to feel the cloth; obviously it was a coarse homespun cloth, but he could not make even a crack on the seam.

    The man tossed the sack on the ground, laughed out loud and said, “If you can drill out of my sack, I’ll consider you an expert.”

    Zhang Wuji exerted his internal energy and pushed ferociously outward with both hands, but the sack simply followed his push without showing the least bit of cracking under the stress. He raised his right foot and kicked with all his might. ‘Pop!’ the sack only curved outward slightly. It did not matter whether he pull, push, roll, stretch; the sack simply followed his movements without giving way to his strength.

    The man laughed and said, “Do you give up?”

    “I give up!” Zhang Wuji said.

    ‘Slap!’ the man slapped the sack right on his buttocks and said with a laugh, “Kid, just stay inside my ‘qian kun yi qi dai’ [lit. Heaven and earth (the universe) air pocket] nicely, don’t move; I am taking you to a good place. If you open your mouth to speak and your presence is exposed, I might not be able to save you.”

    “Where are you taking me?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    The man replied, “Since you have fallen into my ‘Universe Air Pocket’, if I want to take your poor life, do you think you can run away? As long as you don’t move and don’t make any noise, you will reap the benefits.”

    Zhang Wuji thought the man made a lot of sense; therefore, he did not struggle anymore.

    The man added, “You can get into my cloth sack; that is your good fortune.” Slinging the cloth sack over his shoulder, he dashed forward.

    “What about Zhu’er?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “How do I know?” the man replied, “You talk too much and make a lot of noise, I am going to shake you out of my cloth sack."

    Zhang Wuji thought, "If you really shake me out of this cloth sack, I could not ask for anything more." But his mouth did not dare to reply; he only felt that this man's feet were very fast.

    After running for several hours, inside the sack Zhang Wuji started to feel hot, so he knew it was already daytime and the sack was heated by the sun. A moment later, he felt the man was walking on an upward slope; it seemed that they were going up the mountain.

    They continued climbing the mountain for more than four hours. Zhang Wuji felt the nip of the cold air on his body; he mused, "Looks like we are climbing a very high mountain, the peak must be covered in snow, that's why it is this cold."

    Suddenly he felt his body was flying in the air. He could not restrain from shouting in suprise. But before his shout vanished, he felt they were stopping; that man had landed on the ground. Zhang Wuji understood, the man must have had taken him on a jump just now. He assumed that they were on a dangerous precipice on a high mountain peak; the man jumped while carrying him on his back, the mountain rocks must be very slippery since they were covered with ice and snow. Supposing his foot slipped, wouldn't it mean both of them falling together and die with their bones shattered?

    He was just thinking about these things when the man leaped again. He successively leaped several times; sometimes he jumped higher, sometimes lower, sometimes he jumped far, sometimes near. Although Zhang Wuji was inside the cloth sack and could not see the least bit of light, he knew the local terrain must be extremely steep.

    End of Chapter 18.
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 01:05 PM.

  20. #20
    Senior Member dgfds01's Avatar
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    Chapter 19 – Disaster Arose Within The Broken Impenetrable Fortress
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    Zhang Wuji was brought by the man leaping high one more time. Suddenly he heard someone calling out from a distance, "Shuo Bude, why are you this late?"

    The man carrying Zhang Wuji replied, "I had to take care of a small matter along the way. Has Wei Yixiao arrived?"

    "I haven't seen him!" the man in the distance answered, "This is strange, even for him to come this late. Shuo Bude, have you seen him?" They were talking back and forth while the man walked closer.

    Zhang Wuji was inwardly surprised. "Turns out this man's name is Shuo Bude [can't say]," he mused, "No wonder when I asked his name he said, 'Can't say'. Even when I asked him again why he can't say it, his answer was ' Shuo Bude is just Shuo Bude; why should I explain to you the reason?' How can someone have such a weird name?" He thought further, "It seems like he has an appointment with Wei Yixiao to meet in here. I wonder how is Zhu'er? He is a good friend of Wei Yixiao; I wonder how are they going to deal with me?"

    He heard Shou Bude say, "Tieguan Dao Xiong [Taoist brother 'Iron Hat'], let us go seek Wei Xiong [brother Wei]; I am afraid he met some kind of trouble."

    Priest Tieguan said, "Qing Yi Fu Wang is astute and intelligent, his martial art skill is superb, what kind of trouble might he meet?"

    "I just feel something is not right," Shuo Bude replied.

    Suddenly from the valley below a voice came, "Stinky monk Shuo Bude, old mixed-up hair [a derogatory term to call a Taoist priest] Tieguan, come here quick! We need your help! It's bad! It's too bad!"

    Shuo Bude and Priest Tieguan were shocked. "It's Zhou Dian," they exclaimed together, "What might be so bad?"

    Shou Bude added, "Sounds like he is injured; why does his voice sound so weak?" Without waiting for Priest Tieguan's answer, he carried Zhang Wuji and leaped down the peak.

    Priest Tieguan followed behind him. "Ah!" suddenly he said, "Zhou Dian is carrying someone on his back; who could it be? It's Wei Yixiao!"

    "Zhou Dian, don't panic," Shuo Bude called, "We are coming to help you."

    "Panic your Mama's fart!" Zhou Dian called back, "Why would I panic? The blood-sucking bat's old life is about to return to Heaven!"

    Shuo Bude was startled, "What happened to Wei Xiong? What kind of injury does he suffer?" he asked, while quickening his pace.

    Inside the sack, Zhang Wuji felt like he was mounting the clouds and riding on the mist; he could not help but saying in a low voice, "Qianbei, let me down for the time being, helping people is more important."

    Shuo Bude suddenly lifted up the sack and tossed it in the air three times. Zhang Wuji was shocked; if Shuo Bude let his hands off, the sack would be thrown away, the consequences would be really hard to imagine. He heard Shuo Bude say in a calm and throaty voice, "Kid, let me tell you: I am the Bu Dai Heshang [cloth sack (Buddhist) monk] Shuo Bude; the one behind us is the Tieguan Daoren Zhang Zhong. The one speaking down below is Zhou Dian. The three of us, plus the Leng Mian Xiansheng [Mr. Cold Face] Leng Qian and Peng Yingyu, Peng Heshang [monk Peng], we are the Ming Cult's Wu San Ren [Five Wanderers]. Do you know the Ming Cult?"

    "I do," Zhang Wuji replied, “Turns out Dashi [reverend] is also Ming Cult member.”

    “Leng Qian and I do not kill people too often,” Shou Bude continued, “But Tieguan Daoren, Zhou Dian, Peng Heshang, they usually kill people without batting their eyelids. If they knew you are hiding inside my ‘Universe Air Pocket’, they might pounce on you just for fun and then you’ll become minced meat.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “I have never offended your honorable Cult, why …”

    Shuo Bude cut him off, “When Tieguan Daoren and the others kill people, do you think they would ask first whether you have offended them or not? From now on, if you still want to be alive, do not say even a single word from inside my sack. Do you understand?”

    Zhang Wuji nodded.

    “Why you don’t answer me?” Shuo Bude asked.

    “You told me not to say even a single word,” Zhang Wuji replied.

    Shuo Bude smiled. “It’s good if you know that …” he said, “Ah, what happened to Wei Xiong?” The last sentence was directed toward Zhou Dian.

    Zhang Wuji heard Zhou Dian’s hoarse and throaty voice, “He … he … the disaster has reached its peak.”

    “Hmm,” Shuo Bude said, “Wei Xiong’s chest is still a bit warm. Zhou Dian, was it you who helped him?”

    “B**lsh*t,” Zhou Dian said, “Do you think it was he who helped me?”

    “Zhou Dian,” Priest Tieguan said, “Are you injured?”

    “I saw the blood-sucking bat was lying stiffly by the roadside,” Zhou Dian replied, “He was so frozen that he was not even breathing. Contrary to my nature, I showed him the kindness of my heart and transferred my ‘chi’ to help him. Who would have thought that the cold poison inside the blood-sucking bat was so fierce that this is what happened.”

    “Zhou Dian,” Shuo Bude said, “This time you indeed have done a good deed.”

    “What good deed or bad deed?” Zhou Dian said, “This blood-sucking bat is not only ruthless, he is also very strange. Usually I don’t like to see his face, but this time he has done something very much to Zhou Dian’s liking, so Zhou Dian decided to help him this time. Who would have thought that this blood-sucking bat is incorrigible? The cold poison inside his body attacked me instead and wanted to take Zhou Dian’s old life.”

    Priest Tieguan was startled. “Your injury is that heavy?” he asked.

    “Retribution, retribution,” Zhou Dian said, “The blood-sucking bat and Zhou Dian have never done any good things in all our lives, and now by doing one good thing we brought disaster to our own lives.”

    “What kind of good thing did Wei Xiong do?” Shuo Bude asked.

    Zhou Dian replied, “Whenever he excites the poison inside his body, the cold poison flares up and he has to suck someone’s blood to suppress the poison. There was clearly a baby girl by his side, but he would rather die than sucking her blood. Zhou Dian was surprised, so he said, ‘Aiyo, not right! The blood-sucking bat is doing something against his nature. Zhou Dian better also do an act of sacrilege by trying to save him.”

    Hearing that Wei Yixiao did not suck Zhu’er’s blood, Zhang Wuji’s delight was not light. Shuo Bude slapped the sack with the back of his hand while asking, “Who is that baby girl?”

    “That’s what I asked the blood-sucking bat,” Zhou Dian replied, “He said she is Bai Mei Lao Er's [Second Old White Brow] granddaughter. He said presently the Ming Cult is facing a disaster, everybody must be united in a concerted effort; therefore, he must never suck her blood."

    Shuo Bude and Priest Tieguan applauded together. "That must be so," they said, "If White Eagle and Green Bat, two Kings join hands, the power of the Ming Cult will rise."

    Shuo Bude took Wei Yixiao from Zhou Dian; he was shocked. "His body is ice-cold," he said, "What can we do?"

    "That's right," Zhou Dian said, "I'll say it's too soon for the two of you to be happy. The blood-sucking bat's old life has 90% gone. One dead bat joins hands with the Bai Mei Ying Wang; what good does it bring to the Ming Cult?"

    "You two wait here," Priest Tieguan said, "I am going down the mountain to find a living person and let Wei Xiong drink his fill of fresh human blood." Finished speaking, he stood up at once, ready to jump down the mountain.

    "Wait!" Zhou Dian called out, "Mixed-up hair Tieguan, this place is so remote. By the time you find a living person, Wei Yixiao [one laugh] has already turned into Wei Buxiao [not laughing]. If a dead man can laugh, that is too scary. Shuo Bude, you'd better take the kid inside your cloth sack out, let Wei Xiong eat him."

    Zhang Wuji was startled. "Turns out they already knew I am hidden inside this cloth sack."

    "That won't do!" Shuo Bude said, "This kid has shown great kindness toward our Cult. If Wei Xiong ate him, the Five-Element Flags would not let Wei Xiong keep his old life." Thereupon he briefly told them how Zhang Wuji had received three palm strikes from Miejue Shitai in order to save the remaining several dozens of Rui Jin Flag people. "Therefore," he concluded, "Do you think the Five-Element Flags would easily give this kid up?"

    Priest Tieguan asked, "You are keeping this precious commodity inside your sack; are you going to use him to subdue the Five-Element Flags?"

    “Can’t say [Shuo Bude], can't say!" Shuo Bude said, "In short, currently our Cult is disintegrating and is in the face of a great catastrophe. The Heavenly Eagle Cult has come from afar to render their assistance. Unfortunately they are fighting with the Five-Element Flags over an old account; each one was completely routed by the other. All of us must join hands if we want to avoid destruction. The kid inside my sack will be beneficial to the unity of our Cult’s various factions and troops; I have no doubt about it.” Speaking to this point, he reached out toward Wei Yixiao’s back and stuck his palm on the ‘Ling Tai’ [spirit platform] acupoint, and sent out his ‘chi’ to help him resist the cold poison.

    Zhou Dian sighed, “Shuo Bude,” he said, “It is great that you want to sell your life for your friend, but please be careful for your own old life.”

    “Let me also help,” Priest Tieguan said. He stretched out his right hand and joined his palm with Shuo Bude’s left palm. Together two streams of internal energy burst into Wei Yixiao’s body.

    About the time needed to cook rice later, Wei Yixiao started to groan weakly and came to his senses, but his teeth were still chattering; it was obvious that the cold was extreme. With a shivering voice he said, “Zhou Dian, Tieguan Dao Xiong [Taoist brother], thank you for your help.” He did not thank Shuo Bude, because the two of them were good friends; verbal gratitude would be superfluous instead.

    Priest Tieguan’s internal energy was deep, but against the cold poison inside the Wei Yixiao’s body, he had to exert everything he had to overcome it that momentarily he was not able to speak. Shou Bude was not any better.

    Suddenly several notes of a ‘qin’ [zither] floated over from the eastern side of the peak, intermingled with a clear sound of a whistle. “Mr. Leng Mian and Peng Heshang have arrived,” Zhou Dian said. Raising his voice, he called out, “Leng Mian Xiansheng, Peng Heshang, somebody’s injured. Roll over here quickly!”

    From the other side the ‘qin’ responded with one clear note. Monk Peng asked, “Who … is … injured …?” The voice came from quite a distant away; it echoed over the valley. Successively he asked several questions: “Who is injured? Is Shuo Bude all right? How about Tieguan Xiong [brother]? Zhou Dian, why is your voice lacking some ‘chi’?” With each sentence he uttered, he got closer by several ‘zhang’, hence by the time he finished his strings of questions, he was close enough to them.

    “Aiyo!” he said in shock, “It’s Wei Yixiao!”

    “You are always flustered,” Zhou Dian said, “Always the first in the world to be anxious. Leng Mian Xiong, why don’t you think of a way to help?” The last sentence was obviously directed toward Mr. Cold Face, Leng Qian.

    “Hmm,” Leng Qian grunted, but did not say anything. He knew Monk Peng would definitely ask for more details, so he could save himself some energy. And indeed, question after question did not stop gushing out of Monk Peng’s mouth. Zhou Dian’s explanation was a bit disorderly, but by the time he finished his story, Shuo Bude and Priest Tieguan were able to regulate their ‘chi’. Monk Peng and Leng Qian also transferred their internal energy to separately help Wei Yixiao and Zhou Dian to overcome the cold poison.

    After Wei Yixiao and Zhou Dian’s vitalities are slightly recovered, Monk Peng said, “I came from the northeast direction, and learned that Shaolin Pai Zhang Men [Sect Leader] Kong Wen is personally leading Shidi [younger martial brother] Kong Zhi and Kong Xing, along with more than a hundred disciples of various generations, has just arrived at the Brightness Peak to take part in the besieging of our Cult.”

    “Due east,” Leng Qian said, “The Five Heroes of Wudang!” He always spoke succinctly; even if his head was cut, he would not want to say even half an extra word. He only said these six characters [‘zheng dong, wudang wu xia’], but his meaning was, ‘The Five Heroes of Wudang have arrived to attack from the east direction.’ As for who were the Five Heroes of Wudang, everybody knew they were Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou, Zhang Songxi, Yin Liting and Mo Shenggu; hence did not need to waste his breath to explain.

    Monk Peng said, “The Six Sects are advancing separately to mount a join attack, gradually closing in on us. The Five-Element Flags have been engaged in a number of battles. The situation seems to be very disadvantageous to our side. In my opinion, we need to be at the Brightness Peak ahead of the enemy.”

    “You are releasing your Mama’s smelly fart!” Zhou Dian angrily said, “That fellow Yang Xiao did not come to seek help from us, would the Wu San Ren come uninvited?”

    “Zhou Dian,” Monk Peng said, “Suppose that the Six Major Sects succeed in breaking through the Brightness Peak and extinguish the Sacred Fire, can we still live as human beings? Of course Yang Xiao did offend the Wu San Ren, but we are helping to guard the Brightness Peak, absolutely not for Yang Xiao’s sake, but for the Ming Cult.”

    “Peng Heshang is right,” Shuo Bude also expressed his opinion, “Although Yang Xiao was rude to us, protecting the Cult is more important than our personal grudges.”

    “Fart, fart!” Zhou Dian cursed and swore, “Two bald donkeys [derogatory term to call Buddhist monks] are farting together, the stench reeks out to the high heaven. Tieguan Daoren, Yang Xiao shattered your left shoulder in the past, don’t you remember?”

    Priest Tieguan was silent for half a day before answering, “Protecting the Cult against the enemy is a big matter. We will settle the account with Yang Xiao after the enemy is repelled. When that time arrives, with the Wu San Ren join hands, I am not afraid this fellow will refuse to bow his head.”

    “Humph,” Zhou Dian snorted. “Leng Qian, what do you say?” he asked.

    “We go together!” Leng Qian said.

    “You also submit to Yang Xiao?” Zhou Dian mocked, “Don’t you remember we made a heavy oath, saying that we, the Wu San Ren, from now on would leave our hands in our sleeves and would not pay any attention to the affair of the Ming Cult? Are you saying that our oath was merely a fart?”

    “It was merely a fart!” Leng Qian said.

    Zhou Dian was angry; he sprang up and said, “Everybody is farting! Mine is the only human's words."

    Priest Tieguan said, "We still have time; let us hurry to the Brightness Peak!"

    "Dian Xiong [brother Dian]," Monk Peng persuaded, "Because we were fighting over the Jiaozhu position in the past, we became enemies to each other. Yang Xiao is admittedly narrow-minded, but if we think carefully, the Wu San Ren are not without fault ..."

    "Nonsense!" Zhou Dian was furious, "No one among the Wu San Ren was dreaming to become the Jiaozhu; what did we do wrong?"

    Shuo Bude said, "Even if we fight for a year or a year and a half longer, we would still be unable to clear up our Cult's past argument of right and wrong. Zhou Dian, let me ask you this: are you or are you not a disciple of 'Ming Zun Huo Sheng' [The Bright Prophet of the Holy Fire]?"

    "Do you have to even question that fact?" Zhou Dian said.

    Shuo Bude said, "Today a great disaster is looming above our Cult's head; if we keep our hands inside our sleeves, after we die, do we have a face to see 'Ming Zun' and Yang Jiaozhu [Cult Leader Yang]? If you are scared of the Six Major Sects, you can stay here. We are going to the Brightness Peak to join the battle and die for our Cult. You may come later to bury our bones!"

    Zhou Dian leaped up and struck Shuo Bude's face with his palm, while cursing, "Fart!"

    'Slap!' Shuo Bude endured the heavy strike quietly. Slowly he opened his mouth and spat out several teeth; not a single word came out of his mouth. His cheek from white turned to red, from red turned dark scarlet and grew bigger.

    Monk Peng and the others were stunned. Zhou Dian was even more shocked. Actually, Shuo Bude and Zhou Dian's martial art skills were almost on par with each other. When Zhou Dian casually sent out his palm, if he wanted to, he could parry or dodged; either way, Zhou Dian's palm would definitely not hit him. Who would have thought that he took the beating without doing anything? Consequently, his injury was not light.

    Zhou Dian was filled with remorse. "Shuo Bude," he called out, "Hit me back! If you don't, you are not a human."

    Shuo Bude smiled wryly and said, "My energy is reserved to fight the enemy. Why would I want to hit a friend?"

    Zhou Dian was angry; he raised his palm and heavily struck his own face. 'Slap!' he also spat several teeth out.

    Monk Peng was startled. "Zhou Dian," he said, "What are you doing?"

    Zhou Dian angrily replied, "I shouldn't have struck Shuo Bude. I told him to hit me back, he did not want to, so I have to do it myself."

    "Zhou Dian," Shuo Bude said, "You and I are like brothers. The four of us are going to risk our lives in a battle on the Brightness Peak, we might part forever. What harm does it bring to let you hit me with a palm?"

    Zhou Dian's heart was deeply touched. He shouted with a cry in his voice, "I'm also going to the Brightness Peak. Yang Xiao's old debt, let me set aside for the time being."

    Monk Peng was delighted. "Now that is a good brother!" he said.

    Inside the sack, Zhang Wuji was able to hear everybody clearly. He thought, "These five men are highly skilled martial art experts; there is no doubt about it. What's hard to come by is their chivalrous brotherhood. There are not a few experts within the Ming Cult; is it possible that all of them are heretical and demonic?"

    While he was still deep in thought, suddenly he felt he was being moved; so he knew Shuo Bude was taking him to the Brightness Peak. Ever since he learned that Zhu'er was all right, he was relieved; his only concern right now was the Six Major Sects of Wulin world besieging the Ming Cult; how was he going to bring this matter to conclusion? He also thought that when he got to the Brightness Peak, he would see his childhood friend, Yang Buhui. After she grew up, would she still remember him?

    The party travelled for a day and a night. Once every several hours, Shuo Bude would untie the mouth of the sack to let Zhang Wuji had some fresh air before he would tightly tie the sack again. By afternoon the next day, Zhang Wuji suddenly felt the sack was being dragged over the rugged ground. At first he did not understand, but later when he slightly raised his head, his forehead bumped heavily into a rock that it hurt like hell. Now he realized that they were walking along a tunnel inside the mountain. The tunnel was unusually cold, the air was not moving freely. After walking for the more than an hour, they were out of the belly of the mountain. Then they walked along an ascending path. But before long, they entered another tunnel.

    After going through five such tunnels, Zhang Wuji heard Zhou Dian call out, "Yang Xiao, the blood-sucking bat and the Wu San Ren are here to see you!"

    Half a day later, came the reply from some distance ahead, "What a pleasant surprise Fu Wang and the Wu San Ren honor me with your presence. Yang Xiao did not welcome you from afar, for which offense I beg your forgiveness."

    "What a hypocritical nonsense are you blabbering about?" Zhou Dian said, "In your belly you must be cursing the Wu San Ren's words were like a fart; we said that we would never go up the Brightness Peak, we would forever pay no attention to the Ming Cult's affair, yet today we come for a visit uninvited."

    "The Six Major Sects are besieging us from all sides, Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] is unable to cope with it alone, and am very anxious," Yang Xiao replied, "That Fu Wang and the Wu San Ren are looking at Ming Zun's face and come to offer your help for the sake of loyalty, it is indeed our Cult's good fortune."

    "It's good if you know that," Zhou Dian said.

    Immediately Yang Xiao welcomed the Five Wanderers into the inner chamber, where a boy servant delivered tea and refreshments.

    "Aaahhh ....!" suddenly the servant cried miserably. Inside the sack, Zhang Wuji was absolutely horrified for not knowing what happened. After quite a while, he heard Wei Yixiao say, "Yang Zuo Shi [left emissary Yang], I am sorry to harm your servant. Wei Yixiao will pay you back someday."

    His voice was full of vigor; entirely different from when he was gasping for breath previously. Zhang Wuji shivered inwardly. "He sucked this servant's blood," he mused, "Now his cold poison is under control."

    He heard Yang Xiao flatly say, "What's pay back or not pay back between us? That Fu Wang is willing to come to the Brightness Peak shows that you regard me in high esteem."

    These seven people were the Ming Cult's top fighters, masters who are the sharpest-tip-of-the-weapon; although presently they were facing a powerful enemy, once they gathered together, their spirits rose. After food and drink, they discussed ideas on how to resist the enemy. Shuo Bude placed the cloth sack next to his feet. Zhang Wuji was hungry and thirsty, but remembering Shuo Bude's warning, he did not dare to either move or make any noise.

    After a lengthy discussion, Monk Peng said, "Guang Ming You Shi [the Right Emissary of the Brightness] and Zi Shan Long Wang [Purpled-robe Dragon King] have gone missing; whether Jin Mao Shi Wang is alive or dead is also hard to foretell, so we might as well forget about them. The most unfortunate matter at the moment is that the enmity between the Five-Element Flags and the Heavenly Eagle Cult is getting deeper and deeper. During the most recent battle, both sides have suffered quite heavy casualties. If only the two of them can also go up the Brightness Peak and join forces to resist the enemy, not only siege of Six Major Sects, even twelve sects or eighteen sects, the Ming Cult would be able to counter soldiers with arms, water with earth wall.”

    Shuo Bude lightly kicked the cloth sack and said, “The kid inside this sack is somewhat related to the Heavenly Eagle Cult; recently, he also showed great kindness to the Five-Element Flags. Perhaps he will play an important role in the resolution of bilateral animosity in the future.”

    Wei Yixiao coldly said, “One more day the Jiaozhu position is undecided, one more day our Cult’s dispute is not resolved. Even if he has ability as big as the sky, he will never resolve this hostility. Yang Zuo Shi, ‘zaixia’ [humble one] wants to ask you something: after the enemy is repelled, whom will you support to be our leader?”

    Yang Xiao unenthusiastically said, “Whoever possesses the Sheng Huo Ling [command or decree of the holy fire] I will support to be our Jiaozhu. This has been our Cult’s custom since the days of our ancestors; why did you ask me?”

    Wei Yixiao said, “Sheng Huo Ling has been lost for nearly a hundred years; are you telling me that as long as Sheng Huo Ling is not found, the Ming Cult will not have a Jiaozhu? The Six Major Sects have the guts to besiege the Brightness Peak; they have complete disregard for our Cult. It is all because they know our Cult has lost our line of command, we are disintegrating internally.”

    “Wei Xiong is right,” Shuo Bude said, “I, Bu Dai Heshang [cloth sack monk], am not of the Yin faction, neither am I of the Wei faction; whoever become the Jiaozhu is fine with me, as long as there is a Jiaozhu. Even if we do not have a Jiaozhu, a Vice Jiaozhu is also fine. Without a clear chain of command, how can we thwart the intrusion of the enemy?”

    Priest Tiguan said, “Shuo Bude’s words attain my heart.”

    Yang Xiao’s face changed. "Gentlemen," he said, "Do you come up the Brightness Peak to help me to fight the enemy, or to make things difficult for me?"

    Zhou Dian laughed aloud. "Yang Xiao," he said, "Do you think I, Zhou Dian, do not know your real intention on why you do not want to elect a Jiaozhu? As long as the Ming Cult does not have a Jiaozhu, it will be you, the Left Emissary, who presides over the interim position. Humph, however, although your position is the highest, if others do not obey your order, then what good will it bring? Can you command the Five-Element Flag? Will the Four Great Hu Jiao Fa Wang submit to you? We, the Five Wanderers, are like floating clouds and wild cranes, don't even give a damn to some Guang Ming Zuo Shi!"

    Yang Xiao stood up abruptly. In a cold voice he said, "Today the enemy is outside, ready to strike; Yang Xiao does not have time to engage gentlemen in a battle of words. If gentlemen willingly watch with folded arms the Ming Cult’s life or death, then please go down the Brightness Peak! As long as Yang Xiao does not die, I will return your visit one by one in the future.”

    “Yang Zuo Shi, you don’t need to lose your temper,” Monk Peng exhorted, “The Six Major Sects are besieging the MingCult. It is the duty of each and every one of the Cult disciple to defend our Cult. It is not your business alone.”

    With a cold laugh Yang Xiao said, “I am afraid there are people within our Cult who are hoping that Yang Xiao will be slain by the Six Major Sects, and thus they will be rid of the nail in their eyes.”

    “Whom are you referring to?” Zhou Dian asked.

    Yang Xiao replied, “Every body knows his own heart; must I spell it out?”

    “Are you talking about me?” Zhou Dian angrily asked.

    Yang Xiao averted his gaze to someplace else; he was ignoring Zhou Dian completely. Monk Peng saw Zhou Dian’s eyes radiated a different gleam; apparently he was ready to fight with Yang Xiao, he quickly urged, “There is an ancient saying: brothers fight each other, outsiders will drive their insult. Let us discuss further our plan to fight the enemy.”

    Yang Xiao said, “Yingyu Dashi [Reverend Yingyu] understands the important matter, your words are very true.”

    “Fine!” Zhou Dian shouted loudly, “Bald thief Peng understands the important matter, Zhou Dian only knows trivial matter?” He was just being mule-headed; he did not want to consider anything. Still shouting, he said, “I want this Jiaozhu position to be decided today. Zhou Dian nominates Wei Yixiao as the Ming Cult Jiaozhu. The blood-sucking bat’s martial art skill is superb, in terms of scheming he is shrewd. Nobody in our Cult is superior to him.”

    Actually, in normal times, Zhou Dian and Wei Yixiao had never been close friends; there were more ill will between them than there was goodwill. But he deliberately wanted to provoke Yang Xiao, so he pushed Wei Yixiao forward.

    Yang Xiao laughed. “In my opinion,” he said, “It would be best if the Jiaozhu position is held by Zhou Dian. Currently the Ming Cult is all split up in pieces. If we have Great Cult Leader Zhou to preside at the top, our Cult will be turned upside down. Now, that should be very interesting!” [Translator’s note: This is one of those ‘lost in translation’ cases. Yang Xiao was playing with Zhou Dian’s name: the character ‘Dian’ means ‘top (of the head)’ or ‘apex’; but it also means ‘fall forward, upside down, or jolt’.]

    Zhou Dian was furious. “Your Mama’s dog stinky fart!” he shouted. ‘Whoosh!’ his palm struck down on the crown of Yang Xiao’s head.

    A while ago, Zhou Dian’s palm had caused many of Shuo Bude’s teeth fall down; it was because Shuo Bude had no intention to evade. But how could Yang Xiao receive such treatment easily? More than ten years ago, because of a dispute over a Cult affair, Yang Xiao had a major argument with the Five Wanderers. At that time, the Five Wanderers made an oath not to go up the Brightness Peak again. When they broke their heavy oath by coming today, suspicions had started to grow inside Yang Xiao’s heart. Seeing Zhou Dian suddenly make his move, he knew that the Five Wanderers had made an agreement with Wei Yixiao to come and conspire against him. Startled and angered, his right palm swept out to meet Zhou Dian's palm.

    Wei Yixiao knew Yang Xiao’s capability very well. After Zhou Dian was injured, his 'chi' had not recovered; he was definitely not Yang Xiao's match. Thereupon Wei Yixiao dashed ahead of him with swept palm to receive Yang Xiao's palm. The two palms collided, but surprisingly no noise was to be heard. Turned out although Yang Xiao had reasons to dislike Zhou Dian, he still remembered that both of them belonged to the same Cult; therefore, he was unwilling to harm his life. Consequently, his palm did not carry his full strength. However, Wei Yixiao's martial art skill was deep; as his stance 'han bing mian zhang' [cold ice soft palm] arrived, Yang Xiao's right arm was shaken, as he felt a burst of cold 'yin' energy penetrated his skin and flesh; hastily he exerted his internal energy to withstand. When the two men’s internal energy collided, they were locked at a stalemate.

    “The one surnamed Yang,” Zhou Dian called out, “Eat my palm again!” Just now his first palm did not hit its target, now his second palm was aimed at Yang Xiao’s chest.

    “Zhou Dian, don’t make a scene!” Shuo Bude called out.

    Monk Peng also said, “Yang Zuo Shi, Wei Fu Wang, please hold your hands, don’t harm our own people!” He stretched out his hand to divert Zhou Dian’s palm. But Yang Xiao’s body leaned sideways, his left palm already met and stuck on Zhou Dian’s right palm.

    “Zhou Dian,” Shuo Bude called out, “You are two against one, what kind of hero are you?” Reaching out toward Zhou Dian’s shoulder, he wanted to grab him and pull him back. But before his hand even touched Zhou Dian, he saw Zhou Dian’s body slightly shiver as if he had already received internal injury. Shuo Bude was shocked. He knew very well the Left Emissary of the Brightness’ divine power; he was their Cult’s top master. Shuo Bude was afraid that in that one palm strike, Yang Xiao had already injured Zhou Dian. He saw Zhou Dian’s right palm was stuck onto Yang Xiao’s left palm, as if he was not willing to withdraw his palm.

    “Zhou Dian,” Shuo Bude called out, “We are all brothers, why would you disregard your own old life?” He came closer to pull Zhou Dian’s shoulder, while at the same time said, “Yang Zuo Shi, please be lenient with your palm.” He was afraid Yang Xiao was unwilling to withdraw his palm strength and took that opportunity to attack him. To his surprise, as he pulled Zhou Dian’s body, Zhou Dian swayed but could not move; while at the same time a burst of ice-cold ‘chi’ penetrated his palm and went straight toward the pit of his stomach.

    Shuo Bude was even more shocked; thinking, “This is the special skill of Wei Xiong’s school, the Cold Ice Soft Palm; how could Yang Xiao also train this skill?” Hastily he exerted his own internal energy to resist the attack. But the cold ‘chi’ was growing in intensity that in a short period of time Shuo Bude’s jaws started to chatter from the unbearable cold.

    Priest Tieguan and Peng Yingyu rushed forward; one protected Zhou Dian, the other protected Shuo Bude. With the combined energy of four men, the cold ‘chi’was no longer unbearable. They only felt that the force transmitted from Yang Xiao’s palm was sometimes light, sometimes heavy, something bursting something sluggish; it kept changing with infinite variation. The four men did not dare to withdraw their palms, for fear that as soon as their power slackened, Yang Xiao would sent out his power suddenly and then the four of them would either be dead or at least suffer serious injury.

    “Yang Zuo Shi,” Peng Yingyu called out, “We are facing powerful enemy; how can you … can you … can you …” His teeth chattered so much that he was unable to continue. He felt as if the blood in his entire body had frozen to ice. Turned out as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the real ‘chi’ in his body stopped momentarily that he was unable to withstand the cold ‘chi’ coming in from his palm.

    And so for the next time needed to drink a cup of tea later, Mr. Cold Face Leng Qian stood on the side watching. He noticed that the faces of Wei Yixiao and his four fellow Wanderers were tight, but Yang Xiao seemed to be at ease; he felt very strange. “Although Yang Xiao’s martial art skill is high,” he thought, “Compared to Wei Yixiao, he is about the same, he won’t necessarily be able to defeat him easily. With the addition of Shuo Bude and the others, four men, Yang Xiao is absolutely not their match. Why is it that with one against five, he still looks like he is so confident of victory? There must be something strange going on here …”

    Hanging his head, he pondered deeply, but failed to solve the puzzle immediately. He heard Zhou Dian call out, “Leng Mian devil, strike … strike his back … strike …” But Leng Qian was unwilling to make his move before he has a clear understanding of what was happening. Right now, among the Five Wanderers, he was the only one who was not doing anything; they would depend solely on him to escape the danger and get away from distress. However, supposing he also stakes everything he had to battle Yang Xiao, although with the addition of one man their combined power would be increased quite a bit, they still could not ascertain their victory.

    He saw that the faces of Zhou Dian and Peng Yingyu had turned blue; it looked like if this situation continued, the ‘yin’ poison would enter their internal organs, and then they would face endless disaster. Thereupon he took out from his pocket five small sterling silver writing brushes and held them in his hand while he said, “Five brushes, strike your ‘qu chi’ [crooked reservoir], ‘ju gu’ [gigantic bone], ‘yang huo’ [positive orifice], ‘wu li’ [five interior(?)], ‘zhong du’ [middle capital].” These five acupoints were located on hands and feet, really were not fatal acupoints at all. He mentioned the target first, apparently so that Yang Xiao would know that he did not have any malicious intention, just wanted him to withdraw his palms.

    Yang Xiao showed a faint smile, but did not take any notice of him. Leng Qian called out, “Forgive my offense!” With a tossing motion on his left hand and scattering motion on the right, five silver rays shot toward Yang Xiao.

    Yang Xiao waited until the five silver brushes came near, then abruptly his left hand swept horizontally, pulling along Zhou Dian and the others, four people, using them as a shield in front of his body. Zhou Dian and Peng Yingyu uttered a stifled grunt as the five brushes separately landed on these two men’s bodies; Zhou Dian received two brushes, while Peng Yingyu was hit by three brushes. Luckily Leng Qian had no intention to hurt anybody; the force of his hands was very light, plus the pens did not actually hit the intended acupoints. Although they suffered flesh wound, they were not seriously harmed.

    “It’s ‘Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi!’ [‘qian kun’ – heaven and earth, yin and yang, the universe; ‘da’ – big/great; ‘nuo’ – to shift, to move; ‘yi’ – also to shift, to move, to change/alter/remove. The Great Shifting of the Universe]” in a low voice Peng Yingyu said.

    As soon as Leng Qian heard the five characters ‘Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi’, he understood immediately. ‘Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi’ was the fiercest martial art skill, a Ming Cult’s legacy, passed on from generation to the generation. The fundamental principle was not mysterious at all; it strove to stimulate one’s own potential first, and then used it to lead and shift the opponent’s force. But the variations within this principle were magical; it was almost unthinkable.

    Ever since the death of the previous Cult Leader, Yang Dingtian, there was no one else within the Ming Cult who mastered this special skill, and thus none of the six men ever expected it. No wonder Yang Xiao did not seem to exert himself, since he simply directed Wei Yixiao’s palm power to attack the four Wanderers, and conversely, used the four Wanderers’ palm power to attack Wei Yixiao, while he leisurely positioned himself in between them, no more than drawing and transmitting both parties’ internal energy, nothing more than ‘parting the mountain to watch tigers fight’.

    “Congratulations!” Leng Qian said, “No ill will, please stop fighting.” He always spoke succinctly. With ‘congratulations’, he congratulated Yang Xiao on being successfully trained in the Ming Cult’s long lost divine skill, the ‘Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi’; by ‘no ill will’ he was saying that we, six people, going up the mountain this time without holding any ill will toward you, that we were sincere in our desire to help resisting the invaders; and by ‘please stop fighting’ he meant both sides should stop fighting and must not have any misunderstanding.

    Yang Xiao was aware that in normal times Leng Qian had never uttered a single rubbish talk; and because he did not want to utter even one extraneous word, he had never told a lie. If he said, ‘no ill will’, then he truly did not have any evil intention. Moreover, when he made his move by shooting the five silver brushes, it was obvious that his intention was indeed to help his companions out of trouble, not to harm anybody. Thereupon he laughed and said, "Wei Xiong, Four Wanderers, when I say 'one, two, three', everybody remove your palm power at the same time, so that nobody will get hurt!"

    Seeing Wei Yixiao, Zhou Dian and the others nodded their heads, he slowly counted, "One, two, three!"

    As the word 'three' left his mouth, Yang Xiao removed the divine skill ‘Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi’; but suddenly he felt his back was cold. A burst of sharp finger power pierced the 'shen dao' [divine way] acupoint on his back. Yang Xiao was shocked. "Fu Wang is very sinister and ruthless," he thought, "To launch a sneak attack like this." But when he was about to counterattack by slapping backward, he saw that Wei Yixiao swayed and tumbled down. It seemed like he had also fallen under the enemy's sneak attack.

    In all his life, Yang Xiao had seen countless big battles; although this turn of events had taken him by surprise, his mind stayed clear. Quickly he dashed forward to get away from the enemy's reach. Upon turning his head around, he saw Zhou Dian, Peng Yingyu, Priest Tieguan and Shuo Bude, four people, had also fallen on the ground, while Leng Qian was exchanging palm strikes with someone wearing ash grey cotton robe.

    The man struck backhandedly, and Leng Qian uttered a grunt; his voice sounded like he was in pain. Yang Xiao took a deep breath and jumped forward with the intention of helping Leng Qian, but suddenly he felt a burst of ice-cold 'chi' flowed swiftly from his 'shen dao' acupoint to his torso, attacking his 'shen zhu' [body pillar], 'tao dao' [pottery channel], 'da zhui' [big spine], 'feng fu' [windy mansion], and various acupoints along the 'du mai' [supervise arteries] channel.

    Yang Xiao knew his condition was far from good. The enemy was not only a martial art expert, but also a sinister and ruthless person; he was able to take the split-second window when Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao and the four Wanderers were withdrawing their strength and like a lighting he struck a surprise attack. Yang Xiao had no choice but to circulate his own real 'chi' to fight the cold. This cold 'chi' was completely different from Wei Yixiao's Cold Ice Soft Palm. Yang Xiao felt it was like a wisp of ice-cold thread, but wherever it reached, it turned the acupoint numb and itchy. If they were fighting face to face, Yang Xiao could use his internal energy to protect his body, and there was no way this kind of finger power would penetrate his internal defense. But since he had already fallen under the enemy's sneak attack, his only option was to launch a counterattack together with Leng Qian, trying to knock down the enemy then act accordingly.

    Yang Xiao stepped forward with raised right palm, and was about to strike down when suddenly his entire body shivered violently from the cold and the strength he gathered in his palm disappeared without a trace.

    By this time Leng Qian had exchanged more than twenty stances with that man, and it was obvious that he was not the man's match. Yang Xiao was very anxious. He saw Leng Qian kicked with his right foot. The man rushed one step forward and his finger hacked down on Leng Qian's arm. Leng Qian staggered and fell backward.

    Yang Xiao was startled and angered; he gathered the remaining of internal energy in his entire body into his right elbow and struck the grey-robed man on the chest. The grey-robed man stuck out his left finger toward the 'xiao hai' [small ocean] acupoint on Yang Xiao's elbow. Immediately Yang Xiao felt his entire body went cold and numb, and was not able to make another move, even for half a step.

    The grey-robed man laughed coldly and said, "The Guang Ming Zuo Shi indeed lives up to your reputation. After getting hit twice by my 'huan yin zhi' [fantasy/magical 'yin' finger], you can still stand."

    Yang Xiao said, "Your finger-flicking technique is from Shaolin, but whatever is the 'huan yin zhi' internal strength? Humph, Shaolin Pai does not have this kind of sinister and ruthless martial art. Who are you?"

    The grey-robed man laughed aloud and said, "Pin Seng [impoverished monk] Yuan Zhen, a disciple under the tutelage of my master, whose Buddhist title was 'Kong' at the top and 'Jian' at the bottom. Right now the Six Major Sects are besieging the Ming Cult. You die under a Shaolin disciple, your death is not in vain."

    Yang Xiao said, "The Six Major Sects and our Ming Cult are enemies, real swords, real spears, we will fight to the death; that will be the deed of the real man, real hero. Kong Jian Shen Seng's [Divine Monk] kindness and chivalry was widely known throughout the world, who would have thought that among his disciples there is someone as despicable and shameless as you are ..." Speaking to this point, he was unable to stand anymore; his knees gave up and he fell sitting down on the ground.

    Yuan Zhen laughed out loud and said, "To win by a surprise move is just fair in a war. It has been this way since the ancient times. I, Yuan Zhen, one man can flatten the Ming Cult's seven big masters. Aren't you going to accept the defeat?"

    Yang Xiao shook his head and sighed. "How can you enter the Brightness Peak stealthily?" he asked, "How did you know about this secret passage? If you are willing to reveal it, Yang Xiao will die with closed eyes." Yang Xiao knew that Yuan Zhen’s sneak attack was successful, admittedly it was because his martial art skill was superior; but most importantly, it was because he knew the secret passages of the Brightness Peak, bypassing a dozens of Ming Cult’s sentries along the way, and made his move stealthily [orig. shén bù zhi gui bù jué – deity (does) not know, ghost (does) not realize.], so that he was able to knock down seven masters of the Ming Cult in one move.

    The Ming Cult had been operating from the Brightness Peak as their headquarters for hundreds of years, relying on dangerous precipice as their natural defense, enforced with metal ramparts and impassable moats. Who would have thought that disaster arose from the inside; it came so suddenly that there was not enough time to set up a defense? Indeed they had suffered a crushing defeat.

    A phrase from the ‘Lun Yu’ [Analects of Confucius] suddenly came to Yang Xiao’s mind: Kong Zi [Confucius] said, ‘In his own territory there are divisions and downfalls, leavings and separations, and, with your help, he cannot preserve it. And yet he is planning these hostile movements within the state.-I am afraid that the sorrow of the Ji-sun family will not be on account of Zhuan-yu, but will be found within the screen of their own court.' [This is not my translation, I found it here: http://classics.mit.edu//Confucius/analects.html under Section 4, Part 16, edited to pinyin spellings.]

    Yuan Zhen said with a laugh, “You, Devil Cult, always regarded the seven peaks and thirteen cliffs of the Brightness Peak as a natural defense. In our Shaolin monks’ eyes, it is no more than a broad and open road, is it not? All of you have been hit by my ‘huan yin zhi’, I have no doubt that within three days, you will return to the Western Paradise. In my visit to the Peak this time, Pin Seng has buried several dozen catties of gunpowder. I will extinguish the Devil Cult’s devil fire. When the Heavenly Eagle Cult, the Five-Element Flags, and what have you, busily going up to rescue, ‘ka-boom’, the buried gunpowder will explode. Smoke will arise, fire will be out, from then on, you can consider the Devil Cult vanished without a trace. This is what it is called: The lone Shaolin monk extinguishes the Ming Cult, the seven demons of the Brightness Peak return to the Western Paradise.”

    Listening to this, Yang Xiao and the others could not help from feeling extremely anxious, knowing that this monk was capable of doing what he said he would do. The loss of their own lives was not to be regretted, but the Ming Cult, which had been passed on for thirty three generations, would perish under this Shaolin monk’s hands.

    In the meantime, Yuan Zhen was growing more and more complacent. “Within the Ming Cult, the masters are as numerous as the clouds. If you did not fight each other and disintegrate to pieces, how could there be any disastrous destruction? Just look at what happened today: if the seven of you were not in the middle of staking everything in palm power competition, how could Pin Seng quietly go up the Brightness Peak, and succeed in one strike? This is called: the Heaven regards sin yet still allow man to live, but the more sin committed, man must not live! Ha ha ha ... I can't believe the Ming Cult, with its awe-inspiring prestige in the former days, will end up like this after Yang Dingtian's death."

    In the brink of great disaster of their own death, as well as the destruction of their Cult, as Yang Xiao, Peng Yingyu, Zhou Dian, and the others heard his words, they recalled the incidents happened over the last twenty years, and were all filled with deep regret. "This monk is right," they thought.

    "Yang Xiao," with a loud voice Zhou Dian said, "I, Zhou Dian, really deserve to die! I was being unfair toward you. Although you are not too good, you being the Jiaozhu certainly beat us without any Jiaozhu at all, and so we won't be completely wiped out like this."

    With a bitter laugh Yang Xiao replied, "What ability do I have to become the Jiaozhu? Everybody was in the wrong; we have made such a huge mess that in the netherworld we won't have a face to see the past generations' Jiaozhu."

    Yuan Zhen laughed. "It is too late for you, gentlemen, to regret it now," he said. "When Yang Dingtian was the boss of the Devil Cult, he was insufferably arrogant. It's a pity he died early and could not witness the defeat of the Ming Cult with his own eyes."

    "Fart!" Zhou Dian angrily said, "If Yang Jiaozhu were still alive, everybody would obey his orders! How can a bald thief like you launch a sneak attack like this?"

    With a cold laugh Yuan Zhen said, "It doesn't matter if Yang Dingtian is dead or alive. I will always have a way to have his reputation swept away ..."

    Suddenly a slap was heard, followed by a cry, "Ah!" Yuan Zhen's back was hit by Wei Yixiao's palm, while Wei Yixiao was also hit by Yuan Zhen's counterattack finger strike, right on the 'shan zhong' [lit. mutton smell] acupoint on his chest. Both of them staggered a few steps backward.

    When Wei Yixiao was hit by Yuan Zhen's finger earlier, although his injury was heavy, his internal energy was, after all, a notch higher than the others. Only he did not immediately strike back, but pretended to be knocked out instead. When Yuan Zhen was getting immensely pleased with himself and not in the least on guard, he leaped up and attacked. He had sent out his entire strength in this one palm strike. He was willing to die together with the enemy to save the Ming Cult from a calamity.

    Although Yuan Zhen was fierce, the Green-winged Bat King was one of the Ming Cult's 'Hu Jiao Fa Wang', he shared the same honor with Yin Tianzheng and Xie Xun. When he struck with everything he had, how could it be considered a small matter? As soon as the power of ‘Cold Ice Soft Palm’ entered his body, Yuan Zhen felt his stomach turn upside down that he wanted to throw up. He tried to circulate his internal energy to steady himself, but he still felt the sky spun and the earth revolved that he felt he was about to fall down. He had no choice but sit cross-legged and circulate his ‘chi’ to resist the cold attack from the ‘Cold Ice Soft Palm’.

    As Wei Yixiao got hit by the ‘Fantastical Yin Finger’ twice in succession, he could not stand and fell backward and was not able to move. Immediately the hall became quiet as the eight martial art masters all received heavy injuries; nobody was able to make even half a step of movement.

    Eight men exerted their internal energies, each was hoping he could restore his strength one step earlier than the enemy. If only one side was able to move, he could kill the other side. Everybody was anxious in his heart. They all knew it was the decisive moment for the survival or destruction of the Ming Cult, as well as the live or death of all eight people. If Yuan Zhen was able to move first, despite his heavy injury, he would be able to pick up a sword and murder these seven people one by one. If only one of the seven Ming Cult people was able to move first, he would be able to kill Yuan Zhen and thus save the Ming Cult.

    There were seven people in Ming Cult’s side, they should have the benefit of numbers; however, the Five Wanderers’ power was comparably shallower than the rest. When they were hit by the ‘Fantastical Yin Finger’, their strength was gone; while Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, who possessed more profound internal strength were hit twice. Actually, it was not easy to differentiate the power of ‘han bing mian zhang’ and ‘huan yin zhi’; however, Wei Yixiao sent his last palm strike when he had already suffered injury, while Yuan Zhen launched hi attack when he had not been injured. It could be gathered from this fact that Yuan Zhen had a greater chance to make his move first.

    Yang Xiao and the others were secretly distressed, but circulating internal energy to treat injury like this must not be forced the least bit; the more they were anxious and impatient, the greater the chance of something going terribly wrong. Each one of these people was an expert in internal energy cultivation; how could they not know this fact?

    Leng Qian and the others vomited several times. They knew they would never be able to recover ahead of Yuan Zhen. They only hoped for one of Yang Xiao’s subordinates at the Brightness Peak would come into the hall. As long as one Ming Cult disciple came in, - he did not have to know martial art – he could pick a wooden stick and gently knock Yuan Zhen and kill him. However, after waiting for a long time, there was not even half a noise could be heard outside the hall. It was close to midnight, the disciples at the Brightness Peak were either on their guard duties outside, or were sleeping in their quarters inside. Besides, without Yang Xiao’s order, who would dare to barge into the hall? As for Yang Xiao’s servants, ever since one of them was bitten by Wei Yixiao to death, they all scared out of their wits and had scattered away early on. Not to mention Yang Xiao did not summon them, even if he did, they might not necessarily dare to step into the hall, to come to the presence of this blood-sucking Devil King.

    Hidden inside the cloth sack, Zhang Wuji could not see anything, but when they spoke, he could hear every single word clearly. Right now the hall was quiet, but he knew that this silence was hiding an enormous murderous intention. After half a day, suddenly he heard Shuo Bude’s voice was calling out, “Hey, little friend inside the cloth sack, you must save us.”

    “How do I save you?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    The flow of ‘chi’ in Yuan Zhen’s ‘dan tian’ was starting to clear up. To suddenly hear a voice came out of the cloth sack, his shock was not light. His real ‘chi’ was shaken and his body was trembling violently. Ever since he entered the hall, his attention was focused on dealing with Wei Yixiao, Yang Xiao, and the other masters; how could he find the time to leisurely observe anything unusual lying on the ground other than an ordinary cloth sack? To suddenly hear someone was talking, he could not restrain from sucking a mouthful of cold air while cried out inwardly, “I am finished!”

    He heard Shuo Bude say, “The mouth of the cloth sack was bound by the ‘qian chan bai jie’ [a thousand wraps a hundred knots] technique. Other than myself, definitely nobody else would be able to untie it. But you can stand up.”

    “Yes,” Zhang Wuji replied, while standing inside the cloth sack.

    “Xiao Xiongdi [little brother],” Shuo Bude said, “You were willing to give up your life to save the lives of several dozen Rui Jin Flag brethrens, your righteousness, chivalry and noble character deserves everybody’s utmost admiration. Right now several of our people’s lives also depend on you. Please go to that evil monk and kill him with a fist or a palm.”

    Zhang Wuji pondered deeply and did not answer for half a day.

    Shuo Bude added, “This evil monk took advantage of our precarious position and launched a sneak attack. It was a despicable deed, you have heard it with your own ears. If you don’t kill him, tens of thousands Ming Cult people, from top to bottom, will be wiped out completely by outsiders. If you kill him, you are performing a huge virtuous deed and chivalrous duty.”

    Zhang Wuji still hesitated and did not say anything.

    Yuan Zhen said, “Right this moment I cannot move the least bit. If you kill me, won’t you be the laughingstock of all heroes under the heavens?”

    “Stinky bald thief,” Zhou Dian angrily said, “Shaolin Pai calls themselves a righteous major sect; but you surreptitiously came up here and launched a sneak attack. Won’t you be the laughingstock of all heroes under the heavens?”

    Zhang Wuji had taken a step toward Yuan Zhen, but then he stopped and said, “Shuo Bude Dashi [reverend], your precious Cult’s dispute [orig. shi fei qu zhi – right or wrong, crooked or straight] with the Six Major Sects, Xiao Ke [the young one] does not know; Xiao Ke is very wiling to help you, gentlemen, but is unwilling to harm this Great Monk from the Shaolin Pai.”

    “Xiao Xiongdi,” Peng Yingyu said, “You are somewhat ignorant. If you do not kill him now, when this monk’s strength is restored, he will definitely kill you as well.”

    Yuan Zhen said with a laugh, “I have neither grudges nor enmity with this Xiao Shizu [young benefactor]; how can I kill him without any reason? Let alone this Xiao Shizu does not belong to the Devil Cult; apparently, out of ill intention Bu Dai Heshang captured him and took him up the mountain. You, the Devil Cult people, have never shrunk from any crime; what good might come out of this for him?”

    Both sides were huffing and puffing, it was extremely difficult for them to talk, but they forced themselves to speak, trying to touch Zhang Wuji’s heart. Zhang Wuji was in quandary; he had personally heard how this Yuan Zhen monk launched a sneak attack, which was a cowardly act. But to go forward and strike him dead was also against his wish. Besides, once he made his move, he would be standing in the Ming Cult’s side forever and become the enemy of the Six Major Sects. His Tai Shifu [grand master], the Six Heroes of Wudang, Zhou Zhiruo, and the others would become his enemy.

    He also thought, “The Ming Cult is recognized by the mainstream Wulin community as demonic and heretical, such as Wei Yixiao sucks people’s blood and Yifu indiscriminately killed the innocent. Really they have done too many things they should have not done. Tai Shifu has repeatedly warned me not to make friends with the Devil Cult people to avoid the disaster of lifelong suffering. Because my Father had involvement with the Devil Cult by marrying my Mother, he had to commit suicide on the top of Wudang Mountain. A warning example is close at hand, road to disaster is straight ahead. Much less this Yuan Zhen is Divine Monk Kong Jian’s disciple. Kong Jian Dashi willingly endured thirteen punches of ‘Qi Shang Quan’ [seven-injury fist] with the hope of restoring my Yifu, but the end result was he died under the fist. This kind of benevolence, justice and mercy is extremely hard to come by within the Wulin world even from the ancient times; how can I harm his disciple?”

    As he heard Shuo Bude urge again, Zhang Wuji said, “Shuo Bude Dashi, could you teach me a way so that I do not need to harm this Great Monk while he also cannot harm all of you? Xiao Ke will certainly do as instructed.”

    Shuo Bude thought, “Looking at the current situation, it is a fight to the death between the two parties; how can there be a way to preserve both sides? If Yuan Zhen does not die, then we will perish.”

    While he was still deep in thought, Peng Yingyu said, “Xiao Xiongdi, your benevolence is truly admirable. In that case please stretch out your finger and lightly push the ‘yu tang’ [jade hall] acupoint on Yuan Zhen’s chest. This way you will definitely not harm him, you will only prevent him to use his internal energy for several hours. We will send someone to take him down the mountain, we will not harm even a hair on his body. Do you know the location of the ‘yu tang’ acupoint?”

    Zhang Wuji’s medical knowledge was deep, he knew that if the ‘yu tang’ acupoint was lightly sealed, the flow of real ‘chi’ from the ‘dantian’ upward would be temporarily blocked, but his health would not be affected. Thereupon he said, “I do.”

    He heard Yuan Zhen say, “Xiao Shizhu must not act on their behalf. You seal my acupoint, no doubt it is not fatal, but as soon as their internal energy is restored, they are going to kill me at once. How are you going to prevent it?”

    “Your Mama’s stinking dog’s fart!” Zhou Dian cursed, “We said we are not going to harm you, naturally we are not going to harm you. Do you think the words of Wu San Ren of the Ming Cult cannot be trusted?”

    Zhang Wuji believed that Yang Xiao and the Five Wanderers were people who would not fail to keep their own words, but he was not certain about Wei Yixiao. Thereupon he asked, “Wei Qianbei, what do you say?”

    With a trembling voice Wei Yixiao said, “I won’t harm him for now. But the next time we meet, we will disregard our lives and fight … fight to the … the death.” By the time he said the words ‘fight to the death’, his voice was getting extremely weak while he was gasping for breath.

    “Then so be it,” Zhang Wuji said, “Guangming Shizhe [The Emissary of the Brightness], Qing Yi Fu Wang, and Wu San Ren, seven gentlemen, each one is a hero and warrior of the present age, how can they break their own promise renege their own words? Yuan Zhen Dashi, please forgive ‘wanbei’s offense.” While saying that, he walked toward Yuan Zhen.

    Because he was inside the sack, he could only take about one foot at a time; therefore, it was a dozen steps later that he finally arrived in front of Yuan Zhen. This kind of big cloth sack creeping forward slowly was actually a funny scene, but this moment everybody’s life was hanging on a thread; nobody found it amusing.

    Listening to Yuan Zhen’s breathing, Zhang Wuji knew when he was about two feet away from him, so he stopped and said, “Yuan Zhen Dashi, ‘wanbei’ is doing this for the benefit of both sides, you must not blame me.” While saying that, he slowly raised his hand.

    With a bitter laugh Yuan Zhen said, “At this moment my whole body can’t move; I can only let you, ‘xiao wan bei’, to do whatever you want.”

    Ever since the Divine Doctor of the Butterfly Valley Hu Qingniu died, ZhangWuji’s technique in acupoint identification was already incomparable in this present age. Yuan Zhen and he were separated by a cloth sack, but unexpectedly his stretched finger toward the ‘yu tang’ acupoint did not miss even a thousandths of a hair width. This ‘yu tang’ acupoint was located on the pit of the stomach, about one ‘cun’ six ‘fen’ [1 cun is approximately 1 inch, 1 fen is about 1/3 of a centimeter] below the ‘zi gong’ [purple palace] acupoint, and about one ‘cun’ six ‘fen’ above the ‘shan zhong’ [mutton smell] acupoint. It belonged to the ‘ren mai’ [lit. free, unrestrained blood passage]. This blood passage was not a fatal major acupoint, but it was located as such that the ‘chi’ passage must pass through. If this passage was blocked, the flow of ‘chi’ in the entire body would be obstructed.

    “Aiyo!” suddenly Yang Xiao, Leng Qian, Shuo Bude shouted together, “Quickly withdraw your hand!”

    Zhang Wuji felt the forefinger of his right hand shook; a gust of cold ‘chi’ burst through his hand and spread throughout his body just like a lightning strike, immediately his body turned cold. He heard Zhou Dian, Priest Tieguan, and the others shouted curses at the same time, “Stinky bald thief, dare to use such treachery!”

    Zhang Wuji’s entire body shivered violently. He understood that although that Yuan Zhen could not move away, he was still able to send all his strength to his finger, which he positioned in front of his ‘yu tang’ acupoint. Because Zhang Wuji was inside the sack, he did not see that Yuan Zhen unexpectedly could still execute this countermeasure. As Zhang Wuji’s finger arrived, two fingertips bumped into each other, the power of Yuan Zhen’s ‘huan yin zhi’ penetrated the cloth sack and went straight into his body.

    In this situation of life and death, Yuan Zhen had used up his remaining strength on his finger. After the two fingers collided, his entire body was paralyzed and his countenance turned greenish pale that he looked like a corpse.

    In the hall, there were originally eight men who were unable to move after receiving injuries. Now Zhang Wuji was added to their number. Zhou Dian was the one most irritated; although he was gasping for breath, he insisted on shouting curses at the Shaolin bald thief’s shameless treachery. Yang Xiao and the others, however, thought that they could not blame Yuan Zhen. The enemy was threatening to seal his acupoint, he held out his hand in self-defense. He had done nothing improper.

    Yuan Zhen’s strength was completely depleted that he felt he was about to die. But secretly he was delighted, thinking this boy was still young, his power could not be too strong. After being hit by the ‘huan yin zhi’, he would certainly be dead in less than half a day, while in about two hours he would be able to slowly gather his dispersed real ‘chi’, and then he would be able to do anything he wanted.

    The hall grew very quiet. After more than an hour later, the four candles illuminating the hall died out one after another. The hall became pitch black.

    Yang Xiao and the others heard Yuan Zhen’s intermittent breathing slowly evened up; it was heavy at first, but progressively getting longer. They knew the scattered real ‘chi’ in Yuan Zhen’s body was slowly condensing, while whenever they tried to exert their own energy, a cold ‘chi’, like the ice-cold ‘huan yin zhi’, would burst into their ‘dantian’. They could not help but shiver. Their despair grew, the anxiety was getting even more unbearable. They wished for Yuan Zhen to recover quicker and quickly send out a palm strike to each of them so that they would die immediately, sparing them the seemingly endless torture of waiting anxiously.

    Leng Qian, Zhou Dian and the others were content to just close their eyes waiting for death, simple and straightforward. Shuo Bude and Peng Yingyu, however, could not set their minds at ease. Of the Five Wanderers, Shuo Bude and Peng Yingyu were Buddhist monks [orig. ‘chu jia ren’ – those who leave their homes], but these two were also ones with the most ambition, the ones most care about the common people’s suffering, the ones resolved to take the great undertaking. By this time the situation was already decided, they were certain they would lose their lives under the hands of Yuan Zhen. Everybody’s lifelong magnificent aspiration would soon go down the drain.

    “Peng Heshang,” Shuo Bude mournfully said, "We have carefully laid a plan to drive the Mongolian Tatars away, who would have thought that in the end everything is wasted? Ay, to think that the calamity of millions of common people has reached its peak, yet they will still have to endure suffering for a longer time."

    Zhang Wuji was generating hot 'chi' in his 'dantian' to fight the cold 'chi' of the 'huan yin zhi'. He clearly heard everything Shuo Bude said, and was unable to restrain from feeling strange. "He said they are planning on driving the Mongolian Tatars away?" he thought, "Could it be that the notoriously evil Devil Cult really have the good of common people in their minds?"

    He heard Peng Yingyu reply, "Shuo Bude, I have already said that if we rely solely on our Ming Cult's strength, it is impossible for us to overtake the Mongolian Tatars. We have to contact the world's heroes and warriors to join hands, only then we will succeed. In the past, your Shixiong [martial brother] Bang Hu and my Shidi [(younger) martial brother] Zhou Ziwang have raised arms in rebellion. The momentum was strong, but in the end they still utterly failed. Wasn't it because they did not involve the assistance of outsiders'?"

    Zhou Dian loudly said, "Death is knocking on your door, yet you two, this pair of bald thieves, are still fighting a vague battle. One says he wants to rely mainly of the Ming Cult, the other says he wants to join hands with the major sects. To me, Zhou Dian, everything is nonsense! Merely a fart! Our Ming Cult is all split up in pieces, with our guts spilled all over the place; yet you still want to fart? Peng Heshang wants to get in touch with the orthodox major sects, it is an even louder fart, an extremely stinky fart. We are currently besieged by the Six Major Sects, and you want to communicate your fart with them?"

    Priest Tieguan interrupted, "If Yang Jiaozhu was still alive, we would have beaten the Six Major Sects out of their wits, then we would not have to worry that they would not obey our command."

    Zhou Dian laughed aloud and said, "The ox nose mixed-up hair [both are derogatory terms to call a Taoist priest] is releasing an even smellier ox fart! If Yang Jiaozhu were still alive, naturally everything would be alright; who wouldn't know it? You just talk too much ... aiyo ... aiyo!" As he opened his mouth to laugh, his 'chi' dispersed and the cold 'chi' of 'huan yin zhi' burst into his heart and lungs that he could not restrain from screaming in pain.

    "Shut up!" Leng Qian said. As soon as he said those two words, everybody calmed down immediately.

    Zhang Wuji's heart was still filled with disquieting thoughts: "Apparently there are many twists and turns surrounding this Ming Cult; they are obviously more than just a bunch of evildoers." Thereupon he said, "Shuo Bude Dashi, what exactly is your precious Cult's objective? Could you possibly reveal it to me?"

    "Ha, you are not dead yet?" Shuo Bude said, "Xiao Xiongdi, with no reason whatsoever you deliver your life because of the Ming Cult, we feel very sorry. In any case you won't live past a few more hours, so I don't see any reason why I cannot tell you the secret of our Cult. Leng Mian Xianzheng, what do you say?"

    "Tell!" Leng Qian said. Instead of saying, 'it's alright, you can tell him', six words, it was enough for him to say just one word, 'tell'.

    "Xiao Xiongdi," Shuo Bude said, "Our Ming Cult originated from Persia. It entered the Central Earth during the Tang dynasty. At that time it was called 'Xian Jiao' [Zoroastrianism]. By imperial decree, Tang emperors allowed Guangming [brightness] Temples to be built everywhere as our Ming Cult's monasteries. Our Cult's creed is to do good and shun evil, that all living creatures are equal. Those who have silver and gold ought to share it with the poor. No meat no wine. We worship the Ming Zun [Brightness prophet]. The Ming Zun is actually the God of Fire, the virtuous deity. It was because corrupt government officials bullied our Cult, our Cult brethrens were angered and often staged rebellions. From the Northern Song's Fang La, Fang Jiaozhu, I don't know how many times we have raised our arms."

    Zhang Wuji had also heard about Fang La's reputation; he knew Fang La was named one of the Four Great Bandits of the Northern Song, sharing the same honor with Song Jian [from the Water Margin], Wang Qing, and Tian Hu. Thereupon he asked, "So Fang La was your precious Cult's Jiaozhu?"

    "That's right," Shuo Bude said, "In the years of 'Jian Yan' of the Southern Song, there was Wang Zongshi Jiaozhu at Xinzhou [Jiangxi], in the years of 'Shao Xing', Yu Wupo Jiaozhu raised arms at Quzhou [Zhejiang], during the 'Shao Ding' years of Emperor Li Zong, Zhang Sanqiang Jiaozhu staged a rebellion at Jiangxi and Guangdong regions. It was because our Cult often opposed the imperial authorities that the imperial government started to call us 'the Devil Cult' and strictly forbade our activities. To survive, inevitably our operations became surreptitious so we can evade the authorities' eyes and ears. In the meantime, the accumulated grievances between us and the orthodox major sects grew to the level similar to water and fire. Admittedly, within our own Cult there were unavoidably certain individuals who were not self-introspective, some evildoer disciples, who relying on their superb martial art skill to indiscriminately killed, raped and plundered the innocents. As a result, today our Cult's prestige within the Jianghu is declining ..."

    Suddenly Yang Xiao interrupted in cold voice, "Shuo Bude, are you talking about me?"

    Shuo Bude said, "My name is 'Shuo Bude' [can't say]; I won't say anything that is not supposed to be spoken. Whoever has done the deed, he understands. This is called 'the teeth chew the wontons, the stomach knows how many'."

    "Humph," Yang Xiao snorted, but did not say anything.

    Suddenly Zhang Wuji was startled by a realization: "Hey, how come I am not cold anymore?" When he was hit by Yuan Zhen’s ‘huan yin zhi’, the cold was unbearable, but after a while, surprisingly the cold ‘chi’ completely vanished.

    What actually happened was: he was hit by the ‘yin’ poison of the ‘xuan ming shen zhang’ [black/mysterious and deep divine palm], which lasted until he was seventeen when the poison was completely eradicated from his system. During the seven years, day in and day out his body was fighting the cold poison; thereupon his body developed a natural defense against the cold, just like blinking his eyes or breathing, which he instinctively does. Much less after he trained the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, although he had not reached perfection yet, the last hurdle had not been passed, the ‘yang’ ‘chi’ inside his body was quite abundant, so that without taking too much time, the ‘yin’ poison was completely driven out.

    In the meantime, Shuo Bude continued, “Ever since our Great Song perished under the hands of Mongolian Tatars, the Ming Cult becomes the mortal enemy of the imperial government more and more, because our Cult has taken the duty to drive out the invaders. Only it’s a pity that for the past few years the Ming Cult has become like a dragon without a head. Because the masters within the Cult are fighting over the Jiaozhu position, we have been constantly killing each other. In the end, some washed their hands and lived in seclusion; some founded another sect and became the Jiaozhu. After our Cult fell apart, the enmity with the prestigious schools and orthodox sects grew deeper, until finally we reached the situation we are in today. Yuan Zhen Heshang, did you hear even half a sentence of lie in what I just said?”

    “Humph,” Yuan Zhen said, “No lies, no lies! You all are in front of the death’s door, why would you tell any lie?” While he said that, he slowly stood up and took a step forward.

    “Ah!” Yang Xiao and the Five Wanderers cried out in alarm.

    Although they all knew he was going to recover first, they did not expect his internal strength to be this profound that even after being hit by Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao’s ‘cold ice soft palm’, his recovery would be this quick. They watched his imposing stature; as his left foot took another step forward, his body was as steady as a rock.

    Yang Xiao laughed coldly. “Kong Jian Shen Seng’s distinguished disciple really is not to be trifled with, but you have not answered my question earlier. Could it be that there is some dubious affair in this matter that you cannot tell the truth?”

    “Ha … ha …” Yuan Zhen laughed while taking another step forward. “You are not going to die with your eyes closed before knowing all the details, aren’t you?” he said, “You asked me how I knew the secret passages in the Brightness Peak, how I could pass through the layer upon layer of natural stronghold, and stealthily [as before, the original was ‘deity does not know, demon does not aware’] going up the mountain peak. Very well, I am going to tell you, gentlemen, the truth. It was your own precious Cult’s Yang Dingtian Jiaozhu, husband and wife, who personally lead me up here.”

    Yang Xiao shivered involuntarily; he thought, “Based on his status, there is no way he would tell a lie; but how can there be such thing?”

    Meanwhile, Zhou Dian had already cursed, “You are just releasing your eighteen generation ancestors’ fart! This secret passage is the Brightness Peak’s greatest secret, it is our Cult’s sacred passageway. Although Yang Zuoshi [left emissary] is a Guangming Shizhe [emissary of the Brightnes], Wei Dage [big brother] is a Hu Jiao Fa Wang, they have never walked on that passage. Only the Cult Leader, one man, can use this secret passage. How could Yang Jiaozhu take you, an outsider, into this secret passage?"

    Yuan Zhen sighed and was lost in thought for half a day before quietly said, "Since you insist on getting to the bottom of this matter, I am going to tell you a secret that happened twenty-five years ago. You all are not going to go down the mountain alive anyway, so I am not worried that you would divulge this matter. Ay! Zhou Dian, you are right, this secret passage is the Ming Cult's sacred passageway, it was always only the Jiaozhu, one man, who can enter it. Anybody else entering it would be considered a sacrilege, punishable by the most severe punishment, without any possibility of pardon. However, Madame Yang Dingtian had entered it. Yang Dingtian had violated the religious law by personally sneaking his wife into this secret passage..."

    (Zhou Dian cut him off by cussing, "Fart! A stinky dog's fart!" Peng Yingyu rebuked him harshly, "Zhou Dian, shut up!")

    "In turn, Madame Yang also personally took me in..."

    (Zhou Dian cursed again, "Damn it! Pei! Pei!" he spat, "Nonsense!")

    "... I am not a Ming Cult disciple; technically, I did not violate you Cult's law. Ay, even if I were a Ming Cult disciple, even if I committed a grave offense against the Cult, what should I be afraid of?" As he recounted these past events, surprisingly his voice sounded so forlorn.

    "Why did Madame Yang take you into the secret passage?" Priest Tieguan asked.

    "It was something that happened a long, long time ago," Yuan Zhen replied, "Today Lao Na [lit. old cassock, a term used by Buddhist monk to call himself] is an old man, over seventy years of age ... but when I was young ... Alright, I will tell you everything. Do you gentlemen know who I am? Madame Yang was my Shimei [martial (younger) sister], before Lao Na left home, my secular surname was Cheng, my given name was Kun, I was none other than the 'Hun Yuan Pi Li Shou' ['hun yuan' - origin of the universe, 'pi li' - thunderbolt, 'shou' - hand]!"

    As soon as these words came out of his mouth, no doubt Yang Xiao and the others were shocked beyond belief; Zhang Wuji, who was inside the cloth sack, was even more shocked that he cried out in alarm. The stories he heard from his Yifu that night on the Bing Huo Island immediately came back vividly to his mind; how his Yifu's master, Cheng Kun, had killed his entire family: parents, wife and son; how Yifu has excessively massacred Wulin people to force Cheng Kun to appear; and how he had wounded Divine Monk Kong Jian with his fist, but Cheng Kun had not fulfilled his promise to appear in the flesh...

    Zhang Wuji suddenly remembered, "Turned out at that time this evil Cheng Kun had bowed to Kong Jian Shen Seng as his master. Because Kong Jian Shen Seng wanted to resolve this debt of sin, he willingly took Yifu's thirteen 'Qi Shang Quan' [seven-injury fist] punches. Who would have thought that Cheng Kun also deceived his Shifu and had caused Kong Jian Shen Seng to die with unsatisfied regret?"

    He thought further, "As a result, Yifu's insanity flared up and he killed the innocents indiscriminately that all Clans and Sects went up Mount Wudang together, forcing my Father and Mother to their deaths. All things considered, the main reason of all these affairs is Cheng Kun's mischief."

    All of a sudden an incomparable anger flared in his breast; he felt his whole body was parched as if he was burning. This 'air pocket of the universe' of Shuo Bude was airtight. He had been stuffed inside the sack for a long time, the oxygen inside was depleted long ago. Because of his profound internal energy, Zhang Wuji was able to survive this long by breathing like a tortoise, i.e. he needed very little air. Now that his mind was suddenly agitated, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi [real 'chi' of Jiu Yang] in his 'dantian' was out of control and was about to burst out. Immediately he felt like he was inside a burning stove and was unable to restrain from groaning loudly.

    "Xiao Xiongdi," Zhou Dian said sternly, "Everybody's life is in danger; everybody's distress is difficult to bear, but a real man will not show weakness by groaning loudly."

    "Yes," Zhang Wuji responded, immediately he circulated his internal energy according to the Nine Yang Manual to blend his 'chi' evenly throughout his body. Usually, whenever he did this, his mind would calm down like still water, his spirit would transcend beyond the material world; however, as he circulated his energy this time, his four limbs and hundreds of bones felt unbearably painful, as if there were hundreds of small needles, all were burning red, simultaneously pricking his major acupoints all over his body.

    During the several years he was training the Nine Yang Manual, although he had uncovered the mystery of the world's most excellent martial art study, he did not have any expert master to give him directions, he was merely groping in the dark. As a result, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi was accumulating in his body, but had not been put to use to break through the last major hurdle. He was fine as long as nothing triggering the 'zhen qi'. But Yuan Zhen's 'huan yin zhi' was the Wulin world's most poisonous 'yin' martial art. As soon as it entered Zhang Wuji's body, it was like the gunpowder being ignited. But because he was inside the 'qian kun yi qi' sack, the excited Jiu Yang Zhen Qi had nowhere to go, therefore, it came back and attacked his own body.

    In this short period of time, he had experienced the most difficult and dangerous moment a warrior must go through in cultivating the internal energy. It was the moment where life or death, success or failure, were hanging on a thread. Of course Zhou Dian and the others did not know that at that particular time, Zhang Wuji was right at the critical juncture where the water met the fire, the dragon clashed with the tiger; they thought he was simply groaning in pain with his dying breath after being hit by Yuan Zhen's 'fantastical yin finger'.

    While Zhang Wuji was struggling hard to resist the torment of the heating 'yang chi', every sentence Yuan Zhen spoke was transmitted clearly into his ears: "Shimei's family and mine have been friends for many generations. The two of us were engaged ever since we were very young. Who would have thought that Yang Dingtian was also secretly in love with my Shimei. When he took up the duty as the Ming Cult's Jiaozhu, his power rose until it shook the heavens. My Shimei's parents were admittedly greedy people who craved selfish gain, while Shimei herself did not have a strong character. Unexpectedly she married him, but their marriage was not necessarily a happy one. Sometimes she wanted to see me. Unavoidably, we must find an extremely secret place for our rendezvous.

    Yang Dingtian always complied with everything Shimei wished for, he did not dare to disobey the least bit. When she wanted to look at the secret passage, although Yang Dingtian very much did not want to allow her, in the end he could not resist her persuasion and ended up taking her into the secret passage. From that time on, the secret passage of the Brightness Peak, the most sacred ground of the Ming Cult for several hundred years, has become your Madame Jiaozhu’s and my secret rendezvous place. Ha ... ha … ha … ha … I have been coming and going through this secret passage more than a dozen times; is it any wonder that today I can easily go up the mountain?”

    Listening to this narrative, Zhou Dian, Yang Xiao and the others were at a loss of words. Zhou Dian only started to curse, “Fa …” but did not continue. Their breasts were filled with anger that they felt they were going to explode. They had never heard the Ming Cult being insulted as grave as this time. Moreover, today's destruction of the Ming Cult was all because this secret passage was breached. Although they were listening with anger as if their eyes were spouting fire, they all realized that Yuan Zhen did not tell a lie.

    "What? Are you angry?" Yuan Zhen said, "Yang Dingtian was blatantly destroying my marriage. She was clearly my beloved wife; just because Yang Dingtian rose up to become the boss of the Devil Cult, he snatched my wife away just like that. My hatred toward the Devil Cult is such that I refuse to coexist with you under the same sky.

    On the day Yang Dingtian married my Shimei, I came to offer my congratulations, but when I was drinking their wine of happiness, I swore a heavy oath in my heart: 'As long as there is one breath remaining in Cheng Kun's body, I will definitely kill Yang Dingtian and destroy the Devil Cult completely.' It has been more than forty years since I swore that oath, and today I see the great success of my effort. Ha ... ha ... I, Cheng Kun, have fulfilled my wish, now I can die with closed eyes."

    Yang Xiao coldly said, "Thank you very much for clarifying a great suspicion in my heart. Yang Jiaozhu died suddenly but the cause of his death was unknown. Turns out he died under your hands."

    With a conviction in his voice Yuan Zhen said, "At that time Yang Dingtian's martial art skill was a lot higher than mine. Not to mention at that time, I am afraid even now my martial art skill still cannot surpass his skill of that time ..."

    "And so you injured Yang Jiaozhu sneakily," Zhou Dian cut him off, "If not by poison, then it must be a sneak attack like this time."

    Yuan Zhen sighed and shook his head. "No," he said, "My Shimei was afraid I would do just that. She warned me continually that if I killed Yang Dingtian, she would break all ties with me immediately. She said that by having a tryst with me she had already committed a serious offense against her husband, if on top of that I maliciously harm him, the Heaven would never forgive her. Yang Dingtian, ay, Yang Dingtian, he ... he died on his own account."

    "Ah!" Yang Xiao, Peng Yingyu and the others exclaimed simultaneously.

    "If Yang Dingtian indeed died under my palms, I would have spared your Ming Cult ..." Yuan Zhen added. His voice trailed off as he recalled the events that happened several decades ago. In a slow and deep voice he continued, "That particular night, my Shimei and I were having our rendezvous in the secret passage. Suddenly we heard a very heavy breathing from the left, something that had never happened before. This passage was extremely secret, no outsider would be able to find its entrance; if it were a Ming Cult disciple, they would never dare to enter. When the two of us heard this sound of breathing, we were extremely shocked and quickly looked around to see what it was, only to see that Yang Dingtian was sitting inside a small room. There was a sheet of sheepskin in his hands, his face was dark red like blood. When he saw us, he said, 'The two of you, very good, you have done to me very good indeed!’ While saying this, his face suddenly turned pale, but this ashen face immediately vanished, turned into blood red. This turning from ashen to red happened quickly three times in the blink of an eye. Yang Zuo Shi, do you know this martial art skill?”

    Yang Xiao replied, “That was our Cult’s divine skill, the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi.”

    “Yang Xiao,” Zhou Dian said, “You have also mastered it, haven’t you?”

    “How can I dare to say ‘I have mastered it’?” Yang Xiao said, “In the past, just because Yang Jiaozhu regarded me with respect, he had passed on some shallow introductions of this divine skill. I trained it for more than ten years, but so far I only reach no higher than the second level. When I tried to continue, it was like the real ‘chi’ in my entire body was trying to burst out of my brain, no matter what I did, I simply could not control it. Yang Jiaozhu was able to change his countenance three times in a flash; that means he had reached the fourth level. He once said that among the Cult Leaders of previous generation, the eighth generation Jiaozhu possessed the highest martial art skill. It was said that he managed to master the fifth level of the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi. But on the same day that he mastered it, he died of a fire deviation. From that time on, no one has ever mastered the fourth level.”

    “That difficult?” Zhou Dian asked.

    Priest Tieguan said, “If it is not that difficult, how can it be called the Ming Cult’s protective divine skill?”

    They were all masters within the Ming Cult; naturally they had heard about the divine skill Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi for a long time and had always been fascinated with it. Consequently, although they were presently in a precarious situation, they could not restrain from having a discussion about it.

    “Yang Zuo Shi,” Peng Yingyu said, “When Yang Jiaozhu reached this fourth level, why did his countenance change?” Actually, he inquired this slightly out-of-topic subject for another profound reason; he knew that if Yuan Zhen took several more steps forward, he would strike everybody dead with his palms. Thereupon he strived to bring up past events to gain as much time as possible. As long as one among their Cult’s seven masters could recover in time and fight back, he could hold Yuan Zhen back momentarily. Even if he was not Yuan Zhen’s match, perhaps the situation would change to their advantage. Anyway, it would beat just sitting there waiting for their deaths.

    How could Yang Xiao not understand his intention? Thereupon he said, “The main principle of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi divine skill is to shift the rigid and flexible, yin and yang, two ‘chi’ of the universe. When the countenance appears bluish pale and red during training, it is because the blood subsides, the real ‘chi’ changes shapes. It was said that when one reaches the sixth level, the entire body would turn abruptly from bluish pale to red and vice versa; but by the seventh level, the yin and yang blend harmoniously that there would not be any visible sign externally."

    Peng Yingyu was afraid Yuan Zhen would grow impatient, thereupon he asked him, "Yuan Zhen Dashi, in the end, how did our Yang Jiaozhu return to the Heaven?"

    With a cold laugh Yuan Zhen said, "After all of you were hit by my 'huan yin zhi', I can hear from the sound of your breathing and the way you circulate your 'chi' that, you will definitely not be able to restore your energy within four hours. You want to gain time, hoping that you would get out of trouble by your own 'chi'. Let me tell you, gentlemen, frankly: you won't have enough time. All of you are martial art masters; even if you receive a more serious injury, after circulating your internal energy this long, you should have felt improvement no matter how slight. But how come your body is growing stiffer and stiffer?"

    Actually, Yang Xiao, Peng Yingyu and the others had realized this fact early on, but they were not willing to lose heart as long as they still have one breath remaining.

    They heard Yuan Zhen say, "When I saw Yang Dingtian's countenance changed irregularly, I could not help but panic. My Shimei knew his martial art skill was extremely high. Just one strike and he would have sent us to our death. She said, 'Dingtian, it is all my fault. Please let Cheng Shige [martial (older) brother] go down the mountain, whatever punishment you care to give, I am resigned to accept.' Hearing her words, Yang Dingtian shook his head and slowly said, 'I married your body, but I cannot marry your heart.' He stared hard at us; but suddenly two lines of blood flowed down from his eyes, his body stiffened and he no longer moved. Shimei was greatly shocked. 'Dingtian, Dingtian!' she called out, 'What happened?'"

    Although his voice was not loud, Yuan Zhen uttered these words in the quietness of the night, plus everybody was still thinking about the terrifying situation of blood flowing down from Yang Dingtian's eyes, all of them were quite shaken.

    Yuan Zhen continued, "She called out several times, but Yang Dingtian was still motionless. My Shimei gathered her courage and stepped forward to pull his hand, but he was already stiff. When she felt his breathing, it turned out he had already died. I know in her heart she was exceedingly grieved, so I tried to console her, 'It seems that he was in the middle of training some kind of extremely difficult martial art and accidentally suffered fire deviation so that his real 'chi' was heavily reversed to such an extent as he was beyond help.'

    My Shimei said, 'That's right, he was training the Ming Cult's timeless distinguished skill, the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi. While in a critical juncture, he suddenly discovered you and I were having a private meeting in here. Although I did not personally kill him, he died because of me.' I was about to say something to comfort her and ease her burden when she suddenly pointed her finger somewhere behind me. 'Who's there?' she shouted. I hastily turned around but did not see even half a shadow of anybody else. When I turned back, I saw a dagger had already pierced the pit of her stomach; she had killed herself.

    Hey, hey, Yang Dingtian said, 'I married your body, but I cannot marry your heart.' I had won Shimei's heart, but in the end I could not own her body. She was the only woman I ever loved and respected my whole life. If not for Yang Dingtian stirred up trouble, how could our blissful marriage end up in such a tragic way? If Yang Dingtian did not rise to become the Devil Cult's Cult Leader, my Shimei would have never agreed to marry someone who was more than twenty years her senior.

    Yang Dingtian had died; there is nothing I can do to him. But the Devil Cult is still alive and running amuck in the world. At that time, pointing my finger toward the corpses of Yang Dingtian and my Shimei, two people, I said, ‘I, Cheng Kun, swear to do everything I can to destroy the Ming Cult. The day I successfully accomplish my oath, I will come here to your presence and cut my own throat to express my apologies.’ Ha ha … Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, you are going to die soon, I, Cheng Kun, also will not live much longer. It's just that my heart's desire is achieved; I will happily kill myself, so I am ten-thousand times better than you are. Over these years, for me, not a day passed by without contemplating a way to destroy the Devil Cult. Ay, I, Cheng Kun, have been unfortunate my whole life; my beloved wife was taken from me, and my only beloved disciple hated me to the bones ..."

    Hearing Cheng Kun brought up Xie Xun, Zhang Wuji paid a closer attention. Only when he tried to concentrate, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi in his body grew more abundantly, so that he felt as if his four limbs and hundreds of bones were swollen to the point that his body was about to burst; as if each strand of his hair was inflated several folds.

    He heard Yun Zhen continue, "After going down the Brightness Peak, I returned to the Central Plains to seek my beloved disciple Xie Xun, whom I have not seen for many years. To my dismay, after talking to him, I have found out that he has become one of the Devil Cult's four great Hu Jiao Fa Wang. Although I visited the Brightness Peak often, my heart had always been on my Shimei, one person; I did not care about any of your shady businesses, my Shimei also had never said anything about the Cult's affairs. My disciple Xie Xun's position within the Devil Cult was quite high; but it was not before he mentioned it himself that I knew about it. With all his might he persuaded me to join the Devil Cult; he said something about joining forces with one heart, driving the barbarians away, my anger was not small. But I also realized that the Devil Cult has had long history and was deeply rooted; the number of masters within the Cult was also as abundant as the clouds. If I rely on my own strength, there was no chance I could destroy it completely. Let's not talk about me, one person; even if the Wulin heroes and warriors under the heavens joined hands, we might not necessarily able to destroy it completely. My only hope was to incite disharmony from within, let them massacre one another, let the Devil Cult destroy the Devil Cult."

    Listening to this point, Yang Xiao and the others were unable to restrain their shock. Over the last several dozen of years, each one of them were completely in the dark, totally unaware that a major enemy was watching and waiting outside, with a deliberate plan to destroy the Ming Cult. Because of the dispute over the Cult Leader position, they failed to see the more sinister chaos waiting to happen. Yuan Zhen's words were like a stick striking their heads, waking them up to a violent realization.

    In the meantime, Yuan Zhen continued, "Immediately I maintained my composure, I only said that this matter was such of a great substance that I must not be rash without giving it further consideration. Several days later, while pretending to be drunk, I tried to rape my disciple Xie Xun's wife. Seizing the opportunity, I killed his entire family: his parents, his wife and his son. I know that because of this, he would hate me to the bones and would definitely try to find me to seek revenge. If he could not find me, he was bound to commit outrageous acts recklessly. Ha ha ... nobody knows a disciple better than his master. This boy Xie Xun is good in every aspect; his literary and martial art skills were extraordinary. It's just that he was easily provoked to anger; he could not carefully reflect on cause and effects of everything ..."

    Listening to this point, Zhang Wuji could not suppress the anger in his heart much longer. He thought, "Turns out all these misfortunes befell on Yifu were the result of this old thief, Cheng Kun's secret plot. This old thief was not drunk; it was part of his deliberate scheming."

    Yuan Zhen was immensely proud of himself. “Xie Xun killed Jianghu warriors indiscriminately,” he said, “In all places he left behind my name; he wanted to force me to come out. Ha ha … how could I step forward bravely? If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it. Xie Xun gained innumerable enemies. Eventually these blood debts were put on the Ming Cult’s account. Once in a while he got into dangerous situations while doing his killings and I secretly helped him. He was the blade with which I kill others; how could I let him be destroyed by others? You, the Devil Cult, faced enemies on the outside as numerous as the leaves on a tree, your own masters were fighting over the Jiaozhu position in the inside; your internal strife was endless, and thus step by step you fell into my plot.

    Xie Xun failed to kill Song Yuanqiao. It was a regrettable matter, but he punched Shaolin’s Divine Monk Kong Jian to his death, injured Kongtong Wu Lao [five elders] with his palm, and killed countless masters of various schools and sects on the Wang Pan Island. He even harmed the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s ‘tan zhu’ [altar leader] of his old friend’s Yin Tianzheng … Good disciple, a very nice disciple indeed. I spared no effort in passing to him all excellent martial art skills. It truly was not in vain!”

    “If that’s the case,” Yang Xiao coldly said, “Your Shifu Kong Jian Shen Seng also died under your treacherous plan.”

    Yuan Zhen laughed. “Do you think I was sincere when I bowed to Kong Jian? He received several kowtows from me for the price of his old life. I can’t say he suffered any loses … Ha ha … ha ha …!”

    While Yuan Zhen roared in laughter, Zhang Wuji’s anger flared uncontrollably. His ears were buzzing and he passed out, but a short while later he regained consciousness. In all his life he had received countless bullying and humiliation, so he was able to take it indifferently. But he was thinking about hisYifu, who was a strong and bold warrior, who had unexpectedly fallen under Cheng Kun’s treacherous plan to such an extent where his family perished and his own reputation destroyed, in the end his eyes were blinded and he lived all alone on a desolate island waiting for his death. It was such a deep enmity and great hatred; how could he not avenge him?

    As his anger filled his breast, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi in his entire body was aroused, the real ‘chi’ flowed out but could not leak outside the sack; the ‘Universe Air Sack’ started to inflate. However, Yang Xiao and the others were captivated by Yuan Zhen’s story; nobody paid any attention to the inflating cloth sack.

    “Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Peng Heshang, Zhou Dian,” he heard Yuan Zhen said, “Don’t you have anything else to say?”

    Yang Xiao sighed and said, “Since it has come to this, what else can we say? Yuan Zhen Dashi, can you spare my daughter’s life? Her mother was Ji Xiaofu of Emei Pai; she came from an upright family, she has not joined our Devil Cult.”

    “Rearing a tiger reaping a danger, pulling grass must be from its root!” Yuan said, while taking another step forward. His palm stretched out, slowly came down toward the crown of Yang Xiao’s head.

    Inside the cloth sack, Zhang Wuji heard the critical situation outside. He felt his entire body was burning. By listening to the sound to determine the position, he leaped in front of Yuan Zhen; raising his left hand inside the sack, he blocked Yuan Zhen's palm with the back of his palm. In this one strike, Yuan Zhen was actually exerting himself, because his 'chi' had not completely recovered. As his strike was blocked by Zhang Wuji, he staggered and was pushed a step backward.

    "Good kid! You ... you ..." he stammered. Steadying himself, he swept his palm forward, striking the cloth sack. The palm did not hit Zhang Wuji's body, but landed on the inflating sack and bounced back that he was pushed two steps back. Yuan Zhen was shocked, not knowing what had happened.

    By this time Zhang Wuji's mouth was parched, his head was dizzy, the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi inside his body expanded to the point that he felt he was about to explode. If the 'universe air sack' exploded first, then he would escape danger; otherwise, when the real 'chi' inside his body reached its critical point, his flesh and skin would split open and he would be burned like a black coal.

    Seeing the weird cloth sack, Yuan Zhen immediately took two steps forward and launched another palm strike. As before, his palm bounced and he was pushed one step backward, but the cloth sack was also pushed back by his palm strength. Like a giant ball it rolled several times along the ground.

    Inside the sack, Zhang Wuji was also tumbling down repeatedly. With the 'chi' filling his chest, he felt his torso was about to burst. He wanted to release the real 'chi' out of his body, but by this time the sack was simply too full; just to let out a breath was getting more and more difficult.

    Yuan Zhen successively punched three times and kicked twice, but all his attacks bounced on the cloth sack full of real 'chi'. Inside the sack, Zhang Wuji had already fainted. Fortunately all of Yuan Zhen's attacks landed on the sack; if his hands and feet had made direct contact with Zhang Wuji's body, with the overflowing real 'chi' in his body, Yuan Zhen would definitely suffer serious injury.

    Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao and the others watched this strange occurrence in amazement, but they were also surprised that they were at a loss of what to do. This 'universe air sack' belonged to Shuo Bude, but even he did not understand why the sack was inflated like a ball. They did not even know whether Zhang Wuji was still alive inside the sack.

    They saw Yuan Zhen pull a dagger from his waist and ferociously stab it onto the sack. But where the point of the dagger met the sack, the dagger simply sank into the sack and bounced back out without creating any damage. The sack was made of some strange material; it was neither silk nor leather, but of some kind of unusual and extremely rare material under the heavens. Also Yuan Zhen's dagger was not a treasured blade; although he stabbed several times, how could the blade overcome the sack?

    Seeing his palms, feet and dagger were all ineffective, Yuan Zhen thought, "Why would I waste my time with this kid?" His leg flew up and he kicked with all his might. The large sack rolled straight toward the door of the hall.

    By this time the cloth sack was fully inflated into a big ball. As soon as it hit the door, it bounced back with great speed toward Yuan Zhen. Realizing the sack was coming at him with a violent force, Yuan Zhen raised up his palms in front of his chest and pushed forward at the big ball with all his strength.

    'Ka-boom!' The noise was like a thunder in a cloudless day, followed by shreds of cloth fluttered in the air as the 'qiankun yi qi dai', fully inflated with Zhang Wuji's Jiu Yang Zhen Qi, exploded into pieces.

    Yuan Zhen, Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Shuo Bude and the others felt an exceedingly burning hot air burst onto their bodies; next they saw a young man in tattered clothes standing in the middle of the hall, with a bewildered look on his face.

    In that short time, Zhang Wuji had achieved the full potential of the Jiu Yang Shen Gong; water and fire flowed together, the dragon and the tiger converged. Because the sack was filled with abundant real 'chi', it was as if dozens of masters put forth their strengths and simultaneously massaged the several hundred acupoints on his body. The real 'chi' inside and outside of his body surged together to break the dozens of obstacles all over his blood passages. He felt an incomparable comfort as if a stream of mercury flowed along all his entire network of blood vessels. No one had ever met this kind of destiny, and now that the treasured sack was destroyed, no one would ever encounter such opportunity again.

    Yuan Zhen saw that the young man from the sack was standing with a blank expression on his face as if he had lost his mind. Although he was severely wounded, if he did not seize this fleeting moment immediately, and if the enemy preceded him in taking the initiative, his life would be in danger indeed. Thereupon he rushed one step forward with an extended right-hand index finger, sending his 'huan yin zhi' internal strength straight toward the 'shan zhong' acupoint on Zhang Wuji's chest.

    ZhangWuji swept his palm to parry. He had just completed his 'shen gong' [divine strength/power] cultivation, however, his martial art skill was still mediocre; he had not mastered the martial art skills previously taught by Xie Xun and his own father, how could he fight such an accomplished martial art master like Yuan Zhen? In just one move, the 'yang chi' ['yang' reservoir] acupoint on his wrist was sealed by Yuan Zhen. Immediately a numbing cold burst into his body; he shivered and was pushed a step backward. But his body was still overflowing with real 'chi', which in a flash was also transferred to Yuan Zhen' body via his finger.

    Two different types of energy collided; one yin the other yang, exact opposite to each other, but Zhang Wuji's internal energy came from Jiu Yang Shen Gong, the strength of his power far outweighed Yuan Zhen's. Yuan Zhen's finger heated up; he felt as if his internal energy dispersed all over his body. Moreover, he had already suffered a heavy injury, the level of his power was only one-tenth his normal strength. Realizing the situation was disadvantageous for him, he thought saving his own life was more important; thereupon he turned around and ran away.

    "Cheng Kun, you big evil thief!" Zhang Wuji angrily cursed, "Leave your life behind!" Moving his feet, he ran after him out of the door.
    He saw a flash of Yuan Zhen's shadow as he entered another door. With anger filling his breast, Zhang Wuji rushed forward to pursue. But as soon as he exerted his strength, 'Bang!' his forehead heavily hit the doorframe.

    What happened was: he did not know that after he had reached the full potential of his 'shen gong', a lifting of his hand, a kick of his foot, would be ten times more powerful than his usual strength. With just one big stride, he lost control and bumped his head on the doorframe.

    Rubbing his slightly sore forehead, he mused, "Confound this demonic door; how come just one step took me this far?"

    Busily he leaned sideways to enter the door, and saw that it was a small room. In his zeal to avenge his Yifu, he ran across the room toward the door on the other end. Outside the room was a courtyard, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants in the middle of the courtyard. He saw light coming out from a window of the room on the western side of the courtyard. He leaped toward the room and pushed the door open. He saw a flash of grey shadow; Yuan Zhen was pulling a curtain open and ran in. Zhang Wuji followed after him; but as he pulled open the curtain, Yuan Zhen was nowhere to be seen.

    Zhang Wuji focused his eyes to look around and could not help but was inwardly surprised. This room looked like a chamber belonging to a young lady of a greatly rich family. There was a dressing table
    standing next to the window, with a large red candle burning brightly on top of it, casting its light on a beautifully embroidered tapestry in the middle of the room, it looked imposingly rich and beautiful, not at all inferior to Zhu Jiuzhen's room.

    On the other side was the bed, with a gauze mosquito net drooping over it. There was a pair of pink embroidered shoes in front of the bed; obviously there was a woman sleeping on the bed. The only door to this room that he could see was the one he entered in; the windows were tightly closed. He had clearly seen Yuan Zhen enter the room, how could he disappear without any trace in just a blink of an eye? Could it be that he mastered some kind of art of invisibility? Or perhaps despite his status as a 'chu jia ren' [lit. those who leave home] he was hiding inside a woman's bed?

    Zhang Wuji was contemplating whether he should open the bed's curtain to search for the enemy when suddenly he heard intermittent sound of footsteps; somebody was coming. Quickly he dodged behind a piece of blanket draped by the western wall, right before two people walked in.

    From behind the blanket, Zhang Wuji peeked out and saw two girls; one was wearing light yellow silk robe, her dress and adornment were luxurious. The other was a younger girl, wearing dark green cotton robe; looked like she was the young maid.

    "Xiaojie [miss]," the young maid said in a raspy voice, "The night is deep, please have some rest."

    The 'miss' turned around and slapped the young maid's face heavily with the back of her hand. The young maid staggered and fallback one step. The body of the 'miss' swayed and she turned around completely. Under the candlelight Zhang Wuji was able to see clearly her big round eyes, with deep black pupils, on a round-shaped face. She was none other than Yang Buhui, whom he escorted for tens of thousands 'li' all the way from the Central Plains to the remote Western Region.

    It had been several years; she had grown a lot taller, but her mannerism did not change, particularly the downward curve at the corners of her mouth, which he recognized as her childhood feature, was more pronounced.

    He heard she cursed the maid, "You told me to sleep, humph, the Six Major Sects are besieging the Brightness Peak, my Father and his colleagues have been discussing plans to fight the enemy all night and have not finished yet. He [orig. 'lao ren jia' - a polite term for an older person] has not slept, how can I sleep? It would be best if my Father is killed by the enemy, and then you can kill me; you would gain everything your heart desires." The young maid did not dare to defend herself, she simply helped her to sit down.

    "Quickly get my sword!" Yang Buhui said.

    The young maid walked toward the wall and took off the sword hanging on the wall. Her ankles were shackled with an iron chain, her wrists were also shackled with iron chain. Her left leg was limping, her back was arched like a humpback. When she had the sword in her hands and turned around, Zhang Wuji was even more startled; he saw her right eye was small, the left eye was big, her nose and the corners of her mouth were twisted. In short, her form was extremely unsightly. He thought, "This young lady's appearance is uglier than Zhu'er. But Zhu'er is ugly because the poison in her body had caused the bumps on her face; she can be cure completely. This young miss, however, has an inborn deformity."

    Yang Buhui received the sword and said, "The enemy could be here any time, I want to patrol outside."

    "I am coming with Miss," the young maid said, "If we meet the enemy, we can look after each other.” Her voice was so raspy that it was hard to understand; she sounded more like an uncouth middle-aged man than a young girl.

    “Who wants your fake good intention?” Yang Buhui said. Her left hand reached back and grabbed the pulse on the wrist of that young maid’s right hand; the young maid was immediately paralyzed.

    “Xiaojie,” she said in a trembling voice, “You … you …”

    “A large number of the enemy is here to besiege us,” Yang Buhui said with a cold laugh, “We, father and daughter, are at the point of death. Most likely you, this little maid, were sent by the enemy to the Brightness Peak as a spy, are you not? How can we, father and daughter, let ourselves be tortured by you? Today I will kill you first!” While saying that, she flipped her sword to stab the young maid’s neck.

    When he saw the young maid was deformed, Zhang Wuji felt compassion toward her; now that he suddenly saw Yang Buhui’s sword went straight to stab her, in this critical situation he did not have time to think, immediately he flew out and flicked the body of the sword with his finger. Yang Buhui was not able to hold her sword. ‘Clink clank!’ the sword fell to the floor. As soon as the sword left her right hand, her two fingers went straight toward Zhang Wuji’s two eyes. It was actually a very common, mediocre stance called the ‘shuang long qiang zhu’ [a pair of dragons fight over a pearl], but since she had been under her father’s tutelage for several years, the stance came out rather powerful.

    Zhang Wuji leaped backward to evade and blurted, “Buhui Meimei [younger sister], it’s me!”

    Yang Buhui was accustomed to him calling her ‘Buhui Meimei’, four characters; she was startled. “Wuji Gege [big brother]?” she asked. She only recognized the intonation of the call ‘Buhui Meimei’, but she did not recognize Zhang Wuji’s appearance.

    Immediately Zhang Wuji felt a pang of regret in his heart; but he could not deny again. “It’s me!” he had no choice but answered in affirmative. “Buhui Meimei, how have you been these past several years?”

    Yang Buhui looked at him intently, but when she saw a man in ragged clothes and filthy face, she was startled and felt uneasy. “You … you … really are Wuji Gege? How … how did you get in here?” she asked.

    “It was Shuo Bude who took me up the Brightness Peak,” Zhang Wuji replied, “After that Yuan Zhen Heshang entered this room, he disappeared suddenly. Is there any other way out from here?”

    “What Yuan Zhen Heshang?” Yang Buhui was confused, “Who entered this room?”

    Zhang Wuji was anxious to chase after Yuan Zhen; he did not want to start explaining a long story. He simply said, “Your father is injured in the hall, you’d better take a look quickly.”

    Yang Buhui was shocked. “I’ll go look at Father,” she hastily said, but then suddenly with a great force her palm shot down on the top of the young maid’s head.

    “No, don’t!” Zhang Wuji cried out in fear as he reached out to push her arm so that Yang Buhui’s palm came down on empty air.

    Twice Yang Buhui tried to kill that young maid, but both times Zhang Wuji intervened. “Wuji Gege,” she said sternly, “Is this girl your companion?”

    Zhang Wuji was baffled. “She is your maidservant,” he said, “I met her just now, how can she be my companion?”

    “If you do not know the real story, then do not meddle in other people’s business,” Yang Buhui said, “This maidservant is our family’s big enemy. My Father put shackles on her hands and feet exactly to prevent her from harming me. Right now the enemy is coming to attack in large numbers, this maid is going to take this opportunity to strike back.”

    Zhang Wuji saw that this young maid was tender and pitiful; although her appearance was rather unusual, she did not look like a fiendish person. "Miss," he said, "Do you have any intention to take this opportunity to strike back?"

    The young maid shook her head. "Certainly not," she said.

    Zhang Wuji said, "Buhui Meimei, did you hear? She said 'Certainly no'. Please spare her!"

    "Very well," Yang Buhui said, "Since you ask on her behalf, aiyo ..." suddenly her body leaned sideways and swayed, her legs shaky.

    Zhang Wuji hastily reached out to support her, but suddenly he felt pain on the 'xuan shu' [hanging hinge/pivot] and 'zhong shu' [hub/center], two acupoints on his lower back, and he tumbled forward.

    Turned out Yang Buhui did not like him keep stopping her; she lured him to come near, and then using the iron ring on her middle finger she struck his two major acupoints on his back to overthrow him, followed by her right hand slapped backhandedly toward the young maid's right-hand 'taiyang xue' [sun acupoint, on the temple]. But before the strike hit, Yang Buhui felt her 'dantian' fiery hot while her whole body went numb so that she did not have any choice but release the young maid's wrist in her hand. Her knees buckled and she fell down, sitting on the chair.

    What happened was: when with her entire strength she struck Zhang Wuji's acupoints, although the Jiu Yang Zhen Qi had not completely protected his body since he had just mastered it, it automatically reacted against the external stimulation and heavily shook the arteries and veins in Yang Buhui's entire body.

    The young maid picked the sword lying on the floor and said, "Xiaojie, you always suspect me of harming you. If I wanted to kill you right now, it would be as easy as blowing dust; but I do not have this kind of intention." Finished speaking, she returned the sword back to its sheath and hang it on the wall.

    Zhang Wuji stood up and said, "Did you see that? I was right!" As soon as his acupoints were sealed, he used the real 'chi' inside his body to flush the obstructed blood vessels and very soon he was able to move again.

    Yang Buhui looked at him helplessly, with a great astonishment in her heart. By this time the numbness in her hands and feet had vanished. Remembering her father's safety, she stood up and said, "How is my Father's injury? Wuji Gege, wait for me here, I will be back to see you. How have you been these past several years? I remembered you often ..." She kept talking while rushing out the room.

    "Miss," Zhang Wuji asked the young maid, "That monk escaped to this room and suddenly disappeared. Do you know any other way out from here?"

    "Do you really have to pursue him?" the young maid asked.

    "This monk has offended the Heaven and defied reason," Zhang Wuji replied, "He has committed innumerable crimes. I ... I ... must pursue him even to the ends of the earth."

    The young maid looked up to stare at his face. Zhang Wuji said, "Miss, if you know, please show me the way."

    The young maid bit her lower lip and hesitated for a moment. "You have saved my life," she said in low voice, "All right, I'll take you." She blew the candle out and pulled Zhang Wuji's hand away.

    End of Chapter 19.
    Last edited by Han Solo; 08-30-09 at 01:15 PM.

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