Wuxia [RPG #4.0] Story thread.

[kwekmh]

Tang Yu Long quickly pushed off the ground with a kip. He smirked as he licked his lips and appeared to be unimpressed.

“Ah, so the old man thinks he’s some kind of hero?” thought Tang Yu Long in disgust.

“You have some nerve! My beautiful clothes are already tarnished due to that dirty little beggar," said Tang Yu Long, “And you…how dare you sully it further old man?”

“I suggest you pay now and leave while I am asking you kindly,” stated Kong Long Zhi.

“Kindly? Kindly with a fist, huh?” questioned a vexed Tang Yu Long, “You run a lowly and dirty establishment.”

"Let me tell you, young man, we run a good clean establishment with excellent service. It works like this. You come in, we seat you down. You order, we cook and bring it to you. You eat and then you pay while we clean your mess. What part of this process don't you understand?" asked Kong Long Zhi.

"Excellent service? Clean establishment? You must be pulling my leg!” exclaimed a vexed Tang Yu Long as he dusted himself off and brushed his hair with his left hand, “First, my meal plans are ruined by this dirty little beggar. Somehow your clumsy waiter ruins my meal by dumping it over that dirty little beggar. Then, he and you have the nerve to besmirch my posh attire.”

“Yeah right!” shouted Xiao Ping, “I didn’t do anything!”

“Hush!” Xiao Shuang whispered to Xiao Ping’s ear but Xiao Shuang notices a bulge on Xiao Ping’s shirt.

“Old man, the time of your flower has wilted and you’ve become senile. Do what you must, but I refuse to pay for a meal I did not touch nor savour with my own red tongue,” said Tang Yu Long.

Kong Long Zhi replied calmly, "However, you did place the order. No matter what you decide to do or not to do with the food, it is none of our business. As long as you have placed the order and received the food, you will pay."

Tang Yu Long was about to ignore him and just walk off when Kong Long Zhi moved forward and blocked his path. Kong Long Zhi warned, "Don't blame me for being rude then. Watch out!" He stretched out his hands towards Tang Yu Long.

Before Tang Yu Long knew what was happening, Kong Long Zhi had searched him thoroughly. Kong Long Zhi said coldly, "You do not even have a single cent on you."

Tang Yu Long was shocked to hear that, and he quickly checked. Indeed, his money pouch was missing. He said furiously, "Old man! You must have took it from me! Stop acting innocent!" But almost immediately, he thought of Xiao Ping. He looked in Xiao Ping's direction and stared at him.

Xiao Ping protested, "What are you looking at me for? Don't you have something else better to do, like explaining why you came to eat without a single cent on you? Right, gong gong?"

Tang Yu Long had reached his limit. He looked as if he would explode anytime. He kicked at Xiao Ping with his "Dancing Divine Dragons".

Kong Long Zhi shouted, "No fighting in the inn!" But as he spoke, Bai Tian Yun had already moved forward and pushed his palm towards Tang Yu Long. He drew a circle with his palms and Tang Yu Long felt his force being directed elsewhere. He was using a move from the 'Carefree Stances'. As they began to fight, Kong Long Zhi went between them and stopped the fight.

Kong Long Zhi said angrily, "Stop fighting..."

[druid]

post deleted

[sixdays]

Troubles in the Forest, Part I

"Sir, we can help you avoid the troubles and protect you." said the Wind Vixen to ChangYe, "Please trust chief! Let us make you a offer you can’t refused."

"…" ChangYe is a bit shock at the turns of events, what should he do now?

Chang Ye’s thoughts were interrupted by a sickly stench. What is that horrible smell? he wondered, glancing around. Unexpectedly, TianMo followers were dropping to the ground, clutching their stomachs and vomiting white foam uncontrollably. Just then, he heard a voice call out.

“Hey, you band of rotten eggs! How do you like this?” Standing on a fallen log was a small beggar, waving a a small vial around while plugging his nose. He was more rags than man, standing hunched over with a huge bushy beard and a bamboo cane. It seemed that he spilled western grape wine all over himself, turning his rags a dirty purple. the wretched smell was coming from the bottle in his hand.

“Who are you?” XieWang shouted, angrily advancing towards the beggar.

“Your mother sent me. She said you were a bad boy, and needed some punishment. Since old man here was already spending some time with her,” he cackled devilishly, “I thought i should do the job of daddy and offered to do the job!”

“How dare you poison my followers? What is your goal here?”

The old man straightened up suddenly, and grinned to reveal a set of crooked yellow teeth. “If you can catch me, I’ll tell you.” With that, the old man sprinted away into the woods. I didn't expect his qing gong to be so incredible! XieWang thought to himself. However, he was torn between leaving his followers to capture the beggar, or to stay and never know the reason for this strange attack. XieWang made up his mind. I have no choice but to follow him and unravel this mystery. Leaving a few TianMo Pills near his followers, he gathered together his strength and began sprinting after the beggar with all of his might, since he was already behind.

At this point, Lu Chang Ye began feeling a bit faint, himself. It seemed that floating towards him was a beautiful fairy, dressed in flowing purple silk. This incredible beauty may not have Miss Shi’s voluptuous figure, but she radiated elegance and grace with every step. Every move was so delicate that she seemed to float above the ground ever so slightly.

“Lu Gong Zi, what you have done was extremely foolish and dangerous.” This figure in purple was no other than Xiao Die.

Stunned into silence, Lu could only stare dumbly.

“However, my Li Da Ge believes he can help you, and that is why I’m here. You will sleep now, and see him when you awake...” Lu faded into unconsciousness, still clutching the carcass of the Jade Fox.

Xiao Die sighed. Why did men go through all this trouble for the affairs of Jianghu? She looked to the sky and let out a shrill whistle. Immediately, a white pigeon flew to her. She scribbled a few sentences to Constable Li and attached it to the pigeon’s leg, sending it back to headquarters in LuoYang.

****

XieWang crashed through the forest in haste. Following the trail of broken branches, he thought he was on the right trail, seeing the occasional scrap of cloth or gray hair. Imagine his shock and amazement when the trail led to a clearing, with a bundle of clothes and a big bushy beard on the ground! A pair of yellow dentures sat on top, grinning at her just like that old beggar from before. I can’t believe I’ve been tricked, he grumbled. Suddenly, he heard a sharp whistle from where he was before. “It must be that beggar!” he cried, heading back towards the noise. Exerting his qing gong, he began to give chase --- but somehow stumbled and began to feel weak instead, falling to the ground.

Xiao Die was a master of non-lethal poisons and medicine. The fumes that she used before were based on the deadly venom of the Naja. This venom attacks the bloodstream, and is harmless when ingested -- which meant that most common antidotes also had no remedy for its effects. Constable Li had come across some of this venom from Indian snake charmers he had met along the Silk Road in his robber days, and Xiao Die used it to create this poison in order to immobilize any criminals Li might come across. Mixed with special herbs that made one vomit uncontrollably, it was extremely effective for controlling large groups of evildoers. The only reason that XieWang could hold out this long was because of his profound internal strength --- however, XieWang still succumbed to it in the end. Furthermore, he was using all his strength to chase the beggar, accelerating the poison throughout his system and affecting him even faster.

XieWang swallowed a TianMo ShenDan and circulated his energy to fight the poison. He would recover, but it would take him at least 2 hours. He had lost Lu Chang Ye.

NOTE: Naja is the Indian term for Cobra. The effects I described above are factual, and are in line with the way snake venom works.
____


Part 2 is on the way after i take a lunch break. It will deal with ChangYe and Li, at the Yamen (constable headquarters). Happy 4th of July, to all my Americans! To my int'l friends, well, this is just another day for you, isn't it?

[Son of Light]

"Now were can I find something amusing" said ZhiXuan as she wonders around LuoYang, she already had enough of the small town.
She is bored, very bored, isn’t there anything amusing here in LuoYang? To think she came all the way from ChengDu.
As she was walking around the streets, she notices noises coming out from an Inn, being the curious girl she is, she decided to go take a look.
As she enters the inn, she saw a mess, foods were all over the place, a table is broken and the handsome young man she met earlier was looking at an old man with anger.
What could have happened?
Just then, she saw Xiao Ping and went towards him

"Hi, kind sir, remember me? We met yesterday. What has happened here?"

[kidd]

"Xiao Shuang, Xiao Shuang" a female voice came from the doorway.

Wen Shao Shuang turned around to face the doorway and saw a middle age woman running towards him.

"What's the matter, Mrs. Guo?" asked Xiao Shuang.

The woman, still trying to catch her breath said "Your aunt has been knocked down by a cart down the road".

"What?!" Xiao Shuang was in shock.

"Yes, it's down the road near Lao Liu's rice shop. Quickly go and see her" adviced the woman.

"Thanks for telling me, Mrs.Guo." said Xiao Shuang. He than turned to Kong Long Zi, wanting to ask permission to go, but before he opened his mouth Kong Long Zi already replied.

"Go ahead." said Kong Long Zi, still looking at Tang Yu Long.

"Thank you, boss." said Xiao Shuang gratefully, and went off with Mrs.Guo.

[resident:alien]

“Dirty beggar,” shouted Tang Yu Long, “You’ve stolen my pouch, haven’t you?” Tang Yu Long tries to brush the old man aside, but the old man remains as steady as a stone pillar. “I forget, it seems this old man has strong internal power. . .nevertheless…” he thought.

“I did no such thing eunuch!” Xiao Ping replied as he stuck out his tongue. Xiao Ping then turned around and stuck out his behind and bent forward. Underneath his legs, he made a childish face and taunted Tang Yu Long to attack him. Xiao Ping laughed as knew that if the “eunuch” made a move, the old man would push him down just like earlier.

“Why . . . I ought to make your face look like that permanently!” shouted Tang Yu Long. Unbeknownst to Xiao Ping, something slips from his shirt sleeve and hits the floor behind him.

“I’m not going to repeat myself again,” Kong Long Zhi stated.

“Old man, if you don’t move aside, I’ll buy out your restaurant and tear it down!” replied Tang Yu Long.

“Tang Yu, that’s enough!” announces a boisterous voice, “You should listen to the old man.” Immediately, without turning around, he recognizes the voice and lets out a sigh of displeasure. Everyone else turns their attention to see who this person is.

[druid]

Chang Ye awake with his four limbs numb and cold. He could see nothing yet his eyes were open or so he thought.

“ Ha… and now I’m back… face to face with darkness, my ever present companion…” Groping wildly he tried to feel his way around while slowly opening his eyes. The minutes pass and soon his eyes became accustomed to the dark surroundings.

He was in a dark cell of sorts, yet it was getting brighter as if day was breaking outside. The only source of light came through the small window at the back of the cell, with four thick steel bars that dashed the hopes of anyone that thought he or she could escape through it. And at this point, the rays were getting brighter casting some light at the interior of the cell. It was bare with only some hay scattered everywhere. Ten thick solid steel bars stood in front of Chang ye and a small route to what seem to be an exit.

“ Seems that my eyes still work.” Spoke Chang Ye as he sat down on some hay in the cell.

Sitting down, Chang ye could do nothing except but ponder and day dream.

Closing his eyes, his thoughts went back to the damn day when he met the pretty girl at the back alley and how foolishly he tried to prevent the constable from hitting her. He smiled and then swore silently. Ladies… beauty… always a trouble. Chang ye never knew what was like to be in love never had he the fool’s chance to experience it. Not that he did not want to but who would ever fancy him? He was of average looks, and had no X factor that would lure ladies to him coupled with his present beggar appearance; only a chance in hell would any lady take a fancy on him. And if the impossible did happen, the only logical reason would be to make a fool out of him. Never experiencing the warmth of a female, with the possible exception of the tight slap given to him by the disciple of the Zi Long Sect, he silently vowed that woman were nothing but trouble. And then there was the lady in the woods. Got to be her that he was now in this hellhole.

“ If I ever become a somebody, I’ll make sure that all woman would know their place, especially those so call beautiful and pretty ones. This is I swear…”

His thoughts then wondered to the constable and how he manhandled him. Another bloody hypocrite whose actions speak other wise. He had seen and experienced enough of such people to know that more often then not, they only lusted after fame and wealth.

“ Scum of the earth. Its better that I die a thousand times or be a law breaker then be like them.”

Such thoughts naturally propelled him to Wang Yi Qing. Oh the taste of sweet revenge!
The condensation of all humiliation, pain, anger into a single moment when his arm flew off his body. Such joy! Oh yes such satisfaction. Chang ye allowed himself a smile. That bastard deserved to rot in hell for his actions. It was a pity that the old man, Zeng Li Yang had to die as well for should he not, then eventually the whole of Jianghu would know that he had killed Wang. For this, Chang ye actually felt guilty. Mumbling a prayer for the soul of Zeng Li Yang, he felt better and at once all guilt that he slaughtered a defenseless man left Chang Ye in a rush.

Suddenly he felt discomfort and pain all over his body, the pain intensified and soon Chang Ye was moaning and groaning as he rolled all over the ground

“ Could this be the effect of drinking the blood of the Jade Fox? That my body cannot contain its power and potency? Argh…”

While rolling around, a leather bound book found its way out of the robe of Chang ye and onto the floor. Seeing it, Chang ye grinded his teeth and crawled his way to it.

“ Xuan Yang Luo Yin Xin Fa… perhaps I can ease the pain with it…” With one hand pressing against his stomach, and another hand on the book, Chang Ye began turning the pages of the book and reading its content….

[resident:alien]

Xiao Ping notices the slip and quickly snatches the grey pouch before anyone can see. It was a close call but nonetheless he has money now and cannot wait to count it. He looks around for the nearest exit and begins to slowly move in that direction.

“So, he calls himself Tang Yu?” thought Bai Tian Yun, “What is this Dancing Divine Dragons technique?” Tang Yu Long does not immediately reply to the chorus of chatter. The person is a comely young lady of fecund and nubile appearance. She is about above average height for women and is rather slim. She is dressed in a perfect blend of black and grey. Her long hair is tied in many exquisite loops down to her hips.

“Wu Mei, it’s been a while?” says Tang Yu Long who remained in his fixed position, “Your father sent you didn’t he?”

“Cut the small talk, you pompous @$$,” she says, “Father’s been waiting to see you.”

Fiesty one aren’t you? And your name is?” asks Bai Tian Yun with great intrigue. She smiles at Bai Tian Yun and then rolls her eyes at him completely shrugging him off as if disgusted. She crosses her arms behind her and continues to approach Tang Yu Long in a circular route. Soon, her eyes meet Tang Yu Long’s pair. A few of the patrons sitting above begin to chatter amongst themselves. The only barely audible sound forms a question, “Isn’t that the prime minister’s daughter?”

“Wu Mei,” retorted Tang Yu Long, “This is my business and mine alone. Stay out of it.”

“Shutting him down is your business? Hasn’t my father taught you any better?” she spiritedly replies. Tang Yu Long does not offer a reply due to the fact that whenever he is around her, he stutters. Everyone follows this remark with a chorus of laughter much to Tang Yu Long’s chagrin. Xiao Ping especially finds this hilarious. She is Yao Ruo Lan, the prime minister’s adopted daughter. Those who know her best describe her as a young, spoiled, tomboyish young woman with a spunky attitude.

“He submits to a woman’s bark?” laughs a patron. “He really isn’t a man after all!” replies another.

Xiao Ping sees this as his chance to escape as everyone is attention is divided elsewhere. However, he doesn’t get very far as he trips and falls on top of a familiar person.

"Well excuse you!" shouts Zhi Xuan at the top of her lungs.

[kwekmh]

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” shouts Zhi Xuan at the top of her lungs.

"Hey, it's you! You managed to get away from that Constable?" Xiao Ping asked excitedly.

ZhiXuan was confused and about he asked what he meant when she suddenly recalled about the act.

"Ah, yes! Thanks for your concern." ZhiXuan replied.

Xiao Ping asked again, "How did you like the prank I played on him?"

ZhiXuan was genuinely confused and asked, "What prank..." Before she can finish her sentence though, Tang Yu Long had already spotted Xiao Ping trying to get away.

"Return my wallet, you low life!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Yao Ruo Lan stared at him angrily and said, " I said cut it out!"

Tang Yu Long looked at her coldly and replied, "Let me settle my own business first."

When he turned back to look for Xiao Ping, he saw that he had already taken the chance to run away. Tang Yu Long gritted his teeth and ran out of the inn, trying to chase Xiao Ping.

Yao Ruo Lan stepped in front of him and said, "You will stop this nonsense now."

[druid]

The minutes passed as Chang Ye adsorb the contents of the first few pages of the Xin Fa and begun to put them to use or rather to the test as he begun to circulate his inner Qi around his body. Ten minutes later, as steam was emitting out of his head, he actually felt better and felt no more pain. His body also felt stronger than ever before. Smiling happily, Chang Ye relaxed and closed the book.

“ Seems like this manual really is that good. I wonder…”

In reality, what had happened was that the richness of the blood of the Jade Fox was far too much for a weak and broken body (like Chang Ye) to endure. Having almost zero internal power was catalyst for trouble as the major acupoints and medians could not contain or resist any of the Qi that came with the blood. With no place to store, the foreign Qi then was free to travel to any and all parts of the body akin to having fire-deviated. In addition, Chang Ye’s numerous and major acupoints had been unlocked earlier by the beautiful lady at the back alley and hence the pain and agony he felt was ten-fold than what a normal man would feel. But balance in the world was held, as the first chapters of the Xin Fa were actually basic inner power cultivation instructions on how best to control breathing and how to circulate one’s internal Qi in such a way that prolonged practice would increase the amount of Qi and strengthen the body to the point whereby one would be able to move on to the next stage of more advance inner cultivation. Such a process would take ordinary man about five to eight years to complete yet Chang Ye had drank and feast on the blood of the Jade Fox and hence the process had been shortened drastically as he only need to learn how to control and use his new found Qi. In doing so, he now had at least six good years of solid inner Qi and was above the average fighters of Wulin.

Deciding that it was time to proper study the manual, he open the manual again and slowly read through the first few pages and commit the contents to memory.

“ Such profound wisdom and power! The creator of this Xuan Yang Luo Yin Xin Fa must surely be a top pugilist of his time. Although the theories seemed somewhat strange and highly unorthodox, they seemed more practical as if designed to actually achieve the most in the shortest amount of time.” Thought Chang ye was he continue to flipped the pages.

“ Having achieved stable and solid foundations in basic Qi cultivation, this next chapter focuses on the continuation of cultivation at a higher level. Practitioners are advised to train diligently on the previous chapter for another three years before embarking onto this new set of instructions and formula for fear of fire-deviation and death.” Chang Ye stopped reading and stood up.
Walking around, he pondered and reason to himself….

“ Practice another three years? Hmmm… I have not cared about death for so long. At the very worse, I will get crippled once more. Since I have extracted half of my revenge then at the very worse, it will be half done. That will do then.” Having made up his mind, he sat down and begun to practice the formulas and instructions on the chapter.
The sun rose to the highest point at noon and the so did the darkness of the cell pushed back to the furthest corners. More than half the day was gone and yet no one had come to see and check on Chang Ye. Deep in concentration, Chang Ye was giving his all to mastering the art of Xuan Yang Luo Yin Xin Fa. At one point in time, a rat nearly caused him to fire deviate as it crawled all over his body and down to his… external organ. Rising one hand and without opening his eyes he caught the rodent and crushed it with his bare hands. Hands still on the rat, he brought the body to his mouth and drank its blood for his thirst was unbearable.

Evening came, and the sun was setting and still Chang Ye sat in the same position that he had sat the whole morning. His eyes closed and in deep concentration, his body motionless with only occasional movement of his arms and/or fingers. The moon rose from behind the night clouds and shone onto the Chang Ye casting a shadow onto the floor where the carcass of the dead rat lay and still Chang Ye sat, unmoving. It was night. Throughout the night he sat moving not an inch of where he sat, his clothes soaked with his sweat yet extremely cold to touch as if he had just a stroll on a cold winter’s day. His head emitting steam and heat profusely while his fingertips were greenish in color and felt so cold as Chang Ye himself was suffering from extreme frostbite.

In the wee hours of the morning the cold wind blew and normal men would shiver in response to its cold caress but Chang Ye’s body was now colder than its caress still he sat there unmoving. A statue of extreme coldness.

Morning came with increase of temperature and the noise of the waking animals and vendors. The sun rose rather shyly as it took its place up in the shy and soon, its glare and rays shone brightly.

Chang ye opened his eyes and smiled. He was still alive. Training throughout the night, he had felt the benefits of the divine art.

“ It would not be long now….”

[kwekmh]

While Yao Ruo Lan confronted Tang Yu Long, Bai Tian Yun and ZhiXuan had already went out to look for Xiao Ping.

They caught up with him quite easily, and they quickly entered into a deserted alleyway.

ZhiXuan asked Xiao Ping, "What prank were you talking about?"

Xiao Ping replied, "Hanging Constable Li on the city walls."

After hearing his reply, she immediately understood that the incident was caused by Xiao Ping. She replied, "Oh! So you are talking about that!"

Bai Tian Yun suddenly interrupted, "Is it right of us to leave them at the inn? After all, you did steal his money pouch, didn't you?" He stared at Xiao Ping.

Xiao Ping chuckled, "Well, that's to teach him a lesson." But he began to feel uneasy as both Bai Tian Yun and ZhiXuan stared at him.

"Er... how about sharing some with you two?" He stammered. But they did not stop staring at him and he knew perfectly what they wanted him to do.

"OK, fine, I'll return it." Xiao Ping said and ran back towards the direction of the inn. Bai Tian Yun and ZhiXuan followed behind.

As they entered the inn, they saw Yao Ruo Lan and Tang Yu Long bickering over Xiao Ping. Xiao Ping shouted at them, "Gong gong, here's your money pouch!" and he threw the money pouch back at him.

"There, you see! He did steal my money pouch!" Tang Yu Long said angrily to Yao Ruo Lan. Yao Ruo Lan retorted, "Well, he didn't look like a thief! But he's returned you your money pouch now, hasn't he?"

They forgot all about Kong Long Zhi when he suddenly interrupted, "Sir, now that you have your money pouch back, can you please pay me?"

[Son of Light]

As they entered the inn, they saw Yao Ruo Lan and Tang Yu Long bickering over Xiao Ping. Xiao Ping shouted at them, "Gong gong, here's your money pouch!" and he threw the money pouch back at him.

After that, XiaoPing returned to TianYun and ZhiXuan.
"Ok, I did what I should."
"Good."

"I am a bit hungry; I think we are passing lunch time already."

"So, the lady's hungry?"

"I know a place near by with good food, let me bring you there."

"Ok"

The two followed XiaoPing to a big restaurant.

"YuanYang Lou! One of the top restaurant in LuoYang!"

"Looks expensive…"

"Well, the leftovers are usually great."

"What? You want us to eat leftovers?"

"Of course, we people who are out in JiangHu should try to save money for emergencies, trust me, I am on good terms with the boss here, he will let give us some nice dishes, these rich people spent like crazy and seldom finishes the food they ordered, some are even almost untouched anyway."

"Friend, I rather eat at a more humble place with poorer food then to do such a thing."

"May I speak?" ZhiXuan interrupted the two guys.

"Yes, fair lady?"

"Guys, I am really starving near the point of fainting; can we just go and have some food? Let’s just go into this one."

As they went into the restaurant, XiaoPing went to see the Boss.

"Hay dude, remember me?"

"It's you again, ok, some of those rich people didn't even touch their food again, come with me to the backyard, you and your friends can have a nice feast."

"Thanks."
"Wait a minute, I may not be loaded, but I am not that poor, how much are the stuffs here, anyway?"

The boss show a menu to TianYun.

"Ok… a bit expensive… should have brought more money out…" Although it will not strain his cash flow much, but TianYun had to remember that he had no way of extra income other then going home to ask for more, something he would really hates.

"Can I have a look?" Asked ZhiXuan as she took over the menu, "not bad, quite affordable. Give me some of your nicest dishes, make the helping a bit smaller, I have a small appetite, and we only have three people here."

"What? But the leftover today seems good, let's not waste the good food."

"Ok, we will get sited and enjoy the meal, you go to the backyard to have your leftovers. Alright?"

"Ok, and if you can't finish what the fair lady ordered, maybe I will have yours, too."

"………" TianYun is currently at a lost for words.

After sitting down and getting their rice and dishes, ZhiXuan closed her eyes and prayed, then make a cross over her body and mumble something in a in a foreign language.

"What do you do that? And what were you saying"

"Do what?"

"This" said TianYun as he copied what ZhiXuan had done.

"Oh, it’s to honor the Lord."

"The lord?"

"Yeah, the creator, the one who sent his son to die for our sins."

"Great, you believe in the Roman Religion?"

"Yeah."

"Good heavens…"

Suddenly, someone shouted.
"Help! The bird has gone mad! Somebody stop this beast before someone gets hurt!"

ZhiXuan turned her head and see a Sparrow flying towards her.

"This is really not my day."

TianYun also notice the flying Sparrow, and decided to help ZhiXuan.

[kwekmh]

TianYun also notice the flying Sparrow, and decided to help ZhiXuan.

He lightly flicked the chopstick towards the sparrow so that the chopstick would brush past the sparrow, scaring it away.

"Glad that no one's hit..." Bai Tian Yun said.

Suddenly, he noticed two person sitting at a table near them. He was startled and immediately looked away from them, making sure they cannot see him!

ZhiXuan noticed his sudden behaviour and asked, "What's wrong?"

Bai Tian Yun replied in a low tone, "Shh, someone I don't want to see is here. Let's finish the food quickly."

They started eating and chatting. Soon, they had finished their food.

"That was a pretty nice lunch." Bai Tian Yun commented.

"Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that." ZhiXuan replied.

Suddenly, they noticed that the two men at the other table were staring at them with a strange expression.

"Damn, they noticed me!" Bai Tian Yun whispered.

Just then, Xiao Ping had finished his leftovers and came over to Bai Tian Yun and ZhiXuan.

"Now where should we go?" he asked.

Suddenly, Bai Tian Yun felt something flying towards him and he quickly caught it. It was a piece of paper with the emblem of the Carefree Sect on it. He looked towards the table where the two men were previously and saw that they had disappeared.

"Hey, what's that?" ZhiXuan and Xiao Ping asked unanimously.

"Nothing much. Let's go." Bai Tian Yun replied nervously.

They walked out of the inn and Bai Tian Yun took the chance to open the slip of paper while they weren't looking. It wrote: "Meet at Yi Jian Ke Zhan tonight."

He quickly destroyed the paper by crushing it using his internal energy.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Help! Somebody stop the mad dogs!"

[kidd]

Xiao Shuang followed Mrs.Guo to the scene where his aunt was supposed to be knocked down by the cart. His heart was filled with worry. They finally reached the place.

A woman in her late 30s was arguing with a man who looks like in his early 30s. Another woman in her late 30s was holding the fist woman, obviously supporting her. Red laceration can be seen on the lower left arm of the first woman.

"So, you deny it's your fault?!" argued the first woman.

"It's you who came out of nowhere, how do you suppose I can avoid?" argued back the man.

"You are the one who knocked me down and you blame me? You shouldn't have pushed the cart so fast. " said the woman loudly in return.

"I was in a hurry. You should look where you are going. My barrels of wine are also broken, who is going to pay me?!" the man shouted back.

Xiao Shuang ran towards the first woman.

"What happen, aunty? Are you alright?" asked Xiao Shuang with concern.

"No, I'm not alright. My right leg is in pain and my arm is scratched. My leg might have even been broken and this man deny responsiblity!" said his aunt, pointing at the man, then wincing in pain, and dropping her hand to right leg.

"Don't simply talk nonsense. It's your fault" said the man defensively.

"Aunty, don't matter about compensation anymore. You need to see the doctor immediately. Let me bring you to doctor Xu." said Xiao Shuang with concern.

"No! He should pay the compensation first." said his aunt determinely.

"But.." Xiao Shuang wanted to reason with his aunt but was cut off by his aunt's subsequent words.

"Everyone, this man drive his cart recklessly and hit a poor woman like me. Look, I'm all injured. My leg might be broken" tears started to well up in her eyes and rolled down her cheek, "and he refused to take responsibility" more tears rolled down her face.

Seeing this, Xiao Shuang was at once concerned and speechless.

People around started to feel sorry for the aunt and started blaming the cart man.

"How can bully a poor lady like.."

"Yeah, have you know shame?"

"Are you a man or not?"

"Ah! Enough, enough. shouted the cart man in exasperation. "Just my bad luck today." said the man while taking out some coin from his pouch and handed them to the aunt. Then, with a very dark face, he pushed his cart and went away.

"Aunty, let me carry you to Dr.Xu." said Xiao Shuang, taking over the support of his aunt from the second middle age woman. "Thank you, Madam, thank you Mrs.Guo." Xiao Shuang thanked the woman Mrs. Guo and proceed to carry his aunt on his back.

--On the way to the Dr.Xu's house.--

"Aunty, you are so fierce just now, then you started crying. You really scared me." said Xiao Shuang.

"Silly boy, if I don't change strategy, how can I succeed in getting the compensation from him?" said his aunt affectionately.

"The poor man is also quite pitiful. The wine doesn't look cheap. I can affort the medical fee. We doesn't need to get the compesantion from him" replied Xiao Shuang.

"I was just getting back my just compensation. I didn't take more from him. We are not rich. Shouldn't waste the money if possible. You and you uncle are the same. Too generous. If I leave it to you two to manage the money, we will all be sleeping in street by now." reprimanded his aunt.

Xiao Shuang just smiled to himself.

[IcyFox]

Prequel Summary Of Kong Long Zi's Story


Many years ago (before the current story), a number of unorthodox sects formed an alliance under the leadership of the TianMo Sect to deal with their enemies (who were members of the powerful orthodox sects). They claimed to be avenging their past injustice at the hands of the orthodox sects and their methods were radical, causing great havoc in Jianghu.

The majority orthodox sects too formed a coalition and selected 6 of their most resourceful martial arts experts to assasinate the leaders of the unorthodox sects alliance in a bid to break their power through an organizational collapse. Kong Long Zi was selected and put in charge of intelligence because of his knowledge of the unorthodox sects' martial arts and key personnel.

After assasinating several of the leaders of TianMo Sect's partner sects, the special elite team (dubbed as Jianghu's Counter-Terrorist Special Operations Command) discovered that the attacks of the unorthodox sects was actually a smoke-screen to draw Jianghu's attention away from their primary purpose.

At that time the purpose was unclear (the team only discovered the existence of the purpose, not the details) but Kong Long Zi suspected that it had something to do with the legendary Jade Fox. The leader of the team (name classified) disagreed with Kong Long Zi about the purpose and a quarrel ensued.

Following that, the leader suddenly disappeared, and for a while it was thought that Kong Long Zi had murdered him. Faced with increasing pressure over this incident, Kong Long Zi quit the team, which then disbanded. The unorthodox alliance ended their attacks soon after and it was rumoured that they had obtained the Jade Fox by colloborating with the 'missing' team leader.

Kong Long Zi retired from Jianghu and set up the Yi Jian Ke Zhan with some of his old supporters. Determined to put his past behind, Kong Long Zi adpoted a silly and goofy personality as the innkeeper of Yi Jian Ke Zhan.

Present Day

“Yes, of course I know, I know everything,” Kong Long Zi snapped. “Now hurry and ask your questions so that you can quit bothering me.” However, this was all an act by the old man. In reality, who could shackle Old Man Kong with his marvelous martial arts? Actually, Kong Long Zi knew that Li was coming and allowed himself to be captured to see what Li was up to.

End Of Prequel Summary

[xsniper]

It is the time of Dong Zhi (Winter Solstice), I have made my way to Zong Yuan, the land of the dragon that brings prosperity, the land of opportunities....

Xue Junh Lang continued recording the many events that have unfolded as he embarked on his jounrney to the greatest nation of all... China.


He sat by himself atop of a high peak. It was almost dawn, the sun was about to rise from the eastern lands.

He was alone, just how he likes to do things.

All that was with him was his diary, sword and a oil lit-latern. His life seems like a long eternities worth of journey's, his hair was white as the whitest of stones.

Every strand hair it seems to have endured the harshest of life that is never ending, yet he remains unfallible, still, peerless beyond all corners.


He trusts himself to defeat anyone, anything that challenges him whether they are human or from the nether world.

All his life he has felt in need of purpose, the destiny of why he is chosen... Something only he can achieve.

It is all unfolding now... as the tide begins to rise the winds of the dark winters are changing... it is time for the beginning...

[Son of Light]

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Help! Somebody stop the mad dogs!"

ZhiXuan and TianYun turn their heads and saw someone chasing after some puppies, when suddenly, the puppies turn direction and rush towards ZhiXuan.

"Help! The dogs have gone mad! Somebody stop these beasts before someone gets hurt!" Somehow, this is as expected

"What? Not again?! This really, really is not my day. Oh Lord, has you sent these to test my faith?"

Before anyone could do anything, some of the puppies had already jumped on top of ZhiXuan, and together with those near her feet, starts to lick her.

"My cloths..."

"Sorry Miss, sorry for my dogs!"

"So far for mad dogs." YunTian giggled.

"They are usually very obedience, I think they must be excited as this is their first time in town."

"Really, you should take better care of you dogs."

"It's ok, these are just my normal clothing, nothing expensive, don't take it to heart, here sir, please have you puppies back, they're rather cute, I must say."

TianYun looked at ZhiXuan, her cloths are made from very fine silk and dyed with the most refine technique of the times, only the royals, nobles and the extremely rich could have dress better, and this is only her casual clothing?

"Ok, thanks Miss, thanks for your kind understanding."

"It's ok, old sir, may The Lord Bless you, have a nice day."

"...I must say, ZhiXuan, aren't you a bit too nice? Are you sure the cloths are cheap?"

"Well, it is on the expensive side, but what'd done is done, I don't want to make that old sir feel guilt over this. Christ taught us to Turn the Other Cheek and to replay evil with kindness"


"So nice, is he a Buddha or Moist?"


"He's more then that, he's the way, the truth, and the life, the only begotten son of the living God."

"Yeah right, and I am the son of the dying God, together with this Christ fellow I think we can make a great team, so where's this Christ fellow now?"

"Oh, it's you, I see you finished the leftovers, and please be more polite to the nice lady."

"Yeah, they were good, especially those you guys left behind, wonderful, let's go there again next time."

"Good heavens! This is the first time since birth I feel such a strong urge to strangle someone alive."

"Hay, relax, Mr. Bai, since god had planned that we meet here today, we should try to be friends."

"Yeah, relax, TianYun, let's just have fun."

"No, I have something better to do, bye."


"So soon? Ok, Bye pal!"

"So, XiaoPing, any interesting place we can go?"

"Well..."

"Help! The rabbit has gone mad! Somebody stop this beast before someone gets hurt!"

Before XiaoPing could reply, they saw someone chasing after a rabbit, and it's heading right towards ZhiXuan, as usual.

"Again? And in such a short time? Now I am truly certain that today is definitely not my day."

[kwekmh]

"Again? And in such a short time? Now I am truly certain that today is definitely not my day."

"Guess animals like her too much." Bai Tian Yun thought.

They watched as ZhiXuan tried to escape from the rabbit as the owner finally managed to catch the rabbit.

"I'm really sorry, somehow this rabbit managed to escape." The old lady said.

"No problem, it's alright." ZhiXuan replied.

Bai Tian Yun said, "Heh, you sure have an affinity with animals. Anyway, I better get going now."

He headed back towards Yi Jian Ke Zhan and thought, "Damn, Uncle Yang and Uncle Tie sure found me fast. Seems like I've to meet them, else they'll still find me eventually. It's better to settle this early."

He went back to Yi Jian Ke Zhan and began thinking of how to handle Yang Gang and Tie Fei.

[sixdays]

Investigating at Yi Jian, Part II

They forgot all about Kong Long Zhi when he suddenly interrupted, "Sir, now that you have your money pouch back, can you please pay me?"

A deep voice rumbled from the doorway.

"Any friend of the Prime Minister is a friend of LuoYang's law enforcement."

Constable Li stepped into the room with two bundles under his arms. One was wrapped in blue cloth, and the other seemed to be a bundle of rags.

"This package should clear up the situation." Li began to set the blue bundle onto the table, but unexpectedly his hand was already empty! Constable Li could be considered one of the top martial artists in His Majesty's Service, so to have a package stolen right out of his hands is normally no simple matter. However, this Kong Long Zi took from Li like he was a small child! He could only chuckle to himself in amazement. What marvelous technique! I have no wish for the day that Old Man Kong becomes my enemy.

"An excellent [Monkey Steals The Peach], Elder Kong. Junior gives you his respect." Looking up, he saw Kong Long Zi already had the bundle in his hands and was unwrapping it frantically. His eyes shone with delight when he saw what was inside.

"Okay, okay, let this pretty boy go! He's more trouble than he's worth, anyways." Old Man Kong rubbed his hands together with glee. "Go on, get out!"

"No one tells Tang Yu Long where to go!" Tang Yu Long retorted. He had already forgotten that he didn't want to stay here in the first place; the only thing he could think of was the fact that he was being ordered around by this strange old man. "I should just buy this inn out from under you and fire you first. That'll teach you a lesson--- OWWW!" Yao Ruo Lan, fed up with Tang's antics, began to physically drag him out of the inn by the ear. Despite his arrogant attitude, Tang Yu Long knew the consequences of making the Prime Minister's daughter angry or possibly injuring her, so he could do nothing but pout and let himself be led out of the inn. "You know, this --- owww! --- isn't over, you stubborn old fool --- OWW! --- I'll have your filthy shack for this --- owowow --- and i'll fill it with delicious food just for me, and you won't have any --- Hey, watch out for my hair! --- You just wait..." One could hear him still shouting insults from down the road, his voice getting softer with distance. Kong Long Zi, satisfied, turned to Li.

"You know, Little Li, even though that silly young boy ordered a feast, ten taels would have covered the cost of it. Don't you think ten thousand is a little...generous?" Even while talking, Kong began recounting all of the bank notes in the bundle and giggling to himself like a small child playing with his favorite toy. "I assume this has to do with your visit yesterday. Come, let's talk upstairs." Channeling his internal energy to his legs, Old Man Kong leapt straight up in the air, and somersaulted to the balcony above! With this fantastic display of qing gong, there was no way You Ming could match it. "What are you waiting for?" Kong Long Zi called down. "You're slower than a son of a turtle!"

Now, Yi Jian Inn was a very peculiar place. During restaurant hours, there was no way to get to the second floor where the inn was located. After the restaurant closed, Kong Long Zi himself would lower a specially designed set of stairs on ropes for the patrons to get to their rooms. The official reason was so that patrons could enjoy an exclusive feel of privacy and safety at Yi Jian, but rumor had it that Kong Long Zi actually was too cheap to hire enough employees to run both services at once. At any rate, only someone of Kong's qing gong ability could reach the top without the help of any steps.

Why can't things ever be easy with this crazy old man? Gritting his teeth, Li jumped as high as he could, but even with his incredible height the second floor was still a few feet out of his reach. He burned with embarrassment as Old Man Kong laughed at him from above. "Just like a monkey jumping for a treat, haha!" Suddenly, the constable was struck with an idea. Jumping high once more, Li kicked against a wooden beam and launched himself towards Kong Long Zi.

Old Man Kong simply continued laughing, doubling over and holding his stomach. "That's not going to help you very much, you silly boy. Huh?!" Kong felt his leg suddenly pulled by a heavy force. The old man opened his eyes, only to see a metal shackle around his ankle! Li was hanging from the connected chain with a huge grin on his face.

"There's more than one way to get up here, Elder Kong." Of course, with Kong's profound martial arts his feet were planted like roots in the earth. Li used that force to pull against the chain, flipping over the railing and landing on the second floor. "Shall we?" he asked, collecting his chains and walking into an empty room. The customers at Yi Jian were still applauding his creative solution, while Kong sat on the floor and pouted. "That's only what someone with 3 legged cat kungfu does. It's not impressive at all," he grumbled, following Li into the room.

[sixdays]

Investigating at Yi Jian, Part III

By the time Kong Long Zi stepped into the room, Constable Li had already unrolled the second package on the table before them.

"Elder Kong, can you tell me what I have here?" Constable Li asked, gesturing to the contents of the bundle.

"That's just a matted piece of white fur, why ---" Kong Long Zi interrupted himself, staring in astonishment. "That gold streak along the paw! Could this possibly be the Jade Fox I've been searching for?" Kong Long Zi dropped his playful demeanor and began to look sentimental. "Years ago, there was countless bloodshed in Jiang Hu over the pile of fur and bones you see now. It's hard to believe that it has come to this tragic end so swiftly after all this time." Slowly he turned and picked up the other object, a simple scroll. He began reading its contents:

"To hold is not to control. Release your energy from the dan tian, and guide it along the paths of your body. Open the gates to trap, close the gates to release." Elder Kong frowned in puzzlement. "Well, that just doesn't make any sense! Anyone practicing this martial art would fire deviate and eventually die!" He turned to Li. "Enough of your mysterious ways. Tell me, what is the meaning of this?"

Constable Li sighed. "That indeed is the Jade Fox, or at least, what remains of it. My people discovered a young street wanderer named Lu devouring the poor creature in the woods outside the city, claiming that he was dying of thirst and hunger. He was with members of the TianMo Cult, but they did not seem affiliated. I had him brought to my headquarters and searched while unconscious. All I could find was a leather-bound scroll, which I copied and brought here. I was hoping you could tell me what it was."

"In martial arts philosophies, it goes against everything I was taught," Elder Kong replied. "I'd like to take a look at the original, to see if any clues are in the material itself. Besides, this Lu child does not seem completely innocent to me. Why eat a living fox for food when he was barely out of the city? He had to have an idea of the Jade Fox's true significance. Could you take me to see him?"

"Of course."