Wu Lin Wai Shi

[Hoju!]

Chapter 13 continued.....
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The two travelled hurriedly for half a day, and by noon, they had arrived at West Valley, a small town west of Xin’an [one of the counties of Luoyang]. Although the town was small, it was actually not very isolated. This was because it faced east toward Luoyang, and the merchants that came along the Beidu River naturally brought quite a bit of prosperity to the town.

All along the way, Zhu Qiqi held onto Jin Wuwang’s hand, and even when they entered the town, she did not let go. How others viewed her or what they thought about her did not matter to her at all. Naturally, people did look at her, and they of course found this bizarre and humorous. But once they saw Jin Wuwang’s face, they did not dare look anymore and definitely did not laugh.

Zhu Qiqi softly gloated, “Look. People are scared of you. I’m so proud.”

“What are you proud about?” Jin Wuwang asked.

Zhu Qiqi laughed, “I have wanted people to fear me, but people never have. Now that I am with you, though, I am like a fox following a tiger; I can bask in some of your glory and pretend that people are scared of me. Of course I should be proud. But… but I’m too hungry right now, so even though I want to put on a grand, haughty look, I can’t.”

Jin Wuwang could not help chuckling. “You have an appetite right now?” he asked

“I’m not one of those melancholy and moody girls who can’t eat or drink the instant they encounter any little thing…… I will very quickly forget anything, and I will not stop myself from eating. That is why my fifth brother says I am certainly going to become a big fatty eventually.”

Jin Wuwang could not help letting out another laugh with this. “What is wrong with being a fatty? Come; let’s go have a nice big meal.” For some reason, right now, this ice-cold eccentric seemed to have changed a bit.

The two of them walked along for another ways when Jin Wuwang suddenly thought of something and asked, “Is your fifth brother the Fifth Young Master Zhu people of jianghu frequently mention?”

Zhu Qiqi sighed. “Yes. This fifth brother of mine is really a weirdo. He seems to have absorbed all the best of my family’s good aura. No matter where he goes, he seems to have the best relations with people and is able to make people like him. I really don’t know why.” Although she was sighing, in fact, her heart was filled with pride.

“I, too, have heard much about Fifth Young Master Zhu, and all have said that he is a refined, elegant young master in a crude world. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the chance to meet him.”

“Let’s not even mention you not being able to meet him. Even we brothers and sisters have not seen him for nearly two or three years,” Zhu Qiqi told him. “He’s like a wandering spirit. Ah, arrived now.”

By “arrived now,” she was not saying the “wandering spirit” had arrived but rather, that they had arrived at the eatery – a small shop front and five little tables, all tidy and clean. Wine and tea aromas wafted out from the door, but unfortunately, all the tables were full.

“This place’s business is too good,” Jin Wuwang remarked.

“A busy place means the wine and food must not be bad,” Zhu Qiqi countered.

“Except there are no empty seats.”

“No worries,” Zhu Qiqi answered. “Come with me.”

Pulling Jin Wuwang with her, she walked in and headed towards a corner table where she stopped and stood. Sitting at this table were two round-faced merchants who had been eating away happily, but as they abruptly lifted their heads and saw Jin Wuwang, they were so frightened they could not help shuddering. They hurriedly lowered their heads but were unable to eat anymore. Zhu Qiqi held onto Jin Wuwang and stood there unmoving. Those two people held their chopsticks in their hands, but picking up any food with them felt wrong as did setting them down. So with chopsticks still in hand, they went to pay the tab.

And so, Zhu Qiqi and Jin Wuwang sat down at that table.

Jin Wuwang shook his head. “You sure have your ways.”

“It’s called ‘the fox taking advantage of the tiger’s might.’”

Jin Wuwang broke out again into roaring laughter, but after some time, he suddenly stopped.

“Why aren’t you laughing anymore?” Zhu Qiqi asked. “I like how you look when you laugh.”

Jin Wuwang was quiet for a lengthy moment before speaking slowly, one word at a time. “In this half a day, I have laughed more than I did in the last several years.”

Zhu Qiqi looked at him in a stupor, unable to speak for a long time. Was that aching she felt in her heart? Sweetness? Bitterness? Even she did not know herself.

Fortunately, at that moment, wine and food arrived, and Zhu Qiqi set her thoughts aside and ate happily.

Jin Wuwang, however, really had no appetite, so Zhu Qiqi constantly was serving him food. Other people dared not look at them but also could not help sneaking peeks. It was because these two people were truly too weird – the man was so ugly, the girl was so beautiful; they seemed distant from one another, yet also so close. What exactly the relationship was between these two, no one was able to guess.

Zhu Qiqi simply pretended to not know and or see them. Smiling, she chimed, “You must eat this piece first. Drinking on an empty stomach can kill people.” Stretching out her chopsticks, she picked up a spare rib and was about to place it in Jin Wuwang’s bowl.

However, her entire body suddenly tremored and the spare rib between her chopsticks suddenly fell, “plop,” into a soy sauce dish. Her eyes stared unwaveringly at the window directly facing her seat, and not a trace of color was in her face.

Jin Wuwang’s expression shifted. “What is it?”

Pointing with her chopsticks at the window behind JinWuwang, she stammered, “You…… look……” Her words could not form into sound. Her chopsticks were making incessant “clack clack” noises. It was obvious her hands were trembling fiercely.

His countenance changing, Jin Wuwang turned to look behind him. But the window was completely empty; nothing was there. He found this odd and was also anxious as he inquired quietly, “What did you see?”

In a shaky voice, Zhu Qiqi replied, “Someone… someone outside the window.”

“Where? Are you seeing things?”

“There was someone just a second ago. Once you turned around, he left.”

“Who was it?” Jin Wuwang asked.

Zhu Qiqi quivered, “That… that devil. That devil who made me paralyzed and mute.”

Jin Wuwang’s expression changed again. “Did you see clearly?”

“I saw extremely clearly. I will never forget his face for the rest of my life.” Even now, she had not calmed her nerves yet, and her voice still seemed slightly unsteady.

The color of Jin Wuwang’s complexion had changed too. His brows creased together as he contemplated in silence.

Zhu Qiqi asked him, “Are you going to chase after him?”

Jin Wuwang shook his hand. “There is no possibility of catching him now.”

Zhu Qiqi was panicked. “Then… then what are we going to do? Now that I’ve seen him, I can’t eat or sleep. He seems like he could be following behind me at any moment and that he wants to harm me again. I only need to close my eyes and it is as if I can see him smiling ferociously at me……” She suddenly put down her chopsticks, covered her face, and nearly started sobbing aloud.

Jin Wuwang pondered for quite some time. All of a sudden, he rose to his feet, pulled out an ingot of silver, tossed it on the table, and grabbed Zhu Qiqi by the hand as he instructed in a low voice, “Come with me.”

“Where… where are we going?”

Jin Wuwang’s face was like iron and he did not answer. He pulled Zhu Qiqi out of the eatery, looked all around to get his bearings, and then, surprisingly, dashed straight toward the most isolated place outside of the town.

Zhu Qiqi was both bewildered and frightened. She truly was completely terrified of that devil. She was not afraid of anyone in the world, except for “him.”

With a hardened look on his face, Jin Wuwang strode forward. All around, the surroundings were getting more and more remote. Even though the snow had cleared and the sun had come out, Zhu Qiqi still could not help shivering with cold.

Unconsciously, her arms reached out to hold onto Jin Wuwang’s shoulders, and she leaned against him. From behind, it looked like a tall, handsome man with a slender, delicate girl nestling and resting on him. This scene certainly would cause people to be envious. But then, walking to the front, one would see a charmingly beautiful fairy and a cold, ugly man walking side by side on the gray wilderness of snow. That was such an unspeakably horrible picture.

Although Jin Wuwang’s shoulders were now bearing the weight of another person, he was still able to move swiftly. Zhu Qiqi could not help asking him, “What sort of place is it up ahead?”

“I do not know.”

Zhu Qiqi paused, then stammered, “Then… then where are you going?”

“I do not know either.”

Startled and angry, Zhu Qiqi sputtered, “You… you…”

Jin Wuwang told her, “You will know very soon what I am doing.” The sound of his voice had not died out when he suddenly stated quietly, “He’s come.”

Zhu Qiqi inhaled a sharp breath of cold air, then held her breath and listened. Sure enough, behind them was the sound of clothing being rustled by wind, and it was coming at them extremely rapidly. However, Jin Wuwang did not halt his steps or turn around. Naturally, Zhu Qiqi did not dare turn back to look either and could only wonder silently, “Who has come? Could it… could it be him?”

She heard that sound of rustling garments come up behind them, and then its pace seemed to slow down so that it followed them from a consistent distance back. The person did not try to catch up or speak. Zhu Qiqi felt a chill rising up her back like a thorn, and she could not help wanting to turn her head to take a look.

But she managed to restrain herself. Her arm hugged even tighter. She could sense that as Jin Wuwang quickened his pace, the person behind them would also speed up; when Jin Wuwang slowed his steps, the person behind would also slow down. By now, Zhu Qiqi was certain that the person behind them was that devil. She had also suddenly realized that Jin Wuwang had purposely come to this remote location to lure “him” out.

What she could not guess, though, was why Jin Wuwang was using this tactic. If he really wanted to eliminate “him,” he should just strike now. If he did not intend on eliminating “him,” he still should have made some sort of move by now.

Jin Wuwang’s footsteps were growing faster and faster until he was actually just circling on that cold, deserted plain of snow. That person also followed him in his circles.

Zhu Qiqi could not help herself and was about to ask again, but before the question had left her lips, she heard Jin Wuwang speak to her using the art of voice transmission. She heard each word one at a time: “This person’s kung fu is not weak, but his internal energy is inadequate. Right now, I am deliberately making him using up his internal energy. When it is depleted, I will force him to into a fight, and I can take his life.”

Zhu Qiqi was surprised and delighted and wished she could hug Jin Wuwang’s neck and give him a kiss on the cheek to express her praise and thanks to him.

All of a sudden, Jin Wuwang threw his head back in a laugh and said, “Good… good…”

That person also laughed raspily, “Good… good…”

“I knew you would come,” Jin Wuwang said.

“I knew you would come,” that person repeated.

“You are here already; why won’t you speak?” Jin Wuwang asked.

“You are here already; why won’t you speak?” that person echoed.

In fury, Jin Wuwang barked, “Are you jesting with me right now? You should know that, even though we belong to the same organization, there is absolutely no friendship between us. Did you know that I lured you here to take your life?”

A cry of “oh” seemed to come from that person, but still, he said, “Are you jesting with me right now? You should know…”

Jin Wuwang abruptly snapped, “Who are you?” Amidst the echoes of his voice, he suddenly turned around with Zhu Qiqi.

Unable to stop himself quickly enough, the person nearly collided into them – he hurtled right up to a spot less than one [Chinese] foot in front of them before he was able to steady himself. That dirty, ugly, strange-looking face coincidentally stopped right before Zhu Qiqi. It was not the “devil” they had guessed it to be. Instead, shockingly, it was Jin Buhuan.

This turn of events not only caused Zhu Qiqi’s complexion to grow pale with fright, even Jin Wuwang was completely astonished – they had not lured in the fox but instead, had brought in a wolf.

[Hoju!]

I have previously before asked if there would be translators interested in taking over this story, but I had not gotten any takers. I've tried to continue on at my snail's pace, but unfortunately, I'm going to have to put out the request again. I am preggers with my first baby and the little one is due at the end of June. I'm pretty certain I will not have much time for translating after his/her arrival.

Therefore, if anyone is interested/knows someone who may be interested in translating, please let me know.

Hopefully, this is enough notice to find someone, and if there are no takers, at least you will know the reason if I suddenly disappear in June.

[Han Solo]

Congrats hoju.

Don't disappear without some photos.

Han

[LuDongBin]

How wonderful! Best wishes to you and baby.

I'm sure someone capable will step forward. A superb translation so far.

[tweety365]

Hoju! CONGRATS! CONGRATS!
I am sure all readers will miss your updates, but you have more important priorities. I do hope another kind soul will take up the arduous task of translating this wonderful story. Thank you ever so much for all your hard work! Very much appreciate it

[balikpapan]

Wow, Hoju... so much happy for you.

In my lifespan here at SPCNET, we had one newborn baby, then next june. First, Jean, then you. Yeah, don't forget the obligatory cute picture.


.

[aliderhamy]

Wow, Hoju... so much happy for you.

In my lifespan here at SPCNET, we had one newborn baby, then next june. First, Jean, then you. Yeah, don't forget the obligatory cute picture.


.

If i remember right there is a few weeks before you give birth that you get to sit around not doing a hole lot at home ?

so does that mean we will be seeing a big BIG burst of translation materiel before you disappear to give birth ?

(I'm just trying to talk you into few more pages ) thanks a lot for the journey so far.
I hope you eat and sleep well and have a healthy and happy baby.

[Wanlie Tong]

Congratulations.

[Hoju!]

Thank you everyone! I will certainly post a pic of the baby (no need to twist any proud mommy's arm for that one). I'll be taking my leave from work 2.5 weeks before the actual due date. How much of that will be downtime is all up to the baby. If he/she decides to come early...



Chapter 13 continued.....
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Zhu Qiqi stammered as she blurted out, “It… it’s you.”

Enraged, Jin Wuwang snapped, “So, it is you.”

Jin Buhuan cackled with laughter. “It is me… the two of you never thought of this possibility, had you?”

“What are you doing sneakily following us?” Zhu Qiqi demanded loudly.

Jin Buhuan blinked at her and grinned, “I just wanted to see what you two, walking so intimately and towards such a deserted area outside of town, were going to do. This is not the place for getting intimate, you know.”

“Shut up!” Jin Wuwang roared in anger.

“Alright. Shut up,” Jin Buhuan agreed. “Dage [eldest brother] tells me to shut up so I will shut up.” He threw his head back and laughed strangely before he added, “I only realized now that our dage has his ways after all. In a couple of moves, he has managed to steal this Zhu Guniang out of Shen Lang’s hands.”

Jin Wuwang’s eyes flashed, and a murderous air showed on his face.

Zhu Qiqi could not hold back her angry rebuke. “What bull**** are you talking about?”

Howling in laughter, Jin Buhuan said, “What a mean sister-in-law… Sister-in-law, you really are mean. Let little brother tell you, this dage of mine appears to be simple and frank on the outside, but oh, in reality… Ha ha, ha ha.”

“In reality what?” Zhu Qiqi could not help asking.

“In reality, my dage is a charmer of women. From that year when he turned fifteen, a countless number of young women have suffered from lovesickness for him, until later…”

Jin Wuwang was watching him coldly, listening to him speak and not bothering to stop him. Jin Buhuan, however, deliberately threw a glance in his direction and paused what he had been saying.

As expected, Zhu Qiqi blurted, “What happened later?”

“Ahem, ahem. I don’t dare say,” Jin Buhuan said.

“Say it. It’s no matter,” Zhu Qiqi urged.

Snickering “he he,” Jin Buhuan carried on, “Those girls kept pestering my dage to the point where he couldn’t train in his martial arts. In the end, my dage grew so angry he actually destroyed his own Pan An-like looks[12].”

Zhu Qiqi exclaimed, “Oh!...”

“He ruined his own face, but after, his personality also changed with it. Not only did he hate women to the core, he did not pay attention to men either.”

Zhu Qiqi was stunned for a long time. Finally, she murmured, “So that was what happened… So you really were lying to me.”

“Lie to you?...” Jin Buhuan echoed puzzledly. “I did not lie to you…”

Zhu Qiqi stomped her foot. “Phooey! Who was talking to you?”

Jin Buhuan looked at her, then looked at Jin Wuwang before smirking, “I get it… I get it now. Sister-in-Law was actually talking to Dage. Dage had once lied to Sister-in-Law, and I just exposed that lie.” His repeated addresses of “Sister-in-Law” caused Zhu Qiqi’s cheeks to burn brightly.

Embarrassed and fuming, she snapped, “You’re saying bull****! Who’s your sister-in-law?”

Jin Buhuan ignored her, however, and continued, “Sister-in-Law, little brother has told Sister-in-Law so many secrets. Sister-in-Law, you should at least give little brother a get-to-know-you present.”

“Fine. For you,” Zhu Qiqi replied. She raised her hand and her palm came slapping down at Jin Buhuan’s face.

A loud smack was heard. Jin Buhuan had not tried to avoid it. Her hand had slapped him cleanly and sharply across the face. He did not grow angry either and merely rubbed his cheek while saying, “Sister-in-Law bestowed it; little brother receives it. Ah, that white and soft little hand slapping the face feels so good. Dage, you are so very lucky in love.”

Jin Wuwang suddenly spoke in a cold voice, “Are you done talking yet?”

“Done,” Jin Buhuan grinned.

Speaking each word slowly and clearly, Jin Wuwang stated, “Any familial ties of love between us have already been severed, but today, taking into account that you grew up with me, I will spare your life…” His voice bellowed suddenly, “Get out of here. Get out of here now. Don’t wait for me to change my mind.”

Jin Buhuan’s expression did not budge and was still grinning as he said, “If Dage wants me to get out of here, then I will get out of here. However, I have a question for Dage; it won’t be too late for me to get out of here after I have asked it.” Without waiting for a response from Jin Wuwang, he carried on, “Does Dage know where Shen Lang is at this moment?”

Curious, Zhu Qiqi asked, “Why are you looking for Shen Lang?”

“The people looking for Shen Lang are many; it is not limited to just me,” Jin Buhuan laughed.

Even more puzzled, Zhu Qiqi could not refrain from pressing, “Who else is looking for him?”

Jin Buhuan answered, “Three respected seniors [orig. ‘qianbei’] come from Virtue Manor: Taoist Master Duan Hong, Reverend Monk TianFa, ‘Fierce Lion’ Qiao Wu, as well as… as little brother. Little brother may be incompetent, but it is not wise to provoke these others.”

“Those people are all looking for him; why would they be looking for him?” Zhu Qiqi questioned.

“No big reason. Merely to take his head.”

Zhu Qiqi’s body gave a tremor and in alarm, she asked, “Why?... Why?”

“For violating an agreement and breaking his word. For his many wicked deeds. For appearing righteous on the outside but having a vicious and evil heart. For his… Ai! No need to say anymore; that is enough.”

Her eyes wide open in shock, Zhu Qiqi protested, “But… but Shen Lang has already sent Zhan Yingsong, Fang Qianli, and that group of people back to Virtue Manor. Having them go for him should have been enough explanation.”

“Zhan Yingsong and the others were all sent there by Shen Lang?” Jin Buhuan’s voice had suddenly grown especially loud, but Zhu Qiqi had not noticed.

She answered, “That’s right. They were all sent by Shen Lang.”

He turned to look at Jin Wuwang. “Can you testify to that?”

Jin Wuwang, too, could not hold back the surprised expression on his face. “Yes. I saw them go into the manor with my own eyes.”

“Don’t tell me mishaps still happened,” Zhu Qiqi said.

Jin Buhuan gave a cunning smile. “That is right. They did indeed enter the manor.”

Breathing out in relief, Zhu Qiqi said, “Exactly…”

Jin Buhuan continued in a chilly voice, “But after they entered the manor, they did not even get to say a single sentence before they breathed their last and died. Hmph!...... Very clean indeed. Not a single person remained.”

Before he had even finished what he was saying, Zhu Qiqi had gasped in shock.

Jin Wuwang’s face looked startled and seemed to lose color. “They… how did they die?”

Smirking coldly, Jin Buhuan replied, “Not any earlier, not any later, but the instant they walked in through the manor’s doors, they all collapsed at the same time. They had just fallen onto the ground and then they all died at the same time. There was not a single wound on their bodies; they must have all been killed by poison. But yet, even with all those experienced and knowledgeable experts in Virtue Manor, not one of them could tell what poison it was.” He lifted his face up to the sky and laughed loudly before carrying on, “Poisoning them is not what is remarkable. What is remarkable is that he was able to calculate out the timing so accurately… He he, ha ha! Very good methods; very vicious methods!” When he said these words, even Jin Wuwang could not stop his hairs from standing on end in horror.

“It… it definitely was not Shen Lang who poisoned them,” Zhu Qiqi quavered.

Jin Buhuan smiled coolly. “He sent the people there. If it wasn’t him who poisoned them, who was it?”

“It was her… it was that woman!” Zhu Qiqi exclaimed.

“Who is this ‘her’? Who is this woman?” Jin Buhuan demanded.

Zhu Qiqi stomped her feet. “Even if I tried to tell you, we wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly.” She grabbed Jin Wuwang and pulled him with her. “Let’s go. We have to go tell this news to Shen Lang first.”

In a chilly voice, Jin Buhuan cut her off. “You do not need to trouble yourselves. There will be people going to find Shen Lang already. He will not be able to escape anyways… As for the two of you…” He sighed. “I’m afraid you are not allowed to leave right now either.”

Jin Wuwang glared at him and barked, “You would dare stop me?”

Putting on a fake smile, Jin Buhuan answered in a sly voice, “How could I dare?...... But them…” His eyes flitted around in all directions, and Jin Wuwang and Zhu Qiqi unconsciously allowed their eyes to follow his gaze.

On that gray and vast snowy field, in the east, south, west, and north, silhouette had appeared and walked slowly toward them. These four people seemed to be walking very slowly, but yet, in the blink of an eye, they were close by already –

The person coming from the east had a long beard that fluttered in the breeze and he seemed to float lightly like an immortal, but his lean face exuded a harsh and killing aura. It was “Invincible Godly Sword” Li Changqing.

The person coming from the south was a height of eight [ancient Chinese] feet. His beard was like a halberd, and his wide, glaring eyes were filled with a murderous air. He, too, was one of the three elders of Virtue Manor – “Angry Enough to Swallow a Charging Bull” Lian Tianyun.

The person from the west seemed to have a very thin and frail body, and after every couple of steps, he would have to cough lightly. It was the eldest of the three Leng brothers.

The person from the north had the mightiest expression, and the murderous aura on his face was the thickest. It was the number one Buddhist martial arts master of the present world, Reverend Monk TianFa of Mount Wutai [WuTaiShan].

These four were all wulin masters with great skill and who had at one point in time been of great renown and influence. With these four men blocking the way, truly, no one could possibly escape.



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[12] Pan An is known in Chinese history for his incredibly handsome appearance.

[Hoju!]

Woohoo! Fight!



Chapter 13 continued.....
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Jin Buhuan did not wait for these four people to get near before he had flipped backwards into the air and retreated back more than one zhang. In a raised voice, he said, “Did all of you hear the exchange just a moment ago?”

“Heard it loud and clear!” Lian Tianyun shouted.

“I did not speak falsely,” Jin Buhuan said. “Those people were all sent by Shen Lang.”

Lian Tianyun spat hatefully, “You ****ing were not wrong. Shen Lang, that bast**d. He must not be let off!” Even though his age was getting up there, in his rage, he could not adjust his speech, and he still spoke like he did in the past.

“To let all you sirs know,” Jin Buhuan said, “there is someone here who is even more notable than Shen Lang…… Hee hee. You are all in luck to have by chance run into him here.”

In a deep voice, Li Changqing asked, “Who is it?”

Actually, those four people with their eight eyes had all been staring intently at Jin Wuwang – and though Jin Wuwang was still standing tall and had not moved, he could not help feeling some apprehension in his heart.

They heard Jin Buhuan announce, “Sirs, please look. This is one of the Happy King’s Four Grand Heralds, the ‘Herald of Wealth’ Jin Wuwang. All you sirs must have long heard of his great name.”

Before he had finished, Li Changqing and the others had all darted over in one step and had surrounded Jin Wuwang and Zhu Qiqi tightly. The looks they had in their eyes were like knives that were fixed on Jin Wuwang. Unconsciously, Zhu Qiqi leaned her body in closer to Jin Wuwang.

Those four people stared at Jin Wuwang; Jin Wuwang was also staring at them. Both sides did not speak for a very long time – the circumstance of the moment did not require any words. Jin Wuwang did not need to ask, for he already knew these four people’s purpose in coming. These four people also knew that any questions they asked would certainly not be answered by the other side, so there was no point in asking.

The silence between the two sides was brimming with murderous intent. The day seemed to have gradually grown dimmer, and the cold wind wailed like men’s war cries.

Zhu Qiqi could take it no longer and demanded loudly, “What is it you want to do?”

Four sets of eyes turned to give a glance at her – only a single glance – before their gaze shifted back onto Jin Wuwang’s face, as if she was not even worth looking at and even less worthy of replying to her question.

In a rough voice, Zhu Qiqi cried, “You should at least ask some questions. What… what do you mean by this?”

These four men did not even bother looking once at her.

Biting down on her lip, she stated, “They are not saying anything. Let’s go.”

Jin Buhuan, who had been standing on the outside, suddenly began laughing loudly. He guffawed, “Everyone, listen. This girl speaks so lightly.”

Livid, Zhu Qiqi shot back, “If you will not say anything, then you should make a move. If you are not going to attack us, then we are going to leave. Do you think we are going to just stand here with you forever?”

Li Changqing sighed, “You still want us to attack you?” Even though he had finally said something, it seemed as if he was not addressing Zhu Qiqi for his eyes had never left Jin Wuwang.

“Yes,” Jin Buhuan chimed in. “You still want us to attack you? If you were sensible, you would fold your hands obediently to allow yourselves to be tied up and answer any questions that are asked of you. That way, you can avoid any suffering of the flesh.”

Jin Wuwang gave a cold smirk and did not speak.

Zhu Qiqi, however, could not help bursting out in loud cursing. “Bull****! You…”

Lian Tianyun cut her off as he barked loudly, “Why bother chattering on with people like them? Subdue them with a few punches and a couple of kicks, bind them up with rope, and then start talking to them.”

Jin Wuwang raised his face heavenward and laughed wildly. “Very intimidating! Very fierce! I have been waiting here for you five great heroes, mighty champions to attack me together…… Please, please!”

Zhu Qiqi’s eyes flitted as she, too, began laughing. “So pathetic! Such a pity! Five great, prominent heroes, yet they only know how to win by greater numbers and to bully people with force…”

“Brat girl,” Lian Tianyun roared. “Shut your mouth! Just watch and see if your granddaddies here are people who would take advantage of greater numbers to win…… Everyone, please take a step back. Let me be the first to capture this scoundrel.” Li Changqing’s brows creased slightly into a frown, but Lian Tianyun had already leapt forward.

“You really dare to fight me alone?” Jin Wuwang asked.

Furious, Lian Tianyun shot back, “The one who doesn’t dare is a turtle’s grandson.”

His voice cold, Jin Wuwang scoffed, “I think you should just back away. Although in the past, ‘Angry Enough to Swallow a Charging Bull’ Lian Tianyun’s martial arts were not weak, since the battle on HengShan [Mt. Heng], you at most only have thirty percent of your martial arts left. How could you possibly fight me?”

Giving a crazed bellow of rage, Lian Tianyun threw out his palms one after another in succession. He shouted angrily, “If anyone throws even a single punch to help me, I, Lian Tianyun will first fight him.

Jin Wuwang gently pushed Zhu Qiqi away and said, “Be careful.” As his lips spoke, his body dodged away swiftly and evaded Lian Tianyun’s two punches.

Li Changqing was an outstanding personage, so from merely watching the motions of how he avoided the attack, he knew that this person must be extremely skilled. At once, he moved back several steps and signaled with his eyes at Leng Da. Leng Da swept over in a leap, coughed a couple of times, and asked, “What is it?”

His voice lowered, Li Changqing answered, “This man’s martial arts are unfathomably profound. Even though within forty moves, Third Brother will not lose, after forty moves have passed, his strength will be insufficient and without a doubt, he will be defeated.

“That will surely be the case,” Leng Da agreed.

“What is your assessment of your internal energy lately?” Li Changqing asked him.

Leng Da smiled faintly, “Okay.”

“Your cough…”

With a laugh, Leng Da said, “I can still manage not to cough.”

Li Changqing’s gaze swept around. Jin Buhuan had a smile on his face as he stood there and watched with arms folded. Reverend TianFa was eager to have his turn, but because of Lian Tianyun’s words, he was not in a position to strike out. These two people stood, one on the left and the other on the right, intentionally or otherwise blocking off Zhu Qiqi’s escape route.

As Li Changqing’s eyes took this in, his voice dropped even lower. “Jin Buhuan rarely will lend a hand in the fighting. TianFa suffered internal injuries last time at Shen Lang’s hand and has not fully recovered yet. As for me… ai!” he sighed. “Anyway, judging from today’s circumstance, there is no other option but for you to fight. Do you have confidence that you can win?”

“No harm in trying,” Leng Da replied.

“Good. But right now, you cannot attack yet. You know what Ol’ Three’s temperament is like, so you can only wait until he has made that move and then you quickly move in and interfere… More than twenty stances have already passed now. After another seventeen or eighteen stances, Ol’ Three is certain to use that move. You understand?”

Leng Da answered, “Understand.” Even though he spoke slightly more than his third brother, he still would not speak a single unnecessary word.

Lian Tianyun’s punches lashed out swiftly like wind, and in a short period, he had already unleashed more than twenty stances. As his punches struck out, they really had the power to topple mountains and overturn seas, and anyone who saw them would feel intimidated. For a moment, Jin Wuwang hands and feet were actually completely hindered by this mighty fist art, and he was only relying on his bizarre and agile movements to avoid each attack.

Wherever the wind from the punches touched, ice and snow would fly up. If that flying ice and snow splattered on a person’s face, it would immediately leave behind a red mark – there were already two or three red marks on Zhu Qiqi’s face.

As she watched, she was filled with shock and dread. She thought to herself, “Who said Lian Tianyun’s kung fu has gotten weaker? If his internal energy now is only thrity percent of what it used to be, then in the past, he could have killed any single martial expert of the time in a single punch. Jin Wuwang must have only heard some rumors and gotten this wrong. He cannot even beat this person, and there are another four. What should we do?”

One must know that Zhu Qiqi’s temperament leaned towards the extremes, and that was why she would do things that other people would never do. She paid no heed to decency and propriety or rules and customs. If she decided she was close to a person, her heart would only hope that he would win. As for who was good and who was evil, who was right and who was wrong, she did not even care. Even though neither side was completely in the right or wrong, she still wished Jin Wuwang would just kill Lian Tianyun with a palm, and it had never crossed her mind whether Lian Tianyun was good or evil. However, Jin Wuwang was in the disadvantage right now, so naturally, she was anxious.

What she did not know was that Lian Tianyun’s power had indeed been greatly damaged, and compared to the past, he truly only had thirty percent remaining. It was only because Lian Tianyun had a fiery temper, so the instant he was in a fight, he would utilize all of that remaining thirty percent and not leave any room for retreat for himself.

But Jin Wuwang was seasoned and rich in fighting experience. He had seen through this early on and therefore, was not fighting all out but rather, was simply just exhausting Lian Tianyun’s strength. His own strength, he had to conserve for carving a bloody path out of there for himself, to use in a fight against other people. He was also leaving his vicious moves for dealing with the others.

Sure enough, after another seven stances, Lian Tianyun’s attacks gradually grew weaker. Beads of sweat started appearing on his temples. Jin Wuwang’s stances were were starting to show their power, and slowly, he was gaining the upper hand.

Suddenly, Lian Tianyun struck out with both fists with the stance, “Stones Shatter, Heaven Trembles,” which carried with it the sound of rushing wind as they pummeled straight at Jin Wuwang’s chest. They truly had a stone-shattering, heaven-battering ability.

Li Changqing said quietly, “This is his thirty-eighth move.”

Leng Da nodded his head, concentrating intently ––

Jin Wuwang’s feet shifted slightly, and he drew back a step. Naturally, he did not want to meet this blow from Lian Tianyun head-on. He retreated, conserving his strength, and waited for Lian Tianyun’s next attack.

However, unexpectedly, Lian Tianyun also pulled back a step and stood in his place. “Stop!” he shouted. This shout was like the roar of thunder, and it shook Zhu Qiqi’s eardrums, causing her ears to ring and her head to reel. In an instant, she was not able to hear any other sounds but that.

Jin Wuwang was bearing the brunt of the force. He felt as if there was a rush of air following behind that shout, and his chest seemed as if it had been hit with a hammer. His body could not help swaying slightly, but his stance, feet, manner, and state of mind did not shift in the slightest and he still maintained a posture ready for offense and defense.

Right at this instant, a very thin silhouette flew towards them, and like a knife, it stabbed itself right in between the two of them.

As it turns out, that shout from Lian Tianyun was his signature move. Wulin members of the former days all knew that it was Lian Tianyun’s “Hammer Beneath the Tongue.” This “Hammer Beneath the Tongue” had substance but no form, and it was one of the highest art forms of qigong [where ‘qi’ means air, breath, or ‘life force;’ ‘gong’ literally means ‘to work’]. Its power and characteristics were very similar to the Buddhist technique, “Lion Roar.” Lian Tianyun was known as “Angry Enough to Swallow a Charging Bull” [Qi Tun Dou Niu. ‘Qi’ here can mean angry but it is also the same character that means air, breath, etc.], so naturally, his qigong was not weak.

In the past, when his strength had still been at its peak, a cry that went out using “Hammer Beneath the Tongue” would cause his opponent to become so shaken and frightened out of their spirits that their stances would become disordered. Furthermore, he would yell, “Stop!” and this would cause his opponents to pause in shock. In a contest between masters, this type of disorder and shock cannot happen. Even if his opponents were not struck by the “hammer,” he only needed to follow-up with another attacking move for a guaranteed, easy triumph. Countless numbers of wulin masters had lost their lives in days past beneath this “Hammer Beneath the Tongue.”

However, his qigong had been broken by someone and more than half its strength had been lost. The power of his “Hammer Beneath the Tongue,” at most, only had twenty to thirty percent left. That was why, facing “Hammer Beneath the Tongue,” Jin Wuwang, although shocked, did not become disordered.

It was not that Lian Tianyun did not know that his “Hammer Beneath the Tongue” did not have its power of old, but he was born with a temper that was unwilling to admit defeat. Every time he reached a moment of desperation, he could not help using this move. Li Changqing had been brothers with him for so many years, so of course, he had predicted that he would use it.

The instant “Hammer Beneath the Tongue” was executed, Leng Da immediately flew forward and thrust himself into the middle.

Lian Tianyun bellowed angrily, “Get out of the way! Who asked you to get involved?”

Leng Da smiled faintly, “You already told him to stop, so of course I can make my move now.”

Lian Tianyun paused momentarily in surprise, and then, he was already being pulled away by Li Changqing.

Jin Buhuan chuckled gleefully, “Interesting… interesting.”

Reverend TianFa spoke up in a low tone, “I…”

“Reverend, why are you in a hurry to step in?” Jin Buhuan said to him. “That scoundrel is a fish in the net anyways. Reverend, why don’t you first observe the secret techniques of the three Leng brothers, which they have always rarely been willing to demonstrate in front of others?”

Reverend TianFa pondered briefly, but sure enough, he halted his steps.

It turns out that, in terms of position and ranking in martial arts, the three Leng brothers were the most bizarre situation. Their status was servants of Virtue Manor, but their martial arts belonged amongst the pinnacle of martial masters. They never sought after fame or fortune, nor did they ever participate in the affairs of jianghu. Unless someone wanted to harm Virtue Manor, they would never extend their hand to interfere. But once they got involved, it was rare for anyone who fought them to return alive. As a result, very few people in jianghu knew the origins of their martial arts. Their background was even more of a mystery. They would never mention it to people, and when people tried to inquire about for information, they would not be able to find out even the tiniest of clues. Mysterious martial arts, mysterious personal background, added along with their mysterious temperament caused these three brothers to become famous personages amongst the puzzling characters of jianghu.

Thus, even someone like Reverand TianFa could not help feeling curious and wanted to see what sort of startling skills this eldest brother of the three Leng brothers possessed.

Right then, Leng Da was still coughing continuously. Zhu Qiqi could not help asking concernedly, “You are sick; are you able to fight?”

Leng Da lifted his head and smiled at her. “Thank you for your kindness. Cough cough.”

Zhu Qiqi sighed, “There are so many other people here; why must you be the one to come out and fight? Jin… Jin Dage [Elder Brother Jin], let him go back and have someone else come forward.”

Jin Wuwang smiled coolly, but his lips remained closed in silence.

Jin Buhuan gave a cold sneer. “Zhu Guniang, little sister-in-law, you are worried about him getting sick and unable to fight? Heh heh. In just a moment, when he wants you to become a widow, then you will know his might.”

Fury flooded Zhu Qiqi’s face, and she was about to lash out.


End of Chapter 13

[zhouyu]

great. thanks for the translation. i really like Shen Lang and want to know more about him.

thanks

[Hoju!]

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Chapter 14 – Just After Escaping the Tiger’s Jaws
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The meaning behind Jin Buhuan’s words was biting and spiteful, and Zhu Qiqi was about to burst out angrily when Leng Da turned around and barked, “Shut up!”

Jin Buhuan was taken aback briefly before he said, “You want me to shut up?”

“Exactly. I want you to shut up,” Leng Da said.

Jin Buhuan spluttered, “You… you cannot even sort out who is the enemy and who is your friend?”

“I would rather have an enemy like him than a friend like you,” Leng Da stated. The philosophy embodied in this sentence was precisely, “Despicable friends are far more frightening than a morally upright enemy.”

Jin Buhuan could not hold back the angry embarrassment from showing on his face. He turned his eyes to Li Changqing as if to say, “Your servant is behaving so rudely toward me. You are not going to say anything?” However, Li Changqing did not show even the slightest of reactions, and his expression seemed to indicate that he had not even noticed the exchange between Jin Buhuan and Leng Da. Jin Buhuan turned back to look at Leng Da. Leng Da’s icy eyes were glowering at him. Immediately, the outraged expression vanished off his face, and he chuckled, “It seems my flattery this time has rubbed the wrong way. Fine, fine. I will not say anything more. Leng Xiong, can you make your move now?”

Leng Da gave a cold laugh. The amount of contempt and disdain contained within that laughter was beyond words. Then, he turned back to look at Jin Wuwang. “Please.”

Zhu Qiqi did not say anything else. She knew by now that this sickly and thin-as-a-stick Leng Da must certainly possess remarkable skills, otherwise that Jin Buhuan, who bullied the weak and feared the fierce, would not be so scared of him. She opened her eyes wide, waiting to watch him make his move.

But Jin Wuwang and Leng Da still did not make a single move. The two faced each other, their eyes locked. They did not stand in any particular stance, and from top to bottom, every point on their bodies seemed as if they were open and vulnerable.

However, they both knew that even though the opponent stood there showing no stance or form, his mind and will were in a state of invulnerability. Between these two people, if one was to make a move first, unless he was able to gain the upper edge in that one move, he would be put under the control of the opponent’s advantageous position of acting later.

One must know, the person who rushes forth first will undoubtedly be on the offensive, but all primarily offensive moves always have openings and defensive weaknesses. If he is unable to gain the upper hand in a single stance, then the opponent will certainly counterattack at that opening. Therefore, when he was attacking his opponent, the opponent was in an invulnerable state, but when the opponent attacks him, there is an opening that can be exploited. In a contest between masters, how could such slight blunders be allowed?

Since Leng Da’s one word, “Please,” the two men had not only dared not move, they did not even dare blink. Li Changqing, Reverend TianFa, and Jin Buhuan were all top figures in the present day wulin, and naturally, they understood that even though the two had not begun fighting, the situation was much more intense than any sort of fierce fight. As a result, everyone held their breaths, not daring to disturb their concentration.

Zhu Qiqi had gradually grown aware that, in this situation between these two persons, life and death and breathing were indeed separated only by a hair’s breadth. Watching these two statue-like, unmoving figures, she found that this in fact terrified her to the core more than any fierce battle she had seen before in her life.

The chilling wind howled next to their ears, but neither of them of heard.

In this moment, each person felt as though the earth was deathly still. There was no movement, only one’s own breathing, which was gradually becoming quicker, and one’s own heartbeat, which was steadily beating more violently.

It was not certain how much time passed.

Leng Da could feel his strength was depleting rapidly. Though he had not lifted a single finger, the consumption of his strength was more severe than any of the hundred or so fights, large or small, that he had engaged in through his entire life. He could feel that droplets of sweat had broken out on his forehead and had slid down along his cheeks. They were like numerous insects crawling over his face, and the itching sensation was unbearable.

But still, he clenched his jaw and bore it.

His eyes gradually were growing blurry. His limbs and joints were starting to grow weak and numb––gradually, it began feeling like the pain of being sliced by a knife.

But still, he clenched his jaw and bore it.

Because he was deeply aware that this battle was not only a test of each of their martial arts but, even more importantly, was a test of their will and perserverance. He knew that although he was suffering, his opponent was as well.

Between the two of them, whoever was able to hold on for a moment longer would triumph––only a moment longer and that would be enough. Because that one moment would be enough to determine victory and defeat, life and death.

How important this moment was. Even if he died, he would have to bear through it. He told himself, “Leng Da, you cannot allow yourself to go down. Right now, it may be that Jin Wuwang cannot take it any more. You only need to wait another moment and then you can fall over.”

Relying on this belief, he fought with all his might to hold on, to keep his eyes open. Even though he knew that all he needed to do was gently close his eyes and then all the pain would end––and how easy this would be––he could not allow himself to do so.

Likely, Jin Wuwang was also feeling this.

Another unknown amount of time passed.

By now, not only were Jin Wuwang and Leng Da in unspeakable suffering, even the bystanders, Li Changqing, Reverend TianFa, and the rest’s foreheads were covered in sweat, as if they had just been through a fierce fight themselves.

Jin Buhuan suddenly tugged inconspicuously on Li Changqing’s sleeve. The two exchanged a glance and slipped away a little more than one zhang. Jin Buhuan asked quietly, “Li Xiong, in your opinion, who will win and lose in this battle?”

Li Changqing contemplated a long while before smiling wryly and saying, “In terms of strength of martial arts abilities, tenacity of will, experience in combat, and composure when making judgments while facing an enemy, these two can be said to be equally matched!”

“Yes,” Jin Buhuan agreed. “These two can be said to be rarely seen fierce fighters of jianghu. When compared to them, we top seven experts of wulin really should feel a little shamed.”

Li Changqing heaved a long sigh. “But in a fight between two people, when separating victory versus defeat, besides looking at each side’s martial arts, determination, experience, and composure, whether one is physically stronger or weaker is also a major factor.”

Jin Buhuan smiled, “Master Li’s words are extremely true.”

Li Changqing sighed, “In everything, Leng Da is not inferior to Jin Wuwang, except for physical strength…… Ai! In recent years, it appears all his toils have accumulated into sickness, and that has been coupled with excessive drinking. If the two of them continue to deplete themselves, I am afraid Leng Da’s body… Ai. I am afraid it will become his mortal wound.”

“Then… what should be done?” Jin Buhuan asked.

His head lowered, Li Changqing replied, “In a contest between two people, the superior shall win and the inferior shall lose. It should not be something that should be forced in the slightest way. But…”

Jin Buhuan’s eyes glinted and he interrupted with a smile, “But Master Li is still carrying an ‘if by chance’ notion. We hope that Leng Da will triumph, but if by chance Leng Da really is unable to hold on anymore, we would send someone in to replace him.”

Li Changqing forced a smile. “Yes. Apart from that, what other plan is there?”

“But after Master Li was injured so many years ago, to date, your internal energy has not completely recovered. Can you…” Jin Buhuan eyes fixed intently on Li Changqing as he deliberately paused his voice.

Li Changqing sighed, “I shall not hide it from Jin Xiong. If I were to enter into a battle with this person, there is even a greater chance of losing for me.”

Jin Buhuan carried on for him, “And then, of course, Reverend TianFa will take over, but is Reverend TianFa able to best him?”

Li Changqing mulled over this for quite some time. He stared at Jin Wuwang. “This person’s martial arts are indeed unfathomably deep. Unless he goes through a series of intense battles and his strength becomes weakened and insufficient…” He exhaled a lengthy sigh and then closed his mouth in silence.

“I do know a little regarding this person’s strength,” Jin Buhuan offered.

Li Changqing said, “Please advise.”

“In terms of diligence and effort in training his martial arts, I have not seen another person surpass him. In addition, he never gets close to women. In terms of how long his strength can carry on, I have also never seen any person who could best him. In the past, more than ten people engaged him in successive fights, but after going through ten plus battles, his complexion did not so much as even change.”

Li Changqing’s countenance changed. “If that is so, then I’m afraid…”

Jin Buhuan continued for him, “Afraid it will be difficult for even Reverend TianFa to prevail, correct?”

Li Changqing nodded and said with a sigh, “Correct. Reverend TianFa’s internal energy is deep, but when considering his resourcefulness when facing an opponent, strangeness in his stances, and cruelty of his moves, he really has a much higher chance of losing than winning.”

“If Reverend TianFa is no match for him, then it is not even necessary for me to enter the battleground because I do not even need to fight to know that I am not a match for him,” Jin Buhuan stated.

“This… Ai!” Li Changqing sighed and shook his head, unable to speak – for he knew that these words of Jin Buhuan were not untrue.

Jin Buhuan carried on, “We five people obviously are all not a match for him. Are we really going to just watch today as he defeats the five of us one by one and then turns around and leaves?”

“This… Unless…” Li Changqing hesitated.

“Unless what?” Jin Buhuan pressed.

Li Changqing gave a stamp of his foot. “Unless you and I attack together.”

Jin Buhuan had been going on for half a day for the sole reason of hearing this one sentence, and now, he could not refrain from rubbing his palms together and grinning, “That precisely is what we should do. When dealing with demons like this, you and I do not need to talk about any jianghu codes of morality. Rather than just waiting for that time, it would be better if we attacked together now.”

Li Changqing’s head had been down as he mulled over this for quite a while. As he raised his head again, he saw that, in the space of time used for this short exchange, Leng Da was having even more difficulty holding out while Jin Wuwang’s gaze seemed to grow brighter.

Jin Buhuan pressed persistently, “What do you think?... What do you think?”

With a clench of his jaw, Li Changqing decided, “Alright. Let us do it that way.”

Before he had even finished, Jin Buhuan had already cut in with a ferocious cackle and shouted, “If that is so, Jin Wuwang, give me your life!” Amid the sounds of his laughter, several frosty, star-like objects flew out suddenly, straight toward Jin Wuwang’s chest and abdomen. His motion was so rapid it was evident that he had had the concealed weapons ready beforehand.

Right then, Jin Wuwang was in utmost concentration and could not be distracted in the slightest. These concealed weapons were suddenly flying right at him; how could he possibly evade them? In an instant, he was going to fall to the vicious attack.

Zhu Qiqi shrieked in alarm, but she would not be quick enough to rescue him.

[zhouyu]

Shen Lang to the rescue?

[Hoju!]

Chapter 14 continued.....
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But yet, surprisingly, Jin Wuwang was able to evade them. With a twist, he soared more than one zhang through the sky, and seven or eight of those frosty stars all passed underneath his feet. Jin Wuwang’s body twisted again in the air and then, he had already swept over to stand beside Zhu Qiqi. He barked, “Jin Buhuan, I had guessed that you would make some sort of move like that, so all along, I had divided my attention to watch you. If you want to harm me, you have a long ways to go yet.”

When everyone heard that just now, he had not been using his full concentration against Leng Da but yet Leng Da was already unable to hold up, they were all even more amazed.

Jin Buhuan yelled, “Everyone, attack together. Let’s take care of these two first.” His shout was loud, but still, he was not willing to make the first move.

Reverend TianFa glanced toward Li Changqing. Li Changqing gave a slight nod of his head. The two of them did not speak, but with one on the right and one on the left, they struck out together. In the blink of an eye, they had each executed three attacking moves.

Only now did Jin Buhuan also make a move. Leng Da retreated back several steps. Only Lian Tianyun still stood in his place, his head lowered as if contemplating something.

Holding onto Zhu Qiqi, Jin Wuwang met the attack from the right and repelled the one from the left. After blocking three stances, he suddenly gave a cold smirk. “Li Changqing, you should look at Lian Tianyun.”

Jin Buhuan shouted, “Do not turn your head. You must not fall for his trick.”

Li Changqing had also been thinking the same thing, but still, the brotherly love was deep and he cared too much. In the end, he still could not stop himself from turning back for a look.

If he had not taken a look, he would have been fine, but with this glance, he could not help growing pale with shock. It turns out that not only was Lian Tianyun’s head lowered, his eyes were also closed now, there was not a trace of color in his face, and white foam was coming from his mouth––extremely frightening to see.

Startled and outraged, Li Changqing yelled raspily, “You… what have you done to him?”

Jin Wuwang’s hands and feet did not stop as he said with a cold laugh, “Just a moment ago, when we were fighting, he was poisoned by my debilitating incense poison. If he does not have my sect’s secret antidote, within four hours, he will die.”

Li Changqing gave a cry of alarm. “Scoundrel! You… what do you want?”

“I want to use his life to exchange for another life,” Jin Wuwang stated.

Jin Buhuan cut in, “You want us to let you go? Ha ha! You are dreaming.” He threw out another three moves, and these stances were more fierce, more ruthless than before, as if he could not wait to kill Jin Wuwang.

Jin Wuwang chuckled as he avoided those three stances, then sneered, “Dreaming?”

“In just mere moments, we will be able to capture you,” Jin Buhuan said. “At that time, do you think we will be afraid that you won’t give up the antidote?”

Li Changqing eased up when he heard this. “Exactly.” He attacked again, and this time, the moves coming one after another were also more vicious than before. In order to save Lian Tianyun, Leng Da had no choice but join in on the battle also.

Zhu Qiqi was inwardly anxious as she thought, “By doing that, has he not just outsmarted himself and caused things to backfire?”

However, Jin Wuwang burst out unexpectedly into loud laughter.

“What are you laughing at? You can actually laugh still?” Jin Buhuan taunted.

“Take a look. What is this?” Jin Wuwang said. He threw out his palm, and a string of black points flew out.

Everyone thought that he, too, was launching concealed projectile weapons and could not help growing alarmed. However, that series of seven or eight points were not directed at anyone and rather, were at himself. They watched him open his mouth and inhale, sucking all the black points into his mouth. Puzzled and unable to figure out what he was doing, they could not refrain from asking, “What were those?”

“That was the antidote,” Jin Wuwang stated. It did not seem as if he had swallowed those black points yet and was only holding them in his mouth so his speech was slightly obscured. Still, everyone was able to understand him clearly.

Li Changqing turned pale. “The antidote. You... you are going to swallow it?”

“That is right,” Jin Wuwang said. “If all of you do not immediately come to a stop, I will immediately swallow the antidote. In the entire world, only these few pills are left of this particular antidote. If I were to swallow them all together…… Heh heh. By then, even the highest heavenly immortals would have no hope of saving Lian Tianyun.”

He had not even finished speaking before Li Changqing and Leng Da’s stances slowed and finally came to a halt. Reverend TianFa also followed suit and stopped. If Jin Buhuan did not stop, he would be the only one left fighting Jin Wuwang. How could he dare not stop?

Jin Buhuan’s eyes glinted. “Jin Wuwang, I will be honest and tell you. For us to release you first and then wait for you to send the antidote back to us is something we will never do. However, if we want you to give us the antidote before we let you go, you may not agree to that either, right? Well then, just hurry and tell us whatever proposal you are thinking.”

Jin Wuwang was gripping tightly onto Zhu Qiqi. He gave a cold laugh. “If I want to come, I’ll come; if I want to go, I’ll go. Who can stop me? Why would I need all of you to let me go?” When he said this, everybody was extremely surprised once again.

“Then… then what is it you want?” Jin Buhuan demanded.

Jin Wuwang replied, “I want you to let her go.”

“Let her go?... Let this Zhu Guniang go?” Li Changqing asked.

“Precisely; let this Zhu Guniang go,” Jin Wuwang said. “She has no involvement in this entire matter. As long as you all only stand here, just as you are doing now, when she has gone far away, I will immediately hand over the antidote.”

Li Changqing secretly let out a breath of relief, but he said, “But… but how can I trust you?”

“To trust or not to trust is up to you,” Jin Wuwang stated coolly.

Li Changqing pondered for a long time before he said slowly, “Alright.” He turned to look at Reverend TianFa, who gave a slight nod.

In his heart, Jin Buhuan did not want to agree, but seeing that Leng Da and Li Changqing were now staring at him, even if he said no, what could he do about it? Of course, he could only nod his head. Not only did he nod, he also laughed loudly, “So all you wanted was for Zhu Guniang to be released. Ha ha! Fantastic! Really, even if you did not say anything, I would not have hurt a single hair on her anyway.”

Jin Wuwang let out a cold laugh and released his grip. Turning to Zhu Qiqi, he told her, “Hurry and go.”

Tears were glistening in Zhu Qiqi’s eyes as she asked with head lowered, “You really want me to go?”

In a cool voice, Jin Wuwang said, “If you don’t go, you will be a burden to me.” Even though he made his tone sound icy, his chest was rising and falling, and it was apparent that his emotions were roiling.

In this sort of situation, if it had been any other girl, there would have been sobs and weeping, things would have been dragged on, and words would have been said along the lines of, “I’m not going. I want to stay by your side and fight… If we go, we go together; if we fight, we fight together; if we die, we die together.” And so on, and so forth.

However, though Zhu Qiqi’s heart felt grateful and pained, she knew that saying these words would have no use. When she did things, she was always simple and direct, and she never liked doing things that were fussy and overemotional or prolonged everything. She merely stamped her foot and said, “Fine. I will go. If you live, I will come find you. If you die, I… I will avenge you!” Then, clenching her teeth together tightly, she turned around and dashed away wildly.

Only after she was very far away did Jin Wuwang turn around to gaze after the silhouette of her back. For a long, long time, he did not move, until her outline had disappeared against that vast snowy, ground.

Jin Buhuan suddenly let out a cold chuckle. “Poor man, oh poor man. Woe, oh woe. It turns out this girl is so heartless and unfeeling toward Jin Laoda. She would just leave without so much as turning back for a look…”

“Bast***! Ptooey!” Jin Wuwang spat in fury. The instant the spitting sound of ‘ptooey’ came from his lips, a chain of black points followed and flew out. Jin Buhuan had been reveling in his own talking and had not been on guard at all. The eight black points all sprayed onto his face. He already had an ugly face, and now, with those black specks, he really looked frightful and comical and revolting all at the same time.

Jin Buhuan felt his face burn from the assailment. Shocked and outraged, he was about to reach up to wipe his face, but he had only just raised his hand before Leng Da seized ahold of it. “What are you doing?” Jin Buhuan asked angrily.

Leng Da smiled coolly, “On your face now is the antidote that can save Third Master Lian’s life. If you dare make any foolish movements, I will take your life.”

Jin Buhuan sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. He had no choice but to stand motionless and allow Leng Da to scrape the antidote, one pill at a time, off his cheek. By then, Jin Wuwang’s saliva had long dried on his face.

Throwing his face up heavenward, Jin Wuwang gave a loud roar and then declared, “The antidote is in your hands now. If you want to fight, all of you can attack together.”

The sound of his shout had not died out before two people rushed at him…..

*********

[rati4u]

So exciting the fight is.......Love this story

[Hoju!]

Chapter 14 continued.....
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Zhu Qiqi did not even turn her head back once as she let her feet race her away. Only when she was more than ten zhang away was she finally unable to resist those tears that she had been fighting back, and they spilled out in a steady stream. She bit down on her lip with all her might, but nevertheless, those tears still flowed. She tried desperately not to cry, but she only grew sadder and sadder until eventually, she could not take it anymore and burst into sobs.

She did not know how long she had been crying when she suddenly realized that she was standing beneath a withered tree and had not continued to move forward. She was completely unaware when she had actually come to a stop. It was still only approximately noontime, but the sky was already dim like dusk. She pulled herself together, wiped away her tears, and told herself, “Zhu Qiqi, do not cry. Jin Wuwang is not going to die, so what are you crying about? Don’t cry…… Don’t cry…… I bet Jin Wuwang has escaped already.”

But she had not finished before she dissolved into tears again. She sobbed hoarsely, “Bull****, bull****. Who said Jin Wuwang is not going to die? Who said he can escape? Those four people individually may not be a match for him, but four against one, anyone would lose!”

“No, that’s not right. He may not be a match for all four of them, but if he wants to escape, he should be able to…… No, wait. With those four surrounding him, where could he possibly escape to?......”

She would cry, then stop and talk to herself, sometimes comforting herself, sometimes sharply reproaching herself. Over and over again, she did this, and it was really only just serving to torture herself.

Another indefinite amount of time passed. It was not certain whether it was because her tears had run dry or she was finally able to hold them back herself, but she eventually stopped crying anyway. She clenched her teeth, figured out her orientation, and proceeded to walk forward with long strides. As she hurried off, she muttered, “I am not going to find Shen Lang right now. Shen Lang treated me that way; I’d rather die than find him again. Even if everyone else in the world was dead, I wouldn’t go beg him.” These words were addressed to her own feet, but it seemed they were not listening and, on the contrary, were moving along the route that would take her to find Shen Lang. She mumbled again, “I’m not taking this path to go find Shen Lang. I’m going to find… find someone else. Zhang San, Li Si [generic names in Chinese, equivalent to John Doe or Joe Schmoe], Pockface Wang Er. I can find anyone. No matter who I ask to help me out, that person will definitely help, so I can ask all of them to come save Jin Wuwang.” In truth, she knew that what she was saying was somewhat unreliable, but she still had to say it. Most girls in the world are better than men at one thing: that is, she often deceives herself.

She pondered as she walked. Before she knew it, she had arrived again at the small town where they had stopped earlier to eat, and she could see again that little eatery. And somehow, she unconsciously walked into that eatery. She really was very tired and her mind was in turmoil. She needed to find a place to rest and think carefully.

The waiter seemed to still remember her for he shuffled over respectfully and smiled, “What would Guniang like to eat? How come that sir has not come too? Is he further back? I [orig. ‘xiaode’; ‘I, the small or lowly one’] will go set out two sets of chopsticks for Guniang, alright, Guniang?”

Zhu Qiqi suddenly slapped a table and snapped, “Stop your driveling!”

The waiter gave a start at this and stood there dumbfounded.

“Dragon’s liver and phonex’s wings, abalone shark fin, honey-roasted Yunnan ham, bear’s paws accompanied by fresh vegetables, and bamboo shoot tips in pearl soup… Alright. Bring out these four dishes and one soup,” she ordered. Her mind was actually on other matters, not really paying attention to what was going on, and she had just rattled off a few of her favourite dishes like she was chanting scripture.

However, those dishes were all ones that only wealthy families such as hers could eat, and this small town restaurant waiter had not even heard of them before. As he listened to her now, his eyes were wide and his mouth gaped open. He stood there in amazement for a little while before he finally managed to say with an apologetic smile, “Our little shop does not have those dishes.”

“What do you have?” Zhu Qiqi asked.

The waiter grew invigorated as he explained, “Our little shop specializes in northern and southern flavours. We have both noodles and rice – yangchun noodles, shredded pork noodles…”

Zhu Qiqi interrupted, “Alright. Bring a bowl of shredded pork noodles.”

The waiter’s enthusiasm immediately dissipated, and he answered lazily, “Fine. It’ll be brought out.” He was secretly annoyed and amused at the same time as he thought to himself, “This guniang turned out to be just putting on a show of being rich. All that fuss and she ends up just ordering a bowl of shredded pork noodles.”

The noodles did not take long to come out. But even when that steaming hot bowl of noodles had grown cold, Zhu Qiqi still had not so much as moved her chopsticks yet––right then, even if there really were bears’ paws or shark fin before her, she still would have no appetite.

All of a sudden, shouts came through the door hollering hoarsely, “Oh no! Oh no!...... Someone’s been beaten to death…… someone’s been beaten to death…”

Someone charged in, screaming frenziedly, his face covered in blood. Judging from his expression and experience, it was obvious he was not a person of wulin. Zhu Qiqi only took a quick glance at him and then could not be bothered to look anymore, but the waiter and other patrons in the restaurant all grew pale in shock and flocked around him, speaking one after the other, “Shopkeeper Wang, what’s going on?”

“Who dares bully our Shopkeeper Wang? I’ll go fight him!” It turns out the man who had been beaten was the owner of the eatery.

Shopkeeper Wang recounted, “I was just chatting with Fatty Li of the pork shop and was saying that at noontime, two uncommon guests came to my shop. The girl was really quite nice-looking, while the man looked thirty percent like a ghost and the other seventy percent didn’t look much like a human either. It was like a flower inserted in a pile of cow dung. I made Fatty Li laugh at this, and I laughed too. But right then, some crazy guy came charging over and beat me up. I…” He had not finished what he was going to say when he raised his head and saw that the “nice-looking girl” he had been talking about was standing like ice before him, her face flooded with a murderous look. This in turn scared him to a halt again, his mouth gaping open and unable to speak.

Zhu Qiqi spread her arms out, and the people around, tripping and bumping into one another, parted for her. Everyone was petrified. Glaring coldly at Shopkeeper Wang, Zhu Qiqi said, “Say it again.”

Shopkeeper Wang stuttered, “I can’t… can’t… can’t… can’t… can’t say it.”

Zhu Qiqi seized him by the collar. “Who are you saying is like a ghost?”

Sweat was beading up on Shopkeeper Wang’s brow. “I… I was talking about myself.”

“What did the person who beat you up look like?” Zhu Qiqi demanded.

“Thick eyebrows, big eyes. I couldn’t see…”

Zhu Qiqi did not wait for him to finish. With a palm, she shoved him into the front counter and then leapt flying out the door. Each side of the street was filled with people who had been watching the excitement going on inside. A man carrying a wine gourd in his left hand and acting as if there was no one around but himself turned abruptly to leave. Surprised and delighted, Zhu Qiqi called out, “Xiong Mao’er… Xiong Mao’er…” The man looked back abruptly. Thick eyebrows and large eyes; tall and imposing; a half-opened shirt, even in the biting wind––who else could it be besides Xiong Mao’er?

When the two saw each other, surprise and joy came over both of them, and they hurried over to each other in big strides and grabbed each other by the shoulders. The people standing off to the side stared even more incredulously.

But Xiong Mao’er did not care. Zhu Qiqi did not care, either. At this point when Zhu Qiqi had reached a dead end, suddenly seeing Xiong Mao’er here was truly like seeing someone who was closest and dearest to her, and she could not stop her tears from welling up again. She clutched onto Xiong Mao’er’s shoulder and said in a trembling voice, “Great… great running into you.”

Xiong Mao’er was gripping her shoulder as well as he beamed, “Great! Great to actually run into you here.”

“But… but why are you here?” Zhu Qiqi asked.

“To find you,” Xiong Mao’er answered. “You?”

“I’m here to find you, too.”

The two of them said in unison, “Really?” At the same time, they both could not help howling loudly with laughter at this and then, together, they grinned, “Let’s go. Go get a drink.” And so, they laughed even more merrily, and with arms around each other’s shoulder, they went back into the eatery. By now, both of them were feeling happy and carefree and had long forgotten about precautions that should be taken in regards to propriety between a man and a woman.

However, other people seemed as if they had just seen a god of pestilence or a monster and moved far away to avoid them. That Shopkeeper Wang had disappeared to some unknown place. As a result, Xiong Mao’er and Zhu Qiqi had a choice of any spot in the shop, and they sat themselves down. No one came to wait on them, so they drank the wine in their own gourd. He had a sip, she had a sip…

“I never would have thought you would still think of me and come find me,” Zhu Qiqi remarked.

“Think of you?” Xiong Mao’er chuckled. “Heh heh. I practically went insane with worry. I was searching for you all along the way, but yet I didn’t know if I would be able to find you.”

“I was worried about whether I would be able to find you too, but then I heard that someone was randomly beating people up on the road. I guessed that must be you.”

Laughing loudly, Xiong Mao’er explained, “When that guy was spouting off, I guessed he was criticizing you, and I couldn’t control my temper. Even if he was the ol’ emperor, I’d still beat him up.” The two of them burst out into hilarious laughter for a while again, but at last, the laughter slowly died out.

Zhu Qiqi could not stop herself from asking, “Is Shen…” She ground her teeth together and in the end, still swallowed the word “Lang” back down.

“Did you want to ask about Shen Lang?” Xiong Mao’er picked up.

“Who’s asking about him?” Zhu Qiqi denied. “Only a bast**** would ask about him.”

Xiong Mao’er gave a sigh. “Not long after you left, Shen Lang left too. I only knew that he was going to find you and bring you back, but after waiting for a long time, I still did not see even his shadow come back.”

Zhu Qiqi’s voice was hateful. “Baddies like him, why would you wait for him?”

“I wasn’t waiting for him; I was waiting for you.”

Zhu Qiqi blinked. “Really?”

“Of course. The more I waited, the more anxious I got. That Wang Lianhua, though, kept asking me about Shen Lang’s martial arts, who his teacher was, his background, and how I knew him.”

“You were unlucky; that’s how you met him,” Zhu Qiqi grumbled.

Xiong Mao’er continued, “Although Wang Lianhua was asking away enthusiastically, I could not be bothered to pay attention to him, but yet, with him there beside me, I felt bad just leaving too. Fortunately, right at that time, a saving star arrived…”

“It was Shen… Who was it?” Zhu Qiqi quickly corrected herself.

Xiong Mao’er seemed to sigh again. “That person wasn’t Shen Lang.”

Zhu Qiqi protested, “I wasn’t asking about him. Who is…”

Xiong Mao’er cut her off with a laugh. “Your asking about him is perfectly justifiable. Why must you…”

However, Zhu Qiqi gently covered his mouth with her hand and said softly, “From now on, I won’t ever ask about him again. Honest! You… believe me, please? From now on, I will only care about people who are good to me.”

With his two large and solid palms, Xiong Mao’er enveloped Zhu Qiqi’s slender, jade-like hand as he gazed stupidly at her for a long, long time…

With a “pfft,” Zhu Qiqi burst out in a giggle. “You had better hurry and say who that person was.”

Xiong Mao’er pulled himself together and answered, “That person was acting furtive and his whole face had a sly look to it. Judging from his walking, his lightness kung fu is certainly not weak, but yet he put on the appearance of being a merchant.”

“Did you recognize him?” Zhu Qiqi queried.

[Hoju!]

Chapter 14 continued.....
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Xiong Mao’er shook his head. “I didn’t know who he was at all. But once he walked in, he went and whispered a couple of sentences in Wang Lianhua’s ear, and then Wang Lianhua’s face immediately changed. After that, he quickly apologized to me before leaving in a big rush, and on top of that, he seemed a little flustered.”

Zhu Qiqi frowned. “Did you hear what that person said?”

“I’m an upright man. Why would I eavesdrop on other people’s conversations?” Xiong Mao’er huffed. He suddenly gave a chuckle and confessed, “Actually, I wanted to listen in, but unfortunately I couldn’t hear a single word.”

Zhu Qiqi beamed prettily. “Oh you… That is what’s cute about you. You never pretend to be proper.” All of a sudden, her brow creased together as she thought about something for quite some time. She said slowly, “But that Wang Lianhua’s actions are very mysterious, and it seems not a single sentence of what he says is ever true.”

Xiong Mao’er nodded and sighed, “This person is indeed extremely mysterious. I hadn’t really noticed it at the start, but the longer I knew him, the more I felt he was surreptitious and difficult to fathom.”

“Every sneaky person is like that. Shen… Shen Lang is the same……” She blushed suddenly and, with head bowed, hastily added, “I wasn’t thinking about him. I was just using him as an example.”

“I… I believe you,” Xiong Mao’er told her.

“All of you have not been around Shen Lang for very long, so you haven’t noticed anything, but I… I feel the furtiveness and mysteriousness of his actions are far above Wang Lianhua.”

Xiong Mao’er mused over this for a long moment before sighing, “Indeed. People are not able to figure out what is behind what he does. Take for example this recent incident where he and Wang Lianhua were engaged in a battle of wits. Ai! Each of these two has his own ways. Right now, it appears as if the two of them are being frank and open and have aligned with one another, but in fact, in my opinion, they are both hiding quite a few secrets.”

Giving a sigh as well, Zhu Qiqi agreed, “Yes. At first, I had thought that Shen Lang was completely trusting of Wang Lianhua, but it turns out that position was completely an act for people to watch.”

“If that’s the case, he not ony tricked Wang Lianhua, he also tricked us…… I really cannot figure out what exactly is his real identity and what are the intentions behind his actions?”

With a bitter smile, Zhu Qiqi said, “It’s not only you who can’t figure it out; even I can’t figure it out. This person has locked everything about himself behind a door, and he will never open that door for anyone.”

“Do you know why he would do that?” Xiong Mao’er asked.

“Who knows? Only the ghosts would know.” Zhu Qiqi blinked and added, “I really don’t understand. Why are there people like him in the world? It is as if he does not trust anyone. If people were all as open and honest as you and me, things would be so good.”

Xiong Mao’er broke out into a grin. “If they were all like you and me, the world would be in chaos.” He slowly pulled back his smile and then said in a serious voice, “Being open and honest is a virtue, but some people have their own inexpressible difficulties hidden in their heart and their shoulders have to bear a heavy burden. How can they be open and honest?”

Zhu Qiqi stared as if entranced at her fingernails in silence for a long time before she breathed out a faint sigh. “You are such a good person. You still speak good words for him…” Suddenly, she felt that this person sitting in front of her, this man whose entire being seemed to carry a wild air, was actually much more lovable than any other man in the world. Although, just only moments ago, she had still thought that Jin Wuwang’s cold indifference, resoluteness, silent bearing, and ability to understand was the temperament she liked the most. Now, however, she thought that Xiong Mao’er’s bright, cheerful, passionate, wild, and hard to tame personality was the temperament that a true man should have.

She stood there absorbed in herself as she deliberated silently, “If we say that there is one person in the world who could replace Shen Lang’s position in my heart, then that person would definitely be this wild cat. He loves me so much; why should I still think about Shen Lang?”

Looking up, she saw that Xiong Mao’er was also lost in thought, although what he was thinking, she did not know. His thick eyebrows had furrowed together slightly, adding a child-like sense of melancholy onto his normally open and cheerful face, like a rowdy boy who had grown tired from playing and was now sitting on the street waiting for his mother to bring him home. Zhu Qiqi suddenly felt feelings of motherly tenderness arise in her heart. Waves of warmth seemed to flood her body, and she could not help asking gently, “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” Xiong Mao’er replied.

Zhu Qiqi smiled sweetly, one hand caressing the center of his brow where it had creased together and the other one clutching his hand tightly. Her voice was gentle as she giggled, “I’m right here by your side. What are you thinking about me for?”

“I was thinking, what did you do today? Were you lonely?” He pulled his gaze back from where it had been staring off in the distance and looked intently at Zhu Qiqi. Zhu Qiqi was staring at him right then as well.

“I wasn’t lonely,” she answered. “There was someone keeping me company…” She leapt up abruptly and cried, “No good!”

In such a gentle and sweet atmosphere, her sudden leap rather spoiled the moment. Xiong Mao’er was surprised and puzzled and a little disappointed as well as he asked, “What is no good?”

“This whole day, Jin Wuwang had been with me, but right now, he is trapped by Jin Buhuan and other evil people. We must go rescue him.”

Xiong Mao’er remained seated and did not move in the slightest.

Zhu Qiqi pouted, “Did you hear me? Let’s hurry up and go.”

“So he’s been with you the whole time,” Xiong Mao’er said. “So when you and I are together, you heart will still think of him. Fine…… fine. Let’s just say I was wrong, then.” His words dripped with a sour jealously.

What young girl in the world does not like it when a man is jealous because of her? Zhu Qiqi’s pouts immediately transformed into tenderness. With a charming smile, she stroked his head and assured gently, “Silly. It’s because I was so happy to see you that I forgot about everything else. But… but someone is in trouble. We should rescue him.”

Xiong Mao’er lifted his head. “You honestly are happy when you see me?”

“Honestly… Honestly,” Zhu Qiqi reassured.

Xiong Mao’er suddenly gave a cry of alarm and bounded to his feet. “Let’s go.” Grabbing Zhu Qiqi by the hand, he dashed out the door.

Zhu Qiqi shook her head and smiled, “Such a little child…”

The two of them ran hand in hand with Zhu Qiqi pointing out the way. The snow-covered ground had tracks in them from when Zhu Qiqi and Jin Wuwang had hurried that way. One shallow set, one deeper set had been left in the snow – the shallow set of footprints were left by Jin Wuwang, and the deeper set belonged to Zhu Qiqi. When the tracks reached a remote area, another set suddenly appeared. This one had been left behind by Jin Buhuan, who had been following behind them.

Xiong Mao’er pursued these footprints for a long while until all of a sudden, he stopped. “Something’s not right.”

“What’s not right?” Zhu Qiqi asked.

“The footprints are going in circles. It is because you…”

With a chuckle, Zhu Qiqi cut in and explained, “Those are ours. It’s because…” She briefly recapped what had happened. The more Xiong Mao’er listened, the more amazed he felt. The two of them continued moving along as they talked, and suddenly, they noticed that the footprints in a snow had become messy-looking.

“It was right here,” Zhu Qiqi stated.

“This is where all of you fought?”

“Yes,” Zhu Qiqi answered. “But they are gone now. Could it be Jin Wuwang has been… has been captured by them?...”

Xiong Mao’er suddenly exclaimed, “Look over there.”

Zhu Qiqi followed his gaze. Her complexion changed abruptly as well. Amid the disarray of footprints in the snow was a pool of blood. The hot blood had permeated into the snow and spread until the color had turned very light. Coupled with the dirt from the bottoms of feet, it was actually difficult to notice it.

The two of them soared over. Xiong Mao’er grabbed a handful of blood-stained snow, raised it to his nose, and sniffed. Thick eyebrows came together again in a frown and he said in a low tone, “Yes, it is blood.”

In a quavering voice, Zhu Qiqi said, “If that is so, could it… could it mean he has been killed?”

Xiong Mao’er did not answer and instead, leaned his head down to examine the footprints on the ground. He inspected them extremely carefully, and Zhu Qiqi dared not disturb him. A full zhan cha shi [10 minutes] passed before she finally could contain herself no longer and asked, “I’m worried to death here. What are you looking at?”

His voice was quiet as he answered, “These footprints at first glance may all appear to be the same, but if you carefully try to distinguish them, you should still be able to see the differences between them.”

Although Zhu Qiqi’s heart was filled with worry and grief, she still could not hold back her curiosity and so, also lowered her head to look. However, after staring at them for a long while, she still could not notice anything. The longer she stared, the more she could not find anything, the more her curiosity grew, and the more she wanted to see it all clearly. So, she simply squatted down and stared for another long period of time until she finally said, “What is different about them? Are you really able to see something?”

“Don’t tell me you cannot see it?”

Zhu Qiqi sputtered, “I… I… it seems.... there’s some…” She really did not want to say anything that would admit defeat and only hoped that Xiong Mao’er would hurry up and carry on talking. But Xiong Mao’er only smiled and looked at her and would not open his mouth. She had no choice but to stand up, stomp her foot, and huff, “Fine. I admit I lost. I can’t see anything.”

Xiong Mao’er chuckled, “Look closely. It’s just because you have not figured out the method to observe and examine things…”

“You’ve figured it out. You’re so amazing,” Zhu Qiqi pouted. “Just say it.”

Pointing at a footprint, Xiong Mao’er explained, “Look. This footprint is the biggest. You can gather that this person has the biggest build, and of that group, the person with the biggest build is…”

Zhu Qiqi clapped her hands together. “That’s right. This footprint belongs to Lian Tianyun.”

Xiong Mao’er pointed at another footprint. “This footprint has a different shape from all the other ones because this person is wearing hemp shoes. And hemp shoes are usually worn by a priest or monk.”

“Reverend TianFa,” Zhu Qiqi exclaimed delightedly. “This one belongs to that old monk, TianFa.” She, too, pointed at a footprint. “This is a print made from straw sandals. Only beggars wear straw sandals in the winter…… Jin Buhuan, oh Jin Buhuan, did you leave this pair of footprints?” She raised her foot and stamped ruthlessly on those footprints several times.

Laughing, Xiong Mao’er complimented, “With one case as an example, you can deduce three other cases from it and learn from analogous situations. You are not only cute, you are very smart too.”

“But there are still three other sets of footprints I haven’t figured out,” Zhu Qiqi admitted.

“Those three footprints at first glance don’t seem to have anything distinctive about them and are indeed difficult to differentiate. However…… if you look right here, you will be able to tell them apart.” He was pointing at two sets of footprints that were particularly deep and clearly outlined. Those two pairs of footprints were separated by several [ancient Chinese] feet and were so deep in the snow they almost seemed as if they had been carved in by a knife.

Clapping her hands again, Zhu Qiqi cried, “Oh! That’s right. Those were left behind during Jin Wuwang and Leng Da’s match. At the time, those two had been standing for a very long time and had required a lot of energy, so the footprints they left would of course be especially deep.”

Xiong Mao’er added, “And since Leng Da was the one who was defeated, this set of prints that is the deepest should be his.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Zhu Qiqi agreed excitedly.

In reality, she knew that, even if they could recognize who each footprint belonged to, it still may not be any use, but still, she could not help feeling thrilled that she had figured out one thing. She had said someone else was like a child, but in fact, she was the one who was really like a child.

Xiong Mao’er spoke again, “There’s another point: throughout the year, Leng Da rarely ever leaves the house, so the imprint of flaxen thread stitching can still be seen in his footprints. Jin Wuwang, though, lately has been constantly on the go, travelling to and fro, so the bottom of his shoes should be worn down and smooth.” One should know that, during those times, leather shoes were not in general use and the soles of shoes usually were reinforced by stitching using flaxen thread, which is durable but soft and comfortable to wear. The thin-soled, light boots that wulin people wore, even more often, for the most part, used this type of sole.

Zhu Qiqi was ecstatic and filled with respect and admiration as she listened to him. Nodding her head non-stop, she said with a smile, “That’s right… that’s right…”

“All the others have been identified, so the last remaining pair of prints would, of course, be Li Changqing’s…… Your set of girl footprints we do not even need to discuss.”

Zhu Qiqi giggled, “You little kitty cat. You really are getting smarter and smarter.” She suddenly stretched out a hand and pinched Xiong Mao’er’s cheek lightly. These three words, “little kitty cat” were so very indescribably intimate and charmingly cute, while that gentle pinch further caused one’s soul to float to the heavens.

With a besotted look, Xiong Mao’er laughed loudly for a while before carrying on, “Honestly, this method of observing things was something I learned from Shen Lang. He…”

Zhu Qiqi’s head snapped up unexpectedly and she cut him off hotly, “You’re talking about him again… You’ve brought him up again. The instant I hear that name, I get a headache.” In fact, what ached was not her head but her heart. She had thought that she had forgotten about Shen Lang, but she only needed to hear that name and then her heart would feel as if it had been pierced by needles.

Seeing her suddenly lose her temper, Xiong Mao’er was taken aback. After standing in a daze for quite some time, he mumbled, “If you don’t want to hear it, then I… I won’t ever mention it again.”

“If you mention it… if you mention it again, what will you be?”

“I mention it again, and I’m a ‘turtle egg’ [bastard].”

Only then did Zhu Qiqi’s anger dissolve back into happiness again, and her face brightened into a smile. “Alright then, the footprints have all been identified. What now?”

Xiong Mao’er pointed at Jin Wuwang’s footprints and said, “Look. These prints, from the same feet, have some that are the faintest out of the six people while some of them are the deepest and heaviest, which means that Jin Wuwang’s lightness kung fu has the highest level of attainment out of all of them, but in the end, his strength could not sustain the continuous effort. Obviously, he must have been through a bloody and hard battle.

Zhu Qiqi’s smile immediately disappeared, and she pressed anxiously, “What else?”

Xiong Mao’er pointed again at two lines of footprints. “The toes of these footprints are all pointed outward. It is evident they were made when they left. But Jin Wuwang’s footprints are missing from them…”

[zhouyu]

thank you so much, i really enjoy this story

[Ren Wo Xing]

More WLWS goodness! Thanks Hoju!

[Hoju!]

Thanks for reading zhouyu and Ren Wo Xing.



Chapter 14 continued.....
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Zhu Qiqi gave an alarmed gasp. “If that’s the case, could he have been captured and carried away?”

With a bitter smile, Xiong Mao’er agreed, “I think that would have to be the case.”

Anxious tears sprung forth from Zhu Qiqi and stamping her feet, she fretted, “What should we do? Falling into their hands, for him, is… is truly worse than death.” Given Jin Wuwang’s temperament, he really would rather die than give in.

Xiong Mao’er was quiet for a lengthy time before saying quietly, “These footprints are all much deeper than the ones they had made when they arrived. Clearly, their strength had been depleted significantly, especially Lian Tianyun and Leng Da…”

Zhu Qiqi interrupted, “But Jin Buhuan never is willing to get involved in the fighting. Why would his footprints become deeper too?”

“Presumably, Jin Wuwang was carried away by him,” Xiong Mao’er explained. “With the weight of two people added together, the footprints would of course become deeper.”

Zhu Qiqi leaped up and tramped with all her might all over Jin Buhuan’s footprints while she cursed tearfully, “Scoundrel… Animal! You… if any of you dare torture him along the way, there will come a day when I will cut you up into pieces and feed them to dogs.”

Xiong Mao’er watched her sadly, but was he sad for her or for himself? To see the one he loved so worried for someone else––indeed, it would be difficult to know the feelings in his heart.

Grabbing onto him, Zhu Qiqi pleaded in a trembling voice, “Please. Please, help me rescue him, alright?”

Xiong Mao’er’s head sank low. “I… I…”

Tears flowed down as she begged, “You are the only close, loved one I have in this world. Do you have the heart…”

Xiong Mao’er suddenly stomped his feet and declared, “Let’s go.”

Actually, Xiong Mao’er knew that even if he was able to catch up to them, to rescue Jin Wuwang out of the hands of Reverend TianFa, Jin Buhuan, and those other people would be as hard as ascending to heaven. But what man in the world could resist the tears and pleading of the one he loved, let alone the man was Xiong Mao’er who was such a passionate man? He decided simply to not say anything at all, and when the time came, he would fight with his life.

The two of them pursued those footprints, both their hearts weighed heavily by their own thoughts. For a time, neither of them spoke, but when Zhu Qiqi’s palm touched Xiong Mao’er’s, they held hands again.

The tracks led north and seemed to head towards Luoyang, but then they arrived at the foot of a mountain. Though the mountain was not very tall, standing there at its base and looking up at it still caused one’s head to spin.

Xiong Mao’er stood motionless at the bottom and suddenly just stared blankly.

“Go up the mountain,” Zhu Qiqi urged. “Why are you getting all dazed?” While her words carried a slight intent of admonisment, her tone was still gentle and intimate––of course, she knew what was good and appreciated Xiong Mao’er’s feelings for her.

In a quiet voice, Xiong Mao’er responded, “I was just finding it strange. Now that they have captured Jin Wuwang, even if they wanted to torture and interrogate him, they should go back to Virtue Manor. Why would they come here?”

Zhu Qiqi grew pale. “Could they… could they be bringing him up the mountain to kill him?”

With a wry smile, Xiong Mao’er pointed out, “If they really wanted to kill him, why would they need to bring him up the mountain? They could kill him just the same on the snowy ground. There is bound to be some other peculiar reason for this.”

Distressed, Zhu Qiqi repeated, ‘That’s right. They could kill him just the same on the snowy ground. Why would they need to bring him up a mountain?... Oh! I really don’t know what to do anymore.” In fact, Xiong Mao’er did not have any ideas either. Both of them did not have any ideas, so they could only ascend the mountain and see.

However, the mountain terrain was rugged. On some rocks and in parts of the long grass, very little snow had built up, while in other places, the snow had been blocked by the rocks and there was no snow accumulated on the ground at all. As a result, it was not as easy to follow the trail of footprints.

The two of them would walk and stop, looking around as they did. They came to a flat area on the mountain where an octagonal pavilion stood. Its red railings and green roof stood out against the white snow covering the mountains, making it even more pleasing to the heart and delightful to the eye.

But the footprints reached here and then suddenly disappeared. The two of them searched intently for half a day, but they were not able to find a single print.

Xiong Mao’er’s brow was knit together. “Weird… weird…”

“Weird… weird…” Zhu Qiqi echoed. “Don’t tell me these people just suddenly flew into the sky.” All of a sudden, she clapped her hands and cried excitedly, “So that’s it!”

Surprised, Xiong Mao’er asked, “You figured it out?”

“I’ve encountered this type of situation once before. It was that time when I and Shen… I and Tie Huahe, Sheng Ying, Yixiaofo and those people were investigating the secrets of the ancient tomb. That time, too, there had been a line of footprints that just suddenly stopped, and someone said, ‘Could these people have flown up into the sky?’”

“What was the conclusion?” Xiong Mao’er inquired.

“I later learned that they walked to that spot, then doubled back to where they had come from by stepping backwards in their original footprints, making people not only unable to determine their whereabouts but also paranoid about the idea of gods and ghosts.”

Xiong Mao’er applauded. “Ah, such a brilliant plan.” He immediately started following the tracks in the direction they had come from, but after only taking a couple of steps, he could not help frowning. “But this time… this time that may not be the case.”

“Why?” Zhu Qiqi questioned. “Why is it different this time?”

“We may not know much about the things of that ancient tomb, but I would imagine that it involves some secretive dealings. Of course, then, they would try to dress up as gods and pretend to be ghosts and deliberately set-up misleading tricks. But Reverend Tianfa and these people…”

Zhu Qiqi scoffed, “And these people are good people?”

With a forced smile, Xiong Mao’er replied, “Let’s put aside the discussion of whether these people are good or bad. However, they are persons who have names and surnames, and even if they wanted to ‘hide their heads and only show their tails,’ they wouldn’t be able to get away, not to mention, they do not even know that there are people chasing them. Plus, with their fighting skills, even if people were pursuing them, they may not necessarily need to hide.”

Zhu Qiqi mulled this over for quite some time before admitting, “I can’t say your words are completely illogical. But, in your opinion then, what is going on? Did they really just suddenly fly into the sky?”

Xiong Mao’er sighed, “This… I still do not know.”

Zhu Qiqi stamped her feet. “I don’t know and you don’t know. Then… then what should we do? Are we just going to wait here for them to fall back down from the sky?”

“This… I think we should still go up and look around. Maybe…”

He had not finished what he was saying when a wretched cry suddenly rang out atop the mountain. A rasping voice shrieked shakily, “Help… Help…”

Xiong Mao’er and Zhu Qiqi gave a start together in surprise. The two of them exchanged a look and then at the same time, threw themselves into motion as they dashed in the direction of that miserable shout.

The cries had echoed up from the bottom of a steep cliff. When Zhu Qiqi and Xiong Mao’er arrived there, the voice had gotten weaker. The person crying for help seemed to have shouted himself hoarse and exhausted his strength but was still continuing to call out, although it seemed more like moaning. “I… I have fallen down here. Whichever good sir should help pull me up, I shall never forget his goodness…”

Allowing their eyes to follow the sound, they saw, sure enough, two hands gripping tightly onto the edge of the cliff. The knuckles had grown pale, and it was obvious that he had no strength left to continue holding on. Zhu Qiqi breathed out a sigh of relief. “Luckily, this person wasn’t destined to die yet. He hasn’t fallen down yet and we happened to be on the mountain…” At once, she called, “Hey! Don’t be scared, and don’t let go! We are coming to save you now.”

She was just about to rush over there with large strides, but Xiong Mao’er grabbed her by the wrist. He was frowning as he said, “Just wait. This looks to me…”

Fretting, Zhu Qiqi interrupted, “Human life is as great as the heavens. Saving a life is as urgent as fighting a fire. What are you still waiting for?” The more hoarse and weak that voice crying for help became, the more anxious she felt in her heart.

“This situation looks to me like there is something…”

Zhu Qiqi gave a stomp of her foot. “No matter what there is, we should still rescue him back up first. If we keep waiting until he falls, will you be able to face your own conscience?”

Xiong Mao’er was going to reply but was already shoved ahead by Zhu Qiqi. He could only nod and give in, “Alright. I will go rescue him. You wait here.” Letting go of her wrist, he leapt over to the edge of the cliff with a single stride, leaned over, and grasped ahold of the man’s two wrists.

“Pull hard… hurry…” Zhu Qiqi urged.

But before she had finished her words, those two hands that had been clutching onto the edge of the cliff suddenly flipped up, and their fingers had already hooked onto the meridian of Xiong Mao’er’s right wrist. He had used the most penetrating technique, “Tendon Severing, Seizing Hand.” [orig. ‘Fen Jin Qin Na Shou’; fen jin = separate tendon from bone; qin na = to seize; shou = hand]

Xiong Mao’er had been caught unaware. How could he evade this? And since he had been captured, how could he possibly throw him off? His arms grew numb, and his entire body immediately became weak.

Zhu Qiqi had not even had a chance to finish her sentence before Xiong Mao’er let out a startled cry and his whole body was thrown off over the edge, straight down into that chasm that was several hundred zhang deep. This change in events was just too sudden. It was as if Zhu Qiqi had been rumbled by thunder and shocked by lightning as her entire being froze where she was.

The echoes of Xiong Mao’er’s screams came resonating back up. But over the cliff, the sound of a vicious cackle sounded out, and then, a silhouette flipped up over the edge along with that laughter.