Tale Of A Falling City (Qing Cheng Ji)

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: Family Matters

His mother was serving maid in the Ni household where Ni Jian was the master, and Fan Jing Ping his wife. He had heard from his mother that she and Ni Jian fell in love but due to his fear of his wife, their love was kept a secret until the time when it could no longer be concealed. Fan Jing Ping was furious when she found out that her husband had a pregnant lover, but was persuaded to let her enter the family to maintain the face of the Ni household. But her condition to that was to have the marriage after the birth.

But she didn’t keep her word. Ni Jian was helpless when his lover and his newborn son were left to die on a drifting raft, with no food, no water and no hope. It was only fortunate that Yang Zai Sheng had found them and took care of them, on condition that his mother had to marry him.

To preserve the life of her son, she agreed, but years later due to her longing for Ni Jian. Nevertheless, he was raised as Yang Zai Sheng’s son. Yang Ji Fan had never accepted Ni Shen as his name, but instead, happily accepted the name “Ji Fan”, to remind him of his continuous drifting in the earlier months of his birth.

Years later, when Yang Ji Fan had severed from the Holy Snake Clan, he reencountered his biological father back in Xian Yang where his mother asked for her ashes to be buried, but refused to acknowledge him, only informing him of his whereabouts due to the last wish of his mother.

Then twelve years ago, he suddenly received a flying pigeon from his “father”, reading:

“Shen Er,

I know I have not carried out the duty of a father throughout all these years, but still blood is thicker than water. My Deep Fields Manor will soon be under attack from the Holy Snake Clan, after your brother, Ni Cao, has refused to marry off his daughter to Holy Snake Clan’s Chen Ming Jun.

In consideration that the same blood flows through both of us, please use your relationship with the Holy Snake Clan to call off the attack. My granddaughter is only eight this year, and I am not sure that we would survive this calamity. Please, let her take refuge in your Smoke Gathering City until all of this is over.

As a father, as a grandfather, I beg of you to agree, and thus reunite as a family.

Your Father,
Ni Jian”

Yang Ji Fan had never forgiven his father for not saving his mother, and still, he never did. And more, this niece of his was from the son of Fan Jing Ping, so he bluntly send a refusal letter back.

Then months later, he received the news that Deep Fields Manor had been burnt to the ground and severely regretted his rash decision. He personally went to Xian Yang to locate his niece, but instead found Fan Jing Ping. She was the only survivor of the fire, except her granddaughter, Ni Chang, and a servant that they had sent to their Virtuous Manor in Gu Su. But when they got to Gu Su, the whole province had been attacked by an epidemic and the whole manor was empty.

Thus, Fan Jing Ping followed him back to Smoke Gathering City but the two rarely spoke. Their relationship never grew any closer, as she blamed him for not receiving her granddaughter and he blamed her for treating his mother so badly.

Yang Ji Fan passed by the courtyard where Wan Qiu Ning was seated in the pavilion. All this anger and hatred dispersed at the sight of her soothing face; love and gentleness filled it instead. But how could he have ever known that this was the last time that he would see her happy face, the last time he would feel happy and contented before the dreadful truth was revealed.

Both the ship and boats were anchored stilly in the calm waters that would unpredictably rise into towering tidal waves, and then settle back to its original form as if nothing had ever happened. It was getting dark, and the injured Wan Neng needed to rest. He had already vomited blood twice in one hour and feel into a coma once again. It had seemed that eh wouldn’t survive the night. The sky was slowly darkening, as if a heavenly being was slowly drawing a curtain over the sun, shutting its life-giving rays from the eyes of mankind.

They were only metres from the boats, but Lian Le Yi broke free from the crowd and ran to in front of the three stone tablets before the tablets. Kicking one of them hard, she cried, “That’s for hurting my foot earlier in the day and causing my location to be revealed.” By the dimming light from the setting sun, the words “The Grave of Mr. Qi.” was clearly visible on the worn surface of the gravestone.

Yang Ji Fan knelt down before the tablet and read, “The Grave of Mr. Qi.” It was the gravestone of Qi Qian Yu father! Lian Le Yi gasped with fear as soon as she realized she had kicked a grave and dropped onto her knees, begging their spirits for forgiveness. The middle one was accumulated with dust, cobwebs, moss and weeds and even if there were words, it could not be seen. So Yang Ji Fan quickly ran to the other clean gravestone and found the grave of Madam Qi there – Qi Qian Yu’s mother.

He closely examined the two tablets and surprisingly found that the graves were free of cobwebs and moss, and must have been cleaned regularly with care and respect. He thought to himself “Qi Qian Yu must have done this as her duty to her parents, “ but when he looked at the dirty middle one, he wondered with curiosity why it was so neglected.

Taking a stick from the ground, he carefully brushed off the layers of dirt and moss of the stone, revealing lines of small neat characters, engraved deeply into the stone with care and patience. This stone tablet was at least twice the thickness of the other two. Was this a grave too and if so, whom did it contain? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: A Woman's Hate

Yang Ji Fan bent down and leaned close to the stone. The rest dared not crowd around him lest he be deprived of light, and instead, bowed and paid their respects to Qi Qian Yu’s parents while they patiently waited for him to read it out.

“This the Forest of Severing Worldly Matters on the No Dust Island. This island is isolated and dangerous, containing many poisonous plants and ferocious beasts. Thus, many innocent souls perished on this unfortunate land, trapped on this island and never to reincarnate. Here lies the body of a lonely ghost, unable to reincarnate due to an unfulfilled wish, and can only wander the island at night, looking for a companion. Please strike this stone three times with all your might if you wish to help her, to which she would be eternally grateful.”

Suddenly, a howling sound came from the forest, accompanied by the flutter of wings, raising hairs to stand on their ends. Lian Le Yi screamed in fear, “Ahhh! A ghost! A ghost!” and ran into Han Qing Feng’s protective arms. Hong Zheng Tian also wanted to hug Li Bing Xin, but she twisted away from him, with a grin on her face. The others all encircled around the stones, face out, with weapons brandished, ready to slice at anything that would come out at them.

Suddenly, a black blur appeared in front of Lian Le Yi’s face and she waved her arms about, trying to rid herself of whatever it was. The others also saw it and hacked at it until it stopped squawking. Miao Shi Zhong produced a firebrand from his flint stones and lit up what was left of what they had struck. Its bloody wings lay motionless on the ground while its feather fluttered in the wind. They breathed a sigh of relief to find that it was only a curious crow that was too curious for its own good.

Then all of a sudden, three loud bangs could be heard and they turned around just in time to see the stone split horizontally in half. Yang Ji Fan retreated his palm and Miao Shi Zhong held the firebrand close for him to see the words engraved on the inside of the tablet, that was finally revealed to human eyes.

Meanwhile, in a large manor in Gu Su, a trop of red clad men steeped into a large, lonely hall. Seeing the crooked figure of a man standing at the end of the hall, all of them fell on one knee and greeted, “Clan Leader!” Chen Xu turned to face his followers. His face was covered with soft wrinkles, and long beard was slowly forming. His eyes now drooped with tiredness as it once burned with ambition and lust.

“Ming Jun, have you captured that old woman yet? Where is she?” he asked in a low voice.

Chen Ming Jun answered, “Reporting to Clan Leader, please forgive our failure. The old woman is a witch, and uses evil magic to disorganize our emotions. Her music disrupts ides from our minds and replaces them with head-splitting pains. Besides, the sly traitor Yang Hen Tian has miraculously recovered and we could not get pass him. We had to leave. We dared not take any action without your guidance so we decided to report to you first. Please forgive us.”

Chen Xu slammed his hand on the table in rage as he found that his plan has failed. The table immediately shattered into broken pieces and settled into sawdust on the floor. “That dog! And that witch! Don’t worry! Get up! I will get them anyway. If Yang Hen Tian found that old woman, he would have to turn up in Gu Su anyway to hand her over to Zhao Yin. We can wait for them there!”

Chen Ming Jun approached his father and asked, “Clan Leader, may I ask why we have to capture the old woman? What importance is she to our plan to disrupt Wu Lin?”

Chen Xu smiled slyly at his son and replied, “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. But since Zhao Yin wants her so much, she must know some secret or possess some powerful skill that he desires. Once we capture her, we will know that power and can use it to our advantage. Furthermore, Zhao Yin will be under our control and instead of sacrificing out own men in these dangerous undercover missions in the northern and southern clans, we can use the Immortal Exterminating Network killers and if we fail, they will take up all the blame. That Zhao Yin, I will teach him to kill my s…” he suddenly stopped in the sentence, not wanting to reveal so much in front of his men.

“Just stay calm for now until Yang Hen Tian and his men appear at the Gu Su cliffs. But I know that in three days time, the northern Immortal Fist School will be meeting with the southern Iron Clothes Clan in the sea to settle for peace. I have to go immediately to cause havoc so I will leave the matters of the clan for you to handle.”

Suddenly, a female voice called out, “Chen Xu, you had rather prefer to hand the duties of the clan to an outsider than your own wife?” They turned around to find a middle-aged woman stepping from behind a curtain, with a cross expression on her face.

Dressed in rich silks and decorated with jewelry, she carried the appearance of a woman in her mid twenties rather than of her own age. She had a mature air around her, so feminine, so seductive that it was no wonder than Chen Xu gave up his womanizing ways for her.

“Li Shan, Ming Jun is more knowledgeable in the clan duties than you.” But he saw the look on his wife’s face and knew that he would have a lot trouble to deal with when he came back if he didn’t change his decision. “But, of course, you females are more careful in dealing with matters so you can be the main person in charge while Ming Jun can be your adviser. You two should work together and build up a close relationship, and not keep up this hostility. I really have to go now! Take care!” and kissing his wife goodbye, he left.

Yang Li Shan waved her hand and ordered, “All of you, out! I have something to make clear with Chen Ming Jun! Don’t come in unless I order you to. Out!” The Holy Snake Clan members knew clearly that the two were hostile like water and fire, and quickly hurried out lest they be involved in some serious argument.

As soon as the doors were closed, Chen Ming Jun asked politely, “Madam, what do you want to discuss with me!”

Yang Li Shan swirled around with her eyes twinkling brightly, “I dare not want to discuss with you, but only want some advice. How should I punish the man who has cruelly not met with me for four months, and even not visit his own flesh and blood for four months? What should I do to such a man?”

Yang Li Shan loved her husband but also hated him for having other children not of her womb. Even after killing her first born in revenge, she was still not able to get rid of her hate. So to protest, we would sleep with other men without her husband’s knowledge, preferably of his own clan, to humiliate him behind his back. Chen Bai An was her second child, in reputation the son of Chen Xu, but by blood his grandson.

Chen Ming Jun put his arms around her and answered, “To such a man, you should pamper with your kisses and spoil him with your embraces. And …” They continued their conversation as they moved towards the bedroom. <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: Unfinished Fate
“My name is Ni Qiu Ning, other name Ni Chang. I was born in Xian Yang twenty years ago in a rich manor named Deep Fields Manor. My grandfather was the once famous Musician Swordsman, Ni Jian, who killed not only with his sword, but also his music. I was born into privilege, having what others didn’t have, and learning what others couldn’t learn. I had a special talent in me, allowing me to learn things at a fast rate. By the time I was seven, I was already known by the whole Xian Yang City as a child prodigy, able to play chess, dance, sing and play the qin, better than most adults could. My talent brightened up my life, but also ruined it.

I was only eight when my family suddenly sent me to live in a manor in Gu Su so I could see the wonderful scenery there, and only a trusted servant was sent to escort me. I never did understand why my mother cried numerous tears and why my father and grandfather looked so sour when I left. Only my grandmother was happy to see me leave, for she too, was as ignorant of the true purpose of the trip as me.

Uncle Wan, my escort, seemed so sad during the travels. But he didn’t answer me when I confronted him, only saying that I would know when I got there. But we never got there. We ran in to assassins from the Immortal Exterminating Network and in an instant, both of us were captured. Both Uncle Wan and me were recruited into their services, and to hide my true identity, Uncle Wan gave me his surname and became my new Father. I was then known as Wan Qiu Ning.

For years, I worked as an assassin. I was taught the skills of making traps and my mentor adored me. But the leader of the organization, Hua Bi Rong, behaved very strangely around me, which made me very insecure and sacred. As soon as I was ready to kill, I would always volunteer for a mission just to get away from her. I killed many people, not knowing why, but only because I had to. But they were all bad people. Uncle Wan told me so. It had seemed that the whole world except my mentor and Uncle Wan were bad people, until I met him.

I remember clearly at Luo Yang when I first saw him. Amongst the crowds of men that were around, he stood out like a crane among chickens. Then our glances met and a burning fire burned into my heart, leaving an irremovable mark there. But it was only a brief meeting and I had never thought he would remember me, only leaving me with his black cloak.

Then as fate willed it, he was my next assignment. Uncle Wan bade me to go undercover and kill him, but for the first time in my life, I did something for myself. Nothing I did since I was young was of my own free will, but this was. I refused and ended up nearly dying from Uncle Wan’s palms. But I did not blame him, for this near death experience allowed me the happiest time of my life.

He saved me, nursed me until I was well again. I had successfully become an undercover but never could bear to carry out the fatal strike. Then in the soft snow, we confessed our feelings for each other and I had the high hope of being able to spend the rest of my life with him. But this hope soon dashed as Leader Hua sent other men to carry out the mission. To save him, I disclosed my knowledge of the organization’s martial arts and exposed my identity. I went back to the headquarters even though he told me he did not mind. How could I face him? I was not worth it and decided to let our fate end.

I worried about him every single day that we were parted, not knowing whether he was happy or not. Then one day, I found out that our organization was conspiring with the Holy Snake Clan to kill him, and I had to intercept. Without thinking of the consequences, I pulled him out of danger and ran for our lives. I knew this time, I could never go back and would live a life of constant hiding but I had no regrets, because it was for him. I was shot with an arrow and we had to rest in an abandoned temple, where we exchanged promises of marriage.

I had thought that our love had finally defeated fate and we could forever be together, but in my carelessness, I forgot about destiny. It was three days before our wedding when we experienced the cruelty of the heavens. His face changed when I told him of my real surname, and then my grandmother suddenly reappeared, and with her, brought the most heartbreaking news that I could ever encounter. He was my uncle, my father’s younger brother from a different mother. All of my dreams, my hopes, my life, was ruined. He was my uncle! My uncle! I fainted immediately and when I awoke, he was not there.

But Uncle Wan had finally found me and told me everything. Because of my talent, the Holy Snake’s Clan’s Chen Ming Jun desired me for a future wife. But my family refused, leading to the family’s calamity. The trip to Su Gu was really a trip to Yu Nan, to deliver me to the hands of Chen Ming Jun, leading me to a place of darkness.

That night, I decided to leave. What could I do but leave? Even if I continued to stay as his niece, I would always feel the same way about him. My love had grown too deep to be rooted. To stay would only make things worse, more embarrassed and more painful.

Carefully, I refolded the bright red wedding dress back in its box. No. It wasn’t mine at all. Not in this life would I ever be fated to wear it. For the last time, I carefully ran my fingers over the embroidered phoenix and then bluntly, closed the lid. The phoenix will never meet her dragon, and I would never see him again.

And I left the city for many miles. But it was of no use; the further away I was away from him, the more I thought about him. Every a hundred li I traveled away, I automatically returned fifty li. I knew if I didn’t get a control of myself, I would soon end up next to him. I couldn’t. And soon, my fellow assassins from the Immortal Exterminating Network were after me - the traitor. I bought a small boat and sailed off into the sea, with no paddle, only a sail, so that I could have no control in the direction of travel. My love was like my ship, powerless against the waves and wind, impossible to turn back.

Soon, I arrived at this island. But also got inflicted with a strange disease. My body became weaker each day and each day, I yearned more and more to see him just one last time. But in my condition, I could not even walk to the coast, lest travel back to the Central Plains.

Here on my deathbed, I am now writing this letter, hoping that someone with a good heart would read this and pity me, and help me return this painting back to him. If you do, I will be eternally grateful and wish prosperity and luck to you and your many generations to come.

His name is Yang Ji Fan, City Master of Smoke Gathering City, in the southwest of the Central Plains. Please tell him: Our unfinished fate in this lifetime will be continued in next. Take care and lead a happy life!

Thank you,

By the final pen of Ni Qiu Ning”

Yang Ji fan refolded the letter and kissed it with his lips. The letter had accompanied the painting from the cavity that was revealed on the new surface of the stone tablet when it cracked in half. He opened the scroll and it unrolled into a painting of a heavenly maiden, in the elegant pose of sword practicing. This was a painting that he had drawn many years ago, supposed to be a pair with the one he always kept by his side. He gently touched her face with his fingers and reminisced back to the times he spent with her.

“Qiu Ning, our fate would not only continue in the next lifetime, but for the next three lifetimes as well. I promise.” <IMG SRC="smilies/touched.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: Colourful Clothes

The next morning, Yang Ji Fan got up from bed earlier than anybody else on the ship. Although he was severely depressed by her death, but he knew he could not deteriorate his life or he would no longer be worthy of her love. He had to be strong as a leader, and especially at a crucial time like this, his followers could not do without a leader – at least, not until the three months were up. Only then will he meet her, in hope that the heavens would be kinder to them in their next lives.

However, a question had bothered him for the whole night, and even in his sleep, he thought about it. At first, he had thought that Wan Qiu Ning was still alive and it was she that had used the Heavenly Melodies of Peace in the Forest of Severing Worldly ties, but according to the letter, if she had died when she was twenty, that means she died twelve to thirteen years ago.

From Fan Jing Ping, he found out that in the whole of Wu Lin, only Ni Jian, Ni Cao, Wan Neng, Wan Qiu Ning and Qi Qian Yu knew the skill. But Ni Jian and Ni Cao had long perished at the burning down of Deep Fields Manor, and Wan Neng was too seriously ill to fly around the forest. Qi Qian Yu was still missing, but even if she were on No Dust Island, her Lightness Skills would not have been that advanced to be the mysterious old woman. Wan Qiu Ning had already passed away, and the same thing, her internal energy was not that high. So was there a sixth person who knew the Heavenly Melodies of Peace?

He walked past the corridor to go to see how Wan Neng was and surprising, bumped into Lian Le Yi, Han Qing Feng, Hong Zheng Tian and Li Bing Xin all coming out of Ou Yang Hua’s room. The even shocking thing, was that apart from the four, Ou Yang Hua, Miao Shi Zhong, Qu Wan Quan and Qiao Kong Chao followed them shortly behind. Through the open doorways, he could see that all of the other men were also in there, yawning and stretching their backs.

“What were all of you doing in there?” he asked suspiciously as they greeted him good morning.

The lot looked guiltily at each other for a moment, then all of a sudden, Lian Le Yi steeped out and answered, “We were … we were discussing the power and effectiveness of each style of martial arts!” They rest glared at her, not knowing how to continue the lie.

“All of you? All through the night?” Yang Ji Fan asked again, “Le Yi, I thought ever since I first started teaching you martial arts, you had always detested exploring martial arts, and preferred to only learn them. But, I am glad that you have changed. Now you can tell me what all of you had concluded last night!”

“Eh… Umm.” muttered Lian Le Yi, “The Golden Snake Hand is … is fast and accurate. It is effective against … against, “ she was working her brains really hard to come up with the answers, “… against large numbers of enemies as the sword energy emitted from it can repel enemies before they can get near!” She took a breath of relief as she finished the sentence.

Li Bing Xin had this confused look on her face while Han Qing Feng and Hong Zheng Tian smiled to minimize embarrassment. Qiao Kong Chao had almost wanted to ram himself into a wall when he heard her analysis of the Golden Snake Hand. His other three friends tried to avoid laughing.

“Do you still want to lie to me? Sword energy from the Golden Snake Hand? What sword? Against large numbers of enemies? With two hands? No wonder you always need a companion while in combat! Tell me the truth now!” he ordered. The ordinary followers had already lost control and were trying to hide their giggles. Turning to Qu Wan Quan, he said, “You, tell me!”

Qu Wan Quan exclaimed, “I surrender! I am telling the truth! With Lian Le Yi, there is no way we can cover up the truth!” she pouted and turned aside. But when she found herself facing Han Qing Feng, she immediately turned the other way. “Cult Master Yang, they all wanted to know about you and Wan Qiu Ning so they all came to pester us. We finally gave in and told them what we knew. But all we knew were just the obvious facts but the in depth details, we were ignorant. They kept interrupting by asking nonsense questions so by the time we finished, we were all so tired that we all fell asleep in the room. That’s all!”

Yang Ji Fan made a weak laugh and exclaimed, “If you had questions, why did you not come and directly ask me?” And he handed the letter over to them.

Qiao Kong Chao received it, the others gathered around him, curious to know what was written in the letter. But as his fingers touched the seal, he looked up and saw Yang Ji Fan’s eyes staring at the letter, as if it was not a letter at all, but something else that he sorely missed, and wished to be by his side. “Are you sure, Cult Master? Are you sure want us to know about you and her?” he asked, allowing his friend some time to reconsider.

Yang Ji Fan laughed again, but mingled with the sound were also little traces of sorrow and despair. “I, Yang Ji Fan, have not done anything wrong and have nothing that cannot be revealed to the world.” Then suddenly, something came into his mind. “Has anybody been to seen Wan Neng? He seemed very weak yesterday!”

Again, the opening of the letter was delayed and they shook their heads. One of them answered, “There was nothing that we could do for him anyway so we left him alone.”

But Han Qing Feng comforted, “Cult Master, don’t’ worry! You were also poisoned but look at you now! You are talking, walking and able to use your martial arts. Uncle Wan is a good man, I am sure the heavens will not let him die so easily. Let’s go to see him now.”

Wan Neng’s condition did not change. He was still as lifeless as before on the bed, breathing lightly, and muttering in a deep voice, “Cai Yi! Cai Yi!” No one knew what he was saying. What was he thinking of that was related to colorful clothes? Was it a female’s name? Whatever it meant, it certainly meant a lot to Wan Neng.
<IMG SRC="smilies/thinkingof.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: Purple Death

Li Bing Xin, took his pulse. Being responsible for traps in the Immortal Exterminating Network, she did know some of the cures and poisons used by the organization. Her mentor was known as the Five Poison Demon King, who had retired from missions long ago and concentrated on training new talents. But he died several years ago after catching a cold while collecting poisonous herbs in the mountains. She would have inherited his title had not he died before teaching his entire knowledge to her.

He had always said that she was too immature and rash to handle the deadliest of poison, unlike her senior martial sister Wan Qiu Ning, who he described as careful and attentive. That was one of the reasons why she had always hated her senior martial sister, even though she had never met her. To her, Wan Qiu Ning had always been the perfect model, and gave her the impression that she was proud, arrogant and a hypocrite.

Li Bing Xin had always been compared to her, so had always aimed to be higher than her in all areas, hoping to erase the shadow of Wan Qiu Ning’s achievements from her own. But after reading the letter and hearing about her from Ou Yang Hua, her view of her changed and she began to understand her difficulties and regrets in being the best and most well loved. She no longer saw her as a rival, an opponent, but of a friend, a friend who experienced a quite similar life to her.

She too, was an orphan, and not knowing how her true parents died. She had also grown up in similar surroundings as her, facing Hua Ri Rong and having the unclear feeling when killing strangers on missions, and found someone for who she would willingly go into a life of fugitive. She too had been forced to learn the usage of traps and varieties of poisons; but unfortunately, Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing was not one of the poisons she was familiar with.

“There is nothing I can do. I am sorry! The only reason why he is so near to his journey to the Yellow Springs and why you are standing here so healthy is because he was more seriously injured than you. See, his lips are slowly turning dark, meaning that more and more of the poison have sunken into his bloodstream. I am afraid that in six hours, the poison will start attacking his internal systems and rot them away.” Li Bing Xin straightened her dress as she got up as if Wan Neng was just suffering from a cold. Someone dying was of no surprise to her, it was already a part of her life, and her emotions were void to it, just as long as it wasn’t Hong Zheng Tian. They all moved out of the room in depression and despair, leaving the patient alone to his sweet dream.

Yang Ji Fan sighed heavily as he heard her analysis. Wan Neng was Ni Qiu Ning’s foster father, and he could not keep him safe. How could he face her when he too, soon would be in Wan Neng’s situation? But this girl had made a mistake. The reason why he had suddenly awoken from his coma was not because of his light injuries - he too had severe internal injuries, but because something had suddenly triggered his intent to live. In his unconscious state, the soft, soothing music from Xuan Yuan Lin’s qin had somehow made him suddenly feel that Ni Qiu Ning was near, and if he opened his eyes, he would see her. But as near as she was, she was too far for him to reach.

The next morning, loud shouts awoke the whole ship, calling everybody into Wan Neng’s room. Li Bing Xin had gotten up from bed earlier to see if Wan Neng had died yet, expecting to find a cold, motionless corpse upon the bed. But instead, he was warm and breathing, and his pulse was getting stronger. The colour was going back into his face, but his lips stayed the same dark shade.

“What happened? I thought you said he was not going to survive the night?” asked Ou Yang Hua, who was busy buttoning his clothes.

Li Bing Xin shook her head in bewilderment and exclaimed, “I have no idea what happened. Yesterday, his pulse was so weak that I had to insert needles into his pressure points to detect it. But today, his pulse has grown stronger, and in such a small amount of time, it is a miracle! But yet, why is he still not moving and why is he still poisoned?”

Being experienced in healing too, Han Qing Feng examined Wan Neng’s seven facial tracts carefully, stating, “Miss Li, are you sure you did not give him any medicine yesterday?” Opening the mouth, he pointed to it and exclaimed, “There is some purple residue on his tongue! And it’s poison!” as he tested it with a silver needle, drawing it out black.

Li Bing Xin cried, “It wasn’t there when I checked on him in the night. So someone must have given him something poisonous to eat or drink while we were all asleep!”

Fear and surprise struck the group. Who could have sneaked onto their ship without notice and a trace? And what kind of poison was this that would improve Wan Neng’s condition? And even more importantly, where was this mysterious person from? Yang Ji Fan sat down on the bed and unbuttoned Wan Neng, carefully stretching his skin.

“Look!” he called out to the other two, “There is some nearly non-detectable punctures in his skin, in places where Miss Li had not pieced yesterday. Someone had obviously tampered with him!”

“This new poison must have hastened his blood flow, thus with more blood to the head, his facial colour is returning. But with increased blood flow, he will die even more painful!” explained Li Bing Xin.

Miao Shi Zhong shouted, “Oh no! If the person could tamper with Wan Neng, then he could also poison us!”

Thinking quickly, Qiao Kong Chao said, “Quick, everybody to their rooms, and check for anything unusual!”

“Like what?” asked one of the lower level followers.

“Like holes in broken windows, misplacing of paintings and cups. Also, check your tongues for any purple residue!” added Qu Wan Quan, already looking in the mirror at his own tongue. Fearful of what effect the poison might have, the rest frantically checked their tongues in any smooth polished surface in the room, dreading the worst. <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: Answer Found

“None of us are poisoned! Why only Wan Neng?” they cried, racking their brains for a reasonable answer.

“If it were the Holy Snake Clan, then wouldn’t they directly go and kill the Cult Master? It would make no sense if the mystery person were from the Immortal Exterminating Clan, as they still relied on them to find the person they wanted. Our Sect has a lot of enemies, but not much of which who possess the ability to steal upon our ship and poison our men, yet leave no trace but the purple tongue! Could it be an undercover?”

Yang Ji Fan looked at the cups on the table and suddenly, an idea came into his head. “First of all, we shouldn’t care about where the mysterious person or persons are. I am sure that there would be no one who would spend all this effort to mingle amongst us and poison us without claiming this great achievement! They will soon reveal themselves! Most important of all now, is to find the source of poison. How did it get into Wan Neng, and in what else did they plan to poison us by? I command you now, check the water and food supplies upon our ship, the firewood, and all teapots, cups and bowls for poison! Test them with silver needles! Go!”

“Yes Cult Master!” and they all obediently went to check those things. Although after nearly upsetting the whole ship, not a clue was found. The tea, wine, wine and water had all come out clean.

Yang Ji Fan sat fretfully in his own room. What was he to do? Was he really getting useless that he could not even protect his own men? He was not going to live for much longer and before he left, he wanted to make sure that his loyal followers and his sect that he had spent so much effort to establish would be steady like the Tai Mountains for many years to come.

His head hurt as he thought of what might happen after his death so he poured a cup to calm himself. He knew that the next time his emotions get out of control, his increased blood flow will no longer allow him to continue living. He was so concentrated that he did not realize the footsteps coming up behind him, not knowing whether they brought joy or harm.

“Cult Master!” cried Ou Yang Hua when he found Yang Ji Fan not responding to his entry into the room. This caught Yang Ji Fan by surprise and he choked just as the cup was brought to his lips.

Putting the cup back on the table, he wiped the saliva from his lips with his sleeve and asked, “What are the results?” Ou Yang Hua reported their fruitless search. “Hmmm.” he continued, picking up his cup again, “Maybe the culprit is still upon our ship. I am sure he will take action again tonight. Ou Yang Hua, order the men into several groups to guard the night in turns, until we catch the person or reach the shore!” And he lowered his head to drink.

Suddenly, he stopped. He looked down into his cup and instead or the clear brown colour of tea, he found himself staring into a sea of deep purple. How did this happen? Ou Yang Hua also noticed it and cried in fear and surprise. Then, they both remembered his choking.

Yang Ji Fan sped out of the room to the corridor and shouted, “Everybody, the tea might be poisoned! Pour out some tea from every single teapot in the ship and spit into the cup. Remember where the teapot came from!”

Lian Le Yi was just about to swallow her tea and then she heard his command, causing her to spit her mouthful of liquid all onto Han Qing Feng’s face. Realizing what she did, she screamed and exclaimed, “Brother Han, are you alright? I have killed you!”

Hearing her cry, everybody rushed in to see what had happened. After sobbing out what happened, Yang Ji Fan looked closely at Han Qing Feng and assured, “He should be alright! The liquid did not get inside his body so he would not be poisoned!”

“Then I am dead for sure! I think I swallowed some of it already!” whimpered Lian Le Yi, clutching her face in fear.

To this, Li Bing Xin laughed and exclaimed, “You fool! Look at his dripping face! The liquid is clear, and not purple, as Cult Master Yang had said. You are not poisoned!” Lian Le Yi quickly went to check the colour of her tongue and relieved to find it still pinkish-red.

“Bing Xin, Brother Han!” asked Hong Zheng Tian, “You both are knowledgeable in poisons. May I ask what kind of poison will turn purple after contact with spit?” Han Qing Feng shook his head and started flipping through the Ten Thousand Poison Manual.

Li Bing Xin walked away from the table with a worried look on her face. “I seriously don’t know! But I remember seeing a similar poison when I was young. It was at my Mentor’s hut. I was thirsty and seeing a gourd on the table, I took off the lid and was about to drink it when a hand knocked it out of my hand. It was Mentor. He told me that it was a deadly poison if mixed with human spit and to demonstrate, he poured some on a scorpion and then spat on it. Immediately, the scorpion shriveled up and died. There was no trace of any harm done to it. It was just dead with a coating of purple on its shell.”

She turned around and her face turned as pale as a ghost. “Mentor told me it was not to be messed with as it could kill without any visible damage. When I knew of that, I immediately wanted to practice with it but Mentor said “No!” He said it was too lethal to be messed around with and promised that he would teach it to me when I was older. But he died before that time and I never saw that poison again.”

Just at that instant Han Qing Feng called out, “Found it! Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill! Made from a hundred different kinds of poisonous flowers, it is tasteless and colourless but deadly when mixed with human spit. It is usually grinded into power then dissolved in liquid for consuming. It will turn a deep purple colour when in contact with human spit and will kill a person without any exterior clues within 3 days. It has no antidote. The formula is unknown to all but the Immortal Exterminating Network.” <IMG SRC="smilies/devil.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: Green Dragon, White Tiger

Suddenly, loud shouts and screams could be heard. They rushed to the window and saw a large blaze upon the blue sea. Foreign to the peaceful environment in the middle of the ocean, several large ships were on fire; even though a small shower of light rain was descending from the skies, it was only a matter of time before it made the great ocean its graveyard. The scorching flames licked all but three large ships, however, instead, they were weighed down by the fierce aura of death and rage, for upon their decks were many men, fighting with all their might. Some of them had been kicked into the water, some injured, with their red blood polluting the tranquil calming blue of the waters.

There was a flag on each of the three masts; on one was the image of a white tiger upon a red background, another of a green dragon upon a yellow background lined with a white border, whilst the last one was a large red cobra upon a black background. A middle-aged man, probably in his fifth decade of life, triumphantly landed with one hand clawing onto the stem of a mast after kicking away nine of his enemies with a series of fast leg movements, and landed his other palm on the edge of the mast with a strong force. Then as predicted, the whole mast splintered into sawdust, shattering onto the blood-drenched warriors beneath along with the faint spitting rain, as if the Heavens had wished to wash these men of their sins in this bloody act. But even the cool heavenly rain could not diminish the thirst of slaughter and bloodshed of these men.

Laughing victoriously, the man leapt off the mast just as it disintegrated, and taking hold of the yellow flag with the green dragon, he flew around madly, waving the flag as though if it was a trophy, screaming, “Ha! Ha! Ha! The legendary undefeatable Iron Clothes Clan has finally fallen! Holy Snake Clan followers! See how weak they are, can’t even protect their own flag!” And then leaping to the mast of his other enemy’s ship, he gave the mast the same treatment, and soon, both of his enemy’s flags were in his hands, to his manipulation. Even the winds humiliated them by handling them roughly in their invisible but manipulative hands.

Seeing their own clan’s flag in the possession of an outsider, two men temporarily forgot their differences, and rose from the mixed crowd on the deck, up to join forces and regain their clan’s pride. A man in red thrust his large fists at his enemy so fast, that only a blur of a white tiger, tattooed onto the skin of his fists could be seen. But his opponent quickly deflected the energy from the blows by waving the flags around him, transferring the energy to the water surface resulting to fountains of water sprouting upwards as if to receive the new rain adding to its vast volume.

All the red clad man could see was alternate backgrounds of red and yellow, his opponent was no where to be seen and he moved backwards each step as he could feel the materials lunging at him closer each blink of the eye. Meanwhile, a man in yellow with a green dragon embroidered over his left chest, took in a huge breath of air and attacked the flag bearer with his lightning kicks. The flag bearer merely laughed and spun around and around each of them with the flags, creating a cloud of yellow of red amongst the blue sky of pure white clouds, sometimes throwing in a few attacks, but spent most of his time confusing his opponents.

Then the man with the large fists could not stand being tantalized any longer and forcing all of his internal energy into his two fists, he thrust both of them out in the direction that he deduced his enemy was at. Separated by the flags, he did not see what he had hit, but only knew it was hard and before he could react, a powerful inner force drove his flying backwards, landing on a pile of broken wooden planks, that were once part of a ship deck.

He spit out a mouthful of blood just in time to notice that his temporarily ally had also been thrown in the opposite direction, breaking a large hole in the side of the cabins. Both of them looked at each other and realized what had happened. The evil flag bearer had forced the yellow clad man forward into the incoming energy of the red clad man’s fists.

But the yellow clad man was not just any simple martial arts follower. His name was Yong Bu Dao, meaning he will never fall over, derived from his clan’s special skill, the Iron Shirt Skill where a person’s internal energy forms a protective shield just under the skin layer, and reflecting some energy back at the same time. This would have been what happened of the red clad man was a normal person, but he was not.

His great name was Ju Ren Quan, meaning Giant Fists referring to his large hands. His famous skill was Wall Puncturing Fists, which had the ability to severely injure, if not kill, ten men in a row. But in this case, he failed as when in contact with Yong Bu Dao’s bloated body of internal energy, his strong energy attracted that of Yong Bu Dao, thus rewarding him with a speedy backwards momentum. But his force had passed through the protection shield, and receiving the strong and sudden blow, Yong Bu Dao could not help but fly backwards.

They were not the best in the Wu Lin, but were at least amongst the second best. Yet, impulse and a devious opponent brought both of them down with a great fall. The man laughed triumphantly as he threw the flags aside. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Defeating the two of you today has really made Chen Xu’s life worth living! Once your followers find out that all of the men here had perished, they will surely taken revenge on the other clan! What a sight! This is what I call “sitting on a mountain and seeing two tigers fight!” Soon, the whole of Wu Lin will be in chaos and then … Ha! Ha! Ahhhhhhh!” he exclaimed, first victoriously, but ended with pain as he was cruelly kicked down from his high post.

Who had dared kick him? Turning around with a raged look upon his face, his eyes of hatred met one of the least people he had expected to see at this time, and cried with shock, “Yang Hen Tian! What sort of gentleman are you that you so deviously ambush people form their backs? Don’t you have a code of honour from this Wu Lin World?”

The bright rays of sunlight shone upon Yang Ji Fan, standing so tall, so calm, so majestic, above everyone. Although streaks of grey and white hair had already mingled along with his youthful black, only a few wrinkles were revealed, maintaining his handsome looks even in his fortieth year of life. That was what Chen Xu loathed about him. Because of that face, because of his majestic air, because of his natural superiority; that was what he never had and what he wished to possess. He too had a code to follow himself: if you can’t have it, destroy it rather than have anybody else can have it.

While he was still staring at Yang Ji Fan with envy, it was now Yang Ji Fan’s turn to laugh and replying his previous questions, “With a conniving man like you, one needs not follow the Code of Honour! I never said I was a gentleman but compared to you, I am one of the best kinds! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” He had somersaulted over with some of his men as soon as he saw the flags, for he knew they were unmistakably the Immortal Fist Clan from the north, the Iron Clothes Clan from the south, and the notorious evil organization of the Yun Nan Holy Snake Clan.

Yong Bu Dao spat out some blood and wiped his mouth with his sleeve cruelly, then exclaimed with laughter, “Another evil demon. Hey, Clan Leader Ju, do you believe it? Today was only supposed to be an ordinary day of peacemaking, would have believe if someone had told you that two of the most heartless, merciless, and despicable creatures between the heavens and earth would join us, and then enter into this conversation about honour?” To this, tears streamed out of Ju Ren Quan’s eyes as he joined his new friend in the most hysterical laughter.

Yang Ji Fan looked down at them and looking annoyed, snapped, “Who are you calling heartless, merciless, despicable and evil?” <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: Soul Hooking Needles

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” replied Ju Ren Quan, “Yang Hen Tian, you originated from the Holy Snake Clan, and as a follower, you are already qualified to be heartless, merciless, and despicable. As they say, one martial brother is alike the other, “pointing to Chen Xu, “You can’t be any better than him! Your nickname says all! Worshipping the Heavens is a righteous and decent thing to do, yet you refuse to let any of your sect participate in it! If you are not decent, then you must be evil!” These words were said very loud and could be heard clearly for metres around by the assistance of the winds.

This struck a wound in his heart. Yang Ji Fan could feel a sudden pain in his body and mind. Did they know that he had planned to turn the Holy Snake Clan towards good, had not his senior martial brother intercepted? Did they know that in dealing with men like Chen Xu, one could not be righteous and merciful? And did they know why he had banned the practice of worshipping the Heavens, except in burials and weddings? No, they didn’t. It was the Heaven’s entire fault. It was it’s fault that he had to meet Wan Qiu Ning, fall deeply in love with her, then find out she was his niece. It was its fault that the thorn of love and despair had tormented him for so many years. His entire life was its fault, how could he still allow his followers to worship it?

When he thought of this, he could feel himself getting hotter as the pain seeped in. Some of the poison was getting through. But his physical and mental pain showed clearly on his face at that moment, even though he tried his best to cover it up as soon as he could. But the sharp-eyed Chen Xu saw it. “Why is he feeling pain? Would it be that the poison had not fully cleared out of system? Wow! If it is, I am sure in luck.” And slamming one palm on the planks of the deck, he leapt upwards and released one of his deadly Poison Palms towards Yang Ji Fan, with the poison mist floating directly at Yang Ji Fan, who was clutching his heart.

Chen Xu landed in between Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao, and using his internal energy, he clawed his fingers and sucked both of them into his grasps even before they could react. Then two long silver needles appeared his hand and in a blink of the eyes, he inserted them into the heads of his prey with a trace. “Go!” he commanded, “I am your master now! Go and kill Yang Hen Tian for me!” and obediently, the two rose form their spot, in a trace and forgetting all their injuries and leapt towards Yang Ji Fan.

Meanwhile, Yang Ji Fan had just somersaulted away from the poison mist and seeing the two coming after him, he stepped lightly on the surface of the water and landed on the top of a burning ship. Ignoring his pain, he summoned up all his power and breaking apart the part still above the water, he drove large bits of the burning timber at the two that were now approaching him. But the two used whatever skill they could think of and deflected the bits of burning wood.

Back on the deck, Ou Yang Hua, Mao Shi Zhong, Qiao Kong Chao and Qu Wan Quan who had been busy immobilizing the fighters, realized what was happening and were about to leap to their Cult Master’s rescue when they heard him call out over the loud sound of waves breaking upon the side of the ship, “Forget it! The two have lost all reason. The Soul Hooking Needles in their heads are controlling them, and in this trance, their power will increase ten-fold and will forget all pain. Go and attack the Chen Xu instead before he gets more people!” Just at that time, two large splashes could be heard as Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao fell into the water after being attacked by jets of water.

Seeing Chen Xu inserting four more men that were standing in a row, with his Soul Hooking Needles, Han Qing Feng quickly forced an icy beam out of the blade and it shot towards the men, killing them by passing through their bodies one by one. But Chen Xu had seen the green beam coming towards and not even stopping to care about his new puppets, he jumped away from the beam, but closer to the sword.

“Give me that!” he ordered as he moved through the air faster than any bird, and holding out his hand for the sword.

Han Qing Feng stepped backwards and threw another beam at him, but missed. Lian Le Yi saw her love in danger and with out hesitation, she jumped in between and displayed her Heavenly Snake Swordplay. But Chen Xu laughed and exclaimed, “Just a little trick and you dare show it in front of me! Let me show you the real power of the Heavenly Snake Swordplay!” and sliding out a thin sword from his sleeve, he performed a much faster version of the Heavenly Snake Swordplay, which quickly broke through the sword nets put before him and Lian Le Yi was shoved aside unconscious.

Li Bing Xin quickly released her remaining Mysteries Of the Petals but Chen Xu deflected it to his sides, and unfortunately, right into the path of Ou Yang Hua and Qu Wan Quan. The two were unprepared and fell to the ground, while Qiao Kong Chao, Hong Zheng Tian and Miao Shi Zhong lunged for Chen Xu.

“Hong Zheng Tian, you traitor!” he called, “How dare you join up with these people to attack your own mentor? You think you can defeat me? And you!” turning to Li Bing Xin, “You belong to the Immortal Exterminating Network which is now allied with my Holy Snake Clan. You dare attack me too? That will equal betraying your own organization!”

Li Bing Xin slid two daggers from her sleeves and replied proudly, “My senior martial sister, Wan Qiu Ning did so for Yang Ji Fan, so why can’t I do it for Hong Zheng Tian?”

“Right, “ agreed Hong Zheng Tian, “I won’t let you hurt Bing Xin, even though it would make me carry around the name of a offender to the elders. If a girl like Wan Qiu Ning could do it, why can’t a man like me do it?”

The winds carried their words over to Yang Ji Fan and instantly, his heart hurt again as his emotion were getting out of control. “Shut up this instant or I’ll die!” he shouted angrily to them as his two attackers were gaining on him after his sudden pain.

Realizing what had happened, the two immediately stopped, but they weren’t the only ones to realize the affect of mentioning Wan Qiu Ning at this instant. <IMG SRC="smilies/knocked.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: Another Foe

Although he had never met or heard about Wan Qiu Ning before, he knew that she was the key to Yang Ji Fan’s defeat. Immediately, he started screaming, “Yang Ji Fan, Wan Qiu Ning is so poor! I wonder where she is now! Do you still remember what happened between you and her?” This had an instant effect on Yang Ji Fan. In fact, it was a drastic effect as the poison was slowly being entered into his bloodstream and he was slowly losing his internal energy. Seeing that he had to leave, he abandoned his opponents and flew back towards his own ship.

Chen Xu was going to waste no time or sweat entertaining these unworthy enemies so he flew nimbly up to the masts of the ships and playing a vigorous game of cat and mice with them.

Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao followed onto the Xuan Yaun Sect ship, killing and injuring all those that had bravely lunged forwards to protect their Cult Master. Yang Ji Fan could stand it no more. He collapsed onto the floor as one by one, he saw his faithful followers lose consciousness. His vision was becoming blurry and his limbs were losing strength. But the unclear silhouettes were coming closer and closer, and he could do nothing to stop them. Under his breath, he muttered, “Qiu Ning, I am coming to accompany you!” and slowly sliding out of his sleeve, was a small ivory dagger.

Chen Xu laughed to his heart content as he heard the shouts of men from inside the ship. “So Yang Ji Fan’s life has finally come to an end!” he thought as he just merely avoided a slash on the arm by the Green Silk Sword. But suddenly, the side of the ship’s cabin burst into splinters with along bang and all stopped movement to see what had happened.

Then shortly following the destruction of the cabin wall, two men were thrown out of the cabin, with a black gloom right after them. Chen Xu gasped with shock as he recognized the two men as Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao. What? And through the space where the wall used to be, one could see Yang Ji Fan sitting cross-legged inside, busy using his remaining internal energy to suppress the poison. The dark figure flew past the falling two, who had no control of their direction, and with two palms, drove them upwards again onto the deck. The two landed on the deck, and still being controlled by the Soul Hooking Needles, they threw their punches and kicks at their new opponent. But with great speed and force, the figure swooped past the narrow space in between the two as if it were a ghost walking through solid objects, and gave them each a push in the back.

However, the two both put their feet forwards on the deck, and pushed back on it, forcing it to fly backwards. But with a full turn midair, it changed its direction and suddenly, a flash of gold appeared in its hands. It was released at the two, and secured them tightly all around with several pulls of the hand. It was several strands of strong silk, and threaded through a succession of golden leaf-shaped objects. With one huge pull the two came in front of the black figure and it somersaulted behind them and hung them upside down from the mast above. It flew on top of them, and descended vertically at the soles of their feet. The force generated from her palms spread through their body, from the feet to the thighs, from the thighs to their chests, and from their chests to their heads, until like a flying arrow, a single thin silver needle shot out of their heads without any trace of blood and embedded themselves in the wooden volume of the deck.

The Soul Hooking Needles had finally been ejected out of the two, and Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao had finally regained controlled of their bodies. However, their rescuer did not let them down and left them hanging unconscious upside down from the mast, where they could have a relaxing sleep after all this exhaustion while it was approaching Chen Xu and the others.

Chen Xu gritted his teeth at the sight of this sudden rescue and seeing that Han Qing Feng had let off his guard for the moment, he shoved him away and wrenched the Green Silk Sword from his hands while also gaining himself a hostage.

Leaping up to another part of the ship where he was clear of enemies, he held the sword up and declared triumphantly, “The Green Silk Sword is finally mine! Mine! You!” he continued, pointing to the people below him, “Prepare for your deaths as today is the day!”

Pointing the tip of sword at his hostage, who had just regained consciousness, he called to Han Qing Feng, “You! Tell me how to use the sword!”

Han Qing Feng looked at Lian Le Yi, who seemed so helpless in his hands, and shouted, “Let go of her, Chen Xu! She’s just a girl. Are you a man?”

“No?” Chen Xu answered, unsatisfied with the reply, and said, “Maybe this will help!” and his pushed the sword towards Lian Le Yi, and the tip was now grazing the side of her neck.

“Wait!” Han Qing Feng called out after seeing the trickle of blood that was now staining the neckline of her dress, “I will tell you! Push your internal energy all to the hand and then force it through the sword. I have told you1 Release her now!”

“No!” whimpered Lian Le Yi as he blurted out the technique, for now all of them would surely die in his hands.

The suddenly, a beam of white light shot at his hand and screaming with pain, he let go of the Green Silk Sword and Lian Le Yi, who immediately scrambled downwards, where Han Qing Feng caught her. The mysterious savior was now standing on top of the sails, facing Chen Xu, ready for an intense battle to begin.

Li Bing Xin looked up and exclaimed in shock, “Ah! Zheng Tian! Look who it is? It is Elder! It is Xuan Yuan Lin!”

Chen Xu stared into the wrinkled face of his opponent, a face that was certainly older than him. Dressed in black, she looked even older with her humped back and her short and plump stature. He was shocked at this, “Who is this person? Was she one of the martial arts experts who had retired? Why are her Lightness Skills so high? And why is she fighting against me?”

“Who are you, old woman? I have never seen you before in my life so why are you siding against me in this issue where you are not even involved!” he shouted rudely.

Xuan Yuan Lin’s eyes burned with anger as in a hoarse voice, she said, “I am the Island Master of No Dust Island, Xuan Yuan Lin. I had never planned to kill you but you forced me into this revenge!” and she slid a case of her back and threw it at him.

Not caring what the case contained, Chen Xu pushed it backwards with all his force. But Xuan Yuan Lin didn’t want it and too, used internal energy to force it the other way. In this situation, the case stayed in the middle midair, with large amounts of internal energy passing through it. Chen Xu felt a freezing gust of air go into his body. “Why, this old woman’s internal energy is so cold and Yin! It is about the same level as mine, it seems that she is collecting mine and converting it against me! What sort of martial arts is this? I better convert mine energy to Half Yin, Half Yang before I tire myself!” which he did and it worked. Not only was Xuan Yuan Lin no longer able to use his Yang energy, the Yin energy just generated in him repelled the Yang energy towrasd his opponent and gave him an even bigger force, to which Xuan Yuan Lin turned sideways to avoid, and the wooden case burst apart, revealing a dark wood qin hurtling towards her.

Xuan Yuan Lin caught the qin and began to play her fast rapid tune. Chen Xu suddenly found himself surrounded by lots and lots of mists. “Where am I?” he thought as no one else could be seen around him, he was alone. From the lower level, Lian Le Yi almost found it amusing to see him stuttering around and waving his hands in front of him as if he was blind, and calling out loudly, “Where am I?” and clawing at his hair like a madman. They were not affected for as soon as they saw the qin, they all stuffed their ears with ripped pieces of clothing.

Being on the small surface of a beam, Chen Xu soon stumbled off onto the deck. He could see nothing except a layer of grey but his hands landed on something very cold, also freezing like snow in the Ice Regions – the Green Silk Sword. <IMG SRC="smilies/ninja.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY: Yin Against Yang Chen Xu moved for the hilt and pointed it at where he thought the sound was most concentrated. Then using the same method that Han Qing Feng had revealed to him earlier, he pushed all of his internal energy into the sword. A green beam appeared and sped towards Xuan Yuan Lin, who tried to deflect it with her instrument. But it froze all over and she quickly let go before it spread to her hands and it shattered like glass upon the lower deck. But that was not the only beam shot. Chen Xu shivered as the cold energy moved from the sword into his body via his hands and the space around him lit up with beams of green. The glowing sword was out of control, and wrenching out of his hands, it flew up high into the air, then its illumination stopped and fell lifeless to the ground.

All were shocked at this unexpected miracle, especially Chen Xu whose arteries had been ruptured by the strong force that repelled into him. Blood gushed out from his nostrils, his mouth and ears, but his eyes were free of blood, although bulged out with shock and disbelief.

Shuddering violently and pointing to Han Qing Feng, he gasped with anger, “You lied to me! Your mentor, Bai Shi Yue and me were blood brothers, yet you lied to me!”

Han Qing Feng was not ready to face this accusation and shook his head earnestly and protested, “No! No! I didn’t lie to you!” and forgetting that he was facing one of the most dishonest and conniving men that existed, he knelt beside him unsuspecting. “I have never lied in my life! That is how I use the sword!”

Chen Xu smiled weakly, but also evilly and said, “Come closer, there is something about your mentor that you need to know. It was his lifetime’s wish!” and Han Qing Feng with the utmost respect for his deceased mentor, held his head to his ear, unaware that Chen Xu was slowly raising his palms.

“Look out!” shouted a voice from behind them, and suddenly, a broken piece of wood struck Han Qing Feng and he fell over sideways. But Chen Xu had already used his remaining strength to release his two deadly Immortal Killing Palms, which he had learnt secretly from Hua Bi Rong while they still conducted an affair. But he had improved on it, using the poison he had collected in his own body; it was now able to travel through the pores of his hand and emitted as a mist.

The youngsters dragged Han Qing Feng away as the expert came in, throwing a piece of wood at where one palm was aiming, while swerving off to where the other was directed. Upon contact with the deadly mist, the board sizzled as it decomposed immediately, only falling to the deck as a pile of ashes. Xuan Yuan Lin somersaulted away as the mist approached her, but then something was lurking in the mists that she was unaware of, something that suddenly lunged at her at a fast speed. It was all too fast for her to react as a single palm came at her but unexpectedly, a hand curled around her shoulder from behind, and pulled her backwards, while the other went and matched Chen Xu’s palm.

The injured Chen Xu was no match against Yang Ji Fan, who had again, succeeded in pressuring the poison out of the blood stream, he moved backwards and landed with blood at the mouth, on the worn deck of the ship. Even from the eyes of a person inexperienced in medicine, it was evident that he would not survive. He had used up his last ounce of strength to force his version of the Immortal Killing Palm and it would only be a matter of time till he left this bloodied world for good.

Seeing that her revenge was taken, Xuan Yuan Lin turned to leave but Yang Ji Fan stopped her, exclaiming, “Wait! I have questions to ask you!” But she acted if she did not hear him and pushed him out of the way. It was then that it all got physical. Suddenly, Xuan Yuan Lin extended her palms at him and a cold force ejected at him, who quickly moved away, and returned the gift with some palm skill of his own. At first, Yang Ji Fan had no intention of harming her, but her attacks were not as lenient as his so increasing the force was the method of ensuring security.

No one dared to stop them, afraid to be the fish that gets involved in the castle on fire, and only stood on the side to watch their fabulous fight. Half of the deck was ruined as they aimed planks at each other and when there were no more planks to throw, they moved up into the air. But soon, they both lost, not to each other but to gravity and plunged deep into the sea.

Underwater, their attacks were even fiercer, as more force was used to accommodate to their restriction of movement in water, that even the fish, although not involved in the burning castle, were innocently harmed by their duel. Then at the same time, both of them put forward their palms and they meeting each other in a tremendous blast of Yin and Yang energy combined.

The onlookers could only peer into the depths of the ocean through the destroyed side of the ship, but see nothing as insufficient light reached the level at which the two were. But large waves were evident on the sea surface while the two battled underneath, as if an earthquake had just started underneath the sea. Then all of a sudden, this great burst of water ruptured the sea surface and traveled vertically up to a great height. Fish and other kinds of seas-life were unwillingly thrown up onto the deck, and would have perished from lack of water had not Han Qing Feng quickly threw them back in. Droplets of water from the outburst eroded the wood it landed on, leaving tiny holes in the once smooth surface. But then everything went still, and air bubbles ceased to rise. There was no sign of them. Who had won and who had lost? Or did they both lose to the great waters of the vast and mysterious ocean? <IMG SRC="smilies/sigh.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: The Date

For some reason, Gu Su was a windy day today. The towering treetops wavered uncontrollably under the manipulation of the howling winds, so strong that all birds, all animals have taken refuge somewhere else safer. Two tiny foxes, separated from their mother by the strong winds while escaping, were blown into another part of the forest, lost and hungry, they hid and huddled in between the cold by rigid rocks upon the cliff. They moved closer to each other to stay warm and maybe for comfort, when suddenly, loud noises, louder than the winds could be heard. They cocked their heads to listen, but all that entered their cochlea was just a mumble of sounds, which they did not understand.

But somebody else did. On the two opposing cliffs by the sea, towering above the breaking waves and the jagged rocks that lines the shore, some men carrying a large wooden box stood on one cliff stood on one cliff, waited impatiently for the enemy to arrive. One old man, but not really that old, probably in his fifties, complained angrily at the lateness of the other people. “That Yang Ji Fan, should be shamed to call himself a Cult Master? Can’t even arrive punctually for an appointment. Doesn’t he care about his life? Is he trying to bluff me? I’ll show him what material I’m made of!”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! How can you handle such important matters like a whole organization when you can’t even wait a little? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Suddenly, a loud laughter came through the trees from the other side of the cliff and two dark figures emerged out of the leafy branches and landed just in front of the cliff edge.

“Yang Ji Fan, aren’t you dead yet?” scowled Zhao Yin, making the deep wrinkles upon his face even more visible. “Why was he still alive?” he thought. “Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing was supposed to be incurable after seven times seven days, and fatal on the seventy-eighth. That means only two more days. Why is he still healthy? He should be tired and haggard, and burdened with heart-wrenching pain. Hmmm”

Yang Ji Fan stepped forward, as majestic as ever, with a healthy pink face, which looked nothing like a person who had only a few days more to live. “ I will make sure I survive long enough to see your antidote.”

“Antidote?” thought Zhao Yin, “What antidote?” And then he remembered. “Yeah! The antidote! But first, give me my part of the deal! Where is that old woman? Is that her over there?” “You,” he cried pointing to behind Yang Ji Fan, “Come near the edge. I have something to ask you!”

The elderly woman, dressed in dark brown shades, with snow white hair and a face with equal numbers of wrinkle as his, walked over, looking around for something.

“Oh walk faster old hag!” he cried obviously annoyed, and when she finally arrived, “Hey there! Do you know anyone by the name of Wan Qiu Ning?”

The old lady, offended by his rude manners, did not turn away, but did not answer him. Instead, she replied with a question of her own, “Where are Qi Qian Yu and Zhuang Jian Cheng? Once they are safe, I will tell you.”

“What? You dare bargain with me?” his face twisted into rage, but then untwisted into a sly smile, continuing with, “I see what you are doing! I won’t die if I don’t know the answer, but Yang Ji Fan will if without my antidote! Tell me or I’ll throw this down the ravine!” And form his belt, he took out a small blue china bottle, and held it over the edge of the cliff.

The old woman laughed, exclaiming, “Ha! I have absolutely no concern for his life or death. I only want my student. Anyway, he will die even with your antidote?”

“What? You are all but nonsense. See, Yang Ji Fan, this woman is only using you to get her student back. She might not care about your life, but you sure do! Make her tell me or else you know what to expect. Take them out!”

And to his order, his men opened the wooden box and took out a young man and a young female. Their hands were tied tightly with Immortal Binding Silk, an almost unbreakable material, used commonly by the Immortal Exterminating Network. They opened their mouths to talk, but no sound came out. “Their mute pressure point has been sealed!” thought Yang Ji Fan.

“Qian Yu!” cried the old woman as she recognized the dirty face of her naughty student who stole away from her island. The young man next to her was unknown to her, but she assumed him to be Zhuang Jian Cheng of the Xuan Yuan Sect.

“Good1 you have recognized the! Tell me where Wan Qiu Ning is now or else I’ll push them both off the cliff!” and the two were made to kneel on the edge.

Yang Ji Fan smiled mysteriously and then all of a sudden, he opened his palms and shot out the stones that were sitting on it. Zhao Yin twisted back to avoid the coming projectiles, but in the action, he couldn’t maintain guard of the bottle and a quick hand reached out and grabbed it. But Zhao Yin and his men were not slow in wit and immediately released the Rain and Wind Needles at him. These nails although small in thickness and length, were deadly sharp and dipped in lethal poison for seven days before use. Once they were released, they attract each other with the small magnet pieces inside them, creating a dense gust of needles like rain droplets in strong winds.

Yang Ji Fan ignored the projectiles and flew back to his side of the cliff, but they were coming closer and closer. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came and blew the loose dirt into a dust storm. Zhao Yin and his men immediately turned around to avoid catching the particles in their eyes, and when it was all over, they reopened the, expecting to see a dead Yang Ji Fan, impaled severely by short needles like a porcupine. But instead, the needles they had shot out were lodged deeply onto the side of their cliff, every two hundred of them, just narrowly missing the knees of Qi Qian Yu and Zhuang Jian Cheng.

“Zhao Yin,” came the old woman’s voice, “Although the Wind and Rain Needles are dense and fast, but they can never be denser than sand and dirt. See, your needles have been deflected by my dirt and sand! Ha! Ha! Ha! You should have used the Spider Releasing Golden Silk, which have never failed with the whole one thousand golden needles discharged. They may be less dense than sand and dirt, but their weight would have successfully pushed through the sand and found their target.”

And she refolded the golden lash she had used to make the dirt and sand fly, while continuing, “Zhao Yin, you have been an assassin for more than thirty years after your parents died from the northern floods, and have killed no less than three hundred people. How come after all these years of experience, you still are unskilled in choosing ideal weapons? You had set this place for this meeting; you should be well aware of the surroundings and the weapons that your opponents could use. How could you be so careless to neglect this and use unsuitable weapons? How can you claim yourself to be the leader of the largest killer organization in the Central Plains? Don’t shame its name!”

“You hag!” he cried in response to this personal insult, “Who are you? And why do you know so much about me and the weapons of my organization?” Seeing that neither of them answered, Zhao Yin’s eyes glared at them and bluntly, he ordered, “ Push them down the cliff!”

“No!” cried the old woman as she rushed forwards to save them, but Zhao Yin took her advice and unsheathing a curved sword, he blocked her golden lash shot out to wrap around the falling pair and let the two fall down into the abyss. But was it fate or luck, their clothing got caught on the branches of a jutting plant and suspended midair. Yang Ji Fan was too moved forward to help the two, but was blocked the swords of ten men who suddenly jumped out from the bushes.

“Watch out!” called the old woman, “They’re the Ten Exterminators! They are the third best group of assassins of the Network!” and ducked just as the curved blade swept over her white-haired head, “They will surround you and form a formation called Depths of Hell. Use the Eight...” But she couldn’t finish her sentence as Zhao Yin was attacking very ferociously at her.

He lunged at all vital points on her body, mainly the eyes, the head, the back, the limbs and the important pressure points. His swift sword moves in front of her sent out a strong Yang energy, which would repel her yin energy if she exerted her internal energy on him. She could only deflect his blows as they came along, leaving no time for her to think of a strategy for long-term defense.

Seeing her situation, Yang Ji Fan called out to her, “Since he is using Yang skills, then use Yang skills to fight him!” But he himself was not that safe either. The ten swords came at him at unpredictable timings; sometimes attacking all together, sometimes defending all together. And sometimes, half defended and half-attacked, each time changing the role, confusing his targets to attack. Just the old woman could not use Yin energy to get rid of her opponents, he couldn’t use his Yang against the light, Yin stances put forward by his ten challengers. He could only just protect himself by using the Dance Of The Colourful Snake, but the situation wouldn’t be so stable when he was tired.

“Yang Ji Fan! I don’t know any Yang skills! But I’ll fight with the ten while you deal with Zhao Yin!” called out the old woman, and ejecting a screen of small silver blades from her sleeve, she somersaulted over into the circle of ten with Yang Ji Fan, while Zhao Yin was distracted but the sunlight reflected off the blades onto his eyes.

Quickly sliding between the legs of an Exterminator after kicking them wide apart, Yang Ji Fan exited the circle and shifted towards Zhao Yin and kept him away from the eleven. Their strategy worked, for as soon as Yang Ji Fan took over, Zhao Yin was instantly forced away from his powerful Yang energy, and was unable to hurt a hair on his head due the protective shield Yang Ji Fan formed with his sword around himself, reflecting the bright light of the sun that had just escaped from the clouds, that for a moment, Zhao Yin really thought he was dueling with an immortal. Within 100 sword stances, Yang Ji Fan became the dominant attacker.

However in the process, something blue fell out of Yang Ji Fan’s sleeve and with quick moves, Zhao Yin swept the object off the edge of the cliff.

“The antidote!” cried Yang Ji Fan as he reached his hand down to catch the falling bottle. Zhao Yin laughed manically and seeing this as the best chance to disable his enemy, he jumped up into the air and quickly brought the curved blade of his sword down upon Yang Ji Fan’s outstretched hand, so fast that it cut the wind with a swishing sound.

However, he suddenly tripped and fell backwards, and while pulling on a thin string, Yang Ji Fan bounced up onto his feet and exclaimed, “Your Immortal Exterminating Network is not the only one who can use traps!” for entangled around Zhao Yin’s left foot, was a net of very thin silk, which could hardly be visible when put against the yellow-brown rocks of the sandy cliffs.

Yang Ji Fan peered down over the cliff but unfortunately, it was too late. The bottle of antidote had fallen down into the deep ravines where it would never see the daylight again. And when he turned around again, Zhao Yin was already up on his feet, eager to end the fight. <IMG SRC="smilies/cringe.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: Love, Hate and Infatuation

The old woman, although short and plump, gracefully maneuvered the sword up and around her body to places that were being attacked. Furthermore, her free hands worked their way to their hands and disarmed them by pushing on the numb pressure point on their wrists. She collected all of them and then caught her own sword back in her hand and lunged at them for a full-scale attack. The ten swords now orbited like satellites around the blade of her sword, that then ten were afraid to approach, lest be sliced by the rotating blades. She finally released the swords back at them, but they all avoided them, however ended up with severed belts. Luckily, their pants did not fall, much to everybody’s relief.

But the fight did not end there. The ten winked to each another and jumping in on her all together, they pushed against each other on the back of the spine, supporting each other in the attack. But Yang Ji Fan panicked when he saw this. He had once seen three people do this, and as a result, their forces combined as one and doubled all together. In alarm, he called out, “Qiu Ning! Watch out! They are using the Linking Energy Method!”

Ni Qi Ning smiled with her old woman’s face when she saw the shocked expression on Zhao Yin’s face, and swiftly, she spread her arms open and with a burst of internal energy, the dull colour clothes split open to reveal her true beauty and flew off her, knocking unconscious the ten Exterminators in the process. Zhao Yin shook his head in disbelief when in the centre of the fallen ring of men, stood the same youthful and beautiful woman that he had once sworn to take as his wife.

Many years ago, Hua Bi Rong was indeed an enchantment to all men. There were no many that could resist her, and those that couldn’t include Zhao Yin. Being her junior martial brother, Zhao Yin was one of the closest to her. But she blinded by her ambitious character and self-absorbance, she did not appreciation his affections and took his presence for granted. And thus, his bud of love for her soon blossomed into a rose of hate, full of hidden thorns underneath his loyal appearance, and waiting for a chance to return all the pain she had caused him. And that was when she appeared.

Hua Bi Rong had many lovers, but whether she really loved them or not, no one knew but herself. Regardless of that, Zhao Yin hated them all, and found opportunities to kill them if they came. For a while, Hua Bi Rong stayed so well behaved that the thought that he might love her again did cross his mind. But then, it all started. She started to stray from the organization’s matters and began to visit the Five Poison Valley more and more. At first, he thought, “Could her eyes have fallen on The King Of Five Poisons?” so one day, he followed her on one of her visits and saw the King Of Five Poisons greeting her and inviting her inside his hut. But then, Wan Neng, the newly recruited assassin steeped out as well. “Two?” he thought. The fire of jealously in him then could have scorched the whole valley, but it all died down when a young girl came running out of the hut.

She was no older than sixteen, and the youthfulness and innocence she displayed. The way she shyly hid behind Wan Neng instead of proudly displaying herself, the way she fearfully recoiled from Hua Bi Rong instead of affectionately initiating contact with other people, and most of all, her developing sweetness and beauty, melted all traces of Hua Bi Rong from his heart. And from that moment onwards, the Five Poison Valley gained another regular visitor.

But sadly for Zhao Yin, his affections were again rejected, for Ni Qiu Ning was as scared of him as of Hua Bi Rong, and even more when she saw more of him. But even so, he made a vow to the heavens that he would make Wan Qiu Ning his wife after he had become the Leader of the Immortal Exterminating Network, no matter the circumstances or whomever she loved. So many years after Ni Qiu Ning had disappeared, he had finally found the opportunity to seize the leadership and torture Hua Bi Rong. But Ni Qiu Ning was gone.

Then as if fate had arranged it, he discovered the Qi Qian Yu knew the same martial arts as her, thus gaining a lead to her whereabouts. But Zhao Yin was not satisfied to hear Qi Qian Yu denying knowing about Wan Qiu Ning, so after interrogation, she blurted out that her mentor, might have known and gave him her whereabouts in a map. Suspicious that the island may be a trap, he ordered Yang Ji Fan to fetch the old woman for him, then intending to tell him he had handed over Ni Qiu Ning to him with his own two hands, making his death even more regrettable. But never did he deduce that he too, played a part in their reunion apart from fate.

“Wan Qiu Ning, is it really you? How is it that your martial arts have improved so much?” exclaimed Zhao Yin in surprise as he dropped his weapon and started walking towards her.

Ni Qiu Ning answered, “I have been living on a peaceful island for twelve years and in this time, I developed a powerful set of Yin stances to use against the Yin stance users in your organization. Zhao Yin, I don’t blame you for hating me but Yang Ji Fan has never wronged you and you knew very well that Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing has no written recipe for the antidote. Why did you lie to him that you had the cure?” Yang Ji Fan quickly moved near her lest Zhao Yin attacked her.

”Ha! Ha! Ha!” he laughed, “No wrong? He has done me a lot of wrong by stealing you away from me. The antidote? I would have had it had not your mentor, that old stubborn bull rather bring the secret of the recipe to his grave than tell me! Even your junior martial sister, Li Bing Xin was hidden from that secret. But in a way, that is better because I know that you and him can never be together, and with him gone, you will be mine!” As he said this, another shiny weapon dropped out of his sleeve and into his hand.

Yang Ji Fan pulled Ni Qiu Ning back protectively by flying backwards with Lightness Skills, while she called out “Stop dreaming! I will never like you! You only know ambition and rivalry, you were like that then, and like that now!”

“I had originally planned for today, to order him to offer you to me, but it seems ineffective now! But so what, he will die, but after I make him witness you begging me for his life.” And quickly producing another bottle in his hand, he explained, “That old bull of a mentor of yours left, leaving only two bottles of antidote. You already snatched off me but you let it fall into the ravine. I only have this bottle left. If you don’t agree to my demands, then enjoy watching him rot away into a pile of squirming maggots and buzzing flies! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Ni Qiu Ning was about to say something when Yang Ji Fan squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and received the message through his eyes. Turning back to Zhao Yin, she took a deep breath and inquired, “What are your demands?”

Zhao Yin shook his head like a screw, and said, “Tut! Tut! Tut! When it comes to one’s own life, nothing else is more important! Okay, for you to have this, I want you to marry me tonight and promise to stay with me forever. I also want a copy of your Yin Stances. I guess that is why you still have retained your youthful looks. Plus, I want you, with your own hands, to sever all of Yang Ji Fan’s tendons and waste all of his martial arts. If you can do all that, only then will I give you this!” And he waved the bottle mockingly at the pair, while with the other hand, took something out form his belt and hid it behind his back.

The pair looked at each other again, nodded and then turning back to Zhao Yin, they smiled. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: Surprise Surprise
Three months ago on a ship in the deep ocean, the whole ship panicked when Yang Ji Fan and Xuan Yuan Lin jumped into the ocean, and showed no sign of life underwater. Chen Xu laughed hysterically when he saw that, and called out loud, “Yang Ji Fan did everything faster than me, but I would have never guess that “death” was one of the categories as well! Ha! Ha! Ha! I am well content to see that! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

His words made everybody in front of him jump up in fright. Lian Le Yi screamed when he saw him, “Isn’t he dead yet?”

Han Qing Feng peered closer, but took care not to walk to close, aware not to make the same mistake as he did last time. “Not yet. But it wouldn’t be long.” He said, pointing to the red clothing Chen Xu was in, not knowing whether it was drenched in blood or its original colour.

“Shut up, Chen Xu! Our Cult Master is protected by the heavens. That old hag Xuan Yuan Lin would not be able to harm him! Not like you who is about to meet the King of The Yellow Springs!” snapped Qiao Kong Chao who was standing next to Miao Shi Zhong. Both were removing their clothes, preparing to dive in and scavenge or their corpses.

“He will be in a very short time!” cried Li Bing Xin slyly as she took her remaining dagger and took a step towards Chen Xu, while the two jumped into the sea.

“No!” cried Han Qing Feng when her saw her intention, “How could you attack a man when he is defenseless and about to die? The heavens will punish him for his evil deeds, no need to get your hands dirty!”

“He is right!” agreed Hong Zheng Tian. “After all, he is my master. He will die anyway. Just let his followers take him back to the Holy Snake Clan Headquarters.” And saying that, he moved and quickly unsealed the pressure points of a few immobilized Holy Snake Clan followers. “Take your clan leader back and bury him right. But tell your new clan leader not to try anything like this again, or else, he will meet the same fate! Go!”

Relieved to be free to go, they scrambled near Chen Xu and each took of a part of his limbs and body, while two went to drive the ship. But as he was being carried away, Chen Xu proudly stated, “Listen all of you. Chen Ming Jun, my successor will avenge me. Just all wait and he will come. Ha! Ha! Ha!” A smile of satisfaction appeared upon his face, as if he was going to the heavens instead if hell.

Hong Zheng Tian looked at his mentor, not knowing whether or not to tell me what he saw. After all, he had never told anyone before, not even Han Qing Feng or Li Bing Xin. But eh had to. He couldn’t let a man be betrayed without knowing before he left the world. So he stooped close to Chen Xu and whispered quietly in his ear so that no one else could hear, “That day before Madam Chen called me into her room, I saw them hugging behind the fake mountain in the back courtyard. They were also talking about your other son, but Madam Chen was referring to him to Chen Ming Jun as “your own flesh and blood”. I think they noticed me. If it was Chen Ming Jun who told you that Madam Chen and I were lovers, then I am only his scapegoat. If one word of mine is false, then may I be struck on my head five times by lighting.” And he turned to go.

Chen Xu’s pupils had expanded. What was this he was hearing? His son? His wife? No! But Hong Zheng Tian had sworn that it was true. So what did it mean? He looked up into the heavens and lamented his fate. He had never loved anybody as much as Yang Li Shan, but she betrayed him. He had given the best to Chen Ming Jun, only to be cuckolded by his in return. In this life, he only had three sons. Yang Li Shan killed one out of rage, and the other one was murdered. And now his remaining son had betrayed him. No! This wasn’t going to continue.

Chen Xu called out, “My successor for the leadership position will be … “ he hesitated, but then continued, “Whoever could kill Chen Ming Jun, Yang Li Shan and Chen Bai An will be the next Clan Leader of the Holy Snake Clan!” and he tore off his inner clothing and with his blood, he wrote a letter proving his words.

“I, the sixteenth Holy Snake Clan Clan Leader, Chen Xu, am unfortunate to have an treacherous subject and a infidel wife. Now in the last hours of my life, I declare the seventeenth Holy Snake Clan Clan Leader to be the follower who is able to brings the heads of the traitors, Chen Ming Jun, Yang Li Shan and Chen Bai An, to my grave for sacrifice.

The last words of Chen Xu.”

Everyone was shocked. Chen Ming Jun had always been his favourite, but now he wanted him dead. Chen Xu had once killed another favourite subject too, so that was not understandable. However, the other two were questionable. “ Clan Leader, Yang Li Shan is your wife, and Young Master Bai An is your only son. Kill them too?”

Chen Xu glared strongly at the person who asked as if he was staring at Chen Ming Jun at that moment and replied, “Yes! Do you dare defy me?”” The man lowered his head without reply and continued to carry him inside the cabin for rest.

This sudden outburst form Chen Xu caught everybody’s attention, to the extent that no one had noticed that small bubbles had begun to rise out of the sea. A large pillar of water shot up into the sky, with much more force and speed than the previous ones, and with it, flew out two dark figures.

“Cult Master!” cried out Qiao Kong Chao and Miao Shi Zhong who were swimming in the water.

Yang Ji Fan swept his heavy water-drenched cloak backwards, giving his hands more space to maneuver. Xuan Yuan Lin landed on the other side, gasping for breath. They all moved away as the two landed, well away from the water they also rained upon the deck.

“Look!” cried Li Bing Xin, pointing at Xuan Yuan Lin, “Elder looks different today but don’t’ know how!” Xuan Yuan Lin’s clothes seemed to be looser today, and maybe her humpback seemed less large or maybe she seemed taller. Whatever it was, she just seemed much different, much unlike the person who Li Bing Xin and Hong Zheng Tian lived with on No Dust Island.

Yang Ji Fan lunged at her with lots of arm movements, some true stances, and some false. They had diminished much energy fighting underwater and both were tired. But Yang Ji Fan seemed to be the stronger one even though he was poisoned until finally, he hit her on the shoulder and she stumbled backwards. But Yang Ji Fan did not let her fall and catching her around the waist with one hand, he reached behind her left ear and tore her whole face off.

The girls screamed as they saw this cruel act, and turned around, not wanting see the bloody mess left over. Even Li Bing Xin, who was used to blood and gruesome facts couldn’t bear to look. But hearing the sounds of surprise and cries of wonder from the men instead of from fear and shock, their curiosity took over and they turned around.

Standing on the deck with Xuan Yuan Lin’s wet clothes on, with her white hair flying freely in the wind, was a woman. But the face was not of Xuan Yuan Lin’s, but of a young girl, not looking older than them. There was not a wrinkle on her face and her fair skin glistened brightly in the sun that had just escaped from the cloud layers. Suddenly, they all recognized her. She was the woman in the portrait that Yang Ji Fan had showed them. She was Wan Qiu Ning. <IMG SRC="smilies/touched.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: A Dark and Misty Night

The girl stood there in the wind, like a heavenly goddess who had descended from the skies and all upon the deck had been blessed to witness her presence. But her eyes, her eyes! They seemed so sad, so full of the despair and hopelessness that had accumulated over the years.

“But was it her?” they all thought. Wan Qiu Ning was already twenty when she left twelve years ago, but yet this person standing before them, who looked just like her, appeared no older than eighteen! But the letter in the grave … so is there a mere phantom standing before them? And her white hair? What was that?

But whether she was or nor, it did not matter to Yang Ji Fan. He stepped towards her and softly said, Qiu Ning, I have finally found you!”

“Noooooooooo!” came a scream from inside the cabin and halted the path of Yang Ji Fan. Immediately, all the Holy Snake Clan members on the deck fell down on their knees. Chen Xu had died, knowing that he had left sooner than Yang Ji Fan.

The girl turned around to avoid meeting the gaze of Yang Ji Fan, and replied coldly, “Sorry. You have mistaken me for someone else. I am not the person you are looking for.” And away from the eyes of other people, two wet streams flowed gently down her ageless face.

“No!’ he protested, “ I know you are her. I would never mistake anyone else for you!” and he continued to walk towards her.

But the girl waved her sleeve at him, and flew off towards the other ship. Yang Ji Fan followed her on board and soon, another fight began. It was a distance between the two ships, and Han Qing Feng could not see clearly what was happening, no matter how much he stressed his eyes. But the two girls were less patent than him and with each taking hold of one of his arms, they leapt landed on the other ship, while Hong Zheng Tian helped the others move they injured or dead back to their ship.

Yang Ji Fan was trying desperately to grab hold of the girl but she kept diving into door and gaps and out of windows to avoid him, and occasionally, defend herself with soft but powerful strokes. She had just jumped out of a window and spun around just in time to avoid the Golden Snake Hand that was reaching for her arm. Her body and head were narrowly missed but her belt wasn’t. Instead, it was caught between the fingers of Yang Ji Fan and as she turned away, it became loose and detached from her body. But at that instant, a green curved object fell from inside the belt, and immediately, two hands lunged for it.

A strong palm force pushed the girl’s hand away while the same hand that released the force reached forward and grabbed the falling object. With the other hand, he moved forward and grabbed the retracting hand, which this time was not nimble enough to escape. Yang Ji Fan opened his palm and found himself staring at a delicate piece of jade, carved deftly into the shape of a crescent moon.

The girl tried to struggle out of his grip but his fingers were like an iron clamp, fixed so rigidly that even if ten men were helping her, he would not let go.

“Qiu Ning, why are you still denying it? Look at this. If you were not Wan Qiu Ning, why would you be in possession of this?”

No matter how strong his grip was, it could not withstand the tears of the woman the loved. He stared into the teary eyes of the person before him, blurred by tears of his own. His fingers loosened as she slipped away behind the door, and shut it.

Lian Le Yi was shocked. In the years of her life she had spent on Black Demon Peak, she had never seen her mentor cry. To her, he was always the most rigid man she knew, who was void of tears and void of open weakness. But now, that man was gone, and in his place, was a man totally vulnerable to tears, who seemed so weak that even a stronger gust of wind would topple him.

The injured were moved into the rooms for medical treatment careful to be without a sound, lest they disturbed Yang Ji Fan and cause him to burst into anger, which he rarely did, but for those who had been old enough to live in Smoke Gathering City, they knew well that it was volatile and not pleasing to experience.

Up on the mast, a pair of narrow eyes stared suspiciously at the room while Ju Ren Quan and Yong Bu Dao dropped towards the deck silently, as the golden lead that had suspended them now lowered them down. Miao Shi Zhong looked at the strand in his hand with its golden decorations reflecting the sunlight like small suns themselves, and tugged it hard. It would not break. He crossed them over several times and tugged again, and this time, he succeeded.

The Immortal Exterminating Network were famous for their unbreakable weapons even though they had a weak appearance, and the strong silk strand he was holding must be the precious Immortal Binding Silk that could not be severed unless tensioned by more than one layer of the same material. This lead was one of those weapons. Wan Qiu Ning. What did she want? What wicked plan was she conjuring in that black mind of hers, the mind of a killer?

Yang Ji Fan would always remember that face. Those tears. It was exactly the same as those he saw in his Smoke Gathering City, twelve long years ago on a dark, misty night.

That night, tears dripped from her long-lashed eyes as she finished her farewell letter. She wanted to stay, but found no reason. Carefully, she refolded the bright red wedding dress that was hers back in its box. No. It wasn’t hers. Not in this life would she ever be fated to wear it. She carefully ran her fingers over the embroidered phoenix and then bluntly, closed the lid. The phoenix will never meet her dragon, and she would never see Yang Ji Fan again.

Ni Qiu Ning grabbed her luggage and exited the room, after turning around, taking one last look at the room she was leaving behind. As she moved stealthily through the courtyard, tears clouded her eyes but in that blurry state, she still could identify the exit and headed towards it.

Suddenly, a strong grip formed around her arm and she was spun around to face him. She found herself staring into eyes of deep sorrow, mixed with grief and hopelessness.

“You have to go?” Yang Ji Fan asked in a shaking tone. In his thirty years of life, he had never felt this disheartened before as he stood confronting this young girl of twenty.

A strong smell of alcohol filled Ni Qiu Ning’s nostrils and she deduced he had been drinking. It was obvious. The table nearby was littered with empty wine gourds, which made her heart pain even more than what she was feeling now.

“Yes.’ She answered coldly, staring at him as hard as she could. His grip loosened at those words and she quickly broke free and turned around to leave.

Along with the breezes of soft, but cold wind, came the desperate words, “Don’t go!”

Tears now flowed like torrents out of her eyes as she spun around to cry, “If I don’t go, can you marry me?” The deep answer sunk embedded into both of their hearts forever, and exposed the wound there even more.

“I only want to care for you, to make sure you are safe!” Yang Ji Fan replied.

Ni Qiu Ning laughed and answered, “That is not necessary. If I stay, I would only make things more complicated, make both of us feel even worse.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “You think that you can escape from me? Even if you get out of this city, I will find you! You can run but you can't hide! I will find you!”

Then came a flash of silver and a dagger appeared in Ni Qiu Ning’s hand, and at her neck. “Then you leave me no choice! If you had really loved me, then let me go!”

Not wanting to harm her, Yang Ji Fan finally consented, with the condition, “I only want to see you as you leave. I will say nothing; do nothing. Grant me that, and I will let you leave! Also,” he paused, holding out something small in his hand, “I think it is time that I return this to you!”

His palm opened and Ni Qiu Ning saw a piece of jade sitting on it. It was the sun jade that she had given him as a token of their love. With her other hand, she reached to touch her belt, in which was the moon jade.

Looking Yang Ji Fan straight in the eyes, she replied in a shaking voice, “My love is like this piece of jade. Once it is given, I cannot take back. Farewell!” And at that she turned around and ran out of the courtyard, out of the fortress, out of his reach.

It started to rain soon after she had left, but Yang Ji Fan still stood there. Finally he collapsed onto his knees and wept, swearing at the heavens and lamenting his fate.

Several weeks later, Chen Xu and his clan attacked. The intensity was tremendous as the city was surrounded and under siege. This was no time for emotions but yet, he could think of nothing else but her. Without her, he lost his mind, his valour, his confidence and his city.

Somehow, Chen Xu seemed to know all the secret entries into Smoke Gathering City, as if he was well informed by one of his own followers, and soon he and his people were surrounded, both inside and out. Most of the citizens escaped by charging out of the city, fighting the enemy head-on, but casualties were less than fifty. In an attempt to lose the enemy, Yang Ji Fan threw his personal sword in the opposite direction. When Chen Xu broke into Smoke Gathering City, the whole place was torched and looted, and a huge fire lasted for three hundred days. This sword was put into this fire for all the three hundred days, and became the treasure of the Holy Snake Clan, the No Name Sword.
<IMG SRC="smilies/ninja.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: Cruel Accusations

The Smoke Gathering City citizens gathered up north in a mountain range, where clusters of tall peaks formed a dangerous labyrinth of steep cliffs, where every peak seemed to be identical, all enemies who entered got lost and rarely escaped alive. The place was surrounded by lush green mountains but inside the labyrinth, not a fruit tree was in sight and more than half the range was covered with snow for most of the year. Anyone who got lost would stare to death of they didn’t die from the harsh cold winds.

Yang Ji Fan and his people had stumbled upon this fantastic place while being pursued by Chen Xu. They had nowhere to go, and could do nothing but ride into the unknown labyrinth. But Yang Ji Fan’s instincts and strategic mind convinced them to scale the tallest peak in order to gain full view of the area for easier defense. And they were glad they did. Upon that peak, was a clear stream that flowed underground, many fruit bearing trees and vegetation, consisting both beneficial and poisonous herbs. The peak and what was around and beneath it was like heaven and earth, no one could have guessed that such a wonderful place would exist there.

And there they decided to reside until their enemies left. From that high dwelling, they watched as Chen Xu and his men rode around looking for them, of course, with no success, and left. Even though they were out of danger, the group still stayed there until a more suitable place could be found.

For the next three years, Yang Ji Fan concentrated on nothing else but martial arts, which helped numb the pain of losing Ni Qiu Ning. In this time, he developed all twelve stages of a special kungfu through the mind and theory, though he had not physically practiced it. However, the small population that had first arrived on the Peak had tripled in the three years and the steep mountains were no place for young children to play, so the group finally left and found their settling place – Black Demon Peak.

Using martial arts, the top of the peak was easily and quickly hollowed out into a castle, where they had dwelled forever since. The poisonous plants and animals taken from Remembrance Peak were planted and released in the thick lush vegetated forest before Black Demon Peak, forming a death trap for all enemies.

But even in all those of years of constant escape and turmoil, Yang Ji Fan had never forgotten Ni Qiu Ning. Nor did his love for her ever lessen, even when confronted by the truth of their blood relationship. All he had wanted was to find her again, and make sure she was safe and happy. He knew it was impossible to demand for any advancement in their relationship, but wanted to be near her, even if in the position of her uncle.

But now he had found her, but she wouldn’t even see him. Ni Qiu Ning still hid behind the closed door, refusing entry to anyone. Yang Ji Fan pressed his ear to the door and faintly heard her silent weeping. Wan Neng stood by and regretted his decision.

It was all his fault. He dreaded the day when he was entrusted the responsibility to deliver the eight-year old Ni Qiu Ning to the Holy Snake Clan in Yun Nan. Ni Cao and Ni Jian’s face then, were tired and sorrowful. Wan Neng knew that they had tried everything to save the family and to sacrifice Ni Qiu Ning for the marriage was the best way available.

Wan Neng looked outside of the window and saw Ni Qiu Ning spinning happily in the wind with butterflies. He sighed at that this innocence, this pureness, would soon be surrendered to a crowd of dirty, evil beings. But the Ni Family had given him everything, kindness, respect and trust; he could nothing but accept.

The naïve Ni Qiu Ning did not know that she was being lead to oblivion, and happily followed her Uncle Wan on the long journey, which she was told by her grandmother it was to Yun Nan for fun. But even before they arrived in Yun Nan, they walked into an assassination by the Immortal Exterminating Network and got captured.

Both of them got recruited by the network and became assassins. Wan Neng let Ni Qiu Ning grow up as an assassin as it was the safest place for her. The Holy Snake Clan would never suspect they would take refuge in a killer’s organization. But it was this decision that had ruined her life. Even if she was forced to marry Chen Ming Jun, at least he might treat her nice and she would have a good life. But now, she was trapped in a swamp of impossible feelings and could not escape from it.

Back behind the door, she screamed at Yang Ji Fan, “Why did you come to find me? If you already knew the result why did you still come to find me? Now that you have found me, what can you do?”

Yang Ji Fan exclaimed, “You finally admit you have lied in that letter inside the stone tablet. You are Wan Qiu Ning, not Xuan Yuan Lin!”

“I did not lie. Wan Qiu Ning did indeed die twelve years ago when all was revealed, only leaving one Ni Qiu Ning to face the meaningless of life. But I would had rather wish myself as Xuan Yuan Lin all my life, not Ni Qiu Ning. Leave!”

Suddenly, Yang Ji Fan toppled lifeless to ground. Ni Qiu Ning heard the sudden calls of panic outside and peeked through a small whole in the door. “Yang Da-ge!” She immediately flung open the door and kneeled at his body on the ground. She held a finger to his nose and to her relief, found that he was still alive. But he was still unconscious.

“Get away from him you evil girl!” came a scream from behind as Miao Shi Zhong rushes forwards with a sword in hand, its gleaming blade bare to the heat of the sun and the cooling sea winds. “Men! Surround her!”

And instantly leaving the injured, the remaining men rushed out of the cabin and encircled her with bare swords.

“Evil Witch!’ he shouted rudely, “What do you think you are doing? Trying to poison him and torture him even more? Don’t lie! I know it was you who snuck upon our ship and poisoned Wan Neng. It was also you who contaminated Cult Master’s tea with Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill!”

Ni Qiu Ning straightened her legs and stood tall and calm in this confrontation. “Mister Miao. Wan Neng is my foster father and Cult Master Yang is my… my … my uncle. I have no reason to poison him. Why would you think that? I had only wanted to save them.”

Miao Shi Zhong laughed at her words and continued with a sneer, “Yeah right! Why would you commit a good deed like that? Don’t think of yourself as a decent person. Remember, you grew up in the Immortal Exterminating Network. You are a ruthless killer, like all of them, whose only pleasure is to harm other people.”

“I repeat. I only wanted to save them.”

“You evil witch! Wan Neng must have been stupid to believe that you were good underneath, and Cult Master a great fool to have fallen in love with you. You are nothing beneath that pretty skin of yours except pure evil, deceit and malice. All along, you had planned to rid of our Cult Master as your mission, but you used the cruelest way to conduct it. You played him all along as a fool, and he was stupid enough to fall for it.”

“Elder Miao,” interrupted Han Qing Feng, “ I think we should listen to …” But his advice was cut off by the rush of words that immediately followed.

“You had thought he would die without you, but he didn’t. So you designed that letter in gravestone to hurt him. And if that wasn’t enough, you snuck upon our ship to poison him. And at his weakest moment, you showed up with your crocodile tears to excite him, making his blood flow increase and quickening his death. You with your face of a cherry blossom and heart of a snake, I am not going to let you live pass tonight!”

Li Bing Xin and Lian Le Yi stood there listening, not knowing what to do. What Miao Shi Zhong said was not illogical, but could the beautiful fairy standing in front of them, the one who had written that moving letter, really be a demon in human skin?

Lian Le Yi could stand it no longer. “Elder Miao. Stop and consider Cult Master. If you do this, it is a mistake that can never be redeemed. Cult Masters sees her as so important, even if he survives the poison, he would not survive the pain of losing her again right after he found her!” Ni Qiu Ning stayed silent and just looked blankly at Yang Ji Fan.

Hong Zheng Tian added with earnest, “Yes. Think about what Cult Master would do you if he found out you killed the woman he loves the most?” Still, Ni Qiu Ning did nothing but stare at Yang Ji Fan.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Miao Shi Zhong, “ I am not a coward who is afraid of death. If he kills me, then I will die! I won’t regret it! Stop anyone who dares enter this circle!” and he suddenly lunged at her with his sword.

Lian Le Yi, Han Qing Feng, Li Bing Xin and Hong Zheng Tian still had about these accusations and tried to stop Miao Shi Zhong from creating the fatal mistake, but the circle of men stopped them with their swords, hoping not to add to the bloodshed that already took place here on the sea.

Still, Ni Qiu Ning did nothing but stare at the unconscious Yang Ji Fan, as if hoping he would wake up just in time to see her for the last time. It was as if there was no one in the world except for him and her, no cries for her to react, and no sharp blade that was accelerating at her neck. <IMG SRC="smilies/tearlaugh.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY- SIX: Acceptance of Death, Rejection of Life

Clang. And two swords met. Miao Shi Zhong’s hand trembled and moved backwards as a sudden force of internal energy passed though his sword and into his wrist. Grasping his sore writs with his other hand, he looked up as his attacker and shouted, “Qiao Kong Chao, what do you think you are doing?”

“Brother Miao. Be rational. The children are right. Cult Master would never forgive you for this!”

“Qiao Kong Chao, so you’d rather let this witch continue to mesmerize Cult Master than die to save him? All these, I have misjudged you. You are nothing but a coward! I hate cowards! Look out for the sword!”

The two martial brothers fought with hand and sword, using the martial arts that had formerly been taught to them to use against their enemies, against each other. Swords flashed and blood was shed. This fight was nothing as magnificent as the duels before, but its intensity and suspense could not be ignored. No one dared to stop them, either they were afraid of getting involved or predicted that it was all going to end soon.

The flash of a golden lead exited from the sleeve of Ni Qiu Ning and it wrapped around the two blades, locking them together. “I don’t really care whether I live or die, now that my enemy is dead. I am an unlucky person. I have burdened my whole family, Uncle Wan and Yang Ji Fan already. I don’t want to spread my unluckiness to any of you. Please stop.”

“Never!” cried Miao Shi Zhong, “You want to save your life, don’t you! Save your words! My heart is set!”

“But if you kill me, Yang Ji Fan will never be saved!”

“Shut up, witch! What are you talking about?”

“If you kill me now, no one will ever be able to cure Yang Ji Fan.”

“What are you talking about?” cried Han Qing Feng, “You can save Cult Master Yang?” And he stepped into the circle to hear the answer clearer.

“I am the only one in this world who still knows how to cure the poison of the Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing. My mentor, King of the Five Poisons, taught it to only me. After his death, no one except me knows the cure, even my junior martial sister.”

“Yeah right,” said Miao Shi Zhong sarcastically, “And I suppose you will give us the TRUE antidote out of your deepest sincerity? How should we know if you give us poison instead? Prepare to die!”

Hearing this, Ni Qiu Ning lowered her hands, and let go of the golden lead, letting a small folded piece of paper to fall onto the deck.

Suddenly, a loud yawning came from behind them all. “Who was making such loud noises? I was sleeping!”

“Uncle Wan!” called out Ni Qiu Ning.

Whispers of wonder and amazement filled the whole deck as Wan Neng stepped out, stretching his limbs and cracking his bones after his long sleep. Didn’t both Han Qing Feng and Li Bing Xin predict that he would not to pass the night after being poisoned two times? Their first and only reaction was, “Ghost! Help! Mother!”

“Miao Shi Zhong, you see!” she cried, “I treated Wan Neng yesterday with the Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill, using poison against poison to neutralize the Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing poison. He is alive and well now. I didn’t lie to you. All who have been in contact with the poison for less than seven days can be cured by just orally consuming the Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill, but all who have been in contact or any longer, must have the oral cure as well as acupuncture treatment within seven times seven days, or else forever be doomed to die with rotted organs seventy-eight days later. I saw him yesterday night from a distance yesterday night and he seemed to be approaching the date of the poison taking effect very soon, isn’t he?”

In a deep and solemn voice, mingled with several ounces of sadness, Qiao Kong Chao replied, “Yes, Miss Wan. It is the 48th day today.”

“Then let me treat him!” she pleaded. If one looked close enough, one could see the crystal tears that were slowly filling her eyes, and that was what Li Bing Xin witnessed. “If I don’t treat him now, he will die. I beg of you, let me help him?”

Li Bing Xin looked at Miao Shi Zhong and wondered, “Why is this man so stubborn? Can’t he see the sincerity in her eyes?” She shouted, “Miao Shi Zhong, you claim to be the loyal subject of Cult Master Yang, but yet you drive away the opportunity for him to be cured. He is going to die anyway, so why not take this risk and let my senior martial sister help him? Even if she poisons him to death, he would not lose anything!”

Miao Shi Zhong hesitated for a while, and everybody thought that he would relent, but they were all wrong. “Shut up you little witch. You two belong to the same organization, and both of you are cold-blooded killers. You two must be in this all together, trying to kill our Cult Master and weaken our Sect! You say one more word and I’ll cut your tongue out!

Li Bing Xin pouted in this injustice, “Fine!” and it was all it took to motivate Miao Shi Zhong to forget Ni Qiu Ning and charged at Li Bing Xin.

Li Bing Xin gave him a sly smile and whipped a silver lead from inside her sleeve and lashed out at his approaching sword. But suddenly, something else intercepted before more blood could be shed on this day of death.

“Wait!” yelled Hong Zheng Tian as he locked each of his daggers with the other two’s weapons. “This is ridiculous. Stop fighting. Bing Xin, Elder Miao is only concerned about Cult Master Yang. Don’t be so harsh on him. But Elder Miao, Bing Xin had separated from the Immortal Exterminating Network after she arrived on No Dust Island. I can guarantee her innocence with my own head!”

“Shut up! Hong Zheng Tian, our Cult Master was kind enough to let you stay with us, even though you committed the great sin of adultery with your mentor’s wife. I never liked you, but only didn’t say because Cult Master Yang agreed. But now, I can’t take it anymore. I’ll kill you now before you act like Song Yang and betray us!”

Despite the efforts of Han Qing Feng to keep her quiet, Lian Le Yi broke through and exclaimed, “Shut up yourself! It looks like you actually want Cult Master to die than to live! Ah! I know! You want to become the next Cult Master, so that’s why you are so earnest in not letting him be cured!”

“You!” he screamed, “How dare you insult and accuse your elder, me, of such a heavy, unredeemable crime? My name is Miao Shi Zhong, meaning that for every generation, our Miao family will be loyal to the Sect. I won’t be a traitor, and neither will my future generations. How dare you accuse me?”

“I have had enough!” came a female shout and they all diverted their attention, just in time to see Ni Qiu Ning kneel down beside Yang Ji Fan and take hold his hand. She sunk her teeth into it and sucked the blood that came out.

“Evil witch! What are you doing?” No one looked to see who had just spoken for all knew who it was immediately.

“No!” cried Han Qing Feng, “Elder, the blood is poisonous!”

“What?” screamed Lian Le Yi, “Poisonous?”

Ni Qiu Ning laughed weakly with despair and focusing her eyes on Miao Shi Zhong. “For all victims of the Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing poison, the poison will be transferred into their bloodstream once the poison has taken full effect like Yang Ji Fan now, and become venomous itself. I am now poisoned as well. If I can’t cure him, then I will die myself. Don’t you trust me now?”

Miao Shi Zhong dropped his sword and fell upon his knees. Nobody would be that stupid to let themselves die of such a horrible death unless true feelings were involved. “Miss Wan,” he lamented, “I have wronged you! I have treated your kindness and sincerity with insults and cruel words! Please forgive me! I promise you, once I know the Cult Master is safe, I will immediately slay myself in front of you as my apology!”

“Miao Shi Zhong,” she replied, getting back on her feet, “If you really want the best for him, then help me get him onto a bed. I have to administer the method of cure two hours before dawn or else he will never recover!” And quickly, all of them helped carry his body to his room.

In inside the room, Lian Le Yi and Li Bing Xin quickly brought in all the lamps on the ship to brighten up the room a much as possible for the acupuncture.

“Please,’ she asked politely as she took out a flat black bundle from her inner clothing and laid it on the table, “I need some space in this room. Han Qing Feng, Li Bing Xin, you two are knowledgeable in medicine. Stay here and help me. The others, would you please exit?” She opened the bundle and revealed rows of silver needless, each no thicker than a hair, each needlepoint sharp.

Removing a long one from the left end of the row and wiping it clean, Ni Qiu Ning ordered, “Junior Martial Sister Li, please dissolve one Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill from that bottle in some water, and feed him when done. Han Qing Feng, please undress his upper body.” Marking the pressure points with her fingers, she gradually lowered the needle down.

But just as the point entered his skin, a strong grip encircled her wrist and stopped her moving. “What are you doing?’ he asked, first eyeing Ni Qiu Ning, then Han Qing Feng and Li Bing Xin, who recoiled at the sight of his eyes, half filled with anger, half coldness and maybe a little spark of self-defense that could erupt any moment into rage.

“Yang Da-ge, let go of me! I am curing you of the Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing poison. Let me insert these silver needles and please drink this antidote.” Pointing to the cup in li Bing Xin’s Hand, “I have to do it two hours before dawn or else you will never recover!”

Yang Ji Fan looked at her for a while, as if he wanted to say something, but then taking a deep breath, he snatched the needle out of her hand and it splintered between his fingers. <IMG SRC="smilies/shocked.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: Impossible Demands

“I don’t want your cure.” He asserted, looking her in the eye, “Life and death makes no difference to me now. I have been deprived of what is meaningful to me, making each living day just more torture. Do you really want me to be one of the living dead?”

“Yang Da-ge. What happened between you and me was not our fault, but fate’s doing. We have to accept that. If you really value me that much, then let me live!”

“What?”

“Just as you are, I am poisoned with Intestine Breaking Bone Revealing. If you won’t take the cure, neither will I!”

“We’ll see about that!” and as fast as a speeding arrow, he shot off the bed, still holding onto Ni Qiu Ning and grabbed the cup of poison off Li Bing Xin. He immobilized her and forced her to drink every single drop of it before setting her free.

Coughing and choking heavily, Ni Qiu Ning recovered from the ordeal, only to hear, “Don’t think that I am totally senseless before. I could hear everything. You only need to drink the Hundred Flower Hundred Poison Pill solution to recover. You are now cured, you can’t threaten me!”

“Yang Da-ge!” she cried falling onto her knees and holding onto his legs, “Don’t be so stubborn. Life is precious. We can kill others cold-bloodedly but how can we do that to ourselves? Let me cure you!”

“I will take the cure if you follow me back to Black Demon Peak.”

“You know that is not possible. You and me… it is not possible.” She exclaimed lowering her head.

“Not possible as a lover but possible as a niece. Just come back with me and I will take the cure.”

“No!’ she insisted. She may have grown up amongst assassins but she hadn’t forgotten the morals she had learnt from books. But yet …

“Then leave!” he shouted, and repeated the same thing when others tried to give him advice. Finally, he was left alone in the room, in the bright light of the lamps, but the darkest of moods.

The growing waves rocked the ship side to side, first gently, then gradually becoming more violent, like the volatility of the intensity upon the vessel. Li Bing Xin knocked three times on the door and a monotonous but soft voice told her to enter.

A single candle stood bare on the table, as all of the lamps on the ship had been taken into Yang Ji Fan’s room. The room was quite dark and only the front part of the room where the candle was had been brightened. Li Bing Xin looked around the room. But where was her senior martial sister?

“Senior Martial Sister Wan?” she called as she struggled in the dim light, hoping to find her by the light reflecting off her white hair. But there was none.

“How is he? Calmed down yet?” came the voice from behind her. Li Bing Xin immediately turned around and the curtain behind her moved. A snow-white hand brushed it open and Ni Qiu Ning stepped out. With several candles in her hands, she lit them and placed them in separate areas randomly around the room. The room lit up but no white-haired woman was seen. Instead, a great beauty stood by the wardrobe, retreating her hand just after standing a candle on top of the structure.

Li Bing Xin exclaimed, “Your hair!” pointing to the long, silky black strands that flowed from the top of her hair, where it was combed tightly into a simple hairstyle, yet, it managed to reveal the beauty of her complexions, the fairness of her smooth flawless skin. She had changed from the loose old woman’s clothing to a pale green dress, decorated with tiny embroidered flowers as it they were real, growing amongst the lush green fold of her dress.

Ni Qiu Ning smiled briefly, touching the lock hanging over her shoulder, and explained, “Twelve years ago when Wan Qiu Ning disappeared, I intended to get rid of Ni Qiu Ning for good. And to do that, I had to hide every aspect of her, face, hands, hair. I have worn that wig and the mask for twelve long years, but I somehow feel lighter now without them!”

Then suddenly, here eyes that were formerly filled with laughter and happiness deepened and her whole expression became series. Her brows frowned as she asked, “Has his temper gone away yet? Has he agreed to be cured yet?” Li Bing Xin noticed that she was pulling tensely at her fingers, displaying well the anxiety she was experiencing now.

Li Bing Xin shook her heads and answered, “No. His temper has not yet died down. He shouts at all that enter his room and if they approach him, he will use force to drive them out. No one else dared to give him advice. Just then, I poked a hole through the window and saw him clenching his heart in pain. His face was wet from sweat and twisted terribly with frown. Yet, when I entered, he hid away all that pain and ordered me to go out.” She looked closely at Ni Qiu Ning and observed that her face had darkened as if a black cloud had moved over her head.

She sighed and continued, “Senior Martial Sister, I am not one of his followers but for Zheng Tian, I care about him. Both of us know that he will not have much time left. Do you really want him to die in such a horrible way just because of moral values? I know very well the blood relationship between you two but Yang Ji Fan himself said that he would treat you like a niece if you go back with him. There will be nothing to worry about, so why not go back?”

Ni Qiu Ning shook her head gently, turned away and replied, “You don’t understand. You will never understand. Do you really believe that I will not try everything to save his life? But I cannot bring myself to commit any more wrongs against the laws of nature. He may say that he will treat me as a junior from now on, but his heart will never accept, just as I will never be able to treat him as my uncle. Twelve years ago, I tried very hard to bring myself to leave a man that I had recognized as my life partner. I don’t know whether I can control myself ever again!”

Li Bing Xin cocked her head to one side and listened. She had thought she had heard something very small and light fall onto the wooden floor, creating a clear but very soft tone, as if the roof was leaking tiny droplets of water. “Since you love him that much, why not go back with him and be husband and wife? No one will ever mind you if you live isolated from the world. Black Demon Peak is such a place! You can’t let him die!”

Ni Qiu Ning laughed to this suggestion and exclaimed “You are too naïve! One can hide form all the people in the world, but never from the heavens and the earth. Besides, him and I are related by blood, children born from this incestuous relationship will not be tolerated by the heavens. The Ni family only has him and me remaining; he is the only male still living, with the duty to carry on the bloodline even though he rejects using the surname. I can’t be selfish and stop the bloodline. If I do, I would never be able to face my ancestors in the Yellow Springs, and be the ultimate sinner of my family. I can’t do that!”

“But…” stuttered Li Bing Xin as she continued to argue on this ridiculous concept.

“Please leave me alone.” Ni Qiu Ning sobbed, “I am very confused right now! I need space!” and she with clicks of her fingers, the force traveled through the air and put out the candles, leaving the room in a state of complete darkness as she delved back behind the curtains. Li Bing Xin closed the door and left.

Later that night, a figure dressed in black stumbled onto the soft bed, and lay weakly there, clutching his chest. With the alternate experiences of hot and cold, he did not know what he was feeling now except the sometimes numb, sometimes painful sensation in his body. Yang Ji Fan tilted his head to look out of the open window at the dark skies. What time was it? Was it dawn yet? Why hasn’t she made her decision yet?

He closed his eyes and moved back into the centre of the bed. Only one and a half month from now, he would become a corpse. He knew what to expect but would it scare her? On the outskirts of Chang An, he had once seen a poisoned corpse. It was a swordsman, nameless and unidentifiable for the flesh on his face had rotted away. Some wild animals had been curious and ripped open his body, revealing the terrible stench of his rotting organs. In his hand was his sword, still covered with blood, which the flies hovered over hungrily as they lined up to enter the corpse. He had obviously killed himself rather than face the pain of rotting to death. But Yang Ji Fan knew he wasn’t going to do the same thing. He will never leave in peace unless he knew her ultimate decision.

But was it too late to wait? Out aloud, he sighed and exclaimed, “Qiu Ning, Qiu Ning.The heavens were cruel to me, but why are you cruel to me as well, that you’d rather see me die such a terrible death than go back to accompany me?” Suddenly, something cold and small grabbed his hand and he sat up with a start, with Ni Qiu Ning in front of him. She had come.

Yang Ji Fan gently wiped her tears with the back of his hand as she said; “I will go back with you to Black Demon Peak.”
<IMG SRC="smilies/therethere.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Whoopie!! <IMG SRC="smilies/blob.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/blob.gif" border="0">

I am glad that I was right about qiu ning. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Good plot, charydis and very exciting. <IMG SRC="smilies/hatoff.gif" border="0">

if yang ji fan can be cured, then why would he still need the antidote from that guy though? maybe you give me the answer in the next chapter. Update soon. <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

YJF seems a rough guy-guy, reminded me of Qiu Feng character. <IMG SRC="smilies/french.gif" border="0">

how did bai shi yue (hong's mentor) connect with chen xu? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[ August 19, 2002: Message edited by: Goofy ]

[charbydis]

If you read back to the first time Wan Qiu ning got injured, then you will find that the two call each other brothers. They are friends. Bai Shi Yue killed his own mentor with the same poison that he gave to Chen Xu to weaken Yang Zai Sheng.