Legend of the Sword and Saber - by Gigi

[charbydis]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Kong Wah died? That's horrible! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> But it doesn't matter now. I thought Tian Fei was pretty good at martial arts, how come he didn't know when someone was in the room and dragged him from it? ANyway, it is a good story with lots of suspense. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 6
My Child, My Children

Characters list (not in particular order):
Tian Fei ............. Adam Cheng Siu Chow
Yue Gao .............. Lau Dan
Yue Ling ............. Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi
Yue Feng ............. Lisa Wang Ming Chuen
Lu Peng .............. Kong Wah

Yue House was silent like a tomb of dead these days. After the incident, Master Yue was suffered with heart pains more often, and the house had no longer heard the sweet singing voice of Yue Ling.

That unforgettable night, Master Yue ordered the servants to carry Lu Peng’s body outside and let it rot on a hill. He then arranged a hasty wedding for Tian Fei and Yue Feng. As for Yue Ling, to his relief, she remembered nothing when she woke up. However, she also lost the memories of her loved ones. She now was more a mad woman than just a simpleton girl. Despite her nurse’s effort, her hair became unkempt, her body was often dirty, and her once sweet face was now full of wrinkles and scratches. Every time the two men looked at her, they couldn’t help shedding tears with pities.

As Yue Feng had expected, everything was written off as Lu Peng’s crimes. Tian Fei blamed himself for not exploding Lu Peng earlier. Because of the engagement between Yue Feng and Lu Peng, he decided to look around for more evidence first. Beside, he had been so engulfed with happiness that he did not want to stir up any unnecessary troubles.

He did not protest when Master Yue demanded his marrying to Yue Feng. In fact, neither of them had ever mentioned again of that night’s events. Tian Fei himself too had changed. He walked, talked, and slept like a living corpse. He was without love, and he lived without hope.

One day, Yue Feng announced happily to him that she was pregnant. The house was once more filled with joy again. Excitement was in the air, and Tian Fei started to pay more attention at his wife. But her victory did not last long. The two men soon were informed that Yue Ling too was with child.

Grieved, Master Yue had almost killed his youngest daughter with his own hands so that she would not have had to suffer any more. Tian Fei was, however, protected his sister-in-law ardently. He told Master Yue that he would love Yue Ling’s child as his own.

Eight months have passed, and now both women’s stomachs were big. Yue Ling now was moved to a newly built cottage on top of the waterfall cliff. At first, Tian Fei protested loudly when Yue Feng arranged for her sister’s removal.

“But it’s good for her to have a changed air. Besides, she might get better, being near her ‘flying water’” Yue Feng smartly pointed out to her husband, who eventually surrendered. Master Yue had no says in this matter as he had been sick and was confined in bed for months now.

Many times, Yue Feng wanted to destroy her sister’s child as she realized how precarious her position would have been once Ling-er delivering a baby. However, her own pregnancy tired her out easily. Her big stomach prevented her going up and down the hill. She promised to herself that once they had delivered babies, she would find a way to rid of Ling-er and her child. ‘After all, Ling-er might not survive the labor’, she was half-hoping, half-consoling herself.

As if Tian Fei had sensed that Yue Ling was in danger, he was never away from her for long. He visited the hill cottage everyday for a talk although he knew that she would not respond. Sometimes he combed her hair and tried to wash her face. He had doctor check on Yue Ling every week, and he often sent up a bowl of medicinal herb for the strength of her baby. His love for her was more than just a physical attraction. It had rooted down too deep to be removed by anything.

Yue Feng watched the goings-on with envy. She fervently prayed that he would turn to love her some day, but it would never happen. Sure, he was a faithful and caring husband, but his heart was not hers. It had belonged to Ling-er since the first day they met.

One fine day, Tian Fei went up the hill to visit Ling-er as usual. Inside the cottage, he found her playing with a piece of jade. He picked it up and remembered it as his engagement gift to her. Sighing sadly, he touched her hair gently with tears glistering in his eyes. Suddenly, Ling-er clapped her hands excitedly. Unexpectedly, she asked him, “Big Brother, when are you going to give Ling-er the jade leaf? It was so beautiful! I can’t wait.”

Tian Fei dropped a bowl of soup he was pouring. ‘Jade leaf?’ He had only told the woman he was with that night about the two parts of jade. Swimming in a cloud of ecstasy, he had shown her his piece of leaf jade, “Ling-er, Big Brother has a jade leaf that will match with your flower part. I’ll give that to you on our wedding night.”

He took a look at his sister-in-law and rushed wildly to the cold outside. Confusing, he punched out at nearby trees, creating a din of explosions. So, Ling-er had really been with him that night, and she was carrying his child right now. Or hadn’t she? What really happened that night then? ‘Yue Feng’, he thought. She must have known something. He walked back home slowly, afraid to face with the unwelcome truth.

Yue Feng’s stomach was so big now that she could hardly move. She watched her husband curiously. His usual sad eyes now had a glint of light. ‘Has he finally fed up with the crazy hag?’, she wondered.

Tian Fei took out a piece of white jade that he had put away during all these months and asked Yue Feng, “Do you remember this jade?”

“Hmm, I have never seen it before in my life. Really, it looked worthless. Where did you get it from?”

Though he had hoped for this answer, nevertheless, he was nonplus. He squeezed Yue Feng’s shoulders and demanded forcefully, “You lied to me and your father. Ling-er was the one with me that night, wasn’t she? Tell me, what happened? I want the truth now. What really happened?”

Startled, Yue Feng looked into his eyes and realized that she had lost him forever. Old memories stirred up, and she lashed out. “Yes, Ling-er was the one with you that night. What really happened? I gave you a love pill and brought Ling-er to your room. I then put the bastard Lu Peng to sleep, and I stabbed and stabbed at his face. I cut off his male organ so he wouldn’t go around raping any girl anymore. Serve him right! He raped me! I would have gone to you that night myself, but I was afraid that you would recognize that I was not a virgin. The plan worked well. I got my revenge, and I have you. Ha-ha.” She laughed hysterically.

At that moment, the old nurse ran in and cried out. “Master Tian, Miss Yue is in labor right now. Please send for a doctor.”

Wordlessly, he pushed Yue Feng away, Tian Fei rushed outside, calling servants to fetch a doctor. He himself flew up to the cottage like wind, whispering the name of Ling-er’s all the way.

Yue Feng was sobbing violently. The happy world that she had hoped for and had tried to build came tumbling down in a matter of seconds. Her resentment, her jealousy, and her hatred for her sister exploded. She cried out, “If I can’t have him, you won’t have him either.” With an extraordinary strength, she ran up the hill and arrived at the cottage just in time to hear a cry of a baby.

Tian Fei was looking at his daughter in the arms of Yue Ling with love. This is a child of his and hers. “We will begin a new life together.” He said gently, smiling at the fatigued mother.

The last sentence was the last straw for Yue Feng. She leaped in and snatched the newborn from its mother and ran out madly toward the waterfall. Tian Fei followed closely behind, but was afraid for his daughter’s safety that he didn’t dare to act rashly. Meanwhile, he tried to calm her down.

“Ah Feng, please give me back the child. Haven’t you done enough? It’s not too late to repent. We all can start over.”

“Ha-ha. What do I have to start over with? And with whom? Why should I repent? I am not in the wrong. Ah Ling is the one who has taken everything from me the minute she was born. Father, Mother, the old nurse! Everyone loves Ling-er more than Feng-er. She has everything. Even when she is half-human like this, she still has your love. I love only you, but you never love me, do you? Why?” Yue Feng screeched bitterly. Without warning, she tossed the baby down the cliff.

“My baby!” Yue Ling cried out. She had just come out of the cottage, looking for her baby. Seeing it was thrown into the deep chasm, she leaped down the cliff to catch it. Without thinking, Tian Fei jumped down after her. After awhile, silence reigned and only a sound of snow dripping could be heard.

Spent with emotions and physical strength, Yue Feng sat down on the snow-covered ground. Her labor had begun, and she groaned with pains. Luckily, the doctor came just in time. Together with the old nurse, they managed to help Yue Feng into the cottage. At the end of painful labor, she delivered a strong twin babies. Yue Feng was weeping with joys when she heard the cries of her children.

Suddenly a sword slashed out, and the doctor and the old nurse fell dead at once. Yue Feng looked up and had a shock. A man with a mutilated face was standing over the corpses. She recognized him as Lu Peng.

“I thought you were dead”, she whispered.

“No, not quite. It was your father’s mistake of not checking if I was yet alive or not. He ordered my body to be thrown in the wilderness as food for wolves. Luckily, I managed to crawl into a cave; thus survived. I have lived till this day because I want you to see me again. I want you to see what you have done to me.” Lu Peng sneered. He looked down at the two infants and asked, “Are these bastards mine or Tian Fei’s?”

Shuddered with fears, she lied. “They are yours, of course.”

Lu Peng laughed scornfully. “You are still a liar, Feng-er. A doctor once told me that I could never beget any child. These children are not mine. They are Tian Fei’s, and they should die.”

“Don’t!” She thought of her father and threatened, “My father would never let you go away alive if you harm us.”

“Your father?” He grinned wickedly. “Don’t worry. He has already been taken care of. Do you want the truth for a change?” Not waiting for the answer, he continued, “I was sent here to steal the secret martial manual from the old man Yue. Even as his only student, old Yue wouldn’t trust me enough to tell me about it. You see, that’s why it was so important that we were to get married. As the first son-in-law, he would naturally let me have everything. But you have destroyed my plan, and for that, you will pay.” He looked at her with hatred.

Cold had run down her spines, shivering, she begged as never before, “Please don’t harm my children. I… I’ll do everything, I’ll be anything you want. PLEASE!” Too weak to move, she was desperate.

For a second, a lust gleamed in his eyes then it disappeared. He sneered, “No, I don’t want you anymore. I want you to live with agonies that you had created. I want you to suffer. Since these two little ones are your most precious things, I’ll take them with me. If they are boys, I’ll just cut them up for wild wolves. But if they are girls, I’ll make their fates even worse than death. Dear Feng-er, you’ll never know if they are dead or alive. Have a happy time wondering.” With that, he flew off with a child each on his arm.

“Don’t take my children”, Yue Feng screamed, almost fainted with sorrows. For a moment, she lay there inert, grieving for the babies she would never get to see. After awhile, she heard a baby cry from outside. Gritting her teeth, she slid her body onto the floor and crawled outside. Following the noise, she found it coming up from the cliff.

“My child!” She shouted wildly with joy. Looking down, she discovered that snow had broken the falls of the baby, whom she had thrown down the cliff earlier, and had lodged it neatly on a stone bed that jutted out not far from the top of the cliff. Gather up the remaining strength, she climbed down with difficulty. Finally, she reached the jutted stone. She retrieved the child and started crawling back up. With one hand holding it, she used another free hand to support her body and moved up the slippery path little by little. Many a time, she almost fell off the cliff, but she did not falter. This baby was the only hope in her life. And it was the child of Tian Fei’s.

Seemed as if a lifetime to her, she eventually reached the top surface. Panting heavily, she stood up and looked down at the baby lovingly. It was crying from cold and hunger. Maternal instinct stirred up in Yue Feng, and she hugged it protectively. She whispered, “You are now my baby.”

[Goofy]

Was going to break the chapter into two posts since it was quite long but forgot to do it. <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0">

Anyway, thank you for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> ing. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

So who was the father of which baby? I am confused. <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0"> i guess you will have to amke another poster to fit the babies in when they grow up. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Charbydis, <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> the story carefully and you will know. <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

Actually, it is probably the most confusing chapter so far. Have to blame that on my inexperience writing. <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0">

Anyway, will try to make things clearer in the future. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 7
New Families

Characters list (not in particular order):
Tian Fei .............. Adam Cheng Siu Chow
Liu Tong .............. Ray Lui Leung Wai
Ah Zhu ................ Yeung Pan Pan
Ah Ju ................. Idy Chan Yuk Lin
Xun Ci Shi Tai ........ Lui Yau Wai
Ah Mei ................ Au Yeung Pai San
Ah Lan ................ Michelle Mei Suet
Zhang Tin ............. Eddie Cheng Siu Fai
Di An ................. Damian Lau Chong Yun

Liu Tong had been looking for the two apprentices of Emei for many months now, but without success. However, being a steadfast man, he would not give up just yet. One evening, he stopped at an inn and asked a waiter to bring out a couple dishes of food. While he was eating, two girls dressed alike in light colors came in.

They sat down at one table and ordered some food. Later, a group of three men arrived. They were looking for table to sit, but soon forgot about it as they saw two young women sitting by themselves. One of the men went over to the table and tried to get fresh with a girl in light pink shirt. Turned out that these two ladies knew some Kung Fu as both of them lifted the hapless guy up easily and tossed him out to the street. Seeing the fate of their friend, the remaining two men took to their heels and left the inn immediately. The two girls smiled at each other, then continued with their meal.

Liu Tong watched the scene with amused eyes. It seemed that they wouldn’t require his helps at all. Soon, a new group of twelve swordsmen appeared. Without a word, they went over to the girls and surrounded their table. Undauntedly, the young women slowly stood up facing their opponents. The girl in light pink shirt started the fight. Quick as lightning, she threw small projectiles at those men, while her companion in light orange shirt followed the attack with a pair of swords.

This tactic was called ‘Left Leads, Right Follows’. It was created for two users who were outnumber by many opponents. While one user would throw projectiles randomly to distract the opponents, opening a way for his companion to attack the rest and be his defense at the same time. If it were used effectively, the opponents would be put on the offensive, unable to defend back. The difficulty of this technique was that the users had to move fast and in synchronized so not to get into each other’s way.

These two women, though looked young in age, were very skilled in martial arts. In ten moves, they managed to bring down six, seven opponents. The rest of them, however, were powerful fighters themselves. One man who seemed to be a leader noticed the tactic and got an idea to counteract it. So he grabbed one of his fellowmen from the floor and used him to intercept the incoming projectiles. He then started the attack.

The other men soon followed their leader. By using their fellowmen as shields, the projectile girl soon used up her supplies. So she took out a short knife from her waist to parry with the opponents. Though the two women continued to fight bravely, it was evident that they were losing. In short time, the group leader managed to knock the swords off the orange shirt girl’s hands and kicked her with such force that sent her flying out to the street. Hearing her junior sister cried out, the girl in pink lost concentration for a second, opening a chance for the opponents to close in on her.

Liu Tong was filled with admiration at these women. They were fast as arrows and graceful as butterflies flitting in the sky. They looked as if they were dancing instead of fighting. He couldn’t help smiling when half of the group fell down one by one under the girls’ smooth coordination. But he frowned at the sudden turn of situations. Without delay, he leaped out on a street and was in time to intercept the sword girl before she came down to the ground.

Embarrassed at being in a strange man’s arms, the young girl blushed violently. At the moment, she heard the yell from inside, indicating that her senior sister was injured. So she pushed the stranger away, shouting, “Third senior sister, I am coming to help you.”

Liu Tong followed her inside and joined the fight. He used a move called ‘Sweeping Dragon Tail’ to dispose the rest of the swordsmen. At the end of the move, only the group leader was able to withstand him.

All of a sudden, a middle age female in a Taoist costume appeared at the doorway of the inn. With a flick of her horsehair whisk, she sent out a strong inner force that struck at the chest of the swordsman. Blood spurted out from his mouth; he fell down and was dead right away.

This priestess was Xun Ci Shi Tai, the head master of Emei, and these girls were her apprentices – Ah Zhu and Ah Ju, the other two of ‘Four Beauties’. She stared at Liu Tong stonily for a minute and walked past him. Inside the inn, she sat down at one table and poured herself a cup of tea. Then she remarked in cold voice “You must be the third student of old man Ding. That move of yours was not bad, but still lack some inner strength.”

Meanwhile, Ah Ju went to help her senior sister up. They then walked slowly to their master, kneeled down and sang in unison, “Greetings, Master.”

The priestess grunted and touched the ‘Ren Yong’ point at the base of Ah Zhu’s neck to stop the flowing of blood from sword wounds. Then, she took out a white pill from her shirt and gave it to her student, who put it in her mouth obediently.

Liu Tong witnessed the old woman’s inner power with awe, but was taken aback by her lack of feeling at killing people. In spite of her disdain tone when referring to his teacher, he stepped forward and greeted the elder politely. The master of Emei, however, slapped the table angrily.

“I heard my two students were kidnapped by evil disciples of the demon Wang Shan. Isn’t he your first senior brother, the favorite student of old man Ding?”

Ignoring her aggression, Liu Tong replied calmly, “Three months ago, my senior brother Tian Fei came across two disciples of Emei fighting with people from ‘Love Palace’ Sect. He had helped out, but unfortunately lost tracks of the ladies in process. I was asked by him to search for them and have done that since though I am ashamed that I have failed so far. As for Wang Shan, it’s true that he was once a student of my teacher. However, he had been expelled from our school for a long time and we haven’t heard from him till now.”

Having known that he was speaking the truth and that her once-favorite apprentices were not really kidnapped, the old priestess just hummed and turned to see how Ah Zhu was doing. After taking the medicine, her paled face started to have color. Afraid of her master, she didn’t dare to get up and relax. Both girls still remained kneeling on the floor.

Liu Tong was observing them with sympathy. Growing up as a student of Sword God Ding, he was not used to any formality or rules. His teacher was a strange old man who despised all conventions. After throwing the first student out from his school, Sword God became moody and was more reclusive than ever. He retired from the martial world business, and only the two remaining students were allowed to meet him from time to time.

Ah Ju looked up and saw Liu Tong’s glance. She turned red and quickly looked down at the floor again. All the same, Priestess Xun Ci perceived her fourth disciple’s action and was furious. She pulled both girls up and led them away without a word.

However, Liu Tong intended to learn more of the disappearance of the two eldest apprentices, so he swiftly chased after the three women. But the priestess misunderstood his intention and turned around, enraged. She swept the whisk around him with incredible speed.

Surprised at this unexpected attack, Liu Tong took out his sword at once and tried to penetrate the coming force. He felt as though he was caught in a web that had no exit. There was continuous energy blocking him in every direction that he moved to. The longer he was in this web, the more intense its energy would bear on him, and the weaker he would become. He knew then that this was the deadly move of Xun Ci Shi Tai’s, ‘The Net of No Way Out’.

When Liu Tong was about to succumb to the pressure of the lethal net, all at once, the force was pulled back as rapidly as it had come. Though puzzled at the priestess’ sudden show of enmity, he addressed her courteously. “If I happened to anger Shi Tai in anyway, please accept my earnest apologies. Back there, I meant to ask for the news of the two disappeared ladies as I have promised my senior brother Tian to find them. Thus, I hope that Shi Tai can shed some lights over this matter for me.”

Actually, Xun Ci Shi Tai only meant to defy Sword God through this young man without really hurting him. She was in nature a haughty woman who was very proud of her martial skills. Many years ago, she lost in a duel with him, and it had been an embittered experience for her ever since. Consequently, she refused to acknowledge his title as one of the ‘Four Greats’, and was never in good terms with any friends or followers of ‘Sword South’ School. Accordingly, the more Liu Tong treated her with respect, the more she was being contempt at his master.

When she realized Liu Tong’s real purpose, she secretly approved of his determination. On the other hand, not wanting to air out the shameful acts of her students, she just grunted and replied rudely, “Hmm, why should we, the powerful Emei Sect, require the outsider help like you just to find a couple of girls? From now on, you don’t need to put your nose in our business, and do not attempt to follow us anymore. I’ve just given you only a light warning because of your master’s face.” She then called to both girls to go on with the journey.

Ah Ju anxiously watched Liu Tong’s struggle against her master’s fatal net. Knowing full well of the animosity between the priestess and the Sword God, she couldn’t help feeling afraid for his life. Therefore, she breathed with relief when he had come out unscathed.

Initially, she was impressed at his excellent martial skills. Then she was pleased at his deferential behavior to her master. The longer she observed him, the more she admired his good-natured character, and the more tenderness she felt about him. At the memory of his rescuing her, her heart started beating so loud that she was afraid her senior sister would hear it. A new kind of warmth had enveloped her, and she was filled with strange happiness. Still lost in her new emotions, she had to be called to attention sharply by her senior sister. After stealing a quick last look at Liu Tong, Ah Ju hurriedly followed her master and Ah Zhu.

Seeing that the matter was taken out of his hands, Liu Tong went back to guard his teacher in a meditation cave. On the way, he picked up two little boys who were trying to steal his money pouch. They were orphans, and the oldest one was hardly over 7 years old. Pity at their plights, he decided to bring them along to the south with him.

[Goofy]

Meanwhile, Ah Lan and Di An were having a wonderful time. Ah Lan had found out that she was pregnant, and they were elated. In order to hide from both of their masters’ wrath, they had gone up north. They built a small hut at the edge of a forest and started their life anew. Di An left his study and became a farmer in spite of his wife’s protests, and Ah Lan had matured a lot and learned to control her fierce temper under the guidance of her husband. Although the couple was poor, both were content at having each other.

Five winters had passed, and it was now the spring again. Flowers slowly opened their petals to greet the sunshine, and birds sang merrily to find mates for their nests. One warm morning, a bearded man in fisherman clothes with a boy and a girl came by the couple’s hut. With hospitality, Ah Lan invited the trio in for food and water. Recognized her face, the stranger exclaimed, “Miss Ah Lan, the second apprentice of Emei! How are you doing? People rumored that you and your senior sister were kidnapped by Zhang Tin five years ago and both were given up for death. I am Tian Fei, the second student of the Sword God. I was there the day you and your senior sister fought people from the ‘Love Palace’ Sect. I had tried to find either one of you without a success. Who would think that I would meet you at this remote place?”

Ah Lan turned pale at this unexpected encounter, but she recovered soon and replied in a somber tone. “Senior sister Mei has told me about you, and I wanted to thank you for rescuing her that day. However, everything has changed. This second disciple of Emei has indeed died from this world. I am just Ah Lan, a married woman with a happy family. Hero Tian, you are a gentleman, and I pray to you to keep this meeting a secret.”

At that moment, Di An came in with two boys about 4-5 years of age. He was surprised at seeing companies in his hut. Glancing at his wife, he knew that something was wrong. He placed his sons at the back of her and stood in front of them protectively, demanded to know what had happened.

Tian Fei looked at the family in front and grimaced. This was something he would never have. Remembered Di An’s action that day, he was certain that this martial nephew was not evil like his senior brother. After being reassured of this fact, he promised not to tell anyone of this encounter. The couple was glad and accordingly insisted that he and the children should stay over for a night.

After a frugal meal, the children went outdoors to play. The two children who were with Tian Fei were a couple years older than the couple’s two sons; therefore they were the ones who dictated the games. The three adults watched the children play and were amused at their innocence. Tian Fei couldn’t help thinking of his past and inwardly sighed.

When he had jumped into the cliff, he had been able to catch Ah Ling in one hand and snatch at a tree branch jutting from the cliff face with the other hand. However, they were proved to be too heavy as the branch snapped, sending both down into the bottom of the cliff. During the fall, Tian Fei had tried desperately to hold on to her, but she had wriggled out from his clutch, calling out all the time for her daughter. His last sight of her was that of her falling down to the abyss below. As for him, he had used all of his strength and had finally managed to land on the icy ground with only a sprained ankle.

After the swift recovery, he had spent the whole month searching at every nook and canny of the cliff, hoping to find at least her corpse. Alas, Ah Ling was lost forever. There was a rapid stream that had not yet frozen at the bottom of the waterfall, and it must have had carried her downstream somewhere. Not giving up any hope, he had followed the brook down south, asking everyone for any possible clue to no avail.

Eventually, he gave up and backtracked to the Yue House again. Once his initial rage at Yue Feng had subsided, he was left with only pity and concern of her well beings. Despite what Yue Feng had had done, she was still his wife and was with child. To his horror, he had found that the once peaceful home had been burned to ground. Nearby, a grave of Master Yue’s had been hastily fashioned. All servants had disappeared, and no one in the village had heard or seen the eldest daughter of Master Yue at all.

Since then, he had traveled high and low, seeking for his wife and his sister-in-law. Somehow, he was sure that both sisters were still alive somewhere. Unconsciously, he fingered the hidden parchment in his inner shirt.

Not long after his marriage to Yue Feng, Master Yue had called him to the library and had given him a leather scroll. It was the secret saber manual that Lu Peng had been coveted for years. Master Yue had entrusted his son-in-law to protect it from evil men and pass it down to his descendants, having realized that he might not have lived to see his grandchildren.

‘But, who would I give it to now? Yue Sir, both your daughters were gone without a trace. I had no chance to see any children of mine. Please, Father-in-law. Please look over them from the heaven and protect them from harms.’ Tian Fei looked up at the glittering stars and prayed feverishly.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when someone tugged at his shirtsleeves. He saw a pretty face of a boy smiling serenely at him. A shock ran through his body, and he almost wept with sudden grief. This boy reminded him of his first encounter with Yue Ling. She was like a child then. As if the boy had felt his sorrows, tears were flowing down his chubby face silently. Tian Fei recognized this boy as a younger son of Ah Lan and Di An’s, and couldn’t help taking the youngster in his arms, moaning aloud for his lost loves.

The three children quit playing and gathered around him. The only girl in the group gently touched his arm while said soothingly, “Godfather, don’t worry. We will find your wife soon.” An older boy who was next to her nodded, “Yes, Master. Xing Xing and I will help you find your family. Then we’ll live happily together with the grand master in the south.” The remaining boy quietly pulled his brother away from Tian Fei’s arms and led him to their parents.

Di An and his wife were taking a walk. Hearing the commotion, they quickly came back to the hut. They found their older son trying to console his younger brother, who was still shedding tears silently. Tian Fei dried his eyes and went over to the younger boy. He hugged him tightly, at the same time reassured, “Little brother, I am all right now. Thank you for your concerns. I have lost a family, but I also gained a new one. Xing Xing and Ren Ying is my family now, and you can be my little brother too if you want.”

The young boy stopped crying at once. He looked into Tian Fei’s eyes and grinned widely. He nodded and ran off into the opened arms of his mother. Ah Lan hugged her youngest son tenderly and took him inside the hut. Later on, after putting the four kids to bed, she rejoined the two men in their conversations.

Di An was explaining to Tian Fei about his youngest son. “He has been unable to speak since his babyhood. But he is a healthy boy and such an exceptional child. In spite of his lack in speech, he seemed to understand unspoken emotions so well. He also has a knack with animals – seemed almost as if he could communicate with them. Hopefully, he can still have a good life as an adult.”

Tian Fei nodded with sympathy, “Yes, he is a kind-hearted and sensitive child. I am sure he will grow up to be a fine man worthy of your teaching.”

He in turned related his quest in finding the two Yue sisters. “Two years ago, during the journey, I got sick in a foreign land. By sheer luck, Xing Xing’s father took me in and cared for me till my health came back again. Unfortunately, he met an accident during his hunting trip and died, leaving her an orphan. As she had no other relatives, I adopted her and brought her along to the Central Plains. On the way, I happened to rescue a boy from drowning. Li Ren Ying is that lad. He is also an orphan – his parents having been hung by villagers from stealing food. So, I took him in as my first apprentice as he shows a potential of being a good swordsman. He is smart and a fast learning boy. Now, we are on our way to visit my master, the Sword God. I haven’t seen him for 5-6 years now, and I am a quite anxious about him.”

Di An shook his head dejectedly, “The officials are all corrupted, the land is poor, and the Emperor is weak. Add to that, work is hard to find, and the Mother Nature has been unkind to us lately. No wonder that number of orphans is increasing every year. Humph, what else commoners like us can do except to help other fellowmen to the best of our abilities?”

Ah Lan touched her husband with understanding. Di An turned and smiled at his wife with love. Tian Fei saw clearly that the couple had deep feeling to each other – the feeling that does not require further speaking or any sweet talks. He thought of Ling-er and heaved a sad sigh.

After a few more chats, the three adults went to bed. Early next morning, Tian Fei and company took leaves of the happy family. Before he departed, he had left the scroll to the youngest son in the care of Di An.

“This is too valuable a thing to bestow to a child.” The couple tried to give it back to Tian Fei.

However, he was adamant. “I really want the boy to have it. This in its right should fall into a hand of the Yue descendent. But since his two daughters were lost, and I had no idea of my children fates, there was really no one I can give it to. I’m sure that under your guidance, he and his brother will use it for the good of other people. Besides, it can be useful to protect yourself against Wang Shan, my former senior brother. Tell you what, I have tried once to find the Medicine Man for my fiancé, but did not succeed. However, if I come across him this time, I will ask him to find a cure for your youngest son.”

-----------------
Thanks for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> ing.

Comments would be appreciated... <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[CrazyT]

Maybe you should post the link to this fan fic on winglin.net

[Suet Seung]

Crazy T: She already has it on winglin what do you mean post a link?

[charbydis]

can someone give me the link to winglin.net Plz? <IMG SRC="smilies/azzangel.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

Charbydis,Charbydis,Charbydis <IMG SRC="smilies/lecture.gif" border="0">

If you've gone to related advertisements and gone to my post for fanfics you'd see many links to fanfics which from the majority came from winglin.

Yet...ehheh okay.okay..it's simply www.winglin.net/fanfic

<IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

http://www.winglin.net/fanfic as homepage for all fanfics
http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/swordandsaber

as my fanfic site

<IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/azzangel.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 8
Betrayal

Characters list (not in particular order):
Ah Mei ................ Au Yeung Pai San
Ah Lan ................ Michelle Mei Suet
Zhang Tin .............. Eddie Cheng Siu Fai
Di An .................. Damian Lau Chong Yun
Wang Shan .............. Wong Wai
Ding Wan ............... Bau Fong

Time had flied like a bird. Now, it was summer. Heat hung heavily in the air, and butterflies were flitting among flowers in a garden. Ah Mei admired the scene through her window and smiled happily. It seemed as if yesterday instead of eight years ago that she had eloped with Zhang Tin. She was now a mother of two healthy boys with a soon-to-come child in her womb. She had had a perfect life. Zhang Tin had been a loving husband and a caring father. Her sons were obedient and charming just like him. In the beginning, she was skeptic about his sincerity, but time had proved that he had really turned his life around for her.

They now lived in a big mansion, the once headquarters of ‘Love Palace’ Sect, which was now dispersed. At first, she was afraid that Priestess Xun Ci would come after them. But Zhang Tin reassured her of his master’s protection in such a case. He boasted to her that he was the favorite apprentice of the ‘Evil Sword’ Wang Shan, and that his master always forgive him for everything.

As a matter of fact, the Priestess of Emei did not want to provoke any further scandals or bring more shames upon the unblemished reputation of her sect. As long as the martial world thought that Ah Mei and Ah Lan were dead, she preferred to keep it that way. Accordingly, she foreboded any mentions of their names among fellow apprentices.

A door opened, and Zhang Tin entered. He gazed at his pregnant wife and grinned with pride. ‘She is so beautiful – like an angel’, he thought.

Ah Mei looked up from her embroidery and turned scarlet from her husband’s unconcealed admiration. She put down her sewing and started a preparation for the evening meal. After the dinner, when their children had been put to bed, Zhang Tin approached his wife cautiously, “Xiao Mei, I have been thinking about our relationship with Emei. It has been almost eight years, and the Old Woman should have forgiven us by now. So, last week, I took liberty of sending an apology letter from us to Priestess Xun Ci. I just received the answer this morning. The letter sounded promising though it didn’t really state anything definite. You used to tell me that you and your master were like a daughter-mother to each other. So, I am certain that she’s still quite fond of you in spite of her past anger. Maybe you and our two sons should visit Emei in persons. Surely, she won’t refuse the audience of her most favorite apprentice whom she had raised since young.”

Ah Mei paused in the middle of her housework and stared at her husband. She was delighted at the news, but was mixed with fears from old habit. She hesitated, “I… I have always dreamed of the day that Master would forgive me and Ah Lan. And I would be very happy to see everyone at Emei again, but do you think…?”

Zhang Tin hugged his wife affectionately. He assured her with confidence, “Don’t worry, dear Xiao Mei. After all, the respectable master of the upright sect like Emei would hardly lift a hand against a pregnant woman and innocent children. I’ll escort you and the kids to Emei myself and wait outside. I’d have loved to present myself to your master too, except that she might not take it that far. Anyway, that’s all right. I’ll just wait till the right time. It’s best to take one step at a time.”

Ah Mei was filled with tears. She thanked her husband gratefully, “Thank you, Ah Tin. You are always an understanding person. I’ll prepare for the trip right away.” She merrily started planning for an important journey.

Zhang Tin glanced lazily at his wife and thought aloud, “Too bad second senior brother Di and your junior sister Ah Lan are not here for this good news. Although Brother Di is my senior martial brother, he has no Kung Fu and just a common scholar. He is also a gentleman, who has never committed any bad deeds. I’m sure your master will take to him immediately. Hmm, I wonder where they are now?”

Ah Mei came out from her mirth. She considered the matter for a moment before revealing a secret, “Oh! I am just so happy that I almost forget about Ah Lan. Actually, I know where she and Di An are. Last year, when you took me up north, I happened to come across her and the children at a market in town. That day we exchanged our stories to each other. She seemed happy though looked as if she had a hard life. So, I invited her and the family to come and live with us, but she refused. Moreover, she made me promise not to tell anyone about her, but I know that I can trust you, Ah Tin.”

She continued dreamily, “Surely, you can arrange to have your master, Wang Shan, forgive Brother Di too. Without a fear of their masters, they can return to city for a better life. Brother Di then can give up being a farmer so that he can pursue the study for his future career.”

Zhang Tin beamed at his wife, “No problem at all. I am glad to hear they are all right. Despite what everyone thinks, Master has always been kind to us brothers. Second senior brother Di is just an overly anxious person. He also tends to take things too serious at times. That’s because he refused to learn martial arts to protect himself. You know, I felt a little apprehensive about Master too when we first married, but I trusted in him. I have always believed that he truly cares about me, and I was right, wasn’t I?”

Ah Lan just laughed contentedly. She was glad that things were looking up. Everything had turned out for the best. ‘Tomorrow, we will visit Ah Lan and ask her to join us for the trip. I am sure that she will be as pleased as I am. Then, we will take off for Emei. Oh, we will have to select a nice present for Master too. She is such an exact person for etiquette.’ She was deep in her thought.

That night, she was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. At length, she woke up in the dark to find that Zhang Tin was gone. Curious, she walked softly to the writing room, thinking that he might be there, and she was right. A shadow of Zhang Tin could be seen through papered windows in the dim of candlelight. Wanting to surprise him, she moved stealthily to the closed door. At that moment, another shadow stepped out from the dark corner of the room. She recognized the figure as an old crippled servant of theirs, Lao Fu. To her astonishment, Zhang Tin bowed respectfully to the old man and reported with hushed voice, “Everything has gone according to your plan, Master. What’s more, I obtained the location of the second senior brother Di from Ah Mei. According to her, he and her junior sister live at the edge of a forest in the north. We will make a stop there before going to Emei. What shall I do?”

The old man laughed gleefully. “Ha-ha. Di An thought he could get away from me forever, but he will realize how wrong he was. Hmm, I want you to detain your wife for a few days. Then you’ll travel ahead to his house and see whether he’ll follow our plan or not. If he hasn’t changed, he will say no to us. But I hope for his family’s sakes that he will say yes. Well, you know what to do if he won’t.” He ended with sinister tone.

Zhang Tin was somehow reluctant. He protested dismally, “But, Master… I thought that second senior brother Di has always been your favorite among us three. Of course, he won’t let you down. I…, uh, actually, I am concerned about my wife. She is very persistent, and she might not want to go to Emei without her junior sister.”

His master glowered, “What’s the matter with you, Ah Tin? Marriage has made you soft. Yes, it’s true that I do regard Ah An as a son, but I cannot allow him to get in my way of success. Ah Tin, you know full well how long I have been coveting Emei’s ‘the Book of Four’. And how many years have I been seeking a way to obtain it? But Old Xun Ci is a very cautious person; thus she guards the secret well. At last, luck was on my side! Her two most favorite apprentices fell in love with my two boys. Hmm, it’s a blessing to have such two handsome disciples. Ha-ha.”

The old man continued with glinted eyes, “And Ah An chose to betray me for a mere stupid girl. He would have had everything like you if only he would have let me use him.” He shook his head resignedly. “Oh, well. He just never learns what’s good for him. About your wife, tell her to go ahead to Emei while you stay behind to look for her junior sister. She trusts you, and she’ll do what you tell her. Don’t forget, Ah Tin, the time that I reach my goal is the time that you become the leader of the pugilistic world, and is also the time that your ‘Love Palace’ be known as the headquarters of all sects.

More discussion of the ‘plan’ was going on, but Ah Mei heard no more of it. Her world had been turned upside down from that moment. She bit her lips till they bled to prevent her moaning aloud. Tears rolled down her cheeks, which had gone pale, as she retreated in silence to the bedchamber of hers and Zhang Tin’s. The first thing that came to her mind was Ah Lan’s safety. ‘I have to warn her’, she whispered dazedly to herself.

Moving quietly but quickly, she changed into outdoor clothes, pocketed some money, and left the house by the back door. Afraid that Zhang Tin might have found out she had gone and that he might be chasing after her at this moment, she traveled all night without any rest. In the morning, she stopped at a village to buy a fast horse and some food. From there, she sped northwards through villages and towns for two days and two nights – stopping only for a change of fresh horse – till she reached the destiny in an early hour of the third morning.

[Goofy]

Ah Lan exclaimed with surprise when Di An brought the unconscious Ah Mei inside the hut. Di An explained to his wife while putting the pregnant woman down on their straw bed. “I found her clinging on a running horse not far from our house. The horse looked so deadbeat as if it had been running all day and all night. As soon as I caught up with her, she let go the rein and fainted right away. I think she’s just too tired. Let her rest for a while, and she will come to in no time.”

Without delay, Ah Lan fetched a basin of warm water and proceeded to wash grimes of mud and dust off her senior sister with great care. After that, she gently changed Ah Mei into fresh clothes. There was then nothing else to do but wait patiently.

Late in that afternoon, Ah Mei woke up and for a second thought she just only had a nightmare. She half-expected to hear cheerful noise from her sons and to be enwrapped in loving eyes of her husband. Alas, she sadly realized that her delightful dreams had vanished forever. Panics suddenly seized her, and she cried out to the couple with alarm, “Ah Lan, Di An! You and the children have to leave here immediately! Ah Tin is coming, and his master told him to... to kill you all if Di An wouldn’t follow his evil plan.”

She moaned with despairs, “Oh! How stupid I have been! I have loved him with all my heart in order to live with deceptions all these years.” She grasped Di An’s arm and implored him, “Hurry! He could be here in any minute. Even us three won’t be able to defeat him. I... I’ve been teaching him all martial arts of Emei. Go now, o... ou...ouch!”

Ah Mei shrieked from pain. Without warning, her labor had begun – a baby was about to be born.

With strange calmness, Ah Lan firmly insisted that Di An escaped with the boys while she stayed behind to help Ah Mei with birth. She reasoned, “Zhang Tin’s main target is you. And if he loves his wife but a little, he won’t forsake her in the time like this.”

Unable to talk his wife out of her plan, Di An hastily took off with his sons into the wood. There, he hid them in a thick bush and ordered them not to come out no matter what would happen. Then, he quickly returned to their home to find that Zhang Tin had already arrived. His junior brother was hovering over Ah Mei, who was lying unconscious. About three feet away, he spotted a body of Ah Lan sprawling on the ground – dead with her eyes wide open. Black blood was gushing out from her stomach where a short knife had been lodged.

Stunned with shock, for a moment he just stood there not knowing what to do. It seemed as if his left arm had been torn brutally from his body, and his heart had been split into two halves. First he was just numbed with grief then next minute he was overwhelmed with rage. ‘Lan Lan’, he shouted. Unable to think clearly anymore, he just grabbed the nearest weapon – a wood cutting ax – and launched at Zhang Tin with all his worth.

Zhang Tin did not anticipate that his second senior brother would know any Kung Fu; therefore, he was not prepared for this attack. What’s more, he was fully concentrating on trying to revive his wife. As a result, he received a deep gash in his arm from Di An before he could manage to evade the following strike.
Luckily that though each move in itself was powerful and lethal, Di An was still lack in practice and in an inner strength area to execute it so effectively. Consequently, Zhang Tin was able to block the ferocious blows with his flute. Nonetheless, his cut was by now bleeding profusely. As Di An relentlessly continued his attacks, Zhang Tin felt weaker and weaker from lost of blood till he could barely escape each strike from his martial brother.

Sweating with fear, he tried to talk himself out of his slaughter while dodging the coming ax. “Brother Di, I didn’t mean to kill your wife. It was just an accident. Please, I am not here to harm you. I just want to discuss Master’s plan with you in peace. Master has forgiven you, and he is very much concerned about you. He misses you too. Second senior brother, please listen. If you join in our plan, you will have everything you want – a high-ranked official position, forever wealth, or even more beautiful women than Ah Lan.” While chatting, he reached in his pockets for poisoned darts, ready to throw them at his senior brother at the first chance.

In spite of Zhang Tin’s plea, Di An turned deaf ears to those comforting words. He kept hacking and chopping at his junior brother with such ferocity that his hut and trees in the area were soon demolished. However, soon his wrath was lessened, and his strength powered by anger gradually receded. In place, sorrows just flooded into his heart till he trembled uncontrollably. All of a sudden, he threw the ax away and ran over to the body of Ah Lan. He kneeled down and held her tightly, repeatedly calling her name. “Lan Lan, Lan Lan, Lan Lan.”

Seeing this good opportunity, Zhang Tin immediately cast his projectiles, aiming at Di An’s back. ‘Clank’, a long sword was thrown to intercept the darts, sending them all to the ground.

Zhang Tin looked around and saw a middle age man with a broken leg and black mustache, dressed in a servant uniform. His panic was gone, instead he was much relieved. He staggered forward and greeted his master politely. At the same time, he was thinking to himself. ‘So, Master must have been following me all these times. Because I had begged him for second senior brother’s life earlier, he was afraid that I would let brother Di and his family escape. In fact, he didn’t really trust me at all.’

Outwardly, he kept a straight face and merely reported the past happenings. “When I arrived here, brother Di was gone. I was trying to question Ah Lan, but was being attacked by her instead. We fought for a while. At the end, I accidentally stabbed her with my knife, and she fell dead. At that point, brother Di came upon us. He in turn tried to kill me with an ax. Luckily, Master is here in time to protect me.”

Knowing that Wang Shan was full of ego, Zhang Tin deliberately twisted the story to suit his teacher’s temperament. In reality, he arrived at the hut and saw only Ah Mei on the bed. At first, he was trying to question her of the whereabouts of Di family with his usual sweet words. Then when he realized that she had known all of his secrets and that she refused to cooperate with him, he became so furious that he tried to choke her without thinking. At that time, Ah Lan walked in the room, carrying a bowl of medicine that she had just brewed. Quickly, she went into her senior sister’s defense. However, Zhang Tin was more skilled than she was. In couple moves, he was able to kill her with no trouble.

Evil Sword Wang Shan only nodded tersely. Unexpected, he sent a ray of inner strength through his left index finger to Zhang Tin’s lumbar area thus rendered him onto the ground, unable to move. Wang Shan then strode past his third disciple and stopped in front of Di An, who was still hugging the corpse of Ah Lan. Gently, he patted his second martial student while expressed his condolences. “An, your wife is already dead. You cannot change her fate now. Ah Tin was such a hot-tempered boy. He killed your wife, and I will sure punish him for this crime. Ah An, please come back to me. I’ll help you to start a new life. I won’t make you do anything that you don’t want to anymore.”

Di An was snapped back to life. He looked up at his teacher with red eyes, unable to speak for this generous offer. At last, he uttered questions to his master. “I don’t even have to take government examination? What about your plan of having me taking over the emperor court then? Are you really giving up everything now?”

‘Evil Sword’ beamed at Di An and confirmed his own statement. “That’s true, Ah An. I realized now that I have put too much pressure on you in the past.” He sighed and asked his second apprentice in tender tone, “Tell me, have I always be good to you? Haven’t I always let you have your own ways? Did you remember that because you didn’t want to learn martial arts, so I made you a scholar instead? Nine years ago, you refused to go to the capital for examination. Did I punish you or scold you at all? I didn’t, did I? Believe me, Ah An. I love you like a son and will always do everything for your best interest.”

Dazed, Di An replied hoarsely, “Master has always been good to me. You never make me kill or harm anyone. When I didn’t want to learn sword skill, you taught me light Kung Fu instead for my protection. You have raised me since young, and you would always be like a father to me.”

Wang Shan was pleased, and he nodded approvingly to Di An. “That’s my Di An. Now, we will bury your wife and be on our way.” He paused a little before inquiring his third disciple unconcernedly. “Ah An, I just saw your using an ax fighting with Ah Tin so well. Where did you happen to learn those moves from?”

Di An answered, “From a saber manual” before clamping his lips in time. In a hurry, Evil Sword forgot himself. “Is it the saber manual of Master Yue? Where is it now?” His eyes gleamed greedily.

However, his second disciple just kept mum. Impatiently, he continued the query in harsher tone. Still received no answer, he fell back to nice words again. However, all his efforts were now lost. Getting more and more annoyed, he simply held a palm over his disciple’s head and demanded for the last time for the location of the manual.

The minute that Di An let the words slipped from his mouth, he knew distinctively why Master had changed the attitude so quickly. In those years that he had been raised by Wang Shan, he and his martial brothers had heard countless times of their master’s recounts of any other sect’s martial arts. He could now remember fire of desire in Master’s eyes when mentioning Master Yue’s saber stances or Emei’s ‘the Book of Four’.

Regret at his folly mouth, he determined to protect the precious manual from the hands of Evil Sword at all cost. Then he reminded himself with relief that at least his two sons and the manual now were safe, so he just kept his mouth shut and resigned to his death.

Meanwhile, a small body was coming out of its mother’s womb and fell down from the bed. Its face was in bluish hue from lack of air. Turned out that it was wrapped so tightly by placenta that it could no longer breath.

Ah Mei woke up from pain in her lower abdomen. She sat up and detected the blood on her legs and her dress. Her hands went to touch her belly and found it flat. Panic, she looked around and found a newborn baby huddled on the dirt floor. Quickly, she reached for her child and bit off its umbilical cord. The baby’s body felt cold, and Ah Mei brought it to her breasts for some warmth. Only then that she saw that it had been death for a while now. She immediately dropped the baby and screamed, but no sound was coming out. Turned out that she had such a shock that her mind went blank for a time being. After a short while, she stood up shakily and wandered off without aim. On her way, she stumbled over the body of Ah Lan and fell down. Tears welled up in her eyes as she witnessed another death. Then her eyes caught on the fatal knife, and she recognized it as Zhang Tin’s property. Shudders ran through her as her heart was yet again torn in pieces. Before she knew, her right hand had pulled the short knife from Ah Lan’s body, while her left hand slid gently over Ah Mei’s eyes to close their lids.

With a new purpose in mind, Ah Mei staggered to where her husband was. Step by step, she came closer to him with an insane look in her eyes.

Zhang Tin was terrified at the sight of his wife holding a bloody knife, walking unsteady in his direction. Her once sweet and angelic face was now twisted and contorted with a blank expression. Her clothes were filthy from dirt and bloodstains. He shouted her name but got no response. Closer and closer she approached. He was further scared out of his wits when he caught a glimpse of metal glint of his own knife in the evening dusk. Being a coward who never liked to fight in open, he always dipped all his weapons in deadly poisons to insure his victory for every battle.

Now very much afraid, Zhang Tin turned to appeal help from his master. At the same time, he kept calling his wife, hoping to summon her back to sanity, but with no success. Pathetically, he stretched there on the dusty earth, alternatively yelling for his master on one minute and begging his wife to stop advancing on the next minute.

In the meantime, the two boys were getting very anxious about their parents. The eldest son was the most impatient one, so he finally told his brother to remain hidden while he would go back and investigated. Heedless of the other boy’s protest signs, he sprinted out of the wood, heading for their hut.

The lad was a fast runner. Always interesting in learning Kung Fu, he had picked up a technique of Qing-Gong (light martial art) from his father since he was four years old. Pretty soon, he arrived at the forest edge and approached cautiously from tree to tree to the clearing where his house had once stood. There, he met so unpredictable scenes that he gasped out loud and involuntarily stepped out of his hiding into everyone’s full view.

Di An turned his head at the familiar voice and went pale for fear of his son’s life. At that moment, Wang Shan brought his right palm down onto his second disciple’s forehead, while flicking his left shirtsleeve in the direction of Zhang Tin and Ah Mei. Inner energy from the shirtsleeve released Zhang Tin from his paralyzation and knocked the weapon off from Ah Mei’s hand. In the next second, Zhang Tin sent out his palm toward his wife and hit her squarely on the chest, killing her instantly. At the same time, the boy dashed in to help his father, but was bounced back from high-energy force that circled Di An and the crippled man, crashed through trees, and landed in a bush.

The last thing the boy witnessed was the sight of his father collapsing with brains gushing out from the crack. “Dad”, he mumbled before spewing out blood. Then he passed out.

Everything had happened simultaneously within a space of seconds. The time seemed to stop as silence reigned over this tragic picture. The moon was rising high, and the night was without stars.

In a hurry, Zhang Tin and his master left upon searching through Di An and his wife’s bodies without finding any trace of the secret saber manual. The reason of their hasty departure was due to sound of an eagle call from afar. In another ten minutes, an eagle call drew nearer. Shortly after, an old man with long white beard appeared. On his shoulder stood a huge white eagle, who was shuffling its feet impatiently.

The old man sighed morosely at the horrific scene. He scolded himself, “Ding Wan, you came too late again. This has to be stop. You can’t let the love for your own son destroyed any more of innocence life.” He shook his head with determination and started a task of burying the deaths.


After collecting the bodies together, he buried them separately and placed a blank wooden plank above each grave. Meanwhile his eagle had flown off to scout for preys. When the job was done, he was about to call for the bird when he heard a groan coming from a nearby bush. Inside a thick shrub, lay a young boy about the age of seven. The old man checked the lad’s pulse and inspected his body then concluded that he had broken ribs and suffered from internal injuries.

“Humph, he must have got caught in a powerful energy web and was hurled into this bush. And he must be a child of one of these dead people’s. I should take him to somewhere quiet and heal him before letting him see this unhealthy sight.

While whistling for his bird, he picked up the boy, who had briefly gained consciousness and at once fainted again from pain. With the white eagle on his shoulder and the young lad in his arms, the old man leaped to the air and was gone like the wind.

The place was again under a spell of stillness. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and covered the shining moon. Soon, raindrops were heard as if the heaven was shedding tears for these innocent victims.

-------------------
Thanks for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing...

[charbydis]

How tragic! But I don't understand why Zhang Tin killed his wife? He could have just pushed her away. Why kill her? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

self-preservation? accident? I guess he was afraid that she would give his plan away.

I would like to have her live too, but Zhang Tin was such a roach. He is <IMG SRC="smilies/devil.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/angrystick.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

Is this a tragic story or a happy story?

[Goofy]

Well, someone will be happy, but not all.

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 9
Kindred Spirits

Characters list (not in particular order):
Medicine Man ............. Chun Wong
Dragon Lady .............. Helena Law Lan

The young boy in the bush was waiting patiently for his elder brother. From time to time, he would listen intently for any familiar footsteps but only heard occasionally bird calls and twig snaps. The night was approaching. The moon was shining bright then it was consumed by dark cloud. Soon, it began to rain heavily. Huddled under a thick shrub, the little boy was kept dry from the storm. Outside now was totally dark, but this did not bother him. Many a time, he wandered to this wood – looking for injured animals that he could help or listening to flowers blooming or simply listening at bird songs. Tired and hungry, he fell asleep at last under the green canopy.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already daytime. The rain had long stopped, and the ground was no longer wet. He came out of his shelter and breathed in fresh air. The sun was now high above his head, indicating that it was almost noon. He looked around but didn’t see any of his parents or his brother yet. Feeling a little apprehensive and very hungry, he started walking back to his home.

Without the light Kung Fu that his brother processed, it took him almost all afternoon to reach his house. However, he could find nobody there. The hut was destroyed into pieces, and in place were four fresh dug graves with blank wooden planks on top. The boy’s heart skipped many beats then he ran to the graves and used a stick to dig for the bodies. Furiously he worked – forgetting all his hunger and weariness.

Finally, he was able to see faces of his parents, of Aunt Mei, and of a newborn baby looking up to him from their new home. After that, the world turned black…

The midnight dew woke him up to a sad truth. He had become an orphan. Confused, he got up and mechanically started piling dirt back to the graves again. From the pale moonlight, he used a piece of sharp rock to etch the names of his parents on the wood strips. For Aunt Mei, he drew a flower for her name and for the unknown baby, he drew a picture of a bird – hoping that by giving it wings, it could ascend to the heaven. This task occupied him for quite a long time as he had only learned how to write not so long ago.

It was already late in the morning when he was done with his engraving. He replaced the wood strips on the respective graves and bowed to them politely. All the while, tears were flowing down his chubby cheeks that now were covered with dirt.

After a short nap, he sat down and thought things over carefully. Though young, he was an intelligent boy and had a logical mind. Since he hadn’t found the body of his elder sibling, he concluded that his brother must have had left for somewhere. But where? Then he remembered the sad gentleman from many years ago. His father always mentioned the man as the hero from the southern region. The leather parchment that he had with him now was also from that gentleman. ‘Maybe he came back and took elder brother with him.’ The small boy thought. ‘If I follow them in the southern direction, I might catch up with them.’

After he had made the decision, he lost no time in starting his journey. Not exactly sure where the south was for he knew only east and west. So, he just followed the afternoon sun toward the west, hoping that someone would be able to point out the right direction to him. On the way, he survived by eating fruits that were plenty in the wood. At night, he would crawl under a bush, using its green roof for his protection from wind and rain.

After three days, he entered a village. There, he tried to communicate with villagers with no avail since he was mute, and nobody there could read. In addition, some big boys took to throwing stones at a new ‘dumb’ boy. Before long, he had to run for his life out to a wood. That night he nursed his cuts from stones alone in a small cave. He heard wild animals calling each other for night hunting, but was not scared. He somehow felt safer here among animals than in amid of men.

By now he had lost the hope of catching up with his brother but still determined to find the sad gentleman from the south for he concluded, ‘Even I couldn’t catch up with them now, surely they would be there – waiting for me.’

After that unfortunate experience with other kids, he no longer dared to find out the right direction from anyone. He simply set the sun as his leading course and continued traveling westward everyday. Also, every time he entered a town or a village, he just went on hurriedly, trying not to draw any attention to himself.

After two weeks, he arrived at a bustling town. As usual, he focused on just passing through. But, near the town’s gate, he fell over a body in rags lolling in a middle of the street. The poor beggar had cuts and bruises all over – more like an injured animal than a wounded man. Evidently this tramp suffered the same cruel treatment as he did. Pity welled up in the boy’s heart as he helped the ragged man up. Slowly he led the vagabond out of the town into a nearby wooded area. There he found a running stream, where they stopped to rest. Then the boy ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt and tried his best to clean wounds and dirt from the beggar’s hands and faces. To his astonishment, the beggar man turned out a woman – not much older than his mother.

The woman, once clean, showed a kind and gentle face. Though her face was sunburned and full of scars, he could see its prettiness and sweetness shining between lines of wrinkles. He regarded her quietly with compassion, and she stared into his big brown eyes curiously. Slowly, she smiled. Then she reached for his hands and put her face on them, cooing gently. Thus began the relationship between the two lost souls.

As soon as the woman touched him, the boy knew immediately that she was his kindred spirits. Aside from his family and the sad gentleman, he had never felt this close to anyone else before. He touched her shoulders tenderly and smiled with happiness.

Hence the two new friends braved a journey together. As time went on, they developed a new system of communication. One day, the boy discovered that the woman knew letters. So, he wrote the letter ‘south’ on the sand with a stick. “South”, she read. He nodded and pointed his stick forward then pointed back at the letter ‘south’ again. The woman nodded and repeated, “south”. She stood up and led him southwards.

From then on, they walked as one. The woman was the compass in the daytime, and the boy was the guide during the night. Though still in rags, she was constantly kept clean and presentable by him. He in turn received less teasing from other children when she accompanied him. Outwardly, they looked just like a mother and a son on an errand.

Not only that they seemed to understand each other well without any direct communication, but they also shared a passion for natures. They both loved animals and admired flowers. During their walks in the wood, they would look out for edible fruit or wild fragrance flowers or small frolicked animals. With the woman as his companion, the boy felt less lost and was less sad whenever he thought of his parents. As for the woman, her beauty showed more and more every day. Her lines of wrinkles gradually disappeared as a new joy had entered her heart. It seemed as if this young friend of hers had unlocked a door of long-gone merry memory and filled its chest of dark sorrow with his happy childhood.

All summer and all autumn they relied on each other. Leaves were changing from green to red to yellow then to brown. Days became shorter, night were colder. Flowers were now long gone, many animals prepared for long sleeps, and food in forest was harder to find. Soon, the winter would be coming.

One day, the pair came upon a dense forest with thick aroma of herbs. Contrast to the season, the air was warm and rich of flower fragrance. Rare plants and unique birds and butterflies were seen everywhere. Glad of this heaven-like display, the two took a rest under a big oak tree. As usual, the boy took off to find water and food. Ripen fruits full of sweet juice were abundant in this forest. Happily, he picked the largest ones and put them aside for his friend before munching the rest to his heart content. Nearby, he heard a pure spring with sparkling water singing merrily. He tasted the water and found it very refreshing. So, he scooped some into a lotus leave-cup and headed back to his friend.

There sitting on an oak branch, the woman was listening solemnly to a young girl about 11-12 years old. The girl’s whole attire was in purple. She had a lively face with deep dimples and mischievous eyes. When she heard his footsteps, she stopped chatting and turned to inspect him with interest. The two youngsters gazed at each other for a while. Then the girl broke the silence, “Hi, how are you doing?” She gave him a friendly grin.

The boy smiled shyly back, and immediately hid behind his friend. He remained there during the woman’s whole meal. When she finished eating, the young girl, who had been waiting patiently, ordered, “Follow me.” As if in trance, the two friends obediently walked after her. Soon, they entered a grove of bamboo trees. From the bamboo forest, came a garden of cherry blossom trees. From there, she led them through a small trail cleverly hidden among numerous flower plants. At long last, she paused and pointed to three reed cottages standing in a row on a clearing ahead. “This is my house.”

Without further delay, she skipped briskly to one of the leftmost cottage. “Grandpa”, she knocked at the door. Next, she went over to the rightmost cottage and called, “Grandma”. She came to stop in front of the middle cottage, which was the smallest one, and shouted with clear voice, “Grandpa, Grandma. Come out quick. I’ve brought you presents.”

Two doors opened, and two people came out – an old man from the left building, and an old woman from the right building. Each had a mask on, leaving only a pair of eyes that were scrutinizing the two strangers cautiously. The old woman spoke first to her granddaughter – half-scolded, half-lovingly, “Ru Yu, didn’t I tell you not to go wandering outside alone? What if you get hurt or lost?”

The old man jumped to his granddaughter’s excuse. “Eh! Wife, you worried too much. Who would dare to harm the granddaughter of Medicine Man and Dragon Lady? Besides, she knows this forest like a back of her hand – LOST indeed!”

His wife threw a daggered eyes at him, but before she could start any quarrel, the young girl, who was called Ru Yu, intervened. “Sorry, Grandma.” She smiled sweetly at her grandmother. Then she pointed at the two newcomers, “Look, I brought you two new apprentices. Then you won’t have to fight over me any more.”

Her grandmother grunted, “Hmm, a scrawny boy and a woman in rags – they are not much of apprentice materials, are they?

As usual, the grandfather disagreed, “You’re wrong about the boy, Wife. Scrawny he maybe, but he looks very intelligent. I can see from his eyes that he has a healer soul. Ha-ha, he would be a good choice indeed. Good work, dear granddaughter.” He turned to praise the young girl with love.

The young girl nodded proudly. She boasted, “He-he, I also know that the lady here has some poison in her system. I noticed it from her hair root.”

This time it was the grandmother who applauded her granddaughter, “Very good, very perceptive of you. Little granddaughter, you just take after me.” Then, within a blink of an eye, she appeared in front of the woman in rags, pulled a thread of her hair, and returned to the previous post. The young girl named Ru Yu was delighted. She clapped her hands and acclaimed with admiration, “Grandma, your light Kung Fu is very impressive.”

The old man snorted at his wife’s showing off, but she pretended not to notice him. She inspected the hair thread for a moment then announced triumphantly, “Ha, not only that I know that she has been poisoned at the age of thirteen, but I also know what type of poison that was and its effect and the cure for it.”

Her granddaughter widened her round eyes with awe. “Wow! Grandma, you are so good. But...” She continued with a little doubt, “The poison would have done the damage to her by now. How will you counteract that?”

The old woman puffed herself proudly. She showed the woman’s hair to her granddaughter, while explained, “Ru Yu, look at this piece of hair. The poison had not yet reached the end of its root. That means she only suffered from temporary damage. Good thing that she had come to me in time, otherwise she would not have lived beyond the age of forty. Remember, once the poison is known, it is not hard to find a way to counter it.”

Her husband couldn’t resist any longer. He cut in, “Oh! Why didn’t you just confess that you recognized it as your own poison, which YOUR faithful servant had stolen eleven years ago?” He smiled thinly.

His wife turned pink. She admonished him, while eyeing him with displeasure. “No need to be so sarcastic, old pot of medicine. On this matter, you’re to be blamed as much as I am. After all, YOU were the one who has started ‘the fight’.”, she stressed.

Ru Yu was curious. She pulled her grandmother’s shirtsleeve and asked inquisitively, “Who stole the poison, Grandma? And why did Grandpa start the fight with you? Will you tell me the story?”

The grandmother tried to dismiss it as a mere incident, “Oh, just an evil servant of mine wanted to make money from stealing my deadly poison. He must have sold some of them to the person who had poisoned this poor girl.”

But her granddaughter wouldn’t let her off that easily. She protested, “But you and Grandpa had high martial arts. How come you two didn’t go after him and punish him for his crime?”

The old woman only murmured evasively, “Well, it’s because...because he had already died by the time we caught up with him.”

Ru Yu digested the information thoughtfully, “Already died? Hmm, I wonder how did he die. Was he killed by someone, Grandma? And how about the fight between you and Grandpa? And what did my mother do?” She remembered that she herself often had to stop her grandparents from fighting each other.

The Dragon Lady was despaired at her granddaughter persistent questions. She cast an indignant glance at her husband, the Medicine Man. “Old man, why don’t you answer these questions since you’re the one who brought them up?”

The Medicine Man had no choice but to reply his dear granddaughter, “He was killed by another bad man, doubtless for your grandmother’s poison collection. We arrived there too late, and found no one except the dead body of our servant. As for our fight...” He shifted his feet uncomfortably, “Ugh... It was just a misunderstanding. You were only an infant, and we both were trying to claim you as our own. Who would think that the trusted servant of ours would take this opportunity and...and betrayed us? He heaved a sign.

“Where was my mother then?” She would not let the matter rest.

The old man struggled with answer, while his wife threw him a warning look. “Humph, in fact...in fact your mother was no longer in this world. You were barely a year old then. That’s all for the story.” He abruptly changed the subject by turning to their two visitors. “Boy”, he called. “What’s your name?”

The two friends had been watching the old couple’s bickering with interest. It was evident that this pair of elders doted on their granddaughter, yet they seemed to disagree with each other on any other matters. Adding to their oddity – as the boy would soon discover – they always covered their faces with masks or scarves whenever they had to see each other. By now, the boy had overcome his shyness. He stepped forward when he was called and began signing to the old man that he couldn’t speak.

Medicine Man nodded. He looked at the youth kindly. “So you can’t speak, eh? Don’t worry. I’ll make you talk yourself away before you know it. Even before my wife here could heal this young lady.” He turned and dared his wife.

What else could she have said except accepting this challenge?

Meanwhile, Ru Yu was approaching the woman, who was staring at a butterfly frisking around a blooming flower with dreamy eyes. “Big Sister,” She called. “What is your name?”

The woman startled. She stammered – she was not used to talking either, “Pe...people call me ‘Mad Hag’.” She smiled innocently.

The boy was tracing his name on the ground for the old man. ‘Di Bao’, he wrote.

The old man’s eyes twinkled with hilarity. “Ha-ha. Ha-ha. Di Bao and Ru Yu – waterfall and rain. Very suitable. Well, let’s call this young lady ‘Lu Lu’ (meaning dew). Then we’ll never have any water shortage” The two elders found the idea funny, but their granddaughter frowned at their childishness.

“You two are like children.” She pouted though she was secretly glad that they forgot their quarrel for once.

Di Bao was trying to tell these kind people that they must leave for the south through writing and signing, but the Medicine Man paid no attention. “You should stay here while my wife was curing your friend. And in the meantime, I’ll see to your talking.”

The boy gazed up at his friend, who was repeating her new name like a child with a new toy, and contemplated, ‘Big sister will die if she doesn’t get healed in time. I should stay her with her. Elder brother will understand.’ He made a decision and nodded in agreement to his hosts.

Ru Yu was very happy. She jumped up and down with joy. She shouted, “Now, I’ve gained two junior apprentices in one day. I’m the senior sister now.” She announced cheekily.

Di Bao had no problem with that, and neither had his companion. Lu Lu didn’t understand what was going on. She was just contented at being with her young friend.

Hence, they began their apprenticeships under the Medicine God and the Dragon Lady in the Medicine Forest.

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Thanks for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing

[charbydis]

Goofy: What happened next? I am dying to know! <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">