Legend of the Sword and Saber - by Gigi

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 10
Teacher and Student

Characters list (not in particular order):
Zhang Tin .............. Eddie Cheng Siu Fai
Wang Shan .............. Wong Wai
Tian Fei ............... Adam Cheng Siu Chow
Sword God .............. Bau Fong

Zhang Tin was having the same nightmare again. For the past three nights, he had dreamed that Ah Mei was calling for him from the World of Death. Since the night that he had killed her, he had been unable to close his eyes without seeing her face follow him everywhere with hurt and disappointment. He had wakened many times during those nights, sweating with fear of her ghost. Consequently, he had hardly got enough sleep. To make the matter worse, he had been obliged to follow his master in helter-skelter with barely any rest during daytime. This physical exhaustion coupled with his ax wound, which had become very serious by this time, finally took toll on him. He was now confined in bed with high fever. There at a remote inn, he had tossed and turned for three days and three nights, sometimes calling for his dear wife and sometimes cursing her for causing him nightmares.

Evil Sword Wang Shan also had a trouble of his own. Back at Di An’s house, he was aware of Sword God Ding Wan’s approaching by a sign – a call of an eagle. Afraid to face his former teacher, he had left in a rush. From then on, he had been traveling with haste, anxious to put distance between them as much as possible. For that reason, he was further agitated when his third disciple fell sick and was in no condition to continue the journey. Without a second thought, he wrote a note and gave it to the inn owner with plenty of money and some instructions and was gone in a flash.

In the third afternoon, when Zhang Tin came around, he was given the note from Wang Shan bidding him to be on the road with no delay. After reading the note, he ripped it into shreds. He was furious at his master for forsaking him in his illness, yet didn’t dare to disobey the order. Feeling depressed, frustrated, and lonely, he ordered a big calabash of wine and drank it up in no time. The wine made him brave, and before long, he started calling his master with rude names. Feeling a lot better now, he kept ordering more and more wine and went on drinking all afternoon. The more drunk he was, the more rampant he became. Aside from swearing at Wang Shan, he took to challenge all ghosts of his past victims. At long last, the innkeeper, white-faced and trembling with fear, informed him with shaky voice that there was no more wine left. Upon hearing that, Zhang Tin snatched the inn owner’s neck and threw him clear across the room. The innkeeper was flung through balcony and down to the ground floor; he died instantly. His wife, who had been cooking in a kitchen, ran out at the sound of crashing and was in time to witness his death. Enraged, she went back to the kitchen and emerged with a sharp meat-cutting knife. Intending to revenge for her husband, she ran up the stairs to the second floor where Zhang Tin was hurling tables and chairs about. But before she could even reach him, she was knocked out cold by the flying furniture; her senseless body rolled downstairs and landed heavily at the foot of the steps.

In the kitchen, a frying pan full of cooking oil on the stove was burning. The oil boiled up and spilled out into the stovefire. The room was caught in blaze immediately. Due to a large storage of hay nearby together with a night being windy, the whole place was soon covered in flames.

All the while, Zhang Tin was laughing madly from the effect of alcohol. When he smelled the fire, he swiftly jumped down from the balcony right to the inn’s front door and was about to leave the place when he felt something was biting hard at his left ankle. He looked down and discovered that ‘something’ was a girl of six years old, who was wrapping herself around his feet – not letting go. This girl was a daughter of the deceased inn owner. She was fetching some wood for her mother when she came in the inn and beheld the whole incident. So, when she saw that the culprit was about to run away from his crime scene, she did the first thing that came to her mind to stop the murderer without thinking of her life.

Annoyed, Zhang Tin yanked the child up and tossed her away when he heard a familiar voice from outside. “Xun Ci Shi Tai, an inn ahead is on fire. There might be people trapped inside; let’s go and help them.” The speaker was at least fifteen feet away from the inn, but his voice was so clear and powerful that it sounded as if he were only a couple feet away.

At once, Zhang Tin became sober as he recognized the voice as that of the Gentleman Sword Tian Fei. He groaned inwardly, ‘Oh, no! Tian Fei and Xun Ci Shi Tai! I’d have no chance to come out alive if they see me here.’ He licked his lips nervously while looking around for another way out. However, the fire by now had consumed more than half of the building and left only the front door as the only exit. With no other option, he stepped outside cautiously. After a few more paces with no sign of his foes, he began to relax. “Yelp!” All of a sudden, he yelled and jumped with fright. Something was grabbing his legs tightly. It was the same girl from the inn who would not yet give up her vengeance.

Zhang Tin breathed out with relief, ‘Oh! It’s just that pesky brat.’ He was about to send her to join with her father in the Land of Darkness when he perceived an idea for the girl’s usefulness. ‘Wait a minute. I should keep this little brat as a hostage in case those people catch up with me. Tian Fei and the Emei priestess are such righteous people that they wouldn’t dare to do anything to me as long as I threaten them with the child’s life.’

With that, he sealed several acupuncture points on the girl’s body – rendering her to become limb. Then he put her on his shoulders and fled from the inferno scene without looking back. After running for a few hours, he had to stop from exhaustion. He dumped the girl down on the ground, sat on a tree root, and was wiping his sweats from his face when someone greeted him, “Martial nephew, why are you in such a hurry? There is an inn back there, where you have just left. How about you and I go back there for a drink?”

When Tian Fei spoke, he was about 20 feet from Zhang Tin. By the time he finished the sentence, he had already appeared in front of Zhang Tin and the girl. Startled but with great presence of mind, Zhang Tin put his dagger on the girl’s neck and threatened Tian Fei hysterically, “Don’t come any nearer! I have a hostage here, and I will kill her the minute you touch me.”

Tian Fei didn’t expect this reply. He originally thought that the girl was Zhang Tin’s daughter, which was why he allowed his former martial nephew to get away this far. He only decided to approach Zhang Tin when he saw that the child seemed to be asleep. However, he kept calm and answered Zhang Tin in peaceful tone, all the while trying to find a way to rescue the poor child, “Why are you getting so excited? After all, I only invite you for a friendly drink. If Master Tian doesn’t want to go back to that inn, we can go find another one in this area.”

Zhang Tin laughed coldly, “Don’t you try to sweet talk me. I know you are going to take me back to that old crone of Emei, but I don’t want to die just yet. Now, I am going to leave with this little girl, and don’t try to follow us if you want this innocence child to remain alive. My dagger has been dipped in deadly poison, and I will not be hesitating to use it.” With that, he got up slowly – one hand was clutching at the girl securely, while the other hand was holding a dagger that was resting against her white throat.

But even before he could have moved another inch further, a ray of energy as light as wind blew past his hands. Instantaneously, both hands went numb, loosing grips of their subjects. Simultaneously, the girl and the dagger were dropped down to the ground. The next second, a gleaming sword was flying around him like a bolt of lightning, covering his body totally with no escaping exit. Zhang Tin whispered with dread, “White Wind Sword Stance”. His body trembled, and his face turned as white as paper.

This White Wind move was one of the most advance sword stances in the manual that Wang Shan had stolen from his teacher, Sword God, several years ago. A practitioner needed to reach at a top level of inner energy before being able to execute this move. Zhang Tin recognized it as the most lethal move that his master, Wang Shan, had ever exhibited against powerful enemies. However, the Evil Sword Wang Shan usually used this move to kill, but Tian Fei only used it as a last resort to rescue the little girl. On top of that, although unbeknownst to Zhang Tin, Tian Fei had just perfected this sword art. Therefore, even though both moves of the two martial brothers were the same, that of Wang Shan’s was definitely far more powerful and more cruelly executed than that of Tian Fei’s.

At that moment, a heavy saber was born down in the middle of the energy net that was generated from the White Wind move. The connection was severed, and Tian Fei was thrown back from the strange force of the saber. His sword gave out a ‘Ring’ sound and shattered into pieces. At the same time, milky white smoke enveloped the area so thickly that by the time the air was clear again, Zhang Tin, the girl, and his mysterious helper were long gone, leaving without any trace.

Tian Fei coughed a few times. He felt a pain in his chest – no doubt from the clash between his own energy and that of the stranger. Suddenly a cry of an eagle drew near, and soon Sword God Ding Wan appeared in front of his student. He took one look at Tian Fei and commented, “Hmm, Yue Guo’s saber is as powerful as they said. Lucky you that its user is not so skilled with martial arts and that he doesn’t have as strong energy as that of yours. Otherwise, you would not have been here alive.” He ordered, “Sit down, I will help neutralize your energy.”

Tian Fei bowed to his teacher obediently. Then he sat crossed-leg and began his meditation to retrieve his inner energy. Sword God also sat down and started transferring his energy into his student’s body. After a while, Tian Fei felt much better. He opened his eyes to see that Sword God was walking away.

“Teacher,” he called, suddenly felt very lonely. “Why are you leaving so soon? When will I get to see you again?”

Sword God turned around and looked at his second martial student with kindness. “Fei, I have to go. I have paid what I had owed. Now, it’s time to reflect of my past sins and make peace with myself. Don’t try to look for me. If it’s fated that we will see each other again, we will meet without doubt. Concentrate on perfecting this White Wind move of yours and tell Tong to keep practicing his Dragon Leashing moves. From now on, you two are to make good of your sword skills in helping others and to carry on the good name of Sword South School.”

“But without Teacher around, I am afraid that the senior martial brother Wang Shan will reappear for sure.” Tian Fei protested. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he realized that he was about to lose another of his love ones.

“Don’t worry. Evil Sword Wang Shan will never cause any troubles again. Take care of yourself, Fei. Say goodbye to Tong for me too.” At the last sentence, Sword God was gone with the sound of the crying eagle.

Tian Fei kneeled down and kowtowed three times to his teacher's receding figure. “Teacher,” he sobbed.

------------
Comments would be appreciated. <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> Thanks for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

<IMG SRC="smilies/beerchug.gif" border="0"> Go Goofy!
I hope Zhang Tin is not going to hurt the girl. She sounds cute. poor Tian Fei, he still hasn't found Yue Ling yet?
And nice descriptions in the fighting scenes.
<IMG SRC="smilies/starwars.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 11
Father and Son

Characters list (not in particular order):
Zhang Tin ............. Eddie Cheng Siu Fai
Wang Shan ............. Wong Wai
Lu Peng ............... Kong Wah
Sword God ............. Bau Fong

The mysterious stranger dropped Zhang Tin and the little girl on a grass field near a riverbank before marching over to the river for a drink. Dazedly, Zhang Tin looked at his rescuer. “Senior martial brother Lu! Thanks goodness that you came in time. Where have you been all these years? Master has been looking for you everywhere…” He exclaimed but was cut off by his senior brother’s sneering. “Master wanted to kill me no doubt, but I guess that he won’t be able to do that anymore.”

Zhang Tin stammered, “What…what do you mean, senior martial brother Lu?”

The man named Lu told his story in cold voice, “Two days ago, I was on my way home after a shopping trip in town when I saw Master running towards me from afar. Naturally, I immediately thought that he had somehow caught up with me. I was about to kneel down and beg him for mercy when I noticed that he didn’t even pay any attention to me. It seemed as if he was fleeing from someone else himself. So, I hid myself quickly behind a bush and waited to see what would happen. At that moment, I heard an eagle’s call, and very soon an old man with flowing white beard appeared. Master, by this time, was leaning against a tree that was next to my bush. He was breathing hard and shaking like a leaf in storm. His right hand gripped a sword so tightly that its knuckles turned white. With a few steps, the old man with white beard easily reached Master, showing that he had very high light kung fu and must have been one of the top martial artists…”

Zhang Tin held his breath. He whispered hoarsely, “Sword God Ding Wan…”

The senior brother nodded; his thin lips almost parted in smile. He continued, “Yes, it was our grand-master, Sword God. Grand-master stopped in front of Master and said, “Shan, I have let you go times after times because of the final words from your deceased mother. She has asked me to spare your life no matter what crime you commit, and I have always been easy on you, hoping every day that you would turn around and start a new life as a good man. But what you did to your third disciple was my last straw. After disappearing from the martial world for so long, why do you have to come back again and kill people just for the mere manual from Emei?” Well, Master answered in a trembling voice, “Father, I know that I was wrong. Please spare me again. I promise that I will be good now.” So, Evil Sword Wang Shan is actually a son of Sword God Ding Wan. From where I stayed, I could see that Master’s left hand was clutching many tiny silver needles, ready to throw at Grand-master when he was not on guard. I remembered them as the most deadly projectiles our master has ever used. However, Grand-master must have known our master very well as he shook his head unbelievingly. It seemed as if he only snapped his fingers when Master suddenly yelled with pain. All the silver needles fell down on the ground, and the hand that held them was quivering from being hit by Grand-master’s inner force. Grand-master then told Master to fight with him. He said that he wanted Master to die bravely in a fair fight…”

Zhang Tin heaved a sign. He thought, ‘So, that’s why Master has been hiding in my house all these years.’ He could not take his eyes off his martial brother, “What happened next?”

“Well, Master had no choice but to charge at his father with all his worth. He used White Wind, Dragon Leashing, Jade Maiden, and many other sword stances that even I have never seen them before. All these moves were powerful and fatal, but Grand-master countered them with the exact same moves, except that he executed them with better speed and more agility. All this while, he had no sword in his hands saved only a thin branch he had just broken from a tree. He merely defended himself throughout 200 moves. Then he called out, “Shan, you have displayed what’re on the stolen manual, and I’ve given these moves back to you as a last gift from father to son. Now, as a teacher, I will punish you with my ‘Evil Vanquish’ move.” Changing into attacking position, he swished the fragile twig swiftly around Master, aiming at each dangerous pressure point. With each strike, Master receded back one step. After 5 moves, he was hit under the armpit at the Ji Quan point. He instantly gave out a cry and dropped his sword to the ground. Turned out that this Ji Quan or Summit Spring point connected to the heart region and caused the temporary paralyze of his upper body. With a final move, Grand-master had the end of the twig rested at the throat of Master.”

After hearing this strange account of the sword fight between father and son – teacher and student – Zhang Tin couldn’t help but felt apprehensive for his master’s life. He guessed, “Master must have begged his father for mercy, right?”

Senior martial brother Lu shook his head slowly. “No. Not only Master didn’t ask for mercy, but he also laughed madly at Grand-master and said, “Father, even you kill me today, the sins of mine will still be with you. After all, you are the one who have paved a sinful path for me since the time you stole Mother from her tribe fifty-five years ago.” Astonishingly, Master’s words seemed to remind his father of the depressing past as Grand-master’s face showed immeasurable sadness. Grand-master lowered his twig and signed, “Son, you are right. In all my life, the only wrong I’ve ever committed was to fall in love with your mother. I have done great injustice to her family. I took her away from a peaceful home and instead gave her a nomad life – even with her consent. Son, you are the only fruit of our forbidden love. I’ve always tried to protect you, and that’s why I’ve never let anyone know of our relationship. I’ve taught you all my martial arts, and I even forgave you for stealing my top sword arts manual. I did love you so, Ah Shan. Now that you burden me with your sins, I have no heart to kill you. But,” he continued, “I cannot allow you to hurt any more innocent lives. In front of your mother’s ghost, I swear that from today, there is no longer Sword God. I’ll enter the World of Dharma to atone for your sins and mine and will not concern myself in any of the pugilistic world’s affairs.” With great precision, he stabbed at four important points on Master’s four limbs – two arms and two legs. Master howled and fainted with pain. Then, without warning, Grand-master leaped lightly over my bush and grabbed me out of my hiding. Happened that he had known all along that I have been hiding there. Lucky for me that he didn’t know my identity. He only thought that I was only a commoner passing by. So, he gave me a big lump of gold and asked me to go get a doctor. When I came back with a doctor, Grand-master was already gone. On Master’s chest was another lump of gold and a blood letter on his shirt asking me to deliver him to you at the Love Palace Sect’s headquarters.”

Both men were silent for a moment. Each pictured the gruesome scene that his master must have experienced. Zhang Tin was the first to speak, “So, Sword God destroyed all of Master’s martial skills.” He looked at his martial brother and asked suspiciously, “Did you kill Master then?”

His martial brother laughed dryly, “Junior brother Zhang, you are too suspicious! Why should I kill Master, now that he is no threat to my life? I merely saved your life because you can have something that I want.”

Zhang Tin regarded at the other man shrewdly, “What do you want from me then? After today, Xun Ci Shi Tai and Tian Fei will be hunting me down. I cannot think that you will want to risk your life just for me.”

The man named Lu replied with gleaming eyes, “You are right, junior brother. Lu Peng is not the one who will risk his life with nothing in return, but what I’m about to propose to you will be beneficial to both of us. You remember that I was sent to the Yue House for Yue Gao’s secret saber manual, don’t you? Well, I succeeded in snatching a book that I had believed that it was the said manual, while Master was slaughtering the Yue household. Since then, I’ve been hiding from Master – thinking that I would turn into the number one fighter in the martial world from practicing the saber skill from this secret manual. Who would have thought that the foxy old Yue had been deceiving me all along? What I stole was only his general saber moves – great martial techniques by themselves, yet not what I was looking for. So, I have risked my life for nothing, as now aside from Tian Fei, I have to hide from the wrath of Master as well. Good thing that I also took the famous ‘Tiger Killing Saber’ of Master Yue’s. My inner energy and martial skills have improved greatly from practicing with this saber during these past years.” Lu Peng smiled darkly, adding the grotesque to his mutilated face. “You probably witnessed the power of the ‘Tiger Killing Saber’ when I rescued you from Tian Fei’s White Wind move. However, a great weapon is not enough. I also need Master’s top sword skills manual and your help. After ten years time, I am sure that you and I together will become invincible. I can help you defending Xun Ci Shi Tai of Emei, and at the same time, you can help me rid of my enemy, Tian Fei. Think of it carefully, Ah Tin.”

Zhang Tin hesitated, “Your words sound reasonable enough, senior brother Lu, but didn’t Sword God defeat our master with a new move? What if he had taught them to his two students, and what would we do if Sword God appears again? Also, Xun Ci Shi Tai still has the Book of Four. She is pretty formidable herself…”

Lu Peng replied in a dull voice, “Don’t be such a coward! Sword God will keep his words, and what if Tian Fei and his martial brother learn that move? They could beat Master’s sword set, but they wouldn’t win over Yue Gao’s Tiger Killing Saber. Wait till I find the heir of Yue Gao – his daughter, Yue Feng, we will have both top sword and saber skills. Then we brothers will have the martial world under our feet. Ha-ha. About Emei, I still have some cards in my sleeves. So, what is your answer?”

Zhang Tin looked at his martial brother with awe but pretended to be indifferent. “Seem that you have everything planned. So why do you want me? I can tell you right now that I don’t have Master’s sword manual.”

Lu Peng sneered, “Don’t bother to lie, junior brother. Master told me himself that he has given you the sword manual for the exchange of his safe haven in your home. He also told me what you have done to the two Emei sisters. If Xun Ci Shi Tai wants your life now for eloping with her disciple eight years ago, what will she do with you if she learns of your crimes.”

Zhang Tin was pale with anger and fear. However, he calmly retorted back, “I see now the reason that you have kept Master alive. If you are so good, why don’t you make him recite the manual for you?”

Lu Peng was about to lose his temper. He pulled the saber out and slashed with force at a big oak tree; the saber sliced through the big trunk as if it were cutting a piece of paper. Zhang Tin squeaked and jumped back with fright. His senior martial brother glanced at him and mocked, “Ha-ha. So, you are afraid of the power of my saber, aren’t you? If you want to know, Master cannot tell me the whole content simply because he neither knows nor understands all of it. He said that there is a lot in the manual that he has yet to learn. With your brain and my intelligence, together with what Master has learned; we will come up as the winners. This is my last offer to you. Take it or leave it.”

What else could Zhang Tin say except taking the offer?

Does anyone want me to continue this story? <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

<IMG SRC="smilies/help.gif" border="0">
Can administrator change the title into Legend of Sword and Saber? Thanks.

[Suet Seung]

Wouldn't be Legend of the Sword and Saber? Cuz legend of sword and saber...sorta passive...or something like that..goofy?

[Jennifer]

I think WhiteKrane's suggestion of the title sounds better, Goofy. "Legend of Sword and Saber", when I say it, sounds like something is missing.

[Goofy]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, so be it.....

[Swordmaster87]

Goofy, I uploaded the first nine chapters of your story onto my website. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/beerchug.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Thanks. What is your url again? I bookmarked it in different pc. (OT about the Legend of Kilin don't upload that yet because there are still additional editing.) <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

[Swordmaster87]

My site: http://hk_e.tripod.com
Yeah, I'll wait for the rest of the Legend of the Kilin and then upload it.

[Goofy]

The url doesn't work. <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

SwordMaster87: Please check your private message and do as instructed. Thanks! <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

of course we wan't you to continue the story. We love it!

[Swordmaster87]

Goofy, the url should work, after you get there, you go into the fanfictions section.

[Goofy]

Part I: Book of Sword

Chapter 12
Flames

Characters list (not in particular order):
Tian Fei ............... Adam Cheng Siu Chow
Liu Tong .............. Ray Lui Leung Wai
Ah Ju ................. Idy Chan Yuk Lin
Xun Ci Shi Tai ......... Lui Yau Wai
Zhang Tin .............. Eddie Cheng Siu Fai
Lu Peng ................ Kong Wah

Meanwhile, back at the inn, the fire was consuming the whole building mercilessly and was spreading rapidly toward the nearby wood. It was a lost battle. Little amount of water from the nearby well didn’t help putting out the fire, so Xun Ci Shi Tai instructed her disciples to dig a ditch around the area to prevent the further expansion of the blaze. Liu Tong was busy helping them cutting grass and small plants around the inn when he heard a tiny sound coming from the direction of a stable, that stood next to the inn. “Mom, Dad, Sister, where are you? Help…help…” The voice ended in crying.

Quickly, Liu Tong untied his scarf, soaked it in water, and bounded into the stable, which was becoming the next inferno’s target. Ah Ju saw him disappearing into the flame, and without thinking she jumped in after him. Inside, she found him holding a tiny body in his arms with his wet scarf covering it from smoke. At that moment, a big timber of stable roof collapsed onto the ground between the stable door and where Ah Ju and Liu Tong stood, blocking the entire exit, while the raging fire was engulfing around them.

Ah Ju squealed with terror, yet she secretly felt peaceful inside – ‘At least, I am to die with the man I love.’ She felt Liu Tong touching her shoulders gently and turned around to take a last look at him…

“Miss, can I borrow you sash?” Liu Tong was asking the woman in front urgently. She looked at him wide-eyed as if not grasping what he had said. Impatiently, he repeated the question. Suddenly, she snapped back to life. She untied her cloth belt and handed it to him silently. Racing with time, Liu Tong bound the long sash firmly to Ah Ju’s wrist, while mumbling an apology for taking such liberty. He then securely strapped the inert body in his arms to his chest with the other end of the cloth. With one hand holding a sword and the other hand circling around her waist, he told her to hold on tight to him; then he kicked his feet and leaped up out of the stable through a roof gap. When the blaze was about to envelop them from above, he pierced out the sword, projecting his inner force through it and redirected the flame to another course. The trio landed briefly on the rooftop. From the roof, he soared forth and brought along his companions safely onto the clearing on the other side of the ditch – far from the burning stable. He was not a minute too soon as the whole stable was disappearing in the raging fire flower.

Ah Ju thought that she must have been dreaming – her swirling in the air in an arm of Hero Liu. She was still dazed when Liu Tong let go of her waist and asked her with concern, “Are you all right, miss?” Before she could think of an answer, her master, Xun Ci Shi Tai, along with her fellow disciples had already reached them. The priestess ignored the young man completely, but she turned to inspect her fourth disciple for any injury. Just then, a body inside the sling whimpered painfully. All attentions were focus on the source of the piteous voice. “What do you have there?”, demanded the priestess, forgot to pretend that he wasn’t there.

Liu Tong carefully untied the sash and held out the small body to Xun Ci Shi Tai. It was a little girl – not more than five years old. Despite Liu Tong’s prompt rescue, one side of her body had already been burned by fire. She looked a pathetic sight with blisters started to form on her sickly skin. Xun Ci Shi Tai took a quick look at her and brought out a crystal bottle from her sleeve. She poured white powder from the bottle into the girl’s mouth and called her disciple, “Ah Ju, this girl needs our Jade Bee Ointment. Apply that to her, will you? Also, someone has to watch her closely for the night. She will live if she survives tonight. We managed to pull two adult bodies out of the inn before it had been swallowed up in the fire flame. They might be this child’s relatives although unfortunately, the man was already dead.” She watched the fire display ahead and murmured to herself, “Ditches have been dug around the area, cutting the path of the blaze. We’ve done all we could, and now we can only wait and pray.”

The white powder from the crystal bottle was called Snow Lotus Powder. It was extracted from a rare white plant that only grew among the snow top of Hua Shan Mountain. The Jade Bee Ointment was made from the wax of Jade Bees whose hives were solely found in the vast garden of Emei Sect. Snow Lotus Powder and Jade Bee Ointment, when were used together, could heal even the most fatal wound on earth.

As if the heaven had listened to everyone’s prayer, once the blaze had reached the earth ditches, the end of its path, it slowly sizzled down. The wind also stopped. Instead a dark cloud appeared, and the rain poured down, dousing the remaining flame totally. Exhausted and relieved, the firefighters began to relax. Master of Emei ordered a handful disciples to construct a makeshift shack for the injured ones and told the rest to get some sleep. However, when it came to Ah Ju’s turn, she firmly said that she would personally take care of the little girl.

Consequently, while Xun Ci Shi Tai oversaw the burying of the dead and the tending of the living, Ah Ju stayed up all night to look after her patient. Later, Liu Tong quietly joined her. Sensing that the priestess was displeased at him for some unknown reasons, he tried to make himself scarce from her sight. After helping the Emei disciples with various tasks, he found that he still had Ah Ju’s belt in his possession. For that reason, he visited the crude tent that housed the child he had rescued. With formality, he handed the belt back to Ah Ju and apologized to her politely. Ah Ju was elated at first when she saw him, but soon became disappointed at his indifference attitude toward her. He didn’t even ask for her name! After he had left, she let the tears of frustrations drop onto the floor. “The Fool!” She gritted her teeth.

When Liu Tong came out of Ah Ju’s tent, he heard the voice of his senior brother talking to Xun Ci Shi Tai. With delight, he went over to join in the conversation. Tian Fei was relating his last night’s adventure to the priestess of Emei. Liu Tong’s joy turned into sorrow when he heard the news of his master. Both martial brothers greeted each other and could not help sharing their remorse over Sword God’s decision. Only Xun Ci Shi Tai looked undisturbed. She merely grunted and finally said to both men, “So, this fire is the work of the evil Zhang Tin. Humph, like master, like disciple.” It seemed as if she was referring to Zhang Tin and his master, but it actually also implied to Wang Shan and his master, Sword God. She continued in stony voice, “The evil Zhang Tin and his master have a lot of debts to pay to us, the Emei Sect. Though we are all women, we are able to mind our own business.” By saying that, she meant that the Sword South School should not interfere with Emei’s affairs. Liu Tong gaped at the priestess with puzzlement, but Tian Fei was quick to reply, “Of course. We would not dare to poke our fingers in your pie. Since there is nothing else we can do here, we two brothers would like to take our leaves. Good day.” The two men politely bowed to their senior and departed.

After they had left, Xun Ci Shi Tai collapsed to the ground. Her icy mask was gone, leaving the naked emotion of grief on her face. “Old man Ding, why do you have to leave me like this? Forty years. Forty years have gone by, but I could never forget you. I have often relived the day you told me that you had only one love and that you would never love anyone else. I remember that I was very angry at the time. I challenged you for a duel, and I ended up losing. I wanted to kill myself, but you stopped me with your sage counsel. From that day on, I have entered the priesthood although I still harbor some hope in my heart that one of these days you will forego your old past.” She coughed out some red blood.

That was the manner that Ah Ju came upon her master. The priestess seemed to age another ten years. Startled, Ah Ju rushed over and took out her handkerchief to wipe away the blood, but was pushed away by her master. The priestess was furious to let herself be seen in this weak state, so she snapped at her fourth disciple angrily, “Ah Ju, are you here to receive your long-due punishment?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “I hope you still remember that you are guilty of forging my letter in correspond with the evil Zhang. Originally, I planned to have you kill him with your own hands. Hmm, now that you have shown your bravery in rescuing the little girl, I’ll forgive you for once.”

Ah Ju turned scarlet; she immediately denied the credit. “But Master, Hero Liu is the one who rescued the child, not I.”

Xun Ci Shi Tai slapped a big tree in front annoyingly. The tree shook violently, and birds nesting among its leaves flew out with fright. She scolded her disciple; “Don’t you ever mention anything that has to do with the Sword South School again. Anyway, the intention is what really counts. You jumped in to save the child except some busybody had already been there to take credit for it.” She looked sharply at her disciple.

Ah Ju didn’t dare to admit that she only went in the stable because of Liu Tong, but she still tried to put him in good stand with her master, “Still, he did help me out of the stable safely.” She murmured.

The priestess glared at her disciple. She yelled, “Hmm, are you saying that our Emei Sect’s kung fu is inferior to that of the Sword South School such that we have to be saved by those idiot men?”

Terrified, Ah Ju kneeled down and kowtowed many times to the priestess. “Master, it is all my fault. I am too stupid to learn your excellent martial skills. I am not worthy as your disciple. Please punish me.”

Xun Ci Shi Tai observed her disciple for a while then her expression turned softer. She said in more tender voice, “That’s all right. Just so you always remember that our martial skills are no less significant than those of the other sects.” She abruptly changed the subject, “How is the girl doing?”

Relieved, Ah Ju answered carefully, “She will live all right, but she will need constant application of ointment and periodical taking of the Snow Lotus Powder. We didn’t prepare for this emergency; therefore, I’m afraid that before long, our medical supplies will exhaust.”

The priestess thought for a moment and issued an order. “Then we have no choice but to return to Emei.” Seeing her disciple’s disappointing face, she continued in cheerful tone, “I know that you have been looking forward to visiting Ah Zhu at Wudang. She has been married to Hero Man for five years now, and we all miss her. But saving lives comes first. Go tell everyone that we’ll stay here for a couple more days to ensure that our patients are strong enough for the journey. Meanwhile, have someone build two stretchers for them.” Ah Ju complied obediently and went about to fulfill her master’s instructions.

After a few days rest, Xun Ci Shi Tai led her disciples back to Si Chuan where Emei was located. At the same time, another group was heading in the northwestern direction into vast desert region. This new group was composed of two adult men, two boys, two girls, and a wooden coffin. One man was dressed in rich garbs, while the other was wearing old, tattered clothes with a mask covering his face. Both boys were frolicking along the adults happily, while the two girls were trailing slowly behind with iron chains clasping around their slim ankles and their tiny wrists.

Originally, Zhang Tin was about to kill off his little hostage, but Lu Peng stopped him in time. “Junior martial brother, why bother dirty your hands with this chicken’s blood? Little though she maybe, she will have a lot of uses when she grows into full woman. At the least, she can be a playmate with my goddaughter here.” In Lu Peng’s mind, he thought of using this new child as an additional bargain to Yue Feng when they met each other. Afraid of the senior brother’s authority, Zhang Tin reluctantly conceded. For the last few days, they had been in a rush. First, they went back to his house to retrieve the sword manual and prepared for the long trip. Both men agreed that they should disappear from the Central Plains for a while in order to have time for practicing their new martial skills. Accordingly, they bought a coffin to transport their master, gathered all the wealth, and left China as soon as possible.

--------------------
Thanks for reading.

[charbydis]

<IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0"> where did the second girl come from?? Little Yue Ling?

[Goofy]

You will have to read the Part II then. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> Actually, this chapter is the end of part I.

Jennifer, can you add End of Part I (Book of Sword) for the last line.

Thank you.

[charbydis]

How many parts does your fanfic have? <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

According to my foreword, three parts - Book of Sword, Book of Saber, and Book of Destiny. The first part is about the first generation, and the other parts are about the first and the second generations.

The other girl should be Lu Peng's goddaughter, but as she is little yue ling or not, I cannot answer yet. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Character List (Part I. Book of Sword)

Yue Family:
Yue Gao (father) -- Lau Dan
Yue Feng(1st daughter)--Lisa Wang Ming Chuen
Yue Ling(2nd daughter)-- Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi
Lu Peng (Master Yue’s apprentice)-- Kong Wah

Sword South School:
Sword God Ding Wan (teacher)-- Bau Fong
Tian Fei(2nd apprentice)--Adam Cheng Siu Chow
Liu Tong (3rd apprentice)-- Ray Lui Leung Wai

Emei Sect:
Xun Ci Shi Tai (master of Emei)-- Lui Yau Wai
Ah Mei (1st disciple) -- Au Yeung Pui San
Ah Lan (2nd disciple)-- Michelle Mei Suet
Ah Zhu (3rd disciple) -- Yeung Pan Pan
Ah Ju (4th disciple) -- Idy Chan Yuk Lin

Evil Sword Cult:
Evil Sword Wang Shan (master)-- Wong Wai
Di An(2nd apprentice) -- Damian Lau Chong Yun
Zhang Tin(3nd apprentice)--Eddie Cheng Siu Fai

Medicine Forest:
Medicine Man (husband)-- Chun Wong
Dragon Lady (wife)-- Helena Law Lan