Legend of the Sword and Saber - by Gigi

[charbydis]

haha <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> I am too lazy to watch the fire. i just turn on the rice cooker (my mum) <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Burnt rice has certain interesting taste too. <IMG SRC="smilies/coffee.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/drool.gif" border="0">


I preferred overcooked rice than raw ones. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[charbydis]

Oh no! Whitekane is following in the footsteps of YPP! <IMG SRC="smilies/shocked.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

Hehe Just kidding <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/rofl.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

Hahha! I knew someone would say that..... <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/rofl.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/shifty.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/crash.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smooch.gif" border="0">

[TKL]

<IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0">
I have just started reading your fanfic today (finish three chapters in one go and will be back to finish the rest). I like the opening scene, very descriptive of kung-fu move. I also like how the tension being built then it turned out to be just a friendly match. Like the character of Tian Fei <IMG SRC="smilies/love.gif" border="0"> The story is nicely told and events are nicely laid out and woven into the rest of the story. I also like the way you give a background information for each character like the introduction of Zhang Tin. Anyway, I'll read the rest of the story in this holidays of mine. Keep up the good work. <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0"> (did not realise that there few new smilies)
Your story surely gives me a change from "The House of God" (a good book by Samuel Shem) that I was reading.
<IMG SRC="smilies/beerchug.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Thank you, TKL. <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Ch. 14 is kind of rough draft though. It has some grammar errors.

The better version of that chapter can be <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> in http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/swordandsaber

Thanks for reading...

[Southern Crane]

I've not started reading yet Goofy (... <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0">) but I will soon. But that's not to discourage you. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

I was just looking at your fanfic site and I like the layout a lot! I like your poster too. Just curious though... it says "A Gigi Story" and "A.... film?" What does that part say? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">


Keep up the great <IMG SRC="smilies/typin.gif" border="0">ing! <IMG SRC="smilies/smokin.gif " border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

It is the signature of the poster maker - MeTeOrLuv (I believe). Thank to her artistic talent. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0"> I don't claim anything except on my storyline. <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

[Suet Seung]

Goofy: How long does it take you to write a chapter and how many pages is your longest chapter?

[Goofy]

WhiteKrane, I went back and counted my chapters <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> - the longest chapter is about 8 pages long. My average/chapter is 4-5 pages. But I don't know how long it took me to finish my chapter. I can type pretty quickly, but usually have to go back to correct, add, and delete the details. Usually, I will think about it before I go to bed so I can dream on the parts I want to edit during the night. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/sleep.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/coffee.gif" border="0">

Hope that helps...

[Southern Crane]

I like the new poster for your fanfic, Goofy. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

See! Been paying attention. <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/azzangel.gif" border="0"> ...lol!

But why the change? The old one looked good too. <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Because a set of new generation are coming to view. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

It would be nice to be able to display the old one for part I and the new poster for part II.

I like both posters and might change it back to old one again at the end of story. <IMG SRC="smilies/noidea.gif" border="0">

[Swordmaster87]

Goofy, do you want me to keep the old poster at my site now or put this new poster up?

[Goofy]

The old one is fine since it was too nice to be abandoned. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

Can you credit MeTeOrLuv as the poster maker somewhere too since I've been using her work quite freely? <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

But I'm fine both ways.

[Goofy]

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hanna_s/saber.jpg')

The poster for part II - thank you Meteorluv for making it. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Thank you C Monster, the author of Gatekeepers, for some input.

Part II: Book of Saber

Chapter 15
City and Forest

Characters list (not in particular order):
Ruyu …………......................................…......… …………Rain Lau Yuk Chui
Di Bao …………......................................…......… ……….Roger Kwok Chun On
Lin Xin-er .....................................……….......... ..........…..Vivian Leung Siu Bing
Medicine Man …………......................................…......… .Chun Wong
Dragon Lady …………......................................…......… ...Helena Law Lan
Lulu ……………............................................. ...….…...….Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi
Liu Tong …………......................................…......… ……..Ray Lui Leung Wai

From the Medicine Forest, Ruyu and Di Bao traveled southeastward; their goal was Guangxi, where Di Bao once heard his father mentioned to his mother at being the hometown of ‘the southern gentleman’. With an unknown urge, Di Bao hurried his apprentice sister through villages and towns – despite her incessant grumbles. The two made good time, and in a month arrived at Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou. At this bustling town, Ruyu flatly refused to go any further unless she did some sightseeing and had a good night rest in a hotel first. Knowing better than to argue with her, Di Bao acquiesced. Accordingly, they rented two rooms at an inn, refreshed themselves, and went out to tour the city.

Ruyu was having a time of her life. After spending more than twenty years in the Medicine Forest, everything in this new world of hers was so amazing and intriguing. Happily, she dashed in and out of shops and stores – looking, touching, tasting, and buying, so fast that Di Bao had a hard time keeping up with her. Added to that, not having to use money before, she merely grabbed anything that she fancied, leaving Di Bao to pay after her. The money that he was given by his mentors was sufficient for travel but was hardly enough for extravagant shopping. As the money in the purse diminished and a load of packages in his arms increased, he became more concerned. Finally, he caught her sleeve and signed to her that they should go back to their inn now, but she just laughed heedlessly.

Desperate, he was about to pull her away from a perfume stall on a side street, when Ruyu suddenly called out. “Ah Bao, did you hear anything? That’s music playing. Let’s go and see what is going on.” She skipped off even before she had finished the sentence. By the time that Di Bao finished paying for the perfume bottle that Ruyu had taken with her, she had long disappeared from his view. Anxious, he quickly ran out to the main street just to be swept away along with the coming parade. Turned out that an annual festival was being cerebrated, and masses of spectators were gathering for the highlight event of the day. At long last, when he dazedly got out from the crowd, even her shadow was nowhere to be found. All afternoon, hours after hours, he walked through swarms of people, looking for her without avail. At the end of the day, he went back to the inn, worn out though was still in hope to see Ruyu waiting for him there.

To his chagrin, according to the innkeeper and servant boys, Ruyu had not come back to the inn at all. All weariness forgotten, Di Bao immediately went out for another fruitless hunt. At night, the city was brightly lit with colorful lanterns. People were happily strolling in pairs or in-groups, enjoying a variety of entertaining activities. Only Di Bao was unable to feel the fun. Silently, he trod around the town persistently, in search of his apprentice sister.

The next morning, after a restless night, Di Bao resumed the search. Unable to speak, he could only look out for any sight of Ruyu. Toward noon, he still could not find her – almost as if she had disappeared into thin airs. Tired, he staggered back to the inn. On the way, he bumped into a young girl. She fell on the street and cried instantly. Clumsily, he helped her up with apologetic gestures. Without a glance at him, she stopped crying and took off loftily to a nearby restaurant. Startlingly, he felt almost sad at seeing her walk away. He would welcome even a word of scolding from her.

At that moment, a groan came from his stomach. Because of Ruyu, he had forgotten to eat since yesterday’s noon, and he was now famished. So, he followed the girl into the restaurant and signed to a waiter for some food.

After a fulfilling meal, he reached for the money pouch to find that it was gone. Looking up, he saw the girl from the street watching him with amusing eyes. She called the waiter over and gave him some money. Turned out that she paid for his meal as well as hers. Then she leisurely walked out of the restaurant. As if he was bewitched, he immediately got up and followed her quietly.

The girl didn’t seem to know that she had a trailer. Humming in a sweet voice, she led Di Bao through main thoroughfares into narrow roads in the poorest city district. All of a sudden, she disappeared at one corner. Di Bao naturally quickened his steps after her when he was hit from behind. He collapsed and passed out.

In his dream, he was trying to recall a familiar face when someone called him, “Hey, Mister. Wake up. You can’t die from this little plank. Wake up, Mister.”

Dully, he opened his eyes and saw a dirty face of the girl from the restaurant. She was smiling, showing her pearly white teeth. She scrutinized him for a moment and warned, “Don’t ever follow anyone to this part of town again. If I hadn’t stopped myself in time, you would have died and rot here without anyone knowing.” Then she asked him challengingly, “What do you want from me?”

Di Bao blinked his eyes confusingly. Then he got up and bowed. With signing and gesturing, he showed her that he was very grateful for her picking his tab in the restaurant. When the girl caught on the meaning, she laughed until she rolled on the floor. “Ha-ha. Ha-ha. I’ve never met anyone this stupid. You are just plain naïve. Didn’t you know that I was the one who stole your money?” With that, she took out his money pouch from her waist pocket and waved it teasingly in front of him. When he just stood there, staring bewilderedly at her, she became irritated. “What are you gaping at? Didn’t you want your money back? Hey, say something. You look like a toad waiting for a fly to fall into your open mouth.” She folded her arms and taunted him fearlessly. Then her face softened as an idea flashed in her eyes. “You are mute, aren’t you?”

Di Bao nodded unconcernedly. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She is a small-framed girl with a sweet face though most of it was currently covered with dirt. Her eyes were bright and so vibrant. When she laughed, the world seemed to laugh along with her. However, at that moment, she was not laughing or even smiling. Grimly, she put the money pouch in his hands and told him to follow her closely.

Meekly he walked behind her. This time the girl led him out of the slum area to the familiar surrounding again. She brought him straight to his inn. When she saw his surprise, she laughed like a bell. “I saw you coming out there yesterday with a girl, and I saw you spending money for her like crazy, so I thought that I’d probably borrow some taels from you to tie me over.” She heaved a sigh. “It’s probably my fate to end up in Thousand Lanterns House,” she straightened up and said proudly, “but no one shall say that Lin Xin-er took money from a helpless chap.”

Di Bao stood still. He didn’t want any money; all he wanted was to make friend with this girl. He took the money pouch out and gave it back to her. Puzzled, she asked him incredibly, “Why? Don’t you want it? How are you going to live without money then?” She had never met anyone as crazy as this boy before. She scratched her head and attempted to help this mad man, “Hey, take my advice. Don’t ever let this pouch out of your sight. What’d your lady say if you lose your money like this.”

The girl’s mentioning of Ruyu reminded Di Bao again of his mission. As if she could read his thought, she said, “She already left you then? Tough luck, eh!” When she saw his ashen face, pity swelled up in her heart. She felt so protective of him as she had never felt to anyone before. “You looked as if you can do with some sleep. Have you been looking for her all night then?” She shook her head at him. “Why bother? There’re plenty of girls in Thousand Lanterns House as long as you have money.” She added softly to herself, “And I’ll be one of them pretty soon too.”

Di Bao looked into her eyes, and their souls seemed to reach out into each other. It was almost the same experience that he’d had with Lulu, his kindred spirit friend, but this time it was more intense, more profound. Just then, he would gladly give up his life for her, and he knew that she would do the same for him too. Both of them took deep breaths shakily, still stunned from this electrified experience. Lin Xin-er stumbled back a few steps and thumped down on the ground – for the first time in her life, she could not find a word to describe her feeling right now.

After a moment of silence, they started to chat. That is, Di Bao listened as his new friend talked, and he gestured as she guessed the meanings. Turned out that they were about the same age. Di Bao conveyed to the girl that the lady she saw was his senior apprentice sister, who had been missing since yesterday. He was traveling with her in search of his brother, whereas the girl told him of her orphan life. Her name is Lin Xin-er, and she had no parents saved for a couple that brought her up from babyhood. Her foster parents were dead when she was about eight years old, leaving a huge debt for her to pay up. For ten years she had slaved herself in order to pay for the interests, but the principal was too high for her. With the payment deadline approaching, she would have no choice but to become a prostitute in the most famous brothel of Guizhou, Thousand Lanterns House.

“Well, being a prostitute is at least better than being a mistress of my debt owner’s ugly son. I heard that he likes to beat up his wives. Anyway, if I’m famous enough, I might be able to buy myself off in a few years and get my own life back.” Lin Xin-er mused, trying to console herself and her new friend of her looming future.

Abruptly, the conversation ended. She got up and acclaimed, “Look at the time! I have to go. I have tons of work waiting for me if I want to eat tomorrow.” She turned to Di Bao and smiled brilliantly. “Thank you, little brother. I feel so much better after talking to you. I’m not afraid of future anymore because I have you now. About your sister – don’t worry. I’ll ask my street friends, and if she’s still in this town, they’ll know. At the meantime, get some sleep, will you?” She tried to return the money to him, but he indicated clearly that he wanted her to have it.

Before she left, Di Bao took out a jade flower that Lulu had given him and presented it to his new friend. She glanced at it and looked at him. Then she understood, “You want me to sell the jade to pay for the debt, don’t you?” She shook her head, “It’s a beautiful jade, but it won’t help me much. But if you really want to give it to me, I’ll keep it with me always.” With charming grin, she ran swiftly into a big house nearby.

Di Bao felt as if his soul was torn in half. His body trembled violently, and he had to sit down awhile to steady himself. Then he slowly walked inside the inn, went to his room, and slept like a log.

When he woke up, a servant boy brought him a bowl of hot water for his face and gave him a piece of dirty paper. “The servant girl next door asked me to give you this message. She also paid for your rents too – beat me where she got the money from.” He mumbled then smiled naughtily. “Maybe that’s her first payment from Thousand…” He halted when he received a glare from Di Bao’s eyes. They were so compelling that he quickly turned away and left the room in the next minute. “Weird customer…” Di Bao heard from the distant grumbles.

Di Bao picked up the wrinkled paper and eagerly read the note. It said, “Dear little bother, A fiend of mine saw your sister leafing the city yesterday afternoon. She was chasing after someone. You should follow her im-mediately. She went through the east gate. Good luck. Hope you can find her and your bother soon. Lin Xin-er.”

The letter was full of mistakes, but the message was clear, and for Di Bao, it was a rare treasure. Without further ado, he followed Lin Xin-er’s advice and left Guiyang from the east gate also.

Meanwhile, at the Medicine Forest, everything was unusually quiet. Lulu was gone for another herbal hunting trip. Without Ruyu’s constant chatting and playful pranks, old Medicine God and Dragon Lady paced around the garden aimlessly. Not surprisingly, before long, they started a quarrel – this time the topic was changed from their daughter to their granddaughter. In next to no time, insult words turned into a physical fight. Dragon Lady resorted to her snake-shaped cane, while Medicine Man parried it with his bamboo flute. She smacked him with full force, but he swiftly evaded her big cane and retaliated with the ‘Plucking Soul’ melody from his flute. High energy waves from the flute moved against fierce striking of the cane, causing turbulence in the air. Birds flew out from their nests and scattered away as fast as they could. The area became still and lifeless saved only sound of the flute and the swishing of the cane.

Then all was over. This time Dragon Lady won. She succeeded in smashing her husband’s bamboo flute with her knobbed cane. Laughing triumphantly, she went back into her hut. Medicine Man looked at his shattered flute and sighed with remorse. He shook his head and went about making himself a new one.

Peace again reigned the place. Birds gradually flew back to their nests. Everything returned to its normal self. Only a broken flute on the ground was the sole evidence of discords a moment ago.

Unaware of the battle between her mentors, Lulu was digging for ginseng near the north border of the Medicine Forest. She had noticed that Dragon Lady had been coughing a lot lately, and Medicine Man seemed to be less active than usual. ‘I hope this ginseng will do both of them good. Or maybe it’s only Ruyu that really can cure them from this sickness.’ She reflected.

Squirrels running about her feet suddenly froze then they sped up the nearby tree and hid among its thick foliage. The whole forest was tensed, as it smelled blood. Lulu looked up and spotted a man staggering towards her. His upper body was blood-soaked, and his face had a few cuts. The man saw her and cried out in warning, “Miss, go away quickly. Bad…people…are coming. They…can…harm…” He fell down and became lifeless.

Adeptly, Lulu checked his pulse and examined his wounds – for his body had many deep cuts by a heavy weapon. The man was critically injured, but his body was strong, and it was fighting bravely against death. With a proficient move, she took out a green pill from her sleeve and forced it into his closed mouth. Then she gathered medium rocks, which were plenty in that area and placed them around the wounded man according to the 32-direction formation. When she finished the task, she walked back to her patient and calmly sat down beside him.

32-direction formation was a camouflage technique that used elements from natural surroundings to form a ring that pointed in 32 different directions to conceal their subjects. To people outside the formation, the ring would look like part of the background setting. The formation’s border would be seen as a solid wall, a dead end. Only those who understood this diagram could distinguish the real wall from the false one. Then it was a matter of knowing how to penetrate the formation. However, since this diagram was based on 32 compass points, there are in total four layers of interchanging formations within one another. Each pointed in increment bearings from 4 to 8 to 16, and finally to 32, which was the outermost part. Therefore, even when one knew how to enter the outer part of the formation, he still had to figure entryways of three other layers. In addition, all entrances were dynamic, which meant that they constantly switched their locations with one another. So, using one way to get inside the maze didn’t necessarily mean one could use the same method to get out. In the other words, only the maze creator knew the true ins and outs of how the 32-direction formation was mapped out.

Lulu didn’t have to wait long. Few minutes later, a group of men led by a person covered in dark cloak arrived. However, they didn’t seem to detect her or the unconscious man. After a few patrols around the area, they left the same way they had come.

She cocked her head, listening carefully. Fifteen minutes later, she detected footsteps returning. She was right – it was the cloaked person. Seemed that he didn’t want to give up so easily. Again, he paced back and forth, scrutinized the rock pattern on the ground suspiciously but could not find anything wrong with it. He was about to leave when someone called him. “Senior brother, did you find anything there?” A middle-aged man with handsome feature appeared. He was carrying a light, sharp sword with a jeweled-studded handle. The tip of it was covered in red hue.

The person who was referred as ‘senior brother’ shook his head angrily. He asked the other man back, “How about you? Did you get your man?” Now it was the good-looking man’s turn to be livid. “No. I’ve almost got him, but a busybody with a thick veil interfered and took him away.” He paused and snickered, “For a moment, I almost thought it was you, senior brother.” His grin froze when he received a fierce look from the other man. Uneasily, he quickly changed the subject. “Anyhow, he won’t live long because of my ‘Passion Poison’ here.” He showed his sword to the cloaked man and smiled satisfactorily.

The senior brother grunted and said, “Hmm, mine is severely wounded too. At least they wouldn’t visit us again so soon, which is as well. We need all the time that we can have for the last part of practicing. I’m not sure how much longer Master will live.” He looked around the forest with disapproval. “By the way, this forest doesn’t smell right to me. We shouldn’t linger here long. Let’s go back to our cave now.” He led the way. His companion grumbled a little about no fun but all work but in the end submissively followed his senior brother.

After making sure that those men were really gone, Lulu rose. She looked up to the sky and called for her message carrier. A few minutes later, a small white dove appeared. It flew towards her and landed neatly in her palm. While she talked softly to the bird, she cleverly tied a leaf she had in her hand around its ankle with a blade of glass. Then she sang a last note and sent it to the sky. The dove soared around her a few times and took off toward its destination.

Liu Tong woke up during bouts of pains and heard a cooing sound. He peered through misty vision and caught a glimpse of a slim figure in white with long ebony hair talking gently to a bird. ‘An angel,’ he told himself, ‘I must have gone to heaven.’ Then darkness enveloped him.

-----------------------------
Please give me some feedbacks. I would like to know if there is anything I should change. Thank you for <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">ing. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

[Goofy]

Part II: Book of Saber

Chapter 16
Haunted Memories

Characters list (not in any particular order):
Medicine Man …………......................................…....……C hun Wong
Dragon Lady …………......................................…......… …Helena Law Lan
Lulu ……………............................................. ...….…...…..Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi
Ah Xi................................................ ....................……..…...Lee See Kei
Lao Fu …………......................................…......… ………..Yeung Jak Lam
Lao Ma …………......................................…......… ……….Seung Yee

While Medicine Man was polishing his new made flute, he heard flapping wings and in the next second, a white dove flew into the clearing and perched on a low orange tree branch. The old man squinted at the bird and recognized it as one of Lulu’s ‘animal friends’. He advanced toward it cautiously and saw a leaf tied onto its leg. With one quick move, he caught the bird and untied its ankle then released it to the sky. A message was scratched with nail on a green leaf, “Wounded man, come quickly.”

Without delay, he went into his hut, brought out his medicine bag and hurried to the north border of the forest. There he noticed the pattern of 36 diagrams from laying rocks. Chuckling with approval, he whistled in high pitch. In one second, Lulu appeared in front of him. She silently guided him through her maze and came to a stop in front of the patient. “A clever trap you made here,” he praised her before kneeling down to examine the injured man, “How was he?”

“Not very good. I cleaned his wounds as well as I could, but they were inflicted with some deadly poison. I thought of sucking the poison from his body, but it has already spread throughout his body.” Lulu reported then chided herself, “Compare to Ah Bao and Ruyu, I’m such a useless healer. Ah Bao is an excellent student of yours, while Ruyu receives all poisoning skills from Mistress. I’m the only one who didn’t really succeed at anything. Otherwise, I might be able to help this poor man.”

Medicine Man sighed forlornly when his granddaughter’s name was mentioned. He pulled long silver needles from a red clothe and skillfully applied them to various acupuncture points on the man’s body, while he consoled his apprentice. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Lulu. You have only been cured from your sickness recently and just started to study medicine not more than two years ago. You are a quick learner, and you are very clever when it comes to building of mazes and traps. Look at this 32-diagram formation for instance, it’s well done. My wife and I are actually very proud of you. Before long, you will surely surpass both Ruyu and Ah Bao. You and Ah Bao have true souls of healers, while Ruyu is only interesting in using poison.” He sighed again then gritted his teeth. “It’s all the old hag’s fault. Teaching an innocent child such an evil profession – as if she hasn’t done enough to her own daughter.”

Lulu tried to change the subject. Ten years of living with the old couple, she came to realize that a talk about Ruyu’s mother should be avoided at all costs. Aside from constantly though friendly vying for the most affection from their granddaughter, the two elders usually behaved quite amiably towards each other. Their only weak point was a mention of their daughter. Neither of them could accept the guilt of making their only daughter ran away from home, which had eventually led to her premature demise. Hence from times to times, they would toss mud at each other as an outlet of their grief.

Lulu pointed at the silver needles which were turning black rapidly and asked, “Mentor, are you using these needles to suck all the poison out of him?”

Medicine Man chuckled. He sat in a meditating position and conveyed all his inner energy into his right index finger. Then with swiftness and accuracy, he pushed it at three pressure points: at the top of the head, at the back part of skull, and at the middle of back. He then laid the man back down before answering her question. “Yes and no. The needles act only as primers to pull out a small portion of poison so that I can use ‘One Finger Technique’ to bring all the poison in the system into one place, which is this spot on his left shoulder. This is the only way to prolong his life until we could find an antidote for him. Hopefully, it will not be one of my wife’s poisonous collection that was stolen years ago.” He looked at Lulu tenderly. “Do you know that you’re very lucky to be cured at all? Most of my wife’s poisons have no antidote. Only because you had received a very small dose of the least lethal kind, she was able to find a way to extract it from your system – and that took her almost ten years to do it.” He found that was quite amusing, ignoring on purpose the fact that he could not even cure Di Bao’s muteness as Dragon Lady would have no doubt pointed that out if she were here.

Lulu thought of the two men who caused these wounds and shuddered. Although she could not see the face of the cloaked person, she was confident that the voice belonged to Lu Peng. Who could be the other victim that they were talking about? ‘I hope he has escaped all right.’ She prayed silently for the unknown man.

With some difficulty, Medicine Man and Lulu transported their patient back to their huts. They found that Dragon Lady had been waiting for them all morning as if she was sensing danger. When they arrived, she rushed out anxiously but when she saw that they were all right, she pretended to be annoyed. “Hmm, leaving me here all day, and you came back with a sick man.” She couldn’t help taking a peek at the newcomer curiously. Then she froze. “My goodness! This man was poisoned by the juice of black orchid. How can this be? Old man, Lulu – where did you find him? How did he get the poison? Who did this?” She interrogated them breathlessly.

“Calm down, dear wife. Lulu found him at the north side of our forest, but we don’t know the culprits. Did you suggest that this poison was among those that were stolen twenty some years ago?” Medicine Man asked grimly. If that was true, then sadly, this poor man’s fate had been decided.

His wife did not answer but looked back into the past. She saw herself brewing a new type of poison – a potion from juice of black orchid, which would only bloom once every fifty years. She saw herself tested it on a criminal – a rapist, and she saw how much he was in pains. The poison worked slowly but once it had been in a body for twenty-four hours, it would rapidly eat up every inner organ in his body. At that point, the victim would rather die than live. When the poison was at its maximum effect, the victim would mercifully exchanged anything for his swift execution. Otherwise, his flesh would start to rot slowly – most of his inner body had been consumed by this time. After another forty-eight hours, his eyes would pop out, his remaining blood would gush out, and finally the entire body would reduce into a handful of rotten bones. She recalled that she made a decision not to use this potion any more since the day she had witnessed its horrific effect. She also remembered that the black orchid potion was among those poisons that Lao Fu, her trusted servant, had stolen.

She grimaced at the bitter memory. That day, her daughter, Ah Xi had just delivered a baby girl. She had always had a delicate health since childhood. After Ruyu’s birth, her condition had gone worse – more so from an unknown poison she had received somewhere. Until this day, Dragon Lady could still recite every word that she and her husband, Medicine Man, had consulted each other. They eventually agreed that one person would give energy to support their daughter’s weak body, while another would concentrate on extracting the poison with needles. But heaven was not on their side. While she was transferring her inner energy to their daughter, her husband who was more skilled in acupuncture started to put needles into Ah Xi’s vital points. During the critical moment where the patient’s body was at the weakest stage, their old servant, Lao Fu, broke into the medicine room and stole her priceless collection of lethal poisons without their knowing. Added to that, Lao Ma, an old wife of Lao Fu, was having another epileptic fit and was causing havoc. Only Medicine Man could have approached her during the seizure. Much to his wife’s disgust and protests, he left off the healing process to tend his mad servant. He had promised to come back before a stick of incense would have burned off, but he failed to do so. Thus the poison in their daughter’s body had inevitably entered into her heart. She stopped breathing soon after that. Tears dropped from Dragon Lady’s eyes as she wiped them off angrily. She returned to the present and caught her husband’s concerned look. She crossly turned her face away and found herself stare right at Lulu’s face. She was rendered speechless. It was as if Ah Xi were there in Lulu’s shadow, comforting her. ‘Mom, don’t cry. I’m fine now.’

Medicine saw a shadow of the past in his wife’s eyes and understood what she had been thinking. Pains showed clearly in her face. His heart was laden with grief along with her. He recollected that when he heard a call from Lao Ma, he told his wife that he would only be gone for ten minutes – long before the poison could have been absorbed into Ah Xi’s heart. Lao Fu was there with his wife, looking very nervous. However, Medicine Man didn’t pay much attention to him. He was more concerned of Lao Ma. After succeeded in calming her down, he soothingly massaged on her various nerve points. Soon she began to relax and finally dozed off like a baby. Relieved, he sipped the tea that Lao Fu offered then he fell asleep like a corpse. Turned out that the tea had been drugged. Normally, he could have easily detected sleeping draught in it. However that day, he had just tested his latest invention on himself, a blue pill that would enhance his muscle strength, but not without any side effects. The pill affected his olfactory receptors and his taste buds in a way that he could not smell or know any taste for at least twelve hours.

He woke up in time to attend his daughter’s funeral. Lao Fu had long gone, leaving his wife at the mercy of his masters. If it weren’t for the sakes of little Ruyu, both Dragon Lady and Medicine Man would have gone insane from grief that day. Dragon Lady of course held her husband responsible for Ah Xi’s death. On the other hand, he argued that she should equally be blamed for taking in an old thief like Lao Fu despite his warning years ago. She then argued that the whole thing would never have happened if he hadn’t gone to look after Lao Ma. She even accused him of having affair with her. He promptly denied her allegation. He replied that Lao Ma had been his personal maid since he was young, and he only thought of her as a sister. Besides, she had been having this uncured sickness since her birth. He had always given her a massage to ease her pains, and Dragon Lady had always approved of this treatment. Moreover, he claimed that she should be indirectly liable for Lao Ma’s condition that day. He implied that Lao Ma had gone worse ever since the day she got married with Lao Fu. He also charged his wife of arranging the marriage between their servants out of insensible jealousy and pure spite of Lao Ma. He had been against this wedding all along, but his wife stubbornly sided with Lao Fu and even ordered him to elope with Lao Ma one night to shut her husband’s mouth on this matter.

Without baby Ruyu, her grandparents would have fought to death that day. As if the infant understood her task as a peacemaker, she gave out a cry and ran high fever every time her grandparents had a fight. Eventually the old couple caught on to her trick and had no choice but to stop bickering at each other for the time being. In spite of their enmities, their love towards little granddaughter was real and was no less than that of the other. It was said that love could conquer anything, and it was true in this case. Years of bitter pasts were soon put aside and were replaced by years of happy memories. Medicine Man couldn’t help but smiled when he thought of his only granddaughter. Ruyu was like rain on their parched heart. She revived their hope of life. She was everything that they had and more. ‘If only Ah Xi were here to see her healthy daughter running about in our garden.’ He let the tears roll down his cheeks.

Lulu brought her two mentors back to the present. “Mistress, can you cure this man then?” She asked Dragon Lady trustingly, looking up with hope.

Dragon Lady examined the poisoned man carefully then shook her head. “I don’t have the antidote for the black orchid juice though I know how to make it. Too bad, this poor man would have died long before I could make one…”

Her husband impatiently questioned her, “Why not? I’ve never seen you do any slow job – well, except Lulu here.” He couldn’t help picking on her.

The old lady glowered at her husband before replied disdainfully. “Silly turtle, that’s what you are. An antidote often comes from the same source of its poison. In this case, the antidote is black orchid petal. However, his plant is from the high mountains in Tibet. Its flower only blooms in a short time once every fifty years. Forty-five years ago, I mixed the orchid stamen with the juice from its roots and achieved the most deadly poison in my collection. I tested it on a rapist, but gave up the idea of using it because it caused too much pain – even for a criminal. Besides, the whole production process was too complicated and took too much time. So, I just put the rest of it away. If you want to heal this man, then you will have to wait for another five years for another blossom of black orchid, providing that you can find this rare plant, of course. From what I know, black orchid only grows on high cliffs in a country of Tibet. I remember that I had a difficult time bringing this plant back to the Central Plains. Among fifty plants, only one managed to survive to the Medicine Forest. I originally thought of breeding it for keepsakes but didn’t succeed. The only plant that I’ve got eventually withered and died.” She finished the sentence unconcernedly.

Medicine Man frowned and scolded his wife, “Wife, you’ve just committed a sinful deed. Didn’t you recognize him as one of Sword God Ding’s disciples? During these past ten years, he and his martial brother have helped countless people. Everyone has heard of their good deeds, even myself.” He continued to reprimand her. “If you hadn’t concocted this cursed venom, this hero would have not lying here now. Well, I’m not going to give up yet. I’ve gathered all poison into one point on his left shoulder for now, and if I regularly transfer my inner power to him, I might be able to keep him alive for another five years.”

He had just left himself wide for taunting. His wife snorted. “He-he. I’m only afraid that you would leave your precious patient in the middle of your treatment to tend to some mad women who are having fits! Anyway, I only said that I don’t have antidote, not the cure.”

Lulu cut in the conversation which seemed to head into another quarrel. She pleaded, “Mistress, please find a way to save him. I know that you can do it.”

Dragon Lady looked into Lulu’s clear innocent eyes and sighed. This was a strange girl, all right. After ten years, she still could not fathom this disciple of hers. Before and after her illness, Lulu hadn’t changed much. She still remained a happy, innocent, gentle, and kind woman. Only her mentality and her saneness were gained from the 8-years’ healing effort. After the last trace of poison was extracted from her body, she was set the task to study medication from Medicine Man. However, she was not allowed to touch anything from Dragon Lady’s medicine shelf because she seemed to succeed in turning every poison she touched into harmless powder. Dragon Lady could hardly punish Lulu for ruining her work either because Ruyu always sided with her pet sister, and who would dare to offend one’s own dearest granddaughter?

Came to think of it, things had really turned better since Di Bao and Lulu were here. Ruyu had grown happier and was no longer lonely. She and her husband had less chance to quarrel. Di Bao became a prodigy student of Medicine Man while Ruyu assisted Dragon Lady in healing Lulu. What’s more, whenever the two elders began a row, they would soon stop by compelling gazes from their two new apprentices. Di Bao often took Medicine Man back to his childhood, so young and so eager to save life. Likewise, Lulu reminded Dragon Lady a lot of her deceased daughter. Ah Xi was an innocent and kind-hearted child like Lulu, but was full of high-spirit like Ruyu. Old memory brought a new well of tears, and Dragon Lady once more was startled at seeing her daughter’s ghost in Lulu’s beseeching eyes.

Reluctantly, she answered Lulu. “Well, there is actually one way to stop the spreading of poison, but definitely not by your mentor’s method.” She scorned at her husband, but before he could have argued his points, she waved her arm at him, hinting her thought.

Medicine Man stared at her, not grasping her meaning at first. Then he drew deep breaths. “I guess that’s the only way.” He agreed.
---------------------------
Thank you for reading.

[Goofy]

Just in case you wonder who some veteran actors are.


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Yeung Jak Lam

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Seung Yee

[Goofy]

Hmm forgot that geocities didn't work here. Anyway, here are the sites for images:
http://www.geocities.com/televisionc...7039/old01.gif
and http://www.geocities.com/televisionc...7039/old02.gif

[Southern Crane]

<IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> X 1000!!!

Goofy, I just replied to an old pm from 3/18. If I already replied before then just ignore it. Been so busy lately that I don't even remember!... $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/embarassed.gif') ...lol! <IMG SRC="smilies/azzangel.gif" border="0">