Page 1 of 10 12345678910 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 192

Thread: Tales of Vengeance

  1. #1
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    14,053

    Arrow Tales of Vengeance

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i24.tinypic.com/33cnbz6.jpg')


    This is a fanfic that Charbydis, Goofy and I will co-write together, I hope this fanfic turns out good!

    Chapter 1: The Past Memories of Snow

    The snow of the purest white had just begun to fall upon the travelers in Luo Yang. As everyone was rushing towards the nearest inn or their own homes to hide from the extreme cold, a gust of wind blew even harder and mercilessly at the small groups of people who were still wandering outside.

    A young man around the age of twenty-two had wisely planted himself at a table on the top floor of the Golden Dragon Inn, away from the cold weather. As he sat by the balcony drinking some wine heated from the little man-made stove on his table, his thoughts drifted far away from the Golden Dragon Inn and back to his painful past. It had been many years since he had set foot in his hometown.

    Ten Years Ago…

    The Miao family was well-known for making the best in quality weapons. Although, they made the sharpest blades and most intricate weapons, the Miao family themselves knew very little kung fu. However, they were skilled enough to fend off mountain robbers and those of simpler kung fu skills. Everyone in the Luo Yang prefecture of Henan province knew about the Miao family’s generosity. They would often help people in the city by passing out rice and dry rations for the less fortunate. Many people admired the Miao family for their righteousness and hospitality for others.

    Furthermore, the Miao family knew many people in the Imperial court as well as people in the trading business; in particular they had strong bond between with the Lin and the Chen families. The Lin family held power as head merchant of the Lin'an (臨安) Trading Guild, which controlled a majority of the trades along the Grand Canal, Yangtze river and overseas. The Lin family would often help the Miao family deliver and ship weapons to their more distant consumers. In addition, the Chen family’s influential role in the imperial court has helped the Miao family business flourished as one of the main weapon suppliers for the imperial government’s military. Together, these three families were powerful allies, who worked together to benefit each other in reputation and wealth.

    Until one snowy night a group of assassins on horseback had orders to make the Miao family disappear. Miao Ting Feng (苗霆锋), a young boy of twelve years, awoke to the slicing and clashing sounds of iron swords. Pools of blood were scattered and splattered everywhere in sight. Miao Ting Feng found his mother and grandparents lying dead on the cold marble floor of the main hall. Miao Ting Feng could hardly believe his eyes. It had to be a nightmare. No matter how many times he tried to wake them, they remained motionless.

    The clashing of swords became louder as Miao Ting Feng made his way out to the front doors of the Miao Manor. Seven masked assassins were sword fighting with his father, Miao De Zhong (苗德钟), and his three uncles on foot. He could see his father and uncles had been fighting these men for quite some time. The Miao brothers continued to fight in spite of their bleeding injuries. The seven men mercilessly attacked them with each move. The young Miao Ting Feng stood frozen and watched helplessly, while the two masked men each used one final sword stroke to kill his third and fourth uncles. Scarlet blood splashed and stained the white snow. The two men he had always admired fell dead before his eyes. When the feelings in his legs returned, he charged forth, but his first uncle stopped him. Aside from his father, his uncle, Miao De Lun, was one of the better sword fighters in the family. His uncle was able to fight and kill two assassins while carrying Miao Ting Feng’s four year old sister tied securely on his back without bringing any harm to her.

    Several feet away, his father and two servants were still fighting off the remaining group of five assassins. Then, Miao De Zhong cried out, “Big brother, my men and I will distract these scoundrels, please take my children to safety first! If anything happens, please raise them well.” His father turned and cut one of the assassin’s arms and stabbed another, but another assassin stepped in to fight him.

    With the lives of the children to protect, Miao De Lun (virtuous order) reluctantly followed his brother’s request and took hold of his nephew’s hand and ran to nearest horse. It was a horse that belonged to one of the dead assassins. After Miao De Lun carefully climbed onto the horse making sure his niece is still steadily on his back, he then pulled the young Miao Ting Feng upon the horse. By then, the darkly clad assassin who received a cut on the arm earlier took notice of the uncle and the two siblings on horseback. Nimbly he jumped on a horse and started to chase after them. There was no time to lose, the uncle and the two children turned away from their home and started galloping in the direction of the city gates.

    In the short moments before they lost sight of Miao manor, Miao Ting Feng turned to see a tall man and his horse walk out from the shadows. The tall man wore a wide brimmed hat, which partially covered the top part of his face, leaving his mouth and the big mole below his chin to be visible to the young Miao Ting Feng. He knew this man. His father also recognized this man. He saw the tall man order the two assassins to stop and his father with an astonished face stumble down to one knee with only his sword to steady him. It looked like the tall man wanted something from his father, but then his uncle had steered the horse off the straight path and made a turn to lose the assassin chasing them.

    As they reach the city gates, the soldiers guarding the large gate doors was just letting an old lady and her granddaughter in after hours, when gates would have been closed for the night. Miao De Lun shouted, “Keep the gate door open! Keep the gate door open!” The soldiers recognized him to be the head master of Miao weaponry and immediately reopened the doors again. Seeing the darkly dressed assassin on their trail, the soldiers attempted to quickly close the gate doors on him, but they were no match for his great horse riding skills. He and his horse galloped and passed through the gate doors with ease.

    After a long ride towards the forest, Miao De Lun and the two children reached a fork in the road, one path leading up to the monastery on the mountain and another path towards a village. Miao De Lun pulled the reigns and the horse stopped.

    “Uncle, why are we stopping?” Miao Ting Feng asked.

    “Ah Feng, get off the horse and take your sister.” Miao De Lun untied the large cloth holding his niece to his back and placed her in his nephew’s open arms.

    “Listen carefully, Ah Feng, I want you to take sister and go hide in the monastery. Our family has good relations with the head abbot. He will take care of you until I return.”

    Miao Ting Feng nodded while his sister sobbed for their parents. He watched as his uncle took the horse and rode down the road towards the nearby village. The snow kept falling from the sky without any sign of stopping. ‘Good,’ Miao Ting Feng thought. 'Our trail will disappear with the fallings snow.'

    “Xiao Bing (小冰), come on, we have to hide from the bad man.” He carried his sister up the trail, where they hid behind a large boulder. His sister, Miao Xiao Ping (苗小冰) clings to her brother and cried, “Brother Feng, I want mama and papa! I am scared of those demons in black!”

    “I know. I know but we have to wait for uncle to return.” Miao Ting Feng sat and hugged his sister closer to him. Tears dropped silently down his cheeks as he tried to quiet his sister’s little sobs by gently rocking her to sleep.

    Soon, the assassin reached the fork and paused for a second and decided to continue towards the road to the next village. The two Miao siblings waited for a long time before they set out to walk up to the monastery. When they reached the temple, a young Buddhist monk answered the door and led them to the head abbot who took them in and gave them a place to stay.

    A few days later, when Miao Ting Feng and his sister had not heard from his uncle, he asked the Head Abbot to let them return home to see what had happened to Miao manor under some supervision. News all around town told a story about the Miao family meeting an unfortunate demise that involved a group of robbers who came to steal from the Miao family. They stole and killed everyone in the manor. With the loss of the Miao family, everyone in the entire prefecture felt their absence. That snowy night ended the lives of forty-eight members of the Miao family, not counting the maids and servants that served the Miao family.

    After a month, Miao Ting Feng and Miao Bing Bing (苗小冰)wandered aimlessly on the open roads in search of their uncle. The Head Abbot tried to convince them to stay at the monastery, but they refused. They wanted to be reunited with their only family member, so he gave the children extra clothing to stay warm in the cold weather and food rations to last a few days. Miao Ting Feng and his sister searched the next village, but there was no sign of his uncle. They continued look for their uncle in other villages, but one day, his sister fell sick with pneumonia. He brought his sister door-to-door to physicians, but they all refused to treat his sister because they had no money. Only one physician generously offered to treat his sister, but it was too late. His sister had stopped breathing. When his sister died, Miao Ting Feng’s hatred for his enemies deepened even more that day, the death of his family and the losses his family had suffered because of the tall man with the mole had left him, homeless and orphaned with no living family.

    The months after he lost his sister, Miao Ting Feng found a job at a local blacksmith making axes, sickles, swords, bows, arrows, sabers. It was not easy for a young boy to find a job. Miao De Zhong would have been proud of his son. He proved to the blacksmith, he knew his ways in forging weapons and farming tools. The weapons he made were superior to the blacksmith, but the old blacksmith didn’t care. The boy brought in more profit for his small shop.

    In the ten years after his family massacre, he went on living in hope to get revenge for the loss of the forty-nine lives. He was grateful to have met his shifu, Qin Yan Fei (秦雁飞). She took pity in the boy and took him in as her student months after he had lost his family. Among her specialties, his shifu taught him the Peerless Swordplay and trap making. He spent many days and months of his youth practicing and honing his sword fighting skills, while other kids were playing. His determination for revenge motivated him and his natural aptitude for learning martial arts allowed him to become a quick learner of the swordplay.

    PRESENT TIME

    The crowd in the Golden Dragon Inn increased in their loudness and merriment, when a group of travelers came in demanding a full table of hot food and wine. The loud laughter and gambling ruckus shook Miao Ting Feng’s attention away from his painful memories of past and back to the present. The top floor of the inn became crowded and noisily to him again. However, he did not seem too bothered by the noise. He continued drinking nonchalantly and when the wine bottle was empty, he carelessly threw it off the balcony. The empty ceramic wine bottle almost hit a young woman’s head as she was entering the Inn. Her quick reflexes enabled her to jump and let the bottle break into many little pieces as it crashed to the ground. The near accident prompted her to run up the stairs to find the culprit.

    “Who threw that wine bottle out the balcony?!” said the young woman dressed in a light blue robe and cloaked with a black cape.

    The young woman looked around but nobody paid her any attention, except for the waiter working earnestly to earn his daily wage. The waiter approached the young lady and asked, “Greetings Young Miss, would you like to stay the night or eat a meal?”

    She nodded and the waiter led her to Miao Ting Feng’s table. “Sir, excuse me, since all the other tables are full, would you mind sharing your table with this young lady?” The waiter asked. Miao Ting Feng made no objections and so, the young lady sat down. The waiter waited to take her order and left promising her quick delivery.

    Miao Ting Feng went ahead to move his plates of food closer to his side of the table and poured him a fresh cup of the hot wine. The young woman looked at him and asked, “Did you see who threw that wine bottle that almost hit my head?”

    But Miao Ting Feng made no attempt to reply. The young lady frowned and deliberately took the wine bottle from his hand and poured herself a cup. She took sip of the wine and stuck her tongue out as the alcohol tasted bitter.

    “How can you drink such a bitter drink?” She asked.

    Miao Ting Feng had watched her steal his bottle away and take a deliberate sip of the wine. Her reaction to the wine reminded him of the time he convinced his little sister to steal a wine bottle from the kitchen and took his first sip of wine. He smiled at the fond memory he created with his sister, but the smile became bitter as the wine he drank.

    “You don’t have to be sad. I apologize for taking your wine without asking. My shifu says frequent wine drinking is bad for the soul and makes people act wildly. I just wanted to taste and see if that is true.”

    Miao Ting Feng just smiled quietly at her and took his wine bottle back to his side of the table.

    “Ha…you are a strange man. You don’t know how to reply to people’s questions, but only know how to drink and smile.” She said.

    It was true. Miao Ting Feng had spent many years withdrawn from society and focusing only on perfecting his learning martial arts. The only person he spoke to was his teacher. He looked at the girl sitting in front of him again. She looked familiar, but couldn’t quite place where he had met her before. Just then, the waiter returned with her order and began placing the plates on the table.

    Miao Ting Feng stood up and decided it was time to leave. He fumbled for two silver ingots and left it on the table. As he left the Golden Dragon Inn, he could still hear the girl saying, “That man is truly weird. The heavens bestowed him with a handsome face, but forgot give him a voice.”

    -------------
    Comments are appreciated...
    Goofy or Charbydis! Who's next!
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-14-11 at 01:11 PM. Reason: A new revision edition after many years, take that JY! You're not the only one who can revise!
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Swordmaster87's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    under the sun!
    Posts
    4,255

    Cool

    WhiteKrane, what's the title of the fanfic???
    Wow, you really have to do this, writing your fanfic and doing this too while doing schoolwork and posting in this forum.
    **~~Swordmaster87~~**

  3. #3
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    14,053

    Talking

    SwordMaster87: Currently we haven't been able to agree on one title for this fanfic, so we agreed to keep this temporily title, and change it as the story develops.

    I hope you enjoyed my first chapter....hehe..
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Wow, pretty dynamic... <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0">

    Exciting fighting and sad massacre. <IMG SRC="smilies/bawling.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  5. #5
    Moderator CrazyT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    1,946

    Post

    A very good beginning. Can't wait for the next installment. But why does every fanfic have to begin with bloodshed? <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> Why can't someone open with a happy-go-lucky story. ehe. Sorry, just ranting. It just seems a lot of the main hero have a tragic past.
    I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    273

    Post

    Wow! <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0">
    What a great story! I can't wait to see what happens next. With three great authors writing this story it's gonna be incredible!
    You all have my complete and utter support and attention! <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0">
    Read the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud now. I swear that you won't regret meeting someone like Bartimaeus. Ever.

  7. #7
    Administrator spcnet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    2,937

    Post

    Very interesting. Glad that another round robin fan fic is starting. <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0">
    -SC

  8. #8
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    White Camel Mountain
    Posts
    6,288

    Post

    Chapter 2: Murderer in the Dark

    The streets of Suzhou were filled with noise and excitement. Even though it was already very late at night, crowds of people gathered in the streets and admired the beautiful lanterns that hung high against the dark night sky. It was the Mid Autumn Festival. Peopleof all ages, young and old, all went out in the streets to enjoy the atmosphere. Hardly anyone was at home. The Huang household was in the same situation, only a quarter of the servants were at home. Old Man Gu turned and tossed in his bed as he found it hard to sleep. The music and the shouting from the celebrations were too loud for him, even with his deteriorating hearing. He got up from his hard wooden bed and went out into the peaceful courtyard to enjoy the fresh night air. Then suddenly a young girl’s high-pitched scream could be heard.

    “Don’t! Master Huang!” the girl screamed, “Let go of me!”

    But the man’s voice laughed and said, “Don’t be silly! It is your honor to be eyed by your master! Come on!”

    And from his tired, fragile eyes, he saw his master drag a teenage servant girl into his bedroom. Old man Gu sighed at the sight and turned around shaking his head. Rich Man Huang (Yuan Wai), Huang Po Wan, was the wealthiest man in the whole of Suzhou. He had twelve concubines, most were half his age, but still it was not enough for him. He was a notorious womanizer and rapist, but he had always bribed the magistrate into letting him walk free. As old man Gu walked back into his shabby room, he heard the girl scream. It was normal, because it happened all the time. But later, he immediately rushed outside as he heard his master groan with pain and called for help.

    He and several younger servants pushed open the doors to the master bedroom and found their master swiveled in a large pool of blood as he clutched his chest, which had a deep hole in it. The servant girl sat up shocked on the bed, too shocked to gather up her disheveled clothes. A tall dark figure stood with his back towards them, busily engraving some words on the wooden pillar. “Rapists who still dare to continue their crime will end up with the same fate as Huang Po Wan. These are the words of Chen Gu Xing.”

    After carving his name into the pillar, Chen Gu Xing turned around to face a group of servants shocked by his appearance. The name of Chen Gu Xing has been legendary in every corner of Suzhou for the past six months. The crime level in Suzhou had decreased ever since he started appearing there. He was cold blooded and cruel towards his victims to the point he would mutilate their bodies. He was the No. 1 criminal that all of the judge’s guards were after. There was a large reward for his head. Even so, he was admired by all of the poor people because all the people he killed were wealthy criminals who oppressed the poor.

    The servants had all imagined that he would be a rough looking bearded man, but instead the young man standing in front of them had a fair, clean face, with each of his facial features delicately carved. He was perfect! Chen Gu Xing gave them all a cold smile and flew out of the window and over the tall stone wall before they could all begin yell out for help.

    Out in the crowded streets, a prostitute stood out on the balcony of the Drunken Stars House waving to the passersby as they walked pass the place. But a handsome youth in a black outfit caught her eye for a moment, but disappointment filled her heart as he walked away and entered in a closed dark alley. Keeping her eye on the exit of the alley, she waited and waited for the youth to come out again, but he never did. The only person who came out was an ugly man, with a deformed face who wore a dark outfit, similar to the handsome youth.
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-14-11 at 11:19 PM. Reason: Editing for typos
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  9. #9
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Chapter 3: Red Flowers on White Snow

    A small frame figure dashed through the crowd from the main street into a small alley and suddenly disappeared into thin air. A group of angry chasers stopped in front of the dark lane and looked confusingly at one another.

    "Where is that dirty beggar?" One man asked his neighbor. Then he cried out in pain. "Help! My head is bleeding." His head had just been hit by a big watermelon, and its juice was running down his forehead.

    A laugh was heard from a rooftop of the nearby house. Everyone looked up and saw a small shadow bent down in laughter. "Ha-ha. An empty head has only water coming out. This should teach you not to call people names behind their backs."

    Then the figure on the roof picked up more watermelons that were arranged in a row nearby and started throwing them one by one down at the people below. The angry crowd cursed aloud while each tried to evade the watermelon missiles without much success. The group soon dispersed after that.

    However, some people didn't want to give up yet. They found a ladder and climbed up to the roof, but all they found were leftover watermelons. Disappointed, they turned back and started to get down. To their dismay, the ladder they had used was gone. Someone had knocked it down to the ground. Then someone passed by and helped put the ladder up right again. Relieved, one man stepped on to the ladder's first rung, only to yell and rapidly slip down the ladder and land flatly onto the ground. His hand felt sticky with a thick substance, it turns out some oil was poured onto the ladder.

    It took almost an hour before remaining men on the roof was rescued.

    Far away on another rooftop, a small figure looked on at the commotion with joy. "Ha-ha! How fun! Let's see if I can find another victim." Then that figure somersaulted down from the roof and disappeared into the dark.

    Singing loudly, there were two big men walking with a drunken stagger. They had just left a banquet and were pretty much drunk. One man said, "We have tasted some good wine, now it is time for some beautiful maidens."

    “You are right! Let us find two or three beautiful maidens and have them warm our beds!”

    They walked arm in arm drunkenly until something made them stop suddenly in their tracks. A slender female figure had just walked past them. Although they couldn't see her face, the flowery fragrance exuding from her body stirred up their manhood.

    The older man rubbed his hands and looked at his friend and whispered, "Let's go." He walked past the young woman, who had stopped seemingly to wait for someone’s arrival.

    Then the older man turned around and jumped at her from the front while his friend wrapped his burly arms around her from the back. Before they could touch her slender body, they felt the wind blew through their legs. Screaming with pain, the two looked down and saw blood oozing down their legs onto the snowy ground. They fell unconscious before their eyes saw the young woman’s face.

    The woman looked down at her victims and laughed with mirth. "Disgusting perverts, serve you right!" Then she lifted up her hands and counted, "One, two, three..., fifteen. Ha, fifteen victims in one night. Not so bad. My six mentors would have loved to hear about it." She turned and kicked the two lifeless corpses. "Good bye." She then flew up using her lightness kung fu and was gone from sight in seconds.
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-15-11 at 12:12 AM. Reason: Edited for typos
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  10. #10
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Am I too sadist?

    <IMG SRC="smilies/ninja.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/starwars.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/smash.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/crash.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  11. #11
    Senior Member TKL's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    668

    Post

    <IMG SRC="smilies/wave.gif" border="0">
    Just finish reading these three chapters. <IMG SRC="smilies/love.gif" border="0"> it. very intriguing.
    How can you guys have so much energy and time to write fanfic? <IMG SRC="smilies/dizzy.gif" border="0"> Not that it's a bad thing (since there is fanfic for me to read) <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> each of you have your own fanfic and now this. But I think a combination of three talents will result in a great fanfic. Keep up the good work <IMG SRC="smilies/thumbsup.gif" border="0"> I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Who will write next?
    Goofy, you are not a sadist, violence is part of any good wuxia novel. BTW, I like fight scene (maybe I'm a sadist too <IMG SRC="smilies/ninja.gif" border="0">
    <IMG SRC="smilies/exhibit.gif" border="0"> (just feel like using this new smilie, it's funny)
    If a man could be at two places at one time, I'll be with you
    Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way

  12. #12
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    77

    Thumbs up

    Great job. Keep it up!
    Love and Like are 2 different things. Don't let them confuse you.

  13. #13
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    14,053

    Arrow

    Chapter 4 : A Visit to the Past

    Back in Luo Yang prefecture, the gusty wind blew and the snow fell heavily down, but none of that mattered to Miao Ting Feng. He traveled in solitude carrying a long iron sword in one hand and a few articles of clothing packed in a bundle tied snugly across one shoulder and around his back. The edges of his dark winter cloak flapped softly as he proceeded towards the paths leading to his family’s old ancestral home. He had spent ten years away from his hometown and the home he had lived in since birth. Though physically he had been gone for a long time, the memories of his home and the people that once filled the home never left him. They remained alive in his dreams at night.

    In his years of training with his shifu, he was taught to become sensitive to the sounds in his surroundings, and right now it alerted him that somebody or something was following him closely behind. The sounds of the footsteps were muffled by the thickly fallen snow, but he could tell it came from one pair of feet. He quickly turned the corner and waited for his follower to appear. The moment the figure appeared around the corner, Miao Ting Feng had already stuck his sword scabbard against that person’s throat.

    It turns out the person who had been following him was none other than the young woman who sat before him at the Golden Dragon Inn. Fortunately for her, his sword had not left the scabbard, but his quick and sudden attack surprised her. She stumbled back and lost her balance nearly falling onto the ground behind her had he not intervened and saved her.

    “Young lady, why have you followed me?” Miao Ting Feng asked as he gently held her by the waist with one arm.

    Her almond shaped eyes stared up at his cold, questioning eyes. She turned her head slowly to see how close she was to the ground, nearly two feet off the ground. Then she looked back at him and suddenly became aware of his arm around her waist and how his posture bended over her. She squirmed out of his arm and stood up straight and began nervously straightening her clothes. But he just casually straightened his posture and asked her the same question again.


    “You scared me half to death! I wasn’t following you. I was looking for Miao manor and noticed you were headed the same direction.” She replied.

    Miao Ting Feng stood looking at her inquisitively. The young woman looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She dressed in a light blue and lavender silk robe with floral patterns and on her head she had braids and intricately made hairpins only a wealthy young lady from a good family would wear. But the dark gray cloak she wore over her robe was plain except that it was stuffed with cotton. The fabric used to make her cloak was a fabric commonly used for Buddhist nuns and commoners.

    “Who are you? What business do you have at Miao manor?” He asked with a calm and cautious voice.

    “When we met at the inn, you refused to answer my questions. Why should I answer yours?” She stepped towards him and asked defiantly.

    “This is my hometown and I am quite familiar with the streets and paths to Miao manor. If you answer honestly, I will help you find it.” He answered coolly.

    The young woman gave his words some thought and then looked behind her with a certain fearful expression mixed with caution. “My name is Lin Hong Ye. I came here to Luo Yang to find the Miao family because they knew my parents. My parents are merchants who travel constantly. I thought maybe the people at Miao manor will have ways to contact and find my parents.”

    He remembered the close relationship between his family and the Lin family. Her parents visited his family from time to time and sometimes brought her along. She was around eight years old the last time he saw her.

    “You’ve come ten years too late. Didn’t your parents tell you what happened to the Miao family?” He turned to leave and proceeded without care if she followed him or not. Perhaps, when she sees what has become of Miao manor, she would leave him and return to where ever she came from.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The wind blew at Lin Hong Ye’s face as she watched the young man continue on the street he was walking on before. She felt a little annoyed by his mysterious and curt behavior. She decided to follow him and see if the place he was going was indeed Miao manor. She had to walk quickly to match his pacing. Soon the two of them arrived in front of the Miao manor.

    Miao Ting Feng paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front doors of his home. When he was smaller, the whole mansion looms high with power, but now as an adult, his home looked smaller and vacant. He continued to stand in front of his home, not knowing how to deal with the buried emotions that wanted to seep through when he enters and no one would be there to welcome him, because there was no one left. The home he once knew now stood like an empty vessel.

    Finally, Lin Hong Ye caught up and saw Miao manor standing before her. The home of the family she had often visited as a little girl. She sensed something different about the atmosphere of the manor house, but couldn’t quite say what it is. She found Miao Ting Feng standing there like a living statue. All the while the snow continued to fall, but more gently than it had earlier. Lin Hong Ye came to stand beside him and turned to look up at his face. As she saw earlier, he had a slightly unshaven face with a few unkempt strands of hair fallen on both sides of his handsome face. She went up to stand on the steps and faced him.

    “What’s the matter? Do you know the Miao family too? They are the experts of weapon making. I once saw their sword cut through other swords with just one stroke.” She said with a cheerful voice, and then paused to reconsider her next word when she noticed his eyes. His eyes stared back, but she can tell he was not looking at her. He appeared lonely and sad. His eyes glistened with tears that refused to fall.

    Lin Hong Ye turned her attention to the three angry men advancing towards them from behind Miao Ting Feng. She knew they were coming for her, and she had managed to avoid them for a couple hours, but somehow they were unrelenting in their search for her. Without a word, she took Miao Ting Feng by the hand and pulled him inside the manor and closed the doors behind them.

    Then Miao Ting Feng realized the Lin girl had dragged him inside to the main hall with her hand still holding onto his. She looked around the vacant room and saw how lifeless it was. The room was still fully furnished, but there was no sign of life any where. Though it had been ten years, the house was still kept nice and clean. He had heard from the mouths of gossipers that no one dared to enter his home after the massacre for fear of the Miao family ghosts. Outside the manor, the three men shouted and pounded on the door. The two of them looked at each other and their gaze dropped to their connecting hands, she immediately let go of his hand. Her cheeks blushed in embarrassment, but she felt grateful for the dimness of the room.

    After finding a candle and lighting it, he asked, “Miss Lin, I told you before, you’re too late. There is no purpose for you follow me to Miao manor. Haven’t you heard about the massacre that took place here?”

    “I have been studying on Heng Shan sect for ten years. My shifu and martial sisters live in seclusion on the mountain. You said a massacre happened here?”

    “Yes. It happened ten years ago, a group of assassins on horseback came and slay forty-nine lives. People believed they were killed by robbers but only I know the truth.” He replied while lighting several candles around the room.

    “How…how do you know this? Who are you?” She asked. She was shocked to find out what had happened to such a good family friend.

    “I know because I am the sole survivor of the Miao Massacre. I am Miao Ting Feng and the people who died here was my family.” He replied in a calm voice, but his eyes reflected an unsatisfied anger towards his family’s murderer.

    Miao Ting Feng took a candle and searched all over the Miao manor, but to his disappointment there was no one there, aside from the girl who still followed quietly behind him. When he was lighting the candles in the main hall, he noticed there was no speck of dust found any where. The only room, he hadn’t check was the ancestral altar room with the tablets of the dead family members from earlier generations. He walked swiftly across the courtyard to the altar room and opened the double doors.

    He entered the empty room with Lin Hong Ye following slowly behind. He went around the room once to light the candles. Just like before, the room was maintained with care to have no sign of dust. He looked up at the ancestral altar and saw that someone had taken the care to add a tablet for every family member and relative that died during the massacre, with exception of his uncle, Miao De Lun, himself, and his sister, Miao Xiao Bing. Had his uncle return? Is eldest uncle still alive? He thought.

    He turned and faced Lin Hong Ye, who was looking at all the altar plaques representing the dead. Then, he untied the bundle that was tied around his back and took out a wooden plaque and a small white porcelain urn, which contained the ashes of his sister. He placed her ashes and plaque on the altar and began burning some incense to pay respect to his family members. To his surprise, Lin Hong Ye stepped forth to burn some incense as well.

    “Miss Lin, you did not need to do that. This is my family’s ancestral altar.” He said.

    “I know. I know. But my parents thought well of your family and where ever my parents are right now, they would wish for me to pay my respects for their friends. I am sorry for the tragedy that had occurred here.” Lin Hong Ye replied with a deep sympathy for his loss.

    Just then, Miao Ting Feng sensed a pair of footsteps coming quickly towards the altar room. He dropped his bundle of clothes that was hanging from his arm onto the floor and raised his sword in defense. Lin Hong Ye turned to look at the door as Miao Ting Feng had turned his attention towards it.

    An old man appeared and joined them in the altar room. With one quick movement, Miao Ting Feng unleashed his sword from its scabbard and pointed at the old bearded man.

    “Answer me, who are you?” Miao Ting Feng asked as he stood with his two feet firmly planted on the ground.
    The old bearded man appeared to be somewhere in his seventies with white hair mixed in with the silver. He looked harmless and friendly. He quivered under Miao Ting Feng’s sword. “Sir might you be the young master of the Miao family?”

    “How do you know I’m from the Miao family?” Miao Ting Feng questioned the old man.

    In reply, the old bearded man said,” I can answer all your questions if you follow me to the backyard.”

    Miao Ting Feng followed the man until they reached the backyard, where tombstones were neatly laid out. Someone had generously buried his family members for him.
    Miao Ting Feng raised his sword and aims it at the old man again.

    “Young master, I apologize for appearing before you unannounced. I am called Old Li. Your uncle, Master Miao ordered me to maintain your ancestral home in case you ever show up.”

    “My uncle, he is still alive? Where is he now?” Miao Ting Feng asked. He was surprised to hear from his uncle after all these years.

    “Your uncle told me he came back to the Miao manor in disguise after what happened ten years ago and had everyone buried here. He went to the temple to look for you and your sister, but the abbot told him you went to search for him. He told me to wait for your return.” Old man Li replied politely and took a letter out from his sleeve and gave it to Miao Ting Feng.

    It was a letter from his uncle, Miao De Lun. In the letter, his uncle explained how he had escaped the assassin that followed them with much difficulty. Afterward, his uncle returned to the temple, he found Miao Ting Feng and his sister had already left the temple. He searched for them for a long time until he met an old friend, Lan He Xuan (兰鹤轩), who was a master swordsman. His uncle had asked Lan He Xuan for assistance and his friend promised to help him. Somehow, Master Lan’s martial sister, Qin Yan Fei (秦雁飞) had caught wind of this and pursued to look for the pair of siblings too. She announced that if she found Miao Ting Feng, she would take him as a student and teach him all her specialties to compete with Master Lan’s student. After she had found the young Miao Ting Feng, she had written a letter to his uncle to give news of his safety and the loss of his sister. His uncle finished the letter with a promise to meet him at a later date.

    Lin Hong Ye saw Miao Ting Feng breathed a sigh of relief, but she did not want to interrupt his letter reading. After finishing the letter, Miao Ting Feng remembered his shifu had given him a letter before he left. Qin Yan Fei had made her student promise to not read the letter until he had arrived back in his ancestral home. He walked towards Lin Hong Ye, who had followed him carrying the clothed bundle he had left behind at the ancestral altar room. He untied the cloth to reveal a pile of neatly folded clothes and a letter. He took the envelope containing his shifu’s letter to him and started to read it.

    Dear Feng’er,

    I apologize for not explaining the whole situation to you all these years. I had to wait until you had grown up. Your uncle sought the help of his old friend, who is my foolish older marital brother and your martial uncle. It was clear, my foolish martial brother had too much on his hands with one student already. Therefore, I had taken the responsibility of looking for you. With only a painted portrait of you to go by, my vast relations reported you were working at that blacksmith shop where I found you and took you in as my student. It brings me great pleasure to have found you. My silly martial brother lost. But I know he is not satisfied, so I have trained you well to compete with my old martial brother’s student, Chen Gu Xing.

    You are to go to SuZhou in one month and find a Red Moon Inn Restaurant, where you will meet with your martial uncle’s student.

    Signed your shifu, Qin Yan Fei (秦雁飞)


    After Miao Ting Feng had read the letter, he quickly returned the letter back into his clothed bundle and tied it back around his back as he had carried it before. He politely thanked Old Li and turned and spoke with Lin Hong Ye.

    “Miss Lin, I don’t know why those men are after you, but I suggest you follow me out and confront your enemies before they threaten to damage my ancestral home,” He said as he briskly walked back out to the main hall.

    Out of respect, she followed Miao Ting Feng out to the main hall, but she took hold of his arm and pulled him back before he stepped out to the main door.

    Lin Hong Ye pleaded with Miao Ting Feng. “Please, young master Miao, please do not let those men get what they want. They are after me because I helped four girls escape from being sold to the brothel. These men sell poor orphaned girls into brothels.”

    Miao Ting Feng looked into her pleading eyes and breathed out a sigh. “Very well, but after this, you are to not ask me any more favors.” Lin Hong Ye nodded.
    --------------------------
    Goofy you're next!

    Comments? Feedback?
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-15-11 at 11:17 PM.
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

  14. #14
    Moderator Suet Seung's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    14,053

    Lightbulb

    Uh Oh! I left some words out and there's some minor mistakes....hehee...I guess I should have checked it three times before I post it. Oh well...enjoy...and if Jennifer can fix it thanks...
    I just love how you Captivate My Mind

    Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.

  15. #15
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    CHAPTER 5: The Haunted Forest

    A hundred li from a small town in Guangxi stood a haunted forest. All day, it stood lonely with the screeching wind as their only visitor. Evergreen foliage spread thickly over the moss carpet ground preventing the sun rays to ever warm the frozen earth. As a result, all year long, the forest was always as dark and as chilly as a cold winter night.

    Often, the town people would hear howling sounds coming from this forest. At other times, they would hear a sweet melodic music floating from the direction of the forest, and then they would suddenly hear a ferocious roar of a wild animal. Many had gone inside the dark forest to investigate, but so far nobody had returned yet. Some who had gone as far as the edge of the forest would run home with an ashen face and stammer a report of seeing ghosts and demons; hence the place earned its title, the Haunted Forest.

    This morning, a young woman of about sixteen years old strolled leisurely towards the Haunted Forest. She was humming merrily as she entered into the looming darkness ahead. Inside the dark forest, she walked confidently as if she knew her ways in the Haunted Forest really well. After fifty steps, she stopped in front of a tall oak tree. The girl rubbed her nose in deep thought while her eyes examined the tree carefully. Then she leaped up in the air and jumped onto the largest oak branch. There she found a thin thread hanging from it. She smiled in satisfaction and hauled the thread up and found the end of the thread tied with a golden needle. Cautiously, she untied the knot and took out the needle. Then she pinned it on a piece of black cloth and drop it in her pouch.

    She jumped down to the cold ground and continued her journey. After another hundred steps, she stopped again, this time it was in front of a deep pit. Laughing to herself, she jumped in the hole. At the bottom, she started to crawl forward along the tunnel, using her senses to guide her. At long last, she emerged up again. By the exit, she found another golden needle waiting for her in the nearby bush.

    Once out of the tunnel, she strode to the left and to another left and finally three steps to the right. There she met her third challenge, a wide streaming river. The girl continued to grin like the challenge was only a game to her. She took her clothes off, tied them on top of her head and started swimming. After ten minutes in water, she reached the shore. She redressed herself and headed straight to a clearing before her.

    Suddenly, a loud roar was heard and a white shadow jumped down from a tree. She was pushed to the ground and a white tiger pounced on her. Its front paws touched her shoulders, and its mouth opened wide. Instead of being afraid, the girl gave the tiger a loving pat on its side and pushed it gently to the side. The white tiger cried pleadingly but obediently let her go.

    However, it kept nudging at her legs until she had to bring out a bun from her bag. "Okay. Okay. Here is your bun, Xiao Bai. I had to go all the way to town just to buy buns for you." She looked at her big pet fondly as it was swallowed the sweet bun in one bite. Then it looked up at her again and begged for more.

    The girl shook her head. "No more. I still have First teacher to feed. Someday both of you would eat me out of the house and home." She grumbled, but her face was full of smiles.

    She turned around and there was her first of seven teachers, Gao Ah Yi (高阿一). He was a very thin man, almost skeleton like. He seemed like a man who never had any decent meal in his life. He looked hungrily at the bag full of food and said, "Xiu Lan, I smell food. Is that sweet buns with bean paste inside? How delicious! Hurry up and give me some. I am dying from hunger."

    "Yes. After you ate twenty big bowls of noodles and not to mention, a whole roasted chicken and half a dozen of fish I had prepared for our Xiu Lan,” said the voice from behind a tree. The owner of that voice came out and joined them. The voice belonged to her second teacher, He Zi Wen (河子文), a short and plump man with small, slit eyes and a pudgy face. He looked at the girl and smiled. "So you have found two out the three needles, eh? Not bad, not bad at all. However, if you had taken the raft instead of swimming, you might have gained the third needle."

    The girl stuck her tongue out. She added, "And I would have gone down in the middle of the river and got wet all the same. Who said I don't have the third needle. Here it is." She opened her hand and showed the two men three golden needles.

    "Cheater,” a new voice said accusingly. Ah Qian (阿前), Lin Xiu Lan’s fourth of six teachers came out from a cave nearby. He was small and short in stature. He was bald, but had a pleasant face. He repeated, "Cheater. I have only left two needles, how can you have three?"

    Lin Xiu Lan pouted, "Then you are the one who cheated. You supposed to leave three needles but you only left two needles. Good thing I have a spare one, otherwise I would have lost to you all. I am a winner this time, right Sixth Teacher?" She turned to ask another newcomer, Zhou Liu Yue ( 周六月), a woman in her twenties, who answered promptly, “That’s right. Our Xiu Lan is today’s winner." She gazed at the younger girl with affection.
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-18-11 at 11:11 PM. Reason: Add names and proofreaded
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  16. #16
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    White Camel Mountain
    Posts
    6,288

    Talking

    Chapter 6: The Hermit in the Woods

    The long branches of a tall pine tree shook as a fierce battle was going on in the tree. A small fat marten had been scavenging about the tree with a rumbling stomach, looking for small snakes to eat when a large long shadow towered over him. He looked up and saw the long, sharp fangs of a large Tai Pan lunged at him. With lightening speed, the marten speed away, just as the deadly venom dripped from the snake’s fangs, fell down and burned small holes in the leaves that he had just been standing on. Angry at this surprise attack, the marten rushed at the Tai Pan with a cloud of dust rising up behind him and sunk his small but sharp teeth into the crimson, scaly tail. Groaning with pain, the snake lashed its tail against the thick tree trunk in attempt to fling off the marten, but with its fast reflexes, the marten disappeared in a brown blur and reappeared on another branch above the tree, and stuck out its tiny pink tongue at the snake teasingly.

    A swarm of birds flew out of the tree as the red blur slithered up and down the tree in pursuit of the cheeky, brown fur ball, which ultimately caused a big commotion, disrupting the peaceful morning of the Woods of Severing Worldly Ties (Duan Su Lin). Only meters from the pine tree, stood a lonely wooden hut. Without any warning, the bamboo flap covering the window flew open and a great force of air came out and hit the tree. With a loud snap, the trunk immediately broke into two and the cat and mouse game stopped.

    “Ru Dian, Ru Lei!” cried a deep voice from inside of the wooden hut, “Stop it or there will be no breakfast for you!” Hearing their master call and the word “breakfast”, the two rushed down the remaining stump of the tree and sped inside the house. The marten dug his claws into the soft wooden table leg and ran in a circular direction up to the tabletop. To his frustration and surprise, the crimson Tai Pan was already there, curled around their master’s wrist and flicked his forked tongue at him as if in ridicule.

    They looked up and found an ugly face staring at them. The nose was crooked, the mouth was large, and the eyes were small against the swollen face it appeared on. But neither of them was scared because it was the face of the person who had fed them ever since they were born. Kindness and care shone from those ugly eyes, and a smile broke across the deformed face. Chen Gu Xing raised a large black pouch and dangled it in front of the two martens, who drooled over its contents. Their heads followed the pouch as he swung it left and right in front of them continuously. When he finally decided he had tortured them enough, he opened the pouch and took out a small dead and green snake and threw it on the table. In a flash of red and brown, the martens and snake rushed at the treat, which started another battle of claws and fangs. To end the fight, Chen Gu Xing threw another snake onto the table.

    He shook his head at them because he knew that there would never be any peace in the Woods of Severing Worldly Ties with these two around. He then returned a small table to his right and started to knead a lump of special dough. A wooden block with the shape of his head structure lay on the table and as soon as he managed to thin out the dough, he cut a portion off and gently pressed it onto the block. With a few dabs of paint and a few pressings to squeeze, a young, handsome face appeared on the block. Feeling satisfied with his piece of art, Chen Gu Xing gently peeled it off and transferred the face to hide his deformed face.

    After tidying himself up, he went up to the door and removed his sword from its hanging place. Then turned back towards the table and called his two pets into separate pouches, where it hung tightly around his waist. He set out to Suzhou, where he had a criminal to catch and punish.
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-17-11 at 07:00 PM.
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  17. #17
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Ha-ha, Charbydis I <IMG SRC="smilies/love.gif" border="0"> your Chen already...
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  18. #18
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    White Camel Mountain
    Posts
    6,288

    Talking

    Oh no! <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0"> The chapter was supposed to make you fall in love with the pets.
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  19. #19
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Chapter 7: Seven Devils

    Lin Xiu Lan affectionately beamed at her four teachers. She had brought back many things from the outside world for her six teachers and Xiao Bai, the white tiger. She was just going through all the things she carried on her. She held up her bag of food and tossed it over to the thin man, Gao Ah Yi (高阿一). He grabbed it expertly and galloped off to consume the food; the large white tiger ran after him in hope to devour some sweet buns before the man ate them all. Next she reached into her waist pouch and brought out a cloth bag. The gold coins inside jingled against one another heavily. At the sound of coins, Ah Qian(阿前)'s eyes lit gleefully. He cooed softly to his only student, "My dear Xiu Lan, I was just kidding when I said you were cheating. Now, be a good girl and give Fourth Teacher a bag of gold for his gambling tomorrow." He reached for the money bag, but the young girl was faster. She jumped behind Zhou Liu Yue (周六月), her sixth teacher, and waved the bag playfully from a safe distance.

    "Hmph! I don’t give out money easily just because you called my name, but if you can tell exactly how many coins there are in this bag, I will give it to you. Otherwise, I will squander it all, without giving you one coin." Lin Xiu Lan said as she made a funny face at him.

    Her fourth teacher rubbed his bald head thoughtfully, then nodded and said, "Okay! Can you shake the bag one more time?" Ah Qian listened intently to the sound of coins in the cloth bag and said with confidence, "One hundred and fifty golden coins."

    Lin Xiu Lan clapped with admiration. She threw the bag in Ah Qian’s direction and he promptly put it in the inner layers of his robes. Lin Xiu Lan turned to He Zi Wen (河子文), her round and chubby teacher with small eyes and pulled out a scroll from the clothed bundle tied around her back and held it out to him.

    He Zi Wen (河子文) eagerly received and opened the scroll and exclaimed, "Wow! Good girl! Good girl! This is a hard to come by poem written by Li Bei from the Tang Dynasty. Where did you get this scroll, Xiu Lan?" He raised one hand to pat her on the head.

    Lin Xiu Lan clapped her hands and laughed. Her voice was as sweet as a bell. "It is no problem for me. I know you love Li Bei and you have been looking for this particular poem, so I went to the richest house in this region and rescued it from an ignorant fool who was boasting about it and gave it to you because you know its value. Merchant Bai is so stinking rich and loves to collects all sorts of poems merely show off his wealth. I think he can afford to lend us a tiny scroll."

    Her second teacher looked up from his gift and smiled knowingly. "I bet this scroll is not the only thing you took."

    His impish student grinned but offered no answer. She reached in her pouch again. This time she brought out a thin book and handed it over to her sixth teacher and asked, "Where are Third uncle and Little Sister?"

    Her youngest teacher held the book with care before answered, "Your uncle is at the sunflower field and Fifth Sister is there trying to seduce him." She sighed. "Oh, heaven! Your fifth teacher is near thirty years old, but she still wants to be called Little Sister. Does she think she can get younger men being called that?"

    Lin Xiu Lan listened as her teacher talked about her uncle and fifth teacher. Though she smiled at her teacher’s remark about Little Sister, she couldn’t help reveal a slight sadness for her uncle. He visited the field of sunflowers often, not because he was happy, but for the sorrow he cannot let go.

    “Okay. Let me see how Little Sister has fared with my stubborn uncle. I will see everyone else at home,” She said decidedly and ran off to the Sunflower Field.

    Lin Xiu Lan ran swiftly using her excellent lightness kung fu, which she learned from her fourth teacher. With no loss in time, she arrived at the Sunflower Field, which was practically a small wasteland that was carpeted with golden sand. There on a low hill in the middle of the small dessert sat a handsome man in his forties. He was sighed morosely while looking down at the empty scenery ahead and by his side sat an elegant lady who chatted away, trying desperately to draw her companion's attention.

    The man was Lin Xiu Lan’s uncle, Man Tong. He sensed her presence and smiled with pleasure as he looked up at her. He jumped nimbly down the hill and greeted his niece happily. The woman jumped down after him with an annoyed expression. She cried out, "I guess I have no use now that your favorite niece has come back." She glared at her student and asked, "How many men you mutilated this time?"

    Lin Xiu Lan showed two fingers, and her fifth teacher, Yuan Yuan murmured with pity. "Oh! What a pity! There are now two lesser men for me to play with. Next time, bring them back to me instead." She ordered the younger girl. Her student nodded solemnly though she stuck out her tongue when her teacher walked away.

    The man waited until he was alone with his niece before asking anxiously, "Xiu Lan, are you all right? You've gone so long that we begun to worry about you."

    His niece hugged her uncle fondly and answered, "Sorry, Third uncle. I was late because I wanted to find you this gift." She took out a vest made of animal fur from her bag and wrapped it around her uncle. "It took me three days to find a merchant from Mongolia who sold this good quality vest. I bought from him squarely. I hope it fits." She looked at him with tendered eyes. "Are you still thinking of your wife?"

    Her uncle shook his head and thanked her warmly. The two held hands and walked back to their huts. There they learned that all the food had been eaten, and the others were sitting while admiring their respective gifts.

    Only the fifth teacher, Yuan Yuan, was not happy. She complained and pouted her lips because she was the only one without a present. Lin Xiu Lan laughed and took out a small box bedecked with jewelries and gave to Little Sister. Her fifth teacher opened the box and smelled the pink powder inside contently. She acclaimed dreamily, "Such a pleasant fragrance. Now, every man in town would come after me for sure!"

    Ah Qian (阿前) laughed at her, making the Little Sister mad. Without warning, Yuan Yuan threw a handful of poisonous missiles at him, but he evaded them all. Before the fight could get ugly, Lin Xiu Lan stepped forwards and quickly whispered something to her fifth teacher, whose face suddenly beamed from good news.

    Once Lin Xiu Lan had gotten everyone’s attention, she announced, "We are going to go to Suzhou tomorrow."

    Gao Ah Yi (高阿一), her first in ranking teacher frowned and asked, "Why?"

    Lin Xiu Lan explained to her six teachers, "In two months, a wedding festival will take place in Suzhou. All eligible men and women will be there for match making. All kinds of delectable food will be there along with the valuable dowries. Besides, I heard that many Mongolians elites will be there too, so we can investigate them along with having some fun."

    The first teacher, Gao Ah Yi (高阿一), drooled at the mentions of food. Her other teachers looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Only her uncle, Man Tong looked perplexed and then nodded slowly with some hidden reservations. "It wouldn't hurt to see what they are up to." He whispered to himself.

    Man Tong’s fourth sworn brother heard him with his excellent hearing and inwardly sighed. The word 'Mongolian' seemed to have different effects on them all. While the second brother wanted to kill every Mongolian in sight, his third brother tried to avoid meeting any Mongolian.

    His fifth sister laughed gleefully. She shouted, "Young men, old men, beware! Yuan Yuan is coming."
    Last edited by Suet Seung; 10-18-11 at 11:38 PM.
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  20. #20
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Back at my homeland
    Posts
    4,328

    Cool

    Jennifer, could you make my title in bold? Thanks. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/blush.gif" border="0">

    <IMG SRC="smilies/sweating.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/sweating.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/sweating.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/coffee.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tired.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

Similar Threads

  1. Dark Tales I-II 《聊齋I-II》
    By Da Bao in forum TVB Series
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 04-03-11, 02:02 AM
  2. Duan Chou Gu (斷 仇 谷 )Vengeance Ending Ravine
    By Alicia Lee in forum Mainland China TV Series
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-25-06, 01:27 AM
  3. Heroic Sword of Vengeance
    By babiadorkable in forum Fan Fictions
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 08-08-06, 01:57 PM
  4. Dark Tales
    By James Ko in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 01-27-05, 10:07 AM
  5. Foolish vengeance
    By Mr. Mok in forum Fan Fictions
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-24-04, 05:12 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •