Hi Everyone,

Just finished writing my first wuxia novel, 'The Untold Hero'. It is available on amazon as an ebook. I am posting the first chapter for you to get a taste.

Chapter 1 ~ A Journey to the Central Plains

It has been a month since Bai Ling Long left the Heavenly Phoenix Palace. The palace was a cave that was luxuriously embellished, situated on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The palace had no connection to the imperial kingdom. It was a martial arts sect ruled by the Heavenly Phoenix Empress.
The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was located in western China, between the Tibetan Plateau and Sichuan. Ling Long was traveling east, towards the Central Plains which was located in the eastern part of China. He was walking through a rich dense forest at the moment. Although he did not know where he was, he knew that if he kept traveling east, he would reach the Central Plains where there would be many fascinating people and things to see.
Ling Long was dressed in a light tan robe that covered his whole body, with a cloth belt tied around his waist. The young man turned nineteen this year. His black hair was tied back, with a few strands hanging in front of his face. Ling Long had chiseled facial features, which reflected his tough upbringing. His eyes radiated innocence and righteousness. He was a shy and quiet person.
Ling Long always listened to the Empress, the ruler of the palace, who was also his master. He has never left the palace. But as he transitioned from a boy to a man, he began to feel curious of the outside world. After many years of harsh training, insults and being called dumb, the young man finally left. His master was a strict teacher. She had set high expectations in his martial arts training.
With the rage in him, and the curiosity of stepping out of the palace for the first time in his life, he packed a small sack with a sword. He leapt down the mountain using a lightness skill the Empress taught him when he was young. This lightness skill was called Nine Heavens and Beyond. This ability allowed him to leap far and high. For a normal person, it may take them half a day to descend the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The young man was able to descend the mountain in one hour using this special skill.
During the descent, the young man experienced mixed emotions, freedom, curiosity and anxiety. This was the first time he left the palace. Ling Long often heard the palace members talk about the outside life and jiang hu, the martial arts world. Ling Long was more curious about the latter.
It was now afternoon, with the scorching sun overhead, Ling Long was beginning to feel parched and hot. He finally exited the forest and saw a lake. The young man ran towards it.
Crouching near the lake, Ling Long cupped his hands together and greedily brought ice cold water to his mouth. Satisfied, Ling Long splashed some water on his face to cool down.
He began taking in the surrounding area. Ling Long was standing in a gravel area, and beyond this area was the forest. The lake was large and oval shaped. On the other side of the lake, he could see a flock of swans. Birds were flying overhead, beneath the soft clouds. The scenery was very tranquil. Ling Long decided to lie on his back and take a quick rest. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in the warm afternoon.
After some unknown time, Ling Long sat up immediately. His senses were alert. Someone was playing music, but he was not sure where it was coming from. He turned his head left and right trying to seek the source. Ling Long did not know if this person was friendly or dangerous. This was one lesson he learned from Chief Zhao, his second teacher after the Empress.
“Always be alert and careful, you will never know who is your friend or enemy. No matter how long I have known that person, or how righteous they are, or their high position in jiang hu, the martial world, I treat everyone as my enemy so that I never let my guard down. That is why I am still alive even though my junior ousted me from my assassins group.”
The music being played was very pleasant with a bold melody. The young man felt a coolness that traveled from his head down to his feet. The music invigorated the young man with fresh energy. It cleansed his mind and spirit. This vigor he felt from the music never subsided, but grew with every new phrase.
Ling Long noticed that there was a boat gliding smoothly across the azure lake. It was heading to where he was standing.
On the boat there were two old men. One being the owner of the boat who was paddling. The other old man was standing at the front of the boat playing a transverse bamboo flute. This old man looked around fifty years of age. He was dressed in a mustard green scholar’s robe with a scholar’s square hat on his head. He was also carrying a sack of flutes. To Ling Long, the old man looked like a grandpa, with a wispy grey beard growing from his upper lip and chin, reaching to his chest. Ling Long judged that this old man did not seem dangerous from his good-humored face.
Unknown to the young man, the old man had a smile on his face because he was enjoying the beautiful scenery. He wanted to adorn this scenery by playing a song suitable at this moment. The old man enjoyed life, but enjoyed music even more.
The old man thought, “With the beautiful scenery one sees, why not add some music so the other senses can share in this exceptional moment.”
Ling Long continued to watch and listen to the old man. The boat was already half way across the lake. The old man also noticed the young man on the shore who was watching him.
The young man then noticed four boats following quickly behind the old man. On each boat there was a person paddling the boat, while another person stood at the front. All four individuals at the front were men holding swords. They had an expressionless look on their face. They began gaining speed and soon they were only a short distance away from the old man playing the flute.
“Halt!” called out one of the men on the boats.
The old man turned and nodded to the owner of his boat, and he stopped paddling.
“To what service can I grant you gentlemen?” asked the old man with a slight bow of his head.
This was replied by a man who seemed to be their leader, “Hand over the Heaven and Earth Chapter of the Eight Sounds Sect immediately.”
“Who are you?” inquired the old man.
“Disciples of the Six Sounds,” replied by the leader of the group.
The old man just shook his head and continued smiling.
Another man called out, “The Heaven and Earth Chapter belongs to the Eight Sounds Sect. You have no right to keep them.”
“My master, the Ancient Octet Deity, gave me the responsibility of protecting the Heaven and Earth Chapter. If I gave it to your master, how would I be fulfilling this responsibility?” asked the old man politely.
“Fine. We have begun with etiquette, but now it seems that we have to result to hostility.”
All four men pulled out their swords from their sheaths.
The old man sighed, “Since we are all part of the Eight Sounds Sect. I do not want to hurt you.”
“Flying Fingers Gentleman, arm yourself!” shouted the leader.
“I was enjoying the scenery at this lake, but now my mood has been ruined by your intrusiveness,” replied the old man. He brought his hand behind his head and dropped the flute into the sack.
The Flying Fingers Gentleman raised his left hand, in a gesture of offering the enemy to make the first move.
All four men leapt up. They tapped the tip of their feet lightly on the bow of the boat in order for them to gain some momentum. This momentum allowed them to use their lightness skill to glide over the water to reach the Gentleman’s boat.
With his sword outstretched, the leader arrived first. The Gentleman quickly grabbed onto the leader’s sword arm, and with a small twist, the Gentleman threw the leader into the lake. Next, two other men were gliding in lowly to the left and right side of the boat. Seeing this, the Gentleman leapt up several feet in the air. When both men arrived at the bow of the boat, the Gentleman was descending through the air. He kicked out at one man, shoved the other forcefully. This made both of them drop into the water. The last man had jumped onto the stern of the boat and was holding the owner of the boat hostage.
“Give me the Heaven and Earth Chapter and I will not hurt him,” said the man.
The Gentleman looked defeated and sighed, “Alright, I will give it to you.”
Reaching into his robe near his chest area, he produced two tattered thin texts. The Gentleman was holding the texts with his right hand. With a slight bow, he offered up the two books to the enemy.
Ling Long was looking at the current scene and was unprepared for what happened next.
As the enemy’s hand was just fingers away from grabbing onto the two books, the Gentleman quickly bowed forward. Standing on one foot, he kicked backwards onto the bottom of his flute sack with the other leg. One of his bamboo flutes came flying out, at the same time he stowed away the two texts in his robe. The flute hit the man in the face and forced his head back. The old man quickly stepped forward. With his left hand he pulled the owner of the boat away from the man’s grasp. His right hand caught the rebounding flute. Holding the instrument in his grip, he punched the enemy in the chest with his right hand.
The man flew several meters in the air before hitting the water. The four men began swimming back to their boats. The Gentleman began laughing heartily.
Ling Long could tell that this Gentleman was no simple person. The laughter was deep and rich, with every laugh getting louder. His ears began ringing with the laughter and his head started hurting. He could see that the owner of the boat was covering his own ears with his hands. Ripples began to form in the lake, extending outwards from the boat. Ling Long could not stand the powerful laughter anymore and covered his ears with his hands. The Gentleman realized the discomfort he had caused to the boatmen and Ling Long and stopped laughing.
With a smile to the owner of the boat, “Please continue on,” said the Gentleman.
Ling Long saw the Gentleman smile and gave an apologetic nod. Ling Long returned with a nod of acknowledgement.
The Gentleman raised his flute to his mouth and began playing the same piece again. The owner of the boat began paddling towards where Ling Long was standing. Ling Long continued to watch and listen to the old man.
In a short time, the boat arrived. The Gentleman reached into his pocket and handed a few taels to the owner of the boat. He threw his flute back into the sack, leapt off the boat and walked towards the young man.

If you would like to read on, the ebook is available on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Untold-Her...he+untold+hero

Thanks for reading