Four Constables - Return to the Capital City by Wen Rui'an

[LuDongBin]

Thks Jean.

[Laoren]

Thanks Jean

[Jean]

to continue.....


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Once everyone heard Zhui Ming calling this woman ‘Xin Shisan’, they can’t help but be surprised. Turns out that in the martial arts realm, there was indeed a Madam Xin Shisan whose martial arts are quite good, even above that of the Xin brothers. Even more amazing is that this Madam Xin Shisan seems to have camouflaging abilities on her skin. If she stands close to the tree without moving, she’ll look just like a leaf and if she sits on the floor and doesn’t move, she’ll be just like a rock. In the night she seems to be park of the darkness and on the snow she becomes part of the snow too where no one can pinpoint her out.

This Madam Xin Shisan is also famous for her poisonous secret weapons and she has a penchant for killing. It is rumored that she must kill one person a day and if she did not kill anyone for 13 days, her ‘Camouflage Skill’ will slowly deteriorate.

Madam Xin Shisan has done many evil deeds and killed many others, a famous female villain in the martial arts realm. She was later pursued by the ‘Four Famed Constables’, where she ran away to the region of Xiangxi and bumped into an even more nefarious female villain, the ‘Bloody Concubine’ Yan Wuyiu. From then on she was never seen again in the martial arts realm. No one expected that the killer today is Madam Xin Shisan.

Yin Chengfeng asked, “Elder Brother, you’ve struck her?”

Zhui Ming answered solemnly, “I kicked her in the chest and she is quite badly injured. If not for Brother Qu’s axe which distracted her, I won’t be able to defeat her.”

Qu Benlei replied honestly, “If you had not been fighting with this demoness, my axe won’t be able to hurt her. If not for the help of Brother Cai and Brother Yin, I would have died long ago.” Because he was grateful to both of them for saving his life, his words and tone is a lot more polite as well.

Zhui Ming suddenly raised his voice, “Xin Shisan, why did you hide yourself here, pretending to be a ghost and going around murdering others?”

Madam Xin Shisan stared at Zhui Ming, an angry fire burning madly in her eyes as she smiled and said, “None of your business!”

Zhui Ming continued asking, “The ‘Soul Hypnotizing Song’ is not your forte, where did you learn it from, and where is ‘Bloody Concubine’?

Madam Xin Shisan gave a strange laugh and replied, “I won’t tell you even if I die!” Suddenly she moved swiftly backwards. The four Shaolin monks quickly opened up their arms, for they happen to be standing behind Madam Xin Shisan. They roared as four palms extended but suddenly Madam Xin Shisan was nowhere to be seen, only a huge snowball which seems to have bloodstains on it rolling towards them. The four Shaolin monks realized that Madam Xin Shisan has gone missing and was worried that she would attack from the side so they hurriedly retracted their palms and jumped back.

Zhui Ming shouted, “Be careful! The snowball is her!” The snowball suddenly rose up and it turned into Madam Xin Shisan, who was about to strike when there was a ‘whoosh’ and a golden thread flashed by, aiming towards the three major acupoints of Madam Xin Shisan.

Cai Yudan’s moves were as fast as lightning but Madam Xin Shisan has a reputation as well. Her body shifted thrice in midair and avoided the three strikes. She leapt over the heads of the ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ and it seems that she is about to break out of the ring when suddenly there was a flash of colorful clothes and Cai Yunfei, with her double swords in her hands leapt brightly and intercepted Madam Xin Shisan. Amidst the flashing weapons, they have exchanged 7 blows. One can see in midair, a ghostly looking mad woman with messy hair and a brightly clothed, and fairy like young lady fighting with heart leaping moves.

With Cai Yunfei blocking her way, Zhui Ming managed to catch up. Madam Xin Shisan had suffered under the hands of Zhui Ming so she tried to turn around and escape. Zhui Ming gave a loud roar and kicked. Madam Xin Shisan leapt up in the air and turned a somersault, landing behind Zhui Ming. Zhui Ming gave a cold snort and with his other leg, kicked backwards, and with one leg in front and the other behind, both his legs were kicking in midair.

Madam Xin Shisan was alarmed and quickly sucked in her tummy to avoid the kick. Zhui Ming roared again and his body started rotating, his legs now like windmill spinning towards Madam Xin Shisan.

Madam Xin Shisan has never seen such exquisite leg skills. The spinning legs were swift and dangerous and Madam Xin Shisan has no idea how she should block it so with a scream, she quickly threw out more than a dozen secret weapons.

It is very rare indeed that Madam Xin Shisan is able to extract more than a dozen secret weapons with one hand, especially when these secret weapons were all different. They were all poisoned, but some were fast and some were slow. But once they reached Zhui Ming, his rapidly spinning legs actually kicked all the secret weapons and they dropped to the ground.

All these did have the effect of slowing Zhui Ming a little so Madam Xin Shisan made use of the chance to flip over and avoided the palm attacks by the Xin brothers. She was about to leap up again when she suddenly felt a pain in her chest. It turns out that ahe was quite badly injured when Zhui Ming kicked her earlier and now she kept getting blocked and attacked, she has used up all her strength and the exertion has affected her heart. It felt as if knives were twisting in her and the Twins of Wudang both cried out as their swords pierced towards her sides.

Just as it seems that the swords are about to pierce Madam Xin Shisan’s body, she suddenly disappeared and in it’s place there was a dead tree. They were stunned and hurriedly retracted their swords when the tree moved and it turned out to be Madam Xin Shisan. But it was too late, Madam Xin Shisan’s ten fingers were like hooks as it dug into Qing Lingzi’s chest.

Qing Lingzi screamed in pain as he threw his sword away and grabbed Madam Xin Shisan.Qing Songzi saw his senior brother in danger and was greatly astounded. He struck forcefully and his sword pierced through Madam Xin Shisan’s back.

Madam Xin Shisan screamed sharply and struggled out of Qing Lingzi’s grasp to turn around and bite down on Qing Songzi’s throat. Song Qingzi came from a proper, orthodox sect so he has never seen someone fight like that before. He was taken aback and this gave her the chance to bite him.

The rest were too far from them to save them. Qing Songzi fell to the ground as Madam Xin Shisan grabbed the sword from her body and chuckled, “All of you… you… don’t be too smug… my Second Senior Sister… my Eldest Senior Brother… will look for you… to take revenge…” She pulled out the sword forcefully and fresh blood splattered. Madam Xin Shisan staggered and finally fell to the ground, dead.

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[LuDongBin]

Fierce lady! Thks Jean.

[Laoren]

Thanks Jean.

[Jean]

to continue....


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Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when Madam Xin Shisan finally died. All these are famous people in the martial arts realm and they have seen a lot of fights, but the way Madam Xin Shisan fought with no restraint in order to break out of the circle, everyone can’t help but feel alarmed on seeing how she killed the Twins of Wudang and then pull out the sword before dying.

Zhui Ming heaved a long sigh and said slowly, “I’m afraid this battle of ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ will have even more casualties…”

Qu Benlei thought Zhui Ming was just being disheartened so he asked curiously, “Brother Zhui Ming, why would you say that?”

Zhui Ming replied somberly, “This Madam Xin Shisan is famous not only for her martial arts skill, but also her ‘Camouflage Skill’ and poisonous secret weapons. But now she also knows the ‘Blood Sucking Skill’ and ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’, obviously taught by the ‘Bloody Concubine’. This ‘Bloody Concubine’ is many times more trouble than Madam Xin Shisan, that’s why when Madam Xin Shisan met the ‘Bloody Concubine’ she was so obedient towards her. Madam Xin Shisan talked about her ‘Eldest Senior Brother’ and ‘Second Senior Sister’, I’m afraid that the ‘Second Senior Sister’ refers to ‘Bloody Concubine’, and now there’s a ‘Eldest Senior Brother’, he will be even more difficult to deal with.”

Cai Yudan continued slowly, “Brother Zhui Ming is absolutely right, ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’ and ‘Blood Sucking Skill’ are both ‘Bloody Concubine’ Yan Wuyou’s special skills. Since Madam Xin Shisan is able to execute it, it must be Yan Wuyou who taught her…”

Yin Chengfeng asked, “Brother Cai, may I ask who is ‘Bloody Concubine’ Yan Wuyou really is? And what kind of skills are ‘Blood Sucking Skill’ and ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’?”

Cai Yudan replied, “I only know that Yan Wuyou is a very big villain in the martial arts realm. She is young and beautiful because she used others’ fresh blood with her ‘Blood Sucking Skill’ to maintain her youth and looks. As for ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’, it’s a very unique skill and the user can control the voice with ease, be it loud, soft, far or near. Just like how Madam Xin Shisan was able to control her voice earlier such that no one can determine where exactly she was hiding; but it is said that when one reaches the epitome of the ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’, they can make a person crazy, die or even steal his soul, making him do things the other person wants him to do without him even realizing it. As for the rest, I’m not so sure so I hope Brother Zhui Ming can give his advice.”

Zhui Ming answered, “I wouldn’t dare call it advice, but my three brothers and I have gone after this demoness in many other places. We’re really embarrassed to say that because her skills are simply too good, we are still unable to apprehend her. Yan Wuyou may be as pretty as a flower but her heart is as poisonous as a scorpion. She has enticed many martial arts disciples into doing her evil deeds for her and in order for her to master the ‘Blood Dissolving Skill’, she stooped so low as to steal the ‘Yang’* essence. One night, she castrated and killed 29 young men in Bian City, a heinous crime indeed. This ‘Bloody Concubine’ is well versed in the art of Five Elements Divination**, often using formations to trap others, that’s why my brothers and I were unable to capture her. There were once we were trapped by one of her formations which we were unable to break out of, so she escaped. Now I understand that when Ba Tianshi said that there was a sound behind him so he turned around, thinking that the enemy is behind be in the end left his back exposed to the enemy and died because of the poisonous ice needle, which is the work of the ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’. As for Peng Gujian and the rest who suddenly disappeared without even a scream, obviously they were under the control of the ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’ before they were killed. The ‘Soul Crushing Demonic Vocal’ can control sounds so all of us couldnlt hear anything. After Xin Shisan killed Shi Tong and sucked the blood of Bi Bian and the rest, she used the big bird to carry the corpses away to put it where we can find it to scare us. All these are the tricks used in ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’… whatever evil persons are left over in ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ now, all the more we should get rid of them.”

* In Chinese understanding, Yin is female/feminine energy. Yang is male/masculine energy

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Men_Dun_Jia

Qu Benlei chortled, “I am not so lucky to be included in chivalrous acts such as these, what I want is the ‘Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song’ so I will have to make this trip.”

Suddenly, far away among the snowy landscape, a mad man with wild hair, dressed in a white robe which has a thousand holes was dancing in the wind and snow, laughing as he came over, “…ghost… ghost… Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song… singing… Secluded Ghostly Manor… hee hee hee…”

He was actually walking very fast and in an instant was right in front of their eyes. Cai Yudan took a good look at that person and was startled, “Yuwen Xiu?”

Zhui Ming sighed, “I guess he must me. Three years ago, after Mister Weng and his group went in, only Yuwen Xiu escaped but he has gone crazy. He loiters around ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’, refusing to leave. The rumor that the ‘Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song’ is in ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ started from his mad ramblings.”

By now Yuwen Xiu has come very close to them when he suddenly stared at Cai Yunfei and his expression changed as he screamed in alarm, “Yan Wuyou! … fairy… demoness… no! I won’t do it… you might as well kill me…”

Yu Wenxiu spoke so harshly that Cai Yunfei turned pale. Yin Chengfeng hurriedly went in front of Cai Yunfei to block her and said as he secretly prepared himself to defend her, “Mister Yuwen, she is my cousin, not the demoness Yan Wuyou.”

Yuwen Xiu was stunned for a moment as he looked at Cai Yunfei morosely and mumbled, “Cousin? Your cousin? My cousin? Cousin… hahaha… Yan Wuyou…”

At this time, the ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ walked nearer and the man holding the hammer asked, “May I ask Mister Yuwen, it was rumored that our Teacher entered ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ with you and he disappeared after that, what exactly happened to our Teacher?” The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ were all anxious as they all tried ask more questions to find out more from Yuwen Xiu.

Yuwen Xiu asked dumbly, “Teacher? What… Teacher? Who is Teacher?”

The man holding the chain spear answered, “Our Teacher is the ‘Ten Unrivalled Soul Chaser’ Guo Zhigeng, he entered the ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ with you…”

Yuwen Xiu suddenly laughed uncontrollably, “Guo Zhigeng? Ten Unrivalled… Soul Chaser…hahaha… Soul Chaser… Secluded Ghostly Manor… all dead… dead… Yuwen Xiu is dead too… let me off…” He suddenly turned and leapt over the heads of the ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ and ran off in a panic.

The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ were stunned but Xin Chou gave a cold snort and blocked Yuwen Xiu and said icily, “Hold it, is the ‘Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song’ really in ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’?”

Xin Sha has always also reached Yuwen Xiu and asked, “Stay here, have you seen where in the manor was the ‘Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song’ placed?”

But Yuwen Xiu seems not to have heard anything as he stood morosely on the spot, “…Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song… Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song? … when have I heard of this before? … Secret… Manual of the… Dragon’s… Song’…”

Suddenly his eyes shone as he shouted fiercely at the Xin brothers, “Ghost! The ghost is here! Demonic voice is here! Quick, go… quick, let me go!” The Xin brothers tried to stop him and Yuwen Xiu stuck out with his palm without even looking.

The Xin brothers gave a cold laugh and moved their single arms, ready to take this blow.

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[Laoren]

Thanks Jean.

[LuDongBin]

Cai Yunfei looks like Yan Wuyou? Is that a clue? Thks Jean.

[Abhay]

Thanks Jean.

[Jean]

they're finally at the manor!


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Yin Chengfeng has seen how the Xin brothers execute the ‘Unique Amputated Arm Skill’ to take on Qu Benlei’s palm attack and using their own internal energy to bounce back Qu Benlei’s attack from their amputated arm. If not for Qu Benlei’s immense internal energy, he would have been seriously injured. Now that the Xin brothers are using it to deal with a man who has lost his senses, he can’t help but feel worried so he cried out, “Mister Yuwen Xiu, ‘Unique Amputated Arm Skill’, be careful!”

Yuwen Xiu heard the cry and turned his head around, smiled at Yin Chengfeng as the palms touched. Yuwen Xiu’s energy from the palm attack seems to be dissolving into the Xin brothers’ arms and rebounded from their amputated arm. This rebounded energy includes the energy from Yuwen Xiu and the Xin brothers; before the palms touched Yuwen Xiu, the wind generated by the power can already be felt.

Everyone thought Yuwen Xiu will be in big trouble. There was a ‘bang!’ as Yuwen Xiu pushed with a backhand towards the force and flew about seventy to eighty feet backwards. Yuwen Xiu staggered a few steps and using his ‘Thousand Miles Purge’ skill, disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

The Xin brothers were astounded for they did not expect the crazy Yuwen Xiu to make use of their energy to escape. He did not actually receive the blow but used it to fly seventy to eighty feet away before using his lightness skill to run away in the blink of an eye. The Xin brothers were furious and they stared angrily at Yin Chengfeng before they attempted to give chase when they heard Qu Benlei’s angry bellow, “How shameless for two men to run after a mad man to ask for the ‘Secret Manual of the Dragon’s Song’. Just come with me to fight it out at the Secluded Ghostly Manor, why force the information from others?”

The Xin brothers stared angrily at Qu Benlei but because they have suffered under his hands and knew he has extraordinary strength so they dare not cause trouble. Even Zhui Ming commented icily, “If both of you want to continue with your nonsense, we will not wait for you.”

The Xin brothers were even more afraid of Zhui Ming so they clamped down on their unhappiness and kept quiet.

Zhui Ming took a deep breath and said, “The visit to Secluded Ghostly Manor will be fraught with dangers, if anyone is unwilling to go, you can stay here. Please consider wisely.”

The man holding the Thunder God weapon is the boldest so he immediately cried out, “Us ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ will not falter in the face of danger!”

The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ were all clamoring to go and the Dragon Monk of the Four Shaolin Monks clasped his palms together and said, “We came all the way from Mount Song to investigate the murder case three years ago, there is no reason for us to give up halfway.”

The Xin brothers gave a cold snort and Xin Chou said, “Since us brothers are already here,”; Xin Sha added, “We won’t go back until we get what we want.”

Yin Chengfeng glanced at Cai Yunfei and she smiled at him, her smile like a flower. Yin Chengfeng is at the age where he is young, fearless and adventurous and with Cai Yunfei’s support, he told Zhui Ming, “I would like to go to ‘Secluded Ghostly Mansion’ to expand my horizons.”

Cai Yudan smiled faintly and said, “Then I shall ‘throw in my lot with a gentleman at the risk of my life’.”

Qu Benlei chortled, “I am not a gentleman, but I do love pitting myself against vile characters.” With that he pointed his axe at the Xin brothers, whose faces immediately turned red with rage.

Zhui Ming saw that no one was willing to stay behind so he sighed and said slowly, “Fine, let’s set off. Remember, do not run too quickly, stay together and try not to stray away from the group nor attack rashly.” After he spoke, he started leading the run.

So the 18 of them went past the ‘Little Interlocking Marina’ and used their lightness skill on the thin ice with a steady speed. They reached the forest in front of ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’, passed the forest and suddenly the ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ is right in front of their eyes.

The ‘Secluded Ghostly Manor’ is right in front of Zhui Ming, Yin Chengfeng, Cai Yunfei, Qu Benlei, Cai Yudan, the Xin brothers, Four Monks of Shaolin and Seven Heroes of Revenge. The manor has been deserted for a long time and heavy snow has piled on the windows, roof, pillars, corridors and there seems to be a faint murderous aura emitting from within. Zhui Ming took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go in.”

Suddenly Cai Yunfei cried out, “Everyone, look!”

Everyone looked over and saw that white snow was layered on the manor’s wall and on the snowy wall there was a rusty arrow embedded on the wall, which must have been there for a long time. But that arrow was stained with fresh blood, dripping on the snowy ground. Someone used fresh blood to write on the snowy ground these huge and frightening words: ‘One step into Secluded Ghostly Manor, never to return home again.”

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[LuDongBin]

Finally .... the Manor. Thks Jean.

[Laoren]

Thanks Jean.

[Jean]

to continue.....


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Qu Benlei laughed loudly, “I have no intention of returning to Guandong at all!” He hit out with his palm and the snow flew. There was a large indent and of course the words disappeared as well.

The man holding the hammer pointed at the arrow and said, “Isn’t that Bao Hu’s arrow?”

The Seven Heroes of Revenge all muttered, “Yes, yes.”

Zhui Ming added, “It was said that 3 years ago, the ‘Three Evils of Shaanxi’ disappeared here. I guess this arrow is Bao Hu’s ‘Mountain Piercing Arrow’.”

Qu Benlei laughed loudly, “Who cares about the arrow, I am going in.” He lifted his hand, smashed the door open and took a big step in.

By now the sky is dark. The wooden door that was smashed open revealed a rundown but huge looking manor, so large that one can’t tell where it began and where it ended. There was a long drain which has been covered by the white snow going towards the manor. Therefore the group of 18 walked carefully over. Other than the angry howl of the northern wind in the darkness, they cannot hear anything else. They walked in a tight group, holding their breath and ready to fight.

As Yin Chengfeng walked, he could hear crackling sounds beneath his feet. He was feeling very perplexed, it’s as if he has kicked something or crushed something so he lighted a flame to take a look. Cai Yunfei was so startled she cried out in alarm, it turns out that the ground was littered with bones and some of them seemed to have died not too long ago. There was no trace of blood on the bodies but they have almost decomposed entirely, the scene extremely gruesome. Looking at the weapons around these corpses, they are obviously martial artists.

Zhui Ming suddenly saw that among the stones on the fake hill, there was an iron crutch that someone with obvious strength has embedded in the stone. Next to the iron crutch was a pile of whiten bones, with silvery hair on the skull. Zhui Ming sighed deeply and said, “Mister Weng Si indeed died here!”

By now they have reached the stone steps of the manor and all of them walked carefully up the steps. They saw even more bodies on the sides. Under the illumination of the light, they saw four sets of bones with monastery outfits leaning on four pillars. The Four Monks of Shaolin clasped their palms together and quietly sighed, “Disciples, rest in peace. Your Teachers will avenge you.”

The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’, on seeing that the bodies of Mister Weng Si and the four Shaolin Damo monks were found, were anxious to find their own Teacher. They started shouting, “Teacher, Teacher, your disciples are here.” They called out a few times and the huge manor echoed back their cries but there was no reply.

The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ were hot blooded so they started running but saw that there were more than 10 corridors, with each corridor linking to other corridors, a never ending chain of corridors. At every corner of the corridors, there was an eerie looking yellow lantern swaying above. The Seven Heroes of Revenge walked in first and Zhui Ming, afraid that something will happen to them, followed as well.

The lamps were really eerie, the light when shone on a person’s face gave them a deathly pallor. These yellow lights looks like the ones used to summon ghosts and spirits. The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ walked down several corridors but can’t find any way out. They saw that among the bodies on the ledge, there is one wearing a black robe. The man holding the golden spear knocked over an oil lamp in surprise and cried out, “Isn’t that… Teacher’s… body?”

The ‘Seven Heroes of Revenge’ ran over and finally confirmed that it’s Guo Zhigeng’s body. Overwrought with grief, they took out their weapons, screaming for revenge. Zhui Ming and the rest ran after them but as they chased them in the darkness, after making a few turns, all they saw were corridors linked with corridors, waterways linked with more waterways and pillars one after another, like a never-ending maze. Zhui Ming had a bad feeling about this and indeed, after walking a little longer, they saw again the oil lamp which was overturned by the man with the golden spear earlier and realized that they have walked back to where they started.

Everyone were feeling secretly alarmed and they moved around with even more caution. After another while, they accidentally kicked the bodies of three Wudang priests. Without a doubt, they must be the ‘Three Disciples of Widang’ who went into the manor three years ago with Weng Si, Yuwen Xiu, Guo Zhigeng and the four Damo Monks. They moved on and soon they came upon the bodies of the three priests again so they were even more careful, leaving markings on the areas they’ve passed. But after a few more turns, they still came back to the spot where the oil lamp was overturned.

They ran around for close to four hours and all were feeling tired but they still have not made their way out of these long corridors. Zhui Ming said somberly, “These corridors are a formation, using the unique combinations of seven turns and nine reversals. Unfortunately I am not familiar with this formation and if one doesn’t understand this formation, I’m afraid we can spend a lifetime trapped in here.”

Qu Benlei has been running for quite a while and his forehead was sweaty. He was obviously frustrated as he shouted, “Damn it, what’s with all these pretenses. Come out and fight 300 rounds with me if you have the guts!” He shouted for seven to eight times, his echo reverberating down the corridors but other than Qu Benlei’s voice, no one replied at all.

Zhui Ming saw that under the illumination of the yellow lamps, the water in the drains reflected a dark green sheen and he said, “Everyone be careful, the water may be poisoned.”

He tore off a piece of cloth and threw it into the water and the cloth immediately turned black and sunk. Zhui Ming laughed wryly, “I’m afraid we’ll be trapped until we die in these long corridors, we can’t even make use of the waterway to get away. Yan Wuyou is indeed formidable.”

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[Laoren]

Thanks Jean

[LuDongBin]

Thks Jean.

[Jean]

to continue....


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The man holding the meteor hammer, after seeing that his Teacher indeed died in Secluded Ghostly Manor, he was deeply grieved. He waved his meteor hammer and cried out, “I don’t believe we can’t make our way out of these lousy wooden corridors, I’ll go around again!” and with that, he dashed out.

Zhui Ming shouted after him, “Do not cause trouble!” But that man has already ran around the corner of the long corridor and the other two men holding the chain spear and judge brush is already running after him. They suddenly saw the light from the lamp around the corner swaying and with a ‘poof’ it was abruptly extinguished with a wisp of black smoke. After that, the man with the meteor hammer who went around the corner gave out an anguished scream.

The two men with the judge’s brush and chain spear were stunned! Zhui Ming, Yin Chengfeng, Cai Yunfei, Qu Benlei, and Cai Yudan has already leapt over their heads and turned around the corner. They helped the man with the meteor hammer sit up, only to see that his eyes have rolled up the sockets, his muscles swollen and on his throat, there were two small holes which was the cause of his death.

By now, the ‘Six Heroes of Revenge’, Four Shaolin Monks and the Xin brothers have arrived as well. Naturally the ‘Six Heroes of Revenge’ were upset and furious but in their hearts they were also fearful of the other party who could kill one of their brothers in the blink of an eye. Zhui Ming exclaimed, “The six of you, if you still do not control yourselves, I’m afraid you’re as good as killing yourselves in this Secluded Ghostly Manor.”

Qu Benlei laughed coldly, “If you really are sick of living, go ahead and run, see who will help you avenge your Teacher then!” The Six Heroes of Revenge looked at one another, what Qu Benlei said has really struck them. The Six Heroes of Revenge are not afraid to die but if they die, who will help them seek revenge?

Cai Yudan is indeed a famed hero of the martial arts realm, he is able to keep calm even under such situations. He asked Zhui Ming, “In Brother Zhui’s opinion, do we wait here for now and decide when morning comes?”

Zhui Ming sighed, “I have no idea. Even if we wait until morning, I think we still won’t be able to break this formation. If light is bad for this formation, there’s no need to light so many lanterns. If we wait until morning, I’m afraid a lapse of concentration on our part will result in the other party killing a few more of us. The most important thing now is whether we can break the formation. We can’t sit here and wait for death to come but I can’t think of a better solution for now. I wonder if the rest of you have any suggestions?”

Qu Benlei sighed, “If even Brother Zhui Ming have no ideas, then a boor like me will be even worse.”

Xin Chou said, “If you have no idea, then we’re just sitting ducks for the kill!”

Xin Sha snorted, “If you’re so capable, find that demoness. All you know is to talk big!”

Qu Benlei rolled his eyes and said harshly, “I can’t find her, you think you two weirdoes can?” The Xin brothers were infuriated.

Zhui Ming said quietly, “Everyone, under such dire circumstance, you still want to cause trouble? Then please go somewhere else to make trouble, don’t drag everyone else into this!”

The Xin brothers hated being called weirdoes but they were afraid of Zhui Ming so they stared angrily at Qu Benlei before Xin Chou said, “This score,” and Xin Sha continued, “We will remember it.” Qu Benlei imitated the way they spoke and replied, “I will settle this score with you next time.”

Cai Yunfei suddenly said slowly, “Elder Zhui Ming, I have an idea, I don’t know if it will work?”

Zhui Ming said, “Tell us.”

Cai Yunfei replied, “Since we can’t make our way out of this corridor formation, we might as well destroy this formation. The corridors are made of wood, it won’t be difficult to destroy.”

Zhui Ming jumped up, “Great! Great! Brother Yin, your wife is really great.”

Turns out that Cai Yunfei has been a smart girl since she was young. She is a kindhearted girl who dislikes killing and fighting so her martial arts is not as good as Yin Chengfeng. She was doted on by the previous Stockade Leader since young and the martial arts exponent in the stockade highly respect this young missy as well. Therefore when she dueled with these martial arts experts, every time when she’s at a losing end she’ll start pouting and refused to continue fighting. These men can’t make her do otherwise and she did not have to waste her effort to figure out a way to defeat her opponent. So now that she’s trapped by the formation, her first thought is that she might as well destroy it. This inspiration came from her experiences when she was younger, but it turns out to be the best plan to break this ‘Seven Turns and Nine Reversals’ formation.

Zhui Ming continued with a laugh, “Little Miss, great plan. We were cracking our heads over how to break this formation but we did not think of destroying it, we’ve really lived in vain for decades! The long years have made these wooden pillars rot and weak, with all of our energy, we’ll be able to destroy half of them within two hours. But everyone must be extremely careful. Firstly, this formation is obviously the ‘Seven Turns and Nine Reversals’ formation. If the basis of this formation are these oil lamps, we must first extinguish the flames if we want to destroy the formation, this is also to prevent Yan Wuyou and her people from seeing us. Secondly, we will take down all the roof, pillars and ledges and the obvious route will be seen but we must not destroy the wooden boards beneath our feet. The water still has not turned to ice even with such cold weather, I’m afraid it’s certain death if one were to fall in.”

Everyone was ecstatic as they got to work. Yin Chengfeng looked at Cai Yunfei intently and said, “Fei’er, you’re really something.”

Cai Yunfei blushed prettily on being praised by her crush as Yin Chengfeng looked at her dazedly. Under the dim and strange light, Cai Yunfei did not look strange at all but instead look like a blushing beauty.

Suddenly there was a scream, Yin Chengfeng looked up and he could smell a burnt, stinging smell. The man holding the chain spear had accidentally toppled one of the oil lamps while blowing it out and the black oil spilled on his hands and clothes. His whole body started turning black and Yin Chengfeng cried out, “Oh no, poison!”

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[LuDongBin]

Thks Jean.

[Laoren]

Thanks Jean. Ha... even before they destroy the formation, another member is dead.

[Jean]

to continue.....


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The Five Heroes of Revenge wanted to rush over and help the man with the chain spear but Zhui Ming flew over to block three of them while Cai Yudan got hold of another two. Zhui Ming said somberly, “There’s poison on his body, you must not touch him.”

By now, even the face of the man is turning dark grey, his eyes protruding. He cried out hoarsely at the Five Heroes of Revenge, “Don’t touch me, I won’t… live, avenge… me!” After he said that, he grabbed his spear, turned his wrist so that it’s pointed at him, stabbed right into his own stomach and fell over, dead.

Of the Seven Heroes of Revenge, there are only five left so naturally they are distraught yet furious. Zhui Ming heaved a long sigh, “When the man holding the meteor hammer died earlier, there was an oil lamp which was extinguished and it gave out the same burnt smell as well. Why didn’t it cross my mind that it’s poisoned.”

Qu Benlei said, “Since it’s poisoned, and I’ll push them into the water.”

Cai Yudan added, “I’ll help.”

Qu Benlei extended his arms and the energy that rippled from his palms extinguished the flames on the oil lamps, even the small plates that held the oil flew out from the impact and fell into the water but not a single drop of oil was split on the corridor; Cai Yudan’s golden thread swished around and wherever the golden thread struck, the lamps were extinguished and with another strike, the small plates of oil were flung out of the corridor into the water as well, not a single drop spilt. Very quickly, all the oil lamps were in the water. The strange thing is that after the lamps were extinguished, under the weak reflection of light on the snow, the depths of the long corridors don’t seem so intense as before.

Without the threat of the oil lamps hovering over them, everyone soon got to work tearing up the things on the corridor. With the strength of these people, it’s naturally very easy for them to tear up the woodwork. With palms and weapons flying all over, the pillars and beams on the long corridors started falling apart. Suddenly there was another scream and everyone looked over. It turns out that the man holding the soft whip from the ‘Five Heroes of Revenge’ accidentally tore apart the wooden floorboard as well and fell into the hole right into the water. Immediately his whole body turned numb. He struggled for a few seconds before he was totally submerged, leaving only a few bubbles on the surface. After a while, what floated up was a body with the limbs all disintegrated but with the head still in perfect condition, the look of shock still on the face of the corpse.

Zhui Ming and Cai Yudan stopped the Four Heroes of Revenge from going down to save him. After they calmed down, Zhui Ming said, “We better continue with tearing the things apart but we must be careful. If you lose your life in vain, no one will be left to take revenge.”

After another hour, everything on the corridors have been taken down and with one glance, everyone can see there the corridors come from and where it leads to. Zhui Ming said with an icy smile, “This time Yan Wuyou won’t be able to trap us.”

Suddenly, from the west champer, they heard a giggle and someone walked overly, like a fairy floating. The snow was fluttering and they saw this girl in her early twenties, as fair as a flower with coy eyes as sparkling as spring water and hair like a waterfall, walking towards them in a white tulle outfit.

The ‘Four Heroes of Revenge’ were initially filled with grief and were about to explode but once they saw that the person approaching is a weak and pale looking lady, they can’t help but feel perplexed. Cai Yunfei seems to have a liking for her as she smiled and called out, “Elder sister.”

The pale looking lady smiled she looked even more enchanting. She said gently, “Hello Miss, come here, come here.” Cai Yunfei looked that the lady’s smile and subconsciously felt a liking for her and walked over.

Everyone else was entranced by the lady’s smile so no one stopped her. Cai Yunfei took a few steps forward and the lady said softly as she gently caressed her long, black hair, “Come, come.”

Suddenly there was a roar and Yin Chengfeng flew to the front of Cai Yunfei and with a blinding flash, his long sword was in his hands and there was a ‘clang’ as a flying needle was knocked to the ground.

The roar and the flash of the sword shocked everyone out of their reverie and there was an uproar. The needle that Yin Chengfeng knocked off with is sword is a close shave as well. To think that the impact of the knock from such a small needle can cause Yin Chengfeng’s arm to go numb, which greatly alarmed him secretly.

Cai Yunfei went pale with alarm. She did not expect that this girl who smiled so warmly at her would actually try to kill her while stroking her own hair! If Yin Chengfeng had not come to his senses in time, she would be dead.

It must be known that once a person is distracted by Yan Wuyou’s ‘Soul Taking Spell’ and take notice of her, she will be able to totally control the person’s mind. Even Zhui Ming and Qu Benlei who are highly skilled were temporarily enticed by the ‘Bloody Concubine’ because they failed to notice what she was doing. Yi Chengfeng’s skills were not as good as Zhui Ming so by right he should not be able to escape but his heart and soul were all on Cai Yunfei so although he was attracted by Yan Wuyou’s beauty, his mind is only attuned to Cai Yunfei’s every move and smile. Therefore in the most critical moment, he was able to move and save Cai Yunfei’s life, all because of his dedication to her.

Everyone stared angrily at Yan Wuyou. However, Yan Wuyou smiled coyly and said, “This little Miss here destroyed my ‘Seven Turns and Nine Reversals Corridor’ formation, I’d like to try her blood to see if it’s sweet, sour, bitter or salty?”

Qu Benlei shouted angrily, “Demoness, what other skills do you have, better show us quick.”

Yan Wuyou laughed lightly, “What other skills do I have left? You’ve destroyed my ‘Seven Turns and Nine Reversals Corridor’, the ‘Bone Dissolving Pond’ cannot dissolve your bones, the ‘Purgatory Oil’ cannot fry your skin, you’ve intercepted my ‘Divine Collecting Needle’, the ‘Soul Taking Spell’ cannot control you, what else do I have? I’ll just have let you kill me.” The way Yan Wuyou described those killer weapons so nonchalantly were as if they are not extremely poisonous killer weapons, instead she sounded the more pitiful the more she talked.

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[LuDongBin]

In a way, it is funny seeing how these 7 "heroes" get whittled down. Thks Jean.