Lan Jin (6)
Master, slowly dying, lurched over to me and then collapsed. I looked at him, and he laughed.
Weeping, I cried out, Master
Master lay there, laughing quietly. He placed his hand onto my back, imbuing into me a stream of pure, matchless Qi. I was shocked. Master, I blurted, you
As bold and forthright as ever, Master said, I owe you my life, and now Im going to pay back what I owe.
Tears streamed from my eyes. Turning back to look at him, I said, Hua Maoer is dead. I cant go on living.
Staring into my eyes, Master said, There is something in this world called justice
I nodded. This was something Master said all the time.
He continued, You must you must continue on living. Im not saying you should seek revenge but justice and justice requires outstanding kung fu
I cried as I circulated the life-saving Qi through my arteries. My mind thought back to the five years spent with my mighty, respected Master, all the memories of five years, five years Master had settled down in this land that I loved, just for me. But now, that very land was covered with mountains of corpses.
The large, strong hand on my back, finally dropped away slowly.
I ground my teeth. Master! I cried. We will meet again in the afterlife of heroes!
Thusly, in Huang Clan Village, amidst the evening wind and rivers of blood, beneath the setting sun, I kowtowed for the last time to Master, three times. A hearty smile hung on his face, which only increased the pain I felt.
And Hua Maoer? I realized that I had started crying.
Her left half really was hung on the big tree outside the village, and her right half in Li Clan Village. Master wailed. Mournfully, he said, The Li Clan village had also been slaughtered.
Fury welled up as I thought of a beautiful young girl being slashed in two. It was truly unimaginable.
So ruthless.
His body trembling, Master continued, I circulated my Qi to heal myself, and began digging graves for everyone. One large grave for each family. It took no less than nineteen days to bury everyone in the two villages. Afterwards, I held vigil upon Hua Maoers grave for a month. In the end, I sang that love song she liked so much, then took up my sword and heeled my horse out of the village.
Spellbound, Ah Yi asked, Did you find Lan Jin?
Master shook his head. I was no match for Lan Jin. So I found a secluded place where I diligently practiced all of the knowledge Master had imparted to me. Ai. Luckily, Master had transferred into me a seemingly infinite stream of pure Qi. Not only did I recover fully from my internal injuries, but my power base increased dramatically. I trained hard day and night, very hard. I practiced palm techniques on the seafloor, flying techniques amongst towering trees, used scores of different poisonous snakes to practice Qi techniques. And to serve the fortunes of the people, I would occasionally take the heads of some government dogs.
Ah Yi and I couldnt tell whether Master was talking nonsense or not, but we listened attentively.
One year later, my martial arts were mastered, and I ascended Yingcai Peak to reunite with the Founder and my Master Uncles. I planned to discuss with them Lan Jins betrayal of the Sect. But to my surprise, when I arrived at our Sects mountain, I saw several Master Uncles seated formally around a large, round table. Their bodies were riddled with gaping wounds. Their acupuncture points had all been sealed or stabbed, and their bodies were soaked with blood. Their faces Ai, I do not wish to even mention it. Their eyeballs lay on the table, and their faces were slashed to ribbons. When I laid eyes on the scene I wailed. The veins in Masters eyes bulged. When I wailed, he said, the Master Uncles suddenly convulsed, and made strange gurgling sounds. As it turned out, Lan Jin had blocked their blood circulation, the way he usually did, leaving them torn to pieces, but unable to die! I shouted Juner will avenge you! and stabbed each and every one through the heart with my short sword.
Master leaned against me wearily. Sighing, he said, I searched the mountain all afternoon and finally encountered the Founder, laying beneath an ancient tree. He was one-hundred and two years old. He had not received any humiliations from that dog bastard, but there were deep sword wounds on his shoulder and chest.
Founder! I shouted, your grand-disciple Juner has arrived! I knelt in front of him.
Propped up against the old tree, he opened his eyes. When he saw it was me, he smiled weakly. Worthy disciple was trained personally by Jiexuan, compassionate and righteous. A weighty task will now fall on your shoulders.
I held back my tears, looking at Masters wounds. The bloodstains had long since turned dark. Grand-disciple will rid the martial world of this great evil. I will avenge our Sect!
The Founder frowned. Do not seek revenge for the Sect. Constant seeking of revenge will cause turmoil in Jianghu. That son-of-a-***** Lan Jins martial arts are devilishly fierce. What revenge could you seek? Wouldnt you just be delivering up your life?
I felt unsure. Dont tell me I shouldnt seek revenge at all? I said loudly. My Master, my Master Uncles, they all died so horribly!
With a trace of irritation, the Founder said, If Lan Jin has a problem with our Sect and wipes us out, what is the harm? But if he harms innocent people, or brings misfortune to our country, you must stop him even if you must sacrifice your life to do so! Your martial arts are not to be used for revenge! They are to be used to preserve divine justice! You must put your personal interests behind you, do you understand?
Ashamed, I knelt in front of the Founder, speechless, tears streaming from my eyes.
The Founder sighed. Lan Jins natural ability is freakishly high. I fear that a talent like him has never before been seen in Jianghu. At such a young age, his sword technique is abnormally profound. His movement techniques are as fast as lightning. When you add a deep understanding of the martial arts of our Sect, it really is first-rate Had I not used a hundred years of carefully established inner force to land a palm strike on his back, I too would have fallen victim to his violent treachery. After I hurt the little bastard, he fled with serious internal injuries. But you are still not his match. Dont be too anxious to serve yourself up to death.
I looked at the Founder. He struggled for breath, on the brink of dying. I shot out my hand and rested it on his Flying Dragon point, then began imbuing my own Qi into his Qi reservoir. Unexpectedly, he grabbed my hand, and I felt an exceedingly powerful Qi rushing back into my palm, like tidewaters pouring into my Qi reservoir.
Founder? I called out in shock.
This old man is soon going to return to heaven. What good is it to try to take anything with me? Take it, take it! Take it for the common people! The Founder gripped my hand tightly. The pure inner force poured into me, and a great responsibility came to rest on my shoulders.