Chu Liuxiang

[foxs]

Ysabel, Jaya, DongBin, you are welcome. Tail, He Shi Bi is an actual historical artifact. Plus Gu Long wrote this story long before Huang Yi started Da Tang.

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Edited: moved to Part 2 below.

[foxs]

What happens to spcnet? It is so difficult now to post updates. Each time I have to prove that I am not a robot, and sometimes spcnet is not responding at all. Any clues?

[foxs]

Chapter 12 - Walking Alone In Wulin

The youngster in black stood woodenly for half a day. Suddenly he brandished his long whip toward the people standing on both sides, mindlessly lashing the whip on them.

In an instant more than a dozen of people were hit black and blue; they cried in alarm and bolted toward the door to escape. The youth in black kept lashing the whip in his hand and spoke sternly, “Get lost! All of you, get lost! Not a single one is allowed to remain here!”

The main hall was in a great mess, several girls were crushed by the mob and fell down to the floor, and were forced to crawl out. Leng Qiuhun’s countenance changed, he spoke furiously, “These people did not provoke you, why do you take your anger on them …”

He had not finished speaking, a trace of blood appeared on his cheek.

The youngster in black scolded, “You, get the hell out of here, quickly get lost!”

Drops of blood fell from Leng Qiuhun’s face, but he did not even wipe it off, he simply stared at the youth in black with cold and threatening gaze. He laughed coldly and said, “If you are unwilling to admit defeat in front of others, naturally I can go out, but …”

‘Chi!’ his face suffered another lash of the whip.

But he still standing, unmoving, as he continued slowly, “But you must remember, these three lashes, there will be a day Ol’ Leng will return to you, double the amount.”

The youngster in black’s whip flew out again, while he shouted, “Four lashes!”

Leng Qiuhun stomped his feet, clenched his teeth, and walked away.

By this time the originally packed hall was empty. But the youngster in black did not seem to vent his anger enough, he lashed his whip toward the calligraphy and paintings hanging on four walls, smashing all of them.

Leaning against a table, Chu Liuxiang simply looked at him with a smile on his face; he spoke leisurely, “By now everybody has already left, is Sire ready to admit defeat?”

The long whip in the youngster in black’s hand slowly fell. Chu Liuxiang did not look at his face, he only saw that the youngster’s shoulders were moving up and down, but the movement gradually subsided. Finally he spoke in heavy voice, “What do you want to ask? Speak up!”

Chu Liuxiang pondered quietly, and then said, “Before your esteemed father entered the pass, he received a letter. I wonder if you saw it? Do you know what’s in the letter?”

The youngster in black turned around abruptly, his deep and penetrating gaze was staring fixedly at Chu Liuxiang; he spoke sternly, “How do you know who my Diedie [pronounced dee-eh, Dad/Papa] is? How do you know he already entered the pass? And how do you know that before entering the pass he received a letter?”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled and said, “Don’t you forget, this moment it is still me who is asking you.”

The youngster in black said, “You already asked your questions, now it’s my turn to ask you.”

“My questions,” Chu Liuxiang said, “You have not answered, how could you ask me questions?”

The youngster in black coldly said, “I only agreed to let you ask me a few questions, I never said that I will answer your questions.”

Chu Liuxiang was stunned. Laughing in spite of himself, he said, “I always wanted to see who the most unreasonable person in the world is, today I finally see it.”

The youngster in black said, “Your questions have already been asked, you might as well take the jade annulus, that man surnamed Leng, you already let him go, the bet between you and me is already fulfilled. Now, you should answer my questions.”

His sentences were joined together like a string of pearls, quick and urgent, as if he already planned it well. Chu Liuxiang really did not think that this cold and detached, haughty youngster, unexpectedly was also this crafty; he could not help smiling wryly. “If I don’t answer?” he asked.

The youngster in black’s response was only one word, “Dead!”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “And if I am unwilling to die?”

This remark was indeed the most clever response in the world. Since he was little until now, the youngster in black has never seen anybody dealing with him using such approach.

Sparks suddenly burst out of his chilling cold eyes; speaking hoarsely, he said, “You don’t die, I die!”

When the word ‘die’ came out of his mouth, the long whip already rolled out.

His long whip seemed to turn into countless circles, each circle seemed to loop around Chu Liuxiang’s throat.

Actually, not a single circle would be able to hit its target.

Like a light smoke Chu Liuxiang moved behind the youngster in black’s back; he laughed and said, “And if I don’t let you die?”

The youngster in black’s left hand pulled his cloak, like a black cloud the black cloak pressed down on Chu Liuxiang. Within the black cloud, unexpectedly there were seven-point cold star!

Unexpectedly he seemed to be really angry, he moved without showing any mercy. As his left hand was pulling the cloak, he also seized the opportunity to shoot the ‘seven-star needle’ hidden inside his sleeve!

This move, ‘Star Flying From The Bottom Of The Cloud’ was actually the consummate skill of the ‘Divine Dragon of the Great Desert’, with which he crisscrossed the world unhindered in the years past, countless Wulin’s martial art masters had died under this move.

Chu Liuxiang had never expected that he still possessed such a vicious martial art; he only felt his eyes darkened, while the sharp sound of secret projectile splitting the air was piercing his chest.

If he wanted to dodge, definitely there would not be enough time. His chest and abdomen suddenly contracted, unexpectedly his body bent backward like a crossbow.

The seven-point cold star was shooting like lightning, but Chu Liuxiang’s retreat was unexpectedly faster than the secret projectile. By the time he retreated to the corner, the secret projectile’s momentum has weakened; it gradually slowed down.

Chu Liuxiang suddenly reached out. Like catching mosquitoes he caught all the seven-star cold stars in his hand.

All of a sudden the youngster in black was overwhelmed with emotion. “Such a fast shenfa,” he blurted out, “Such a superior ‘distinguishing light catching shadow’ skill.”

Amidst his shout, the whip lashed seven more times!

Other people’s whip technique might be like a gale or a shower, but his whip technique was like layer upon layer, thick, dense clouds, where the rain could not penetrate, the wind could not blow away.

Other people’s whip might sweep across or strike straight, but his whip rolled around, big circles encasing smaller circles, within the small circles there were even smaller circles, outside the large circles there were even bigger circles.

As far as the eye could see, there were large and small circles, hundreds and thousands of circles; some circles encircled the hand, some circles encircled the head. For ordinary people, before they even fought with him, perhaps they would be dizzy just by looking at these circles.

Even Chu Liuxiang has never seen this kind of whip technique; he knew that if he was caught within the circle, it would not be a fun thing.

But all these countless large and small circles, each one did not look much, nobody would be able to see which circle was real, which circle was just a shadow.

The circles, which were hard to tell if it was real or not, were coming one after another, as fast as lightning. Dodging them would not be easy, breaking their strikes was even more difficult than ascending into the heavens.

While evading, Chu Liuxiang turned his mind around; suddenly he saw on the gambling table on the other side was a bamboo tube, with the ‘zhuangyuan[1] red’ bamboo sticks[2].

He soared and flew across the four-zhang distance, and grabbed a bamboo tube in his hand. Waiting for the whip to catch up, he suddenly threw a bamboo stick into the whip circle.

A ‘crack!’ was heard, the long whip slowed down, it broke the bamboo stick into two!

After the long whip rolled around and broke the bamboo stick, the circles disappeared, but the youth in black flicked his wrist, countless circles reappeared.

Circle after circle of whip came, bamboo sticks also flew out of Chu Liuxiang’s hand one by one, each one accurately entered a whip circle.

A series of ‘Crack! Crack! Pop! Pop!’ like a string of firecrackers was heard, and the circles disappeared one after another, but the bamboo sticks were also broken one after another.

The sound was very pleasant to hear, the situation was ever more pleasant to watch. While admittedly the youth in black’s whip technique was walking alone in Wulin [fig. unrivalled/outstanding], Chu Liuxiang’s countermeasure was even more amazing, unrivalled in the world.

It should be noted that after the whip formed a circle, it stored up a potential energy, ready to be released. As soon as it made contact with an external force, the stored-up energy did not have any other way to go except to be released.

Therefore, as soon as the bamboo stick entered the circle, the whip simply had to released its potential energy to break it. As the bamboo stick was twisted and broke, the energy dissipated, the circle also had no choice but to disappear.

Although it was such a simple logic, but in the face of the enemy in a hard battle, where the fire was hot and the tension running high, coming out with this simple logic was definitely not an easy matter.

Chu Liuxiang was precisely an unrivalled genius in the study of martial art; not only he was able to master martial art as soon as he learned it, he would master it in perfection. Furthermore, his quick-witted in facing the enemy and in meeting contingency also surpassed average people.

There were a lot of martial art that he clearly did not have the ability to break, but when he really had to fight, in a split second he would be able to come out with a way to break it.

Therefore, there were many martial art masters who were stronger than him, but when they really fought, these masters would be defeated by him. Although the defeat could not be logically explained, but the more it was an unfathomable mystery, the more it was readily accepted. Such was the weakness of human heart.

With his ‘flying loops lassoing the moon, traveling clouds spreading the rain’, the youth in black was able to crisscross the great desert unhindered, he had never met an adversary; unexpectedly today he came across such an unusual, peculiar technique to break it.

Inwardly he could not help getting anxious; the whip was moving faster, producing even more circles. But the more circles the whip produced, the faster the bamboo sticks were coming. Very soon the tube in Chu Liuxiang’s hand would run out of ‘zhuangyuan red’ bamboo sticks.

The youth in black was greatly delighted; he thought, “When you run out of the bamboo stick, what are you going to do?”

As soon as he had that thought, he saw that after throwing the bamboo stick in his right hand, while the long whip broke the bamboo stick, the circle disappeared, the whip momentum naturally slowed down somewhat, Chu Liuxiang unexpectedly seized the opportunity while the whip momentum was slowing down, using the ‘splitting light to catch a shadow’, to grab the broken bamboo sticks into his hands. Thereupon one bamboo stick has now become two.

The youth in black was both anxious and angry; the circles suddenly moved left and right, forward and backward, randomly, even more unpredictable than before. Sometimes he even feigned a move, the whip circle was not directed at Chu Liuxiang at all.

But regardless of what strange angle or weird direction the whip was moving, Chu Liuxiang only needed to move his hand, and the bamboo stick always fell in the middle of the circle.

Clearly the youngster in black was born with unyielding temperament. The more brilliant the opponent’s technique, the more he wanted to fight to the end; unexpectedly he refused to change his whip technique.

Later on Chu Liuxiang could not help laughing, “Haven’t you made enough circles already?” he asked.

Clenching his teeth, the youth in black replied, “It’s never enough.”

“How long are you going to keep making the circles?” Chu Liuxiang asked.

“Until you are dead,” the youth in black replied.

“And if I never died?” Chu Liuxiang asked.

“Then I’ll continue making circles forever,” the youth in black replied.

Chu Liuxiang was stunned; he blurted laughing and said, “Sire’s temperament does not differ much from an ox’s.”

The youth in black said, “If you get impatient, you will die immediately.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed heartily and said, “Wonderful! Extremely wonderful! Your way of speaking is really too wonderful for words, even I …”

While they were speaking, the circles kept coming unceasingly, bamboo sticks also kept flying.

Speaking to this point, the remaining a dozen or so bamboo sticks in Chu Liuxiang’s hand suddenly flew at the same time, yet unexpectedly not a single one entered the circles.

When martial art masters fought, how could they tolerate the slightest mistake?

The youth in black was greatly delighted; the long whip looped around Chu Liuxiang’s neck, the tip of the whip curled back, ‘slap!’, it left a trace of blood on Chu Liuxiang’s cheek.

Although defeated, Chu Liuxiang did not panic; his body suddenly twisted around like a snake or a scorpion, and broke away from the whip’s lasso. Bending his body backward, he dodged straight back and retreated to the corner.

The youth in black laughed coldly and said, “You still think you can escape?”

His move succeeded, how could he be willing to show mercy? The whip revolved and rolled out.

Just then, suddenly he saw a streak of sword light flashing in from outside the window.

The long whip has been turned into a circle, he could not even see the tip of the whip, but the sword came accurately, it struck right at the tip of the whip. The long whip’s power dissipated, it immediately went limp.

The long whip was like a snake, unexpectedly the sword struck the snake’s seven cun.

The youth in black was shocked and angered at the same time, “Who is it?” he shouted.

His shout still lingered in the air, a shadow flew in through the window, straight in front of him.

The man was dressed in black, tight against his slim, yet tough and durable-looking body, like a panther that has just sprang out from the jungle, his body was brimming with danger, his body was brimming with strength.

But his face was deadly gray, completely devoid of any emotion.

When his pair of sharp eyes coldly stared at you, no matter who you are, in his eyes you are no more than a dead fish, which he had to slaughter.

Although the youth in black did not know that this man was the number one assassin in Central Plains, ‘One Red Dot’, but under his stare, he felt his body became uncomfortable, and could not return his gaze. Turning his eyes toward Chu Liuxiang, he laughed coldly and said, “Turns out you already prepared a helper.”

Chu Liuxiang stroked the whip scar on his cheek; he smiled, but did not say anything.

The youth in black went on, “Calling for help after being defeated, could it be that Central Plains’ Wulin is just like that?”

Suddenly Yitian Hong spoke coldly, “You think he was defeated?”

Throwing his head back, the youth in black said, “It wasn’t me who suffered under the whip!”

Yitian Hong cast him another glance, an expression of disdain appeared across his face. Suddenly he walked over, using the long sword in his hand he stirred up the bamboo sticks scattered around the floor.

The youth in black did not know what kind of deceitful trick he was going to do, he laughed coldly and said, “You are thinking of using the same trick as he did?”

Yitian Hong said with a sneer, “Why don’t you take a look first before speaking?”

His long sword shook out, the bamboo sticks flew, but the momentum was not fast at all.

The youth in black could not help catching it in his hand, and saw that the bamboo stick was still a bamboo stick, but there was a black, flickering cold star embedded on each stick.

Yitian Hong coldly said, “If it were not for the man who suffered under the whip, do you think you are still alive now?”

Emotionally moved, the youth in black said, “You … you are saying in order to save me, he …”

Yitian Hong cut him off sternly, “If it wasn’t because he was shooting down these secret projectiles, you can forget about touching the corner of his clothes even the slightest.”

The youth in black’s body shook, the bamboo sticks in his hand clattered down to the floor, his face alternated between green and red, his eyes slowly turned toward Chu Liuxiang, as he spoke in trembling voice, “You … just now, why … why didn’t you say so?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Perhaps those secret projectiles were not directed to you.”

The youth in black said, “The secret projectiles came from behind me, of course the target was me.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Suffering under your whip is not a big deal, why would I even bother to speak up and thus let you feel uncomfortable.”

The youth in black stood quietly, unexpectedly there seemed to be tears in his big eyes, only he was fighting hard not to let the tears fall down.

Chu Liuxiang deliberately turned his eyes off him, and said with a laugh, “Hong Xiong, the person who plotted against us, did you happen to see who that was?”

Yitian Hong coldly said, “If I did, would I let him go?”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “I also know that this person’s movements are indeed like a ghost’s, but I still cannot figure out who he is. In Central Plains’ Wulin, martial art masters like him are really not many.”

The youth in black suddenly shouted, “I know who that is.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Chu Liuxiang calmly said, “You do? Who is it?”

The youth in black did not answer, but he took out a letter from his pocket and said, “This is the letter you wanted to see, take it!”

Greatly delighted, Chu Liuxiang said, “Thank you, thank you.”

Yet the youth in black put the letter on the table. Without looking back, he turned around and walked toward the door with his head hung low, a drop of tear fell to the floor.

Chu Liuxiang has been pondering by day and thinking by night, tossing and turning restlessly, yet the letter, which he sought but failed to get, this moment it was finally in front of him. He really could not contain the delight in his heart.

But just as he was about to take the letter, suddenly a sword flashed and the letter was picked up.

Chu Liuxiang could not refrain his countenance from changing; smiling wryly, he said, “Hong Xiong, is this a joke?”

Yitian Hong took the letter from the tip of his sword, and spoke coldly, “If you want this letter, you have to subdue my sword first.”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “I already told you, I do not wish to fight with you, why even bother to force me?”

Yitian Hong said, “You can fight with that youngster, why can’t you fight with me?”

Chu Liuxiang thought for a moment and replied, “If you must fight, how about letting me see the letter first?”

Yitian Hong coldly said, “After we fight, if I die, you can take this letter. If you die, this letter will definitely accompany you as sacrificial grave offering.”

Smiling bitterly, Chu Liuxiang said, “A bullheaded teenager has just walked out, unexpectedly someone more stubborn than an ox came in.”

Suddenly he flew; his left hand covered Yitian Hong’s eyes, his right hand snatched the letter.

Yitian Hong made a half turn, he stabbed backhandedly three times.

Chu Liuxiang lowered his head, unexpectedly he escaped under the sword flash, while his left elbow struck Yitian Hong’s flank, his right hand was still moving to snatch the letter away.

The way he seized the opportunity to advance, his risky shenfa, his swift technique, it was indeed indescribable.

Suddenly encountering a powerful opponent, Yitian Hong’s spirit was greatly aroused; his sword moved even faster, even more ruthless.

The sword light was flashing, one sword seemed to become ten swords, a hundred swords, and each sword was never a cun away from Chu Liuxiang’s throat, each sword strike was meant to kill.

Chu Liuxiang moved like the wind, but his intention was just to take the letter.

Yitian Hong knitted his brows, unexpectedly he wanted to hide the letter in his bosom.

His jacket was open to the right, so using his left hand, he wanted to put the letter into his right lapel. This way, the sword in his right hand was affected, albeit so slightly; the tight sword momentum opened up.

Chu Liuxiang’s entire body suddenly entered in, his left hand sealed the path of Yitian Hong’s sword, his right hand fastened the wrist of Yitian Hong’s hand holding the letter. In a split second he had used seven different moves.

His right hand was sealed, Yitian Hong stepped back repeatedly; but like a maggot attached to his bones, Chu Liuxiang stuck close to him. His left wrist went numb, since Chu Liuxiang gripped the artery on his wrist.

While in his delight Chu Liuxiang was about to snatch the letter, Yitian Hong suddenly flicked his finger, unexpectedly the letter flew straight out.

This change was completely beyond Chu Liuxiang’s expectation. He turned and jumped, his hand reached out, but Yitian Hong’s sword light flew out …

The sword light was, after all, faster than a person. The letter was pricked by the tip of the sword.

Yitian Hong was about to pull the sword back to take the letter down, unexpectedly Chu Liuxiang made a somersault in the air, suddenly both hands clapped, the letter, along with the tip of the sword, was caught between his palms.

This change was even more amazing.

Yitian Hong’s sword changed seven times in succession, Chu Liuxiang’s shenfa also changed seven times in succession. His entire body was fluttering, following the movement of the sword, as if the sword was carrying him around.

But this moment, he really did not dare to take the letter, just because as soon as his hands relaxed, perhaps the sword blade, which was faster than lightning, would immediately pierce his chest.

Yitian Hong’s body flashed, but no matter how he moved, he could not throw Chu Liuxiang away. He only felt that the sword was becoming heavier and heavier, his brow was beaded with sweat, rolling down his face.

Until finally he was unable to move the sword anymore, and could only hold it in the air. Chu Liuxiang’s body seemed to have weighed a thousand catties, pressing on him straight down.

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[1] Zhuangyuan is top scorer in the palace examination (highest rank of the Imperial examination system), or the most brilliantly talented person in the field.

[2] Inscribed bamboo stick, used in divination, gambling, drawing lots, etc.

[Fox Tail]

Thank You foxs
Yes Spcnet indeed has trouble lately
Sometimes this website even rejected by internet

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[LuDongBin]

Thks foxs.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[9Dragons]

I think you translate better than that translator from 大唐. haha Actually it's not fair to compare apples to oranges. This story flows better with a more simplistic presentation, whereas 大唐 is staged with more intricate pieces to layout a building conclusion. Really thankful to be able to enjoy both.

[foxs]

Tail, at least it wasn't only my system ... Jaya, DongBin, Ysabel, you are welcome. Kowloon, agree, I can translate Gu Long faster than the 'other guy'. I am going back to my time zone, so the next update will be Sunday evening, USA time.

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Chapter 13 – Three-snake Soup

Two men, one high up in the air, the other standing on the ground, were in deadlock. If the sword was not a divine sharp weapon made of hundred-times refined highly perfected steel, perhaps it would have snapped early on.

Overwhelmed with shock, Yitian Hong let out a shout; he pulled his body down with everything he had and thrust his sword to the ground. This move was both amazing and ruthless. With the tip of the sword pointing down, naturally Chu Liuxiang was no longer able to attach himself to the sword.

Suddenly a ‘crack!’ was heard; Chu Liuxiang flew horizontally for two zhang, and landed on the ground. His palms still tightly clamped both the letter and the tip of the sword. Unexpectedly, this treasured sword, which had gone through a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements [fig. the vicissitudes of life], which was able to cut a strand of hair blown onto it, which usually Yitian Hong treasured more than he treasured his own life, was finally broken into two pieces.

With grieved countenance, Yitian Hong’s trembling voice said, “Good! Good martial art skill indeed, good shenfa!”

Smiling slightly, Chu Liuxiang said, “Hong Xiong deliberately yielded to me.” Before he even finished speaking, the smile suddenly froze on his face.

‘Dang!’ the half piece of the sword fell to the floor, the letter also turned into pieces of butterflies, fluttering in the air. A gust of wind blew from the window, blowing everything away without any trace.

What happened was that when the two men’s power clashed against each other just now, internal energy was flowing continuously from Chu Liuxiang’s palms; forget about the letter made of thin writing paper, even copper disk and steel plate would not be able to withstand.

Yitian Hong was stunned as well. “This … this …” he stammered.

Chu Liuxiang sighed. Smiling wryly, he said, “It seems that I am destined not to be able to read the letter.”

Yitian Hong stared blankly for half a day. Finally he said, “This … this letter is that important?”

Actually, he was fully aware that this question was superfluous; if this letter was not important, Chu Liuxiang would not have risked his life to snatch it away, and many people would not have died because of it.

But Chu Liuxiang simply laughed aloud and said, “It’s nothing. I broke your sword, I should have apologized to you.”

Yitian Hong was silent for half a day. Finally he threw his head back and let out a long hiss; he said, “For as long as I live, if I ever look for you to fight, let me be like this sword.”

‘Pop!’ the half sword in his hand flew out and nailed itself onto the beam.

Right this moment, a shadow flew in. Unexpectedly it was the youngster in black. When the letter was destroyed, Chu Liuxiang was thinking of looking for him; unexpectedly he came back. Unable to hold his delight, he said, “Sire came at the opportune time, Zaixia was about to ask for your guidance on something.”

Who would have thought that the youngster in black did not seem to hear him at all; with fear plastered all over his face, he took a quick look around before suddenly hid behind the window curtain.

The decoration of this ‘Hall of Delight’ was magnificent, and was also very particular. The windows were covered in thick purple curtains that hung to the floor, so that during the late-night gambling, the light would not be leaked out.

As it was still early, the curtains had not been lifted up; rolled to one side, this youngster in black’s slim figure was completely hidden.

Chu Liuxiang and Yitian Hong looked at each other; inwardly, they were both baffled.

Why did the young man come back? Why was he so afraid? With his haughty temperament, what or who could possibly make him hide like this?

While they were still pondering in their hearts, they suddenly heard the sound of bamboo flute in the distance. The sound was sharp and short, one note followed the other in staccato, in the blink of an eye the sound already surrounded the building all around.

And then, a burst of fishy smell blew, unexpectedly there were over twenty, big and small, multi-colored, brightly colored, vipers, slithering their way in from the outside.

Knitting his brows, Chu Liuxiang leaped onto the gambling table and sat cross-legged down.

Yitian Hong also frowned, but he flew onto the beam, pulled the half-broken sword, and threw it down. One of the vipers, the biggest one, was immediately nailed to the ground.

The viper was unexpectedly very strong; its red tongue flashing, like a whip its body trashed around, ‘Crack! Crack!’ the solid stone floor was smashed open.

But Yitian Hong’s hand was very strong; the half sword was thrown with such a force that it was driven straight into the ground, leaving only the hilt, wrapped in black light silk.

The viper unleashed its strength in vain, no matter how it trashed around, it was unable to escape. The rest of the vipers unexpectedly swarmed over and bit its body, instantly had its flesh and blood sucked clean.

Watching this, Yitian Hong was disgusted, but was amazed at the same time. Hanging on the beam, he knitted his brows and said, “These snakes are very evil; where did they come from?”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Hong Xiong, I am afraid you already provoked trouble.”

He has not finished speaking, three men walked in in large strides.

The leader was big and tall, the clothes he wore was full of patches upon patches, which, God knows how many times it had been washed, but it was clean and threadbare.

Although he dressed like a beggar, but he looked disdainfully out of the corner of his eye; a fierce, vicious expression across his face, a haughty, considered himself unexcelled in the world, practically did not consider anybody worthy in his eyes.

The two men behind him also wore clothes with hundred knots, their faces fiendish, there were seven, eight sackcloth pouches hanging on their back; unexpectedly they were high-ranking disciples of the Beggar Clan.

The Beggar Clan’s organization was very tight, the difference between seniors and juniors was very clear, this big and tall beggar did not even have a single pouch on his back, so he ought to be an apprentice who has not entered the school yet.

However, from the expression showing on those two seven- and eight-pouch disciples’ faces, they appeared to be deeply deferential, almost fearful. This, in the eyes of Jianghu veterans, was unusually strange.

Even more baffling, the big beggar had fierce, vicious expression on his face, as well as the appearance of someone who had undergone a long vicissitudes of like and hard work; no matter how you look at him, his skin should be black and coarse.

But the skin all over his body was fair and delicate, just like a fine jade; it seemed like it was a lot more delicate and smooth than a virgin who has not stepped out of her lady’s chamber.

Chu Liuxiang sighed again; he muttered, “Trouble indeed has come.”

That big and tall beggar’s pair of triangular eyes flashed with ominous glint as he swept his gaze around, and then, without blinking, he fixed his stare at Chu Liuxiang’s face, and spoke angrily, “Nong [you, in Wu dialect] have the guts to kill our Gang’s Ge Ling She [lit. square/rectangular spirit snake], do you want to die quickly?”

In his anger, he spoke in local dialect, and unexpectedly it was the pleasant-sounding Wu dialect, which was in big contrast with his big and tall figure, his fierce and vicious countenance.

Yitian Hong was about to answer, Chu Liuxiang already cut him off, “Your Gang? Sire mentioned your ‘Gang’, I wonder which Gang is that?” [Translator’s note: see my previous note on ‘Beggar Clan’ instead of ‘Beggar Gang’.]

The big and tall, vicious looking beggar spoke sternly, “Nong, are you blind? Can’t you even see Beggar Clan disciples?”

Chu Liuxiang calmly replied, “Beggar Clan disciples, naturally I can see. But Sire has been expelled from the Beggar Clan more than ten years ago; how could you dare to call yourself a Beggar Clan disciple today?”

The big and tall, vicious looking beggar’s countenance changed. Throwing his head back in wild laughter he repeatedly said, “I didn’t expect a yellow-mouthed kid like you would know laoyezi’s [I, your father] background.”

Chu Liuxiang unhurriedly said, “If I don’t know your background, who’d know your background? Your original surname was Bai, only because you committed multifarious evil, and grew delicate skin and white flesh, Jianghu people called you ‘Baiyu Mo Gai’ [white jade demon/devil beggar]. You think highly of yourself instead, and got rid of the character ‘gai’ [beggar], so you called yourself Bai Yumo.”

Surprisingly he spoke about this vile beggar’s origin in one breath as if he was enumerating his family valuables [fig. very familiar with the subject matter].

Ba Yumo sternly said, “Well said. What else?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “More than ten years ago, your brutality flared out, in Huqiu [district] Suzhou [prefecture, Jiangsu province], you raped and murdered seventeen yellow flowers [i.e. young virgin] maidens at a stretch. Enraged, the old Bangzhu determined to put you to death according to the house rules; who would have thought you were aware of his intention, and went into hiding. The old Bangzhu was unable to find you, he could only expel you from the school.”

Bai Yumo laughed nastily and said, “Yes, that’s exactly right. It’s just that nowadays the old man already died, the new Bangzhu is not stubborn and ignorant like he was; knowing that if he wants to revive our Gang’s prestige, he would need laozi’s pair of miraculous hands to help him. Although laozi disdain to do this ‘turning around to eat grass’ thing, looking at his good intention, I reluctantly return.”

His shameful background was completely bared by others, yet not only he did not feel uncomfortable, he appeared immensely proud of himself instead; if he was not rotten to the bones, how could he have such a thick skin?

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Although NanGong Ling is usually magnanimous, I think what he did is rather lack of consideration.”

Before Bai Yumo answered, the seven-pouch disciple behind him already spoke sternly, “Our gang’s Bangzhu’s decision, who in the world dare to criticize randomly?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Others don’t dare, but maybe I do.”

The seven-pouch disciple laughed coldly and said, “What ‘thing’ do you think you are?”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Why is it that everywhere I go, there’s always someone asking me what ‘thing’ I am? Clearly I am not a ‘thing’, I am a human, no difference to anybody who is alive. Perhaps I look a bit more pleasing to the eye than all of you. Could it be that you cannot even see this fact?”

Bai Yumo laughed grimly and said, “In that case, I’d like to ask for guidance as well, who the hell are you that you have the impertinence to speak like that in front of me? Could it be that you are tired of living?”

These five characters ‘tired of living’ [huo de bu nai fan] almost have become the most popular saying in Jianghu. Whenever two people quarreled, it seemed like they did not show enough prestige if they did not say this saying. It’s just that although the person saying it appeared to act as if he was taking things very seriously, to the listener, however, most of the time he just considered him as farting.

But when this saying came out of Bai Yumo’s mouth, the weight was very different. If others heard Bai Yumo spoke these words to him, perhaps he would be so scared that his knees went weak.

Who would have thought that Chu Liuxiang still considered him as farting? He smiled and said, “Who said I am tired of living? I think my life is very interesting. There’s enough good wine in the world to drink for a lifetime, not to mention I have friends such as NanGong Ling, who often come to pour wine for me.”

The seven-pouch disciple’s countenance changed slightly, he asked, “You know our school’s NanGong Bangzu?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Although I’d love to say that I don’t know him, I can’t help it that in all my life, I have never told a lie.”

Bai Yumo’s pair of triangular eyes sized him up from head to toe again, as if he was trying to determine whether Chu Liuxiang was simply tooting his horn or not.

The other eight-pouch disciple coldly said, “Could it be that this is his delaying tactics, to give that kid a chance to escape?”

Bai Yumo laughed evilly and said, “If that kid escaped, I, laoyezi, have already prepared killer ambush in here, and you are included. Don’t even think that anybody in this room will be able to leave alive.”

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “If NanGong Ling heard you speak to me like this, I am afraid he would be angry.”

Bai Yumo chuckled and said, “Is that so? I might as well make him angry then!”

As soon as he finished speaking, his mouth blew the bamboo whistle, the more than twenty vipers, raising their heads high menacingly, only waiting for action, instantly flew toward Chu Liuxiang like arrows.

Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “Although I don’t like to kill people, I do not have any problem killing snakes.”

Amidst his laughter, the vipers already flew in the air. Hanging on the beam, Yitian Hong actually wanted to see how Chu Liuxiang would make his move, but this moment he could not help worrying for him.

Up to this moment, Chu Liuxiang has not made any move. But as soon as he did, he instantly pinched a snake seven cun from its head, and tossed it to the ground. The snake could no longer move.

They saw his pair of hands moving as if he was conjuring some magic tricks: pinching to the left and tossing to the right, pinching to the right and tossing to the left. With each pinch he grabbed a snake seven cun from its head; with each toss, the snake immediately lost its life.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty vigorous and nimble, vicious vipers, have been dashed against the stone floor, one by one had their head crushed, not a single snake remained alive.

His movement was accurate, his technique fast, his hands powerful; it was indeed too frightening, so that even the sword-that-shook-the-Jianghu Yitian Hong could only watch with blank expression on his face.

Looking at the dead snakes on the ground, Chu Liuxiang sighed instead, and muttered to himself, “Autumn breeze starts to blow, it’s time to take healthy tonic. Too bad that Tian’er of mine is not here; otherwise I could ask her to make me a fresh and thick stew of three-snake soup.”

All the blue veins on Bai Yumo’s head appeared, fire seemed to be shooting out of his eyes.

All these vipers were caught personally by him via arduous work from barren mountains, vicious valleys, desolate forests and harsh swamps, and then were fed with all kinds of poisonous substance, and were subjected to laborious training before they could be used.

He originally wanted to rely on these vipers to go on the rampage across Jianghu; who would have thought that someone raised his hands against them and killed them all? Not only that, the person still wanted to make three-snake soup out of them.

Bai Yumo stood woodenly for half a day. All the bones in his body suddenly cracked continuously like a dense string of beads. Gnashing his teeth, he fixed his gaze at Chu Liuxiang, while step-by-step he walked toward him.

Chu Liuxiang said, “Um, that’s strange! Looks like someone is shaking dice in your tummy; but looking at the rotten bad luck on your face, the dice must have shown ‘one, two, three’ dots.”

Although he was joking in his mouth, he was well aware that Bai Yumo’s martial art skill could not be underestimated. This moment he already gathered his strength ready for action, as soon as he made his move, the power must be no small matter.

His eyes were focused on Bai Yumo’s hands, and noticed that Bai Yumo’s pair of white and tender palms emitted a faint dark green qi.

“The palms are poisonous,” Yitian Hong shouted, “Be careful!”

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “Don’t worry, the poison won’t kill me.”

Laughing evilly, Bai Yumo said, “Who says the poison won’t kill you?”

As he exhaled to speak, he already sent out an omen. Chu Liuxiang knew that in the next instant he would definitely make his move.

Yet in that same instant, suddenly they heard someone shouting, “Stop!”

Light and shadow flickered, a man entered in hurriedly. He had sword-shape eyebrows and star-like eyes, his entire body looked like jade; the long green robe he wore also had two or three patches.

Although his handsome face carried a hint of smile, in his ‘not-angry’ might, there was a terrifying power within his facial features. His expression staid, he did not look like a man of his age.

Seeing this man, the two Beggar Clan disciples immediately lowered their heads, no longer dared to make any noise. Even Bai Yumo also retreated to one side, where he stood tall and majestic with his hands hanging loosely by his side.

Yitian Hong has never seen this man, but he knew that this man must be the newly-appointed Longtou Bangzhu [big boss gang leader] of the number one Gang in the world, the Beggar Clan’s NanGong Ling.

Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “NanGong Xiong came just in time. If a moment ago Xiaodi promptly made the vipers into a tonic living-person soup, wouldn’t NanGong Xiong have one less drinking companion in the future?”

NanGong Ling cupped his fist and said with a laugh, “Fortunately Xiaodi arrived one step earlier; otherwise, I am afraid these three disciples of our Gang’s who have eyes but no eyeballs would already become Chu Xiong’s ‘three-man soup’.”

Chu Liuxiang roared in laughter and said, “You have become a Bangzhu, how come your words don’t follow compass and set square [i.e. established standard] a bit more?”

NanGong Ling laughed and said, “Talking with someone like Chu Xiong, if the talk was boring, would Chu Xiong still be willing to take Xiaodi as a friend? But anyway, our Gang’s disciples are guilty of being rude, I am asking two gentlemen’s forgiveness.”

His countenance suddenly sank, he turned toward the three Beggar Clan disciples, and spoke in stern voice, “You are not young anymore, yet the way you work is so muddleheaded. Without asking who the other party is, you recklessly made your move. Did you forget our Gang’s rules already?”

Although these words were not addressed to Bai Yumo, yet it was tantamount to scolding Bai Yumo.

Bai Yumo chuckled and said, “Bangzhu does not need to point to a [Buddhist] monk and curse him as a bald donkey [derogatory term to call a Buddhist monk]. These two did not make any move at all, it was me who did it.”

NanGong Ling suddenly turned to face him, and spoke in heavy voice, “Is that so? This official wants to ask then, why without asking clearly Bai Shishu [martial uncle] recklessly made your move to injure people? Could it be that Bai Shishu is trying to find an excuse to withdraw from our Gang?”

Although he respectfully addressed Bai Yumo as ‘Shishu’, under his hard stare, this evil beggar from Gusu [Suzhou, Jiangsu], who murdered without blinking an eye unexpectedly did not dare to laugh anymore. Drawing back the corners of his mouth, he said, “We were just chasing after that hoodlum to this place. Seeing these … these two gentlemen in here, naturally we thought these two gentlemen hide that kid.”

“Did you ask the two gentlemen?” NanGong Ling asked.

“We did … did not,” Bai Yumo replied.

NanGong Ling angrily said, “Since you didn’t ask, how did you know the two gentlemen hide that kid? That man is dangerous and malicious, he is difficult to tolerate, how could the two gentlemen shelter him?”

Unexpectedly Bai Yumo hung his head low and did not dare to speak.

NanGong Ling laughed coldly and said, “Much less there is the ‘Central Plains One Red Dot’ and ‘Bandit Chief’ Chu Liuxiang in here. Anybody in the world, when they come here, they ought to be respectful, they ought to be polite, who do you think you are that you dare to be rude to them?”

Despite his young age NanGong Ling was really worthy to become the Gang Leader of the biggest gang in the world; in just a few simple sentences, not only he criticized his gang’s disciples, he also pointed out Chu Liuxiang and Yitian Hong’s identity. This way, although he scolded his gang’s disciples, he did so without losing Beggar Clan’s face.

The most important thing was that he mentioned that the youngster in black was wicked beyond redemption, so that Chu Liuxiang and Yitian Hong could no longer shelter him.

Listening that unexpectedly his one word says it all, that he exposed Yitian Hong’s origin, unconsciously Yitian Hong was even more amazed, “This NanGong Ling is really a formidable character,” he mused.

Chu Liuxiang, however, was inwardly baffled, “That youngster came here from the distant desert; how did as soon as he enter the Central Plains, he offended Beggar Clan’s disciples? Not only that, looking at this situation, the offense is not light either.”

As the Beggar Clan disciples heard that the man in front of them was the ‘Bandit Chief’ Chu Liuxiang, whose name shook the heavens, they could not stop their eyes from growing big, they jaw to drop, and were unable to close their mouth.

Throwing his head back, Bai Yumo laughed and said, “Turns out Sire is Chu Xiang Shuai [fragrant commander, another nickname of Chu Liuxiang]. I, Bai Yumo, fell head first in Bandit Chief’s hands, so I do not lose face. Since Bangzhu is here, there is no need for me to manage … I am sure we’ll meet again some day!”

After fiercely staring at Chu Liuxiang for a moment, without looking back, he walked out in large strides.

NanGong Ling sighed lightly and said, “Although in recent years this man’s conduct has changed, unavoidably he is still narrow-minded, his action is still inevitably reckless, but I hope Chu Xiong will not blame him.”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Others don’t blame me, I am already perfectly satisfied, how could I blame others?”

NanGong Ling laughed and said, “I did not expect Chu Xiong and Hong Xiong’s heroic selves are in here. Although Xiaodi has not lived here long, I often come and go around this place, so more or less I can be considered the host here, we should have a few quick cups of wine together.”

Unexpectedly he did not mention the youngster in black anymore, naturally Chu Liuxiang did not want to mention him even more. Roaring in laughter, he said, “You guys beg for food all year long, how could you ask others to have a drink with you? All right, I don’t care whether your wine come from begging or robbing, someone invites me for a drink, I never miss it … Hong Xiong, you must not miss it either. You have to know that the wine that you don’t need to spend your money on tastes very different.”

But Yitian Hong remained on the beam; without going down, he coldly said, “I don’t drink.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Such a good, palatable thing to fill the intestines, if you don’t drink, won’t you just let yourself down?”

Yitian Hong said, “Wine can make hands tremble and heart soften, killing won’t be scary anymore.”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “If one must not drink wine in order to kill, it’s practically like not eating for being afraid of defecating. Not only it’s extremely absurd, it’s also brutal and unfeeling. Hong Xiong, you …”

Suddenly he saw two Beggar Clan disciples entered in in large strides from the rear door, and bowed to salute toward NanGong Ling. The one on the left said, “Disciples, under Zhu Zhanglao and Ge Zhanglao’s [Elders] leadership, have investigated all the rooms at the back, that man surnamed Leng has already been handed over to Gongsun Hufa [protector of the law] as well, but there is no trace of the ruffian.”

Rolling his eyes, NanGong Ling turned toward Chu Liuxiang, cupped his fist and said, “Since that the case, I’ll have to ask Chu Xiong to hand over the man!”

Chu Liuxiang blinked his eyes and said, “What are you talking about?”

NanGong Ling sighed and said, “To be honest to Chu Xiong, Xiaodi is unable to figure out that man’s background; all I know is that his shenfa is light and nimble, his martial art skill very high. Two days ago at Zhaoguan town he wounded more than 10 of our Gang’s disciples, as well as stole one important article of our Gang. Just now he injured our Gang’s Song Hufa; therefore, our Gang absolutely cannot let him off.”

“Oh …” Chu Liuxiang said, “Is there such man?”

NanGong Ling spoke heavily, “Chu Xiong really don’t know this man?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Even if I have the desire to hit other people, I will never hit your Beggar Clan’s head.”

NanGong Ling smiled slightly and said, “That would be best …”

In the midst of his voice, from out of his sleeve suddenly flew two daggers.

These two daggers from NanGong Ling’s sleeves can be used as a club to hit acupoints, as judge pen, as awls to part water, and so on, eight different weapons’ style. It was called ‘Ruyi Ba Da, Ji Feng Shisan Ci’ [lit. adaptable (orig. as one wishes) eight strikes, stormy wind thirteen stabs], and could be considered as a pinnacle in Wulin, so that even the deceased old Gang Leader of the Beggar Clan, Ren Ci, his martial art skill seemed to be a tad inferior to NanGong Ling’s.

This moment unexpectedly the two daggers flew out of his sleeves, and went straight toward the purple velvet curtain. From his high vantage point, Yitian Hong was able to see very clearly.

Unexpectedly a pair of black boots toe was visible under the window curtain.

All they heard was a couple of ‘pop, pop’ sound, the daggers already pierced the boots, just like couple of nails nailing the boots to the ground.

The smiling expression on NanGong Ling’s face did not change; he spoke slowly, “Even to this moment, Sire is still unwilling to come out?”

There was no response from the curtain.

NanGong Ling cast a glance at Chu Liuxiang; Chu Liuxiang’s face was expressionless, as if he did not know anything. NanGong Ling finally let out a cold laugh and shouted, “Very well.”

He lightly waved his hand, the two Beggar Clan disciples immediately drew the saber from their waist, and with sudden lunge they brandished the saber to hack on the window curtain.

Although Yitian Hong had a cold, unfeeling heart, he could not stop his heart from skipping a beat. Even if the youngster in black did not die, perhaps his two legs could be considered finished.

The blades swept through, the lower half of the curtain dropped down, but surprisingly there was no splashing of blood.

The window was open, the night breeze was blowing in, the upper half of the curtain was swaying in the wind, but there was no sign of anybody there.

Behind the curtain was just a pair of boots. Nothing more.

Chu Liuxiang roared in laughter, “Such a nice curtain now has become two pieces. A pair of highest quality leather boots now has two holes on it. Don’t NanGong Xiong think that it’s too much of a waste?”

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[jotaro]

As always, you are the best.

[foxs]

Ysabel, Jaya, you are welcome. Jotaro, who? Me?

---

Edited: moved to Part 1 above.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[LuDongBin]

Thanks foxs.

[foxs]

Ysabel, Jaya, DongBin, you are welcome.

---

Chapter 14 – Soul-Capturing Adaptable Bowl[1]

His countenance changed slightly, Nangong Ling said coldly, “The window curtain rent, it can be sewed up; the boots damaged, they can be fixed. If the man escaped, our Gang’s disciples can also catch him back.”

His countenance changed, the eight-pouch disciple wondered aloud, “So he really ran away barefooted?”

Nangong Ling asked in heavy voice, “Who’s the disciple on guard outside the window?”

“They are brothers from Jinan’s Tian Guan Temple,” the eight-pouch disciple replied.

Nangong Ling spoke sternly, “Take them to Gongsun Hufa to be disciplined according to our house rules.”

The eight-pouch disciple bowed and said, “Order received.”

He flew out the window; the sound of angry scolding was immediately heard outside the window.

Nangong Ling turned toward Chu Liuxiang, cupped his fist with forced laughter and said, “Xiaodi has an important matter to attend to, I am afraid I will have to take my leave today.”

Chu Liuxiang giggled and said, “You have just aroused the wine worms in my belly, are you trying to avoid a problem by walking away from it?”

Nangong Ling laughed aloud and said, “A wine debt toward Chu Liuxiang, who in the world would want to drop it? Within two days, Xiaodi will come to deliver the invitation, but I do hope Hong Xiong will not decline this time.”

Pulling his hands, unexpectedly the two daggers flew up again. Turned out the hilt of the daggers was tied with a thin chain made of black metal.

Nangong Ling left in a hurry. The shouting outside the window grew again, and then the voices gradually went away, a moment later they all left, until no one remained.

Chu Liuxiang sighed lightly and said, “This Nangong Ling is indeed a talent. Under his command, the Beggar Clan is indeed growing more powerful by day … perhaps it is a bit too powerful.”

Yitian Hong floated down to the ground. His eyes flashing, he said, “Did you see if that youngster has really left?”

“Do you think there is only one window in here?” Chu Liuxiang replied.

Suddenly someone responded coldly, “It’s a pity that Nangong Ling does not have eyesight like Chu Liuxiang’s.”

Amidst his voice, the youngster in black appeared from behind another curtain, his snow-white socks were covered in dust.

It was only then did Yitian Hong realize that the kid intentionally revealed the tip of his boots; he must have taken off his boots, slipped out of the window, went across the eaves, and slipped back in from another window, and hid behind the curtain. Although this boy was very young, unexpectedly he knew how to exploit human psychological weaknesses; he predicted accurately that once Nangong Ling thought he already left, he would not search elsewhere in the room.

He saw the youngster in black went over toward Chu Liuxiang, stared at Chu Liuxiang for half a day, and suddenly shouted loudly, “That Nangong Ling and you are friends, while you and I have never met before. You did not help him, but you helped me instead; why did you do that?”

Unexpectedly this youngster suffered from a very chronic illness of suspicions; others were doing a favor to him, instead of gratitude, he suspected that the others must have ulterior motive.

Smiling wryly, Chu Liuxiang replied, “I did not help him, but I helped you instead, simply because he is a beggar, extremely poor, while you are rich. Therefore, I wanted to pat your horse’s butts [i.e. flattery].”

The youngster in black stared at him for half a day. Finally, he could not stop a smile from appearing on the corners of his mouth. But he managed to refrain from laughing out loud; coldly, he said, “Although you do me a favor, I absolutely refuse to receive your pity.”

Chu Liuxiang also refrained from laughing; he said, “Who did you a favor? Do you even need anybody else’s favor? Those insignificant Beggar Clan troops, how could they be worthy to be considered in your eyes?”

The youngster in black angrily said, “You think I am scared of them?”

“Naturally you are not afraid of them,” Chu Liuxiang responded, “You hid behind the curtain, you just wanted to play a joke on them.”

The youngster was so angry that his face turned completely red. Moving a few steps forward, he spoke sternly, “Don’t ever think that just because you do me a favor, you can laugh at me. I …” before he finished speaking, his entire body suddenly jumped.

Turned out because he was not being careful, he stepped on a dead snake. In his shock, he jumped onto the table, almost throwing himself into Chu Liuxiang’s bosom.

Chu Liuxiang laughed heartily and said, “We are big hero who fear nothing in Heaven or Earth; turns out we are afraid of snakes.”

Now he knew that just now the young man was running away, flustered and exasperated, only because the snakes were chasing after him, really not because he was afraid of the Beggar Clan disciples’ martial art. This icy-cold youngster was afraid of snakes; it was indeed beyond anybody’s expectation.

The youngster in black’s face turned red. Gasping for breath, he said, “I am not afraid, I just feel disgusted … I loathe everything that is soft and slippery. Do you think that’s funny?”

Patting his cheek, Chu Liuxiang said, “Not funny. Of course it is not funny at all. Since women can be afraid of snakes, why can’t men be afraid? Why must men be less afraid of certain things compared to women?”

As he spoke to this point, unconsciously a smile twinkled in the cold and detached Yitian Hong’s eyes, while the youngster in black’s face grew even redder.

Right this moment, they heard someone spoke coldly, “Turns out Chu Xiang Shuai, whose name shook the heavens, not only can laugh, he can also tell lies.”

A man was leaning against the door; unexpectedly it was Bai Yumo. There was a flapping white cloth sack in his hand, but nobody knew what was inside.

The youngster in black in black could not stop his countenance from changing.

Although on the surface Chu Liuxiang did not utter a word or show any movement, inwardly he could not help jumping in fright. Yet he laughed indifferently and said, “Did I ever say that he was not here? … I simply did not say anything.”

Bai Yumo laughed coldly and said, “Our Bangzhu already knew early on that he is still here, it’s just that looking at your, Chu Liuxiang’s face, he withdrew temporarily. Now that he has shown himself, you …”

The youngster in black suddenly spoke loudly, “No need to look at his face, he and I absolutely have nothing to do with each other.”

Bai Yumo said, “Since that’s the case, do you want to go out on your own, or do you want to wait for us to come in?”

Without waiting for him to finish, he already flew out of the window, and then, sound of scolding and yelling was heard, as he kept shouting along the way.

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “You guys have a Bangzhu like Nangong Ling, that is really a great blessing. That youngster offended Nangong Ling, he is really unlucky.”

Bai Yumo spoke sternly, “Offending me, Bai Yumo, is not necessarily a good fortune either.”

Suddenly he took out a piece of greenish black strange-looking weapon from the gray sack in his hand, and shouted, “Bridge returns to bridge, road returns to road; although you know Nangong Ling, but I, Bai Yumo, don’t know you. You offended me, today I want you dead!”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Why do so many people want me dead? When I’m dead, what benefit will it bring you?”

Bai Yumo laughed evilly and said, “There will be a lot of benefit!” His words had not finished, the weapon in his palm already shot out.

Yitian Hong coldly watched from the side. He noticed that this weapon looked like a bowl, but not exactly a bowl, it looked a bit like a claw, but not exactly a claw either. It wrapped around his hand like a bowl protecting his hand, it curved like a crescent moon, and had a greenish black pole, a little like wolf-tooth club, with countless thorns sticking out of its surface, but at the tip was a retractable ghost claw. The claw was black and shiny, obviously it was extremely poisonous.

The Central Plains’ One Red Dot was able to move unhindered across Jianghu, he has gone through hundreds, if not thousands, of battles, yet he has never seen such a strange weapon, and he could not figure out what kind of magical use would this strange weapon possess.

When martial art practitioners see such a new and strange weapon, it would be like a little kid seeing a new toy; he would find it fascinating, as well as arousing his curiosity.

Naturally Yitian Hong was no exception; he also wanted to see any peculiar move this strange weapon could do, more importantly, he wanted to see how Chu Liuxiang would break the strange move.

He heard Chu Liuxiang said with a laugh, “That is a contraption to catch snakes; are you going to use it to deal with people?”

Bai Yumo laughed eerily and said, “My ‘zhuo hun ruyi bo’ [lit. capturing-soul-according-to-one’s-wishes bowl] not only can catch snakes, it can also catch your soul. Today, there is no harm in letting you have a taste of it.”

While speaking, he already executed seven or eight moves; his style was indeed bizarre beyond compare. It would suddenly poke lightly, and then turned to sweeping across. Sometimes quick and nimble with myriads changes, soon became harsh, as if he was trying to snatch victory using brute force.

In developing this kind of unorthodox weapon of his own innovation, this devil beggar from Gusu has indeed spent painstaking effort. This kind of suddenly-flexible-suddenly-stiff style was really difficult to deal with, but if he did not have full control over the strength of his own hands, there was no way he would be able to execute such moves.

Chu Liuxiang was moving differently as well; he seemed to want to see all the changes this adaptable bowl could do, and momentarily did not want to make his move to break the opponent’s attack.

It should be noted that his addiction to martial art was really more intense than anybody else; seeing a novel weapon like this, his interest was higher than Yitian Hong’s. In fact, he was ten times more curious than Yitian Hong.

Therefore, concerning the peculiar and odd weapons of unorthodox schools of the whole wide world, he nearly knew the technique to break them. And now suddenly this ‘adaptable bowl’ appeared; how could he simply let it get away? Before he could fully understand how this ‘adaptable bowl’ moved and the variations surrounding the moves, he was practically unwilling to let Bai Yumo stop.

However, fighting like this, inevitably he would repeatedly be in distress. Sometimes he even deliberately revealed ‘empty-gate’ flaw, just to lure the opponent to execute his masterstroke.

Several times the black and shiny, flickering poisonous claw, made contact with his clothes, so that even Yitian Hong had to secretly wipe his cold sweats on behalf of Chu Liuxiang.

Gaining the upper hand, Bai Yumo’s spirit was aroused; more and more masterstrokes emerged from the ‘adaptable bowl’ in his hand, forcing Chu Liuxiang to repeatedly step back.

But suddenly Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “Turns out your adaptable bowl style is just so-so; to be used to catch snakes it is barely effective, but to catch people, it is still too far away!”

Bai Yumo shouted, “Don’t even think you might be able to see all of Laofu’s adaptable bowl styles in your lifetime.”

This wily old fox of evil beggar seemed to have seen through Chu Liuxiang’s mind.

---

[1] Chapter Title: Adaptable, ruyi, lit. as one wishes. The bowl here refers to the small earthenware bowl usually used by a monk to ask for alms.

[wangxiaohu]

Foxs.... thanks....

snow-shite socks were covered in dust

I loathe everYitian Honging that is soft and slippery

I simply did not say anYitian Honging.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.