{Apparently I didn't finish this chapter, sorry about that. Always thought I had already finished it. That set me back a bit on this story}
"Were you guys too late in getting there and let that unlucky bastard fall to his death?" Divine Croc viciously demanded.
The two men did not dare to get any closer. "The two of us thoroughly... thoroughly rummaged through the base of the cliff and did not find a corpse anywhere." One of the men finally summoned up enough courage to reply.
"Then what are you suggesting? That he just flew away like a bird?" The Divine Croc became even more incensed. "How dare you lie to me like that!"
The two men immediately knelt down and began kowtowing with abandon, begging for mercy. All that could be heard was two whirls of wind as the Divine Croc hurled two large rocks at their direction, immediately killing them both.
Mu Wan Qing had already developed a healthy hatred for those men for their failure in finding Duan Yu. So when the Divine Croc killed them, she felt an instant of delight, but her joy was quickly pushed aside by clouds of questions in her mind. "If he's not at the top of the cliff, and there aren't any bodies at the bottom of the cliff, where could he be? Could it be that he had landed on some remote place on the face of the cliff where they couldn't find him, or maybe they did actually find his body but were too scared to say it?"
She had long since made up her mind that if Duan Yu had died, she could not go on living either. Besides, since she had fallen in to the Divine Croc's hands, there would surely be a great number of unimagineable tortures and terrors waiting for her if she did not die. But without Duan Yu's body, there was still the slightest glimmer of hope, and she found herself very reluctant to just die without knowing what had really happened like this.
The Divine Croc was livid with frustration, cursing left and right. "What the hell could those two bastards sons of a turtle Number One and Number Four be doing? How long before they finally show up? I'm getting damn impatient waiting here for them."
"What? Do you have enough guts not to wait for Number One?" Second Madame Yie asked.
"Number One wanted me to tell you that we should wait for him here on this peak for 7 full days," The Divine Croc explained. "If he still hasn't shown up after 7 days, then we should head to Zhong WanChou's house in Thousand-Enmities Valley and wait for him there, and we are not to leave there until we meet him."
"I said earlier that Number One must have gave you a vicious beat down earlier, you can't deny that anymore now." Second Madame Yie matter of factly stated.
"When did I deny it?" The Divine Croc was still livid. "Sure, I can't beat Number One. Sure, he did beat me up. But it was not a VICIOUS beat down."
"Oh, so it wasn't a vicious beat down... my little darling, don't cry, mommy loves you... hmm, it must have been a very gentle beat down then... oh my little sweet darling baby...."
"It wasn't a very gentle beat down either." The Divine Croc guiltily admitted. "You better be careful too, if Number One wanted to beat you up, you can't get away either."
"I don't want to be some kind of First Madame Yie or anything like that, why would Number One trouble me? Darling sweetie pie...."
"Could you please stop calling him TaMaDe 'darling'? Could you?" The Divine Croc shouted, apparently getting very annoyed at Second Madame Yie.
"Third Brother, please calm down." Second Madame Yie smiled and replied. "Did you know that Number Four ran into some people on the way here, and he didn't come out of it all that well."
"What? Number Four ran into some problems?" The Divine Croc found the news very surprising. "Who?"
"This little girl here is looking at me all funny. She's cursing me on the inside for killing a child a day. Kill her first and I'll tell you."
"She's my disciple's daughter, if I kill her, then my disciple would definitely not want me to be his master."
"Didn't your disciple fall off a cliff and die already?"
"Maybe not, if he fell to his death, then there should be at least a corpse. He's probably just hiding somewhere, soon he'll show up and beg me to take him in as a disciple."
"Alright, then let me do it, just tell your disciple to come after me." Second Madame Yie laughed and replied. "Those eyes of hers are too pretty, enough to make me envious that I don't have eyes like that. So I'm going to dig her eyes out first."
A layer of cold sweat wetted Mu Wan Qing's back. But before she could react, she heard the Divine Croc's voice reply: "No way! Let me hit her sleep-pressure point and make her sleep for TaMaDe a day or two." Without waiting for a reply from Second Madame Yie, he reached out and poked Mu Wan Qing on the side of her waist and just below her armpit. Mu Wan Qing suddenly felt incredibly lightheaded and was out cold before she knew it.
After some period of time, Mu Wan Qing slowly came around. Her body was freezing cold. But sharp pangs of laughter were ringing in her ears, laughter that, even though they sounded like laughter, did not possese a shred of humor in them. Sometimes sharp, other times thick, the laughter was terrible to the ear. Knowing that the moment she moved she would be discovered with a very good chance of bringing disaster upon herself. So even though her limbs were numb from not moving, she dared not to move.
What she heard next was Divine Croc talking: "Number Four, you might as well stop tooting your own horn. Third Sister has already told me you had trouble, why do you keep denying it? So tell me, how many of them were there?"
"7 guys ganged up on me, and everyone of them were top notch fighters. No matter how good I am I can't beat 7 top notch fighters all at once can I?" A voice that was randomly switching between sharp and thick answered.
"So Number 4, 'Thoroughly Cruel and Evil' is here." Mu Wan Qing thought to herself. She really wanted to see what kind of person this 'Thoroughly Cruel and Evil' man was, but she was too scared to turn her head around and open her eyes.
"Number 4 just loves to blow his own horn too much, there was only 2 men there, where did those 5 extra men came from? Are there really that many top-notch fighters in this world?" Second Madame Yie replied.
"And how would you know about that? Did you see it with your own eyes?" Number Four angrily demanded.
"How would I know if I didn't see with with my own eyes?" Second Madame Yie lightly chuckled. "Those 2 men, one of them used a fishing rod and the other one used a pair of ax, am I right? Hehe, those 5 men that you created out of thin air, what kind of weapons were they using?"
"If you were there, then why didn't you come and help me out? Were you hoping that I would die in their hands?" Number Four angrily shouted.
"You are 'Thoroughly Cruel and Evil' Yun Zhong He, is there a person who don't know that your lightness kungfu is one of the best? So you can't out fight them, what? You can't out run them?"
"So his name is Yun Zhong He," Mu Wan Qing noted.
Yun Zhong He was getting madder, and his voice rose in step with his temper. "If I die in other's hands, it doesn't add any fame or credit to you. Remember why us 'Four Arch-Villains' are gathering here for this time. To help that sag of resentment Zhong Wan Chou? I don't think so, he didn't even sent this wife to keep me company. Number One wants to get his revenge on the Da Li Emperor and summoned us to join our forces against them. I run into trouble, but you just sit there on the sidelines and watch with all that joy and delight, let's see what happens when I tell Number 1 about this."
Second Madame Yie let out a light laugh. "Fourth Brother, I have never in my life seen anyone whose lightness kungfu is better than yours, just like your name says, you are like a crane in the clouds, faint and light like the smoke but graceful like the swan. Forget those 2 guys, even me, your elder sister, can't hope to catch up. Why else would I not join in the fray?"
She seemed to be quite worried that Yun Zhong He would tell Number One, so immediately started praising him. Yun Zhong He let out a humph, but it seemed that his anger had at least subsided somewhat.
"So Number Four, who was it that troubled you? Could it be dogs from the Royal Palace?" Divine Croc asked.
"Nine out of ten they were." Yun Zhong He grumbled. "I don't think that there are anyone else inside the borders of Da Li who are of such caliber."
"The two of you kept on rambling about how you are going to easily charge into the Da Li Royal Palace, cut off that dog Emperor's head to take back as a trophy. I told you two that you are taking this whole matter too lightly, now do you believe me?" Second Madame Yie commented.
"Number One still hasn't shown up yet, it's now three days past the appointed date." Yun Zhong He suddenly said. "He's never like this, could... could ...."
"Could something have happened to him?" Second Madame Yie finished the sentence for him.
"Damn it! Number One told us to wait here for 7 days, there's still four days left, what are you guys getting all worked up for?" Divine Croc was greatly annoyed by the talk. "Keep in mind what kind of person Number One is, he's nothing like you, running around with your tail between your legs whenever you run into anybody worth anything."
"What' wrong with escaping if you can't beat them? It's called knowing the situation." Second Madame Yie replied. "But I really am worried that he might have been ganged up on by a dozen or so masters, and you know he's the type that won't give up even if he's at the end of the rope."
"Damn it, bull#####!" Divine Croc was spraying more than talking at this point. "All this time that we have been with Number One, when has he ever been in trouble? How could he possibly run into trouble this tiny Da Li country? Motherf... Man I'm starving again!" He reached down and picked up cow leg that was lying the ground and began roasting it over the fire beside him. Not long after that, the deliciou fragrance of leg permeated through the air.
"It seems like I have been unconscious here for three days from the way they are talking. I wonder if there's been any news about my darling?" Mu Wan Qing pondered. Having not ate anything for four days, she was famished, and when her nose caught a whiff of the smell her belly began to grumble despite the best of her efforts.
Second Madame Yie smiled. "Little sister is getting hungry huh? You woke up a long time ago didn't you? Why are you still faking sleep? Don't you want to see what our 'Thoroughly Cruel and Evil' Number Four look like?"
Divine Croc knew that the moment Yun Zhong He catch a glimpse of Mu Wan Qing's beauty Yun Zhong He would lose all self control because unlike himself, who only rape and kill when he gets desperate, Yun Zhong He was a terrible sexual predator. So he immediately tore off a huge piece of the leg that was still not quite done and tossed it onto the ground just in front of Mu Wan Qing.
"Now get up and go somewhere further away, I don't want you eavesdropping on our conversation." He commanded in a vicious voice.
Mu Wan Qing purposefully thickened her voice to a nearly unbearable cackle and asked: "Has my husband shown up?"
"TaMaDe!" Divine Croc answered agrily. "I went back and searched the entire cliff and valley myself, there wasn't even a trace of that little bastard. That little bastard is surely alive, somebody must have rescued him. I have waited for him here for 3 days now, I'm going to give him 4 more days. If he still doesn't show up by then, hehe, then I'm going to cook you and eat it."
That news lifted a huge weight off of Mu Wan Qing's heart. "The Divine Croc isn't just some pawn. If he thinks that darling isn't dead, then he must be alive. Ay! Is he even worried about me? Will he come here and save me?"
She picked up the piece of meat on the ground and slowly walked around to the other side of the huge boulder. Due to her hunger, she felt even more exhausted that she really was and could not make herself walk any faster. But luckily, because she had been peacefully lying on the ground for three days, her wounds have all healed.
"What's the big deal about that guy anyways that's making you treasure him so much?" She heard Second Madame Yie ask.
"That guy so like me that's scary, if he practices our Southern Seas Sect martial arts, then he would surely be a prodigy and maybe even be better than me." The Divine Croc happily explained. "Hehe, even though between the 4 of us Arch-Villains, I'm relegated to... to second place, when it comes to our disciples, then mine will surely be Number One, it won't even be close."
Slowly and steadily, Mu Wan Qing walked farther and farther. Hearing Divine Croc boast about how Duan Yu's potential was so rare made her feel both happy and worried at the same time, not to mention quite tickled at the notion. "Darling is a book worm, what kind of kungfu would he learn? Other than being quite courageous, there's nothing that he's good at. If Divine Croc really gets his precious disciple, then Southern Seas Sect would be in deep trouble."
She found a rather out of the way place under the shadows of another big boulder, sat down, and began slowly tearing off the meat to eat. Although she was starving, this slab of beef weighed almost 2 kilograms, and she was full before she could even finish half a kilogram. So she stopped and began to ponder some more. "Once the 7 days are up, if my darling really does turn out to be a heartless man and doesn't come to save me, then there's no way I can come out of this alive." Her heart went sour at the thought. "Even if I do somehow survive, how could I possibly go on living after this?"
She spent the next few days like this. The sayings told of how days felt like years, she finally understood what those sayings meant during that time. Day and night, she hoped that there would some sound, some little sign from the foot of the mountain, even if it did not come from Duan Yu, it would have been better than the torture of slow moving but ever bearing sun and the endless nights. With every passing hour, her heart felt heavier and heavier with sadness. All she could think about was "If you really wanted to come and save me, then even though making your way up and down the mountains aren't easy, you could definitely get here in two or three days. So if you don't come today, then there's no reason to think that you would come the next day. I know you don't want to take Divine Croc as master, but do you really not have any feelings towards me? Then why did you take me in your arms and kiss me? Why did you promise to take me as your wife?"
It got worse and worse the more she waited. "All men are heartless." The words that her master told her kept ringing in her ear. Even though she kept telling herself that "Darling isn't like that", she knew that she was merely lying to herself. Fortunately for her, Divine Croc, Second Madame Yie, and Yun Zhong He did not bother her at all these few days.
The 3 of them were waiting for Number One among them, proclaimed as the evilest man in the world. Although they were not as anxious as her, they were still worried and walking about endlessly like ants on a hot stove. Despite of the distance between herself and the three of them, Mu Wan Qing could still hear the sound of them bickering at each other now and then.
On the night of the sixth day, Mu Wan Qing thought to herself: "Tomorrow is that last day, there's no way that heartless idiot is going to show up then. So it's probably best that I try and escape under the cover of darkness tonight. If I wait until tomorrow, then my chances would greatly diminish." So she stood up and began stretching a bit to warm up. In these 6 days, despite of her anxious outlook, the wounds and injuries on her body had pretty much healed up.
"The best thing to do is probably wait for the 3 of them to start fighting again, then quietly run off a couple hundred meters or so and find a cave or something to hide in. There's no way the 3 of them would suspect that I would still be hiding on this mountain, they would undoubtly think that I have ran off to some far place, maybe they would even 'chase' me all the way for a 10 kilometers or so. And once they leave, I'd be able to make my escape." But then her thoughts turned. "Ay, what am I thinking? They don't have any enmities or grudges towards me, why would they come chasing after me? If I run away, fine. If I don't, fine. It doesn't make a difference to them. Why would they care?"
Several times she almost worked herself up enough to get up and leave, but everytime she was held back by the thoughts of Duan Yu. "What if he comes for me tomorrow? If I don't see him tomorrow, then surely we will never meet again in this life. What if he really does come to be together with me through thick and thin, but then it turns out that I had left and that he was killed because he refused to be Divine Croc's disciple, what if that happens?"
Stuck between a rock and a hard place and not knowing what to do, she tittered back and forth between leaving and staying until the east began to turn bright. Yet she still could not make up her mind.