CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Love and Revenge
Hearing that Wan Qiu Ning was the reason for their plight, Miao Shi Zhong, Ou Yang Hua, Qiao Kong Chao and Qu Wan Quan all turned to look at Yang Ji Fan, as Han Qing Feng finished the rest of his story. Yang Ji Fan was looking down at his clasped hands, his face and eyes void of emotions. For a moment, he looked up and stared at the man who never talked. The two exchanged glances and went back to looking at their hands in deep thought.
Qi Qian Yu seemed worried as they recalled the event and Hong Zheng Tian put his arm around her shoulder in comfort. Qi Qian Yu felt uneasy at this but did not recoil. She felt the same thing when Han Qing Feng did it to her and she did not recoil then, so why should she now? The a wave of jealousy came over Han Qing Feng when he saw it, paused for a minute or two, then dismissed the feeling and continued with the story.
After the story finished, Yang Ji Fan proposed, “Then you will stay with us until it is safe. Jian Cheng, lead some men and scout for any signs of the Immortal Exterminating Clan! Do not attack them but come straight back immediately! We will be waiting back in the ship” Zhuang Jian Cheng immediately got onto his feet and went off to carry out his orders.
The rest walked back to the ship when suddenly, they smelt a faint fragrance blowing with the inward sea breezes. Then one by one, they collapse onto the pale yellow sands of the beach. They felt the strength draining form their limbs and were gradually weakening. Then thirty figures dropped from the skies and landed metres in front of them. Among them, Han Qing Feng and Qi Qian Yu immediately recognized a middle-aged man as the cold assassin leader that were chasing after them. He saw her and grabbed her by the arm and lifted her out of the pile. She did not retaliate, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t.
Then a woman, dressed in a series of reds, stepped out. Her age was hard to tell from the distance; sometimes she seemed twenty, sometimes thirty, and sometimes even forty. But she was beautiful and seemed very kind. Yet, her face carried an angry expression that sometimes became sorrow, but then back to anger.
“Zhao Yin! Who was it? Where are they? Who had killed my beloved Bing Xin?” the woman screamed at Zhao Yin, who was the leader that Han Qing Feng and Qi Qian Yu had seen before. Her face was pale and flushed with emotions. In her eyes was such sorrow, yet so much hate, as she transferred her gaze to them, one to one.
“It was him!” he responded and pointed to Han Qing Feng. “The other girl we have caught!” He smiled evilly as his plan was slowly working.
“What do you want?” Han Qing Feng shouted in both anger and fear at the half-crazed woman that was approaching him. His hand behind him, gripped tight the hilt of the Green Silk Sword, but yet he did not have the strength to lift it.
“What I want? What do you think I want?” she screamed crazily, “You life, of course! You killed my Bing Xin, now I will kill you,” and then her eye shifted to Lian Le Yi next to him, and continued, “Unless you can provide me with a substitute.” Lian Le Yi panicked and tried to scramble away. She did not like the way this woman was looking at her; it made her feel uncomfortable. Where was her mentor? Why wasn’t he here to save her?
Then a voice came from behind her and said, “Hua Bi Rong, you should keep your weird habits to yourself, and leave other girls alone!” Lian Le Yi turned her head and saw Yang Ji Fan too, poisoned and lying weak and frail on the soft sand. <IMG SRC="smilies/scold.gif" border="0">