Romance of The Proud Wanderer

[Dongfang Xue]

Romance of The Proud Wanderer is a sequel / aftermath of Swordsman 2013 series

Prologue

Standing at the edge of Repentance Cliff, an old man in green looked up at the pale blue sky and sighed, "How many foolish kids in this world are capable of loving wholeheartedly without any grudges."

A small boy in ragged robe ran up to him, grabbed his sleeve and asked, "Great Grand Uncle, you are busy reciting poems again?"

The old man in green robe knitted his brows, gave the small boy an awkward look and started laughing, "Wuqing, you are too young to understand now. Wait till you get older and you will understand." He paused for a short moment and then asked, "Have you practiced your sword skill today?"

The small boy in ragged robe nodded, "Yes I have."

The old man in green robe patted the small boy's head and smiled, "Wuqing, it is not easy to meet someone that you like. When love comes to you, don't hesitate too much, If you love her, hold her tight and never let her go. Please do not make the same mistake as your parents and I..."

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

[Dongfang Xue]

Heavy fog covered the town of Huayin on the fifteenth night of the third month. The bad weather however did not dampen the jubilant atmosphere at Mount Hua. Elders and apprentices of the Mount Hua Sect gathered at the Hall of Integrity escorting guests to their seats.

The guests comprised of representatives from the South Mount Heng Sect, North Mount Heng Sect and Shaolin Sect. They were there to attend Golden Saber Sect's leader Wang Jiajun eldest son Wang Zhennan and Mount Hua Sect's Gao Ruoxi's wedding ceremony. Gao Ruoxi was Mount Hua Sect’s Head Master Gao Genming's only daughter.

All of a sudden, a shadow flew into the hall and landed below the dais. The shadow wore a light green dress.

Everyone glanced toward the shadow and noticed that it was beautiful young girl.

The young girl in light green dress drew her sword and pointed it at the newly weds. "Wang Zhennan do you know that I went though a lot of trouble looking for you. Master expelled me because of you. And now you are marrying this woman."

Wang Zhennan felt remorseful as he looked at the young girl. "Xiaohuan, I know that I have wronged you. But I have my reasons for doing so..." he sighed.

The young girl snorted, "That's no need for explanations. Let me kill this woman here first. You can explain everything to me later!" She leapt into the air, waved her sword dangerously and flew toward Gao Ruoxi. Her movements were incredibly fast, so fast that it left a trail of green.

"Xiaohuan! Don't do it!" Wang Zhennan yelled in fear. Startled by the young girl in light green dress aggression, he hurriedly went in front of Gao Ruoxi to shield her from the incoming attack.

A bead suddenly shot out at the young girl in light green dress's sword; pierced through the sword steel forcefully and subsequently pricked into a wooden pillar up ahead.

The young girl in light green dress felt numb in her hand. She reluctantly leapt to the back, landed on the floor and noticed the hole on the steel of her sword.

An old monk stepped forward and bowed to the young girl courteously, "Amitabha. Young lady, today is Young Master Wang's big day. Why don't you take a seat and resolve your enmity with Young Master Wang another day."

The young girl in light green dress snorted angrily, "Where did this stinky monk come from? Stop being a busybody!"

"How dare you be rude to Abbott Fangzheng!" Gao Genming scolded.

The young girl in light green dress replied indifferently, "Who is Abbott Fangsheng? What is so great about him? I would like to see what capabilities does he have!" She raised her right hand, swept it out in an arc and shot a needle at the old monk.

The needle whistled through the air, flying rapidly toward the old monk.

Unfazed by the incoming projectile, the old monk effortlessly raised his arm and caught the needle with his index and middle fingers. With a slight movement of his fingers, he broke the needle into half.

The young girl in light green dress was startled. She knew that she had met a formidable martial artist today, but she was still determined to interrupt the wedding ceremony. She directed her inner strength to her hands and struck it out at the old monk, firing a flurry of needles at him.

The crowd saw lightning fast needles flashed across the room, flying rapidly toward the old monk.

The old monk whisked his sleeve and sent a gust of wind at the incoming needles, knocking straight it into a wooden pillar.

Amazed with the old monk's formidable skills, the young girl in light green dress couldn't help but to let out a cry of disappointment.

The old monk smiled, "Young lady, why are you so persistent?"

The young girl in light green dress replied bitterly, "I loved Wang Zhennan wholeheartedly but yet he abandoned me like I am nothing. If I don't take revenge today than I am not a human!"

Hearing the young girl in light green dress words, Wang Zhennan couldn't help but to sigh regretfully.

"I know that you have high martial arts skill and I can't beat you. I suggest that you kill me today. Otherwise I will definitely make them suffer for the pain that they have caused me," the young girl in light green hissed. After finished talking, she let out a loud yell and sprinted toward the newly wed.

The old monk jumped up, waved his palm and thrust it out at the young girl in light green dress; unleashing a burst of energy at her.

The young girl in light green dress felt a sudden warm steam of energy piercing into her body violently. The force behind the old man's strike was so intense that it also knocked her down to the floor. She threw up a mouthful of blood and stared at the old monk disappointingly.

The old monk sighed, "Amitabha. Love blinds people and affection harms people. Old monk understands young lady's grudges. All love and hatred are merely short fireworks. Acting rashly now will only make young lady regret in the future. Old monk has a suggestion. Would young lady care to listen?"

The young girl in light green dress nodded reluctantly and started to weep.

"You already know that old monk's martial arts skill is more advanced than yours. Forcing yourself to take revenge will only rub salt on your wound. Why don't you go back first. Let's meet again in ten years. If you can think it through and let it go within ten years, then that's the best. But if you are still in pain and can't let it go, old monk promise you that old monk would not interfere anymore. What do you think?"

The girl in light green dress looked down at the floor and thought, "Looks like I won't be able to get anything out of this situation today." She reluctantly pulled herself up from the floor and looked at Wang Zhennan dishearteningly, "Very well. Consider yourself being lucky today. But Wang Zhennan you better wait for me. I will come back and look for you. You better stay in good health and wait for me. Don't get injured and don't die. I will come back and look for you."

Wang Zhennan looked at the young girl in light green dress with his teary eyes. After all that has happened, he just did not know how to comfort her without hurting the feelings of his newly wedded wife.

The young girl in light green dress leapt into the air and gracefully flew out of the hall.

Wang Zhennan and Gao Ruoxi knelt down in front of the old monk. "Great Abbott, thank you for saving us. We are very grateful," they said in unison.

The old monk reached his hands out and pulled them up, "Mount Hua Sect's Head Master Gao and our monastery go back a long way. Old monk is honored to be able to help out. However, the young lady just now holds too much anger. Old monk is not sure what she would do in the future. Hopefully she would be able to think it through by then."

The young girl in light green dress stood at the edge of the Repentance Cliff, and let out a loud cry of anguish. She was angry with herself for not being able to take revenge on Wang Zhennan and Gao Ruoxi.

As she turned around to walk away, she noticed a large stone tablet next a pavilion on her right. There were some words engraved on it. "When you truly love someone, no matter how much he despises you, hurt you and refuse to see you, you would still continue to love him. His happiness becomes your happiness and his grief becomes your grief. This is the only way you can attain true happiness," she read aloud.

After finish reading the words engraved on the large stone tablet, she clenched her fist and screamed in anger, "Nonesense! Whoever that wrote this is talking rubbish!" Unable to contain her anger, she directed her inner strength to her palm and struck it out at the stone tablet. A powerful gust of energy emanated from her palm struck the stone tablet and shattered it into dusts.

A cold and loud voice suddenly rose from behind, "How dare you say that my words are nonesense!"

The girl in light green robe turned around and saw a beautiful priestesses in a violet gown standing behind her. The expression on her face was cold and indifferent.

“Who are you?” the young girl in green dress asked with a sharp tone, showing no signs of fear toward the priestess.

The priestess let out a cold snort, "I should be the one asking you this. You claimed that my words are nonsense and destroyed my work. You must be seeking for death!" After finishing her words, she lifted her arm and struck her palm out at the young girl in light green dress.

Although the young girl in light green dress did not know who the priestess was but from the priestess's noiseless footsteps, she could tell that she was a martial arts expert. Utilizing whatever strength that she had left, she thrust her palm out to meet the priestess palm.

The two palms collided, producing a devastating wave of energy that swept across the cliff; splitting trees into half and shattering rocks into dusts.

The priestess palm force was so intense that it subdued the young girl in green dress palm force, and drove her ten steps back. The girl in green dress bent forward and threw up a mouthful of blood.

The priestess felt a sudden numb in her palm. She lifted her palm and noticed tiny white spots around it. "Xuanbing Divine Palm?" she uttered in surprise. When their palms collided earlier, the young girl in green dress had secretly emitted position behind the force of her palm.

The girl in light green dress glanced at the priestess and started laughing coldly, "That's right. I am the only one who can clear the poison."

The priestess returned her cold laughter and retorted, "Did you really think that such a weak poison can affect me?" She regulated her inner strength, waved her palm in a circle and struck it out into the air; emanating a gust of black smoke. The poison within her palm was completely purged out.

The girl in light green dress eyes widened. She was amazed with the priestess profound inner strength and knew that the priestess was an epitome martial arts expert. Only an epitome martial arts expert with bottomless inner strength would be able to purge out her palm poison so easily.

"I, Lin Xiaohuan, am honored meet a formidable martial arts expert like Priestess. Since I've lost to you, you can go ahead and kill me," the girl in light green dress murmured dejectedly.

The priestess's intention to kill her suddenly vanished. She folded her right hand behind her back and asked, "You are from the Xuanbing Palace? Who is your master?"

The young girl in green dress nodded, "I was from the Xuanbing Palace. My master is Song Sanniang."

The priestess turned away and said indifferently, "My master had a deep relationship with Xuanbing Palace founder Yan Xiaoqing. Since you are somewhat related to the Xuanbing Palace, I will spare your life today. But you have to tell me why are you here."

The young girl in light green dress eyes turned watery as she replied, "I came to Mount Hua to kill a heartless man. Because of him my master expelled me from the sect. In the end, he repaid my love by marrying another woman. If it wasn't for that stinky monk I would have taken my revenge just now. He told me to come back to look for the heartless man in five years time."

As the priestess listened to the young girl in green dress, she started thinking about her own past experience. "All men under heaven are heartless," she grunted. She turned toward the young girl in light green dress and continued, "Since Song Sanniang expelled you from Five Poisons Cult, I will take you in as my apprentice. You have a solid martial arts foundation. Even though you are injured but yet you were able to take my palm strike. With me training you, you can come back and look for them in five years."

The girl in light green dress knitted her brows and glanced at the priestess suspiciously, "Why are you helping me?"

The priestess sighed, "We share the same painful experience. I was once let down by the man whom I loved too."

The girl in light green dress widened her eyes and asked in suprise, "Priestess was abandoned by a man too?"

The priestess nodded bitterly, "If it wasn't for that old monk Fangzheng I would have lived happily with him. He lied to me and confined me in the temple at Mount Shaoshi for many months, giving that stinky girl by the surname of Ren the opportunity to seduce him. Because of them, I had to leave my one month old son to Feng Qingyang and went back to Black Wood Cliff to save that the life of that stinky girl by the surname of Ren. If that heartless man did not hit me with his palm I would have used my life to save her life. By the time I went back to look for Feng Qiyang, he was already dead and my son had gone missing."

"Fangzheng? That is the same monk who injured me earlier!" the girl in green dress hissed angrily.

The priestess clenched her fist and muttered Fangzheng's name under her breath. "Xiaohuan, once you have completed your martial arts training, you can come back to kill the heartless man and Fangzheng," she said coldly.

The girl in light green dress knelt before the priestess and said respectfully, "Apprentice Lin Xiaohuan pays respect to Master. Would Master be so kind to enlighten apprentice your great name?"

The priestess clasped her hands behind her back, turned around and walked away condescendingly, "Dongfang Bubai."

xxXxx

Inside a cave behind the Repentance Cliff, Dongfang Bubai sat on a rock, behind Lin Xiaohuan; with her legs crossed. She gently placed her palms on Lin Xiaohuan's back and started to transfer her inner energy into Lin Xiaohuan's body.

Eyes closed, Lin Xiaohuan felt a cold stream of inner energy gradually flowing into her body. She started to meditate and used the incoming inner energy to unblock the meridians and allow her own inner energy to flow smoothly.

After healing Lin Xiaohuan's internal injury, Dongfang Bubai got up from the rock and stood at the entrance, and watched the small droplets of rain fall to the ground.

Lin Xiaohuan walked up to Dongfang Bubai, leaned forward and covered her right first with her left palm, "Master, thank you for saving my life."

Dongfang Bubai smiled faintly, "Since you are already addressing me as Master, I would not let you die. Once you have completely recovered from your injury I will impart you the martial art skills in the Sunflower Manual."

Lin Xiaohuan was startled by Dongfang Bubai's words. "The Wulin's most coveted manual, Sunflower Manual?" she asked in surprise.

Dongfang Bubai nodded, "You have a good inner strength foundation. So it won't take you too long to master the skills in the manual. The only way you can stop the monks from getting in your way is to master the martial art skills in the Sunflower Manual. But before that, you have to promise me something."

Lin Xiaohuan looked down at the ground and replied, "Even if Master wants apprentice go through fire and water, apprentice will do it."

Dongfang Bubai laughed coldly and said, "Don't worry. I won't ask you to go through fire and water. I have been searching for my only son over the last fifteen years with no avail. I hope that you will help me to look for him."

"Xiaohuan will stop at nothing to look for Junior Martial Brother. But before that, can apprentice ask what is Junior Martial Brother's name?"

Dongfang Bubai turned around and looked at Lin Xiaohuan dumbfoundedly. "I did not have time to give him a name..." she uttered bitterly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a broken piece of an emblem, and continued, "This is the Divine Sun Moon Cult's chief order. The other half of the emblem is with my son. If you find the person that possesses the other half, there is a high chance that he is my son."

Lin Xiaohuan stared at the emblem in shock, "Master is related to the Divine Sun Moon Cult?"

Dongfang Bubai laughed silently, "I used to the the divine cult's chief but that was a long time ago." Memories of the day when she officially became the divine cult's chief suddenly flashed through her mind. "Time passes by so fast. It seemed like only yesterday that I ousted Ren Woxing and took control of the cult."

Lin Xiaohuan smiled and said, "No wonder Master's martial arts skill is so high."

A proud smile appeared on Dongfang Bubai's face. But at the thought of losing Linghu Chong to an insignificant woman, her expression suddenly changed. "So what if I have formidable martial art skills? I couldn't even keep the man I love by my side," she thought to herself.

[Dongfang Xue]

It was a cold night. Large snowflakes fell rapidly, twisting in a joyful dance around the trees.

Up on the top of Jade Maiden Peak, a faint sound of music could be heard. The tone was filled with sadness. The sounds quivered, like drops of snowflakes falling from the sky. It appeared that a beautiful woman in white robe was playing the music with a piece of leaf in her right hand.

Her name was Song Sanniang, Lin Xiaohuan's master.

Just as she finished playing the music, she heard loud footsteps approaching. From the sound of the footsteps she could tell that there were eleven of them and all of them well versed in martial arts.

Running franticallyin the dark, a boy in ragged robe; around the age of ten, ducked under the low hanging branches fleeing from a group of six men in light blue robes.

One of the men, their leader, ran carefully across the grass, shouted, “Stinky kid! Stop running! Some back here!”

Afraid, the boy in ragged robe continued running frantically without looking. He unconsciously tripped over a rock, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

The six men somersaulted in the air flew and landed around the boy in ragged robe. Four of them were holding torches. One of the men grabbed the boy by the collar, pulled him up from the ground and slapped him, "Stinky boy! How dare you steal food from our temple!"

Unfazed, the boy in ragged robe endured the pain in his cheek, lifted his leg and sent a kick between the man's leg.

Letting out a loud cry of pain, the man let go of the boy in ragged robe and stumbled several steps backward.

The four other men immediately drew their swords and pointed it toward the boy in ragged rob.

The boy in ragged rob calmly reached for a twig on the floor and got into a fighting position.

Four swords flashed, and shot straight toward the boy in ragged rob.

The boy in ragged rob skillfully spun the twig above his head, and parried the four swords simultaneously. By the time he completed his move, he felt a sudden pain in his abdomen and fell backward.

One of the men had sent a kick to the boy in ragged robe's chest while he was busy parrying off the swords, one after another.

Suddenly, a white shadow flashed by.

The boy in ragged robe looked around and noticed the beautiful woman in white robe appear in front of him. Amazed with the woman’s beauty, he thought that she was an immortal descended from heaven.

The six men glanced at the middle woman and started whispering amongst themselves, before taking a few step forward.

The woman swept her sleeve out in an arc, producing a strong gust of wind that knocked all the six men off their feet. She then stooped down to look at the boy in ragged robe and asked softly, “Little boy, how come you know the Sword Breaking Stance? How is Feng Qingyang related to you?"

The boy in ragged robe widened his eyes and looked at the woman in surprise. "You know my Great Grand Uncle?" he asked startlingly.

"Great Grand Uncle?" the woman in white robe murmured in shock.

Three of the men pulled themselves up, rushed forward and shouted angrily, “Who are you? How dare you interfere with Mount Hua Sect’s affair!”

The woman glanced at the three men and replied in a cold voice, “So you are that stinky little boy Yue Buqun's apprentices?”

The men were shocked by the woman’s words. From the woman’s appearance, she seemed to the same age as their master Gao Genming and was certainly much younger than their late Grand Master Yue Buqun but yet she addressed him as a little boy.

One of the men replied, “Grand Master Yue is our senior. We are apprentices of Head Master Gao Genming. You call our grand master a ‘little boy’, that is really too much."

The woman snorted, “I am in the same generation as his master Yue Kai. So why can’t I call him a little boy?”

Thinking that the woman was some lunatic, the six men looked at each other and started laughing.

The woman folded her hands behind her back and clenched her fist, "What are you little juniors laughing about?"

One of the men grunted and said, "Stop joking around. Who exactly are you?"

The woman turned her back against the man and said coldly, "You are not qualified to ask me my name. Even Yue Buqun would not be qualified to do so."

Angry with the woman's arrogance, the three men drew their swords and simultaneously struck it out at her.

The woman turned around, swept her hand out in an arc and caught the blades of the swords at lightning speed. With a quick twisted of her wrist, she snapped all the three swords.

All the six men all gasped in surprise. The three who attacked her quickly jumped backward, holding on their snapped sword, and was left standing in shock. From that move, they could tell that the woman was a highly skilled martial arts expert.

The group's leader stepped forward and greeted the woman with a bow, “Junior Mu Renqing of Mount Hua Sect pays respect to Senior. This boy has been stealing food and wine from us for weeks. We hope that senior can hand him over to us so that we can deal with him accordingly.”

The woman did not reply. She reached out for the boy in ragged robe's hand and pulled him up from the floor. “Little boy, why did you steal from them?” she asked sternly.

The boy in ragged robe made a sad face and pretended to cry, “My great grand uncle has been ill and I have not eaten for weeks. I don't want to starve to death..."

After hearing the boy in ragged robe's explanation, the woman knitted her brows and asked, “Do you that in this world there are deities that can save you?”

The boy in ragged robe shook his head, “I don’t believe.” He paused for a moment to glance at the men and continued, “If there are deities there would not be so many bullies running around doing as they wish.”

The woman replied, “That is because they have not run into one.” Laughing coldly, she grabbed the boy in ragged robe around the waist and instantly flew away. Her lightness skill was so profound that she vanished into the dark without leaving a trace.

The six men remained still and looked at each other in shock.

“Senior Martial Brother, what should we do now?”

Mu Renqing thought that it would be pointless to go after the woman. “We will go and seek master’s advice,” he said.

xxXxx

As the middle age woman weightlessly sprinted on the blades of grass, she noticed a small village up ahead. She somersaulted in the air and lightly landed under a big tree. She put the boy in ragged robe down to the ground and said, “The most dangerous place is always the safest place. Those Mount Hua little brats would not have thought that you still will hang around here. You said that Feng Qingyang is not well. Let us go and see him now.”

After seeing how the woman managed to defeat the men so easily, He was convinced that she was a formidable martial artist. He slowly kneeled down at the middle age woman and gave her a bow.

The woman looked at the boy in ragged robe surprisingly and asked, “Why are you on your knees?”

The boy in ragged robe replied, “Thank you for saving me. I hope that master will take me in as your apprentice. I don’t want to get bullied by people anymore.”

After hearing the words ‘apprentice’ the woman thought about Lin Xiaohuan and felt sad. She turned around and sighed, “I am not take in anymore apprentices. Furthermore, I am sure Feng Qingyang can impart you all his martial art skills.”

The boy in ragged robes got angry with the woman. He abruptly picked up a stone and threw it at her.

The middle age woman heard the stone swishing at her. She effortlessly turned around and swept her sleeve at the stone, brushing it away. She knitted her brows and glanced at the boy in ragged robe awkwardly, “You are really a weird boy. I saved your life but yet you tried to kill me.”

The boy in ragged robe grunted and replied, “My parents abandoned me while I was still a baby. My only goal to live in this world is to learn martial arts from you so that I can prove to the world that I can survive even without my parents. If you don’t take me in as your apprentice then the only hope that I have would be gone. If that is what it is, I might as well let you kill me than to let those despicable Mount Hua Sect bullies kill me.”

The woman gasped and felt pity for the boy in ragged robe. She walked up to the boy in ragged robe and glanced at him sternly, “This is really amazing. This is my first time hearing such an explanation. Fine. I will take you in as my apprentice. But its not easy to be my apprentice. If you don’t listen to me I will break your legs and expel you. Are you afraid?”

The boy in ragged robe shook his head happily and replied, “I am not afraid at all.”

The woman reached out for the boy in ragged robe’s arm and pulled him up to a standing position. “Very well. I will take you in then. By the way, what is your name?” she asked.

The boy in ragged robe was very happy. He gave the woman a smile and replied, “Master, apprentice’s name is Dongfang Wuqing.”

The woman muttered the boy in ragged robe’s name under her breath. Smiling faintly, she said, “Was it Feng Qingyang who gave you that name?”

The boy in ragged robe nodded sadly.

Just then, a clear and loud voice called out from above, “Master.”

A girl appeared to be around the age of fifteen, wearing a soft yellow dress gracefully flew down from the air and landed in front of the woman. She was slender, very beautiful and carried an air of elegance.

The woman looked toward the girl in soft yellow dress and asked sternly, “Feixuan, have you found your Senior Martial Sister?”

The girl in soft yellow dress looked down to the ground and replied softly, “I can’t seem to find Senior Martial Sister. According to a Mount Hua Sect apprentice she left two days ago.”

The woman looked up at the dark sky and sighed regretfully, “Looks like it’s heaven’s will that we missed her.”

The girl in soft yellow dress glanced at the boy in ragged robe coldly and asked, “Master, who is this boy?”

The woman patted the boy in ragged robe’s head and replied smilingly, “He is my newly accepted apprentice.” She looked at the boy and said, “Wuqing, this is your senior martial sister Feixuan.”

The boy in ragged robe nodded and greeted the girl in soft yellow with a bow.

“Master, since we can’t find senior martial sister, are we going back to Xuanbing Palace?” the the girl in soft yellow dress asked.

The woman shook her head. “I have not seen Feng Qingyang for decades. Wuqing said that he is ill. I want to pay him a visit…” she said emotionally.

xxXxx

The three of them arrived at a cave behind the Repentance Cliff.

The woman looked around and noticed a stone tablet under a big tree with the words ‘Grave of Beloved Great Grand Uncle Feng Qingyang’. Her expression suddenly changed. She grabbed Dongfang Wuqing by the collar and shouted angrily, “I thought you said that he was only ill?”

Dongfang Wuqing gazed toward the stone tablet and shed a tear, “If Great Grand Uncle Feng was still alive how would those Mount Hua Sect bullies be able to even get close to me…”

The woman brushed Dongfang Wuqing aside, ran toward the stone tablet and knelt beside it. “How could you die? How could you die? There are still many things that we have not done and have not said to each other!” she yelled, choking on her tears.

“Qingyang…” she reached out and embraced the stone tablet in her arms.

Dongfang Wuqing walked into the cave and returned shortly with a small wooden box in his hand. He handed it to the woman and said in a low voice, “Master, Great Grand Uncle once said that this is for his confidante Song Sanniang. So it has to be yours.”

The woman held the small wooden box in her left hand and opened it with her right hand. There was a silk handkerchief inside. She slowly pulled out the silk handkerchief and read the words embroidered on it, “They all said that missing someone is good. Missing someone makes one age. Even after everything, missing someone is still the best…”

The woman took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I was the one who gave him this silk handkerchief...he kept it with him all this while…” she murmured in between tears. As she looked back into the box, she noticed a piece of paper folded inside the box. She pulled out the paper and saw some words written on it.

‘Sanniang, by the time you see this letter, I would have probably left this world. Reflecting on my life, half was spent as a meaningless in the Wulin and half was spent as a hermit. I probably should say that I have no regrets. Sad to say that I have much regrets. The person that I have wronged the most would be you...back then you were willing to forego everything and live in seclusion with me. But the moment I realized that the Sword Faction and Qi Faction of my school were fighting, and that you were related to the devil cult, I pulled out from our wedding and rushed back to Mount Hua to stop the fight. Who would have thought that I was too late. By the time I got back, most of the Sword Faction apprentices and martial brothers were already dead. After pondering for a long time, I decided to try and ask for forgiveness from you but each time I went to Xuanbing Palace to look for you, your master would get in my way. No matter how hard I fought against her, I would still lose to her. In order to get a chance to see you, I trained my martial art skills even harder. But no matter how hard I train, I was still unable to defeat her. Now that I look back, when I rejected you, when we could not be together again, I have already lost in life. So what if I become under heaven’s number one swordsman? Losing in life is still losing. I hope that we will meet again in our next life so that I can make up to you.’

The woman leaned forward and kissed the stone tablet. “Qingyang, don’t worry. I will be with you soon. I will never let go of your hand again.” she said emotionally. She slowly looked toward the girl in soft yellow dress and called out sofly, “Feixuan.”

The girl in soft yellow dress hurriedly walked up to the woman, stooped down beside her and looked at her emotionlessly. “Yes, master?” she asked in a flat voice.

“Feixuan, I have never requested anything from you in my entire life. If I make a request from you now, you will help me out won’t you?” the woman said in a low voice.

The girl in soft yellow dress nodded and said, “It was master who brought me back from hell. I will do whatever master wants me to do.”

The woman nodded smilingly, “Promise me that you will take care of Wuqing for the rest of your life.”

The girl in soft yellow dress widened her eyes and asked in shock, “Take care of him for the rest of my life?”

The woman nodded and sighed, “Yes. Look after him like he is your blood related brother and don’t let others bully him. Can you promise me that?”

The girl in soft yellow dress did not say a word. She felt uncomfortable accepting her master’s request because Dongfang Wuqing was not related to her master neither was he related to her.

“I have been looking after you since you were a baby. Have you ever repaid me?” the woman asked.

Unsure why her master would make such a request, the girl in soft yellow dress pursed her lips and said, “Alright. I promise.”

A smile appeared on the woman’s face. She grabbed Dongfang Wuqing’s shoulder, pulled him closer and whispered into his ear, “Your senior martial sister’s martial arts skill is almost at par with me. She would be able to take good care of you.”

Dongfang Wuqing gazed at the woman confusingly and asked, “Master, what is going on? Are you angry with Wuqing for lying to you? Wuqing promise Wuqing would never lie to you again.”

The woman smiled widely and replied, “Master is not angry with you. Master needs to go and keep your Great Grand Uncle company.” After finishing her words, she directed her inner strength to her right palm and smacked it down on her head.

The woman subsequently threw up a mouthful of blood at Dongfang Wuqing’s face and clothes, closed her eyes and passed away.

Dongfang Wuqing was shocked. He held the woman’s body in his arms and shouted in grief, “Master!”

The girl in soft yellow dress did not say anything. She remained still and looked at her master impassively.

After burying the woman next to Feng Qingyang’s grave, the girl in soft yellow dress and Dongfang Wuqing left Mount Hua and head back to her home in Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

[Eccentric One]

All I can say is that it is not interesting. Not possible to combine two different JY stories

[Steven Chen]

All I can say is that it is not interesting. Not possible to combine two different JY stories

If you don't like it don't read it. There is no need to spam on someone's thread.

[Sjohnb]

All I can say is that it is not interesting. Not possible to combine two different JY stories

@Eccentric One...I would like to know if you've ever written any type of fiction before, be it fanfiction or an original work? If not, would you please stop criticizing others and try it yourself. You might not be so quick to be negative then.

@Dongfang Xue...I hope that you'll continue THIS story. There are currently five(5) Swordsman fanfics on this site and I think that this story is starting out very well. Keep it up!

[Dongfang Xue]

@Dongfang Xue...I hope that you'll continue THIS story. There are currently five(5) Swordsman fanfics on this site and I think that this story is starting out very well. Keep it up!

Thanks for the support Sjohnb. Haters will hate but it will not hinder me from continuing. Going back to work next week so the updates will be slower

[Dongfang Xue]

Located on the north of Lijiang, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain got it’s named for their resemblance to a giant crystal jade dragon, and is said to be the embodiment of the god ‘’sanduo’.

Upon reaching the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Feixuan and Dongfang Wuqing walked under the falling snowflakes, toward a shrine up ahead. It was so quiet they could only hear the slow wind whirling around the eaves.

As soon as they entered the shrine, Dongfang Wuqing noticed that there was no one around. Since he has been living with only Feng Qingyang since he was a kid, he was used to living in a quiet environment.

Feixuan walked down a hall and turned toward a twist and turn passageway on the east. Dongfang Wuqing followed closely so that he would not to lose track of her. Deep in his heart, he convinced himself that he would be able to get his grids real soon. He felt that if he could roam around Mount Hua and Xinxiang Village on his own, he would be able to move around the shrine too.

Feixuan pushed open a heavy stone door and struck her hand out at an oil lamp on a table. A red glow emanated from the tip of her index finger, spreading toward the oil lamp and lighted it up.

As soon as the room brightly lighted up, Dongfang Wuqing saw that Feixuan was young and beautiful, but she was cold and domineering, Looking at her index finger in astonishment, he uttered a cry of surprise. “Senior Martial Sister’s martial arts skill is indeed formidable.”

Feixuan looked at Dongfang Wuqing coldly and said, “These are insignificant skills. Wait till you learn our shrine’s top skills.”

Dongfang Wuqing dropped his jaw widely and asked in disbelief, “You call spurting fire from your finger is an insignificant skill?” Feeling proud that he had joined such a powerful martial art group, he smiled arrogantly and said, “If that is so I am sure that our shrine’s martial arts skill is under heaven’s number one. It won’t be long before I can shine in the Wulin, and have the world under my feet!”

Feixuan frowned and said, “Stop day dreaming. You have not even started your martial arts training and you are already talking about dominating the Wulin.”

Dongfang Wuqing chuckled and said proudly, “Senior Martial Sister, haven’t you heard that every great achievement begins with a vision, a dream?”

Feixuan snorted coldly, “I have only heard that if you don’t practice hard enough you will never be able to succeed in your martial arts cultivation. Now, go and get some sleep. We will begin your martial arts training in the morning.”

After exiting the room, Feixuan lightly swept her sleeve and emanated a gust of wind at a heavy stone door, closing it behind her.

Letting out a yawn, Dongfang Wuqing took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed and went to sleep. He slept on the bed a while but suddenly awoke, when he felt his bones chilled. Alarmed, he let out a cry of shock and hurriedly jumped off the bed.

The stone door suddenly swung open. Feixuan stepped into the room and noticed frightened expression on Dongfang Wuqing’s face. Sympathized with him, she looked down at him and asked softly, “What is wrong?”

Staring at the bed in shock, Dongfang Wuqing replied startlingly, “There’s something strange with the bed. You tried to make a fool out of me!”

Feixuan gave him serious look and said, “Who’s making a fool out of you? The bed is like
that. Go to bed quick!” Reaching her hand out, she emanated a glow of golden yellow around Dongfang Wuqing, pulled him up from the floor and gently placed him on the bed.

Dongfang Wuqing struggled to break himself free but the force engulfing him too powerful to be broken. Lying on the bed, he started to tremble.

“Remove all distracting thoughts. Focus your thoughts. I’m going to teach you a method to oppose the coolness of the bed,” Feixuan said sternly. She recited the formulae and the way to cultivate inner energy to Dongfang Wuqing; it was the Xuanbing Palace’s basic martial art skill.

She took out a rope, tied one end to a hook on the eastern side of the room, and tied the
other end to a hook on the western side of the room. The rope was off the floor at a height similar
to that of a person. She lightly jumped up and lay along the rope, using it as a bed.

“There are many martial artists who wished that they had the chance to sleep on this bed. The bed is made out of an ancient chilled jade. It helps people who practices advanced types of inner energy cultivation,” she explained.

Opposing the coldness of the bed, Dongfang Wuqing asked curiously, “Isn’t it just a stone?”

Feixuan replied, “This icy cold piece of rock is different. Ancestor Grandmaster spent seven years of blood and sweat to dig out the chilled jade from under thousands of feet of ice and snow. If you pcultivate your inner energy on this bed, one year is equivalent of ten years of normal practicing.”
Dongfang Wuqing was surprised and said, “Oh, so it has such benefits.”

Feixuan continued, “When you first sleep on it, it is extremely cold and hard to endure. Only by
circulating your energy to oppose it and slowly getting used to it, you’ll be able to cultivate your
inner energy in your sleep. A normal person who cultivates internal energy will have to spend a few hours each day in sleep. You have to be aware that cultivating inner energy is opposing the natural flow of things, qi and blood intermix; it is completely different to what happens normally. But each night when you sleep, the chi that is produced in your sleep does not waste the energy you have accumulated in the day, it enhances your inner energy.”

After hearing Feixuan’s words, Dongfang Wuqing was touched by her kindness. “Senior Martial Sister, you treat me very well, you let me sleep on the bed so that I could cultivate my inner strength. From now onwards I won’t be scared of the Mount Hua Sect bullies,” he said happily.

Feixuan glanced at Dongfang Wuqing and said fiercely, “I promised Master that I will take care of you. As long as I am alive I will not allow anyone to bully you.” As she said those words, she started to think about her senior martial sister. The last sentence were the exact same words that Lin Xiaohuan told her years ago.

Dongfang Wuqing opened his eyes and glanced at Feixuan in awe. “Senior martial sister, could you teach me this sleeping on the rope skill tomorrow? he asked.

Feixuan did not reply. She looked up at the ceiling and murmured softly, “I wonder how is senior martial sister now?”

“Senior martial sister? Master another apprentice?” Dongfang Wuqing asked curiously.

Feixuan replied in a flat voice, “My senior martial sister Lin Xioahuan and I grew up in the Xuanbing Palace together. She has much better martial art skills than me. A year ago, she secretly left the palace to play and met Wang Zhennan of the Golden Saber Wang Family in Luoyang. Falling in love with him, she defied master and left Xuanbing Palace to be with him, resulting in her expulsion from the palace.”

Dongfang Wuqing smiled and said, “Senior martial sister, how about we go out and look for eldest martial sister?”

Trying to get some sleep, Feixuan closed her eyes and said, “Until you have mastered all our palace’s martial art skills you are not allowed to leave. Now get some sleep.”

Just as Dongfang Wuqing closed his eyes, he felt the bed coolness again. He quickly practiced according to Feixuan’s instructions. After practicing it for a while, he felt the coolness retreating; by the third repetition, his body felt like it was on fire. He didn’t feel the bed’s coolness, and instead felt that sleeping on the bed was extremely comfortable, his eyes closed, and slowly he fell asleep.

After sleeping for half an hour; his hot energy disappeared, and was wakened by the bed’s coolness. He repeated the method again and spent the night this way, falling asleep and waking up again, by the time the sunrise and he was completely awake, he did not feel tired. In just one night, his inner strength level increased.

The following morning, after finishing breakfast, Feixuan took Dongfang Wuqing to secluded cave behind the shrine and officially started teaching him martial arts.

Dongfang Wuqing bowed to Feixuan and asked, “Senior martial sister, what’s our sect called?”

Feixuan clasped her hands behind her back and said, “When our Ancestor came and lived in the mountain, she didn’t have any contact with the Wulin, our sect didn’t have a name. Later my senior martial sister Lin Xiaohuan left and wandered around the Jianghu, she told others that she was a disciple from ‘Xuanbing Palance, so let’s call our sect the Xuanbing Palace!”

Afterward, she instructed Dongfang Wuqing to wait for her inside the cave. She went out and came back shortly. Closing the stone door behind her, she raised her hand and let go of the two sparrows in her hand, “Wuqing, catch the three sparrows and give them to me. You must not harm their wings or claws.”

“Sure!” Dongfang Wuing threw himself forward to catch the them. But the sparrows were swift and quick. They flew to the west and darted to east. Running and jumping all over the cave, Dongfang Wuqing could not even touch a feather of theirs. He was out of breath and his head covered with sweat.

Feixuan smiled faintly and said, “You won’t be able to catch them like that, I’ll teach you a way.” She then taught him the technique to jump high and dart low; the ability to catch things quickly. In a blink of an eye, she caught the sparrows with her right hand.

Dongfang Wuqing very quickly understood the formulae and method, but it wasn’t easy to use it straight away. On the first day, he was not able to catch one. After dinner, he cultivated his inner strength on the chilled jade bed. On the second day, he could jump much higher, and his arm movements were much quicker. On the fifth day he eventually managed to catch one.

Excited, Dongfang Wuquie ran toward Feixuan hurriedly and told her about it. To his surprise, Feixuan did not have any words of praise or encouragement for him. She indifferently said, “What use is it to catch one. You must catch all three.”

Dongfang Wuqing smirked, “I have already caught one, how hard could it be to catch all three?” Little did he know that it was difficult to catch all three in one go. He tried for two days but was not able to catch them. By the eighth day, he was finally able to catch all the sparrows in one go.

Just when he thought he had mastered a great skill, Feixuan led him to another cave. The cave was larger than the cave where Dongfang Wuqing first practiced catching sparrows, at least twice the size; there were six sparrows in the cave.

Since the cave was larger than before; catching the sparrows was more difficult. Feixuan imparted more lightness skill and catching techniques to him. After ten days, Dongfang Wuqing was able to catch the six sparrows at one go.

As time went by, the caves became larger and larger, the number of sparrows also increased, and eventually he moved to the main hall to catch eighty-one sparrows.With the chilled jade bed’s ability to enhance inner energy cultivation, in just three months, Dongfang Wuqing
could catch all eighty one sparrows in one go.

Feixuan was pleased with his rapid progress. She folded her hands behind her back and said condescendingly, “Now that you have mastered our sect’s lightness skill, it’s time for you to learn palm skills, fist techniques, projectile throwing and weapon stances. It took Dongfang Wuqing to learn it all. Together with the help of the chilled jade bed, his progress was amazing, but his inner energy was not developed as much.

Time went by so fast. Feixuan had grown older and became even more beautiful. Dongfang Wuqing had turned was twenty, he became taller, and was now a teenager. He was completely
different from the first time he entered the palace. He became more and more respectful to his senior martial sister over the last five years.

Standing under a veranda proudly, Dongfang Wuqing breathed in the fragrance of flowers and grasses and felt relaxed.

Feixuan exited a room and walked toward him. With her usual cold and indifferent expression, she asked, “Wuqing, why are you not practicing your martial arts? What are you thinking about?”

Dongfang Wuqing glanced warmly at Feixuan and replied, “Senior martial sister, it’s time for me to pay those Mount Hua Sect bullies a visit. I cannot forget how they picked on me.”

Feixuan gazed at him in silence, and thought, “Looks like if I don’t allow Wuqing to go and look for those Mount Hua Sect people he would not be satisfied.That year master refused to allow senior martial sister to go and look for Wang Zhennan and they ended up arguing.”

“Before you leave, you better learn the Jade Maiden Sword Art,” she said.

“Jade Maiden Sword Art?” Dongfang Wuqing asked excitingly.It was his first time hearing such a skill.

Feixuan nodded, “Jade Maiden Sword Art was developed by great martial art expert by the name of Lin Chaoying during the Song Dynasty. Master and Feng Qingyang were fortunately enough to discover this swordplay during their younger days. The swordplay mainly focuses in the fancy variations and changes. This sword play is used for countering sword moves from other sword schools. But before they could completely grasped the essence of the swordplay Feng Qingyang abandoned master and returned to Mount Hua. Hence, Feng Qingyang only managed to grasp nineteen stances. Master said that many years later, Feng Qingyang mastered the Dugu Nine Sword from somewhere and became a renowned sword expert in the Wulin.”

She paused for a moment, sat on a railing and continued, “Master said that the Dugu Nine Sword was created by a senior by the name of Dugu Qiubai. This swordplay has nine stances, each of which was designed to counter all sorts of weapons, including swords, spears, clubs, whips, and arrows, as well as bare-handed attacks. The first core element of the swordplay is speed: The practitioner is trained to quickly predict and identify the weaknesses in the martial arts moves executed by an opponent, and then attack those weak points. The second core element of the swordplay is its formless nature and adaptability: Unlike conventional martial arts styles, the moves of the Dugu Nine Swords does not follow any fixed sequence or pattern. As such, it is impossible for an opponent to predict and counter the moves of the swordplay. Out of anger and hatred toward Feng Qingyang, master spent many years studying the Jade Maiden Sword Art and finally grasped the true essence of the swordplay, which had more than nineteen stances. So if you learn the Jade Maiden Swordplay your chances of defeating those Mount Hua Sect apprentices would be much higher.”

Dongfang Wuqing smiled, “Senior martial sister, Great Grand Uncle imparted me Dugu Nine Sword’s ‘Breaking Sword Stance’ while we were living in the cave. If we can combine the Dugu Nine Sword and Jade Maiden Sword into one, no one under heaven would be able to defeat us.”

Feixuan nodded, “That would make sense. Why don’t you show me the sword moves which you have learned from Feng Qingyang.”

Dongfang Wuqing hurriedly leapt to the middle of the courtyard and started performing the moves of the breaking sword stance with a twig in his hand. Every move was complicated and exquisite.”

After finishing the last move, he pointed the twig to the ground and murmured in a low voice, “Senior martial sister, did you notice that the sword breaking stance has variations of attacking techniques with no defending ones at all?” His knowledge of martial arts had certainly increased over the last few years.

Feixuan was more experienced. She walked toward the middle of the courtyard and said, “When you force your enemy to have no other choice but to defend himself, of course there’s no need to defend yourself. Dugu Nine Sword is indeed ingineous. No wonder master said that theoretically the Jade Maiden Swordplay is equal to Dugu Nine Sword. But in practice, the users martial arts foundation and intelligence would be the key winning factor.”

Afterward, Feixuan and Dongfang Wuqing spared with swords. Feixuan using the Jade Maiden Sword and Dongfang Wuqing using Dugu Nine Sword. They both discovered that the Jade Sword technique was indeed the neutralizing opposite to Dugu Nine Sword techniques, every stance was designed to stop the attack of Dugu Nine Sword techniques, every step matched the other, every move restricted the opponent and predicted their next move, no matter what the user of Dugu Nine Sword skills did, it could not break the confinement of the Jade Sword technique.

In the following six days, Dongfang Wuqing practiced the Jade Maiden Sword techniques imparted to him by Feixuan.

xxXxx

[Silverhawk]

Looks promising. Keep it up

[Chilian Xianzi]

Refreshing indeed👏👏👏 take your time to write. Not good to rush into it

[Malevolent]

Thanks for the quick updates

[Dongfang Xue]

Will try to at least get one more chapter up for the new year. Thanks for the support everyone

[Whirlwind]

Will try to at least get one more chapter up for the new year. Thanks for the support everyone

Looking forward to it. Happy New Year!

[Dongfang Xue]

It was a sunny morning. A group of twelve men carrying swords were escorting a sedan through the woods leading to Luoyang City. A horse rider leading the pack was carrying a flag with the word 'Wang' embroidered on it.

All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind came blowing toward them. The horse rider abruptly stopped his horse and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the strong wind. His companions behind him took several steps back, wondering where did the wind come from.

A blur scarlet suddenly whirled down from the air and stood lightly at the top of a tree.

The horse rider looked around and noticed a beautiful priestess in scarlet gown, holding a whisk in her hand; standing at the top of the tree up ahead. He bent his head slightly and bowed to the priestess in scarlet gown, "Priestess, can I know your honorable name?"

The priestess in scarlet gown smiled wickedly and said, "That would to be necessary because after this all of your will be dead."

The horse rider was astonished by the priestess's words. "What are you talking about?" he said with a snort.

The priestess leapt off from the tree and flew toward the group. Her lightness skill was unfathomable; she flew through the air at unimaginable speed, leaving only a trail of scarlet light. She swept her hand out in an arc and shot out a flurry of needles at the men.

The needles flashed through the air and pierced the heads of the twelve men on foot in a flash of an instant. They lifelessly fell down to the ground one after another. All their heads had a small red dot, as tiny drops of blood leaked out. The dots were made by the needles shot out by the priestess.

The horse rider evaded the needles by leaping into the air. He somersaulted twice and landed on a nearby tree branch. Reaching for the hilt of his sword, he pointed it at the priestess and shouted, “Who are you? Why are you trying to kill us?”

The priestess elegantly whirled up into the air and stood on top of a tree; opposite the horse rider. She glanced at him and said coldly, “Blame yourself for carrying a flag that has the word 'Wang' on it." She struck her palm out, emanated a glow of flame at the flag lying on the floor and set it on fire.

The horse rider let out a cry of shock, “You are the Scarlet Serpent Deity Lin Xiaohuan?”

The priestess smiled wickedly, “That’s right.”

In recent years, while learning martial arts under the tutelage of Dongfang Bubai, Lin Xiaohuan became irrational in her killings, including anyone with the surname of Wang and Gao. Infamous for her ferocious, merciless cruelty, and her beauty, people in the Jianghu referred to her as ‘’Scarlet Serpent Deity'’

The horse rider decided reached for the sword fastened at his waist, aimed it at the priestess and swiftly flew toward her.

The priestess swept her whisk at him, wrapped it around his sword, and pulled it off his hand. She whirled the sword round once in a circle and abruptly hurled it at the horse rider. The sword
penetrated the front of his throat and exited through his back.

The horse rider’s body flung backward and collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

The priestess waved her whisk and elegantly whirled down onto the ground. Seeing that there were no survivors, she turned around and slowly walked away

xxXxx

After completely mastering the Jade Maiden Swordplay, Dongfang Wuqing left for Mount Hua to settle his animosity with them. Even after so many years, he has could not forget how they picked on him after catching him sneaking around the temple stealing food and wine. The unforgiving behavior in him was certainly strong.

Feixuan decided not to go with him. Ever since she was a baby, she has been living in the Xuanbing Palace and never interacted with anyone outside. Afraid that she might not get used to the outside world, she decided to stay behind and wait for Dongfang Wuqing to return upon taking his revenge. She was confident that the Mount Hua Sect apprentices and elders were no match against Dongfang Wuqing.

Upon arriving at Huayin Town, Dongfang Wuqing decided to go straight to Mount Hua and finished off his task so that he could quickly return to Xuanbing Palace to keep Feixuan company.

He walked on for many miles, crossed through the wood, and noticed vast wilderness and a group of people appeared in front of his eyes. There were at least eighty people in the crowd, Dongfang Wuqing simply walked forward along the narrow road, and the crowd stood around a small pavilion, but kept a good distance from it.

After walking closer, Dongfang Wuque finally saw her. Lin Xiaohuan in a scarlet gown sitting in the middle of the pavilion all by herself, drinking wine next to a small table. Among the men standing around the pavilion, he recognized four of them. They were members of the Mount Hua Sect that he encountered years ago.

A strong feeling of hatred swelled in his heart. "These bullies are now picking on a woman? How despicable!" he thought in anger. He noticed that although Lin Xiaohuan was surrounded by so many enemies, but yet she was still able to drink her wine in such a calm and unhurried manner. He started admiring Lin Xiaohuan's exceptional heroic spirit.

He leapt jumped up, performed a somersault in the air and landed in front of the crowd, outside the pavilion. He took a good look at Lin Xiaohuan and noticed that her hair was tied up in a bun; she was attractive and elegant, but cannot be compared with Feixuan.

Holding the wine cup in her hand, Lin Xiaohuan gazed at the distance, completely ignoring the crowd surrounding her. The whisk tucked in the back of her waist was the only weapon she had her.

Dongfang Wuque had no idea about Lin Xuaohuan's name or origin, whether she was good or evil. But seeing that she was surrounded by members of the Mount Hua Sect he assumed that she was good and admired the heroic spirit the she had displayed.

Taking big strides forward, he stepped into the pavilion and said loudly, “Hello there, beautiful maiden, don't you feel lonely drinking all by yourself? Let me be your company and drink with you.” Greeting Lin Xiaohuan with a smile, he sat down by the table.


Lin Xiaohuan turned her head around and shot a sideway glance toward Dongfang Wuqing. She saw that he was a handsome young man with bright eyes. She let out a snort and said coldly, "Little boy, where did you come from? Even you want to live you better get away."

Ever since Wang Zhennan abandoned her and married Gao Ruoxi, Lin Xiaohuan had developed animosity toward man. Naturally when she saw Dongfang Wuqing, she did not like him a single bit, even though he was very good looking.

Dongfang Wuqing was a proud person himself, and after living with Feixuan who was also cold and indifferent, it did not affect him at all Lin Xiaohuan was being rude to him. He picked up the small pot, filled up a wine cup for himself and drank it up in ine gulp.

“Hey idiot! Get out! We are here to fight this demoness to death. Stop getting in our way!” a Mount Hua Sect apprentice standing outside the pavilion shouted.


Dongfang Wuqing shot a cold sidelong glance at the man shouting at him; sending a sudden chill down his heart and said indifferently, "Mount Hua Sect is supposedly the so called righteous sect in the Wulin but yet you useless bunch of people surround a woman who is all by herself. Mount Hua Sect is no different from any other heretic sects in the Wulin."

Among the crowd, Mu Renqing was the only one who thought that Dongfang Wuqing looked familiar. He stepped forward and said courteously, "Little brother, there might be some misunderstanding between us. We are here to avenge for friends and brothers who have died under this demoness murderous hands."

Hearing his words, Lin Xiaohuan started laughingly wickedly, "With just the handful of you and you want to take revenge? Where is Great Abbott Fangzheng? Is he too old to travel anymore?"
With a lightning fast motion of her hand, Lin Xiaohuan drew her whisk and swept it out at Mu Renqing.

Even though Mu Renqing had gone through years of intensive martial arts training in his school, his martial art skills were still uncomparable with Lin Xiaohuan who was already an expert years ago. He leaned to the side to dodge the attack but his movements was just not fast enough.

The whisk flashed through the air, hit Mu Renqing's shoulder forcefully and knocked him off his feet.

Gao Genming ran toward Mu Renqing and propped him up. "Renqing are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

The other Mount Hua Sect apprentices hurriedly drew their swords, pointed it at Lin Xiaohuan and dashed into the pavilion in unison.

Dongfang Wuqing jumped off his seat and swiftly stride toward them to protect Lin Xiaohuan. Thrusting both his palms out, he hurled a blast of wind at the Mount Hua Sect apprentices.

Eight of the Mount Hua Sect apprentices leading group felt the strong gust of wind hitting them. They flew off their feets and knocked against their companions in the back

Lin Xiaohuan stared at Dongfang Wuqing in astonishment, and murmured to herself, "Cloud Sweeping Palm?" Could Sweeping Palm was one of the palm strike skills developed by the founder of Xuanbing Palace, Yan Xiaoqing decades ago. The strike emphasizes of softness and has the capability of killing a target instantly.

Since Dongfang Wuqing only intended to teach those Mount Hua Sect apprentices a lesson, when he executed the strike he only used half of his strength. Even so, the strength of his strike inflicted serious internal injury upon them.

Lin Xiaohuan instantly got up and stride out of the pavilion at unimaginable speed. With a quick motion of her arm, she swept her whisk out at a Mount Hua Sect apprentice, wrapped it around his neck and strangled him to death.

Afterward, she appeared beside Dongfang Wuqing and asked indifferently, "Smelly kid, where did you learn the Cloud Sweeping Palm from?"

Dongfang Wuqing leaned sideways to evade a sword tip, grabbed man's wrist forcefully and made him drop the sword. "A fairy taught it to me!" he replied with a grin.

"Stop talking nonesense! Lin Xiaohuan snorted angrily.

Ten Mount Hua Sect apprentices hurriedly ran toward Lin Xiaohuan, stood around her in a circle and simultaneously struck their swords out at her.

Lin Xiaohuan gracefully jumped up to dodge. Sweeping her hand out in an arc while her body spun in the air; she shot out a flurry of needles at the ten men and pricked their heads.

All the ten men stumbled backward, dropped their swords and fell on their backs lifelessly. Their faces turned pitch white. The needles shot out by Lin Xiaohuan contained venomous poison.

Gao Genming brandished his long sword violently and stride toward Dongfang Wuqing. He assumed that Dongfang Wuqing was in the same group as Lin Xiaohuan and could tell that his martial art skills were lower compared to her. Hence, he decided to try and subdue Dongfang Wuqing and hope to use him to force Lin Xiaohuan to surrender.

Dongfang Wuqing leaned to left and to the right, dodging six fast of stabs. His movements were smooth and nimble. Leaning backward in an arc, he stride past the sword swishing above him. Gao Genming was amazed with Dongfang Wuqing's martial art skills.

After dodging another ten moves, Dongfang Wuqing picked up a sword from the floor and thrust it out at Gao Genming's throat. The move was so fast that Gao Genming could not do anything to block or relatiated.

The sword in Dongfang Wuqing's hand suddenly halted in the air. It was only inches away from it's target.

Gao Genming let out a cry of shock. For a moment he thought that he was going to die for sure. He glanced at Dongfang Wuqing and asked in surprise, "What is the meaning of this?"

Dongfang Wuqing smiled mischievously and said, "I only wanted to teach you all a lesson. There is no need for me to take your life. Five years ago when I did not know any martial arts your apprentices bullied me. I've already taken my revenge so you can leave now."

After knowing why Dongfang Wuqing got involve in the fight, Gao Genming laughed and said, "Little brother, because of a small matter you helped a demoness to take the lives of my innocent apprentices. This is truly ridiculous..." He shifted his glance toward Lin Xiaohuan and saw her killing his apprentices one after another. Hatred started boiling inside his heart. He let out a yell and hurriedly stride toward her.

Dongfang Wuqing held the sword behind his back and uttered in surprise, "Help a demoness?" He glanced at Gao Genming confusingly. After seeing Lin Xiaohuan kill another five men with the whisk in her hand, he was convinced that the Mount Hua Sect members were no match against her. But yet, he still felt that it was unrighteous for so many men to fight against a woman, and that they deserve whatever punishments inflicted upon them.

Lin Xiaohuan jumped up and positioned her back against the ground, as her leg shot up at Gao Genming's chin.

Gao Genming flew off his feet and fell on his back, throwing up a mouthful of blood. He pressed his arms against the ground, propped him duel up and glared at Lin Xiaohuan fiercely "Demoness! You may be able to kill me today but you will never be able to harm Zhennan and Ruoxi! Great Abbott Fangzheng is already on his way to Luoyang!" he exclaimed.

Lin Xiaohuan snorted and replied coldly, "My master awaits him in Luoyang." With a motion of her hand, she swept her whisk out and strike Gao Genming's head with full strength. The strike was so powerful that it ripped his head off his neck.

Seeing blood splattered all over the ground and Gao Genming's head fell across the field, Dongfang Wuqing let out a cry of shock.

After seeing Dongfang Wuqing's moves, Lin Xiaohuan was convinced that someone from her previous sect had imparted him the Xuanbing Palace's martial art skills. She turned around and walked up to him. "Smelly kid! Who is your master? How come you know the Cloud Sweeping Palm and Ice Ripple Steps? You better me who your master is or else I will let you die slowly," she said in a chilling voice.

Hated being threatened, Dongfang Wuqing retorted sarcastically, "Beautiful maiden, you may be very attractive but you don't scare me!"

With a swift motion of her hand, Lin Xiaohuan lashed her whisk down at Dongfang Wuqing's head. After learning martial arts from Dongfang Bubai for five years, the speed of her attacks had increased four folds.

Unexpectedly, Dongfang Wuqing was able to see the whisk lashing down at him very clearly. He knew that it was impossible to dodge such a fast attack. Raising the sword above his head, he barely managed to block the whisk.

A huge force swept down through the whisk, piercing into Dongfang Wuqing bones. He was unable to hold his stance and was forced to tumble back.

Just as Lin Xiaohuan was about to make her killing move, Dongfang Wuqing abruptly extended his hand, flicked his finger and shot out a needle at her.

Startled by his move, Lin Xiaohuan hastily propelled her body into the air and flew backward. Quickly composing herself, she leaned sideway and dodged the needle by hairs breadth. She then returned landed on the ground and noticed that Dongfang Wuqing was gone. She cast a quick look around but could not see him around. Letting out a cold snort, she turned around and walked away condescendingly.

Seeing that Lin Xiaohuan was gone, Dongfang Wuqing jumped off from a big tree and landed on the ground.

A male voice suddenly called out, "Little brother..."

Dongfang Wuqing looked around and noticed that it was Mu Renqing.

Mu Renqing had been lying on the floor with his eyes close from the time he saw his martial brothers die, one after another. Now that Lin Xiaohuan was gone, he decided to stop his act of pretending to be dead.

Dongfang Wuqing stooped down beside Mu Renqing and propped him up. "Are you alright?" he asked in a flat voice.

Mu Renqing nodded, "I just need to meditate for a few days and I should be alright."

A young girl arrived at the scene. She ran toward Mu Renqing hurriedly and couched down beside him. "Senior Martial Brother! What happened?" she asked shockingly.

Dongfang Wuqing lifted his brows and glanced at the girl, wondering who she was.

Mu Renqing gazed at his master's dead body and started to sob, "Scarlet Serpent Deity was here earlier...she killed master and all the other martial brothers..."

The young girl tumbled to the back and let out a cry of shock, "Father is dead?" She pulled herself up into a standing position and ran around the field searching for her father. Looking to toward the north, she saw Gao Genming's severed head lying under a tree. Grief stricken, she knelt down in front of the head and burst into tears.

Dongfang Wuqing glanced at Mu Renqing and asked, "What enmity do you have with that fierce woman that she had to kill all of you?"

Mu Renqing heaved a long sigh and told him about everything he knew. Wang Zhennan used to be in a relationship with Lin Xiaohuan. By the time he met Gao Ruoxi, Wang Zhennan had already broke up with Lin Xiaohuan. No one knew why they broke up. All they knew was that Lin Xiaohuan refused to end their relationship and continued to pursue Wang Zhennan.

Dongfang Wuqing pursed his lips and thought, "So that beautiful maiden just now is senior martial sister Lin Xiaohuan. I guess master must have expelled her from the sect after discovering her violent behavior." Although he had no experience in love relationships but he felt that it was wrong to resolve such matters through violence.

Wiping her tears with her sleeve, the young girl stood up and walked toward Mu Renqing. Clenching tightly to the sword in her hand, she said assertively, "I will not let my father die in vain. I am going to find that demoness and kill her to seek revenge,"

Mu Renqing waved his hand and sighed, "Don't act rashly. Lin Xiaohuan has formidable martial art skills. You will not be able to defeat her in a fight."

The young girl did not seem to care about his warning. She turned around and ran away in anger.

Mu Renqing looked at Dongfang Wuqing with his teary eyes and said in a sad voice, "Little brother, my junior martial sister Gao Ruolan is impulsive and naive. With my injuries, I doubt that I can catch up with her. I hope that you can help me to keep an eye on her and make sure that she does not doing anything silly."

Being an orphan since he was a child, Dongfang Wuqing understood the pain of living without parents. Sympathizing the young girl, Dongfang Wuqing nodded, "Don't worry. I will."

Forcing a faint smile on his face, Mu Renqing thanked him with a bow and asked, "Little Brother, I am Mu Renqing. Can I know your honorable surname and great name so that I will not forget your kindness?"

"My name is not worth mentioning." Dongfang Wuqing pulled himself up into a standing position, turned toward the direction which the girl took and strode away in a flash; leaving behind only a trail of light.

--------------------
Here's Wishing All Readers A Happy New Year! Hope you like this chapter

[Chongdong Bubai]

Happy New Year and thanks Dongfang Xue!

Looks like DFWQ is a talented pugilist with a compassionate heart although he is arrogant, he has mix personality of his father LHC and mother DFBB? Let's see how he performs in terms of relationship

[Chilian Xianzi]

Thanks for the New Year treat Dongfang Xue

[Avidfan]

Happy new year to you too! This looks like a fun read too

[Malevolent]

Happy New Year and thanks for the quick updates

[Dongfang Xue]

Happy new year to you too! This looks like a fun read too

Thanks for dropping by Avidfan

[Dongfang Xue]

Trying to update as much as I can before work starts to get hectic
---------

A week ago, Lin Xiaohuan sent a letter to the Wang Family in Luoyang telling them that she decided not to wit for ten years and would like to resolve their enmity once and for all. Upon receiving the letter, Gao Ruoxi sent a pigeon message to her father Gao Genming to inform him about this.

After seeing Lin Xiaohuan duel against Fangzheng five years ago, Gao Genming knew very well that he was not match against Lin Xiaohuan. Hence, he sent a pigeon message to Mount Shaoshi to alert Fangzheng about this and hoped that they could meet in Luoyang to deal with Lin Xiaohuan. Little did Gao Genming know that Lin Xiaohuan decided to make a trip to Mount Hua and deal with him first.

Just as Fangzheng and two of his juniors walked along a narrow pathway leading to Luoyang, a gust of wind suddenly came from the east, blowing at them violently. The two junior monks lost their balance and stumbled many steps back.

The wind did not seem to have any effects on Fangzheng. He halted his steps, stood firm on his feet and raised his arm to cover his eyes from the dusts flying at him.

A trail of violet suddenly whirled down from the air.

Fangzheng noticed a violet woman figure appear in front of him. Although she had her back against him, but from her dressing and hair style he could tell that the woman was a priestess. He bowed slightly and greeted, "Amitabha. Priestess, can old monk know your honorable name?"

The priestess in violet gown replied coldly, "Great Abbott Fangzheng, I trust you have been well since we last met."

Fangzheng recognized the woman's voice. He widened his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Miss, do we know each other?"

The priestess in violet gown turned around and glanced at Fangzheng coldly. "Of course we do. It would hurt my heart if you have forgotten me."

"Dongfang Bubai?" Fangzheng let out a cry of shock.

The priestess was indeed Dongfang Bubai. She let out a cold snort and said, "Good that you have not forgotten me."

As Fangzheng listened to Dongfang Bubai voice, he felt her hatred and aggression. He bowed to her and said courteously, "Miss Dongfang, it is nice to see that you have been well. You have been living in seclusion for the last twenty years. What brings you back to the Jianghu?"

Dongfang Bubai looked away and replied indifferently, "My apprentice said that you have been poking your nose in her matters. I have come to help my apprentice."

Fangzheng knitted his brows and gazed at her puzzlingly. "Can old monk ask who is your apprentice?" he asked.

"Lin Xiaohuan, nicknamed Scarlet Serpent Deity."

Fangzheng let out a cry of shock, "Scarlet Serpent Deity Lin Xiaohuan is your apprentice?"

Dongfang Bubai nodded, "Twenty years ago, you destroyed my relationship with Linghu Chong. And twenty years later, you did the same thing to my apprentice. Although you are a Buddhist practitioner but you certainly enjoy poking into other people's matters. Looks like I will have to act on behalf of Heaven and eliminate you once and for all."

Upon hearing her words, the two junior monks hurriedly whirled their wooden rods and jumped in front of her. "Nobody is allowed to harm our Head Abbott!"

With a quick motion of her sleeve, Dongfang Bubai hurled a wave of wind at the two junior monks and sent them flying sideways. "You overestimated your capabilities," she remarked with a sneer.

The two junior monks collapsed to the ground and threw up a mouthful of blood.

Fangzheng shook his head and sighed, "After so many years young lady is still aggressive as ever, what a pity."

Dongfang Bubai laughed and cried, "Aggressive? If I was aggressive I would have taken your life twenty years ago for lying to me and caused me to lose Linghu Chong."

Fangzheng glanced at Dongfang Bubai and replied softly, "It was heaven's will that young lady cannot be with Great Hero Linghu. As the saying goes, good and evil cannot coexist."

Dongfang Bubai snorted, "Stop preaching me! Only one of us will walk away alive today!"

Fangzheng sighed, "Revenge is a vicious cycle. Since young lady has already become a practitioner of Daoism, why is that young lady is still unable to let go of the past?"

"I thought I could too. But after encountering Xiaohuan, I realized that there are some things that cannot be forgotten. The pain that I had to go through cannot be healed," Dongfang Bubai retorted.

"If old monk is willing to sacrifice old monk's life today will young lady be willing to let go of past misunderstanding and stop young lady's apprentice from killing more innocent people?" Fangzheng asked.

Dongfang Bubai shook her head and hissed, "It's best that you kill me today. It is also because of you that I separated with my son for twenty years. The pain that you have caused me is far worst than being stabbed by Linghu Chong!"

After those words, she jumped up and extended her hands sideways; emanating a strong murderous aura into the atmosphere.

The clear blue sky above them suddenly turned dark; covered by thick black clouds.

Fangzheng clasped his hands together and bowed, "Looks like old monk has no choice but to exchange a few pointers with young lady."

Dongfang Bubai struck out her palm and shot a violent blast of energy at Fangzheng.

Fangzheng waved his palm and returned a blast of energy at her.

The two energies collided; producing a blast of energy that swept across the horizon. The force of Fangzheng's Thousand Hands Rulai Palm Strike and the force of Dongfang Bubai's simple palm strike was equally matched.

After testing the strength of Fangzheng's palm strike, Dongfang Bubai landed in front of Fangzheng and hurled four successive palm strikes at his vital organs. Each strike was fast as the lightning and as fierce as the tiger.

Fangzheng thrust and swayed his palms; twist and turn his body, as he steadily stepped to the back. Out of the four strikes, he managed to block one and dodged the other three.

"Shaolin Sect martial art skills certainly lives up to its reputation," Dongfang Bubai commented with a smirk.

The two Wulin's epitome martial arts experts charged forward and continued exchanging palm moves. Fangzheng's palm moves were unpredictable. Every strike he shot out, would suddenly changed into different directions. The palm moves were like illusions and could not be be observed.

Dongfang Bubai's palm moves were not any weaker. Every strike was executed with unimaginable speed and was formless. No matter where Fangzheng's palm struck out, Dongfang Bubai would be able to follow and sent her palm there. They were well matched in terms of strengths.

As the fight went on, the speed of Dongfang Bubai's palm moves increased by threefold. Just as Fangzheng struck his palm out at Dongfang Bubai's shoulder, Dongfang Bubai leaned sideways to dodge and struck her palm out at Fangzheng's abdomen; her palm moved was excited later but reached its target very much faster.

Suspending his palm in the air, Fangzheng stumbled five steps backward and coughed lightly. "Young lady's Sunflower Manual martial arts skill is indeed extraordinary. Old monk bow in admiration," he murmured.

The fight did not end there, Dongfang Bubai was determined to take Fangzheng's life to sooth her years of pain. She swept her sleeve diagonally and stride toward Fangzheng in a flash. Waving her palms fiercely, she hurled eight consecutive palm strikes at him. Each palm strike was faster than the previous one.

Fangzheng raised his arms and waved his palms exquisitely, using all his skills to fend off the attacks. But Dongfang Bubai's attacks were just too fast for him. In a flash of an instant, he received six out of eight strikes; each strike hitting the vital parts of his upper body.

After Dongfang Bubai was done with her palm moves, she suddenly stride behind Fangzheng, directed her inner strength to her right palm and struck it out at Fangzheng's back; emanating a fierce surge of energy into his body, rupturing his heart, liver and lungs.

Fangzheng threw up another mouthful of blood, stumbled four steps forward, and slowly fell on his face. "Amitabha...young lady Dongfang...after today...old monk hopes that you can let go of your hatred and start a new life..." he gasped.

Dongfang Bubai lowered her hand and folded it behind her back; glancing at the dying Fangzheng. Even though she had taken her revenge, but yet she did not feel a single bit of joy in her heart. In a complete dilemma, she turned around, leapt into the air and gracefully flew away.

Moments later, a beautiful young girl wearing a pink dress and an old beggar appeared at the woods outside Luoyang. The young girl ran toward Fangzheng hurriedly and stooped down beside him. Propping him up with her arm, she saw his face and recognized him right away.

"Great Abbott Fangzheng, are you alright?" she asked softly.

Fangzheng slowly glanced at the young girl and replied in a frail voice, "Miss Linghu...?"

The young girl in pink dress nodded, "I am Linghu Chong's daughter Linghu Shishi."

The old beggar stooped down, reached out for Fangzheng's wrist and checked his pulse. Realizing that Fangzheng's viscera had been injured severely, he let out a sigh and asked, "Great Abbott, please tell us who injured you so badly. We will take revenge for you."

Fangzheng sighed with a cough, and stuttered, "Revenge is a vicious cycle. I hope that you all can go to Luoyang and save the Golden Saber Wang Family from the demoness Dongfang Bubai and her apprentice..." Competely out of energy, he breath his last and passed away before he could finish his words.

The old beggar was startled by the words 'Dongfang Bubai'. He glanced at Linghu Shishi and said urgently, "Shishi, we better rush to the Golden Saber manor right away. We have to stop Dongfang Bubai before more people gets killed."

Linghu Shishi looked at the old beggar confusingly and asked, "Uncle Zheng, who is this person Dongfang Bubai?"

The old beggar replied,"Dongfang Bubai is the Divine Sun Moon Cult's ex-chief and under heaven's number one martial arts expert. This person is known to be violent and cold blooded. Approximately twenty years ago this person mysteriously vanished from the Jianghu and went into seclusion. Looks like a reign of terror is about to befall upon the Central Plains Wulin once more."

After hearing the background of Dongfang Bubai, Linghu Shishi pulled herself up and said, "We better hurry to the Golden Saber Family and help them out then."

The old beggar nodded and went off with Linghu Shishi. His name was Zheng Dongliu and he was the Beggar Clan's second in command.

xxXxx

Riding her horse speedily across a valley, Gao Ruolan abruptly pulled the reins to stop the horse. She turned around and glared at Dongfang Wuqing who had been following her from Huayin all the way to Luoyang. "Smelly kid! Why are you following! Who are you?" she asked angrily.

Dongfang Wuqing looked away and replied condescendingly, "I promised that man from Mount Hua Sect to look after you. A true man will keep his words no matter what."

Gao Ruolan grunted and said, "Who needs you to look after me? You are a true busybody!"

Dongfang Wuqing knitted his brows, glanced at Gao Ruolan annoyingly and thought, "Looks like all women under Heaven are fierce. Thank goodness senior martial sister is more gentle than this girl here." Letting out a snort of disgust, he replied, "Lin Xiaohuan's martial art skills is fathomless. Does not really matter to me if you die in her hands but since I made a promise, even if you get killed I need to bring your corpse back to Mount Hua and tell that man I did my best to help you but you refused to cooperate so it was not my fault."

Listening to his words, Gao Ruolan thought that he was eccentric. She abruptly turned around and rode off, leaving him alone.

Dongfang Wuqing waited till she was quite a distance away before he went after her. He decided that it is best that he watch over her from a distance. "A good man will not fight with a woman, especially a rough woman," he murmured.

After entering the city gates, Gao Ruolan went straight to the Wang family manor. From a distance, she was a dead body lying outside the manor. Worried that her older sister was in danger, she stopped the horse outside the manor a ran inside hurriedly.

As she ran though the main gates, she saw dead bodies scattered all over the courtyard. A storng murderous aura floated in the manor.

Inside a hall, Wang Zhennan and his wife Gao Ruoxi sat on the steps below a rostrum, staring at a dead body in despair.

Gao Ruolan ran into the hall hurriedly and called out, "Older siste! Are you alright? What happened?"

The couple noticed Gao Ruolan coming. They stood up and walked up to her hurriedly.

Both the sisters gave each other a hug.

Gao Ruoxi sighed and replied bitterly, "Lin Xiaohuan came earlier. She is back to take revenge."

Wang Zhennan gritted his teeth in anger and said angrily, "She is inhuman! The moment she came she killed anyone that she saw. We are the only ones alive right now!"

"She even killed father and all the other martial brothers in Moun Hua!" Gao Ruolan interrupted emotionally.

Gao Ruoxi was startled. "She killed father too...?" she let out a cry of shock.

Gao Ruolan nodded as her eyes turned watery. "Senior Martial Brother Mu and I are the only ones alive...." she sobbed.

Wang Zhennan raised hand and smacked his palm down at a small table, smashing it into pieces. "This demoness has gone insane!" he yelled.

"Thankfully you and older sister are still alive," Gao Ruolan sighed in relief.

Gao Ruoxi shook her head and sighed, "She has given Zhennan a day to kill me. She will be back tomorrow..."

Gao Ruolan was furious. "There are three of us here. We will join hands and fight the demoness to the death!" she asserted.

Wang Zhennan shook his head and interrupted, "We can't! Ruoxi is two week pregnant. It would just be me and you, Ruolan. But I cannot allow myself to put you in danger. I suggest that you bring your older sister out of here while I stay around to deal with Lin Xiaohuan."

Gao Ruoxi reached out and grabbed Wang Zhennan's arm with both hands. "I will not leave you. If we need to die, we will die together!" she said assertively.

Wang Zhennan held Gao Ruoxi in his arms and nodded with a deep sigh.

By midnight, he discreetly sealed Gao Ruoxi's acupuncture points and instructed Gao Ruolan to bring her out of the city. As the horse carriage exited an intersection, a scarlet shadow suddenly whirled down from the sky, surged toward the horse carriage rapidly and strike the rider on his head.

Everything happened so fast that the rider only saw a blur scarlet streaked at him. Before he could see who was it, he was already dead.

Lin Xiaohuan drew the curtain aside and looked into the carriage. Flashing a wicked smile across her beautiful face, she said, "Gao Ruoxi where do you think that you are going?"

Gao Ruolan widened her eyes and thought in shock, "This priestess here is Lin Xiaohuan...How could a Daoism practitioner be so cold blooded?"

Feeling numbed all over her body, Gao Ruoxi let out a cry of fear, "Lin Xiaohuan..."

Reaching for the hilt, Gao Ruolan drew her sword and struck it out at Lin Xiaohuan.

Lin Xiaohuan caught the flat sides of the sword with her index and middle fingers. With a quick motion of her fingers, she snapped the sword and subsequently sealed Gao Ruolan's acupuncture points. The speed of her moves were the beyond human eye.

Gao Ruolan stared at Lin Xiaohuan and let out a cry of shock. It was the first time in her life that she saw someone with such unfathomable speed.

"Who is this smelly girl?" Lin Xiaohuan asked coldly.

All of a sudden, a needle shot out from the dark and flew straight at Lin Xiaohuan's head.

Hearing the whistling sound of the needle, Lin Xiaohuan swept the whisk in her hand and knocked the needle away. She glanced toward the direction where the needle came from but could not see anyone around. She snorted angrily and said aloud, "Who is it? Show yourself if you have the guts!"

A hoarse and loud voice suddenly said, "Lin Xiaohuan! How could a beautiful woman like you be so cold blooded? If you continue to be like this no man under Heaven will dare to approach you!"

As Lin Xiaohuan listened to the voice, her eyes glanced toward southwest. She could tell that the person was at that location. She sneered and replied, "All man under Heaven are heartless. I don't need any men to approach me."

"How could you be so prejudice? Not all men are like that. Well, I am certainly not like that," the hoarse voice continued.

Lin Xiaohuan narrowed her eyes and hastily flew toward the direction of the voice.

The person talking to her was in fact Dongfang Wuqing. After their last encounter, he very well that he was no match for her. So he decided to hide behind a big tree and tried to use some tricks to lure her away.

Lin Xiaohuan suddenly appeared beside him. She crossed her arms and glanced at him coldly, "Smelly kid, it's you again."

Dongfang Wuqing looked at her and uttered a cry of surprise. Her lightness skill level was so high that was Dongfang Wuqing did not even notice that she was beside him. Forcing a smile on his face, he said, "Beautiful maiden, we meet again..."

Lin Xiaohuan glared at Dongfang Wuqing coldly and asked, "Who are you?"

Dongfang Wuqing grinned and replied, "I am just a nobody."

"How did you manage to learn Xuanbing Palace's martial arts? If you tell me truthfully I will grant you a quick death. Otherwise, I will make sure that you suffer a miserable death!" Lin Xiaohuan mocked.

Dongfang Wuqing knew that she was not joking. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a needle. Before he could even make his move, Lin Xiaohuan shot her hand out and lightly stabbed his shoulder with the tip of her index finger; sealing his acupuncture points.

"Senior martial sister let him go," a clear and tender voice suddenly said.

Lin Xiaohuan recognized that voice. She looked her shoulder and noticed a yellow figure flying gracefully in the air toward her. "Junior martial sister..." she murmured in surprise.

The yellow figure was indeed Feixuan. She skillfully landed on the ground beside Dongfang Wuqing and unblocked his acupuncture points.

Dongfang Wuqing glanced at Feixuan happily, and asked, "Senior martial sister! What are you doing here?"

Feixuan replied indifferently, "I was worried that you got into trouble at Mount Hua so I went there to look for you. A man by the surname of Mu told me that you were on your way here so I came here to look for you."

Lin Xiaohuan knitted her brows and uttered softly, "Senior martial sister, master took this smelly kid as her apprentice?"

Dongfang Wuqing smirked at Lin Xiaohuan and said arrogantly, "Yes she did. Since we are from the same sect you are not allowed to bully me again."

Feixuan nodded, "Master took Wuqing in as her apprentice before she passed away."

Lin Xiaohuan glanced at Feixuan in astonishment. "Master passed away? When was this? How come no one inform me about it?" she asked anxiously.

Seeing that she was busy talking to Feixuan, Dongfang Wuqing hurriedly stride toward the horse carriage, unblocked Gao Ruoxi and Gao Rulan's acupuncture points. "You better leave now," he whispered.

Gao Ruoxi jumped onto the horse and rode it back to the Wang Family manor. She decided to go back and look for her husband.

Lin Xiaohuan heared the loud hoofbeats. She glanced at the horse carriage and noticed that it was heading toward the road which leads to the Wang family manor. She decided not take any action yet.

"Junior martial sister! Tell me what happened to maste quick," she asked aloud. Even after getting expelled, deep in her heart she had not forgotten her master's gracefulness.

Feixuan replied expressionlessly, "On the third day after master expelled you, she started to worry about and decided to go and look for you. Upon reaching Mount Hua she came upon the grave of the man whom she loved, and took her own life to keep him company."

Lin Xiaohuan stumbled five steps back and shook her head. "You are lying. Master once said that all men under Heaven are heartless. There is no way that she would commit suicide for a man...this is not true," she muttered in disbelief. Memories of her master taking care of her while she was little and teaching her martial art skills flashed through her mind. Now that her master was gone, her heart was filled with grief and anguish.

"Master has formidable martial art skills...she would never die!" she let out a loud cry, and emanated a fierce gust of wind across the air. Unable to accept the truth, she leapt into the air and flew away.

xxXxx