Chu Liu Xiang (Chor Lau Heung) Summaries
Da Sa Mo - Part 3
Original novel written by Gu Long
Fan translation by Athena
The young disciples escorted Chu back to the dungeons. Suddenly he asked one of the girls to support him. The 2 girls asked him not to talk to them because he already caused the death of 2 other girls. Seeing no other choice, they supported him back. When Ji BingYan saw him in this tired state he was amused and annoyed and coldly asked whether the Stone Avalokitesvara was that difficult and tiring to entertain. Chu LiuXiang sighed softly and said that Ji's imagination was very vivid and he pressed the acupoints of the 2 girls causing them to fall down. Both Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong were surprised that he regained his strength as they were still immobilized by that fragrance. Ji BingYan knew now that Chu faked being affected by the flowers and he waited for an opportunity to rescue him and Yi DianHong.
Chu removed a belt from the girls and asked Ji to tie Yi DianHong to his back and Chu will carry Ji on his back and try to get out of this place.
After getting out of that place they saw a little stone cabin and entered. They saw 3 young disciples bathing. Chu LiuXiang moved his index finger and all 3 of them couldn't move, Chu asked them where the Stone Avalokitesvara kept Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr. One of the girls said she didn't know what he was talking about and said their teacher never hid any girls. Chu believed them and moved his index finger again and all 3 fell down.
Ji BingYan asked Chu whether he knew the way out. Chu said he remembered the way when they brought them in. Yi DianHong said he would like to find Qu WuRong, he said he couldn't leave her here. Ji said she will never go with us and Yi DianHong knew that. Yi DianHong said that he knew she will not to try to stop them.
Suddenly they heard someone scoffing: "Why do you think I would not try to stop you?"
Meanwhile, Hu TieHua and princess PiPa were lost in the desert both of them were tired, thirsty and hungry. Suddenly Hu TieHua blamed princess PiPa for taking the wrong way, she said she knew the way back but it lead them to sure death now. Princess PiPa cried. Hu TieHua also softened his tone of voice and said he didn't mean it that way.
Suddenly the thought of imminent death awoke the passion in PiPa and Hu TieHua. They thought they would not survive this and gave up to their passion. Hu TieHua held the princess and pressed her down and forgot everything. But suddenly he felt pain and leapt up, Hu screamed and asked her why she didn't want to. With tears in her eyes she said her body already belonged to someone else. Hu knew she meant Chu LiuXiang and started kicking the sand. After awhile they both regained their senses. They both loved Chu too much to hate him. Suddenly a wounded vulture flew over and dripped some blood on Hu's hand. Hu took a closer look and recognized the vulture as the bird that took away the box from the 4 tigers of the Peng family earlier. Someone with remarkable swordsmanship was able to wound it in the sky. The bird dropped and died. Hu TieHua and princess PiPa had found some food and quickly ate the bird to replenish their energy. After some time they heard someone screaming in pain.
They quickly went to the source of the sound, and they saw 10 odd men with large sabres attacking 2 men with excellent sword techniques. Judging from the techniques, they belonged to the HuaShan School. They saw some corpses nearby but the 2 men were getting tired and there were too many enemies. Princess PiPa recognized one of the swordsmen and said to Hu: "Isn't that your camel driver?"
Hu took a closer look and confirmed it was Shi Tuo and the other was that mysterious Wang Chong. No doubt those other men were henchmen of the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu told the princess to stay and he rushed over to help them and with only his fists, struck one man down. Hu TieHua told them to stand down and leave, but they didn't listen and kept attacking them. Wang Chong said that it was no use these men lost their senses the only was to kill them all.
After a bloody fight, Wang Chong thanked Hu TieHua for his help. Hu asked Wang Chong whether he was Shi Tuo's brother.
Wang Chong said that although not related they were as close as 2 brothers could be. Hu TieHua praised Wang Chong's swordsmanship and said he didn't see genuine HuaShan swordsmanship for 20 years. He said that Wang Chong's "Startled Rainbow Piercing The Day" was even a legend. Also, Hu knew that the entire HuaShan School didn't have anyone called Wang Chong.
"Wang Chong" sighed and confessed his true name was Liu YanFei. Hu TieHua was surprised he knew that Liu YanFei was called "The Little Divine Dragon Swordsman" and was the last disciple of the old master of the HuaShan School. Hu asked Liu YanFei who "Shi Tuo" was, Liu YanFei said it was his eldest martial arts brother, the head of the 7 Swords of HuaShan. The righteous swordsman HuangFu Gao.
Hu TieHua took a close look at HuangFu Gao Shi Tuo, and sighed. He asked why the Stone Avalokitesvara tortured him. Liu YanFei said, that it was a long story. Not only HuangFu Gao, but the entire HuaShan School's reputation was practically destroyed by this witch. Hu told Liu YanFei that now he had found his eldest martial arts brother they could avenge themselves. Liu YanFei's face changed color and repeated softly: "Avenge? Avenge ourselves?"
Liu YanFei cried at this moment, and told Hu why HuangFu Gao endured such bitterness all these years. He did it to protect the HuaShan School and the HuaShan disciples. Liu YanFei knew that with the entire HuaShan School they still couldn't defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara. And HuangFu Gao would rather live like this than see anymore HuaShan disciples getting hurt again.
Princess PiPa came by and asked Liu if there were still HuaShan disciples left to roam the martial arts realm. Liu sighed and said there weren't many left. Princess PiPa said she thought all of them died already. Liu YanFei angrily wanted to say something but was interrupted by PiPa. She said that even she, someone who lived in these parts of the world, had heard of The 7 Swords of HuaShan. During that time every WuLin person respected the HuaShan School. But now the HuaShan School is practically gone, even if all the HuaShan disciples were still alive, they would still live in shame.
Liu YanFei felt he was just slapped in the face, he felt really embarrassed. Princess PiPa added that a true man should rather die in a glorious fight than live like a coward.
Liu YanFei said that he wasn't afraid of dying but he thought it would be meaningless to throw away one's life so recklessly.
Princess PiPa asked him if he could defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara. Liu said no one in this world could defeat this woman. PiPa told him if they were willing, Hu TiaHua and herself would help them. Liu YanFei thought for awhile and walked towards HuangFu Gao and wrote something in his palm. HuangFu was upset and kicked him away. Liu crawled up and saw HuangFu shaking and he had tears in his eyes. After some time Liu asked Hu and princess PiPa if they were really willing to help fight the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu TieHua said he was never afraid of death.
HuangFu Gao took them to the oasis of the Stone Avalokitesvara. Near the entrance, he stopped. Liu YanFei said they should wait till night. At night, HuangFu Gao led them through the maze, he was very cautious because he knew one wrong move and they would die in this maze. Hu TieHua held onto his sabre, he felt death all around him. Suddenly they heard breathing and coming closer. Hu TieHua readied himself and leapt up and hacked down. There were little people in this world that could avoid this blow, and little did Hu TieHua know that he was hacking at his closest friend, Chu LiuXiang.
Back to Chu LiuXiang and others, they were discovered by Qu WuRong. Yi DianHong asked her if she was willing to leave together. Qu scoffed and said they knew they couldn't escape so they want her to lead the way. Yi DianHong laughed heartily, someone who hadn't had a smile on his face for years suddenly laughed. Unfortunately at the wrong time, if his laughter would be heard by the Stone Avalokitesvara they would all die. Ji BingYan angrily scolded him that this is not the time to use death to express his love for Qu WuRong. Furthermore, he said that Chu and he had no intentions to die here. Yi DianHong understood and untied the belt and told Chu and Ji to go without him. Qu WuRong was getting moved by this gesture, and Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan couldn't just abandon him here. She gave Chu the antidote for the flower poison. Chu advised Qu to go along with them and said there wasn't anything here to keep her. She said she cannot leave.
All of a sudden a purple-robed girl walked in and said no one could leave now. She called Qu a traitor and said even when their teacher was out she and other 10 odd disciples could surely stop them and pressed the wall and a bell like sound was rung.
Chu LiuXiang knew that the disciples would come here any moment now, they couldn't defeat them with 2 immobilized and the other was still recovering from her injured arm.
Ji and Yi DianHong quickly took the antidote but it would take at least 1 to 2 hours before they would restore their strength. They all thought everything was lost. They saw 2 girls running this way, naked they were 2 of the 3 girls Chu saw earlier. The purple-robed girl chided them for this indecent behavior but the 2 girls fell down and died. Chu examined the bodies. They were strangled and the strangler used a very special technique that would not instantly kill them but giving them the chance to run for their lives and after using up the remaining air they would suffocate. One of the girls was holding a piece of paper Chu read its contents:
Master Chu, please accept my gift.
Hua Mei Niao (The Trush) humbly pays her respects.
The purple-robed girl ran off to call for help, but she stopped after a few paces and fell down, a jade dagger was flung into her face killing her instantly. There was a note attached to the dagger the contents of the note was the same as the first one.
Chu LiuXiang called out: "Please show yourself!"
But no one answered. Qu WuRong quickly led the 3 friends out of this place and reached another corridor. All their faces changed, they saw 10 odd corpses of young girls lined up after 2 paces there was a body all with a note attached:
Master Chu, please accept my gift.
Hua Mei Niao (The trush) humbly pays her respects.
Every girl died in a different way some were strangled some were killed by swords or sabres, others got their tongue ripped out or beheaded. Obviously this Hua Mei Niao took pleasure in killing.
Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan discovered something strange about the corpses, the eyebrows were all shaven off by the killer. This Hua Mei Niao must have an obsession with eyebrows. Qu WuRong led them out of there. She was terrified that all her martial arts sisters were killed, she just wanted to leave this horrible place. Suddenly a sabre hacked down, she was unable to avoid it Yi DianHong quickly pulled her away, but by doing so, his right hand was cut off and he fainted. Chu and Ji quickly struck the attacker down. Suddenly they heard the attacker say: "Is that you, smelly old insect?" It was Hu TieHua. Chu and Ji looked seriously and Hu realized he accidentally injured someone. Yi DianHong came by and praised Hu's martial arts. Hu felt sorry and wanted to chop down his own arm, Ji quickly stopped him and said he himself owed him a leg. Yi DianHong told them it was alright and said his right arm only killed people. Now it could rest. After saying that he fainted.
Princess PiPa was very happy to see Chu LiuXiang again and they exchanged stories, Ji BingYan was also pleased to see Shi Tuo unharmed.
Princess PiPa, Hu TieHua, and Ji BingYan were discussing who this Hua Mei Niao was. Only Chu LiuXiang was pondering on something else, he whispered to himself: "The 7 Swords of HuaShan, the family of Mount Huang, HuangFu Gao, the Stone Avalokitesvara...." No one understood what he was saying, but Chu's face was clearing up.
Princess PiPa asked him whether he knew where the Stone Avalokitesvara could be. Chu said who was the Stone Avalokitesvara. PiPa laughed and said that how it was possible for Chu to forget this woman.
Chu told them that there was a Stone Avalokitesvara, but also wasn't. And if there wasn't a Stone Avalokitesvara there was a Stone Avalokitesvara. No one in the group knew what he was talking about. Chu said this was Zen. Princess PiPa laughed and asked him if he wanted to become a Buddhist monk. Chu said he was just thinking of a Buddhist monk. Chu didn't say who this Buddhist monk was. Liu YanFei wanted to take leave, but Chu interrupted him and said he wanted to ask a few more questions. Liu YanFei said that there were a few things that concerned HuangFu Gao which he wasn't willing to tell others. Chu LiuXiang said he understood. Princess PiPa wanted Chu to stop talking in Zen and answer her questions but suddenly they heard camels crying out. They knew rescue was not far from here. All of them rushed towards the noise and saw a caravan with a large group of men leading the camels. The leader of the caravan was an old man with a long beard. The bearded man looked at Chu. Chu smiled and used the native tongue of this area to talk to him. However, the man didn't understand him and asked him in fluent Chinese what they were doing here in the desert.
Chu smiled and said they were here to do business but they were unfamiliar with the area. Furthermore, they lost their horses and camels and got lost. The bearded man looked not convinced, their group looked too strange to be merchants. Chu sighed and said they were WuLin people and they were looking for 3 friends. Still the bearded man didn't believe them and asked how Qu WuRong and Yi DianHong were injured. Hu said he accidentally wounded one of them. The bearded man told his men to search them. Hu shouted there is no one that can search him. Chu said there must be a first time for everything. Hu laughed and said if the famous Chu LiuXiang can endure such treatment so can he Hu TieHua. Ji smiled and said to Hu even children must grow up some time. The 3 friends told the men to proceed. But they all stopped moving. Suddenly the old man said he wouldn't dare search Chu LiuXiang and his friends. Chu understood these men worked for Hei ZhenZhu. The old man sighed and said he was very happy to see Chu but his young master left for China already some time ago.
According to him the black horse of Hei ZhenZhu came back without a rider, Hei ZhenZhu was convinced Chu was in trouble and quickly left the desert to help Chu. The old man smiled strangely and said that the relationship between his young master and Chu was very special and Chu knew that of course. But Chu didn't know what he was talking about.
Ji BingYan at this moment sternly questioned the old man why Hei ZhenZhu kidnapped Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr. The old man said there was no such thing as kidnapping. He said the 3 girls were his young master's guests. He said the 3 girls often spend the night with his young master and they always slept together in the same bed.
Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan couldn't believe their ears. Chu was flabbergasted and Hu smiled bitterly. Suddenly princess PiPa asked the old man whether his young master was a girl. The old man said of course, because his old master Zha MuHe (King of the Desert) had no sons, his daughter often dressed like a boy and everyone called her young master. Chu LiuXiang was rubbing his nose like crazy/out of embarrassment (*Rubbing his nose is a tick that Chu often does). Hu TieHua was laughed at Chu, while princess PiPa was burning with anger and scoffed at Chu: "It seems a lot people have special feelings for you."
The caravan set up camp here for the friends to rest. Ji BingYan was the first to ask Chu whether he understood what was going on here. Chu said he wasn't sure. There were many things he didn't understand. Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan helped Chu to think over this entire situation. According to them, Hei ZhenZhu and Su RongRong became friends when Hei ZhenZhu escorted Su back to the houseboat. But why did the 3 girls go with Hei ZhenZhu and why did she bring them to the desert?
Princess PiPa scoffed and told her view of this situation. According to her, Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr were fed up that they always had to worry about Chu, and they wanted him to feel anxious about them for once so they went along with Hei ZhenZhu. But again, Chu asked why would Hei ZhenZhu go along with such a scheme. Princess PiPa scoffed again and said it was obvious. Although Chu didn't know that Hei ZhenZhu was a girl, she knew he was a man. And there weren't many men around in this world with his good looks and charm. Hei ZhenZhu's heart was long stolen by him. But somehow our Casanova Chu LiuXiang has become totally ignorant and didn't see her feelings for him. Hu said that must be a great insult to this young girl and decided to teach Chu a lesson. Also, princess PiPa told them Hei ZhenZhu was probably afraid she will never see Chu LiuXiang again and if she and his maids would be here, he would surely come to the desert to look for them. That was cleared up but Chu was still wondering who else knew that Chu rescued Yi DianHong once. All this time Chu, Hu, and Ji were convinced Hei ZhenZhu was behind the treason to the king of QiuCi kingdom. But now it would seem someone else was involved. Everything points in the direction of the Stone Avalokitesvara.
But how would she know that Chu saved Yi DianHong. Only Hei ZhenZhu and Su RongRong knew this secret. All the others who knew this were dead. Princess PiPa joked, saying even dead people rise from their graves when they meet Chu LiuXiang.
Chu LiuXiang was suddenly enlightened by princess PiPa's last comment. Suddenly they heard 3, 4 horses riding into the camp. One of the men came in and told the princess that the general (the old man) was seeing a guest and he would later join the princess and her friends. Also, he said Qu WuRong, Yi DianHong, Liu YanFei and HuangFu Gao were resting in another tent.
After a while they heard at least 500 horses coming this way and stopped in front of the camp. The old man had his men form a formation holding bows, spears, sabres. It seemed that these soldiers were pursuing the 3, 4 men earlier. One of the men asked the pursuers what their business was. They said they had orders from general Min to capture a traitor of the Kingdom of QiuCi. If they handed them over, there will be a reward, otherwise, they would attack them and kill them all.
Princess PiPa panicked. She wondered if her father, the king, was one of the escapers.
Suddenly they saw someone coming out of another tent, it was the king. He was surprised and happy to see them here. Princess PiPa ran into her father's arms and smiled. The king smiled and said he wanted to talk to her later but now he asked whether Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua, and Ji BingYan would escort him in front of the enemy soldiers. He wanted to say something to them. Chu said they were willing to help where possible.
Chu LiuXiang thought the king looked different, the normally fatuous king looked majestic and grand. Chu, Hu, Ji and the old man both rode beside the king. The king spoke to the "enemy" soldiers. The soldiers recognized the king and said they didn't know they were pursuing the king. The king didn't blame them and said that he left the country and the soldiers were only obeying the orders from the generals. The king told them to ask the traitors Hong and Min to come out and wanted to talk to them. General Min, Hong XiangGong and Wu JuXuan came forward. Wu JuXuan was shocked to see Chu LiuXiang, he never thought Chu could escape from the Stone Avalokitesvara. They both exchanged looks and understood this was not the place to settle their issues.
The king chided general Min and Hong XiangGong for not being loyal to throne. Hong XiangGong replied anyone could become king. He told the king if he was intelligent, he would surrender now he and Min would put in a good word for him in front of the new monarch. The king asked Hong XiangGong where his new monarch was. Hong didn't understand what he was saying and said the new monarch was waiting in the royal palace for the news of the old king's capture. The king laughed and flung a box to him. Hong XiangGong caught the box, the king asked him to open it. When Hong XiangGong opened the box he dropped it and looked terrified. A head rolled out of the box. The king shouted that 2 days ago the pretender of the throne An DeShan was executed, the followers of the traitor would be wise to surrender now and their treason will be forgiven. The enemy troops were becoming restless, Wu JuXuan called to the soldiers that this was probably a ruse, they should remain calm. Hong XiangGong agreed and said the king didn't have any soldiers, how could they make any threats. The king laughed and said he ordered five 5 regiments to reclaim his homeland, 3 days ago he had won the war. Hong XiangGong was yelling it was impossible, how did the king have 5 regiments of soldiers? The king said that he borrowed 4 regiments from neighboring countries and 1 regiment was from the old man here.
The soldiers of general Min were even more restless. General Min ordered his men to attack and to bring him the head of the king. Unfortunately for him, only a handful of soldiers attacked, these were soldiers that remained loyal to general Min. The others just stood there. Hu TieHua stormed ahead and threw 2 soldiers off their horses. The old man raised his sabre and stormed ahead as well and killed 2 soldiers too. Hong XiangGong saw this was turning out to be unfavorable for him and wanted to leave quietly. But he was stopped by Ji BingYan. Hong had practically no martial arts at all and was easily captured by Ji. General Min was a military man. He saw Hu TieHua and raised his sword to attack Hu, but he was no match for Hu and was swiftly thrown of his horse and captured. The remaining soldiers all surrendered to the king. Suddenly Hu TieHua saw that Chu was not present he wondered where he went.
Somewhere away from the battle there were 2 men riding horses. One was running away, the other was pursuing. The "runner" was Wu JuXuan and the pursuer was Chu LiuXiang. Wu said to Chu there were no grudges between them, why did pursue him? Chu didn't answer and suddenly leapt down from his horse and jumped in front of Wu JuXuan. Wu threw a cloud of purple dust towards Chu.
Back at camp, Hu realized Chu was chasing Wu JuXuan. The king ordered a feast to celebrate the victory. The king assured Hu that with Chu's martial arts no one can escape from him. However, Hu TieHua was still feeling restless and whispered to Ji BingYan if they should look for him. Ji said they should each separately leave this place. Hu remembered he still had the Star of Happiness and handed it over to the king. The king didn't accept it and gave it to Hu saying it was a present for his heroic deeds. Hu said he couldn't accept such a gift. The king said he had lots of other treasures, one diamond more or less didn't matter. The king explained to them that the rumor of an ancient treasure was a ruse to fool the traitors, that would give the king an opportunity to contact the neighboring countries and the old man for help.
Ji BingYan suddenly coldly commented that the king was a true strategist but those poor protectors of the Peng family were killed for something trivial. The king coldly retorted that politics and war were awful things that would result in numerous deaths. Even the founders of the Tang and Sung dynasty were "guilty" of such crimes. The king said he didn't see the reason for Ji to make such remarks. Ji realized the king was correct in his words and apologized for it. Hu TieHua suggested everyone to drink heartily.
All of a sudden, a beautiful woman floated in and she looked like a goddess. The king recognized her as his queen. He softly asked her why she was here, she should be resting. Ji BinYan coldly said that not even sharp weapons could harm this woman. The queen asked the king if she recognized her with this. She removed her mask. The king also thought his wife was the most beautiful woman alive but this woman was even more dazzling. Hu TieHua recognized her she was his "bride."
At this moment, everyone knew she must be the Stone Avalokitesvara. Ji BingYan understood her plan, she wanted to replace the king. He knew when the king and princess died, the queen would become the next ruler. Furthermore, she made sure that traitors like An DeShan, General Min, Hong XiangGong were out of the picture first, leaving no one in her way to the throne. An DeShan, general Min and Hong XiangGong were just mere puppets.
The Stone Avalokitesvara praised Ji for his deduction. She told the king and princess to drink the wine in front of them. After drinking that wine all the problems would be solved for them at least. The old man wanted to sneak out for help, but the Stone Avalokitesvara told him he shouldn't bother. The soldiers were all sleeping now. The old man knew she was telling the truth, with her skills she could easily slip something in their liquor. The old man drew his sabre and stormed towards the Stone Avalokitesvara. Although the old man never really learnt superior martial arts, he was a man who used the sabre for many years and he knew that if his hack wouldn't hit her he would surely die. Princess PiPa leapt up to draw a sharp dagger and attacked. Both coordinated their attack to the perfection. They were sure that the Stone Avalokitesvara would not escape their assault.
Hu TieHua intervened and pushed the old man and princess PiPa away. The king and the princess were shocked that Hu TieHua switched sides, only the Stone Avalokitesvara smiled. The Stone Avalokitesvara explained to princess PiPa that Hu saved their lives if he could easily push them away. Then their attack wasn't that perfect and they would surely not survive the Stone Avalokitesvara's counter-attack. She demonstrated her martial arts and curled up her sleeve. Everyone saw 7, 8 different changes. After the demonstration she turned to Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan and asked them if they wanted to have a go. Both of them were pondering over the stance she just used. Neither of them could ward off that stance. After awhile Hu asked her the name of that stance, she just said it was called "Forbidden for Men."
The Stone Avalokitesvara said that men would die if they encountered her "Forbidden for Men." No one on this world can create such stances, not even the most famous martial arts schools of this time, Shao Lin and Wu Dang. Shao Lin martial arts is in her eyes too thick and too dumb. For example, it is comparable to a big bowl of roasted meat, only commoners would find it delicious and filling. But true connoisseurs were find it too greasy. Wu Dang is too light, just like a tofu and vegetables with no salt. The colors are nice but after one bite one will lose appetite. She didn't have one good word about Shao Lin and Wu Dang martial arts. Hu was amused by her comparisons. She added that the names of the stances of Shao Lin and Wu Dang were exaggerating, for instance, stances like "Subduing the Dragon and Taming the Tiger" or "Mountain Toppling." They should change the names into "Wood Hacking" or "Subduing Cats and Taming Dogs." Her martial arts had simple names like "Forbidden for Men."
The Stone Avalokitesvara had little respect for Shao Lin and Wu Dang. Both martial arts schools were famous for many years, every generation they produced new martial arts experts, although Shao Lin and Wu Dang are still flourishing in this time they did not produce any martial arts experts of the same level or higher than the Stone Avalokitesvara. That doesn't mean that Shao Lin and Wu Dang were inferior to the Stone Avalokitesvara.
After explaining her martial arts, the Stone Avalokitesvara asked them if Hu and Ji still wanted to fight her. They said they wouldn't dare. But as soon as they said "dare" they both leapt up and attacked her. The king, princess PiPa, and the old man couldn't see clearly what moves they were using, they only felt a pressing wind coming closer. Princess PiPa and the old man realized they were no match for Hu and Ji, and they were even more inferior to the Stone Avalokitesvara. Suddenly the 3 of them stopped and the Stone Avalokitesvara floated away and stood still, as if she didn't even move and still preserved her beauty and elegance. Hu TieHua's face turned red and Ji BingYan's face was entirely pale. She spoke to them and said she could have killed them but she wanted to test their martial arts so she let them live. She told them to stand down and leave, this was not their battle, but they wouldn't move an inch.
They were hoping that Chu would arrive soon. With the combined forces of the 3 of them, they would not be afraid of her. She guessed what they were thinking and said that Chu probably died at the hands of Wu JuXuan. Hu TieHua said that was impossible, this Wu JuXuan could never harm Chu. She told them that if there was someone capable of killing Chu that man must be Wu JuXuan. He knew how Chu thought so he analyzed him and found a way to deal with Chu.
She now focussed on the king and urged him to drink the wine, she told him An DeShan, General Min, and Hong XiangGong were waiting for him in the netherworld.
Chu inhaled the purple dust and felt weak all over and fell down. Wu JuXuan walked towards Chu and said even the great Chu LiuXiang is now rendered helpless and laughed. Chu said he knew a lot of men would try to fake their deaths to escape from responsibility and he never thought the Exquisite Monk WuHua would stoop to this level.
"Wu JuXuan" smiled and said he would endure Chu's scolding, because Chu was about to die now and he would grant Chu his final moments after he said that he peeled down his mask. Wu JuXuan was WuHua!
Chu LiuXiang figured everything out and explained his ideas to WuHua. He began his story many years ago. The HuaShan School and the Li family of Mount Huang were mortal enemies. In the end, the entire Li family was killed except young Li Qi. She escaped to Japan and met her husband TianFeng ShiSi Lang. After giving birth to 2 sons she left her husband and children. After returning to China she killed 4 of the 7 Swords of HuaShan, avenging her family but disappeared again. At this time, another strange, mysterious female martial arts expert appeared. She was known as the Stone Avalokitesvara. But no one thought that the poor Li Qi was the ruthless female killer, the Stone Avalokitesvara. Unfortunately, Miss Li spared the life of one HuaShan expert, HuangFu Gao. Perhaps because this man was too stubborn and anyone Miss Li fancied she must have him. After enduring all sorts of torment he managed to escape Miss Li's evil clutches. At this moment, WuHua's face was becoming awfully white with anger, but he let Chu finish his theory.
Chu continued. Unfortunately, many years later there was a busybody like Chu LiuXiang who became close friends with Miss Li's 2 sons and in the end, even mortal enemies. Even Chu didn't realize Li Qi/the Stone Avalokitesvara's secret but with the re-appearance of 2 HuaShan experts revealing Miss Li's mystery, Chu Liuxiang finally began to understand. WuHua said that after he was foiled in China, he began to look for his mother for help. But he was wondering how Chu figured out that the Stone Avalokitesvara was WuHua's mother. Chu said he thought of Madame Ren/Qiu LingSu. Madame Ren's face was mutilated by Miss Li but she was saved by Ren Ci. This was much to Miss Li's anger, anyone she wanted to suffer had to suffer. So she hated Ren Ci and wanted his life. However, her husband was ahead of her and challenged Ren Ci to a duel. After TianFeng ShiSi Lang expressed that he wanted Ren Ci to raise his son, Miss Li devised another plan of revenge. After NanGong Ling and WuHua were 20 odd years old, she visited them and told them she was their mother, she turned NanGong Ling against his teacher.
Chu deducted even if NanGong Ling was an ungrateful man, he would never kill his own godfather. A normal woman will never wait 20 years to meet her sons again, but if Miss Li wanted someone to pay, she will sacrifice anything to achieve her goals. She turned her sons against the people who raised them, cared for them, and only their closest relative had that much influence on WuHua and NanGong Ling. WuHua sighed and said that Chu was indeed a very intelligent man but too intelligent. WuHua drew a long samurai blade and asked him whether he remembered this sword. Chu said he did, WuHua said with this sword he can assure Chu that he will not suffer. He raised the sword and was about to strike.............
Chu LiuXiang returned to the oasis of the Stone Avalokitesvara. No one was there. The disciples were killed and the poor sweepers were also gone. Hua Mei Niao was thorough in her job. Chu sneaked to the Stone Avalokitesvara and watched. He saw her entirely naked in front of a big mirror. She was talking to her reflection and admiring her own body. It seems that her body was talking back to her. She was telling the reflection what she did today and in the end she said that no men could ever give her what she wants. She started "playing" with her own body. All of a sudden she heard a sigh outside and asked whether Chu LiuXiang was outside and asked him to come in. Chu entered her quarters. Chu told her that he knew she was looking for a soul mate to fill her emptiness but now he knew she would never find this soul mate. Because she is in love with herself, no one in the world matters to her, not even her husband and sons. She suffered from a terrible case of narcissism.
The Stone Avalokitesvara yelled at Chu: "You spied on me!" She lost her usual elegance and refinement and turned into a shrew. She walked forward to Chu with an evil angry look on her face. Chu became nervous and paced backwards. After awhile, she restored herself and apologized for her behavior. She asked Chu what happened to WuHua. Chu said he sealed his acupoint and hid him in a cave. She was surprised. She thought WuHua had Chu exactly where he wanted him. Chu told her something about himself. He told her that his nose was useless, that's also one of the reasons why he always rubbed his nose. Even the famous doctor Ye TianShi failed to cure his nose. Because of that, he started to learn a special type of internal strength that allowed him to breath through his skin.
The Stone Avalokitesvara was amused by this story and knew why WuHua's purple dust didn't affect him. Chu wanted to trade WuHua for a few people, namely the king, princess PiPa, Hu TieHua, Ji BingYan, Liu YanFei, HuangFu Gao, Qu WuRong, and Yi DianHong. She said that Qu Wurong and Yi DianHong left already. Before she arrived, they left a letter saying they had something to attend to and left first. She didn't see Liu YanFei and HuangFu Gao, they must have left too. Chu asked about Hu, Ji and the others, she told him he was just too late. They both drank the poisonous wine like the king, and told Chu if he came earlier, he might be able to save them. Chu LiuXiang was grieving from the inside that he was too late, even if he could kill her he would still regret that he wasn't able to save his friends. Furthermore, he had no confidence in defeating the Stone Avalokitesvara.
She watched him and told him not to try to avenge his friends, he wasn't her match. She advised him to comply to her wishes, she would help him become the new monarch of the kingdom of QiuCi and she would give herself to him. This was not an easy choice--power, wealth, prestige and beauty were in his grasp. She added that if he complied, he would have everything he desired and if he refused he will die. Chu LiuXiang smiled and said he was very willing but then he remembered that she was old and he lost all appetite. The Stone Avalokitesvara was furious when she heard him, she asked him whether he would rather die than comply to her wishes. He told her that he would rather die than sleep with an old hag like her and told her to dress up, he wants to vomit if he keeps seeing her naked body. She knew that Chu said those words to make her lose her self-control, but she couldn't stop her temper.
At this moment Chu flew towards her. Within 7 stances she attacked Chu's throat, eyes, chest. Chu had great difficulty avoiding these 7 stances and yelled: "Stop!" The Stone Avalokitesvara stopped and asked gently and sweetly whether he changed his mind. Chu smiled and told her to put on some clothes. Before she could react, he leapt up and attacked her with 10 stances. She blocked his stances and said that no wonder people say Chu LiuXiang was full of ideas. But he couldn't trick her twice. This battle was the most intense battle Chu had ever encountered. Chu LiuXiang knew that there were 3, 4 experts who were proclaimed to be the best martial arts expert of this time. The first one was reverend TianFeng of the southern ShaoLin Monastery, the other one was the leader of the KunLun School, Lei Ting, and some say it was the strange and mysterious Shi Yi Ren or Xue Yi Ren (the man in the blooded-robe).
However some people say that the reason Shi Yi Ren could be so famous was that he had never encountered Chu LiuXiang. Nonetheless, Chu also knew none of these martial arts expert were able to defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara, it was likely they would be defeated within 300 stances. At this time, Chu knew he would surely lose within the coming 50 stances. After another 30 stances, she asked Chu whether he could stand another 20 stances. At this time Chu was exhausted, and said he couldn't. The Stone Avalokitesvara could kill him any time, even if the leaders of the 7 prominent martial arts schools would come, they wouldn't be able to save Chu. Or if all the soldiers in the world would gather here, she would also first kill Chu before being killed by all those soldiers.
A lot of enemies of Chu always said Chu LiuXiang will die at the hands of women, it seems they are right in their prediction.
At the final moment, Chu saw the Stone Avalokitesvara's reflections in the mirror. He thought of something and used his palm to smash the mirror. The Stone Avalokitesvara was stunned, Chu quickly advanced and sealed 5 of her acupoints.
The invincible Stone Avalokitesvara was defeated by Chu LiuXiang, she gazed into his eyes and softly said: "You... defeated me." Chu smiled and said he did. She wanted to say something but didn't. All of a sudden, she fell down. The life swiftly moved out of her body. The Stone Avalokitesvara took her own life.
Chu LiuXiang took no pleasure in defeating the Stone Avalokitesvara. Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr were still missing. Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan, 2 of his best friends were gone.
Chu went back to the cave where he left WuHua, when he reached that place he was stunned. WuHua was still there but there was an arrow stuck in his throat. Someone killed him, there was a note attached to the arrow.
Master Chu is not willing to kill anyone.
So Hua Mei Niao will do it for master Chu.
Chu LiuXiang still didn't know who this Hua Mei Niao is. All of a sudden, an arrow flew by. Chu caught it and there was a thread tied to the arrow. Chu was puzzled and followed the thread. Indeed, there was someone waiting for him, not one, but 4 men. When he took a closer look, they were the king, princess PiPa, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan. He thought he was dreaming but it was them. Chu quickly asked Ji what happened to their poison. Ji asked him how he knew they were poisoned, and asked him if he saw the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu asked what happened to her, Chu said she was dead now. The 4 of them changed colors, Chu said she committed suicide. Hu asked Chu whether he defeated her. Chu smiled and said that they must be very surprised. Hu said to Ji that they might as well retire--this old smelly insect single-handedly defeated the most powerful martial arts expert of this time. Chu said this battle was far from easy. He was almost killed in 200 stances. Hu TieHua asked him how he defeated her. Princess PiPa laughed and said Chu must have his own special way, when it comes to intelligence and wit no one was able to overcome Chu LiuXiang. Ji BingYan said someone left them the anti-dote after the Stone Avalokitesvara left.
Chu LiuXiang concluded it must be that Hua Mei Niao again. The king was very happy and asked Chu, Hu, and Ji to go to his kingdom and stay for some time. Princess PiPa said sweetly that Chu had to come and stay for some time. Chu was rubbing his nose and was looking at Hu and Ji for help, but they pretended not to see him. Chu smiled and said they had some business to attend to in China and must be on their way. Princess PiPa gazed into Chu's eyes and asked him again whether he would go to her country and stay. Chu smiled bitterly, the king held the princess by her hand and sighed that if they had some other affair to attend to, he will not impose on them to stay.
Princess PiPa softly said she always knew that "he" wouldn't go with her. She raised her head and smiled and said: "I don't blame you, because I cannot go along with you. We just belong to different worlds, it was my pleasure to meet you. I......I am very happy."
Hu TieHua told Chu that he really respected her, she didn't cry. She was truly a brave and smart young girl. Chu said she was right about the different worlds, they didn't belong to each other. It was better to savour the sweet memories they shared. After the 3 friends were joking for a while, they mentioned the mysterious Hua Mei Niao. Chu wondered who this mysterious helper was. Hu said probably another woman in love with Chu who wants to get his affection and attention.
Chu said there was no point looking for her, she would certainly come to them.
The beautiful Stone Avalokitesvara was defeated by Chu LiuXiang, but Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr were still missing.
What ever happened to them, perhaps they were possibly captured by this Hua Mei Niao.
Another adventure awaits Chu LiuXiang in the mysterious Divine Water Palace, what is this place--a heaven on earth or a living hell?
Chu LiuXiang enters this place and will discover a secret of the Keeper of the Palace, the famous Matriarch of Water Yin Ji. Will Chu LiuXiang ever make it alive out of there? Please find out in the next adventure of Chu LiuXiang: "Hua Mei Niao" /The Trush.