Originally Posted by
charbydis
Chapter Forty-Two:
Cast of Appearing Characters:
Duen Mo Ngai - Lawrence Yan Chi Keung
Yeung Ming Guk - Ruco Chan Chin Pang
Yeung Ming Hung - Kenneth Ma Kwok Ming
Yeung Yat Ching - Michael Miu Kiu Wai
Suen Nga Yin - Natalie Tong Sze Wing
Ning Fung - Jackie Lui Chung Yin
Siu Kei Chi - Sammul Chan Kin Fung
The imposter gave a long bitter laugh. “You have come too late! There were nineteen other decoy prisoners sent out to lure out all of you rebels! Unless they were lucky like you, all your other friends would be waiting for you in the Underworld!”
Yeung Ming Guk rushed forwards. “You monster!” As soon as he had escaped from Gansu, he had set about contacting all his uncle’s contacts in the wulin world to help rescue him. It was his fault if they had fallen into the traps by the Western Faction.
But before he could get his hands on him, the loud sound of a flare could be heard. The wounded imposter seemed unfazed, and shouted, “The real Yeung Yat Ching should be entering the city gates of Beijing this very moment and there is nothing you can do to stop it!” And with one last laugh, he cocked his head towards the sharp weapon and ended his own life. There was no other way out.
To die with honour during a mission was more desirable than to return to Headquarters as a failure and face the dreadful consequences. Lau Gan did not like failures.
The hooded figure lifted his head towards the sound of the flare. Yeung Ming Guk could see the greying bits in his long thin beard. “The sound is coming from the city walls of Beijing.” He said calmly, “It must a signal by the eunuchs to indicate that Yeung Yat Ching has arrived! We must hurry there!”
Yeung Ming Guk cupped his hands in respect and exclaimed, “Thank you for your help, senior! It is our honour to have you here to help my uncle, Yeung Yat Ching! My horse is outside, let us rush there immediately!” and he made a move to go outside.
But the hooded man reached out a long hand and gripped him by the arm. Alhough there was no pain, Yeung Ming Guk felt as if a hand of iron was grasping tightly around his arm – he could not move or break free under the pressure. “There is no time! Let’s go by my way!” the hooded man suggested and without waiting for his consent, he dragged Yeung Ming Guk off into night.
The two men moved unhindered through the trees as they sped towards the city walls of Beijing. Yeung Ming Guk stared at the ground below him in awe as they moved with great momentum. They were travelling at such a great speed that the blurry scenery below them was gone before he could focus.
“May I know your name please, senior?” asked Yeung Ming Guk at the top of his voice to not be drowned out by the rushing wind against his face.
The hooded man did not answer him. Instead, he pointed into the distance with his sword. “Look!” And it did not take Yeung Ming Guk long to see what he was indicating at.
The ramparts of the fortified city walls were overflowing with anxious soldiers running along its length to prepare for battle. The bright torches fastened onto the brick wall illuminated the area to the west of Beijing city and revealed a terrible sight.
The area was crammed with a mass of people in a chaotic fight. It was difficult to differentiate between who was who in the mess but all could see that the action was centred around a single prisoner cart that was moving slowly towards the city. There was a force of maybe a hundred men who were fighting to get to the cart. But the only trouble was the hundreds of West Faction guards standing in their way.
Yeung Ming Hung and his soldiers fought valiantly for their general as they ploughed down through the barrier of guards and the reinforcements that were rushing out from all directions to replace the fallen. The prisoner cart fought against the rush of people in the opposite direction and slowly approached the city wall.
A long white sash shot out from within the crowd and attached itself to the side of the prisoner cart, stopping it in its tracks. Yeung Ming Hung skidded along its length, slaughtering all enemies he passed. He leapt onto the cart and dispatched the eunuchs around it. But the guards around them rushed at him like ants upon honey to tear him apart.
Blood splattered around Yeung Yat Ching as he was pushed through the hordes of people. Still bound by the strong fibres of the Indestructible Golden Silk, Yeung Yat Ching shouted out against the loud cries of fighting, “It is no use, Ming Hung! Take the men and leave now!”
Yeung Ming Hung slew the guards closest to him with one swipe and forced the others back as he bellowed back in response, “No, Uncle! Either we leave together or we all die together!”
“Clear your mind of emotions, Ming Hung!” he hollered, “Have all the years I spend coaching you war tactics been a waste? You are a general, not a mad bull! Can you not see that you are fighting a losing battle? A battle is won by brains, not by brawn! Lau Gan would have set many traps along the way knowing that you are anxious to save me. How can you detect the danger around you if your eyes are clouded with emotion? Our blood is to be spilt for our country on the battlefield, not for consequences of a hasty decision!”
“But...” Yeung Ming Hung stopped mid-sentence. Yeung Yat Ching’s words sobered him up at once. The faint outlines of archers lined the city walls, ready to aim and shoot out multitudes of deadly arrows when they approached. They were surrounded by at least a hundred Western Faction guards. There was no way that they will get out of here alive with a bulky prisoner cart.
In his minute of hesitation, one enemy took him by surprise and kicked him in the chest. Yeung Ming Hung tumbled off the prisoner cart and the guards around him pointed their swords at him. He could not believe his eyes when he saw his attacker. “You again!”
Ning Fung smiled deviously at him as he stood on the bars of the prisoner cart which he freed from Suen Nga Yin’s sash with one clean slice. One of the guards sneered as he raised his weapon to bring down on their captive.
But he did not smile for long as another figure dropped down upon him and wrestled him onto the ground. “Get away from my brother, you vermin!” cried the figure as he tackled the guard with great ferocity.
“Ming Guk!” shouted Yeung Ming Hung with surprise as his brother took out the guard with one punch and joined him by his side as they battled Ning Fung who held back the prisoner cart.
The hooded man descended upon the crowd of guards like a ghostly spectre with his cloak flapping in the wind. The Western Faction guards initially hesitated to attack mysterious figure, but then charged at him all at once. With a flash of silver, the cloak was sliced in half as the deadly blade emerged from within in its folds. It was a fascinating sight to see. None of the guards who saw their one reflection in the silvery blade lived long before it sliced through their bodies. The long sword slashed into everything it came into contact with – whether rock, sword or human flesh, none could withstand its double-edged blade and the energy it emitted.
Ning Fung was slowly losing the battle to the brothers now that the attention of the guards was all focussed on the lethal swordsman. Normally, it was a difficult task to fight an opponent whilst taking care not to injure your ally. But the pair of brothers had been trained together since young and the two moved as one to complement each other with every attack. As soon as Ning Fung found one weakness, the other brother would automatically compensate by filling in the void.
There came a cry as a young woman in a pink dress somersaulted through the air and landed beside them. “You monster!” shouted Suen Nga Yin enraged at her friend’s supposed death, and she joined in the attack. Ning Fung was an efficient assassin whose first instinct was to run when faced with such obstacles, but his mission was to escort Yeung Yat Ching safely into Beijing. He could not leave.
“Let me help you!” shouted a young eunuch who palmed Suen Nga Yin in the back as he leapt to Ning Fung’s aid.
“Lady Suen!” cried Yeung Ming Hung as he immediately left his post rushed to hold her up. There was a tinge of embarrassment as they eyes met and he quickly let go. Left alone to fend against two strong opponents, Yeung Ming Guk was quickly defeated.
Siu Kei Chi pointed to the swordsman and called out loudly to his colleagues, “That is the Wandering Swordsman, Duen Mo Ngai! Let us all retreat!” There was a loud explosion as both Ning Fung and Siu Kei Chi grabbed hold of the prisoner cart and clouds of smoke and dust occluded the visibility.
“Uncle!” shouted both brothers as the smoke enveloped their view of the prisoner cart.
Out from the smoke, Yeung Yat Ching shouted out one last piece of advice, “Ming Hung! Through your veins flows the blood of the Yeung's! It will tell you what to do! Remember, you are a Yeung! Remember!”
Duen Mo Ngai leapt fearlessly into the smoke and cries of pain emitted from the haze. With a burst of internal energy, he forced the smoke to disperse, revealing only his tall stature standing over a new addition of lifeless corpses. Siu Kei Chi, Ning Fung and the prisoner cart had disappeared as if they had been swallowed up by the earth with no trace.
“Uncle!” cried Yeung Ming Guk with concern as he ran to the spot where he last saw him. He spun around confused and dazed, searching for any sign of them in the distance. There were not even tracks of the cart on the ground. How could they have just disappeared just like that?
Duen Mo Ngai reached out a hand and grabbed by the clothes at his chest. “Your uncle is fine. He went with them willingly!” His voice was both calm and comforting. Now that all the smoke had cleared, Yeung Ming Guk could see that he was middle-aged, but he was in no way old. He had a tall and commanding stature and his greying long hair swayed gently behind his back. His eyes were kind as they shone out of a face marked by age and experience but had not yet lost its good looks. Suen Nga Yin stared at him apprehensively without a word.
“How do you know?” asked Yeung Ming Hung bewildered.
Duen Mo Ngai gave a confident laugh. “Because Yeung Yat Ching is Yeung Yat Ching! No shackles in the world can hold Yeung Yat Ching against his will!”
“Senior!” pleaded Yeung Ming Guk with widened eyes, “What shall we do now? Uncle must be within Beijing! Shall we break through the city walls?” The men behind him shouted loudly in consent.
“No!” bellowed Yeung Ming Hung remembering his uncle’s words, “As far as we know, Beijing could be littered with traps, not to mention the numerous city and imperial guards stationed within.. We are outnumbered and it would be foolish to advance without a plan.” Eyeing the archers on standby on the fortifications, he said quietly, “There are more friends in the wulin realm that are on their way. It would be wise to wait three more days til their arrival before we take any action.” The men again shouted in consent.
Duen Mo Ngai smiled coolly. “You sure learn fast, young nephew.” And turning to Yeung Ming Guk, he continued, “I saw you fight. If you were using a long spear, then the distance between you and your enemy is your advantage. But since your chosen weapon is a sword, you need to maintain the distance with your sword energy. Each stroke must be accurate and fast as not to fast valuable energy in repeated blows at the same assailant that will last you against a few more opponents. Practise hard until we meet again!”
“Are you not going to join us, Senior?” asked Yeung Ming Guk.
The smile faded from his face as he answered. “I have some personal matters to attend to. But I will return when the time is right. You need not contact me. I will know when it is time. Farewell for now!” and he somersaulted away.
“Wait!” shouted Suen Nga Yin after him, but he was long gone by then.
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Author's Note:
I have no historical facts to discuss regarding this chapter, but I do have to express my extreme disatisfaction at the underpromotion of Lawrence Yan by both ATV and TVB over the years. Lawrence is not only good-looking, has a nice body, has great smile, has good versatile acting and has a attractive expressive voice. Why on earth did he get regulated to supporting roles? (There is only one series where he became male lead which was not a great movie at all.)
At least he got major supporting roles back in ATV during the 1990's, which was probabaly the highlight of his career with memorable roles like Jeen Chiu, Chor Kong Nam, 14th Prince, and Chan Tin Sheung. But then ATV management went crazy and Lawrence got all the pervert roles. Lawrence ran as soon as his contract ended and jumped ship to TVB, hoping that he would have a brighter future, but it was just the same. He was locked into small insignificant roles like an ex-BF, lawyers, rich playboys, etc...
As to why I like Lawrence was treated like this, I think it was his bad luck to start with peers like Nick Cheung, Jackie Lui and Kong Wah. By the time he got to TVB, he was too "old" to compete with the youthful stars like Raymond, Ron, Bosco and Sammul and not well-known enough to fight for main roles with the super popular male leads like Gallen Lo, Louis Koo, Julian Cheung, etc... I don't think his so-called scandal with a rich woman helped his popularity with the housewives audience either, so TVB further downgraded him to a guest star.
Despite this, the effort that Lawrence puts into portraying these insignifcant small roles is very evident on screen. There is not one scene that I have ever seen that would make me feel that Lawrence's acting is subpar. Whether it was the useless playboy Phillip Lee in "Best Selling Scerets", the righteous lawyer Richard Lee in "Off Pedder", the weak yet not useless Emperor in "Strike at Heart; Lawrence's professionalism as an actor makes me feel even more sorry for me.
Lawrence has now left TVB and doing business ventures in China while becoming a part-time golf coach. I do wish the best of him whatever he does and will support him if he decides to return to acting. I don't care if he bloats in his middle-age and loses his good looks, Lawrence's acting skills and professional attitude as an actor will always be remembered by me.
Whenever I think of Lawrence, the image of the kind, tragic, rugged yet handsome swordsman called Chan Tin Sheung fills my mind. I have constructed the idea of the Wandering Swordsman Duen Mo Ngai from bits of the honourable Chan Tin Sheung, yet added bits of the ambitious Chor Kong Nam. Lawrence may never act again so casting him in this fanfic is like fulfilling my dream of seeing him on screen again and I hope to remind any readers that Lawrence Yan Chi Keung once existed on screen.
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