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Thread: Legend of the Sword and Saber - by Gigi

  1. #101
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Part II: Book of Saber

    Chapter 17
    A Son of My Father

    Characters list (not in any particular order):
    Ruyu …………......................................…......… ………….Rain Lau Yuk Chui
    Li Renying .....................................……….......... .…..…….Tony Leung Chiu Wai
    Huang Yitao .....................................……….......... .…..….. Felix Wong Yat Wah
    Huang Jiwen .....................................……….......... .…..….. Howie Wong Man Ho
    Yong Butong .....................................……….......... .…..…..Vivian Leung Siu Bing

    A parade had just begun on the main thoroughfare, and Ruyu lost no time in joining in the fun. For a time being, she forgot all about Di Bao. From the parade, she was pulled into a new entertainment, an acrobatic show. In the center of large crowd, three strong men were forming a human ladder on top of one another. Then the last performer, a little girl, climbed onto shoulders of the topmost man while balancing ten bowls on her head. Then she transferred the bowls onto her left foot and stood with only the right leg. Ruyu gaped at this amazing stunt. Then she clapped loudly along with another impressed audience. She cheered out even louder when the climax came; a standing upside-down with two feet balancing five bowls each. The crowd held their breaths as the girl carefully placed the bowls on each foot then slowly lifted them up while turning upside-down with only two hands rested upon the topmost man’s shoulders. All eyes were now staring at her for the next darling stunt, standing upside-down with only one hand.

    Everyone’s attention was focused at the four performers including Ruyu. She didn’t dare to blink, for afraid that she would miss the most important act. At that moment, her quick eyes involuntarily caught a glimpse of a shifty character stealing an audience’s purse from the opposite of the stage. That pickpocket looked up and saw her. He started and sprinted away. Without thinking, Ruyu chased after him while shouting, “Hey, you! Stop!” She took short cut through the stage and unintentionally knocked the man who was the base of the ladder. The girl on top swayed, and all ten bowls fell onto the ground, broken. Oblivious to the commotion she had caused, Ruyu swiftly ran after the him, intending to catch the thief.

    The pickpocket ran straight out of town through the east gate. He had a little light Kung Fu skill, so he managed to lose his pursuer in short time. Relieved, he stopped under a big tree and sat down. He used his shirtsleeves to wipe up his sweaty face while cursing at the nosy girl who dared to disturb his business. Then he smiled with satisfaction when he remembered about his booty. He slowly took a heavy purse out from his shirt and was about to open it when someone snatched it from his hands. He looked up and saw the same girl who had been chasing him. She waved the purse in front of him with taunting smile. Angry, he tried to take his prize back by force, but to his amazement, the girl moved very fast – in fact much faster than he did. In no time, she got him securely trussed with a piece of rope like a pig that was waiting to be killed. Then she broke a tree branch and proceeded to give him a good whipping despite his pleas. When one twig broke, she would replace it with another. Seemed as if the life of this small criminal would not last till the sunset.

    A passing man stopped when he heard the cry for help from the tied up man. A young woman was beating this poor man cruelly. Filled with pity, the stranger somersaulted in between the thrashing and grabbed the branch out of the girl’s hand.

    Ruyu had never had this much fun before. ‘This is a lot better than practicing Kung Fu or concocting a new poison,’ she thought. When, out of the blue, her cane was seized by a slender man dressed in strange clothes, she naturally turned furious. Without a word, she took out a whip that coiled around her waist and lashed it out at the newcomer. This whip of hers was woven from tough buffalo hides and was soaked in an acid pond for 49 days and 49 nights. After that, its inner side was polished with hornet poison so whenever it touched the skin of an enemy, he would feel the throb as if he got stung by hornets. Her grandparents gave it to her for protection on her fifteenth birthday. For years, she had practiced using it on a tree or on a hay-stuffed scarecrow but never actually used it on human before. Ruyu was excited. This was the time to test her Kung Fu skills on someone after boring years of playing by herself; her dear apprentice brother and sister being the pacifists who never wanted to learn any martial arts.

    Skillfully, she waved her whip around the stranger, intending to scare him out of his wits for a while before giving him a few lessons. To her surprise, he betrayed no fear or anxiety but stood still, observing the dancing whip with interest. Ruyu quickly changed her tactic; she moved in for real now. But before her whip could have touched its target, he warded it off again and again with the twig that he had wrenched from her hand earlier. All this time, he hadn’t moved from his position at all. By now, Ruyu was all out for his blood. She swished her whip deftly to her opponent’s chest. “Whoosh.” The whip had hit the man’s right shoulder; his sleeve ripped open showing a scaled armor underneath. At the same moment, the twig came up, hooked the whip, and jerked it away from Ruyu’s hand.

    With the whip in a new hand, its new owner went after its former owner. Though without Ruyu’s dexterity, the new whip user was very strong. Every time the whip was lashed, it went straight to its target with incredible accuracy. Becoming a target for her own weapon, Ruyu only managed to dodge left and right a few times before she was hit on the right shoulder. However, she had no armor underneath her blouse, so the white skin was clearly exposed from her torn sleeve. The skin where the whip touched swelled, and black blood began to ooze out from the cut. When the man saw Ruyu turned pale, he immediately withdrew the whip and threw it on the ground. He approached her and asked her with real concern.

    “How are you doing? Sorry, I didn’t know that you didn’t wear the protective vest. How come? My father and I wear them all the times.”

    Ruyu looked up at the handsome face and groaned loudly. Then she fainted. The man looked down at the unconscious girl confusingly. He scratched his head, and finally heaved a sigh. He bent down and picked her up easily. Although he was a small-framed person, he had amazing strength. Noticing a cave nearby, he carried her in there and laid her down. Then he tore off the remaining sleeve and sucked out the poison until the blood turned red again. Then he took out a rectangular based bottle made of jade from his shirt and poured yellow powder from it onto her wound. The sting made her open her eyes. She gave a cry when she saw him peering intently on her bare shoulder. She turned crimson and screamed in chill voice. With quick reflex, she used ‘Dragon Claw Piercing Eagle’s Heart’ move and hit out at her rescuer’s chest with the left hand then was immediately regretted of her rash action. She tried to pull the palm back, but suddenly felt that she was pulled uncontrollably into the man in front by strange energy. When her palm was about to touch his chest, the same energy changed the direction and again bounced her hand back. In space of fifteen seconds, she was thrown to the corner of the cave and was unconscious for real this time.

    Actually, after noticing his guileless eyes not so different from those of Di Bao, Ruyu at first only wanted to trick her opponent to come near her so that she could test dragon palm moves that she had learned from her grandmother. However, upon seeing his youthful and attractive face close-up, she decided to feign unconsciousness instead to see what he would do to her. Having grown up among numerable poisons, why should she be afraid of a mere hornet poison? Besides, being an owner of the whip, she would naturally have the poison’s antidote. Only her rescuer was in haste, he forgot to think of this obvious logic.

    All the while she was in his arm, she could smell like-flower fragrance from his body. The longer he was near her, the more intoxicated she got from the scent of his body. In the end, she just let herself inert to enjoy the strange sensation from this delightful odor. The yellow powder suddenly woke her up from the beautiful dream.

    It took quite a while the second time around to wake Ruyu up. The first thing she thought of was the stranger. So when she found that the stranger was about to depart, she quickly called him to stop.

    “Hey, Mister. You can’t leave me here yet, not after what you did…”

    The young man’s face went blank. He asked the girl on the ground politely, “Why not? You seem to be all right now. Your wound looks clean enough, and you are awake. I should apologize to you for hurting you with your whip. I didn’t know it had poison.” He turned toward the cave’s entrance then turn backed again. “There is one favor I would like to ask from you. I want to beg you not to beat the man outside any more and let him go.”

    Ruyu gave him a dashing smile. She replied coyly, “Oh! That beggar is just an insignificant criminal. I thrashed him to teach him not to steal again. You did beat me in the fight, so you can have that dirty thief if you like.” Then she praised him with admiring eyes. “You are an extraordinary man with a strange armor and powerful energy like that. Who is your master? What is your name?” She thought of his scent and wondered if she had just been dreaming.

    He listened to her thoughtfully then replied. “Oh, so he’s a pickpocket! I don’t want him, but thank you for letting him go. I’m very sorry that you got thrown away from my energy. I didn’t mean to hurt you, honest.” He bowed to the girl gracefully and chatted away. “My name is Yong, my father called me Butong. I don’t have a master. I live with my father in a remote island. What shall I call you?” He was thinking that this girl was a strange character. She seemed fierce yet her smile was warm and friendly. She made one feel as it he could talk to her about anything. He smiled

    He had been staring at her, and she turned pink under his friendly gaze. She tried to finish her sentence but became too bashful. “My grandparents named me Ruyu, and it was really my fault that I got thrown away. I was too hasty to push you, but I just woke up and was taken by surprise. Besides, you, er, you…”

    “I what?” The handsome youth asked quizzically. ‘The Central Plains people are very odd. Can’t they ever finish sentences?’ He thought.

    The girl was getting redder and redder. Eventually, she started to cry and said between sobs, “You have seen my bare shoulder, and you have touched it. And now, you are not going to be responsible to your conducts! Better kill me than leaving me with this humiliation.”

    Ruyu peeped at the man in front through her tearful eyes and giggled inwardly. He kneeled down awkwardly and tried to comfort her. He asked desperately, “What do you want me to do then? Gee! If I had known that you didn’t like to be touched, I wouldn’t have helped you. Why all the fuss? You were wounded, so I took care of you; that’s all. Stop crying please. I felt bad seeing you like this.”

    Tears instantly stopped flowing. Ruyu wiped her face and beamed at him like a flower that just received morning dews. She whispered, “Well, I…you…we are to be husband and wife.” Her eyes were bright, and her face was glowing in the dim of the cave.

    The young man knotted his eyebrows. He was not sure what she meant. “Is it necessary?” When she nodded shyly, ready to let tears drop again if he refused her, he agreed indifferently. “All right. We can be husband and wife then, whatever that is, if it can make you happy. Can I go now? I have a long way to go yet.”

    Ruyu couldn’t help laughing at her new-gained husband. He looked so sincere yet he didn’t seem to have any clue on what’s going on. Imagined not knowing what husband and wife were. She giggled again. Such a fine-looking lad but so innocent and naïve. Di Bao would become a man of the world when compared to him. Of course, this man was cuter than her apprentice brother was, aside from being better than she was in martial arts. She examined his facial features closely in dim light. He looked so adorable, almost too pretty a face for a man. He had pale skin with almond-shaped eyes and red lips with pearly teeth. ‘He is a perfect husband for me. Grandma and Grandpa will approve of him for sure.’ She got up, arranged her clothes neatly and explained. “Husband and wife are two people who live together and like each other very much. You are the husband, and I am the wife. From now on, I’ll always go where you go.” Her heart was warm at the thought of her husband. ‘He has a beautiful smile, pleasing like rain on parched earth, and he is mine.’

    Yong Butong nodded at the explanation. He spoke, “Hmph. It doesn’t sound bad to be husband and wife with you. In fact, I like you a lot.” He couldn’t understand why the girl turned scarlet again. He mistook it as a fever, so he gave her a white pill from another bottle with oval base. “Here take this. It’s our family pill. It will strengthen your body against fever.”

    Though puzzled, Ruyu obediently swallowed the pill. Right away, she felt warm energy circulated throughout meridian points. Moreover, when she tried moving her inner energy from one point to another, she found that it had traveled smoothly and continuously like water overflowing a dam. She exclaimed in wonder, “Good pill! Good pill! My grandpa doesn’t even have this kind of stuff at home.” She clapped her hands happily and was more impressed than ever at this wonderful husband of hers.

    An idea came across her mind, and she asked him teasingly. “Hmph, your name is Yong Butong; that means ‘forever no sorrow’. Then are you never sad?”

    Yong Butong shook his head. “The only sorrow I have is not knowing my mother. I came to Mainland because I wanted to find her. I want to take her back to our home, but I don’t know if my father would let you stay with us or not. He doesn’t like any visitors. He cuts their tongues and their ears and chained them to train them as our servants.” Then he laughed. “You must think I’m pretty stupid asking some senseless questions. But the people here are weird too. Yesterday, I tried to exchange a bun with my pearls,” he took out several huge pearls out of his pocket and showed them to his new friend. He continued the story. “I ended up with a basketful of buns because the seller said that one of these little pearls has more value than a single bun.” He saw Ruyu’s unconcealed admiration, so he put a whole bag of pearls in her hand. He smiled at her delighted face. “Don’t worry. I still have lots more with me. Father said that people will go nuts over them, but I didn’t know they would be this crazy. There are plenty of them at home. All I have to do is to dive into the sea and bring them up. He changed the subject. “Are you from around here?”

    Still in awe from the sight of precious pearls, she answered as if in a dream, “No, I came from the western border. My mother died years ago, but I never know my father. I am here on a search for him.”

    Yong Butong sighed and spoke sympathetically. “We have the same fate then. Father never tells me anything about her except one time that he was drunk. He said that I reminded him of her. He said that she must be living happily with her lover in the south at this moment.” He stopped to question Ruyu, “Are ‘lovers’ the same as husband and wife?”

    Ruyu nodded, trying not to snicker aloud. She could see that he was serious. She announced, “I’m on my way to Guangxi with my apprentice brother. After he finds his brother, I’ll be your guide to find your mother. Then you can help me find my father.”

    Talking of Di Bao made her aware that he was left alone in the city. Just when she was about to propose Yong Butong to go back to town with her, a male voice was heard outside the cave.

    “Hey, you guys. Someone is tied up here. Come and help me untie him.”

    Another voice also belonged to a man, exclaimed excitingly. “Look at this whip. I’ve just found it. Isn’t it nifty? I think I will give it to Xing-xing since we haven’t got anything for her yet.”

    Hearing that her favorite weapon was about to fall into a stranger’s hand, Ruyu rushed out of the cave. Outside, three men were examining the new weapon. They were near one another in height. The one who was holding the whip was sturdy built. His arms were full of muscles, and his hands were big and rough. His skin was tanned, showing the long hours of outdoor activities. His name was Huang Jiwen (Howie Wong). The man who was standing next to him was on the lean side and fairer than the first man. He had a solemn face though his eyes were lively as if they were laughing all the time. He was Li Renying (Tony Leung). The third man stood further away. He was holding a rope that Ruyu used to tie the pickpocket, who by now had run away as fast as his legs would take him. This third man was called Huang Yitao (Felix Wong), and he was an older brother of Huang Jiwen. He had a similar build as his younger brother with an honest face and sincere eyes. All three men had compassionate faces. Three horses were eating grass near by.

    Ruyu jumped in front of Huang Jiwen and shouted, “Give me back my whip.” At the same time, she tried to wrench her whip from his hand, but his grip was too powerful for her. When she failed to retrieve her favorite weapon, she punched out two palms in a move called ‘Dragon swallows the Heaven’; it was then followed by ‘Dragon sweeps the Sky’ and ‘Dragon showers the Earth’ consecutively. The whip handler did not expect so powerful moves from a young girl, so he had no time to dodge the coming palms. Just when he was about to receive the full blows, a sword entered their energy field, destroyed their force, and continued its course toward the girl. It was Li Renying. Yong Butong saw the lean man thrust the sword at Ruyu, so he intercepted the sword with his right index and middle fingers. Its tip was held firmly between his two fingers. Li Renying tried to pull his weapon back but felt as if a pair of iron tongs clamping tightly on it. Huang Yitao then jumped in to lend hands to his friend and his younger brother. He flashed his fists at Yong Butong who received them with his left palm. The force from the four men met at the center of the sword so that it snapped in half. Everyone staggered back at least three steps. Huang Jiwen then released the whip and, having the least inner power, was the first to get thrown away from the web. At that moment, Ruyu reached for her needles and threw them toward him. Huang Yitao saw that, so he leaped in, shielding his younger brother with his own body. The needles buried deep in his upper body, and he collapsed to the ground. These projectiles had poison, so his face turned ashen then became green.

    The swordsman Li Renying stepped in and caught the whip and cast it at Ruyu, who would have gone down earlier if it weren’t for the marvelous pill Yong Butong had given to her. While she was trying to avoid the whip, Yong Butong stepped forward and flicked a marble at Li Renying’s wrist, causing his hand temporarily numb. The whip fell down and was again retrieved by Huang Jiwen.

    Upon seeing Huang Yitao’s condition, Huang Jiwen grabbed his elder brother with great strength and hopped onto his white horse. Then he urged his horse to speed forward in the southern direction while shouting to his friend to take the antidote from the little witch and meet them at Doctor Ma’s house.

    When Ruyu heard the word ‘little witch’, she immediately gave a yell and jumped onto another horse and started the pursuit after Huang Jiwen and his brother, intending to take back her whip and give him a good beating for calling her name.

    Yong Butong was about to follow her, but he was obstructed by Li Renying. There was only one horse left, and each man was fighting to get on it. Although Yong Butong had strong inner power, he had no knowledge of sword fight. On the other hand, Li Renying was more skillful in sword art but was inferior to Yong Butong in the inner strength department. With a tree branch that he picked up from the ground, he started with a move ‘Maiden picks Flowers’ and changed to ‘Maiden chases Butterflies’ then followed with ten other moves, all their names began with ‘Maiden’.

    This was a set move of Maiden Sword. It belonged to the Sword South School. Sword God adapted these moves from his wife’s tribal dance steps; therefore they were graceful in style aside from requiring little inner strength, yet each move hid powerful defense and would be very fatal if applied with high inner force.

    Originally, this sword art was taught to both Liu Tong and Tian Fei. However, being a rough man, who had no appreciation for beauty and did not understand the full potential behind the moves, Liu Tong looked down on this ‘harmless sword dance’, so he soon forgot about it. Accordingly, his two godchildren, the Huang brothers, never learned it. On the other hand, Tian Fei was a refined man, who admired all forms of beauty continued to practice this set move although he hardly had the use for it. When he adopted a daughter, Xing-xing, he started teaching her this Maiden sword set for means of protection as it suited her temperament and physical strength. Li Renying, being her playmate since young often sparred with her, so naturally he was trained of this sword art along with this little martial sister of his.

    Yong Butong watched the elegant Maiden sword moves with wonder. He stopped fighting and instead started to sing a song along to accompany this beautiful sword dance. Li Renying saw an opportunity and stabbed his twig forward, aiming at his opponent’s side. He only intended to scare this pretty boy into yielding him the cure of poison for his friend; therefore, he used only half of his inner strength. Unexpectedly, when the twig touched his opponent’s shirt, it vibrated and tore in pieces. The shock ran through the stick into his hand, his arm, and his entire upper body. Amazed at the strength of this handsome lad, Li Renying could do nothing but stood there stupefied.

    In truth, although Yong Butong had powerful inner strength, what really saved him from harm was his scaled inner shirt made from the five-hundred-years-old shell of tortoises. All this time, he didn’t realize that he had been attacked, as he was totally immersed in what he mistook as a dance. When he saw the other man stopped, he called out disappointingly. “Big brother, what an exquisite dance! Why did you stop? I haven’t remembered all the steps yet. Can you do that again, so that I can dance for my father at home?”

    Li Renying gawked at Yong Butong, thinking that he was joking at first, but when realizing that he was speaking sincerely, he could not help but laughed a little. “Little brother, thank you for the complements. I am not even half as good as my martial sister is. She could execute these moves as if an angel came down from the heaven, but I will ‘dance’ for you again if you give me the antidote for the poison.”

    Yong Butong shook his head and said slowly, “I don’t have it, but I am sure she will surely give it to you. I’ve only met her three hours ago, but she seemed friendly enough. Don’t worry. I’ll ask her to as soon as I can catch up with her.”

    Li Renying thought inwardly that there never ceased a wonder with this boy. This young gentleman had met a girl for only three hours, and she was already his wife. He looked very young with a girlish face, yet he had inner strength of an old man. He took sword moves as sword dance, and instead of putting on defense, he just sang a song and let his body be a target.

    Yong Butong was in turn impressed with the other man’s martial skills. ‘How come Father never teaches me those dances? All I have learned were saber dances; they are not as flexible and as pretty as this twig dance. Maybe if I can find Ruyu and get the antidote from her, this man might consent to teach me some more steps.’ He was thinking aloud from an old habit of talking to himself when he was bored at home.

    Li Renying was amazed from hearing this young man’s inner thought. He had never seen a guileless man with pure mind like this one before. His animosity was totally gone by now. So he cupped his hands and politely addressed the other man. “Young brother, you have an unrivaled inner power for a man of your age. May I ask who is your master?”

    Yong Butong shrugged indifferently. “Thank you for your complement, but I have no master, only a father in a remote island in the east. I’d rather learn your dance because it seems more fun.” He added innocently.

    For some unknown reasons, Li Renying was anxious to make peace with this stranger. “Of course. I’ll show you the moves when we obtain the antidote. Actually, my friend was somewhat rude to your wife a moment ago, and I want to apologize to you for that. Let’s us go find my friends and your wife now, so all this misunderstanding can come to an end.”

    Yong Butong knitted his brows. He shook his head again and spoke, “No, that is wrong. Ruyu was the one who was rude to your friend first. No need to apologize. However, she had a little fever, so she might have acted unconsciously. I beg you my forgiveness for her.” He eyed the remaining steed and suggested. “You’d better take the horse. I’ll go on foot.” Before Li Renying could have said anything, he was gone.

    Li Renying gaped and sighed, “Extraordinary man indeed.” He got on the horse and headed toward the house of the well-known physician of the south, Dr. Ma of Guangxi.

    ---------------
    Comments would be appreciated. Sometimes I am so one-sided mind I can't really judge my own story. <IMG SRC="smilies/blush.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/redface.gif" border="0">

    Thank you for reading.
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  2. #102
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Part II: Book of Saber

    Chapter 18
    The Two Heroes

    Characters list (not in any particular order):
    Tian Fei …………......................................…......… ……....Adam Cheng Siu Chow
    Liu Tong …………......................................…......… ……..Ray Lui Leung Wai
    Lulu ……………............................................. ...….…...…..Gigi Chiu Ngar Chi
    Medicine Man …………......................................…......… ..Chun Wong
    Dragon Lady …………......................................…......… …Helena Law Lan

    Tian Fei was searching for his Ling-er and arrived at two-forked roads when he heard a voice calling for help from the left lane. He recognized it as Yue Feng’s and was heading toward it when Yue Ling’s singing came from the other road. “Ling-er, big brother is coming.” He immediately changed the direction and hurried down the path on the right. At the end of the lane, he came upon a garden full of exotic plants, not unlike the one in Yue’s house. Yue Ling was sitting among fragrant flowers, making a garland. Excitingly, he called her, “Ling-er, Ling-er.” She turned around and smiled. It was a face of Yue Feng…

    “Ling-er,” Tian Fei shouted and started up from sleep. Hazily, he saw a face withdrawing from him. A cold and husky voice uttered, “So you have waken up.”

    With confusion, he looked around the room and found that it had interior of an inn. A person cloaked in white garments walked to a table, poured tea into a cup, and returned to Tian Fei. Tian Fei mumbled thank you, received the tea, and drank it thirstily. When he emptied the cup, he tried to get out of the bed but had to lay back down again from pains.

    The white-cloaked person observed him quietly and spoke in lifeless tone. “You were fighting with a dark-clothed man with a big saber and was severely injured. I was passing by at the time and decided to rescue you. For ten days, you have been sleeping like death. I have cleaned your wounds and had a doctor look at you. The cuts you received were pretty bad, but they are beginning to heal; therefore, you will feel some pains for now. Just stay in bed for a few more days, and you will be able to get up soon.”

    Tian Fei thanked his rescuer gratefully. He wanted to ask the name of this savior but felt it would be too rude, as his host didn’t seem to encourage further conversation. Then he thought of Liu Tong and decided to make a polite inquiry. “I and my martial brother were fighting with the Love Palace Sect when I was ambushed by a mysterious guy in black. My junior martial brother was also attacked by our old enemy, the Love Palace leader, Zhang Tin. Because we had been careless, we were badly defeated. Before I fell, I saw my brother escaped into a wood. May I ask if you sir have come across my martial brother at all?”

    The person in white stared at him grimly through his wide-brimmed hat with thick veil. He answered unconcernedly. “Your martial brother’s life is no concern of mine. I didn’t know where he’d gone. I only wanted to save you, so I saved you. You’d better go back to sleep now. It seemed you were dreaming about you lover.” He hissed and silently left the room.

    After praying anxiously for Liu Tong’s safety, Tian Fei finally drifted off to sleep, hoping to dream of Yue Ling again. The next morning, the white-cloaked person came in his room, this time with a doctor. After the doctor had examined the patient and announced that he should be up and about in a week with a lot of rest. Next, the doctor wrote a prescription for which a big pearl was given to him as a generous payment. With joy, he bowed countless times before taking his leave. The host also left the room with the doctor.

    The person in white didn’t appear again for the entire week. Throughout that day and the next four days, a servant and the innkeeper brought Tian Fei food and brewed medicine and took care of all his wants. He tried to find out who the mysterious person was, but he could obtain no other information except that his host was a generous guest; therefore, nobody in the inn would want to cross his wishes. At the same time, Tian Fei had tried to find news of Liu Tong, but was without success. He was told by the servant boy that this inn was in a faraway village where hardly any guest had ever come by. He also learned that the inn’s owner was about to sell business when the two new guests arrived. Seemed that this person in white had rented the entire inn just for the sake of an injured man. All these talks further intrigued Tian Fei of his host’s identity. He decided to ask his rescuer right out next time they met who he was.

    On the fifth night, Tian Fei was half-sleeping in a dark room when he felt someone was at his bed. With quick reflex, he reached for his sword but found none. A hand of a stranger came up and produced a sword and put it into his hand. “I want you to do 3 works for me as a token of your gratitude.” The mysterious man said.

    Tian Fei relaxed when he recognized that it was his host. “I’m willing to be your horse and your servant as long as what I am to do is not wrong in the law and not against any morale.”

    His host laughed shrilly. “Ha-ha. The Gentleman Sword Tian Fei is still the same as always. Good! The first task I want you to do is finding my son with me. His name is Yong Butong. He is about 18 years old and is possibly traveling to the south of China. I’ll leave his portrait on this table. Tomorrow, we will leave early in the morning.” Then he went out of the room without waiting for the answer. Thus Tian Fei just lost another opportunity to inquire of his name.

    Wide-awake now, Tian Fei got up and lit a candle from his bedside. Then he put it on the center table and picked up the portrait. It was a picture of a beautiful youth with a sweet face and smiling eyes. Tian Fei immediately developed a liking for him. He sighed, ‘Such a pretty face. It is a pity it belongs to a man instead to a woman. With this good-looking son, the father must be very handsome too. Then why does he have to cover his face with thick veils and big hat like that?’ Then he thought, ‘Tian Fei, you should find out who this man is before getting yourself involve with him. He could have come from an evil clan, and that wouldn’t be good for the Sword South School’s reputation.’ Then he felt ashamed and reprimanded himself. ‘Shameful Tian Fei, you are being ungrateful here. Is it really matter who he really is? He was searching for his lost son and happened to save your life, that’s that. What does his name or his clan have anything to do with this conduct? You owe your life to this person, and you should repay the debt no matter what costs you.”

    Having made up his mind on this matter, Tian Fei retired to bed. In the morning, he took off with his mysterious host heading to the south. In the evening the two arrived at a wayside inn. They walked in and ordered some food as well as rented two rooms. When the food came, they ate in silence. After the meal, the person in white opened his mouth for the first time that day. “About 10 li from here in the western direction, there was a Medicine Forest where Medicine Man and Dragon Lady reside. Shall we go visit them first or continue to the south for my son?”

    Tian Fei sighed. “Nineteen years ago, I was seeking for Medicine Man for the girl I love, and some ten years ago I promised a friend to find Medicine Man for his son. Now she was gone, and my friend’s family was perished. What would be the use to know the whereabouts of this wonderful doctor now? Let us make haste to retrieve your young son. I have many friends in the south that I can ask for help.”

    His companion threw his chopsticks on the floor angrily. “What manner is that! I’ve offered you a lifetime opportunity to meet the most renowned doctors, yet you forfeited it. Are you that anxious to get your work done or do you simply want to get away from me so soon? I’ve decided to stop at the Medicine Forest first, and that is that. You are to go with me. We will leave first thing in the morning.” Then he got up and walked upstairs to his room, leaving Tian Fei to be puzzled at his host’s attitude.

    Early next morning, the two people left the inn. They changed their direction and instead veered to the west. The white-cloaked person led the way steadily. Tian Fei followed quietly. He had many questions to ask his companion, but he somehow felt that they were not wanted and would not be answered.

    When they arrived at the east border of the Medicine Forest, the person in white garments mentioned Tian Fei to halt while examining the area thoughtfully. Finally, he clapped his hands and smiled with satisfactory then he bid Tian Fei to walk behind him closely lest there were other traps in the forest. Seeing his host in such a good mood, Tian Fei ventured to ask why he seemed so happy. The person in white cloak replied complacently. “Hmm, I have heard about this Medicine Forest for a long time from my sworn brother, and it looks just as I had expected. From the ways these tress standing at four corners, this place is protected by ‘The Eight Docked Gates’. The arrangement is composed of eight gates whose names are Birth, Exit, Expanse, Wound, Fear, Annihilation, Obstacle, and Death. If a person enters by one of the three; Birth, Exit, or Expanse gate, he will enter without harm. If by one of the gates Wound, Fear, or Annihilation, he who enters will sustain injuries. The other two gates Obstacles and Death will bring the end of life. Now, one of the correct gates can be entered and exited from the southeast. My sworn brother had left me a book on mazes and traps, and now it is a good time to put the knowledge in good use.” (The idea is from Romance of the Three Kingdoms – author.)

    From the forest gate, Tian Fei and his guide entered bamboo groves then passed cherry blossom gardens and finally arrived at the huts of Medicine Man and his wife. Had it not been for the white-cloaked person’s knowledge of ‘36 Formations of Mazes’ together with a piece of map, these two men would have been lost their ways at the least or lost their lives at the most.

    While Tian Fei and his companion were entering the Medicine Forest, Lulu and Liu Tong were saying farewells to the old couple at the north border of the forest. Thus again, fates were playing cruel jokes on these people.

    Lulu was on the way to pay homage to her old home, the Yue House, and Liu Tong had offered to accompany her. Since she had regained her sanity, she started to recollect her life history and came to realize that her real name was Yue Ling, the youngest daughter of Yue Gao who was the famous disciple of the late Saber Lord of the north region. Her father himself was known as Mountain Saber Yue in the martial world. She also remembered her elder sister, Yue Feng and her big brother, Tian Fei. With their names, painful past was also there. Every time Yue Feng visited her younger sister on the cliff alone, she would speak freely of her crimes against Yue Ling, being assured that Yue Ling was mad and could not understand what was being said. However, now that Yue Ling recognized herself, all words of Yue Feng came back to haunt her.

    She knew that she ought to be angry at Yue Feng for the cruelty, yet deep in her heart, Yue Feng always remained the only sister she had. Then she felt pity of Tian Fei, of his heartache and his love for her, but she only regarded him as a big brother. Finally, she recalled the mutilated body of Lu Peng and could not feel anything for him except sympathy. It seemed as if all four of them were victims of destiny and sins from their former lives. The only deep sorrow she had was the death of her baby daughter. Yue Ling went to her special orange tree and silently shed tears for the bitter memory. She prayed fervently that her child could reborn in a more happy family.

    All of a sudden, she had an urge to take a look at her home again. ‘I would not show myself to Father or Sister Feng. All I want is to see that they all are happy and in good health.’ She promised to herself. Therefore, she didn’t reveal the purpose of her trip to either her mentors or Liu Tong, but merely told them that she wanted to take a look at Heng-Shan as she remembered it as her birthplace.

    At first her mentors were in doubt of letting her go alone but soon were relieved when Liu Tong volunteered himself as her escort. By visiting her birthplace, the old couple unwittingly hoped that Lulu would eventually recall all her past. Alas, they had no idea how sorrowful a past life of the young one could be.

    Liu Tong had been staying with the old couple under Yue Ling’s tender care for almost a week before he could get up and walk about. His wound cuts got healed quickly due to excellent medication from Medicine Man. As for the poison in his body, it was stopped from re-spreading by cutting off his left arm. For the last five days, both Medicine Man and Dragon Lady took turned giving him inner energy to cope with blood loss and weakness due to losing one arm. Moreover, Dragon Lady, not wanting to be held responsible for Liu Tong’s hapless fate, took the matter in hand, and made Liu Tong drink a soup made from a gall of red snake every day. This would help increasing his inner strength. Yue Ling herself also foraged the herbal room for nourishing ingredients for his meals. As a result, there was no wonder that not only Liu Tong restored his good health but also became stronger than ever. Nevertheless, from the side effect of the black orchid poison, he was less immune than ever to any types of poison. The only thing that would relieve him from this curse was to find the black orchid petal five years from now.

    For the time being, however, Liu Tong was happy enough to be with his kind and gentle nurse. These past two weeks that he had spent with her, he came to admire her greatly. Her disposition was pleasing, and she had compassionate expression that reminded him of a goddess. She was also selfless, always so considerate of other’s needs. In short, Lulu was like an angel sent from the heaven to save him from death. Yet, as high his regards and as great his love for her, he never considered of declaring his inner feeling to her. He felt humble and deemed himself as too rough a man, not worthy enough of her. All he could wish was to be there to see her loving face every day.

    When Medicine Men and Dragon Lady got back to their huts, they found two strangers were already there, waiting for them. Dragon Lady was an impulsive woman and especially disliked another interruption to her work. She shrieked irritatingly, “Another guests? What’s up this time? Hope it is not another case of my poison. I’m about to have enough of these helpless victims. And how did you get in here for that matter?” She questioned them suspiciously.

    Tian Fei stepped forward and greeted the two seniors with due respect when his guide kneeled down and kowtowed to the elder couples. “My sworn brother Yuan of the White Pearl Clan, a junior student of Master Lu wished Elders his humblest respect.”

    Some years ago before their daughter was born, Medicine Man and Dragon Lady used to have a joint apprentice named Lu who had studied uses of both medicines and poisons from them, along with some Kung Fu. However, due to constant rivalry between the couple, that apprentice was eventually demanded to choose only one master. Unable to choose and unwilling to remain the prey between two rival tigers, he left in secret one night, leaving a tear-stained letter to explain his absent reason to his mentors, who were instantly regret of their folly. He was not pursued and in time settled his practice in the capital of Beijing. Soon he became the most famous doctor in the city and eventually was invited into the Palace as court physician. In due course, he accepted two students and taught them his knowledge of medicine. Later, he was accused of inefficiency by jealousy colleges and was beheaded. His two students took flight in time, and each separated to find his own destiny.

    One student went in hiding in the northern desert; there he improved his medicinal skills, having combining his arts with the exotic ways of healing from nomad tribes. He was well respected and well treated by all nomads, but homesickness for his homeland finally took toll on him. So he left the Gobi Desert and came to Guangxi, the southern province. He then started his medicine practice and called himself Dr. Ma.

    The other student called Yuan headed to the east where he took refuge among his kinsmen in a fisherman village. One day, while he was on a fishing trip, his boat was blown by the storm to a remote island. There he met an old hermit who had departed to him a strange martial art that combined well with his knowledge of medicine. Later, he found his wealth resource, a whole coastline full of pearls. Accordingly, he established a home on this island and went back to fetch his family. Unfortunately, a corrupt government official had plundered his village and slaughtered everyone as means of cover-up. With rage, he went to the abode of his family’s murderer and executed him and his entire household by way of revenge. Appeased, he went back to his island with a few followers. There he founded a clan called White Pearl, and by means of valuable pearls, he assembled a group of professional killers. Then he sent them to assassinate evil officers of the court as a tribute to his dead family. Any corrupt officers would tremble upon hearing the White Pearl Clan, and affected commoners would dance with joy at their deliverance. Seven years ago, he and his band fell into a trap. His followers were captured and put to death. He managed to escape but not without grave injuries. Soon after he died, leaving all the possessions to his sworn brother, this person in white cloak.

    Medicine Man and Dragon Lady were amazed upon hearing the name ‘Lu’, but soon the stories of their apprentice Lu and grand-apprentice Yuan were related to them. The two seniors could not help but sighed remorsefully over the deaths of the two great men. Thereafter, the two guests were kindly invited to stay there for a few days.

    That evening, Tian Fei took a walk into a back garden. He noticed an orange tree and went closer to inspect it. For some reasons, he felt as if his loved ones were nearby when he stood under this fruit tree. Somehow, he could almost see shadows of Yue Ling and Yue Feng leaning against the tree trunk. At this vision, he could not help smiling dreamily. “Yue Ling. Yue Feng.” He called aloud.

    Then he heard footsteps from behind a magnolia tree, and he returned to reality. Without thinking, he flew over to intercept an intruder of his dream. It turned out his companion, the man in white. Tian Fei became embarrassed. He apologized confusingly and excused himself to retire for the night when the other man entreated him to stay awhile longer.

    Astonished, Tian Fei conceded. Then the other man spoke, “Tonight’s moon is so round and so bright. It’s a beautiful night, just right atmosphere for drinking with friends and family. Too bad, I am not to have that chance.” The voice was remorseful.

    Tian Fei could feel his companion’s sorrow. Sympathy welled up, and he thought inwardly, ‘He must have had some bitter experience to become this cold and unfeeling person. Since he is connected with Medicine Man and Dragon Lady, he couldn’t really be a bad person. Besides, he did risk his life to rescue me and spend a lot of money on my illness. Even if he hadn’t asked, I should have done something for him to pay back his kindness. He is my savior, and I should be grateful instead of be wary of him.’ His last doubt vanished from his heart. So with a friendly gesture, he asked the other man to sit down while he went to fetch a jug of wine. That night amid the bright moonlight, the two men made friends. They sipped good wine while reciting poems to praise the midnight moon. Then each departed to his sleeping quarters.

    Next morning, Tian Fei prepared to continue their journey when Medicine Man came to inform him that his friend fell ill and would not be able to accompany him. He read the note from the man in white asking him to travel on and perform his task without further delay. Accordingly, Medicine Man escorted him to the same gate that he had come yesterday in a hurry, not opening a chance for him to say farewell to his other host or to his sick companion.

    Before long, Tian Fei found himself outside the Medicine Forest with a portrait of a young man in his hand. Medicine Man was gone after reassuring Tian Fei that he and his wife would take good care of their guest.

    Tian Fei took deep breath and began his lone journey toward the south.

    -------------
    Thank you for reading...
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  3. #103
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    comments would be much appreciated or you can leave them at the winglin site too.
    http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/swordandsaber

    Thank you. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  4. #104
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Ahhhhhhhhh! Why can't Yue Ling just stay with her new mentors so she can meet with Tian Fei? <IMG SRC="smilies/frown.gif" border="0"> Fate can be so cruel! <IMG SRC="smilies/crying.gif" border="0">
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  5. #105
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    charbydis, can't have they meet each other yet. It is not the right time. <IMG SRC="smilies/evillaugh.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  6. #106
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    According to charydis suggestion the following event happened:

    A gang of fanfic fanatics penetrated into my secret chamber where my characters take residence (I forgot to turn of the peach blossom maze mechanics) <IMG SRC="smilies/blush.gif" border="0"> and planted a bomb. It exploded and everyone died. <IMG SRC="smilies/crying.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bawling.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  7. #107
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Talking

    Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tearlaugh.gif" border="0">
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  8. #108
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    charbydis, you have been pretty sadist lately, haven't you?....

    I probably should send you something to calm you down. Hmmm, how about Gigi's claws? <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  9. #109
    Senior Member C Monster's Avatar
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    Hi Goofy,

    This is really good! I agree with Charbydis. It's kind of sad that Tian Fei missed his chance to see Yue Ling/Lulu again. So that's what the 36 Maze Formation was used for. Makes sense it is she would mastered such a hiding/masking technique.

    You really didn't have to credit me for helping you out. I didn't do much except for some editing. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">

    Keep up the good work!

    C

  10. #110
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    I did it in winglin and here mainly b/c your name is known among fanfic readers. Good ad for you. <IMG SRC="smilies/naughty.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tongue.gif" border="0">

    you did edit a big portion of that part, so just in case you are sensitive to credit thingy. Anyway, thanks again. <IMG SRC="smilies/bow.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  11. #111
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Latest news of possible survivals! According to the reliable source, just right before the bomb had exploded, a hero in white suit had rushed in and brought out the precious manuscript of this (fabulous) fanfic. You may ask who that hero is. Well, he has a handsome feature with pure white fur and strong four legs. This is he: $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hanna_s/mypet/Gigi5.jpg')
    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hanna_s/mypet/Gigi6.jpg')
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  12. #112
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Part II: Book of Saber

    Chapter 19
    A Tale of Old

    Characters list (not in any particular order):
    Ruyu …………......................................…......… ………….Rain Lau Yuk Chui
    Huang Yitao .....................................……….......... .…..….. Felix Wong Yat Wah
    Huang Jiwen .....................................……….......... .…..….. Howie Wong Man Ho
    Ah Yi .....................................……….......... ................….…Andy Lau Tak Wah

    While Di Bao was searching for his senior apprentice sister, Ruyu was riding swiftly after the two Huang brothers. The horse of the latter carried more weight, so it became tired quicker. Consequently at nightfall, after some hours of running, it was eventually caught up by Ruyu’s steed. Triumphantly, Ruyu positioned her horse in front of Huang Jiwen’s mount and shouted. “Thief, return my whip if you wish to live to see another sunrise.”

    Huang Jiwen was angry beyond words. “Little devil! Aren’t you ashamed of calling me thief while you are a bandit yourself? That horse you are riding belongs to my brother here. Not to say also that you are the one who injured him. Give me the antidote, and I will punish you lightly.”

    It was hard to tell which was angrier between the two. In all Ruyu’s life, nobody had ever crossed her will like this man before. She was an apple of her grandparents’ eyes, and Di Bao and Lulu had always been submissive to her whim.

    As for Huang Jiwen, he had never met any girl this rude and rowdy before. The only girl he was closed to, Tian Xing-xing, who was his uncle’s goddaughter, was always well behaved and undemonstrative. He shook his head at Ruyu and sighed. “Pity, pity.”

    Curious, Ruyu could not help asking. “Why did you sigh?”

    Huang Jiwen replied sympathetically. “I sympathize your future husband. What an unruly wife he will have!”

    Ruyu was enraged. She blushed and immediately threw needles to the annoying man. However, he was prepared for the attack as he raised the whip to knock them away. Then he roared and hopped from his mount onto Ruyu’s steed and lifted her up easily from the saddle with his great power. She was taken aback with his strength but quickly reached for his pressure point. At once, he turned numbed. Unable to hold his captive, he let go of her.

    Ruyu fell on the ground with a thud but arose in the next minute. She looked up at Huang Jiwen sitting immobilized on his charger and smiled smugly. She put her hands on her waists and challenged, “So you think I am unruly, eh? Wait till you taste my whip; you will ask for mercy instead of riling me. I should be the one who is pity at your future wife, the brute!” She took the whip from his hand and was contemplating how best to punish this rude man.

    Huang Ji Wen heard her and suddenly regretted his rash action. He didn’t care for his own life but was concerned of his older brother’s condition. He scrutinized Ruyu and concluded that she looked more mischievous than cruel. ‘I really have no choice but to appeal to this imp for my brother’s life. Just hope that she still has a heart.’ So he swallowed his pride and instead addressed her politely, “Miss, I and you have only met, and we had but a little misunderstanding. I have been rather rude to you back then, but my elder brother never wrongs you. They said that beautiful women often have big hearts. You are one of them, so I hope you would be kind enough to forgive my rough behavior. We are in your hands, and I implore you to spare my brother. If you would only give him the antidote, you can do whatever you like to me. Otherwise, please slay both of us now.” His face was crimson from humiliation. He had never imagined that there would be a day he had to beg to a mere girl. ‘I would never forget today’s humiliation easily, but for now, elder brother’s life is more important than anything else.’ He lamented inwardly.

    Ruyu smiled radiantly when she heard the compliment on her look. She looked up at Huang Jiwen’s anxious face and couldn’t help but felt a little pity. ‘This burly man at least can speak the truth. He seems strong and tough, just a right target for my whip. His brother is of no consequence since he has no use after receiving my poisonous palm. His plea sounds sincere enough, and I really don’t want a corpse in my hand.’ So she pretended to be indifferent and said carelessly, “Hmm, see that you love your brother that much, I’ll exchange his life with yours.”

    She walked to the other horse where Huang Yitao was laying unconsciously and took a tiny pill out of her pocket and put it in his mouth. Then she walked back to Huang Jiwen. “Your brother has taken the antidote. He should wake up in a few minutes, but will feel quite weak for a couple hours or so. I’ll let you say goodbye to him before I have some fun with you.” She announced magnanimously while imagined a way to play with this new toy of hers.

    Huang Ji Wen breathed out with relief. He was glad that his brother was out of danger. After a moment, Huang Yitao started to stir. Ruyu saw that and quickly blocked his movement. Huang Jiwen gasped and shouted to his brother, asking how he was. Huang Yitao opened his eyes and was surprised at the development of event. Before he could have said anything, Ruyu stuffed a piece of cloth in his mouth while impatiently bid Huang Jiwen to say farewell quickly to his brother.

    As for Huang Jiwen, he was pretty anxious to get his elder brother out of this vicious girl’s hands before she would change her mind, so he called out to Huang Yitao, “Elder brother, go to Dr. Ma’s at Guangxi to meet brother Li there. Then find Godfather and ask him to avenge for me.” As soon as he finished the sentence, Ruyu released Huang Yitao’s pressure point and whipped fiercely at his charger. The horse was hurt, so it reared up and galloped away wildly with its rider clinging on with all his might.

    Ruyu’s captive gnashed his teeth and could have killed her with his livid look. That steed was his favorite mount given to him by his godfather, Liu Tong. Sympathy for his horse coupled with the anxiety over his brother’s fate made him reproach her, “What did the beast do to you to whip him like that? A cruel witch you are! Not only that, you are the devil, the demon, the…” He kept calling her names, decided that at least he could get back at her somewhat even it was to be his last day in the world.

    Incensed, Ruyu turned to her prisoner and started whipping him fiercely. After a while, she got tired and started to lose interest. After all, it was not fun to torture someone who would not cry or beg for mercy. She put the whip away and took shelter under a bush, thinking that she would take a break before resuming another round of whacking.

    The bright sunlight stabbed her eyelids, waking her up. To her chagrin, she found herself suspend from a tree branch. She looked down and saw Huang Jiwen stood below with the whip he had confiscated from her. It seemed that a table of the event had turned. ‘Ruyu, how could you be so stupid? The pressure point could release itself after certain hours. With this burly man, no doubt he could let himself free faster with his ape-like strength.’ She rebuked herself when she realized what had happened. Fear began to enter her heart and she yelled frantically at her former captive, “Let me go this instance. Do you realize who I am? My grandparents are the famous Medicine Man and Dragon Lady from the east and the west regions. They would skin you alive if you dare to harm even a piece of my hair.”

    Huang Jiwen looked up and smiled satisfactorily. “So you have decided to wake up at last. We’ll see who would ask for mercy now. By the way, I am not afraid of your grandparents. I’ve never heard of them, so they could not be that famous.” With that, he swung the whip on her.

    Although Medicine Men and Dragon Lady had been well known in the past, they had since retired from the martial arts world for more than three decades; therefore, it was natural that a later generation like Huang Jiwen would never heard of them. Liu Tong never talked about them because he didn’t want to upset Tian Fei, and Tian Fei never mentioned their names simply because they reminded him of his fruitless quest on behave of Yue Ling and Di Bao.

    Ruyu screamed when the whip touched her shoulder. The torn area on her shirt that was hastily mended in the cave was now split open. Its thread ran down and broadened the rip; with the second whack, the shirt turned into shreds of rags, exposing her naked upper body. She cried with humiliation, “You the rapist, kill me if you dare, but don’t make fun of me like this.” She wept.

    Huang Jiwen only meant to give this fierce girl a couple of beatings before letting her go. Unwittingly, he uncovered her white skin in the process. As soon as he saw what happened, he immediately stopped and hastily threw his cape to cover her bare skin. His face was burning red. He pulled down the rope and started to unfasten the bond, while trying to apologize incomprehensibly. Ruyu tried to push him away then cried out. Turned out that her moving pressure point was blocked, but he misunderstood that she was hurt, so he made anther apology and carried her into a more private area, a clearing under a thick bush. There the light was dim as the sun barely reached under it. He laid her down and awkwardly tried to locate her wound, but she misunderstood that he had another ill intention, so she yelled for help. He had no choice but to block her speech pressure point while trying to reassure her of his good intention. Next, he clumsily dressed the whip cuts, at the same time closing his eyes so not to see her naked state. But since he wouldn’t look at what he was doing, his hands often strayed to her breasts albeit unintentionally.

    Ruyu winced inwardly every time she felt his touch. At first she was furious then she gradually began to like this new sensation. Her desire aroused, and she felt intoxicated with a burning passion. Huang Jiwen was really in no different situation than she was. He had never been this close to any female before, and he could think of nothing at the moment but the wispy perfume scent from her body. As if in a dream, he put his arms around her, and his lips met her cheek. It was as if fireworks had exposed, and violent waves had arisen high in the sky. Both sighed happily then all of a sudden they felt conscious of their present situation. They blushed. Huang Jiwen was the first to act. He released her pressure points and mumbled apologies in tremulous voice. “Miss, it was my fault. I am sorry. I…er…I should die a hundred times. Miss, please kill me.” He took out a knife and gave it to her, waiting for her stab.

    Ruyu should have killed him then, but she could not bring herself to do so. Instead she whispered throatily, “If you died, who would buy me a new set of clothes?” She peered at him shyly.

    Huang Jiwen scratched his head stupidly. He agreed, “All right, please wait here a moment. Don’t go away, and I’ll be right back.” He ran out of the bush and hopped onto his horse and galloped to the closest village to buy Ruyu some clothes, leaving her amused over his words; it was not as if she could have walked outside in this state. Seemed in no time at all, he returned with a set of shirt and trousers for a village girl. He laid them next to her and retreated out of the bush.

    When she emerged fully dressed, both youths eyed at each other bashfully. They really didn’t know what to say. Finally, Huang Jiwen stepped forward and presented to her the whip. He was bracing himself for a sound of lashing, but to his surprise, the girl put a brown pill in his hand instead. “This is the antidote for the hornet poison from the whip. Actually, even without it you should be fine in three days time, but this pill will help you heal quicker.”

    He looked at her with new eyes and begged her to take one too. However, she shrugged indifferently, “That’s all right. I have grown among many kinds of poisons, and I’m acquainted with them all. This is but an insignificant type, nothing to talk about.” She bragged a bit.

    Huang Jiwen swallowed the pill and felt the sting pain gradually lessened. He smiled at her, and she smiled back coyly. Then as if in guilt, she started up and walked away without saying anything. The reason behind this action was Yong Butong. How could she feel pleased with this man when she had already promised herself to the other man? Huang Jiwen of course did not understand what was happening, so he pursued her, pulling the steed along on the road.

    “Why is Miss leaving in a hurry? I will take Miss to wherever you wish to go on this horse. I…I want to take care of Miss in the future.” He stammered when he caught up with her.

    Ruyu looked away. Her face was burning hot. The incident in the bush was still fresh in her memory. She could have felt the warmth from his touch. On one hand, she wanted to be in his arm again; on the other hand, she couldn’t let go of Yong Butong’s charming face. She could not decide which man she really wanted. In the end, she only murmured that she wanted to be by herself and quickly took off. Huang Jiwen, not knowing the turmoil in her mind, would not give up but kept on following her, all the while proclaiming his heart and soul to her.

    In a hurry, Ruyu tripped over a tramp, who was reclining on dusty roadside. The tramp woke up and howled. He grabbed her sleeves and wailed, “Ouch! You hurt my foot, and you broke my eggs. Give me back my eggs.” Turned out that the tramp was holding a nest of eggs in his bosom. When Ruyu stumbled over him, she unintentionally caused those eggs to smash onto the ground.

    Annoyed, Ruyu kicked out at the vagabond brusquely, but he sprung up lively, dodging her foot in time. Then he ran to hide behind Huang Jiwen’s back, all the while hollering to her to give back his eggs. Ruyu lifted her whip angrily, but Huang Jiwen stayed her hand. He tried to pacify her. “Never mind this vagabond. I’ll give him some money, and all will be well.” He took out a silver nugget and threw it to the tramp and apologized, “Brother, here is some money for your eggs. We are sorry for the accident.”

    Ruyu looked past Huang Jiwen and received the mocking laugh from the vagrant, so she turned furious. Despite Huang Jiwen’s attempt to placate her, she chased after the tramp who by now was running away with amazing speed. He led her to a field when suddenly he disappeared, and she couldn’t find even his shadow anywhere.

    She eventually had to give up the chase, but she still felt frustrated, so she took out on Huang Jiwen, who had faithfully followed her closely instead. “It was not your business if I want to whip a dirty beggar. Don’t mess with me again.” She stomped off angrily with him trailing after her doggedly.

    When the two were gone, the tramp climbed up from a pit cleverly hidden under tall grass. He snickered and lay down leisurely on the grass. He appeared to be fast asleep. An hour later, a snake was slithering by. All of a sudden, a hand shot out and grabbed its head. It wriggled in an attempt to escape for a few minutes then turned still.

    The tramp looked at his prey and licked his lips with anticipation then set about preparing his big meal of the day. Fifteen minutes later, smell of roast snake spread forth in the air. The tramp’s mouth watered and he reached for the meat when a big staff shot out in a middle of nowhere, knocking the roast meat into the fire underneath it. Then the staff turned to attack the tramp, who was looking forlornly at his now ruined dinner. When the staff almost hit his stomach, he suddenly leaped up. However, it was only a ruse attack as the staff unexpectedly awaited its target already in the air. The tramp was hit squarely on the head. He bumped down to the hard ground and cried out. “Ouch! Grandpa, no need to hit that hard. If you want any meat for yourself, just take it.”

    His ‘grandpa’ turned out an old monk with white flowing beard. He laughed while helping his young friend up. “Ah Yi, you are cunning at most and mischievous at least. But you are too greedy for your own good. This snake is called ‘purple skin venom’. It has no venom bite and looks rather harmless, but its meat is poisonous to human. If you had taken the first bite, you would have lain dead in the next second. Besides, didn’t I tell you to stick to only fruit and vegetable during these few days? You need vegetarian diet to calm down your temperament. That caning was for not heeding my words.”

    Ah Yi bowed at his senior then tried to excuse himself, “You often say yourself that I look thin; that’s why I try to find more food to gain some weight. Besides, all these fruits cannot fill me up.” He patted his empty stomach and eyed the package in the old monk’s hand hungrily. “I’m starving. I hope you have brought something for me to eat.”

    The old monk winked at him and teased. “It seems you are always hungry every time you meet me, but you don’t seem to get any fatter however much you eat. Hmm, since you don’t like my food, I shall take this back.” He pretended to walk away, but Ah Yi clutched his sleeves and begged him to stay. “I was only kidding. Don’t be angry, reverent one. This humble servant dares not disobey you again. I promise to be a good boy from now on.”

    The old monk couldn’t help smiling at the young man. He grunted but handed the food package to Ah Yi, who opened it enthusiastically. In it were several juicy peaches, sending appetizing aroma to entice the ravenous youth who lost no time in devouring them all. After satisfying his hunger, Ah Yi turned to thank his elder politely. The old monk acknowledged the bow, and without warning he renewed the attack with the staff in fierce speed. Undaunted, Ah Yi dodged the cane deftly, at the same time he copied the old man’s every move as his own defense moves with precision but with more force, using a dry twig as his sword. An hour had passed, and each man had executed more than two hundred moves. Then the old monk abruptly stopped, and so did Ah Yi. The monk looked at the youth in front with approval and quizzed him. “Do you know what this set of sword moves called?”

    Ah Yi wiped off his sweat before answered, “This is Wu Dang Sect’s Yin-Yang sword.”

    The old monk continued the question. “What is Yin, and what is Yang?”

    Ah Yi replied. “You are Yin, and I am Yang. Yin is fast and light, and Yang is powerful and effective. Both move together as if they are one.”

    The old monk nodded. “Good work. Now see if you can tell which sect these moves belong to.” He broke two tree branches and with each twig in hand, executed simple but elegant movements.

    Ah Yi clapped and exclaimed. “Emei Sect’s Butterfly sword is as pretty as the Sword South School’s Maiden sword.”

    The old man asked, “Can you tell the difference?”

    Ah Yi answered carefully. “Butterfly sword has only 7 moves, but each move has several variations. Although this sword set may look simple, it is in reality very complex because of its unlimited possibility of variations. The Butterfly sword’s secret is trick move. Slow move is fast in attack, and weakest thrust is the most lethal one. Left sword often aims at an opponent’s right though its real target is opposite, and so on. On the other hand, Maiden sword is composed of 36 moves. Each move is straightforward and easy to learn though is hard to execute it beautifully enough; it looks on a surface more like a harmless dance than a Kung Fu skill. It depends on its gracefulness in distracting an opponent before taking him by surprise. The Maiden sword requires little inner force of its user, and instead redirects inner energy of its opponent to against himself. In another word, the more energy it applies, the more deadly the move will be.”

    The old monk gave the youth a pat on the back. “Very good, Ah Yi. You have a good observation and great talent in learning martial art. Now sit down and I’ll tell you a story.

    Many years ago, there were four leading figures in the martial arts world. They were named according to their special skills and their residing regions: Lord of Saber in the north, Medicine Man in the east, Dragon Lady in the west, and Sword God in the south. Medicine Man was the best physician of the time; his One Finger technique was known throughout China. Conversely, Dragon Lady, his wife, was known from her dragon poison palms and her assorted poisons. The wife liked to punish wrong doers to death by means of her fatal venom while the husband loved to heal anyone regardless of his past crimes. Because their interests crashed, one day they had a bitter fight and eventually separated. However, both have the only daughter who was the apple of their eyes. For her sake, they agreed to live together again in a remote place, retiring totally from the martial world. Nevertheless, due to their constant bickering with each other, their daughter decided to run away from home. Three years later, she returned to her parents with child and died soon after her delivery. It seemed that she had received poison from someone during her pregnancy.

    Lord of Saber had no family, but he had a disciple named Yue Gao. Yue Gao had two daughters, Yue Feng and Yue Ling, and a disciple named Lu Peng. Yue Feng married Gentleman Sword Tian Fei, the second student of Sword God. As for Yue Ling, she was very sick with high fever during her childhood that resulted in her child-like brain. Some eighteen years ago, a tragedy struck the Yue family. Yue Ling, having become a victim of the love triangle between Tian Fei and her sister, Yue Feng, got pregnant with Tian Fei and delivered a baby girl. Unfortunately, both mother and daughter had lost their lives in the deep abyss of the Heng-Shan Mountains. On that same day, Yue Gao and his household was murdered by a mysterious man. The eldest daughter, Yue Feng, who was also pregnant and close to giving birth, had disappeared without trace. Lu Peng, who had been driven out of the Yue house earlier for some crimes, was seen at the tragic scene around that time.

    Sword God himself had three students originally. The first student was his own offspring from his deceased wife. His late wife was the only daughter of a small tribe’s leader in the far west. Her family opposed her love with Sword God, so the young couple eloped to the Central Plain. To protect his family, Sword God kept the fact that he had a son a secret. He gave his only son a lot of love and taught him all manners of sword arts. To his disappointment, the son grew to be an evil man. Seizing the chance of Sword God in meditation, the son stole a top Kung Fu manual that contained high-level sword skills and ran away. He then named himself Wang Shan, the Evil Sword and committed many atrocious crimes, earning a terrified reputation. With the top sword arts manual, nobody was the match for him except his own father. As soon as Sword God realized of his son’s crimes, he started the hunt for Wang Shan and defeated him eventually. However, because of his late wife’s final words, Sword God could not bring himself to kill his only son; therefore, he only broke Wang Shan’s leg as a warning. The Evil Sword had disappeared since then, and Sword God had become a semi-recluse out of grief.

    Unexpectedly, many years later, an evil clan named Love Palace appeared in the martial world under the leading of Zhang Tin, the third disciple of Wang Shan. At that time, there was a rumor that two female disciples of Emei named Ah Mei and Ah Lan had been kidnapped by Zhang Tin and his second martial brother, Di An…” The old monk saw Ah Yi’s pale face and was concerned. “Are you all right, Ah Yi? You look so pale.”

    Ah Yi swallowed hard. He stammered. “I’m fine. It’s just that I suddenly had my usual headache again, but it’s better now. Go on, Grandpa. The story is very interesting.”

    The old monk checked the youth’s pulse to make sure he was really all right before continued. “Seemed that these two Emei disciples fell in love with the two disciples of Wang Shan. So they left their respective sects to be with their loved ones; Ah Mei went with Zhang Tin, and Ah Lan went with Di An. Ten years ago, Ah Mei and Ah Lan and Di An were found dead in a northern forest, but Zhang Tin was nowhere to be found. The evidence pointed toward Wang Shan the Evil Sword as the culprit.

    Turned out later that Lu Peng was the first disciple of Wang Shan and was sent to the Yue’s household for the top saber arts manual. Lord of Saber had passed away long time ago, but he had written two books; one was the manual of saber arts, and another was the manual of inner energy technique. He was a good friend of Sword God, and the two co-wrote the latter manual, intending to develop it into a full sword and saber manual and the best martial art in this era. Unfortunately, Lord of Saber had died before he could accomplish the task; therefore, the energy manual was still in the hands of Sword God. The saber manual naturally was given to Yue Gao, who had used it to create a name for himself. However, he retired to Heng-Shan Mountains after the death of his wife. Not long before the destruction of his house eighteen years ago, he had given the saber manual to his son-in-law, Tian Fei, who was the second student of Sword God. Tian Fei in turn relinquished the manual to a younger son of Di An and Ah Lan in a fit of sorrow. Di An was the second disciple of Wang Shan although he was a righteous scholar unlike his fellow disciples, and Ah Lan was the second disciple of Emei Sect. So far, there was no trace of that younger son of theirs.”

    Ah Yi asked with interest. “Could it be that he was killed by Wang Shan for the saber manual?”
    “No, it couldn’t. Sword God was the one who found the corpses of Di An and others, but he didn’t see any death body of a boy. When he later learned of the existence of the boy through his student, Tian Fei, he has tried to locate him ever since. Alas, he still has no clue on where the lad would be. Also, if Wang Shan did obtain the saber manual, its techniques would have come up in the martial arts world during these past ten years already. I would assume that the coveted saber manual is still with the boy. For his sake, I hope that he will safeguard the manual so that it would not fall into the wrong hands.

    The massacre of the Di Family roused Sword God into action. He decided to stop Wang Shan from doing evil deeds for good. The two had a duel, and Sword God ended up destroyed his son’s Kung Fu by cutting Wang Shan’s tendon from four limbs. He then turned over the Sword South School to Tian Fei and his third student, Liu Tong and retired from the martial arts world.”

    Ah Yi digested the tale thoughtfully then commented, “It was generous of Sword God not to kill his son then, but a living corpse still has a tongue to stir a mischief, not to say that Wang Shan still had two evil disciples. It is logical to think that he would have used the stolen sword manual to teach his disciples. Therefore, Sword God should have provided some countermoves for his students.”

    The old monk was impressed at the youth’s foresight. He praised, “Excellent point. As you have suggested, ever since Sword God had heard about the rising of Love Palace, he had invented countermoves against Wang Shan’s sword techniques. He also designed a ‘Evil Vanquish’ move and used it to subdue Wang Shan at the final battle. Unfortunately, although he had taught large portions of the countermoves to his two students, they were not able to learn the particular Evil Vanquish sword at the time. Tian Fei was the smarter of the two and a good candidate to study this move, but he spent most of his time moping around for the two Yue sisters instead of putting his heart into developing his martial skills. Liu Tong was a steadfast and diligent student, but he lacked the wit to practice the Evil Vanquish move. So Sword God never mentioned about this technique to either of them.”

    Ah Yi did not agree. “But that is not right. What if Wang Shan’s disciples turn against the Sword South School, who would withstand those evil men?”

    The white-bearded monk smiled to himself. He replied. “You thought too highly of the stolen sword manual. As they said, there is always sky above the sky. Although the manual contained the top sword techniques, these skills were not entirely without flaws. Even Evil Vanquish sword has its own weakness, and so does the saber manual of Lord of Saber. That was why Sword God wanted to create the new technique using both sword and saber so that each skill could complement and strengthen each other. However, with the saber manual lost and Lord of Saber’s death, this is still only a dream.” He sighed.

    “Moreover, Wang Shan, having a suspicious mind, would never have taught all he knew to his disciples voluntarily. Besides, the stolen sword manual was not that easy to learn. Within his capacity, he probably understood only sixty or seventy percents. His disciples, provided that they were clever and that they had a full access to the manual, would only comprehend about eighty percents at the most within twenty years. To truly master the techniques in the manual would take at least thirty years or more. But what would be the use to master them all since he who has perfected the sword manual would surely realized by that time that those sword arts were not perfect. Sword God had come to recognize that. As long as the opposite side has only the sword manual, his two students would be able to oppose the Evil Sword or his disciples if they have accomplished the countermoves they had been taught during these past ten years.”

    The tramp who was called Ah Yi spoke contemplatively, “Isn’t there any martial art that is perfect with no flaw at all?”

    The old monk laughed humorously. “Since each martial skill has a form, it has certain limitation; therefore, it is possible to find weak spots of any Kung Fu skill. However, even Sword God himself does not know how to reach to that level.” A shadow of sorrow appeared on his face, then it was gone in the next second. The sun got behind his head, making it look as if there were haloes radiated from the old monk.

    Ah Yi rubbed his eyes. He had just seen an image from his frequent dreams on his old friend, a white eagle on the shoulder of an old man with kind face and long beard. He uttered hoarsely, “Are you…are you the eagle god I saw…?” Then he fainted.

    He came to with a feeling of warmth circulated through his body, starting from his left feet. He heard someone said, “Don’t say anything. Gather your thoughts and concentrate yourself into receiving this energy.”

    So he closed his eyes again and started to meditate his mind.

    -----------------
    Thank you for your support...
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  13. #113
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Aha. I think i know who Ah Yi is. <IMG SRC="smilies/idea.gif" border="0">
    Goofy: That with Huang JiWen and Ruyu is funny! <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> I am having stitches right now!
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  14. #114
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Glad that you like it. I hope it is not too cheesy. Did their characters show enough?
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  15. #115
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Here is a short chapter for there is no prolong in life and death.

    Part II: Book of Saber

    Chapter 20
    The Task

    Characters list (not in any particular order):
    Sword God …………......................................…......… ……Bau Fong
    Ah Yi …………......................................…......… …………Andy Lau Tak Wah

    The old monk sighed wearily after he took his hands off the chest of Ah Yi. He looked at least ten more years older. Feeling of the receding energy from outside, Ah Yi opened his eyes and was startled to see this sudden change on his so-called ‘grandpa’. He immediately helped the old man into a deserted temple and laid him down on a straw bed. Next, he gathered some sticks and made a fire. Then he boiled water and brewed hot tea for the elder, all the while trying to make him comfortable as much as possible.

    All that night, Ah Yi faithfully guarded his senior friend with care; he waved away mosquitoes with a leaf-fan, and covered the sleeping man with a blanket when the wind blew in. In the morning, he heated water and gently bathed the face of the older man and carefully combed his beautiful white beard. Then he fetched a bowl of hot porridge he had just prepared. Spoon by spoon, he fed the bed-ridden monk carefully and tenderly.

    When the meal was over, Ah Yi went out to gather more firewood but was called back. “Ah Yi, come here. I want to talk to you.” The aged monk sat up shakily, and Ah Yi quickly went to assist him.

    “You are still weak, Grandpa. Don’t exert yourself. You do need plenty of rest, we can talk later.” Ah Yi tried to convince the other to go back to bed, but his words fell on deaf ears.

    “Huh, I feel a lot better now. Thanks to your care. Ah Yi, I don’t know how much longer I will live, so I want you to listen to me carefully and obey me without any question. Can you do that for me?”

    Ah Yi fell on his knees and cried. “Grandpa, you harmed yourself from helping me. If I died a hundred times, I still couldn’t pay back what you had done for me. I promise to do anything you say, but Grandpa, don’t die…” He hugged the old monk, choking with grief.

    The monk stroked his long white beard and patted Ah Yi affectionately. “Don’t be sad. A flower once blooms will gradually wither and finally fall down from its tree. Winter snow will melt under the sun and turn into water. That water can in turn freeze into ice or go back to the sky and become snow again. Why afraid of death? It is just a way of nature to recall oneself to his former home.

    Ah Yi, I have raised you for ten years and I love you as if you were my own. I have taught you Kung Fu so that you can use it to help the weak and uphold justice. Remember that, Ah Yi. Don’t ever let yourself be strayed from the righteous path.

    From childhood, you have always asked me about your parents and your past. I never tell it to you because first, I have hoped that your memory would return on its own, and second, I want you to grow up as a happy and carefree youth without hatred or bitterness of life. Even now, I want to ask you not to seek for any personal revenge for whoever committed the crime will surely suffer the consequence in the next life if not in this lifetime.

    My name is Ding Wan. Everyone called me Sword God. Ten years ago, I found you lying unconscious in a bush not far from the tragic scene in that northern forest. Two women, one man, and a newborn baby laid there, dead. I buried them all with my own hands. However, since I didn’t know their identities at the time, I didn’t realize that there was yet another boy somewhere in that vicinity. A year later, I went back to that place and saw name plank on each grave, so I came to a conclusion that you must be a son of Di An and Ah Lan based on what Tian Fei had told me about his encounter with Ah Lan and Di An. I presumed then that your brother was the one who engraved the names on grave planks. Therefore, he must have been alive at the time, and hopefully, he is still alive now.”

    Ah Yi took the news in with a shock. His memory was still blank. He still could not recall any face of the past, but at least he was no longer lost and alone in this world. Now he had a family, a living brother somewhere. So, the eagle god in his dream was really this old monk who had taken care of him all these years. He looked at the older man’s silken white beard and cursed himself at his own stupidity. ‘I should have realized the resemblance between Grandpa and the eagle god from my dream long time ago. Who would have had this recurring dream for ten years unless it should mean something?’ His thought then went to his parents. Sword God said that they had been killed. He should avenge their death as a filial son should. He grimaced, and his face betrayed his inner thought.

    The old monk guessed the youth’s mind and spoke softly. “There is no need to get revenge. The main cause of the destruction of you home rested on Wang Shan, the Evil Sword, and I have punished him for you already. Even you are to slice his body piece by piece now, your parents will not come back to life, and your brother will still be lost. Ah Yi, forgive your parents’ murderers if you can. Try not to hate them. Hatred is only good for eating out your heart and making your life a misery. It has been ten years since, and flesh of the death would have decayed and become part of the Mother Earth by now. So why dwell on the past? You are young and full of promising future. Do not let the bitterness from the older generation ruin your life. Your immediate task for now is to search for your brother and find the saber manual and protect it against any evil hands. Ah Yi, will you at least do that for me?”

    Tears flowed down Ah Yi’s dirty face. He wept. “All right, I will not think of revenge any more. I will follow your advice and be a good man. I’ll go find my brother and bring him here to see you. Then we will live together happily.”

    Sword God smiled contentedly. He issued instructions. “I want you to start off right away. Go to the Sword South School in Guangxi and show my student Tian Fei this ring.” He took out a white jade ring from his robe and put it in Ah Yi’s trembling hand. “This ring is given to me by my wife, and I always have it near me. Tell Tian Fei your family name, and he will help you with everything. He is widely known in the martial world and has many friends that he can rely on. But do not tell anyone about the saber manual lest it will bring danger to you and your brother. When you have the manual, you can either practice that yourself or bestow it to a heir of Master Yue’s. I have transferred most of my energy to you and opened the most important point, letting the inner force circulate continuously. With this additional energy, you can accomplish the saber techniques in three months and perfect all sword skills I have taught you in a year. Here is the ‘Two Weapons Manuscript’ that was written by me and Lord of Saber. It contains the inner energy enhancing part of combined techniques for sword and saber. Sword is a lighter weapon; therefore, it requires fast speed. On the other hand, saber requires more strength although it is easier to master than sword. With this manuscript, I hope that you will continue our work in bringing together the arts of sword and saber to serve our country in the time of need.” With that, he handed a thin book to Ah Yi and fell back on the bed.

    He stared at the ceiling and sighed. “Master Yue had a powerful saber named ‘Tiger Killing Saber’. It was made from the famous Dragon Saber of Hero Zhang Wuji, the leader of Ming Sect. Too bad that this godly weapon has fallen in the wrong hands. If you ever come against this saber, use the Maiden Sword to counter it. Use soft against hard and borrow the saber’s strength to counter its own power.

    A hundred years ago, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Wu Dang’s Tai Chi Sword was considered the best sword technique. During the Ming Dynasty, Hero Linghu Chong’s Dugu Nine Sword brought forth the fame of the unbeatable sword fight. Alas, both these marvelous skills have since become only legends for the later generations.” He whispered to himself, “What would I not do to have an opportunity to witness a display of these two heavenly sword arts?”

    He closed his eyes and murmured. “I am going to sleep now. Leave immediately, and don’t look back.”

    Ah Yi argued, “But your health… I can’t leave you alone like this.”

    Sword God opened his eyes and glared fiercely at the tearful youth. He scolded, “I haven’t died yet, and you are disobeying me already. If you don’t go now, I…I’ll never forgive you. Don’t call me Grandpa any more then. Go!” He shut his eyes in defiance.

    Ah Yi had no choice but to set off. He kneeled down and kowtowed three times to the old monk. “Grandpa, I would never forget you.” He sobbed and walked away without looking back.

    Sword God breathed out faintly. Trails of tear traveled down from the tail of his eyes to his hollowed cheeks. Another bird had flown off to the big world.

    ---------------------
    Thanks for reading. <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/read.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  16. #116
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Andy, Yummy! <IMG SRC="smilies/drool.gif" border="0"> What si teh Amiden Sword? Is it the one from ROCH? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">
    I have to say, Goofy, you have beautiful words to describe the life cycle. <IMG SRC="smilies/clap.gif" border="0">
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  17. #117
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    No, it is not from Roch - just from my imagination plus little bits from any series I saw from the past. I create details of all my kungfu myself although they might seem similar to those from JY novel. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  18. #118
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    No, it is not from Roch - just from my imagination plus little bits from any series I saw from the past. I create details of all my kungfu myself although they might seem similar to those from JY novel. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  19. #119
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Part II: Book of Saber

    Chapter 21
    Saber Dance

    Characters list (not in any particular order):

    Yong Butong …………......................................…......… ….Vivian Leung Siu Bing
    Ah Yi …………......................................…......… ………… Andy Lau Tak Wah

    Birds were chirping merrily on tree branches, chorusing one another. Their melodies sounded heavenly, luring any weary wayfarers to repose. Next to a tree was a magnificent waterfall showering down to a big pool. The noise of water splashing worked as a drum, adding another note to the bird song. Mist came up slowly from the waterfall, and a dazzling rainbow sprung up from its spray, creating a perfect picture of a divine garden. Colorful flowers and scented flowers grew luxuriously around the area.

    Yong Butong looked around and took a deep breath, smelling in the fresh fragrant of lingering morning dew. He was suddenly reminded of his favorite waterfall at home and thought of his father. He shook his head to take away the stern image of his father and turned to enjoy the pretty view instead. He sat down and took a drink from the clear pool. The water was sweet and refreshing like elixir from heaven. He looked up at the glaring sun and sighed. It was going to be another hot day. He scooped up water and bathed his face. “Ah! The water is so nice and cool.” Slowly, he took off his shoes and swung his bare feet in tune with the music of nature.

    The sky was so blue, and the clouds were so fluffy like an angel’s wings. Yong Butong hummed a song softly to himself. Unconsciously, he took off his clothes piece by piece and dove into the pool. He shot up exhilaratingly, and started swimming around. When he reached the roaring waterfall, he curiously entered it. Inside, it was another world. Water was green and ice cold. It was very silent contrasting to the outside. No sound could penetrate the thundering wall of the waterfall. For a moment, it seemed as if the time had stopped. He felt so carefree and full of unspoken peace. “I feel so rich.” He shouted.

    ‘Ha-ha. I’m going to be rich today.’ A hand reached out from behind a bush and snatched Yong Butong’s bag of belongings from its place on the rock. It was quite heavy – must have had a lot of gold ingots in there. A thin figure slung the stolen bag on the left shoulder gleefully. Then the thief’s eyes fell on the white garments nearby, and the thief took them too.

    Yong Butong had lost track of time. Dreamily, he floated around the inner pool till he felt cold. Then he took a dive and resurfaced in the outer pool. When he came out of the water, he could not find any of his belongings. “Where are my clothes?” He was searching frantically.

    At that moment, he heard a cheerful whistle approaching. Like a flash, he ducked inside a thick bush to hide until a stranger was gone. Soon the whistler appeared. It was a young man dressed as a beggar. The newcomer stopped and bent down to drink from the pool till his thirst was quenched. He then took off his clothes and threw them over a bush. They fell right on top of Yong Butong’s head. Eagerly, he grabbed the beggar attire but had to hold his breath. He squeezed his nose. ‘What a foul smell! Not to say that the shirt has so many holes. Didn’t the owner ever wash or mend his clothes? I’d rather go out naked than wear this disgusting rag, but Father had me promise not to let anyone see my body; otherwise, I’ll have to kill that person. If I am delayed, more people might come, and then I have to kill everyone. What shall I do?’ He pondered, regarding the old suit distastefully.

    Yong Butong looked around and absorbed the serenity of the place and felt that he couldn’t bear to taint this godlike garden with blood. Consequently, having no other alternative, he reluctantly put on the tattered garment. Then he quietly emerged from the bush and left noiselessly.

    Ah Yi was enjoying his bath when he noticed that his clothes were gone. “What? Some poor soul who would stoop at stealing even rags.” He was amused. He stepped off the pool and searched for footprints of the culprit. Before long, he found two sets of footprints, one dry and one wet. The wet footprints trailed from the pool to the bush where he had left his clothes on and continued toward the south. Next, he found the dry footprints on soft earth near the pool, which led him to another bush not far away then to the opposite direction of the wet footprints. Under the latter bush laid a gaudy dress normally worn by an old shrew.

    Ah Yi looked back and forth at two trails and rested his eyes at the only available garment in front of him. He picked up a long skirt and examined it carefully. “Ah Yi, you are down on your luck today to have to wear woman’s clothes. Wait till I catch the thief, be the owner of the dry or wet footsteps. He will pay for this prank.” He grumbled while struggling in the skirt.

    When he was somewhat decent, he set off to catch the thief. Since he was going to the south anyway, he decided to follow the wet footsteps trail. Awkwardly, he gathered the skirt and tried to run without tripping himself.

    Yong Butong was progressing rather slowly. The odor from his outfit made him dizzy, unable to breathe. To make it worse, he felt itchy all over from the clothing’s rough material. Sighing desperately, he sat down under a tree and scratched about his body, missing already the smooth touch of his silken white robe. Then he had an idea. “Father used to say that when I am in a difficult situation, the saber dance that he taught would come in handy. At least, I can forget about the itch for the time being.” He saw a big wood plank and picked it up. Then he started dancing while singing its special song.

    Ah Yi heard a clear voice reciting Kung Fu technique and was curious. He had lost the footprint track a while ago and only haphazardly guessed the road. He cautiously approached the clearing ahead and saw a slim figure in his ragged clothes adeptly executed a strength martial art. Despite his small stature, he held a heavy piece of log in one hand with ease. With each thrust, each movement was full with power along with grace. Ah Yi couldn’t help exclaimed aloud at the balancing between beauty and force on each move. He broke a long twig from the tree and joined in the show, beginning with the Sword South School’s Maiden Sword.

    Yong Butong turned around and recognized the sword dance he had wanted to learn. He smiled and called out. “Hey, I can do that too.” He suddenly changed the steps and moved from the saber dance into the sword dance he had memorized from Li Renying. His moves were slower but more beautifully performed than those from Ah Yi, given that Ah Yi was somewhat cumbersome with a long skirt. Surprised, Ah Yi changed to Emei’s Butterfly Sword. Yong Butong did not daunt. A new sword dance was pretty too, so he did a move of his saber dance while observing carefully Ah Yi’s pose. Then he would execute that move while watching for another step from Ah Yi.

    Ah Yi noticed that and changed his tactic. He went back to the Maiden Sword, but Yong Butong wanted to see the Butterfly Sword instead now. So, he moved toward Ah Yi and sent one strike; a move called ‘Saber Thunder Stroke’ and followed with ‘Rain Gathering Chop’. The two moves forced Ah Yi to defend himself with a move from the Butterfly Sword. With slight changing of a few step positions, he executed twenty-four variations in total, fencing off the strikes and attacking the opponent at the same time. Yong Butong was so intrigued with this new dance that he only put on a defense and merely dodged Ah Yi’s each strike unconcernedly but effectively. From time to time, he would thrust in a few moves of his saber dance to keep Ah Yi at displaying the amazing Butterfly dance. Before Ah Yi realized the purpose of his opponent, he had already executed more than two hundred moves in all.

    Having seen that this slim man really meant him no harm, Ah Yi relaxed and to tease this pale youth a little, he displayed the Maiden Sword backward in lightening speed, intended to corner this thief with his sword skills. One move required a somersault in the air. However, because he was not used to wearing skirt, he got tangled and fell face down on the earth.

    With no less speed, Yong Butong matched moves with moves. When Ah Yi tripped his skirt and landed down with a thud, Yong Butong mistook it for a new dance step, so he tried to imitate Ah Yi. But because he didn’t think that the ending was elegant enough, he changed his position midair and instead landed on Ah Yi’s back in a cross-leg position. His large wood plank at the same time was brought down and rested at the neck of Ah Yi. Yong Butong was about to comment on how his adapted move would look better when he recalled an incident in the cave with Ruyu. ‘The Mainland people with skirt didn’t like to be touched.’ He got panicked and called out, “I can’t have you as a wife. I already have one, and I don’t think I will like you as much as Ruyu.” He quickly got up and stepped back cautiously, ready to sprint if the person in this colorful dress started crying.

    Ah Yi sat up and glared at Yong Butong. ‘So this was a man with a woman face. A mere lad but already with a wife. Probably this dress belongs to his wife too.’ He rose and demanded for his own attire. “Hey, you. That is my best clothes you have on. Did you steal it a moment ago? I want it back.”

    Yong Butong replied innocently. “Yes, I took it because somebody else took my clothes and all my belongings. I don’t suppose to be naked. Sorry, but your dress doesn’t look too bad on you. The color is a little too bright but goes well with your dark skin. If you want this stinky robe back, I’ll gladly return it. But I need something cleaner to wear.”

    Ah Yi flushed. He had never dreamed that he would receive praising for dressing in the woman’s attire. He was about to challenge this insolent youth for a fight when he saw how sincere the other looked. He sighed. ‘Must be some weird scholar from a rich family who happens to have a good Kung Fu. Only a sissy who cannot appreciate the natural scent of my clothes would think that it is smelly. Whatever.’ He shrugged and got an idea. He suggested. “How about you exchange the suit you have on with my dress. The red color will enhance your jade-like complexion?” He was just jesting, but Yong Butong took the comment seriously.

    “Do you think so? I won’t mind wearing your dress, but is it going to be as smelly too?” He pinched his nose.

    Ah Yi could not help but laughed. He said, “It won’t smell because I just took a bath before I put it on. Come and smell it if you don’t believe me.” He held out a sleeve of the bright color blouse. Yong Butong advanced uncertainly. He wanted to make sure. “I don’t want another wife, all right? I still have to find my first one.”

    Ah Yi was sure now that this pretty boy was crazy. “Probably too much reading and he went mad. He looks like a son of a wealthy family. Maybe I can get a reward for taking him home.” So he spoke gently. “No, of course not, little brother. I would never want to be anyone’s wife. By the way, are you lost? Can I take you home?”

    “No, no. I am not lost. I want to find my mother. Can you tell me where Guangxi is? I have to find my wife and bring her there.”

    ‘So you are looking for a mother, but you are not lost. What a contradict statement! Too bad that such a man with angelic face turns nutty so young.’ Ah Yi shook his head but inwardly congratulated himself for such luck. He could almost feel a handsome reward in exchange for this crazy creature.

    He listened carefully and said, “I heard a sound of running stream not far from here. Let’s go there and exchange our clothes. You can wash your face too if you like.”

    Yong Butong took a sniff at Ah Yi’s blouse then agreed. “All right. I can’t wait to get rid of this rag.”

    The two marched quickly to a small stream and exchanged their attires. When both emerged from their natural changing rooms, they stared at each other amazingly. Yong Butong thought that the beggar looked much better in his own rag, and Ah Yi almost mistook Yong Butong as a woman. ‘How handsome he would look in a nicer dress?’ He wondered and acclaimed, “You are so good looking in that outfit, little brother. I almost took you as a girl.”

    Yong Butong blushed shyly. This was quite new experience to him. He looked at his clothes, a little bit big but was more comfortable than the beggar costume.

    Ah Yi then picked up the conversation. “You are going to Guangxi? Just perfect! I’m going that way too. Maybe we can travel together. I’ll help you find your family.”

    Yong Butong studied the other’s face and thought that the beggar had kind eyes. After all, he now had neither pearls nor food with a long way to go yet. Therefore, it is probably good idea to make a friend. He nodded and asked if Ah Yi would show him some dance steps some other time, which Ah Yi promised readily. He in turn inquired Yong Butong about his Kung Fu teacher. “My father taught me this saber dance,” was the answer.

    ‘So, this young man treats the Kung Fu as a mere entertainment. What a pity!’ Ah Yi thought but outwardly set about leading his companion on the road.
    -----------------------

    <IMG SRC="smilies/rofl.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/rofl.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh.gif" border="0"> :laughing: <IMG SRC="smilies/tearlaugh.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tearlaugh.gif" border="0">
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
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  20. #120
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Funny funny funny! <IMG SRC="smilies/laugh2.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/rofl.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/tearlaugh.gif" border="0">
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