The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

"Sure, sure! I"ll go get some wine," Branch Fairy replied, and soon he brought back a big kettle of wine.

Linghu Chong"s spirit immediately shot up when he smelled the wonderful scent of wine. "Feed me," he requested.

Branch Fairy plugged the kettle spout into Linghu Chong"s mouth and slowly poured the wine into it. A moment later, Linghu Chong finished the entire kettle of wine to the last drop, and his mind also started to work better.

"My Master…always said that among all…all the great heroes…in the world, the toughest had to be Peach…Peach…Peach…."

"Among all the great heroes in the world, the toughest had to be the Peach what?" Peach Valley"s Six Fairies asked in unison, all feeling totally anxious as if someone was tickling their hearts with a feather.

"Had to be…to be Peach…Peach…Peach…."

"Peach Valley"s Six Fairies!" the six Fairies said in unison.

"That"s right," Linghu Chong confirmed. "My Master also said that he really wished to have the chance of drinking together with Peach Valley"s Six Fairies and make friends with them, then he would ask those six…six great…great…."

"Six great heroes!" Peach Valley"s Six Fairies said in unison.

"Yeah," Linghu Chong confirmed again. "Then he would ask those six great heroes to give all the apprentices a demonstration and perform…perform their unique and superb Kung Fu skills…."

Peach Valley"s Six Fairies all started talking immediately afterwards.

"Then what next?"

"How does your Master know that we have superb Kung Fu skills?"

"The Head Master of the Huashan School is really a very nice guy! We"ve got to make sure that we don"t even break a branch on Mount Huashan."

"That"s of course! We won"t even let anyone else break a branch on Mount Huashan."

"We"ll be very glad to make friends with your Master. Let"s go up Mount Huashan right now!"

Linghu Chong quickly picked up the line. "Right! Let"s go up Mount Huashan right now!"

Wasting no time, Peach Valley"s Six Fairies carried Linghu Chong and immediately headed toward Mount Huashan. After walking for quite a while, Root Fairy suddenly cried out.

"Wait a minute! The little nun wanted us to bring the lad to see her. Why are we taking him to Mount Huashan? If we don"t bring the lad to see the little nun, wouldn"t we have just…just…ah…won another bet? Two wins in a row! That will be quite embarra.s.sing."

"Big brother said it right this time. Let"s first bring him to see the little nun. We will go up Mount Huashan afterwards so we won"t be winning it one more time," Trunk Fairy agreed.

The six of them turned around and started heading south.

"Does the little nun want to see a living person or a dead one?" Linghu Chong asked, feeling very worried.

"Of course she wants to see a living lad, not a dead lad," Root Fairy answered.

"If you don"t send me up Mount Huashan, I will shut down my arteries immediately and never come back to life again," Linghu Chong threatened.

"That"s great! It must be a very advanced technique to be able to shut down your arteries. Please tell us the details," Fruit Fairy said happily.

"As soon as you master this technique, you drop dead instantly. What good does it do to learn that technique?" Trunk Fairy rebuffed.
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"It is still useful. If you were forced…forced by others to do things and your life have become a living h.e.l.l, and all there left are unbearable worries, then it makes perfect sense to shut down your own arteries," Linghu Chong claimed while panting hard.

Peach Valley"s Six Fairies" faces fell at those words. "The little nun just wants to see you. She has no ill intention. We aren"t forcing you either."

"I know the six of you have very good intents," Linghu Chong said with a sigh, "but if I can"t tell my Master and get his permission first, I won"t comply even if that means I"ll have to give up my life. Besides, my Master and Master-Wife had long wished to meet the six…six…legendary…great… great…great…."

"Great heroes!" Peach Valley"s Six Fairies said in unison.

Linghu Chong nodded his confirmation.

"Fine! We"ll send you back to Mount Huashan then," Root Fairy finally agreed.

Several hours later, the group of seven was back on Mount Huashan once again.

As soon as the apprentices of Huashan School spotted the group of seven, they dashed back and reported it to Yue Buqun. Hearing that the six freaks that kidnapped Linghu Chong had just returned, the Yue couple immediately greeted out with a bunch of apprentices, feeling completely astounded.

Peach Valley"s Six Fairies all traveled at great speed, so as soon as the Yue Couple stepped out of the "House of Integrity" they could already see the six freaks walking toward them along the stone slab road. Two of the six freaks carried a stretcher with Linghu Chong lying still on it.

Madam Yue rushed forward hurriedly to check on Linghu Chong. What immediately caught her eyes were his two sunken cheeks and a sallow face. She reached out to check his pulse, but what she found only confirmed the worst. Linghu Chong"s pulse was so weak and out of order. He was barely alive.

"Chong, Chong!" Madam Yue cried in shock.

"Master…Master…Master-Wife!" Linghu Chong murmured after he slowly opened his eyes.

"Chong, I"ll seek revenge for you!" Tear filled Madam"s eyes as she drew her sword, ready to stab Flower Fairy, who was one of the two carrying the stretcher.

"Wait!" Yue Buqun shouted. He cupped his hands and saluted the Peach Valley"s Six Fairies. "Please pardon me for having not greeted the six of you with proper manners. Will you bestow me the honor by informing me your names and which school you"re from?"

Hearing those words, the Peach Valley"s Six Fairies were stunned with a mixed feeling of anger and disappointment. When they heard Linghu Chong"s words, they had thought that Yue Buqun had truly admired them, the six brothers. Who would have expected that the first sentence out of Yue Buqun"s mouth was actually asking for their names? Obviously Yue knew absolutely nothing about the Peach Valley"s Six Fairies.

"We heard that you truly admired us six brothers. Could that be a false statement? But how can you be so ignorant of us? What a shame!" Root Fairy said.

"Didn"t you say that among all the great heroes the toughest had to be Peach Valley"s Six Fairies? Aha, I got it! The name Peach Valley"s Six Fairies must have long resounded in your ears, but you simply have no clue that we are the Peach Valley"s Six Fairies. Guess we can"t blame you," Trunk Fairies followed.

"Second brother, he said that he really wished to have a drink with Peach Valley"s Six Fairies and make friends with them, but once the six of us really showed up on Mount Huashan, he looked neither wildly happy nor willing to get us some wine. So it turned out that he does know the Six Fairies" great fame but doesn"t know the Six Fairies" faces. Hha! That is so hilarious," Branch Fairy picked up the line.

Yue Buqun was completely baffled by those words. Not able to make any sense out of them, he simply replied coldly, "You call yourselves the Peach Valley"s Six Fairies. I am only an ordinary person. How dare I make friends with six Fairies?"

Peach Valley"s Six Fairies instantly felt great joy.

"That would be no problem! We are friends of your apprentice, so we might as well make friends with you," Branch Fairy declared.

"Even though your Kung Fu skills are too ordinary, we won"t be looking down upon you. You don"t have to worry," Fruit Fairy comforted him.

"If you have any questions in your Kung Fu study, you can feel free to ask us. Of course we"ll give you some pointers," Flower Fairy promised.

"Oh, many thanks for that!" Yue Buqun said with a slight smile.

"You don"t need to thank us. Now that we, Peach Valley"s Six Fairies, consider you a friend, then of course we"ll say everything we know with no reserve," Trunk Fairy replied.

"Why don"t I demonstrate some cool techniques to everyone of the Huashan School and widen your horizons?" Fruit Fairy suggested.

Madam Yue had no idea that the six brothers were really a bunch of childish and artless guys who lacked common senses. What they said were actually meant for showing their sincere kindness. But these words sounded so offensive and insulting in Madam Yue"s ears. She could no longer hold her anger. Raising her arm evenly with her shoulder, she pointed the sword tip right at Fruit Fairy"s Solar Plexus.

"Great! Let me get my lesson first and check out your special Kung Fu in weaponry," Madam Yue rebuked.

"The Peach Valley"s Six Fairies rarely use weapons when we spar with people. Didn"t you say that you truly admired our Kung Fu skills? How come you didn"t know that part?" Fruit Fairy said with a grin.

In Madam Yue"s ears, Fruit Fairy"s words sounded even more insulting. "I didn"t know that part!" she yelled as she suddenly made a lunge with her long sword. The thrust was so rapid and sudden, carrying a tremendous force with it.

Fruit Fairy had already thought of Madam Yue as a friend and never expected her to start such a fierce attack all of a sudden. Within a split of a second, the sword tip had already reached his chest. If he had wanted to defend himself, he would still have had enough time to do so with his superb Kung Fu skills, but since he was such a cowardly type, he was simply struck dumb and completely forgot to dodge, only watching in terror as the sword penetrated his body.

Branch Fairy leapt forward hurriedly and struck Madam Yue in the shoulder with his palm. Madam Yue let go of her sword and stumbled a couple of steps back, leaving the long sword stabbed into Fairy"s chest, wobbling up and down.

Root Fairy and the rest Fairies all gasped in terror. Branch Fairy picked up Fruit Fairy and leapt back in a hurry while the rest four Fairies rushed forward and lifted Madam Yue by her four limbs in incredible speed. Yue Buqun knew too well what was going to happen next – the four freaks would tear at the same time and rip Madam Yue"s body into four pieces. Even though he was pretty good at staying calm, his wrist still trembled as he sent out two thrusts toward Root Fairy and Leaf Fairy separately with his long sword.

Lying on the stretcher, Linghu Chong could still see the dangerous state his Master-Wife was in. In great despair, he struggled up and shouted.

"Don"t hurt my Master-Wife! Or I will shut down all my arteries!"

Before his voice even faded, blood had squired out from his mouth. Linghu Chong fell back down unconscious.

"That lad is gonna shut down his arteries. We can"t let that happen! Let go of the b.i.t.c.h!" Root Fairy yelled out as he dodged the thrust from Yue Buqun.

The four Fairies dropped Madam Yue on the ground. Greatly worried about Fruit Fairy"s fatal injury, they ran after Branch Fairy and Fruit Fairy quickly.

Yue Buqun and Yue Lingshan rushed over to Madam Yue"s side at the same time. Before they even had a chance to reach out and prop Madam Yue up, she had already leapt back onto her own feet. Feeling a mixture of extreme terror and rage, she couldn"t help but tremble. Her face looked completely pale and sallow.

"Junior apprentice sister, don"t be angry. We"ll seek our revenge for sure. Those six guys are very tough enemies. Fortunately you have already killed one of them," Yue Buqun whispered.

Madam Yue"s heart hammered even more as she remembered the scene several days earlier when Cheng Buyou was ripped apart alive. "I…I…I…," she murmured yet could no longer speak normally because her entire body was still shaking hard.

"Lingshan, why don"t you take your mother back in to have a rest," Yue Buqun said to his daughter, knowing that his wife had been completely horrified.

Yue Buqun walked by Linghu Chong to check on him. There was blood all over Linghu Chong"s face and chest. His breathing was so weak that it almost seemed there was more air breathed out of him than what was breathed in – he was not going to make it. Yue Buqun placed his palm on top of Linghu Chong"s Ling-Tai Point on the back in an attempt to use his own high-level inner energy to keep Linghu Chong alive, but as soon as he tried to fill his inner energy in through the pressure point, several streams of weird inner energy inside Linghu Chong"s body immediately countered it with a big shock and almost shook his palm off. Completely astounded, he soon discovered that those lunatic energy streams were clashing against each other nonstop inside Linghu Chong"s body as well. He put his palm next to Tan-Zhong Point on Linghu Chong"s chest, and sure enough, a strong shock struck his palm so hard that even his own chest started hurting with a dull pain. Yue Buqun was astonished even more this time. He could tell that those energy streams inside Linghu Chong"s body flew in odd ways. Apparently they came from some type of advanced yet unorthodox Qi-Gong techniques. Even though each energy stream by itself was slightly weaker than his "Divine Art of Violet Twilight," as soon as two of them attack in the same direction or at the time, he could no longer hold them off on his own. After some more careful detection, he counted a total of six energy streams inside Linghu Chong, and each of them was weird and bizarre. Afraid to continue, Yue Buqun pulled his palm back and pondered.

"There are a total of six energy streams, then of course it had to be those six freaks who filled those into Chong"s body. The six freaks are so vicious. They must have tortured Chong so badly by filling their own inner energy into six different channels inside Chong"s body, so Chong would suffer constantly, and wouldn"t even have the option to end his own misery by committing suicide."

Yue Buqun knitted his brows heavily and shook his head. After telling Gao Gengming and Lu Dayou to carry Linghu Chong inside he went to check on his wife.

Madam Yue was still in shock. While sitting on the bedside holding her daughter"s hands, she looked terrified, her face as white as a sheet. As soon as she saw Yue Buqun, she asked,

"How"s Chong doing? How serious is his injury?"

Yue Buqun explained how the six energy streams clashed and fought each other inside Linghu Chong"s body.

"We"ve got to dissolve those six heterodox energy streams one by one. Do you think there"s still time?" Madam Yue asked.

Yue Buqun raised his head and pondered. After a long while, he finally spoke again.

"Junior apprentice sister, what"s your opinion on why the six freaks tortured Chong so badly?

"I guess they wanted Chong to give in and surrender. Or maybe they were trying to force out some kind of secret of our school from him. Chong of course would rather die than submit. That"s why the six ugly freaks tortured him," Madam Yue suggested.

"That would be a logical explanation in ordinary situations," Yue Buqun nodded. "But our school doesn"t have any secret. Those six freaks don"t know us at all and have no grudges against us. Why would they send him back after successfully kidnapping him in the first place?"

"I am afraid…Nah, it couldn"t be." Madam Yue thought of an idea but immediately dismissed it because it did not really make a lot of sense.

The couple stared at each other in silence, each pondering hard with knitted brows.

"Although our school doesn"t have any secret, Huashan style Kung Fu has a great reputation. Maybe those six freaks kidnapped big apprentice brother so they could force him to tell the key elements of our school"s Qi-Gong techniques and sword art techniques." Yue Lingshan couldn"t help but cut in.

"I"ve thought about this," Yue Buqun said, "but Chong"s inner energy isn"t that advanced. Those six freaks have very advanced inner energy themselves, so they could easily tell. And regarding sword skills, the six freaks" Kung Fu style is far from Huashan style sword art. They don"t have anything in common. It makes no sense for them to go through so much trouble just for that. Besides, if they did want to compel Chong into telling them about sword techniques, they should have gone to somewhere far from Mount Huashan so they could torture and force Chong with no rush. Why did they bring him back here?"

From Yue Buqun"s tone of voice, Madam Yue could tell that he was getting more and more affirmative. Having been his wife for so many years, she knew that her husband had already solved the mystery. So she asked, "Then what"s really the reason behind?"

"Use Chong"s internal injury to exhaust my inner energy," Yue Buqun said slowly, his face looking solemn and serious.

Madam Yue jumped onto her feet. "That"s right! In order to save Chong"s life, you"ve got to use your own inner energy to dissolve those six energy streams. By the time you are about to succeed, if those six ugly freaks suddenly came, while you would be totally exhausted, they would be at their ease, then they could easily kill all of us."

She paused for a brief moment and then continued. "Fortunately there are only five freaks left. Senior apprentice brother, they had already taken me a prisoner earlier. Why did they let me go after Chong shouted at them?" She felt the terror again as she remembered the horrible incident she had just experienced moments earlier. Her voice trembled again.

"That"s exactly the cause for my conclusion." Yue Buqun explained. "You killed one of them. They must have had extraordinary hatred for us. But they immediately set you free only because they were afraid that Chong would shut down his own arteries and commit suicide. Think about it. If they didn"t have a big conspiracy, why would they value Chong"s life so much?"

"Their wickedness and ruthlessness are to the extreme!" Madam Yue murmured as she thought to herself, "When the four freaks ripped Cheng Buyou into pieces, they showed tremendous cruelty. Such level of cruelty is rarely seen in the entire Martial World. In the last several days, my heart has been hammering every time I thought about it. Their interruption did put a pause on Feng Buping"s plan to take over the Head Master post. Feng Buping ended up leaving disappointed with Lu Bai and the bunch. Those six freaks definitely took care of the problem for the Huashan School temporarily. Who would have thought that they would come back to Mount Huashan to cause more trouble? It must have been just like what senior apprentice brother has figured out."

At that thought, Madam Yue said, "You can"t work on Chong with your inner energy. My inner energy mastery is far less than yours, but let"s hope it"s good enough to keep him alive temporarily." She started to head toward the door.

"Junior apprentice sister!" Yue Buqun called out.

Madam Yue paused and turned her head back.

"It"s no use. Those six freaks" heterodox energy streams are very powerful." Yue Buqun shook his head.

"So only your "Divine Art of Violet Twilight" is capable of dissolving them, isn"t it? What should we do then?" Madam Yue asked.

"Right now we can only take one step at a time and see where it will lead us. Let"s first keep him breathing. That doesn"t require much of my inner energy anyway," Yue Buqun suggested.

The three went into the room Linghu Chong was placed in. Madam Yue"s tears started rolling again as soon as she saw Linghu Chong lying there motionless, hardly breathing at all. She reached out to check on Linghu Chong"s pulse, but Yue Buqun caught her hand with his own. He let her hand go after shaking his head slightly. Pressing both hands onto Linghu Chong"s palms, Yue Buqun slowly pa.s.sed his inner energy over. As soon as his inner energy clashed with the energy streams inside Linghu Chong, Yue Buqun"s body shook abruptly and he took a step back, his face turning violet.

Linghu Chong suddenly started talking. "Where…where is apprentice brother Lin?"

"Why do you need Little Lin?" Yue Lingshan asked in surprise.

"Before his father…pa.s.sed away, he wanted me to take a message…to apprentice brother Lin. I haven"t had a chance to tell him…. I am not going to make it this time. Find…find him, hurry." Linghu Chong murmured, his eyes still shut tight.

Tear started rolling in Yue Lingshan"s eyes. She covered her face and ran out of the room. All the Huashan School apprentices had been waiting outside. Getting the message from Yue Lingshan, Lin Pingzhi went inside right away and walked by Linghu Chong"s bed.

"Big apprentice brother, you need to take care!" Lin Pingzhi said.

"Is…is this apprentice brother Lin?" Linghu Chong asked.

"Yes, it"s me," Lin Pingzhi answered.

"Right…right before your father…pa.s.sed away, I was by…by his side. He wanted me to…to tell…you…" Linghu Chong"s voice became weaker and weaker as if he had ran out of breath. Everyone held his or her breaths. The room was swept with dead silence.

After quite a while Linghu Chong finally caught his breath. He continued, "He said that you should take good care of the thing in the old Lin House at the Xiang-Yang Alley in Fuzhou. But…but you shall never read…read it, or…or great misfortune will fall upon you…!"

"The old Lin House at the Xiang-Yang Alley? That has been left vacant for a good while. There is nothing of importance there. What is this thing that my father told me to not read?" Lin Pingzhi asked in surprise.

"I don"t know. Those are all the words…all the words…your parents wanted me to tell you. They didn"t say anything else…before they…pa.s.sed…pa.s.sed away…." Linghu Chong"s voice went weaker again.

The four of them waited a few more moments, but Linghu Chong remained silent. Yue Buqun heaved a sigh and then said to Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan,

"Wait here by your big apprentice brother"s side. If his injury has any change, come and tell me right away."

Lin and Yue both nodded.

The Yue couple went back to their own room, both feeling very depressed. Only moments later, tears slowly streamed down Madam Yue"s cheeks once again.

"Don"t be upset. We"ll definitely avenge Chong," Yue Buqun a.s.sured her.

"Since those six freaks plotted this venomous scheme, they will come back again for sure. If we fight them recklessly, we might not necessarily lose, but if anything goes wrong…." Madam Yue said.

""We might not necessarily lose?" That"s far easier said than done. If we fight three of them together, we would end up a draw at most. If we fight four of them together, then most likely we will lose. If the five of them all jump onto us simultaneously…." Yue Buqun shook his head slowly.

Madam Yue knew herself that the two of them would be no match for the five freaks in a fight, but she had hoped that since her husband"s Kung Fu had greatly improved in the last several years after he successfully mastered the "Divine Art of Violet Twilight," there might still be a small chance of winning. When she heard Yue Buqun"s words, she became greatly worried.

"Then…then what do we do? Are we going to just fold our arms and await destruction?"

"Don"t get dispirited. A true man can handle both good times and bad times. Winning or losing doesn"t have to be determined right away. It is never too late for revenge, even if we have to wait for ten years," Yue Buqun suggested.

"Are you suggesting that we run away?" Madam Yue asked.

"We are not running away. We are only avoiding them temporarily. Right now the enemies outnumber us. We only have two, how could we beat the five of them all together? Since you have already killed one of the freaks, we have really gotten the upper hand of it already. Avoiding them temporarily will do no harm to our Huashan School"s reputation. Besides, as long as we keep this to ourselves, outsiders would never know anything about it," Yue Buqun explained.

Madam Yue said with a sob, "Even though I killed one of the freaks, Chong could die any minute now. We really only…only got even in this conflict. Chong…Chong…." She paused for a second and then said, "Alright, let"s use your idea. We"ll bring Chong together with us and then try to heal his injury gradually."

Yue Buqun heaved a sigh but didn"t answer.

"Do you mean that we can"t bring Chong with us?" Madam Yue asked anxiously.

"Chong"s injury is very severe. If we bring him with us and travel at double the speed, he won"t even last for an hour," Yue Buqun replied.

"Then…then what? Isn"t there anything we can do to save him?" Madam Yue asked in despair.

"Alas, I was determined to teach him the "Divine Art of Violet Twilight" the other day. Who would have expected that he went off into wild flights of imagination and tumbled into the evil route of the Sword-Branch? If he had begun studying the secret formula, even just a page or two of it, he would have been able to manage his own inner energy for self-healing and not worry about the six heterodox energy streams." Yue Buqun heaved a sigh.

"This matter brooks no delay. Why don"t you go teach him the "Divine Art of Violet Twilight" right away? Maybe he won"t be able to understand all of it in his current sick state, but it would still be better than not learning it at all. Or, you can leave the "Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script" with him so he can study on his own following the book." Madam Yue jumped onto her feet.

Yue Buqun held Madam Yue"s hands into his own and said softly, "Junior apprentice sister, my love for Chong is no less than yours. But think about it. He has been so severely injured. How could he pay attention to me when I teach him the formulas and the various techniques? If I leave the "Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script" with him so he could study from the book by himself when his mind becomes clearer, then when those five freaks come back to Mount Huashan in no time, since Chong would not be capable of defending himself, what"s going to happen to this most valued Qi-Gong ma.n.u.script of our Huashan School? Those five freaks would get their hands onto it for sure. And if those heterodox people get hold of the supreme orthodox Qi-Gong ma.n.u.script of our Huashan School, and was able to use it to help them harm the society a great deal more, I, Yue Buqun, would stand condemned through the ages."

Thinking that her husband"s words were quite reasonable, Madam Yue couldn"t help but shed more tears.

"Those five freaks don"t do things in the ordinary order. No one can predict what they might do next. We don"t have any time to waste. Let"s get on the road right away," Yue Buqun said.

"Are we just going to leave Chong here and let those five freaks torture him more? I"ll stay to guard him," Madam Yue proposed.

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she immediately realized that it was just an act on impulse of an ordinary housewife, not something that would suit her status as the "Heroine of the Huashan School." If she stayed, it would only result in sacrificing one more life for nothing. How could she protect Linghu Chong at all? Besides, if she had decided to stay, then how would her husband and daughter ever agree to leave Mount Huashan without her? Feeling great worries and sorrows, her tears poured down nonstop.

Yue Buqun shook his head and let out a long sigh. He moved aside his pillow and took out a thin iron box. After removing the lid, he took out a brocade-covered booklet. Putting the booklet inside his chest pocket, he pushed the door open and walked out. To his surprise, he found Yue Lingshan standing outside the door.

"Daddy, I am afraid that big apprentice brother…is not going to pull through," Yue Lingshan said.

"What happened?" Yue Buqun asked in shock.

"He keeps raving about things and it seems that he is in a state of delirium," Yue Lingshan replied.

"What did he rave about?" Yue Buqun asked.

"I don"t understand what he raved about," Yue Lingshan answered with a blush.

It turned out that under the torment from those six energy streams in his body, and seeing Yue Lingshan standing right in front of him, in his wooziness, Linghu Chong blunted out without thinking,

"Little apprentice sister, I…I really miss you! Have you fallen in love with apprentice brother Lin and decided to ignore me now?"

Even in her wildest imagination, Yue Lingshan had never expected that Linghu Chong would ask such a question right in front of Lin Pingzhi. She blushed big time, feeling ultimately embarra.s.sed. Then she heard Linghu Chong murmuring again.

"Little apprentice sister, we grew up together since we were kids. We played together and practiced sword art together. I…I really don"t know how and where I displeased you. If you are mad at me, you can punch me. You can swear at me. Even if…even if you stab me with your sword I won"t have any complaints. But please don"t be so cold to me and totally ignore me…."

Linghu Chong had been thinking about those words again and again inwardly over the last couple of months. If he were to be conscious, he would not have dared to speak them out even if he was with Yue Lingshan alone. But since he had no self-constraint at the moment, he really spilled his heart out.

"I"ll just be outside," Lin Pingzhi said in embarra.s.sment.

"No, no! You stay here and watch over big apprentice brother," Yue Lingshan uttered and then rushed out of the door.

She ran straight toward her parents" room, but when she arrived at the door, she heard the using "Divine Art of Violet Twilight" to heal the injury discussion between her parents, so she waited at the door, daring not to interrupt.

"Go send out my order to everyone. I want everybody to come to the "House of Integrity"," Yue Buqun said to Yue Lingshan.

"Yes, but what about big apprentice brother? Who"s going to care for him?" Yue Lingshan asked.

"Tell Dayou to look after him," Yue Buqun answered.

Yue Lingshan took the order and then went on her way to inform everyone. Soon, all of Huashan School apprentices had gathered in the "House of Integrity" and lined up based on school seniority. Yue Buqun sat down in the armchair in the middle. Madam Yue sat in a chair next to him.

After casting a quick glance at the crowd and confirming that all except Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou had arrived. Yue Buqun started addressing all the apprentices.

"Among last generation senior masters of our sword school, some of them strayed into the wrong road. They kept perfecting sword techniques but ignored the practice of inner energy with Qi-Gong techniques. They hardly realized that all advanced martial arts require Qi-Gong techniques to build a solid foundation. If one can"t master Qi-Gong techniques, then regardless of how well he has mastered his sword techniques, he would never be able to reach the acme of martial arts. But unfortunately, those last generation senior masters obstinately stuck to a wrong course. They went on their own way to create a new branch called Huashan Sword-Branch and called our orthodox Kung Fu Huashan Qi-Branch. The dispute between the Qi-Branch and the Sword-Branch went on for many decades, which greatly obstructed the development and growth of our Huashan School. What a great calamity it is." He paused and heaved a deep sigh.

Madam Yue thought inwardly, "Those five freaks could show up any moment, and you are still here telling old stories with leisure." She cast a side-glance to her husband but dared not to interrupt. Throwing a peek at the inscribed board where it said "House of Integrity," she thought to herself, "At the time when I first joined Huashan School to learn sword art, the words inscribed on the board were really "Force of Sword Towering the Clouds." But now it has been changed to "House of Integrity." No one even remembers where the old board might be. Alas, I was only a thirteen-year-old little girl at the time. Now…now…."

Yue Buqun continued. "But what"s righteous and what"s evil, what"s right and what"s wrong, the truth would eventually shine at the end. Twenty-five years ago, the Sword-Branch took a crushing defeat and withdrew from our Huashan School. I have been the Head Master of the Huashan School ever since. Several days ago, a group of expelled apprentices of our school, Feng Buping, Cheng Buyou, and some others, came back to Mount Huashan. I am not sure how they did it, but they succeeded in convincing the Alliance Chief of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, Chief Zuo, by cheats and lies, and came to seize the Head Master post of our Huashan School with Alliance Chief Zuo"s Command Flag. I have been holding the post of Head Master in our school for many years. There are plenty of tedious internal tasks a.s.sociated with the job, not mentioning all the things to deal with when the five sword schools meet. I"ve long thought about relinquishing my post in favor of somebody more qualified, so I could dedicate myself to the task of studying advanced Qi-Gong techniques of our school. I should really be only too glad to hear that somebody is willing to take over with the duties." At that word, he paused again.

"Master, Feng Buping and the other Sword-Branch expelled apprentices have all gone on the evil route. They are really no different from members of the Demon Cult. We should never even let them come back to join our Huashan School, how can we ever let them take the Head Master post of our school with their wishful thinking?" Gao Gengming commented.

"We"ll never let their audacious plot succeed!" Lao Denuo, Liang Fa, Shi Daizi, and the rest of the apprentices exclaimed all together.

Seeing that all the apprentices" feeling ran high, Yue Buqun let out a slight smile. "It"s really not important whether I am the Head Master or not. But if the heterodox people from the Sword-Branch ruled our school, all the hundreds of years worth of Huashan School"s vast comprehensive and profound Kung Fu techniques would all be destroyed in a moment. When we one day return to the underworld, how would we ever face the spirits of many generations of Huashan School senior masters? And the reputation of our Huashan School would be held in contempt by everyone in the Martial World."

"That"s right! How can we ever let that happen?" Lao Denuo and the bunch of apprentices said in unison.

"I wouldn"t worry too much about Feng Buping and the rest of the Sword-Branch expelled apprentices," Yue Buqun went on. "But since they were able to bring the Command Flag of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance and also able to collaborate with people from Songshan, Taishan, and Hengshan those schools, this is no small matter. That"s why…." He swept his eyes over the apprentices and then spoke again. "We"ll be leaving today to see Alliance Chief Zuo at Mount Songshan, and have it out with him."

All the apprentices were shocked. The Songshan Sword School was the leader in the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, and the Head Master of the Songshan School, Zuo Lengchan, was considered a top notch in the Martial World. Not only had his Kung Fu skills reached the acme of perfection, his reputation as a quick-witted and resourceful mind was also well known. Anytime when the name "Alliance Chief Zuo" was mentioned, everyone would get a shiver of cold. In the Martial World, when one had it out with someone else, the dispute normally wouldn"t stop at an oral discussion. Any heated word might lead to a fierce physical fight. All the apprentices couldn"t help but thinking the same thought.

"Master"s Kung Fu is excellent, but he most likely is still no match for Alliance Chief Zuo. Besides, the Songshan School"s Alliance Chief Zuo has twelve apprentice brothers. People in the Marital World call them the "Thirteen Guardians of Songshan." Even though "Great Songyang Palm" Fei Bin has pa.s.sed away, there are still a total of twelve of them left. And each of the twelve is a first-cla.s.s elite fighter – someone a second-generation Huashan apprentice would have no chance of resisting. Isn"t it a bit too reckless to stir up trouble on Mount Songshan?"

Every one of the apprentices thought so, yet no one dared to speak up.

Hearing what her husband had just said, Madam Yue immediately praised inwardly. "This idea is awesome! We are leaving our base, Mount Huashan, so we could avoid the five Peach Valley"s freaks. Once the news spreads out, Huashan School would have no face left. But if we were heading up Mount Songshan to have it out with Alliance Chief Zuo, others would only admire our courage. Alliance Chief Zuo is not the unreasonable type. Once we get to Mount Songshan, it"s not necessary that we"ll end up in a deadly fight. There"s gonna be a lot of rooms and cushions in between." So she immediately picked up the line.

"That"s right! Feng Buping did bring the Command Flag of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance up Mount Huashan. But who knows, he could very possibly have stolen or robbed the Command Flag from someone else. Even if it"s true that Alliance Chief Zuo did award them the Command Flag of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, this is the internal matter of our Huashan School. The Songshan School has no say in this at all. Sure, Songshan School has a lot more members, and Alliance Chief Zuo has superb Kung Fu skills, but we, Huashan School members, would rather die than submit. Any one of you who has no guts and is afraid might as well stay."

None of the apprentices wanted to look like a coward, so they all answered, "We will follow Master and Master-Wife"s orders and never hesitate to go through fire and water for Master and Master-Wife."

"Perfect! The matter brooks no delay. Go pack your stuff. We"ll get on the road in one hour." Madam Yue commanded.

Before starting the trip, Madam Yue went to check on Linghu Chong again. Seeing Linghu Chong"s lifeless face, she felt great pain and grievance deep in her heart. But the five Peach Valley"s freaks could come back in any moment. She simply couldn"t risk having Mount Huashan completely wiped out just for Linghu Chong"s sake. So she had Lu Dayou move Linghu Chong into the little hut at the back.

"Dayou," she said, "we are going to Mount Songshan to have it out with Alliance Chief Zuo for the sake of our Huashan School"s future. This is going to be a very risky trip. We just hope that under the direction from your Master, we will be able to uphold justice and all come back safely. Chong"s injury is very severe. You will take good care of him. If any enemy comes to attack, try your best to avoid conflict even if you have to endure humiliation. Don"t get Chong and yourself killed for nothing."

Lu Dayou nodded his acknowledgement with tears in his eyes.

After Lu Dayou saw Master, Master-Wife, and all the apprentice brothers and sisters off Mount Huashan, he went back to the little hut where Linghu Chong was resting. By now, the entire Huashan School on Mount Huashan only had two residents – one was his big apprentice brother who was still in a coma, the other one was himself, completely alone and on his own. He found himself in a state of anxiety. The deepening dusk only made him more afraid of the unforeseen future.

After making a pot of rice soup in the kitchen, he filled a bowl and propped Linghu Chong up to have some. Only at the third swallow, Linghu Chong coughed all the soup out. The white rice soup had turned red. Linghu Chong must have coughed all the blood in his stomach out together with it. While feeling terrified, Lu Dayou helped Linghu Chong lie down again. Setting the soup bowl down, he stared at the darkness outside of the window blankly and fell into a trance. He had no idea how long he had been in a daze when several owl caws woke him.

"It is said that when an owl caws, it is really counting a patient"s eyebrows," he thought. "By the time the owl finishes counting, it would be the moment for the patient to die." So he put his finger into his mouth to gather some spit and then smeared it on Linghu Chong"s eyebrows so the owl would have a real hard job counting them.

Suddenly sounds of footsteps came from the mountain path. Lu Dayou blew out the oil lamp hurriedly. His sword in his hand, he guarded by Linghu Chong"s bedside. The sounds came closer and closer, and it seemed that someone was heading straight toward the little hut. Lu Dayou"s heart almost jumped out of his chest. He thought to himself, "It seems that the enemy knows very well that big apprentice brother is resting over here. That"s terrible! How can I protect big apprentice brother from any harm?"

Then he heard a girl"s voice whispering into the room, "Monkey Six, are you inside?" It turned out to be the voice of Yue Lingshan.

"Is that little apprentice sister? I…I am in here," Lu Dayou answered with unspeakable joy. He lit the oil lamp again, but in the hurry and excitement, he splashed the oil all over his hands.

Yue Lingshan pushed the door open and walked in. "How"s big apprentice brother?" she asked.

"He just coughed some more blood," Lu Dayou answered.

Yue Lingshan walked by the bedside and reached out to feel Linghu Chong"s forehead. It was burning hot.

"How come he"s coughing blood again?" she asked in a frown.

Suddenly, Linghu Chong spoke out. "Little…little apprentice sister, is it you?"

"Yes, big apprentice brother. How do you feel right now?" Yue Lingshan asked softly.

"I…I"m feeling…alright," Linghu Chong murmured.

Yue Lingshan took out a pack from her chest pocket.

"Big apprentice brother, this is "Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script." Dad said that…."

"Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script?" Linghu Chong uttered in surprise.

"That"s right. Dad said that you are suffering from heterodox Kung Fu masters" energy streams and only our own school"s most supreme inner energy techniques can dissolve them. Monkey Six, you read the ma.n.u.script word by word for big apprentice brother. But you must not study any of it yourself. Otherwise, if Dad finds out about it, humph, you know the consequences," Yue Lingshan exclaimed.

Lu Dayou was overjoyed. He answered hurriedly, "I am just a b.u.m. How would I ever dare to secretly study the most supreme inner energy techniques of our school? You can rest a.s.sured. This is great! In order to save big apprentice brother"s life, Master is even willing to make an exception and bestow the ma.n.u.script to him. Thank goodness, big apprentice brother can be saved now."

"You must not mention this to anyone. I stole the ma.n.u.script from underneath my dad"s pillow," Yue Lingshan whispered.

"Whaaaat? Did you just say that you stole Master"s…Master"s ma.n.u.script of inner energy techniques? What if Master finds it out?" Lu Dayou was shocked.

"So what? You think I am gonna get killed for doing this? Dad will probably give me a good beating and scolding at most. If big apprentice brother could survive because of it, Mom and Dad will surely be overjoyed and forgive me for what I did," Yue Lingshan answered.

"Right! Right! Saving life is the more urgent matter here," Lu Dayou said in agreement.

"Little apprentice sister, you bring it back to…to Master," Linghu Chong suddenly interrupted.

"Why?" Yue Lingshan asked in surprise. "It was no easy task to steal the ma.n.u.script, and I had to travel miles of mountain path in the dark to make it back. Why don"t you want it? This is not a matter of studying Kung Fu on the sly; this is a matter of life and death."

"She"s right! Big apprentice brother, you don"t have to study everything out of it, just enough so you can dissolve those six freaks" evil energy streams. Then you can return the ma.n.u.script back to Master. By then, Master will probably bestow the ma.n.u.script to you officially. You are the head apprentice of our school, so of course you are the one who will get awarded this ma.n.u.script. Who else will ever have the opportunity? You are only getting it a bit earlier. What"s the matter?" Lu Dayou couldn"t agree more.

"I…I would rather die than disobey Master"s will," Linghu Chong replied. "Master said it before that I can"t…study the Divine Art of Violet Twilight. Little…little apprentice sister, little…little apprentice sister…." Not able to catch his breath, Linghu Chong fell unconscious again.

Yue Lingshan checked under his nose. The breathing was weak, but at least he was still breathing. After a sigh, she said to Lu Dayou, "I"ve got to head back. Mom and Dad are gonna be so worried if I don"t make it back to the temple by dawn. Talk to big apprentice brother, will you? Ask him to do as I said and study the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script. Tell him to not forget that…." She blushed for a second and then finished the sentence. "…I went through all the trouble of running about just for him."

"I will definitely talk to him," Lu Dayou replied. "Little apprentice sister, where are you lodging at?"

We lodged at White-Horse Temple tonight," Yue Lingshan answered.

"Oh, White-Horse Temple is like ten miles from here. Little apprentice sister, I am sure big apprentice brother will never forget the trouble you have gone through to make a twenty-mile round trip in one night."

"I only wish that he could survive and recover. That would be the best. What does it matter if he remembers this or not?" Yue Lingshan sobbed.

She gently set the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script booklet at the head of the bed. After staring at Linghu Chong"s face for a moment, she ran out of the door.

Linghu Chong didn"t wake up until over two hours later. Before he even opened his eyes, he had already cried out, "Little…apprentice sister, little apprentice sister!"

"She left already," Lu Dayou said.

"She left?" Linghu Chong cried out. All of a sudden, he sat up and grabbed onto Lu Dayou"s collar band.

That gave Lu Dayou a good jolt. He explained hurriedly, "Yes, little apprentice sister has left. She said that if she couldn"t make it back before dawn, Master and Master-Wife would get worried. Big apprentice brother, why don"t you lie down to rest?"

"She…she left? She left with apprentice brother Lin?" Linghu Chong murmured as if he didn"t catch any of Lu Dayou"s words.

"She is together with Master and Master-Wife," Lu Dayou explained. But Linghu Chong only responded with a blank stare and a twitched face.

"Big apprentice brother," Lu Dayou said in a soft voice, "little apprentice sister cares about you very much. A young girl like her, running back from White-Horse Temple late at night, making a round trip of twenty miles, she really has deep affections for you. Before she left, she urged me again and again. She wants you to study the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script and not to forget…forget her feelings for you."

"Did she say that?" Linghu Chong asked.

"Yeah! Would I dare lie to you?" Lu Dayou replied.

Linghu Chong could no longer hold himself steady. The back of his head banged heavily against the brick bed as he fell back down, but he didn"t feel any pain at all.

That gave Lu Dayou another jolt.

"Big apprentice brother, let me read it for you," Lu Dayou said. He picked up the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script. Turning to the first page, he started reading.

"All forms of martial arts use inner energy as the base. The vast amount of righteous energy is bestowed upon us from Heaven. But ordinary people are ignorant of the right way to preserve the energy and let their emotions to stand in the way instead. The perils of a martial are violent, arrogant, cruel, and evil. Being violent causes disturbance to the spirit, thus disrupts the energy flow; being arrogant causes separation of spirit, thus makes the energy impetuous; being cruel causes the void of humanity, thus drains the energy source; being evil causes vicious behavior, thus shortens the energy breath. Those four perils are all like blades that would block and cut off energy flow…."

"What are you reading?" Linghu Chong asked.

"That was the first chapter of the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script," Lu Dayou answered. "And after those, it"s like this…," he went on reading.

"Abstain the four perils and return to many types of delicate kindness. Restrain your violent and cruel emotion to preserve your righteous energy stream. Beat the Heaven Drum, drink the Jade Honey, rinse the Corona Pool, and tap the Golden Beam. [5] Follow the way and soon the effect will show."

"This is the secret formula of our school. By reading it recklessly, you have already violated our school rule. Put it away immediately," Linghu Chong admonished in a strict voice.

"Big apprentice brother, in urgent circ.u.mstances, a true man would do what is expedient, instead of rigidly adhere to details. Right now it"s more important to save your life. Let me read to you some more," Lu Dayou said. He went on reading and the scripts started explaining the details of the advanced Qi-Gong techniques like how to "beat the Heaven Drum and drink the Jade Honey" and how to "rinse the Corona Pool and tap the Golden Beam."

"Shut up!" Linghu Chong yelled out loudly.

Lu Dayou was taken by shock. He raised his head and asked, "Big apprentice brother, are you…are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

"My entire body hurts when I hear…hear you read Master"s…ma.n.u.script of inner energy techniques. Are you trying to make me a…disloyal and dishonorable man?" Linghu Chong roared angrily.

"No, no! How would that make you disloyal and dishonorable?" Lu Dayou was astounded.

"Master brought the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script up to the "Cliff of Contemplation" the other day and wanted to teach me the techniques. But he found out that not only my way of practicing was way off, but also my natural endowment, so he changed his mind…mind…." Linghu Chong panted heavily and had a hard time to speak on.

"This time, it"s for the sake of saving your life, not about studying the Kung Fu in sly, so…so it"s a totally different matter," Lu Dayou argued.

"As apprentices, which is more important, our own lives or Master"s orders?" Linghu Chong asked.

"The most important thing is that Master and Master-Wife both want you to stay alive, let alone…let alone little apprentice sister"s affections for you. She had to make such a long round trip late at night. How can you let her down?" Lu Dayou said.

Linghu Chong felt a sudden urge to cry but he worked hard to hold the tears back.

"Just because she…she brought it here for me…I…Linghu Chong am a man with pride. Why would I ever take pity from others?"

As soon as those words came out, his body shivered as he pondered upon himself, "I am never a stickler for regulations. In order to save myself, what"s the big deal if I do study the inner energy techniques of our own school? So the real reason why I don"t want to study the Divine Art of Violet Twilight is because I am mad at little apprentice sister. Deep in my heart, I resented the fact that little apprentice treats apprentice brother Lin with much affection and treats me coldly. Linghu Chong, look at you. When have you become so stingy?" But when he thought that by the time of dawn, Yue Lingshan would join Lin Pingzhi again on the long trip to Mount Songshan and they would travel side by side, chatting and singing folk songs together again, he could no longer hold on to his tears.

"Big apprentice brother, you"ve thought it wrong. Little apprentice sister grew up together with you. You…you are almost like brother and sister," Lu Dayou persuaded.

"That"s exactly what I don"t want to be: brother and sister," Linghu Chong thought, but he couldn"t speak it out loud.

Lu Dayou continued. "I"ll read on. You listen carefully. If you can"t memorize it, I"ll read it a couple of more times. All forms of martial arts use inner energy as the base. The vast amount of righteous energy is bestowed upon us from Heaven…."

"Stop it!" Linghu Chong yelled out in a stern voice.

"Sure, sure, big apprentice brother," Lu Dayou answered. "In hope for your speedy recovery, I have no other choice but to disobey your order. I"ll take all the blames for breaking Master"s order. You don"t want to listen, but I just wouldn"t let you. It was I, Lu Dayou, who insisted on reading it. You never even touched the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script with a finger of yours. You never looked at a word in the ma.n.u.script either. What"s your fault? You are laid up in bed and simply can"t help it. It"s I, Lu Dayou, who forced you to study it. All forms of martial arts use inner energy as the base. The vast amount of righteous energy is bestowed upon us from Heaven…." He just read on and on in a flow of eloquence.

Linghu Chong tried to ignore it, but words after words forced their way into his ears. He suddenly groaned loudly.

"Big apprentice brother, are you alright?" Lu Dayou asked hurriedly.

"Will you please pad…pad my pillow…pillow a bit higher?" Linghu Chong asked.

"Sure." Lu Dayou answered and reached forward to pad Linghu Chong"s pillow.

Suddenly, Linghu Chong jabbed forward with all this strength, and his finger jabbed right onto the Tan-Zhong point on Lu Dayou"s chest. Lu Dayou fell down onto the bed without even a groan.

"Sixth apprentice brother, I am sorry I have to do this. You can rest on bed for half a day and then your sealed pressure point…point will open by itself." Linghu Chong said with a wry smile.

Linghu Chong slowly struggled his way off the bed. Throwing a stare at the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script booklet for a moment, he finally heaved a sigh and walked by the door. Picking up the door bolt leaning against the wall, he used it as a crutch and stumbled out the door.

Greatly worried, Lu Dayou called out, "Big…big…where…are you…going…?"

Normally when someone"s Tan-Zhong point was sealed, he would not be able to talk at all, but because Linghu Chong was so weak, his jab only made Lu Dayou"s arms and legs numb and failed to completely paralyze him.

Linghu Chong turned his head back. "Sixth apprentice brother, I want to stay as far away from the Violet Twilight Ma.n.u.script as possible. I don"t want anyone to see my dead body next to the ma.n.u.script and think that I studied the supreme techniques on the sly and died from fire deviation…I don"t want to be looked down on by apprentice brother Lin…." At that word, he coughed again. More blood gushed out of his mouth and dripped down by his chin.

Afraid that he might not be able to leave at all with his almost exhausted strength from any more delay, he took a deep breath and walked forward with the help from the door bolt. Relying on his strong will, he slowly made his way forward and ultimately disappeared in the dark.

.......

[1] Three religions: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Nine schools of thought: the Confucians, the Taoists, the Yin-Yang, the Legalists, the Logicians, the Mohists, the Political Strategists, the Eclectics, and the Agriculturists.

[2] A phrase used to include all aspects of weaponry. The eighteen types of weaponry are: Saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, battle-axe, hook, fork, whip, mace, hammer, talon, trident-halberd, cudgel, long-handled spear, short cudgel, stick, and meteor hammer.

[3] According to Chinese Medical Theory, these are main and collateral channels, regarded as a network of pa.s.sages, through which vital energy circulates and along which the acupuncture points are distributed.

[4] Tai Chi is really a term used by ancient Chinese philosophers to refer to the infinite universe.

[5] Heaven Drum (Tian-Gu), Jade Honey (Yu-Jiang), Corona Pool (HuChi), and Golden Beam (Jin-Liang) are four different major acupuncture points on a human body.