The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

Suddenly, screams sounded from the back kitchen. "Ah…Ah…!" It was a long cry filled with pain, and it was the voice of Jia Renda. Fang Renzhi and Yu Renhao both jumped up with their swords drawn and dashed into the kitchen immediately. A shadow flashed by the door, and a person glided in silently, then grabbed Lin Pingzhi by the collar and picked him up. Lin Pingzhi cried out in surprise when he took a glimpse at the pox-covered face of his rescuer: the face that belonged to the ugly wine-selling girl, who had caused all the trouble in the beginning.

The ugly girl dragged him all the way out the front door. Arriving at the big tree, where the horses were reined, she grabbed him by the back with her left hand and lifted him up on horseback. With Lin Pingzhi still in a state of shock, the girl pulled out a sword, and swung it swiftly. The blade flashed and the rein was cut free. She prodded the thigh of the horse with her sword; feeling pain, the horse let out an angry neigh, and then pounded madly into the woods.

"Mom! Dad!" Lin Pingzhi shouted. Worrying about his parents and not wanting to run away by himself, he gave a hard push against the back of the horse and fell off. After quite some rolling on the ground, he found himself deep in some tall bushes. The horse did not stop and soon disappeared into the woods.

Holding onto a branch, Lin Pingzhi tried to stand up, only finding that his legs had little strength to support him. After raising himself up about a foot, he fell back into the bushes. His waist and backside were tremendously sore. The pain must have come from b.u.mping into rocks and tree roots after he fell from the horse.

Shouting and pounding footsteps came louder and louder from behind, and moments later, someone rushed by him. Lin Pingzhi lay motionless in the bushes. He could hear the loud clashes of weapons nearby. Several people had started a fierce fight. Quietly, he stuck his head out and watched from the bushes. One group of fighters consisted of Fang Renzhi and Yu Renhao of the Qingcheng Sword School. Opposing them were the ugly girl and a man with his face concealed behind a black cloth. Most of his hair was gray, so it was obvious that he was an old man. It didn"t take Lin Pingzhi much time to conclude that he was the ugly girl"s grandfather, old man Sa.

"I thought those two were also from the Qingcheng Sword School," Lin Pingzhi pondered, "but it turned out that the girl rescued me…. Oh! If I had only known that they both were masters of Kung Fu, I wouldn"t have risked playing the hero and causing all this trouble for no reason." Then he thought, "Since they are all so busy fighting right now, this is the perfect opportunity for me to rescue my Father and Mother." But the pressure point at his back was still sealed, and his body just wouldn"t cooperate.

"Who…who are you? How did you learn the sword skills of the Qingcheng Sword School?" Fang Renzhi cried out in disbelief.

The old man didn"t answer. Suddenly, with several blazing flashes, Fang Renzhi"s sword flew into the air. Fang Renzhi immediately jumped backward and Yu Renhao rushed forward to block the attacks. The old man kept pressing with lightning fast moves.

"You…You…!" Yu Renhao shouted, his voice betraying surprise and fear. With a loud ring, his sword also flew into the air.

The ugly girl jumped forth and lunged, but the old man parried her thrust. "Don"t kill him!" he commanded.

"But they"re so cruel and killed so many people," the ugly girl argued.

"Let"s go!" the old man said. Seeing the hesitation on the ugly girl"s face, the old man gave her a reminder, "Don"t forget our Master"s orders."

"Guess I"ll let them off this time," the ugly girl nodded reluctantly, and then left through the small grove of trees. The old man followed her, and before long, both of them disappeared into the woods.

It took Fang and Yu quite a while to calm down. They both picked up their own swords.

"Unbelievable! How did he know our Qingcheng sword techniques?" Yu Renhao still could not believe it.

"He only knew a few, but…but when he used the move, Goose in the Sky, he did really…really…Ah!" Fang Renzhi had to agree.

"They rescued the Lin boy," You Renhao said.

"Let"s just hope this isn"t a trick to lure us away from the Lin Couple!" Fang Renzhi yelled, suddenly.

"d.a.m.n!" Yu Renhao cried. The two turned around and rushed back.

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A short while later, the sounds of horses moving at a slow trot broke the silence. Two horses pa.s.sed through the woods. Fang Renzhi and Yu Renhao each led a horse, and Lin Zhennan and Madam w.a.n.g were each tied to a horse. Lin Pingzhi almost shouted out, "Mom! Dad!" Fortunately, he was able to swallow the words. He knew that if he made any kind of noise, not only would he get himself killed, but he would also ruin any opportunity to rescue his parents. Trailing about twenty feet behind the two horses, a man limped along. It turned out to be Jia Renda. A white cloth wrapped around his head was soaked with blood and he cursed loudly, limping.

"h.e.l.l! You sons of turtles took the rabbit boy, but I"ve still got these two old rabbits. I"ll give each of these two old rabbits a good lashing every day. When we arrive at Mount Qingcheng, we"ll see how many lives they still have left!"

"Junior apprentice Jia!" Fang Renzhi yelled in admonishment. "The Master has reminded us over and over to make sure that we capture the Lin couple alive. If any accidents were to befall them, I"d pay to see how many layers of skin the Master would peel off you."

Jia Renda snorted, but shut up instantly.

Lin Pingzhi listened as the Qingcheng disciples walked away. He was actually slightly relieved from what he just heard.

"They are going to send my parents all the way to Mount Qingcheng, and they won"t give them too much of a hard time on the way. Fujian is far away from Szechwan. I"ll have to find a way to rescue Father and Mother."

Then he thought, "When I get to an Escort House branch, I should send a message to Grandpa in Luoyang." He lay silently in the bushes, oblivious to the bites from mosquitoes and other bugs.

Several hours pa.s.sed. When the sealed pressure points on his back finally opened up, it was already dark. He managed to stand up and slowly walked back to the small restaurant.

"I"d better disguise myself so those two villains won"t recognize me, even if they see me face to face. How am I going to rescue my parents if I get killed?" he asked himself.

After entering the restaurant owner"s room and lighting the oil-lamp, he searched for clothing, but the mountain people were so poor that they did not even own a spare set of clothes in which to change. Very disappointed, he walked out of the restaurant, when he spotted the bodies of the owner and his wife, lying on the ground. "Well, guess I"ll have to use the clothes of the deceased," he thought. He took the clothes off of the dead body and held them in his hands. They were was filthy and stank badly.

He considered washing the clothing before putting it on, but then decided against it. If he should miss an opportunity to save his parents simply because of his concern over clean clothes, surely, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He clenched his teeth and undressed himself, then changed into the clothes of the dead.

Lighting a torch, he looked around, and soon discovered his father"s sword and his mother"s golden saber, lying in a corner. He picked up his father"s sword and wrapped it in a rag, tied it to his back, and then walked outside. The croaking of the frogs in the canyon sounded in the distance through the otherwise silent night. Lin Pingzhi suddenly felt overwhelmed by desolation and almost cried out. He threw the torch as hard as he could; the flame formed a beautiful red arc in the night sky, before extinguishing itself in the pond. Instantly, darkness engulfed him once again.

"Lin Pingzhi, Lin Pingzhi! If you can"t be cautious and alert, and let yourself fall back into the hands of those Qingcheng villains, then you will be snuffed out, just like that torch, falling into that filthy pond," Lin Pingzhi admonished himself.

Raising his arm, he wiped the corners of his eyes with a sleeve. When the sleeve neared his face, the odor reeked so badly that he almost vomited. But firmly, he said to himself aloud, "If you can"t even withstand the foul odor, you are not a true man!"

He started walking, but before long, his hips started hurting again. He clenched his teeth and increased his pace. However, not knowing which way his parents had been taken, he wandered randomly through different paths in the mountains. He walked till dawn, when rays of sunshine bathed his face, making it difficult to see things clearly.

Suddenly, he was struck with a thought, "Those two villains are going to Mount Qingcheng. Szechwan Province is to the west of Fujian. Why am I going east?" He hurriedly turned around and began to walk with his back to the sun.

"Mother and Father have been gone for more than a half day," he thought, "and I walked the opposite direction for half a night; I must be far away from them, by now. I"d better buy a horse. I wonder how much money I will need."

He examined his pocket and then groaned. When they started the trip, all the gold and jewelry were put into a leather saddlebag. Lin Zhennan and Madam w.a.n.g both had silver on their persons, but not Lin Pingzhi; he did not have even a single tael. He stamped his foot in frustration. "What should I do? What should I do?" He stared at the sky blankly for a while and then thought, "I must go rescue my parents. I am sure I"ll find some way, somehow, and not starve."

He began walking toward the foot of the mountain. When it was about noon, his stomach began to growl loudly. Some green fruits on a tree by the side of the road caught his eye. They were not ripe yet, but at least they would a.s.suage his hunger. He went up to the tree to pick some fruits, but then he realized that the fruits must have belonged to someone. Taking them without permission was really no different from stealing. For three generations, the Lin family had protected goods from being robbed or stolen by bandits. How could he do something that only common thieves do? If somebody saw him, and called him a thief in front of his father, it would have brought great shame upon his father! The honor of the Fortune Prestige Escort House would be disgraced forever.

He had learned when he was still a little boy that all infamous criminals started out as small thieves, and that small thieves usually began by stealing only small things, like a squash or fruit. Then, they would start to steal more and more, finally losing all self-control, and never being able to stop. At that thought, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"One day, Father and I will restore the fame of the Fortune Prestige Escort House! I must always do what a true man does. I would rather beg, than steal from others," he vowed.

He continued on his trip in a hurry, and gave no more thought to the fruit trees by the road. A couple of miles later, he arrived at a small village. He walked to a shack and started begging for food in a halting voice. He was used to being waited upon for everything all his life, and had never before had to beg for anything from other people. After only a couple of words, his face turned red with shame.

The farmer"s wife in the shack had just received a severe beating from her husband and was still in a foul mood. When she saw that Lin Pingzhi was just a mere beggar, she immediately released a torrent of abuse.

"You little thief, what are you doing sneaking around! I just lost a hen. You probably stole it, and now you want more? Even if I had some food, I wouldn"t give it to a thief like you. You stole my hen, and made my wretch of a husband so angry, that he beat me all black and blue!" she yelled, waving a broom.

Every time the woman spat out a curse, Lin Pingzhi stepped back a little. The woman became so excited that she swung her broom at Lin Pingzhi"s face. Lin Pingzhi was furious. He moved to the side to dodge the broom, and then shot a strike at the woman with his palm.

A sudden thought popped up into his head, "How shameful, beating up a dumb farmer"s wife, just because she doesn"t want to give me food?" He tried to catch himself, but since he had used too much strength in the strike, he lost balance and stumbled. Then, his left foot happened to land in a pile of cow dung. He slipped and fell on his back.

The farmer"s wife burst into a loud laugh. "You little thief! You"ve got just what you deserve!" She smacked him on his head with her broom and spat on him, then turned around and went into the shack.

Lin Pingzhi felt angry at his humiliation. He got up and found his hands and face covered with cow dung. Surprisingly, the farmer"s wife came back with four boiled corncobs and stuck them into his hands.

"Go on, kid, take these! G.o.d gave you such a pretty face, even prettier than a girl"s, but you don"t want to apply yourself. You are just a lazy b.u.m! What good are you?" She said with a laugh.

Still angry, Lin Pingzhi made to hurl the corncobs away, but the farmer"s wife said with a grin, "Very well! Throw them away! Go ahead! Hey, you"ve got guts and you are not afraid to starve! Great! Throw them away, and I will watch you starve!"

Lin Pingzhi reconsidered, "In order to rescue Father and Mother, and to seek revenge and restore the fame of the Fortune Prestige Escort House, I will have to bear all kinds of humiliation. Starting from today, no matter how hard or humiliating it is, I will just clench my teeth and take it without complaint. To be humiliated by a farmer"s wife is really nothing." So he said, "Many thanks!" and then took a big bite of a corncob.

"I knew you wouldn"t throw them away," the farmer"s wife smiled. She turned and walked away, still mumbling, "This kid is so hungry; it probably wasn"t him, who stole my hen. Ah, the d.a.m.n husband, if he only had half of this kid"s good temper, my life would be much better."

Along the way, Lin Pingzhi sometimes begged for food, and sometimes, just ate wild fruits from the bushes. Luckily, this was a good harvest year in Fujian Province, and most families had extra food left over. Although his face was covered with mud, he spoke with good manners, so people liked him, and it wasn"t too hard for him to beg for food. He tried to ask about information regarding his parents" whereabouts along the road, but was not able to learn anything. Eight days later, he entered Jiangxi province. He asked for directions to Nancang and went there, straightaway. He thought that the Escort House branch in Nancang should have some information. If not, at least he could get some money and a fast horse.

After entering the town of Nancang, he asked someone on the street about the Fortune Prestige Escort House.

"Fortune Prestige Escort House? Why are you asking? It has been burned to the ground. Even the neighbors" houses were burnt down. There"s nothing left," the man answered.

Lin Pingzhi groaned inwardly. He came to the street of the Escort House and saw with his own eyes that the whole street was littered by debris. He stood there silently for a long time.

"It must be those gangsters from the Qingcheng Sword School, again. If I cannot have my revenge, I would rather die!" he resolved.

Without delaying in Nancang, he immediately went on with his trip west. Several days later, he arrived at Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. He had thought that the Qingcheng Sword School might have also burned down this Escort House branch, but when he asked people about news of the Fortune Prestige Escort House, no one had heard anything. Lin Pingzhi felt great relief and started heading toward the Escort House in big strides. And soon, he arrived at the gate.

Although the Hunan branch of the Escort House was not as big as the Fuzhou Headquarters Escort House, it, too, had a huge vermilion gate with two big majestic stone lions sitting by the gate. Lin Pingzhi peeked inside, but did not see anyone.

"I am almost in rags, and look so awkward; the escorts in this branch might scoff at me." He hesitated at the doorway.

He raised his head and then noticed that the sign "Fortune Prestige Escort House Hunan Branch" was upside down. "How could the escorts in this branch be so absentminded as to hang the sign upside down?" he was quite surprised.

He turned his head to look at the flags on the flagpoles, and then his heart sank. A pair of dirty saddles hung on top of the left flagpole. On the right flagpole was a pair of flower-patterned woman"s pants. The pants were torn to shreds, but still fluttered in the wind. While he looked on in shock, a man walked out from the Escort House.

"Hey, you son of a turtle. What are you doing sneaking around here? You trying to steal something?" the man yelled.

Recognizing that the man had the same kind of accent, as Fang Renzhi and Jia Renda, Lin Pingzhi knew that he must have come from Szechwan, as well, so he did not even look at him and immediately started walking away. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his backside. The man had given him a hard kick. Infuriated, Lin Pingzhi wanted to turn around and fight the man, but he quashed the urge in an instant. With the Escort House obviously occupied by the Qingcheng Sword School, it was a perfect opportunity for him to try and get information about his parents. All he needed to do was to stay calm.

Pretending to be just an ordinary person with no skill in Kung Fu whatsoever, he pretended to take a spill onto the ground, and feigned an inability to get up. The man burst into loud laughter and called him a few more "son of turtles" before walking back inside.

Lin Pingzhi stood up slowly and ambled into a small alley. He begged for a bowl of cold rice and ate it.

"The enemy is so close by, I"d better not get careless!" He kept reminding himself.

Finding some coal ashes on the ground, he smeared them onto his face until it was completely black, then huddled up in a corner against the alley wall and fell asleep.

Lin Pingzhi waited till about ten at night, then took out his long sword and hung it at his waist. He circled to the back door of the Escort House and listened carefully. After making sure there was no sound from within the walls, he jumped on top of the wall. Inside was an orchard. He jumped down, quietly, and started creeping slowly along the wall. Darkness engulfed the orchard. There was neither light nor sound; he could feel the beating of his heart. He had his hand out feeling the wall as he walked, and was dreading the moment he would step on a rock or dry hay and make a noise that would give him away. After walking through two courtyards, he saw light coming from the East Hall window, so he crept a couple of steps closer, when he heard somebody talking. Slowly moving closer and resting under the window, he held his breath and lowered himself, inch by inch, until he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Just after he sat down, he heard someone"s voice.

"Let"s just burn the whole son of a turtle Escort House tomorrow morning, so we don"t have to stay here and make fools of ourselves."

"No! We can"t!" another voice said. "Senior apprentice brother Pi and others just burnt down the entire Escort House Nancang branch, and I heard that dozens of neighbors" houses were burnt down as well. Something like that won"t be good for the reputation of our chivalrous Qingcheng Sword School. That incident will most likely get them punished by the Master."

Lin Pingzhi was filled with outrage. Now, there was no doubt that the Qingcheng Sword School was behind these despicable acts. He cursed their hypocrisy for having the gall to still call themselves chivalrous.

"Well then, we really shouldn"t burn the house down. But are we going to just leave the house intact?" the previous voice asked.

The other one laughed. "Junior brother Ji, think about it. We"ve already hung the sign of the Escort House upside down and also raised a pair of women"s pants on top of their flagpole. The name of Fortune Prestige Escort House has already been totally trashed. We should leave the pants hanging there for as long as possible. Why bother burning down the house?"

"You"re right, senior brother Shen!" Ji laughed. "Hha, the pair of pants is going to bring the Escort House so much bad luck, they won"t be able to regain their reputation for at least another three hundred years."

The two laughed for some time, then Ji said, "We"re going to the town of Hengshan tomorrow for Liu Zhengfeng"s ceremony; what present shall we bring? The news of the ceremony came so unexpected. If the present isn"t good enough, it won"t look very good for the reputation of the Qingcheng Sword School."

"I"ve got the present ready," Shen said in good humor, "and relax. I guarantee you that we won"t lose face for the Qingcheng Sword School. The present might even get us a lot of attention at the banquet for the Gold Basin Hand Washing ceremony."

"What is the present? Why don"t I know about it?" Ji asked delightedly.

Shen was quite content and let out a chuckle. "We are just liberating it, so we can make a gift of it. No need to take anything out of our own pockets. Look, is this good enough?"

The sound of someone opening a package came through the window.

"Amazing!" Ji burst out in a cry of surprise. "Senior brother Shen, do you have magic powers? Where the h.e.l.l did you get such expensive items?" Ji asked in awe.

Lin Pingzhi was really tempted to look inside through the crack of the window to see what kind of present it was, but he maintained his discipline, realizing that if he had stuck his head up, a shadow could fall on the window; it would be all over if he let the enemy find him. So, he suppressed his curiosity. Then he heard Shen"s voice, again.

"Did you think that we occupied the Fortune Prestige Escort House for nothing? I was going to present this pair of jade horses to the Master, but right now, it is probably better to let old Liu Zhengfeng be the lucky recipient."

A tide of anger washed over Lin Pingzhi. "So they robbed the treasure from our Escort House and used it for their own advantage. What a bunch of burglars! What treasure would the Hunan Escort House Branch have? It was probably a client"s goods, waiting to be escorted. The pair of jade horses must be extremely valuable. If we can"t get them back, Father would have to be the one to compensate."

Shen laughed again. "There are four bags here, one for all of the Master"s wives,[1] one for all the apprentices, one for you, and one for me! Go ahead, pick one."

"What are these?" Ji asked. After a short while, he burst out with another exclamation of surprise, "Wow, these are all gold and jewels! We are d.a.m.n rich now!!! What a son of a turtle the Escort House is! The h.e.l.l with them! They really have extorted a lot of money! Senior brother, how did you find these? I searched all over the Escort House over a dozen times, and I was just about to dig up the grounds. All I found was about a hundred taels of silver. How did you find all this treasure, without breaking a sweat?"

Shen sounded very pleased with himself. "Do you think they just put their gold and treasure anywhere? For the last couple of days, I watched you open drawers, smash boxes, take down walls, and have a good time searching. I knew that you"d be busy over nothing. But you would not have believed me, even if I had told you. Anyway, all that searching wouldn"t hurt you, big boy."

"Excellent, excellent! Senior brother Shen, where did you find these?"

"Think about it, there is one thing in this Escort House that was out of place. What was it?"

"Out of place? Lots of things are out of place in this son of a turtle Escort House. For one, their Kung Fu skills were so d.a.m.n poor, but they hung a picture of a vicious-looking lion on their flagpole," Ji scoffed.

"We replaced the big lion with a pair of woman"s pants. Now it is appropriate." Shen laughed. "Think again! Are there any other strange things in this Escort House?"

"These Hunan a.s.ses have too many odd habits. For example, Escort Zhang is the chief of the entire branch Escort House, but he put a coffin in the room, next to his own bedroom. What bad luck! Hha!" Ji slapped his leg.

"Use your head!" Shen chuckled. "Why would he put a coffin in the next room? Could it be the body of his wife or son that he hates to part with? I think not! I figured he hid something important in the coffin. The coffin was just used to…."

"Aha!!" Ji jumped up in realization. "That"s it! That"s it! These treasures were hidden in the coffin! Cool! d.a.m.n! These sons of turtles Escorts are just too sneaky. Senior brother Shen, these two bags are of the same size. How can I take the same amount as you? You should take a greater share." Then there came the sounds of gold and jade, tumbling against each other; apparently, Ji took some jewels out from one bag and put them into another.

There was no sound from Shen declining the offer.

"Senior brother Shen, I"ll go get some water. Let"s wash our feet and then get some rest," Ji suggested. He yawned, and then pushed the door open and walked out.

Lin Pingzhi shrank his body under the window, not daring to move an inch. He peeked from the side of his eyes and saw a short and fat man. It was the one who had kicked him earlier in the day.

A little while later, Ji returned with a basin of hot water.

"Senior brother Shen, this time, the Master sent dozens of apprentices out. I"d say that the two of us have achieved the most. Thanks to you, even I will look good this time. Senior brother Jiang and other apprentices went to attack the Guangzhou branch, and senior brother Ma and some other apprentices went to attack the Hangzhou branch; they are so careless, even if they see a coffin, they wouldn"t figure out that there could be treasure inside."

"Senior brother Fang, junior brother Yu, and Jia Renda got the Fuzhou Headquarters. They must have found more than we did. But since the Master"s precious son got killed in Fuzhou, they"re going to end up with more blame than credit," Shen said cheerfully.

"The Master, himself, organized the attacks against the Fortune Prestige Escort House headquarters; senior brother Fang and junior brother Yu were just scouts," Ji said, "Master won"t blame senior brother Fang and junior brother Yu for the death of junior brother Yu. This time we are striking out in full strength. All the apprentices started the attacks against the headquarters and the branches of the Escort House, at the same time. But no one expected that the skills of the Lin family were nowhere near their reputation; just three scouts alone were enough to capture Lin Zhennan and his wife. Even the Master didn"t see that coming. Hha!"

Lin Pingzhi felt cold sweat dripping down his forehead. It was clear that the Qingcheng Sword School had been plotting the attacks for a long time, and attacked all the Escort Houses, simultaneously. The trouble didn"t start because he had killed that man named Yu; even if he hadn"t killed that rascal Yu, they would have attacked the Escort Houses, all the same. Even Yu Canghai, himself, came to Fuzhou; it was no wonder then, that there was an attacker with the skill necessary to perform the Heart Crushing Palm. But how did the Escort House offend the Qingcheng Sword School? Why did they attack so viciously? By now, he realized he no longer needed to blame himself for causing all the trouble and his rage was ready to explode. If it weren"t for the fact that his Kung Fu skills were no match for his enemies, he"d have broken through the window and chopped the two animals inside into little bits! Then he heard splashing from inside. The two had begun washing their feet.

"Master didn"t have the wrong impression," Shen continued. "Years ago, when the Fortune Prestige Escort House shocked the southeast region of the Martial World, they seemed to have some real skills. The Evil-Resisting Sword Art earned a great reputation; they couldn"t have done it by trickery. I"d say the descendants probably weren"t smart enough to learn the real skills from their ancestors."

Lin Pingzhi"s face turned red with shame.

"Before we came down Mount Qingcheng," Shen went on, "Master taught us the Evil-Resisting Sword Art. Although we couldn"t learn the whole technique very well in only a couple of months, I think this set of sword moves has a lot of potential; it"s just hard to release the power. Junior brother Ji, how much did you figure out?"

"I heard from the Master that even Lin Zhennan, himself, could not grasp much of the true idea behind the set of sword moves," Ji replied, "so I didn"t really study it that hard. Senior brother Shen, the Master gave the order for all apprentices to meet at Hengshan; this means that senior brother Fang and the others will bring the Lin couple to Hengshan, right? I wonder how tough the descendent of the Evil-Resisting Sword Art will be."

Hearing the shocking news that his parents were still alive, and would be brought to Hengshan, Lin Pingzhi felt both happy and sad at the same time.

"In just a few short days, you will meet him," Shen said, "then you can practice the Evil-Resisting Sword Art with him, hha."

Suddenly the window opened. Lin Pingzhi was astonished and thought that they had discovered him. Just when he was about to run away, he was doused with hot water from the basin being poured out of the window. He almost cried out in surprise because of the soaking. The light in the room was soon put out, and darkness fell over the courtyard.

Lin Pingzhi was still in shock. He could feel water dripping down from his face, and it had a foul odor, he then realized that fellow Ji must have poured the filthy water, in which they just washed their feet, on him. Although Ji didn"t do this intentionally, it was still quite a humiliation. But at least, he had learned some information regarding his parents; so no matter what, even if he had to be soaked in urine, it would have been worth it.

The night was now silent. Afraid that the two might hear him if he left right away, he decided to wait till they fell asleep. He leaned against the wall and stayed still under the window. After quite a while, the sound of snores arose from inside, and he stood up slowly.

Lin Pingzhi glanced back and suddenly saw a long quivering shadow cast on the window. Startled, he squatted down instinctively. Then he discovered that it was the window shutter wobbling slightly in the night wind, and realized that Ji didn"t bolt the window after dumping out the water.

"Now is the perfect time for revenge!" he told himself.

He pulled out his long sword with his right hand, then gently lifted the shutter with his left hand, climbed into the room, and then slowly closed the window. Moonlight shone through the paper on the window; he could see the two men asleep, one on each bed, by one side of the room. The one with a bald head was facing the wall. The other with a wild bush of a beard was lying on his back. Five bags and two swords sat on the table in front of the beds.

Lin Pingzhi raised his sword. "One slash each, just as easy as that!" he thought to himself. But when he was about to swing his sword at the fellow who had his face up, another thought came to him. "If I kill these two in such an underhanded way, I would simply be a murderer and it wouldn"t be heroic. If, later, I can learn the family Kung Fu skills well, and then challenge these Qingcheng villains, face to face, that would be a hero"s way of doing it!"

He moved the five bags to the table by the window, pushed the window open, gently, and then stepped out. He slid his sword back into its sheath by his waist and took all the bags out through the window. After tying three of the bags to his back and grabbing the other two with his hands, he walked slowly toward the back courtyard, afraid to make any noise that might wake up the two. He opened the back door and quietly walked out of the Escort House. After figuring out the direction, he headed directly toward the south town gate. The gate was still closed, because it was night, so he hid by a small hummock and tried to get some rest. His heart beat very rapidly, since he still feared that the two Qingcheng apprentices might find out what had happened and come after him.

At dawn the next morning, when the gate opened, he went out right away, and spared no strength running down the road. After running for four or five miles, he finally felt he was out of danger and calmed down. Ever since leaving Fuzhou, this was the first time he truly felt relaxed. Seeing a small noodle restaurant by the road, he went in and ordered a bowl of noodles. He did not dare to stay long, so after finishing up the bowl, he immediately reached into the bag for money and took a small lump of silver out to pay for the meal. The restaurant owner gathered all the copper coins in the small restaurant and still could not find enough change. Lin Pingzhi simply waved his hand and said loudly, "Keep the change! Don"t worry about it!"

After so many days of ill treatment, humiliation, and being looked down upon during his travels, Lin Pingzhi finally reclaimed his rich Young Master att.i.tude.

After another ten miles, Lin Pingzhi arrived at a large town. He booked a first-cla.s.s inn room and then opened the five bags, after bolting the door and the windows shut. The first four bags contained all manner of gold, silver, jade, and jewelry. The fifth bag, a bit smaller, contained a beautiful brocade box, and inside the box, there was a pair of five-inch tall jade horses.

"With just one branch of the Escort House, we"ve already acc.u.mulated so much treasure, no wonder even the Qingcheng Sword School has cast greedy eyes on the Escort Houses," he thought.

He took out some small lumps of silver and put them in his pocket, and then combined all the rest into a big package he could carry on his back. He then went to the market and bought two fast horses. For the next couple of days, he rode the two horses in turns and only slept four or five hours each night. Thus, by spending as much time as possible traveling, he soon arrived at the town of Hengshan.

As soon as he entered town, he noticed many denizens of the Martial World, going about the streets. Concerned about the possibility of b.u.mping into Fang Renzhi or other Qingcheng Sword School members, he ducked his head and straightaway went to look for an inn. But after checking several inns, he found that none of them had a vacancy.

"It"s going to be Master Liu"s Gold Basin Hand Washing ceremony three days from now; that"s why our inn is already full of guests. Try your luck at another inn," a porter suggested.

With no other choice, Lin Pingzhi tried his luck in some remote streets, and after asking at three different inns, he finally found a small room. He figured, "Although I had covered my face with ashes, Fang Renzhi is pretty sharp, and he might still be able to see through my disguise." So he bought three pieces of sticking plaster at the local pharmacy and stuck the plaster to his face. He stretched his eyebrow downward and pulled the left corner of his mouth up until it was turned over and revealed half of his teeth. When he looked at himself in the mirror, Lin Pingzhi saw an ugly man of miserable appearance; even he himself could not stand it. He then strapped the big bag containing all the treasure against his back and then dressed over it. Bowing down a little, he was transformed into a hunchback with a big hump.

"I look so dreadful, even Mom and Dad wouldn"t recognize me, now. No more worries," he thought.

After eating a big bowl of noodles with pork chops, he decided to just wander around, hoping to accidentally b.u.mp into his parents, or simply hear something about the Qingcheng Sword School. Any information would be useful. He wandered for about half a day, until small raindrops suddenly began to fall from the sky. He bought a big bamboo fiber hat on the street and hurriedly put it on. Dark, heavy clouds were gathering close to the horizon, and it seemed that the rain wouldn"t stop soon at all. He turned onto a street and saw a teashop full of people, so he went in and sat down. The waiter brought out a teapot, a small plate of pumpkin seeds, and a small plate of broad beans.

Lin Pingzhi drank a cup of tea and started chewing the seeds to kill time, when he heard somebody say, "Hey hunchback! Mind if we share your table?" The man did not wait for Lin Pingzhi to answer and just sat down. Two others sat down, as well.

At first Lin Pingzhi didn"t realize that the man was talking to him. After a slight hesitation he finally remembered that he was the "hunchback" they had referred to, so he replied with a smile, "Sure, sure, be my guest!" All three were dressed in black and all had weapons by their waists.

The three men were intent upon their drinking and conversation, and didn"t even give Lin Pingzhi another glance.

"Master Liu"s Gold Basin Hand Washing ceremony is really going to be a big party. It"s still three days until the ceremony, and guests have already filled the whole town," a young one said.

"Of course!" a one-eyed man concurred. "The Hengshan Sword School has already got a great reputation by itself, not to mention that it is a member of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, which is even more famous. Who wouldn"t want to be on their good side? Besides, Liu Zhengfeng, Master Liu, is excellent in Kung Fu. His expertise is in the thirty-six moves of Wind-twirling Geese-falling Sword, and he is considered the second best in the Hengshan Sword School, only slightly lower in skill than the Head Master of the Hengshan Sword School – Great Mr. Mo. Lots of people have wanted to make his acquaintance, but he never had birthday parties, or weddings for his children, or any kind of events, so there were no good excuses to meet him. No wonder all kinds of people from the Martial World are gathering here once they heard about the happy Gold Basin Hand Washing event. I"d say tomorrow and the day after, it"s going to be even more crowed in the town of Hengshan."

"Not everyone came here just to make friends with Liu Zhengfeng," another man with a graybeard said sardonically. "The three of us are not coming for that, are we? Liu Zhengfeng is doing his Gold Basin Hand Washing; that means after the ceremony, he will never use his Kung Fu again, and will no longer care who"s right and who"s wrong in the Martial World. There won"t be a Master Liu in the Martial World, anymore. Since he will vow to never use his sword again, what"s the use of the thirty-six moves of the Wind-twirling Geese-falling Sword? After the Hand Washing, a Kung Fu master would be just like any average person, and all his skills will be wasted. What"s the point of making friends with him, then?"

"Well," the young one argued, "although Master Liu won"t be using his Kung Fu skills anymore, he is still the second most powerful person in the Hengshan Sword School. By making friends with Master Liu, one can also make friends with the Hengshan Sword School, which in turn, means you can make friends with the Five Mountains Sword Alliance!"

"To make friends with the Five Mountains Sword Alliance? Are you worthy of that?" The graybeard sneered.

"Brother Peng, don"t talk like that," the one-eyed man said. "We live in the Martial World, the more friends the better, the less enemies the luckier. The Five Mountains Sword Alliance does have great skills, yet they still show respect to all the friends in the Martial World. If they had acted arrogantly, and looked down upon everyone else, then why are there so many guests in Hengshan Town?"

The graybeard snorted and fell silent. After a long while, he spoke again, "Probably because people curry favor with the powerful. Just looking at them makes me angry."

Lin Pingzhi wished the three would keep talking, so perhaps they might say something about the Qingcheng Sword School. But since they did not agree with each other, each just drank his tea and said nothing. Then, he heard someone behind him speak with a low voice.

"Uncle w.a.n.g, I heard that Master Liu is only about fifty years old, just about the peak age for his Kung Fu skills. Why did he suddenly decide to quit the Martial World? Isn"t that a waste?"

An old voice answered, "People in the Martial World have all kinds of reasons to wash their hands. For example, someone can be a big gangster of the heterodox persuasion, who had committed many crimes, but after washing his hands, he won"t be killing people or burning houses, any longer. First, by this means, he can leave a better reputation for his descendants; and second, if serious crimes were committed in his neighborhood, he would not be a suspect. But Master Liu is very wealthy and his family has been rich for many generations, so of course what I just said would not apply to him."

"Of course! It has nothing to do with him," another man agreed.

Uncle w.a.n.g continued, "One that studies martial arts deals with combat all his life. It is very possible that at some point, he will hurt or kill somebody and make enemies. As he gets old, knowing that all these enemies are still out there in the Martial World could really weigh him down with worry. Now when Master Liu invited so many guests and informed the whole world that he won"t be using Kung Fu anymore, what he is really saying is that his enemies won"t have to worry about his revenge, and that he, himself, hopes that his enemies won"t come and give him trouble, either."

"Uncle w.a.n.g, don"t you think he is really putting himself at a disadvantage?" the young man asked.

"Why a disadvantage?" Uncle w.a.n.g didn"t understand the question.

"Master Liu won"t be going around giving trouble to other people," the young man explained, "but other people can come and give trouble to him at anytime. If someone wants to kill him, and Master Liu can"t use his Kung Fu skills, the,n is he just going to let them kill him without even defending himself?"

"You young lads really don"t know much!" Uncle w.a.n.g grinned. "If somebody wants to kill you, of course you are going to defend yourself. With the kind of fame the Hengshan Sword School has and the great skills Master Liu possesses, one should pray to Buddha that Master Liu doesn"t give him any trouble. Who would be so stupid as to give trouble to him? Do they have the heart of a lion or the guts of a panther? Even if Master Liu decides to not fight them himself, he has many apprentices; which of them would be easy to overcome? You are really worrying for nothing!"

"There is always someone stronger than the strong. Who dares to claim that he can defeat all comers?" the graybeard that sat opposite to Lin Pingzhi murmured to himself. But he spoke with a very low voice and neither of the two behind him heard his words.

"Like those escorts," Uncle w.a.n.g went on, "if they had made a fortune, and then decided to retire at the height of their career, close their business early, wash their hands and stop earning risky money, that would have been a smart thing to do."

These words struck Lin Pingzhi like a thunder. "If Father had retired a couple of years ago and washed his hands, what would life be like today?" he couldn"t help asking himself.

"Clay jars always break by the well; generals always die in battles. Onlookers always see better than the players; to really quit at the height of one"s career is far easier said than done," the graybeard murmured again.

"Absolutely!" the one-eyed man couldn"t agree more. "For the last couple of days, I"ve heard many people say: "Master Liu"s fame is like the sun at high noon, and he resolutely retired at the height of his career. How admirable!""

A middle-aged man, dressed in silk robes, sitting by the table on the left, broke into their conversation. "I was in the town of Wuhan a couple of days ago. I heard from some friends in the Martial World that Master Liu had to wash his hands and renounce the Martial World because of troubles that would be better left unmentioned."

"What did they say? Why don"t you tell us about it?" the one-eyed man turned around and asked.

"The story would be fine in Wuhan. But here in Hengshan, I"d better not speak so freely," the man smiled.

"Many people have already heard the rumor, so why do you bother pretending it"s such a secret?" a short fat man said in a deep grumpy voice. "Everybody is saying that Master Liu has to wash his hands, because he is too skilled in Kung Fu and that he is too popular among friends."

He spoke with a loud voice, and instantly, all interested eyes turned to him.

"Why does someone have to quit the Martial World because of his skills and popularity? Why is that?" several people asked at the same time.

"People who don"t know the inside story will be confused, of course, but once you learn the secrets, you won"t think it strange at all," the short fat man said contentedly.

"What inside story?" somebody asked.

The short fat man just smiled, but did not answer.

"Why bother asking him? He doesn"t know the story, either. He"s just blowing a lot of hot air," a thin man several tables away retorted haughtily.

"Of course I know it," the short fat man declared loudly, unable to ignore the barb. "Master Liu is washing his hands, because he takes the situation as a whole into consideration – so there won"t be internal conflict within the Hengshan Sword School."

Once again, several people clamored for an explanation, all at once.

"How is he taking the situation as a whole?"

"What internal conflicts?"

"Do they have problems between fellow apprentices?"

The short fat man began his explanation. "Outsiders all consider Master Liu the second best fighter in the Hengshan Sword School, but everybody in the Hengshan Sword School knows that Master Liu"s skill in the thirty-six moves of the Wind-twirling Geese-falling Sword is far greater than the Head Master of Hengshan Sword School – Great Mr. Mo. Great Mr. Mo can pierce three wild geese with one thrust, but Master Liu can get five. All of the apprentices under Master Liu are better than those apprentices under Great Mr. Mo. The situation has become more and more tense. In a couple of years, Great Mr. Mo"s fame most likely will be eclipsed by that of Master Liu. I heard that the two factions have already fought a couple of times in secret. Master Liu has a large, wealthy family. He doesn"t want to compete with his senior apprentice brother for fame. That"s why he wants to wash his hands so he can just retire, quietly, to a life of peace and luxury."

"Most admirable!" many people declared, nodding. "Master Liu knows what"s important and what"s not. People like that are rare."

"Then Great Mr. Mo is really making a great mistake. Isn"t he weakening the power of his own Hengshan Sword School, by forcing Master Liu to renounce the Martial World?" someone else asked.

"How can one man figure everything out? All I want is to be the Head Master of the Sword School without challenge. Who the h.e.l.l cares if the power is more or less?" the middle-aged man in silk sneered in imitation of Great Mr. Mo.

The short fat man took a couple of sips of tea and began banging the lid of the teapot loudly. "More tea, more tea!" he shouted. Then he said, "See, this is really a big event for the Hengshan Sword School. There are guests from every kind of schools and clans, but the Hengshan Sword School itself…."

Before he could finish his sentence, someone near the door struck some chords on a huqin,[2] and someone began to sing, "The poor Yang Family, showed great loyalty, protected…the Song Government…." The words were drawn out and sounded quite melancholy. Everybody turned around to look, and saw an old, tall, thin man sitting next to a table. His face looked haggard, and he was dressed in a long blue robe. The robe had been washed so many times that some parts looked more white than blue, making him look quite decrepit. He was obviously some kind of a begging performer.

"Shut your devilish voice," the short fat man yelled at him. "Don"t you know that you just cut me off?"

The old man stopped playing his huqin so loudly, but continued humming, "At the Golden Sand Beach…double dragons met…lost the battle…."

"Hey, buddy, you were just talking about all the schools and clans having sent people, so what about the Hengshan Sword School, itself?" someone asked.

"The apprentices of Master Liu are greeting guests all over Hengshan town, but other than Master Liu"s apprentices, have you seen any other apprentices from Hengshan Sword School?" the short fat man continued.

The people in the crowd just looked at each other and their speculation turned into an indistinct buzz.

"That"s right! How come we didn"t see any? But isn"t that a bit disrespectful to Master Liu?"

The short fat man grinned at the man in the silk robe. "That"s why I think you are just playing chicken; afraid to talk about the internal conflict in the Hengshan Sword School. What are you worried about? No one from the Hengshan Sword School is going to be here, so how are they going to hear about this?"

The sound of the huqin once again got louder and the tune changed. The old man began to sing again, "The young lad caused great trouble…."

"Stop annoying people," a young man yelled at him. "Here"s some money!" He flicked his hand, and a bundle of copper coins flew over and landed in front of the old man. The aim was very accurate. The old man thanked him and put the coins in his pocket.

"Hey, brother, you are a projectile expert! That throw was most excellent!" the short fat man exclaimed in praise.

"It was nothing." The young man smiled. "So brother, according to what you are saying, Great Mr. Mo is not showing up!"

"How could he show up? The relationship between Great Mr. Mo and Master Liu is like that of water and fire. They"d start a fight the minute they saw each other. Master Liu has already given ground. Great Mr. Mo should be satisfied," The short fat man said.

The old huqin player stood up, suddenly, and walked slowly in front of the short fat man. He looked him up and down.

"What do you want, old man?" the short fat man demanded in annoyance.

"You are talking nonsense!" The old man shook his head then turned around and walked away.

Infuriated, the short fat man stuck his hand out to grab the old man by his scruff. Without warning, a light flashed in front of his eyes and the blade of a long thin sword flew toward the table. The sharp ring of the blade echoed. The short fat man was so astonished that he jumped back instinctively, afraid to be hurt by the sword. Then he saw the old man slowly insert the sword into the bottom of the huqin, till the whole sword disappeared into the instrument. No one would have expected a sword to be hidden in an old huqin.

"You are talking nonsense!" the old man shook his head again, then slowly walked out of the teashop. Everyone watched him disappear into the rain, and all there was left was the sad music from the huqin, vaguely drifting from the distance.

"Look, look at the table!" someone uttered in a cry of surprise. Everyone looked in the direction his finger was pointing. There were seven teacups on the table where the short fat man had sat; a ring, about half an inch wide, had been neatly sliced from each cup. The seven china rings had fallen by the cups, yet none of the cups had ever moved an inch.