The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

She thrust her sword towards a person standing at the northwest. She knew that she was surrounded and that this thrust may not find its mark so she used this thrust as a false move. That person just stood still waiting for the sword as he knew it was only a false move. Dingjing Shi Tai was planning to take her sword back but when she saw him not paying attention to her, instead of taking her sword back in mid stroke, she put power into her right hand and pushed the sword forward. But the two people besides her target moved quickly and separately aimed their palms towards her left and right shoulders. Dingjing Shi Tai leaned to one side, jumped into the air, turned around and thrust her sword towards the tall person at the east side. The tall man slid back half a step and with a ringing sound, the sword hit a heavy iron tablet. He then lifted the iron tablet and struck at the top of her sword. Dingjing Shi Tai sneered, circled her sword and thrust it towards an old man on the left. The old man extended his left hand along the sword"s path to try and grab it. In the moonlight, it looked like that he was wearing a black glove. Dingjing Shi Tai guessed that the glove"s material might be impervious to the sword thrust. That seemed like the only reason why he was brave enough to use just his hands to grab a long sword.

She fought one enemy after another. Dingjing Shi Tai had now fought with five of the seven enemies. She felt that these five enemies were not that good. If she were only fighting with one or even two of them, she would not be afraid at all and would most probably win. But against these seven people, when she attacked any little crack in one person"s defense, it was immediately covered by the next person. Then they would immediately counter-attack and turned the situation dangerously against her. After some more fighting, she thought in alarm, "Who are these capable people from the Devil Sect? I know most of their well-known people. Their martial arts and the weapons they used are also known by the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. So what"s the background of these seven people, I really can"t tell where they come from. I didn"t antic.i.p.ate that Devil Sect"s power would grow so large in these past few years. They unexpectedly have many masters working for them."

She had fought around sixty to seventy moves but she was unable to keep up any further. She was now breathing heavily when from the corner of her eyes she saw more than ten shadows on the roof. Clearly, these people had been hiding there for a long time and only now appeared suddenly. She gloomily muttered, "It"s finished, it"s finished! I can"t even handle these seven people. Now there are more enemies watching from the sides. Dingjing, it would be hard to escape from your death today. You would suffer a big insult if you fall into the enemies" hand. It would be better if you had killed yourself earlier. This stinky sack of leather is only my temporary residence. But when it"s destroyed, I would still have some regrets. This time I had taken along many disciples and delivered them to their deaths. Old nun Dingjing is ashamed to face Heng-Shan School"s ancestors."

She thrust three times "Shua, shua, shua" forcing the enemies to take two steps back. She suddenly reversed the long sword and pierced it towards her own heart.

As her sword was about to reach her chest, a "dang" sound was heard, her hand shook and the tip of her long sword was knocked away from her chest. A man was besides her with a sword in his hand. He exclaimed, "Dingjing Shi Tai, don"t be short-sighted. Friends from Songshan School are here!" He was the one who knocked her long sword away. She then heard the sounds of swords clashing. More than ten men had one by one jumped out from their hiding spots to fight with those seven Devil Sect people.

Having escaped from death, Dingjing Shi Tai felt revitalised. She immediately went to join the battle again. But she saw that the Songshan School people were now fighting two against one and the seven Devil Sect people were at a disadvantage. Those seven people saw that sheer number was overwhelming them. They whistled and started to retreat towards the south. Dingjing Shi Tai chased them holding her sword. She suddenly heard the sound of wind coming towards her and recognized that many small projectiles had been released. Dingjing Shi Tai lifted her sword and concentrated on deflecting each of the projectiles aimed at her. In the middle of the night, there was only a glimmer of light from the moon and stars. Her long sword danced around and a "ding, ding" sound was heard continuously as her sword deflected all the projectiles. As she was hindered by the projectiles, those seven Devil Sect people had managed to escape far. She heard the person behind her said, "Heng-Shan School"s "Ten-thousand Blossoms Sword Art" is exquisite and peerless. Today our eyes have been widened."

Dingjing Shi Tai sheathed her long sword and slowly turned around. In a short moment, everything had become still and quiet. When she was fighting just then, she was a vigorous wulin martial artist. But now that the fight is over, she had turned into an amiable and benevolent old nun. She joined her two hands greeting the Songshan School people and said, "Older martial brother Zhong, thank you very much for breaking the encirclement."

She now recognised the middle-aged man as Songshan School leader Zuo"s younger martial brother. His name was Zhong Zhen and his nickname was "Nine Bent Sword". This nickname was not because he really used a bent sword but it was because his sword art fluctuates irregularly and was unpredictable. Dingjing Shi Tai had met him before at a meeting of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance at Taishan Mountain monastery. From the remaining Songshan School people, she knew three or four of them.

Zhong Zhen cupped his hand returning the courtesy. He smiled and said, "Dingjing Shi Tai, you fought with seven people by yourself. These seven people are Devil Sect"s "Seven Star Emissaries". Your sword art is really high. I admire you." Dingjing Shi Tai pondered, "So, these seven chaps are called "Seven Star Emissaries"." She didn"t want to appear unknowledgeable so she didn"t ask anymore. She thought she could inquire about those people some other day. It was already good enough now for her to know their names.

One by one, the rest of the Songshan School people went up to greet her. Two of them were Zhong Zhen"s younger martial brothers, while the rest were disciples a generation lower than them. Dingjing Shi Tai was still returning the greetings when she said, "I"m really ashamed. My Heng-Shan School has arrived in Fujian with several tens of disciples. But they"ve suddenly gone missing in this town. Martial brother Zhong, how long have you arrived at Nianbapu town? Do you have any clues for old nun to investigate?"

She believed that Songshan School people had been hiding here for a long time but they wanted to wait for her to get exhausted first before they come out and help. It was obvious that they wanted to shame her and at the same time show their power. She wasn"t pleased at all. But many of her disciples had gone missing and it was a matter of grave importance. So she had no choice but to ask them about it. She felt this was her own problem to handle so she didn"t want to ask these people for help. She already felt it was wrong to ask Zhong Zhen for information.

Zhong Zhen said, "Devil Sect witches are very crafty. They knew that Shi Tai"s martial art is very outstanding and that it would be very hard for them to win. So they secretly captured all the disciples first. Shi Tai doesn"t have to worry. Although Devil Sect is daring, they wouldn"t harm martial sisters. Let"s go down and discuss carefully on how we"re going to save them."

After he finished saying this, he extended his left hand inviting her to go down. She nodded her head and jumped down. Zhong Zhen followed her and also jumped down. He then went to the west while saying, "I"ll lead the way." After walking for a hundred feet, he turned north. They arrived in front of Xian An Inn and he pushed the main door open.

"Shi Tai, we"ll discuss the matter in here," said Zhong Zhen.

The other two martial brothers were "Divine Whip" Deng Bagong and "Bright Hair Lion" Gao Kexin. The three of them led Dingjing Shi Tai to a big room upstairs. After the lamps were lighted, they took their seats while the other disciples offered them tea and then retreated out of the room. Gao Kexin went to the door and closed it.

Zhong Zhen said, "We"ve long admired Shi Tai"s sword art, Heng-Shan School"s number one…. "

Dingjing Shi Tai shook her head and said, "Wrong, my sword art isn"t as good as my martial sister. It"s also inferior to martial sister Dingyi."

Zhong Zhen smiled and said, "Shi Tai, don"t be too modest. We martial brothers have long admired heroine and been wanting to see Shi Tai"s clever sword art. That"s why we were late in helping. We don"t have any bad intention. I sincerely apologise. Shi Tai please don"t blame us."

Dingjing Shi Tai felt a bit calmer and saw the three of them stood up and cupped their fists. She also stood up to return the gesture and said, "Well said."

Zhong Zhen waited for her to sit down before saying, "When our schools formed the Five Mountain Sword alliance, we considered ourselves to be of the same branch and share all weal and woes together. It"s just that in the last few years, we"ve had little time to meet together and we also haven"t collaborated on any matters. This has caused the Devil Sect to grow stronger and become more arrogant."

Dingjing Shi Tai uttered a "Hmph" thinking, "What is he doing saying all these idle talk?"

Zhong Zhen said again, "Everyday, older brother Zuo says: Together, we are strong. Divided, we are weak. If the Five Mountain Sword Alliance can join together and become one, then the Devil Sect wouldn"t antagonise us. Even the big school of Shaolin and Wudang who have been enjoying their big reputation for a long time wouldn"t be able to compare to us. Brother Zuo wishes that we no longer had this disunity of the five mountain sword schools. He wants us to combine together and become the "Five Mountain School". That way, we would have many people cooperating together and we would really become the leader of Wulin. What does Shi Tai think of this?"

Dingjing Shi Tai scowled and said, "Poor nun at Heng-Shan School is only an idle person and don"t pay much attention to matters. However, Martial brother Zhong has raised an important matter. You should come with me to meet my martial sisters to speak about this. Right now, the most important thing is to rescue my school"s female disciples who have fallen into the Devil Sect"s trap. We can discuss other matters in details after this."

Zhong Zhen smiled and said, "Shi Tai, don"t worry. I"ve already asked Songshan School people to handle this. Heng-Shan School"s problem is also Songshan School"s. We wouldn"t let your school"s disciples to suffer."

Dingjing Shi Tai said, "In that case, many thanks. But I don"t know how brother Zhong came to have this optimistic outlook about my problem? What a.s.surances do you have to say these words?"

Zhong Zhen smilingly said, "Shi Tai yourself is here. You"re Heng-Shan School"s well-known master. How could we still be afraid of a few demons from the Devil Sect? Also, there are still we martial brothers and several other martial nephews. We"ll definitely use all our power to fight them. If we still can"t handle these second rate fighters from Devil Sect then, hey hey, that"s too ridiculous for us to say."

Dingjing Shi Tai heard him talking about irrelevant things that she became anxious and angry. She stood up and said, "Brother Zhong is talking as if the situation looks good. Let"s go now!"

"Where are you going Shi Tai?" asked Zhong Zhen.

"Going to save people," answered Dingjing Shi Tai.

"Where are you going to save people?" asked Zhong Zhen again.

Dingjing Shi Tai was dumbfounded and unable to answer the question. After a moment, she said, "My disciples haven"t gone missing for a long time. So of course they"re still somewhere nearby. We"ve procrastinated for a long time now, so it"s going to be more difficult to find them."

Zhong Zhen said, "According to our intelligence, the Devil Sect people have a lair not far from Nianbapu town. It"s very likely that your school"s martial sisters are being held captive there. According to…"

Dingjing Shi Tai interrupted, "Where"s this lair? We"ll go save them."

Zhong Zhen slowly said, "Devil Sect would be well prepared to receive us. If we rashly go and make a mistake, then I can"t say for sure that we"ll be able to save them. We already know where they are. In my opinion, we should discuss this first before going to save them. This is a comparatively better plan."

Dingjing Shi Tai couldn"t stand it anymore but she still sat back down.

She said, "I"ll listen to martial brother Zhong"s high opinion."

"I"ve come to Fujian under martial brother"s order to discuss an important matter with Shi Tai. This matter concerns the destiny of the Wulin world. It also implicates the rise and fall of our Five Mountains Sword Alliance. So this is not a small matter at all. We need to discuss this big matter first and the remaining matters like saving people will have to wait. This is how we should go about it," said Zhong Zhen.

"But I don"t know what big matter brother Zhong is talking about?" asked Dingjing Shi Tai.

Zhong Zhen said, "The big matter is the one that I"ve just raised before. The matter of combining the Five Mountains Sword Alliance into one."

Dingjing Shi Tai suddenly stood up and her complexion turned green. She stuttered, "You…. you…. you…."

Zhong Zhen just smiled slightly and said, "Shi Tai, please don"t misunderstand. I"m not taking advantage of someone in a precarious position. I"m just compelling Shi Tai to agree to this matter."

Dingjing Shi Tai indignantly said, "You said it yourself. If this is not taking advantage of someone in a precarious position, then what is this?"

Zhong Zhen answered, "You"re from Heng-Shan School. I"m from Songshan School. When your school is facing a problem, of course my school is also concerned. After all, this is a matter of life and death. Of course, I"m willing to help Shi Tai with all my power. But I don"t know if my martial brothers and martial nephews would be willing to do so. But if the two schools have merged into one, then this problem would become our school"s problem. Then they would have no more excuses."

Dingjing Shi Tai said, "According to what you said, if my Heng-Shan School doesn"t merge with your school, then you would just sit on your hand and be a spectator regarding the matter of Heng-Shan School"s missing disciples?"

Zhong Zhen said, "It can"t be said like that. I"ve been ordered by martial brother to catch up with Shi Tai to discuss this matter. So other matters must wait before martial brother"s order is completed. That"s why I don"t dare to handle this matter carelessly. Shi Tai, please don"t blame us."

Dingjing Shi Tai"s face had gone completely pale. She coldly said, "Poor nun can"t take the responsibility for making the decision regarding the merging of our two schools. Even if I agree to this but my school"s martial sisters don"t agree, then everything would"ve been in vain."

Zhong Zhen leaned forward and whispered, "If Shi Tai agree then Dingxian Shi Tai can"t disagree. Originally, the leader of each school and each faction has always been held by the first disciple. Looking at Shi Tai"s att.i.tude, martial art, and also your position in the school, Shi Tai deserves to be the leader of Heng-Shan School…."

Suddenly, Dingjing Shi Tai slapped the table and broke it. She fiercely retorted, "You want to sow dissension? I was the one who requested my deceased master that martial sister be the leader of our school. It was also me who persuaded martial sister Dingxian to take up the position. If Dingjing wanted to be the leader of the school then I would"ve done it during that time instead of using other people to incite it now."

Zhong Zhen sighed and said, "What brother Zuo said wasn"t wrong."

"What did he say?" said Dingjing Shi Tai.

Zhong Zhen said, "Before we went south, brother Zuo said: "The conduct of Heng-Shan School"s Dingjing Shi Tai"s is too good. Her martial art is also extremely high and she"s admired by everyone. But it"s a pity that she always fails to see the larger issue." I asked him why he said these words and he answered: "I have known Dingjing Shi Tai"s manner for some time; she"s naturally aloof from worldly affairs and doesn"t cherish unwarranted reputation. On common matters, she"s happy not to pay attention to them. If you ask her about this matter of combining the five schools, then you"ll certainly meet with this problem." This matter actually concerns a lot of things. We know that we wouldn"t be able to handle it by ourselves but we"re still going to try. If Dingjing Shi Tai is only concerned about yourself and ignores the thousands of lives from the orthodox schools who are in danger, then the Wulin realm will fall under a disaster and there"s nothing we can do."

Dingjing Shi Tai stood up and coldly said, "You cleverly took this opportunity to say many honeyed words. But they"re all completely useless to me. Songshan School has taken this path. You"re not only taking advantage of someone in a precarious situation but also hitting a person when he is down."

Zhong Zhen said, "Shi Tai, you"re wrong. If Shi Tai agrees to this matter and let the people in Wulin to know about this, it will facilitate our Songshan, Heng-Shan, Taishan, Huashan, and Hengshan five mountains to merge together. Then Songshan School will definitely support Shi Tai to become our "Five Mountains School" leader. So you can see clearly that our brother Zuo is sincere and doesn"t have any personal ambition…"

Dingjing Shi Tai shook her hand continuously and shouted, "Say no more! My ear is already drowning in filth."

She put her hand together and pushed them out. A noisy "peng" sound was heard as two boards were blown away by her qi. She moved quickly and in no time was already outside Xian An Inn.

When she was out of the door, the calm wind caressed and cooled her red-hot face. She considered, "That surname Zhong said that Devil Sect has a lair near Nianbapu town. The missing school disciples must be there. I don"t know how much of what he said is true and how much is false." Then she walked away undecidedly without a plan. Walking alone, she looked at her own long shadow reflected on the slab stone as the moon lowered in the sky.

After walking for some distance, she stopped and thought, "I only have my own power to rely on. Just by myself, I won"t be able to save my disciples. The old grand heroes had always been able to adjust themselves to any situation. Why didn"t I just temporarily agree to that guy Zhong? After we"ve saved my disciples, I could immediately cut my own throat to thank them and teach him that with my death he will have no proof of the agreement. He would only be able to announce that I"ve eaten my own words and dirty my name. This I"m willing to bear by myself."

She sighed thinking about this. Then she turned around and slowly walked back to Xian Xia Inn. Suddenly she heard someone shouting from the end of the long street. "Your granny, General wants to drink wine and get some sleep. Your granny, shop servants, why don"t you quickly open the door?" It was just yesterday at Xianxia mountain range that she met with General Wu Tiande. When Dingjing Shi Tai heard his voice, it was like a drowning person catching a big lumber.

Yesterday, Linghu Chong had helped Heng-Shan School escaped from danger at the top of Xianxia mountain range. Feeling proud of himself, he hurried along the road and arrived at Nianbapu town. He then quickly found a restaurant and went in. He shouted, "Bring out the wine!" When the servants saw that it was a General who had entered the shop, they didn"t dare to be slow and lazy. They quickly poured the wine, cooked the rice, killed the chicken and sliced the beef. They were being very respectful towards him and were standing at attention and serving him attentively. Linghu Chong became slightly drunk after many bowls of wine. In his heart, he was thinking, "Devil Sect has suffered a great setback this time. But they probably wouldn"t be resigned to it. Nineteen people are still enough to cause trouble for Heng-Shan School. Dingjing Shi Tai is foolhardy and isn"t Devil Sect"s match. So I must look after them in secret."

After he had paid for his meal and wine, he went to Xian An Inn to sleep. He woke up at noon to wash his face when he suddenly heard people shouting on the street. "Huang Fengzai"s people from Chaos Stone Mound are coming to Nianbapu to plunder the town. They will kill every person they meet. They will take all the money they see. Everyone quickly run away to save your life!" The shouting could be heard from everywhere.

The servant at the inn screamed, "General, General, there"s a bad thing coming!"

Linghu Chong inquired, "Your granny, what bad thing is coming?"

"General, Huang Fengzai"s men from Chaos Stone Mound are coming. They"re coming to plunder the town tonight. Everyone is escaping already," replied the servant.

Linghu Chong opened his room"s door and scolded, "Your granny, today is a sunny day. The sky is clear. How can there be robbers? General is right here. Do they still dare to plunder?"

That servant had a bitter expression on his face. But he still answered, "Those robbers, they"re fierce… they"re very fierce… they… they also don"t know General that you…. you are here."

Linghu Chong said, "You go tell them then."

The servant answered, "I… I"m only a n.o.body, I don"t dare to go and tell them. They"ll chop my head off."

Linghu Chong said, "What kind of place is Huang Fengzai"s Chaos Stone Mound?"

The servant answered, "I don"t know what kind of place Chaos Stone Mound is. I"ve never heard of it before. I only know Huang Fengzai"s people are very fierce. Two days ago, they plundered a town 30 li north of Nianbapu called Rongshutou. They killed sixty to seventy people and burned more than one hundred houses there. General, you… although your martial art is high, your two hands would find it difficult to fight four hands. Not counting their big leader, I heard that they have more than three hundred people."

Linghu Chong scolded, "Your granny, so what if they have three hundred people? When General fights a battle with a thousand people and ten thousand horses, then when seven people entered the battle seven people will come out alive, eight people enter then eight people come out alive."

The servant said, "Yes, yes" and turned around to quickly go out.

The situation outside was already in chaos. People were calling out to each other in Zhejiang"s speech but in Fujian"s dialect. Linghu Chong couldn"t understand completely what was being said. He could only guess they were saying something like: "A Mao"s mom, have you taken the quilt yet?" or "Da Bao, Xiao Bao, hurry up. The robbers are coming!" When he walked outside, he saw tens of people carrying bundles behind their backs and basket on their hands. They were going south to escape.

Linghu Chong thought, "This is Zhejiang"s boundary. Hangzhou and Fuzhou"s Generals aren"t taking care of this area causing the robbers to create chaos here and hurt the common people. My Quanzhou"s big General Wu Tiande is here already so I can"t just sit back and do nothing. Killing those robbers" leader would be an accomplishment. This is called feeding him good fortune and being loyal. Your granny, why not? Haha!" After his train of thoughts arrived at this conclusion, he couldn"t help but laughed continuously. He called out, "Servants, bring out the wine! General wants to drink wine before killing some thieves."

But at that moment, everyone inside from the guests to shop owner, shop owner"s wife, second aunt, third aunt, as well as the shop servants, and the cooks were all going out of the inn one by one. They only slowed down a step when they heard his voice but then continued their escape, afraid of the coming robbers. Linghu Chong kept calling them but no one paid any attention to him. Linghu Chong couldn"t stand it anymore so he went to the kitchen himself to fetch the wine. He then sat in the main hall and poured himself some wine. Next, he heard the sounds of chickens, dogs, horses and pigs. He guessed that the townspeople were taking these animals to escape with them. After a moment, it gradually became quieter. He drank three more bowls of wine and by then all the frightened and anxious sounds were gone. The town had become completely quiet. He thought, "Bad luck for Huang Fengzai"s people. I don"t know where the townspeople got the news from but when the robbers got here, they wouldn"t have anything to plunder."

He was the only remaining person now in this big town. He found the silence really strange and was feeling quite lonely. Suddenly, he heard the sound of horses galloping in the distance. There were four horses coming from the south in a rush. Linghu Chong thought, "The robbers have arrived. But how come there"s only a few people?" The four horses galloped down the street making a "zheng, zheng" sound when the horseshoes. .h.i.t the stone slabs on the road.

A person shouted, "Nianbapu people, listen to Chaos Stone Mound Huang Fengzai"s order. All males, females, old and young, get out of town! We won"t kill you if you"re outside. Everyone who stays inside will be chopped to death." They were shouting continuously while their horses galloped down the street. Linghu Chong went to the main door and opened it a crack to have a look. But the horses had gone past and he was only able to see the back of the people riding the horses. He thought, "This is not right! Looking at those people riding, it"s clear they know some martial art. How can the bandits have this kind of people?" He pushed the door open and walked out. After walking for more than one hundred feet, he still couldn"t see anyone around. Then he saw a scholar tree on the side of the road, its branches and leaves luxuriant. He quickly went up the tree and sat on the highest branch. There was no sound at all around him. He waited up there for a long time knowing that something was not right. Huang Fengzai"s people had come a long time ago but his big group still had not come yet. Could it be that some of the robbers came here to notify the townspeople to escape?

After he had been waiting for an hour, he faintly heard some voices. It was the chirping of females" voices. With rapt attention he heard a few sentences. From the sentences he heard, he knew that it was the Heng-Shan School"s disciples. He thought, "How come they arrived here at this time? Oh, they must"ve spent the day resting on the mountain." He heard them knocking on the Xian An Inn"s door and then went to another inn to knock on that inn"s door. There was quite a bit of distance between Nan An Inn and the scholar tree, so when Heng-Shan School people entered the inn, he couldn"t hear or see what they were doing in there.

He secretly felt, "In all likelihood, this is the Devil Sect"s trap to ambush Heng-Shan School people." At the moment, he was still concealed on top of the tree calmly waiting for something to happen. After waiting for a long time, he saw Yiqing and six disciples went out of the inn to light up the lamps. The whole street was now lit up by the lights from the houses" windows. After another moment, he suddenly heard the voice of a female shouting, "Help!" Linghu Chong was startled: "Aiyo, this is not good. Heng-Shan School disciples have met the Devil Sect"s treachery." He immediately jumped down from the tree and went to the house where the scream came from. He looked inside the house from a crack in the window. But there was no light in there and only the pale light from the moon was coming in through the window. He saw seven or eight men standing against the wall and one female standing in the middle of the room. She shouted, "Help, help, someone"s murdered!" Linghu Chong looked at the side of her face and noticed that her expression was fierce. It was obvious that they were waiting to ambush people.

As expected, as she just finished calling out, a female disciple outside the house shouted, "Who has committed murder here?" The house"s door was pushed open and seven females jumped inside; one of them was Yiqing. These seven disciples were each holding a long sword in hand thinking they were going to save someone. Suddenly that female, who shouted for help before, threw out her right hand and hurled open a roughly four square feet of green cloth. Yiqing and the other six disciples started to tremble. It looks like they were dizzy when they started to turn around in circles and dropped down.

Linghu Chong was alarmed and he felt shocked through his heart, "That woman"s green cloth must have some kind of confusion poison in it. If I go in to save them then I"ll also fall in their trap. I can only wait and watch what happens for now." Those men on the wall quickly crowded around, took out some rope, and started binding Yiqing"s and the other disciples" hands and feet. Not long after, another female shouted sharply from outside, "What kind of person is here?" When Linghu Chong pa.s.sed through the Xianxia mountain range, he had met with this bad tempered nun and had also chatted with her. He knew that Yihe was the one out there. He thought, "You are really hot-tempered. This time, you"ll become rice dumpling again (Translator"s note: this means that she"ll be easy picking.)." He heard Yihe shouted again, "Sister Yiqing, are you here?" and a "peng" sound was heard as she kicked the door open.

Yihe and another disciple went forward shoulder to shoulder. As they stepped inside the house, they waved their swords around separately on their left and right sides, protecting themselves from an enemy"s attack. At the same time, the other five disciples were walking backwards into the house and were also waving their swords around. When the two of the disciples got inside the house, the woman and her cohorts held their breath and stopped moving completely. Once all seven of the disciples were in the house, that woman hurled open her green cloth again and the disciples were again confused before collapsing to the ground. They were followed by Yu Sao"s group which also fell into the same trap. There were now twenty-one of Heng-Shan School disciples that have lost consciousness and tied up at the corner of the house. After a while, an old man in their group made some hand signals and they quietly retreated from the house"s back door.

Linghu Chong jumped to the roof and crouched down. He was following them for a short distance when he suddenly heard sounds of flapping clothes from the house in front. The sound was coming from the roof ridge of the house. He saw ten men hand signaling to each other. They were all concealed from the street while seated on the side of the roof ridge. His current hiding place was only tens of feet away from them. Linghu Chong slid down the wall quietly when he saw Dingjing Shi Tai coming to this area leading three disciples.

Linghu Chong thought, "This isn"t good. This is using "luring the tiger leaving the mountain" tactic. Those nuns left at the Nan An Inn will be in trouble." In the distance, he saw shadows moving hurriedly towards the Nan An Inn. What he thought before had become a reality. Suddenly he heard someone whispering, "Delay that old nun from coming over, the seven of you entertain her here." This voice came from above his head so Linghu Chong couldn"t move at all or he would be discovered. So he flattened his back on the wall and didn"t move at all. He heard Dingjing Shi Tai kicked the door open and called out, "Yihe, Yiqing, Yu Sao, do you hear me?" Her voice travelled far and then he saw her going around the house and jumping onto the roof. But she didn"t look carefully inside the house. Linghu Chong thought, "What is she doing? Why isn"t she going inside the house to have a look? Once she goes in then she"ll see the twenty one female disciples tied up on the ground." He realised immediately, "It"s actually good that she"s not going in. Those Devil Sect people are on the roof waiting for her to enter the house. Then they"ll immediately surround her from four directions. That"s like capturing a turtle in an urn."

He saw Dingjing Shi Tai going here and there realising that she didn"t know what to do. Suddenly, she went quickly towards Nan An Inn and those three disciples couldn"t keep up with her. As that happened, a lot of people turned up from the side of the street and hurled that green cloth open. Those three disciples immediately collapsed and they were dragged inside a house. With the pale light from the moon, he could blurrily see that Yilin was among those three people. Linghu Chong quickly thought, "Should I quickly go and save little martial sister Yilin?" And another thought quickly followed, "I"m only by myself and the fight will be big. The Devil Sect has captured so many of Heng-Shan School"s people. I must be careful not to harm them while I"m taking care of the Devil Sect people. I can"t fight in front of them so I must still do this in secret."

He saw Dingjing Shi Tai came out of Nan An Inn and started to scold the Devil Sect in the middle of the street. Then she went up to the roof and started scolding Dongfang Bubai. As expected, Devil Sect people couldn"t bear this anymore and seven people went up to fight her. When Linghu Chong saw this, he pondered, "Dingjing Shi Tai"s sword art is refined and deep. Even one against seven, she would be able to hold them out for some time. I"ll go save martial sister Yilin first."

His body moved like lightning entering the house. He saw a person in the main hall holding a sabre and the three disciples tied up on the ground beside him. Linghu Chong jumped forward and took out his Yaodao saber. Then using his sheathed sabre, he stabbed it towards that person"s throat. That person didn"t even react before he died. Linghu Chong was dumbfounded, "How come my sword is so fast? I just extended my hand and it already reached his throat?" He himself didn"t know that ever since he practised the Art of Essence Absorbing, the internal energies of the Peach Valley six fairies, Monk No-Commandment, and Mr. Black-White had become his own internal energy to use. His initial idea was that once he stabbed with his sabre then the enemy would raise his own sabre to block and he would then use his sheathed sabre to hit his enemy"s legs to drop him on the ground. Then he would be able to save the three martial sisters. Unexpectedly, his enemy didn"t even have time to raise his sabre before he got hit and killed.

Linghu Chong felt apologetic as he dragged the dead man away. Then he looked down, he saw that Yilin was among the three female disciples lying on the ground. He extended his hand to check her breathing and found her breathing evenly. Except for being unconscious, she was otherwise unharmed. He quickly went to the kitchen to fetch a ladle of cold water and splashed it on her face. In a little while, Yilin woke up and groaned slightly. At the beginning, she didn"t know that she was on the ground. She opened her eyes and suddenly realised what had happened. She quickly jumped up and wanted to draw her sword. But both of her hands and feet were tied up, and she fell back down.

Linghu Chong said, "Little Shi Tai, don"t be afraid. That bad person has been killed by General." He then used his sabre to cut away the ropes binding her hands and feet. In the darkness, Yilin heard his voice and it was that person "Big brother Linghu" that she had been thinking of day and night. She was alarmed and happy at the same time. She called out, "You… you are Linghu Big… " This word "brother" wasn"t said when she thought that it wasn"t right. Her whole face turned red and she quietly whispered, "Who… who are you?"

Linghu Chong heard her recognizing him and then correcting herself. He whispered, "General is here. Those small-time thieves wouldn"t dare to bully you anymore."

"Ah, so it"s General Wu. How about my… my martial uncle?" asked Yilin.

"She"s outside fighting with the enemies. Let"s go out and take a look," said Linghu Chong.

"Sister Zheng, Sister Qin…" said Yilin.

She took out from her bosom a fire stick and lighted it up. She saw her two disciple sisters lying on the ground.

She said, "En, they"re all here." She wanted to cut the ropes on their hands and feet.

But Linghu Chong said, "Don"t bother. Helping your martial uncle is more important at the moment."

Yilin said, "That"s true."

Linghu Chong turned around and went outside with Yilin following behind. They had just walked several steps when they saw those seven enemies fleeing. Then they heard the projectiles being deflected and someone praising how high Dingjing Shi Tai"s sword art is. Dingjing Shi Tai recognised that the person is from the Songshan School. Not long after that, he saw Dingjing Shi Tai following those men to go into Xian An Inn. Linghu Chong signaled to Yilin to follow him to the inn and hid outside the window to eavesdrop. They heard Dingjing Shi Tai chatting with Zhong Zhen inside the room. That person surnamed Zhong wanted Dingjing Shi Tai to agree to the merging of the Heng-Shan School first before they would help save her disciples. Linghu Chong heard him harbouring evil intentions and taking advantage of someone who was already down. He secretly felt angry. He also heard Dingjing Shi Tai getting more and more angry as Zhong Zhen said more words until she finally jumped out of the inn.

Linghu Chong waited for Dingjing Shi Tai to go a bit further before he went down and knocked on Xian An Inn"s door. He shouted, "Your granny, General wants to drink wine and sleep. Your granny shop servants, why don"t you quickly open the door?" It was just at that time that Dingjing Shi Tai had run out of ideas when she heard this general"s shout. She felt really happy and quickly went over. Yilin went up to welcome her and called out, "Martial uncle!" Dingjing Shi Tai felt even happier. She hastily asked, "Where did you go before?"

Yilin answered, "I was captured by Devil Sect demons. General rescued me…"

At this time, Linghu Chong had pushed the door open and walked in. Inside the main hall was two candles lighted up and Zhong Zhen was sitting in the middle of the hall. Zhong Zhen gloomily said, "Who"s making all those noises? Come out quickly!"

Linghu Chong scolded him, "Your granny! This is general working for the government court; you still have the guts to speak out? Shopkeeper, Boss" wife, servants, quickly come out."

Songshan School people heard him scolding and then asking for the shopkeeper and the boss" wife. It was obvious to them that he looked fierce on the outside but soft on the inside and that he was feeling afraid in his heart. They all found it funny. Zhong Zhen was still thinking about the big matter in his heart when this government dog came in the middle of the night. He quietly said, "Get rid of this chap but don"t kill him." Bright Hair Lion Gao Kexin nodded his head. He then laughed aloud and went towards Linghu Chong. He said, "So it"s granddad from the government. Pardon me for not paying respect."
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"It"s already good that you know. You people are only ordinary folks so you don"t know any rules…" said Linghu Chong.

Gao Kexin laughed, "Haha! Yes! Yes!" and in a flash, his body was in front of Linghu Chong. He extended his forefinger and stabbed it towards Linghu Chong"s waist. Linghu Chong saw where he was aiming at and he quickly concentrated his internal energy at his waist. Gao Kexin stab found Linghu Chong"s laughing acupoint. When an opponent was. .h.i.t at this point, he would laugh loudly once and would immediately lose consciousness. To his surprise, Linghu Chong just giggled once and said, "You"re not following any rules. What kind of joke are you playing with General moving your hands and feet about?" Gao Kexin was greatly surprised. But he already executed his second stab. This time he was using all of his power in his stab. Linghu Chong laughed loudly and jumped up. He laughingly scolded him, "Your granny, what are you doing rubbing general"s waist? You want to steal some silvers? Hmm, you look solemn, handsome and intelligent. But actually you"re an unlearned man."

Gao Kexin"s left hand shot out to grab Linghu Chong"s right wrist and he was going to use his right hand to fling him down to the ground. Unexpectedly, as his hand touched Linghu Chong"s wrist, his internal energy started to rush out of his body and he couldn"t stop it. He couldn"t help but be completely frightened. He wanted to shout but even when his mouth was opened wide, no sound was coming out.

Linghu Chong was aware that his opponent"s internal energy was being absorbed into his body. It was just like that day when he grabbed Mr. Black-White"s wrist. He was alarmed, "I can"t use this demonical method." He quickly flinged Gao Kexin away, breaking the contact.

Gao Kexin felt as if he had received a King"s pardon as he was stupidly thrown down. He quickly stood up but felt weak all over as if he had just recovered from a big illness. He shouted, "Art of Essence Absorbing. Art… Art of Essence Absorbing!" His shout came out as more of a hiss but it was full of fear. Zhong Zhen, Deng Bagong and the rest of the Songshan School disciples jumped up at the same time and asked, "What?" Gao Kexin stammered, "This.. this person is using art… art of Essence Absorbing."

All of a sudden the room was filled with lights flickering off swords as everyone drew their long swords out from their scabbards while Divine Whip Deng Bagong held a whip in his hand. Zhong Zhen"s sword art was the fastest. Under the trembling cold light of the room, the reflective light of his sword had already pierced Linghu Chong"s throat. When that Gao Kexin shouted, Linghu Chong already antic.i.p.ated that Songshan School people would immediately gang up on him and they were now thrusting their swords towards him. But as they were pulling their swords out, Linghu Chong also pulled his Yaodao sabre along with its sheath out from his waist and used it like a long sword. His hand shook lightly and the back of everyone"s hand was. .h.i.t and "qiang lang" sounds were heard. The "qiang lang" noise had not stopped yet when all the swords were dropped on the ground. Zhong Zhen"s martial art was the highest, even though the back of his hand had been hit by Linghu Chong"s scabbard, he still managed to hold on to it. He was frightened and jumped back. Deng Bagong was distressed and let go of the whip"s handle, which made the whip lashed up and wrapped around his neck restricting him from drawing any breath.

Zhong Zhen was leaning his back against the wall and his face had lost all colour. "A well known in Jiang Hu. Devil Sect"s Chief Ren resurfaces. You… you… you are Chief Ren… are you Ren Woxing?"

Linghu Chong laughed, "Your granny, what Ren Woxing, Ren Nixing, General won"t change his surname and won"t change his name either. My surname is Wu, my name is Tiande. From which mound did you come from? Are you that whatever Zai"s small time thieves?"

(Translator"s note: Ren Woxing: the Wo in his name mean I, Ren Nixing: the Ni in this name means You.)

Zhong Zhen clasped both his hands, "Sir, you have re-entered Jiang Hu. Zhong knows that I"m not your match so I"m going." He jumped through the window to get out. Gao Kexin followed him and jumped out the window too. Then one by one, they all jumped out through the window. Although the floor was full of long swords, none of them dared to take any of them. Linghu Chong"s left hand was now holding the scabbard while his right hand was holding the sabre"s handle. He then used his strength to pull on the handle a few times but that sabre never came out from its sheath. He said, "The rust on this treasured sabre is really bad. I should look for a grindstone and sharpen it."

Dingjing Shi Tai clasped her hands and asked, "General Wu, how do we save my disciples?" Linghu Chong expected that as soon as Zhong Zhen and his people went away, no one would be able to match Dingjing Shi Tai"s divine sword. He replied, "General wants to drink a few bowls of wine here. Old Shi Tai, do you want to drink wine too?" When Yilin heard him talking about drinking wine again, she thought, "If this general meets with big brother Linghu, they would certainly become drinking buddies." As she took a peep at him, she saw that the general was staring at her. Her face turned slightly red and she lowered her head. Dingjing Shi Tai said, "Forgive me. Poor nun doesn"t drink wine. General, I won"t accompany you!" She clasped her hands again and then turned around to leave. Yilin followed her out but when she reached the door, she couldn"t help but to take another look at him. She saw him looking for wine and calling out in a loud voice, "Your granny, all the people in the inn have all disappeared. How come those servants are still not coming out." She thought, "His voice sounds similar to big brother Linghu"s but whenever this general speaks, he"s very vulgar. Every sentence he has to mention his whatever. Big brother Linghu isn"t like that at all. His martial art is also much higher compared to big brother Linghu. I… I must be imagining things… Ai, must be… "

Linghu Chong had finally found some wine and he immediately gulped it down. He thought, "When these nuns, grannies and ladies come back, they"ll talk non-stop and I"ll have to endure it for sure. It"s better if I just run away before then. Saving these people would take around an hour and my tummy would be very hungry by that time. It"s better if I find something to eat first."

After he finished a pot of wine, he went to the kitchen looking for something to eat. Suddenly, he heard from somewhere far away, Yilin sharply shouting, "Martial uncle, martial uncle, where are you?" She sounded frightened.

Linghu Chong hurriedly rushed out of the inn and followed the voice. When he got there, he saw Yilin and two young ladies standing on the street. They were calling out, "Martial uncle, master!"

Linghu Chong asked, "What happened?"

Yilin answered, "I went to wake martial sister Zheng and martial sister Qin. Martial uncle was concerned about the other martial sisters so she went ahead to rescue them. But when we got out, maybe… we don"t know where she has gone to." Linghu Chong saw that Zheng E was around twenty one two years old while Qin Juan was even younger, looking like fifteen sixteen years old. He thought, "I haven"t seen these young ladies before. What"s Heng-Shan School doing sending them out to come here?"

He smiled, "I know where they are. Come with me!"

He walked quickly to the northeast towards the house where the disciples were captured earlier. When he arrived at the house with the broken door, he was afraid that the woman with the confusing drugs was still inside ready to ambush them. He said, "Use your handkerchiefs to cover your mouth and nose. There"s a smelly granny inside who releases poison." He pinched his nose using his left hand and shut his lips tightly. Then he rushed into the house. When he reached the main hall, he was dumbfounded.

Previously, the main hall was full of Heng-Shan School female disciples. But now, there wasn"t a single trace of them. He was surprised. There was a candle lighting up the hall but the hall was totally empty. Where did they go? He searched every room in the house but found nothing unusual. He called out, "There"s something strange here!"

Yilin, Zheng E, and Qin Juan eyes were wide open looking at him, their faces full of doubt. Linghu Chong said, "Your granny, your martial sisters were right here. An old granny had poisoned them all. Then they were tied up right here. How come they"re all gone now?"

Zheng E asked, "General Wu, when you saw our martial sisters being poisoned, was it really here?"

Linghu Chong answered, "Last night, when I was sleeping, I had a dream. I saw with my eyes many old nuns, about seven or eight of them lying right here. How can it be wrong?"

Zheng E said, "You… you…"

She wanted to say that it was his dream so how can it be accurate? But she knew that he liked to speak nonsense. He said that it was a dream but he probably saw it with his own eyes so she quickly corrected herself, "Where do you think they"ve all gone to?"

Linghu Chong hummed deeply, "I"m not sure where we can find big fishes and big meat. I think they"ve all gone to have a feast. Or maybe the place where there"s opera; they"re watching opera."

He moved his hands around and continued, "You three are small girls. So it"s better if you stay close behind me. If you want to eat meat or watch opera, we"ll do it later."

Although Qin Juan was still young, she knew the situation was really dangerous. Her other martial sisters had all fallen into enemy"s hands. While this general blindly said some nice words, she knew they were all not true. Tens of Heng-Shan School disciples had gone out but now only the three of them remained. Except for listening to this general"s order, she had no other option. She followed the general outside along with Yilin and Zheng E. Linghu Chong was talking to himself, "Could it be that I saw the wrong people in my dream last night? Tonight, I won"t be able to have such a good dream again." But in his heart, he was thinking, "The other female disciples must"ve been moved away. But how come Dingjing Shi Tai had also disappeared? I"m afraid she might have met the enemy by herself and chased them. Hmm… It wouldn"t be appropriate to leave Yilin and these two in Nianbapu town, I"d better take them along." He said, "We don"t have anything to do right now. Why don"t we go and look for your martial uncle and see where she"s playing? What do you think?"

Zheng E answered, "That"s extremely good! General"s martial art is high and your experience is vast. If General doesn"t lead the three of us in looking for martial uncle then I"m afraid it would be very difficult for us to find them."

Linghu Chong laughed, ""Martial art is high and experience is vast", you"re not wrong in saying these eight words. In the future, when General hangs up his command and got a promotion and got rich, then I"ll send the three of you one hundred, two hundred shining silver taels to buy clothes to wear."

As he was talking non-stop, they"ve reached the edge of Nianbapu town. He then jumped onto a roof and looked at the four directions. At this time, the morning sun was already above the horizon, the white fog filled the air, and above the treetops the sky was cloudy. He gazed far but there was no one on the two main roads. Suddenly, he saw an object on the main road to the south. He couldn"t see clearly what it was because of the distance. But when the whole road was empty and an item was in the middle of the street like this, then it would definitely catch the attention of your eyes. He jumped down from the roof and quickly went to where that object was. Once he got there, he picked it up. It was a female shoe. Apparently it was identical to the one Yilin was wearing. He waited for Yilin and the other two girls to arrive. He gave the shoe to Yilin and asked, "Is this your shoe? How come it"s here?" Yilin received the shoe and realised it was the same type of shoe that she was wearing. She couldn"t help but check her feet and saw that she was still wearing her shoes.

Zheng E said, "This… this is the shoe that our martial sisters wear. How did it end up here?"

Qin Juan said, "It must be one of the martial sisters who were captured by the enemy. She must"ve struggled here and dropped her shoe."

Zheng E replied, "Or she deliberately left the shoe behind to let us know."

Linghu Chong said, "Correct. Your martial art is high and your experience is vast. Should we go chase to the south or to the north?"

Zheng E answered, "Of course to the south."

Linghu Chong quickly started running to the south. At the beginning, the distance between him and the three girls wasn"t that far. But as he went on, the distance became really far. Linghu Chong looked carefully along the road and he frequently looked back to watch the three ladies. He was afraid that he might get too far and wouldn"t be able to help them if needed. So he waited for them to catch up to him before he ran again. They had gone for more than ten li in this manner when he saw that the road in front was rugged. There were a lot of trees on both sides providing a lot of places for enemies to hide in. If Yilin was captured while they were on these parts of the road, he wouldn"t be able to save her. After a long time, he saw Qin Juan running towards him. Both of her cheeks were really red. He knew that she was still young and couldn"t run for long distances. He decided to let them walk slowly for the moment. He said loudly, "Your granny, if we keep running that fast then General"s leather boots will be worn through to the bottom. Can"t let this happen. Why don"t we just go slowly?" After walking for around seven to eight li, Qin Juan suddenly shouted, "Yi!" She crouched besides a shrub on the side and picked up a cap. It was the cap that Heng-Shan School"s people wear.

Zheng E said, "General, it"s one of our martial sisters" cap. They must"ve gone through this road."

The three girls quickly continued walking. They were going faster as they went. Linghu Chong was now behind them.

At noon, the four of them found a restaurant on the road. The shop owner saw a general with a nun and two young girls with him. He was really surprised and repeatedly hit the sides of his head. Linghu Chong slapped the table and scolded, "Your granny, what are you looking at? You"ve never seen monks and nuns before?"

That man said, "Yes, yes. I don"t dare."

Zheng E asked, "Uncle, have you seen a few nuns pa.s.sing by here?"

The man said, "I haven"t seen a few nuns but I"ve seen one. One old Shi Tai pa.s.sed by here. She was much older compared to this young Shi Tai here…"

Linghu Chong shouted, "You talk too much! One old Shi Tai, then how could her age be younger than this little Shi Tai?"

That man said, "Yes, yes."

Zheng E impatiently asked, "What happened to that old Shi Tai?"

The man answered, "That old Shi Tai hastily asked me whether I"ve seen a few nuns pa.s.sing by this road. I said no and she just went. Ai, she"s already old but she was still running really fast. She was also holding a sword in her hand. She looked like she was going to play a part in an opera."

Qin Juan clapped her hands and said, "That must be Master. Let"s go quickly and chase her."

Linghu Chong said, "Don"t rush. We"ll eat first."

The four people hastily eat their meals. Just before they left, Qin Juan bought four steamed rolls. She said she was giving it to Master to eat. Linghu Chong"s heart turned sour, "She"s very filial towards her master. But for me, I can"t even be filial to my master."

They chased until the sky became dark. But they had not seen a trace of either Dingjing Shi Tai or the Heng-Shan School"s disciples. They kept an eye on the field with thick long gra.s.s while the street was getting narrower as they went. As they went further, the long gra.s.s was up to their waist and they weren"t able to see the road anymore.

Suddenly, they heard some sounds of fighting coming from the northwest. Linghu Chong called out, "There"s some fighting going on there. Let"s take a look."

Qin Juan said, "Ai yo, maybe it"s my Master?"

Linghu Chong went to the direction of the noise. After going for several hundred feet, the surrounding area was suddenly bright. They saw tens of tall fire sticks around the area and the sounds of fighting got noisier.

He quickened his steps as he got near to the area. Then he saw tens of people holding the fire sticks in a circle. Inside that circle was a person with her big sleeve flitting about and her long sword slashing around. It was Dingjing Shi Tai. Outside the circle were tens of people lying down on ground. With one look at their clothes, he knew that it was Heng-Shan School"s female disciples. Linghu Chong saw that those people holding the fire sticks were wearing masks on their faces. He walked nearer to the circle step by step. At the moment, every person there had his attention on the fight and no one saw him coming nearer. Linghu Chong laughed loudly and shouted, "Seven against one, that"s shameful."

All those people with their faces covered were surprised to suddenly see him appear out of nowhere. They all turned their heads around to look at him. Only the seven people surrounding Dingjing Shi Tai didn"t hear him and they kept on fighting. All of them were attacking her upper body. Linghu Chong saw on Dingjing Shi Tai"s gown some splotches of fresh blood. He also saw blood splashed on her face. She was using her left hand to hold her sword. Obviously, her right hand had been injured.

At this time, someone shouted, "Who are you?" As a man jumped in front of Linghu Chong with both of his hands shaped in a knife form.

Linghu Chong shouted, "General has been going everywhere non stop but everyday I have to meet you small time thieves. Let"s exchange names, General"s sabre here doesn"t chop nameless people."

A man laughed, "So it"s this muddled person." as he slashed his sword to chop Linghu Chong"s leg off.

Linghu Chong shouted, "Ai yo, you"re really using your sabre?" His body swayed as he charged into their group with his sheathed sabre up. Seven continuous "Pa, pa, pa" was heard as seven people wrists were hit. Seven weapons fell on the ground one after another. A "ci" sound was heard as Dingjing Shi Tai"s sword pierced into an enemy"s chest. That person was startled as he couldn"t avoid Dingjing Shi Tai"s lightning fast sword. Dingjing Shi Tai swayed a few times and as her legs couldn"t support her anymore, she sat on the ground.

Qin Juan screamed, "Master, master." as she went towards her master to support her.

One of the masked men lifted his sabre and put it on a Heng-Shan School"s disciple"s neck. He shouted, "Retreat three steps, if you don"t do as I say, I"ll kill this woman first."

Linghu Chong laughed, "Very good, very good. If you want us to retreat, then we"ll retreat. What"s so strange about that? Don"t say three steps, even thirty steps is ok."

Suddenly he thrust his Yaodao sabre towards him and the point of the scabbard hit his chest. That person cried out "Ai yo" as his body flew away. Linghu Chong was dumbfounded as he didn"t expect that his internal energy would be so strong. He again wielded his sheathed sabre as he hit three more masked men and shouted, "You"re still not retreating? I"m going to capture you one by one and have you sent to the government here. Everyone will get thirty planks."

The leader of those masked men saw that his martial art was high and was really amazing. He clasped his hand and said, "We respect Chief Ren"s good name. We"ll back down." He waved his left hand and shouted again, "Devil Sect"s Chief Ren is here. Everyone be tactful, let"s go." They lifted the corpse and the four people who were hit before. They also threw the fire sticks down and retreated towards the northwest. In a short while, they were all gone from the field. Qin Juan took out Heng-Shan School"s medicine to apply to her master"s wounds. While Yilin and Zheng E untied their martial sisters" hands and feet. Four disciples then took up the fire sticks and gathered around Dingjing Shi Tai. Everyone saw that her injuries were serious and all their faces had a worried expression. They all kept silent. Dingjing Shi Tai"s chest was continuously going up and down. She slowly opened her eyes and asked Linghu Chong, "You… you… are really the past… Devil Sect"s…. Chief Ren…. Woxing?"

Linghu Chong shook his head, "No."

Dingjing Shi Tai"s eyes were losing its liveliness. She was expelling a lot of air but inhaling very little air. It was obvious that she was having great difficulty breathing. She gasped a few times and suddenly in a fierce voice said, "If you"re Ren Woxing, even if my Heng-Shan School is defeated to the ground and be… be destroyed. Please don"t… don"t.." As she said till here, she couldn"t draw her breath. Linghu Chong saw that her life was in danger and didn"t dare to talk nonsense anymore. He said, "I"m still young, how can I be Ren Woxing?"

Dingjing Shi Tai asked, "Then how come you know…. know that art of Essence Absorbing? You"re Ren Woxing"s disciple…" Linghu Chong remembered the day he was still at Huashan when Master and Master-wife mentioned Devil Sect many evils. These past two days, he had seen with his own eyes the methods that Devil Sect employed to attack Heng-Shan School. He said, "The Devil Sect has committed many evil acts. How can we still make friends with them? That Ren Woxing isn"t my master. Shi Tai, don"t worry. My master is a benevolent and kind man. He"s heroic and upright. In Wulin, he"s looked up by everyone and considered to be a senior hero. Shi Tai has many relations with him."

Dingjing Shi Tai"s face revealed a smiling expression. She said, "Then… then I won"t worry anymore. I… I won"t make it. I want to bother General to bring Heng-Shan School"s…. disciples…. to… to… " Her breathing hurried while she talked. After a moment, she said, "Bring them to Fuzhou"s Wuxiang Temple … help them settle down, my school"s martial sisters… in a few days… they would arrive."

Linghu Chong said, "Shi Tai, don"t worry. Just rest for a few days and you"ll recover."

Dingjing Shi Tai asked, "Do you agree?"

Linghu Chong saw her two eyes looking at him full of hope and her face was hoping for him to agree. She was afraid that he might not agree to her request. He said, "I will definitely do Shi Tai"s request."

Dingjing Shi Tai smiled, "Amituofo, I"ve been relieved of this burden. I"m not to be admired. Young hero… who are you really?"

Linghu Chong saw her eyes were unfocused and her breath was very shallow. Her life wasn"t long anymore. He couldn"t conceal it anymore from her so he put his mouth to her ear and said, "Shi Tai martial uncle, I am Huashan School"s ex-disciple Linghu Chong."

Dingjing Shi Tai let out an "ah" and said, "You…. you… Thank you, young hero," and held his hand, her eyes filled with grat.i.tude. She couldn"t draw a breath anymore and her breathing stopped. (Translator"s note: this is a 3rd edition addition. I added this from Athena"s post.)

Linghu Chong called out, "Shi Tai, Shi Tai," as he checked her breath. But she had stopped breathing. He couldn"t help but feel mournful. Heng-Shan School"s disciples started weeping wildly. The fire sticks were dropped onto the ground and one by one, they were extinguished. All around them became really dark. Linghu Chong thought, "Dingjing Shi Tai was considered to be her generation"s expert in martial art. But by accident, she had lost her life tonight in this wilderness. She was only an old nun without anyone else to help her here. Can"t the Devil Sect just let her go?"

Suddenly, he thought aloud, "When that masked men"s leader went, he said: "Devil Sect"s Chief Ren is here. Everyone be tactful, let"s go." Devil Sect"s real name is "Sun Moon Sect" and when they hear these two words "Devil Sect", they would feel really insulted. They often kill people who call their sect "Devil Sect". So why did this person call his own sect "Devil Sect"? Since he used the term "Devil Sect", he must not be from the Devil Sect. So, what"s the real origin of this person?" He heard the disciples sorrowfully crying so he didn"t disturb them. He leaned on a tree and slept.

When he woke up in the morning, he saw a few senior disciples standing guard besides Dingjing Shi Tai"s corpse while the young ladies and nuns slept beside him. Linghu Chong thought, "This General has to take these women to Fuzhou. It"ll look really odd and strange, neither fish nor fowl. I also need to go to Fuzhou to look for Master and Master-wife. I don"t need to lead them, just protecting them will do."

He coughed and was just about to go when Yihe, Yiqing, Yizhi, and Yizhen quickly went and clasped their hands to him and said, "Poor nuns were rescued by Hero, thanks to Hero"s virtue and kindness. There"s nothing we wouldn"t do to repay Hero"s kindness. Martial uncle had met great misfortune and in her last breath entrusted us to Hero. We"re waiting for Hero to give orders for us to follow."

They no longer called him General as they believed that this General was a brave person. Linghu Chong said, "What hero? This is not good to hear. When you look at me, just call me General."

Yihe looked at the other disciples and then they all nodded their heads. Linghu Chong said, "Last night I had a dream. In that dream, I saw an old granny poisoned all of you and that you were all lying down inside a big house. How did you all get here?"

Yihe answered, "We didn"t know what happened after we were poisoned and fell unconscious. They splashed cold water to wake us all up later. They released the binds on our feet and led us out from the city through a small road. We didn"t stop on the road as they kept pulling us trying to hurry. When we walked a bit slow, those thieves whipped us. Even when night fell, we still didn"t stop. Then martial uncle caught up with us. They surrounded her telling her to surrender…" When her narrative arrived at this point, she choked and tears started to drop again.

Linghu Chong said, "So there"s another small road besides the main one. No wonder we couldn"t find any trace of you at all."

Yiqing said, "General, our most important matter right now is to cremate martial uncle"s remains. Could you please show us how to do it?"

Linghu Chong shook his head, "General doesn"t know anything about the matters of monks or nuns. It"d be like a blind person leading if you want me to guide you. The most important matter is for General to get his promotion. I"d better go!" He quickly took large strides and headed towards the north.

The female disciples shouted, "General, General!"

How could Linghu Chong pay attention to them? When he went around a hillside, he went up a tree. He waited up there for around four hours before he saw the Heng-Shan School disciples walked past in sorrow. He followed behind them from far away, secretly protecting them.

When Linghu Chong arrived at an inn in a small town, he thought, "I"ve already clashed with the Devil Sect and Songshan School groups. This Quanzhou"s General Wu Tiande must have a bit of reputation by now. Your granny, this disguise as a general isn"t that good anymore." He called the inn"s servant and gave him two silver taels to buy him clothes, shoes and cap to remodel his disguise. He told him that he was handling a case to catch thieves so the servant wouldn"t tell anyone about what"s he"s doing and that if the thieves escaped to the ocean then he would come back and arrest the servant instead.

Later, he arrived at a calm and secluded place. He pulled his fine thick beard off and took off his general"s clothes, leather boots, Yaodao sabre, and the government doc.u.ments. He then changed into the set the inn"s servant brought him. He buried the all of the previous disguise in a big hole. From now on, he couldn"t be called "General" anymore. As he finished changing into his new disguise, he felt a slight melancholy missing the General character already.

Two days later, he bought a long sword from a weapon shop in Jianning prefecture and put it in his bundle. He again felt happy that he had no other matters. Linghu Chong then observed the Heng-Shan School"s nuns entered Fuzhou"s wall to enter a monestary. The board in front of the monastery said, "Wuxiang Temple". He sighed and thought, "This burden has been released from my shoulder. Although I promised Dingjing Shi Tai to bring them here, I didn"t really bring them here. But they already arrived here safely so I"ve already fulfilled my promise."