The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

People in the hall started applauding and cheering. Only Yu Canghai gave a disgruntled snort and scoffed, "A rascal playing unscrupulous tricks with the rapist Tian Boguang; what an embarra.s.sment to all decent schools!"

"What kind of c.r.a.p is that?" Dingyi said angrily. "A true man fights with his brain, not his muscles. I did not see any one in your Qingcheng Sword School act so bravely." Hearing from Yilin about how Linghu Chong had saved the Heng-Shan Sword School"s reputation with no regard to his own safety, she felt very thankful deep in her heart, and had already disregarded all negative thoughts about Linghu Chong.

Yu Canghai snorted. "What a wonderful crawling young hero!"

"Your Qingcheng Sword School…!" Dingyi started yelling when Liu Zhengfeng cut her short, afraid to see conflict between them again.

"Nephew apprentice, did Tian Boguang admit his defeat?" he asked Yilin.

"Tian Boguang stood there staring blankly at the floor and could not make up his mind," Yilin went on.

""Little apprentice sister of the Heng-Shan Sword School, you can come down now," big brother Linghu shouted. "Congratulations for getting a first-cla.s.s apprentice!" It turned out that he already knew I was sneaking about on the roof.

"Tian Boguang is a bad man, but he does keep his word. He could have just stepped up and killed big brother Linghu easily with a single blow, and then turned around to catch me, but he simply shouted out, "Little nun, listen up! If you ever dare see me again, I will finish you off with a single chop."

"I never wanted to have the villain as my apprentice in the first place, so his words were like music to my ears. Tian Boguang shoved his knife back to its sheath, and then stormed out of the wine house. I then jumped down into the wine house, helped big brother Linghu up, and took out the "Heavenly Connecting Glue" to put on his wounds. After counting the wounds, I found up to thirteen different ones on his body…."

"Sister Dingyi, congratulations!" Yu Canghai suddenly cut in.

"Congratulation for what?" Dingyi gave him a hard stare.

"Congratulations for getting such a reputable and master-level new grand-apprentice!"

Dingyi was enraged. She struck the table heavily and stood up.

"Master Yu, you"re at fault this time. How can we Taoists make such silly jokes?" Priest Tianmen cut in.

Knowing that first of all, he was in the wrong, and secondly, Priest Tianmen would be a tough opponent, Yu Canghai turned his head away and pretended not to hear anything.

Yilin continued, "I finished dressing big brother Linghu"s wounds and then helped him up to sit on the chair. Big brother Linghu was breathing very heavily. "Would you please pour a bowl of wine for me?" he requested. I poured the wine and handed him the bowl. Then footsteps came from the stairway, and two men walked in. He was one of the two." She pointed at the Qingcheng apprentice who had carried Luo Renjie"s body in a while ago. Then she said, "The other one was the villain Luo Renjie. They looked at me and then looked at big brother Linghu and then looked back at me with very impolite stares."

The listeners all thought: when Luo Renjie and his companion saw blood-covered Linghu Chong sitting together with a beautiful nun in the wine house, and the little nun was pouring wine for him, they would certainly feel very awkward. Then staring impolitely would not be an unusual reaction.

Yilin kept on telling the story. "Big brother Linghu glanced at Luo Renjie and then asked, "Apprentice sister, do you know what Kung Fu the Qingcheng Sword School is best at?"

""I don"t know. I heard that the Qingcheng Sword School has many good Kung Fu skills," I replied.

""Correct!" big brother Linghu said. "The Qingcheng Sword School has many good Kung Fu skills. But the best one, hha, I"d better not mention it to avoid conflict." Then he gave Luo Renjie a stare back.

"Hearing his words, Luo Renjie rushed forward. "Which one is the best one? Spit it out!" he yelled.

""I didn"t want to say it," big brother Linghu smirked. "But you really want me to say it, right? It"s a move called "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand"."

"Luo Renjie struck the table with his palm and bellowed, "Nonsense! What is "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand"? I"ve never heard of it!"

""This is the very special skill of your respectful school, how can you not have heard about it?" big brother Linghu chuckled. "Turn around, I"ll show you the move."

"Luo Renjie started swearing at big brother Linghu and suddenly threw a punch at him. Big brother Linghu tried to stand up and dodge it, but because he had lost too much blood and did not have much strength to move, he tumbled and then sat back down on the chair. The punch landed squarely on his nose. Blood immediately started running. Luo Renjie punched him again and I hurriedly blocked his fist away with my hand.

""Don"t hit him!" I demanded. "Can"t you see he is badly wounded? Bullying a badly wounded man, what kind of a man are you?"

"Luo Renjie scolded, "Ha, this little nun thinks this rascal is so handsome and has fallen for him! Get away. If you don"t, I"ll beat you up too."

""If you dare to hit me, I"ll tell your Master Yu." I threatened.

""Hha, you didn"t follow your nun rules and violated the moral prohibitions; anyone can punish you," Luo said. Master, wasn"t he wronging innocent people?

"He poked his left hand toward me. I tried to block it, but didn"t notice it was a feint. Then his right hand suddenly stretched out and pinched my left cheek. He began to laugh loudly. I was very angry and fought back with three palm heel strikes, but he dodged them all.

""Apprentice sister," big brother Linghu called me. "Don"t fight him. Let me get my breathing going, then I"ll be just fine." I turned to look at him; his face was so pale.

"Luo Renjie ran to him and punched at him again. Big brother Linghu deflected Luo"s punch with his left palm and redirected it, which turned Luo"s own body around, and then he threw a kick and it landed right on his…his rear end. The kick was quick and accurate, swift and smooth. Luo Renjie could not keep his balance and rolled all the way down the stairs.

""Apprentice sister," big brother Linghu whispered to me. "This is their Qingcheng Sword School"s best move called "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand." b.u.m b.u.m back is where they get ready to be kicked, then geese landing…landing…in sand. Don"t you think it was an accurate description?"

"I wanted to laugh, but I became really worried when I saw his face getting paler and paler. "Take a rest, and don"t talk," I said. Blood gushed out from his wounds again, obviously because he used too much strength when he threw the kick and the wounds were open again.

"Luo Renjie rushed back immediately, after rolling down the staircase, with a sword in his hand this time. "You are Huashan Linghu Chong, aren"t you?" he yelled.

"Big brother Linghu grinned. "You are already the third master of your respectful school who used this "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand" on me. No wonder…no wonder…." He started to cough badly. Fearing that Luo Renjie might harm him, I drew my sword and stood by his side, guarding him.

"Luo Renjie turned to his fellow apprentice. "Junior apprentice Li, you deal with this little nun," he commanded. The Li villain answered and unsheathed his sword to attack me.

"While defending myself with my sword, I saw Luo Renjie thrusting his sword again and again at big brother Linghu, and big brother Linghu could hardly raise his sword to fend him off. He was really in great danger. After several rounds, big brother Linghu"s sword fell down to the floor. Luo Renjie thrust his sword out, and placed the point of his sword at big brother Linghu"s chest and smirked, "If you call me Grandfather of Qingcheng three times, I"ll spare your life."

""Sure, I will! I will!" big brother Linghu smiled. "After I call you that, are you going to teach me your school"s famous b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing…?" Before he could even finish this sentence, Luo Renjie the villain pushed his sword forward and stabbed the sword into big brother Linghu"s chest. The villain was so ruthless…!"

Crystal teardrops began pouring down her face. She continued her story while sobbing, "I…I…I saw what happened and rushed to stop him, but his sword had already penetrated…penetrated big brother Linghu"s chest." Everyone in the hall fell into silence.

Yu Canghai felt that all the looks directed toward him were full of disdain and anger. "Are you sure about your story?" he asked. "If, as you said, Luo Renjie had already killed Linghu Chong, how did Luo Renjie die from his sword?"

"After big brother Linghu was stabbed," Yilin said, "he squeezed out a smile and whispered to me, "Little apprentice sister, I…I have an important secret to tell you. The Fortune…Fortune Prestige Escort House"s Evil-Resisting…Evil-Resisting Sword Art Ma.n.u.script is at…at…." His voice became lower and lower, and I could hardly hear him, only saw his lips moving…."

Yu Canghai was shocked at the words "Fortune Prestige Escort House"s Evil-Resisting Sword Art Ma.n.u.script." He anxiously began to ask, "At…?" He was going to say "at where," but then he realized it would be very bad to ask the question in front of so many people, so he swallowed his words right away, yet his heart thumped harder and harder, hoping the young, inexperienced Yilin would say it out loud. Otherwise, when Sister Dingyi asked for details later and learned all the important connections, she would never let him know the secret.

"Luo Renjie seemed to be very concerned about that sword art ma.n.u.script," Yilin said. "He walked closer and bent over to listen to what big brother Linghu was saying about the location of the sword art ma.n.u.script. Suddenly, big brother Linghu raised the sword he dropped on the floor, and pushed the sword into Luo Renjie"s lower abdomen. The villain fell on his back. His limbs twitched a couple of times, but he could no longer stand up. It turned out…turned out… big brother Linghu fooled him into coming closer, so he could kill him for revenge."

After having finished retelling the past events, she could no longer handle the stress. She swayed back and forth a little and then fainted. Dingyi extended her arm to support her while glaring at Yu Canghai angrily.

All the listeners stayed silent and tried to imagine the epic fight in the Huiyan Wine House. Compared to masters like Priest Tianmen, Liu Zhengfeng, Mr. Wen, He Sanqi and others, the skills of those like Linghu Chong or Luo Renjie were nothing special, but the entire event was so astounding and brutal. It was very rare for something like this to occur in the Martial World, especially when told by such a pure and pretty young nun, obviously there was no exaggeration.

"Mr. Li, you were there. So did you see the whole thing?" Liu Zhengfeng asked the Qingcheng apprentice named Li.

The Li-named apprentice did not answer, just looked at Yu Canghai. Seeing the expression on his face, all knew that the whole thing happened exactly as it was told. If Yilin had said a word that was not factual, he would have argued.

Yu Canghai turned to stare at Lao Denuo with a livid face. "Nephew apprentice Lao," he asked coldly, "What on earth did we, the Qingcheng Sword School, do that have offended your respectful school so much, that your senior apprentice brother would provoke trouble over and over with the apprentices of my Qingcheng Sword School?"

"I don"t know." Lao Denuo shook his head. "It seems to be a personal conflict between senior brother Linghu and apprentice brother Luo of your respectful school. It has nothing to do with the relationship between the Qingcheng Sword School and the Huashan Sword School."

Yu Canghai sneered. "Has nothing to do, indeed! You really know how to clear things up…." He hadn"t even finished his words, when suddenly with a loud "crack," the west window burst open and a man flew in. Most of the people in the hall were masters and reacted quickly by dodging to the side, ready to defend themselves. Before anyone had the chance to actually take a good look at the man who had flown in, there was a second loud "crack," and another person flew in. The two men landed on the floor face down and just lay there still. Both were in long purple robes, the type of uniform worn by members of the Qingcheng Sword School. On the seat of their pants, each had the very clear imprint of a muddy foot. A husky old voice spoke loudly outside of the window tauntingly, ""b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand!" Hha! Hha!"

Without any hesitation, Yu Canghai struck a palm stance toward the direction where the voice had originated and jumped out the window to give chase. Pushing the window frame slightly using his left hand to get a start, he jumped onto the roof. Standing, he looked in all directions, but all he could see was the dark night sky with a shower falling down like a hanging curtain. There was no sign of anyone. He quickly concluded that it was impossible for anyone to vanish in such a short time. Therefore, the intruder was hiding close by. Knowing that the man must be a formidable opponent to deal with, he drew his long sword and quickly searched all around the House of Liu.

Priest Tianmen stayed in his seat concerned about his dignity, but Sister Dingyi, He Sanqi, Mr. Wen, Liu Zhengfeng, and Lao Denuo all jumped up onto the roof. They could see the short Taoist priest running about holding a sword. The flash of his sword took the appearance of a beam of white light, and flew around the dozens of houses at a magnificent speed. All inwardly praised the high level of Yu Canghai"s Qing-Gong skills.

Yu Canghai dashed about rapidly; none of the corners, trees, or bushes escaped from his searching eyes, but he found nothing abnormal. He jumped back into the hall. The two apprentices were still lying on the floor. In his mind, the clear footprints on their backsides turned into hundreds of laughing faces of people in the Martial World, mocking the Qingcheng Sword School for losing face. Yu Canghai turned one apprentice over and recognized him as apprentice Shen Renjun. He didn"t have to turn the other one over; the beard clearly showed that it was the one who always hung out with Shen Renjun – Ji Rentong. Yu Canghai struck the pressure points next to Shen Renjun"s ribs twice, and then asked, "Who did this to you?"

Shen Renjun opened his mouth, but nothing came out of his mouth. Yu Canghai was startled. When he struck Shen Renjun, he pretended to be doing something very easy, since so many first-cla.s.s masters were watching. However, he had actually used a type of Qingcheng high-level inner energy. Despite this, Shen Renjun"s pressure points remained sealed, which left him no other option. He had to gather all his inner energy and start pa.s.sing it to Shen Renjun through the Ling-Tai point on his back.

After quite a while, Shen Renjun was finally able to speak with a stuttering voice, "Mast…Master!" Yu Canghai did not answer and kept pa.s.sing more energy through the pressure point. "I…I did not see who that was." Shen Renjun croaked.

"How were you tricked?" Yu Canghai asked.

"Fellow apprentice Ji and I went outside to take a leak. I just felt numbness on my back, and then fell into that son of a turtle"s hands." Shen Renjun said.

Yu Canghai straightened his face. "He is a first-cla.s.s master. Show some respect."

"Yes, Master." Shen Renjun stammered.

Yu Canghai simply could not figure out where the enemy could possibly have come from. He raised his head and saw the indifferent face of Priest Tianmen. It seemed that he did not care about what had happened at all. Yu Canghai thought to himself, "The members of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance claim to be "same root different branches." But since Renjie killed Linghu Chong, it looks like even Tianmen is blaming me for that." Suddenly he realized that the hidden enemy was most likely still in the Great Hall, so he signaled Shen Renjun to follow him and then quickly walked into the Great Hall.

People in the hall were still chatting and making wild conjectures as to who had killed the apprentice of the Taishan Sword School and the apprentice of the Qingcheng Sword School. When they saw Yu Canghai coming in, some recognized him as the Master of Qingcheng Sword School. For the ones who did not know him at all, even though all they saw was a short man, the way he walked and behaved clearly showed the dignity of a great master. So soon, they all stopped talking. Silence took over the entire hall. Yu Canghai looked through the crowd closely, person by person. Most of the people in the hall belonged to the junior generation in the Martial World. Although he did not know many of them, by each one"s apparel, he could determine which school they belonged to. He knew that no one from the junior generation of any school could be such a master with great inner energy. If this person were really in the hall, he must look somehow different from the others. He looked and looked, one after another, when suddenly, his sharp gaze picked out a man.

This man had a very ugly face. The very muscles on his face seemed to have been twisted by some kind of evil magical force. Several pieces of plaster were spread across his face, and a big hump stood out from his back.

Yu Canghai could not contain his surprise when he suddenly thought of the man"s ident.i.ty. "Could it be him?" he asked himself. The "Hunchback of the North," Mu Gaofeng, always hung around the northern border, and seldom showed up in the central region. He had no connection with the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. Why would he show up in Liu Zhengfeng"s hand-washing ceremony? But if it were not he, Yu Canghai could think of no other ugly hunchbacks in the Martial World.

The other people in the hall followed Yu Canghai"s gaze and saw the hunchback. Several older members of the crowd, who knew much about the Martial World, let out cries of surprise. Liu Zhengfeng rushed toward the hunchback and greeted him, "I didn"t realize that your honor had come, and did not serve you in good manner, please pardon me."

In actuality, the hunchback was n.o.body famous. He was none other than the young master of the Fortune Prestige Escort House – Lin Pingzhi. Afraid of being recognized by the others, he had kept his head down the entire time and stayed in a corner of the Great Hall. If Yu Canghai had not searched very carefully, n.o.body would have ever noticed him. But now that everybody"s eyes were fixed on him, Lin Pingzhi felt very embarra.s.sed. He stood up immediately, bowed back to Liu Zhengfeng and said, "Not really, not really!"

Liu Zhengfeng knew that Mu Gaofeng was from the northern border region, but the man in front of him had a southern accent. He also seemed to be far younger. Despite his doubts, he knew that Mu Gaofeng always liked to come and go like a shadow; it wouldn"t be appropriate to judge his behavior using common standards. So he said very politely, "I am Liu Zhengfeng. May I have the honor to ask your respectful name?"

Lin Pingzhi never thought that someone would ask him about his name. He mumbled a couple of words but did not answer.

"You and Hero Mu…?" Liu Zhengfeng asked again.

An idea suddenly came to Lin Pingzhi"s mind: "My last name is Lin. If I use only half of it, it"s the character of Mu. "[2] So he said quickly, "Mu is my family name."

"Mr. Mu"s coming to Hengshan has brought great honor to our Liu House. May I ask what is the relationship between you and "Hunchback of the North," Hero Mu?" Liu Zhengfeng inquired. He could tell that Lin Pingzhi was just a young lad, and those pieces of plaster on his face were used just to hide his true ident.i.ty. He was definitely not the man who had been renowned for decades – "Hunchback of the North" Mu Gaofeng.

Lin Pingzhi had never heard of the name "Hunchback of the North" Mu Gaofeng before, but by the tone and voice of Liu Zhengfeng, he could tell the man named Mu had quite a reputation. Also, Yu Canghai was still glaring at him with a fierce look on his face; if he revealed his true ident.i.ty, Yu Canghai would probably kill him without batting an eyelash. In such a precarious situation, the only right thing to do was to make some innocuous statements and fob them off with some vague answers. So he said, ""Hunchback of the North" Hero Mu? He is…he is a senior of mine." He thought if that man was called a hero, then of course the name "senior" would be appropriate.

Without finding anyone else suspicious, Yu Canghai had presumed this was the one who had humiliated his apprentices Shen Renjun and Ji Rentong. Even if "Hunchback of the North" Mu Gaofeng had come himself, he would only be cautious but not afraid. Now this one was only a child of Mu Gaofeng"s family, Yu Canghai really did not take him seriously. It was this man who had first provoked the Qingcheng Sword School. There was no way that he was going to let that go easily.

"Qingcheng Sword School has never crossed paths with Mr. Mu of the north. I wonder how we have offended you?" he said coldly.

Standing face to face in front of the short priest, Lin Pingzhi remembered how his home was broken up; how his family was ruined, and his parents were taken prisoners. He didn"t even know if they were still alive. And all this happened because of this short priest standing right in front of him. Although he knew the short priest"s Kung Fu skills were a hundred times better than that of his own, he almost couldn"t help drawing his weapon and lunging forward. But after all the days of hardship following his escaping, he was no longer the same dandy of Fuzhou town. He took a deep breath and tried to control himself.

"Qingcheng Sword School has committed unrighteous deeds and Hero Mu happened to catch them, so of course he interferes. He is very warm-hearted and always enjoys helping the good against the evil. Why would he care if you offended him personally or not?" he replied.

Hearing these words, Liu Zhengfeng couldn"t help laughing inwardly. Although "Hunchback of the North" Mu Gaofeng had high Kung Fu skills, his moral standing was not particularly good at all. He only used the words "Hero Mu" in a very casual way. Compared to Mu Gaofeng"s true character, the word "Hero" was far from the true description. This man curried favor with the powerful and never kept his promises. But he had excellent Kung Fu skills and was always alert and careful, so if one ever offended him, it would be impossible to guard against him. That was why people in the Martial World might be afraid of him, but no one really had any respect for him. When Liu Zhengfeng heard Lin Pingzhi"s words, he truly believed that Lin was a member of Mu"s family and was afraid that Yu Canghai might hurt him.

"Master Yu, Brother Mu," he said with a smile, "both of you are respectful guests in my humble place. Please, for that sake, let"s drink a friendly shot of wine? Servants, wine!"

Soon, servants brought out wine.

Yu Canghai thought nothing of the young hunchback before him. But considering all the dirty and evil tricks of Mu Gaofeng he had heard before, he would rather not challenge him right away. After the wine was poured, he did not pick up the cup straightaway, instead, just waited to see what Lin Pingzhi would do.

Lin Pingzhi wavered between anger and fear, but finally anger overwhelmed him. He thought to himself, "Probably Mom and Dad have already died under the short priest"s murderous hands. I"d rather die than drink with him." He glared at Yu Canghai with hatred-filled eyes and did not pick up his wine cup either. He wanted to spit out some curses, but being afraid of Yu Canghai, he remained silent.

But, seeing all the hostility shown by this hunchback, Yu Canghai could not hold his temper any longer. He suddenly grabbed Lin Pingzhi by his wrist. "Alright, alright, alright! Out of respect of Master Liu, no one will cause any trouble in the Liu House. Brother Mu, let us get to know each other," he said.

Lin Pingzhi pulled his arm hard, but could not escape Yu Canghai"s grip. Right after Yu spilled out his last word, a great pain shot through his wrist. He could hear his bone cracking and it seemed as though his wrist was going to be completely crushed.

Yu Canghai halted the pressure and waited for Lin Pingzhi to beg for mercy, but Lin Pingzhi hated him so much that he did not even let out a groan in spite of the wrenching pain from his wrist.

Standing by the side, Liu Zhengfeng could see big drops of sweat trickling down Lin Pingzhi"s forehead, but his face remained defiant and did not show any sign of capitulation. He admired the toughness of this young man, so he called out, "Master Yu!" and was just about to separate the two, when suddenly a high-pitched voice said, "Master Yu, why are you so eager to bully Mu Gaofeng"s grandson?"

Everyone turned around to look, and saw a fat hunchback standing at the hall"s entrance. He had white scars crisscrossing his face, with black spots in between, and an enormous hump on his back. He looked horribly ugly and strange. Most of the people in the hall had never seen the real face of Mu Gaofeng; now hearing this man claim to be Mu Gaofeng and seeing his bizarre appearance, all were astonished.

The hunchback had a fat body, but that did not prevent him from moving at amazing speed. People only saw a blurry shadow, and the hunchback was already standing next to Lin Pingzhi. He patted on Lin Pingzhi"s shoulder. "Good lad, good lad! Bragging for your grandpa by saying things like helping the good guys against the evil and so on sounded wonderful! I really enjoyed it!" After the words, he patted on Lin Pingzhi"s shoulder again.

When he patted on Lin"s shoulder the first time, Lin Pingzhi felt a big shock going through his whole body. Yu Canghai also felt a stream of heat in his arm, and he almost had to let go of Lin Pingzhi"s hand. But he immediately added more strength to his grip and held the wrist solidly.

Since the first pat did not get Lin Pingzhi out of Yu Canghai"s hold, Mu Gaofeng gathered his energy while talking to Lin, and when he patted on Lin"s shoulder the second time, he used more than eighty percent of his strength. Lin Pingzhi felt that for a just second, he had lost his vision, and something sweet welled up his throat, then, blood filled his mouth. He tried his best to not spill any blood and swallowed it all back down.

Yu Canghai felt burning heat under his palm; he could not hold Lin"s wrist any longer and had to let go of it, taking a step back. "This hunchback really lives up to his reputation of cruel and evil," he thought to himself. "Just to break my hold, he would inflict internal damages to his own grandson."

Lin Pingzhi gathered his strength and managed to squeeze out a laugh. "Master Yu," he said to Yu Canghai, "your Qingcheng School"s skills are truly feeble. Compared to this "Hunchback of the North" Hero Mu, you are a laggard. I suggest you submit yourself under Hero Mu and ask him to teach you a few moves, then…then…you might…improve a little…." Due to the internal injuries, he had to try hard to get these words out, feeling as though all his internal organs had been turned upside down. He finally finished his sentence, but his body had started shaking so badly that he almost fell.

"Yes!" Yu Canghai exclaimed. "Your suggestion has merit! Since you, yourself, are studying under Mr. Mu, your Kung Fu skills must be quite remarkable. I would like to see them." By saying these particular words, Yu Canghai was basically telling everyone that his challenge was strictly for Lin Pingzhi, and that Mu Gaofeng should not interfere.

Mu Gaofeng took a few paces back and grinned. "My cute little grandson, I am afraid your skills are still too low and will be no match for the Master of the Qingcheng Sword School. He can slay you with his first move. As your grandpa, I am overjoyed to have such a hunchbacked and also handsome grandson. I"d really hate to lose such a good kid. Why don"t you kneel down and kowtow to your grandpa, then your grandpa will take him on for you. How does that sound?"

Lin Pingzhi looked at Yu Canghai and thought, "If I get into a fight with Yu recklessly, he will probably kill me with the first blow in his fury. If I can"t even protect myself, how can I avenge my parents? But I, Lin Pingzhi, am a grown man, how can I call this hunchback Grandpa? It"s alright if I myself am humiliated, but doing this will be a dreadful humiliation for my father as well. He would never be able to walk in the Martial World with his head up; how could he survive the Martial World? If I kneel down in front of him, then I would be living under the fame of the Hunchback of the North and never be myself again." His body trembling, he could not decide; he just held onto the table with his left hand.

"I know you have no guts! If you want somebody else to fight for you, what"s so big of a deal to kowtow a couple of times?" Yu Canghai mocked. He could tell that Lin Pingzhi and Mu Gaofeng"s relationship wasn"t anything usual. It was obvious that Mu Gaofeng wasn"t his real grandfather, otherwise, why did Lin Pingzhi only call him as "Senior," but never "Grandpa?" Mu Gaofeng wouldn"t be asking his own grandson to kowtow at such a moment, either. He wanted to provoke Lin Pingzhi into fighting himself, thus making things much easier to handle.

Memories flashed through Lin Pingzhi"s mind, including how the Fortune Prestige Escort House was bullied and humiliated again and again by the Qingcheng Sword School. He thought to himself, "A true man will not let a small setback ruin his master plan. As long as I will eventually feel pride and elation, why couldn"t I suffer some humiliation now?" So he turned around, knelt down in front of Mu Gaofeng, and started to kowtow. "Grandpa," he said, "Yu Canghai uninhibitedly kills innocent people and robs them of their belongings. Everyone in the Martial World has the right to kill him. Would you please uphold justice and rid this evil for all the people in the Martial World?"

Lin"s action was a big surprise for both Mu Gaofeng and Yu Canghai. The young hunchback acted with resolution and integrity when Yu Canghai grabbed his wrist and crushed it with his inner energy, but he was now actually willing to kowtow and beg for protection, especially in public with so many people around. Most people thought that this young hunchback was really the grandson of Mu Gaofeng; and even if he wasn"t a real blood relative, he must be a grand-apprentice or something along those lines. Only Mu Gaofeng himself knew for certain that this man had no relationship with him whatsoever. Although Yu Canghai had inkling that there was something suspicious going on, he still could not determine the actual relationship between the two. All he knew was that the "Grandpa" was said in a very reluctant manner, maybe because Lin was just afraid to die.

Mu Gaofeng burst into loud laughter. "Good boy, nice lad! Why, you really want to play the game?" He praised Lin Pingzhi while staring at Yu Canghai, so the words "good boy" and "nice lad" almost seemed to be directed at Yu Canghai.

Yu Canghai was enraged, but he calmed and readied himself, knowing that the fight today would not only be important to his own destiny, but also to the destiny and fame of the entire Qingcheng Sword School. He let out a smile.

"If Mr. Mu wants to present his outstanding skills in front of all our friends here, I"ll just have to play along."

Earlier, when Mu Gaofeng patted on Lin Pingzhi"s shoulder, Yu Canghai had already learned that Mu had resourceful inner energy. And his inner energy was the explosive type; once he started the attack, it would be as overwhelming as thunder and lightning, or like landslides and tidal waves. "It is well known that this hunchback is very conceited," he thought to himself. "If he can"t defeat me in a short time, he will become reckless and rush his attack. I"d better use all defensive moves for the first one hundred rounds. That will keep me undefeated. After one hundred moves, I will surely be able to find his weaknesses."

Mu Gaofeng studied Yu Canghai carefully. This short priest only had the height of a youth, and probably weighed only eighty pounds, but by the way he stood, he seemed to be as stable as a mountain, well displaying the imposing manner of a great master; obviously he had well developed inner energy.

Mu Gaofeng thought to himself, "This little priest really is something. Every generation of Qingcheng Sword School had famous people. This bull-nose priest, being the Master of the sword school, certainly won"t be someone easy to deal with. I hope I won"t lose this battle and let all my fame swirl down the pipe." Being a very careful person, he did not recklessly attack right away.

Right at the moment when the two were about to fight, two men flew out from the back, and with two loud thumps, landed on the floor and lay still. Both men wore purple robes, and each had a muddy footprint right on the bottom. The clear and melodious voice of a young girl shouted, "This is the Qingcheng Sword School"s best move, called "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand"!"

Yu Canghai was outraged. Turning around without wasting any time he dashed toward the sound without even looking. Seeing a young girl in a green shirt standing nearby, he instantly grabbed her by the arm.

"Mom!" the girl screamed loudly and then burst into tears.

Yu Canghai was startled. After hearing the embarra.s.sing words, he acted in great anger without thinking. He had thought that she must have been involved with what had happened to the two Qingcheng apprentices, so he grabbed at her arm at full strength. When he heard the girl"s scream, he realized he had made a terrible mistake. This was just a little girl. How could he have used such power against her? In front of so many people, such behavior really did not fit with his image as the Master of the Qingcheng Sword School. He quickly let go of her arm, yet the girl cried louder and louder.

"You broke my arm. Mom, my arm is broken! Waah, it hurts! It hurts!" The girl cried.

Master Yu of the Qingcheng Sword School had fought many fights and overcome many difficulties, but this was the first time he had been placed in such an embarra.s.sing situation. Being stared at by hundreds of accusing eyes, he felt his face burn with shame, and he did not even know where to put his arms and feet.

"Don"t cry! Don"t cry!" he whispered to the girl. "Your arm is not broken. It won"t break."

"It"s broken already. You beat me up. A grownup beats up a kid, shame on you! Waah, it hurts! Waah…!" she cried.

The young girl was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. She had a green blouse on. With skin as white as milk and a pretty little face, she looked adorable. The crowd in the hall all felt sympathy for her. A couple of the rougher members had already started shouting out, "Beat the bull-nose up!" "Kill the short priest!"

Yu Canghai was very embarra.s.sed. He knew he had incurred the public wrath, so he dared not to say anything, and just said to the girl, "Little sister, don"t cry. I am sorry. Let me look at your arm, see if it hurts." He wanted to roll her sleeves up, but the girl screamed, "No, no! Don"t touch me! Mom, Mom, the short priest broke my arm."

While Yu Canghai was completely lost, a man in a purple robe walked out from the crowd. It was none other than Fang Renzhi, the smartest apprentice of the Qingcheng Sword School. "Hey, little girl, you"re just pretending now!" he said to the little girl. "My Master"s hand did not even touch your sleeve, so how could he have broken your arm?"

"Mom, another one is coming to hurt me!" the girl shouted.

Having been watching angrily by one side, Sister Dingyi stepped forward and tried to slap Fang Renzhi"s face. "Big bullying the small, shame on you!" she yelled. Fang Renzhi tried to block with his arm. Dingyi extended her right arm quickly and grabbed his hand, and then pushed down on his elbow with her left arm. If she gave a solid push, Fang Renzhi"s arm would be broken instantly. Yu Canghai poked his finger at Dingyi"s back. Dingyi had to let go of Fang Renzhi and strike back with her hand. Yu Canghai didn"t want to fight with her, so he jumped back two steps and said, "Excuse me!"

Dingyi held the little girl"s hand and asked gently, "Good child, where does it hurt? Let me have a look. I will heal it for you." She felt the girl"s arm but did not find any broken bones. That helped her relax a little. She rolled the girl"s sleeve up. On the lovely white arm, four clear black finger marks could be easily seen. Dingyi"s anger exploded.

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"You liar!" she shouted at Fang Renzhi. "If your Master did not touch her arm at all, then who left the four black marks?"

"It was the turtle! It was the turtle!" the little girl said, pointing at Yu Canghai"s back as she spoke.

Suddenly, everybody burst into loud laughter, some even spit out the tea from their mouths; some laughed till they doubled over. Laughter filled the entire hall. Yu Canghai had no idea why everybody was laughing so hard. He thought that the little girl had called him a turtle just like any kid would have after they got upset. What was so funny about that? But seeing everyone laughing at him, he still felt quite embarra.s.sed.

Fang Renzhi jumped forward and peeled a piece of paper off Yu Canghai"s robe, then crumpled the paper into a ball. Yu Canghai took the paper ball and opened it, then saw a picture of a big turtle on the sheet. Embarra.s.sed and anguished, Yu Canghai suddenly realized that it must have been a trick. The picture of the turtle was drawn ahead of time of course. It must have been the girl who cried and screamed to divert his attention, and then stuck the paper onto his back. It would be impossible for anybody else to play such a trick behind his back. If that was the case, then there must have been adults behind the scene. He turned around and glanced at Liu Zhengfeng, thinking, "This girl must be a member of the Liu household, so it was Liu Zhengfeng who played all these tricks on me."

Liu Zhengfeng saw the glance from Yu Canghai and immediately understood that Yu had placed the blame on him. He took a step forward.

"Little sister, where are you from? Where are your mom and dad?" he asked the little girl.

By asking these words, first, he wanted to a.s.sure Yu Canghai that he had no clue as to what was going on, and also, he became suspicious himself and wanted to know who had brought this little girl here.

"My mom and dad went away for something else," the little girl muttered. "They told me to sit here and not go anywhere. They said that later there would be a good show; two guys would fly out and then lie still. They said this is the Qingcheng Sword School"s best move called "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand." It was a good show indeed!"

She clapped her hands. The crystal teardrops on her cheeks had not yet dried out, but she was already smiling quite happily. No one could help but laugh at these words. These words were undoubtedly said to humiliate the Qingcheng Sword School. The two Qingcheng apprentices were still lying on the ground with their bottoms up, and each had a clear footprint on it. Qingcheng Sword School had really lost all face.

Yu Canghai struck one apprentice"s back, only to find that both apprentices had their pressure points sealed in exactly the same manner as Shen Renjun and Ji Rentong earlier. To unseal their points would require quite some inner energy and quite some time. Now, not only was Mu Gaofeng staring at him fiercely, but another tough opponent was hiding close by; the smart thing to do would be not to waste any of his inner energy on unsealing the apprentices" pressure points.

"Carry them out," he whispered to Fang Renzhi. Fang Renzhi waved at several Qingcheng apprentices, who rushed out and carried the two out of the hall.

Out of the blue, the little girl said loudly, "Qingcheng Sword School really has a lot of people! One "Geese Landing in Sand" takes two to carry. Two "Geese Landing in Sand" takes four to carry."

Yu Canghai"s face turned livid with rage. "What"s your dad"s name?" he asked the little girl with a long face. "Did he teach you these words?"

He figured that since those words were really sarcastic, if it wasn"t her parents who had taught her, she would never have said them at such a young and tender age. He then thought, "The name "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand" was made up by Linghu Chong; could it be that Huashan Sword School blames Renjie for killing Linghu Chong, and now wants to get even with the Qingcheng Sword School? The one who had sealed the pressure points had very high skills; could that be…could that be that the Head Master of the Huashan Sword School, Yue Buqun, playing tricks behind the scene?" When he arrived at the thought that Yue Buqun had plotted against him, he couldn"t help thinking, "That man"s Kung Fu skills are outstanding. And since the five sword schools had united under the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, if they all start to attack, then the Qingcheng Sword School would suffer a crushing defeat." When he thought those thoughts, his face whitened with worry.

The little girl ignored Yu Canghai"s question. Smiling merrily, she started reciting, "One times two is two; two times two is four; three times two is six; four times two is eight; five times two is ten…."

"I am asking you a question!" Yu Canghai yelled in a stern voice.

Her mouth twitching, the little girl started crying again while hiding her face in Sister Dingyi"s arms. Dingyi patted her on the back gently and comforted her.

"Don"t be scared. Don"t be afraid! Good child, don"t be scared." She turned to Yu Canghai. "Why are you scaring a kid like that?"

Yu Canghai let out a disgruntled snort. "So the Five Mountains Sword Alliance is against my Qingcheng Sword School now. I"d better be very careful," he thought to himself.

The little girl stuck her head out from Dingyi"s arms and grinned. "Granny, two times two is four; two of the Qingcheng Sword School "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand" will take four to carry. Three times two is six. Three "b.u.m b.u.m Back, Geese Landing in Sand" will take six to carry. Four times two is eight…." She did not continue, but starting giggling.

Such behavior in suddenly going from crying to all of a sudden smiling was more appropriate for a seven or eight year old child. Judging by her height, the girl looked to be thirteen or fourteen. Every word from her was designed to humiliate Yu Canghai somehow; people all thought those were definitely not the words from an innocent and sincere child; there was no doubt that someone must have been behind it all.

"A true man acts openly and aboveboard. Whichever friend wants to be hard on me, better show yourself. What kind of a hero are you if you only hide, sneak around, and direct a little child to utter such nonsense?" Yu Canghai bellowed loudly. Although he was short, the words were spoken using energy all the way down from his abdomen and echoed in everyone"s ears. People were shocked by the great energy Yu had put on display and stopped belittling him. The entire hall quieted down, and n.o.body answered.

After a while, the little girl suddenly spoke again. "Granny, he asked what kind of hero that was. Are the people of the Qingcheng Sword School heroes?"

Dingyi was a senior sister of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Although she was displeased with the Qingcheng Sword School, she wouldn"t just defame the entire school in public, so she answered vaguely, "The Qingcheng Sword School…the Qingcheng Sword School had many heroes in the last generation."

"Then how about now? Are there any one left?" The girl asked again.

Dingyi pouted her lips at Yu Canghai. "Why don"t you ask the Master Priest of the Qingcheng Sword School?" she said.

"Master Priest of the Qingcheng Sword School," the girl said, "if someone was badly wounded and could not even move, then someone else came to bully him, is the second person who took advantage of other"s precarious position a hero?"

Yu Canghai was shocked. "She is indeed from the Huashan Sword School!" he thought aloud.

People who had listened to Yilin ill.u.s.trating the story about Luo Renjie"s killing of Linghu Chong all felt a shock too. "Could this little girl be somebody related to the Huashan Sword School?"

Lao Denuo thought, "These words from the little girl are really all for defending the big senior brother against injustice. Who is she?" Afraid to upset the little apprentice sister, he hadn"t been in a hurry to inform his fellow apprentices about the death of big senior brother.

Yilin"s entire body started to tremble. She felt grateful toward the little girl. She had always wanted to ask Yu Canghai the same question, but being a gentle and kind girl, that always respected the elders and seniors, she simply could not confront Yu Canghai, a senior. Now that the little girl had spoken them out for her, teardrops started to run down her cheeks.

"Who taught you to ask this?" Yu Canghai asked, lowering his voice.

The young girl ignored his question once again. "There was a guy named Luo Renjie. He was your apprentice, wasn"t he? When he saw someone badly wounded, and the badly wounded man was a very good person, not only didn"t he help him, he stabbed him with his sword. Was that Luo Renjie a true hero? Was that the kind of Qingcheng Sword School"s chivalrous virtue you taught him?"

These words were only coming out of the mouth of a little girl, but she stated them so clearly and logically, it was really overwhelming.

Yu Canghai did not know how to answer, so he asked sternly, "Who on earth is telling you to ask these questions of me? Is your father from the Huashan Sword School?"

The little girl turned around to ask Dingyi, "Granny, is his scaring a little girl the kind of deed from a proper hero or a true man?"

Dingyi sighed. "That, I don"t know."

People in the hall became more and more surprised. Those words the little girl said before probably were taught by grownups, but the two questions she just asked were really her own response, elicited from the manner of Yu Canghai"s questioning. They showed clear criticism and were right to the point. How could one have expected her to be so tough at such a young age?

Looking at the little girl through her blurring eyes, Yilin saw her slim back. Suddenly she realized, "I have seen this little sister before. Where have I seen her?" She thought for a while and then remembered. "Yes, she was also at the Huiyan Wine House yesterday." All the scenes from yesterday came out from her memory and became clearer and clearer.

Yesterday morning, when she was forced into Huiyan Wine House, there were many people sitting around seven or eight tables. Then the two from the Taishan Sword School challenged Tian Boguang and Tian Boguang killed one of them. By then most of the customers had been scared away, and the waiter dared not serve anyone anymore. But in the corner close to the street, a big, tall monk sat by a small table. There were also two more people sitting at another small table. Until Linghu Chong was killed, and she carried his body downstairs from the wine house, the monk and the other two never left. At that time she was scared to death. With lots of things going through her mind, she simply did not care much about the giant monk and the other two. Now seeing the back view of the little girl and comparing it with the scene in her memory, she could clearly remember that the little girl was one of the two sitting by the small table in the wine house. She had her back to her at that time, so she only remembered her view from the rear. And yesterday she was wearing a yellow blouse, not the green blouse she had on today. If the little girl had not turned around, she would never have remembered her.

But who was the other one? She could only remember that it was a man for sure. But was he old or young, and what kind of clothes was he dressed in? She could not remember anything. Also, she remembered seeing the monk picking up his bowl to drink his wine, and when Tian Boguang was tricked into admitting his failure, the monk laughed loudly. The little girl was laughing too; her clear laughter seemed to be ringing in her ears again. Sure, it was her! Who was that giant monk? Why was a monk drinking wine?

Yilin was immersed in memories of the previous day"s scenes. It seemed as though Linghu Chong"s smiling face had appeared in front of her eyes again: how he had tricked Luo Renjie into coming closer before his death; how he thrust his sword into the enemy"s belly; how she carried Linghu Chong"s body staggering down the stairs empty-minded, not knowing where she had been; how she absent-mindedly went out of the town gate and just walked about aimlessly without a clear destination…She could feel the body in her arms getting colder and colder. She didn"t feel his weight, didn"t feel sad either, nor knew where she was going. Then, she came by a lotus pond where the lotus flowers were so bright and so beautiful. Her chest seemed to be struck by a big hammer, and she could not hold out any longer. She fell down together with Linghu Chong"s body, and then pa.s.sed out.

When she slowly regained consciousness, she felt bright sunshine blinding in her eyes. She tried to hold the body but missed. Jumping up in surprise, she found herself still by the lotus pond, with the beautiful lotus flowers just as before, but there was no sign of Linghu Chong"s body. She was so panic-stricken that she rushed around the lotus pond several times, but still couldn"t find any sign of where the body had gone. Seeing the bloodstains on her clothes, she knew it couldn"t have been a bad dream. She almost pa.s.sed out again. She forced herself to calm down a little, and then searched around one more time, but still, the body seemed have flown away on wings without a trace. The water in the lotus pond was quite shallow. She waded in the water and searched around, still not a single trace. Then, she went back to the Hengshan Town, asked for the location of the Liu House, and found her Master. But all the time she had being pondering, "Where did big brother Linghu"s body go? Maybe someone pa.s.sing by took it? Maybe it was dragged away by wild animals?" When she thought that he had lost his life saving her but she couldn"t even take good care of his body, she felt miserable. If the body really had been dragged away by wild animals and had already been eaten, she would kill herself. Actually, even if Linghu Chong"s body were fine, she would rather not live anyway.

Suddenly, deep in her heart, another thought popped up. That was a thought she had never dared to think about. The thought had come to her several times through the day, but each time she immediately pushed it back and only thought, "How could I be so disturbed? How could I be thinking such nonsense? This is just absurd! No, it"s not like that!" But now, she could not hide it any longer, and it appeared clearly in her mind: "When I carried Big Brother Linghu"s body, I felt very calm and peaceful. I was actually feeling a bit happy, just like when I was chanting exercises of the Buddhist Scriptures with an empty mind. I seemed to have hoped to just hold his body and walk casually on a never-ending road that n.o.body else was on. I would pay any price to find his body. Why? Am I not able to bear the thought that wild animals ate his body? No! Not that at all! I just want to carry his body and walk around aimlessly, or just sit by the lotus pond quietly. Why did I faint? Oh, no, I am terrible! I should not think like this. The Master wouldn"t allow it, and the Buddha wouldn"t tolerate it either. These are evil thoughts. I shouldn"t be trapped by evil thoughts. But where is big brother Linghu"s body?" Her mind was in such chaos. She could almost see the smile on Linghu Chong"s lips once again. It was such a carefree smile. Then it changed into the disdainful look on his face when he swore, "You are bad luck, little nun!" She felt a pain from her chest like a knife was cutting into her flesh….

Yu Canghai"s voice rose again. "Lao Denuo, this little girl is from your Huashan Sword School, isn"t she?"

"No. This is the first time I have seen this little sister. She is not from our sword school," Lao Denuo denied in a hurry.

"Sure. If you don"t want to admit it, fine!" Yu Canghai did not believe him at all.

Suddenly Yu Canghai waved his hand. With a flash, an awl-shaped missile shot toward Yilin. "Little Sister, see what this is?" he yelled.

Yilin was still deep in her thoughts, and had never expected a projectile from Yu Canghai. She actually felt some kind of joy: "It is a relief that he is killing me. I don"t feel like living, anyway!" Seeing the missile flying closer, and hearing several people shouting, "Look out for the projectile!" she had no intention of dodging it. For some unknown reason, she felt unspeakable peace and joy, feeling that there was only sadness and endless loneliness in the living world. She would be very happy if the missile killed her.

Dingyi gently pushed the little girl aside and dashed in front of Yilin to block the missile. Although she had the look of an old Granny, the dash was extremely fast. The missile wasn"t traveling that fast, but it was still a shooting projectile. Dingyi started later yet arrived earlier, and was able to get ready to catch the projectile. It seemed that Sister Dingyi could catch the projectile without too much effort now, but when the missile reached about two feet from her, it suddenly dropped to the floor. Since Dingyi had already extended her arm to catch it, yet missed, it was like losing a round in front of everyone. Her face turned slightly red.

Yu Canghai immediately waved his hand again and threw the paper ball toward the little girl"s face. The paper ball was made out of the paper with the turtle picture.

"So the bull-nose shot the missile just to lure me away. He wasn"t really trying to hurt Yilin," Dingyi thought to herself.

The small paper ball went much faster, and carried much more strength than the awl-shaped missile. Yu Canghai had used his inner energy when he threw the paper ball. If it hit the little girl"s face, she would definitely get hurt.

Dingyi was standing next to Yilin. When she realized what had happened, it was already too late to help. All she could do was to yell, "You…!"

The little girl swiftly sat down on the floor and cried, "Mom, Mom, he is going to kill me." She moved in a very swift manner, and dodged the paper ball in perfect time. Anyone could tell that she knew martial arts, but she just acted like a spoiled child. Everyone thought it was quite funny. Yu Canghai also felt that it wouldn"t be appropriate to push her more. He had a belly full of suspicions, but none of his questions could be answered.

Seeing the embarra.s.sed expression on Yu Canghai"s face, Sister Dingyi couldn"t help laughing inwardly. Since the Qingcheng Sword School had lost face so badly, she didn"t want to mess with him anymore, so she said to Yilin, "Yilin, I don"t know where the little sister"s parents went. Why don"t you go with her to look for them, so she won"t be bullied because n.o.body is looking out for her?"

"Yes, Master!" Yilin answered. She walked up to the little girl and took her hand. The girl smiled at her, and they walked out of the hall together.

Yu Canghai sneered and stopped paying any more attention to the girl. He turned around and stared at Mu Gaofeng.

.......

[1] It was a unique phenomenon for eunuchs to exist in Ancient Chinese. Chinese Emperors always had thousands of wives in the palace. Men were needed in the palace for many tasks, but the Emperor was afraid that these men would have affairs with his wives, so all men who wanted to work in the palace had to be castrated to ensure that no affairs would happen. It isn"t known when exactly this started, but one can trace it back to at least 2,000 years ago.

[2] In Chinese, the character of Lin (meaning "Woods") is made up of two of the Mu character (meaning "Tree, wood").