Summary

 

When Chu LiuXiang returned to his boat, he felt at home and warm. He called out for Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr. But no one answered, he was terrified that something happened to them. There are numerous traps set on the boat, however, none were activated, and he was confident that with their martial arts and ingenuity they could overcome any foe. He walked around the boat 7, 8 times when he finally saw a pile of sand on his favourite armchair and on top of the sand there was a black pearl.

After examination he found a little note in the sand it said:
Chu LiuXiang stole my horse near the lake.
Now Hei ZhenZhu has kidnapped 3 beauties on sea.

Chu decided to go and look for Hei ZhenZhu, and he rode out on the black horse. Within a few days he reached a small village. He thought the horse and himself could use a good rest.

Suddenly he saw a carriage riding by and a small kitten was on the road. The carriage didn't stop and the small kitten was about to be crushed when a man leapt in front of the carriage and protected the kitten with his body. The horse and the carriage rode over him. All the bystanders, even Chu LiuXiang, were shocked.

The driver quickly stopped down to see whether the man was dead. The man stood up, picked up the kitten, and petted it. The man wasn't injured, only his clothes were a bit torn. The driver was ranting at this strange man. The strange ma didn't look at him and gently pushed and the driver flew up and landed on a roof.

The strange man carried the small kitten in his arms and walked towards an inn.

Chu LiuXiang leapt down from the horse and called out: "Hu TieHua! Madman Hua! How come you're here!"

The man turned around and jumped up and said: "Chu LiuXiang, you old smelly insect! How come you're here too!"

Hu flew up and struck Chu on the shoulder with his fist and Chu struck him in the stomach. Both of them screamed in pain but it sounded like laughter. Chu smiled and said: "No wonder you're missing for years, you've been hiding here."

Hu TieHua said: "How come you're here? Are you being chased by girls? And you're taking refuge here?"

The 2 of them are beating and laughing at each other and walked towards a small wineshop.

Hu TieHua ordered some wine, the proprietress heavily put down the wine and left. The woman had passable looks, but she was petite and looked sour. Hu couldn't keep his eyes off her. They kept drinking and drinking.

Chu asked why Hu TieHua was here. It seemed 7 years ago was the last time Chu saw Hu TieHua. Hu, Chu, Ji BingYan and a woman named Gao YaNan were drinking and enjoyed the scenery at Lake MoChou. When this Gao YanNan got drunk she would display her recently learnt HuaShan swordsmanship 'The Circuitous Dancing Willow Sword' and attract every WuLin person in the area to watch and steal 1 or 2 stances. According to Hu, her swordsmanship was passable but not good, however, Ji BingYan was full of praise and even said the leader of the HuaShan School, Chu ShuZhen, was not that good compared to her. Hu TieHua said that Ji BingYan was probably in love with Gao YaNan.

Anyway, in a tipsy mood Hu TieHua said he would marry Gao YaNan and when he woke up he forgot the whole thing but she didn't. She tried to force him to marry her, and if he didn't, she would kill herself out of shame. Seeing no other way, he sneaked out in the night and jumped into the lake. She chased him for 3 years and that's how he came here. Chu asked him why stayed another 4 years. Hu said he had a special reason--that reason was the proprietress of this establishment. He tried to court her for 4 years but she didn't even pay notice of his existence and he would try and try till he won. Hence his reason for being here.

Now he wanted to know Chu LiuXiang's reason. Chu told him Hei ZhenZhu took Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr and he was pursuing them. Hu TieHua said he would help him no matter what. Chu laughed and asked him whether he could forget the proprietress. Hu said if Chu wanted it he would even chop of his own head for him let alone a woman. Both of them laughed and walked towards the door. Suddenly the proprietress ran out and held Hu TieHua's leg and begged him not to go. Hu was flabbergasted and asked why did she ignore him these 4 years. She cried and said he liked her because she ignored him. Hu forcibly smiled and said to Chu: "Women are smarter than we think. If anyone thinks they're stupid that person must be an idiot himself." (*Translator's note: No truer words have ever been spoken)

The woman cried and said if he would stay she would marry him. When Hu heard this he immediately jumped up and ran as quickly as possible.

Chu rode the black horse to catch up with him, he laughed and said to Hu: "This woman doesn't know the art of levitation so you can relax."

Hu TieHua said he will never understand women. Chu asked Hu where they were headed, Hu said Lan prefecture. Chu asked why they didn't head for the Gobi desert. Hu TieHua lectured Chu LiuXiang about the dangers of the desert, if one doesn't know the way or even got lost no matter how high that person's martial arts is he/she will surely die in the desert.

Hu said they needed help from another person that person was: Ji BingYan or as Hu calls him, that darn rooster. Ji BingYan was living in the Lan prefecture. He made a fortune doing business with traders of the desert and he will have the resources and the skill to survive the desert.

Chu LiuXiang had to agree with him and the 2 of them set off to the Lan prefecture.

Arriving in the Lan prefecture they could easily find Ji BingYan's mansion as he was a well-known merchant in these parts. Chu LiuXiang and Hu TieHua were impressed by the mansion Ji was living in. The servants lead them into the main hall, and they saw 4 young women carrying a soft couch. Sitting on the couch was their old friend Ji BingYan.

After a warm welcome they sat down talking and Ji BingYan said he could not use his legs anymore. Several years ago he got lost in the desert and would have died there if he wasn't found on time by a caravan. He sighed, saying that although he acquired a fortune in the desert, he also got rheumatism in return. He advised Chu and Hu not to go. Hu TieHua was getting all emotional seeing his old friend in such condition. Ji BingYan ordered a banquet for his 2 old friends. He prepared a king's meal for them and 2 beautiful women were serving them wine. Judging the looks in their eyes, the 2 women were very close to Ji BingYan. During the banquet Ji BingYan advised them not to go numerous times, but seeing they were adamant he stopped urging them.

The next day Chu LiuXiang and Hu TieHua rode of again. Hu TieHua was sulking the entire time. Hu TieHua blamed Chu for not being a good friend. Chu asked why he said that. Hu blamed Chu for not saying a word to an old friend in such a condition. Chu smiled and asked him how long did he know Ji BingYan. Hu TieHua said although he didn't know him as long as Chu but for 10 odd years they have been friends. Chu asked him again whether he had ever heard Ji talking a lot. Hu said everyone knew Ji BingYan didn't like to talk. Chu said exactly if Ji BingYan really was an invalid he wouldn't talk that much.

Hu TieHua asked Chu: "So it was all an act."

Chu sighed and said whether he saw the 2 women yesterday, Hu said he did. Chu explained that the 2 women were not looking sad or had pity in their eyes. In fact they looked very pleased and satisfied. Hu TieHua jumped up when he heard this and demanded to know why Chu didn't tell him right away.

Chu said if Ji BingYan didn't want to go with them they shouldn't force him. And besides, by talking that much he was feeling awkward towards them. Hu TieHua said why Chu wasn't feeling angry. Chu said he was very happy having a friend like Ji BingYan. Yhere wasn't more that he wanted from him.

They continued their ride and suddenly they stopped at a crossing as Chu wanted to ask Hu which way they should go. Hu was already gone.

Chu LiuXiang smiled forcibly and waited near dusk. Hu TieHua returned behind there was another horse behind him there were 2 women sitting on that horse. They were the 2 women at the banquet. Hu went back and brought the 2 women here in order to make Ji BingYan to pursue them. He entered the mansion while Ji was having a siesta and quickly "kidnapped" these 2 women. Chu LiuXiang couldn't do anything but sigh and smile.

But Ji BingYan didn't show up at all. It was now night time and Hu TieHua thought his plan had failed and couldn't do a thing. The 2 women didn't seem to be worried and they were joking around with Hu TieHua. Chu LiuXiang laughed the entire time, Hu TieHua had no choice but to return the 2 ladies and wanted Chu to accompany him. On the way back they suddenly saw a caravan with horses and camels and leading this caravan was a big, muscular man. Hu TieHua approached the man and talked to him, the man just ignored him. Hu saw his skin was all dried up. Hu TieHua didn't like being ignored. If that person ignored him he would try harder to get his attention. Suddenly he heard someone talking to him from one of the carriages saying this man was deaf and there was no point in talking to him. The voice belonged to Ji BingYan. Hu TieHua was screaming and cursing him, but Ji BingYan didn't pay attention to him and approached Chu LiuXiang. They looked at each other and smiled.

Ji BingYan said: "I'm here."

Chu replied: "Very good."

Ji said: "I had to prepare things we're going to need in the desert, that's why I am late."

Chu said: "I think you prepared a bit too much."

Ji said: "Better safe than sorry, tomorrow we can inspect the preparations."

Chu replied: "Very well."

Neither of them mentioned the broken legs, kidnapping. Hu was still ranting, but he was interrupted by Ji saying he brought wine. Hu stopped and entered the carriage. Ji prepared all sorts of wine and Hu could have his pick. Ji sent the 2 women home. He brought enough food supplies to last for a long period of time. Hu knew that Ji suffered a lot that time in the desert so he didn't laugh at his precautions. Chu, Hu and Ji discussed how they were to go and what was the route. Ji suggested a detour, because Hei ZhenZhu had the audacity to kidnap Chu's close ones he must have prepared something so it would be wise to avoid the territory of "The King of the Desert". Also, they would have to leave behind the black horse. Such a creature would attract a lot of attention and it was the horse of Hei ZhenZhu.

Before long they reached LaoLong Bay. Chu and the black horse were feeling melancholic about parting.

Hu TieHua was very interested in the camel driver Shi Tuo (stone camel) he was really curious to know how he turned out to be like this. And another person was Little Pan, he was very talkative and could chitchat for hours with Hu.

After travelling with them for some time, Chu and Hu knew why Ji BingYan hired Little Pan. Little Pan spoke almost every dialect fluently wherever they came. And Shi Tuo was even more strange, he didn't speak at all except to the camels and Hu found out that he didn't "sleep." He would just keep walking and slept at the same time just like the camels. Ji explained that Shi Tuo was once tortured by someone and that's how he became like this.

Before long they would reach the Gobi Desert.

Finally they reached the desert. They stocked up at a small village. Chu, Hu and Ji wore disguises, they looked like ordinary merchants. They walked for days, Hu TieHua had to get used to the hot weather.

One day they heard a soft voice, crying for help. Hu TieHua wanted to go immediately, but Ji BingYan said that would be unwise. According to him, lots of people die in the desert--how many could one save? Hu TieHua was adamant, he and Chu went towards the voice and saw 2 men tied up and pinned down. Their skin was all shrivelled up by the sun. Chu and Hu rescued them and brought them back to their caravan. They said they were attacked by robbers. Ji BingYan fiercly told them to tell the truth, there are no robbers in this area. They wanted water and Chu LiuXiang went to get some more for them. Suddenly the 2 men jumped up and touched their hairs and numerous needles shot out. Ji, Hu and Chu quickly jumped away with their martial arts. It is almost impossible to harm them, however, the needles hit the water containers and rays of water are gushing out. The 2 men quickly ran away, Chu and Hu pursued them while Ji BingYan tried to rescue some of the water.

The 2 men couldn't escape Chu and Hu's pursuit and one man was hit by Hu and died. Hu TieHua was furious--he rescued them and this is the way they repaid his kindness. The other man fell down and Chu was standing in front of him.

The man was laughing hysterically, Chu calmly said if he told them who sent him they would spare his life. The man just laughed and said they wouldn't stand a chance against the person who sent him.

Chu asked him: "Did the son of Zha MuHe instruct you to do this?"

The man kept laughing and said: "Zha MuHe is nothing compared to our master."

His laugh died and he had a strange look in his eyes. Chu quickly bent over to look but it was too late, the man died. Apparently they had poison in their mouths and when they were discovered they could use poison to commit suicide. Chu sighed at this sight, it reminded him of WuHua. Ji BingYan came over. He didn't say a word, he just looked at the 2 corpses. Hu TieHua said he never thought these 2 shrivelled men had still some strength in them to attack them. Ji BingYan walked towards a corpse and used a cloth to wipe the skin, it was just make-up, their skin wasn't shrivelled at all.

They discovered they still had half of the water. Hu TieHua exclaimed happily that they failed because they still had water. Ji BingYan didn't speak and poured the water on the sand. Hu yelled at him, Ji said the needles were poisonous the water is undrinkable. They only had a small amount of water left at this point. Chu said he examined the device that shot out the needles. According to him, this device is ingenious, it is even better than the so-called "9th Heaven 10th Hell Celestial Demon Needle." Ji BingYan suggested to move on and think about this at another moment. Hu TieHua was cursing himself for falling into a trap, he wanted Ji to scold him. Ji just said to him that rescuing someone is a good thing, why should he be blamed. Hu TieHua couldn't believe his ears, Chu walked to him and said: "The darn rooster isn't that terrible as you think, is he?"

Later on Chu discussed the device again. According to him there were only 3 people he knew of that could make this device. The first one was the leader of the Tang clan in the SiChuan province, the second was old Mr. Zhu in the Su province and the third one was Chu LiuXiang himself. The first 2 wouldn't go to the Gobi desert and Chu certainly didn't make this device. So they haven't got a clue who wanted them dead.

They had to ration their water from now on. They continued their journey and suddenly Ji BingYan ordered Shi Tuo to stop. He saw a withered tree, he said there might be a water source. Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua, Ji BingYan and Little Pan all started digging. They dug for some time but still couldn't find a drop of water. Chu asked Ji whether he could be mistaken.

Ji leapt up and yelled: "Don't you trust me!"

Chu knew Ji must feeling upset and didn't say anything and just stood there. Little Pan said the water source may be dried up now. Ji apologized to Chu. Chu said it didn't matter, everyone is allowed to be upset and close friends should be able to understand that. Little Pan watched them and said: "In my humble opinion, whoever can be friends with master Chu or master Hu must be a very lucky person."

Suddenly they heard horses coming their way, they hid in the pit they just dug. 5 horses rode by, the riders clutch to the horses like fleeing from something awful. Only 4 horses had riders, they were dressed like Chinese warriors and each carried a sabre. Suddenly they drew their sabres and began hacking into the sky as if it was their enemy. Hu TieHua asked what was wrong with these men, were they seeing ghosts? Little Pan said he heard of stories of demons eating the hearts of travellers. Ji BingYan told him not to say such nonsense. The 4 men kept hacking into nothing, by this time 2 men had fallen down.

Ji BingYan suddenly said to Chu: "They are using the sabre techniques of the Peng family."

Chu said: "Indeed."

Hu TieHua said: "They are displaying 'The Five Tiger Sabre' judging from their internal strength they must be rather famous disciples."

Ji BingYan: "The martial arts of the Peng family was to be taught to family and not to others, if I'm not mistaken they must be the sons or nephews of Peng Yun. The so-called 7 Tigers of the Peng family. The one with the beard could be Peng YiHu."

Chu asked: "Did the 7 tigers take over the duties of their father?"

Ji said: "Yes, they are running the armed protection service."

At this time another man fell down. Hu TieHua said Peng Yun is a good man he couldn't bare to watch his sons die and jumped out to help them.

Ji BingYan coldly asked him how he was going to help them. Hu couldn't answer and sat down again. Ji explained someone caused the 4 Tigers to go insane because that person wanted to steal something the 4 Tigers were protecting, they should now wait till he arrives and capture him. Suddenly a big shadow flew over their heads, they saw a big vulture circling above the 4 Tigers and swooped down and picked up a red box and flew up again.

Chu sighed: "A very good plan, indeed."

Hu didn't understand, Chu explained that the red box must be marked and the vulture was trained to recognize the box and bring it to its master. Whatever the 4 Tigers were protecting was gone.

Hu TieHua rushed towards the only breathing man, the rest already died. Hu TieHua asked him whether he was Peng YiHu. But the man just panted heavily, Hu asked him whether he could still talk. Hu grabbed him by the shoulder, he felt that one shoulder had a strange lump.

The man could hardly make a sound but it sounded like: "Demons.....demons, thousands of demons......kill....kill!"

Hu TieHua asked: "Where are the demons?"

The man's eyes suddenly blinked and pushed Hu away and yelled: "You can never steal it away from me! You....you..."

He tripped and fell down and he will never be able to get up again.

Ji BingYan went to investigate the bodies and he concluded the death was due to hunger, thirst, fatigue and they were poisoned by a hallucinatory drug, probably opium or something like it.

They moved along, rationing every drop of water they had. In the night they heard 20 horses. Someone surrounded them. Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan were not afraid and decided to play along with them. All the riders were dressed in black, the leader of the group spoke to Chu and others and demanded they would hand "it" over. Ji asked them what should they hand over. The leader sneered and said they must have found something on the corpses. Hu said only fools wanted stuff belonging to dead people. The leader ordered his men to search them. They could find anything, Ji asked them what the thing was they were looking for. The leader of those men said they wanted "The Star of Happiness." The leader turned to Chu, Hu and Ji again and said the only thing they wanted was "The Star"--if they gave it to them they would spare their lives and give them water.

Ji BingYan said:"Excellent, I will tell you where the star is."

Hu was surprised and asked him how did he know where this "Star of Happiness" could be. Ji smiled and said did he forget that when Hu grabbed Peng YiHu, he felt a lump in his shoulder.

They went to the body of Peng YiHu. Ji cut a small opening near the shoulder and a big diamond fell out. It was "The Star of Happiness." He handed the gem over to the leader who was amazed by the perfection of the stone. He sneered at them and said he would let them live but they shouldn't expect water from them and left.

Hu TieHua blamed Ji BingYan and Chu LiuXiang for not being intelligent enough. Ji BingYan smiled and said he knew they didn't carry any water. That meant they must live nearby, if they followed them, they will reach their den. Furthermore, these men were sent out by the "demon" so if they rushed towards the den they will meet this foe and fight him there.

Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan followed those men. The 20 men entered a small house and they all looked respectfully now, apparently their master was inside.

They reached the small house. Chu, Hu and Ji decided to wait and observe the men first before they storm in. Suddenly they heard a strange noise coming out of the house, Chu, Hu and Ji rushed towards it and saw all the men dancing strangely and falling down.

Hu kicked open the door and found all 20 men dead. They all committed suicide and there was no trace of the "master". Probably the master knew the men were followed and forced them to take poison.

The house had no special characteristics, there was only a shrine with a life-size stone statue of the Avalokitesvara. Little Pan rushed inside and yelled that Shi Tuo has gone insane and ran off. Ji quickly asked him what happened. Little Pan and Shi Tuo both entered the house and suddenly Shi Tuo turned around and ran off. Ji, Chu and Hu quickly ran outside to chase Shi Tuo. When they caught up with him, they struggled and, with a lot of difficulty, they were able to restrain Shi Tuo. They had no idea what possessed him, he wouldn't explain to them. Hu TieHua said there wasn't anything in the house so no one could hide from them, Chu asked him again if he sure about that. Hu said there were only some chairs, tables and a shrine with a life-size statue of the Avalokitesvara. When he said the 3 of them rushed back to the house, the statue was gone but now there was a large kettle of soup in the house with a little note. The characters were quite feminine.

The note said:
My dear gentlemen came from afar, I should've stayed and entertained my noble guests.
Unfortunately your servants are inferior, furthermore, I will only entertain extraordinary people, please forgive.
As an apology I have prepared a soup for you. The soup will give you strength to continue your journey.
I hope you will have a fortunate journey.
The person of the shrine pays her humble respects.

Hu TieHua was flabbergasted, who was this person in the shrine, he thought. Chu LiuXiang smiled wryly and said their cover was blown after all. Hu TieHua kept thinking who this mysterious person could be. Chu said there is only one person who was capable in pretending to be a stone Avalokitesvara and that must be the so-called "The Stone Avalokitesvara." Hu was shocked to hear this name, he knew that she was proclaimed to be the most beautiful, most wicked and merciless woman of this time. And her martial arts was supposed to be unequalled in the realm.

All 3 of them were thinking of the stories they heard of "The Stone Avalokitesvara". All those stories were not very pleasant. None of them dared to touch the soup, suddenly a dog strayed in and drank some of the soup and ate a piece of meat. Hu TieHua was yelling at the dog: "Do you want to die?" All of them expected the dog to fall over and die in a second, but the dog lived and nothing happened to it. The soup was not poisoned. Hu said no matter what they couldn't eat something a dog ate of. He would rather die, he took the kettle outside the house and said they shouldn't eat from it. Ji and Chu just smiled when suddenly they heard Little Pan screaming in pain. They rushed out to see that he ate some of the soup, he cried out: "Poison....soup...meat...." and died.

Ji BingYan explained that the dog must have had some poison in his mouth and when he drank from the soup. The poison got mixed with the soup making it poisonous. Ji BingYan and Chu LiuXiang thanked Hu for being so stubborn and shivered when they thought of the poison and the deadly trap set by the Stone Avalokitesvara.

This was the second day they didn't have any water anymore. Shi Tuo would sometimes sniff at the sand to see whether he can "sniff out" some water source but till now he has found nothing. In the night, Shi Tuo started to dig a hole like crazy, the others knew he found some water and all of them started digging. They found a little bit of water, and to them it was the best gift they could ever find at this moment. With their energy slightly recovered, they decided to move on.

After walking for a little way, they saw something green looking like trees. Hu thought he was dreaming and Chu said it could be a mirage. Chu said he would investigate and used his art of levitation to proceed ahead. It was confirmed this was truely an oasis. He heard some laughter and went to that noise. He reached a pool and hid in the trees. He saw a beautiful young woman bathing in the pool, she was absolutely enchanting. As Chu LiuXiang was a true connoisseur of beauty he couldn't keep his eyes of this young woman. The young woman turned her head towards the tree Chu was hiding, he knew she noticed someone was watching her. She said: "Haven't you seen enough?" Her voice was really lovely and Chu came out feeling rather embarrassed. The young woman was really angry in the beginning but after she took a good look at Chu, her anger died out. The young woman scolded him for his audacity, Chu admitted his guilt and apologized. The young woman smiled and said a true man will accept his mistake and apologize. Chu said she should cover the area with silk, the young woman angrily said that Chu dared to accuse her for something he did wrong himself. Chu said he didn't know that a beauty was bathing here. The young woman asked him if he knew, would he stay away. Chu replied even if his hands and feet were broken he would still find away to come.

This young woman had never encountered such a cute ruffian before, she didn't know if she should be angry or happy. The other young women all laughed and one said to Chu: "How dare you insult the princess."

Chu apologized again and said he shouldn't have said those words, but he added that he never told a lie and he was saying what he thought.

The princess said to him that she never thought she would meet a Han Chinese who told the truth.

Chu asked the princess whether she respected people who told the truth. The princess just said: "Hmm."

Chu LiuXiang asked whether she forgave him. She looked at Chu for some time and smiled sweetly and said that she will forgive and even treat him like a guest. She asked him whether he would follow her.

After walking for a bit, Chu saw a group of fierce-looking soldiers standing guard in front of a large tent. He heard laughter and talking coming from the tent. When they entered the tent, Chu saw a few men dressed nicely sitting at a few tables and a middle-aged man with a beard with a majestic look sitting at large table. This man was dressed in an expensive red robe and he was wearing a crown. This man talked to the other people saying: "There is our lovely princess PiPa after refreshing herself. Isn't she even more enchanting? And she brought a guest." The princess whispered something in the red-robed man's ear and he nodded. He offered Chu a seat. Chu was famished after all these days and seeing lots of food, he started eating. Suddenly 4 soldiers approached him in the back and drew their halberds to stab Chu in the back. Chu didn't turn around, the princess thought he couldn't avoid the attacks. Her facial colour changed. However the 4 halberds were somehow held down under Chu's arms. The 4 soldiers bumped into each other and couldn't lift their arms for awhile. The red-robed man praised Chu's martial arts and said his daughter had a keen eye.

All of a sudden a man dressed in a green robe stood up and rudely asked Chu's name. Chu gave him a false name and sat down again. He disliked this man and felt he didn't want to talk to him. Princess PiPa apologized again and said she will play him a song and took out her pipa and played. The music was enchanting, and everyone was dazzled by it. When she stopped she asked what Chu's opinion was. Chu said he never thought he could hear such music in these parts. The red-robed man said the pipa was introduced into China by them. He asked Chu whether he heard of Su QiPo. Chu asked this man whether he was the king of QiuCi kingdom. The king replied positively. Chu said he heard of Su QiPo, Su QiPo was the king of QiuCi, he played enchanting music with the pipa during the Northern and Southern dynasties period (?5th century A.D.) and he introduced the pipa in China.

The king clapped his hands, he praised Chu for his insight, Chu said he only knew the rough lines.

Suddenly Chu LiuXiang heard Hu TieHua calling him: "Old smelly insect! Where are you!" Following where some noises of anger and someone falling into the water, Chu concluded some soldiers must be struck down by Hu and fell into the water. Princess PiPa turned to Chu and asked sweetly him why that man called him smelly old insect.

Chu said those were his friends and asked the king to forgive them. The king said it didn't matter and wanted to meet them.

Hu TieHua struck down 3 soldiers and was feeling upset for Chu leaving them behind to drink. But after the king invited him and Ji to sit down he forgot everything. The king introduced his other guests to Chu, Hu, and Ji. They were the Wu brothers, Wu QingTian and Wu BaiYun. They were famous for their "Touring Dragon Sword Techniques." Also the famous robber SiTu LiuXing was present, and the man in the green robe was the infamous Du Huan aka the Merciless Killer. When Chu heard his name he frowned, he knew that Du Huan was famous for his high killings and he was feared by many people. And finally there was a man called Wang Chong. Chu and his friends never heard of him before, he looked sickly but of all the guests, Chu thought he was the most pleasant one. The king asked the names of Ji BingYan and Hu TieHua. Ji just said his family name was Ji and remained silent. The king smiled and said to Ji that he was quite reticent. Hu laughed and said Ji was famous for it. The king smiled and asked Hu what his special ability was. Hu said the only thing he was good at was drinking and having some strength.

The king called in a big, muscular soldier and asked Hu to compete with this soldier. The soldier seized Hu's and held Hu in the air. The Wu brothers, SiTu LiuXing, smiled thinking Hu will lose. Du Huan was hoping Hu was going to be embarrassed and laughed grimly. Hu stretched out his right hand and gently pushed against the giant's shoulder and the giant fell down and Hu landed softly on the floor. Hu used the famous "Using the strength of you opponent against himself," or better known as 4 liang (50 grams) can move a thousand jin (1/2 kilogram). The king thought it was sorcery, but princess PiPa explained it to him what that was. Chu and Hu were surprised to see that this princess had such insight. The soldier tried again and seized Hu and used all his strength to throw him on the ground. But again, the soldier fell down, and Hu was still holding his cup without spilling a drop of wine.

Princess PiPa personally poured a cup of wine and wanted to give it to Hu, but Du Huan stood up and said he wanted this cup. Du Huan said Hu could try to use the same way to push him down like he did with the soldier. Hu pushed against his shoulder. Du Huan stood still and sneered. Everyone thought Hu was going to be killed by Du Huan except Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan. All of a sudden Du Huan's right hand shot out and aimed at Hu's chest. He wore 5 rings on this hand, each ring was glowing. It was obvious there was poison on those rings. Suddenly Hu's both hands pressed against Du Huan's hand and broke his hand. Du Huan never thought he would lose, and that goes for SiTu LiuXing, the Wu brothers. Only Wang Chong wasn't paying attention to all this. Du Huan fainted. Everyone was amazed by Hu's martial arts.

Suddenly Wang Chong asked: "Are you the famous Hu TieHua, a close friend of the renowned Chu LiuXiang." When he said that, SiTu LiuXing, the Wu brothers were all very impressed. Hu asked Wang Chong how he recognized him and who Wang Chong was and what his martial arts school was. Wang Chong smiled bitterly and said his name didn't matter and turned to Chu and said: "You must be Chu LiuXiang." Again everyone was in awe. And turned to Ji BingYan and said that he must be the famous Ji BingYan. Chu turned to him and asked how he knew and asked him whether they met each other once. Wang Chong said he was just a nameless WuLin person, he could never meet such heroes.

The king laughed and said: "Although We don't know who you are, but judging by your skills you must be formidable martial arts experts. Let us drink to our heart's content."

A soldier came in and whispered something in the king's ear and the king changed his expression.

Ji BingYan asked the king: "We have been wandering in the desert for some days now, if it is convenient we would like to make use of Your Majesty's space to freshen up."

The king smiled and said: "No problem even if you wanted to leave We would try to convince to stay."

The king smiled rather strangely and his words had a deeper meaning.

Late in the night, the 3 friends were discussing their current situation. According to Ji BingYan, there are some strange things going on. First of all, what was the king of the QiuCi kingdom doing here in this forsaken place. Probably he was taking his refuge here said Ji. Secondly, why did the king hire so many Chinese martial arts experts, the most obvious reason was that he needed protection concluded Ji BingYan. Furthermore, they couldn't stay here, the Stone Avalokitesvara was after them, the best thing they could do is stock some supplies here and quickly leave, that was Ji BingYan's advice. Hu TieHua didn't like the idea, he felt obliged to help out the king because he had treated them friendly. Chu said they couldn't leave either, because the Stone Avalokitesvara must be nearby or some of her spies must be here. Also the Star of Happiness was brought here in the area, because a soldier walked in earlier today to whisper something in the ear of the king. Chu said although he couldn't understand the language but he could definitely hear some Chinese words uttered like Star of Happiness, Peng YiHu and Stone Avalokitesvara. Perhaps the king's adversary was the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu said that was excellent--that meant they could fight her right here. They wondered who the spy could be. It must be someone local or a person with no special characteristics. Ji BingYan said Wang Chong was rather suspicious, Wang was surely concealing his martial arts. Chu said someone else was concealing her martial arts too, that was princess PiPa. She had good martial arts insight, that meant her martial arts must be quite good. Hu TieHua wondered why a princess could be a martial arts expert and for what purpose.

Suddenly they heard a voice saying: "Are you still awake? I have come for a special reason."

It was one of the Wu brothers, Wu QingTian. He said he came on behalf of the king. The king had intentions to find a son-in-law amongst the 3 friends. Hu and Ji looked at Chu LiuXiang. Wu QingTian said the princess was quite impressed by HU TIEHUA. They couldn't believe it, all 3 of them were surprised by Wu's announcement. Chu was laughing at Hu, but he felt slightly disappointed and bitter but nonetheless he felt happy for his friend. All 3 were joking, that Hu turned down the proprietress in order to be the son-in-law of a royal family, that's a good deal. Why settle for a restaurant when you can have an entire kingdom? Hu TieHua decided he couldn't hurt the feelings of the princess and he would undertake this "difficult" task as best as one can. All 3 of them were laughing.

In the night, Chu LiuXiang decided to take a stroll, he saw Shi Tuo communicating with the camels. Suddenly he saw Wang Chong observing Shi Tuo carefully, Chu wanted to ask him why he took that much interest in Shi Tuo, but Wang noticed Chu and quickly ran. Chu wanted to pursue him, but he heard sounds of laughter. A lovely voice asked him why he was up this late, it was princess PiPa. Chu said it was getting late, they should both rest now and started to walk away. The princess pouted and asked Chu why he ignored her. Chu turned around, the princess looked ever so sweet, Chu restrained his emotions and asked her what he could do for her. She wanted to know why Hu TieHua called him "smelly old insect." Chu found it improper to joke around with the future wife of his best friend and calmly said she should ask Hu TieHua. At this time he saw Wu QingTian, who said the king wanted to speak to them.

After awhile they had an audience with the king who prepared a feast for the friends.

Wu QingTian said with a smile a son-in-law should pay his respects to the father-in-law. Hu TieHua was blushing and kowtowed.

The king gave Hu a present a beautiful diamond not inferior to the Star of Happiness. Chu felt this was rather strange, the king could give away this priceless gem but was really anxious to retrieve the Star of Happiness.

Suddenly a maid came out and announced the queen. Wu BaiYun smiled and said the queen wanted to see her future son-in-law. The king said the queen has been bedridden for many years, this happy occasion will do her good. The queen was a true beauty, although she was a bit pale and she still looked enchanting for her age. But the strange thing was, this queen would (un)intentionally look at Chu LiuXiang. After finishing 2 cups of wine she left again. The only people not present were Du Huan, Wang Chong, and SiTu LiuXing. Du Huan took leave already, he felt humiliated, SiTu LiuXing left without a word and Wang Chong declined the invitation to this banquet.

The king said he wanted to ask the help of Chu, Hu and Ji. The king said his throne was usurped by treacherous ministers and they sent some martial arts experts to assassinate him. The king also said he received intelligence that they hired 4 or 5 experts to try to assassinate him. One of them was an excellent swordsman, even said to be unequalled. Wu BaiYun asked the king whether he knew the name of that person, the king said no. The Wu brothers said they would do everything possible to protect the king and assured the king he would be save with experts like Chu, Hu and Ji on his side. The king had another problem, he told them that the Star of Happiness was missing and someone left him a note, telling him if he wanted the stone back he should pay the high amount of ransom money or else he would never see the Star again.

The king said he was willing to pay but he was afraid the people who stole it will not return the Star and he asked the Wu brothers and Chu, Hu and Ji to exchange the ransom. Ji BingYan said even if they pay, the thieves might not return it to them. The king said to the thieves the Star is worth a lot money but to him it was invaluable. According to the king, there was a big secret connected to this Star of Happiness and only he knew of this secret. All of a sudden they heard the camels crying out restlessly, Ji decided to investigate. When he came back he said the camels were restless because Shi Tuo was gone and so was Wang Chong. Chu LiuXiang asked whether Wang Chong took Shi Tuo away. Ji said that it would appear so. Chu remembered Wang Chong observing Shi Tuo.

Suddenly someone shouted:"Fire! Fire!"

Hu TieHua rushed out. Chu wanted to tell them not to be misled by a ruse but Ji BingYan already pulled him outside.

Ji BingYan questioned a soldier why there weren't any guards protecting the king. The soldier said the king should be safe with those martial arts experts protecting him. Ji BingYan knew this was a ruse and told Chu to watch what was happening. He would search for Hu TieHua. Chu LiuXiang saw that the Wu brothers drew their swords turned around to face the king. Wu QingTian laughed and said there was a price of the king's head. He said the enemy of the king had payed them double and they would surely listen to him. Wu BaiYun said there were 6 people in total that were hired to kill the king. Princess PiPa grabbed her pipa and warded off Wu QingTian' sword. Wu BaiYun said he would stand guard and Wu QingTian should finish them before someone else came.

Suddenly the pipa shot out a dozen of needles and hit Wu QingTian. He cried out and fell down. His brother, Wu BaiYun, with tears in his eyes flew up and aimed his sword at the princess. The 2 of them fought. Her stances were strange, dangerous and fast. Before long she was able to stab Wu BaiYun in the stomach killing him.

Another 2 men came in. One of them was Du Huan who grabbed princess PiPa. She was in pain and had tears in her eyes. The king told them to release his daughter, Du Huan sneered and said he would kill them both.

Du Huan turned to the other man and asked: "Shall I kill them? Or does brother Sun want to do the honours?"

The other man just coldly replied: "I don't want to deprave of your passion."

Suddenly they heard of voice: "You can't kill these 2." and a figure landed softly on the floor. The mystery man was looking very arrogant, but when he saw this figure was Chu LiuXiang his face changed.

Chu asked him:"Do you still recognize me, monkey Sun?"

This man was the famous "Black Monkey" Sung Kong.

Sun Kong turned to Chu and said: "If I have known you were here, I wouldn't have come," and turned around walked away.

Du Huan asked him why he left and asked who this young impudent was.

Sun Kong scoffed: "Who are you to call him an impudent? You're not worthy to know who he is."

Sun Kong flew out one of his hand, Du Huan couldn't avoid it and struck him on the chest and fell down. Sun Kong penetrated his chest with his hand, wiping the blood off on Du Huan's clothes and kicked away his body and turned to Chu: "I know you don't kill anyone but leaving him alive would complicate things a lot. So I took the liberty for you." He left.

The king ordered the corpse to be removed, he was terrified. Sun Kong suddenly turned his head and warned Chu that another strong foe would arrive soon, this man was 10 times stronger than himself, he told Chu to be careful.

Chu asked who this man was, Sun Kong said he would have a headache just mentioning that man's name. He said he had to leave, otherwise, he would like to stay and watch Chu fight this mystery man. Saying that he quickly left.

Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan came in now, Hu TieHua said Ji BingYan saw Sun Kong earlier and said Sun Kong was afraid of Chu LiuXiang and he deliberately let Hu go to the fire. Otherwise, Hu would probably be killed by Hu TieHua. Ji said Sun Kong wasn't bad to the bone, if he was he would let Hu deal with him instead of Chu. They wondered who that unknown powerful assassin could be that Sun Kong warned them about. Ji said there was no point arguing about that now and turned around he wanted to get some rest. Hu and Chu wanted to follow him. But the king said he wanted to decide the date of the wedding of his daughter and said tomorrow would be a good day.

* * *

Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua, and Ji BingYan were discussing Hu's royal wedding. Hu felt embarrassed and reached for a bottle of wine when he saw a little note. It said:

My dear gentlemen have come from afar.
Why interfere in matters that are of no concern to you? If you are wise you would leave as soon as possible, if not, you might live to regret it. If you are willing to listen to my advice, I shall personally prepare some delicious soup for you again.

The lady of the shrine pays her humble respects.

It was the same handwriting as the other note. The Stone Avalokitesvara had spies all over the place, they had no idea who the spies could be.

The only thing to do was to wait for another 3 days, then the Stone Avalokitesvara would collect her ransom and they would retrieve the Star of Happiness. Ji BingYan was doubtful this woman would return the Star. According to the king it held a secret.

During the night someone tried to sneak into their sleeping quarters. But the intruder saw he was already surrounded by the 3 friends. When they took a closer look they found out that this intruder was SiTu LiuXing. SiTu LiuXing said he came on a special arrant, he wanted to warn the about a powerful foe coming soon. He told Chu, Hu, and Ji why he disappeared. He saw Du Huan taking his leave earlier and decided to follow him. After walking for about an hour, he saw Du Huan entering a tent. SiTu LiuXing knew there must be highly skilled martial arts expert in that tent he was trying to think of a way eavesdrop. Suddenly a fast horse rode by and 3 figures rushed out of the tent and pursued them. He took this opportunity to sneak closer and he saw 3 people talking in the tent. 2 of them were QiuCi high ranking officials and one middle-aged Chinese man with a wretched appearance. They were discussing the amount of ransom they wanted for the Star of Happiness. After a while the 3 pursuers came back empty-handed, SiTu LiuXing was afraid he would be discovered soon.

Fortunately, Sun Kong and Du Huan were leaving to assassinate the king. The remaining 3 men were still arguing about the ransom money. The 2 officials said they asked for too much, and the king may not comply. The Chinese man said it was worth it because there was a secret connected to the Star of Happiness. Suddenly someone patted on his shoulder. SiTu LiuXing thought he was about to die and turned around and saw someone waving at him. He went to that man, it turned out to be someone he once met. 2 years ago SiTu LiuXing was involved into some burglary activities in the city of LouYang. When he was caught by this man, because SiTu LiuXing was stealing some money to give to a poor widow and her children, this man forgave him and let him walk. This man had a policy: when he let you live once he will never harm you again. SiTu LiuXing said this man was also one of the assassins. He couldn't reveal this man's identity because he had sworn to him not to reveal his name.

Ji BingYan asked SiTu LiuXing why he was telling them all of this. SiTu LiuXing said 2 years ago, his brother wanted to retire from the WuLin realm with his acquired wealth. Unfortunately, NanGong Ling took interest in his brother's wealth and killed his brother and took over all his possession. There were tears in his eyes when he told this story. SiTu LiuXing knew he wasn't able to avenge his brother but was really grateful when Chu LiuXiang foiled NanGong Ling and WuHua's schemes. He thanked Chu LiuXiang from the bottom of his heart and took leave.

(*Somehow the plans of NanGong Ling and WuHua are exposed after all, everyone in the martial arts realm including the Beggars Association and the ShaoLin Monasteries are grateful to Chu LiuXiang for stopping these 2 fiends. It is not explained in the novel how everyone knew the evil plans of the 2 brothers).

When SiTu LiuXing left, Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan were all wondering who that man was. Before long it was almost dawn. Hu TieHua had to prepare for the wedding.

In a few hours, the wedding ceremony began. (*The customs used here are quite similiar to traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies, I'm not going to translate that bit because I think everyone has read/seen/watched enough novels/tv series to have a clear picture of the event).

Ji BingYan approached Chu at the banquet and showed him a little note he just found. It said:
Today is your daughter's happy occasion, I shall spare your head for another day. Tomorrow I shall come again to take your life I hope you will take the necessary precautions and will not disappoint me.

Chu LiuXiang said tonight was a dangerous night, they shouldn't eat anything that was brought to them without inspecting it first. Ji BingYan said he would stand guard tonight and asked Chu to rendezvous with him when he can.

Hu TieHua was drinking a lot, and was beginning to feel tipsy and was brought to bridal chamber.

Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan decided to stand watch. Ji would stand watch for the first part of the night and Chu the latter part.

After Chu switched watches with Ji, he was strolling about. He had a lot on his mind. He was thinking of Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, Song TianEr and also that mysterious assassin, the Stone Avalokitesvara. Suddenly he saw someone walking up to him, it was the bride princess PiPa. Chu was shocked to see her and asked her why she wasn't in the bridal chamber. She smiled sweetly and said she wasn't the bride, therefore she wasn't in the chamber. Chu was flabbergasted and asked her who was the bride. She said the king didn't just have 1 daughter, her elder sister was the bride. Chu was too surprised to say anything and asked her what she wanted.

She stripped herself and fell into the arms of Chu LiuXiang. Chu was mesmerized by her beauty and took her to his bed and spent a night of passion.

They both woke up in bed, Princess PiPa asked Chu whether he knew why she gave herself to him.

Chu replied that she must have a reason. PiPa said although she loves him, she did this for another motive and she can't marry him. Chu just hmmed. PiPa also said they may not see each other again, again Chu hmmed. Princess PiPa asked Chu why he didn't ask her why she couldn't marry him. Chu said if she could tell him she would have told him. PiPa sighed and told him that she couldn't tell him her motives. Chu smiled and said that's why he didn't ask. Princess PiPa asked him softly whether he felt unhappy about not being able to get together, even if he didn't, he could tell a lie. Chu smiled and said he can never tell a lie. She slapped him and said he was a horrible man and ran away crying.

When he got up and went to see Ji BingYan he noticed he was still sleeping. He knew Ji was pretending and moved along. He met Hu TieHua and asked him whether he was alright carefully. Hu said he wasn't an idiot. He knew that his wife wasn't princess PiPa, but her elder sister. Hu said to Chu that he thought this elder sister must be an ugly woman because she didn't dare to make an appearance. He told Chu he was wrong, this elder princess was even more beautiful than princess PiPa. Hu said this princess was elegant, gentle, considerate and most important, she was a beauty. Chu felt happy for him for finding a good wife. Hu wanted Chu to meet his wife and pulled him to his bridal chamber, Chu felt somewhat awkward but Hu said he shouldn't feel embarrassed because his wife was an understanding woman.

When they entered the room, the princess was still sleeping with the veils of the bed still drawn. Hu laughed and told her not to feel embarrassed and pulled open the veil and saw the body of a naked woman on his bed.

Chu asked Hu when did he leave the room, Hu said just an instant ago. Chu said who wanted Hu TieHua's wife dead. Hu said this woman wasn't his wife! He never saw her before and he was wondering where his wife was now. They examined the corpse, the deceased was a very ugly woman and with that mortal wound on her chest made her even more gruesome. They deducted that she was murdered somewhere else and was placed her not long ago. But something was puzzling them where did the Hu's wife go to. Hu yelled out: "Come quickly! Someone died in my room!"

A group of people rushed in the first was princess PiPa, the second was the king. Both of their faces changed when they saw the corpse. Hu wanted to ask who this woman was, but he was interrupted by the king who grabbed him.

The king yelled out: "Why did you kill her!"

Hu angrily shouted back: "Are you daft, man! I don't even recognize her why should I kill her."

The king yelled: "Although she is not pretty, she's still your wife! How could you kill her. You're a beast!"

Hu yelled: "WHAT! This woman is..... my wife."

The king said: "Although she is ugly, she is still a princess and asking her to marry a commoner like you is a great inconvenience for her. But why kill her."

Hu pushed him away and said he was crazy. The king cursed him. Chu LiuXiang asked the king again whether this was his other daughter, the king said of course. Hu said this was not the woman he saw last night. The king said that Hu was full of nonsense. Both the king and the princess wanted to detain Hu for murder. 8 soldiers came in to seize Hu, but they were knocked aside in a wink. Hu wanted to leave but Chu LiuXiang leapt before him. Hu was angry and asked Chu whether he would try to stop him. Chu sighed and said he just wanted to clear things up and told the king whether he could have 3 days to solve this murder. The king asked what will happen if Hu fled, Chu said he would then die instead of Hu. Hu TieHua added he would lay down his life if the murder isn't solved in 3 days.

The king complied with this.

Chu concluded the deceased was the true princess, this princess was too ugly so she stayed inside. That was why the king misled Hu into the wedding. The princess was dead at least 6 to 8 hours and the murderer hid her body under the bed of the bridal chamber. Hu was feeling nauseous because he made love to a woman while a corpse was under the bed. The murderer wanted to make sure that Chu, Hu and Ji didn't became friends with the king otherwise it might lead to more difficulties for the murderer. The murderer and the fake-bride must be the Stone Avalokitesvara. The 2 of them decided to discuss this situation with Ji BingYan. Arriving in his sleeping quarters, Ji was still not awake. When they pulled away the blanket they saw a soldier. The soldier's acupoint was pressed by Ji BingYan and he himself was missing. The soldier said he was dragged in here and put under the blanket. Chu deducted that Ji BingYan must have gone after the mysterious assassin. Chu said he will go after him and Hu must stay here. Chu went out and set out for the direction where SiTu LiuXing said he followed Du Huan. After walking for some time he saw signs of fighting, one of the fighter used a "judges brush" that person must be Ji BingYan the other one used a long sword. Suddenly he saw clouds of dust coming up, he knew there were 2 martial arts experts fighting and rushed over to see Ji BingYan fighting YI DIANHONG. Both of them seem equally matched, so the mysterious assassin must be Yi DianHong.

Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong were still fighting intensively. Suddenly, Yi DianHong aimed his sword in a faulty position. His sword stabbed a cactus behind Ji BingYan. Ji saw a window of opportunity and Ji used his "judges brushes" to press against 2 of acupoints and Yi DianHong fell. Ji praised Yi DianHong's martial arts suddenly his face changed he saw a dead scorpion at the tip of Yi DianHong' sword. He now realized Yi just saved his life but he didn't want to receive any gratitude from his opponent and raised the sword of Yi DianHong to slice off his left leg.

Suddenly the sword flew out of his hand, he knew Chu LiuXiang came. Both Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong called out: "You're here after all."

The 2 of them looked at each other and said again in unison: "You know this man."

Chu said to both of them that they were his good friends. Chu asked Yi DianHong why he was here. Yi DianHong reacted in surprise. He said Chu asked him to come here. He said some time ago, someone came to see him saying he was here on behalf of Chu LiuXiang. The messenger said Chu wanted Yi DianHong to kill the king of QiuCi.

The messenger reminded Yi DianHong that Chu rescued him once. Chu said he would never say that to anyone. Yi DianHong said he believed Chu but the only people who knew of this secret were Chu, Yi DianHong, Wu Hua, NanGong Ling, Su RongRong and Hei ZhenZhu. Ji BingYan concluded that Hei ZhenZhu must be the mastermind. Yi DianHong said he saw a Chinese man but that wasn't Hei ZhenZhu. He said that Chinese man's name was Wu JuXuan. According to Yi DianHong he looked miserable. They say he was a famous scholar and the traitors of the king appointed as their adviser. Yi DianHong said he would rendezvous with the other conspirators at a little inn opened by a notorious robber in this part of the desert, namely The Half Heavenly Wing, in 2 days.

Chu said they shall pay them a little visit.

Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan disguised themselves as prisoners of Yi DianHong and arrived at the small inn opened by Pan Tian Feng, the notorious robber. Chu disguised himself as a hunchback and Ji BingYan as a pockmarked man. They sat down and ordered something to drink. They heard the proprietor and his waiters picking on some thirsty travelers, forcing them to buy small amounts of water for a very expensive price.

After that incident, the waiters were treating Yi DianHong rather rudely and he taught them a lesson. The proprietor apologized to Yi DianHong and used a sabre to kill the 2 waiters. The proprietor was Pan Tian Feng. Suddenly a young woman walked in and killed Pan Tian Feng and the other remaining thugs. She said in a very polite way she had orders to take Yi DianHong to the rendezvous vessel. When they walked out of the inn, they saw a big ship. These ships were built to maneuver through sand like normal ships would in water. Yi DianHong, Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan boarded the ship. They saw 3 men onboard. One looked like a merchant, the other looked like a military man. The other man was a Chinese middle-aged man with a miserable appearance. Chu and Ji knew they must be Hong XiangGong, general Min, and Wu JuXuan. The 2 traitors asked Yi DianHong whether he succeeded in assassinating the king. Yi said he didn't and he wouldn't discuss why and they didn't dare to ask him. Wu JuXuan walked about and walked towards the backs of Chu and Ji. Suddenly he sealed their acupoints rendering them motionless. Before Yi DianHong could move, the young woman already put her sabre at Yi DianHong's neck, the 3 friends were captured without even putting up a resistance!

Wu JuXuan called out Chu's name and said his disguises might fool someone else but certainly not his keen eyes.

The 3 friends were tied and thrown in the lower decks of the ship. Chu, Ji and Yi DianHong could still hear the 3 conspirators discussing whether the Stone Avalokitesvara would truly help the new king. Wu JuXuan assured Hong XiangGong and general Min she would do her best to help them. They asked about her martial arts compared to Wu JuXuan, Wu said he could never reach her level in his entire life. Hong XiangGong said when everything is settled, he and general Min would petition to the new king to bestow Wu JuXuan an official rank. Wu JuXuan thanked him, Chu thought someone like Wu JuXuan would never be satisfied with some official rank. Before long they heard another desert ship approaching them, the Stone Avalokitesvara must be on that ship. They heard the young woman earlier paying her respects to her teacher, so she must be a disciple of the Stone Avalokitesvara.

Hong, Min, and Wu respectfully paid their respects to the Stone Avalokitesvara. Chu heard a most charming and enchanting voice telling to rise. General Min asked her whether she had the Star of Happiness. The Stone Avalokitesvara asked him whether he knew the secret of the stone already. Min said he hasn't found out yet. The Stone Avalokitesvara said she would hold on to it, till they discovered the secret of the stone. Also, it seemed that the plot to assassinate the king was a ruse, to make the king edgy and in a nervous state so that he might reveal the secret to others. And the more people who know the secret, the chances of knowing the secret themselves will also increase as they have placed spies in the king's entourage. Chu whispered to Ji that they fell for the ruse. Suddenly the Stone Avalokitesvara said that tricking Chu LiuXiang isn't an easy task. Chu, Ji and Yi DianHong were shocked to hear that she could hear them, she must have excellent internal energy.

Chu LiuXiang thanked her for her praises. She said she had never met a more charming, intelligent, and witty opponent in her life. Ji whispered coldly to Chu that the Stone Avalokitesvara fancied him. Chu quickly talked loudly to her preventing her from hearing Ji's comment.

Chu LiuXiang formally requested an audience with the most beautiful woman in the world. The Stone Avalokitesvara was flattered and asked him whether he truly wanted to meet her. Chu sighed and again requested his audience. She assured him he would see her eventually. Chu asked why he couldn't right now, she told him to be patient. Chu sighed again and said he may not live that long to see her, she assured he would. Suddenly Wu JuXuan interrupted and said Chu would not live that long. She asked him coldly why he interfered in her affairs. Wu said that Chu LiuXiang was a risk to their plan and had to be killed right now. She sternly scolded him and Wu had nothing else to say but comply.

Hong XiangGong said that in his humble opinion, Chu must die. The Stone Avalokitesvara disagreed and said Chu had to stay around to watch their plan succeed, like an artist who wants someone to recognize and praise his masterpiece. Wu JuXuan wanted to say something but was again sternly interrupted by the Stone Avalokitesvara. She seems to be very friendly to everyone except for Wu JuXuan for some strange reason. She asked permission to take Chu LiuXiang, Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong away. No one dared to say no and complied with her wish.

Just before Chu LiuXiang met up with Yi DianHong and Ji BingYan, Hu TieHua was summoned by the queen. She asked Hu to protect the ransom and see to it that The Star of Happiness will return safely. Furthermore, she knew the Star was connected to an invaluable treasure, she wanted Hu TieHua to assist the king when he wanted to dig up the treasure. Hu TieHua said he would not fail her request, she thanked him. Hu and 3 soldiers set out to the rendezvous point. They walked for hours. The 3 soldiers didn't talk to Hu. Hu asked them for a some wine, luckily one of them had brought some wine and Hu drank it all up. The soldiers asked him whether he was feeling tipsy. Hu said he was fine. One of the soldiers said Hu could even make somersaults. Hu TieHua said somersaults were no problem and started to make one but before he could finish he fell down and tried a few more times but he couldn't use any strength at all.

The soldiers all laughed and said they put some harmless poison in the wine, it's not strong enough to kill anyone but it would render someone feeble for some time. The 3 soldiers moved in to kill him, suddenly they stopped because they saw a ship. The ship approached them, a woman dressed in a white robe scolded 3 soldiers for wanting to keep the ransom for themselves. She instantly disarmed them, their sabres flew up in the air. The soldiers saw how strong she was and quickly fled. The white-robed woman caught the sabres and flung them towards them, stabbing all 3 in the back. She ordered some men to load the ransom on the ship and said Hu's business was done and left.

Chu, Ji and Yi DianHong were on the same ship, but this white-robed woman wasn't the Stone Avalokitesvara but one of her disciples. The Stone Avalokitesvara left the ship already and her pupil warned Chu, etc. not to make a sound or Hu TieHua will die very quickly. So that's why they didn't let Hu know they were on the ship. The ship departed again and took the camels along with the ransom. The disciple gave the Star back to Hu, but Hu had no way of transport back to the oasis and was starting to be afraid when he heard a voice. It was princess PiPa. The queen had sent her to watch over Hu TieHua she was afraid that something would happen to Hu so she asked the princess to follow them. Hu felt embarrassed for being in this state. The 2 of them argued for some time and decided to head back to the oasis. But that wasn't going to be an easy task.

The ship suddenly stopped and a cold voice asked Chu, Ji and Yi DianHong whether they could walk. Chu asked the girl to remove her veil. He heard that the Stone Avalokitesvara was a true beauty, her disciples should be beautiful women too. The disciple laughed and removed her veil, Chu saw her face was mutilated just like Qiu LingSu. The girl asked whether he was happy with what he saw. Chu smiled friendly and said that it didn't matter whether you were ugly or not. The disciple, Qu WuRong, was stunned for a moment and told them to get of the ship now. Yi DianHong approached her and said: "You're not ugly, You're pretty."

They walked towards a small oasis and saw a group of handsome men sweeping when they reached the oasis. Chu asked one of them whether he was happy with his job. He said he was and continued sweeping. Somehow, these men reminded Chu of Shi Tuo.

Suddenly a wind blew a very strong sweet fragrance. Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong felt weak after smelling that strange sweet scent. Chu asked Qu WuRong whether this place was dangerous, Qu asked him why did he ask. Chu said this enchanting place had something sinister and after saying that he passed out.

Gradually Chu woke up, he heard some young women talking about him. He saw 2 young woman with ordinary looks standing in front of him. Chu smiled to them, they both cleared up and blushed. Chu was flirting with the 2 young women. The 2 girls told Qu WuRong to go away. Chu advised them not to make Qu angry because she has good martial arts. The 2 girls were very happy that he was concerned about them. They assured Chu that their teacher, the Stone Avalokitesvara, was fair in treating all her disciples and showed no favoritism. Chu asked them about that sweet scent he smelled when he arrived here. They said it was the flowers, they emit a sweet but strong fragrance to knock somebody out. Chu praised them for their knowledge. Suddenly, they heard someone sighing and said they were too talkative. It was the Stone Avalokitesvara.

Chu LiuXiang never saw a more beautiful, enchanting, and mesmerizing appearance in his entire life. No doubt she was THE most beautiful woman on the world. Qu WuRong and the 2 girls called her teacher and paid their respects. The Stone Avalokitesvara said to the 2 girls that they said she always treated all the disciples fairly, now they would have to fight for their lives. Both of them would battle Qu WuRong. The victor will live and loser will die. Chu quickly pleaded for their lives. She said to Chu that they wouldn't beg for their lives. And the 3 disciples were engaged in a fight. Chu asked the Stone Avalokitesvara why she wanted them dead, she coldly replied they sought death themselves. Chu didn't understand, but Ji BingYan understood that the Stone Avalokitesvara fancied Chu and these 2 ignorant girls had the audacity to flirt with him first, so that's why she wanted them dead.

Chu was surprised to see the martial arts of the Stone Avalokitesvara. He had never seen such strange and dangerous techniques before. It was a bit similar to the "Eagle's claw", or even Mongolian wrestling techniques but even more ferocious. And Qu WuRong's palm techniques resembled a bit of Japanese sword techniques. Chu thought to himself that the martial arts of the Stone Avalokitesvara were not Chinese of origin. At this point of the battle, Chu LiuXiang praised Qu WuRong's level of martial arts, one against 2 and she still gained the upperhand. Qu was able to kill the 2 other disciples, and kneeled down in front of her teacher. Her teacher coldly praised her martial arts and said she was improving a lot. In a few more years she could even kill her teacher. Qu trembled when she heard this and said she wouldn't do so. To prove her loyalty she drew a blade from her sleeve and cut off her right hand. The pain caused her to faint, Chu and Ji sighed but Yi DianHong stared at the Stone Avalokitesvara. He just grunted at her. She was amused that the cold-blooded killer Yi DianHong would fall in lover too and asked him to attend to her wound because as a professional killer he must have the right medication with him.

She asked Chu whether he could follow her, and Chu did so.

Yi DianHong attended Qu's wound and said to Ji that he never thought Chu would go with her. As he said that he sounded disappointed and a bit angry. Ji said Yi DianHong didn't understand Chu. Chu will never do anything that would embarrass his friends. He told Yi DianHong he should be lucky to have a friend like Chu LiuXiang. Qu WuRong gradually woke up, Yi DianHong carefully asked her whether she felt alright. This was the most gentle and considerate thing he had ever said in his life.

Qu said coldly it was not his concern and told him to stay away from her. She removed the bandage and told Yi DianHong not to mind in her affairs again and ran outside with blood gushing from her wound.

Ji BingYan said: "I've never seen a more stubborn girl in my life."

Yi DianHong coldly said: "She is very good."

Ji asked him: "Good? In what way?"

Yi DianHong just coldly said: "She is very good."

Ji sighed: "You had the best for her, even if she didn't accept your help she shouldn't have been so rude to you."

Yi DianHong closed his eyes. Ji stared at him for awhile and secretly laughed and thought: "They truly belong with each other."

The quarters of the Stone Avalokitesvara were plain but exquisite. Chu LiuXiang followed the Stone Avalokitesvara to her quarters. There he sat for some time watching her. She was indeed the most beautiful woman he ever saw in his life. After a while he sighed. The Stone Avalokitesvara asked him why he sighed. Chu said when people ask him whether he had met the Stone Avalokitesvara he couldn't describe her appearance to them. Because there were no words available to describe her beauty.

The Stone Avalokitesvara blushed when she heard his compliment. She asked Chu whether he was disappointed in meeting her. Chu asked her instead whether he looked disappointed. She asked him another question. She wanted to know whether Chu thought she was old. Chu said that aging is a terrible enemy for women, but in his opinion, the Stone Avalokitesvara had conquered this enemy. She asked him to come over and hold her in his arms. No man can resist this temptation, Chu walked over and held her in his arms. She whispered sweetly that he will not be disappointed. Chu suddenly tossed her away as far as possible, she landed softly on the floor and looked surprised. The Stone Avalokitesvara never encountered such a strange situation or even a stranger man. She asked him why he threw her away, didn't he desire her? Chu said this desire will bring him closer to his destruction, furthermore, he said no ordinary man can resist her. That's why those men were sweeping the floor, because they were too ordinary. Chu didn't want to end up like those men. The Stone Avalokitesvara wanted her men to give up everything for her but when they do, she finds them cheap and revolting, they were only fit to sweep her floors. Chu commented that her life was too empty, she wants to find a worthy soul mate to fill her lonely existence, but unfortunately, the chances of finding one is very small. The Stone Avalokitesvara smiled when she heard his theory, she said that Chu LiuXiang might be that soul mate she was looking for. Chu said he might be different now but after she had "conquered" him, he would no different from those sweepers.

She asked him why he had no self-confidence. Chu said he had plenty of confidence, but he didn't want to risk it. She asked him whether she was worth the risk. Chu said that he would not risk this for any woman in this world. The Stone Avalokitesvara asked him whether Su RongRong was worth it.

Chu's face changed and quickly replied that she was his friend and for a friend he would risk everything.

The Stone Avalokitesvara coldly asked him if he knew what the penalty was for rejecting her. Chu smiled and asked her if he was the first to reject her, she said there was another one a long time ago and she evilly laughed and asked Chu if he knew what happened to that man. She said that killing him would be a too light of a punishment. She tortured him, tied him in the burning sun till he became blind and his skin withered. She let him do harsh work till his will broke and became a human animal. She laughed and asked Chu whether he knew what this man looked liked in the end. Chu had the picture of Shi Tuo in his mind and said he knew.

The Stone Avalokitesvara asked Chu if he wanted to share the same fate as that man. Chu calmly replied that he knew this man got away. Although he may live poorly but he was still doing better than those poor sweepers here. She angrily yelled at Chu saying she would not let Chu live to escape. Chu LiuXiang smiled and said he also knew she wouldn't kill him now, because she was still hoping he would change his mind. And she wouldn't bare to torture him now. The Stone Avalokitesvara picked up her pillow and threw it towards Chu ordering him to get out now. Chu LiuXiang smiled and said he would comply. He could still hear her panting with anger.

* * *

The young disciples escorted Chu back to the dungeons. Suddenly he asked one of the girls to support him. The 2 girls asked him not to talk to them because he already caused the death of 2 other girls. Seeing no other choice, they supported him back. When Ji BingYan saw him in this tired state he was amused and annoyed and coldly asked whether the Stone Avalokitesvara was that difficult and tiring to entertain. Chu LiuXiang sighed softly and said that Ji's imagination was very vivid and he pressed the acupoints of the 2 girls causing them to fall down. Both Ji BingYan and Yi DianHong were surprised that he regained his strength as they were still immobilized by that fragrance. Ji BingYan knew now that Chu faked being affected by the flowers and he waited for an opportunity to rescue him and Yi DianHong.

Chu removed a belt from the girls and asked Ji to tie Yi DianHong to his back and Chu will carry Ji on his back and try to get out of this place.

After getting out of that place they saw a little stone cabin and entered. They saw 3 young disciples bathing. Chu LiuXiang moved his index finger and all 3 of them couldn't move, Chu asked them where the Stone Avalokitesvara kept Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr. One of the girls said she didn't know what he was talking about and said their teacher never hid any girls. Chu believed them and moved his index finger again and all 3 fell down.

Ji BingYan asked Chu whether he knew the way out. Chu said he remembered the way when they brought them in. Yi DianHong said he would like to find Qu WuRong, he said he couldn't leave her here. Ji said she will never go with us and Yi DianHong knew that. Yi DianHong said that he knew she will not to try to stop them.

Suddenly they heard someone scoffing: "Why do you think I would not try to stop you?"

Meanwhile, Hu TieHua and princess PiPa were lost in the desert both of them were tired, thirsty and hungry. Suddenly Hu TieHua blamed princess PiPa for taking the wrong way, she said she knew the way back but it lead them to sure death now. Princess PiPa cried. Hu TieHua also softened his tone of voice and said he didn't mean it that way.

Suddenly the thought of imminent death awoke the passion in PiPa and Hu TieHua. They thought they would not survive this and gave up to their passion. Hu TieHua held the princess and pressed her down and forgot everything. But suddenly he felt pain and leapt up, Hu screamed and asked her why she didn't want to. With tears in her eyes she said her body already belonged to someone else. Hu knew she meant Chu LiuXiang and started kicking the sand. After awhile they both regained their senses. They both loved Chu too much to hate him. Suddenly a wounded vulture flew over and dripped some blood on Hu's hand. Hu took a closer look and recognized the vulture as the bird that took away the box from the 4 tigers of the Peng family earlier. Someone with remarkable swordsmanship was able to wound it in the sky. The bird dropped and died. Hu TieHua and princess PiPa had found some food and quickly ate the bird to replenish their energy. After some time they heard someone screaming in pain.

They quickly went to the source of the sound, and they saw 10 odd men with large sabres attacking 2 men with excellent sword techniques. Judging from the techniques, they belonged to the HuaShan School. They saw some corpses nearby but the 2 men were getting tired and there were too many enemies. Princess PiPa recognized one of the swordsmen and said to Hu: "Isn't that your camel driver?"

Hu took a closer look and confirmed it was Shi Tuo and the other was that mysterious Wang Chong. No doubt those other men were henchmen of the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu told the princess to stay and he rushed over to help them and with only his fists, struck one man down. Hu TieHua told them to stand down and leave, but they didn't listen and kept attacking them. Wang Chong said that it was no use these men lost their senses the only was to kill them all.

After a bloody fight, Wang Chong thanked Hu TieHua for his help. Hu asked Wang Chong whether he was Shi Tuo's brother.

Wang Chong said that although not related they were as close as 2 brothers could be. Hu TieHua praised Wang Chong's swordsmanship and said he didn't see genuine HuaShan swordsmanship for 20 years. He said that Wang Chong's "Startled Rainbow Piercing The Day" was even a legend. Also, Hu knew that the entire HuaShan School didn't have anyone called Wang Chong.

"Wang Chong" sighed and confessed his true name was Liu YanFei. Hu TieHua was surprised he knew that Liu YanFei was called "The Little Divine Dragon Swordsman" and was the last disciple of the old master of the HuaShan School. Hu asked Liu YanFei who "Shi Tuo" was, Liu YanFei said it was his eldest martial arts brother, the head of the 7 Swords of HuaShan. The righteous swordsman HuangFu Gao.

Hu TieHua took a close look at HuangFu Gao Shi Tuo, and sighed. He asked why the Stone Avalokitesvara tortured him. Liu YanFei said, that it was a long story. Not only HuangFu Gao, but the entire HuaShan School's reputation was practically destroyed by this witch. Hu told Liu YanFei that now he had found his eldest martial arts brother they could avenge themselves. Liu YanFei's face changed color and repeated softly: "Avenge? Avenge ourselves?"

Liu YanFei cried at this moment, and told Hu why HuangFu Gao endured such bitterness all these years. He did it to protect the HuaShan School and the HuaShan disciples. Liu YanFei knew that with the entire HuaShan School they still couldn't defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara. And HuangFu Gao would rather live like this than see anymore HuaShan disciples getting hurt again.

Princess PiPa came by and asked Liu if there were still HuaShan disciples left to roam the martial arts realm. Liu sighed and said there weren't many left. Princess PiPa said she thought all of them died already. Liu YanFei angrily wanted to say something but was interrupted by PiPa. She said that even she, someone who lived in these parts of the world, had heard of The 7 Swords of HuaShan. During that time every WuLin person respected the HuaShan School. But now the HuaShan School is practically gone, even if all the HuaShan disciples were still alive, they would still live in shame.

Liu YanFei felt he was just slapped in the face, he felt really embarrassed. Princess PiPa added that a true man should rather die in a glorious fight than live like a coward.

Liu YanFei said that he wasn't afraid of dying but he thought it would be meaningless to throw away one's life so recklessly.

Princess PiPa asked him if he could defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara. Liu said no one in this world could defeat this woman. PiPa told him if they were willing, Hu TiaHua and herself would help them. Liu YanFei thought for awhile and walked towards HuangFu Gao and wrote something in his palm. HuangFu was upset and kicked him away. Liu crawled up and saw HuangFu shaking and he had tears in his eyes. After some time Liu asked Hu and princess PiPa if they were really willing to help fight the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu TieHua said he was never afraid of death.

HuangFu Gao took them to the oasis of the Stone Avalokitesvara. Near the entrance, he stopped. Liu YanFei said they should wait till night. At night, HuangFu Gao led them through the maze, he was very cautious because he knew one wrong move and they would die in this maze. Hu TieHua held onto his sabre, he felt death all around him. Suddenly they heard breathing and coming closer. Hu TieHua readied himself and leapt up and hacked down. There were little people in this world that could avoid this blow, and little did Hu TieHua know that he was hacking at his closest friend, Chu LiuXiang.

Back to Chu LiuXiang and others, they were discovered by Qu WuRong. Yi DianHong asked her if she was willing to leave together. Qu scoffed and said they knew they couldn't escape so they want her to lead the way. Yi DianHong laughed heartily, someone who hadn't had a smile on his face for years suddenly laughed. Unfortunately at the wrong time, if his laughter would be heard by the Stone Avalokitesvara they would all die. Ji BingYan angrily scolded him that this is not the time to use death to express his love for Qu WuRong. Furthermore, he said that Chu and he had no intentions to die here. Yi DianHong understood and untied the belt and told Chu and Ji to go without him. Qu WuRong was getting moved by this gesture, and Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan couldn't just abandon him here. She gave Chu the antidote for the flower poison. Chu advised Qu to go along with them and said there wasn't anything here to keep her. She said she cannot leave.

All of a sudden a purple-robed girl walked in and said no one could leave now. She called Qu a traitor and said even when their teacher was out she and other 10 odd disciples could surely stop them and pressed the wall and a bell like sound was rung.

Chu LiuXiang knew that the disciples would come here any moment now, they couldn't defeat them with 2 immobilized and the other was still recovering from her injured arm.

Ji and Yi DianHong quickly took the antidote but it would take at least 1 to 2 hours before they would restore their strength. They all thought everything was lost. They saw 2 girls running this way, naked they were 2 of the 3 girls Chu saw earlier. The purple-robed girl chided them for this indecent behavior but the 2 girls fell down and died. Chu examined the bodies. They were strangled and the strangler used a very special technique that would not instantly kill them but giving them the chance to run for their lives and after using up the remaining air they would suffocate. One of the girls was holding a piece of paper Chu read its contents:

Master Chu, please accept my gift.
Hua Mei Niao (The Trush) humbly pays her respects.

The purple-robed girl ran off to call for help, but she stopped after a few paces and fell down, a jade dagger was flung into her face killing her instantly. There was a note attached to the dagger the contents of the note was the same as the first one.

Chu LiuXiang called out: "Please show yourself!"

But no one answered. Qu WuRong quickly led the 3 friends out of this place and reached another corridor. All their faces changed, they saw 10 odd corpses of young girls lined up after 2 paces there was a body all with a note attached:

Master Chu, please accept my gift.
Hua Mei Niao (The trush) humbly pays her respects.

Every girl died in a different way some were strangled some were killed by swords or sabres, others got their tongue ripped out or beheaded. Obviously this Hua Mei Niao took pleasure in killing.

Chu LiuXiang and Ji BingYan discovered something strange about the corpses, the eyebrows were all shaven off by the killer. This Hua Mei Niao must have an obsession with eyebrows. Qu WuRong led them out of there. She was terrified that all her martial arts sisters were killed, she just wanted to leave this horrible place. Suddenly a sabre hacked down, she was unable to avoid it Yi DianHong quickly pulled her away, but by doing so, his right hand was cut off and he fainted. Chu and Ji quickly struck the attacker down. Suddenly they heard the attacker say: "Is that you, smelly old insect?" It was Hu TieHua. Chu and Ji looked seriously and Hu realized he accidentally injured someone. Yi DianHong came by and praised Hu's martial arts. Hu felt sorry and wanted to chop down his own arm, Ji quickly stopped him and said he himself owed him a leg. Yi DianHong told them it was alright and said his right arm only killed people. Now it could rest. After saying that he fainted.

Princess PiPa was very happy to see Chu LiuXiang again and they exchanged stories, Ji BingYan was also pleased to see Shi Tuo unharmed.

Princess PiPa, Hu TieHua, and Ji BingYan were discussing who this Hua Mei Niao was. Only Chu LiuXiang was pondering on something else, he whispered to himself: "The 7 Swords of HuaShan, the family of Mount Huang, HuangFu Gao, the Stone Avalokitesvara...." No one understood what he was saying, but Chu's face was clearing up.

Princess PiPa asked him whether he knew where the Stone Avalokitesvara could be. Chu said who was the Stone Avalokitesvara. PiPa laughed and said that how it was possible for Chu to forget this woman.

Chu told them that there was a Stone Avalokitesvara, but also wasn't. And if there wasn't a Stone Avalokitesvara there was a Stone Avalokitesvara. No one in the group knew what he was talking about. Chu said this was Zen. Princess PiPa laughed and asked him if he wanted to become a Buddhist monk. Chu said he was just thinking of a Buddhist monk. Chu didn't say who this Buddhist monk was. Liu YanFei wanted to take leave, but Chu interrupted him and said he wanted to ask a few more questions. Liu YanFei said that there were a few things that concerned HuangFu Gao which he wasn't willing to tell others. Chu LiuXiang said he understood. Princess PiPa wanted Chu to stop talking in Zen and answer her questions but suddenly they heard camels crying out. They knew rescue was not far from here. All of them rushed towards the noise and saw a caravan with a large group of men leading the camels. The leader of the caravan was an old man with a long beard. The bearded man looked at Chu. Chu smiled and used the native tongue of this area to talk to him. However, the man didn't understand him and asked him in fluent Chinese what they were doing here in the desert.

Chu smiled and said they were here to do business but they were unfamiliar with the area. Furthermore, they lost their horses and camels and got lost. The bearded man looked not convinced, their group looked too strange to be merchants. Chu sighed and said they were WuLin people and they were looking for 3 friends. Still the bearded man didn't believe them and asked how Qu WuRong and Yi DianHong were injured. Hu said he accidentally wounded one of them. The bearded man told his men to search them. Hu shouted there is no one that can search him. Chu said there must be a first time for everything. Hu laughed and said if the famous Chu LiuXiang can endure such treatment so can he Hu TieHua. Ji smiled and said to Hu even children must grow up some time. The 3 friends told the men to proceed. But they all stopped moving. Suddenly the old man said he wouldn't dare search Chu LiuXiang and his friends. Chu understood these men worked for Hei ZhenZhu. The old man sighed and said he was very happy to see Chu but his young master left for China already some time ago.

According to him the black horse of Hei ZhenZhu came back without a rider, Hei ZhenZhu was convinced Chu was in trouble and quickly left the desert to help Chu. The old man smiled strangely and said that the relationship between his young master and Chu was very special and Chu knew that of course. But Chu didn't know what he was talking about.

Ji BingYan at this moment sternly questioned the old man why Hei ZhenZhu kidnapped Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr. The old man said there was no such thing as kidnapping. He said the 3 girls were his young master's guests. He said the 3 girls often spend the night with his young master and they always slept together in the same bed.

Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan couldn't believe their ears. Chu was flabbergasted and Hu smiled bitterly. Suddenly princess PiPa asked the old man whether his young master was a girl. The old man said of course, because his old master Zha MuHe (King of the Desert) had no sons, his daughter often dressed like a boy and everyone called her young master. Chu LiuXiang was rubbing his nose like crazy/out of embarrassment (*Rubbing his nose is a tick that Chu often does). Hu TieHua was laughed at Chu, while princess PiPa was burning with anger and scoffed at Chu: "It seems a lot people have special feelings for you."

The caravan set up camp here for the friends to rest. Ji BingYan was the first to ask Chu whether he understood what was going on here. Chu said he wasn't sure. There were many things he didn't understand. Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan helped Chu to think over this entire situation. According to them, Hei ZhenZhu and Su RongRong became friends when Hei ZhenZhu escorted Su back to the houseboat. But why did the 3 girls go with Hei ZhenZhu and why did she bring them to the desert?

Princess PiPa scoffed and told her view of this situation. According to her, Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr were fed up that they always had to worry about Chu, and they wanted him to feel anxious about them for once so they went along with Hei ZhenZhu. But again, Chu asked why would Hei ZhenZhu go along with such a scheme. Princess PiPa scoffed again and said it was obvious. Although Chu didn't know that Hei ZhenZhu was a girl, she knew he was a man. And there weren't many men around in this world with his good looks and charm. Hei ZhenZhu's heart was long stolen by him. But somehow our Casanova Chu LiuXiang has become totally ignorant and didn't see her feelings for him. Hu said that must be a great insult to this young girl and decided to teach Chu a lesson. Also, princess PiPa told them Hei ZhenZhu was probably afraid she will never see Chu LiuXiang again and if she and his maids would be here, he would surely come to the desert to look for them. That was cleared up but Chu was still wondering who else knew that Chu rescued Yi DianHong once. All this time Chu, Hu, and Ji were convinced Hei ZhenZhu was behind the treason to the king of QiuCi kingdom. But now it would seem someone else was involved. Everything points in the direction of the Stone Avalokitesvara.

But how would she know that Chu saved Yi DianHong. Only Hei ZhenZhu and Su RongRong knew this secret. All the others who knew this were dead. Princess PiPa joked, saying even dead people rise from their graves when they meet Chu LiuXiang.

Chu LiuXiang was suddenly enlightened by princess PiPa's last comment. Suddenly they heard 3, 4 horses riding into the camp. One of the men came in and told the princess that the general (the old man) was seeing a guest and he would later join the princess and her friends. Also, he said Qu WuRong, Yi DianHong, Liu YanFei and HuangFu Gao were resting in another tent.

After a while they heard at least 500 horses coming this way and stopped in front of the camp. The old man had his men form a formation holding bows, spears, sabres. It seemed that these soldiers were pursuing the 3, 4 men earlier. One of the men asked the pursuers what their business was. They said they had orders from general Min to capture a traitor of the Kingdom of QiuCi. If they handed them over, there will be a reward, otherwise, they would attack them and kill them all.

Princess PiPa panicked. She wondered if her father, the king, was one of the escapers.

Suddenly they saw someone coming out of another tent, it was the king. He was surprised and happy to see them here. Princess PiPa ran into her father's arms and smiled. The king smiled and said he wanted to talk to her later but now he asked whether Chu LiuXiang, Hu TieHua, and Ji BingYan would escort him in front of the enemy soldiers. He wanted to say something to them. Chu said they were willing to help where possible.

Chu LiuXiang thought the king looked different, the normally fatuous king looked majestic and grand. Chu, Hu, Ji and the old man both rode beside the king. The king spoke to the "enemy" soldiers. The soldiers recognized the king and said they didn't know they were pursuing the king. The king didn't blame them and said that he left the country and the soldiers were only obeying the orders from the generals. The king told them to ask the traitors Hong and Min to come out and wanted to talk to them. General Min, Hong XiangGong and Wu JuXuan came forward. Wu JuXuan was shocked to see Chu LiuXiang, he never thought Chu could escape from the Stone Avalokitesvara. They both exchanged looks and understood this was not the place to settle their issues.

The king chided general Min and Hong XiangGong for not being loyal to throne. Hong XiangGong replied anyone could become king. He told the king if he was intelligent, he would surrender now he and Min would put in a good word for him in front of the new monarch. The king asked Hong XiangGong where his new monarch was. Hong didn't understand what he was saying and said the new monarch was waiting in the royal palace for the news of the old king's capture. The king laughed and flung a box to him. Hong XiangGong caught the box, the king asked him to open it. When Hong XiangGong opened the box he dropped it and looked terrified. A head rolled out of the box. The king shouted that 2 days ago the pretender of the throne An DeShan was executed, the followers of the traitor would be wise to surrender now and their treason will be forgiven. The enemy troops were becoming restless, Wu JuXuan called to the soldiers that this was probably a ruse, they should remain calm. Hong XiangGong agreed and said the king didn't have any soldiers, how could they make any threats. The king laughed and said he ordered five 5 regiments to reclaim his homeland, 3 days ago he had won the war. Hong XiangGong was yelling it was impossible, how did the king have 5 regiments of soldiers? The king said that he borrowed 4 regiments from neighboring countries and 1 regiment was from the old man here.

The soldiers of general Min were even more restless. General Min ordered his men to attack and to bring him the head of the king. Unfortunately for him, only a handful of soldiers attacked, these were soldiers that remained loyal to general Min. The others just stood there. Hu TieHua stormed ahead and threw 2 soldiers off their horses. The old man raised his sabre and stormed ahead as well and killed 2 soldiers too. Hong XiangGong saw this was turning out to be unfavorable for him and wanted to leave quietly. But he was stopped by Ji BingYan. Hong had practically no martial arts at all and was easily captured by Ji. General Min was a military man. He saw Hu TieHua and raised his sword to attack Hu, but he was no match for Hu and was swiftly thrown of his horse and captured. The remaining soldiers all surrendered to the king. Suddenly Hu TieHua saw that Chu was not present he wondered where he went.

Somewhere away from the battle there were 2 men riding horses. One was running away, the other was pursuing. The "runner" was Wu JuXuan and the pursuer was Chu LiuXiang. Wu said to Chu there were no grudges between them, why did pursue him? Chu didn't answer and suddenly leapt down from his horse and jumped in front of Wu JuXuan. Wu threw a cloud of purple dust towards Chu.

Back at camp, Hu realized Chu was chasing Wu JuXuan. The king ordered a feast to celebrate the victory. The king assured Hu that with Chu's martial arts no one can escape from him. However, Hu TieHua was still feeling restless and whispered to Ji BingYan if they should look for him. Ji said they should each separately leave this place. Hu remembered he still had the Star of Happiness and handed it over to the king. The king didn't accept it and gave it to Hu saying it was a present for his heroic deeds. Hu said he couldn't accept such a gift. The king said he had lots of other treasures, one diamond more or less didn't matter. The king explained to them that the rumor of an ancient treasure was a ruse to fool the traitors, that would give the king an opportunity to contact the neighboring countries and the old man for help.

Ji BingYan suddenly coldly commented that the king was a true strategist but those poor protectors of the Peng family were killed for something trivial. The king coldly retorted that politics and war were awful things that would result in numerous deaths. Even the founders of the Tang and Sung dynasty were "guilty" of such crimes. The king said he didn't see the reason for Ji to make such remarks. Ji realized the king was correct in his words and apologized for it. Hu TieHua suggested everyone to drink heartily.

All of a sudden, a beautiful woman floated in and she looked like a goddess. The king recognized her as his queen. He softly asked her why she was here, she should be resting. Ji BinYan coldly said that not even sharp weapons could harm this woman. The queen asked the king if she recognized her with this. She removed her mask. The king also thought his wife was the most beautiful woman alive but this woman was even more dazzling. Hu TieHua recognized her she was his "bride."

At this moment, everyone knew she must be the Stone Avalokitesvara. Ji BingYan understood her plan, she wanted to replace the king. He knew when the king and princess died, the queen would become the next ruler. Furthermore, she made sure that traitors like An DeShan, General Min, Hong XiangGong were out of the picture first, leaving no one in her way to the throne. An DeShan, general Min and Hong XiangGong were just mere puppets.

The Stone Avalokitesvara praised Ji for his deduction. She told the king and princess to drink the wine in front of them. After drinking that wine all the problems would be solved for them at least. The old man wanted to sneak out for help, but the Stone Avalokitesvara told him he shouldn't bother. The soldiers were all sleeping now. The old man knew she was telling the truth, with her skills she could easily slip something in their liquor. The old man drew his sabre and stormed towards the Stone Avalokitesvara. Although the old man never really learnt superior martial arts, he was a man who used the sabre for many years and he knew that if his hack wouldn't hit her he would surely die. Princess PiPa leapt up to draw a sharp dagger and attacked. Both coordinated their attack to the perfection. They were sure that the Stone Avalokitesvara would not escape their assault.

Hu TieHua intervened and pushed the old man and princess PiPa away. The king and the princess were shocked that Hu TieHua switched sides, only the Stone Avalokitesvara smiled. The Stone Avalokitesvara explained to princess PiPa that Hu saved their lives if he could easily push them away. Then their attack wasn't that perfect and they would surely not survive the Stone Avalokitesvara's counter-attack. She demonstrated her martial arts and curled up her sleeve. Everyone saw 7, 8 different changes. After the demonstration she turned to Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan and asked them if they wanted to have a go. Both of them were pondering over the stance she just used. Neither of them could ward off that stance. After awhile Hu asked her the name of that stance, she just said it was called "Forbidden for Men."

The Stone Avalokitesvara said that men would die if they encountered her "Forbidden for Men." No one on this world can create such stances, not even the most famous martial arts schools of this time, Shao Lin and Wu Dang. Shao Lin martial arts is in her eyes too thick and too dumb. For example, it is comparable to a big bowl of roasted meat, only commoners would find it delicious and filling. But true connoisseurs were find it too greasy. Wu Dang is too light, just like a tofu and vegetables with no salt. The colors are nice but after one bite one will lose appetite. She didn't have one good word about Shao Lin and Wu Dang martial arts. Hu was amused by her comparisons. She added that the names of the stances of Shao Lin and Wu Dang were exaggerating, for instance, stances like "Subduing the Dragon and Taming the Tiger" or "Mountain Toppling." They should change the names into "Wood Hacking" or "Subduing Cats and Taming Dogs." Her martial arts had simple names like "Forbidden for Men."

The Stone Avalokitesvara had little respect for Shao Lin and Wu Dang. Both martial arts schools were famous for many years, every generation they produced new martial arts experts, although Shao Lin and Wu Dang are still flourishing in this time they did not produce any martial arts experts of the same level or higher than the Stone Avalokitesvara. That doesn't mean that Shao Lin and Wu Dang were inferior to the Stone Avalokitesvara.

After explaining her martial arts, the Stone Avalokitesvara asked them if Hu and Ji still wanted to fight her. They said they wouldn't dare. But as soon as they said "dare" they both leapt up and attacked her. The king, princess PiPa, and the old man couldn't see clearly what moves they were using, they only felt a pressing wind coming closer. Princess PiPa and the old man realized they were no match for Hu and Ji, and they were even more inferior to the Stone Avalokitesvara. Suddenly the 3 of them stopped and the Stone Avalokitesvara floated away and stood still, as if she didn't even move and still preserved her beauty and elegance. Hu TieHua's face turned red and Ji BingYan's face was entirely pale. She spoke to them and said she could have killed them but she wanted to test their martial arts so she let them live. She told them to stand down and leave, this was not their battle, but they wouldn't move an inch.

They were hoping that Chu would arrive soon. With the combined forces of the 3 of them, they would not be afraid of her. She guessed what they were thinking and said that Chu probably died at the hands of Wu JuXuan. Hu TieHua said that was impossible, this Wu JuXuan could never harm Chu. She told them that if there was someone capable of killing Chu that man must be Wu JuXuan. He knew how Chu thought so he analyzed him and found a way to deal with Chu.

She now focussed on the king and urged him to drink the wine, she told him An DeShan, General Min, and Hong XiangGong were waiting for him in the netherworld.

Chu inhaled the purple dust and felt weak all over and fell down. Wu JuXuan walked towards Chu and said even the great Chu LiuXiang is now rendered helpless and laughed. Chu said he knew a lot of men would try to fake their deaths to escape from responsibility and he never thought the Exquisite Monk WuHua would stoop to this level.

"Wu JuXuan" smiled and said he would endure Chu's scolding, because Chu was about to die now and he would grant Chu his final moments after he said that he peeled down his mask. Wu JuXuan was WuHua!

Chu LiuXiang figured everything out and explained his ideas to WuHua. He began his story many years ago. The HuaShan School and the Li family of Mount Huang were mortal enemies. In the end, the entire Li family was killed except young Li Qi. She escaped to Japan and met her husband TianFeng ShiSi Lang. After giving birth to 2 sons she left her husband and children. After returning to China she killed 4 of the 7 Swords of HuaShan, avenging her family but disappeared again. At this time, another strange, mysterious female martial arts expert appeared. She was known as the Stone Avalokitesvara. But no one thought that the poor Li Qi was the ruthless female killer, the Stone Avalokitesvara. Unfortunately, Miss Li spared the life of one HuaShan expert, HuangFu Gao. Perhaps because this man was too stubborn and anyone Miss Li fancied she must have him. After enduring all sorts of torment he managed to escape Miss Li's evil clutches. At this moment, WuHua's face was becoming awfully white with anger, but he let Chu finish his theory.

Chu continued. Unfortunately, many years later there was a busybody like Chu LiuXiang who became close friends with Miss Li's 2 sons and in the end, even mortal enemies. Even Chu didn't realize Li Qi/the Stone Avalokitesvara's secret but with the re-appearance of 2 HuaShan experts revealing Miss Li's mystery, Chu Liuxiang finally began to understand. WuHua said that after he was foiled in China, he began to look for his mother for help. But he was wondering how Chu figured out that the Stone Avalokitesvara was WuHua's mother. Chu said he thought of Madame Ren/Qiu LingSu. Madame Ren's face was mutilated by Miss Li but she was saved by Ren Ci. This was much to Miss Li's anger, anyone she wanted to suffer had to suffer. So she hated Ren Ci and wanted his life. However, her husband was ahead of her and challenged Ren Ci to a duel. After TianFeng ShiSi Lang expressed that he wanted Ren Ci to raise his son, Miss Li devised another plan of revenge. After NanGong Ling and WuHua were 20 odd years old, she visited them and told them she was their mother, she turned NanGong Ling against his teacher.

Chu deducted even if NanGong Ling was an ungrateful man, he would never kill his own godfather. A normal woman will never wait 20 years to meet her sons again, but if Miss Li wanted someone to pay, she will sacrifice anything to achieve her goals. She turned her sons against the people who raised them, cared for them, and only their closest relative had that much influence on WuHua and NanGong Ling. WuHua sighed and said that Chu was indeed a very intelligent man but too intelligent. WuHua drew a long samurai blade and asked him whether he remembered this sword. Chu said he did, WuHua said with this sword he can assure Chu that he will not suffer. He raised the sword and was about to strike.............

Chu LiuXiang returned to the oasis of the Stone Avalokitesvara. No one was there. The disciples were killed and the poor sweepers were also gone. Hua Mei Niao was thorough in her job. Chu sneaked to the Stone Avalokitesvara and watched. He saw her entirely naked in front of a big mirror. She was talking to her reflection and admiring her own body. It seems that her body was talking back to her. She was telling the reflection what she did today and in the end she said that no men could ever give her what she wants. She started "playing" with her own body. All of a sudden she heard a sigh outside and asked whether Chu LiuXiang was outside and asked him to come in. Chu entered her quarters. Chu told her that he knew she was looking for a soul mate to fill her emptiness but now he knew she would never find this soul mate. Because she is in love with herself, no one in the world matters to her, not even her husband and sons. She suffered from a terrible case of narcissism.

The Stone Avalokitesvara yelled at Chu: "You spied on me!" She lost her usual elegance and refinement and turned into a shrew. She walked forward to Chu with an evil angry look on her face. Chu became nervous and paced backwards. After awhile, she restored herself and apologized for her behavior. She asked Chu what happened to WuHua. Chu said he sealed his acupoint and hid him in a cave. She was surprised. She thought WuHua had Chu exactly where he wanted him. Chu told her something about himself. He told her that his nose was useless, that's also one of the reasons why he always rubbed his nose. Even the famous doctor Ye TianShi failed to cure his nose. Because of that, he started to learn a special type of internal strength that allowed him to breath through his skin.

The Stone Avalokitesvara was amused by this story and knew why WuHua's purple dust didn't affect him. Chu wanted to trade WuHua for a few people, namely the king, princess PiPa, Hu TieHua, Ji BingYan, Liu YanFei, HuangFu Gao, Qu WuRong, and Yi DianHong. She said that Qu Wurong and Yi DianHong left already. Before she arrived, they left a letter saying they had something to attend to and left first. She didn't see Liu YanFei and HuangFu Gao, they must have left too. Chu asked about Hu, Ji and the others, she told him he was just too late. They both drank the poisonous wine like the king, and told Chu if he came earlier, he might be able to save them. Chu LiuXiang was grieving from the inside that he was too late, even if he could kill her he would still regret that he wasn't able to save his friends. Furthermore, he had no confidence in defeating the Stone Avalokitesvara.

She watched him and told him not to try to avenge his friends, he wasn't her match. She advised him to comply to her wishes, she would help him become the new monarch of the kingdom of QiuCi and she would give herself to him. This was not an easy choice--power, wealth, prestige and beauty were in his grasp. She added that if he complied, he would have everything he desired and if he refused he will die. Chu LiuXiang smiled and said he was very willing but then he remembered that she was old and he lost all appetite. The Stone Avalokitesvara was furious when she heard him, she asked him whether he would rather die than comply to her wishes. He told her that he would rather die than sleep with an old hag like her and told her to dress up, he wants to vomit if he keeps seeing her naked body. She knew that Chu said those words to make her lose her self-control, but she couldn't stop her temper.

At this moment Chu flew towards her. Within 7 stances she attacked Chu's throat, eyes, chest. Chu had great difficulty avoiding these 7 stances and yelled: "Stop!" The Stone Avalokitesvara stopped and asked gently and sweetly whether he changed his mind. Chu smiled and told her to put on some clothes. Before she could react, he leapt up and attacked her with 10 stances. She blocked his stances and said that no wonder people say Chu LiuXiang was full of ideas. But he couldn't trick her twice. This battle was the most intense battle Chu had ever encountered. Chu LiuXiang knew that there were 3, 4 experts who were proclaimed to be the best martial arts expert of this time. The first one was reverend TianFeng of the southern ShaoLin Monastery, the other one was the leader of the KunLun School, Lei Ting, and some say it was the strange and mysterious Shi Yi Ren or Xue Yi Ren (the man in the blooded-robe).

However some people say that the reason Shi Yi Ren could be so famous was that he had never encountered Chu LiuXiang. Nonetheless, Chu also knew none of these martial arts expert were able to defeat the Stone Avalokitesvara, it was likely they would be defeated within 300 stances. At this time, Chu knew he would surely lose within the coming 50 stances. After another 30 stances, she asked Chu whether he could stand another 20 stances. At this time Chu was exhausted, and said he couldn't. The Stone Avalokitesvara could kill him any time, even if the leaders of the 7 prominent martial arts schools would come, they wouldn't be able to save Chu. Or if all the soldiers in the world would gather here, she would also first kill Chu before being killed by all those soldiers.

A lot of enemies of Chu always said Chu LiuXiang will die at the hands of women, it seems they are right in their prediction.

At the final moment, Chu saw the Stone Avalokitesvara's reflections in the mirror. He thought of something and used his palm to smash the mirror. The Stone Avalokitesvara was stunned, Chu quickly advanced and sealed 5 of her acupoints.

The invincible Stone Avalokitesvara was defeated by Chu LiuXiang, she gazed into his eyes and softly said: "You... defeated me." Chu smiled and said he did. She wanted to say something but didn't. All of a sudden, she fell down. The life swiftly moved out of her body. The Stone Avalokitesvara took her own life.

Chu LiuXiang took no pleasure in defeating the Stone Avalokitesvara. Su RongRong, Li HongXiu, and Song TianEr were still missing. Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan, 2 of his best friends were gone.

Chu went back to the cave where he left WuHua, when he reached that place he was stunned. WuHua was still there but there was an arrow stuck in his throat. Someone killed him, there was a note attached to the arrow.

Master Chu is not willing to kill anyone.
So Hua Mei Niao will do it for master Chu.

Chu LiuXiang still didn't know who this Hua Mei Niao is. All of a sudden, an arrow flew by. Chu caught it and there was a thread tied to the arrow. Chu was puzzled and followed the thread. Indeed, there was someone waiting for him, not one, but 4 men. When he took a closer look, they were the king, princess PiPa, Hu TieHua and Ji BingYan. He thought he was dreaming but it was them. Chu quickly asked Ji what happened to their poison. Ji asked him how he knew they were poisoned, and asked him if he saw the Stone Avalokitesvara. Hu asked what happened to her, Chu said she was dead now. The 4 of them changed colors, Chu said she committed suicide. Hu asked Chu whether he defeated her. Chu smiled and said that they must be very surprised. Hu said to Ji that they might as well retire--this old smelly insect single-handedly defeated the most powerful martial arts expert of this time. Chu said this battle was far from easy. He was almost killed in 200 stances. Hu TieHua asked him how he defeated her. Princess PiPa laughed and said Chu must have his own special way, when it comes to intelligence and wit no one was able to overcome Chu LiuXiang. Ji BingYan said someone left them the anti-dote after the Stone Avalokitesvara left.

Chu LiuXiang concluded it must be that Hua Mei Niao again. The king was very happy and asked Chu, Hu, and Ji to go to his kingdom and stay for some time. Princess PiPa said sweetly that Chu had to come and stay for some time. Chu was rubbing his nose and was looking at Hu and Ji for help, but they pretended not to see him. Chu smiled and said they had some business to attend to in China and must be on their way. Princess PiPa gazed into Chu's eyes and asked him again whether he would go to her country and stay. Chu smiled bitterly, the king held the princess by her hand and sighed that if they had some other affair to attend to, he will not impose on them to stay.

Princess PiPa softly said she always knew that "he" wouldn't go with her. She raised her head and smiled and said: "I don't blame you, because I cannot go along with you. We just belong to different worlds, it was my pleasure to meet you. I......I am very happy."

Hu TieHua told Chu that he really respected her, she didn't cry. She was truly a brave and smart young girl. Chu said she was right about the different worlds, they didn't belong to each other. It was better to savour the sweet memories they shared. After the 3 friends were joking for a while, they mentioned the mysterious Hua Mei Niao. Chu wondered who this mysterious helper was. Hu said probably another woman in love with Chu who wants to get his affection and attention.

Chu said there was no point looking for her, she would certainly come to them.

The beautiful Stone Avalokitesvara was defeated by Chu LiuXiang, but Su RongRong, Li HongXiu and Song TianEr were still missing.

What ever happened to them, perhaps they were possibly captured by this Hua Mei Niao.

Another adventure awaits Chu LiuXiang in the mysterious Divine Water Palace, what is this place - -a heaven on earth or a living hell?

Chu LiuXiang enters this place and will discover a secret of the Keeper of the Palace, the famous Matriarch of Water Yin Ji. Will Chu LiuXiang ever make it alive out of there? Find out in the next adventure of Chu LiuXiang: The Thrush.