Chapter 4 - Long Night

 

Long night had just started. Ma Rulong picked up some dry twigs and found a ruined and deserted temple to hide from the wind. Then he built a fire.

It was very likely that the fire would attract the enemies. Everybody knew that a fugitive couldn't build a fire, not even when he was freezing to death. But this girl really needed it. He himself could freeze to death but he couldn't let this stranger die because he feared that the enemies would be able to find him. He'd rather die than dishonor himself.

The fire caught and started burning brightly. He moved the girl to the warmest, driest area. He himself needed a rest. Anyhow, not long after he'd shut his eyes, a voice suddenly shrieked, "Who are you?"

To his surprise, the girl woke up. Not only was she frighteningly ugly, her voice was frighteningly sharp. Ma Rulong didn't respond. At the moment, he himself didn't know who he was, just like a living corpse.

He didn't have a future, nor did he have a past. He slowly got up, thinking to go check the girl's condition.

He wanted to see if she could move, or if she would survive. He couldn't have expected that this girl would suddenly grab a dry stick from the fire and loudly shout, "If you dare come over, I'll beat you to death!"

He risked his own life to save hers but this strange and incomparably ugly girl actually looked like she thought he was going to rape her. Ma Rulong didn't say a word.

He sat down again.

Clutching that fire stick, the girl gave him a vicious stare with that pair of mousy eyes. Mu Rulong shut his eyes. He really was too tired to look at her. Again, the girl sharply asked, "How did I get here?"

Ma Rulong was too tired to answer.

Finally remembering her own mishaps, the girl said, "I was buried in the snow just now. Was it you who saved me?"

"Yes," Ma Rulong replied.

He didn't expect her to question him again but she said, "Since you saved me, why didn't you take me to the doctor? Why did you bring me to this ruined temple?"

Her voice rose sharply, "I know your kind. I know you didn't act out of good will."

Ma Rulong almost ran out of patience and said, "Don't you worry. Even if I wanted to rape you, seeing you looking like this, I'd lose my interest." But he hadn't said it. In the fire light, this girl looked even uglier. He didn't have the heart to hurt her, and so he only let out a long sigh and said, "I didn't take you to the doctor simply because I didn't have any money."

The girl sneered and said, "How could a big man like you not have even a coin? Must be because you are too lazy to get a job." Ma Rulong resigned himself to the tirade. This girl was unwilling to get off his back. On top of that, she kept on yakking and flinging accusations at him, non-stop.

Suddenly Ma Rulong stood up. He coldly said, "Here is the firewood. There should be enough for one night. In the morning, people will definitely be coming here." He really couldn't bear it anymore. He'd better leave.

Once more, the girl squawked, "What are you doing? Are you leaving? Are you really going leave me, a weak damsel in distress, by myself here? What kind of a man are you?" Someone like this really couldn't be considered 'weak.' Too bad, she truly was a female.

The girl sneered and continued, "Are you afraid that my enemy would follow me here? Is that why you wanted to quickly slip away?"

Ma Rulong couldn't stop himself. He asked, "You've got an enemy?"

"If I didn't, wouldn't that mean I buried myself in the snow? Do I look like I'm insane?" The girl quipped.

Ma Rulong slowly sat down once again. He didn't ask who her enemy was, or why she had been pursued. He just knew that right now he couldn't possibly leave. Someone buried a fragile female in ice and snow, meaning for her to die. A true man couldn't just ignore the matter.

The girl asked again, "You aren't leaving now?"

"No, I'm not." Ma Rulong replied.

But the girl continued, "Why aren't you? Are you thinking of doing something foul?"

To his own surpirse, Ma Rulong smiled. He really couldn't help himself. Women like this were really very rare, and he hadn't thought that he would ever run into one. What else could he do but smile? Should he weep bitterly or just bang his head to death?

Again the girl cried out, "Why are you smiling to yourself? What wicked scheme are you hatching up? Say it!"

Ma Rulong didn't speak.. because a voice from outside the ruined temple had interrupted, "He won't say anything. This white horse master never tells anybody his intention."

The flame flickered, and someone walked slowly into the temple. Surprisingly, it was Peng Tianba.

Peng Tianba was carrying that silver fox fur coat in his left hand, and a saber in his right. The saber had already been unsheathed. What a pity that this girl didn't recognize him, nor his saber. She was staring at Peng Tianba with that pair of mousy eyes. In a loud voice she asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm a pig," said Peng Tianba.

"Even if you were fatter, you'd still look a little thin compared to a pig." The girl commented.

With a sigh Peng Tianba said, "Too bad I'm dumber than a pig, and that's why I took his silver fox fur coat."

The girl was obviously surprised. She asked, "This is his?"

"Right," replied Peng Tianba.

"Why did he give you such a good item?" The girl asked.

"Because he wanted to put this fur coat in my hands," replied Peng Tianba.

The girl asked again, "Did you use your hands to hold the coat or did the coat stop you from using your hands?"

"It's all the same," said Peng Tianba.

The girl asked, "How?"

Peng Tianba explained, "It doesn't matter whether my hands were blocked or I used my hands to hold the coat..

..My hands were occupied so I couldn't draw my saber, or use a dart."

His Flying Tiger Chasing Spirits dart was as fearsome as his Five Tigers Door Breaking saber.

The girl still didn't understand. She asked, "Why didn't he let you draw your saber or send a dart?"

"Because he wanted to run away," replied Peng Tianba.

The girl asked, "Why did he want to run away? Was it because you bullied him? Why did you bully people?"

Peng Tianba only let out a forced smile. He had just realized that talking to this girl wasn't a very smart thing. He put on a grim expression and coldly said, "Young Master Ma, you don't have to run away again. This time the three of us came in three different directions. There is only me here right now. You may as well kill me to eliminate another witness."

Ma Rulong didn't respond.

The girl butted in, "He won't kill you. He's a good person."

Peng Tianba repeated, "He's a good person?"

The girl added, "He's certainly a good person. I've never seen anyone this good before. If you dare touch him, I'll kill you."

Peng Tianba sneered. Suddenly the girl jumped over and held his upper arms. She shouted, "I'll block him. You run."

Ma Rulong didn't run, and she couldn't stop Peng Tianba either. Peng Tianba just raised his arms, sending her to the ground.

Peng Tianba said, "Talking too much like this, you must be tired. You'd better lie down." Having said that, his foot shot out, sealing her 'sleep' pressure point. Then he threw the fox fur coat in his hand on her body.

Ma Rulong stared at his saber, waiting for it to move. Who could have imagined that Peng Tianba would resheathe his saber and put both of his hands over the fire. He knew that Ma Rulong couldn't run away, and so he took his time warming up his hands. This old Jianghu master's calm demeanor commanded admiration from people.

Surprisingly, Ma Rulong was also very calm. He didn't appear to be anxious, nor did he strike first.

The fire was burning low. Peng Tianba threw some more twigs on it and slowly said, "You know your third uncle and I were friends, don't you?"

"Hmm," said Ma Rulong.

Peng Tianba asked again."Did he ever tell you about me before he died?"

"Hmm," said Ma Rulong.

Peng Tianba continued, "Did he say how he and I had become friends?"

Ma Rulong replied, "No."

Peng Tianba said, "The two of us had to fight to be friends." He laughed and continued, "Your third uncle was an extremely arrogant person. He certainly wouldn't tell you this story."

Ma Rulong asked, "Why?"

Peng Tianba said, "Because.. even though my intelligence and knowledge were inferior to his, it was too bad that his interests were too broad. He wanted to learn everything – music, chess, literature, painting, you name it – and so he didn't have a lot of time to practise his swordplay."

Ma Rulong had heard this before. His third uncle was not only known for his great swordplay, but he was also a most reputed artistic gentleman.

Peng Tianba said, "So although he was somewhat stronger than me, his kungfu couldn't match mine. We fought three times, and I defeated him within one hundred moves every single time." He didn't let Ma Rulong speak but suddenly asked, "How is your sword skill compared to your third uncle's?"

Then he said, "I believe yours is absolutely inferior to his. So even if you had a sword in your hand, I'd still be able to kill you within a hundred moves." He blandly continued, "Right now you are empty-handed, the best you can do will be sixty moves."

Ma Rulong kept his mouth shut. Peng Tianba went on, "This saber of mine, even though it is only used to kill murderers, every stroke is delivered full force. I sometimes don't want to kill people but once my saber strikes, I myself can't control it."

With a sigh he said, "So not many people have lived to talk about my saber. "

Ma Rulong was silent. Peng Tianba said, "You and your uncle are similar, being intelligent and extremely arrogant people. But I certainly hope you won't die young like he did."

Ma Rulong asked, "What are you getting at?"

After a long, long moment of hesitation, Peng Tianba slowly said, "I suddenly thought that there were several strange occurences."

"Yes?" Ma Rulong said.

Peng Tianba asked, "Do you know how I knew to find you here?"

Ma Rulong shook his head.

Peng Tianba explained, "It was you who brought me here. I followed the hoofprints your horse left in the snow."

Ma Rulong hadn't thought this point through. He had never been a fugitive before.

Peng Tianba said, "If you could come up with that flawless and vicious scheme to hurt people, you couldn't have been so careless like this and, in a critical life or death moment, you wouldn't have taken risks to save this strange and incomparably ugly woman." With a sigh he said, "But you actually did all these things. Come to think of it, something is not right. Although I'm a gullible pig, I can't help feeling that this is all a little strange, and so.. .."

He continued, "I hope you will come with me willingly so I won't have to use force."

"Where would you take me to?" Ma Rulong asked blandly.

Peng Tianba replied, "I'd take to you Shaolin. Give me three months and I'd certainly uncover the truths and give you justice."

Ma Rulong didn't comply, nor did he reject the offer.

Peng Tianba said, "Right now you are surrounded. No matter where you go, people won't let you off. This is the only way out." He was right, absolutely right.

Peng Tianba slowly walked over and said, "So right now you have to completely trust me. I'm the only one who can help you." Then he stretched out both hands, looking absolutely like he was the only person in the world, who was willing to help Ma Rulong.

Finally accepting his hands, Ma Rulong said, "I trust you but .. .."

He didn't finish his sentence because Peng Tianba's foot suddenly flew out and kicked his ‘huan tiao' (jumping) point, causing his legs to buckle. Then Peng Tianba's hand flashed like a lightning bolt, sealing pressure points on his wrists.

With a loud and merry laugh, Peng Tianba said, "See, now who's a pig?!"

Peng Tianba's hand dropped, and so did Ma Rulong. Then, with a ‘ka' sound, the Five Tigers Door Breaking saber left its sheath. This saber was indeed among the best in Jianghu. Not only was his saber unsheathed cleanly and swiftly, his posture was also exquisite.

His killing posture was incredibly beautiful. And once the saber left its sheath, it would most likely kill someone. But he should at least question Ma Rulong. Even if he had already decided that Ma Rulong was the real culprit, he should have interrogated first to be certain. Why had he drawn out his saber just now?

Ma Rulong finally understood. As he saw Peng Tianba's saber coming out, he knew that Peng Tianba was the real murderer! His dark scheme was all managed in secret, and that's why he couldn't let that man in black, the Divine Death, live to tell the story.

And that's why he didn't need to ask any more questions. In the same manner, he couldn't let Ma Rulong live to talk either. Too bad, now that Ma Rulong had understood, it was actually too late. The saber's white light flashed, coming down to strike him.

Who could have imagined that the saber didn't get to slash Ma Rulong's throat. Instead, Peng Tianba's body unexpectedly flew up and twirled in midair before falling down, far and away. His face ashened in terror as he hoarsely shouted, "Who's there?"

Except the two people with their pressure points sealed, there was no one else there. Could it be that he'd just met a ghost?

The flame flickered. Peng Tianba's face appeared to alternate between red and ashen gray. But there was no other person there, not even a shadow of that ghost. Suddenly, he jumped up to flee, his saber thrusting towards Ma Rulong's throat.

Again came the ghost! And this time it was even more terrifying. While Ma Rulong couldn't see anything, Peng Tianba's body was thrown high, twisting in the air. When he fell to the ground, he fled without a backward glance.

It was dark outside the ruined temple, so dark that even see a shadow couldn't be seen. The flame was dancing, the wind howling. Suddenly along with the wind came a short and sharp cry of surprise and horror.

Ma Rulong heard Peng Tianba's cry but he couldn't guess what was happening. He wanted so much to jump out and take a look. What a pity that the pressure points on his wrists and legs had been sealed.

Even though Peng Tianba was famous for his saber technique, his acupoint sealing technique actually wasn't inferior to others. Right now if somebody arrived with a blade in his hand – any person, any blade – he could easily cut Ma Rulong's throat. Luckily, there was no one coming in, no people, no ghost, no sound, no movement, no nothing. It was as if heaven knew that the two people couldn't move their bodies, the fire died out.

Anyhow, Ma Rulong knew that there could be people coming at any time. Peng Tianba would not come back ever again but the Merciless Monk, Feng Chaofan, and Qiu Fengcheng were all a possibility. And no matter who it was, that person would never let him off.

At the moment, the long cold night lingered, and nobody knew what was going on. Winter nights were always long, really very long.