Chapter 9 - Adversity and True Hearts

 

Undoubtedly, wealthy merchants lived here.

These wealthy people had to guard themselves against robbers and theives who wanted to steal their possessions. Since they couldn't see clearly after sunset, they had to stay behind high walls. And so, built along both sides of this narrow lane were very high walls, so high that not even one with the Hall of Celestial Horse lightness kungfu could jump over.

The lane was very deep, and very dark. There were four people in front of them, and three more in the back. The seven people all wore black, tight-fitting clothes, each using a black piece of cloth to conceal his face. They slowly strolled over as if they had no care. They knew that the two people were like turtles in a jar, or fish trapped in a net, basically having no way out.

Ma Rulong lowered his voice, "You don't have to be afraid. I'll ask them to let you leave."

"And they will just let me leave?" Dawan asked.

Ma Rulong said, "You have nothing to do with them. Why wouldn't they let you go?"

"You think they are after you?" Dawan asked.

"Of course," said Ma Rulong.

Dawan said, "You're wrong."

With a sigh she continued, "I hope they are here for you too. What a pity they aren't."

"Why not?" Ma Rulong asked.

Dawan replied, "You're supposed to be a murderer. Capturing a murderer is righteous, and people do it in the open, why would they have to hide their faces behind black masks?"

Ma Rulong finally remembered that she was in trouble just like he was. Someone was trying to kill her.

Dawan said, "But you don't have to be afraid. I can ask them to let you leave as well."

Ma Rulong asked, "You think I can leave?"

Da wan replied, "We aren't related. These people are not after you. Are you saying you want to die with me here?"

Ma Rulong said, "Whatever, I just can't leave you alone here."

"Why not?" Dawan asked.

"Because I don't do such a thing," said Ma Rulong.

"That's not a good enough reason," said Dawan.

Ma Rulong said, "Coming from me, it's good enough."

"Perhaps I'm a bad woman, a thief. Maybe you really should help them capture me." Dawan said.

"I know you aren't that kind," said Ma Rulong.

Dawan said, "There's no way you'll know that. You don't even know my last name."

Ma Rulong said, "But I trust you."

Dawan gave him a look. Suddenly she sighed and said, "I thought you were getting smarter. I didn't realize you were this dumb."

Although this was a long lane and the seven people were walking very slowly, right now they were really close. And they all had weapons, each of which was a rarely seen kind. One person was holding the Dragon and Phoenix golden rings that nobody had used since Shangguan Jinhong's death by the hand of Little Li Flying Dagger, and someone was carrying the Duck Riding Tiger Baskets (?).

These were weapons that had vanished from Jianghu for a long time. This was because although they were very powerful, it was extremely difficult to learn how to use them. And so, one who could use any of these weapons was definitely not a lightweight.

Ma Rulong really had no way to handle them but he simply wasn't afraid.

Dawan suddenly said, "Hey, are you coming for me or him?"

The man who had the Dragon and Phoenix Double Rings in his hand was of small but powerful stature. His steps were firm, and lights shone from the eyes that weren't covered by the black mask. No doubt he was a kungfu master.

He sneered, "What if I'm coming for you? What if I'm coming for him?"

Dawan said, "If you are after him, it's not my business. I'm not a hero, nor am I a gentleman. If you're here to kill him, I have nothing to do with you people."

That man coldly said, "No need to explain. I can see that."

Dawan said, "But if you are after me, the situation is different."

"Oh, yeah?" That man said.

Dawan explained, "Although his own trouble is already big enough, he's not going to just stand by. If you want to get me, he'll fight you people to death."

The man said, "So if we want to get you, we must kill him first."

Dawan looked at Ma Rulong. She asked, "Is that right?"

"Yes," replied Ma Rulong.

He himself didn't know why he'd said that. Really, he still had a lot of things to do. Dark plots hadn't been revealed, and so he couldn't die. If he died here today, not only would he die an obscure death, the wrong and injustice done to him would never again be rectified. But he'd already said yes. He didn't want to go back on his promise, nor did he regret it.

Dawan said, "Hey, you hear what he just said?"

The man in black sneered, "Seems like he's not only a hero, but also a gentleman."

"Seems so indeed," said Dawan.

"What a pity that people like this always die young," said the man.

With a sigh Dawan said, "I already told him that. Too bad he didn't listen."

A 'ding' sound echoed as the Double Rings clapped, sparks flying in all directions. Years ago, Shangguan Jinhong dominated and shook the world, establishing Jianghu's tyranical 'Golden Coin Clan.' Not only was he a man of vision, his kungfu was really remarkable. What a pity that among all the weapons, 'Shangguan Golden Rings' had ranked second. Anyhow, most people in Jianghu believed that his kungfu certainly wasn't under that of the number one master, Old Sage of Heaven.

For a while, he hold the Dragon and Phoenix Rings in his palm so people would recognize the most powerful weapon in the world. This kind of weapon in the hand of a man like him didn't exude the aura that Shangguan Jinhong had while ruling Jianghu, but its power was still frightening.

Dawan didn't even look at the weapon. She was looking at Ma Rulong with a warm and delightful smile.

Powerful enemies were already here to kill them, and life or death would be decided in just a short moment. Surprisingly, she was very happy. This was because Ma Rulong didn't drop her and run away. Regardless of what she'd said, what she was feeling in her heart right now seemed to be more important than life and death.

Ma Rulong suddenly felt her rising happiness. That pair of swollen eyes seemed to become quite adorable. Beauty and ugliness actually were not cleanly separated. A happy person was actually a lovely person.

Dawan softly asked, "Are you afraid?"

Ma Rulong certainly wasn't totally without fear. Fear was one of the weaknesses of mankind that was most difficult to defeat. Fortunately, there were several kinds of emotions that human could use to overcome fear.

Dawan said, "If you are, perhaps there's still time for you to leave."

"I'm not leaving," said Ma Rulong.

Dawan let out a soft sigh. She said, "Then I.. .."

She didn't get to finish what she was going to say. It was as if her voice had suddenly been chopped off by an invisible blade, and her throat strangled by an invisible demon. Her eyes also showed genuine fear as if she'd seen a ghost that others could not.

Ma Rulong turned his head to look. What she saw was only a person - a very ordinary woman in simple black garments with a flower basket in her hand. She'd just turned into the lane.

Ma Rulong didn't turn his head back and so he just asked, "What's wrong?"

Dawan said, "I have to go. You are not leaving but I am."

And leave she did. Even before she finished talking, her body flew upwards. Nobody could have imagined that she would be able to go over this tall wall just like that.

That ordinary flower woman continued walking with her head low, as if she didn't see that there was a tall wall in her path. Seeing her head collide into the wall, everybody expected to see a broken head and splattered blood. Unexpectedly, her head didn't crack but the wall did. With a 'bu' sound, there appeared a human-shaped crack in the wall that was two, three feet thick, built to withstand winds and fires. That ordinary flower seller walked through the wall like it was a thin piece of paper.

Ma Rulong was shocked, and so was everybody else. Dawan's lightness kungfu was astonishing enough but this flower woman's kungfu was even more so.

Suddenly the sky appeared to be darker, the wind colder. The women had left. The person they wanted to kill had gone with the wind. But the life-snatching Golden Rings were still here.

Ma Rulong finally asked, "Are you after her or me?"

"The girl," said the man in black.

"She's already gone," said Ma Rulong.

The man in black said, "Very bad for you."

"Why?" Ma Rulong asked.

The man in black replied, "You should know. Unsheated blades must see blood; otherwise, it's bad luck."

He had a murderous weapon in his hand and murderous intent in his eyes.

He continued, "All of us here are the same. If we start, we must kill. Now that she's gone, we can only kill you."

"Very good," said Ma Rulong.

Really, he knew the situation wasn't very good. No matter who he fought against, all wasn't very good. He had no killing weapon. He had no murderous intent. And he had no choice.

Why did people kill people? He hated violence. But in some situation, one had to use force to stop violence. He gathered his whole strength. He only had one life, and he didn't want to die. He had to stop this violence.

With a 'ding' sound, the Double Rings clapped once again, sparks flying in all directions like rain. Ma Rulong's body shot out, like an arrow on its way. He didn't have a murderous mind but he had something else.

Courage!

Of course, he didn't aim at the man in black with the Golden Rings in his palm, but another person. The 'must first capture the king' strategy couldn't really be used in this kind of situation. Right now, he had to attack their weakest link.

Right and wrong couldn't coexist. In a situation in which one was overwhelmed by the force of enemies, if he could protect his own body, his body would then be protected. If he could eleminate an enemy, then that enemy would be eliminated.

The man he attacked was the Black Lord.

The Black Lord's last name was Huang (yellow). Everybody called him the Black Lord only because he was the most evil and the largest among them, looking like a lord. The Black Lord was eight feet nine in height, and his shoulder was three feet wide. His arms were as thick as a man's thigh, and his fist was the size of a child's skull.

How could Ma Rulong consider such a man the weakest link? Was it because this person followed the life-snatching Golden Rings everywhere? Tree weed had to attach itself to a big tree to survive. A sly fox had to rely on the power of a tiger so it could frighten people. The weak always hoped they could depend on the strong for protection. How strong or weak someone was absolutely couldn't be determined by his appearance, and Ma Rulong's judgement wasn't wrong.

The Black Lord's weapon was a pair of iron plaques, looking to be about sixty, seventy catties in weight. Ma Rulong moved in to strike, and the Black Lord, armed with the plaques, returned the attack with one horizontal swipe and another vertical blow. What a pity that a weapon's worth couldn't be judged by its weight either.

Ma Rulong's fist shot out, passing through that pair of plaques and landing on the bridge of the Black Lord's nose. A very soft sound like someone hitting a slab of dead meat was heard. But without a single cry, the Black Lord fell face-up on the ground.

As this man went down, Ma Rulong could have broken out of the siege. He also could have dashed out through that crack in the wall. But he chose not to because he suddenly felt that he himself wasn't defenseless againt these people and that he wasn't totally without opportunity. And so long as there was a bit of opportunity, he wouldn't give up.

He was an arrogant person, a really extremely arrogant person.

The Black Lord had fallen. Ma Rulong picked up one of the plaques with his foot and then grabbed it with his left hand. He took advantage of the situation and swung it out at the Golden Rings. His right hand also shot out fiercely at someone's wrist, knocking off his judge's brush.

But the Golden Rings stayed in the enemy's hands, and someone was still holding that pair of Tiger Baskets. The two pairs of hands and two sets of weapons were truly deadly. By the time he saw the combined force of the extremely strange baskets and the powerful life-snatching golden rings, he'd realized his unforgivable mistake. He'd underestimated the opponents, overestimating himself.

This kind of mistake wouldn't ever be repeated because once was fatal enough! But he could still fight to death! When a person was willing to die, giving it his all, he was not only dangerous but fearsome. And only a cornered man would be willing to die fighting, why were these people not afraid to die with him?

Divine Death!

They had come to kill him after all. He'd suddenly figured it out.

The Black Lord struggled to get up. His broken nose made it difficult for him to breathe, and so he was panting. He suddenly ripped open the front piece of his big gown. He crazily hissed, "Kill him! Kill him! Kill! Kill!

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

It was a sad, shrilling cry! Underneath the ripped gown, there were nineteen blood red characters on the Black Lord's chest!

Divine Death!

Regarless of what methods they had to use or who they had to sacrifice, they would kill him!

Ma Rulong's fist tightened. He clenched his teeth, preparing to fight to death! He knocked down someone with his fist. He didn't get to see who that person was because he suddenly caught a glimpse of bright, silver light from a flying spear. A silver spear!

"Feng Cheng, Silver Spear, Qiu."

As the silver spear arrived, Qiu Fengcheng said, "If you want to kill him, you must first break this silver spear. If you want to break the spear, you must first kill me!"

He'd never thought that Qiu Fengcheng would come to his rescue but it was Qiu Fengcheng who had just come! By his body was the Silver Spear.

Someone had come to fight a deadly battle with him! Why would one always have to face adversity to see a person's true colors and recognize who his true friend was?

The spear went through someone's throat, and the fist smashed another person's ribs. This time everbody all heard the sound of cracking bones.

There was nobody there for them to fall. Suddenly everybody had disappeared. Of course, two people willing to die fighting were more dangerous than one, much less to say that those two people were Qiu Fengcheng and Ma Rulong.

No one knew what time it was but it was very late in the night. It was cold and dark in that lane. Ma Rulong felt a warm hand grasping his.

Qiu Fengcheng's voice was equally warm. He said, "I know what you need right now. You really need a cup of wine."