Chapter 13

We left off with the sudden appearance of Yue Ming Ke who unexpectedly sealed off Zhuo Yi Hang’s acupoint to render him momentarily mute and immobile. Then with a twist of his of his body, Yue threw Zhuo onto his back and dashed out the front doors, leaving behind him a room full of masterful fighters, each and every single one of them stupefied with shock.

Taoist Priest White Stone lambasted furiously, “So you’re the little runt who’s going against me! Get him!” and with his sword in hand, he was the first person to charge out the door. Since Liu Xi Ming knew who Yue Ming Ke was, he hurriedly cried out, “Wait brother! Don’t do anything rash!” but Taoist Priest White Stone had already led all the Wu Tang disciples chasing out the front doors and faced with no other choice, Liu Xi Ming and the rest of the skilled fighters could only chase after them.

With his exceptional levitation skills, Yue Ming Ke was able to excel over Taoist Priest White Stone by a small measure despite carrying a person on his back. Even though Taoist Priest White Stone had already executed the masterful levitation skill of “Capturing the Cicada in 8 Steps,” he still ended up falling behind Yue by a good twenty to thirty feet, driving White Stone mad with frustration as he grinded his teeth together in anger. But like a mouse cautious of the prongs of its trap, he did not dare to unleash any projectiles at Yue.

Like a dart, Yue Ming Ke bolted all the way back to the Yang household before releasing Zhuo Yi Hang’s acupoint. The first thing that Zhuo became aware of when he regained his senses was the clang of gold and bronze smashing into each other, all mixing in with the painful screams of slaughter and the heated cries of battle that reverberated out from within the inner regions of the mansion. Zhuo Yi Hang almost thought that he was jolted from the throes of a terrifying nightmare when before he could even say anything Yue Ming Ke was already by his ear saying, “Brother Zhuo, come give me a hand and help save Military Commissioner Xiong!”

Meanwhile, Yu Luo Cha and Tie Fei Long were struggling with their battle when they suddenly saw Yue Ming Ke reappear with Zhuo Yi Hang following closely behind him! Infused with an immediate resurgence of energy, Yu Luo Cha spun the long sword in her hand and drew out another explosion of incandescence as she targeted straight towards the vital spot on Jin Du Yi’s throat with the stance “Li Guang [1] shoots at rock.” Jin Du Yi slants his shoulder over to one side and with a back swipe, attempts to hook onto Yu Luo Cha’s wrists. But Tie Fei Long immediately pounded forward with a single punch, forcing Jin Du Yi to block the blow through the lowering of his wrist and to his surprise was jolted back two whole steps upon impact! By then, Yu Luo Cha had already zipped past him, the priceless sword in her hand thriving up, down, left and right as she consecutively wounded four Eastern Faction guards in a split of a second while charging forward to break through the enclosure so that she may provide backup support for Zhuo Yi Hang.

Seeing how both Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha were also present, Zhuo Yi Hang was overcome with both surprise and elation as he asked, “What is all this?” Yue Ming Ke replied, “You and Heroine Lian ward off these bandits while I go and save grandmaster!” Then by conjuring up the force of the winds with his sword, Yue blazed through the crowd by attacking from the sides, leaving behind him a trail of destruction. Zhuo Yi Hang half followed and half watched Yue to discover that trapped against the corner of the wall was a robust man with a girth comparable to a bear and the back of a tiger standing there with all the majestic solemnity of a heavenly deity. Zhuo knew then that this must without a doubt be Xiong Ting Bi. Having held Xiong in reverence for the longest time, upon observing the situation Zhuo Yi Hang immediately understood what Yue Ming Ke’s intentions were and as a result, suddenly developed a warm appreciation for Yu Luo Cha.

Hurriedly executing Wu Tang’s annihilating 72 Styles of the Sequential-Linking Sword Skill to break through the enclosure, every stance that was drawn out by Zhuo was so deadly that a few Eastern Faction palace guards were wounded under his sword in just an instant. By then, Yu Luo Cha has also slashed her way through the crowd to join forces with him causing Zhuo Yi Hang to exclaim happily, “Lian jiejie! So you’re also a pure loyal heart who’s come to save Military Commissioner Xiong?” Although Yu Luo Cha’s original intent was only that of retrieving her sword manual, but hearing Zhuo Yi Hang put it this way she figured that now was not the time to explain in detail anyways and so with a charming smile, she chopped off the arms of the two palace guards standing in front of her and laughed, “Silly boy, let’s finish off these people first before we stop to chat. Your Military Commissioner Xiong will be fine! Your good friend is over there to protect him, what else is there for you to worry about?” Amidst all this merry jesting, her movements were not the least bit hindered as the tip of her sword pierced towards the East and then punctured towards the West, injuring the joints and crucial tendons of even more palace guards as she sent them sprawling across the floor, thrashing wildly about in pain.

Meanwhile, Taoist Priest White Stone was about ready to burst with pent up anger! Having furiously chased after Yue Ming Ke with his sword ready in hand, White Stone watched as Yue suddenly put down Zhuo Yi Hang and then the two of them charge into Yang Lian’s government-sanctioned home together while the chilling sounds of slaughter drifted out from within! Left completely confounded and not understanding what they were up to, White Stone hesitated briefly before he too charged into the Yang mansion.

But what he was greeted to was the sight of Zhuo Yi Hang fighting alongside a young girl, their swords joined together as they fought shoulder-to-shoulder, happily absorbed in the frenzy of their slaughter. The young girl’s long elegant eyebrows reached into her hair and framed a pair of eyes that sparkled like the lapping waves of the autumn springs. With her hair tied up by golden rings and red silk wrapped around her wrists, a deathly aura emanated out from within all the radiance of her stunning beauty to strike fear in the core of one’s heart. Stunned, White Stone was secretly thinking to himself: this “witch” must without a doubt be Yu Luo Cha! Since White Stone was wholly intent on marrying off his daughter to his martial arts nephew, he has practically regarded Yu Luo Cha as his enemy and thus to suddenly come across her here filled him with both jealousy and hatred!

Zhuo Yi Hang called over to him, “Hurry over Uncle! Military Commissioner Xiong is right here!” By using his sword to shield, block, swipe and pierce, Taoist Priest White Stone protected himself first by guarding his whole body. And yet, he did not make any attempts to blast his way through the crowd.

The battle was progressing on with fierce intensity when one of the disguised men’s mask suddenly fell to the floor, splitting into two halves as it was slashed apart by the tip of Yu Luo Cha’s blade. Taoist Priest White Stone just happened to glancing over at that time and immediately the fires of fury exploded in his heart as he thundered, “Humph! So you’re here! Right now is exactly the end to your three day limit, I want to see exactly how you plan to me drive me out of the capital!” and with the rays of his sword thrashing around and throbbing about, White Stone targeted straight towards this person.

You’re probably wondering why Taoist Priest White Stone would be so angry? It just so happens that this man was none other than the street performer who had furtively attacked White Stone the other day by the Heavenly Bridge. His name was Hao Jian Chang and he was the head disciple of the Venomous Palms of Yin Winds Jin Du Yi. The series of events involving the furtive attack on Taoist Priest White Stone and the threat towards Liu Xi Ming all turns out to be part of a conspiracy to have White Stone driven out of the Imperial capital that was secretly masterminded by Ying Xiu Yang.

Ying Xiu Yang was originally Wei Zhong Xian’s trusted minion. Upon GuangZhong’s death, he immediately stole back into the Imperial capital bringing Jin Du Yi along with him. But since Jin Du Yi’s notorious name was simply too infamous, he had to conceal his identity even when inside the Imperial Palace. Ever since Yue Ming Ke overturned the Imperial Palace the very same day that Zhuo Yi Hang was summoned to GuangZhong’s bedside shortly before his death, the bloodhounds of the Eastern Faction have searched out in all directions and have long since discovered the identity and whereabouts of both men.

Greatly alarmed upon learning that Yue Ming Ke was the envoy of Xiong Ting Bi, Ying Xiu Yang suggested to Wei Zhong Xian, “Xiong Ting Bi will be returning on the twenty-eight, if the Holy Lord wishes to eradicate him, you must first clip his wings.” Wei Zhong Xian remarked, “But I have only recently established power and at least half of the Imperial court breaths out the same crap as that barbarous brute Xiong! How could they possibly be eradicated all at once?” Ying Xiu Yang chuckled and replied, “I’m not talking about Xiong’s cronies within the Imperial court, what I mean are the skilled fighters of the Jianghu world who might be lending Xiong a helping hand. After all, your Holy Lord’s original plan was not to dispose of Xiong Ting Bi within the Imperial courts but was to send somebody out to secretly finish him off. If he had a bunch of skilled fighters backing him up, this would only end up ruining all our plans.”

Wei Zhong Xian continued, “But I know what that barbarian Xiong is like, he won’t be bringing many men back with him from the frontiers and just a Yue Ming Ke by himself, regardless of how extraordinary his abilities may be, won’t be enough to protect that brute Xiong.” Ying Xiu Yang added, “Of course Yue Ming Ke by himself is like a single hand that cannot produce a clap, but that Zhuo Yi Hang just happens to be good friends with Yue!” Wei Zhong Xian asked, “How good are the martial arts of this Zhuo Yi Hang?” Ying Xiu Yang replied, “Although that Zhuo Yi Hang does not measure up to Yue Ming Ke in terms of marital arts, yet he just happens to be the sect leader of Wu Tang! We’ve also learnt that Zhuo was accompanied by one of his marital art uncles on this trip to the capital, plus there are more than ten skilled fighters of the Wu Tang sect residing here in Beijing!” Wei Zhong Xian retorted, “Then we’ll just finish them all off!”

Ying Xiu Yang warned, “Oh! We mustn’t do that my Holy Lord! Wu Tang is the current Jianghu world’s most eminent and celebrated sect! Plus to our advantage, they never meddle with the matters of the state or government and since we don’t concern them and they don’t bother us, everything will go on as before and remain fine just the way it is. But if we suddenly kill off one of their elders and sect leader, wouldn’t that be equal to creating for ourselves a powerful enemy out of the blue for no reason?” Wei Zhong Xian said, “I’m not as familiar with these Jianghu matters as you are – so tell me, what is it that you think we should do?” Ying Xiu Yang replied, “Why don’t we send somebody to go and furtively attack that Taoist Priest first so as to make him suffer a taste of the bitter sting. Then we’ll go threaten him and the host of his accommodations, giving them a three day limit before we expect them to crawl out of the capital. What this implies is that we will be storming their house within three days to give them more trouble. I know how headstrong and stubborn that Taoist Priest has always been, so I guarantee you that he will not be willing to leave the capital and will instead be gathering together all the disciples of his sect as they wait for us within his home. But our aim is not to start up anything with them, we are merely trying to prevent them from meeting up with Yue Ming Ke and hinder us from targeting in on Xiong Ting Bi.” Wei Zhong Xian exclaimed, “This is exactly what they mean by the stratagem of targeting the East and attacking the West! We’ll carry on according to your plan then!”

Pity Taoist Priest White Stone who remained ignorant towards all this, for never in his dreams could he have guessed that there was such a big conspiracy connected with the whole incident. And of course, Taoist Priest White Stone never did have any intentions of assisting Yue Ming Ke. Ying Xiu Yang was merely preparing for the worst scenario when he concocted this “targeting the East, attacking the West” stratagem as a means of keeping them away from each other in case they did end up merging together.

But contrary to his expectations, such a move actually ended up eliciting Yue Ming Ke’s suspicions. When pushed to the extremes of their fierce battle, Yue Ming Ke suddenly remembered back to the three day arrangement that Zhuo had made with him earlier, thus leading him to see through the intentions of his enemy. As a result, he immediately went along with this plan and by acting out with thundering movements that struck out before one could even manage to cover their ears, he kidnapped away Zhuo Yi Hang in order to bait White Stone and the whole clan of Wu Tang disciples to chase after them and arrive here at Yang’s home.

Xiong Ting Bi’s critical danger was now gradually alleviating and the moment that Jin Du Yi saw Taoist Priest White Stone arrive, he knew the Wu Tang sect will without a doubt be arriving behind him en masse. Such a revelation caused him to falter and fumble in alarm as he screeched, “We’ve been busted! Let’s go!” Tie Fei Long’s palm came slapping forward to seal off their escape route, thus forcing MuRong Chong to strike out from the side in attempts to dismantle Tie’s stance with his palm. Then with a wave of his other hand, he was just about to alert his accomplices to the opportunity of escape when marital arts instructor Liu Xi Ming and the other Wu Tang disciples arrived outside. Not knowing that their enemy were the Eastern Faction guards of the Imperial Palace in disguise, Taoist Priest White Stone hurriedly called out, “Stop them!”

The situation was now completely reversed, for the Wu Tang disciples combined with the skilled fighters brought here by Liu Xi Ming comprised no less than thirty fighters, thus instantaneously turning the tables around as they surrounded the Eastern Faction guards. As the whole hall throbbed under the shadow of swords and the glare of sabres, Jin Du Yi and MuRong Chong attempted to escape by charging forward together, only to be separated again by the advances of White Stone and Liu Xi Ming. Along with a resonating laugh that rippled out and reverberated all around, the long sword in Yu Luo Cha’s hand glittered with deathly iciness as it ripped forward with staggering ferocity. Jin Du Yi countered by conjuring up a storm with his own two palms, thus warding off a few stances by then of which Yue Ming Ke had already arrived to join the battle with a sudden thrust of his sword!

Jin Du Yi flipped his palms over and swept out while Yue Ming Ke warded off the blow with his left palm. Then by bringing about the sword in his right hand to draw out half an arc, Yue slashed through Jin’s top shirt with a loud rip! Yu Luo Cha immediately followed with the swiftness of wind and by striking out with the stance, “Shooting Star Blazes Fiery Trail” she blazoned her sword towards Jin Du Yi’s heart. Although Jin immediately evaded her attack by moving over to one side, Yu Luo Cha was suddenly heard to shout “Gotcha” and under the flicker of her blade, fresh blood was seen to spurt out as her sword’s tip drew out a huge gash on Jin Du Yi’s chest!

In terms of marital arts, Jin Du Yi was originally in no way inferior to either Yu Luo Cha or Yue Ming Ke, but Yue Ming Ke has put on the Golden Silk gloves and therefore did not fear Jin’s poisonous attacks which inadvertently increased his powers by a few measures. Add to this the incomparable venomousness of Yu Luo Cha’s bloodthirsty sword skill and even had Jin Du Yi’s martial arts been more powerful, he would still have been unable to withstand the combined attacks of these two fighters. In fact, had he not been fortunate enough to react so quickly, both his heart and bowels would have been lying on the floor by now.

Hitting her target with that stance, Yu Luo Cha’s sword continued to ravage forward with a menacing streak. Watching the situation at hand become increasingly ugly, MuRong Chong hacked out with his palms and spewed out stances of such blinding speed that in just a blink of an eye, a few Wu Tang disciples were already sent sprawling across the floor. Seeing how Jin Du Yi was injured, Yue Ming Ke knew that Jin would not be Yu Luo Cha’s match and thus extracted himself by executing a flip of his sword to seal off MuRong Chong’s escape route instead.

Yu Luo Cha drove out one stance closely followed by another, forcing Jin Du Yi to repeatedly retreat while she giggled, “Old freak Jin, are you ready to return my sword manual to me yet?” Generating his internal Qi in attempts to ameliorate his injuries, Jin Du Yi grinded his teeth together and resolved to fight to his death. Meanwhile Yu Luo Cha giggled again as she continued to taunt, “If you don’t hand it over right now, I’m gonna have to finish you off!” and amongst all her captivating laughs and sweet smiles, the stances of her sword howled out with the vehemence of the ravenous tornadoes and stormed forth with the fury of the wild tempests to encase Jin Du Yi completely within the beacon of her sword.

As the chaotic battle continued on with full force inside that hall, the clamour of people shouting and horses neighing could suddenly be heard to drift in from outside! A crowd of soldiers immediately came barging in as the officer leading the army hollered loudly, “Military Commissioner Xiong! Your worthless attendant has arrived too late!” before screaming, “Treacherous thieves! How dare you rob the home of a governmental official under broad daylight? Hand over your weapons and surrender right this instant!”

This person just happened to be the Supreme Commander of the Nine Gates, Tian Er Geng. His army of soldiers surged forward and waved their sabres and spears around with chaotic frenzy, inducing Xiong Ting Bi to command, “My people! Retreat right away!” At that moment Yu Luo Cha was just about to close in on her prey when under the chaotic rush of soldiers that came barging forward, Jin Du Yi immediately took advantage of this chance to escape by slipping out amongst the crowd. Extremely enraged, Yu Luo Cha swept her treasured sword around her and caused the soldiers’ sabres, lances, spears or halberds to be either shocked up high into the air or to come crashing down to the ground shattered in pieces! The crowd of soldiers cried out, “Watch out for that malicious female crook!”

Vexed with indignant rage, a frosty sneer appeared on Yu Luo Cha’s face causing Tie Fei Long to hurriedly holler out in alarm, “No!” while pulling Yu Luo Cha back. By then Yue Ming Ke has also called out, “This is the heroine who assisted in protecting the Military Commissioner, do not attack her!”

Shortly afterwards, all the injured Eastern Faction guards lying on the ground were tied up by the soldiers but MuRong Chong and some of his men have already escaped in the midst of all the commotion. The Supreme Commander of the nine gates Tian Er Geng came forward to pay homage to Xiong Ting Bi with a low bow while saying, “Please forgive your worthless subordinate for arriving so late. I have caused your honour much unnecessary distress.”

Yang Lian, the Secretary of the Ministry of War came out from the inner rooms and after snorting “Humph” with disgust, he remarked with cold sarcasm, “Official Tian, your abilities of acquiring news this time is remarkably efficient!” Tian Er Geng’s face turned red as he mumbled, “The home of your Honoured has twice come under the attack of the malicious criminals, this is certainly an unpardonable failure on your wretched servant’s part. I deserve to be sentenced to a million deaths.” Yang Lian said, “Bandits pernicious enough to show their treacherous faces within the Imperial Capital gives me cause to suspect that those were not your ordinary criminals.” Tian Er Geng replied, “Your menial servant will bring them back and immediately interrogate them on their crimes.” With a roll of his eyes, Yue Ming Ke snickered, “These bandits are backed up by a powerful source, I’m afraid that it won’t be very convenient for official you to try them” and then turned around to Xiong Ting Bi to say, “Ming Ke dares to ask Military Commissioner Xiong to personally try them!” Tian Er Geng hurriedly stammered, “Your useless servant’s duties are presently called upon, he dares not bother the exalted Military Commissioner!” Xiong Ting Bi’s eyes shone with a fiery brilliance that swept over Tian Er Geng, but after a while, he said with a wave of his hand, “Fine, take them away then.”

After Tian Er Geng had left with his men, Yue Ming Ke asked, “Grand Master, wouldn’t this just be like releasing the tiger back to the mountain?” Yang Lian added in as well, “That little stinker Tian Er Geng, I don’t trust him at all!” With a sigh, Xiong Ting Bi said, “Did you think that I don’t know those bandits were not your ordinary criminals? But I am a General who manages an army in distant territories while he is a Supreme Commander responsible for the law enforcement of the Imperial Capital – we each have our own duties we’re responsible for. There are already people in the courts charging me for hogging power and disregarding authority, how could I overstep my boundaries and claim the right to punish others by taking over the place of the punisher?” Yang Lian sulked with gloomy silence while Xiong Ting Bi declared loudly, “Ming Ke! Please invite all the noble warriors to a seat so I can personally thank them one by one.”

Yu Luo Cha and Tie Fei Long emerged from amongst the crowd and then bowed in front of Xiong Ting Bi before stating clearly, “We stumbled into all this purely by accident and dare not accept your thanks.” Xiong Ting Bi was slightly taken back while Tie Fei Long continued, “Official Xiong, you are a patriot with a true and loyal heart, I have nothing but the most sincere respect towards you. But me and my daughter are merely uncultured peasants who dare not interact or associate ourselves with the government authorities. Coming across each other here today was a mere coincidence, we really can’t take credit for any heroic acts. Please excuse us Military Commissioner, we will leave now.” Still getting up to express his gratitude with a low bow, Xiong Ting Bi said, “Ming Ke! See my guests out for me.”

The treasured sword in Yu Luo Cha’s hand has not yet been returned to its sheath and Yue Ming Ke could discern very clearly now that it was none other than the Gliding Dragon Sword that he had lost within the Imperial Palace! It was then that he suddenly remembered that there was a dark shadow that had broke into the Imperial Palace the same night that he did – this must without a doubt be Yu Luo Cha. With the faint traces of a smug smile on her lips, Yu Luo Cha slowly returned the celestial sword back into its sheath. Yue Ming Ke saw them to the steps before suddenly saying, “Heroine Lian, I have something to return to you” and after taking out the sword manual, he said, “Please have an inspection Heroine Lian, is this the original manuscript?”

With a small smile, Yu Luo Cha took over the sword manual as Tie Fei Long remarked with baffled surprise, “Me and my daughter have toiled over millions of miles for this sword manual! Where did you get it?” Yue Ming Ke was just about to answer when Yu Luo Cha suddenly said, “I also have something to return to you!” and then by untying the Gliding Dragon Sword, she returned it to Yue Ming Ke while saying with a big grin, “One item in exchange for another, that way, neither of us owes the other person anything!” Tie Fei Long was taken back as he mused silently to himself: this child is just so proud.

After descending the stairs, Yu Luo Cha suddenly turned around to gesture with her hands and call out, “Hey Zhuo Yi Hang! Come over here!” Lost in a cloud of stupor, Zhuo Yi Hang was just mingling around with the crowd of people, but when he heard Yu Luo Cha’s words it was as if he had suddenly received some kind of divine order that induced him to immediately run outside with uncontrollable obedience, completely oblivious to the angry glare that White Stone shot at him.

When Zhuo Yi Hang had reached the bottom of the steps, Yu Luo Cha asked, “How are you? Good?” but before Zhuo Yi Hang could answer her, Taoist Priest White Stone had already popped up from behind and interrupted him by saying, “Why wouldn’t he be good?” A saucy stare from Yu Luo Cha caused Zhuo Yi Hang to hurriedly add, “This is my fourth martial arts uncle.” Yu Luo Cha snickered coldly and said, “I seriously detest those who butt into other people’s conversations. Hey, Zhuo Yi Hang, I was talking to you.” Such a remark caused Taoist Priest White Stone to flare up with fury as his hands reached for the handle of his sword, causing Zhuo Yi Hang so much alarm that he quickly stammered, “I’ve been very well! Where are you and Elder Tie staying at right now? I’ll come visit you on another day.” But White Stone grunted, “Yi Hang! Our business here is finished. You will be accompanying me back to the mountains tomorrow!”

This induced Yu Luo Cha to laugh with icy contempt as she remarked, “Is this guy really your martial arts uncle?” causing White Stone to screech, “What do you mean by these words?” Yu Luo Cha only laughed and snickered, “You look more like his father to me, but even a father would not be so strict towards his son!” With a “Humph,” White Stone hardened his face and turned towards Zhuo Yi Hang to instruct, “The rules of our Wu Tang sect states that we are not to associate ourselves with criminals.”

With a whoosh, Yu Luo Cha’s sword was already pulled out from its sheath as she snapped, “White Stone! I’ve met quite a number of your Wu Tang disciples but aside from Taoist Priest Purple Sun, I haven’t heard mention of anybody else would could be worthy of a heroic title! Tell me, what have you ever done that’s deserving of other people’s respect? How dare you look down on the valorous fighters of the Underground World?! Humph! I’m exactly what your Orthodox Sects label as criminal, so c’mon! Show me what you’ve got?!”

Taoist Priest White Stone did not expect that her tongue could be so bitingly sharp and while his face bloated red, he also whipped out his sword with an angry gust. Zhuo Yi Hang jumped out of his skin and frantically blabbed out, “We must not show such acts of disrespect in front of Military Commissioner Xiong!” Thus White Stone declared, “Tomorrow at noon, I’ll be waiting at the MiMo Cliff [2] for your challenge!” Zhuo Yi Hang objected, “But uncle! Didn’t you say that you wanted to go home tomorrow?” Huffing and puffing, White Stone snapped back, “None of your business!” while Yu Luo Cha replied with a smile, “I will be there according to your wishes then!”

While Yu Luo Cha was bickering with White Stone, Tie Fei Long pulled Yue Ming Ke over to one side and bombarded him with question after question – first asking him for his name, then inquiring him for his familial history and even questioning into the background of his martial arts education. Not knowing that this man was the father of Tie Shan Hu, Yue Ming Ke was secretly baffled as he thought to himself: When he blazoned through that door and joined the battle just a moment ago, he was a force that exploded like a giant tidal wave of fiery intensity. By logic, he should be a bold and spirited man, but why would be he so tedious and wearisome now? Although Yue made an attempt to inquire for his name a number of times, yet Tie Fei Long would not stop with his inquiries, affording Yue Ming Ke with no opportunity to jump in with his question. When Yu Luo Cha finally finished bickering with Taoist Priest White Stone she called out, “Father, let’s get out of here!” inducing Tie to turn towards Yue and say, “Brother Yue, tonight no matter what, please come to the West Mountain’s Ling An Temple for a gathering.”

Zhuo Yi Hang has also arrived by then and with a low bow, he inquired respectfully, “Elder Tie, how have you been?” A shock jolted through Yue Ming Ke as he asked, “Elder, you are the Northwest’s renown …” before Tie interrupted, “I am Tie Fei Long.” Yue Ming Ke mumbled uncomfortably, “Shan … Shan Hu …” and Tie Fei Long added, “Yes, Shan Hu is my daughter.” And just when Yue Ming Ke was about to explain to Tie Fei Long about Shan Hu’s disappearance, Yu Luo Cha had already come to pull Tie Fei Long away as they stepped out of the front doors.

While Zhuo Yi Hang was releasing a breath of relief, Taoist Priest White Stone was heaving and huffing with unquenchable indignation as he stormed towards the main hall to express his farewells. Learning that White Stone was one of the Wu Tang five elders filled Xiong Ting Bi with such reverent respect that he personally saw him to the foot of the steps.

After White Stone departed, all the other Wu Tang disciples naturally followed after him and then it was Liu Xi Ming and his crowd of martial art masters who came forward to take leave. Xiong Ting Bi said, “I have long heard of Beijing’s Patriot Liu’s great name. It is truly my honour to chance upon such an encounter today, will you not stay a bit longer?” Liu Xi Ming cautioned, “Today’s bandits clearly did not come for money. You must take care to be on your guard Grand Master.” Xiong Ting Bi replied, “I have been in hundreds of battles throughout my lifetime and came close to losing my life in dozens of them. One’s life and death is determined by fate, I can only accept my destiny as it comes.” Liu Xi Ming continued, “My family has been teaching martial arts in the capital for many generations. When it comes to the number of disciples and old acquaintances, we can boast to be deficient in neither. We’re willing to do our part by assisting Grand Master to the best of our miniscule abilities in order to prevent these villains from triumphing! However, to gather help requires time and so I must hasten away immediately.” Overjoyed, Yue Ming Ke immediately came forward to express his gratitude with a low bow.

After Liu Xi Ming left, Yue Ming Ke explained, “That man is extremely well connected amongst the fighters of the capital. He has friends and acquaintances within both the black and white clans! Now that we have his secret support, we can at least rest a little more easily at night. With a sigh, Xiong Ting Bi lamented, “They say that true honour and valour is often found within the butchering crowds of the street markets. [3] Having witnessed the conditions of our government today with my very own eyes really bleeds my heart of all hope.”

The crowd of officials immediately rushed forward to offer their consolation – Yang Lian declared, “In tomorrow’s daily court, we’ll first bring up the incident of emissary Cui Cheng Xiu’s fraud then we will request the Supreme Commander of the Nine Gates to hand over the bandits.” Censor-in-Chief Zou Yuan Biao then suggested, “Cui Cheng Xiu is Wei Zhong Xian’s man, if we’re going to be doing this, then let’s take this to the top and use this incident to charge Wei Zhong Xian himself!” provoking the group of officials into a frenzied discussion of stratagems that could be used in impeaching Wei Zhong Xian. The Minister of Rites Sun Shen Xing said, “Why don’t we gather together all the righteous high officials of the government and then sign all our names on a memorial presented to the throne and beseech the Divine Lord to investigate closely into this matter?” The Minister of Personnel Zhou Jia Mo seconded, “Right! By joining all our names on a memorial, we’re generating a great force through the power of numbers – this way the villainous clans wouldn’t dare to take us lightly!” After ending the discussion, the crowd of officials disbanded in order to carry out their assigned tasks.

After all the officials have dispersed, preoccupied with his own matters, Yue Ming Ke was clearly observed to be ill at ease. Xiong Ting Bi said, “Luckily you were here today to take action by breaking out of the enclosure just in the knick of time and invite over so many skilled fighters.” Wang Can was ready to bow down with respect as he asked, “Brother Yue, how is it that you have such godly powers to bring forth so many expertly fighters in such a short span of time?” Yue Ming Ke therefore proceeded to explain all the incidents that led up to today’s events, also mentioning tonight’s arranged meeting that Tie Fei Long had made with him. Xiong Ting Bi said, “Since that is the case, you mustn’t miss your engagement” while Yue Ming Ke insisted, “But I don’t want to leave your side Grand Master! Besides, I didn’t even agree to meet with him.” But Xiong Ting Bi asked, “Then did you refuse him?” Yue Ming Ke answered, “He was already out of the front doors before I could even find the chance to refuse him!” to which Xiong Ting Bi stated, “Since that is the case, then you should go meet him as arranged. I feel no fear even when standing in front of an army of millions, why would I fear these small-time crooks? Besides, we still have Patriot Liu secretly lending us support. You should go. Although that old man may look like a wild rebel, yet I feel that he is really an impassioned spirit, one of whom you should make acquaintances with.”

After dinner, Yue Ming Ke announced his departure to Xiong Ting Bi and then left Wang Can with a number of instructions and reminders before finally exiting the front doors. Sure enough, Liu Xi Ming’s men were seen interspersed throughout the whole area surrounding Yang Lian’s mansion, secretly guarding over the place, thus allowing Yue to feel slightly more at ease as he charged straight towards the direction of the outskirts.

The Temple of Divine Light was located all the way on top of the Western Hills. By the time Yue Ming Ke climbed to the top, the moon had already gravitated to the center of the skies as the time fast approached the third hour of the night. Yue Ming Ke thought to himself: This Tie Fei Long really is a strange a man, living in an area so far removed from the capital and yet requesting others to come meet him in the middle of night. I wonder what urgent matter this can concern? While he was lost in this thought, a series of giggles suddenly broke out from the edges of the forest and before the chimes of laughter could even cease ringing, a person’s shadow already danced before his eyes. Wearing a yellow top and white skirt, Yu Luo Cha emerged with steps graced with ethereal lightness.

Startled, Yue Ming Ke asked, “Where’s Elder Tie?” A solemn expression suddenly came over Yu Luo Cha’s face as she stated, “Since you are the honoured guest of my father today, let’s put the measly clashes we’ve had in the past behind us.” causing Yue Ming Ke to muse to himself, “Who’s trying to clash with you? That day on the peak of Mountain Hua it was you who wanted to compete sword skills with me for no good reason, what fault is that of mine? But he has already tasted a few instances of Yu Luo Cha’s strange temper and not desirous to argue with her, he asked instead, “Did Elder Tie ask you to come and receive me?”

Yu Luo Cha answered back, “Not just to have me receive you, but to have me interrogate you!” Angered, Yue Ming Ke snapped, “Stop joking around Heroine Lian” whilst Yu Luo Cha retorted, “Who’s joking with you? Let me ask you – do you know that Tie Shan Hu is his daughter?” Yue Ming Ke replied, “Yes.” Yu Luo Cha continued, “Did you know that his daughter ran away in the heat of a dispute?” Yue Ming Ke replied, “This, I did not know.” Yu Luo Cha then asked, “You traveled with her all the way to the capital and then the two of you stayed at Yang Lian’s household together, is that true?” Yue Ming Ke replied, “Yes, but two days ago she was abducted away by bandits! I was just planning to come and beg for forgiveness!” causing Yu Luo Cha to break into a huge fit of giggles.

Once again taken back, Yue Ming Ke thought to himself: I can’t believe you’d find other people’s misfortunes funny. After Yu Luo Cha had gotten over her laughing fit, she continued, “Don’t worry, not only is my father’s not asking you to hand over his daughter, but he’s actually going to give his daughter away to you!” A shock jolted through Yue Ming Ke’s body as he asked with bewilderment, “What do you mean by these words?” Yu Luo Cha replied, “What do I mean? Are you playing dumb with me? I’m going to be your matchmaker, now do you understand?” Yue Ming Ke exclaimed, “What sort of crazy logic is behind this way of matchmaking?” A grave expression immediately came over Yu Luo Cha’s face as she asked, “You don’t seem like the dishonourable sort of person, so why aren’t you owning up to your responsibility?”

Both furious and frantic, Yue Ming Ke snapped, “How am I dishonourable?” Yu Luo Cha retorted, “You and her, a single guy and a single girl, traveling all the way to the capital by yourselves with Tie Shan Hu furthermore disguised as a man so as live with you in the Yang household. Can there really be not even a hint of a secret relationship that exists between the two of you?” Always straightforward, Yu Luo Cha had the tendency to blurt out the words in her heart and thus held no inhibitions in her speech.

Yue Ming Ke on the other hand was so embarrassed that his face bloated to the colour of a scarlet red that crept all the way to the tips of his ears as he loudly proclaimed, “I, Yue Ming Ke am an honest and forthright man …” the bottom half of his sentence, “what would make you think that I would commit such immoral acts?” remained stuck in his throat as he couldn’t bring himself to actually voice them out loud. But with a chuckle, Yu Luo Cha had already added, “Men and women falling in love is a very common matter. If I liked someone, I would not be afraid to admit it to anybody. To sneak around like this is not the ways of the valiant hero.” Now frantic with anxiety, Yue Ming Ke stated with a sweep of his sleeves, “Shan Hu and I treat each other merely like brother and sister. Heroine Lian, please do not misunderstand!”

With her eyebrows knitted together and her lips curled into what appeared to a smile but yet was equally resembling of a sneer, Yu Luo Cha said, “There’s no longer need to discuss about whether there is any secret relationship or not. I’m only going to ask you one question: do you like her?” Yue Ming Ke replied, “I’ve already told you …” causing Yu Luo Cha to snap, “Give me a straightforward answer, I absolutely detest it when people beat around the bush! I just need a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer from you: do you like her?” Yue Ming Ke answered, “Yes!” Yu Luo Cha then continued with firm solemnity, “Then are you willing to marry her?” Yue Ming Ke exclaimed, “Liking her is one thing, marriage is another! How can the two issues be mixed in with each other?!” Yu Luo Cha snapped, “Quit the mumble jumble and just answer me: Are you willing to marry her?” Seeing how there was no way he could reason with Yu Luo Cha, Yue retorted with a snap of his sleeve, “If there’s nothing else, please tell Elder Tie that I stopped by” and then with a twist of his body, fled from the place!

With a piercing laugh, Yu Luo Cha leaped high into the air and rushed ahead of Yue in order to block his path of escape. Her treasured sword was already extracted from its sheath and grasped tightly within her hands. Yue Ming Ke growled, “What is this?” as Yu Luo Cha hissed back, “You can’t go yet! Are you or are you not willing to take her as your wife?” With the seething fumes of anger rushing to his head, Yue Ming Ke snapped back, “No I am not!”

A chilling sneer arose from Yu Luo Cha’s lips as she snickered, “Hmph! So it turns out that you were a worthless jerk after all!” and with a swipe of her sword, pierced directly towards Yue Ming Ke! Yue evaded that stance with a writhe and twist of his body, but once Yu Luo Cha strikes out, there was no stopping her and in just a blink of an eye she had already burst out with a series of deadly snares. Yu Luo Cha’s bloodthirsty sword skill was pernicious beyond means, thus just any stance drawn out at will is meant to target her opponent’s vital tendons and crucial pulse points!

Unable to hold his anger back any longer, having dodged a few times, Yue Ming Ke also whipped out his Gliding Dragon Sword with a loud swoosh! Yu Luo Cha snapped, “If you have the guts, then go ahead and kill your own matchmaker!” as the fervour of her sword’s intensity increased to a suffocating pace which stormed forth like the burning pellets of a raging tempest and the roaring twist of a ravenous cyclone. Having warded off a series of stances, Yue Ming Ke yelled back, “There is not a single person under the heavens who is more unreasonable than you! What sort of irrational logic justifies forcing others into getting married?” But what Yue did not understand was that Yu Luo Cha’s way of thinking differs greatly from his own. She felt that since Yue and Tie traveled over the millions of miles with each other and were furthermore living together in the same household, then if Tie Shan Hu was willing to marry him, naturally, Yue Ming Ke must marry her as well!

Having been pushed to his wits end by Yu Luo Cha, Yue Ming Ke has also torn out with rage as he executed the exquisite stances of the Tian Shan sword skill, forcing Yu Luo Cha to the point of where she no longer dared to advance with close proximity attacks. Yu Luo Cha cried out, “Shan Hu meimei [4], this heartless man is completely without honour! He’s not worthy to have as a husband, let me just kill him for you right now!” Freezing in his tracks, Yue Ming Ke’s eyes darted all around him, diverting his attention ever so slightly but already providing enough of a lapse for Yu Luo Cha to take advantage of. With a sword to the left and a sword to right, one of these deathly blows that Yu Luo Cha dealt out tore straight towards the vital spot on Yue Ming Ke’s throat!

Though he ducked the stance with a sink of his shoulders, Yue Ming Ke instantaneously felt the haunting chill of Yu Luo Cha’s blade slice across the skin of his scalp, causing a cold sweat to break out all over his body. Absolutely furious now, Yue flipped his sword around and brushed aside Yu Luo Cha’s blade with the stance ““Raising Torch to Scorch the Heavens,” before lashing out vehemently, “Regardless of whatever you do, I’m still not going to marry her!” Yu Luo Cha called out once again, “Shan Hu meimei!” but in the midst of his blinding rage, Yue Ming Ke no longer held any inhibitions over his brash words and screamed out, “Even if you call her here it won’t change a thing! I will not marry her no matter what!”

The moment these words left his mouth, an earth-shattering roar thundered out from somewhere within the forest as a dark shadow suddenly loomed across the skies. Yue Ming Ke dropped to the floor and rolled to one side just as this person was heard to shout, “You little scoundrel dare to insult my daughter?! Taste the blow of my fists!” and along with the termination of these words, this person had arrived. Warding off a stance, Yue Ming Ke pleaded, “Please forgive me Elder Tie …” but Tie Fei Long’s fist came charging towards Yue’s face before Yue could even find the chance to finish his sentence

Tie Fei Long blasted, “Since you are so unwilling to accept the marriage proposal Ni Shang offered you, then just leave it! But why did you have to continue ridiculing Shan Hu with such insults?!” By directing a stab of his sword towards Tie’s left shoulder, Yue both attacked and defended simultaneously to block off Tie Fei Long’s lethal moves while he stammered in panic, “Elder Tie, please don’t misunderstand…” But after evading the stance with just a writhe of his shoulder, Tie Fei Long’s left and right punch immediately followed as they came hurtling forward.

Tie Fei Long snapped furiously, “I heard everything myself! There’s no use in giving me your cock-and-bull story!” and since Tie’s internal Qi cultivation was more advanced, the forceful rampage of his fists rushed forth with an all-consuming vehemence. In comparison, Yue Ming Ke’s heart was in an agitated state of bewilderment as he turned around to block Tie Fei Long’s stance. By using the back of his fists to flicker out*wards slightly, Tie Fei Long deterred Yue Ming Ke’s concentration towards the left and then directed all his weight into his right palm. Then by ploughing out with his palm, Tie’s strike caused Yue Ming Ke to be shocked back more than ten feet! A searing pain spread through Yue’s shoulder, a pain so excruciating that it felt as if his tendons and bones were threatening to rip apart from each other.

Yu Luo Cha came flying forward with her sword in hand and under the illumination of its green ray, the blade of her sword came ripping out from nowhere as she snickered with a chilling laugh, “Still think you can get away now?” With a revolution of his treasured sword, Yue Ming Ke dismantled Yu Luo Cha’s stance while flipping over backwards. But with a lift of his body, Tie Fei Long soared through the air like a giant vulture and dived towards the ground, clawing out with five fingers that were taut like sharp talons. Tie has sealed off Yue’s escape path and now being trapped from behind as well as in front, Yue Ming Ke could only heave out a long sigh of aspiration as he throws his sword over to one side while screaming, “Fine! Just kill me then!”

This stance was amongst one of the most deadly of Tie Fei Long’s obliterating moves, but witnessing Yue Ming Ke suddenly tossing his sword over to one side took Tie by surprise. With a full twist of his palm, he literally froze in mid air and while caught in the midst of descending and not descending, a sharp shriek sounded from within the forest as a young girl came rushing out at soaring speed screaming, “Don’t papa! I have something to say!” Thunderstruck but simultaneously overjoyed, Yue Ming Ke managed to cry out, “Shan Hu!” before all other words got stuck in his throat and left him unable to say any more.

What happened was that when Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha traveled all the way to the frontiers in order to retrieve their sword manual, they headed directly for Jin Du Yi’s lair only to learn that Jin had already escaped to the capital. As a result, the two of them picked up their bags and kicked up the dust once again as they immediately pursued towards Beijing. Upon their arrival, they discovered by chance that Tie Shan Hu has disguised herself as a man and was staying at the Yang household with Yue Ming Ke. When Tie Fei Long kicked his daughter out of the house that day, he had acted in a fit of anger and had come to regret his action terribly afterwards. Yu Luo Cha understood his heart and therefore offered, “Why don’t you go over there and see them? I know that Yue kid. If you’re interested, then I’ll be your matchmaker!”

But at that time, Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha had already discovered that Jin Du Yi was hiding within the Imperial Palace and Yu Luo Cha had already decided that they were to steal into the Palace that night in order to drag him out, therefore Tie Fei Long suggested, “Then come with me to the Yang household first and then we’ll storm into the Palace to fish out that old freak!” But to his surprise, Yu Luo Cha said, “I don’t want to see that Yue kid. Why don’t we split up – you go and visit your daughter while I go into the palace to fish out the old freak.” Tie Fei Long asked, “Why? Is that kid not a good man?” Yu Luo Cha replied, “Who said he wasn’t? But me and him have this old strife, so unless he and Shan Hu meimei gets married, otherwise we won’t be able to resolve our conflicts.” Both Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha’s characters were of a peculiar nature, therefore after this discussion, they actually did split up to carry out their separate missions. But it was also during that very night that they both had an extraordinary encounter.

That night just so happens to be the very night that Yue Ming Ke had chosen to steal into the Imperial Palace for the second time. Yu Luo Cha was prowling through the Palace at random when she happened to roam into Wei Zhong Xian’s abode. At that time, Wei was in the midst of admiring Yue Ming Ke’s Gliding Dragon Sword with his group of guardsmen. Yu Luo Cha did not recognize Wei Zhong Xian, but she did recognize the prized Gliding Dragon Sword and therefore with just a stretch of her hand, snatched away the sword. As a result of this, Yu Luo Cha caused a huge commotion to break out within the Imperial Palace but luckily for Yue Ming Ke, she ended up diverting the attention of the palace guards so that he was able to rescue Cheng Kun with relative ease. But at that time, Yue Ming Ke was not aware of this fact.

All the way across town, Tie Fei Long was just arriving at the Yang mansion in hopes of seeing his daughter when he caught the Eastern faction guards in the act of abducting away his child. Exploding with a wrathful rage, Tie Fei Long consecutively wiped out seven guards in one breath to ultimately rescue his daughter. And because of this incident, Tie Fei Long knew that the old freak Jin and his men will most definitely be returning to the Yang household later on. This was why Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha happened to show up at the Yang household afterwards to coincidently solve Xiong Ting Bi’s crisis by helping him break out of his enclosure.

After rescuing and then questioning his daughter in great detail, Tie Fei Long sensed through her words that she was quite in love with Yue Ming Ke. But because Tie was also under the same impression that his daughter was having a secret relationship with Yue, it only ended up instigating a huge misunderstanding. After discovering his daughter’s feelings, Tie Fei Long discussed it over with Yu Luo Cha who then immediately volunteered her services as the great matchmaker.

While hiding on top of a giant tree within the forest, Tie Fei Long and his daughter listened in on Yu Luo Cha and Yue Ming Ke’s conversation. But their interaction only got increasingly uglier, until they eventually drew out their swords and started to engage in a full fledged battle. Unable to suppress or control his anger any longer, with a sweep of his fists, Tie Fei Long joined the fight and escalated the conflict to an even more serious level.

From the shadows of the forest, Tie Shan Hu’s heart was shattering into a thousand pieces as she listened to the conversation between Yue Ming Ke and Yu Luo Cha. Even though during the millions of miles that she had traveled together with Yue Ming Ke they had never once encroached upon the topic of “Love,” yet the whole of her tender and affectionate heart has already been inextricably tied to Yue Ming Ke. Never in her dreams did she think that Yue Ming Ke would refuse to have her, which was why hearing these words now filled her with both indignation and shame. The complicated and conflicting emotions of love and hatred coursed through Tie Shan Hu’s broken heart as they crashed and combined into each other, leaving her in a desperate need to break down even though she was numb beyond tears. Yet when she watched Yue Ming Ke being cornered by her father and Yu Luo Cha, teetering on the brink of life and death, she found that she could not stop herself from bursting out of the forest and running up to her father to tightly hold back his wrists.

And now, as we catch up to the present, we find Yue Ming Ke crying out “Shan Hu meimei!” when Tie Shan Hu suddenly reappeared in front of his eyes shrieking, “Papa! It’s not his fault!” Turning to address Yue Ming Ke directly, Tie Shan Hu stated hoarsely, “Yue daige [5], thank you for taking care of me during our travels. From now on, your bothersome and good-for-nothing little sister dares not to trouble you anymore. I am indebted to your care and yet have caused you to be angered – with nothing to repay you and with no way of atoning for my errors, my honoured daige, please accept this bow from me!” And with a bend of her willowy waist, Tie Shan Hu thus bowed down.

Frozen on the spot with the realization that he had unintentionally broken the tender heart of such a pure and trusting young girl, Yue Ming Ke felt that he has truly committed an unforgivable sin. Uncontrollable shivers shook through Yue’s whole body and left him unable to utter a single word, but not daring to extend his hands to help her up either, Yue could only stare blankly as he watched Tie Shan Hu kneel to the ground with a bow. When she got up again, her face had paled to an ashen white as two large tear drops glistened on her cheeks, inciting an extraordinary pain within Yue Ming Ke’s heart. Yet just when he was about to say something, Tie Shan Hu was already heard to continue with a trembling voice, “I dare not flatter myself anymore. From now on, you and I need not address each other as brothers and sisters, we … we shouldn’t see each other anymore!” and with a twist of her body, flew back towards the temple.

Paralyzed for a very long time, Yue Ming Ke suddenly screamed out, “It’s all my fault!” and with a kick of his feet, started to chase after her. But standing by the side was Yu Luo Cha who was now green in the face with anger as she shouted, “Are you done with your faking?” and with a swipe of her sword, pierced towards him. Tie Fei Long reached out with his right hand and bumped Yu Luo Cha’s wrist over to one side as he growled, “Yue Ming Ke, get out of my sight! Stay a moment longer and I won’t let you off either!” Therefore after picking up his treasured sword, Yue Ming Ke descended the mountain in silence while the sounds of Yu Luo Cha’s icy laughter seem to still ring in his ears as it danced about in the wind and reverberated throughout the mountain, impacting him like millions of flying arrows piercing deep within his heart!

Standing there in a senseless stupor, Tie Fei Long watched as the outline of Yue Ming Ke’s back slowly disappeared into the night. Yu Luo Cha said, “Father, why don’t we head back now?” but Tie Fei Long made no reply. Yu Luo Cha urged, “Shan Hu meimei must be unbelievably heartbroken right now, why don’t we go back to console her?” Then with a toss of his bristly beard, Tie Fei Long boomed with indignant anger, “What exactly is there that’s not to like about my daughter? Why would that little rascal be so disrespectful?!” Yu Luo Cha reassured, “He was simply not blessed with such good fortune. In the future, even if he comes back to us prostrating to the ground begging for forgiveness with every other step, we’ll still ignore him!” Though Yu Luo Cha did not understand that it was her method of matchmaking which caused things to go awry, yet her words did bring Tie Fei Long relief as he burst into a chuckle.

Yu Luo Cha continued, “Alright, we really should return to have a look at Shan Hu now, otherwise when she’s broken down crying with nobody around to care for her, she’ll only be all the more miserable!” Tie Fei Long retorted, “Nonsense! If she cries then she would not be my daughter!” Tie Fei Long understood his daughter’s temper very well and thus he knew that no matter how much she’s been hurt, she still does not reveal her distress in front of other people, nor would she ever beg others for their sympathy. But though that may be the case, Tie Fei Long was still incredibly worried and thus by covering the distance of three steps with two, he hastened back to the temple.

The Temple of Divine Light was originally a deserted ancient temple, but because Tie Fei Long was momentarily using it as his abode, he cleaned up the place a little. Still, the floors were covered with a layer of dust which was why Tie Fei Long immediately noticed the series of disorderly footprints on the front steps the moment he entered through the temple’s front doors. He hurriedly called out, “ShanHu, ShanHu!” but the ancient temple only echoed back complete and utter silence.

Having also noticed the signs, Yu Luo Cha asked, “What is it? Can some stranger be hiding inside the temple?” Tie Fei Long instructed, “Go over to the top of the mountain and scour the whole area. If you discover anything, whistle as a signal.” Being an experienced veteran of the JiangHu world, Tie Fei Long told Yu Luo Cha to go outside and inspect the area as a way of protecting themselves against the attack of ambushed fighters. But at the same time, Tie was also taking into consideration that in the case of an ambushed attack, if Yu Luo Cha and him were separated into two spaces, they can at least be of assistance to each other and can avoid being captured together in one shot.

Tie Fei Long searched around the temple and after noticing what sounded to be the traces of someone snivelling come out from the direction of the West wing where Shan Hu’s bedroom was, he thought to himself, “Can that silly girl really be crying her eyes out?” He gently pushed open the doors to the room and called out, “Shan Hu!” but what he was immediately greeted to was the sight of a woman sitting on the bed. With her hair loose and wildly scattered about her, she slowly murmured, “Shan Hu has left already.”

Tie Fei Long widened his eyes and took a good look. Sitting on the bed was his formerly beloved concubine Mu Jiu Niang! Completely taken back by surprise, Tie Fei Long bellowed loudly, “You dirty tramp! What are you doing here? You lured Shan Hu away didn’t you?!” Then without saying a single word, Mu Jiu Niang opened up her palms to reveal three red pearls, crimson like the colour of blood.

A shock jolted through Tie Fei Long and caused all colour to drain from his face as he asked, “You and that Demoness have joined up?” With a sad smile, Mu Jiu Niang murmured, “Master, your temper hasn’t changed one bit. You still like to throw insults at others every time you open your mouth.” With a slight falter, Tie Fei Long continued, “Hmph! You’re just trying to use that Demoness’ power to seek revenge against me aren’t you?” Because Miu Jiu Niang was kicked out of the Tie household due to her stealing Yu Luo Cha’s sword manual, Tie Fei Long suspected that she was harbouring spite and had joined forces with others to seek revenge.

A strange expression came over Mu Jiu Niang’s face as she suddenly sighed, “Master, you’ve aged a lot!” causing Tei Fei Long’s heart to skip a beat as he snapped, “Whether that Demoness did come with you or not, I’m not going to concern myself with right now. But where is Shan Hu?!” Miu Jiu Niang answered, “When I was coming here, I saw Shan Hu leave the temple from the rear of the mountain. At that time I thought that you had somehow gotten news and therefore sent Shan Hu off to search for help in the middle of the night. It was only after I had arrive here did I finally understand. Look over there at the table, aren’t those the words left for you by Shan Hu?” Glancing over to the table, Tie Fei Long did indeed find a piece of paper with words written by wood cinders that read: “I’m going home first. Papa, you don’t have to come after me.” Tie Fei Long understood his daughter’s temper very well and figuring that she must have gone very far by now, knew that it was too late for him to go after her. When he looked back over to Mu Jiu Niang, he found that she remained as before with her palms still outstretched and the three blood red pearls within her palm emanating a haunting, crimson glow in the faint flicker of the oil lamp.

After seeing these three eerie pearls, even a person like Tie Fei Long who was fearless of the world couldn’t help but feel a chill slither through his heart. Mu Jiu Niang said, “Master, why don’t you run while you still can?” Tie Fei Long lashed back with anger, “During all the years that you’ve been with me, when did you ever see me hide from my enemies?”

After a brief pause, Tie’s face softened up a bit as he suddenly asked, “So you came here tonight in order to give me a warning?” Mu Jiu Niang asked in return, “Do you stick by the words you’ve said in the past?” Tie Fei Long continued, “I never go back on the words that come out of my mouth. I don’t care who you associate yourself with.” Mu Jiu Niang replied, “Thank you master.” With his eyes averted to the scenery outside the window, Tie Fei Long then added, “I don’t care who you end up with. Unless you want to come back yourself, otherwise I won’t ask you to.” Being lonely in his elderly years, these words that Tie Fei Long said were actually a hint for Mu Jiu Niang to return to him. But with a flash of her smile, Mu Jiu Niang replied, “I have followed Master you for over ten years and though I may have learned nothing, but in regards to the nature of Master’s temper, I did manage to learn quite a things. Since I have already wronged, then I must follow this mistake to the very end.”

Tei Fei Long’s face burned up as he retorted, “Then why did you come here to give me warning?” Mu Jiu Niang replied, “Because Master you were willing to release me so I no longer have to be a servant. I am indebted to your benevolence Master and do not wish to see you die a terrible death!” With eyebrows knitted together, Tie snapped, “Rubbish! Did you really think that I’m old and useless now?” Mu Jiu Niang continued, “Master, how can I not be aware of the supremacy in your martial arts? But my mother-in-law has already succeeded in the martial skill of obliterating rocks to dust with the flesh of her palms! Not to mention, her palms have also been soaked in poison. Master, it is better for you to try and avert this encounter.”

Tie Fei Long’s two eyes flared up as he hissed, “What?! Your mother-in-law?” Mu Jiu Niang replied, “That’s right. I am now the daughter-in-law of Mother GongSun, the Red Flower Demon Matriarch.” Stunned, as if slapped in the face, Tei Fei Long then shouted, “Fine! Then get the hell out of here!” Mu Jiu Niang added, “She already knows you’re here and will come to settle her scores with you tomorrow night. She has made up with old freak Jin.” Tie Fei Long muttered, “Great, so you’ve come here to join them in fighting against me too haven’t you?” Mu Jiu Niang continued, “I dare not act in opposition to you Master, and they don’t need my help either. Besides, though my mother-in-law’s temper may be fiery, but like you Master, she’s not a particularly bad person. I don’t want her to kill you, just like I don’t want to see you kill her either. Master, it’s better to avoid her while you still can!”

They were interrupted by a clean whistle that echoed from outside, after of which Tei Fei Long warned, “Yu Luo Cha will be coming back very soon, you better hurry and get out of here!” Mu Jiu Niang nearly jumped out of her skin but still turned back around to perform a low bow as she called out, “Master, please take care of yourself!” before she hurriedly dived out the window.

When Yu Luo Cha arrived back to the temple shortly afterwards, Tie Fei Long asked, “Did you discover anything suspicious?” Yu Luo Cha replied, “Nope, but over on the MiMo Cliff were glimmers of starry light, should I go check it out?” Tie Fei Long replied, “There’s no need, I already know about it.” A glance to the floor caused Yu Luo Cha to inquire, “Who was just here? Where’s Shan Hu meimei?” Tie Fei Long explained, “Shan Hu has already left. It was Mu Jiu Niang who just came to see me.” Yu Luo Cha exclaimed, “Mu Jiu Niang?!” Tie Fei Long replied, “Yes. Have you ever heard of the name Red Flower Demon Matriarch, Mother GongSun?” Yu Luo Cha answered, “Never heard of it. But that name is really weird. My street name is Luo Cha which I thought was already scary enough, but there’s actually someone called Demon Matriarch?! This Luo Cha most definitely needs to have a showdown against this Demon Matriarch someday! [6]”

Her words gave Tie Fei Long a good chortle, but he very quickly sobered up and said seriously, “But this Demon Matriarch has earned her fame much earlier than you as a Luo Cha. She’s been known to others as the Red Flower Demon Matriarch ever since forty years ago.” Yu Luo Cha asked, “Exactly what is her background? I may be young, but I’ve already encountered quite a number of skilled fighters from the martial arts world. Why is it that I’ve never heard of the Red Flower Demon Matriarch?” Tie Fei Long stroked his beard in silence, but when he lifted his head, a sliver of anxious fear gleamed within his eyes, startling Yu Luo Cha to the point of exclaiming, “Father, you’re not afraid of this Demon Matriarch are you?!”

Tie Fei Long’s eyebrows knitted together as he stated coolly, “I’m afraid of nobody, but this Red Flower Demon Matriarch is indeed a powerful enemy. Lian er, sit down and let me tell you a story.”

Yu Luo Cha sat down on the edge of the bed and fixed her eyes on Tie Fei Long with anticipation. Taking a sip of strong tea, Tie Fei Long cleared his throat and then began, “You already know that the old freak Jin and I have shared equal recognition throughout the Northwest regions for the past few dozen years. But do you know who it was that taught old freak Jin his martial arts?” Yu Luo Cha replied, “The two of you are already in your sixties, how can I possibly know the history belonging to people of two generations past?” Tei Fei Long explained, “Old freak Jin’s martial arts were taught to him by his wife. His wife is this Red Flower Demon Matriarch, Mother GongSun.” Yu Luo Cha laughed, “The wife acting as the husband’s Sifu? How fresh!” while she simultaneously thought to herself that if she could ultimately get together with Zhuo Yi Hang, he would most likely need her to teach him a few moves as well. Then having thought of something else, she asked, “Usually when a woman marries, they use their husband’s surnames. So why is it that she’s not called Mother Jin, but Mother GongSun?”

Tei Fei Long replied, “That is where the story begins. Forty years ago, there was a bizarre man residing in the Northwest regions named GongSun Yi Yang. With martial arts reaching a level of profundity that could not be imagined, he further liked to breed and raise all sorts of poisonous living organisms. Therefore, everyone was afraid of him. Although he had many disciples, none of them were bestowed with the true legacy of his martial arts. My Sifu was his old friend and from what he told me, GongSun Yi Yang once explained to him that because his martial arts were so deadly, if it was transferred onto the wrong person, the harm that it could cause would be quite consequential. And that was why he only taught his disciples basic and easily mastered martial art skills and would never relate to them the true formulas of their sect. But what he did not anticipate was that later on a young man would come and join their sect, and that this young man would somehow manage to seduce his daughter so that the two of them would eventually end up stealing his martial arts manual! GongSun Yi Yang had only one daughter and to him, she was his most precious prize – just like how Shan Hu is to me. Therefore even though he was extremely angry when he found out, he still did not wish to pursue this matter and could only let his anger eat him up alive as it sent him prematurely to this grave!”

Yu Luo Cha said, “This youngster must be the later old freak Jin! So he’s a serial burglar?! No wonder he would first steal my Sifu’s sword manual and then want to go steal the Shaolin temple’s fist manual as well!” Tie Fei Long remarked, “They say that you can determine the character of an eighty year old person just by observing their behaviour at the age of three. When old freak Jin was just a youngster his nature was already of such a crooked disposition, so when he ages, he will of course only get worse. After he tricked his wife into stealing his father-in-law’s martial arts manual, they hid out in the Northern regions of the Heavenly Mountains and buried themselves in the study and practice of their martial arts. At that time, old freak Jin was only a junior member of their sect while his wife’s martial arts were already of an established level. That is why Jin’s martial arts could be said to have been taught to him by his wife. About a dozen years later, the spouses finally succeeded in their martial arts but Jin Du Yi only became increasingly unrestrained in his corruption. It eventually got to the point of where he ended up inciting the mass outrage of the martial arts world, and so thirteen skilled fighters of the Northwest region got together in order to abolish him. At that time, I was originally supposed to be included within the group as well, but because I had something else to attend to, I could not make it. The thirteen fighters had old freak Jin cornered with no way of escape, but to everyone’s surprise, during the most crucial moment, old freak Jin’s wife suddenly appeared to instigate a bloody battle and defeat all thirteen of the skilled fighters. Though Jin Du Yi was severely wounded, he was in the end rescued by his wife who whisked him away. Because Mother GongSun liked to decorate her hair with a red flower, after that battle, she received the title of the Red Flower Demon Matriarch.”

Yu Luo Cha remarked, “Red Flower Demon Matriarch’s martial arts may be powerful, but her ways of defending her corrupt husband is a vice that calls for pity.” Tei Fei Long said, “As terrifying as Red Flower Demon Matriarch’s name may sound, to be fair, her nature is not as debased as that of her husbands’. She has personally tried to convince her husband to change his ways many times, but her husband did not heed her words. That was why when old freak Jin was surrounded by the thirteen skilled fighters, she had purposely left him until the most crucial moment before she was willing to emerge and save him. All she wanted to do was teach him a lesson in hopes that he would heed this warning, recognize his wrongs and be inspired to change. But now that he had his wife as his backup, the old freak Jin only ended up resuming his dirty deeds the moment his wounds healed. So in a fit of anger, his wife left him! It has now been more than thirty years and nobody has heard of her whereabouts ever since.”

Yu Luo Cha took in a breath and said, “I see. Then this Red Flower Demonic Matriarch can’t be considered as a very bad person.” Tie Fei Long added, “After Red Flower Demonic Matriarch left her husband, she was no longer willing to use her husband’s surname as her own and therefore changed her title to Mother GongSun. During the first ten years of her retirement from the martial arts world, she was still rumoured to have been sighted a few times, but afterwards, was not known to resurface again. Many people have already assumed that she was dead. But contrary to common belief, not only is she still alive but she has returned to start trouble with me. And what was further unexpected was that she has a son and that he has actually taken Mu Jiu Niang as his wife. The story of life really is like a staged play, for it leaves one with nothing but sentimental reflections.”

What Tei Fei Long was not aware of was that when Mu Jiu Niang left him, she was hunted after by Jin Qian Yan who drove her all the way to HuBei’s XiangYang. They ended up coming across the Red Flower Demon Matriarch – Jin Qian Yan’s aunt and the person he was most terrified of. After she had given him a good beating, he went crawling away while ducking his head in fear. But through Jin Qian Yan’s words, Red Flower Demon Matriarch learnt of her husband’s latest news, thus stirring up the pangs of her past love. Learning that Jin was to steal back into the capital soon, she thus took off and headed for Beijing in anticipation of his arrival.

But within all this was another twist to the story. When Red Flower Demon Matriarch left her husband years ago, she was already pregnant. She ended up giving birth to a boy whom she named GongSun Lei, purposely refusing to have her son take on her husband’s surname. Ironically, this boy still ended up inheriting after his father, for he was a little terror even as a child and got himself into a lot of sticky messes. As a result, Red Flower Demon Matriarch had to lay down house rules that banned him of the right to leave the boundaries of the home for even a step before she was finally able to restrain his wild and unruly nature. Because her own son was such a delinquent terror, during her late years, Mother GongSun took in a female disciple. But this female disciple had quite the impressive background – she was the daughter of the present Emperor’s Wet Nurse. However, when Red Flower Demon Matriarch took Ke Ping Ting in as her disciple, Madam Ke has not yet established any position or privileges within the Imperial Palace.

Mu Jiu Niang was taken into hospitality by Mother GongSun and because GongSun Lei had been so strictly governed by his mother for such a long time, he has never laid eyes on such a beautiful woman before. It just so happens that Mu Jiu Niang was of a wanton and salacious nature herself, thus in less than three days the two of them have already found their ways into each other’s beds. Although Mother GongSun has already learnt that Mu Jiu Niang was Tie Fei Long’s beloved concubine and therefore was originally not a good match for her son, but when what’s done was done, she had no other choice but to let them unite in this illicit affair.

Shortly after GongSun Lei and Mu Jiu Niang’s marriage, the Emperor Shen Zhong passed away and Guang Zhong succeeded his throne. Madam Ke thus gained prominence within the Imperial Courts and as a result sent for her daughter to be reunited with her in the capital. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mother GongSun also moved into the Imperial Palace. Not long afterwards, Guang Zhong passed away as well and You Jiao inherited the throne so that Madam Ke amassed even more power than before. By then, Mother GongSun has realized that Wei Zhong Xian was engaging in illicit affairs with Madam Ke and that they two of them were turning the Imperial Courts upside down, therefore she was desirous to leave the Palace immediately. But it was also during this time that Jin Du Yi finally arrived at the capital.

Mother GongSun met with Jin Du Yi in secret and then tried to persuade him to come home with her, but Jin just went on to lament about how Tie Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha were hunting him and how they’ve been chasing him relentlessly for millions of miles. Mother GongSun originally did not want to dirty her hands with this matter, but after Jin Du Yi had experienced bitter defeat in the battle at the Yang mansion, he immediately went crawling back to his wife with his severe injuries. Blubbering and wailing, Jin Du Yi insisted that unless she was willing to seek revenge for him, he refuses to return home. He also went off on how Tei Fei Long and Yu Luo Cha were renowned within the marital arts world for their vicious cruelty, therefore if they did not weed out the source of the problem by plucking it from the roots, they would never be able to have a good night’s rest.

In her moment of weakness Mother GongSun conceded, “This will be the last time that I’m going to help you out. That Tie Fei Long is a very tough opponent, so I can’t promise you that I will be able to beat him.” Jin Du Yi added, “As long as you’re willing to step out, I can send for some skilled fighters to come help you” causing Mother GongSun’s countenance to turn an ugly colour as she snapped, “I never win my opponents by outnumbering them! If you dare to ask for help from other skilled fighters, then I won’t go!” Jin Du Yi hurriedly sputtered out a handful of apologies and then promised his wife that he will listen to her words. But secretly, he was already concocting another plan in his head.

After Tie Fei Long had finished narrating the history and background of the Red Flower Demon Matriarch, he added with a sigh, “Red Flower Demon Matriarch’s character was originally not of a particularly bad nature, but if my fears do prove to be true and she does end up falling prey to her husband’s tricks, then I don’t know. All is well if she doesn’t strike out, but the moment she does strike out, the impact will only and can only be terrifyingly brutal, otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten this Mother of Demons title.” Having heard this, Yu Luo Cha suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter!

Staggered, Tie Fei Long asked, “Lian child, what are you laughing about?” Yu Luo Cha replied, “It’s the face off of the Luo Cha versus the Demon Matriarch! Let’s see exactly who comes out the winner and who will come out the loser! Father, I so wish I can just fight her right here right now!” Tie Fei Long asked, “Haven’t you already made a pact to fight Taoist Priest White Stone tomorrow? How can you fight again at night when you’ve already fought White Stone during the day?” Yu Luo Cha said, “Didn’t you say that they were residing at the MiMo Cliff right now to keep an eye on us? Tomorrow we’ll go over there to fight White Stone as well as Red Flower Demon Matriarch. That way, we can take care of the two matters at the same time! Wouldn’t that be so much more efficient? Father, ever since my battle with you, it’s been too long since I’ve been able to enjoy a good fight! Now my hands are itching like mad!”

Tie Fei Long knotted his eyebrows together and chided, “You crazy child, all you care about is fighting!” but though his mouth spoke scolding words, his heart was really filled with fond love for her. Yu Luo Cha quipped, “Father! Let me fight first tomorrow!” while Tie Fei Long stepped over to the window and gazed outside as he muttered, “It’s almost the fourth hour, we just might be able to make it still.” Yu Luo Cha asked, “Father, what are you talking about? Just hearing that there is an opponent who can give me a good fight is already enough to fill me with energy! Even if I was to go three days and three nights without sleep, I’d still be up to take on this battle!” Tie Fei Long snorted with laughter and said, “You are the exact image of me when I was young!” but then suddenly grew grave as he said seriously, “I was not afraid that you’d be tired, but I want you to go and gather some medication for me.” Yu Luo Cha exclaimed with confusion, “Gather medication?! What kind of medication? We haven’t even fought yet and already we’re preparing for our injuries?!”

Tie Fei Long sighed, “My child, you have no idea how powerful Red Flower Demon Matriarch is! Her poisonous palms are far more powerful than old freak Jin’s, not to mention she has also mastered the martial art skill of shattering boulders into dust with the flesh of her palms. If we don’t take extra precautions ahead of time, then it really won’t be easy to withstand against her.” Yu Luo Cha asked, “What kind of precautions?” Tie Fei Long explained, “Hurry and make a trip into the city for me. First go to the Enduring Peace Escort House and ask to borrow two sets of Bronze Heart Shields from the Head Escort Long Da San. Head Escort Long is my good friend, so if you bring him my handwritten letter he will most definitely give them to you. Then when light breaks, I want you to go and gather together some herbs.”

Tie Fei Long tears off two pieces of fabric from a white shirt and then found a piece of wood cinder to first write down the letter before continuing on to prescribe the herbal formula. What he wrote was: Frankincense (2 ½ grams with oil extracted), Myrrh (2 ½ grams with oil extracted), Figwort Flower (2 ½ grams), Ground Beetle (2 ½ grams, pan-fried with oil), Elephant Gall (5 grams) Safflower (2 ½ grams pan-friend with alcohol), Notoginseng root (2 ½ grams), Eaglewood Wood (2 ½ grams), Costus Root (2 ½ grams), Rosewood (2 ½ grams), Amber (12 ½ grams, boiled in water with green beans), Chinese Angelica Root (2 ½ grams, pan-fried in alcohol), Lumbricus (5 grams with dirt removed), Artemisia (10 grams, pan-fried in alcohol), Bear Gall (2 ½ grams), Musk Secretion (1500 milligrams), Ginseng (2000 milligrams), Plum Petals (2500 milligrams) …”

Yu Luo Cha cried out, “So many herbs! What if I can’t get them all?” Tie Fei Long explained, “Within this list of herbs, aside from one or two of them, the others are really quite common. If you have any trouble gathering all these herbs, ask Head Escort Long for his help, but I haven’t finished this list yet.” Then he added to the end of the list … Jiang Huo [7] (2 ½ grams), Du Huo [8] (2 ½ grams), Buddha’s Hand Citron [9] (5 grams), Cassia (2 ½ grams), Magnolia Bark (5 grams, pan-fried in alcohol), Velvet of Young Deer Antler (5 grams), Lotus Blossom Ointment (2000 milligrams).

With a fettered brow, Yu Luo Cha exclaimed, “Are we done yet?” Tie Fei Long replied, “The medicinal formula is completed, but you still have to buy two pieces of Realgar. Once you gather together all the herbal ingredients, take them back to the escort house and grind into small granules, then blend everything into honey to form pills. In tomorrow’s battle we definitely will be suffering some injuries, but this formula can help relieve our tendons, suppress pain, reduce bruising, ameliorate our wounds and increase our immune defences. So hurry and be on your way now!”

While Tie Fei Long’s side was taut with anxiety as they bustled about, Taoist Priest White Stone’s side was similarly overwrought as their hearts pounded in their chests and their stomachs turned summersaults. White Stone’s daughter He E-Hua was particularly uneasy when she learned that her father was to battle Yu Luo Cha, the Demoness of the martial arts world infamous for the fear that she strikes into the hearts of fighters. And though Taoist Priest White Stone forced himself to feign an appearance of calm collectedness, the truth was, his heart was also troubled by the pangs of fear.

Such is: Mere mention of name triggers fear to shock the Demoness, Powers of notorious fame echoes near and far to shake the martial arts world.

 

 

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[1] “Li Guang”: A famous general of the Western Han era (206BC – 9 AD) and a descendent of Li Xin who was a famous general of the Qin State accredited for his role in driving the Crown Prince Dan of the Yan State back to the frontiers during the Warring States Periods (475BC – 221 BC, or sometimes also considered as spanning from 403 BC – 221BC). The Crown Prince Dan was the person who bade Jing Ke to engage in the famous attempt of assassinating the Lord of the QinState (who later became the First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang).

Joining the army at a young age, Li Guang actively fought against the invasion of the Huns. He was later sent out to accompany Zhou Ya Fu in the mission to settle the revolt headed by the Lord of Wu and the Lord of Chu. Such a rebellion was part of what was known as the Wu Chu Seven States’ Revolt, where the Lords of the Seven States (lead by the Lord of Wu) got together to raise a rebellion against the central government. These Lords were actually all princes of the Han dynasty bearing the same Royal surname (for princes bearing a different surname were already eradicated by Liu Pi, the Lord of Wu). They were each in possession of significant amounts of land (combined, their land was ¾ of China’s overall territory) and military power, thus they would often ignore the orders of the central government. As a result, the Han Emperor was desirous to decrease the surface area of their territorial land and detract part of their military power, thus instigating the seven lords’ desire to revolt against the central dynasty. During the battle at the ancient city of Chang Yi, Li Guang was able to capture the rebelling army’s military flag, an achievement earning him great merit. After the revolt was finally settled, Li continued on to battle bravely against the Huns.

There was one time when he and a hundred of his troops had just finished killing two Hun soldiers and capturing one alive, they decided to return to their base camp when a few thousand Hun soldiers suddenly arrived as backup. But the thousands of Hun soldiers seeing Li with the captured Hun soldier thought that this was a trap designed to lure them in, thus as a result, did not dare to attack. Although his troops wanted to retreat right away, Li knew that being so greatly outnumbered, they would never make it back to their camp and further knowing that the Hun army must be in caution of the possibility that he was trying to lure them into the attack of secretly ambushed soldiers, Li went along with their suspicions and ordered his troops to advance forward, stopping two miles in front of the Hun army. Li then ordered his men to descend off their horses and dismount their saddles, leaving the Hun army in befuddled confusion, furthermore not daring to attack. This face-off lasted until nightfall whereby fearing a night invasion from the Chinese army, the Hun army immediately retreated and thus Li and his army averted their deaths.

There was another time when Li and his troops were again outnumbered by the Hun army. Having heard of Li’s great fame, the Hun soldiers were ordered to capture Li alive. Greatly outnumbered, Li’s army was defeated and having been severely wounded, Li was unfortunately captured. Seeing how Li was severely injured, his enemies placed him in a hammock tied between two horses as they prepared to deliver him back to their headquarters. But along the journey, Li suddenly overtook control of a horse occupied by a Hun soldier, took his bow and arrow before kicking the soldier off the horse and then riding the soldier’s horse all the way back to his own army camp, shooting down the numerous enemies that chased after him. After this incident that illustrated Li Guang’s blinding speed, masterful shooting skills and extraordinary actions, the Hun army began to refer to him as the “Flying General of the Hans.” But when he returned to the capital, due to Li’s losses in the battle, the Emperor demoted Li from his military rank and therefore he was returned to his civilian status.

A few years later, the Huns became an ever more pressing threat and thus the Emperor decided to reinstate Li Guang’s position. Hearing news that the great “Flying General” was stationed at the city of BeiPing (which is now known as the capital BeiJing), the Huns did not dare to attack for many years.

When Li Guang was past the age of 60, he once again continued to set out for battle. He was accompanied by another general by the name of Wei Qing who had secretly learned of the whereabouts of the Hun lord and was desirous to capture the enemy himself in order to claim full merit. As a result, he misled Li, Li’s army and the support army off onto another path. Due to the difficult and challenging nature of the terrain, Li and the army briefly lost their way, while Wei Qing himself failed in his attempts to capture the Hun Lord. After the two groups met up again, Wei Qing held the commander of the support army responsible for the troops losing their way and thus costing them the chance to capture the Hun Lord. Angered, Li stood up for this commander and the troops by taking all the responsibility onto himself. He then said to his troops that having joined the army at a young age and fought over seventy battles with the Huns, he could not believe that he would now be placed under such dishonour by a fellow general. Already of such an old age, he could not allow himself to suffer such injustice and immediately committed suicide there on the spot, thus ending the life of one of the most famous generals of an era.

The phrase “Li Guang shoots at rock” used within this book refers to an incident that happened during one of Li’s hunting expeditions. Greatly experienced in hunting tigers, Li was out hunting during one twilight evening and looking over to the bushes, discovered a striped object which he thought was a tiger. Li immediately drew his bow and shot at it. In accordance to his masterly shooting skills, he of course hit his target but when he walked in closer, he discovered that what he had shot at was a rock and not a tiger. Yet to everyone’s amazement, his arrow had penetrated deep into the rock, in fact it had delved so solidly into the rock that his attendants could not pull the arrow out again. But when Li Guang drew his bow to shoot at the rock once again, tried as he might, he never could get the arrow to penetrate into the rock anymore. But from this day onwards, Li developed a reputation as being able to have the strength to shoot through solid rocks.

Li Guang’s story was recounted in SiMa Qian’s “ShiJi” (Records of History) and his name was mentioned in numerous poems, including one by Lu Lun who immortalized Li Guang’s rock shooting triumph in one of his poems.

[2] “MiMo Cliff”: The MiMoYa of Beijing belongs to one of the eight scenic spots of the Xi Shan (West Mountain). Although the name MiMoYa is commonly translated as “Mysterious Devil Cliff” it should also be understood that the name “Mysterious Devil Cliff” bears along with it misleading connotations that have nothing to do with the cliff itself. The cliff is named after a monk called LuShi and of whom is rumored to be the MiMo ZuShi (or the MiMo Ancestor) which like the name of the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism DaMo ZuShi (DaMo Ancestor) has meanings different from that of which would be directly interpreted from the characters in their names (The characters “MiMo” could be literally translated into English as “Mysterious Demon” and similarly “DaMo” could be translated as “Attaining Demon [stature]” but that is what neither of the terms mean). The origin and legend surrounding the MiMo Cliff will be further explained in Chapter 14.

[3] “true honour and valour is often found only within the butchering crowds of the street markets”: The bottom half of this common phrase goes “whereas betrayal and deception is often seen in the educated crowds of the literate.” Used within this context, Xiong Ting Bi was contrasting the double-crossing and degenerate nature of the educated (and thus infused by “higher morals”) government officials who were turning the politics of the country upside down with their struggle for power. Meanwhile, it was the so-called “coarse” Jianghu crowds or “butchering” wild rebels who came forward to save the day and displayed patriotic valour in their time of need.

[4] “meimei”: “mei” directly translates as little/younger sister.

[5] “daige”: Meaning “older brother” with “dai” literally translated as “big”/“older” and “ge” as “elder brother.”

[6] The term used in the book for Red Flower Demon Matriarch was “hong hua gui mu” (“hong” = red, “hua” = flower, “gui” = ghost, demon, “mu” = mother) which is likely the same as “gui zi mu” (where “zi” = son), translated by Soothill and Hodous’ online Buddhism dictionary as: “H?rit?, ??? intp. as pleased, or pleasing. A 'woman who having vowed to devour all the babies at R?djagriha was reborn as a r?kshas?, and gave birth to 500 children, one of which she was to devour every day. Converted by ??kyamuni she entered a convent. Her image is to be seen in all nunneries'. Another account is that she is the mother of 500 demons, and that from being an evil goddess or spirit she was converted to become a protectress of Buddhism.”

A similar term “gui zi shen mu” (“shen” = divine, godly, heavenly) is translated by Soothill and Hodous as “A r?k?as? who devours men” but as you might recall, the term “raksasi” is a Hindu term used to refer to a certain branch of Luo Chas (??) that devour men. Thus it seems that the Deva-mother of Demons is probably similar in nature to the Luo Chas.

[7] “Jiang Huo”: Botanical/Chemical Latin name: Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H. T. Chang (External Link)

[8] “Du Huo”: Botanical/Chemical Latin name: Angelica grosserrata, Max, pharmaceutical name: Rhizoma Et Radix Notopterygii

[9] “Buddha’s Hand Citron”: Also commonly known as Buddha’s Finger Citron or Finger Citron