Chapter 10: An Interlude

"If you see that girl again, spare her life – and if you don't, then she'll just have to depend on her own luck to survive."

Seeing that Zhou Fei had immediately gotten his point, Xie Yun smiled: "Not bad, you truly are Gentleman Gan Tang's daughter. I'd say you're about half as smart as I was when I was your age."

At this shameless boast, Zhou Fei couldn't help but snipe inwardly: You sure are smart. So smart that you've been locked up underground for more than two months. Any longer and you'd start growing mould.

Zhou Fei was covered from head to toe in dirt, with patches of dust plastered on her face. Only those big eyes of hers were still clear and bright. She looked like a little spotted cat. Xie Yun had the sudden urge to send her far away from this godforsaken place, as far as she could run. As for his own safety, he wasn't too concerned about that.

Xie Yun beckoned at her, and said softly: "Listen to me, bear with this place for a day. When it is a little past seven in the evening, and it is dark outside, the guards change shifts. Seize that opportunity to leave. I'll show you a route that wraps around the prison cells. You'll get good cover from the rocks all around there. If any of the people in the cells see you, it's unlikely that they'll expose you."

Xie Yun spent the entire day going over the layout of the place in painstaking detail, even getting Zhou Fei to draw it out on the opposing rock wall and immediately correcting any mistakes. They were interrupted several times by the meal delivery, and sounds of insults and curses in all different accents and dialects occasionally drifted over. At one point, under the influence of the drug, Xie Yun suddenly went silent mid-speech. He slumped against the rock wall behind him, completely still – he seemed to have fainted.

Zhou Fei had been a little frightened, as his face was in the shadows and she couldn't be sure if he was still breathing. Fortunately he got up not long after, and while he looked a tad paler, continued weakly: "I'm not dead yet, don't be so eager to pay your respects to my corpse…where did we stop just now?"

Not only did he go over the layout with her, he also told her the best route to take, as well as a whole host of little tricks to avoid detection. He was clearly an expert in the art of sneaking around. Zhou Fei carefully committed everything to heart, and then couldn't help but say: "Weren't you locked up underground all this time? How did you get to know all of this?"

"I had a look around when they first brought me in," Xie Yun said, "And as for the parts that I didn't get a chance to see, I inferred them from the daily scolding sessions by those good men up there."

Realisation dawned on Zhou Fei – so they weren't actually just shouting to pass the time, but could actually secretly pass messages this way!

Xie Yun glanced upwards, and judged the time of day from the light filtering through the narrow crack above. He said to Zhou Fei: "I think it's about time, you'd better get ready. They will bang their sticks when changing shift, and it's not difficult to avoid them. Just be careful."

Zhou Fei didn't rush to leave, carefully going over the map that she had drawn on the wall and making sure that she had everything down pat, before asking Xie Yun: "Is there anything else you want me to do for you?"

Xie Yun said with utmost seriousness: "Just remember one thing."

Zhou Fei assumed that he had spent so much time and effort helping her escape because he wanted her help with something. So she nodded readily and said: "Go ahead."

Xie Yun said: "When you get up there, don't dally for even an instant. Leave immediately. All these martial arts experts locked up here have had years of experience being in all kinds of predicaments, and will certainly be able to find a way to escape in the end. Just mind your own business. Once you reach home, immediately get your elders to ask the Huo Clan for your cousin. Don't you worry, Huo Lian Tao wouldn't want to offend Mistress Li, especially not at this crucial juncture. He'll definitely be able to find a way to return your cousin to you unharmed."

Zhou Fei couldn't quite believe her ears, and asked: "And then? What about all of you here?"

"Nothing we can do," Xie Yun said calmly. "I've been reading the stars, and they say that something big will happen here soon. Just pretend that you don't know anything about this, and once you get your cousin, leave Dongting as soon as possible."

Zhou Fei looked at him in disbelief. In the few months since leaving home, she had witnessed bustling crowds, the wild outdoors, the hardships of ordinary people; people who were heinous, sly, shameless….but she would never have thought that in this place, she would meet a complete and utter fool!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Xie Yun was slouched in the corner, and smiled at her weakly, "I'm a man of principle – and its against my principles to put a pretty girl in danger."

Zhou Fei looked hesitant: "But you…"

Interrupting her, Xie Yun said, "This place isn't too bad, the four of us here are pretty good company. I wouldn't feel lonely even if I stayed here for another 2 months."

Zhou Fei looked around her, puzzled – which four of us? Only to see the fellow point upwards, then across from him, and then finally tap his finger on his own shoulder and say leisurely: "The moon, that skeleton, the night sky, and me."

Zhou Fei: "…"

My goodness, this person was too far gone. He was probably beyond saving.

"Go now, and don't forget what big brother told you," Xie Yun said. "Oh yes, one more thing. If I manage to escape this place in future and you still haven't returned home by then, I'll go find you. I still have something pretty important to give you."

"What is it?"

Xie Yun looked at her almost tenderly, then said, "When I barged into the 48 Zhai, even though it was at the behest of someone else, it was still because of me that your father and mother had to be separated, and that you broke your weapon. All this time, I've been feeling quite bad about it. That night at the Ink-washing River, you looked quite comfortable using a narrow-backed sabre, so I forged one for you. I don't have it with me now, but I'll pass it to you next time."

Zhou Fei didn't know how to feel in response to Xie Yun's words. She hardly ever felt sorry for herself, because she reminded herself everyday of Zhou Yitang's parting words, and so was constantly thinking about how she could grow even stronger and more powerful. She had also never been taught to do so – when little kids fell down, they only learnt that scrapes and bruises were deserving of pity when the adults around them fussed over and comforted them. But if these adults simply looked askance, they would over time think that falling down was simply a part of walking – even though it did hurt a little.

Without a word, Zhou Fei picked up her sabre, positioned herself beneath the crevice that she had fallen through, and leapt upwards, using her hands and legs to scramble up the rock face. She was slender and light, not requiring much effort to nimbly climb out through that small crack. The cool night breeze promptly rushed into her lungs, jolting her to attention. As she looked at the stronghold around her, Zhou Fei thought: this was a tall order – Mistress Li had certainly never taught her how to make a hasty escape.

And even if she were able to escape, she had no idea how to make her way back from this godforsaken place.

As a young girl without a good sense of direction, especially in an unfamiliar environment, Zhou Fei had long since forgotten the route that she had taken here. Finding Old Madam Wang would basically be as difficult for her as asking her to travel all the way to Jinling, track Zhou Yitang down and complain to him about her mother's mistreatment.

She waited in the crevice, as still as she could be. This time, she could clearly make out her surroundings – just as Xie Yun had said, this place occupied a narrow valley between two mountains. Many holes had been dug into the opposing sides of the two mountains, forming two massive prisons that faced each other. The prison cells were mostly occupied, although the clanking of chains could not be heard. Eating 'Wen Rou San'[1] must have made everyone very 'gentle' indeed, such that their captors didn't see a need to chain them up.

Having familiarised herself with the terrain, Zhou Fei began single-mindedly scrutinising her first target – a little thatched-roof pavilion about 20 metres away. This was where the guards changed their shifts.

Xie Yun had said that when changing shifts, those on the preceding shift would pass through this pavilion to leave, while those on the next shift would briefly patrol the surrounding area first before taking up their posts. During this time, the pavilion would be left unguarded, and one could try to pass through.

But as the pavilion was lit, she would have to move fast, while making sure that she did not cast any shadows – and would probably need a bit of luck as well.

When it was finally a little past seven in the evening, the sounds of sticks being struck resounded across the mountains, loud and clear. The guards yawned widely, and started leaving their posts. She could see the flickering lights of torches snaking along the mountain paths. Only then did Zhou Fei dart out of the crevice.

Executing her qinggong skills to the best of her ability, she floated upwards like the cool night breeze. Just when the very last guard had passed through the pavilion, she slipped inside, less than a person's breadth away from him.

While her qinggong was passable, it was a far cry from Xie Yun's 'The Wind Passes Without A Trace'. As Zhou Fei landed in the pavilion, a lamp hanging in the corner shook with the little stirring in the air that her movements had created, the flame within flaring suddenly. In that split second, Zhou Fei immediately bounded upwards again from where she had landed, propelling herself onto the ceiling. She clung onto the ceiling beams, holding herself parallel to the ground.

It had been a close call – the instant she attached herself to the ceiling, the guard that had just left turned back sharply, narrowing his eyes at the flickering lamplight. He walked back suspiciously, and circled the pavilion once.

Zhou Fei's chest hurt from holding her breath, and the veins on the backs of her slender hands were bulging with the exertion. Her back was drenched in cold sweat.

She closed her eyes, and imagined that an entire web of strings from the stringed machine was closing in on her, the Ink-Washing River glimmering with their cold light. The fear and anxiety in her heart immediately morphed into an almost expectant excitement – this was a neat little trick that she had come up with. Every time she was backed into a corner by the stringed machine, and the fear and anxiety threatened to overwhelm her, she would force herself to imagine a long flight of steps, leading to the peak of a towering mountain. She would convince herself that if she just managed to escape these strings, she would be climbing yet another excruciating step upwards, towards that lofty peak.

She opened her eyes again, and her gaze now was calm. That guard returned to the pavilion, and prodded the lamp's wick.

Zhou Fei stared down at his head, thinking about how she could knock him out in the shortest time possible without creating a stir.

But what if she failed?

If I am discovered, she thought calmly, then I'll just kill my way out of here, until I can't anymore.

Just then, someone called out, "Number Six, why are you still dawdling there?"

That guard replied with irritation, "What are you rushing me for!"

At that, the guard let go of the lamp and left, with nary a glance upwards. Zhou Fei let out the breath that she had been holding, and counted to three in her head. The guard took several steps, then turned back again instinctively to look at the pavilion. When he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, he finally concluded that he had been seeing shadows. Shaking his head, he turned and left.

When she was sure that he had left, Zhou Fei slinked down from the ceiling. Looking around the pavilion, she saw a pot of tea and a steamer full of buns on a table in the corner. The buns were steaming hot, and were probably the guards' after-dinner snack. Zhou Fei had been starving the entire day. Seeing that these scoundrels were here enjoying life, she saw red, and grabbing two buns that were as big as her palm, slipped away.

According to the route that Xie Yun had planned for her, Zhou Fei was to take the paths that twisted and turned past the stone cells, as these were overhung by natural rock formations that would be good cover for her. Whenever she was occasionally spotted by the martial arts pugilists locked up within, just as Xie Yun had said, they didn't call for the guards, and some even gave her directions.

Xie Yun had intended for her to pass the stone cells to reach a path that led to the top of the mountain, from where she could escape. But Zhou Fei wasn't planning on escaping just yet. While she stuck to Xie Yun's route at first, she had drawn up a different plan in her head. Her target was the stables just behind the jail cells – which housed the stolen horses that these masked men hadn't managed to sell off yet.

There would be dry hay aplenty in the stables, and the wind was strong tonight – perfect for a fire.

Zhou Fei planned to set the horses free, and set the place on fire. After wreaking havoc here, she would head for the kitchens.

As Xie Yun didn't want her to be involved in this affair any further, he hadn't told her what the antidote to 'Wen Rou San' looked like. But Zhou Fei hazarded an intelligent guess that since the drug was placed in the inmates' food, it was probably added in the kitchen. The antidote was probably stashed there as well, as a precaution in case any of the cooks or guards accidentally imbibed the drug. She would just need to seize one of the cooks there and force him to reveal its whereabouts.

Zhou Fei stopped at the jail cell at the farthest end of the prison cells, fixing her eyes on the stables nearby. Lifting her sabre, she took a deep breath and decided to make her move.

But just when she was about to leap forward, a hand suddenly stretched out between the bars of the deathly silent jail cell behind her, and pressed down on her shoulder.

Zhou Fei's heart skipped a beat, and she almost brandished her weapon there and then.

Yet the very next moment, she heard the softest rustling of clothes – the person approaching had the lightest of footsteps, and if he had been trying hard to stay hidden, Zhou Fei would not have detected him at all.

She had originally thought that the skills of the guards here were of more or less the same standard as hers – who knew that someone so highly-skilled was tucked away in this corner. Just when Zhou Fei started to worry that she was going to be discovered, she heard a series of deep, hacking coughs from behind her, so intense that the person sounded like he was at death's door. The hand on her shoulder quivered as the person coughed, as if he did not even have the strength to stand on his own, and was using her as a human crutch.

Zhou Fei turned her head around slowly, to see a gaunt middle-aged man standing in the jail cell behind her. He had been sitting in the shadows just now, completely silent, such that she had failed to sense that there was another living being here. The man's hair was streaked with white, and his robes were made of cheap cloth. His back was not exactly bent, yet it wasn't quite straight either. He looked abject, like the very epitome of poverty. Lightly shaking his head, he opened his mouth to speak but was wracked by a series of shuddering coughs that made Zhou Fei feel like she too was out of breath.

The footsteps of the person that had been approaching seemed to pause for a while. He probably didn't feel inclined to get too close to the sickly man in this cell. With a disgusted 'tsk', he turned and walked away.

Only then did the middle-aged man retract his hand from Zhou Fei's shoulder and press it to his heaving chest. He leaned on the wall of his cell, breathing weakly.

Zhou Fei hesitated for a bit, then said softly: "Many thanks…Elder, are you alright?"

The middle-aged man lifted his head to look at her. Looking straight into his eyes, Zhou Fei started – that was a pair of murky, somewhat lifeless eyes, and when they looked at you, they caused your heart to tighten inexplicably.

The man said emotionlessly: "Little girl, you really are bold."

Of the numerous martial arts experts that had retired to the 48 Zhai, quite a few might look like regular old folk, but actually possessed an awe-inspiring set of skills – much like Old Madam Wang. Zhou Fei had seen little of the world, and had no idea how much essentials like wood, rice, oil and salt cost, but she had seen more than her fair share of martial arts experts. Yet none of those skilled elders in the 48 Zhai, even including Mistress Li, made her feel this overwhelming sense of pressure the way the middle-aged man before her did – despite the fact that he seemed to be even weaker than Zhou Yitang.

Zhou Fei was immediately wary of him, and said carefully: "A senior from my family was caught by these people when he wandered away from home alone. I had no choice but to come here to find him. Sorry to disturb you, elder."

With eyes half-closed, the middle-aged man said: "Oh? Who is your shifu?"

His words could be deemed extremely impolite, with a hint of superiority which suggested that he was used to issuing commands, and having them obeyed. He sounded as if he were born to speak like this.

Zhou Fei hesitated, pondering how she should respond. When she was alone, she tended to be recklessly bold. But when it came to matters related to her family, every single cautious nerve in her body tingled to life in an instant. She didn't know who this man was or where he was from, and keenly aware of her lack of experience, was afraid to create any trouble for the 48 Zhai. She decided to respond with vague half-truths: "My family has some martial arts skills passed down to us from our ancestors. My parents tried to impart these to me, and I tried to practice some of it, just for overall health. We don't have many people in our family, only three in my immediate family and two relatives, and can't be considered an actual sect."

The middle-aged man muttered a faint "Mm". She couldn't tell if he had really believed what she said, but at any rate he seemed to have lost interest in her. He waved his hand at her, indicating that she could scram now. Zhou Fei wasn't one to initiate conversations with strangers. But looking at the man's pale face, she couldn't help but think of Zhou Yitang. In the little cave, when Xie Yun had briefly summed up her father's impressive feats, she had been filled with anxiety, even though her face hadn't shown it. She was worried that there was no one to care for her ailing father as he travelled all over – and then worried that he had likely forgotten her and her mother, seeing as he had not sent a single letter back home since leaving, and was likely being waited upon by a whole host of skilled doctors and servants.

But as her father was miles away from her now, all her worries and concerns for him were now vicariously directed towards the middle-aged man before her. She couldn't help but ask: "Are you ill, elder?"

The man seemed surprised that she would talk to him on her own accord, and paused briefly before saying: "Just an old injury."

"Oh," Zhou Fei said. Thinking for a bit, she then pulled out one of the buns in her pocket and handed it to him through the bars of the cell.

The middle-aged man eyed the bun, then gave her a onceover with a curious expression on his face.

"I snagged this from the guards' pavilion," Zhou Fei explained, "It's for them to eat, so it's not poisoned. That drug in the food they've been giving you seems extremely harmful to the body. Since you're injured, you should refrain from eating their food as much as possible."

The middle-aged man stretched out his hand to take the bun. He turned the still-warm bun over and over in his hands a few times, as if he had never seen such a thing before in his life. Then instead of thanking her, he only said softly: "Where did you say your cousin was being kept?"

Zhou Fei shook her head despondently.

The middle-aged man stared hard at her: "Yet you dare to barge in like this? Do you know who rules this place?"

Xie Yun had only referred to 'a few less than decent friends from the martial arts world', probably because he assumed that even if he had named them, she wouldn't have known who they were.

The middle-aged man said: "You must have heard of the 'Mountain of the Living Dead' before?"

He seemed a little impatient at having to explain, and had thought that these words would have been enough to enlighten her. However, Zhou Fei's expression only grew more confused. The middle-aged man furrowed his brow, and said coldly: "Sending a barely-weaned little scoundrel like you out on such a mission – your family is certainly thin in numbers."

Zhou Fei was a little disgruntled by his words, but then remembered that it was she herself who had said that they 'didn't have many people in their family', and tamped down the irritation rising up within her. She was also curious, as to who exactly this person was, and how a grown-up like himself could be so impertinent.

"Numerous devils and demons reside in the Mountain of the Living Dead. They had four leaders, who arrogantly gave themselves titles according to the Four Symbols.[2] They are infamous for being indiscriminate shit-stirrers. They act ruthlessly and viciously, behave unreasonably, leave a bloody trail wherever they go, and can be considered the 'underworld' of the martial arts scene. But their four leaders were subsequently caught up in internal strife, which happened just as the Northern and Southern dynasties were at war and both sides were intent on eliminating them. Because of this, they finally fractured and split – and the Vermillion Bird Lord and his lackeys settled in the proximity of Yueyang City. To avoid the many enemies that they had made in their heyday, they have retreated to this secluded place, and also pledged allegiance to the Huo Clan."

Zhou Fei felt markedly more enlightened: "Ah."

She now understood why this group of masked men were so underhanded. But she didn't really feel frightened at the man's description of them. After all, she hadn't seen these 'devils and demons' in action, and as for them being the 'underworld' of the martial arts scene…well, the 'bandits by imperial decree' in the 48 Zhai weren't exactly above board either.

The middle-aged man glanced at her: "The Vermillion Bird Lord's name is Mu Xiaoqiao. Many years back, he went to the Tai Mountain alone to settle some small dispute. Within the time taken for an incense stick to burn, he had defeated the Taishan Sect's three elders, broken three of its sect leader's ribs, and in front of everyone, stuck his hand into the chest of the sect leader's only son, ripped out his beating heart, flung it on the ground and left. He himself was completely unharmed."

Zhou Fei's eyes widened. She was familiar with the Taishan Sect. The 48 Zhai's Qianzhong Sect was descended from the Taishan Sect, and the Qianzhong Sect's leader had great admiration for the eighteen moves of the Taishan Sect's 'Saji[3] Palm'. It was said that the Qianzhong Sect's founder had once been a disciple of the Taishan Sect. He had subsequently adapted this set of palm techniques for the halberd, thereby forming his own Sect. Seeing that he had finally managed to instil some fear into this uninformed little girl, the middle-aged man said tartly: "I've finally managed to bring up a sect that you're familiar with – now that you know how powerful these people are, count yourself lucky that you found out before it's too late. Hurry up and get lost."

But he didn't know that the 'fearful' Zhou Fei was actually thinking: I didn't know that they were this powerful – it looks like my initial plan to singlehandedly wreak havoc in this place wouldn't work. I'll just have to be a little bit more careful. Perhaps I'll go quietly search for the antidote first, so that I can release a few more people to help me.

So she said to the middle-aged man: "Many thanks for your guidance, elder."

Zhou Fei then nimbly leapt down from the door of his jail cell, heading for the row of houses behind the stables in two or three leaps and bounds. The middle-aged man abruptly opened his eyes, and seeing that she had completely ignored his advice, looked with consternation at the direction which Zhou Fei had headed in, saying softly: "Reckless fool."

A shadowy figure emerged from where Zhou Fei had just been standing, and stood at the door of the jail cell. This 'figure' was actually a person, clothed entirely in black. When pressed against the rocky mountainside, he looked no different from a shadow. The black-clad man respectfully fell to one knee, awaiting instruction from the middle-aged man in the cell.

"Don't mind her." The middle-aged man said emotionlessly, "Just a little interlude that doesn't affect our plans. Tell me, are you are sure that the Vermillion Bird is in the mountain tonight?"

The black-clad man opened his mouth and uttered a few words. While he emitted no sound, the middle-aged man in the cell seemed to have heard him, and chuckled softly: "Very good, all my waiting here has paid off. Go, stick to our original plan. When Mu Xiaoqiao is dead, Huo Liantao will be a sitting duck."

The black-clad man lowered his head, and appeared to respond with a 'Yes'. In the blink of an eye, he had morphed into a shadow yet again, clinging to the mountainside like a lizard and climbing up several metres.

Just then, the middle-aged man in the jail cell suddenly said: "Wait."

The black-clad man obediently returned to the jail cell, awaiting further instruction. That sickly-looking middle-aged man tore off a little piece of Zhou Fei's steamed bun, sniffed it suspiciously, and repeatedly rubbed it between his fingers to be sure that it was not poisoned. Only then did he take the smallest of bites. He looked absolutely solemn even as he ate, his brow slightly furrowed, as though he were making an extremely different decision.

After swallowing this bite of food with much difficulty, the middle-aged man said: "If you see that girl again, spare her life – and if you don't, then she'll just have to depend on her own luck to survive."

Zhou Fei was completely unawares of the secret plot that was stirring beneath the tranquil façade of this mountain valley. After patiently searching the area for almost an hour, she finally managed to find the kitchens by following a group of labourers. Now that she had been alerted to how dangerous this place was, she was on her guard even with these regular-looking kitchen workers. She set her sights on a stout and jolly-looking chef, who was clearly in search of a midnight snack. Not wanting his subordinates to see him sneaking some food, he had dismissed all of them, and headed to the kitchen alone.

Zhou Fei's eyes were glued to the chef's every movement, until she even started to subconsciously mimic his gait. Just when he pushed open the kitchen's wooden door, Zhou Fei made her move. The stout chef didn't even have the chance to utter a sound before he slumped to the ground, a bloody gash across his throat.

Zhou Fei: "…"

Where were all the 'devils and demons'?

Had that sickly man just been trying to scare her for fun?

[1] Again, literal translation is: 'Dispersing/Spreading gently'.

[2] The Four Symbols (四象) are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermillion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise of the North.

[3] 社稷: the gods of the earth that the emperors and officials of ancient China worshipped.