Chapter 16: Seizing the Wind

It is impossible to hold on to the departed, nor can we recover what is past.

Zhou Fei didn't know that both her enemies and her friends had now made her out to be a fearsomely 'ruthless and scheming' figure.

While she might have been forced to mature a little over the past few days, it was of course impossible for her to become completely enlightened overnight. When Chou Tianji declared what he was going to do to the corpses, something in her had snapped. She could think of nothing else but hauling Chou Tianji over here, chewing him up and spitting him back out. She flung all other considerations to the back of her mind, steeling herself to go after him.

Wu Chuchu certainly couldn't stop her – she could barely lift a heavy bowl without her hands shaking. She could only look on as Zhou Fei leapt out the window of the shed.

Wu Chuchu placed her hands on the window ledge and struggled to haul herself over, but try as she might, she couldn't even lift herself up. Not daring to make a commotion here, she could only peer anxiously outside and whisper: "Fei! Fei!"

Zhou Fei didn't seem to hear her at all, and headed straight for the entrance of the courtyard. But just as she crossed the threshold, a colourful ball of something suddenly came tumbling down upon her.

Wu Chuchu shrieked in fright. The madwoman had 'floated' down from the roof to land right in front of Zhou Fei, and was now staring unblinkingly at her. Zhou Fei bowed slightly to the woman, and said: "Many thanks, senior, for the past few days of hospitality. Apologies for any inconvenience that we caused. I'll return this favour someday."

Then she stepped forward, intending to run right past her.

But the madwoman seemed to think that she was playing a game with her. She started mirroring her movements, moving left when Zhou Fei stepped towards the left, and moving right when Zhou Fei stepped right. The colourful cloths on her arms fluttered about like the wings of a moth, blocking Zhou Fei's path everywhere she turned. The more she played, the more amused she became, and laughter burst from her lips.

The veins at Zhou Fei's temple bulged. Not wanting to waste anymore time here, she muttered "Forgive me", and thrust her sheathed sabre at the madwoman's shoulder, intending to force her to move aside. But to her surprise, the woman grabbed her sabre head-on, the collision sending reverberations down Zhou Fei's arm.

The madwoman squealed in glee.

Zhou Fei yanked her sabre out of its sheath, and thrust the blunt side towards the woman's abdomen. The madwoman jumped back with a yelp, giving Zhou Fei the opportunity to leap away from her. Zhou Fei scaled the outer wall of the courtyard, intent on leaving. But before she could take another step, she felt a vise-like grip on her foot.

All pugilists knew that a stable base was one of the most fundamental principles of martial arts, which was instilled in them since young.

Feeling that claw-like hand yank at her leg with insurmountable force, she tried to shake her off with all her might, but it was no use. The madwoman dragged her right off the wall!

Wu Chuchu shrieked: "Fei!"

Startled by this sound, the woman's servant hurried out of the house with a broom in hand: "Who's there!"

Zhou Fei's sabre had been flung several metres away, and the madwoman was roughly dragging her by the foot across the courtyard. She had very nearly fainted from the fall, and felt a burning sensation all across her back.

The woman's servant rushed over. Seeing them, her eyes widened, and she said: "Oh my, who are you?"

Zhou Fei was in too much pain to speak.

The madwoman had stopped laughing. Her expression stony, she dragged Zhou Fei all the way back into the courtyard. Her servant looked around to make sure nobody had seen them, then picked up Zhou Fei's sabre and followed them back inside, surreptitiously closing the doors behind her.

Once they were back inside, the madwoman let go of her. Zhou Fei instinctively withdrew her foot, gritting her teeth as she reset her dislocated ankle with a pop. Wu Chuchu came running out of the little shed, and thrust herself between Zhou Fei and the madwoman. She wasn't one to forget her manners, even when scared out of her wits – curtseying daintily, she stammered: "Madam, my deepest apologies for coming here uninvited. We harbour no ill intentions, and didn't steal…steal anything…so…so…"

When that madwoman didn't speak, she looked almost normal, except for those frighteningly opaque black eyes. Twirling a few loose strands of hair at her temple with her fingers, she didn't even spare Wu Chuchu a glance, staring straight at Zhou Fei instead: "Girl, who taught you the Snow-Breaking Sabre?"

Zhou Fei was splayed on the ground, grimacing in pain. At the madwoman's question, she attempted to collect herself, and said cautiously: "It was passed down to me."

"Oh." The madwoman paused, then said: "Then who is Li Zheng to you?"

Li Zheng was the father of Li Jinrong, and the previous Master of the 48 Zhai.

Zhou Fei replied: "My maternal grandfather."

The madwoman's servant gasped, dropping her broom, and looked Zhou Fei up and down. Zhou Fei looked curiously at this 'madwoman', who currently didn't look mad in the slightest. Her tone growing a tad warmer, she asked: "Might I ask who you…"

The madwoman beamed: "I am your maternal grandmother."

Zhou Fei: "…"

At this unexpected reply, Zhou Fei was stunned into silence at first, but her shock was quickly replaced by anger. Her maternal grandmother had died of complications from delivering her uncle. This madwoman looked like she wasn't much older than Li Jinrong, and was clearly spouting nonsense. Zhou Fei could forgive the woman for making her look like a fool, but it was too much for her to disrespect her elders!

Ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle, Zhou Fei picked herself up and said coldly: "Senior, if you continue to speak so recklessly, I will not hesitate to fight you even though I know that I am not your match!"

Hearing this, the madwoman stepped back in fright. Like a little girl, she clutched at her chest and pouted, saying: "There's no need for you to be so fierce, a step-grandmother is still a grandmother. Why, is it because I'm not as pretty as your real grandmother?"

Zhou Fei couldn't stand this anymore, and lifted her hand to strike her, to stem the stream of nonsense that this 'grandmother' of hers was spewing.

The madwoman giggled as she ran from Zhou Fei across the courtyard, as if they were playing tag. While Zhou Fei was shorn of her sabre, she moved her palm viciously and quickly, as she would her blade. But when used against this madwoman, she felt like she was trying to grasp at a piece of ice floating in the water, slippery and impossible to strike.

Enraged, Zhou Fei lunged forward in midair, managing to grab one of the cloths wrapped around the woman's waist. She yanked at it savagely, then moved her other hand decisively down like she would a sabre, the air whistling past it. It was aimed right at the woman's chest.

The madwoman chortled: "Bravo!"

She slid smoothly to the side. Zhou Fei's palm strike had landed on another strip of cloth wrapped around her chest, but that cloth seemed to have a life of its own, undulating itself around Zhou Fei's hand. Then before she could blink, the madwoman had run circles around her, promptly wrapping her up in the colourful cloths till she looked like a giant flowery cocoon.

Zhou Fei: "…"

Wu Chuchu was scared stiff.

The madwoman stroked Zhou Fei's face tenderly: "My poor baby."

Zhou Fei strained against the cloths, but her efforts were futile. She had already been furious at Chou Tianji, and now this bizarre woman had provoked her beyond her limits. A mixture of anger and despair filled her, and she thought: I'd understand if I'm not strong enough to take down the Big Dipper, but now even a madwoman is capable of walking all over me. And all I can do is sit here and listen to her say things that would make my ancestors turn in their graves…

Her temple was throbbing fiercely, causing one side of her face to spasm in pain. She couldn't help but think: If it had been Zhang Chenfei who had escaped, or even any other shixiong, they certainly wouldn't have been this useless.

The more she dwelled on this the worse she felt. She stayed rooted to the spot, her body tightly clenched. Suddenly, she tasted blood in the back of her throat, and amidst Wu Chuchu's cries of horror, collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Zhou Fei had no idea how much time had passed when she finally came to her senses. In her bleary state, she sensed a dim light before her eyes, and a warm object moving towards her face. A voice said: "This girl's skills aren't bad, and her looks are even better. She doesn't look much like Brother Li Zheng, nor like me…perhaps she looks like that grandmother of hers?"

Zhou Fei thought to herself: My foot!

Unfortunately, she was too weak to say it out loud.

When Zhou Fei was ten years old, to strengthen her legs Li Jinrong had forced her to fall down again and again for three whole months, and after that, nobody in the 48 Zhai was capable of knocking her over. For this madwoman to bring her down in just one tug, she must have used an incredible amount of force. Zhou Fei had felt as if her organs had been rearranged, and hadn't been able to speak for a good long while. She had obviously suffered internal injuries when she fell, and her inner turmoil from the madwoman's provocations that followed had only worsened these wounds.

But it was actually fortunate that Zhou Fei was too weak to respond.

The madwoman had been dangling a creaky oil lamp in front of Zhou Fei's face. When she uttered the words 'like that grandmother of hers', her expression grew grotesque, and she looked like she would press the lamp onto Zhou Fei's face, in an attempt to melt its features down to her satisfaction. This woman's madness came in random bursts, with no warning whatsoever. Fearing that she would suddenly attack Zhou Fei midsentence, Wu Chuchu quickly said: "Girls tend to look like their fathers."

The madwoman looked pleased at Wu Chuchu's words. She set aside the 'weapon' in her hand, and nodded her head sagely: "That's true. I still haven't seen my son-in-law. I should like to meet him some day."

Wu Chuchu didn't dare respond. Her back was soaked with cold sweat, and she felt even more afraid than when they had been in that alley hiding from the black-clad men – at least she had had Zhou Fei then. Now she was left to deal with this insanely powerful madwoman all by herself. Swallowing nervously, she gathered the courage to ask: "How may I address you, Madam?"

The madwoman sat down with a dignified air, and primly tucked her hair behind her ears. In a voice that could almost be construed as warm, she said: "My name is Duan Jiuniang. And who might you be? Who might your parents be?"

"My father and mother are both…" Wu Chuchu had thought that given the circumstances, she would at least be capable of saying 'My father and mother are both gone'. Unfortunately her pent-up emotions had no situational awareness whatsoever, such that even though she tried uttering the sentence twice, she simply could not complete it. Her buried memories of grief and loss burst forth all of a sudden, and she felt a wetness on her cheeks. She didn't know when she had started crying.

"Are they both dead?" Duan Jiuniang leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, her face propped on her hands and her mouth agape, as young girls were wont to do. But this face being propped up was gaunt and wrinkled, and sported a gaping red mouth – she looked a little creepy. Wu Chuchu subconsciously took a step back.

Duan Jiuniang said nonchalantly: "What's there to cry about? How many people's parents are still alive? My own parents must have already been reincarnated twice by now, I don't have a single sibling, and the one lover I had, well, he's gone as well – "

Duan Jiuniang had sung the last part of her sentence, almost like a little folk ditty. Wu Chuchu stared at her, amazed at how she could transition from normal to loopy at the drop of a hat. Duan Jiuniang stood up and walked towards Zhou Fei again, her hips now swaying seductively from side to side. She stretched out a long fingernail and tapped it lightly on the still-sleeping Zhou Fei, chuckling: "My little angel."

At that, she cackled in a way that sent chills down Wu Chuchu's spine, and singing all the way, wandered back into the courtyard to play.

Wu Chuchu: "…"

This person's madness came and went like the wind.

Zhou Fei finally came to amidst the sounds of this unnerving laughter. She tensed, springing up from the bed. Frightened by the deadly look in her eyes, Wu Chuchu hesitated for a moment, before exclaiming in joyous surprise: "You're awake!"

Zhou Fei glanced at the sabre that had been placed beside her bed, then gestured to Wu Chuchu as she fixed her gaze on the door.

The next moment, the shuffling of footsteps could be heard, and then the madwoman's servant entered the room bearing two bowls in her hands. She placed them before Zhou Fei, then wiped her calloused hands on her apron as she gave her a small smile: "I've just heated up this millet porridge, you should eat it now."

Zhou Fei didn't move, glaring at her with suspicion.

But this portly servant's patience had been honed from years of serving her mad mistress. She pulled over a bench to sit at Zhou Fei's bedside, and said: "I've been puzzling over why those cursed scoundrels had their consciences pricked lately into sending us some half-edible food for once. Could it be because of you, Miss Li…"

Zhou Fei interrupted her curtly: "That's not my last name."

The servant looked a little taken aback, then smiled: "Indeed, indeed, this old brain doesn't seem to be working – my mistress has suffered from this madness for more than ten years, and often acts and speaks nonsensically, and without any manners. Please don't hold it against her, Miss."

Zhou Fei said: "I'm sorry, but she doesn't seem mad to me at all."

The servant sighed: "She hasn't lost her mind completely. It's just that her mind comes and goes. Sometimes she seems perfectly fine, but then the next minute something will come to her mind, and she'll start acting like one possessed."

Wu Chuchu said gently: "Was Jiuniang born like this?"

Zhou Fei's brows arched slightly: "Who's Jiuniang?"

Wu Chuchu explained: "She said that her name was Duan Jiuniang."

Zhou Fei felt that the name sounded incredibly familiar. Repeating it over and over in her head, realisation suddenly struck her, and she almost exclaimed out loud – this Duan Jiuniang was one of the rare few characters that one as ignorant as her actually knew about.

Racking her brain to recall what she had heard about this legendary figure, Zhou Fei suddenly straightened, and blurted out: "So she's really Duan Jiuniang? How can that be?"

Li Jinrong had mentioned the name 'Duan Jiuniang' to her many years ago. It wasn't often that Li Jinrong would tell her stories of the world outside, and she certainly wouldn't waste her words on insignificant nobodies. She hadn't even deigned to refer to the 'Big Dipper' by their individual names, since they were all just a bunch of the Northern Dynasty's lapdogs to her. The only figures that Mistress Li considered worth naming were 'the two Blades in the North and South, the Sword of Shanchuan, the Withered-Glory Hands of the Western Frontier, and the Scattered Deities of Penglai.'

Of these, the 'blade in the South' referred to the Li Clan's Snow-Breaking Sabre, which had gained its towering reputation due to Li Zheng, former Master of the 48 Zhai. Li Jinrong had said that even though she had learnt the Snow-Breaking Sabre, she was still far from worthy of taking on the title of 'Southern Blade'. If people referred to her as such, they were only flattering her given the 48 Zhai's reputation.

And the 'Withered-Glory Hands of the Western Frontier' actually referred to a pair of disciples, female and male, who shared the same master. Their titles were 'Withered' and 'Glory' respectively, with the former being Duan Jiuniang. But after her shixiong retired from the martial arts world many years back, she too seemed to have vanished. Most of the younger generation had probably never even heard of her before.

Duan Jiuniang had disappeared more than a decade ago. Some said that she had died, some said that she had killed someone important and went into hiding to avoid retribution, while still others said that she had retired to the 48 Zhai…although Zhou Fei knew of course that the last rumour was false.

She would never have thought that the legendary Duan Jiuniang was being housed in the courtyard of a lowly county chief, as his concubine!

"This can't be." Zhou Fei's expression darkened again. "How can she be one of the fearsome 'Withered-Glory Hands'? You might as well say that she's the Empress Dowager."

Before the servant could respond, Duan Jiuniang had appeared at the door. Even though Zhou Fei's superb senses had been trained by the stringed machine, she hadn't detected her approach at all. Zhou Fei instinctively reached for the sabre by her side, only to come up empty – in the blink of an eye, Duan Jiuniang was already before her, holding her sabre up with mirth in her eyes. She twirled it around in the air, saying: "Be good, eat up before you play."

Zhou Fei felt all the hairs on her body stand on end, half from disgust, and half from shock. In all her years, she had never witnessed such lightning-quick hands, and she thought: Perhaps it really is her?

If the person before her really was Duan Jiuniang, Zhou Fei knew that she didn't stand a chance. But Zhou Fei figured that a grandmaster like Duan Jiuniang could kill her as easily as she might trample on an ant, so she probably wouldn't bother with poisoning her food. Zhou Fei hesitated, then silently picked up the bowl of porridge, devouring it in seconds. With some hot food in her belly, she instantly felt much better. Just as she was about to thank her hostess, Duan Jiuniang suddenly raised her sabre again, using its hilt to rapidly prod various pressure points across her body.

Zhou Fei's entire body stiffened, and she was rendered completely immobile.

Duan Jiuniang crowed in her ear: "Don't run around! Look, it's already dark outside, if you're not careful the big bad wolf out there will come and get you. Oh no!"

Zhou Fei could only glare daggers at her.

For the first time in her life, she was literally experiencing what it meant to have 'steam come out of your ears'.

Duan Jiuniang then turned to Wu Chuchu. Wu Chuchu knew better than Zhou Fei, and quickly spooned mouthfuls of the porridge in her mouth while smiling disarmingly at Duan Jiuniang – and managed to avoid the same fate. Satisfied, the madwoman pranced in a circle around them, howling as she went. She then pulled a face at the silently stewing Zhou Fei, before running to her dressing table, and started talking to herself in the mirror.

Casting a glance at Zhou Fei, Wu Chuchu asked cautiously: "Madam Duan, how can we be safe from the big bad wolf outside?"

"That's easy, you just need to withstand ten moves from me." Duan Jiuniang replied, without turning her head. "Although it'll be impossible for you, because my technique specifically counters the Snow-Breaking Sabre…Brother Li, dare you spar with me?"

She uttered that last question in a soft and feminine voice, while looking coquettishly up to an imaginary 'Brother Li' beside her. A chill ran down Wu Chuchu's spine, and she exchanged a look with Zhou Fei.

Seeing this, the servant sighed and said: "Madam Duan has a history with that great hero Master Li Zheng. Allow me to explain."

"At that time, the Southern Dynasty had not been established yet. The old royal family was fleeing the North, the Northern Capital was filled with the Big Dipper's men, and everyone lived in terror. I was originally a noble family's maidservant, and my master was a scholar in the Hanlin Academy[1] serving the imperial court. As he refused to serve the false Northern Dynasty, he resigned from his position, seeking a tranquil life away from the affairs of the court. However, his eldest son was a troublemaker who got into a dispute with some students from the Imperial Academy, who tied him up and locked him away in the imperial jail. The court then threatened to kill him if my master did not return to the imperial court. In order to save his son, my master pretended to agree to the court's wishes, while secretly making arrangements for he and his family to flee the city. Unfortunately, he placed his trust in the wrong people, who betrayed him, and he and his entire family lost their lives. By some stroke of luck, I was the only one who managed to escape – with my master's young son, who was still in his swaddling clothes, in tow. We were hounded by soldiers all the way. Madam Duan just happened to pass by at the time, and struck their leader dead with one blow. She saved my young master and I."

The servant glanced at Duan Jiuniang, who was humming as she brushed her hair, and appeared to be completely oblivious to their conversation.

"Unfortunately, the man that she killed was the younger brother of Megrez of the Big Dipper. Madam Duan was a bit of a prodigy, and had made a name for herself at a young age. This had made her more than a little arrogant, and so she didn't even attempt to hide the fact that she had killed him. Already wary of the renowned 'Withered-Glory Hands', The Big Dipper assumed that she had deliberately done this to defy the new dynasty, and set their minds on killing her. We were ambushed near Pingyang City by four of the Big Dipper – 'Alioth', 'Megrez', 'Mizar' and 'Merak'. We barely managed to escape, and Madam Wang was seriously injured. I really thought that we were going to perish right there, and my only regret was that I hadn't managed to find a home for my young master yet. But just then, that great hero Master Li arrived. Madam Duan's shixiong had heard that his shimei was in trouble, yet was unable to leave his current commitments, and had beseeched Master Li to help her instead. Master Li was a loyal friend, dropping everything at one word from his friend, and rushed there just in time to save us."

While Zhou Fei couldn't speak as her pressure points had been sealed by Duan Jiuniang, her eyes widened at this.

Right now, any one of the 'Big Dipper' seemed like an insurmountable opponent to her. To think that her grandfather had singlehandedly defeated four of them at once, all while helping the injured and defenceless to escape! How powerful must the 'Southern Blade' have been? The blood in her veins burned in exhilaration.

"After placing the young master in the care of one of my master's old friends, I decided to serve Madam Duan for life, to thank her for saving our lives. Master Li escorted us all the way down south. Madam Duan told me that Master Li had been renowned in the martial arts world for many years, such that even she would have to refer to him respectfully as 'elder'. But he had none of the arrogance that one might expect of a grandmaster, fussing over us all the way and taking great care of us. He said half-jokingly that as his wife had passed away many years ago, he had raised a son and daughter on his own, such that nagging had become second nature to him."

The servant sighed: "How could a woman not fall in love with a man like that…even if he was quite a bit older?"

Duan Jiuniang had stopped brushing her hair, and was now staring blankly ahead at the wall, as if dwelling on things long past.

Wu Chuchu asked: "Then how did Madam Duan end up in Huarong City?"

Before the servant could respond, Duan Jiuniang cleared her throat, and began to speak: "Because of my sister…I have a twin sister, who looks exactly like me, and only our parents could tell us apart. When we were about five or six, our village flooded, and unable to support us, our parents sold us off. I managed to wriggle free of my bindings when the human traffickers weren't looking, and jumped out of the carriage that we were travelling on. But when I tried to pull my sister off with me, she refused to leave, stepping on my fingers and asking me to get lost. She said that she never wanted to see me again in her life…she even said that our parents had sold us off because I was unlikeable, and she hated me."

"I'd always been an odd and difficult child, and constantly scolded for not being as docile as my sister. I was young and naive at the time. I wholeheartedly believed her words, and ran off in tears. Only later did I understand that she had deliberately said those things to chase me away, as she didn't want to slow me down and have us both get caught again. But by the time I had realised this, it was far too late to go looking for her. All these years, I had no idea whether she was dead or alive."

"Until one day over drinks with a friend from the north, he said that he had encountered a woman there who he had thought was me. Only when he called out to her did he realise that he had been mistaken. He said that the woman had the same features as me, but her bearing was different."

Duan Jiuniang had been at peak madness just now, and Wu Chuchu and Zhou Fei had given up on conversing with her. But she seemed to have abruptly recovered her sanity now – when talking about her sister, her speech was clear and cogent, and she wore a serious expression on her face. Zhou Fei felt her pressure points loosen slightly, which meant that Duan Jiuniang hadn't used that much force to seal them in the first place. She started trying to circulate qi within her stiff limbs again, while listening closely to what Duan Jiuniang was saying.

"I knew then that he might have run into my long-lost sister of twenty years, and quickly asked him where and when he had seen her. As it had been some time since that encounter, he couldn't really remember the details. So I had no choice but to head north with what little I had to work with, asking around as I went. Along the way, I ran into one of that Cao Zhongkun fellow's dogs harassing innocents – and he must have had a guilty conscience, thinking that whoever he bumped into must be out to get him. I too over-estimated myself, and was hounded within an inch of my life by that pack of mad dogs…"

"But then he appeared."

Duan Jiuniang's eyes, which had started to seem almost normal, took on a faraway look again.

Wu Chuchu instinctively raised her bowl in front of her face again to shield it. One of Zhou Fei's hands had just regained mobility, but she didn't dare move it just yet, letting it hang limply at her side. The tranquil little room was silent for a few moments, the servant busy fanning the flames beneath a kettle of water, and the two girls staring with bated breath at the woman whose madness might start acting up any minute now.

Duan Jiuniang had probably been quite good-looking in her youth – young girls who were full of verve generally did. She was now staring fixedly at the oil lamp, and in the flickering light, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes almost seemed to melt away, and a little bit of colour returned to her gaunt cheeks.

Duan Jiuniang was utterly lost in her memories, and the world around her had faded to a blur.

And then all of a sudden, without any forewarning, she started wailing.

Those ear-splitting cries made everyone tremble in fright.

Madness didn't care for decorum. Not only did Duan Jiuniang start to howl grievously, she lunged for the copper mirror on her dressing table, her hands crushing it as easily as one might a ball of paper. But this wasn't enough for her, and she started striking her palm against the wall beside her, which caused the very foundations of the house to shake. Loose tiles on the roof were flung off and crashed to the ground. If she kept this up any longer, it was liable to come crashing down on them.

Wu Chuchu and Zhou Fei stared openmouthed at her – this was a whole new level of madness!

Seeing that she was about to cause the house to cave in on them, the servant, who had seen such behaviour more than once, quickly exclaimed: "Madam, the young master is still in the house!"

This sentence seemed to cast a spell on Duan Jiuniang – she immediately froze, and stayed rooted to the spot. After a while, she howled plaintively, then dashed out into the courtyard.

A series of muffled thuds came from the courtyard, as either a hapless stone or rock fell victim to her vicious hands.

Wu Chuchu had nearly dropped the bowl in her hand. Her face slightly pale, she said: "I'm sorr..sorry."

Having dealt with that lunatic, the servant proceeded to collect the bowls and cutlery on the table, while waving a hand at Wu Chuchu: "Don't worry, after hearing that, she won't come back in again until she's gotten everything off her chest."

Wu Chuchu asked: "And the young master that you mentioned is…"

The servant replied: "The son of Madam Duan's sister, and the eldest son of the governor here."

Wu Chuchu asked: "What happened here? Did Madam Duan manage to find her sister in the end? How did she end up in this place?"

The servant sighed heavily, then continued with the tale: "Madam Duan fell for Master Li during their journey south. As she had always been a straightforward person, she confessed her feelings to Master Li right there and then. However, he had only laughed it off, saying that he was 'an old fogey whose daughter is almost the same age as you. If your shixiong and I weren't of the same generation, you could very well refer to me as 'uncle' rather than 'brother'. Stop fooling around.' But Madam Duan wasn't discouraged by this, and told him that she wouldn't mind if he were seventy or even eighty years old. Master Li still rebuffed her advances, saying that he could not forget his deceased wife, and viewed her simply as his junior. My mistress is a proud woman, and not being able to stand his continued rejection, left him in a huff. The two of us didn't have anywhere to go, so we continued searching for her sister. While this should have been a near-impossible task, not three months later, we managed to find her by what appeared to be complete coincidence. When we were asking a passing beggar for directions, he suddenly remarked, 'there's a barmaid in Huarong City who looks exactly like madam, I almost thought that you were her'. Madam Duan was overjoyed at first, but then her suspicions were aroused, and she started questioning the beggar. He said that he was a disciple of the Beggars' Sect, and had been deliberately keeping an eye out for Madam Duan's sister at a friend's request. Only then did we realise that this was not a coincidence, but Master Li's doing. He had continued to look out for us even after we left, and knowing that we were after Madam's sister, asked quite a number of his well-connected friends to help look out for her as well."

This was the first time Zhou Fei had heard such a detailed account of her grandfather's affairs. He didn't seem like what she had imagined him to be at all. His temperament seemed to be as gentle as his blade was vicious. Recalling what Li Jinrong had said about the Snow-Breaking Sabre, she thought: Can gentle people be invincible too?

"So just like that, Madam Duan finally found her long-lost sister, and the reunion was a happy and moving one. She soon found out that her sister was the mistress of a rich young nobleman. But Madam Duan didn't look down on her for this, as she was a woman of her own principles, and didn't subscribe to the world's ideas of propriety. Instead, seeing that the two were madly in love, she was reminded of her feelings towards Master Li, and she felt a mixture of both longing and frustration. Having fulfilled her years-long desire to find her sister, she now focused all her energies on studying Master Li's blade technique, in an attempt to come up with her own set of techniques that would specifically counter his, defeat him, and force him to her side."

Zhou Fei felt that she was surely the only person who had the privilege of hearing about how a woman had tried to kidnap one's grandfather out of love. She felt more than a little awkward.

Sensing her embarrassment, the servant smiled and said: "She would frequently go to the 48 Zhai to challenge Master Li. Each time she lost, she would go right back to challenge him again, and it appeared that she was willing to spend her whole life doing so."

Zhou Fei: "…"

Duan Jiuniang's annoying actions seemed to have nothing to do with her madness.

"And then once when Madam Duan went to find Master Li again, she got into a dispute with a group of people along the way, who said they were the men of Alioth of the Big Dipper. Recalling the injuries that she had suffered under the Big Dipper's men, she attacked them in a rage. But Alioth was despicably underhanded, and poisoned her since he knew they couldn't beat her. Just when it looked like she was about to perish, Master Li appeared yet again – as she was a frequent visitor to the 48 Zhai by then, the Zhai's secret posts along the way recognised her and had witnessed her exchange with Alioth's men, which they promptly relayed back to Master Li."

"Master Li helped her force the poison out of her body, but once she recovered, gave her a thorough dressing down. Madam Duan was at first overjoyed that he had come to rescue her, but this happiness was quickly extinguished by his uncharacteristically fierce scolding. She ran off in a huff again. People tend to seek comfort in their family when they feel wronged, so she came back to find her sister. Unfortunately, she arrived just as her sister was giving birth, and not long after, her sister perished from complications."

Wu Chuchu gasped.

"That bastard from the Zhu family – ah, I'm referring to that useless nobleman who Madam Duan's sister was seeing, who is now the local governor, that asshole – had long since shifted his affections towards another pretty young thing, and didn't even come to see his son or mistress once during labour. Enraged, Madam Duan had been prepared to charge over and slaughter him and his entire family. But her sister beseeched her not to, and while on her deathbed made Madam Duan solemnly swear to do two things: firstly, to look after her son until he grew to adulthood; and second, not to harass Young Master Zhu, nor to harm him in any way. If she broke any of these oaths, her sister would spend an eternity in the fires of hell, and never be reincarnated."

Zhou Fei exclaimed: "Was she mad too? Is this madness hereditary?"

She realised that the pressure point on her vocal chords had become unsealed.

The servant looked at her, and said: "Hey, little girl, how could you possibly understand such affairs of the heart?"

Wu Chuchu asked: "But swearing such an oath is really too much. Did Madam Duan agree to it?"

"How could she not?" The servant said, "After about ten or so days, long after we had buried her sister, the Zhu family finally sent people round to retrieve her sister's son, as it was important to them to preserve the family's bloodline. And since she had borne the family a son after all, they also deigned to receive her in the governor's mansion as a lesser concubine. Infuriated at their cold-hearted actions, Madam Duan came up with a plan – since she and her sister looked identical, she would hide the fact of her sister's death, and take her sister's place to 'marry' into the Zhu family. Given her skills, no one would be able to touch her nor her sister's son, and she could turn the entire Zhu family upside down."

Zhou Fei that the person behind such an 'awesome' idea was certainly off in the head.

Seeing the incredulous expression on Zhou Fei's face, the servant shook her head: "You still don't understand. She had thought up such a 'brilliant' plan partly because she was eccentric like that, but also partly because of Master Li. She laid out her sister's wedding dress, and sent a letter to Master Li which said simply that she was about to get married, and required his assistance to find a pearl that would complement her matrimonial attire."

"But there was no reply from the 48 Zhai. Master Li was always one to observe social proprieties, and would certainly send a gift if he knew that his friend was getting married. So Madam Duan assumed that he must have ignored her letter out of jealousy, and was extremely pleased. She resolved to go explain things to him after she settled this business with the Zhu family. However, the night before her wedding, a young maiden arrived to see her – it was Master Li's daughter."

Zhou Fei asked: "Do you mean my mother?"

"It must have been her," the servant said. "That maiden delivered a bag of pearls to her, saying that before he passed, her father had instructed her to personally deliver this wedding gift."

Zhou Fei straightened her back subconsciously, and said: "My elders at home have never told me this."

The servant continued: "According to Miss Li, Master Li had fallen prey to an evil plot. He had been poisoned by something called 'Tangled Silk', and shortly after was attacked by many of the Big Dipper's men including Dubhe, Merak and Alkaid. He managed to fend them off all the way south, for tens of kilometres, killing many of them and finally succeeding in shaking them off. However, the poison had spread, and by the time he returned to the 48 Zhai, he was too far gone." The servant paused here and sighed, then said: "At that time, I thought that Madam Duan didn't look quite right after hearing this. After Miss Li left, she started saying that she had caused Master Li's death, over and over, like one possessed."

Zhou Fei's face was devoid of emotion, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Wu Chuchu asked: "But why?"

The servant said: "It was only later that I managed to gather the reason from bits and pieces of her manic rambling. It turned out that the poison that Master Li had forced out of her body when he last rescued her was 'Tangled Silk'. At that time, the Big Dipper had clearly brought large numbers of men, yet these stayed hidden even when she came to blows with Alioth. They were using her as bait to draw out Master Li. 'Tangled Silk' was no ordinary poison, but a kind of lethal substance that would be transferred onto Master Li's body when he tried to expel it from her. Master Li must have known this at once, which was why he had rebuked her and chased her away, and then lured the Big Dipper's men south himself."

"Ah," Wu Chuchu exclaimed softly, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

In contrast, Zhou Fei was repeating the name 'Alioth' in her mind over and over again, trying to recall where she had heard it before. Then she remembered that Xie Yun had said, 'Gentleman Gan Tang surrounded the false Emperor's troops at the foot of the Zhongnan Mountains, beheaded 'Alioth', and hung his head atop the city walls for three days'. She felt sure that Zhou Yitang's actions had been deliberate.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Wu Chuchu asked: "Then what happened to Madam Duan after that?"

"When she heard that Miss Li was going to the Northern Capital to exact revenge, she placed the young master Zhu in my care, and followed after her. The Li family was very grateful to her, because they needed all the help they could get. But they came back empty-handed – if the false emperor had been so easy to get rid of, he would have long since been torn to pieces by his opponents. And after Madam Duan returned from the Northern Capital, she was constantly in a daze, and couldn't care less about the Zhu family anymore. Fortunately that Zhu fellow hadn't planned on paying any attention to this long-forgotten mother of his child, and we were left in peace in this courtyard. Madam Duan threw herself into honing her craft. Unfortunately she went overboard, and gradually lost her mind. At first, she would only have brief bouts of insanity, but she deteriorated over time, until even the Zhu family knows that a madwoman stays here now."

The oil lamp flickered, casting shifting shadows on the walls. Having finally pieced together the events of this epic, decades-long tale, the frustration and hatred that had been building up inside Zhou Fei had somehow subsided. She recalled in shame how she had confidently sworn to deliver Wu Chuchu back safely, yet in her anger had completely cast her aside to go after the Big Dipper. Not only were her abilities an embarrassment, now even her character, or lack thereof, would bring shame on her ancestors.

Seeing that it was now dark outside, the servant told the two girls to rest early, and retired for the night. That madwoman Duan Jiuniang had also calmed down at some point, and was presently hanging upside down off the tree in the courtyard, like a bat, completely motionless.

The pressure points on Zhou Fei's body had finally unsealed, and she could move freely once more.

Afraid that she might run out there and try to challenge the madwoman again, yet not daring to chide her, Wu Chuchu stared at Zhou Fei with eyes that were wide as saucers.

Zhou Fei rubbed her chin a little uneasily, feeling like she owed Wu Chuchu an apology, and said to her: "Go ahead and rest, I…I won't..do anything stupid."

Wu Chuchu nodded, but still didn't quite believe her. She laid down and pretended to sleep, while secretly looking over at Zhou Fei from time to time, afraid that she might run off without a word in the middle of the night.

Zhou Fei could of course tell that the girl was only pretending to sleep. The more she calmed down, the guiltier she felt. Recalling all the preposterous things she had dreamt of doing in her hot-blooded state, she felt even more ashamed. Unable to sleep now, she got up and started meditating, going over the Snow-Breaking Sabre in her mind the way Elder Yu had taught her.

This time, Zhou Fei really seemed to have entered a different plane. Casting aside all distractions and inner turmoil, all nine moves of the Snow-Breaking Sabre were played out to perfect completion in her mind. When she opened her eyes again, the sky was already beginning to brighten. Letting out a long breath, Zhou Fei felt like the tension had left her chest, and a few degrees more enlightened. Just as she was about to get up, she suddenly realized that Duan Jiuniang had been standing silently in a dark corner of the room, staring at her intently like a ghost.

Stunned, Zhou Fei tried to greet her: "Senior…"

Duan Jiuniang rushed to her side in an instant, lowered her voice, and asked: "Were you practicing just now?"

Zhou Fei thought to herself: How did she know?

Before she could reply, Duan Jiuniang said warmly: "Who taught you martial arts?"

Zhou Fei said honestly: "My mother."

"Tsk, how can you amount to anything if it's your mother who teaches you? She wouldn't bear to really train you good." Duan Jiuniang smiled enigmatically and said: "Do you want your grandmother to train you?"

Trying her best to ignore Duan Jiuniang referring to herself as her 'grandmother', Zhou Fei tried to refuse: "I…"

But Duan Jiuniang didn't wait for her to finish. In a flash, she had sealed three major pressure points on Zhou Fei's chest.

Zhou Fei said in shock: "Senior, what are you doing now?"

Duan Jiuniang blinked innocently at her: "I'm teaching you!"

Zhou Fei greatly doubted that one could pick up a martial arts technique just by being immobile. She didn't have a good feeling about this. Even though she didn't want to waste her energies disputing this madwoman, she wasn't going to just sit there and let this crazy lady put her through the wringer, so she quickly tried to change the subject: "Didn't senior say that your technique can specifically counter the Snow-Breaking Sabre? Could you show me?"

Duan Jiuniang said imperiously: "Those are all just moves. The key to my Withered-Glory Hands is internal strength. Strengthening the body is fundamental, whereas the moves are secondary. You need to get your foundation right when you first start."

All the hairs on Zhou Fei's head immediately stood on end – if one's meridians went askew, one's qi would go irreversibly awry as well. If this madwoman was allowed to poke and prod around her body in the name of developing her internal strength, Zhou Fei might very well go mad too.

She would really rather this Madwoman Duan continue tearing down the house in a fit of insanity, instead of calming herself down to teach Zhou Fei.

Panicking, Zhou Fei's tongue was suddenly loosed, and she quickly used the most flattering words she could muster: "You can do that later! I always thought that my family's Snow-Breaking Sabre was the most powerful technique there ever was, and didn't know that there was something that could actually counter it. I've really been too ignorant…ahem…why don't you show it to me?"

Duan Jiuniang was extremely changeable, being magnanimous or petty at a whim, mature at times and juvenile at others. Now, she was like a little kid, and beside herself with joy that Zhou Fei was eager to witness her masterpiece. Beaming from ear to ear, she promptly unsealed Zhou Fei's pressure points and said: "Then follow me."

Before Zhou Fei could calm her breathing and make sure all her limbs were functioning properly, Duan Jiuniang had impatiently grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the house. She shoved Zhou Fei's sabre into her hand and grabbed a tree branch for herself, while giggling: "Come, come."

While Zhou Fei didn't really feel so angry at Duan Jiuniang anymore, her pride was still a little wounded that she was being kept here against her will, and so she said: "Senior, I can only execute a mere shadow of most of the Snow-Breaking Sabre's nine moves. If what you see is an embarrassment, I am to blame, and not the technique."

Duan Jiuniang said impatiently: "How can a young girl like you be as long-winded as Li Zheng! Get on with it!"

In all her years, Zhou Fei had been criticized for being bad-tempered, uncouth, and ruthless, but no one had ever said that she was 'long-winded'. She almost wanted to laugh. While her grandfather had fled from Duan Jiuniang's unrequited love for years and years, through some bizarre stroke of fate, his descendant had now delivered herself right into this lady's clutches!

Fate had a funny way of bringing things full circle, she supposed.

"I'll go ahead then." Zhou Fei cast aside all stray thoughts and distractions, and thrust her sabre forward, a surge of force pouring through the blade like a whirlwind.

The first three moves of the Snow-Breaking Sabre were grand and expansive, namely 'Splitting the Mountains', 'Dividing the Seas', and 'Slicing the Irregular Wind'.

Zhou Fei went straight for the third move – the 'Irregular Wind' that she had managed to execute in Mu Xiaoqiao's valley. This was the quickest and most changeable of the Snow-Breaking Sabre's moves. Wherever that blade went, it could slice sound, and split shadows.

At the same time, the parts of the 'Mayfly Formation' that Chong Xiaozi had imparted during the fight in the valley came to mind, and she weaved it into her movements as she turned and twisted her blade.

Zhou Fei had been born with this talent, of being able to grasp the general principles of techniques, and when inspiration struck, to incorporate whatever impressed her about others' techniques into completely different moves.

With the 'Mayfly Formation', one man could reputedly battle ten thousand, while the 'Irregular Wind' was most suited to a fight of one against many. Putting the two together only made them more powerful than ever, and in Zhou Fei's hands, the 'Irregular Wind' was transformed into a 'Wind Coming From All Directions'.

Duan Jiuniang felt as if she was being surrounded by seven or eight more people, and was a little astonished – she wouldn't have guessed that such a prim and proper looking girl like Zhou Fei could have such a creative side.

For a technique like Withered-Glory Hands, which was all about internal strength, weapons weren't necessary, especially when dealing with young and inexperienced juniors. In her hands, even a flimsy branch could be as deadly as a sharp blade. Zhou Fei had executed seven or eight moves in the blink of an eye, but Duan Jiuniang had barely needed to retaliate, merely dodging her blows.

When she had fully comprehended the pattern behind Zhou Fei's moves, she chuckled softly and said: "Watch me."

As she said this, Zhou Fei felt something stick to her blade. All her opponent did was leisurely prod several points on her blade with that flimsy little branch, yet this was enough for her blade to abruptly lose steam, its invigorating momentum lost.

Zhou Fei immediately tried to retract her blade, but once it had slowed, Duan Jiuniang could seize it easily. Using just three fingers, Duan Jiuniang stilled Zhou Fei's blade, which left nary a cut on her skin.

Stunned, Zhou Fei looked up at Duan Jiuniang.

Duan Jiuniang shot her a mischievous grin, and said softly: "This, my dear, is called 'Seizing the Wind'."

Perhaps Zhou Fei was generally a little slow on the uptake, but to her, understanding the language of the blade had always been comparatively easier than comprehending people's words – when Madam Duan's servant had been recounting that epic tale of love, loss and revenge, she had barely batted an eyelid.

Until now, when she had personally witnessed this move, and heard those three words from Duan Jiuniang's lips: 'Seizing the Wind'.

Zhou Fei's heart ached, just a little. Putting herself in Duan Jiuniang's shoes, she suddenly knew what was meant by the words 'it is impossible to hold on to the departed, nor can we recover what is past'.

She looked at Duan Jiuniang, unable to speak for a moment, and her eyes reddened.

Dumbfounded by Zhou Fei's tears, Duan Jiuniang quickly wiped her smile of victory from her face. Uneasily holding the little branch behind her back, she said: "Hey…don't be like that, are you going to cry just because you lost?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Fei held her tears back, furrowing her brow and lowering her head as she muttered fiercely: "Who said that I'm crying?"

Duan Jiuniang bent down so that she could get a better look at Zhou Fei's face, and after observing her for a while, said gingerly: "I was once chased by four rabid dogs for miles and miles, and they beat me so hard until I couldn't get up, but even then I didn't cry."

Zhou Fei felt like she might laugh. Wiping away the last of her tears, she sheathed her sabre and turned back towards the house. Through the window, she could see Wu Chuchu sleeping soundly, despite the commotion that their fight must have caused. This was that girl's first good night of rest since going on the run. Zhou Fei carefully closed the door and sat against it, and was joined not long after by Duan Jiuniang.

Duan Jiuniang said: "You're too skinny, it'll be too tough for you to learn the Snow-Breaking Sabre."

Zhou Fei thought: At least I'm still better than Li Sheng. Mistress Li didn't even choose to teach him.

So she said breezily: "I don't mind, I'll just slowly work my way through it."

Duan Jiuniang nodded her head most solemnly, and said: "That's the right attitude. You'll need to work really hard."

Zhou Fei felt that she had already been working extremely hard, and deciding that Duan Jiuniang needed to know just how hard, she started speaking of her experience training in the 48 Zhai's Ink-washing River.

Zhou Fei got Duan Jiuniang's attention with the words '48 Zhai', and she began listening intently, looking as if she cherished even the spittle that flew from Zhou Fei's lips. But after Zhou Fei was done recounting her grand battles with the stringed machine, Duan Jiuniang laughed and said: "You call this working hard? Your father fusses over people so much, he certainly wouldn't bear to work you too hard."

Her memory was a garbled mess – now Zhou Fei had become Li Zheng's daughter. Zhou Fei quickly corrected her.

Duan Jiuniang nodded, but didn't seem to absorb this, and continued: "When I first started my training, I had many senior and junior disciples alongside me. But after the first year of training, half of them died, and in the second year, half of those that were left died. In the third year, there were only five disciples left, including me. Do you know why?"

Zhou Fei had never heard of such a sect that trained its disciples to death, and shook her head in shock.

Duan Jiuniang said evenly: "Because every month, our shifu would send a current of qi into our bodies. That was the most excruciating sensation ever – all the flesh and bones in your body felt like it was going to explode. But you absolutely could not faint, as you would die if you lost consciousness. You had to endure that bone-crushing pain, and tame that madly surging qi bit by agonizing bit. If you weren't able to control it, it would overwhelm you, and you would bleed to death. After three years of laying the foundation of our internal strength in this manner, we would then start training our bodies, which was of course a piece of cake in comparison. My shifu often said that broken bones were the strongest, and so after another two years, the only two disciples left standing were me and my shixiong!"

Chills ran down Zhou Fei's spine. It seemed like this sect was rearing gladiators, not training disciples.

Duan Jiuniang then fixed her with a sympathetic look, as if pitying her lack of mettle, and sighed: "Your father…"

"Grandfather." Zhou Fei corrected her again.

Duan Jiuniang looked confused, as if she was trying hard to figure out what day and month and year it was, and you could almost see the creaky gears in her head trying in vain to turn. She said in surprise: "What? When did that little girl Li Jinrong have a daughter as big as you?"

Seeing how muddled she was, Zhou Fei decided that she should take what Duan Jiuniang had said about her training with a pinch of salt. She patiently explained her family tree to the woman again…but it was no use, because it wasn't long before she became Li Zheng's 'great-granddaughter' instead.

Sometimes, their conversation was in sync, and at other times they were on entirely different wavelengths. Funnily enough, Zhou Fei had wished for nothing more than to tear this madwoman apart earlier that day, but now, as she sat beside Duan Jiuniang in the wee hours of the morning, listening to her recount confused tales of things long past, the woman was most endearing, and Zhou Fei didn't mind that her brain was a jumbled mess. They sat there and talked till the break of dawn.

Looking at the brightening sky, Zhou Fei said: "Senior, don't stay here anymore, you'll only be bullied by these people. Why don't you return with us to the 48 Zhai?"

Duan Jiuniang didn't quite seem to understand her first sentence – given her mental state, she was probably still living in the past and unaware of the mistreatment she was being dealt. But she understood the second sentence perfectly. Joy flashed across her face at first, but then she started staring blankly ahead again. Zhou Fei waited and waited, unsure of what had caused this, then finally reached out to pat her on the knee: "Senior?"

Duan Jiuniang suddenly sprang to life again, leaping to her feet and saying coldly: "What would I go to the 48 Zhai for? To be a widow?"

At that moment, the fog in her brain seemed to have cleared, and she could tell where she was and what she was doing, who was dead and who was alive.

Then all of a sudden, the madwoman reached out and gripped Zhou Fei's shoulder with an emaciated hand. Zhou Fei felt her entire body go numb, and an indescribably strange qi started flowing down into her meridians. Most of the time, people's qi flowed smoothly, like water, even if some people's qi surged forth more ferociously than others. But this qi was like knife scraping against bone, painfully forcing its way through every single joint in her body, crashing and colliding every which way, and causing intolerable agony everywhere it surged.

Zhou Fei saw stars, a strangled cry catching in her throat.

Duan Jiuniang seemed to have transformed into a completely different person. All of her childlike innocence had vanished. She folded her arms across her chest, looking down imperiously at Zhou Fei writhing on the ground in pain, and said expressionlessly: "The 'Withered-Glory Qi' is comprised of two different techniques. As my shifu was a mistrustful old devil, he only taught us one technique each. Mine is called 'Withered'. When expressed, it is like a fierce wind sweeping away withered leaves, but within your body, it is like a roaring river rushing into the sea. If you cannot withstand it, your body will implode. Let's see how well your meridians fare."

Zhou Fei's ears were ringing, and she couldn't hear anything that Duan Jiuniang had said. Hearing this commotion, the woman's servant quickly rushed out from the kitchen, and seeing the state that Zhou Fei was in, gasped: "Madam, what are you doing?"

Zhou Fei had gone completely pale. She slid to the ground, her hands and legs spasming uncontrollably. It wasn't clear if she was struggling weakly against an unseen force, or if these were involuntary tremors.

Wu Chuchu had barely had a good night's sleep, before she was rudely awakened. Horrified at this unexpected turn of events, the usually prim and proper young lady rushed out into the courtyard in her underclothes, her hair askew, and desperately tried to prop Zhou Fei up. But Zhou Fei's entire body had become like stone, stiff and cold and heavy, and Wu Chuchu had no way of doing so.

Duan Jiuniang sat herself down below the tree in the courtyard, looking coldly on. She could be as devilish as a monster one moment and as innocent as a little girl the next, but now, she took on the airs of a sage grandmaster – albeit not a very kind and upright one.

Duan Jiuniang said gravely: "Since ancient times, some renowned sects only managed to make a name for themselves through the feats of a few outstanding disciples, but eventually declined over time, each generation worse than the one before. Do you know why?"

Of the three people present, one had collapsed on the ground, her fate uncertain, one was only good for embroidery and poetry, and one had dedicated her entire life to the broom and the stove, with interest in little else – none of them could presently benefit from the grand insights of this 'Grandmaster' Duan.

Duan Jiuniang could only chatter on to herself: "Why do you learn martial arts! What's the point of knowing how to wield a sword, or a sabre, or a spear? What kind of lofty ways do you think you are following in? All you pompous so-called sects only know how to teach your disciples that martial arts is about 'strengthening the mind and body', and 'helping the weak and uprooting the strong', when the disciples that you have trained are mostly feeble fools that get 'uprooted' by others instead! The true way of martial arts, is about a fight for your very life. It is about going through the hellish fires of death and emerging reborn, it is when you defiantly say – 'You think I'd just die like you want me to – no way!' Without this fire in your belly, how is your martial arts any different from the mediocre tricks of a circus act? Even monkeys can probably flip better than you."

While Zhou Fei's fingernails were usually closely trimmed, they had grown out over the last few days on the run, and they now dug deeply into the cold hard stones of the courtyard floor, splitting open in a cracked and bloody mess. Tears flowing down her cheeks, Wu Chuchu begged: "Madam, since she is Master Li's granddaughter, isn't she your junior? Wouldn't her family be heartbroken if anything untoward should happen to her? Madam, wouldn't you feel even a little bad about that? What would Master Li say, if he were still alive?"

Duan Jiuniang was struck dumb by her words.

Seeing that the expression on her face had shifted, Wu Chuchu quickly urged: "I beg of you, please save Fei!"

But Duan Jiuniang shook her head and said: "I can't, unfortunately. Once the Withered-Glory qi enters her body, it is impossible to expel. We can only leave it to fate now."

Wu Chuchu nearly collapsed to the ground, thinking: How could she put a person in harm's way and then refuse to save her afterwards?

Then Duan Jiuniang spoke again, and she spoke coldly once more: "If this girl really is a descendant of the Li Clan, she would surely be able to withstand this little bit of suffering. But should she really be so useless as to die because of it, well, that's still much better than dying at the hands of others out there!"

There was nothing Wu Chuchu could do but wait silently by the side, where she stayed from dusk till dawn, and then from dawn to dusk again. The Zhu family's servants had come to deliver food twice, and their heavy banging on the door startled her out of her wits each time. Every fifteen minutes, she would stretch out a hand to check that Zhou Fei was still breathing, terrified that she might drift away at any second.

The Withered-Glory qi was like an uninvited guest, surging helter skelter throughout Zhou Fei's entire body. Wherever it travelled, the skin above stayed intact, but the flesh and blood within churned painfully, the force blasting through her meridians, as if it would burst through her skin at any moment. And then it shoved its way right into her core, an equal and opposite force to her own qi. It appeared to have absolutely no intentions of cooperating with her qi, colliding violently with it instead.

Duan Jiuniang had flung her into the ocean without throwing her a life buoy – she hadn't given Zhou Fei a single technique or even a word of advice on how exactly she was meant to 'control' and 'tame' this qi surging wildly inside her. And even if she had, Zhou Fei wouldn't have used it – she couldn't trust Duan Jiuniang's messed-up memories, that were full of dangerous holes and gaps.

Gradually, Zhou Fei lost all sense of her surroundings – whether it was cold or hot, night or day. Her feeble consciousness almost sputtered out at some points, although it still managed to hang on by a thread somehow.

She refused to admit that she was afraid of death, instead telling herself that she absolutely could not let herself go silently in a secluded courtyard like this, not when Chou Tianji was furiously looking for her all over the city. Zhou Fei told herself that she still had to send Wu Chuchu back to the 48 Zhai, she still had to find Old Madam Wang and tell her what had happened to her son, she still had to hunt down those Big Dipper villains and avenge herself…and after all the trouble she had gone through to finally leave the 48 Zhai, she hadn't even managed to go and see her father yet.

Zhou Fei repeated all these reasons why she absolutely could not die over and over again in her head. Each one of them was like a grain of sand, funnelling down the same path over and over, till they accumulated into a fiercely stubborn desire to cling on to life.

Evening was fast approaching. The old servant had skewered one of those rock-hard buns and was holding it over a boiling pot of water to heat it up. She passed it to Wu Chuchu, saying; "Eat up, miss."

Faced with a Zhou Fei who looked half-dead, and a Duan Jiuniang who seemed to have turned to stone under the tree, Wu Chuchu had had nothing else to do but let her thoughts run wild. Dwelling on the unfortunate series of events that had led her here, and her uncertain future, she was overcome by bleakness – it was all she could do not to find a rope and hang herself on that tree. She certainly wasn't in the mood to wolf down a bun. Smiling bitterly, she waved the bun away. She hesitated for a good long while, but then resolved to talk to Duan Jiuniang, who had been surprisingly calm the entire day.

Wu Chuchu asked: "Madam, when will she recover?"

Duan Jiuniang slowly opened her eyes, first looking at her blearily, then glancing at Zhou Fei. Wu Chuchu was on the edge of her seat, afraid that Duan Jiuniang would say something like – 'who are you, and what is going on here?'

Thankfully, Duan Jiuniang seemed to have her wits about her. She looked Zhou Fei over, and then furrowed her brow in confusion. Pressing a hand on the girl's wrist to feel her pulse, she seemed to be concentrating on something, and then muttered: "That's odd."

She stood up then, circling Zhou Fei several times while explaining to Wu Chuchu everything she knew about the Withered-Glory Hands.

But other than the words 'this technique is extremely diabolical, and can kill the practitioner if you're not careful', Wu Chuchu didn't understand a single thing, seeing as she was absolutely clueless about martial arts.

Duan Jiuniang asked: "How long has it been?"

Wu Chuchu replied: "One whole day."

Duan Jiuniang's brow furrowed again, and she muttered: "That's strange…very strange indeed. By right, people who have encountered the Withered Glory qi for the first time can only withstand it for six hours at most, and will die if they can't. Those that can will gradually take control of it and wield it for themselves. How is it that she's been like this for one whole day?"

Wu Chuchu was ready to tear her hair out, asking: "How could I possibly know?"

Ever since madness struck her, Duan Jiuniang hadn't thought hard about anything at all. Now that she was forced to suddenly move those rusty gears in her head, it was akin to a person bedridden for ten years trying to walk again – it took a long time to restart the engine, and Duan Jiuniang could only walk around in circles to try to jog her brain once more.

Wu Chuchu felt dizzy just looking at her. Thinking hard over that long spiel that Duan Jiuniang had just delivered about the Withered-Glory Hands, she suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right, and frantically asked: "Madam, did you say just now that your shifu refused to impart the complete technique of the Withered-Glory Hands to you?"

Duan Jiuniang's face scrunched up: "That old fogey was blackhearted to the core. He didn't really intend to teach us this technique, he only wanted to use us as his guinea pigs. Naturally, he didn't teach us everything."

Wu Chuchu didn't quite understand what was meant by 'using us as his guinea pigs', but ignored that part and asked: "Then why did he impart the 'Withered' part to you, and the 'Glory' part to your shixiong? Wasn't he afraid that the two of you would exchange notes?"

Duan Jiuniang said matter-of-factly: "That wouldn't have been possible, of course. The Withered-Glory Hands is the most aggressive and domineering internal strength technique in this world. It refuses to accommodate other kinds of internal strength. You'd need to practice both the 'Withered' and 'Glory' techniques from the beginning. If not, introducing either one of them into one's body after one has already started learning a different technique, even for only three years, would kill you."

Wu Chuchu's worst fears had come true after all, and she paled.

Duan Jiuniang said impatiently: "What is it?"

Wu Chuchu said slowly: "Madam, Fei has already 'started learning a different technique' for more than ten years."

Duan Jiuniang: "…"

Actually, anyone even a little well-versed in martial arts would have known this from the start – except that the only ones here were a muddled madwoman and two non-practitioners. Zhou Fei understood this of course, but had been given no opportunity to speak at all.

Duan Jiuniang looked stunned for a bit, but then said nonchalantly: "That's my mistake then, but it's no big deal. The internal strength that she had before was really quite unimpressive, and completely useless. If my qi collides with it, it'll simply overpower her previous technique. After all, the new can only come when the old has passed."

Wu Chuchu's heart immediately sank – this sounded very much like death and reincarnation to her.

When Zhou Fei finally awakened, she found herself lying on a bed. She felt as if she hadn't slept in years, and wished to just curl up under the covers and sleep till the end of the world. But to her horror, she soon realised that something was amiss – her entire body felt limp, and her limbs were as heavy as lead!

In that instant, any notion of sleep was blown clean out of Zhou Fei's head. She used all her strength to grab onto the mattress, attempting to prop herself up. Her cracked and bloody fingernails, which had finally stopped bleeding, split open again.

With a yelp of pain, Zhou Fei slid back down onto the bed.

Wu Chuchu had been slouched in a chair by her bedside, valiantly battling sleep. At this commotion, she quickly rushed over: "Fei, are you okay?"

Zhou Fei's lips trembled, but no sound emerged. Looking past Wu Chuchu, she fixed her gaze coldly on the doorway – which the root of her misfortunes, Duan Jiuniang, was leaning against.

Enduring the pain, Zhou Fei forced herself up, and slowly wrapped her hand round the sabre by her bedside – just like pouring tea for one's guest connoted hospitality, the meaning of this age-old gesture was crystal clear. Sensing her hostility, Duan Jiuniang stopped where she was, remaining more than a metre away from Zhou Fei. She folded her hands behind her back, and said: "I temporarily sealed off the two opposing qi within your body…how do you feel?"

Zhou Fei gritted out: "Temporarily?"

Duan Jiuniang nodded: "Yes, only temporarily. After you've rested for two days, I'll get rid of all of the internal strength that was originally in your body. Don't worry, this won't harm your meridians. After that, you'd officially become my disciple."

Hearing these arrogantly presumptuous words, anger roiled in Zhou Fei's chest, stirring that vicious qi inside her again. Gasping for breath, she sensed that that excruciating pain was about to start again. While she hardly feared anything in her life, at this moment, she couldn't help but shiver, terrified that that intolerable agony would once again rear its head.

But this time, it didn't wrack her like it had before – it was quickly blocked by something, leaving a dull, painful ache throughout her body.

Two nights before, Zhou Fei had thought that this madwoman was to be pitied, and even adorable in her naivete. But now, she wished for nothing else but to slice Duan Jiuniang into a million pieces. Unfortunately, she barely had enough strength to slice an apple. In her most frigid tone possible, she said: "When did I ever say that I was going to become your disciple?"

This reaction was not what Duan Jiuniang had expected at all, and she said with bewilderment: "My Withered-Glory Hands are unparalleled – what's wrong with becoming my disciple? In any case, in your current state you'll die unless you get rid of the old and embrace the new."

But Zhou Fei was at the age where people were the most stubborn and hot-tempered, and absolutely would not consider submitting to Duan Jiuniang. The 48 Zhai wasn't strict about divisions between its sects, such that if someone else had asked her nicely, she might not have been so against learning a different school of martial arts. However, she couldn't stand the fact that a person as mad as Duan Jiuniang had the cheek to arrogantly threaten her with death, without being apologetic in the slightest for what she had put Zhou Fei through.

Zhou Fei immediately said: "What's so good about the Withered-Glory Hands? It's not even fit to carry my dirty shoes, I'd rather die than learn it!"

Duan Jiuniang's 'Withered-Glory Hands' were her pride and joy – she immediately flew into a rage, and grabbing Zhou Fei by the shoulder, bellowed: "Say that again!"

Zhou Fei refused to budge, exclaiming: "So what if I repeat it ten times? Duan Jiuniang, have you ever done one single thing right in your entire life?"

That madwoman froze, looking like she had just been stabbed right in the chest.

Wu Chuchu said softly: "Fei…"

Duan Jiuniang stood still for a moment more, then suddenly let go of Zhou Fei, mumbling: "You're right. In my whole life, I have never done a single thing right."

When she had been of sound mind, and free to walk wherever she pleased on this earth, she had been incorrigibly stubborn and reckless, making the same mistakes over and over.

She now knew that she had been wrong, but she was already old, and mad, and unable to remember things – a useless person that was a burden to all those around her.

Duan Jiuniang turned around in a daze, staggering out the door. Wu Chuchu called out after her: "Madam, wait…"

"Leave her be!" Zhou Fei bit out. She attempted to get up and take a few steps forward, but her legs were limp as noodles. She quickly leaned on her sabre to steady herself.

Wu Chuchu asked: "Then what are you going to do?"

Zhou Fei felt that ever since leaving the 48 Zhai, she had been beset by misfortune upon misfortune, and was on the verge of losing it. But there was already someone frightened out of her wits sitting right there beside her, and she didn't wish to join the girl, so there was nothing to do but put on a mask of nonchalant bravado and say to Wu Chuchu: "Don't you worry, I can handle this."

After trying her best to comfort Wu Chuchu, she forced herself to attempt walking a few rounds around the room. But these few steps were enough to leave her painfully breathless. While Zhou Fei looked calm on the outside, she was beginning to panic, and thought fearfully: That's it, I've been reduced to a tortoise without its shell now.

Zhou Fei knew that most of her courage stemmed from the sabre in her hand. But what if she didn't even have the strength to lift it? She didn't know what she would do.

While she supposed that she could start from scratch again if her abilities were gone, could internal strength really be recovered?

How much of it could be recovered?

And how many years would it take?

These worries filled her mind, and for once, she was at a complete loss. Her body ached with fatigue, and she knew that she needed to rest, but all these thoughts weighed heavily on her heart. There was nothing she could do about it, and she didn't dare to burden Wu Chuchu with her fears.

Tossing and turning around on the bed, she felt that there was something tucked somewhere in her clothes and pulled it out, trying to make out what it was in the dim light. It was that slim volume of 'Tao Te Ching', which the old Taoist priest had given her – while she had carelessly shoved it into her clothes, it had managed to survive her ordeals thus far.

Staring at it, Zhou Fei wanted to laugh – of all the things that she could have carried with her, it was a book that had kept her company in the end. She flipped it open and started to read, hoping that it would bring her sleep.

[1] The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in eighth-century Tang China. Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court.