Chapter 21: The Sword Of Mountain and Rivers

But before Xie Yun could complete his entreaty to her, he suddenly shrank back.

Zhou Fei had long since gotten used to the fact that this fellow was bound to bring her bad luck. Seeing him retreat like that, she immediately swept her sabre behind her, without even bothering to turn around – one of those ghoulish gong-carrying phantoms had floated towards them for some reason.

Her blade struck his gong with a resounding clang, loud enough to befit the arrival of a bride and groom. The man withdrew his gong, and a row of sharp teeth immediately appeared along its circumference. He held the toothed gong close to his chest like a shield – an impenetrable tortoise shell. The man was incredibly skilled in qinggong, floating effortlessly from point to point. This and his spotless white attire made him seem like a truly terrifying ghost. But having increasingly mastered the Mayfly Formation the more she used it, Zhou Fei was not to be trifled with either, and the two of them had circled each other seven or eight times in the blink of an eye, dizzying their sole onlooker.

While Zhou Fei's blade technique was top-notch, and made even more extraordinary when paired with the Mayfly Formation, this fellow was wielding a gong that could both attack and defend. Like a tortoise curled up tightly in his shell, he left her no unguarded space to attack. And no matter how infinitely changeable the Mayfly Formation was, he somehow seemed to be able to sense her next move before she made it.

It wasn't sustainable for Zhou Fei to continue on like this, as her vicious blade technique consumed too much of her energy, and she was still relatively young and inexperienced in battle. Seeing her furrowed brow, Xie Yun looked around him for a bit, then suddenly dashed back into the inn, re-emerging with a copper basin. He called out: "Fei, I got the magic weapon! Finish this off now!

Zhou Fei: "What…"

Before she could finish her question, she heard a clang from behind her. Zhou Fei reflexively darted to the side. A massive copper basin came hurtling through the air to collide directly with the gong, producing an earth-shaking crash.

The toothed gong instantly pierced a hole through the copper basin, and sent it flying backwards. Zhou Fei quickly reached a hand out to catch this 'magic weapon'. After taking a closer look at it, she nearly knelt down right there and kowtowed to Prince Duan.

Only someone like him would have the nerve to fling around a lousy copper basin in the middle of a serious fight.

But her opponent didn't give her a chance to do so. While he had initially been frightened by the sudden appearance of the flying copper basin, taking a step back, he quickly recovered and charged at her again. With a cumbersome copper basin in hand, and no place to put it, she could only duck from side to side, using it as a makeshift shield. Zhou Fei's ears rang with the deafening clamour that this produced. She thought ruefully to herself that the two of them could very well be the god of lightning and the goddess of thunder.

To her pleasant surprise, she quickly discovered the advantages of this copper basin – this gong-wielding fellow's vision seemed to be impaired somewhat, such that he relied on the reverberations from his gong to ascertain the positions of things around him, especially in the dark of night. With the sudden introduction of a clanging copper basin, the sounds had befuddled him somewhat. His phantomlike movements started to slow down!

Zhou Fei was delighted at this, but also perplexed – how did Xie Yun simply seem to know everything? Had he managed to glean every single secret from the martial arts world in his many years wandering it?

It didn't take long for that ghoulish man's vulnerabilities to become apparent. Zhou Fei flung the copper basin to the side hard, producing a resounding clang. The man subconsciously tilted his head towards the sound, but that split-second of distraction was fatal – Zhou Fei swiftly drew her sabre back, and slashed it across his neck without any hesitation.

Turning back around, she realised that Xie Yun had disappeared. Zhou Fei looked around her to no avail, when a little stone suddenly fell right in front of her. Looking up, she saw that Xie Yun had scaled the inn's roof at some point, and was now beckoning at her.

Zhou Fei leapt onto a large tree nearby, then propelled herself lightly off a branch to reach the roof. Xie Yun tugged on her sleeve, saying gleefully: "I've kidnapped a little beauty now!"

Anticipating a beating from Zhou Fei, he pre-emptively covered his head with his hands. But when nothing befell him after several seconds, Xie Yun turned around to look at her curiously. Zhou Fei stroked the bloodstained hilt of her sabre, asking: "Is it against the law to hit royalty?"

Xie Yun quickly replied: "It's not right to hit anyone at all, beating up a peasant or a prince is equally criminal…"

His words were intended to counsel this bandit to turn from her violent ways, but she was instead relieved to hear that the punishment for both was the same, and promptly kicked him off the roof. Like a cat with nine lives, Xie Yun rolled gracefully off the roof and landed on the ground with perfect composure. He was standing right next to the stables. Leaning dramatically against its wooden pillars, he patted a hand against his chest in shock, exclaiming: "How could you? Don't you know it's no trifling matter for a man to injure his waist!"

Zhou Fei, who was now squatting on the roof, peered down at him with wide eyes: "Hey, are you really Prince Duan? Could it…"

She'd wanted to ask, 'Could it be a case of mistaken identity', but she figured that even though this was only her second encounter with General Wen Yu, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would make such a horrible mistake. So instead she said: "…be that you were reincarnated into the wrong body?"

Xie Yun's mouth snapped open and then shut again, but he still couldn't quite decide how to answer that question. Staring mutely at her for several seconds, he finally burst into laughter, saying: "Indeed, my parents might have begotten me, but it is Fei who truly knows me – how did you know that? I'm really starting to fancy you more and more!"

While Xie Yun's mouth was busy, his hands were equally so. He had swiftly procured two horses from the stables, and now threw the reins for one of them to Zhou Fei, who had just jumped down from the roof: "Don't worry, General Wen is the best fighter amongst your father's men, and the Azure Dragon Lord will have his hands full…eh? Miss Wu?"

Zhou Fei turned around to see that Wu Chuchu had emerged from the inn, and was even clutching a little travel sack, panting a little with exertion.

Zhou Fei furrowed her brow: "You're in grave danger out here! Get back inside now!"

Wu Chuchu stood there in hesitation, then said tremulously: "Are…are you two leaving now? Have you got all your things already?"

Grinning, Xie Yun said: "When you're with me, all you need with you are your legs. If we run out of money…"

Zhou Fei finished his sentence for him: "we'll beg on the streets."

Xie Yun said in surprise: "How on earth did you know that I've done that before? Have you been following me in secret? Is it because of my good looks?"

Zhou Fei: "…"

It was clear to Zhou Fei that Wu Chuchu didn't want to leave with General Wen without them. In the Southern Dynasty, she would be a lonely orphan girl with no family or friends, and forced to seek refuge with a stranger. While this stranger was indeed reputable, she didn't know anything else about him – whether he was really a good person, whether he was bad-tempered, or whether they would get along. But Zhou Fei also knew that it would be inconvenient for Wu Chuchu to follow her, given all the travelling she was planning on doing, and her penchant for fighting at the drop of a hat. So she could only try to exaggerate the dangers of leaving with them, in hopes that Wu Chuchu would decide to remain here.

Zhou Fei thought to herself: If anyone should be blamed, it would be me – I'm simply not capable enough to keep her safe.

If only she were like her grandfather, who could make the entire martial arts world quake in fear just by stamping his feet. Then she would be able to go wherever she pleased and do whatever she wanted, and wouldn't have to worry about this.

A well-bred young lady like Wu Chuchu would be loathe to beg someone to do something she knew they didn't wish to. The words 'Please bring me with you' remained frozen on the tip of her tongue, but her watery eyes looked beseechingly at Zhou Fei, tears threatening to fall.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her and grasped her neck. Wu Chuchu shrieked, and was forced to lift her head abruptly – that pale-faced young man had somehow managed to stand up on his own, even though his pressure points had been sealed. Half of his face was shrouded in shadow. With his high and slender nose, pointed chin, and the faintest of smiles on his lips, he looked very much like the vampires of lore.

He looked over Wu Chuchu's head at Zhou Fei, saying softly: "Don't move. My skills are nothing compared to legends like the Southern and Northern Blades, but I'm still capable of strangling this little girl with my eyes shut.""

The very sight of the pale-faced young man made Zhou Fei's blood boil. She said menacingly: "Feel free to try. If she is missing even a single hair on her head, I'll butcher you alive."

The pale-faced young man smirked at her. He leaned towards Wu Chuchu's head and lightly sniffed her hair: "In my opinion, this maiden here is far more attractive than you. Girls should be meek and delicate. To be fighting and killing others all day, you'll wrinkle easily…oh, right, I forgot, people like you usually don't get to live long enough to grow wrinkles."

Zhou Fei was ready to murder him right there and then. Imagining how she would slice him into a million pieces with her blade, she swallowed her cutting retorts for the moment, glaring at the pale-faced young man.

The young man fluttered his lashes at her, smiling: "And anyway, do I look like I'm someone who's afraid of dying?"

Just then, Xie Yun spoke: "Pei."

At the sound of his own name, something in the young man's eyes shifted.

"Apologies, I'd heard Ji Yunchen call you that." Xie Yun smiled at him politely, then followed this with a most perplexing question: "I suppose that is indeed your name, then. May I ask, is your last name 'Yin'?"

Zhou Fei thought to herself: What does it matter, if he's surnamed 'yin', or 'yang', or anything at all?

But the young man's face suddenly contorted grotesquely. Looking like he'd just been bitten by a rabid dog, he roared hoarsely: "What are you saying! Tell me what you know!"

His hand clenched subconsciously, squeezing Wu Chuchu's neck until she nearly passed out. The girl was shaking like a withered autumn leaf.

In that instant, Hua Zhenglong crept up behind the pale-faced young man, who had let his guard down while consumed by rage. Innkeeper Hua slammed his single remaining palm right into the man's back, causing him to stumble a few steps forward, then fall face down to the ground. Zhou Fei immediately moved towards the young man, grabbing his forearm. She tugged and twisted it forcefully, dislocating it with a crack, then swiftly handed Wu Chuchu over to Xie Yun. She picked up her sabre and made to slaughter that pale-faced young man.

Two voices rang out almost simultaneously –

"Stop!"

"Wait!"

Zhou Fei's blade had already grazed the skin of the young man slumped on the floor. She abruptly stopped it in its tracks. It gleamed menacingly, reflecting the steely expression on its master's face.

One of the voices had been Xie Yun's, and the other Ji Yunchen's.

Ji Yunchen said woefully: "I hadn't expected that he'd learnt the Azure Dragon Lord's pressure point-shifting technique. My deepest apologies for my carelessness."

The life of this young man named 'Yin Pei' was hanging in the balance, yet he laughed defiantly and said: "Did you think I'd only joined the Azure Dragon's Sect as a ruse?"

No wonder this pale-faced young man had eaten whatever they'd given him. He'd been trying to conserve his energy, so that he could finally make a break for it in the middle of the night when their guards were down.

Ji Yunchen ignored him, instead saying earnestly to Zhou Fei: "I beg of you to spare his life, Miss, on…"

Zhou Fei glared at him coldly. If this chef dared to finish his sentence with 'on my account', she would instantly stab her blade into this young man's neck. Ji Yunchen seemed to her insipid and indecisive, and wore a resigned expression on his face all day long. If it weren't for him, the innkeeper might not have been forced to cut off his own hand. Yet instead of avenging his friend, he was defending this pale-faced young man. Although the innkeeper didn't seem to mind this, and as an outsider it wasn't quite appropriate for Zhou Fei to take revenge on his behalf, this didn't mean that she couldn't look askance at Ji Yunchen.

Fortunately for Ji Yunchen, he wasn't so shameless as to say that. Instead, he said: "…on account of the former Master Li of the 48 Zhai."

Zhou Fei: "…"

She managed to swallow a scathing retort just in time, and was feeling uncomfortably stifled.

Xie Yun whispered from behind her: "Fei, if my guess is right, this man is a descendant of Yin Wenlan."

Zhou Fei whispered back in shock: "…the Sword of Mountains and Rivers?"

The 'Sword of Mountains and Rivers' was a legendary swordsman and his technique, who was ranked alongside the Southern and Northern Blades. Swords were one of the most commonly used weapons in the martial arts community. Out of every ten pugilists, about six or seven of them were likely to wield swords. So for anyone to really make a name for himself with his swordsmanship, he had to be truly remarkable. The Sword of Mountains and Rivers, Yin Wenlan, was different from other legendary figures like the Withered-Glory Hands, who had gained renown in their youth. Unlike them, he had come from a thoroughly and almost boringly orthodox sect, spent his entire life steadily honing his skills, and finally made a breakthrough in his later years, only becoming a grandmaster of his generation when he was well past middle age.

Yin Wenlan had once been a towering figure in the martial arts world. He was incredibly skilled in martial arts, but also generous of spirit, noble and virtuous.

The martial arts world hadn't produced a unifying figure that could lead them all for hundreds of years. But when the Sword of Mountains and Rivers had been alive, the various sects had answered to him willingly. He was their de facto leader, even though he didn't have any formal title.

Unfortunately, Yin Wenlan had resided in the central plains, not in a secluded corner of the world like the 48 Zhai which had the mountains as a natural barrier. During the war between the North and South, Yin Wenlan had been a prime target – the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper had all gathered at the Yin Manor, in an attempt to force him to bow to the Northern Dynasty. But how could the great Sword of Mountains and Rivers, who hadn't even submitted to the legitimate rulers of the former Shao Dynasty, bow to this false dynasty now just to save his own skin? Yin Wenlan had refused to do so. But as he was advanced in years, he hadn't kicked up a huge fuss, and simply started to consider retiring from the martial arts world.

But towering trees are sure to attract strong winds – Yin Wenlan was ultimately unable to escape the wickedness of those plotting to take him down.

To this day, rumours continued to swirl around the circumstances of his death. By the time these had trickled down to Zhou Fei's generation, they only knew vaguely that Yin Wenlan had died all of a sudden, and that the Yin family had disintegrated after that. Like numerous sects which had become lost and buried with time, it was thought that the Yin Clan had also died out.

Zhou Fei's gaze rested on the pale-faced young man cowering beneath her blade: "He, is a descendant of the Sword of Mountains and Rivers?"

Perhaps her expression was a touch too incredulous, provoking Yin Pei. With a clench of his jaw, the pale-faced young man actually attempted to run himself upon her blade. Zhou Fei quickly retracted her weapon, and stepped on Yin Pei's back to push him to the ground again. She said irritably: "Look at what you've become – and yet you have the cheek to feel ashamed? If you cherished your family's name so much, why did you do all those horrible things?"

Maybe she had stepped down too hard on him, or Yin Pei was too incensed by her words – after she said this, he froze for a moment, and then turning a sickly shade of yellow, coughed out a mouthful of blood.

A brief tinge of pity appeared on Ji Yunchen's face, and he sighed: "Actually, he…"

Seeing that this man was about to launch into yet another long and weepy tale, Xie Yun quickly interrupted him: "Hero Ji, let's save that for another time. We can't stay here for too long, it's better if we…"

But before he could finish his sentence, someone called out from the second floor of the inn: "So you're here, Third Master? You scared me to death, I'd thought we'd lost you again!"

Mr Bai had come looking for him!

As if the soles of his shoes had been smeared with a thick layer of oil, Xie Yun instantly slid behind Zhou Fei with a swoosh, begging her: "Save me, great hero! Help me to stop him, please."

Zhou Fei: "…"

Xie Yun was more than half a head taller than her. After looking down at her for a moment, he suddenly shrank into himself, retracting his neck, collapsing his shoulders and bending his knees, until he managed to fit himself nicely behind Zhou Fei's slender back somehow. He muttered to her: "I'm afraid you're no match for this sly old fox, so we'll just have to use our brains…hm, why don't you talk to him to delay him for a bit, which will give me some time to think of a plan."

Zhou Fei was once again blown away by the utter shamelessness of this so-called Prince Duan. She first lifted her foot and kicked Yin Pei over to Innkeeper Hua, while saying: "Watch out, Mr Bai."

Mr Bai froze for a second, not understanding what he should be watching out for. Assuming that Zhou Fei was warning him of an attack from behind, he quickly turned around to look. But at that very moment, he heard a whoosh – whipping his head back around, he saw a heavy quilt come hurtling towards his head.

Zhou Fei had selected the thickest-looking quilt out of all those being sunned in the inn's backyard, and flung it up at Mr Bai's face. Mr Bai couldn't see that Zhou Fei was behind the large quilt, and hastily thrust his sword towards it. But just as he did so, Zhou Fei swiftly delivered a forceful palm strike at the quilt as well. These two forces collided in midair, disintegrating the quilt in an instant. A flurry of cotton balls exploded through the night air, obscuring Mr Bai's vision. And in that split-second, a sabre was thrust lightning-quick through the swirling cotton, twisting past the sword in Mr Bai's hand and pressing itself against his neck.

It'd been eons since Mr Bai had been so thoroughly one-upped like this. In a moment of carelessness, he'd been tricked by a young girl – and one who he'd always thought to be staunchly loyal and upstanding at that.

Zhou Fei said softly: "My apologies."

With her blade pressed against his neck, Mr Bai could only stand there stiffly, a sour feeling rising in his gut. But before he could open his mouth to try to talk his way out of this, Zhou Fei had swiftly sealed his pressure points. She bowed to him apologetically, saying: "I did tell you to watch out."

Mr Bai: "…"

His Third Master's slyness had clearly rubbed off on her!

Xie Yun burst out laughing: "Bravo, bravo! You've got some of the verve I had when I was your age!"

Ji Yunchen's survival instincts finally seemed to stir for once, and he beckoned hurriedly at them: "The Azure Dragon Lord probably came here prepared. It'll be too dangerous for you to leave on horseback like this. Let me show you another way instead."

Zhou Fei hesitated, but Xie Yun said: "Let's follow him."

Zhou Fei arched a brow. Xie Yun seemed to know what she was about to say, and whispered: "Let me teach you one more thing – while some people might rub you completely the wrong way, the fact that a once-renowned hero has voluntarily descended into such a wretched state shows that he's a pretty decent person at least."

Although Zhou Fei didn't trust Ji Yunchen, she did trust Xie Yun a little more than him. So she hurried after Ji Yunchen, while remarking over her shoulder: "In that case, does it also mean that His Highness Prince Duan has descended to the level of a common conman because he's a pretty decent person?"

Her sarcasm seemed to roll off Xie Yun's back like water off a duck's back. Beaming in acknowledgment of her 'compliment', he said: "Clever girl, you really are an excellent judge of character!"

Zhou Fei had no words.

And just like that, the innkeeper Hua Zhenglong, Wu Chuchu, as well as that pale-faced young man Yin Pei, who had been immobilised yet again, joined them to form a little band of misfits on the run.

Ji Yunchen led them to the underground wine cellar in the inn's backyard. Lifting the lid off a large wine barrel, he revealed the entrance to a secret passage. It was black as night in there, with no way of telling how far it stretched on for. Ji Yunchen drew a little makeshift torch out from his pocket, and crept in first.

Yin Pei was still in Hua Zhenglong's clutches, and incapable of moving, but that didn't stop him from running his mouth. He snickered: "The legendary Northern Blade is now a lowly employee of an unremarkable inn. Yet he still lives on tenterhooks, and has to dig an escape route for himself just in case anyone comes after him. Instead of leading a decent human existence, he'd rather be a rat and burrow underground. How strange."

Hua Zhenglong said evenly: "What about you? Instead of leading a decent human existence, you'd rather be a dog for someone else. Don't you think that's odd too?"

Yin Pei looked utterly deflated.

When the young man seemed to have recovered somewhat, Hua Zhenglong continued: "I'm the one who dug this secret passage. It's none of Brother Ji's business."

Zhou Fei and Xie Yun didn't need him to explain to understand why he'd done it, but Wu Chuchu hadn't grown up in their world, and asked curiously: "Why do you have such a secret passage?"

Hua Zhenglong wasn't bothered by her ignorance, smiling jovially at her instead: "Miss, if people like us ever need to go into hiding, it's usually to avoid blood debts that we've racked up in the martial arts world. It's as simple as that."

Ji Yunchen, who was walking in front, suddenly lit the oil lamps hanging on both sides of the secret passage. The pitch-black passageway was instantly illuminated, the dim lamplight casting long and shifting shadows on the ground. Wu Chuchu looked around her fearfully. She could smell a vague scent of damp and decay. Moss had flourished in this secret passage, which hadn't seen any visitors in ages.

Ji Yunchen had a little bit of a hunch. Having spent his days bowing to customers, or bent over a stove, his spine had frozen in that position over time, and was probably incapable of ever straightening fully again.

Zhou Fei was still thinking about what Hua Zhenglong had said to Wu Chuchu. Having witnessed the innkeeper's decisive ruthlessness in cutting off his own hand, she didn't quite believe that he was the kind of person who would dig a tunnel for himself to escape his enemies. She thought it more likely that he'd said that only so that Ji Yunchen wouldn't seem like such a coward. She asked: "Where does this passage lead to?"

Hua Zhenglong replied: "All the way to the foot of the Heng Mountains."

"Ah," Zhou Fei said. Then after a while, she asked again: "Didn't the Heng Mountain Sect mind?"

As many sects had traditionally located themselves near mountains or bodies of water, famous mountains were often home to martial arts pugilists. People often referred to the famous 'Palms of the Tai Mountain, Sword of the Hua Mountain, Winding Roads of the Heng Mountain, and the Prickly Beauties of the Emei Mountain'. So it stood to reason that the Heng Mountain was quite a renowned sect. Zhou Fei had asked this question quite casually, but to her surprise, it was followed by a deathly silence.

Zhou Fei asked cautiously: "What's wrong?"

Xie Yun said softly: "The last time the North and South fought here…which was probably about six or seven years ago, it was a fierce battle indeed. The Heng Mountain Sect had always been deeply respected by the peasants here, and many of its disciples were born in these parts. They couldn't possibly stand idly by while their villages were overrun by troops. But once they got involved in this war, they inevitably invited trouble."

Hua Zhenglong added: "That's right. The sect leader and its senior elders all perished in that war. How could the remaining few juniors possibly prop up what was left of the sect? Those disciples who still had homes to return to went back home, while those who didn't departed with the newly appointed sect leader. I'd heard that this new leader was but the youngest disciple of the former sect leader, and only sixteen or seventeen people followed him…" He sighed and said: "No one knows where they've ended up."

Zhou Fei blinked in surprise, and turned around to look at Hua Zhenglong's grotesquely chubby face, and then at Yin Pei. All of a sudden, she felt a little bleak.

All those great experts from twenty years ago now seemed to have vanished from this earth, or were almost impossible to find – the Southern Blade had died; the Northern Blade had retired to the frontier regions, leaving behind a disciple who had been incapacitated; the Sword of Mountains and Rivers Yin Wenlan and his entire family had perished, leaving only a young man of questionable character to carry on his bloodline; one half of the Withered-Glory Hands had gone mad, while the other hadn't been heard from for a decade; and as for the 'Scattered Deity' of Penglai in the Eastern Sea, it didn't seem like this person had ever really roamed the martial arts world, his very existence still seemed to be a myth.

And as for all those sects of once-great power and influence, they had disintegrated one after the other. The Mountain of the Living Dead was stirring trouble all over the place, seizing whatever scraps they could find; the Huo Clan had fallen and scattered to the four winds; the four major Taoist sects had gone into seclusion, minding their own business; the Shaolin Sect[1] had washed its hands of worldly affairs, immersing themselves in prayers and meditation; and there were pitifully few members remaining from the five major Mountain Sects,[2] which didn't even have any half-decent sect leaders among them…all those years ago, every single one of them had been truly glorious to behold. But now, they'd all sunk into oblivion, dispersed, or perished far from home, snuffed out with barely a whimper.

The skies above the central plains seemed to be shrouded in an impenetrable fog of gloom. All of its once-bright stars now shone weakly and were on the verge of sputtering out, stagnant and lifeless. In these turbulent times, they were even as vulnerable and fearful as the defenceless peasants on this earth. Only those Seven Stars of the Big Dipper remained imposing and awe-inspiring, striking fear into the hearts of all.

And as for the great expanse of martial arts skills, painstakingly developed and passed down through the generations for thousands of years, ranging from all kinds of weapons – sabres, spears, swords, axes, hooks and pitchforks – to all kinds of techniques and formations: all of these seemed to have come to a feeble, fumbling halt once they had reached this present generation.

In the absence of heroes, ruffians reigned instead.

Zhou Fei was lost in thought. When Xie Yun suddenly halted in his tracks, she crashed right into his back.

Xie Yun quickly steadied her, saying teasingly: "I'd have preferred that you crashed into my arms instead – did you hurt your nose?"

Zhou Fei smacked his hand away. Looking beyond him, she saw that the passage had suddenly widened considerably. By the dim lamplight, she could see a crude wooden hut in front of them, with benches and chairs for them to rest on, and a good amount of food stored in a corner.

Ji Yunchen turned around: "Please stay here for the night. Tomorrow, after the soldiers and that Azure Dragon bastard have departed from this place, I'll escort you out from here. It'll be easier for you to escape their clutches then."

Yin Pei said coldly: "Escape? Fat chance, don't you know the kind of person that the Azure Dragon Lord is? He will pursue anyone who slights him to the ends of this earth. Did you think that a crude little tunnel like this would secure your escape?"

Zhou Fei retorted: "Are you still hoping for your master to come save you? Keep on dreaming, then. If he really catches up to us, I'll kill you first. An utter disgrace to his ancestors such as yourself is not worth keeping on this earth. If I bring you down with me, I'm sure no one down there will begrudge me for it."

She'd thought that Yin Pei would fly into a rage at this, but instead, he smiled oddly at her: "Save me? If the Azure Dragon Lord catches up to us, I'm the first one he'd kill."

Seeing that his words didn't seem to elicit much of a reaction from anyone else here, Zhou Fei actually started to feel a little pity for this pale-faced young man, and asked: "Aren't you…with him? Why would he want to kill you?"

Yin Pei looked scornfully at her: "You don't know a thing."

Xie Yun suddenly spoke: "I'd heard that while other sects recruit disciples, the Azure Dragon Lord adopts godsons and daughters – eighteen in total so far. Since the Nine-Dragon Elder called you his 'young lord'…"

Hua Zhenglong scoffed: "How noble, to call a villain father."

Yin Pei said: "I wouldn't dare call him father. 'Godson' is just another name for humiliation. Haven't you heard villagers call their dogs 'son' before? We've got to crawl on our hands and knees before him, and can only rise when he gives us permission. During meal times, we have to kneel by his feet, cheerfully awaiting food from his hand. Only if we don't die after eating it, so our master know that it isn't poisoned, does he dismiss us. If he's in the occasional good mood, we might even get an extra piece of meat from him."

As he said this, Yin Pei stared hard at Ji Yunchen's back. The man's already-hunched back seemed to slump forward a little more, the very picture of wretchedness.

"As for me, I was always the smartest, most likeable, and most obedient, and the Azure Dragon Lord often brought me along with him wherever he went. But that Nine-Dragon Elder was a lowly minion not fit to even lick the feet of his master, so he had no choice but to kiss up to me. He'd thought that by following me this time, it would be a simple task of taking out a defenceless weakling, and he might even be able to cop some things along the way if he was lucky. But no one expected the Southern Blade to be surrounded by such expert pugilists – even the Southern Dynasty's troops had no qualms about rushing thousands of miles here, and the Nine-Dragon Elder, who'd completely under-estimated the situation, even perished here." Yin Pei chuckled: "If I'd only sneaked out to play arrogant human for a day, it'd have been no big deal. I'd get a beating at most when I returned. But creating such a big mess outside, which not only resulted in the demise of one of his able lieutenants, but also ruined his formation of 'Collapsing Mountains and Emptying Seas' – that's not something a simple beating can make up for."

Ji Yunchen seemed not to hear Yin Pei, instead busying himself with arranging the chairs and tables in the hut. He placed a little pot over a freshly-started fire, intending to warm a jar of rice wine. But for some reason his hand slipped, and the jar tumbled to the ground. Xie Yun had quick reflexes, and caught it before it hit the ground: "Careful."

Ji Yunchen stood there in a daze, and gestured at Xie Yun: "Many thanks – Pei, I did you wrong."

Hua Zhenglong said angrily: "Even if you did, you've more than repaid that debt in the past few years. He's become someone else's dog, yes, but didn't he do it willingly? Didn't he deserve it?"

Yin Pei laughed, looking at him with hatred in his eyes.

Ji Yunchen remained silent. He drew out a clean handkerchief from within his robes, and wiped several old cups one by one before pouring steaming hot rice wine into them for everyone. The wine wasn't strong, and wouldn't make one drunk. It was slightly sweet, and one could still taste the residue of rice in it. A little cup down one's throat was sufficient for warmth to spread all across one's body, and the dampness that hung in the air seemed to have lifted somewhat.

Ji Yunchen's gaze was fixed on the stone table. He said softly: "When I was young, and had just mastered my technique, I was completely ignorant of the vastness of this world. But I insisted on leaving the frontier regions to enter the central plains, and bid farewell to my master. Although he advised me against it, I'd thought that he'd grown old and timid, so I refused to listen. Seeing that my mind was made up, he told me sternly that I should always think twice before acting. He'd said: 'The blade in your hand is like a farmer's hoe, or a merchant's abacus – both of those things are tools to an end, and not the end in itself. Do not mistake the tools for their real purpose.'"

Ji Yunchen paused here. His gaze drifted over to Zhou Fei, perhaps seeing his young self from twenty years ago in her. Zhou Fei sipped a mouthful of the rice wine, going over the Northern Blade Guan Feng's words to Ji Yunchen in her head again, but she still couldn't quite understand them.

Ji Yunchen continued: "Of course I didn't listen. Sabres are the most vicious of weapons, and if they possessed spirits, 'Slicing Water and Tangling Silk' would be my hands and feet, my very soul and spirit itself. How could it be compared to a common farmer's hoe, or a merchant's abacus? And after I entered the central plains, I was indeed able to rule the world with my blade alone. I made a little bit of a name for myself in a short amount of time, and befriended quite a number of people. I felt invincible. I had dreams of setting up my own sect in the central plains, for the 'Northern Blade' to re-emerge. So within six months, I issued challenges to seven of some of the most renowned expert pugilists, and managed to defeat them all. Unfortunately…I also heard a rumour."

Zhou Fei was starting to feel increasingly morose as his tale progressed – Li Jinrong had dared to barge into the Northern Capital to assassinate the emperor at the tender age of seventeen. When Duan Jiuniang was barely past twenty years of age, she had already roamed the world undefeated on the strength of her Withered-Glory Hands. Now, even this Ji Yunchen, whom she'd scorned from the start, had stunned the world with his blade not long after leaving home, and had great ambitions of establishing his own sect. But as for her, her blade technique was only average at best. And like a baby bird that had been expelled from the nest before it was ready, since leaving home she'd only been able to run away from people coming after her. The only time she could feel the slightest sense of accomplishment was when she was in front of people like Xie Yun.

For the first time in her life, Zhou Fei started to feel bitterly disappointed in herself. Comparing herself with others, she felt increasingly certain that she'd never achieve anything great in her lifetime. Since her abilities were so mediocre, then the blade in her hand was not that different from a common hoe or abacus indeed.

As she was going on this internal downward spiral, Wu Chuchu asked with curiosity: "What rumour?"

"I heard people say that the real reason the Northern Blade Guan Feng had retreated to the frontier regions, and refused to set foot in the central plains again for decades, was that he had been defeated by the Sword of Mountains and Rivers Yin Wenlan. They said that this meant 'Slicing Water and Tangling Silk' was only second-rate. Yet it still shamelessly dared to put itself in the same league as the Snow-Breaking Sabre, and call itself the Northern Blade to Li Zheng's Southern Blade. The closer I got to the Yin Manor, the stronger these rumours became. In my anger, I issued a challenge to Yin Wenlan, to crush these humiliating rumours once and for all – but I was rejected."

"While I wasn't ready to let this go, Yin Wenlan responded to me with the utmost respect and politeness, his words and behaviour soothing my fiery rage like a cool spring breeze. As I left his house, I ran into a little boy that had sneaked out of the Yin Manor. He was a smart little boy, and not afraid of strange…"

Yin Pei scoffed at this. It was clear that he had been that little boy.

"I'd guessed that this boy was probably from the Yin family, and had sneaked out to play. I wanted to send him back immediately, but he kept crying and crying, even after I tried coaxing and cajoling him. Since I didn't really have much to do then, I decided to bring him around the nearby market for a bit. As little kids often grew bored easily, I'd be able to send him home after that. But while we were resting at a restaurant, I just so happened to hear the bard there perform a verse describing the Northern Blade's defeat by the Sword of Mountains and Rivers."

"I flew into a rage when I heard it. Given the Yin family's influence, no one would dare say all this just next door from their Manor without their implicit approval." Ji Yunchen took a deep breath, and his face whitened considerably: "In a moment of impetuousness…"

"He held me hostage, and forced my father to accept his challenge." Yin Pei laughed coldly: "The Great Hero Ji Yunchen, what a paragon of virtue!"

A hush fell over the little hut, everyone at a loss for words.

Recalling the way Ji Yunchen's gaze had lingered on her just now, Zhou Fei asked herself seriously: If I had been in his shoes, would I also have been so rash?

She decided that she wouldn't have been – in any case, she was incapable of defeating anyone, so issuing any kind of challenge would just have been a huge and unnecessary embarrassment.

Zhou Fei felt a little dejected at this conclusion, and attempted to comfort herself: Well, the real disciple of the Southern Blade isn't me, but my mother, and she's certainly doing much better than him.

If Li Jinrong had known what Zhou Fei was thinking, she was liable to flog her daughter for several days.

Ji Yunchen had gone silent. Conversely, Yin Pei seemed more spirited than ever, and exclaimed arrogantly: "What a joke! Even though my father was injured, he could still easily pummel you till you begged for mercy!"

At these words, the expressions on everyone's faces grew unpleasant, and even Wu Chuchu felt like she couldn't stand much more of such talk – a strapping, full-grown young man was leaning entirely on his father's name to bring others down, while he himself had done nothing of merit. His arrogance knew no shame.

Zhou Fei realised with horror that what she had been thinking about her mother sounded quite similar to this young man's shameless boasts. She quickly lowered her head.

Ji Yunchen didn't seem to take offense at Yin Pei's words, saying calmly: "You're right, I wasn't Yin Wenlan's match at all…and not just in martial arts!"

Xie Yun was rubbing the wine-filled cup in his hands to warm them, and said slowly: "Hero Ji, words are like droplets, some fall on you like good medicine for the soul, while others poison your mind and ensnare your soul. Once you let such words get to you, you'll be letting others control you. But you shouldn't beat yourself up too much over it. You might have acted rashly and taken the bait – but the darkness of people's hearts are unfathomable, while you were upstanding and pure of heart. Moreover, you were young then."

Ji Yunchen made a silent bow of thanks to Xie Yun.

But Yin Pei roared: "You know nothing! Do you know what it's like to have your entire family slaughtered?"

What Wu Chuchu had said about Prince Duan's history suddenly came to Zhou Fei's mind, and she subconsciously glanced over at Xie Yun.

Yet Xie Yun's face remained completely calm, and his eyes didn't even flicker. He smiled obligingly, and said to Yin Pei in an amiable voice: "My dear young hero Yin, there are debtors for all debts. But you're demanding repayment from the wrong person. While he doesn't hold this against you because he pities you, do you think that means you've won? Won't the real culprit laugh at your foolishness right now?"

Yin Pei's face had turned blotchy with the mix of rage and embarrassment he was feeling, and he could barely speak.

Ji Yunchen said: "Many thanks to you, young master, for speaking on my behalf." He hadn't heard Wen Yu refer to Xie Yun as 'Prince Duan' outside the inn, but had heard Mr Bai call him 'Third Master', so he followed suit. He continued: "But I did indeed commit a grave error, and I do owe a debt. It's no use denying it."

Zhou Fei finally realised what Xie Yun meant when he had called Ji Yunchen 'a pretty decent person'.

If a person had the decency to feel shame, and to openly admit to his mistakes, then no matter how wretched and spineless he might appear, he was at least a decent human being, even if not quite a hero.

Ji Yunchen said: "I only found out later that shortly before my challenge to him, Yin Wenlan had just fought off those Northern dogs, and was already quite seriously injured. But since I'd forced him, he had no choice but to spar with me while injured. Even so, I was no match for him, and during our fight, he had the chance to kill me but didn't, choosing instead to prolong the fight and worsen his injuries. I still remember what he said to me…"

Zhou Fei asked: "What did he say?"

"He'd said: 'Even though my generation has produced many great pugilists, difficult times are ahead, and all you young people will have to face your fair share of treacherous dangers. How can I allow you to just perish at my hands like this?'"

Zhou Fei had been holding her cup right to her lips, but forgot to drink just then.

Ji Yunchen was staring into his cup as if transfixed.

In his younger days, he'd been impulsive, and proud, and while impetuous, was passionately fuelled by a fierce sense of loyalty and justice. Young people could often drink till dawn with people they had just met, yet quickly come to blows after just a few words.

But the passage of twenty years was enough to grind stones down into sand. It was also enough to change a person completely.

Ji Yunchen said: "Even though I was defeated by Yin Wenlan, my loss was completely justified, and I was thoroughly convinced he was superior. Naturally, I was going to hand his son back to him. But when I brought Pei back to the Yin Manor…"

Yin Pei's face twisted with rage.

Zhou Fei pondered this for a bit, then asked: "So somebody had used you to wear Yin Wenlan down, and after you left, immediately attacked the Yin Manor – who could it have been?"

Ji Yunchen had said that Yin Wenlan had fought with the Big Dipper just prior. The Sword of Mountains and Rivers was a legendary pugilist, and possibly even more skilled than Li Zheng. If Yin Wenlan had been hurt, those who had hurt him were probably far worse off. It was unlikely that the Big Dipper would have planned a major attack on one hand, while also unnecessarily incurring heavy losses in advance like this.

Ji Yunchen took another sip of rice wine, but remained silent.

Hua Zhenglong suddenly bellowed: "Brother, why are you still shielding this fellow! Why can't you say the truth? It's true that outstanding people are the object of much envy, and many people had tried to bring Yin Wenlan down at the time. Over the last few years, the two of us have disguised ourselves as common folk to find out the truth behind those events. We know that one of those who had targeted Yin Wenlan was the Big Dipper. They had tried to force the Yin Clan to pledge allegiance to the false dynasty. There were also many other small fry which tried to join the Big Dipper in attacking him after that, which are not worth mentioning. But besides these, there was another main culprit – Yin Pei, listen closely, it's that good godfather of yours!"

Zhou Fei had thought that these words would make Yin Pei spring up instantly like a dog whose tail was stepped on, and start barking madly. Instead, Yin Pei clamped his mouth shut, and though he looked darkly at Hua Zhenglong, he said nothing at all. From the expression on his face, it didn't seem like he was all that surprised.

Chuckling coldly, Hua Zhenglong patted Ji Yunchen on the shoulder with his single remaining hand, and said: "Don't you see the kind of monster that you've raised?"

Ji Yunchen threw back the rest of the wine in his cup. Perhaps he had drunk it too quickly – his entire face reddened instantly, and the large vein at his temple protruded visibly from beneath his skin, looking as if it might burst.

Hua Zhenglong said bitterly: "This fool here that I call brother has been burdened with guilt for the past twenty years, unable to have a single good night's sleep. He swore to never again fight with anyone, unless it was to kill his enemy – and even raised this ungrateful terror on his own, giving in to his every whim and fancy."

Yin Pei laughed: "He can only blame the fact that one cannot hide the skeletons in one's closet – great Hero Hua, let me ask you, if you found out one day that your adoptive father was the person who'd caused your entire family to be slaughtered, would you still pretend to be obedient and filial every day?"

It was clear that Hua Zhenglong had had enough of Yin Pei for quite some time now. Anger hardened his characteristically jovial face: "I surely wouldn't be able to! But you seem to have a lot of practice doing that with the Azure Dragon. What a heroic young man you are."

Ji Yunchen roared: "Enough!"

Hua Zhenglong flung his cup of wine on the ground. Pointing at Ji Yunchen, he said to Yin Pei: "When you left without a word back then, do you know how desperately he searched for you? Then after you returned, I'd thought you looked funny, and repeatedly warned him to be careful. But this fellow didn't listen." Turning to Ji Yunchen, he said: "And then what happened, huh? Did it hurt to get your hand bitten by the dog you fed? Did it feel good to sever your own meridians?"

The reminiscing of days past had devolved into a full-on quarrel.

The remaining three youths present were completely in the dark about what these people were arguing about, and could only piece together a little of the truth based on all the shouting back and forth – Yin Pei must have found out somehow that the decimation of the Yin Clan had something to do with Ji Yunchen, and left in a huff. He'd probably encountered the Azure Dragon Lord out there, gotten adopted by him somehow, and started his training as a villain-in-waiting. He seemed to have a natural talent for being wicked, as he was soon rewarded for his efforts – just shortly after choosing this dark path, he had succeeded in ambushing Ji Yunchen, forcing the man to sever his own meridians.

Ji Yunchen suddenly rose to his feet: "We've rested enough. Let me escort you out now."

The innkeeper was a slick fellow, and even after losing his cool, only needed to close his eyes briefly to regain it. He held Yin Pei in a lock, gripping the young man's throat to prevent him from speaking, and followed the rest out.

When they saw sunlight again, it was already close to noon.

Having just emerged from the darkness, the light was a little blinding. Looking around her, Zhou Fei saw that the towering Heng Mountain was indeed right before them. If she craned her neck, she could vaguely make out the peak above shrouded in the clouds. The ridges of the mountain were adorned with a carpet of lush green, which appeared to be a layer of thick bamboo forests. It was a truly majestic scene. It was a shame that these magnificent mountains were completely devoid of people. She could see what appeared to be several villages nearby, made up of a few clusters of dilapidated houses. But all these were mere ruins, the living things within having fled long ago. With no signs of human life, only wild birds soared around the empty mountains, making the atmosphere eerily sombre.

Everyone in their little party was used to being on the road by now, and didn't feel tired even after walking throughout the night. But after stealing a glance over at Wu Chuchu, Zhou Fei said: "Let's rest for a bit. It's still early in the day, it wouldn't be too late to continue in the afternoon."

Wu Chuchu looked greatly relieved at these words, and plopped onto the ground. She almost lay down right there.

Xie Yun bowed at Ji Yunchen: "Many thanks to Hero Ji for leading us here."

Ji Yunchen shook his head, and asked: "Where are you headed, young master?"

Xie Yun smiled: "For an idle person like me, the world is my oyster. But I'm afraid you two gentlemen can no longer return to the Three Springs Inn now. Where do you intend to go?"

At this, an idea popped into Zhou Fei's head, and she hastened to help Mistress Li gain some friends: "If you wish, you can also return with me to the 48 Zhai."

Although that pale-faced young man Yin Pei posed a bit of a problem – it would be a bother to bring him along, yet she couldn't quite kill him. Perhaps they should let him out into the wild? That didn't seem to be great for the environment, though.

Hua Zhenglong smiled faintly, and opened his mouth to respond. But just then, the tranquillity of the mountains was broken by the clang of a gong, which sent flocks of birds soaring noisily into the sky. All the hairs on Zhou Fei's body stood on end. She asked Xie Yun: "Didn't you say that Wen Yu was an excellent fighter? How has that unholy band of musicians caught up to us so quickly?"

Xie Yun wanted to say: Duh, do you think General Wen would bother fighting this bunch of unorthodox pugilists once he'd realised that his prize catch was gone? He and his men probably left once they'd realised I wasn't there.

But he knew that he'd surely suffer a beating if he said this out loud. So quickly adjusting his features into his best attempt at looking miserable, he sighed to Zhou Fei: "I don't know why either, but it seems to be a cardinal rule of life that things hardly ever go the way we want them to."

Zhou Fei glared at him out the corner of her eye, and stamped hard on his foot.

Xie Yun: "…"

Zhou Fei said: "I don't know why either, but it seems to be a cardinal rule of life that every time you make eyes at me I feel like beating you up."

At that, she picked up her sabre, and looked around her warily. The sound of that gong resounded all across the surrounding mountains and valleys, making it impossible to discern the direction it was coming from. His hand still wrapped around Yin Pei's throat, Hua Zhenglong said: "Follow me!"

Their little party broke into a mad run amidst the clamour of resounding gongs.

The innkeeper had evidently spent many years here, and was intimately familiar with the lay of the land. He wove expertly in and out amongst the dense mountain forests. Zhou Fei could still keep track of their route in the beginning, but after they had gone on like this for a while, she was completely lost, and could only keep her head down and follow him. The sound of those gongs gradually grew fainter. Hua Zhenglong finally led them to a spot halfway up the mountain – the road here was extremely narrow, and there was even a natural cave along it where one could rest. One could escape detection if hiding inside, and its position perched on the mountainside made it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Surveying their surroundings, Zhou Fei had barely had the time to heave a sigh of relief when she heard Wu Chuchu squeal. A bunch of white figures were floating towards them, and in a matter of seconds had already arrived at the foot of the path leading up to them. The white-clad man in front planted an Azure Dragon flag beside the path, and then the group of them parted into two neat rows. The fish-faced Azure Dragon Lord stepped out from amongst them. He leisurely looked up at Zhou Fei and her fellow travellers, all of them either injured or quite defenceless. He lifted his hand. A large gray rat suddenly emerged from a tree next to Yin Pei, and bounded down into the Azure Dragon Lord's palm.

The Azure Dragon Lord stroked it tenderly, smoothing down its tangled fur, and lifted it to his lips for a kiss without a trace of disgust. He smiled: "No one can steal a dog with a collar."

Yin Pei's neck had been in Hua Zhenglong's grip for quite some time, and it was a wonder that he hadn't passed out already. Now that Hua Zhenglong's grip suddenly loosened, he finally had the opportunity to speak: "We're given a pill to eat every day, which imbues us with a certain scent. It's imperceptible to all except that little mouse in his hand. With it, you'll be tracked down even to the ends of the earth. Who asked you all to be so set on holding me hostage?"

The fact that Yin Pei had only decided to reveal this crucial information now just reaffirmed Zhou Fei's impression that he was truly detestable. Even the knowledge of his identity as the sole remaining descendant of the Sword of Mountains and Rivers was not enough to keep her from personally slaughtering this man.

The Azure Dragon Lord opened his palm. The large gray rat swiftly scurried up his arm and onto his shoulder, sitting primly atop it as its beady eyes darted around. The Azure Dragon Lord said: "Indeed. If you return my little dog to me now, I'll be kind enough to leave your corpses intact."

Zhou Fei was about to retort, but Xie Yun quickly raised a hand to silence her.

He took a small step forward, twirling a little fan that Zhou Fei didn't know he'd had. He looked positively regal, and nothing like he had when shrinking behind Zhou Fei and begging her to save him just now. Xie Yun drew something out from his sleeve and flung it into the air. With a swoosh, a flare shot up into the sky, sparks trailing behind it. Even in the daylight, it was dazzlingly bright.

The Azure Dragon Lord's face darkened, and he quickly looked about him. The mountain breeze whistled past him, rustling the surrounding trees, which seemed to conceal people lying in wait.

Xie Yun smirked at him: "Really? This is the first time in my life that my princely self has heard someone say that he deigns to leave my corpse intact. Tsk, even Cao Zhongkun refused to do so. It seems like the Azure Dragon Lord is much more magnanimous than him."

Zhou Fei looked over at Xie Yun in complete shock. In the blink of an eye, he had shapeshifted from an oily trickster into 'Prince Duan'. She could barely digest the swiftness of this transformation. Xie Yun then turned around, his back now to the Azure Dragon Lord. His enigmatic expression suddenly shifting yet again, he pulled a funny face at Zhou Fei.

Zhou Fei: "…"

Xie Yun strolled slowly over to Yin Pei. In front of Yin Pei and Hua Zhenglong's equally stunned faces, he lifted the young man's chin with his fan. Examining it closely, he then tapped Yin Pei lightly on the cheek and said: "I didn't quite believe it at first, but since the Azure Dragon Lord has brought out the big guns for you, I suppose that thing I've heard about is true?"

What thing?

None of them had the faintest clue what he was talking about. They could only strain to keep a mask of nonchalance on their faces, trying their darndest not to let the slightest trace of confusion on their faces give the game away.

His eyes fixed on Yin Pei's face, Xie Yun said slowly: "Hand over the Sword of Mountains and Rivers, and I will spare your life."