Chapter 42: Bidding Farewell Part 2

The stars shone brilliantly in the sky that night, and the moon was only slightly on the wane. Zhou Fei had teetered on the brink of death, and encountered by chance a person so enigmatic that even the legends about him were shrouded in mystery. But in Yongzhou City, however, it was nowhere near as tranquil as this meandering river.

When Chu Tianquan first appeared, Li Sheng had already sensed that something wasn't right. And now, with Huo Liantao's death, this bunch of 'heroes' had started to run around like headless chickens, mindlessly following the crowd. While Chu Tianquan was indeed dangerous, the young Prince Kang probably wasn't up to any good either. These two were liable to make all of the oblivious pugilists here their collateral damage.

Li Sheng silently cursed Zhou Fei for abandoning them here as he instructed Yang Jin to look out for Wu Chuchu and Li Yan. Then he said loudly: "Everyone, you know full well that the Big Dipper are a cunning lot! Everyone, listen to me – we need to proceed with caution, and save ourselves first!"

But apart from the small group of them who had followed him from the start, the rest of the mob had been fired up by notions of 'revenge' and 'justice', and charged at the Big Dipper without a second thought. Who would care to listen to an insignificant young lad's pleas to retreat? While Li Sheng shouted at them till his throat burned, this had absolutely no effect on the angry mob.

Rushing towards him with Li Yan and Wu Chuchu in tow, Yang Jin said: "These people are beyond saving – leave them!"

Clenching his jaw, Li Sheng said: "Come with me!"

Young Master Li had always been bright, and he seemed to have a natural talent for tactical formations, as he managed to apply the Qimen Sect's principles quite well after just several months of learning them from Chong Yunzi. Through careful observation of his surroundings, he managed to identify a weak spot in the ranks of black-clad men that were closing in on them, and swiftly guide the bunch of pugilists still with him to bash their way out of there. And just as they had successfully broken through these ranks of black-clad men, they heard shouts of battle and sounds of fighting coming from behind them. They looked behind just in time to see those masses of men charging down the slopes of the hill towards the manor.

Li Yan said in bewilderment: "What is this, back-up? Then what are we still running away for?"

The rest were equally puzzled, and stopped in their tracks to watch the fighting. Yang Jin furrowed his brow and said disapprovingly, as usual: "All you people from the central plains…"

Gazing at this scene from a distance, Li Sheng saw that those men who had charged down the slopes did so in several distinct and orderly contingents, and rushed towards the black-clad men with impeccable coordination. While this was all quite impressive, Li Sheng felt a vague sense of unease, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. Then all of a sudden, Wu Chuchu – who had finally managed to catch her breath with a great deal of difficulty – exclaimed: "No, we need to leave now! Those men are definitely from the military! I don't know which camp they're from, but I doubt they have good intentions!"

Li Yan asked curiously: "Weren't they sent by Prince Kang?"

While Wu Chuchu's face was quite pale from exertion, her words were clear and emphatic: "As a royal, Prince Kang wouldn't have revealed his presence unless absolutely necessary. If he really had so many men lying in wait to ambush Chu Tianquan, he wouldn't have appeared just now. I was hounded all the way from Zhongnan by Northern troops, so trust me, I know what soldiers look like when I see them!"

One glance at her was all Li Sheng needed to decide: "We're leaving now!"

There were about seventy to eighty people with them. These were mostly from the Xing Nan Escort Agency, but there were also some from a handful of other sects, as well as others from the Wayfarers' Union who had been watching the action from the periphery. All of them had been the earliest to escape, and after running for several kilometres, they suddenly heard a loud bang in the distance, and turned around to find that the manor was engulfed in flames.

Li Sheng's heart was beating madly – those unidentifiable soldiers had clearly intended to take all of them out.

Just then, Zhu Chen stepped forward and clutched Li Sheng's sleeve, panting heavily: "Wait a minute – where is Miss Zhou? Could she still be inside?"

While Li Sheng paled instantly, Yang Jin snorted and said: "What, her? She's exchanged blows with every single one of the Big Dipper that are still alive today. Even the Azure Dragon Lord met his end at her hands – you have a much higher chance of perishing than she does, alright. Don't you worry."

Li Yan said angrily: "Coalface Yang, how can you say that! You sure wouldn't feel that way if she was your cousin!"

While Li Sheng didn't say that out loud, he too was thinking to himself: Bet you'd feel differently if that were your cousin.

"You'd better leave first," said Li Sheng to Zhu Chen, before bowing slightly at Yang Jin and saying: "Brother Yang, I'll need you to help me take care of them for a bit, while I go back and take a look."

Yang Jin furrowed his brow as he said: "Zhou Fei said to meet outside the city. If you go back now, you might miss her, and even get trapped there."

Li Yan chimed in: "I also…"

"You stay right where you are! Don't cause trouble for anyone." Li Sheng wasn't half as polite when speaking to his sister, impatiently cutting her off before adding: "It'll be much easier for me to escape if I go alone. I can easily conceal myself amongst the rocks there. If I really can't find her, I'll come back again and meet you guys outside the city."

He made to head back towards the manor. When Zhu Chen saw this, something seemed to come over him, as he immediately followed after Li Sheng. The entire bunch of Xing Nan escorts exclaimed in horror: "Young Master!"

"Brother!" Zhu Ying grabbed her Emei daggers and went after him.

But no one was about to go anywhere –

A black-clad figure suddenly came leaping out at them through the trees, and grabbed Zhu Ying. Li Yan shrieked as Yang Jin thrust his Lone Goose Sabre forward. Its scabbard went hurtling towards that figure, who seemed incapable of dodging this lightning-quick blow in time. But just before the scabbard could slam into him, someone else emerged from the foliage, firmly catching that scabbard with a chuckle.

Yang Jin reared back in shock – it was Ding Kui!

The man who seized Zhu Ying was one of those very same Black Turtle Sect disciples who had harassed her in the inn that day. After having one of his arms severed by Zhou Fei, he'd gone running back to Ding Kui and managed to survive. And now, just as he'd escaped the chaotic manor together with the Black Turtle Lord, he'd stumbled upon these soft targets from the Xing Nan Escort Agency, and instantly been tempted to stir up some trouble.

Having been set-up by Chu Tianquan, seeing the Seal of Propriety slip right through his fingers, losing a good number of his men and forced to flee, Ding Kui was in a real mood right now. That one-armed disciple eagerly presented Zhu Ying to him in an attempt to lift his spirits, saying: "My Lord, we won't be going back completely empty-handed this time. This girl has been a real bane for us – many of our comrades died because of her."

As Zhu Ying was a pretty young girl, Ding Kui knew exactly what his disciple meant by this. Giving her an appraising glance and deciding that she would do, a lascivious smile broke across his face. Zhu Chen instantly saw red. Unsheathing his sword, he thrust it at that one-armed man: "I dare you to lay one finger on my sister!"

And before Li Sheng could stop them, the Xing Nan escorts charged ahead with Zhu Chen.

Li Sheng: "…"

Darn it all, there was just crisis after crisis today– it looked like he wouldn't be able to leave anymore!

"Stop!" bellowed Li Sheng.

He signalled to those who were still behind him, prompting some of the smarter ones in the Wayfarers' Union to take up their positions around him – Li Sheng had taught them this formation back in the manor, but unfortunately not a single one of the pugilists here from those once-eminent sects seemed to have remembered any of it. Instead, the gutter rats from the Wayfarers' Union, who eked out a living on the streets, turned out to be far savvier. A little guidance was all they needed to figure out this formation on their own.

These once-eminent sects had clearly declined for good reason.

"I've seen people who are willing to go to extreme lengths for the sake of fame and fortune, but never have I seen anyone so eager to stir up trouble just for the sake of it." As Li Sheng said this, he slowly inched over towards Yang Jin, placing the two of them on each side of Ding Kui in preparation to attack. "Black Turtle Lord, wicked deeds will only lead to your destruction – do you really want to make yourself the enemy of the entire martial arts community?"

Ding Kui laughed heartily and said: "Wow, the enemy of the entire martial arts community, eh? As far as I can tell, there's only you here right now! My dear boy, which clan do you even come from – you think you're such a big shot, hm? Are you thinking of succeeding Huo Liantao as the leader of the martial arts community so soon after his death?"

Li Sheng didn't bother retorting. Casting his eyes around, he saw that apart from the Xing Nan folks who were truly anxious to move in on Ding Kui, none of the rest had stepped forward. Everyone else seemed like they were preparing to flee any moment now.

It was said that 'The common folk held true to justice and loyalty, while it was the educated who turned their backs on righteousness'.[6] But this was utter hogwash, however, as ultimately both humble folk and lofty intellectuals were at their core one and the same – those who were educated were at most a little more elegant in the ways they abandoned their fellow man. To these 'common folk' of the martial arts world, notions of 'justice' and 'righteousness' were to them what noble sayings were to the educated – a shiny plaque that looked good but meant nothing when they encountered real danger.

Li Sheng furrowed his brow. While the Xing Nan Escort Agency folks looked intimidating, and could generally get by in the martial arts world, they would be completely disgraced once they were up against any real experts. As for him and Yang Jin, both of them would have to attack Ding Kui to free Zhu Ying, as they were no match for the fellow on their own. But then who would protect Li Yan and Miss Wu from Ding Kui's men?

The safety of one's own sister was ultimately more important than the safety of another's.

Discerning Li Sheng's dilemma, Ding Kui broke into a gap-toothed smile. With a wave of his hand, he said to his men: "What are you still waiting for!"

Before Li Sheng could come to a decision, the Black Turtle Sect disciples had already gone on the attack. Several of them rushed at the Xing Nan folks – one slammed his fist into Zhu Chen, who was sent flying. The poor lad, frail by nature, could hardly withstand such a blow. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, completely incapable of getting up. One of his legs lay immobile before him.

Seeing this, Ding Kui cackled: "My my, this little wimp sure is a weakling."

Then grabbing Zhu Ying just below the chin, he dragged her by the neck closer to him, like he might a dog. Pointing at Zhu Chen, he said: "Why would you want a loser like this as your brother? If I were you, I'd have killed him off long ago, and made myself the boss instead. This way I wouldn't have to split my inheritance with good-for-nothings."

Zhu Ying was intensely proud, and already couldn't bear the fact that she'd brought harm to her brother because she'd been too weak to evade capture. Hearing this bastard's insults, she was so angry that she started to shake. In a fit of rage, she somehow managed to muster up the courage and strength to break free of Ding Kui's grasp, and lunged at him in a headbutt. Ding Kui snorted derisively. Not even bothering to dodge, he lazily prodded the girl somewhere below the ribs. Zhu Ying felt one side of her body go completely numb, and promptly toppled forward. The barely five-foot tall Ding Kui grabbed her by the waistband and hauled her up. Pulling her towards him and examining her face up close, he smiled: "So we've got a feisty one, eh? Very goo…"

But before he could finish saying 'good', Zhu Ying spit right in his face.

Ding Kui wasn't going to let her spittle meet its mark of course, and immediately averted his head. But when he turned his head back to face her, the smile on it had disappeared. His sagging cheeks hung solemnly down both sides of his face, giving him a deathly grim look. Then he said flatly: "This one's no good, get me another."

And then before the rest could understand what he'd meant, Ding Kui flung Zhu Ying like a ragdoll against a massive rock to the side.

Zhu Chen's cramped leg was still lying motionless on the ground, and he looked petrified.

This finally shook Li Sheng out of his indecision. He thrust his sword towards Ding Kui's back, at the exact same time that Yang Jin swung his blade down onto Ding Kui's arm while sliding in between Zhu Ying and the massive rock. Zhu Ying slammed headfirst into Yang Jin's chest, collapsing to the ground as her legs buckled limply under her. She started dry retching while tears continued to stream down her face. Although Yang Jin had saved her life, he didn't bother to help her up, as the bloke's attention was fully focused on Ding Kui. Immediately after knocking Zhu Ying aside to safety, he yelled: "Allow me!"

The Thirteen-Stroke Lone Goose Sabre came thundering down on Ding Kui from above.

With a howl, Ding Kuy unfastened a metal chain from his waist and whipped it round Yang Jin's Lone-Goose Sabre as quickly as the flick of a snake's tongue, holding it up in mid-air. Simultaneously turning around to block Li Sheng's sword, he shouted: "Don't let anyone escape!"

Once the words left Ding Kui's lips, the rest of his men who were still standing around immediately charged at them. Other than a couple of them from the Wayfarers' Union who had a little more of a backbone, most of the others had already started to shake in their boots once they ran into the Mountain of the Living Dead. This bunch of men who had been going on about 'killing the wicked and upholding justice' not too long ago now ran for the hills!

They were all basically strangers to each other, with no sense of kinship or loyalty to keep them together. Who would still stay behind to fight when the rest had fled? Once the first person ran, everyone else followed.

Li Yan had had practically no opportunities to fight her whole life, apart from the siege of the 48 Zhai. Forced to wield her weapon now, she gripped the hilt of her sabre tightly with one hand, while holding Wu Chuchu's hand with the other. She'd always followed whatever Zhou Fei did, and had naturally chosen to wield a narrow-backed sabre as well. Her very first blow was actually quite intimidating – well worthy of a disciple from an eminent sect. She swung her sabre imposingly down on one of the Black Turtle Sect disciples, forcing him back, and then pulled Wu Chuchu to the side before sweeping her sabre out in a menacing arc in front of her, which kept the rest of them from getting any closer.

Wu Chuchu had never seen Li Yan fight before, and hadn't expected her to be this good. Feeling like Zhou Fei's frequent ridicule of her was quite undeserved, she exclaimed in admiration: "Wow, you're really good at martial arts!"

While Li Yan was a slight and delicate-looking girl, she could appear extremely intimidating when she brandished her sabre like this. Remaining in this stance, she whispered to Wu Chuchu out of the corner of her mouth: "I only know three moves in total, and I've just used two of them."

Wu Chuchu: "…"

Li Yan said regretfully: "I've always been able to memorise just the first three lines of the few books I've read…but let's not go into that – what do we do now?"

As smart as Wu Chuchu was, she had no idea how the two of them alone could escape this bunch of scoundrels. Most of those pugilists with them had already fled, while even more Black Turtle Sect disciples now approached them warily, drawn by Li Yan's two 'stunning' blows.

"I'm afraid that yelling for help isn't going to work," Li Yan whispered nervously to Wu Chuchu, clutching her sabre so tightly her knuckles were white: "What about killing them with kindness?"

Wu Chuchu reached a hand into her pockets suddenly and shouted: "Hold your breath!"

Then pulling out a cloth pouch, she daintily flung a handful of white powder from it like a flower girl scattering her petals.

Those Black Turtle Sect disciples held their breath with alarm and backed away from them. Some who were too slow found themselves blanketed with that white powder, and frantically tried to brush it off. Wu Chuchu grabbed Li Yan by the hand and said: "Run!"

Li Yan would never have imagined that this proper young noblewoman was capable of doing something like this. Looking at her with admiring eyes, she asked: "Sister, what kind of poison was that?"

Wu Chuchu said: "Poison? It's just face powder."

The Black Turtle Sect disciples very quickly realised that they'd been had and came rushing back, catching up to them in short order. Once again, Wu Chuchu said: "Hold your breath."

Li Yan smiled ruefully: "Ha ha ha…nice try."

Wu Chuchu said urgently: "This time it's for real!"

As she said this, she pulled out yet another cloth pouch from her pocket. Li Yan instantly held her breath, as unlike the first one, this pouch was a plain, grey-looking thing with a simple leather drawstring. While the workmanship and stitching was exquisite, there was not a single colourful thread on it, much less any embroidery – she knew at a glance that this was Zhou Fei's, as it was of the sturdy and functional style that her cousin preferred.

Wu Chuchu abruptly turned right, putting the two of them downwind. Then she tugged open the drawstring and flung its contents behind her.

Those Black Turtle Sect disciples thought that she was using the same trick twice, and certainly weren't going to fall for it again. But a strange scent was swiftly carried along the wind to waft right up their nostrils – it was the extremely potent knock-out drug that the Wayfarers' Union used for kidnappings. The Black Turtle Sect disciples who were right in front immediately went limp, and collapsed to the ground.

Li Yan was well and truly in awe of Wu Chuchu now: "I didn't know you could do that! I knew that there wasn't any use in learning martial arts!"

Amazed that this was the conclusion the girl had drawn, Wu Chuchu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But just when the two of them had finally managed to shake off those black-clad men, they barely had a chance to catch their breath before a flock of wild birds suddenly shot into the sky from the thicket of trees ahead of them, squawking madly. Li Yan gave a violent start and halted in her tracks. A faint rustling was heard. Shortly after, a bunch of men wearing iron masks walked slowly out from amongst the trees.

The one in front was a tall young man dressed all in green. He seemed to be strolling towards them at an almost leisurely pace, his hands behind his back. Yet he was already right before them in a matter of seconds. Unsure if this was friend or foe, Li Yan brandished her sabre and stepped in front of Wu Chuchu.

That young man didn't even look at the weapon in her hand, simply asking: "Is Ding Kui here?"

While even snakes didn't faze Li Yan at all, a violent shiver went down her spine when she looked into the eyes behind that mask. She obediently pointed behind her and said: "He's over there."

The masked man nodded at her, without a word of thanks. Then he glanced at Wu Chuchu, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards into a spine-chilling smirk, before gliding past them like a ghost.

The mask he wore only covered the area around his eyes and nose, leaving his lips and the rest of his face exposed. If one knew him from before, a closer look at his face might allow one to identify him. When this man came towards them, Wu Chuchu had already found him somewhat familiar, and when he smiled at her like that, she shivered in fright, the words 'Young Master Yin' nearly bursting from her lips.

This masked young man was in fact Yin Pei, whom they had last seen in Hengyang!

Hadn't they all said that he was born weak, and would never be able to master martial arts? How had he become a top pugilist overnight?

Shocked as she was, Wu Chuchu still remembered that Yin Pei had absolutely hated being referred to by his family name, so she quickly bit down hard on her tongue, swallowing those words just in time. Seeming quite pleased with her discretion, Yin Pei didn't stay and harass them. He continued on past the two girls, and was already several metres away in mere seconds!

***

Li Sheng was beyond anxious now that Wu Chuchu and Li Yan seemed to have disappeared. He started to slash his weapons at Ding Kui wildly with almost no regard for his own life, meeting Ding Kui's blows head-on and incurring injuries each time he did so.

But just then, he heard a voice behind him say: "Move aside."

Gritting his teeth as his chest throbbed painfully, Li Sheng instinctively moved aside, narrowly avoiding Ding Kui's fist. A green figure swept past him, and a person who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere reached out to block Ding Kui's hand. In the blink of an eye, he had already exchanged several blows with Ding Kui. An overwhelming surge of chi came pulsating out every time their hands collided, causing everyone else to feel their own chi roil agonizingly within them.

Yang Jin withdrew the Lone Goose Sabre, clutching a hand to his chest as he looked at Li Sheng uncertainly.

Ding Kui seemed to have recognised this green-robed man from his martial arts, and shouted: "Feng Feihua, you scoundrel, how dare you come and find me!"

He stomped his foot hard on the ground, which instantly sported a web of cracks, and pushed his palms out in front of him towards that green-robed man. But the man simply backed away and smiled: "You're sadly mistaken, Black Turtle Lord. I'm afraid you won't be seeing the White Tiger Lord Feng Feihua ever again."

This was a young man's voice. Taken aback, Ding Kui took a closer look at him and realised from the man's profile and stature that he could not be Feng Feihua. He asked perplexedly: "Then who are you? How did you learn that old fellow's techniques?"

This green-robed man was of course Yin Pei, who Wu Chuchu had recognised. Yin Pei laughed and said: "There's no need for you to know my name. I'm just someone who found it such a shame that the four sects of the Mountain of the Living Dead have been riven by internal strife all these years, and thought that I might as well be the one to unite them all. In future, you can simply refer to me as your Lord."

The Mountain of the Living Dead was hated and despised by the entire martial arts community for their wanton pillaging and raping, which was why the mob at the manor had been so angry. This was probably the first time anyone was expressing an interest in seizing command of that nest of fiends. Feeling sure that he must have heard wrongly, Ding Kui asked in disbelief: "What did you just say?"

Yin Pei's thin lips curved into the faintest of smiles. The very next instant, one of the Black Turtle Sect disciples lunged at him from behind. Yin Pei didn't even look over his shoulder as he reached behind him to grab the man's sword with his bare hands, dragging that man in front of him and gripping his wrist. This Black Turtle Sect disciple felt as if a python had been coiled round his entire body, as an immobilizing chill started spreading inch by inch across his skin. And then all he could do was watch as his hand started to turn black and shrivel up, his arm and then his entire body following suit.

That Black Turtle Sect disciple let out a tortured, almost inhuman cry, and shrivelled up into a human raisin in a matter of seconds!

The exposed half of Yin Pei's face glowed a faint red. Before Ding Kui's stunned gaze, he wiped his hands on a handkerchief and said: "Black Turtle Lord, are you really so slow? Do you still think that it was the White Tiger Lord who tricked you into coming to Yongzhou? Tsk…"

Ding Kui reared back in shock. Looking down at that gruesome corpse, and recalling how this masked man had executed Feng Feihua's techniques, his skin started to crawl. Yang Jin and the others around him were equally stunned. Li Sheng reached out and tugged hard on Yang Jin's arm, saying lowly: "This person seems ill-intentioned – or at the very least he isn't a friend. We'd better seize the chance to run while they're busy fighting with each other!"

The few remaining pugilists here quickly re-grouped. Helping the injured to their feet, they took off together with Li Sheng while those two fiends were in the thick of battle. Yin Pei didn't attempt to stop them, although his gaze rested briefly on Zhu Chen. Like a frog being eyed by a venomous cobra, Zhu Chen felt the back of his neck prickle as he broke out in a cold sweat. He barely had time to tearfully embrace Zhu Ying before he was helped up by the Xing Nan escorts and carried away as fast as possible.

Thus far, Li Sheng had witnessed Mu Xiaoqiao ripping out a man's entrails with his bare hands, and Chu Tianquan's transformation into a completely different person…he'd thought that he had seen more than his fair share of strange and hair-raising sights by now. However, none of those monsters he'd encountered had made his hairs stand on end the way this masked man had.

Even Yang Jin, who was always down for a fight, picked up his Lone Goose Sabre without a word and tore madly away alongside them. They managed to catch up with Wu Chuchu and Li Yan quite quickly, and with a whole bunch of the weak and injured in tow, immediately made for the outskirts of the city where they had arranged to meet Zhou Fei. It took them a whole day and night to get there.

Yongzhou City had become a boiling cauldron filled to the brim with poisonous water – if you weren't careful, you could get splattered by it and perish before even knowing what hit you. Even after they had managed to escape from this cursed place, and finally found a little inn to rest their weary feet, Zhu Ying was still shaking.

"Don't worry, we can stay here for the night," said Yang Jin after speaking to the innkeeper here. Throwing the Five Bat Token back at Li Yan, he said: "This inn comes under the Wayfarers' Union."

Li Sheng surveyed their surroundings. This inn was very small, with the innkeeper also doubling up as the chef. The door to the kitchen was left ajar, and Li Sheng could see the innkeeper wielding a large chopper as he diced up some meat, its blade gleaming menacingly. The innkeeper seemed to have sensed Li Sheng's eyes on him, and raised his head to shoot him a toothy grin.

Li Sheng quickly put on the genial, gentlemanly demeanour that he adopted with strangers, giving the innkeeper a polite bow to express his thanks. But when he turned back around, he let out his breath in a long whoosh, cold sweat continuing to trickle down his back – in the past, he'd often heard others describe the martial arts world as 'dangerous', yet 'exhilarating'. He'd always overlooked the parts about its dangers, remembering only its thrilling tales, and wished very much to be a part of it.

Only when he had personally gone out to see it for himself did he truly realise its dangers. Those brutal pugilists back at the manor were certainly terrifying enough, but even in this tiny little out-of-the-way inn, if they didn't have Yang Jin and Li Yan's Five Bat Token, the meat being served here tonight might very well have been theirs instead.

He realised that life-threatening danger was the norm, while any thrills lasted but for a brief moment. And that any exhilarating triumphs you had would inevitably make someone else deeply unhappy.

The obtuse Li Yan didn't notice the dour look on her brother's face. Casting her eyes round their circle of travel-weary companions, she reached a hand towards him and yanked at his sleeve, while saying furtively: "Hey, brother, don't you think…"

Li Sheng was already feeling quite morose, and the sight of his heedless sister only made him more irate. He swiftly grabbed Li Yan's hand and whacked the centre of her palm hard with his chopsticks. Grievously shocked, Li Yan only managed to keep herself from yelping in pain with great difficulty. Her palm sported two red welts, which hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes.

Slamming his chopsticks back down on the table, Li Sheng said coldly to her: "You don't deserve to cry! Hasn't aunt always warned you that 'if you don't train hard, you'll regret it when you venture outside'? Haven't I told you this before too? You might have been lucky enough to escape today, but are you really planning to rely on such luck for the rest of your life?"

Li Yan sat there pouting in silence. While she was frequently wilful in small matters, she didn't quite dare to defy her brother on major things, especially now that they were far from home and she had no one here to defend her. She didn't even dare to wail openly, sniffling into her snotty sleeve instead.

Yang Jin had never encountered such a creature who seemed capable of crying at the drop of a hat. He looked at her somewhat spooked, and hugged his goose-wing sabre to his chest while inching his chair away from her, warily eyeing Li Yan as if crying girls could bite.

The whole way here, Li Sheng had been so shaken that he could still see Ding Kui bearing down on him every time he closed his eyes. Seeing that both Li Yan and Yang Jin appeared to have cast that harrowing experience to the backs of their minds already, he felt even more annoyed, and glared at Li Yan so fiercely that she didn't even dare to sniffle. Her face went red with the exertion of holding in her tears, and she tried to breathe as little as possible, fearing that the sound of it might rile her brother.

Yang Jin shifted his chair further away from Li Yan, nervously thinking to himself: This girl's about to explode.

Feeling quite bad for Li Yan, Wu Chuchu said meekly: "It's all my fault, I couldn't help to fight…"

Li Sheng waved his hand amiably. He seemed to wear two masks that he could switch between at will – while he was perpetually frowning at Li Yan, he was genial and gentlemanly as could be with almost everyone else.

"It's no fault of yours at all, Miss Wu," said Li Sheng. "It's my good-for-nothing sister who has been a real disgrace."

Li Yan couldn't hold in her breath any more, and took several frantic gasps of air, nearly choking on her sobs. Wu Chuchu grasped her hand under the table and squeezed it comfortingly, deliberately changing the topic: "I've seen that masked man before."

To distract him from further reprimanding Li Yan, Wu Chuchu went on at length about the complicated history between Yin Pei, Ji Yunchen and Zheng Luosheng, before saying with a good deal of puzzlement: "I don't really know how martial arts works – but the last time I encountered Young Master Yin, he didn't appear to be quite so powerful. However, something about him seemed a little off when I saw him again today."

Wu Chuchu's intriguing story had its intended effect: the angry brother forgot to chide his sister; while his aggrieved sister finally had a chance to wipe away her tears.

"The descendant of the Sword of Mountains and Rivers?" A keen look crossed Yang Jin's face at first, before he swiftly recalled the gruesome fate of that Black Turtle Sect disciple and furrowed his brow: "But how did he end up like that? All you people from the central plains…"

"All of us from the central plains would never pursue such evil unorthodox methods!" Li Yan cut him off with a still-nasal voice.

"You shouldn't be so harsh," said Li Sheng thoughtfully. "In the world of martial arts, there are plenty of people who have somehow managed to acquire decades of cultivation in a single day, and no shortage of top pugilists who attained their skills through unorthodox methods. It's just that everything always comes at a cost. While this man might seem to have had a meteoric rise, he must have paid an extremely heavy price for it. So for people like us, we instead choose to invest copious amounts of time and effort in honing our skills simply because this is a safer and more stable way. There's no need for you to criticise him for the path he's chosen…but how exactly did he suck that man dry? That's what I'd like to know."

Wu Chuchu and Li Yan hadn't witnessed that happening, and Li Sheng had been quite far away. Only Yang Jin hesitated a little before saying: "I kind of managed to see what happened."

Six pairs of eyes were instantly glued to him.

As Yang Jin usually didn't care much for proprieties, his sleeves were always casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing his forearms. When he said this, a visible layer of goosebumps appeared on his arms.

"I'm not entirely sure, but from what I could make out…" Yang Jin paused before continuing: "Before that man became a dried-up corpse, there seemed to be something moving in his body, a live creature wriggling around beneath his skin. I'm not sure what it is, but when it reached his face, I managed to catch a glimpse of it."

To make himself perfectly clear, he dipped a finger in water and traced out a little oval-shaped lump on the table: "It was about this big, and shaped like this."

Yang Jin's goosebumps had now spread to the rest of them.

After a good long while, Wu Chuchu finally broke the horrified silence. Pulling her robes tighter around her, she said nervously: "I think I'm feeling a bit chilly."

Li Yan said: "Me too…wait a minute, who opened the door?"

Li Sheng reached a hand towards the twin swords at his waist.

The old wooden door of this inn swung wide open with an ominous creak, letting in the wind that rushed through the dining hall and exited through the open kitchen door at its rear. This dining hall, which had been filled with the sounds of muted chatter, instantly fell silent, making the soft clink that followed incredibly striking – it was the sound of a little bead hitting an iron mask.

Li Sheng felt his heart skip a beat, as he thought to himself: Speak of the devil and he shall appear – that old adage was absolutely right.

Yin Pei had appeared at the doorway like one's worst nightmare. He slowly pushed the door's bead curtain aside, entering the inn with his hands clasped behind his back. Casting his gaze around him, he said in an exaggeratedly grandiose manner: "My, my, what a small world."

The exposed part of Yin Pei's face was even redder than it'd been just now, as though a layer of cheap rouge had been smeared all over it. His cheeks and lips were a highly unnatural shade of red, while his neck and hands were deathly pale, with a greenish tinge. He looked very much like a person who already had one foot in the grave.

Somebody accidentally knocked over a cup, the commotion made more conspicuous by the silence. Yin Pei turned to look at Wu Chuchu. Yang Jin slowly edged the Lone Goose Sabre out of its scabbard.

Addressing Wu Chuchu, Yin Pei asked: "Where's that girl you used to be with?"

In a tightened voice, Wu Chuchu said tensely: "We…we split up."

"Oh," said Yin Pei with a nod and a smile. "Pity."

Wu Chuchu felt her palms start to sweat even more – what was a pity?

While Zhou Fei and Yin Pei bore no hatred towards each other, Zhou Fei had never treated him courteously. This fellow was evidently a little unhinged – might he be trying to exact revenge for all the humiliation he had suffered back then?

Seeing that Wu Chuchu was as stiff as a statue, Yin Pei chortled with delight: "Afraid of me, are you?"

Wu Chuchu froze up even more, not knowing if she should nod or shake her head, terrified that she might give the wrong response. Li Yan on the other hand thoughtlessly opened her mouth to speak, but was swiftly silenced by a desperate squeeze from Wu Chuchu under the table. Clearly pleased by their visible fear, Yin Pei laughed and let them off, turning to the Xing Nan escorts instead. Pointing at Zhu Chen, he said: "You, come with me."

The Xing Nan Escort Agency really seemed to be jinxed – they looked completely stunned by this out-of-the-blue misfortune. Zhu Chen instantly paled. Forcing himself to stand atop wobbly legs, he said in the calmest voice he could muster: "Senior…to what do I owe this honour?"

"Senior?" Yin Pei broke in out shrill laughter. "Senior – ha ha ha!"

Zhu Ying shivered, and subconsciously gripped her brother's sleeve.

"You are a weakling by birth," said Yin Pei. "Destined to be a worthless loser incapable of wielding a sword or hurling a spear. What's the point of being an escort? You'll never amount to anything. However, I'm in need of a few good dogs at the moment – if you serve me, I'll teach you a move or two to protect yourself, such that in the future I'll be the only person you need to grovel to. You'll be otherwise free to boss others around wherever you go. What say you?"

Zhu Chen's face was getting paler with each sentence of Yin Pei's, and at the end of it he actually started to shake, out of anger, fear or perhaps a mixture of both.

Evidently used to standing up for her mild-mannered brother, Zhu Ying sprang to her feet and shouted: "My brother is the young master of the Xing Nan Escort Agency! Show him some respect!"

Yin Pei threw back his head and laughed, as though this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard: "Whoa, the Xing Nan Escort Agency? And my, its young…young master? Ha ha ha ha! How terrifying – I'm frightened half to death."

Then he was already standing before the Zhu siblings in a flash, and grabbed Zhu Chen by the collar. As frail as Zhu Chen was, he was still a youth of nearly twenty, and almost the size of a grown man. Yet Yin Pei lifted him up as easily as he might a piece of paper.

A ghastly looking bug about the length of a person's thumb crawled across Yin Pei's deathly pale wrist, all the way to the tip of his finger. Its feelers brushed against the skin of Zhu Chen's throat, as if it were about to burrow into him the very next second!

Zhu Ying had the great privilege of looking at that bug up close, and screamed in horror.

In as loud a voice as she could muster, Wu Chuchu said: "Sir, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you' – we're all incredibly grateful to you for helping us fend off those wicked men from the Mountain of the Living Dead. But how is what you're doing today any different from what Zheng Luosheng used to do?"

At this, Yin Pei turned to look at her with a brow arched so high it could be seen from above his mask.

"You're absolutely right," he said coolly. "You've hit the nail on the head – I learnt this from Zheng Luosheng indeed. And what's so bad about Zheng Luosheng? His only fault was not being powerful enough. But don't you worry, I've made sure to learn from his mistakes."

Wu Chuchu was speechless.

His eyes brightening, Yin Pei smiled: "Or perhaps you'd like to join me instead? That's not impossible – while you're quite useless, at least you're somewhat bright."

Still holding Zhu Chen by the collar, he turned around and swept towards Wu Chuchu amidst the crowd's startled cries. The rings on Yang Jin's Lone Goose Sabre started to clang, as its blade swung down lightning-quick onto that ghastly bug on Yin Pei's hand.

Yin Pei scoffed: "Fool."

Staying right where he was, he reached out and grabbed the blunt side of the hefty goose-wing sabre, as yet another hideous bug peeked out from under his long sleeve!

Just then, a blade came slicing through the air, sweeping in between Yin Pei and Yang Jin like the rushing wind, and pinning that bug to the ground.

Yin Pei roared in fury: "Who are you!"

Li Yan on the other hand was ecstatic: "Fei!"

Zhou Fei looked tired and travel-worn, and had obviously rushed to get here. Flinging the dead bug off her sabre, she briefly looked Yin Pei over with furrowed brow: "So it's you again?"

Yin Pei abruptly let go, causing Zhu Chen to stumble backwards before plopping to the ground with a thud. Those frighteningly blood-red lips of his broke into a grin: "It's me, alright. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Li Sheng knew that this was no time for him to ask her where she'd been all this while. Instead he approached her and whispered in her ear: "Be careful, Fei. This man is as powerful as Ding Kui, if not more so, and he has some kind of bug on him that devours human flesh and blood…"

"I know. It's the Nirvana Parasite," finished Zhou Fei.

Li Sheng: "…"

He would never have expected this aloofly uncurious cousin of his to be this knowledgeable.

"When I went back to find you, I saw corpses strewn all over the ground," said Zhou Fei. "A senior I was travelling with told me about it – how could you breed such a terrible thing in your own body? Yin Pei, have you really gone freaking mad?"

To avoid angering Yin Pei, Wu Chuchu had not even dared to mention his last name just now, referring to him only as 'Sir'. Zhou Fei however had disregarded this sore spot of his completely, calling him by his full name in front of everyone here. Yin Pei instantly flew into a rage, and the ropy veins in his neck bulged angrily. With a roar, he raised his hand to strike Zhou Fei.

Perhaps Zhou Fei was fearless due to ignorance – as she calmly raised her sabre to meet this blow.

Yang Jin furrowed his brow at first, before astonishment swiftly appeared on his face – because in the span of a mere two days and one night, Zhou Fei's technique had changed yet again!

Zhou Fei had originally made 'Inconstant' the hallmark of her Snow-Breaking Sabre, as she excelled at picking up a variety of techniques and drawing on their strengths to improve her own skills, such that she'd incorporated quite a number of other sects' techniques into her moves. This meant that her sabre was overwhelmingly vicious at times, and singularly changeable at others, making it very difficult for her opponents to discern the exact technique she was using. But now, she seemed to have undergone a massive transformation, as the worn Miao sabre in her hand appeared to have metamorphosed into something else entirely. There was now a new element to it, something which was impossible to put one's finger on unless one was a true expert in the blade.

The real essence of 'Inconstant' was that one had truly learned to accept the vagaries of life – illness and aging and death, how great joy was often followed by sorrow, how sometimes deliverance came even in the darkest of times, and how people never stayed the same.

Life was as vast as the ocean, while mortals were but drifting leaves swept along on its currents.

Of all the nine moves of the Snow-Breaking Sabre, 'Inconstant' was always supposed to be imbued with such pathos.

Yin Pei had a terrifying amount of internal strength, such that while he didn't seem to have moved at all, the chi that was pouring out from him caused the empty tables and chairs here to rattle noisily, as if this entire inn was about to collapse. At the same time, numerous bugs started to peek their heads out from under his collar and sleeves. If you got too close to him, any one of these bugs could very well land on you. One glance at them was enough to make a person's blood run cold.

But Zhou Fei didn't seem fazed at all.

Perhaps this was because she'd seen Yin Pei in his most wretched state before, or perhaps it was because she'd only just experienced the most terrifying, helpless moment of her life, such that even if the sky were to fall down on her, and the earth open up to swallow her whole, she wouldn't even bat an eyelid.

Zhou Fei had never learnt any such unorthodox techniques to rapidly boost her powers, nor had anyone transferred their entire life's worth of chi to her – to cultivate internal strength, she'd had to proceed slowly and steadily, and even though she'd been given a current of Withered-Glory chi, this still required a long and tedious process of learning how to control it properly. She was crystal clear about her strengths and weaknesses, which was why whenever she encountered any opponents more powerful than her, she'd always relied on her wits and a little bit of luck to fend them off, and rarely ever engaged with them directly.

But this time, when she brandished her sabre at Yin Pei, Zhou Fei was suddenly hit by an almost ineffable revelation – this was an indescribable feeling, borne of numerous early mornings and late nights, a sudden epiphany that had come after repeated contemplation and constant frustration, despite the tedious monotony of it all.

The Snow-Breaking Sabre did not comprise a technique to cultivate practitioners' internal strength. So if the one wielding it had accumulated deep reserves of internal strength like Li Jinrong, that pugilist would be devastatingly fierce; while if he had Yang Jin's solid fundamentals, his sabre would instead be incredibly swift and strong. And even in the hands of pugilists like Zhou Fei, whose relatively paltry internal strength was akin to a half-empty bottle that one had to swish around vigorously for it to appear full, the Snow-Breaking Sabre would take on its own unique style.

It was simply a set of moves.

The blade was only half an inch wide, its edge but a narrow line – yet it was more than enough to inspire awe across the entire southern half of the martial arts community.

The Snow-Breaking Sabre included moves like 'Bladeless', 'Unrivalled' and 'Inconstant', yet it didn't have one named 'Fearless', because that went without saying.

It was one of the most powerful weapons in the world –

Whether she was up against mortals of flesh and blood, or impenetrable walls of rock and steel, she would always have her sabre in her hand, and its sharp blade in front of her.

The chi swirling around Yin Pei was akin to a powerful whirlpool, keeping him safely protected at its very centre. Anything that touched it was liable to experience a violent backlash. Yet Zhou Fei's blade sliced leisurely through this maelstrom like an oar, and actually seemed to push that surging chi along like water. Deftly avoiding the chi flowing from Yin Pei's palms, her half-ancient Miao sabre went straight for his throat.

Yin Pei was so astonished that he didn't even dare to parry: his martial arts hadn't been acquired through his own painstaking practice after all, and in a crisis, one often acted according to instinct – and Yin Pei's true instinct had always been to withdraw. But when he took that single backward step, the fearsome image which he'd projected instantly shattered.

Yin Pei was fuming mad. Quickly recovering, he pulled out a long metal chain from within his robes.

Yang Jin recognised that chain on sight, as it was the exact same one that Ding Kui had used – making clear the likely fate of the Black Turtle Lord. Before everyone here could fully grasp this horrifying fact, that long metal chain had already come flying out at Zhou Fei, crawling with several large bugs that scurried along it towards her. One of these accidentally fell off the chain, and promptly crawled up the nearby foot of a poor unfortunate soul. This unlucky fellow froze up for a second, as if he were being strangled, before his face swiftly turned green, then a dark purple; then he seemed to have reached his limits, and burst out howling like a pig being slaughtered. He frantically tried to brush the worm off with his hand, and as he did so that ghastly bug conveniently burrowed into his palm, travelling under his skin and up his arm, and then throughout his entire body. Within a matter of seconds, he had been sucked bone-dry.

This seemed to have given Yin Pei a sudden burst of energy, and that chain in his hand hummed with renewed vigour. He sneered: "What a pathetic fool – his chi is barely worth the effort of consumption, yet wasting it would be a shame."

Even with this chain hurtling towards her, Zhou Fei remained where she was. Holding her sabre in one hand and its scabbard in the other, she twirled them about like a pair of nunchucks. Her scabbard collided with Yin Pei's metal chain, which coiled round it like a demon's tongue. Two of those ghastly bugs flew off the chain and into the air, honing in on Zhou Fei from her right and left. She let go of her scabbard and darted back to avoid them, the back of her waist slamming into a table behind.

Yin Pei said shrilly: "There's nowhere you can run!"

Calmly transferring her sabre to her other hand, Zhou Fei bent over backwards to lie flat on the table and rolled off its surface, leaving it completely intact. The Miao sabre in her hand quickened till it was a blur, a hurricane of motion, slashing through the air like an oppressive net closing in on those two bugs. And then a loud plop was heard, as something dropped into the cups of water on the wooden table. Two bug corpses, each neatly sliced into three pieces, slowly floated to the surface.

The clear liquid immediately turned a poisonous greenish-purple.

The very last bug landed on the tip of Zhou Fei's blade. Its wings were trembling as it stayed on the spot, not daring to go any further forward. This critter seemed to have gained a mind of its own somehow, and with a little shiver, suddenly flew off her sabre to land on the floor. Scurrying lightning-quick across the ground amidst the crowd's panicked cries, it swiftly retreated back up Yin Pei's pant leg.

Yin Pei was absolutely stunned.

"It's said that the Nirvana Parasite can sense its master's emotions," said Zhou Fei with a glance at Yin Pei. Slowly reaching behind her for a flask of wine on the table, she opened it and used the alcohol to wash away the traces of bug blood on her blade before continuing: "Young Master Yin, you single-handedly killed the two fearsome fiends of the Mountain of the Living Dead, which is impressive enough for a plaque to be erected in your honour. You should by right be far more powerful than I – so why is it that you're actually afraid of me?"

That unnatural shade of red on Yin Pei's face grew even more intense, and he looked like he was about to burst. He roared: "Bullshit!"

As he said this, he tried to command those bugs to attack, but every single one of these ghastly critters seemed to have inexplicably lost all their nerve. No matter how hard he tried, they simply continued to circle round his feet, absolutely refusing to go towards Zhou Fei.

Zhou Fei was just a young girl, certainly far less powerful than people like Ding Kui and Feng Feihua. While Yin Pei knew this for a fact, fear was an irrational and unfathomable thing – like how children were afraid of the dark, or of thunder and lightning. There was no logical basis for it, nor could it be overcome through reason.

Perhaps it was because Zhou Fei just seemed so supremely confident and unfazed, or perhaps the Snow-Breaking Sabre she wielded was just too unlike anything he'd ever seen before, or maybe, just maybe, the memories of Zhou Fei pressing her blade up against his neck, or facing off against the Azure Dragon Lord on her own in the narrow passageways of the Heng Mountains, were simply too deeply ingrained in his mind.

Whatever the reason might be, and even if he truly hadn't been afraid at first, now that all those bugs crawling at his feet adamantly refused to heed his commands, fear really did start to creep into Yin Pei's heart.

That crimson shade on his cheeks spread to his eyes, which turned bloodshot.

Yin Pei flung his arm out violently, prompting a dozen of those ghastly bugs to suddenly swarm towards the door behind him. Several tortured screams were heard as everyone standing there – even his lackeys who failed to react in time – were sucked completely dry by those parasites. It was bad enough that Yin Pei would very gladly kill Zhou Fei and company here, but he didn't even spare a thought for his own men. Clearly viewing them as dispensable trash, he dashed out the door so fast he was a blur of green, without a single backward glance at the pile of corpses left in his wake. He was gone in a flash.

The air was thick with the odour of blood, so strong that it made one want to retch. For a good long while, nobody made a sound.

And then finally, Wu Chuchu said softly: "Has…has he gone mad?"

Zhou Fei sheathed her sabre and slung it behind her. Then she pulled out a pungent packet of herbs and shoved it into Wu Chuchu's hands.

Wu Chuchu exclaimed: "What's this? Don't tell me that it repels bugs…Fei!"

Zhou Fei picked up an empty cup from the table and averted her head to spit a mouthful of blood into it. Yin Pei's kung fu was so deeply bizarre, and almost as terrifyingly powerful as that of Chu Tianquan's. While Zhou Fei had managed to fool his bugs, she had still incurred internal injuries from the brutal chi surging through that metal chain. It was fortunate that Yin Pei hadn't fully grasped the extent of his powers, since they'd been acquired through unorthodox means, and had also been scared off by a packet of the old monk's special bug-repelling concoction. If not for all of that, these corpses on the ground might very well be theirs instead.

Zhou Fei's passing of the packet to Wu Chuchu, picking up the cup, and spitting out the blood had all been done in a most tidy and efficient fashion, such that not a single drop of blood landed on her clothes.

"My god, Fei!" exclaimed Li Yan as she tugged at her arm. "You…you…I can't believe you would go to such lengths just to avoid washing your clothes!"

Zhu Chen anxiously stepped forward, but before he could get to Zhou Fei, she was already surrounded by the rest.

Li Sheng dragged a bench over and shoved it behind her as he seethed: "Who told you to play the hero! You think that you're the only strong one around here, eh? Would it kill you not to show off for just one day? Serves you right that you're injured!"

"Alright, alright, calm down, everyone," said Wu Chuchu as she surveyed the dining hall. She ran towards the kitchen and asked for a cup of warm water for Zhou Fei to rinse her mouth with.

Yang Jin stood by the side with his arms folded, saying eagerly: "What technique did you use just now? I must spar with you again!""

Wu Chuchu and Li Yan simultaneously voiced their objections.

Wu Chuchu said in as stern a voice she could muster: "I beg you to take your leave, Young Master Yang!"

Whereas Li Yan was much more direct, yelling: "Get lost!"

While all these youngsters sounded very much like they were incensed with each other, to Zhu Chen they seemed rather like a raucous family. Sensing that it would be out of place for an outsider like him to go over to them, his footsteps stilled. One side of his face hurt a little, and when he dazedly raised a hand to his cheek, he realised that there was a bloody scrape on it from when Yin Pei had flung him to the ground just now.

"You are a weakling by birth, destined to be a worthless loser incapable of wielding a sword or hurling a spear."

For some reason, Yin Pei's words flashed across his mind. Zhu Chen lowered his head dejectedly, acknowledging to himself that Yin Pei had been absolutely right.

"Brother," Zhu Ying called out to him as she walked over and tugged delicately at his arm. "Are you alright?"

Zhu Chen glanced at her, a corner of his lips curving up into a strained half-smile. He shook his head, thinking to himself miserably: I even need my sister to protect me – I truly am a useless loser whose very existence is a burden.

None of the deeply shaken pugilists here dared to dispose of the corpses, so in the end it fell to Yang Jin to help the innkeeper roll them with wooden sticks into the backyard, where they were burned. There were already precious few pugilists who had followed Li Sheng and company here, and with quite a number getting killed or injured in this ordeal, only a pitifully small handful of people were left.

All these thoroughly exhausted pugilists finally got to turn in for the night. The next morning, they came one by one to Li Sheng to bid their farewells. While every one of them had initially come to Yongzhou brimming with ambition, all they wanted now was to leave this godforsaken place as quickly as possible.

When Zhu Chen emerged from his room, Zhou Fei had just finished her daily morning martial arts practice. She gave him a polite and slightly stiff nod, then sheathed her sabre and made to leave.

Zhu Chen instinctively called out to her: "Miss Zhou!"

Zhou Fei stopped and turned around to look at him.

Zhu Chen felt his palms start to sweat. Trying valiantly to keep his voice steady, he walked towards her and attempted to strike up a conversation: "Are…are you feeling better today, Miss Zhou?"

Zhou Fei: "I'm well enough, thank you."

Wispy tendrils of hair were plastered to her temples with sweat. Her countenance was standoffish as usual, yet Zhu Chen sensed that she seemed to have undergone a major transformation. That touch of impatience which hung perpetually over the young girl's slender brows had vanished, replaced with a profound calm. It seemed as if nothing would ever be able to shake her again, not even if the sky came tumbling down. Zhu Chen felt that she was now even further removed from him, somewhere way up above that he would never be able to reach, which made him feel a sudden and deep sense of shame.

Zhu Chen asked again: "What happened to that…that Young Master Xie?"

Zhou Fei paused for a moment, before continuing nonchalantly: "He's returned to his shifu for now, as he had to settle some affairs."

Zhu Chen opened his mouth, but he just couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted, and sweat started to form on his forehead. Zhou Fei looked at him dubiously, unsure of what strange ailment this frail young man seemed to have been struck with all of a sudden. Her quizzical gaze only made Zhu Chen even more nervous.

Just then, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming their way. Looking at Zhou Fei with that irate expression which he reserved for her, Li Sheng rudely shouted: "Zhou Fei, didn't you say last night that you wanted to go as early as possible? Why are you still here – we're leaving even if you haven't had breakfast!"

Feeling like Li Sheng was starting to sound a lot like Mistress Li, Zhou Fei gave Zhu Chen a polite nod before turning and striding away.

On this chilly spring morning, the dew on the trees overhead was still quite cold. It trickled down onto Zhu Chen's head and shoulders, making him shiver. As he gazed at Zhou Fei's swiftly retreating figure, he silently said to himself all those words that he hadn't been able to tell her.

"The Zhu clan originally hails from Dongting. After we followed Master Huo south, we relocated to the region of the Xiang River. Our clan home is nestled within its forested mountains. There is a wide stream meandering through those mountains, and one can wade up to one's ankles in its shallower spots. While my clan has fallen on hard times in recent years, our courtyard is still filled with apricot blossoms,[7] and if you were to head there now, you'll reach just in time to see them flower. We are deeply indebted to all of you for helping us, and if you would deign to pay a visit to the Zhu manor, I will certainly do my best to host you…"

While he was immersed in these poetic sentiments, Zhou Fei lazily turned the corner and hollered: "I'm here – are you happy now!"

And just like that, his opportunity to say those words was gone.

Zhu Chen gave a self-deprecating chuckle. Collecting his emotions and putting aside his regrets, he thought to himself: Forget about it, I'll find another time to tell her all of that.

But he would never get the chance to do so.

Three days after the 'Conference of Heroes to Attack the North' came to an ignominious end, a still-unconscious Xie Yun was brought back to Penglai by Master Tong Ming. Zhou Fei kept this a secret from the others, who didn't dare to probe anyway. They parted ways with the Xing Nan Escort Agency, and hurried back to the 48 Zhai. Along the way, Yang Jin received a missive from the Cloud-Bracing Valley, and finally remembering the responsibilities which he'd neglected for far too long, he had no choice but to promise Zhou Fei that he'd spar with her some other day, and head back to the southern frontiers.