Chapter 46: The Villain

Upon closer inspection, these seventeen – or eighteen in fact, including the one currently trapped by the Lock of Earth's Gate – monstrous men didn't all look exactly the same. But they had the same emaciated frame, and wore identical iron masks, which covered their eyes and foreheads and left only their grotesque lips and chins visible. Even Zhou Fei couldn't tell them apart, so of course everyone else here who'd never seen Yin Pei before couldn't either. Dealing with just one of these masked men had already required the combined efforts of Madame Cirrus and all these top pugilists – how on earth were they going to handle seventeen more!

Old Mister Liu certainly didn't have seventeen more of those locks on hand.

Three years ago, Zhou Fei had managed to scare Yin Pei off with a packet of powder from the Venerable Master Tong Ming. At the time, Zhou Fei had just managed to grasp the true essence of the Snow-Breaking Sabre's 'Inconstant' move, bringing her skills almost on par with that of the most skilled pugilists. In comparison, Yin Pei had had precious little fight experience, as all that internal strength he possessed had been stolen from others, which made it difficult for him to truly master it within a short period of time. Yet even so, if Yin Pei had been just a little more resolute, his spine a little stiffer, the sheer amount of chi he'd possessed would have sufficed to defeat Zhou Fei easily.

And things were markedly different today, as the name of the 'Qing Hui Spiritual Master' was now infamous far and wide across the central plains – he would no longer be scared off as easily as he'd been back then, when he was still new to his powers. While Zhou Fei was coolly watching Madame Cirrus and the other pugilists attack the first masked man just now, she'd thought to herself that it didn't seem like he would pose too much of a problem, and given her superior sabre skills, she could probably manage in a fight with him…but with the sudden arrival of a grand total of seventeen more of these fiends, dispatching all of them was really beyond her now.

Moreover, as Zhou Fei's gaze swept across all of these iron-masked men, a frightening thought suddenly occurred to her, which felt as inexplicably certain as her inkling that it had been Madame Cirrus backstage with the zither just now. She thought to herself: What if none of these are the real Yin Pei after all?

Rearing so many powerful puppets must be a risky endeavour, as Yin Pei could perish if he let his guard down around them for just a moment. He must have found a way to exert his authority over them, most likely through force. So if none of these eighteen men were Yin Pei himself, how far must his powers have advanced by now?

Zhou Fei concluded that Yin Pei was probably quite close to becoming a god.

She inched cautiously along the wall of this courtyard to get a better vantage point, while thinking glumly to herself that the saying 'good always triumphs over evil' was utter bullshit. If she were being truly honest with herself, and didn't consider questions of morality or justice, she had to admit that the martial arts of the wicked and unorthodox were unarguably more powerful than the so-called 'good and orthodox' sects. To advance in any orthodox school of martial arts, a whole host of factors had to be considered, such as the state of one's meridians, natural talent, one's grasp of the techniques, and one's mental condition, in addition to training ceaselessly every day. And even after training day in and day out for several decades, till all your hair had long since grown white, whether all that hard work actually amounted to anything in the end still depended a great deal on your own luck.

In contrast, the unorthodox martial arts of the wicked could allow one to rule the world practically overnight. To use Yin Pei's words, rotten 'meat' that even dogs would sniff at could almost instantly transform into the most fearsome of 'butchers' that had the entire world grovelling at their feet!

If these martial arts could be characterised as different types of people, then the martial arts of the orthodox sects would probably be someone who was average-looking, bad-tempered, born into poverty, and with a bleak future ahead of him. He was even coldly aloof, requiring his wretched practitioners to chase after him for decades begging for his favour. In contrast, the martial arts of the wicked and unorthodox was akin to a magnanimous goddess, gentle and kind, never finding fault with you for anything, and willingly giving you whatever you asked for.

It really wouldn't do to make comparisons like this, as it was just too depressing.

Whenever that good-for-nothing rascal Li Yan heard her elders in the 48 Zhai tell tales of how people used to fight each other to the death over martial arts manuals, her eyes would always widen in disbelief, as that foolish child had always viewed such manuals as 'homework' to avoid like the plague. She was flabbergasted that the scoundrels in these tales would go to such lengths just for the chance to do more homework.

But given Yin Pei's meteoric rise, Zhou Fei felt that perhaps her silly cousin really was onto something.

Zhou Fei slowly tightened her grip on the hilt of Skies Shatter. While Old Mister Liu and company had thought that they were luring their prey into a trap, it looked increasingly likely that they would be falling victim to their own trap instead.

When all seventeen of these Yin Peis first appeared, those pugilists from the 48 Zhai who had been waving their little flags atop the walls of this courtyard had vanished. Li Sheng must have come by here to help as a favour, but that rascal was clever enough to keep himself hidden throughout, and after doing his part, had swiftly extricated himself from this highly unfavourable situation.

While Li Sheng could slip away, Old Mister Liu and the rest were forced to see this sorry scheme through to its bitter end.

The nature of the Iron-Faced Devil was well-known – he was brutal and ruthless, highly temperamental, and would kill anyone who dared show even the slightest disrespect towards him. Now that the Liu Clan had so brazenly attempted to take him out, there was no way things could end well for them today. It was far too late to beg for mercy. Old Mister Liu, the seasoned businessman, had a keen understanding of human nature, and knew that while there were many pugilists gathered in the Liu Manor today, they were akin to a flock of nervous sheep at the moment. Once he revealed even the barest hint of weakness, they were sure to run for the hills in terror – serving themselves up to these masked men on a platter.

Casting his gaze round this circle of Iron-Faced Devils, Old Mister Liu quickly made up his mind. Remaining calm and composed, he said: "Which one of you is the Qing Hui Spiritual Master?"

All eighteen of them spoke simultaneously: "Liu Huishen, you have chosen to meddle the martial arts world again today, despite declaring your retirement two decades ago. While this should have been a grand comeback, you don't even know which one I am – if word of this gets out, won't this make you a laughing stock?"

This was a most distressing turn of events, and if any other inexperienced young bloke had been standing there instead, he would probably be scared witless by now. But Old Mister Liu seemed as unperturbed as ever, and replied: "All I know is that the Qing Hui Spiritual Master is extremely powerful and incredibly clever, and could have been a giant amongst men, yet chooses to commit the most vile and wicked deeds instead. While I have indeed left the martial arts world, I couldn't bear seeing my old friend of many years so tormented by hatred every day. Hence despite my meagre abilities, I agreed to lead the charge, to hold you accountable for all of the evil you have done."

At this, that stocky fellow from the Zou Clan lowered his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, bowing deeply at Old Mister Liu.

All eighteen of these Yin Peis guffawed with laughter, each one of these laughs so creepily uniform that it seemed like a person with eighteen mouths was speaking: "And so you thought you could kill me? Who do you think you are?"

Old Mister Liu thrust his chin in the air and stuck his chest out, looking like a puffed up little balloon on legs. He declared: "I'm just an ordinary man, of little talent."

Those eighteen iron-masked men suddenly fell silent.

Ignoring the bleak looks of despair on the faces of the pugilists around him, Old Mister Liu said: "Everyone, when we were assailed with disaster after disaster all those years ago, the Big Dipper ran rampant throughout the land, taking the lives of numerous poor souls! My own sect, as well as the sects of many of you here, great ones spanning hundreds and even thousands of years, were reduced to nothing overnight, yet all of us were left with no choice but to either flee to the south, or conceal our identities to survive – what great humiliation we suffered! Now that three of the Big Dipper are no more, light is about to break through the gloom overhanging the central plains, yet we're forced to once again fear for our lives because of wicked fiends such as these! They have already felled the Mountain of the Living Dead, and they set their sights on the Liu Manor today – who will they prey on next? The four great Taoist sects? Shaolin Temple and the Beggars' Sect? Or the 48 Zhai?"

From what Old Mister Liu had said, it was evident that this well-connected fellow had managed to assemble many more people to help ambush Yin Pei than the few that were currently visible. But while they had come as requested, none of them was foolish enough to thoughtlessly join in just for his sake. This was simply the nature of such pugilists: when they were outside on their own, and witnessed any gross injustices, they might actually stand up for whoever was being bullied, and could even sacrifice their lives to defend them out of a sense of justice…but when the various sects were gathered together, and the singular 'I' became a 'we' – me and my sect – this bunch of heroes would instantly be reduced to a pack of calculative, selfish, petty men, none of them willing to be the first to stick out their neck.

Taking a deep breath as he looked across the crowd, Old Mister Liu felt like everything he'd just said had simply made him more depressed. He felt like a man building sandcastles by the sea, valiantly trying to pile the shifting sands into a fort, to meet with wave after thunderous wave – all of his efforts were in vain.

"Perhaps if the sword isn't pressed up against one's own neck, nobody would even consider standing up to evil." Old Mister Liu smiled ruefully as he took the red tasselled spear[1] that a servant proffered to him. With a sigh, he said: "But that's alright. All those years ago, the Zou Clan's Escort Agency saved me when I encountered vicious marauders in the south. I am only able to stand here before you today thanks to them. This is my burden to bear – I won't impose it on anyone of you."

That stocky fellow from the Zou Clan and the handful of men that he'd brought with him walked over to Old Mister Liu's side without a word.

Madame Cirrus reached a hand towards her intricate updo and delicately removed the flower in it, carefully placing it by the side. Then with a wave of her hand, the maidens of the Feathercloud Troupe all stepped out from the crowd, and gathered by her side.

Madame Cirrus said: "We are but lowly songstresses who know nothing of these lofty things that Brother Liu speaks of. We are here today, simply because we can't bear to see the son of our old friend continue to run his good name into the ground like this. My boy, I do wish that you would stop being so brazen as to call yourself 'Qing Hui' – clear and bright – while you might have no shame at all, your poor dead father still has a reputation to uphold. With all that you've done, I refuse to believe that you're able to sleep at night, nor that the ghosts of your ancestors have never come to haunt you in the midnight hours!"

Zhou Fei's heart ached a little when she heard this. While Madame Cirrus had been incredibly harsh, she'd still refrained from saying Yin Pei's real name out loud, out of respect for the deceased.

To have once beheld that mighty sabre and spectacular sword – that awe in the presence of greatness would stay with a person forever.

Everyone else's swords were still firmly sheathed, Li Sheng was somewhere around here refusing to reveal himself, she was still hesitating on the sidelines, while Yin Pei was feeling very smug at the centre of everyone's attention. While Zhou Fei didn't know how Young Master Yin or Young Master Li might feel about what Madame Cirrus had just said, it had made her feel more than a little sorrowful.

Seemingly enraged by Madame Cirrus' words, all eighteen of these iron-masked men spoke at once: "Screw you!"

Madame Cirrus sighed. She gazed up into the gloomy night sky, as if she were looking at someone way up there, before saying in a voice that was cold as ice: "While that adoptive father of yours couldn't be considered wicked by any measure, he truly failed to do a single good thing in his life – since he raised someone like you!"

There was a tremendous clang from the Lock of Earth's Gate, as these iron-masked men attacked her all at once. The masked man who was still ensnared by the metal chains lunged towards her in the exact same way that all the others did, although his unbreakable bindings prevented him from going anywhere. Yet he continued to fling himself forward like one possessed, as if he felt no pain at all. As he continued to strain desperately against the metal chains, a sharp crack was heard – the force of his thrashing had caused one of his legs to break in two, and it was now twisted at a most horrifying angle. He seemed completely oblivious to the injury however, dragging his broken leg behind him as he stumbled forward, struggling relentlessly against his bindings. The veins on his neck were bulging horrendously, and he looked utterly inhuman.

Zither strings came shooting out of Madame Cirrus' sleeves once more. Like flowers blooming vividly against the dark night sky, the brightly-robed maidens of the Feathercloud Troupe began to do battle with those terrifying masked men, creating a surreal scene of good versus evil; ethereal goddesses facing off against gruesome devils.

Those from the Liu Manor followed them into the fray with a roar. The servants sprinkled 'Rush of Fire' all around them from copper basins that had been prepared beforehand, sending a faint scent of alcohol wafting through the air. Those ghastly bugs immediately headed towards it, and were swiftly scooped up with pokers and flung into the fire.

But even without those ghastly bugs, the disparity in strength was still dishearteningly enormous.

With one voice, all eighteen iron-masked men bellowed: "I'd like to know if any heroes still walk this earth!"

The maidens of the Feathercloud Troupe were like ragged flowers, swept away by the chilly autumn wind. Apart from Madame Cirrus who was just barely able to put up a fight, the rest of them practically fell like dominoes. Having retired from the martial arts world for many years, Old Mister Liu's skills had also declined significantly. The red-tasselled spear in his hand was so ineffectual that it might as well have been made of papier-mache. He'd only managed to execute the first few steps of the Tai Mountain Sect's signature 'Three Stars Align' move, before one of those masked men grabbed the tip of the spear with his bare hands. Old Mister Liu felt an overwhelming surge of force rush up the spear towards him, and the delicate skin between thumb and forefinger on his fleshy hands instantly ripped apart. He stumbled backwards in retreat, unable to grip the spear with his now-bloody hands. But as he did so, yet another masked man suddenly appeared behind him, and cackled as he delivered a palm strike towards his back.

Just then, a gleaming sword came hurtling through the air, towards that masked man's outstretched hand. The masked man swept it aside easily, but yet another sword followed swiftly after like a lissome snake, slashing at him with three successive blows. When the masked man backed away, this sword was deftly retracted, its wielder pulling Old Mister Liu behind him. It was Li Sheng!

Only after Li Sheng's appearance did Zhou Fei realise that those men from the 48 Zhai who were stationed atop the walls of the courtyard just now had, at some point, each led a team of pugilists in here. They now took up their positions round the courtyard, making a formation in the shape of a five-pointed sakura that surrounded all eighteen of the masked men.

Keeping herself hidden in an inconspicuous corner of this courtyard, Zhou Fei blew a few short, sharp whistles that sounded exactly like those birds native to the Shu Mountains, to signal to Li Sheng that she was close by – this was a secret code that the two of them had used to communicate in their childhood, when they were up to mischief. But as Zhou Fei's relationship with Li Sheng had become increasingly tense as they grew older, it had been years since they'd last used it, and she couldn't be sure if he still remembered.

Li Sheng's ears twitched. With his back still to Zhou Fei, he sheathed his sword and gestured behind him with his other hand, indicating that she shouldn't do anything rash. Then with a faint smile on his face, he said: "Old Mister Liu speaks with reason – it would do well for us younger folks to listen. Brother Yang, what do you think?"

As he said this, a band of dark-skinned men with prominent and slightly exotic-looking features came striding out, led by none other than Yang Jin. Instead of answering, Yang Jin simply gave the Lone Goose Sabre in his hand a swing. The rings on it jangled menacingly, these clangs reverberating far into the dark night.

Li Sheng gave Yang Jin a slight nod, before bowing elegantly towards the iron-masked men: "Qing Hui Spiritual Master, you were just asking whether any heroes still walk this earth. Allow me to make some introductions, then: The 48 Zhai is here today, as is the Cloud-Bracing Valley; and our comrades from the Wayfarers' Union were too busy seizing those oafs bearing your sedan just now to greet you. As for the rest – may I request my seniors from the Wudang Sect to guard the entrance, please do watch out for those bugs. And the most honourable monks from the Shaolin Sect, head for the southwest corner, if you please, to split up these iron-faced devils with your Luohan Formation.[2] Many thanks for your assistance…"

While Old Mister Liu had very magnanimously allowed the pugilists here to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be involved, that rascal Li Sheng had been far slyer than his elders – he'd dragged every single one of the major sects here out into the open together with him, thanks to his very specific instructions. By assigning each sect roles which played to their strengths, they now knew exactly what they were meant to do, and were also prevented from sneaking away amidst the chaos.

Li Sheng now turned to face the iron-masked men before him and smiled: "If the puppets are here, their puppeteer mustn't be too far away. Brother Yin, I'm sure you remember my cousin – she's been wanting to catch up with you for a long time now. If you refuse to appear, she's liable to go after you herself."

This sounded a lot like what adults would say to frighten little children: 'If you don't listen, the big bad monster will come looking for you!'

Li Sheng was now doing the same to Yin Pei: 'If you don't show yourself, Zhou Fei will come looking for you!'

Zhou Fei could barely believe her scoundrel of a cousin would resort to such a cheap trick. She couldn't decide if Li Sheng was trying to rile Yin Pei or herself, or perhaps both. Staring daggers into the back of her cousin's head, she thought to herself: I'm going to beat him up so badly that head swells up an inch – no, three inches at least.

Zhou Fei let this image of Li Sheng's grotesquely swollen head quell her rage for the moment, so that she could concentrate on the task at hand – Li Sheng had said all that not simply to frighten Yin Pei, as it was also directed at her.

All eighteen of those hideous mouths were so eerily and unnaturally coordinated, that unless they had previously rehearsed their lines to perfection, Yin Pei must be controlling all of these men somehow. It would be extremely difficult to manipulate eighteen people to not only carry on a conversation, but also to fight in concert with each other against the pugilists here. Even if Yin Pei really were as powerful as he was rumoured to be, he himself would probably need to be close by to do all of this puppeteering. In all likelihood, he was either one of these eighteen men, or had positioned himself somewhere not too far away.

But how could she tell who he was?

Li Sheng had given her a real challenge.

And before Zhou Fei could figure out a plan, fighting had already broken out in the courtyard. The pugilists here were on average only about one-tenth as powerful as a single iron-masked man. This didn't mean that ten pugilists were capable of taking down one of these masked men either, as they had to know how to coordinate their attack, while the masked men were capable of using their assailants' own force against them…although this was all before Li Sheng showed up.

While Li Sheng was young and relatively inexperienced, and Li Jinrong still had yet to officially induct him into the Hall of Elders, in actual fact all of the 48 Zhai's defenses were jointly coordinated by Li Sheng and Lin Hao at present. The Qimen Sect's tactical formations had been imparted to Li Sheng by the sect leader himself, and he'd used these to direct the attack on Ding Kui in Yongzhou City, coordinate the 48 Zhai's defenses, whip the secret posts into shape, and even assist Zhou Yitang in leading his troops into battle several times. There was no doubt at all about his ability to plan and command a battle.

And having been exposed by Li Sheng in such a direct fashion, the various major sects here very quickly recovered from their state of timorous hesitation, and actually started to put up a fairly robust fight.

The servants of the Liu Manor continued to splash 'Rush of Fire' all over the paved stones of this courtyard, not giving those ghastly bugs any opportunity to attack. This created the impression that the legendary Iron-Faced Devil wasn't actually as impossible to defeat as the crowd had imagined, which caused more and more pugilists to join the fray, and close in on the masked men.

Madame Cirrus leapt into the air as she lashed a zither string towards one of the masked men, coiling it round his neck. This masked man quickly grasped at that deadly string with his bare hands, preventing it from tightening round his neck any further. At the same time, three other maidens from the Feathercloud Troupe lunged at his legs, while a Shaolin monk uttered a Buddhist chant as he brought a long wooden pole down hard on the man's head. Trapped by these five pugilists, that masked man gave a mighty roar, the ropy veins on his neck bulging under his almost translucently pale skin like a tangle of angry worms. He violently yanked on Madame Cirrus' zither string with one hand, pulling her down from where she was hovering in midair, till his hand was a shredded, bloody mess. Then he swung his other hand out at those three maidens from the Feathercloud Troupe, while simultaneously swerving his head to the side for his shoulder and chest to take that blow from the Shaolin monk instead.

With a massive crack, the Shaolin monk's wooden pole broke in half upon impact. And just as the two of them were about to go head to head with brute strength, a small dagger slimmer than the slenderest of fingers suddenly came hurtling through the air. Carrying with it a faint scent of powdered rouge, it slashed with incomparable precision across the neck of that masked man – it was incredible how Madame Cirrus had managed to hurl that dagger at him before she'd even regained her footing.

This was a renowned skill of the Feathercloud Troupe, formerly of the Four Great Assassins – 'Wind Through The Willows'.

Madame Cirrus stumbled backwards, still reeling from the surge of chi that the masked man had channelled through her zither string. It took her more than three steps back to regain her balance. Gently pursing her scarlet lips, she gazed at the masked man whose neck was now a bloody mess, a flash of conflicted emotions in her eyes. She feared that despite going to such great lengths, she'd only managed to kill an insignificant puppet after all – yet she was even more afraid that the mask would fall to reveal Yin Pei's face. She quickly averted her gaze and turned away from him.

But the very next second, the Shaolin monk yelled: "Watch out!"

Madame Cirrus felt a chill run all the way down her spine, and instinctively darted aside before she could get a good look at what was behind her. But having no such instincts, one of the Feathercloud Troupe maidens didn't even have a chance to react before a pair of ice-cold hands clamped round her neck. The very last thing that she saw on this earth was a pair of chilling reptilian eyes staring unblinkingly at her from behind a bloodstained iron mask, before she felt a wave of excruciating pain as her neck was snapped in half. While blood continued to gush out of the masked man's slit throat, and his entire body was rapidly turning a deathly ashen gray, he was still able to move, and able to kill – he was unstoppable!

How could a dead person still be capable of movement? How was a corpse still able to kill?

Even Madame Cirrus was shaken by this, as she exclaimed: "What on earth is this thing?"

Zhou Fei had by now climbed atop the largest tree in this courtyard. Surveying the chaotic scene below from her lofty perch, she felt pretty sure that things were about to get worse now.

Sure enough, the very next minute someone yelled: "These men can't be killed!"

"They're monsters!"

"How…how can the dead still kill!"

Terror rippled through the crowd. Everyone instantly steered several metres well clear of that masked man with the gaping wound in his throat. His face and neck were already a corpse-like pallid grey, and his fingers were starting to tremble. His head was tilted unnaturally to the side, his slit neck incapable of straightening. But then his legs abruptly broke into a run, propelling him headlong towards the crowd.

The first person to run screaming away from this masked man ruined Li Sheng's formation completely, plunging the entire Liu Manor into chaos. Incensed at this sudden turning of the tables, that stocky fellow from the Zou Clan charged towards the stubbornly undead creature, against the flow of the panicked crowd. With a mighty swing of his be-ringed sabre,[3] he hacked off one of its arms, which cost him a retaliatory palm strike from it.

The creature stumbled back a half-step, thrown slightly off-balance by the loss of its limb. The blow it dealt had broken one of that Zou fellow's ribs, and he doubled over to cough out a mouthful of blood. Still he said defiantly: "So what if it refuses to die? I'll chop off its head, and all four of its limbs – I'd like to see what it's capable of doing then!"

Such a fearless attitude had an extremely galvanising effect on the rest. Many of those who had been hesitating now rushed towards that masked creature, determined to rip it to shreds. But all of a sudden, a loud bang was heard, as this walking corpse exploded into a thousand tiny pieces. Even Zhou Fei, who was way up there on that large tree, wasn't spared – she instinctively thrust her sabre out to shield herself from the splatter. When she took a closer look at the blade, her skin instantly started to crawl – these tiny pieces that had collided with it were in fact Yin Pei's bugs!

Clinging onto her blade with their numerous little claw-like legs, these ghastly bugs began to crawl their way up towards her. Zhou Fei gave Skies Shatter a violent flick to shake them off. They fell to the ground motionless.

But those below had no such luck. Over a hundred of those ghastly bugs had come shooting out of the corpse. They were much smaller and more underfed than the earlier specimens, and started flying madly every which way, all after that tantalising scent of 'Rush of Fire'. They seemed to be extremely hungry; whatever they touched, be it human or animal, would be sucked dry in seconds.

The entire Liu Manor had now devolved into a veritable slaughterhouse. Shrieks and screams of horror could be heard everywhere you turned. For the first time tonight, beads of sweat could be seen on Li Sheng's forehead. He yelled: "Zhou Fei!"

Zhou Fei was crouching on a branch, swaying gently along with it in the slight breeze. She was in a state of complete concentration, as little by little, that inexplicable sensation started to come upon her yet again. Every single movement of every single entity around her seemed to slow down, and she began to perceive each person not as physical bodies, but as symbols instead – the Shaolin Sect's wooden poles were wielded with a fiery ferocity, such that the young monks here looked like blazing wildfires to her, while the older monks were to her a smouldering fire, measured and controlled. She could sense the slight differences between each pugilist in the ways that they wielded their weapons, as well as the Xiaoxiang Sect's obvious influence in the movements of Li Sheng's twin swords…

Turning her attention to those eighteen masked men, she had a frightening realisation – the pattern of their breathing was exactly the same!

Which meant that if her instincts were right, not a single one of these eighteen men was Yin Pei himself!

Then where was he? Who was he?

Li Sheng had strategically positioned their own people in every corner of this courtyard. Where could Yin Pei possibly be hiding?

The terror in this courtyard had reached fever pitch. Unwilling to stay here and be slaughtered by these monsters any longer, some of the pugilists started to rush desperately towards the exit. The Wudang Sect, which Li Sheng had assigned to guard the exit, were suddenly faced with this panicked crush of people trying to jostle their way out of here. It was a complete mess – Li Sheng had utterly lost control of these pugilists.

Zhou Fei looked up to scan a particular corner of this courtyard. The very first man in the iron mask had brought along quite a sizable entourage. Some of these lackeys were to clear the way for him, some to carry his sedan, and some to act as his human footstools. These men had probably used to serve the Mountain of the Living Dead, and were now being horribly exploited by their new master. Living in daily fear of him and his ghastly bugs, they were so traumatised that they had barely even put up a fight, and were swiftly seized by that small band of men from the Wayfarers' Union who had joined in the fight early on. These lackeys of Yin Pei were currently bound hand and foot in a corner of this courtyard, the blades of their captors pressed against their necks.

Zhou Fei's gaze fell on one of these captives, who was directly facing the chaotic scene. This man was dressed entirely in black. While his eyes were concealed by his mask, his lips were curving slightly upwards at the corners, and half of an Azure Dragon tattoo was clearly visible on his bare neck. He had made no attempt at all to conceal it, as if he weren't at all afraid of arousing the ire of his new master.

When Zhou Fei looked at him, this person looked up as well, as though he had sensed her eyes on him. Across the crush of pugilists, and through the half-yellowed foliage of this tree, his gaze collided with hers. Zhou Fei didn't even think – she immediately sprang off that branch like an arrow released from its extremely taut bow, swooping down towards this masked man.

And at the exact same time, the ropes fastened securely round this man were suddenly blasted to smithereens. A current of chi as violent as the raging hurricanes of the desolate frontier regions instantly swept aside the two pugilists guarding him.

Zhou Fei's long hair was streaming out behind her as she streaked through the air. Without even pausing to catch her breath, she swung Skies Shatter in a brilliant arc before her, which amazingly managed to slice through that brutal tornado of chi around Yin Pei, going straight for his head. Yin Pei reached his hands out towards her incoming blade. While Zhou Fei's current state of heightened awareness meant that Yin Pei's movements were slowed down considerably, the sheer power of his tremendous internal strength was too great for her to draw her blade back now. Yin Pei brought his hands together with a thunderous clap, clasping the blade of Skies Shatter firmly between his palms.

Yin Pei roared as he sent a savage charge of chi surging up her blade, which flung her violently through the air to land several metres away. And then without bothering to go after her, he leapt up and away with a hair-raising howl.

Zhou Fei went after him without a second thought. Giving it all she had, she managed to stay on his tail for several miles, such that quick as he was, Yin Pei failed to shake her off despite multiple attempts to do so. When they'd reached a forested area of the mountains that was utterly deserted, Yin Pei finally seemed to lose his patience. He halted in his tracks and half turned towards her. Shooting her a chilling gaze from behind his iron mask, he asked his relentless pursuer: "Do you have a death wish?"

Zhou Fei couldn't be bothered to respond to that. Lightly springing off the ground on the tips of her toes, she thrust Skies Shatter squarely towards the centre of Yin Pei's chest, where the fat queen of the Nirvana Parasites resided.

Sensing her murderous intent, that ghastly bug the size of an entire human fist screeched hoarsely in rage, with all the ear-splitting force of waves crashing furiously against the shore. Gently gathering his long sleeves up, Yin Pei sent powerful waves of chi radiating out from him, which puffed up his loose black robes and made them as hard as steel – sparks actually flew as his sleeves brushed across the sharp blade of Zhou Fei's sabre. And then he pressed both hands down onto the blunt side of Skies Shatter, preventing it from going any further forward. Just inches away from the tip of Zhou Fei's blade, that ghastly bug was crouching atop his weakly heaving chest, which had already wasted away till it was almost paper-thin. He looked as sickly as could be, yet also highly dangerous.

"Ah, I get it now – you're trying to kill the queen parasite to save all those people back there, aren't you?" Yin Pei chuckled lowly. "You really are as reckless now as you were all those years ago in the Heng Mountains, Miss Zhou."

These words just made Zhou Fei even angrier, because it was this face-off with the Azure Dragon Lord in the Heng Mountains that had caused her first serious falling out with Xie Yun, which had lasted throughout their entire journey from Hengyang to Shaoyang. If she'd known that Yin Pei was going to end up like this, she would never have agreed to help Ji Yunchen kill Zheng Luosheng. Snorting lightly in derision, she flung Yin Pei's hands off and withdrew her sabre, before slashing and slicing Skies Shatter all around him as fast as she could, fencing him in within a cage of gleaming metal. As Zhou Fei had made 'Inconstant' her style of choice, her technique had no discernible pattern to it, such that even someone as powerful as Yin Pei had trouble breaking free from this onslaught, and could only reactively counter her successive blows for the moment. That ghastly bug on him seemed highly displeased with this state of affairs, as the volume of its skin-crawling screeches started to increase. These screeches were hoarse and scratchy one second, then piercingly shrill the next, and even combined with strange rattling noises at times. The shifting octaves and cadences of these odd screeches sounded very much like a village shrew cursing her husband, as if this queen parasite were rebuking Yin Pei for his impotence.

After a lengthy round of 'scolding', and seeing that this didn't seem to be working at all, the screeches of that parasitic bug ceased abruptly. It unfurled the two wings on its back, revealing a body beneath that was extremely bizarre in appearance. It looked like a white skeleton, which glowed faintly in the dark night as if it had been treated with some sort of phosphorus glaze. Yin Pei placed his hand over that ghastly bug on his chest. Sensing this change in its body, his face instantly tensed, his lips drew into a tight line, and the ferocity of his attacks suddenly intensified, so much so that his entire body was almost a blur.

Every time Zhou Fei's sabre collided with his palms, her wrists throbbed with the tremendous impact. A desperation seemed to have come over Yin Pei now, which made each one of his blows fiercer than the last, and giving neither himself nor his opponent any time at all to even catch their breath. He was using sheer brute force to tear through this menacing wall of metal forged by the Snow-Breaking Sabre. Zhou Fei's strength seemed to be waning somewhat, and Skies Shatter slid weakly away from Yin Pei.

Yin Pei brought his hand down onto her shoulder: "Arrogant fool!"

But Zhou Fei's sabre which had just eased away suddenly snaked right back around. It weaved dexterously in between Yin Pei's arms, thrusting upwards through the space between them in an incredibly graceful arc – this was none other than 'Slicing Water and Tangling Silk', courtesy of the late Northern Blade.

This was a most spectacular move, which had pierced through the fabric of Yin Pei's impenetrable sleeve and left a cut on the palm of his skeletal hand. The two of them duelled fiercely within the limited rectangle of space between Yin Pei's outstretched hands and chest, Yin Pei's wide sleeves repeatedly parrying Zhou Fei's deft thrusts of Skies Shatter, placing the two at a momentary impasse.

Zhou Fei lowered her gaze, looking down at the livid parasite hovering on Yin Pei's chest. She abruptly asked: "Do you control it, or does it control you?"

Yin Pei's eyes glinted with malevolence at this, and a look of hatred distorted his already-grotesque face.

But there was no way Zhou Fei would be afraid of him. She chuckled as she observed the change in his expression, adding fuel to the fire: "Oh, I've hit the nail on the head, haven't I?"

The screeches of that ghastly bug on his chest reverberated through the surrounding trees with increasing menace. The veins at Yin Pei's temples were bulging so angrily that it looked like they were about to make a dent in his iron mask. Through gritted teeth, he growled: "Shut up."

But Zhou Fei wasn't going to, of course. Mustering up her strength, she took a deep breath and thrust Skies Shatter further forward an inch: "Yin Pei, you used to be under Zheng Luosheng's control against your will – but now that you're free, and don't need to do someone's bidding anymore, have you decided to submit to a bug instead? Does the thought of not being enslaved simply bring you great discomfort? I really must thank you for showing me that such self-abasement is possible – and I'm sure that your ancestors would be very pleased to know this as well."

Yin Pei roared in fury. He sent a current of chi surging towards her, the force of it so great that both of his wide sleeves were torn to shreds. Zhou Fei stumbled a half-step backwards. The massive impact of that frighteningly strong chi was causing a wave of nauseating discomfort to roil painfully in her chest, and she could taste blood at the back of her throat.

"On behalf of all those cowards and weaklings who were too afraid to stand up to evil, I killed Feng Feihua and crushed Ding Kui, bringing down the Mountain of the Living Dead that they used to detest so much," said Yin Pei slowly and painfully, as if he were trying very hard to suppress something that was welling up inside of him. "Because I got rid of their greatest fear, I became their greatest fear instead – tell me, where is the justice in that?"

Zhou Fei was dumbstruck – this had to be the most egregious instance ever of a villain demanding his victims' sympathy. The large Azure Dragon tattoo on Yin Pei's neck had turned a sickly shade of purple, and his emaciated frame was shaking like a leaf, as though he were suffering from excruciating pain.

"Those…those who are different, must be feared…is that it?" Yin Pei was clutching his chest desperately, shaking so hard that even his voice was trembling.

Zhou Fei found this extremely baffling – other than that little half-inch cut she had inflicted on his palm just now, she hadn't hurt Yin Pei at all. Why was he in this much pain? She looked him up and down with furrowed brow: "Hey, why are you shaking like that?"

Panting heavily, Yin Pei managed a shaky sneer. Clamping his hand over that restless bug crouched on his chest, he said to Zhou Fei: "What you did in the Heng Mountains…consider that something I owe you – if you leave now, I won't kill you, so we'll be even from now on…go!"

Coming from Yin Pei, this was practically the height of magnanimity. But instead of appreciating this, Zhou Fei said sarcastically: "Oh, so I'm supposed to be grateful to you then, am I…wait, who's there?"

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard a whoosh in the air behind her, so soft that it was only discernible when close by. Zhou Fei immediately slid a half-step to the side. A pair of extremely fine two-inch-long needles hurtled past her towards the ghastly bug on Yin Pei's chest. These fine needles were quite similar to Kou Dan's 'Purple Rain' – while they weren't as numerous, the force with which they were hurled was many times more than what Kou Dan had used. They were certainly ideal for launching a sneak attack on someone under cover of darkness.

Yin Pei swept aside those two fine needles with a swift palm strike. Jerking his head up, he saw a black-clad figure suddenly appear from among the trees behind Zhou Fei, as if he had emerged from the shadows. Pushing aside the dense foliage, this man walked slowly towards them.

Having gotten a clearer look at the approaching figure, Zhou Fei said in surprise: "Chong Xiaozi…Sir?"

She wasn't quite sure what she should call him right now, because Chong Xiaozi wasn't dressed like a Taoist priest at present. His hair was neatly pinned up atop his head, and he was wearing the kind of dark and close-fitting garb most suited to sneaking around at night, which hugged his broad shoulders and chest. An odd-looking flute was in his hand. All of this together gave him a somewhat mysterious air.

Chong Xiaozi nodded at Zhou Fei, before turning his tranquil gaze towards Yin Pei. He stretched out his hand towards Yin Pei and said calmly: "Yin Pei, return what isn't yours."

Yin Pei snorted in derision.

Chong Xiaozi said: "When my shixiong, the leader of the Qimen Sect, found you at the foot of the Heng Mountains, given his respect for your ancestors he had no qualms about revealing the location of our sect's secret base to you. He brought you back to care for you, treat your wounds, strengthen your meridians, and was even prepared to teach you his martial arts. Yet how did you choose to repay him?"

The ghastly parasite on Yin Pei's chest screeched shrilly. Yin Pei gave a sinister chuckle: "Given his respect for my ancestors? So many people on this earth have ancestors of great renown, yet I don't see your sect leader bringing each and every one of them to Qimen's base – that old fox clearly had his eye on my clan's Sword of Mountains and Rivers!"

Chong Xiaozi said icily: "You ingrate! Of course you'd think that you're right and noble and justified, while it's always others who are in the wrong. Yin Pei, the fact that you've said this today shows that you clearly have no idea of the significance of the water ripple on your father's Sword of Mountains and Rivers, nor are you fit to carry it. While my shixiong treated you with the utmost kindness, you broke into our treasury, unknowingly setting the Nirvana Parasite free, and have even committed inconceivable monstrosities since under the influence of this parasite. You really should ask yourself if you are still worthy of the name Yin at all!"

Zhou Fei had heard Li Sheng speak more than once of his felicitous encounter with the old Taoist priest Chong Yunzi. She thought to herself: Three years ago, in addition to taking Li Sheng in for three months, had the leader of the Qimen Sect done the same for Yin Pei as well?

What a strange habit that old priest had of taking in strays!

As she looked at the queen Nirvana Parasite, a sudden realisation hit her, and she drew a sharp breath. She couldn't help but ask: "So Chong Yunzi…"

"My shixiong was the very first person to die because of this Nirvana Parasite. This parasite is greedy by nature, and has an insatiable thirst for human flesh and blood. The more powerful the pugilist, the more eager it is to consume his powers. The so-called master of this parasite is but a puppet at the mercy of this vile creature's predatory instincts." Chong Xiaozi said slowly: "Even when he was on the brink of death, my shixiong attempted to counsel you against taking this wicked path, and tried his utmost to rid you of the Nirvana Parasite, but you were not moved in the slightest. You were entirely willing to be at the mercy of this creature! Yin Pei, if you still have any dignity left in you at all, you should end yourself right here and now."

Yin Pei shook with crazed laughter. His eyes had turned completely bloodshot, and that little bit of independent thought which he'd shown when talking to Zhou Fei just now had vanished. The parasite on his chest fluttered its hideous wings, and shortly after, the rustling of approaching footsteps was heard. Dozens of men in identical iron masks came swarming towards them from all directions, like corpses summoned from the grave by that parasitic bug.

Yin Pei chuckled coldly: "Did you think…that I only brought eighteen creatures with me?"

Zhou Fei had no choice but to join forces with Chong Xiaozi, even though his motives were still a mystery. She brandished Skies Shatter and positioned herself on the other side of Yin Pei, while asking: "Sir, what exactly are these creatures?"

Chong Xiaozi explained: "These 'creatures' are created by first making one hundred and eight cuts on the subject's body along his meridians and veins, and then immersing him in a hot bath made from a mixture of that parasite's venom and various other ingredients. After two hours, the parasite's venom will adhere to his wounds and be absorbed into his body, forming a thin membrane all over his skin as tough as a beetle's exoskeleton. Then three days after that, the parasite's venom will start to circulate throughout the subject's body, transforming him into a 'creature' that is similar in nature to those parasitic bugs. These creatures are still alive, can speak and move around like regular people, and can even enjoy some of the benefits that the Nirvana Parasite gives, as they will see tremendous advancements in their skills and powers overnight. However, they obey the queen parasite unconditionally – once she gives an order, they will instantly be reduced to zombies with no thoughts or emotions of their own, doing whatever she commands them to do or say. Even if she were to ask them to commit suicide, they would fall on their swords with no hesitation whatsoever."

Zhou Fei suddenly recalled how, at the outskirts of Yongzhou City, Yin Pei had his eye on Zhu Chen for some reason, and was intent on taking the boy with him. At the time, she'd thought that this was borne of Yin Pei's sympathy for those who were as inherently weak as him. She realised now that he'd only wanted to turn the young master of the Xing Nan Escort Agency into one of these inhuman creatures!

He wasn't satisfied with simply having the former flunkeys of the Mountain of the Living Dead shift their allegiances and grovel at his feet, or for the entire martial arts community of the central plains to quake in fear at the mention of his name – as the Nirvana Parasite's main puppet, he had to rear an entire army of lesser puppets who followed his orders unconditionally.

Zhou Fei felt her skin start to crawl at the thought, and said: "Sir, what on earth was your sect involved in, that such a horrible thing was in your possession? What can we do now?"

Even under such dire circumstances, Chong Xiaozi remained as unflappable as ever. He said to Zhou Fei: "Miss Zhou, while rarely have you revealed your real name to others in the martial arts world over the last few years, the Southern Blade's reputation remains unrivalled. Skies Shatter was the work of that great master Lu Run, and it so happens that this Nirvana Parasite, one of the most venomous and vilest things in this world, was also something that Lu Run left behind. Methinks it's high time for some closure – Miss Zhou, might you be willing to risk it with me?"

Zhou Fei: "…"

The way Chong Xiaozi had talked her up like this made it seem like felling Yin Pei was only a minor inconvenience to her! But even without that bunch of creatures, whose powers were nothing to be sniffed at, she certainly was no match at all for Yin Pei alone.

But Yin Pei's creatures didn't spare Zhou Fei any time at all to correct the inflated impression that this old priest had of her, as they had already attacked.

Angling his flute towards them, Chong Xiaozi fired those fine needles thrice in quick succession, with incredible precision and deadly force each time. This bunch of masked creatures swiftly swept the needles aside, but the ghastly bugs on them seemed somewhat fearful of them, and wriggled back up the sleeves of their hosts.

Chong Xiaozi said: "My needles have been smeared with a special substance that wards off all bugs, which can help to buy us some time. Miss Zhou, that queen parasite is the root of the problem – I'm leaving it in your good hands."

Zhou Fei: "…"

When Chong Xiaozi had been imprisoned by Mu Xiaoqiao in that dark mountain jail, he certainly hadn't seemed this powerful! Perhaps he had let Mu Xiaoqiao seize him on purpose?!

"Go!" roared Chong Xiaozi, interrupting her errant thoughts.

Yin Pei cackled with glee: "How delightful – I have with me today the Southern Blade, as well as the 'Black Judge'. I'll take both of you on at once, which will be sure to fill me up quite nicely!"

Zhou Fei's brows furrowed – the Black Judge?

Who was the Black Judge? Was it Chong Xiaozi?

Once one of the Four Great Assassins, the 'Black Judge' had disappeared from the martial arts scene many years ago, along with Mingfeng Tower and the Feathercloud Troupe. Had he actually joined the Qimen Sect? And the Qimen Sect just so happened to be closely linked to 'Sea Blends Into Sky', as were Madame Cirrus and the former leaders of Mingfeng Tower – what was the connection here?

While all of these thoughts flashed across her mind, this was no time for further contemplation – should Yin Pei make off with that queen parasite, it really didn't matter any more whether this mysterious priest before her was the 'Black Judge', or the 'White Magistrate', or the 'Grey Executioner'. These creatures would kill them both, and those poor souls back at the Liu Manor would certainly suffer the same fate! Zhou Fei leapt off the ground, swinging her sabre mightily before her in the Snow-Breaking Sabre's 'Cut' move, which caused the creature in her way to stumble back mid-lunge. She thrust her sabre in front of Yin Pei, blocking his path.