Chapter 52: Doing The Impossible

Zhou Fei moved so fast that none of the guards at the entrance saw her dart swiftly across the bare mountain rocks shorn of trees. She landed softly on a pile of chopped-up wood before lightly springing off it on her toes, the soft crackling of leafy branches underfoot instantly attracting the attention of a nearby guard. He quickly raised his torch and looked in the direction of that noise, but before he could figure out what was there, he felt two ice-cold fingers curl round his neck.

The contingent of soldiers guarding the entrance all drew their weapons at once, surrounding this intruder and eyeing her with trepidation.

Zhou Fei tightened her fingers round the guard's neck as she cast her eyes around her. This soldier was forced to lean back, his throat making gurgling noises and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Chuckling softly, Zhou Fei said lowly, as if she couldn't be bothered to raise her voice: "Get Gu Tianxuan and Lu Yaoguang to come out – tell them that an old friend is here to settle a score."

She wasn't tall, nor was she solidly built; a little wisp of a thing that might tremble in the breeze, like an ethereal ghost in this dark night – which lent her a chilling presence. A middle-aged man who seemed to be in a position of authority came hurrying out, ordering the soldiers clustered round her to make way for him and stopping a good two metres away from Zhou Fei. He glared at her and shouted sternly: "Who are you! How dare you barge in here like this!"

The faintest, almost inaudible sound of gentle rustling was carried towards her on the night breeze. Only the very sharpest of ears could have discerned the subtle differences between the sound of footsteps and the sound of the wind as it whistled across the bare mountain rocks. While Zhou Fei's gaze was fixed on the valley, her ears had picked up the soft patter of Wu Chuchu and Li Yan's departing footsteps. She slowly and deliberately pushed Skies Shatter out of its scabbard with her thumb, the cold iron emitting a menacing metallic screech as it glided across the sheath – which drowned out the tell-tale sounds of the two girls' mediocre qinggong.

Then with a sudden smile, she declared loudly and emphatically: "Go and tell whoever your leader is, that Zhou Fei of the 48 Zhai, a third-generation successor of the Snow-Breaking Successor, has come here today uninvited. On behalf of all the pugilists of the 48 Zhai from my grandfather's generation, my mother's generation, and those who died at their hands several years ago, I have come to convey my warmest greetings to the two Lords of the Big Dipper. Pass the message, please."

While she'd heard people call her 'Zhou Fei' umpteen times throughout her life – mostly yelled in anger or exasperation – when she herself said her own name out loud, it sounded strange and unfamiliar on her tongue. In the years since she'd left the 48 Zhai, she'd seldom if ever given people her name – when she'd first started out there was of course no need to do so, since nobody recognised it anyway; and then when the name of the 'Southern Blade' began to spread inadvertently, she couldn't be bothered to do so anymore, because she was afraid that she would create any trouble for the 48 Zhai, and because she found it hugely embarrassing to be known as 'the Southern Blade Zhou Fei' when she hadn't even accomplished anything of note yet.

Only now did Zhou Fei realise that on her, those two words – 'Southern Blade' – were not simply an ordinary linen shift that she could casually don, but a richly splendid robe passed down to her from her ancestors. It trailed magnificently behind her for several metres, inspiring awe in its beholders, and was made of the finest tapestry, woven with a staggering amount of jade and gold and jewels, so much so that it weighed a ton on her shoulders. Even though wearing such a robe was a great honour, she couldn't possibly have it on the whole day long, letting it hang heavy on her as she ate and drank and slept and ran around…however, there might come one or two occasions that would befit her to wear it, to look upon it and glimpse the marvellous accomplishments of those who had come before.

A foul smell suddenly wafted up from the soldier whose neck was in her grip – he'd peed his pants in fright.

Tsking loudly, Zhou Fei flung that useless fellow aside. Brandishing Skies Shatter, she strode right through the entrance with her chin in the air.

The short path from the entrance to the inner reaches of the valley was filled with hordes of Northern soldiers in the blink of an eye, every single one of them eyeing her warily with their weapons drawn. As Zhou Fei surveyed them in her peripheral vision, her heart sank a little – she'd thought that as generals in name, Lu Yaoguang and Gu Tianxuan wouldn't know anything about leading a real army, but this was far from the blundering scene that she'd envisioned.

All of these soldiers were clearly well-organised and well-trained, and certainly did not seem like bozos who were being clumsily commanded by two amateurs. In fact, Lu Yaoguang and Gu Tianxuan seemed more like two auxiliary fighters supporting these elite troops, who just happened to be more highly skilled than most.

Once she got a closer look at the enemy camp, she quickly realised that they were out of their depth.

That idiot Yang fellow had given them the worst of luck. A deep sense of foreboding hit Zhou Fei as she thought to herself: I might really get shot dead by arrows today.

Discreetly taking two deep breaths, she recited her internal strength mantra in her head. Like a placid stream stirred to life, all the chi in her body went surging through her meridians, releasing a blast of power that poured out from her. Zhou Fei stamped her foot hard on the ground, which instantly created a web of cracks on the stony path. A yellowed leaf drifting slowly down was instantly split in two when it reached the maelstrom of chi radiating off her, its two halves suddenly picking up speed as they fluttered to the ground. One of them landed on its blade in the dirt beside the cracked stone path, the edge where it had been sliced – as cleanly as if by a sharp knife – solemnly sticking straight out at the night sky.

News of Zhou Fei's arrival had already been delivered to the main tent at the centre of the valley, and had come as a terrible shock to Lu Yaoguang and Gu Tianxuan. Before they'd left, Cao Ning had repeatedly stressed to them both that there was a lot at stake in this mission. It had to be executed quickly, with total secrecy, and absolutely could not fail, else they would pay for it with their lives. Yet just when they were mere inches away from success, the heavens seemed to have it out for them all of a sudden – first those refugees had managed to escape, and now this deeply unwelcome guest had come knocking at their door!

Lu Yaoguang spat out "I'm going to take a look," as he sprang to his feet and strode out of the tent.

The memory of Zhou Fei taking Cao Ning hostage on the battlefield was still deeply ingrained in Lu Yaoguang's mind. Even though more than three years had since passed, he recognised her on sight, blurting out: "You!"

Zhou Fei smiled: "Your Excellency, how have you been?"

Surrounded by a valley full of soldiers armed to the teeth, this young maiden was standing there completely unfazed, looking as calm as can be – this reeked of a trap!

Lu Yaoguang was immediately placed on the highest alert. Knowing full well who Zhou Fei was, his eyes subconsciously drifted towards the dense forest around and above them. The trees seemed to hide hordes of enemy soldiers lying in ambush.

How could Zhou Yitang not know of their plans, since his daughter was here?

Lu Yaoguang felt himself break out in cold sweat at the thought, and all he could think was: We're done for now.

And right then, as if to confirm his suspicions, the cold sparks of a signal flare suddenly went shooting up into the sky with a sharp scream, brilliantly lighting up the night sky as the explosion echoed clear across the valley.

Lu Yaoguang paled a little.

Causing one's opponent to lose his nerve was half the battle won. Once Zhou Fei saw Lu Yaoguang's gaze start to wander, she knew that the flare had alarmed him. Gu Tianxuan had yet to arrive – she couldn't miss this golden opportunity!

Skies Shatter moved in a sudden, gleaming arc through the air, straight towards Lu Yaoguang.

With a roar, Lu Yaoguang hastily raised his sabre to parry her blow. As Zhou Fei was distracted with keeping an eye out for Gu Tianxuan, who still hadn't appeared, she'd deliberately held back from using her full strength. Skies Shatter was immediately knocked aside upon impact. Zhou Fei stumbled a half-step back, as though she'd lacked the strength to meet his blow, and her smile in the dim reflection of her blade looked a little forced. As Lu Yaoguang had always thought highly of himself, he immediately fell for this, thinking: Those losers in the Southern Dynasty are truly hopeless – even a little girl can call herself the 'Southern Blade' now!

A corner of his mouth quirked upwards, as he sneered at Zhou Fei: "Should I be afraid of you?"

As he said this, he stepped forward to seize Zhou Fei himself, despite all the soldiers here who were waiting to do so. The two of them started to exchange blows.

Just as Zhou Fei's part of the plan was going somewhat smoothly, thanks to the sheer stupidity of Lu Yaoguang, Li Sheng and Yang Jin were surreptitiously approaching the iron enclosure. The names of all the people inside had been read out by now. In spite of the commotion at the main tent, the soldiers here dutifully remained at their posts, continuing with their preparations to butcher these refugees.

Having tasted the sting of the whip several times over, the refugees were frightened out of their wits by now. All of them did as they were told, cluelessly shuffling into neat rows before these Northern soldiers. The soldiers strode briskly up to them and called out ten names, trussing up this first batch of unlucky souls and hustling them out of the iron enclosure.

The soldier who had been designated as executioner for the day raised his chopper. Only now did these refugees realise that their ends were nigh. They started to struggle futilely against their bindings, their cries of anguish filling the air.

While they were making this tremendous din, Li Sheng whistled to Yang Jin, signalling to him that it was time. Yang Jin nodded at him from afar, and reached into his pocket for the powder bomb. Li Sheng covered his nose and mouth with a piece of cloth, then gripped the hilts of his twin swords tightly.

The very instant that chopper came swinging down, the two men made their move.

Yang Jin lobbed the powder bomb into the soldiers' midst. At the exact same time, Li Sheng came swooping down over their heads like a mighty falcon, brandishing his swords at this row of executioners. He intended to go in and out as quickly as possible, while the soldiers were thrown into confusion by the cloud of smoke. The two young heroes had coordinated their movements perfectly. Alas, the unexpected happened at this crucial moment.

The powder bomb that Yang Jin had hurled to the ground split open with a crack, but failed to explode – that little round pellet sputtered and coughed feebly for several seconds, expelling a few lazy tendrils of white smoke, before rolling to a stop on the ground!

Yang Jin: "…"

Li Sheng: "…"

Coalface Yang's fears had been realised: having lain too long in this filthy barbarian's unwashed clothes, that little powder bomb had indeed grown damp with his sweat!

The intended 'fearsome clouds of smoke descending from the heavens' swiftly turned into farce instead. The little round pellet lay on the ground, still valiantly struggling to emit little puffs of white smoke, while Li Sheng stood all by his lonesome amidst a throng of Northern soldiers, each side staring at the other in bewilderment. Li Sheng felt like all the hair on his body was standing on end, and cold sweat was pouring off him in buckets. His mind had gone completely blank.

He supposed they'd misinterpreted 'the will of the gods' after all: those four rootless blades of grass clearly hadn't been telling them to stay behind and save these people, but to run as far away as possible!

But it was far too late to change their minds now.

Biting down hard on his tongue to jolt his petrified brain back to life, Li Sheng ignored the shouts of these soldiers and started to tear through their ranks, the cold sweat still trickling down his back – if it had been Yang Jin who'd charged out here, with Li Sheng in the shadows instead, Li Sheng would have known not to emerge unless absolutely necessary. It was of paramount importance right now to create an illusion of mystery that would keep these soldiers wary of them. While the powder bomb had failed, he could still try to fire at them from the shadows, and if he moved fast enough, he might even be able to give them the impression that they were being ambushed. Then he could release several flares to shock and awe them, while hurling several flaming branches at their stores of food and supplies, making them think that the enemy was launching a sneak attack under cover of darkness. All this would hopefully have thrown them into disarray for a while.

Alas, that bumbling gorilla Yang Jin was of course utterly incapable of 'creating an illusion of mystery'. Once he saw that the powder bomb had failed and things hadn't gone according to plan, he instantly gave up on the ruse and joined the fray himself.

Before Li Sheng could stop him, Yang Jin leapt out from his hiding place, swinging his large sabre mightily down with a roar as he charged right into the ranks of Northern soldiers. Seeing that this iron enclosure was under siege, teams of Northern soldiers came running over in a flash, surrounding them in an orderly formation, while a soldier went sprinting towards the main tent to report this.

Gu Tianxuan had in recent years started to keep a moustache. With his usual fan in hand, he looked even more like a sly old fox now.

When Lu Yaoguang hurried out to meet the intruder, he hadn't stopped him from doing so; neither had he moved at all despite the massive din that Lu Yaoguang and Zhou Fei were making as they battled it out. But now, upon hearing that the iron enclosure was being attacked, Gu Tianxuan fixed the messenger with a piercing gaze and asked: "How many of them are there?"

The soldier froze at his question, then stammered: "Not…not many, perhaps only about two or three, but they all seem extremely powerful…we can't seem to keep them at bay for the moment."

"Ha," scoffed Gu Tianxuan. "How interesting…so they're bluffing, eh?"

They weren't sufficiently prepared, and had even given the game away.

Gu Tianxuan shot to his feet, and removed the heavy cape from his shoulders to reveal the close-fitting fighter's attire that he was wearing. He said: "Get the archers to surround them. Since these 'heroes' insist on saving that bothersome bunch of beggars, we might as well let all of them perish together."

Then he strode out of the tent and was before Zhou Fei in a flash, sweeping his hand out in front of him as he snapped his fan open. This fan was made of solid iron, and gleamed menacingly as it headed straight for Zhou Fei's forehead. Zhou Fei had been waiting for Gu Tianxuan to make his appearance for a long time now. She swiftly swung her sabre out in a massive arc before her – the Snow-Breaking Sabre's 'Cut' move. Having knocked Gu Tianxuan's fan-wielding hand aside, she spun away and came to a stop about a metre from him.

Lu Yaoguang said with displeasure: "What are you doing? It's just a little girl, I can…"

"My dear Alkaid, the past few decades truly haven't taught you anything at all," sighed Gu Tianxuan. Then his face growing grim, he said: "This is a classified army base. There is no place for intruders – why haven't you seized her yet!"

At this, all of the guards around the main tent immediately got into formation around Zhou Fei, thrusting their spears at her with a roar.

And at the same time, Gu Tianxuan spread his iron fan out again, and swooped towards her.

Lu Yaoguang was stunned by what followed – the sabre of this 'little girl' suddenly underwent a complete transformation, unleashing a 'Wind' move that dismantled the soldiers' formation of spears in three deft strikes, while simultaneously managing to parry Gu Tianxuan's iron fan.

Skies Shatter glinted splendidly under the flickering torchlight. It was clear to Lu Yaoguang that Gu Tianxuan had struck at Zhou Fei with full force, yet that iron fan of his which had cowed the martial arts world for decades was actually showing signs of yielding to her long sabre. Greatly shaken, Lu Yaoguang finally realised that Zhou Fei had been deceiving him all along!

While Lu Yaoguang was the least powerful of the Big Dipper, he still had a fearsome reputation known far and wide. He'd never been subjected to such immense humiliation! Seething with rage, he brandished his sabre and closed in on Zhou Fei together with Gu Tianxuan.

Zhou Fei looked completely calm, but her heart was racing a mile a minute – Li Sheng and Yang Jin, those unreliable oafs, were doing god-knows-what out there. What had happened to their plan of releasing those refugees amidst clouds of smoke, using the element of surprise to fool these soldiers into thinking they were greater in number, to help her bluff her way through?

Yet there hadn't been a single peep from them even after so long – they'd left her to put on this show all by herself!

And neither Gu Tianxuan nor Lu Yaoguang seemed to have the slightest inclination to behave with the honour one might expect of top pugilists. Not only were they ganging up on her, they'd even enlisted a whole bunch of soldiers to hem her in. From the very moment that Zhou Fei announced her presence and strode into the valley, it seemed like not a single thing had gone according to their plans.

Not only were the gods refusing to protect her, they were clearly set on cursing her instead!

She could hear the sounds of numerous iron arrows being loaded, which echoed ominously throughout the valley.

Zhou Fei thought to herself: It's all over now.

In recent years, Li Sheng had followed Zhou Yitang around quite often, frequently helping his uncle with errands, and had even accompanied the Southern troops onto the battlefield a couple of times. He didn't need to hear the sounds of those arrows being loaded to know that they were in the worst possible straits. As Yang Jin had come thundering out so recklessly, this now meant that all three of them were in the open. They didn't even have anyone left in the shadows who could provide them some cover.

Under such circumstances, even if there had been a great general of yore standing here in Li Sheng's place, without anyone to deploy he too would be done for.

Li Sheng had no choice but to continue forging ahead. Running one of his swords right through two Northern soldiers who were in his way, he wielded that sword with the corpses skewered on it like a shield, and made a mad dash towards the iron bars. Flinging the sword and corpses aside, he thrust his one remaining sword into the iron lock, which these Northern soldiers had hastily re-fastened, and pried it open with a deft twist and turn.

Reaching behind him to slash his sword at yet another soldier, he yelled at those people behind the iron bars: "Come on, let's go!"

All of these refugees stared at him in stunned silence, frozen with fear. Li Sheng was ready to throw his hands up in the air right there and then. Hauling up the refugee whose head had been on the chopping block just now, he used his sword to sever the man's bindings, and gave him a hard shove towards the exit, yelling: "Run!"

While this refugee had already resigned himself to his fate, he was now being handed another chance at survival by some amazing stroke of luck. Staggering to his feet, he started to run madly away like his life depended upon it – which it did. And once he did so, all the other refugees in here finally came to their senses and started jostling for the exit, from the inside of the cave all the way to the iron bars. Those at the back were urging and shoving the people in front to move faster, such that even those Northern soldiers who tried to stop them were swept aside by the panicked horde. Like waters bursting through the floodgates, their terror had converged into a tremendous force.

But before Li Sheng could heave a small sigh of relief, he heard Yang Jin shout: "Watch out!"

Li Sheng heard a sharp whistling past his ear, and instinctively swerved to avoid it. When he turned to look, he saw that an iron arrow had been knocked out of the air by the Lone Goose Sabre, to land right where he'd just been standing. Then he heard the hissing of numerous arrows as they hurtled through the air, like a swarm of angry bees released from their hive. It was a sound that made one's skin crawl. These arrows were being fired at them from all directions, raining down on them in a dense and deadly shower. Before the horrified gazes of his comrades, an iron arrow went through the head of the refugee right in front, pinning him onto a large rock. Blood and brain matter splattered onto the grey rock face.

Frightened out of their wits, those refugees behind him started to run every which way in utter terror.

This barrage of arrows had forced Li Sheng to take cover behind a large oak tree. Picking up a large chopper from one of the soldiers' corpses, he used it to deflect the flying arrows while yelling: "Split up and run! Find a place to hide, don't gather together, and don't go back! Don't return to the cave! You mustn't run towards the cave!"

This chaotic crush of refugees were running in all different directions. Those who continued to dash around helter-skelter were very quickly pinned to the ground by the falling arrows. Some of them who were a little bit smarter followed Li Sheng's lead, splitting up to take cover under rocks and behind trees large enough to shield them. Then there was also a small group of people who, in their panic, and despite Li Sheng's entreaties, actually turned right around and ran back into the cave behind those iron bars.

Li Sheng shouted at the top of his lungs: "Come out! Come out now! They'll burn you out!"

He felt like a hapless shepherd, whose sheep simply refused to listen to him no matter how much he shouted.

Having yelled himself hoarse, Li Sheng finally gave up and fell silent. As he listened to the wind whistling through this valley, the hissing of the arrows, the shouts of fear and cries of terror, for some reason what Madame Cirrus had said to him at the Liu Manor about 'great leaders' and 'a glimmer of hope' came to mind. At the time, while her words had filled him with dread, he'd also been just the tiniest little bit proud of himself. But now that he thought back on this, he couldn't help but give a rueful chuckle. He couldn't even lead the hundred or so people here – how could he possibly be a 'great leader'?

Madame Cirrus must have found it amusing to toy with the hopes of a young and inexperienced lad such as he.

Li Sheng glumly concluded that he was just a middling youngster, who dreamt of greatness but would only ever be fit for the most trivial of responsibilities. Becoming the next steward of Xiushan Hall like Ma Jili was probably the best he could hope for. After all, in his younger days Mistress Li had said that his aptitude for martial arts was quite average.

"Fire! Fire!"

Those shouts shook Li Sheng out of his reverie. With a low roar, he managed to use his chopper to deflect an arrow that had come whizzing his way just in time. The Northern soldiers had started to fire arrows smeared with flammable oil. Like shooting stars, they sent sparks trailing as they flew through the air.

Li Sheng's cheeks were baking hot from the flames. The colossal roots of this oak he was crouched under had already caught fire. The arrows' sparks and the dampness of the tree eventually cancelled each other out – the bark of the tree turned a scorched black, while those nascent flames were gradually extinguished. But soon after, a new batch of flaming arrows came raining down on him.

They'd come at the worst possible time – as the Northern troops were almost done here, they'd probably been just about to kill all of the refugees here and burn this valley to the ground, before advancing on the Southern army from behind…they were now using all of that oil for the valley on them instead.

While those refugees who had taken cover alongside Li Sheng were in quite a sorry state, they were at least somewhat shielded from the flames. But those who had insisted on running back into the cave weren't faring so well – they'd hoped that this cave would afford them some protection, but when those fiery arrows landed at the entrance of the cave, they swiftly set ablaze the mattresses and dry straw which the refugees had placed there.

The wind tonight just so happened to be blowing towards the cave, which sent the flames surging inwards in a matter of seconds. The inside of the cave was clearly a dead end, since the Northern soldiers had chosen to use it as a prison. And as those refugees in the cave had huddled all the way inside, they had no time at all to react before billowing clouds of smoke started to fill the cave. The flames had practically exploded into a blazing conflagration which sealed off the entrance.

It was too late to run now.

Li Sheng thought he could smell a whiff of burnt flesh in the air. A wave of nausea hit him, and he desperately held back the urge to retch as his eyes watered.

Just then, Li Sheng spied a dark figure overhead – it was Yang Jin, who landed somewhat unsteadily before him.

Men from the South weren't quite accustomed to pinning their long hair up like those in the central plains. While under normal circumstances Yang Jin could still be considered something of a 'black beauty' when he wore his hair down, he now looked more like a 'burnt beauty' instead. A whole chunk of his hair had been burnt off by those fiery arrows, and their flame-curled ends were still smoking. He looked completely wretched. At least his face was already dark, so the layer of soot on it didn't make him look that much different.

"We can't help them anymore!" Yang Jin was shouting right in his face: "Unless you know how to shoot water from your mouth. But I certainly can't, can you?"

Li Sheng: "…"

Sprayed with a face-ful of soot and saliva, Young Master Li was shaken out of his gloom by Yang Jin. He breathed deeply and forced himself to steady his emotions, viciously scrubbing the grime off his face with the back of his hand.

Li Sheng gazed across the valley, taking the entire scene in, and immediately saw what the problem was – all of the firepower was being directed with military precision towards the area around the iron enclosure. However, the soldiers around the main tent seemed to be in some disarray.

Right – they still had Zhou Fei!

"Get everyone still here to follow me," said Li Sheng grimly. "It isn't over for us yet."

When Gu Tianxuan and Lu Yaoguang had first closed in on her, Zhou Fei was still able to fret about the possibility that she might die here today. But as the fight wore on, it soon became impossible for her to worry about anything else besides fending off the incessant blows coming her way.

She'd already admitted before to Yang Jin that she wouldn't be able to defeat Merak and Alkaid if they joined forces. Although she knew this full well, she had no choice but to take both of them on, as they were leaving her no room at all to retreat. Zhou Fei was quick to resign herself to her circumstances – since she was probably going to die here today, she figured that she might as well stop fretting and focus all her attention on the sabre in her hand instead.

Even if her 'Inconstant' Snow-Breaking Sabre would be meeting its end today, never to rise again, she was damn sure going to make this end a spectacularly glorious one.

As Gu Tianxuan's iron fan descended on her head from above, Lu Yaoguang thrust his sabre towards her back at an angle that was impossible to dodge. Just when it seemed like Zhou Fei would have nowhere to hide, she abruptly spun around within that incredibly narrow room for manoeuvre between their weapons. Crossing Skies Shatter and its scabbard over her chest, one on top of the other, she managed to simultaneously parry Gu Tianxuan's iron fan above and Lu Yaoguang's sabre below.

The Withered-Glory chi which had been flowing within Zhou Fei for several years now was stirred to life at this very instant, sustaining this momentary stalemate with these two top pugilists. It surged through her with so much force and power that her meridians were throbbing painfully. And then she abruptly withdrew – unable to withstand that burst of chi, her splendid wooden scabbard instantly broke in half. But the chi that had been coursing through it didn't falter one bit, howling through the air as it propelled the two broken halves of the scabbard with staggering force towards Gu Tianxuan and Lu Yaoguang, forcing them both to back away.

The tip of Skies Shatter, which had curved slightly when pressed up against the iron fan, sprang back with a sharp metallic whine.

Grasping the now-warm hilt of her sabre with both hands, Zhou Fei stood between them in a fighting stance, sinking her shoulders and lowering her elbows. In that moment, a single thought came to her mind: I might not lose today.

On the long and arduous path that was martial arts, she'd often been groping her way forward in complete darkness. Occasional moments of revelation were like fireworks suddenly going off in the night, illuminating the road ahead in a dazzling instant…allowing her to behold her opponents with startling clarity – unbeatable opponents who had, amazingly, fallen a half-step behind her today.

The spectre of the 'Big Dipper' had haunted the martial arts community of the central plains for the past two decades like one's worst nightmare. They included powerful pugilists like Dubhe, Megrez and Mizar; underhanded villains like Phecda and Alioth; sly old foxes like Merak; and brokers of power like Alkaid. As henchmen of the Northern Dynasty, they wielded both political power and brute force, and after the great pugilists of the martial arts world had fallen one after the other, they'd run even more rampant. Without any more fear of retribution, they had struck terror into the hearts of people everywhere.

But no matter how ghastly the spectre, or how long the nightmare – there would eventually come a time when the rays of dawn pierced through this darkness.

The backs of Zhou Fei's hands looked like those of a tender young girl, but their palms were tough and hard with callouses and scars.

This pair of hands had wielded a third-rate sabre worth a mere handful of coins; a lousy sword snatched from a roadside corpse; the 'Mountain of Lost Springs', forged by a master craftsman in the image of Southern Blade Li Zheng's own sabre; as well as 'Skies Shatter', imbued with the last vestiges of bitter grief and indignation that the great master Lu Run had left behind on this earth…her slender blade had encountered numerous legends of the martial arts world both major and minor, and hacked a bloody way out for her from the thorniest pits of despair –

The delicate skin between her thumb and forefinger had ripped apart, sending blood trickling down her palm. She casually wiped it off onto the hilt of her sword. For the first time in her life, she was seized with a sense of complete certainty, like nothing she'd ever felt before – she knew that as long as she held her sabre in hand, she need not fear any opponent, invincible though they may be. The indomitable arrogance of Duan Jiuniang, who had cackled with glee while declaring 'trouble is my middle name', hadn't gone to the grave with that madwoman. Instead, it had been passed down to Zhou Fei through the untameable current of Withered-Glory chi coursing through her meridians, burying itself deep within her flesh and blood and bones.

Li Jinrong had once told her that 'Demons and gods exist in other planes; only mere mortals walk this earth'.In the years since, Zhou Fei had always kept those words in mind, and frequently drew on them for encouragement. But only now, at this very moment, with both hands firmly gripping Skies Shatter, did they truly sink into her heart and soul.

Gu Tianxuan looked darkly down at the broken scabbard halve which had grazed his ear, saying: "On account of the fact that your father is Zhou Cun, we'll spare your life if you turn yourself in now."

A long lock of hair had come free from Zhou Fei's braid and was hanging down the side of her face. Finding it a nuisance, she deftly sliced it off with the tip of her blade. She lowered her eyes and smiled, as if Gu Tianxuan's offer was merely amusing.

In this mighty clash of martial arts titans, there was no way others could simply join the fray without endangering their lives, or inadvertently getting in the way.

So even though there were tens of thousands of soldiers around them, all they could do was stand around and watch, unsure of how to intervene.

This fight was going on with no end in sight. The only way out of this stalemate was if either Lu Yaoguang or Gu Tianxuan were willing to lunge decisively at Zhou Fei in close combat, at the risk of getting struck, tying her down such that the other was free to back away and launch a sneak attack on her from a distance.

But while Gu Tianxuan and Lu Yaoguang had fought alongside each other for decades, and appeared to treat each other with comradely respect, they'd always looked askance at each other – Gu Tianxuan thought Lu Yaoguang an impetuous fool who never learned from his errors, whereas Lu Yaoguang thought Gu Tianxuan a pretentious jackass who excelled at little else but currying favour with those in power.

Neither was willing to risk injury for the other, of course.

Gu Tianxuan now regretted joining this fight with Zhou Fei. While he'd been pretty sure that the girl's martial arts were much better than what she'd made them out to be at first, he hadn't expected her to be this powerful – but then again, before this Zhou Fei herself hadn't known that she might actually be capable of keeping two of the Big Dipper at bay, and even manage to tussle with them for so long without showing any signs of defeat.

If things continued like this, Gu Tianxuan knew that although Zhou Fei was outnumbered, she wouldn't be the one starting to feel more nervous by the second…because everyone knew that the mighty feared the young.

The same fate befell all men – just as the great heroes of yore had fallen, so too fearsome 'nightmares' could not escape the ravages of time in the end.

No matter how much Gu Tianxuan's skills had advanced over the years, he could no longer conjure up the same youthful ferocity and thirst for blood that he'd had when the four members of the Big Dipper attacked the Southern Blade Li Zheng decades ago. Hence when confronted with so fresh a face, radiating with the vigour and confidence of youth, the beginnings of what felt like fear started to creep into his heart.

Li Sheng leapt through the thick smoke to land high up on the branches of the trees above, shouting: "Do all of you want to live or not!"

A flaming arrow pierced the branch he was standing on with a thump. Ignoring the ominous crackling of wood, he said in a booming voice imbued with his chi, which sent tremors through the surrounding rocks: "Weren't all of you born and raised by mothers and fathers – don't you remember that you are human! And since you are all humans, why do you let them slaughter you like cattle!"

The branch he was standing on finally went crashing to the ground. Li Sheng sprang lightly off it with his toes to land elegantly on the grass. The fiery arrows which were filtering through the branches above struck the chopper in his hand, creating a spectacular flurry of sparks that consumed both arrows and blade. He promptly flung that ruined chopper aside, and bent down to pick up a heavy sword that a Northern soldier had dropped.

A teenage boy in the tattered rags of a refugee suddenly came charging out from behind the large rock where he'd been hiding. He grabbed a weapon from one of the corpses on the ground, as well as a helmet beside it which he thrust on his head. His eyes blazing, he answered Li Sheng's rallying cry with a mighty shout. The rest of the survivors had no choice but to follow Li Sheng in making a desperate break for the exit, as the spreading flames had started to devour their hiding places.

Yang Jin unceremoniously chopped off the smouldering ends of his hair as he led the way for them, storming towards the confused throng of Northern soldiers near the main tent. The Lone Goose Sabre was chipped in several places, and a few of its golden rings had fallen off. It could no longer make that awe-inspiring din.

The flaming arrows were hot on their heels, laying waste to every inch of grass that they landed on and reducing this to bare patches of scorched earth. Only when they reached the vicinity of the main tent did the archers quickly cease this blitz of arrows.

Zhou Fei and the Big Dipper were an indistinguishable blur of motion as they fought. Not daring to approach their two generals, nor to make any major decisions on their own either, all the officers here could do was order their soldiers to seize the refugees running helter-skelter in the valley.

These refugees' temporary boost of courage rapidly crumbled in the face of these troops. Li Sheng didn't know how many soldiers he'd swung his sword at by now, and he could barely feel his arms. The wounds at his waist from where those blazing arrows had grazed him felt like they were on fire, and he could taste blood at the back of his throat.

And just then, these Northern soldiers who had been advancing steadily on them were suddenly thrown into disarray.

Over the loud ringing in his ears, Li Sheng heard screams and shouts of terror break out: "Snakes! Snakes!"