Chapter 15: Medicine

Yue Buqun lay in the cabin. Sound of the river waves beating the shore echoed in his ears as his many thoughts also whirled around in his head. Slowly, he fell into a state of ooziness when suddenly something caught his attention – the sounds of footsteps coming closer and closer from ashore. Sitting up from his bed, he looked out through a crack of the window. Under the misty moonlight he could vaguely see two shadows running towards the boat from afar. One of them raised his right hand, and at that signal, both of them stopped, still dozens of feet away from the boat. Knowing that the two of them would undoubtedly be talking in whispers, Yue Buqun started loading his “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight”, and instantly his sense of vision and hearing sharpened dramatically and the distance he could see and hear increased considerably.

“That’s the boat,” one of the men whispered. “I made a mark on the mat of the boat earlier. Right after that old fellow from the Huashan School hired the boat. It’s gotten to be it.”

“That’s great! Let’s report back to Uncle-Master Zhu then. Senior apprentice brother, when did our ‘Hundred-Toxic Faction’ start a feud with the Huashan School? Why is Uncle-Master Zhu going through so much trouble to intercept them in such a big way?” the other one asked in whispers.

As soon as Yue Buqun heard the words “Hundred-Toxic Faction,” his heart skipped a beat as a slight chill shot down his spine. Because of the slight distraction, the power of the “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight” decreased, and all he could pick out were pieces of words from the conversation.

“…not intercepting…Uncle Master Zu owed someone a favor, and that someone has asked him to inquire about somebody…it wasn’t…” the previous one replied.

The man spoke in such a low voice that Yue Buqun could only hear fractions of the sentence and couldn’t put the meaning of the words together. By the time he reloaded his “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight,” all he heard were sounds of footsteps descending further and further. The two men had faded into the darkness.

“How did our Huashan School start a feud with the ‘Hundred-Toxic Faction’?” Yue Buqun thought aloud. “That Uncle-Master Zhu they mentioned most probably is the Head Master of the ‘Hundred-Toxic Faction.’ This man has a nickname called ‘Non-lethal Man.’ It is said that this man possesses outstanding skills in the art of poisoning. To kill someone with poison is simple. Anybody can achieve that easily. But when this man poisons someone, the victim won’t die, instead, he will feel such great torment as if he has been cut thousands of times or as if there are tens of thousands of bugs chewing and feasting on his flesh. The misery is going to be so immense that the victim would have been better off dead, yet he won’t even have enough strength left to commit suicide and would have no other choice but to suffer more. Together with the ‘Five-Sylph Sect’ in Yunnan Province, the ‘Hundred-Toxic Faction’ has been named the Ultimate Two Poisonous Clans in the Martial World. Although it is said that the ‘Hundred-Toxic Faction’ is still inferior to the ‘Five-Sylph Sect,’ it is certainly no trivial matter. Why would this Master Zhu give me trouble in a big way? Who has asked him to do it?”

Yue Buqun pondered the question over and over but could only come up with two explanations: number one, Feng Buping of the Sword-Branch must have asked the Hundred-Toxic Faction to give trouble to him; number two, among the fifteen assassins Linghu Chong had blinded, someone must have been friends with the Hundred-Toxic Faction.

“Does your family really have that whatever ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ after all?”

It was the voice of his daughter – Yue Lingshan. Yue Buqun didn’t even have to listen on to figure out whom she was talking to. It of course had to be Lin Pingzhi. They must have sneaked ashore earlier sometime. Yue Buqun suddenly realized that his daughter’s feelings towards Lin Pingzhi had been growing day after day lately. The two dared not show their affection during the day, afraid that people would make fun of them; so instead, they went ashore for a date late at night. If it weren’t because he had detected enemy coming ashore and used his “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight” to spy on them, this would have certainly slipped by him. To load the “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight” would exhaust a good amount of inner energy. He wouldn’t have used it under ordinary circumstances. He certainly didn’t expect to find his daughter’s little secret together with the origin of the enemy? Then he heard Lin Pingzhi’s voice.

“We do have the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art’ and I’ve shown you the moves several times. But we really don’t have the sword art manuscript.”

“Then why do your grandpa and your two uncles keep suspecting big apprentice brother for embezzling your sword art manuscript?” Yue Lingshan asked.

“Humph, how convenient! Let others suspect for you and save yourself the trouble,” Yue Lingshan said.

“If my family really had some kind of brilliant sword art manuscript, our Fortune Prestige Escort House wouldn’t have been bullied so much by the Qingcheng Sword School and my family wouldn’t have been broken up.” Lin Pingzhi sighed.

“That’s true. Then when your grandpa and your uncles suspected big apprentice brother, why didn’t you defend him against the charge?” Yue Lingshan asked.

“I didn’t hear my mom and dad’s words with my own ears. I wouldn’t have any ground to defend him from,” Lin Pingzhi argued.

“So you do suspect big apprentice brother after all,” Yue Lingshan concluded.

“Don’t say that. If big apprentice brother hears this, it will certainly hurt the brotherhood of fellow apprentices,” Lin Pingzhi suggested.

“Why do you have to put up so much affectation?” Yue Lingshan sneered. “Either you do suspect him or you don’t. If I were you, I’d have asked big apprentice brother a long time ago.” She paused for a second and then spoke again. “You are so much like my father. Both of you suspect big apprentice brother in your hearts and believe that he had embezzled your family’s sword art manuscript….”

“If you don’t suspect him, why did you use the word ‘too’? Didn’t I say that your personality is almost identical to my father’s? Both of you keep your thoughts to yourself but never speak it out directly.” Yue Lingshan chuckled.

Suddenly, a croaked voice roared from the boat right next to the boat of the Huashan members.

“You shameless scoundrels! What a bunch of crap! Linghu Chong is a true hero. Why would he want your god damned sword art manuscript? Do you know what kind of lowlifes I hate the most? The kind that talks garbage behind one’s back!”

His voice exploded like thunders from the sky. Not only were passengers from the many boats along the river bank waken up, even the many birds sleeping on the tree branches along the river bank were startled and began chirping loudly. Immediately following the shout, a huge shadow leapt out of the boat and glided toward Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan rapidly.

Neither Lin Pingzhi nor Yue Lingshan had brought a sword when they came ashore, so both of them could only rush to defend themselves with kicks and punches. As soon as Yue Buqun heard the man’s roar, he could tell that this man must have had resourceful inner energy. And the leap and the glide the man demonstrated clearly showed that he possessed first-class Kung Fu skills. Seeing that the man had launched the attack against his daughter, Yue Buqun shouted out in desperation.

Hastily, Yue Buqun threw himself at the window and crashed through it to leap toward the riverbank. Still in the mid air, he could already see that the giant man had grabbed hold of both Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan and darted forward with one in each hand.

Yue Buqun was astounded. As soon as his right foot touched the ground, he dashed forward using his Qing-Gong techniques at once. Wielding a move named “White Aurora Shooting the Sun,” he thrust his sword toward the man’s back.

The man had a very big and tall body, so of course his steps were much bigger than average. He took a step forward and the stab from Yue Buqun was out of range. Without any delay, Yue Buqun followed with a move called “Zhong-Ping Sword” and shot his blade forward a second time. The giant man just happened to take another giant step forward, and once again the attack missed the target.

“Look out!” Yue Buqun let out a crisp roar and shouted out as he stabbed his sword out swiftly using a move named “Cool Breeze Brings Comfort.”

When the tip of the blade was within one foot from the man’s back, suddenly, a strong wind embraced Yue Buqun as someone charged against him from the side, poking two fingers towards his eyes viciously. It was at the end of the street; a row of houses by the street blocked the moonlight and cast a long shadow on the street. Yue Buqun quickly turned his body aside and dodged the attack. Swinging his long sword with an angle, he sliced the blade out as his counterattack before even catching a glimpse of the enemy. The attacker lowered his head and then stepped forward with a clawed hand striking towards Yue Buqun’s “Zhong-Wan Point” on his stomach. Yue Buqun threw a front kick. The man spun around and struck toward his back. Without turning back, Yue Buqun shot a speedy thrust backward with a backhand, but the man dodged the thrust once again and then charged forward to punch at Yue Buqun’s chest. Yue Buqun was infuriated. How dare this man be so disrespectful to fight his long sword with bare hands yet using all attacking moves? In the fury, he made a circular motion with the sword and then poked upward all of a sudden toward the enemy’s forehead. In a rush, the man flicked the sword with his finger, which changed the direction of the poke slightly. Following the flow of the force Yue Buqun turned the poke into a slice, and with a slight tearing sound he had chopped the man’s hat off, exposing a shaven head. The man turned out to be a monk. Blood gushed down from his head; obviously, the slice had injured him. Giving the ground a hard push, the monk leapt backward hastily.

Seeing that he fled in the opposite direction from the giant who kidnapped Yue Lingshan, Yue Buqun didn’t chase after him. By then Madam Yue had caught up with him, sword in her hand.

“This way!” Yue Buqun pointed with his left hand and the couple immediately chased on following the road the giant had taken. But soon the road intersected with many other roads and they couldn’t tell which way the enemy had taken.

“The man that kidnapped Lingshan is a friend of Chong. I suppose he…he won’t go so far as to hurt Lingshan. Let’s go ask Chong to find out more about it,” Yue Buqun suggested.

“That’s right. That man shouted out loud saying that Lingshan and Pingzhi were defaming Chong. I wonder what made him say that.” Madam Yue nodded.

“It’s about the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript’ again,” Yue Buqun explained.

When the Yue couple arrived back at the riverbank, they found Linghu Chong and the many apprentices all standing by the river looking deeply concerned. After Yue Buqun and Madam Yue walked back into the middle cabin and were just about to send for Linghu Chong for further inquiries, a voice suddenly rose in a distance from ashore.

Lao Denuo and a few male apprentices unsheathed their swords immediately and leapt back ashore. Only moments later, Lao Denuo returned to the cabin and reported.

“Master, we found this piece of cloth under a rock on the ground. The messenger left before we got there.” He presented the piece of cloth.

Yue Buqun picked the cloth up and took a good look at it. The cloth was apparently torn from a robe, and someone had written some tremulous words in blood using his finger. It read, “We’ll return your stinking daughter on the Five-Tyrant Ridge.”

“That monk wrote this,” handing the cloth over to his wife, Yue Buqun claimed dryly.

“Don’t worry. I gave him a cut on the forehead,” Yue Buqun comforted her. He turned to the boatman and asked, “How far are we from the Five-Tyrant Ridge?”

“If we set sail early in the morning, after the Copper-Tile Town and the Jiuhe Town, it’s Dongming Town. The Five-Tyrant Ridge is to the east of Dongming next to Heze. It’s right on the border between Henan province and Shandong province. If misters want to go there, we can probably get there by dusk tomorrow,” the boatman answered.

Yue Buqun answered with a hum as he thought aloud, “They are asking me to meet them on the Five-Tyrant Ridge. This is an appointment I simply can’t refuse. But who knows how many people they will have there. Besides, they have Lingshan in their hands. I guess this is a battle I am destined to lose.” He couldn’t help but hesitate.

Suddenly someone shouted from ashore. “Peach Valley’s Six Goblins, you damn buttheads, I am your lord Zhong Kui[1] here to hunt you bunch of goblins down.”

There was simply no way the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies would be taking those words lightly. All six of them instantly cursed back with streams of abuses. Except for Fruit Fairy who couldn’t move, the remaining five Fairies all leapt ashore without any delay. What they saw was a man with a needle hat holding a long narrow white banner.[2] At the sight of the five Fairies, the man turned around immediately and started running away.

“Peach Valley’s Six Goblins are all cowards! I dare you to come after me,” he shouted without slowing down his steps.

Bellowing furiously, Root Fairy and the rest of the four Fairies darted after the man. But the man certainly had first-class Qing-Gong skills. Within seconds, the six of them had been swallowed by the darkness.

At the time, Yue Buqun and the many Huashan School members had all come ashore. Suddenly Yue Buqun shouted.

“This is a trick to lure us away. Get back to the boat right away, everybody.”

Right at the moment, a ball shaped shadow suddenly rolled out from nowhere and grabbed onto Linghu Chong’s collar in a swift maneuver.

In his tight grips, Linghu Chong had no way of defending himself. Suddenly, another man dashed out from behind a street corner and threw a flying kick toward the meatball man. It was Branch Fairy. Turned out that after he chased after the man with the needle hat for a few hundred feet, he suddenly remembered that his brother Fruit Fairy was still onboard. Afraid that his brother might be taken away by that god damned “Lord Zhong Kui,” he rushed back in guard. And when he saw that the meatball man had taken Linghu Chong prisoner, he immediately rushed over in rescue.

The meatball man instantly dropped Linghu Chong and, in a flash, had entered the cabin and leapt by Fruit Fairy’s bed. Lifting his right foot, he assumed a posture of stepping down on Fruit Fairy’s chest.

“Old Man is calling the shot here. Why do I have to listen to you?” the meatball man mocked.

Wasting no time, Branch Fairy leapt into the cabin and with a quick pull, he had both Fruit Fairy and the bedplate in his arms. That was exactly what the meatball man had wanted – to draw him away from Linghu Chong. Leaping back ashore speedily, he had Linghu Chong in his grips once again. Throwing Linghu Chong onto his shoulders, he ran away in a scoot.

Branch Fairy suddenly remembered. Ping One-Finger had asked them, the five brothers, to take good care of Linghu Chong, and now Linghu Chong had just been kidnapped. How would they ever justify themselves to Ping One-Finger? Certainly, Doctor Ping would ask them to kill Fruit Fairy as the punishment. But if he left Fruit Fairy unattended, how would Fruit Fairy be able to defend himself at all in his injured state if any enemy were to attack him? At that thought, he held Fruit Fairy in his arms and chased after the meatball man, at once.

Yue Buqun waved a beckon to his wife. “You take care of the apprentices. I’ll go take a look,” he said.

Madam Yue nodded. Both of them knew too well that with so many tough enemies hidden in the dark, if both of them were to chase after the enemy, perhaps all the apprentices would be in harm’s way.

The meatball man’s Qing-Gong was really far less than that of the Branch Fairy, but with Linghu Chong on his shoulder, he was able to run with all his might, while Branch Fairy didn’t want to risk aggravating Fruit Fairy’s wounds and had to carry Fruit Fairy with both arms while running in steady steps, thus simply couldn’t gain any distance in the chase. Yue Buqun also used his Qing-Gong techniques and gradually caught up with them. Then, he was able to pick out Branch Fairy’s shouting voice, bellowing again and again, demanding the meatball man to let Linghu Chong go, or else, he wouldn’t let it go at that. Even though Fruit Fairy couldn’t move his body, he definitely didn’t want to give his mouth a rest and kept arguing with Branch Fairy along the way.

“Even if you really can catch up with him, none of our other brothers are here, what’cha gonna do? And if there’s nothing you can do about it, what you just said, that you wouldn’t let it go at that, is only bluffing then,” he said.

“Even if I am bluffing, it will at least scare the enemy and slow him down. It’s still better than not bluffing,” Branch Fairy argued.

“Can’t you tell that the meatball is still maintaining a good running speed and is not slowing down at all? I don’t think your bluffing is getting us anywhere,” Fruit Fairy mocked.

“Well, he hasn’t slowed down yet, but trust me, he will slow down after a while,” Branch Fairy disagreed. Even with Fruit Fairy in his arms and while debating endlessly, he was still able to maintain his speed and showed no sign of slowing down.

One after another, running in a straight line, the three of them kept running toward the northeast, and the road gradually turned into a rugged and rough mountain path.

Yue Buqun suddenly thought of something. “If the meatball man had set up an ambush here in the valley, and as soon as I run into their trap, the many elite fighters suddenly launch an all out attack, it would be extremely dangerous.”

At the thought, he slowed down and pondered over the possibilities, meanwhile, the meatball man had run toward a house by the hillside and quickly climbed over a wall into the house. After a quick check around, Yue Buqun resumed the chase. By then, carrying Fruit Fairy in his arms, Branch Fairy had also climbed over the wall and went in. Suddenly he uttered a loud cry, apparently falling into some kind of a trap. Yue Buqun sneaked closer to the wall and then heard Fruit Fairy’s voice.

“Didn’t I tell you before to watch out for yourself? See, you just wouldn’t listen to me. Well, I guess you like being trapped in this fishing net like a big fish!”

“First of all, it’s TWO big fish, not A big fish. Secondly, when the hell did you tell me to watch out?” Branch Fairy said sulkily.

“Remember that time we went to that courtyard to steal guavas on the tree when we were still kids, and I told you to watch out for yourself. Don’t you remember?” Fruit Fairy reminded him.

“That was like thirty years ago. What has that gotten anything to do with right now?” Branch Fairy disputed.

“Of course it does. That time you were so careless and fell off the tree. Then you got caught and took a good beating. Only after big brother, second brother, fourth brother, and fifth brother came by in time were they able to rescue you and kill that entire family. Now you are being careless again and got caught again,” Fruit Fairy said.

“What’s the big deal? At the most we’ll just have to wait till the rest of our brothers get here and kill this entire family, once again,” Branch Fairy replied.

“Humph, you two Peach Valley’s Goblins, even just moments before your own death you are still thinking about killing people. Now shut the hell up and spare my ears some peace,” the meatball man said in a chilling tone. Some muffled voices from Branch Fairy and Fruit Fairy followed and soon they both fell silent. Apparently the meatball man had placed some kind of anesthetics in their mouth to shut them up.

Yue Buqun inclined his head and listened warily for a good while, but all he heard was silence on the other side of the wall. He crept closer to the wall and found a big jujube tree right next to the wall, so he gently leapt up the jujube tree and then looked inside. A small hut stood about a dozen feet from the wall. Since Branch Fairy fell into the fishing net right after he climbed over the wall, Yue Buqun figured that the space between the hut and the wall most probably had all kinds of booby traps. Hiding himself behind the dense leaves of the jujube tree, he loaded the “Divine Art of Violet Twilight” and listened carefully.

The meatball man set Linghu Chong down in a chair. “How the hell are you related to Zu Qianqiu that old rascal?” he asked in a low and deep tone.

“I’ve only met Zu Qianqiu the first time today. Why should I be related to him?” Linghu Chong asked.

“Even now you are still lying!” the meatball man roared angrily. “Don’t forget that you are in my hands now. I guarantee you a most miserable death.”

“I accidentally ate your precious catholicon. It’s only natural that you are mad at me. But to be honest with you, I really doubt that your pills are as great as how you have described them. See, after I took them, there’s no improvement at all,” Linghu Chong answered with a grin.

“What made you think the result has to be immediate?” the meatball man rebuffed angrily. “The common saying says, ‘Illness comes in overwhelming force as if a mountain has collapsed, but will only recede little by little as if reeling the silk thread off a cocoon.’ Only after ten to fifteen days will the medicine show its efficacy.”

“Then how about we wait ten to fifteen days to find out?” Linghu Chong suggested.

“How about you kiss my ass? You ate my ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ on the sly. Old Man is gonna waste you right now,” the meatball man roared furiously.

“But if you waste me right now, then my life would have ended right now. That just proves that your ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ doesn’t extend life after all.” Linghu Chong grinned.

“I am killing you. It has nothing to do with the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’,” the meatball man replied.

“If you are going to kill me, help yourself. I have no strength left in me and am incapable of self-defense, anyhow.” Linghu Chong sighed.

“Humph, you want it quick? It’s not gonna be that easy. But I have to straighten something out first. God damn it! Zu Qianqiu is my decades-long friend. There has gotten be a good reason behind this that made him betray me. Your Huashan School is worthless in the eyes of the ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River,’ so of course he didn’t steal my ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ for you just because you are an apprentice of the Huashan School. How odd! Really odd!” While talking to himself, he stamped his feet to the floor angrily.

“Oh, I see. So your nickname is ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River.’ Sorry I didn’t know you before,” Linghu Chong said.

“Nonsense! How can I be the ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River’ all by myself?” the meatball man chided.

“One is surnamed Old and the other is surnamed Zu.[3] It of course takes two to make up the ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River.’ You can’t even figure this out. What a moron! I am Old Lord, Old Man, and he is Zu Ancestor, Zu Qianqiu. Since we both live by the Yellow River, that’s why we are called the ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River’.”

“Why is one called Old Lord and the other one Zu Ancestor?” Linghu Chong couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s because you are too ignorant and don’t know that there are surnames like Old or Zu. My last name is Old, my middle name is ‘Lord,’ and my first name is ‘Man.’ So when others call my name, they either call me Old Lord, or Old Man…,” the meatball man explained.

“Of course,” the meatball man Old Man answered. He paused for a moment and then muttered in surprise, “What? You don’t even know Zu Qianqiu’s name? Then maybe you are not related to him. Well…wait, are you Zu Qianqiu’s son?”

“How the heck did you get that idea? His surname is Zu, and my surname is Linghu. How did you mix that up?” Linghu Chong found this even funnier.

“How bizarre! I went through so much painstaking effort, by hook or by crook, and finally was able to make the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ so I can use them to cure my darling daughter’s illness. If you aren’t Zu Qianqiu’s son, why would he steal my precious pills to feed you?” Old Man muttered to himself.

By then, Linghu Chong finally became aware. “So these pills of yours, Mister Old, are for your daughter’s illness. I am so, so sorry that I had taken them by mistake. May I ask what kind of illness does your daughter have? Why don’t you ask the ‘Killer Doctor’ Doctor Ping to treat her?”

“Pah! Pah!” Old Man spat in aversion. “Consult Ping One-Finger when one has hard-to-cure disease, of course I know that. I live here in Kaifeng, you dummy! He has this rule that after he cures one, another one must be killed to even the numbers. In order to get him to treat my daughter, I went ahead and killed the entire family of five of his in-laws. By then he finally couldn’t reject and devoted himself in diagnosing my daughter’s disease. He found out that even before my daughter was born, she already had this weird disease, so he prescribed the instruction for the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ for me. Otherwise how the heck would I know how to make the eight pills?”

The more Linghu Chong heard, the more surprised he felt. “If senior master you wanted Doctor Ping to treat your daughter, why did you kill his in-law’s entire family?” he asked, utterly confused.

“Man, you are so dumb! Let me explain. Ping One-Finger didn’t have many foes to start with. And in the last several years, even these few have been wipe out by his patients. Out of all the people in the world, Ping One-Finger hated his mother-in-law the most. But because he fears his wife, he couldn’t kill his mother-in-law himself or sent anyone to do it for him. Old Man here is his neighbor, and a fellow martial man in the same region. Of course I know what’s on his mind, that’s why I did it for him. After I killed the entire family of his in-laws, Ping One-Finger was filled with joy, that’s why he worked his butt off to diagnose my daughter’s illness and prescribed me the treatment,” Old Man explained.

“I see,” Linghu Chong nodded. “Master Old, your pills are wonderful medicine, but they don’t suit my illness. How is your daughter doing right now? Is there enough time to collect the ingredients and make new pills for her?”

“My daughter will only have one year left at most. What makes you think there’s still time to make new pills?” Old Man roared angrily. “Alas, having no other alternatives, I guess I’ll just have to give it one last try.”

He took out several ropes and firmly tied Linghu Chong’s wrists and ankles to the chair. Tearing open Linghu Chong’s robe, he exposed Linghu Chong’s chest.

Picking Linghu Chong up together with the chair, he walked through two rooms, and after lifting a heavy cotton curtain, he went into the third room.

As soon as Linghu Chong entered the room, he felt the extreme mugginess inside. The room was completely sealed; even the windows were covered with cotton sheets, making sure that no wind would sneak in from any crack of the window. Two large basins, filled with charcoal fire, occupied the middle of the room. The bed was by one side of the room with curtains hanging low, almost touching the ground. The entire room was filled with a strong smell of herb medicine.

Linghu Chong couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What? The name of Old Man’s daughter is ‘Not-Dead’. Wouldn’t that make the girl’s full name Old, Not-Dead? Ah, I see. He mentioned that his daughter had this weird disease even before she was born. He probably was very afraid of losing her, hence naming her ‘Not-Dead’ as a lucky charm, because it would certainly be a very fortunate thing if one can live till he’s very old. Wait, her name starts with the word ‘not’, then she must have been a member of my Master’s apprentice class.”[4] The more he thought about this, the more amused he became.

A girl lay on the bed with her eyes shut tightly. She was probably around seventeen years of age. Her face was completely pale and her long hair scattered all over the quilt looking somewhat yellowish and unhealthy.

“Not-Dead, my sweetheart! The ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ Daddy has been preparing for you are finally ready today. After you take them, you will get better in no time, and you’ll finally be able to get up and play,” Old Man said gently.

Seeing the seriousness of the girl’s disease, Linghu Chong felt very sorry for her.

“Old Man must have loved her daughter so very much that he couldn’t bare to bring himself to speak the truth and had to lie to her to cheer her up,” he thought to himself.

Old Man put his arm under his daughter’s neck. “Why don’t you sit up a little? It will be easier this way when you take the medicine. The medicine didn’t come easy at all. We’d better not waste any of it,” he explained.

The girl slowly sat up and Old Man immediately placed two pillows behind her back to make it a little more comfortable for her. The girl opened her eyes and then caught the sight of Linghu Chong. Utterly surprised, she rolled her eyes and stared at Linghu Chong.

“Yes. He is medicine indeed. The effect of the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ are way too strong for you, my darling, that’s why I had this man take the pills instead so I can draw blood from him as medicine for you,” Old Man replied.

“Draw blood from him? Won’t that inflict pain for him? That’s…that’s probably not a good idea.” The girl murmured.

With a feeling of mingled shock and fury, Linghu Chong almost broke out swearing, but then on a second thought, he changed his mind.

“Although I didn’t take the girl’s life-saving pills intentionally, if she dies because of it, there’s still fault on my part. Besides, I don’t want to live on like this, anyway, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to atone for my mistake by saving her life with my blood.” At that thought, he let out a mournful smile and kept his silence.

Old Man stood next to Linghu Chong, ready to seal his Silence Point as soon as the first word came out of his mouth. But to his great surprise, he found a well-composed and unconcerned Linghu Chong smiling at him quietly, instead. Of course, he had no clue that Linghu Chong had remained disheartened ever since Yue Lingshan had fallen in love with someone else. Especially when Linghu Chong heard the mysterious man chiding Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi for defaming him behind his back, and then seeing them dating secretly ashore, he had completely lost the desire to live on and couldn’t have cared less about his own life.

“I am going to cut open your heart and use your warm blood to treat my daughter now. Aren’t you afraid?” Old Man asked.

Old Man cast a side glance at Linghu Chong for a moment, and sure enough, there was no trace of fear to be found anywhere on Linghu Chong’s face.

“After I cut your heart open and draw your blood out, you are going to die. Now don’t blame me for not telling you that beforehand!” Old Man said.

“Everyone will die sooner or later. It’s really not that big of a difference whether one dies a few years earlier or a few years later. It would be great if my blood can save your daughter’s life. Definitely beats me dying for nothing, and no good for anybody,” Linghu Chong replied indifferently.

He could almost see in his imagination how apathetically Yue Lingshan would have reacted to the news of his death. She might even throw in a few comments on top of that like “that’s got to serve him right” or “he’s got what he deserves.” A strong feeling of self-pity welled up in Linghu Chong’s heart.

Old Man raised his thumb. “You are a real tough guy! Man, I’ve never seen anyone like you before,” he praised. “It’s too bad that my daughter will definitely die if she doesn’t drink your blood, otherwise, I’d have let you go.”

Making a trip to the kitchen, Old Man returned with a basin of boiling hot water. While holding a sharp knife with his right hand, he soaked a towel in the hot water using his left hand and then placed it on the pit of Linghu Chong’s stomach. Suddenly, Zu Qianqiu’s voice shouted from outside.

“Old Man, Old Man, open the door. I’ve got some good stuff for your daughter Not-Dead.”

Old Man frowned. With a swift swing, he sliced the hot towel in half, and then stuffed half of it into Linghu Chong’s mouth.

“What good stuff?” he murmured to himself as he set down the knife and the basin before opening the front door to let Zu Qianqiu in.

“Hey, Old Man, how are you going to thank me for this?” Zu Qianqiu spoke excitedly as soon as he entered the room. “It was in such urgency, but I couldn’t find you, so I took your ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ and fooled him into taking them. If you had known about it, you would have brought those catholicons of yours to him, yourself, but I bet you he wouldn’t take the pills that way.”

“What nonsense….” Old Man rebuked. But after Zu Qianqiu whispered something right next to his ear, he jumped up all of a sudden.

“Why would I joke about it? From what I heard, it is absolutely true. Now Old Man, we have been bosom friends for decades long. Tell me, did I do it the way you would have wanted me to or not?” Zu Qianqiu replied.

“Right, right! Damn, damn!” Old Man shouted, stamping his foot to the ground in agony.

“Wow…what’s going on? What right and what damn?” Zu Qianqiu was confused.

Dragging Zu by the hand, Old Man led him straight into his daughter’s bedroom. As soon as he saw Linghu Chong, he dropped onto his knees and started kowtowing frantically.

“Young Master Linghu, Grandpa Linghu, I must have been so damned blind to have offended you today. Thank Heavens that Zu Qianqiu got here just in time. If I had cut you open and killed you, I would have been damned to hell. Even if someone had roasted me to death and stewed all my fats into grease, it wouldn’t have been enough punishment worth of my crime.”

With the half towel still stuffed in his mouth, Linghu Chong only answered with some indistinguishable grunts. Zu Qianqiu hurriedly dug the towel out of Linghu Chong’s mouth and asked.

“Senior Master Old, please, please get up! I am certainly not worth of such etiquette from you. You are really embarrassing me now,” Linghu Chong spoke hurriedly as soon as the towel was out of his mouth.

“I had no idea about the relationship between Young Master Linghu and my savior. How dare I to offend you like this? Alas, I am such a moron. Alas, I should have gone to hell. Even if I had a hundred daughters and all of them are dying right now, I dare not to even imagine having Young Master Linghu to shed one drop of blood to save their cursed lives,” Old Man mumbled on.

“Old Man, why did you tie Young Master Linghu up here?” Zu Qianqiu rolled his eyes.

“Alas, in a word, it was I who have committed all kinds of outrages and perverse acts. Can’t you just shut up and spare me some embarrassment?” Old Man replied.

“And why do you have a basin of hot water and a sharp knife over here?” Zu Qianqiu asked again.

Old Man didn’t answer his question; instead, he raised his hand and started slapping his own face hard. His fat face already looked like a pumpkin to start with, now after the strong slaps, it puffed up even more.

“I must have been very muddle-headed that I have no clue about what has happened recently. Will you, senior masters, please shed some lights for me?” Linghu Chong beseeched.

“Why don’t we talk that over some drinks?” suggested Old Man as he and Zu Qianqiu untied the rope around Linghu Chong hastily.

Casting a side-glance toward the girl on the bed, Linghu Chong asked, “Would your daughter’s illness get any worse?”

“No, it will not. Even if it does, alas, well…that’s….” Old Man kept murmured to himself words that no one except himself could recognize.

After ushering Linghu Chong and Zu Qianqiu to the front hall, Old Man filled three bowls with wine and also took out a large plate of pork strips to go with the wine. Raising his wine respectfully, he proposed a toast to Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong poured the wine down his throat in continued gulps. The wine only had a light taste and was quite ordinary. But if compared to the wine he had drunk from Zu Qianqiu’s wine cups, it tasted at least ten times better.

“Young Master Linghu, I am such a stupid muddle-head to have offended you. Alas, this…that…really….” Speaking with a terrified face, Old Man was out of words to express his sincere regrets.

“Young Master Linghu is a large-minded man. He won’t blame you. Besides, if the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ of yours are truly effective and could mend Young Master Linghu’s health, then you will be the one to thank for,” Zu Qianqiu comforted him.

“Well, I don’t…deserve the credit. Brother Zu, we’ve got to thank you,” Old Man answered.

Zu Qianqiu grinned. “Since I took your eight pills, I was afraid that it might hinder niece Not-Dead’s recovery. Here are some ginsengs for her to take as a tonic.” He stooped down and then took out a basket. After removing the lid, he pulled out holds of ginsengs, some thick and some slender. There were perhaps at least ten pounds of them.

“Where else? From the medicine shop, of course. I borrowed some,” Zu Qianqiu answered with a mischievous grin.

“Like when Liu Bei borrowed the city of Jinzhou,[5] there’s no returning,” Old Man burst into loud laughter. Even though he forced a smile, he still couldn’t completely hide the grief and worries written on his face.

“Mister Old and Mister Zu,” Linghu Chong said, “although you had good intentions trying to mend my injures, one of you tricked me and the other one tied me up. Now isn’t that a bit disrespectful for me?”

Hearing that, both Old Man and Zu Qianqiu stood up immediately and bowed to Linghu Chong with their hands folded in front. “Young Master Linghu, we are so sorry. You can punish us anyway you see fit; we certainly deserve it,” they answered in unison.

“Fine! I have a question. You must give me a straight answer. Will you please tell me who is behind all these that have made you show such great respect to me?” Linghu Chong asked.

“Young Master Linghu, of course you know this person. Please forgive us for daring not to mention this person’s name,” Zu Qianqiu answered after a pause.

“But I swear that I don’t know who he is,” Linghu Chong assured them. He couldn’t help but ponder. “Is it Grand Uncle-Master Feng? Or is it Great Master No Commandment? Or even Tian Boguang? How about Elder Bamboo-Green? It doesn’t seem to be any of them. Grand Uncle-Master Feng certainly has such respectful reputation and prestige, but he is living a secluded life and didn’t even allow me to let out his whereabouts? How could he have left Mount Huashan for this?”

“Young Master, what you are asking here, brother Old and I most definitely dare not to answer. Even if you kill us, we wouldn’t dare answer just the same. You already know the answer in your heart, why do you have to force us to spill it out?” Zu Qianqiu replied.

Hearing the firm tone in his voice, Linghu Chong knew that it would be of no use to try to force the answer out from him. So he said, “Fine. Your not answering my question is certainly not helping with venting my fury. Mister Old, you tied me up to a chair and scared the wits out of me. It’s my turn to tie the two of you up this time. And maybe I still wouldn’t be relieved and would want to cut out your hearts.”

Old Man and Zu Qianqiu exchanged another stare and then answered in unison, “If you want to tie us up, we dare not resist in any way.”

Old Man took out two chairs and a bunch of thick ropes. The two of them first tied their own feet to the legs of the chairs tightly and then placed their hands behind their back. “Young Master Linghu, if you will,” they said, both thinking that Linghu Chong wasn’t really going to tie them up to vent his anger and most likely he was just joking. But to their great surprise, Linghu Chong actually picked up the rope and tied their hands behind their backs as tightly as he could before picking up Old Man’s knife.

“I can’t seal your pressure points with my finger because I lost all my inner energy. But I am afraid that you would try to get out of the ropes. That’s why I am gonna strike your pressure points with the knife handle to seal them that way,” Linghu Chong explained.

He turned the knife over and then struck the two with much strength at the Huan-Tiao, Tian-Zhu, and Shao-Hai points using the knife handle. It took him a while to finally seal the pressure points. Stunned, Old Man and Zu Qianqiu looked at each other in speechless despair, and soon felt tickles of fear growing into swarms of terror, not knowing what Linghu Chong had planned next.

“You wait here for me,” Linghu Chong exclaimed as he turned and walked out of the hall.

Holding the knife in his grip, Linghu Chong walked until he was outside of the girl’s bedroom. He cleared his throat and then asked.

He had wanted to address her as “Miss Old,” but then he decided against that. Even though the girl’s family name was Old, in her young age, it wouldn’t sound very appropriate to call her “Miss Old,” and “Miss Old Not-Dead” would simply be unimaginably queer. The girl didn’t answer, and only let out a slight snort.

Linghu Chong lifted the cotton curtain and then entered the room. He could see her still in a sitting position, leaning against the pillows, her eyes slightly open, half awake and half asleep. Linghu Chong took two steps forward. Now he could see that her skin on her face almost looked like crystal. Blue veins could clearly be seen underneath the light yellowish muscles; it almost appeared as if he could see blood flowing slowly along the veins. It was so quiet in the room. Everything was in a standing still, not even a trace of brisk wind, as if the blood inside her was also coagulating drop by drop, except her tender breathing, so weak that it seemed as if every time when she breathe out, that was one less breathe for her.

“This young girl could have survived if I didn’t take her medicine pills by mistake. I don’t have many days left anyway. It doesn’t make much difference whether I live a few days more or a few days less, does it?” Linghu Chong thought aloud.

He reached out and grabbed a china bowl. Placing it on the small bed table, he raised his left wrist and then sliced it open with the knife. Blood immediately gushed out like a spring and poured down into the china bowl. Noticing that the basin of hot water Old Man had prepared earlier was still letting out hot steams, he set the knife down and then splashed some hot water over the cut on the wrist so the blood wouldn’t start clotting too soon. Within moments, blood had filled more than half of the bowl.

Even in the wooziness, the girl soon noticed the strong smell of blood and as soon as she opened her eyes, the sight of blood dripping all over from Linghu Chong’s wrist terrified her. She let out a shriek in shock.

Seeing that the bowl was almost filled with blood, Linghu Chong walked next to the bed and then held the bowl right next to the girl’s mouth.

“Hurry, drink this. There are panaceas in the blood that will be able to cure your decease,” he urged gently.

After shedding a bowl worth of blood, Linghu Chong felt as if his head had become completely drained and his legs almost gave out under him.

“If she doesn’t drink this because she is scared, wouldn’t I have shed my blood for nothing?” he thought to himself.

Grabbing the knife into his left hand, he yelled, “If you don’t do what I tell you, I’ll kill you with this knife.” Right after the last word, he placed the tip of the blade next to the girl’s throat.

The girl feared for her life and had to swallow down the entire bowl of blood. For several times she almost vomited from the nauseating, but every time when she caught the sight of the shinning blade in Linghu Chong’s hand, the terror overwhelmed her and prevented her from throwing up.

Linghu Chong watched her drink up the entire bowl of blood. The wound on his wrist had slowly stopped bleeding as blood clots started forming around it.

Linghu Chong thought to himself, “I took Old Man’s ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills,’ but what went into the girl’s stomach was perhaps even less than one tenth of it. Once I use the restroom a few times, I am afraid even more would be lost. I’d better feed her a few more bowls of blood while I still can, until I am too weak to move about.” At that thought, he cut open his right wrist, also, and as soon as the bowl was filled with blood, he rushed to feed the girl again.

The girl frowned. “Don’t…don’t force me. I can’t take anymore of this,” she pleaded.

The girl drank some more reluctantly and had to stop for a moment to catch her breath.

“Why…why are you doing this? Doing this is very harmful for your body,” she said.

“It’s quite alright. Don’t worry about my body. It’s all for your good.” Linghu Chong let out a forced smile.

As soon as Branch Fairy and Fruit Fairy fell into the fishing net booby trap set by Old Man, they immediately tried to set themselves free, but the more they struggled, the tighter the fishing net became, and soon they couldn’t even move their arms or legs any inch. Although the two of them couldn’t move, that did not prevent their ears from functioning perfectly well and their tongues from arguing back and forth. At the time when Linghu Chong had tied Old and Zu to their chairs, Branch Fairy had predicted that he would certainly kill the two while Fruit Fairy had predicted that he would definitely come out and set the two Fairy brothers free first. But that debate ended up a total waste of time. Neither of them had gotten it right. Linghu Chong had entered the girl’s bedroom instead. Since the girl’s bedroom was sealed very well with all the cotton sheets, only segments of Linghu Chong and the girl’s conversation could be vaguely heard. For Branch Fairy, Fruit Fairy, Yue Buqun, Old Man, and Zu Qianqiu, even though all five of them had resourceful inner energy, they still couldn’t tell what Linghu Chong was doing in the girl’s bedroom, so they had to let their imagination run wild. When suddenly the girl’s scream broke out, all their faces changed color.

“Linghu Chong is a guy. What is he doing in a girl’s bedroom?” Branch Fairy asked.

“Listen, that girl was in terror,” Fruit Fairy exclaimed. “She said, ‘I…I am scared!’ And Linghu Chong said, ‘If you don’t do what I tell you, I’ll kill you with this knife.’ He said ‘do what I tell you.’ What does he want the girl to do?”

“What else? Of course he is forcing the girl to be his woman.” Branch Fairy concluded.

“Ha-ha, how funny! That short melon-size man’s daughter of course has to be a short melon-size girl as well. Why would Linghu Chong want to force her to be his woman?” Fruit Fairy disagreed.

“Different people favor different things! Maybe Linghu Chong has this thingy for fat girls, and as soon as he spots a fat girl, he’d find himself in heaven and totally forget about everything else.” Branch Fairy argued.

“Wow, did you hear that? The fat girl is begging him now. I think she said something like, ‘Don’t force me. I can’t take it anymore.’” Fruit Fairy imitated.

“That’s right. But the chap Linghu Chong is determined. He said, ‘It’s not up to you. Hurry up! Hurry!’” Branch Fairy followed.

“Why is Linghu Chong asking her to hurry up? Hurry up doing what?” Fruit Fairy asked.

“You never got married and are still a virgin, of course you don’t understand,” Branch Fairy mocked.

“Like you’ve ever married anyone, you shameless jerk!” Fruit Fairy fought back.

“You know that I never got married. Why did you ask me for?” Branch Fairy reproved.

“Hey, Old Man! Linghu Chong is forcing your daughter to be his woman. Are you just going to sit there and watch her die?” Fruit Fairy shouted out loud.

“Mind your own business,” Branch Fairy admonished. “How do you know that fat girl is going to die? Isn’t his daughter’s name ‘Old Not-Dead’? How can she die?”

Ever since Old Man and Zu Qianqiu were tied to their chairs and their pressure points sealed, they listened through everything, from Miss Old’s scream to the sound of her begging for mercy. Gazing at each other with blank dismay, they were totally out of ideas. They had suspected the same thing themselves, and the loud arguments from the Peach Valley’s two Fairies in the courtyard only confirmed their suspicion.

“Brother Old, we’ve got to stop this. Who would have expected Young Master Linghu to be such a lubricious man? I am afraid he is going to get into big trouble,” Zu Qianqiu said to Old Man.

“Alas, I wouldn’t have minded him deflowering Not-Dead the kid, but…but that would really be unfair for the other one.” Old Man heaved a sigh.

“Listen, listen to that,” Zu Qianqiu suggested. “Your daughter Not-Dead has grown quite some affection for him. She said, ‘Doing this is very harmful for your body.’ And did you hear how Linghu Chong responded?”

“He said, ‘It’s quite alright. Don’t worry about my body. It’s all for your good!’ God damn it! These two kids!” Old Man replied.

“Brother Old, congratulations, congratulations!” Zu Qianqiu burst into loud laughter.

“What are you getting angry for? Congratulations for getting a wonderful son-in-law!” Zu Qianqiu grinned.

Old Man let out a loud shout and reproved with a yell, “Stop the nonsense! If this gets out, do you think we’d still be alive?” When he spoke these words, his voice was filled with utter fear.

Yue Buqun had been hiding on the tree outside of the wall and was even further from it. Although he initialized the “Divine Art of the Violet Twilight,” he was only able to hear fragments of the conversation. At first, when he heard Linghu Chong forcing the girl, he had wanted to rush inside to stop it, but then he changed his mind, thinking that all these people, Linghu Chong included, had been so secretive and unusual, who was it to say that they weren’t conspiring something. The best thing for him to do at the time would be to observe calmly and not act recklessly. So he simply listened on with his ‘Divine Art of the Violet Twilight’ fully loaded. Then the dialogues between the Peach Valley’s Two Fairies and the ones between Old and Zu kept ringing in his ears. He was also convinced that Linghu Chong must have taken advantage of the girl’s precarious condition and had molested the girl. Later when he heard the conversation between Old and Zu, he figured that since Linghu Chong was a dissolute and unconventional young man and the girl probably did carry her father’s genes and was a short and fat, ugly girl, it would only be natural for her to fall in love with Linghu Chong after losing her virginity to him. Seeing how ludicrous the episode has become, he couldn’t help but shake his head in despair.

The girl’s screaming voice rose again all of a sudden. “Don’t…don’t…too much blood. I beg of you….”

Suddenly, someone shouted from outside the walls, “Old Man, I’ve finally lost those Peach Valley’s Four Goblins.” Then came a gentle thud as the man leapt over the wall and entered the hall. It was none other than the man with the white banner who had provoked the Peach Valley’s Four Fairies into chasing him.

“What’s going on?” He was shocked to find Old Man and Zu Qianqiu both tied up to their chairs. He flipped his right hand swiftly and a shining dagger magically appeared in his palm. Waving his arms hurriedly a few times, he had cut lose the ropes around the two’s legs and arms.

The girl’s scream rose from her room once again, “Please…please…I beg you…no more.”

Picking up the urgency in her tone of voice, the man uttered a cry of shock, “It is Miss Old Not-Dead!” He dashed toward the door.

Grabbing the man by his arm quickly, Old Man yelled, “You can’t go in there!”

Stunned, the man put a halt to his steps. Then came the voice of Branch Fairy from the courtyard.

“I bet you the short melon must be thrilled to have a son-in-law like Linghu Chong.”

“Linghu Chong could die any day now. Why would he be so thrilled to have a half-dead half-alive son-in-law?” Fruit Fairy challenged.

“His daughter could die any day as well. They make a perfect half-dead half-alive couple,” Branch Fairy explained.

“What a dumb question! Of course Linghu Chong will die. Miss Old Not-Dead’s name is Old Not-Dead. How can she ever die? Dummy!” Branch Fairy mocked.

“That’s not necessarily true. Does one’s name always reflect the reality? What if everybody in this world were named Old Not-Dead? Would every one of them grow old yet do not die? If that’s the case, then our training in martial arts would have been no good at all,” Fruit Fairy rebuffed.

Amid the arguing between the two brothers, a loud thud came from inside the room. Something had collapsed onto the floor. Miss Old screamed again, though her voice was weak, it was filled with panic.

Old Man sprinted into the bedroom, only finding Linghu Chong lying on the floor unconscious, a china bowl leaning by his chest upside down and blood all over his upper body. Miss Old leaned by the bed. There was also blood by the corner of her mouth. Zu Qianqiu and the other man stood behind Old Man and stared at the bizarre scene, each with a stomach full of questions.

“Dad, he…he cut himself to draw blood, and then forced me to drink two bowls worth…he…he wants to cut himself more….” Miss Old exclaimed.

The shock struck Old Man like a thunder. He rushed forward and propped Linghu Chong’s upper body into his own arms. Now he could see the cuts on both of Linghu Chong’s wrists from which blood was still gushing out nonstop. Scared out of his wits, Old Man sprinted out of the room and returned with gauzes, bandages, and medication within moments. In the fluster, even though this was his own home, he still bumped his head on the doorframes, resulting in a big swelling on his forehead and a large hole on the wall.

When Branch Fairy heard the banging sound, he thought Old Man must have given Linghu Chong a good beating, so he shouted.

“Hey, Old Man, Linghu Chong is a good friend of the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies. Stop beating him. If you beat him to death, I promise you that the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies will tear all your fats into strips.”

“If he had muscles all around his body, then of course you can tear them into strips. But all he has are fats. You’ll end up with a bunch of grease. How can you tear fats into strips?” Fruit Fairy argued.

Old Man applied the medication to the wrist wounds and then wrapped the wounds well with bandages. After a good while of massaging the pressure points on Linghu Chong’s chest and stomach, Linghu Chong finally regained his consciousness.

Feeling slightly relieved and utterly grateful, Old Man muttered in a shaky voice, “Young Master Linghu, you…even by smashing us into bits and pieces wouldn’t have…alas…wouldn’t have….”

“Young Master Linghu, it was only because of a misunderstanding that Old Man tied you up earlier. Why did you take it so seriously? You are just making him feel even more embarrassed,” Zu Qianqiu said.

Linghu Chong let out a weak smile. “My internal injury cannot be cured by any catholicon. I truly appreciate the kindness of senior master Zu for feeding me the ‘Life-Extending Eight Pills’ that belonged to senior master Old. But it was really a waste…I hope this girl’s desease can be cured….” A strong feel of disorientation, caused by losing much blood, suddenly consumed him, and he passed out, once again.

Carrying Linghu Chong in his arms, Old Man walked out of his daughter’s bedroom and set Linghu Chong down on his own bed. “What now? What now?” he muttered distractedly with a long, worried face.

“Young Master Linghu lost a lot of blood. I am afraid he is on the edge of his life. What do you think if we three load all our inner energy and inject the inner energy into his body to revive him? What do you say?” Zu Qianqiu suggested.

He gently propped Linghu Chong up and placed his right palm on the Da-Zhui point at Linghu Chong’s back. As soon as he initialized his energy flow, his entire body suddenly shocked violently. A loud crack echoed as the chair he sat on collapsed to the floor and was smashed into bits and pieces.

Branch Fairy burst into loud laughter. “Guess how Linghu Chong inflicted his internal injury at the first place? It was all because our six brothers tried to heal him with our internal energy. Now the short melon decides to play the ape. Aren’t you just going to cause Linghu Chong new injuries on top of what he already has? Ha-ha! Ha-ha!”

“Hey, did you hear that loud cracking sound? That short melon must have been shocked by the inner energy inside Linghu Chong and smashed into something. Linghu Chong’s inner energy is actually our inner energy. The short melon, once again, is suffering from the wrath of the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies! Wonderful! Wonderful!” Fruit Fairy added.

“Alas, if Young Master Linghu stays unconscious like this, I guess there’s only one thing left for the Old Man. I’ll just have to kill myself,” Old Man heaved a heavy sigh.

The man came in last suddenly yelled out loudly, “Hi, the one on the jujube tree outside, are you Mr. Yue, the Head Master of the Huashan School?”

Yue Buqun was dumbfounded. “So he knew I was hiding here all along,” he thought aloud.

“Mr. Yue, you are a guest from afar. Why don’t you come in for a visit?” the man shouted again.

Yue Buqun felt very awkward. It wouldn’t be a good idea to go in, yet by now he could no longer stay on top of the jujube tree.

“Young Master Linghu, your apprentice, has fainted. Would you like to take a look at him?” the man urged again.

Clearing his throat to cover up the embarrassment, Yue Buqun leapt over the one dozen feet or so space in the courtyard and landed directly on the corridor under the eaves. By then Old Man had greeted out and cupped his hands to salute.

“Forgive me for being an unexpected guest. I was just concerned about the safety of my apprentice,” Yue Buqun replied.

“Don’t you worry about it! Linghu Chong won’t die,” Branch Fairy suddenly cut in.

“How do you know that he won’t die?” Old Man was overjoyed and asked hurriedly.

“He is much younger than you and also much younger than me, isn’t he?” Branch Fairy asked.

“Now do older people die first or do younger people die first? Of course it’s older people who will die first, duh! Since you are not dead and I am perfectly alive, how can Linghu Chong die?” Branch Fairy explained.

Old Man had hoped that he would probably have some unique ideas. Hearing the drivel from him, he could only let out a wry smile.

“I’ve got a real clever idea!” Fruit Fairy joined in. “Let’s all put our efforts together and change Linghu Chong’s name to ‘Linghu Not-Dead’….”

Yue Buqun followed Old Man and entered his bedroom, and then saw Linghu Chong lying on the bed, still unconscious.

“If I don’t make an exhibition of my ‘Divine Art of the Violet Twilight,’ these folks here would undoubtedly make light of our Huashan School,” he thought to himself.

He turned toward the bed, so when the violet color showed on his face no one would notice it, and secretly initialized his divine art. As soon as the divine art is loaded, he placed his palm on the Da-Zhui point on Linghu Chong’s back. Knowing how the energy streams swarmed inside Linghu Chong, he didn’t put much strength into his move, instead, only injected very little inner energy slowly. And as soon as he could feel the inner energy inside Linghu Chong started reacting to his maneuver, he pulled his palm back about half-an-inch from Linghu Chong’s skin and waited a short moment before placing his palm back onto Linghu Chong again.

A short while went by when Linghu Chong gradually gained his senses back and was able to speak, “Master, you…you are here.”

Seeing how Yue Buqun revived Linghu Chong without putting out much effort, the three observers made no effort to hide their admiration.

“This place is a hotbed of trouble,” thought Yue Buqun to himself, “better get out of here soon. Besides, I wonder what’s happening with my wife and the bunch of apprentices on the boat?” So he cupped his hand and said, “Thank you very much for your cordial reception to my apprentice and I. We’d better get going.”

“Right, right! Young Master Linghu is not feeling well; we really should have been a better host. But he would probably be taken better care of with you. It is really a lack of manner on our side. We beg your pardon,” Old Man apologized.

Under the dim light in the room, he suddenly noticed the shining eyes of the third man, and a quick thought flashed by his mind.

“May I ask the respectful name of this friend?” cupping his hand in greet, he asked.

“I guess Mr. Yue has never met our ‘Night Owl’ Ji Wushi before,” Zu Qianqiu grinned.

Yue Buqun felt a small chill in his heart as he pondered, “Night Owl Ji Wushi? I heard that this man was born with special abilities and has extraordinary eyesight. His conducts has always been uncertain, sometimes kind while sometimes wicked, sometimes good, yet at other times evil. Although his name is Ji Wushi, meaning out of one’s wits, he is really a very tough one full of craft and cunning. Who would have expected him to be mingled up with the bunch such as Old Man?”

Cupping his hands hurriedly, he greeted, “I’ve heard your name many times and have long been looking forward to meet you. It’s so fortunate that I finally got the chance today.”

“Well, not just today. Aren’t we going to meet again tomorrow on the Five-Tyrant Ridge?” Ji Wushi grinned.

Yue Buqun felt another chill in his heart. Even though he felt it wasn’t the right manner to ask for more details after they had only met for a few minutes, his worries regarding his kidnapped daughter overwhelmed his concern for proper protocols.

“I was wondering how I have offended fellow martial friends in the local area, somehow. I figured that it must have been my lack of manners for having not paid any visits to the various masters around here. Would Mr. Ji be kind enough to give me some pointers, as to which friends had invited my daughter and an apprentice named Lin over?”

“Really? I don’t think I know much about that,” Ji Wushi replied with another grin.

To ask Ji Wushi so nicely about the whereabouts of his daughter was already quite a concession for Yue Buqun – the Head Master of the renowned Huashan School. When Ji Wushi obviously had evaded the issue, though worried and irritated, Yue Buqun could not ask any further. So he put on an indifferent face and said dryly,

He propped Linghu Chong up and was just about to pick him up into his arms, when Old Man suddenly stuck his head out between the Master and the apprentice and rushed to hold Linghu Chong into his own arms.

“I am the one who took Young Master Linghu here, so naturally I am the one responsible for sending him back,” he exclaimed as he grabbed a thin blanket to cover up Linghu Chong’s body before striding out.

“Hey, hold it! What about us, the two big fish here?” Branch Fairy shouted in a hurry.

“Well…” Old Man hesitated. If he let the two brothers go, it would really be difficult to ward off the revenge from the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies. But with these two as hostages, the other four would at least have some scruples.

Linghu Chong knew what Old Man had in his mind. “Senior master Old, will you please set the two of them free? Now you two Fairies, will you please not seek any revenge or cause any trouble for Master Old and Master Zu? How about turning adversity into friendship?” he suggested.

“With just the two of us, I don’t think we can make trouble for them even if we tried,” Branch Fairy replied.

“Of course I am referring to all six of the Peach Valley’s Fairies,” Linghu Chong clarified.

“To not seek revenge or make trouble for them is alright, but there’s no way we are going to turn adversity into friendship. Even if you chop my head off, there’s still no way,” Fruit Fairy exclaimed.

Old Man and Zu Qianqiu both grunted, thinking, “It is only for the sake of Young Master Linghu that we have agreed to not fuss about with you. Did you actually think the ‘Old Ancestor of the Yellow River’ is afraid of the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies?”

“The Peach Valley’s Six Fairies never had any grudges against or any scores to settle with the Old Ancestor of the Yellow River. We are never adversaries, so there’s simply no way that we can turn ‘adversity’ to anything. That’s why becoming friends would be fine but there’s no way we can turn ‘adversity’ to ‘friendship’ no matter what,” Fruit Fairy elaborated.

At those words, everyone laughed out loud. Zu Qianqiu stooped down and untied the slipknot on the fishing net. The strings of the fishing net were made from human hair, silk from wild silkworms, and pure gold threads interweaved together, which then became extremely tenacious and persistent. Even sharp knives or swords couldn’t have been able to cut through them. If anyone got trapped inside it, the more he struggled, the tighter it became. Unless someone untied the slipknot from the outside, it would be impossible to get out of the trap.

As soon as Branch Fairy got back onto his feet, he dropped his pants and started pissing all over the fishing net.

“If I don’t piss all over this damn net, how am I going to vent my spleen?” Branch Fairy answered.

The seven of them returned to the wharf. Yue Buqun could see from a distance that the two apprentices Lao Denuo and Gao Gemming had been guarding the boat with swords in their hands. Knowing that everyone was alright, he was slightly relieved.

“Young Master Linghu, your virtue shines above the nine Heavens, I am utterly grateful for what you have done. I’ll say goodbye for now but we’ll meet again soon.”

Because of the bumps on the way back, Linghu Chong had fallen back into a state of wooziness and almost fainted again. He didn’t really catch Old Man’s words and only answered with a weak hum.

Noticing the completely opposite attitude shown by the meatball man before and after, how respectful and cautious he had become toward Linghu Chong, Madam Yue and the rest of the apprentices were dumbfounded. Afraid that Root Fairy and the bunch of Peach Valley Fairies might get back soon, Old Man and Zu Qianqiu didn’t want to stay any longer and soon bid their farewell to Yue Buqun.

“This!” Branch Fairy answered as he bent his knees and suddenly rammed his shoulder toward Zu Qianqiu’s chest with full speed.

This completely caught Zu Qianqiu by surprise. Having no time to dodge away, Zu Qianqiu quickly loaded his inner energy. Within a split second, he had gathered resourceful inner energy in his lower stomach, which made his chest and stomach as hard as a rock. Dozens of cracking and smashing noises exploded all at once. A split second later, Branch Fairy had quickly withdrawn back dozens of feet, bursting into loud laughter.

“Oh no!” Zu Qianqiu uttered a cry as he reached into his chest pocket and took out countless of bits and pieces. Among those were chips of china, jade, bamboo, and wood. The over two dozens of precious wine cups in Zu Qianqiu’s chest pocket had all been smashed from the collision, even cups like the Golden Cup, Silver Cup, or the Bronze Jue had all been completely flattened out. Consumed by strong fury and deep regrets, Zu Qianqiu waved his hand and shot the scores of debris toward Branch Fairy like a swarm of darts, but Branch Fairy had expected that and swiftly dodged away.

“Linghu Chong told us to turn adversity into friendship. We must obey his orders. That’s why we must become adversaries first before becoming friends,” Branch Fairy shouted.

Having lost all the precious wine cups that took him decades to collect by Branch Fairy’s one single hit, Zu Qianqiu was infuriated. But hearing Branch Fairy’s words just when he was about to launch his full wave of attacks, he immediately pulled his steps back.

“That’s right. Turn adversaries into friends. Turn adversaries into friends,” he murmured with a wry smile and then walked away together with Old Man and Ji Wushi.

In his muddled mind state, Linghu Chong was still concerned about the safety of Yue Lingshan. “Branch Fairy, will you please ask them to not…not harm my apprentice sister Yue?” he said.

“Certainly!” Branch Fairy answered and then shouted out loudly, “Hey! Old Man, Night Owl, and Zu Qianqiu, listen up! Linghu Chong said that you should not harm his darling apprentice sister.”

Ji Wushi and the group of three had walked quite a distance away when they heard Branch Fairy. At the words they all stopped their steps. Old Man turned his head around and shouted his answer.

After the three of them discussed this over some whispers, they resumed their steps.

Yue Buqun started telling Madam Yue what he saw and heard over at Old Man’s house, but only a few sentences into it, loud shouts and noises from ashore interrupted him. Root Fairy and the rest of the three Fairies had returned.

The four of them certainly kept their mouths busy bragging continuously about how they had caught the man holding the white banner and how they had torn him into four pieces.

Fruit Fairy laughed so hard that he almost lost a few teeth. “Wow! Amazing!! Brothers, you guys are so awesome!” he mocked.

“Ha-ha, so you tore that man into four pieces. Did you know what his name was?” Branch Fairy asked.

“He’s dead already. Who cares what his name was? Could you have known his name?” Trunk Fairy answered.

“Of course I do,” Branch Fairy replied. “His name is Ji Wushi, and he also has a nick name called ‘Night Owl’.”

Leaf Fairy applauded. “Hey! What a wonderful name that was! Turned out this guy actually had some insights. He must have known beforehand that one day he would be caught by the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies and would be totally out of his wits,[6] having no way of escaping the fate of being torn into four pieces, that’s why he gave himself that name.”

“That ‘Night Owl’ Ji Wushi was certainly a tough guy. His Kung Fu was so extraordinary! And totally exceptional too!” Fruit Fairy exclaimed.

“That’s right, his Kung Fu was excellent,” Root Fairy couldn’t have agreed more. “If it weren’t for his bad luck that he picked the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies to mess with, his Kung Fu in Qing-Gong could have ranked him among the top fighters in the Martial World.”

“His Kung Fu in Qing-Gong was nothing compared to this. Did you know that after you tore him into four pieces, he was able to put all the pieces back together and revive himself from death, and then walked around just like normal? He even came here just moments ago and had a nice chat with us.” Fruit Fairy cracked an evil grin.

By then did Root Fairy and the rest of the three Fairies finally realize that their lie had been uncovered, but neither of them had much concern about it, and all put on a pretended surprise on their faces.

“Wow, I had no idea that Ji Wushi knew such odd Kung Fu. That just proves the old saying that you cannot judge a person by his look like you cannot measure the ocean using a ladler. How admirable! Truly remarkable!” Flower Fairy exclaimed.

“I’ve heard that there’s this Kung Fu called the ‘Piece Parts Back into a Whole Art’, which allows the practitioner to put the torn apart four pieces of himself back into a whole and allows him to walk normally within instants. But I thought this Kung Fu had been lost ages ago. Who would have expected that Ji Wushi somehow have mastered it? Hmm, he is indeed a unique one in the Martial World. Well, I suppose the next time when we see him, it’s all right to befriend him,” Trunk Fairy speculated.

Meanwhile, Yue Buqun and Madam Yue found themselves profoundly worried. Their beloved daughter had been kidnapped, yet they had not a clue in regard to whom the enemy might have been. The Huashan Sword School enjoyed great fame in the entire Martial World; they certainly didn’t expect to suffer such a setback by the Yellow River. But they kept the feeling to themselves and showed no sign of it, afraid that it would create a panic among the many apprentices. The couple didn’t discuss any of the doubts and suspicious they had accrued, either, only pondered upon them individually, and the only noises inside the cabin were nothing but the constant rubbish coming out of the Peach Valley’s Six Fairies.

Over two hours went by uneventfully, and daybreak was almost around the corner. Suddenly the sound of footsteps from ashore broke the silence and moments later two sedans had arrived by the bank.

The leading sedan carrier announced in a loud and clear tone, “Young Master Linghu said that Miss Yue should not be harmed or frightened in any way. Our superior has sent us to apologize for the accident and ask for Young Master Linghu’s forgiveness.”

The four carriers set down the two sedans, bowed toward the direction of the boat, and then turned around and walked away.

Shocked but utterly overjoyed, the Yue couple leapt ashore and lifted the curtain of the sedan. Needless to say, it was Yue Lingshan sitting inside, only that the pressure points on her legs had been sealed, which prevented her from moving about. And not to their surprise, the occupant of the second sedan was none other than Lin Pingzhi.

Yue Buqun stroked the Huan-Tiao, Ji-Zhong, and Wei-Zhong points on his daughter’s legs and opened the sealed pressure points for her.

“That tall and big giant, he…he…he….” Curling her cute lips, Yue Lingshan almost cried out.

Gently picking her up and holding her in her arms, Madam Yue walked back into the cabin. “Are you alright?” she asked in a whisper?

Hearing her mother’s question, Yue Lingshan burst into a sob, which almost gave Madam Yue a heart attack.

“Those people weren’t really law abiding citizens of the society. Lingshan was in their hands for quite some hours. Could she…could she have been disgraced?” Madam Yue’s imagination started running wild. “What happened? It’s alright, you can tell your mother,” she asked hurriedly. But Yue Lingshan only cried louder.

Madam Yue started to panic, but she couldn’t ask anything further with such a big crowd around. Setting her daughter down to a bed, she pulled a quilt and wrapped it around her.

“Mom, that big giant swore at me,” Yue Lingshan suddenly cried out after some loud sniffs, and her words set Madam Yue’s heart back into its chamber.

“Is that all? Are you just grieving over some badmouthing?” Madam Yue asked with a smile.

“He also raised his hand to scare me, pretending that he was going to hit me,” Yue Lingshan exclaimed as she cried on.

“Alright, alright! When we see him next time, we’ll cuss him back and scare him back,” Madam Yue comforted her with a grin.

“I never badmouthed big apprentice brother, neither did Little Lin. That big giant was so vicious and overbearing. He said that what he doesn’t like the most was for people to badmouth Linghu Chong. I said I don’t like that either. Then he said that if he doesn’t like someone, he’d simply cook him and eat him. Mom, at that word, he opened his mouth to scare me with his ghastly teeth,” Yue Lingshan whimpered.

“The giant man? I…I….” Still quite muddleheaded, Linghu Chong murmured back.

By then, Lin Pingzhi’s sealed pressure points were also opened by his Master and he had walked in the cabin.

“Master-Wife, that giant man and the monk really do eat human flesh. They weren’t just trying to sound scary,” he intercepted.

“The two of them do eat human flesh? How did you know?” Madam Yue was stunned.

“The monk asked me about the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript for a while and then took out something from his chest pocket and started chewing on it with full interest. He even stuck that thing under my nose and asked me if I wanted to take a bite just for the taste of it. Turned out…turned out that thing was the hand of a human.”

“Why didn’t you mention any of that to me earlier?” Yue Lingshan uttered a cry of shock.

“I was afraid you would be frightened, so I kept that to myself,” Lin Pingzhi answered.

“Ah, I remember now,” Yue Buqun suddenly spoke out. “Those two are the ‘Bear Duo of the Northern Desert.’ The giant man’s skin is almost completely white while the monk’s skin is very dark, isn’t it?”

“No, I don’t. I just heard before that there are two notorious robbers in the northern desert region. One is called the White Bear, and the other one the Black Bear. If merchants travel by themselves, these ‘Bear Duo’ merely rob them of their goods, but if the goods were transferred by martial escorts, then the ‘Bear Duo’ often cooks the escorts up and eats them. They say that since martial people have stronger muscles, they are normally extra chewy,” Yue Buqun elaborated.

“Senior apprentice brother! Why did you have to bring that up? ‘Extra chewy,’ that’s so gross,” Madam Yue protested.

Yue Buqun let out a slight grin. After a short pause, he continued, “I heard that the ‘Bear Duo of the Northern Desert’ never came to this side of the Great Wall. Why did they come by the Yellow River this time? Chong, how did you know the ‘Bear Duo of the Northern Desert’?”

“Bare Dew of the Northern Desert?” Linghu Chong murmured. He didn’t really pick up the first half of his Master’s words, and thought his Master had said “Bare Dew” or something like that. “I don’t know him,” he answered after a short daze.

“Little Lin,” Yue Lingshan suddenly intercepted, “when that monk asked you to take a bite at the hand, did you do it?”

“You’d better not. If you did, humph, I’ll never talk to you again,” Yue Lingshan exclaimed.

Trunk Fairy suddenly interrupted from the outer cabin, “Human flesh is the most ambrosial relish in the entire world. I bet you that Little Lin must have sneaked a bite and just wouldn’t admit it, that’s all.”

“If he really didn’t sneak a bite, why didn’t he say it at the very beginning? Why bend over backward and deny so frantically now?” Leaf Fairy added.

Ever since Lin Pingzhi’s terrible family tragedy, he had always been watching out for his own words and behavior. The two Fairies’ censure took him by surprise and he found himself speechless.

“There you go. See, his not answering clearly shows his acquiescence. Miss Yue, he ate human flesh and still wouldn’t admit it. How can you marry someone so dishonest?” Flower Fairy joined in.

“After you marry him, undoubtedly he would court other women behind your back. And when you ask him about it when he gets home, I bet you he would deny everything all the same,” Root Fairy predicted.

“And there’s one more thing, a very dangerous thing I must add. Once he gets totally addicted to human flesh, when he sleeps with you on the same bed, in the middle of the night, suddenly you wake up from the terrible pain coming from you fingers, while you ears are filled with the constant cracking sound form somebody chewing on something. Then after you investigate further, guess what it is? It was Little Lin chewing on your fingers,” Flower Fairy added.

“Miss Yue, even when we include your toes, you’ve only gotten twenty digits all together. Now when your Little Lin chews a few today and a few tomorrow, your ten fingers and ten toes won’t last very long at all,” Leaf Fairy said.

The Peach Valley’s Six Fairies had considered Linghu Chong a good friend ever since they first met him on top of the Mount Huashan. Although the six brothers always get tangled up in silly arguments, they certainly weren’t stupid, and had long noticed what had been happening between Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan, like how the waterside flower pined for love from the brook by sending the many shed petals, while the heartless brook simply babbles on unrequited love. So when they had finally caught the flaw in Lin Pingzhi’s words, they spared no efforts driving a wedge between Yue and Lin.

“You are just talking rubbish. I am not listening! I am not listening to any of it!” covering her ears with her hands, Yue Lingshan shouted.

“Miss Yue, it’s quite alright if you really want to marry that Little Lin, but if so, there’s this one special Kung Fu you’ve got to learn. This Kung Fu is going to be so important for you that if you miss the chance of learning it, I bet you that you are going to regret it for the rest of your life,” Root Fairy claimed.

“What Kung Fu is that? Why is it so important for me?” Noticing the sincerity in Root Fairy’s voice, Yue Lingshan simply couldn’t resist her curiosity but ask.

“That ‘Night Owl’ Ji Wushi has this Kung Fu called ‘Piece Parts Back into a Whole Art’,” Root Fairy exclaimed. “Now when Little Lin eats all your ears, nose, fingers, and toes in the future, you don’t have to worry no more. You can simply cut his stomach open and take those pieces out to put back onto your body, piecing parts back into a whole.”

[1] If you still remember from chapter 1, Zhong Kui was half-god half-human in Chinese mythology and had the special power to drive evil spirits away.

[2] The needle hat and the long narrow white banner are both objects used in funerals in ancient times.

[3] In Chinese, Zu means ancestor. Zu Qianqiu explained this when he first introduced himself in chapter 14.

[4] The Bu in the name Yue Buqun means no in Chinese.

[5] This idiom came from the story of “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” When Liu Bei borrowed the city of Jinzhou as his temporary base, he never intended to return it.

[6] In Chinese, Ji Wushi means out of one’s wits.

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Chapter Fifteen: Medicine (draft)