Twin Heroes

Chapter 10 Unexpected Turn

Chapter 10 Unexpected Turn

The cave was deep and there was a cold and eerie atmosphere. Xiao Yu’er lead the way, Zhao Quanhai followed with a torch. Liu Ruyu deliberately let Feng Tianyu follow her, Feng Tianyu put his hand on the hilt of his sword and he had a scornful smile on his face.

After walking for some time, the cave widened and up ahead was light. It was very strange, there were five men standing there. Three of them were standing and the other two sat down and exchanged palms. They were competing internal energy. One was a Buddhist monk wearing a yellow robe; the other was a skinny old man.

Their eyes bugged out and were sweating heavily now. The other three looked a bit worried, when Xiao Yu’er and others came the three men just ignored them.

Xiao Yu’er looked around and saw that Zhao Quanhai, Liu Ruyu and Feng Tianyu turned pale. It would seem that they recognized these five men and were very much afraid of them. These five men must have higher martial arts and status than them.

Zhao Quanhai muttered:”How come these five freaks are here too?”

Xiao Yu’er smiled:”Freaks? Tell me about them? Are they famous?”

Zhao Quanhai sighed:”They are very famous.” Xiao Yu’er said:”Hmm?”

Zhao Quanhai said:”Old master, you must have heard of the Wang family of Huai Nan and their [Invincible Eagle Claws], this skill has been renowned for almost 70 years.”

Xiao Yu’er said:”Hmm, yes I have heard of that.”

Zhao Quanhai said:”That old skinny man is the head of the Eagle Claw family. He is called [Regarding people like chickens] Wang Yizhua.”

Xiao Yu’er said:”Regarding people as chickens? What kind of name is that?”

Zhao Quanhai smiled wryly:”He created that name for himself. He sees everyone as chickens and eagles catch chicken with ease, meaning he is invincible.”

Xiao Yu’er laughed:”An arrogant and funny man….”

He looked at the Buddhist monk, he was tall and muscular. He was at least a head taller than Wang Yizhua.

The two of them still exchanged palms and compared to that monk Wang Yizhua looked like the chicken and the monk like an eagle.

Xiao Yu’er laughed:”Who looks more like a chicken in your opinion?”

Zhao Quanhai wanted to laugh he did not dare to, so he tried his best to keep his laughter inside. But he looked very silly by doing so, he coughed clearing his throat and said:”That Buddhist monk is reverend Huangji (translated yellow chicken) of Jiming (chicken cackle) Monastery on Mount Wutai.”

Xiao Yu’er burst with laughter:”The chicken wants to be the eagle, but eagle is called a chicken! These two are destined to be enemies of each other…..!”

Suddenly a voice interrupted:”Silence!”

The voice did not sound to loud but it was very deep. Xiao Yu’er’s ears felt numb and saw that the person shouting was an old man in a blue robe. The old man did not turn around and was observing the palm clash between Wang Yizhua and Huangji.

Xiao Yu’er asked Zhao Quanhai:”Who is that brat?” Zhao Quanhai looked pale then red, he looked at the old man first and then looked at Xiao Yu’er’s snakes. He finally whispered:”This gentleman’s internal energy is unmatched. He is called [One roar to open a mountain], the Xiaoyun hermit. He is an old friend of reverend Huangji.”

Xiao Yu’er said:”Why won’t he help since they are old friends.”

Zhao Quanhai whispered even softer:”Wang Yizhua is not here alone, those two men standing next to him are his friends. One is the leader of the Tiannan Sword School, Sun Tiannan, renowned for his sword and palm techniques. The other is the leader of the Zhejiang Qiu family; this family became famous for their excellent spear skills, seventh master Qiu Qingpo. The Wang and Qiu family have been friends for many years.”

He took a deep breath and continued:”Furthermore, with the reputation of reverend Huangji and Wang Yizhua they will not allow people to help them."

Xiao Yu’er sneered: “What reputation! If that Wang Yizhua came alone that Xiaoyun hermit would have attacked Wang Yizhua a long time ago.”

He made a friendly gesture to Qiu Qingpo and smiled:”How are you doing seventh brother?”

Qiu Qingpo looked quite handsome, fair and solemn; he looked at Xiao Yu’er strange looks and asked with a frown:”Whom are you calling seventh brother?”

Xiao Yu’er smiled:”Don’t you recognize me? I have brought Zhao Quanhai, Feng Tianyu and Miss Liu Ruyu with me to help you. You and brother Sun Tiannan can get rid of that Xiaoyun hermit without fear, I will deal with that Buddhist monk.”

Qiu Qingpo was dumbfounded, the Xiaoyun hermit’s face changed. He made a sharp and loud cry making the fires sway. Wang Yizhua and Huangji were both disturbed by that cry and their palm contact was severed.

These five men were famous martial artists; their reactions were very fast. Immediately, all of them presented their weapons. Buddhist monk Huangji leapt up into the air and glided several metres away.

The Xiaoyun hermit roared:”The Wang and Qiu families have a good reputation, do you really want to ruin that good name!”

Xiao Yu’er lifted his head and laughed loudly:”You are all prominent dignitaries, but your actions are no different from ordinary thugs. Everyone has his ulterior motive.”

The Xiaoyun hermit looked angrily and said:”What do you want?”

Xiao Yu’er said:”Don’t get excited first! We’re not here to help either side. I just wanted to save you from dying at each other’s hands before finding the treasure.”

Wang Yizhua looked at him with his sharp eyes and said deeply:”Who are you?”

Xiao Yu’er laughed:”Don’t you know me? Ask him?” He pointed at Zhao Quanhai. All their eyes were staring at Zhao Quanhai.

Zhao Quanhai lowered his head and stuttered:”This old master Yu, he is known as [the Saint of 10,000 snakes, the sage of 10,000 swords, the king of kings undefeated throughout the China, the earthshaking Yu Wangzi.]”

Xiao Yu’er nodded and smiled:”You forgot a few words, but that is about it. If you haven’t heard of this name before you are really ignorant.”

Wang Yizhua angrily said:”You little brat, how dare you use such a name!”

Zhao Quanhai said:”Old master Yu has superb martial arts, he had just killed the Three Swords of Jinlin, the Grey Bat, the Owl and the Azure Serpent Lord.”

When those five men heard that they were shocked.

The Xiaoyun hermit looked at Zhao Quanhai and sternly asked:”How did you know that they died at his hands? Did you see him killing them?”

Zhao Quanhai said:”I…I…Of course, I saw it. Their bodies are still there.”

Although he did not see it, but he truly believed that Xiao Yu’er killed those martial arts experts. Furthermore, he had put himself in an awkward position and really could not say [No, I did not see it.]

Those five men looked at Xiao Yu’er, but this time they looked at him differently. These five men looked down upon Zhao Quanhai’s martial arts but they did not doubt the words and the name of the 17 joined guard agencies of the two rivers.

Xiao Yu’er looked around and smiled:”There was only one treasure, but somehow there are several maps. Don’t you find that a bit strange? Isn’t it more sensible to find the treasure first?”

If he said the same words just a few moments ago, no one would have listened. Even if they listened they would not pay attention to it. But now his status had gone up and his words carried a lot of weight, Wang Yizhua and Buddhist monk Huangji were beginning to think that something was amiss.

Xiao Yu’er looked up and saw a gap, suddenly the moon moved and moonlight shone through the gap.

Everyone said with surprise:”It is time.”

The Xiaoyun hermit blew out a torch and Wang Yizhua waved his palm to extinguish the other, the moonlight revealed a stone path, the way to the treasure.

Wang Yizhua was first to move forward, the Buddhist monk Huangji used his sleeves to whisk at him. Wang Yizhua’s hands formed two claws and were about to engage the sleeves. Qiu Qingpo took out his spear and aimed at the Xiaoyun hermit. Liu Ruyu’s used her sabre to hack at Feng Tianyu three times; Feng Tianyu used his sword to counter-attack twice. They were all starting to fight again.

Xiao Yu’er stood quite far away from them and sneered:”Why are you so excited? We don’t even know if there is a treasure. We can all fight to the death after finding the treasure.”

All of them stopped fighting.

The rock that blocked the path could be pushed away and a tunnel appeared. Wang Yizhua, Buddhist monk Huangji, Qiu Qingpo, the Xiaoyun hermit, Sun Tiannan, Zhao Quanhai, Feng Tianyu, Liu Ruyu entered in this order. They were watching each other and looked very solemn, like they could face their greatest enemy.

Xiao Yu’er was the last one, he was smiling. But he too was excited and curious; he could not guess what could happen at any moment.

All of a sudden, Wang Yizhua and Buddhist monk Huangji cried out in surprise. Both of them were leaders of a leading martial arts school and had profound insight and knowledge, so something must have caught their attention. Soon the others hurried for and cried out in surprise too and were a bit stunned.

At the end of the tunnel they could see about ten coffins and there was no trace of a treasure.

In the dark, those coffins looked very eerie, every coffin had an ancestral plaque above it. The wind was blowing quite hard here, the robe of Buddhist monk Huangji swayed in the wind. Liu Ruyu moved closer to Zhao Quanhai. They counted a total of 13 coffins, there were several ceremonial candles burning in here. Their torches were extinguished before they entered so it was very dark in here. Xiao Yu’er carefully looked around and he saw a plaque that wrote: [The ancestral resting place of the patriarchs].

Xiao Yu’er was a bit scared now and asked:”Where are we?”

Qiu Qingpo said deeply:”Perhaps this is the ancestral resting place of the previous Emei leaders. If it is, this is a sacred place.”

When Buddhist monk Huangji heard the word [sacred], he frowned and said:”If this is a sacred place, we must leave here at once.”

The Xiaoyun hermit agreed:”Trespassing on someone’s sacred property is a serious offence.”

Wang Yizhua’s eyes glittered and interrupted:”If that is the case, you should all leave.”

Buddhist monk Huangji thought for a moment and then turned around.

Feng Tianyu suddenly said loudly:”Reverend, please wait. Don’t be deceived.”

Buddhist monk Huangji said:”Deceived? What do you mean?”

Feng Tianyu said:”A coffin is good place to hide a treasure, won’t you agree?”

Buddhist monk Huangji stopped walking, the Xiaoyun hermit and Wang Yizhua moved to a coffin.

All of a sudden eight doors were opened around them, eight very strong lights illuminated the room. The light stunned everyone and the light shone in their eyes causing them close their eyes for a moment.

When they opened their eyes they saw swords.

A deep voice spoke from behind the lights:”Who are these audacious thugs! How dare you trespass on Emei sacred grounds!”

Another voice said sternly:”Trespassers, die! No need to ask for their identities!”

His voice was powerful and threatening.

Buddhist monk Huangji suddenly exclaimed:”Are you reverend Shenxi?

The voice only grunted.

Buddhist monk Huangji said:”Reverend, don’t you recognize me? I am Buddhist monk Huangji of Mount Wutai.”

That voice said solemnly:”Old friendships are irrelevant on sacred ground. Go!”

When he said [go], swords as fast lightening stabbed towards the throats and other vital spots of Wang Yizhua, Huangji and others.

Xiao Yu’er did not dodge when he saw those swords, those swords may be lethal but the bites of those snakes were even more lethal. Xiao Yu’er lifted his head and laughed loudly.

When he laughed, those snakes of his stuck out their tongues and shook their little heads. Everyone was surprised and shocked to see snakes on Xiao Yu’er’s body.

The two swords aimed at Xiao Yu’er retracted; the wielders of the swords were two Taoist priests in purple robes and a moustache.

The Taoist priest on the left raised his sword and said sternly:”Little child, why are you laughing?”

Xiao Yu’er laughed:”I only laugh at the arrogance and ignorance of the Emei School.”

All the Taoist priests around started to shout angrily.

That Taoist priest stepped forward and shouted:”What are you saying?”

The Taoist priest spoke with a heavy Sichuan accent.

Xiao Yu’er blinked his eyes and said:”Let me ask you this, how did you know that we trespassed on sacred grounds?”

That Taoist priest sneered:”How can we allow intruders walk about freely on our sacred grounds, how can we not know that there are intruders!”

Xiao Yu’er sneered back:”If we were discovered by you after we invaded the sacred grounds we have nothing to say. But it seems that you were awaiting us. I find it hard to believe that Emei could predict our coming.”

That Taoist priest said loudly:”That is none of your business.”

Xiao Yu’er said:”It is my business, because you were informed of our coming. And how did that informer know we were coming? Have you thought about that?”

Zhao Quanhai loudly shouted:”Very true! The informer has set us up against each other! He wants us to battle each to the death…..”

Suddenly he shouted painfully, it seemed that he was injured.

That Taoist priest frowned and said deeply:”Set up? There is no set up!”

Xiao Yu’er said loudly:”If you would stop fighting, I will explain what is happening here.”

Another Taoist priest said:”Don’t be deceived by them.”

That Taoist priest said loudly:”Yes, let us capture them first and interrogate them.”

Xiao Yu’er regretted that he did not lure away those snakes first, because he knew that he would be bitten if he tried to avoid the attacks of those two Taoist priests.

In his fluster he threw the small boxes of the Azure Serpent Lord at the Taoist priests, but the Taoist priest twirled his sword and the boxes were sliced into two. The antidote, snake food, etc. all fell down on the ground, the Taoist priest now aimed his sword at Xiao Yu’er.

Xiao Yu’er sighed and smiled wryly.

All of a sudden the lights were extinguished and Xiao Yu’er felt someone holding his hand.

A voice said softly:”Follow me.”

Xiao Yu’er felt that the hand was very cold and soft and the voice was sweet and familiar. He felt warm and comfortable hearing that voice and whispered:”Are you Tie Xinlan?”

The voice whispered back:”Yes.”

Xiao Yu’er followed her and sighed softly:”You’re much better than me in the field of secretive weaponry. Even I cannot put out all those torches at once.”

Tie Xinlan said:”I did not put out those lights.”

Xiao Yu’er was a bit shocked and asked:”Who did?”

When the lights were out there was a dead silence, but soon people started to shout and yell again.

Many people shouted:”Who is there?”

“Are there more intruders?”

“Light the torches, quick!”

Before Tie Xinlan quick tell Xiao Yu’er what had happened, the lights were lit again. The Emei disciples were standing with their backs against a wall and Wang Yizhua and others had gathered around.

Another two people had entered the room; they wore white gowns and were very pale. But they had beautiful long black hair and pretty eyes.

Xiao Yu’er had wondered what martial arts experts had put out the light; he was surprised to see two beautiful young girls here.

All the people gathered here were top martial artists even those Taoist priests in purple robes were experts of the Emei School, but these girls looked rather conceited and showed contempt.

Their arrogance silenced everyone.

The Xiaoyun hermit scoffed:”Mere girls can barge into the sacred grounds of Emei, and the Emei disciples can only watch. This is truly laughable.”

While he was talking he glanced at reverend Shenxi and the Emei disciples, everyone looked surprised and angry.

Two girls in white were not impressed by the anger and surprise of the Emei disciples. The girl on the left was a bit shorter; she had a long oval face, eyebrows like sharp willow leaves. There was a hint of naughtiness in the conceited look of her.

The girl on the right was a bit more slender; she had big eyes and some freckles on her nose. She looked cold but yet sweet.

The girl on the right scoffed:”Sister Helu, did you hear that? This is the sacred shrine of the Emei School, we are not allowed here.”

That Helu said coldly:”We can go anywhere we please, who dares to stop us? And who can stop us?”

Reverend Shenxi was angered now and said sternly:”Where did you come from? How dare you to be this insolent!”

After saying that, the Emei disciples attacked. Two swords were aimed at the chests’s of the girls.

The two girls did not pay any attention to it and when the swords were near them, they waved their hands and redirected the swords. Nobody could exactly see how they did that, but the swords were redirected back. The Taoist priest on the left stabbed his sword into the shoulder of the Taoist priest on the right and the Taoist priest on the right side had hacked off the hair bun of the Taoist priest on the left.

They could not lift their hands anymore; they were too terrified and shocked.

Even Wang Yizhua, Buddhist monk Huangji were stunned.

Reverend Shenxi leapt forward, his face was pale and exclaimed:”Is that the [jaded flower stealth substitution]?”

Helu said indifferently:”Good eyesight!”

The other girl said coldly:”Do you know now where we come from? Do you still think we are too arrogant?”

Reverend Shenxi looked awfully pale and said:”Misses, Emei and Floral Palace have no connections. May I enquire why you are here?”

Helu said:”We just here to look at the treasure of Yan Nantian. We don’t want it, we just want to have a look at it.”

Reverend Shenxi repeated with surprise:”The treasure of Yan Nantian?”

The girl on the right said:”Stop pretending! Just hand over the treasure and give us a look. Or else….”

Reverend Shenxi said:”Yan Nantian has no ties with Emei, why should there be a treasure of Yan Nantian on Mount Emei?”

He looked around and suddenly he understood, he smiled sadly:”All of you have come here to look for a treasure.”

Wang Yizhua, Buddhist monk Huangji and others kept quiet. They were afraid to talk; with the disciples of the Floral Palace present it would be wise to keep silent.

Reverend Shenxi shouted:”It is a trap, we are all deceived. If we start to fight now, we will be falling into the traps of that mastermind.”

Xiao Yu’er had backed away from everyone, he was thinking: [When I said that, you did not believe me. Why should they believe you now.]

He looked at the two girls, and was thinking of something.

The girl on the right said:”In other words, you claim that there is no treasure here.”

Reverend Shenxi sighed:”I have never heard of a treasure being hidden here.”

The girl on the right asked Helu:”Sister Helu, shall we believe his words?”

Helu said indifferently:”I never believe other people’s words.”

Reverend Shenxi said:”I can’t help it if you don’t believe me, Miss.”

The girl on the right said:”You can’t help it, but we can. We will search this place.”

Reverend Shenxi said earnestly:”Search!?!”

The girl on the right said:”Yes. We will look through those coffins. Those seem like a good place to hide a treasure, why don’t you open up those treasure so we can have a look.”

Before she finished her sentence all the Emei disciples were furious.

Reverend Shenxi was shaking with anger, he restrained his anger and said solemnly:”The late leaders of Emei are resting in those coffins, no one can open those coffins.”

The girl on the right sneered:”If there are only corpses in those coffins, would a look really be harmful? They won’t lose a bone by opening the coffins, could it be that you’re trying to hide something else. Let’s say a treasure!”

Reverend Shenxi shouted angrily:”Nobody is allowed to open those coffins, anyone who tries will have to kill all the Emei disciples first.”

The girl on the right said:”I don’t have the time to wait till all of you are dead. I will open it myself.”

Reverend Shenxi roared furiously:”The Floral Palace has gone too far! Emei will fight you to the death!”

He drew out his sword with extreme speed and aimed at the larynx of the young girl.

In his anger, this stroke contained the strength of years of training, and was truly as fast as lightning, as powerful as thunder; everyone was stunned.

The young girl was, after all, still inexperienced and, faced with such a stroke, did not dare to counter his blade. She repeated the [jaded flower stealth substitution?], and avoided him.

But now the Emei disciples drew their swords and attacked. The girls could not hope to escape.

Tie Xinlan suddenly released Xiao Yu’er’s hand, and said, “Stay here and don’t move. I …”

Xiao Yu’er stared at her and asked, “What are you going to do?”

Tie Xinlan said, “When I was lost in the wilderness, fortunately they took care of me. When you were in danger, again they intervened. Now that they are being attacked, I cannot stand by and do nothing.”

Xiao Yu’er laughed, saying, “Well, if people of the Floral Palace are in danger, do they really need other people to save them?”

He had hardly finished speaking, when behind him a voice declared: “Well spoken!”

The sound of the voice was loud and clear, but died away quickly; as soon as the voice registered in their ears, someone stepped out from Xiao Yu’er’s side. In the firelight, Xiao Yu’er could not see if the person was male, female, or even what they looked like. Even the colour of the speaker’s clothes was not clearly discernible.

In his life, Xiao Yu’er had never seen someone move so rapidly, nor could he have imagined such a lightning attack. A silhouette flashed by him, into the light cast by the swordplay.

It happened in a split second- clashing swords ringing in his ears, then a dozen blades landed on the ground as one. Although none among the onlookers could see clearly how the swords had been wrenched free, the Emei disciples themselves had felt a sudden irresistible force on their weapons. Each person’s sword, still in his grip, clashed against the clenched sword of a fellow disciple. Each person in each pair felt a terrifying strength from the opposing sword. Their wrists went numb, and the blades fell from their shocked hands. The disciples cried out in alarm as they stumbled backwards. They held their injured arms, their thoughts wild and confused, as if in a waking nightmare(?).

Although his hand still gripped his weapon, Reverend Shenxi had also been caught off guard and retreated a pace. He swept his gaze in all directions, but no one was there except for the two girls in white. And though all was visible by the firelight, and no one moved, still, the dozen blades lay, horrifyingly, on the ground.

Reverend Shenxi stopped short and gritted his teeth. He finally raised his eyes heavenward and sighed. “It’s over.” With a flick of his wrist, he slashed his sword across his own neck. Under the amazing power of this mysterious attacker, the reputation of the Emei sect was now ruined. The only thing left to do was to end his own life.

At that moment a hand snaked out from behind him to gently grasp his arm. Another hand reached around to lightly seize his weapon.

Reverend Shenxi always carried this sword with him. It had accompanied him through countless trials and dangers and never left his side. Now to find it so easily taken from him, was something he would never have dreamed of.

Reverend Shenxi was startled at this, and angry. A youth clothed in white, slowly came out from behind him and stepped forward. He held the Reverend’s sword in both hands. His demeanor was respectful; he smiled and said, “May the Reverend forgive my discourtesy. Had your esteemed sect not attempted to use force on women, I would never have dared to intervene.”

Under the torchlight, you could see that the youth was no more than 13 or 14 years of age. Yet his abilities clearly surpassed even the dreams of the various assembled experts in martial arts. He was only clothed in a plain white robe, but his air of nobility could not be matched by most men clad in brocade.

Until this moment, he had only spoken a few sentences, yet his charisma and charm were apparent. Even the Snow Sabre Liu Ruyu, whose eyes had appraised many men, felt her heart racing. Seventh Master Qiu Qingpo, who had been much admired and sought after in his younger days, felt a twinge of inadequacy, having met this young man.

Without being aware of it, everyone had fallen silent just staring at him.

Although Reverend Shenxi was furious, somehow he seemed to be intimidated by this person’s demeanour, and he found himself returning the young man’s salute. He asked, “Would you be from the Floral Palace?”

The white-robed youth replied, “My name is Hua Wuque, I am indeed from the Floral Palace. It has been many years since my people have roamed abroad, and thus we are unfamiliar with some of the formal courtesies. We beg forgiveness for any offence we may have given.”

His words were humble and polite, and yet somehow the situation resembled that of a master gently extending a courtesy to his servant. Although the master was being sincere, the servant would still feel uneasy. Some people are naturally born to be proud and noble. Although such a man would try to put the pride behind him and feel that it is wrong to be proud, others would see it and feel that he should be as he should be.

The smile on his face was peaceful and warm, yet the others still felt somehow that he was above them. Although his actions were courteous and friendly, they still found it hard to accept.

Reverend Shenxi, Buddhist monk Huangji, Wang Yizhua, Qiu Qingpo, Sun Tiannan, Feng Tianyu, Zhao Quanhai and the others were all leaders of their respective sects. But for some reason, in front of this youth, none of them could find any proper response to give.

Helu rolled her eyes and couldn’t help laughing. She said in a loud voice: “Now that my master is here, I take it we may view the contents of the coffins?”

Reverend Shenxi’s expression darkened. Before he could say a word, Hua Wuque said slowly: “The matter of the treasure will (?)… I just hope that no-one is deceived by the evil intentions of others. From now on we will never mention this day’s events again.”

The Buddhist monk Huangji murmured, “Amitaba, the young master is gracious.”

Wang Yizhua said loudly: “Whoever wanted to continue fighting would wind up being the laughingstock of everyone. Only a fool would be that stupid.”

Qiu Qingpo, Sun Tiannan and the others said in unison: “Young master, you have spoken wisely. We will take our leave now.”

Reverend Shenxi said: “Thank you young master!” What should have resulted in a bloodbath, this Hua Wuque had, with merely a few words, brought to a peaceful resolution.

Throughout all this, Liu Ruyu’s eyes had never left his face. As Tie Xinlan watched him, the corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously in a smile of admiration.

With a “hmph”, Xiao Yu’er abruptly turned and ran towards the entrance of the cave. Tie Xinlan was startled, paused briefly, then eventually ran outside and followed him.

Xiao Yu’er heard Zhao Quanhai call out to him from behind: “Hero Yu, Hero Yu…” [[ I think earlier Xiao Yu’er had told Zhao Quanhai that his name was Yu Wangzi…the long nick name starting with…Saint of 10 000 serpents etc.]]

Helu also called out: “Hey, young lady, where did you go?”

Reverend Shenxi called to him: “Young man, please stay behind and have some tea with me.”

Xiao Yu’er could not understand what they were shouting, and even if he did, he would not turn back. He ran straight outside of the cave.

Outside, there was a thin fog, yet the bright moon in the sky lit the ground; the evening was beautiful.

Xiao Yu’er had no eyes for any of this; he only stared straight ahead and kept running. After a while, he stopped, found a big stone and sat down.

Tie Xinlan took a deep breath, and said, “Who knew that the treasure hunting would turn out like this, I could never have guessed.” Xiao Yu’er said, “As if you could ever guess anything.”

Tie Xinlan was startled. She lowered her head and said quietly, “For this worthless treasure I have endured so many dangers and nearly lost my life. This is really not worth it.”

Xiao Yu’er said, “You’ll live.” (?)

Tie Xinlan bit her lips, her head even lower, and said, “At the Murong Manor, I know it was only because you were in a lot of danger, that’s why you left me behind. I don’t blame you, but you…”

Xiao Yu’er cut in: “And so what if you did blame me?”

Tie Xinlan suddenly raised her head in surprise: “You…you…why are you saying such things…”

Xiao Yu’er said, “I’ve always talked like this. If you don’t like it, then don’t listen…hmph, someone else’s words are much nicer, why don’t you go and listen to him?”

Tie Xinlan’s eyes were now red. After a brief silence, she mustered up a smile and asked, “When did you arrive at Mount Emei?”

“Hmph!” was the only response.

Tie Xinlan coaxed gently, “How did you get so many snakes on your body?”

Xiao Yu’er ignored her again.

Tie Xinlan stamped her foot, then also sat down. The two of them sat back to back and ignored each other. No one moved and no one spoke.

After a short while, Xiao Yu’er couldn’t stand it any more. He spat loudly and said: “Ha, that little rascal(?) really has an arrogant air(?) about him!”

Tie Xinlan didn’t respond, as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

Xiao Yu’er kept quiet for a bit but then couldn’t restrain himself. He nudged her with his back and said, “Hey, are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I said?”

Tie Xinlan replied: “How could a deaf person hear someone talking?”

Xiao Yu’er was confused: “But…you answered me; you clearly heard what I just said. If you couldn’t hear someone talking, then how did you hear me…that means you aren’t…deaf…” His words became muddled, he couldn’t stop himself and laughed out loud.

Tie Xinlan had already been giggling secretly; at this point she let out a big “ha ha” and started laughing even harder.

In the midst of their laughter, the two of them unconsciously wound up sitting side by side. Neither could tell; was it Tie Xinlan who came closer first, or was it Xiao Yu’er who moved over?

After laughing some more, Xiao Yu’er abruptly said again: “That rascal really is too proud(?)!”

Tie Xinlan said softly, “Actually he’s not the proud one, it’s just the reactions of people around him that make him seem so.”

Xiao Yu’er sneered: “Of course he’s proud, look at him-what an actor. Others think he’s so humble and courteous, but he actually- Hmph, what dog crap!”

Tie Xinlan laughed: “One could say that the Floral palace is one of the meccas of wulin. Since he is the only descendant of the Floral Palace, if he is proud, that is only natural.”

Xiao Yu’er merely said: “Hmph.” “Hmph hmph…..hmph. Hmph.”

Tie Xinlan smiled charmingly and lightly touched his hand. She saw the snakes on his wrist and quickly drew back. Winking at Xiao Yu’er, she said, “Did you notice, his eyes, they really look like yours, they’re practically identical. A stranger would have thought you were brothers.”

Xiao Yu’er retorted: “If I was born looking like that sissy(?), I’d rather die.”

Tie Xinlan held back her laughter and stared at his eyes, without a word.

Xiao Yu’er cocked his head to one side, and laughed coldly: “The funny thing is, someone actually likes this pretentious, sissy man.”

Tie Xinlan said, “I…who likes him?”

“You.”

Tie Xinlan broke into stunned laughter: “I, like him? You’re crazy!”

Xiao Yu’er said, “If you didn’t like him, why would you stare at him with those bright eyes of yours? If you didn’t like him, why would you hang on his every word?”

Tie Xinlan’s face was flushed with anger; she gritted her teeth and said, “Fine. So what if I like him? It’s none of your business, we’re neither friends nor family, remember?”

She stamped her foot and turned her back on him again.

Xiao Yu’er sat down on the ground, and mumbled, “Pretentious, overacting like an old man(?), that’s the most annoying type.”

Tie Xinlan said without turning around: “Didn’t you just call him a sissy? Now he’s like an old man?”

Xiao Yu’er said, “I…I meant to say he’s like…an old sissy.”

Tie Xinlan suddenly burst out laughing.

Xiao Yu’er raised his eyes questioningly: “Why are you laughing?”

Tie Xinlan slowly and clearly pronounced each word: “You are jealous.”

Xiao Yu’er jumped up and cried out: “I, am jealous?.....What a joke….give me a break…”

Suddenly he sat back down and sighed, “That’s right. I do seem to be getting a little jealous…”

Tie Xinlan smiled sweetly and was about to snuggle into his arms, but suddenly jumped up and screamed: “Snakes….why don’t you get rid of these poisonous snakes?”

Xiao Yu’er said sadly, “If only I could.”

Tie Xinlan exclaimed in surprise: “Even you can’t get rid of them yourself?”

Xiao Yu’er sighed: “Now that the Azure Serpent Lord is dead, I’m not sure that anyone can get rid of them. They’ll bite whoever touches them.”

Tie Xinlan said anxiously, “Then…then what are we going to do? You can’t carry them around for the rest of your life.”

Xiao Yu’er said nothing for a while, discouraged. Then suddenly he made a face, smiled and said, “It’s not so bad. With the snakes all over me, girls won’t dare to touch me.”

Tie Xinlan stamped her foot and shouted: “I’m being serious, and you’re still joking around.”

She turned her back in a huff, but then turned around instantly, smiling: “I have an idea.”

Xiao Yu’er asked happily, “What idea?”

Tie Xinlan said, “Starve them to death. Once they’re dead, they’ll fall off.”

Xiao Yu’er appeared to think it over, then nodded his head: “Not bad, not bad. That is a pretty good idea.”

Tie Xinlan said, “Thank you, thank you.”

Xiao Yu’er winked at her: “Only you forgot one thing.”

“What?”

Xiao Yu’er said, “Although these snakes are hairless, it doesn’t mean they’re monks.”

Tie Xinlan was confused: “What is that supposed to mean?”

Xiao Yu’er said, holding back his laughter: “If they’re not monks, they eat meat…”

Tie Xinlan was still confused, then suddenly she jumped up and cried out: “They….if they really get hungry, they’ll eat your flesh and drink your blood.”

Xiao Yu’er sighed: “You really are a brainchild. You didn’t get it till now.”

Tie Xinlan was so worried that she wanted to weep. She stamped her foot and said: “So what do we do? What do we do? The only way is…the only way…”

As for what “the only way” was, she couldn’t say. She was so anxious, she was turning in circles. By about the seventh or eighth circle, she heard voices approaching.

Someone said, “How did that girl disappear so suddenly. That is really strange.”

Someone else chimed in coldly: “She can escape today, but can she escape tomorrow?”

As soon as they heard these two voices, Xiao Yu’er and Tie Xinlan’s expressions changed.

Tie Xinlan whispered, “Zhang Qing!” Xiao Yu’er said: “And Murong Jiumei!”

Tie Xinlan said, “Let’s escape.”

It was only at this point that they noticed they were at a dead end. They were surrounded on three sides by mountain slopes(?), and the only way out was the direction from which Zhang Qing and Murong Jiumei had come.

Tie Xinlan’s feet and hands were icy cold. She said, “This…this…”

Xiao Yu’er said, “Let’s just hide for a bit and see.”

They had just settled in their hiding places when the two girls arrived.

Zhang Qing said, “Mount Emei is a really strange place. Aside from the caves where monkeys live, the only shelter we’ve found is this place.”

Murong Jiumei said, “There’s no point in searching the entire mountain randomly. Why don’t we rest here tonight and start again tomorrow.”

Zhang Qing had sat down already, on the exact same stone that Xiao Yu’er had previously occupied. The two of them relaxed and closed their eyes.

Xiao Yu’er and Tie Xinlan suffered in silence; at this rate, who knew how long they would have to wait before being able to escape?

After a while, Zhang Qing opened her eyes and asked, “Are you cold?”

Murong Jiumei said mockingly, “You are quite the spoiled princess. Even if we were in an icy snowstorm I wouldn’t complain of cold.”

Zhang Qing shrugged, and closed her eyes again.

Xiao Yu’er thought inwardly: “Of course you’re not cold. Consider the type of martial arts you’re practicing. Even if you were naked as a dog’s butt and sleeping on ice, you wouldn’t mind. Other people however, haven’t practiced such witchcraft.”

After another pause, Zhang Qing suddenly stood up and said, “You’re not cold, good for you. But I can’t take it.”

Murong Jiumei replied, “Even if you can’t handle it, you must still endure.”

Zhang Qing smiled and said: “Please Jiu Guniang, come with me to find firewood.”

Murong Jiumei stood up slowly. They glanced in all directions, but finally decided, of all places, to approach the spot where Xiao Yu’er and Tie Xinlan were hiding.

Xiao Yu’er thought to himself: “Why did I have to pick this spot of all places? And why did this spot have to have firewood, of all places! This is really the worst luck.” Who could have guessed that they would choose to hide behind some dried rattan wood (?). And this type of wood just happened to be the best type to start a fire. Coincidence upon coincidence, this was not Xiao Yu’er’s lucky day.

Tie Xinlan’s palms were already drenched in cold sweat. Her body began to tremble.

Zhang Qing and Murong Jiumei came closer. The closer they got, the more Tie Xinlan shook. The firewood began to shake from her trembling.

Zhang Qing suddenly stopped moving and said, “Listen, what’s making that noise?”

Murong Jiumei said coldly, “Don’t worry, there are no ghosts here.” Xiao Yu’er, suddenly inspired, messed up his hair, and secretly laughed to himself, who knows what he was laughing at?

Tie Xinlan, seeing him laughing at a time like this, was both furious and frightened.

Zhang Qing approached a little further, mumbling, “Even if there were no ghosts, even snakes would be enough to scare me out of my wits.”

Murong Jiumei said coldly, “I’m here, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Before her words were finished, a monster suddenly sprung out from the darkness.

Zhang Qing jumped and screamed, cold sweat pouring down.

Murong Jiumei calmly said, “Who’s playing at monsters and ghosts?”

The monster shrieked: “Murong Jiumei… Murong Jiumei, you made me die a horrible death. Murong Jiumei…I want you to pay with your life!”

Under the moonlight, Murong Jiumei could clearly see the face of the monster, who else could it be but Xiao Yu’er? And wasn’t it the very same Xiao Yu’er whom she had indeed caused to die a horrible death?

In the deep night and the mountain wilderness, the dark wind blew in gusts. In such a place, and so unexpectedly meeting a freak with wild hair and snakes slithering all over his body, whom she recognized as a victim murdered by her own cruel hand.

No matter how brave Murong Jiumei was, this was something she could not handle.

She pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Yu’er, her voice quavered: “You…you…”

Upon speaking the second “you”, she had already fainted dead away from fright.

Zhang Qing, although she didn’t understand the underlying details behind Murong Jiumei’s reaction, she could certainly see the many snakes writhing around Xiao Yu’er. Seeing Murong Jiumei in a frightened swoon on the ground, she herself was scared out of her wits. With a scream of fear, she turned and ran. In a moment she was out of sight.

Xiao Yu’er laughed loudly and said, “My snake brothers, no matter if you harm me in the future or not, I still have to thank you. After all, you have saved my life at least twice now.”

Tie Xinlan was the most bewildered of all. She sprang out from the darkness and stared at Xiao Yu’er. She couldn’t help asking, “When were you killed by Murong Jiumei? I don’t get it, you’re confusing me.”

Xiao Yu’er said, laughing, “It’s better when girls are a bit confused; the more they know, the more troubles occur. All you need to know is that I’m damn good.”

Tie Xinlan paused, then sighed: “You are good…you even scared Murong Jiumei into a faint, and frightened Zhang Qing away. Even if we told other people about this, no one would believe us.”

Looking down at the unconscious Murong Jiumei, Xiao Yu’er mused: “What do you think, how should I deal with her?”

Tie Xinlan thought for a bit, then said, “Just let her lie here, and we’ll leave.” She looked at Xiao Yu’er’s expression, then continued: “Or perhaps, perhaps you could use the rattan reeds(?) to tie her up. Wait till she comes around, then beat her a few times to get even.”

Xiao Yu’er said coldly: “Women are really too soft-hearted.”(?) Tie Xinlan asked, “Even this method is not cruel enough?”

“Of course not.”

Tie Xinlan’s voice shook: “Unless…unless you mean to kill her?”

Xiao Yu’er said, “So you’d rather I let her live to return and kill me instead?” Tie Xinlan stamped her foot: “I never thought you…. You are really cruel-hearted.”

“Well, now you know,” Xiao Yu’er retorted. “Just go somewhere far off if you don’t want to watch me kill her.”

Tie Xinlan stamped her foot once more and ran off.

Xiao Yu’er ignored her, his gaze still focused on Murong Jiumei. He murmured, “You evil woman, if I don’t kill you, how could I face myself.” Then he laughed coldly: “I should get my snakes to bite you, then we’ll see who’s more poisonous, you or the snakes.” He grasped Murong Jiumei’s hand as if to feed the snakes on his wrists.

At this moment the moonlight in the skies happened to shine down on her face. He saw her thin and pale face, her long eyelashes. Although she was still in a swoon, her appearance would make anyone feel pity. Her hands were cold and soft. To feed such hands to the snakes, would take a very ruthless person.

Xiao Yu’er’s hands also softened slightly, but then he thought of himself imprisoned in the ice cellar, Murong Jiumei leaving him to freeze and starve to death. His anger flared up again, and he gave a sinister laugh: “Whatever happens, you can’t blame me. If you hadn’t tried to kill me, I wouldn’t be avenging myself.”

Suddenly he heard someone slowly criticizing: “Using this kind of tactics to threaten a girl? You should be ashamed to call yourself a man.”

Xiao Yu’er’s head snapped up in surprise: “Who’s there?”

On the word “who”, he could already see a person standing before him. It was the elegant and refined Hua Wuque. Three people stood behind him. Two were the girls in white, and the third was Tie Xinlan. The three girls stared at Xiao Yu’er with huge eyes, as if wanting to devour him whole.

Xiao Yu’er was furious, but he merely smiled and kept his grip on Murong Jiumei’s hand: “You mean I can’t kill her?”

“A man should be more courteous when dealing with girls,” Hua Wuque responded evenly. “No matter how she may have wronged you, you should still be gentle, because she is a woman.”

Xiao Yu’er laughed out loud: “What a perfect gentleman! A man like you is truly the good fortune of women everywhere, they should make you an embroidered flag.(?)”

Hua Wuque smiled faintly and said, “Well said.”(?)

Xiao Yu’er went on: “But say the women wish to kill you, what should you do then? Should you close your eyes and await your death by their hands? You wouldn’t even return a single blow?”

“If I have wronged a woman,” Hua Wuque slowly said, “even if she wished to kill me, I would have no complaints.”

Xiao Yu’er persisted: “And if the woman wronged you? Would you kill her?” Hua Wuque said, “Men should always be gentle with women.”

“Where did you learn such a strange way of thinking?” Xiao Yu’er laughed bitterly. “According to you, all men everywhere deserve to die, we should all just drown ourselves in the Yellow River.”

“Not necessarily.”

Xiao Yu’er stared at him, torn between anger and amusement. Xiao Yu’er could not tell if Hua Wuque honestly didn’t understand him, or was merely pretending not to. He couldn’t decide if Hua Wuque was intelligent or an idiot.

Hua Wuque looked at him, smiling, without a trace of anger or anxiety. If he had truly been the gentle scholar type he seemed, Xiao Yu’er would have given him a beating a long time ago.

But his martial arts were truly shocking, as Xiao Yu’er knew. He could only sigh, and say: “What you want is for me to release her?”

Hua Wuque smiled and said, “Even to release her would be a deed worthy of a hero.”

Xiao Yu’er retorted, “If I release her today, and in future she returns to kill me, what then?”

Hua Wuque paused, then said, “Who can predict what will happen in the future?”

“Fine. If I want to kill her, I’m not a hero, nor a man, and I deserve to die. But if she wants to kill me, this is her natural right, and I should obviously let her murder me, is that it?”

Hua Wuque laughed, “That’s not what I meant to say. It’s just that…”

Xiao Yu’er shouted at him: “I don’t care what you meant. Today I am not your match. Even if you farted I’d have to pay attention. But, if ever I gain the upper hand, I swear I will slaughter some women in cold blood for your viewing pleasure.”

He heavily slapped away Murong Jiumei’s hand, saying, “Take her away.”

Hua Wuque was not angry at all; in fact he smiled slightly and said: “Thank you.”

The girls in white darted over like swallows and lifted Murong Jiumei into their arms.

The round-faced girl stared at Xiao Yu’er and gave a cold laugh: “If my master weren’t here, I would have killed you, to teach you a lesson about respecting women.”

Xiao Yu’er sneered, “Go ahead. Scold me as you wish. You’re a woman, you have a natural right to scold men, isn’t that right, young master Hua?”

Hua Wuque smiled: “A man who is scolded by a woman is actually lucky. Certain types of men, are not even worth a scolding.”

Xiao Yu’er barked out a mirthless laugh. “Ha ha…ha, so then, I must be really lucky. To make you feel better, some day I’ll have to find some women to give you loads of luck.”

“At that time, I’ll certainly be all ears,” Hua Wuque said, laughing.

Xiao Yu’er rolled his eyes; he felt as if he would explode with frustration.

He saw Helu tugging at Tie Xinlan’s hand, urging her: “Young lady, come with us.”

Tie Xinlan murmured, head bowed, “But I….I…”

Although her head was lowered, her gaze had never left Xiao Yu’er.

The round-faced girl said harshly, “Why should you care about this kind of man? Come with us.”

Helu smiled and added, “My master wishes to speak with you.”

Xiao Yu’er hollered: “Go, go! Leave with them then. I’m having a bad day already- with you around, my luck will get worse.”

Tie Xinlan’s head lowered still further, tears already brimming at the corners of her eyes.

The round-faced girl pulled at her hand, saying, “Ignore him, let’s go.”

Hua Wuque smiled and bowed, then turned to leave. Murong Jiumei, in Helu’s arms, suddenly moved and mumbled woozily, “Xiao Yu’er….Jiang Yu, let me go…let me go.”

Hua Wuque’s expression changed slightly. He swiftly turned to stare at Xiao Yu’er, and said, each word distinct: “You are Jiang Yu, and you are also Xiao Yu’er?”

Quite unconsciously, Xiao Yu’er began to grow alarmed, but he only said: “Why, is my name famous or something?”

Hua Wuque still stared at him for a brief moment, then lightly sighed and said, “I am very sorry.”

Xiao Yu’er opened his eyes in surprise: “Sorry? For what?”

Hua Wuque slowly said: “Because I’m going to kill you!”

These words shocked everyone.

“Is your head messed or something?” Xiao Yu’er cried out. “Why do you want to kill me all of a sudden?”

Hua Wuque answered, “Because you are Jiang Yu. In the entire world there is only one person I must kill. That person is Jiang Yu, and that means you.”

Xiao Yu’er sat in stunned silence. Then he sighed, “I see. But there must be someone who sent you to kill me.” Hua Wuque replied: “It was an order from my master.”

Tie Xinlan screamed, “Why would your master want you to kill him? Why?”

She tried to rush to Xiao Yu’er’s side, but the round-faced girl held her tightly.

Xiao Yu’er and Hua Wuque faced each other. Neither cast even a glance at Tie Xinlan.

A pause. Xiao Yu’er suddenly laughed aloud: “Very well. I had wanted to kill you already, but I only held back because my martial arts were inferior. But now…”

He raised his arms and rushed toward Hua Wuque. He was certainly not Hua Wuque’s match but as long as he could get near him, then his snakes would deal with him. No one could escape his snakes. They would not only take Hua Wuque’s life, but also his own.

But suddenly his arms shook. His chi(?) suddenly went awry, and both his wrists went numb. Before he had even reached Hua Wuque, the world turned to black.

Xiao Yu’er awoke. In front of him was an incense burner(?). The scented smoke permeated throughout and wafted towards Xiao Yu’er’s nose. He could not identify the scent. He sniffed…perhaps it was the fragrance of flowers, but no, now it smelled like herbs, maybe. He sniffed carefully a third time and thought maybe it was the scent of a lady’s cosmetics.

He didn’t care what it was, as long as it smelled wonderful, that was good enough for him.

Then he saw a knife.

It was a short dagger, with a jewel-encrusted handle. It was hung above the head of the bed. Its sheath appeared to be made of sharkskin; this was probably an ornamental blade.

These were the only decorations. The rest of the room was very plain, but neat and tidy(?), and meant to make its occupants comfortable.

Xiao Yu’er could not figure out where he was. He thought perhaps this was a bamboo hut built for Hua Wuque’s temporary use while on Mount Emei.

But how did he get here?

Had he not just been bitten by those lethal snakes? Why had he not succumbed to the poison? Unless it was Hua Wuque who had saved him. But why would he, didn’t he want to kill Xiao Yu’er?

He turned his head. His eyes instantly met Hua Wuque’s.

Sunlight streamed through the window. Under the light, Xiao Yu’er saw his eyes, his face, his elegant and refined demeanour, his clothes white as snow. He had to admit, Hua Wuque was a rare example of an extremely handsome young man.

Hua Wuque seemed to have been sitting there for quite some time. But he did not appear at all impatient or annoyed. Indeed, he seemed prepared to go on sitting there quietly, for a long while yet.

Xiao Yu’er could not help but admire this. He himself would not have been able to sit still for even fifteen minutes. Xiao Yu’er secretly tried a few movements and found that he was not in any pain. Furthermore, the lethal snakes on his body were entirely gone.

He inwardly relaxed. “Hey,” he called out, “was it you who saved me?”

Hua Wuque calmly replied, “It was me.”

Xiao Yu’er continued: “And it was you who cured me of the snake poison?”

Hua Wuque explained, “The Fairy Incense (?) and the Lady Pill (?) that you took, they are strong antidotes to many poisons.”

“But weren’t you trying to kill me just now?” Xiao Yu’er asked.

Slowly, Hua Wuque said: “I am still going to kill you. But I must do it myself; I can’t allow you to die from other causes.”

Xiao Yu’er blinked. “Why must you personally kill me?”

“Those were my orders.”

Xiao Yu’er was silent for a bit. Then: “I must die by your hand, and I must not be killed by anyone or anything else? So…Don’t you think that’s odd? You’ve never asked why?”

Hua Wuque said, “I don’t need to ask.” Xiao Yu’er deadpanned: “Looks like you’re quite obedient.”

“No one may disobey the decrees of the Floral Palace.”

“Seems like you’re quite honest too,” Xiao Yu’er mused. “Whatever questions I ask, you answer.”

Hua Wuque said, “No matter who asks me anything, I will always answer truthfully. I still must kill you. But killing you and answering your questions are two utterly unrelated matters.”

“You must kill me yourself?” Xiao Yu’er repeated. “What if I kill you?”

“You won’t be able to kill me,” said Hua Wuque. “You dare to fight to the death?” challenged Xiao Yu’er.

Hua Wuque declared, “I will take your life fairly and honestly!”

“Fine then, “Xiao Yu’er said. “Just move back a bit first, let me get up.”

Hua Wuque stood up and retreated eight or nine steps accordingly.

Xiao Yu’er slowly got up, and mumbled to himself: “You’re too honest a man, but I’m not sure if you’re really honest, or just so confident that you don’t care what I do.”

While he was speaking, he abruptly drew out the ornamental dagger from its sheath, and dropped to the ground.

Hua Wuque calmly watched him. His peaceful and noble air was enough to shame many who called themselves martial arts experts.

Xiao Yu’er suddenly burst into loud laughter: “It’s a simple thing if you merely want me dead. But to kill me yourself, that will never happen.”

Swiftly he flipped the blade around to point at his own heart.

Hua Wuque’s expression changed slightly. He asked: “What…what are you doing?”

Laughing, Xiao Yu’er made a face at him: “You make one move towards me, and I’ll stab myself. Then you’ll never get to kill me.”

Hua Wuque stood there stunned. He didn’t move. He never could have imagined that Xiao Yu’er would use such a strategy.

In martial arts, of course Hua Wuque was superior by far. But as for improvisation and adapting to danger, how could he even compare to the unpredictable and wily Xiao Yu’er?

This disparity, of course, was due to the two men being raised in entirely different environments. The lofty Fairies of the Floral Palace (?) could not hope to match the denizens of the Valley of Evil in craftiness. As for this trick of Xiao Yu’er’s, Hua Wuque would never have been able to execute it, even in his dreams.

Xiao Yu’er laughed like crazy: “If you still want to kill me, show a little patience. Don’t move…Not even one little move.”

His eyes were fixed on Hua Wuque, and he retreated step by step. Hua Wuque had no idea how to deal with such a situation, and could only stand still, helplessly watching Xiao Yu’er back out the door.

Xiao Yu’er did not dare to make a single mistake; although he had exited the door, still his eyes stared at Hua Wuque without blinking. He did not dare to relax even a bit.

Outside the door, the morning mist surrounded nameless flowers on the mountain. Although the sun had already risen, its light still had not yet dispersed the early morning fog on Mount Emei.

Step by backward step. He backed across a small path strewn with mountain flowers.(?) Unless he made sure Hua Wuque would not pursue him, Xiao Yu’er could not turn his head around. His steps were slow and his footfalls firm…

Hua Wuque was suddenly reminded of something, and called out: “Jiang Yu, don’t move!” As he shouted, he began to run out the door.

Xiao Yu’er threatened: “Stop right there! If you step one foot outside the door, I’ll immediately…”

Hua Wuque stopped dead at the threshold, beads of anxious, cold sweat on his forehead. He shouted loudly: “I said don’t move, you can’t go any further. Behind you…”

His warning was in vain; Xiao Yu’er’s left foot stepped backward onto thin air. By the time his shout of surprise could be heard, he had already fallen off the path. Behind him was a precipice; the fog and clouds made it hard to judge its depth. Hua Wuque saw Xiao Yu’er disappear over the edge, and could not reach him in time to pull him back.

Xiao Yu’er’s shout was sharp and brief; yet its echoes from the surrounding mountains continued to ring. Hua Wuque’s body seemed drained of strength- he clung to the door, slumped against it. He stared into the fog, sweat rolling down drop by drop.

By now Tie Xinlan had dashed outside, followed by four or five white-robed girls. She ran up to Hua Wuque and demanded, “Who was screaming just now? Was it him…tell me, was it him?!”

Hua Wuque nodded.

“Where…where is he?”

Hua Wuque sighed and shook his head.

Tie Xinlan saw his expression and stumbled backwards, her voice shaking: “You- you killed him…you killed him!”

She suddenly flung herself onto Hua Wuque and started hitting him with her fists. Her blows fell like rain upon him.

Hua Wuque still had not moved. He neither dodged nor defended himself. Tie Xinlan kept hitting him with all her strength, yet it was as if he didn’t even feel it.

The white-robed girls all cried out in surprise and anger, and simultaneously advanced on Tie Xinlan. Hua Wuque, unexpectedly, shielded her from their attacks, and said gently, “I did not kill him. He actually tripped himself and fell off the cliff edge.”

Tie Xinlan’s body shook. She drew back, and asked, “You…you really didn’t kill him?”

Hua Wuque said, “I have never lied in my life.”

“Then why did you not defend yourself?” she cried out.

Hua Wuque gazed at her with gentle eyes, and sighed: “I knew that right now you must be suffering greatly in your heart. Even if you hurt me, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Tie Xinlan was stunned by his words. Emotions clashed in her heart so that she no longer knew what she felt: tenderness, sorrow, bitterness, and anger. Hua Wuque was truly a kind and gentle man. But Xiao Yu’er…that rough and sly Xiao Yu’er, why was he the one who had left a deeper impression on her heart? He, above the other, was the one she always missed, the one she could neither forget nor leave behind. (1)

Hua Wuque looked at her kindly, and said: “Tie Guniang, you should rest now.”

Tie Xinlan agreed: “You’re right…I should go to rest…I should go…”

She suddenly made a mad dash towards the cliff edge, crying out hoarsely: “Xiao Yu’er, wait for me! I’m coming, to rest together with you…”

But before she reached the edge, Hua Wuque grabbed her hand and stopped her short. Tie Xinlan struggled furiously with all her might, but could not break free.

Tears flowed freely down her face. She screamed: “Let go of me…let go, why won’t you let me join him? He’s dead, down there by himself, he must be so lonely…”

They heard someone calmly say: “Who’s dead down there? He must be so lucky, to be left alone to rest forever in peace and quiet.”

In the milky white fog, they saw a feminine(?) silhouette slowly step out and approach them. It was Murong Jiumei.

Her face was even paler than the fog. Her once beautiful and lively(?) eyes had lost their brightness. In fact, they now seemed a little crazed.

Tie Xinlan gritted her teeth and shouted: “Xiao Yu’er is dead now, are you satisfied? He fell off the cliff, why don’t you go down and see how he’s doing?”

Murong Jiumei lightly shook her head back and forth. She said slowly, “He would not have died here. The dead person here could not be him!”

Suddenly she laughed out loud a few times. She said, still laughing, “He already died at the Murong Manor, by my hand…One person cannot die twice. What…are you talking about…?”

Her long hair, unbound, danced and flew about in the wind, just as wild as her crazed giggles.

Hua Wuque looked at her, sympathy in his eyes. He said softly, “Helu, this young lady must not have yet recovered from fright. Please help her back to the house to rest.”

Helu grasped Murong Jiumei’s hand, but Murong Jiumei continued to laugh: “I killed him myself, I saw his ghost with my own eyes! Ha, ha! Have you ever seen a ghost? How could you have killed him(?)?”

A fierce laughter suddenly joined her giggles. Tie Xinlan declared: “None of you could ever kill him. The only person who could do that…is himself.”

Her laughter dissolved into tears, as her voice cracked and she sobbed, “He has finally died by his own hand…he has destroyed himself. Why do clever people always destroy themselves?”

Tie Xinlan spoke truly. Clever people will sometimes place too much faith in their own intelligence. Intending to harm others, they wind up hurting themselves.

Xiao Yu’er, of course, had much more sense than that. That critical moment, when he stepped backward into thin air, had been staged for the benefit of Hua Wuque.

He had actually already assessed his surroundings and the situation to the smallest detail, even down to the strength he would need to break his fall(?). As his body plummeted, he stabbed his dagger into the cliff face with his right hand. The left immediately grasped onto some reeds(?) growing on the side of the mountain, plastering his body to the cliff wall.

This stunt alone would naturally demand a fast pair of eyes, an attentive, sharp mind and a brave heart. But in order to actually fool an onlooker, especially one of Hua Wuque’s caliber, the risk would be far greater, would it not?

Throughout the anguished cries of Tie Xinlan, the wild screams and laughter of Murong Jiumei, and Hua Wuque’s soft and gentle words, Xiao Yu’er had remained pressed against the cliff face. As he heard their speech, thoughts and emotions mixed in his mind to produce an indescribable feeling. But he managed to restrain himself and did not react, as if not a single syllable had reached his ears.

Finally, as the voices of the onlookers faded away and receded, Xiao Yu’er was able to relax. After a while, he quietly climbed upwards, his eyes turning from the cliff face to look outward. Just as he thought. No one there. He was just about to start upwards again, when, from beside him, someone spoke!

In surprise, Xiao Yu’er whipped his head around. He found himself staring at some monkeys. Dozens of monkeys, who knows where they came from. They began aping his expression and movements, bodies pressed to the cliff wall, heads turning to look outwards. Xiao Yu’er had heard of these Mount Emei monkeys, that they were numerous, and they loved to mimic people.

But now, upon his first real-life encounter with them, he couldn’t help feeling both angry and amused. He wasn’t sure quite how to get rid of them; he pursed his lips: “Hey…get out of here…”

The monkeys made faces at him, and copied his lip movements, screaming and yammering. Some of them had really red cheeks, making their expressions quite scary. Xiao Yu’er worried that these monkeys would draw the attention of Hua Wuque, and he began to get nervous. Without thinking, he put out a hand to hit and shoo them away. At once he realized his mistake.

The monkeys suddenly surrounded him like a nest of angry bees. Together they thrust out their paws.

Normally Xiao Yu’er wouldn’t even be concerned. But right now his body hung from the cliff wall and his arms were not free to exert any sort of strength. As the monkeys swarmed him, he could only tumble straight down.

He was fearful, and anxious, and he did not even dare to call out. His arms scratched and grasped wildly at the cliff face. His knife fell from his grasp and also plunged downward. Only after a long interval did he hear a “pok” sound. The cliff wall happened to slope inward(?) and thus the blade was able to fall straight to the bottom. The echo took a long time to reach his ears; the precipice must be terrifyingly deep.

Xiao Yu’er’s entire body was slippery with sweat. His hands could no longer grip properly. At the point where the cliff face began to slope inward(?), he would also plummet straight to the bottom, where inevitably his body would shatter to pieces.

The most intelligent man in the world, succumbing to a troop of monkeys…at this thought, Xiao Yu’er didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The monkeys were also falling downward, but unexpectedly, as they chattered away, each one grabbed the hand of another. Dozens of monkeys, hand in hand, used their feet to climb the slope. They hung in a chain down the side of the cliff, like a string of gourds(?). Not a single one fell off.

Xiao Yu’er, unfortunately, did fall, and his hands couldn’t grasp anything!

He could only close his eyes tightly, and laugh bitterly: “It’s over, Xiao Yu’er dies at the hands of apes…”

At this moment, unexpectedly, a hairy monkey’s paw flew out from nowhere and grabbed his shirt at his chest. This monkey’s grip was frighteningly strong, but the pull of gravity was stronger. Although the paw still clenched the shirt, it ripped, and Xiao Yu’er continued to fall. Without warning, another monkey paw snatched out like lightning, and seized his hair.

Although the pain made tears stream from his eyes, Xiao Yu’er’s body had finally stopped. He saw the chain of monkeys still there, watching him, making faces and shrieking. And then he saw that the pair of paws grasping him had reached out from a small cave within the cliff face.

Xiao Yu’er thought to himself, “Probably the one who saved me is the monkey king, otherwise how could it be so strong? Monkeys most likely bear no good will toward humans; surely this one wants to torture me once it has pulled me up into the cave.”

Xiao Yu’er was indeed a rapidly decisive man. Upon this thought, at once he secretly gathered his chi(?) and prepared to immediately ascend and secure himself to the cave entrance. Then he could deal with the monkey.

Before he could even make a move, a person’s voice issued from the cave. Its thin and shrill tones warned him: “Don’t move – a single movement and I’ll let you fall!” This voice sounded seven tenths ape-like, but clearly it spoke human language. Was it possible that on Mount Emei, monkeys could converse with words?

As Xiao Yu’er listened, his body grew clammy with perspiration. In a trembling voice he asked, “Who…what are you?”

The voice cackled, “Whatever you are, so am I.”

“You…you are human then?” Xiao Yu’er demanded.

The voice teased: “Take a guess.”

Xiao Yu’er sucked in a breath before asking: “What do you want?”

“Lower your hands and don’t move.”

Xiao Yu’er could only let his hands fall accordingly. His body was tugged straight up through the air, like riding clouds or floating through fog. All of a sudden the monkey’s paw tapped once on each of his shoulders, squarely on his acupoints. Xiao Yu’er could no longer lift his arms.

Consequently, as he was pulled into the cave, Xiao Yu’er did indeed resemble a fish.

The mouth of the cave was not big, yet its interior could not be considered small. Xiao Yu’er’s entire body was sore and hurting from the dragging. His head felt dizzy and close to fainting. He opened his eyes to find a monkey looking at him, its mouth split wide in laughter.

The monkey was quite large, not much shorter than Xiao Yu’er himself. Upon further inspection, the monkey was actually dressed in material which, although ragged and tattered, was indeed human clothing. Certainly, the monkey’s body was covered in long hair. Undeniably, its bottom was also sprouting long hair. But those eyes, that nose, definitely resembled a man’s. The strangest thing was, the monkey not only had long body hair, he also had a lengthy beard.

The monkey screeched with laughter: “Do you see now? Which do I resemble?”

Xiao Yu’er swallowed hard, then said: “You seem three tenths human.”

The monkey finished for him, “But still I look seven tenths an ape, right?”

“If it weren’t for hearing you speak words with my own ears, you wouldn’t seem human at all,” Xiao Yu’er admitted. In such a weird situation, it never occurred to him not to be honest- thoughts of life and death were entirely forgotten. Consequently he did not worry about what this creature might do to him.

Oddly enough, the monkey was not angry at all and instead laughed loudly: “Let me tell you, I am an ape among people, but yet, among the apes, I am the most human. If you called me a man you would be correct, but to label me a monkey would not be wrong either.”

Xiao Yu’er cried out, stunned: “An ape among humans, but a human among apes. Could it be…you are…”

Abruptly someone’s voice said coldly, “Don’t listen to him, of course he is a man. It’s just that he was born looking like a monkey, and after having spent so much time living among them, he seems even less like a human.”

The cave was huge. Sunlight streamed through the small entrance, leaving the back of the cave largely dark and poorly visible. The voice came from this area, and it sounded entirely human(?). Xiao Yu’er jumped again: “And what are you?”

A person stepped out slowly from the shadows. Thin and withered, his entire head covered in hair and fur, at first glance he also appeared barely human. But his eyes were very clear(?), and seemed to be full of intelligence. Other than man, there was no other animal with eyes like these.

Xiao Yu’er released his breath. “That’s right. You are a man…but who are you exactly? And exactly how did you wind up here? And how did you become like this?"

This man let out a long sigh: “You’d better ask him.”

Before he had finished speaking, the monkey jumped up and started yelling: “Ask me? If it wasn’t for you, why would I be trapped in this place like a living ghost? And how would I have become like this, not even recognizable as a human?”

The man sneered, “Did you ever look human from the day you were born? Of the Twelve Zodiacs, who even resembled a human?”

Xiao Yu’er’s eyes had been darting back and forth between the two speakers. Although he had felt frightened, this was also mixed with amusement and curiosity. Upon hearing these last words, however, he stared in shock and fear at the monkey: “You…you really are one of the Twelve Zodiacs?”

The monkey straightened his back and proudly declared: “That is correct. I am the Lord of Monkeys(?)….of the Twelve Zodiacs!”

Xiao Yu’er unconsciously recoiled , his back against the wall. Turning to the man, he said, “And…you are?”

The man smiled bitterly: “At your young age, of course you’ve never heard of my name…” He, too, drew himself up straight. From his eyes shone a sudden light, and he thundered, “But fourteen years ago, if you mentioned the name “Countless blossoms in the sky, soundlessly descending(?)”, who wouldn’t know you meant Shen Qinghong?”

The Lord of Monkeys barked out a sarcastic laugh: “Dog crap, you were never more than a mere protection agency guard. Upon hearing the name of the Twelve Zodiacs, you would have been cowering in fear.”

Shen Qinghong laughed mockingly: “Is that so? If the Twelve Zodiacs were really that powerful, why weren’t you able to take a single penny from me? And how did I trap you in here fully fourteen years?”

As the two ridiculed and jeered at each other, Xiao Yu’er listened in astonishment; only thus did he know that these companions of fourteen years were hardly friends and in fact were bitter enemies. He could not imagine how they had passed all this time, and still survived.

The monkey and the man glared at each other. Both tensed up like arrows on the drawn bow, ready to go off at the slightest touch. But before either made a move, the Lord of Monkeys burst into ferocious laughter: “But you forget, now this little pipsqueak is here, I’m not afraid of being alone anymore. I could care less if I killed you right now.”

Shen Qinghong snapped coldly: “It’s only because you loathe me, you resent me so much that you couldn’t bear to let me die first. That’s why you’ve lasted so long. If I really died, heh, you’d be following me soon after.”

Before he could stop himself, Xiao Yu’er blurted out: “You mean that it was only the mutual hatred that has sustained you for so long? That you even had to compete at living the longest?”

The Lord of Monkeys growled through gritted teeth: “How could the Twelve Zodiacs allow this lowly guard to die first?”

Xiao Yu’er repeated, “And these long fourteen years, you have spent bickering and fighting with each other all the while?”

“Without that, how could we have endured the passage of time?” Shen Qinghong retorted.

“Otherwise, I would have slaughtered him a long, long time ago!” the Lord of Monkeys agreed.

Xiao Yu’er asked, incredulous: “But why didn’t you both try to think of a way to escape out of here?”

The Lord of Monkeys explained, “If I could think of a plan, wouldn’t I have left a long time ago, instead of waiting here for this pipsqueak to suggest it?”

“But if you can’t leave,” Xiao Yu’er persisted, “then how did you get here in the first place?”

The Lord of Monkeys said fiercely: “Only because those goods(?) were hidden here, I forced him to bring me here! At the time I almost didn’t believe it, so I made him enter first. I then followed…obviously we came down by rope.”

Most likely it was due to his long abstinence from normal conversation, or perhaps it was hatred that had made him overly emotional. In any case, his words made no sense.

He blinked his eyes, thinking to himself, then slowly continued: “He originally was a guard assigned to escort a pile of goods. I knew this and tried to steal it. But who could have guessed, he pulled the “cicada shedding its husk” strategy, first hiding the goods here.(1) If I had tried to make my move, I would have stolen a whole lot of nothing!”

The Lord of Monkeys ground his teeth again and muttered: “His mother must be a real b*tch for sure.”

Xiao Yu’er said, barely containing his laughter, “I think it was only because your martial arts were too strong for him, so he had no choice, yet he was smarter than you and eventually trapped you in here.”

“Yes, although there were certain other twists and turns, in general you have the story right, “admitted Shen Qinghong.

Xiao Yu’er, continuing to think through the tale, said to the Lord of Monkeys, “The two of you descended on a rope together. Of course he would have been in front, and you behind, since you would be afraid of him cutting the rope.”

The Lord of Monkeys concurred: “That treacherous protection agency mongrel, I wouldn’t put it past him to do anything. Of course I had my guard up.”

“But what happened to that piece of rope?” Xiao Yu’er demanded curiously.

The Lord of Monkeys ground his teeth –scrunch, scrunch- and snarled: “I was so happy to see the pile of goods that I forgot to keep my eye on him. How would I know that the scoundrel would set fire to that rope?”

Xiao Yu’er sighed, “Of course you wouldn’t know. This plan was too clever for you to figure out; he must have already planned for you to die trapped in here. And he must have prepared himself beforehand to die with you, otherwise why would he bring you to the treasure’s true hiding place?”

Shen Qinghong sighed as well: “Amazing, that at such a tender age, you could know me inside and out. At the time, I kept thinking and thinking, and could only settle on this method to ensnare him. Otherwise I’d rather die than lead him here.”

Xiao Yu’er was still puzzled on one point: “But during all this time, what food did the two of you live on?”

The Lord of Monkeys boasted loudly: “Of course, that all depended on me…”

Unexpectedly bursting into laughter, Xiao Yu’er said, “Yes, yes of course it would. You are the Lord of Monkeys, of course you would have ways to make the monkeys bring food to you.” (2)

His words were sarcastic, perhaps even scornful, but the Lord of Monkeys, was paradoxically pleased and laughed, “The temperament of monkeys, no one understands better than I. I just need to throw a stone from the cave; when it hits them, they will try to hit me back, and wind up pelting fruit into the cave…”

“And what if they cast stones instead, and not fruit?” Xiao Yu’er interrupted.

The Lord of Monkeys cackled twice before replying: “Outside, the steep precipice is so deep, where could they conveniently find stones?”

Xiao Yu’er smiled and nodded in agreement: “That makes sense, it would be a lot easier for the monkeys to pick fruit rather than searching for stones. But…but, are such small amounts of fruit enough to sustain you?”

“Whatever the monkeys eat, is good enough for us,” the Lord of Monkeys declared. “Although the monkeys don’t eat a lot, then again, we don’t need to eat that much either.”

Xiao Yu’er glanced at their thin and withered bodies. Suppressing his laughter, he said: “Indeed, I can certainly see that.”

The Lord of Monkeys bared his teeth in a grin: “Don’t get smug yet, little pipsqueak- from now on you’ll be eating like this too. But don’t worry! You’re the first new person I’ve seen in years, I won’t let you starve.”

Shen Qinghong said, “I’m so sick of looking at that monkey’s face, even if he wanted to starve you to death, I wouldn’t permit it.”

Xiao Yu’er paid no attention to him; instead he stared out of the cave, lost in thought.

The Lord of Monkeys laughed: “From now on we’ll be family. Who knows, we could be living together thirty, fifty years. Hey, what’s your name? You should tell us that first.”

“Jiang Yu,” Xiao Yu’er answered automatically. After a pause, he asked, “Where is the pile of treasure now?”

Shen Qinghong said, “You want to look at it?”

“After all, it’s treasure, who wouldn’t want to?” replied Xiao Yu’er.

“Very well. Follow me…” Shen Qinghong started to say, but was cut off by the Lord of Monkeys: “The treasure is mine- you touch it, you die!”

He glared at them for a while, but eventually relaxed. With a smile, he said, “But perhaps we’ll let this little fish see it, and let him see the might of the Twelve Zodiacs.”

As he spoke, he pulled out two chests from a corner in the darkness.

Although the dark metal(?) chests were covered in rust, their contents shone with the light of jewels and treasure. Their brightness stung the eyes; the Lord of Monkeys was so dazzled that his eyes had become slits in the dark. With mad glee he giggled: “Do you see now, Xiao Yu’er?(3) All this is mine; I would only need to bestow a thousandth of it on you for you to live comfortably the rest of your life.”

Xiao Yu’er took no notice of him. He ruminated, his eyes fixed on the gleaming hoard. A long pause. Unexpectedly he gave a deep sigh and lamented, “What a pity. A pity, I say!”

He spoke again slowly and wistfully: “It’s a shame that you two have only met me now, a bit late.”

“And so what if we had met you earlier?” the Lord of Monkeys asked, startled.

“If you had met me one year earlier, “ Xiao Yu’er stated, “at this moment you would have savoured one year’s worth of freedom in the wide, wide world. Had you met me a decade before now, you would have escaped for ten years already.”

The Lord of Monkeys, just like a real monkey, blinked over and over while saying, “You mean…”

Xiao Yu’er chimed in, “I mean that the sooner you met me, the earlier I would have rescued you.”

The Lord of Monkeys stepped backward three paces. He stopped blinking. He stared open-eyed at Xiao Yu’er, as if flowers had suddenly started sprouting on Xiao Yu’er’s nose.

Recovering himself, he hooted loudly: “You crazy nut, you madman, how could you get us out?”

He grabbed Shen Qinghong, he was laughing so hard that he could hardly catch his breath. He went on, “Did you hear that? This buffoon said he could get us out of here! Who does he think he is, a god?”

Shen Qinghong focused his gaze on Xiao Yu’er. He saw the other man’s clear, bright eyes. He saw the smile playing at the corners of his mouth. The words fell one by one from Shen Qinghong’s lips: “He might just have a way. It is possible.”

Disbelievingly the Lord of Monkeys cried out: “You…you actually believe the words of this little runt?”

Xiao Yu’er smiled slightly: “It is only because my brain was built just the tiniest bit different from yours.”

Infuriated, the Lord of Monkeys shouted: “What, you’re saying your brain is more useful than mine?”

“Not at all. My brain might not be too much superior to yours, only about ten or twenty times,” Xiao Yu’er smiled soothingly.

The Lord of Monkeys jumped: “Bull sh*t.”

“But there’s no need to get upset,” Xiao Yu’er continued. “Your type of brain probably isn’t bad at all. As for my kind of brain, you probably couldn’t find a second one like it on this earth.”

Emitting a strange screech, the Lord of Monkeys yelled, “All right, in that case, if you don’t come up with an idea, I’ll murder you.”

Xiao Yu’er wagered: “If I can’t get you out of this godforsaken place within three months, my head is forfeit.”

The Lord of Monkeys echoed, “Three months…ha, ha ha! I think your head must be deranged, even three years…”

“Three years won’t be necessary,” Xiao Yu’er cut in. “I only need three months. And if in three months time, I really do manage to lead you away from here, how will you repay me?”

The Lord of Monkeys said, “I wouldn’t care if I lost my head to you.”

Xiao Yu’er laughed, “Well, your head is too cumbersome to carry, and even Li Dazhui wouldn’t want to scavenge it. Even one head would be too much; if there were eight, I’d be crushed under all the dead weight.”

He held up a hand to prevent another outburst from the Lord of Monkeys. Smiling, he said, “If you lose, I just want you to turn a few cartwheels(?) for me to see, that will be enough.”

The Lord of Monkeys sprang up, his face like thunder. “You dare insult me…fine. If I lose, I will do as you wish. But if you lose, I must have your head.”

“You have my word,” Xiao Yu’er agreed. “But, as long as I can get you out, you can’t object to any method I may use.”

The Lord of Monkeys replied, “Whatever, you could use your mother, it’s entirely up to you.”

“All right then,” Xiao Yu’er declared, “three months. We will commence our wager now.”

Without warning, he snatched up the largest piece of deep green jade, and flung it out of the cave.

The piece of brilliant jade was still able to dazzle the eyes as it flew through the darkness. Shen Qinghong, who had looked at Xiao Yu’er with a suppressed smile throughout all this, felt a shock at this point. The Lord of Monkeys appeared to have been driven mad- he grabbed Xiao Yu’er and screamed wildly, “You…you idiot, do you even know what you’ve done?”

“How could I not know?” Xiao Yu’er returned with a laugh.

The Lord of Monkeys hopped around frantically: “You knew that you just threw out a piece of imperial jade(?), which is equivalent to destroying a big house with smooth walls, completely tiled (?)…it’s worth three hundred big, fat oxen.”

“Of course I also know that,” Xiao Yu’er said.

“You…you consider this rescuing me?” cried the Lord of Monkeys. “You may as well kill me now.”

Xiao Yu’er sighed, “Well, if you desire riches above your own life, then forget it.”

The Lord of Monkeys protested, “But you…you…what is the point of this?”

“I already knew that you wouldn’t see my point,” Xiao Yu’er laughed mockingly. “But even you don’t understand?”

Those last words, of course, were meant for Shen Qinghong.

Shen Qinghong’s face lit up. “I think I understand a little, but still not entirely.”

Xiao Yu’er explained, “Once I cast out all these pieces of treasure, the monkeys will, of course, scramble to catch them. They would naturally, like my monkey brother here, not even dream of throwing away such curious and pretty objects.”

“But of course.” Shen Qinghong agreed, smiling.

“If I throw out one hundred pieces of treasure,” Xiao Yu’er went on, “at least fifty pieces will be caught by them. Then the monkeys would take the various pieces to different places, to play and catch the light with them.(?) Even if only a single piece caught someone’s attention, that person would be hooked into investigating the origin of the treasure.”

Shen Qinghong concurred: “If it were me, I would be just the same.”

Xiao Yu’er further postulated, “The discoverer of the treasure would not trust in his own solitary abilities. He would find a companion to help him. With this type of secret, as soon as you let a second person know, then instantly a third person will know as well. Once a third person hears of the treasure, then the third hundredth person will be aware of it too. As soon as the rumour leaks out, people will come, never you fear.”

Clapping his hands, Shen Qinghong laughed: “Exactly. Even if the initial finder was a totally inept person, when tempted with a treasure, he would suddenly become resourceful. Besides, when the news spreads, all sorts of talents and treasure hunters will appear.”

Xiao Yu’er sighed again: “So now you understand, we just need people to find this place, and then we’ll be sure to find a way out. The fact that neither of you managed to think of this simple strategy, is exceedingly strange.”

The furious expression had long vanished from the Lord of Monkeys, and at this point he actually leapt up and hugged Xiao Yu’er, and began giggling crazily like a madman: “You are truly, indeed, the cleverest man alive.”

In this way, many baubles and precious objects, the value of which most people could not earn even over a lifetime, were thrown out by Xiao Yu’er like so many rotten peaches or banana peels. Throughout all this, the Lord of Monkeys looked as if he was being gutted by knives; he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

From then on, as Xiao Yu’er discarded more and still more treasure, the Lord of Monkeys turned blue in the face and his eyes bulged. He ceaselessly muttered and yammered aloud: “Clever one, oh clever one, do you realize how much riches you have thrown away? If we converted them into money, we could have physically filled in this entire pit of a precipice.”

Xiao Yu’er paid no attention to him.

By the seventh day, the Lord of Monkeys began to constantly wipe beads of sweat from his forehead, his fists clenched. He hissed, “Intelligent one, oh intelligent one, if your brilliant plan does not succeed, do you know how horribly you are going to die?”

Xiao Yu’er replied indifferently, “If, by the time I have used up the treasure, no one has come, then you may dispose of me as you wish.” In reality he himself was also beginning to get worried. The treasure had already diminished by half, and not even a curious ghost was to be seen.

Eventually the Lord of Monkeys seized the chests and sat on top of them, howling: “No more, don’t even think about touching them!”

“So you really value treasure above your own life?” Xiao Yu’er asked.

The Lord of Monkeys ground his teeth: “I have suffered fifteen long years for the sake of this treasure. If it all goes to waste at the hands of a runt like you, what’s the point of living?”

Xiao Yu’er rolled his eyes: “What you say is not entirely unreasonable. But think, it might just take one more precious item to bring some rescuers. It’s a shame to go so far and waste our efforts now.(?)”

The Lord of Monkeys rubbed his head, thinking, “This…”

Xiao Yu’er looked at him, smiling, and leisurely added, “Perhaps it just needs one more…only one…”

At last the Lord of Monkeys gave a screech, and sprang aside: “You little pipsqueak, you’ve got quite a tongue. All right, you’ve convinced me.”

If it needed one more item, then perhaps it needed two. And if it took two pieces, then maybe three…days passed like this, and still not a soul could be seen.

Now the Lord of Monkeys seized Xiao Yu’er’s clothes, teeth grinding –grr grr- and hissed: “What does the pipsqueak have to say now?”

Xiao Yu’er said, “You never know, it could just take…”

“It could just take one more, right?!” the Lord of Monkeys screamed.

“Precisely,” Xiao Yu’er laughed.

The Lord of Monkeys stamped his foot: “Dog crap on your mother! You’ve made me suffer enough, and you still want to…want to…” Two hands, like monkey paws, reached out to wring Xiao Yu’er’s neck.

At that moment Shen Qinghong let out a “hey”, then whispered, “Someone’s coming!”

By the side of the cave, a person’s head half peeked out.

It was indeed someone’s head, which had been combed into a (?) style, but the hat that should have been sitting on it was gone, apparently swept off by the wind.

This person’s eyebrows were thick and dark, he looked quite threatening. But the eyebrows were drawn together in the middle, as if he was troubled by something. Even if he had many troubles, it was not apparent from his eyes(?).

His eyes bulged out from his face, almost as if the eyeballs were growing out of the sockets. His pupils were fixed and motionless, while the whites were crisscrossed with blood vessels. Those bloodshot eyes stared at the three people in the cave, empty and expressionless.

Although these were clearly the eyes of a person, they somehow were not. Such large eyes, and yet no signs of life in them! Xiao Yu’er, Shen Qinghong and the Lord of Monkeys were all looking back at those eyes. Stare as they might, yet for some reason, their hearts all felt a chill.

Those expressionless and lifeless eyes seemed so cruel, so cold and so terrifying. The motionless pupils carried an inexorable air of death.

The Lord of Monkeys couldn’t help shouting, “Who the h*ll are you?”

His cry was cut short-the head flew through the air towards them!

No hands, no chest, no body…no nothing. This was definitely only a head, one solitary, human head.

The Lord of Monkeys stood there, stunned. From outside the cave there floated the sounds of eerie, threatening laughter, as a few monkeys showed their laughing faces.

Xiao Yu’er let out a breath, and smilingly scolded them, “So it was you who were playing tricks!”

But this head could not have been severed by the monkeys.

Shen Qinghong picked up the head, and looked at the eyebrows, the bulging pair of eyes. He muttered, “But who killed him?”

Xiao Yu’er glanced outside at the setting sun, and said slowly, “The killer should arrive shortly.”

But no one arrived, killer or otherwise.

The sunset stretched into the long, deep night, which also exhausted itself. During this long while, the Lord of Monkeys could neither sit nor stand still. The misty colours of dawn gradually penetrated the darkness of the cave…Without warning, a hand reached in from the outside of the cave!

The five fingers on this hand resembled hooks, as if they wished to grasp something. But the hand was empty. The hand somehow looked sinister in the early morning light. The Lord of Monkeys flew over with the speed of wind, and seized the wrist. Without using much force, however, the entire hand was wrenched into the cave!

Once again, this was a single, solitary hand. And as before, it had been completely cut off. The blood at the wound had already clotted and congealed into a miserable red colour. There was a scar on the back of the hand, long and deep, with twists and turns like the writhing of a snake. Presumably, many years ago this hand had also been chopped at and narrowly missed an amputation.

The faces of the monkeys with their sly smiles swayed outside the cave, red as if painted with fresh blood.(?) The Lord of Monkeys ground his teeth audibly, and hissed: “The head precedes, and then the hand follows. Heaven forbid, the next body part will be a stinky foot.”

Xiao Yu’er declared, “The head and the hand do not belong to the same person.”

“How would you know? Did you ask him?” the Lord of Monkeys laughed coldly.

Xiao Yu’er observed: “The skin on the face was delicate and soft. On the hand, however, it was like sandpaper. Even if you can’t see it, you should be able to feel the difference.”

“Hmph!” the Lord of Monkeys retorted. After a while, he couldn’t help admitting, “Then perhaps the hand belongs to another person…”

“Correct,” Xiao Yu’er said. “Furthermore, it was this hand that chopped off that head!”

The Lord of Monkeys said, surprised: “What, you know that too? Did you witness it?”

“Take a look at the hand,” Xiao Yu’er explained. “A single glance, and you should know that this hand is a strong one. Only a hand with this kind of strength could achieve a clean decapitation with one stroke.”

“Hmph!” the Lord of Monkeys said once more.

Xiao Yu’er elaborated further: “If you note the markings on this hand, you can tell that just before it was amputated, it must have been tightly gripping a blade. And not just any blade, but the weapon must have been a rare, precious one. Therefore, as soon as the hand that held it was chopped off, the blade was wrenched from its grasp… A strong hand gripping a keen blade, this must have made it much easier to cut off someone’s head. What doesn’t make sense is, how exactly was the hand severed?”

Shen Qinghong suddenly let out a long sigh: “You speak truly; this is indeed a strong hand, and it was indeed gripping a valuable weapon.”

The Lord of Monkeys laughed mockingly, his eyes flashed: “Ha, and all of a sudden you are sure of this too?”

“Of course I do,” Shen Qinghong retorted. “The head I might not know, but the hand I certainly recognize.”

Xiao Yu’er raised his eyebrows, and guessed: “Is it the scar you recognize?”

“Precisely.” Shen Qinghong confirmed. “I was the one who injured the hand and made this scar. And it was I who applied healing herbs to this wound. Judging from the way it healed, I(?)…how could I forget?” His voice betrayed much sadness.

The Lord of Monkeys scratched his nose, saying: “First you wounded him, then you gave him medicines… are you mentally ill or something?”

Xiao Yu’er blinked his eyes, thinking aloud: “That cut must have been an accident. Thus, at once you felt regret and applied the medicines to the hand, is that it?”

“Exactly,” Shen Qinghong agreed with a sad smile.

“In that case, this person must be your friend?” Xiao Yu’er asked.

Shen Qinghong sighed deeply once again: “In former days, this person was known in wulin as “Boss Tie, the Golden Blade”. Tie Yulong and I were certainly good friends, but it was only because we were competing for the position of protection agency boss that I…I accidentally sliced his hand once. Afterwards I wished to make amends, but he…he had left without saying goodbye. This was roughly twenty years ago now. Who could have guessed that today, he…” Shen Qinghong turned his head away.

The Lord of Monkeys mused, “ ‘Boss Tie, the Golden Blade’ …hmm, I have heard of this name before. Apparently he not only had more guts, but his martial arts were also superior to yours. What a pity that he wasn’t as devious as you, and so he suffered that blow.”

Shen Qinghong gloomily agreed, “I am far from his equal.”

The Lord of Monkeys drew his eyebrows together, and anxiously said: “This person’s martial arts were quite good in the first place. In these twenty years, he must have trained hard, to make up for his injury. Thus his martial arts must have improved quite a bit. Yet even at that advanced level, his hand was cut off. The perpetrator must be very skilled; we must therefore be very cautious.”

After this speech, he said nothing more, but would only sit cross-legged(?) in the darkest corner of the cave, breathing evenly and cultivating his chi(?), staring at the entrance to the cave.

Outside the cave, it began to brighten, a tiny breeze was carrying the fragrance and warmth of summer. Occasionally the queer howls of laughter from the monkeys sounded back and forth(?).

The sunlight, the scents and the warmth, such unfettered freedom… tears suddenly streamed from Shen Qinghong’s eyes. He turned his head and said hoarsely, “Do you…do you honestly think someone will come? Will someone really find this place?”

Xiao Yu’er responded: “They will.”

Shen Qinghong asked, “But who will come? And will they rescue us or not?”

The Lord of Monkeys gave a ferocious laugh: “Of course they will. No matter who, I don’t care, I just need them to lower a rope, that rope…”

“But if what they want is not you, but your treasure, once they come in here they will kill you, what do they care?” Shen Qinghong interrupted.

Cackling wildly, the Lord of Monkeys replied, “They can’t kill me, no one can kill me…before they even saw me, I would have killed them first.”

Shen Qinghong persisted: “And what if it was a friend, you would still kill…”

The Lord of Monkeys hooted with laughter: “Friend? On this earth, who is my friend? From the age of seven I have been friendless. When I hear the word “friend” I want to vomit.”

Shen Qinghong slowly blinked his eyes and said: “Very well then.”

The Lord of Monkeys instructed them, slowly and clearly pronouncing his words: “The two of you, if you want to live to get out of here, don’t do anything stupid. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you don’t do anything. Just when the person enters, distract him, otherwise…”

Suddenly with a “sough” sound, a sword flew straight into the cave. Without waiting for it to hit the cave wall, Shen Qinghong had already seized it in his hand. He saw a blue light shimmer along the blade; although it was not a rare treasure, it was still certainly a well-crafted weapon(?).

The Lord of Monkeys shouted: “Where is the swordsman?”

“The swordsman?” Xiao Yu’er slowly repeated. “Doubtless he is also dead. This weapon was flung into the cave by your monkey brothers. If the sword’s owner were still alive, how could he permit such a well-made weapon fall into the hands of apes?”

“But of course. While the man exists, so does the sword; when the man dies, the sword also is no more…” sighed Shen Qinghong.

He lightly stroked the intricate and elegant sword, and found that exact sentiment carved into the blade in eight golden words like glittering thread: “Man and sword live and perish as one.”

“To match this sword, its owner must have been a superb swordsman,” Xiao Yu’er remarked.

Shen Qinghong thrust the sword before Xiao Yu’er, saying: “Examine the sword; are there any further markings besides these eight words?”

There were three golden circles also inscribed on the blade.

Xiao Yu’er blinked: “Nothing much, merely three circles…”

Shen Qinghong heaved a sigh: “You are correct in what your eyes observe. But these mere three circles… did you know what serious meaning these would have among the heroes of wulin?”

“What do they mean?” Xiao Yu’er asked.

“With these three circles alone,” explained Shen Qinghong, “you could procure vast quantities of silver and gold. You could change the lives of a thousand people. (?) You could make bitter rivals shake hands and vow peace. And you could also turn sworn brothers into lifelong enemies.”

Laughing, Xiao Yu’er said, “There must be some devilry in these circles then.” Shen Qinghong replied: “They contain no devilry, but these three circles are the mark of “Hunter of spirits, raider of lives, Three-Ring Swordsman” Shen Yang. By using those three circles, a task could be accomplished as easily as crossing a river.” (?)

“Oh, I see,” Xiao Yu’er said. “This Shen character truly has such influence and power?”

Shen Qinghong continued: “This Three-Ring Sword is one of the ‘Famed Seven Swords’. As for his stroke “Three Rings Envelop the Moon”, when Shen Yang executes it, it is truly…”

Shen Qinghong fell silent for a while, then with a long sigh he said, “The Three Ring Swordsman, dying in this fashion, is really something I could not have imagined. From this we can see, the caliber of the experts you have lured here with your treasure, must be great indeed.”

Xiao Yu’er said, amused: “At the top of the precipice, they must be fighting like mad right now. Only too bad we couldn’t see it.”

Moodily, Shen Qinghong commented: “True. At this moment, up above, there must be so many of our wulin peers and friends shedding blood and taking lives. This is all as a result of your doing, you should be regretful and sorrowful, instead of…”

Laughing even harder, Xiao Yu’er pointed out to him: “The sort of people who would, for mere metal and baubles (?), take others’ lives and risk their own, should not be calling themselves heroes of wulin. To my mind, they’re nothing but a herd of idiots; who deserves to be mocked if not them?”

A brief pause. Shen Qinghong fell silent, and slowly lowered his head. With a sigh he spoke again: “Fighting so ruthlessly for such superficial gains…on second thought, it really does seem stupid. But I…how could I claim to be different from them?”

Xiao Yu’er told him, “If you start talking with me more often, who knows, in the future you may just get a little smarter.”

This day also was spent in nervous anticipation. The Lord of Monkeys opened his already wide eyes even further. The day slowly faded, and his eyes became like two lanterns for some intense, brilliant ghost lights(?).