The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 29 Chapter Fifteen: Medicine Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

The girl frowned. "Don't…don't force me. I can't take anymore of this," she pleaded.

"It's not up to you. Hurry up! Drink! Hurry!" Linghu Chong urged.

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

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

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

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

"Linghu Chong is a guy. What is he doing in a girl's bedroom?" Branch Fairy asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Like you've ever married anyone, you shameless jerk!" Fruit Fairy fought back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He said, 'It's quite alright. Don't worry about my body. It's all for your good!' G.o.d d.a.m.n it! These two kids!" Old Man replied.

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

"Congratulations my a.s.s!" Old Man scolded angrily.

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

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

"Right, right!" Zu Qianqiu replied. His voice also quavered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grabbing the man by his arm quickly, Old Man yelled, "You can't go in there!"

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

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

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

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

"Now, who will die and who will live?" Fruit Fairy asked.

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

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

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

"Dad, Dad! Come here, hurry!"

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

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

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

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

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

"Wrong! Wrong!" Fruit Fairy reproved.

"What's wrong?" Branch Fairy inquired.

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

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

Feeling slightly relieved and utterly grateful, Old Man muttered in a shaky voice, "Young Master Linghu, you…even by smas.h.i.+ng us into bits and pieces wouldn't have…alas…wouldn't have…."

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

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

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

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

"Naturally," Old Man concurred.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Mr. Yue, come in please," he said.

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

"It was all my fault. Alas, if…if…" Old Man muttered.

"Don't you worry about it! Linghu Chong won't die," Branch Fairy suddenly cut in.

"How do you know that he won't die?" Old Man was overjoyed and asked hurriedly.

"He is much younger than you and also much younger than me, isn't he?" Branch Fairy asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Old Man was confused.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You are being too modest," Yue Buqun replied.

Under the dim light in the room, he suddenly noticed the s.h.i.+ning eyes of the third man, and a quick thought flashed by his mind.

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

"I guess Mr. Yue has never met our 'Night Owl' Ji Wus.h.i.+ before," Zu Qianqiu grinned.

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

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

"Well, not just today. Aren't we going to meet again tomorrow on the Five-Tyrant Ridge?" Ji Wus.h.i.+ grinned.

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

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

"Really? I don't think I know much about that," Ji Wus.h.i.+ replied with another grin.

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

"I am sorry to have disturbed you so late at night. I'll see you around."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Of course I am referring to all six of the Peach Valley's Fairies," Linghu Chong clarified.

"To not seek revenge or make trouble for them is alright, but there's no way we are going to turn adversity into friends.h.i.+p. Even if you chop my head off, there's still no way," Fruit Fairy exclaimed.

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

"Why's that?" Linghu Chong asked.

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

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

As soon as Branch Fairy got back onto his feet, he dropped his pants and started p.i.s.sing all over the fis.h.i.+ng net.

"What…what are you doing?" Zu Qianqiu asked in shock.

"If I don't p.i.s.s all over this d.a.m.n net, how am I going to vent my spleen?" Branch Fairy answered.

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

Old Man carried Linghu Chong into the cabin and then bowed all the way down.

"Young Master Linghu, your virtue s.h.i.+nes above the nine Heavens, I am utterly grateful for what you have done. I'll say goodbye for now but we'll meet again soon."

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

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

"Wait, brother Zu." Branch Fairy beckoned at Zu Qianqiu.

"What's the matter?" Zu Qianqiu asked.

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

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

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

"Linghu Chong told us to turn adversity into friends.h.i.+p. We must obey his orders. That's why we must become adversaries first before becoming friends," Branch Fairy shouted.

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

"That's right. Turn adversaries into friends. Turn adversaries into friends," he murmured with a wry smile and then walked away together with Old Man and Ji Wus.h.i.+.

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

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

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

"If Young Master Linghu says so, we'll certainly comply."

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

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

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

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

"Hha, so you tore that man into four pieces. Did you know what his name was?" Branch Fairy asked.

"He's dead already. Who cares what his name was? Could you have known his name?" Trunk Fairy answered.

"Of course I do," Branch Fairy replied. "His name is Ji Wus.h.i.+, and he also has a nick name called 'Night Owl'."

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

"That 'Night Owl' Ji Wus.h.i.+ was certainly a tough guy. His Kung Fu was so extraordinary! And totally exceptional too!" Fruit Fairy exclaimed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Dad! Mom!" Yue Lingshan's voice shouted from inside one of the sedans.

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

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

"Who was that large-build man?" he asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"That was evil," Madam Yue replied. "Chong, who is that giant man?"

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

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

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

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

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

"Why didn't you mention any of that to me earlier?" Yue Lingshan uttered a cry of shock.

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

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

"That's right! Dad, you know them?" Yue Lingshan asked.

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

"Ah!" Yue Lingshan let out another cry of terror.

"Senior apprentice brother! Why did you have to bring that up? 'Extra chewy,' that's so gross," Madam Yue protested.

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

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

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

"Of course not," Lin Pingzhi answered immediately.

"You'd better not. If you did, humph, I'll never talk to you again," Yue Lingshan exclaimed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

.......

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

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

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

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

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

[6] In Chinese, Ji Wus.h.i.+ means out of one's wits.