The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 65 Chapter Thirty-Six: Grief Part 2

This elder's voice sounded quite familiar to Linghu Chong's ears. He thought, "Could it be that I've seen him on Dark Wood Cliff before?" He then exerted his qi to listen to their conversation, but he didn't dare stick his head out to have a look. All of the elders from the Devil Sect had high martial art, so if he moved even slightly, then he might immediately be discovered by them.

Elder Ge said, "Brother Bao and Mo, Brother Du and I were just discussing how we were going to entice Yue Buqun to come here, so that we can capture him and take him to Dark Wood Cliff."

The other elder said, "What plan did you come up with?"

Elder Ge answered, "We haven't thought of a good plan yet. Brother Bao and Mo must be able to come up with a good plan."

The first elder said, "When the five mountains sword schools were fighting at the place of wors.h.i.+p place over the leaders.h.i.+p, Yue Buqun blinded both of Zuo Lengchan's eyes and his power shook the entire Mount Songshan. After that, no one else from the five mountains sword schools dared to challenge him. I heard this person has obtained the real Evil Resisting Sword Art from the Lin family and he's now completely different from before. We must think of all possibilities and we mustn't look down on him."

Elder Du said, "That's right. Even if the four of us cooperate, it's still not certain if we'll be able to win against him."

Elder Mo said, "Brother Bao, you've already decided on a plan, please share it with us."

That Elder Bao said, "Even though I've thought of a plan, it's nothing wonderful. I'm afraid the three of you will laugh at it."

Elder Mo, Ge, and Du said together, "Brother Bao is our sect's brain trust. The plan you thought of must be really good."

Elder Bao said, "Actually, it's only a silly plan. We'll dig a deep pit, and cover it with gra.s.s and branches on top. Then we'll seal this lady's acupoints, put her at the edge of the pit and lead Yue Buqun to it. When he sees his wife on the ground, he'll definitely go over to help her. Then 'Boom'… he'll fall… Aiyo, not good…" He was. .h.i.tting his hands together at the same time he was speaking. The other three elders and the remaining four people laughed out loud.

Elder Mo laughingly said, "Brother Bao's plan is wonderful. We'll all naturally hide ourselves on the side to wait for Yue Buqun to drop into the pit. Once he drops in, we'll cover the top of the pit with blades and don't let him leap out. Otherwise, with such strong martial art, I'm afraid he might not drop in but instead jump out of the hole."

Elder Bao hesitated and said, "But there's still some difficulty with this."

Elder Mo said, "What difficulty? Ah, that's right, Brother Bao is afraid of Yue Buqun's strange sword art. Once he fell into the hole, will we be able to stop him?"

Elder Bao said, "Brother Mo's guess is right. This time, Chief sent us to handle this thing and our enemy is the best master from the five mountains sword schools alliance. Even if we die for Chief, we'll still be highly honoured, and we wouldn't be harming the reputation of both the Divine sect and Chief's. As the saying goes: Those who thought of trivial things are not gentlemen, those who are not violent are not men. Since we're dealing with a gentleman, we must use treacherous method. I think we must add something inside the trap."

Elder Du said, "What Brother Bao said fits well with us. We're carrying a lot of 'Hundred Flowers Soul Consuming Powder'. We can spread them around the tree branches and gra.s.s covering the hole. When Yue Buqun falls into the hole, he'll suck in a breath of this powder…" He said till here, when they all burst into laughter.

Elder Bao said, "We can't be late, we must begin now. Where's the best place to lay this trap?"

Elder Ge replied, "Three li west from here, there's a towering cliff on one side with a deep abyss on the other side. There's only a small road you can walk through there. If Yue Buqun doesn't come then we'll just forget it, on the other hand, if he comes then he'll definitely have to go through this small road."

Elder Bao said, "Very good, let's go there and take a look." After he said this, he started walking while the rest followed behind him.

Linghu Chong thought, "They wouldn't be able to dig this trap in just an hour. I'll go quickly tell Yingying about this and get myself a long sword, then I'll go and rescue Master-Wife." He waited until all the Devil Sect's people had gone before quietly going back.

After walking for a few li, he suddenly heard the sound of people digging. He thought, "How come they're digging here?" Linghu Chong quickly hid himself behind a tree. When he poked his head out to take a look, he saw four Devil Sect's people digging with their bodies bent over while a few elders were standing by the side. He was quite near to them this time and was able to see the profile of one of the elders. He secretly s.h.i.+vered in fear. "This person is actually the one called Bao Dachu who I saw in Hangzhou's Mount Gu at the Plum Manor. So Elder Bao is actually Bao Dachu. Back then when Ren Woxing escaped from the West Lake, the first Devil Sect's elder he took back was this Bao Dachu."

Linghu Chong had seen him deal with Mr. Huang Zhong before so he knew Bao Dachu's martial art was high. In his heart, he was thinking that Master had just taken up the headmaster position of the Five Mountains School, so he must have made some trouble for the Devil Sect. The Devil Sect wouldn't just stay quietly and let this happen, so Ren Woxing sent some people out to retaliate. So Linghu Chong was thinking there would be more than just these four elders who had been sent. He saw that the four people were using a pair of halberds and hatchets to loosen the ground and dig out the dirt. Linghu Chong thought, "They did say they wanted to dig the hole by that cliff, but how come they're digging here?" Then he realized, "It's rocky beside the cliff, so how can it be easy to dig a hole there? This Elder Ge is a stupid person, speaking blindly without thinking first." With the Devil Sect people digging a hole here, his way back was blocked and he was prevented from getting a sword. He thought it was very inappropriate to dig a hole with weapons and reasoned they were unlikely to finish digging the hole any time soon. But he didn't want to go around them to get a sword because he didn't dare to be too far away from his Master-Wife.

Suddenly, Elder Ge laughed and said, "Yue Buqun is already old, but his wife is still so young and pretty."

Elder Du laughingly said, "She looks good, but she's not that young. She looks to be in her early forties. If Brother Ge is interested, wait until we capture Yue Buqun and report back to Chief. Then you can ask for this lady, what do you think?"

Elder Ge laughed. "I wouldn't dare to ask for her. But there's no harm in playing with her."

Linghu Chong was furious. "Shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you got some nerve to insult my Master-Wife. Wait until I give every single one of you a horrible death." Linghu Chong couldn't endure Elder Ge's licentious laughing so he stuck his head out to take a look. He saw Elder Ge was giving Madam Yue's cheek a pinch. Madam Yue's acupoint was sealed so she couldn't fight back nor even utter a sound. The Devil Sect people all laughed merrily over this.

Elder Du laughingly said, "Brother Ge is so wary, you don't dare to play with this lady here?"

Linghu Chong was livid. If this Elder Ge really became rude toward his Master-Wife, then he would come out and stake his life with these Devil Sect people despite having no sword in his hand. But he heard Elder Ge laughing lewdly and said, "It's not that I don't dare to play with her, but I'm afraid I might spoil Chief's mission, and then even if I have a hundred heads, they might not be enough to be beheaded."

"That's the best," Elder Bao coldly said. "Brother Ge, Brother Du, both of you have good qinggong. Lead Yue Buqun to come here. I predict in two hours, everything will be in place here." Elder Ge and Du acknowledged together, "Yes!" Then they went toward the north.

After the two of them were gone, only the sound of digging was heard in that empty valley with the occasional instructions from Elder Mo. Linghu Chong hid in the underbrush and didn't even dare to take a deep breath. He thought, "I've been gone for so long, Yingying must surely be worried and she'll definitely come out to look for me. When she hears this digging sound, she'll come over to take a look and then she can help my Master-Wife. Once these Devil Sect's elders saw Young Lady Ren, how would they dare to disobey her? Considering Chief Ren, Brother Xiang and Yingying's face, I shouldn't fight with the people from the Devil Sect. That would be the best way." Thinking till here, he felt that the longer he waited the better it would be. That pervert Elder Ge had been gone for quite some time so Master-Wife didn't have to bear with his insult anymore.

At last, the Devil Sect people finished digging and put the branches on top of the trap. They then scattered the confusion poison on top and further added gra.s.s on top of it. Bao Dachu and the other five people separately hid themselves around the trap to patiently wait for Yue Buqun's arrival.

Linghu Chong quietly picked up a big rock with his hand and thought, "I'll wait till Master come. As soon as he comes near the trap, I'll throw this rock onto the trap. Once the rock falls into the trap, Master will see it and he'll be vigilant."

At this time, it was only the beginning of summer. The sound of cicadas sang throughout the dell, and occasionally cries of little birds were heard. Besides those sounds, nothing else was heard. Linghu Chong kept his breathing slow and light, while straining to listen to Yue Buqun and the two elders' footsteps.

After more than an hour, he suddenly heard a female voice crying out from a far away place. It was Yingying's voice. Linghu Chong thought, "Yingying has discovered there are outsiders here. I wonder who she saw, my master or those two elders?"

Then he heard the footsteps of two people coming; one was in front of the other as they rushed forward. He heard Yingying continuously calling out, "Brother Chong, Brother Chong, your master is here to kill you. You mustn't come out."

Linghu Chong was startled. "Master is here to kill me?"

Then he heard Yingying calling out again, "Brother Chong, quickly go. Your master wants to kill you." She was using all of her energy to shout, it was obvious she wanted Linghu Chong to hear her from far away.

Yingying was calling out, her hair loose, and running quickly with a sword in her hand while Yue Buqun was behind her with nothing in either of his hands. Yingying was now only around ten steps away from falling into the trap, while Linghu Chong and Bao Dachu were anxious, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, Yue Buqun shot out and grabbed Yingying's back with his left hand while his right hand quickly grabbed both of her wrists and twisted her arms behind her back. In just a short moment, Yingying was rendered motionless. Her hand loosened and the long sword dropped onto the ground. Linghu Chong and Bao Dachu were too late to save her because Yue Buqun moved incredibly fast. Yingying's martial art was also very high but she unexpectedly couldn't run away, and in just one move, she was captured by him. Linghu Chong was alarmed and he nearly called out. Throughout all this, Yingying was still calling out, "Brother Chong quickly go away. Your master wants to kill you!" Hot tears bubbled up in Linghu Chong's eyes as he thought, "She cares so much about me that she ignored her own safety."

Freeing his left hand, Yue Buqun sealed the acupoints on Yingying's back. Then his right hand released her and she dropped to the ground. Just then, he saw Madam Yue was lying still on the ground. Yue Buqun was surprised, but he was immediately on alert that there must be danger nearby. He didn't approach his wife but calmly looked around. He saw nothing strange and so lightly said, "Young Lady Ren, that thief Linghu Chong killed my beloved daughter. Were you a part of this too?"

Linghu Chong was again surprised. He thought, "Master said that I killed little martial sister. Where did he hear this from?"

"Your daughter was killed by Lin Pingzhi," Yingying answered. "What's that has to do with Linghu Chong? You kept on saying Linghu Chong killed your daughter, that's wrongly blaming the wrong person."

Yue Buqun laughed aloud. "Lin Pingzhi is my son-in-law. Don't you know this? They're newly wed, and so loving toward each other. Why would he kill his own wife for?"

"Lin Pingzhi wanted to rely on Songshan School, so to make Zuo Lengchan believe that he has nothing to do with you, he killed his own wife," Yingying explained.

Yue Buqun again laughed loudly. "Nonsense, Songshan School? Is there still a Songshan School in this world? Songshan School has merged into the Five Mountains School. Within Wulin, Songshan School's name is no more. Why would Lin Pingzhi go to rely on Songshan School? Also, Lin Pingzhi knows Zuo Lengchan is my subordinate. Instead of coming to his father-in-law who is the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, he went to rely on a blind person who can even barely protect himself. Even among the dumbest person in this world, this kind of stupidity simply couldn't exist."

"It's up to you whether you want to believe me or not. You can ask Lin Pingzhi yourself when you find him."

Yue Buqun's voice turned grim as he said, "The person I'm looking for right now isn't Lin Pingzhi. It's Linghu Chong. Everyone in Jianghu is saying that Linghu Chong was rude to my daughter and that she fought back against that traitor with all of her power until she was finally killed. You've weaved this lie to hide Linghu Chong, so it's obvious you're working together with him."

Yingying snorted and laughed derisively.

"Young lady Ren, your father is the Chief of the Sun Moon Sect. I originally wouldn't have given you any trouble, but to force Linghu Chong to come out, there's no other way, I'm forced to punish you a little bit. First, I'm going to chop off your left hand. Then, I'll chop off your right hand. Next would be your left foot, followed by your right foot. If that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Linghu Chong still has the slightest bit of conscience, then he will show up."

"I don't think you dare," Yingying shouted. "If you harm one hair on my head, my father will kill everyone in your Five Mountains School and not leave a single one alive."

Yue Buqun smiled and said, "I don't dare?" After he said this, he slowly pulled out the long sword hanging on his waist out of its scabbard.

Linghu Chong couldn't take it anymore so he rushed out of the underbrush and shouted, "Master, Linghu Chong's here!"

Yingying gasped in surprised and hastily said, "Go away, go away! He doesn't dare to harm me."

Linghu Chong shook his head as he walked a few steps closer. "Master…"

"Little thief, you still have some face to call me: 'Master?'" Yue Buqun said severely.

Linghu Chong's eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears as he knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "Emperor of Heaven, Linghu Chong has always treated Miss Yue with respect. I would never dare to be rude to her. Linghu Chong has received your kindness and was brought up by you. If you want to kill me then kill me."

Yingying was worried; she called out, "Brother Chong, this person is half-male, half-female, he's lost his humanity long ago, quickly go away!"

Yue Buqun's face suddenly turned murderous as he turned toward Yingying and grimly said, "What do you mean by that?"

"You practised the Evil Resisting Sword Art, cas… cas… carelessly disturbed yourself and made yourself half-dead half-alive just like a ghost. Brother Chong, do you remember Dongfang Bubai? All of them are crazy, don't treat them like ordinary people." Yingying was hoping Linghu Chong would flee at once. She knew that after what she just said, Yue Buqun would never let her go but she didn't care about that.

Yue Buqun coldly said, "Where did you hear those cynical remarks you just made?"

"From Lin Pingzhi's own mouth. You stole Lin Pingzhi's Evil Resisting Sword Manual, you think he doesn't know? When you threw that Buddhist robe down the canyon, Lin Pingzhi was hiding outside your window. He took that robe. That's why he… he also learned the Evil Resisting Sword Art. If not for this, how would he be able to kill Mu Gaofeng and Yu Canghai? With regards to how he finished learning the Evil Resisting Sword Art, of course, you know how this is done as well. Brother Chong, listen to Yue Buqun's voice. It's just like a girl. He… he and Dongfang Bubai are the same, they lost their normal s.e.x a long time ago."

She heard the conversation between Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan inside the carriage, but Linghu Chong did not. She knew Linghu Chong respected and loved his Master. She also didn't want to add to his sadness, and this topic was very inconvenient to speak of, so she had not mentioned it in the last few months. But at this time, it was very urgent so she was forced to reveal this to make Linghu Chong understand, to make him see that the person in front of him wasn't a great headmaster in Wulin. But he was merely a freak who had lost his s.e.x, and that he was also an insane person who could not be spoken to with reason.

The murderous look on Yue Buqun's eyes became fiercer. He loathingly said, "Young lady Ren, I wanted to spare you your life. But after this nonsense you spouted, I can't allow you to live anymore. You courted your own death, don't blame me for this."

Yingying shouted, "Brother Chong, quickly go, quickly go!"

Linghu Chong knew his master's hand was extremely fast, and with just a tremble of his sword, Yingying would immediately lose her life. When he saw Yue Buqun had lifted his sword, looking like he was going to thrust out, he shouted, "If you want to kill someone, then kill me, don't harm her."

Yue Buqun turned his head around and laughed coldly. "You've just learned a little bit of a three-legged sword art and you think you can run amuck in Jianghu? Pick up the sword. I'll kill you to make you believe."

"I wouldn't dare… wouldn't dare to fight against mas… fight against you," Linghu Chong stammered out.

"Even today, what are you putting on air for?" Yue Buqun shouted. "That day on the boat on the Yellow River and the Five Tyrant Ridge, you allied yourself with the people from the unorthodox path, and deliberately made me lose face. I've already decided to kill you back then, but it's very good for you that I've been putting up with you so far. At Fuzhou, you fell into my hand. If it wasn't for my wife blocking me, I would've sent you to the King of h.e.l.l back then. I made a mistake back then, and now you've instead taken my daughter's life."

Linghu Chong hastily called out, "I didn't… I didn't… "

"Pick up the sword!" Yue Buqun angrily shouted. "You only have to win against this sword in my hand and then you can kill me straight away. Otherwise, I also won't spare you. This Devil Sect's witch likes to speak nonsense, let me cripple her first!" When he finished speaking, he slashed his sword to behead Yingying.

Linghu Chong's left hand was still holding the big piece of rock. Originally, he wanted to use it to help Yue Buqun by stopping him from falling down the trap. At this point, with no time to think, he quickly tossed the rock at Yue Buqun's chest. Yue Buqun leaned his

body to one side to dodge it. Linghu Chong rolled on the ground, picked up the long sword Yingying had dropped on the ground, and stabbed it at Yue Buqun's left leg. If Yue Buqun had slashed his sword toward Linghu Chong initially, Linghu Chong would've stood still and was prepared to get stabbed. But after hearing Yingying revealing his secret, Yue Buqun was so startled and angry that he actually chopped at Yingying first. Linghu Chong couldn't do anything else but help. Yue Buqun blocked three attacks and retreated for two steps. He was secretly amazed. He just blocked three times, but his whole arm was shaken and felt numb. When they fought at the Shaolin Temple, they fought for more than a thousand moves, but Linghu Chong didn't use his true internal energy with his sword. But at this time, he did not give way in his three attacks.

Linghu Chong forced Yue Buqun to step back, while he extended his hand backwards to release Yingying's sealed acupoints. Yingying called out, "Don't worry about me, watch out!"

White light flashed as Yue Buqun's long sword thrust forward. Linghu Chong had seen Dongfang Bubai, Yue Buqun, and Lin Pingzhi's martial arts, so he knew his opponent's movements were unbelievably quick like a ghost or a demon. If he waited till he saw a flaw in the oncoming attack, he would've gotten stabbed. So he counterattacked by

slas.h.i.+ng at Yue Buqun's lower abdomen with his long sword.

Yue Buqun quickly leapt back and scolded, "What a fierce small thief!" Actually, even though Yue Buqun had raised Linghu Chong since he was small, he didn't understand him. If he had actually ignored Linghu Chong's counter attack and kept on thrusting his sword, he would've taken Linghu Chong's life. Even though Linghu Chong was using a

common ruin method, he would never have continued his attack and pierced his master's lower abdomen. Yue Buqun was judging other people by what he would do himself so he immediately leapt back, missing a good opportunity to injure his opponent.

After several moves, Yue Buqun couldn't stand it anymore so he increased the speed of his sword. Linghu Chong concentrated his mind to keep up. In the beginning, Linghu Chong was thinking that if he were to die under his master's hand, there was no pity in that for him except Yingying would also be killed. Furthermore, Yingying's word had

harmed his master so she would definitely be tortured before she die. Thus, he exerted himself in fighting back with all of his heart so as to protect Yingying. After fighting for several dozens moves, Yue Buqun's changes became complicated. Linghu Chong concentrated fully on the fight and he was gradually enlightened. His eyes were now only looking at the point of his opponent's sword.

With Dugu Nine Swords, the stronger the enemy was the more powerful it became. That day below the West Lake inside the prison, he fought with Ren Woxing whose martial art was of one of the highest quality which was very rare in this world. But no matter how Ren Woxing's sword rose, s.h.i.+fted, and changed, Linghu Chong's Dugu Nine Sword

adapted reactively against his moves. Whether it was attacking or defending, he countered each move successfully. At present, Linghu Chong had already learned the Art of Essence Absorbing and his internal energy had improved greatly since that time below the West Lake. Even though Yue Buqun's Evil Resisting Sword Art was weird, he

had not learnt it for very long and he was not as good as Linghu Chong who had studied his Dugu Nine Sword for quite some time now. Compared to Dongfang Bubai, Yue Buqun was much worse.

After fighting for more than a hundred and fifty six moves, Linghu Chong didn't think deeply anymore when wielding his sword as there was barely any time to think with Yue Buqun's quick swordplay attacking him. Even though the Lin family's Evil Resisting Sword Art was made up of seventy two moves, each move had several dozens changes, and as it went through all the variations, the changes became very complicated. If other people saw this swordplay, even if they didn't become dizzy from looking at it, they would still be bewildered from seeing this complicated swordplay and they wouldn't be able to execute their own sword moves. But the Dugu Nine Swords that Linghu Chong learned had no set moves to speak of, so it was natural for him to follow the movements of his opponent. If the enemy only had one move, then he would only have one move. If

the enemy had a thousand moves then he would also have a thousand moves. Thus, in Yue Buqun's eyes, Linghu Chong's swordplay was very complicated and was far better than his own sword art. He was afraid that even if they fought for three days and three nights, Linghu Chong would still come up with more new moves. Yue Buqun thought till here and he couldn't help feeling afraid. He also thought, "This witch from the Ren family has already found out the secret of me learning this sword art. If I can't kill these two people today, this matter will be spread throughout Jianghu. Then how can I still have the face to be the headmaster of the Five Mountains School? All of my planning

would've been ruined. But that traitor Lin Pingzhi already told this Ren witch, so what would prevent him from saying this to other people? This… this…" With anxiety in his heart, his swordplay became even fiercer but his mind was agitated and his swordplay was actually hindered. The Evil Resisting Sword Art depended on speed to take

victory. If you fought for more than a hundred moves yet was still unable to win, then the fierceness of this sword art would unavoidably be lessened. Also, with his heart separated, the power of his sword art was greatly reduced.

Linghu Chong's mind was moved as he suddenly saw a flaw in his opponent's sword art. The most important aspect of the Dugu Nine Swords was to see the weakness in the opponent's martial art. No matter whether it was bare hand, kicks, sabres, or swords, every move must have a weakness. Once a flaw has been seen, you could take

advantage of if by attacking it. That day at the Dark Wood Cliff, he fought with Dongfang Bubai who, only holding a piece of embroidery needle, moved as fast as lightning and was unbelievably quick. So even though there were still weaknesses in the movements of his body and attacks, they were only fleeting. Linghu Chong only managed to see the flaws but they were gone in the next instant which made him unable

to attack those flaws. That was the reason why the four masters, Linghu Chong, Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, and Yingying, were unable to win against a little embroidery needle. Later on, Linghu Chong saw Yue Buqun and Zuo Lengchan fighting at the place of wors.h.i.+p, and Lin Pingzhi fighting with Mu Gaofeng, Yu Canghai, and the Qingcheng

disciples. Recently, he had been thinking hard about the flaws in the movements of that sword art, but he had always run into the single difficulty -- the speed of the opponent's swordplay. When a flaw could only be seen fleetingly, it was very hard to attack.

At this time, he had endured fighting against Yue Buqun for close to two hundred moves when he saw Yue Buqun exposing a weakness underneath his right armpit in a slash of his sword. Yue Buqun had used this move earlier. Originally, the changes in his swordplay were very complicated and he didn't repeat any of his moves in the past two hundred moves. But now, he has finally repeated one move. After several more moves, Yue Buqun's long sword slashed out horizontally exposing a weakness on his left waist. He had again repeated another move. Suddenly, a thought flashed in Linghu Chong's mind, "His Evil Resisting Sword Art is extremely quick, and his flaws aren't actual flaws. Even though there's no weakness in his sword moves, I've finally found out a weakness in his swordplay -- his swordplay repeats."

In this world, in whichever sword art, no matter how complicated and how many changes your swordplay had, you would eventually finish using all the sword moves. Once the sword moves were used up and you still weren't able to gain victory, then it would be unavoidable that you would have to reuse the sword moves you had used earlier in the fight. But for masters, their refined sword arts would always have eight or ten groups, and within each group there would be dozens of moves, and each move would have its variations. So it was very unusual for them to fight for more than a thousand moves before the outcome of the fight was decided. Even though Yue Buqun knows a lot of other swordplay he could use, he knew Linghu Chong's sword art was actually too strong and that Linghu Chong was also familiar with the Huashan School's sword art. So besides the Evil Resisting Sword Art, there was no other sword art he could use that could gain victory. By now, Yue Buqun had repeated many moves. Knowing he now had the opportunities to take victory, Linghu Chong felt happy.

When Yue Buqun saw the corner of Linghu Chong's mouth smiling, he was secretly startled. Yue Buqun thought, "What's this little thief smiling about? Has he figured out a way to defeat me?" He immediately moved his internal energy, and was suddenly advancing and retreating to go around Linghu Chong in a circle. His sword moves were like a violent storm and they were getting faster and faster. Yingying was still lying down on the ground and from her position, she couldn't see Yue Buqun's body clearly anymore. She felt dizzy looking at him; her chest felt nauseated and she felt like throwing up.

After fighting for thirty more moves, Yue Buqun's left hand stabbed forward while he withdrew his right hand. Linghu Chong knew this was the third time he had used this move. After fighting for so long, Linghu Chong felt tired as his injury was just beginning to heal. He knew the situation was highly dangerous, and under Yue Buqun's lightning fast attack, if he was just slightly careless, he would lose his life and Yingying would be tortured. So seeing Yue Buqun using this move again, he immediately sent his sword out and stabbed it at his opponent's right armpit. The spot that this slanting sword was stabbing at was the weakness of Yue Buqun's next move. This was really antic.i.p.ating what the enemy was going to do and made Yue Buqun's really anxious. Even though this move by Yue Buqun was extremely quick, Linghu Chong's attack was done earlier. The move from the Evil Resisting Sword Art had not changed yet, but Linghu Chong had already thrust at Yue Buqun's armpit making him unable to block or dodge. Yue Buqun cried out sharply, sounding surprised, angry, and desperate. Linghu Chong's sword had already arrived at his opponent's armpit, but when he heard Yue Buqun's sharp cry, he

immediately thought, "I'm going too far, he's my master, how can I injure him?" He quickly pulled his sword back and said, "The winner and loser has been decided. Let's save Master-Wife, then… then we'll go our own ways!"

Yue Buqun's face was pale as he slowly nodded his head. "Alright! I admit defeat."

Linghu Chong tossed his long sword on the ground and turned his head around to look at Yingying. Suddenly, Yue Buqun shouted and his long sword thrust out as fast as lightning and stabbed Linghu Chong's left waist. Greatly astonished, Linghu Chong quickly extended his hand to pick up his sword. But how could he be fast enough? With a 'pu' sound, the point of the sword had entered the back of his waist. Luckily, Linghu Chong's internal energy was abundant. When the sword reached his body, his muscle automatically retracted, making the sword slid to one side so that the sword point pierced his body slantingly and did not injure any fatal points. Yue Buqun was exulted. He pulled out his sword and quickly followed it with a chop. Linghu Chong hastily rolled for a few feet. Yue Buqun rushed forward with his sword slas.h.i.+ng ferociously. Linghu Chong rolled again.

'Tang' sounded as Yue Buqun's sword chopped the ground and missed Linghu Chong's head by only a few inches. Yue Buqun lifted his sword, and with a fierce-looking laugh, he lifted his sword high above his head. He rushed forward for a step and chopped his sword down on Linghu Chong's head again. Suddenly, there was nothing underneath his

foot, and his body slumped to the ground. He was greatly surprised and nervously sucked in a breath of air and was waiting for his right foot to hit the ground to leap up. But all of a sudden, the sky revolved and the ground turned, and he lost consciousness. With a booming sound, he fell into the trap.

Linghu Chong had just escaped from death. Using his left hand, he pressed on the wound on his waist and struggled to sit up. Then he heard several people calling out at the same time from the underbrush, "Young lady! Sacred Lady!" Several people rushed out. They were Bao Dachu, Elder Mo, and the other four Devil Sect people. Bao Dachu was

the first to arrive on the side of the trap. He held his breath, reversed his sabre, and hit Yue Buqun's head repeatedly. He knew Yue Buqun's internal energy was good so the confusion poison wouldn't affect him for long. These hits would put him out for half a day. Linghu Chong hastily scrambled besides Yingying and asked, "Which… which acupoints did he seal?"

"You… You… Are you … Are you alright?" Yingying was frightened. Her voice quivered and she found it hard to control herself. Her teeth were chattering.

"I won't die, don't… don't be afraid."

"Behead that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Yingying shouted.

"Yes!" Bao Dachu acknowledged.

"Don't kill him!" Linghu Chong hastily interrupted.

Yingying saw he was worried, so she said, "Alright, then quickly… quickly capture him."

She didn't know there was confusion poison in the trap already and she was afraid Yue Buqun would jump up again since no one up on the ground was Yue Buqun's match.

"As ordered!" Bao Dachu acknowledged. He didn't dare to say that they had dug the trap themselves and that they had been hiding on the side all this time. But when the young lady was captured by Yue Buqun, everyone was afraid of dying so they didn't dare to go out and help. If someone looked into this matter, this would become a big thing, so they had to pretend that they had arrived there by luck and sheer coincidence. Bao Dachu clutched the back of Yue Buqun's neck and lifted him up. Then his hand shot out like the wind and he sealed twelve of Yue Buqun's acupoints. He then took out some rope and tied both of Yue Buqun's hands and legs tightly. Confusion poison, hits on the head, sealed acupoints, and tied ropes -- these were four things that restricted Yue Buqun. Even if Yue Buqun's skill was much higher, it would still be very hard for him to escape.

Linghu Chong and Yingying were looking at each other like they were in a dream. After a long time, Yingying cried and Linghu Chong hugged her. Having escaped from death just then, they both felt life couldn't be sweeter. After Linghu Chong helped release Yingying's sealed acupoints, he saw his Master-Wife was still lying on the ground.

"Aiyo!" Linghu Chong called out. He quickly went over to help her up and release her acupoints. "Master-Wife, sorry for the offence."

Madam Yue had seen everything. She knew Linghu Chong's personality and knew he had a very deep love toward Yue Lingshan. Linghu Chong had treated Yue Lingshan like she was a G.o.ddess from heaven, so he would never have dared to offend her at all. He didn't even dare to scold Yue Lingshan and he was even willing to risk his life for her.

To think that he would torture or kill her, that was just a very ridiculous thing to think of. Moreover, she had seen with her own eyes how well he treated Yingying, so how could his personality be different? Linghu Chong used his sword to stop her husband but he

stilled his hand from killing him. On the other hand, her husband, the respectable headmaster of the Five Mountains School, had suddenly become violent and unexpectedly used a despicable method that even people from the unorthodox path despised and other people would mock at. Madam Yue felt completely discouraged. She lightly asked, "Chong'er, was Shan'er really killed by Lin Pingzhi?"

Linghu Chong's heart was pained and tears rolled down his cheeks. He chokingly said, "Disciple… I… I…"

Madam Yue interrupted, "He doesn't regard you as his disciple anymore, but I still regard you as my disciple. If you like, I'm still your Master-Wife."

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Linghu Chong's heart swelled with grat.i.tude as he paid his respect to her, while calling out, "Master-Wife! Master-Wife!"

Madam Yue gently caressed his hair and tears were streaming down her eyes. She slowly said, "Was what young lady Ren said true? Did Lin Pingzhi kill Shan'er because he's learned the Evil Resisting Sword Art and has also gone to rely on Zuo Lengchan?"

"That's right."

"Turn around," Madam Yue chokingly said. "Let me have a look at your injuries."

"Yes," Linghu Chong replied and turned around.

Madam Yue tore the gown at his back and sealed four acupoints around his injuries. "Do you still have Heng-Shan School's medicine?"

"I do," Linghu Chong answered. Yingying took the medicine out from his bosom and gave it to Madam Yue.

Madam Yue wiped the blood on his wound and applied the medicine. She then took out a white handkerchief from her bosom and pressed it on his wound. Then she tore a piece of cloth from her skirt and wrapped the injury up. Linghu Chong had always regarded Madam Yue as his own mother, so seeing her treating him like this, he was greatly comforted and forgot all the pain from his injury.

"In the future," Madam Yue said. "You will of course kill Lin Pingzhi to avenge Shan'er."

With tears in his eyes, Linghu Chong said, "Little martial sister… Little martial sister… Just before she died, she asked Son to look after Lin Pingzhi. Son couldn't bear hurting her so I promised her. This matter… This is a really difficult matter."

Madam Yue let out a really long sigh and said, "Retribution! Retribution!" She then said, "Chong'er, you cannot be too good to other people when dealing with them in the future!"

"Yes!"

Suddenly, he felt something warm flowing down the back of his neck. He turned his head around and saw Madam Yue's face was pale. Startled, he called out, "Master-Wife, Master-Wife!"

When he stood up to support her, he saw a dagger sticking out of her chest. The dagger had pierced her heart. She had already pa.s.sed away. Linghu Chong was dumbfounded and he wanted to call out but no sound was coming out of his mouth. Yingying was also alarmed. But because she had no relations.h.i.+p with Madam Yue, she was just startled and

feeling pitiful but not mournful. She went besides Linghu Chong to hold him, and after some time, Linghu Chong started crying. Bao Dachu saw the two young lovers had met with a mournful loss and that they would have a lot of things to say to each other, so he didn't dare to disturb them. He was also afraid that Yingying would ask the origin of the trap so the six of them needed to consult each other first on what to say to deceive her. So they carried Yue Buqun up and retreated far away.

"Where… Where are they taking my master?" Linghu Chong asked.

"You're still calling him master?" Yingying asked.

"Ai, I'm very accustomed to it. Why did Master-Wife have to commit suicide? Why did… why did she have to kill herself?"

Yingying answered with hatred in her voice, "Of course it's all because of that traitor Yue Buqun. Married to such a despicable and shameless husband, if she can't kill him, then it's better to commit suicide. Let's kill Yue Buqun quickly and avenge your Master-Wife."

Linghu Chong hesitantly said, "You're saying we should kill him? He was once my master and he brought me up."

"Even though he's your master and he's also brought you up, he's tried to kill you a few times already. The love and hate between you two have been wiped out a long time ago. But you haven't repaid the kindness shown by your Master-Wife. Didn't your Master-Wife die under his hand?"

Linghu Chong sighed and mournfully said, "My Master-Wife's kindness will be difficult to repay in my lifetime. Even though there's nothing between Yue Buqun and I anymore, I still can't kill him."

"It doesn't have to be you." Yingying then raised her voice and called out, "Elder Bao!"

"Yes, young lady," Elder Bao loudly answered and walked over along with Elder Mo and the other people.

"Did my father send you to handle things here?"

Bao Dachu bowed and replied, "Yes, Chief commanded Subordinate along with Elder Ge, Du, and Mo to lead ten brothers to think of a way to capture Yue Buqun and bring him back to the altar."

"Where's Elder Ge and Du?"

"More than four hours ago they went to lead Yue Buqun here. We haven't seen them since, I'm afraid… I'm afraid…"

"Search Yue Buqun's body."

"Yes!" Bao Dachu acknowledged and searched Yue Buqun's body. From Yue Buqun's bosom, he took out an embroidered flag, which was the five mountains sword schools alliance's flag, around ten gold and silver taels, and two copper plates. Bao Dachu was indignant as he reported, "Reporting to young lady: Elder Ge and Du have definitely met with this b.a.s.t.a.r.d's violent hand. These are the two elders' sect plate." As he said this, he lifted his leg and gave a hard kick to Yue Buqun's waist.

"Don't harm him," Linghu Chong shouted.

"Yes," Bao Dachu respectfully answered.

"Bring some cold water and wake him up," Yingying ordered.

Elder Mo took out the water canteen on his waist, opened the lid, and poured the cold water on Yue Buqun's head. After some time, Yue Buqun groaned and opened his eyes. He felt terrible pain on his head and waist, and groaned again.

Yingying inquired, "Person surnamed Yue, did you kill Elder Ge and Du from my sect?"

Bao Dachu picked up the two copper plates and tossed them up repeatedly making a 'zheng, zheng' noise.

Maybe Yue Buqun didn't feel he would be lucky enough to escape with his life so he scolded, "I killed them. All the demonic disciples from the Devil Sect must be executed."

Bao Dachu wanted to kick him again, but he considered the depth of Linghu Chong's friends.h.i.+p with Chief and also of the fact that Linghu Chong was going to be Young Lady's future husband. Therefore, since Linghu Chong had already said 'don't harm him', he didn't dare to disobey his order.

Yingying coldly laughed. "You're the headmaster of an orthodox sect but when you handle things, you're a hundred times more wicked than the Divine Sun Moon Sect's people. But you still have the face to scold us as the demonic disciples. Even your wife hated you so bitterly that she'd rather commit suicide than to continue being your wife. Do you still have the face to live in this world?"

Yue Buqun scolded, "Little witch, you're speaking nonsense! My wife was clearly killed by you but you're trying to slander me by saying she killed herself."

"Brother Chong, listen to him," Yingying said. "He's so shameless,"

Linghu Chong spoke indistinctly, "Yingying, I'd like to ask you a favour."

"You want me to release him? I'm afraid it's easy to capture a tiger but it'll be hard release it. This person's heart is very calculating and filled with hatred. His martial art is also very strong. Later on, when he find you again and we might not be as lucky as today."

"We'll let him go today. Our relations.h.i.+p as master and disciple finishes today. I already know all of his sword art in my mind. If he dares to find me again, then things won't go well for him."

Yingying knew it wasn't easy at all for him to kill Yue Buqun. But if from now on Linghu Chong didn't care about their old relations.h.i.+p anymore, then he wouldn't be afraid of facing Yue Buqun again. "Alright, we'll spare his life today. Elder Bao, Elder Mo, spread the word in Jianghu of how we have spared Yue Buqun's life. Also say how Yue Buqun has cut off his own limb to learn the demonical sword art, and that he's now not male not female. Let all the heroes in the realm hear about this."

Bao Dachu and Elder Mo acknowledged the order together. Yue Buqun's face turned ashen and both of his eyes turned malicious. But thinking he still had his life, there was a still a trace of happiness in his eyes.

Yingying said, "You hate me. Do you think I'm afraid?" She slashed her long sword and cut the ropes binding him. She walked near him and unsealed the acupoints on his back. Her right palm pressed against his mouth, while her left palm hit the back of his head. Yue Buqun's mouth opened, and he felt a small pill in his mouth. At the same time, Yingying's right hand pinched his nose blocking his air. When Yingying cut his ropes and unsealed the acupoints at the back of his body, her back was facing toward Linghu Chong and was blocking his vision, so Linghu Chong couldn't see her putting the pill into Yue Buqun's mouth. Linghu Chong only saw her releasing his master and he felt comforted. With his nose blocked, Yue Buqun had to use his mouth to draw breath. At the same time, Yingying used force on her right hand to force Yue Buqun to take the pill along with his breath.

After Yue Buqun had swallowed the pill, he was scared out of his wits thinking the pill he just swallowed was the Devil Sect's most evil pill called the 'Divine Three Corpse Brain Pill'. He had heard people said, that after talking this pill, every year during the dragon boat festival you must take a medicine to prevent the corpse bug inside the pill from coming out. Otherwise, the corpse bug would come out, enter your brain, and chew your brain out. There was no need to say how painful it would be. Furthermore, you would be crazed and you would become worse than a crazy dog. Even though he was intelligent, full of ideas, and calm under pressure, he was still sweating profusely and

his face had turned pale thinking of this situation.

Yingying stood straight as she said, "Brother Chong, they sealed his acupoints too heavily. These last two acupoints will loosen a bit only after some time, so he just has to endure it for now."

"Many thanks," Linghu Chong replied.

Yingying smiled captivatingly and thought, "I secretly did something and deceived you, but this is all for your own good." After some time, she knew that the pill in Yue Buqun's stomach would have transformed and there would be no way for him to vomit it out anymore. She bent down to release the two acupoints, and as she did so, she whispered, "Every year during the dragon boat festival, come up the Dark Wood Cliff and I'll give you the medicine."

When Yue Buqun heard this, he knew the pill he took just then was really the 'Three Corpse Brain Pill'. He couldn't help shaking as he tremblingly asked, "That… That was the Three Corpse… Three Corpse…"

Yingying giggled and in a loud voice said, "Correct, respected sir. This kind of wonderful drug is not easily made. In our sect, only people of high positions with outstanding martial arts are ent.i.tled to take it. Elder Bao, isn't this right?"

Bao Dachu bowed and said, "Thanks to Chief's kindness that he gave this divine pellet to Subordinate. Subordinate will always be loyal and will always follow his order. After I've taken this pill, Chief's confidence in me has increased and it has actually given me untold benefits. Long live the Chief, unify the Jianghu."

Linghu Chong was startled. "You gave my mast… gave him the three corpse brain pill?"

Yingying laughingly answered, "He swallowed it in a hurry himself. He was probably so hungry that he was just about to eat anything. Yue Buqun, you must protect Brother Chong and my life from now on to benefit yourself."

Yue Buqun's heart was filled with hatred but he thought, "If this witch met some kind of accident and was killed by someone, then… then I'll die miserably. Even if she's still alive but has received some kind of heavy injury and couldn't make it back to Dark Wood Cliff before the Dragon Boat Festival, then where would I look for her? Also, maybe she doesn't intend to give me the medicine in the first place…" He thought till here and he couldn't help s.h.i.+vering. Even though he had divine martial art, he didn't know what to do. Linghu Chong sighed thinking that Yingying was originally from the Devil Sect so her action had a demonical air to it, but she had done this because of him so he couldn't blame her for this.

Yingying said to Bao Dachu, "Elder Bao, go back and report to Chief. Say that the Five Mountains School's Headmaster, Mr. Yue, has sincerely surrendered to our sect and that he has also taken our sect's divine pill, so it's not possible for him to rebel."

Bao Dachu was initially worried when he saw Linghu Chong wanting to release Yue Buqun. He was really afraid that he would be blamed by Chief when he returned to the gathering altar. So when he saw Yue Buqun took the 'Divine Three Corpse Brain Pill', he was greatly exulted. With joy, he hastily replied, "Young lady presided over the whole battle and everything was completed successfully. Chief will surely be happy. Chief flourishes the divine sect and benefits the common people."

Yingying said, "Mr. Yue has already turned over to our sect so we can't mention the things that would damage his reputation to outsiders. And you also mustn't mention him taking the divine pill. This person's position in Wulin is very high, his wisdom and knowledge are high, his martial art is good, Chief will definitely have use of his position."

"Yes, I will follow Young Lady's order," Bao Dachu answered.

When Linghu Chong saw how distressed Yue Buqun was, he couldn't help feeling sad. Even though Yue Buqun wanted to kill him and had been very violent toward him, he could not forget the past twenty years when he and Master-Wife had brought him up. Linghu Chong had always regarded him as his own father. Suddenly, everything had changed into hatred and he was feeling very bad. He wanted to say a few things to comfort him but it was as if there were something stuck in his throat that he couldn't make a sound.

Yingying said, "Elder Bao, Elder Mo, go back to Dark Wood Cliff. Ask daddy on my behalf if he is well, ask uncle Xiang if he is well. I'll wait.. wait for him… wait for master Linghu to get better, then we'll come to the gathering altar to see daddy."

If it were another girl, Bao Dachu would've said, "I wish for Master to recover soon and return to Dark Wood Cliff with young lady. Then we'll all drink a congratulatory wine to you as soon as possible." Toward a pair of young lovers, this speech would've been extremely good. But toward Yingying, how would he dare to say such thing? He didn't even dare to take a look at the two of them as he lowered his head and bowed continuously. Bao Dachu's face was tense and he just answered yes to everything and was looking very respectful. He was actually really afraid Yingying might find out he was actually laughing inside.

This lady was afraid people would mock her and Linghu Chong for loving each other so she had caused many troubles for the warriors in Jianghu. This was very well known throughout Wulin. Bao Dachu didn't dare to linger too much longer, so he immediately took his leave from Yingying and Linghu Chong, and took the other people with him as he went. When they were leaving, he was even more respectful toward Linghu Chong than Yingying. He was an old person in Jianghu who had gone through a lot of experience, so he knew being respectful toward Linghu Chong would make Yingying very happy.

Yingying saw Yue Buqun was standing woodenly. "Mr. Yue, you can go too. Are you going to take your wife's remain to bury in Huashan?"

Yue Buqun shook his head. "I'd like to bother the two of you to bury her in this small mountainside!" After he said this he didn't give another glance toward the two of them before he quickly left. In just a short time, he had disappeared behind the trees. Such quick movement was rarely seen in Jianghu. By the fall of the evening, Linghu Chong

and Yingying had buried Madam Yue's remain besides Yue Lingshan's tomb. Linghu Chong cried out again.

The next morning, Yingying asked, "Brother Chong, how's your injury?"

"This injury isn't serious, there's no need to worry."

"That's very good. Our place here has been discovered by other people. I'd like to wait for you to rest for a few days here, then we'll go to another place."

"That's also good. Little martial sister has her mother to accompany her, she won't be afraid anymore." His heart was pained and he also said, "My master has always been upright all his life, but his temperament has changed greatly because of that demonical sword art."

Yingying shook her head and said, "That's not necessarily true. When he sent your little martial sister and Lao Denuo to Fuzhou to open up the wine shop, he was already trying to get the Evil Resisting Sword Manual. That's not necessarily what a gentleman does."

Linghu Chong was silent. He had already thought of this matter before but he had never dared to think about it deeply. Yingying went on, "Actually, it shouldn't be called the Evil Resisting Sword Art. It should be called 'Demonical Sword Art'. If this sword manual were to be circulated in Jianghu, there'll be endless harm. Yue Buqun still

lives in this world; Lin Pingzhi also has the sword manual memorized. But I don't think he would give everything to Zuo Lengchan and Lao Denuo. Lin Pingzhi is such a calculating person. Why would he be willing to give this sword manual to other people?"

Linghu Chong said, "Both Zuo Lengchan and Lin Pingzhi are blind, but Lao Denuo isn't. So Lin Pingzhi would probably be taken advantage of. These three very smart people are living with each other and yet are suspicious toward each other, I wonder what would happen. Two against one, Lin Pingzhi would be afraid that he'll be disadvantaged."

"Are you really going to think of a way to protect Lin Pingzhi?"

Linghu Chong looked at Yue Lingshan's tomb and said, "I shouldn't have promised little martial sister that I'd protect Lin Pingzhi. This person is worse than a dog. I hate him with all my heart, how can I go and help him? But I've already promised little martial sister. If I eat my words, then it'll be hard for her to be peaceful under the nine fountains."

"When she was still alive, she might not have known who really treated her well, but after she died, she would definitely understand. She wouldn't want you to protect Lin Pingzhi!"

Linghu Chong shook his head and said, "That's hard to say. Little martial sister and Lin Pingzhi were very loving in the past. She knew Lin Pingzhi's intention toward her was evil but she still couldn't bear to see him harmed."

Yingying thought, "This is true. If it were me, I wouldn't care how you treat me, I'll always wish you well with all my heart."

Linghu Chong stayed in the valley for more than ten days and his new injury became much better. He said that once they arrived back in Heng-Shan, he would give the headmaster position to Yiqing. Then there would be nothing worrying him, and he would be able to travel the world with Yingying and find a secluded and nice place to live in.

Yingying said, "This matter of Lin Pingzhi, what are you going to do about the responsibility given by your departed little martial sister?"

Linghu Chong scratched his head and said, "It's the thing giving me the most headache. It's best if you don't mention it anymore. I'll just deal with it when it comes to me."

Yingying smiled and didn't say anymore. The two of them gave their respects in front of the two tombs and took their leave.