0 Chapter 9

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3 years ago at a forest outside Hengyang City…

Yue Lingfeng climbed out from the hole that he had just finished digging and kneeled beside Qu Fei Yan’s body. His eyes were filled with sadness and sorrow. “Feiyan, you’re the most important person in my life. Even though you knew that I’m from the righteous sect from the very beginning of our encounter but you never once abandoned me…I promised you that we’ll live a simple life…play musical instruments… go boating and rear horses. Unfortunately this dream of ours has now been shattered by me…I’m truly sorry…Now that you’ve left me… I have nothing to do here in this world anymore,” he sniffled.

He lifted up Feiyan’s body from the ground and slowly placed her in the hole. “If I was not so determined to kill Qu Yang all this would not have happened…I was too foolish not to realize that your family name is also Qu and that you may be related to him…You have my words that I will never ever trouble him again…” He bent down and kissed Feiyan on the forehead with his eyes closed. He then held a grain of sand in his palms and slowly poured it into the hole.

…………………

Yue Lingfeng kneeled in front of a wooden memorial plaque. “Feiyan, I have come to see you. I fulfilled my vow to you and even saved your father from the Songshan Sect disciples today. If you’re able to see me from above, you should be very pleased,” he said in a soft voice. Tears started to drip out of his eyes and over his cheeks.

Ying Ying stood behind him listening to his words. “Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always gotten whatever I wanted. Even Chief Dongfang has to give me some face. Everyone felt that I was the happiest person in the world but somehow I could not feel it at all. There was something missing but didn’t know what it was until one day Feiyan told me about her relationship with you. Her smile was very sweet that day. From her facial expression I could tell that she had obtained true happiness. It was also something that I’ve never experienced before,” she murmured.

Yue Lingfeng wiped his face with his sleeve and got up from the ground. “Why are you telling me so much? We don’t even know each other that well,” he said.

Ying Ying placed her hands behind her back. “Maybe because I’ve heard so much about you from Feiyan that I feel closely acquainted to you,” she replied.

Yue Lingfeng looked at her indifferently. “You have probably forgotten that I’m from the righteous sect and you’re from the devil sect. As the saying goes, good and evil cannot coexist,” he said in a chilling voice.

Ying Ying folded her arms and smiled at him. “If you wanted to kill you would have done it a while ago,” she responded.

Yue Lingfeng just ignored her. He turned around and walked away.

There was no moon that night. Linghu Chong picked up some stones and covered the three bodies. He engraved the words ‘In Memory of Divine Sun Moon Cult Right Messenger Qu Yang and Southern Mount Heng Liu Zhengfeng’ on a wooden plaque.

Linghu Chong and Yi Lin bowed at wooden plank three times to pay their last respect. Linghu Chong turned toward Yi Lin and said, “Don’t tell anything about what happened today. Understand?”

Yi Lin nodded, “I understand.”

Linghu Chong replied, “Let’s go.”

The two of them picked up their swords and started walking away. “Brother Linghu, Senior Fei is already dead. Why did you mutilate his corpse?” Yi Lin asked.

Linghu Chong responded, “Our Huashan Sect’s The Graceful Phoenix move is too distinct. The moment other sees Fei Bin’s body they will know that it was our Huashan Sect disciple who killed him. So I mutilated his body to get rid of the traces.”

Yi Lin looked at him and said, “I see.” As she continued walking, she accidentally dropped an amulet out from her pocket to on the ground.

The sky started to drizzle. Dongfang Bu Bai touched the wooden plank with the name Qu Yang engraved on it. A hooded masked man dressed in black held an umbrella over her. “I didn’t expect the Right Messenger Qu to have such a tragic fate. Looks like a great blood shed will hit the central plains martial arts community real soon. Let’s go back to the Dark Wood Cliff,” she uttered. She turned around and walked away.

As Dongfang Bu Bai walked along the pathway, she suddenly felt something under her foot. She took a step back and picked up the amulet from the ground. After wiping off the stains on the amulet and taking a closer at the amulet, her facial expression suddenly changed. She stared at the amulet with her eyes wide open.

……..

Decades ago…

A group of armed bandits raided a village in Dingzhou prefecture killing anyone they saw. The peasants occupying in the village departed save for their lives. The teenage Dongfang Bubai and her family were among the peasants who fled from the village.

As they were running, her little sister tripped and fell to the floor. The rabbit in her little sister’s arms jumped out and started running away.

Dongfang Bubai halted her steps and helped her little sister up from the floor.

“Little rabbit is running away!” her little sister turned around and ran after the rabbit.

Dongfang Bubai reached her hand out and shouted, “Little Sister! Come back here!” She quickly ran after her little sister.

As their father was helping a middle aged woman and their little brother into a carriage, he suddenly noticed that his daughters had gone back to the village. “Girls! Come back here!” he turned toward them and yelled.

The little boy immediately jumped out of the carriage and went back for his sisters. “Elder Sister!”

“Son! What are you doing?!” their father extended his hand out as he shouted.

The middle aged woman grabbed his arm and said, “Father! The three of them cannot be compared with our unborn baby. If we don’t leave now we’re all going to die!”

Their father hesitantly mounted on the horse drawn carriage, looked at his kids once last time before riding off from the scene.

The little girl held the rabbit with her hands. “Little rabbit! I got you!” she smiled.

Dongfang Bubai reached for her little sister’s arms and pulled her away with her. “Little Sister! Stop running around!” she said.

The little boy ran up to them. “Elder sister! Are you alright?” he asked worriedly.

Dongfang Bubai patted him on the head. “What are you doing here? Let’s go!” she said.

By the time they got to the entrance the carriage had already left. “Where did father go?” Dongfang Bubai murmured in alarm.

Seeing that the bandits were approaching them, Dongfang Bu Bai quickly hide her little sister and little brother inside two separate barrels. She gave them an amulet each and promised them that she would come back to get them.

One of the bandits noticed her. “There is a beautiful girl over there!” he shouted in joy.

Dongfang Bubai pursed her lips and quickly ran away.

The bandits chased her from the village to the woods. Three of them finally caught up with her and closed in on her.

Dongfang Bubai halted her steps at once. She looked at the bandits standing around her nervously.

“This girl is mine!” one of the bandits dashed towards her.

Dongfang Bubai covered her face with her hands as she staggered to the back.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of an explosion followed by a quick swoosh sound coming from a river nearby.

Dongfang Bubai looked toward the direction of the sound and saw a flurry of water needles flying past her.

The water needless struck the bandits foreheads in a blink of an eye. All of them slumped to the ground and died.

A man dressed in white moved along the surface of the river air and proceeded towards Dongfang Bubai.

Dongfang Bubai looked at him astonishingly. “You are…” she murmured.

The man in white turned around and had his back facing her. “You don’t need to know who I am,” he said.

Dongfang Bubai continued, “Thank you for saving me.”

The man in white replied, “I had no intentions of saving you. I just hate it when people disrupt me while I am practicing my martial arts.”

Dongfang Bubai lowered her head and said, “Thank you anyways. If it was not for your needles I would have died.” After finishing her words, she turned around and walked away.

The man in white turned toward her and asked, “How can you see my needles?”

Dongfang Bubai looked at him and replied, “Of course I saw it.”

The man in white strode toward her, grabbed her by the wrist and twisted her arm taking a quick look at her stature.

Dongfang Bubai shuddered as she let out a cry of pain.

The man in white fixed his eyes on her and said, “You have good bone structure to learn martial arts. Too bad you’re a woman.”

Dongfang Bubai pulled her hand away from him. “So what if I am a woman?” she retorted.

The man in white stepped to the side as he replied, “If you are a woman then you cannot follow me back to the Dark Wood Cliff and learn martial arts from me.”

Dongfang Bubai walked up to him and said, “I can be a man too!”

The man in white stared at her. “This is something permanent and not temporary,” he explained.

Dongfang Bubai replied and said, “As long as I become strong and don’t get bullied by other men I’m willing to be a man for the rest of my life!”

The man in white narrowed his eyes and hummed. “Alright! I’ll take you as my disciple then!” he said.
Afterwards, Dongfang Bubai went back to her village to look for her little brother and little sister. There was no sign of them. The barrels that they were hiding in lied on the ground lied on the ground. She ran around the village to look for them but just could not find them. She finally squatted on the floor disappointingly.

The man in white walked up to her. “Don’t bother searching anymore. You won’t be able to find them. In this world, only the strong can survive. The weak will only bring problems to the strong. I hope that from this day forth, you will forget them. You have to remember that you’re the strong one.”

Dongfang Bubai pulled herself up to her feet. “Yes! I’m the strong one!” she said indifferently.

Four peasants carrying a sedan chair on their shoulders ran along the dark street. Dongfang Bu Bai sat inside the sedan chair holding on to the amulet. Her eyes were watery. “Little Sister…I’ll find you…I must!” she thought to herself. After seeing the amulet she was convinced that her little sister was still alive. There was hope once more.

At the other end of the street, Linghu Chong and Yi Lin arrived at a nearby inn. After a long day they decided to have a good night rest and head back to their respective sect in the morning.

The inn attendant brought Linghu Chong and YI Lin to two unoccupied rooms upstairs. Linghu Chong handed a silver nugget to the attendant. “Bring us some food and wine too,” he said.

A mysterious looking man dressed in black was occupying the next room. He had a short and fat stature with a humpback. Lin Zhennan and his wife were also in the room. They were tied to a pillar on the ceiling. The mysterious man had snatched them from the Qingcheng Sect and brought them here. His name was Mu Gaofeng.

Mu Gaofeng lifted up a cup and took a gulp of wine. “Lin Zhennan! Where is the manual?” he asked impatiently.

Lin Zhennan gasped for breath before answering, “I’ve…no idea what you’re talking about…Our Lin Family’s Resisting Evil Swordplay is passed down orally…it’s…not written down…”

Mu Gaofeng spat, “You’re pretty tight lip! Let me warn you! I, Mu Gaofeng am known to be cruel and merciless. If you won’t tell me I’ll go find your son Lin Pingzhi and show him what I’m made of!”

Linghu Chong and Yi Lin could hear his voice very clearly. “Lin Zhennan? He must be the Brocade Guards Chief Commander…” Linghu Chong murmured.

Mu Gaofeng kept raising his voice asking the Lin couple the whereabouts of the sword manual but turned into complete silence shortly.

“Huashan Sect’s disciple Linghu Chong, sent by my master and Alliance Chief Zuo, would like to invite senior out for a quick discussion!” Linghu Chong said loudly while he stood outside the room.

Mu Gaofeng cast a side glance at the door “Yue Buqun is here?” he knitted his brows and uttered.

Yi Lin subsequently said, “I’m Yi Lin of the Hengshan Sect! My master is waiting for you too!”

Mu Gaofeng narrowed his eyes and thought to himself. “They have a lot of people with them! I don’t think I can win!” He turned to the left and jumped out of a window, disappearing into the dark.

After hearing a loud crashing sound, Linghu Chong was certain that Mu Gaofeng had left. He kicked the door wide open and rushed into the room with Yi Lin behind him. Linghu Chong used a knife to cut the Lin couple loose. Yi Lin propped Madam Lin from the back while Linghu Chong went over to help Lin Zhennan.

Yi Lin reached out to check Madam Lin’s breathing, but found none.

“Senior, are you alright?” Linghu Chong crouched down next to Lin Zhennan, gently slapped his cheek to wake him up.

Lin Zhennan slowly regained conscious. He turned his head to look at Linghu Chong. “Young Hero…I am…Lin Zhennan…my wife and I met a…terrible misfortune…I have a few words…for you to relay to my son…Lin Pin Zhi,” he murmured.

“Lord Lin, please go ahead,” Linghu Chong looked him in the eyes as he replied.

“Our family treasure…is hidden in our ancestral home in Fuzhou…Tell him to take care of it…” Lin Zhennan paused for a moment and continued, “Our forefather Lin Yuan Tu ordered…that the descendants of Lin Family must not open it…or else the consequences would be unimaginable…” He finished is last sentence and fell to his death.

“Lord Lin!” Linghu Chong shook Lin Zhennan’s shoulders as he yelled in horror.

In the meantime, Yue Buqun and his apprentices were eating downstairs, heard Linghu Chong’s loud voice. They quickly turned toward the direction of the voice.

“Master! That sounds like Big Apprerntice Brother!” Lu Dayou said.

Yue Lingshan was delighted. “Yes! It’s Big Apprentice Brother!” she rose from her seat and ran upstairs.

Yue Buqun picked up his sword and followed his daughter upstairs.

“Big Apprentice Brother! Big Apprentice Brother!” Yue Lingshan ran along the corridor, looking left and right.

Linghu Chong and Yi Lin exited the room. “Master!” Linghu Chong called out.

Yue Lingshan was overjoyed to see her Big Martial Brother. She ran toward Linghu Chong and embraced him tightly. “Big Apprentice Brother! I’m so happy to see you! I thought that I’ll never be able to see you again,” she uttered.

Linghu Chong pats her on the back, “Silly girl! Everything is fine now!”

Yue Buqun looked at Linghu Chong, and said, “Chong’Er! Why are you here?”

Linghu Chong heaved a sigh and replied, “Master, we bumped into Mu Gaofeng just now. He had captured Lord Lin. I was going to save Lord Lin and his wife but Mu Gaofeng fatally injured them…”

Lin Pingzhi immediately ran into the room to take a look at his parents. “Father! Mother!” he shouted hysterically.

Yue Lingshan lowered her head, and said, “He’s Lord Lin’s only son, Lin Pingzhi,” she said. “Father has accepted him as an apprentice.”

“Where is Xiao Tian?!” Yue Buqun took a quick look around the area.

Linghu Chong was silent for a moment. “Junior Martial Brother went to send Yi Lin back to Mount Heng."

After putting the Lin couples remains into the coffins, Yue Buqun and his apprentices left Hengyang City and returned to Mount Hua while Lao Denuo was assigned to bring Yi Lin back to Mount Heng.

All the Huashan Sect disciples gathered inside a big hall. Ning Zhongze walked down from the pedestal to take a good look at Lin Pingzhi. She turned around to look at Yue Buqun, and said, “Senior Apprentice Brother, you chose a good disciple. He looks handsome and doesn’t look like the kind of material for martial arts training. But that’s okay. If martial arts training doesn’t suit him studying literature for a few years and become a scholar would be great too.”

“That’s a great idea. If our Mount Hua Sect can produce a top scholar, then we would be creating legends for our descendants Yue Buqun grinned.

Lin Pingzhi knitted his brows and looked at Ning Zhongze. “Mistress thinks I’m weak and is biased against me. I’ll have to work extra hard so I that won’t be looked down upon,” he thought to himself.


“Pingzhi, our sect has very strict rules that you must adhere to. Our sect has been in the martial arts world for hundreds of years. Even though our martial arts skills are comparable to other sects but winning in a fight isn’t important. The most important thing is that our sect’s apprentices must be honorable. You must never forget this,” Yue Buqun added.

Yi Lin and Lin Pingzhi bowed at Yue Buqun with their hands cupped. “Diciple will never forget this!”

Yue Buqun glared at Linghu Chong. “Chong’Er, recite our sect rules to Pingzhiu,” he said.

“Yes, Master!” Linghu Chong replied. “Junior Apprentice Brother Lin, listen carefully. Firstly, our sect forbids lying to the Master and disrespecting seniors. Secondly, prohibits bullying the weak and killing the innocent. Thirdly, forbids adultery, lust and harassing women. Fourthly, forbids jealousy and killing among sect. Fifthly, forbids stealing and forsaking righteousness for the lust of gain. Sixthly, forbids conceit and arrogant attitudes when dealing with fellow martial people. Seventhly, forbids befriending criminals or conspire with the evil. These are the seven prohibitions of Mount Hua Sect.” He looked at Lin Pin Zhi and continued, “Junior Martial Brother Lin, can you remember the seven rules?”

“I will follow all the rules and will never to violate any of them,” Pingzhi replied with his hands cupped.

Yue Buqun made grimace at Linghu Chong, “Chong Er, you remember our rules very well.”

Linghu Chong grinned, “Master, of course I know these rules well.”

“Then you tell me this time after you left Mount Hua, how many rules did you violate?” Yue Buqun replied.

Linghu Chong’s face turned pale. He knelt down in front of his master. “Disciple have realized disciple’s mistake,” he said. “Disciple did not listen to Master and Mistress’s advice. Disciple violated the sixth prohibition of being conceited and arrogant when dealing with fellow martial people. Disciple killed Luo Renjie of the Qingcheng Sect outside the Huiyan teahouse.”

Yue Lingshan stepped forward. ““Father, you know that Big Apprentice Brother didn’t do it on purpose.”

Yue Buqun interrupted, “Rules are rules. How can there be excuses?” He rose from his seat and continued, “Luo Renjie attacked you while you were injured but you still fought unyieldingly. That is something a true man would have done and you should be commended for that. But how can you say such offensive things to Hengshan Sect? ‘Once seeing a nun, one loses all bets’. So should I be afraid of seeing nuns too?”

The other disciples burst out laughing.

Yue Buqun hummed and looked at them sternly. “Talking nonsense is also fine. While you were recuperating in the brothel you were saved by devil cult’s Qu Yang. What do you have to say about that?” he stared at Linghu Chong sternly.

Linghu Chong’s eyes became wide open. He was speechless and could not think of a good excuse to defend himself.

“It was obvious that the devil sect is trying to instigate conflict within the Five Mountain Sword Sects Alliance. Liu Zhengfeng ruined his reputation and got his entire family killed. You saw this with your own eyes. But while we were on our back to Mount Hua I did not once hear you say anything condemning the devil sect. I think after being saved by them you can no longer tell the difference between good and evil. This matter is the key matter that will affect the rest of your life,” Yue Buqun explained. He paused for a moment and continued, “Chong’Er, let me ask you again, if you ever meet a member of the devil cult again are you going to be treat evil as your enemy and slay evil with no hesitation?”

Linghu Chong knitted his brows and looked down. “If I ever meet a member of a devil cult am I going to kill unquestionably?” he thought to himself. “I don’t know…I really don’t know…” He face went blank, he was completely lost.

Yue Buqun sighed agiatatedly, ““Chong’Er, when you left Mount Hua this time you greatly damaged the reputation of our sect. I hereby punish to repent in the Repentance Cliff for a year, so you can repent your wrongdoing and think the matter through thoroughly,” Yue Buqun growled.

“Yes, Master. I accept my punishment.” Linghu Chong bowed.

“Father! This punishment is too severe!” Yue Lingshan interrupted.

Yue Buqun glared at her, “Do you want me to add another year?!”

Yue Lingshan looked at her mother disgruntledly. “Mother! Father wants Big Martial Brother to repent for a year! Who’s going to practice sword skills with me for the whole year?”

Ning Zhongze shook her head, telling her daughter not to cause any more trouble. “You’ve so many senior and junior martial brothers. Anyone of them can practice with you,” she replied.

After climbing up the steep cliff, Linghu Chong finally arrived at the top of the Repentance Cliff. He walked into the cave and took a quick look around the place. Something caught his attention. The words “Feng Qing Yang” were carved on the top of a rock wall. “Feng Qing Yang? Who is that?” he asked. “He is probably an elder of the sect who was punished to meditate here. Oh, I remember now. My Grandmaster’s name has a ‘Feng’ in it and he belonged to the ‘Feng’ generation of Mount Hua masters. This senior named Feng must be my Grand Martial Uncle then. It takes great strength to carve something like that. His inner strength must have been outstanding. How come Master and Mistress never mentioned about him before? I guess this senior master must have passed away a long time ago.”

He sat at a round table with one foot on the rock stool. “Since he’s already dead I should not think about him anymore,” he uttered. He propped his face with his hand and let out a long sigh. “I’ve been sent here for punishment because I can’t differentiate between good and bad. If I ever encounter a member of the devil cult in the future should I really just kill them blindly?” He knitted his brow and continued, “Is it really true that there aren’t any good people in the devil sect at all?” He paused for a moment and then continued, “If he’s a good person why would he join the devil cult?”

He rose from his seat and started walking around the table. “That Senior Qu who saved my life and seemed like a good person…” he nodded. “Too bad he and Martial Uncle Liu are now both dead,” he heaved a sigh. “In future if master asks me whether I will kill people from the people from the devil sect without doubt I’ll just tell him that I will kill them with no second thoughts!” he said with a smile.

End of Chapter 9