The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 64 Chapter Thirty-Six: Grief Part 1

But Linghu Chong just laughed. "You're eavesdropping on other people killing chicken and feeding dog again, aren't you? Otherwise, why would you listen for so long?"

"Pei!" Yingying retorted, her face becoming hot as she thought of Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi talking about 'becoming real husband and wife' inside their carriage. "They were… they were talking about practising… practising the Evil Resisting Sword Art."

"You hesitated! There must be some other odd things. Quickly come up and tell me everything. You can't hold anything back from me."

"I'm not coming up! It's not proper."

"Why is it not proper?" Linghu Chong asked while laughing.

"I don't know!"

The sound of the horses' hooves had gotten nearer by now. Yingying said, "I think these are the surviving Qingcheng School people coming to take their revenge!"

Linghu Chong sat up. "Let's go there slowly, we still have a bit of time."

"Yes," Yingying knew Linghu Chong was very concerned about Yue Lingshan, and that he must help even though he was heavily injured. Moreover, her mind wouldn't be at ease if she left him by himself aboard the carriage while she went to help. She quickly supported him to get down from the carriage. Linghu Chong stepped onto the ground with his left foot and felt a slight pain in his wound, causing him to falter and b.u.mp the wheel of the carriage. The mule drawing the carriage had made no sound at all so far, but as the carriage was shaken, it thought it was being urged to move so it lifted its head to neigh. Yingying's short sword flashed and the mule's head dropped to the ground cleanly cut.

"Good!" Linghu Chong lightly praised her. He wasn't actually praising her quick swordplay. With her martial art, there was nothing special for her sword to be able to cut the mule's head off in one stroke. But what was special was her quick thinking which prevented the mule from making any noise at all. As to how the carriage was going to move later and how they were going to travel, it was another matter.

Linghu Chong had walked for several steps when he heard the horses' hooves had come even nearer. He quickened his steps. Yingying pondered, "He wants to get there before the enemy so he's walking really fast, but it'll affect his wound. If I carry him, wouldn't that make him feel ashamed?" She giggled and said, "Brother Chong, I'm sorry." She didn't wait for Linghu Chong's answer but extended her right hand to grab his waist while her left hand grabbed his collar. She lifted his body up and used her qinggong to quickly go through the field of tall sorghum. Linghu Chong appreciated it but he also felt this was funny. He thought in his heart that he was the respectable headmaster of Heng-Shan School, but she was carrying him like she was carrying a baby. If someone were to see this, he would definitely lose face. But if they didn't do this, then they wouldn't be able to stay ahead of the Qingcheng School people and little martial sister would be in danger. She obviously had lifted him because she knew what he was thinking in his heart.

After Yingying had gone further forward for dozens of steps, the sound of the horses' hooves had gotten much closer. She turned her head around but all she could see in the darkness was dots of flames of the torches carried by the people on the horses. She said, "These people are really daring, they're actually carrying fire to chase them."

"They're staking their lives to carry out their strike so they don't care about anything. Aiyo, this isn't good!"

Yingying had also thought of it and she said, "Qingcheng School wants to burn the carriage."

"Let's cut them off and don't let them through."

"There's no need to worry, we'll be able to save the two of them."

Linghu Chong knew her martial art ability. Furthermore, Yu Canghai had died, and the remaining Qingcheng School people were extremely insignificant, so he didn't worry anymore. Yingying carried Linghu Chong until they were dozens of feet away from Yue Lingshan's carriage, then she helped him to sit within the field of tall sorghum. She whispered, "Sit quietly here and don't move."

Then from inside the carriage, Yue Lingshan said, "The enemy is coming quickly. They're Qingcheng School's rats."

"How do you know?" Lin Pingzhi asked.

"They're carrying torches to chase us. Hng, they really are fearless."

"Everyone's carrying a torch?"

"That's right."

Lin Pingzhi had gone through a lot of trials and tribulations so his mind was very meticulous and he was much more alert than Yue Lingshan. "Quickly get down!" He hastily said. "Those rats are going to burn the carriage!"

"Yes!" Yue Lingshan agreed. She also thought this was very reasonable. "Otherwise why are they carrying so many torches for?" She leapt down from the carriage and extended her hand to grip Lin Pingzhi's hand. Lin Pingzhi also jumped down. The two of them walked for dozens of feet to hide within the tall sorghum, and they were actually very close to where Linghu Chong and Yingying were hiding.

With thunderous sound of the hooves, Qingcheng School people arrived at the carriage. They first cut off its path before surrounding it from all sides. One of the person shouted, "Lin Pingzhi, you dog, are you trying to be a turtle? You still don't want to stick your head out?" They heard no sound coming from inside the carriage.

Another person said, "I'm afraid they've gone off the carriage and fled." Linghu Chong and Yingying then saw a torch arching through the darkness as it was tossed towards the carriage. Suddenly, a hand shot out from inside the carriage, grabbed the torch, and tossed it back.

The Qingcheng people made a lot of noise and shouted, "The dog is inside the carriage! The dog is inside the carriage!"

This was really beyond Linghu Chong's and Yingying's expectation. They never expected there would be another strong helper inside the carriage. But Yue Lingshan was even more surprised. Lin Pingzhi and she had been talking for so long but they never knew there was another person inside the carriage. Looking at how this person had tossed the torch back, it showed that his arm was quite strong and his martial art was quite high. The disciples of Qingcheng tossed in eight more torches, and that person tossed each one back. Even though his tosses didn't injure anyone, it stopped the remaining Qingcheng disciples from throwing anymore torches. They instead circled the carriage from far away and made a lot of noise. Under the firelight, everyone saw that it was a withered and sallow hand with blue veins sticking out. It was clearly the hand of an old person.

A person shouted, "It's not Lin Pingzhi!"

Another person shouted, "It's not his wife either."

Another person said, "That son of a turtle is afraid to come out, he's probably injured."

They hesitated for a long time and saw there was no movement in the carriage at all. Suddenly, with a cry, more than twenty of them charged forward with their swords drawn to stick them into the carriage. With a loud cracking sound, a person leapt up from the top of the carriage and a sword flickered in his hand. He flew behind the Qingcheng disciples and slashed out with his sword dropping two Qingcheng disciples to the ground. That person was wearing a yellow gown, appearing to be a person from Songshan School. His face was covered by a piece of cloth and only his bright eyes could be seen. His sword was wonderfully quick, and within a few moves, another two Qingcheng disciples had been struck by his sword and dropped to the ground.

Linghu Chong was holding Yingying's hand, and both of them thought of the same thing, "This person is also using the Evil Resisting Sword Art."

But this person wasn't Yue Buqun, judging by the shape of his body. The two of them again thought of the same thing, "In this world, besides Yue Buqun, Lin Pingzhi, and Zuo Lengchan, there's actually a fourth person who knows how to use the Evil Resisting Sword Art."

Yue Lingshan whispered to Lin Pingzhi, "This person's sword art looks similar to yours."

Lin Pingzhi gasped in surprise and he asked, "He… He can also use my sword art? You didn't see it wrongly?"

After a time, three more Qingcheng disciples were struck down by the sword. By then, Linghu Chong and Yingying had worked out that person's sword art. Even though this person was using the sword moves from the Evil Resisting Sword Art, his speed in jumping, rushing, and retreating was way below that of Dongfang Bubai's. He was not even as good as Yue Buqun or Lin Pingzhi who could mysteriously appear and disappear. It was just that this person's martial art was high and he was far above all of the Qingcheng disciples there. Added to that, Evil Resisting Sword Art was fantastic so even though it was one against many, he still held the upper hand.

Yue Lingshan said, "His sword art looks really similar to yours but he's not as quick as you."

Lin Pingzhi sighed and replied, "If he's not fast, he doesn't know the essence of my family's sword art then. But… but, who is he? How does he know how to use this sword art?"

As the sound of battle raged on, another Qingcheng disciple was pierced by the masked person's long sword through the chest. That masked man shouted, pulled his long sword, and cut another person's waist separating him into two. The remaining Qingcheng people trembled in fear and four of them ran away. That person roared and rushed forward for two steps. From among the Qingcheng disciples, some of them cried out and turned their heads to run away. Seeing this, the remaining disciples were discouraged and they all fled. Some of them rode double, while some were in too much of a hurry to ride their horses so they sprinted away on their feet. In just a moment, they had all scattered away. That masked person was obviously quite exhausted as he propped his long sword on the ground and panted heavily. Linghu Chong and Yingying discovered from his gasps that just from fighting for a short time, this person had consumed a lot of internal energy and he had probably been injured internally as well.

At this time, there were around seven to eight torches still burning on the ground. The darkness was interspersed with light from the glinting torches. This old yellow-gowned person was gasping for breath for a long time before he lifted his long sword and slowly put it back into its sheath. Then he said, "Young Hero Lin, Madam Lin, I received Songshan's Headmaster Zuo's order to help." His voice was extremely faint and hoa.r.s.e. Each word was uttered indistinctly as if he had something in his mouth or as if a part of his tongue was missing and that his voice had come out from his throat.

"Many thanks for your help," Lin Pingzhi replied. "Sir, please tell me your honorable name." As he said this, he walked out of the field of tall sorghum with Yue Lingshan.

"Headmaster Zuo learned that young hero and madam were heavily injured after dealing with traitors. So he ordered me to protect you and send the two of you to someplace safe to treat your injuries, and to make sure your father-in-law can't find you," that old person said.

Linghu Chong, Yingying, Lin Pingzhi, and Yue Lingshan all thought, "How did Zuo Lengchan know about this?"

"Headmaster Zuo and you have good intentions, I really appreciate it," Lin Pingzhi replied. "I'll be at your service once my injury is better, but I don't dare to trouble your honourable persons."

"Both of young hero's eyes were injured by Hunchback of the North's poison. Not only would it be hard to heal, this person's poison is extremely formidable and if not for Headmaster Zuo's Daogui medicine, I'm afraid… I'm afraid… it'll be hard to say what would happen to young hero's life."

After Lin Pingzhi was splashed by Mu Gaofeng's poison, both of his eyes and his whole face had been feeling extremely itchy that he felt like digging his own eyes out. But he endured it and had been restraining himself ever since, so he knew this person was saying the truth. Hesitantly he asked, "Headmaster Zuo and I aren't family or friends so why is Headmaster Zuo being so concerned about me? If you don't say this clearly, then it'll be difficult for me to follow your directions."

That old person let out a laugh. "Sharing a common hatred is just like friendship borne out of a common cause. Both of Headmaster Zuo's eyes were harmed by Yue Buqun. If we look for the source of the injuries to both of your eyes, the root of trouble was also likely to be Yue Buqun. Yue Buqun already knows that young hero has learned the Evil Resisting Sword Art, so even if young hero runs to the end of the world, he will still chase and kill you. He's now the headmaster of the Five Mountains School and his authority is as high as the heaven. How can young hero fight him all by yourself? Moreover… moreover… hey hey, Yue Buqun's own daughter is already accompanying young hero from dawn till dusk. Young hero has heavenly skill but you'll still find it hard to protect yourself from the plotting from the pillow next to you…"

Yue Lingshan suddenly shouted, "Second martial brother, so it's you!"

As she called this out, Linghu Chong's whole body shook. Hearing this old person speaking, even though his voice was vague, it sounded really familiar to him and it felt like someone he knew. When he heard Yue Lingshan's shout, he immediately recognised that person to be Lao Denuo. But Yue Lingshan had told him before that Lao Denuo was killed by someone at Fuzhou so he never thought this person could be him. Then what Yue Lingshan told him before must be false. Then he heard that old person coldly said, "Little girl is quite alert to be able to recognise my voice." He didn't use his throat to speak anymore, his voice was clear and he really was Lao Denuo.

"Second martial brother," Lin Pingzhi said, "if you pretended to be killed at Fuzhou, then… then eighth martial brother was killed by you?"

"No," Lao Denuo snorted. "Ying Bailuo is only a small kid, why do I want to kill him for?"

"You're still denying it?" Yue Lingshan shouted. "He… He… Little Lin was chopped with a sword from the back, this must be your doing too. I've always wrongly blamed big martial brother. Hng, you did good. You killed some old guy and chopped his face up, then you put your gown on the dead person so everyone thought you were killed."

"Your guess is right," Lao Denuo acknowledged. "If I didn't do that, how can Yue Buqun let me go that easily? But I wasn't the one who slashed at Young Hero Lin's back."

"Not you? Could there be another person?"

Lao Denuo coldly said, "It's not just another person, it's your father."

"Nonsense!" Yue Lingshan shouted. "You did this bad thing, but you're blaming someone else for it. There's nothing wrong with my father at all, why would he want to harm Brother Ping?"

"Because at that time, your father has already gotten the Evil Resisting Sword Manual from Linghu Chong's body. This sword manual belongs to the Lin family so the first person Yue Buqun wanted to kill was your Brother Ping. If Lin Pingzhi lives, how can your father learn the Evil Resisting Sword Art?" Lao Denuo explained.

Yue Lingshan didn't know how to answer. In her heart, she knew those words were logical but she could never believe that her own father would plot against Lin Pingzhi. She almost said the words 'nonsense', but instead she said, "If we take that my father was the one who wanted to harm Brother Ping, how come his sword didn't kill him?"

Lin Pingzhi suddenly said, "This attack was really done by Yue Buqun. Second martial brother isn't wrong."

Yue Lingshan stammered, "You… You… You also believe this?"

"Yue Buqun chopped at my back and injured me heavily. I knew that I had no way of fighting back so I dropped to the ground and pretended that I had died. At that time, I didn't know it was Yue Buqun who plotted against me. But as I was beginning to lose consciousness, I heard eighth martial brother's voice. He called out: 'Master!' When eighth martial brother called out 'Master', he saved my life, but gave his life instead," Lin Pingzhi related.

Startled, Yue Lingshan said, "You're saying eighth martial brother was also… also… also killed by my father?"

"Of course! After I heard eighth martial brother called out 'Master', he cried out miserably. Then I lost consciousness totally and didn't know anything else," Lin Pingzhi said.

Lao Denuo continued the story, "At first, Yue Buqun wanted to give you another stab. But I was watching from the dark and I coughed lightly. Yue Buqun didn't dare to stay and quickly went back to his room. Brother Lin, my cough can be said to have saved your life."

"If… If my father really wanted to harm you, later on… later on he got many opportunities, why didn't he kill you then?" Yue Lingshan argued.

"After that I guard every step of my way so he had no other opportunity to kill me," Lin Pingzhi coldly said. "You were actually very lucky for me. All day long we were always together, so it wasn't convenient for him to kill me."
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Yue Lingshan cried and said, "So… so… you took me as your wife to fool other people, and also… also… to use me as your shield."

Lin Pingzhi ignored her and said to Lao Denuo, "Brother Lao, you're working together with Headmaster Zuo now?"

"Headmaster Zuo is my respected master. I am his third disciple."

"So you've changed school and entered Songshan."

"I didn't change school and entered Songshan. I've always been under Songshan School. It's just that I received my respected master's order to join Huashan to research on Yue Buqun's martial art, as well as to keep an eye on the movements of Huashan School."

Linghu Chong was suddenly enlightened. Before Lao Denuo joined the Huashan School, he already knew martial art and everyone in the school knew this. But his martial art was very mixed and ordinary, like the martial art around the area of Yungui. They had never suspected that he was actually a Songshan disciple. So this intention to annex the other four schools had actually been in Zuo Lengchan's heart for a very long time and he had actually planned this kind of move a long time ago. Then Lao Denuo killing Lu Dayou and stealing the Violet Twilight Secret Manual was obvious and was no longer a mystery. Even Master, who was always very vigilant towards other people, was deceived by him.

Lin Pingzhi pondered for a while then said, "In that case, Brother Lao took the Violet Twilight Secret Manual and Evil Resisting Sword Manual from Huashan back to Songshan for Headmaster Zuo to practice. Your accomplishment is really great."

Linghu Chong and Yingying were both nodding their heads. They thought, "So Zuo Lengchan and Lao Denuo are able to use the Evil Resisting Sword Art because of this. Lin Pingzhi's brain works really fast."

With deep hatred, Lao Denuo vehemently said, "I'm going to speak frankly. The two of us, together with my respected master, we've all fallen under this b.a.s.t.a.r.d Yue Buqun's hand. This person is really dangerous and we've all fallen into his violent scheme."

"Hey, I understand," Lin Pingzhi said. "The Evil Resisting Sword Manual you stole was an altered version by Yue Buqun. That's why Headmaster Zuo and Brother Lao's Evil Resisting Sword Art are different."

Lao Denuo gritted his teeth and said, "When I entered the Huashan School back then, Yue Buqun had already detected my deception from the outset but he didn't do anything. He just secretly paid close attention to what I was doing. When Yue Buqun wrote the Evil Resisting Sword Manual down, the sword art looks really wonderful but it was actually just good to look at and it lacked the internal energy method. He deliberately prepared this fake sword manual for me to steal so when my respected master practiced the sword art, it wasn't complete. As soon as they got into a life and death battle, he led my respected master to use this sword art so that the real sword art would be pitted against the fake sword art. By doing this, he guaranteed his own victory. Otherwise, how can the headmaster position of the Five Mountains School fall into his hand?"

Lin Pingzhi let out a sigh. "This traitor Yue Buqun really is crafty and fierce. Both of us have really fallen into his trap."

"My respected master understands this matter completely. Even though I ruined everything, he didn't blame me at all. But how can I, as his disciple, be at peace knowing this? So I'm staking my life to climb the mountain of sabres and walk through fire to kill that traitor Yue Buqun and avenge my respected master." These words were said with venom and anger by Lao Denuo. It was obvious this was a matter gnawing deeply in his heart.

Lin Pingzhi hummed. Lao Denuo went on, "Both of my respected master's eyes were harmed, so he's secretly staying on Songshan's west peak. On the west peak, there are more than ten other people whose eyes are also bad. They were harmed by Yue Buqun and Linghu Chong. Brother Lin, come with me to see my respected master. You're Fuzhou's Lin family sole heir to the Evil Resisting Sword School, so you're the headmaster of the Evil Resisting Sword School. My respected master of course will treat you with respect. If both of your eyes can be cured then that would be best, otherwise, you can secretly hide with my respected master and together plan your revenge. How can that be not wonderful?"

These words excited Lin Pingzhi. Both of his eyes had been poisoned and he himself knew that there was no hope for a cure. All these talks of curing his eyes were only to cheat and comfort himself. Zuo Lengchan and he were both blind, they both had the same problem and the same enemy, so this was already very good. But he knew Zuo Lengchan's methods tend to be very fierce, so when Zuo Lengchan suddenly turned nice toward him, there was bound to be another plan behind this. Lin Pingzhi said, "Headmaster Zuo has a very good idea. But I don't know how I can repay him for this. Can Brother Lao please tell us more first?"

Lao Denuo laughed. "Brother Lin is an unequivocal person. Once everyone has joined forces, then everything will become clear. My master and I were duped by Yue Buqun with an incomplete sword manual. So of course I'm not resigned to it. Along the way, I saw Brother Lin's immense power and wonderfully matchless sword art in the killing of Mu Gaofeng, and the execution of Yu Canghai and the Qingcheng's clowns. They were all scattering away at the mere sight of you. It's obvious you have the real Evil Resisting Sword Art. I really admire you and really find you interesting...."

Lin Pingzhi understood his intention so he interrupted, "Brother Lao wants me to let you and your master have a look at the real Evil Resisting Sword Manual?"

"This is the Lin family's secret and outsiders mustn't peep into it. But from today onwards, we'll form an alliance in blood to kill Yue Buqun. If Brother Lin's eyes are cured, you're still young and have a lot of energy, so you wouldn't be afraid to face him by yourself. But looking at the situation today, if my respected master and I learn the Evil Resisting Sword Art, then the three of us can join hands, and only then will we have a hope of killing Yue Buqun. Brother Lin, please don't blame me," Lao Denuo said.

Lin Pingzhi was thinking in his heart: 'Both of my eyes are blind and I actually don't know how I'll be able to survive. Moreover, if I didn't promise this, then Lao Denuo will kill both him and Yue Lingshan. If Lao Denuo has spoken sincerely, then his proposal has more benefit than harm.' He replied, "I'm flattered that Headmaster Zuo and Brother Lao wish to be allied with me. My whole family has been broken up and decimated, and I'm already a handicapped person with no sight. Even though my misfortune was mainly because of Yu Canghai, Yue Buqun's plotting was also the main reason for this. So I have the same idea as you and your master to execute Yue Buqun. Once we're allies, I wouldn't dare to keep this Evil Resisting Sword Manual as a secret. I'll take it out and give it to you and your master to peruse."

Lao Denuo was exultant. "Brother Lin is very generous. My master and I are very appreciative to be able to look at the real Evil Resisting Sword Manual. From today onwards, Brother Lin will forever be our Songshan School's honoured guest. You and I will be like brothers, and we'll share everything."

"Many thanks. I'll follow Brother Lao back to Mount Songshan. After that, I'll immediately recite the real Evil Resisting Sword Manual out for you and your master."

"Recite it out?"

"That's right. Brother Lao doesn't know that the real Evil Resisting Sword Manual was actually recorded by my great grandfather Yuantu on a Buddhist robe. This Buddhist robe was stolen by Yue Buqun so he could pry into my family's sword art. Later on, he made a mistake and this Buddhist robe fell into my hands. I was really afraid that Yue Buqun might find out so I memorised this sword manual and quickly destroyed that Buddhist robe. If I had hidden that Buddhist robe on my body, and with my worthy wife besides me, how could I still live till today?" Yue Lingshan had been staying quiet and listening from the side all this time, but when she heard him ridiculing her, she cried again. She sobbingly said, "You… You…"

Lao Denuo was already inside the carriage listening to their dialog before so he knew Lin Pingzhi was telling the truth. "That's very good, why don't we go back to Songshan together?"

"Very good," Lin Pingzhi replied.

"We must abandon the carriage and get some horses to ride through the small roads. Otherwise, if we meet Yue Buqun along the way, we won't be his match at all," Lao Denuo said. He then turned his head slightly and asked Yue Lingshan, "Little martial sister, are you going to help your father? Or are you going to help your husband?"

Yue Lingshan stopped weeping and said, "I'm not helping anyone! I'm… I'm a cruelly fated person. I'll become a nun tomorrow. I'm finished with my father and husband. I won't see any of you again from now on."

Lin Pingzhi coldly said, "It really befits you to become a nun at Heng-Shan."

Yue Lingshan angrily replied, "Lin Pingzhi, when you had nowhere to go, my father helped you. If not for him, you'd have died under Mu Gaofeng's hand and would not be still alive today. Even if you reasoned my father was rude to you, I wasn't being rude to you. What do you mean by those words?"

"What's my meaning? I want to make everything clear to Headmaster Zuo." His voice sounded very fierce. Suddenly, Yue Lingshan cried out miserably.

Linghu Chong and Yingying cried out at the same time, "Oh, no!" They immediately leapt out from the field of tall sorghum. Linghu Chong shouted, "Lin Pingzhi, don't harm little martial sister."

At this time, the two people Lao Denuo was most scared of were Yue Buqun and Linghu Chong. When he suddenly heard Linghu Chong's voice, he was startled out of his wits. He quickly grabbed Lin Pingzhi's left shoulder and jumped onto one of the Qingcheng disciples' horses. Then he put his heels to the horse and galloped away in a mad rush. Linghu Chong was worried about Yue Lingshan so he had no time to chase the enemy. He saw Yue Lingshan lay slumped on the driver's seat with a sword sticking out of her chest. He looked for her breath and found it to be slow and faint. Linghu Chong shouted, "Little martial sister, little martial sister."

"Is… Is it big martial brother?" Yue Lingshan asked faintly.

Linghu Chong happily replied, "Yes… it's me." He extended his hand to pull the sword out, but Yingying hastily stopped him. "You can't pull the sword out."

Linghu Chong saw the sword had penetrated half a foot deep into her body and it was a fatal injury. If he pulled the sword out, she would die straight away. He didn't know what to do and his heart was grieved. He started to cry and called out, "Little… little martial sister!"

"Big martial brother, it's already good that you're here with me. Brother Ping… Brother Ping, has he gone?"

Linghu Chong gritted his teeth and with tears running down his cheeks, he said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely kill him to avenge you."

"Don't, don't! His eyes are already blind. If you want to kill him, he wouldn't be able to fight back. I… I… I want to go to mom."

"Alright, I'll take you to Master-Wife." Yingying heard Yue Lingshan's voice was becoming fainter and fainter, and knew that she only had a very short time left in this world. She couldn't help shedding her tears.

"Big martial brother, you've always treated me well," Yue Lingshan said. "I… I'm sorry. I… I'm going to die."

Linghu Chong shed his tears. "You can't die, we'll think of a way to cure you."

"I'm… I'm hurt… deeply. Big martial brother, I want to ask you for something, you… you must promise me."

Linghu Chong gripped her left hand and said, "Say it, say it, I promise."

Yue Lingshan sighed. "You… you… don't agree… I've… asked too much of you…" Her voice was becoming softer and softer, and her breath becoming even weaker.

"I promise, say what you want."

"What did you say?"

"I promise, what do you want me to do? I'll do it for you."

"Big martial brother, my husband… Brother Ping… his… his… eyes are blind… he's pitiful… do you know?"

"Yes, I know."

"He's all by himself in this world. Everyone bullies him… bullies him. Big martial brother… after I die, please take good care of him, don't… don't let him be bullied…"

Linghu Chong was startled. He never expected Yue Lingshan to still hold on to the feelings she had for Lin Pingzhi when Lin Pingzhi was her violent killer. At that moment, Linghu Chong really detested Lin Pingzhi, and all he wanted to do was to chop him into thousands of pieces. In the future, it would already be almost impossible for him to spare his life, so how could he agree to look after this b.a.s.t.a.r.d?

Yue Lingshan slowly said, "Big martial brother, Brother Ping… Brother Ping, he didn't really want to kill me… he's afraid of my father… he wanted to gain Zuo Lengchan's trust, so… so he stabbed me first…"

Linghu Chong angrily said, "That selfish, ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You… you still care for him?"

"He… he didn't deliberately try to kill me, it's just that.. it's just that his hand slipped. Big martial brother… I beg you, beg you to look after him…"

As the moonlight reflected off her face, Linghu Chong can see her eyes were unfocused and her pupils were dull, entirely unlike her normally clear bright eyes. A few drops of blood were splashed on her cheeks, and her earnest face was begging him. Linghu Chong thought of the past ten years he had together with his little martial sister while they were at Huashan, holding hands and traveling everywhere. Sometimes when she wanted him to do something, she would show this earnest looking expression to him. No matter how difficult that thing was, even if it violated what his heart wished for, he had never refused her even once. This time, her earnest request was full of grief. She knew clearly she only had a short time left and that she didn't have another opportunity to ask Linghu Chong for anything else. This was the last and most pressing earnest request from her. All of a sudden, Linghu Chong felt his chest feeling hot and he knew if he promised her this, then not only would there be endless trouble in the future, he would even be forced to do many things that he wouldn't be willing to do. But looking at Yue Lingshan's earnest and sorrowful look, he nodded his head. "Fine, I promise you, you can put your heart at ease."

Yingying heard him and couldn't help interrupt him. "You… how can you promise that?"

Yue Lingshan tightly gripped Linghu Chong's hand. "Big martial brother, many… many… thanks… I'm… I'm at ease… at ease." Her eyes suddenly shone and the edge of her mouth smiled, looking like she was very satisfied. Linghu Chong saw her expression and thought, "Just being able to see her happy, it doesn't matter how much trouble and pain I have to go through, it's all worth it."

All of a sudden, Yue Lingshan softly sang a song. Linghu Chong felt as if his chest had just received a thump as he heard her singing a Fujian folksong. She was singing the tune, "Sisters, going up the mountain to pluck tea." This was the Fujian folksong that Lin Pingzhi had taught her. That day on the Cliff of Contemplation, his heart hurt like it was twisted because he heard her singing this folksong. Now as she sang this song again, she was thinking of the sweet days Lin Pingzhi and she had shared while they were at Huashan. The sound of her song was becoming fainter and her grip on Linghu Chong's hand gradually loosened. She at last release her hold and slowly closed her eyes. She had stopped singing, and her breathing had also stopped. Linghu Chong's heart sank. It felt as if the whole world had also died. He wanted to cry but he couldn't. He extended both of his hands and carried Yue Lingshan's body. He softly said, "Little martial sister, little martial sister, don't be afraid! I'm going to carry you to your mom. No one will bully you anymore."

Yingying saw a red patch at the back of his body. His wound had burst open again and blood was oozing out of it. The patch of blood on his gown was getting larger and larger, but looking at the situation, she didn't know how to advise him. Linghu Chong absent-mindedly carried Yue Lingshan's body for more than ten steps while he kept on mumbling, "Little martial sister, don't be afraid, don't be afraid! I'll carry you to Master-Wife." Suddenly, both of his knees lost strength and he fell down onto the ground and lost consciousness.

When he became half aware, he heard a crisp and clear sound of a zither. The zither sound repeated itself playing a tune that sounded familiar to him and he was enjoying it immensely. His whole body felt weak and he didn't even feel like opening his eyelids. He only hoped that he could listen to the sound of the zither forever. The zither sound really didn't stop and continued playing. After listening to it for a while, Linghu Chong fell asleep again.

The second time he became conscious, the quiet and beautiful zither sound was still playing and he could also smell a fragrant scent. He slowly opened his eyes and saw all sorts of flowers in front of his eyes. Red flowers, white flowers, yellow flowers, purple flowers; they were all piled in front of him. He wondered, "What's this place?" Hearing the zither sound repeating, he realised it was the tune Yingying often played called the 'Song of Peace and Serenity'. He turned his head around and saw the back of Yingying's body. She was sitting on the ground gently playing the zither. Gradually, he realised they were inside a cave. The sunshine entered from the mouth of the cave as he lay on a bed of soft gra.s.s. Linghu Chong wanted to sit up and as he tried, the gra.s.s underneath him made a rustling sound. The zither sound stopped abruptly and Yingying turned her head around looking very happy. She slowly walked up to Linghu Chong and sat beside him. Her eyes stayed on him for the whole time, and her face was overflowing with tender affection.

In a brief moment, Linghu Chong's heart swelled with happiness. He knew he had lost consciousness after he had seen Yue Lingshan die miserably, and Yingying had helped him into this cave. He suddenly felt a wave of sadness in his heart, but gradually, he felt unbounded warmth and tenderness coming from Yingying's eyes. The two of them affectionately sat opposite each other for a long time without saying anything.

Linghu Chong extended his left hand and lightly caressed the back of Yingying's hand. Suddenly, in the midst of the fragrance from the flowers, he smelled roasted meat in the air. Yingying took a branch full of stringed up frogs and laughingly said, "They're burnt again!"

Linghu Chong burst into laughter. The two of them were brought back to the day besides the creek when they caught some frogs and burnt them. From the first time they had eaten frogs together to this second frog feast, many things had happened in between; but the two of them were still together at the end. After having a few laughs, Linghu Chong's heartache returned and he started shedding some tears again. Yingying helped him to sit up; pointing to the mountain outside, she softly said, "Miss Yue is buried there."

Holding back his tears, Linghu Chong said, "Many… many thanks."

Yingying slowly shook her head. "There's no need to thank me. Every person has his own fate, and every person also has his own action and reward."

Linghu Chong felt apologetic. "Yingying, I can never forget the feelings I have for my little martial sister, please don't blame me."

"Of course I don't blame you. If you were just a man who likes to play around and look for girls all the time, then I wouldn't have cared about you." She then whispered, "The reason I started… I started adoring you is because you told me how much you love your little martial sister at the Bamboo Lane in Luoyang. Miss Yue was a good lady, but she wasn't… she wasn't destined to be with you. If you didn't grow up with her, and she had seen you later, she would most probably have liked you."

Linghu Chong pondered for a long time, then he shook his head. "She wouldn't. Little martial sister looked up to my master, so the man she liked must be similar to her father, a man of few words who carry himself in a stately manner. I'm only her playmate; she had never… never respected me."

Yingying said, "Maybe what you said is right. It just happened that Lin Pingzhi is similar to your master, very proper but with a belly full of secret plots."

Linghu Chong sighed. "Just before little martial sister died, she still didn't believe Lin Pingzhi truly meant to kill her and she still loved him completely. That's… that's also very good. She wasn't grieved at all before she died. I want to see her grave."

Yingying held his arm as they walked out of the cave. Linghu Chong saw the grave was made up of a pile of rocks. Even though the rocks were of uneven size, they were organised neatly. In front and at the back of the grave were fresh flowers. Seeing they were done by Yingying, he felt appreciative towards her. A cut tree trunk was erected in front of the grave, and words were written on it with a sword-point: "Tomb of Heroine Yue Lingshan from Huashan". Linghu Chong was startled and shed more tears. He said, "Perhaps little martial sister would've liked to be called Madam Lin."

"Lin Pingzhi is such a ruthless and unrighteous person. In the netherworld, Miss Yue would have understood his wicked heart, and she wouldn't want to be called Madam Lin." While she thought in her heart, "You don't know Lin Pingzhi and she were husband and wife in name only; they're not real husband and wife."

"You're probably right," Linghu Chong agreeing with her. He then saw mountain peaks surrounding them on every side, and realized that they were inside a valley. The forests were the colour of deep green and mountain flowers grew everywhere. Birds were calling out continuously from the top of the trees. It was a very secluded and quiet place they were in.

"We'll stay here for some time to look after your injury and the grave," Yingying suggested.

Linghu Chong replied, "That's very good. Little martial sister is alone in this wilderness, even if she had become a ghost, she'll still be timid." When Yingying heard him said such a sentimental word, she couldn't help sighing.

The two of them lived in the valley comfortably, eating frogs and picking fruits. Linghu Chong only had an external injury so with Heng-Shan School's medicine applied externally and taken orally, along with his abundant internal energy, he was mostly recovered from his injury after staying there for more than twenty days. While he was recuperating, Yingying taught him how to play the zither every day. Linghu Chong was very intelligent and he concentrated fully on his practise, so he advanced very quickly. One day, he woke up early in the morning and saw several small shoots had already grown out from Yue Lingshan's grave. Linghu Chong thought, "There are shoots already at little martial sister's grave now. How is she inside the grave?"

Suddenly, the sound of a bamboo flute came from behind his back. He turned his head around and saw Yingying was sitting on a piece of rock playing the 'Song of Peace and Serenity' with a bamboo flute. He walked over to her and saw it was a new flute Yingying had made from a bamboo branch by using her sword and perforating holes through it. He took the zither, put it across his knee, and started playing, following the tune she was playing. As he gradually put his mind into playing the tune, there was no other thought in his mind. When the song was completed, he felt his vigour greatly roused. They smiled at each other.

Yingying said, "You're already familiar with this 'Song of Peace and Serenity'. Today, let's practise the 'Smiling Proud Wanderer'. What do you think?"

"That song is difficult to play, I don't know when I'll be able to play it together with you."

Yingying smiled. "This music is very profound, I also still don't understand many parts of it. There's something different with this song, it's hard to explain, but it seems if two people were to play it together, they'd be able to enlighten each other. Compared to one person fumbling around, we'll definitely advance much faster."

Linghu Chong clapped and said, "You're right! On that day, when I heard Hengshan School's martial uncle Liu and Devil… and Sun Moon Sect's Elder Qu playing this song together, the zither and the bamboo flute were in harmony, and their sound was really moving. Martial uncle Liu said that this song was originally for a zither and a bamboo flute to play together."

"You play the zither, I play the flute. We'll slowly practise it part by part."

Linghu Chong smiled. "But it's a pity it's a flute and not a se. Zither and se are very harmonious together and it would've been wonderful."

(Translator's note: Se is similar to zither. Se has 25 strings while zither has 7 strings.)

Yingying's face turned red and she replied, "These last few days, I haven't heard you speaking any satirical remarks and I thought you've changed. But you're still the same."

Linghu Chong made a face at her. He knew Yingying was very shy. Even though they were in a secluded valley and there were only the two of them there, she never allowed him to speak indecently. He was afraid if he jested a bit more, she would ignore him for the rest of the day so he quickly went near her to look at the music score. After listening to her explanations, he started to play his part. Playing the zither wasn't an easy matter; added to that, the song 'Smiling Proud Wanderer' was very profound with a lot of complicated changes, so this made the playing even more difficult. But Linghu Chong was bright, and he was also being directed by a master. Additionally, he had also improved a lot in his zither playing from the time he started studying it at Bamboo Lane in Luoyang since he had been practising it every chance he got. Even though it was hard for them to be harmonious in the beginning, slowly, they finally managed to play well together. Even though their playing couldn't be as wonderful as that of Liu and Qu, there was a hint of a rhythm in their playing. Within the next ten days, the two of them became very close to playing the zither and flute together harmoniously. This calm surrounding of this green valley separated them from the world, and gradually they came to forget everything about the fierce fighting in Jianghu. Both of them felt if they could spend the rest of their lives in that green valley, and not be drawn into the killings in Wulin, then they would be very happy.

One afternoon, after Linghu Chong and Yingying had been playing together for more than an hour, Linghu Chong's internal energy was suddenly disturbed and his mind not tranquil. He made a few mistakes and his heart became more worried which made his fingering method became even more chaotic. Yingying asked, "Are you tired? Rest for a while before continuing."

"I'm tired but not tired. I don't know what's wrong. I feel a bit agitated. I'm going to go pick some peaches. We'll practise again at night."

"Alright, don't go too far."

Linghu Chong knew there were a lot of wild peach trees southeast of the valley, which would have ripened by now. He pa.s.sed through the bushes and went for around eight to nine li before arriving at the grove of wild peach trees. He leapt up and picked two peaches. The second time he leapt, he picked three peaches. He saw the peaches were quite ripe and there were already a lot of peaches on the ground which had fallen from the trees. In the next few days, all the peaches might have fallen down and become rotten on the ground. He quickly picked dozens more, and he thought, "After we eat these peaches, we'll spread the seeds all over the valley. Then in a few years time, there'll be peach trees everywhere. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Then he suddenly thought of the Peach Valley Six Fairies, "With peach trees growing everywhere in this valley, wouldn't this be called a Peach Valley? Then will Yingying and I become the Peach Valley Two Fairies? Later on, we'll have six children, wouldn't they become Little Peach Valley Six Fairies? If those Little Peach Valley Six Fairies talk like the old Peach Valley Six Fairies, wouldn't that be troublesome?"

He was just about to laugh thinking about this when he suddenly heard a sound from somewhere far amongst the trees. Linghu Chong immediately hid himself in the tall gra.s.s. He thought, "My mouth's getting tired of eating frogs and fruits. That sound must be some kind of a beast. Yingying will be very happy if I can catch an antelope or a deer." He had not finished thinking when he heard the sound of footsteps. It was the sound of two people walking. Linghu Chong started. "How can there be people in this valley? They must've come here because of Yingying and me."

Then he heard the voice of an elder saying, "You're not wrong? Yue Buqun will definitely come here?"

Linghu Chong was even more confounded. He thought, "They're chasing my master? Who are these people?"

Another person with a low and deep voice said, "Fragrant Master Shi has already asked around. Yue Buqun's daughter and son-in-law suddenly went missing, and we couldn't find a single trace of them in any market, town, pier, or river. They must've hidden themselves in a nearby valley to look after their injuries. Sooner or later, Yue Buqun will come here to look for them."

Linghu Chong's heart ached as he thought, "So they know little martial sister was injured, but they don't know she's already dead. A lot of people must be looking for her whereabouts, especially Master and Master-Wife. If not for this valley being completely secluded, they would've searched this place a long time ago."

That elder then said, "If you didn't guess wrong, then Yue Buqun would come here sooner or later. Let's setup an ambush at the entrance of this valley."

The person with the low and deep voice said, "If Yue Buqun doesn't come, then we can lead him here after we setup the ambush."

That elder clapped twice and said, "This plan is wonderful. Brother Xue, I never thought you have so many ideas."

That person surnamed Xue replied, "Elder Ge said it well. Subordinate hopes that you'll be able to promote me. If Elder has anything for me to do, I'll do it with all my heart and power to repay Elder's kindness."

Linghu Chong felt disappointed as he thought, "So they're Yingying's subordinates from the Sun Moon Sect. It's best if they go far away from here and don't disturb Yingying and me." He also thought, "At this time, Master's martial art has advanced greatly. Even though there are many of them, they're still not Master's match. No one in Wulin is capable of matching Master's skill and intelligence. With only their intelligence, how can they even hope to ambush Master? This is called 'playing with axe in front of Lu Ban'."

Suddenly, three clapping sound was heard from somewhere far. That person surnamed Xue said, "Elder Du has also arrived."

Elder Ge also clapped for three times. The sound of footsteps was heard as four people hurried to come to them. Two of these people had very heavy footsteps and as they got nearer, Linghu Chong thought they were carrying something.

Elder Ge happily said, "Elder Du, did you capture the Yue family's little girl? You've done a great achievement."

A person laughed loudly and said, "It's from the Yue family, but it's the big girl, not the little one."

Elder Ge gasped in surprise, sounding like he was surprised and happy at the same time. "How… How… You captured Yue Buqun's wife?"

Linghu Chong was greatly surprised and he immediately wished to go out to help, but he recalled that he wasn't carrying a sword with him. With no sword in his hand, his martial art was just ordinary. This made him really worried. He then heard Elder Du said, "You're not convinced?"

Elder Ge replied, "Madam Yue's swordplay is good. How did Brother Du manage to capture her? Ah, you must've used the confusion poison."

Elder Du laughed, "This lady arrived in a restaurant absent-mindedly and just drank her bowl of tea without thinking. Other people said Yue Buqun's wife, Ning Zhongze, is great, but actually she's nothing."

Linghu Chong got angry and secretly thought, "My Master-Wife heard her beloved daughter was injured and missing, but she couldn't find her after dozens of days of searching. Of course her mind would be in chaos. This is her cherished daughter we're talking about! How can you call her nothing? I'm going to kill each one of you with my sword for insulting my Master-Wife." He then thought, "How can I s.n.a.t.c.h a sword? If no sword, then a sabre will do." Then he heard Elder Ge said, "Since we have already captured Yue Buqun's wife, things are going well. Brother Du, the plan right now is how do we lead Yue Buqun here?"

"What do we do after we lead him here?" Elder Du questioned.

Elder Ge hesitated before saying, "We'll use this lady as hostage and force him to abandon his sword. I expect the Yue Buqun husband and wife would have deep feelings toward each other, so he wouldn't dare to defy us."

"What Brother Ge said was very reasonable. But I'm afraid if Yue Buqun's heart is very violent, and the feelings between him and his wife aren't deep, then things might get a little th.o.r.n.y for us," Elder Du reasoned.

"This… This… En, Brother Xue, what do you think?" Elder Ge said.

That person surnamed Xue said, "In front of two elders, it's not subordinate's place to speak out…."

He only said till here when there was another three clapping sound coming from the west. Elder Du said, "Elder Bao has arrived." In a short time, two people flew in from the west and their footsteps were really quick.

Elder Ge said, "Elder Mo has also arrived."

Linghu Chong quietly called out in misery, "Hearing their footsteps, it seems that these two people's martial arts are even higher than Du and Ge. How can I save Master-Wife with only my bare hand?" He then heard Elder Du and Ge called out together, "Brother Mo and Bao have arrived, this is really good."

Elder Ge also said, "Brother Du has done a great service by capturing Yue Buqun's wife."

An elder happily said, "Wonderful, wonderful! The two of you have worked hard."

Elder Ge said, "That's Elder Du's accomplishment."

That elder replied, "We all received Chief's order to handle this thing. No matter who did it, we'll all get a share of Chief's good fortune."