Chapter 36: Standing Up for Stranger

"Move along, move along, we don't run a charity here," said the waiter with a frown, attempting to drive away the refugees clustering around the door of the inn. "My good folk, I feel for you, I really do, but I'm just a worker here, and don't call the shots. What can I do? You'd better leave now – otherwise when the innkeeper comes he'll unleash his temper on us all, and I won't be spared either. Please take pity on me too…and go elsewhere instead!"

This winter, the Northern and Southern Dynasties had once again gone to war, after conserving their energies for more than three years. Refugees from both the North and the South had poured out from their war-ravaged homes, like colonies of ants flushed out of their nests by a great flood.

The peasants living in these border regions had previously been pushed to the very bottom rungs of society, unseen and unheard, leading lives that were bitterly hard. They carried the riches of the nobles above them on their bent backs, crawling along the ground to dig out whatever scraps of food they could find from the cracked yellow earth. And now, they'd once again spilled out onto the country roads and city streets, very much seen and heard but with nowhere to settle, like weeds ceaselessly carried away by the violent winds.

To drift along when the tides were high, and to sink to the bottom when the tides were low – didn't the poor and downtrodden of this world all lead such lives, generation after generation of them?

This inn was named 'The Best House'. It comprised a two-storey restaurant in the front, and a row of guest rooms in the back. It was considered the grandest establishment in these parts, truly living up to its name, which was why the refugees had congregated here in greater numbers. A new group of them would gather as soon as the previous one had left, and it was impossible to get rid of them.

After having successfully hustled away yet another group of refugees, the waiter brought a pot of water round to refill the guests' cups. Several strapping black-clad men, who looked like armed escorts, were seated in the main dining hall. A flag leaning on the wall beside them stated the name of their agency: 'Xing Nan'.[1] The faces of these men were weary and battle-hardened, in stark contrast to the fresh-faced pair of teenagers that they were surrounding, a boy and a girl.

The boy was wan and sallow, with a sickly look about him. He coughed thickly and frequently, and seemed to be suffering from some kind of illness or injury. His gaze lingered on the door, as if he felt sorry for those refugees. Calling the waiter over, he took out several pieces of silver[2] and said: "The elderly and weak amongst them are really quite pitiful. You should at least give them something to eat – put it on my tab."

From the looks of him, this young man was a privileged young master of his household, who had never encountered true hardships. He had spoken so abruptly that the members of his party were too late to stop him. They looked at him with disapproval.

The girl beside him furrowed her brow: "Brother!"

The waiter smiled at him widely, but didn't reach out to take the money. He said to the lad: "Many thanks, sir – but I'm not being deliberately unkind. It's just that I'm assuming you good folk are only passing through, and won't be here all the time. You may take pity on them and show them a little kindness today, but when you're gone in a few days, what will become of them then? If they were to come here again, they'd only go hungry once more. They should be urged to find a proper means of survival instead – the war ahead will be a long one, and it's only just begun."

It was the first time that this young master of an escort agency was making such a trip from home, and he hadn't thought that far. He looked a little discomfited.

That waiter simply smiled and bowed at him again, leaving a "Please call for me if you need anything else" behind him, before hastening away to serve the other guests.

"Teeming crowds and lively streets, decades of prosperity and development, collapse overnight in utter shambles, like a vase crashing to the floor, as far as the eye can see; all over the country, there is only desolation -" The old bard recited hoarsely, his voice like rusted iron scraping against potsherds. The inn fell silent. The bard sighed heavily, looking up and surveying the room, then sharply clacked his wooden clapper.[3]

One of the guests sitting in a corner was already wearing a padded cotton jacket so early in the winter. His chin was tucked into the collar of his jacket, obscuring half his face. At that sharp clack, he looked thoughtfully at the waiter busily running back and forth, then placed some coins on the table, pulled his collar up even further, and left quietly. After dealing with several customers, the waiter hurried over to bus this vacated table. When he picked up the coins, he found to his astonishment that there was a layer of frost on them.

Two days later, 'The Best House' received several young guests –

Two young maidens who looked like they could be sisters stepped in first, walking in with their hands linked. The slightly older one wore a veil over her face, while the other was a girl of only about fourteen or fifteen, with an oval-shaped face and big eyes, and still looked a little like a child.

There were only refugees and weary pugilists in these parts; pretty young maidens were a rarity. As soon as this duo stepped in, several pairs of eyes immediately turned towards them. But shortly after, a strapping young man with a face as black as coal followed them in, an intimidating-looking goose-wing sabre in hand. The man scoffed loudly as he surveyed the room, his internal strength noisily stirring the iron rings on his blade. It was obvious that he was a highly-skilled pugilist.

As tempting as such beauties were, one's life was ultimately more important. Those furtive eyes swiftly withdrew their gazes, only daring to steal occasional glances at the girls out the corners of their eyes.

Two more people came in after that dark-faced man, although they only entered a few moments later as they had to settle the horses and carriage – these were a young man of less than twenty and a maiden dressed in men's clothes.

This maiden had probably dressed this way out of convenience, rather than to conceal her gender. While she was attired in close-fitting men's garb, her hair was tied up in a loose braid. She was a slender wisp of a thing, with pretty, delicate features. Her face was a tad too pale, and she looked somewhat frail, like she'd just recovered from a major illness.

But when she walked in, for some reason nobody dared to unabashedly look her up and down the same way they had leered at the two girls.

This maiden was carrying a sabre. Its blade was quite long, making it a little cumbersome to hang at her waist, so she was holding it in her hand instead. The dark black of its scabbard contrasted starkly with her pale white hand. Yet strangely enough, her hand seemed to fit so naturally around it. Anyone with experience would be able to tell at a glance that this sabre had tasted blood. It certainly was not something that a green youngster carried around to intimidate strangers.

This was of course Zhou Fei, and her little entourage.

Li Yan and Li Sheng had also followed her on this journey, while the veiled girl who had been walking beside Li Yan was Wu Chuchu. Yang Jin had also been roped in to provide some entertainment on the road.

When Zhou Fei had run into Yang Jin at the 48 Zhai that day, she immediately recalled that this fellow was closely connected to the Wayfarers' Union. That gang of thugs' ability to track them down, even when she and Xie Yun had kept such a low-profile while escorting Wu Chuchu back to the 48 Zhai, was all things considered even more impressive than Yang Jin's renowned 'Thirteen-Stroke Lone Goose Sabre'.

Having tricked him once before, it would be remiss of her indeed not to do so once more. This blockhead just made it all too easy, standing there with 'please take advantage of me' written all over his face. Zhou Fei suddenly had an idea. Improvising on the spot, she spun for him an extravagantly embellished tale of why Kou Dan had betrayed the 48 Zhai over 'Sea Blends Into Sky'. She even weaved in the Azure Dragon Lord's entanglements with the Sword of Mountains and Rivers, putting together a gigantic carrot that she dangled tantalizingly before Yang Jin –

"You'll never be able to guess what 'Sea Blends Into Sky' is," said Zhou Fei enigmatically. "Prince Duan – the Southern one, that is – told me that it's actually a cache of treasures gathered from various sects that have collapsed due to catastrophe, including the Great Medicine Valley – this was how we obtained Elder Yu's 'Sun-Returning Pill'. Besides treasures from the Great Medicine Valley, it naturally contains all manner of martial arts manuals from other sects. Just consider the Sword of Mountains and Rivers, and my grandfather's Snow-Breaking Sabre…don't they seem to draw from the strengths of various sects, distilling the best of other techniques? Unfortunately, Prince Duan ran off before he finished telling me all about it. If we want to search it out, we're going to have to find him first."

Yang Jin had listened to all of this open-mouthed. All he heard were the words "martial arts manual…my grandfather's Snow-Breaking Sabre…the best of other techniques".

This ludicrous hogwash wouldn't even fool Li Yan – Yang Jin was probably the only person who would swallow it hook, line and sinker. Yang Jin was a bit off in the head – he had, after all, been so fired up by vague rumours of a so-called 'Successor to the Southern Blade' that he'd gone to extreme lengths to force this person to duel him as if his life depended on it, even when he knew practically nothing about her. Once he heard the faintest whisper of the word 'Sabre', all of his limited common sense would fly out the window. Under Zhou Fei's influence, he was very quickly enthused about 'Sea Blends Into Sky', and she made quick work of spiriting him off the mountain.

Wu Chuchu had tagged along for different reasons entirely.

Even though she was well aware that Zhou Fei was spouting nonsense, she knew that it wasn't completely unfounded – regardless of what Sea Blends Into Sky actually was, she knew that it was closely entangled with the Wu family, and was the main reason for the deaths of her mother and brother. Logically speaking, it made no sense that she would want to be on the road again so soon after arriving at the 48 Zhai – she'd only just obtained a respite from her treacherous journey from the farthest reaches of the South, barely escaping with her life. Wasn't she exhausted?

But then again, would she really be able to continue staying in the 48 Zhai with peace of mind, burying her head in the sand and giving herself the excuse that she was just a uselessly weak young maiden? Even if she could live out the rest of her life here in peace and comfort, would she be able to live with her conscience, knowing that the deaths of her loved ones had yet to be avenged?

After hearing Zhou Fei convey her second-hand knowledge about the diagram of rippling water, Wu Chuchu had realised that it was her longevity lock, the one she'd worn since young, which bore that symbol. She'd immediately entrusted it to Li Jinrong – if she had it with her, she would remain a juicy piece of meat hunted by the likes of the Big Dipper, but if she were to give it away, she would simply be reduced to a carefree orphan that no one would bother to go after.

So the young Miss Wu had returned to her courtyard and left an earnest letter for Mistress Li, before promptly running off with Zhou Fei.

With the loose-lipped Li Yan around, there was no way they could hide their plans from Li Sheng. And for his part, Li Sheng was still anxious to find out what had happened to that old Taoist priest Chong Yunzi, whose teachings he had benefited from for several months. He also didn't want to hide here under the protection of his seniors in the 48 Zhai any longer, coddled and cosseted. He'd already accomplished what Chong Yunzi had entrusted him with, having delivered the priest's message to Li Jinrong, and now that the 48 Zhai had Li Jinrong back to watch over it, as well as the Southern Dynasty's troops, he wasn't needed here. He'd also decided to follow them down the mountain.

As for Li Yan…that shameless tagalong had threatened to "broadcast this to the whole wide world if you don't bring me along, and then nobody will be going anywhere".

As Xie Yun had mentioned, the Wayfarers' Union included 'Cars and ships and all kinds of stalls, travellers and traffickers and all things swell' – its connections truly stretched far and wide. For example, the branch of it that oversaw 'stalls' had under its influence all manner of inns, restaurants, and roadside pubs, and with Yang Jin's highly recognisable face and that carnelian Five Bat Token on Li Yan, the Wayfarers' Union smoothed the way for them everywhere they travelled – and helped to keep a lookout for the person they were after.

But Xie Yun had plentiful experience over the years trying to outwit both Mr Bai and Mr Xuan, so finding him wasn't all that easy either.

While their little party was settling down to peruse the dinner menu, the waiter whispered in Yang Jin's ear: "I'm from the Blue Bat. Just two days ago, I said a few more words than usual to a guest here. While I was doing so, a guest at a neighbouring table seemed to be stirred by something I'd said, and immediately paid up and left. Now that I think about it, his appearance seems to match the description of that 'mink' you're after, and he seemed extremely familiar with the Union too. I'm not sure if he's the one…oh yes, he also left this behind."

The waiter pulled out the copper coins from his pocket, and before their puzzled gazes, lowered his voice to explain: "There's nothing out of the ordinary about these copper coins, but when that guest left them here, there was a layer of frost on them."

Zhou Fei's right eye twitched. Xie Yun's abnormally cold hands, as well as Cao Ning's exclamation of "Don't you value your own life?", flashed across her mind. She asked urgently: "Where did he go?"

The waiter said deferentially: "Forgive me for my incompetence, but I really have no idea. However, as this person is on the road, he will certainly have to stay at an inn, or take a carriage or boat at some point, won't he? And the Wayfarers' Union controls all of those things. No matter how careful he is, he's sure to slip up eventually. Don't you worry, that person was here but two days ago, so he might not have gone far. Why don't you ladies and gentlemen stay at this inn first to await further information?"

Since they had no other choice, Zhou Fei and company expressed their thanks and dismissed this eager spy from the Wayfarers' Union.

"It seems like he's heading South," said Li Sheng, as he dipped his finger in water and lightly traced the outlines of a map on the table. "What's in the South?"

No one had a clue.

Distractedly raising a cup of hot water to her lips, Zhou Fei recalled something Xie Yun had said to her in that little town at the foot of the 48 Zhai, just prior to the Northern Dynasty's siege.

"When I got older, I always liked to head south during the winter. To save money, all those inns in the North don't light any fires for you, and if you don't manage to get a room, you might even have to sleep in the cold outdoors, which is of course beyond freezing – I much prefer the warmer South instead."

Was he heading south, bundled up in his padded cotton jacket, for the sole purpose of basking in its warmer climes?

Zhou Fei had the strongest feeling that this seemed very much like something which Xie Yun would do, even amidst the chaos of these present times.

"Then shall we also go to the South for some fun?" said Li Yan with excitement. She elbowed Yang Jin in the ribs familiarly, exclaiming: "Hey, Coalface, isn't your home in the southern frontiers? Is it true that you guys eat everything, even worms?"

That exuberant prod from her nearly caused Yang Jin to spill his hot water all over himself, and he turned to scowl at her. But before he could lose his temper, they heard the sharp whinny of a horse outside, as yet another group of guests entered the inn.

The guests merrily eating and drinking in the inn fell silent – those men that had just entered were dressed entirely in black, with conical hats that obscured their faces. They filled up the doorway in a menacing black mass, looking more like they were here for revenge rather than to stay the night.

The waiter looked a little alarmed, but quickly recovered and bustled over with a smile on his face: "Good evening, dear sirs, are you here to stay the night? If you are, this way please, we still have rooms aplenty."

The black-clad man in front didn't respond. He brushed aloofly past the waiter and headed straight for the empty tables, commandeering three of them. The rest of the black-clad men swarmed in after him. The whole two floors of this establishment seemed barely large enough to contain their darkly oppressive presence. The little party from the Xing Nan Escort Agency, which was seated at a corner of the second floor, exchanged wary looks. Several of the older escorts got up and stood protectively round that pair of teenaged siblings.

Li Yan craned her neck curiously to peer at these guests: "What do those people do?"

Zhou Fei glanced over at them, then lightly rapped her knuckles on the table.

Li Yan asked: "What are you doing?"

"I didn't have time to tell you this before," said Zhou Fei as she gave the girl a warning look. "But I'm laying down some ground rules for you today. There's no one to protect you this time, and you're under my watch. If you dare to run around like you did in Shaoyang City, you'd better believe that I'll break your legs. I'm warning you, Li Yan, don't expect me to spoil you like…"

She suddenly paused here, and swallowed the words "…like Uncle Ma".

While Zhou Fei didn't say that out loud, Li Yan knew what she'd meant. She froze, then muttered a despondent "Okay."

"Don't go looking for trouble," said Zhou Fei, looking pointedly at Yang Jin. "If you feel your sabre starting to itch, I'll gladly spar with you."

Yang Jin scoffed, and withdrew that hand of his which had tightened round the hilt of the Lone Goose Sabre. He said: "Those black-clad men are from the Mountain of the Living Dead, I've beat them…I mean I've seen them before."

Li Yan's brow furrowed: "Whose branch are they from?"

"The Black Turtle," said Yang Jin. "Look at that man's hand."

Li Yan's large and inquisitive eyes swept across the entire hall, taking in every single detail. She exultantly reported her findings: "I saw it, there's a large turtle tattooed on the back of that man's hand!"

"Now be good," said Li Sheng expressionlessly. "And shut it."

Memories of the Azure Dragon Lord who had cornered them in the secret passageways of the Heng Mountains were still fresh in Wu Chuchu's mind. At the words 'Mountain of the Living Dead', she nervously gripped her skirts, whispering: "Are they anything like that Azure Dragon Lord?""

Fearing that she would unsettle Wu Chuchu if she said too much, Zhou Fei said briefly: "Don't worry, there aren't any experts like Zheng Luosheng here."

Compared to Zhou Fei, who had been completely in the dark about what the Mountain of the Living Dead was, and even needed Shen Tianshu to apprise her of their existence, professional gossip Li Yan was far better informed. As if she were merely a idle spectator, she said with gusto: "I know who that is! I've heard that the Black Turtle Lord is named 'Ding Kui', and is a most atrociously abominable man. Fei, he's even declared that he wants to hunt you down to avenge the Azure Dragon Lord!"

Zhou Fei: "…"

She really didn't know why that might be something one would get excited about.

Li Sheng kicked Li Yan in the shins from under the table: "Are you bent on letting them know that we're here?"

Li Yan stuck her tongue out at her brother. She turned to Wu Chuchu and said: "Don't worry, once you've perfected that martial arts technique I taught you, we'll have nothing to fear from anyone."

The three other people at the table turned to Li Yan in shock.

Zhou Fei nearly spit out her sip of water: "My goodness, are you actually trying to teach others now?"

Yang Jin furrowed his brow and said solemnly: "Practicing martial arts isn't like learning how to write – holding the brush wrongly isn't a big deal, but in martial arts the slightest of errors can be life-threatening. How can you endanger others like this?"

Li Sheng was the least polite of the three, exclaiming: "Tattletale Li, I'm pretty sure we're not from the same clan!"

While Li Yan had delighted over the opportunity to act as a teacher for once, she was promptly cut down to size by these three, making her more than a little embarrassed. Wu Chuchu quickly stepped in to smooth her ruffled feathers. Looking in the direction of those people from the Xing Nan Escort Agency, she whispered: "Shh – look over there, don't you think that those people seem to have some kind of entanglement with that…Black Turtle Sect?"

The guests in the main hall who were afraid of getting involved had already slipped away, leaving only a handful of people on the second floor. Wu Chuchu wasn't alone in looking over at those people from the Xing Nan Escort Agency, as everyone else still seated here was also whispering amongst themselves over this development. All of a sudden, the teenage girl stepped forward indignantly. She pulled out a pair of Emei Daggers[4] that hung round her waist, pointing them at those men from the Black Turtle Sect seated below. She said: "Robbing an escort agency in broad daylight – have you no respect for the law!"

At this, dismay rippled through the guests still seated here –

Since ancient times, thieves and bandits would invariably seek to make off with the valuables that had been entrusted to escort agencies. But since the business of robbery was a clandestine one, these escort agencies would often be attacked in places where people were sparse, and their assailants would be loathe to reveal who they were. However, these robbers were targeting them unabashedly, as if they had every right to steal their precious cargo. Not only had these thieves not bothered to conceal their identities, they'd even pursued the Xing Nan Escort Agency all the way to their place of lodging. It was as if the escort agency were the robbers instead, and were fleeing from the rightful owners of the valuables in their protection – a most bizarre situation indeed.

This was partly because the martial arts community of the central plains lacked firm leadership, which had resulted in a collapse of order. It was also partly due to the war being waged between North and South, as the imperial court couldn't spare any resources to deal with the fighting going on amongst civilians.

While the law prevailed in peacetime, brute force reigned in wartime – in these troubled times, only the law of the jungle applied.

Yang Jin sneered: "Even people avenging the deaths of their families wouldn't be so bald-faced about it – you people from the central plains really are quite something."

"Us folks from the central plains aren't like that," said Zhou Fei without looking up. "Only bastards from the central plains do such things."

Just as she'd said this, they heard the leader of the Black Turtle Sect's men chuckle: "Little girl, nobody really cares about your cargo. With all the things we've seen and had, do you think we'd still be eyeing whatever worthless trinkets you have on you? It's just that we can't stand seeing you run around doing the bidding of that hypocrite Huo Liantao, who's so shamelessly professing to lead the martial arts community of the Southern Dynasty. We're only here to execute justice."

The second Li Sheng heard the words 'Huo Liantao', he instantly straightened, and gestured to Li Yan to keep quiet.

That man from the Black Turtle Sect continued gleefully: "The head of the Huo Clan was originally Old Master Huo – it's common knowledge how Huo Liantao weaselled his way to his current position of clan head! Well, that's an internal affair of the Huo Clan, so it shouldn't be any of our business. But that Huo Liantao fled with his tail between his legs before the Big Dipper even reached Yueyang City, and burned his own brother to death – what a despicable piece of trash! And yet he still has the cheek to issue a so-called 'Invitation to Heroes to Attack the North'? Ha! It should be called an 'Invitation to Kiss His Stinky Feet' instead!"

Those people from the Xing Nan Escort Agency bristled, and started hurling vitriol at those black-clad men.

That man from the Black Turtle Sect chuckled sinisterly: "If you know what's good for you, you'd leave those things on you here, and scram back to tell that fellow Huo Liantao that he simply must convene that conference of his as planned, because my comrades and I are just dying to spoil the party."

And then without any warning, he had leapt up to the second floor in a flash. He reached out to grab that flag with the words 'Xing Nan' on it, while saying: "Not only is your martial arts mediocre, you have poor judgement as well – what do you still need this flag for? Might as well give it to me! Ha!"

The flag of an escort agency was like its coat of arms, proudly held up wherever it went – it represented its honour. If an escort agency was robbed of the valuables it was entrusted with conveying, this would at most cost it some money, as well as a little bit of its credibility. But if an escort agency had its flag taken, that would be like a massive slap to its face. And to be disgraced by these monsters from the Mountain of the Living Dead – if word of this got around, the Xing Nan Escort Agency would never be able to hold their heads high again across the entire Southern Dynasty.

Those men from the escort agency immediately saw red. Four or five of them rushed at that man from the Black Turtle Sect with their weapons unsheathed.

The man merely chuckled, moving lightly across the wooden banisters on the second floor.

Li Sheng looked away with indifference, addressing the others: "It's true that Huo Liantao burned his own brother to death. I saw it with my own eyes, so those monsters aren't spouting nonsense. And now…after pathetically fleeing south, has Huo Liantao grown too big for his boots? All those years ago, even the Sword of Mountains and Rivers didn't dare christen himself the leader of the martial arts community – who the hell does he think he is?"

Li Yan craned her neck to watch – the fight was raging on at full force over there – and asked: "Brother, are we really not going to intervene?"

Zhou Fei said: "Sit down properly and eat your food."

Li Sheng replied: "It's just a bunch of lowlifes tearing each other apart, why should we?"

These two cousins were firmly on the same page. Feeling quite miffed that he might actually share similar sentiments with Zhou Fei, Li Sheng rolled his eyes at her.

That man from the Black Turtle Sect seemed to have had his fill of toying with those escorts. He suddenly flipped off the wooden banister, swooping towards one of them like a hawk seizing its prey. Grabbing the broadaxe in that man's hand, he forcefully pushed it aside and slammed his palm squarely onto the man's chest.

The escort gave a tortured cry, stumbling back several steps and plopping down onto the stairs behind him. His face was now a horrific purplish-green. He thrashed his legs wildly before him, then started tearing at his collar in a frenzy. His fingernails dug into the flesh at his neck as he gasped desperately, but he didn't even seem to feel anything. Barely a few moments passed before he was no longer breathing. He had ripped open the collar of his blood-streaked shirt just before he died, revealing a sinister black handprint on his chest.

That black-clad man from the Black Turtle Sect rolled up his sleeves, his hands glinting faintly in the lamplight. He was in fact wearing a pair of extremely thin gloves, the palms covered with small spikes so fine that they were barely visible, and which could easily pierce through cloth to stab their poison into human flesh. While this was equally vile as the poisonous palm strikes beloved by great villains of martial arts lore,[5] the latter still required one to distil and introduce the poison into one's own body, requiring great reserves of internal strength – and was certainly not as convenient as this! Such an underhanded mode of attack was in the exact same vein as the Azure Dragon Lord's myriad sly and similarly 'convenient' tricks, which he'd had no qualms about using against them even though he was an expert pugilist – those retractable blades in his hand came to Zhou Fei's mind.

It was clear that the Mountain of the Living Dead was thoroughly despicable through and through, from the top all the way to the bottom.

That pair of teenage siblings exclaimed simultaneously: "Uncle Hu!"

At a signal from their leader, those three tablefuls of black-clad men instantly got to their feet, the spiked gloves visible on their hands. He sneered at those Xing Nan escorts, who had baulked at 'Uncle Hu''s awful end, as his subordinates swarmed up the stairs towards them, engaging in fierce combat. The entire staircase of this inn had become their arena, sending those guests who had been watching the show scuttling away for cover. Neither the innkeeper nor the waiter dared to intervene.

The teenage girl knelt over the corpse of that dead escort, tears streaming down her face. Through her tears, she said: "If you bear a grudge against Master Huo, you should settle it with him directly. We are just a couple of humble businessmen, escorting these goods to the Huo Clan at our client's behest. What have we done to offend you? You're only taking it out on us because you don't dare to confront them! How can you do this! Trampling over the law, and morals, and human decency! I can't believe that monsters like you are allowed to run amok, I…ahhh!"

Before she could finish, yet another escort collapsed, landing squarely on her leg. That escort's face was the same poisonous shade of purplish-green.

It was plain as day that these monsters from the Mountain of the Living Dead had dared to attack because they knew that these deceptively intimidating-looking escorts were no match for them at all. It only took a few minutes before it quickly became clear which was the stronger party. Those escorts were collapsing by the minute, felled by the Black Turtle Sect's deadly venom, perishing before they had the chance to utter any last words.

Completely red in the face, the teenage girl pulled out her pair of Emei daggers and rushed madly forward.

Zhou Fei had been watching coolly from the sidelines, but she almost furrowed he brow when she saw this – that young maiden's mediocre skills couldn't even compare to Li Yan's. Those deadly Emei daggers were wasted on her.

Lunging at the leader of these Black Turtle Sect scoundrels, the girl thrust her Emei daggers towards his eyes. The man couldn't help but chuckle, taking a small step back and easily seizing her weapons with his gloved hand. As the girl desperately tried to yank them out of his grasp, he swept his lascivious gaze over her body. With a wicked look in his eyes, he suddenly let go and said: "You can have these back."

Abruptly losing her balance, the girl stumbled backwards. The man immediately lunged for her collar. The sound of fabric splitting was heard as a piece of her top was ripped right off.

The girl's shriek of terror pierced through the din of weapons striking weapons. The chopsticks in Zhou Fei's hand stilled.

The pale-faced teenage boy paled further, as he shouted "Ying!". Another escort tried to step in between the man and the girl, but was swiftly set upon by two more of the Black Turtle Sect's scoundrels before he could do so. Even more black-clad men seemed to have found the fun in this, and started to surround the girl, leering at her.

Zhou Fei set her chopsticks down. Li Yan, who had been watching the fight out of the corner of her eye, thought that she was about to reprimand her yet again, and quickly lowered her head in a pretense of eating. But the very second she did so, she caught a blur of motion in her peripheral vision. Li Yan looked up in shock to discover that both Li Sheng and Zhou Fei, who had just been chastising her about getting into trouble, were no longer in their seats!

Four black-clad men removed their spiked gloves and grabbed one of the girl's limbs each. A large swathe of her top had been torn off, revealing the snow-white skin beneath. She was thrashing around desperately like a fish hauled ashore, but couldn't break free of their grasp no matter how hard she tried. Her voice was hoarse with cursing them, and all the blood in her body had rushed towards her bright-red face. She looked like she wished that she could bite her tongue and bleed to death on the spot.

But just then, she heard a soft clang, and the hands clutching her abruptly let go. She fell to the ground, yet didn't hit it – something was holding her up.

She felt a cold and hard scabbard against her waist, as the person who had propped her up said: "Watch out."

And then that person pushed her away, causing her to fall to the side. She reached out to grab something for support, her hands closing round the wooden banister and just managing to keep herself upright. Still shaking, she looked down at the floor to behold a bloody mess. Those four arms that had been grasping her just now lay severed on the ground. The screams of the men they had belonged to could be heard from all around her.

Zhou Fei flicked off the blood that had pooled in the groove of her blade. She looked up to glance at Li Sheng, who had been just a step slower than her.

Automatically perceiving this as a look of derision, Li Sheng's face darkened. He turned to face the rest of the Black Turtle Sect's men that were slaughtering the Xing Nan escorts, intending to vent all of his fury on them.

Three grains of rice rolled off Li Yan's raised chopsticks. She stared open-mouthed at that pair of hypocritical cousins, muttering: "Didn't…didn't you make it clear that we weren't to get into any trouble?"

Yang Jin remained silent. His eyes were shining brightly, fixed unblinkingly on the sabre in Zhou Fei's hands – in just a few months, while Zhou Fei hadn't exactly made phenomenal progress, her blade had gained a lethal air of unpredictability.

Zhou Fei's swift dismemberment of those four black-clad men had sent shockwaves of horror through the rest of them. With a furious Li Sheng joining the fray as well, the balance of this fight instantly shifted in the escort agency's favour. The leader of these Black Turtle Sect minions whistled sharply, commanding a halt to the fighting. He eyed Zhou Fei and Li Sheng warily, saying: "Who dares to meddle in the business of the Mountain of the Living Dead?"

Zhou Fei didn't deign to answer that, instead snapping tersely: "Do you want to die, or scram?"

This fellow was evidently someone who bullied the weak but feared the strong. His desire to retreat was as clear as the wariness on his face. But an old hand like him couldn't swallow running away in defeat without at least knowing the names of his adversaries. So he pressed on: "Are you intent on fighting for that deplorable hypocrite Huo Liantao, and making an enemy of the Black Turtle Lord?"

Zhou Fei could only tolerate long-winded spiels from one and a half persons in this world. One of them was Zhou Yitang, and the half was Xie Yun – and even Xie Yun was well aware that he could expect a beating if he went on interminably – but she refused to entertain anyone else.

Seeing that this fellow with that large tattoo of a turtle on his hand was about to launch into a lengthy villain monologue, Zhou Fei swiftly lunged at him with her sabre. That man saw a flash of cold steel. He instinctively turned around and made to dive back into the mass of black-clad men behind him, using his comrades as a shield. But Zhou Fei had after all single-handedly broken the Azure Dragon Lord's formation of 'Collapsing Mountains and Emptying Seas', and instantly saw what he was trying to do. Somehow managing to weave past those black-clad men that were in her way, she spun deftly to the side and swerved towards him, the Mountain of Lost Springs creeping up against his neck like a sinister tendril. She drove it forward without any hesitation.

These monsters from the Mountain of the Living Dead had grown far too accustomed to throwing their weight around these parts – when had they ever encountered such ruthless opponents who would kill without warning? They stared with stupefaction at their leader, who was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, finally realising the implications of the question: 'Do you want to die, or scram?'

Once their leader had perished, no one else dared to risk their lives either. Those black-clad men scattered to the four winds like a flock of startled birds. Peace reigned in the inn once more, although the smell of blood still hung in the air.

This was truly the law of the jungle in action, where only the stronger prevailed – years after he'd said them, Zhou Yitang's words rang in Zhou Fei's ears: in this dog-eat-dog world, only the powerful had the privilege of choice.

Zhou Fei glanced over at the teenage girl, whose eyes were still wet with tears. She sheathed her sabre with a stony expression on her face, although she was sighing to herself inside, her mind miles away – Xie Yun had accompanied her all the way back to the 48 Zhai, yet left abruptly without saying goodbye. Other than those…'Cloud-Parting Palms' which he'd unleashed to save her, there didn't seem to be any other reason for him to have done so. What could possibly make a person give up on the thing that he'd secretly been pursuing all along?

Although Zhou Fei didn't want to jump to any conclusions, she knew that he must be in a less than sanguine state.

If it weren't for this, she would really have liked to stay on in the 48 Zhai to see her father at last, and have a good talk with him about all those ideas and philosophies he'd shared which she had never comprehended before, but inadvertently experienced firsthand over the past year.

Perhaps she'd been a little too vicious in attacking those men from the Mountain of the Living Dead – that bunch of escorts from the Xing Nan Escort Agency didn't dare to approach her, coming up to Li Sheng instead. Li Sheng was a person who, while tough on his own kin, could put on an extremely amiable front with strangers. It didn't take long for him to get chummy with them, and he was at their table chatting with them for a good long while before he returned.

He flung an object on their table with a thunk. It was a piece of black wood on which an invitation was carved: "Have a look at this."

Wu Chuchu exclaimed softly: "Why is there the same water ripple diagram on it?"

While such invitations were typically written on paper, Huo Liantao had very ostentatiously carved his into blocks of expensive wood. It indicated the location and date of the gathering, above a mysterious diagram of rippling water, which looked incredibly similar to the one on Wu Chuchu's longevity lock.

Li Yan sighed enviously: "This Master Huo must be loaded."

Yang Jin said curiously: "Didn't he burn his own house to the ground, and flee to the South? How is he still so rich?"

"He'd sent away everything of worth much earlier on, leaving behind for Shen Tianshu just an empty shell of a manor and a deranged older brother," said Li Sheng. "The head of the Xing Nan Escort Agency, Zhu Qing, used to be a pretty formidable character. However, he recently injured his spinal cord when he was attacked while escorting a client's valuables. He's been bed-ridden since then, incapable of taking care of his own self, much less run a business. Zhu Qing's young son and daughter are still in their teens – the elder brother's called Zhu Chen, and is the chap who was being protected by those escorts just now. He's been sickly since young, and is barely proficient in martial arts. His sister, the young Miss Zhu, has been even more sheltered, and possesses only those mediocre skills which you've witnessed. Yet with this sudden turn of events, this pair of siblings has had no choice but to keep the business going on their own. Fortunately, the old escorts in their agency are still willing to support them wholeheartedly, which is why this escort agency has managed to scrape by." Li Sheng sighed. "Hasn't the Huo Clan been soliciting support from all quarters over the past few years, when it was still in its ascendancy? When even the Vermillion Bird Lord Mu Xiaoqiao of the Mountain of the Living Dead backed Huo Liantao, of course the Zhu siblings had to pledge allegiance to the Huo Clan as well. But while Huo Liantao talked a big game, he simply hasn't cared at all about whether his allies lived or died. Now that these remnants of the Mountain of the Living Dead are growing restless again, they're harassing poor folks like them since their supposed leader is nowhere to be found."

Yang Jin didn't have much of a reaction upon learning of the disasters that had befallen this ill-fated pair of siblings, which were to him par for the course in these troubled times. He merely said thoughtfully: "I've heard that the Huo Clan's leg combat techniques are second to none. Since this Huo Liantao was able to recruit so many to join him, he must be highly skilled, yes?"

Zhou Fei said with horror: "Please tell me that you're not planning to fight him!"

Sitting up straight and puffing out his chest, Yang Jin corrected her solemnly: "I intend to issue him a challenge."

Zhou Fei had no words. This bloke from the southern frontiers was utterly hopeless, with his single-minded fixation on conquering the martial arts world.

"I can't be sure about his martial arts," said Zhou Fei. Pondering this for a moment, she added: "But now that you mention it, this does bring something to mind – many years back, the major sects in the Dongting Region had declined one after the other, perishing in the crossfire of war as well as Cao Zhongkun's efforts to get rid of them. Only the Huo Clan, which had lain low for years prior, was allowed to flourish. Why is that so? Old Master Huo was incapacitated, and that Huo Liantao isn't the most capable person, nor the most highly skilled…"

Li Sheng had always been quick on the uptake, and immediately understood where Zhou Fei was going with this. He cut in: "But he must have had the most ambition, so it's very likely that he has other forces backing him. The Huo Clan instantly set fire to its manor and retreated the very moment it was threatened by the Big Dipper, abandoning even its own base – not only does this mean that Huo Liantao is terribly afraid of dying, it's also possible that he'd long since established an escape route for himself. He might even have been planning to move the Huo Clan south for quite some time now, so the force backing him is very likely…"

Zhou Fei and Wu Chuchu exchanged a look – Xie Yun had said before that 'Mr Bai' was his cousin's man. Since Xie Yun was the nephew of the Jian Yuan Emperor, then didn't it mean that his cousin was the Emperor's own son?

Wu Chuchu nodded, indicating that Zhou Fei and Li Sheng's conjectures made a lot of sense. But then she shook her head and lightly tapped that carved wood invitation, indicating that they should focus on the task at hand, instead of speculating about the schemes of these power-hungry men. This exchanging of eye contact was all that the three of them needed to get what the others meant. This left only Li Yan completely in the dark, staring uncomprehendingly at their knowing looks.

Fearing that she would get scolded again, Li Yan didn't dare to ask any questions. But Yang Jin furrowed his brow in confusion, saying: "Weren't we just talking about how skilled Huo Liantao was? What is all this nonsense that you're going on about now? Why do all you folks from the central plains always have so many things to think about? It's such a bore!"

"…" Zhou Fei was rendered speechless for a moment. She asked Yang Jin: "Who is Captain Xu to you?"

He replied: "Oh, he's my godfather. He came to the Cloud-Bracing Valley many years ago seeking treatment. After my father cured him, we started to grow close."

Zhou Fei said: "Then I suggest that you stay close to your godfather, and listen carefully to what he has to say."

Else you'll get devoured by the wolves sooner or later.

Zhou Fei's subtle dig at him went completely over Yang Jin's head. He looked strangely at her and nodded sincerely: "Of course."

Li Sheng turned the wooden invite over in his hands and examined it closely, saying: "Yongzhou, the first month of the year – based on our speculations, Young Master Xie must be heading south, and isn't Yongzhou in the exact same direction? What do you think, could he be going there too?"

Zhou Fei looked at Li Sheng in surprise – he might actually be right!

"Now, about that diagram of rippling water," continued Li Sheng. "We know now that General Wu had one of it, and the Huo Clan evidently also had one."

"The Sword of Mountains and Rivers had one as well," added Zhou Fei, recalling what Kou Dan had said that day by the banks of the Ink-Washing River. "My mother…no that's not right, based on the timing of things, it's more accurate to say that my grandfather had one too. It's not clear if the Feathercloud Troupe has one, but I've got the feeling that Madame Cirrus knows a secret or two about Sea Blends Into Sky. Elder Yu didn't have one, or else Kou Dan would certainly have gotten her hands on it, although it seems that he too knew a thing or two about this."

"Huo Liantao was barely a little squirt when all these people were first involved. So the water ripple diagram that he has on him right now was probably left to him by Old Master Huo." Li Sheng paused, recalling the blazing inferno that he had witnessed, as well as that mysterious look which Chong Yunzi and Old Master Huo had exchanged. He continued: "I've got a feeling that the Qimen Sect has one, too."

Zhou Fei interjected: "Hang on a second, there seems to be a problem here."

Li Sheng sighed: "Indeed."

Li Yan finally couldn't take it any longer, and burst out: "Excuse me, my dear brother, and beloved cousin, I beg of you, could you please stop speaking in code?"

"For all these tokens that we are aware of, most of their initial owners are dead, and didn't pass on any information about them to the people that they handed them down to," Wu Chuchu explained to her softly. "I've worn that longevity lock since I was a child, but my father never told me that it was special in any way. The Sword of Mountains and Rivers died tragically, and all his possessions landed in the clutches of Zheng Luosheng, yet even till death, Zheng Luosheng had no clue what Sea Blends Into Sky was exactly."

"The Qimen Sect and Feathercloud Troupe don't seem to fully understand what it's about either," said Zhou Fei. "My mother too. If she hadn't been completely in the dark about it, she certainly wouldn't have sent Shixiong Chenfei to escort you."

Zhang Chenfei was far too young and inexperienced. While he and the group of disciples with him were no stranger to such trips, they had mostly been assigned minor errands thus far. If Li Jinrong had known that the Wu family possessed such a valuable object, she definitely would not have sent those young disciples to certain death.

"And going back to the topic of Huo Liantao," said Li Sheng. "He's a scheming fellow, one who's very inclined to toot his own horn, and enjoys lording it over others knowing that he has powerful backers. But Sea Blends into Sky is an entirely different kettle of fish. He can't be so dumb as to wave it around in everyone's faces, if he knows that it's something which so many people have died over. This water ripple diagram could very well be a seal of some sort that Old Master Huo had used regularly, which a clueless Huo Liantao has mistaken as proof that he has officially succeeded Old Master Huo."

Li Yan was even more confused after hearing all that. Even after wracking her brains as hard as she could, she was still as baffled as ever. Feeling like her brains were a gooey mess from all that thinking, she resigned herself to saying weakly: "So what? I still don't understand."

"So there's going to be quite the party in Yongzhou," said Li Sheng lowly. "Huo Liantao has absolutely no idea what that diagram represents. He'd be expecting a whole host of fawning lackeys there to kiss his stinky feet – but I'm afraid he'll attract plenty of unwanted guests instead."

All those who had their covetous eyes on 'Sea Blends Into Sky', including the Mountain of the Living Dead, the Big Dipper, and even…the imperial court of the Southern Dynasty.

Li Sheng asked: "So how about it, are we going to Yongzhou to take a look? Those folks from the Xing Nan Escort Agency say that they can bring us there."

Zhou Fei hesitated. After all, Xie Yun might not be heading for Yongzhou, and finding him was her only objective. She had no interest whatsoever in getting mixed up in this murky Huo Liantao affair.

But this very evening, the eager waiter at 'The Best House' delivered a piece of information to Yang Jin –

"My brothers from the Yellow Bat told me that they seem to have spotted the person you're after. He's purchased a horse and carriage for himself, being very lavish with his money, but simply refused to hire a driver, insisting that he must do it himself. My brothers have never encountered a person who would insist on driving when he could be a passenger, and found it a little odd, so they sent some people to tail him for a bit – he took the road that leads to Yongzhou."