Chapter 45: Penglai Part 1

It was evening, and a little skiff was drifting leisurely along against the current. Zhou Fei leaned idly against its side. She was no longer a clueless land-dweller reduced to spinning around in circles by an unwieldy oar – this little skiff now sailed smoothly ahead with an occasional deft stroke of her oar. After going upstream for the entire day, she finally arrived at a large island.

She'd been here so many times before that she needed neither map nor compass to find it. She was pretty sure she could navigate these waterways with her eyes shut. Skilfully manoeuvring the little skiff, she glided through an intricate stone maze, before entering a cavern that was just large enough for her boat to squeeze into. She put her oar down, letting the vessel bob along with the current. The stream here twisted and turned several times, growing increasingly narrow and shallow, until the boat could go no further. As it drifted to a halt in the shallows, Zhou Fei hopped lightly off onto the pitch-black shore. She felt along the stone wall of the cavern, and once her fingers found what they were looking for, she pressed hard on several spots in its rocky surface. A creak was heard, as a door slowly emerged from the smooth rock face. After a five-minute walk through this passageway, it widened dramatically to reveal an open expanse of space, a little island upon which a small hut stood.

An old fisherman was sunning his nets out here. He didn't seem surprised at all by her arrival. Giving her a small nod, he said: "You came at just the wrong time, girl. That youngster came to a few days ago, and wanted to wait for you, until he really couldn't anymore. He shut himself in again yesterday."

Zhou Fei gave a barely perceptible sigh, saying: "I ran into a little bit of trouble on the way here."

The old fisherman pointed to a little cave behind him: "Go in, he's left you a letter."

But Zhou Fei remained where she was.

She felt like a traveller who had just returned from a very long and arduous journey. It wasn't that she didn't feel glad to be home, but she was simply exhausted – so exhausted that she didn't even want to speak when finally reunited with the loved ones she'd been thinking about day and night, nor did she have any appetite to eat the homecooked food she'd been missing for so long. All she could do was stand there, rooted impassively to the spot. She lingered by the water's edge, watching the waves lap gently against the rocky shore. A portion of the old fisherman's net was bobbing up and down in the frothy water, gleaming with a strange lustre. After a good long while, she thrust Skies Shatter into the ground and pulled out a little porcelain vial from her pocket, saying: "I managed to find the fabled 'Firetail Grass', and got Doctor Poison to grind it down into powder. I'm not sure if it'll be of any use."

After Zhou Yitang drew her that map three years back, Zhou Fei had gone to Liang Shao's tomb and turned it inside out.

Grand Chancellor Liang[1] should really be pitied – he'd given everything that he had for his nation while alive, yet wasn't even allowed to rest in peace. His tomb had already been plundered, and by the time Zhou Fei got there, even his bones were nowhere to be found. The lid of his coffin had been flung unceremoniously to the side, and all that was left was a miserably empty box. It was fortunate for her, however, that the grave-robbers had been very targeted in their ransack of his tomb, as aside from his bones, most of the funerary objects he'd been buried with remained untouched. Zhou Fei extracted everything that seemed to be from the Great Medicine Valley, sending anything that might be of use to Penglai, while giving the rest to Ying Hecong as a favour.

Over the last few years, she'd scoured the 'Book of a Hundred Poisons' by Lu Run, that astounding yet ultimately deviant talent. Using whatever information she could glean from it, she'd travelled to numerous faraway lands and exotic places, and had even made herself a new enemy in Tong Kaiyang. She had also become something of an expert in all kinds of curious herbs and medicines. But time and time again, nothing seemed to truly work, as these simply alleviated Xie Yun's condition without resolving the root of the problem. Sometimes, Zhou Fei would even wonder – if she were in his place, would she want to spend most of her days unconscious like this, clinging onto life by a mere thread?

Just the thought of it was enough to drive her mad.

And once her thoughts started to go down this path, she would often end up feeling extremely discouraged. Yet that stubborn streak in her meant that despite her moments of dejection, she refused to give up. She would always inexplicably bounce back up again from the depths of despair the very next day, like a roly-poly doll.

Xie Yun's periods of wakefulness were very brief, and at first, he was only startled awake whenever those three elders on the island were treating him with their chi, and could barely even be considered conscious. But using the methods recorded in the Book of A Hundred Poisons, over the past year they'd finally managed to see a little improvement in his condition thanks to an incense made from the Slithering Dragon's snake bile. Whenever he gained consciousness, he could now get up and move around for a bit, but unfortunately…while Zhou Fei had rushed here as fast as she could, she still hadn't managed to reach him in time.

Zhou Fei said softly: "I still haven't found that 'dual chi of yin and yang' which Venerable Master Tong Ming spoke of."

The old fisherman didn't seem too surprised by this. He continued to fiddle with the fishing net in his hand, his gaze staying fixed on it as he said: "Your footsteps sounded a little heavy when you entered, and a little uncertain. I knew then that you hadn't had much success."

The legendary 'Scattered Deities of Penglai' were actually comprised of four people. One of them had channelled all his chi to Xie Yun to save him, without telling the other three, and had passed away a while ago. So there were just three left now – a pious monk, the Venerable Master Tong Ming; a scholar who had somehow clinched a position in the Imperial College despite being full of nonsense half the time, Lin Jin; and this old fisherman.

This old fellow in fisherman's garb was called Chen Junfu,[2] and by all appearances he seemed as ordinary and unremarkable as his name was. But while few might recognise his name, the things that he made were of great renown – such as that impenetrable 'Clouds of Dusk' armour which the Sword of Mountains and Rivers had commissioned for his wife many years back, and which had subsequently landed in the Azure Dragon Lord's clutches.

It was said that this man had a pair of hands which could turn lead into gold, as he was a master craftsman in all things: machines, weapons, armour…you name it.

Compared to Venerable Master Tong Ming who always spoke in frustrating riddles, or Scholar Lin who was forever teasing her, Zhou Fei much preferred conversing with Old Chen.

It'd been three years – even though Zhou Fei was impatient by nature, her fiery spirit had inevitably been worn down into equanimity after facing disappointment time and time again. She stood beside this old fisherman as he sat on the shore tinkering with his net. She had an almost serene, unruffled expression on her face, as if she were having a friendly chat with him, instead of dwelling on her failures.

Zhou Fei asked: "Old Chen, what if I never end up finding it?"

The old fisherman pulled out an odd-looking shuttle, and at a speed so fast that his hands were a blur, weaved yet another layer of mesh for his large net. The thread he was using was extremely fine, and seemed even lighter and thinner than the finest gauze. While his hands were incredibly quick, he spoke slowly and deliberately: "The first time that old fellow Lin Jin laid eyes on you, he set about sparring with you at once, and at the time you found it impossible to best him. But now, after a mere three years, he doesn't dare pick a fight with you for no good reason anymore. Do you know why?"

While Zhou Fei was still as obsessed with martial arts as ever, there were still times when she simply didn't feel like discussing it. She said irritably: "No idea, perhaps that old fogey fears he's no match for youth? Or maybe he's been reciting so many useless texts that his fists have grown weak from neglect."

Chem Junfu pulled gently on one end of the thread, snapping it off cleanly. The large fishing net that lay spread out on the ground quivered a little, as a dazzling gleam rippled across its surface. Raising his head to look at her, a crinkle-eyed smile emerged on his tanned face: "Because others usually take roads that go up, or down, or they simply stay right where they are. Their paths may rise and fall, but the ground always remains solidly underfoot. You are not like them, however – you aren't on an uphill slope, but a sheer cliff. There is no ground to speak of, so all you can do is fling yourself desperately from crag to crag, your hands just barely managing to grab onto the rocks each time as you struggle to pull yourself up. Because if you can't, you'll plummet all the way down and be smashed to pieces. This is a road with no way back, as the only way to go is up – let me ask you this: have you ever felt afraid?"

Zhou Fei looked somewhat surprised at this question, before she nodded: "Yes."

To be afraid was human nature, after all. Yet Xie Yun had somehow passed on all of his horribly bad luck to her, such that every time she was in danger, it was always of the most dire kind, akin to being trapped in a fast-closing crevice, and if she didn't want to suffocate to death in here, the only thing she could do was continue inching her way forward – so it was simply no use being afraid.

Chen Junfu asked her: "Then when you are afraid, what do you do?"

"I'll close my eyes and imagine that I've already managed to climb another step up…or clamber onto an even higher crag, and I'll tell that to myself again and again, until I believe it with all my heart. Then when I open my eyes and see that sheer cliff again, I'll feel that the daunting step I need to take is nothing at all." Zhou Fei nodded at Chen Junfu and pursed her lips, forcing them into a smile: "I've got it now, many thanks for your guidance, Old Chen."

"Guidance my foot, all I've done is make you feel a little better about deceiving yourself. Go on, now." Chen Junfu waved her away, busying himself with the net once more.

Zhou Fei turned around and headed for Xie Yun's cave. She felt a scorching blast of hot air on her face when she reached the entrance, and a strange scent came wafting out at her. This was the incense made from Slithering Dragon bile. It was said that a mere few breaths of it while sitting in meditation could immensely boost a person's chi – but not too much, or else it would damage one's meridians.

Those old fellows had spared no expense to light this little cave up as bright as day. Instead of torches, the brackets on these walls were filled with luminous pearls each the size of a large fist. Zhou Fei stopped dead in her tracks when she first stepped in here – a spray of brightly-coloured azaleas now covered these stone walls which had still been bare the last time she visited. The artist's work was excellent, the red of these flowers so vivid that they looked almost real. They bloomed with abandon across the entire surface of this rock wall, dazzlingly splendid and full of life. She felt as if a passing gust of wind might actually rustle these clusters of vibrant red, like a field fanned into scarlet flames. As she beheld them, that unshakeable gloom which still hung over her seemed to lighten a touch.

Wreathed in clouds of Slithering Dragon incense, a man who had grown even thinner since the last time she'd seen him was lying quietly here. The splashes of red on these walls seemed to add a little colour to his pale cheeks. He was clutching a piece of crimson jade in his right hand.

Zhou Fei walked slowly over to his side and sat down. This whole cave was as hot as a furnace, such that sitting by Xie Yun – a veritable block of ice – gave her a little relief from the oppressive heat.

Glancing up at the murals on the walls, she said to Xie Yun: "Did you draw all this? Tsk, I guess you aren't too worried."

But the person lying there couldn't answer, of course. Zhou Fei's gaze swept across the entire wall full of red azaleas, coming to a stop at its bottom right corner where she discovered several lines of text. It started off with a line from the poet Bai Juyi – 'Compared to you the peach blossoms are colourless, and the hibiscus are mere shadows of flowers',[3] and ended off with 'I dreamed a long and vivid dream, in which the mountains bloomed with flowers red as finches. Seeing them was like beholding a long-lost loved one, and overwhelmed me with joy'. It was signed off as 'The Enlightened One Who Is Free of Worries'.

Zhou Fei couldn't help but chuckle.

Seeing an inkstand with brushes and paper on the table beside him, she hopped up off this slab of stone he had for a bed and stepped lightly over to that little desk, to have a look at the letter Xie Yun had left for her. There were several paintings lying unfurled on the table's surface. The first was of a young maiden of about thirteen or fourteen, who still looked quite like a child. She was a slender wisp of a thing, balancing on one leg atop a large rock as she gazed into the distance somewhere beyond this painting, a somewhat imperious air about her.

Zhou Fei arched a brow in surprise. She vaguely recalled that this was how she must have looked the first time she encountered Xie Yun in the Ink-Washing River. Even she herself couldn't quite remember everything clearly, yet Xie Yun's brush had managed to capture every single vivid detail. Zhou Fei's heart leapt in her chest…but then she saw the painting's caption, and swiftly swung from moved beyond tears to furious beyond words – that scoundrel had titled this painting 'The Water Plant Sprite As A Child'.

Zhou Fei muttered to herself: "You are the real sprite – an impotent turtle sprite!"

The second painting was of a teenage girl, who was a little older than the girl in the first one. She had pretty, delicate features, and was holding a bleached skull in her hand, about to place it atop a pile of bones. She was standing in the shadows, illuminated by a sole moonbeam that fell upon her back.

Once bitten, twice shy – this time, Zhou Fei read the caption first before her emotions could get the better of her. At the bottom of this painting, the artist had written: 'The Amazing Water Plant Sprite Slid Down An Underground Tunnel Alone, Preparing To Battle Eight Hundred Bastards of the Villainous Big Dipper All By Herself'.

Zhou Fei: "…"

She glanced over at Xie Yun with gritted teeth. Perhaps she was just imagining things, but she thought she saw the lingering traces of a mischievous smirk on his lips. Zhou Fei suddenly found her feelings of dread and despair wholly unnecessary, as since this 'Enlightened One Free of Worries' was as full of nonsense as ever, he must still be quite far from death.

Cursing at him under her breath, she flipped this painting over to reveal a third one.

The third painting was of a young maiden, who was yet older than the previous two. Her features were identical to that of the others, except that she was smiling. She was wearing a red dress which fluttered in the breeze. Her hair was dark and lustrous, her brows relaxed. She was standing in a field full of red azaleas, a long sabre slung behind her.

Looking at the girl in the painting with astonishment, it suddenly occurred to Zhou Fei that she really should make a red dress like that for herself.

Then quickly shaking herself from her reverie, she proceeded to read Xie Yun's caption, which was sure to ruin the painting. It said: 'The goddess in the painting is…'

But there was nothing after that. Puzzled, Zhou Fei searched the painting till she finally found the last three words scrawled in a corner: 'Make a guess.'

Zhou Fei blurted out loud: "Is this painting of yours named 'Guess Who'?"

While Xie Yun didn't reply of course, a small envelope fell to the ground as she flipped the last painting over. There was a piece of paper stuck to it, which said 'Your guess is wrong: she isn't you, she's my wife.'

Zhou Fei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She opened the envelope, which contained a piece of paper covered in orderly lines of the familiar handwriting that she'd seen in 'A Jackdaw's Cry'.

"Fei," wrote Xie Yun. "They say that you'll be here soon, which makes me very happy. The Eastern Sea has shellfish aplenty – which I suppose hail from the same species as you and your Water Plant Sprite kind – and they're quite delicious when boiled and dipped in a mixture of oil and soy sauce and vinegar, with a dab of ground ginger. You can get nicely familiar with them when you're here…"

Throughout the entire letter, Xie Yun mentioned not a word of Bone-Deep Frost, nor did he weepily express his deepest gratitude to her for all that she'd done for him. There were wisecracks sprinkled throughout to keep her amused, as he listed every single thing one could do and eat in the region of Penglai, before asking her to look at a little box by his pillow, which he mysteriously said contained an "exotic treasure". When Zhou Fei opened it, she found that it simply contained a ragtag assortment of shells, which elicited another chuckle from her. Xie Yun concluded the letter with a pitiful plea: "The ink and brush are already laid out on the table; I beg of you to take pity on me and pen a reply. A lengthy epistle would be much appreciated, although a brief message would suffice as well. I just hope for some word from you, that the strokes of your brush might alleviate the depth of my yearning."

And then he added a highly inadvisable postscript: "By the way: The ink and brush are only to be applied to the page – do NOT use them elsewhere."

Zhou Fei hadn't actually thought of causing any mischief with those writing implements, but after reading this, she was greatly inspired. With a sinister cackle, she rolled up her sleeves and dipped the brush in ink before walking over to the still-unconscious Xie Yun: "I'm afraid you asked for this."

Her brush hovered over Xie Yun for a moment as she traced out the strokes in midair, before she decisively brought it down on Prince Duan's perfectly good-looking face, and began to deface it – first tracing a large circle round the perimeter of his face, then making his brows two exaggerated black strokes to form a '八', drawing a poky moustache on both sides of his upper lip, before her finishing flourish – a '王' right smack in the centre of his forehead.[4]

Zhou Fei stood back and surveyed her handiwork for a moment. Feeling like it was still missing something, she picked Xie Yun's left hand up and wrote in his palm: "You're owed a good beating."

Zhou Fei lingered in that furnace-like cavern for a little longer. When she re-emerged, all the self-doubt and fatigue she'd been feeling when she came had miraculously dissipated.

Chen Junfu didn't even raise his head as he said: "Are you leaving now?"

"I'm going now," said Zhou Fei with a nod. "I still need to go home for the Double Ninth Festival. Now that Cao Zhongkun is dead, my father will probably start getting busier again. I'll try to get my hands on more of that snake bile a little later."

"There's no hurry. That little bit we have right now will last him a few years." Chen Junfu flung a gleaming object at her, saying: "Take this."

Zhou Fei caught it with one hand. It was a set of close-fitting body armour, tailored for a slender figure, and nearly weightless. She asked: "Clouds of Dusk?"

"Pfft- Clouds of Dusk? What is that?" said Chen Junfu with a smile. "But this isn't much either. I had some material left over from making this net, but it was only about the length of my arm, which would be far too little to make anything for anyone else to fit into – it's just enough for you. I've decided to name it 'Clouds of Sunset' – how does that sound?"

Zhou Fei could only chuckle sheepishly in response – that ethereal name really didn't suit her.

Zhou Fei chose several better-looking specimens from that box of clamshells, which Xie Yun had left for her after he'd polished off the insides. Threading them together, she made them into a highly mismatched fringe for the piece of body armour that Old Chen had weaved for her from his fishing net leftovers. She left decked out in this ratty ensemble, which would have allowed her to fit right in with the Beggars' Sect if she got herself a tattered pair of pants to match. She planned to go home first, to report back to Li Jinrong, before visiting Zhou Yitang to see if there was anything he wanted her help with. Once all that was done, she would head for the southern frontiers again, to search for more snake bile if there was any.

Any martial arts in the central plains that had seen minor success would certainly be somewhat established already, with its own system of cultivation, name and history. If the kind of chi technique that the Venerable Master Tong Ming had mentioned really did exist, it was highly unlikely that no one would have heard of it. Since she couldn't find it despite scouring the entirety of the central plains, she should perhaps try her luck in the frontier regions. Because of this, she'd even accepted Yang Jin's invitation to spar with him in the southern frontiers some time this winter, to ask him to keep an eye out for any such experts of note in his neck of the woods.

All of these things were enough to keep her busy till next spring at least. Not wanting to dally one second longer, Zhou Fei took the main highway going at full speed, the shells on her armour jangling as she went.

But midway through her journey, before she'd even departed the coastal region of Lu, she saw yet another of the 48 Zhai's flares in the sky – although this time it was a little more subtle, mixed in amongst a display of fireworks. It seemed more like a discreet message rather than an urgent call for help. Zhou Fei pulled hard on the reins, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. She furrowed her brow as she looked in the direction of those fireworks, the sky above still smoky with them. Had Li Jinrong sent all of the 48 Zhai's troublemakers out at once? Why did trouble seem to crop up ever so often!

But since she'd already seen that distress flare, she couldn't very well ignore it and go off on her own merry way now. She tugged at the reins to steer her horse in that direction.

After her horse had galloped on for about fifteen minutes, a dazzling display of fireworks lit up the night sky yet again, as if in celebration of something. Even from this distance, she could hear the din of a festive crowd where those fireworks were launched. She started to see more and more people on this road, who all seemed to be heading in the same direction.

Whenever a pretty young maiden such as Zhou Fei was on the road all by herself, she was bound to attract a great deal of attention. Several of the more brazen travellers here even tried to approach her and strike up a conversation.

Zhou Fei had always been a little standoffish since young, and with the advancements in her martial arts thanks to her frequent brushes with danger over the last few years, she had acquired an even more intimidating presence. Most of those who approached her dared not bother her further after she didn't entertain their advances, save for a teenage boy who, after circling Zhou Fei for quite some time, even had the nerve to accost her and ask: "Excuse me, Miss, might you be going to the Liu Manor as well?"

Zhou Fei turned to glance at this boy. 'He' had a very slender frame, and 'his' collar was turned all the way up, as if to deliberately conceal the throat. 'His' back was ramrod straight, 'his' hands hung by his sides, and 'he' tucked 'his' chin in ever so slightly when 'he' spoke. While there were two prominent whiskers on both sides of 'his' upper lip, 'his' face was so fair that it was practically luminous in the dusk – it was obvious at a glance that this was a young lady with whiskers clumsily plastered on her face.

Zhou Fei nodded curtly, before turning away from her with disinterest.

But to her surprise, that maiden continued to badger her, saying: "This Liu Clan really is quite something. They've put together such a grand celebration for their matriarch's birthday – and it's not even a special birthday either, like her seventieth or eightieth. No wonder everyone says that they have the wealth of a small kingdom."

Zhou Fei had absolutely no interest in whether the 'Liu Manor', the 'Yang Manor', or the 'Zhang Manor' was holding an over-the-top celebration for their grande dame. But just as she made up her mind to pretend she hadn't heard a thing and urge her horse forward, she realised that something seemed amiss. Lightly tugging on her reins, she whipped her head round to look closely at that little whiskered fellow.

This 'whiskered fellow' immediately ceased his chatter. He sat elegantly astride his horse, smiling at Zhou Fei.

"Why are you here?" Zhou Fei had at long last recognised who 'he' was. She asked in astonishment: "What brought you all the way here – and looking like this to boot?"

This 'whiskered fellow' was in fact Wu Chuchu, who should by right have been safely tucked away in the 48 Zhai.

Wu Chuchu didn't have it in her to grin toothily from ear to ear the way Li Yan would – a lady was always taught to smile with her eyes rather than her lips. Her eyes sparkling with mirth, she asked: "Why, don't you think I look the part?"

Zhou Fei shook her head wryly.

"Yan gave these to me," said Wu Chuchu as she lowered her head and ripped off the little whiskers stuck to her upper lip, revealing a charming pair of rosebud lips. "I'd thought that this mightn't be very dignified, but after watching her frequently traipse around in an assortment of strange disguises, it made me feel like there might actually be some fun to be had in playing dress-up. I couldn't help but take a clumsy stab at it – alas, I failed miserably, as expected."

With Zhou Fei gone, Li Yan was now Wu Chuchu's constant companion in the 48 Zhai. There was a deep-seated streak of impishness in the young Miss Li, who also wielded an amazingly strong corrupting influence – while being in close proximity to positive role models would never do her any good, she herself was always able to lead others astray.

Zhou Fei asked: "Who sent you here?"

"I came here on my own, after informing Mistress Li," said Wu Chuchu. Observing the deepening crease in Zhou Fei's brows, she smiled again and said: "You needn't look so worried. Mistress Li has taught me some basic martial arts, which is just enough to protect myself – moreover I'm well aware of my own limitations, and certainly won't try to rescue others on my own, unlike all of you."

"Mistress Li? Did my mother teach you herself?" Zhou Fei exclaimed in surprise. "No wonder you haven't written to me for advice in quite some time."

When the bunch of them had returned to the 48 Zhai from Yongzhou three years back, they'd each kind of gone their own way – Li Sheng and Zhou Fei were mostly away from home, leaving Li Yan behind. And no matter how pampered Li Yan was there was still a huge amount of training she had to do as a disciple, and there was no way she could avoid her daily practices or Li Jinrong's frequent spot checks, which didn't leave her with much time to accompany Wu Chuchu.

This had left Wu Chuchu a little at a loss. At her age, young noblewomen in the old capital should already be learning things like embroidery and running a household, in anticipation of securing a good marriage. And once that was done, she would be settled for the rest of her life: she would henceforth weather all of life's ups and downs within the four walls of a courtyard, and whether her station in life rose or fell would depend entirely on her husband's fortunes.

But now, she was all alone in this world, neither a young noblewoman nor the lady of a household. She lived with a bunch of uncouth louts from the martial arts world, the gulf between her and them deeper than the ocean. While everyone in the 48 Zhai treated her well, this was solely out of courtesy, and nobody would go out of their way to make her feel at home. Moreover, all the courage that she'd accumulated in the ten or so years of her existence on this earth had been completely expended during the life-threatening journey here. All she was left with was her gentle and quiet nature, which certainly did not suffice to spur her on to grander goals.

And as for seeking revenge on her family's killers, this had now become a matter of national importance, a vicious struggle between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. There was not a single thing she could do that would make a difference. Yet there was nobody she could lament to about this, as in these tumultuous times, one should already count oneself lucky to be alive – who would care to listen to the insignificant woes of a little orphan girl?

Once when Zhou Fei was home, and observed that Wu Chuchu was truly and listlessly unoccupied, she assigned her to do the first thing she could think of – in the battle with Cao Ning's troops, which had nearly decimated the 48 Zhai, the already-meagre numbers of disciples in many of its constituent sects were further depleted, placing them further on the decline. The martial arts manuals that their predecessors left to them had also been in disarray for many years, as these were either missing pages and words, or covered in a thick layer of dust and mould. Many of these manuals were also practically incomprehensible by now, their pages overwhelmed with messy annotations by various pugilists over the years, and with numerous obscure references to all kinds of philosophies and schools of thought. Moreover, having been passed down orally by generation after generation of near-illiterate roughnecks, the errors they contained were as numerous as the holes in a sieve. Since Wu Chuchu just so happened to be extremely well-read, as a proper young lady was trained to be, Zhou Fei had gotten her to slowly straighten out the martial arts collection of the 48 Zhai.

Zhou Fei hadn't actually expected much to come of this, as her main aim was to alleviate the girl's boredom by having her copy texts in her free time. After all, it was quite absurd to think that a delicate young noblewoman, who had never trained a single day in martial arts, would be able to put together the martial arts manuals of a bunch of bandits. But Wu Chuchu seized upon this task as eagerly as if she'd been thrown a life raft, and dedicated herself to it wholeheartedly.

She'd first learnt a little about the meridians and pressure points of the body, so that she had some basic knowledge, and after she'd gotten a general idea of this, she started to copy the original texts in earnest. She started with those that were better preserved, which she could still mostly understand. Every time she came across a missing word or two, eaten by worms or crumbled away with rot and mold, she would often take a whole month or more to fill it in, not daring to make any mistakes. Yet as a well-bred gentlewoman that was introverted to boot – and who hadn't even dared to initiate friendly conversation with strangers when she first arrived at the 48 Zhai – she was certainly far too shy to approach anyone here for help in this. So whenever she was unsure about anything, her only recourse was to write to Zhou Fei, who was miles away. Her letters to Zhou Fei could run into the tens of pages. Sometimes when Zhou Fei was deep in the mountains or forests somewhere, unable to receive any correspondence for several months, she would return to find a nearly one foot-high pile of Wu Chuchu's letters waiting for her at the 48 Zhai's secret posts. These letters would be full of questions that were most perplexing and esoteric in nature, which frequently left Zhou Fei quite stumped despite her solid foundation in martial arts. Those that truly baffled her even required help from other esteemed seniors to answer.

The improvement of Zhou Fei's martial arts by leaps and bounds over the last few years could be owed in quite large part to the inquisitive Miss Wu and her million and one questions.

Over the past three years, Wu Chuchu had managed to restore a grand total of more than twenty martial arts manuals. While based on the numbers alone this seemed like a mere drop in the ocean, she'd gradually begun to get the hang of it, and had started to work on those manuals which were more challenging to comprehend. She'd even taken a stab at adding her own annotations.

Tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, Wu Chuchu smiled and said: "Once, when Li Yan took one of these restored manuals to read, Mistress Li found out and came to ask me if I wished to learn martial arts. I'd thought that at my age, it was a little too late to start doing so, but she said – 'Since ancient times, there have been numerous people who accomplished great things only very late in life. Some who started their training only past middle age even went on to establish major sects, through some strokes of luck. Moreover, you're barely even twenty, with a lot of life left ahead of you, and you aren't in a great hurry to challenge anyone – what's the matter with you starting your training later than others? As long as you have the will to do so, after training for one or two decades, even if there's nothing special about your talent for it or your luck – and as long as you don't try to fight with anyone for pride's sake – it'll more than suffice for you to get by. It's certainly not too late.'"

Zhou Fei looked at Wu Chuchu in surprise – Li Jinrong's words were in the same vein as her words to Zhou Fei when teaching her the Snow-Breaking Sabre.

Li Jinrong was after all someone who'd dared to charge all the way North to assassinate the false Emperor at an incredibly young age. No matter how much she'd been worn down by the intervening years, there was still a defiant streak of 'my way or the highway' deep in her bones, that indomitable spirit clearly evident in her 'Unrivalled' moves. If it weren't for the responsibility of leading the 48 Zhai that had weighed heavily on her shoulders all these years, she probably had the potential to take down the Mountain of the Living Dead and reign with terror in their place.

Wu Chuchu added: "And of course after I began learning martial arts, I really did start to gain a deeper understanding of what I'd previously read – so I'm here today to pay a visit to Old Mister Liu."

Zhou Fei asked: "Is that the local chief? What does he do?"

Wu Chuchu said: "Old Mister Liu used to be from the Tai Mountain Sect. While he was fairly well-known in his youth, he later retired from the martial arts world to run his family business, which comprises quite a sizeable fortune. Since I've recently been putting together the Qianzhong Sect's manuals, Young Master Li mentioned to me that the Qianzhong Sect originally branched out from the Tai Mountain Sect, and its martial arts is of a similar form. So I wrote a letter to Old Mister Liu, in hopes of getting his advice on some of its elements."

Wu Chuchu had once again taken Zhou Fei by surprise – this girl who used to be too shy to say any more than was necessary to Li Sheng had now written a letter to a stranger thousands of miles away!

"I really can't get used to you calling that dunce 'Young Master Li'," said Zhou Fei. Then she asked: "Many pugilists are highly secretive about their martial arts techniques, and don't teach others unless they are fellow sect members…did this Old Mister Liu really agree to it?"

"He did," said Wu Chuchu happily. "Old Mister Liu has extensive business interests, and while he is no longer part of the martial arts world per se, he still enjoys making connections with all kinds of people. His business has done so well over the past few years precisely because of the help he's gotten from his wide circle of friends. In his reply, he said that after the Heng Mountain Sect was decimated, the five major Mountain Sects[5] have also gone into successive decline over the last few years. Quite a number of their disciples have left the mountains to make a living for themselves before even completing their apprenticeships, which he's found to be quite a pity. Moreover, since I'm studying the connections between the Qianzhong and Tai Mountain Sects, he said that he'd be quite happy if I manage to keep this branch of martial arts alive through my work one day."

Zhou Fei would never have expected a casual suggestion from her to result in so much progress by Wu Chuchu, who'd even managed to enlist a fellow oddball that was so willing to support her. She couldn't help but marvel at the tenacity of man – if Wu Chuchu was able to achieve so much in just three short years, should she continue to pursue this single-mindedly for the next three decades, those martial arts of the central plains that had faded into obscurity over the past few years might actually see new life breathed into them through her work.

"Oh," said Zhou Fei, still marvelling at how far Wu Chuchu had come. "Was that flare just now from you?"

Wu Chuchu shook her head: "As Old Mister Liu's mother is celebrating her birthday today, anyone passing through is welcome to attend the birthday banquet at his manor. I'd planned to come two days later since he'd be too busy receiving guests today, but I decided to head over after seeing that flare."

As the two girls were talking, they'd joined the crush of people who were all moving towards the Liu Manor in hopes of getting a free meal. Old Mister Liu seemed to be a man of great hospitality indeed, as the guests here were truly of all sorts – decked out in finery, and dressed in tatters. Regardless of how they looked, the servants received them all with smiles on their faces. As the inner courtyards of this radiantly-lit manor were already packed with guests, banquet tables had been set up all the way to the entrance of the property. After conveying their warm wishes to the man of the house, guests were free to sit wherever they pleased.

Wu Chuchu gave her name as well as Old Mister Liu's letter to a servant out front, who hurried back into the manor with the letter. With nothing to do but wait, Zhou Fei started to look around her in boredom.

And promptly spied a familiar figure in the crowd.