Chapter 40: The One In The Shadows

As slick as ever, Mr Bai replied politely: "My master is still quite young, Madame. He's just a lad who tagged along with Master Huo to gain some experience, and really isn't worth meeting."

Then turning to Old Man Ape, Mr Bai said: "Old Man Ape, sir, you too are a renowned pugilist. Why steal like this and stoop to the same level as others?"

Old Man Ape cackled: "Since Master Huo has thrown this seal away, it now belongs to whoever picks it up – how can you call this stealing?"

While Mr Bai's face remained a mask of politeness, he discreetly shot Huo Liantao a pointed look – Huo Liantao's attempt to destroy the Seal of Propriety had been done entirely on his own initiative.

You see, while Huo Liantao might not be the best of pugilists, nor did he have the sharpest mind, he was highly adept at making painful sacrifices to save his own skin, and using others to take the heat off him. When he realised that he'd been used as bait by Zhao Ming Chen to assemble the entire martial arts community of the Southern Dynasty, he was naturally quite resentful. But it was too late to do anything by then, as that water ripple had already been carved on the invitations for all to see. So his impulsive decision to destroy the seal just now was partly to save himself from Mu Xiaoqiao, but also intended to get back at Zhao Ming Chen.

Madame Cirrus was perhaps sharp enough to discern his intentions, as she let out a derisive bark of laughter and said to Old Man Ape: "You really have a penchant for picking up others' trash, don't you."

Old Man Ape turned to her: "Oh, Sister Cirrus, how quick of you to dismiss Sea Blends Into Sky – if this really is as worthless as you say it is, then why the rush to seize it just now?"

Madame Cirrus said: "All I meant was that this isn't is as invaluable as you think it is. I never said that it wasn't important. Allow me to explain – it's like how human garbage such as yourself is not worth much, objectively speaking, yet in the eyes of your parents, you probably are the most important thing in this entire world."

Lady Monkey said shrilly: "Bitch! What are you still so high and mighty for – the seal is in our hands right now!"

Mr Bai said lowly: "Please, everyone, stay calm…"

As nobody dared to make any rash moves and risk having the Seal of Propriety slip out of their grasp, all they could do was engage in a war of words. And while this was happening, the cogs in Ding Kui's head had started to turn.

Ding Kui had been so bold to come here partly because his greed had gotten the better of him after he'd heard about the existence of 'Sea Blends Into Sky'. The other reason he'd done so was a little more perverse: he knew that as Huo Liantao had every intention of leading the martial arts community, that Huo fellow would have to do something major to command everyone's respect, and simply assembling everyone here would not suffice. In this regard, finding a widely-reviled enemy of the martial arts community that he could make an example of and use to demonstrate his dominance would be Huo Liantao's top priority. As Ding Kui was of the view that he was certainly the most 'widely-reviled enemy' of the martial arts world bar none, he had decided to come here and make a bid for this title.

And it just so happened that around this time, he had received a letter from the White Tiger Lord Feng Feihua, which said that Feng Feihua had somehow also learnt that Huo Liantao was planning to make an example of the Mountain of the Living Dead, and flattered Ding Kui into believing that he should be the one who should front the attack against Huo Liantao. Then with Ding Kui on the inside and Feng Feihua on the outside, they would work in concert to ruin that Huo fellow's so-called 'conference of heroes'. But while Ding Kui had shown up as agreed, and even Mu Xiaoqiao had surprisingly turned up here, Feng Feihua, who he'd been expecting, was still nowhere to be seen.

And now, after seeing how things had unfolded, he felt that he had a pretty good idea of what was happening here. He thought to himself: Damn it all, I've been tricked by that bastard Huo Liantao. Not only has he found a powerful backer, he's even colluded with that traitor Feng Feihua to lay a trap for me, using me to boost his credentials as leader of the martial arts community. Hmph, there's no way I'm getting taken advantage of for nothing!

With this in mind, Ding Kui decided to take action, instead of wasting time arguing like the rest. While Old Man Ape was still quarrelling with Mr Bai and Madame Cirrus, his dwarf-like frame suddenly dashed forward lightning-quick, so fast that it almost seemed like he'd teleported. A monkey's tortured screech was heard in the pavilion. The Black Turtle Lord had unleashed the full force of his strength on that hapless beast, pulverizing its brains in the blink of an eye, and then swiftly scooped up the Seal of Propriety. With a gleeful cackle, he turned around and made a run for it: "Please continue, but I'll take my leave now!"

Just as all the top pugilists crammed into this pavilion were stuck in this delicate stalemate, someone else had barged in and snatched away the prize!

Mr Bai bellowed: "Stop him!"

A large net instantly came flying up out of the lake, and closed in on Ding Kui.

But such a rudimentary contraption certainly couldn't foil a seasoned pugilist like Ding Kui. He brushed past a corner of the net, easily escaping its clutches, and landed on the other side of the lake where Zhou Fei and company were seated. He immediately rushed at the pugilists in his way once his feet touched the ground.

Seeing him come at them all of a sudden, that angry mob which had been furiously baying for his blood was completely stunned. Those right in front backed up frantically, while those at the back who were still charging ahead yelling "Revenge!" crashed right into them. They'd already done themselves in before Ding Kui could even lift a finger. This was truly a mediocre bunch. But then again, if any of them had been even halfway capable, they certainly wouldn't have pledged allegiance to Huo Liantao in the first place – apart from Mu Xiaoqiao, who had other reasons for doing so of course.

Ding Kui sliced through them like a knife through butter, mowing them down with ease. He reached the Xing Nan Escort Agency's table in a blink of an eye, and before Uncle Lin and the other escorts even had a chance to get within striking reach of him, they'd already been sent flying. Zhu Ying had no choice but to unsheath her Emei daggers with a little growl, and meet him head on. And as for Zhou Fei, who as events had proven was always the first to join a fight – she sprang to her feet with sabre in hand. This time however, Xie Yun was for once similarly inclined, and as the two of them got up at the same time, Zhou Fei moving towards her right and Xie Yun to his left, the chain of the Lock of Heaven's Gate was pulled in two different directions round this circular table, such that neither of them could take another step forward.

Zhou Fei: "…"

She took a step back, intending to accommodate Xie Yun and head round the table in his direction, but alas, Xie Yun was once again similarly inclined. Both of them stepped back simultaneously, and promptly crashed into each other.

This was driving Zhou Fei mad. She snapped at him: "Stop getting in the way!"

Li Sheng couldn't take this anymore either, and yelled: "Can the two of you stop making things worse!"

As he said this, he leapt into the air towards Ding Kui, trampling on the shoulders of the mob in his way to get to that little goblin of a man. Only when his weapon collided with Ding Kui's palm did he realise that he'd vastly underestimated the amount of force he had to use. Li Sheng felt as if his dagger had run up against a solid wall of rock. It rebounded so violently that it nearly slipped out of his grasp. He quickly withdrew his weapon and whirled away, using his shoulder to knock Zhu Ying aside while shouting at her: "Why aren't you running away!"

Ding Kui cackled: "And where do you think you're going?"

Li Sheng gritted his teeth and readied himself to take another blow from the Black Turtle Lord. But just then, he heard the jangling of metal rings beside him, as Yang Jin came rushing at Ding Kui with a move called 'The Lone Goose Wails in the West'. In the blink of an eye, Yang Jin had already slashed his sabre at Ding Kui thrice, each blow swifter than the last, and forced Ding Kui to retreat several steps. Ding Kui hastily shoved the Seal of Propriety up his sleeve before flicking his bare finger right onto Yang Jin's incoming blade, knocking it slightly off course.

Ding Kui slid to the side as he said: "You think you're so tough huh, little boy!"

And then making his hand into a claw, he reached for Yang Jin's shoulder. Li Sheng, who had stepped back to give Yang Jin room to attack, immediately rushed forward again, thrusting the twin daggers in his hands into Ding Kui's outstretched claw. With a snort of derision, Ding Kui grasped the boy's weapons with his bare hands and turned towards him – but just then, he felt a rush of wind come at him from behind. Yang Jin's sabre was upon him again!

Ding Kui found his way forward unexpectedly obstructed by these two young men who were decades less experienced than him. While this was the very first time that Li Sheng and Yang Jin were fighting alongside each other, they actually made quite a good pair – at least a better one than the Zhou-Xie duo back there who had been tripping over each other's feet.

With a sullen look on his prune-like face, Ding Kui suddenly threw his head back and whistled loudly. This was swiftly answered by a long whistle from somewhere in the distance, and shortly after, at least a hundred Black Turtle Sect disciples wearing their signature poison-coated gloves came running out from the rock garden that Mu Xiaoqiao had blasted through just now. At the same time, that massive wooden coffin was disassembled into a pile of identical wooden planks, which Ding Kui's burly coffin-bearers now used to glide across the surface of the lake towards him. And while this was happening, Madame Cirrus and the Twin Simian Furies also came chasing after Ding Kui; whereas in the pavilion, Mu Xiaoqiao had started fighting with Mr Bai, Huo Liantao and their men for some reason, looking comfortably in control despite being outnumbered. It was total chaos. Zhou Fei unsheathed the Mountain of Lost Springs, but didn't dare to make any moves just yet – Li Sheng and Yang Jin were already trying to play the hero over there, so Wu Chuchu and Li Yan couldn't go unprotected. This was an unspoken rule that they'd adhered to since going on the road together. For example, when they had encountered the Black Turtle Sect back in the inn, when Zhou Fei and Li Sheng had started to fight with them Yang Jin's bottom had stayed firmly on his seat, regardless of how much he might have wanted to join in.

Xie Yun looked the picture of perfect calm. Placing a hand on Zhou Fei's shoulder, he said to her: "There's no need for you to rush in, as this is only the beginning. There's at least two more parties who haven't shown up yet, and are lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to come swooping in. You can put your sabre away for now."

Zhou Fei didn't think she had enough fingers on her to count the number of parties that were already involved in this affair, and was astounded by the idea that there might actually be more. She fingered that set of nine keys in her pocket as she thought to herself: Perhaps I should uncuff him?

After all, she knew that even if Xie Yun had extremely strong reasons for running away, he probably wouldn't throw Wu Chuchu and Li Yan to the wolves.

Li Sheng had just managed to back away while Ding Kui was preoccupied with fending off Madame Cirrus and the Twin Simian Furies. He furrowed his brow as he contemplated the situation before him. Then he yelled: "We absolutely cannot let the Black Turtle Sect's men link up – they're planning to encircle and trap us in here!"

What this frenzied mass of people lacked right now was someone to lead them, and numerous heads turned towards Li Sheng when he said this. With everyone's eyes on him, Li Sheng took a deep breath, and recalling the tactical formations that Chong Yunzi had taught him over the course of several months, he said to several of the Xing Nan escorts: "Uncle Lin, please take a few men and stay put over there – and Brother Yang, guard them from at least three steps away, southeast of them. The rest of you, follow me!"

As he'd come to their rescue twice by now, Uncle Lin and the other escorts immediately did as he said, no questions asked. Seeing this, the rest of them assumed that this meant Li Sheng wielded some kind of authority, and having no idea what to do in their present state of panic anyway, decided to go along with this apparent leader. About a third of the crowd started to follow Li Sheng.

Li Sheng didn't bother rallying the rest of them, as he rushed towards those men from the Black Turtle Sect who had barged through the rock garden. While he was certainly no match at all for Ding Kui in a one-on-one fight, he was fairly superior to Ding Kui's bunch of flunkeys. Unleashing the full force of his strength on these black-clad men, he managed to force them back with a couple of blows. He didn't continue pushing them back after that, instead leaving a handful of people here to guard this key node of the tactical formation he was putting in place. Then he assuredly led the rest of them in weaving in and out of the circle of Black Turtle Sect henchmen that had been closing in on them, stationing people left and right wherever he went. In a matter of minutes, he had managed to position them in a a tactical formation that foiled the Black Turtle Sect's attempts at encirclement.

When they saw this, some of those pugilists who had initially hesitated to follow Li Sheng quickly joined him now. Li Sheng had single-handedly rallied all those pugilists on this side of the lake who had scattered from Ding Kui in fright.

The two cousins of the Li Clan had benefited from separate and coincidental connections with the Qimen Sect – but while Zhou Fei had learnt how to fight against many by herself, Li Sheng seemed to have learnt how to direct others to fight against many. Xie Yun couldn't help but sigh in admiration and say to Zhou Fei: "Your cousin really has the makings of a great general. You on the other hand are quite hopeless – being a thug is really all you can aspire to."

Wu Chuchu, who had been pondering all these unexpected developments, suddenly asked: "Why would the Vermillion Bird Lord suspect that Master Huo had a hand in Old Master Huo's death? It seems like the North must be involved in this somehow. Prince…Young Master Xie, are they those parties lying in wait that you mentioned just now?"

Xie Yun nodded: "That's right."

Wu Chuchu furrowed her brow: "You said there were two different parties – if those from the North are one of them, then who's the other?"

There were the good guys and the villains of the central plains' martial arts community; the henchmen of the Southern Dynasty; and the Northern Dynasty's men lying in wait somewhere…who else could still be left?

Xie Yun didn't reply to that. Instead, he looked across the lake at that little tower behind the pavilion, as if he were staring at someone there.

Ding Kui had been severely handicapped by Li Sheng's interference. As all his men were currently tied down with fighting off the mass of pugilists here, he was left to deal with these two great assassins alone, and was in quite a wretched state at present. In his desperation, a devious idea came to him, and he suddenly whistled: "Men of the Black Turtle – "

One of the Black Turtle Sect disciples who was tussling with Li Sheng raised his head at Ding Kui's cry. Ding Kui gave a tremendous roar, and bracing himself, let his back take the full brunt of a palm strike from Lady Monkey, which caused him to cough out a mouthful of blood – while simultaneously lobbing the Seal of Propriety towards that disciple! All of Ding Kui's men were fiercely loyal to him, so Ding Kui wasn't worried that they might make off with it. In any case, there was no way they would be able to break out of the present melee.

To the Black Turtle Lord, all of his men were as replaceable as the weapons in his arsenal, and he didn't care one bit if they lived or died. The Twin Simian Furies immediately withdrew from him and pounced at that unlucky disciple who'd caught the Seal of Propriety.

But Madame Cirrus furrowed her brow.

Old Man Ape's face was hideously contorted with greed. Pushing Li Sheng aside, he said: "Get out of my way, boy!"

He and Lady Monkey each grabbed one arm of that Black Turtle Sect disciple, looking very much like they planned to tear the poor fellow in two. Even though Li Sheng had just been fighting tooth and nail with that man, now he really wished that he could help him break free from the clutches of this savage duo.

Li Sheng had just accomplished the great feat of arranging a massive tactical formation that successfully foiled the Black Turtle Sect. But now, as he looked over at the despicable likes of Huo Liantao and the Twin Simian Furies, he started to wonder to himself why he was going to all this trouble. That fire which had been rushing through his veins abruptly cooled.

What a vile bunch of scum, he thought to himself a little despondently. Why am I even getting involved in this?

And just then, the tables were turned.

Yang Jin bellowed: "Watch out!"

Alarmed by this, Li Sheng instinctively leaned backwards, dodging an object that had come hurtling towards him just in time – it was a dismembered arm!

It was the arm of Old Man Ape!

Li Sheng reared back in shock. That Black Turtle Sect disciple who had been quite evenly matched with him just now was, incredibly, standing there completely unharmed, a grin on his face. The Twin Simian Furies which had had their hands on him just seconds ago had crumpled to the ground – one dead, and the other seriously injured.

Caught completely unawares, Lady Monkey had evidently taken the full brunt of the man's palm strike. Its impact was so great that his chest had caved in completely, and broken bones were protruding from his back. He was already dead before he hit the ground. Old Man Ape had had one of his arms ripped clean off, and blood was spurting uncontrollably from his shoulder. He was too shocked to even try to staunch the bleeding!

Everyone around that 'Black Turtle Sect disciple' hastily backed away from him. Wiping the blood off his hands, that man held up the Seal of Propriety to the light and examined it closely. When he saw the ripple of water that was carved on it, he chuckled and said: "My deepest thanks to you, Black Turtle Lord. I barely had to lift a finger to get my hands on this."

Ding Kui was absolutely stunned.

That 'Black Turtle Sect disciple' slowly grasped a hand round a tuft of his hair and yanked it upwards, pulling his scalp along with the skin on his face right off to reveal an unfamiliar face – the face of a man in his fifties. His was a pasty, hairless visage, and his plump cheeks sagged heavily down both sides of his face like that of a bulldog.

Li Sheng muttered: "Who are you?"

"You have some skills on you, boy, although you're a little lacking in the experience department." This unfamiliar man smiled at Li Sheng. And then with a wave of his hand, a good number of the Black Turtle Sect's men promptly turned their weapons on their erstwhile comrades, taking out most of those unsuspecting disciples in short order. When their bloody work was done, they fell into an orderly line behind that man, and ripped the prosthetics off their faces as well.

"My last name is Chu, and my name is Tianquan," said that bald imposter. Tucking the Seal of Propriety away, he bowed to those present and smiled: "Great heroes of the South, it's been a long time since we last met."

Wu Chuchu let out a little cry of recognition.

Xie Yun sighed: "So it really is Megrez of the Big Dipper."

Megrez of the Big Dipper – a legendary eunuch.

Ying Hecong, who had been watching this free-for-all with dispassion, stepped forward abruptly. But just as he did so, the Mountain of Lost Springs was thrust into his path, preventing him from going any further.

With a low roar, Ying Hecong reached for the Mountain of Lost Springs in an attempt to push it away. But before he could touch the scabbard, it was suddenly driven upwards towards his fingers as that long sabre was unsheathed, revealing the menacing gleam of its blade. The empty scabbard collided heavily with his palms, forcing him to take a step back, and as he did so, he felt a cold sensation on the back of his neck – the sabre's blade was already pressed against it.

Zhou Fei said softly: "We're still not sure what's going on here – it's best that you stay put for now, and your snakes too."

Xie Yun glanced over at Ying Hecong, as he drawled: "Chu Tianquan managed to knock off the Twin Simian Furies in one fell swoop. How do you plan on besting him?"

Ying Hecong had gone white with rage. His fists were clenched, and he was actually shaking. This young man usually had a vacant sort of air about him, as if he'd grown simple from spending his time exclusively in the company of snakes. This was the first time that Zhou Fei was seeing such intense emotion from him. He was currently shooting daggers at that doughy-looking old eunuch. If looks could kill, that eunuch's body would have been slashed to pieces.

Arching a slender brow, Zhou Fei withdrew the Mountain of Lost Springs from his neck. She scooped up the scabbard with her foot and sheathed her sabre once more, asking him: "Is this about revenge?"

But Ying Hecong was incapable of speech right now, and was savagely grinding his teeth instead. It was as though having put on a mask of detachment for far too long, he didn't know how to release his hatred and rage anymore. These emotions now roiled in his chest, wailing furiously to be let out, and were dangerously close to exploding out of him.

Xie Yun lowered his voice even further, and said: "Young Master Yin, if you were to die here today, the Great Medicine Valley would really be gone forever."

His voice was calm and gentle, such that even amidst this pandemonium, it had a somewhat soothing effect.

Ying Hecong stammered: "I…I…"

Zhou Fei asked Xie Yun in surprise: "The Great Medicine Valley? Did you know him from before?"

"Not at all. But there are a precious few people still alive today who are able to identify Bone-Deep Frost at one glance, and who are so intimately familiar with the effects of the Sun-Returning Pill." Xie Yun sighed softly, and said: "Young Master Yin, I know how painful it is to swallow shards of glass, yet sometimes we have no choice."

Zhou Fei's first reaction to this discovery that disciples of the miracle-making Great Medicine Valley were still alive was elation – before she swiftly recalled Ying Hecong's firm diagnosis that "he doesn't have long to live".

If even the Great Medicine Valley had no way of curing Xie Yun, didn't this mean that he was well and truly doomed?

While she was fretting over this, the atmosphere around her was growing increasingly tense.

Chu Tianquan's sudden appearance had scared the mob here shitless once more, causing Li Sheng's painstakingly constructed formation to scatter in fright. Nobody dared to get within less than three metres of this old eunuch. One of the Big Dipper's black-clad men stepped forward, bearing a silk handkerchief for Chu Tianquan to wipe his hands with.

Chu Tianquan wiped every last trace of blood on his hands onto that dainty square of silk. With a smile on his face, he said: "Since Master Huo has willingly relinquished the Seal of Propriety, it'll be rude of me not to take it off him."

There was an instant uproar – this was supposed to be a 'Conference of Heroes to Attack the North', yet the Big Dipper was brazenly making off with a family heirloom of their hosts, the Huo Clan. The martial arts community of the central plains would be a complete joke after this!

If they allowed this old eunuch to come and go as he pleased, the word 'hero' would probably be synonymous with 'arse' in future – reduced to an insult hurled by uncouth louts.

Many in the crowd quickly looked towards the pavilion at the centre of the lake, hoping for Huo Liantao to come forward and save the day. But alas, doing so only made their hearts plummet to the depths – while they were in dire straits, he was still locked in a fierce battle with Mu Xiaoqiao.

Mu Xiaoqiao couldn't care less if the 'Little Dipper' or the 'Big Dipper' had arrived – he was single-mindedly focused on cornering Huo Liantao. Mr Bai had called out to him thrice in desperation, saying: "Vermillion Bird Lord, please pause for a moment, we need to consider the bigger picture here", but Mu Xiaoqiao turned a deaf ear to his pleas.

The big picture or the small picture meant nothing to him at all. At this very moment, even the entirety of the Northern and Southern Dynasties combined were jackshit to Mu Xiaoqiao. Apart from taking the life of that bastard Huo Liantao, nothing else mattered.

Mr Bai and his men had no choice but to attack Mu Xiaoqiao. But this madman was like a blazing ball of fire, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Three of Mr Bai's top pugilists had fallen into the lake in short order, while Huo Liantao had been sent flying, and was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Mr Bai slashed his sword at Mu Xiaoqiao with a roar. Mu Xiaoqiao didn't flinch at all. He reached a claw-like hand for Mr Bai's chest, as if he were set on bringing him down even if it killed him. Mr Bai hastily stepped back, a chill running down his spine. If he'd been just a tad slower, this madman would have ripped his heart out. But while his heart had been spared, the cloth covering his chest was in tatters. Mr Bai stumbled backwards, his back colliding with a pillar. He was ashen-faced, and had evidently been seriously injured by that blow.

Rouge mixed with blood had run down the corners of Mu Xiaoqiao's lips, staining his pointed chin red. He now sported a massive gash across his torso, from his shoulder all the way to his waist. Yet without even sparing a glance at Mr Bai, he headed straight for the fatally injured Huo Liantao. He roughly grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him up, saying menacingly: "Let me ask you this one more time: who gave it to you?"

Huo Liantao's sternum had been shattered, and once he opened his mouth, it started to foam with blood. His eyes were hazy and unfocused, and could barely fix themselves onto Mu Xiaoqiao. He coughed out in fits and starts: "If…m-my…br-brother…were still alive today…and saw you…like this…I…h-he..he…he…would certainly…"

Mu Xiaoqiao sneered contemptuously: "For my entire life, I have never cared for things like honour and dignity. If I wanted to kill you, even if that old fellow were standing right here alive and kicking, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it!"

A strangled gurgling was heard from Huo Liantao's throat.

Although this nasty fellow didn't amount to much, he'd managed to survive for so long owing to his strong will and wily cunning. He knew that it was utterly pointless to grovel and beg before someone like Mu Xiaoqiao, and that once he gave that fiend what he wanted, he would be killed immediately. This was why Huo Liantao had simply refused to give in to Mu Xiaoqiao, even now. While he was seeing stars, he forced himself to curve his lips into a cold sneer, contemplating a suitably cutting retort that might cause Mu Xiaoqiao to waver.

But perhaps the utterly wretched state Huo Liantao was in didn't inspire confidence that he could keep any secrets, or perhaps that person in the shadows was simply too afraid that the truth might get out. Before Huo Liantao could speak, an arrow came shooting out of the lake, heading straight for the back of his head. It was so quick and so near to him that even Mu Xiaoqiao didn't manage to react in time.

Huo Liantao's entire body spasmed as that iron arrow wedged itself solidly into the back of his head. He was dead on the spot, even before he had any time to feel shocked.

Mu Xiaoqiao was stunned, as was Mr Bai, and this entire manor's worth of people.

Someone exclaimed: "Master Huo…Master Huo is dead!"

Those still seated on both banks of the lake all sprang to their feet now. Even Chu Tianquan seemed a little taken aback by this, although he quickly broke into a smile and said: "Bravo – what a great show that was. Thank you very much, we'll be taking our leave now!"

With a wave of his hand, he made to saunter off with his band of henchmen.

Just then, someone bellowed: "Wait!"

Xie Yun had already risen to his feet, but promptly sat back down when he heard that voice. A teenage boy had emerged from the little tower behind the pavilion, accompanied by a middle-aged man dressed entirely in black, and who looked quite similar to Mr Bai – in all likelihood his brother, that 'Mr Xuan' which Zhou Fei had heard so much about. This teenager was followed by a large number of well-trained pugilists, his sizable entourage giving that young lad a distinctive air – it was Zhao Ming Chen.

Despite his tender age, Zhao Ming Chen didn't appear cowed by this scene in the slightest. He strode imperiously into the corpse-strewn pavilion, and clasping his hands together, bowed respectfully to all those gathered here. In a loud voice, he said: "My good folk, while Master Huo has died, the rest of us have managed to survive thus far. If we allow this castrated dog of the North to walk right out of here, how will we ever hold our heads up high again? Are we not able to put aside our personal grudges and differences, and band together for now?"

While he had a truly impressive entourage, Zhao Ming Chen was ultimately still a half-grown boy, and lacked the gravitas to rally this crowd. But just then, Mr Bai braced himself against the ground and got to his feet with some difficulty, before bowing deeply at Ming Chen: "Your Highness, Prince Kang."

Chu Tianquan froze.

Those in the crowd who were not au fait with affairs of state started to enquire: "Prince Kang? What kind of prince is he?"

"Prince Kang is the issue of a noble consort, and the eldest son of the Emperor…"

Many of these uneducated pugilists couldn't tell the difference between a 'consort' and an 'empress', and had no clue at all how many children the Emperor had spawned. So once they heard that this was the eldest son in the royal family, there was an immediate uproar – didn't it mean that this boy would be the next Emperor? This instantly gave that half-grown lad the sheen of authority.

Pointing towards Chu Tianquan, Zhao Ming Chen bellowed: "Seize him now!"

At his command, those highly-skilled guards behind him sprang into action. As they had been handpicked for the palace, each of them possessed exceptional qinggong. They lightly skimmed the surface of the lake as they swooped towards the Big Dipper. And once they did so, they were swiftly followed by the angry mob – those who had been forced from their homes because of the war between North and South, those who bore grudges against the Big Dipper, as well as those who had been fired up by the crowd around them – yelling "Seize those Northern dogs!". It wasn't long before they managed to close in on Chu Tianquan and his men.

Zhao Ming Chen had showed up at a most opportune time, allowing him to seize control of the situation. While he had played his cards exactly right, Xie Yun's brow remained furrowed. Wu Chuchu asked him anxiously: "What is it? Aren't Prince Kang's men enough to stop Megrez?"

"As Megrez started off as a eunuch of the Shao Dynasty's imperial court, the rest of the Big Dipper have always looked down on him. Twenty years ago, his martial arts was the worst-ranked out of all seven of the Big Dipper. Many assumed that he'd only managed to clinch his current position because he betrayed the late Emperor and kissed Cao Zhongkun's arse, but I don't think so." Xie Yun continued evenly: "The Big Dipper were already quite renowned in the martial arts community before they pledged their allegiance to Cao Zhongkun – with the exception of Chu Tianquan. He was born into poverty, and both his parents died when he was at a young age, leaving him to care for his younger brother alone. He was eventually forced by these circumstances to enter the palace as a eunuch, and being smart and capable, was deployed to the East Palace. When he was young, the Yide Crown Prince would frequently bring Chu Tianquan along for his lessons."

Zhou Fei gave a violent start when she heard the words 'Yide Crown Prince'.

Xie Yun remained impassive however, and straightened his sleeves nonchalantly before continuing: "While the master himself turned out to be quite average in both academics and martial arts, it was the servant that benefited greatly from his master's lessons in the end. Relying on what he'd learnt from these lessons, as well as his own hard work, Chu Tianquan managed to earn a place for himself alongside the rest of the Big Dipper. And after his younger brother was killed by the 'Withered-Glory Hands', he grew even more determined, and started honing his skills like one possessed. Now that twenty years have passed…if it weren't for the fact that Chu Tianquan prefers to remain cloistered within the palace, Shen Tianshu might not necessarily be viewed as the most powerful amongst the Big Dipper today."

"Fei," said Xie Yun solemnly. "Stop playing around and uncuff me. I'm not going to run."

While Zhou Fei certainly hadn't been playing around when she'd decided to lock him up, she knew that Xie Yun could absolutely be relied upon at crunch time, despite his typically cavalier attitude. She pulled out that set of nine keys from her pocket without another word.

Chu Tianquan had just flung aside the lifeless corpse of one of Ming Chen's highly-skilled guards, as effortlessly as if he were flicking dust off his shoulder. He cackled with glee – as he'd been castrated while still undergoing puberty, although he usually spoke in a regular male voice, whenever he raised his voice it became incredibly shrill and sharp, grating unbearably on one's eardrums like two rusty pieces of iron scraping against each other.

Chu Tianquan grinned and said: "Your beloved Master Huo failed to do a good job, nearly spilling someone's dark secrets, prompting his patron to silence him for good. Now that the murderer himself has swooped in to seize control of the situation, it's amazing that everyone listens to him so willingly – ha ha!"

Mu Xiaoqiao jerked his head up at this, his cold gaze landing on Zhao Ming Chen. Xie Yun's hand trembled involuntarily, and if it weren't for the Lock of Heaven's Gate that was still cuffed to his wrist, he would probably have rushed to Ming Chen's side right then. Zhou Fei had previously been in awe of this marvellous contraption, but now that she had to unlock it, all of that admiration was replaced with maddening frustration. It was bloody impossible to use those nine identical-looking keys in the correct order! She accidentally inserted a key in the wrong keyhole once again, and snapped at Xie Yun: "Stop squirming!"

Just then, Yang Jin came running back towards them, yelling above the din: "What are you still doing here, we need to leave now!"

As he said this, he clumsily knocked into Zhou Fei, causing the keys to slip from her grasp!

Zhou Fei: "…"

Having absolutely no idea of the trouble he'd caused, Yang Jin hurriedly said: "My brothers from the Yellow Bat just told me that masses of black-clad men are on their way here right now. That old eunuch clearly came prepared. All of you folks from the central plains never cease to amaze me – is this a competition of skills or of numbers?"

Wriggling under the table to retrieve those keys, Zhou Fei had no time to listen to him berate the denizens of the central plains. She got to her feet again with the keys in hand, and glanced over at the pavilion to see that Mu Xiaoqiao had already come to blows with both Mr Bai and Mr Xuan. She shouted at Yang Jin: "Take the two of them away first, we'll link up outside the city!"

And then brandishing the Mountain of Lost Springs, she said to Xie Yun: "I'm coming with you to save that dumb cousin of yours."

Zhao Ming Chen could see that these bodyguards standing round him in the pavilion would clearly be no match for Mu Xiaoqiao, yet he was reluctant to call back the guards that he'd sent after Chu Tianquan and waste all his efforts. He attempted to reason with Mu Xiaoqiao instead: "Vermillion Bird Lord, you know full well that Old Master Huo stopped overseeing the Huo Clan's affairs some years back. I was probably still a young schoolboy when all of this started, so how could I have anything to do with that? And why would I kill my own ally?"

Mu Xiaoqiao simply refused to listen – Mr Bai and his men had been hiding in the lake just now, and hadn't that arrow which killed Huo Liantao also been fired from within it? Moreover, while Zhao Ming Chen was indeed very young, the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty that he represented certainly wasn't. The boy might be innocent, but that didn't mean the imperial court was! Mu Xiaoqiao gripped Mr Xuan's wrist, prompting the latter to deliver a palm strike at him. But just as Mr Xuan did so, he felt an extremely powerful and chilly current of chi come surging up his arm from his wrist, which nearly brought him to his knees.

And right at this crucial juncture, numerous black-clad men from the Big Dipper came swarming into the manor.

No matter how carefully laid Zhao Ming Chen's plans had been, he was ultimately still a boy of fifteen. He had thought too highly of himself, and naively assumed that he had everyone and everything firmly in the palm of his hand. Seeing these black-clad men rush in, Mr Bai broke out in a cold sweat. He said urgently: "Your Highness, get your guards to withdraw and take you away first!"

But Zhao Ming Chen was still loathe to let all of his painstaking efforts come to naught, when success had been just within reach. He remained in stony silence, a grim look on his face as he watched Mr Xuan get struck by Mu Xiaoqiao once again, nearly falling into the water this time.

Just then, a loud whistle was heard in the distance. Zhao Ming Chen looked up sharply to see that the hill behind this manor was covered with soldiers. A flag was unfurled as they charged down the mountainside, while at the same time, many of their comrades who had been hiding in the lake suddenly burst through the surface of the water, yelling at the top of their lungs: "Seize those Northern dogs!"

Chu Tianquan looked stunned. He hadn't expected his foes to still have something up their sleeves.

The rest were overjoyed however, thinking that back-up from the Southern Dynasty had arrived, and joined in, also yelling: "Seize those Northern dogs!"

Only Zhao Ming Chen remained frozen in the centre of the pavilion, as a chill crept up his spine – these weren't his men.

But Mu Xiaoqiao certainly wasn't going to afford Zhao Ming Chen any time to feel shocked. Shaking Mr Xuan off, he reached for the boy's back with a claw-like hand.

Mr Bai exclaimed in horror: "Your Highness!"

He lunged forward, desperately trying to drag Zhao Ming Chen behind him.

And at this exact moment, the sharp tip of yet another arrow broke through the surface of the water. It appeared to be aimed at Mu Xiaoqiao, in an effort to save Zhao Ming Chen, but with Mr Bai's frantic attempt at tugging the boy out of harm's way, he was now standing right in between the arrow and Mu Xiaoqiao.

There was a whooshing in the air –

By the time Mr Bai heard that hair-raising sound, it was too late for him to do anything about it. Before him was the relentless Mu Xiaoqiao, while an unknown assassin was at his back.

Even though Zhao Ming Chen spent his days roaming the martial arts world, he had always been heavily protected wherever he went. He'd had no chance at all to flex the little bit of martial arts that he'd been taught, such that these skills had declined over time to be no better than circus tricks. How could he withstand this murderous onslaught? While his brain knew full well that he should be dodging that arrow right now, his entire body was frozen with fright. Cold sweat trickled off his neatly-clipped sideburns.

Just as those drops of sweat were about to land on Zhao Ming Chen's shoulders, he heard the clinking of an iron chain, and that taut chain collided with his waist before he could get a clear look at it.

A long sabre emerged from its scabbard mere centimetres from him, with a faint but distinctive scent of cold steel that had been stained with blood, and neatly sliced that arrow hurtling towards him in half.

And at the exact same time, a figure in fluttering robes landed right in front of him, blocking Mu Xiaoqiao's lethal claw with a single hand.

Knocked aside by that metal chain, Zhao Ming Chen stumbled and flopped to the ground in a daze, forgetting to maintain his royal bearing. Staring at the figure before him, he muttered: "Third…Third Brother?"

Xie Yun didn't reply. His cuffed right hand hung by his side, allowing Zhou Fei to move freely within an arm's length of him. Then he channelled chi into his left hand, causing the Cloud-Parting Palms to surge powerfully towards Mu Xiaoqiao with a bitter chill. The blood on Mu Xiaoqiao's hands instantly froze into fine red icicles, and he stumbled backwards. This palm strike had exacerbated his injuries.

Xie Yun said lowly: "My apologies, Vermillion Bird Lord."

Just then, more arrows came flying out of the lake towards them. While Mr Bai and his men had also been submerged in the water just now, they hadn't the faintest clue that they'd had company! Casting a quick glance over the lake, Xie Yun said to Zhou Fei: "Boys to the left, girls to the right – this time, don't use the chain as an excuse to take advantage of me again."

Zhou Fei yelled: "As if!"

Immediately after she said this, an overwhelming shower of arrows came raining down on these two figures, linked together by a metal chain. This duo struck at the same time.

In the months since she'd travelled south, Zhou Fei had been striving to mimic Yang Jin's skills, trying to take her infinitely changeable technique back to basics by repeatedly honing those most fundamental skills that she'd neglected for years. While practicing the exact same thing day after day was tediously monotonous, it had helped her achieve a breakthrough in the speed of her blade.

Her blade twisted and turned and slashed and hacked with such blistering speed that it was a blur, as vicious as the fierce blizzards of the northern frontiers indeed –swirling ferociously in a vast and violent maelstrom. The arrows that rained down on them were swiftly deflected, clattering against her blade like the noisy patter of falling raindrops, every single one of them landing harmlessly on the ground.

Xie Yun raised his left hand, his wide sleeve fluttering majestically, looking for all the world like a deity riding on the clouds. He didn't need any fancy moves; he simply moved his palm through the air – the 'Cloud-Parting Palms' was said to have the power to shake mountains and part seas, and when he did so the entire surface of the lake trembled, those arrows in midair swept away like autumn leaves in the wind. Some of those assassins in the lake were knocked out by that blow, bubbles rising to the water's surface as they floated up like a school of dead fish.

There were two extremes at each end of this metal chain – an almost zen-like stillness, and a dazzling flurry of movement.

The little pavilion was now so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After a good long while, Zhao Ming Chen finally said in total disbelief: "Third Brother, you…"

It was well-known that this last remaining descendant of the late Yide Crown Prince was an oddball. He had no military or scholarly accomplishments to his name, and showed no interest at all in governance, preferring to spend his days roaming the world outside. He would rather beg on the streets than live in his palace in comfort. The Jian Yuan Emperor had been sending people after him for years in hopes of dragging him back to the palace every now and then to spend New Year's together. Every time his nephew came up in conversation, Zhao Yuan would always be sure to state his 'long-held dream' of handing the throne back to the lad, before lamenting the inexplicable actions of this errant nephew of his.

Then…who was this powerful pugilist who had managed to beat the Vermillion Bird Lord back with one blow?

Xie Yun wasn't actually feeling as zen as he looked, however. The Vermillion Bird Lord was after all still a fearsome foe, and Xie Yun dared not underestimate him even when he was seriously injured. Xie Yun had therefore used his full strength for each of the two blows he'd unleashed, and he felt as if a bitterly bone-chilling wind were rushing through his meridians right now. While his face showed no trace of discomfort, it had gone a few shades whiter.

"Stop stammering on like that," said Xie Yun, as he desperately resisted the urge to curl up into a ball and find something warm to wrap himself around. Grabbing Zhao Ming Chen by the shoulder, he shoved the boy into Mr Bai's arms and said curtly: "Go!"

Mu Xiaoqiao was standing a few steps away from Xie Yun, clutching a hand to his chest and looking at him with a darkly inscrutable gaze.

Xie Yun bowed slightly: "Another round, Vermillion Bird Lord?"

Mu Xiaoqiao had instantly realised that he was no match for Xie Yun, let alone a Xie Yun that was assisted by a still-unsheathed Mountain of Lost Springs. While he was indeed a madman, and was fully inclined to take his opponents down together with him, he wasn't quite one for complete humiliation. Seeing that he no longer had the upper hand, he didn't try to attack again. Xie Yun had no intention of making things difficult for him either, and simply gave him a polite nod before tugging on the metal chain to drag Zhou Fei away.

When the two of them had taken a few steps, Mu Xiaoqiao suddenly called out: "Hey, girl, might that be Li Zheng's Snow-Breaking Sabre?"

Zhou Fei couldn't help but look over her shoulder at him.

The very first time she'd seen Mu Xiaoqiao, it had been from across an entire valley. She had watched him exchange blows with Shen Tianshu and Tong Kaiyang, and felt sure that this legendary Vermillion Bird Lord was from an entirely different species altogether, as he clearly wasn't human. Yet today, when she'd finally gotten a chance to look at him up close, she realised that he was of pretty much the same build as Xie Yun, and was just a slightly thinner-than-average man. He was leaning against a blood-spattered pillar in the pavilion, his pale face suffused with an indescribable weariness.

Zhou Fei had nothing much to say to this fearsome fiend. She simply nodded in response before hurrying away after Xie Yun.

Zhao Ming Chen was walking all the way in front, tightly surrounded by a team of bodyguards that looked as nervous as if they were marching into battle. Xie Yun on the other hand remained several metres behind them. He stared at them for a while, before turning and whispering to Zhou Fei: "I'm the third oldest amongst my generation of males in the royal family. My uncle brought me back to Jinling when I was thirteen. I had been with my shifu the whole time since leaving the old capital, so I was completely out of place in the grand and stuffy palace. Ming Chen was at an incredibly inquisitive and clingy age at the time. He really took to me for some reason, calling me his 'third brother', and would follow me around the whole day, refusing to leave even at night. As a half-grown boy myself, I was very annoyed at first at having to entertain this clingy little creature all the time. But it was just too lonely in the palace, and as he continued to stick to me day in and day out, he actually started to grow on me. He's all grown up now, with ambitions and schemes of his own, and he's gotten a little…but when he's in trouble, I can't help but worry."

Xie Yun rarely ever brought up his relationship with the Zhao family, such that these brief sentences were practically a whole speech on it. Contrary to what her rash actions might sometimes suggest, Zhou Fei was smart as a whip, and she had certainly deduced by now that Zhao Ming Chen was the main culprit behind today's chaos.

This youngster had been too clever by half, putting himself in harm's way – quite frankly, he did deserve to die. Yet Zhou Fei was now being dragged into this mess because of him, forced to take on treacherous risks just to protect this little rascal. It made perfect sense that Xie Yun felt like he owed her some kind of explanation.

But Zhou Fei didn't have much of a reaction to all that, simply nodding to indicate that she'd heard him and saying: "Mm."

Xie Yun looked at her blankly, not understanding what she meant by that.

"It doesn't matter to me at all what kind of person he is, or what he's done," said Zhou Fei. "You're willing to save him, and I'm willing to help you – that's all there is to it. Why do you always have so much nonsense to say?"

Xie Yun swallowed hard, feeling very much like saying 'thank you'. But those two words sounded far too trite to him, and so he held them back. They settled deep within him, Bone-Deep Frost freezing them into an exquisite snowflake that rested delicately upon his heart.

The two of them hurried after Zhao Ming Chen and his guards.

Zhao Ming Chen had regained his faculties by now, and was thinking to himself: he hadn't expected Chu Tianquan to turn up, but at least the fellow had barged in here openly, so he knew who he was dealing with; but who was his other enemy in the shadows, who even wanted him dead?

He'd put in a lot of thought and went to a great deal of trouble to set up this entire scheme, yet not only had he ended up helping someone else take what he'd been after, he'd nearly gotten killed in the process. He was livid, so livid that he couldn't think about what had come over his famously useless cousin.

Zhao Ming Chen asked angrily: "This is outrageous! Who on earth would dare to assassinate a prince?"

None of his guards dared respond to that, leaving only Mr Bai to mollify him with trite counsel like "a wise man flees from danger", and "this will make a fine lesson for Your Highness". But how could a headstrong young boy of fifteen possibly swallow such advice? The more others tried to soothe him, the angrier he got, and he said savagely: "If I find out who's behind all this, I'll have him sliced in…"

"Ming Chen, watch what you say." Xie Yun brusquely interrupted his impassioned declaration of having his perpetrator "sliced into a million pieces". Xie Yun paused for a second before continuing: "Chu Tianquan is a palace attendant of Cao Zhongkun's, and is his close advisor and confidant, unlike the rest of the Big Dipper. Why do you think he would come all this way to Yongzhou, and go to such lengths just to get his hands on Huo Liantao's Seal of Propriety?"

All of this seemed quite irrelevant to Zhao Ming Chen, who furrowed his brow as he said: "Third Brother, why are you saying…"

Xie Yun ignored him: "And last year, why do you think Cao Ning besieged the 48 Zhai all of a sudden – didn't that seem strange to you? Only if Cao Zhongkun had really gone demented with age, would he allow his sons to so openly engage in a power struggle, and even send his most trusted lieutenant to pursue something as nebulous as 'Sea Blends Into Sky' in hopes of obtaining some magic pill or other that might prolong his life. All this time, Mr Zhou has been stationed at the frontline, yet both sides have not engaged in any serious skirmishes. Thousands of troops have set up camp mere miles away from each other, yet not a single battle has been fought. Why is that? Well, it's because the 48 Zhai and the surrounding Shu region are technically within the territory of the Northern Dynasty, so General Wen isn't actually justified in sending troops there. Now, Cao Ning has also been staying put at the frontlines, not retreating or attacking. If he doesn't do anything, neither can Mr Zhou and General Wen. And why do you think this is so?"

Zhao Ming Chen hadn't the faintest idea.

"In the Northern Dynasty, Cao Ning and the Crown Prince are currently vying for the throne – and Cao Ning has been amassing troops, while the Crown Prince has been making overtures of peace towards the Southern Dynasty. If anything were to happen to Cao Zhongkun now, there would be great instability in the North, and for the Crown Prince, going to war now would not be in his favour at all. This is therefore a golden opportunity for the South to strike. However, the Southern Dynasty's major reforms have not been proceeding smoothly: while the Emperor and Mr Zhou have managed to root out many vested interests, these have been like an undying centipede, spawning new legs each time the old ones are cut off. Although the Emperor might seem to have absolute authority, in actual fact it is incredibly difficult for him to do as he pleases. He will definitely face strong objection to the increased military expenditure that this war demands, stymieing any efforts to start it. And the longer this drags on, I'm afraid that we'll lose our chance to attack the North." Xie Yun's face was uncharacteristically hard. His piercing gaze bore through Zhao Ming Chen as he said: "Unless the Emperor is given a very good reason to go to war. Do you understand now?"

It was clear now where Xie Yun was going with this. Mr Bai looked a little queasy, and the angry flush on Zhao Ming Chen's cheeks was receding like the tide. The boy's eyes widened, and he looked almost pitiful in his bewilderment. He moved his lips, but no words came out.

Not giving him any time to recover, Xie Yun said emphatically: "Chu Tianquan of the Big Dipper crossing the border illicitly, to assassinate the Emperor's son in Yongzhou – that is reason enough to wage war."

The person lying in wait in the shadows – the real beneficiary of this entire set-up, was in fact Zhao Ming Chen's very own father, the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty.

Zhao Ming Chen cried out in fear and shock: "There's no way! My father…no, no, it can't be!"

Forced to witness this airing of the royal family's dirty laundry, Zhou Fei clamped her mouth tightly shut and tried her best to be invisible. She felt a little twinge of heartache as she thought to herself: My father travelled miles from home just to mix with this vile crowd – what's it all for?

As if to prove that what Xie Yun said was true, they heard the sound of those whistles again just as they'd retreated to the little hill behind the manor, and a group of black-clad men suddenly landed in front of them. While these men were all masked and dressed like martial arts pugilists, the orderly and disciplined fashion in which they moved clearly betrayed their military training.

Mr Bai bellowed: "How dare you! Do you know who this…"

But these men gave him no chance at all to finish his sentence, immediately going on the attack. They didn't say a word, communicating with each other entirely through their whistles, which Zhao Ming Chen could hear coming from all around them. As these black-clad men charged at them, he could see archers in the distance poised to fire – it seemed like these people weren't intending to let anyone get out of here alive. Zhou Fei hacked in half an arrow which had been hurtling towards the shaken lad, glancing sideways at him as she said: "Don't you know how to fight at all?"

Zhao Ming Chen glowered at her.

Zhou Fei wasn't bothered at all by Zhao Ming Chen's furious scowl, having seen her fill of such annoying little rascals who refused to listen to reason, yet had never been given a proper whipping. Li Sheng had been a prime example of this when he was younger. She simply moved several steps closer to him till the metal chain was against his waist, using it to drag him to the side as she asked: "Then what are you still standing there like that for? Are you just waiting to be killed?"

Never in Zhao Ming Chen's life had someone spoken to him this rudely. He glared even more savagely at Zhou Fei, too angry to retort.

Just then, they heard a tremendous blast that quaked the ground beneath their feet, and shook loose the rocks and soil on this little hill that came raining down on them. Those amongst Zhao Ming Chen's bodyguards who were injured nearly fell over. Smoke was billowing from the manor, which was now engulfed in flames. These people had planted explosives there!

Zhou Fei thought to herself: Thankfully Yang Jin and the girls left first – otherwise they'd be trapped in there right now!

Ming Chen's guards had managed to fight their way through the mass of black-clad men, creating a narrow path out of here. Their leader called out: "Your Highness, come this way!"

While they had the powerful Xie Yun to protect them, and Zhou Fei, Mr Bai and Zhao Ming Chen's guards weren't to be trifled with either, they were still greatly outnumbered by the hundreds of soldiers here. So once there was a way out, they immediately took it, rushing out of this mass of black-clad men.

After they'd been running for several kilometres, Xie Yun abruptly halted in his tracks. He turned around and raised his hand to signal to the rest to stop as well. Flocks of startled jackdaws were crowing loudly as they shot into the air from the trees around them, and the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard.

Xie Yun said expressionlessly: "I have a bad feeling about this."

Young Master Xie, who had nicknamed himself 'No-Luck', and even penned an opera about a jackdaw – that omen of death – was truly a magnet for misfortune. Before Zhou Fei could ask him why, a different band of black-clad men came bursting through the surrounding forest, followed by that old eunuch Chu Tianquan!

Both sides were equally stunned to see each other.

What a small, small world this was!