Chapter - 22 A Pair of Starry Eyes. (1/2)

The big fellow had a thick beard and a very powerful appearance, but the look in his eyes was chaotic and he was behaving like crazy. Obviously this was a madman. Xiao Feng saw that the pair of broad axes in his hands seemed to be made of pure steel and very heavy. When the man separated them, brought them together, attacked and defended with them, his movements were rather disciplined, and the defense at his front was excellent and strict, just like the style of a master. Xiao Feng was acquainted with very many people of wulin in the Central Plains but he did not know this big fellow. He thought: 'This big fellow's skill in using axes is very outstanding. How come I've never heard of such a man?'

That man brandished his broad axes faster and faster, and repeatedly roared loudly: 'Quick, quick, quickly go and report to our Lord that the enemy has come.'

He was standing at a place where there were roads on all sides and was chopping horizontally and hacking vertically with his 2 shining axes so passersby certainly stayed away from him. Who dared come near him? Xiao Feng saw that he was having a hysterical expression and kept executing move after move with the axes. Gradually, he no longer had enough strength, but he desperately continued and only shouted: 'Brother Fu, quickly retreat! Don't care about me. It's important to report to our Lord.'

Xiao Feng thought: 'This man loyally protects his Lord. He's a brave man. But losing energy like this, he'll certainly suffer very serious internal injuries.' He walked up to that big fellow at once and said: 'Old chap, can I treat you to a cup of wine?'

The big fellow glowered at Xiao Feng then all of a sudden he shouted: 'Prime villain, don't harm my Lord!' As he finished, he raised the axes and brought them down towards Xiao Feng's head. Seeing that Xiao Feng was in an extremely dangerous situation, all the bystanders cried 'A'yo.'

Hearing the words 'prime villain' Xiao Feng was also startled: 'I and A'Zhu are looking for the prime villain to get revenge. So the enemy of this man is also a prime villain. Even though he calls him the prime villain, that man may not necessarily be the one that I and A'Zhu call the prime villain. Anyway, I'm gonna save him first then talk later.' He immediately moved straight forward and stretched out his hand to block an acupuncture point on the part of the ribs around his waist.

Unexpectedly, even though this man had lost sanity, his martial arts remained intact, so he turned the axe in his right hand around and tried to hit Xiao Feng directly in the lower abdomen with the handle. This move was very effective and clever. Were Xiao Feng not very many times better than the man in martial arts, he would be hit by him. He immediately stretched out his left hand, grabbed the handle of the axe and snatched it. Already very weary, how could that big fellow withstand that? His whole body shook, and at once he threw himself on Xiao Feng. Who would have expected that he would disregard his own life and want to perish together with his adversary?

Xiao Feng moved his right arm over and gripped that man. He slightly exerted his power and rendered him immobile. All of the idle men who were watching for fun on the street applauded when they saw Xiao Feng subdue the madman. Half dragging, half carrying, Xiao Feng took that big fellow in the main hall of the inn. He pushed him down on a seat and said: 'Old chap, drink first and talk later!' Then he ordered the bartender to fetch wine.

That big fellow fixed his eyes on Xiao Feng. Only after a good while did he ask: 'You… Are you a good person or a villain?'

Xiao Feng was startled, not knowing what to reply.

A'Zhu laughed and said: 'Of course he's a good person. I'm a good person too. And you're also a good person. We're friends. We'll go fight the prime villain together.' The big fellow stared at her for a while then stared at Xiao Feng for a while. It seemed he both believed and did not believe them. After a short while, he said: 'That… That prime villain?' A'Zhu continued: 'We're friends, let's fight the prime villain together!'

That big fellow suddenly rose and said loudly: 'No, no! The prime villain is very formidable. Quick, quickly go report to the Lord and ask him to think of a way to hide. I'm gonna hold back the prime villain and you're gonna report.' As he finished speaking, he rose and grabbed the broad axes.

Xiao Feng stretched out his hand and pressed down on the man's shoulder, saying: 'Old chap, the prime villain hasn't come. Who's your Lord? Where is he?'

The big fellow shouted loudly: 'Prime villain, come here, come here, come here, your father's gonna fight you 300 bouts. Don't you dare harm our Lord?!'

Xiao Feng and A'Zhu exchanged a look, both being at the end of their wits. A'Zhu suddenly said loudly: 'A'yo, no good. Let's quickly go report to our Lord. Where is the Lord? Where has he gone to? We mustn't let the prime villain find him.'

The big fellow said: 'Yes, yes, you go report. He's gone to the Square Bamboo Forest by the Little Mirror Lake. You… You quickly go the Square Bamboo Forest by the Little Mirror Lake to report to the Lord. Go, go!' As he finished, he urged continuously, looking very anxious.

While Xiao Feng and A'Zhu were still uncertain about their plan, suddenly the bartender said: 'Go to the Little Mirror Lake? It's not gonna be a short journey.' Hearing that there was really a place with the name 'Little Mirror Lake', Xiao Feng hurriedly asked: 'Where is it? How far is it from here?' That bartender replied: 'If you ask other people, they may not necessarily know. Luckily for you, you've asked me, the very right person. I'm a man from the area around the Little Mirror Lake. This is really as coincidental as you can get. You're totally lucky!'

Hearing him babbling on about irrelevant subjects, Xiao Feng stretched out his hand, gave the table a hit and said loudly: 'Quickly say, quickly say!' The bartender at first wanted to mooch a tip before saying, but after being thus frightened by Xiao Feng, he no longer dared keep other people guessing, saying: 'This master is so impatient, ha-ha, if it were not for you meeting me by chance, even if you were more impatient, it'd still be useless, right?' He wanted to make some complaints, but seeing that Xiao Feng was not having a nice expression, he said: 'The Little Mirror Lake is to the northwest of here. First you go straight west. After going 7 and a half li (0.5 km), you'll see around 10 big willow trees. 4 trees each row. There're 4 rows in total. One times 4 equals 4. Two times 4 equals 8. Three times 4 equals 12. Four times 4 equals 16. There're 16 willow trees altogether. Then you quickly go north. After going 9 and a half li, you'll see a big bluestone bridge. You mustn't cross the bridge. It'll be a mistake if you cross it. I say you can't cross the bridge but you'll need to cross a bridge. But you can't cross that big bluestone bridge on the left-hand side. You must cross the small wooden bridge on the right-hand side. After crossing the small bridge, you go west for a while then go north for a while then go northwest for a while. In short, it won't go wrong if you follow that footpath. Going like this for 21 and a half li, you'll see a big lake that looks like a mirror. It's the Little Mirror Lake. To get there from here, everyone says that it's 40 li, but in fact it's only 38 and a half li. It's less than 40 li.'

Xiao Feng was able to repress his temper to hear the bartender say till the end. A'Zhu said: 'This big brother said so clearly and plainly. One li is one coin. At first I wanted to give you 40 coins, but it'd be a little bit wrong. How about not giving you? But I must give you. One times 8 equals 8. Two times 8 equals 16. Three times 8 equals 24. Four times 8 equals 32. Five times 8 equals 40. 40 li of road minus 1.5 li should be 38.5 li,' then she counted out 39 coins and ground the last coin on the blade of an axe, creating an imprint. Next she pressed it with 2 of her fingers. With a snap, the coin was broken in half. Then she gave the bartender 38.5 coins.

Xiao Feng could not help laughing, thinking: 'This young girl is always up to mischief whenever she's got a chance.'

The big fellow was still glaring at them and repeatedly urged: 'Go report, quick. There's no time for delay. The prime villain is very formidable.' Xiao Feng asked: 'Who's your Lord?' The big fellow mumbled: 'My Lord… my Lord… he…. I mustn't tell other people where he is. You'd better not go.' Xiao Feng said loudly: 'What's your surname?' The big fellow replied thoughtlessly: 'My surname is Gu. A'yo, My surname isn't Gu.'

Xiao Feng became suspicious: 'Could it be that this man is playing some trick and deliberately lures me into going to the Little Mirror Lake? Why is he both surnamed Gu and not surnamed Gu?' He had another thought: 'If the enemy sends him to trick me into going, I'll most welcome it. I'm about to go find him. Even if the Little Mirror Lake is as dangerous as a dragon's pool or a tiger's den, what's there for me to fear?' He turned to A'Zhu and said: 'Let's go to the Little Mirror Lake to have a look and see if something happens. If this brother's Lord is there, I think we'll find him.'

That bartender cut in: 'There's only a wilderness around the Little Mirror Lake, nothing to see. If you two want to go sightseeing and widen your knowledge, I guarantee that the pavilions, terraces and towers in the gardens of the rich families here will greatly expand your horizons…' Xiao Feng waved his hand and told him to stop blabbering on. Then he turned to the big fellow and said: 'Old chap, you're very tired, just rest here a little. I'm gonna report to your honored Lord on your behalf that the prime villain will come in no time.'

That big fellow said: 'Thanks a lot, thanks a lot! I, Gu, sincerely appreciate it. I'll stop the prime villain. I mustn't let him pass.' As he finished, he stood up and stretched out his hands to lift the broad axes, but his strength had been used up and his 2 arms were numb and aching, so after taking fast hold of the handles, he was unable to lift the axes up.

'Have a rest, old chap,' said Xiao Feng. After paying for the wine and the rent, he and A'Zhu went out of the door. Following the words of the bartender, they went westward along the main road. After going 7 or 8 li, as expected, they saw 4 rows of trees on the roadside. There were 16 big willow trees in total. A'Zhu laughed and said: 'That bartender is talkative, but there're good things in his garrulousness. Like this, we definitely won't go wrong, right? Oh, who's there?'

She extended her finger and pointed to a willow tree. A peasant was sitting under the tree by leaning against it. His feet were being immersed in the muddy water in the ditch beside the tree. This should be just a common scene in the countryside, but one side of the peasant's face was being covered with blood, and on his shoulder was resting a glittering staff which was made of refined copper and did not seem to be light.

Xiao Feng walked up to that peasant and noticed that he was breathing heavily. Obviously he had suffered serious internal injuries. Xiao Feng came straight to the point, asking: 'Big brother, a broad-axe wielding friend entrusted us with the mission of going to the Little Mirror Lake and delivering a message. May I ask if the Little Mirror Lake is on this side?' That peasant raised his head, asking: 'Is the broad-axe wielding friend dead or alive?' Xiao Feng replied: 'He only exhausted his power. There's no big problem.' The peasant let out a sigh of relief and said: 'Thank Heavens and Earth. You two please go north. I'll definitely never forget this kindness of delivering the message.' Judging from the way the peasant talked, Xiao Feng knew that he was no common peasant in the countryside, so he asked: 'May I ask you respected surname? What is the broad-axe wielding friend to you?' That peasant replied: 'My surname is Fu. Sir, please go quickly to the Little Mirror Lake. That prime villain already rushed past here. It's a shame that I couldn't hold him back.'

Xiao Feng thought: 'This man's serious injury really isn't false. If this is the enemy's plan to trick me, he must've spent a big amount of money.' Seeing the honest appearance of the man, Xiao Feng took a liking to him. He said: 'Big brother Fu, your injury is serious. What weapon did the prime villain use to harm you?' That man replied: 'It's an iron staff.'

Seeing fresh blood oozing unceasingly from his chest, Xiao Feng unfastened his clothes to take a look. He saw a hole in the man's chest. Even though the hole was not bigger than a fingertip, it was very deep. Xiao Feng extended his finger and blocked several important acupuncture points around the wound to help the peasant stop bleeding and reduce his pain. A'Zhu torn the front of his robe and bandage his wound.

That man with the surname Fu said: 'I can't repay you two for this great debt of gratitude with words. I only hope you would go to the Little Mirror Lake as quickly as possible and report to my humble Lord.' Xiao Feng asked: 'What's the name of your honored Lord? How does he look like?'

That man said: 'Sir, when you reach the side of the Little Mirror Lake, you'll see a bamboo forest to the west of it. All the bamboo trees are square. There're several bamboo houses in the forest. Please call out some words from the outside of the houses: 'The number 1 villain under Heaven has come. Hide quickly!' That'll be okay. It'd be best if you don't enter the houses. As for the name of my humble Lord, someday in the future I, Fu, will certainly inform you.'

Xiao Feng thought: 'Who's the number 1 villain under Heaven? Could it be that he's Duan Yanqing of the '4 Arch-Villains'? Judging from the words of this man, obviously he's unwilling to say so there's no need to ask him more.' However, this time he was no longer on the alert. He thought: 'If the enemies want to trick me into advancing, of course every sentence would sound reasonable. They definitely wouldn't make me suspect. This man hesitates in speech and is unwilling to say the truth so he doesn't have any ill will.' He then said: 'Alright. I'm gonna follow your instructions.' That big fellow struggled to crawl up then knelt down to express his gratitude.

Xiao Feng said: 'You and I feel like old friends at the 1st meeting. Brother Fu doesn't need to be excessively courteous.' He raised the man up with his right hand. Then he gave his own face a wipe with his left hand, removing the make-up, and met him with his true face, saying: 'I'm Xiao Feng, a Khitan. We'll meet again some day.' Without waiting for the man to say anything, he held A'Zhu's hand and went with quick steps.

A'Zhu asked: 'So we don't need to disguise and make up anymore?' Xiao Feng replied: 'I don't know why, but I like this straightforward big fellow very much. I wanted to make friend with him, so I couldn't meet him with a false face.'

A'Zhu said: 'Alright, I'm gonna revert to wearing female clothes as well.' She went to the side of a brook and hurriedly washed the make-up off her face. Then she took off her hat, revealing her black hair, and removed her baggy robe, showing the original female clothes inside.

The 2 of them went 9.5 li without taking a break. They saw a lofty bluestone bridge in the distance. When they came near the bridge, they only saw a scholar bending down on the surface of it. This man had spread a large sheet of white paper on the bridge, and using the bluestone of the bridge as inkstone he had prepared a big puddle of ink. The scholar was holding the brush in his hand and was writing on the paper. Xiao Feng and A'Zhu found it strange. Who could have expected that someone would take paper, ink, brush and inkstone to a bridge in the wilderness to write?

Only when they got near him did they see that he really was not writing, but drawing. What he was drawing was the scenery around. The small bridge, the running water, the old trees and the distant mountains all could be found in the picture. He was bending down on the bridge and was not facing Xiao Feng and A'Zhu, but what strange was that the scenery in the picture was obviously directed towards the 2 of them. They saw that every stroke of his was executed in the opposite way to normal and he was drawing contrariwise.

Xiao Feng did not understand painting and calligraphy at all but A'Zhu had lived in Mister Murong's home for a long time and had seen a great many excellent works of painting and calligraphy. She saw that even though the 'inverse drawing technique' of that scholar could not be considered superb, it was really hard to draw in reverse like this. When she was about to go forwards to ask him several sentences, Xiao Feng lightly pulled a corner of her gown, shook his head and walk towards the small bridge on the left-hand side.

That scholar asked: 'Why didn't you two pay any attention when seeing me drawing in reverse? Could it be that this trifling skill of mine has defiled the eyes of you two?' A'Zhu replied: 'Confucius did not take a seat on an askew mat and did not eat irregular meat. An upright gentleman doesn't see 'inverse drawing'.' 'Ha-ha!' That man loudly laughed and withdrew the sheet of white paper, saying: 'Right on, please cross the bridge.'

Xiao Feng had already guessed what the scholar's intentions were. He had spread the sheet of white paper on the bridge to catch other people's eyes. Firstly, he wanted to delay them. And secondly, he wanted to make what was false look like the true one, deliberately tricking other people into crossing the bluestone bridge. So Xiao Feng said: 'We want to go to the Little Mirror Lake. If we stepped on the bluestone bridge, we would go the wrong way.' That scholar said: 'If you follow the bluestone bridge, it'll merely be going around in a circle. After going an extra 50 or 60 li, you'll still arrive. The 2 of you had better go up the bluestone bridge.' Xiao Feng said: 'When everything is all right, why go an extra 50 or 60 li?' That scholar laughed and said: 'More haste and less speed. Could it be that you don't understand the reason behind this sentence?'

A'Zhu also realized that this scholar was intentionally delaying them. She stopped bothering herself with him and immediately stepped on the wooden bridge. Xiao Feng followed her. When the 2 of them got to the middle of the bridge, suddenly they felt that the board of the bridge under their feet was rather weak, with ka-la-la sounds it snapped, and their bodies fell downwards the river. Xiao Feng stretched out his left hand and gripped A'Zhu's body by the waist. His right foot slightly pressed on the board. Thus making use of it, he leaped forward and arrived at the other shore. After that, he sent a palm attack backwards in case the enemy sneakily attacked from behind.

'Ha-ha,' the scholar laughed loudly and said: 'Good skill, good skill! Why are you two quickly going to the Little Mirror Lake?'

Noticing that there was panic in his laughter, Xiao Feng thought: 'This man looks handsome and refined, yet he's on the prime villain's side.' He paid no attention to him and went forwards with A'Zhu without delay.

After going several zhang (1 zhang = 3.333 m), he heard footsteps at his back and turned his head around to take a look. It was none other than the scholar who was catching up from behind. Xiao Feng turned around and asked with a darkened face: 'Sir, what do you want to instruct me?' That scholar replied: 'I also want to go to the Little Mirror Lake. It just so happens that I and you two have the same journey.' Xiao Feng said: 'This can't be better,' then put his left hand on A'Zhu's waist. Raising his internal energy, he took her along and went as if floating. His movements were really smooth and noiseless and did not stir up even light dust. The scholar quickly rushed after Xiao Feng but the distance between them became farther and farther. Seeing that his martial arts were mediocre, Xiao Feng did not care about him anymore. He continued raising his internal energy and going as if floating. Even though he was taking A'Zhu along, he was still much faster than the scholar. Within the time to finish a meal, Xiao Feng already left the scholar far behind himself and did not see any trace of him anymore.

After crossing the small wooden bridge, the path became very narrow. Sometimes the grass was as high as the waist and it was very hard to recognize the path. If the bartender had not said clearly, Xiao Feng would really have had a hard time finding this path. After going for less than 1 hour, he saw a clear lake. Xiao Feng slowed down and went up to the lake. He saw that its water was blue like jade and its surface was calm like a mirror. It was really worthy of the 3 words the 'Little Mirror Lake.'

When Xiao Feng was about to look for the Square Bamboo Forest, suddenly he heard 2 sounds of chuckling in a thicket of flowers on the left of the lake, then a stone flew out. Looking in the flying direction of the stone, Xiao Feng saw a fisherman who was wearing a large bamboo hat and was fishing beside the lake. His fishing rod had just lifted up a black carp when that stone arrived. Without the least bit of inaccuracy, the stone hit the fishing line squarely. A 'chi' sound was heard, the fishing line was broken in two and the black carp fell back into the lake.

Xiao Feng was secretly startled: 'The power of this person's hand is very strange. The fishing line is soft and isn't affected by blunt force. There's nothing unusual if missiles such as flying knife and sleeve-hidden arrow are used to cut it off. But obviously it was a round stone. Who could have expected that the fishing line would be broken? This person's Yin soft skill in using missiles definitely doesn't belong to the Central Plains.' The person who had thrown the stone did not seem to possess high-level martial arts, but they had an air of intense evil. It was simply an unorthodox technique. Xiao Feng thought: 'This is probably a subordinate of that prime villain. Judging from the laughter, this person seems to be a young girl.'

That fisherman was also startled when his fishing line was broken. He said loudly and clearly: 'Who played a trick on surnamed Chu me? Please show yourself.'

With several se-se sounds, the thicket of flowers was split apart and a young girl came out. She was dressed in all-purple clothes and was only 15 or 16 years old. Compared to A'Zhu, she was still younger by a few years. She had a pair of big shiny black eyes and her face was full of mischievousness. As soon as she saw A'Zhu, she ignored the fisherman, skipped up to her, pulled her hand, laughed and said: 'This zizi (older sister) will be very pretty when grown-up. I like you very much!' She sounded somewhat tongue-tied when saying, and her pronunciation was not correct, just like a foreigner who had just started to learn the language of the Central Plains.

Seeing that the young girl was lively and innocent, A'Zhu laughed and said: 'It's just you who'll be pretty when grown-up. I like you even more.' A'Zhu had lived in Gusu for a long time, and now she was saying in Mandarin of the Middle Land (Henan). Therefore, even though she sounded gentle and lovely, her pronunciation was also not very accurate.

The fisherman at first was about to get mad. But seeing that the young girl was so lively and lovely, the anger that was filling his bosom disappeared. He said: 'This girl is so naughty. But the technique that you used to break the fishing line is very good.'

That young girl said: 'What's so interesting about angling? It's boring to death. If you wanna eat fish, wouldn't using this fishing rod to jab at the fish be better?' As she finished, she received the fishing rod in the hand of the fisherman and conveniently gave the water a poke. The tip of the fishing rod pierced through the abdomen of a fish. When the fishing rod was lifted up, the fish was still writhing and twisting. From the wound, fresh blood fell into the green water drop after drop. The red and the green served as foils to each other, looking bright and beautiful, but there was also cruelty in the beauty of the colors.

Xiao Feng saw that when she executed this convenient poke, first her right hand slightly bent to the left, then drew a small arc and thrust out from the right side. This move was rather clever and undoubtedly pleasing to the eye. However, if she used it to attack and defend when facing an enemy, she would be a little late. Xiao Feng was really unable to guess what school or family possessed this martial arts technique.

That young girl continuously lifted the rod up and thrust it down. She pierced through 6 black carps and white fish in a row, creating a chain of fish on the rod. Then she gave it a shake, flinging all the fish into the lake. With a displeased expression on his face, the fisherman said: 'You're a very young girl, yet you act so cruelly. If you want to catch fish, then that's fine. But you stabbed dead the fish not for food. Why did you kill them for no reason?'

The young girl clapped her hands, laughed and said: 'I like killing for no reason. What do you wanna do?' Then she exerted herself to break the fishing rod in two with both hands. Unexpectedly, this fishing rod was very tough and firm, and the young girl was unable to bend it. That fisherman sneered: 'You want to snap my fishing rod? It's not so easy.' That young girl pointed to the back of the fisherman, saying: 'Who's coming?'

The fisherman turned his head around to have a look, but he saw no one. Knowing that he had been fooled, he hastily turned his head back, but he was already a little late. He only saw his fishing rod fly off more than 10 zhang (3.333 m) then, with a 'chi' sound, pass into the center of the lake and disappear without a trace at once. Furious, the fisherman shouted loudly: 'Where are you from, brat?' and stretched out his hand and to grab her shoulder.

The young girl laughed and said: 'Help me! Help me!' and hid at the back of Xiao Feng. The fisherman jinked sideways to come and catch her. His movements were light and neat. In a glance, Xiao Feng saw that there was an object in the hand of the young girl's. It seemed to be a transparent cloth and was indistinct. Xiao Feng did not know what it was. The fisherman rushed at her, but somehow he suddenly slipped and threw himself on the ground. After that, his body became a heap. Only now was Xiao Feng able to see clearly that what the young girl was having in her hand was a sheet of exceedingly thin silk fishing net. The silk threads were as thin as hair, and they were also transparent, yet they were exceptionally tough and pliable. Moreover, when they came into contact with something, they immediately contracted. In the fishing net, the more the fisherman struggled, the tighter it became. In a short while, he become a cylindrical glutinous rice cake and was wrapped around by the net to the point of being immovable.

The fisherman cursed loudly and severely: 'Brat, what dirty trick are you playing? What are you plotting by using evil techniques to capture me like this?'

Inwardly, Xiao Feng was astonished. He knew that the girl really was not using any evil technique, but this fishing net was rather evil indeed.

The fisherman kept cursing loudly. That young girl laughed and said: 'If you curse another sentence, I'll hit you in the buttocks.' The fisherman was startled and stopped talking at once. His face has swollen to a deep red.

At that time, in the west of the lake, someone said from a distance: 'Brother Chu, what happened?' Then a person went out along the lakeside path with quick steps. Xiao Feng saw that this man had a rectangular face and was between 40 and 50 years old. He was mighty in appearance, but was wearing rather rakish and informal attire consisting of a light robe and a loose belt.

This man came near. Seeing the fisherman being bound, he was very surprised, so he asked: 'What happened?' The fisherman replied: 'This little girl used evil techniques…' The middle-aged man turned his head and looked at A'Zhu. That young girl laughed and said: 'Not her. It's me!' The middle-aged man uttered an exclamation of doubt then stooped down, lifted the huge body of the fisherman up and stretched out his hand to pull at the fishing net. Who would have known that the threads of the net had a very strange nature? The more force he used to pull, the tighter the fishing net became. And so, no matter what the middle-aged man did, he was unable to untie it.

That young girl laughed and said: 'If you say to me 'Miss, I've lost to you!' 3 times in a row, I'll set him free.' The middle-aged man said: 'You have offended my brother Chu. This won't have any good result.' The young girl said laughingly: 'Really? I just don't want any good result. The worse the result is, the more interesting it will be.'

The middle-aged man held out his left hand to grab her shoulder. The young girl suddenly slightly fell back and jinked towards one side to dodge. Unexpectedly, even though her movements were fast, that man was even faster. He slightly lowered his hand and caught her shoulder.

The young girl tilted her shoulder to get rid of his power, but the left palm of this middle-aged man seemed to have been firmly fixed to her shoulder. The young girl scolded in a sulky voice: 'Let go of me!' She waved her fist to hit him, but before the fist had gone 1 chi (33.33 cm), her arm became powerless and drooped down weakly. Very astonished, the girl cried: 'What evil technique are you using? Quickly let go of me.' The middle-aged man smiled, saying: 'If you say 'Master, I've lost to you' 3 times in a row then untie the fishing net around my brother's body, I'll let you go.' The young girl said angrily: 'You've offended me. This won't have any good result.' The middle-aged man smiled, saying: 'The worse the result it, the more interesting it will be.'

The young girl again exerted all her strength to struggle, but she was unable to get free, and contrary to her expectations, her whole body ached and became weak. Even her feet did not have any strength. She laughed and said: 'How shameless. You can only copy other people's words. Alright, I'm gonna say to you. 'Master, I've lost to you! Master, I've lost to you! Master, I've lost to you!'' She did not pronounce the syllable 'm?s' of the word 'master' clearly and pronounced it as 'b?s' instead, therefore it sounded like she said 'Bastard, I've lost to you (The 2 words in the original are 先生 - xian1sheng5 - master, and 畜生 - chu4sheng5 - beast).' The middle-aged man did not notice it. He raised his palm and let go of her shoulder, saying: 'Untie the fishing net, quick.'

The young girl laughed and said: 'This can't be easier.' Then she went to the side of the fisherman and bent down to untie the fishing net around him. She slightly raised her left hand at the opening of the sleeve and a dark green flash was fired at the middle-aged man.

'Ah,' A'Zhu cried in fear because she saw that the missile firing technique of the young girl was very vicious. Moreover, the girl and the middle-aged man were just a small distance apart so it appeared that it was impossible for the missiles to miss him. But Xiao Feng only smiled slightly. Seeing that this middle-aged man tamed the young girl as soon as he showed his skill, Xiao Feng knew clearly that his internal energy was profound and his martial arts were excellent, therefore these petty missiles naturally would not be able to harm him. Sure enough, the middle-aged man swung the sleeve of his robe and sent out a stream of internal energy which pushed all the cluster of green thin needles aside. The needles then stuck in the mud beside the lake, one after another.

Seeing the color of the thin needles, the middle-aged man knew at once that they had been suffused with an extremely fierce poison. As soon as this poison got into the blood of a victim, their throat would be blocked and they would die instantly. This was the 1st time he and she had met each other, and there was no enmity between them, why did she use such a vicious move? The man got angry and wanted to teach this kid a lesson. He waved his right sleeve. The force of the sleeve contained his palm force. With a 'hu' sound, the body of that young girl was lifted up, and with a 'pu' sound, she fell into the lake. Following that, the man slightly pressed the tips of his feet on the ground and jumped onto a rowboat under a willow tree. Holding the oars and pushing it several times, he reached the place where that young girl had just fallen down. Now, he only waited for her to emerge to grab her hair and lift her up.

But when that young girl fell into the water, she only uttered an 'A'yo!' sound. After she had fallen into the lake, no trace of her could be seen at this point. Naturally, when a person is drowning, they will definitely emerge and submerge a few times, and only after drinking water to the full will they no longer resurface. However, that young girl was like a big piece of stone, and thus she sank without rising. The middle-aged man waited for a short while, but all along the girl did not rise to the surface.

The more the man waited, the more worried he became. In fact he had no intention of harming her. It was just that seeing that she was very young yet her actions were so malicious, he wanted to discipline her once. If she was drowned, he would feel deeply sorry for her. That fisherman had excellent skills in swimming, so he should have been able to get into the water and save her. Unfortunately, he was being wrapped around by the fishing net and thus being unable to move. Both Xiao Feng and A'Zhu did not know how to swim so they did not know what to do either. They heard the middle-aged man call loudly: 'A'Xing, A'Xing! Come out, quick!'

From a distant bamboo thicket, the calls of a woman were heard: 'What happened? I won't come out!'

Xiao Feng thought: 'This woman's voice sounds flirtatious. But it has 3/10s of stubbornness. I'm afraid she's the naughty type. She, A'Zhu and the young girl that fell into the lake would be like the legs of a tripod cauldron.'

That middle-aged man called: 'There's a drowning person. Quickly come to the rescue.' That woman called: 'Were you drowned?' The middle-aged man called: 'Don't joke. If I were drowned, how can I be talking to you? Quickly come to the rescue!' That woman called: 'If you were drowned, I'd come to save you instantly. But if someone else is drowned, I'd love to see and have a jolly time!' The middle-aged man asked: 'Will you come or not?' and repeatedly stamped his feet at the prow of the boat, looking exceedingly anxious. That woman said: 'If that's a man, I'll save him at once. But if that's a woman, even if 100 women died, I'd only clap my hands and cheer. I definitely won't save her.' The voice sounded closer and closer. In a short while, she already got to the side of the lake.

Xiao Feng and A'Zhu looked at her and saw that she was wearing a greenish swimsuit which clung to her body, making her delicate waist become more obvious. She had a pair of big shiny black eyes which were brilliant and sparkling like stars. The look in her eyes was very lively and nimble. It seemed as if with a pair of eyes alone she was already capable of speech. The woman was beautiful, and the corners of her mouth resembled a smile without smiling. She was around 35 or 36 years old. When Xiao Feng had heard her voice and tone before, he had only thought that she had been 21 or 22 years old at most. He could never have expected that she would be a woman who was not very young at all. The swimsuit on her body was worn neatly. Perhaps when hearing that middle-aged man call her to the rescue, she had at once changed clothes. And while she had been teasing him, making him worried, she had changed clothes very fast.

Seeing that she had come, the middle-aged man was totally happy, saying: 'A'Xing, quick, quick, I accidentally threw her into the lake. I could never have expected that she wouldn't resurface.' That beautiful woman said: 'I'm gonna ask clearly first. If that's a man, I'll save him right away. But if that's a woman, then you'd better not say anything.'

Both Xiao Feng and A'Zhu found this very strange, thinking: 'There're women who are unwilling to get into the water to save men to avoid embracing or getting entangled with them underwater, thus losing their own dignity. Why is this woman the exact opposite, only saving men and not women?'

The middle-aged man stamped his feet, saying: 'Oh dear! She's just a 14 or 15 year old little girl. Don't be suspicious.' The beautiful woman said: 'Humph, a little girl, so what? To a man like you, a 14 or 15 year old little girl and a 70 or 80 year old aged woman both will be…' She at first wanted to say 'both will be accepted', but in a glance, she saw Xiao Feng and A'Zhu, so she slightly blushed and stretched out her hand and covered her own mouth, and the word 'accepted' was withdrawn at once, but her eyes were filled with amusement.

The middle-aged man took a deep bow at the prow of the boat, saying: 'A'Xing, please save her quickly. I'll follow everything that you say.' That beautiful woman asked: 'You'll really follow me in everything?' The middle-aged man hastily replied: 'Yes. Oh, this little girl hasn't resurfaced. Could it be that she has really died…?' The beautiful woman said: 'If I ask you to stay here forever, will you also follow me?' An awkward expression appeared on the face of the middle-aged man. He said: 'This… this…' The beautiful woman said: 'Even if you said without keeping your words and only sweet talked to make me happy for a short while, it'd be good enough for me. Yet you're unwilling to do even such a thing.' When she said to here, her eyes reddened and her voice was somewhat choked with emotion.

Xiao Feng and A'Zhu looked at each other. Both of them found this strange. This man and this woman were no longer young, but their words and actions were the same as those of passionate young lovers. Also, they did not look like a husband and a wife, especially that woman, for in front of strangers she was still showing no restraint in conversation, and while the life of a stranger was hanging by a thread, she was still talking about these matters of no urgency.

The middle-aged man let out a sigh and rowed the rowboat back, saying: 'Forget it, forget it. There's no need to save her. This little girl used poisonous missiles to sneakily attack me. She deserves to die. Let's go back!'

That woman tilted her head, saying: 'Why no need to save her? I'll still save her. She shot missiles at you, right? That's very good. Why didn't she shoot you dead? What a pity, what a pity!' She giggled then suddenly jumped up and plunged into the lake. Her skills in swimming were really outstanding. With a soft 'chi' sound, and without causing water to fly up into the air, she got to the bottom of the lake. After that, a 'ka-la' sound was heard when the surface of the lake disintegrated. The beautiful woman was already holding that purple-gowned young girl in her hands and her head emerged from the water. The middle-aged man exulted. He hastily rowed the rowboat back to pick them up.

After the middle-aged man had come near the beautiful woman, he stretched out his hands to receive the purple-gowned young girl. Seeing that her eyes were closing tightly and that she did not seem to be breathing, he could not help having a concerned expression. The beautiful woman shouted: 'Don't touch her. You're a lady-killer, very unreliable.' The middle-aged man feigned anger, saying: 'Nonsense. In my life, I've never been a lady-killer.'

The beautiful woman uttered a sound of sneering, then holding the young girl in her hands, she jumped in the boat. She laughed and said: 'Right, right. You've never been a lady-killer, and you're only fond of very ugly women like Wuyan, Mo Mu (2 very ugly women according to legend). A'yo…' She touched that young girl's chest, and to her surprise, she immediately noticed that the girl's heart had already stopped beating. Needless to say, her breathing had ceased for a long time. But her belly was not bulging so obviously she had not drunk much water.

Familiar with swimming, the beautiful woman at first had thought that being under water for such a little while would not kill the girl. Never could she have expected that this young girl was physically delicate and would die. She could not help looking rather apologetic. She carried the young girl in her arms and disembarked, saying: 'Quick, quick! We must find a way to save her!' Then, carrying the young girl, she ran very quickly towards the bamboo forest.

The middle-aged man bent down, lifted the fisherman up then turned to Xiao Feng and said: 'Brother, may I ask your exalted name, and the noble purpose of your arrival at this place?'

Seeing that he had a natural and graceful bearing and that despite the young girl's tragic death, he was still so imperturbable, Xiao Feng secretly admired him. He replied: 'I am Xiao Feng, a Khitan. I was entrusted by 2 friends with the task of going to here to pass on a message.'

Of course there was no one in Jianghu who did not know the name Qiao Feng, but he already knew his real surname so at this moment he called himself Xiao Feng, and adding the 2 words 'a Khitan', he had stated his own origin straight out. The middle-aged man was undoubtedly very unfamiliar with the name Xiao Feng. Hearing the words 'a Khitan', he was not surprised in the least either. He asked: 'Who are the 2 friends that requested brother Xiao to do this? And what is the message that you are delivering?' Xiao Feng replied: 'One wields a pair of broad axes. The other wields a copper staff and calls himself surnamed Fu. Both of them are injured…'

Frightened, the middle-aged man asked: 'How are the injuries of these two? Where are they now? Brother Xiao, these 2 people are my close brothers. Sorry to trouble you, but could you give me directions? I… I… must go save them at once.' The fisherman said: 'Please take me with you.' Seeing that they valued righteousness, Xiao Feng admired them in his heart, saying: 'The injuries of these 2 people are serious but their lives ain't in danger. They're being in the town over there…' That middle-aged man took a deep bow, saying: 'Thank you very much! Thank you very much!' Then, without saying anymore, he lifted the fisherman up and started to go towards the path along which Xiao Feng had come.

Right at this moment, they heard the calls of that beautiful woman coming from the inside of the bamboo forest: 'Quickly come here, quickly come here. You come and see… see what this is!' Her voice sounded exceptionally panic-stricken.

The middle-aged man stopped going. While he was hesitating, suddenly he saw a man quickly running towards them on the path and calling: 'My Lord, did someone come to make trouble?' He was none other than the scholar who had drawn in reverse on the bluestone bridge. Xiao Feng thought: 'I thought he was trying to stop me from passing on the message. But it turns out he and those broad axe user and copper staff user are on the same side. The person that they call 'the Lord' is this middle-aged man, then.'

At this moment, the scholar had already noticed Xiao Feng and A'Zhu. Seeing the 2 of them standing beside the middle-aged man, he could not refrain from being startled. When he came near them, seeing that the fisherman was being bound, he was both shocked and angry. He asked: 'What… what happened?'

They heard the voice of the beautiful woman inside the bamboo forest become more panic-stricken: 'Why haven't you come? A'yo, I… I…'

That middle-aged man said: 'I go have a look.' Then he lifted the fisherman up and walked quickly towards the bamboo forest. As soon as he moved, anyone could see at once that he had an extraordinary internal energy. His steps were light and long, yet they were exceptionally fast. Xiao Feng put one hand on A'Zhu's waist then he went alongside him at an appropriate speed. The middle-aged man cast a look at Xiao Feng. An admiring expression was visible on his face.

They arrived at the bamboo forest in an instant. Sure enough, each of the bamboo trees was square. After going several zhang (3.333 m) into the bamboo forest, they saw 3 small houses with bamboo roofs. The structure of the houses was very delicate.

Hearing footsteps, the beautiful woman rushed out, crying: 'You… you quickly come and see. What is this?' She was holding a gold lock in her hand.

Xiao Feng saw that this gold lock was a common piece of jewelry for women and there was nothing special or unusual about it. That day, when A'Zhu was injured, Xiao Feng took vulnerary out from her bosom and saw a gold lock which looked almost the same as this lock. Unexpectedly, when the middle-aged man looked at the gold lock several times, his face changed colors greatly at once. He asked in a quavering voice: 'Where… where did you get this?'

The beautiful woman replied: 'I took it from her neck. I once drew a mark on their left shoulders. You… you go and see yourself…' As she finished, she wept without being able to make any sound.

The middle-aged man quickly rushed into the house. A'Zhu also slightly shook her body and rushed in. She was even a step ahead of the beautiful woman. Xiao Feng followed behind that woman to go straight to the inner room. He saw that it was the bedchamber of a woman with delicate and elegant furnishings. Xiao Feng had no time to scan but he saw that purple-gowned young girl lying flat on the bed, stiff and motionless. She was already dead.

The middle-aged man pulled the sleeve of the young girl up and looked carefully at her shoulder. After taking a look, he immediately pulled the sleeve down. Xiao Feng was standing at his back so he did not see what the mark on the shoulder of the young girl was. He only saw that the back of the middle-aged man was continuously trembling. Obviously his mind was in a state of extreme discomposure.

The beautiful woman grabbed the middle-aged man's robe and wept, saying: 'She's your own daughter, yet you killed her with your own hands. You didn't bring her up yet you killed her… You… you're such a heartless father…'

Xiao Feng was very astonished: 'What? This young girl is their daughter? Ah, that's right. Probably not long after giving birth to this young girl, they put her under a fosterage elsewhere. Both this gold lock and the mark on the left shoulder are the marks of identification that her parents left her.' Suddenly he saw tears streaming down A'Zhu's face and her body shaking slightly and leaning towards the bed.

Xiao Feng was frightened. He hurriedly held out his hand to support her. When he stooped down, he saw the eyeballs of the young girl lying on the bed slightly move. She already closed her eyes but the movements of her eyeballs could still be seen behind the eyelids. Caring about A'Zhu, Xiao Feng only asked: 'What's wrong?' A'Zhu stood up straight, wiped the tears and said with a forced laugh: 'I saw that this… this girl had an unfortunate tragic death so I feel sorry for her.'

Xiao Feng stretched out his hand and felt the pulse of the young girl. That beautiful woman wept, saying: 'The heart already stopped. The breathing has already gone too. You can't save her life.' Xiao Feng slightly channeled his internal energy, pushed it on the wrist of the young girl then immediately loosened his grip. He felt an opposing stream of internal energy emerge in the body of that young girl. Obviously she was channeling her internal energy to resist.

'Ha-ha,' Xiao Feng laughed loudly and said: 'It's really rare to see such a naughty girl in the world.' That beautiful woman said angrily: 'Who are you? Quickly get out of here! My daughter has died. What nonsense are you talking here?' Xiao Feng laughed and said: 'What if I can bring your dead daughter back to life?' Then he stretched out his hand and thrust at an acupuncture point on the waist of the young girl.

This finger attack hit the 'Jingmen acupuncture point' on the waist of the young girl. This point is at the end of the last rib of the human body. Xiao Feng passed his internal energy into the acupuncture point, immediately making the girl feel unbearably tingly and itchy. Unable to endure that, the young girl jumped up on the bed, giggled in a lovely manner and reached for Xiao Feng's shoulder with her left hand to support herself.

Seeing the girl come back to life from death, all the people in the room were both surprised and happy. The middle-aged man laughed and said: 'So you scared me…' The beautiful woman smiled though tears and cried: 'My miserable daughter!' and expanded her arms to embrace her.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Feng hit the young girl with the back of his hand, sending her falling. After that, he held out his hand, grabbed her left wrist, sneered and said: 'So young, yet so vicious!'

The beautiful woman cried: 'Why did you hit my daughter?' If she had not had regard for Xiao Feng's status as the person who had 'revived' her daughter, she would have fought him at once.

After grabbing her wrist, Xiao Feng turned her palm over, saying: 'Please see.'

Everyone saw that the young girl was holding a glistening green thin needle in a space between her fingers. At first sight, they already knew that the needle had been suffused with an intense poison. Pretending to reach for Xiao Feng's shoulder to support herself, she wanted to stick this thin needle in his body. Fortunately, he had sharp eyes and was nimble, therefore he was not caught in her snare, but it was really an extremely dangerous situation.

This palm attack only made one cheek of the young girl's swell up considerably. Xiao Feng certainly did not use all his power. Otherwise her skull would have been shattered into small pieces easily. With her wrist being gripped, it was already too late for her to hide the poisonous needle even if she wanted to. Moreover, the left side of her body was being powerless, aching and tingling. Suddenly, her small mouth twitched slightly and she wept loudly, crying: 'You bully me! You bully me!'

The middle-aged man said: 'Alright, alright! Don't cry! He just gave you a gentle hit. What's the big deal? Frequently using intensely poisonous missiles to harm other people, you should be taught a lesson.'

The young girl wept, saying: 'This Green Phosphorous Needle of mine isn't the scariest. I still have very many unused missiles.'