Chapter - 31 Embroidering (1/2)

Yang Lianting coldly said, ”Tong Baixiong, how can you shout like that at the Hall of Refined Kindness? Why aren't you kneeling down when your Chief is right in front of you? How do you dare not to sing praises to Chief?”

Tong Baixiong looked up to the sky and laughed loudly. ”When Brother Dongfang and I became friends, where were you, little kid? At the time when Brother Dongfang and I escaped death and went through all those hardships, you weren't even born yet! You dare to talk to me?”

Linghu Chong turned his head and finally was able to see the face of Tong Baixiong clearly. He has white hair which was wildly out of place and a bushy silver beard. His face was twitching with anger, his eyes were wide opened, and the blood on his face was already darkened and hard. All these created a very scary facial expression. Both of his arms and legs were shackled with long chains that dragged behind him and rattled loudly as he spoke. He was speaking passionately, waving his arms around and the iron chain accompanied his angry speech with a loud 'zheng, zheng' noise.

Ren Woxing was still kneeling down and staying still, but hearing the noise the chain made, he remembered the time when he was locked up at the bottom of the West Lake. He couldn't control his anger anymore and his body was now shaking with anger, and he really wanted to start destroying things. But he then heard Yang Lianting said, ”You're very arrogant to be so rude in front of our Chief. You secretly colluded with that traitor Ren Woxing. Do you know your sin now?”

”Chief Ren is the former chief of our sect,” Tong Baixiong said. ”When he had an incurable illness, he retreated into seclusion and gave the leadership of the sect to Brother Dongfang. How can you say that he's a traitor to our sect? Brother Dongfang, tell us clearly: how did Chief Ren rebel, how did he betray our sect?”

”After Ren Woxing cured his illness, he should've immediately returned to our sect. But he instead went to Shaolin Temple, and bonded together with the headmasters of Shaolin, Wu Dang, Songshan and many other schools. Wouldn't you say that's betraying our sect? Why didn't he come to pay his respect to Chief and listen respectfully to Chief's order?” Yang Lianting replied instead.

Tong Baixiong laughed. ”Chief Ren used to be the superior of Brother Dongfang, and his experience in martial art is vast, so he's not necessarily under Brother Dongfang. Brother Dongfang, isn't this right?”

Yang Lianting shouted loudly, ”Don't rely on your seniority here. Our Chief is very generous to his subordinate, and he would never stoop down to your level. If you deeply regretted your fault, then tomorrow in front of the assembly altar, you can tell all our brothers about your fault, your assurance to rectify your misdeed, and swear

your loyalty to Chief. Then maybe Chief would spare your life this time. Otherwise, you know what is going to happen to you.”

Tong Baixiong laughed. ”I'm close to eighty years old already. I'm already tired of living, what consequence am I afraid of?”

Yang Lianting shouted, ”Bring in those people!”

The servants in purple clothes answered, ”Yes!” and then they heard the sound of chains clunking as more than ten people were brought into the hall. There were men, women, and a few children in the group. When Tong Baixiong saw this, his face changed colour and he used his qi to shout, ”Yang Lianting, a gentleman is responsible for what he has done. Why are you bringing my grandson here?” His shout shook the eardrums of everyone in the hall.

Linghu Chong, looking in the direction towards the dais where Dongfang Bubai was sitting, saw that Dongfang Bubai shook when he heard this shout. So he thought to himself, ”This person still has some conscience left. His heart was still moved when seeing how worried Tong Baixiong is.”

Yang Lianting laughed and said, ”What's the third teaching of our Chief? Say it out loud for us to hear!”

Tong Baixiong just uttered a few 'Pei' vehemently and didn't reply back. Yang Lianting said, ”Among the Tong family, anyone who knows of Chief's third teaching, say it out loud.”

One boy who is around ten years old said, ”Refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise Chief's third teaching: 'You must be fierce towards your enemy and behead the source of trouble. Men, women, old, and young, leave no one behind.'”

Yang Lianting praised, ”Very good, very good! Little baby, you remember all ten of Chief's teaching?”

The boy answered, ”I remember them all. If I don't study the teachings for one day, I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep. Once I've read Chief's teachings, my martial art greatly advances and I have a lot of strength to fight.”

Yang Lianting laughed. ”That is right. And who taught you these words?”

”My father taught me.”

Yang Lianting pointed at Tong Baixiong and asked, ”Who is he?”

”He is my grandfather.”

”Your grandfather doesn't read the teaching of our Chief, doesn't listen to Chief's words, and has betrayed our Chief. What do you think we should do?”

”Grandfather's wrong. Everyone must study Chief's teaching and listen to what Chief says.”

Yang Lianting said to Tong Baixiong, ”Your grandson is only a ten years old baby, yet he knows what to do. While you're already so old, how come you're so foolish?”

Tong Baixiong said, ”I only exchanged a few words with those two people, Ren and Xiang. They wanted me to betray Chief, but I didn't agree to their proposal. When Tong Baixiong says one then it'll be one, two then it'll be two. I would never wrong other people.” He saw that all of his family was being held hostage so his speech was

getting softer as he spoke.

Yang Lianting sighed and in a regretful tone said, ”If you had said this earlier, then this wouldn't have become so troublesome. So do you know your fault now?”

”I wasn't wrong. I've never abandoned our sect and I have never betrayed our Chief.”

Yang Lianting sighed. ”Since you don't want to admit your fault, then I can't help you anymore. Bring his family down and don't give them a grain of rice or even a mouthful of water from today.”

A few servants in purple gowns responded, ”Yes!” as they took the family away. Tong Baixiong shouted, ”Wait!” Then he said to Yang Lianting, ”Alright, I admit my fault. It was I who was wrong. Chief, I beg for your forgiveness.”

Even though he had admitted his fault, his eyes were still burning as if they were about to spout fire. Yang Lianting smiled coldly, ”What did you say a moment ago? You said that when Chief and you experienced hardships, I wasn't even born, isn't this right?”

Tong Baixiong held back his anger and said, ”I was wrong.”

”You were wrong? That came out from you too easily. How come you aren't kneeling down in front of Chief?”

”Chief and I have become sworn brothers sometime in the past. For tens of years, we have been standing and sitting down as equal.” He suddenly raised his voice, ”Brother Dongfang, you see that your older brother is being tortured, how come you're not saying anything? If you want your brother to kneel down to you, that's very easy to do. You only have to say a word, and your brother will die for you without blinking an eye.” Dongfang Bubai just sat still. All of sudden, the big hall was quiet. Everyone was staring at Dongfang Bubai, waiting for him to speak. But even after some time had passed, he still didn't say a word. ”Brother Dongfang, for the past few years, it's been very difficult for me to see you. You locked yourself up and practiced the Sunflower Manual assiduously. Did you know that there were so many changes in our sect and that danger is just around the corner?” Dongfang Bubai just sat silently without uttering a single sound. ”If Brother wants to kill me or torture me, I couldn't care less. But if you ruin the hundreds of years' power and prestige of our sect, then you will become a great sinner. Why aren't you talking? You fire deviated while practicing martial art so that you can't talk, is this right?”

Yang Lianting shouted, ”Nonsense! Kneel down!” Two servants in purple also shouted as they flew towards Tong Baixiong and kicked towards the back of his knees to force him to kneel. But their legs were broken instead with loud cracking sounds. They fell down on the ground and fresh blood spouted out from their mouths. Tong Baixiong said, ”Brother Dongfang, I want to hear you say something so that dying would be sweet. You haven't spoken for 3 years, and all the brothers in the sect are getting suspicious.”

Yang Lianting indignantly interjected, ”What suspicion?”

”The suspicion that Chief has fallen into someone's plot and been given a muting drug. How come he doesn't speak? How come he doesn't speak?” Tong Baixiong spoke loudly.

Yang Lianting laughed coldly. ”Chief's every word is precious. Why would he waste his breath and speak to a traitor like you? Guards, take him down the cliff!”

Eight servants in purple answered his call and came out. Tong Baixiong loudly said, ”Brother Dongfang, I want to take a look at you. Have you been hurt so badly that you can't speak?” He waved his arms about and the iron chains on them scattered around. With his two legs dragging the iron chains, he charged towards Dongfang Bubai. When the eight servants saw how powerful he was, they were afraid to get near him.

Yang Lianting shouted, ”Capture him, capture him!”

The warriors outside the hall shouted their battle cries but stayed just outside the door because they didn't dare to enter the hall. There was a strict rule in the sect which stated that for anyone to step a foot inside the Hall of Refined Kindness while carrying a weapon was an unpardonable offence that deserved execution. Dongfang Bubai stood up and turned around to go out through the back of the hall.

Tong Baixiong called out, ”Brother Dongfang, don't go!” as he quickened his steps. However, with the iron chains on his legs preventing him from walking fast and his heart anxious with worry, he stumbled and fell forward. But he took advantage of the situation by somersaulting forward and then charged towards Dongfang Bubai. He was around a hundred feet away from Dongfang Bubai when Yang Lianting shouted, ”Daring traitor is going to stab our Chief! Warriors, quickly come up the hall and capture this traitor!”

Ren Woxing noticed that even though Dongfang Bubai was dawdling in his escape, Tong Baixiong was still quite far away from him. He also wouldn't be able to catch up to him so he pulled out three copper coins, moved his qi to his arm, and threw them at Dongfang Bubai. Yingying shouted, ”Let's Move!”

Linghu Chong leapt up and pulled his long sword out from inside the bandage. Xiang Wentian pulled out the weapons from inside the wooden poles of the stretcher and gave them to Ren Woxing and Yingying. He then gave a mighty pull on the rope underneath the stretcher which turned out to be a soft whip.

The four of them immediately used their qinggong and charged up the hall. All of sudden, Dongfang Bubai screamed as blood poured out of the top of his head where he was hit by a copper coin. When Ren Woxing threw those three coins, his distance from Dongfang Bubai was quite far away, so the power of the coin was already exhausted when it hit Dongfang Bubai's head and thus only caused a light external injury. But Dongfang Bubai was praised to be the number one martial artist in the whole world, and unexpectedly he wasn't even able to avoid this little coin. This didn't make sense to anyone there.

Ren Woxing started laughing and he called out, ”This Dongfang Bubai is a fake!”

Xiang Wentian slashed out with his whip and coiled it around both of Yang Lianting's legs. He then pulled his whip taut and dragged Yang Lianting to the ground. Dongfang Bubai covered his face up as he ran away. Linghu Chong moved to one side to rush forward and cut off his escape path. ”Stop!” he shouted as he pointed his long sword towards Dongfang Bubai. But who would've thought that Dongfang Bubai would be unable to stop and would keep on running towards the point of the sword? Linghu Chong hastily withdrew his sword and sent his left palm out to strike him lightly. Dongfang Bubai immediately fell down on the ground with his face up.

By that time, Ren Woxing had also arrived. He quickly grabbed the back of Dongfang Bubai's neck and dragged him towards the hall entrance. In a clear and loud voice, he announced, ”Everyone, listen! This chap is a fake Dongfang Bubai who's trying to bring disaster on my Divine Sun Moon Sect. Everyone look at his face clearly.”

From the appearance of this person, everyone could see that he actually resembled Dongfang Bubai very closely. But his frightened face was very different from the usual calm and confident attitude of Dongfang Bubai. Seeing this, all the warriors were greatly surprised and shocked that they were unable to utter anything.

Ren Woxing shouted, ”What's your name? If you don't speak clearly, I'll crush your head.”

That person was quaking from fear, and he tremblingly stuttered, ”Ser… ser… servant…is called… called… called…”

Xiang Wentian had already sealed many acupoints on Yang Lianting's body and had also dragged him to the entrance of the hall. He barked, ”What's his name?”

Yang Lianting replied without any fear, ”Who are you to dare question me? I know you are the traitor Xiang Wentian. The Divine Sun Moon Sect has already expelled you from the sect, why did you come back to Dark Wood Cliff for?”

Xiang Wentian smiled coldly. ”I came back to Dark Wood Cliff to take care of your treachery!” After he said this, his right palm hacked down and broke Yang Lianting's left shin bone. Yang Lianting's martial art was just average but showing no pain, he scolded back, ”Why don't you just kill me instead of torturing me? Is this what heroes do?”

Xiang Wentian laughed and said, ”Do you think things would be that easy?” His palm descended again and with a 'ka' sound, Yang Lianting's right shin bone was now broken. Then, with his left hand, Xiang Wentian shoved Yang Lianting to the ground.

Both of Yang Lianting's legs had been broken so when they hit the ground, the broken bones on his legs broke the skin and pierced upwards. The severity of the pain caused by this would be unimaginable. But Yang Lianting unexpectedly didn't utter a single word.

Xiang Wentian gave a thumbs up to him and praised, ”Good man! I won't torture you any more.” He then lightly punched the fake Dongfang Bubai's stomach and asked, ”What is your real name?” The fake Dongfang Bubai screamed loudly and answered, ”Ser… servant... is called… called… Bao… Bao…”

”Your surname is Bao, is that right?” Xiang Wentian said.

”Yes… Yes… Yes… Bao… Bao… Bao…” He kept on mumbling for some time but never actually uttered what his given name was.

Suddenly, everyone could smell a stinky odour and saw that there was water flowing from underneath this fake Dongfang Bubai's pants. This fake Dongfang Bubai was so scared that he had actually urinated in his pants.

”We can't be delayed; finding Dongfang Bubai is our most important thing to do!” Ren Woxing decided. He then lifted Bao and bellowed, ”You've all seen clearly now. Our sect is infested by the like of this guy who is pretending to be Dongfang Bubai. We must find out the truth. I am your true Chief, Ren Woxing. Do you recognise me?”

All of the sect warriors were youths who were only in their twenties and had never seen his face before, so none of them recognised him. After Dongfang Bubai became the sect's Chief, all of his trusted aides wanted to be in his good book so they never mentioned the past matter of Chief Ren. That was why these warriors had never even heard of Ren Woxing's name. On the other hand, they thought that even though the Divine Sun Moon Sect had been in existence for hundreds of years, Dongfang Bubai had always been the Chief. They just looked at each other not daring to utter a word.

Shangguan Yun said loudly, ”Dongfang Bubai was probably killed by Yang Lianting and his cohorts. Chief Ren is our sect's chief. From now on, everyone must be loyal to Chief Ren.” After he said this, he knelt down in front of Ren Woxing and said, ”Subordinate pays his respect to Chief Ren. Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu!”

Those warriors knew that Shangguan Yun was a high-ranking officer in the sect. When they now saw him paying his respect to Ren Woxing -- after witnessing for themselves how Chief Dongfang was replaced by a fake, how their powerful and awe-inspiring Yang Lianting got his legs broken, thrown to the ground, and couldn't fight back at all -- tens of those warriors immediately knelt towards Ren Woxing and said, ”Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu!”

The rest of the warriors immediately followed suit. Having said 'Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu' hundreds of times, they unwittingly used the same words to address Ren Woxing.

Ren Woxing laughed loudly taking pride in himself. He then said, ”You must strictly guard the entrances to Dark Wood Cliff and don't let anyone go up or down from the Cliff.” The warriors acknowledged the order together.

By then, Xiang Wentian had already ordered the servants in purple to release Tong Baixiong. Tong Baixiong was really worried about the safety of Dongfang Bubai so he grabbed Yang Lianting by his neck and shouted, ”You… You… You must've killed my Brother Dongfang. You... You...” He was feeling very agitated, his voice was choking, and teardrops started to fall on his cheeks.

Yang Lianting just closed his eyes and ignored him. Tong Baixiong gave him a whack on his ear and yelled, ”What happened to my Brother Dongfang?”

Xiang Wentian hastily said, ”Lighten your hits!” But it was too late. Even though Tong Baixiong had only used around thirty percent of his power, Yang Lianting was already unconscious from the slapping. Tong Baixiong shook Yang Lianting's body. But Yang Lianting's eyes were all white and looked as if he had died.

Ren Woxing said to the purple gown servants, ”Who knows of Dongfang Bubai's whereabouts? Quickly report then I'll heap you with gifts.” He asked three times, but nobody answered. Suddenly, Ren Woxing's heart turned cold. While he was being imprisoned underneath the West Lake, besides practising his martial art, he was also imagining how to torture Dongfang Bubai once he had escaped from that prison. But today on top of Dark Wood Cliff, all he found was the fake one. It seemed as if Dongfang Bubai had died sometime ago. Otherwise, judging on Dongfang Bubai's subtlety and martial art, how could this Yang Lianting manage to commit these evil acts and order someone to pretend to be Dongfang Bubai? What was the use of torturing Yang Lianting and this idiot Bao?

He looked at the servants in purple gown scattered throughout the hall. Some of them looked completely terrified, some looked frightened and confused, and there were some who appeared cunning and deceitful. Ren Woxing was extremely disappointed and was feeling impatient. He shouted, ”You chaps, you must know this was a fake Dongfang Bubai, and cooperated with Yang Lianting in deceiving the brothers in the sect. These are unpardonable sins that deserved deaths!”

His body swayed as he rushed towards them. 'Pa, Pa, Pa, Pa'. These four soft sounds were heard as four servants in purple gowns were killed without being able to utter a single word. The rest of the servants were startled and they started to scream in fear and ran for their lives. Ren Woxing laughed fiercely and bellowed, ”Escaping! Escaping where?” He picked up the iron shackles on the ground which were originally used to shackle Tong Baixiong, and tossed them at a cluster of people. Blood and flesh flew all over the place as seven or eight people were killed. Ren Woxing laughed loudly and said, ”I will not let anyone who followed Dongfang Bubai live!”

Yingying saw her father was acting rather strangely, like he was mad, so she shouted at him, ”Daddy!” She ran to him and pulled on his hand. Suddenly, one of the servants came out and knelt down. ”Reporting to Chief. Dongfang Bubai... Dongfang Bubai didn't die!”

Jubilant, Ren Woxing ran up to that servant, grabbed his shoulders and asked, ”Dongfang Bubai didn't die?”

”Yes! AH!” the servant fainted after screaming in pain. In his excitement, Ren Woxing had actually used too much strength and broke both of that servant's shoulders. Ren Woxing shook the servant's body a few times but he didn't wake up.

Ren Woxing then turned his head to the other servants and shouted, ”Where is Dongfang Bubai? Quickly lead the way! If you're delaying me, I'll kill you all!” One servant knelt down and said, ”Reporting to Chief. The location of Dongfang Bubai is a secret and only Yang Lianting knows how to open the secret pathway. If we wake this Yang traitor up, he will lead Chief to where Dongfang Bubai is.”

Ren Woxing shouted, ”Quickly bring cold water!”

These servants in purple gown were pretty clever. Five of them immediately flew out of the hall, but only three people came back carrying bowls of cold water, as the other two had run away. They poured all three bowls of cold water over Yang Lianting's head. He slowly woke up and opened his eyes. Xiang Wentian said, ”I admire your braveness so I won't torture you any more. Now, all the paths going up and down from Dark Wood Cliff have been blocked so there's no way for Dongfang Bubai to escape unless he has a couple of wings to fly out. Quickly lead us to find him, why would a gentleman hide his face and only reveal his tail? Let's quickly decide this matter, so everyone can be happy!”

Yang Lianting smiled derisively. ”Chief Dongfang is matchless in this world. It's very good that you all want to go to your death. Alright, I'll lead you to him.”

Xiang Wentian said to Shangguan Yun, ”Brother Shangguan, let's carry Yang Lianting to see Dongfang Bubai.” He lifted Yang Lianting and dumped him on top of the stretcher. Shangguan Yun answered, ”Yes!” and lifted the stretcher together with Xiang Wentian. Yang Lianting instructed, ”Go inside!” Xiang Wentian and Shangguan Yun carried him in front to lead the way while Ren Woxing, Linghu Chong, Yingying, and Tong Baixiong followed behind them.

They went to the back of the Hall of Refined Kindness and passed through a long corridor before arriving at a flower garden. They then entered a small stone house west of the garden. Yang Lianting said, ”Push the left wall.”

When Tong Baixiong pushed the wall, it actually turned around and revealed a secret doorway. Inside there was another metal door facing them. Yang Lianting pulled out a key and handed it over to Tong Baixiong. Tong Baixiong opened the door and discovered an underground tunnel beyond that door. They all headed underground. On both sides of the tunnel were oil lamps flickering dimly. Ren Woxing thought, ”That bastard Dongfang Bubai locked me up under the West Lake. Who would've thought that he gets the same retribution and got himself locked up as well. This tunnel isn't any better than the one in Plum Manor on Mount Gu.”

But after they had made a few turns, suddenly there was an open space in front of them and they could see the bright sky. Instantly, the fragrance of flowers assaulted their noses and they felt invigorated. As they came out of the tunnel, they discovered that they were in the middle of a small delicate flower garden. Red cheery blossoms, green bamboo, green pines, and green jade cypress were planted artfully in the garden. Two yuan-yang mandarin ducks were swimming leisurely through the small pond. There were also four white cranes standing besides the pool. Seeing such an unexpected lovely tableau, they all secretly admired the scenery. They went around a fake mountain and came into a large flower garden full of red and pink roses. The roses smelled wonderfully fragrant and were delicately beautiful.

Yingying turned her head slightly to look at Linghu Chong. He had a smile in his face and looked very happy. She whispered, ”Do you think this is a lovely place?”

Linghu Chong smiled. ”After we kick Dongfang Bubai out, let's stay here for a few months. You can teach me how to play the Qin and we would be very happy.”

Yingying asked, ”Are you deceiving me?”

”I'm only afraid that if I don't learn it well then Granny would blame me for that.”

Yingying sneered and broke into a smile. The two of them were enjoying the beautiful scenery, and lagged behind the group. They saw Xiang Wentian and Shangguan Yun enter a small elegant house ahead. Linghu Chong and Yingying quickly followed them and entered the house. As soon as they had entered, they could smell the strong fragrance of flowers. There was a painting of three beautiful ladies on the wall while the chairs inside had flowery embroidered cushions. Linghu Chong thought, ”This is a lady's room. How could Dongfang Bubai be living in here? That's right. This must be his concubine's house. He's living in a gentle and soft village, that's why he doesn't care about the sect's matters.”

A voice came from the inner room, ”Brother Lian, who did you bring in with you?” The pitch of that voice was sharp and high, but at the same time still sounded coarse and rough. Whether it was from a man or a woman, that chilling voice would cause the hair on anyone's skin to stand straight up. Yang Lianting said, ”Its one of your old friends. He said he just couldn't NOT see you.”

The voice from the inner room spoke, ”Why did you bring him in for? Only you alone are allowed to come in here. Aside from you, there is no one else that I want to see.” The last two sentences were spoken quite flirtatiously, clearly sounding like the words that would come from a woman, yet the voice undoubtedly came from a man.

Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, Yingying, Tong Baixiong, and Shangguan Yun were all well acquainted with Dongfang Bubai, this voice they heard was definitely his, but sounded more like someone who was purposely squeezing his throat to raise the pitch as if learning to sing, pretending to be charming and seductive. The whole scene just appeared as if it were a joke. The look on everyone's face was of shock and bewilderment.

”I can't! If I didn't bring him in, he would've taken my life,” Yang Lianting replied. ”How could I not see you once more before I die?”

The person in the room said in a sharp voice, ”Who would dare to insult you like that? Is it Ren Woxing? Tell him to come out!” Ren Woxing, hearing that Dongfang Bubai was able to deduce that it was him based on a single sentence, dared not underestimate his intelligence. He signalled for the rest of them to slowly enter the room. Shangguan Yun lifted one of the silk embroidered curtains, carrying in Yang Lianting with him, while the rest of the group followed in from behind.

The inner room was layered with floral tapestries and brocade embroideries. A strong scent of perfume and powder filled the room. In the eastern corner on top of a make-up table a person was seated, clothed in exquisite pink robes. In his left hand was an embroidering apparatus and in his right hand was an embroidery needle. The person lifted his head and had an astonished look on his face. But the look of confusion on this person's face could never match the look on the faces of Ren Woxing and the others.

With the exception of Linghu Chong, everyone recognized this person as the person who had usurped the position of Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, who for the past ten or more years held the distinction of being the unrivalled number one fighter in all the world, Dongfang Bubai. But now, he had shaved off all his facial hair, entirely covered his face in beauty powder, and was dressed in clothing that neither resembled a man or a woman. His eyes were eerie looking, and appeared way too glamorously exaggerated, and were just a pain to look at. What was this heaven-shaking earth-shattering figure of the martial arts world doing in a woman's quarters sewing!

Ren Woxing who was originally filled with anger and rage, now couldn't help holding in his laughter. ”Dongfang Bubai, have you fallen insane?”

Dongfang Bubai in his sharp voice answered, ”So it really is Chief Ren! You've finally come! Brother Lian, you ... you ... how are you? Is he the one who hurt you?” He walked over to Yang Lianting 's side and carried him over to a bed. Dongfang Bubai had an extremely caring and worried look on his face, and asked, ”Does it hurt very badly? They're only broken shin bones, not very serious. You need not worry, I'll immediately help you start reconnecting the bones.” He slowly undressed Yang's shoes and socks, pulled him across the fragrant bed covers, and into his arms, exactly like a loving wife would do for her husband.

Everyone present couldn't help but feel shocked and slightly disgusted at what they saw. They all wanted to laugh, but the show of affection they witnessed were just too strange, any laughter wouldn't even come out. Behind those elaborately decorative curtains, in that magnificent embroidery room, the air was filled with a quaint and unnatural aura.

Dongfang Bubai pulled out a green silk handkerchief from his side and gently wiped off the sweat and dirt from Yang Lianting's forehead. Yang Lianting became slightly enraged and berated, ”A grave enemy is right in front of us, why are you still wasting time with these useless pleasantries? Beat them away first and we'll still have time for intimacy later.”

Dongfang Bubai giggled. ”Yes! Yes! Please don't get upset. Your legs must be in great pain. Oh it pains my heart to see you suffer.”

Ren Woxing, Linghu Chong and the others had never witnessed such a strange sight in their lives, they had never even heard of such a thing. Homosexuality or paedophilia was not out of the ordinary. But to see Dongfang Bubai, the exalted Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, actually dressed up like a woman, and living in a woman's quarters? He must have gone insane. When Yang Lianting spoke to him, his tone of voice was harsh and threatening. Even so, Dongfang Bubai responded quite gently and refined like an elegant lady. They all found this perplexing and figured something had to be amiss.

Tong Baixiong couldn't help it anymore and took a step forward. ”Brother Dongfang, you ... you ... what the hell are you doing?”

Dongfang Bubai lifted his head as his expression sunk. ”Were you one of the people who injured my Brother Lian as well?”

”Why are you letting that nobody boss you around? He ordered some idiot to impersonate you and pretend to be you, issuing orders in your name, and foolishly messing around with everything. Did you even know about this?”

”Of course I knew. Brother Lian always has my best interests in his heart, he knew that administrating the entire sect was too tiring for me, so he took over in my stead. There's nothing wrong with that.”

Tong Baixiong pointed to Yang Lianting. ”This person wanted me dead. Did you know about that?”

Dongfang Bubai leisurely shook his head. ”I didn't know about this. But if Brother Lian wanted you dead, then you must've done something wrong. Why didn't you let him kill you?”

Tong Baixiong looked startled. After he regained his composure, he started to laugh. In his laughter there was a certain hint of sadness. ”So if he wanted to kill me, you'd just let him do so?”

”Whatever Brother Lian wishes, I will oblige,” Dongfang Bubai replied. ”He is the only one in this world who is truly good to me, and he is the only one in this world who I will be good to. Brother Tong, you and I have had quite a friendship, but you shouldn't have offended my Brother Lian.”

Tong Baixiong's entire face flushed red. ”And I had thought that you had completely lost your mind. You still know exactly what you're talking about. You still remember that we were the best of friends, friends who braved life and death together.”

”Of course,” Dongfang Bubai said. ”If you offended me, I could care less. But you offended my Brother Lian, and that is unforgivable.”

”Well, I've already offended him, so what are you going to do? That bastard wants to take my life but I don't think he has the ability.”

Dongfang Bubai extended his hand and gently combed his fingers through Yang Lianting's hair and asked gently, ”Brother Lian, do you want to kill him?”

”Hurry up already! Stop dawdling around, you're starting to get on my nerves.”

Dongfang Bubai softly said, ”Yes!” He turned to face Tong Baixiong and said, ”Brother Tong, today we are friends no longer. Please do not blame me for it.”

Before Tong Baixiong had entered this place, he had grabbed a blade from one of the dead servants outside. As soon as he stepped in, his blade was at ready. He knew that Dongfang Bubai's martial prowess was exceptional. Although Dongfang Bubai appeared quite mad and out of his mind, Tong Baixiong still dared not let his guard down. He brandished his blade and took a defensive position.

Dongfang Bubai smiled coldly and said, ”Oh, must this be so difficult? Brother Tong, during that time on Mount Taiheng, the Seven Tigers of Ludong had me surrounded. I hadn't yet finished my training then and was caught in an ambush by them. My right arm was severely injured, and I was certain that I was finished. If it weren't for you who came to my rescue, how could I have lived up to this day?”

Tong Baixiong asked, ”You really still remember those times from the distant past?”

”How could I forget? And during the time when I took control of the Sun Moon Sect, Elder Luo of Sparrow Hall wouldn't submit to my rule, constantly nagging and complaining. It was you who dispatched Elder Luo with a single blow. It was from that day forth that not another person dared to speak up and question my authority. You definitely deserve much credit for that.”

Tong Baixiong replied resentfully, ”I was quite foolish back then!”