Chapter 450 - The Senior Brother of Liu Liancheng (1/2)
“What… are you talking about?”
The voice sounded weak and breathy, although it was no less audible in the silence of the night and the suddenness of it was enough to make Qingluan and Ziyun’er jump. The former scurried over to him. “You shouldn’t be here, My Lord. The weather is cold outside.”
Ziyun’er rubbed off her tears and kept her head down when she rejoined them. But her puffy eyes and the two lines of dried tears failed to escape Xiao Chen’s notice. “Why are you crying again?” he asked softly, with a hand on the wall of the cave to keep himself still as he convulsed into coughs again. “I just woke up,” a sickly him went on, “And I found you both missing. So here am I, looking for you. What happened?”
“No-nothing, My Lord. Let me help you. Let’s go inside.”
They went back to the cave. Ziyun’er cowered in a corner, hugging her knees quietly. Xiao Chen propped himself up against the wall of the cave chamber, the chilly sensation of the jagged surface kept him from blacking out again as his mind swam with memories of his past until everything was a blur to him.
“Mysteries abound your Destiny. There may come a day when you are helpless and your end is nigh. Use all that you’ve learned. Every shred of knowledge bestowed upon you by the Mystic Cyan Sect. Use them well in conjunction with everything given to you by that person. Perhaps you might be able to turn the tables against all odds. In three days, you will be invincible. So powerful you would be, that not even the Fallen Devil would… But your omnipotence comes with a price: Death will come to you after three days. In fact…”
His mind dove through another wave of dizziness, failing to remember who was it or when did he hear these words…
A ray of sunlight slanted into the cave the next morning, heralding the coming of another beautiful day portended by the invigorating air outside and the carillon of merry chirps from the birds in the valley. Xiao Chen stirred from his sleep, opening his eyes slowly. The bright sunlight blinded him before he got used to the light but he spied Qingluan and Ziyun’er standing at the yawning entrance, looking into afar. Koo-chee beast was perched on Qingluan’s shoulder, looking in the same direction as them, towards the direction of the Red Chamber.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Koo-chee!” Koo-chee screeched joyously. It leaped off Qingluan’s shoulder and scampered to him to nip affectionately at his cheek.
Qingluan strode back inside, frowning. “Something seems to be wrong at Jueming Gorge.” As if on a cue, a clangor, so loud that Xiao Chen could hear it now, broke out suddenly from afar. It came from the direction of Liu Liancheng’s Red Chamber. There were noises of people shouting and the ringing of steel striking on steel. Fearing that if any harm were to come to Liu Liancheng, there would be no one left to cure Xiao Chen, Ziyun’er came back inside and asked, “Should we go and have a look?”
Qingluan helped Xiao Chen up and the trio moved into the Gorge. They were close when they saw what was going on: a fight had broken out. Acolytes of Jueming Gorge were locked in a fierce battle against more than 20 men in black led by a man in red garb. There were many deaths and most of them were the Jueming Gorge orderlies; no doubt, these more-than-twenty men were skilled dealers in death.
The man in red looked almost similar to Liu Liancheng in age. With an impressive height of almost eight feet, clothed fully red with a golden belt to boot, the man looked suave and sleek, waving his black iron folding fan lazily. He was standing underneath the shade of a tree, overlooking the slaughter of the Jueming Gorge acolytes with a wry smile on his face. “Junior Brother!” He called loudly towards inside, “Are you waiting for me to have all these boys killed before you would show yourself?”
He raised a hand and magically summoned a little boy, another acolyte of Liu Liancheng, who had been cowering in fear behind a door, into his grasp. “I gather this boy must be your heir, Junior Brother? You’d better show yourself at the count of three, or I’d just kill him! ONE!”
Ziyun’er lowered into a crouch; she was about to speed forward to save the child, but a hand held her back. Her head whirled backward and she saw Qingluan shaking her head at her.
The little acolyte looked only barely ten years of age. Yet despite being held at knifepoint, he betrayed hardly any hint of fear. The little child, with a fortitude that belied his age, spat furiously, his boyish eyes shining with defiance, “Evil men! Enough with all the threats! Kill me if you dare! The Young Master would never yield to the likes of you!”
The tall man was already on his second count when he heard how feisty a little boy the acolyte was. “Hahahaha!” He burst out laughing, “Junior Brother! I see your little disciple here shares your temperament. Little man, yet stout in spirit! Very well, I’ll kill him first!” He raised a fist, ready to deal a fatal blow.
“WAIT!” Another boy screamed from behind the door, his nostrils flaring angrily, “Take me! Let go of my Junior Brother!”
“Are you seeing this, Junior Brother?” The tall man laughed out loud. “Are you seeing this!? Have I not defended you like this many years ago? Yet, now, you seek only to break my heart…”
He had barely finished when a figure flew in the air and landed just before the Red Chamber. Liu Liancheng, his discolored face fraught with rage, thundered, “Feng Yufeng! How dare you! Involving two ten-year-old children into our feud! Stop this at once! Enough of all this savagery!”
“Hahahaha! Well said, Junior Brother! Well said!” Feng Yufeng guffawed, throwing his head back. He released the little boy he held, shoving him aside brusquely and said, “Oh, my dear Junior Brother. Do you not fear death? You should have arranged for more people to protect you. Or are you really suffering from the delusion that no one would really dare to hurt you?”
Liu Liancheng made no reply. His two disciples rushed to him, crying, “Young Master!” With a brisk wave of his arm, he motioned for them to withdraw while never once taking his eyes off Feng Yufeng. “It’s still early before the time of our ten-year agreement. What are you doing here!”
“Hahahahaha! What am I doing?!” Feng Yufeng erupted into a maniacal peal of laughter only to stop and lunged suddenly like a panther. He brandished his iron fan and held it to Liu Liancheng’s throat in an instant and sneered. “The Young Maestro Liu Liancheng who is as steadfast as a rock! But I, Feng Yufeng, am like the wind! I come and go as I please! And here I am, deciding to renege on our agreement, as it pleases me!”
“You scum!” Liu Liancheng hissed contemptuously but he hardly moved an inch. They were both fellow students under the tutelage of the same teacher, but Liu Liancheng was immensely skilled and talented in the magic and crafts of healing, a department where Feng Yufeng could only dream to compete.