31 Concourse of the Underworld (1/2)

Yun Yang shook his head gently. “It is not yet time.”

Lao Mei grew even more confused and bewildered.

Is it still not yet time? If not now, then when? Will it only be the time when you’ve managed to insult and provoke everyone around you?

“Lao Mei, kindly dig out all that we have on Xie Wuyuan’s criminal past.” Yun Yang did not bother to explain himself and steered the conversation into another direction.

“Certainly.” Lao Mei smiled at his request. “I took the liberty of preparing the records the moment I heard that young master was involved in the ruckus at the Xie family residence.

“Brilliant!” Yun Yang then said cheerfully, “Prepare a copy and deliver it over to Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan.”

“Do I still send it over... discreetly?”

“But of course.”

Lao Mei lifted his head to look at the sky and said, “I’ll go at midnight.”

“Duly noted.”

With that, Yun Yang turned and walked over to the room on his right, which was still merrily lit. “I guess there is no better time than the present to get things done.”

Fealty Jade Sword Fang Mofei had maintained a veil of guarded silence since the day the two of them had guessed each other’s identities. He barely spoke and did nothing else other than to practice cultivation, heal his injuries, eat, drink, and sleep each day.

Walking was difficult for him; even if held onto the table as he paced around his room, he found that he would soon be panting, short of breath. While Yun Yang feasted merrily that night, Fang Mofei did not join the young master but cultivated instead. He was waiting - waiting for Yun Yang to eventually seek him out. He knew not how the confrontation would turn out, but he was certain that Yun Yang had his motives for allowing him to stay.

Finally, he heard Yun Yang approach.

This time around, there were no probing questions, no verbal fencing; Yun Yang came in and sat right down.

“Brother Fang, how do you fare?” Yun Yang asked with a friendly smile.

“I am recovering speedily - much faster than I actually thought possible.” Fang Mofei seemed to be surprised by his own healing capabilities as he continued, “In any other circumstance, a man who had sustained injuries as I did would have died if there weren’t a godly physician to intervene and treasured gems of heaven and earth to secure his life-force. With the extent of my wounds, I was surprised that I even managed to regain consciousness. I have, however, examined my surroundings as I lay on my sick bed. These medicines I have consumed were merely ordinary remedies; that I can already stand up now is the result of a miracle.”

Deep in his heart, Fang Mofei was astounded; he had roamed the martial arts world his entire life, but it was the first time he had encountered such a bizarre incident. That it had happened to him and he had no clue as to how it actually occurred made it all the more puzzling.

As Yun Yang enquired about his health, Fang Mofei felt an odd sense of irritation that he had called him Brother Fang. Although I look like a man in his thirties, the truth is that I’ve seen closer to eighty summers. Would it not be inappropriate for a young whelp like you to call me Brother Fang?

It was difficult, however, to voice such petty concerns to the man who had saved his life.

“Regardless of how and why, I would still wish to thank Young Master Yun for his grace.” Fang Mofei nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment of his benefactor’s generosity.

“It was but a slight effort; please do not make further mention of it.” Yun Yang grinned impishly and said, “Besides, if you wished to thank me, what you have brought to me has already exceeded my expectations.”

Fang Mofei’s heart sank as he replied, “Young Master Yun, do you speak of… the Lightning Cats?”

Yun Yang’s smile held volumes of meaning as he replied, “Lightning Cats? Why Brother Fang, if they were Lightning Cats, they wouldn’t be worth the grace that you mentioned earlier.”

Fang Mofei’s lips twitched in barely hidden worry at Yun Yang’s insinuating comments.

“What I wish to know is this; how did Brother Fang, Fealty Jade Sword, manage to get his hands on these… Lightning Cats?” Yun Yang asked with an artfully puzzled expression. “Based on my limited knowledge of these things, Lightning Cats make their homes in the borderless forest. Although they don’t travel into the heart of the area, they are still the ultimate rulers of the outer rim!”

Yun Yang spoke in a tone filled with wonder, “Fealty Jade Sword, Fang Mofei; seventh peak and sixth tier of mystical Qi; he wields an indestructible white Frost Jade Sword. At the tender age of seven, he had already learned the ways of the sword and achieved unparalleled greatness within a decade. He roamed the martial arts world, had been at the thick of countless battles and had reached the seventh peak of mystical Qi at the age of fifty-six. The only known defeat he has ever suffered was at the hands of a masked individual dressed entirely in shades of night, said to be the Saber of Cyclone, Wang Zifu. After being vanquished, Fang Mofei vanished for three whole years, before he made a spectacular comeback into the world at large.

Outwardly, Fang Mofei remained impassive, a solid block of marble. Inwardly, he couldn’t have been more dumbstruck upon hearing Yun Yang’s litany of his impressive achievements.

Ever since his reemergence, all of the information on his battles with friends and foes alike were neatly encapsulated in Yun Yang’s reports. What was even more outrageous was the fact that Fang Mofei had never discovered the identity of the man who had managed to defeat him; this young fellow had just casually revealed the information that he had spent endless days trying to unearth.

Fang Mofei’s voice shook slightly as he nodded in agreement. “Young Master Yun, your information is incredibly detailed.”

“Detailed?” Yun Yang’s chuckle held no humor. “These are simply the facts that are publicly known. There is, however, another set of stories that have always been kept in the dark; would you like to hear about those?”

Fang Mofei was alarmed. “In the dark?”

Like a learned scholar, Yun Yang placed both his arms behind his back as he looked out the window, and spoke as if reciting from a parchment, “Fang Mofei, nicknamed Fealty Jade Sword; the use of the word ‘fealty’, however, might be highly presumptuous. Fang Mofei is not a man who commits heinous crimes, but is unworthy of the word ‘fealty’. In Fang Mofei’s hands, there exists another weapon, lethal once unleashed. Personally, I believe that the secrecy surrounding this weapon is the very reason the term ‘fealty’ could have come about. This weapon is very well concealed indeed.”