Book 15 Chapter 3 – Major Enemy Waiting For The Opportunity

Lightning flashed, sword qi filled the air.

Shi Feixuan’s Color Empty Sword filled the air with light and shadow, which completely enveloped Xu Ziling.

She was like a fairy dancing lightly and gracefully. Her shadow was barely discernible amidst the flashes of her sword, like the bright moon hidden behind hazy cloud. The densely cold sword qi spread far and wide that Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, who were standing three zhang away, could also feel it. The momentum swaying back and forth was like swirling flakes of snow in the middle of a storm.

Xu Ziling had already stored up his momentum as he was waiting quietly, and was in full alert. But he still could not anticipate that this seemingly gentle, tender and graceful, touching, engaging and charming beauty’s delicate hand, which was whiter than frost and softer than snow, would be able to unleash such a terrifying sword moves, which were swifter than a rainstorm.

He knew that this was a critical moment. As soon as he failed to block, her sword qi would invade his meridians, it might immediately spur reaction, and then she would know that the Jade Annulus of He Clan’s special power has entered his system.

Xu Ziling’s body turned into shadow, which swiftly advanced and retreated in the midst of sword shadow. With the fingers closed together his left hand formed a saber, brimming with his true power, moving so fast that ordinary people would not be able to see it, as it chopped to the left and parried to the right, each palm strike accurately hitting the body of Shi Feixuan’s Color Empty Sword’s blade.

Still, everybody knew that Shi Feixuan held the initiatives in her hand, while the opponent was stuck in passive position and could only react to her move.

Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong stared tongue-tied, and felt so helpless.

Xu Ziling has always been able to utilize his acute sense of touch to grasp key moment, but this time, this advantage was completely lost on Shi Feixuan.

With mystical and abstruse style, and graceful-like-an-immortal shenfa, every single sword strike of Shi Feixuan seemed to be able to grab the key moment and thus completely nullify Xu Ziling’s counter-offensive.

No more than twenty moves later, Xu Ziling was completely under the sword’s control; without the freedom to act independently he was falling under the opponent’s like-a-heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-sky sword’s sphere of influence. His range of motion diminished. The moment he was unable to evade would be the moment he suffered utter defeat.

Even in this precarious situation, Xu Ziling’s heart was still free of distraction, his mind was as still as the moon in the well.

Although he was in the worst predicament possible, this situation has actually stirred up his overbearing, unyielding determination. With heart and soul he met Shi Feixuan’s floating-freely, fantastically-changing, ever-increasing-in-power, sword technique.

Using the heart to control the sword.

Shi Feixuan’s sword technique did not follow any established rules, but each strike of the sword was designed to hit the opponent’s weak point. Every sword strike carried the power of a thousand hammers, a hundred (scale) weights, which seized away the heaven and the earth’s good luck.

The most formidable thing was the sword qi shooting out of the blade of her sword, which flowed swiftly into every gap, no-hole-left-uninvaded, which was very difficult to guard against.

Xu Ziling suddenly closed his eyes; pulling back his left hand, he sent out a right punch.

‘Peng!’

The body of the Color Empty Sword was hit by Xu Ziling’s fist.

Powerful qi swept across horizontally, kicking up the dust in the street.

Ever since the start of the battle, this was the first time Xu Ziling was able to attack the blade of Shi Feixuan’s Color Empty Sword.

Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan could not refrain from shouting out, “Good!”

Sword shadow dissipated.

Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to seize this opportunity to attack, when suddenly a bright light flashed in front of his eyes; like a lightning that suddenly struck from the outer sky and broke through the dark cloud of the night, the Color Empty Sword suddenly appeared in front of his chest.

It was the very first time that the idea that the enemy was not someone he could defeat appeared in his mind; his heart was shaken even more. He knew that under the opponent’s powerful offensive, he had lost his confidence. If he let this condition continued, his defeat was decided. Then in his pursue of martial art cultivation later on, this blow would become a setback that he could not remedy. It might also prevent him from reaching the peak of perfection all his life.

It was a distracting thought. But just before Shi Feixuan’s penetrating-the-universe sword momentum, who could resist such dejected feeling?

Such a simple sword, yet it contained incomparably profound xinfa and sword logic. It looked slow, but it also looked fast. Just in term of speed alone, it was already difficult to comprehend; plus the blade was vibrating, like a viper’s tongue, which gave up the impression that it could change direction at any time.

In this instant where victory and defeat would be decided, Xu Ziling took a deep breath and pushed away all distracting thoughts out of his mind. His eyes flashed with lightning, both palms closed together like a lotus, and then like a blooming flower all ten fingers opened up in front of the blade like countless finger shadows.

‘Pow!’

Xu Ziling’s left thumb knocked horizontally against the body of the blade, but his entire body was jolted back as if he was struck by lightning.

Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were shocked.

Shi Feixuan’s sword strike was undoubtedly unparalleled in the world, but Xu Ziling’s weird move was exquisite and brilliant beyond compare; it has practically sealed off all attack routes she could possibly take, while also met this one strike head-on.

The problem was that all along, Xu Ziling’s true qi was still a level below Shi Feixuan’s the incomparably refined and pure enigmatic sect and orthodox school’s sword qi, which she cultivated since childhood. In addition, the opponent has always been occupying the superior position of offensive initiative. Therefore, not suffering any setback would be a marvel indeed.

‘Wah!’

While his body was spiraling in the air as he was thrown back, Xu Ziling spewed a mouthful of blood.

Shi Feixuan’s sword momentum congealed; unexpectedly she did not follow up her victory and press home the attack.

Xu Ziling’s martial art cultivation was far beyond her expectation. Not only his tenacity was outstanding, he was able to produce strange moves one after another, so that although she maintained the offensive for a long time, she failed to defeat him. The last sword strike just now looked like it would hit his acupoint and thus render him incapable to continue the fight, but unexpectedly it was neutralized by his top-notch amazing technique. She was able to injure him until he vomited blood, but it was not her heart’s desire.

‘Qiang! Qiang!’

Finally Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were unable to hold on anymore. Saber and sword left their scabbards.

‘Dang!’

Again Liao Kong rang the copper bell as a warning.

Right this moment, a shadow shot down like an arrow from the building to their left, straight toward Shi Feixuan.

The air around them seemed to implode, so that they all felt extremely uncomfortable.

Such a dreadful martial art, except for the Tian Mo Gong, there was no other.

The plain-clothed, barefooted Wanwan suddenly appeared like a specter coming out of the deepest black hole of the dream; before the person arrived, a thin stream of ribbon already flew out of her right hand sleeve, like a snake it rolled toward Shi Feixuan, whose mind was still distracted by Xu Ziling’s profoundness. Its momentum was swift and fierce to the extreme.

It was absolutely comparable to Shi Feixuan’s sword a moment ago.

Only it did not generate any noise or even the whistling sound of qi power splitting the air.

When her body was still high in the air, her other hand lightly waved her gauzed sleeve in such an amazingly graceful manner, shooting three streams of white light, attacking Xu Ziling, who was still staggering, and Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, who were in ready-to-pounce stance. Nobody knew how she did it, but it was very fast and accurate.

Following the sound of yelling and angry scream, four different shadows shot down from the top of two opposite buildings nearest this side of the bridge. Surprisingly they were Bu Chen, Bu Ju, Bu Tan, and Bu Chi, the Four Great Protector Vajra of Jing Nian Chanyuan.

Under the moonlight, especially because the light was behind them, their Buddhist staffs appeared even darker; carrying thunderous whistling, their might was awe-inspiring.

Apparently they were stationed around the battle ground to guard against other people rushing to intervene; but obviously they could not stop Wanwan, this special grade martial art master.

Reverend Liao Kong invoked the many names of Buddha, and like a meteor catching up with the moon he flew over at top speed.

In spite all these, Shi Feixuan, who was the target of the sneak attack, remained calm as usual. The Color Empty Sword rose up, while her body floated diagonally up to meet Wanwan.

However, everybody knew that Wanwan chose this exact moment to make her move, because she knew that after fighting a hard battle with a formidable opponent, and moreover because she accidentally injured Xu Ziling, her mind was distracted and her acute spirit was discharged. Hence for Wanwan, who had been amassing her momentum for a long time in waiting, this moment was precisely the one-in-a-thousand golden opportunity to strike the enemy.

At this point, the one closest to Wanwan was Xu Ziling.

But he simply had no time. Plus he had to deal with the secret projectile shot by Wanwan; hence even if he wanted to help, he was simply powerless.

Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were, first of all, comparatively farther away, and secondly, they were also busy blocking the secret projectile, hence no matter what, they were a hair slower. Other people need not be mentioned; they were like ‘water from afar quenches no fire’.

In the blink of an eye, these two illustrious successors representing orthodox and heretic, two separate ways, were engaged in a confrontation against each other.

The tip of the sword hit the end of the ribbon.

Shi Feixuan’s tender body was slightly shaken; she flew horizontally toward the Tianjin Bridge.

Jolted by the impact, the three-zhang long ribbon was bended first, and then the force flowed along the length of the ribbon, making a wave, which, in turn, became a dozen or so rotating rings; like a shadow it followed Wanwan as she soared into the air to pursue Shi Feixuan, who was flying away in the opposite direction.

One after another Kou Zhong, three men, dodged the flying blades thrown by Wanwan. Meanwhile the two women already crossed sword and ribbon in the air above the bridge, like numerous strings [of musical instrument] being plucked together at the same time, in an instant they already exchanged more than ten moves.

Although it happened in such a short period of time, the battle was incomparably intense. Each move carried full power; ruthless, swift and fierce, speed against speed. Amidst the flashes of the sword and the shadows of the ribbon, the two women fought in the air, and down onto the bridge. Their figures advancing and retreating abruptly, like a rabbit evading the falcon’s hunt. Since the spectators could not even see their face and figure clearly, they could forget about trying to intervene. They only know that at any time the conclusion would come, in the form of splashing blood and a dead body lying on the ground.

Ba Fenghan was the first to rush toward the head of the bridge. He was about to act when Wanwan and Shi Feixuan suddenly separated.

Shi Feixuan floated toward the railing of the bridge, the Color Empty Sword was pointing toward Wanwan; an unusual redness appeared on her pretty face.

In an extremely graceful posture, Wanwan soared up and landed down on the head of the bridge on the opposite side.

Before her feet touched the ground, Bu Tan and Bu Ju’s more than a hundred catty Buddhist staffs swept down from the sky, bringing with them the pressure of a storm, blowing her clothes that it was pressed up against her body, emphasizing her beautiful body lines.

Kou Zhong and the others cried ‘Bad!’ inwardly; they were the only ones who knew best the level of Wanwan’s formidability. How could these two monks be her match?

Wanwan’s sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade bare feet lightly pushed on the flagstone of the bridgehead, propelling herself at an angle, and in an instant she broke through the two monks’ staff shadows.

Amidst her tender laughter, Bu Tan and Bu Ju staggered and fell to the side. Wanwan continued to rise, and then changed direction toward the Luo River. Glancing back, she laughed and said, “Meizi’s [younger sister] is indeed out of the ordinary; thank you for letting Wanwan experience it!”

Right this moment, strange light suddenly flashed; a burst of rays of light shot up at an angle from the small barge parked under the bridge, fast like a thunderbolt it struck Wanwan, who was still flying in the air.

Again Wanwan let out her sweet-sounding, silver-bell like tender laughter. Her right sleeve brushed away, she swept the tip of the folding fan to the side, and said with a laugh, “Hou Xiong is no longer a man who cherishes flowers?”

The interceptor was none other than the ‘Passionate Prince’ Hou Xibai.

His folding fan’s momentum being blocked, Hou Xibai let out a stifled groan as he was jolted back onto the ground, and was thrown about a zhang until he was stopped by the embankment.

Borrowing the reaction force, Wanwan flew up at an angle and disappeared behind the multi-story building some distance away from the River.

Came and went like the wind, or like a demon or a specter, making people unsure whether it was real, or they were simply having a nightmare.

In the meantime Bu Tan and Bu Ju had just landed on the ground. Although they were no longer staggering, their footsteps were heavy; a clear sign that they had suffered injury.

Liao Kong swept past Ba Fenghan, three men, who were stopping at the head of the bridge, toward Shi Feixuan, and put his palms together in greeting.

Bu Chi and Bu Chen stood behind the three, quietly taking their position to surround them.

Shi Feixuan floated over the bridge; her expression was as calm as ever, with some kind of gracefulness, free and easy, beautiful appearance of a fairy.

Her deep gaze was fixed on the distance, where Wanwan was disappearing in the dark.

Hou Xibai scrambled toward the bridge. Deeply concerned, he asked, “Feixuan, is your honorable self well?”

All eyes were on this as-simple-and-elegant-as-a-fairy beauty.

Shi Feixuan gave a slight smile; she said glibly, “Tian Mo Gong is indeed worthy to be called the Demon Cult’s consummate skill; its countless changes emerge in endless succession.”

And then her gaze fell on Xu Ziling. “How’s Xu Xiong’s injury?” she asked tenderly.

Xu Ziling did not expect that, under this circumstance, she still cared about the injury of this ‘enemy’; an extremely odd feeling emerged in his heart. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he replied seriously, “Thank you, Miss, for your concern.”

‘Pfft!’ Shi Feixuan burst out in tender laughter. “It was me who injure you,” she said, “Why did you thank me?”

Her rarely-came-out burst of laughter was like a blooming flower, or the sunrise from the eastern mountain; so brilliant that it dazzled everybody else. Except for Liao Kong, who still looked like an old monk in deep meditation, even the Four Great Protector Vajra were also staring blankly at her. Kou Zhong, Hou Xibai, and the others need not be mentioned.

The smile subsided, Shi Feixuan returned to her still-water-without-any-ripple expression. Sweeping Xu Ziling, three men, with her gaze, she spoke indifferently, “For the time being, we’ll set the Jade Annulus of He Clan matter aside. I will decide how to pursue this matter later.”

And then turning her attention to Hou Xibai, she said, “Feixuan will momentarily stay at the Dhyana Temple to recover. If there’s karma between us, I will see Hou Xiong later.”

Finished speaking, she turned around and left.

Liao Kong and the others, five monks, immediately put their palms together in salute toward Xu, Kou and Ba; they were very polite that it did not look like they consider the three as their enemy. And then they left to escort Shi Feixuan.

Ba Fenghan and the others looked at each other; they all did not expect that this matter would end like this, so they were not sure if they should thank Wanwan, or they should hate her.

Hou Xibai appeared to be in daze; he mumbled repeatedly, “Feixuan is injured, Feixuan is injured …”

Kou Zhong made an eye signal toward Ba Fenghan. The latter turned to Hou Xibai, “Hou Xiong …”

He had just started, Hou Xibai, who was still on the bridge, suddenly turned around to look at them. His eyes turned cold as he said, “Next time if the three gentlemen are dealing with Yin Gui Pai, please do not forget to leave me a share.”

With a leap he landed on the small barge under the bridge, and let the current bring the boat downstream.

All around them the street has returned to its cold and quiet atmosphere.

Ba Fenghan sighed involuntarily; turning toward Xu Ziling, he asked, “Is Ziling all right?”

Xu Ziling looked up at the moon above; heaving a deep, heavy sigh, he shook his head and said, “Just now my heart was slightly tight, but now I feel much better!”

Kou Zhong walked over toward Xu Ziling; with an arm around his shoulder, he raised the other hand’s thumb and praised, “Xiao Ling is really all right! This is called glorious defeat. Over time, we need not be afraid of anybody.”

And then he added, “What are we going to do now? Shall we go back to that wine shop and drink until morning, or find a quiet place and have his mother’s good sleep for a while?”

Looking around, Xu Ziling wondered aloud, “How come along the Heavenly Street all stores and shops have their doors and windows closed? We don’t even see half a pedestrian on the street either. Don’t you think this is strange?”

Kou Zhong speculated, “Perhaps that ********* Wang Shichong is afraid bystanders might be injured accidentally, hence he issued an order prohibiting anybody to step out even half a pace after certain hours certain time. Or something like that. Maybe?”

Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, “That is one possibility, but I still feel like something is wrong.”

Kou Zhong pulled the arm with which he embraced Xu Ziling’s shoulders, “Standing foolishly waiting for people to challenge us for battle like this is not the way to deal with this matter; we’d better go someplace else.”

Sneering, Xu Ziling said, “Who would put us up for the night now? Including your old friend Wang Shichong, who’d welcome us in Luoyang?”

It was not clear whether Ba Fenghan was thinking about Princess Dong Ming; he sighed and said, “How about Mr. Xu’s little nest?”

Kou Zhong’s heart was moved; he laughed and said, “How about going to the casino’s big boss Rong Fengxiang’s magnificent residence to hide for the night? Doing a bit of harm to this fellow is not a bad thing either.”

The other two looked at him, stunned.

Kou Zhong explained, “Tonight Dong Shuni was going to the Rong Mansion to join Rong Fengxiang’s birthday feast; she even told me to wait at the back door, she’d slip out and we’d elope together, so … Hey! Why are you two looking at me with such a dreadful and dubious expression like that?”

Ba Fenghan coldly said, “If Dong Shuni had wanted to elope, she would have eloped for a hundred times. Why does she show you, Zhong Shao, a special favor? Don’t you find it suspicious?”

Kou Zhong was stunned. “You think that’s impossible?” he said, “I did not treat her too shabbily either! You think she is setting a trap to harm me?”

Xu Ziling said, “What relationship does she have with you? Why did she pick you? Why does she want to elope with you?”

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Actually, she and I had a bit of relationship; but now that you mentioned it, I also feel that there’s something not quite right. I hope she was just joking! Otherwise there must be a bit of problem here; like, she is a woman who adores glory, splendor, wealth and rank, how could she be willing to abandon all those, and come with me, a lone wanderer, to the other end of the world?”

And then he clapped his hands and said, “All right! Enough chitchat! Where are we going now?”

Suddenly all three men’s eyes lit up.

Actually, the entire Tianjin Bridge lit up.

Turning their heads around, they saw a huge, brightly lit ship, was sailing upstream toward the Tianjin Bridge.

This ship originally had no light, but suddenly it became this bright; they definitely had a team of well-trained ‘lamplighters’.

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Old Ba, you win! I am afraid tonight we really have to bear it until dawn. I hope two gentlemen still remember that Triangular Formation.”