A green shadow flashed as A’qing shot forward. A green blur and a white blur was moving quickly around each other.

Fan Li cried gladly, “Grandpa White’s here!” It’s a while before the two combatants slowed down enough for him to get a good look. Then he got a great surprise.

The one fighting A’qing wasn’t human. It was a white ape.

The white ape, too, was holding a bamboo stick. The white ape performed intricate sword forms. The whooshing sound of the stick signalled the great strength it put into each form. But every time he attack, A’qing was always able to block or redirect each blow and counter attack using even more intricate sword forms.

When A’qing fought the Wu swordsmen, the forms she used were minimal. Only now Fan Li witnessed the vast skill A’qing wielded. He was no expert in swords, but he had looked at the Yue swordsmen train for many years. Now, he realised that the best swordsmen of Yue were but children playing with toys when compared to A’qing and Grandpa.

The white ape’s attacks sped up faster and faster. A’qing slowed down instead. She stood still, but each time she thrust with her bamboo stick, the white ape was forced to jump back.

A’qing forced the white ape three steps, then she pulled back her stick and stood still. The white ape held his stick in two hands and jumped to attack. Fan Li saw the strength of the attack and cried out, “Watch out!” A’qing’s stick moved too fast to be seen. There were two m.u.f.fled sounds of impact, then the white ape’s bamboo stick dropped to the ground. The white ape howled and jumped up to a tree. Then it leaped away. The howl was intense, but became muter as the it went farther away. The howl reverberated long after the white ape was gone.

A’qing turned back and sighed, “Grandpa broke both of his arms. Now he won’t come play with me anymore.”

Fan Li said, “You broke his arms?”

A’qing nodded, “Grandpa is very angry today. Three times, he tried to leap over and kill you.”

Fan Li said in surprise, “Kill me? Why?”

A’qing shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Fan Li became scared in secret, “If A’qing didn’t stop it, that white ape can kill me, easy as blowing away a pile of ash!”

The next morning, A’qing faced twenty of the best swordsmen of Yue alone. Fan Li knew that A’qing could not teach other people how to use the sword the way she did, so the only way was for the Yue swordsmen to imitate her.

The problem was no Yue swordsmen could last three pa.s.ses from her. Whenever A’qing’s bamboo stick moved, her opponent either lost his sword, or got stabbed in some delicate area.

The next day, she defeated thirty swordsmen. The third day, thirty more lost.

The fourth day, Fan Li went to ask her for another lesson, but he could not find her. He went to her home, but the house was empty. Fan Li sent hundreds of his servants and guards into the mountains to look for her, but no one could find any trace of her.

The eighty Yue swordsmen didn’t learn the true sword skill from A’qing, but they saw the smallest portion of the ultimate sword skill. All the swordsmen now knew the true height sword skill could go. The eighty swordsmen tried to teach the small portion they could understand to their comrades. Even this pale shadow of a pale shadow of the ultimate skill was enough, Yue swordsmen became invincible.

King Goujian ordered Xue Zhu to forge thousands of sharp swords.

Three years later, Goujian attacked Wu. The armies of Yue and Wu met next to a lake. Five thousand Yue swordsmen marched forward. Wu swordsmen met them. Yue swords flashed and the Wu army was shattered.

King Fuchai retreated to Yu Hong Mountain. The army of Yue followed. The second battle ensued. The Wu army was again defeated. Fuchai committed suicide in order to avoid the cruel fate Goujian had in store for him. Yue took the capital of Wu.

Fan Li led one thousand swordsmen and rushed to King Fuchai’s resort palace. That was where Xi Shi lived. He ran into the palace, shouting, “Yiguang! Yiguang!”

He ran past a long corridor, his footstep echoed clearly. The corridor was hollow underneath. Xi Shi walked lightly, the rhythm of her steps was more enchanting than any music. Fuchai built this palace, this corridor in order to listen to the melody of her footsteps.

At the other end of the corridor, music came, like the sound of a happy mandolin, like the clear sound of a zither. A soft voice said, “Shao Bo, is that really you?”

Fan Li felt blood rushing upward from his chest and shouted, “It’s me. It’s me. I have come for you.” His own voice seemed like the voice of a stranger, speaking from far away. He ran forward with uneven steps.

The music came down the corridor, a soft body entered his embrace.

The spring night was meltingly warm. Flower fragrance floated through the curtains, entering the chambers of the resort palace. Fan Li and Xi Shi talked about their longing for each other.

Suddenly the sound goat penetrated into their awareness.

Fan Li said, “You can’t forget you homeland? You have goats here?”

Xi Shi shook her head. She wondered about the goats, but she couldn’t think of anything else in the presence of the man she loved. She held Fan Li’s hand, and fiery blood flowed faster through their arteries.

Suddenly, the voice of a woman sounded, “Fan Li! Bring out you Xi Shi. I’ll kill her!”

Fan Li stood up. Xi Shi felt his palm suddenly turning cold. Fan Li recognized A’qing’s voice. Her voice came from outside of the resort palace.

Fan Li was fearful and puzzled. “Why does she want to kill Yiguang? Yiguang had never wronged her.” Then he understood, “She’s not really a simple village girl. She always liked me.” The understanding only made him more fearful.

He had gone through many, many difficult decisions as well as dangerous situations. The fear he felt when he was trapped with Goujian in a Wu siege was far less than what he felt now. Xi Shi felt his palm trembling and covered with cold sweat.

Fan Li was not afraid of his own death. He feared for Xi Shi.

Fan Li pulled himself under control and said, “I will go see this person.” He released Xi Shi’s hand and walked out of the palace.

Eighteen swordsmen followed him. They all heard A’qing’s cry. They were baffled and curious. Fan Li only saw the clear moonlight outside, but no one was visible. He cried out loudly, “Lady A’qing, please come here. We have things to talk about.” But he heard no reply. He waited, but A’qing did not come. He ordered one thousand armored soldiers and one thousand elite swordsmen to be moved to the resort palace.

He returned to Xi Shi and held her hands again. He didn’t say anything. He was planning as he never planned before, “Should I let one of the servant maids pretending to be Xi Shi and let A’qing kill her? Should I commit suicide before A’qing so she will spare Xi Shi? Should I order two thousand archers surrounding this place and shoot A’qing full of arrows if she tries to force her way in?” Every plan he had was flawed. He also didn’t want to kill A’qing, who had made the destruction of Wu possible. He stared at Xi Shi. Suddenly he felt warmth in his heart, “It’s good that we’ll die this way. At least we spend sometime together before we die together.”