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Published at 12th of October 2021 10:13:15 AM


Chapter 406: 406

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"Dage, Sige," Yin Liting said, "You are talking empty talk, isn't that a groundless fear? [lit. 杞人忧天 – the man of Qi fears the sky falling] Qidi might not necessarily face a grave danger."

"But after seeing the sword Qidi used to carry, I cannot help but feel fearful and apprehensive; I can't eat and sleep in peace," Song Yuanqiao said.

"This matter is very unclear," Yu Lianzhou said, "For people like us, martial arts practitioners, we can't casually leave our weapon anywhere. Let alone this sword was given by Shifu. The sword exists the person exists, the sword perished, the person …" Speaking to this word 'person', he suddenly stopped; he could not endure to say the word 'perishes'.

Hearing that Mo Shenggu abandoned the sword given by his master and that his four martial uncles suspected he had something to do with it, Zhang Wuji was very concerned, but he was also angry.

A moment later, he faintly smelled a whiff of aroma coming from inside the cave, mixed with the smell of wild beast. Apparently, the cave was very deep and either at that moment there was a wild beast hiding inside, or the cave was actually some wild beasts' den. He was afraid that Song Yuanqiao and the others might also smell the aroma and investigate and then he would be found out. Without daring to open his mouth, he pulled Zhao Min's hand, quietly taking her deeper into the cave. He stretched out his left hand forward to guard against bumping into some protruding rocks.

They only walked for three steps when they rounded another turn. Suddenly Zhang Wuji's left hand bumped into something soft and smooth; it felt like a human body. He was shocked, as if a lightning stroke him, "It doesn't matter whether this person is a friend or foe, as soon as he makes the slightest noise, Da Shibo [first martial (older) uncle] and the others will know we are here."

Immediately his left hand moved downward to press the five vital acupoints on that person's chest and abdomen, followed by a grab towards that person's wrist. To his surprise, Zhang Wuji felt as if he was touching an ice-cold object. It turned out that person had given up his breath for a long time. Under the very dim light from outside, he focused his eyes to look at that man's face and vaguely recognized this lifeless body as his Qi Shishu [seventh martial uncle] Mo Shenggu. In his shock, without thinking whether Song Yuanqiao and the others might hear him, he carried the corpse several steps toward the mouth of the cave. Under the brighter fire light, he could see clearly that it was indeed Mo Shenggu. He saw that Mo Shenggu's face was bloodless and his eyes had not been closed yet, as if he was afraid of what he saw before death. Zhang Wuji was shocked and grieved, and stared blankly for a moment.

As he was walking, Song Yuanqiao and the others heard the noise. "There is someone inside!" Yu Lianzhou shouted. Cold rays flashed as the Four Heroes of Wudang unsheathed their swords at the same instant.

Zhang Wuji groaned inwardly. "I am carrying Mo Qishu's [seventh uncle Mo] body while hiding in here. I cannot escape the accusation of being his murderer in any way." Recalling how Mo Shenggu had always treated him lovingly, and now he had lost his life in such a miserable state, Zhang Wuji's mind was extremely sorrowful. Within that short period of time, 1,100 thoughts flashed in his mind; he actually did not give any thought on how he was going to defend himself against Song Yuanqiao and the others.

Zhao Min was able to think a lot quicker than Zhang Wuji; brandishing her sword she dashed out toward the exit. 'Swish, swish, swish, swish!' four times, she executed Emei Pai's staking-it-all sword stances toward the Four Heroes of Wudang. While the Four Heroes raised their swords to parry, Zhao Min had already broken through the cave entrance, and leaped on one of the horses the Four Heroes rode. As Song Yuanqiao's sword arrived, she blocked it backhandedly while giving the horse's stomach a good kick. The horse neighed in pain and galloped away.

While Zhao Min was still basking in her successful attempt to escape, suddenly she felt so much pain on her back that she saw stars and was not able to breathe, as Yu Lianzhou flew and struck his palm down. She heard the Four Heroes of Wudang utilizing their qing-gong [lightness kungfu] to pursue. She thought, "If I can escape farther, he'll have time to get away from the cave. Otherwise, how can we wash away this undeserving injustice? Luckily all these four people are pursuing me, they do not think that there is someone else in the cave." Yet she felt the pain on her chest was unbearable. Stretching the sword behind, she pricked the horse' butt; the horse let out a long neigh and ran even faster.

At first Zhang Wuji was startled to see Zhao Min break through, and then he realized she was luring the tiger out of the mountain to give him a chance to escape. Thereupon he hurriedly went out the cave carrying Mo Shenggu's body. He heard Zhao Min and the Four Heroes of Wudang were heading east; thus he ran to the west.

After running for about two 'li's, he hid the body behind a large rock, before returning to the main road, and then jumped to the top of a big tree. His heart was still beating madly even after a long time. He thought about Mo Shenggu's tragic death and could not restrain his tears from flowing down his cheeks.

"Our Wudang Pai has never experienced a disaster like this," he thought, "I wonder who might have killed Qi Shishu? The ribs on his back are broken, obviously he was killed by a palm strength."

About an hour later, he heard three horses coming from the east. By the light reflected from the snow, he could see Song Yuanqiao and Yu Lianzhou each riding a horse, while Yin Liting and Zhang Songxi shared a mount. He heard Yu Lianzhou said, "This witch has eaten my palm. Both the rider and the horse fell into a ravine, I don't think they are going to live."

"Only today can we pay back the disgrace of the imprisonment at the Wan An Temple," Zhang Songxi said, "To think that she was unexpectedly hiding in that cave, human affairs are like a fantasy, totally beyond anybody's guess."

"Sige [fourth brother]," Yin Liting said, "What do you think she was doing, sneakily being alone in that cave?"

"That is hard to guess," Zhang Songxi said, "Killing that witch is nothing; we will be really happy if we can find Qidi."

Four people went farther and farther away, until their voices could not be heard anymore. Zhang Wuji waited until Song Yuanqiao and the others went far before he hastily jumped down the tree and rushed to the east, following the horse hoof prints on the snow. All along, his anxiety was unbearable, he thought, "Although she is crafty, this time she was risking her life to save me. If because of this she met her fate, I … I …" He ran faster and faster that in a short moment he had covered four, five 'li's until he finally reached the edge of a cliff.

He saw blotches of dark red blood on the snowy ground, with random footprints all around him. There was a large indentation, where a large rock was perched by the edge of the cliff. It seemed like when she reached this place, in her confusion Zhao Min could not see the way, and thus both she and her horse had fallen together into the ravine below.

"Miss Zhao, Miss Zhao!" Zhang Wuji called out. He repeated his call four, five times, but there was no answer. He was even more anxious. Looking down from the edge of the cliff, he saw a deep ravine, but in the dark of the night, he could not see the bottom. The cliff wall was very steep; there was no place for him to set his feet on.




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