The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 55 Chapter Thirty-One: Embroidering

Tong Baixiong looked up to the sky and laughed loudly. "When Brother Dongfang and I became friends, where were you, little kid? At the time when Brother Dongfang and I escaped death and went through all those hards.h.i.+ps, you weren't even born yet! You dare to talk to me?"

Linghu Chong turned his head and finally was able to see the face of Tong Baixiong clearly. He has white hair which was wildly out of place and a bushy silver beard. His face was twitching with anger, his eyes were wide opened, and the blood on his face was already darkened and hard. All these created a very scary facial expression. Both of his arms and legs were shackled with long chains that dragged behind him and rattled loudly as he spoke. He was speaking pa.s.sionately, waving his arms around and the iron chain accompanied his angry speech with a loud 'zheng, zheng' noise.

Ren Woxing was still kneeling down and staying still, but hearing the noise the chain made, he remembered the time when he was locked up at the bottom of the West Lake. He couldn't control his anger anymore and his body was now shaking with anger, and he really wanted to start destroying things. But he then heard Yang Lianting said, "You're very arrogant to be so rude in front of our Chief. You secretly colluded with that traitor Ren Woxing. Do you know your sin now?"

"Chief Ren is the former chief of our sect," Tong Baixiong said. "When he had an incurable illness, he retreated into seclusion and gave the leaders.h.i.+p of the sect to Brother Dongfang. How can you say that he's a traitor to our sect? Brother Dongfang, tell us clearly: how did Chief Ren rebel, how did he betray our sect?"

"After Ren Woxing cured his illness, he should've immediately returned to our sect. But he instead went to Shaolin Temple, and bonded together with the headmasters of Shaolin, Wu Dang, Songshan and many other schools. Wouldn't you say that's betraying our sect? Why didn't he come to pay his respect to Chief and listen respectfully to Chief's order?" Yang Lianting replied instead.

Tong Baixiong laughed. "Chief Ren used to be the superior of Brother Dongfang, and his experience in martial art is vast, so he's not necessarily under Brother Dongfang. Brother Dongfang, isn't this right?"

Yang Lianting shouted loudly, "Don't rely on your seniority here. Our Chief is very generous to his subordinate, and he would never stoop down to your level. If you deeply regretted your fault, then tomorrow in front of the a.s.sembly altar, you can tell all our brothers about your fault, your a.s.surance to rectify your misdeed, and swear

your loyalty to Chief. Then maybe Chief would spare your life this time. Otherwise, you know what is going to happen to you."

Tong Baixiong laughed. "I'm close to eighty years old already. I'm already tired of living, what consequence am I afraid of?"

Yang Lianting shouted, "Bring in those people!"

The servants in purple clothes answered, "Yes!" and then they heard the sound of chains clunking as more than ten people were brought into the hall. There were men, women, and a few children in the group. When Tong Baixiong saw this, his face changed colour and he used his qi to shout, "Yang Lianting, a gentleman is responsible for what he has done. Why are you bringing my grandson here?" His shout shook the eardrums of everyone in the hall.

Linghu Chong, looking in the direction towards the dais where Dongfang Bubai was sitting, saw that Dongfang Bubai shook when he heard this shout. So he thought to himself, "This person still has some conscience left. His heart was still moved when seeing how worried Tong Baixiong is."

Yang Lianting laughed and said, "What's the third teaching of our Chief? Say it out loud for us to hear!"

Tong Baixiong just uttered a few 'Pei' vehemently and didn't reply back. Yang Lianting said, "Among the Tong family, anyone who knows of Chief's third teaching, say it out loud."

One boy who is around ten years old said, "Refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise Chief's third teaching: 'You must be fierce towards your enemy and behead the source of trouble. Men, women, old, and young, leave no one behind.'"

Yang Lianting praised, "Very good, very good! Little baby, you remember all ten of Chief's teaching?"

The boy answered, "I remember them all. If I don't study the teachings for one day, I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep. Once I've read Chief's teachings, my martial art greatly advances and I have a lot of strength to fight."

Yang Lianting laughed. "That is right. And who taught you these words?"

"My father taught me."

Yang Lianting pointed at Tong Baixiong and asked, "Who is he?"

"He is my grandfather."

"Your grandfather doesn't read the teaching of our Chief, doesn't listen to Chief's words, and has betrayed our Chief. What do you think we should do?"

"Grandfather's wrong. Everyone must study Chief's teaching and listen to what Chief says."

Yang Lianting said to Tong Baixiong, "Your grandson is only a ten years old baby, yet he knows what to do. While you're already so old, how come you're so foolish?"

Tong Baixiong said, "I only exchanged a few words with those two people, Ren and Xiang. They wanted me to betray Chief, but I didn't agree to their proposal. When Tong Baixiong says one then it'll be one, two then it'll be two. I would never wrong other people." He saw that all of his family was being held hostage so his speech was

getting softer as he spoke.

Yang Lianting sighed and in a regretful tone said, "If you had said this earlier, then this wouldn't have become so troublesome. So do you know your fault now?"

"I wasn't wrong. I've never abandoned our sect and I have never betrayed our Chief."

Yang Lianting sighed. "Since you don't want to admit your fault, then I can't help you anymore. Bring his family down and don't give them a grain of rice or even a mouthful of water from today."

A few servants in purple gowns responded, "Yes!" as they took the family away. Tong Baixiong shouted, "Wait!" Then he said to Yang Lianting, "Alright, I admit my fault. It was I who was wrong. Chief, I beg for your forgiveness."

Even though he had admitted his fault, his eyes were still burning as if they were about to spout fire. Yang Lianting smiled coldly, "What did you say a moment ago? You said that when Chief and you experienced hards.h.i.+ps, I wasn't even born, isn't this right?"

Tong Baixiong held back his anger and said, "I was wrong."

"You were wrong? That came out from you too easily. How come you aren't kneeling down in front of Chief?"

"Chief and I have become sworn brothers sometime in the past. For tens of years, we have been standing and sitting down as equal." He suddenly raised his voice, "Brother Dongfang, you see that your older brother is being tortured, how come you're not saying anything? If you want your brother to kneel down to you, that's very easy to do. You only have to say a word, and your brother will die for you without blinking an eye." Dongfang Bubai just sat still. All of sudden, the big hall was quiet. Everyone was staring at Dongfang Bubai, waiting for him to speak. But even after some time had pa.s.sed, he still didn't say a word. "Brother Dongfang, for the past few years, it's been very difficult for me to see you. You locked yourself up and practiced the Sunflower Manual a.s.siduously. Did you know that there were so many changes in our sect and that danger is just around the corner?" Dongfang Bubai just sat silently without uttering a single sound. "If Brother wants to kill me or torture me, I couldn't care less. But if you ruin the hundreds of years' power and prestige of our sect, then you will become a great sinner. Why aren't you talking? You fire deviated while practicing martial art so that you can't talk, is this right?"

Yang Lianting shouted, "Nonsense! Kneel down!" Two servants in purple also shouted as they flew towards Tong Baixiong and kicked towards the back of his knees to force him to kneel. But their legs were broken instead with loud cracking sounds. They fell down on the ground and fresh blood spouted out from their mouths. Tong Baixiong said, "Brother Dongfang, I want to hear you say something so that dying would be sweet. You haven't spoken for 3 years, and all the brothers in the sect are getting suspicious."

Yang Lianting indignantly interjected, "What suspicion?"

"The suspicion that Chief has fallen into someone's plot and been given a muting drug. How come he doesn't speak? How come he doesn't speak?" Tong Baixiong spoke loudly.

Yang Lianting laughed coldly. "Chief's every word is precious. Why would he waste his breath and speak to a traitor like you? Guards, take him down the cliff!"

Eight servants in purple answered his call and came out. Tong Baixiong loudly said, "Brother Dongfang, I want to take a look at you. Have you been hurt so badly that you can't speak?" He waved his arms about and the iron chains on them scattered around. With his two legs dragging the iron chains, he charged towards Dongfang Bubai. When the eight servants saw how powerful he was, they were afraid to get near him.

Yang Lianting shouted, "Capture him, capture him!"

The warriors outside the hall shouted their battle cries but stayed just outside the door because they didn't dare to enter the hall. There was a strict rule in the sect which stated that for anyone to step a foot inside the Hall of Refined Kindness while carrying a weapon was an unpardonable offence that deserved execution. Dongfang Bubai stood up and turned around to go out through the back of the hall.

Tong Baixiong called out, "Brother Dongfang, don't go!" as he quickened his steps. However, with the iron chains on his legs preventing him from walking fast and his heart anxious with worry, he stumbled and fell forward. But he took advantage of the situation by somersaulting forward and then charged towards Dongfang Bubai. He was around a hundred feet away from Dongfang Bubai when Yang Lianting shouted, "Daring traitor is going to stab our Chief! Warriors, quickly come up the hall and capture this traitor!"

Ren Woxing noticed that even though Dongfang Bubai was dawdling in his escape, Tong Baixiong was still quite far away from him. He also wouldn't be able to catch up to him so he pulled out three copper coins, moved his qi to his arm, and threw them at Dongfang Bubai. Yingying shouted, "Let's Move!"

Linghu Chong leapt up and pulled his long sword out from inside the bandage. Xiang Wentian pulled out the weapons from inside the wooden poles of the stretcher and gave them to Ren Woxing and Yingying. He then gave a mighty pull on the rope underneath the stretcher which turned out to be a soft whip.

The four of them immediately used their qinggong and charged up the hall. All of sudden, Dongfang Bubai screamed as blood poured out of the top of his head where he was. .h.i.t by a copper coin. When Ren Woxing threw those three coins, his distance from Dongfang Bubai was quite far away, so the power of the coin was already exhausted when it hit Dongfang Bubai's head and thus only caused a light external injury. But Dongfang Bubai was praised to be the number one martial artist in the whole world, and unexpectedly he wasn't even able to avoid this little coin. This didn't make sense to anyone there.

Ren Woxing started laughing and he called out, "This Dongfang Bubai is a fake!"

Xiang Wentian slashed out with his whip and coiled it around both of Yang Lianting's legs. He then pulled his whip taut and dragged Yang Lianting to the ground. Dongfang Bubai covered his face up as he ran away. Linghu Chong moved to one side to rush forward and cut off his escape path. "Stop!" he shouted as he pointed his long sword towards Dongfang Bubai. But who would've thought that Dongfang Bubai would be unable to stop and would keep on running towards the point of the sword? Linghu Chong hastily withdrew his sword and sent his left palm out to strike him lightly. Dongfang Bubai immediately fell down on the ground with his face up.

By that time, Ren Woxing had also arrived. He quickly grabbed the back of Dongfang Bubai's neck and dragged him towards the hall entrance. In a clear and loud voice, he announced, "Everyone, listen! This chap is a fake Dongfang Bubai who's trying to bring disaster on my Divine Sun Moon Sect. Everyone look at his face clearly."

From the appearance of this person, everyone could see that he actually resembled Dongfang Bubai very closely. But his frightened face was very different from the usual calm and confident att.i.tude of Dongfang Bubai. Seeing this, all the warriors were greatly surprised and shocked that they were unable to utter anything.

Ren Woxing shouted, "What's your name? If you don't speak clearly, I'll crush your head."

That person was quaking from fear, and he tremblingly stuttered, "Ser… ser… servant…is called… called… called…"

Xiang Wentian had already sealed many acupoints on Yang Lianting's body and had also dragged him to the entrance of the hall. He barked, "What's his name?"

Yang Lianting replied without any fear, "Who are you to dare question me? I know you are the traitor Xiang Wentian. The Divine Sun Moon Sect has already expelled you from the sect, why did you come back to Dark Wood Cliff for?"

Xiang Wentian smiled coldly. "I came back to Dark Wood Cliff to take care of your treachery!" After he said this, his right palm hacked down and broke Yang Lianting's left s.h.i.+n bone. Yang Lianting's martial art was just average but showing no pain, he scolded back, "Why don't you just kill me instead of torturing me? Is this what heroes do?"

Xiang Wentian laughed and said, "Do you think things would be that easy?" His palm descended again and with a 'ka' sound, Yang Lianting's right s.h.i.+n bone was now broken. Then, with his left hand, Xiang Wentian shoved Yang Lianting to the ground.

Both of Yang Lianting's legs had been broken so when they hit the ground, the broken bones on his legs broke the skin and pierced upwards. The severity of the pain caused by this would be unimaginable. But Yang Lianting unexpectedly didn't utter a single word.

Xiang Wentian gave a thumbs up to him and praised, "Good man! I won't torture you any more." He then lightly punched the fake Dongfang Bubai's stomach and asked, "What is your real name?" The fake Dongfang Bubai screamed loudly and answered, "Ser… servant… is called… called… Bao… Bao…"

"Your surname is Bao, is that right?" Xiang Wentian said.

"Yes… Yes… Yes… Bao… Bao… Bao…" He kept on mumbling for some time but never actually uttered what his given name was.

Suddenly, everyone could smell a stinky odour and saw that there was water flowing from underneath this fake Dongfang Bubai's pants. This fake Dongfang Bubai was so scared that he had actually urinated in his pants.

"We can't be delayed; finding Dongfang Bubai is our most important thing to do!" Ren Woxing decided. He then lifted Bao and bellowed, "You've all seen clearly now. Our sect is infested by the like of this guy who is pretending to be Dongfang Bubai. We must find out the truth. I am your true Chief, Ren Woxing. Do you recognise me?"

All of the sect warriors were youths who were only in their twenties and had never seen his face before, so none of them recognised him. After Dongfang Bubai became the sect's Chief, all of his trusted aides wanted to be in his good book so they never mentioned the past matter of Chief Ren. That was why these warriors had never even heard of Ren Woxing's name. On the other hand, they thought that even though the Divine Sun Moon Sect had been in existence for hundreds of years, Dongfang Bubai had always been the Chief. They just looked at each other not daring to utter a word.

Shangguan Yun said loudly, "Dongfang Bubai was probably killed by Yang Lianting and his cohorts. Chief Ren is our sect's chief. From now on, everyone must be loyal to Chief Ren." After he said this, he knelt down in front of Ren Woxing and said, "Subordinate pays his respect to Chief Ren. Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu!"

Those warriors knew that Shangguan Yun was a high-ranking officer in the sect. When they now saw him paying his respect to Ren Woxing -- after witnessing for themselves how Chief Dongfang was replaced by a fake, how their powerful and awe-inspiring Yang Lianting got his legs broken, thrown to the ground, and couldn't fight back at all -- tens of those warriors immediately knelt towards Ren Woxing and said, "Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu!"

The rest of the warriors immediately followed suit. Having said 'Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu' hundreds of times, they unwittingly used the same words to address Ren Woxing.

Ren Woxing laughed loudly taking pride in himself. He then said, "You must strictly guard the entrances to Dark Wood Cliff and don't let anyone go up or down from the Cliff." The warriors acknowledged the order together.

By then, Xiang Wentian had already ordered the servants in purple to release Tong Baixiong. Tong Baixiong was really worried about the safety of Dongfang Bubai so he grabbed Yang Lianting by his neck and shouted, "You… You… You must've killed my Brother Dongfang. You… You…" He was feeling very agitated, his voice was choking, and teardrops started to fall on his cheeks.

Yang Lianting just closed his eyes and ignored him. Tong Baixiong gave him a whack on his ear and yelled, "What happened to my Brother Dongfang?"

Xiang Wentian hastily said, "Lighten your hits!" But it was too late. Even though Tong Baixiong had only used around thirty percent of his power, Yang Lianting was already unconscious from the slapping. Tong Baixiong shook Yang Lianting's body. But Yang Lianting's eyes were all white and looked as if he had died.

Ren Woxing said to the purple gown servants, "Who knows of Dongfang Bubai's whereabouts? Quickly report then I'll heap you with gifts." He asked three times, but n.o.body answered. Suddenly, Ren Woxing's heart turned cold. While he was being imprisoned underneath the West Lake, besides practising his martial art, he was also imagining how to torture Dongfang Bubai once he had escaped from that prison. But today on top of Dark Wood Cliff, all he found was the fake one. It seemed as if Dongfang Bubai had died sometime ago. Otherwise, judging on Dongfang Bubai's subtlety and martial art, how could this Yang Lianting manage to commit these evil acts and order someone to pretend to be Dongfang Bubai? What was the use of torturing Yang Lianting and this idiot Bao?

He looked at the servants in purple gown scattered throughout the hall. Some of them looked completely terrified, some looked frightened and confused, and there were some who appeared cunning and deceitful. Ren Woxing was extremely disappointed and was feeling impatient. He shouted, "You chaps, you must know this was a fake Dongfang Bubai, and cooperated with Yang Lianting in deceiving the brothers in the sect. These are unpardonable sins that deserved deaths!"

His body swayed as he rushed towards them. 'Pa, Pa, Pa, Pa'. These four soft sounds were heard as four servants in purple gowns were killed without being able to utter a single word. The rest of the servants were startled and they started to scream in fear and ran for their lives. Ren Woxing laughed fiercely and bellowed, "Escaping! Escaping where?" He picked up the iron shackles on the ground which were originally used to shackle Tong Baixiong, and tossed them at a cl.u.s.ter of people. Blood and flesh flew all over the place as seven or eight people were killed. Ren Woxing laughed loudly and said, "I will not let anyone who followed Dongfang Bubai live!"

Yingying saw her father was acting rather strangely, like he was mad, so she shouted at him, "Daddy!" She ran to him and pulled on his hand. Suddenly, one of the servants came out and knelt down. "Reporting to Chief. Dongfang Bubai… Dongfang Bubai didn't die!"

Jubilant, Ren Woxing ran up to that servant, grabbed his shoulders and asked, "Dongfang Bubai didn't die?"

"Yes! AH!" the servant fainted after screaming in pain. In his excitement, Ren Woxing had actually used too much strength and broke both of that servant's shoulders. Ren Woxing shook the servant's body a few times but he didn't wake up.

Ren Woxing then turned his head to the other servants and shouted, "Where is Dongfang Bubai? Quickly lead the way! If you're delaying me, I'll kill you all!" One servant knelt down and said, "Reporting to Chief. The location of Dongfang Bubai is a secret and only Yang Lianting knows how to open the secret pathway. If we wake this Yang traitor up, he will lead Chief to where Dongfang Bubai is."

Ren Woxing shouted, "Quickly bring cold water!"

These servants in purple gown were pretty clever. Five of them immediately flew out of the hall, but only three people came back carrying bowls of cold water, as the other two had run away. They poured all three bowls of cold water over Yang Lianting's head. He slowly woke up and opened his eyes. Xiang Wentian said, "I admire your braveness so I won't torture you any more. Now, all the paths going up and down from Dark Wood Cliff have been blocked so there's no way for Dongfang Bubai to escape unless he has a couple of wings to fly out. Quickly lead us to find him, why would a gentleman hide his face and only reveal his tail? Let's quickly decide this matter, so everyone can be happy!"

Yang Lianting smiled derisively. "Chief Dongfang is matchless in this world. It's very good that you all want to go to your death. Alright, I'll lead you to him."

Xiang Wentian said to Shangguan Yun, "Brother Shangguan, let's carry Yang Lianting to see Dongfang Bubai." He lifted Yang Lianting and dumped him on top of the stretcher. Shangguan Yun answered, "Yes!" and lifted the stretcher together with Xiang Wentian. Yang Lianting instructed, "Go inside!" Xiang Wentian and Shangguan Yun carried him in front to lead the way while Ren Woxing, Linghu Chong, Yingying, and Tong Baixiong followed behind them.

They went to the back of the Hall of Refined Kindness and pa.s.sed through a long corridor before arriving at a flower garden. They then entered a small stone house west of the garden. Yang Lianting said, "Push the left wall."

When Tong Baixiong pushed the wall, it actually turned around and revealed a secret doorway. Inside there was another metal door facing them. Yang Lianting pulled out a key and handed it over to Tong Baixiong. Tong Baixiong opened the door and discovered an underground tunnel beyond that door. They all headed underground. On both sides of the tunnel were oil lamps flickering dimly. Ren Woxing thought, "That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Dongfang Bubai locked me up under the West Lake. Who would've thought that he gets the same retribution and got himself locked up as well. This tunnel isn't any better than the one in Plum Manor on Mount Gu."

But after they had made a few turns, suddenly there was an open s.p.a.ce in front of them and they could see the bright sky. Instantly, the fragrance of flowers a.s.saulted their noses and they felt invigorated. As they came out of the tunnel, they discovered that they were in the middle of a small delicate flower garden. Red cheery blossoms, green bamboo, green pines, and green jade cypress were planted artfully in the garden. Two yuan-yang mandarin ducks were swimming leisurely through the small pond. There were also four white cranes standing besides the pool. Seeing such an unexpected lovely tableau, they all secretly admired the scenery. They went around a fake mountain and came into a large flower garden full of red and pink roses. The roses smelled wonderfully fragrant and were delicately beautiful.

Yingying turned her head slightly to look at Linghu Chong. He had a smile in his face and looked very happy. She whispered, "Do you think this is a lovely place?"

Linghu Chong smiled. "After we kick Dongfang Bubai out, let's stay here for a few months. You can teach me how to play the Qin and we would be very happy."

Yingying asked, "Are you deceiving me?"

"I'm only afraid that if I don't learn it well then Granny would blame me for that."

Yingying sneered and broke into a smile. The two of them were enjoying the beautiful scenery, and lagged behind the group. They saw Xiang Wentian and Shangguan Yun enter a small elegant house ahead. Linghu Chong and Yingying quickly followed them and entered the house. As soon as they had entered, they could smell the strong fragrance of flowers. There was a painting of three beautiful ladies on the wall while the chairs inside had flowery embroidered cus.h.i.+ons. Linghu Chong thought, "This is a lady's room. How could Dongfang Bubai be living in here? That's right. This must be his concubine's house. He's living in a gentle and soft village, that's why he doesn't care about the sect's matters."

A voice came from the inner room, "Brother Lian, who did you bring in with you?" The pitch of that voice was sharp and high, but at the same time still sounded coa.r.s.e and rough. Whether it was from a man or a woman, that chilling voice would cause the hair on anyone's skin to stand straight up. Yang Lianting said, "Its one of your old friends. He said he just couldn't NOT see you."

The voice from the inner room spoke, "Why did you bring him in for? Only you alone are allowed to come in here. Aside from you, there is no one else that I want to see." The last two sentences were spoken quite flirtatiously, clearly sounding like the words that would come from a woman, yet the voice undoubtedly came from a man.

Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, Yingying, Tong Baixiong, and Shangguan Yun were all well acquainted with Dongfang Bubai, this voice they heard was definitely his, but sounded more like someone who was purposely squeezing his throat to raise the pitch as if learning to sing, pretending to be charming and seductive. The whole scene just appeared as if it were a joke. The look on everyone's face was of shock and bewilderment.

"I can't! If I didn't bring him in, he would've taken my life," Yang Lianting replied. "How could I not see you once more before I die?"

The person in the room said in a sharp voice, "Who would dare to insult you like that? Is it Ren Woxing? Tell him to come out!" Ren Woxing, hearing that Dongfang Bubai was able to deduce that it was him based on a single sentence, dared not underestimate his intelligence. He signalled for the rest of them to slowly enter the room. Shangguan Yun lifted one of the silk embroidered curtains, carrying in Yang Lianting with him, while the rest of the group followed in from behind.

The inner room was layered with floral tapestries and brocade embroideries. A strong scent of perfume and powder filled the room. In the eastern corner on top of a make-up table a person was seated, clothed in exquisite pink robes. In his left hand was an embroidering apparatus and in his right hand was an embroidery needle. The person lifted his head and had an astonished look on his face. But the look of confusion on this person's face could never match the look on the faces of Ren Woxing and the others.

With the exception of Linghu Chong, everyone recognized this person as the person who had usurped the position of Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, who for the past ten or more years held the distinction of being the unrivalled number one fighter in all the world, Dongfang Bubai. But now, he had shaved off all his facial hair, entirely covered his face in beauty powder, and was dressed in clothing that neither resembled a man or a woman. His eyes were eerie looking, and appeared way too glamorously exaggerated, and were just a pain to look at. What was this heaven-shaking earth-shattering figure of the martial arts world doing in a woman's quarters sewing!

Ren Woxing who was originally filled with anger and rage, now couldn't help holding in his laughter. "Dongfang Bubai, have you fallen insane?"

Dongfang Bubai in his sharp voice answered, "So it really is Chief Ren! You've finally come! Brother Lian, you … you … how are you? Is he the one who hurt you?" He walked over to Yang Lianting 's side and carried him over to a bed. Dongfang Bubai had an extremely caring and worried look on his face, and asked, "Does it hurt very badly? They're only broken s.h.i.+n bones, not very serious. You need not worry, I'll immediately help you start reconnecting the bones." He slowly undressed Yang's shoes and socks, pulled him across the fragrant bed covers, and into his arms, exactly like a loving wife would do for her husband.

Everyone present couldn't help but feel shocked and slightly disgusted at what they saw. They all wanted to laugh, but the show of affection they witnessed were just too strange, any laughter wouldn't even come out. Behind those elaborately decorative curtains, in that magnificent embroidery room, the air was filled with a quaint and unnatural aura.

Dongfang Bubai pulled out a green silk handkerchief from his side and gently wiped off the sweat and dirt from Yang Lianting's forehead. Yang Lianting became slightly enraged and berated, "A grave enemy is right in front of us, why are you still wasting time with these useless pleasantries? Beat them away first and we'll still have time for intimacy later."

Dongfang Bubai giggled. "Yes! Yes! Please don't get upset. Your legs must be in great pain. Oh it pains my heart to see you suffer."

Ren Woxing, Linghu Chong and the others had never witnessed such a strange sight in their lives, they had never even heard of such a thing. h.o.m.os.e.xuality or paedophilia was not out of the ordinary. But to see Dongfang Bubai, the exalted Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, actually dressed up like a woman, and living in a woman's quarters? He must have gone insane. When Yang Lianting spoke to him, his tone of voice was harsh and threatening. Even so, Dongfang Bubai responded quite gently and refined like an elegant lady. They all found this perplexing and figured something had to be amiss.

Tong Baixiong couldn't help it anymore and took a step forward. "Brother Dongfang, you … you … what the h.e.l.l are you doing?"

Dongfang Bubai lifted his head as his expression sunk. "Were you one of the people who injured my Brother Lian as well?"

"Why are you letting that n.o.body boss you around? He ordered some idiot to impersonate you and pretend to be you, issuing orders in your name, and foolishly messing around with everything. Did you even know about this?"

"Of course I knew. Brother Lian always has my best interests in his heart, he knew that administrating the entire sect was too tiring for me, so he took over in my stead. There's nothing wrong with that."

Tong Baixiong pointed to Yang Lianting. "This person wanted me dead. Did you know about that?"

Dongfang Bubai leisurely shook his head. "I didn't know about this. But if Brother Lian wanted you dead, then you must've done something wrong. Why didn't you let him kill you?"

Tong Baixiong looked startled. After he regained his composure, he started to laugh. In his laughter there was a certain hint of sadness. "So if he wanted to kill me, you'd just let him do so?"

"Whatever Brother Lian wishes, I will oblige," Dongfang Bubai replied. "He is the only one in this world who is truly good to me, and he is the only one in this world who I will be good to. Brother Tong, you and I have had quite a friends.h.i.+p, but you shouldn't have offended my Brother Lian."

Tong Baixiong's entire face flushed red. "And I had thought that you had completely lost your mind. You still know exactly what you're talking about. You still remember that we were the best of friends, friends who braved life and death together."

"Of course," Dongfang Bubai said. "If you offended me, I could care less. But you offended my Brother Lian, and that is unforgivable."

"Well, I've already offended him, so what are you going to do? That b.a.s.t.a.r.d wants to take my life but I don't think he has the ability."

Dongfang Bubai extended his hand and gently combed his fingers through Yang Lianting's hair and asked gently, "Brother Lian, do you want to kill him?"

"Hurry up already! Stop dawdling around, you're starting to get on my nerves."

Dongfang Bubai softly said, "Yes!" He turned to face Tong Baixiong and said, "Brother Tong, today we are friends no longer. Please do not blame me for it."

Before Tong Baixiong had entered this place, he had grabbed a blade from one of the dead servants outside. As soon as he stepped in, his blade was at ready. He knew that Dongfang Bubai's martial prowess was exceptional. Although Dongfang Bubai appeared quite mad and out of his mind, Tong Baixiong still dared not let his guard down. He brandished his blade and took a defensive position.

Dongfang Bubai smiled coldly and said, "Oh, must this be so difficult? Brother Tong, during that time on Mount Taiheng, the Seven Tigers of Ludong had me surrounded. I hadn't yet finished my training then and was caught in an ambush by them. My right arm was severely injured, and I was certain that I was finished. If it weren't for you who came to my rescue, how could I have lived up to this day?"

Tong Baixiong asked, "You really still remember those times from the distant past?"

"How could I forget? And during the time when I took control of the Sun Moon Sect, Elder Luo of Sparrow Hall wouldn't submit to my rule, constantly nagging and complaining. It was you who dispatched Elder Luo with a single blow. It was from that day forth that not another person dared to speak up and question my authority. You definitely deserve much credit for that."

Tong Baixiong replied resentfully, "I was quite foolish back then!"

Dongfang Bubai shook his head and said, "You weren't foolish. You were just being a loyal friend. I met you when I was only 11 years old. At that time, my family was poor and impoverished. Luckily you came and gave us aid for many years. When my parents pa.s.sed away and we had no way to provide a proper burial for them, it was you who stepped in and took care of it for us."

Tong Baixiong waved away with his left hand and said: "Why bring up the past for?"

"I just had to," Dongfang Bubai said. "Brother Tong, it's not that I don't value our friends.h.i.+p and have forgotten all that you have done for me. It's just that you have offended my Brother Lian. He wants me to take your life, I just can't do otherwise."

Tong Baixiong shouted, "Enough! Enough!"

Suddenly, a pink blur streaked across their eyes, it appeared to be Dongfang Bubai. They heard a clang as the blade in Tong Baixiong's hand fell to the floor as he swayed back and forth in a daze on his feet. Then they saw Tong Baixiong's mouth open widely as his body fell forward straight onto the floor where it remained motionless. Although everything happened in only an instant, Ren Woxing and the others saw it clearly. The left and right Taiyang points above Tong Baixiong's eyebrows and the four Renzhong points below his nose all had a small red dot on them, as tiny drops of blood leaked out. It appeared that those points had been punctured by the sewing needle in Dongfang Bubai's hands. Ren Woxing and the others were shocked and took several steps backwards instinctively. Linghu Chong pulled Yingying behind him and s.h.i.+elded her with his own body. The room was filled with an eerie silence, no one even dared to take a single breath.

Ren Woxing slowly unsheathed his sword and said, "Dongfang Bubai, congratulations on completing your training of the 'Sunflower Manual'!"

"Chief Ren, it was you who gave me this 'Sunflower Manual'. I've never forgotten your kindness," Dongfang Bubai said.

"Really? Is that why you imprisoned me under the West Lake, never letting me see the light of day?"

"But I didn't kill you, did I?" Dongfang Bubai said. "If I had only instructed the Four Playfellows of Jiangnan not to give you water for about half a month, do you think you could've survived until now?"

Ren Woxing sarcastically said, "Well in that case, you treated me very well then?"

"Why of course! I arranged for you to enjoy paradise in the West Lake of Hangzhou. West Lake is world-renowned for having some of the best scenery under heaven. And Plum Manor on Mount Gu is considered one of the best spots in all of West Lake."

"So in fact you were letting me retire in the lap of luxury in that dungeon under the West Lake. I should be thanking you instead then."

Dongfang Bubai sighed and said, "Chief Ren, I'll never forget all that you've done for me. I was just a minor a.s.sistant under the Elder of the Wind and Thunder Hall. You were the one who went against convention and promoted me every year. You even presented me with our sect's most prized possession, the 'Sunflower Manual', and decreed that I would succeed you in the future as Chief of the Sun Moon Sect. I will always be grateful for the charity you have shown me."

Linghu Chong looked down at Tong Baixiong's corpse and thought, "Before you were constantly praising all the good things that Elder Tong had done for you, then you suddenly struck out and killed him. And now you're bringing up all the things that Chief Ren has done for you. But I doubt he'll fall for that same trick."

But Dongfang Bubai's movements were just fast beyond belief, like a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder, there was no way to tell when he was going to strike, such speed was definitely frightening.

Linghu Chong lifted his sword and pointed it straight towards Dongfang Bubai's chest. As soon as any of his four limbs moved, he could easily stab forward. Only by taking the initiative could he hope to defeat this opponent. If he let Dongfang Bubai strike first, he would definitely end up dead. Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, Shangguan Yun, and Yingying were all focused intently on Dongfang Bubai, not even daring to blink an eye, because they knew that his attack could come at any time.

Dongfang Bubai continued, "At that time, I wanted only to become the Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, to reign for a thousand autumns, and ten thousand epochs, to unite the entire world. So I plotted arduously and fervently to usurp your position, but first I had to cut off your wings. Brother Xiang, it appeared that this plan of mine couldn't escape your attentive eyes. In the Sun Moon Sect, besides Chief Ren and I, I'd have to say that you are also quite a talent."

Xiang Wentian's hands were clenched tightly as he focused hard, he didn't dare to break his concentration with a reply. Dongfang Bubai let out a sigh and continued, "When I first ascended to the position of Chief of the Sun Moon Sect, it was definitely glorious. I was showered with chants and praises of 'Talented in the academics, gifted in the martial arts. For the prosperity of our divine sect.' What undignified rubbish they were all spewing. It was only after I started to practice the 'Sunflower Manual' did I realize what was truly important in this life. After that I started to diligently train my internal energy. Several years later, I finally understood the beauty of life, the myriad of all things."

As all of them listened to his high shrill voice speaking, their hands began to sweat. His words were definitely logical and coherent, extremely clear and to the point. But his strange androgynous, neither male nor female appearance made them all s.h.i.+ver and cringe the more they looked at him. Dongfang Bubai's eyes slowly s.h.i.+fted towards Yingying. Dongfang Bubai asked, "Young lady Ren, how have I been to you these past few years?"

"You've been very good to me," Yingying answered.

Dongfang Bubai let out a sigh and said softly, "I never say it but I've always envied you greatly. Being born a woman is definitely a hundred times better than being born as a rotten man. In addition, you're attractive and beautiful beyond compare, young and lively. If only I had the chance to switch places with you, forget about the Leaders.h.i.+p of the Sun Moon Sect, I wouldn't even want the Emperor's throne."

Linghu Chong laughed and said, "If you were to switch places with Miss Ren, then that means that I'd have to marry an old twisted monster, I don't think that would be very easy to do!"

When Ren Woxing and the others heard those words escaped his mouth, they were quite shocked. Dongfang Bubai's eyes glared at Linghu Chong, his eyebrows flared up as his face turned green. "Who are you? How dare you talk to me like that. You've certainly got some guts." His tone of voice has sharp, he was definitely annoyed beyond repair.

Although Linghu Chong was aware of the precarious situation that he was in, he couldn't help but laughed and uttered, "Well, does it really matter whether I'm a handsome young lad, or a beautiful young maiden? What I resent the most are those shameless old men who dress up like women."

Dongfang Bubai screeched back angrily, "I'm asking you, just who exactly are you?"

"My name is Linghu Chong!"

Dongfang Bubai's anger gradually subsided and a smile broke on his face as he said, "Ah! So you are Linghu Chong. I've wanted to meet you for some time, I've heard that Miss Ren is totally enamoured by you, to the point where she would even be willing to cut off her own head for you. I had the impression that you must be a handsome, charming, and talented young gentleman. But the more I look at you, you seem quite ordinary and plain. Compared with my Brother Lian, I'd have to say that you're off by a lot."

Linghu Chong laughed and replied, "There really is nothing much good about me, only that I am true to my own feelings. Although that Yang buddy of yours is quite handsome, it's a pity and quite disturbing that he likes withered old weeds, coming here to …"

Dongfang Bubai stammered, "You … you idiot … what are you babbling about?" His entire face blushed red. Suddenly, a pink blur of a figure flashed across the room, a needle flew directly towards Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong had intended on angering him by saying those words, but as he saw Dongfang Bubai's sleeves swayed, he raised his sword and stabbed towards Dongfang Bubai's throat. That one sword stab was incredibly fast, if Dongfang Bubai didn't withdraw, that blade would have pierced through his throat. But at that same moment, Linghu Chong suddenly felt a slight pain on his left cheek, he swung towards his left in defence.

Dongfang Bubai's speed was simply unimaginable. In that flash of an instant, he managed to p.r.i.c.k Linghu Chong's face, and then contracted his arm to block Linghu Chong's sword strike with his needle right afterwards. Luckily that strike from Linghu Chong was incredibly swift as well, it forced his opponent to draw up a defence, coupled with the fact that Dongfang Bubai was quite riled up and angry, the needle just slightly missed its mark -- the Renzhong acupoint on Linghu Chong's face. The needle in Dongfang Bubai's hand was no longer than an inch, light enough to be blown away by the wind, light enough to float on water, yet he was able to parry Linghu Chong's sword head-on with it. Dongfang Bubai's martial arts level was definitely beyond comprehension. Linghu Chong was startled immensely, he knew that today he had run into a foe of unimaginable power. He knew that if he gave his opponent the leisure of the initiative, his life would be in grave danger. So instead, he unleashed four quick stabs at Dongfang Bubai, all aimed at vital spots.

Dongfang Bubai cried out in surprise and remarked, "Excellent swordsmans.h.i.+p!" He parried to the left, to the right, above and below, and knocked away all four of Linghu Chong's attacks. Linghu Chong stared intently at Dongfang Bubai's movements. That tiny sewing needle blocked four of his strikes yet showed not a single sign of wear or flaw. He didn't dare let Dongfang Bubai counterattack so with a shout, he hacked straight at Dongfang Bubai's head. Dongfang Bubai held the needle in his right hand between his thumb and index fingers, and simply lifted it upwards, stopping Linghu Chong's sword dead in its path, impeding it from striking downwards entirely.

Linghu Chong's arm felt numb, but he saw a pink blur flashed by and a figure dashed towards him from his left. It was already too late to block and too late to avoid it, in the spur of the moment, his sword rose and flashed towards Dongfang Bubai's left eye as well, it was a move that would result in injuries for both sides. Stabbing towards an opponent's eyes was a very underhanded move, a move that experts never used. But the 'Dugu Nine Swords' that Linghu Chong had mastered was formless to begin with, he was also quite a carefree person, and never really thought of himself as a master, also in the midst of such danger he had no time to care about rules and etiquette. But he suddenly felt another small sharp pain near his left brow, as Dongfang Bubai leapt away and avoided his sword stab. Linghu Chong realized that he had been p.r.i.c.ked again by that needle in Dongfang Bubai's hands. But because Dongfang Bubai had to avoid Linghu Chong's sword, his accuracy was a little off again and missed his target, else Linghu Chong's one eye would have been instantly blinded. In a fright, Linghu Chong's sword lashed out like a violent storm, wildly stabbing and slas.h.i.+ng in every which way, making it extremely difficult for the opponent to have time to counter with a single move. Dongfang Bubai parried to the left and blocked to the right, yet still had time to leisurely praise, "Excellent swordsmans.h.i.+p, excellent swordsmans.h.i.+p!"

Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian both saw that the situation was starting to get out of control, one brandished his sword, the other his whip, and both attacked Dongfang Bubai at the same time. The combined force of these three masters of the martial-realm was certainly devastatingly powerful. But Dongfang Bubai, with a handful of needles in each hand, unleashed a flurry of p.r.i.c.ks and pokes at the three of them. His movements were as quick as lightning and he showed no signs whatsoever of weakness. Shangguan Yun took up his blade as well and joined in the flurry of attacks, making the battle a four-against-one. After a brief moment in the confusion of battle, Shangguan Yun cried out as his blade hit the floor with a clang, with a flip he landed on the ground, writhing in pain over his left eye which had just been blinded by Dongfang Bubai. Linghu Chong noticed that Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian were attacking Dongfang Bubai all out, and that Dongfang Bubai showed no intentions of attacking him, so his sword sprung into action, unleas.h.i.+ng stab after stab at Dongfang Bubai. But Dongfang Bubai's body was like a ghost, whirling in and out of sight, drifting about like formless smoke. The tip of Linghu Chong's sword was always several inches off its mark.

Suddenly, Xiang Wentian cried out with an 'AH', followed by Linghu Chong who gasped with an 'HEY', as the two of them had been struck by needles. Although the power of Ren Woxing's 'Art of Essence Absorbing' was powerful and deep, Dongfang Bubai's movements were fast to the extreme, he was nearly impossible to catch. Secondly, his weapon was an embroidery needle, he had no way of absorbing his internal energy through it. After several more exchanges, Ren Woxing cried out with an 'AH' as well, his chest and throat both having been p.r.i.c.ked. Fortunately, Linghu Chong was unleas.h.i.+ng an extremely fast attack at that time, forcing Dongfang Bubai to fend for his own safety, one of the needles missed its mark, while the other one did not penetrate very deep at all, both attacks were unable to injure the opponent.

The four of them had Dongfang Bubai surrounded and were attacking him all at once, and yet they hadn't even touched him yet, while all of them had already been pierced by his needles. Yingying, who was watching on the side, became increasingly worried, she thought, "I wonder if those needles are coated in poison, if they are then we'd be in deep trouble!"

Dongfang Bubai's movements became faster and faster, his body spun around in a pink blur all over the room. Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, and Linghu Chong were all panting and shouting in frustration and anger. All three of their weapons were infused with their internal energy, winds of force rocked through the room. Yet not even a peep escaped from Dongfang Bubai.

Yingying thought to herself, "If I throw myself into the battle, I'd only hinder their efforts and get in the way, what good would that bring? It appears that Dongfang Bubai still has the upper hand even though it's a three-on-one." From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Yang Lianting sitting on top of the bed, focused intently on the battle, his face full of concern. An idea crossed Yingying's mind, as she crept towards the bed. Suddenly the dagger in her left hand rose, and stabbed into Yang Lianting's right shoulder. Yang Lianting was caught by surprise and could only cry out in pain. Yingying then drew her sword and stabbed it into his thigh.

Yang Lianting realized what she was trying to do, she wanted him to cry out in pain to disrupt Dongfang Bubai's concentration. So he tried his hardest to endure the pain and held it in, not another sound escaped his mouth. Yingying became enraged and shouted, "Are you going to cry out or not? I'll cut off your fingers one by one!" Her sword rose and sliced off one of the fingers on his right hand. Yang Lianting was indeed resilient, although the pain was unbearable, he managed to keep his mouth shut. But the first cry that Yang Lianting gave out before had already reached Dongfang Bubai's ears. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Yingying beside the bed, slowly torturing Yang Lianting with her sword. With the shout "Little witch!", a pink cloud of a figure darted towards the bed at Yingying. She withdrew at the very last second to avoid the incoming attack, but it wasn't clear if Dongfang Bubai's needles had struck their mark. Linghu Chong and Ren Woxing saw the opportunity as both slashed their swords across Dongfang Bubai's back and Xiang Wentian snapped his whip violently towards Yang Lianting's head. Dongfang Bubai disregarded his own safety, and stabbed his needle backwards into Xiang Wentian's chest.

Xiang Wentian felt his entire body go numb, as his whip fell to the floor. Right at that time, Linghu Chong and Ren Woxing both plunged their swords through the back of Dongfang Bubai. Dongfang Bubai's entire body shook, and then collapsed on top of Yang Lianting . Ren Woxing was overjoyed as he pulled his sword out from Dongfang Bubai's back and pointed the tip at the back of his neck and said, "Dongfang Bubai, finally … finally you've fallen by my hand!" In the rush of heated combat, he hadn't yet caught his breath. Yingying was too shaken up by the fight, her two legs became weak, as she wavered back and forth and then fainted to the floor. Linghu Chong rushed to her side and caught her just as she fell, he saw a tiny gash of blood on her left cheek.

Yingying said, "You've sustained quite a number of injuries too." She extended her sleeve and wiped across Linghu Chong's face, her sleeve became stained with dots and streaks of red blood.

Linghu Chong turned to Xiang Wentian and asked, "Are your injuries serious?"

Xiang Wentian forced a laugh and said, "I won't die that easily!"

Blood gushed forth from the two fatal wounds on Dongfang Bubai's back. He cried painfully, "Brother Lian, Brother Lian, how cruel of these villains to torture you like this!"

Yang Lianting replied angrily, "You've always claimed that your martial arts was invincible, how come you can't even take care of these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds?"

Dongfang Bubai replied, "I … I already …"

"You what?"

"I've already tried my best, their … their martial arts are quite strong as well." His body suddenly trembled as he rolled to the floor. Ren Woxing was afraid that he would get up again so he stabbed his sword into Dongfang Bubai's left thigh.

Dongfang Bubai laughed feebly and said, "Chief Ren, you've finally won, I've lost."

Ren Woxing let out a hearty laugh and said, "You little sneak, do you think you can change what has transpired?"

Dongfang Bubai shook his head and said, "I'm not trying to change anything. Since I've been defeated here today, I know that my life is over." His voice had been extremely high and sharp, but now it had sunk to a lower tone as he continued, "But if we had fought one-on-one, there is no way that you would have defeated me."

Ren Woxing hesitated for a second, and then replied, "You're right, your martial arts is definitely at a higher level than mine, that I truly admire."

Dongfang Bubai went on, "Linghu Chong, your swordsmans.h.i.+p is incredible, but if we fought one-on-one, you wouldn't be my match either."

Linghu Chong acknowledged, "That is true, in fact the four of us combined wouldn't be able to overcome you. It was only because of your attachment to that person surnamed Yang, that we were able to break your concentration and injure you. Your martial arts are at an unimaginable level, there is no one worthy of the t.i.tle, 'Number One Fighter under the Heavens' other than you. In that sense, I truly have the utmost respect for you."

Dongfang Bubai slightly snickered and said, "That the two of you are able to admit that, at least I know that you two are true men, with sincerity and integrity. Aye, what a pity, what a pity, ever since I mastered the 'Sunflower Manual', I followed exactly what was written on that script. First, I had to castrate myself to train my qi, then I had to refine pellets and intake herbs. Gradually, I lost all my facial hair, and my voice started to change, my temper started to change as well. After that, I was no longer attracted to women, I killed all seven concubines that I had with me, and … and I put all my affection and care towards Yang Lianting. If only I were born a woman, then that would've been perfect."

"Chief Ren, I … I'm going to die soon, I beg only one thing of you, … please … if you could take into consideration how well I've treated your daughter all these years …"

Ren Woxing asked, "What is it?"

Dongfang Bubai requested, "Please spare Yang Lianting 's life, please just let him off the Dark Wood Cliff."

Ren Woxing answered, "I plan to cut him into a thousand pieces, and torture him to death over the course of a hundred days, cutting off a finger today, slicing off a toe tomorrow."

Dongfang Bubai cried out, "You … how can you be so cruel!" Dongfang Bubai lunged up fiercely and suddenly at Ren Woxing. Because of his severe injuries, his speed was nowhere near as fast as it was before, but his attack was still astonis.h.i.+ngly quick. Ren Woxing stabbed outwards with his sword, it penetrated the front of his chest and exited through his back. Just at that time, Dongfang Bubai flicked his finger, the needle in his hand shot out and pierced Ren Woxing's right eye. Ren Woxing withdrew his sword and leapt back, he took a deep breath and leaned his back against a wall. The impact caused nearly half the wall to collapse under his immense force. Yingying looked at her father's right eye and saw a needle embedded into one of his pupils. Fortunately, Dongfang Bubai had not much strength left in his hands, or else that needle could've punctured straight into Ren Woxing's brain. Although his life was not in danger, his right eye was permanently blinded.

Yingying tried to get the needle out but it was too short and only a fraction of it was actually still sticking out of his eye, so there was no place for her fingers to hold on to. She turned around to pick up the embroidery frame that Dongfang Bubai threw away and pulled out a piece of thread from it. She then threaded it through the needle's hole and pulled the needle out. Ren Woxing screamed in pain. The needle was hanging by the thread as blood dripped from it. Ren Woxing was furious and gave Dongfang Bubai's corpse a fierce kick. The corpse flew up and hit Yang Lianting's head. Ren Woxing used all of his power in that one kick and as they clashed heads, both Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting's heads burst open spilling their brain matters everywhere. Ren Woxing had been holding this big animosity for a long time, his leaders.h.i.+p of the Sun Moon Sect was usurped and he had now been blinded in one eye, so he was feeling happy and angry at the same time. He laughed loudly towards the sky shaking all the tiles in the house. But this laughter was full of anger.

Shangguan Yun said, "Congratulations Chief for executing this big traitor. From now on, our sect would be sheltered under Chief's protection and its power would spread throughout the four oceans. Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu."

Ren Woxing laughingly scolded him, "Nonsense! What long live?" Suddenly he felt that if he could really live long and unify the Jianghu, then that would be the happiest thing in the world. He could not help laughing loudly at this. He laughed because he really felt happy and was feeling proud of himself. Xiang Wentian used Dongfang Bubai's needle to pierce the acupoint on his left chest. In a moment, his whole body felt better and his four limbs were able to move freely. He also said, "Congratulations Chief, congratulations Chief!"

Ren Woxing laughingly said, "You've done a really big service by punis.h.i.+ng this traitor." He then turned his head around and said to Linghu Chong, "Chong'er's contribution is also not small."

Linghu Chong saw the trace of blood on Yingying's white jade cheek and fear still lingered in his heart as he remembered how fierce the fight was. He said, "If it weren't for Yingying attacking Yang Lianting, it wouldn't have been easy to kill Dongfang Bubai." He stopped for a moment, and continued, "Luckily his needle wasn't coated with poison."

Yingying trembled when she heard this and softly said, "Please don't say anymore. That person wasn't a man, he was a monster. Ai, when I was small, he used to carry me up the mountain to pick up vegetables and fruits. How greatly he has changed today!"

Ren Woxing put his hand inside Dongfang Bubai's pocket and felt an old thin page in there. He took it out and saw many tiny letters written on it. He waved that paper around and said, "This paper is the 'Sunflower Manual'. It's written clearly in the beginning, 'To learn this Divine Art, castrate yourself first.' I'd never be so foolish to do such a thing, Haha, haha, …" He then moaned deeply and said, "But this Manual actually conveys a lot of profound martial arts in it, and anyone who manages to see it would definitely be tempted into learning it. Fortunately I've learned the Art of Essence Absorbing at that time. Otherwise, I'd probably have learnt the martial arts written in this Manual."

(Translator's note: In the third edition, the castration part was not mentioned to Linghu Chong and Yingying anymore. This is to fix the later chapters when Linghu Chong and Yingying somehow forget about this.)

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He again gave Dongfang Bubai's corpse another kick. He laughed and said, "You were definitely crafty and sly, but you still couldn't have guessed my real intention in giving you the 'Sunflower Manual'. You have such a wild ambition and bossy att.i.tude, do you think I wouldn't notice it? Haha, haha!"

Linghu Chong's heart turned cold and he thought, "So Chief Ren actually had a bad intention in giving him the 'Sunflower Manual'. The two of them were being crafty and were plotting against each other." He saw blood was still flowing out of Ren Woxing's right eye and his mouth was opened in a mad smile, he looked completely mean and ferocious. Linghu Chong felt terrified seeing him.

Ren Woxing extended his hand and found out that Dongfang Bubai had indeed cut off his t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. He laughed madly and said, "This 'Sunflower Manual' would be good for eunuchs to practise." He then rolled that old paper in both of his hands and ripped it into a thousand pieces. He then hurled both of his hands open and the pieces of paper were blown all over the place by the wind. Yingying let out a sigh and said, "It's best to destroy such a harmful thing!"

Linghu Chong laughingly said, "You're afraid that I'm going to learn it?"

Yingying's whole face blushed a deep red and she pursed her lips. She then said, "You're speaking improperly." Yingying then took out a medicine and applied it to her father's and Shangguan Yun's eye injuries.

Everyone's face was also full of uncountable needle holes. Yingying looked into the mirror and saw a trace of blood on her left cheek. Even though it was really thin, it would still leave a scar when it heals and she didn't feel happy about it.

Linghu Chong said, "You already have all the luck in this world so the ghosts and G.o.ds would envy you. So this little scar on your face would definitely bring untold amount of good fortune."

"What lucky thing do I have?"

"You're beautiful and smart, your martial art is high, your father is the divine sect's Chief, and you yourself is admired by many heroes in this world. Furthermore, you're a woman that even Dongfang Bubai was jealous of." Yingying gave him a smile and forgot all about the injury to her face.

Ren Woxing and the four of them went out of Dongfang Bubai's little house, went through the garden, tunnel, and went back to the hall. Ren Woxing pa.s.sed down a command ordering all the Halls' elders and the Fragrant Masters to come see him. He sat at the Chief's seat and laughingly said, "That servant Dongfang Bubai had many wicked schemes. He sat highly on the cliff and put a big distance between his subordinates and himself so all of them were awed by him. What's this hall called?"

Shangguan Yun replied, "Reporting to Chief. This hall is called 'Hall of Refined Kindness'. This name came from the praise to Chief which says 'Refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior'."

Ren Woxing laughed. "Refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior! Skilled with both pen and sword; that's not easy to do!" He then beckoned to Linghu Chong. "Chong'er, come here." Linghu Chong went in front of him.

"Chong'er, that day in Hangzhou, I invited you to join our sect. At that time, I had just escaped from my imprisonment and was all by myself, so you probably didn't believe all my promises to you. This time, I've already regained the leaders.h.i.+p of the sect. The first matter I'd like to bring up is that old matter again…" Ren Woxing said till here when his right hand patted the chair next to him. "Sooner or later, this position will be yours. Haha, haha!"

Linghu Chong said, "Chief, Yingying's kindness towards me is high like the mountain. If you wanted me to do anything, I would never decline it. But I've already given my promise to other people to do another matter. So this matter of joining the divine sect, please forgive junior for not being able to promise you this."

Both of Ren Woxing's eyebrows were gradually raised, and he gloomily said, "You know what's going to happen for not listening to my order!"

Yingying went up and pulled Linghu Chong's arm. "Daddy, today is your big day. Why must you be worried about this kind of small matter? We can slowly talk about him joining the sect later."

Ren Woxing turned his head slightly to the right and glanced sideways with his left eye towards the two of them. "Hng, Yingying, you only want your husband and don't want your father anymore, don't you?"

Xiang Wentian laughed at the side. "Chief, Brother Linghu is only a young hero so he's still very stubborn. Let subordinate speak about it slowly with him…" As he said till here, there were tens of people outside the hall calling out, "Martial Hall elders, Hall Masters and Vice Hall Masters, five branches of Fragrant Masters and Vice Fragrant Masters have come to see the refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise Chief. Chief flourishes the sacred sect and benefits the common people. Long live the Chief, unifies the Jianghu."

Ren Woxing shouted, "Enter!"

More than ten men entered the hall and knelt in front of Ren Woxing. When he was the chief of the Divine Sun Moon Sect, he only cupped his fists in saluting the brothers in the sect. So when he saw them kneeling down, he immediately stood up and waved his arm. "There's no need…" Suddenly he thought, "It's not sufficient to receive these people without power. In the past, my leaders.h.i.+p of the sect was usurped by traitors because I treated them too leniently. Since Dongfang Bubai already introduced this kneeling as propriety then I don't need to change it." He immediately cupped his fist back at them and didn't say anything as he sat back down.

Not long after that, another group of people entered the hall. When they knelt before him, Ren Woxing did not stand up anymore and just nodded his head. At this time, Linghu Chong had already retreated to the entrance of the hall and was far away from the Chief's seat. Under the dim light of the hall, Ren Woxing's face looked blur from where he was. He thought, "There's no difference whether Ren Woxing or Dongfang Bubai is sitting in that seat." He then heard the praises of all the hall leaders and Fragrant Masters getting louder and louder as they went, and they all sounded like they were afraid of Ren Woxing. For the past ten years, they had been working their best for Dongfang Bubai so it was unavoidable that they were feeling guilty towards Chief Ren. They didn't know how Chief Ren would punish them if he brought up the past events. Furthermore, some of them had never known of Ren Woxing before. Some of these people only knew how to work hard for Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting to avoid being punished. So when there was this sudden change of leaders.h.i.+p in the sect, all they could do was to sing their praises to the new Chief.

Linghu Chong stood at the entrance of the hall with the sun s.h.i.+ning down on his back. Outside the hall was clear and bright while there were close to a hundred people prostrating themselves on the floor inside the hall singing their disgusting praises. He couldn't say his loathing out loud so he thought, "Yingying treats me very well, so if she really wants me to join the Divine Sun Moon Sect, I can't reject her idea. But it has to wait till I go to Songshan and stop Zuo Lengchan from becoming the Headmaster of the Five Mountains School since this was my agreement with Great Master Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu. Also, I have to find a female disciple from Heng-Shan and pa.s.s down to her the leaders.h.i.+p of the school. After all these are done, then I'll be free to join the divine sect. But if you want me to be like these people, isn't that just too disgusting? Later when Yingying becomes my wife, then Chief Ren would be my father in law, and it would only be proper if I kowtow to him. But all these 'flourishes the sacred sect and benefits the common people', 'refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise', they're just too shameful for a real man to utter. They really tarnish the pureness of a real man! I originally thought that this nonsense was done by Dongfang Bubai and Yang Lianting to punish someone. But looking at the situation now, Chief Ren is actually flattered to hear these words and he's not disgusted at all by these." He again thought, "That day in the Cliff of Contemplation on Huashan, I saw the martial arts of the ten elders from Devil Sect and they actually had many heroes among their seniors. If not so, how could Sun Moon Sect fight against the orthodox parties for the last hundred years and still be their equal? From the warriors they have like Brother Xiang, Shangguan Yun, Jia Bu, Tong Baixiong, the Four Playfellows of Jiangnan, which one isn't an outstanding gentleman? These groups of heroes are all forced to kneel to other people every day and read aloud those dictions while they're actually cursing in their hearts. Saying disgusting things and receiving such rudeness. Actually, accepting to say those shameless things is even more disgusting. All these wronged heroes, how could they still be called heroes?"

He then heard Ren Woxing, being pleased with himself, said loudly, "You were all under Dongfang Bubai before and has done many things for him. I've secretly found out what every single one of you has done. But I'm a very open-minded person, so I won't blame anyone. From today, everyone must be loyal to me then I would treat you well and share all the glory and honour." In a blink of an eye, the hall was drowned in praises. Everyone was saying chief was just and wise, his heart was open like the ocean, and that a big man doesn't do what a small man does. They also said they would obey chief's order completely, be loyal to him, go through fire and water, would not balk at a thousand deaths, and be resolved to do chief's biddings.

Ren Woxing waited for them to say their praises until they gradually became quiet. Ren Woxing continued, "But if anyone dared to revolt and not listen to my order then I will punish him severely. Whoever commits this sin, then his entire family would be executed." All of them answered together, "Subordinate would never dare."

Linghu Chong quivered when he heard these words and was really afraid. He inwardly thought, "Chief Ren is just the same as Dongfang Bubai. He's using fear to control the sect. Everyone is very deferential towards him even though they're actually angry and full of rejection in their hearts. How can they be said to be 'loyal' to him?"

Some people then started to reveal Dongfang Bubai's faults to Ren Woxing. They told him that Dongfang Bubai was offended by honesty, how he only listened to Yang Lianting, how he killed many innocent people, how he was selfish in giving gifts and punishments, how he loved to hear praises, and how he ruined the sect. There were also some people who said that he ruined the sect's customs by giving out the Dark Command Wood to anyone and that he forced people to take the divine three corpse brain pill. Another people said that he drank and ate extravagantly, that every time he ate, he slaughtered three cows, five pigs, and ten sheep.

Linghu Chong thought, "How can one person eat that much? How can he eat three cows, five pigs, and ten sheep? He must've eaten together with his friends and subordinates. How can slaughtering cows and sheep be considered a big sin when Dongfang Bubai was chief?"

But he then heard everyone kept on bringing up Dongfang Bubai's other faults more and more, and each fault was getting even more trivial. Some people scolded him for being very moody; some people scolded him for loving to wear flowery gown and not coming out to meet them. There were also people who said that he was very thin skinned and silly; Another person said that his martial art was lowly, always frightened during battles, and he in fact had no real abilities at all.

Linghu Chong pondered, "You're all scolding Dongfang Bubai for all sorts of things. Even though I don't know whether what you're saying is true or not, I know that when the five of us fought him, we barely escaped alive with our lives and almost lost our lives under his needle. If Dongfang Bubai's martial art were low, then there's no one in this world who has a high martial art. You're really just spouting nonsense." He again heard another person said that Dongfang Bubai was very lewd and just forcefully grabbed any girls he wanted. He had also offended many married women in the sect and had also had many babies from these affairs.

Linghu Chong thought, "Dongfang Bubai had already learned this really strange 'Sunflower Manual' and castrated himself a long time ago. What nonsense of lewd affairs and making lots of babies are you talking about, haha, haha!" He thought till here when he actually laughed really loudly unable to restrain himself any further. This loud laughter was heard from afar. Everyone in the long hall turned their heads around to have a look and glared angrily at him. Yingying knew that he was causing trouble so she quickly rushed over and pulled on his arm. "Brother Chong, there's nothing to hear here, they're only talking about Dongfang Bubai's stuff. Let's go down the cliff and have a look around." Linghu Chong poked his tongue out and laughingly said, "We don't want to make your daddy angry." The two of them walked out of the hall shoulder to shoulder, pa.s.sed through that white jade decorated archway, and went down using the bamboo baskets.

The two of them leaned close to each other inside the bamboo basket as they went down. They saw the light mist around them and felt as if they were floating. It was as if they had gone to another world compared to the situation inside the hall. Linghu Chong looked up to the top of the Dark Wood Cliff and saw the golden reflection of sunlight from the writing on the white jade archway. He felt pleased. "I've finally left that place. The things happening last night were like a nightmare. From now on, I'd never set foot on Dark Wood Cliff ever again."

"Brother Chong, what are you thinking?"

"Can you be together with me?"

Yingying's face blushed red and she said, "We… We…"

"What?"

Yingying lowered her head and said, "We're not married yet. How… how can I follow you?"

"Didn't you go around Jianghu with me before?"

"That was because I had to. Also, that's why a lot of rumours are flying around. Just then Daddy said I… said I want to be with you and don't want him anymore. If I go with you then Daddy would definitely be unhappy. Daddy was also imprisoned for more than ten years so his temper isn't good, so I want to accompany him. As long as your heart is faithful then in the future we can accompany each other." The last few words that she said were really soft that they couldn't be heard.

By coincidence, a white cloud floated by them wrapping around the bamboo basket and the two of them. Linghu Chong could only blurrily look at Yingying. Even though Yingying was leaning close besides him, he couldn't see her appearance clearly and it was as if she had been carried out by the cloud and he couldn't touch her. When the bamboo basket reached the bottom of the cliff, they stepped out of the basket. Yingying whispered, "You're going to go now?"

"Zuo Lengchan has invited the five mountains sword schools to come to a meeting on the fifteenth of the third month to elect the headmaster of the Five Mountains School. He's very ambitious and would bring disaster to all the heroes in this realm. I must go to this gathering on Songshan."

Yingying nodded her head and said, "Brother Chong, Zuo Lengchan's sword art isn't your match but you must guard against his plotting."

Linghu Chong replied, "Yes."

"I should go with you but I'm only a witch from the Devil Sect. So if I were to go with you to Songshan then I'd just hinder you there." She stopped for a moment, before she dispiritedly said, "When you become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, your reputation would be well known in this world. Our two paths of orthodox and demonical are irreconcilable so… it's… it's… it's going to be even more difficult for us."

Linghu Chong held her hand in his and softly said, "You still don't believe me?"

Yingying mournfully laughed. "I believe you." After some time, she quietly said, "When someone practises his martial art, it would get higher and higher, and his reputation would also get bigger and bigger. I felt that often, that person would also start to change. He himself might not know it but his treatment of matters would be totally different than before. Uncle Dongfang was like that, and I'm worried that Daddy might be like that."

Linghu Chong smiled. "Your father wouldn't go and learn the martial art in that 'Sunflower Manual'. That Manual had already been destroyed by him so even if he wanted to practise it now, he wouldn't be able to."

"I'm not talking about martial art, I'm talking about someone's temperament. Even if Uncle Dongfang didn't learn the 'Sunflower Manual', he would still kill and rob once he usurped the leaders.h.i.+p of the Divine Sun Moon Sect. He would've naturally become conceited."

"Yingying, there's no harm in worrying about other people but there's no need to worry about me. I'm born with this carefree att.i.tude and would never be like that. Even if I were to become conceited, I would always always always be like this in front of you."

Yingying let out a long sigh and said, "That's good then."

Suddenly Linghu Chong thought of something and said, "Everyone in the world already knows about the two of us. Those friends that you sent to the island in South Sea, can you let them come back now?"

Yingying smiled and replied, "I've already sent people to bring them back to the central plains."

Linghu Chong pulled her close to him and lightly hugged her. "It's goodbye for now. Once that matter in Songshan is settled then I'll come here to look for you. Then we'll never be apart again."

Yingying's eyes flashed happily and she lightly said, "If only all your matters go smoothly then we can meet earlier. I'll… I'll wait here and look out for you every night and day."

"Alright!" Linghu Chong then gave her a kiss on her cheek. Yingying's face turned red with bashfulness and pushed him away.

Linghu Chong laughed loudly and led his horse away as he went away from the Sun Moon Sect.