Legend has it that there is a martial arts manuscript Bixie Sword Manual in the house of Lin family, which when learned will give the person god-like speed and power. Thus, whoever manages to master it, will become the conqueror of the martial world...
[Linghu Chong's hand happened to come upon the sheath by his waist, without thinking, he pointed the sheath at Mrs. Yue's long sword in a straight line. "Clank," Mrs. Yue's long sword snapped into the sheath perfectly.]
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At dusk one day, Linghu Chong looked down from the cliff as usual and saw two figures coming toward the cliff in great speed. The one in front was in a skirt and obviously was a woman. Both of them had excellent Qing-Gong[1] skills. To them, the steep slope and precipices were just like leveled ground. Linghu Chong stared some more and then realized that they were actually none other than Master and Master-Wife.
"Master, Master-Wife!" in great joy, he called out loudly.
Only a few moments later, Yue Buqun and Madam Yue leapt onto the cliff. Madam Yue had a meal basket in her hand. According to generations of traditional Huashan Sword School rules, when someone was being punished to meditate on the "Cliff of Contemplation," other than bringing food to him, none of his apprentice brothers would be allowed to come up the cliff to chat with him. Even the apprentice student of the one being punished would be restricted from coming up to pay his respect to his Master. Who would have thought that the Yue Buqun couple actually came up the cliff themselves?
Unable to hide his shear joy, Linghu Chong rushed forward and knelt down, embracing Yue Buqun's legs into his arms.
"Master, Master-Wife, I missed you so much!" he cried out.
Yue Buqun's eyebrows knitted into a straight line. He always knew that this top apprentice of his was forthright and sincere with his feelings and was never strong at self-discipline, which was exactly the major barrier for studying advanced Huashan style Qi-Gong.[2] Before the Yue couple came up the cliff, they had already inquired about the cause of his illness. Although none of the apprentices had a straightforward answer, from the combined information from everybody's words, they had already figured out that it must have something to do with Yue Lingshan. After checking in details with their daughter and only getting hums and haws as her answer, they came to the same conclusion. Now seeing the revelation of Linghu Chong's true feelings, Yue Buqun could tell that apparently in the last half a year, Linghu Chong had not progressed at all during his stay on the "Cliff of Contemplation". Feeling somewhat displeased, he let out a snort.
Madam Yue reached out and propped Linghu Chong up. Seeing Linghu Chong's thin and pallid face, so different from the face that had glowed with health and radiated vigor on normal days, she couldn't help but pity him.
"Chong, your Master and I just got back from the far northeast and heard that you have been quite ill. Have you recovered yet?" she asked in a soft tone.
"I am all recovered now." Linghu Chong felt a stream of warmth coursing through his body and teardrops starting to emerge in his eyes. "Master, Master-Wife, you two must have had a tiring journey, and as soon as you got back today, you are already coming up...coming up to see me." In great excitement, he choked with sobs and turned his head away to wipe off his tears.
