DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 1 of 5 (Adventures of The Youth) by Jin Yong

Adventures In The Mountain Part 3

The young girl replied: "Well if that's all why didn't you say it earlier? Then how did you and Divine Farmer Clan become enemies? Why would they not even allow a dog of No Measure Sword live?"

Zuo ZiMu sees that he can't get anything out of the girl without first letting his secrets out. Because the urgentness of the situation and with all the outsiders present, he can't very well grab the girl and force her to tell can he? He suggested: "Miss, please come down so I can tell you everything." The girl's feet continued to swing back and forth again: "If you are going to tell, what difference does it make if I come down? And I don't believe more than half of what you say anyways. So go right ahead."

Rage flashed on Zuo ZiMu's face, but he quickly recovered and began: "Last year Divine Farmer Clan came to ask for access to our back mountains to collect some herbs and I refused. So they snuck in and ran into Brother Rong and a couple of disciples, who scolded the perpetrators for trespassing. They replied: "What is this place? The Imperial Gardens? Why can't we come here? Did No Measure Sword buy up all of No Measure Mountain?" Words were exchanged and the conversation became very heated until they finally started fighting. Brother Rong did not hold anything back and killed two of them. That's how it all started. Then on the banks of the Lan Cang River we two sides got together again, a couple more of lives were lost there." The young nodded: "Oh, so that's it? What kind of herbs were they looking for?" Zuo ZiMu replied: "I'm not quite sure which kind."

The young girl triumphantly replied: "Figured you wouldn't know. Since you have told me how all this got started, I should probably tell two things. That day I was out catching snakes for my marten Lightning..." Duan Yu cuts it: "Your marten's name is Lightning?" The young girl answered: "Yeah, of course. When he gets going, isn't he quick as lightning?" Duan Yu nodded in agreement: "That's right! Lightning... such a good name!" Zuo ZiMu glared at Duan Yu for interrupting, but the girl is just getting to the important part and might get mad if he goes after Duan Yu, so he kept his mouth shut.

The young girl continued to talk to Duan Yu: "Lightning loves to eat poisonous snakes, he doesn't eat anything else really. I had him since he was born, he's four now. He only listens to me and nobody else, not even my parents. If I want him to frighten people then he would, if I tell him to bite he goes and do it. Such a good boy!" She reaches into her pouch with her left hand, petting the marten.

Duan Yu isn't a complete fool: "Mr. Zuo is just as anxious as can be. Why don't you tell him what he wants to know."

The girl let out a little laugh, looked down at Zuo ZiMu, and continued: "So there I was hiding in the bushes searching for snakes, when a couple of men came walking by. One of them said: 'This time, if we don't kill all of No Measure Sword, take over No Measure Mountain and the Sword Lake Palace, all of our heads will be taking a nice little trip.' I heard that there will be some fighting, figured it would be pretty interesting, so I kept on listening. They just stayed there chatting, saying something about orders from the Nimble Vulture Palace of Misty Peak to take over Sword Lake Palace and check up on 'No Measure Jade Cliff'."

As she said this, Zuo ZiMu and ShuangQing shot a look at one another at the same time.

The girl asked: "What exactly is Nimble Vulture Palace of Misty Peak? Why does Divine Farmer Clan listen to its command?" Zuo ZiMu replied: "This is the first time we have heard of the Nimble Vulture Palace of Misty Peak. We had no idea that Divine Farmer Clan was actually obeying orders when they were stirring up troubles with us." Thinking that the Divine Farmer Clan would obey them, then that Misty Peak-whatever must be quite formidable. Of all the mountains and peaks in Yu Nan, Zuo ZiMu has never heard of one called Misty Peak. The more he thought about all of this the more worried he got.