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

Subtle Steps And Hanging Threads Part 1

The day break solved her problem for her, because she could not escape any more.

"If that heartless jerk comes, he comes; if he doesn't, he doesn't. All I can do is wait here for death to come." Her thoughts were just turning towards the morose when she suddenly heard a sharp crack behind her. Turning around, she saw an object fell out of the sky and land in the relatively dense area of grass about 100 meters away.

"What could that be?" She immediately flattened herself against the ground. Only when no other sound could be heard from the bush did she, as silently as she could, crawl over to take a peek.

When she finally made it to the thicket and pushed the tall grass aside, what she saw made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Laid side to side within the thicket of grass was the bodies of 6 infants, some on their side, others facing up. Among them was the infant that she saw Second Madame Yie holding in her hands days ago.

"There are six bodies, and she's been here for 6 days. So it true, that evil wench does kill an infant every day. But why?" It was hard to tell how Second Madame Yie killed the babies because there were no blood or obvious injuries on the bodies. One of the babies was wearing bright and colorful cloths, but the other 5 were wearing cloths made of rough materials typical of farmers, presumably farmers of the No Measure Mountains. Ever since she had left her hide out with her master, Mu Wan Qing had killed quite a number of people. But all of her victims had been people of the pugilistic world who did not have good intentions towards her. Witnessing first hand the murders of these innocent infants made her entire body tremble in fear.

Suddenly a shadow flashed across her view. A person was shooting down the mountain side like a bird, landing every so often, but only momentarily, before taking off again. It was none other than Second Madame Yie. Watching the speed with which she flew, Mu Wan Qing realized that it was a speed that even her master could never hope to obtain. With that realization, a sense of hopelessness shot through her. Her legs gave out from underneath her, making her sit down onto the ground.

She sat there dumbstruck for a while before coming around again. She lined the bodies of the 6 infants up and covered them with little rocks and dirt. Suddenly, a freezing sensation ambushed her from behind. She immediately tapped the ground with her left foot and shot forward. A laughter and inexplicably switches from sharp and thick could be heard coming from behind her.

"Little lady, your hubby just ditched ya, so why don't you follow me instead?" It was Yun Zhong He.

He arrived at the same time as his voice, reaching out trying to grab Mu Wan Qing's waist. Just as it looked like his claws were going to catch her when a sideways palm came in and parried away his hand. The palm was from none other than the Divine Croc.

"Number Four, you better keep away from my Southern Sea Sect!" He yelled in anger.

"Your disciple isn't showing up, so this little missy isn't related to your sect." Yun Zhong He quickly hopped about 20 or so meters out of the way. Only now did Mu Wan Qing get a good look at him. He was extremely tall, but also extremely thin, reminding her of a long bamboo stick. Even his face looked impossibly long.

"How the hell do you know my disciple won't show up? Did you kill him?" The Divine Croc replied in anger. "That's right! You must have saw how great my disciple is and kidnapped him for yourself! You messed my plans you bastard, I'm going to strangle you dry!"

Being the unreasonable brute that he was, he did not even wait for Yun Zhong He to answer his charges before throwing himself at Yun Zhong He.

"I don't know what shape or color your disciple is as I have never seen him before, how could I try and take him in?" Yun Zhong He yelled as he swiftly dodged Divine Croc's initial flurry.

"Bullshit!" Divine Croc angrily shouted. "Who's going to believe that shit? You lost your fight and took it out on my disciple!"

"Is your disciple a man or a woman?"

"A man, of course! What would I do with a female disciple?"

"Well then! Yun Zhong He only goes after women and is never interested in men. You know all about that don't you?"

Divine Croc was in mid-air when he heard this remark. Finding some reason in it, he immediately switched to "Thousand Ton Boulder" and dove back to Earth.

"So where did my disciple go?" He inquired, placing his right foot up on a piece of rock that happened to be by his feet. "Why hasn't he shown up yet?"

"Hehe, that's your Southern Seas Sect's own business, what does it have to do with me?" Yun Zhong He joked.

"How dare you make fun of me!" The Divine Croc was already terribly frustrated by the absense of Duan Yu, so his temper was very touchy at the moment.

"If I could get the two of them in a fight, it would be very advantageous for me." Mu Wan Qing decided.

"That's right, this Yun Zhong He must have harmed your disciple!" So she shouted. "Or else how could he get down from the cliff all by himself? This Yun Zhong He's lightness kungfu is amazing, so he must have went up the cliff, took your disciple somewhere, and killed him to make sure that Southern Seas Sect would not produce a powerful figure. Why else would the body be missing?"

The Divine Croc slapped his own foreheard as if he had just had an epiphany.

"You see? Even my disciple's wife says so. Are you still saying you are innocent?"

"My husband told me that he could only dream to be so lucky as to have a master as great as you and he has to drive himself so as to bring fame and glory to the great Southern Seas Sect as well as the Divine Croc of the Southern Seas. So famous so that all those 'No Evil Left Undone' and 'Evil Overflowing the Cup' would be so envious of you. But who could have guessed that this Yun Zhong He would be so cruel as to kill you disciple. You'll never be able to find a disciple so like you again!" For every point she made, the Divine Croc slapped his forehead. She continued. "My husband's back of the head is shaped just like yours, not to mention that he is a physical specimen just like you. He's the perfect successor to the Southern Seas Sect. But yet this Yun Zhong He just want to trouble you. So why haven't you avenged your disciple?"

By this time, Divine Croc's eyes were literally on fire as he threw himself at Yun Zhong He. Yun Zhong He knew that Mu Wan Qing was intentionally trying to instigate something but did not have a chance to defend himself. Knowing that his kungfu was not up to par with Divine Croc, he immediately turned and ran when he saw Divine Croc coming at him. Divine Croc landed and took off, once again flying towards him.

"He's running because he's guilty!" Mu Wan Qing poured gasoline on the fire. "If he didn't kill your disciple, then he wouldn't be running!"

"That's right, that makes sense!" Divine Croc shouted. "Give me back my disciple!"

One ran, the other chased. In a blink of an eye the two of them disappeared over the top of the mountain.

Mu Wan Qing was just padding herself on her back when she realized that the Divine Croc's shouts were getting closer once again as the two men worked their way back around to this side of the mountain again.

It was obvious that Yun Zhong He was much faster than Divine Croc. With his long and lanky body, he looked like a bamboo in the wind, shaking left and right, yet a good distance was always maintained between him and Divine Croc. The two of them flashed by in front of Mu Wan Qing and instantly disappeared around to the other side of the mountain again. By the second time the two men made their way back around, Yun Zhong He suddenly changed directions and floated to just Mu Wan Qing's side. He reached out and tried to grab her shoulder. Caught off guard, Mu Wan Qing immediately flicked up her right arm and sent a poisonous arrow flying towards his face. Yun Zhong He slid to his left a little and dodged the arrow. Somehow, with the way his body was twisted, his long arms arrived in front of Mu Wan Qing's face. Mu Wan Qing tried to get out of the way, but she was still a step too slow. A gust of coolness hit her face as her veil ended up in Yun Zhong He's hand.

Yun Zhong He was momentarily dumb struck by Mu Wan Qing's beauty, and then an evil smile crept onto his face.

"Woah, hot damn! This littl girlie here is quite something here. Could be a bit more coy, or else she would be perfect...." While he was busy talking, Divine Croc arrive with his palm howled as his aimed for Yun Zhong He's back. Yun Zhong He gathered his power into his right palm and countered.

"Hong!" A huge explosion of sound could be heard as the power of their strikes met. Mu Wan Qing suddenly felt as if all the air was squeezed out of her as she found it impossible to breath due to the air pressure. Within a radius of several meters, the dust and dirt on the ground swirled about in a frenzy. Using the power of Divine Croc's strike, Yun Zhong He shot back and was instantly 5 meters away.

"Eat my palm!" Divine Croc screamed.

"You can't catch me, and I can't beat you." Yun Zhong He laughingly observed. "We can keep this up for another day and would still be like this."

Once again, the two disappeared, still in chase. But the dirt and dust around Mu Wan Qing have yet to settle.

"I have to figure out a way to get in Yun Zhong He's way, or else these two would never fight." She decided.


And so she waited for both men to chase around the mountain for the very third time; and as they approached, she leapt upwards. Chi sounds reverberated continuously in the air. The next instant, approximately six to seven poisonous arrows raced towards Yun Zhong He.

"Return my husband's life!"

Hearing the swishing sounds of arrows slicing through the air, Yun Zhonghe understood the severity of the situation he was in. Soaring skyward and diving downward, he simultaneously evaded the flurry of arrows which were directed at him. The next moment, Mu Wan Qing unsheathed her sword and slashed twice at his direction, viciously. How would Yun Zhong He not understand her intentions behind all these? Not in the least concerned with defending himself, Yun Zhong He simply floated away; behind him, all Mu Wan Qing's strikes landed on air.

However, with her interference, the Divine Croc's palms finally managed to reach Yun Zhong He. The palm winds generated from his forceful palm strikes completely enveloped Yun Zhong He's body.

"Number Three," Yun Zhong He said, baring a ferocious grin. "I have given way to you countless times; if not for the sake of preserving the friendship between us — the four Arched Villains, do you for once really believe I'm afraid of you?"

That said, his hands reached for his waist, each grasping a steel handle. This handle was at least three feet in length, and at the tip of it lay a human hand. The fingers on the steel handle extended in all directions, and the fingertips glowed in a scintillatingly blue colour. The left claw headed for the right, whilst the right claw went for the left. Instantly, Yun Zhong He's body was sealed in a tight defensive position.

The Divine Croc said gleefully, "Excellent! We haven't met each other for seven years, and now you have trained yourself with such an unorthodox weapon! Now, watch mine!" Done with speaking, he released the contents of his backpack, and from it he pulled out two weapons.

Mu Wan Qing retreated hastily: she knew it was useless for her to join in the battle.

The Divine Croc held a strange-looking scissors with a short handle and a long blade in his right hand, the blade was full of serrated blades, resembling the ferocious jaws of a crocodile. On the other hand, he wielded a soft whip that has razor spikes all over; it looked almost indistinguishable from the tail of a crocodile.

Yun Zhong He glanced at the bizarre weaponry the Divine Croc was using. Without warning, his right steel claw flew out, charging towards the Divine Croc's face. The Divine Croc flipped the Croc Tail Whip in his right hand, and a noisy pa resounded, causing the steel claw to propel away forcefully. However, Yun Zhong He's reflexes were amazingly quick; deftly, he flung the other steel claw even before he withdrew his right hand.

Crack! The Croc Jaws Scissors extended itself, clipped Yun Zhong He's left steel claw and gave it a brutal twist. Even though Yun Zhonghe's steel claw was made of pure steel, the Croc Jaws Scissors seemed to be casted from some unknown material. It broke two fingers out of the five on the Steel Claw with absurd ease. Fortunately, Yun Zhong He had retracted his hand swiftly, preventing the other three fingers from being snipped away. However, the Claw skill he was practising all along required the use of all ten fingers. Now that he had two fingers missing, the power displayed in his moves was greatly weakened. A crestfallen look fell over Yun Zhong He's face.

The Divine Croc laughed nastily as he advanced, snatching the offensive position with a nimbly-curling Croc-Tail whip.