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

Subtle Steps And Hanging Threads Part 2

"Number One is finally here!"

Both leapt towards the direction of the whistling sound, vanishing from sight almost instantly like gases diffusing into the air. However, Second Madam Ye seemed oblivious of the sound; instead she continued playing with Shan Shan, until her gaze fell on Mu Wan Qing.

She simpered, "Miss Mu, you have such gorgeous eyes on your mesmerizing face, this is absolutely intolerable. Leader Zuo, help do me a favour and dig out this lady's eyeballs."

Now that his son was being held captive, Zuo Zi Mu had no choice but to obey. "Miss Mu, it's best that you follow according to Second Madam Ye's instructions, it will save you much pain and suffering," said Zuo, as he brandished his sword at her direction, before stabbing the sword towards her.

"Despicable lowlife!" Mu Wan Qing shrieked. She pulled out her sword and swung it at Zuo's left shoulder. Three strokes were exchanged; suddenly, Mu Wan Qing's body swerved as she threw out her left arm.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Three poisonous arrows flew towards Second Madam Ye, attempting to attack her off-guard.

"Don't hurt my child!" Zuo Zi Mu yelled.

What Mu Wan Qing did not expect was that as speedy her poison arrows might be, all it took of Second Madam Ye was a mere whisk of her left sleeve and all three arrows were wrapped, instantly, into a harmless bundle; she then disposed them off easily by throwing the arrows aside. When that was done, she conveniently removed Shan Shan's shoe and flung it towards Mu Wan Qing's back.

Mu Wan Qing heard something soaring towards her from behind. She hastily swung her sword to the back, trying to knock it away. Unfortunately, her injury caused her to hold the sword at a wrong angle, such that the shoe was able to slide down the surface of her sword upon contact and struck her right waist with a loud pu sound.

As Second Madam Ye tossed the shoe, she imbued her internal energy into the shoe, Mu Wan Qing tried desperately to use her own internal energy to resist that of Second Madam Ye. However, in the process of all this she was unable to take even a single breath and thus became momentarily paralyzed. No longer being able to hold onto her sword, she released her grip on the weapon as it fell with a loud "qiang-lang". The very next thing she knew, a second shoe was soaring towards her, striking her chest.

Mu Wan Qing's eyes saw nothing but darkness; she was unable to hold on any longer and collapsed. Zuo Zi Mu's sword swerved abruptly and aimed towards her chest; meanwhile, he extended his left hand to gouge out her right eye.

"Brother Duan!" cried Mu Wan Qing as she jumped towards the blade; she'd rather die under the sword than undergo the excruciating torture — and humiliation — of getting her eyes gorged out.

Zuo Zi Mu pulled back his sword to prevent killing her; suddenly he felt something mighty tugging at his wrists. In an instant, he lost control of the sword; it flew towards the skies upon release. The powerful force he'd just experienced forced him back several steps.

All three of them gasped as they watched the sword flying in mid-air. A soft, thin rope wrapped around the blade of the sword, an iron metal handle was attached to the other end of the rope; it was held onto by a soldier in yellow garments. This man appeared to be around in his thirties; the heroism expressed in his facial features was impressive yet frightening. A cold sneer spread across his face.

Second Madam Ye recognized this man as the very person who battled with Yun Zhong He seven days ago, and knew that his martial arts are not weak; in fact, his martial arts were only a notch weaker than hers. She was not afraid of him; however, she feared that his companions have arrived too.

And indeed, another yellow-clothed soldier stood at the East, an axe tied to his waist.

Before she could say another word, noises rumbled loudly from behind her. She turned around and saw two more yellow-clothed soldiers standing at the South-East and the South-West direction. Like the two soldiers who first arrived, they had uncarved gems on their collar and looked like military officers. The soldier at the North-East wielded a pair of judge pens, while the other at the North-West held a staff forged using refined copper, which was so tall it reached his eyebrows.

All four men stood around the corners of the peak, forming an enclosed wall around the three.

Zuo Zi Mu called out loudly, "So the four honorable Dali palace guardians Chu, Gu, Fu, Zhu have arrived. Zuo Zi Mu from No Measure Sword pays his respect here." After speaking, he bowed courteously to them.

Palace guardian Zhu Dan Chen, the man wielding the pair of judge pens clasped his fist respectfully in the direction of Zuo Zi Mu. The other three military officers, however, ignored him.

Chu Wan Li, the palace guardian who arrived first among the four, brandished the metal handle in his hand, causing the sword trapped in mid-air by his rope to vibrate vigorously. The reflection caused by the sun rays made the sword sparkle beautifully like stars in the night, as he sneered, "No Measure Sword is quite a powerful sect in Dali, but nobody expected the leader of the sect to be such a despicable creature. Where is Young Master Duan?"

Initially, all that Mu Wan Qing could think of was suicide and more suicide. Now that a potential saviour has arrived, these thoughts were replaced immediately by relief and joy. Hearing this palace guardian enquiring about Duan Yu, she suddenly felt as if this stranger were a close relative of hers.

Zuo Zi Mu murmured, "Young... Young Master Duan? Ah yes, I saw him a few days ago, but I have no clue to where he is now."

"Young Master Duan has been tortured to death by this evil lady's brother," Mu Wan Qing pointed an accusing finger at Second Madam Ye, before adding, "That man was named something like 'To The Core Evil' Yun Zhong He; he looks so skinny and tall I could compare him to a bamboo."

"What? That man killed Young Master?" Chu Wan Li gasped.

Grief and fury overwhelmed Fu Si Gui, the palace guardian weilding the copper staff. "Young Master Duan," he bellowed, the copper staff in his hands lunging towards the top of Second Madam Ye's head. It looked almost ready to slam down onto her head. "I will avenge your death!"

With a flash Second Madam Ye evaded Fu Si Gui's moves as her body streaked about, while she shrieked, "Aiyo! My little babies, you, Dali's four palace guardians surnamed Chu, Gu, Fu and Zhu. How could you kiddies die so young? How can mummy not feel miserable? You little unfortunate babies, wait for mummy while in hell!"

Chu, Gu, Fu and Zhu palace guardians were only slightly younger than her, yet Second Madam Ye kept calling out "my little children" and "unfortunate babies", claiming to be their mother.

Fu Si Gui looked murderous; he swung his copper staff viciously about, creating fierce swishing noises in the air. In an instant, his copper staff dissolved into a yellow mist which enclosed Second Madam Ye in between.

Holding onto Zuo Zi Mu's son, Second Madam Ye's weaving body penetrated every opening in the flurry of her opponent's stances, evading every single stroke of the copper staff. As she dodged about, the child in her arms started crying.

Zuo Zi Mu anxiously cried for everybody to stop fighting, now that he feared that his child might get hurt. "Both of you stop fighting! Both of you stop fighting!"

Another palace guardian withdrew his axe and bellowed, "'No Evil left Undone' Second Madam Ye certainly lives up to her name. Allow me Gu Du Cheng to challenge your amazing skills."

As soon as his voice can be heard, Gu Du Cheng went rolling on the floor. His hand shot out suddenly, as he hacked at her legs with the strongest move of his "Viciously Intersecting Eighteen Axes". Axes seemed to appear from both sides of her body; they closed in towards her and began striking brutally from all directions.

Second Madam Ye laughed, "This child is such an obstruction. You kill him first."

With that, she shifted Shan Shan towards the blade of the axe. Gu Du Cheng gasped and withdrew his axe immediately. Without missing a beat, Second Madam Ye seized this chance to launch a flying kick at his shoulder. Fortunately, this kick only caused him to stagger without suffering from any injury, for Gu Du Cheng had quite a muscular build. Recovering from the pain, he immediately jumped up and attack.

However, Second Madam Ye had the child as a form of shield; as such, Gu Du Cheng and Fu Si Gui's attacks met with restrictions everywhere: neither of them had the intention of harming the little infant.

Zuo Zi Mu shouted again, "Careful, my child is in her hands! Careful! Careful! Brother Fu, your staff is a little bit too high. Brother Gu, your axe mustn't... mustn't get too close to my child."

Amidst all the mess, the melodious sound of a flute resounded in the air from the mountain ridge. It sounded clear, loud and intense. Shortly after, the music seemed to be coming from nearby. From behind the mountain, a middle-aged man sauntered into view, wearing large robes and sleeves. He had three tufts of beard and had a lofty appearance. He walked gracefully towards them, playing the metal flute in his hands as he did so.

Zhu Dan Chen darted towards his side and whispered something into his ear. The stranger continued playing the flute; the tune was melodious and relaxing; this stranger calmly walked towards the site where they were battling earlier.

Suddenly, the flute rang loudly, causing the people around him to clutch their ears for dear life as if their eardrums were about to explode. He then covered all the holes in the flute with all ten fingers, as he gathered energy and blew into it with force. A ferocious gust of wind burst out from the other end of the flute, searing towards Second Madam Ye's face.

Shocked, Second Madam Ye turned around and evaded the blow; as she did so, she felt one end of the flute pressing at her throat.

Both movements were frighteningly quick; even for a person with such speedy reflexes like Second Madam Ye, she was rendered quite helpless when faced with such a situation. Raising her waist slightly, she forced herself to retreat many feet backwards. As she did so, she suddenly hurled Shan Shan's body downwards while extending her arms, trying to grab the metal flute.

Before the infant touched the floor, the stranger wearing huge robes threw out his sleeve; they curled around the infant and lifted it, harmlessly.

The very moment when Second Madam Ye's hand grabbed the metal flute, she felt as though she were holding a burning piece of coal! She gasped in shock and leapt backwards, releasing the flute immediately as she did so; she wondered whether the flute was coated with poison.

The stranger flung his sleeves; Shan Shan's body flew steadily towards Zuo Zi Mu.

Second Madam Ye glanced sideways and noticed the stranger's palms was as scarlet as blood.

Her eyes widened in surprise. The flute was actually not coated with poison at all; instead, it was his internal energy all along which made the metal flute burn as though it had just came out of a furnace.

Retreating a few steps in fear, she laughed, "This mister's kung fu is indeed almighty, it is unimaginable that such a small country like Dali have such a powerful figure. May I ask for your honorable name?"

The stranger returned a faint smile. "It is such an honour to have Second Madam Ye's arrival here at our tiny boundary. It is fortunate, indeed fortunate of us, and hence we, the citizens of Dali, should welcome you gracefully as your host."

Surprise and happiness welled inside Zuo Zi Mu's heart as he hugged his son tightly, blurting out, "Your excellency must be Lord... Lord Gao?"

The stranger did not reply, instead he returned another faint smile, before facing Second Madam Ye and inquired her politely, "Where is Mister Duan? Please do tell."

"I do not know his whereabouts, and even if I do, why should I tell you?" sneered Second Madam Ye.

With that, she sprang into the air; her soaring body was about to land onto the peak of a mountain nearby.

"Halt!" The wide-robed stranger cried, his body soaring after her.

Suddenly, several gleaming lights dazzled before his eyes. Upon closer look, they were in actual fact seven to eight hidden projectiles speeding towards him in mid-air - each of them aiming for them various acupoints on his head.

Waving his metal flute swiftly, the stranger made every single projectile drop simultaneously onto the floor below. It was, however, too late to apprehend Second Madam Ye as she took this opportunity to escape. Her shadow weaved and flashed about, and it was impossible to catch her anymore owing to the now huge distance between her and himself. He turned to look at the "hidden projectiles" on the ground; they were in fact a variety of mere accessories that a child has on him or her. There was a longevity tablet, mini-lock, gold and silver items, etc.

"These are objects of the many children she has killed. If this menace isn't removed, heaps of infants will fall prey in the country of Dali." He mused.

Chu Wan Li waved the metal handle in his hands. The soft rope uncurled itself, sending the sword flying towards Zuo Zi Mu, hilt facing him. Embarrassed, Zuo Zi Mu extended his arm and caught onto his sword. Under such embarrassing circumstances, he couldn't say a word.

Chu Wan Li then turned around to ask Mu Wan Qing, "What has truly happened to Mister Duan? Had he really been killed by Yun Zhong He?"

These people seem to be Brother Duan's friends, I'll better tell them the truth, and we shall go search for him at the other side of the cliff. Mu Wan Qing thought. As she opened her mouth to speak, she heard somebody crying out anxiously from the waist of the mountain, sounding half-dead, "Miss Mu... Miss Mu... Are you still there? Divine Croc, here I come, I beseech you not to hurt Miss Mu! Regarding the matter of acknowledging you as master, we shall discuss that in the future... Miss Mu, Miss Mu, are you alright?"

The wide-robed stranger and the military officers cried in joy. "Young Master is here!"

During the long suffering wait for Duan Yu for seven long days, the emotional agony in her heart was able to rival her physical pain; until now was she finally able to hear his voice again; as surprise and relief overwhelmed her, she lost consciousness.