Xu Ziling left the small stream, went ashore and continued his journey; his entire person felt completely new.
There was no feeling of returning to the nature better than diving into the water. Just now when he was in total relaxation, he entered the deep and clear-headed half-asleep state, but his thought and consciousness were still moving, yet his body was still in a resting state, the true qi within his body was moving along its course like the sun and the moon, circulating around automatically, the innate qi rushed forth and poured out separately from his left and right yongquan acupoints; hot on the left and cold on the right, yin and yang blended together, so that immediately the condition of his internal injury saw considerable improvement.
Facing the crisp and clear night wind, although his clothes were wet, he did not feel cold at all. Furthermore, because he was urging his qi to treat his injury, the water evaporated, so that by the time the Jingpo Lake was in sight, his clothes were already dry and clean.
Albeit repeated setbacks, which caused injuries on top of injuries, his xinfa in healing method has advanced to a new level, pushing his lying-down-meditation to a new realm.
Moreover, he had a faint feeling that after absorbing the essence of the Demonic Emperor’s Relics, it was only this moment that it completely fused with the true qi within his body.
He did not dare to think about Shi Feixuan, for fear that his heart might be impetuous and his qi impatient; he only wanted to ascertain the Demonic Emperor’s Relics’ location first before making any plan.
Xu Ziling cut through the forest. ‘Wasn’t this the site of Jingpo Pavilion located by the lake?’ he mused.
Involuntarily he touched the big and tall tree where he and Shi Feixuan and Kou Zhong were hiding last night watching the Jingpo Pavilion from a distance.
Suddenly the beautiful image of Shi Feixuan sitting cross-legged on a big tree branch entered his eyesight. The fairy turned her head to look at him, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, without she even needed to talk, Xu Ziling could understand her clearly, the ‘You, this person! Why do you still want to rush over?’ that she spoke in her heart.
Xu Ziling was pleased beyond his expectations, while was also at a loss.
Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi were still maintaining their highest speed as they sprinted forward, they were afraid of Shen Mohuan’s Flying Cloud Bow.
Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well, he let out a long laugh and said to Ke Dazhi, “Killing one, we recover our capital; killing a pair, we make a profit. This business is profitable!”
Casting a backward glance, Ke Dazhi revealed a puzzled look.
Kou Zhong also felt something was different; turned out one after another the warriors on Shen Mohuan’s side reined their horses, so that the horses neighed and reared. The situation was chaotic.
The two halted their steps. The warriors from the other side rushed out to fill the plain, so that they could see a bit more clearly.
Shaken, Kou Zhong said, “They are my Xiongdi Gunatai’s men.”
A voice came, “Shaoshuai, I trust you have been well since we last met!”
Hearing the voice, Kou Zhong responded in great delight, “Old Ba, where on earth have you been? You made us blindly anxious for many days.”
Leading the troops, other than Bielegunatai and Bugunatai, there was also Ba Fenghan, whose whereabouts was unknown for a long time.
More than five hundred riders galloped over like a tornado in fan-shaped formation, putting themselves in face-to-face confrontation position with Shen Mohuan’s side of more than three hundred fighters in tight formation. In term of momentum, the strong and the weak were clearly distinguished.
From desperation back to life, grasping back their two little lives, Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi’s delight was indescribable. Ba Fenghan and the Gunatai brothers galloped toward the two men, the three men sized Ke Dazhi up and down with burning gaze. Kou Zhong promptly made the introduction.
Ba Fenghan jumped down the horse, in Tujue language, which the Gunatai brothers understood, he laughed aloud and said, “Seeing face to face excels hearing the name. Even if I, Ba Fenghan think until my head burst, I would never expect that the two of you might walk together. But you can tell everything to me later, punishing Shen Mohuan is more important.”
Recognizing heroes value other heroes, although friend and foe are difficult to distinguish, Bielegunatai brothers were still very friendly toward Ke Dazhi.
Ke Dazhi paid special attention toward Ba Fenghan; he said, “When we have the opportunity, I definitely want to ask for guidance from Ba Xiong’s Beheading Mystery Sword.”
Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “That is what Xiaodi seek but fail to get. But this sword is no longer called Beheading Mystery, it has been changed to Stealing the Heaven.”
Moving to Kou Zhong’s side, he happily hugged his shoulders and said, “You, this kid, are really lucky. We are keeping watch in here was not because knowing you might be chased to kill at all, but to ambush and seize away Old Bai’s batch of bows and arrows. The task that you entrusted to me, Xiaodi will definitely accomplish it for you.”
And then the murderous aura in his pair of eyes flaring greatly, he cast his gaze toward the enemy ranks about a thousand paces away and spoke in heavy voice, “This time, what tactics we should use to kill the enemy that not a single armor remains?”
Frowning, Bielegunatai said, “Although compared to the other side we have more than two hundred men and that great victory can be expected, but Shen Mohuan is an expert in running away. If he escapes into the forest, it is very likely that we might ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful.”
Kou Zhong looked inside himself to examine his internal injury, and discovered that he had already recovered sixty-, seventy-percent of his power, while his wound had also more or less healed. Greatly delighted in his heart, he mused that this healing method while running along must be a Wonder Method of Healing, his own creation, which had never existed since the dawn of time until today.
He said, “Xiaodi has a proposal, I guarantee that Shen Mohuan will not refuse. But the problem is that I can only kill Shen Mohuan, while the others must be let go.”
Shaken, Ke Dazhi said, “We can’t do that. Shen Mohuan is not a woman who only knows how to do embroidery, plus your internal injury has not healed yet. Too risky!”
Stunned, Ba Fenghan looked at Kou Zhong, “Who can hurt you? Where’s Xiao Ling?” he asked.
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “Start explaining this matter and it’s a long story; I’ll tell you, LaoGe everything later on.”
And then, turning to the Gunatai brothers, he said, “If I get rid of Shen Mohuan on your behalf, do you have any objection?”
Bielegunatai said, “As long as you can kill him, that will work, other people do not matter. All along Mu Ling has never been able to convince the masses, she cannot do anything, but …”
“Don’t worry,” Kou Zhong cut him off, “Do I look like I am stupid enough to offer my life to Shen Mohuan’s men?”
He patted Ke Dazhi’s shoulder first, telling him not to worry, and then he took tree steps forward before shouting loudly in Tujue language, “Shen Mohuan, do you have enough guts to have a one-on-one duel against me, Kou Zhong?”
Tense and thick silence. It was quite a moment later that Shen Mohuan’s voice was heard, “Kou Zhong, are you seeking death? Ha! Such a crafty trick, I can do the same thing as well. You just wanted to entangle me, and then you’ll move your troops to attack. Humph! Don’t think that I am going to fall into your trap. If you have guts, give me all you got! We’ll fight with open saber open spear to see who’s tougher.”
Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, ‘Using lowly person’s heart to measure my nobleman’s belly’. Laughing aloud, he said, “Are you saying you are determined to flee in defeat while having your men throwing away their life for you, and you yourself escape without any trace?”
Shen Mohuan angrily said, “How could I be such a person?”
Bielegunatai chimed in, “Since that’s the case,” he shouted, “You and Shaoshuai fight to the death, if the victor is you, Shen Mohuan, I swear by the spirit of my ancestors, by my predecessors that even if you run away, I will definitely not interfere.”
Silence descended upon the plain, only the night wind was whooshing. The men and horses of both sides quietly waited for Shen Mohuan’s response.
Kou Zhong was not worried that Shen Mohuan would not agree. Shen Mohuan knew better than anybody else about the seriousness of his injury. This was precisely one in a thousand years golden opportunity to take Kou Zhong’s life, while also allowing the entire army to withdraw safely. What could be more profitable than this?
After whispering to each other with Mu Ling, who was standing by his side – for a moment, as expected, he shouted in response, “Since you, Kou Zhong, don’t want to live, I will be happy to help you accomplish your desire.”
The warriors on both sides cheered at the same time, momentarily murderous aura condensed, decisive battle atmosphere enveloped the grassland.
As long as the fairy was nearby, it would be like he could leave this cruel reality brimming with hatred and murderous atmosphere, to reach the world of the immortals, the fairyland, the happy land.
Turning his gaze in the direction of the pavilion, to his surprise, he saw Zhu Yuyan sitting quietly facing the lake, with her back toward them. From the direction of Ma Ji’s camp, there was no light in sight; apparently this big fat man already withdrew in panic.
Xu Ziling was confused, but he was relieved at the same time, because obviously they [feminine] have not encountered Shi Zhixuan yet.
When he got close, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, “Where’s Kou Zhong?”
Xu Ziling replied, “He went to look for Shen Mohuan to give him bad luck; he did not know that I am coming here.”
Shi Feixuan’s pretty eyebrows lightly furrowed, she asked, “Then how did you know you were supposed to come here?”
“I sensed Sheli’s demonic qi,” Xu Ziling replied.
Shi Feixuan’s eyebrows were furrowed even deeper, she spoke in astonishment, “Could it be that Zhu Hou [Empress] lied to me again? She said she has not been able to sense the Sheli’s location.”
Staring blankly, Xu Ziling said, “Unexpectedly there is such a thing. But it was only at a certain moment that I sensed the Sheli, afterwards I did not sense it anymore.”
After muttering to herself irresolutely for half a day, Shi Feixuan sighed lightly and said, “I suddenly have a very ominous premonition.”
“Why are you two here?” Xu Ziling asked.
Shi Feixuan replied, “When I found Zhu Hou, she received a note from Shi Zhixuan, asking her to come here tonight on the second watch of the night [9-11 pm] to settle the gratitude and grudges between them. Ah! He’s here!”
Xu Ziling focused his attention to look, a small boat was rowed slowly toward the Jingpo Pavilion. Holding his head high, the proud Shi Zhixuan was standing at the stern, effortlessly operating the scull, while singing, “Life between the heaven and the earth suddenly become like a visitor from a faraway place. Fighting over the wine to entertain each other, chatting profoundly instead of in indifferent manner; driving the carriage urging the horse, playing like the winding River Luo.”
Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dazed; didn’t Shi Zhixuan come to kill Zhu Yuyan? Why did it appear as if he was coming to meet his lover?
Zhu Yuyan remained absolutely still, as if she did not see Shi Zhixuan’s good self on the boat, she blocked her ears and did not listen to his brimming-with-desolate-flavor singing voice.
Shen Mohuan was wearing full nightwalker attire; carrying his serpentine spear in his hand, he strode out and took his position right in the middle between the two troop dispositions facing off against each other. He shouted toward Kou Zhong in Tujue language, “Kou kid, roll out here to receive your death!”
Ba Fenghan and the others stepped out to stand by Kou Zhong’s left and right. Ke Dazhi leaned over and spoke in low voice, “This fellow is full of confidence, you must be a bit more careful.”
Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, “Ke Dazhi, since when did you become Kou Zhong’s friend or brother?”
Gunatai brothers also appeared to be paying close attention; obviously they were at a loss of what had happened.
Ke Dazhi sighed and said, “This matter is really hard to explain in a few words, but our opposing stance has not changed, unless Shaoshuai is willing to pay allegiance to the Great Khan.”
Yet Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Shen Mohuan, about five hundred paces away, not missing any tiny movement or any unremarkable expression. He spoke heavily, “If within ten saber strikes I can’t kill him, you guys immediately move the troops to attack, while trying to save my little life at the same time.”
Bugunatai blurted out, “Ten saber strikes? Shaoshuai has enough confidence to kill him within ten saber strikes? Shaoshuai must not despise this man, the name of his serpentine lance shook the Gobi Desert, otherwise he would not have been able to move unhindered for many years, no one can control him.”
Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “I bet that within eight saber strikes Kou Zhong will be able to get rid of him; who dares to bet against me?”
Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, “If it was the Kou Zhong before the injury, I definitely would not dare to bet with you, but now I don’t want to bet, because I don’t want to win.”
Kou Zhong took a deep breath and spoke indifferently, “Eight saber strikes then! If not successful, there’s no need for you to come save me, because it might make my resolution not firm enough. His Niang! I’ll let you see the skill that Kou Zhong keeps at the bottom of his trunk!”
Upright and unafraid, he stepped forward.
Looking at his back, the four great young martial art masters with the most famous reputation in the prairie all revealed an expression of respect. Kou Zhong’s bearing indeed made people admire him from the heart.
Shen Mohuan was only of a medium-sized build, his countenance malicious, giving up the impression that he was a cold, ruthless and heartless man. His pair of eyes was glowing with health and vigor, flickering lively. On his long, narrow face, which was quite terrifying, there was some kind of pride of being able to move unhindered for a long time.
On the other hand, Kou Zhong knew that he had brought trouble to himself. He had talked big, saying that he was going to kill Shen Mohuan tonight; therefore, even if he had to gamble with his life, he simply had to behead the other side with the Moon in the Well. Not only that, because time was limited, he must rush back to the Central Earth as quickly as possible, to try to defend Luoyang to the death. But if he let Shen Mohuan escape tonight, if he did not do everything in his power to get rid of this fellow, how would he answer Jian Dashi?
Fortunately, in the unique great method of healing by absorbing the essence of the heaven and earth that he comprehended while he was rushing wildly to run for his life a moment ago, not only the barely remaining true energy he still had did not suffer wear and tear, he was even able to recover sixty-, seventy-percent of his normal level. The biggest problem was his excessive blood loss, which was not something that could be recovered and replenished in just a short period of time of one evening. Qi and blood were related to each other, the outside and the inside were interdependent. He set the limit of ten saber strikes, it was precisely to force himself to adopt a blitzkrieg strategy, because he really could not afford to support a long and hard battle.
The first saber strike was the most critical, he must grab the initiative first, before unleashing the saber’s momentum with all his strength, so that the other side fell under his control and would be unable to strike back. Only then would he have the possibility of beheading someone with powerful martial art skill like Shen Mohuan within eight saber strikes.
Ba Fenghan’s bet that he would seize victory within eight saber strikes was not a casual remark at all; rather, it was a reminder. He wanted to remind Kou Zhong that if he unleashed the full power of the ‘Eight Methods of the Well’, Shen Mohuan would nurse a grievance on the spot.
Kou Zhong quickened his steps, the Moon in the Well pointed forward from a distance, appearing to be attacking but not attacking at all, appearing to be defending but not defending at all. Following his steps, the unceasingly increasing momentum of the blade of the saber threatened the opponent.
The first style, ‘No Attack’.
When this move was executed this way, it was no longer a defensive style to entice a style, but a formidable move to advance in main assault.
Evidently Shen Mohuan could not see Kou Zhong’s empty move, his face revealed a grave expression.
The long spear was moved in front of him, both hands held lightly one end of the serpentine spear, the tip of the spear shook, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
By the time Kou Zhong entered a zhang and a half distance from him, he roared, fast as lightning the serpentine spear stabbed forward, straight toward Kou Zhong’s throat, in an attempt to rely on the spear’s a-zhang-and-a-third length, ignoring Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well, to stab dead the opponent one step ahead.
Behind Shen Mohuan, Mu Ling’s shrill shout was heard, their men immediately shouted in unison to cheer their boss.
Their shouts shook the earth.
Shi Zhixuan, wearing Confucian attire, leisurely and comfortable, pleased with himself, floated onto the shore, his left hand carried a jar of wine, he slowly stepped into the pavilion.
Shi Feixuan’s tender body trembled lightly, she leaned over and whispered in Xu Ziling’s ear, “This is the Shi Zhixuan before he encountered and set his heart on Xin Shibo [martial (older) uncle], capable of making his move to kill between chatting and laughing. The more pleasant his words, the more ruthless and heartless his hands will be, before and after killing, he can keep a smile on his face.”
Hearing him, Xu Ziling was wide-eyed, mouth-agape; seeing him, he was also wide-eyed, mouth-agape.
The Shi Zhixuan before his eyes was absolutely as different as can be from the Shi Zhixuan suffering from split personality disorder, the Shi Zhixuan he met in Chang’an. One was a cold-hearted demon without any human nature, who only know how to kill people; the other was a grieving gentleman with deep emotion and guilty conscience. But not the man with confident and at ease expression and manners he saw before his eyes.
He saw a hint of smile on his face, as he went straight to the stone table inside the pavilion, and sat opposite Zhu Yuyan with his back toward the lake. He slyly put the wine jar on the table and spoke softly, “In order to take care of this good wine so that I could pour wine and admire the moon together with Yuyan, I have troubled Yuyan to wait for a long time. Shi Zhixuan is guilty.”
Zhu Yuyan was silent for half a day. Because her back was toward the two, they were unable to see her expression, only they were guessing that just like them, Zhu Yuyan was suspicious of Shi Zhixuan’s dramatic changes.
Shi Zhixuan spoke in astonishment, “Didn’t Yuyan like to talk with me very much? We always had inexhaustible topic to talk about, I remember those warm and sweet days …”
“Shut up,” Zhu Yuyan coldly cut him off.
Not taking any offense, Shi Zhixuan said, “Right! Right! Let bygones be bygones, everything start afresh from today. Let the Sheng Sheli be my first meeting gift, would Yuyan please kindly accept?”
The Holy Relics, which everybody from the demonic school yearned for even in their dreams, slipped out of his wide sleeve and rolled onto the tabletop. It suddenly stopped right in the middle of the table.
The crystal stone still emitted clear yellow light, but Xu Ziling could no longer sense the strange power of the demonic qi stored up inside it.
His heart felt like it suddenly sank into ten-thousand-zhang abyss; furthermore, he was ashamed for failing the fairy by his side.
Shi Zhixuan succeeded. The strange power of the demonic qi has completely returned to his possession, has cured his schizophrenia [orig. split-mind illness], so that he changed back into the chatting and laughing, the murderous evil spirit before he encountered Bi Xiuxin.
His announcement of one-year exit from Jianghu was most likely a ruse to confuse the enemy.
No! Even if I have to risk my life I must help Zhu Yuyan to get rid of him.
Zhu Yuyan’s tender body shook, but the tone of her voice was extraordinarily calm, as if she already knew, as she spoke softly, “Oh, Zhixuan! It was not because you wanted to take care of the good wine that you came here late; you are late because you wanted to absorb completely the holy qi of the Sheli. Ay! Why do you still lie to me to this day?”
Xu Ziling’s tiger body shook. He suddenly realized that when he was sensing the Relics’ demonic qi during the critical junction in his battle against Funantuo earlier, it must be related to this matter. Afterwards, because the Relics’ demonic qi was fused with Shi Zhixuan, he could no longer sense it.
And the place where Shi Zhixuan completely absorbed the demonic qi, most likely it was in the depth of the lake nearby.
Shi Feixuan whispered in Xu Ziling’s ear, “Zhu Hou is about to make her move!”
“Lies?” Shi Zhixuan spoke with bitter smile, “Ay! In certain things, how could I not lie? Because lies are the most pleasant to hear and the most beautiful thing, hence everybody likes to hear it. People say that becoming husband and wife for one night is a hundred nights of grace. Our lingering loving affection last longer than only for one night. Remembering the sentiment of the olden days, why don’t we relinquish prejudices and work together hand in hand, to rouse the Holy School’s prestige again to cover the whole earth? The Yang of Sui has fallen, the world is in endless turmoil, this is indeed a rare opportunity that our Holy School’s people have been waiting for nearly a thousand years.”
Zhu Yuyan laughed tenderly and said, “I already loathe your beautiful lies!”
Shi Zhixuan shot a casual glance toward the thick branches and leaves where the two were hiding. Being at the receiving end of his gaze, Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan, who thought that their hiding place was completely flawless, shivered all over, knowing that they could not hide from him, yet there was nothing they could do about it.
Naturally Zhu Yuyan understood Shi Zhixuan’s intention; she spoke softly, “There’s nothing to be done! Xie Wang, you want to kill Yuyan, you ought to take risks, no matter what!”
One finger stabbed out, she pointed at the Relics crystal ball in the middle of the table.
The battle was like an arrow escaping from the bow, there was no other option but to be released.