by Derek Dorris
Alas, it was one insult too far. Ripping her sword from her scabbard, the Shrieking Blade was unleashed and screamed through the bamboo grove straight for its victim. Liao Quan didn't move until it was a centimetre from his face. In a blur of white, yellow, and a little bit of blue, he corkscrewed into the air kicked off three or four bamboo shoots and in the blink of an eye was behind Fu Xiaoli. He pushed out his hands one in front of the other and sent her flying backwards while stripping her of her weapon at the same time. Fu Xiaoli crashed into a cluster of bamboo shoots.
Liao Quan was surprised at how easily he disarmed her not mention how hard she landed. She didn't even try to brace her fall. He was looking at the Shrieking Blade in his hands just as he heard someone call out.
“First Brother, don't harm her. She's our friend too.” Bai Feng was flying through the trees like a bird.
“Hey! Good skills.” Liao Quan’s eyes lit up, the fight forgotten instantly by this latest distraction.
“First Brother, could you pardon this woman on our account? We have been charged with her protection.”
“Hmm,” Liao Quan put a finger to his lips to appear as though he was thinking hard. “Okay. Third Brother has made some excellent points. I guess she didn't turn my beard blue after all. Hey Fu Xiaoli, you're off the hook.” Without looking back at her, the Old Fool threw the long blue sword over his shoulder, embedding it in the tree right beside her head.
Enraged, Fu Xiaoli struggled to stand up only to falter and fall once more. What no one other than Fu Xiaoli knew was she had been training day and night for the last two years ever since she was defeated and humiliated by Wangchuk Drup. However, two nights previously, she had suffered a mishap during an internal breathing exercise. She was sure she was bleeding internally because her movements were now accompanied by great pain.
Regardless of her unfitness to fight however, she was disgusted at this latest humiliation at the hands of another master. When Bai Feng swooped down she wasn't sure what was happening but she was trying desperately to prepare herself for one forceful attack. But on hearing these young boys claim they were there to “protect” her not to mention begging Liao Quan to “pardon” her, she snapped at the perceived insult. The sudden elevation in anger combined with her internal injury caused her to faint.
On arriving, Xun Da made his way over to Fu Xiaoli’s unconscious body. “Her was breathing is weak. The injury is bad I think.”
“It wasn't me!” Liao Quan said quickly, running behind a tree and peeking over at them.
Bai Feng went over to inspect her too. “Brother Da. I don't know enough about triage. What do we do?”
Xun Da frowned. “I'm afraid I'm going to have to lay my hands on her so I can turn her over. Please forgive me Senior Fu. Bai Feng, help me.”
Bai Feng and Xun Da both bent down and gently rolled her. Bai Feng noticed she had a dignified air even in unconsciousness. She was an old woman of course but he couldn't help thinking that she wasn't as pretty a woman as Yang Shu had been. He briefly wondered why Tao Huiqing fell for her over Silver Phoenix. Xun Da noticed her whole body was tense. He began sealing different pressure points around her torso in an attempt to loosen her muscles. Bai Feng watched, feeling somewhat helpless.
Suddenly, a gravelly voice snarled from behind them, “Get away from her!”
Xun Da and Bai Feng turned around and saw a dirty old hunchback standing high up in a nearby tree. Swaying effortlessly with its branches, his balance was perfect. Bai Feng didn't know who this person was but Xun Da could discern from his appearance it was none other than Yu Guo Wei.
“Brother Quan,” the hunchback continued, “you didn't finish her off. I'm afraid word of this will spread throughout the Jianghu.”
“But she's been beaten. That's all that counts,” Liao Quan shouted up to the small smelly figure.
“Ha-ha, really? I think your beard contradicts that,” Yu Guo Wei mocked. “I could see the blue hue all the way from Fangshen, ha-ha-ha!”
“Oh, argh… that's not true.” Liao Quan pulled on his beard with temper. “Ah... brothers, forgiveness, but I must take my revenge; out of the way!”
As he lunged forward, the two young men felt as if they were being blown aside and, before they knew it, Liao Quan was standing over the unconscious Fu Xiaoli with his hand raised. However, instead of bringing it down on her, he paused for a half second.
“Do it!” Yu Guo Wei hissed.
“You better not, you old clown!” a stern but surprisingly measured voice roared from behind. “Put that hand down and help her up. Let me have a look at her.”
Xun Da and Bai Feng picked themselves up and saw a small figure walking towards them. “Another old lady,” Bai Feng said under his breath but he noticed that this person was dressed as a nun.
Xun Da recognised her immediately. “Senior Ng Méh-è, it's an honour to see you here. Be careful, Yu Guo Wei is here too.”
“I know exactly who that rotten old man is. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay up there in your tree.”
Yu Guo Wei was stunned by the arrival of this renowned figure and was momentarily silenced by her natural air of authority.
Liao Quan too looked genuinely surprised. “Ng Méh-è, what are you doing here? Who is the Blue Lady to you?”
“She's an admirable figure in Wulin being bullied by two strong men. That's who she is to me. I'm not going to tell you again, help her up,” she shouted this last instruction so forcefully that Liao Quan jumped with fright, quickly picking Fu Xiaoli up and carrying her over to a clearing where he placed her down with great care.
“Are you really going to let this nagging nun tell you what to do?” Yu Guo Wei asked, his voice buzzing with an ugly yet exasperated malevolence.
Liao Quan looked confused but Bai Feng saw an opportunity and pointed at Yu Guo Wei. “First Brother, this man is an evildoer. He killed Silver Phoenix. You must help me take revenge on him.”
“Silver Phoenix has been killed?” Liao Quan was more than a little surprised. “What makes you think Brother Wei did it?”
Ng Méh-è was shocked to hear that Yang Shu was dead. She had left Mount Yiding under the impression that Yang Shu would take caution even despite her bravery. It was Fu Xiaoli’s fearlessness the nun was worried about which is why she decided to go on ahead to Fangshen and warn her despite Wong Shi Hong’s reluctance to ask her to do so.
“I'd never raise my hand to kill another master,” Yu Guo Wei rasped in response to Liao Quan's query.
“Ha!” Bai Feng shouted. “Aren't you right now encouraging my First Brother to do just that? Is that how little you think of him?”
Liao Quan was touched by Bai Feng's repeated use of the term “First Brother”. Of course, that was partly Bai Feng's intention though the young man was beginning to feel some genuine affection towards the crazy old warrior.
“And before you attempt to deny it, you dirty alchemist,” Bai Feng continued goading the hunchback, “your signature poison was discovered by Wong Shi Hong at Mount Yiding.”
Yu Guo Wei was indignant. Being talked to like this by some young punk was bad enough but now, he was clearly lying through his teeth. He had used no poisons at the scene of Yang Shu’s murder, only lime powder. Sure, he had used some flammable compounds too but they had burned themselves out completely. There was nothing whatsoever to link him with the crime. But here was a hero of Jianghu publicly saying as much. And in the world of Wulin, it was accepted plainly that upstanding heroes didn't lie.
As he predicted, nobody present even considered Bai Feng to be lying. Even Xun Da who was at Mount Yiding with Bai Feng was confused as to why Bai Feng was saying this. What nobody appreciated is that Bai Feng had no interest in being renowned as a hero and, if it ultimately served a greater purpose, he would lie without hesitation. His reputation wasn't just expendable in the face of danger, it was irrelevant.
All of a sudden, Yu Guo Wei found one of his greatest weapons neutralised. The ability to use
the honesty of Wulin's heroes against them had served him handsomely over the years. Not to mention the casualness with which he himself lied. Hesitating no longer, he swept down on Bai Feng.
Xun Da saw the intent in his face even before the alchemist moved yet couldn't shout a warning in time. Having seen Bai Feng struggle to contend with Wangchuk Drup a few days earlier, Xun Da knew that Yu Guo Wei would make short work of him. He was petrified. However, to his astonishment, his young friend wasn't immediately smashed to dust. In fact, he was holding his own.
On their journey to Fangshen, Bai Feng had found himself feeling increasingly bound to the spirit of Yang Shu as he recited her poem over and over. When he finally discerned the Silver Fire Form within the poem’s words, that bond became inextricable. The presence of the Yu Guo Wei disgusted him on many levels but the image of Silver Phoenix’s corpse left lying on the mountain side enraged him more than anything. As the malodorous hunchback swept towards him, her words, stances, and emotions ignited her Silver Fire Form within him. With outstretched arms, he described a wide reaching arc in the air that, without warning, flowed intuitively into a straight line attack. The incoming Yu Guo Wei was shocked to see a style he thought he'd extinguished only days earlier, appearing before him and executed in such a dangerous manner.
Xun Da too was bewildered at how quickly Bai Feng was able to absorb this masterly style and use it in actual combat. But he was forgetting that Bai Feng was a former disciple of Earthly Dragon. To him, there was no difference between practicing his forms and utilising them in combat. In the minds of most fighters, the difference was like that between night and day as they saw their combat descend into a coarse attempt to force the moves from their forms into practice.
Nobody was more surprised by Bai Feng's fighting than Ng Méh-è. When she transcribed the poem for Yang Shu, she chose a particular type of calligraphy that would tease out some of the poem’s more ingenious yet latent martial concepts—those yet to be properly tapped by Yang Shu. Although, Ng Méh-è was not a practitioner of kung fu, she was an artistic genius who had been around exquisite practitioners like Wong Shi Hong all her life. She could spot the grace and beauty in Yang Shu’s words with ease and translate them into physical movements in ways even its originator couldn't. It was the author’s nascent kung fu genius that implicitly created the form’s finer points. It was the listener’s sophistication of mind that discerned them and her miraculous calligraphy that teased them out. It was her gift to a heroine who had impressed her so greatly. But a gift that would take her years to consciously perceive never mind physically realise.
Yet, here was a man seemingly no older than twenty years of age exhibiting the Silver Fire Form in all the grandeur she had perceived only days earlier. Could he have read my poem?
Yu Guo Wei didn't have time to unravel the mystery, however, for he was caught up in a hurricane of straight line attacks that came and went in circular whipping movements. It was definitely the same form he saw Yang Shu use but far more lethal. Of course, Yang Shu had been exhausted when he finally saw her in open fighting. There was also the fact that Bai Feng was a young man. His movements had a power that Yang Shu’s slight frame—at the age of sixty plus—couldn't generate. But most importantly, he thought, Bai Feng was completely relaxed in the same way that an actual whip or mace would be. His mind appeared devoid of tension and petty distractions. He could wield his arms and legs just like a mace. Combined, these three factors are ensuring that I'm being momentarily matched by the younger man.
However, being a veteran of Wulin, the Divine Alchemist needed only a couple of seconds to compose himself. They came when he released a cloud of vapour from a secreted pouch. It wasn't lethal but something that would simply sting Bai Feng's eyes. Though Bai Feng closed them and continued to move forward in ‘straight circles’, his actions were now slower. Yu Guo Wei saw the flaw in his attacks when they slowed down. There was no internal power driving them! Yu Guo Wei thought this strange because the boy clearly had considerable internal strength. That much was clear by the way he walked and jumped, even his breathing was intensely powerful. Yet he was clearly refusing to use it—just like one of the Earthly Dragon masters would do.
Yu Guo Wei didn't hesitate any further and moved in on Bai Feng's weakest point, striking him with ferocious power. Up until now, the Divine Alchemist had been executing his external kung fu with minimal internal strength and although he would eventually win out against the younger man, he needed to swat this pest away quickly. So he channelled more of his internal strength into his strikes and moved like the wind.
Bai Feng flew backwards but Yu Guo Wei maintained the close distance between them, pounding Bai Feng on the face as they flew. Colours exploded in the young man's head as he was driven to within an inch of his life but then, at the crucial moment, Yu Guo Wei was hit sideways into a tree.
Liao Quan had been watching this series of events with confusion. Yu Guo Wei had always treated him in a friendly manner but he knew deep down he was a selfish man. Bai Feng on the other hand, had embraced Liao Quan as a friend from the beginning. He couldn’t have cared less about Fu Xiaoli but it genuinely bothered him to see Bai Feng being hurt.
After knocking Yu Guo Wei sideways, Liao Quan shouted, “Third Brother, let me fight in your stead. Apologies Brother Wei, but I must offend you because you have offended my Third Brother and I like him better than you.”
With an explosion of speed, Liao Quan hurtled himself towards the smelly hunchback enveloping him in a cloud of fists and elbows. Yu Guo Wei was shocked at this turn of events and reached for a poison sack inside his jacket. But when his hand got to where it was supposed to be, he felt nothing. Suddenly he noticed it was in Liao Quan’s hand. In the blink of an eye, the Old Fool used a single hand to trap Yu Guo Wei's two forearms together and, with his free hand, stuffed the whole bag of poison in Yu Guo Wei's mouth. With a clap of his hands against hunchback’s cheeks, the bag burst and Yu Guo Wei fell backwards on his behind, completely dumbfounded.
“Ha-ha, dirty hunchback,” Liao Quan laughed as he turned back toward Bai Feng. “You can use your poison; I'll use my Lightning Arms. Enjoy your bag of sweets.”
Yu Guo Wei had of course built up immunity to all his poisons bar one or two which he seldom used. But to ingest such a large quantity both orally and nasally was no small matter. He turned green and weakened but, slowly, he changed the direction of his blood flow to shunt the poison out of his system.
Bai Feng was barely conscious but he could see what happened to Yu Guo Wei. “Brother Da, kill him,” he pleaded weakly. “Quickly, kill Yu Guo Wei now, while we can.”
Xun Da was unsure. How can I take this master’s life when he's so vulnerable? Wouldn't that be dishonourable? Bai Feng finally passed out and Xun Da ran over to him. He checked for signs of poison in addition to the physical damage that was done but found none. Then—deciding Bai Feng was correct—he stood up and stalked towards Yu Guo Wei. “I know you’re injured Senior Yu yet I'm afraid I can't pass up this opportunity.”
On hearing this, Liao Quan reared up. “No, I won't allow it. I beat Brother Wei, nobody eliminates him but me and I am sparing him.”
Xun Da saw this as an omen; he wasn't comfortable killing him under these circumstances anyway. He nodded at Liao Quan before looking back at Yu Guo Wei. “Leave now while you still can.”
Yu Guo Wei had only partially recovered but forced himself to his feet. Reaching inside his cloak, he produced a paper sachet and shakily managed to ingest the compound within it. The colour partially returned to his face and he stood a little straighter. He looked at Liao Quan and nodded solemnly. “I forgive you Brother Quan.”
Liao Quan felt a pang of guilt and just stared ambivalently as the old hunchback made a quiet exit.
Xun Da ignored all this and knelt down to attend to Bai Feng. “Ng Méh-è, can you look after Fu Xiaoli? She fell quite easily.”
Not wanting to be left out of the excitement, Liao Quan edged clo
ser and watched—copying the concerned expressions Xun Da was making. Xun Da glanced at him, “Senior Liao, can you help him?”
“What's this ‘Senior Liao’ business?” Liao Quan erupted, glowering at Xun Da.
“Senior, I couldn't presume to call you anything else. You're a respected grandmaster!”
“Bah! That's it. You're no brother of mine. You can call me ‘Senior Grandfather’ from now on, for all I care. You're lucky you're my Third Brother’s brother. Otherwise, I wouldn't help him for you. Get out of the way! You're hurting my brother with your clumsy point sealing.” With almost imperceptible speed, Liao Quan’s fingers darted around Bai Feng's torso, opening and sealing pressure points in sequence. Suddenly, Bai Feng breathed deeply and soon after his cheeks reddened. Liao Quan proceeded to tend to his wounds and bandaged him up with great care. He was concentrating so intensely, he didn't even speak a single word— a rare occurrence in the life of Liao Quan.
As Xun Da watched him treat Bai Feng so tenderly, it occurred to him that Bai Feng was no ordinary person. On the basis of one solitary encounter, his own master had taken responsibility for him and even petitioned for his entry into the Earthly Dragon Sect. Without ever meeting Yang Shu, he had divined her renowned artform and was now executing it in battles with legendary masters. And now, this most powerful senior of Wulin seems to have legitimately bonded with him as a brother.
Of course, the main thing right now, Xun Da reminded himself, is that Bai Feng is safe so he stood up and bowed to Liao Quan. “Thank you for saving my martial brother,” he said, purposefully omitting any title whether it be “brother”, “uncle”, or “grandfather”.
He walked over to where Ng Méh-è was treating Fu Xiaoli. Ng Méh-è didn't know any pressure sealing techniques but she had her hand on Fu Xiaoli’s forehead, incanting some Buddhist prayer. To Xun Da’s surprise, the colour returned to her face as quickly as Bai Feng's did. Glancing at the old nun, he noticed an astonishing glow in her eyes, the type of which he had only ever observed in martial masters. It wasn't polite to stare but he couldn't help be struck by the amount of internal power she clearly possessed.