Book 11 Chapter 8 – Ten Days in the Mountain

The three men sat by the pond. Ba Fenghan started his story, “When Junyu and I left Xiangyang that day, we took the land route going north to Luoyang. After hastening on our way for three days, we arrived at Nanyang Prefecture.”

“Who is in charge of the Nanyang Prefecture?” Kou Zhong asked.

Ba Fenghan was wiping the sword on his lap with his sleeve; he replied, “Nanyang is guarded by Wang Shichong and the great general under his command, the ‘Wuliang Jian’ [Immeasurable Sword] Xiang Siren. This guy really knows a thing or two, and I believe he has some kinship with Wang Shichong.”

Emotionally touched, Xu Ziling said, “You seem to know our Central Plains’ situation quite well. Who is the enemy of whom, and who is the relative of whom, our knowledge is quite a mess!”

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “I simply paid more careful attention! Besides, in a lot of things, it was Junyu who told me. Once I heard it, I will not forget.”

“And then what happened?” Kou Zhong interrupted.

“It started as small thing,” Ba Fenghan said, “A bunch of enemy from the cold outside [of Great Wall] caught up with us, and we had a hard battle. After killing and injuring several people from the other side, we left Nanyang that very same night, continuing our journey to the north; who would have thought that we fell into an ambush along the way?” He played down the story, but the two boys could imagine the intensity of the battle; otherwise, Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu would not have to flee.

The other party surprisingly had this kind of power.

His heart was moved, Kou Zhong said, “Did you come across Bi Xuan’s eccentric disciple Tuoba Yu and his licentious, wild and romantic, pretty Shimei?”

Ba Fenghan was stunned. “How did you know them?” he asked.

“It’s a complicated story that can’t be expressed succinctly,” Kou Zhong replied, “Was it really them?”

“Kou Zhong, what’s with you tonight?” Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, “You seem to be very impatient.”

Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day. Finally he admitted, “I do feel a bit unusual tonight; it is very easy for me to lose my patience. I wonder why?”

Xu Ziling said, “Must be because you feel something is about to happen, but you cannot explain it. Am I right? Because I also feel a little ominous.”

Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “Let’s not doubt the gods and suspect the ghosts! Anyway, with the three of us together, even if Bi Xuan wants to stir up trouble, he would have to pick some other day. You have nothing to worry about.”

Kou Zhong slapped his thigh, “Well said!” he said, “Old Ba, didn’t you say that it’s difficult for you to get along with people? I asked you something, you always hum and haw; not giving the straight answer, you skirt around the question. How actually did you get separated with Yu Yi? I am concerned over our Niang’s Shimei’s safety!”

Ba Fenghan laughed teasingly, “It was you who changed the subject! Are you interested in Tuoba Yu’s pretty Shimei Chunyu Wei?”

This time it was Xu Ziling who got impatient, “Ba Xiong, just answer the question!” he said.

The smile suddenly disappeared from Ba Fenghan’s face; his eyes turned cold. With a terrifying and chilling smile he said heavily, “We were intercepted by Yin Gui Pai’s second best person, Bian Bufu inside an ancient temple; without saying anything he simply attacked us. I strived to fight him alone, giving Junyu the opportunity to slip away first. But after I managed to get away and went to the place where we were supposed to meet, I did not see her. I am afraid she has fallen into the hands of Yin Gui Pai people. I searched everywhere within the ten-li radius from that location, before finally, following the spider’s thread and horse track, I went back to Xiangyang to look for her. Who would have thought that I came across that s1ut Zheng Shuming?”

Listening to him, the two boys looked at each other.

Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, “Where did this guy Bian Bufu come from? How come I have never heard anybody mentioning his name?”

Ba Fenghan said, “Bian Bufu is Zhu Yuyan’s Shidi. This man’s martial art skill is very high; indeed something that I rarely see in all my life. Any move that he made, my sword had to change several times before I could barely block him; it was such a strenuous fight. But he was half a notch inferior to me in terms of knowledge and strategy; otherwise right now I would not sit with you waiting for the dawn together.”

The two boys looked up to the sky; the first streak of dawn finally appeared on the eastern horizon.

Ba Fenghan casually made a remark, “He is Wanjing’s biological father.”

“What?” the two boys blurted out.

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “If Wanjing did not look like him, how could I recognize him in one glance? Bian Bufu is a Devil Cult’s hermit; his nickname is ‘Mo Yin’ [devil hidden/secret]. Are you unhappy because I strayed too far from the subject?”

Kou Zhong sneered and said, “I don’t care if he is the ‘Mo Yin’ or ‘Pi Yin’ [pi – fart/nonsense], but I can guarantee that at most he is only ranks third in Yin Gui Pai. If you came across the real second best person, female demon Wanwan, chances are you won’t have any chance to see the sunlight.”

His expression turned serious, Ba Fenghan said, “So Yin Gui Pai’s direct descendant finally set foot in Jianghu? Can you tell me the details?”

Thereupon, with ‘you spoke one sentence, I tell one word’, the two boys narrated their complicated and confusing encounter with Wanwan.

Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, “I have never imagined that Yin Gui Pai’s direct disciple this generation could be that formidable, Ol’ Ba must give it a go. Supposing I can take her, then I would be able to make a business deal with Yin Gui Pai. Your plan is too passive. You wanted to find your four brothers first, but all these things are unknown factors.”

Xu Ziling said indifferently, “What makes Ba Xiong think that Yin Gui Pai would be willing to spend any effort in dealing with you?”

A faint smile appeared on Ba Fenghan’s face; sweeping the two boys with his gaze, he said, “You ought to be very clear about that. Since female demon Wanwan already joined hands with Changshu Mou and Du Fuwei to capture Jingling, naturally that means that Zhu Yuyan and Qu Ao have an agreement with the Old Du to lend their hands in his effort to conquer the world. Moreover, Junyu and I have inadvertently spoiled their operation in dealing with you and the Flying Horse Ranch. The way the Devil Cult do business is blood for blood; enmity must be avenged. Just based on this little fact, Yin Gui Pai will not spare any effort to kill me.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s countenance changed immediately.

Ba Fenghan understood the cause of their anxiety; he said with a cold snort, “Gentlemen need not be anxious too much; your Yu Yi is the direct disciple of Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin. Even if Zhu Yuyan does not have any regard for anybody in the world, she would not be that stupid by provoking a big enemy that can easily capsize Yin Gui Pai. The one they want to deal with is just this Ol’ Ba. If we can capture female demon Wanwan, we can negotiate with Zhu Yuyan to exchange life for life.”

Blowing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, “It has been many days, that female demon Wanwan might have completely recovered, if she has the help of that Bian Bufu and several Yin Gui Pai’s bandits, whether we can escape alive or not would become a big question, much less capturing her. Ba Xiong must be joking.”

Ba Fenghan let out a slight smile; he said full of confidence, “If our martial art skill can advance by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, but we keep low profile, and then suddenly attack, picking the enemy’s important character and plot against that person by hook or by crook, what do you think will happen?”

Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and then they promptly asked for guidance.

Ba Fenghan’s sharp eyes flickered with chilling murderous intent as he slowly said, “The reason I went around everywhere looking for martial art masters and challenging them was because I have not met any opponent with enough weight. If two Ren Xiong [brothers, generic term] are willing to delve into martial art study with me, sharpening our strength and repairing our weaknesses, if we have eight to ten days of time, we can surpass other people’s eight to ten years of effort. This is something that other people would never expect. Our advantage is that we are still young; however, in our continuous progress, we lack new challenges.”

Kou Zhong slapped his thigh in praise; he said, “Good for you to think about that. But there is one thing I don’t understand: your relationship with us has never been a good one, why are you willing to sincerely collaborate with us, two brothers? Besides, Yin Gui Pai’s real target is us, not Ba Xiong at all, so by doing this Ba Xiong will tie an unresolvable deep enmity with Yin Gui Pai and Qu Ao.”

Ba Fenghan looked up to the sky to greet the first ray of the sun into the valley; he smiled and said, “I am used to coming and going alone, collaboration with you is just a plan of convenience, just something that will bring enormous benefit to everybody, also the incomparably significant step in our journey to reach the peak of martial art study. There is a chance that we might cross sword someday, but right now, for a short period of time, our only way of survival is to throw away all gratitude and grudges of the past, and work together to fight a big enemy. Humph! Whoever wants my, Ba Fenghan’s life won’t have any good days to pass.”

Kou Zhong nodded and said, “Ba Xiong has formidable eloquence; listening to you, my heart is deeply moved. But we can’t possibly fight all day long, we must also find time to scout the enemy’s movement.”

Xu Ziling disagreed, “This is not inaction,” he said, “Last night we already revealed our track, that female demon Wanwan would cross the ocean to kill us. Since the Devil Sect’s enmity must be avenged, they will definitely fulfill their oath. As soon as they mobilize their people to find us, chances are they would. Our only concern right now is Yucheng and the others’ safety. If we can find them, we can put the load on our mind, at least in this aspect, down!”

Ba Fenghan nodded; he said, “Xu Xiong is right. Within these ten days, we must abandon everything and focus our aspiration on the martial art study; a race against time. Everything else will have to wait until after ten days. Otherwise, even if we go out, we will simply go out in vain, we will only invite disgrace, and later on we can only hide to the east and escape to the west, always anxious without being able to carry on even for a single day. What’s the meaning of our lives, then?”

Extending his right hand, Kou Zhong spoke seriously, “Well said! We will hide for ten his mother’s days, after that we will strike with ten-thousand-catty-force thunder, to let Zhu Yuyan know that the world is not for them to go on the rampage.”

Ba Fenghan also extended his right hand to hold Kou Zhong’s hand; he solemnly said, “If my guess is right, when the enemy fail to find us, they would set up an inescapable net at Luoyang, waiting for us to fall into it. That will be the best moment for us to strike back.”

Xu Ziling put his hand on the back of Ba Fenghan’s hand and said, “Therefore, the most important thing right now is how to find a secret place to hide. If we hide here, just by the sound of clashing blades and the wind from our palms will be enough to attract the enemy.”

Ba Fenghan had already planned in advance; he said, “Southeast of Xiangyang, there is a mountain called Dahong; it stretches for hundreds of li. We can randomly pick a remote valley deep in the mountains, I guarantee we will be able to avoid the people’s eyes and ears. Gentlemen, what do you think?”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling readily agreed.

Chapter 8 - Part 2

And thus the die was cast. With this sudden decision, not only they avoided the distress of being killed, the three of them would also take another crucial step in their journey through the martial art study.

※ ※ ※

Under the moonlight, River Han meandered in the distance, flowing swiftly outside the mountains; the reflection of the moon on the waves created quite an impressive sight.

Xu Ziling was sitting cross-legged on top of a high cliff; he slowly opened his tiger-eyes.

After nearly four sichen of quite meditation and internal cultivation, the scene in front of his eyes became even more brilliant, filling him with a fresh, touching feeling.

Sweeping his eyes around, he saw the mountain peaks to his left and right were like a giant roc spreading its wings. The cliff walls extended for thousands of li felt like a barrier that even birds would find it difficult to cross. In fact, even with their ability, they still had to spend a considerable effort to climb up.

The lower-elevation mountain range on the opposite side was covered in lush, thick forest, with rarely seen vegetation too many too count. From among the rocks and crevices a stream of spring appeared. It flowed toward the wall and flew down as a waterfall, adding charm to the already fascinating secluded valley this deep in the mountains.

With a gust of wind Kou Zhong landed by his side, and sat down on the edge of the cliff, with his feet dangling above the ravine, looking unspeakably free and relaxed.

“Where is Ol’ Ba?” Xu Ziling asked.

“I don’t know where that guy went to train,” Kou Zhong replied, “Ay! Frankly speaking, although our training this time is for mutual benefit, but because in terms of martial art foundation and knowledge and experience that Fengshi Han is stronger than we are, plus his natural talent is also not inferior to ours, perhaps he is merely nurturing a tiger to invite calamity upon himself.”

Xu Ziling smiled and said, “Zhong Shao rarely praised other people’s spirit and extinguished your own prestige; why suddenly have such a feeling?”

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “The more you get along with Fengshi Han, the more you’ll feel that he is a callous and fickle man. Although right now everybody considers everybody else as brother, in the future nothing good will come out of it.”

Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment, “Listening to the tone of your voice, you seem to have misgivings toward him.”

Kou Zhong replied in heavy voice, “These past few days I continuously either sparing hand to hand or study meticulously; I came in contact with him a lot, and could only describe this man as deep and immeasurable. In crucial points he is somewhat reserved, hence he derives greater benefit compared to us.”

“I still think that both sides are even,” Xu Ziling said, “It doesn’t matter if he keeps a skill for himself, we still learn many things that we have never thought before, not to mention we also heard a lot of exotic conditions and customs of people outside the country. Right! Didn’t you tell me that these days you are reading the book on history and military strategy and tactics that Mr. Lu left behind? What have you learned?”

Radiant with delight, Kou Zhong said, “The benefit is naturally not shallow. Military strategy is thousand-time, hundred-time more complicated than two people fighting one-on-one; there are millions of changes, there is no way we can talk about everything. But in my opinion Mr. Lu’s imagination is not rich enough; sometimes his arguments are too conservative.”

Xu Ziling admonished him, “You need to be modest enough to understand others’ experience and learning!”

“I respect him, the Senior, more than you do,” Kou Zhong said, “Mr. Lu paid the most attention to the changes in troops disposition, such as triangular formation, plum blossom formation; the usage of strange and straightforward, what is true and what is false, and so on. Everything can be used like our predecessors have never used before. He taught me military strategy and tactics, his intention must be for me to use the things he researched in the actual battlefield. I definitely won’t let him down.”

And then, lowering his voice he said, “Do you think that Fengshi Han is really interested in Yu Yi?”

Xu Ziling sighed and said, “This is really hard to say. This Ba kid is very shrewd, he never revealed his innermost feeling. In my opinion, he still loves himself a little bit more.”

A shrill whistle came from the mountain peak; it was time to practice.

※ ※ ※

The round and bright moon cast its light across the mountain ridge.

Ba Fenghan’s sword fiercely slashed down three times, creating ear-piercing noise as the sword split the air; vicious, violent, and ruthless, with the prowess that could chill the heart and split the gall.

‘Ring!’

The sword returned to its sheath. Calm and composed, Ba Fenghan said, “Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, what do you think of these three sword strikes? Please give me some advice.”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “The most formidable part of these three strikes was that whether it was the strength or the speed, either one can be adjusted to uniformity. The most hard to come by was that each strike is more powerful than the other, so that anybody facing these three sword strikes of Ba Xiong’s will have to wait until the third strike before he can counterattack.”

Ba Fenghan nodded; without offering any comment he asked for Xu Ziling’s suggestion.

As if he was still thinking about it, Xu Ziling answered, “There is something strange with Ba Xiong’s three sword strikes; they appear to be executed in one fell swoop, but the fact is that is not the case. There seems to be a gap that can be exploited. If the opponent is a martial art master, he would be able to exploit this small gap to counterattack.”

Sighing in admiration, Ba Fenghan said, “That is an excellent opinion. If I wanted the three sword strikes to have equal power and speed, I would have to send out my power to the sword three times; thereupon the situation is exactly like Xu Xiong mentioned. During the decisive battle against Dugu Feng that day, she did find out this gap, and with her sword she broke my strike. This woman’s beauty is astonishing, but her hand is even more terrifyingly strong.”

Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. They both asked themselves: even though they had this insight, whether they would be able to exploit this gap to break Ba Fenghan’s sword strike was a totally different matter. Moreover, their opinion was based on ‘the spectators can always see more clearly than the players’, where they had a comparatively serene state of mind. If they were the recipient of these three sword strikes, they would thank the Heaven and thank the Earth if they could block the attack. From this, it was clear what kind of martial art master Dugu Feng was.

Blowing a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong asked, “Did you lose to her?”

Ba Fenghan proudly replied, “She won in the exquisiteness of her swordsmanship, but I won in real combat experience. I intentionally let my saber broke and thus deceived her by half a move, so that she left in anger. But next time we meet, I won’t be able to get away that easily. This b1tch [poniang] is more belligerent than I am.”

Xu Ziling suddenly understood, “No wonder Ba Xiong suggested that we entered the mountain to train; this must be one of the reasons!”

With a cold snort Ba Fenghan said, “If it was only to deal with that b1tch, one person, it’s enough for me to train alone. But my target is Ning Daoqi, Zhu Yuyan and the like. When I return in the future, the first I want to challenge is that fellow Bi Xuan, so that he will know who the real number one martial art master in Tujue is.”

Kou Zhong could not help asking, “Have you actually fought Bi Xuan?”

Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, “If I have actually fought him, how could I still be alive and studying martial art together with you today? But it was actually as if I have fought with him, because I have slaughtered his first disciple Yan Huifeng. Do you know what I mean?”

The two boys mused inwardly that no wonder Bi Xuan wanted to kill you.

Ba Fenghan returned to his cold and detached manner as he said, “Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, please be prepared.”

Kou Zhong was taken aback, “Are you going to deal with the two of us together?” he asked.

Ba Fenghan smiled and replied, “Why not?”

Xu Ziling laughed and said, “After spending four sichen in quiet meditation, Ba Xiong must have gained some understanding, so he wants us to broaden our horizons!”

Ba Fenghan slowly drew his treasured-sword; as he stood facing the breeze blowing across the mountain ridge, his clothes were fluttering. Since behind him was the cliff edge, it looked as if his entire being was embedded in the star-studded night sky; looking straight at him was like looking at a deity, but there was also an insufferably arrogant and overbearing spirit surrounding him. Stroking his sword, he muttered softly, “This sword is made of steel I mined from the deep sea, and took me seven days and seven night of exhausting forging to finish. The hardness contains softness, the rigidity contains flexibility; it far surpassed my other saber, which was broken. In the past I could not find a suitable name for it, but tonight I suddenly have an idea. I hereby name this sword ‘Zhan Xuan’ [beheading mystery]. Gentlemen, please be my witness.”

The one the Beheading Mystery wanted to behead was Bi Xuan [lit. whole/complete mystery]. This was the target of Ba Fenghan’s pursuit.

Straightening up his back, Kou Zhong drew his Moon in the Well, and said with a laugh, “The name Moon in the Well came from a profound mystery’s idea; let’s see if Ba Xiong’s Beheading Mystery sword can really behead mystery.”

Ba Fenghan’s eyes shot cold rays while his gaze was fixed on the Moon in the Well, which, imbued by Kou Zhong’s internal energy, was flickering with yellow glow; with deep contemplation he said, “Kou Zhong, your saber’s murderous aura is very heavy; just remember that the man can control the saber, the saber can also control the man.”

Stunned, Kou Zhong ran his finger along the saber; he spoke doubtfully, “Is there such thing?”

Letting out a long whistle, Ba Fenghan turned his gaze toward Xu Ziling. The bright moon happened to shine on the high place behind his handsome face. Under the golden moonlight, the more he got the impression that Xu Ziling appeared to be standing above the common crowd, with his confident and at ease, proud and touching temperament. Ba Fenghan could not help thinking about Shan Wanjing. Sighing inwardly, he said in heavy voice, “I am going to put forth my sword!”

Xu Ziling’s pair of tiger-eyes brightened; he spoke indifferently, “Why is Ba Xiong suddenly exuding murderous aura, unlike before, where you exercised restrain and hid it deep within you?”

Ba Fenghan’s heart shivered in fear, knowing that any explanation would be superfluous. Smiling, he said, “Hence gentlemen this time must be especially careful. Who knows? Maybe on a whim Xiaodi [little brother] will kill you! En garde!”

Cold energy suddenly arose.

Chapter 8 - Part 3

Beheading Mystery Sword swiftly attacked Kou Zhong. His left hand, constantly changing from a fist to a palm and vice versa, shot out toward Xu Ziling; powerful and dauntless without equal.

Clashing noise lingered on faintly. Without yielding a single step, Kou Zhong successively took Ba Fenghan’s three sword strikes. The opponent’s sword potential suddenly changed; sometimes it opened wide, another time it closed tight. The sword style changed delicately: rolling, sweeping, slashing, cutting; the technique was mysterious and unusual, so that Kou Zhong was completely shrouded inside the sword’s power.

The other hand alternated between stable as the bridge and nimble as the horse, striking from a distant and attacking from near, so that Xu Ziling was unable to coordinate his attack with Kou Zhong’s to besiege him.

The most formidable thing was that he was able to divide his mind into two different xinfa, so that he appeared to be two different persons, who were able to use different strategy to deal with the two boys.

For a while, on this approximately three, four zhang diameter mountain peak, the sword qi rose high into the air, murderous aura filled the atmosphere.

Seeing how heroic and brave Ba Fenghan was, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s spirit was greatly aroused. They were abut to counterattack with all their might when Ba Fenghan suddenly spun around so that with his left hand he now dealt with Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well, and with the Beheading Mystery in his right hand he attacked Xu Ziling wildly; immediately the two boys’ offensive was put under pressure.

By the time they steadied their footing, Ba Fenghan let out a thunderous shout, his left palm and his right sword moved together, becoming a fantastical mix of sword ray and palm shadow, like howling wind and torrential rain the left and right hands moved alternately, attacking the two boys that they were trapped in the disadvantageous position and could only react passively.

Kou Zhong raised a mouthful of qi, he flashed across while his saber hacked ferociously.

At first the saber seemed to be splitting an empty air, but by the time the Moon in the Well dropped, it was as if Ba Fenghan’s Beheading Mystery Sword was delivered right into the saber path that the sword had to meet the saber head on.

Vortex of qi like a torrential flood burst forth, shaking Ba Fenghan that he was forced to take half a step sideways.

Ba Fenghan roared in laughter and said, “Now that was an interesting saber strike.”

‘Bang!’

Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to punch; Ba Fenghan lost his momentum, he was forced to meet hard with hard.

Even with Ba Fenghan’s ability, he was forced to open wide his defense that he was unable to maintain his dominance with powerful attack like before.

Kou Zhong won over Ba Fenghan’s right position. When Ba Fenghan retreated swiftly with the intention of regrouping and coming back stronger [orig. ‘return in a swirl of dust’], the Moon in the Well changed into a streak of yellow light, swift as a thunder, fast as a lightning it shot toward Ba Fenghan’s right flank. The saber had not arrived, the vortex of qi already blasted him.

First, Ba Fenghan’s left palm chopped down an empty space, forcing Xu Ziling to back off; and then he swung the sword backhandedly while twisting his body to evade Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well. Just like before, he exerted a hundred percent of his power, yet he did not seem to be as dauntless as before.

Suddenly Ba Fenghan retreated backward before advancing forward again; the sword following the person, he took the opportunity just before Kou Zhong’s Moon in the Well arrived in front of him, the Beheading Mystery Sword turned into a rainbow, shooting toward Xu Ziling, who was about a zhang away from the edge of the cliff. Swift and fierce without equal, surpassing his previous attack, indicating that his retreat just now was not a sign of weakness, but a decoy.

The most dangerous thing was that the sword was covering quite a large area; Xu Ziling could not retreat, his only choice was to meet the attack head-on.

‘Pow!’

It was as if Xu Ziling already anticipated that Ba Fenghan would launch this move; he lowered his body into a horse stance, one palm struck the body of the Beheading Mystery Sword.

If this were a flat ground, the attack was brilliant, the block was wonderful; it could be said that the beauty was divided evenly between the two parties.

However, under current circumstances, when the two streams of energy collided, Ba Fenghan could move backward, while Xu Ziling absolutely must not back off.

Seeing Xu Ziling was nearly knocked off the cliff by Ba Fenghan’s internal energy, Kou Zhong turned pale. But Ba Fenghan shouted, “Grab the sword!”

Xu Ziling grabbed the body of the sword, and Ba Fenghan pulled him back, away from the cliff edge.

Releasing the Beheading Mystery, Xu Ziling wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “How dangerous! I thought Ba Xiong really wanted to kill me.”

Ba Fenghan laughed aloud. He put the sword back into its sheath and said, “How can I be that despicable? If I wanted to kill Xu Xiong, I have to do it in an upright and frank way. I was just testing Xu Xiong’s real ability, and sure enough, you were really able to take what I thought to be a surefire [orig. ‘not one failure in ten thousand’] sword strike.”

And then he mused, “Your so-called Yijian Technique, which you mastered by self-study, is actually similar in shape and appearance, as well as in spirit, with Fu Cailin’s Yijian Technique. Just like Xu Xiong blocking technique a moment ago, it has some kind of proactive overtone that is hard to understand. But with Yijian technique’s xinfa of ‘Using the man to play the sword, using the sword to play the enemy’ is quite different.”

“What is ‘Using the man to play the sword, using the sword to play the enemy’?” Kou Zhong asked.

Ba Fenghan replied, “Generally speaking, it means using the sword like a chess piece [Reminder: ‘yi’ of ‘yijian’ means ‘(a game of) chess’], which can be put in all kinds of situation. As soon as the enemy entered the game board, it can be arranged at one’s discretion; it looks as if one can anticipate the variation in the opponent’s style. But gentlemen’s Yijian Method is not like that at all. For example, can Xu Xiong tell me why just now you were able to be one step ahead by sealing off the attack path of my Beheading Mystery Sword, so that I was unable to unleash the subtlety and force path of my swordsmanship as much as I liked?”

Xu Ziling’s eyes lit up; he nodded and said, “Ba Xiong’s analysis is unusually thorough; it was purely driven by instinct, giving me the feeling that Ba Xiong would brandish your sword and attack like so.”

Ba Fenghan sighed and said, “That is precisely the beauty of the ‘Secret to Long Life’. This Taoist School’s treasure book indeed contains the mystery of life. Not only did it change your physique, it also, cell by cell, hair by hair, releases your spiritual potential. One might well ask, in the history of Wulin, who has been capable of progressing at a lightning speed like you? Being able to drive spiraling qi is even more unheard of. But I also gained considerable benefit. If I can be successful in the future, this experience of being together for ten days with two gentlemen will definitely occupy a key position.”

Kou Zhong roared in laughter and said, “Listening to you, my hands itch! We’d better fight for several rounds.”

‘Qiang!’

The Moon in the Well left its scabbard and swiftly attacked Ba Fenghan.

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