《The Sage and the Sword》
Prologue - The Annals of Spring and Autumn
An excerpt from the book of the grand historian Si Ji written a hundred years ago:
The Annals of Spring and Autumn
The world has three realms; the Realm of Heavens, the Realm of Mortals and the Realm of the Dead. The Jade Emperor and his Celestial Court rule over the Heavens, the realm where the Gods and Immortals live. The Jade Emperor enforces justice in Heavens and Earth. His will in the Mortal Realm, the Earth where we humans live, is enforced since time immemorial by the four Orthodox Sects; Mount Kunlun Sect, Phoenix Sect, Heaven Sect and Ma Sect. The disciples of those Sects cultivate immortality, pursue knowledge and uphold justice.
In the Ancient Times, the world was in turmoil. The Dark Lord Ye Guang rose in revolt against the Jade Emperor and the Orthodox Sects. His army of undead wreaked havoc in the world until a martial hero used the Flaming Medallion and the Heavenly Sword to slay the Dark Lord. Eight hundred thousand years later, peace reigns in both Heavens and Earth.
The political power in the Mortal Realm is now held by the Emperor of the grand Jia Dynasty. His Imperial Majesty is the supreme overlord of the civilized world. His ancestor Jia Gaozu established the Jia Dynasty nine hundred years ago with the blessings of the Jade Emperor, ending a fifty years period of chaos and civil war after the collapse of the Wei Dynasty. The northern lands of the Dynasty are sparsely populated, the only exception being the metropolis that is the Imperial Capital. The southern lands are densely populated and rich. The largest city in that area is White City, a huge metropolis that rivals the Imperial Capital in its size and population. To the east of the Dynasty lies the Great Ocean. Travel by sea is limited as sea monsters and pirates make any voyage lethal. To the far south lies the Great Forest; nominally a part of the Empire, it is dominated by bandits who openly defy His Imperial Majesty. Legend has it that the forest is also home to magical creatures and elves, but such stories are simply fairy tales.
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The only lands outside of His Majesty''s rule are the Desert of Death in the west and the Kingdom of Swagen in the north. The Desert of Death is a barren land. Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, it was home to an advanced civilization. Its inhabitants'' luxurious and decadent lifestyle and the debauchery of their rulers enraged the Jade Emperor and he turned the land into desert. Nowadays, the desert is home to small tribes of raiding nomads. The history of the Kingdom of Swagen can be reconstructed by historical documents. Its people are proud and independent warriors. For thousands of years, they were plagued by infighting until one great King named Odin united the Swagen tribes into one Kingdom. The Swagen people used to pillage the plains of the Jia Dynasty until Imperial ancestor Jia Taizong built a series of fortifications. The Forts of the North protect the Dynasty from the Swagen warriors while the Forts of the West stop desert raiders.
The third realm, the Realm of the Dead, known commonly as the Underworld, is the realm where the souls of those who die go. The souls of the dead and beasts that have been banished there by the Gods are the only inhabitants of the realm. Not much is known regarding that realm, aside from a few legends and folktales.
That is the reality of our world...
Chapter 1 – The Warriors of the Yang Clan
"Long live the Emperor!" a hundred voices shouted in unison. "May He reign ten thousand years!"
The court officials all kowtowed before the Emperor. Emperor Kang was sitting comfortably on his golden throne. Standing to his left and right were eunuchs, loyal servants of the crown as they were entirely dependent on the Emperor''s goodwill. Sitting beside the ruler was also Chancellor Cao, an old man with long black beard and mustache wearing a long grey silk robe. He was the power behind the Jia Dynasty''s imperial throne. With the Emperor preferring to spend his time with his concubines and fellow painters, Cao had control over day to day affairs of governance. While he was ruthless and corrupt, Cao was also highly efficient and a workaholic, staying up late at night to review government papers.
Emperor Kang was in his early twenties. He had a fair appearance but did not inspire fear or much respect. The top half of the Emperor''s clothing was black while the bottom half was crimson, symbolizing the order of Heaven and Earth. A dragon was embroidered on his clothing. The robe was fastened by a golden belt. The Emperor wore a crown topped with a long board that leaned onward. Chains of beads hang front and back, twelve chains each. The jade beads were threaded with silk. Hairpins were used to fasten the crown on the hair.
"General Li, come forward!" the Emperor said.
The General, a middle-aged bearded man dressed in a long black silk robe, stood up, approached the throne and bowed before his sovereign.
"Read my decree," the Emperor ordered a eunuch.
The eunuch walked forward and he read the imperial decree with as loud a voice as he could muster. "His Imperial Majesty decrees thus; Supreme Commander Yang Wanli harbors treacherous thoughts against the Emperor and his loyal subjects. He has slandered the Imperial Chancellor, His Excellency Cao. He has also insulted his Imperial Majesty. As such he is relieved of his command and he is declared an enemy of the crown. He and his clan are to be exterminated immediately. Loyal General Li is appointed Commander of the Imperial Guards and is ordered to carry out the execution of the Yang clan. General Li, heed the decree!"
Silence reigned in the room as the officials were too stunned to react. Commander Yang Wanli was known for his bravery, heroism, and loyalty to the throne. His Yang clan was renowned for its commitment to the dynasty''s welfare and for their patriotism. For decades it had provided the imperial army with capable officers who defended the empire. Silence soon gave way to murmuring. Only one person in the court seemed to be pleased with this sudden development: Chancellor Cao. His wide smile was noticed by the court officials. They were now sure that it was Cao who had orchestrated this decree: with a single move, he was going to get rid of his last rival in the court.
Relations between the Chancellor and the Commander had always been rocky. At first, the two men had coexisted, albeit with deep distrust of each other. Although Yang Wanli had tolerated Cao as he was a capable administrator in contrast to the Emperor, his growing corruption, ruthlessness, and ambitions alarmed him. Yet, now it was too late for the great general to react. Cao had control of the court and the Emperor.
Chilling coldness reigned in the Forts of the North. The wind howled. It was snowing. Everything was swallowed in white. Yang Wanli was in his tent. He was wearing a lamellar armor, a type of body armor made from small rectangular plates of iron laced into horizontal rows, and a steel helmet. He was looking at a map of the northern regions and the placement of troops. He had recently pushed back a Swagen raid and was considering making a punitive expedition in the northern kingdom.
"Sir!" a servant shouted as he rushed into the tent. "There is a decree by His Imperial Majesty."
"Read it."
"His Imperial Majesty decrees thus; Supreme Commander Yang Wanli harbors treacherous thoughts against the Emperor and his loyal subjects. His Imperial Majesty, being magnanimous, wants to spare the Commander of the dishonor of execution and is also willing to spare his family if he takes his own life. If the Supreme Commander does not heed His command, his clan shall be exterminated."
The servant was shaking his head in disbelief at what he had just read. Yang Wanli too was stunned; he froze like a statue. He had to consider all his options. He could not rebel against his sovereign, for that would be the utmost treason and confirm those malignant rumors. He could not refuse to kill himself either because his entire clan would be exterminated and its memory damned forever. So he resolved to take his own life. He took off his helmet and unsheathed his sword. Then, with a swift move, he turned his blade into his neck.
"Commander!" the servant barked. He charged forward, trying to save his master, but it was too late. The great commander lied dead on the ground, his blood flowing from his wound and painting the snowy ground red. The sobering cry of the servant could be heard all over the camp. "Master! Why did you have to kill yourself?! Why?!"
More than a hundred infantry troops and archers gathered outside the Yang Manor. They were commanded by General Li. The entrance gate of the manor was painted vermilion and had copper door knockers on it. A pair of stone lions were placed outside the gate. The General knocked the door. A servant opened it. Before he could question the general, he had already drawn his sword and stabbed the man. "Charge!", he barked and his men flooded the manor. Tens of arrows pierced servants and members of the Yang clan who were running away. Even more were being cut down by the soldiers'' blades. Blood flowed like a river as the Yang clan was being massacred.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Some of the Yang family managed to grab their spears and attempted to resist. They were stabbing and slashing mercilessly the soldiers but the onslaught could not be halted. They were soon all cut down. Only Yang Chao, Yang Wanli''s eldest son, was left standing. He slashed right and left, dodged blades. His spear stabbed tens of soldiers; he gouged out their eyes, pierced their chests, penetrated their stomachs. For almost an hour he parried the enemy swords until a hail of arrows pierced his back. Bleeding and vomiting blood, he used his spear to stand straight. If he was to die, he would die standing, honoring the proud warrior spirit of the Yang family. The imperial soldiers all stood in awe before Chao''s body. Only the gleeful General Li was laughing. "So much for Yang family''s reputation... In one day they have all been exterminated. Burn down the manor! Erase the Yang Clan!"
"Come here!"
The young child, about seven years old, was playing in his room with his toy soldiers when he heard Uncle Luo. He was an old man in his seventies with long white hair and beard and two scars on his face. He was dressed in a brown leather gown and wore a conical hat. He had served the Yang clan faithfully for decades.
"Hurry!" he barked. The child understood that something was amiss as the uncle rarely shouted. "We must leave at once! Soldiers are on their way here."
He grabbed the child by the hand and sprinted forward. As they were about to exit the main hall and walk into the courtyard, suddenly three soldiers appeared and blocked the exit. "Stay behind," he said to the child. He unsheathed a small knife and charged. He somersaulted, landed behind a soldier and slit his throat with his knife. The other two soldiers tried to stab him but he leaped backward, dodging the enemy blades. He then jumped forward and fell upon a soldier. He threw him on the ground and with a swift strike stabbed his forehead. The last surviving soldier let out a battle cry and swung his sword at Luo, but he parried the strike with his knife. The soldier struck again, slashing Luo''s chest. Seeing that the old man was bleeding, the soldier prepared for the final strike. "Die!" he shouted as he attacked; this time though, Luo dodged the blade and with a swift back kick sent the soldier flying into the wall. Before he could get up, Luo had already leaped at him. With fury, he stabbed thrice the soldier''s neck.
All this time the child was looking at the bloodshed terrified; he was trembling and his eyes were teary. "What is happening?"
"There is no time to explain!" Luo said. "We must get going!"
Luo once again grabbed the child''s hand and ran into the courtyard. With plants, rocks, and flowers, the courtyard was like a garden. It was a place that normally offered peace and quite to the family members, yet now it was full of corpses. The fragrance of the flowers and the stench of the dead bodies; the red petals of the flowers and the red pool of blood; the antithesis between the beauty of life and the ugliness of death, of the past idyllic life and the wrenched present.
A wall was all that separated Luo and the child from safety. Luo gathered all his internal energy onto his legs and, holding the child in his hands, jumped high, passing over the wall and landing on the other side. As soon as he landed, he coughed and vomited blood.
"Uncle!" the child cried out.
"It''s... it''s all right. I... I... am just...tired..." Luo panted. "I have friends at White Snake village. We will be safe there."
White Snake village was a small village in the southeast. The two companions arrived there after two weeks of arduous traveling. After asking locals about the whereabouts of Hang, Luo''s friend, they headed to a hut on the outskirts of the village, in a bamboo forest. The hut crouched in the shadows like a sleeping bear. It had wooden walls with a small opening at the front.
"Who is Hang?" the child asked
"A friend of mine," Luo replied. "He used to serve your parents but he left because he desired a life of peace and solitude."
Luo knocked the door. An elderly man walked out of the hut. He had long white hair and looked frail and weak. He was wearing a silk green robe that had become singed.
"Luo, my old friend!" he exclaimed. "Long time no see!"
Luo smiled. "Good to see you, my old friend."
"Who is this child?"
Luo sighed. "He is Yang Jing, the youngest son of Commander Yang Wanli."
Hang slightly bowed before Jing. "Greetings, Young Master."
Jing too bowed before his elder. "Greetings, Elder Hang."
Hang laughed. "This boy is already such a fine gentleman. So, what brings you here in this isolated corner of the world?"
Luo looked at Jing and said, "get inside."
Jing nodded and walked inside. Then Luo spoke. "The Commander... he is dead."
"What?! How?!"
"That treacherous bastard the Emperor, he betrayed us. He sent his army to exterminate the Yang clan. Everyone died. More than a hundred people. I''ve learned that the Commander was tricked into killing himself. Supposedly, the Emperor would spare his family''s lives, but he reneged on his oath."
"That vile bastard!" Hang clenched his teeth. "The Yang family had been serving faithfully the Emperors of the Jia Dynasty for decades. Yet, this ingrate forgot all that the Yang clan did for his family and killed them off in the most horrid way. Ah! What an end to such a glorious clan! One day you are mighty and hero to all, and the other you are reduced to nothingness and branded a traitor. Alas, that''s the way of the court!"
"There is still hope..."
Hang sneered. "You talk of the boy? What can one man do against a whole empire?"
"He can learn the way of the sword and become powerful."
"Who is going to teach him? We are both too old to train him; not to say our skills are mediocre at best."
"The Grandmaster of Mount Kunlun is a friend of mine. Once he is old enough, I can send him there to learn how to use the sword and the internal energy."
"I see... I truly hope that he will manage to avenge the Commander. I am also willing to allow him to stay here until he is old enough to go to Mount Kunlun."
Luo bowed slightly. "Thank you, my old friend."
The next day, Luo and Hang crafted memorial tablets for Jing''s parents, brothers, and other relatives. It took them almost the whole day. They then called Jing to come, bow and kowtow before the tablets.
"Young Master Jing, those are the memorial tablets of your ancestors," Luo said. "I want you to take an oath before them."
Jing nodded.
"You shall avenge the Yang clan or die trying. If you forget to seek justice for your clan, may a thousand arrows pierce your heart."
Jing repeated the oath. "I, Yang Jing, give an oath to avenge the Yang clan or die trying. If I forget to seek justice for my clan, may a thousand arrows pierce my heart."
Luo and Hang smiled.
"Maybe," Hang said, "there is still hope for the Yang family..."
Chapter 2 – Cultivation and Virtue
Yang Jing was strolling in the garden of Mount Kunlun Sect. Bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. In the center, there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle. Jing was now twenty years old. Thirteen years had passed since he was a young child fleeing persecution by the Emperor''s troops. Now he was tall, with long black hair and a delicate and most beautiful face. He was wearing a blue gown made from the finest silk and was holding a hand fan made of crane feathers. He needed to make a good impression.
"You must be Yang Jing, right?" a man asked. Jing turned around and saw that the one speaking to him was a tall man wearing a long purple silk gown. His long hair was white but despite his age, his face was delicate and showed no signs of old age. He exuded a sense of calmness and peace.
Jing slightly bowed and said, "Greetings. I indeed am Yang Jing. You must be Elder Rong?"
Rong smiled. "Indeed. Elder Luo has spoken highly of you. I have to admit though, I am skeptical of accepting you as a disciple. You have a desire for revenge in your heart; desire for vengeance can corrupt a man. It can make you into what you hate. If the only reason you want to study here is to be able to get revenge, I shall not teach you. This is a place for cultivation, not for murder."
Jing bowed. "Elder, please accept me as your disciple. I will not disappoint you. I will work hard and follow your instructions. It is indeed true that I want to kill my clan''s murderers but that is out of a desire for justice, not revenge. The Yang clan always defended the Jia Dynasty and was loyal to the Emperor. Yet, this treacherous tyrant murdered them! He has shown no remorse since then nor has he improved as a ruler. He is licentious and allows corrupt officials to run the court."
Rong turned his back to the young man. "You have such hatred in you... This is poison for the mind and the soul!" Rong sternly said. "How do you expect me to teach you if you have such hatred in you? You talk of justice and yet the tone of your words betray that in fact, you want revenge. I can teach you how to be an enlightened individual, I cannot teach you how to become a murderer. If murder is the only thing you desire, then you should seek another teacher."
Jing clenched his fists. Uncle Luo had told him that Elder Rong would accept him as a disciple and teach him the ways of the sword; that way, he would finally be able to avenge the death of his parents and other relatives. Now, he was rejecting him.
"You cannot do that!" he shouted in exasperation.
Rong waved his hand, sending an invincible wave of internal energy at the young man. Jing was pushed back and fell to the ground.
"Angry! Impatient! Willful! It seems that Elder Luo was greatly mistaken about you. You have no potential for becoming my disciple or, indeed, for being anything other than a murderer."
Jing got up and bowed slightly before the elder. "Teach me how to pursue justice and not vengeance. Teach me how to become an enlightened person and put behind the burdens of the past."
Rong nodded in approval. "Cultivating immortality requires purity and peace of mind. You must be disciplined. If you do decide to pursue this path, you must be committed and have resolve."
Jing nodded in agreement.
"Good. Come to the Main Hall in about an hour," Rong said and left.
Jing stood alone, silently gazing at the pond. Although he felt honored to have been accepted as a disciple by Elder Rong, Grandmaster of the Mount Kunlun Sect, he felt unease in his heart. He felt as if by giving up on pursuing vengeance for his clan, he had betrayed them. He sighed but reminded himself that Elder Rong was the wisest Master in the world. The Grandmaster of Kunlun was the most revered among the four Grandmasters of the Orthodox Sects; the other three being Xian Li of Phoenix Sect, Zhe Chang of Heaven Sect and Ma Yong of the Ma Sect. The Orthodox Sects assisted the Jade Emperor in keeping peace in Heaven and Earth.
"You are Elder Rong''s new disciple?" someone asked. Jing, who had been lost in his thoughts, turned around and saw a young man. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a sturdy and strong stature. He greeted Jing and said, "My name is Zhang Xiao. I am a disciple of Master Yi."
Jing smiled. "My name is Yang Jing. I am glad to meet you."
"You are pretty lucky, you know. Elder Rong has not taken a disciple for the past twenty thousand years. He is hailed as the wisest Immortal; even the Jade Emperor treats him with the utmost respect."
He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Do you happen to like drinking wine?"
"Of course I do!" Jing said.
Xiao grinned. "Good! Why don''t we meet here tonight to drink some wine? It''s been some time since I last had a drinking buddy."
"Well, I do like wine but¡ Elder Rong talked about discipline and-"
"That''s why I have such a long time to drink with a drinking buddy," Xiao said and sighed. "Most people here are far too disciplined. Cultivation does not exclude drinking some wine. It''s going to be fun, trust me."
"Well¡ alright, but only once."
Jing stepped into the Main Hall. The hall was spacious and the ceiling seemed to be twenty feet high. Waiting inside was Elder Rong, sitting on a purple mat and reading a text. Jing bowed slightly and said, "Greetings Teacher."
"You know what is most important when cultivating to become immortal?"
Jing thought for a moment but could not find an appropriate answer.
"Being moral and virtuous," Rong said. "You must be pure in heart if you are to cultivate."
"I understand."
"Being my disciple, you will have to be a responsible person and not use your powers without thinking of the consequences. You must remember that every being has innate goodness in it. Subduing wicked people or demons alone does not make you praiseworthy; making them turn over a new leaf will. As such, I expect you not to use your powers irresponsibly, even when you have to deal with the wickedest persons. I also expect you to forget about revenge. Dispensing justice and punishing the wicked is one thing, but going on a personal crusade against those you hate is not justice and will consume you; it will turn you into a monster."
Jing nodded.
"You must learn how to meditate and breath correctly," Rong said. "We shall meditate together."
Rong and Jing sat in a cross-legged meditative position. "I will teach you how to cultivate Level 1 of Soul Formation," Rong said. "You must breathe in the right way so that you can draw in the Qi of the natural world."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Jing felt somewhat ashamed that he did not know what Qi was, but he decided to ask. "What is Qi?"
"Qi is the vital energy which exists in all things. Qi is concentrated in your lower dantian, located three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel. Qi flows in your body through the meridians, a network of vessels. By drawing in Qi, you can cultivate and use internal energy. There are many levels and stages of internal energy. Soul Formation is the first stage and has ten levels. It concerns the basics of internal energy; it allows you to perform peak physical acts, such as jumping high, running with unnatural speed and strengthening your attacks. Next is Force Formation; it allows you to send invincible waves of internal energy at your enemies and to create a shield using internal energy. It has five levels. Next is Power Formation, which has six levels. It allows you to manipulate elements of nature such a lightning, wind and water. Finally, there is the God Formation, which has only one level. That Formation has been mastered only by the Jade Emperor. It allows you to cause earthquakes and tsunamis. But now let''s return back to the basics."
Rong took deep breaths, through the nose, and Jing followed his example. During the inhalation, their diaphragm moved downwards. They then exhaled, moving up their diaphragm, compressing their lungs and pushing the air out. For three hours they breathed that way.
The sun fell behind the horizon. The twilight faded to blackness. Jing and Xiao were lying in the garden and drinking each a jar of wine and laughing.
"See? I told you it would be fun!" Xiao said.
"This wine is the best I''ve ever drunk," Jing admitted. "Where did you get it?"
"My father brewed it. My family has a tradition of brewing the best wine in Heaven and Earth."
Xiao sipped some wine. He then said, "You really are lucky to have Elder Rong as your teacher. You will become the most powerful immortal of Kunlun if you follow his instructions. Everyone will respect you and girls will fall for you."
Jing laughed. "I do not have such ambitions." Jing looked at the night sky and said, "What I want is to seek justice for my parents. Only then can I be at ease and feel free from the burdens of the past. Only then can I feel like I have honored my ancestors. Once I accomplish that, I just want to live a carefree life. I do not want glory or power; they bring too many worries, they restrain you too much. The most powerful and respected you are, the more worries you have and the less free you are to do whatever you want."
A tall, sturdy young man with long black hair dressed in a white gown walked towards the two drinking buddies. "So, you are Elder Rong''s new disciple?" he asked, looking at Jing with contempt.
Jing got up at once and bowed slightly. "Greetings. Indeed. I am Yang Jing. I''m glad to meet you."
The man sneered. "You should be working hard, not lying and drinking wine. You may want to bring shame to yourself, but do not bring shame to Elder Rong."
"I understand," Jing said. He felt awkward and a sense of guilt.
"We are just having a drink," Xiao protested. "Plus, it is his first day here, Brother Yao."
Yao looked angrily at Xiao. "Hopefully he will not end up like you."
He then turned to Jing. "As for you, do not think too highly of yourself. You were accepted as Elder Rong''s disciple only because your mentor is his friend, not because of your skills. Do not expect people to respect you. I certainly will not. If you want respect, you should earn it."
Yao then walked away.
"Who is he?" Jing asked.
Xiao sighed. "He is a fellow disciple of Master Yi. He is the best swordsman in Mount Kunlun and the youngest immortal. He is also the favorite disciple of Master Yi and the most admired. He is far too arrogant and thinks he can judge everyone! Do not take his words at heart."
"He is right," Jing said. "The only reason I was accepted by Elder Rong is that Uncle Luo is his friend. I should work hard so as to not bring shame to my Teacher."
"That''s why I dislike Yao¡" Xiao said. "He kills all the fun. Look at you, you talk exactly like him. If you become rigid and preachy like he is, with whom will I be drinking wine?"
The yellow shining sun started rising from the ground. It filled the sky with mighty colors of red and splashed the clouds with endless orange hued rays. Birds began chirping, singing a beautiful melody. Jing was practicing his swordplay on the wooden bridge that crossed the middle of the pond. Rong was supervising him and giving him instructions. Jing performed intricate and fast sword forms. The whooshing sound of the sword revealed the great strength put into each form. One attack came after another in quick succession.
Rong was nodding in approval. "Very good; you are grasping the basics. Swordsmanship, however, is only a part of your training. Another important part is studying Daoist Texts. Follow me."
Jing followed his Teacher to the Main Hall. There, Rong presented five texts to his disciple. "Those texts must be studied thoroughly by you. You should copy them four hundred times each."
"Four hundred!?" Jing repeated.
Rong smiled. "Indeed. You are cultivating immortality, so you will have plenty of time for copying those texts."
For the next few days, Jing was studying and copying the Daoist texts. As time passed, he was growing impatient. He wanted to break into Level 2 of Soul Formation, not read texts about how to reach enlightenment. He wanted to become more powerful so one day he could finally seek justice for his clan and be free to live his life as he wanted. So he decided to cultivate Qi by himself. He sat cross-legged and inhaled. He drew in the Qi of the natural world. He sensed power. He sensed invincibility. It felt good. He felt more heat. Suddenly, he coughed and vomited blood. Thankfully for him, Elder Rong was nearby and heard the coughing. He at once rushed into the room and channeled his internal energy at his disciple, trying to stabilize his situation. Jing coughed more blood and felt a terrible pain in his chest. He screamed in pain. Rong swiftly pressed Jing''s acupuncture points to stop the flow of Qi through his meridians. Jing gasped.
"Idiot!" Rong barked. "Why did you try to cultivate Qi without asking me? There is a reason why I asked you to study those texts instead of having you further meditate. Too much inflow of Qi can be too much for the body to handle and will have the opposite results."
"I''m sorry..."
"Instead of harming your body, you should focus on healing your mind from the ills of hatred. The texts I gave you talk of enlightenment; have you learned nothing from them? Do you still seek power and vengeance at all costs? Maybe accepting you as a disciple was a mistake."
Jing kowtowed frantically before his teacher. "Teacher, give me another chance! I have learned my lesson."
"How can I teach you to harness internal energy, if I cannot trust your judgement?"
"I will not disappoint you again! I promise!"
Rong sighed. "Fine. I shall give you another chance. Do not disappoint me again!"
For the next five years, Jing was following to the letter his teacher''s instructions. He had accepted that seeking vengeance would be an obstacle to his path to enlightenment. He had not forgotten about his oath and was still determined to get justice, but he understood that he had first to get rid of the hatred inside him in order to do this. In those five years, Jing had been copying and studying Daoist texts, learning to play Guqin, practicing his swordplay, meditating and cultivating. He had managed to reach Level 1 of Force Formation; he could now send small waves of internal energy at his opponents, though that would require great concentration. Still, it was a great feat as many disciples needed whole decades to reach that level of cultivation. Jing was lucky to have the Grandmaster of Kunlun as his teacher and thus learn faster than other disciples. His innate talent and his discipline, borne out of his desire to seek justice for his clan, helped too. Jing had also learned sword techniques. From time to time, Jing would drink wine with Xiao. One such time was tonight. They were lying under the starless, moonless black sky and drinking one jar of wine each.
"Congrats on breaking through to Level 1 of Force Formation," Xiao said and sipped some wine.
"Thanks, brother Xiao," Jing said.
"I am sure you will do well in the tournament tomorrow as well."
Every year, Mount Kunlun would host a tournament so that its disciples could test their skills and compare with each other. In the last four tournaments, Jing had not taken part as to not lose and bring shame to Elder Rong. Now, however, he was confident that his skills were good enough to not make his Teacher lose face.
"I certainly hope so," Jing replied.
As they drank some more of their wine, Yao walked by them. Seeing them, he sneered and asked Jing; "Are you going to show up in the tournament this time or shall you hide once more like a turtle?"
Xiao was going to argue with Yao but Jing stopped him. Calmly and maintaining his composure, he replied; "I shall show up, brother Yao."
"Good," Yao said. "I only hope that you will not bring shame to Elder Rong."
He then walked away.
"Brother Jing, why didn''t you let me put him in his place?" Xiao asked. "He is far too arrogant!"
Jing laughed. "Why waste time arguing with him when we can have some pleasant time drinking wine?"
Xiao sighed. "Hopefully you will defeat him in the tournament. I just cannot stand how he wins every tournament¡"
"I highly doubt that¡ I have made progress these past five years but I am no match for him. He is the greatest martial artist of Mount Kunlun; how can I compare to him? Not that I care that much about winning. I only want to get to the top rankings so that I will not bring shame to my Teacher."
Chapter 3 – The Tournament
The sun shone brightly in the sky. Jing was strolling in the garden of Mount Kunlun and gazing at the pond and bonsai trees. He was pondering over which moves he would use in the tournament. ''I will use Soul Sword Style,'' he thought, ''in order to force my opponent into the defensive and then overpower him.''
"Brother Jing, the tournament is starting!" a voice was heard saying. Jing turned around and saw that it was Xiao.
"I was lost in my thoughts and had forgotten that the tournament was about to start."
"We should hurry; otherwise we are going to be late!"
Jing and Xiao rushed to a garden of peach blossom trees, where the tournament would take place. Other disciples, as well as the Masters of Kunlun Sect, had already gathered. There was chattering while all were more or less nervous and excited.
"Everyone!" Elder Rong said. Everyone stopped talking and all silently waited to hear what the Elder would say. "The tournament is about to start. This time, the tournament is of special importance as I am going to assign an important mission to the two top disciples. Keep that in mind."
The first match was between a disciple of Master Yi and a disciple of Master Zhang. The duel was fierce, with both contenders exchanging hundreds of blows before the disciple of Master Yi emerged victoriously. Everyone clapped in approval.
"Next match will be between Yang Jing and Lai Wei," Master Yi said. Master Yi was a short fat man with a mustache spotting on his face and wearing a long blue gown.
Jing and Wei bowed slightly, greeting each other before starting the match. They unsheathed their swords. In a split of a second, the two swords had collided. A loud clang sound was heard and it seemed like the earth shook. Jing lunged forward and pushed back Wei with vicious and quick attacks. Wei, forced on the defensive, channeled his internal energy into his sword; he then counterattacked. His attacks were ferocious but Jing parried them with ease. Jing closed his eyes and concentrated. He gathered his internal energy and channeled it into his sword. A loud sound was heard as Jing jumped and struck from above at Wei; Wei tried to block the incoming attack with his sword but as the two blades collided, Wei''s was cut in half.
Everyone clapped and cheered. Elder Rong smiled. He was proud that Jing had made so much progress. When he first came to Mount Kunlun, he knew little of fighting. Yet, now his movements were fast and his attacks powerful. His discipline, rigid training, and cultivation had paid off.
The next match was between Yao and a disciple of Master Zhang. Yao moved fast like the wind and struck boldly like a thunder. His movements were too fast for most to see; he performed intricate sword forms in the split of a second. His sword struck left and right, upwards and downwards; one attack came after another, leaving no time for his opponent to defend. Yao''s sword slashed the chest of his opponent; blood dripped on the ground. The cut was not too deep and as such the injury was not great; yet everyone knew that this was only because this was a friendly match between fellow disciples. If Yao was facing a real opponent, that slash would have been fatal.
Jing gaped in astonishment. He knew that Yao was the greatest disciple of Mount Kunlun, but did not expect him to be that impressive. Xiao whispered to Jing: "That''s the reason he is so arrogant. His skills are truly divine."
Next was a match between Xiao and a fellow disciple of Master Yi. Xiao, although not as skilled as either Jing or Yao, proved nonetheless to be pretty capable. Although his attacks did not have much strength in them, they were quick and precise. They aimed to confuse and imbalance the opponent. This technique was known as ''Wind Sword Style'' because the attacks were swift like the wind. It was a sword style best suited for those who did not have much physical or internal strength but who were capable of memorizing and performing complex and swift attacks. Xiao forced his opponent on the defensive and then, with a swift move, brought his blade to his neck. The opponent threw his sword to the ground and conceded defeat.
Everyone cheered, Jing most loudly of all. "You did pretty well," he said.
"Thanks, brother Jing!" a grinning Xiao replied.
More matches followed. Hours passed and soon day gave way to night. Elder Rong stepped forward and loudly said, "The first round of the tournament has been completed. You should all go rest, especially the ones who have passed to the second round. You will have a challenging day tomorrow."
Jing was exhausted and sweating. He sat on the ground and let out a breath. His eyes glazed over blankly. Elder Rong approached him and said, "You look tired; you should get some rest."
Jing quickly got up and replied, "I will do as you say, Teacher."
Rong smiled. "You performed pretty well today; I am proud of you. I am sure that you will not let me down tomorrow."
Jing nodded.
Next morning, everyone had gathered in the garden to watch the next round of the tournament. This time, there would be only four matches to determine the four best warriors of Mount Kunlun. Jing was facing a strong and sturdy disciple of Master Yi. The man was of impressive height and had a reputation for overpowering his opponents through sheer strength. Jing, on the other hand, was planning to overwhelm his opponent with fast attacks.
As the duel began, Jing rushed forward and struck with his blade at his opponent. The man parried Jing''s attack with his blade but Jing struck again, left and right, many times changing the direction of his strikes in order to confuse his opponent. Despite Jing''s constant attacks, the man maintained his cool. The man angrily roared and slashed at Jing with overwhelming force; Jing was forced to leap backward. The man then charged forward with the speed and force of a hurricane. With a quick breath taken in then let out, Jing somersaulted, leaped above the man and landed behind him. Jing then quickly slashed the man''s back and then placed his blade on the man''s neck. The man was forced to concede defeat.
Everyone applauded but Jing was not that satisfied with his performance; although he had managed to defeat his opponent, he almost lost to him when he counterattacked. If his somersault had failed, he would have surely been defeated. ''I exerted so much internal energy trying to defeat him. I am not sure I will be able to defeat my next opponent.''
While the next match was taking place, Jing was sitting on the ground in a cross-legged meditative position. He cleared his mind of all thoughts and meditated. While Jing was meditating, both Yao and Xiao defeated their opponents and passed on to the next round. The third round was going to have only two matches. The first was between Yao and Xiao. Jing got up from his meditation in order to watch how his friend fared against Yao. Although he hoped that Xiao would win, he knew that Yao was far too good to lose.
Yao grinned. He exuded an aura of arrogance and superiority. He knew that he was better and was confident of winning. Xiao, on the other hand, was sweating and nervous. He slashed his sword from his upper left straight downward. The slash was powerful and fast but Yao was too agile to be caught. A simple jump got him out of the way.
"Is that all you''ve got?" Yao asked and grinned. Yao purposefully derided Xiao in order to enrage him; he knew that someone who was enraged did not think clearly and was an easier opponent. "Maybe you should have been training more instead of drinking wine."
Xiao charged at Yao. Yao stood still almost to the last moment; he then moved to the left, dodging Xiao''s blade. He smiled. "Come on! I am sure you can do better¡"
Xiao had kept his cool all this time, but this last insult enraged him. He charged like a bull and slashed at Yao without following any particular sword style; he was far too furious to plan and put in action an elaborate strategy. Yao laughed because he knew that he had accomplished his goal; he was able to easily parry Xiao''s disorganized attacks. He then performed the ''Third Form'' of the ''Wild Dragon Sword Style''; he attacked Xiao''s legs with his sword. As Xiao was about to parry the attack, Yao changed the direction of his attack; he instead slashed at Xiao''s chest. Xiao was barely able to block that attack but Yao used his confusion to kick him in the chest with a back kick. Xiao had not expected Yao to attack him with a kick instead of his sword and so he was not able to defend against that attack. He fell on the ground. Before he could get up, Yao had already pointed his sword at his face and asked, "Do you accept defeat?"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
"I do¡" Xiao said and sighed.
Jing helped Xiao get up and said to him, "You did pretty well. Do not worry about this defeat. Few disciples reach as high in the rankings. Yao is just too good to be beaten."
Xiao clenched his fists. "Dammit! He is right; if I was spending less time having fun and more time training, I wouldn''t have been defeated."
"The next match will be between Yang Jing and Ma Cang," Master Yi said. Ma Cang was a disciple of Master Yi. He was muscular, tall and good looking. He had a reputation of changing from one sword style to another, leaving his opponents confused. Jing, having seen his previous duels in the tournament, had to admit that his reputation was well earned.
Cang swirled his sword around rapidly, causing a gust of wind, and in one swift move slashed at Jing. Jing channeled his internal energy into his sword and met his opponent''s blade. As the two blades collided, a deafening sound was heard. Cang smiled. "Good! You are a worthy opponent!"
Cang then retreated by a few steps. He jumped high and then struck at Jing from above; this was the ''Flying Eagle Style''. Jing knew well this sword style as he had used it before. He expected to be able to parry it with ease; yet, the attack of Cang was far more powerful than he had expected. His internal energy was outstandingly powerful as was his physical strength. Jing was slashed across his chest. Yet, despite blood dripping from his wound, he was not ready to give up yet; he counterattacked and charged forward with the speed and ferocity of a wild tiger. Cang was forced on the defensive, yet he was not ready to be defeated that easily. Cang kicked Jing on the chest, right on his wound. Jing was pushed back and vomited some blood.
Elder Rong intervened and said, "Jing, you have already done pretty well in the tournament. You are in the top four rankings. There is no shame in accepting a defeat."
Jing smiled. "Teacher, I can win this match."
Jing had to win this match; not only because he didn''t want to bring shame to his teacher, but also because he understood that if he could not beat Cang, what hope could he have of beating the Imperial Guard when he would go seek justice for his clan? Although he had accepted the need for eradicating his hatred, he had not forgotten his oath. Being defeated would crush his spirit and prove that he wasn''t ready yet to seek justice.
He slashed at Cang. Cang parried the attack with ease and tried once again to kick Jing, yet this time Jing was expecting this attack. With a swift move, he slashed Cang''s leg. Cang cried out. Jing kicked him in the face with a flying kick, causing him to lose his balance and fall on the ground.
"Good!" Cang roared. "At last some challenge."
He quickly got up and threw his sword with an overwhelming speed at Jing. Jing was barely able to dodge it; suddenly, he saw that Cang was charging at him with his palms. Cang lashed out with the force of an avalanche. Jing jumped on top of a peach blossom tree that was right behind him. So, instead of hitting Jing, Cang smashed the tree; he splintered the trunk of the tree, forcing Jing to fall off the tree and unto the ground. The sky was briefly obscured by a shower of peach blossoms fluttering to the ground. Making full use of this obscuring, Jing attacked Cang. He hit him in the face with the hilt of his sword. He then pointed his sword at Cang''s throat and said, "Do you concede defeat?"
"I do¡"
Jing''s determination had impressed everyone. All cheered; unlike in most past matches, where cheering was mostly a gesture of civility, this time it was a gesture of true enthusiasm and respect. Even Yao was forced to admit that Jing had proven himself to be an excellent warrior. Yet Jing knew that this victory came at a great cost; he was exhausted, bleeding and with little energy, physical or internal, left in him. The final match, in which he would have to face Yao, was about to start and he wouldn''t be able to put a fight.
Elder Rong said, "Everyone! The fourth and final round of this tournament is about to start. The final match will be between Yang Jing and Qing Yao."
Yao had rested after his match with Xiao. He wasn''t injured and had not exerted much energy in defeating Xiao. Thus, he was in a far better position than the injured and tired Jing. With a smug smile on his face, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Jing. "Are you sure you can handle this match?"
Jing forced a smile. "I am sure."
Yao charged at Jing. As the sword sped forward, a loud sound was heard, revealing the strength behind the thrust. Jing was barely able to block this attack. There was cold sweat on his forehead and he vomited some more blood as he exerted all his energy in blocking that attack. Yao did not press forward. He simply grinned and waited for Jing to attack; he knew that Jing was far too exhausted to pose a serious threat to him and so he was relaxed.
Jing charged forward, sword raised, and chopped at the Yao''s thigh, but the Yao jumped and dodged the blow. Yao then sheathed his sword. "You are injured and it would not be fair for me to fight with you on equal terms. As such, I will only use my hands."
Of course, Yao did not do this because he was concerned about the fairness of the fight; he just wanted to impress his fellow disciples and the elders by defeating Jing without using a sword. Jing charged again with his sword. He knew that he would most likely lose and so he concentrated all his energy and physical strength in one final attack. Yao made no move until the sword was only one inch from his nose, then stretched out his hand and grabbed it by the hilt. Jing let out a ragged breath. He was forced to admit defeat.
Everyone applauded the victor of the tournament; once again, it was Yao who was victorious. He proved once again that he was by far the best swordsman of Mount Kunlun. Jing was far too exhausted to even applaud; yet, he did not bear any grudge towards Yao for defeating him. He had expected that Yao would win. He knew that even if he was not injured, he would still most likely have been defeated by Yao. Jing was not seeking the top rank anyway; he simply wanted to perform well in order to not bring shame to his teacher.
Elder Rong approached Jing and said, "Your performance in the tournament indicates that you have a great future. Your skills are outstanding. It is no easy feat to win the second rank in Mount Kunlun''s tournament. Although your skills are not yet as good as those of Yao, they are better than the skills of all other disciples of the Sect."
After the tournament had ended, Elder Rong called Yao and Jing to the Main Hall. Elder Rong was sitting on a purple mat flanked by Master Yi on his right and Master Zhang on his left. He was contemplating; he looked stern and serious. Masters Yi and Zhang were also somewhat worried.
Jing and Yao both formally greeted their elders and slightly bowed.
"As I''ve said in the tournament," Rong spoke, "the two top disciples shall be assigned a mission. Qing Yao and Yang Jing, you are the two best disciples of Mount Kunlun and thus it is you who shall be burdened with undertaking this dangerous mission. I am sending you two because I do not want anyone knowing how important this task is. This a secret mission. I do not want to draw any attention."
Both Jing and Yao said in unison, "We shall do as you order."
Rong smiled. His smile was warm and exuded a sense of kindness. "I am glad that you are willing to undertake such a dangerous task. I want you to go to Fox Village and meet Elder Huo. He will give you an invaluable object: the Flaming Medallion."
Jing and Yao both gaped in astonishment when they heard that.
"As you both know," the Elder continued, "the Flaming Medallion was one of the two objects the legendary hero Yi Hong used to slay the Dark Lord Ye Guang more than eight hundred thousand years ago. After the Dark Lord was slain, Yi Hong disappeared and so did the Flaming Medallion and Heavenly Sword. Yet, Elder Huo found the Flaming Medallion a few weeks ago on the banks of the Fox River."
"Elder," Yao said, "I mean no disrespect, but are you sure that Elder Huo is not mistaken? How could he have found such an invaluable object in such a small and insignificant village? And how does he know that it is the real Flaming Medallion?"
"Elder Huo is sure that it is the genuine Flaming Medallion. It matches the descriptions in the texts and it exudes a powerful aura. Anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry. Even if Elder Huo is wrong, we cannot risk letting such a powerful object fall into the wrong hands. It could spell disaster. I am also worried that we may need to actually use it."
"What do you mean, Teacher?" Jing asked.
"There are signs that something evil may happen soon. There have been several reports recently claiming that the Demonic Cult has managed to survive and now the Flaming Medallion has suddenly appeared after eight hundred thousand years. Those are worrying omens."
"Demonic Cult?"
"The Demonic Cult was a cult of religious fanatics devoted to reviving the Dark Lord and using his powers to exterminate the Jade Emperor and the Orthodox Sects and destroying the world. Five hundred thousand years ago my Teacher, Elder Dong, exterminated them in a bloody battle; he massacred every member of the Demonic Cult in that battle. Or, at least, that was what he thought. Recently, there have been reports that the Demonic Cult still exists and that in recent years its activities have increased. At first, I was hesitant to believe those rumors and thought that they either were false or that they mistook another evil group as the Demonic Cult. Yet, with the sudden appearance of the Flaming Medallion, it seems that the rumors are at least partly true. If the Demonic Cult is still active, we will need the Flaming Medallion. They will stop at nothing to revive the Dark Lord; although I doubt they will succeed in doing so, many of my previous assumptions have been proven wrong before so I am not planning on risking it. If the Dark Lord is revived, chaos will ensue. When he was alive, he was the most powerful being in Heavens and Earth. Only with the Flaming Medallion will we have a chance against him."
Chapter 4 – Reincarnation
In the sky, there was an almost unbroken layer of white and grey. Jing and Yao could tell from the clouds that there would soon be a storm. A violent gust of wind swept up the dirt road in which they were walking. They had been journeying for almost a week and were about to reach Fox Village. Through their travel, they had been hurrying and in night rested only for three or four hours in order to not waste time. It was of vital importance that they would reach Fox Village as soon as possible. If the Flaming Medallion were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous.
"We will soon be reaching Fox Village," Yao said and let out a breath. "We can relax a bit once we know that the medallion is in the right hands."
"Indeed," Jing replied as he swept the cold sweat on his forehead. His heart beat fast. "This task is nerve-racking. I cannot help but feel worried."
Suddenly, they heard a loud scream. Yao and Jing unsheathed their swords and immediately got into battle stance. They looked around but saw no one. Then, from a bush came forward a cat. It was the cat that had screamed. Both men let out a sigh of relief and sheathed their swords.
Yao laughed. "It is only cat."
Jing too smiled. "Good. This cat really scared me."
Both Jing and Yao were powerful warriors. While by no means top swordsmen, they were the two best disciples of Mount Kunlun. Yet, they both had reasons to be extremely nervous. Jing was on his first mission and as such, it was natural for him to feel nervous. Yao had some more experience in undertaking missions but had never been assigned such an important task before. Knowing that possibly the fate of the entire world hinged on the success of this mission only made him more nervous and worried.
Jing and Yao finally reached Fox Village early that night. When they were on the outskirts of the village, the sunset had radiated across the clouds, turning them molten orange with bands of pink. Now it was gone and the sky was starless, moonless. There was no twilight, only blackness. The wind was gusty and the first drops of rain reminded the two men that there was going to be a storm soon.
Fox Village was a small and insignificant village. It was poor and so most of the houses were crude to the extreme, with earthen walls and mud floors. Jing and Yao headed to one of those houses and knocked its door.
"Who is it?" an elderly voice asked.
"Elder Huo, it is Qing Yao and Yang Jing from Mount Kunlun Sect," Yao said.
The elder opened the door. There was a radiant smile on his face. "Please, come inside!" he said and led them into his crude hall. The hall had only a small round wooden table and three chairs. Elder Huo was a grizzled old man with a red nose, dressed in simple peasant clothes and smoking a pipe. One would be excused for thinking he was simply an old peasant. Yet, appearances deceive. Elder Huo was a remarkably knowledgeable scholar; he had studied thousands upon thousands of ancient texts. While he was not among the top martial arts experts, his swordsmanship was not to be underestimated either.
"Please, do sit!" Huo said, pointing at the chairs. The two disciples sat on the chairs and Huo said, "I will be coming in a moment."
He then rushed inside a room to the left. About a minute later, which seemed like an eternity to Jing and Yao, Huo came back to the hall holding the Flaming Medallion in his hands. The medallion was made out of pure gold. There was a gleaming red stone set in the center. Jing could sense the powerful aura that the medallion exuded. In his time in Mount Kunlun, he had seen many powerful weapons and objects but none exuded such a terrifying aura of power.
"This is the Flaming Medallion," Huo said and grinned. "No one has seen this medallion for more than eight hundred thousand years. You really are lucky to be able to gaze at such a marvelous object; thousands of swordsmen, immortals and kings have been searching for it for hundreds of thousands of years."
Huo placed the medallion on the roundtable. He then sat on a chair and smoked his pipe. Grand puffs of smoke curled around his head. After a moment of silence, Huo spoke. "Do you want to hear the story of this medallion?"
It was already late at night and there was going to be a storm. Jing and Yao knew that they had to stay in the village for the night and were more relaxed now that the medallion was under their protection. As such, they nodded in agreement.
"Good to hear that!" Huo exclaimed. "I love telling stories. Our story begins in the ancient times. A million years ago, the God of War Ma Yuan wanted to face the Demonic Deity. The Demonic Deity was a being of supreme power. The Jade Emperor and the Celestial Court were terrified of its power and had to accept its lordship. Ma Yuan was among the few who could not put up with the tyranny of that evil creature. So, he went to the Mountain of a Thousand Flames and used its Holy Lava to forge a magic medallion of immense power. He then channeled all his vast internal energy into the gleaming red stone you see on the medallion. This combination of the Holy Lava and the internal energy of the God of War made the Flaming Medallion the all-powerful object it is today. Ma Yuan used this medallion to obliterate the Demonic Deity. He then hid the medallion and soon after died due to his wounds."
"How did the medallion fall in the hands of Yi Hong?" Jing asked.
Huo smiled. "Now, that is a good question! Two hundred thousand years after the obliteration of the Demonic Deity, a young immortal named Ye Guang discovered that remnants of the spirit of the Demonic Deity had managed to survive. Those remnants overtook his body. Overnight, his powers increased a thousandfold. He inherited most of the extraordinary powers of the Demonic Deity and cultivated them. With his powers being beyond the imagination of even the Jade Emperor, Ye Guang was no longer content with being a mere immortal. He raised an army of undead, rose in revolt against the Celestial Court and took the mantle of Dark Lord. He wreaked havoc on Heavens and Earth, killing many immortals and millions of mortals. It was then when a young hero emerged; he was the son of poor peasants and his name was Yi Hong. An immortal found out that the boy had the potential to be an unparalleled martial hero. The Celestial Court and the Orthodox Sects provided him with the best teachers. Soon enough, he had become a legendary swordsman. He scored many victories against the underlings of the Dark Lord, yet his powers still couldn''t compare to those of the Dark Lord."
"So he used the Flaming Medallion and Heavenly Sword against the Dark Lord?" Yao asked.
"Indeed. The Flaming Medallion had been hidden somewhere in the Mountain of a Thousand Flames by Ma Yuan as he knew that if it fell into the wrong hands, its powers could shatter the entire world. Yi Hong managed to find the Medallion. He also used this chance to forge another magic weapon; he used the Holy Lava, the Stone of Supreme Power which had been given to him by the Jade Emperor and his own internal energy to forge the Heavenly Sword. Armed with those two weapons, he faced in single combat the Dark Lord in a duel that is now the stuff of legends. Thousands of poets and singers, both immortal and mortal, have recounted this battle. Each time their swords clashed, an earthquake shook the entire human realm and demolished thousands of cities. Each time their internal energies clashed, mighty tsunamis rose, the ground cracked and tornadoes ravaged whole countries. Eventually, Yi Hong slew the Dark Lord after a duel lasting six days. The whole world lay in ruins in the aftermath of that duel but the Dark Lord and his evil forces had been defeated. After this duel, Yi Hong disappeared along with the Flaming Medallion and Heavenly Sword. No one knows what happened to him. Now, eight hundred thousand years later, the Flaming Medallion has once again appeared."
"Elder, do you know how this medallion can be used?" Jing asked.
Huo sighed. "Unfortunately, I do not. The texts do not mention anything about how either Ma Yuan or Yi Hong used the medallion. During those few weeks it has been in my possession, I have studied it thoroughly. Yet, I have not found a way to use it. It is kind of ironic, isn''t it? We have possibly the most powerful object to have ever been created in our hands and we do not know how to use it."
Huo smoked his pipe for a moment and then said, "It is late and it is raining heavily. It is better if you stay here for the night. You can sleep in the restroom."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"Thank you for your kindness," Yao said. "We will not bother you. We will leave early in the morning."
Huo laughed. "No need to be so polite. You are not burdensome. It''s been a long time since I last had some company, so I do not mind lodging you in my house for a night."
The rain poured down over the village with a roar. The sound of emptiness was disrupted by the loud gregarious boom of thunder. The howl and beating rain were loud and the two Kunlun disciples had a hard time trying to fall asleep. Jing was thinking about the story Elder Huo told him. He could picture in his mind the noble and fearsome Yi Hong battling with the despicable Dark Lord. ''That would truly be a sight to behold.''
A loud scream was suddenly heard. It was the kind of scream that made your blood run cold. The scream tore through Jing like a great shard of glass. His eyes widened and pulse quickened. Adrenaline surged through his veins. He shot up from his bed; so did Yao.
"What happened?" Jing asked.
"Don''t know," Yao replied. "Let''s take a look."
Before they left the room, Jing grabbed the medallion. They had been keeping it in the room with them in order to ensure its safety. They opened the room''s door and walked into the hall. The flickering light of a candle illuminated the hall just enough to see by. As they were taking slow steps forward, the two men saw a trail of blood leading outside the house.
"Elder Huo?" Jing whispered.
"Let''s get out of here right now!" Yao said. "This place is not safe anymore!"
As they rushed out of the house, they saw a sight that terrified them. A man, if he could be called a man, was holding by the throat Elder Huo. The man was dressed in a black robe. His face was deathly pale and awfully scarred; it was as if every bone on his face had been cracked and mended back together a thousand times. Blood dripped from his eyes. With a swift move, he strangled Huo and threw away his lifeless body.
"You shall not escape!" he said with his deep voice.
Jing''s face became ashen white. He was trembling in fear. His heart beat fast; he could almost hear its tumultuous thudding. Jing was brave and rarely got scared but he had never before seen such a terrifying person; his scars, the blood dripping from his eyes, his voice ¨C everything about him was scary.
"Who¡are you?" Jing asked.
"I am the Demon of Doom, servant of the Dark Lord Ye Guang."
"The Dark Lord is dead!" Jing shouted. "What do you want?"
The Demon smiled. "He will soon be revived. As for what I want¡ the medallion and your life!"
The Demon channeled his internal energy into his right hand and then used it to create a bolt of fire. With a swift move, he threw it at Jing. Jing was barely able to dodge the bolt. The Demon then channeled his internal energy into a lightning bolt and threw it at Yao. Yao used his internal energy to create a shield around him and block the bolt.
"You have mastery of the internal energy¡" the Demon said. "But it will not save you!"
The Demon unsheathed his sword; it was a longsword made from the bones of beasts of the underworld. It was thus known as the ''Skeletal Sword''. It exuded an aura of death and coldness. Jing and Yao both unsheathed their swords and charged forward. The Demon easily parried their attacks. With a swift move, he slashed downwards Yao''s chest. He then stabbed him on the shoulder. As his sword pierced through Yao''s flesh, Yao cried out and fainted. Jing was left on his own. Jing lunged forward with the speed of the wind and slashed at the Demon with overwhelming force. The Demon parried the first attack but then Jing stabbed him in the chest. To Jing''s utmost surprise, the Demon did not feel anything. He grabbed Jing by the hair and threw him on the ground. He then walked slowly towards him, with Jing''s sword still stabbed on his chest.
A pale Jing shouted, "Why don''t you die?!"
The Demon laughed. "Because I am already dead. You cannot kill the dead."
With the Demon approaching him, Jing had no time to contemplate what he would do next. He would simply do whatever came to his mind at that moment. Having heard about the spectacular powers of the Flaming Medallion, using it was the first idea that came to his mind. He grabbed the medallion and channeled his internal energy in it; nothing happened. With the Demon being right in front of him, Jing wore the medallion around his neck; he hoped that this time the medallion would unleash its powers. It did not. The Demon grabbed Jing by the hair, lifted him up and stabbed him right through his heart with his skeletal sword. Jing vomited blood and instantly died. His last thoughts were on his clan and his teacher and how he had failed them; he had failed to get justice for his parents and brothers. He had failed to return the medallion to his teacher. He had failed.
Darkness. Numbness. Chillness. Jing couldn''t see or hear anything. He was sure that he was dead yet if he was dead, how could he still contemplate? That was the question that troubled him. ''I¡feel strange,'' he thought. ''I feel a warmness surging inside me. I¡.feel very warm¡. It is hot¡.very hot.''
And then there was light; blinding light. Jing''s eyes hurt. He closed them. When he opened his eyes a moment later, he found himself looking at a roof. He was lying on a bed, covered in a white sheet. He was naked; and so was the young woman that was sleeping with him. Jing blushed and felt flustered.
"What happened?" he asked. "Am I dead or not?"
Suddenly a flush of memories flooded his mind. His head ached and he was barely able to keep himself from screaming. He was seeing the memories of a young person; that young person was apparently himself. His name was Cheng Yuan and he was twenty-three years old. He was the son of Cheng Wang, Governor of White City, a huge metropolis of the Jia Dynasty. Yuan made full use of his riches and high status; he lived the life of a playboy, flirting with women and then dumping them, forcing women to sleep with him, hiring experts to beat up or even kill those who opposed him. Jing felt disgusted with this man, and even more disgusted with the fact that apparently somehow his spirit had reincarnated in the body of such a lowlife scum. Jing, or rather Yuan now, knew that if someone was reincarnated, he would lose all memories of his past life. Yet, he remembered everything about his past life as Yang Jing.
"Why did I have to be reincarnated in the body of a scum?" he said aloud.
The woman sleeping beside him woke up and asked, "Does Master want to have some more fun?"
"I¡"
Instead of replying, Yuan got up from his bed and quickly dressed. He then remembered where exactly he was; in the Wu Brothel. During his previous life, he had never before visited a brothel, much less seen a naked woman. He had vowed to devote himself to seeking justice for his clan and cultivating immortality on Mount Kunlun. Yet here he was now in the company of a naked woman.
"No¡ Thanks for the offer but¡.I have a job to take care of!" Yuan frantically said. The whole situation was awkward for him. As he was about to leave, he remembered the medallion. ''What happened to it?'' he thought. He looked around and saw that the medallion was actually on the floor. He quickly picked it up and placed it in his pocket. ''How exactly did the medallion come here?'' he wondered. He was confused as to how the medallion suddenly appeared in this room but at the same time he felt happy and let out a sigh of relief. ''It is good that the medallion has not fallen in the hands of that Demon. I now need to find a way to go to Mount Kunlun and give the medallion to Teacher. Once I accomplish this task, I can go seek justice for my clan. My new identity as son of Governor Cheng Wang may be helpful in getting me into the palace.''
As Yuan was about to leave, suddenly a man barged into the room. That man was a middle-aged Buddhist monk; his clean shaved head and yellow robe indicated as much. He spotted a black mustache and beard. He wasn''t tall but he was sturdy and was holding a wooden staff. Yuan couldn''t help but find the whole situation funny. He smiled and asked, "What is a Buddhist monk doing in a brothel?"
"Beating you up!" the monk barked. He then charged at Yuan with his staff. The woman, seeing the scene, screamed loudly and rushed out of the room. Yuan tried to defend himself but as he moved swiftly his hand, his back suddenly ached. It seemed that Cheng Yuan, unlike Yang Jing, was neither a martial warrior nor a cultivator. Yuan damned the moment he had reincarnated in such a useless body.
The staff hit Yuan on the head. Before Yuan could react, the monk hit him again; this time on the chest. His chest became bruised and he cried out. He swiftly bowed and cried, "Please, show mercy!"
"Bastard!" the monk barked. "Did you show any mercy to the women you forced to sleep with you or the men you killed because they stood up to you?"
Yuan had to admit that he hadn''t shown any mercy towards either men or women. But he wasn''t the one who had committed all those terrible acts; it was the old Yuan. How could Yuan explain to the monk that he wasn''t actually the old Yuan but rather Yang Jing reincarnated in the body of Cheng Yuan? And would the monk believe him? Most likely not, so he instead pleaded for the monk''s forgiveness. "Please, I want to turn over a new leaf. Spare me! I will never bully anyone again!"
The monk thought about it for a moment. On the one hand, Cheng Yuan was lowlife bastard who used his wealth and high status to bully people. On the other hand, he was a Buddhist monk and did not like killing. If someone like Yuan repented and became virtuous, wouldn''t it be even better than him simply killing him? While the monk was thinking about this, Yuan was frantically kowtowing.
"Alright." the monk said. "I will give you two choices: the first is to follow the path of virtue and become a Buddhist monk. You will join the Lingjiu Monastery."
Yuan was disappointed. He did not have the resolve nor the time for joining a Buddhist monastery. He had to hurry to Mount Kunlun and deliver to Elder Rong the Flaming Medallion. If what the Demon said about the revival of the Dark Lord was true, then there was no time to lose. He also had to seek justice for his clan. "What is the second option?" Yuan asked.
"To be castrated!"
Yuan gulped. "What?"
"It''s your choice."
"Well¡I will follow the path of Buddha."
The monk smiled. "Excellent. Glad to see that you plan to follow the path of virtue. I will be following you to the Monastery to make sure that you adhere to your decision, however. So do not delude yourself that you can fool me."
"It is great that you will be coming with me. I will have great company!" Yuan sarcastically said and forced a smile. "How may I address you?"
"Abbot Hwang."
Chapter 5 – Ambush
Abbot Hwang and Yuan walked in the dense forest of bamboo and trees. Myriad leaves glistened brightly. Even more leaves lay scattered on the forest floor. The air was moist and hazy. The scenery was majestic and in other circumstances, Yuan would have taken time to appreciate it. Yet, being forced into a Buddhist monastery, he was in no mood for sightseeing. Abbot Hwang, on the other hand, was joyous. He was smiling and singing.
"What is so joyous?!" Yuan finally snapped.
Hwang laughed. "Leading someone evil to the path of virtuousness is always joyous."
Yuan sighed. ''I lose so much time in following a stupid monk when I should be heading to Mount Kunlun!'' he thought. ''If the Dark Lord is awakened and the Orthodox Sects do not have the Flaming Medallion needed to face him, it will be his fault. Not to say that I will not be able to kill that bastard Emperor and get justice!''
"You know," Hwang said, "the path to repentance is a difficult one. I applaud you for trying to turn over a new leaf for it will be an arduous task to do so. In the monastery, you will have to chant scripts for six hours every day, copy holy texts, sweep the temple''s floor and cook and much more. If you follow the instructions of your elders, you might attain enlightenment in eighty or ninety years."
"Ninety years?!" Yuan repeated. "Ninety years?!"
Hwang grinned. "What? Did you expect to join the monastery for a year or two and then return to a life of pleasure? No! In order to repent, you will have to spend your entire life in that monastery. Make no mistake; all of the monks there are martial arts experts, so do not expect to be able to flee nor will anyone have the guts to save you."
''Damn!'' Yuan thought. ''This damn monk will single-handedly doom the entire world. I do hope that the Flaming Medallion is not needed anytime soon¡''
"Praise Him!" a voice was heard saying.
"Who is talking?" Yuan asked.
Hwang shushed him. "Do not talk," he whispered. "Follow me."
Hwang and Yuan stealthily moved forward. They saw that a man was sitting on the ground, bowing towards the north. Before he could see them, they took cover behind a large tree. The man was chanting some weird prayer; "Praise the Dark Lord. May He come to liberate our souls. May He come to cleanse this dirty world. May He come to destroy the old. May He come to put an end to all sins. Praise the Dark Lord!"
The man then got up and walked away. Jing was baffled by this man''s prayers. Hwang was contemplating about it. He looked worried.
"Who was he?" Yuan asked.
"I¡."
Hwang paused for a moment. He was in disbelief. He took a deep breath. "I''ve heard about the Demonic Cult before but I thought that it had been exterminated hundreds of thousands of years ago. It seems that they are gathering strength once more."
"He is of the Demonic Cult?"
"It seems so. The Demonic Cult was a cult of fanatics who believed that the world was corrupt and sinful; that all life was impure. They wanted the destruction of the entire world and the extermination of mankind. They thought that the only way they could achieve this was by reviving the Dark Lord Ye Guang. Only he can destroy the entire world. I thought that they had all been killed and that the Cult was extinct, but it seems I was wrong."
The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Elder Rong was gazing at the pond with its flowering lily pads. Birds chirped. The fragrance of flowers filled the air. It was truly a beautiful day! Yet Rong was in no mood to appreciate it. Yao and Jing were supposed to have already returned to Mount Kunlun but neither of them had shown up. ''Where are they?'', he wondered. He was anxious and afraid that something unfortunate may have befallen them. Yang Jing was his first disciple in more than twenty thousand years. He had shown both great promise in martial arts and the understanding of the Daoist texts as well as filial piety and respect towards his elders. Even though he was against the seeking of revenge, Rong admired Jing''s devotion to seeking justice for his clan against all odds. As such, the elder viewed Jing as if he was his own son.
A disciple rushed to the garden and bowed before Rong. "Elder, Qing Yao has returned and is waiting for you in the Main Hall!"
Rong at once rushed to the Main Hall. He was both joyous to know that Yao and Jing had returned but also anxious to hear if they had been successful in their task. When he entered the hall, Yao bowed before him. Rong noticed his bandaged shoulder. He quickly helped him get up and asked, "What happened?"
"I¡. We¡"
Rong also noticed that Jing was nowhere in the hall. "Where is Jing? What happened to him?"
Yao sighed. "Alas, he did not make it¡."
Rong felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart by a knife. His eyes became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As he blinked, they dripped from his eyelids and slid down his cheeks. He remembered when he first met Jing, when they were training together, when he was teaching him how to meditate. The memories he had of him were sharp and cut right through him. Even the good moments had turned into a knife, piercing his soul. "How? How did this happen?"
Yao sighed. He then recounted how they met Elder Huo, how he presented them the Flaming Medallion and then how they faced that Demon.
"I was stabbed in the shoulder by that Demon and then I fainted. When I woke up the next morning, I was lying on the bed of one of the villagers. He had been kind enough to take me in and bandage my wounds. I then found the lifeless body of Jing, lying on the dirt road. I searched for the medallion but it was nowhere to be found; it seems that the Demon must have taken it."You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Rong suddenly coughed and vomited blood.
"Elder!" Yao cried.
"It''s¡it''s all right," he calmly said. Rong was devastated; not only had his disciple died but the Flaming Medallion was now most likely in the hands of the Demonic Cult. If they found out how to use it or managed to revive the Dark Lord, then the entire world would be doomed.
His face was pale. It was deprived of all emotions. He silently walked out of the hall. He was defeated. He was tired. He felt, for the first time in tens of thousands of years, weak; helpless.
Xiao lay on the grass in the garden. He was sitting beside a peach blossom tree, drinking wine from a jar. He swallowed hard, willing his eyes to remain dry. He was passing by the hall when Yao was recounting his duel with the Demon and had overhead about Jing''s death. He still couldn''t believe it. ''Only a few days ago, he was drinking wine with me¡'' he thought. ''He was so full of life, of energy. He laughed, he joked, he was passionate.''
As minutes passed by, he drank more and more wine. He wanted to get drunk, to forget everything. If a sad man got drunk, then he could forget his pain. He could let go of his worries and escape from this world. Those who are drunk are transferred to a world of dreams, a world where they are free of all worries and of all of their troubles. Jing, of course, knew that this would not bring Jing back to life and that he would have to face his death eventually; yet, he did not want that moment to come now. Xiao and Jing had been best friends for years. Xiao could not simply just accept Jing''s death.
Yao walked towards him. He sat on the grass beside him and said, "Can you give me a jar?"
"Sure!" Xiao said and threw at him a jar of wine.
Yao grabbed it and took deep gulps of wine. "I have to be honest; I did not see eye to eye with Jing. Yet, now that he is dead, I regret some of the words I said to him. He was a good guy. He did not deserve to die!"
"Alas¡ the will of the Heavens is unknown. Man proposes, Heaven disposes!"
Yuan and Abbot Hwang, after almost a whole day of arduous marching, managed at last to reach the monastery. Lingjiu Monastery was surrounded by woods. It had seven main halls and ten other halls around, with several yards around the halls. The monastery was constructed almost exclusively of wood. Columns and lintels supported large and gently curved cyan colored roofs.
As the Abbot and Yuan walked into the monastery, they found it to be surprisingly quiet. There wasn''t a single person to be found.
"Strange..." Hwang remarked.
As they walked forward, they suddenly saw a body lying on the ground. Hwang approached it and examined it; it was an old monk and he was dead. His throat had been slit. Hwang was furious. He clenched his fists. "Damn!", he said and immediately grabbed his wooden staff and got into battle stance. "Who did this?"
"We!" many persons said in unison. Suddenly, tens of men clad in black and armed with swords and knives charged from inside the halls and surrounded the two companions. Yuan gaped in astonishment and fear. If he was still Yang Jing, he would not be afraid. But now he was Cheng Yuan; a young playboy with no physical strength or internal cultivation at all. He did not have a chance at defending himself. He could only hope that the monk would protect him from those thugs.
Hwang could see that inside the halls, there were the littered bodies of tens of monks. "I will kill all of you!" the monk barked and charged at the enemies with his staff. With a swift move, he cracked open the head of a man. He then kicked another man; when that man cried out in pain, Hwang used the chance to put his stuff into his open mouth and with a swift move defang him. Teeth and blood fell on the ground and the man fainted. Another man tried to slash Hwang with his sword but the monk somersaulted, landed behind him and strangled him with his staff. A thug then tried to stab him but Hwang kicked him in the groin. At that moment another thug struck at him; he slashed the monk across his back. Hwang quickly turned around and hit as hard as he could the man''s throat with his staff. The thug instantly died.
At the same time, two thugs charged at Yuan. "I do not know to fight!" he cried out. They did not seem to care. They slashed at him and Yuan was barely able to dodge their swords. A third thug then charged at him and slashed his chest. Thankfully for Yuan, the cut was not too deep. Yuan fell on the ground and tried to crawl away. Another sword then came at him; Yuan rolled to the right, trying to avoid the sword. ''Will I die once more?'', he thought. As he was rolling, he inhaled dirt and coughed. Suddenly, another thug charged at him and stabbed his right leg. Yuan screamed in pain. As the thug was about to kill Yuan, Hwang charged at him. He struck him with such fury, that his stuff penetrated into the thug''s chest. Hwang then beat up the other three thugs.
"Impressive!" a deep voice said. A man then appeared. He was wearing a long black gown with a long cape. A dark hood and a golden mask hid his face. "Most impressive¡ Excellent martial arts!"
"You are the bastard who ordered this attack?" Hwang shouted.
"Indeed, I am the one who ordered this attack," the man calmly replied. "Though I am no bastard, I can assure you of that."
"Why did you do this? How did Lingjiu Monastery offend you?"
The man laughed. "Oh, they did not. They simply had some herbs which I need for my experiments. Unfortunately, they refused to give them to me so, regrettably, I had to murder them."
"What nerve!" Hwang said. "Who are you that you dare commit such terrible acts? Are you not afraid of the Celestial Court and the Orthodox Sects?"
"Why should I be afraid of them? I am the ''Lord of War''. I am a servant of the Dark Lord Ye Guang. When he is revived, the Celestial Court and the Orthodox Sects shall be eradicated!"
The Lord paused for a moment. He noticed Yuan. He then said, "Men, kill that monk but capture alive that young man. He seems to be exactly the type of person I need for my experiments."
Hwang chanted a Buddhist prayer. There were tears in his eyes. "And so, I die¡"
He then made one last heroic charge. He knew that he was going to die and as such nothing held him back anymore. He fought valiantly, caring little for his life. He was like a wounded wild beast; doomed to die but not giving up. Tens of thugs were beaten up to death by him. One such man, before being killed, managed to break in half the monk''s stuff with his sword. Without a weapon, the monk now had to fight with his bare hands. A thug tried to stab him, but he dodged the attack and then struck out quickly at his opponent''s eyes with the index and middle fingers of his right hand and gouged them out. Another man attacked him, but Hwang fly kicked his throat, killing him. He then picked a rock from the ground and used it to crack open the head of another thug. It was then when a thug cut the monk''s right hand with his sword. Hwang roared. He grabbed the man by the throat with his left hand and strangled him. As he was strangling him, Hwang was being slashed by other thugs. He screamed in pain.
The Lord walked towards him. He unsheathed a small knife and pointed it at his face. "You are going to die!" he said and stabbed Hwang''s forehead. Blood poured all over the monk''s face. His wide-open eyes terrified everyone. He looked like a ghost.
"I¡"
He vomited blood. "I¡ will¡"
Hwang then collapsed on the ground. The Lord kicked the monk''s lifeless body. "This is for the casualties you caused me. You shall be cut in a thousand pieces and shall be fed to the dogs. You will not rest in peace!"
Yuan clenched his teeth. Tears dripped from his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Although he had been fighting and arguing with this monk, Yuan knew that he was a righteous and noble person. He did not deserve to be killed, especially by scum like the Lord and his Demonic Cult.
Two thugs grabbed Yuan and threw him at the feet of the Lord. He was far too exhausted and powerless to put up a fight. The Lord examined closely Yuan. "You will have a bright future," he said. "If you survive my experiments, that is..."
"What experiments?"
The Lord laughed. "Oh, you are soon to find out."
He then hit Yuan on the head, knocking him out. "Men!" he barked. "Take him to the cave. Make sure nothing happens to him. I do not want my test subject to be damaged."
The Journals of Charles Dahl #1 - Imperial Luxury
Charles Dahl was a writer, poet, and traveler from Swagen. His journals regarding his journeys in the Jia Dynasty are of great interest as his acute observations provide an insight into the culture of this civilization:
Journal #1 - Imperial Luxury
The Jia Dynasty is a highly centralized state. Everything revolves around the Emperor. He is not considered to be a simple human being but rather the Son of Heaven. He has the Mandate of the Jade Emperor to rule over all humans. All those that stand against him thus stand against the Heavens. They are not simply traitors but also sinners. Compared to our King in Swagen, the Emperor of the Jia Dynasty has near absolute powers, at least in theory. In reality, however, the powers of an Emperor depend upon his competence. A weak Emperor can be dominated by his court. The officials with the most influence are the Chancellor and the Supreme Commander. The first post is usually given to eunuchs, though this time it has been given to a fellow named Cao, a wicked man. The post of Supreme Commander has been held for decades by members of the Yang Clan, a famous family of martial artists renown for their martial prowess.
The state is governed by an officialdom of highly educated bureaucrats. They gain office by successfully passing the Imperial Examinations. Those cultured men, unfortunately, spend a lot of their time forming factions and bickering with one another instead of trying to cure the ills of the state. Sycophants and conspirators are the ones who rise to the top while conscientious and moral officials are delegated to the provinces, exiled from the court where all decisions are taken. I''ve seen with my own eyes men of influence and wealth bribing officials in order to push their agenda in the court. Many officials have thus amassed huge fortunes and live more luxuriously than even our own King in Swagen. But their wealth cannot compare to that of the Emperor.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
The luxury and, indeed, the decadence of the court is famous around the continent. There is more gold in the Imperial Capital than in all other forty richest cities combined. The Palace is a gigantic structure fortified by gargantuan walls. Its halls are decorated with gold, silver and the finest jewels and gems of the continent. Every year each province sends its finest products, whether silk, jewels or precious stones, as tribute to the court. The Emperor and his chief officials participate frequently in festive banquets, where they are served the finest wine and the most exquisite and delicious dishes. I''ve seen it with my own eyes. I was called to one such banquet by the Minister of Public Works, a friend of my family. I couldn''t believe my eyes at the luxury I saw nor could I imagine the pleasure that each dish would bring to me. Tens of girls, all young, most beautiful and agile, danced before us accompanied by the soothing sound of zither music. Their dance was mesmerizing and I was convinced that I was at the Celestial Court, for indeed such pleasures are divine.
Speaking of pleasures, the Emperor has more than one thousand concubines, all of them considered the greatest beauties of the realm. Their beauty is as renown as the Emperor''s depravity. He prefers spending his time with those concubines than with dealing with matters of the court. For all the luxury and decadence that initially clouded my judgment, on taking a closer look I could see that the dynasty is in peril. Once I left behind the capital, I could see in the villages I passed through the misery and poverty of the people. They were all weeping about the high taxation and corruption of the officials. It was then when I realized how the divine pleasures accorded to the Emperor and his court were paid for. The foundations of the Jia Dynasty, for all its glory, are rotten.
Chapter 6 – Blood Brothers
"Yi Hong!" Yuan heard someone shouting.
Images of war suddenly flashed to his mind; the rolling thunder of war drums, thousands of roaring men unsheathing their swords and charging at the enemy, arrows enclosing the sky and covering the sun. Leading the men was a young warrior, most handsome and valiant. Suddenly, an arrow pierced through his armor and into his chest. He ignored the pain and continued his charge when two more arrows pierced his chest. "I will not go down like this! Charge!". He and his troops charged right at the center of the enemy formation. A brutal infantry battle ensued. Soldiers fought on top of thousands of dismembered bodies. Heads, hands, chests, even eyes and ears were lying on the ground, all covered in blood. The soldiers on both sides fought their enemies with any weapon they could get their hands on. They slashed with their swords, pierced with their spears, used rocks to break the head of their enemies. Some even fought with their bare hands. The young warrior leading the charge was massacring tens of enemy soldiers; blood dripped from his blade. He was sweating and bleeding. "We are winning!" he roared and his troops cheered.
Yuan suddenly felt as if someone had slapped him. He woke up. This battle was just a dream. He had no idea why he dreamed of Yi Hong; not that he cared that much considering the situation he was in. Yuan found himself chained and lying on a flat rock. It was pretty uncomfortable and his back was scratched to the point that it was bleeding. The Lord was looking at him, holding a jar.
"At last, you have awakened!" the Lord said. "You had been unconscious for hours. We can now begin the experiment."
"What? What are you talking about? What experiment?" Yuan frantically asked.
The Lord laughed. "You see, the Orthodox Sects and the Celestial Court have a numerical advantage over us. It will not be fair if we do not level the playing field, right? How will I do this, you ask?"
The Lord paused for a moment and grabbed a pill from inside the jar. "By creating super soldiers; that''s how we will address that problem. Imagine if every follower of the Demonic Cult had the powers of someone who had cultivated immortality and trained in martial arts for decades. Can you imagine how the Orthodox Sects would fare against such warriors? Of course, in order to ensure the safety of our followers, I first need to test my pills. This is where you come in."
The Lord then forced Yuan to swallow the pill.
"What did you feed me?!" Yuan shouted.
"It is a pill that will cleanse your blood," the Lord replied. "Do not worry; this is only the beginning. You still have many pills to try. If you are lucky enough, you may survive. If not, you will end up like all other test subjects."
"What happened to them?"
"The lucky ones were disfigured so much that they do not resemble anything like a human anymore. But, at the very least, they are still alive and sane. As for the unlucky ones, some lost their sanity, others killed themselves and more than a few died a grueling death due to the pills. But do not worry; I am sure that this time the pills are going to work."
The Lord then began laughing like a madman. His laughter echoed throughout the room.
The entire plain was frozen. A thick layer of snow covered the ground. The wind howled. In the middle of this frozen landscape was a tall black tower, which dominated the area. Standing atop the tower was a young man. He was wearing a long black gown and cape. A hood hid his face. White flakes whirled around the man, who was looking at the endlessness of the vast horizon. That man was known only as Young Master Deng.
The Demon of Doom approached Deng and bowed before him. "Greetings, Young Master," the Demon said.
Deng turned around and asked, "Did you get the Flaming Medallion?"
The Demon hesitated to reply. "I¡"
"I asked a simple question; did you get the medallion?"
The Demon bowed. "I am sorry, Young Master. I''ve failed you. I did not get the medallion."
Deng grabbed the Demon by the neck and began strangling him. "Care to explain to me how this happened?"
"I¡this¡"
The Demon could barely breathe and struggled to answer. Deng thus released him from his grip and threw him on the floor. The Demon coughed and took deep breaths.
"Young Master, when I killed Yang Jing the medallion suddenly vanished. It must be some kind of magic; there is no other explanation."
"I do not care about your excuses, Demon!" Deng barked. "You better find the medallion and bring it to me soon. Mobilize all the resources the Demonic Cult has. Use whatever method is necessary. I do not care how you do it, but bring me this medallion. Otherwise, I will make you wish you could die."
"I will not fail you!"
"I do hope so¡ I will be leaving now. When I return, you better have the medallion; for your sake!"
Yuan had to admit that he was feeling much more energetic than before. His blood had been cleansed thanks to the pill the Lord gave him. The flow of his blood was much faster than before and the Qi in his blood became abundant. His body was now much stronger. This was the first step in the road towards cultivation. Whereas most cultivators would reach this point through meditation and drawing in the Qi of the natural world, this pill allowed Yuan to skip all this process. It was, of course, dangerous for someone to attempt to skip that process and the pill could have killed Yuan. That was the reason the Lord wanted to test it before giving it to his own followers. Thankfully for Yuan, the pill worked and neither killed him nor caused any side effects.
The Lord was examining Yuan all this time, impetuous to see if his experiment had succeeded.
"I told you it would work," the Lord said. "Now do hope that you continue to be as lucky because we are not over yet."
"Why are you doing this?" Yuan asked. "Why would you want to revive the Dark Lord? Do you really want to see the whole world destroyed?"
"Oh yes, very much so. This world we live in is one that is corrupt, impure, sinful. It cannot be saved. It cannot be remedied. It can only be destroyed. It can burn in the fire of our righteous flames. Only then can the souls of those pure in heart be saved. The next world will be one of abundance, honesty, righteousness. Those who are pure in heart shall live in that world. In order for this new world to be born, the old one must be destroyed. There is only one person who can destroy the entire world; the Dark Lord. Thus, we shall revive him so we can put an end to this sad joke and herald a new era of prosperity and righteousness."
Yuan couldn''t believe what he was hearing. Those people were literally advocating for the extermination of mankind and the destruction of the entire world. They were not some power hungry villains wanting absolute power or riches. They were madmen who wanted only death and destruction.
The Lord could see in Yuan''s face his surprise and anger. "Do you know why I wear this mask all the time?" the Lord asked. "Not because I like it, but because I want to hide my face. Why would I want to do that? Twenty years ago an Imperial General took a liking to my sister. She didn''t want to have anything to do with him, yet he attempted to take her by force. I tried to stop him. His men arrested me; they tortured me endlessly and burned my face with hot molten iron. They... disfigured me. I looked more like a monster than a human. This man is still alive and enjoys his wealth. I still suffer. Do you think that a world in which the powerful torment the weak, the sinners enjoy themselves and those of pure heart suffer is a world worth surviving? I say that we burn down this world! Burn the unjust, burn the sinners, destroy the injustice! Then, a new world shall be heralded; a world of justice!"Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
The Lord paused for a moment before speaking again. "But enough talking!". He then grabbed Yuan by the hair and forced him to swallow a worm.
Yuan coughed. He was disgusted. He thought that he might vomit. "Why did you feed me that worm?"
"It is a ''thought worm''," the Lord replied. "It will allow me to control your actions. You see, if the experiment does succeed, you will be powerful enough to break your chains and possibly kill everyone in this facility. That would be bad, wouldn''t it? This worm will make sure that no such thing happens."
He then grabbed from inside a jar a yellow pill and fed it to Yuan. "This pill shall rapidly increase your physical strength. Your body shall become muscled and your internal energy will be cultivated to the level of that of a low ranking immortal. You better hope that this time the pill works; last time I tested it, it shattered all the internal organs of my test subject. You can imagine how gruesome such a death can be, right?"
Yuan''s heart raced at tremendous speeds, and his lungs shallowly rose and fell in time. He was scared that this time he would be out of luck and die for good.
Elder Rong was silently gazing at the garden''s pond. His eyes glazed over blankly. From some distance, Masters Yi and Zhang were observing him. He had been like this for days. He cared neither for the sect''s affairs nor about anything else. He hadn''t spoken a single word in days. Both Masters were heartbroken to see their Grandmaster in such a situation. They sighed and hoped that he would become once again resolute like he once was. Otherwise, Mount Kunlun Sect would be doomed.
"The death of Yang Jing affected him greatly," Master Yi commented.
Master Zhang nodded in agreement. "This and the loss of the Flaming Medallion were too much to bear. Not only he lost his disciple, but he blames himself for the loss of the medallion."
"Something must be done!" Yi said. "The Sect has many affairs which cannot be postponed. Someone must make decisions and oversee those affairs."
At that moment, Yao arrived in the garden. He bowed before the two Masters and said, "Greetings Masters."
"At last you are here!" Zhang said. "You have been gone for more than a week. Did you bring the sea pearl?"
"Yes," Yao replied and presented a large and luminous sea pearl to the two Masters.
"Good!" Yi said. "Elder Rong, since he was young, always loved sea pearls. Hopefully, this will lighten up a bit his mood. Go present it to him."
Yao nodded in approval. He then headed towards Elder Rong. He bowed before him and said, "Greeting! Student Yao wishes to present Elder a gift."
To Yao''s dismay, Rong did not reply. He did not even look at the young disciple. Instead, he simply sighed.
"It is a sea pearl. I hope that you will accept this gift."
Rong, without taking a single look at Yao or the pearl, simply walked away. Yao was left bowing alone in the garden, not knowing what to do next. Masters Yi and Zhang rushed there and helped him get up.
"I¡did not-" Yao tried to apologize.
"It''s not your fault," Master Yi said. "You did your best to lighten up the mood of Elder Rong. Unfortunately, he was severely affected by the recent events."
"Something must be done, Brother Yi," Master Zhang said. "We cannot simply let Sect affairs go unmanaged."
"May I propose an idea?" Yao asked.
"Sure," Yi said.
"Why don''t you two Masters manage the affairs of the Sect until Elder Rong gets better?"
Yi and Zhang thought about this proposal for a moment. On the one hand, they did not have the authority to make decisions without Elder Rong''s approval and they certainly did not want to be perceived as using the Elder''s situation to their advantage. On the other hand, Sect affairs could not be left unhandled and Mount Kunlun needed firm leadership.
"Maybe this is the only solution," Yi said and sighed. Zhang nodded in agreement.
A week had passed since Yuan had been fed the pill by the Lord. Both his physical strength and his internal energy had increased substantially during this time. His body became more muscled and tough. His internal energy was now similar to that of low ranking immortals; he had reached Level 9 of Soul Formation. There did not seem to be any side-effects either. ''Maybe this crazy guy has really figured a way to create super-soldiers,'' Yuan thought. This thought both joyed him and terrified him. On the one hand, he wasn''t going to die. On the other hand, now the Demonic Cult could gain the advantage if they managed to produce enough such pills.
The Lord walked into the room at that moment. In his hands was the Flaming Medallion. Without taking his sight from it he said, "This medallion¡exudes a powerful aura. Where did someone like you got an object of such power? What object is this?"
"I don''t know," Yuan lied. "It was given to me by an old man."
"Well, you are going to answer my question whether you like it or not. The ''thought worm'' shall guarantee that."
The Lord then channeled his internal energy into Yuan, trying to awake the worm. "What is this object?" he asked.
No reply came. The Lord was stunned. He clenched his fists and roared in anger. "Why are you not obeying me?"
If the ''thought worm'' was still alive, Yuan would indeed have obeyed the Lord. However, the pill that the Lord fed Yuan with had killed the worm. Seeing that Yuan could not be controlled, the Lord was determined to kill him to avoid any troubles. He had already tested most of his pills and had found out that they were successful. There was no need in risking an escape. So, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Yuan.
Yuan panicked. His heart was racing, his brain on fire, adrenaline levels rose. Yuan felt hot, it was if his blood was boiling. Suddenly, he screamed and channeled all his internal energy into his hands. Swiftly, he broke his chains and got up. As the Lord tried to stab him, Yuan grabbed his right hand, with which he was holding the sword, and he twisted it. The Lord cried in pain and let go of his sword.
"Guards!" he shouted. Yuan instantly grabbed him by the neck and strangled him to death. After he killed him, Yuan grabbed his sword and the medallion and rushed out of the room. He realized that the facility was inside a cave. As he made his way out of the cave, two guards dressed in black attacked him. He dodged their swords and then approached one of the men. He stabbed his sword through the chest of the guard, killing him. His blood spilled on the ground. Before the other guard could react, Yuan slashed him across his chest. The cut was deep and the man collapsed on the ground; dead.
"Where is the entrance of the cave?" he wondered. He decided to follow a route to his left. It led him to a room. There a man was held in chains in the same way he was. Two guards were interrogating that man. He was a bit short but muscular and boasting a long well-groomed beard. He was wearing a helmet made of iron and a mail shirt. Yuan barged into the room and quickly killed the two bewildered guards. The prisoner was surprised to see Yuan and gasped in astonishment.
"Hey!" the prisoner said. "Free me!"
"Who are you? Why should I free you?"
"I am Asger Harald. My homeland is in the far north. I lived in the Kingdom of Swagen. I came to the Jia Dynasty along with Prince Alfred as a bodyguard. Unfortunately, we were ambushed by those people. They then brought us here. I am the only survivor."
"Why did they ambush you?" Yuan asked.
"I don''t know. They talked some nonsense about a ring of ice or something like that. They thought that the Prince owned that ring."
Yuan knew that despite his prowess, he would still need help if he was to escape. He did not trust this Harald but he needed whatever help he could get at the moment. So with a swift move, he broke his chains.
Freed from his chains, Harald grabbed an axe that lay upon a table. The axe head had a crescent-shaped edge and was inlaid with silver designs. Armed with this axe he said, "I know how to get out of this cave. Follow me."
Harald and Yuan left behind the room and began making their way out of the cave. As they ran forward, a group of guards attempted to stop their escape. Yuan and Harald made short work of them; they charged with the force of an avalanche. Harald massacred them with his axe. Yuan gashed them with his sword. Blood dripped from their weapons. The light of the day illuminated the entrance of the cave. As they ran towards it, the light got brighter. When they got out of the cave, they felt as if they would be blinded. They hadn''t seen the light of the sun for many days.
Yuan let out a sigh of relief. He breathed the fresh air and smelled the fragrance of the wildflowers. He gazed at the majestic sight of the sun and appreciated the beauty of nature. ''At last; I am free!'' he thought.
Harald approached him and said, "You saved me even though you did not have to. In my culture, when someone is considered brave and honorable, we offer to become blood brothers. I believe you have earned that honor. Would you want to become my blood brother?"
Yuan thought about it for a moment. Although the Lord''s pills made him physically stronger and allowed him to cultivate his internal energy, he was still lacking compared to his past as Yang Jing. On his way to Mount Kunlun, to give the Flaming Medallion to his teacher, he knew that he would face the Demonic Cult again. Harald had proven that he was a capable warrior and would be a great asset in Yuan''s quest. So, even though he still did not fully trust Harald as he had just met him, he decided to become blood brothers with him.
"I am honored by your request," Yuan said. "I will gladly become a blood brother with you."
"Good!" Harald said. "Very good!"
The two men bowed before the heavens and said in unison: "We, Cheng Yuan and Asger Harald, vow to become brothers. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may heaven and the people of the earth both strike us dead."
This oath reminded Yuan of his oath in his past life before the memorial tablets of his ancestors. He was reminded of that fateful day that his entire life changed. He was reminded of Uncle Luo; what was he doing now, he wondered. He sighed.
"I have nowhere to go now," Harald said. "I have failed in my mission to keep Prince Alfred safe and cannot return back home. I will follow you wherever you go."
"Thank you bother," Yuan replied. "I will need whatever help I can get in my quest to go to Mount Kunlun. I am sure that with your help, I will be successful in my task."
Chapter 7 – Fugitive
The sun shone brightly. Its vibrant rays warmed the day. Yuan and Harald were walking in the bamboo forest. Yuan knew that the journey to Mount Kunlun was going to be a long one. After an hour of walk, Yuan asked Harald to stop for an hour or two in order for him to practice his swordplay. Although the pills the Lord fed him set him on the path to cultivation and his physical strength had increased, he was still less powerful compared to his past life as Yang Jing. The reason for this was that his techniques were still not refined and, although he remembered the sword forms his teacher had taught him, he hadn''t practiced them yet.
Yuan thus began practicing his swordplay. His movements were fast and each one of his moves caused a gust of wind. His sword forms aimed at fast attacks. This made him vulnerable to a possible counterattack, but Yuan was confident that his constant attacks would force his enemies on the defensive and not allow them to attack him. Although he was still lacking compared to his past self, Yuan was making progress and at least he could adequately defend himself now. While Yuan was practicing, Harald was taking a nap below a tall tree. Its shadow shielded him from the bright rays of the sun.
"You evil bastard!" someone shouted.
Yuan turned around and saw that it was a young man wearing a long white gown. He held a sword and pointed it at Yuan. Harald, hearing the noise, woke up; he immediately got up, grabbed his axe and was going to strike at the man when Yuan stopped him.
"How may I have offended you?" Yuan asked the man. "I have no wish to fight with you and I hope that we can solve peacefully any misunderstandings."
"There is no misunderstanding!" the man barked. "You are despicable; you are worse than an animal. Not only did you commit so many crimes, but you also killed Abbot Hwang who was kind enough to spare you. I shall avenge his death!"
"Young hero, please do not accuse me of crimes I have not committed. I have indeed committed despicable crimes in the past but I have turned over a new leaf and once I complete a very important task, I shall seek to compensate anyone hurt by me. But I am not the one who killed Abbot Hwang. While I accept responsibility for crimes I have committed, I cannot accept responsibility for something I have not done. I hope that you will hear my side of the story before resorting to violence."
The man sneered. "You sure are devious. Do you think excuses and sweet words will make me pity you? Do you think I am such an idiot as to believe the lies you spout?"
"You are the one lying!" Harald said. "You better take back your words or I shall cut you to a thousand pieces!"
"Do you think I am afraid of you?!" the man shouted.
"Young hero," Yuan said in his attempt to defuse the situation, "did you see me murder Abbot Hwang? Do you have evidence that I am the one who killed him? Also, you should know that Abbot Hwang was a powerful martial artist. How could I hope to match his skills? If I wasn''t his match, then how could I have killed him?"
"Abbot Hwang had made known that he was going to punish you for your crimes. Many people also saw you together. Shortly thereafter, he was found dead. You may not have killed him, but one of your lackeys surely did. Even if you are telling the truth and you did not kill Abbot Hwang, your past actions are so despicable that you deserve to die."
Yuan sighed. He knew that there was no way to talk this young warrior out of this fight. He had hoped that the man would be persuaded to leave. Yuan did not want to harm him; in fact, he admired him. Although he was stubborn, he was willing to hunt down wicked people and enforce justice. Yuan also agreed with the man that the crimes of the old Cheng Yuan were utterly despicable. Yet, Yuan could not simply allow the man to kill him; he still had a mission to accomplish and justice for his clan to seek. Thus, with a heavy heart, Yuan unsheathed his sword.
He rushed forward and struck at the man with the force of a raging bull. At the same time, Harald attack the man with his axe. The man used his internal energy to create a shield around him. Harald''s axe wasn''t able to get past this shield, but Yuan''s sword cracked it. The man was barely able to block Yuan''s sword with his own blade.
"Good martial arts!" Yuan said.
The man wasn''t sure if being complimented by a ruthless villain was a good thing. He was also surprised by Yuan''s martial artistry. ''Wasn''t this guy a rich playboy who wasted all his time in pursuing girls and feasting?'' he wondered. ''How did he suddenly become a powerful swordsman? How did his internal energy and physical strength become so powerful in such a short timespan?''
Taking advantage of his enemy''s distraction and surprise, Yuan attacked once again. He slashed upwards his sword and followed this attack with two more strikes, this time downwards. Although the man had managed to parry Yuan''s attacks, he knew that he was at a disadvantage; he had been forced on the defensive. Yuan''s strikes became more powerful and swift as time passed. As he was fighting, Yuan remembered the teachings of Elder Rong and used them to hammer down the man. With a swift move, he slashed the man''s right cheek and then kicked him in the chest. The man gasped and fell on the ground. Yuan pointed his sword at the man and said, "You lost. You need to know when to give up."
"I will never give up, you despicable scum!" the man barked.
Yuan laughed. "I admire your resolve. I will let you go. Practice your swordsmanship and sometime in the future we can have a rematch."
"Brother, you are too magnanimous!" Harald said. "If I was in your place, I would beat up this guy so much that he would be unrecognizable. I admire you for your magnanimity."
Yuan smiled. "He isn''t a bad guy. He also shows promise. I see no reason to beat him up or kill him. Let''s go."
As Yuan and Harald turned their backs on the man, he grabbed his sword and struck at them. Hearing his footsteps, Yuan instinctively turned around and stabbed the man with his sword. He let out a cry and died. Blood flowed from his wound. His dead cold eyes stared at Yuan with such intensity that he was terrified. Yuan quickly sheathed his sword and fell on his knees. He clenched his fists and said, "What have I done?" Yuan felt guilty for killing a promising young swordsman who was fighting against injustice.
"Brother, do not feel sad about him," Harald said as he helped Yuan get up. "He brought it upon himself. Although he claimed to be virtuous, he used such a dirty trick."
"Murderer!" someone shouted. Yuan saw that six men, all dressed in the same white gown as the man he had just killed, were rushing at him.
"Cheng Yuan, you bastard!" one of them barked. "Not only did you kill Abbot Hwang, but you also murdered Brother Xi. I will avenge his death! I promise you that!"
"Run!" Yuan said. He and Harald sprinted away. The swordsmen followed closely behind.
"There!" Harald said, pointing at two stallions. "There are two horses."
The two horses were white and of medium size. Nevertheless, they were alert, slender-limbed and muscled. Yuan did not approve of theft but at this point, they did not have much of choice. So, he and Harald jumped onto the horses and left behind the forest and the swordsmen. The thundering of hooves split the silence of the dirt road as the two horses galloped forward.
"Brother, why did we ran away?" Harald asked. "I believe that we could have defeated them."
"Maybe but I did not want to cause any more deaths," Yuan replied. "It is already unfortunate that I killed that young man. Aside from my admiration for his skills and character, I also spared him because I wanted to improve relations with the Orthodox Sects and show them that I truly turned over a new leaf. Now, with him dead and with his fellow disciples convinced that I murdered Abbot Hwang, we will have the Orthodox Sects too coming after us."
Harald smiled. "Let them come! If they dare to show up, I will show them why you should never mess with a Swagen warrior. My axe will slaughter them!"
Yuan laughed. "I like your spirit. You do have to remember though that the Orthodox Sects are our allies. The villains are those of the Demonic Cult. Even if we face in combat swordsmen from the Orthodox Sects, we should show restraint."
In the frozen plains of the north, it was snowing heavily. Atop the black tower was the Demon of Doom. He had been waiting for his underlings to report to him anything that could indicate the location of the medallion. He knew that he did not have the luxury of disappointing Young Master Deng.
A man approached the Demon and bowed before him. "My Lord, I have to report some bad news and some good news to you."
"Tell me!"
"The bad news is that the Lord of War is dead and his facility has been destroyed."
The Demon grabbed by the neck the man and said, "I do hope that you have some pretty good news because otherwise, I will vent my anger on your neck."
"I¡well the good news is that there are some clues regarding the medallion."
The Demon let the man from his hold. "Tell me more about it."
The man took a heavy breath and said, "According to a survivor of the facility, a prisoner there had a medallion which matches exactly the description of the Flaming Medallion. His name seems to be Cheng Yuan."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The Demon smiled. "Good! Cheng Yuan, the entire Demonic Cult is going to be after you. You shall not escape!"
Yuan and Harald were at a countryside inn. The inn had few wooden tables outdoor and only two other costumers. The two friends sat at a table and ordered wine and dishes. The waiter soon brought two jars of wine along with cups and a roasted beef with rice and vegetables. Yuan proceeded to leisurely sip his wine. "Excellent wine!" he said.
"Indeed!" Harald agreed after drinking a cup.
Yuan was reminded of his time on Mount Kunlun, where he and Xiao would drink wine together under the dark night sky. Yuan closed his eyes, letting his mind fill with Xiao''s voice. He could hear him make jokes and laugh. Xiao was a true friend, one of a kind. Those were fun times; he would spend his time training and having fun. Yuan sighed. "Do you sometimes miss your friends?" he asked.
"I do. You know, I have a really good friend back in Swagen. His name is Gabriel. A damn fine warrior he is!". Harald paused for a moment, reminiscing his old friend. "We used to compete who would drink the most jars of wine. I really miss this man..."
"I too had a good friend when I was in Mount Kunlun. Now, I doubt he would even recognize me..."
As the two blood brothers filled their cups with wine, they could hear the other two costumers having a conversation. Yuan discretely began listening to what they were saying. "Have you heard about the Blood Sect?" one of them said.
"That Sect led by a demoness?" the other replied. "I''ve heard that they have been challenging the Orthodox Sects and do not respect the Imperial government either. That demoness is really bold."
"Some say that the Blood Sect has ties to a Demonic Cult or something like that. I''ve heard that those Demons are really evil people."
"I wouldn''t be surprised. Those of the Blood Sect are disrespecting everyone and have no honor. They want to dominate Martial Arts World by every means possible."
Yuan was curious about this demoness and her Sect, but he did not have time to waste. He had to get to Mount Kunlun as fast as possible. "We should get going," he said and left a few coins on the table. Harald grabbed one of the jars to drink on the way and the two blood brothers began making their way to Mount Kunlun.
It was late in the night. Chancellor Cao was in his private quarters. His estate was located only a few miles away from the Imperial Palace.After the death of Yang Wanli, there was no other opponent in the court. Now, he wielded absolute power and could do as he wished. Emperor Kang was merely a puppet; Cao was making sure that he was regularly provided with beautiful women that would keep his attention away from the task of governing. While the Emperor was having fun, Cao was micromanaging affairs of government. That was what he was doing now. He was sitting at his golden desk and reading a report regarding this year''s budget.
All of the sudden, a loud sound was heard. "Greetings, Chancellor!"
Cao instantly got up. There was cold sweat on his forehead. He recognized who the intruder was by his deep voice. "Demon!" he said. "You can come out of the shadows. I know you are here."
For a moment that felt like an eternity to Cao, there was silence. Then the Demon appeared before the Chancellor. "We haven''t met in a long, long time..."
"What is it that you want?" Cao said. "I do not have time to waste."
The Demon chuckled. "You are Chancellor thanks to me. If the Demonic Cult hadn''t assassinated your enemies at the Court, you wouldn''t have reached to the top nor could you have pulled off Yang Wanli''s execution. You owe your success to me. Do not forget that."
"I do not. But do not forget that I am the Chancellor of the Jia Dynasty. I am not some errand boy!" Cao protested.
The Demon unsheathed his Skeletal Sword and pointed at Cao. "You''ve made a deal with me; I would help you become Chancellor and you would further my cause."
"I have already done more than enough! I have supplied you with money I''ve taken from state coffers and got government officials to ignore your Cult''s activities."
"I''ve made you Chancellor and I can unmake you if I want to..."
The tip of the Demon''s sword touched Cao''s neck.
"What are you going to do? Kill me? Here? In my estate? Just a few miles away from the Imperial Palace?"
"Oh, killing you would be boring... I would first cut off your nose. Then, I would slash your cheeks, pull out a few teeth, cut your tongue. Next, I would slowly and painfully castrate you. I guess then I would gouge out your eyes. Do you want me to continue?"
Cao''s face turned pale. He was trembling. "Very well, I see your point..." he resignedly said and sighed. "What do you want?"
"I knew you would see reason!" the Demon said as he sheathed his sword. "I want you to bring me Cheng Yuan, dead or alive. I also want a medallion he has with him. I want you to mobilize all state resources to bring him to me."
Cao gaped in surprise. "Cheng Yuan, son of Cheng Wang? His father is the Governor of White City, one of the largest metropolis of the Empire. On what charges will I persecute him? And what if his father revolts?"
"Do not worry about his father; I will make sure he is assassinated. You can then easily confiscate his property and exterminate his clan in the ensuing chaos. You can charge them and Yuan with intent to usurp the throne."
"I do not understand; why would you care about a rich playboy who fools around? Is he worth all this effort?"
"I do not care about him but about his medallion."
The Demon approached Cao and slowly but emphatically said, "I want you to understand that this medallion means everything to me and my Master. And while I may be forgiving, Young Master Deng most certainly isn''t."
Masters Yi and Zhang were in the Main Hall. They were sitting on their chairs and listening to an envoy sent by the Heaven Sect, one of the four Orthodox Sects. The envoy was a young man wearing a long white gown. His anger was barely concealed. Although he had a calm exterior, the cold stare in his eyes told the truth about the hatred in his heart. His name was Wanyan Li and he was the one who had confronted Yuan, after he had killed Xi. He had told Yuan that he would kill him to avenge his brother''s death. Li meant those words. He managed to persuade his Teacher, Zhe Chang, to organize a campaign to bring Yuan to justice. The other two Orthodox Sects, the Phoenix Sect and the Ma Sect, had already agreed to his request. Now he just had to persuade Mount Kunlun Sect to join this campaign.
"Cheng Yuan has for years used his status and riches to get off with all shorts of crimes," Li said. "Now, he has murdered Abbot Hwang and Brother Xi and his goons may be the ones responsible for the massacre at Lingjiu Monastery. We must eradicate this monster!"
"I can assure you that Mount Kunlun will join you in your campaign to bring this villain to justice," Master Yi said. "But isn''t this Yuan a useless playboy? How did he manage to kill Abbot Hwang and hero Xi?"
"I too was surprised, to be honest. He must have been practicing in secret. It doesn''t matter," Li said. "What matters is that he pays for his crimes!"
"We shall sent our best disciple, Yao, along with thirty of our disciples to join your campaign," Master Zhang said. "Every single one of those disciples will be handpicked."
Li bowed slightly before the two Masters. "Thank you! Heaven Sect shall never forget your assistance at this time of need."
Two days had passed by. Yuan and Harald were galloping forward on a grassland. The grass flattened under the wind in beautiful shimmering waves. Flowers lay scattered on the grass like frozen flames. Their petals were delicate works of art. The air was perfumed by their heavy scent; it was exquisite, fragrant. The two blood brothers had no time to appreciate nature''s beauty. They were in a hurry; if they continued at their current pace, it would take them one or two weeks to reach Mount Kunlun.
"Something is wrong!" Harald said as he pointed at a group of men walking in the grassland.
From their distinctive clothing, Yuan could tell that they were disciples of the Ma Sect. "It is an Orthodox Sect," Yuan said. "We should be fine."
"Wasn''t the last guy who tried to kill us from an Orthodox Sect?"
"Well, yes, but I do not think that those disciples are after us. Even if they are, they should be a way to peaceful set aside our differences."
It was then when the Ma disciples noticed them. Seeing the two of them, they began sprinting after them.
"I do not think that they are looking for a peaceful discussion..." Harald quipped.
Yuan and Harald turned their horses around and tried to ride away when suddenly two arrows hit their horses. The horses toppled to the ground, bringing down their riders. Both beasts died, their lifeblood spouting in scarlet torrents. Yuan quickly got up. He helped Harald stand up and frantically asked him, "Are you alright?!"
"Yes..."
They then saw the killer; a man clad in dark holding a bow in his hands. Beside him were five swordsmen, they too clad in black. Yuan recognized them; they were of the Demonic Cult. He unsheathed his sword. As he was about to charge at them, he turned around and saw the Ma disciples approaching him.
"Do not worry about them!" Harald said. "I will handle them. You focus on those Demonic bastards!"
Yuan nodded in agreement. He then sprinted at his enemies. The archer fired arrows at him but Yuan managed to dodge them. A Demonic swordsman attacked him; he slashed at his chest but Yuan leaped backward and was able to avoid his blade. He then somersaulted, landed right in front of the swordsman and with a swift move made a vertical cut which opened up the man from throat to crotch. Yuan was about to move to his next target when an arrow hit his right shoulder. He let out a cry of pain. Blood was flowing from his wound like a torrent. He fell on his knees and clutched his wound.
Harald was fighting off the Ma disciples with his axe. His axe slashed the chest of one disciple, making a deep cut. He then chopped the hand of another disciple with a swift and forceful attack. Suddenly he heard Yuan''s cry. He had to finish off quickly the Ma disciples if he was to help his blood brother, but they kept coming at him. Some had leaped into the air to perform a stab while others aimed at his legs. Harald jumped and lifted off the ground, dodging the swords aiming at his legs. He then parried three sword attacks aiming at his head and stomach. As he was trying to battle off the Ma disciples, he hadn''t noticed a Demonic swordsman charging at him. The swordsman slashed him across his back. Harald screamed in pain; he turned around and swiftly decapitated the man. Harald was sweating, bleeding and feeling tired. He collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Yuan was on his own. As Demonic swordsmen and Ma disciples were charging at him, abruptly a rain of arrows killed off all of them. Yuan turned around and saw an Imperial squadron of archers and infantrymen led by a middle-aged officer. That officer was wearing a heavy coat fastened at the waist by a leather belt. From the belt hanged his sword, as well as a dagger. This long robe-like coat doubled over, left breast over right, and was secured with a button a few inches below the right armpit. The coat was lined with fur. Underneath the coat, the officer wore an armor composed of small scales of iron and chain mail sewn together with leather thongs.
"He is the fugitive wanted by Chancellor Cao!" the officer shouted. "Men, finish him off."
Once more Yuan was persecuted by the Emperor and Chancellor Cao. In his previous life, those two had ordered the execution of his father and his entire clan. They had killed all of his relatives and exterminated the proud Yang clan. They ruined his past life; now they seemed hellbent on ruining his new life too.
Soldiers were approaching Yuan from all directions. Yuan could feel his heartbeat. It was the only sound he could hear. He felt the need to close his eyes. He was feeling weak, exhausted. He had no energy left in him. He had failed. He had to accept that he would die once more. He had been given a second chance and he had wasted it. He had ashamed the Yang clan and his teacher. Tears flowed from his eyes. He let out a scream that frightened his opponents. He then collapsed on the grass. Yuan suddenly heard a scream and a loud whooshing sound. A man in his thirties, with long black hair, fine, manly physique and handsome, well-proportioned features dressed in a brown silk gown had stabbed one of the soldiers. It seemed as if he had appeared out of thin air. Yuan had no idea who this man was. The man began massacring the Imperial soldiers, making short work of them. The loud screams of those dying and the spattering of blood were the last things Yuan could hear and see before he lost his consciousness.
Chapter 8 – The Demoness
Yuan opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a bed. His whole body was bruised and aching and he was feeling dizzy. ''What am I doing here?'' he wondered. The last thing he remembered was seeing a man massacring the Imperial soldiers. He had no idea where he was or how much time had passed since he had lost his consciousness. He looked around and saw that the room was spacious; it was decorated with expensive furniture, including precious porcelain vases and most artful paintings. With great effort, Yuan managed to get up.
"You decided to wake up?" Yuan heard a female voice saying. He then saw a young woman in her mid-twenties walking into the room. Yuan was struck by her beauty. Her long black hair was shining, her lips were redder than the fire, her skin was as white as snow, her face was so beautiful that it dazzled anyone who looked at her, her cheeks emanated the rosy glow that the sunset clouds reflect, her eyes shone like the clear and piercing light of the moon. She was wearing a long purple gown made from the finest silk. "I finally get to meet the famous Cheng Yuan... I cannot say that I am impressed. Considering your reputation with women, I expected you to be more handsome."
Yuan was taken a bit aback. "I... well... me... you..." The old Yuan would have been able to come up with a smart quip. But the new Yuan was the reincarnation of Yang Jing, a disciple of Mount Kunlun with zero experience on women, not the famous playboy. Still, Yuan did not expect that he would stutter.
The woman laughed. "Are you really Cheng Yuan? The Yuan I''ve heard of is charming and knows how to talk his way out of things."
Yuan put up an awkward smile. "Well, it''s complicated but... I am Yuan." Yuan knew that if he said the truth, that he was Yang Jing reincarnated in the body of Cheng Yuan, he would sound utterly ridiculous. "Who exactly are you?"
"I am Lin Hua, Sect Leader of the Blood Sect."
Yuan remembered the discussion he had overheard in the inn; he had heard that the Blood Sect was vicious, an enemy of the Orthodox Sects and an ally of the Demonic Cult. He instinctively looked around for any weapons in case he had to fight.
Hua could see that Yuan had been alarmed. "If I wanted you dead, I would have done so already."
"Your Sect is an enemy of the Orthodox Sects and you have dealings with the Demonic Cult," Yuan replied. "So do forgive me if I am not trusting you."
Hua smiled. "Since when did the notorious Cheng Yuan become a friend of the Orthodox Sects? Not only have you committed countless crimes but from what I''ve heard you''ve killed Abbot Hwang and the Orthodox Sects have declared a campaign against you."
"I did not kill Abbot Hwang. As for the crimes... that was the old me. I have turned over a new leaf." Yuan paused for a moment. "How did I end up here? And where is Harald?"
"Fan Jianhong, my chief lieutenant, saved you. He brought you here. As for your friend from the north, do not worry; he is alive and well."
"Why did you save me?"
"I was... curious. Why would suddenly the Orthodox Sects, the Demonic Cult, and the Imperial government have such an interest in hunting you down?" Hua replied. "Now I think I may know the answer."
She showed Yuan the Flaming Medallion. "I am not sure what exactly this artifact is but it exudes an aura of supreme power," she said. "I was hoping you could tell me more about this medallion."
"It was given to me by an elder," Yuan lied. "I do not know anything about its powers."
"Do you take me for a fool? I know you are lying. It does not matter. This medallion is mine now."
"You have to give it back to me!" Yuan shouted. "It is mine!"
Hua smirked. "You think you can scare me with your shouting? The medallion belongs to me now and there is nothing you can do about it."
Yuan tried to snatch the medallion with a swift move but Hua kicked him in the chest with a rapid back kick. Yuan, weak from the wounds he had sustained, coughed and vomited blood. He was barely able to stand up.
Hua laughed. "Really? Is this all you''ve got? I am surprised you managed to survive so long with such poor skills."
Yuan attempted to punch Hua but she skipped nimbly around behind him and shoved him on the floor. Yuan with great effort managed to get up. He took a deep breath and said, "This is not over yet!"
"I admire your stubbornness, I really do, but do you think you stand any chance against me?"
Yuan had to admit that she was right. Even if he was not severely wounded, he wasn''t sure if he could beat her. Yet he could not give up the Flaming Medallion. If the Demonic Cult took hold of it, the fate of the entire world would be in danger. "Is there anything I can do to get back the medallion?"
"For a start, you must tell me the truth regarding this medallion."
Yuan sighed. "It... is the Flaming Medallion."
Hua tried not show any emotion but Yuan could see the surprise in her eyes. "The Flaming Medallion...? It has been gone for more than eight hundred thousand years. It is the most powerful artifact to have ever been created."
"It is also the only way to prevent the Demonic Cult and their Dark Lord from destroying the entire world. Do you really want to ally yourself with those madmen?"
Hua smiled. "Why not? So far our cooperation against the Orthodox Sects has been cordial. Destroying the world, though, would be bad for my Sect. I want to dominate the Martial Arts World, not see it be destroyed."
"I knew you would be reasonable! You must give the medallion to me so I can safely get it to Mount Kunlun."
"Do you really think I will give up the Flaming Medallion and give it to the Orthodox Sects? I am not going to hand it over to the Demonic Cult but I ain''t going to give it to those moralizing hypocrites either."
"It will not be of any use to you," Yuan said. "You will not know how to use it. Only someone like Elder Rong can find out how to use the powers of this medallion. If he does not get it in time and the Dark Lord is revived, we will not be able to stop him from destroying the entire world."
Hua chuckled. "You underestimate me. I am sure I can find a way to unlock its secrets. You have been honest with me, though, so I do owe you a favor; I shall not kill you or your friend. But you shall remain here. You may wander around, but you are not allowed to leave this place."
Hua walked out of the room, leaving an exhausted Yuan to sit on the bed and contemplate his next move. He wasn''t going to give up on getting the medallion.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Xiao was lying on the grass in Mount Kunlun''s garden. He was drinking wine. He was reminiscing the days when he and Jing would drink wine and laugh together. He still could not accept that his friend had died. Xiao was always more into drinking than training but now he was completely neglecting his training. The one person who could motivate him to try to move on, Yao, was on a mission to hunt down Yuan. So, Xiao was now alone, his only companion being his jar of wine.
"Disciple Xiao!" Master Yi said.
Xiao, being absorbed in his drinking, had not at first noticed his Master. He suddenly saw him standing in front of him, with a stern look on his face. Xiao tried to speak but his mouth was sore from the amount of alcohol that he had poured down his throat. He cleared his throat as he stood up. "Master!"
"You need to pull yourself together!" Yi said. "You cannot continue like this. I know how you feel right now. I also had a good friend who was like a brother to me and who was killed by a villain. At first, I was just like you; in denial, trying to cut off myself from the world, giving up on my training. But my Master made me realize that this road led to self-destruction. You need to focus on your training, to get a purpose in your life, to start anew. Make it as your goal to move on and become a better disciple. That way you will honor the memory of your friend, not by throwing away your life and wasting your potential."
Xiao sighed. Master Yi was right; Xiao didn''t like to admit it, but he had to move on. "I understand..." he said and thew away his jar of wine. "I will try to pull myself together and focus on my training."
"Good. That is all I ask of you. You have potential to become a great swordsman but in the past, you wasted that potential with your laziness and now you waste it with your sinking into depression. I hope this time you will be able to achieve your potential and that you shall not let me down. I have faith in you."
It was early in the morning. Streaks of sunlight had penetrated the window and woken up Yuan. He had spent the last day recuperating from his wounds and trying to think of a way to get back the Flaming Medallion. He felt less pain now, though if he moved too fast he still ached. Getting up from his bed, he decided to go see how Harald was doing. Although Hua had assured him that his friend was fine, he did not trust her. He quickly dressed up and washed his face with fresh water from a cup that a servant had brought while he was sleeping. As Yuan walked out of the room, he found himself mesmerized by the picturesque sight of a garden of peach blossom trees. Their petals fluttered in the light spring breeze.
As Yuan admired the beauty of the garden, he heard the sound of Guqin music. The melody of the tune started off gently before it took a shift and became vigorous. The music soared through the air like an eagle, taking with it the very souls of those who listened to it. Yuan could feel peace in his heart and relax hearing this music. A smile appeared on his face; all his worries were gone. He walked towards the music. He soon found out who was the musician; Hua. She was sitting by a peach tree and playing the tune while its bright petals fluttered around her.
"Your melody is most soothing," Yuan said. "Few people can play Guqin so well."
Hua smirked. "I told you not to underestimate me; I am not most people." She paused for a moment to examine Yuan. "I see you are recovering from your wounds. Now that you are better, care to do me a favor? I''ve heard that you too are a master of Guqin. I would like you to play some music for me. In exchange, I can let you see my sword dance."
In his previous life as Yang Jing, Yuan was instructed on Guqin by Elder Rong. It had been a long time since he had practiced his music skills, so he happily obliged. "Very well. I shall play a tune."
Hua got up and gave her Guqin to Yuan. He softly touched it. He sat on the grass and allowed himself to feel the instrument''s strings. He then began playing a vigorous tune. Hua unsheathed her sword; a double-edged straight sword. The sword gleamed in the light. She began performing intricate and fast sword forms in accordance with the tune. She made several swift stabs. Every time her sword moved, it created a gust of wind, rustling the grass violently. Yuan couldn''t help but admire her swordsmanship. Few people could match her skills. Yuan also felt a sense of sadness; to him, it seemed that all that talent was being wasted. Instead of using her skills to help those in need and uphold justice, Hua used them to try to dominate the Martial Arts World.
"Your skill with the sword is good," Yuan admitted, "but it is wasted. You could be doing so much more than trying to fulfill selfish ambitions."
Hua laughed. "I never expected that the notorious Cheng Yuan would have such a change of heart and that he would preach about righteousness."
Yuan sighed. "Where can I find Harald?"
"Your friend? Go straight ahead. You will soon meet him. He is in one of the halls."
Yuan had been walking for a few minutes when he saw a series of halls. Columns supported gently curved roofs while the walls were paper-thin and movable. One of those paper-thin walls was open, allowing Yuan to see what was inside that hall. There was a wooden desk and on top of it, Yuan noticed the Flaming Medallion. He looked around but there was no one; not a single guard. He immediately rushed inside to grab the medallion. As soon as he stepped into the hall, a loud sound was heard. Yuan turned around and saw Jianhong, the man who had saved him from the Imperial soldiers, accompanied by five swordsmen, all clad in red.
"Did you really think we would let the medallion unguarded?", Jianhong asked.
"How did I not notice you?"
Jianhong grinned. "I and my men have been practicing stealth for years. We are really good at following someone without being seen."
"Now what?" Yuan asked. He was already thinking about an escape plan.
"No need to worry; the Mistress said not to harm you under any circumstances. Besides, my men can use you as a way to practice their stealth skills. So, please, do try again to steal the medallion so my men can improve their skills."
Yuan angrily stormed out of the hall. He had enough of being used as a pawn to entertain Hua''s curiosity and Jianhong''s training. As he was strolling and trying to calm down, he heard a familiar voice from the inside of one of the halls. "Brother!". He walked towards that hall and saw Harald. He looked exhausted but in a good mood.
"I am glad you are alive!" Harald said.
"Me too!" Yuan said and smiled.
"Now that we are together, we should find a way to escape this damn place!" Harald said. "If only I had my axe, I would hack those damn bastards to pieces!"
Yuan sighed. "Unfortunately, we cannot win this fight with brute force. We must find a way to get back the Flaming Medallion and elude from this place without anyone seeing us."
"I doubt we will be having an easy time doing this, brother. I''ve seen the guards here in action when I tried to leave the hall. They are all tough and well trained. I am afraid this time we may be running out of luck."
It was late in the night. Hua was in her private quarters along with Jianhong. She was sitting on her desk, looking tired and frustrated, while her loyal lieutenant was bowing before her. "Mistress," he said, "I and the scholars have read every book we have regarding the Flaming Medallion and used every method imaginable, but we have found no way to activate its powers."
"It is as I expected..." Hua murmured. "If I couldn''t unlock its secrets with my immense internal energy, how would you be able to do so?"
"I had some of our scholars to search for old and long lost books on the medallion. I am sure there will be a solution in one of those books."
"I doubt such books will be of much use..."
Suddenly a smile appeared on Hua''s face. Jianhong could tell that his mistress had thought of a way to unlock the secrets of the medallion.
"Why bother trying to unlock its powers ourselves when we can have someone else, far more powerful and wise, do it for us?" she said. "When the secret of the medallion is revealed, we can always snatch it back. It seems your stealth skills may be of use after all."
Yuan was lying on his bed and thinking about all the events that had transpired recently. As time passed, his eyes felt heavier and heavier. He finally closed his eyes and fell into dreamless sleep. Suddenly, Hua stormed into his room. Yuan woke up and quickly got up. "What happened?" he asked, still half asleep.
"We are going to Mount Kunlun. You should prepare. We will be leaving early in the morning," Hua said.
"What?"
"Weren''t you pestering me all this time about how we should get the medallion to Mount Kunlun and give it to Elder Rong? Well, I agree with you. But I shall be coming alongside you on this journey to Mount Kunlun."
Yuan smiled. "It''s good that you see reason. However... I do not think it is a good idea to come with us to Mount Kunlun. You and the Orthodox Sects do not have the best of relations."
"Either I am coming with you or the medallion stays here; choose!"
Yuan sighed. He did not like having Hua following him to Mount Kunlun as he did not trust her, but he had little choice. "Fine. You can accompany us on our journey there."
Hua grinned. "Most excellent. Now excuse me but I''ve got to start preparing for our journey. You better start doing the same. The sooner we get to Mount Kunlun the better."
Chapter 9 – The Lady of Darkness
It was early in the morning. The sun was still resolutely below the horizon and the sky was crimson. At this time of day, the air was cool and damp. Yuan and Harald had prepared themselves for the journey ahead. They were both feeling much better as their wounds had been healed. Yet they also looked restless, walking up and down, waiting for Hua to come. Although neither of them trusted Hua, they had no choice but to accept her terms. They were not ready to lower their guard though.
"Do you think she has some scheme in mind, brother?" Harald asked.
Yuan sighed. "I''ve got no idea..."
It was at that moment that Hua arrived, accompanied by Jianhong and three swordsmen. She gave a stern look at Jianhong and said, "Make sure that everything goes according to plan. You personally shall be responsible for any failure; and, as you know, I don''t take failure well."
Jianhong bowed before his Sect leader and said, "Yes, Mistress! I shall do my best."
"Good."
Hua then turned to Yuan and Harald. She smiled to Yuan and asked, "Shall we get going?"
Yuan forced a smile. "Yes. Let''s get going."
"How are we going to reach Mount Kunlun?" Harald asked. "The Orthodox Sects, the Demonic Cult and the Imperial government will be going after us."
"We shall be going to Mount Kunlun through the Western route," Hua replied.
"The Western route?!" both Yuan and Harald exclaimed in unison.
"Yes. Do you really expect me to fight off all your enemies? The West is outside of Imperial control and I do not think your enemies will be crazy enough to follow us there."
The Western route was the most dangerous way for someone in the south to get to the north. Even the most desperate fugitives would think twice before going through that route. One would have to go through the Great Forest with its dangerous bandits, the barren Desert of Death and the frozen plains of the Kingdom of Swagen. To Yuan, following this route sounded like a sure way to commit suicide.
"The people who have survived a journey through the Western route can be counted on my one hand," Yuan said. "We will have to face all sorts of bandits and extreme weather."
"It would still be easier to go through that route than facing all your enemies. Almost everyone in the Martial Arts World is after you. Of course, if you are too afraid, we can always stay here and not get the medallion to Mount Kunlun."
Yuan sighed. He resignedly nodded in agreement. The fate of the entire world depended on Elder Rong getting hold of that medallion. He couldn''t give up.
Xiao''s hands trembled. He walked up and down in the hall. His eyes twitched. He breathed fast. He felt dizzy. He needed to drink wine; the urge was getting stronger. An inner voice in his head was urging him to go grab a drink and not give a damn about the consequences. He clenched his fists. ''I can let go of wine...'' he thought, trying to convince himself that he could put behind his addiction. He slapped himself. ''I can do this! I will not disappoint my Teacher.''
He had never thought that letting go of wine would be so difficult. Only now did he realize the depth of his fall and how addicted he had become. Feelings of self-pity flooded him. He, once a carefree swordsman, had become a depressed drunkard, unable to let go of drinking for even just a few days. Xiao would love to be able to blame something or someone else; his bad luck, the unfairness of life, the death of his friend. But deep inside him, he knew that he had no one else to blame but himself. This realization hurt him the most. It was like a dagger stabbing his heart; he had to accept how flawed he was, how irresponsible he had become, how he had let his emotions get the best of him.
''I am a failure...'' he thought. Giving up and accepting his fate began to seem like the most realistic option to Xiao. He could not fight his urges anymore, he could not discipline himself. As he was about to leave the hall and go grab a drink, Master Yi walked into the room. He was accompanied by a teenage boy; he looked as if he was fifteen or sixteen. He was slim and tall for his age but his face had boyish features. He had short black hair. He was wearing a long blue gown.
"Teacher!" Xiao said as he respectfully greeted his Master.
"Xiao," Yi said, "I see that you have not disappointed me."
Xiao forced a smile. In fact, he had failed to discipline himself and had just given up on his efforts to quit drinking. Not wanting to disappoint his teacher, Xiao lied to him. "It is difficult but I believe I can make it."
Yi smiled and nodded in approval. He could tell that his disciple wasn''t completely honest but he had indeed made an effort to quit drinking, so Yi did not pursue that matter further. Instead, he presented the teenage boy. "He is Ya Yun. He is a new disciple of Mount Kunlun."
"Greetings!" the boy said as he respectfully bowed before Xiao.
"Yes...?" Xiao had no idea why his teacher would bring that boy to him.
"He will be under your care," Yi said. "You will be his teacher."
"Me?!" Xiao asked. "Teacher, you cannot be serious about this. I am not ready for such a responsibility yet. I have my own problems and I am not among the best disciples of Mount Kunlun."
"I know you have your own problems; that''s why Yun will be your disciple. I understood that if I want you to become a more responsible and mature person, I need to give you responsibilities."
Xiao sighed. He could not discipline himself; how could he hope to discipline someone else? His skills with the sword were not bad; in fact, he was among the four best disciples of Mount Kunlun. Yet he had no idea whatsoever on how to teach those skills to someone else. Suddenly he felt burdened. Now, his actions would not just affect himself but also Yun. While he may have been willing to give up and accept that he was a failure before, now that he was responsible for this boy he knew that he could not give up just yet.
The midday sun shone brightly on the sky. Yuan, Harald and Hua were walking on a dusty dirt road. They had been on the road for hours; they had decided that they would rest only after reaching the Great Forest. As they walked forward, they could see on the horizon a lone figure clad in black. As they approached, they saw that this figure was an old woman. She was dressed in a long black gown and cape. A dark hood covered most of her face. From what Yuan could see, her face was wrinkled and her hair white. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked frail and she walked with the help of a cane.
"You have arrived!" she said with a stern voice. "Good. I have been expecting you."
"You are...?" Yuan asked.
"Once I was known as the Lady of Darkness... now my name is Aaren..." the woman replied. "I felt the medallion''s presence. I know you have the Flaming Medallion."
"I have no medallion."
Aaren smirked. "I can sense it''s aura. It is indeed a powerful object. You cannot lie to me."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Suddenly, Hua unsheathed her sword and charged at Aaren. The old woman simply waved her hand and created a shield of internal energy around her, which parried the attack. She sighed. "Youth these days... so impatient!"
Harald roared and slashed his axe at Aaren but she once again waved her hand, sending an invincible wave of internal energy at him. Harald abruptly felt as if a hammer had hit him; he was sent flying down the road, falling on the ground and rolling until his head hit a rock. His head began bleeding and he felt dizzy. With a swift move, he ripped part of his clothing and quickly bandaged his wound.
"Is that all you''ve got?" Aaren asked.
Hua smiled. "You are good; but not as good as me!"
Hua pointed again her sword at the old woman and thrust it towards her. Aaren didn''t even move her feet. Her cane flickered and hit Hua''s shoulder. She cried out and let go of her sword.
Yuan could see that this old woman was more powerful than even Elder Rong. He was sure that her cultivation was at least at Level 5 of Power Formation. Yet, he could not let her have the medallion. He unsheathed his sword and channeled his internal energy into it. He then slashed at her with all his prowess. As Yuan charged at the old woman, Hua quickly grabbed her sword and slashed at her too. Harald, holding his axe in his hands, attacked again despite his injury. Finding herself under attack from all sides, Aaren once again used her internal energy to create a shield around her but this time her shield was broken. Finding herself vulnerable, she skipped nimbly around Yuan, dodged Harald''s axe and parried with her cane Hua''s sword.
Aaren channeled her internal energy into a lightning bolt and threw it at Yuan. He leaped backward and downward, dodging the bolt which passed right above him. Yuan then lunged forward, aiming at Aaren''s chest. She smiled and waved her hand, sending a wave of internal energy at the young hero. He was violently pushed back and fell to the ground. As he inhaled the dust, he coughed.
"Do you want to listen to me or do you need me to beat you more?", Aaren asked. "I can do this all day long."
Yuan, Hua and Harald had to admit that they could not beat this old woman. All three of them were surprised by her prowess. She looked so frail, so weak, so vulnerable and yet she turned out to be the most powerful of all. Yuan was the one who was the most terrified. He had been in Mount Kunlun for more than five years during his previous life and he had seen many powerful immortals, including Elder Rong, Grandmaster of Mount Kunlun and the most revered among the Orthodox Sect leaders. Yet, even Elder Rong''s skills were inferior to those of Aaren.
"What do you want?" Yuan asked.
"I just want to make sure, for my own reasons, that the medallion gets safely to Mount Kunlun," Aaren replied as she took a deep breath. "That is what you want too; am I correct?"
"You are..."
"Good. I will be coming with you on your journey to Mount Kunlun. I also want you to promise me to do me three favors."
"Or what?!" Hua interrupted.
"I am not talking to you!" Aaren barked. "I am talking to your friend, so do not talk!" Aaren sent an energy wave at Hua, hitting her hard. She fell to her knees and vomited some blood. "If you interrupt us again, I will kill you!"
"What favors?" Yuan asked.
"The first favor is for you to accept me as your teacher. As for the other two, I will tell you when the time is right."
"I already have a teacher!" Yuan protested. Although Elder Rong was his teacher when he was still Yang Jing, he still considered himself to be his disciple. He could not betray his teacher''s trust.
"You do not have much of a choice, do you?"
"I would rather die!"
"So you would rather doom the entire world to destruction? Are you that selfish? So much for being righteous... You put your own ''principles'' above the well being of the world. Such a hypocrite!"
Yuan sighed. The old lady was right. If he did not get the medallion to Mount Kunlun, the fate of the entire world would hinge in the balance. Although he did not want to betray his principles, he had to do so for the greater good.
"Fine..." he said and let out a deep breath. He kowtowed thrice before the old woman.
Aaren smirked. "Good, my disciple."
Yuan stood silent for a moment. "Why? Why me?"
"Because you are special. I can sense your destiny. I can tell that you have the potential for greatness."
Yao and the other disciples of Mount Kunlun sent to hunt down Cheng Yuan were walking in the grassland. The flat grass was simmering under the wind. As they walked forward, they found the field littered with dead bodies. Some of the corpses had begun decomposing. Black crows were feeding themselves with the flesh of the dead. Although all of the disciples chosen for this mission were experienced, some who had not before seen carnage on such scale puked. Yao''s face turned ashen white. "What happened...?" he asked himself.
As he approached the bodies, he could see that some of them were Imperial soldiers, some were disciples of Ma Sect and some others were clad in black. "This must be the party sent by the Ma Sect to hunt down Cheng Yuan..." he noted. "Yuan and his goons must be the ones who massacred them. We must find him and bring him to justice!"
"Where will we find him?" one of the disciples asked.
"He shouldn''t be too far away. We should split up and go in different directions," Yao replied.
He then assigned the Kunlun disciples into five groups. He made sure that each group was made up of disciples who knew each other so that they would be more cohesive. He then talked to them, explaining them their mission. "Your mission is to find Cheng Yuan, not to face him by yourselves. If you find him, do not attack him. You should notify the other groups through pigeon messengers and simply stalk him until we are all together. I repeat; do not be reckless. That man is dangerous. Just look at all those dead bodies and remember that this will be your fate if you act without thinking. I am responsible for all of you, so do not disappoint me by getting yourselves killed."
The sun sank lower in the sky, the light of the day draining away, giving way to the velvety dark of night. Yuan, Harald, Hua and Aaren could see before them the Great Forest. The Great Forest was one of the most dangerous regions of the Jia Dynasty. Even though it was nominally under Imperial rule, in reality, it was controlled by bandits. The geography of the area meant that the bandits could easily set up ambushes and massacre Imperial soldiers, so the central government did not even bother trying to restore its control over the area. As such, only very few people dared to travel through that forest. The few who did were either skilled swordsmen or rich enough to hire powerful bodyguards.
"Ah... the Great Forest!" Aaren said. "It has been ages since I''ve last been here."
Hua humphed. "We do not have time to listen to stories about your old days..."
Aaren smiled. "Well, you are right about that. So let''s get going."
The party entered the forest. They were surrounded by thick trees and plants. They followed a narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. As they walked deeper into the forest, only the faintest of light shone through the leaves.
"It is getting dark," Harald said. "I say that we rest here for the night."
"The Swagen warrior is right," Aaren remarked. "But one of us should stay awake. This place is filled with bandits."
"I will!" Yuan said.
"Good."
Yuan was lying on the ground, looking at the leaves of the towering trees and the starless, night sky. The others were sleeping, so he was all alone. His face showed no visible emotions, but inside his mind, he was thinking about all sorts of things. Ever since he had been reincarnated, he did not have a chance to sit down and seriously think about how his life had changed. Events were happening in rapid succession. With so much happening it was hard for Yuan to focus on himself. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise because as long as Yuan was preoccupied with other things, he did think about how his life had turned upside down. While having a second chance and escaping death was something to be happy about, his loss of his identity wasn''t. He had lost his name, his identity as a disciple of Mount Kunlun, his friend. He was no longer the descendant of the famous and proud patriotic Yang warriors. Now, he was someone despicable. Yuan found it hard to reconcile his consciousness with the crimes that the old Yuan had committed. While he wasn''t the one who had committed those crimes, he was Yuan now and so he felt a moral responsibility to all those he had harmed. But the worst part was that he was confused about who he really was; was he Yang Jing or Cheng Yuan? He knew that he wasn''t Yang Jing anymore but while he had assumed the name and body of Cheng Yuan, he still did not feel like this was his true identity. He still remembered the oath he gave before the memorial tablets of his ancestors to seek justice for his clan. He still remembered his father, Yang Wanli, the proud pillar of the Jia Dynasty. He still remembered his teacher, Elder Rong. This despaired him the most. All those feelings he had been ignoring for so long came pouring out. Yuan clenched his teeth and fists. He tried hard to hold back his tears.
Slowly, he released his breath through clenched teeth and sighed.
"Having a hard night?"
Yuan turned around and saw that it was Hua speaking to him. "Maybe..."
She smiled. "I don''t really care about you but I am bored and cannot sleep, so do tell me what is troubling you."
Yuan laughed. "You sure have a way with people..."
"I certainly do!"
"Have you ever felt a loss of identity? Of not knowing who you are?"
"I can''t say that I have."
"Well, that is what happened to me. I feel that I lack an identity."
"You are overthinking things," Hua replied. "You dwell too much on abstract philosophical questions and miss the present. It is your actions now that define you. If you do nothing and think only about your past and future, then you will truly have no identity."
Yuan smiled. "You are right. I''ve been thinking too much. I need to focus on the present."
Chapter 10 – Bloody Vengeance
As soon as the sun dawned on the sky, the party woke up and continued their journey through the Great Forest. Yuan was tired as he had stayed awake last night to watch if anyone approached. Luckily, no one tried to rob or kill them, but staying awake at night had taken its toll on him. As the party walked through the thick vegetation of the forest, they found a man in his mid-thirties lying on the ground. He looked injured; there was blood on his clothes and he groaned.
Yuan was about to go see what happened to him and aid him when Aaren stopped him. "There is not much we can do for him. Looking after a person that will certainly die will be a waste of time and shall slow us down."
"I cannot just leave him there to die!" Yuan protested.
"He is already sure to die. There are millions of people though who are not certain to die but they will if the medallion does not get to Mount Kunlun in time."
Yuan let out a deep sigh. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he could see Aaren''s point of view. On the other hand, he couldn''t just let this man to his fate and leave him to die if he had even the slightest of a chance to save him. Elder Rong had taught him that every life was valuable and worth saving. Leaving the man to die would go against everything Yuan stood for. From a brief moment, he vacillated but hearing the man screaming forced him to take action.
"It will only take a few minutes!" Yuan said as he rushed towards the man.
Aaren humphed. "Very well... waste time, since you believe we have the luxury to do so."
As Yuan approached the man, suddenly he tried to grab him by the neck. With a swift move, Yuan moved to the right and dodged the attack. "Who are you?!" he shouted.
Instead of replying, the man grabbed a knife he had hidden and slashed frantically at Yuan. Yuan''s chest was cut but he swiftly kicked the attacker with a powerful back kick. The man let go of his knife and groaned in pain, this time for real. "I surrender!" he shouted.
"All this was an act?!"
The man smiled. "Well, what can I say? I need to make a living! I don''t know any craft and I''m not educated, so robbing travelers is the only way I can make some money. The name is Zhu Ping by the way."
"Brother," Harald interrupted, "shall I chop him to pieces?"
"I would love to see that," Hua said with a smirk on her face.
Yuan clenched his fists. He had to admit that Aaren was right. Not only did he not help anyone, but he wasted time with a fool and almost got robbed by him. ''All this is my fault,'' he thought. ''I am far too trusting. Serves me right for believing anyone. I acted like a child.''
Aaren could tell what Yuan was thinking and she smiled. "Take this as a lesson. Never trust someone you don''t know. There are far more bad people in this world than good people and you will easily get swindled if you trust everyone."
Seeing Yuan thinking, Ping tried to quietly escape but Harald rushed forward and grabbed him by the hair. He threw him on the ground and put his feet on his neck. "Bastard!" Harald barked as he grabbed his axe.
Ping''s face turned pale and he trembled. "Please spare me!" he shouted. "I... I can be of help."
"How so?" Yuan asked
"I know this forest like the palm of my hand. I can be your guide."
"Well... we do need a guide."
"Are you sure we can trust this imbecile?" Aaren asked. "This fool is treacherous by his very nature."
Ping was about to voice his protest when Yuan replied. "I am taking a risk in having him as a guide but we do need someone who knows the forest if we are to make it through without getting lost or ambushed by bandits."
"He is right!" Ping exclaimed. "You do need me."
Hua approached him and pointed her sword at his neck. "Listen scumbag, do not try to fool us. This idiot Yuan may be too kindhearted and not willing to kill you, but I am. I am Lin Hua, Sect Leader of the Blood Sect."
There was cold sweat on Ping''s forehead. "Blood Sect?!"
"Yes. I am not known as the Demoness for no reason. So if you try anything funny or lead us to a trap, I will kill you in the most horrible way imaginable."
Ping gulped. "I get your point."
The sun shone brightly in the sky and birds chirped. Yao and six Kunlun disciples were walking in the grassland, searching for traces of where Cheng Yuan could be. Although Yao was maintaining a calm composure, he was nervous. He hadn''t heard from the other groups. He also did not want to disappoint his teacher. His last mission of bringing to Mount Kunlun the Flaming Medallion had gone terribly wrong. Now he had a chance to redeem himself and he wasn''t going to waste it. As he walked forward, suddenly a pigeon flew in his direction. It was sent by one of the Kunlun groups. It delivered to Yao a tiny roll of paper stored in a small wooden tube. Yao opened the tube and read the letter.
"It seems that Cheng Yuan is in the Great Forest," Yao said.
"Have they spotted him?" a disciple asked.
"No, but they have discovered traces of where he and his company camped last night. We should message the other groups, so we can all head together in the forest."
Yao had his disciples write letters and send them to the other three groups through carrier pigeons. He also had his personal pigeon deliver another message whose contents and receiver he did not make known to the rest of his group. When the pigeons flew away, he smiled. ''Now, Cheng Yuan, you are finished!''
"Move!" someone barked. "Move forward!"
The voice came from Yuan''s left. "Who is shouting?" he whispered.
"Some bandit most likely," Ping replied. "He must be shouting to a captive. Those unfortunate enough to get caught here become slaves."
Yuan moved to his left a bit and saw a group of bandits. Thanks to the thick vegetation and trees, the bandits did not notice him and the rest of the party. "You are right," he said.
"We should leave," Hua whispered. "There is no need to lose time battling with bandits."
As Yuan was about to agree, he noticed one of the captives. He widened his eyes and gasped. It was none other than General Li, the man who had led the imperial soldiers in the extermination of the Yang Clan. Uncle Luo had told Yuan about Li and reminded him many times that he should seek revenge. This man took away everything Yuan had in previous life as Yang Jing: he massacred his entire family, burned the Yang mansion, desecrated the ancestral hall, laughed at the plight of the Yang family. Yuan felt his blood boiling. His face turned red and he fumed with anger. He clenched his fists and teeth.
Elder Rong had taught him to let go of hatred, stop seeking revenge; he should be seeking justice instead. Yuan, for the most part, managed to follow those instructions when he was on Mount Kunlun. Yet seeing in front of him that man who destroyed his past life and carried out the extermination of his clan, he lost his self-control. He unsheathed his sword and was about to jump forward when Hua stopped him.
"What are you doing?!"
"I... have a personal score to settle with this bastard!"
Hua slapped him. "Come to your senses! This isn''t the time for pursuing your own personal agenda. The Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Cult sooner or later will find out where we are. We cannot waste any time."
"She is right," Aaren said. "You pride yourself on being righteous; where is the righteousness in putting the fate of the world at stake in order to pursue some vendetta? I do not know why you hate this man, but you can hunt him down when the Flaming Medallion is in safe hands."
Yuan let out a deep breath. He knew that Hua and Aaren were right. Elder Rong had taught him to think of the greater good. He summoned all his mental strength in order to calm down. "Fine... You are right. We should get going."
Atop the black tower in the frozen plains, the Demon of Doom was waiting for a report. He was certain that sooner or later his underlings would find out where Cheng Yuan had gone.
A man clad in black rushed towards him, bowed and said, "My Lord, I have news about Cheng Yuan."
"Do tell."
"I''ve been informed that he and his friends are in the Great Forest."
The Demon smiled. "Good. Order immediately all our men in that area to carefully monitor Yuan and set an ambush. Do not fail me; I want this medallion to be brought here as soon as possible. Young Master Deng won''t accept any more delays."
The sun was sinking lower in the sky, slowly giving way to the darkness of night. The party had been traveling for hours. Everyone was tired by now.
"We should camp here for the night," Ping said. "Further to the north is where most bandits are; we need rest before going into such territory."
"I agree," Aaren said. "Bandits in this place are no ordinary criminals; most of them are battle-hardened veterans and trained in martial arts."
"I will be preparing the fire for the camp!" Harald exclaimed. He then used his axe to cut down a tree. Meanwhile, Hua began practicing her swordsmanship while Ping lied on the ground, resting after such a long day.
Yuan was still thinking about General Li. He finally had a chance to fulfill, at least in part, the oath he gave before the memorial tablets of his ancestors and he threw it away. He knew that this was the right thing to do but he still felt troubled.
"We should meditate," Aaren said.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"What?"
"Aren''t I your teacher? I will be teaching you how to master the levels of Force Formation. Aside from swordsmanship, you will also need to wield the internal energy at your will if you are to safely deliver the medallion to Mount Kunlun. For a start, you need to break through to Level 1 of Force Formation."
Aaren sat cross-legged and Yuan did the same.
"Close your eyes. Clear your mind of all thoughts. Do not let anything distract you. Just feel the essence of the world," Aaren said. "Qi exists in all things. It exists in the trees, the rocks, the dirt, everywhere and anywhere. Breath deeply...feel the Qi of the natural world and it shall be drawn to you."
Yuan was reminded of the first time he had meditated on Mount Kunlun with Elder Rong. He quickly dismissed that thought though as he had to clear his mind of all distracting thoughts. He allowed himself to feel the Qi in all things, to sense the vastness of the universe. On Mount Kunlun Elder Rong had told him about the world''s vastness, "we are like dust in a beach, water in the ocean". Now he understood what he meant. He inhaled and then exhaled for hours. His muscles relaxed, his heartbeat slowed. He felt a sense of calmness and peace.
"Good," Aaren said. "You will need to cultivate further but you have taken the first step."
It was late at night. Yuan couldn''t sleep. He gazed at the millions of bright stars and the silver glow of the moon in the dark sky. The stars looked like fireflies, illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky. He could remember his father, Yang Wanli, riding on horseback in charge of troops. He was heading to the north. In his shining armor and with a confident smile on his face, he dazzled all. The people of the capital waved and cheered at their hero. Before leaving, Wanli had told his son that when he would return from the north, he would teach him how to use the spear and lead men into combat. Yuan smiled thinking of those words; they were the last words his father spoke to him. Not long after Wanli''s triumph over the Swagen raiders, the Emperor ordered his execution. Yuan clenched his fists thinking about the extermination of his clan. He thought that he could put it behind for now; yet, he simply couldn''t. He had to find where Li was and kill him.
He got up and rushed to Ping. "Wake up," he whispered. Before Ping could ask any questions, he shushed him. "Follow me."
Ping followed Yuan as he moved away from the camp. After a few minutes, Yuan could speak without fear of being heard by the others. "The bandits we saw earlier, do you think they have gotten far away by now?"
"No," Ping replied. "Groups that have captives rarely travel fast. They should have camped by now for the night, so in a few hours we should be able to catch up to them."
For hours, Yuan and Ping traveled through the forest in search for the bandits. Although the darkness of night made it difficult for the two of them to see, as Ping had spent years in this forest he knew where they should be going. After much walking, they finally reached the camp where the bandits had encamped for the night. A small fire lightened up the place, allowing the two men to inspect it from a distance. Li and five other captives were chained to a tree; they had fallen asleep. Yuan could also see the bandits; there were seven of them. Six were asleep and only one was awake; he was guarding the place.
"Give me your knife," Yuan whispered and Ping gave him his knife.
Yuan gripped the handle of the knife by placing the handle across his open palm near his knuckles, wrapping his four fingers underneath and around the handle, and placing his thumb over the top. Yuan then slowly approached the lone guard; his movements were careful and silent. As he got in position, he kept his wrist unbent in order to keep the knife from turning over too much in the air. He placed his weight on his right leg and rested his left foot in front of him. He then raised his right arm and bend at the elbow so that the knife was raised alongside his head. He then shifted his weight from his right to his left leg to create forward momentum. At the same time, he swung his forearm forward from the elbow and released the knife. The knife stabbed the guard''s forehead. He let out a cry and died instantly.
The other six bandits, who were sleeping, did not wake up as the cry wasn''t loud enough. This gave Yuan the element of surprise. He drew his sword and, walking on his toes, walked towards the bandits. He approached one of them and slit his throat. All this time, Ping was hiding behind a tree and silently watching Yuan. While he was too afraid to try to escape, he wasn''t going to risk his life for Yuan either. He would simply wait.
Yuan walked towards a second bandit, who was lying on the ground. As he approached, the bandit suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing Yuan, he was about to warm his comrades when Yuan stabbed his sword into the man''s chest. His cry woke up the other four bandits. While the three bandits he had killed were of average height and not very muscled, those four bandits were a good two heads taller than most ordinary men and heavily build.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"My name is Cheng Yuan. I want this man," he said, pointing at Li. At this point, Li and the rest of the captives had woke up due to the noise. "If you give him to me, I am willing to spare you. There is no need for further bloodshed."
"Ha!" the man laughed. "You think you can terrify us because you know some martial arts? I will show you what real power is."
The man grasped the trunk of a tree in his arms and after a few rigorous tugs, pulled the entire tree bodily out of the ground and threw it at Yuan. He was barely able to dodge it and fell to the ground. ''That was close,'' Yuan thought.
"Attack him!" the man shouted and two of the bandits charged at Yuan with a blood curdling roar of rage. Yuan skipped nimbly around behind the first bandit and shoved him at the second. The two men smashed into each other, toppled to the ground and lost their consciousness. A third bandit attacked Yuan; he slashed downward at him with his sword. Yuan met the bandit''s sword with his; the two swords clashed and a ''clang'' sound was heard. Yuan remembered Aaren''s teachings. He cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts and allowed himself to feel the Qi in nature. He gathered his internal energy and directed it onto his sword. He then struck at the bandit. The man tried to defend himself but his sword was cut in half. Yuan stabbed his chest; the man vomited blood and collapsed on the ground.
"Bastard!" the last remaining bandit barked. "You may think you have won but you are wrong. Aside from us, there is also my Master. He likes to stroll when it is dark but sooner or later he will return to the camp and will kill you. If I do not kill you first, that is..."
He then charged forward with the force of an avalanche. Yuan somersaulted, landed behind the man and slashed at him. The bandit dodged Yuan''s sword and managed to pick up the sword of his dead friend. He then struck at Yuan but his swordsmanship was no match for Yuan''s. Yuan moved agilely and slashed his sword across the bandit''s right cheek. Then he attacked and stabbed his thigh. The bandit cried out in pain; seeing an opening, Yuan slashed his throat. The man fell to the ground, dead.
"Bravo!" Ping exclaimed.
Yuan smiled. "Where have you been all this time? Hiding?"
"No, not at all. I was just making sure that no one was coming," Ping replied.
Yuan sheathed his sword. He then walked towards the captives. He directed his internal energy into his hands and with a swift move broke the chains. Finding themselves freed, the captives bowed before Yuan and began kowtowing. "Thank you!" they said.
"You can all leave except for General Li."
The other captives did not bother to ask why Yuan wanted Li; as soon as Yuan told them to leave, they rushed away. Li himself was surprised that this man wanted him specifically. He figured that he must have been sent by the Imperial Court to rescue him.
"Thank you for rescuing me," Li said. "I was sent here along with troops to bring back an imperial minister who had been captured by bandits but I was ambushed by those bastards. When we return to the capital, I shall make sure to reward you."
Yuan pushed Li to the ground. "I am not here to rescue you; do you know who I am?"
"No, but remember I am an imperial officer; you cannot treat me like that!"
Yuan slapped him hard across the face. "Shut up! You may be a tyrant in the capital where you have the backing of the court and your troops, but here you are nobody. I was- no, I am Yang Jing, a descendant of the Yang Clan. You killed my mother, my brothers, all my relatives and burned my mansion while your Emperor forced my father to kill himself. Now it''s payback time."
Yuan punched Li right in the face, bleeding his nose. Yuan would kill enemies only when necessary and would never torture someone, but this time it was different. He wanted with all his heart to slowly and tortuously kill this man. Li had destroyed his life and now he was going to destroy his. Yuan elbowed Li''s jaw. He then grabbed him by the hair and punched him thrice in the face; by this time Li''s face was bloodied. Still grabbing him by his hair, Yuan pulled Li''s face down onto his knee and then kicked him a couple of times.
Ping was surprised at Yuan''s anger. Although he did not know him well, from what he had seen Yuan wasn''t keen on killing and when he had to, he would do so quickly and with precision. Yet now he seemed to be taking pleasure in slowly beating this man to death. ''Don''t know what this Li guy did to him, but it must have been something pretty terrible for him to be so angry,'' Ping thought.
"Please...please spare me!" Li cried out.
"Did you spare anyone of the Yang family?" Yuan said. "You killed not only the men but also the women and children. You laughed at our plight, you desecrated our ancestral hall, destroyed the memorial tablets of our ancestors. You showed no mercy. Why should I show any mercy?"
"It was the Emperor who ordered the attack. I didn''t want to do this."
"Lies!" Yuan shouted and punched Li''s chest, causing him to vomit blood. "You were only too happy to do this. Uncle Luo told me how you were laughing while your soldiers were massacring my kin."
Li fell on his knees. "Please spare me! I will give you all of my wealth! I know was wrong!"
Yuan was about to punch again the man when he remembered Elder Rong''s words; "You must remember that every being has innate goodness in it. Subduing wicked people or demons alone does not make you praiseworthy; making them turn over a new leaf will. As such, I expect you not to use your powers irresponsibly, even when you have to deal with the wickedest persons."
Yuan sighed. He slapped Li and said, "If you agree to repent and join a monastery as a monk, I will spare you."
"I promise! I will immediately go join a monastery."
"Good," Yuan said and unsheathed his sword. With a swift move, he cut Li''s left hand. Li screamed in pain. "That is payback for your evil deeds. If I find out you reneged on your oath, I will kill you even if it means charging into the Imperial Court."
"You must be pretty good since you managed to kill all my disciples," a voice was heard saying. Yuan turned around and saw a middle-aged man with long black hair and beard wearing a green silk robe. He was armed with a Guandao, a pole weapon which consists of a heavy blade with a spike at the back. The blade was mounted atop a long metal pole. The blade was very deeply curved and therefore solely useful for sweeping cuts. Yuan remembered what the bandit had told him about their master.
"I do not wish any further bloodshed," Yuan said.
"It''s too late now to back down," the man said. "I cannot have people say that I let the man who killed my disciples go unpunished. I will become the laughing stock of the Martial Arts World."
"Fine. It is your choice."
Without waiting any further, the man charged forward and with great force slashed his Guandao at Yuan. Yuan was barely able to parry the attack. With two more slashes, Yuan was on the defensive. He directed his internal energy onto his blade, but this had no effect; the man was a master swordsman and his attacks only got more ferocious and fast. Yuan recognized that the man''s internal energy was vaster than his. With a swift move, the man slashed his blade across Yuan''s upper body.
Ping, seeing how things were going, was about to leave but when he turned around, he saw Aaren. "I was going to inform you," he said with a forced smile on his face. "I wasn''t going to leave you."
"Whatever," Aaren said and with a wave of her hand send an internal energy wave at Ping that threw him to the ground.
As the man was about to kill Yuan with his Guandao, Aaren used her internal energy to create a shield around Yuan, thus deflecting the man''s blade.
The man gaped in astonishment. "Who are you? You have great command of internal energy."
"I am Aaren. Once I was known as the Lady of Darkness. My command of the internal energy is indeed great; it allows me to manipulate the forces of nature.. and use them against my enemies!"
Suddenly, lightning exploded from her hands. The man convulsed as the violent electrical current pulsed through him.
"Aaah! Please... spare me!" the man shouted.
Unlike Yuan, Aaren was in no mood to spare the man. He was electrocuted to death; as he was dying, his screams could be heard from miles away.
Yuan and Ping were put aback by this brutal display of raw power. Ping was shivering and his heart was throbbing in fear while Yuan closed his ears. Once Aaren was finished with the man, she sent an invincible internal energy wave at Yuan. He was pushed back.
"You truly are an idiot!" she said. "If I hadn''t wakened up and found you in time, you would have been killed. The Flaming Medallion would have fallen in the hands of this brute or, even worse, it could have been found by the Demonic Cult. Tens of millions would die then as without the medallion no one can stop the Dark Lord if he is revived. And all of this would have happened because you wanted to pursue some personal vendetta. You put your own emotions before the fate of the entire world. Do not think of yourself as being righteous just because you spout some nonsense about righteousness you heard from your teacher or because you spared that idiot you wanted dead; if you want to be righteous, you must think of the greater good."
Aaren paused for a moment. "Think about all this while we travel. Learn from your foolishness. For next time, I may not be around to save you. And then, you will suffer the full consequences of your actions. Do not expect to be constantly absolved of the consequences of your foolishness. You may be lucky once or twice, but eventually, you will run out of luck."
Yuan nodded in agreement. "You are right. I did act foolishly. I let my hatred blind me. I will learn from my mistakes."
"Good. That is all I ask of you."
The Journals of Charles Dahl #2 - Banditry
Charles Dahl was a writer, poet, and traveler from Swagen. His journals regarding his journeys in the Jia Dynasty are of great interest as his acute observations provide an insight into the culture of this civilization:
Journal #2 - Banditry
Traveling in the countryside can be a very daunting task in the Jia Dynasty. The countryside is rife with bandits and other lowlifes. In all fairness, there are plenty of bandits in our Kingdom too but whereas our King is tough on crime, the officials in the Jia Dynasty seem to not care at all about that plague that besets their population. Bandits roam freely and can steal as much as they want as long as they do not attempt to rob government officials. Whenever the populace complains to their local governor, he dismisses their concerns or makes false promises of sending troops to hunt down the robbers. I''ve seen that spectacle far too many times to not know that such promises are empty words.
The only ones who seem to be doing something about the situation are the disciples of the Orthodox Sects. Those people train in the martial arts and are as swift with the sword as they are powerful with the fist. I can personally testify to their prowess. When I was traveling to the south, heading towards the famed White City metropolis, I was attacked by bandits. Three of those scums approached me and threatened me to give them my money. Being a man of the letters, I could not hope to resist them. As such, I was about to give them my money when a man dressed in a long white robe appeared almost out of nowhere and with a swift kick knocked out one of the bandits. ''I am a disciple of Mount Kunlun,'' he said, ''and I demand that you leave this man alone!''. The bandits begged for his mercy and were spared. He informed me that he was on a mission to hunt down a bandit king, one far more fearsome than those ''rascals'', as he called them.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
I do not know if he succeeded in his mission but I am still thankful for his aid. One cannot depend on being so lucky, however, so I advise the reader who wants to visit this country to bring a weapon with him or hire a bodyguard. If they cannot do so, they should avoid the countryside and travel through the main routes only. Those are usually guarded by imperial troops as they are important for trade and supplying the military camps across the land. While the court may not care for the common people, it cares a lot for trade and the army. This, of course, infuriates the people. More than a few become bandits themselves in order to survive or out of anger while others join weird religious cults. In one of my journeys, I overheard a man praying to some Dark Lord. Weird stuff!
I once asked a regional official why the court was doing nothing for this problem. His reply was enlightening. He informed me that many governors are bribed by the most powerful of the bandits and thus have no reason to want to hunt them down as they make profit. Others pay no attention to what happens in their province and instead plot their return to the capital; they view a governorship as an exile from the place where all decisions are taken, the court. Still, others are simply too incompetent or lazy. As the Emperor pays more attention to his concubines than to affairs of state and the court squabbles, no one pressures those officials to do their job. It is another sign of the corruption and decline of what once was a great dynasty.
Chapter 11 - The Path of the Elves
The morning sun cast its rays upon the land. A gust of wind howled in the forest. The forest floor was littered with the bodies of the dead; countless bloodied and dirtied soldiers lay dead. The yellow and red of fallen leaves contrasted with their black armor and pale complexion.
"Those must be Li''s men," Yuan said. "The bandits truly decimated his army."
Ping sighed. "Here it is the bandits who rule; the Imperial Court is far away and has no power. That is the fate of imperials when they try to assert control or antagonize the bandits..."
"I ain''t afraid of them!" Harald exclaimed. "I will chop them to pieces with my axe."
Ping smiled. "No matter how good a warrior you are, you are no match for an army of battle-hardened bandits."
"Indeed. We should try to avoid them," Aaren said. "You claim to know this forest like the palm of your hand; do you know a route that can take us to the north without going through bandit territory?"
"I do know of one such route but..."
"But what?" Yuan asked.
"Well, no one goes through that route, and for good reason. It is known as the ''Path of the Elves''. It is said that in that part of the forest magical creatures reside. The most terrifying of them are the elves. According to legend, they have command of the internal energy that even immortals would find terrifying."
"I''ve never heard before that elves reside in the Great Forest. Nor did I know they really existed; I always thought that those were fairy tales."
"Well, not many people know about this legend; only those who have lived years in this forest have heard about it. As for the elves, it is most likely just a folk tale. No one has ever seen them. Personally, I do not believe in such stories. Most people though avoid going this route because those who do are never seen again; even those who do not believe in such legends are thus keen on avoiding this pathway."
"We will survive longer in that pathway than by going into bandit territory," Aaren said. "Show us the way."
"Really?" Ping said. He shivered in fear but forced a smile. "Well, if you insist..."
Xiao was lying his back on the wall and watching as Ya Yun was performing intricate sword maneuvers. The teenage boy had been an obedient and disciplined disciple. Although Xiao had no experience in teaching, he found it easy to train the boy as he followed all his instructions. Teaching took most of Xiao''s day and was an exhausting task, but kept him from falling back to wine. Although he could waste his time with drinking when he had no responsibilities, now that he was responsible for this boy his consciousness did not allow him to do so anymore. His preoccupation with teaching also kept him from being reminded of his friend''s death. When Yang Jing had died, Xiao had fallen apart; now he was rediscovering his old self.
"You have been a good instructor I see," Master Yi said.
Xiao turned around and saw his teacher. "Teacher, sorry for not greeting you properly. I hadn''t noticed you."
Yun too stopped his practice upon seeing the Master and bowed in respect.
Yi laughed. "No worries, I came here unnoticed in purpose so I could see the results of your training. The boy has been instructed well. His sword technique is very good."
"Thank you for your praise," Xiao said. "I do not deserve such praise though; I am good as an instructor only because I have the honor of having you as my teacher."
Yi smiled. "You have found your old self. As for Yun, he has a great future ahead for himself. He has shown great skill and discipline. Such talent should be further cultivated so that a new generation of Mount Kunlun heroes can emerge. He is to become my disciple."
Yun, upon hearing this, bowed and began kowtowing before the Master. "Thank you, Master Yi!"
"Congratulations!" Xiao said.
"As for you," Yi said, "now that you have proven yourself as an instructor, I can trust you with another disciple. This time though, I will not take her from you no matter how talented she is. You will be the one instructing her all the way."
"Thank you, Teacher," Xiao said.
In the dense forest of bamboo trees, a myriad of leaves glistened brightly. The party made its way through the obscure pathway. The sound of their footsteps was the only sound that could be heard. Ping was leading them. The cold sweat on his face betrayed his anxiety.
"So much for the legend..." Hua said. "Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It seems that the story about the elves is just a fairy tale."
"There may not really be elves," Ping said, "but do not get complacent. This place is dangerous."
Suddenly a cracking sound was heard.
"What was that?" Yuan asked.
At once, a hail of arrows descended upon them. Aaren waved her hand and formed an internal energy shield around the group, deflecting the arrows. Yet the shield quickly disintegrated as she could not maintain such a shield for too long. Suddenly an army of men clad in black charged from all directions; they were the Demonic Cult soldiers that the Demon of Doom had ordered to ambush Yuan and his allies.
Yuan and Hua unsheathed their swords and got ready to face the onslaught. Yuan lashed out with a foot, parried a sword, thrust his blade into a leg. His sword whipped out as fast as a snake. He cut them down as fast as they could come at him. Hua slashed at the enemies, cutting them down ruthlessly. She had killed more than ten swordsmen when a Demonic soldier armed with a spear tried to stab her. She parried the attack. The man attacked again and she ducked low, ramming her sword into the man''s stomach. Her sword dripped blood. She cut down two more Demonic soldiers before the concerted effort of four of the attackers managed to halt her forward momentum, presenting a wall of blades. She used her internal energy to somersault, land behind them and slash at them with the ferocity of a tiger. She made short work of them.
Harald charged at the Demonic swordsmen with his axe. He parried and slashed, slashed and parried. His attacks were ferocious; he cut off legs, hands, stabbed his axe into chests. The Demonic swordsmen were being mercilessly massacred. As he was cutting down his enemies, a swordsman charged at Harald from behind. Harald turned just in time to block the swordsman''s slash, but his axe wasn''t straight ¨C the sword slid right down the handle and cut into Harald''s hand. He growled and grit his teeth. With one quick motion, he slashed his axe across the swordman''s chest. With a swift move, he then beheaded the man.
Aaren was using her internal energy to send invincible waves of energy at the enemy, pushing them away before any of them could get close to her. All this time Ping was hiding behind Aaren and holding a knife in his hand. ''I pray to Gods that I survive this ordeal,'' he thought. ''I will become a good man and never steal again.''
Despite their ferocious resistance, the Demonic swordsmen were slowly but steadily getting the upper hand due to their superior numbers. The party got surrounded and cornered by their enemies. The situation was becoming desperate as they faced walls of swords. Suddenly, a flash of lighting temporarily blinded them. When they could see again, all the Demonic swordsmen had been killed; their bodies showed marks of having been burned alive.
"What an impressive show of strength," Aaren said. "Whoever did this, has an ultimate mastery of internal energy."
"Who did this?" Yuan asked.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
"It was me," a voice was heard saying. Everyone turned around and saw five elves, two of them female and three male. They were all slender and graceful, with delicate features, fair complexion, and pointed ears. They were of average height with hair so blonde it was almost white.
Ping gaped. "I don''t believe it..."
"Neither do I," Yuan said.
"You will have to follow us," one of the male elves said. He was wearing a long purple silk robe and seemed to be the leader. "I am Almar Qinnelis, Lord of Light. I can assure you that you will suffer no harm."
Yuan was hesitant for a moment but Aaren intervened. "We should follow them," Aaren said. "If they wanted us dead, they would have killed us already."
Yuan nodded in agreement. Then, he and the rest of the group followed the elves.
Xiao was waiting for the disciple Master Yi had assigned to him. Although he was happy that Yun had been taken under Yi''s tutelage, he did feel a bit disappointed as he had gotten used to the boy. Now he would have to start all over again the process of training with another disciple. As he was thinking about all this, his new disciple walked into the room. She was only eighteen years old. She was of average height and slender. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin.
She slightly bowed before him and said, "Greetings Teacher. I am Xia Nuan, your new disciple."
Xiao smiled. "Nice to meet you," he said. "You need to understand that being a disciple of Mount Kunlun means that you have to be disciplined. Do not fool around; that''s what I did in the past and why I was a failure. I am sure though that you will not disappoint me and that you will have a bright future ahead."
"I will do my best to follow all of your instructions."
"Good. The first lesson has to do with meditation. You need to learn how to cultivate Qi."
Xiao sat cross-legged and Nuan did the same. He recited Master Yi''s instructions and showed her how to correctly breathe in order to draw in the Qi of the natural world. They meditated for a long time. Xiao was satisfied with Nuan; she had learned fast how to breathe in the correct way and how to cultivate Qi. He got up and said, "You are doing excellent."
"Thank for your praise," Nuan said. "I do not deserve it. I was just following your instructions." Nuan smiled. Her smile was warm, genuinely sweet but also shy. Xiao felt an unexpected warmth rushing through him. He couldn''t explain why but he felt a deeper connection to her; it wasn''t some kind of physical attraction nor had he known her long enough to have formed a bond with her, so he could not understand why he felt that way.
After about half an hour of walk, Almar and the other elves led the party into an underground complex. They walked through stone tunnels into a spacious room that was illuminated by torch fire. Strange hieroglyphics were carved on the walls; the scrip of the Elve language.
"I can sense the powerful aura of the medallion you carry," Almar said. "Stranger, you seem to be the One."
"The One?" Yuan wondered.
"Yes. I need to talk to you. In private."
The other elves bowed before Almar and then walked out of the room.
"You too," Almar said, pointing at Yuan''s fellow travelers.
Ping, Harald, and Aaren walked out the room without saying a word but Hua refused to leave. "Why exactly do you want to be left alone with Yuan?" she asked. "I do not care much about him but he carries the Flaming Medallion."
"It''s none of your business," Almar sternly said.
Hua humphed but walked out of the room. She knew that her skills were no match for Almar. He had shown what he could do when he killed all those Demonic swordsmen.
With everyone else gone, Almar could talk. "Stranger, although they call you Yuan, I can sense that this isn''t your only name."
"That''s true," Yuan replied. "In my previous life, I was known as Yang Jing. I have retained all memories of my past life. But... how did you know about this?"
Almar sighed. "We Elves are very talented at sensing other peoples'' thoughts. It is both a gift and a curse." He paused for a moment. "I told you that you were the One. You must be confused about what that means."
"I am indeed confused," Yuan said.
"Let me first explain the history of my people; only then can you understand. Once upon a time, hundreds of thousands of years ago, the elves ruled a large part of this continent. Humans were not dominant, as they are now. The elves had a mastery of internal energy that even immortals admired. The Jade Emperor and the other Gods in Heavens treated my people with respect. Unfortunately, that was not enough. The elves had grown arrogant; our leaders aspired to have the Jade Emperor and the Gods to bow before our might. A million years ago, we allied with the Demonic Deity, a being of supreme power that tyrannized the Celestial Court. Ma Yuan, the God of War, destroyed the Demonic Deity with the Flaming Medallion that you now carry. With the defeat of that being, the Celestial Court punished my people; they used the forces of nature to destroy our cities and decimate our civilization. Only a few thousand elves remained. Two hundred thousand years later, Ye Guang took the mantle of Dark Lord and waged war against the Celestial Court with an army of undead. Wanting revenge, my people sided with him. After Yi Hong had slain him, the Celestial Court unleashed its full rage upon us. Only a few hundred elves remained. All remnants of our civilization were destroyed and our name became nothing more than a legend, considered to be merely a fairy tale. We were forced to hide in underground cities like this one."
"I am sorry for your people," Yuan said, "but what does this have to do with me?"
Almar smiled. "There is a prophecy among our people that one day the One will bring our people back above the ground. I believe you are that One."
"Me?"
"Yes. The shadow of war looms over the continent. Another celestial war seems to be coming. This time, we shall side with the Celestial Court against the Dark Lord and prove that we have learned from the mistakes of the past. I sense that you will play a vital role in that upcoming war; by helping you, we shall gain again the favor of the Gods in Heavens. That is why I believe you are the One: you give us a chance to redeem ourselves."
Almar handed Yuan a stone. The stone had bright hieroglyphics carved on it. "That is the ''Magic Stone''. You can use it to call for aid when you are in danger. In a matter of days at most, a group of elf warriors will come to your aid."
"Thank you," Yuan said. "I will do what I can to make sure that the aid of your people is acknowledged."
Almar smiled. "Good. By the way, I told you we elves have the ability to sense what people think. I can tell you what I sensed from your companions; the Swagen warrior is very loyal to you. The thief both admires and hates you. The young woman lied when she said that she doesn''t care about you."
Yuan blushed a bit.
Almar laughed. "I see that you too care for her..." Then his tone got more serious. "As for the old woman, I couldn''t sense her thoughts. I can tell you this though; she is most powerful. You must be cautious of her."
"I will be."
"You may now go. You mustn''t waste any more time."
Xiao was holding two wooden swords in his hands. He threw one of them at Nuan.
"Your breathing technique is good," Xiao said, "but you need to practice your swordplay too."
"Yes Teacher," she said as she took hold of the sword. She grabbed it firmly.
"You must have practiced before swordplay," Xiao said, "but it is one thing to perform sword movements on your own and quite another to use them against a living enemy."
Nuan knew that; she wanted to perform well and not let down her teacher. So, she began formulating a strategy and thinking of what movements to use. She was lost in her thoughts.
"Always focus on where you are!" Xiao shouted and hit Nuan in the chest with his sword.
"Too slow", he said. "You must react faster!"
Nuan charged forward. The whooshing sound of the sword revealed the great strength put into the attack. Xiao effortlessly blocked the attack with his own sword but said, "Good! That was a good attack!"
''At last,'' Nuan thought, ''I am becoming good at this''. Suddenly Xiao''s sword hit her back and caused her to fall to the ground. "Focus on the battle!" Xiao barked. "Rule number one: always be on alert. You cannot predict what the enemy will do and when he will attack, so never let your guard down. If I was a real enemy, you would be dead by now."
Nuan attacked again, this time determined to not let her teacher down. She pretended to attack Xiao''s head and midway retreated by a step and changed the direction of the sword to Xiao''s chest. Xiao was, of course, able to see through this deception and quickly blocked Nuan''s sword with his own, but he smiled. "You did well this time," he remarked. "However, you still have a lot to learn. Let me teach you a sword form called ''''Wind Sword Style''. It is a sword form that focuses on swift attacks. It allows someone who is not very powerful to overpower the enemy with swiftness and speed instead of brute strength."
Xiao instructed Nuan on how to perform the sword form. She tried to follow his instructions. Her movements were swift and fast but somewhat clumsy. Despite her best efforts, she could not perform correctly the sword form.
"Your movements are fast but not accurate and are a bit clumsy. Let me show you how to perform correctly the sword form," Xiao said. He then stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her right hand to guide her. Her soft hair brushed his cheek. Nuan trembled. She could feel his warm breath. Her cheeks were suddenly pink like a spring rose, the blooming color so cute against her skin.
Xiao noticed and quickly distanced herself. "I showed you how to perform the sword form," he hurriedly said. "Now practice it on your own. We will continue the lesson tomorrow morning."
He then rushed out of the room.
Yuan and his companions walked out of the underground complex and continued their journey to the north. The day was coming to an end and the sky darkened.
"What did that elf said?" Hua finally asked after hours of silence.
"He assured me that they would aid me," Yuan replied. Remembering what Almar had said about Hua, Yuan felt somewhat awkward and forced a smile to hide his unease.
"That is our good fortune," Aaren said, intervening in the discussion. "We will need all help we can get. Our journey will become more dangerous from now on. The Demonic Cult will stop at nothing to get the medallion."
"At least we managed to survive their ambush," Ping said. "We have also avoided going into bandit territory. Soon we will be leaving behind the forest. In a day at most, we will be reaching the Desert of Death."
"That name doesn''t promise an easy journey..." Harald said.
"Indeed," Ping replied. "I have never gone there myself but friends of mine who have, have never returned."
Chapter 12 - Scorched Desert
Yuan and his companions made their way to the desert, leaving behind the forest. As they advanced, vegetation became more scarce, until it wholly disappeared. Beyond them lay a scene of solitude and desolation. ¦³he weather was dry and the heated sun unbearable.
Seeing the vast expanse of desert before them, Ping wryly smiled. "This will be one hell of a journey¡"
"If we managed to survive the forest and its bandits, we will survive this," Yuan said.
"Do not underestimate the danger this desert poses," Aaren said. "It is not known as the Desert of Death for nothing. The heat and dryness of this desert are more dangerous than an army of battle-hardened soldiers. Nature can make even the most powerful man bow to its will."
The party made its way to the trackless desert. The sun beat down and there was not even a wisp of cloud to soften the harsh rays. Each of their steps sunk into the searing sand and the air was thick and hazy. Their clothing was overwhelmingly hot and sticky. The stiff, dry desert breeze blew sand into their eyes. They were all exhausted; only Aaren seemed to not be that tired. She was using her immense internal energy to sustain herself.
"We have been walking for hours..." Ping said. "Our supply of water is running low too. How long until we reach some well?"
"We have no choice but to keep going," Yuan replied.
They kept walking across the endless waves of sand dunes. Heat rained down on them like the breath of hell. The arid heat burnt at their lungs. They were sweating and exhausted. After about an hour, the sun began to set. The desert at twilight was a vast undulating sea and the sand dunes looked like waves. Heat gave its way to chilling coldness. The temperature was below freezing because once the sun was down, the sand began releasing heat. Their blood ran cold through their veins and their bones were chilled. Their teeth chattered. They were barely able to walk when they finally reached a stone well.
"Let''s drink some water!" Ping said.
They rushed to the well and drew a wooden bucket that was inside. It was full of water and they rushed to drink it. The water was cold and they could feel it''s chillness but they did not care. Only Aaren restrained herself as her internal energy allowed her to keep her body cool. After drinking enough water, they lied on the cold sand to rest.
Suddenly, they could hear the sound of hooves. They turned around and saw about twenty horses galloping towards them. The horsemen were wearing long brown robes and scarfs and were armed with swords. They were roaring and shouting. Their battle cries were chilling. Yuan and Hua drew their swords and Harald grabbed his axe; they took battle positions and got ready to defend themselves. The horsemen encircled them and charged at them.
Yuan somersaulted and with a swift move, he stabbed one of the raiders; his sword cut through the raider''s chest and killed him instantly. Another raider tried to slash at him but he parried the attack with a quick movement of his blade. The two swords clashed and a ''clang'' sound was heard. Before the raider could strike again, Harald had already thrown his axe at him; it stabbed the raider''s back, killing him instantly. Harald rushed forward and removed his axe from the dead man''s back.
"Thanks," Yuan said.
Before Harald could reply, a raider charged at him but he defended himself with his axe. Harald then struck his axe at the horse. The horse panicked and it frantically tried to move away. The sudden movement brought the raider off the horse and onto the ground. Before the raider could get up, Harald beheaded him with his axe.
Hua too rushed forward at the enemy, jumping onto one of the raiders'' horses and pushing to the ground its rider. She then jumped off the horse and stabbed the man before he could get up. Another raider slashed at Hua, but she dodged the saber, grabbed it by the hilt and used it against its user, slashing his neck and killing him.
Aaren was using her internal energy to send energy waves at the raiders and push them back but her use of internal energy to maintain her cool during the journey had exhausted her; she coughed some blood and collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Ping tried to run away but a raider knocked him out by hitting him on the head with the hilt of his sword. Harald, Hua, and Yuan were the only ones standing but they too had been exhausted after traveling for hours under the scorching sun. Their movements were becoming slow and their attacks weak and inaccurate. The raiders were slowly but steadily getting the better of them.
''The stone!'' Yuan thought. He remembered the magic stone given to him by Almar. With that rock, he could call the Elves to come to his aid. It was in his belt; he quickly grabbed it and transferred his internal energy onto the stone, hoping that this way he would activate it. The hieroglyphics carved on the stone brightened and a light emanated from it. "I did it!" Yuan said and then collapsed on the ground.
"Surrender!" one of the raiders said to Hua and Harald. "You are the only ones still conscious; you have no hope of defeating us. If you resist, we will kill you. If you surrender, we will spare you."
Hua threw away her sword. "Fine!" she said. Hua could be stubborn and reckless but she knew when a fight had been lost. She understood that they had no chance of defeating those raiders.
Harald sighed. "I... I... surrender..." he said. Those words were painful to him; he was a proud man. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Good," the raider said. "I will present you and your other companions to the Khan. If you are lucky, one of you may be chosen as his slave."
Under the glow of the moon, Yao and the other Kunlun disciples were making their way through the forest, following into Yuan''s footsteps. Yao had been determined to find this ''bastard'', as he called him, but his hopes of catching up to him were being diminished the further he walked into the forest. As he and his men marched forward, they saw before them tens of bodies. They were the Demonic swordsmen killed by Almar and his elves. Yao and the other disciples rushed forward to check those men.
"They are dressed just like the clad in black swordsmen we found in the previous massacre," a disciple said.
"It is as I''ve suspected," Yao replied. "They must belong to the Demonic Cult. Thankfully I''ve already alerted the Masters about their presence when we first found such bodies in the previous massacre. The Masters informed me that they will send Xiao to aid me in investigating who those swordsmen are."
"What about Yuan?"
Yao sighed. "Seeing the massacre here, he must have already passed through this path; now he is most likely in the desert. There is no point in following him there. The desert will take care of him."
Yao paused for a brief moment to think. "You", he said pointing at the disciple. "You should lead the other disciples back to Mount Kunlun. Our expedition here has been completed. We may not have been able to catch the villain, but we have driven him to the desert where he will surely die. I will remain here to investigate the identity of those swordsmen and meet up with Xiao."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
It was early in the morning. The sun shone brightly in the sky and birds were chirping. Masters Yi and Zhang were in the Main Hall of Mount Kunlun Sect. They were sitting on their chairs. Xiao was standing in front of them. He was waiting for what they had to say. For the two of them to have called him so early in the morning, he assumed that whatever they wanted to tell him was very urgent.
"I''ve received a letter from Yao," Master Yi said.
"How is he doing?" Xiao asked. "Has he caught that villain Yuan?"
"No, unfortunately, but he has made a discovery. Among those massacred by Yuan and his accomplices are some mysterious clad in black swordsmen. I want you to head south and meet up with him to investigate who those men are. From the description, I suspect that they belong to the Demonic Cult. You must find out if this is true. This is a mission of vital importance."
"You should take your disciple with you," Master Zhang said. "I believe that she will benefit from some experience of the real world. It is one thing to practice in a safe, secluded environment and completely another to go on a mission where you will face real opponents. Make sure though that she doesn''t face any overly dangerous situation and that she doesn''t become a liability on your mission; you are free to send her back here if you feel that the situation has become far too dangerous or if she hinders you."
Xiao bowed slightly. "I will do as you ask Masters. I shall not disappoint you!"
Xiao was walking in the garden when he noticed Nuan silently gazing at the garden''s pond. Seeing him, Nuan bowed in respect. "Greetings teacher," she said.
"I was looking for you," Xiao said. "I am going to the south for a mission; I am going to help brother Yao investigate the identity of some mysterious swordsmen who may belong to the Demonic Cult. You will be coming with me."
Nuan grinned. She could not believe her luck; she was finally going to leave this place and see the world. Although she certainly liked being in Mount Kunlun, she had always wanted to travel around and see new places. "Great!" she said, unable to hide her enthusiasm. "When are we leaving?"
"As soon as possible, so better start preparing your stuff."
"I will do so immediately," Nuan said and left to pack her things.
Xiao smiled seeing her enthusiasm. "Well, that certainly reminds me of myself only a few months ago."
"Indeed," a voice said. "But you have come a long way since then."
Xiao turned around and saw that it was none other than Elder Rong. He gaped in astonishment; Elder Rong had been secluded in his room for a long time. The death of Yang Jing and the loss of the medallion had taken their toll on him. Xiao was thus very surprised to see him walking in the garden. At once he fell to his knees and began kowtowing. "Greetings Elder!"
The elderly man, dressed in his ethereal purple gown and with a bright smiled on his face, signaled him to get up. "No need for such formalities," he said. "I heard your talk about your mission; you must be careful. The Demonic Cult is once again on the rise and I am certain that those swordsmen belong to that cult. Do not underestimate them and, most importantly, make sure to come back alive. We''ve already lost a good disciple; no need to lose another one." He sighed as he was reminded of Jing.
"I will be careful and I will do my best to return alive; getting killed would really suck," Xiao said with a smile on his face. "Elder, you will be taking back your responsibilities as Grandmaster?"
"No. Masters Yi and Zhang have been doing well so far as leaders of Mount Kunlun. I plan on dedicating my time practicing my swordplay and cultivating my internal energy. While I was in isolation, I realized that it is irresponsible for me to descend into depression while the world is in danger. So I have decided that I should prepare myself for the battle against the Dark Lord if the Demonic Cult somehow manages to resurrect him."
Elder Rong paused for a moment. "You should also make sure your disciple is safe. Trust me, losing your disciple can hurt more than being stabbed by a knife..."
Xiao nodded in agreement.
Rong smiled. "Good. You know you two remind me of the disciple I had before Jing. It was twenty thousand years ago, a long time ago even for an immortal like myself. We were exactly like you two."
"What happened?"
"Well... she did not follow the path of righteousness. Largely because of my fault. So heed my advice; never allow feelings to develop between you and her; you will regret it later on..."
Xiao blushed. "I... Elder, you needn''t tell me that. Of course I do not have feelings for Nuan." Xiao wasn''t sure if he was trying to persuade Elder Rong or himself. When he was training with Nuan, he was feeling a connection to her. He did not understand why he had such feelings. Now, he feared that such feelings could cloud his judgment.
The wind howled, piling up snow in drifts. Intricate patterns of ice floated downward, each flake swirling and dancing. The landscape was whitened. The entire mansion was covered in snow. A child was playing in the snow when an armored man appeared before him. "Father!" the child excitedly said.
The man smiled. "Haven''t seen you in a long time..." he said. That man was Yang Wanli. The boy was Yang Jing.
"Will you take me with you the next time you go to a campaign?" Jing asked. "That way I can beat bad guys!"
Wanli laughed. "When you are older, I will take you to the army to teach you how to lead men and fight with your sword. No need to rush though. Enjoy your time because when you join the army, you will miss these carefree days... You know, even though I love leading my men into combat and defending the Dynasty, it is here where I am truly happy. Here where I can be with your mother, you and your other siblings. There is no calmer and happier place than home."
"Wake up!" a voice said. Suddenly Yuan felt a rush of coldness and wet. He opened his eyes; one of the raiders had thrown on him a bucket of cold water.
''I must have been dreaming,'' he thought and sighed. At once he searched for the Flaming Medallion; he let out a sigh, this time of relief, when he realized that it was still on him. The raiders had either not noticed it or did not know about its real value. Yuan then looked around to see where exactly he was. He was inside a yurt, a round tent covered with felt. There was a latticework of pieces of bamboo for walls and a door frame.
"Get up!" the man said. "The Khan is waiting for you!"
Yuan got up and followed behind the man as he led him to the yurt of the Khan. He could see tens of small yurts; this camp was a small ''city'' of sorts in the middle of the desert. Yet the conditions were harsh. The heat was unbearable. The scorched sand shimmered in the intense white rays of the sun. The air was like breathing liquid fire. As Yuan was walking, he discreetly looked to see if there was any escape route he could use later on. He could not afford to waste much time in this camp.
A few minutes later, he was inside the Khan''s yurt. The yurt was spacious and finely appointed. The Khan, sitting cross-legged upon a fur-draped dais, was dressed simply in a padded cotton coat, unadorned by jewels. Yet he was imposing, of stocky build and with ruggedly handsome features. He had a wide, firm jaw and dark gray eyes. He inspired awe to all. Standing to his right and left were warriors armed with axes or swords. Their black metallic armor covering their entire body was imposing; those were the personal bodyguards of the Khan. Aside from the bodyguards, there were three noblemen dressed in black silk robes and a young woman; she was pretty, light-skinned and slim. She was wearing a silk coat.
"Bow!" the soldier who had brought him there said and kicked him to the ground. "This is Khan Khongkhai."
Yuan had no choice but to bow. "Khan, were are my companions?"
The soldier slapped him. "You are not allowed to ask questions."
The Khan smiled. "The young woman will become a maid in my household. The old one is useless and I have ordered my men to throw her out of my camp; she will surely die in the desert. The two other men will work as slaves here in the camp; so will you."
"Father, you promised me that you would gift me a slave!" the young woman protested.
Khan Khongkhai laughed. "Indeed. You remember everything when it concerns gifts; too bad you are not so good at memorizing your responsibilities. I guess I can grant you this man as a slave."
"Thanks father!"
"What?" Yuan was surprised but at once he recomposed himself. ''It could be worse,'' he thought. ''I need to be calm and composed; I need to survive so I can safely deliver the medallion to Elder Rong and seek justice for my clan.''
"She is my daughter, Princess Yesugen", Khan Khongkhai said. "You should be an obedient slave or I shall boil you alive."
"Yes," Yuan said. He knew that for now, he had to bid his time. When the moment was right, he would escape along with his companions. ''Hopefully, it will not be too late,'' he thought. ''I must find a way to escape soon or the fate of the entire world might be in danger.''
Chapter 13 - The Young Master
The heat of the sun was unbearable. The waves of sand dunes seemed endless. Aaren was exhausted. She had been thrown out of the camp by the raiders and left to die in the desert. Yet four days had passed since then and she was still alive. She had the good luck of discovering a well during the first day and had used her vast internal energy to preserve her cool. Yet she was getting weaker by the moment. Her internal energy was being depleted and she felt grueling pain all over he body. Suddenly, she heard the sound of hooves. A moment later, she saw who the riders were; four elves. One of them was Almar.
"Good," she said. "The elves got the message." She was referring to the magic stone which Almar had given to Yuan and which he used to notify the elves just before being captured by the raiders.
Almar got off his horse and approached Aaren. "What happened? Where are the others?"
"Captured," Aaren said. "We were ambushed by desert raiders. They got them to their camp to work as slaves. We must get there immediately and save them. There is no time to lose. Although they are ignorant of the medallion, if they get their hands on it I fear for the worst."
"How far away is the camp?"
"It took me four days to come here, though I was tired and on foot. On horseback, I believe that the distance can be halved."
"Hop onto one of the horses. We must hurry."
Aaren hopped onto one of the horses. Then she and the elves rode forward. Their hoofs beat a steady pound over desert sand, the only sound around.
Harald and Ping were carrying wooden buckets of water, which they had filled in a nearby well, and returning back to the raiders'' camp. They were being supervised by a raider armed with a whip. Both their hands and legs were cuffed with iron chains. They were sweating and their faces had an exhausted, dull expression. Yet they marched forward; if any of them stopped, the raider would immediately whip them.
"Why did I have to follow you...?" Ping whispered. "I was fine back in the forest..."
The raider immediately raised his whip and landed it on Ping''s back. He screamed in pain.
"Walk and don''t talk!" the raider barked.
Harald looked at the raider with intense hatred in his eyes. He fumed in anger and he was trembling with indignation but he did not talk. His frustration was a silent one. He knew that he had to endure until he had a chance to escape.
Dusk was falling and the sky grew darker by the moment. Yuan was on his way to princess Yesugen''s yurt after a long day of work. He had washed her horses, an arduous if somewhat boring task. Now he was going to see if the princess had any other orders before going to his yurt to sleep; unlike other slaves, Yuan was afforded his own, albeit small, yurt. This was a privilege afforded to a selected few slaves who were in the service of the Khan and his immediate family. Although Yuan was privileged compared to the other slaves and able to roam more freely, he hadn''t tried yet escaping; he knew that there were plenty of armed guardsmen across the camp. Although he was a skilled swordsman and had cultivated internal energy, Yuan understood that he could not take on an entire army on his own.
Upon entering her yurt, he saw the princess sitting on a silk mat and staring herself at a hand mirror; this was a luxury few could afford in this harsh environment. "Did you finish your task?" she asked
"Yes," Yuan replied.
"Good," Yesugen said as she got up. "I''ve wanted to ask you a question; I''ve seen that you have a medallion in your possession. It looks beautiful. Will you give it to me?"
Yuan''s face got deathly pale. He couldn''t afford to lose the Flaming Medallion; if he did all his journey and tribulations up to now would have been for nothing and the world could well be doomed. "This is a family heirloom, mistress. I plead you to allow me to keep it," he said as he bowed before her, hoping that his plea would change her mind.
"I couldn''t care less," she sternly said. "You are my slave; my property. Whatever you owe is mine. So give me the medallion."
Yuan had to make a decision. If he fought back, he could easily overpower the princess but not the countless armed men in the camp. In that case, his mission would end up in failure. If he gave the medallion to Yesugen, there was a danger of losing it forever. He weighed for a brief moment those two options and decided to hand over the medallion; if he survived, he could always take it back another day.
It was a bright morning. Xiao and Nuan were galloping forward, heading towards White City, the south''s great metropolis, where they would meet up with Yao. The city was walled; the wall was made of compressed earth blocks and surfaced with bricks. Towers were located at regular intervals along the wall and staffed with archers. The two Kunlun disciples approached the city''s main gate. It was guarded by ten imperial soldiers. The commanding officer, seeing that the two of them were well dressed, allowed them to pass. As White City saw thousands of travelers of all kinds such as scholars, merchants, mercenaries and others going through its gates every day, the soldiers would only stop suspiciously looking individuals for search.
The two Kunlun disciples hopped off their horses and, leading them by their bridle, walked through the loud, crowded street. They could smell the curries, spices and herbs that merchants were selling and the fragrance of the delicious meals prepared in the crowded restaurants. White City was famous for its fine establishments, renown for offering to their costumers the best service, tastiest foods and greatest comfort. Xiao and Nuan walked towards one of those establishments, the ''Dragon Inn''. Upon seeing them, a smiling employee rushed towards them. "Greetings costumers. Please come inside, we have the best food in White City and the most comfortable rooms. Allow me to take your horses to our stable."
"Thank you," Xiao said. As he and his disciple walked into the inn, the employee took the horses by their bridles and led them to the inn''s stable.
The inn was full of life. Crowds of people sat around tables, loudly talking and laughing. Xiao and Nuan saw Yao sitting in one of the tables, drinking a cup of wine. They walked towards him.
"Hello Brother Yao," Xiao said. "Haven''t seen you in a long time."
Yao smiled. "Good to see you, though I hope you have changed your ways; I wouldn''t want a lazy drunkard as my aide."
Xiao sighed. "I have changed but you are always the same strict and arrogant Yao..."
Yao laughed. "Indeed." He then noticed Nuan. "Who is she?"
"She is Xia Nuan, my disciple."
Nuan bowed slightly before Yao as a sign of respect. "I am honored to meet you." She had heard a lot about how Yao was the best disciple of Mount Kunlun.
"I can''t say I envy you having a lazy drunkard as a teacher," Yao said. "Hope you are up for the challenge because while you two were traveling here, I made an important discovery."
"Do tell," Xiao said.
"I investigated the identity of those clad in black swordsmen I found massacred. They indeed belong to the Demonic Cult. That Demon I and Yang Jing faced on Fox Village wasn''t being hyperbolic; they are back in full force. I''ve also discovered that a prominent young master in this city is a member of the cult."
"Who exactly?"
At that moment a tall young man with long black hair and a delicate face walked into the inn, followed by two servants. He was dressed in a white gown made from the finest silk. "Him," Yao said, pointing at the man. "His name is Ren Kun. He is the son of a wealthy merchant. He got a degree in the imperial examinations at a young age but turned down the offer for an office in the central administration; instead he chose to come back to White City and spend his time having fun. I don''t know how he got recruited into the cult, but I learned that he has become a prominent member. If we get him to talk, we can find out the headquarters of the cult."
Young master Kun and his servants approached a table occupied by a company of three men. One his servants barked at them, "Get up! Don''t you know that this table is where our young master likes to spend his time?"
Kun smiled. He bowed slightly and said, "forgive my servant, I haven''t disciplined him enough. I usually sit in this table. I would not bother you but all other tables are occupied as the place is quite crowded. I am willing to pay you two gold ingots each if you give up your table."
"Two gold ingots?!" all tree men repeated. They gaped in astonishment. One of them got up and thanked the young master. The other two quickly did the same. The servants gave the three men their gold ingots and they got away. Then Kun sat on the table and ordered a cup of green tea.
"What a show-off!" Xiao said. "He just likes to show how rich he is and pretend that he is a nice person."
Yao chuckled. "You are just jealous that you don''t have his money."
"Instead of joking around," Nuan interrupted, "shall we go ask him about his connections to the cult?"
"Indeed. We don''t have time to waste," Yao replied.
The three of them approached Kun''s table. One of the servants shouted, "what do you want?! Why do you bother our young master?"Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Kun smiled. "No need to be so rude." He then turned to the three Kunlun disciples and said, "you may sit down if you want to. I can buy you some tea."
"No need," Xiao said. "We just want to ask you about your friends in the Demonic Cult."
Kun sipped his tea. "Excellent tea," he said. "Its taste is just perfect. You may want to try it."
"We aren''t joking," Yao said as he unsheathed his sword. "We are disciples of Mount Kunlun."
Seeing the sword, one of the costumers screamed in fear and ran out of the inn. The others, noticing what was happening, panicked and began running away. One of the employees shouted, "don''t fight! I will call the guards! Damn you!"
Kun sighed. "Why did you have to ruin the man''s business? Don''t they teach you self-control in Mount Kunlun?"
"They do teach us that," Yao replied, "but when the fate of the entire world is in danger, we cannot waste time on formalities."
Kun''s two servants, armed with knives, leaped forward at the Kunlun disciples. The three disciples darted away, easily dodging the attack. Nuan drew her sword, feinted high towards the servant''s eyes and then cut low, slashing the man''s chest. The servant screamed in pain and let go of his knife. She then kicked him with a powerful back kick; the man fell backward and hit his head on the table. Meanwhile, the other servant was trying to cut down Xiao. He attacked wildly, slashing and stabbing. Xiao dodged his attacks and elbowed him in the face. The man cried out as blood flowed from his nose. Xiao found the chance to unsheathe his sword. He then struck at the man''s left flank. The blade went in. Xiao then brought out his sword with a twisting motion. The servant made a cry and stumbled back; he collapsed on the floor.
Kun sighed. "I hate using violence but, unfortunately, you people leave me with no choice." He drunk his cup of green tea and got up. "All right. Let''s get started."
Kun grabbed his cup and threw it at Yao. The Kunlun disciple moved swiftly his blade and with a single, precise move he cut the cup in half.
Kun clapped. "Excellent swordsmanship. I would love to demonstrate you my sword skills but unfortunately, I do not have a blade with me."
"Nuan," Yao said, "give him your sword."
"But he is an enemy!" Nuan protested.
"Indeed," Yao replied, "but Kunlun disciples are known for being fair. We cannot fight an unarmed opponent."
Nuan complied and threw her sword at Kun. He grabbed it and said, "nice sword."
Kun swung his blade at Yao. The Kunlun swordsman leaped backward and then struck back with short, quick motions. Kun parried those attacks with relative ease. He grinned. "Now, that is a good fight!"
Xiao was going to intervene but Yao stopped him. "This is a fight between me and him."
Xiao sighed but nodded his head in agreement. He knew that Yao was very prideful and didn''t want any help. So Xiao simply sat back and watched the two men exchange blows.
Kun slashed high at Yao from right to left. Yao grabbed Kun''s hand with his left hand while his sword slashed across Kun''s chest. Kun reacted by kicking Yao''s jaw, pushing him backward. Yao fell on the floor and spit some blood but he ignored his injury; he got up and slashed his sword at Kun''s head. Kun swiftly swung his sword upwards and the two blades collided. A loud sound was heard. The two blades clashed again.
"This is getting exciting..." Kun said. "It''s been a long time since I had such a competent opponent."
"Likewise," Yao replied.
Yao somersaulted, landed behind Kun and struck with his sword. Kun was taken by surprise and was slow to react; he was barely able to parry the attack. Yao slashed again, this time more forcefully, forcing Kun on the defensive. He then fainted an attack on Kun''s chest. As Kun tried to parry the attack, Yao swiftly moved his blade upward and brought it to Kun''s neck. Kun was barely able to dodge the slash but his neck was slightly cut; it was only a minor cut but Kun knew it could have been far worse had he not moved as quickly as he did. Yao kicked Kun''s right knee and he fell on the ground. As Kun got up, he saw Yao slashing at him. He tried to parry the attack but Yao''s strike was too forceful and Kun''s sword fell off his hand. Unarmed and with Yao''s blade on his neck, Kun had no choice but to admit defeat.
"I admit my defeat," Kun said and let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Finally!" Xiao exclaimed. He had gotten bored of standing back and doing nothing. "Can you now tell us about your friends in the Demonic Cult?"
Kun laughed. "You may call them demonic but they care about the people more than you do. This world is an unjust one. The emperor has no interest in governing, his chancellor is a corrupt and vengeful man, powerful officials can oppress the people with impunity and you remain secluded in your sects, doing nothing unless one of you is hurt. You don''t care for the common people. This world deserves to burn to the ground. When the Dark Lord is revived, he will destroy this unjust world and bring an era of justice and piousness."
Xiao had to admit that sometimes he wished the Orthodox Sects or the Celestial Court could take some more direct action against imperial officials who abused their powers yet he understood that the Jade Emperor wasn''t going to withdraw his heavenly mandate just yet as doing so would cause war and mass suffering. The Grandmasters of the Orthodox Sects were of the same mind; they wished for a reform in the imperial court as an all-out war would cause destruction on a scale unseen in centuries.
"You think resurrecting a power-hungry immortal who cared only about power is going to help the people?" Yao asked. "Or do you think the mass destruction he is going to inflict will improve their lives? Will you be kind enough to tell us about your friends?"
Kun clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "No!"
Yao hit Kun''s head with the hilt of his sword, breaking his nose. "Wrong answer."
As Kun did not reply, Yao hit him again. Kun cried out in pain. "Alright! I will tell you. Zhongqihar. That''s where their headquarters are."
Zhongqihar was a coastal town on the southern shore. Most of its inhabitants were fishermen and sailors. Yao had visited it once before but it did not make much of an impression on him.
"Good," Yao said. "Thanks for your cooperation." He then knocked him out with a punch on the face. "We must get going; the guards are going to be here at any moment."
Nuan picked up her sword and then the three of them rushed out of the inn. They run to the stables and hopped onto their horses. As they galloped forward, they saw a brigade of imperial soldiers running towards the inn. They had escaped just in time.
It was early in the morning of the next day. Aaren and the elves had reached the raider''s camp. They overlooked it from a sand dune, making sure that they were not seen by the tribe''s guards. For a settlement in the midst of the desert, it was an impressive sight. Wooden palisades encircled a settlement of tens of yurts. Most of the men and women were armed. Only the toughest could survive in such a harsh environment. Most of the men and plenty of the women had seen action more than once and were battle-hardened.
"There are too many soldiers," Almar said. "We cannot hope to take on all of them."
"Indeed," Aaren replied. "One of you will need to create the distraction while the rest of us sneak into the camp and rescue Yuan and the others."
Almar nodded in agreement. He pointed at one of the other three elves and said, "you will be the one responsible for distracting the raiders."
The elf headed towards the camp. Approaching it, he used his internal energy to create a bolt of fire and throw it at one of the yurts, setting it aflame. This alerted everyone in the camp to his presence. The men nearest to him grabbed their swords and charged at him while shouting at the top of their lungs, "we are under attack!"
The elf used his internal energy to channel lightning at them. Violent electrical current pulsed through the raiders, electrocuting them to death. Yet more and more of them were charging at him and the elf''s internal energy was beginning to get depleted.
Seeing the chaos the elf caused, Aaren said, "now is a good time to sneak into the camp."
Almar nodded in agreement. Then he, Aaren and the other two elves used the distraction to stealthily walk into the camp. As they passed through yurts, trying to remain unseen, they saw Harald and Ping chained on a wooden pole. Both of them were sweating and looked exhausted. The elves and Aaren approached the two men. Almar channeled his internal energy into his hands and broke the chains with a swift move.
"I''ve never been happier to see you!" Ping exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. Although he resented having to follow Yuan, Aaren and the others in their ''crazy quest'', as he called it, he preferred that to being a slave to the raiders.
"We need to save brother Yuan," Harald said.
"Where is he?" Aaren asked.
"He has been given to Princess Yesugen as a slave. He must be in her yurt."
Harald led Aaren and the others to the princess'' yurt. Outside of the yurt were four guardsmen, all sturdy and armed with axes. Seeing the intruders, they charged at them with chilling war cries but the elves used their internal energy to send invincible energy waves that pushed them aside. Harald rushed at one of them and before he could get up, he grabbed his axe and used it against him, chopping off the guardsman''s head.
"At last!" Harald exclaimed. "I missed holding an axe in my hands."
The other guardsmen, still dizzy from the energy wave that hit them, got up and slowly approached Harald. One of them tried to hit him but Harald moved to the right, dodging the attack, and then swung his axe at the guardsman''s body, cutting deep into his flesh. The man cried out and then fell backward sprawling on the ground. The other two remaining guardsmen charged but Almar intervened; he channeled his internal energy into his hands, creating bolts of fire, and threw them at the two men. They two guardsmen were set ablaze and screamed in pain as they were being burned alive.
"Let''s get inside!" Harald said. He and the others rushed into the yurt to find Yuan holding the medallion in his hands and holding a knife on Yesugen''s neck.
"What took you so long?" Yuan smilingly said.
"Brother!" Harald exclaimed with a wide grin on his face. "Good to see you."
"I see you''ve managed to free yourself," Almar said.
"Only because you took care of the guardsmen," Yuan replied. "While you were taking care of the guards, I found the chance to grab the princess'' knife and take her hostage. Now we can escape."
"Indeed," Aaren said. "We should hurry. Even if we have the princess as a hostage, an escape isn''t guaranteed. We need to leave at once."
"We must first save Hua."
"Why do you care? She will be one less burden for our journey."
"She has been helpful through this journey and... I owe her. Her chief lieutenant saved my life when the imperial soldiers were about to kill me, so I cannot abandon her here."
"Fine..." Aaren said and sighed.
Yuan moved out of the yurt, still holding the princess hostage, along with his other companions. Before them were tens of warriors and Khan Khongkhai himself.
"If you do not let my daughter go," the Khan said, "I will boil you alive!"
"We can arrange an exchange," Yuan replied. "Free Hua and I will return to you your daughter."
The Khan was trembling with anger. He was being blackmailed by a slave. Yet he had little choice. "Fine," he said. He then turned to a servant and told him, "bring Hua here."
A moment later the servant returned with Hua. "She is here," the Khan said. "We can exchange prisoners in three, two, one..."
He then threw Hua at Yuan while Yuan threw Yesugen at the Khan.
"You''ve got the medallion, right?" Hua asked.
"Yes, of course I''ve got it," Yuan replied. "No need to thank me for saving you."
"I could have saved myself, you know. My swordsmanship is better than yours."
"Can we focus on the fact that we are still in the midst of an enemy camp?" Ping interrupted.
With his daughter safe, the Khan barked, "you will all die! Attack them, men!"
Almar and the other two elves used their internal energy to create an energy shield that repulsed the raiders; it was as if they were charging at a wall.
"Maintain the shield!" Almar said to his subordinates. He then turned to Yuan and said, "we need to escape. My warriors will hold back the raiders long enough for us to leave."
"But they won''t survive!"
Almar sighed. "I know that. As I''ve told you in our last meeting, every single one of us is prepared to risk death in order to regain the favor of the Gods in Heavens. You are the One who will allow my people to return back to the surface, so they are glad to die so that you can be saved."
"Let''s get going," Ping said. "There is time for discussion once we are out of this camp."
Yuan nodded in agreement. "Follow me. I know where the Khan''s best horses are."
Yuan led the others to the Khan''s best horses; they were enclosed by a short wooden fence. Yuan and his co-travelers jumped through the fence and hopped onto the horses. They then made their way out of the camp, galloping forward as fast as they could, leaving plumes of dust in their wake.
Chapter 14 - City of Ghosts
The air became cooler as the sun sank lower in the sky. Yuan and his companions were still galloping forward after escaping from the raiders'' camp. As they rode forward, they saw the ruins of a city before them. It looked as if once it had known great prosperity, but now the thousands of houses they could see, although large in scale, were all in various stages of ruin and collapse.
"We should head into the ruins," Aaren said. "It is late and we will need a place to spend the night. The city looks abandoned, so we will not face any hurdles."
"I agree," Almar concurred. "I also sense... power. There is a strange aura in this place. We should be careful."
"How is there such a majestic city in the midst of the desert?" Harald wondered.
"Elder R-" Yuan was about to say ''Elder Rong'' but remembered that now he was Cheng Yuan, not Yang Jing, and thus his words would make no sense. "An Elder once told me a legend. Tens of thousands of years ago, this place was fertile and home to an advanced civilization. The inhabitants, however, lived a decadent lifestyle and the rulers were renown for their debauchery. The Jade Emperor, enraged by their conduct, turned the entire region into a desert. This city must a remnant of that old civilization."
Yuan and the others then rode into the city. Inside not a sound was to be heard, not even the twittering of a single bird. That place was the most magnificent and the most terrible Yuan had ever seen. They reached the courtyard of what once must have been a palace. The building before them was crumbling. Remains of a tower were scattered upside-down in the center of the courtyard. What once must have been a majestic sight inspiring awe now was a sight of decline, a testimony both to the ingenuity of humans and the destructive power of nature.
They all hopped off their horses and walked into the courtyard.
"That is a nice place to spend the night," Yuan said.
Yuan suddenly felt an aura of power. He noticed that the medallion in his belt was gleaming. He took it into his hands and saw the bright redness gleaming off the medallion''s stone. It was as if the medallion was sending him a message.
"Why is it gleaming like that?" Yuan asked.
"It seems to have something to do with this place," Almar replied. "The feeling of power that I sensed earlier is stronger here. It seems to be coming from the ruins of the palace."
"We should head inside," Aaren said. "Whatever is inside the ruins, it calls for the medallion and the medallion calls for it. It cannot be ignored."
"Shouldn''t we be more careful?" Hua interjected. "What is inside emanates an aura of great power."
"Indeed... We don''t know though if it is an enemy or an ally, a gift or a curse. It is up to Yuan to decide; he is the holder of the medallion."
Yuan remained silent for a moment. He closed his eyes and felt a call. Something was calling for him. The medallion''s stone became brighter and Yuan could feel a sense of warmth. He finally opened his eyes. "We should go inside."
"Good. I will remain here," Ping said. "Someone needs to look after the horses."
"I will remain here too," Harald told. "That bastard might run off with the horses if he is left alone."
"You insult me! Do you really believe I am so dishonorable?"
"You are a thief; of course you are dishonorable!"
Yuan sighed. "Fine... you two remain outside."
Yuan, Hua, Almar, and Aaren headed inside the ruins of the palace. They became engulfed in chilling blackness as there was no light. The whole place looked rotter and its walls seemed as if they would crumble. Spiders laced the walls with cobwebs of intricate beauty. Whatever splendors this palace once had, they had all faded by now. There was a stairway that once must have led to an upper floor, but that floor had collapsed and remnants were scattered all over the floor. The stairway itself looked as if it was about to crumble. On the other hand, there was a pathway leading below the palace. They followed this path and descended into an underground passageway. The medallion''s red stone gleamed ever brighter as they followed the path. There, they found themselves having two options; there was a corridor to their left and a corridor to their right.
"Which one should we follow?" Yuan wondered.
"I say that we split," Almar replied. "You and Hua can follow the corridor on the right while I and Aaren will follow the corridor to the left."
"That is fine by me."
"Be careful," Aaren said. "Remember, if you face any danger you must clear your mind of all thoughts and focus; allow yourself to use the internal energy inside you."
Yuan nodded in agreement. He and Hua then headed to the right corridor while Aaren and Almar followed the left corridor.
Yao, Xiao, and Nuan were galloping forward towards Zhongqihar, the coastal town where the headquarters of the Demonic Cult were located. They rode under the starry night sky. This town, unlike the great White City metropolis, had no walls or fortifications. As such, the three riders could enter the city without being checked by any guards. They headed to the port, where most of the fishermen and sailors lived. They finally reached a small wooden house. The Kunlun disciples hopped off their horses and approached it. Yao knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" an elderly male voice asked.
"Qing Yao."
A moment of silence ensued. Then, the door opened and a grizzled old man greeted them. "Hello. Please, come inside."
Yao walked inside and Xiao and Nuan followed closely behind.
"Who is he?" Xiao whispered. He had no idea why Yao brought them to that old man.
"He is Tao Guanting. He knows everything that is going on in this town," Yao replied. "Last time I came to this town, I paid him a visit to find some information about a fugitive. I am sure he will be useful in revealing to us the exact location of the Demonic Cult headquarters in this town."
Guanting smiled. "Well, what brings you to my humble home?"
"We''ve learned that the Demonic Cult is based on this town," Yao said. "I want to know the exact location of their headquarters."
The old man grinned. "I do have the information you seek but, as you know, I do not give up information for free. There is a price that must be paid."
"How much do you want?" Xiao interjected.
"A hundred gold ingots."
Xiao laughed for a brief moment before realizing that the old man wasn''t joking. "Really?"
Guanting nodded his head. "Really. I am not in the mood for joking."
"That is too much!"
"The more valuable an information is, the higher is its price."
"Can we pay you in some other way?" Yao asked.
Guanting thought for a moment. "Yes, I do believe you can. I want you to kill someone."
"We are Kunlun disciples, not hired killers," Nuan protested.
Guanting smiled. "No worries, the one I want you to kill is a scumbag. You would be doing the world a favor by getting rid of him. There is a bounty on his head by the imperial court for murdering the family of a leading official. His name is Yin Shuren and he is a renowned assassin. He has butchered his way to the top and his services are highly sought after. This time though, he made a mistake of accepting the job of massacring the family of one of Chancellor Cao''s most trusted officials, so now he has the imperial court asking for his head."
"Why would you want him dead?" Nuan asked.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
Guanting chuckled. "For the money, of course. The bounty the court put up is more than three hundred gold ingots."
"Where is he?" Yao asked.
"He is at ''Shark Inn''. He is most likely drinking wine."
"Since you know where he is, why haven''t you tried apprehending him yourself?" Xiao wondered.
Guanting sighed. "I would if only I knew martial arts... So? What are you waiting for? Go, go!"
"All right," Yao said. "That Shuren is a despicable person, so ridding the world of him would be a good deed. I expect you to keep your part of the deal though."
"Of course I will; I am a businessman. I cannot be in this business if I do not have a good reputation."
Harald and Ping were waiting in the courtyard. Although only a few minutes had passed since the others headed into the ruins of the palace, Harald was already getting bored.
"If it wasn''t for you, I would have gone to the ruins," Harald said. "I don''t know why brother Yuan insists on you following us. It''s not like you have offered any insights since we left behind the forest."
"He probably thinks I am smart, cunning and valuable for his mission," Ping replied with a wide smile on his face.
"You are dumb, so we can exclude that scenario." Harald sighed. "Most likely he thinks he can turn you towards the path of righteousness..."
Yuan and Hua were walking almost in the dark. Only the brightness emanating from the medallion allowed them to see where they were going. As they headed further into the corridor, they could see a glimpse of light coming from a room. The room was illuminated by a torch placed upon a wooden chest. The torch created a flickering orange glow. Beside it was the corpse of a man.
"It seems that he was killed only recently," Yuan said as he observed from some distance the body. "He must have been trying to find a way to open the chest before getting himself killed. There are darts on his neck."
As Yuan stepped forward, he suddenly noticed that the room''s floor was made up of stone tiles. ''Oh no!'' he thought as he stepped onto a tile. A ''click'' sound was heard. At once darts were fired from both sides of the room.
"Look out!" Hua said as she rushed forward and pushed Yuan to the ground. They barely dodged the darts that flew right over them. "Idiot. You should be looking where you are stepping."
"Thanks," Yuan said as he let out a sigh of relief.
They both quickly got up. They approached the wooden chest. Yuan grabbed the torch and gave it to Hua. "Hold it," he said. Hua took hold of the torch while Yuan tried to open the chest. It was locked but Yuan broke the lock and forced it open; the only things he could see inside the chest were some dusty old papers.
"That man got himself killed for a chest that contains only some old papers..." Yuan sighed.
"Look," Hua said pointing at the left corner of the room, "there''s a door."
They walked there and opened the door. The sight they stared at was terrifying; there were dozens of skeletons scattered around the room. The skeletons were armored; those men were warriors who had died defending something. At the right side of the room, they saw a wooden door. It suddenly opened. Yuan and Hua both unsheathed their swords only to find out that the ones that opened the door were Almar and Aaren.
"Thankfully it''s you!" Yuan exclaimed.
"It seems that both corridors lead to this room," Aaren said. "Those skeletons must be of the men that once guarded this place."
Yuan saw that there was a wooden chest beside the skeletons. As he approached it, the brightness emanating from the medallion''s stone became dazzling. "Whatever is inside this chest, it calls for the medallion."
"Hopefully this chest will contain something more important than dusty paperwork..." Hua commented.
Yuan opened the chest and saw that inside was an armor and a helmet. The iron helmet was dome-shaped and its exterior decorated with beaded jewels. The brocade armor was inlaid with gold, silver, and jewelry. The figures of two dragons were carved upon the armor. Yuan gaped in awe at the splendid sight laid before him.
"What is the connection between the Flaming Medallion and this armor?" he wondered.
Almar looked closer at the armor and exclaimed, "impossible! That is the armor of the God of War!"
"God of War?"
"That is indeed the God of War Ma Yuan''s armor," Aaren interjected. "He wore this armor when he slayed the Demonic Deity a million years ago. He then gave it to the Jade Emperor before dying due to the wounds inflicted upon him during that terrible duel. Two hundred thousand years later, when the hero Yi Hong emerged as the only one who could stop the Dark Lord, the Jade Emperor gifted him this armor. After he defeated the Dark Lord in a duel that lasted six days, Yi Hong disappeared. No one had seen this armor since then. Now, eight hundred thousand years after Yi Hong''s disappearance, the armor has been found."
"Ma Yuan was the one who forged the Flaming Medallion. Yi Hong also made use of the medallion to defeat the Dark Lord," Almar said. "So it is only natural that the Flaming Medallion was attracted to the armor of its two previous owners."
"Does this armor have powers?" Yuan asked.
"According to legend, it is the strongest armor in the entire world," Aaren replied. "It was forged by the God of War himself. It is said to be able to withstand any attacks. But, just like the Flaming Medallion, it cannot be used by anyone. Since we haven''t been able to unlock the secrets of the medallion and learn how to use its terrible powers, I doubt that we will be able to use the armor''s mythical powers. Nevertheless, even if it cannot be used to its full extent, the armor can be useful in combat."
Yuan then noticed that alongside the helmet and the armor was a stone, much like the one that Almar had given to him. Strange hieroglyphics were carved upon it. As Yuan grabbed the armor and the helmet, at once the hieroglyphics on the stone glowed brightly.
"What is this stone?" Yuan wondered.
Almar gaped in awe. "That... that is an ancient magic stone. I thought that only the ancient Elders of the Elves could forge such magic artifacts. No! This stone is calling for a beast of the underworld. It was a trap set for those who dared to open the chest. We must leave!"
"What?"
"There is no time to explain!"
A flash of light encompassed the entire room and momentarily blinded all of them. As they opened their eyes, they could hear a terrible growl. They turned around and saw a gigantic beast standing over ten feet tall with bright red skin and enormous horns on its head. With each step it took, the entire room shook as if there was an earthquake.
"What is this...?" Yuan asked, his face pale white.
"A beast called from the Realm of the Dead. It rose up thanks to that magic stone," Almar replied. "Run!"
They all began running when the beast grabbed a skeleton and threw it at Yuan. It hit his back and he slipped, falling on the ground. The armor and the helmet fell from his hands and rolled on the ground. The beast approached him. Yuan trembled in fear. He could feel the cold sweat on his forehead. He froze as he was too terrified to make a move. The beast was about to crush him beneath his gargantuan fist when Almar and Aaren directed lightning at it. The lightning pulsed through it but it only made the beast more furious as it growled in rage. Yuan found the chance to quickly get up. He grabbed the armor but had to leave behind the helmet as it was too near to the beast.
Almar vomited some blood. "I have used too much internal energy today... We... must go..."
They rushed to the previous room. In their hurry, they forgot about the traps. Upon stepping onto the tiles, tens of darts were thrown at them. Aaren just in time used her internal energy to create an energy shield around them but a dart got through stabbed her back. It wasn''t a serious injury but she bled and, just like Almar, her internal energy was being depleted. The beast followed closely behind, the darts being only a minor nuisance to it.
Yuan and his companions sprinted through the corridor. The walls shook and seemed as if they would crumble. The roof was certainly crumbling as bits of it were falling onto the ground, threatening to hit the companions who were barely able to dodge them. As everything was crumbling before them, they managed to get out of the underground passageway and emerge onto the surface. "Get onto the horses!" Yuan barked at Harald and Ping as he and his other companions rushed out of the palace.
"Why?" Ping asked. "What happened inside the pal-" Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the beast emerging from the ruins of the palace. "Oh! That happened..."
They all hopped onto their horses and galloped away. The beast was sprinting towards them, its movements shaking the earth and demolishing crumbling buildings, but it could not keep up with their pace. Seeing the intruders getting away, it could only growl and roar.
"So much for getting some sleep..." Ping commented as they rode away from the city.
Yao, Xiao and Nuan walked into ''Shark Inn''. As it was late at night, the place was almost empty. Only one person was awake, sitting at a table and drinking wine from a jar. He was bearded and scruffy looking, wearing a long dark poncho. Seeing them looking at him, the man got up and barked, "what do you want?!"
"You are Yin Shuren?" Yao asked.
The man laughed. "So, you are bounty hunters, eh? Well, you certainly don''t look your part."
"We ain''t bounty hunters," Xiao said. "We are Kunlun disciples."
"Oh, I see! You think that because you are disciples of an Orthodox Sect you can mess with me? Think again! I am not known as the ''Blade of Death'' for no reason. I have massacred hundreds of people."
Shuren revealed his weapon, a broadsword with a revolving handle.
"Leave him to me," Xiao said to Yao. "You''ve had your fun already with that young master."
Xiao unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Shuren. "I''ve heard that you are a good fighter. Hopefully, you will not disappoint me."
Xiao sprinted forward and struck at Shuren. His movement was swift like the wind. Shuren jumped up, dodging Xiao''s blade, and struck at him from above. Xiao retreated by a few steps. "Good moves!" he said. He then slashed again, furiously and with almost superhuman speed. Shuren leaped backward, grabbed a table and threw it at Xiao. Xiao slashed the table in two. Shuren roared as he charged with his blade. Xiao dodged his slash but was struck hard by a kick to the chest; he slid backward from the attack.
"You are indeed good..." Xiao admitted.
"Ha! I am not famous for nothing!"
Shuren lunged forward, swinging his sword. Xiao ducked low, avoiding the strike, and then leaped over Shuren''s head, attacking him with a powerful slash. Shuren managed to block the attack and attempted to counter with an upward slash. Xiao quickly rolled back to avoid this slash. He then advanced speedily, aiming his blade at Shuren''s neck. Shuren moved his blade upward to block the incoming attack but Xiao hastily changed the direction of his blade and instead struck at Shuren''s shoulder. The sword was stabbed deep into Shuren''s shoulder. He let out a cry and instinctively kicked Xiao''s chest. Xiao was pushed back and spit a mouthful of blood.
Nuan gasped. "Are you alright, teacher?" she asked.
Xiao nodded. "Yes. It''s nothing."
He lunged forward and struck with even greater speed. As Shuren''s hand was less steady due to the stabbing, he wasn''t able to block Xiao''s attack and the Kunlun disciple''s sword stabbed his chest. Shuren clutched his wound and coughed. He tried to kick Xiao but this time the Kunlun disciple blocked the kick with his elbow. Shuren vomited blood and cursed Xiao before collapsing onto the floor, dead.
"Now we can get him to Guanting and learn where exactly are the headquarters of the Demonic Cult," Yao said.
"Who will carry the body to his house?" Xiao asked.
"You of course," Yao said with a grin on his face. "You killed him, so he is your responsibility."
Xiao simply sighed.
Chapter 15 - Cultivating in the Desert
It was midday. The sun was beating down hard on Yuan and his companions traveling through the Desert of Death.Their horses, exhausted after galloping for so long under such severe conditions, were useless and they had to let them go. After hours of walking under the scorching rays of the sun, they decided to stop and rest for a few hours. They chose to stop near a well, one of the many dug up throughout the desert by the nomad tribes. After drinking some much needed cold water, they sat on the ground and allowed themselves to rest a bit. As Yuan was resting, Aaren approached him.
"We can use this chance to cultivate," Aaren said. "You cannot always depend on others saving you. You will need to cultivate your internal energy. You have already broken through to Level 1 of Force Formation. It is vital that you master Force Formation if you are to face the dangers ahead. It will allow you to create shields of internal energy and send invincible energy waves at your enemies. Those skills can give you an edge in battle and, once you have perfected them, they can be quite destructive in combat. There are still four more levels you need to break through before fully mastering that formation."
Although Yuan was tired, he knew that Aaren was right. In the last few days, he had been captured by desert raiders and almost killed by a beast of the underworld. Although he was by no means incompetent, in fact, his swordsmanship was fairly good, he knew that he needed to improve further. He could not rely on being lucky and getting saved by others all the time.
"You are right," he said. "I need to cultivate and further improve my skills."
"Cultivating the normal way would be far too slow. You need to improve rapidly. I know a technique that will allow you to withstand the inflow of too much Qi into your body but it is risky. Initially, I didn''t want you to use this technique but with the captivity by the raiders and the encounter we had with the beast, we''ve lost too much time. I believe that you are special and you can make it. Do you believe you can make it?"
Yuan nodded in agreement. He knew that he didn''t have the luxury to cultivate the normal way as he did in his previous life as Yang Jing when he was a disciple of Mount Kunlun. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
"You must feel the presence of life around you," Aaren told him. "You must allow your consciousness to touch upon all things; the countless of specks of sand, the sand waves, your companions, the desert nomads, the sun itself. You must feel their presence, their life energy. Qi exists in all of them. It exists in all things. It permeates the entire universe. Feel it but do not try to understand it. Try to connect with all those things, but do not think about them. Simply feel the energy in them and allow your mind to be at peace. That is very important."
Yuan felt a warmth and chilling coldness at the same time. He could sense the dust, the humans, the sun. Their presence was overwhelming in his mind. It was as if a million voices were speaking to him at the same time. It was all grand but confusing. He felt as if he was a mere speck of sand, a tiny part of this universe. Yet he also found himself feeling surrounded by energy. He let out a deep breath and relaxed, as Aaren had told him to do. He tried to ignore all the noise in his head. He inhaled and exhaled.
"Good, you should relax and be in peace," Aaren continued. "You now draw in the Qi of the natural world. You can feel its prowess."
"I... feel the Qi..." Yuan said. "I can sense it. But I feel a headache. I-"
Aaren shushed him. "Do not talk. It is only natural that you feel that way. You are trying to break through a level of internal energy in only one day whereas others need months to do so. Too much inflow of Qi can be too much for the body to handle. That is the reason why I asked you to feel the presence of all life forms and touch upon them with your consciousness; it is a technique that allows you to sort of feed off the living energy of others and temporarily strengthen yourself. It can help your body somewhat withstand the inflow of too much Qi. But it can also destroy your mind. That''s why I told you not to think about it. Simply relax and be at peace. Otherwise, you will lose your mind."
Yuan had to suppress any feelings of worry he might have and clear his mind of all distractions. The danger of losing his mind was certainly very motivating at getting him to try hard to remain calm and relaxed.
"That is an ancient and dangerous technique that very few know of," Almar said. Until then, he had simply been sitting on the ground and quietly observing. "I wonder where you''ve learned it."
"This isn''t the time for such questions," Aaren replied.
"Indeed but, as you''ve said, this technique can damage his mind. Are you sure that he can withstand the inflow of so much Qi or the presence of so many life forms in his mind?"
"A normal person wouldn''t be able to do this but he is special. I''ve felt that since the first day I''ve met him."
"He is indeed special but this can be too risky even for someone like him."
Almar got up and pointed his finger at Yuan. He closed his eyes and began transferring part of his internal energy onto him. "This will temporarily strengthen his body and allow him to withstand the pressures of your technique."
"But it shall also weaken you," Aaren added.
"He is the One who will bring salvation to my people. I am willing to weaken myself to allow him to become stronger."
Yuan felt hot. He was sweating. It wasn''t the scorching sun or the climate of the desert that gave him that feeling but rather the inflow of too much Qi. His mind was in no better state; he felt as his head was about to explode. Seeing him tremble, Aaren too began transferring her internal energy onto him. This allowed Yuan''s body temperature to stabilize at normal levels and gave him some peace of mind, even though his head still hurt.
Yuan opened his eyes. "I have broken through to Level 2 of Force Formation."
"Good," Aaren said. "Let me test your skills."
Without warning, her hands shot lightning at Yuan. The young hero at once closed his eyes, concentrated, transferred internal energy onto his hands and created an energy shield around him. The lightning at first was deflected by the shield but soon it broke through and pulsed through Yuan. He let out a cry and fell to the ground.
"You have improved," Aaren commented. "You can now use the internal energy in your body to create energy shields. But you haven''t yet mastered this new ability nor is your level of internal energy strong enough to withstand powerful attacks. I say this so that you do not get cocky. You may have made rapid progress but you still have much to learn."
"I understand," Yuan said.
As he was about to rest, Almar approached him.
"I can help you with learning to use your new powers," Almar told.
Yuan nodded in agreement. He needed the practice.
"Close your eyes and concentrate on your purpose. Imagine in your mind the energy shield in every detail."
Yuan followed his instructions. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He inhaled and exhaled. He cleared his mind of any distracting thoughts and concentrated on the creation of an energy shield. He could see it in his mind in every detail.
"Now transfer your internal energy onto your hands."
Yuan did so. He then slowly waved his hands, gradually building an energy shield around himself.
"Good. Now your energy shield is stronger than before. But you must remain concentrated or it will weaken."
Almar unsheathed his sword and charged at Yuan, who retained his calmness and concentrated on maintaining the shield. His attack was blocked by the energy shield and he was pushed back.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "You are learning fast."
Almar transferred internal energy onto his sword and struck again, this time breaking through the shield.
Yuan sighed. "It seems I have a long way to go before mastering this skill."
Almar smiled. "No worries. You''ve already made much progress. Just keep practicing and you will eventually get better."
Xiao, Yao, and Nuan were outside an abandoned warehouse near Zhongqihar''s port. Once it was used by a mercantile family to store their products but after the entire family died in a shipwreck, the family company got bankrupt and the warehouse was abandoned. A story circulated in Zhongqihar that the warehouse was haunted by the ghosts of the deceased family and most people were scared of going to that place.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Nuan asked.
"Yes," Yao replied. "Guanting told us last night that here is the location of the headquarters of the Demonic Cult."
"I hope he isn''t lying..." Xiao said.
"Don''t worry. He is a businessman. He wants to have a good reputation otherwise no one will trust him and make deals with him. Since we delivered him Yin Shuren and he is to take the bounty, he has no reason to want to fool us."
The three Kunlun disciples barged into the building. It was dusty and empty. There wasn''t a single furniture inside.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"There doesn''t seem to be anyone or anything inside this place..." Nuan commented.
"We should keep looking!" Yao said. "There must be some secret room."
As they were searching, four muscular men walked into the warehouse. "You!" one of them barked. "What are you doing here?"
"Excuse me, you are...?" Xiao asked.
"This place is haunted," the man said. "You better leave."
"We do not believe in such superstition."
"I insist. It is for your own good."
"I thank you for your concern but we have a job to do here."
The man clenched his fists. "If you insist on being a busybody, fine!"
He charged at Xiao. His fist would have hit him had the Kunlun disciple not ducked down and dodged it literally in the last second. Counterattacking, Xiao kicked the man''s chest with a powerful back kick. The man groaned in pain but struck back. He shot his fist at Xiao but he blocked the attack with his right hand. Xiao then proceeded to use the ''Chain Fists'' technique. He started throwing one punch after the other at the man, slowly moving forward and cornering him. As one punch came after the other, the man was forced to go on the defensive and couldn''t mount a counterattack. Finally, one punch broke through the man''s defense and punched him right in the face, breaking his nose. A second punch came before the man could have the chance of defending himself; the punch was so powerful that it knocked him out.
While Xiao was fighting that thug, the other three men were attacking Yao and Nuan. Yao was attacked by two men at once. He jumped high on the air, dodging their fists. When he landed on the ground, he charged at one of the attackers and kicked him out with a powerful flying kick in the face. The other man struck at Yao with a roar. Yao smiled. He did not move until the man''s fist was only a few inches away from his face. He then swiftly moved to the left, missing the punch, and elbowed the man''s face. The man spat some blood and fell to the ground. As he was about to get up, Yao kicked him in the face. The man''s face was bleeding and he was dizzy. He tried to get up but suddenly collapsed. He was unconscious.
The fourth thug was attacking Nuan with his fists but she dodged his strikes. She grabbed his arm and kneed his elbow. He screamed out in pain. Nuan kicked him in the chest with a back kick, sending him flying against the wall and knocking him out.
"Good!" Xiao exclaimed. "You have improved."
"Thanks," Nuan said with a smile on her face. "It is only because I have such a good teacher that I have improved."
Yao sighed. "Can we focus on the task at hand and leave compliments for later? We still have to find where exactly the Demons are hidden. I am sure they must be in this warehouse otherwise those thugs wouldn''t have tried to stop our search."
As they searched around, Yao discovered that something wasn''t right on the right corner of the warehouse. He looked at the floor and examined it for a moment. He slid back a floor panel, revealing a wooden stairway leading to an underground facility.
"Come here!" he said.
Xiao and Nuan came at once.
"This is where the headquarters of the Demonic Sect must be," Yao continued.
As they descended onto the underground facility, they became engulfed in chilling blackness.
"Is there no light here?" Xiao whispered.
As they walked forward, a glimpse of light appeared from the inside a room. When the three Kunlun disciples walked into the room, that was illuminated by torches, they found tens of Demonic swordsmen. Upon seeing the intruders, they all unsheathed their swords.
"Oops!" Xiao said with a smile on his face. "We''ve made a mistake. Bye!"
"Can you stop fooling around?" Yao said as he unsheathed his sword. "Scums, it''s time you meet your Dark Lord in the underworld."
"Fine! No need to be so serious all the time," Xiao told as he too grabbed his sword. He turned to Nuan and said, "You should remain back. Do not try to engage with them."
"Teacher, I can fight!" she protested. "Why should I sit back and do nothing?"
"You have made much progress but you are still only a novice. Master Zhang told me to not put you in an overly dangerous situation. This is one such situation. I cannot both fight and be looking after you."
Nuan nodded in agreement. She wanted to show her sword skills but knew that her teacher was right.
The Demonic swordsmen charged at the two men. Swords were coming at them like scissor blades but they parried and slashed their way through their opponents. Yao and Xiao hacked and stabbed, their swords moving speedily and elegantly like steel whips, but the swordsmen kept charging at them. Yao slashed a swordsman in the chest, killing him instantly. Another tried to attack him, but Yao ducked down, dodging the blade, and then stabbed forward with his sword, killing the Demonic swordsman. At the same time, Xiao was killing an enemy with a slash through his shoulder. He pulled his blade clear when another swordsman charged at him, but Xiao made no move until the sword was only one inch from his nose, then stretched out his hand and grabbed it by the hilt. Xiao swiftly decapitated the man and, now armed with two swords, charged at the remaining Demonic swordsmen. He used his one sword to parry attacks and the other to slash and hack down his opponents. He and Yao made short work of them, chopping them down until the only enemy standing in the room was their commander.
He was a giant of a man; tall, muscular, bald and tattooed. He was bare-chested, showing his muscles. "You!" he said as he pointed his finger at them. "You are going down!"
He grabbed a long iron spear. "I am High Priest Shui, a faithful servant of the Dark Lord. With his aid, I shall defeat you and offer your heads as a sacrifice to him."
He then charged at the two Kunlun disciples. His attack was ferocious as he had transferred internal energy onto his spear, making its attack even more powerful. His spear clashed against Xiao''s swords with such great force it made the ground shake. Neither gave ground and both transferred more of their internal energy onto their weapons, hoping to overpower the opponent. Yao slashed at Shui, forcing him to abandon this contest of prowess and make a tactical retreat. Yao and Xiao struck him at once. There was a sharp echo of metal as Shui used his spear to block the swords. Shui swung his spear at the two disciples. His attack was even more ferocious than his previous one. Yao had to used his internal energy to create a shield around him and Xiao in order to counter the attack. Shui attacked again, this time putting more of his internal energy into his attack, and broke through the shield. He had exhausted his internal energy though and his next attack was less powerful. Still, even without much use of his internal energy, Shui was still able to strike powerful blows at his opponents thanks to his heavy built.
"You are a formidable opponent," Yao said, "but I will defeat you."
He hit Shui with a solid strike from his sword. Seeing Shui stepping backward, he jumped into the air towards his opponent and raced down the sword directly to him. Shui quickly raised his spear to block the sword but the impact was so strong that the sword broke the spear in half. As Yao was about to stab him, Shui dodged to the left and punched his fist in Yao''s face. Yao spat some blood as Xiao rushed to his aid, charging at Shui. His slash missed his target as Shui ducked low and punched Xiao in the stomach. As Xiao let out a cry, Shui grabbed him by the hair and threw him on the floor. As Shui was preparing to finish off Xiao, Yao came to his aid. He struck at Shui with his sword. His attack was too fast to be dodged. Yao thrust his blade into the Shui''s chest. The sharpened steel sliced through muscle and plunged deep into his beating heart. The High Priest collapsed on the ground.
"Are you both alright?" Nuan asked.
"Yes," Xiao replied. "Do not worry."
Yao let out a sigh of relief. "That was a tough fight. With their headquarters destroyed, I am sure that the Demonic Cult has been gravely weakened. They can now meet their Dark Lord in the underworld. For once, after so many misfortunes, I''ve accomplished my mission. Master Yi will be pleased with me."
"He will be pleased with me too," Xiao said. He then turned to Nuan. "You have performed very well in this mission. You''ve made me proud to be your teacher."
He paused for a moment. "Well, since this is a happy occasion, how about going to an inn for some wine?"
Yao laughed. "You never get wine out of your head, do you?"
It was late in the night. Yuan and his fellow travelers had camped for the night. They were all asleep except for Yuan who was sitting on a sand dune and looking at the night sky. He gazed at the millions of bright stars and the silver glow of the moon. Although he was exhausted, he couldn''t sleep. He was thinking too much about the journey ahead to do so. He was also lamenting his past life. Two times had he been happy; when he was with his parents at the Yang Manor and when he was with Elder Rong and Xiao at Mount Kunlun. Both times that happiness he had found proved to be short-lived; the manor in which he had spent his childhood years was burned to the ground and then, when he finally had a place to call home again after all those years, he was killed. After completing this task of bringing the medallion to Mount Kunlun, would he be allowed to remain there? That was a question that increasingly troubled Yuan. He knew that the person in whose body he had reincarnated had committed many evil deeds and that he would need to compensate for them even though it wasn''t his own fault. Was he doomed to being rejected from the one place he called home? Would he have to spend the rest of his life trying to fix problems that weren''t of his doing?
Yuan sighed. He inhaled and exhaled, trying to relax.
"What a beautiful night sky¡" Hua said. She sat beside Yuan and gazed at the stars. "I''ve always liked watching the thousands of stars in the sky. It helps me relax."
Yuan smiled. "Weren''t you sleeping?"
"I woke up because of Harald; this blood brother of yours is snoring like a pig!"
Yuan couldn''t help but laugh.
"What about you? Why are you awake?" Hua asked.
"I couldn''t sleep. I was thinking about the journey ahead."
"You are afraid of the challenges ahead?"
"No. I am afraid of what will happen after I complete my mission. I do not know if I can return back to my old life. I am not sure what I will be doing next."
"If you constantly think about the future, you will miss the present."
Yuan sighed. "Well, that is easy for you to say. You have a place to return when this is all over."
"If you do not have a place to return to, you can make one. Find a good place to settle down and build your life. Whining won''t fix your problems."
"You are right," Yuan replied with a bittersweet smile on his face. "Once I have completed my mission, avenged my clan and compensated for my past wrongdoings, I can settle down in the countryside and live a peaceful life."
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking about that moment. Even though staying at Mount Kunlun would be preferable, he could still live a good life in a small village. There, among bamboo forests, he could live a simple life. It would be so much different to his current situation. He would, at last, be in peace for the first time in a long, long time. But he then opened his eyes. He was still in the Desert of Death. He still had a long journey ahead. He knew that he still had many dangers that he would need to face and challenges to overcome. So he decided to forget about the future and focus on the task at hand.
"I need to focus on the present," he said. "You were right. Not to say that we still have a long journey ahead, so it is a little bit early making plans for the future."
"Good because we still have many dangers to face. Wouldn''t want you to be absent-minded," Hua replied. "When we finish with this journey though, you should consider changing your plan of retiring in the countryside. It sounds somewhat boring."
"After all I''ve been through, boring sounds great to me!"
It was a cold night. The Demon of Doom was atop the black tower. The wind howled and snow swirled around him. A servant rushed towards him and bowed. His face was pale and he visibly shaken.
"M-my Lord... I... have... s-some...bad...news to report," the stammering servant said.
"Tell me!"
"Our... base at... at Zhongqihar...has...has been eradicated."
The Demon began laughing. "Good!"
The servant was scratching his head. He could not understand his superior''s reaction. "Why are you laughing?" he wondered. "Isn''t this a disaster?"
"No. It was all planned by Young Master Deng. He was the one who made sure that Ren Kun was discovered by the Kunlun disciples and that he would reveal our base in Zhongqihar. He also made sure that they would find exactly where the base was located."
"But why would he do that? We lost many brave fighters in that massacre..."
The Demon sighed. "It was a necessary sacrifice. Our recent excursions had made our Cult visible to the Orthodox Sects. We are not ready yet for an open confrontation with them. Thus we needed to lurk back into the shadows. By providing the Orthodox Sects with a victory, Young Master Deng has given them the impression that we have been fatally weakened. While they are now celebrating their triumph, we can continue to extend our influence in the shadows. When we finally strike, no one will have seen it coming!"
The Journals of Charles Dahl #3 - White City
Charles Dahl was a writer, poet, and traveler from Swagen. His journals regarding his journeys in the Jia Dynasty are of great interest as his acute observations provide an insight into the culture of this civilization:
Journal #3 - White City
White City! A metropolis renowned for its luxury, marketplaces, and restaurants. It is the only city of the Jia Dynasty that can rival the Imperial Capital. Indeed, some of the most luxurious establishments of the city can rival the Imperial Court itself. The White City is the political, economic, military and cultural center of the south, a region far more urbanized and rich than the sparsely populated north. Its population actually surpasses in size that of the capital. It is home to some of the best artists and literati in all of the Jia Dynasty. Its merchants are known for their riches that allow them to buy large estates in the countryside.
The city has a history that predates the Jia Dynasty by almost a thousand years. It was established during the time of the ancient Wei Dynasty. Wei Gaozu, the founder of the Wei Dynasty, began his campaign of unification of the continent from a small village in the place where the great city is now situated. With the blessings of the Jade Emperor, who granted him the Mandate of Heaven, Wei Gaozu crushed his opponents in a series of destructive campaigns. His ''White Army'', named so after their white armor, defeated the other warlords and allowed him to found the Wei Dynasty that was to rule the continent for a thousand years before collapsing into civil war and being replaced by the current Jia Dynasty.
Wei Gaozu, after the completion of his unification, honored his village by construction in that place his new imperial capital. The veterans of the ''White Army'' were encouraged to establish themselves in the newly founded city and given free housing, a clever policy which allowed the Emperor to demobilize part of this vast and overly expensive army without causing social unrest. As most of its initial inhabitants belonged to ''White Army'', the city was named after them. For almost a thousand years, White City was the capital of the Wei Dynasty. Many Wei Emperors constructed monumental buildings, giving to the city its grandeur. As mentioned above, the Wei Dynasty finally collapsed after a thousand years. For fifty years chaos reigned in the continent and the White City suffered a decline in prestige, population, and economic prowess.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
When Jia Gaozu established his Jia Dynasty, he moved the empire''s capital north, to the city that is known today as ''Imperial Capital''. White City thus declined further. Yet, thanks to the peace accomplished by the reunification of the realm, White City began a slow but steady recovery. Although it was no longer the seat of government, the prestige it had and its position as the administrative center of the richer and more urbanized south allowed the city to reclaim its old glory. Now it is considered second only to the Imperial Capital and its prideful citizens are only too happy to remind others that their city is older and has a far more prestigious history.
The city''s marketplaces have all kinds of goods; curries, spices, herbs, silk, gems. Many of the traders here make whole fortunes. Their sons, educated by the best teachers thanks to their wealth, now staff most of the government offices in the south. But the best part about White City is the food. Its restaurants are the best in the entire Jia Dynasty. I can personally testify to that. I have never tasted a more delicious chicken or eaten a better shark fin in my life, and I can assure the reader that I have traveled in many places and have tasted many kinds of food. The service is also excellent. The employees of those establishments treat you like a king and make sure that you have the finest time in your life. No wonder restaurants are always full regardless of what hour it is. If there is one part of the Jia Dynasty where there is no decline, it is White City.
Chapter 16 - The Old Storyteller
The wind was cold. After a week of traveling, Yuan and his companions had finally left behind the Desert of Death. Now they were traveling through barren lands. They could see on the horizon the landscape being white, covered by snow. They knew that they were about to walk into the Kingdom of Swagen, the coldest region in the continent. In his previous life, when he was Yang Jing, Yuan had heard many tales about the brave warriors of Swagen. His father, Yang Wanli, despite facing them many times in battle in his campaigns in the north, respected them for their valor and fighting spirit. When he was returning from those campaigns, he would tell stories to young Yang Jing about the fearsome warriors he and his men had to face. Yuan smiled, but his smile was one of sadness.
"Will we have a warm welcome in Swagen?" Yuan asked Harald.
The Swagen warrior sighed. "I do not think so. As I told you when we first met, I was a bodyguard for Prince Alfred. I failed to protect him and he died at the hands of the Demonic Cult. His Royal Majesty will rightly blame me for my incompetence. We should keep a low profile and pretend that we are simply travelers."
It took them a day of travel to reach the border. It was snowing. Everything was engulfed in white. Before them lay a military outpost, fortified with wooden palisades and towers. A scout spotted them from one of the towers and shouted. An armored cavalryman galloped towards them.
He hopped off his horse and approached them. "Who are you?"
Yuan and his companions all bowed slightly. "We are travelers," Yuan said. "We want to see the entire world and learn about foreign lands."
"I can vouch for that," Harald added. "I told them to visit our great Kingdom to see its beauty."
The soldier chuckled. "Whatever! You do not look like desert raiders and you have a Swagen vouching for you, so you can enter. Just remember that if you do not follow our laws or cause any trouble, you shall end up in a cell."
"Thank you for your kindness," Yuan said and bowed again.
The soldier hopped onto his horse and left for his camps.
"Beyond is the Blufelden Forest," Harald said. "It is dangerous, full of bandits and wild beasts. There are only a few sparsely populated villages in that region."
"I get the feeling that journeying through that forest will not be a pleasant experience..." Ping commented.
"Since we managed to survive the Great Forest and the Desert of Death, we can survive this forest too!" Yuan said.
The young man walked slowly amidst the snowy trees of the forest. The cold was shivering but he did not mind much as the black fur he wore gave him protection and he was an experienced hunter. He was only nineteen years old but he had been hunting in that forest since he was thirteen. He was tall and well built, with an athletic and muscular body. Yet he did not look like a savage; instead, his face was delicate and handsome, with his short black hair, aquiline nose, and green eyes.
His steps were slow and from time to time he looked at the snowy ground to see the footprints of the animal he was hunting; a deer. The deer had been cut off from the group, it seemed, probably because it had been injured, and thus presented an ideal prey for the young man. Ian, for that was the young man''s name, had a lot of experience in hunting down animals in this forest. He had learned from the best; his uncle Thomas. In his youth, Thomas was renown in Westdare village for his hunting abilities and for being able to survive in the snowy forest for whole weeks without any help at all. Now, a middle-aged man who had not aged well, he spent most of his time home and let Ian do the hunting.
After following its trail for almost a whole day, Ian could finally see his prey resting beside a frozen brook. The young hunter hid behind a tree. He grabbed his bow, drew an arrow and aimed at the deer. For a moment there was utter silence that was suddenly terminated by the sound of the arrow being released from the bow. Ian had hit his target; the deer lied dead on the ground. Although he did enjoy hunting, Ian always felt a bit sad the moment he killed his prey. But this was the only skill he had and the only way he and his uncle could survive.
He walked to the deer and grabbed it. With it on his back, he began making his way home. He knew that he would not reach it until the next day, but he hoped to make some of the journey''s distance before resting for the night. He was not relaxed at all with his ''victory''. Instead, he was even more alarmed and tensed as he knew that a dead deer could draw any kind of wild beasts to him. Not only that, but the forest was rife with bandits too. Few villagers dared to hunt in this place.
After walking as fast as he could for about an hour, Ian knew that he had to rest for the night. The sky darkened and he could not hope to journey for much longer. He placed down the deer and searched of tree branches. Once he had brought enough branches, he grabbed two stones and tried to make a fire. At first, the stones flashed, but with no real spark. After trying a few more times, he finally manages to start a fire. He then lied down on the snow and rested with a knife in his hands.
It was already late at night but Yuan and his companions were still traveling through the Blufelden Forest. White flakes were swirling around them. The biting cold chilled their fingers into clumsy numbness. As they walked forward, they saw smoke. Approaching, they saw a fire and a man lying on the snow.
"At last some warmth!" Ping exclaimed. As he rushed forward, he crushed a tree branch that lied on the ground.
Crack!
Ian immediately got up when heard that sound. He saw the six travelers. At once he grabbed his bow and shouted, "who are you?"
"I am Cheng Yuan. We are not enemies!"
"What are you doing in this forest?" Ian could tell that those were not ordinary people. ''Although one of them looks like a fellow Swagen, the others must be travelers from the Jia Dynasty'', he thought. From the swords they were carrying, he could guess that they were fighters. ''Most likely they are swordsmen from some martial arts sect.''
"We are travelers. We got lost in this forest," Yuan lied.
Although Ian did not trust them, he decided that since they didn''t want to harm him, there was no need to make them his enemies. "Alright. You can stay here. Tomorrow morning you can follow me to Westdare village. It is the only populated place you will find for a long time, so it is a good place to buy supplies for your journey."
He paused for a moment. "My name is Ian, by the way."
"Thank you for your offer," Yuan replied. "We will follow you to Westdare."
"There is something strange about this Ian..." Aaren whispered. "He is no ordinary Swagen."
Yuan nodded. "Then we should be careful."
The next day, as soon as the sun appeared on the clear blue sky, Ian grabbed the deer and continued his journey to Bliz village along with Yuan and his companions. By afternoon, they had reached the village. Westdare was a small village; most of the houses were crude and made from wood.
"Before coming to my home, we must first go to Tom," Ian said.
"Who is Tom?" Hua asked.
"The butcher. I need to sell the deer I caught."
Ian and the others entered a small building. Inside was Tom, a middle-aged short but muscular man. He was cutting some meat with his sharp knife on a wooden table. "What have you brought me?" Tom nonchalantly asked.
"A deer", Ian replied. "I will sell you half of it for fifty credits."
"Forty, boy. Don''t push me. My daughter is getting married and I have a lot of spending to do."
"Really? Mary is getting married?"
"Yup. And I was as surprised as you when I''ve heard it. I met the lucky guy only yesterday."
"I''m glad to hear the news. And I will take the forty credits."
As Tom handed the credits, he pointed at Yuan and the other companions. "Who are those?"
"Some travelers I met in the forest."
Tom smirked. "You''ve made the right choice coming to this village. I have all the rations you need to make it through your journey. My prices are very low."
"Thank you for your offer," Yuan said.
They bid farewell to Tom and then left the shop. They headed to Ian''s home. Once there, Ian knocked the door. A moment later, an old man opened the door and greeted them with a wide smile on his face.
"Ian!" the old man exclaimed. "You are back. How much did you make this time?"
Ian gave his uncle the half deer he was carrying and replied, "I have sold half the deer to Tom for forty credits and now we have enough meat for the whole week."
"You did well," Thomas said. "You remind me of myself when I was still young."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
He then noticed his nephew''s companions. "Who are those?"
"I''ve met them in the forest. They are travelers."
"You can stay here for tonight!" Thomas said. "Tomorrow you can get rations from Tom and get going on your journey."
"Thank you," Yuan said. "We appreciate your hospitality."
"It''s nothing. The ladies can stay at guests'' room. Unfortunately, my house is not big enough, so the rest of you will have to rest in my storeroom. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"I can assure you that sleeping in the storeroom is no inconvenience," Ping said. "Compared with the nights we had to sleep in the desert, it sounds great."
Yuan, Ping, Almar, and Harald were resting in the storeroom. They were all exhausted. Yuan was still cautious about Ian, as Aaren had warned him, but he liked him. He seemed like a decent and friendly person.
"Hey!" Ping said. "There is something I must say."
Yuan nodded.
"We will be parting parts. You do not need me anymore nor do I want to get killed in your crazy quest. I mean, I wish you the best of luck but you are literally going against the whole world. I stayed so far because we were in dangerous territory and far away from homeland. Since this village isn''t far away from the border, I can now go back to the Jia Dynasty."
Yuan sighed. He had gotten used to having Ping along but he knew that at some point he would leave. "What are you going to do? Hopefully, you shall not return back to robbing people..."
Ping laughed. "No. I... I want to do something with my life. I can''t go back to my old life. I will join the army."
"Good luck then. Hope we meet again."
"You are a bastard but I will miss you!" Harald said.
Ping chuckled. "Have to go. Going to buy supplies and leave. Although it is late, I can still make half the journey towards the border."
Ping bowed slightly as a sign of his respect and left.
"I truly believe that we shall meet again..." Yuan said. "Who knows? One day he may be a high ranking officer."
"Yuan, I shall also not be able to follow you for now," Almar told. "I am weak right now and I need to recuperate. I''ve expended too much of my internal energy. I will be of more help to you when I have fully recuperated. Do you still have the magic stone I gave you?"
Yuan nodded. He had grabbed it when they escaped from the raider''s camp.
"When you need my help, use the stone to call me and I will arrive to your aid as soon as possible."
"Thank you for your help so far. Hope that you will fully recuperate."
"Well," Harald said, "it seems that from now on it will be us two, Hua and that old witch."
Yuan chuckled.
Ian walked into the storeroom, bringing with him some cookies. Their delectable aroma pervaded the air- a melange of honey dew, orange preserves and dabs of crackling nuts.
"They were made by my uncle," he said. "He told me to bring you some to taste them."
Harald grabbed one of the cookies and ate it. He felt a sensation he hadn''t felt in a long, long time. "At last some Swagen food! Brother, you should taste them."
Yuan ate one of the cookies. "It''s delicious!"
Ian smiled. "Well, my uncle is a great cook. By the way, I am going to hear stories from the storyteller. That old man lives just outside the village and tells incredible stories. Do you want to come with me?"
"Sure," Yuan said.
"I will be staying here to recuperate," Almar replied.
"So will I," Harald said. "I am too tired."
Yuan and Ian headed for the storyteller. The storyteller was camping in a tent a few minutes of walk outside the village. When Yuan and Ian arrived there, they saw that the old man was surrounded by old men and small children who had gathered to listen to his stories. The old storyteller was sitting beside a fire. He was wearing a black robe and his face was hooded but illuminated by the fire; the man was was bearded and had a few wrinkles on his face. Yuan and Ian sat beside the others and began listening to the old man''s tale.
"I usually tell you stories about brave Swagen warriors battling beasts and Jia armies. This time though I will tell you the story of a warrior who lived in the ancient times; Yi Hong! The man who defeated the Dark Lord and saved our world! Eight hundred thousand years ago, those lands had few inhabitants. There was no Swagen Kingdom. In the south, where today stands the Jia Dynasty, there were tens of small Kingdoms fighting each other in an endless bloody war. During that time of chaos on Earth, a villain emerged in Heavens. That man was Ye Guang. He was a young immortal who was kind, sincere and curious about the world around him. He was always ready to help others. One day he fell in love with a Goddess. He tried his best to impress her. He wrote poems, he descended on Earth to find the most beautiful flowers and brought them to her, he tried to fulfill her every wish. The Goddess wasn''t interested in this young immortal though. She ridiculed him behind his back and was constantly asking him to perform ever more difficult tasks. Once, she asked him to go an ancient cave where it was said that an evil spirit lived. Ye Guang was afraid but did so, not wanting to appear a coward before the woman he loved. Once he entered the cave, suddenly a puff of smoke emerged! Puff! Ye Guang was terrified. ''Please spare me spirit!'' he cried out. ''I didn''t mean to disturb you!''. In its deep voice, the spirit shouted, ''at last! I have a vessel to conquer the world!''. That vessel was Ye Guang''s body. The spirit overtook his body. Overnight, Ye Guang''s powers increased a thousandfold, but so did his wickedness. This spirit corrupted him; it suppressed all the good he had in him and released his basest and cruelest instincts. Ye Guang cultivated for months in that cave. When he returned to Heavens, he was no longer a mere immortal. He had taken the mantle of Dark Lord and had risen in revolt against the Celestial Court. He raised an army of undead and wreaked havoc on Heavens and Earth. ''I shall conquer all Realms and rule for all eternity!'' he declared. He came close to fulfilling that dream of his but then a young hero emerged; Yi Hong!"
The story had caught the interest of everyone listening to it; especially of the children who were enthralled to hear of Yi Hong and how he defeated the wicked Dark Lord. Ian too was enamored by the story and it was as if the events the old man was describing were unfolding before him. Yuan was teary as he remembered Elder Huo in Fox Village who had first told him of that story. This was a time he wanted to forget; he could still vividly remember Elder Huo being strangled by the Demon of Doom. He could remember how the Demon put an end to his previous life. He quickly wiped his tears.
"Yi Hong was once a boy like you! He lived in a small village like this one. He was the son of poor peasants. His parents toiled the land all day long and barely made enough to get by. Many times had he gone to sleep without having eaten anything. Yet he was always smiling and full of life. He never complained! He would look at the stars in the night sky and say, ''one day I shall shine like those stars!''. And shine he did... One day, as he was playing around with some friends, he saw a terrible sight! Ten undead warriors were galloping towards his village. They were the warriors of Ye Guang, sent to pillage and murder. Seeing the kids, the undead unsheathed their swords and were about to murder them when an immortal suddenly emerged! Whoosh! His sword struck at them. The undead warriors were destroyed and sent back to the underworld from where they had risen. All other kids had run off. Only Yi Hong remained, marveling the immortal''s skills. ''Great swordsmanship!'' he said. ''Bravo! You beat the bad guys!''. The immortal laughed. His laughter stopped though when he sensed a unique aura of power in that kid. He sensed that this kid was special and was destined to become someone great. So he took him to the Celestial Court."
The storyteller paused for a moment to clear his throat.
"The Celestial Court and the Orthodox Sects provided the boy with the best teachers. By the time he was sixteen years old, he had become a legendary swordsman. At that time, Heavens and Earth were in ruins as the war had been raging on for too long. There was a stalemate and each side sacrificed hundreds of thousands of soldiers in pointless offensives. Yi Hong went to the front and was appointed the commander of the ''Heavenly Legion''. He fought many battles and defeated countless underlings of the Dark Lord thanks to his ingenious strategies and martial prowess. His army was known to use all kinds of deceptions to lure the enemy in ambushes or put them in a disadvantaged position. His men were also renown for their bravery, never afraid to charge at numerically superior enemies. All of them had scars and wounds all over their bodies; from arrows, swords, spears, axes, even teeth. The valor of Yi Hong and his men was celebrated by humans and immortals alike and enraged the wicked Dark Lord. ''Who is this boy who dares to challenge me?!'' he barked. He would send his most powerful underlings to hunt down the young hero, but Yi Hong would slaughter them with ease. Yet he understood that he was not yet ready to face the Dark Lord. So he went to the Mountain of a Thousand Flames to find the Flaming Medallion! That was an ancient artifact forged by the God of War Ma Yuan himself. After a long journey, he found where the medallion was hidden. He also used the Holy Lava, the Stone of Supreme Power which had been given to him by the Jade Emperor and his own internal energy to forge another magic weapon, the Heavenly Sword. Now, armed with the Flaming Medallion and Heavenly Sword, he was ready to face the Dark Lord in single combat!"
All the kids cheered and the old man laughed.
"He stood before the Dark Lord and said, ''you have killed millions of innocent people and brought ruin everywhere because of your greed and wickedness. Yet, I can still forgive you if you lay down your weapon and accept the Jade Emperor''s punishment. You can still be saved from your own evilness,'' he said. Ye Guang laughed. ''Boy, who are you to think you can threaten me?! I am the Dark Lord! I am the most powerful being to have ever existed! I will destroy your beloved Earth and burn down the Celestial Court in Heavens! I shall reign supreme!''. Yi Hong sighed. He understood that there was no way he could avoid this battle. He charged at the Dark Lord with all his might. His Heavenly Sword clashed with the Demonic Sabre of Ye Guang. Clang! An earthquake shook the entire human realm, demolishing thousands of cities. Such was the might of those two warriors. Yi Hong unleashed his internal energy at the Dark Lord and Ye Guang countered with his own vast internal energy. Boom! At once mighty tsunamis rose, the ground cracked and tornadoes ravaged whole countries! Such was the vastness of their internal energy. For six days they fought. It was the ultimate duel! Good versus Evil! Light versus Darkness! Hope versus Desperation! Life versus Death! In the end, goodness won! Light won! Hope won! Life won! Yi Hong slew the Dark Lord and ended that war that had ravaged Heavens and Earth! After this duel, the young hero disappeared along with his sword and medallion. No one knows his fate or what happened to his two magic weapons. That was the story of Yi Hong the Great, the Hero who saved Earth..."
Everyone, old and young, clapped enthusiastically. The kids began chanting ''Yi Hong! Yi Hong!''.
"Remember kids; Yi Hong was once a boy like you. So always look up to the stars like he did and look forward to the future; for one day, you too shall shine like those stars!"
Yuan had to admit that the storyteller was very good. It reminded him of the stories his mother in his previous life used to tell him when it was bedtime. He sighed. Gone was she, slain by the wicked Emperor''s lackeys. ''One day I shall avenge her!'' he thought.
"Did you like the story?" Ian asked.
"It was very good."
Ian smiled. "I wish one day I could live an adventure like that. I want to see the world and forge my own destiny."
"I know that feeling only too well. I too once hoped for one such adventure. Trust me though, it is not as rosy as storytellers make it sound. It can be very exhaustive; you feel burdened, always afraid of failing the world, always on the edge. You can never rest. You can never relax. You simply wish you could be done with all this and live a simple and boring life. So be careful with what you are asking for."
"You are an adventurer! Aren''t you?"
"Sort of."
Ian grinned. "I knew it. I could tell that you were a swordsman. What is your task?"
"I have to deliver an item to my Tea- to an Elder."
"I understand. Can I come with you?"
"What?" Yuan was taken aback.
"Don''t get me wrong; I love this place. I love hunting in the forest and being with my uncle. But I also wish to see the rest of the world. I do not want to remain in my entire life in this village."
Yuan was reluctant. Although he could tell that Ian was a nice person, he still remembered what Aaren had said.
"I can be very helpful. I am an excellent archer and I know how one can survive in Blufelden Forest. You will need such skills in order to make it through the forest and go safely to your destination."
Yuan thought for a moment. Since Ping and Almar would no longer accompany him, he could use Ian''s help. "Fine. But you will follow my orders."
"Good. I will tell my uncle and tomorrow morning we can begin our journey."
Chapter 17 - The Ring of Ice
Ian hugged his uncle. Uncle Thomas was teary and Ian could barely hold back his own tears. He had lived in Westdare village all his life. It wasn''t easy leaving behind the only place he knew and venture into the unknown but he was determined to do so; he wanted to live an adventure and see new places and people.
While Ian was bidding farewell to his uncle, Aaren was scolding Yuan. "I warned you that this Swagen is no ordinary person," she whispered. "Why did you decide to allow him to follow us?"
"We need someone who knows the place."
"Doesn''t Harald too know how to navigate through the Blufelden Forest?"
"Harald used to live in the eastern territories of the Kingdom. Although he has traveled in the forest a few times, he doesn''t know as much about it as Ian who has lived his entire life in this region. If he causes any problem, I will face him, but I cannot turn down assistance, especially since Ping and Almar can no longer accompany us. I am willing to accept the help of anyone who wants to follow me."
"Let us hop-" Before Aaren could finish her sentence, she noticed that Ian was wearing an icy ring. "Maybe you are right..."
Aaren now understood that the powerful aura she had felt wasn''t emanating from Ian but from the ring. Yuan too could now feel that strange aura but, having not noticed the ring, he thought that Ian was responsible for that aura he sensed.
"That ring of yours, where did you get it?" Aaren asked.
"It is a family heirloom," Ian replied. "It has been in our family for generations."
"Shall we get going?" Hua interrupted. "We need to start traveling as soon as possible, otherwise we won''t be able to cover much distance before it goes dark."
It was late at night. The forest was covered by snow and the cold was shivering. Ian was leading forward the party, passing through tall trees, many of them decades old, that stood proudly. Yuan was mesmerized by nature''s beauty and was smiling. For a brief moment, he had forgotten all about his mission.
"We better make camp and rest," Ian said. "It is already late at night."
"I agree!" Harald exclaimed. "We do need some rest. I believe that we still have a long journey ahead before reaching a settlement."
Ian nodded in affirmation.
"This place is terrible," Hua complained. "How do you Swagen manage to live in such a cold environment?"
Harald scratched his head. "Haven''t really given it much thought. I guess we have just gotten used to it."
The party gathered tree branches and made a small fire. Soon they were asleep.
Silence reigned in the forest. The night sky was starless. Darkness engulfed everything. Everyone was sleeping. Everyone except for Aaren. She had gotten up and was stealthily walking towards Ian. She approached him and grabbed his ring. She examined it carefully and smirked. ''Good,'' she thought and walked away.
After about an hour, Aaren stopped walking. She sat cross-legged on the cold snowy ground and began meditating.
The Demon of Doom was standing atop the black tower and gazing at the frozen plain below. Suddenly he felt a voice echoing. It was a voice he hadn''t heard in a long, long time.
"Demon!" the voice said. "Meet me at Blufelden Forest. There you shall get what you most want."
"The Lady of Darkness!" the Demon exclaimed. "She is alive! She is still alive..."
"Do not be so surprised."
"Where exactly are you?"
"You shall feel my presence when you enter the forest. It will not be hard for you to find me. You are an experienced hunter."
The Demon clenched his fists. "Indeed. I am... and you shall be my prey!"
"Where is Aaren?"
When Yuan had woken up early in the morning to continue the journey, he noticed that Aaren wasn''t anywhere to be found.
"Maybe she left for some reason?" Harald wondered.
"Good riddance," Hua said. "I''ve never liked her."
"My ring is missing too!" Ian exclaimed.
"What ring?" Yuan asked.
"My family heirloom. It is very important to me. It has to be somewhere here."
"Whether or not Aaren and the ring are missing, we must go. We do not have time to lose."
Ian sighed. "You are right. It would be selfish of me to delay your important mission for finding my ring. Let''s get going then."
A tall young man with blonde hair and blue eyes was riding a magnificent white stallion. He was wearing a mail shirt, a leather armor lined with small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric and a mail hood. On his armor, one could see the insignia of his house: a phoenix. That man was none other than Prince Arthur, crown prince of the Kingdom of Swagen since the death of Prince Alfred. He was leading forward a squad of five cavalrymen and thirty footmen, all armored battle-hardened veterans who had been assigned to guard the prince.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Sir," one of the cavalrymen, a bearded man called John, said. "Are you sure that we will find the accursed one?"
"If the reports are correct, then we shall indeed find him along with that treacherous servant of his."
"Some travelers are ahead sir!" a solder shouted.
Arthur looked forward and saw a group of four travelers; Yuan, Ian, Harald, and Hua. Upon seeing them, he ordered a cavalryman to approach them. The man promptly did so and asked, "state your business!"
Harald at once recognized that the man leading the soldiers was a prince; he could tell from the insignia on his armor. Before Yuan could reply, he bowed and said, "We bow before your highness."
The others followed suit.
"We are merely travelers," Harald said. "We wish you to be successful in whatever endeavor you are undertaking."
Prince Arthur signaled to his cavalryman to go away. "Let them pass. They are merely travelers."
Yuan let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Harald and Ian smiled, being both Swagen they knew that if they offended the prince they would end up in one of the notoriously harsh prisons of the kingdom.
Suddenly a guard rushed forward and bowed before the prince. "My lord, this man is a traitor!" he exclaimed while pointing his finger at Harald. "I know him; he was one of the bodyguards of Prince Alfred. He failed in his duty and should be punished."
Upon hearing this, Arthur shouted; "Seize them! They are traitors to the crown."
At once the thirty footmen surrounded the four companions. Yuan and Hua unsheathed their swords, Harald grabbed his axe and Ian his bow. Seeing them getting prepared for battle, Arthur chuckled. "Well, this will be an interesting spectacle to watch..."
As the Swagen soldiers charged, Ian shot in quick succession three arrows. The arrows pierced the chest of three footmen and instantly killed them. Harald struck with his axe and chopped down at once two men. Hua, with almost dance-like movements, was able to maneuver and dodge enemy swords while slashing her opponents; with her quick swordsmanship, she had killed four footmen. Yuan blocked the slashes of a swordsman while attempting to concentrated as Aaren had taught him. Summoning the inner energy inside him, he unleashed an energy wave that pushed away the swordsman and other four footmen, knocking them out.
Arthur was shocked that fourteen of his thirty foot soldiers were either dead or knocked out. His face had turned pale white. "Impossible..."
He hopped off his horse and drew his sword. John also hopped off his horse and attempted to stop his superior from engaging the enemy. "Sir," he said, "please consider the state of our kingdom before putting yourself in mortal danger. We have already lost one crown prince, we cannot afford to lose another one."
Arthur pushed him aside and charged at Ian who was busy aiming an arrow at a soldier and could not see the prince coming. Arthur hit him on the head with the pommel of his sword. Ian cried out as his head bled. Arthur at once put the tip of his sword to Ian''s neck and shouted, "lay down your arms or this fellow will be killed."
Yuan had to considered what to do next. On the one hand, he did not want to risk the medallion falling into the hands of the Swagen or getting delayed. On the other hand, he could not let Ian die. A few seconds passed that seemed like an eternity to him. He clenched his fists and there was cold sweat on his forehead. He breathed fast. His heart beat even faster. "I..." Yuan laid down his sword. Hua and Harald did the same.
A smile appeared on Arthur''s face. "Good. You''ve made the right decision." He then turned to his men and shouted, "men, tie them. They will be brought before my father when we accomplish our mission."
At once his soldiers tied the four companions. Then they continued their journey westward. Prince Arthur was once again riding his majestic white horse and had an air of confidence in him. Even if he could not find his father''s bastard son and the servant who took him away, he would still gain merit for bringing a traitor to the court. He knew that his father wanted very dearly to punish those he deemed responsible for the death of his eldest son, Alfred.
"We are approaching Westdare village," John said. "It is only a day''s journey away. It is there where according to reports the accursed ,one was taken."
"If I bring this bastard to the court, father will surely reward me richly. He has promised me to hand me his Ice Sword if I succeed in this quest."
"I am sure that the King shall also reward you for bringing to the court that traitor who left your brother to die in the Jia dynasty. Congratulations for your successes your highness."
Arthur chuckled. "You hope that with your flattery, once I become King, I shall give you a high office, eh?"
John stammered to reply but Arthur laughed. "Do not worry. I reward people loyal to me. If you are loyal, you will be rewarded with high offices and riches."
"Thank you for your generosity, my lord!"
Aaren was standing alone amidst snowy trees. The snow swirled around her. At that moment the Demon of Doom arrived.
"You''ve arrived," Aaren said with a smirk on her face. "It''s been a long time since we last met."
"You!" the Demon barked. "I thought you had died thousands of years ago."
"An immortal like me cannot be easily killed. I suffered a lot all those centuries. My life was one of suffering and regrets. But I''ve grown stronger, much stronger."
The Demon drew his skeletal sword and pointed it at the old woman. "I did not manage to kill you back then but I shall do so now!"
Aaren laughed. "I was your master, don''t you remember? I taught you and Old Master Deng the swordsmanship of Elder Rong. Without me, the Deng family you serve would be powerless."
"That is ancient history."
"Indeed but I still remember vividly how you betrayed me when you stopped needing me. You attacked sneakily and injured me gravely. That was the only reason I was beaten. You better remember this before you threaten me. You only beat me back then due to the element of surprise. You do not have that advantage now."
The Demon charged at Aaren with his sword. The old woman smirked as she channeled lightning at him. The electrical current pulsed through the Demon and forced him to fall on his knees while crying out in pain.
"I told you," she said as she increased the amount of electrical current channeled towards her enemy, "I have grown much stronger. I am the Lady of Darkness. I was your master and I am still your superior. Do not threaten me with your playthings. We are on different levels. I am a master, you are simply an underling, a pathetic warrior who was resurrected from the dead for the only purpose of following orders."
With that said, she ceased her attack, allowing the Demon to take a deep breath and get up. "What... what do you want?"
"I know you have been searching for the Ring of Ice. That''s the reason you kidnapped and murdered Prince Alfred and his guards. I have it. Take it."
Aaren threw the ring at the Demon. He caught it and inspected it closely. He couldn''t believe his luck. They had been searching for thousands of years for this treasure. With it, they could finally resurrect the Dark Lord Ye Guang from the Realm of the Dead. "Why do you help us?"
"I do not. I have my own agenda. It simply happens that resurrecting the Dark Lord is part of my plan."
Aaren turned around and walked away, leaving the Demon holding tight the ring and smiling. ''At last,'' he thought, ''the time has come. The Dark Lord shall make his return and Heavens and Earth will shake in fear!''