Changchun admits defeat.

Original translation by Mojo Jojo

Seeing his Disciple Brother in critical danger, Sha Tongtian leapt over to quickly try and break Mei Chaofeng’s grip. As soon as their hands met they were both felt their arms struck by a sudden ache. Meanwhile over to their left came the sound of darts whizzing through the air. Peng Lianhu was throwing his darts directly at Mei Chaofeng. She deftly shifted her arm and threw Hou Tonghai straight towards the stream of darts.

“Ai Yo!” yelled Hou Tonghai as the darts smacked into his body.

Huang Rong called out “Congratulations Three Horned Dragon! You have managed to catch so many darts!”

Sha Tongtian, seeing the amazing power of Mei Chaofeng’s throw and his disciple brother down on the ground seriously injured, leaped over towards Hou Tonghai and with a stretch of his hand pulled him upright. Hou Tonghai flew up like a paper sparrow but almost immediately looked as if he would collapse again. There was no strength left in his body.

(Not sure of the next line: I think some how Sha Tongtien managed to accidently hit Hou Tonghai when he reached out to grab him and ended up hitting on his three carbuncles???)

All these events happened within a blink of an eye. Whilst this was going on Ouyang Ke and Liang Ziwong were attacking Mei Chaofeng from the front and rear in concert with Sha Tongtian who was attacking from the right.

Mei Chaofeng was able to judge by the sound of the darts in the air where they were and sent them flying back in four directions towards Ouyang, Liang, Sha and Peng. She asked “What does (Gather the five bunches???)’ mean?”

Guo Jing replied “The eastern ghost’s wood, western soul’s metal, southern spirit’s fire, northern essences water, central will’s earth.”

Mei Chaofeng called out “Ai Yo! I might have guessed earlier! What does the ‘Perform the four harmonious signs’ mean?”

Guo Jing replied “Hide the eyes, Concentrate the hearing, Regulate the breath, Seal the tongue Qi.”

Mei Chaofeng sighed “Ah, so this is the original meaning. What about the ‘Five primary chambers’ (or courts of the palace???)?”

Again Guo Jing replied “Don’t use your eyes to see, rather locate your soul in the liver; Don’t use your ears to listen, rather locate your essence in the kidneys; Don’t use your mouth to chant, rather locate your spirit in the heart; Don’t use your nose to smell, rather locate your soul in your lungs; Don’t move with your four limbs, rather locate your mind/concentration in your spleen. These are ‘Five primary chambers’.”

The ‘four harmonious signs’ and ‘Five primary chambers’ were key techniques contained in the ‘Nine Yin Scripture’ practiced by monks. Not having anyone to explain the meanings of these key phrases to her, Mei Chaofeng had struggled without success for over ten years to understand them. Now with Guo Jing’s explainations she suddenly understood everything and was extreamly pleased.

Again she pressed for more information “Now, how do I perform the ‘Gathering Three Flower Top’s’. This technique was the crucial key to putting everything together. She had strived all those years for just this key point so she listened intently for Guo Jing’s answer.

Guo Jing replied “Essence is transformed into Qi, Qi is transformed into Spirit…..”

Mei Chaofeng, by concentrating on Guo Jing’s words, became less attentive to the fight and her four opponents. Just as Guo Jing was saying the two sentences she was struck on her left shoulder and right side by Ouyang Ke and Sha Tongtian’s fists. She felt a severe pain that was hard to bear.

Originally Huang Rong had planned to have Mei Chaofeng detain their enemies in a fight whilst she and Guo Jing took the opportunity to slip away. She never expected that Guo Jing would be dragged into the fighting as well becoming a steed carrying a mount into the battle, making it impossible for them to get away. Now she became both worried and angry.

Meanwhile Mei Chaofeng was becoming alarmed at suddenly being thrown on the defensive and called out “Hey! What did you do to annoy so many fierce opponents? ShiFu! Where are you?”

At this time Mei Chaofeng’s thoughts were in deep conflict. On the one hand she was hoping her old ShiFu would appear and see with his own eyes how she was helping to save his daughter from the savage onslaught of these four highly skilled martial artists and would leap in to help her dispatch them. On the other hand when she thought about how wild and strange his nature was she was struck with a terror of meeting him again.

Huang Rong called out “He’s coming soon, but why worry – these couple of guys are no match for you. Even if you just sit on the ground none of them would be able to harm a hair on your head.” She was hoping that with a bit of flattery Mei Chaofeng would feel emboldened enough to let Guo Jing go and fight it out alone. However Mei Chaofeng had already begun to feel that she was not able to manage the four opponents by herself. She was already showing signs of despondency and no amount of flattery was going to make her change her mind. Further more, she still had a few more questions to ask Guo Jing about the secrets of the sutra and was not about to let him go even if she could win the fight sitting alone on the ground.

After a few more strikes were exchanged Liang Ziwong suddenly leaped with a cry into the air. Mei Chaofeng felt someone executing a sneak attack and extended both arms to block and sweep in defense. She felt her hair being pulled upwards by Liang Ziwong. Huang Rong saw the situation was critical and struck outwards with her fist towards Liang Ziwong’s back. Liang Ziwong hooked his right hand backwards and grabbed Huang Rong’s wrist whilst maintaining his grip on Mei Chaofeng’s hair with his left hand. Mei Chaofeng however struck upwards and forced Liang Ziwong to release his grip in order to avoid being hit by her powerful attack.

Peng Lianhu had been fighting with Mei Chaofeng for a while before he became aware that she was actually one of the “Evil Pair of the Dark Winds” pair. Seeing Huang Rong aiding her he called out “You lying brat! You denied that you are a disciple of the Evil “Dark Winds” sect but it’s obvious that you are!”

Huang Rong laughed “She? My ShiFu? Even if she trained for another hundred years she still wouldn’t be good enough to become my ShiFu!”

Peng Lianhu clearly saw that Huang Rong’s Gongfu attacks were very similar to those of the Dark Wind’s school yet she not only continued to deny she was a disciple, but actually went so far as to insult Mei Chaofeng. He couldn’t think of why she would be doing this leaving him astonished.

Sha Tongtian yelled “To kill the man, first shoot his horse!” and shot out a kick towards Guo Jing with his right foot. This change of tactic took Mei Chaofeng off guard. She thought “This kid’s martial arts skills are very low. He can’t possibly defend himself against their attacks. If I don’t act fast I’ll be dispatched by them.” There was the sound of a low whistle as she bent low and shot out her hand as if to grab Sha Tongtian’s foot. Ou Yangke took advantage of this moment to launch an attack against her back. However Mei Chaofeng just gave a humph and shook her right hand causing something to flash in the moonlight. All of a sudden a silver whip appeared dancing and weaving all around her and Guo Jing forming an impenetrable barrier.

Lian Penghu thought to himself “If we don’t kill her now then when her husband the “Copper Corpse” arrives we will all be in deep trouble!” The events of that night when Chen Xuanfeng had died had not become known about in the Martial World. However the infamy of the two “Dark Winds” was widely known and their reputation was such that even a highly feared martial artists such as himeself was struck with dread at the thought of facing both of them together.

Mei Chaofeng’s “Poison Dragon Silver Whip” was powerful in the extreme. If anyone approached from any direction they would die instantly. But Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziwong and Ou Yangke were not about to give up so easily. Suddenly there was the sound of a whistle and Peng Lianhu began tunneling under the ground! Mei Chaofeng was prepared to defend against the sky and all four directions but not from below! At the sound of digging she became greatly alarmed and struck a slap down on the ground.

Seeing Guo Jing in danger, Huang Rong was about to rush to his aid but Mei Chaofeng was one step quicker. Using her long Silver Whip, she had already weaved a defensive barrier around herself and Guo Jing, making it impossible for Huang Rong or anyone to penetrate. However, Huang Rong knew that with just Mei Chaofeng’s individual might, she would not be able to successfully defend against Peng Lian Hu’s attack for much longer. Sensing that the situation was dire, Huang Rong yelled, “Everyone hold it, I have something to say.” But Peng Lian Hu of course paid no heed to her. Why should he?

Huang Rong was preparing to raise her voice again when a voice from atop the wall said, “Everyone hold it, I have something to say.”

Huang Rong turned her head and saw six figures on top of the wall, some taller, some shorter. In the darkness of night, she could not make out their faces clearly. Peng Lian Hu and the others knew that some people had arrived, but did not know if they were friend or foe. At present, the battles were growing ever more intense and nobody could bring themselves to stop. Two people leapt down from the wall and headed straight for Ouyang Ke; one waving a whip and the other raising a pole.

The short plump man that held the whip exclaimed, “You lecher, let’s see you escape this time!” Upon hearing this voice,

Guo Jing yelled gladly, “Shifu! Save me!” The six people that just arrived were the Six Freaks of Jiang Nan.

After parting with Guo Jing at the inn, the Freaks had tailed the eight girls from White Camel Mountain. When they discovered that Ouyang Ke was leading his concubines to abduct innocent girls at night, they fought him there and then. After all, how could the Six Freaks of Jiang Nan sit by and do nothing while such atrocities were being committed? Although Ouyang Ke was highly-skilled, the Six Freaks had spent more than a decade in the desert working hard and had improved significantly since they left the Central Plains. Surrounded by six fighters, Ouyang Ke was hit by Ke Zheng’E’s mace and subsequently had his left little finger dislocated, courtesy of Zhu Cong’s Bone Dislocation technique. Left with no choice, Ouyang Ke was forced to leave the abducted girls behind and flee. The two concubines that had accompanied Ouyang Ke for the mission, however, were killed by Nan Xi Ren and Quan Jin Fa.

After escorting the teenage girls back to their homes, the Six Freaks went in pursuit of Ouyang Ke. But Ouyang Ke was extremely sly; he must have taken another route and thus, the Six Freaks were unable to locate him. They knew that, individually, none of them were his match, and so they did not dare to split up and search. Fortunately, the girls who rode on white camels had a strange and distinct way of dressing, and it was not difficult to ask around for their whereabouts. Thus, the Six Freaks pursued them all the way to Zhao Palace.

Ouyang Ke’s white robes stood out in the darkness, and Han Bao Ju together with Nan Xi Ren attacked immediately. Upon hearing Guo Jing’s cry, the Six Freaks were both surprised and glad. Zhu Cong and the rest then looked more closely and saw that the person weaving the barrier with a long, silver whip was none other than Iron Corpse, Mei Chao Feng! Mei was sitting on Guo Jing’s shoulder and it certainly looked like Guo Jing had fallen into her clutches. Their faces paling in shock, Han Xiao Ying immediately brandished her sword and rushed forward, Quan Jin Fa tumbled into the silver whip’s defensive radius; both hoping to rescue Guo Jing. Peng Lian Hu and the others already thought it strange that six people should suddenly arrive. Now these six people were attacking both Ouyang Ke and Iron Corpse, making it even more impossible to tell whose side they were on.

Peng Lian Hu halted his attack and, still using his Earthen Palm, got out of the whip’s radius. “Everyone stop fighting, I have something to say,” he shouted.

Like a large booming bell, his shout rang aloud in everyone’s ears. Liang Zi Weng and Sha Tong Tian were the first to stop fighting.

Ke Zheng’E could tell from his shout that this person was a force to be reckoned with and called out: “Third brother, Seventh sister, don’t be rash!”

Upon hearing their Eldest brother’s orders, Han Bao Ju and the rest backed off. Mei Chao Feng had also withdrawn her silver whip and was panting. Huang Rong stepped forward and told her, “You have reaped much credit for yourself this time. My father will be pleased.” Using both arms, she motioned to Guo Jing, telling him to toss Mei Chao Feng away.

Guo Jing understood Huang Rong, and knew that she had spoken to Mei Chao Feng to distract her. He said: “The ‘Three Flowers Gathered Atop’ is Essence transformed into Qi, Qi transformed into Spirit, Spirit transformed into Nothingness. Remember that!”

Mei Chao Feng pondered, then asked: “How does one transform?”

Suddenly, she felt her body soar through the air. While she had been dwelling on the deeper meanings of this nei gong (internal energy) mantra, Guo Jing had seized the opportunity and tossed her more than ten feet away. At the same time, he had summoned his energy and leapt backward, but even before he could land, Mei’s “Poison Dragon Silver Whip” was already flying towards him, its hooks sparkling brightly.

Han Bao Ju exclaimed: “Not good!”

He unleashed his own whip and the two whips met. Suffering waves of shock from the extremely close shave, Han Bao Ju’s whip was snatched by her Poison Dragon Silver Whip. Mei Chao Feng was just about to land hard on the ground but her outstretched palm met the ground first, and she lightly seated herself. Having heard Ke Zheng’E’s voice and fought briefly with Han Xiao Ying, she knew the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan must have arrived. Her heart filled with loathing and at the same time a little fear, she thought to herself: “I have searched everywhere for them in vain, and now they have delivered themselves to me. If it were any other day, I would’ve thanked the heavens, but this night I was surrounded by other strong enemies and already found them hard to handle. Now, with the addition of these seven scoundrels, I cannot possibly hope to live past tonight.” She gritted her teeth and decided: “I have no grudge with Liang Zi Weng and the others. As for the Seven Freaks, I will fight them to the death and make sure that if I perish, they perish with me. One dead Freak is one less – I’ll take as many as I can with me.” Gripping her Poison Dragon Silver Whip, she listened carefully to the Seven Freaks’ movements and wondered: “Out of seven only six came, I wonder where the other is ambushed?” She did not know that the Laughing Buddha Zhang Ah Sheng had already been killed by her husband on that fateful night in the Steppes.

The Six Freaks, Sha Tong Tian and the others all knew the power of her Silver Whip and stood far away from her, careful not to stray within forty to fifty feet of her. For a moment, all was silent.

Zhu Cong whispered to Guo Jing: “Why are they fighting? Why are you helping that wretch?”

Guo Jing replied: “They wanted to kill me, but she saved me.” But Zhu Cong and the other Freaks remained puzzled.

Peng Lian Hu called out: “What business do you have, sneaking into the Palace in the middle of the night? Leave your names.”

Ke Zheng’E replied coldly: “My surname is Ke. We are seven brothers, and people call us the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan.”

Peng Lian Hu said: “Ah, so it is the Seven Heroes from Jiang Nan. I have long admired.”

Sha Tong Tian said in a strange voice: “Great, the Seven Freaks have come knocking on my door. I have long wanted to spar with you and see just how good you are.”

Upon hearing it was the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan, he immediately remembered the shame his four disciples had suffered. In one swift movement, he stole forward. Appraising the Seven Freaks, he saw that Ke Zheng’E was blind, Han Xiao Ying was a woman, Quan Jin Fa was skin and bones, Han Bao Ju was short and fat, Zhu Cong had the air of someone cultured but not the air of a pugilist – of them, only Nan Xi Ren had the bold, proud quality of a fighter. Not wanting to waste his time on the rest, he struck straight towards Nan Xi Ren’s head. Nan Xi Ren stuck his pole in the ground and met Sha Tong Tian’s palm with his own. After a few moves, it was clear that Nan Xi Ren was not his match. Han Xiao Ying and Quan Jin Fa readied their weapons, sword and scale respectively, and rushed forward to help.

With a roar, Peng Lian Hu leapt towards Quan Jin Fa and attempted to grab his weapon. Upon sensing Peng Lian Hu’s intentions, Quan Jin Fa quickly drew back his weapon and sent both ends of it – a scale mace and scale hook, flying towards Peng. For all of Peng Lian Hu’s experience in the martial world, he had never seen anything like Quan Jin Fa’s weapon before. With a “Weird Python Flip”, he dodged Quan’s attack and exclaimed: “What is this? You’re using a scale from the market as a weapon!”

Quan Jin Fa retorted: “This hand scale of mine is precisely for weighing you lot of skinny pigs!”

In a fit of anger, Peng Lian Hu rushed forward with both palms striking furiously – Quan Jin Fa was, of course, unable to break his attack. Seeing his Sixth brother in danger, Han Bao Ju quickly went to his aid. Though he no longer had his whip, his basic melee was still quite powerful. But even with two versus one, Peng Lian Hu still seemed almost impossible to handle. Ke Zheng’E flourished his staff, Zhu Cong brandished his fan, and both joined in the battle. Ke Zheng’E and Zhu Cong were much more powerful than the rest of their brothers, so naturally with their addition, the battle tipped in the Freaks’ favor. Over at the other side, the battle between Hou Tong Hai and Huang Rong had grown extremely intense. Hou Tong Hai’s wu gong was by right better than hers, but when he thought of “this rascal’s” Soft Hedgehog Armor and the thorns that resided even in her hair, his fist and palm strikes did not even dare come into contact with her body, much less grab her by her hair.

Sensing his fear and hesitation, Huang Rong took full advantage and charged about brashly, forcing him to back away repeatedly.

Hou Tong Hai shouted: “This is unfair. Take off your Soft Hedgehog Armor before we continue fighting.”

Huang Rong replied: “Sure, but you must first slice off those three lumps on your forehead, if not then it’s also unfair.”

Hou Tong Hai retorted: “My three lumps do not hurt anyone!”

Huang Rong replied: “I feel disgusted when I see them, isn’t that letting you have a huge advantage? On the count of three, you slice off your lumps and I’ll take off my armor.”

Hou Tong Hai replied angrily: “I will not!”

Huang Rong said: “It’s a very good trade-off, I think you should.”

Hou Tong Hai exclaimed: “I will not fall for your tricks. I won’t slice them off no matter what you say!”

Ouyang Ke saw that the battle was not going well and thought: “I’ll kill these six scoundrels first. That wretch is unable to escape anyway, we can finish her off later.” Wanting to show off his skills, he pointed both feet and displayed his family’s “Thousand Miles in a Flash”, a superior qing gong technique, and promptly appeared beside Ke Zheng’E.

He shouted: “Blind scoundrel, I’ll let you have a taste of your master’s prowess for being such a busybody.”

Moving forward, Ouyang Ke struck out his right palm. Ke Zheng’E roused the end of his staff to meet the strike but caught nothing, only the sound of wind brushing past his right ear. Instead, the real attack came from the left with Ouyang Ke’s reverse left palm flying towards him. Ke Zheng’E dipped his head to avoid being struck, then used the “Diamond Guard” staff technique and fiercely attacked forward, but by this time, Ouyang Ke was already embroiled with Nan Xi Ren. Skillfully weaving his way through, Ouyang Ke had already attempted fatal blows on all 6 Freaks within a short period of time.

From the beginning, Liang Zi Weng’s vision never shifted from Guo Jing. Upon seeing that the 6 Freaks’ defeat was imminent, he immediately tried to grab Guo Jing with both outstretched arms. Guo Jing hurriedly resisted, but of course he was not Liang Zi Weng’s match. After exchanging a few moves, Liang Zi Weng had successfully grabbed him by the chest and with his right hand, gripped Guo Jing’s stomach. Guo Jing shrunk his stomach in anxiety and his clothes tore with a ripping sound; the bags of medicine had been snatched away. Liang Zi Weng knew the bags contained medicine – he had sniffed it out long ago and now conveniently pocketed them, followed by a second strike on Guo Jing. Guo Jing successfully struggled out of the grip on his chest and sprinted towards Mei Chao Feng, yelling: “Hey! Save me, quick!”

Mei Chao Feng thought to herself: “There are still many things I don’t understand about that mysterious school of nei gong.” Panting, she said aloud: “Come hold my legs, don’t be afraid of that old bat.”

Guo Jing knew to hold her legs was easy, but to escape after that would be hard. Thus, he did not dare to go close to her, instead sprinting wildly around her in circles. Though Guo Jing had already entered the perimeter of her Silver Whip, Liang Zi Weng still followed him relentlessly, nonetheless still wary of a sneak attack. Mei Chao Feng pinpointed Guo Jing’s position with her hearing and unleashed her Silver Whip across the floor and towards his legs.

Although Huang Rong was engaged in a duel with Hou Tong Hai, she already had the upper hand with her Soft Hedgehog Armor and had always been looking out for Guo Jing. First he was captured by Liang Zi Weng but she was too far away to help and was anxious to the extreme. Then Guo Jing sprinted into Mei Chao Feng’s perimeter; her whip was flying towards him and he was unable to dodge. Out of anxiety, Huang Rong flew in their direction and threw herself in front of the whip. Mei Chao Feng’s Silver Whip withdrew itself upon hitting a target and circled back, wrapping itself around Huang Rong’s waist. Huang Rong was thrown up into the air and shouted: “You dare hurt me, Mei Ruo Hua?”

Mei Chao Feng heard that it was Huang Rong’s voice and this gave her a huge shock. She thought: “My whip is littered with reversed hooks. Now that I’ve injured her, Shifu has more reason not to spare me. But I have already gone this far, and either way I have already betrayed my school. I’ll kill her first.” Rousing her Silver Whip, she pulled Huang Rong closer towards her and rested her on the ground, thinking that all the hooks must have tore deep into her flesh by now. She never expected the hooks to tear only Huang Rong’s clothes, leaving her body completely unharmed.

Huang Rong said laughingly: “You tore my clothes, I want compensation!”

Mei Chao Feng was surprised to hear no hint of pain in her voice, then thought: “Ah, Shifu has naturally given his Soft Hedgehog Armor to her.” Feeling lenient, she said aloud: “That was my fault. I will return you a nice new set of clothing.”

Huang Rong signaled for Guo Jing to come over, and he did so. The two of them now stood 10 feet or so within Mei Chao Feng, somewhere Liang Zi Weng did not dare to venture.

Over at the other end, the 6 Freaks of Jiang Nan had formed a tight circle with their backs towards each other’s and were trying their best to resist Sha Tong Tian, Peng Lian Hu, Ouyang Ke and Hou Tong Hai. This was a formation they had mastered in the deserts of Mongolia. When faced with tough opponents, this formation made it unnecessary for them to defend their backs and instantly increased their power by half. But Sha, Peng and Ouyang were simply too strong and the dangers came in all directions; the 6 Freaks were far from their match. Not long after, Han Bao Ju’s arm was injured. Han Bao Ju knew that if he left the formation there would be a loophole for their opponents to exploit, their lives and Guo Jing’s would be in grave danger. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and hold on with great effort.

Among their opponents, Peng Lian Hu was the most vicious in his attacks and repeatedly targeted Han Bao Ju. Guo Jing saw that the situation was urgent and rushed towards them with flying feet. With the double palm technique “Separating Cloud and Moon”, he aimed for Peng Lian Hu’s back. Peng Lian Hu let out a chilling laugh and with a wave of his hand, dismissed Guo jing’s attack. In just three moves, Guo Jing found himself in a state of emergency.

Huang Rong saw that he was unable to escape and in her anxiety, suddenly remembered the saying: “A simple man is sinless, but a man wearing a piece of jade will be sinned against.” Thus, she yelled: “Mei Chao Feng, you stole my father’s Jiu Yin Sutra, hand it to me now so I can return it to father!”

At this, Mei Chao Feng went cold and did not respond. Sha Tong Tian, Peng Lian Hu, Ouyang Ke and Liang Zi Weng immediately shifted their attention to Mei Chao Feng and attacked. All four harbored the same thought: “The Jiu Yin Sutra is the world’s top martial arts manual. So it really has been with the Twin Killers of the Dark Winds all along…” At present, all four couldn’t care less about anything else. Their only focus was to kill Mei Chao Feng and obtain the Jiu Yin Sutra.

Mei Chao Feng began brandishing her Silver Whip and for the moment, none of them dared to venture within its perimeter. Seeing them being lured away by the Jiu Yin Sutra, Huang Rong whispered to Guo Jing urgently: “Let’s go!”

At this moment, a figure emerged from the thicket and was hurrying towards them. It shouted: “Gentlemen! Father requires your help with something urgent.” The person wore a gold cap crookedly on his head and his voice was filled with worry. He was none other than the little prince, Wan Yan Kang.

Peng Lian Hu and the others all thought: “Prince Zhao has been generous in exchange for our services. Now that there is something urgent, how can we not go to his aid?” At this thought they backed off reluctantly, not bearing to give up the Jiu Yin Sutra. Their gaze still lingered on Mei Chao Feng.

Wan Yan Kang said softly: “My mother… my mother has been abducted by villains. Father has requested that you help to rescue her, please set off at once.”

Wan Yan Hong Lie had originally led his troops out of the Palace to chase Bao Xi Ruo, but they lost sight of her after a while. Remembering the resourceful pugilists in his residence, he hurriedly sent his son to summon them. Wang Yan Kang was caught up in anxiety and the night was dark, so he did not notice Mei Chao Feng seated on the ground.

Peng Lian Hu and the others thought: “Oh my, the Consort has been abducted? If we don’t go to her rescue, what are we here for?” They further thought: “It must be the 7 Freaks. 6 of them have led us here to distract us, allowing the other to go abduct the Consort. This Jiu Yin Sutra or whatever will have to wait. Anyway, with so many accomplished fighters around, I can’t hope to claim the Sutra for myself. I’ll need to come up with a plan some other time.” With that, they hurriedly followed Wang Yan Kang. Liang Zi Weng trailed behind, still longing for the blood in Guo Jing’s body. He actually didn’t care about rescuing the Consort but was alone in wanting to stay behind, and so had no choice but to follow miserably.

Guo Jing called: “Hey, return me my medicine!” Fuming, Liang Zi Weng turned and fired a bone-penetrating projectile straight at his head. The projectile cut through the night wind with incredible strength.

Zhu Cong dashed forward and deflected the projectile with the handle of his fan. As the projectile fell, he caught it with his left hand and held it to his nose to have a sniff. “Ah,” he said, “seals throats when it sees blood, this Bone-Penetrating Meridian Nail.

Hearing the name of his secret weapon startled Liang Zi Weng; he spun around and yelled: “What?”

Zhu Cong went up to him and stretched out his palm, the Meridian Nail resting on it. He said lightly: “I’ll give it back to you, old mister!”

Liang Zi Weng retrieved it calmly. He knew that with Zhu Cong’s low level of wu gong, he could not harm him. Zhu Cong saw that Liang Zi Weng’s left sleeve was dirtied with mud and grass, and used his own sleeve to swipe the dirt away.

Liang Zi Weng said angrily: “I don’t need your bootlicking!” With that, he turned around and left.

Guo Jing was in a miserable position. If he went back just like that without the medicine, all the night’s misadventures would have been for naught; but if he tried to snatch it forcefully, he would undoubtedly be defeated by Liang Zi Weng. He was just hesitating when Ke Zheng’E said: “Let’s go back.” Ke Zheng’E leapt to the top of the Palace walls, and the other 5 Freaks followed suit.

Pointing at Mei Chao Feng, Han Xiao Ying said: “Elder brother, what about her?”

Ke Zheng’E replied: “We promised Priest Ma to spare her life.”

Huang Rong did not acknowledge the 6 Freaks and leapt on to the other end of the wall, grinning.

Mei Chao Feng hollered: “Little martial sister, where is Shifu?”

Huang Rong giggled and said: “Of course my father is in Peach Blossom Isle, why do you ask? Are you going to pay him a visit?”

Mei Chao Feng seethed, her breath growing heavier and quicker. After a moment, she said: “Didn’t you just say that Shifu was on his way here?”

Still laughing, Huang Rong replied: “He doesn’t know you’re here, but rest assured I’ll tell him for you. I’m sure he’ll come straight away. Don’t worry, I’m not bluffing.”

Enraged, Mei Chao Feng propped herself up with both hands and sprung up suddenly. With staggering s