d. But inside the house was totally silent, nobody was talking.

After a while, Miejue Shitai said: “Xiaofu, it is your story so you can tell me what happened.” Ji Xiaofu choked out: “Shifu, I… I…” Miejue Shitai said: “Minjun, come and question her.” Ding Minjun said: “Yes. Martial sister Ji, of our sect’s forbidden practices, what is the third?” Ji Xiaofun replied: “Taking part in lewd and lecherous activities.” Ding Minjun said: “Correct. What then, is the sixth? Ji Xiaofu replied: “Turning your heart to outsiders, rebelling against sect and master.” Again, Ding Minjun asked: “And how do we deal with people who break these rules?” Ji Xiaofu did not reply. Instead, she turned to Miejue Shitai, saying: “Shifu, there is something that I have difficulty saying. It is not as simple as what Martial Sister Ding is saying.” Miejue Shitai said: “Alright, there are no outsiders here. Tell me everything.”

Ji Xiaofu knew that this was a very important moment, she didn’t dare conceal anything. She said: “Shifu, that year after we found out about the Heavenly Eagle Cult gathering at Wangpan Shan, you ordered me and 15 other martial sisters to leave the mountain and split up to look for the Golden-hair Lion King Xie Xun. I went west towards Sichuan. On the way, I met a middle-aged man dressed in white. He was around 40 years old. Everywhere I went, he followed. When I stayed at an inn, he stayed there as well. When I moved on, he moved on as well. At first I just ignored him. After that, I told him off because it was unseemly. That man talked like a madman, so I lost my patience, took out my sword and stabbed at him. He had no weapon but his kungfu was amazing. Within 3 moves, he had snatched the sword from my hand. I was frightened and tried to run away. He didn’t chase me. Early morning the second day, I woke up in my inn room only to see my sword next to my pillow. I was greatly frightened. When I left the inn, that man started following me again. There was no point in me fighting him again, so I tried begging him. I said that we are neither related nor are we enemies, we don’t know each other, plus men and women should remain apart, there is no point in you following me around. I also said, although my kungfu is not your match, you shouldn’t provoke our Emei Sect.” Meijue Shitai ‘hmmphed’ as if she agreed. Ji Xiaofu continued: “That man laughed and laughed, then said: ‘Once a person’s kungfu is split into different sects, it deteriorates a lot. If you are willing to follow me, you’ll acquire a new set of eyes and ears. I’ll teach you the greatest kungfu on earth.”

Miejue Shitai has eccentric in nature. Her whole life had been devoted to martial arts to the exclusion of other matters (Note: I think there’s a mistake in the online text I’m using, so this bit is a guess). On hearing what that man said, she said: “You should have followed him to have a look and see what sort of weird skills he has.” Ji Xiaofu blushed bright red and replied: “Shifu, he is a strange man, how could I follow him?” Miejue Shitai then came to her senses: “Ah, you’re right! So you told him to get lost?” Ji Xiaofu said: “I tried time and time again to avoid him, but I just couldn’t lose him. Ai, I was unfortunate to run into this, the consequence of my sins in my previous life…” As she said this, her voice grew softer and softer.

Miejue Shitai saked: “What happened after that?”

Ji Xiaofu answered softly: “I couldn’t resist and lost my chastity to him. He had complete control over me, I couldn’t even end my life. This went on for a few months. Then one day, an enemy suddenly came looking for him and I took this opportunity to escape. Not long later, I discovered that I was pregnant. I didn’t dare tell you, Shifu, so I hid away and gave birth to my child in secret.”

Miejue Shitai asked: “Are you telling me the truth?” Ji Xiaofu said: “I would never dare to lie to you, Shifu.” Miejue Shitai gave a low hum and said: “My poor child. Ai, this matter really wasn’t your fault!” When Ding Minjun heard her Shifu’s sympathy, she could not help but glare fiercely at Ji Xiaofu. Miejue Shitai sighed and asked: “Then what are your plans now?” Ji Xiaofu tearfully answered: “The arrangements my family made for me to marry Wudang’s Sixth Master have fallen apart. I beg Shifu to permit me to cut my hair and become a nun.” Miejue Shitai shook her head: “That won’t be good. Humph, what is the name of the evil man who harmed you?” Ji Xiaofu lowered her head and answered: “His… his surname is Yang, and his given name is Xiao.” Miejue Shitai suddenly leapt up. She waved her sleeve and with a ‘krack’ sound, the table collapsed into two pieces. Zhang Wuji who was eavesdropping outside was greatly frigetened. Even the expressions of Ji Xiaofu, Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi changed. Miejue Shitai yelled: “You said that he is Yang Xiao? The biggest demon of the Demon Cult, the man called the ‘Left Emissary of Guang Ming’ Yang Xiao?”

Ji Xiaofu replied: “He… he… is from the Ming Cult and seemed to hold some position within it.” Miejue Shitai, with a furious expression on her face, said: “What Ming Cult? The Demon Cult is ferocious and inhuman, there are no evil deeds that they do not do. (Note: ‘Ming’ means ‘bright’ which implies good, as opposed to evil.) Where… where is he hiding now? Is he at Guang Ming Peak in the Kunlun Mountains? I’m going to look for him.” Ji Xiaofu said: “He said he is the Ming Cult’s…” Miejue Shitai shouted: “Demon Cult!” Ji Xiaofu said: “Yes. He said he is the Demon Cult’s leader. Ordinarily, he would be at Guang Ming Peak but the last few years, there has been internal discord and fighting within the Cult. So he no longer lives on Guang Ming Peak to prevent people from thinking he wants to be the Cult Leader. He is now secretly living in Zuo Feng Summit of the Kunlun Mountains. This was something he only told me, no one else in the Jianghu knows about it. Since Shifu asked me, I dare not refuse to answer. Shifu, this man… is this man our sects’s enemy?” Miejue Shitai answered: “Our enmity is as deep as the ocean! Your Eldest Martial Uncle Guhong Zi was angered to death by the great demon Yang Xiao.”

Ji Xiaofu was very frightened, yet she couldn’t help but feeling proud. Her Eldest Mrtial Uncle Guhong Zi was a top expert in the world but even he was angered to death by “him”. She wanted to ask about the details but did not dare open her mouth.

Miejue Shitai lifted her face to the sky, with great hatred she muttered to herself: “Yang Xiao… for many years I had no idea of your whereabouts, now that you’ve fallen into my hands…” She suddenly spun around and said: “Right, you lost your chastity to him, defended Monk Peng, offended your Martial Sister Ding, concealed the truth from me, and secretly gave birth to a child… I’ll forget about all this. I want you to do something for me, when you’ve rendered this great service come back to Emei. I will give you the robes, alms bowl and Yi Tian sword, and then make you my successor as the our Sect Leader.” These words shocked everyone. Ding Minjun’s jealousy and hatred burst forward. She was furious with their Shifu for not understanding right and wrong, and acting unreasonably.

Ji Xiaofu said: “Whatever Shifu orders, I will do my utmost to complete. But I have too many faults and my martial arts are not good, so I dare not even dream of accepting your legacy. Miejue Shitai said: “Come with me.” She pulled Ji Xiaofu’s wrist and flew out of the house to the hill on the left side of the valley. She only stopped when they reached a deserted spot. Zhang Wuji observed them from far away. He then saw Miejue Shitai stand at a tall vantage point and gaze round in all four directions, before pulling Ji Xiaofu to her side and speaking softly into her ear. Only then did he realise that what she was saying was a big secret. Not only was she afraid of eavesdroppers, but she also did not even want her two disciples, Ding and Bei, to hear what she said.

After hiding next to the house, Zhang Wuji did not dare reveal himself. From afar, he watched Miejue Shitai say something and Ji Xiaofu lower her head in thought before finally shaking her head firmly. He then saw Miejue Shitai lift up her right palm and struck down, only to stop halfway like she was giving Ji a last chance to change her mind. Zhang Wuji’s heart was beating rapidly. He thought that if this palm fell on her head, she would definitely die. He gazed intently at Ji Xiaofu without blinking an eye. He saw her drop to her knees and shake her head. Miejue Shitai’s palm fell squarely on her forehead, Ji Xiaofu’s body swayed and dropped to the ground. She writhed a little and then stopped moving.

Zhang Wuji was both frightened and grieved, he flattened himself in the grass behind the house, not daring to move a muscle. At this moment, Yang Buhui giggled a couple of times and threw herself onto his back. Laughing, she said: “I’ve caught you, I’ve caught you!” She had been running around in the fields and had seen Zhang Wuji hide among the grass. She thought he was planning hide-and-seek with her and rushed forward to catch him. Zhang Wuji grabbed her, covered her mouth with one hand and whispered into her ear: “Keep quiet, don’t let the evil people find us.” Seeing that his face was pale and his expression frightened, Yang Buhui was shocked. Miejue Shitai came down from the slope hurriedly and told Ding Minjun: “Go and kill her bastard child. Don’t allow future disaster to take root.” Ding Minjun had seen how her shifu had dealt violently with Ji Xiaofu. Though she was inwardly happy, she was also greatly surprised. Hearing her shifu’s orders, she quickly borrowed Bei Jinyi’s sword and went off to look for Yang Buhui.

Zhang Wuji hugged Yang Buhui and shrank further back into the long grass. He didn’t even dare take a deep breath. Ding Minjun looked everyone but couldn’t find a trace of the little girl. As she decided to do a thorough search, Meijue Shitai scolded: “Useless thing! You can’t even find a little girl!” Bei Jinyi had always gotten along well with Ji Xiaofu. After seeing her die under their shifu’s palm and now trying to kill her only child, she could not hold back any longer. She said: “I’ll go see whether the child has run out of the valley.” She knew her shifu was impatient by nature. Once they have gone out to search for the child unsuccessfully, she would not bother coming back to look. Though a little girl left alone in the world might not survive, Bei Jinyi could not bear the idea of seeing her stabbed by Ding Minjun’s sword. Miejue Shitai said: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Glaring at Bei, she led the chase out of the valley, with Ding Minjun and Bei Jinyi following.

Yang Buhui still did not know that disaster had befallen her mother. Her eyes were open wide and round, darting around with a questioning look. Zhang Wuji placed his ear to the ground and listened. When he heard the three going further and further away, he jumped up, pulled Yang Buhui’s hand and rushed up the slope. Yang Buhui laughed: “Brother Wuji, have the evil people gone? We’re going up the mountain to play right?” Zhang Wuji did not answer. He only pulled her quickly to where Ji Xiaofu was. When Yang Buhui got closer and finally saw her mother lying on the ground, she was very frightened. She surged forward crying: “Mama, Mama!” and threw herself down next to her mother. Zhang Wuji tested her breath and found it to be extremely weak. He saw that her skull had been smashed by Meijue Shitai’s palm. Even if Hu Qingniu arrived, it would be difficult to save her life. Ji Xiaofu opened her eyes slightly to see Zhang Wuji and her daughter. Her lips slightly moved as if she wanted to speak, but not a single sound came out. Two large tears flowed from her eyes. Zhang Wuji took out some golden needles and pushed them into her “Shen Ting”, “Yin Tang” and “Cheng Qi” acupoints, reducing the pain in her head. Ji Xiaofu regained some strength and said softly: “I beg… beg you… to take her to her father……I could not… could not harm her father……” Her left hand moved to her chest as if to retrieve some object but suddenly her head drooped and breathing stopped.

Yang Buhui hugged her mother’s body, crying loudly she kept calling: “Mama, Mama, does it hurt a lot? Does it hurt a lot?” Ji Xiaofu gradually became cold, but she did not stop asking. She did not understand why her mother did not move at all, or why she did not answer her. Zhang Wuji already felt great sorrow. Then when he thought about his parents tragic deaths, he too felt like howling. He could not stop tear from pouring from his eyes. The two of them cried for a while, then Zhang Wuji thought: “Before Aunty Ji died, she begged me to take Sister Buhui to her father. Erm, her father’s name is Yang Xiao, he is the Ming Cult’s Guang Ming Left Emissary, and he lives on Zuo Wang Summit in the Kunlun Mountains. I must take her there.” He did not know that the Kunlun Mountains were tens of thousands of li to the west. How could two children make it all the way there? He had seen Ji Xiaofu reach towards her chest to retrieve something before her breath was cut short. Now he felt around her neck and found a silk cord hanging around her neck. From the cord hung a black pendant inlaid with a golden flame. Not knowing what it was, he just hung it around Yang Buhui’s neck. Then he got an iron shovel out of the house and dug a grave to bury Ji Xiaofu’s body. By this time, Yang Buhui had exhausted herself crying and had fallen into a deep sleep. When she woke up, Zhang Wuji told her that a mother had flown up to heaven and she will only come back down after a very long time.

After that, Zhang Wuji slapped a meal together for himself and Yang Buhui to eat. Exhausted, they both fell asleep on a couch. The next morning, he packed two small travel packs and the money that Hu Qingniu had given him, then took Yang Buhui to pay their respects in front of her mother’s grave. That done, the two children left Butterfly Valley.