ndred catties. Therefore, in this ‘qing gong’ contest, although they could be considered even in terms of speed, Miejue Shitai was still one notch inferior to the man.

By the fourth circle, the man turned around abruptly and stretching out his arms, he threw Jing Xu over to Miejue Shitai. Miejue Shitai only felt a strong wind in front of her face as Jing Xu arrived with an irresistible force. Hastily she concentrated her ‘chi’ into her legs and with ‘qian jin zhui’ [thousand-catty fall] she gently caught Jing Xu.

The man let out a long laugh and said, “The Six Major Sects come to besiege the Brightness Peak. I am afraid it won’t be that easy!” While saying that, he ran northward.

When he raced Miejue Shitai earlier, the sand underneath their feet was not stirred up at all, but this time the yellow sand rose high behind him, surging on to the north with an overwhelming power that it looked like a giant dragon, several dozen ‘zhang’ long, which immediately blocked his shadow from view.

The Emei disciples rushed toward their Shifu only to see Miejue Shitai’s face paled; she did not say anything.

“Jing Xu Shijie …” suddenly Su Mengqing cried out in fear. Jing Xu’s face looked like yellow wax, there was an open wound on her throat, apparently she had stopped breathing. The wound was covered in blood, but there were teeth marks around it; obviously she was bitten to her death by that strange man.

The female Emei disciples broke out in loud crying. “What do you cry for?” Miejue Shitai shouted, “Bury her.” Everybody stopped crying at once and buried Jing Xu right there.

“Shifu,” Jing Xuan respectfully asked, “Who was that demon? Let us remember him clearly in our hearts that we can avenge Shimei later.”

Miejue Shitai coldly said, “This man sucks blood from the neck, he is ruthless and savage; he must be one of the Devil Cult’s four kings, the ‘Qing Yi Fu Wang’ [green-winged bat king]. I have long heard that his ‘qing gong’ is unparalleled in the world; apparently his reputation is well-deserved, he defeated me by a large margin.”

At first, Zhang Wuji hated Miejue Shitai for her ruthlessness, but now that he witnessed how in the face of huge changes she was able to maintain her composure, to keep her coldness as if nothing happened, as well as her ability to praise the enemy and not ashamed to admit her own shortcomings, which befit her status as a grandmaster of a prominent Sect, he could not restrain his respect toward her from growing.

Ding Minjun hatefully said, “He did not dare to fight Shifu; always ran away, what kind of hero is he?”

“Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted. ‘Slap!’ suddenly she slapped Ding Minjun’s mouth while angrily said, “Shifu cannot overtake him, cannot save Jing Xu’s life. He won. Victory or defeat is known to the world. Is hero or warrior a self-proclaimed title?”

Half of Ding Minjun’s face immediately turned red and swollen. “I accept Shifu’s lesson. Disciple knows her own fault,” she respectfully said, while in her heart she said, “You cannot beat others and lost face, but vent your frustration on me. Just consider my bad luck!”

“Shifu,” Jing Xuan said, “Could you please tell us more about this Qing Yi Fu Wang?”

Miejue Shitai waved her hand without answering Jing Xuan’s question; she walked forward. As the rest of the disciples saw how their martial sister had bumped her head against the wall, nobody dared to say anything. They continued their journey in silence until evening, when they built a large fire and slept behind a sand dune.

Miejue Shitai sat motionless with her gaze fixed on the fire, she looked like a stone statue. Seeing their Shifu had not slept, nobody dared to sleep. In this way they waited for more than two hours. Suddenly Miejue Shitai thrust both of her palms forward, creating a blast of strong wind. ‘Bang!’ the bonfire died down at once.

Everybody was still sitting motionless. The cold moon cast its clear light on everybody’s shoulders. Suddenly a sad feeling crept into Zhang Wuji’s heart. “Will Emei Pai’s awe-inspiring prestige collapse completely in this western region? Will they suffer a total defeat from the enemy?” he mused. He also thought, “Whatever happens, I must save Miss Zhou, but the Devil Cult’s people are this fierce, what can I do to save others?”

Suddenly he heard Miejue Shitai shout, “Kill the demon fire, extinguish the devil fire!” And then after a brief pause she continued slowly, “The Devil Cult regards the fire as sacred, reveres the fire as deity. After the death of their thirty-third generation Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] Yang Dingtian, the Devil Cult does not have any Jiaozhu. Left and Right Emissaries of the Brightness, Four Great Hu Jiao Fa Wang, Five Wanderers, as well as the Five Flag Leaders of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth Flags, all covet this Jiaozhu position so much so that they fight and massacre each other, and thus the Devil Cult became weak. Although each of the upright major sects is prosperous, I believe it is not easy at all to seek the destruction of this demonical and heretical people if they are not inthe midst of this internal strife.”

[Translator’s note: here I repeat my note in chapter 30: ‘hu jiao fa wang’ (‘hu’ – protect, ‘jiao’ – Cult, ‘fa’ – law, ‘wang’ – king) has been translated as ‘Protector King’ throughout this novel. I believe the more accurate translation should be ‘Protector of the Cult, Law Enforcement King’, or ‘Judge’. The same ‘fa wang’ was translated ‘imperial priest’, as in Jin Lun Fa Wang, in Shen Diao Xia Lu – RoCH; in different story, it is also translated as ‘Dharma King. I am going to keep using the term ‘Protector King’, interchangeably with ‘fa wang’ for the remainder of this novel; I just want the readers to know that the term carries a broader sense than simply ‘Protector King.’]

Zhang Wuji had heard the name ‘Devil Cult’ ever since he was little, but because his own mother was somehow related to the Devil Cult, each time he asked, his parents did not look too happy. When he asked his Yifu, his Yifu would stare blankly as if he was entranced, then all of a sudden he would be thrown into a violent rage. For this reason, he had never known what the Devil Cult was. Later, when he was with Tai Shifu Zhang Sanfeng, who also abhorred the Devil Cult, whenever he brought it up, Tai Shifu would earnestly warned him, telling him to never, ever, mess with the Devil Cult people or make friends with them. However, Zhang Wuji then met Hu Qingniu, Wang Nan’gu, Chang Yuchun, Xu Da, Zhu Yuanzhang, and other warriors, which were all Devil Cult people. These people were generous, just and loyal; they might not necessarily evil. It was just that their actions were sometimes underhanded that to the outsiders they were often unfathomable. This moment, as he listened to Miejue Shitai talk about the Devil Cult, he perked up at once and listened attentively.

Miejue Shitai continued, “The Devil Cult’s previous generations’ Jiaozhu had always passed on the Sheng Huo Ling [lit. the order of the sacred fire] to the next generation as their token of authority. But to the thirty-first generation Jiaozhu, God rest his soul, the Sheng Huo Ling was somehow vanished without a trace. Hence the thirty-second and thirty-third generations Jiaozhu did not have this token of authority, and thus these two Jiaozhu led the Cult quite reluctantly. Yang Dingtian died suddenly. Nobody knows whether he was poisoned or fell under the enemy’s plot, but he did not have enough time to appoint his successor. The number of highly-skilled devil-heads within the Devil Cult is truly not a few; there are at least five, six people who are qualified to be the Jiaozhu. You don’t submit to me, I won’t yield to you; and thus internally they are in a big chaos. Until today, they still do not have any Jiaozhu. The one we met today also wanted to be the Jiaozhu. He is one of the Devil Cult’s Four Great Protector Kings, Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao.”

The disciples had never heard the name Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao before, they stayed silent.

Miejue Shitai continued, “This man has never set foot on the Central Plains; the way the Devil Cult’s people handle matters is also extremely surreptitious. For this reason, although this man’s martial art skill is strong, he does not have the least bit of fame in the Central Plains. But I am sure you all know about the Bai Mei Ying Wang [white-browed eagle king] Yin Tianzheng and Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun, two people, don’t you?”

Zhang Wuji shivered inwardly. Zhu’er softly exclaimed in surprise, ‘Ah!’ Yin Tianzheng and Xie Xun’s reputation was so widespread that nobody in the Wulin world could claim that they had never heard those names.

“Shifu,” Jing Xuan asked, “Are those two also belong to the Devil Cult?”

“Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted, “Of course they belong to the Devil Cult, what else? ‘Mo Jiao Si Wang, Zi Bai Jin Qing’ [The Devil Cult’s Four Kings: Purple White Gold and Green], Zi Shan Long Wang [purple-robed dragon king], Bai Mei Ying Wang, Jin Mao Shi Wang and Qing Yi Fu Wang are the Devil Cult’s four kings. The Green Wing is ranked the last, yet today all of you have seen his skill with your own eyes; you can imagine the skills of Zi Shan Long Wang, Bai Mei Ying Wang and Jin Mao Shi Wang. Jin Mao Shi Wang has gone insane and has done many despicable things. More than twenty years ago he suddenly went on killing the innocents indiscriminately. Finally he disappeared and his whereabouts became Wulin world’s big mystery. Yin Tianzheng failed to be the Devil Cult’s Jiaozhu, in his anger he founded another Tian Ying Cult [Heavenly Eagle]. His sickness was that he craved to be a Jiaozhu. I know that since Yin Tianzheng has forsaken the Devil Cult, he became like water and fire with the Brightness Peak. Who would have thought that when the Brightness Peak is facing a calamity, they still ask the Heavenly Eagle Cult for help?”

Zhang Wuji’s heart was in chaos; he had known early on that his foster father and (maternal) grandfather’s conduct was heretical, which most of orthodox people would not tolerate; but he had never thought that those two people were actually the Devil Cult’s Protector Kings.

While being busy with his thoughts, he did not hear what the Emei disciples were talking. A little while later he heard Miejue Shitai continue, “We, the Six Major Sects, are currently in a mission to destroy the Brightness Peak. We will prevail. Even if the demons and witches are united, what do we fear? It’s just that during the battle, many will be injured or dead. No one must have a faint heart; we should not rely on luck. If fear overcomes our hearts, then we will degrade Emei Pai’s power and prestige in the presence of our enemy.” The disciples jumped to their feet at once. They bowed in compliance.

Miejue Shitai continued, “Whether one’s martial art skill is strong or weak, it all depends on talent and destiny, we cannot force it at all. Before Jing Xu even had a chance to launch a stance, she had fallen under the enemy’s scheme and died in the hands of that blood-sucking demon. Nobody can sneer at her. What is the purpose of training martial arts? Is it not to rob the rich and give it to the poor, to destroy the demons and devils? Today Jing Xu was the first to die. Who knows? Perhaps the second one will be your own Shifu. Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Kunlun, Kongtong and Huashan, the Six Major Sects’ mission is to besiege and destroy the Devil Cult. We, the Emei Pai, have earlier disregarded good luck or bad luck, disaster or happiness …”

In his heart Zhang Wuji thought, “Our Wudang is indeed among them.” Deep in his heart he felt that his journey to the west this time would bring him to see countless wretched disasters, which eyes could not near to see, and ears could not bear to hear. And thus he seriously considered taking Zhu’er to escape so that they would not have to witness the war and massacre among the Jianghu people.

In the meantime, Miejue Shitai said, “The proverb says it well: ‘A thousand coffins go out the door, the home prospers. The children survive, the father dies first; and thus the descendants mourn their ancestors.’ [Translator’s note: this is a literal translation of the text. I am not sure about the background of this saying. Any help will be greatly appreciated.] Who in the world would not die? As long as we leave behind our successors, we can still prosper even though there are hundreds or thousands of deaths in the family. I am only afraid that you will all die and leave the old nun live alone.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Hey, hey, even if that happens, I will have no regrets. A hundred years ago, was it not that Emei Pai did not even exist? As long as every one of us is fighting with everything we have, wouldn’t that be enough if Emei Pai had to meet its destruction?”

With boiling blood, the disciples’ drew out their weapons and responded in loud voices, “Disciples vow to fight to the death; we will not co-exist with the people of demonic way.”

Miejue Shitai laughed drily and said, “Very good! You may sit down!”

Although the majority of Emei Pai disciples were weak women, Zhang Wuji had to admit that they possessed heroic spirits, which enable them to brave death without frowning. He thought that it was not by accident that Emei Pai was considered one of the Six Major Sects, and certainly not only because of their superiority in martial arts. Witnessing this scene, he was reminded of how Jing Ke went west to enter the Qin [Jing Ke was supposedly the would-be assassin of King Ying Zheng of Qin], with the sadness of ‘the mournful wind rippled the cold water, the warrior departed on a one-way mission.’

Actually, these words should be spoken before they embarked on this mission, while they were still thinking that the Devil Cult was weakened by internal strife that it would be easily destroyed with just a raise of the hand. They had not anticipated that in the middle of disintegration, the demons of the Devil Cult were still able to join hands in resisting outsiders’ invasion. Now that Qing Yi Fu Wang had made his move, the situation was substantially different.

Sure enough, Zhang Wuji heard Miejue Shitai say, “If Qing Yi Fu Wang could come, then Bai Mei Ying Wang and Jin Mao Shi Wang could also come. The possibility of Zi Shan Long Wang, the Five Wanderers, and the Five Flag Commanders to come is even greater. We, the Six Major Sects, originally thought that with our combined forces, we would be able to destroy Guangming Zuo Shi [the Left Emissary of the Brightness] Yang Xiao first, then sweep out the other demons one by one. Who would have thought that this time the prediction of Huashan Pai’s Shen Ji Xiansheng [Mr. Divine Strategist], Xianyu Zhang Men’s [Sect Leader Xianyu] is inaccurate? Hey, hey, he is totally off the mark.”

Jing Xuan asked, “What kind of evil devil-head is that Zi Shan Long Wang?”

Miejue Shitai shook her head. “Zi Shan Long Wang’s evil conduct is obscure; I myself only heard bits and pieces about him. I heard when this person failed to be the Jiaozhu, he immediately escaped to the distant overseas and no longer communicated with the Devil Cult. It would be best if he stays out of this. ‘Mo Jiao Si Wang, Zi Bai Jin Qing’. This person is the chief among the Four Kings, needless to say, he is the most difficult to be dealt with. Other than Yang Xiao, the Devil Cult has another Emissary of the Brightness. From generation to generation, the Devil Cult has always had Left and Right Emissaries of the Brightness, whose positions are above the Four Hu Jiao Fa Wang. Yang Xiao is the Guangming Zuo Shi [Left Emissary of the Brightness]; but the name of the Guangming You Shi [Right Emissary of the Brightness] is actually unknown to the people of the Wulin world. Kong Zhi Dashi [reverend] of Shaolin Pai and Song Yuanqiao, Song Daxia [great hero] of Wudang Pai, both are warriors with vast experience and knowledge, but even they did not know it. Yang Xiao is our enemy; in a frontal battle, victory or defeat will be decided by our martial art skill, which is fine with me. My main concern is if that Guangming You Shi suddenly launches a sneak attack.”

The disciples were scared; without realizing it, they turned their heads around as if that Right Emissary of the Brightness or the Purple-robed Dragon King suddenly came and launched a sneak attack. Under the cold moonlight, everybody’s face looked deathly pale.

Miejue Shitai indifferently said, “Yang Xiao killed your Gu Hongzi Shibo [martial (older) uncle], he also killed Ji Xiaofu. Wei Yixiao killed Jing Xu. Between Emei Pai and the Devil Cult there is an enmity as high as the heavens. Since our Sect was founded by Guo Zushi [ancestor master], the Zhang Men position has always been held by a virgin woman. Not to mention that a man will not have any part in this position, even a woman, if she is married, cannot hold the Zhang Men position. However, today our Sect is facing a life and death, exist or perish situation; how can I adhere strictly to the norms? In this mission, whoever set a great merit will inherit my cassock and alms bowl, I don’t care if it is a man or a married woman.”

The disciples hang their heads in silence; they felt their Shifu was making an arrangement for things to do after her death, discussing the appointment of her successor, as if she knew that she would not return to the Central Earth alive. In everybody’s hearts there was a third part of uncomfortable, mournful feeling.

Miejue Shitai let out a long, loud laughter, “Ha ha, ha ha …” her voice travelled far into the distant over the great desert. The disciples looked at each other in a start; inwardly feeling scared. Miejue Shitai waved her sleeve and loudly said, “Everybody, sleep!”

As usual, Jing Xuan arranged the night watch.

“No need for night watch,” Miejue Shitai said.

Jing Xuan was startled, but then she understood. If a master of Green-winged Bat King’s caliber attacked in the middle of the night, how could the disciple find out? Night watch would be futile.

That evening the Emei Pai seemed relaxed outwardly, but very tense inwardly; they seemed to be scattered loose, but actually in a very tight formation, ready for any unanticipated matter.