life and death would be decided in the next split seconds, how could Zhang Wuji dare to be negligent? In this instant he remembered the phrase from the Manual: ‘Let him be fierce, let him be ruthless, a mouthful of ‘zhen qi’ is enough for me’. Without thinking about how he was going to fend off the attack at all, he took a deep breath and gathered a whiff of ‘zhen qi’ in his chest.

With a very loud ‘Bang!’ Miejue Shitai’s palm struck Zhang Wuji’s chest. All the spectators cried out in alarm, as they believed the entire bones in Zhang Wuji’s body would be shattered to dust, or perhaps this earth-shattering force would break his body in two. Who would have thought that when the dust settled, they saw Zhang Wuji, with a shocked expression on his face, was still standing in one piece, while Miejue Shitai’s face was as grey as a corpse while her palm trembled slightly.

What happened was: Miejue Shitai’s stance, ‘fo guang pu zhao’ purely took Emei Jiu Yang Gong as its foundation, which originated from the real Jiu Yang Shen Gong, which Zhang Wuji trained. After listening to Jue Yuan reciting the Nine Yang Manual, Guo Xiang developed Emei Jiu Yang Gong based on fragments she managed to remember. As a result, the power of Emei Jiu Yang Gong of course cannot be mentioned on equal terms with the original Jiu Yang Shen Gong. However, the power of these two internal energies were comparable, the essence was identical. When Emei Jiu Yang Gong met the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, it was like river and stream entering the ocean, or like milk dissolved into water, instantly disappeared without any trace.

Miejue Shitai’s first palm strike, the Floating Snow Penetrating the Cloud, and the second strike, the Nine-Style Cutting Hand, were not based on Emei Jiu Yang Gong; therefore, when the palm hit Zhang Wuji, the strikes had caused him to be injured and to throw up blood. This reasoning was unknown to everybody present. Zhang Wuji admittedly did not have vast knowledge, but although Miejue Shitai possessed an extensive experience and knowledge, her thoughts were no more than that this kid’s internal energy was so deep that she was not able to inflict any harm. Therefore, other than Miejue Shitai herself, the hundreds of people, inside and outside of the besiege, all believed that she was being lenient, or that she was taken by Zhang Wuji’s unyielding character, or perhaps she was working for the benefits of all, unwilling to let the Five Major Sects suffer disastrous casualties under the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s poisoned arrows. Some even went so far as assuming she was a coward who submitted under Yin Yewang’s threat.

Zhang Wuji bowed and cupped his fists. “Many thanks Qianbei for holding your palm and showing mercy,” he said.

“Humph,” Miejue Shitai snorted, she was in a very awkward situation; if she struck again, she would clearly breach her own words that she would strike him three times, but if she dropped the case, she would suffer great embarrassment by yielding to the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s will.

While she was still in a quandary, Yin Yewang had already laughed aloud and said, “Only an outstanding talent can submit to circumstances. Miejue Shitai has proven herself to be a great master of the present age.” To his people he ordered, “Withdraw the arrows!”

The Heavenly Eagle Cult people turned around abruptly and withdrew; like a wave row after row of shields and bows and arrows rolled away in a very neat formation. It appeared that Yin Yewang’s troops were trained for battle; whether they are attacking or withdrawing, they followed certain rules.

Miejue Shitai’s countenance darkened, yet she did not know what to say in her defense; would she say that in the last palm strike she was showing mercy? Everybody had clearly seen how with gentle strike she had inflicted serious injury to Zhang Wuji, twice in a row. But under Yin Yewang’s threat, the third palm, which appeared to carry a tremendous force, did not injure Zhang Wuji in the least bit. No matter how hard she defended herself, nobody would believe her. Much less she was always an arrogant person; how could she ask everybody to believe her?

While staring maliciously at Zhang Wuji, she called in a loud and clear voice, “Yin Yewang, if you want to test my palm power, come over here.”

Yin Yewang cupped his fists and said, “After receiving Shitai’s compassion today, I do not dare to offend further. We will meet again someday soon.”

Miejue Shitai waved her left sleeve; without saying anything she led her disciples to walk quickly westward. The people of Kunlun, Huashan and Kongtong Pai, as well as Yin Liting and Song Qingshu, followed behind them.

Zhu’er’s legs were still paralyzed. “Ahniu Ge,” she said anxiously, “Quickly take me away.” But Zhang Wuji wanted very much to speak a few words with Yin Yewang. “Wait a moment,” he said, and he walked toward Yin Yewang.

“Qianbei has rendered a great assistance, ‘wanbei’ will never dare to forget,” he said.

Yin Yewang pulled his hand and look at him from top to bottom, sizing him up. “You are surnamed Zheng?” he asked.

Zhang Wuji had the urge to throw himself into his bosom and call out, ‘Jiujiu, Jiujiu!’ But in the end he forced himself not to do that, although he could not stop his eyes from turning red. There was a saying, ‘Seeing (maternal) uncle is like seeing one’s mother.’ Since his parents died, Yin Yewang was the first close family member he had seen in more than ten years, how could his heart not get excited?

Yin Yewang saw the affectionate look on his eyes, but he thought that Zhang Wuji was very grateful because he had saved his life, so he did not further think about this matter. His eyes turned toward Zhu’er, who was lying down on the ground. With a dry laugh he said, “Ah Li, are you all right?”

Zhu’er looked up; her eyes were brimming with hatred. Immediately she lowered her head and after a while she called out, “Father!”

As soon as she called, ‘Father’, Zhang Wuji was shocked. But his mind was churning fast, and very soon he understood everything. “Turns out Zhu’er is Jiujiu’s daughter; in that case she is my Biaomei [maternal younger female cousin]. She has killed her second mother, and thus vexed her own mother to her death. She also said that her father would kill her if he sees her … Oh, she used the ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ to pierce Yin Wulu, must be because these brothers, just like their masters, were not good toward these mother and daughter. Although Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou hated her very much, they cannot fight with her, hence they only said a sentence, ‘It is San Xiaojie’ before taking Yin Wulu away.”

Turning his head around toward Zhu’er, suddenly he remembered something else, “No wonder I always felt that her mannerism very much resembled my Mama, turns out she is my own blood relative; my Ma was her (paternal) aunt.”

He heard Yin Yewang’s cold laugh. “You still call me ‘Father’? Humph, I know you have followed Jin Hua Popo and did not have any regard toward the Heavenly Eagle Cult. You are a hopeless kid, exactly like your Mama, train that ‘qian zhu wan du shou’. Humph, look in the mirror, tell me, is there any ugly freak in my Yin family?”

At first Zhu’er was so frightened that her whole body trembled, but suddenly she turned her head and stared directly at her father’s face, while in a loud and clear voice she said, “Father, if you did not raise the past matters, I wouldn’t have raise them either. But since you mentioned it, I want to ask you: you were happily married with Mama, why did you take Er Niang [second mother]?”

“This … this …” Yin Yewang said, “Dead girl, which one among the men did not have three wives, four concubines? You are disobedient and unfilial; it’s useless to debate with you today. You do not have any regard to Jin Hua Popo, Yin Ye Xiansheng [Mr. Silver Leaf], or the Heavenly Eagle Cult.” He waved his hand to his back and said to Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou, “Take this girl along. Let’s go.”

Zhang Wuji stretched out his arms to block. “Hold on!” he said, “Yin … Yin Qianbei, why do you want to take her along?”

“This girl is my daughter,” Yin Yewang replied, “She killed her stepmother and vexed her own mother to death; she is more like a beast than a human being, how can I let her live in this world?”

Zhang Wuji said, “At that time Miss Yin was still very young, seeing her mother bullied by others, she was enraged and had made the mistake of taking matters into her own hands. I beseech Qianbei to remember the love between a father and his daughter and punish her leniently.”

Yin Yewang laughed with his face toward the sky. “Young fellow,” he said, “Who do you think you are that you always meddle with other people’s business? Why, you even want to interfere with my Yin family’s internal affair. Are you the ‘Most Revered in the Wulin World’?”

Zhang Wuji’s mind was stirred. He really wanted to shout, “I am your nephew, I am not an outsider.” But in the end he held his peace.

“Kid,” Yin Yewang laughed, “You are lucky that today your life was spared. But if you keep meddling into the Jianghu people’s business like this, even if you have ten little lives, that won’t be enough.” While saying that, he waved his left hand. Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou stepped forward to pick up Zhu’er then they followed Yin Yewang.

Zhang Wuji knew that falling into her father’s hand this time, Zhu’er would most likely not have the good fortune to keep her life. In his desperation, he pounced forward trying to snatch her away.

Yin Yewang frowned; like a lightning his hand reached out and grabbed Zhang Wuji’s chest and gently tossed him away. Zhang Wuji’s body refused to follow its master’s order; like soaring into the clouds or sailing in the fog he flew out and ‘Bang!’ he fell heavily into the yellow sand. The Jiu Yang Shen Gong inside his body protected him that he did not sustain any injury; but falling into the sand, his eyes, ears, mouth and nose were full of sand that it was unbearably uncomfortable. Unwilling to give up, he crawled up trying to grab Zhu’er again.

‘Kid,” with a cold laugh Yin Yewang said, “I was being lenient the first time, don’t force me to be impolite the second time.”

Zhang Wuji earnestly begged, “She … she is your own daughter. When she was little you carried her in your arms, you kissed her. Please spare her.”

Yin Yewang’s heart was touched, but when he turned his head to look at Zhu’er, he saw her bumpy face, and could not help feeling even more loathsome. “Get out of my way!” he shouted.

Zhang Wuji took a step closer instead, still trying to grab Zhu’er.

“Ahniu Ge,” Zhu’er called out, “Don’t mind me. I will always remember your kindness to me. Just go away, you are not my father’s match.”

Right this moment, suddenly someone in dark green robe flew out of the sandy ground. Stretching out both hands, he grabbed Yin Wufu and Yin Wushou by the back of their collars and brought his arms together, hard. The two men’s heads bumped to each other and they fainted instantly. That man grabbed Zhu’er and carrying her in his arms, he swiftly ran away.

“Wei Fu Wang [bat king Wei],” Yin Yewang shouted angrily, “You also want to meddle in my business?”

Qing Yi Fu Wang Wei Yixiao let out a loud and long laugh, while carrying Zhu’er speeding along forward. He was called ‘Yixiao’ [one laugh], but his laughter was continuous without pausing; why wasn’t he called ‘a hundred laugh’ or ‘a thousand laugh’?

Yin Yewang and Zhang Wuji anxiously pursued at the same time. This time Wei Yixiao no longer run in circles; he flew straight toward the southwest direction. His feet moved very fast, almost unthinkable. Yin Yewang’s internal energy was deep; his ‘qing gong’ was also excellent. The ‘zhen qi’ circulated inside Zhang Wuji’s body; he ran faster and faster. But Wei Yixiao’s speed was even more difficult to be dealt with. When they started, he was only a few ‘zhang’ ahead, but not too long afterwards, he increased the distance to a dozen ‘zhang’, then twenty some ‘zhang’, thirty some ‘zhang’ … until finally his shadow vanished in the horizon.

In his extreme anger Yin Yewang laughed. He was secretly amazed to notice that all along Zhang Wuji was able to run alongside him, without falling behind even for a half step. By this time he knew perfectly well that he would not be able to overtake Wei Yixiao, but he still wanted to test this youngster’s legs’ strength, so he increased his speed. Like an arrow leaving the string his body shot forward, but he still saw Zhang Wuji was able to keep up, still running side-by-side with him.

Suddenly he heard Zhang Wuji say, “Yin Qianbei, although this Qing Yi Fu Wang can run fast, he might not necessarily have the strength to run long distance. We might be able to catch up with him eventually.”

Yin Yewang was startled; he stopped his steps immediately, while thinking, “In unleashing my ‘qing gong’ like this, I have exhausted my life-long cultivated strength. I can’t afford to make any mistake in regulating my breath, let alone to open my mouth to speak. This young man is able to speak, yet his feet did not slow down at all. What kind of skill is this?”

When he stopped suddenly, Zhang Wuji had already flown several ‘zhang’ forward. Hastily Zhang Wuji turned around and returned to Yin Yewang, ready to listen to his instruction.

“Zeng Xiongdi,” Yin Yewang said, “Who is your Shifu?”

“No, no!” Zhang Wuji hastily said, “You must not call me ‘Xiongdi’ [brother], I am your ‘wanbei’ [younger generation], you, Senior, just call me ‘Ahniu’. I do not have any Shifu.”

A murderous intent grew in Yin Yewang’s heart; he mused, “This kid’s martial art skill is this weird, if I leave him alive, he might bring disaster later on. I’d better strike preemptively and kill him with a palm.”

Right this moment, suddenly they heard several sharp noise of ocean conch horn from the distant; it was precisely the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s emergency signal. Yin Yewang creased his eyebrows. “Must be Hong Shui and Lie Huo Flags blaming me for not helping Rui Jin Flag that they create trouble for us,” he mused, “If I failed to kill this kid with one palm strike, I would not have time to engage him in a dogfight at this time. I’d better borrow somebody else’s knife to kill him; I’ll let him deliver his own life into Wei Yixiao’s hands.” Thereupon he said, “The Heavenly Eagle Cult is facing an enemy; I must return at once to render my assistance. You can go alone to find Wei Yixiao. This man is ferocious and sinister, as soon as you meet him, you must strike first to gain the upper hand.”

“My skill is so low and inadequate, how can I fight him?” Zhang Wuji said, “Who is your enemy?”

Yin Yewang inclined his ears to listen to the bugle call. “It is indeed the Ming Cult’s Hong Shui, Lie Huo and Hou Tu, three Flags have arrived.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Everybody belongs to the Ming Cult; why must you fight and kill each other like this?”

Yin Yewang’s face sank as he said, “What does a child like you understand? Are you meddling in other people’s business again?” Turning around, he rushed back to where he came from.

Zhang Wuji thought, “Zhu’er has fallen into the hands of the great demon Wei Yixiao; if he bites her on the throat and sucks her blood, how can she keep her life?” Having had this thought, his anxiety grew; he took a deep breath and unleashing his ‘zhen qi’, he dashed forward to give a chase.

Luckily, although Wei Yixiao’s ‘qing gong’ was excellent, because he was carrying someone in his arms, he was not able to step on the sand without leaving any trace; he still left behind a set of his footprints on the desert sand. Zhang Wuji made up his mind, “If he stop to rest, I won’t take a rest; if he stop to sleep, I won’t sleep. Even if I have to run for three days and three nights, I will overtake him.”

However, running for three days and nights under the hot sun on the yellow sand was truly easier said than done; he ran until dusk, and his mouth dried out and his lips parched, while his entire body was sweating like rain. But strangely, his legs did not get weary. Bit by bit the Jiu Yang Shen Gong he cultivated for several years showed its effectiveness, the more he used his energy, his vigor grew more abundantly. He stopped by a spring to fill his stomach with water, and then continued following Wei Yixiao’s tracks nonstop until midnight. He saw the moon was right in the middle of the sky. Suddenly a feeling of dread overcame Zhang Wuji; he was afraid that while he was running, Zhu’er’s body, with her blood sucked dry, would suddenly appear in front of him.

Right this moment, he seemed to hear faint footsteps behind him. Quickly he turned around, but did not see anybody. Unwilling to be delayed, he continued running forward; but the footsteps appeared again behind him. Greatly puzzled, he turned around again; still he did not see anybody. Looking carefully on the desert ground, he saw three sets of tracks; one obviously belonged to Wei Yixiao, one belonged to him, but where did the third track come from? Turning his head again, he saw ahead of him there was only Wei Yixiao’s track. In that case, someone was following him; no doubt about it. But why couldn’t he see the person? Could it be that this person knew magic of making himself invisible?

Preoccupied with doubts, he continued running forward, and sure enough, the footsteps behind him reappeared. “Who’s there?” Zhang Wuji called out.

“Who’s there?” a voice behind him echoed.

Zhang Wuji was shocked. “Are you a human or a ghost?” he asked sternly.

“Are you a human or a ghost?” the voice echoed.

With a great speed Zhang Wuji turned around again. This time he saw a flash of shadow of the person behind him, so he was convinced that someone with an exceptionally swift footwork did indeed follow behind him.

“Why are you following me?” he asked.

“Why am I following you?” that person replied.

Zhang Wuji laughed. “How do I know?” he said, “I was asking you.”

“How do I know?” that person replied, “I was asking you.”

Zhang Wuji knew this person probably did not have any malicious intention; he had been following him for a while, if he wanted to, it would be easy for him to make his move and send Zhang Wuji to his doom. Thereupon he said, “By what name are you called?”

“Can’t say [Shuo Bude],” came the reply.

“Why can’t you say it?” Zhang Wuji asked.

“If I can’t say it, then I can’t say it; why should I explain to you the reason?” the man said, “By what name are you called?”

“I … I am called Zeng Ahniu,” Zhang Wuji replied.

“You are running wildly in the middle of the night; what are you doing?” the man asked.

Zhang Wuji knew this man must be one who loved to play trick on others. He said, “A friend of mine is captured by the Qing Yi Fu Wang, I am going to rescue her back.”

“You cannot rescue her,” the man said.

“Why not?” Zhang Wuji asked.

“The man said, “Qing Yi Fu Wang’s martial art is stronger than yours; you cannot beat him.”

“Even if I cannot beat him, I must fight him,” Zhang Wuji said.

“Very good, you have the spirit,” the man said, “Is your friend a young woman?”

“Correct,” Zhang Wuji replied, “How do you know?”

“If it were not for a young woman, would a young man be willing to risk his life?” the man said, “Is she very beautiful?”

“Very ugly!” Zhang Wuji replied.

“How about you?” the man asked, “Are you ugly or not?”

“Come over here,” Zhang Wuji replied, “You can see it for yourself.”

“I don’t want to see,” the man said, “Does that young woman know martial arts?”

“She does,” Zhang Wuji said, “She is the daughter of Yin Yewang Qianbei from the Heavenly Eagle Cult, and has learned martial art from Jin Hua Popo of the Lingshe Island.”

“You don’t need to pursue,” the man said, “Once Wei Yixiao got hold of her, he will never let her go.”

“Why is that?” Zhang Wuji wondered.

“Humph,” the man snorted, “You are a fool, you can’t use your head. Who is Yin Yewang to Yin Tianzheng?”

“They are father and son,” Zhang Wuji replied.

The man asked, “Bai Mei Ying Wang and Qing Yi Fu Wang, whose martial art skill is stronger?”

“I don’t know,” Zhang Wuji replied, “May I ask Qianbei, who is stronger?”

“Each one has his own strong point,” the man said, “Whose influence is greater?”

“Ying Wang is the Heavenly Eagle Cult’s Cult Leader,” Zhang Wuji said, “I suppose his influence must be somewhat greater.”

“That’s right,” the man said, “Consequently, by seizing Yin Tianzheng’s granddaughter, Wei Yixiao can take advantage of her by use her as a leverage, he can force Yin Tianzheng to submit to him.”

Zhang Wuji shook his head. “I am afraid that is impossible,” he said, “Yin Yewang Qianbei is insistent in wanting to kill his own daughter.”

“And why is that?” the man was puzzled.

Thereupon Zhang Wuji told him briefly how Zhu’er had killed her father’s beloved concubine and had caused the death of her own mother.

When Zhang Wuji finished, the man clicked his tongue and said, “Amazing, truly amazing. She is a perfect material.”

“What material?” Zhang Wuji wondered.

The man replied, “In such a young age she was able to kill her stepmother, indirectly killed her own mother, and has received training under Jin Hua Popo of the Lingshe Island. I think she is a treasure. Wei Yixiao must want to take her as his disciple.”

Zhang Wuji was stunned. “How do you know?” he asked.

“Wei Yixiao is my good friend,” the man replied, “Naturally I understand his temperament.”

Zhang Wuji’s mind went blank for a moment before he called out loudly, “It’s bad!” and rushed forward. That man also ran closely behind him.

While still running, Zhang Wuji asked, “Why are you following me?”

“I am curious,” the man replied, “I want to see some excitement. What are you going to do when you overtake Wei Yixiao?”

Zhang Wuji angrily said, “Zhu’er is already rather heretical. I must stop her from taking Wei Yixiao as her master. What would happen if she also learned to become a demon who sucks other people’s blood?”

“Do you like Zhu’er that much?” the man asked, “Why do you care that much of her?”

Zhang Wuji sighed and said, “I don’t know if I like her or not; it’s just that she … she is a little bit like my mother.”

“Hmm, so your Mama is also an ugly freak; it may be assumed that you are not too good-looking,” the man said.

“My Mama was very good-looking,” Zhang Wuji quickly said, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“What a pity, what a pity!” the man said.

“What do you mean, ‘what a pity’?” Zhang Wuji asked.

The man replied, “You are young and have some guts. You are brave and upright, which is very good. It is too bad that very soon you will be a bloodless corpse.”

Zhang Wuji’s heart was stirred. “He is right,” he mused, “Even if I can overtake Wei Yixiao, how can I save Zhu’er? Won’t I simply deliver my own life in vain?”

“Qianbei,” he said, “Will you help me?”

“No, I can’t,” the man replied, “First, Wei Yixiao is my friend. Second, I am also not his match.”

“If Wei Yixiao is your friend, why didn’t you advise him?” Zhang Wuji asked.

“Advice is useless,” the man said, “Wei Yixiao himself does not want to suck people’s blood, he has no choice, his suffering is indeed difficult to bear.”

“He has no choice?” Zhang Wuji asked in bewilderment, “How can that be?”

“Wei Yixiao suffered a fire deviation when cultivating his internal energy,” the man explained, “Henceforth, each time he uses his internal energy, he must drink human blood; otherwise his entire body would turn cold and he would freeze to death immediately.”

Zhang Wuji thought for a moment and said, “Does that mean the three ‘yin’ arteries in his armpits are damaged?”

“Ah, how do you know?” the man was surprised.

“I was just guessing,” Zhang Wuji said, “I don’t know if it is correct?”

The man said, “Three times I climbed the Changbai Mountain to find a fire toad for him to treat his illness, but three times I failed. The first time I did see a fire toad, but I missed by about two ‘zhang’. The second and third time, not even the shadow of a fire toad was to be seen. After the current crisis is resolved, I am going back to try again.”

“I can go together with you,” ZhangWuji said, “Is that alright?”

“Hmm,” the man said, “Your internal energy is enough, but your ‘qing gong’ is lacking too much, simply not enough. We’ll talk again when the time comes. Hey, tell me, why do you want to help me find a fire toad?”

Zhang Wuji replied, “If we can catch one, not only Wei Yixiao’s illness will be cured, we can also help a lot of people, because then he would not have to suck other people’s blood anymore. Uh, Qianbei, he has already run for such a long time, he has used up his internal energy. If he has no other choice, won’t he be forced to suck Zhu’er’s blood?”

The man was taken aback. “That might be true,” he said, “Although he wanted to take Zhu’er as his disciple, when the cold attack came, his blood will be congealed into ice. If that happened, I am afraid even his own daughter …”

The more Zhang Wuji thought about it, the more he was frightened; he ran madly as if his life depended on it.

Suddenly the man exclaimed, “Ah, what’s that behind you?”

Zhang Wuji turned his head around to see, but suddenly all he could see was darkness as his entire body was encased in an enormous sack; followed by the sensation of his body lifted to the air. It seemed like he was captured inside a cloth sack, which was lifted up by that man. Quickly he stretched out his arms, trying to rip the cloth sack. Who would have thought that the sack was made of neither silk nor animal hide? It was exceptionally tough and durable. He groped around to feel the cloth; obviously it was a coarse homespun cloth, but he could not make even a crack on the seam.

The man tossed the sack on the ground, laughed out loud and said, “If you can drill out of my sack, I’ll consider you an expert.”

Zhang Wuji exerted his internal energy and pushed ferociously outward with both hands, but the sack simply followed his push without showing the least bit of cracking under the stress. He raised his right foot and kicked with all his might. ‘Pop!’ the sack only curved outward slightly. It did not matter whether he pull, push, roll, stretch; the sack simply followed his movements without giving way to his strength.

The man laughed and said, “Do you give up?”

“I give up!” Zhang Wuji said.

‘Slap!’ the man slapped the sack right on his buttocks and said with a laugh, “Kid, just stay inside my ‘qian kun yi qi dai’ [lit. Heaven and earth (the universe) air pocket] nicely, don’t move; I am taking you to a good place. If you open your mouth to speak and your presence is exposed, I might not be able to save you.”

“Where are you taking me?” Zhang Wuji asked.

The man replied, “Since you have fallen into my ‘Universe Air Pocket’, if I want to take your poor life, do you think you can run away? As long as you don’t move and don’t make any noise, you will reap the benefits.”

Zhang Wuji thought the man made a lot of sense; therefore, he did not struggle anymore.

The man added, “You can get into my cloth sack; that is your good fortune.” Slinging the cloth sack over his shoulder, he dashed forward.

“What about Zhu’er?” Zhang Wuji asked.

“How do I know?” the man replied, “You talk too much and make a lot of noise, I am going to shake you out of my cloth sack.”

Zhang Wuji thought, “If you really shake me out of this cloth sack, I could not ask for anything more.” But his mouth did not dare to reply; he only felt that this man’s feet were very fast.

After running for several hours, inside the sack Zhang Wuji started to feel hot, so he knew it was already daytime and the sack was heated by the sun. A moment later, he felt the man was walking on an upward slope; it seemed that they were going up the mountain.

They continued climbing the mountain for more than four hours. Zhang Wuji felt the nip of the cold air on his body; he mused, “Looks like we are climbing a very high mountain, the peak must be covered in snow, that’s why it is this cold.”

Suddenly he felt his body was flying in the air. He could not restrain from shouting in suprise. But before his shout vanished, he felt they were stopping; that man had landed on the ground. Zhang Wuji understood, the man must have had taken him on a jump just now. He assumed that they were on a dangerous precipice on a high mountain peak; the man jumped while carrying him on his back, the mountain rocks must be very slippery since they were covered with ice and snow. Supposing his foot slipped, wouldn’t it mean both of them falling together and die with their bones shattered?

He was just thinking about these things when the man leaped again. He successively leaped several times; sometimes he jumped higher, sometimes lower, sometimes he jumped far, sometimes near. Although Zhang Wuji was inside the cloth sack and could not see the least bit of light, he knew the local terrain must be extremely steep.