(Subtle Steps and Hanging Threads)

(Part 1, translated by Moinllieon)

The day break solved her problem for her, because she could not escape any more.

“If that heartless jerk comes, he comes; if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. All I can do is wait here for death to come.” Her thoughts were just turning towards the morose when she suddenly heard a sharp crack behind her. Turning around, she saw an object fell out of the sky and land in the relatively dense area of grass about 100 meters away.

“What could that be?” She immediately flattened herself against the ground. Only when no other sound could be heard from the bush did she, as silently as she could, crawl over to take a peek.

When she finally made it to the thicket and pushed the tall grass aside, what she saw made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Laid side to side within the thicket of grass was the bodies of 6 infants, some on their side, others facing up. Among them was the infant that she saw Second Madame Yie holding in her hands days ago.

“There are six bodies, and she’s been here for 6 days. So it true, that evil wench does kill an infant every day. But why?” It was hard to tell how Second Madame Yie killed the babies because there were no blood or obvious injuries on the bodies. One of the babies was wearing bright and colorful cloths, but the other 5 were wearing cloths made of rough materials typical of farmers, presumably farmers of the No Measure Mountains. Ever since she had left her hide out with her master, Mu Wan Qing had killed quite a number of people. But all of her victims had been people of the pugilistic world who did not have good intentions towards her. Witnessing first hand the murders of these innocent infants made her entire body tremble in fear.

Suddenly a shadow flashed across her view. A person was shooting down the mountain side like a bird, landing every so often, but only momentarily, before taking off again. It was none other than Second Madame Yie. Watching the speed with which she flew, Mu Wan Qing realized that it was a speed that even her master could never hope to obtain. With that realization, a sense of hopelessness shot through her. Her legs gave out from underneath her, making her sit down onto the ground.

She sat there dumbstruck for a while before coming around again. She lined the bodies of the 6 infants up and covered them with little rocks and dirt. Suddenly, a freezing sensation ambushed her from behind. She immediately tapped the ground with her left foot and shot forward. A laughter and inexplicably switches from sharp and thick could be heard coming from behind her.

“Little lady, your hubby just ditched ya, so why don’t you follow me instead?” It was Yun Zhong He.

He arrived at the same time as his voice, reaching out trying to grab Mu Wan Qing’s waist. Just as it looked like his claws were going to catch her when a sideways palm came in and parried away his hand. The palm was from none other than the Divine Croc.

“Number Four, you better keep away from my Southern Sea Sect!” He yelled in anger.

“Your disciple isn’t showing up, so this little missy isn’t related to your sect.” Yun Zhong He quickly hopped about 20 or so meters out of the way. Only now did Mu Wan Qing get a good look at him. He was extremely tall, but also extremely thin, reminding her of a long bamboo stick. Even his face looked impossibly long.

“How the hell do you know my disciple won’t show up? Did you kill him?” The Divine Croc replied in anger. “That’s right! You must have saw how great my disciple is and kidnapped him for yourself! You messed my plans you bastard, I’m going to strangle you dry!”

Being the unreasonable brute that he was, he did not even wait for Yun Zhong He to answer his charges before throwing himself at Yun Zhong He.

“I don’t know what shape or color your disciple is as I have never seen him before, how could I try and take him in?” Yun Zhong He yelled as he swiftly dodged Divine Croc’s initial flurry.

“Bullshit!” Divine Croc angrily shouted. “Who’s going to believe that shit? You lost your fight and took it out on my disciple!”

“Is your disciple a man or a woman?”

“A man, of course! What would I do with a female disciple?”

“Well then! Yun Zhong He only goes after women and is never interested in men. You know all about that don’t you?”

Divine Croc was in mid-air when he heard this remark. Finding some reason in it, he immediately switched to “Thousand Ton Boulder” and dove back to Earth.

“So where did my disciple go?” He inquired, placing his right foot up on a piece of rock that happened to be by his feet. “Why hasn’t he shown up yet?”

“Hehe, that’s your Southern Seas Sect’s own business, what does it have to do with me?” Yun Zhong He joked.

“How dare you make fun of me!” The Divine Croc was already terribly frustrated by the absense of Duan Yu, so his temper was very touchy at the moment.

“If I could get the two of them in a fight, it would be very advantageous for me.” Mu Wan Qing decided.

“That’s right, this Yun Zhong He must have harmed your disciple!” So she shouted. “Or else how could he get down from the cliff all by himself? This Yun Zhong He’s lightness kungfu is amazing, so he must have went up the cliff, took your disciple somewhere, and killed him to make sure that Southern Seas Sect would not produce a powerful figure. Why else would the body be missing?”

The Divine Croc slapped his own foreheard as if he had just had an epiphany.

“You see? Even my disciple’s wife says so. Are you still saying you are innocent?”

“My husband told me that he could only dream to be so lucky as to have a master as great as you and he has to drive himself so as to bring fame and glory to the great Southern Seas Sect as well as the Divine Croc of the Southern Seas. So famous so that all those ‘No Evil Left Undone’ and ‘Evil Overflowing the Cup’ would be so envious of you. But who could have guessed that this Yun Zhong He would be so cruel as to kill you disciple. You’ll never be able to find a disciple so like you again!” For every point she made, the Divine Croc slapped his forehead. She continued. “My husband’s back of the head is shaped just like yours, not to mention that he is a physical specimen just like you. He’s the perfect successor to the Southern Seas Sect. But yet this Yun Zhong He just want to trouble you. So why haven’t you avenged your disciple?”

By this time, Divine Croc’s eyes were literally on fire as he threw himself at Yun Zhong He. Yun Zhong He knew that Mu Wan Qing was intentionally trying to instigate something but did not have a chance to defend himself. Knowing that his kungfu was not up to par with Divine Croc, he immediately turned and ran when he saw Divine Croc coming at him. Divine Croc landed and took off, once again flying towards him.

“He’s running because he’s guilty!” Mu Wan Qing poured gasoline on the fire. “If he didn’t kill your disciple, then he wouldn’t be running!”

“That’s right, that makes sense!” Divine Croc shouted. “Give me back my disciple!”

One ran, the other chased. In a blink of an eye the two of them disappeared over the top of the mountain.

Mu Wan Qing was just padding herself on her back when she realized that the Divine Croc’s shouts were getting closer once again as the two men worked their way back around to this side of the mountain again.

It was obvious that Yun Zhong He was much faster than Divine Croc. With his long and lanky body, he looked like a bamboo in the wind, shaking left and right, yet a good distance was always maintained between him and Divine Croc. The two of them flashed by in front of Mu Wan Qing and instantly disappeared around to the other side of the mountain again. By the second time the two men made their way back around, Yun Zhong He suddenly changed directions and floated to just Mu Wan Qing’s side. He reached out and tried to grab her shoulder. Caught off guard, Mu Wan Qing immediately flicked up her right arm and sent a poisonous arrow flying towards his face. Yun Zhong He slid to his left a little and dodged the arrow. Somehow, with the way his body was twisted, his long arms arrived in front of Mu Wan Qing’s face. Mu Wan Qing tried to get out of the way, but she was still a step too slow. A gust of coolness hit her face as her veil ended up in Yun Zhong He’s hand.

Yun Zhong He was momentarily dumb struck by Mu Wan Qing’s beauty, and then an evil smile crept onto his face.

“Woah, hot damn! This littl girlie here is quite something here. Could be a bit more coy, or else she would be perfect….” While he was busy talking, Divine Croc arrive with his palm howled as his aimed for Yun Zhong He’s back. Yun Zhong He gathered his power into his right palm and countered.

“Hong!” A huge explosion of sound could be heard as the power of their strikes met. Mu Wan Qing suddenly felt as if all the air was squeezed out of her as she found it impossible to breath due to the air pressure. Within a radius of several meters, the dust and dirt on the ground swirled about in a frenzy. Using the power of Divine Croc’s strike, Yun Zhong He shot back and was instantly 5 meters away.

“Eat my palm!” Divine Croc screamed.

“You can’t catch me, and I can’t beat you.” Yun Zhong He laughingly observed. “We can keep this up for another day and would still be like this.”

Once again, the two disappeared, still in chase. But the dirt and dust around Mu Wan Qing have yet to settle.

“I have to figure out a way to get in Yun Zhong He’s way, or else these two would never fight.” She decided.

(Part 2, translated by Pacifian)

And so she waited for both men to chase around the mountain for the very third time; and as they approached, she leapt upwards. Chi sounds reverberated continuously in the air. The next instant, approximately six to seven poisonous arrows raced towards Yun Zhong He.

“Return my husband’s life!”

Hearing the swishing sounds of arrows slicing through the air, Yun Zhonghe understood the severity of the situation he was in. Soaring skyward and diving downward, he simultaneously evaded the flurry of arrows which were directed at him. The next moment, Mu Wan Qing unsheathed her sword and slashed twice at his direction, viciously. How would Yun Zhong He not understand her intentions behind all these? Not in the least concerned with defending himself, Yun Zhong He simply floated away; behind him, all Mu Wan Qing’s strikes landed on air.

However, with her interference, the Divine Croc’s palms finally managed to reach Yun Zhong He. The palm winds generated from his forceful palm strikes completely enveloped Yun Zhong He’s body.

“Number Three,” Yun Zhong He said, baring a ferocious grin. “I have given way to you countless times; if not for the sake of preserving the friendship between us — the four Arched Villains, do you for once really believe I’m afraid of you?”

That said, his hands reached for his waist, each grasping a steel handle. This handle was at least three feet in length, and at the tip of it lay a human hand. The fingers on the steel handle extended in all directions, and the fingertips glowed in a scintillatingly blue colour. The left claw headed for the right, whilst the right claw went for the left. Instantly, Yun Zhong He’s body was sealed in a tight defensive position.

The Divine Croc said gleefully, “Excellent! We haven’t met each other for seven years, and now you have trained yourself with such an unorthodox weapon! Now, watch mine!” Done with speaking, he released the contents of his backpack, and from it he pulled out two weapons.

Mu Wan Qing retreated hastily: she knew it was useless for her to join in the battle.

The Divine Croc held a strange-looking scissors with a short handle and a long blade in his right hand, the blade was full of serrated blades, resembling the ferocious jaws of a crocodile. On the other hand, he wielded a soft whip that has razor spikes all over; it looked almost indistinguishable from the tail of a crocodile.

Yun Zhong He glanced at the bizarre weaponry the Divine Croc was using. Without warning, his right steel claw flew out, charging towards the Divine Croc’s face. The Divine Croc flipped the Croc Tail Whip in his right hand, and a noisy pa resounded, causing the steel claw to propel away forcefully. However, Yun Zhong He’s reflexes were amazingly quick; deftly, he flung the other steel claw even before he withdrew his right hand.

Crack! The Croc Jaws Scissors extended itself, clipped Yun Zhong He’s left steel claw and gave it a brutal twist. Even though Yun Zhonghe’s steel claw was made of pure steel, the Croc Jaws Scissors seemed to be casted from some unknown material. It broke two fingers out of the five on the Steel Claw with absurd ease. Fortunately, Yun Zhong He had retracted his hand swiftly, preventing the other three fingers from being snipped away. However, the Claw skill he was practising all along required the use of all ten fingers. Now that he had two fingers missing, the power displayed in his moves was greatly weakened. A crestfallen look fell over Yun Zhong He’s face.

The Divine Croc laughed nastily as he advanced, snatching the offensive position with a nimbly-curling Croc-Tail whip.

All of a sudden, a green shadow intervened; this new apparition slipped ethereally and elegantly between the two fighters.

This person was none other than Second Madam Ye.

Her left palm swept across horizontally, pressing itself onto the Croc Tail Whip, and manoeuvred it aside. Yun Zhong He quickly seized this opportunity to leap away from danger.

“Number Three, Number Four, why are the both of you fighting with each other?” Second Madam Ye asked. Turning around, she saw Mu Wan Qing’s face; suddenly, her expression changed dramatically.

Mu Wan Qing saw that Second Madam Ye was holding an infant in her arms. It was a boy, approximately around the age of three to four, he was dressed in clothes made of brocade, and looked really adorable. She immediately understood the purpose of Second Madam Ye descent of the mountain: she wanted to search for her child. The peculiar look in her eyes scared Mu Wan Qing; she looked away immediately, not daring to face Second Madam Ye.

Suddenly, the infant cried, “Daddy! Daddy! Shan Shan wants Daddy!”

“Shan Shan be obedient. Daddy will come soon.” said Second Madam Ye soothingly.

The scene of the six grisly remains she saw on the grass plains earlier swam into view; after hearing Secong Madam Ye’s affectionate words of comfort to the infant, Mu Wan Qing felt her hair rise on end.

“Second sister, Number Three’s recent Croc Jaws Scissors and Croc Tail Whip kung fu is quite amazing,” laughed Yun Zhong He; “I have only played with him for a short while, yet I still found it difficult to even defend myself. What skills have you been practising these seven years? Are you able to challenge Number Three’s dual formidable weapons? I am afraid you, too, are unable to do so.”

He made no mention on Divine Croc wronging him, nor did he say anything about how the Divine Croc had blatantly claimed about his non-existent murder of Duan Yu — even when he had absolutely no idea how Duan Yu looked like. All he wanted to do was to get both Second Madam Ye and Divine Croc in battle with each other by casually saying a few simple sentences.

As Second Madam Ye ascended the mountain, she had already seen the two men battling with their lives — she knew their spar wasn’t all that friendly. A faint smile lifted the sides of her lips as she replied, “For seven years I have been practising my internal energy kung fu industriously — my physical combat skills have thus became somewhat rusty. Naturally, I am not a match for either of you.”

From the waist of the mountain below, a cry rang. “That madam up there, what are you trying to do with my child? Return him to me!”

Before the voice ceased, a man has already leaped towards the peak, his body movements fluid and agile. He was in his forties, and wore bronze-coloured clothes of satin, his hand wielding a long sword.

The Divine Croc hollered, “Who are you, punk? How dare you make so much noise here! Were you the one who stole my disciple?”

“This mister is the renowned master of the East Faction “No Measure Sword”, Zuo Zi Mu. His swordplay is not worth a single comment, but his baby sure is an adorable one,” explained a laughing Second Madam Ye.

Realization dawned on Mu Wan Qing. Second Madam Ye was unable to search for a kid in Mt. No Measure; as a result, she decided to do with the child of the master of No Measure Sword sect.

“Mister Zuo, your darling son is so lovable and interesting. Once I’m done hugging him, I will return him to you tomorrow. Fret not.”

Second Madam Ye then kissed Shan Shan’s cheek and ruffled his hair gently, her eyes filled with motherly warmth. Shan Shan saw his father and began to cry, “Daddy! Daddy!”

Zuo Zi Mu extended his left hand and walked closer towards his child, as he implored, “My child is extremely playful; there is nothing fun about him, so please return him immediately, and I will be eternally grateful to you.”

The moment he saw his son, his tone changed abruptly from rough to soft. He feared that this woman might suddenly exert force and strangle his son to death.

The Divine Croc chuckled, “This madam is “No Evil Left Undone”, Third Madam Ye. Even if the Emperor’s son landed in her arms, chances of her returning the baby are zero.”

Cold sweat poured down Zuo’s back, as he began to tremble. “You… You are Third Madam Ye? So Second Madam Ye … Second Madam Ye is related to you in… in what way?”

He has heard of the dreaded name of the “Four Arched Villains”, and remembered the person ranked second among the Four Villains was a lady called Second Madam Ye, who loved snatching an infant by day to play and tease until evening, which she would then brutally torture the poor kid to death. The last thing he wanted was that this “Third Madam Ye” was somehow related to Second Madam Ye, say, as sisters, and that both of them somehow shared the same insane habit.

Second Madam Ye gave a coquettish laughter and said, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I am Second Madam Ye. Since when have there been a Third Madam Ye?”

All colour drained out of Zuo Zi Mu’s face. When he realized his child has been snatched away, he tried all his might to chase the abductor; however, he realized her kung fu was way above his. Initially, he thought since he had not been acquainted with this lady who snatched his child, she wouldn’t harm Shan Shan since they haven’t had any past grudges or feuds. It was only until this point that he knew this lady was in fact Second Madam Ye — he felt all the words he had initially wanted to say glued themselves to his throat, be they pleading or demanding.

Second Madam Ye held Shan Shan’s palm and examined it closely under the sun. Following that, she checked the colour of his blood and clucked her tongue in praise — as though he was an animal in the market, awaiting to be fed and eventually slaughtered for food. “What a healthy young boy he is! Look at his glowing smooth skin, and his blood — scarlet and crystal clear, almost transparent! After all, he is the child of a wulin pugilist; therefore he is undoubtedly much more special compared with those children raised in a farm.”

Watching the hungry, ravenous look in her eyes, which looked as though she was about to eat Shan Shan alive in no time, Zuo Zi Mu wasn’t willing to give up without a fight, even though he knew he was no match for her. Overwhelmed with fury, he unleashed the stance “White Rainbow pierces the Sun”.

His sword lunged at Second Madam Ye’s throat.

A faint laughter emitted from Second Madam Ye; she gently held the infant at the path of the sword. Had Zuo Zi Mu continued this strike, his child would undoubtedly be killed.

Fortunately, he was quite experienced in the fields of swordplay. While this stance was at its peak of motion, he swiftly retracted the force behind the sword, and the tip of the blade wavered briefly in the air, before a second flash of light blinked. This time round, the sword went for Second Madam’s right shoulder.

Instead of evading this strike, Second Madam Ye shifted Shan Shan’s body once again, and held him in front of her. In the swift blink of an eye, Zuo Zi Mu stabbed four times, yet all Second Madam Ye did was to lazily change the position of Shan Shan’s body. All four vicious stances he pulled on her could only be used halfway and had to be forcibly stopped by the user himself. After all these stances have completed, Shan Shan began to bawl in fright.

After being chased round the mountain thrice — all thanks to Divine Croc — plus having to tolerate the heart-wrenching pain of watching two precious fingers of his Steel Claw snipped off, Yun Zhong He felt himself boiling with anger. With the unbearable fury threatening to erupt from within him, he soared into the air, thrusting out his Left Steel Claw towards Zuo Zi Mu’s head.

Lifting his sword, Zuo Zi Mu performed the stroke “Ten Thousand Plants Vie for Glamour” in an effort to parry Yun Zhong He’s move. In an instant, madly-dancing sword sparks enshrouded the top of his head, shielding his upper body against Yun Zhong He’s attacks.

A dang sound echoed in the air: both weapons clashed with each other.

Following that, Zuo Zi Mu unleashed the stance “Pushes Boat towards the Water Current”, sending the blade of his sword towards Yun Zhong He’s throat. All of a sudden, the fingers of a Steel Claw closed onto the blade, trapping the sword.

Zuo Zi Mu would never anticipate this even in his wildest dreams, but he was unwilling to release his sword just like this. He immediately channeled his internal energy, trying fruitlessly to release the sword from his opponent’s grip.

With a pu, Yun Zhong He’s right Steel Claw sank into Zuo Zi Mu’s shoulder. Fortunately, with two fingers on the Steel Claw snipped off, the damage inflicted on Zuo Zi Mu wasn’t too bad. However, it was enough to cause some severe bleeding. Now that he had three steel fingers firmly closed on to his opponent’s shoulder bone, Yun Zhong He took this opportunity to leap forward and kicked him forcefully.

These movements were like a leap of a rabbit or the swooping down of a crane: not only were they incredibly nifty, they were also totally unpredictable — impossible to block. Even the leader of a powerful sect like Zuo Zi Mu had absolutely no chance of defending himself.

“Number Four,” the Divine Croc praised, “these few strokes aren’t too bad, at least they aren’t too embarrassing.”

Second Madam Ye giggled again, “Leader Zuo, have you seen our Number One before?”

Zuo Zi Mu’s right shoulder bone remained clutched onto painfully by Yun Zhong He’s Steel Claw; he wasn’t able to move an inch. He tried hard to bear the pain and answered with gritted teeth, “Who is your Number One? I have never seen him before.”

The Divine Croc joined in the interrogation. “Have you seen my disciple before?”

“Who is your disciple? I have never seen him before.”

The Divine Croc roared furiously. “Since you do not know who my disciple is, how could you say you have never seen him before? Fart your mother’s ****** ***** ***! Third sister, quick! Let’s devour his son alive!”

Second Madam Ye laughed, “Your second sister doesn’t eat little infants. Leader Zuo, please leave, we don’t want to take your life.”

“Since you don’t want to take my life, second … Second Madam Ye, please return my child to me, I will go search for three to four kids for you to play with. I shall be eternally grateful to you.”

“That’s fine with me, go search for eight little kids and I shall return your son to you. We have four people here in total, each of us shall carry two children each, and that should be enough to satisfy my needs for eight days. Number Four, release him.”

Yun Zhong He smirked as he released the trigger. Teeth still gritted, Zuo Zi Mu stood up, and bowed deeply towards Second Madam Ye; he then extended his arms to hug his child.

Second Madam Ye laughed. “Being a man from the pugilistic fraternity, how could you not know the basic rules? Until you finally get eight kids prepared for an exchange, do you think I will casually return the child to you?”

Seeing Shan Shan in her hands, Zuo Zi Mu felt displeased, but as a victim of circumstances, he could only nod and said gloomily, “I will pick eight fattest children for you to play with, please treat my child with good care.”

Second Madam Ye ignored him. She cradled the child, humming a tune, before saying, “Little grandson, your nanny adores you so much.”

Zuo Zi Mu understood the meaning behind calling Shan Shan “grandson”: Second Madam Ye was implying she was now his mother. Unable to laugh nor cry, he turned to his son and said, “Shan Shan be obedient. Daddy will come and hug you as soon as I can.”

Seeing his father leave, Shan Shan bawled noisily, struggling to jump into his father’s arms. Zuo Zi Mu couldn’t bear to leave his child; he cast a sideways glance at Shan Shan a few more times, before holding on to his injured shoulder and turned around, slowly descending the mountain.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound shook the air; it seemed to be coming from behind the mountain. The whistling kept sounding continually; it seemed like it will never fade.

Both the Divine Croc and Yun Zhong He had glee written all over their faces.

“Number One is finally here!”

Both leapt towards the direction of the whistling sound, vanishing from sight almost instantly like gases diffusing into the air. However, Second Madam Ye seemed oblivious of the sound; instead she continued playing with Shan Shan, until her gaze fell on Mu Wan Qing.

She simpered, “Miss Mu, you have such gorgeous eyes on your mesmerizing face, this is absolutely intolerable. Leader Zuo, help do me a favour and dig out this lady’s eyeballs.”

Now that his son was being held captive, Zuo Zi Mu had no choice but to obey. “Miss Mu, it’s best that you follow according to Second Madam Ye’s instructions, it will save you much pain and suffering,” said Zuo, as he brandished his sword at her direction, before stabbing the sword towards her.

“Despicable lowlife!” Mu Wan Qing shrieked. She pulled out her sword and swung it at Zuo’s left shoulder. Three strokes were exchanged; suddenly, Mu Wan Qing’s body swerved as she threw out her left arm.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Three poisonous arrows flew towards Second Madam Ye, attempting to attack her off-guard.

“Don’t hurt my child!” Zuo Zi Mu yelled.

What Mu Wan Qing did not expect was that as speedy her poison arrows might be, all it took of Second Madam Ye was a mere whisk of her left sleeve and all three arrows were wrapped, instantly, into a harmless bundle; she then disposed them off easily by throwing the arrows aside. When that was done, she conveniently removed Shan Shan’s shoe and flung it towards Mu Wan Qing’s back.

Mu Wan Qing heard something soaring towards her from behind. She hastily swung her sword to the back, trying to knock it away. Unfortunately, her injury caused her to hold the sword at a wrong angle, such that the shoe was able to slide down the surface of her sword upon contact and struck her right waist with a loud pu sound.

As Second Madam Ye tossed the shoe, she imbued her internal energy into the shoe, Mu Wan Qing tried desperately to use her own internal energy to resist that of Second Madam Ye. However, in the process of all this she was unable to take even a single breath and thus became momentarily paralyzed. No longer being able to hold onto her sword, she released her grip on the weapon as it fell with a loud “qiang-lang”. The very next thing she knew, a second shoe was soaring towards her, striking her chest.

Mu Wan Qing’s eyes saw nothing but darkness; she was unable to hold on any longer and collapsed. Zuo Zi Mu’s sword swerved abruptly and aimed towards her chest; meanwhile, he extended his left hand to gouge out her right eye.

“Brother Duan!” cried Mu Wan Qing as she jumped towards the blade; she’d rather die under the sword than undergo the excruciating torture — and humiliation — of getting her eyes gorged out.

Zuo Zi Mu pulled back his sword to prevent killing her; suddenly he felt something mighty tugging at his wrists. In an instant, he lost control of the sword; it flew towards the skies upon release. The powerful force he’d just experienced forced him back several steps.

All three of them gasped as they watched the sword flying in mid-air. A soft, thin rope wrapped around the blade of the sword, an iron metal handle was attached to the other end of the rope; it was held onto by a soldier in yellow garments. This man appeared to be around in his thirties; the heroism expressed in his facial features was impressive yet frightening. A cold sneer spread across his face.

Second Madam Ye recognized this man as the very person who battled with Yun Zhong He seven days ago, and knew that his martial arts are not weak; in fact, his martial arts were only a notch weaker than hers. She was not afraid of him; however, she feared that his companions have arrived too.

And indeed, another yellow-clothed soldier stood at the East, an axe tied to his waist.

Before she could say another word, noises rumbled loudly from behind her. She turned around and saw two more yellow-clothed soldiers standing at the South-East and the South-West direction. Like the two soldiers who first arrived, they had uncarved gems on their collar and looked like military officers. The soldier at the North-East wielded a pair of judge pens, while the other at the North-West held a staff forged using refined copper, which was so tall it reached his eyebrows.

All four men stood around the corners of the peak, forming an enclosed wall around the three.

Zuo Zi Mu called out loudly, “So the four honorable Dali palace guardians Chu, Gu, Fu, Zhu have arrived. Zuo Zi Mu from No Measure Sword pays his respect here.” After speaking, he