(The Luan and Feng Who Exchange Nests)

[Luan is the male counterpart to the female Feng, which is commonly translated as ‘phoenix’. The phrase ‘luan and feng’ thus is a reference to a husband and wife.]

Upon hearing that Emperor Baoding had abolished the salt tariff, the tens of thousands of citizens of Dali felt extremely grateful. Yunnan did not produce a great deal of salt. Throughout the country, only the cities of Baijing, Heijing, Yulong, and six others produced salt. Every year, they would need to import salt from Shu [modern day Sichuan]. The salt tariff was extremely heavy, often forcing many of the poorer citizens at the outlying regions of the country to go without. Emperor Baoding knew that as soon as he abolished the salt tariff, the Yellow Browed Monk would certainly try to think of a way to rescue Duan Yu, so as to show his gratitude.

He had always admired the Yellow Browed Monk’s intelligence and martial arts, and also knew that the monk’s two disciples were not weak either. With the three of them working together, they would certainly achieve victory. Much to his surprise, after waiting an entire day and an entire night, he hadn’t received any news of success at all. He was just about to send out Ba Tianshi to investigate when he discovered that Ba Tianshi, Minister of Education Hua, and Minister of War Fan had all disappeared as well.

Emperor Baoding pondered to himself, “Can it be that Crown Prince Yanqing truly is this formidable? Can it really be possible that the Yellow Browed Monk, his two disciples, and my three ministers have all fallen to him within the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge?” He immediately sent for his Imperial Crown Brother Duan Zhengchun, the South-Subduing Princess Dao Baifeng, the Marquis of Virtuous Enlightenment Gao Shengtai, and the Four Imperial Bodyguards to once more make their way to the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge.

Her heart aching for her beloved son, Dao Baifeng asked Emperor Baoding to call out the imperial army and totally obliviate the gorge. Emperor Baoding replied, “Unless we’re completely out of all other options, we must act in accordance with the customs and rules of the jianghu. The centuries-old instructions of the Duan family ancestors cannot be cast aside.”

The party arrived at the entrance to the gorge, only to see Yun Zhonghe approach them with a little smile on his face. Cupping his hands politely, he said in a deep voice, “We Four Evils and gorge-master Zhong anticipated that you, sir, would once more honor us with your presence today. I have been respectfully waiting for you here for a long time. If you have brought your armored soldiers here, we will simply escaped, taking with us your beloved son and your precious daughter. But if you have come here in accordance with the rules of the jianghu, intending to greet friends based upon your martial ability, then please enter the main lounge and enjoy some tea.”

Emperor Baoding saw that he was extremely calm and showed not a single hint of fear, acting in a manner far different from the previous day, where he had immediately rushed out and launched and attack. This made him feel all the more alarmed. Instantly, he cupped his hands as well. “It couldn’t be better if that is truly the case.” Yun Zhonghe escorted the party inside the lounge. Upon stepping foot within, Emperor Baoding saw that room was filled with heroes of the jianghu. Ye Erniang and the Divine Crocodile were there as well, but Crown Prince Yanqing was nowhere to be seen. Once again, he secretly prepared for the worst.

Yun Zhonghe cried out loudly, “Master Duan, the head of the Duan family of the southern skies has arrived!” He didn’t use the phrase, ‘His majesty, the Emperor of Dali’, but rather introduced him in accordance with his wulin title, showing that everything would proceed in accordance with the rules of the jianghu.

Not only was Duan Zhengming the ruler of a country, but he was also an extremely esteemed expert in the wulin, of great prestige and stature. As soon as the crowd heard that he had arrived, they all immediately rose to their feet. Only the Divine Crocodile remained sitting. He loudly shouted, “I was wondering who showed up. So its the ole emperor, eh? How ya doing?”

Zhong Wanchou quickly rushed forward and said, “I, Zhong Wanchou, did not come to welcome a distant guest. Please forgive me.” Emperor Baoding said, “You’re too polite, too polite.”

Presently, everyone retook their seats. Their positions were in accordance with the rules of the jianghu. Duan Zhengchun, his wife, and Gao Shengtai no longer needed to act in accordance with the rules governing how a subject should behave in front of his ruler, and so sat next to Emperor Baoding. Chu Wanli and the other three guards stood behind Emperor Baoding.

Servants of the gorge came to them, offering them tea. Emperor Baoding, seeing that the Yellow Browed Monk, Ba Tianshi, and the others were not here, was busy formulating a way which would allow him to inquire about their whereabouts. Suddenly, he heard Zhong Wanchou speak. “Master Duan, you’ve really given me a huge amount of face! It’s so seldom that so many good friends would be gathered in one place. Come, let me introduce them to you.”

Following this, he began to introduce the other guests one by one. Some were heroes from the Central Plains to the north. The rest were all outstanding members of Dali’s wulin community. They included Xin Shuangqing, Zuo Zimu, and Ma Wude amongst others. Emperor Baoding had never met most of the people present, but had heard of their names. These heroes of the jianghu all respectively paid their respects to Emperor Baoding. Some were extremely respectful; others intentionally acted arrogantly. Others addressed him using the language that a wulin person who was of a junior generation to him might use.

Zhong Wanchou said, “It is a rare thing for Master Duan to come here. Why not stay here for a few additional days? That way, you could get to know all the friends here better.” Emperor Baoding replied, “It would be enough if you could pardon Duan Yu for his offense, gorge master Zhong. He has been detained at your noble residence. Today, I have come here for two reasons. Firstly, to ask for clemency on his behalf. Secondly, to offer my apologies. Gorge master Zhong, I hope that you will give me some face and forgive the ignorance of the child. I will be extremely grateful.”

Upon hearing his words, everyone secretly felt admiration for him. They thought to themselves, “We’ve long heard that Emperor Duan acts in accordance with the rules of the wulin. His reputation is well earned. This place falls within the borders of the country of Dali. He only needs to send out a few hundred cavalrymen and would immediately be able to take his nephew back. Who would have thought that he would come in person, and instead ask in such respectful language?”

Zhong Wanchou laughed loudly, but did not immediately respond. Ma Wude said, “Ah, so Duan Yu offended gorge master Zhong. Some time ago, he went to the city of Pu’er, then went sight-seeing with me and my brothers at Mt. Wuliang. I didn’t take good care of him, and this was the cause of so many problems. I would also like to request clemency on his behalf.”

The Divine Crocodile suddenly shouted loudly, “What right do you have to meddle in the affairs of my apprentice?!” Gao Shengtai said coldly, “The young lord Duan is your master. You’ve even knelt down and kowtowed to him. Are you reneging on that?” The Divine Crocodile’s entire face turned red. He cursed, “**** your grandmother. I’m not reneging! Today, I’m going to kill the brat who is my master only in name. I wasn’t careful and somehow ended up accepting that brat as my master. I’m dying of shame!”

No one in the crowd knew what he was talking about, and each and every one of them was flabbergasted.

Dao Baifeng said, “Gorge master Zhong, whether or not Duan Yu will be released lies in a single word from you.” Zhong Wanchou laughed. “Release, release, release! Of course I will release him! What good does it do me to keep your honorable son?” Yun Zhonghe interjected, “Duan Yu is romantic and handsome. Madame Zhong, the ‘Lovely Yaksha’, is an extremely beautiful woman. To keep him within the gorge would be like leading a wolf into a sheep pen, or like raising a tiger with your children. Naturally, gorge master Zhong will release him. He can’t help but release him. He doesn’t dare not release him!”

Upon hearing these words, everyone present was startled. They realized that this ‘Thoroughly Cruel and Evil’ Yun Zhonghe spoke without the slightest scruples, as though he really didn’t give a damn about gorge master Zhong. His nickname, ‘Thoroughly Cruel and Evil’, really was not mistakenly given.

Zhong Wanchou was furious. Turning his head, he said, “Brother Yun, after finishing the business at hand, I would like to experience your brilliant moves!” Yun Zhonghe replied, “Wonderful, wonderful! I’ve long wanted to kill the husband, seize the wife, then settle down within this gorge.”

The face of every person present turned pale. Xin Shuangqing, lady of the Wuliang Cave, spoke. “The good and noble heroes of the world haven’t been exterminated. No matter how high the martial arts of you ‘Four Evils’ are, you won’t escape justice in the end!” In a coquettish, delicate voice, Ye Erniang said, “Daoist friend Xin, I, Ye Erniang, haven’t offended you. Why rope me in with him?”

Zuo Zimu, suddenly recalling how she had abducted his son, couldn’t help but have lingering fears. He snuck a sideways glance at her. Ye Erniang laughed. “Mr. Zuo, your little boy must be even fatter and cuter now, right?” Zuo Zimu didn’t dare to not respond. He said in a low voice, “Last time, he was exposed to the cold. He hasn’t fully recovered from the illness yet.” Ye Erniang laughed again. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Later, when I have a chance, I’ll head over to your mountain and pay a visit to my cute little grandson.” Zuo Zimu was terrified. He quickly replied, “I wouldn’t dare to trouble you to come.”

Emperor Baoding thought to himself, “These Four Evils have perpetrated many atrocities and committed many outrages. Many people have formed grudges and enmities against them. These jianghu heroes clearly aren’t their allies. This makes things much more easier to handle. After rescuing Yu’er, I should take the chance to eliminate these evil people. Although the leader of the Four Evils, Crown Prince Yanqing, is a member of the Duan family, making it inappropriate for me to personally deal with him, there will still be a day when he truly is called to account for his monstrous crimes [another possible meaning of the title, ‘E Guan Man Ying’].”

Dao Baifeng, hearing everyone speak, saw that the conversation was getting derailed. She suddenly stood up. “Gorge master Zhong, as you have agreed to return my son, please return him to me and let the two of us, mother and son, meet.”

Zhong Wanchou also stood up. “Alright!” Suddenly turning his head, he shot a glance towards Duan Zhengchun. He sighed. “Duan Zhengchun, you have such a wonderful wife and son. Why aren’t you satisfied and remain so greedy? Today, when your reputation is trampled underfoot and when you lose all face, you will have no one to blame save yourself. You cannot blame me, Zhong Wanchou!”

Duan Zhengchun, after hearing that Zhong Wanchou was willing to release his son, immediately suspected some sort of conspiracy or trap, as he did not believe the matter would be settled so easily. Now, upon hearing Zhong Wanchou’s words, he immediately stood up and walked to Zhong Wanchou’s side. “Gorge master Zhong, if you have maliciously harmed him, then I assure you that I, Duan Zhengchun, will also have a method to make you bitterly repent your actions for the rest of your life.”

Zhong Wanchou saw that he had a majestic appearance and an awe-inspiring presence, with a magnificent and lofty aura. He felt that he himself truly was vastly inferior to this man. A feeling of shame suddenly filled his chest, and it engendered a jealous flame in his heart. He loudly said, “Since things have already come to this point, I’m going to take this all the way to the end, even if the final result is that I become destitute and homeless, and have my corpse broken into a thousand pieces. If you want your son back, come with me!” And as he spoke, he strode away from the hall entrance.

The group of people followed Zhong Wanchou as he arrived at the giant tree wall. Yun Zhonghe, showing off his qinggong abilities, was the first to leap over the wall. Duan Zhengchun thought to himself, “We’ve almost reached the point of no return. We might as well demonstrate our power and prestige, so as to cause the other side to know how much disaster will be in store for them and perhaps retreat.” He called out, “Ducheng, chop the tree down, so that everyone will find it easier to pass.”

Gu Ducheng responded, “Yes sir!” He raised his steel hatchets. With a series of quick ‘ca’ sounds, he immediately chopped down one of the trees. Fu Sigui launched a twin palm attack on the tree. With a loud crash, it fell down to the side. The steel hatchet, gleaming with bright light, continued to chop away. The chopping sounds went on non-stop, and the large trees were felled one after another in succession. In short time, all that could be seen were five tree stumps.

It had not been easy at all for Zhong Wanchou to plant and cultivate this wall of trees. He had labored mightily, and it had cost him a great deal of blood and sweat. After seeing them chopped down by Gu Ducheng, he couldn’t help but become agitated and furious. But then he had second thoughts. “Today, the Duan family of Dali is going to lose a huge amount of face. Why quibble over such a small things as this?” He immediately walked past the cleared stumps.

Only to see that past the chopped down wall, the Yellow Browed Monk and Duan Yanqing were both pressing against a steel cane. A cloud of white mist hover over their heads, showing that they were in the middle of an internal energy competition. The Yellow Browed Monk suddenly stretched out his right hand and used a small steel hammer to draw a circle on a blue stone in front of him. The man in green thought for a moment, then stretched out his right steel cane and pressed it downwards on the blue stone. Staring at them, Emperor Baoding immediately realized that his martial brother, the Yellow Browed Monk, was competing in both chess and internal energy with Crown Prince Yanqing. It was a competition of both intelligence and strength. The competition was as fresh and original as it was deadly. He thought to himself, “He never gave me an update. It seems as though it is because this competition has been going on for one day and one night, without victory or defeat having been achieved.

Glancing at the chess game, he saw that the two sides were locked into a ‘Life or Death Knot’. Victory and defeat would completely depend on the resolution of this knot. However, the Yellow Browed Monk was in the weaker position, barely keeping his pieces alive with strenuous effort. His two disciples, Pochi and Pochen, had fallen unmoving to the ground. Earlier, upon seeing their master in a critical situation, had attacked the man in green from both sides in a pincer attack. But both of them had been felled by his steel cane.

Duan Zhengchun walked forward and unsealed their acupoints. “Wanli, you four go and push aside the stone and rescue Yu’er.” Chu Wanli and the other three replied in the affirmative and walked forwards as well.

Zhong Wanchou called out, “Wait! Do you know who else, in addition to Duan Yu, is in this stone house?” Duan Zhengchun angrily said, “If you used ruthless tricks to coerce my son, then you should remember that you yourself have a wife and daughter!” With a cold expression on his face, Zhong Wanchou laughed. “Right on. I, Zhong Wanchou, do indeed have both a wife and a daughter. Fortunately, I don’t have a son, much less a son who will engage in depraved, incestuous acts with his own sister.” Duan Zhengchun’s face turned ashen. He called out, “You’re full of crap! What are you babbling about?” Zhong Wanchou said, “Mu Wanqing is your daughter, is she not?” Duan Zhengchun angrily replied, “What business is it of yours as to what her origins or family are, you busybody?”

Zhong Wanchou laughed. “I’m not necessarily a busybody. Dali’s Duan family serve as the rulers of the southern world and dominate it. Your name is also famous and prestigious within the wulin. Heroes and noble men present! Open wide your eyes and watch as Duan Zhengchun’s son and daughter become husband and wife, fornicating like animals. He made a hand signal towards the Divine Crocodile, and the two of them prepared to push aside the boulder which was blocking the door.

Duan Zhengchun called out, “Wait!” He extended his hands to halt them. But Yun Zhonghe and Ye Erniang each sent out a palm to attack him from two sides, forcing him to block. Slanting his body, Gao Shengtai surged forwards and blocked Yun Zhonghe’s palm attack. But unexpectedly, both Ye Erniang’s attack and Yun Zhonghe’s attacks were feints. Although they waved their right hands in a false attack, they simultaneously pressed their left palms against the boulder as well and exerted their force. That giant boulder weighed thousands of jin, but, faced with the combined efforts of Ye Erniang, Zhong Wanchou, Yun Zhonghe, and the Divine Crocodile, immediately rolled aside.

This trick was something which the four of them had long ago planned out. It was very difficult to discern, and there was no way for Duan Zhengchun to stop them. And, in all honesty, Duan Zhengchun was worried sick about his son, and thus didn’t use all of his efforts to stop them from rolling the boulder aside. After the boulder was rolled aside, a doorway was exposed. The insides of the house was dim and dark, and the circumstances inside could not be seen.

Zhong Wanchou laughed. “A lonely man and a single woman, completely naked, together inside a dark room. What type of good things might they possibly be doing aside? Haha, haha. Everyone, take a good look!”

In the middle of Zhong Wanchou’s laughter, a young man with tousled hair, naked from the waist up, walked out. He was only wearing a pair of shorts, exposing most of his legs as well. It was Duan Yu. In his arms, he held a woman. The woman cuddled into his arms. She, too, was only wearing her underwear, exposing her arms and her thighs, as well as much of the pure white flesh of her back.

Emperor Baoding’s entire face was flooded with shame. Duan Zhengchun lowered his head, unable to look. Tears filled Dao Baifeng’s eyes. She mumbled to herself, “Karma…this is karma…” Gao Shengtai removed his own gown, preparing to give it to Duan Yu to wear instead. Ma Wude, wholeheartedly trying to ingratiate himself with the two brothers of the Duan family, hurriedly stepped forward and stood in front of Duan Yu, concealing him. The Divine Crocodile called out, “Sonufab.itch, f.uck off!”

Extremely delighted, Zhong Wanchou continued to laugh loudly. Then, suddenly, his laughter came to an abrupt halt. He fell silent for a long moment, then let out a wretched shout. “Ling’er? Is that…is that you?”

Upon hearing his loud cry, the hearts of the entire crowd trembled. Zhong Wanchou suddenly pounced towards Duan Yu, snatching at the woman whom he was holding in his arms. At this time, everyone present could now see this girl’s face. Her age was certainly younger than that of Mu Wanqing, and her figure was also smaller and slimmer. A look of youthfulness remained on her face. It wasn’t Mu Wanqing. It was Zhong Wanchou’s own daughter, Zhong Ling! When the group of heroes had first arrived at the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge, Zhong Wanchou had brought her to the grand hall to introduce her to the guests, with the intention of showing off his beautiful, adorable daughter.

Somewhat confused and bewildered, Duan Yu saw that there were many people in front of him. He recognized his uncle and his parents, and immediately released Zhong Ling, allowing Zhong Wanchou to take her away from him. He called out, “Mother! Uncle! Father!” Dao Baifeng rushed towards him, embracing him within her arms. “Yu’er, are you…are you alright?” Bewildered, Duan Yu replied, “I…I…I’m not sure.”

Not only had Zhong Wanchou failed to harm his enemy, he had harmed himself instead. How could he have imagined that the woman whom Duan Yu carried out in his arms would actually be his own daughter? Dazed, he let go of his daughter. Zhong Ling was only wearing some form-hugging undergarments. Seeing so many eyes on her, her entire face blushed red. Zhong Wanchou took off his own gown, wrapping it around her, then slapped her on the face, causing her left cheeks to redden even more. He scolded her, “Shameless! Who told you to get together with that little swine?” Zhong Ling’s face was a picture of grievance at being falsely accused, and started to cry. How could she explain everything in such a short time?

Zhong Wanchou suddenly thought to himself, “Mu Wanqing clearly was imprisoned within the stone house. I doubt she was able to push the boulder aside. She must be within the house still. I’ll go drag her out and have her help shoulder some of the humiliation which Ling’er is suffering.” He loudly cried out, “Miss Mu, hurry up and come out!” He called out three times, but heard no sound within the house.

Zhong Wanchou rushed inside the house. The stone room was only ten feet wide and long. It was obvious at first glance that there wasn’t even a shadow of a person within. Zhong Wanchou was so angry that he felt as though his chest would explode. He left the room, then struck out with another palm towards his daughter. He screamed, “Stupid girl, I’m going to kill you!”

But suddenly, a hand stretched out from the side, with the ring finger and the little finger striking towards his wrist. Zhong Wanchou hurriedly withdrew his hand to escape the blow, then turned his head. The person who had interfered was Duan Zhengchun. He angrily said, “I’m teaching my daughter a lesson. What business is it of yours?”

Chuckling, Duan Zhengchun said, “Gorge master Zhong, you really treated my son incredibly well during his stay here! You were afraid that he would get lonely by himself, and ordered your precious daughter to come here and keep him company. I am incredibly grateful towards you. This being the case, your precious daughter is already a member of my Duan family. How can I not interfere?”

Zhong Wanchou roared, “How is she a member of your Duan family?” Duan Zhengchun laughed. “Within this stone room, your daughter attended to the needs of my son, Duan Yu. They’ve been together quite some time now. As you said. A lonely man and a single woman, completely naked, together inside a dark room. What type of good things might they possibly be doing aside? My son is the heir to the South-Subduing Palace. Although he might not be able to take on your daughter as his chief wife, he can still take her on as a concubine. For the nobility, what’s wrong with having three wives or four concubines? It looks like you and me have become in-laws! Ha ha ha ha, he he he!”

Zhong Wanchou was unable to suppress the violent rage which filled him, and rushed towards Duan Zhengchun. ‘Hu’, ‘hu’, ‘hu’. He struck out with three palms. His laughter not stopping, Duan Zhengchun neutralized each of his attacks.

Everybody present thought to themselves, “Dali’s Duan family really is formidable! I wonder what method they used to abscond with gorge master Zhong’s daughter, then imprison her within the stone room. Zhong Wanchou is a citizen of Dali, but repeatedly sets himself against the Duan family and stirs up trouble for them. Isn’t he really asking for trouble?”

As it happened, this entire scene was planned out by Hua Hegen and the other two. After kidnapping Zhong Ling and taking her down into the tunnel, Hua Hegen’s original idea was to simply prevent her from leaking out their plans. Only after hearing Zhong Wanchou and his wife speak did he realize that Zhong Wanchou and Crown Prince Yanqing had created such a devious, ruthless plan to destroy the reputation of the Duan family. The three of them discussed the situation in a low voice within the tunnel. All three of them knew that this was a matter of the gravest importance. Moreover, time was of the essence. As soon as Madame Zhong left, Ba Tianshi quietly left the tunnel and scouted out the area. He found the exact location of and distance to the stone house, and informed Hua Hegen. All of them sped up their excavating pace. They were busy for yet another night, digging until dawn break. Only then did they arrive at the stone house.

Hua Hegen dug his way into the stone house, only to see Duan Yu running around the room madly, as though he had gone insane. He stretched out his hand to grab him, but Duan Yu’s movements were both fast and bizarre, and he wasn’t able to get a hold of him. Ba Tianshi and Fan Hua also entered the room and surrounded Duan Yu. The room really was too small, and there was nowhere Duan Yu might go. Hua Hegen stretched out his hand and grabbed Duan Yu’s wrist, but his entire body immediately shook. He felt as though he had grabbed onto a hot coal. He quickly tugged hard, trying to knock Duan Yu into the tunnel so that they might quickly escape. But as soon as he exerted his strength, he felt his internal energy flow out of him and into Duan Yu. He couldn’t keep from uttering a startled ‘aiyo’.

Ba Tianshi and Fan Hua grabbed him and pulled at him hard. Only with their combined efforts did they manage to separate the two and shake off the internal-energy leeching ‘Divine Art of the Northern Darkness’. The internal energy of the three chief ministers of Dali was much greater than that of the Wuliang disciples, and they had reacted more quickly as well. Only for this reason were they spared. Their bodies were covered with cold sweat. They thought to themselves, “The heretical skills of Crown Prince Yanqing truly are formidable!” They no longer dared to touch Duan Yu’s body.

Just as they were at a loss as to what to do, they heard voices from outside the room. They realized that both Emperor Baoding and the South-Subduing Prince had arrived, and heard Zhong Wanchou’s loud mockery. Fan Hua suddenly was struck by a brainwave. “Zhong Wanchou is hateful and vile. Let’s play a big prank on him!” He immediately stripped off much of Zhong Ling’s outer garments, then dressed Mu Wanqing with them. Then, he put Zhong Ling in Duan Yu’s arms. Duan Yu dazedly accepted her. Hua Hegen and the other two grabbed Mu Wanqing then returned to the tunnel, covering the hole as they left, not leaving behind the slightest bit of evidence that they had ever been there.

Emperor Baoding saw that his nephew was totally fine. He would never have imagined that things would have turned out this way. He was both gratified and amused. For the moment, he wasn’t able to think of the reason why this all happened. He suddenly remembered that the Yellow Browed Monk and Duan Yanqing had reached a critical juncture of life and death in their internal energy competition. If they were disturbed in the slightest, their lives would immediately be in danger. He quickly walked back to the two men and their competition. Beads of sweat the size of a pea were rolling down the Yellow Browed Monk’s head, falling down onto the chessboard below. But Crown Prince Yanqing sat there nonchalantly, the expression on his face unchanged, as though nothing had happened at all. Clearly, victory and defeat had already been determined.

Duan Yu’s mind slowly became clearer. He was also concerned about the outcome of the chess match, and walked over to stand next to the two men. He saw that the Yellow Browed Monk’s resources were exhausted. Crown Prince Yanqing would only need to make one more indentation, and the Yellow Browed Monk would be out of moves and would be forced to admit defeat. He saw Crown Prince Yanqing extend his steel cane, preparing to push down on the chess board. The place he was pointing at was precisely the critical point of the match. After making this move, there would be nothing more that the Yellow Browed Monk could do at all.

Duan Yu was extremely worried. He thought to himself, “Let me go muddle up the situation a bit.” He stretched out his hand and grabbed at the cane. Just as Crown Prince Yanqing’s steel cane was about to press down at the ‘Shang’ quadrant, where the third vertical and seventh horizontal line intersected, he felt a shock in his arm. The energy from his right arm, which was as tightly wound and directed as a bowstring, suddenly was diverted and flew away from him.

The sense of startlement he felt was not small. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Duan Yu had grabbed onto the tip of his cane. Duan Yu had only wanted to pull the steel cane aside and prevent him from striking the critical point in the chess match, but the steel cane, hovering in midair, didn’t even budge. He immediately exerted as much force as he could, and Crown Prince Yanqing’s internal energy suddenly entered his body via his ‘Shaoshang’ acupoint.

Greatly startled, Crown Prince Yanqing thought to himself, “It’s the ‘Energy Dissolving Art’ [Hua Gong Fa] of that old freak Ding from Xingxiuhai [a plateau in Qinhai].” He immediately gathered his internal energy within his dantian, then transferred it to his arm. An incomparably powerful burst of energy erupted from his steel cane, shaking off Duan Yu’s fingers.

Duan Yu only felt half his body go sore, and wanted to faint. His body trembled, and only by gripping the blue stone in front of him did he manage to stabilize himself. But a small part of that violent burst of energy from Crown Prince Yanqing had ent