louder. Tian Boguang must have egged them on to keep Sister Dingyi away.

Dingyi was outraged. “Tian Boguang, if you don’t get your ass out here, I will cut you into ten thousand pieces!” she shouted.

Tian Boguang laughed. “If I don’t get my ass out, you’ll cut me into pieces. If I do haul my ass out, you’ll cut me into pieces just as well. I guess I’d better keep my ass put. Sister Dingyi, you nuns really shouldn’t be in places like this. Why don’t you go back to your nice convent? Your apprentice is not here. She is a model nun who always follows all the convent rules. Why would she come here? Don’t you think it’s rather bizarre for your holiness to come here to look for your apprentice?”

Dingyi exploded. “Blazes! I’m going to set this damn place on fire! We’ll see how long he can stay in there!” she retorted.

Tian Boguang laughed again. “Sister Dingyi, this spot is named the ‘Jade House,’ and it is one of the most famous sites in the town of Hengshan. I suppose it would be no big deal if you set it on fire, but when the story gets out, everybody’ll know that it was Sister Dingyi from the White-Cloud Nunnery of the Heng-Shan Sword School who burnt down the ‘Jade House’ brothel in Hengshan. People who heard this would ask themselves, ‘Sister Dingyi is a respectful senior Sister, why would she go to such a filthy place?’ The answer would be that, ‘She went there to look for her apprentice!’ People who heard this would have to ask, ‘Why did the apprentice of the Heng-Shan Sword School go to the Jade House?’…I’m guessing that all these questions couldn’t do the reputation of your school any good. Let me tell you something, Tian Boguang fears nothing and nobody in this entire world except that apprentice of yours. I’d be busy running away at the sight of her. How would I be able to bother her?”

Dingyi reluctantly saw his point, but an apprentice had reported that she saw Yilin walking into this house with her own eyes, and Tian Boguang had also attacked her. There could have been no mistake. Her anger kept growing, but the only thing she could do was to stamp the flagstones beneath her feet.

“Tian Boguang, did you murder my apprentice Peng Renqi?” demanded a voice from the roof across the way. The Master of the Qingcheng Sword School had arrived.

“Aha! Even the respectful Master of Qingcheng Sword School has come to visit,” Tian Boguang crowed. “Hengshan Jade House is going to be so appallingly famous from now on. They’ll never need to worry about getting business again! I did kill a fellow. His sword skills were ordinary, but seemed to be the moves of the Qingcheng Sword School. But as to whether his name was Peng Renqi or not, sorry, I really didn’t have the time to ask.”

Within the space of a blink, Yu Canghai leapt into Tian Boguang’s room, and the sounds of a shower of ringing steel followed; Yu Canghai had started fighting with Tian Boguang. Sister Dingyi stood on the roof and listened to the sound of clashing weapons.

“That rascal Tian Boguang really has some skills,” she thought to herself. “His quick knife strokes seem to be evenly matched with the sword thrusts from the Master of the Qingcheng Sword School.”

Suddenly there was a loud “bang” followed by absolute silence. Yilin held onto Qu Feiyan’s hand tightly; cold sweat soaked her palms. She had no idea who had won the fight, Tian or Yu? Tian Boguang had bullied her several times, and she should have wished for Yu Canghai to win, but deep in her heart, she was really hoping the opposite. It would be better if Yu Canghai were to just leave, and same with her master, so Linghu Chong could rest and heal peacefully and quietly. He was already on the brink of death, and if Yu Canghai rushed in the room, the stress itself would surely cause his wounds to break open and kill him.

Tian Boguang’s voice rose from afar, “Master Yu, don’t you think it’s a little crowded in this room? Let’s go to the clearing in the field and fight a couple hundred rounds and see who the better man is! If you win, I’ll relinquish this cute hottie ‘Little Jade’ to you! But if you lose, this chick will have to be mine!”

Yu Canghai almost exploded in anger. The scoundrel’s words had implied that that they were fighting to gain the favor of a whore named “Little Jade” in the “Jade House.” He considered his situation. When they were fighting inside the room, over fifty rounds passed in no time. Tian Boguang’s knife moves were well organized and balanced with both attacks and defenses. His skills were really no less than that of his own. Even if they were to fight another couple of hundred rounds, he still couldn’t assure a victory.

Everything quieted down. Yilin could even hear her own heartbeat. She leaned closer to Qu’s ear and asked in a whisper, “Do you think…they will come in here?”

Qu was actually much younger than her, yet Yilin was completely lost in such an embarrassing situation. Qu did not answer, and just covered Yilin’s mouth with her hand.

Liu Zhengfeng’s voice suddenly rose. “Master Yu, the villain Tian Boguang has committed so many crimes; he definitely won’t come to a good end. We’ll get him eventually. There’s no rush right now. This brothel has been the source of much immoral behavior; I have always wanted to trash it. Please let me handle this. Danian, Weiyi, Let’s search inside. Don’t let anybody leave!”

Xiang Danian and Mi Weiyi, the two apprentices of Liu House, acknowledged the command in unison. Dingyi also sent out orders and had her apprentices surround the brothel.

Yilin became increasingly worried. She could hear the voices of the apprentices from the Liu House coming closer and closer, searching room after room. Liu Zhengfeng and Yu Canghai stood by the side and directed the apprentices. Loud cries from the proprietors could be clearly heard while they were thrashed by Xiang Danian, Mi Weiyi, and the rest of the apprentices. Apprentices of the Qingcheng Sword School began smashing the furniture, teacups and wine kettles, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Knowing that all those people would soon arrive, Yilin was so worried that she almost passed out.

“My Master came to rescue me,” she thought, “and I did not answer her call. I am in a brothel and in the same room with big brother Linghu late at night. Even though he is badly wounded, when all those guys from the Hengshan Sword School and the Qingcheng Sword School come in all at once, I wouldn’t be able to explain even if I had a hundred tongues. The reputation of the Heng-Shan Sword School would undoubtedly be damaged and how…how could I face my Master and all the apprentice sisters again?” She drew her sword and brought the blade toward her own throat.

Qu Feiyan heard the sound of an unsheathing sword and instantly realized what Yilin was doing. She grasped Yilin’s wrist quickly.

“Stop! Let’s dash out together,” she whispered.

Sounds of movement came from the bed. Linghu Chong had sat up.

“Light up the candle!” he whispered.

“Why?” Qu Feiyan asked.

“I am telling you to light up the candle!” Linghu Chong said. His voice had a tone of authority in it. Qu Feiyan did not say another word and lit the candle.

With the light of the candle, Yilin could see Linghu Chong’s white and bloodless face, a face that looked almost like that of a corpse. She uttered a cry.

Linghu Chong pointed at his overcoat at the end of the bed.

“Put that over…over my shoulders,” he said.

While trembling like a falling leaf in a storm, Yilin picked up the overcoat and draped it over Linghu Chong’s shoulders. Linghu Chong pulled the front of the overcoat so it covered all the bloodstains and the wound on his chest.

“You two, lie on the bed,” he said.

“This is fun!” Qu Feiyan giggled. She dragged Yilin and slipped under the quilt.

By then, people outside had noticed the candlelight in the room. “Let’s check that room out!” someone shouted. They all started to head toward the small room.

Linghu Chong took a deep breath and rushed to close the door and locked it with a wooden bar. He walked back to the bed and lifted the curtain.

“Hide under the quilt!” he ordered.

“Don’t…don’t move too much. Watch out for your wounds,” Yilin begged.

Linghu Chong stuck his left hand out and pushed her head under the quilt while pulling Qu’s long hair out from under the quilt and spreading it all over the pillow. Just that simple movement and his wound opened, causing blood to gush out again. He lost the strength from his legs and had to sit on the bed.

Someone had already started knocking on the door heavily like beating a drum. “You son of a turtle, open the door!” one of them shouted. Then with a loud cracking sound, the door was kicked open and four people rushed in.

The leading one was none other than the Qingcheng apprentice Hong Renxiong. Astonished at seeing Linghu Chong, he immediately jumped back several paces.

“Linghu…It’s Linghu Chong….” he muttered.

Xiang Danian and Mi Weiyi had never met Linghu Chong before, but had both heard that Luo Renjie had killed him. When they heard Hong Renxiong shouting out Linghu Chong’s name, both were shocked and also stepped back. Everyone had his eyes wide open and just gazed at Linghu Chong.

Linghu Chong stood up slowly. “You…this many people….” he muttered.

“Linghu…Linghu Chong, you’re…you’re not dead?” Hong Renxiong murmured.

“How can I die so easily?” Linghu Chong answered coldly.

Yu Canghai stepped out. “You are Linghu Chong? Excellent, excellent!” he said. Linghu Chong gave him a glance but did not answer.

“What are you doing in this brothel?” Yu Canghai demanded.

Linghu Chong started laughing. “Are you kidding me? What do you think people do in brothels?”

“I’ve heard that the Huashan Sword School has very strict school rules,” Yu Canghai said coldly. “You are the senior apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, the best student of ‘Gentleman Sword’ Mr. Yue, yet you sneak up here to sleep with prostitutes. Very funny! How very ironic!”

“Whatever rules the Huashan Sword School has,” Linghu Chong said, “that’s our own business. No need for you or anybody else to worry about it.”

Yu Canghai was an experienced person. Seeing Linghu Chong’s extremely white face because of loss of blood and his trembling legs, he could tell that Linghu Chong had been wounded badly. Could it be a trap? Then he thought, “The little nun of the Heng-Shan Sword School said this guy was killed by Renjie, but he is actually still alive. Obviously the little nun was lying to cover things up. During her tale, she called him big brother Linghu this and big brother Linghu that, full of tenderness; maybe they have already become a couple. Someone saw the little nun coming to this brothel, but now no one can find her, most likely this guy has hidden her somewhere. Hmm! The Five Mountains Sword Alliance always considered themselves the true Martial Arts academies, and looked down upon my Qingcheng Sword School. If I can sort that little nun out, then not only would the reputation of the Huashan Sword School and the Heng-Shan Sword School be trashed, the entire Five Mountains Sword Alliance would also be humiliated, and they would never be able to flaunt themselves in the Martial World again!” He looked around quickly but did not see any other people with Linghu Chong. “Looks like that the little nun is hiding in the bed,” he concluded.

“Renxiong! Lift open the bed curtain. Let’s find out what kind of show we have in the bed,” he said to Hong Renxiong.

“Yes, Master!” Hong Renxiong answered and then stepped forward. With his previous unpleasant encounter with Linghu Chong in mind, he couldn’t help glancing at Linghu Chong and hesitating.

“Do you want to die?” Linghu Chong threatened.

Hong Renxiong choked, but thinking of the presence of his master, he felt better and drew his sword.

“What do you want?” Linghu Chong asked of Yu Canghai.

“The Heng-Shan Sword School lost a female apprentice; someone saw her in this brothel, so we need to search here,” Yu Canghai demanded.

“This is the Five Mountains Sword Alliance’s own matter. Why doesn’t the Qingcheng Sword School mind its own business?” Linghu Chong mocked.

“We will find an answer today, whether you like it or not! Renxiong, go for it!” Yu Canghai ordered.

“Yes sir!” Hong Renxiong held his sword out and lifted the bed curtain with the blade.

Yilin and Qu Feiyan grabbed onto each other and hid under the quilt; they heard every word between Linghu Chong and Yu Canghai loud and clear. Greatly worried, they could not help trembling. Then when they heard the sound of Hong Renxiong lifting the bed curtain, both were frightened to death.

After Hong Renxiong had lifted up the bed curtain, everyone stared at the bed. There was a large red silk quilt with two loving birds embroidered on it. Obviously there was someone under the quilt. Long black hair spread all over the pillow. The quilt was trembling. The person under the quilt must have been terrified.

Yu Canghai was very disappointed when he saw the long hair on the pillow. It was quite obvious that the one under the quilt was not a bald little nun. Linghu Chong was really sleeping with a prostitute.

“Master Yu,” Linghu Chong said coldly, “although you are a Taoist Priest, I heard that Qingcheng priests don’t have rules against marriage and you’ve already got yourself many wives. If you are so fond of naked woman, and wanted to see the girl naked, why don’t you go ahead and lift up the quilt to have a good look? Why pretend to look for a female apprentice of the Heng-Shan Sword School?”

“Damn you!” Yu Canghai yelled while throwing a knife hand chop at Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong turned his body aside to dodge the blow coming toward him, but he was quite weak because of the wounds and wasn’t able to dodge fast enough; the edge of Yu Canghai’s chopping blow glanced his body. He could not hold himself steady and collapsed onto the bed. Gathering all his strength, Linghu Chong stood up again, but blood began dripping out the corner of his mouth. His body shook a couple of times as he spit out some more blood. Yu Canghai wanted to hit him again, but out of the blue, a voice came from outside the window.

“A senior bullies a junior; how shameless!”

Yu Canghai did not waste any time. Before the last word had ended, he had already thrown a blow toward the window. Immediately following the blow, he jumped out of the window. From the illumination of the candlelight from inside the room, he saw an ugly hunchback turning around the corner of the house.

“Hold it!” he shouted.

The hunchback was really Lin Pingzhi in disguise. After the conflict with Yu Canghai in Liu Zhengfeng’s house, he slipped out while Yu Canghai had his mind on the little girl, Qu Feiyan. He hid behind a corner of the house and did not know what to do. He could not think of any way to rescue his parents.

“Everyone in the hall will have remembered me as the ugly hunchback,” he thought aloud. “When those people from the Qingcheng Sword School see me again, they will definitely kill me without hesitation. Should I change back to my original look?” He thought of how Yu Canghai had grabbed onto his wrist; he had felt like he had lost all his strength and couldn’t even struggle to get away. How could there be someone with such outstanding martial arts skills? All these thoughts flooded his mind; he completely lost track of time. He had no idea how long he had been hiding around the corner when he suddenly felt a pat on his hunchback. Stunned, he turned back quickly. The first thing he saw was a tall hunchback. It was none other than the real hunchback – “Hunchback of the North” Mu Gaofeng.

“You fake hunchback,” Mu grinned, “what’s so good about being a hunchback? Why the hell do you pretend to be my grandchild?”

Lin Pingzhi knew the hunchback was a very vicious man with very high Martial Arts skills. If any of his words displeased Mu, he could easily end up dead. He thought since he had already kowtowed to him when they were back in the great hall, and called him a true hero that helped the weak to fight the villains, and Mu did not get mad, all he needed to do was to keep the same tone, then he surely wouldn’t make Mu Gaofeng mad.

“I heard from many people that ‘Hunchback of the North’ Hero Mu has a very reputable name, and he always helped the weak when needed. I truly admire you, and that’s why I dressed myself just like Hero Mu. Please forgive me,” he apologized.

“Are you kidding me? A reputable name and helping the weak when needed? What nonsense!”

Mu Gaofeng laughed. He knew Lin Pingzhi was lying to his face, yet all these complements sounded very enjoyable and pleasing.

“What’s your name? Who’s your Master?” he asked.

“Lin is really my family name. I unintentionally used your last name,” Lin Pingzhi said.

Mu Gaofeng smirked. “Cut the crap! You just wanted to use my name to swindle and bluff. Yu Canghai is the Master of the Qingcheng Sword School. He could kill you by just poking you with one finger. And you are so bold as to offend him! You really have some guts!”

Hearing Yu Canghai’s name mentioned, Lin Pingzhi’s anger instantly exploded. “As long as I am still breathing, one day I will slay the scoundrel myself!” he exclaimed loudly.

“What score do you have with Yu Canghai?” asked the surprised Mu Gaofeng.

Lin Pingzhi hesitated for a few seconds. He thought, “There’s no way for me to rescue my mom and dad all by myself. Why don’t I ask him to help?” So he knelt down and kowtowed to Mu Gaofeng.

“My parents are his prisoners. I am begging you. Will you please help me rescue them?”

Mu Gaofeng frowned and shook his head. “I never do anything that does not benefit me. Who is your dad? What do I get if I rescue him?”

Someone’s voice suddenly came from the door, whispering with urgency, “Go tell Master that in the brothel known as the Jade House, another Qingcheng Sword School member has been killed. Also someone from the Heng-Shan Sword School was wounded and just got back. Hurry!”

“We’ll talk about your troubles later,” Mu Gaofeng whispered to Lin Pingzhi. “There’s going to be a good show. Come with me if you want to see some fun.”

“As long as I am with him, I can always beg him later,” Lin Pingzhi thought. So he replied, “Sure, sure! Wherever you, the respectful senior want to go, I’ll follow.”

“Let’s get this straight first: I, hunchback Mu, only do things that I can benefit from. If you think brown-nosing can get your grandpa to get into trouble for you, save yourself the trouble and just forget about it!” Mu Gaofeng exclaimed. Lin Pingzhi just nodded and didn’t say a word.

“They’ve left. Follow me,” Mu Gaofeng said. Lin Pingzhi only felt his right wrist was grabbed tightly, and before he knew it, he was already in the air and seemed to be speeding along the streets without even touching the ground.

Soon they arrived outside the Jade House. The two of them hid behind a tree and peered at the scene before them. They heard everything including the fight between Yu Canghai and Tian Boguang, the search led by Liu Zhengfeng’s apprentices, and the words of Linghu Chong. When Yu Canghai wanted to hit Linghu Chong again, Lin Pingzhi could not hold his anger any longer and shouted out, “A senior bullies a junior; how shameless!” Right after that, he realized he had acted very rashly and quickly turned around to hide. But Yu Canghai came so fast that with the words “hold it,” the power of his hands had already immobilized Lin Pingzhi.

At that moment, all Yu needed to do was to release his inner energy and Lin Pingzhi’s internal organs would be smashed into pieces, but after recognizing it was the young hunchback, Yu Canghai held back his strength and did not strike.

“So it’s you!” he sneered.

He looked at Mu Gaofeng, who stood about ten feet behind Lin Pingzhi. “Hunchback Mu! Why do you instigate juniors to trouble me over and over? What do you want?” he demanded.

Mu Gaofeng burst into loud laughter. “He claims to be my junior, but I never said he was! His name is Lin and mine is Mu, I have nothing to do with him. Master Yu, I, hunchback Mu, am not afraid of you; I just don’t want to be a retard and shield trouble for some nobody. If there were great benefits for being a shield, like piles of gold or jewels or something, then I’d consider doing it! Free service like this will never interest me.”

Yu Canghai was quite happy to hear these words. “If this individual has nothing to do with brother Mu and is only an imposter, then I don’t have to worry on your behalf,” he said. He was just about to strike out when he heard someone speaking

“A senior bullies a junior; how shameless!”

Yu Canghai turned back and saw a man standing by the window. It was none other than Linghu Chong. Yu Canghai was infuriated, but the words “a senior bullies a junior; how shameless” were right on target. The two young men’s Kung Fu skills were no match for him; to kill them would be as easy as stepping on a puny ant. But he would never be able to get rid of the remark “a senior bullies a junior.” And if the remark of “a senior bullies a junior” were true, of course “shameless” would be natural conclusion. But if he just simply let these two off, he wouldn’t be able to vent his anger. He sneered and said to Linghu Chong, “I’ll have your Master pay for your insolence later.” Then he turned to Lin Pingzhi.

“Which school are you from?” he asked.

“You murderous monster, you ruined my whole family, and you are still asking me?” Lin Pingzhi yelled furiously.

Yu Canghai was confused. “Have I met you before? How did I ruin your family? What are you talking about?” he thought to himself. With so many people around watching, he did not want to ask for more details, so he turned to Hong Renxiong. “Renxiong, waste him first, then seize Linghu Chong.”

If a Qingcheng apprentice did it, it wouldn’t be “a senior bullies a junior.” Hong Renxiong answered, “Yes, Master!” He drew his sword and jumped forth. Lin Pingzhi went for his own sword, but before he could unsheathe it, Hong Renxiong’s long cold sword was already pointed at his chest.

Lin Pingzhi yelled, “Yu Canghai, I, Lin Pingzhi, will….”

Astounded, Yu Canghai hurriedly struck out with his left palm. The energy of the strike sent Hong Renxiong’s thrust aside and the sword barely missed Lin Pingzhi’s right arm.

“What did you say?” Yu Canghai asked.

“Even if I, Lin Pingzhi, have to become a disembodied ghost, I’ll come back and kill you,” Lin Pingzhi exclaimed.

“Are you…are you Lin Pingzhi from the Fortune Prestige Escort House?” Yu Canghai asked in shock.

Lin Pingzhi thought, “Since I can’t hide my identity any more, I’d rather have a quick death.” So he pulled the plasters off his face and said loudly, “That’s right! I am Lin Pingzhi from Fuzhou Fortune Prestige Escort House. Your son harassed an innocent girl and I killed him. You ruined my whole family. Where…where are you keeping my father and my mother?”

The news of Qingcheng’s triumph over the Fortune Prestige Escort House had spread all over the Martial World. Most people didn’t know that Evergreen had lost in a sword fight with Lin Yuantu, so rumor said that it was really because the Qingcheng Sword School wanted to seize the Lin family’s manuscript of the Evil-Resisting Sword Art. And because Linghu Chong had heard the rumor, he used it to lure Luo Renjie into coming closer and then killed him. Mu Gaofeng had also heard the rumor. After the fake hunchback claimed to be “Lin Pingzhi from the Fortune Prestige Escort House,” seeing how Yu Canghai knocked aside Hong Renxiong’s sword in such a hurry and how he acted so nervously, Mu Gaofeng had no doubt that Yu Canghai really wanted to track down the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript with help from this young man. When Yu Canghai stretched his arm out and grabbed onto Lin Pingzhi’s right wrist, pulling his arm back to drag Lin over, Mu Gaofeng shouted, “Hold it!” He jumped forth rapidly and grabbed onto Lin Pingzhi’s left wrist and started pulling as well.

Lin Pingzhi could feel two great sources of power pulling his arms in opposite directions; all his joints started popping and he almost passed out from the severe pain. Yu Canghai knew very well that Lin Pingzhi would die instantly if he pulled any harder, so he thrust his long sword at Mu Gaofeng as he yelled out loudly, “Brother Mu, let it go!” Mu Gaofeng waved his right arm and blocked the sword with a shinning crescent knife. A loud ring echoed. Wasting no time, Yu Canghai launched his sword attacks, and within seconds, he had sent nine thrusts at Mu Gaofeng.

“Brother Mu, we don’t have any score between us. Why should we hurt our relationship because of this lad?” He said while tightly grabbing Lin Pingzhi’s right wrist.

Waving his crescent knife back and forth, Mu Gaofeng countered all of Yu Canghai’s attacks.

“Earlier, right in front of everyone’s eyes, this lad kowtowed to me and called me ‘Grandpa.’ Everyone saw that and heard that. Although I don’t have any score to settle with you, Master Yu, don’t you think it would look bad for me if you seize someone who just called me Grandpa and then kill him right in front of my eyes? If this grandpa can’t even protect his grandson, then who else is going to call me Grandpa in the future?”

The two talked as they fought at a faster and faster pace. The clash of weapons also became more urgent.

“Brother Mu, this man killed my son. How can I forget the pain of losing a son and not avenge him?” Yu Canghai said angrily.

“Sure,” Mu Gaofeng laughed, “for Master Yu’s sake, I’ll help you seek your revenge. Come on, you pull to the left and I’ll pull to the right, one two three, let’s tear this lad to two!” After the words, he actually started counting, “One, two, and three!” As soon as he spat out the word three, he pulled harder. More of Lin Pingzhi’s joints popped.

Yu Canghai was stunned. There was no need to rush the revenge. Before finding the sword art manuscript, he definitely didn’t want to let Lin Pingzhi die. So he let go of Lin’s wrist at once, letting Mu Gaofeng pull Lin Pingzhi away.

“Hey, thanks!” Mu Gaofeng grinned. “Master Yu is really a true friend! You even gave up revenge for your son for Hunchback Mu’s sake. There’s no other one in the Martial World who respects brotherhood as much as you do!”

“I am glad brother Mu knows that. I’ll give in a little this time. There won’t be a second time,” Yu Canghai said coldly.

“Who knows? Maybe Master Yu would be as nice next time and give in again,” Mu Gaofeng snickered.

With a disgruntled snort, Yu Canghai waved his left arm. “Let’s go!” he commanded, and all the Qingcheng apprentices left following their Master. At that moment, Sister Dingyi had gone south together with all the Heng-Shan nuns, trying to locate Yilin. Liu Zhengfeng and his apprentices had gone to the southeast corner to continue their search. So after the group from the Qingcheng Sword School left, only Mu Gaofeng and Lin Pingzhi stood outside of the Jade House.

“Hey, you are not a hunchback. You are a handsome lad!” Mu Gaofeng said with a grin. “Lad, you don’t have to call me Grandpa. I kind of like you. How about I take you as my apprentice?”

Lin Pingzhi was still in pain from being pulled between two types of high-level inner energy and had just caught his breath. Hearing Mu Gaofeng’s suggestion, he thought, “The hunchback’s Kung Fu is ten times greater than dad’s. Even Yu Canghai was in dread of him. In my quest to seek my revenge, it would actually become possible if I have him as my teacher. But he did not care about me at all when the Qingcheng apprentice tried to kill me. As soon as he heard my real identity, he started to fight Yu Canghai to get hold of me. In that light, his offer to take me as his apprentice must have not come from good intentions.”

Mu Gaofeng saw his hesitation. “You already know how good the Hunchback of the North’s Kung Fu skills and fame are. I’ve never had an apprentice before. If you have me as your teacher, I will teach you all my Kung Fu skills without any reservation. By then, not only would the chaps from Qingcheng be no matches for you, but after a couple of years, it would be easy to defeat Yu Canghai as well. Lad, why aren’t you kowtowing to me to show respects to your Master?”

The more anxious he sounded, the more suspicious Lin Pingzhi became. “If he really cared about me, why did he grab on to my wrist and pull so hard with no reservation? After Yu Canghai found out that I was the one who had killed his son, he actually wanted me alive. Obviously it was all because he wanted some Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript. There are many honest people with high Kung Fu skills in the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. If I want a good teacher, I should be looking among them. The hunchback here is too vicious. No matter how high his skills are, I’ll never have him as my Master.”

Seeing Lin Pingzhi still in hesitation, Mu Gaofeng felt his anger growing. But he still managed a smile. “What? You think the hunchback’s Kung Fu skills are no good, and I am not worthy to be your master?” he asked.

Lin Pingzhi noticed an angry and vicious look on Mu Gaofeng’s face fleetingly before it changed into a warm and kind smile. He knew he was in a very delicate and dangerous situation. If he refused to call him Master, Mu would probably get infuriated and kill him right away. So he said, “Hero Mu, your offering to take me as your apprentice is a fortune I never even dared to dream of. But I have been learning my family Kung Fu skills. If I want to study from another great Master, I must get permission from my father. This is not only the family rule, but also the common practice in the Martial World.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Mu Gaofeng nodded. “But what little skills you demonstrated here today are nothing even close to be called Kung Fu. Your father’s Kung Fu must also be very limited. I only had a sudden impulse today wanting to take you as