Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

"This is the poison from the 'tuo luo' flower," Zhang Wuji said.

Zhan Chun did not know what kind of poison was applied on the Sang Men nails, but she knew that there was indeed this kind of flower in her Shifu's flower garden. "Ah," she exclaimed in surprise, "How do you know?" The blue 'tuo luo' flower was a very rare poisonous flower; it originated from the western region, and had never been found in the central China.

Zhang Wuji nodded. "I know," he said. Taking Yang Buhui's hand, he said, "Let's go."

"Xiao Xiongdi [little brother]," Zhan Chun busily said, "If you know the treatment, please be kind and save our lives."

At first, Zhang Wuji was considering to help them, however, he suddenly remembered the evil expressions on Jian Jie and Xue Gongyuan's faces when they were about to eat them, he could not help but hesitate.

Su Xizhi said, "Xiao Xianggong [young master], I [orig. zaixia – the lowly or humble one] have eyes but failed to see an expert; please do not blame me."

"Alright," Zhang Wuji said, "Let me have a try." Taking some golden needles from his pocket, he pierced the 'shan zhong xue' [lit. sheep's odor acupoint] on Zhan Chun's chest, and the 'que pen xue' [empty basin acupoints] on her left and right shoulders, to stop the pain in her chest due to the palm injury she received earlier.

"This 'tuo luo' flower will become poisonous as soon as it meets the blood," he said, "But it will not create any harm if it enters the stomach. The two of you need to suck each other's wound first, until the blood is free of any coagulation."

Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun were embarrassed and felt uncomfortable, but right now, their lives were more important, besides, there was no way they would be able to suck their own wounds. Therefore, left with no other choice, they sucked the poisonous blood from each other's wound.

Zhang Wuji picked three kinds of herbal medicine by the hillside; he chewed it until it was mushy and then applied it on the two people's wounds. "These three types of herbal medicine can temporarily stop the attack of the poison, but it is ineffective to drive the poison completely out of your systems," he said, "We must go to the next town and look for a drugstore, and then I will mix the medicine to treat your poison."

Originally, the wounds on Su and Zhan, two people, were unbearably itchy, but as soon as the herbal medicine was applied, they felt cool and comfortable, while at the same time their limbs were no longer numb and weak. At once they repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

Each one of them broke a tree branch to use it as a crutch, then helping each other, they slowly continued their journey ahead. Zhan Chun asked Zhang Wuji's school and origin. Zhang Wuji did not want to explain the truth, he simply said that he understood medicine since his childhood.

After walking for more than two hours, they arrived at the town of Shahe [in Hebei province]. The four of them found an inn to rest. Zhang Wuji wrote a prescription and Su Xizhi had an inn-helper to get the medicine. By this time, the area west of Henan and Hebei had not suffered disaster; although the Mongolian government officers practiced unruly and tyrannical cruelty, they were not in the least different than any other places, the common people still had food to eat. The shops and inns in Shahe were open for business as usual. As soon as the inn-helper returned with the medicine, Zhang Wuji cooked it and fed it to Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun.

The four of them stayed in the inn for three days. Each day Zhang Wuji changed the prescription. He applied the medicine externally as well as internally. By the fourth day, the poison in Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun's bodies had been completely eradicated. The two of them profusely expressed their gratitude; they asked Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui's destination. Zhang Wuji mentioned the name of Zuo Wang Peak of the Kunlun Mountain.

"Su Dage," Zhan Chun said, "We owe our lives to this Xiao Xiongdi. However, my five Shixiong [martial brother] are still out there looking for you. This matter has not been brought to completion yet. What do you say you come with me going up Mount Kunlun?"

Su Xizhi was stunned. "Going up Mount Kunlun?" he asked.

"That's right," Zhan Chun said, "I will accompany you to pay a visit to my master. We will explain that you have not learned even half a stance of the Kunlun Liang Yi Jian. If we do not resolve this matter with him, the Senior, you will face an endless disaster in the future."

Su Xizhi was angry in his heart, he said, "You, Kunlun Pai, bully others too much. I just took one look and I nearly entered the gates of hell. Isn't that enough?"

"Su Dage," Zhan Chun said in gentle voice, "Please think about the difficulty Xiao Mei has to face. It's not a problem for me to explain to my Shifu that you did not draw any advantage in sword technique from watching him; however, if my five Shixiong get hold of you and harm you, how would Xiao Mei feel?"

After going through life and death situation together for several days, their affection to each other grew. Listening to her gentle words full of tender feeling, Su Xizhi's anger subsided at once. He also thought, "Kunlun Pai is strong in numbers; if they do not stop harassing me, eventually I will lose my life under their hands."

Seeing him hesitate, Zhan Chun continued, "Please come with me first. Whatever important matter you need to attend, Xiao Mei will come with you and together we will deal with it after our visit to Mount Kunlun. What do you say?"

Su Xizhi was delighted. "Alright," he said, "Let's do it this way. Only I wonder whether Zun Shi [revered master] would trust me?"

Zhan Chun said, "Usually Shifu is very fond of me. If I earnestly ask him, I am sure he will not make things difficult for you. As soon as this matter is settled, Xiao Mei is thinking of visiting your young master and young miss, so that they will not be bullied by your sister-in-law."

Hearing the way she talked, Su Xizhi knew the feeling between them was mutual; he was very happy. To Zhang Wuji he said, "Xiao Xiongdi, let us go up the Mount Kunlun together, so that we will keep each other company."

Zhan Chun said, "The Kunlun Mountains stretch for thousands of 'li'; I don't even know how many peaks there are. I don't know where that Zuo Wang Peak is, but if our Kunlun Pai is looking for a peak on Kunlun Mountains, I am sure we will find it."

The next day, Su Xizhi hired a large cart for Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui to ride, while Zhan Chun and he rode on horsebacks. When they arrived at the next bigger town, Zhan Chun bought several sets of clothes for Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui. After they changed clothes, they were transformed into totally different persons. Su and Zhan two people cheered loudly as they saw the change in appearances on this pair of children; the boy looked so handsome and the girl so pretty. Until that day, these two children had been travelling a long and arduous journey; after having good meals, they gradually turned into a pair of healthy children.

They went farther and farther to the west, the weather also turned colder and colder. Fortunately, they had Su Xizhi and Zhan Chun looking after them, so they had a pleasant journey. When they reached the western region, Kunlun Pai's influence was strongly felt; there was even less obstruction. Only, the yellow sand assaulted their faces and the cold wind penetrated their bones, making the journey hard to endure. In less than a day they had arrived at the Mount Kunlun's San Sheng Ao [three-sage cavity/valley]. Everywhere they looked, there was green grass like a carpet, with fruit trees and flower bushes. Su Xizhi and Zhang Wuji had never imagined that there would be such a beautiful place like this in this desolate desert, they were delighted. Turned out the San Sheng Ao was surrounded on all sides by skyscraping mountain peaks, which protect it from the cold winds.