Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

"I was just going to find out," Jin Hua Popo said.

Xie Xun flicked a finger on the blade of the Tulong Saber then he put it inside his robe. "You are not willing to find my Wuji for me, that's fine," he said, "Xie Xun only needs to re-enter the Jianghu and makes some earth-shattering disturbance." Tilting up his head he let out a loud whistle; and then leaped up and ran from the west side of the hill. His steps were quick; he headed straight toward a mountain peak on the northern end of the island. There was a lone thatched hut on the mountain peak; apparently it was where he lived.

Jin Hua Popo waited until Xie Xun had gone far. She turned around and stared at Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min. "Get lost!" she barked.

Pulling Zhang Wuji's hand, Zhao Min immediately went down the mountain, returning to their boat.

"I want to see Yifu," Zhang Wuji said.

"When your Yifu left, Jin Hua Popo stared at him viciously, didn't you see that?" Zhao Min asked.

"I am not afraid of her," Zhang Wuji replied.

"There are so many surreptitious matters on this island," Zhao Min said, "How could the Beggar Clan people come into this island? How did Jin Hua Popo know your Yifu's whereabouts? How could she find the Bing Huo Island? There are so many unanswered mysteries here. It's not difficult for you to kill Jin Hua Popo, but then we will never find out the answers to these questions."

"It's not that I want to kill Jin Hua Popo," Zhang Wuji said, "It's just that Yifu misses me so much; I must go and see him."

Zhao Min shook her head, "You haven't seen each other for more than a dozen years," she reasoned, "Why can't you wait one or two more days? Zhang Gongzi [young master Zhang], let me tell you

something: no doubt we must guard against Jin Hua Popo; but more importantly, we must guard against Chen Youliang."

"That Chen Youliang?" Zhang Wuji asked, "This man's 'yi qi' is very deep; he is a true gentleman."

"Do you really believe it in your heart? Or are you merely making fun of me?" Zhao Min asked.

"Why would I make fun of you?" Zhang Wuji wondered, "This man was willing to die in place of that Zheng Zhanglao; a man of his quality is truly rare."

Zhao Min stared at him for a moment and sighed. "Zhang Gongzi, oh, Zhang Gongzi," she said, "You are the Ming Cult's Cult Leader; you are commanding of I don't know how many fierce and wild warriors and heroes, executing I don't know how many important matters, yet you are this gullible? How can that be?"

"I am gullible?" Zhang Wuji asked.

"This Chen Youliang was obviously swindling Xie Daxia," Zhao Min said, "You were witnessing it with your own eyes; how can you not see it?"

"He was swindling my Yifu?" Zhang Wuji jumped.

"Xie Daxia was wielding the Tulong Saber," Zhao Min said, "Four of the Beggar Clan's masters were killed. Even if Chen Youliang's martial art skill were higher, he might not necessarily be able to escape from the Tulong Saber's cut. In this situation, he could charge forward staking everything he got and die, or he could kneel down for mercy. But just think about it, Xie Daxia does not want anybody to know his whereabouts; even if Chen Youliang knocked his head three hundred times, he might not necessarily be able to gain pity from Xie Daxia's tender heart. Other than pretending to be someone with thick 'yi qi', do you think he would have a better way?"

While she was speaking, she took Zhang Wuji's hand and applied ointment on the bite-wound, and wrapped her own handkerchief over it.

Listening to her analysis of Chen Youliang's plight, Zhang Wuji thought she was right; but thinking back about Chen Youliang's heroic and vehement attitude, also his manner of speaking, Zhang Wuji could not detect any falseness; hence, he was still unconvinced.

"All right," Zhao Min said, "Let me ask you this: when that Chen Youliang was speaking to Xie Daxia, what were the positions of his hands and his feet?"

When he was listening to Chen Youliang, Zhang Wuji only occasionally looked at his face, while the other times looked at his Yifu; he had not paid any attention to Chen Youliang's hands and feet, but actually Chen Youliang's posture was projected in his mind. If nobody mentioned this, he would not remember; this time hearing Zhao Min's question, the scene came back in his brain. He said, "Mmm, Chen Youliang's right hand was slightly raised, his left hand across the body; that was the 'shi zi bo tu' [the lion catches the rabbit]. What about his feet? Mmm, right! That was the 'jiang mo ti dou shi' [devil-subduing kicking style]. Both were part of Shaolin Pai's fist techniques; nothing special about them. Could it be that he was asking a favor from Yifu, but actually he was going to launch a sneak attack? That can't be right; these two styles are not very effective."

Zhao Min coldly laughed, "Zhang Gongzi," she said, "You really do not have any understanding about people's hearts, do you? Even if that Chen Youliang wanted to stealthily attack Xie Daxia, do you think he has the ability? This person is so cunning, he is a first class smart person; he understands people very well. Supposed his feigned 'yi qi' did not work; Xie Daxia could see through his scheme and was not willing to let him go, then with his posture, whom would he kick with the 'devil-subduing kick'? Whom would he catch with the 'lion catches the rabbit'?"

Because Zhang Wuji had always thought people everywhere were kindhearted, he had never thought deeply about Chen Youliang's scheme. Now that Zhao Min brought it up, his mind was churning. Cold sweats started to trickle down his back; with a trembling voice he said, "He … he was going to kick Zheng Zhanglao who was lying on the ground; and he was going to grab Miss Yin."

Zhao Min smiled sweetly. "That's right!" she said, "He was going to kick Zheng Zhanglao toward Xie Daxia. He would also grab that childhood sweetheart of yours, that Miss Yin whose hand you bit, and shove her toward Xie Daxia, with the hope that they would slow him down a little bit. Then he would use the opportunity to escape with his life. Even though Xie Daxia's ability is matchless and he was holding a precious saber in his hand, Chen Youliang still had a slim chance of escaping; other than that, he did not have any other choice. If it were me, I'd do the same. Up until now, I still have not found a better way. This man was able to think such a clever method in a short moment; he is truly amazing." She could not stop praising him.

The more Zhang Wuji thought, the more upset he became; he had never thought that people in this world could be that ruthless. Ever since he was little, he had experienced countless hardships, yet he had never seen anything of Chen Youliang's caliber. After half a day he said, "Miss Zhao, you were able to see through his intentions; I am afraid you are not inferior to him."

Zhao Min's countenance turned dark. "Are you ridiculing me?" she asked, "Let me tell you something: if you are afraid of my wicked scheming, then stay far away from me."

"That is not necessary," Zhang Wuji said with a smile, "You have already used a lot of deceit against me, I can guard against all of them."

Zhao Min showed a faint smile and said, "You can guard against my deceit? How come you don't know I applied some poison to the back of your hand?"