Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

What happened was: during the fierce battle, with arms open wide, Xie Xun's palms struck down toward Cheng Kun. Cheng Kun was delighted. "Got you!" he shouted, while the two fingers of his right hand struck Xie Xun's eyes. It was the move 'shuang long qiang zhu' [a pair of dragons fight over a pearl], which was quite common. However, because it was launched in the midst of 'xiao qin na shou', it carried an enormous power. He expected the opponent to lean sideways to evade, and then his left hand would sweep across the opponent head. He was certain the opponent's vital 'tai yang xue' [sun acupoint, located on the temples] would be hit. Contrary to his expectation, Xie Xun neither evaded nor blocked his strike; he also shouted, "Got you!" with the same 'shuang long qiang zhu' his two fingers poked Cheng Kun's eyes.

As soon as Cheng Kun's fingers pierced Xie Xun's eyes, like a flash of lightning a thought came into his mind, "Bad!" followed by stabbing pain as his own eyes were pierced by Xie Xun's two fingers.

Both men suffered the same injury. However, Xie Xun had been blind for a long time. As he was pierced by Cheng Kun's fingers, he only suffered some superficial wound. Cheng Kun, on the other hand, had turned blind.

With a cold laugh Xie Xun said, "Does it feel good, being a blind man?" With a loud shout he launched another punch.

Cheng Kun could not see anything; he was unable to evade. The 'Qi Shang Quan' hit him squarely on the chest. Xie Xun followed with a left hand punch. Cheng Kun staggered several steps backward until his back was against the broken pine tree; blood gushing out from his mouth.

Suddenly Du E opened his mouth, "Just retribution! Shanzai, shanzai!"

Xie Xun stopped dead on his track; he had concentrated his power on the third punch, but right now it stopped midway. "I should have punched you thirteen times with the 'Qi Shang Quan'; but your martial art skill is gone and you are blind, henceforth you have become a handicapped person and thus will not do wicked things on the earth anymore. You need not receive the remaining eleven punches."

Seeing that Xie Xun achieved a total victory, Zhang Wuji and the others cheered. But suddenly Xie Xun sat on the ground; the bones on his entire body were cracking.

Zhang Wuji was shocked, knowing that Xie Xun was using his own internal energy to destroy his own martial art skill. "Yifu," he hastily said, "Don't!" He rushed forward and stretching out his hand, using the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, he pressed Xie Xun's back to stop him.

Xie Xun suddenly leaped up and fiercely punched his own chest; blood gushing out from his mouth.

Zhang Wuji busily reached out to support him, but he felt that Xie Xun's hand was feeble. His martial art skill had definitely gone, and would be very difficult to recover.

Xie Xun pointed his finger toward Cheng Kun and said, "Cheng Kun, you murdered my entire family. Today I destroyed your eyes and wiped out your martial art skill. We are even now. Shifu, my martial art skill was taught by you. Today I willingly destroyed it; I am giving it back to you. From now on, there is no gratitude nor grudges between me and you. You will never see my face again and I also will never see your face."

Cheng Kun pressed his hands on his eyes. He was groaning from the pain, but did not say anything. The crowd of heroes looked at each other; who would have thought that this battle between master and disciple would end up like this?

In a loud and clear voice Xie Xun said, "I, Xie Xun, have done much wickedness; I have never hoped I would live until today. If there is anyone among the heroes of the world whose family or martial brother died under the Old Xie's hands, you are free to take the Old Xie's life. Wuji, you must not stop them, nor you must avenge me in the future and thus adding to your Yifu's guilt."

Zhang Wuji consented with tears in his eyes.

Although there were quite a number of heroes who harbored deep enmity with Xie Xun, they all saw how Xie Xun had avenged his entire family only by destroying Cheng Kun's martial art skill. However, Xie Xun's own martial art was also gone. Therefore, if anybody went forward and stabbed him with a sword, or punched him with a fist, his action would be considered a hero or a warrior's bad deed.

Suddenly a man stepped out from among the crowd. "Xie Xun," he said, "My father, 'Yan Ling Fei Tian Dao' [The Wild-Goose-Plume-Flying-to-the-sky Saber] Qiu Lao Yingxiong [old hero Qiu] lost his life under your hands. I am here to avenge my Xian Fu [deceased father]!" Finished speaking, he walked toward Xie Xun.

"That's right," Xie Xun sadly said, "Your honorable father died under my hands. Qiu Xiong [brother Qiu], you may proceed."

The man surnamed Qiu drew his saber and took two more steps closer.

Zhang Wuji could not think straight; if he did not act, his Yifu would lose his life under this man's saber, but if he stopped this man, he was afraid that he would add to the agony his Yifu had to endure for the rest of his life. Much less, Yifu was blind and had lost his martial art skill; it was difficult to say whether Yifu would live a happy life or not. His body shook; he took two steps forward without intending to do so.

"Wuji," Xie Xun roared, "If you stop anybody from exacting their revenge, you are being greatly unfilial to me. After I die, go down into the dungeon and take a look. You will understand everything."

The man surnamed Qiu lifted his saber in front of his chest. Suddenly tears started to flow down from his eyes. He spat on Xie Xun's face and said with a choking voice, "My Xian Fu was a hero. If his spirit in Heaven saw me killing a blind man whose martial art skill has gone, he would be angry with me for being unworthy …" 'Clang!' his saber fell to the ground. Covering up his face, he rushed back into the crowd.

Next, a middle-aged woman came out and said, "Xie Xun, I am here to avenge my husband, 'Yin Yang Pan Guan' ['pan guan' is a mythological judge of the underworld], Yin Dapeng." Walking toward Xie Xun, she also spat on his face; then she walked away while crying loudly.

Seeing his Yifu was being humiliated in succession, outwardly, Zhang Wuji was standing unperturbed, but inwardly, his heart was like being sheared by a knife. The heroes and warriors of the Wulin world considered death lightly, but they would never take any insult. It was called 'a warrior can be killed, but not disgraced.' These two people's spittle on Xie Xun's face was the greatest insult, but he endured it patiently. It was clear that he acknowledged his sins in the past and that he was pained with regret, and thus he took the repentance seriously.

One by one people were coming out from the crowd; some slapped Xie Xun on the face, some kicked him, some opened their mouths in curses, but Xie Xun only sit with bowed head, enduring everything in silence. He did not withdraw, he did not even try to talk back.