Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

Zhang Wuji was staring blankly for a moment, loss in countless thoughts going through his mind. Slowly he reached out to pull Zhao Min up. When their palms met, he felt Zhao Min's palm was rather stiff. Immediately he realized that when she left without telling anybody during the day, and then he looked for her everywhere without finding her, she was actually captured by Zhou Zhiruo. Her acupoint was sealed and she was hidden in here. Zhou Zhiruo then intentionally led him and said all those words in this place so that Zhao Min could hear him. If he could not bear to see Zhou Zhiruo sad and spoke thoughtless flattery to her, if his words were full of feeling to her, even acting passionately toward her, then he would fall into her scheme. If that happened, Zhao Min would have left without any question. As he thought about this, he could not help but groan secretly, "Shame on me!" while his back was wet with cold sweats.

Checking Zhao Min's pulse, he found out that her 'chi' and blood were flowing normally, so she did not sustain any injury. Under the moonlight he saw her forehead and the corner of her eyes bore a happy expression; she looked so cute and flirtatious. He believed she heard everything he had just talked with Zhou Zhiruo. Although her body could not move and her mouth could not say anything, her ears could hear very well how he revealed the contents of his heart, that unexpectedly he loved her with engraved-in-his-heart-carved-in-his-bones kind of love. Zhao Min could hear the earnestness in his voice and she was ecstatic beyond her own control.

Zhou Zhiruo bent her waist and whispered something in Zhang Wuji's ear. Zhang Wuji also replied in low voice. Suddenly Zhou Zhiruo shouted angrily, "Zhang Wuji, you really have no regard of me! Look carefully, after Miss Zhao is poisoned, do you think she can live?"

Zhang Wuji was shocked. "She … she is poisoned?" he asked, "Did you poison her?" Stooping down to examine Zhao Min, he had just opened Zhao Min's left eye when he felt his back go numb as the acupoint on his back was sealed.

"Aiyo!" Zhang Wuji cried out. His body swayed.

Zhou Zhiruo's movements were as swift as the wind. With her delicate fingers full of strength, she quickly sealed five major acupoints on his left shoulder, the side of his lower back, and the center of his back. Zhang Wuji fell backwards. He saw a dark green flash as Zhou Zhiruo drew out her sword and pointed it toward his chest.

"You cannot run, you cannot hide," she shouted sternly, "I am going to take your life today. Yin Li's ghost is entangling me anyway. I will eventually get killed. I'd rather die together with you." While saying that, she raised her sword high, ready to stab it down into Zhang Wuji's chest.

Suddenly a female voice shouted from behind her, "Hold on! Zhou Zhiruo, Yin Li has not died yet!"

Turning her head around, Zhou Zhiruo saw a woman dressed in black dash from among the thick underbrush, with fingers extended to pierce her. Zhou Zhiruo leaned sideways to evade. The woman turned around. The moon shone its light on the side of her pretty face, albeit full of faint scars.

Zhang Wuji saw her clearly; she was none other than his cousin Yin Li, only the bumps on her face had faded. Although her face was crisscrossed with scars, the scars could not cover her beauty. She vaguely looked like the delicate and pretty young girl standing by Jin Hua Popo he met in the Butterfly Valley many years ago.

Zhou Zhiruo withdrew two steps backward, her left palm in front of her chest, the sword in her right hand was still pointing toward Zhang Wuji's chest. "You move one step forward, my sword will kill him first," she barked.

Yin Li did not dare to move, she anxiously said, "You … have you not done enough wickedness already?"

"Are you a ghost or a human?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

"Naturally I am a human," Yin Li replied.

"Zhu'er!" suddenly Zhang Wuji cried out, sprang up and embraced Yin Li. "Zhu'er …" he called out again, "You … I miss you so much that it hurts!"

Yin Li shrieked as she was taken by surprise; she was unable to move because Zhang Wuji's arms were wound around her.

Zhou Zhiruo giggled and said, "If we did not do this, you won't want to come out." Turning around, she unsealed Zhao Min's acupoints and massaged her veins and muscles.

Zhao Min had been under Zhou Zhiruo's control for most of the day and was left alone after being thrown in here; she was seething with anger. Luckily, afterward she heard Zhang Wuji pouring out his heart, which turned her anger into joy. However, Yin Li's sudden appearance had increased the countless loads she already bore in her mind. The old hatred had just gone away, new anxiety arose.

Yin Li angrily said, "What are you flattering and sweet talking to me for? Both Miss Zhao and Miss Zhou are here, watch your manners."

"Humph," Zhao Min sneered, "So he only needs to watch his manners when Miss Zhou and I are here?"

Zhang Wuji said, "I was overjoyed beyond words when I saw you arise from the dead. Biaomei, you … how are you?"

Yin Li pulled his hand and held his face toward the moon. After staring at him for half a day, suddenly she reached out to grab his left ear and twisted it with all her might.

"Aiyo!" Zhang Wuji cried out in pain, "Why did you do that?"

"You are one ugly freak deserving to be cut in thousand pieces!" Yin Li said, "You … you buried me alive under the ground, you made me suffer countless pain." While saying that, she punched his chest three times, 'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

Zhang Wuji did not dare to protect himself with the Jiu Yang Shen Gong. He endured her three punches with a smile, saying, "Zhu'er, I really thought you were … you were dead. I cried myself to exhaustion several times. You are not dead. That is wonderful. Laotianye [Heaven, God] truly has eyes."

"Laotianye has eyes alright, but you, this ugly freak, do not have eyes," Yin Li angrily retorted, "You did not even know whether someone died or was still alive. I just can't believe it. You hated my swollen ugly face; you simply buried me without waiting for my breathing to stop. You don't have any conscience. You are a heartless and short-lived little rascal!"

As she constantly spitting up curses, her expression, voice and attitude were just like the Yin Li he knew. Zhang Wuji chuckled. Scratching his head, he said, "Your scolding is right on target. You are totally right. I was such a muddle-head; I saw your face was full of blood and you were not breathing, you heart was not beating. I thought you were beyond help …"

Yin Li leaped forward to twist his right ear. Zhang Wuji chuckled and moved aside to evade. He bowed and cupped his fists. "Good Zhu'er, please forgive me!"

"I won't forgive you!" Yin Li said, "That day I woke up somehow, and felt cold all around me. Turned out I was surrounded by stones. If you wanted to bury me alive, why did you put twigs and stones on me? Why didn't you pile up dirt on me so that I could not breathe and died for real?"

"Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth that I only piled up twigs and stones on your body," Zhang Wuji said. He could not restrain from casting a sidelong glance toward Zhou Zhiruo.

Yin Li was angry. "This woman is completely wicked; I forbid you to look at her," she said.