Soaring Swallows Startle Dragons

Chapter 2

A Blur of Swords in a Perilous Valley

Part 5 (11)

Xialin was confused and looked at Menghuan with tears welling in her eyes. She slowly rested her head on his shoulder and said, “I know, there’s a lot of things I don’t understand, but if you can tell me I’ll diligently learn it, and when I’m older I’ll know everything and won’t have to ask you anymore.”

It was really awkward for Yang Menghuan to have a tender, immature junior sectsister like her. He was moved when he saw the touching, sad look in her eyes and he gently pulled her into his arms and consoled her in a soft voice, “What are you upset about? I wasn’t trying to make fun of you for not knowing something…”

Xialin turned her face that was resting on his shoulder, stained with tears, and asked, “Then let me ask you, why were you laughing at me?”

Yang Menghuan gently stroked her pretty hair. “I wasn’t laughing at you, I just thought what you said was funny. They all hope to find out from me the whereabouts of the treasure map, so they’re intercepting us everywhere we go.”

Xialin blinked. “Then they’re really stupid. Since you don’t have the map, it’s useless to intercept us.”

Yang Menghuan said, “They’re planning to capture me and use me as a hostage in order to force my sectfather to hand over the treasure map.”

Xialin asked, “So then, Senior Sectuncle Master One Yang has the map?”

Yang Menghuan said, “That I’m not too clear on.”

Shen Xialin laughed, satisfied, and rested her head on Menghuan’s shoulder. Outside the wind was howling and it was pouring down rain, but inside it felt like spring was in the air, Shen Xialin cuddled in Yang Menghuan’s arms, so soft, and her warm scent assailed him. Even if Yang Menghuan’s heart were as hard as iron his heart would still be fluttering. He felt peculiar all over and he looked down at Xialin. Her willowy brows were relaxed, her eyes slightly closed, smiling, like a blooming flower, yet her manner was holy and pure as could be, no peculiar feeling at all.

Yang Menghuan wanted to push her away, but then he felt a chill in his heart and thought, She’s just experiencing a bout of innocent love, resting against me is a very natural act, how can I treat a pure, innocent kid like that, harboring wicked thoughts? He promptly pulled himself together and cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts and allowed Xialin to cuddle against him.

Suddenly, amidst a peel of thunder came a long cry and Yang Menghuan pushed Xialin aside and leapt up. In that very instant, someone outside the hall laughed, “Doesn’t look like this rain will let up for one or two double-hours. Look, the roof’s still fine, let’s go in and get out of the rain.”

Yang Menghuan jerked Xialin back and they hid behind the god statues. They had just gotten themselves hidden when the hall doors opened and two people walked in one behind the other.

The first one was dressed in Daoist garb: a black robe and hair tied up in a mallet bun. He was big and tall and had a swarthy face and a long beard, round eyes and drooping brows. He was over fifty years old and he had a strange weapon hung slantwise on his back that was like a sword but not, and it had twin hooks on it. The second one was was scholar around forty. This person had a pale face and no beard, and he wore a square headcloth and a blue robe. There was a slight bulge around his midsection, like he was carrying a soft weapon.

After they went inside the hall they shook the water off their clothes and sat down. The middle-aged scholar was the first to speak. “The abbot of Mystic Metropolis isn’t easy to deal with, it’s going to take an intense, violent struggle to get that treasure map. Based on my few days of observations, many masterhands from all sides have come, the most powerful of them the Heavenly Dragon Gang, Mount Hua, and Kongtong. The others, like Wudang, Shaolin, Emei, etc., though they have disciples here, but their leaders haven’t arrived yet, so they are nothing to fear. The ones to fear are Mount Hua and the Heavenly Dragons, they’re the strongest. I heard that Mount Hua’s Eight Armed Divine Codger Wen Gongtai is personally leading his masterhands here. Though the chief of the Heavenly Dragons, Sky and Sea Elder Li Canglan, hasn’t come here, his Red, White, and Black Banner Altarmen are all in northern Hunan. I don’t know who from Kongtong has come, but the sectmaster hasn’t arrived yet. Senior Brother, you and I together are still not enough to contend with the Heavenly Dragons and Mount Hua.”

The Daoist nodded. “Third Brother, your worries are well placed, but our methods are different. Though the Heavenly Dragons and Mount Hua are large in numbers, their main people have all gone to Mystic Metropolis. Master One Yang’s swordsmanship is not at all inferior to Eight Armed Divine Codger Wen Gongtai. Though they’ve sent a lot of people, even if they team up and defeat Master One Yang, they won’t be able to capture him alive. We’ll avoid the main force and strike at the weak points. First capture his disciple, then just go right over to Mystic Metropolis and find him and hold his disciple’s life hostage, and I suspect he will be willing to surrender, and the treasure map will be in our hands.”

As soon as the Daoist finished speaking, there was the sound of someone suddenly laughing loudly outside the hall, then a outside the hall appeared a fresh-faced, white-haired old man wearing a long gray cloth robe. His white beard was like needles, and he held a bamboo staff and was smiling when he entered. He didn’t even bother to shake the water off of him when he entered, his eyes like lightning as he regarded the Daoist and the middle-aged scholar. “You two are really into aesthetics, coming to this ancient temple to talk. Is your senior sectbrother not here?”

The two men scrutinized the old man. It was none other than the Mount Hua sectmaster, Eight Armed Divine Codger Wen Gongtai. They were shocked and offered him a cupped fist salute and said in unison, “sectmaster Senior Brother is busy with some trifling matters with the school and rarely leaves the mountain. Us brothers are rustic idlers who often roam the jianghu, we didn’t expect to run into you here, Brother Wen.”

Wen Gongtai toyed with his beard and said, “Ever since your senior sectbrother took over as sectmaster of Diancang, your fame and prestige has been restored, all because of your senior sectbrother’s wise leadership, but you two assisting from the side, your contributions cannot be left unrecognized. This old rotter has always admired you three elites of Diancang and have always wanted to go to Dian to call on you, but have not had the opportunity. Meeting you two here, now, really must be a matter of fate.”

The black-robed Daoist said, “Brother Wen, as leader of the Mount Hua School your chivalrous name has spread throughout the world. This time you’ve come personally to northern Hunan, why is that?”

Wen Gongtai swept a quick glance at them and laughed coldly. “Is that a sincere question you’re asking? What about your reason for coming here? Do you really need me to say?”

The middle-aged scholar smiled thinly. “We each have a tacit understanding, no use looking too deep into it. Brother Wen, why don’t we talk about something else?”

Wen Gongtai said coldly, “From the looks of it, our Mount Hua and Diancang schools were fated to meet first.”

The middle-aged scholar arched his brow. “Brother Wen’s Finger-Snapping Golden Pellet is known as one of the superlative skills of the martial world. Perhaps us two Geese of Diancang will get the chance to admire it.”

Eight Armed Divine Codger laughed loudly, his laughter coming from his dantian, the sound like a dragon’s moan, shaking the rooftiles. When he quit laughing he said, “The Three Geese of Diancang are famed throughout the jianghu. For me to be able to meet two of them, this trip to northern Hubei was not in vain. The only blemish is that your senior sectbrother did not come with you, so I can’t meet all three Geese. On this point this old rotter is somewhat regretful.”

The black-robed Daoist laughed. “There’s no need for that. Even if all three Geese were here together, we wouldn’t necessarily have to accompany you one after the other.”

Eight Armed Divine Codger’s face turned, his eyes flashing. “In that case, this old rotter must get a taste of your two’s martial arts.”

The middle-aged scholar said, “Right now it’s too early to say, we must wait for the critical moment. When that time comes, whoever wishes to decline will be unable to do so, but since it’s not gotten to that point yet, we ought not destroy each other and allow someone else to come along and reap the reward.”

Wen Gongtai nodded. “Well said. The Heavenly Dragon Gang have sent more people here than us.” Just then, a series of whistling was heard outside. Eight Armed Divine Codger took his bamboo staff and went outside and loosed a long cry, the sound echoing far away along with the whistles, and a short while late two big men came running in from out of the downpour. They spoke a few words in low voices with Wen Gongtai, and the Eight Armed Divine Codger immediately went out into the rain.

As soon as Wen Gongtai left, the middle-aged scholar said to the black-robed Daoist, “The old man Wen Gongtai most certainly just received a report from his disciples. We ought to follow him and keep a close watch.” The black-robed Daoist nodded and stood and went with the middle-aged scholar out of the hall and into the rain in pursuit.

Yang Menghuan and Xialin, hiding behind the god statues, heard everything the three of them had said clearly. Once they left, Xialin asked, “Big Brother Huan, those three people just now were looking for us. If they had spotted us, there would have been a fight for sure.”

From the conversation the three had just had, Yang Menghuan knew that they would likely be no match for any school’s masterhands should they run into them, and hue still didn’t know how many powerful foes were lying in wait. The situation right now was really peril at every step. He thought for a moment and said, “We’ll wait here in the temple till it gets dark, then leave. We’ll travel the whole night. As long as we get out of northern Hunan we’ll be able to break out of their encirclement.”

Miss Shen never went against Yang Menghuan’s views and the two of them sat down in the main hall.

It didn’t stop raining till after the first watch. Once the clouds scattered and the sky cleared, the bright moon was out, and Menghuan took Xialin and walked out of the temple. Under the clear light of the moon the night breeze was chilly, and the two of them ran as fast as they could, heedless of the mud and water, and before long had gone a dozen or so miles, leaving Dongmao Ridge and the chain of mountains. Yang Menghuan stopped, and seeing that Xialin’s white clothes were all muddy he laughed. “Look, you’ve become a clay doll.”

Xialin said “I’m not a doll I’m a grown up.”

Yang Menghuan said, “Okay, you’re a grown up, then you…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly heard a person sneering from behind him say, “You two really do have aesthetic tastes, still in the mood to crack jokes?”

Yang Menghuan turned and saw the girl he had fought with at the pass during the daytime. However, this time she was wearing black tightfit clothes, a black headcloth binding her hair and a bright pearl sewn in the middle. Around her slender, willowy waist was tied a white embroidered sash, and on her feet she wore little deerskin swordboots. On her back was a sword, and a dart bag hung off her left hip. She was lithe and graceful, the bearing of a transcendent, and her big eyes, bright and clear as lightning, stared affectionately at Menghuan’s face.

She didn’t seem to have any evil intent to Yang Menghuan, so he asked, “Miss, why are you doggedly following our every step. There’s no quarrel between us. Are you not willing to give us even one step of leeway?”

The girl in black smiled thinly. “Us! Us is so intimate, who is she to you?”

Menghuan’s face got hot. Slightly miffed, he said, “You should speak with a little more propriety. She’s my junior sectsister. If you’re gonna force me into a dead end, then you should know that Yang Menghuan is not a coward.”

The girl in black giggled sweetly. “What are you being so mean about! I’ve already seen the Split Second Swordplay. If we really fought it out I wouldn’t necessarily lose to you. You junior sectsister is very pretty, I like her.”

Yang Menghuan didn’t know what to do with such irrelevant talk. He glowered at her, then turned and said to Xialin, “Let’s go!”

As soon as the word go was out of his mouth, the girl in black’s lovely body suddenly soared into the air using her Eight Steps Chasing the Cicada lightness skill and landed in front of them. “There are two masterhands blocking the way everywhere within a hundred miles. If you want to break through it will be easier said than done.”

Yang Menghuan said angrily, “Don’t worry about that. If you don’t get out of the way, don’t blame me for busting through.”

The girl in black’s complexion changed. “You really think I’m afraid of you? Go ask around who Shadowless Girl Li Yaohong has ever been afraid of. I had good intentions in trying to pass along some news, yet you’re being more and more unmannerly.”

Then her expression eased up again, and her bright piercing eyes contained immeasurable tenderness.

Yang Menghuan was taken aback for a moment. “In that case, it was I who wrongly blamed you, Miss. Since Miss calls her self Li, could you be the noble daughter of Chief Li of the Heavenly Dragon Gang?”

Li Yaohong was amazed. “I didn’t tell you that, how did you know?”

Yang Menghuan thought, I only heard Divine Yangtze Flood Dragon mention it inadvertently. I didn’t expect my guess would be right. That’s what he was thinking, but he said, “Miss Li’s great name is known far and near, Yang Menghuan has long heard of you. Thanks for the warning, I will make it up to you at a later day. See you later!”

With that, he pulled Xialin along and ran off.

Li Yaohong was buttoned up by what Menghuan said, and for a moment was not able to stop them. She watched them speed away hand in hand and disappear in the moonlight. This female demon king who always ran roughshod over the jianghu and feared nothing and no one was at this moment suffused with a feeling she could not name. She looked up at the bright moon, its clear light pure and pellucid, and couldn’t help heave a faint sigh.