Novel The Demon And The Sword

The Demon And The Sword​

Synopsis: After a crushing defeat, the Demon Sects have scattered and the Orthodox Sects dominate the Martial Arts World. Peace is shattered, however, when the Demon King Ma Biao unites the Demon Sects and seems poised to challenge the Orthodox Sects. Qiang Feng, a young student at Qingxao Sect, may be the only hope of the Orthodox Sects.

Genre: Adventure, Xianxia, Martial Arts

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9

 

Chapter 1​

Ever since the creation of the world, the Orthodox Sects and the Demon Sects have been battling for dominance. Fifty years ago, in an epic battle, the Orthodox Sects wiped out the Demon Sects and killed their leader, Yu Ji. Since then, the Orthodox Sects have dominated the Martial Arts World. Recently however, the Demon Sects have begun regrouping. The Demon King Ma Biao has been gathering forces and seems poised to challenge the Orthodox Sects. He is aided by three young disciples; the most gifted among them is Yang Jiang, ‘Demon of Death’.

Autumn. The air was cool and crisp, like a refreshing drink of cool water. The breeze fluttered around, gently caressing everything it touched. The falling red leaves fluttered down, sparsed in the cool mid-autumn air. It was past midnight. The mist made the night even scarier in Lu Graveyard. Strange sounds could be heard. It was as if the dead would rise up from their graves at any moment.

Suddenly, the sound of steps could be heard. The steps caused dust to blow and merge with the mist. A man was walking in the graveyard. The man was in his late fifties. His large head contrasted with his slim body. His mustache was quite long. He was wearing a white robe, but it had become grey due to the dust.

"Yang Jiang, you evil Demon, come out!", he said with crystal clear voice.

A man appeared from behind the trees, where he had been hiding. He was tall and refined. He had long black hair, was wearing a purple silk robe and held a long sword on his right hand. A black mask covered his entire face. No one, aside from the Demon King himself, had ever seen his real face.

Yang Jiang walked forward fully confident and with a smile on his face, although the mask concealed it. He had an air of winner in him. He also did not seem surprised that this man had come to the graveyard looking for him. It was as if he had predicted that this man would come here.

“Taoist Yao I suppose?”, Jiang asked.

“I know that you are going to meet with Wu here tonight! Too bad I discovered your plan… Now I am going to kill both you and that traitor.”

Jiang laughed. “I have already met with Wu and he has already told me where the ‘Five Elements Scroll’ is. He also told me that you suspected him. So you are not the one spoiling my plans; it’s the opposite.”

Yao clenched his fists in anger and said, “I will not let you get that scroll!”

“You are delusional. Do you really think that with your meagre skills you can be my match? I am not known as the ‘Demon of Death’ for nothing…”

Yao unsheathed his sword. The blade of the sword was emitting a blue light and Yao's face reflected upon it. The blade was so clear that it was like a mirror. On the other hand, Jiang's sword was old, rusty and covered with dust. That sword was also scarred, a sign that it had fought many battles. One would expect a more refined sword considering the fame of Jiang. This sword looked like a cheap sabre which anyone with a modest income could buy.

Yet, in the eyes of a great swordsman, the difference between Yao and Jiang and their respective swords was already clear. Yao was a man holding a sword. Jiang had become one with his sword.

In a split of a second, the two swords had collided. A loud clang sound was heard and it seemed like the earth shook. Jiang lunged forward and pushed back Yao with vicious and quick attacks. Yao, forced on the defensive, channeled his internal energy into his sword; he then counterattacked. His attacks were ferocious but Jiang parried them with ease.

“I am disappointed”, Jiang said. “I expected you to be more powerful.”

Yao pointed his sword at Jiang and thrust it towards him. As the sword sped forward, a loud sound was heard, revealing the strength behind the thrust. Jiang did not even move his feet. His sword flickered and stabbed Yao's shoulder. Yao, screaming in pain, let his sword fall on the ground. With a swift move, Jiang slashed his sword across Yao’s chest. He collapsed on the ground; dead.

Jiang grinned. “You died in a graveyard; how fitting.”

With Taoist Yao dead, Jiang could now head to Changsan Monastery. Individuals cultivating Qi could have magical powers and fly freely through the air. So Jiang, using his internal energy, flew on his sword and headed to the Monastery. It was located on the foot of Changsan Mountain.

Jiang landed near the Monastery and approached it on foot. The vegetation around the Monastery was lush; there were hundreds of wild flowers which were glowing with bright colored butterflies. The sweet smell of the flowers cut through the soft scent of the grass. When Jiang finally reached the Monastery, he somersaulted and swiftly landed inside, bypassing its tall walls.

‘Good’, Jiang thought, ‘now I only have to reach Reverend Song’s room’.

As it was still night, Jiang could use the darkness to his advantage, sneaking in the hallways of the Monastery and with speed heading to the Reverend’s room. Moving quickly and evading night patrols, he finally reached Reverend Song’s room. He barged inside the modestly sized wooden room to find the Reverend meditating. He was an old man with white hair and beard, large eyes and a sturdy and strong stature. Reverend Song was the Sect Leader of Changsan Sect, one of three Orthodox Sects, and thus had the reputation of being one of the greatest masters in the entire Martial Arts World.

“I knew you would come sooner or later”, Song said. “You Demons have been mobilizing for some time and have been gathering forces for an all-out attack, so I guessed that you would attempt to steal the ‘Five Elements Scroll’ sooner or later.”

Jiang smirked. “I do hope you will offer me a greater challenge than that stinky priest Yao. He was defeated far too easily.”

Ignoring Jiang’s attempts to provoke him, Song calmly replied; “Even if you get the scroll, it will be of no use to you. Only those with the purest heart may learn this scroll. The rest will be harmed fatally.”

“Do you really expect me to believe this crap?”, Jiang asked.

Jiang suddenly flung poisonous darts at Song, who dodged all but one of them with ease; the last dart, however, managed to hit Song’s shoulder. The Reverend felt weak and dizzy.

“I knew you are a Demon”, he said, “but I never expected you would use such dirty tricks.”

The Reverend them mustered all his internal energy and directed it at Jiang, who also directed his internal energy at the Reverend. The two beams met, causing the ground to shake, and both men were pushed back. Song had cultivated his Qi for hundreds of years and would have been able to match Jiang but due to the poison he was severely weakened.

Jiang charged and struck out at Song with his left hand with such power that his palm made a whistling sound. Song countered the blow with his right hand and at the same time struck with his left palm at Jiang, who used his other hand to parry Song's attack, and their four hands met. Both of them were pushed back as they were equally strong. Jiang then struck at Song with both fists, one of which was easily blocked by Song but the other slammed into his shoulder. Exploiting his advantageous position, Jiang quickly kicked Song’s chest with a powerful back kick. Before Song could fight back, his face became pale. He vomited blood and fell on his knees. Both his stomach and head ached terribly. Clearly, the poison had taken full effect. Laughing, Jiang grabbed Song by the hair and punched his fist on his face, killing him.

With the Reverend dead, Jiang went to his bed. Under his pillow was a book with blue cover and with the words ‘Five Elements Scroll’ inscribed on it. “At last”, he said, “I found it. With this scroll, we will crush the Orthodox Sects. I can even kill my teacher and become the new Demon King. The whole world will bow before me!”

Jiang sneaked out of the room and quietly and carefully made his way out of the Monastery. As soon as he had left behind the Monastery, Jiang opened the book. He could wait no longer to read it. As he began reading the first few lines, he exclaimed; “This is magnificent!”. Thus he began following the instructions of the scroll and directing his internal energy as it prescribed.

Suddenly, Jiang felt as his whole body was burning. He trembled and every part of his body ached. His face became ashen white and he vomited blood. He screamed in pain and cried out but no one was hearing. “This script sucks the internal energy out of me!”, he screamed as his years of cultivation of Qi and mastery of martial arts went to waste. The pain was so severe that he lost his consciousness and collapsed on the grassy ground.

Darkness. Numbness. Jiang couldn’t see or feel anything until streaks of sunlight penetrated the room’s windows and woke him up. He found himself lying on a bed. His whole body was bruised and aching. ‘What am I doing here?’, he wondered. With great effort, he managed to get up. It was then when his savior walked into the room. It was a grizzled old man with a red nose, dressed in simple peasant clothes and smoking a pipe.

“Why are you up?”, the old man said. “You should be resting.”

“Where am I?”, Jiang asked. “What am I doing here?”

“I am Guo Tang. I found you unconscious on the mountain when I was strolling there and so brought you to my home to recuperate.”

“Thanks…”, Jiang reluctantly said, still not sure if he could trust the old man. “I have another question. Do you know who I am?”

“You don’t remember?”

Jiang scratched his head and thought for a moment but he could not remember anything at all; not even his name. “I have no idea who I am, what may name is, where I come from, where is my home.”

“You look like a young literati to me.”, Tang replied.

Without his mask, Jiang’s real face could be seen; he had a handsome face with brown eyes. He looked youthful, no older than twenty. His good looks and his refined clothing indeed made him look like a literati.

“I am pretty sure that I am not a literati.”, Jiang replied. “Although I cannot remember my past, I do feel that I may have been a swordsman; otherwise, how would I be in this state, all bruised?”

“Well, since you do not remember your name, how are you going to call yourself?”

Jiang thought for a moment. “I guess, I…will call myself Qiang Feng.”

This was the first name that came to his mind, so he thought that it may actually be his name.

“What are you going to do next?”, Tang asked.

Feng sighed. “I do not know. I have no idea at all.”

Tang smiled. “I have an idea. I am on friendly terms with Qingxao Sect. They may agree to take you in.”

Qingxao was the largest of the Orthodox Sects; with its leader seen as head of the Orthodox Sects, it enjoyed the greatest prestige in the Martial Arts World. Its martial arts and swordsmanship were considered to be without equal. Its students were renowned for upholding justice and fighting against evil.

“I am grateful for your help!”, Feng said and bowed before the old man. “I only hope that one day I will be able to repay you the debt I owe you.”

Tang helped him get up and said, “Do not speak nonsense; you do not owe me anything. I am glad that I can be of help.”

 

​

 

Chapter 2​

Qingxao Sect was located on the foot of Qingxao Mountain. When Feng arrived there with Tang, he was left awestruck by the beauty of the landscape. The landscape was every vivid color. The brilliant greens banished every dark thought. The flowers lay scattered on the grass like frozen flames. Their petals were delicate works of art. The air was perfumed by their heavy scent; it was exquisite, fragrant.

Tang smiled when he saw Feng’s reaction. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is…”

“Well, if the Immortal Masters of Qingxao agree to take you in, you will be able to see this view every day.”

As soon as Feng and Tang reached the Qingxao Sect, they were led to the Main Hall where the Immortal Masters of the Sect were waiting for them. The hall was spacious and the ceiling seemed to be twenty feet high. The five Immortal Masters were sitting on golden seats and wearing long blue silk robes. On the left were Master Xuan, a short man with long grey beard and bald head, and Master Rong, the best swordswoman of Qingxao Sect. On the right were Master Jing, a tall and sturdy man, and Master Peng, who had the looks of a refined scholar and looked far younger than he really was. On the center was Sect Leader Sheng, a tall man with long white hair and an aura of authority in him.

Tang bowed before the Masters and Feng quickly did the same.

“Mr. Tang, you may rise.”, Master Sheng said. “You are a friend of our Sect, so there is no need for such formalities.”

Tang got up and replied, “Immortal Masters, I want to ask you a favor. I found this young man on the foot of Changsan Mountain. He had been injured and has lost his memories. He has no place to stay but he looks like a hardworking and decent man. So I would like to ask you on his behalf to allow him to join your Sect.”

Hearing this request, the Masters whispered among themselves for a few moments. Feng was nervous and his heart beat fast. He was doubtful that the Sect would accept him, especially since they knew nothing about his background.

“Why was he injured so badly?”, Master Rong asked Tang.

The old man thought for a moment before replying. “I…really do not know. It seems that he was injured by a martial arts technique of awesome power.”

“He may have been injured by Yang Jiang.”, Master Xuan said. “That Demon was on that mountain at that time. During his escape, he might have encountered this young man and attacked him.”

“Possibly.”, Master Sheng said. He then turned to Feng and asked, “What is your name?”

“My name is Qiang Feng.”

“So, Qiang Feng, you seem to me like a decent person. You are accepted to our Sect. You will be placed under Master Xuan.”

Hearing this, Feng smiled and frantically kowtowed. “Thank you Masters! I shall not let you down!”

Feng followed Master Xuan to the Hall of his Sector. Master Xuan was the head of the ‘Fast Sword’ Sector, one the five Sectors of the Qingxao Sect. That Sector focused on agility and speed to overwhelm the enemy. Master Xuan himself had a reputation of a strict but caring teacher.

That hall was far less spacious than the Main Hall of the Sect and was much more modest. Xuan sat on a wooden seat and Feng kowtowed thrice before him. “Master, I shall do my best to work hard and not disappoint you.”

“Do you know what we in the ‘Fast Sword’ Sector value the most?”, Master Xuan said. “Honesty and hard work. If you want to be a student here, you will have to be honest and hardworking. Otherwise, I will kick you out of the Sector!”

“I understand.”

“Good. Now, tell me, why do you want to learn martial arts?”

Feng had never really thought much about this before and so he was taken aback by the question. He was mostly dazzled by the reputation of Qingxao Sect and how awesome their martial arts were. “To be honest, I want to learn martial arts because I have heard how awesome the martial arts of Qingxao Sect are.”

Xuan sighed. “Learning martial arts is not for showing off! It is for standing up for the weak and battling injustice. You have must have the whole world in your heart, not just yourself. Do you understand this? Because I do not want to have a student who thinks only about himself and does not have the world in his heart.”

Before, Feng had never thought about the world; about standing up to injustice and protecting the weak. ‘Maybe this is my purpose in life?’, he thought. As he had lost all his past memories, he felt that he missed a purpose in his life; he did not have goals to achieve. Now, at last, he had. “I understand Master. I will have the whole world in my heart and will always think of the greater good.”

“Good. Now, go get some rest. Tomorrow morning you will begin training.”

Feng left behind the hall and began strolling in the Sector’s garden. The garden was relaxing and calming. Bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. In the center there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle. Feng marveled at the beauty of the garden and was able to empty his mind of all thoughts and just relax. Too many things had happened recently; he lost his memories, he was accepted into the Qingxao Sect. So he needed a moment of relaxation and calmness.

As Feng was strolling in the garden, a young man approached him. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes and a sturdy and strong stature. He greeted Feng and said, “My name is Zhang Xiao. I am a fellow disciple of Master Xuan.”

Feng smiled. So far, aside from Master Xuan, no one else had approached him, so he was delighted that at last someone was willing to be friendly. “My name is Qiang Feng. I am glad to meet you.”

“I heard what Master Xuan said to you; he may look strict and harsh but he cares deeply about all his students. Anyway, since you are new here, let me show you around.”

Feng followed Xiao around as he showed him around the buildings.

“So”, Feng said, “how many years have you been here?”

“About ten years. My father was a friend of Master Xuan, so he asked him to teach me. My father was a great martial artist, but he thought he could not instill me enough discipline; that’s why he asked Master Xuan to teach me.”

When he was talking about his father, Xiao was smiling. But his smile was sour and Feng could notice that something was troubling him.

“Don’t want to be nosy in your personal affairs, but you do look kind of sad when you talk about your father.”

Xiao grinned. “Sorry, I didn’t want to sour your day. It’s been two years since my father was killed but I still cannot help but feel sad when I talk about him.”

“I am sorry to hear that. If you don’t mind me asking this, how was he killed?”

Xiao clenched his fists. “That evil Demon Yang Jiang killed him. Master Xuan says that I should not think of revenge but if one day that bastard falls in my hands, I will make him pay for what he did to me…”

“If that day comes, I will help you kill him. You are the only student here who seems to be friendly to me, so even though I know you for less than an hour, I guess that I can consider you a friend.”

“Well said!”, Xiao said and laughed. “We can be considered friends.”

Next morning, Feng began practicing the Sector’s swordsmanship in the garden. Master Xuan was instructing him. “Our Sector’s sword technique relies on speed and agility. What you need to do is to be fast and strike precisely. Be quicker than the enemy and overwhelm him with constant attacks. He will not have time to think how to defend himself or where the next strike will be and thus you will be able to defeat him.”

Feng followed his Master’s instructions. He performed intricate and fast sword forms. The whooshing sound of the sword revealed the great strength put into each form. One attack came after another in quick succession. Feng was fast, precise and overwhelming. The next few days, Feng improved his swordsmanship even more; he became faster, more agile, his movements were more intricate and his attacks seemed more unexpected. Master Xuan was surprised to see how easily Feng seemed to have mastered the sword forms.

“You have managed to master in three weeks what many cannot master in years.”, he said to his student. “I have never in my life seen a student progress as fast as you have. I am pretty sure that before you lost your memories, you were an experienced swordsman. That’s the only logical explanation.”

Feng thought about it for a moment. “I do believe so. I do not remember anything about my past life, but I do feel I may have been a swordsman.”

“Now that you have mastered our sword style, you must cultivate your Qi and learn to use your internal energy.”

Xuan explained him the breathing technique and how one’s internal energy can be used. Feng listened with the utmost attention and breathed as Xuan instructed him to. But he could feel that something wasn’t right.

“I want you to try and fly with your sword!”, Xuan said.

Feng tried to use his internal energy to lift the sword but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. “Why I cannot use internal energy?”, Feng wondered.

“Maybe you need more practice.”, Xuan replied. “You may have been able to learn fast the sword forms, but you may want to take this more slowly.”

Feng practiced the whole day but to no avail. The sun fell behind the horizon. The twilight faded to blackness. It was late in the night yet Feng was still practicing under the starless, moonless sky. He was still trying to understand what was wrong with his internal energy. He was sweat and exhausted. But most of all, he was frustrated. He felt as he might explode. He sighed and took a deep breath. “Why I can’t use my internal energy at all?”

“You should get some rest.”, someone said. Feng turned around and saw that it was Xiao.

“Having trouble sleeping?”, Feng asked.

“Yes. So I went to take a walk and found you here still training. You should rest a bit. You have been training too much.”

“I guess so.”, Feng admitted. “But I do not understand why I cannot use my internal energy.”

“I don’t get it either. You were able to learn the sword forms of our Sector pretty fast, so you are neither dumb nor talentless. But for some reason you cannot use your internal energy despite the fact that less talented students than you have been able to learn the basics of it in only a few hours.”

Suddenly, someone screamed. The scream wasn’t loud enough to wake up those who were sleeping, but Feng and Xiao were able to hear it.

“What was that?”, Feng asked.

“Don’t know. It seemed to come from there.”, Xiao replied and pointed at one of the buildings. “We should go check it.”

Before they could do so, suddenly a shadowy figure appeared in the garden and flung darts at the two students. Xiao dodged the darts while Feng used his sword to parry them. “Who are you?!”, Feng shouted.

 

Chapter 3​

With his dart attacks having failed, the shadowy figure revealed himself. He was clad in dark robe, which had become singed, while a hood and a black mask covered his face. His figure was tall and he walked forth with confidence. There was a smile on his face, which the mask hid. "You asked me who I am."

He unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the two students. "I am Duan Xiren, the 'Sword Demon'."

"Sword Demon?", Feng asked. "I've heard that name before."

"He is one of the three Demon Disciples of the Demon King.", Xiao said. "I will face him."

Xiao channeled his internal energy into his palms and lashed out with the force of an avalanche. Xiren stood still almost to the last moment; he then moved to the left, dodging Xiao's palms. So, Xiao splintered the trunks of two peach trees that were in front of him instead. The sky was briefly obscured by a shower of peach blossoms fluttering to the ground.

Xiren clapped and laughed. "You are pretty fast, aren't you? Instead of punching me, you punched the trees."

"Why don't you try me?", Feng said and smiled confidently.

"I do hope you will provide me more of a challenge than your friend."

Xiren slashed three times; Feng blocked each slash. Xiren shouted and slashed his sword from his upper left straight downward. The slash was powerful and fast but Feng was too agile to be caught. A simple jump got him out of the way.

"Not bad.", Xiren said. "Not bad at all."

He then channeled his internal energy into his sword and rushed forward with overwhelming strength. Feng was able to block him twice, but he then got slashed across his chest. Although he retained his composure and tried to show no pain, the slash was pretty painful to him and he was bleeding.

Xiren sheathed his sword and said, "I do not even have to use my sword to beat you."

Xiren mustered his internal energy and directed it at Feng; a beam of energy was fired at him, but Feng managed to dodge it. He then rushed forward and thrust his sword. Xiren evaded the attack and punched his palm on Feng's chest. Feng vomited blood and was forced to retreat.

There was a look of surprise on Xiren's face and he gaped with astonishment. "You are still alive?"

Feng coughed and spitted some more blood before replying. "Yes. What is so weird about it?"

“Impossible...”, he murmured. “No one can survive my ‘Poison Palm’. Who are you?”

Feng grinned. “Qiang Feng is my name. It seems that your palm is not as strong as you thought.”

Fuming with anger, Xiren unsheathed his sword and charged at Feng with overwhelming force. Suddenly, a figure clad in white jumped in front of Feng and parried Xiren’s attack with his sword; it was none other than Master Xuan. As soon as his attack was parried, Xiren found himself under attack by both Xiao and Feng. He was barely able to avoid their blades and retreated by a few steps.

“You may have ruined my plan for now”, Xiren said, “but I will come back; I promise you that!”

He then used his internal energy to lift his sword and flew away on it. Xiao was going to pursue him but Master Xuan stopped him from doing so.

“You are not his match.”, Xuan said. “We may have been able to make him retreat, but he won’t be easily killed.”

While Xuan was talking, Feng was feeling strange. It was as if his entire body was burning and he felt overly energetic. “For some reason, I feel better now than before.”

Feng breathed as Xuan had instructed him and then directed his internal energy towards lifting his sword. To his surprise, the sword was actually lifted. He laughed heartily. “I can actually use my internal energy!”

Master Xuan too was surprised. It took a second or two for the fact that Feng managed to use his internal energy to sink in, even though it happened right before his eyes. “How did you manage to use your internal energy?”

“I do not know. I was able to use it right after after being punched by Xiren’s ‘Poison Palm’.”

“That probably means that you could not use your internal energy because you had been poisoned. When this poison and the poison of Xiren’s palm met, they counteracted each other and thus you both survived the palm attack and can now use your internal energy. That seems to be the only logical explanation.”

“Congrats!”, Xiao smilingly said. He then turned to Master Xuan and asked, “Why did this Demon come here?”

“He wanted to steal the ‘Magic Sword Sutra’. It is the treasure of our Sect and whoever learns it can become the No.1 swordsman in the world.”

“How come I’ve never heard about this book before?”, Xiao asked.

“No one has learned the Sutra for five hundred years and it is kept a secret. It is considered to be just an old legend by many, but I am sure that Xiren came here for it. The Demon King knows that by his own strength, he will not be able to defeat the Orthodox Sects and so he has dispatched his disciples to get the ‘Three Heavenly Texts’ of the Orthodox Sects. At least, that’s my understanding of the situation after the attack on Changsan Sect and the attack here.”

“Three heavenly texts...”, Feng said. “What are those texts?”

“The first is the ‘Five Elements Scroll’ of Changsan Sect. It was stolen by Yang Jiang. The second is the ‘Magic Sword Sutra’ of our Qingxao Sect. The third is the ‘Book of Supreme Power’ of Hongchang Sect. Those three books of the three Orthodox Sects are known as the ‘Three Heavenly Texts’. Thankfully, this time the Demons failed. Each one of those texts can give someone god-like powers. If one learns all three texts, he will become God on earth. Not even a million men would be able to stop someone with such powers.”

“If they already attacked Changsan and Qingxao Sects”, Feng said, “then their next target must be Hongchang Sect. We’ve got to warn them.”

“Indeed. But you must follow me to the Main Hall. We must inform the other Masters about what happened before taking action.”

Master Xuan went to notify the other Masters while Feng and Xiao waited outside the Main Hall. Once all the Masters had come to the Hall, Feng and Xiao were allowed to come in. They bowed before the Masters, who were sitting on their golden seats and arguing about the situation. Master Sheng with a wave of his hand signaled them to get up. He then said, “I am impressed. You two managed to last long enough against Xiren for Master Xuan to come and save you. Xiren is not known as ‘Sword Demon’ for nothing. He is an excellent swordsman and his ‘Poison Palm’ too is deadly.”

“We do not deserve such praise.”, Feng said.

“Indeed.”, Xiao added. “If it wasn’t for Master Xuan, we would have been killed.”

“No need to be so modest.”, Master Sheng said. “I have a mission for you; you should head to Hongchang Sect and inform them about the Demons’ plot.”

“Shouldn’t we send some more experienced students?”, Master Peng asked. “Feng has been in our Sect for only three weeks and despite his rapid progress, he does not have much experience yet. Xiao has been in the Sect for ten years and is capable but he too lacks experience and his skills are not top notch.”

“That is true.”, Master Xuan replied. “But I believe that we should not send away our most capable students right now. Xiren has threatened to come back, so we must be vigilant. We need our most experienced students to face him in case he attempts again to steal the ‘Magic Sword Sutra’. It must not fall in Demon hands. The Demons already have possession of the ‘Five Elements Scroll’. If they get the Sutra too, it will be catastrophic.”

“I agree with Master Xuan.”, Master Rong said. “Also, this mission will allow Feng and Xiao to gain experience about the world outside the Sect. I have confidence in their skills. They did manage to hold on their own against Xiren for a while.”

“That was the reasoning behind my decision.”, Master Sheng said. “You two should leave as soon as possible.”

“We will not fail you, Masters.”, Feng said.

Less than an hour later, Feng and Xiao had left behind Qingxao Sect and began descending the Qingxao mountain. The yellow shining sun started rising from the ground. It filled the sky with mighty colors of red and splashed the clouds with endless orange hued rays. Birds began chirping, singing a beautiful melody. The fragrance of mountain flowers filled the air.

“Why don’t we use our internal energy to fly to Hongchang Sect?”, Feng asked.

“It is too long away.”, Xiao replied.”I doubt either of us has enough internal energy to make such a long journey.”

“So, we will make the whole journey on foot?”

“No. There is a town nearby. We will buy two horses from there.”

Feng let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Good. We need to make it to Hongchang Sect as soon as possible. The Demons may attack at any moment.”

“Indeed. By the way, there is a question I wanted to ask you since yesterday but did not find the chance to do so. You have been in our Sect for three weeks and yet you do not seem to be curious or anxious about your lost memories.”

Feng sighed. “I do not know why, but for some reason whenever I ask myself questions about my lost memories and my past, I feel as if I am better off not knowing the answer. Maybe my past life was awful and this is a way of my subconscious telling me to leave it behind.”

Feng and Xiao walked for about three hours before reaching the nearest town; Yi Town. Although called a town, it looked more like a large village. Most of the buildings were modest and made of wood. The two Qingxao students walked inside an inn, which was crude and simple to the extreme, with earthen walls and mud floors. They sat on a table and ordered some tea. Once the tea was brought, Xiao proceeded to leisurely sip it.

“There is nothing better than good tea.”, he said.

Feng, however, did not drink the tea. Instead he noticed that there was something weird about the waiter that brought them the tea. “The way he moves shows that he knows at least some martial arts. He also seems to be too muscled to be a simple waiter. I may be oversuspicious, but I do have a bad feeling about this.”

“Relax, just because he knows martial arts it does not mean that he is an enemy.”

Before Feng could reply, he noticed that the other costumers were collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

“What happe-”

Xiao suddenly felt sleepy and collapsed on the ground.

“Wake up!”, Feng shouted but Xiao did not reply. He then saw that the waiter was awake and smiling.

“Did you poison them?”

The waiter laughed. “Indeed. Do not worry, they are not dead. They will wake up in an hour or so. And they will blame the real waiter for the robbery.”

“Real waiter?”

“Yes, this is not my real face. I am the ‘Thousand Faces Robber’. I drugged the real waiter this morning and took his identity.”

Feng was curious as to why the robber even bothered telling him his identity and his plan. If he was in his place, he would have already attacked.

“And you are telling me all this because….”

“You will die. It is a shame not to tell to anyone my ingenious plan and since you will die, I saw no harm telling you about it.”

The robber unsheathed his sword. He then charged forward, sword raised, and chopped at Feng's thigh, but Feng jumped and dodged the blow. The robber attacked again and Feng leaped backwards. He grabbed his sword, which he had left on the table, somersaulted and thrust his weapon at the robber. The thrust was too fast to be avoided and the robber’s shoulder was stabbed. He screamed in pain and let his sword fall from his hands.

Feng pointed his sword at the robber’s neck and said, “Give me the antidote to wake them up or I shall kill you.”

“There is no antidote. They will wake up in about one hour.”

“Alright. Then I will take you to the local Magistrate.”

The robber’s face became ashen white and there was cold sweat on his forehead. “I am sure we can talk about this, don’t do anything rush.”

“I do not believe we have anything to talk about.”

Suddenly, a figure clad in green silk robe charged forward, sword in hand, and attacked Feng. Feng managed to parry the attack but the robber took the chance to escape the inn.

 

Chapter 4​

The man dressed in green silk robe was a good-looking tall man with long black hair and refined looks. Even his sword was of top quality. Feng was sure that the man had nothing to do with the robber and that there was some misunderstanding going on. Thus, he sheathed his sword in order to not harm the man. The man, however, charged at Feng with his sword. Feng made no move until the sword was only one inch from his nose, then stretched out his hand and grabbed it by the hilt. The man let out a ragged breath.

“Why did you attack me?”, Feng asked.

“Spare me the nonsense!”, the man barked. “You drugged the costumers here in order to rob them and threatened to kill the waiter. This shows how wicked and evil you are! It is my duty as a swordsman to protect the weak from scum like you!”

Feng sighed. “The waiter was the robber, not me. And thanks to you, he escaped.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“If I was the ruthless thief you believe I am, would I still be talking to you? I would have killed you.”

“Well...that does make sense.”, the man admitted as he awkwardly smiled to hide his embarrassment. “I am Chong Yang. I’m a disciple of Changsan Sect. This is the first time my Elders have allowed me to wander the Martial Arts World on my own, so sorry for causing trouble.”

“Well, at least your heart is on the right place. And since you did not mean any harm, I guess we have no reason to fight.”

“Indeed. I have to be going because I have a duel to attend to.”

“Duel?”

Yang sighed. “Our Changsan Sect has a long history of rivalry with the ‘Flying Swords Sect’. Reverend Song had beat their Master, who was arrogant and tyrannical, forty years ago. When that evil Demon Yang Jiang killed Taoist Yao and Reverend Song and we were at our weakest point, Yuan Ning of the ‘Flying Swords Sect’ found the chance to challenge us. Two of my elder brothers accepted his challenge and were killed. I decided to accept his challenge too in order to uphold the honor of our Sect and avenge my fallen brothers.”

“Is there any way I can be of help?”

Yang smiled. “I do not think that you can be of any help. I do not want to beat Ning using the help or martial arts of another Sect. This is a battle between our two Sects. No neutral party should intervene.”

“Look, I do not want to offend you, but your martial arts just are not good enough to beat this guy.”, Feng replied. “You will be killed.”

“No offense taken. I know that my martial arts are only mediocre but I cannot back down. I cannot bring shame to my Sect. Anyway, the duel will take place outside the town in about an hour. Head to the west and you will find me there, if you want to watch the duel.”

“I’ll be there. You seem like a nice guy and you belong to an Orthodox Sect, so it is only right for me to support you.”

About an hour later, Xiao woke up and Feng explained to him the situation. Xiao agreed to follow him to the duel and so they walked to the west of the city. It was midday and the sun was at its strongest. In the unrelenting glare of midday the only shadow was that which pooled at their feet. The heat beat down on their head. After walking for about ten minutes, they saw Yang and Ning preparing for their duel.

Ning was tall of stature and massive and his face was crisscrossed by scars and ugly. Before him, there were twenty swords laying on the ground. Feng was curious as to why he needed so many swords. But one thing he did notice was that Ning was very confident of his abilities and calm. Yang, on the other hand, seemed nervous. Feng knew that calmness and confidence were vital in battle; if one was nervous, he would make mistakes, which could prove fatal.

“Shall we start the duel?”, Ning said. “I don’t have all day to waste.”

Yang unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Ning. “Let’s begin!”

Ning gathered his internal energy and focused it on his hands. He then waved his hands and the twenty swords lying before him were all lifted; he then sent them flying at Yang. With twenty swords coming at him from all directions, Yang was overwhelmed; he parried some of the swords but others slashed him across the chest, thigh and arms. Bleeding and coughing, he was barely able to stand up.

Ning, on the other hand, was smiling. He unsheathed a great sword and rushed forward. The sword was nearly four feet in length. The blade was extremely thick and was obviously quite heavy. As he was about to cut down Yang, Feng leaped forward and parried the attack with his sword. “This is only a duel”, Feng said, “there is no need to fight to death.”

Ning looked at Yang and said with disgust showing on his face, “I will let you live, but only because I do not want to waste my time fighting this idiot. I am delighted however to see that you need a stranger to save your life. Does your Sect not have any competent students?”

Yang clenched his fists and teeth and fumed with anger. “I...”, before he could say anything he vomited blood. He sighed. He knew that he was in no position to attack Ning.

“I will challenge you!”, Feng said to Ning. “I will use only Changsan martial arts, so it will be like facing a Changsan Sect student. I will face you in three hours if you accept my challenge.”

Ning grinned. “Sure. I see no reason to deprive myself of the delight of humiliating once more Changsan Sect. See you here in three hours.”

He then walked away. Yang, hearing this, asked, “Do you know any Changsan martial arts?”

“No...”, Feng admitted. “I do hope that you will teach me some moves now.”

Yang sighed. “Your idea is good but we may as well admit defeat. There is no way you can learn enough Changsan martial arts in three hours to beat that guy. I myself am only mediocre and I cannot teach you much.”

Xiao intervened. “Well, do you have any other ideas on how to beat that guy?”

“No...”

“So, why not teach Feng as much as you can and give it a try? It’s not like you have anything to lose at this point.”

“Alright...”, Yang replied. He then turned to Feng and said, “Listen to me carefully because we do not have much time. Changsan swordsmanship relies on overwhelming strength. The strategy is to overwhelm the enemy with powerful attacks and pound him with one attack after the other until he can no longer take it and his defense is broken.”

Yang then began instructing Feng on Changsan sword forms. Feng put force behind every move he made. He whirled his sword, making the sounds of a great wind. He then made horizontal cuts with his sword. Loud sounds could be heard, revealing the strength behind each cut. Yang gaped in astonishment as to how quickly Feng was mastering the Changsan sword forms. Feng was sure that he had seen those sword moves before. ‘Before I lost my memories’, he thought, ‘I may have either been instructed on Changsan swordsmanship or fought with Changsan swordsmen. That’s most likely the reason I feel like I’ve seen before those moves.’

“I am impressed.”, Yang admitted and a smile appeared on his face. “Have you been taught Changsan swordsmanship before?”

“To be honest, I do not know.”, Feng replied. “About three weeks ago I lost all of my memories and thus I do not remember my past.”

“Well, I do not care much about it. What I do care about is seeing that bastard Ning getting beaten!”

Soon after, Ning arrived. He placed before him twenty swords and said, “Shall we begin our duel?”

“Lets begin.”

Ning used his internal energy to lift the swords and send them flying at Feng. Feng whirled his sword and parried the incoming swords; only one sword managed to get through his defense and slash him across the chest. Ning was genuinely surprised that Feng had managed to survive his ‘Flying Swords’ attack. So, he unsheathed his great sword and attacked. Feng too attacked and the two swords met; a great clang sound was heard as the two swords collided. Although Ning was the more muscled and massive of the two, Feng had put all his internal energy and strength in his attack, thus forcing Ning to fall back. Feng leaped forward and slashed three times in quick succession at Ning; all his attacks had great strength behind them and a loud whoosh could be heard with each attack. Ning was overwhelmed and forced on the defensive. Striking quickly, Feng stabbed into Ning’s wrist. Ning felt a sudden pain on his wrist and dropped his sword. Feng took the chance to point his sword on Ning’s neck.

“Do you admit defeat?”, Feng asked.

“Yes...”, Ning replied, sweating and trembling in fear.

Feng sheathed his sword and turned around when Ning asked, “Why you didn’t kill me?”

“Because I didn’t need to. I had already defeated you.”

“Feng may be magnanimous”, Yang said, “but I am not.”

As Yang was about to strike at Ning with his sword, Feng stopped him. “Do not stoop on his level. For such an arrogant and vainglorious person, living in defeat and shame is the best punishment.”

Yang hated to admit it, but what Feng said was right. So, sighing and slightly disappointed, he spared Ning.

“I thank you for your assistance.”, he said to Feng and Xiao. “I do hope one day me and my Sect can repay you for your help.”

“No need to thank us.”, Feng replied. “Without you teaching me the Changsan sword forms, I wouldn’t have beaten Ning.”

“I’ve got to go back to my Sect to tell them the good news. So I will bid you farewell.”

As soon as Yang left, Xiao said; “We should go buy horses for our journey. Remember, we got a mission to accomplish.”

“Indeed. I got distracted with this duel.”

“Well, helping Yang was the right thing to do. I am sure Master Xuan would approve what you did.”

Feng and Xiao went back to the town to buy two horses. They bought two white horses of medium size, but which were alert, slender-limbed and muscled. They then left behind the town. The thundering of hooves split the silence of the dirt road as the two horses galloped forward. They traveled for hours before reaching a river, which was flowing swiftly and strongly. A wooden bridge allowed passengers to cross the river but there was a man guarding the bridge. Feng and Xiao jumped off their horses and headed there.

“Who is this guy?”, Xiao asked.

“Don’t know but he seems trouble.”

The man was middle aged, with long black hair and beard, wearing a green silk robe and armed with a Guandao, a pole weapon which consists of a heavy blade with a spike at the back. The blade was mounted atop a long metal pole. The blade was very deeply curved and therefore solely useful for sweeping cuts.

“Whoever wishes to cross the bridge must pay me 20 golden coins!”, the man roared. “Only poor villagers are exempted and you do not look like villagers to me.”

Xiao laughed. “And who do you think you are?”

“I am Gao Yi. Will you pay me?”

“Of course not!”

Without waiting any further, Yi charged forward and with great force slashed his Guandao at Xiao. Xiao was barely able to unsheathe his sword and parry the attack. With two more slashes, Xiao was on the defensive. Feng charged forward with his sword to help Xiao but Yi dodged the blade and with a powerful back kick kicked Feng’s chest and pushed him back.

“Will you pay or shall you force me to kill you?”

Instead of replying, Feng attacked once again. His sword met the Guandao’s blade; a loud sound was heard and Feng was pushed back. Although he had put all his internal energy and strength in his attack, Yi was just more powerful.

“You do have spirit, kid”, Yi said, “but by now you must know that you cannot defeat me.”

Feng knew that Yi was right. Although he had made rapid progress and shown great skill, his skills were still not top notch and he knew that no matter how strong someone is, there will always be someone stronger. So he was forced to admit defeat. “I know I cannot beat you.”

Yi smiled. “I like you; you are pretty good with the sword despite being young, you have spirit and you know when you have lost. I will allow you and your friend to cross the bridge without paying anything.”

“Thank you.”, Feng said. “You are magnanimous and your martial arts are great.”

“You compliment me too much. I do hope that we shall meet again one day.”

 

Chapter 5
​

Feng and Xiao and their horses crossed the wooden bridge and got across the river. As they were about to gallop away, they saw that someone else was approaching the bridge. It was a young woman dressed in white silk gown. Feng and Xiao were astonished by her beauty. It was as if she was a Goddess that had descended from Heaven. Her long black hair was shining, her lips were redder than the fire, her skin was almost as white as snow, her face was so beautiful that it dazzled anyone who looked at her, her cheeks emanated the rosy glow that the sunset clouds reflect, her eyes shone like the clear and piercing light of the moon. Her stallion was also impressive; it was a majestic white horse with muscular physique.

As she headed to the bridge, Gao Yi stopped her. “Whoever wishes to cross the bridge must pay me 20 golden coins!”

“And if I refuse to pay?”, she asked.

“Then I will have to kill you.”

The woman jumped off her horse, unsheathed her sword and said, “In four moves, I will have beat you.”

Yi smiled. Xiao too smiled. He had fought with Yi and thus knew how powerful he was; both he and Feng had been easily beaten by him. To think that this young woman could beat Yi, and in only four moves, seemed like a joke to Xiao. But Feng did not smile. He examined with utmost attention her stance and understood that she had profound knowledge of martial arts.

“First move!”, she said and charged with her sword. She aimed for Yi’s shoulder. Her move was a simple one but the speed with which she executed it took everyone, even Feng who had not underestimated her, by surprise; she moved too fast to be seen clearly. Yi flinched, but his shoulder was struck. It began bleeding and although he tried to pretend otherwise, Yi felt great pain.

“Second move!”

Yi slashed at the woman with his Guandao. He put all of his strength and internal energy into this attack but she parried it with her sword. Her internal energy was such that she could parry such a powerful attack with relative ease. She then moved agilely and slashed her sword across his right cheek.

“Third move!”

She began running around Yi. She ran faster and faster. Yi stared at the point of his enemy’s sword. He was ready to strike any time that point moved to attack. As time passed, Yi started to feel a bit dizzy. It was then when the woman attacked and stabbed his thigh. The attack came so fast, that Yi had no time to react nor defend against it.

“Fourth move!”

Before Yi could strike back, the woman’s sword came to his neck. If he tried to make one move, she could slit his throat. He had lost.

“Your swordsmanship is truly out of this world.”, Yi admitted. “You movements are faster than the galloping of the fastest horse. Your attacks are precise and powerful. Your internal energy is immense.”

The woman ignored him and walked across the bridge along with her horse. Xiao gaped with astonishment while Feng too was surprised with how skilled she was. As soon as she crossed the bridge, Xiao approached her and greeted her. “Hello. My name is Zhang Xiao. I saw how you defeated Gao Yi and I am impressed with your swordsmanship.”

The woman ignored him and walked forward. “At least”, Xiao said, “can you tell me your name?”

“Li Jingfei.”

She then jumped on her horse and galloped forward. As she was traveling, she noticed that Feng and Xiao were going the same way as she was. Thus, she jumped off her horse, turned around and pointed her sword at them. "Do you have a death wish? Why do you follow me?"

“We are not following you, we are going to Hongchang Sect.”, Feng said. “This is the only way to get there.”

“I am going to Hongchang Sect too.”

“Well, since that is the case, we can travel together there.”, Xiao said.

Jingfei thought about it for a moment. “Alright. Its a long journey and it is better to have friends on the way than to make the journey entirely on my own.”

The three horses galloped forth. The thundering of hooves broke the silence. The green grass that dominated the landscape was rough and shaggy like uncombed hair, coarse. The sun sank lower in the sky, the light of day draining away, giving way to the velvety dark of night. The air was damp and cool.

“We should rest for now.”, Feng said and they jumped off their horses. They had been traveling all day and thus they were all tired.

“Your sword forms are amazing.”, Xiao said. “Who taught you them?”

“My Master.”, Jingfei replied. It was not an enlightening answer but Xiao understood that she did not want to reveal her Master’s names and thus did not press her to tell him.

“Why are you going to Hongchang Sect?”

“I have a request to make. What about you?”

“We are on a mission to inform them about the Demons. They will try to steal the ‘Book of Supreme Power’, thus we have to warn them.”

Feng sighed. Before Xiao could say anything more, Feng pulled him over and said to Jingfei, “Excuse us for a moment.”

He then whispered to Xiao, “Why did you tell her our mission?”

“Why not tell her about it?”, Xiao asked. “She does not look like a bad person.”

“Just because someone does not look like a bad person, it does not mean that he or she isn’t one. We must be cautious. We do not know much about her and the fact that she will not tell us who her Master is makes me suspicious.”

“You being overly cautious.”

“That’s what you said when I told you that there was something weird about the waiter...”

Xiao put up a smile and said, “Alright, alright. I will be more cautious from now on.”

The three travelers lied on the grass. While Xiao and Jingfei fell asleep, Feng could not sleep. He gazed at the millions of bright stars and the silver glow of the moon on the dark sky. The stars looked like fireflies, illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky. The night sky calmed him and he finally fell asleep. Suddenly, he got a strange feeling and woke up. There was no grass, no Xiao or Jingfei. He was all alone in a pitch dark setting.

“Yang Jiang!”

Feng looked around but could see no one. As if from nowhere, a man appeared. He was dressed in a purple silk robe and a dark mask hid his face.

“You are Yang Jiang?”

The man nodded in approval. “You cannot escape from me.”, a voice said.

Feng was about unsheathe his sword but he could not find it. He was unarmed while Yang Jiang had already unsheathed his own sword and was about to strike. Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated everything. Feng closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw the bright sun on the clear blue sky. Xiao and Jingfei had already waken up. All of this was a bad dream.

‘Why did I dream of Yang Jiang?’, he thought. Whatever the reason, Feng knew that there was no time lose. Thus, the three travelers continued their journey. Tens of hills lay before their way. The hills were a patchwork of green made even more varied by the shadows of passing clouds.

“We should continue on foot from here.”, Jingfei said and the two Qingxao students agreed.

In the dense forests of bamboo and trees that ran along the hillsides, a myriad leaves glistened brightly. The air was moist and hazy. Feng marveled at the beauty of nature.

“We are soon going to reach Hongchang Sect.”, Feng said.

As they were walking, four men appeared in front of them. They all were a good two heads taller than most ordinary men and heavily build. One of them said, “We are the ‘Four Devils’ and this is our forest. If you want to pass, you will have to give us whatever belongings you have.”

“We are Qingxao disciples!”, Xiao said. “Do you think we are afraid of scum like you?”

The ‘Devil’ grasped the trunk of a tree in his arms and after a few rigorous tugs, pulled the entire tree bodily out of the ground and threw it away.

“Well, now I see your point...”, Xiao said and awkwardly smiled.

“Good to see that you understand how precarious your position is…”

Feng laughed. “Seriously, guys, do you think you have good martial arts?”

Hearing him mocking them, two of the 'Devils', Devil Three and Devil Four, charged at Feng with a blood curdling roar of rage. Chang skipped nimbly around behind Devil Three and shoved him at Devil Four. The two men smashed into each other, toppled to the ground and lost their consciousness. Devil Two charged at Jingfei, but she waited until he was within arm's reach, then she toppled him over backwards with a push, grabbed him by the leg and hurled him away.

Devil One, the oldest and most powerful of them, rushed forward with the force of an avalanche. Feng gathered his internal energy in his hand and fired an energy beam at the thief, who was hit by it and was sent flying through the air before falling on the ground and losing his consciousness.

“We should get going.”, Feng said. “While we may have beat those bandits, I am sure there are others waiting here. We must get out of this forest as fast as possible.”

As they were walking, Jingfei noticed a most beautiful flower. She approached it. It had brilliant purple petals and its fragrance was out of this world. As she smelled the flower, she suddenly collapsed on the ground.

“Jingfei?”, Xiao asked. “Are you alright?”

He got no answer.

Feng approached her and saw that she had lost her consciousness. He then looked at the flower. “This flower must be poisonous.”, he said. “She lost her consciousness as soon as she smelled its fragrance.”

“Is there any way to wake her up?”, Xiao frantically asked. There was cold sweat on his forehead and he was nervous. On the other hand, Feng was calm; he knew that panic would do more harm than good.

“I do not know. I need to study that flower to find an antidote.”

“Only one person has the antidote for this poison!”, a voice was heard saying. Feng and Xiao turned around and saw a man dressed in a long gray robe and holding a hand fan made of crane feathers walking towards them. The man was in his late forties, with a long, gray beard and hair. He politely greeted the two friends and said, “My name is Hong Qinghong. I have been living in this forest for more than twenty years.”

“Who has the antidote?”, Feng said, interrupting him.

Qinghong smiled. “Please, let me explain. This flower’s poison is very potent. In forty hours, she will die if she does not get the antidote. I am a physician and I have the antidote for the flower’s poison. But I expect you to pay me for it.”

“How much cash do you want?”, Xiao asked.

“I do not want money. I saw how you beat the ‘Four Devils’. That shows that you have good martial arts. I want you to walk to the east for about thirty minutes; there, you will find a wooden hut. Inside, there is a Demon, an evil man. I want you to get rid of him. I must warn you, however, that his martial prowess is great. If you defeat him, I shall give you the antidote.”

“If he truly is a Demon”, Feng replied, “then it is our duty to extinguish him even without you asking us to do so. But if he is not, we will not kill an innocent man.”

“I can assure you that he is Demon, but he is good with words. He will try to fool you. Do not listen to his lies.”

“How do we know that you are not the one who is lying?”, Xiao asked.

Qinghong grinned. “You do not. But I am the one who has the antidote that can save your friend’s life. I do know that you will not use force to steal it from me because you belong to the Orthodox Sects. So, the only way to get it is for me to give it to you.”

“Alright.”, Feng said. “We will kill this Demon.”

Although Feng wasn’t sure that Jingfei could be trusted, as a member of an Orthodox Sect he could not just ignore her plight and let her die. He had to get that antidote, even if it meant going into trouble and delaying his mission. His Master had taught him that compassion was the most important virtue. So, he and Xiao began making their way to the hut.

 

Chapter 6​

Feng and Xiao walked in the dense forest of bamboo and trees. Autumn leaves from the tall trees lay scattered on the forest floor. The two friends were making their way to the hut. They had been walking for about thirty minutes. Xiao was nervous; his stomach was knotted up, his breathing was rapid and shallow. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples.

“Relax.”, Feng said. “We will find a way to save Jingfei.”

“I hope so… From what Qinghong said, this Demon must be really powerful. Will we beat him?”

Feng smiled. “I am sure we will. You must not lose faith. We will beat him and save Jingfei.”

Suddenly, the two friends heard the sound of zither music. The music came quick but at the same time had a calming effect. The music soared through the air like an eagle, taking with it the very souls of those who listened to it. Feng felt that he could listen to this music for ages. He forgot all about the mission, Jingfei, the Demon. Xiao, even though he had less interest in music than Feng, could tell that this music was out of this world. Feng and Xiao walked forward, following the sound of music, and reached a wooden hut. The hut crouched in the shadows like a sleeping bear. It had wooden walls with a small opening at the front.

“Excellent music!”, Feng said. “Truly excellent!”

An elderly man walked out of the hut. He had long white hair and looked frail and weak. He was wearing a silk green robe that had become singed. He was smiling and did not look like a powerful martial artist, much less a menacing Demon.

“You have good taste in music.”, the elder said. “I am always happy to meet people who appreciate good music.”

“You are the Demon Qinghong talked about?”, Xiao asked, finding hard to believe that this frail looking man had a reputation of being a fierce warrior.

The elder laughed. “You find it hard to believe it, don’t you? I guess you will find even more surprising the fact that I am only in my late forties.”

Xiao was indeed surprised by this. Feng too found it hard to believe that this elder, who looked as if he was in his eighties, was only in his late forties.

The elder, understanding what the two friends were thinking, grinned. “Alas, sadness and loneliness can make a man old before his time has come.”

He sighed and then continued, “Please, come inside. I will brew you some tea.”

“Elder”, Feng said, “we will-”

“Do not worry!”, the elder said, interrupting him. “I will not poison you. You do not need to be worried about that.”

Feng and Xiao followed the elder inside the hut. They sat on two mats, as the hut had no chairs. There was only one small round wooden table. The elder quickly brought two cups of green tea whose fragrance filled the hut and whose taste was like nothing else on earth. As the two men sipped their tea, they both marveled at how tasty it was.

“You do not look like a Demon to me.”, Xiao said.

“I am not a Demon anymore.”, the elderly man replied. “But once I was. My name is Ke Chong. I once was a prominent member of the Demon Sects. Back then, we were scattered after our defeat by the Orthodox Sects. As I’ve learned, this is not the case anymore. Ma Biao has reunified the Sects and become the Demon King.”

“You knew Ma Biao?”, Feng asked.

“Yes, he was a friend of mine. But this is an other story to be told another time. To return back to my story, the Orthodox Sects sent disciples to hunt down the remnants of the Demon Sects. As we were scattered, many died. I was one of the few who managed to survive but one day a disciple from Qingxao Sect, a young woman named Hong Rong, found where I was hiding and challenged me to duel. I defeated her but for some reason I could not bring myself to kill her. I let her go. A few days later, she returned and challenged me again; I once again defeated her and let her go. The third time she came back, it was not to challenge me. She came to tell me that she was constantly thinking about me. I too was constantly thinking about her. But she was from the Orthodox Sects and I was a Demon; how could we be together?”

Chong sighed and thought for a moment about old times before continuing his story. “We eventually decided to leave behind the affairs of the Martial Arts World and live together. But her brother, Qinghong, would not let us be together. He could not accept the fact that his sister had decided to abandon Qingxao Sect for a Demon like me. So we fought in this forest. I defeated him but spared him as he was the brother of the woman I loved. But, as I turned my back to him, he attacked me. I would not have been able to avoid his blade as I had let down my defenses. But Rong got in the way and the blade killed her, not me.”

Chong could feel the muscles of his chin tremble. His eyes dripped with tears. He struggled to keep a steady beat. His melancholy mood hung over him like a black cloud. “I still remember her face when she was dying, her smile. I still remember holding her in my arms as she was dying. Her last words to me were to forgive her brother. I hated Qinghong, I wanted to kill him, but I could not do so. I had to forgive him. This crippled me; not physically, but mentally. In a single night my hair became white. My sadness and loneliness aged me before my time had come.”

“That’s why Qinghong asked us to kill you...”, Xiao said.

“Yes. He blames me for his sister’s death. All this happened about twenty years ago. Since then, we both have remained in this forest. Qinghong, having great knowledge of poisons, planted that most beautiful but poisonous flower. From time to time, someone would be tempted to approach it and smell it; thus he or she would inhale the poison. If that someone was lucky enough to have a friend with good grasp of martial arts, Qinghong would appear and offer the antidote in exchange for my life. As you can see, no one has been skilled enough to kill me and get the antidote.”

He paused for a moment. “Is the poisoned one your friend?”

“She is a young miss we met on our way here.”, Feng replied.

“So, you do not know her well?”

“No.”

Chong smiled. “You are willing to risk your life for someone you just met? I must commend you. Not many people would do that.”

“What are we going to do now?”, Xiao said. “You are not a bad person and we cannot kill an innocent man. On the other hand, we cannot let Jingfei die.”

“There is a way...”, Chong replied. “There is a flower whose fragrance can cause someone to temporarily ‘die’; one’s heart would stop beating and for a few hours it would be as if that person was dead. If you can bring me this flower, you can fool Qinghong and make him believe that you have killed me.”

“Why haven’t you tried this before?”, Feng asked. “You could have fooled Qinghong a long time ago.”

“I could, if I had managed to take the flower. The flower is in a cave north of here. It is guarded by an Elder. His martial prowess is without equal and his sword is the best and most lethal in the entire Martial Arts World. When I heard about the existence of that flower, I naturally tried to steal it so I could fool Qinghong into believing that I was dead. But I was defeated by that Elder. He spared my life only because my martial artistry impressed him; before letting me go, he had me promise not to come back there and challenge him again. I have to warn you that before you, other swordsmen too had been sent there by me and have died. If you fail to defeat him, do not expect mercy.”

“So”, Xiao said, “if I understand correctly, the only way to save Jingfei is to somehow beat one of the most powerful martial artists in the entire world?”

Chong sighed. “Unfortunately, you are right. Are you still planning to go?”

Feng smiled. “Of course. I prefer to lay down my life than let Jingfei die.”

“But you barely know her. Why do you want to risk certain death for her?”

“It is a matter of principle for me. I cannot let someone die because of me. My Master taught me to have the entire world in my heart. I cannot let him down.”

“Good!”, Chong said and grinned. “I like you! You have passion and spirit.”

“I will come with you.”, Xiao said.

“No.”, Feng replied. “I may die. You have to stay here to find a way to get the antidote in case I die. Also, we still have a mission to accomplish. In case I die, you must go warn Hongchang Sect about the Demons.”

“But, I-”

“I know how you feel.”, Feng said, interrupting him. “But you must listen to me this one time.”

Xiao just sighed. The sigh was resigned and weary. He felt the kind of silent sadness that seeps into your bones. Feng walked out of the hut and began slowly heading to the cave. As he walked, he gazed at the lush green, at the beauty of nature. This could well be his last time seeing such a beautiful scenery.

When Feng reached the cave, he shouted: “Elder, I need your flower to save someone!”. No one replied, so he walked into the cave. The cave mouth was of impenetrable blackness. As Feng stepped in he watched his shadow dissolve into the surrounding darkness. Small, loose stones littered the floor.

“I cannot see anything...”, he murmured. He quickly got out of the cave, grabbed a branch of a tree and used it as torch. He then walked back into the cave. The torch created a flickering orange glow that allowed Feng to see where he was going.

“If you want the flower”, a voice said, “you will have to beat me.”

A strong wind suddenly extinguished the torch’s flame. Feng had to move around by following the damp wall of the cave with his hands. “Elder, if you want to fight me, then do so openly.”

Although he could not see anything, Feng could sense a gust of wind coming from his right. He quickly unsheathed his sword and parried the enemy attack. A loud clang sound was heard. The enemy, then, disappeared once again into the shadows. Feng was alert and ready for the next strike. He could hear the sound of steps from his left; the elder slashed at Feng but he blocked the enemy sword with his own. As the two swords collided, Feng’s sword broke and half of the blade flew away. Feng was barely able to dodge his enemy’s blade. The elder sheathed his sword and shot out his left fist at Feng; he retreated three paces and fended off the elder’s blow. The elder attacked again; he swept his left leg across at Feng, who jumped clear off the ground and avoided it.

“Good.”, the elder said. He then used his internal energy to fire an energy beam which lightened Feng’s torch. Feng could now clearly see the elder; he was a pale man. His face was ashen white and wrinkled. He was frail and was coughing. The elder vomited some blood.

“Your skills are impressive for someone so young.”, the elder said and coughed. “I miss my youth; now I am a weak old man. I am ill and about to die. If it was a year ago, I would have killed you with one blow. Now...”

“Elder, your skills are amazing.”, Feng said. “You are very ill and yet you are so powerful. I cannot imagine how powerful you must have been when you were healthy.”

The elder smiled. “My name is Wei Zhaxiang. I belong to the ‘Heavenly Sect’.”

“I’ve never heard about this Sect before.”, Feng admitted.

“Of course you haven’t. The Sect has only two members at a time; the Master and the Student. They study in seclusion in a cave and do not show off their skills to the outside world. Our Sect’s skills are the most powerful in the Martial Arts World and our founder feared that if the Sect had many students or if its members roamed the Martial Arts World, there would be chaos. I am old and about to die but I have no student. The one I trained forty years ago broke our Sect’s rule of not roaming the Martial Arts World and I was forced to kill him. If you want the flower, you will have to become my disciple.”

“I cannot do that!”, Feng said. “I already have a Master; I belong to Qingxao Sect.”

“So what? People can have multiple Masters.”

“But I will not be able to follow your Sect’s rules.”, Feng explained. “I will not hide myself in a cave.”

Zhaxiang coughed. “At this point, I do not care about the rules. I am about to die and if I do not teach to someone our Sect’s martial arts, they will go extinct. I cannot do such injustice to our Sect’s ancestors. You do not have to follow our Sect’s rules; the only one rule you must follow is to not use your powers for unnecessary killing.”

“I can promise you that.”

“Good. We shall begin training immediately. We do not have time to waste.”

 

Chapter 7​

Flaming torches sparked to life the cave, lighting it up. Feng was breathing and circulating his internal energy as Zhaxiang had taught him to. Even though he had been practicing for only a few hours, Feng could feel that his internal energy had become much more powerful. Feng then began practicing his swordplay. His moves combined strength with agility, power with elegance. What made the sword forms of the 'Heavenly Sect' so lethal was the fact that they were unpredictable and seemed to follow no pattern; the swordsman would change his attack frequently, would retreat when one would expect that he would attack and attack when one would expect that he would retreat. He would pretend to attack the chest and then change the attack and strike at the legs. The unpredictability of the swordplay meant that one would not be able to guess where the swordsman would attack next.

Seeing how fast Feng was learning, Zhaxiang was smiling. "It seems I wasn't wrong about you; you really are talented. Of course, what you've learned is the basics of our swordplay, the first sword forms only."

Zhaxiang then walked to Feng and gave him his sword, a double-edged straight long sword with golden hilt. There was a dragon carved upon the blade of the sword. "This is the 'Sword of Death', the most lethal and powerful weapon in the entire Martial Arts World. It is said that the one who has this sword will rule the Martial Arts World. Many died trying to acquire this sword. My Master stole it from the Demon King Zhao three hundred years ago. Nowadays, most people think it is just an old legend."

Zhaxiang then gave Feng a textbook. "What is this?", Feng asked.

"I am dying. I cannot possibly teach you all of our Sect's sword forms. Neither of us have enough time for this. This book I gave you contains instructions that will allow you to master all of the Sect's sword forms without my guidance."

Feng bowed and said, "Thank you Master. I will study it and learn all the sword forms. I promise you that."

"I know that you will."

After pausing for a moment, Zhaxiang continued with stern voice. "But you must promise to me that you will never let anyone else, no matter how much you may trust that person or how close you are, to read this book."

"I promise."

Zhaxiang smiled. "Good. Now I can die in peace. Take the flower and leave."

The elder gave Feng the flower. It had beautiful blue petals. Feng kowtowed thrice before Zhaxiang and left behind the cave. Although he knew Zhaxiang for only a few hours, he could not help but feel sad for leaving him behind. He sighed and a few tears poured from his eyes. But he knew that he could not delay any longer; Jingfei's life was at stake.

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black. As he was walking, Feng was gazing at the sky; he could see star, after star, after star, a never ending void of light on the pitch black sky. When Feng arrived to Chong's hut, it was already late at night.

As he walked into the hut, he could see the surprise on Chong's face and the happiness on Xiao's face. Xiao laughed; but his laugh was in his eyes, in the way his face changed into that vision of relaxed joy and unrestrained mirth. "I knew you would make it back!", Xiao said.

"I would be lying if I said that I expected you to come back.", Chong said. "I am genuinely surprised that you made it. Did you bring the flower?"

"Yes.", Feng said and gave him the flower.

"At last, I and Qinghong can have peace.", he said. "I will finally get rid of him and he will believe that I am dead. Both of us will be able to live in peace."

Chong then used his sword to slash his own chest. Blood dripped on the floor and he let out a cry.

"Why did you do that?", Xiao asked.

"Do you really believe Qinghong will be fooled if there are no injuries on me?", Chong replied. "You supposedly killed me in a fight, so I have to be wounded for the story to look real."

Chong smelled the flower's fragrance and inhaled its poison. As soon as he did so, he collapsed on the floor. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. It was as if he was dead. Feng and Xiao brought his body where they had met Qinghong. As expected, he was waiting there for them along with Jingfei, who was still unconscious.

A smile appeared on Qinghong's face and he began crying; tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down Qinghong's face. Those were not tears of sadness but tears of joy. For the first time in over twenty years, Qinghong was joyous. "I thank you!", he said. "At last, I've avenged my sister's death. Now I can live in peace."

He then gave Jingfei a pill. As soon as she shallowed the pill, she woke up. She felt a bit dizzy and her head ached. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned by the flower.", Qinghong said. "These friends of yours faced a powerful Demon in order to get the antidote."

"I thank you.", she said. "I owe you one."

"It is our duty as disciples of the Orthodox Sects to help those in need.", Feng said. "There is no need to thank us."

Qinghong said, "I must bid you farewell."

Qinghong thus left behind the forest in which he had lived for more than twenty years. He was calm and nothing was bothering him anymore. Feng was sure that Chong would feel the same way after waking up. After more than twenty years of bitterness and revenge, they would live the rest of their life in peace.

"We should rest.", Xiao said. "Tomorrow morning, we must continue our journey to Hongchang Sect."

Xiao lied on the ground and fell asleep in only a few moments. But Feng could not sleep yet. He was gazing at the stars and thinking about Zhaxiang, the 'Sword of Death' and the textbook given to him.

"You really like gazing at the stars", Jingfei said, "don't you?"

Feng smiled. "Looking at the night sky helps me relax and think more clearly."

"Why did you risk your life for me?"

"It’s a matter of principle.", Feng said. "I cannot stand by and do nothing when people are in trouble. When my Master accepted me as his disciple, he said to me that I should have the whole world in my heart. Back then, I did not fully realize what he meant but now I do. Helping people is not just an act of compassion, of goodness. It also helps oneself. I feel good when I help other people, I feel useful, I feel that I have a purpose in my life. By helping you, I also help myself."

Jingfei just smiled. "You are a good person.", she said and went to sleep, leaving Feng alone to gaze at the night sky.

Early next morning, they woke up and continued their journey. The sun was still resolutely below the horizon and the path ahead was dark. The mountains were silhouettes against a crimson sky. At this time of day the air was cool and damp. After walking for hours, they finally reached Hongchang Sect. Its headquarters were surrounded by tall walls made of stone and its front gate was guarded by four Hongchang disciples. One of them approached the two friends and asked, "Who you may be?"

"I am Qiang Feng and he is Zhang Xiao. We are disciples of Qingxao Sect. We were sent by our Masters to talk to Sect Leader Jiao.”

“You may come in.”, the student said.

“I am Li Jingfei. I am here to see Brother Wei.”

The student smiled. “So you are Sister Jingfei! Big Brother Wei has told us about you. Please, come in!”

Feng, Xiao and Jingfei made their way to the Sect’s Main Hall. There, Sect Leader Jiao and Head Disciple Wei, along with a few others disciples, were waiting for them. The Sect Leader was a man in his seventies, with a wrinkled face and long white beard. Wei, on the other hand, was younger; he was in his early thirties. He was tall and sturdy.

Feng and Xiao bowed before Sect Leader Jiao and said, “Greetings Elder.”

“You may get up.”, the Sect Leader said and the two friends did so. “Please, do tell me why you came here?”

“The Demons will attempt to steal the ‘Book of Supreme Power’.”, Feng said and everyone in the room began murmuring. “They have already stolen the ‘Five Elements Scroll’ and attempted to steal the ‘Magic Sword Sutra’. My Masters believe that you should be in alert and enhance your defenses.”

“This is a matter that must be further discussed, but we will be sure to take measures about it. We will not let the book fall into Demon hands.”, Jiao said. He then turned to Jingfei and said, “You must be the sister of Head Disciple Wei. He told me that you would come to visit him for a few days.”

“Indeed.”, she replied.

“Hongchang Sect is open to you. You can remain here for a few days. I guess you and your brother have lots of things to talk about.”

“We do.”, Wei said. “Master, you will have to excuse us. I haven’t seen my sister for years and we have a lot of things to discuss about.”

“Of course!”

Jiao then turned to the two Qingxao students and said, “You two should go get some rest. You have traveled far to come here and you need some rest. I will meanwhile discuss with other Elders of the Sect about the matter of the Demons.”

Feng and Xiao bowed slightly and said, “Thank you.”

The Sect Leader ordered a disciple of his to lead the two friends to their room; the room had two large separate beds and a wooden round table which had a beautiful jade vase on top of it.

“Hope you will be comfortable in this room.”, the Hongchang disciple said and left the room.

Xiao lied on the bed and let out a sigh of relief. “Mission is over, at last! We can now relax. I am sure Master Xuan will be very pleased with us.”

“I am not so sure about that.”, Feng replied. “The Demons may attack at any moment.”

Xiao dismissed this fear of Feng. “Even if they do come, what can they do? We have already warned the Sect Leader about the danger, so now they will be alert. Even the disciples of the Demon King himself cannot beat the whole Hongchang Sect, can they?”

He then closed his eyes and let his limbs fall loose. “I will get some sleep. You too should do the same. After all those days traveling and sleeping on grass, we can at last sleep like normal people on a bed.”

Feng nodded in agreement. Although he was still worried about the Demons, he did need to get some sleep after all this fighting and traveling. He lied on his bed and thought about all the events that had transpired during this journey. As time passed, his eyes felt heavier and heavier. He finally closed his eyes and fell into dreamless sleep.

At midnight, Feng woke up. For some reason, he felt an urge to go out and get some clear air. So he quickly got up, walked out of his room and began strolling; he breathed cool fresh air and cleared his mind of all thoughts and worries. Suddenly, he heard a loud scream. It came from inside the Main Hall, so he ran there, sprinting as fast as he could.

 

Chapter 8​

Feng barged into the Main Hall; he saw Head Disciple Wei bleeding and two Elders of the Sect lying on the ground, dead. Wei had been slashed across the chest, shoulder and thigh and his face was pale. Feng rushed to Wei and asked, “What happened?”

Wei clutched his wound and groaned. “I…h…heard screams. I rushed here and an assassin….attacked…attacked me. I…couldn’t beat him. He…stole the ‘Book of Supreme Power’.”

Feng clenched his fists. “Damn it! How did the assassin get past the walls and into here? Sect Leader Jiao said that he had ordered the reinforcement of the defenses. How could the Demon have sneaked into here?”

“I…I…believe that someone…from….the inside…helped… the Demon sneak.”

“That seems to be the only logical explanation.”

“You…should inform Sect Leader about it.”

Xiao barged into the Main Hall and asked, “Are you alright? I heard some screams and came here to check out what happened.”

“The Demons took the ‘Book of Supreme Power’…”

“Damn!”, Xiao said. His facial muscles twitched and he clenched his teeth. “How are we going to explain this to our Masters? Now that the Demons have two of the three Heavenly Texts, nothing can stop them.”

“I do not think so.”, a voice said. It was Sect Leader Jiao, who had entered the Main Hall. Despite the severity of the situation, he was calm and there was a smile on his face. “What the thief stole wasn’t the ‘Book of Supreme Power’ but a map indicating its location.”

“A map?”, Feng asked. “What map?”

“My Master had considered the possibility of an evil person sneaking into our Sect and stealing the book. He knew that if this happened, it would be disastrous for the peace of the Martial Arts World. So he hid the book in a secret location. He left here inside a wooden box a map indicating its location. So, the Demon stole the map and not the book.”

“So, we can prevent the Demon from getting the book, if we arrive there first.”

“Indeed. I have memorized the map, so I can draw a copy of it from memory.”

Feng grinned. “Good. Xiao and I will go get the book before the Demon. We may also be able to find out who the traitor inside the Sect is.”

“You should go rest”, Jiao said, “because tomorrow morning you will begin your journey. The book is located in the ‘Sea of Sand’, the largest and most heated desert. Except for the extreme heat, you will also face nomadic raiders who live in the desert.”

“Sounds fun…”, Xiao said with a wry smile on his face. “After having to travel through a forest full of bandits and powerful martial arts Elders, now we will have to travel to a barren desert and survive Demons and raiders.”

Next morning, as soon as the bright sun appeared on the clear blue sky, Feng and Xiao began preparing for the journey. They were given a copy of the map by Sect Leader Jiao as well as supplies, mainly water, to help them survive in the desert. Before leaving, Feng went to Jingfei’s room. He wanted to bid her goodbye. He found this to be a much more difficult task than he had imagined. Feng had never thought that parting ways with Jingfei would cause him such a sense of melancholy and sadness. They had gone through many dangers together and Feng had gotten used to traveling alongside her. As he knocked the door to her room, he got no reply. He waited for a few minutes when Wei walked by. Seeing Feng, he said; “Jingfei has gone.”

Feng was surprised to hear that. “When did she leave?”

“This morning. She was going to stay here for a few more days but I asked her to leave. I got an urgent letter from our uncle early this morning asking me to come help him. Due to the recent trouble with the Demons, I could not leave, so I asked Jingfei to go help him. She left only an hour ago.”

Feng sighed but in a way he was somewhat relieved that he did not have to bid farewell in person to Jingfei. It would have been difficult for him to do so. “I will have to bid you farewell”, he said to Wei. He then left behind Hongchang Sect and began his journey along with Xiao. They travelled for more than a few hours in dusty roads under the heated sun before reaching the desert.

Seeing the vast expanse of desert before them, Xiao wryly smiled. “This will be one hell of a journey…”

“We have to get going.”, Feng said. “Remember, we have to get the book before the Demon and most likely we are lagging behind.”

“When this is over, I want to return to Qingxao Mountain and never leave; I will never complain again about not roaming the Martial Arts World.”

The two friends made their way to the trackless desert. The sun beat down and there was not even a wisp of cloud to soften the harsh rays. Each of their steps sunk into the searing sand and the air was thick and hazy. Their clothing was overwhelmingly hot and sticky. The stiff, dry desert breeze blew sand into their eyes.

“How long is it before we reach the location of the book?”, Xiao asked. “We’ve been walking for hours.”

“I don’t know.”, Feng admitted. “The map sure doesn’t help. According to it, we must head straight ahead, but that is all I know. We could reach the location in a few hours or in a few days. The part of the map covering the desert is not very precise or detailed.”

“I fear this desert will be our graveyard. I am exhausted.”

“Me too, but we’ve got to keep going!”

Feng and Xiao kept walking across the endless waves of sand dunes. Heat rained down on them like the breath of hell. The arid heat burnt at their lungs. They were sweating and exhausted. After about an hour, the sun began to set. The desert at twilight was a vast undulating sea and the sand dunes looked like waves. Heat gave its way to chilling coldness. The temperature was below freezing because once the sun was down, the sand began releasing heat. Their blood ran cold through their veins and their bones were chilled. Their teeth chattered. They were barely able to walk when they finally reached a stone well.

“Let’s drink some water!”, Xiao said.

They rushed to the well and drew a wooden bucket that was inside. It was full of water and they rushed to drink it. The water was cold and they could feel it's chillness but they did not care. After drinking enough water, they lied on the cold sand to rest.

“We should rest.”, Feng said. “I do not believe the book is nearby.”

“I agree but I am kind of worried that we’ve failed our mission. The Demon got a head start and with us resting, he may have already reached the location where the book is. On the other hand, I am exhausted and cannot walk any further.”

Feng sighed. “Well, it seems that we’ve finally ran out of luck.”

Suddenly, they could hear the sound of hooves. They turned around and saw five horses galloping. The horsemen were wearing long brown robes and scarfs and were armed with swords. They were roaring and shouting as they descended upon the two Qingxao students.

“Its raiders!”, Xiao said. “This gets worse and worse…”

Feng unsheathed his ‘Sword of Death’ and somersaulted. With a swift move, he stabbed one of the raiders; his sword cut through the raider’s chest and killed him instantly. He then used his internal energy to fire an energy beam at another raider, hitting him on the head and causing him to lose his balance and fall on the ground. Xiao too rushed forward, jumping onto one of the raiders’ horses and pushing to the ground its rider. He then jumped off the horse and stabbed the man before he could get up. Another raider slashed at Xiao, but he dodged the saber, grabbed it by the hilt and used it against its user, slashing his neck and killing him. The fifth raider, a sturdy and muscled man, jumped off his horse and said to Feng, “Let us fight hand to hand.”

Feng sheathed his sword. “Let us begin.”

As he spoke those words, his left fist shot out and his right hand sliced across towards the raider's right shoulder. Then, in a flash, his left fist flipped over and aimed for the right shoulder while the right hand went for the chest. The raider retreated three paces and fended off the blows. Feng charged forward and attacked the raider with both fists, one of which slammed into his shoulder. The raider took hold of Feng's wrist and struck out at his elbow in retaliation. With his free hand, Feng swung at the raider's other shoulder and the two leaped apart.

“Your martial arts are impressive.”, Feng said.

“Yours are not bad either.”, the raider replied. “Our people respect strong warriors. As such, I shall let you go.”

The raider also gave Feng a golden medallion with the depiction of a horse carved upon it. “This medallion belongs to our tribe. If some of our people attack you or you need our help, show them this medallion.”

Feng bowed slightly and said, “Thank you. I appreciate your help. But you still have not told me your name.”

“I am Isaaf Yasuf. If it is in our destiny, we shall meet again.”

Yasuf then jumped onto his horse and galloped away. Exhausted after this fight, both friends lied on the sand and soon fell asleep. At midnight, they suddenly heard people scream and loud clang sounds. They woke up at once and unsheathed their swords.

“What happened?”, Xiao asked.

“Don’t know. The sounds seem to be coming from behind that sand dune. Let’s go check out.”

Stepping on their toes and walking slowly and quietly, they made their way to the sand dune; from there, they could see tens of dead bodies littered on the ground. The dead men were all raiders; many missed one or two limbs, which lay scattered on the sand. Feng and Xiao could also see a wooden cart on fire; on the cart there was a wooden cage, which had been half destroyed.

“The one who massacred the raiders must have escaped from the cage.”, Feng whispered.

“There is someone walking there!”, Xiao replied and pointed at a white figure. The two men took a closer look and saw that it was none other than Jingfei. “What is she doing here?”

Feng slapped himself. “I am such an idiot!”

“What do you mean?”

Feng sighed. “How could I have not seen it? The map was stolen the same night that Jingfei arrived to Hongchang Sect and the very next day she left because of an ‘urgent’ call from her uncle. I cannot believe that I fell for such a stupid lie.”

“But Jingfei is not that kind of person!”, Xiao protested. “Also, she would not have wounded so seriously her brother.”

“Wei must be a spy of the Demons and must have injured himself to make it look like he is the victim. And I doubt that he is Jingfei’s real brother.”

Xiao, despite the overwhelming evidence against Jingfei, refused to believe that she could do something like that. “There must be an other explanation!”

“Then why is she here?”, Feng asked. “She was supposed to be with her uncle and now she is heading where we are heading.”

“She must have been captured by the raiders and brought here.”

“The raiders only capture people who venture the desert, so I find it highly unlikely that she is here because of them. Most likely they captured her while she was heading to the location pointed out in the map.”

“If the evidence was overwhelming, Sect Leader Jiao would not have been fooled. You must be overthinking things.”

“He has been fooled for the same reason I was fooled; when people find even little evidence of wrongdoing about someone they do not like, they assume that that person is guilty. But when they find overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing about someone they like, they believe that there must be some other explanation. Wei is the Head Disciple of Hongchang Sect, is popular among the other students and is the favorite disciple of Elder Jiao; of course they would believe his explanation. That is human nature.”

“So you believed Jingfei because you like her?”, Xiao asked. This question stuck Feng like a thunderbolt. That thought has passed in his mind before, but he did not dare to think much about it, much less talk about it in public. But now it was stated openly by Xiao. As much as he hated to admit it, Xiao was right.

“I let my personal feelings to get the better of me.”, Feng admitted. “And to think that I was the one lecturing you about not being cautious enough….”

“So, are we going to reveal ourselves?”

“No.”, Feng said. “Her martial arts are more than enough to beat both of us at once.”

Feng scratched his head and thought for a moment. A smile appeared on his face. “No one fools me and gets away with it. We are going to follow her; once she gets the book, we will steal it from her. We have the advantage of surprise; she does not know where we are.”

Xiao nodded in approval. “That sounds like a good plan.”

 

Chapter 9
​

The sun brightened the sky; it was early in the morning and Feng and Xiao were following Jingfei. They were careful and kept their distance, so as to not been seen. After walking for about an hour, they saw an amazing sight before them; a city. It looked as if once it had known great prosperity, but now the thousands of houses they could see, although large in scale, were all in various stages of ruin and collapse. Jingfei headed into the city and the two friends followed closely behind. Inside the ghost city, not a sound was to be heard, not even the twittering of a single bird. That place was the most magnificent and the most terrible that Feng had ever seen. The city was extremely dry and the heat was unbearable.

“We are nearing the location of the book.”, Feng said.

“At last!”, Xiao replied and let a sigh of relief. “Then we can have some peace.”

The two Qingxao students used the houses as covers to hide themselves from Jingfei and stepped on their toes in order to avoid being discovered. Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps. They turned around and saw Yasuf. Thankfully for them, Jingfei had not heard the sound nor seen the man.

“It seems that it is in our destiny to meet again.”, Feng said and smiled. “What are you doing here?”

Yasuf was pale and his shoulder was bleeding. “After I returned back to my tribe, I learned that Royal Uncle Ishmael had overthrown the Grand Khan Yasim. I refused to accept his usurpation of the throne and so he sent men to hunt me down. I came here hoping to hide but alas I was spotted by a scouting group and although I escaped, I was injured.”

“Are they still after you?”, Xiao asked.

“Yes. In my tribe, I am respected for my martial skills; my opposition to the usurpation gives hope to those loyal to the Khan. Already, General Astur has defected with his troops and swore to fight against the usurper. So Ishmael wants me dead as soon as possible; about six hundred horsemen are on their way here.”

“Great!”, Xiao said and wryly smiled. “We have to steal the book from Jingfei and manage to evade six hundred horsemen at the same time; this mission gets better and better.”

“What is a city doing in the middle of the desert?”, Feng asked.

“There is an old legend of our people about this city.”, Yasuf replied. “Once, there was an oasis in this area, with lush vegetation, which allowed the city to prosper. Its citizens were all living in outrageous luxury and their Kings were the richest in the world. But their immorality and luxurious lifestyle outraged the Gods; they turned the oasis into desert. Famine and drought ensued and soon civil war engulfed the city. With anarchy reigning, the city’s enemies invaded and sacked the city, killing off its remaining inhabitants. That is the legend and while I do not know if all of it is true, it seems plausible enough. Our people do not usually wander this city because of stories about ghosts and souls of the dead residing here; those who enter the city supposedly anger the spirits of the dead inhabitants. But, from time to time, people like me do enter the city.”

“Aren’t Ishmael’s men afraid of the ghosts?”

Yasuf smiled. “They are. But they are more afraid of Ishmael chopping their head, so they will come here. What about you? Can you tell me what are you doing here?”

“We are trying to steal a book.”, Xiao said. “The ‘Book of Supreme Power’. If it falls in Demon hands, it will be disastrous for the peace of the Martial Arts World.”

“I will help you steal it. It may prove useful against Ishmael’s men.“

The three men followed Jingfei as she walked to the city center. She entered one the houses. She spread the map out on a table and leaned over to examine it. Despite its apparent sturdiness, the table was completely rotten and collapsed under the weight of her arms. She picked up the map and studied it for a moment.

“The book must be here.”, she said. “It is below this house.”

She searched the floor for an opening mechanism. After a few minutes, she found a floor panel below a table and she slid it back. Inside, there was a dusty wooden box. As she was about to open it, she heard the thunderous sound of hooves. Feng, Xiao and Yasuf also heard the sound.

“It must be Ishmael’s men!”, Yasuf said. “Soon, they will be here.”

“We must get the book now!”, Feng replied and barged into the house. Jingfei was surprised to see Feng. She did not expect him to have caught up with her.

Feng attacked at once. He knew that despite his progress, he was still not match for her, so he tried to use her surprise to his advantage. He flashed forward and aimed at her right shoulder. Jingfei would normally have been able to easily dodge such a strike but she was surprised and caught off guard; thus she was not able to avoid Feng’s fist. Feng quickly followed up with a kick and although Jingfei evaded his attack, he managed to snatch the box she was holding from her hands. Jingfei concentrated all her internal energy in her hands and fired an energy beam at Feng; he somersaulted and dodged the beam. Jingfei unsheathed her sword and struck at Feng, who retreated three paces. The two opponents then whirled round and round.

Xiao, seeing the two of them fight, intervened. He swept his sword across at Jingfei's waist. Her sword clashed with his sword and a loud clang sound was heard. Feng found the chance to slash at her back but Jingfei quickly turned around and parried the attack. Xiao attacked once more but with a back kick, Jingfei kicked him on the chest and sent him flying on the floor. He vomited blood and coughed.

“You better give me the book.”, Jingfei said. “I do not want to hurt you, but will be forced to do so if you do not comply.”

Feng sneered. “Even if I have to lay down my life, I will not let you have the book. If the Demon King gets the book, it will be the end of peace in the Martial Arts World. He will terrorize the common people and massacres will ensue.”

Jingfei sighed. “Then, do not blame me for being cruel.”

She raised her sword and charged forward with the force of an avalanche. A loud sound could be heard as she sped forward. Feng stood still. He closed his eyes and calmed himself. He remembered what Master Xuan had said to him when he was training on Qingxao Mountain. “Having a calm mind is of vital importance; if you are furious or nervous, you will make mistakes. Even the tiniest mistake can prove fatal if you face an experienced enemy. Another thing to remember is that you cannot trust your eyes only; you must use all your senses in a battle. Eyes can be deceptive. There is a lot more in a battle than what can be seen with your eyes. You must use your every sense.”

As Jingfei’s sword approached, Feng slightly raised his ‘Sword of Death’. He concentrated all his internal energy on his sword and circulated his breath as Elder Zhaxiang had taught him to back in the cave. With a gentle but swift movement he parried her attack. Jingfei’s blade was snapped clean in two. She gaped in astonishment. “Impossible…”, she said. She then channeled her internal energy in her hands and fired an energy beam at Feng as she leaped backwards. Feng too was forced to leap backwards.

“What sword are you using?”, Jingfei asked. “No ordinary sword can snap in two my blade.”

Feng smiled. “It is a sword given to me by an Elder. You are welcome to try it further.”

“Do not overestimate yourself. Your skills are still inferior to mine.”

Jingfei sped forward; Feng slashed at her with his sword, but she dodged the strike and began whirling around him. Feng stared at her and was ready to strike any time Jingfei moved to attack. Suddenly, she flashed forward. Feng reacted too slowly and Jingfei slammed her fist on his chest. He vomited blood and let his sword fall from his hand. Jingfei’s right hand then sliced across towards the Feng’s right shoulder. Feng leaped backwards and avoided the fist.

“Stop fighting!”, Yasuf barked. “Ishmael’s men are almost here. If they hear us, we will be dead.”

“Ishmael’s men?”, Jingfei repeated.

“Short story long six hundred horsemen are out for our blood.”, Yasuf explained. “So if both of you do not shut up and stop fighting, they will discover where we are and then we will be as good as dead.”

“Yasuf is right.”, Feng said. “We should stop fighting for the moment and hide. We can fight for the book once Ishmael’s men have left.”

Jingfei nodded in agreement. “Alright. Where shall we hide? They will surely search the house.”

Yasuf thought for a moment. “I have an idea. Follow me!”

Yasuf ran out of the house and Feng, Jingfei and Xiao followed right behind. He barged into another house, one whose shivering walls looked as if they would collapse at any moment. He slid back a floor panel, which revealed a secret cellar.

“How did you know this cellar existed?”, Xiao asked.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been here nor the first time I’ve had to hide.”, Yasuf said. “Let us hide inside.”

The four of them made their way into the cellar. They became engulfed in chilling blackness as there was no light. The whole cellar seemed rotter and its walls seemed as if they would crumble. Spiders laced the walls with cobwebs of intricate beauty.

“We should be safe here, for the moment at least.”, Yasuf said and lied on the floor. “You better sit down. We will have to wait for a few hours, so get used to the idea of being here.”

Xiao too lied on the flood. “Well, I should get a nap then. All this walking and fighting has been too tiring.”

Yasuf laughed. “Indeed. We should use this time to rest. Once Ishmael’s men have gone, I will have to meet General Astur and I suppose you will have to travel too.”

Jingfei sat on the floor and so did Feng. They stared at each other for a moment. Feng spoke first. “Why?”

“Why?”, Jingfei repeated.

“Why are you working with the Demons? They are evil, can’t you see it?”

“What is evil and what is righteous? The ones you call ‘Demons’ simply follow their heart. They do not try to suppress their feelings. They live their lives as they want to, loving whom they want and hating whom they want.”

"What are you talking about?", Feng said. "The Demons kill without remorse, they lust after power and glory and think nothing of the common people. The Orthodox Sects uphold righteousness, stand up for the weak and have the whole world in their heart."

“You view things as if the world is black and white, as if there is one righteous side and one evil side. World is more complicated than that.”

Feng sighed. “You may be right. I may be viewing things too much as black and white, but I do know one thing for certain; if the Demon King Ma Biao gets the ‘Three Heavenly Texts’, the entire world will be in chaos. Thousands will die. You can surely see this. Are you willing to let the world burn?”

“For love, yes.”

Feng was taken aback by what Jingfei said. “Love?”

“I only want to live together with Meng Duo in peace. This can only happen when the Orthodox Sects have been defeated.”

Meng Duo, known as the ‘Demon of Flute’, was one of the three disciples of the Demon King Ma Biao, along with Yang Jiang and Duan Xiren. He had a reputation of being the best flute player in the entire world; his music could bewitch even those most disinterested in music.

“So, you are going to help Ma Biao and his Demons because of Meng Duo?”

“Yes.”

Feng could not understand Jingfei; in his view, putting one’s feelings above the safety of the world and the common people seemed not only irresponsible but also terrible. Master Xuan had taught him to have the entire world in his heart; he had to care about all people. Putting his own feelings before them would be selfish and immoral. Feng could also not understand how one could sacrifice so much and put so many lives at risk for love. To be sure, he had not experienced true love. If he had in the past, after the memory loss he did not remember it. So the whole concept of putting love above everything else seemed utterly foreign to him.

Before Feng could say anything, a loud sound was heard. “What is it?”, he asked Yasuf. “Does anyone else know this place aside from you?”

“I do not think so… or so I hope.”