Chapter 41: The Execution Of Megrez

Zhou Fei really had to hand it to Xie Yun – of all the things that Xie Yun had ever projected, the good stuff never ever came true, while the bad stuff was always right on the money. She tugged at the metal chain linking them and looked up at the darkening sky as she asked: "So, Mr Jinx, are you more powerful, or is the Big Dipper?"

Xie Yun could only smile ruefully at her.

When all those soldiers stormed the manor, Chu Tianquan had initially assumed that they were from the little rascal Zhao Ming Chen, and was greatly shaken – until he saw Xie Yun and Zhou Fei take out those soldiers hiding in the lake.

Smart as a whip, Chu Tianquan instantly realised that Zhao Ming Chen too was in the crosshairs of their mysterious enemy. If this person dared to kill even Prince Kang, he had to be an extremely powerful figure in the Southern Dynasty.

Chu Tianquan had deduced that there was something more sinister afoot here, and that he himself had fallen into a trap as well. He had therefore abandoned most of his men at the manor, using his superior martial arts skills to force his way out along with a small team of his most elite henchmen, and headed straight for the surrounding hills. Now that he'd inadvertently run into Zhao Ming Chen, who was looking even more wretched than him, this wily old fox had a pretty good idea about what was going on here – somebody in the Southern Dynasty must be trying to get rid of this bothersome Prince Kang and was conveniently pinning the blame for it onto him, thereby framing the Big Dipper for assassinating the lad. Chu Tianquan looked at Zhao Ming Chen, whose face still had traces of baby fat on it, and grinned widely: "Ah, Your Highness, how have you been since we last met? This really is a small world."

While Zhao Ming Chen was feeling all kinds of ways right now, his back remained ramrod straight and his chest was puffed out, in a valiant attempt at preserving the dignity of the Zhao royal family. His guards parted before him as he strode towards Chu Tianquan, and said coldly: "Three years ago, the North and South reached agreement on establishing a boundary between us, and pledged that neither side would cross it. Yet you have openly entered Yongzhou today, stealing from and killing my citizens. Eunuch Chu, are you trying to start a war?"

Chu Tianquan gave him a benevolent smile: "Oh, of course not. And you speak too harshly, Your Highness. Twenty years ago, all of us were one big family. In fact, my own family hails from Yongzhou. His Majesty kindly granted me special permission to return to the South to visit my relatives. Along the way, I just so happened to find out that there was some excitement going on here, and decided to take a look out of curiosity. If I'd known it would involve such drama, I would never have come even if you'd enticed me with a mountain of gold – ha!"

Zhao Ming Chen had shrewdness in spades, and was excellent at reading people, and reading between the lines. He knew instantly from Chu Tianquan's oily behaviour that this old eunuch already suspected that someone was trying to frame the Big Dipper for this. The cogs in Zhao Ming Chen's crafty little head started to turn again, and he ventured: "Then…"

But Xie Yun cut his cousin off brusquely, saying to Chu Tianquan: "Since that is the case, then it would be best if you left this godforsaken place as soon as possible, to emerge unscathed while you still can. The death of an able man like yourself would be a great loss to your master."

Having spent the last few years mostly within the confines of the palace walls, only leaving the Northern capital on the rarest of occasions, Chu Tianquan couldn't figure out who Xie Yun and Zhou Fei were just yet. While he'd been addressing Zhao Ming Chen thus far, his peripheral vision was firmly fixed on Xie Yun, wary of this powerful and mysterious pugilist that he couldn't identify. And when Xie Yun dared to so rudely interrupt Zhao Ming Chen, Chu Tianquan grew even warier of him. Shooting Xie Yun a pointed look, he said: "It really is madness whenever those uncivilised pugilists start having at each other. Your safety is a concern, Your Highness – it wouldn't do for one such as yourself to be sullied by any of those louts. Since fate has placed us on the same path, why don't we continue on together? Once we reach safety, I can always get my men to escort you back to Jinling."

Zhou Fei looked at Chu Tianquan in amazement, thinking to herself that Megrez was a true talent – not only did he have the brawn, having torn the Twin Simian Furies to pieces with his bare hands; he also had the brains, as his current attempts at negotiation proved. It wasn't enough for him to simply make off with the Seal of Propriety. He now intended to kidnap Prince Kang as well!

In the space of a few short months, the Northern Dynasty had gone from fierce aggressor on the attack to hesitant and divided enemy. At such a critical juncture, Zhao Ming Chen's death could benefit the South. However, it would be extremely detrimental to them if the North were to take him captive – when the Jian Yuan Emperor had travelled south all those years ago, he'd ascended the throne when he was just slightly over ten years old. With his kingdom snatched from him by usurpers, and lacking anyone powerful to back him, he'd been forced to gain the support of the great clans in the south through a series of political alliances forged through marriage, creating a careful political balance amongst them with much difficulty. This was how he had managed to establish a dynasty for the Zhaos in Jinling. Now that twenty years had passed, the Jian Yuan Emperor had consolidated his power and begun to effect the sweeping reforms that were the late Emperor's dream, although this inevitably meant limiting the influence of those powerful forces in the south that had helped him attain his current position. To maintain the careful political balance amongst his erstwhile backers, he'd also refused to name any one of his sons as crown prince. All of this had started to create dissension between the Emperor and these great clans. If Zhao Ming Chen were to be killed by the Big Dipper, this would certainly unite the various factions under the common cause of attacking the North in retaliation. But if the lad were to be taken captive, his mother's powerful clan would definitely prioritise his safety above all else and counsel peace, even if they'd previously supported war with the North.

All this meant that Zhao Ming Chen, that young lad of fifteen, was a very crucial piece of chess right now.

But who could have predicted that Xie Yun would come bursting out of nowhere, allowing Zhao Ming Chen to get away even under such dire circumstances? Or that the boy would have the horrible luck of running into the malevolent Megrez just when he'd escaped.

Xie Yun shot Mr Bai a discreet look. The ever-dependable Mr Bai immediately stepped forward to speak on Zhao Ming Chen's behalf: "There's no need for Eunuch Chu to go to all that trouble. We're quite capable of safely escorting His Highness back to Jinling."

Chu Tianquan grinned wolfishly: "Oh, it's no trouble at all. I can see that all of you have been injured, to varying degrees. If you were to encounter any formidable foes, things could turn out quite badly for you."

Mr Bai looked over at those black-clad men behind Eunuch Chu, his gaze darkening.

While these two middle-aged men were preoccupied with lobbing veiled threats at each other, Zhou Fei seized the opportunity to discreetly step behind Xie Yun and start fiddling with the lock again – Chu Tianquan was certainly far more threatening than a seriously injured Mu Xiaoqiao. From the astounding first impression that this eunuch had made, Zhou Fei could tell that he was even more powerful than his Big Dipper cronies Gu Tianxuan and Lu Yaoguang. There was no way Xie Yun would be able to fight with just one hand.

Zhou Fei focused all her attention on trying to distinguish those nine near-identical keys from each other, then quickly matching them to their correct keyholes. But just as she successfully slid the seventh key into the lock, Chu Tianquan seemed to notice what she was doing. He suddenly leapt into the air mid-sentence, attacking Xie Yun without warning.

Zhou Fei felt a violent tug on the Lock of Heaven's Gate, dragging her along with it. If those seven keys hadn't been firmly planted into their respective keyholes, they would have slipped to the ground.

Xie Yun and Chu Tianquan were already engaged in close combat.

The immense force that reverberated each time their palms collided was breath-taking. That air of absolute dominance which Chu Tianquan exuded surpassed even what Shen Tianshu had shown back in Huarong City. His hands were as pale and soft as that of a young maiden's, sporting not a single wrinkle, the veins on the back of them looking almost like they'd been painted on. His nails gleamed with a golden lustre as he swept his hand out in a half-circle towards Zhou Fei, who was still standing beside Xie Yun.

Zhou Fei felt all the hairs on her body stand on end, and tried to reach towards her waist for the Mountain of Lost Springs. But before she could do so, Xie Yun suddenly thrust his palm out in front of her, wedging it in the crook of Chu Tianquan's thumb and pressing downwards, while swivelling a half-step back to pull Zhou Fei behind him. Xie Yun and Chu Tianquan appeared to be staidly exchanging blows like two gentlemen having a practice session, using the form of the moves but none of the fury. Yet after watching them for just a short while, Zhou Fei felt herself start to break out in cold sweat.

She'd witnessed Kou Dan's craftiness, Zheng Luosheng's cunning, and Shen Tianshu's ferocity – yet none of them could compare to this portly old eunuch.

Chu Tianquan and Xie Yun were playing a lethal game of chess, in which each move was equally deadly. They each attacked the other in a deceptively sedate and even mild fashion – yet if either one of them relaxed in the slightest, even the gentlest stirring of wind from those blows could be fatal. Compared to such power, her 'Inconstant Wind', which she'd believed to have made a marvellous breakthrough in that day at the 48 Zhai, was as rudimentary as a child's plaything.

When one beheld a mountain from afar, its slopes would seem as gentle as the curves of a woman's back, and while the road to it was long, it didn't appear difficult. It was only after the arduous journey to simply reach the foot of it, and realising that its proximity was only an illusion, would one get a proper idea of the daunting height of this towering mountain, its peaks soaring thousands of feet into the clouds.

Some might despair at this, finding it pointless to venture even a single step forward.

At this moment, all nine moves of the Snow-Breaking Sabre that she had so painstakingly honed were suddenly reduced to a series of dry and lifeless movements in Zhou Fei's eyes. She forced herself to tear her eyes from this unprecedented battle and focus all her energies on undoing this darn lock in her hands. There were just two keys left, but each time she managed to aim the keys at their correct keyholes, Chu Tianquan would deliberately leave an opening for Xie Yun to attack him while lunging at Zhou Fei. As Xie Yun couldn't possibly abandon Zhou Fei, he would have no choice but to retreat to her side to fend off Chu Tianquan, which would inevitably disrupt her efforts to uncuff him. The three of them were thus stuck in this frustrating stalemate.

Zhou Fei was sure her horoscope must have read that any locks she touched today would be impossible to undo.

A look of realisation crossed Chu Tianquan's face as he said: "And here I was wondering who you were – the Cloud-Parting Palms, eh?"

Xie Yun, who was probably the most smart-mouthed prince there was in the history of princes, had no time to spare for a retort at present. The clinking of the chain cuffed to his hand was becoming increasingly sharp, as the metal was beginning to freeze over from the bitterly cold air that had started to radiate uncontrollably from his pores. It was inconceivable how he was still managing to hold up.

Chu Tianquan foiled Zhou Fei's attempt at undoing the lock yet again, although he didn't seem all that relaxed either, as his breathing was a little heavier than it'd been just now. He mustered a deep breath with some difficulty, enough to say to Xie Yun: "The Cloud-Parting Palms are reputedly peerless – but from what I can see, it's just a fool's technique. Your Highness, your master did you wrong by imparting you something so soft-hearted. Do you really intend to put up such a feeble fight, using borrowed internal strength to boot?"

"Spare me…" said Xie Yun as he blocked yet another strike from Chu Tianquan aimed at Zhou Fei's head, the exertion causing a layer of frost to spread rapidly across his palm. He gritted out his next two words through clenched teeth: "…your concern."

Chu Tianquan chuckled: "Ah, so you're a besotted fool as well."

As he said this, Chu Tianquan rapidly channelled a surge of force through his arm and pressed down on Xie Yun's outstretched hand. A loud crack was heard from Xie Yun's wrist, the poison in him acting up even more as he mustered all his strength to push back against Chu Tianquan's hand. In Xie Yun's current state, it was frankly quite difficult for him to last in a drawn-out fight. Beads of cold sweat started to appear on his forehead, which swiftly formed a thin layer of frost.

Not only had Zhou Fei spent the past ten minutes trying and failing to undo a puny little lock, she had severely handicapped Xie Yun in his compulsion to protect her. Never in her life had she felt like this much of a loser. The rage building up inside of her grew and grew till it incinerated all the doubts and confusion that she had been overcome with. Abruptly flinging aside the Lock of Heaven's Gate, she bellowed: "Get out of my way!"

Both Xie Yun and Chu Tianquan were too wrapped up in their fight to spare their attention on anything else. By the time Xie Yun realised what she was doing, it was too late to stop her. The Snow-Breaking Sabre emerged fearsomely from behind him, its blade glinting fiercely with a touch of Li Jinrong's 'Unrivalled' style, and headed straight for Chu Tianquan. The metal chain was yanked completely taut, forcing Xie Yun to stumble to the side. While Chu Tianquan's attention was drawn by Zhou Fei's sudden attack, Xie Yun seized the opportunity to withdraw his hand.

Chu Tianquan stretched two fingers out to grip the blade of the Mountain of Lost Springs with extreme precision.

But before he could do so, Zhou Fei's blade suddenly sped up, changing course and transitioning into a different move in mid-air. It skimmed Chu Tianquan's fingertips, the tip of it jabbing at Chu Tianquan's eyes like the rapid flick of a snake's tongue – this was Ji Yunchen's Slicing Water and Tangling Silk.

Chu Tianquan swiftly averted his head to dodge that blow: "The Snow-Breaking Sabre, eh? Interesting."

While Zhou Fei's moves remained at their essence the Snow-Breaking Sabre, she had the tendency to pick up everything she observed, and over time the form and style of these moves had been imbued with a whole lot of other techniques. Unless she chose to execute a textbook version of the Snow-Breaking Sabre's nine moves, onlookers would often find it quite impossible to discern the technique she was using. But even though none of what she'd just executed was a standard move of the Snow-Breaking Sabre, Chu Tianquan had managed to identify it instantly, proving that his martial arts were on a whole other level. If he weren't a member of the infamous Big Dipper, he might already be lauded as a grandmaster in the martial arts community by now. However, perhaps owing to the fact that Zhou Fei had been so deeply and existentially shaken just now, her face betrayed not a slightest hint of apprehension at this. She dutifully returned to the original moves of the Snow-Breaking Sabre, sending a 'Cut' Chu Tianquan's way. The old eunuch let out a hearty laugh, as if he were mocking the naïve courage of this young girl. A purple miasma emanated from his palms as he unleashed decades of painstakingly cultivated chi, which surged towards her like a rushing river crashing through a dam. It collided with Zhou Fei's blade and snaked up the Mountain of Lost Springs.

Under the opposing forces of Zhou Fei's thrust and Chu Tianquan's overwhelming internal strength, the Mountain of Lost Springs shattered almost instantly. Zhou Fei seemed to have expected this, and showed no alarm despite the destruction of her blade. The energy of her thrust continued barrelling forward, the bare hilt of her sabre whipping those sharp fragments of metal into a frenzy, as if they had been swept up into a hurricane. She had used the pieces of her broken sabre to execute 'Wind'.

To Chu Tianquan's surprise, Zhou Fei had omitted the 'Snow' in the 'Snow-Breaking Sabre' to simply break her sabre – his temple now sported a fresh cut, and he had to deliver three palm strikes in quick succession to knock those jagged shards to the ground. As he did so, he heard a sharp click. Zhou Fei had seized this brief respite to insert the final two keys into the lock.

Chu Tianquan's eyes twitched. Narrowing them, he said to Zhou Fei: "I didn't get your name."

Zhou Fei flung aside the bladeless hilt in her hand and replied: "I'm just a little nobody."

Then she turned to Zhao Ming Chen and said: "Lend me a weapon."

Zhao Ming Chen stared dumbly at her as he unfastened the sword from his waist and placed it in her outstretched hand.

Xie Yun coughed painfully as he stretched his right arm, which had finally regained its freedom. Blowing icy cold air into his palms in a futile attempt to warm them, he said: "One sword isn't enough for this destroyer of weapons – you'd better hand her a few more. And then you must leave."

Zhao Ming Chen said anxiously: "Third Brother."

"Go back, and forget everything that I've just told you. Bearing grudges will not change anything." Xie Yun looked at Chu Tianquan while continuing to address Ming Chen: "Buckle down and return to your lessons. There's no need for you to dabble in these things just to win your father's favour – you can't anyway, and don't listen to the alarmist counsel from your mother and the rest of them. You are the Emperor's son, of royal blood, not a tool in their quest for power. Have a little dignity."

Zhao Ming Chen's eyes reddened.

With his back to him, Xie Yun said: "Now go, don't get in the way."

Zhao Ming Chen looked like he wanted to say something, but Mr Bai and one of his bodyguards grabbed him by the arms and forcibly dragged him away. Chu Tianquan had lost interest in Zhao Ming Chen now that the last remaining descendant of the Yide Crown Prince was right in front of him, and didn't try to stop the boy from leaving. Zhao Ming Chen suddenly looked over his shoulder and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking: "Third Brother, why would I want to go back to Jinling – let me go! Why can't I roam the world outside like you, I…"

The thought of that gilded cage, with its splendid palaces and magnificent pavilions, made him shudder. Every single picturesque shower of flowers, and every single gust of wind rustling the manicured willows, concealed murderous intentions and insatiable ambitions, cruelly warping once-good people and smothering everyone to death. All of a sudden, the very idea of that place sickened Zhao Ming Chen to his stomach, and he felt like he wouldn't be able to bear going back. He struggled desperately, but how could he possibly break free from Mr Bai and his men?

Xie Yun smiled faintly, as if he couldn't hear the boy's cries.

Chu Tianquan looked over at the retreating party with intrigue, and then turned back to Xie Yun, saying: "You're an upstanding fellow aren't you, Prince Duan – why aren't you asking this young lady here to leave with them as well?"

"She's not mine to control," said Xie Yun. "And she won't go anyway. Since you refuse to leave, Eunuch Chu, then you are welcome to stay."

Zhou Fei had been looking over all those weapons that Mr Bai and his men had left for her, trying to pick the best one out of a rather dismal bunch. She froze when she heard Xie Yun say that out of the blue. For some reason, her eyes started to prickle with tears.

There was a narrow, rushing stream in the heart of every girl, which brimmed with feeling and affection. For some, their hearts were open grasslands or lush forests, this stream a bubbling brook winding merrily through flower-filled fields, joyous and pleasing to the ear. But for others, their hearts were like the desolate tundras of the northern frontiers, with only bitterly cold winds and fierce blizzards for company. The constant collisions of massive glaciers made an earth-shaking commotion, such that even if the warmest of hot springs lay deep beneath the ground, it could go completely undetected.

Zhou Fei quickly lowered her head, her hand tightening round a worn Miao sabre.[1]

Scrutinising the expression on Xie Yun's face, Chu Tianquan scoffed: "Fine then, I'll gladly oblige Your Highness."

Once he said this, the mass of black-clad men charged at them in an orderly formation.

Even though Chu Tianquan was a top pugilist of the highest order, he showed not the slightest inclination to do battle with them on his own, setting his men on them instead, and displaying none of the honour that one might expect a great pugilist to possess. But this was probably exactly why upstanding heroes like the Sword of Mountains and Rivers and the Southern and Northern Blades had departed this earth, while he managed to remain alive and kicking.

Fortunately, Zhou Fei was quite adept at fighting when outnumbered.

The Miao sabre that Mr Bai had left for her was longer than the Mountain of Lost Springs. Zhou Fei leapt ahead of Xie Yun, sweeping it before her in 'Sea'. She barged right into the swarm of black-clad men with practiced ease, her sabre making a clean arc through them. The fierce battle at the 48 Zhai seemed to have further honed Zhou Fei's Mayfly Formation to perfection.

The faintest of smiles emerged on Xie Yun's face.

Now that Xie Yun was no longer constrained by the Lock of Heaven's Gate, nor did Chu Tianquan need to worry about what Zhou Fei was up to, both of them promptly abandoned their previous restraint in this clash of titans. No matter whose side one was on, good or evil, North or South, one would probably agree that this was one of the most exciting fights of the last twenty years.

The Cloud-Parting Palms were ethereal in their profundity, while Chu Tianquan wielded near-peerless power.

This was a showdown between two men with the most soul-stirring of histories: the last remaining descendant of the Yide Crown Prince, who had grown up amidst two warring dynasties, expulsion from his homeland, and the slaughter of his family, enduring the bitterest of sufferings and bearing the heaviest of burdens; versus the Big Dipper Megrez, an insignificant nobody born into such abject poverty that he had to sacrifice his manhood to enter the palace in servitude, and through inconceivable resolve and incredible ruthlessness, betrayed his master and pledged allegiance to the enemy, clawing his way up over mountains of corpses and rivers of blood to get to where he was today.

The two of them were quite evenly matched. Unfortunately…

It was a pity that Xie Yun was afflicted with Bone-Deep Frost.

Back in Yongzhou City, Ying Hecong had accurately discerned at a glance that the poison had spread irreversibly, and that Xie Yun didn't have long to live. However, Xie Yun was used to grinning and bearing it, so he hadn't let any of this on. He'd always felt that broadcasting his suffering was rather pointless, and would only drag others down. Those novels that Li Sheng had loaned him were far more useful in providing a respite from the pain than any amount of moaning and groaning might.

And today, he'd taken a palm strike from Mu Xiaoqiao head-on, which was followed by a dash at top speed from the manor while trying to protect Zhao Ming Chen. All these reckless exertions had caused the poison to act up even more aggressively. Xie Yun could already feel that ubiquitous chill start to creep ominously towards his heart.

The warmth at his core was seeping out ceaselessly, like a cup with a leaky bottom, or a fistful of sand slipping through one's fingers. As his temperature started to drop precipitously, all the joints in his body started to stiffen, such that even the most powerful of chi was incapable of loosening them up again. His body started to go out of sync with his mind, unable to keep up with his reflexes. But in such a clash of titans, the smallest of slip-ups could be fatal. Failing to dodge in time, Xie Yun's palm instantly sported a deep gash courtesy of Chu Tianquan – yet he didn't feel a thing!

As he looked down at that bloody wound, Xie Yun felt his heart sink a little – this lack of sensation didn't mean that he'd become invulnerable, but that he was starting to lose all feeling in his extremities. He knew what would happen next: his joints would freeze up, the flow of energy through his meridians would still, and then…

Xie Yun abruptly leapt upwards, using his exceptional qinggong to rise a full metre into the air. He delivered a palm strike at a black-clad man in his way, effortlessly sweeping him aside, and then headed for the surrounding thicket of trees, weaving his way lightly through them. Chu Tianquan followed him in hot pursuit. Using the trees for cover, Xie Yun spun round to the other side of Chu Tianquan and struck at the old eunuch's head from above. Chu Tianquan gave a low roar, and reached both hands out to block him. But Xie Yun had merely been faking that move, swiftly withdrawing and doing a flip in mid-air to land behind Chu Tianquan instead. With deadly force, his finger reached for a vital pressure point on the eunuch's back.

Chu Tianquan bent over backwards, making his hand into a claw to ensnare Xie Yun's outstretched finger. But just before it could close round that finger, Xie Yun slid fluidly away from him, and Chu Tianquan promptly withdrew his hand. Both of them had just narrowly missed the opportunity to deliver fatal blows. Xie Yun moved several steps back to stand amongst the trees, while Chu Tianquan turned to face him with his arms crossed.

Chu Tianquan gave a low chuckle and said: "I really must thank Brother Alioth – if not for him, I wouldn't have it this easy against Your Highness."

There was a flash of red at the corner of Xue Yun's deathly pale lips. He gently pursed them, wiping away that trace of blood, and his lips barely moved as he said: "Watch out."

Chu Tianquan looked at him in surprise. The very next second, he heard the whoosh of a sharp blade slicing through the air from behind him. Mustering his strength again, he turned around to deliver a palm strike.

Zhou Fei appeared to have learnt her lesson after breaking the Mountain of Lost Springs just now. This time, she didn't meet that blow from Chu Tianquan head-on. Instead, she skimmed her blade across his palm, leveraging the force from it to send herself flying away from him. Her light frame only required this slightest of boosts to go hurtling through the air. Without even turning to look back at Chu Tianquan, she swooped down onto several black-clad men who had been chasing after her, her blade moving at three times its usual speed as it speared those closest to her.

But Chu Tianquan couldn't go after her, as the Cloud-Parting Palms had already closed in on him. He was seething with rage – just when he had managed to gain the upper hand while Xie Yun was incapacitated by the poison, this dratted girl had barged in to give the faltering fellow an assist. Unfortunately for him, he was about to get even more furious.

All these black-clad men were the most capable of the lot – Chu Tianquan had left the useless ones behind at the manor.

He'd thought that even if these men were no match for the Snow-Breaking Sabre, they would at least be able to keep the hands of this audacious girl full, since she was vastly outnumbered. But he realised to his dismay that this was not the case at all – These 'capable' men who 'vastly outnumbered' Zhou Fei were an utter disgrace, as they were reduced to scrambling clumsily after her.

After she'd lazily run circles round them, which greatly improved her mood, she began to seize whatever opportunities she could find to attack Chu Tianquan from the most inconceivable of angles. Yet Chu Tianquan couldn't do anything about this, because while Zhou Fei only had a bunch of laggards to dispatch of, he had the formidable Xie Yun to contend with, which demanded his undivided attention. While she could afford to slip away from her pursuers, he had to remain where he was.

Chu Tianquan now understood why Xie Yun had drawn him into this thicket of trees just now!

Zhou Fei treated this entire forest as the Mayfly Formation on a grander scale, incorporating the surrounding stones, trees and the old eunuch. This enabled her to weave in and out of the dense foliage to attack Chu Tianquan where possible, while also making it easier to rout his men. This time, she didn't even need to exchange a single glance with Xie Yun to complement him perfectly.

For all his life, Chu Tianquan had been obsessed with the orthodox schools of martial arts, dismissing all other techniques such as tactical formations and the like as unorthodox and inferior. He would never have thought that he might one day be put on the back foot by the 'unorthodox' techniques of two youngsters. While he could tell that there was a method behind Zhou Fei's seemingly arbitrary steps, he couldn't figure out what it was, and was forced to dodge wretchedly left and right as the two of them teamed up to attack him. Casting his gaze around, he realised that more than half of his men had already fallen.

Chu Tianquan thought to himself: If this bunch of losers were to get themselves all killed off, this girl won't have anything to hold her back, and things will just get worse for me.

As he contemplated this, he glanced over at Xie Yun again. The man's injured palm was already so frozen solid that not a single drop of blood had trickled out. He thought to himself: It doesn't seem like he's got many more days left to live, and I'm in no hurry to return to the North. If I escape today, I'll just need to wait around here for a while till this fellow dies, before catching and killing the girl quite easily. I can then tell everyone that I've taken Prince Duan of the South captive – since there'll be no witnesses. That'll put Zhao Yuan in a real bind, what with all his talk about returning the throne to his nephew.

Having settled on this plan, Chu Tianquan let out a shrill howl all of a sudden, whirling around in mid-air as he dodged a blow from Zhou Fei. Then he grabbed one of his own black-clad men and flung him at Xie Yun, seizing the opportunity to dart away and lunge at Zhou Fei. Xie Yun furrowed his brow. Forcing himself to muster up all his energy again, he endured the excruciating pain from the chi surging through his meridians and gave chase, getting in between the old eunuch and Zhou Fei just in time.

But Chu Tianquan had only been pretending to attack Zhou Fei. Not stopping to tussle with Xie Yun, he swiftly retreated as the Cloud-Parting Palms swept towards him. He reached the outskirts of this thicket of trees in a few steps and whistled loudly. The few black-clad men still standing instantly re-grouped and swarmed towards Xie Yun, tightly surrounding him. Perhaps the lives of their families were in Chu Tianquan's hands, or he had something on them – they proceeded to launch themselves at Xie Yun with complete disregard for their own lives, as if they would do anything to tie him down here.

Chu Tianquan didn't even spare a glance at his men. Leaping up and away with his qinggong, he was already several metres from them in a matter of seconds.

The paths that wound through the hills of Yongzhou twisted and turned, and the forests here were dense. Once Chu Tianquan disappeared into the woods, it would be impossible to track him down.

Zhou Fei went after him right away – and how could Xie Yun possibly leave her to do so all alone? He quickly plucked a sword from the hands of one of his black-clad assailants.

The master who had created the Cloud-Parting Palms must have been a person of great benevolence. Even though it truly was an exquisite technique, it had a built-in leniency to its moves, with the clear intention of ultimately sparing the lives of its opponents. This was why Chu Tianquan had criticised it for being 'soft-hearted'. However, Xie Yun was wielding his sword now with absolutely no mercy. He was not using any particular technique, slashing it left and right in an extremely straightforward and even rudimentary manner. Yet it was extremely effective in its brutality, as if he were hacking his way across a battlefield.

With sword in hand, Xie Yun made quick work of every single one of those black-clad men that had been clustered round him. He looked up again to find that Zhou Fei had taken a narrow path through the trees, and had almost reached Chu Tianquan. As she had on her a whole passel of weapons thanks to Mr Bai and his men, she was being quite generous in using them. Unsheathing Zhao Ming Chen's sword that hung from her waist, she threw it at Chu Tianquan like she might a dart.

While Chu Tianquan was devoid of any honour whatsoever, he did have a temper, and spun around to shout at her with his hand menacingly raised: "How dare you! You little…"

His words came to an abrupt halt. Zhou Fei watched in bewilderment as his entire body stiffened, and he remained frozen in his tracks.

While Zhou Fei had been pursuing him quite fearlessly in her desperation, this was just so bizarre that it finally occurred to her that she should exercise some caution. She came to a halt roughly three steps away from Chu Tianquan, and stood there staring back at him. Chu Tianquan's face had started to turn a greyish-green, and his sagging cheeks were quivering violently – shortly after that, his entire body started to shake as well, as though he were having a fit.

Zhou Fei brandished her Miao sabre and was about to step forward when she heard someone call out: "Don't move."

She looked up sharply to see a figure walk slowly out from amongst the trees, a rattan basket on his back – it was Doctor Poison, Ying Hecong. Xie Yun reached her side just then, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her behind him as he said: "Don't go over there."

The little red snake was coiled round Ying Hecong's wrist, hissing as he tenderly stroked its tiny head. Coming to a stop a metre away from Chu Tianquan, he said softly: "This poison is called 'Morning Dew', and it's made from a particular snake's venom. When made into a powder and mixed with water vapour, it turns into a poisonous mist that is both colourless and odourless. These hills are shrouded in mists at dawn and dusk, making these the perfect times for Morning Dew to spread. The stronger one's chi, the faster the poison will act up – Eunuch Cao, it seems like you are indeed as powerful as everyone says you are."

A frightening black miasma was now hanging over Chu Tianquan's face, making him look barely human.

"Ah, he can't hear anymore." Ying Hecong examined the old eunuch's face for a moment and sighed: "That's the only problem with poisons this effective – you can't even get a response from your enemy. It just takes something away from the victory."

This nefarious plotter had eventually fallen to a plot himself.

Zhou Fei stared dumbly at this scene unfolding before her. She still couldn't quite believe that Chu Tianquan would end up dying from snake venom…this was just too absurd!

Zhou Fei felt a sudden weight on her shoulder. She jerked her head round to see that Xie Yun was pressing down on it: "Help…help me…up…"

Alarmed, Zhoi Fei was about to reach her hand out towards him, but before she could do so she heard a loud creak come from Xie Yun's arm, like the hinge of a door that had been frozen solid. He promptly toppled headfirst to the ground.