Despicable, deceitful…. Feng Jin continues to be a selfish sh.e.l.lfish while an unsuspecting heroic swordswoman worries after his safety. I like the fight between the 2 martial arts experts in today"s post and hope it also spice up your last week of June. Happy mid-week!

Chapter 4 (Part 1)

Shang Guan Jing wakes up with a start. Something is amiss and it is not just because she is now sleeping on a bed instead of a chair in Feng Jin"s room. Her lips feel sore but she has no time to think more as she registers the sound of swordplay coming from outside the room.

Seeing that Feng Jin is not in the room, she grabs her sword and dashes out. There in the bamboo groove, a figure in black is banishing his sword in front of Feng Jin. Have the villains in the forest returned?

She cannot ascertain if the person is friend or foe, but the sword is too close to Feng Jin for her comfort. Drawing her own sword, she leaps swiftly between the man and Feng Jin, and yells for Feng Jin to leave. He does not know martial arts and is her Achilles heel – if the attacker is smart and captures Feng Jin, she will have choice but to surrender to ensure his safety.

As she turns her attention back to the shadowy figure, she is now certain that he is a man dressed in black. His sword movements are swift and sure – he definitely qualifies as a top-notch swordsman – and it remains to be seen if she can hold her own against him. Tightening her grip on her sword, she strikes out him in rapid succession as she thrusts, parries, and sweeps, her 49 strokes swift as lightning.

She drives the man back a few steps before she changes angle and executed another 49 strokes with even greater speed. Within her sect, her sword skills are the best and Teacher has praised her for it. A long time ago, teacher has said that with her skill, she can help the weak, punish the wrong, and bring glory to their sect. Their sect…..

What is left of her home back at Yu Ling peak?

There is a strangeness in the air, and she is aware of it the moment she stepped inside the bamboo groove. The feeling is similar to the strange sensation in the forest but right now, the atmosphere is 10 times weirder. Almost uncontrollably, a wave of grief rise up within her and nearly engulfs her totally in its despair as it overwhelms her senses.

She loses focus on the fight at hand and reality takes on a strange hue in between the clash of swords. As she defends herself from the man in black who is now fighting with renewed vigour, her mind relives the betrayal of her seniors. In her mind, she relives the anguish and pain that has came from the betrayal. She can feel herself slacking and behind her opponent"s sword, she can almost see the doors of h.e.l.l in the distance beckoning for her to descend into its darkness.

A clap of thunder cuts through the air at the same time that she is jolted by a pain so sharp, that it causes her brain to swirl. Then comes another clash of thunder and her sword flew out from her hands. She tumbles backward and collapses brokenly into the arms of the remote man who has not moved an inch since the start of the fight.

While Shang Guan Jing fainted, Yan Ying is thrown out into the air. His body crashes through a clump of bamboo until he lands in a motionless heap on the floor. Just seconds earlier, Yan Ying has been by consumed by a strong - almost insane – urge to fight and win. Slash. See blood. Cut down his opponent. Win. Having hanged around Feng Jin"s side much longer than Shang Guan Jing, he knows that his mind has been manipulated and this could only mean that his employer is in a foul, foul mood.

He is not bitter that someone has tried to tinker around with his brain - probably only the most strong-willed among stubborn people can remain immune - and he is only thankful that Feng Zhu has stopped whatever crazy he is doing, or he could have gone mad with the primal bloodl.u.s.t that has turned him into a battling beast just now.

Gingerly, he picks himself up and takes stock of his injuries. Nothing seems broken (thankfully!) and it seems that he has suffered only minor sc.r.a.ps. While it is uncharacteristic for Feng Zhu to be so mild-mannered, he is not going to complain about his good fortune and picks himself up from the ground gingerly.

Alas, happiness breeds woe which he finds out the moment that he straightens. A strong stench of iron fill his taste buds and the next instant, he vomits out a mouthful of blood. Rubbing the blood from his mouth, he suspects that one of his internal organs could have raptured and humbly thinks that he must to improve on his will-power next time. He raises both hands in a gesture of respect. "Your humble servant…. deserves to die."

"Hmph! You do actually." Turning his back to him, Feng Jin picks up Shang Guan Jing and walks back to the house.

As Yan Ying coughs out another mouth of blood, he lowers himself to the ground and crosses his legs into a lotus position. Painfully, he tries to regulate his breathing through meditation and as his qi normalizes, he goes back to his earlier thought.

He has been right – Feng Zhu is never one for mild measures once he decides to intervene and he to tend to his injuries asap.

*******

Feng Jin is furious.

It is easy to see a person"s true nature when he is at his most vulnerable and what he saw in Shang Guan Jing is enough to make his blood boil.

He knows that she has intended to protect him when she first stepped inside the bamboo groove, but she has forgotten about it while fighting with Yan Ying.   It is the same for Yan Ying. But while the latter has been consumed with winning the fight, Shang Guan Jing has become downright suicidal. Her aggression was gone, her strokes has turned defensive, feeble and had he not step in, she would probably have stopped fighting altogether and let Yan Ying quarter her.

That dumb lowlife! How dare she thinks of dying!

And why?

A common reason for a woman to seek death is to have failed in a relationship.  Is she still hung up over her Er Shi Ge forsaking her for another woman?

He smiled at the sleeping woman in his arms but his smile is laced with venom. After placing her on the mattress, he unfastens her belt and pulls her top away without any hesitation. As he eyes the smooth, healthy skin exposed without her clothes, he can feel the anger as it burns through his veins.

He has chosen her and in return, she has to give him her body, heart and soul. If anyone dares to covet what is his, that person will die, it is that simple and along the same line, this applies to her as well and she must never, ever betray him. And she has lied - renewed anger boils through him - when she told him that there is no man waiting for her back at Yu Ling peak!

Bending over, he crushes her soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s with his hands. When that fails to quell his anger, he buries his face between her smooth orbs and suckles furiously. Not enough. He strips away both their clothing until his lower body is pressed against her near nakedness. The fire in his loins is dying to be unleashed and she is at his mercy.

But…. The word pops to mind and he pauses.

So what if he takes her now? It may tame the fire in this blood temporarily but come morning, it will bring about more problems.

Besides, he is experiencing that b.l.o.o.d.y, blasted, loneliness again! This is the second time in one night and he is not going to stand for it.

All his life, he is aware of the wild, untamed side of him which he has kept deeply buried. Most of the time anyway. That part of him is safely harnessed normally but….. shaking his head ruefully, he admits that he nearly lost his head this time.

To him, Shang Guan Jing is like an open book. She is a mature, steady woman, with strong beliefs and is the reliable, responsible type when handling matters. She is very good in martial arts and coupled with a strong sense of righteousness, she has probably made it her life mission to defend the weak and right all the wrongs that she comes across.

He has no issues if she sees him as a vulnerable, even pitiful, person. He can indulge her need to "help" him and thinks of it as an opportunity for her to get to know him better. Afterall, if they are going to be together, this can only be a good thing. He will find a way to keep her from going back Yu Ling peak and as far as he is concern, whatever vengeance and grievances back at that mountain there are no longer her concern since she has stepped into his territory.

She belongs to him.

Anger ebbing, he sighs. He seldom sighs and he is surprised by his action. What"s more, his head is throbbing and there is an unfamiliar ache in his heart. Has meet his match at long last?

Pushing away from the bed, he fastens her robes properly and smooths back her hair. As he brushes his thumb across her swollen lips, he thinks that it is amazing how soft her lips feel and he leans forward to kiss them gently.

He walks to a wooden cupboard and takes out a box. Inside the box are several pieces of paper that are cut out in the shape of a person. Taking 2 pieces from the box, he muses out aloud. "If you are going to be here for good, how about I get you a maid or two? Let me see, what kind of maid would you like? How about someone cheerful?"

He mouths a spell, bites his finger and drips 3 drops of blood on each piece of paper.