"Who is he? What incredible sword skills!" one person exclaimed.

"One slice gets all seven cups and none of the cups moved at all, it"s almost like magic!" another one praised.

"Luckily the old gentleman showed mercy upon you," someone said to the short fat man, "otherwise your head and neck would have been just like these cups."

"Nah! That old gentleman must be a famous master; he would never have lowered himself to behave so commonly!" another one commented.

The short fat man just stared at the seven half-cups blankly. His face was completely white and he did not hear a word said by the crowd.

"See, I told you not to talk so much," the middle-aged man in the silk robe said. "Trouble comes from unnecessary words; worry comes from acting without thinking. Right now there are all kinds of hidden dragons and crouching tigers in Hengshan, and many of them are elite fighters! That old gentleman must be a good friend of Great Mr. Mo. He heard your disrespectful words about Great Mr. Mo, so of course, he decided to teach you a lesson."

"He wasn"t a good friend of Great Mr. Mo," The graybeard said coldly. "That was the Head Master of Hengshan Sword School, "Night Rain of Xiaoxiang," Great Mr. Mo, himself."

"What? He…he was Great Mr. Mo? How do you know?" Everyone was shocked and asked the question simultaneously.

"It"s quite elementary," the graybeard said. "Great Mr. Mo loves to play the huqin, and especially the song "Night Rain of Xiaoxiang." It could move the listeners to tears. The words "sword hidden in the huqin, sword plays the music" are an apt description of his Kung Fu skills. Since all of you are in Hengshan town, how can you have never heard that? That brother said earlier that Master Liu could pierce five wild geese with one thrust, but that Great Mr. Mo could only get three, so he sliced seven cups in demonstration. If even cups can be sliced into pieces, how hard do you think it would be to get wild geese? No wonder he said that you were talking nonsense."

The short fat man was still in shock. He lowered his head, speechless. The man in the silk robe paid the bill and dragged him out of the teashop.

The people in the teashop had watched the magic thrust from "Night Rain of Xiaoxiang" Great Mr. Mo, and suddenly they all felt a chill settle in their hearts. Since none had dissented when the short fat man was defaming Great Mr. Mo, they worried that perhaps they had planted the seeds of trouble, so they all paid their bills and left hurriedly. In a short while, the once crowded teashop became almost empty. Other than Lin Pingzhi, there were only two other guests, bent over a table, dozing off.

Lin Pingzhi gazed at the seven half-cups and the seven china rings on the table and sank deep into thought. The old man had been so wretched looking, that it seemed someone could push him over with a single finger, yet with a mere wave of his sword, all seven cups had been sliced in half. If he hadn"t left Fuzhou, he would have never known, that there could be people with such outstanding skills in the world. He was like a frog, watching the sky from inside a well back at the Fortune Prestige Escort House. At that time, he thought that the highest level of Kung Fu people could achieve would be, at most, on par with that of his father. If he were to become a student of this old man and work hard on his Kung Fu training, he might actually have a chance to avenge the Escort House; otherwise, there was really no realistic hope.

Lin Pingzhi mulled over the idea a bit longer. Why couldn"t he go and find this Great Mr. Mo and implore him to rescue his parents and take him as an apprentice? He stood up in excitement, but a seed of doubt sprouted in his thoughts. After all, Mo was the Head Master of the Hengshan Sword School, and the Five Mountain Sword Alliance had a good relationship with the Qingcheng Sword School; why would he offend his allies for a total stranger? Having such a discouraging thought, he sat back down in depression.

Just then, a melodious and tender voice rose, "Second apprentice brother, it looks like the rain just won"t stop. I"m almost soaked through. Why don"t we stop here for some hot tea?"

Lin Pingzhi was stunned. He recognized the voice the instant he heard it. It was none other than the voice of the ugly wine-selling girl who had saved his life. He lowered his head in a hurry.

"Alright, let"s drink some hot tea to warm up a little," a much older sounding voice answered.

The two walked into the teashop and sat at a table, diagonally across from Lin Pingzhi. Lin Pingzhi glanced out of the corner of his eyes and saw the wine-selling girl in a green dress seated with her back to him. The person sitting besides her was the old man who claimed to be her grandfather.

"So you two are really fellow apprentices disguised as grandfather and granddaughter to carry out some scheme in Fuzhou," he thought. But why did they save him? Maybe they would know of his parents" whereabouts.

The waiter cleaned the table and brought out hot tea. The old man saw the seven half-cups on the table beside them and could not help but utter a cry of surprise.

"Little apprentice sister, look!"

"Amazing! Who could have cut these seven cups?" the young girl was also quite surprised.

"Little apprentice sister, let me pose a riddle: One thrust seven directions, powerful enough to cut gold and jade. Who do you think cut these seven cups?" the old man asked the girl in a low voice.

"I wasn"t here when it happened, how should I know who…?" the girl started to protest, when suddenly, she started clapping her hands in glee. "I"ve got it! I"ve got it! It"s one of the thirty-six moves of Wind-twirling Geese-falling Sword, the seventeenth move One Thrust Drops Nine Geese. This must be the work of Liu Zhengfeng, Master Liu," she proclaimed triumphantly.

"I am afraid that Master Liu"s skills have not progressed to that level yet; you"ve only got it half right," the old man shook his head with a smile.

"Stop! Don"t say it!" The girl pointed at him with a big grin. "I know who it was. It…it…it was "Night Rain of Xiaoxiang" Great Mr. Mo!"

All of a sudden, the sounds of applause and laughter came from seven or eight different directions. "Good job, little apprentice sister!" Several people shouted.

Lin Pingzhi was startled. "Where did all these people come from?" He glanced out from the corner of his eyes again and saw that the two dozing men had stood up, and there were five others who just walked out from the teashop"s back room. One was dressed like a porter; one held an abacus in his hands, and looked like a merchant; another had a small monkey perched on his shoulder and looked like a street performer.

"Ha, so you dirty tricksters were all hiding. You almost gave me a heart attack! Where"s big apprentice brother?" the young girl grinned.

"We"ve just met, and you"re already calling us dirty tricksters?" the man with the monkey said with mock seriousness.

"Well, you hid yourselves and tried to scare me, didn"t you? So of course you"re dirty tricksters," the girl retorted with a grin. "Why isn"t big apprentice brother with you?"

"How come you don"t ask about anything else but your big apprentice brother?" The man with the monkey laughed, teasingly. "We"ve barely spoken two sentences and you"ve already asked about your big apprentice brother, twice. Why don"t you ask about your sixth senior apprentice brother?"

The girl stamped her foot on the floor. "Bah! You"re standing here in perfect shape, safe and sound Monkey-boy. Why should I bother asking about you?"

"Well, big apprentice brother is also safe and sound. Why are you asking about him then?" the man with the monkey shot back with a grin.

"I am not talking to you, any more," the girl exclaimed. "Fourth apprentice brother, you"re the only gentleman of the bunch! Where"s big apprentice brother?"

Before the man dressed as porter could answer, several others began to protest. "Ho! Only your fourth apprentice brother is a gentleman, and we are all villains? Hey, Number Four, don"t answer her."

"Don"t answer then!" the girl exploded huffily. "If you don"t want to tell me, fine! But don"t expect me to tell you one word about the strange and interesting things that happened on our way here when I was with second apprentice brother."

The man dressed as porter did not partic.i.p.ate in any of the joking and banters. He seemed to be a simple and straightforward person.

"We departed with big apprentice brother yesterday at Hengyang," he said. "He told us to come first. By now he is probably already sober, and will be here soon."

"He got drunk again?" the girl frowned slightly.

"Yep," the man dressed as a porter answered.

"This time he really drank his fill," the man with the abacus cut in. "He drank from morning till noon, and then from noon till dusk. He probably drank at least twenty to thirty liters of good wine!"

"That"s not good for his health! Why didn"t you talk to him?" the girl admonished.

The man with the abacus stuck his tongue out and made a face. "If big apprentice brother would listen to other people"s advice, then the sun would have risen from the west. But I guess if the little apprentice sister tried to stop him, then he might drink one liter less." Everyone laughed at these words.

"Why did he start drinking like that? Was he celebrating something?" the girl asked.

"You"ll have to ask him about that," the man with the abacus replied. "I think he figured he would see his little apprentice sister when he came to Hengshan town and felt really happy about it, so he decided to celebrate."

"Nonsense!" the girl sniffed, yet she sounded quite pleased.

Lin Pingzhi listened to the joking among these fellow apprentices. "It seems this girl really likes her big apprentice brother, very much," he thought. "But if that second apprentice brother is already so old, the big apprentice brother must be even older. The girl is just only sixteen or seventeen, how could she fall in love with someone so old?" He thought a bit longer and then found an answer. "Ah, yes. The girl has pox-marks all over her face. She is way too ugly. No one else would take her, so she has to love an old drunkard."

Then he heard the girl asking again, "So big apprentice brother started drinking since yesterday morning?"

"I guess if we don"t tell you the whole story, you just won"t leave us alone," the man with the monkey conceded. "Yesterday morning the eight of us were just about to start the trip when big apprentice brother suddenly detected the scent of some great wine from the street. We checked it out, and found a beggar drinking out of a wine calabash. That really piqued big apprentice brother"s sense of wine, so he went over to talk to the beggar, praising his wine, and asking what kind it was. The beggar replied that it was monkey wine, and big apprentice brother asked what monkey wine was. The beggar then answered that monkeys in western Hunan Province knew how to use fruits to make wine. The fruits those monkeys used were the freshest and sweetest, so the wine made from them was the best, as well. The beggar had walked into the monkeys" domain by accident, and the monkeys happened to be away, so he stole three calabashes of wine and also caught a small monkey. See, this is him." He pointed to the monkey on his shoulder. One of the monkey"s legs was tied to his wrist by a line. The monkey kept rubbing its head, scratching its cheeks, and making faces; it looked very comical.

The girl looked at the monkey and burst into laughter. "Sixth apprentice brother, no wonder your nickname is Monkey-Six. You and your little friend here look just like twins."

"We are not twins," Monkey-Six said with a straight face. "We are fellow apprentices. This little fellow is my big apprentice brother, and I am his junior." Everyone burst into loud laughter.

The girl laughed as well. "Aha, you are making fun of big apprentice brother. Wait till I tell him about this. He"ll be sure to kick your behind."

"How did your brother end up in your hands?" after some giggles, she asked again.

"My brother?" Monkey-Six was lost for a moment. "Are you talking about this little critter? Well, that"s a long story. It"s going to give me a headache!"

"You don"t have to tell me, I can guess," the girl said archly. "Big apprentice brother must have asked for the monkey, and asked you to take care of it, hoping the little thing would make a calabash of wine for him!"

"Hey, that"s right!" Monkey-Six said.

"Big apprentice brother always likes to come up with these hare-brained schemes," the girl said. "The monkeys only make wine when they"re in the mountains. Now that he"s caught, why would he collect fruits to make wine? If you let him go loose to find fruits, wouldn"t he just run away?" After a short pause she continued, "Otherwise, how come our Monkey-Six hasn"t made any wine?"

"Little apprentice sister, you"re being impudent to your senior apprentice brother," Monkey-Six said with mock sternness.

"Aha, now you"re flaunting your seniority." The girl grinned. "Hey, sixth apprentice brother, you still haven"t touched on the real topic. Why did big apprentice brother start drinking all the way from morning to evening?"

"Right," Monkey-Six said. "Big apprentice brother didn"t pay any mind to how dirty the beggar was and pleaded for some wine from him. The beggar was so dirty that he must have had a crust of filth on him at least three inches thick; lice were crawling in and out of his filthy clothes; tears and mucus covered his face. Maybe there was some drool in the calabash as well…."

"Stop! Disgusting!" the girl covered her mouth and frowned.

"You think it was disgusting, but not big apprentice brother!" Monkey-Six exclaimed. "The beggar said that only a half calabash of wine was left out of the three. He was not going to give it away to anyone. Big apprentice brother took out a tael of silver and offered one tael of silver in exchange for one mouthful of wine."

The girl was annoyed and amused at the same time. "What a lush!" she spat.

"The beggar finally agreed," Monkey-Six went on. "He took the money and said, "One mouthful! No more!" Big apprentice brother said, "I said one mouthful, so of course only one mouthful!" He lifted the calabash and started drinking. Who"d expect his mouthful to last so long that he would finish the entire half-calabash of wine with just one breath. It turned out that he used the Qi-Gong[3] Master had taught him to drink the entire calabash of wine like a black dragon sipping water from the sea, without ever changing a breath."

When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter.

Monkey-Six continued, "Little apprentice sister, if you were in Hengyang and witnessed big apprentice brother"s drinking Kung Fu, you"d have nothing but admiration for him!! "Spirit concentrates in the Diaphragm, breaths flow around the Forbidden Region, soul floats in the air and rises above the mountains, energy shoots up to the stars." His Qi-Gong technique almost reached the pinnacle of perfection and was extremely subtle."

The girl laughed so hard that she almost fell down. "You big magpie," she scolded, "describing big apprentice brother in such a mean way. Huh! And you"d better be careful, making fun of our Qi-Gong formulas and scripts!"

"I am not making things up." Monkey-Six laughed. "Every one of these six fellow apprentices saw it. Didn"t big apprentice brother drink using Qi-Gong?"

"Little apprentice sister, it was true!" Other apprentices by the side chimed in, nodding.

"This Qi-Gong technique was so difficult that he was the only one who was allowed to learn it. And all he could use it for was to cheat wine from a beggar," the girl sighed in despair. Yet beneath the condemnation, there was an undercurrent of praise.

Monkey-Six continued with his story. "Big apprentice brother drank until the bottom of the calabash pointed to the sky; the beggar of course didn"t like it. He seized big apprentice brother"s robe and kept yelling that he had agreed to only one mouthful, and how come big apprentice brother had drunk all his wine? Big apprentice brother smiled and replied, "I truly only drank one mouthful. Did you see me change breath? Without changing breaths, it only counts as one mouthful. We did not specify if it should be a big mouthful or a small mouthful. Actually, I only drank a half mouthful, not the full mouthful. One tael of silver for one mouthful, half a mouthful should only be worth half a tael of silver. You owe me half a tael of silver!""

"He drank someone"s wine and still wanted to skip out on the bill?" the girl couldn"t help laughing.

"The beggar almost cried," Monkey-Six said. "Big apprentice brother then said, "Hey, brother, don"t be so upset, I bet you must be quite a wine connoisseur! Come on, let"s drink our fill, my treat!" Then he dragged the beggar into a wine house by the side of the street. Then a bowl for you, a bowl for me, and the two just drank on and on. We waited till noon, and the two were still drinking. Big apprentice brother then asked for the monkey and gave it to me to take care of. By the afternoon, the beggar was already lying on the floor, drunk, and unable to get up. Big apprentice brother was still drinking by himself but not able to straighten his tongue. He told us to come to Hengshan first, and he would be right behind us."

"That"s why he was drinking," The girl was satisfied. She paused for a while and then asked, "Was the beggar a member of the Beggars Clan?"

"Nope. He didn"t know any Kung Fu and he wasn"t carrying any bags either,"[4] the man dressed as a porter said, shaking his head.

The girl gazed at the rain outside for a while. Seeing that there was no sign of it stopping, she murmured, "If you had come together with the others, then you wouldn"t have to make your trip in the rain today."
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"Little apprentice sister, you said that you and second apprentice brother saw lots of strange things on your way here; aren"t you going to tell us about them?" Monkey-Six asked.

"What"s the hurry?" the girl asked. "Let"s wait till we see big apprentice brother and then I"ll tell the story, so I don"t need to tell it twice. Where did you agree to meet?"

"We didn"t arrange anything," Monkey-Six replied. "The town of Hengshan isn"t that big; we"ll b.u.mp into each other, eventually. Come on, you tricked me into telling the story about big apprentice brother drinking the monkey wine, and now you don"t want to tell us your story?"

The girl"s attention seemed to have drifted away. "Second apprentice brother, will you please tell the story to the other apprentice brothers?" She glanced over at Lin Pingzhi"s back and said, "There are all kinds of people here. Let"s find an inn first and then tell the story at our leisure."

"All the inns in Hengshan town, big and small, are already full," a tall fellow, who didn"t say much before, said. "Since we don"t want to disturb the Liu House, when we meet big apprentice brother later, let"s go to the temple monastery outside town to rest. Second apprentice brother, what do you think?"

Since their senior apprentice brother had not yet arrived, it was natural that the old man was looked to as the leader among the apprentices. "Agreed. Until then, we"ll wait here for big apprentice brother," he nodded.

Monkey-Six however, was eager to hear their story. "That hunchback is probably a r.e.t.a.r.d. He has been sitting there for so long without moving a bit. Why should you worry about him? Second apprentice brother, when you went to Fuzhou with little apprentice sister, what information were you able to gather? The Fortune Prestige Escort House was wiped out by the Qingcheng Sword School, so does the Lin family have any true skills?" he prompted them in a low voice.

Hearing the name of the Escort House mentioned, Lin Pingzhi listened even more intently.

"Little apprentice sister and I met the Master in Changsha," the old man answered. "Master told us to come to the town of Hengshan to meet big apprentice brother and the rest of you. Let"s not rush to the story about Fuzhou yet. Why did Great Mr. Mo use the move One Thrust Nine Geese here? You all saw what happened, didn"t you?"

"Yeah," Monkey-Six immediately rushed to tell how people were talking about the Gold Basin Hand Washing ceremony of Liu Zhengfeng and how Great Mr. Mo showed up, unexpectedly, and scared everybody off.

The old man nodded. After a long pause, he said, "A lot of people in the Martial World are saying that Great Mr. Mo is not getting along with Master Liu. Now that Master Liu is about to have the Hand Washing ceremony, I really don"t understand why Great Mr. Mo is acting in such an odd manner and not showing himself in public."

"Second apprentice brother, I heard that the Head Master of the Taishan Sword School, Priest Tianmen, himself, came, and has already arrived at the Liu House," the man with the abacus said.

"Priest Tianmen came in person?" the old man said in surprise. "Master Liu is really going to look good now. Since Priest Tianmen is staying at the Liu House, if a fight really breaks out between Liu and Mo, the two apprentice brothers of Hengshan Sword School, Great Mr. Mo won"t have such an easy job of it with such an elite fighter as backup for Master Liu."

"Second apprentice brother, whom will Master Yu from the Qingcheng Sword School help then?" the girl asked.

Hearing the words "Master Yu from Qingcheng Sword School," Lin Pingzhi felt as if somebody had just punched him in the stomach.

Monkey-Six and the others all started talking at once.

"Master Yu is here too?"

"It is not easy to get him off Mount Qingcheng."

"There"s going to be a big crowd in Hengshan now. So many master level elite fighters! I am afraid that there might be some big fights."

"Little apprentice sister, who told you that Master Yu came too?"

"Why do I have to be told? I saw him with my own eyes," the girl stated.

"You saw Master Yu? In Hengshan?" Monkey-Six asked.

"Not only in Hengshan town, but also in Fujian province and Jiangxi province," the girl said.

"Why did Master Yu go to Fujian, little apprentice sister? But I guess you probably wouldn"t know, would you?" the man with the abacus said.

"Fifth apprentice brother," the girl replied, "you don"t have to prod me. I was going to tell you, but since you want to provoke me, I won"t say a thing!"

"This story is only about the Qingcheng Sword School. There"s no harm if others overhear it. Second apprentice brother, what was Master Yu doing in Fujian? How did you see him?" Monkey-Six couldn"t stay his curiosity.

"Since big apprentice brother hasn"t come yet," the old man said, "and the rain won"t be stopping soon, there"s not much to do, anyway. Let me tell you the story from the beginning. Once you understand the cause and effect, when you meet someone from the Qingcheng Sword School later, at least you will be ready. Last December, when big apprentice brother beat up Hou Renying and Hong Renxiong…."

"Hha!" Monkey-Six suddenly burst out laughing.

"What"s so funny?" the girl glared at him.

Still laughing hard, Monkey-Six answered, "I am laughing at those two arrogant fellows, naming themselves Renying and Renxiong. [5] They"re even known by the nickname "Ying Xiong Hao Jie, The Four Aces of Qingcheng" in the Martial World. See, my name is just plain "Lu Dayou," and with such a plain name, trouble will never come looking for me."

"That"s not true!" the girl exclaimed. "If your last name wasn"t "Lu,"[6] and you weren"t the sixth among the apprentices, why would you have a nickname like Monkey-Six?"

"Sure, sure." Lu Dayou smiled. "Starting from this day forth, I will change my name to…."

"Don"t interrupt second apprentice brother from telling the story," another apprentice cut him off.

"Alright, alright, I won"t!" Lu Dayou said, but still could not help laughing.

"What are you laughing at now? You"re just a nuisance!" the girl frowned.

Lu Dayou grinned. "I was just remembering how Hou Renying and Hong Renxiong rolled across the floor after being kicked by big apprentice brother, and still couldn"t figure out who had kicked them or why they were kicked. It turned out that big apprentice brother just didn"t like their names. He was shouting "Dumb Bear Wild Pig, the Four a.s.ses of Qingcheng" loudly while drinking his wine. Hou and Hong of course got mad and came over to fight, but only got kicked down the stairs of the wine house for their trouble! Hhha!"

Lin Pingzhi felt quite happy when he heard of their humiliation. Instantly, he felt closer to this big apprentice brother. Although he had never met Hou Renying or Hong Renxiong, these two were fellow apprentices of Fang Renzhi and Yu Renhao. When they got kicked down the stairs of the wine house, he could imagine how embarra.s.sed they must have felt. Big apprentice brother had really helped him to vent his spleen.

"When big apprentice brother took Hou and Hong down a peg," the old man continued, "they didn"t know who big apprentice brother was at the time, but later they found out. So Master Yu wrote a letter to our Master. The words were very polite, saying that he did not discipline his apprentices well and offended your brilliant disciple, so he specifically wrote this letter to apologize, so on and so forth."

"This fellow Yu is really cunning," Lu Dayou explained. "He wrote a letter of apology, but was actually complaining to the Master. So because of the letter, big apprentice brother had to kneel outside for a whole day and a whole night. Master finally let him off only after all the apprentices pleaded on his behalf."

"What do you mean "let him off"?" The girl retorted. "He was beaten thirty strokes anyhow."

"Hey, I got ten strokes along with big apprentice brother," Lu Dayou said. "Hha, but I saw Hou Renying and Hong Renxiong rolling down the stairs with such battered looks that the ten strokes was well worth it. Hha, hha!"

"Look at yourself, you don"t have any remorse at all. The ten strokes were wasted!" the tall apprentice commented.

"How should I mend my ways?" Lu Dayou argued. "When big apprentice brother wanted to kick them down the stairs, how was I supposed to stop him?"

"At least you could have tried to talk him out of it," the tall apprentice said. "The Master had you pegged, "Lu Dayou, well, he would never try to talk somebody out of mischief. Worse, he would add fuel to the flames. Ten strokes!" Hha, Hha!" All the other apprentices laughed as well.

"This time the Master really wronged an innocent person." Lu Dayou protested. "Think about it. How fast can big apprentice brother kick? The two "heroes" rushed in each from one side. Big apprentice brother just lifted his bowl and kept drinking his wine in big gulps. I shouted, "Big apprentice brother, look out!" And then I heard two loud impacts, and then the thumping sounds of the two "big heroes" as they rolled all the way down the stairs. I really would have liked to get a better view, so I could get some pointers on the use of big apprentice brother"s "Panther Tail Kick," but I didn"t even have time to look, much less time to learn. How could I have added fuel to the flames?"

"Monkey-Six," the tall apprentice said, "let me ask you, when big apprentice brother was shouting "Dumb Bear Wild Pig, The Four a.s.ses of Qingcheng," did you happen to shout along with him? Speak honestly!"

"Big apprentice brother had already started shouting, how could we, as junior apprentice brothers, not chime in to help? Are you telling me that I should have helped the Qingcheng Sword School to swear at big apprentice brother?" Lu Dayou grinned.

"See, the Master didn"t judge you wrongly at all," The tall apprentice concluded with a laugh.

Lin Pingzhi thought, "This Monkey-Six seems to be a good guy. I wonder which school or clan they belong to?"

"We must all truly remember the words Master used to rebuke big apprentice brother," the old man said. "Master said, "In the Martial World, people have all kinds of nicknames: "Prestige of the South", "Wind-Chasing Hero", "Gra.s.s Top Flying Man" and what have you. None of them should be taken so literally. How could anyone verify the accuracy of so many names? If someone wants to be called "Ying Xiong Hao Jie," fine, let him be called that. If they are truly chivalrous, then we should be eager to admire them and try to make friends with them, how could we have any thoughts of hatred? But if they were not chivalrous, then their infamy would be known in the Martial World. Everyone would look down upon them, so why should we bother with them?""

Hearing second apprentice brother"s words all nodded and agreed.

"Still, my name "Monkey-Six" is much better. No one will ever get mad at it," Lu Dayou murmured.

"Since big apprentice brother kicked Hou and Hong down the stairs," the old man continued with a smile, "this incident was seen as a huge humiliation and embarra.s.sment for the Qingcheng Sword School, so of course none of their people will ever talk about it; even among fellow apprentices, few even know about it. Master had exhorted us not to let the information out, thus avoiding conflicts. So starting from now on, let"s not talk about this anymore, in case somebody overhears and spreads the story about."

"To be frank, I really think Qingcheng Kung Fu has an undeserved reputation. Even if we did offend them, it wouldn"t really matter…." Lu Dayou was tempted to express his opinion.

Before he could even finish, the old man yelled at him, "Sixth apprentice brother, if you keep talking nonsense, I will have to tell the Master. Maybe you"ll get another ten strokes. Do you know that big apprentice brother was able to kick those two down the stairs with a "Panther Tail Kick" only because: first, he launched the attack unexpectedly; second, he is an outstanding apprentice in our school, and other apprentices are no matches for him. Do you think you have the skills to kick those two down the stairs?"

"Don"t compare me to big apprentice brother," Lu Dayou said, sticking his tongue out and waving his hands.

"The Master of the Qingcheng Sword School, Master Yu, is really a martial genius," the old man said with dead seriousness, "whoever underestimates him will surely be in trouble, sooner or later. Little apprentice sister, you have seen Master Yu before. What do you think of him?"

"Master Yu? He was so terrible, he…he frightens me; I don"t…don"t want to see him again," the girl exclaimed. Her voice was trembling slightly, and seemed to still have fear in it.

"Master Yu was frightening? Did you see him kill people?" Lu Dayou asked.

The girl shrank and did not answer the question.

"On the day our Master received the letter from Master Yu, he was so angry that he inflicted those harsh punishments on big apprentice brother and sixth apprentice brother. The next day he wrote a letter and told me to send it to Mount Qingcheng…," the old man said.

"So that was what you were doing that day when you left in such a hurry. You were actually heading to Mount Qingcheng," several apprentices cried out.

"Yep," the old man nodded, "at that time Master told me to not mention it to any fellow apprentices to avoid additional incidents."

"What additional incidents? The respectful Master was just being careful. Things the Master asks us to do of course are things with good reasoning behind them. Who would agree otherwise?" Lu Dayou stated.

"What do you know?" The tall apprentice cut in. "If second apprentice brother had told you about it, you would surely have pa.s.sed the message on to big apprentice brother. Although big apprentice brother wouldn"t disobey Master"s orders, it is very possible he would find some unusual ways to make trouble for the Qingcheng Sword School."

"Third apprentice brother is right," the old man agreed. "Big apprentice brother has many friends in the Martial World. If he really wants something done, he doesn"t necessarily have to do it himself. Master told me that the letter contained all kinds of apologetic words to Master Yu, saying that his wayward apprentice was too ill-mannered; how he found the acts reprehensible; how he should have expelled the apprentice from the school, but if he did so, everyone in the Martial World would think that conflict existed between your respectful school and our school, which wouldn"t be a good thing; now he had those two wayward apprentices…." He gave Lu Dayou a glance at these words.

"So I am a wayward apprentice, as well!" Lu Dayou was displeased.

"Is placing you at the same level as big apprentice brother a disgrace for you?" the girl asked.

Lu Dayou immediately became very happy. "You"re right! Get me some wine, get me some wine!" he yelled.

The teashop only had tea for sale, not wine. The waiter rushed to the table and said, "Ha you all, our teashop only has Dragon Well, Dongting Spring, Puer, Iron Buddha. Ha you all, we don"t sell wine, you all." The people of the Hengyang and Hengshan region had their own special accent, and this waiter was no exception.

"Ha you all! So ha your alls shop doesn"t sell wine? Then I won"t drink ha your alls wine. Ha you all!" Lu Dayou mimicked.

"Sure, sure, ha you all!" the waiter answered. He then filled all the teapots with boiled water.

The old man continued, "Master said in the letter that he had already had the two wayward apprentices harshly punished; he would have made the two go to Mount Qingcheng themselves to offer a humble apology, but the two wayward apprentices were hurt so badly from their punishment, they could not even walk; that"s why he sent his second apprentice Lao Denuo to take the rebuke in their stead; this incident was solely caused by the wayward apprentices, he hopes Master Yu does not take too much offense for the sake of the good relationship between the Qingcheng Sword School and the Huashan Sword School; when they meet in the future, he would apologize to Master Yu personally."

"So your name is Lao Denuo and you are from the Huashan Sword School, part of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance," Lin Pingzhi thought. When he considered the words "for the sake of the good relationship between the two" in the letter, he could feel his heart beating faster. "This Lao Denuo and the ugly girl have seen me twice. I sure hope they don"t recognize me today."

Lao Denuo"s voice rose again, "After I arrived at Mount Qingcheng, Hou Renying did not seem to hold a grudge, but Hong Renxiong was still mad about it, and ridiculed me several times to try and pick a fight…."

"d.a.m.n! Those Qingcheng fellows are aggressive! Second apprentice brother, if he wants a fight, give him a fight! What are we afraid of? I know that fellow Hong is no match for you," Lu Dayou said.

"Master sent me there to apologize, not to make trouble," Lao Denuo exclaimed. "So I swallowed my anger and stayed on Mount Qingcheng for six days. I was not received by Master Yu until the seventh day."

"Humph! Harsh att.i.tude, huh! Second apprentice brother, I bet those six days and nights on Mount Qingcheng probably weren"t too enjoyable!" Lu Dayou interrupted again.

"There certainly was a lot of baiting," Lao Denuo said, "but I knew that Master sent me on this not because I was any better in Kung Fu skills or the like, but because I am older, so I"d do a better job staying calm. The longer I could hold my anger, the better I could accomplish the mission. Those Qingcheng people didn"t realize that keeping me waiting for six days in the Pine-Wind Temple of Mount Qingcheng wasn"t actually doing them any good.

"During my stay in the Pine-Wind Temple, I got really bored, since they wouldn"t let me see Master Yu. On the third day, I got up early to take a walk and secretly worked on some breathing exercises to prevent my skills from getting rusty. I was wandering around and happened to pa.s.s by the exercise field at the rear of the Pine-Wind Temple. With a glance, I saw dozens of Qingcheng apprentices, practicing their Kung Fu. Of course in the Martial World it is considered a taboo to watch others practicing their Kung Fu, so I turned around to go back to my room. But even with such a quick glance, I felt something suspicious was going on. Each of the apprentices used a sword, and was obviously practicing the same set of sword moves. Each one seemed to have only just learned the set, because as they practiced, their moves looked quite stiff. But what sword technique was it? I couldn"t tell with my one glance, very easily.

"After I went back to my room, I mulled over what I saw, and the more I thought about it, the more suspicious I became. Qingcheng Sword School has been well known for ages. Many apprentices had been part of the school for ten or twenty years, and each apprentice would have joined at a different time, so why was everyone learning the same sword technique at the same time? Particularly, since among the dozens of apprentices were the so-called "Four Aces of Qingcheng": Hou Renying, Hong Renxiong, Yu Renhao, and Luo Renjie. Fellow apprentice brothers, if it were you that saw this scene, what would you think?"

"Maybe the Qingcheng Sword School just acquired a secret sword art manual, or maybe Master Yu just invented a new set of sword techniques, and was teaching it to his apprentices," the apprentice with the abacus suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing in the beginning," Lao Denuo replied, "but after I thought on it more carefully, I realized that something was not quite right. With Master Yu"s understanding of the sword arts, if these were newly created moves, then they must have been really outstanding moves. On the other hand, if they did acquire an ancient secret sword art manual, the moves it contained must have been excellent; otherwise he wouldn"t have even bothered looking at it or asked his apprentices to practice them. New sword techniques could undo the training they had already undergone. If the moves were excellent moves, then the average apprentice wouldn"t be able to understand them easily; he would have most likely chosen three or four of his top apprentices to try them out, not having over forty apprentices learn at the same time. That"s more like having someone open a Kung Fu school for mere profit, not something a Master of a n.o.ble Martial Arts School would do.

"The next morning, I went to the rear of the temple again and strolled past the exercise field. Once again, they were practicing the same sword technique. I did not dare to stop and watch. With a quick glance, I managed to memorize two of the moves. I figured I could ask the Master"s opinion regarding them later when I got back. By that time, Master Yu still hadn"t allowed me to see him, so naturally I suspected the Qingcheng Sword School might harbor a lot of hatred toward our Huashan Sword School. Perhaps they were practicing these new moves so they could use them against us. I kept telling myself I"d better be more careful."

"Second apprentice brother, could they have been practicing a new sword formation?" the tall apprentice asked.

"That was possible," Lao Denuo said, "but they were mostly practicing in pairs; and the attacking side was using all the same type of moves as the defending side. It didn"t look like a sword formation to me. The morning after that, I walked by the exercise field again, but this time the whole field was completely empty. I knew that they were trying to hide something from me, so my suspicions were aroused even more. I was just wandering by and happened to glance in their direction from far away. What secret could I have seen? It seemed that they were really practicing a powerful set of sword techniques to counter us, otherwise why would they worry so much about what I had seen?

"That night, I lay on my bed and couldn"t sleep, thinking over the whole matter. Then I heard the dim clash of weapons coming from a distance. I was startled. Did some powerful enemy just invade the Pine-Wind Temple? My first thought was that perhaps big apprentice brother had gotten angry because of the punishment he received from our Master, and decided to attack the Pine-Wind Temple. He was just one person, and would not be able to fight the whole temple; I had to go help him. I did not bring any weapons with me when I went to Mount Qingcheng, and in my hurry, I could not stop to find a sword either, so I had to rush out with just my bare hands…."

"Amazing!" Lu Dayou praised. "Second apprentice brother, you have great courage! I would never dare to go fight Master Yu, the Head Master of the Qingcheng Sword School, with only my bare hands."

"Monkey-Six, what are you babbling about?" Lao Denuo yelled angrily. "I didn"t say that I went to fight Master Yu with bare hands. I was just worried about big apprentice brother"s safety, so although I knew it was dangerous, I just had to go. Would you have me hide under my covers like a coward?" All the apprentices laughed when they heard this.

"Here I am showering you with praise and admiration, and you get angry at me?" Lu Dayou made a face.

"Thanks, but your kind of complements don"t sit well with me," Lao Denuo replied.

"Second apprentice brother, go on with the story. Don"t pay any attention to Monkey-Six," several other apprentices urged.

Lao Denuo continued, "So I got up quietly and followed the direction of the sounds. Hearing the clash of weapons getting louder and louder, my heart beat faster and faster. I thought, "The two of us are deep in the enemy"s lair now. Big apprentice brother has excellent Kung Fu skills. He might be able to escape without injury. But for me, it"s a different story. I am in big trouble now." I heard the sound of weapons float out from the Back Hall. All kinds of lights and candles lit the Back Hall, making it seem like broad daylight. I crouched down to sneak in closer and looked inside through the cracks of the window, and then I gasped and almost burst into laughter. It turned out I was just imagining things. Because Master Yu hadn"t met with me for so many days, my imagination had carried me away, and I imagined the worst thing that could happen. It wasn"t big apprentice brother coming to make trouble after all! There were two pairs inside practicing their sword moves. One pair was of Hou Renying and Hong Renxiong, the other pair was of Fang Renzhi and Yu Renhao."

"Ha, the apprentices of the Qingcheng Sword School really work hard, not even resting at night," Lu Dayou mocked. "I guess this is what they called "sharpening one"s spear only before going into a battle," or "no joss sticks in fair weather, but clutching the feet of the Buddha in crisis. ""

Lao Denuo gave Lu Dayou a glare and continued, "In the middle of the Back Hall, a short Taoist priest in a blue Taoist robe sat there. He was about fifty years old and had a thin face. By the look of him, one could tell that he weighed no more than eighty pounds. It was said in the Martial World that the Head Master of the Qingcheng Sword School was a short Taoist priest, but if I had not seen him with my own eyes, I wouldn"t have expected him to be so short, and wouldn"t have believed that he was the famous Master Yu. There were many apprentices standing around him, attentively watching the four practicing. After watching a couple of moves, I knew instantly that they were using the new moves they had been practicing over the last couple of days.

"I knew it was very dangerous for me to be there at that time. If the people from Qingcheng Sword School had found me, not only would I be harshly punished, but the reputation of Huashan Sword School would also have been hurt badly if the news got out. Although Master punished big apprentice brother harshly for kicking the top two of "The Four Aces of Qingcheng" down the stairs, saying that he had violated the school rules and caused all kinds of trouble, and offended friends; in the Master"s heart, I believe he was actually glad. At least big apprentice brother had gained good publicity for our school. "How can they be the Four Aces of Qingcheng? They couldn"t even fend off a single kick from the senior apprentice of the Huashan Sword School." But if I got caught sneaking around, digging up other people"s secrets, it would look worse than stealing money. And when I got back to Huashan, Master would most likely have expelled me from the Huashan Sword School.

"But seeing those people practicing so hard, I really thought it might have had something to do with our school. How could I just turn around and leave? I just kept telling myself, "I"ll just watch a couple of more moves before leaving." But after watching a couple, I watched another couple, and so on and so on. The sword moves they used were so unusual. I had never seen anything like them before in my life. But if someone claimed that these moves had some kind of great power, I couldn"t have agreed. I wondered, "This set of sword techniques is nothing special, why would the Qingcheng Sword School want to practice it so hard, day and night? Could this set of sword techniques be the counter to our Huashan sword arts?" It didn"t look like it!

"After watching several more moves, I dared not continue watching, so I sneaked away and went back to my room while the four were still fighting intensely. If I had waited till the four stopped fighting and the noises ended, there would have been no way for me to get away. With his superior skills, Master Yu would have found me out after my first step outside the hall.

"In the following two nights, the sound of swords ringing against each other kept coming from the distance, but I dared not go watch any more. To be honest, if I had known that they were practicing sword fighting in front of Master Yu, I would never have dared to go there at all. The first time was just an accident. Just now sixth apprentice brother praised my courage; I did not deserve such praise. If you had seen my face that night, you would have known how terrified I was, and you"d have called me the number one coward."

"No way! No way!" Lu Dayou objected. "Second apprentice brother, you"d be at most number two. If it were I, I wouldn"t have to worry about being found out by Master Yu. I would have been so scared that my whole body would have become stiff; I would stop breathing and not able to move an inch; pretty much no different from a zombie. No matter how outstanding Master Yu"s Kung Fu skills are, he would have never known that there was a hero named Lu Dayou hiding outside his window." The apprentices broke into uproarious laughter.

"Later Master Yu finally met with me," Lao Denuo continued. "He spoke in a very polite manner, saying that Master really didn"t have to punish big apprentice brother so harshly. The Qingcheng Sword School and The Huashan Sword School have always maintained a good relationship. The apprentices were only roughhousing with each other, just like children playing practical jokes with each other. The parents should never take such matters too seriously. That night he invited me for dinner. The following morning when I was leaving, Master Yu saw me off all the way to the gate of the Pine-Wind Temple. Since I was the apprentice, I, of course, knelt down and kowtowed. Right after I knelt down on my left knee, Master Yu lifted his right hand slightly and lifted me right up. His power was amazing! It felt like I had suddenly lost all of my strength and my body was floating in the air. If he had wanted to toss me thirty feet or simply flip me over seven or eight times, I would not have had any strength to defend myself.

"Master Yu smiled slightly and asked, "How many more years than you has your senior apprentice brother been an apprentice of your Master? You had some martial arts skills before you became an apprentice to your Master, hadn"t you?"

"I was still trying to catch my breath after experiencing his grip, so I had to wait a while before answering, "Yes, I learned martial arts skills before joining the Huashan Sword School. At the time I became an apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, big apprentice brother had been an apprentice for three years. "

"Master Yu smiled again and said, "Three years more, hmm, three years more. ""

"What did he mean by saying "three years more"?" the girl asked.

"He had an odd expression. I guess he must have been thinking that my Kung Fu skills were mediocre, so that even if big apprentice brother had studied three more years than I did, he couldn"t be too much better," Lao Denuo shrugged.

The girl gave a hum and fell silent.

"After I went back to Mount Huashan, I gave the Master the reply letter from Master Yu," Lao Denuo went on. "The letter was written in a very polite and modest manner, so the Master was very pleased after reading it. Then, he asked about different things happening in the Pine-Wind Temple, so I told him about that night the Qingcheng apprentices practiced. Master asked me to show him a couple of the moves. I only remembered seven or eight of them, so I imitated the moves. Master said immediately when he saw them, "Those are moves of the Evil-Resisting Sword Art of the Fortune Prestige Escort House Lin family!""

When Lin Pingzhi heard this, his body trembled!

.......

[1] In ancient China, polygamy was legal and common among rich people.

[2] A general term for certain two-stringed bowed instruments, popular in ancient China.

[3] An ancient breathing exercise that helps improve health and acquire extra power and strength (sometimes an almost magical power that cannot be explained by science).

[4] Beggars Clan was a group made up by beggars. Members of the Beggars Clan used the number of bags to identify his status in the clan. When a new member joined the clan, he would be carrying only one bag. The higher his status was, the more bags he would be carrying.

[5] Like it was mentioned in chapter one, Ying Xiong Hao Jie stand for "hero" in Chinese.

[6] In Chinese, "Lu" has the same p.r.o.nunciation as number six.